In the prologue to The Man of Law’s Tale, the Host notes that the morning is quickly passing. He turns to the Man of Law and, using his best legal language, exhorts him to fulfill his contract and acquit himself of his debt. The Man of Law protests that Chaucer has already written about all the good stories of the world and has left nothing else to be told, and, furthermore, he is a plain spoken man who will not use rhyme. The Man of Law introduces his tale as one he had heard from a merchant long ago, and, therefore, his tale will be about merchants.
While in Rome, a company of Syrian merchants hear of the emperor’s daughter, Dame Constance, who is the epitome of beauty, goodness, and innocence. Upon their return to Syria, the merchants share their adventures with the young Syrian ruler, the Sultan, who is particularly captivated by the descriptions of Lady Constance. He decides to have Constance for a wife, and because a Christian emperor will not form an alliance with a Muslim nation, the Sultan is baptized — ”“Rather than that I lose / The Lady Constance, I will be baptized” (“Rather than I lese / Custance, I wol be cristned”) — he instructs his subjects to become Christians as well.
With the marriage arranged and her journey to begin, Constance is close to despair at leaving her family, friends, and Rome, but being a dutiful and faithful daughter, she commends herself to the journey, relying upon “Jesus Christ who died for our salvation, / Give me the strength of purpose to fulfill / His wishes” (“But Crist, that starf for our redempcion / So yeve me grace his heestes to fulfille”). Meanwhile, the Sultan’s mother, who would rather die than give up her religion for the sake of a foreign girl, arranges with her councilors to pretend to accept the new religion until the wedding feast, at which time they will attack and slay the Christians.
