The Empire and the Waif : Consent and Conflict of Laws in the Man of Law's Tale

Author / Editor
Fowler, Elizabeth.

Title
The Empire and the Waif : Consent and Conflict of Laws in the Man of Law's Tale

Published
David Aers, ed. Medieval Literature and Historical Inquiry: Essays in Honor of Derek Pearsall (Cambridge: D. S. Brewer, 2000), pp. 55-67.

Description
Reads MLT as a "thought experiment" in which the topos of the ship (familiar in both romance and political/legal philosophy) is used to confront the "conflict of laws" among the various cultures represented: Christian, Islamic, and pagan. With ClT, MLT considers consent under various kinds of coercion; MLT offers the principle of custom as a standard.

Alternative Title
Medieval Literature and Historical Inquiry: Essays in Honor of Derek Pearsall.

Chaucer Subjects
Man of Law and His Tale.
Clerk and His Tale.