Killer Queen
(The Man Of Law's Tale)
The Story: part 1
Beautiful Dame Constance, daughter of the Emperor of Rome agrees to marry the Sultan of Syria once he has converted to Christianity from Islam. He enthusiastically orders his subjects to become Christians too.
The Sultan's mother would rather die than give up her religion but sees an opportunity to seize power, and along with her supporters, pretends to go along with the Sultan until the wedding banquet. It is at this point that the Christians are massacred (Constance is allowed to escape). News of the assault reaches the Emperor in Rome who responds promptly with a tit-for-tat attack.
In the picture:
The Sultan's mother presides over the battle at the wedding banquet.
Behind the picture:
Wyclife's translation of the bible into English in 1382 had exposed hypocritical behaviour in the church and a group of men (Lollards) were using this to feed the growing unrest among the peasant classes. Chaucer set his tale in an apparent Crusades-style atmosphere and draws attention to the endurance shown by Constance in peril and adversity and her unswerving faith in god.
Symbolism:
The Sultan's mother holds a mask and hides her hands as an indication of hidden intentions. Her venomous nature is depicted by the scorpion and snakes.
The Christians are symbolised by the fish and the passion flowers while the Muslims are depicted by the turk's cap pumpkins and a persian cat.
The battle scenes can be found in the banquet food... the pumpkin seated on the moon catches fish which he skewers and roasts for the cat. The open mouthed fish gets ready to swallow a pumpkin in return.
The frogs, pigs and dragons are symbolic of unacceptable religious ideals that the Christians tries to force on the Muslims while a reference to The Crusades can be found in the goose... it is reported that a group of hysterical crusaders followed a goose in the belief that it would lead them to Jerusalem and victory.
Meanwhile, Constance can be seen fleeing towards the boat she hopes will take her safely back to Rome.
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