Summary
The Clerk told a tale of a Marquis(noble man) who rules on the west side of Italy in a region called Saluzzo. This Marquis was beloved and feared by his nobles and common men. He is handsome and is a bachelor, one that you would see on the bachelorette. His name is Walter. Walter enjoyed hunting and being outdoors and never thought of settling down with a wife. His subjects came to him one day to beg him to find a wife. His subjects want the Marquis to find a wife so that they could bear a son that would carry on to be his successor in later years. The Marquis agrees only that his subjects would let him choose who his wife would be. They arrange a day to when his wedding will be a deadline for the Marquis to find a wife.
Among all the people in all the land, there was one poor girl named Griselda. The folk in the village called this girl Janicula. Janicula or Griselda belonged to the poorest man in all the land. Griselda was believed to be the most Beautiful in all the land and very hardworking.
“But when it comes to virtue and beauty,
Then there was none more fair beneath the sun
Then she, brought up in want and poverty;
Luxurious pleasures were to her unknown”(263).
The Marquis planned their wedding without her knowing that she was going to marry him. On their wedding day, the Marquis prepared for their wedding by having his “magnificent palace” set up by his loyal subjects and townsfolk. The wedding day came, and none of the Marquis’s subjects knew who the bride was. The people and subjects thought it was just another rouse the Marquis used on his subjects. They were married and Griselda was seen as the lady of the land. Years later, Giselda was pregnant and Walter decided to try her steadfastness.
“It happened, as it sometimes does, that
While the child was being suckled, the marquis
Conceived so great a longing to make trial
Of Griselda, to try her steadfastness
And constancy, that he could not persist
This strange impulse to put her to the proof
And Scare(needlessly, as God knows) his wife”(270).
Walter has his most trustworthy subject to kidnap his daughter and take her away and fake the daughters death when she was two. But the daughter is taken to her aunt's home in Bologna and there she was raised by her aunt. Four years passed away and Griselda was pregnant again with a boy. She had the boy and the Marquis decided to try his wife again. So he had the subject of kidnap their son and taking him to his sister and aunt. Meanwhile, Walter decides to put Griselda to test one last time. He decides to marry this young girl from the village and has his subjects prepare a wedding for them. The day of the wedding, Griselda shows up to Walters wedding and wishes him the best with his supposed new bride and there Walter expresses his love for Griselda. Then Walter had his loyal subject bring his two children to them and Griselda swells up in happiness for her children being alive. They go back to their house and live happily ever after.
Among all the people in all the land, there was one poor girl named Griselda. The folk in the village called this girl Janicula. Janicula or Griselda belonged to the poorest man in all the land. Griselda was believed to be the most Beautiful in all the land and very hardworking.
“But when it comes to virtue and beauty,
Then there was none more fair beneath the sun
Then she, brought up in want and poverty;
Luxurious pleasures were to her unknown”(263).
The Marquis planned their wedding without her knowing that she was going to marry him. On their wedding day, the Marquis prepared for their wedding by having his “magnificent palace” set up by his loyal subjects and townsfolk. The wedding day came, and none of the Marquis’s subjects knew who the bride was. The people and subjects thought it was just another rouse the Marquis used on his subjects. They were married and Griselda was seen as the lady of the land. Years later, Giselda was pregnant and Walter decided to try her steadfastness.
“It happened, as it sometimes does, that
While the child was being suckled, the marquis
Conceived so great a longing to make trial
Of Griselda, to try her steadfastness
And constancy, that he could not persist
This strange impulse to put her to the proof
And Scare(needlessly, as God knows) his wife”(270).
Walter has his most trustworthy subject to kidnap his daughter and take her away and fake the daughters death when she was two. But the daughter is taken to her aunt's home in Bologna and there she was raised by her aunt. Four years passed away and Griselda was pregnant again with a boy. She had the boy and the Marquis decided to try his wife again. So he had the subject of kidnap their son and taking him to his sister and aunt. Meanwhile, Walter decides to put Griselda to test one last time. He decides to marry this young girl from the village and has his subjects prepare a wedding for them. The day of the wedding, Griselda shows up to Walters wedding and wishes him the best with his supposed new bride and there Walter expresses his love for Griselda. Then Walter had his loyal subject bring his two children to them and Griselda swells up in happiness for her children being alive. They go back to their house and live happily ever after.