Reading A: British and Celtic

The Unknown Bride

• A Knight treats a women "despitefully" the punishment of which is death
• But the Queen and all the women loved him so they begged for him to be spared 
• The Queen decides to spear him if he can determine what women want above all else
• the Knight travels the world and finally comes upon an old woman who promises to tell him what all women want if he agrees to do whatever she asks of him
• He agrees and is saved from death when he reveals that all women want to rule over their husbands --> Which btw I really don't think is true
• The old women demands he marries her in return and he does (but is a poor sport about it)
• He doesn't love her at all but she eventually convinces him and then turns into a beautiful women --> which he totally didn't deserve because he has been the worst this whole story

The Promise of Dorigen

• A Knight falls in love with a noble women and eventually wins her over
• They are desperately in love but her often has to travel
• When he is away she is miserable and cries openly 
• Despite this a squire becomes infatuated with her and begs for her affection. 
• She sarcastically promises that if the rocks that threaten her husband's return are submerged under the sea she will marry him
• He goes and has a magician disguise the rocks and calls for her to honor the agreement
• Her husband, not wanting her to be dishonored, agrees to let her go
• Seeing that the husband loves her enough to let her leave him the squire lets her go back to him
• The story ends with the question Which man is the most generous? The answer obviously being THE MAN WHO DIDN'T TRY TO MANIPULATE A MARRIED WOMEN INTO BEING WITH HIM. 

The stories in this section have been interesting because they clearly have a code of "chivalry" or beliefs in how women should be treated (especially how they should be treated by Knights) but the whole thing is still pretty archaic and not particularly flattering. I thought it was interesting that the character in the first story finds that the thing that all women want is to rule their husbands. I could understand them wanting to have freedom from their husbands to make their own choices, but I think the idea that they all want to rule them is pretty interesting.