How we cite our quotes: (Line)
Quote #7
But nathelees, ther was greet moornyng
Among the peple, and seyn, they kan nat gesse
That she had doon so greet a wikkednesse;
For they han seyn hir evere so vertuous,
And lovyng Hermengyld right as hir lyf. (621-625)
One of the benefits of being the most virtuous person ever is that the general knowledge of your good character can be a sort of a "character witness" for you when you're accused of a crime. In other words, your reputation precedes you. This kind of testimony was actually extremely valuable in medieval courts, with numerous witnesses often called to testify not only to their knowledge of a person's good character, but also of their good reputation.
Quote #8
And up she rist, and walketh doun the stronde,
Toward the ship – hir folweth al the prees –
And evere she preyeth hir child to holde his pees,
And taketh hir leve, and with an hooly entente
She blisseth hir, and into ship she wente. (864-868)
Custance embarks on her second sea journey "with an hooly entente," blessing herself. This moment signals that she again places herself in God's hands for her journey. In case you didn't get that gist already.
Quote #9
Hir childe cride, and she cride pitously,
But blisful Marie heelp hir right anon,
For with hir struglyng wel and myghtily,
The theef fil over bord al sodeynly,
And in the see he dreynte for vengeance,
And thus hat Crist unwemmed kept Custance. (919-924)
This passage makes us here at Shmoop a wee bit uncomfortable. Why? Because it seems to suggest that if a woman just struggles enough, if she is virtuous enough, she can resist a rapist. We have to keep in mind, however, that a big part of the medieval faith was seeing the events in one's life as part of God's message about you to the world. So if we follow this logic, Custance's virtuousness is protection from rape, because her untainted body must signal her virtue to the world. But yeah, this doesn't fly in the modern world.