How we cite our quotes: (Line)
Quote #1
They trowe that "no Cristene prince wolde fayn
Wedden his child under oure lawes swete
That us were taught by Mahoun oure prophete." (222-224)
The Sultan's counselors warn him that the Emperor of Rome is not likely to marry his daughter to a Pagan. They describe their own faith as "swete," showing that they are truly attached to it. It seems pretty likely that any conversion to Christianity won't be likely to take.
Quote #2
I seye, by tretys and embassadrye
And by the popes mediacioun
And al the chirche and al the chivalrie,
That in destruccioun of Mawmettrie
And in encrees of Cristes lawe deere,
They been acorded, so as ye shal heere. (233-238)
The Pope and the entire Christian Church throw their weight behind setting up Custance's marriage. The union becomes a strategic way of spreading Christianity and wiping out Islam.
Quote #3
"Lordes," quod she, "ye knowen everichon,
How that my sone in pointe is for to lete
The hooly lawes of oure Alkaron,
Yeven by Goddes message, Makomete.
But oon avow to grete God I heete,
The lyf shal rather out of my body sterte,
Than Makometes lawe out of myn herte!" (330-336)
The beginning of the Sultan's mother's objection to Christianity is understandable: she truly regards the Koran as the truth revealed by Mohammed, messenger of God. It seems like a Christian audience could find some sympathy in this, as they might have similar reasons for clinging to their own faith.
Quote #4
What sholde us tyden of this newe lawe
But thraldom to oure bodies, and penance,
And afterward in helle to be drawe
For we reneyed Mahoun oure creance? (337-340)
The Sultan's mother's rejection of bodily discipline and penance suggests that she might be lustful or have immoderate bodily desires. Again, though, her fear of hell if she renounces what she believes is the true faith is certainly understandable.
Quote #5
Now, sith she was nat at the feeste yslawe,
Who kepte hir fro the drenchyng in the see?
Who kepte Jonas in the fisshes mawe
Til he was sprouted up at Nynyvee?
Wel may men knowe it was no wight but he
That kepte peple Ebrayk from hir drenchynge,
With drye feet thurghout the see passynge. (484-490)
God's power to command the oceans is proven by the example of Jonas in the belly of the whale. The narrator will employ this technique in the next few passages, using examples from the Bible to argue that if God did something once, he could certainly do it again. In this way he connects Custance's trials to all of Christian history, giving them meaning and a place in the Christian story.
Quote #6
In al that lond no Cristen dorste route,
Alle Cristen folk been fled fro that contree
Thurgh payens that conquereden al aboute
The plages of the North by land and see.
To Walys fledde the Cristyanytee
Of olde Britons dwellynge in this ile;
Ther was hir refut for the meene-while. (540-546)
This passage alludes to the state of Christianity in Britain after the withdrawal of the Roman Empire. At that time, pagan Saxons and Vikings conquered Britain, and Christianity suffered a setback.
Quote #7
But yet nere cristene Britons so exiled
That ther nere somme that in hir privetee
Honoured Crist, and hethen folk bigiled. (547-449)
This passage reflects another historical reality of the Saxon conquest of Britain. Several cultures—Saxon, Briton, and Roman—all found ways to integrate. For a while, people of different faiths lived side by side.
Quote #8
"Mooder," quod she, "and mayde bright, Marie,
Sooth is that thurgh wommanes eggement
Mankynde was lorn and damned ay to dye,
For which thy child was on a croys yrent;
Thy blisful eyen sawe al his torment." (841-844)
In her prayers, Custance lays out some of the fundamentals of the Christian faith. Here she describes the Fall or the arrival in the world of original sin at the hands of Eve. She cites this as the reason that Christ had to suffer on a cross. Custance gives meaning to her suffering by explaining where it comes from.
Quote #9
Kyng Alla, which that hadde his mooder slayn,
Upon a day fil in swich repentance
That, if I shortly tellen shal and playn,
To Rome he comth, to receyven his penance;
And putte hym in the popes ordinance
In heigh and logh, and Jesu Crist bisoghte
Foryeve hise wikked werkes that he wroghte. (988-994)
Alla's repentance and his submission to the Pope are symbolic of the placement of his entire kingdom under the scepter of Christianity. Significantly, it's only when Alla has taken this action, marking the sincerity of his faith, that he is able to reunite with his wife. Custance then becomes the so-called prize for heartfelt conversion, one which the Sultan was not able to gain because he undertook conversion for the wrong reasons.