How we cite our quotes: (Line)
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.