Dear Diary,
Oh how in love I am! My beautiful love, Dorigen, has just accepted my hand in marriage! We are betrothed and I am absolutely ecstatic. I cannot express how ardently I love this woman. She is so stunning. I have never seen such a face and dare I say I will never see such beauty as she. I have vowed to be fair and true to her for all my days, even when I must depart from her gracious presence. I have never been this happy in all my days!
Sincerely
Arviragus
May 30, 1524
Dear Diary,
I am feeling very ill on this day, my friend. You see, I have just broken the news to Dorigen that I must depart across the sea. How blissful this past year has been! I am fully distraught at the thought of leaving my dear Dorigen, but I am called by my duty as a knight of the kingdom to seek glory and honor in arms! I have to go, but I have vowed to return just as soon as my tasks are accomplished. I only pray now that Dorigen will not weep for me, but that her days will be filled with friendship and happiness as she awaits my return. The day when we are reunited will be glorious!
Sincerely,
Arviragus
July 9, 1524
Dear Diary,
I have made it across the waters! I now seek to accomplish what I have set out to do as quickly as possible so that I can return to my love once more. I have a tournament in just two month's time, and I must spend every waking minute until then training for it. I must win!
Sincerely,
Arviragus
September 31, 1524
Dear Diary,
I am pleased to inform you that I have won! The kingdom has claimed a righteous victory on this day for me and my comrades have taken the top prized in the tournament. I was the jousting champion, not to brag, and I am very proud of my accomplishments. Oh, how I cannot wait to be reunited with Dorigen and inform her of the news! She will be so proud of me. She is always so supportive. I love her dearly. In one week's time I will set sail back across the seas so that I may arrive at home before the year's end!
Sincerely,
Arviragus
November 13, 1524
Dear Diary,
I made it safely across the waters without mishap, and I was reunited with my love! As we embraced, she disclosed to me something truly horrific, and something I had never in my wildest dreams imagined she would ever say. You see, while in my absence, this pitiful squire man apparently confessed his love for Dorigen. She told him that she was already madly in love with me, but he would not leave her alone. In an effort to be rid of his nuisances, she told him that when the rocks at the bottom of the cliff from which I sailed away were covered up, which would never happen for they are very visible even at high tide, she would be with him. Her, knowing this would never happen, did not give this man another thought until one day he came back to her and told her to look over the cliff. The rocks were gone, and she had made him a promise. I do not know what to do, diary. She promised him, but she is my one true love! How can I lose her now when she was so close to me only moments ago? This is truly the worst day of my life.
Sincerely,
Arviragus
November 14, 1524
Dear Diary,
After careful consideration, I have come to the conclusion that she must be with the squire. She has made a promise and I do not take those lightly. Though it pains me more than anything in the world has ever pained me, I must let her go to him. I pray now that by some miracle he does not make her follow through on her word, for I do not know if I can bear to spend another day without her by my side.
Sincerely,
Arviragus
November 15, 1524
Dear Diary,
It happened! I sent her off to him but she has returned to me! According to Dorigen, the squire knew he could not keep her away from me. She was too distraught and although she wanted to honor her promise, he knew she would be miserable for all her days. Oh, glorious day! I have sent a letter to the squire to thank him for his generosity, and I only hope that he can find a love of his own now. But for now and all of my days, I have Dorigen. I am perfectly and completely happy.
Sincerely,
Arviragus
Author's Note:
Hello reader! This is the retelling of the Canterbury tale titled "The Promise of Dorigen." The original tale is written from from a third person point of view, but is mainly focused on Dorigen's story. I toyed around with the idea of doing a gender swap, but ended up wanting to write from Arviragus' point of view instead. The original tale does not really give the readers any indication of how Arvirgaus is feeling when all of the things go down between Dorigen and the squire, so I thought this was a fun way to implement his side of the story into the tale. I had a lot of fun writing this and I hope you have fun reading it!
Bibliography:
The Chaucer Story Book by Eva March Tappan (1908)
Hi Rachel! Wow, this story was super detailed and well written! I never read the original story, but I like the diary type of writing you gave this story. It allowed me to see the main character's thoughts and feelings as well as having an excuse for time gaps between scenes. I like how the whole story flowed very nicely and the characters obtained their own happy ending! Overall, I really enjoyed reading your writing this week. I can't wait to see what you write in the future as well!
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