The Shipman’s Tale

One day, the merchant plans to go to Bruges to buy wares. He invites Dan John to visit him and his wife at home beforehand. The monk brings  wine and fowl with him, and the three enjoy themselves. The next morning, the merchant locks himself in his office  to do routine financial bookkeeping.

The merchant’s wife joins him there. The wife is so unhappy that she’s contemplating suicide. The monk offers to give her confidential advice, and she confesses her love for him. Dan John reveals that he is not really her husband’s cousin, and says he loves her too.

The wife complains that her husband isn’t wealthy enough. She asks to borrow one hundred francs. Dan John says he’ll bring her the money when her husband leaves for Belgium, and the two share illicit kisses.The wife goes to her husband’s office, complaining about how long he’s spending on his books. The merchant says her to be careful in her spending while he’s in Bruges.

Then Dan John asks the merchant to lend him a hundred francs to buy cattle and asks him to keep it a secret. The merchant  leaves for Belgium.While her husband is gone, the wife agrees to sleep with Dan John in exchange for the money he’s promised her. He leaves the next morning without giving her the money.

When the merchant returns, he visits Dan John and conversationally explains that he has a loan of twenty thousand crown to repay. Dan John says he wishes he had it to give him, and mentions that he has repaid the hundred francs he borrowed from the merchant and given them to his wife.