Preview: Section 14
Reading boundary
Start: Great was the feast in Athens
Stop after: But speak of Palamon and of Arcite.
The tournament morning begins not with combat but with a crowded soundscape: armourers hammer, horses chew their bridles, musicians play, and spectators argue over the champions. Theseus still has rules to announce before the evenly matched companies enter the lists.
The narrator shifts between ceremonial order and bodily confusion. The contest is designed to protect noble lives, but Chaucer’s rapid verbs and images make even regulated violence feel dangerous.