Miller, Robert P. "The Wife of Bath's Tale and Mediaeval Exampla"

ELH, 32(4) 442-456. 1965.

This article gives an overview of many traditional medieval stories which would have been well known to Chaucer's audience at the time. The author does not argue that the wife of bath's tale used these tales as a source, rather, he presents these tales suggesting that Chaucer's readers' familiarity with these tales could have had some influence on their interpretation of the Wife of Bath and her tale. The principle of obedience, for example, shows up in many tales. Most of these tales involve a beautiful seductress who tests the knight, who is often bound to chastity for some reason. The knight has to resist the temptations of the woman in order to prove himself worthy, and it is often then revealed that the seductress was, in fact, an ugly old woman. The author then compares these tale with the Wife of Bath's tale, in which the story is somewhat different, but in significant ways. The article is very informative, and would be useful in any sort of source study concerning the wife of bath's tale.

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