Abstract: »In the fourteenth century, rape was perceived as "natural," a relatively minor social infraction. In WBT, the ladies of the court do not dispute the verdict assigned the rapist-knight; they dispute only the penalty. The knight is socially rehabilitated, not morally reformed. The humor of his discomfiture allows for his restoration to the primarily male community of the court, a community he has embarrassed by creating a social problem and by asserting a sexual advantage over his fellow knights.« (Source: Chaucer Bibliography Online)

Wikipedia: History of Europe: History of England / England in the Late Middle Ages | Literature: English literature / Geoffrey Chaucer | Literature: Rape in fiction / The Wife of Bath's Tale | Sex and the law: Rape / History of rape