These essays investigate legal and religious subjects relevant to the age and places in which Geoffrey Chaucer lived and wrote, especially as reflected in The Canterbury Tales. Topics include the canon law of incest, sexual offences, prostitution, the laws of nature concerning gender distinction focusing on Chaucers Pardoner and castration. Chaucers Prioress is the starting point for the treatment of the regulations of nuns and for the presence, real and virtual, of Jews and Saracens Muslims and pagans in England. It concludes with a case study on the legend of St Cecilia, and a discussion of canonistic opinion on the licit limits of