the story resembles geoffrey chaucer's "the squire's tale" from the "canterbury tales", the english romance "sir launfal" and especially the carolingian romance "pèlerinage de charlemagne", in which charlemagne and his paladins visit the byzantine emperor, superior to charlemagne in looks according to charlemagne's wife. they make a series of boasts about their abilities, and are called out on them by the emperor's spy, but are eventually able to fulfill them with help from god. making chivalric vows is a central theme in the medieval english tale "the avowing of arthur", while the importance of keeping one's pledges is important to tales like "sir gawain and the green knight" and "the wedding of sir gawain and dame ragnelle".