When discussing the medieval era, the public often focuses on the European narrative. Scholars often look at Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales and Boccaccio’s Decameron as quintessentially European texts. While they may differ in context, as they take place in different geographical settings and circumstances, they both share a multitude of subject matter and underlying themes, specifically notions of Christianity, chivalry, and masculinity.  Though these tales are undeniably Eurocentric in both setting and theme, their roots can be traced far outside Europe into the land of the “other.” Both of these characteristically European texts share several stories with a text that predates them by several hundred years: One Thousand and One Nights. This text, which shares an overtly similar structure to The Decameron and The Canterbury Tales, is crucial in understanding both the foundation of medieval European literature as well as offering a way to see the divergence between the texts and how broader racial, ethnic, sexual, and religious themes are highlighted. Through these comparisons, a greater understanding of the textual origins and medieval social attitudes will percolate to the surface.