For which the white coroune above the grene
Made hirë lyke a dayesie for to sene,
Considered eke hir fret of golde above.
Yclothed was this myghty God of Love
In silke, enbrouded ful of grenë greves1,
In-with a fret of redë rosë leves,
The fresshest syn the world was first begonne.
His giltë here was coroned with a sonne
In stede of gold, for hevynesse and wyghte2;
Therwith me thoght his face shoon so brighte
That wel unnethës3 myghte I him beholde;
And in his hand me thoghte I saugh him holde
Twoo firy dartës, as the gledës * rede,
And aungelyke hys wyngës saugh I sprede.
And, al be that men seyn that blynd ys he,
Algate me thoghtë that he myghtë se;
For sternëly on me he gan byholde,
So that his loking dooth myn herte colde.
And by the hande he held this noble quene,
Coroned with white, and clothed al in grene,
So womanly, so bénigne, and so meke,
That in this world, thogh that men wolde seke,
Half of hire beauté shuldë men nat fynde
In creäture that formed ys by kynde 5.
And therfore may I seyn, as thynketh me,
This song in preysyng of this lady fre.
Hyde, Absalon, thy giltë tresses clere;
Ester, ley thou thy mekenesse al adown;
Hyde, Jonathas, al thy frendly manere ;
Penélopee, and Marcia Catoun o,
Make of your wifhode no comparysoun;
Hyde ye your beautes, Ysoude' and Eleyne,
My lady comith, that al this may disteyne".
1 groves: embroidered with green branches.' 2 because gold would be heavy.
6 i.e. wife of Cato.
8 stain; make foul by comparison.
Thy faire body lat yt nat appere,
Lavyne; and thou Lucresse of Romë toune,
And Polixene, that boghten love so dere,
And Cleopatre, with al thy passyoun,
Hyde ye your trouthe of love, and your renoun,
And thou, Tesbé, that hast of love suche peyne,
My lady comith, that al this may disteyne.
Hero, Dido, Laudomia, alle yfere1,
And Phillis, hangyng for thy Demophoun,
And Canace, espied by thy chere2,
Ysiphile betraysed with Jasoun,
Maketh of your trouthë neyther boost ne soun,
Nor Ypermystre, or Adriane3, ye tweyne,
My lady cometh, that all this may dysteyne.
THE PROLOGUE TO THE CANTERBURY TALES.
Whan that Aprillë with his schowrës swoote
The drought of Marche had perced to the roote,
And bathed every veyne in swich licour,
Of which vertue engendred is the flour;
Whan Zephirus eek with his swetë breethe
Enspired hath in every holte and heethe
The tendre croppës, and the yongë sonne
Hath in the Ram his halfe cours i-ronne,
And smale fowlës maken melodie,
That slepen al the night with open eye,
So priketh hem nature in here corages1 :—
Than longen folk to gon on pilgrimages,
And palmers for to seeken straungë strondes,
To ferne halwes, kouthe 5 in sondry londes;
And specially, from every schirës ende
Of Engelond, to Caunterbury they wende,
2 discovered by thy look.
The holy blisful martir for to seeke,
That hem hath holpen whan that they were seeke1.
Byfel that, in that sesoun on a day,
In Southwerk at the Tabard as I lay,
Redy to wenden on my pilgrimage
To Caunterbury with ful devout corage,
At night was come into that hostelrye
Wel nyne and twenty in a compainye,
Of sondry folk, by aventure i-falle
In felaweschipe, and pilgryms were thei alle,
That toward Caunterbury wolden ryde;
The chambres and the stables weren wyde,
And wel we werën esed attë beste 2.
And schortly, whan the sonnë was to reste,
So hadde I spoken with hem everychon,
That I was of here felaweschipe anon,
And made forward erly for to ryse,
To take our wey ther as I yow devyse.
But nathëles, whil I have tyme and space,
Or that I forther in this talë pace,
Me thinketh it acordaunt to resoun,
To tellë yow al the condicioun
Of eche of hem, so as it semede me,
And whiche they weren, and of what degre;
And eek in what array that they were inne :
And at a knight than wol I first bygynne.
A KNIGHT ther was, and that a worthy man,
That from the tyme that he first bigan
To ryden out, he lovede chyvalrye,
Trouthe and honour, fredom and curteisye.
Ful worthy was he in his lordës werre,
And therto hadde he riden, noman ferre*,
As wel in Cristendom as in hethënesse,
And evere honoured for his worthinesse.
At Alisaundre he was whan it was wonne,
Ful oftë tyme he hadde the bord bygonne 5
1 sick. 2 treated in the best way. 3 Before. 4 further. 5 Either been served first at table,' or 'begun the tournament.'
Aboven allë naciouns in Pruce.
In Lettowe hadde he reysed1 and in Ruce,
No cristen man so ofte of his degre.
In Gernade attë siegë hadde he be
Of Algesir, and riden in Belmarie.
At Lieys was he, and at Satalie,
Whan they were wonne; and in the Greetë see
At many a noble arive 2 hadde he be.
At mortal batailles hadde he ben fiftene,
And foughten for our feith at Tramassene
In lystës thriës, and ay slayn his foo.
This ilke worthy knight hadde ben also
Somtyme with the lord of Palatye,
Ageyn another hethen in Turkye :
And evermore he hadde a sovereyn prys 3.
And though that he was worthy, he was wys,
And of his port as meke as is a mayde.
He nevere yit no vileinye ne sayde
In al his lyf, unto no maner wight.
He was a verray perfight gentil knight.
But for to tellen you of his array,
His hors was good, but he ne was nought gay.
Of fustyan he werede a gepoun *
Al bysmotered with his habergeoun.
For he was late ycome from his viage,
And wentë for to doon his pilgrimage.
With him ther was his sone, a yong SQUYER,
A lovyere, and a lusty bacheler,
With lokkës crulle as they were leyd in presse.
Of twenty yeer of age he was, I gesse.
Of his stature he was of even lengthe,
And wonderly delyver, and gret of strengthe.
And he hadde ben somtyme in chivachye",
In Flaundres, in Artoys, and Picardye,
And born him wel, as of so litel space,
In hope to stonden in his lady grace.
Embrowded was he, as it were a mede
Al ful of fresshe floures, white and reede.
Syngynge he was, or floytynge1, al the day;
He was as fressh as is the moneth of May.
Schort was his goune, with sleevës longe and wyde.
Wel cowde he sitte on hors, and fairë ryde.
He cowde songës make and wel endite,
Juste and eek daunce, and wel purtreye and write.
So hote he lovedë, that by nightertale 2
He sleep nomore than doth a nightyngale.
Curteys he was, lowly, and servysable,
And carf byforn his fader at the table.
A YEMAN hadde he, and servauntz nomoo
At that tyme, for him lustë rydë soo;
And he was clad in coote and hood of grene.
A shef of pocok arwës brighte and kene
Under his belte he bar ful thriftily.
Wel cowde he dresse his takel yemanly;
His arwes drowpede nought with fetheres lowe.
And in his hond he bar a mighty bowe.
A not-heed hadde he with a broun visage.
Of woodë-craft wel cowde he al the usage.
Upon his arm he bar a gay bracer ®,
And by his side a swerd and a bokeler,
And on that other side a gay daggere,
Harneysed wel, and scharp as poynt of spere;
A Cristofre on his brest of silver schene.
An horn he bar, the bawdrik was of grene;
A forster was he sothly, as I gesse.
Ther was also a Nonne, a PRIORESSE,
That of hire smylyng was ful symple and coy;
Hire grettest ooth ne was but by seynt Loy*;
And sche was cleped madame Eglentyne.
Ful wel sche sang the servisë divyne,
Entuned in hire nose ful semëly;
And Frensch sche spak ful faire and fetysly9,
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