28. spille; cf. Compl. to his Lady, 121.

32. reyne, bridle. For this image, cf. Anelida, 184.

39. MS. deth the kerue. As e and o are constantly confused, the prefix to (written apart) may have looked like te, and would easily be altered to the. Cf. forkerveth in the Manc. Tale, H 340.

47. Here spac-e rimes with embrac-e, but in 1. 5 it rimes with allas. This variation is no worse than the riming of embrace with compas in Proverbs, 8 (vol. i. p. 407). Cf. plac-e in C. T., B 1910, with its variant plas, B 1971.

N. B. The Complaints numbered XXV and XXVI are obviously by the same author; compare XXV. 26 with XXVI. 15; XXV. 9 with XXVI. 43; and XXV. 29–31 with XXVI. 39, 40. They were probably written nearly at the same time.

THE CANTERBURY TALES.

GROUP A. THE PROLOGUE.

Here biginneth the Book of the Tales of Caunterbury.

HAN that Aprille with his shoures sote

WHA

The droghte of Marche hath perced to the rote,

And bathed every veyne in swich licour,
Of which vertu engendred is the flour;
Whan Zephirus eek with his swete breeth
Inspired hath in every holt and heeth
The tendre croppes, and the yonge sonne
Hath in the Ram his halfe cours y-ronne,
And smale fowles maken melodye,
That slepen al the night with open yë,
(So priketh hem nature in hir corages):
Than longen folk to goon on pilgrimages
(And palmers for to seken straunge strondes)
To ferne halwes, couthe in sondry londes;
And specially, from every shires ende

Of Engelond, to Caunterbury they wende,

The holy blisful martir for to seke,

That hem hath holpen, whan that they were seke.

Bifel that, in that seson on a day,

5

ΙΟ

15

In Southwerk at the Tabard as I lay

Redy to wenden on my pilgrimage

20

To Caunterbury with ful devout corage,

HEADING. From E. 1. E. hise; rest his. 8. Hl. halfe; rest half. 9. Hl. fowles; Pt. Ln. foules; E. Hn. foweles. 10. Hl. yhe; Hn. Iye; E. eye.

12.

13. Pt. Hl. palmers;

Pt. Ln. Than; E. Thanne. E. pilgrimage (by mistake).
16. Hn. Caunter-; E. Cauntur-. 18. E. seeke.

E. Palmeres.

Bifel; E. Bifil.

19. Hn.

At night was come in-to that hostelrye
Wel nyne and twenty in a companye,
Of sondry folk, by aventure y-falle

In felawshipe, and pilgrims were they alle,
That toward Caunterbury wolden ryde;
The chambres and the stables weren wyde,
And wel we weren esed atte beste.

And shortly, whan the sonne was to reste,
So hadde I spoken with hem everichon,
That I was of hir felawshipe anon,
And made forward erly for to ryse,
To take our wey, ther as I yow devyse.

But natheles, whyl I have tyme and space,

Er that I ferther in this tale pace,
Me thinketh it acordaunt to resoun,
To telle yow al the condicioun
Of ech of hem, so as it semed me,

And whiche they weren, and of what degree;
And eek in what array that they were inne :
And at a knight than wol I first biginne.

A KNIGHT ther was, and that a worthy man,
That fro the tyme that he first bigan
To ryden out, he loved chivalrye,
Trouthe and honour, fredom and curteisye.
Ful worthy was he in his lordes werre,
And therto hadde he riden (no man ferre)
As wel in Cristendom as hethenesse,
And ever honoured for his worthinesse.

At Alisaundre he was, whan it was wonne ;
Ful ofte tyme he hadde the bord bigonne
Aboven alle naciouns in Pruce.

In Lettow hadde he reysed and in Ruce,
No Cristen man so ofte of his degree.
In Gernade at the sege eek hadde he be
Of Algezir, and riden in Belmarye.

At Lyeys was he, and at Satalye,

26, 32. E. felaweshipe. 34. E. oure. 35. E. Hn. nathelees. 40. HI. 49. Hn. III. as; rest as in. 53. E. nacions.

Whan they were wonne; and in the Grete See
At many a noble aryve hadde he be.

60

At mortal batailles hadde he been fiftene,

And foughten for our feith at Tramissene

In listes thryes, and ay slayn his foo.
This ilke worthy knight had been also
Somtyme with the lord of Palatye,
Ageyn another hethen in Turkye:

63

And evermore he hadde a sovereyn prys.

And though that he were worthy, he was wys,
And of his port as meke as is a mayde.

70

He never yet no vileinye ne sayde
In al his lyf, un-to no maner wight.
He was a verray parfit gentil knight.
But for to tellen yow of his array,

His hors were gode, but he was nat gay.
Of fustian he wered a gipoun

Al bismotered with his habergeoun;

For he was late y-come from his viage,

And wente for to doon his pilgrimage.

With him ther was his sone, a yong SQUYER,

A lovyere, and a lusty bacheler,

With lokkes crulle, as they were leyd in presse.
Of twenty yeer of age
he was, I gesse.
Of his stature he was of evene lengthe,
And wonderly deliver, and greet of strengthe.
And he had been 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.
Embrouded was he, as it were a mede
Al ful of fresshe floures, whyte and rede.
Singinge he was, or floytinge, al the day;
He was as fresh as is the month of May.

75

Squyer.

80

85

90

62. E. oure.

68. E. Hn. Cm. were; rest was.

Hl. Hn. he ne was.

60. Hl. ariue; Cm. aryue; E. Hn. armee; Cp. Ln. arme. 64. Pt. had; rest hadde. 67. E.-moore. 74. E. Pt. weren; Hl. Ln. was; rest were. euen; rest euene. 84. HI. Ln. delyuer; Cm. of gret; rest gret of. 85. Ln. had. reede. 92. E. fressh. E. in; rest is. Ln. moneth; Cm. monyth.

83. Ln.

rest delyuere. E. Hn. of greet; 87. E. weel. 89, 90. E. meede, E. Hn. Monthe; Cp. month; Hl. Pt.

Short was his goune, with sleves longe and wyde.
Wel coude he sitte on hors, and faire ryde.

He coude songes make and wel endyte,

Iuste and eek daunce, and wel purtreye and wryte.

So hote he lovede, that by nightertale

He sleep namore than dooth a nightingale.
Curteys he was, lowly, and servisable,
And carf biforn his fader at the table.

A YEMAN hadde he, and servaunts namo

At that tyme, for him liste ryde so;
And he was clad in cote and hood of grene;
A sheef of pecok-arwes brighte and kene
Under his belt he bar ful thriftily;
(Wel coude he dresse his takel yemanly:
His arwes drouped noght with fetheres lowe),
And in his hand he bar a mighty bowe.
A not-heed hadde he, with a broun visage.
Of wode-craft wel coude he al the usage.
Upon his arm he bar a gay bracer,
And by his syde a swerd and a bokeler,
And on that other syde a gay daggere,
Harneised wel, and sharp as point of spere ;
A Cristofre on his brest of silver shene.
An horn he bar, the bawdrik was of grene;
A forster was he, soothly, as I gesse.

Ther was also a Nonne, a PRIORESSE,
That of hir smyling was ful simple and coy;
Hir gretteste ooth was but by seynt Loy;
And she was cleped madame Eglentyne.
Ful wel she song the service divyne,
Entuned in hir nose ful semely;
And Frensh she spak ful faire and fetisly,
After the scole of Stratford atte Bowe,
For Frensh of Paris was to hir unknowe.
At mete wel y-taught was she with-alle;

95

100

Yeman.

105

110

115

Prioresse.

I 20

125

99. Hl. Cp. Ln. 104. Hl. Cp. Pt.

96. E. weel. 98. Hl. Cp. sleep; rest slepte. E. -moore. lowly; E. Hn. Pt. lowely. IOI. E. seruantz. 102. E. soo. Ln. pocok. Cm. bryghte; rest bright. 107. E. Hise. baar. 113. E. oother. 115. Hn. Cristofre; E. Cristophere. 122. E. soong.

123. E. semeely.

108, 111. E. E. sheene.