FROM THE "PROLOGUE TO THE CANTERBURY TALES."
Whan that Aprille 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[1] his halfë cours i-ronne,[2]
And smalë fowlës maken melodie,
That slepen al the night with open eye,
So priketh hem nature in here corages:—
Than longen folk to gon on pilgrimages,
And palmers for to seeken[3] straungë strondes,
To fernë halwes, kouthe in sondry londes;
And specially, from every schirës ende
Of Engelond, to Caunterbury they wende,
The holy blisful martir[4] for to seeke,
That hem hath holpen whan that they were seeke.[5]
Byfel that, in that sesoun on a day,
In Southwerk at the Tabard[6] 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[7] weren wyde,
And wel we werën esed attë beste.
And schortly, whan the sonnë was to reste,
So hadde I spoken with hem everychon,
That I was of here felaweschipe anon,
And madë forward erly for to ryse,
To take our wey ther as I yow devyse.
But nathëles, whil I have tyme and space,
Or[8] that I forther in this talë pace,
Me thinketh it acordaunt to resoun,
To tellë yow al the condicioun[9]
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 tymë that he first bigan
To ryden out, he lovede chyvalrye,[10]
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,[11]
And evere honoured for his worthinesse.
At Alisaundre[12] he was whan it was wonne,
Ful oftë tyme he hadde the bord bygonne[13]
Aboven allë naciouns in Pruce.[14]
In Lettowe hadde he reysed and in Ruce,
No cristen man so ofte of his degre.
In Gernade[15] 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[16]
At many a noble arive 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 ilkë worthy knight hadde ben also
Somtymë with the lord of Palatye,[17]
Ageyn another hethen in Turkye:
And evermore he hadde a sovereyn prys.
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.[18]
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,[19]
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 fresshë floures, white and reede.
Syngynge he was, or floytynge,[20] 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 cowdë songës make and wel endite,
Juste and eek daunce, and wel purtreye and write.
So hote he lovedë, that by nightertale
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,[21] and servaunts nomoo
At that tyme, for him lustë rydë soo;
And he was clad in coote and hood of grene.
A shef of pocok arwës[22] 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 broun visage.
Of woodë-craft wel cowde he al the usage.
Upon his arm he bar a gay bracer[23]
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[24] 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[25];
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 fetysly,
After the scole of Stratford attë Bowe,
For Frensch of Parys was to hire unknowe.
At metë wel i-taught was sche withalle;
Sche leet no morsel from hire lippës falle,
Ne wette hire fyngres in hire saucë deepe.
Wel cowde sche carie a morsel, and wel keepe,
That no dropë ne fille upon hire breste.
In curteisie was set ful moche hire leste.
Hire overlippë wypede sche so clene,
That in hire cuppë was no ferthing sene
Of grecë, whan sche dronken hadde hire draughte.
Ful semëly after hir mete sche raughte,
And sikerly sche was of gret disport,[26]
And ful plesaunt, and amyable of port,
And peynede hir to countrefetë cheere
Of court, and ben estatlich of manere,
And to ben holden digne of reverence.
But for to speken of hir conscience,
Sche was so charitable and so pitous,
Sche woldë weepe if that sche saw a mous
Caught in a trappe, if it were deed or bledde.
Of smalë houndës hadde sche, that sche fedde
With rosted flessh, or mylk and wastel breed.
But sore weep sche if oon of hem were deed,
Or if men[27] smot it with a yerdë smerte:
And al was conscience and tendre herte.
Ful semëly hire wympel i-pynched was;
Hir nose tretys; hir eyën greye as glas;
Hir mouth ful smal, and therto softe and reed
But sikerly sche hadde a fair forheed.
It was almost a spannë brood, I trowe;
For hardily sche was not undergrowe.
Ful fetys was hir cloke, as I was war.
Of smal coral aboute hir arm sche bar
A peire of bedës gauded al with grene;
And theron heng a broch of gold ful schene,
On which was first i-write a crownëd A,
And after, Amor vincit omnia.[28]
Another Nonne with hir haddë sche,
That was hir chapeleyne,[29] and Prestes thre.
A Monk ther was, a fair for the maistryë,[30]
An out-rydere, that lovedë veneryë;
A manly man, to ben an abbot able.
Ful many a deynté hors hadde he in stable:
And whan he rood, men mighte his bridel heere
Gynglen in a whistlyng wynd as cleere,
And eek as lowde as doth the chapel belle.
Ther as this lord was kepere of the celle,
The reule of seynt Maure or of seint Beneyt,
Bycause that it was old and somdel streyt,
This ilkë monk leet oldë thingës pace,
And held after the newë world the space.
He yaf nat of that text a pullëd hen,[31]
That seith, that hunters been noon holy men;
Ne that a monk, whan he is recchëles
Is likned to a fissch that is waterles[32];
This is to seyn, a monk out of his cloystre.
But thilkë text held he not worth an oystre.
And I seide his opinioun was good.
What[33] schulde he studie, and make himselven wood,[34]
Upon a book in cloystre alway to powre.
Or swynkë with his handës, and laboure,
As Austyn bit? How schal the world be servëd?
Lat Austyn have his swynk to him reservëd.
Therfor he was a pricasour aright;
Greyhoundes he hadde as swifte as fowel in flight;
Of prikyng and of huntyng for the hare
Was al his lust, for no cost wolde he spare.[35]
I saugh his slevës purfiled attë honde
With grys, and that the fyneste of a londe.
And for to festne his hood under his chynne
He hadde of gold y-wrought a curious pynne:
A love-knot in the grettere ende ther was.
His heed was balled, that schon as eny glas,
And eek his face, as he hadde ben anoynt.
He was a lord ful fat and in good poynt;
His eyën steepe, and rollyng in his heede,
That stemëde as a forneys of a leede;[36]
His bootës souple, his hors in gret estat.
Now certeinly he was a fair prelat;
He was not pale as a for-pyned goost.
A fat swan lovede he best of eny roost.
His palfrey was as broun as is a berye.
A Frere there was, a wantown and a merye,
A lymytour,[37] a ful solempnë man.
In alle the ordres foure[38] is noon that can
So moche of daliaunce and fair langage.
He hadde i-mad ful many a mariage
Of yongë wymmen, at his owën cost.
Unto his ordre he was a noble post.[39]
Ful wel biloved and famulier was he
With frankeleyns[40] over-al in his cuntre,
And eek with worthy wommen of the toun:
For he hadde power of confessioun,
As seyde himself, morë than a curat,
For of his ordre he was licentiat.[41]
Ful swetëly herde he confessioun,
And plesaunt was his absolucioun;
He was an esy man to yeve penaunce
Ther as he wistë han[42] a good pitaunce;
For unto a poure ordre for to yive
Is signë that a man is wel i-schrive.
For if he yaf, he dorstë make avaunt,
He wistë that a man was repentaunt.
For many a man so hard is of his herte,
He may not wepe although him sorë smerte.
Therfore in stede of wepyng and preyeres,
Men[43] moot yive silver to the pourë freres.
His typet was ay farsëd ful of knyfes
And pynnës, for to yivë fairë wyfes.
And certeynly he hadde a mery note;
Wel couthe he synge and pleyen on a rote.
Of yeddynges he bar utterly the prys.
His nekkë whit was as the flour-de-lys.
Therto he strong was as a champioun.
He knew the tavernes wel in every toun,
And everych hostiler and tappestere,
Bet then a lazer, or a beggestere,
For unto such a worthy man as he
Acorded not, as by his faculté,
To han with sikë lazars aqueyntaunce.
It is not honest, it may not avaunce,
For to delen with no such poraille,
But al with riche, and sellers of vitaille.[44]
And overal, ther as profyt schulde arise,
Curteys he was, and lowly of servyse.
Ther nas no man nowher so vertuous.
He was the bestë beggere in his hous,
For though a widewe haddë noght oo schoo,
So plesaunt was his In principio,[45]
Yet wolde he have a ferthing or he wente.
His purchas[46] was wel better than his rente.
And rage he couthe as it were right a whelpe,
In lovë-dayës[47] couthe he mochel helpe.
For ther he was not lik a cloysterer,
With a thredbare cope as is a poure scoler,
But he was lik a maister or a pope.
Of double worsted was his semy-cope,
That rounded as a belle out of the presse.
Somwhat he lipsede, for his wantownesse,
To make his Englissch swete upon his tunge;
And in his harpyng, whan that he hadde sunge
His eyën twynkled in his heed aright,
As don the sterrës in the frosty night.
This worthy lymytour was cleped Huberd.
A Marchaunt was ther with a forkëd berd,
In mottëleye, and hign on hors he sat,
Upon his heed a Flaundrisch bevere hat;
His botës clapsed faire and fetysly.
His resons he spak ful solempnëly,
Sownynge alway the encres of his wynnynge.
He wolde the see were kept for[48] eny thinge
Betwixë Middelburgh and Orëwelle.
Wel couthe he in eschaungë scheeldës[49] selle.
This worthi man ful wel his wit bisette;
Ther wistë no wight that he was in dette,
So estatly was he of governaunce,
With his bargayns, and with his chevysaunce
For sothe he was a worthy man withalle,
But soth to sayn, I not how men him calle.
A Clerk ther was of Oxenford[50] also,
That unto logik haddë longe i-go.
As lenë was his hors as is a rake,
And he was not right[51] fat, I undertake;
But lokëde holwe, and therto soberly.
Ful thredbar was his overest courtepy.
For he hadde geten him yit no benefice,
Ne was so worldly for to have office.
For him was levere have at his beddës heede
Twenty bookës, clad in blak or reede,
Of Aristotle and his philosophyë,
Then robës riche, or fithel, or gay sawtryë.[52]
But al be that he was a philosophre,
Yet haddë he but litel gold in cofre;
But al that he mighte of his frendës hente,
On bookës and on lernyng he it spente,
And busily gan for the soulës preye
Of hem that yaf him wherwith to scoleye;
Of studie took he most cure and most heede.
Not oo word spak he morë than was neede,
And that was seid in forme and reverence
And schort and quyk, and ful of high sentence.
Sownynge[53] in moral vertu was his speche,
And gladly wolde he lerne, and gladly teche.
NOTES.
[1.] in the Ram. In the constellation Aries. "There is a difference, in astronomy, between the sign Aries and the constellation Aries. In April the sun is theoretically in the sign Taurus, but visibly in the constellation Aries."—Morris.
[2.] i-ronne. Run. The prefix i- or y- is equivalent to the A.-S. or German ge, and usually denotes the past participle.
[3.] seeken. The infinitive in early English ended in n, usually in en.
[4.] martir. Thomas à Becket, who was slain at Canterbury in 1170. He was canonized by Pope Alexander III. as St. Thomas of Canterbury.
[5.] seeke. Sick, ill. At the present time the English restrict the use of the word "sick" to nausea, and regard it in its original and broader signification as an "Americanism."
[6.] Tabard. A tabard is "a jaquet or slevelesse coat worne in times past by noblemen in the warres, but now only by heraults. It is the signe of an inne in Southwarke by London, within the which was the lodging of the Abbot of Hyde by Winchester. This is the hostelrie where Chaucer and the other pilgrims mett together and accorded about the manner of their journey to Canterbury."—Speght.
[7.] stables. Standing-places (Lat. sto, to stand); meaning here the public rooms of the inn.
[8.] Or. Before, ere (A.-S. aer, ere). Compare Psalm xc. 2.
[9.] condicioun. A word of four syllables, accented on the last.
[10.] chyvalrye. The profession of a knight.
[11.] hethënesse. Heathen countries. From heath, the open country. "The word heathen acquired its meaning from the fact that, at the introduction of Christianity into Germany, the wild dwellers on the heaths longest resisted the truth."—Trench.
[12.] Alisaundre. Alexandria was taken in 1365 by Pierre de Lusignan, king of Cyprus, but was very soon abandoned.
[13.] he hadde the bord bygonne. "He had been placed at the head of the table, the usual compliment to extraordinary merit."—Tyrwhitt.
[14.] Pruce. Prussia. "When our military men wanted employment it was usual for them to go and serve in Pruce, or Prussia, with the Knights of the Teutonic order, who were in a state of constant warfare with their heathen neighbours in Lettow (Lithuania) and Ruse (Russia)."—Tyrwhitt.
[15.] Gernade. Grenada, probably at the siege of Algezir, in that country, in 1344. Belmarie was probably a Moorish town in Africa, as also was Tramassene, mentioned below. Lieys was in Armenia. Both it and Satalie (Attalia) were conquered by Pierre de Lusignan in 1367.
[16.] Greetë see. That part of the Mediterranean which washes the coast of Palestine.
[17.] lord of Palatye. A Christian knight who kept possession of his lands by paying tribute to the Turks.
[18.] no maner wight. No sort of person. In early English the preposition was often omitted after manner. Observe the double negatives in these two lines.
[19.] bacheler. "A soldier not old or rich enough to lead his relations into battle with a banner. The original sense of the word is little, small, young, from Welsh bach."—Webster.
[20.] floytynge. Fluting. So, in Chaucer's "House of Fame," he says:
"And many a floyte and litlyng horne,
And pipes made of grene corne."
[21.] he. That is, the knight. The word yeman, or yeoman, is an abbreviation of yeongeman. As used by Chaucer, it means a servant of a rank above that of groom, but below that of squire. The present use of the word to signify a small landholder is of more modern origin.
[22.] pocok arwës. Arrows tipped with peacock feathers.
[23.] bracer. A kind of close sleeve laced upon the arm. "A bracer serveth for two causes, one to save his arme from the strype of the stringe, and his doublet from wearing; and the other is, that the stringe glidinge sharplye and quicklye off the bracer, maye make the sharper shoote."—Roger Ascham's Toxophilus, page 129.
[24.] Cristofre. An image of St. Christopher, which was thought to protect its wearer from hidden danger.
[25.] seynt Loy. St. Eloy, or Eligius.
[26.] of gret disport. Fond of gayety.
[27.] men. This word as here used is an indefinite pronoun equivalent to one, or any one.
[28.] "Love conquers all things."
[29.] chapeleyne. Probably assistant.
[30.] a fair for the maistryë. A fair one for the chief place.
[31.] "He would not give a pulled hen for that text"; that is, "he cared not a straw for it." Pulled = pylled = pilled = plucked.
[32.] waterles. Out of water.
[33.] what. Why, wherefore.
[34.] wood. Mad. Scotch wud, wild.
"An' just as wud as wud can be."—Burns.
[35.] no cost wolde he spare. For this pleasure he spared no expense.
[36.] "That shone like the fire under a cauldron."
[37.] lymytour. One who was licensed to beg within a limited territory.
[38.] ordres foure. The Dominicans, the Franciscans, the Carmelites, and the Augustine Friars.
[39.] post. Pillar, support. Compare with the modern expression, "A pillar of the church."
[40.] frankeleyns. Country gentlemen; wealthy landholders.
[41.] licentiat. He had license from the pope to grant absolution in all cases. A curate's powers did not extend so far.
[42.] "Where he knew he would have."
[44.] sellers of vitaille. Givers of food, or a livelihood. The original meaning of the word sell was to give. From A.-S. syllan, to give.
[45.] "In the beginning." The first words of St. John's Gospel in the Vulgate.
[46.] purchas. Income from begging.
[47.] lovë-dayës. Days appointed for the amicable settlement of differences, without recourse to law.
[48.] "He wished the sea were guarded." Middelburgh, a port in the Netherlands. Orëwelle, a port in Essex.
[49.] scheeldës. French crowns marked with a shield. Shillings.
[50.] Oxenford. Not the "ford of the ox," but the "ford of the river." Ox, from Celtic esk, ouse, water.
[51.] The word right used, as here, in the sense of very is now considered a vulgarism. "A Southerner would say, 'It rains right hard.'"—Bartlett.
[52.] sawtryë. Psaltery, a Greek instrument of music.
[53.] sownynge. Sounding; that is, in consonance with. Sentence = sense. So, also, construe forme and reverence, above, as meaning propriety and modesty.
ON READING CHAUCER.
"'How few there are who can read Chaucer so as to understand him perfectly,' says Dryden, apologizing for 'translating' him. In our day, with the wider spread of historical study, with the numerous helps to Old English that the care of scholars has produced for us, with the purification that Chaucer's text has undergone, this saying of Dryden's ought not to be true. It ought to be not only possible, but easy, for an educated reader to learn the few essentials of Chaucerian grammar, and for an ear at all trained to poetry to tune itself to the unfamiliar harmonies. For those who make the attempt the reward is certain. They will gain the knowledge, not only of the great poet and creative genius, but of the master who uses our language with a power, a freedom, a variety, a rhythmic beauty, that, in five centuries, not ten of his successors have been found able to rival."—T. H. Ward.
The peculiarities of diction and grammar which distinguish Chaucer's poetry seem to make its reading and comprehension difficult and often discourage the student at the outset. A very little study, however, will show that the difficulties in the way are not nearly so great as they at first appear, and, after a little patient practice in reading, they will disappear entirely. By observing the following rules you will soon acquire the ability to read with a fluency which will be highly pleasing to you:
1. Final e should be pronounced as a separate syllable whenever the metre demands it.
2. In all words of French origin, such as viságe, coráge, maniér, the final syllable is accented.
The greatest difficulty in reading Chaucer arises from the antiquated manner in which the words are spelled; but if the reader will change an occasional y to i, and drop a final e or a final n, here and there, the words which seemed at first so strange will appear more familiar to the eye and the understanding.
BIOGRAPHICAL NOTE.
Geoffrey Chaucer, "the morning-star of English poetry," was born in London in 1328,—according to some authorities, in 1340. He was the son of a vintner, and at an early age became acquainted with many persons of distinction. He was a page in the household of Prince Lionel, and afterwards valet and squire to Edward III. In 1372 he was sent abroad as a royal envoy, and on his return he was made Controller of the Customs In London. In the meantime he had married Philippa Rouet, one of the queen's maids of honor, a sister to the wife of John of Gaunt. Being thus closely related to one of the most powerful members of the royal family, he was often employed in important and honorable commissions connected with the government. In 1386 he was member of Parliament for Kent, and in 1389 was appointed Clerk of the King's Works, at Windsor. He died in 1400, and was buried in Westminster Abbey,—"the first of the long line of poets whose ashes make that edifice illustrious." His poetical history has been divided by Mr. Furnivall into four periods: (1) up to 1371, during which he wrote the "A B C" the "Compleynte to Pité," the "Boke of the Duchesse," and the "Compleynte of Mars"; (2) from 1372 to 1381, which saw the production of "Troylus and Criseyde," "Anelida," and the "Former Age"; (3) from 1381 to 1389, during which his best works appeared, the "Parlament of Foules," the "House of Fame," the "Legende of Goode Women," and some of the "Canterbury Tales"; (4) from 1389 to the close of his life, in which period the remainder of the "Canterbury Tales" and some short poems were written.
M. Taine says, "Chaucer is like a jeweller with his hands full; pearls and glass beads, sparkling diamonds and common agates, black jet and ruby roses, all that history and imagination had been able to gather and fashion during three centuries in the East, in France, in Wales, in Provence, in Italy, all that had rolled his way, clashed together, broken or polished by the stream of centuries, and by the grand jumble of human memory, he holds in his hand, arranges it, composes therefrom a long sparkling ornament, with twenty pendants, a thousand facets, which by its splendor, variety, contrasts, may attract and satisfy the eyes of those most greedy for amusement and novelty."
Other Poems to be Read: The Knight's Tale; The Clerk's Tale; The Man of Law's Tale; The Legende of Goode Women; The Parlament of Foules; The House of Fame; Chaucer's A B C.
References: Lowell's My Study Windows; Marsh's Origin and History of the English Language; Charles Cowden Clarke's The Riches of Chaucer; Morley's English Writers, vol. v; Carpenter's English of the XIV Century; Taine's English Literature; Lounsbury's Studies in Chaucer; Hazlitt's English Poets.
