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⚫ liberality.

That toward Caunterbury wolden ryde;
The chambres and the stables weren wyde,
And wel we weren esèd 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 semèd 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.

10

A KNIGHT ther was, and that a worthy man,
That fro the tyme that he first bigan
To ryden out, he lovèd chivalrye,
Trouthe and honour, fredom and curteisye.
Ful worthy was he in his lordes werre,'
And thereto11 hadde he riden (no man ferre12)
As wel in Cristendom as hethenesse,
And evere honoured for his worthinesse.
At Alisaundre he was, whan it was wonne;
Ful ofte tyme he hadde the bord bigonne13
Aboven alle naciouns in Pruce.

In Lettow hadde he reysèd 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,

13

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

At mortal batailles hadde he been fiftene,

And foughten for our feith at Tramissene

10

war.

11 besides.

13 sat at the head of the table.

12 farther.

In listes thryes, and ay slayn his foo.
This ilke worthy knight hadde been also
Somtyme with the lord of Palatye,

Ageyn another hethen in Turkye:

And everemore he hadde a sovereyn prys."

14

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

15

He nevere yet no vileinye15 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 werèd a gipoun
Al bismotered with his habergeoun,
For he was late y-come from his viage
And wente for to doon his pilgrymage.

Ther was also a Nonne, a PRIORESSE,
That of hir smyling was ful simple and coy;
Hir gretteste ooth was but by seynt Loy;16
And she was clepèd 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;
She leet no morsel from hir lippes falle,
Ne wette hir fingres in hir sauce depe.
Wel coude she carie a morsel, and wel kepe,
That no drope ne fille up-on hir brest.
In curteisye was set ful moche hir lest.17
Hir over lippe wypèd she so clene,
That in hir coppe was no ferthing18 sene

Of grece, whan she dronken hadde hir draughte.
Ful semely after hir mete she raughte,19

14 reputation. 17 delight.

15 discourtesy.

18 particle.

16 i. e., she did not swear at all. 19 reached.

21

And sikerly20 she was of greet disport,
And ful plesaunt, and amiable of port,
And peynèd hir to countrefete chere22
Of court, and been estatlich of manere,
And to ben holden digne23 of reverence.
But, for to speken of hir conscience,
She was so charitable and so pitous,
She wolde wepe, if that she sawe a mous
Caught in a trappe, if it were deed or bledde.
Of smale houndes had she, that she fedde
With rosted flesh, or milk and wastel breed.
But sore weep she if oon of hem were deed,
Or if men smoot it with a yerde smerte:
And al was conscience and tendre herte.
Ful semely hir wimpel pinchèd24 was;
Hir nose tretys;25 hir eyen greye as glas;
Hir mouth ful smal, and ther-to softe and reed;
But sikerly she hadde a fair forheed.
It was almost a spanne brood, I trowe;
For, hardily, she was nat undergrowe.
Ful fetis was hir cloke, as I was war.
Of smal coral aboute hir arm she bar
A peire of bedes, gauded al with grene;"

certainly. 23 worthy.

26

And ther-on heng a broche of gold ful shene,
On which ther was first write a crownèd A,
And after, Amor vincit omnia.

A CLERK ther was of Oxenford also,
That un-to logik hadde longe y-go.

27

28

As lene was his hors as is a rake,
And he was nat right fat, I undertake;
But lokèd holwe, and there-to soberly.
Ful thredbar was his overest courtepy;"
For he had geten him yet no benefyce,
Ne was so worldly for to have offyce.
For him was levere have at his beddes heed
Twenty bookes, clad in blak or reed

21 high spirits.

24 plaited kerchief.

26 a string of beads every eleventh one of devoted himself.

22 took pains to imitate courtly manners. 25 well formed.

which was green.

28 short coat.

29 fiddle.

Of Aristotle and his philosophye,

30

Then robes riche, or fithele,29 or gay sautrye,"
But al be that he was a philosophre,

Yet hadde he but litel gold in cofre;

But al that he mighte of his frendes hente,
On bookes and on lerninge he it spente,
And bisily gan for the soules preye

Of hem that yaf him where-with to scoleye.
Of studie took he most cure and most hede.
Noght o word spak he more than was nede,
And that was seyd in forme and reverence,
And short and quik, and ful of hy sentence.
Sowninge in31 moral vertu was his speche;
And gladly wolde he lerne, and gladly teche.

31

A good WYF was ther of bisyde BATHE,
But she was som-del deef, and that was scathe.
Of cloth-making she hadde swiche an haunt,32
She passed hem of Ypres and of Gaunt.
In al the parisshe wyf ne was ther noon
That to the offring bifore hir sholde goon;
And if ther dide, certeyn, so wrooth was she,
That she was out of alle charitee.

Hir coverchiefs ful fyne were of ground;33
I dorste swere they weyeden ten pound
That on a Sonday were upon hir heed
Hir hosen weren of fyn scarlet reed,

Ful streite y-teyd, and shoos ful moiste and newe.
Bold was hir face, and fair, and reed of hewe.

She was a worthy womman al hir lyve,
Housbondes at chirche-dore she hadde fyve,
Withouten other compaignye in youthe;
But thereof nedeth nat to speke as nouthe.34
And thryes hadde she been at Ierusalem;
She hadde passèd many a straunge streem;
At Rome she hadde been, and at Boloigne,
In Galice at seint Iame, and at Coloigne.

30 psaltery.
33 texture.

31 tending to.
34 at present.

32 skill.

She coude muche of wandring by the weye.
Gat-tothed 35 was she, soothly for to seye.
Up-on an amblere esily she sat,

Y-wimplèd wel, and on hir heed an hat
As brood as is a bokeler or a targe;
A foot-mantel aboute hir hipes large,
And on hir feet a paire of spores sharpe.

In felaweschip wel coude she laughe and carpe.
Of remedies of love she knew per-chaunce,
For she coude of that art the olde daunce.37

38

A good man was ther of religioun,
And was a povre PERSOUN3 of a toun;
But riche he was of holy thoght and werk.
He was also a lernèd man, a clerk,
That Cristes gospel trewely wolde preche;
His parisshens devoutly wolde he teche.
Benigne he was, and wonder diligent,
And in adversitee ful pacient;

And swich he was y-prevèd ofte sythes.

40

39

Ful looth were him to cursen10 for his tythes,

But rather wolde he yeven, out of doute,

Un-to his povre parisshens aboute

Of his offring, and eek of his substaunce.

He coude in litel thing han suffisaunce.

Wyd was his parisshe, and houses fer a-sonder,
But he ne lafte nat, for reyn ne thonder,

In siknes nor in meschief to visyte

41

The ferreste in his parisshe, muche and lyte,"
Up-on his feet, and in his hand a staf.

This noble ensample to his sheep he yaf,

36

That first he wroghte, and afterward he taughte;
Out of the gospel he tho 12 wordes caughte;

And this figure he added eek ther-to,

That if gold ruste, what shal yren do?

For if a preest be foul, on whom we truste,
No wonder is a lewèd 43 man to ruste;

37 the whole game.

38 parson.
42 those.

39 often proved. 43 ignorant.

35 gap-toothed.
36 talked.
40 excommunicate. 41 great and small.

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