Purs is the erchedeknes helle,' seyde he.
But wel I woot he lyed right in dede;
Of cursing oghte ech gulty man him1 drede-
For curs wol slee right as assoilling saveth 2-
And also war him of a significavit.

In daunger hadde he at his owne
The yonge girles of the diocyse,

3

gyse

And knew hir counseil, and was al hir reed.
A gerland hadde he set up-on his heed,
As greet as it were for an ale-stake;
A bokeler hadde he maad him of a cake.
With him ther rood a gentil PARDONER
Of Rouncivale, his frend and his compeer,

That streight was comen fro the court of Rome.
Ful loude he song, Com hider, love, to me.'

660

665

670

This somnour bar to him a stif burdoun,
Was nevere trompe of half so greet a soun.

This pardoner hadde heer as yelow as wex,
But smothe it heng', as doth a strike of flex;
By ounces henge his
And ther-with he his

675

lokkes that he hadde,
shuldres overspradde;

But thinne it lay, by colpons oon and oon;
But hood, for Iolitee, ne wered he noon,
For it was trussed up in his walet.

Him thoughte, he rood al of the newe Iet;
Dischevele 1o, save his cappe, he rood al bare.

10

Swiche glaringe eyen hadde he as an hare.
A vernicle hadde he sowed on
His walet lay 12 biforn him in

1 Cp. Ln. him; Hl. Pt. to; rest om.
3 Hl. owne; E. owene.

11 his cappe.
his lappe,

680

2 Hl. saveth; E. sauith.

4 E. bokeleer.

6 E. soong.

5 E. was; rest rood, rode.
8 E. hise.
9 Hl. ne; rest omit.
11 Hl. Cp. on; rest vp on.

685

7 E. heeng.

10 E. Discheuelee.

12 Hl. lay; which the rest omit.

2

Bret-ful of pardoun come1 from Rome al hoot.
A voys he hadde as smal as hath a2 goot.
No berd hadde he, ne nevere sholde have,
As smothe it was as it were late y-shave3;

4

But of his craft, fro Berwik into Ware,
Ne was ther swich another pardoner.
For in his male he hadde a pilwe-beer,
Which that, he seyde, was our lady veyl:
He seyde, he hadde a gobet of the seyl
That seynt Peter hadde, whan that he wente
Up-on the see, til Iesu Crist him hente.
He hadde a croys of latoun, ful of stones,
And in a glas he hadde pigges bones.
But with thise relikes, whan that he fond
A povre person dwelling up-on lond,
Up-on a day he gat him more moneye
Than that the person gat in monthes tweye.
And thus with feyned flaterye and Iapes,

690

695

700

705

He made the person and the peple his apes.
But trewely to tellen, atte laste,

He was in chirche a noble ecclesiaste.

Wel coude he rede a lessoun or a storie,
But alderbest he song an offertorie;

710

For wel he wiste, whan that song was songe,
He moste preche, and wel affyle his tonge,
To winne silver, as he ful5 wel coude;
Therefore he song so meriely and loude.
Now have I told you shortly, in a clause,

1 Hl. Cm. come; rest comen.

Hn. yshaue; E. shaue.

6

6

4 All oure.

715

2 Hl. eny (for hath a). 5 Hl. right.

Cp. Pt. Ln. so meriely; E. Hn. Cm. the murierly.

7 E. Hl. shortly; rest soothly.

Thestat1, tharray, the nombre, and eek the cause
Why that assembled was this compaignye

2

In Southwerk, at this gentil hostelrye,

That highte the Tabard, faste by the Belle.

But now is tyme to yow for to telle

How that we baren us that ilke night,
Whan we were in that hostelrye alight.
And after wol I telle of our viage,
And al the remenaunt of our3 pilgrimage.
But first I pray yow of your curteisye,
That ye narette it nat my vileinye,

Thogh that I pleynly speke in this matere,
To telle yow hir wordes and hir chere;
Ne thogh I speke hir wordes proprely.
For this ye knowen al-so wel as I,
Who-so shal telle a tale after a man,
He moot reherce, as ny as evere he can,
Everich a word, if it be in his charge,

720

725

730

Al speke he never so rudeliche and large;
Or elles he moot telle his tale untrewe,

735

Or feyne thing, or fynde wordes newe.

He may nat spare, al-thogh he were his brother;
He moot as wel seye o word as another.

Crist spak him-self ful brode in holy writ,

And wel ye woot, no vileinye is it.

740

Eek Plato seith, who-so that can him rede,
The wordes mote be cosin to the dede.

Also I prey yow to foryeve it me,

Al have I nat set folk in hir degree

Here in this tale, as that they sholde stonde;

745

1 Hl. Thestat; Hn. Thestaat; E. The staat; Cm. Cp. The estat. 2 E. as; rest at.

3 E. oure (but our in l. 723).

All but Hl. om. that.

E. youre; Hl. your. 5 E. Hn. Cm. narette; Cp. Pt. Hl. ne rette.

6 E. or; Hl. ne; rest and.

My wit is short, ye may wel understonde.

Greet chere made our hoste us everichon,

And to the soper sette he us anon;

And served us with vitaille at the beste.

Strong was the wyn, and wel to drinke us leste. 750 A semely man our hoste 2 was with-alle

3

For to han been a marshal in an halle;

A large man he was with eyen stepe,

4

A fairer burgeys was ther noon in Chepe:
Bold of his speche, and wys, and wel y-taught,
And of manhod him lakkede right naught.
Eek therto he was right a mery. man,
And after soper pleyen he bigan,

And spak of mirthe amonges othere thinges,
Whan that we hadde maad our rekeninges;
And seyde thus: 'Now", lordinges, trewely
Ye ben to me right welcome hertely:
For by my trouthe, if that I shal nat lye,

6

7

I ne saugh this yeer so mery a compaignye
At ones in this herberwe as is now.
Fayn wolde I doon yow mirthe, wiste I how.
And of a mirthe I am right now bithoght,
To doon yow ese, and it shal coste noght.

Ye goon to Caunterbury; God yow spede,
The blisful martir quyte yow your mede.
And wel I woot, as ye goon by the weye,
Ye shapen yow to talen and to pleye;
For trewely, confort ne mirthe is noon
To ryde by the weye doumb as a stoon;
And therfore wol I maken yow disport,

1 E. chiere.

8

755

760

765

770

3 Hl. han; rest om. 5 Hl. lo.

2 Hl. ooste; E. hoost. * Cm. Cp. lakkede; E. lakked. Hl. ne saugh; rest saugh nat (seigh not, &c.).

' Hl. Cm. mery; E. myrie.

775

E. the; Hn. om; rest a.

As I seyde erst, and doon yow som confort.
And if yow lyketh alle, by oon assent,
Now for to stonden at my Iugement,
And for to werken as I shal yow seye,
To-morwe, whan ye ryden by the weye,
Now, by my fader soule, that is deed,

But ye be merye 3, I wol yeve yow myn heed.
Hold up your hond, withoute more speche.'

Our counseil was nat longe for to seche;

780

Us thought it was noght worth to make it wys, 785
And graunted him with-outen more avys,

And bad him seye his verdit, as him leste.

'Lordinges,' quod he, 'now herkneth for the beste; But tak it not, I prey yow, in desdeyn;

This is the poynt, to speken short and pleyn,
That ech of yow, to shorte with our weye,

790

In this viage, shal telle tales tweye,
To Caunterbury-ward, I mene it so,

And hom-ward he shal tellen othere two,

8

Of aventures that whylom han bifalle.

795

And which of yow that bereth him best of alle,

That is to seyn, that telleth in this cas9

Tales of best sentence and most solas",

Shal han a soper at our aller cost
Here in this place, sitting by this post,
Whan that we come agayn fro Caunterbury.
And for to make yow the more mery 10,
I wol my-selven gladly "

with yow ryde,

800

1 All but Hl. om. Now.

3 Hl. merye; E. myrie.

2 E. But if; rest But.
Hl. smyteth of.

5 Hl. nas.

Cp. verdit; Pt. veredit; Hl. Ln. verdite; Cm. verdoit; E. Hn. voirdit. 7 E. taak; Ln. tak; Cp. Pt. take; Hl. taketh.

9 E. caas, solaas.

10 E. Hn. Cp. mury.

11 Hl. myseluen gladly; E. my self goodly.

8 Hl. ther.