ураси 1 351 After the sondry sesons of the yeer, 11 355 360 An HABERDASSHERE, and a CARPENTER, 21 Was shaply for to been 20 an alderman. 375 401 35 If that he faught, and hadde the hyer hond, 405 410 The cause y-knowe and of his harm the roote, Anon he yaf the sikė man his boote.40 Ful redy hadde he his apothecaries To send him drogges and his letuaries,41 For ech of hem made oother for to wynne, Hir friendshipe nas nat newė to bigynne. Wel knew he the olde Esculapius42 And Deÿscorides, and eke Rufus, can-Olde Ypocras, Haly and Galyen,' Serapion, Razis and Avycen, A COOK they hadde with hem for the nones, To boille the chiknes with the marybones, 25 And poudré-marchant tart and galyngale, Wel koude he knowe a draughte of Londoun ale;" He koudė rooste and sethe and boille and frye, Máken mortreux27 and wel bake a pye. But greet harm was it, as it thoughtė me, 385 That on his shyne a mormals hadde he. For blankmanger, that made he with the beste. A SHIPMAN was ther, wonyng29 fer by weste; For aught I woot he was of Dertemouthe. He rood upon a rouncy30 as he kouthe, In a gowne of faldyng to the knee. 390 A daggere hangyng on a laas31 hadde he Averrois, Damascien and Constantyn, 430 435 440 395 Ful many a draughte of wine hadde he y-drawe Fro Burdeuxward whil that the Chapman32 459 newe; Boold was hir face, and fair, and reed of hewe. She was a worthy womman al hir lyve, Housbondes at chirché dore3 she hadde fyve, Withouten oother compaignye in youthe, But ther-of nedeth nat to speke as nowthe,4 And thries hadde she been at Jerusalém; She haddė passed many a straunge strem; At Rome she hadde been, and at Boloigne, 465 In Galice at Seint Jame, and at Coloigne, She koudė muchel of wandrynge by the weye. Gat-tothed was she, soothly for to seye. Upon an amblere esily she sat, Y-wympled wel, and on hir heed an hat As brood as is a bokeler or targe; A foot mantel aboute her hipės large, And on hire feet a paire of spores sharpe. In felaweship wel koude she laughe and carpe;7 Of remedies of love she knew per chaunce, 475 For she koude of that art the oldė daunce.8 A goodman was ther of religioun, And was a POURE PERSOUN OF A TOUN; But riche he was of hooly thoght and werk; He was also a lernéd man, a clerk, That Cristės Gospel trewely wolde preche His parisshens devoutly wolde he teche. 470 480 490 Benygne he was and wonder diligent, And in adversitee ful pacient; And swich he was y-preved ofte sithes10 Ful looth were hym to cursen for his tithes, But rather wolde he yeven out of doubte, A Unto his poure parisshens aboute, 485 Of his offryng and eek of his substaunce: The ferreste in his parisshe, muche and lite, Out of the gospel he tho 11 wordes caughte, 495 A shiten shepherde and a clenė sheepe. He sette nat his benefice to hyre 505 510 515 And leet his sheepe encombred in the myre, A bettre preest I trowe that nowher noon ys; That hadde y-lad of dong ful many a fother, 18 * Bothe of his propre swynk and his catel.21 Ther was also a REVE23 and a MILLER. A SOMNOUR24 and a PARDONER25 also, MAUNCIPLE 26 and myself,-ther The MILLERE was a stout carl for the nones, 13 Either an endowment for the payment of a priest to sing or say mass for the dead; or else the church or After chapel in which such masses were celebrated. 500 the plague, many parish priests deserted their parishes and went to London to make money by officiating in the chaunteries. 560 A werte, and thereon stood a toft of herys, 555 564 569 A gentil MAUNCIPLE was ther of a temple, Of which achatours myghte take exemple For to be wise in byynge of vitaille; For, wheither that he payde or took by taille,7 Algates he wayted' so in his achaat 10 That he was ay biforn11 and in good staat. Now is nat that of God a ful fair grace That swich a lewed 12 mannės wit shal pace The wisdom of an heepe of lerned men? Of maistres hadde he mo than thries ten, That weren of lawe expert and curious, Of wiche ther weren a duszeyne in that hous Worthy to been stywardes of rente and lond Of any lord that is in Engelond, To maken hym lyve by his propre good13 In honour dettelees, 14 but he were wood, 15 Or lyve as scarsly as hym list desire; And able for to helpen al a shire 575 580 590 The REVE was a sclendré colerik man His berd was shave as ny as ever he kan; His heer was by his crys round y-shorn, His top was doked lyk a preest biforn, Ful longé were his legges and ful lene, Y-lyk a staf, ther was no calf y-sene. Wel koude he kepe a gerner and a bynne, Ther was noon auditour koude on him wynne. Wel wiste he, by the droghte and by the reyn, The yeldynge of his seed and of his greyn. His lordės sheepe, his neet, 17 his dayérye, His swyn, his hors, his stoor, 18 and his pultrye, Was hoolly in this revės governyng, And by his covenant yaf the rekenyng 1 Heave off its hinges. Loud and ribald jester. 596 600 2 Tip. 4 Millers were allowed as toll a certain proportion of the grain in payment for the grinding. This miller tolled thrice, i. e. took three times the legal quantity of grain. An allusion to the proverb "An honest miller has a thumb of gold." The line may be ironical,-he stole corn, he tolled thrice, and yet was honest enough for a miller. The proverb itself is ambiguous, and the passage obscure. Syn that his lord was twenty yeer of age; Ther koude no man brynge hym in arrerage. There nas baillif, ne hierde, 19 hyne, 20 nor oother 605 That he ne knew his sleighte and his covyne;21 610 Nor of the knobbės sittynge on his chekes. And whan that he wel dronken hadde the wyn, 640 Than wolde he speke no word but Latyn. As greet as it were for an ale stake; A bokeleer hadde he maad him of a cake.1 With hym ther rood a gentil PARDONER Of Rouncivale, his freend and his compeer, 670 That streight was comen fro the court of Rome. 675 Ful loude he soong Com hider, love to me! 680 A vernycle hadde he sowed upon his cappe; 685 692 695 A voys he hadde as smal as hath a goot; He was in chirche a noble ecclesiaste; But alderbest he song an Offertorie; 700 710 For wel he wistė whan that song was songe, Now have I toold you shortly, in a clause, 715 The staat, tharray, the nombre, and eek the Whan we were in that hostelrie alyght; 730 But first, I pray yow of youre curteisye, 725 That ye narette it nat my vileynye,17 Thogh that I pleynly speke in this mateere To telle yow hir wordes and hir cheere, 18 Ne thogh I speke hir wordes proprely; 19 For this ye knowen al-so wel as I, Whoso shal telle a tale after a man, He moote reherce, as ny as ever he kan, Everich a word, if it be in his charge, Al speke he never so rudėliche 20 or large; Or ellis he moot telle his tale untrewe, Or feyne thyng, or fynde wordės newe. He may nat spare, althogh he were his brother; He moot as wel seye o word as another. Crist spak hymself ful brode in hooly writ, And wel ye woot no vileynye is it. 735 740 Boold of his speche, and wys and well y-taught, And of manhod hym lakkede right naught. Eek therto he was right a myrie man, And after soper pleyen he bigan, And spak of myrthe amonges othere thynges, 765 775 "Ye goon to Canterbury-God yow speede, The blisful martir quite yow youre meede!24 770 And, wel I woot, as ye goon by the weye, Ye shapen yow to talen25 and to pleye; For trewely confort ne myrthe is noon To ride by the weye doumb as a stoon; And therfore wol I maken yow disport, As I seyde erste, and doon yow som confort. And if you liketh alle, by oon assent, Now for to stonden at my juggement, And for to werken as I shal yow seye, To-morwė, whan ye riden by the weye, Now, by my fader soulé, that is deed, But ye be myrie, smyteth of myn heed! 17 Impute it not to my coarseness. 19 Literally, exactly. • Wallet. 12 Caught. is The more merrily. 21 Pleased. 23 Inn. 1 Pinchbeck, a cheap imitation of gold. 16 Presumably the name of an Inn. 20 Freely. 780 18 Behavior. 24 Pay. 22 Cheapside in London. 25 Prepare to tell stories. We dronken, and to resté wente echon, Withouten any lenger taryynge. 820 824 Amorwė, whan that day gan for to sprynge, 830 834 Shal paye for all that by the wey is spent! 1 "To make it a matter of wisdom or deliberation." 2 Advice. 4 Cock for us all. 3 Wisdom. A foot-pace. • St. Thomas a-Watering; a brook where horses were watered, which crossed the road taken by the pilgrims to St. Thomas' shrine, i. e. to Canterbury. 7 Know your promise. 8i. e. draw lots; pieces of straw, paper, etc. of unequal lengths, and used for the drawing of lots, were called cuts. Depart. "Sire Knyght," quod he, "my mayster and my lord, Now draweth cut, for that is myn accord. 10 845 849 As he han herd; what nedeth wordės mo? To kepe his foreward by his free assent, THE PARDONER'S TALE 665 Thise riotourės thre, of whiche I telle, Longe erst er prime13 rong of any belle, Were set hem in a taverne for to drynke; And as they sat they herde a belle clynke Biforn a cors, was carried to his grave. That oon of hem gan callen to his knave:14 "Go bet," quod he, “and axé redily15 What cors is this that passeth heer forby, And looke that thou reporte his name weel.” "Sire," quod this boy, "it nedeth never a deel, It was me toold er ye cam heere two houres; 671 He was, pardee, an old felawe of youres, And sodeynly he was y-slayn to-nyght, For-dronke, as he sat on his bench upright; Ther cam a privee theef, men clepeth Deeth,675 That in this contree al the peple sleeth, And with his spere he smoot his herte atwo, And wente his wey withouten wordės mo. He hath a thousand slayn this pestilence, 18 And maister, er ye come in his presence, Me thynketh that it were necessarie For to be war of swich an adversarie; Beth redy for to meete hym evermoore; Thus taughtė me my dame; I sey na-moore." "By Seinte Marie!" seyde this taverner, 685 "The child seith sooth, for he hath slayn this yeer, 680 Henne1 over a mile, withinne a grect village, Bothe man and womman, child, and hyne, 18 and page; I trowe his habitacioun be there; To been avysed1 greet wysdom it were, 690 10 Chance, destiny or luck. 12 Agreement. 11 Right. |