Geoffrey Chaucer

“ Moult bien, si cum je me recors,
Abrié et vestu son corps:
Bien fu vestue et chaudement,
Car el éust froit autrement.
Les vielles gens ont tost froidure;
Bien savés que c'est lor nature.
Une ymage ot emprès escrite, Papelardie.
Qui sembloit bien estre ypocrite;
And it was cleped Pope-holy. ”

“ Men mighte it cleve, I dar wel sayn.
Hir forheed, frounceles al playn. 860
Bente were hir browes two,
Hir yën greye, and gladde also,
That laughede ay in hir semblaunt,
First or the mouth, by covenaunt.
I not what of hir nose descryve; 865
So fair hath no womman alyve....
Hir heer was yelowe, and cleer shyning,
I wot no lady so lyking.
⁠Savés-vous qui estoit s'amie?
Léesce qui nel' haoit mie,
L'envoisie, la bien chantans,
Qui dès lors qu'el n'ot que sept ans
De s'amor li donna l'otroi ”

“ Nokked and fethered a-right;
And al they were with gold bigoon,
And stronge poynted everichoon,
And sharpe for to kerven weel. 945
But iren was ther noon ne steel;
For al was gold, men mighte it see,
Out-take the fetheres and the tree.
⁠The swiftest of these arowes fyve
Out of a bowe for to dryve, 950
And best [y] -fethered for to flee,
And fairest eek, was cleped Beautee. Beautee.
That other arowe, that hurteth lesse,
Was cleped, as I trowe, Simplesse. Simplesse.
The thridde cleped was Fraunchyse, 955
That fethered was, in noble wyse, Fraunchyse. ”

“ So fair folk and so fresh hadde he,
That whan I saw, I wondred me
Fro whennes swich folk mighte come,
So faire they weren, alle and some; 740
For they were lyk, as to my sighte,
To angels, that ben fethered brighte.
⁠This folk, of which I telle you so,
Upon a carole wenten tho.
A lady caroled hem, that highte 745
Gladnes, [the] blisful and the lighte; Gladnesse.
Wel coude she singe and lustily,
Non half so wel and semely,
And make in song swich refreininge,
It sat hir wonder wel to singe. 750
Son contenement et son estre. ”

“ Til that the dore of thilke entree
A mayden curteys opened me. Ydelnesse.
Hir heer was as yelowe of hewe
As any basin scoured newe. 540
Hir flesh [as] tendre as is a chike,
With bente browes, smothe and slike ”

“ And floures yelowe, whyte, and rede;
Swich plentee grew ther never in mede.
Ful gay was al the ground, and queynt, 1435
And poudred, as men had it peynt,
With many a fresh and sondry flour,
That casten up ful good savour.
⁠I wol not longe holde you in fable
Of al this gardin delitable. 1440
I moot my tonge stinten nede,
For I ne may, withouten drede,
Naught tellen you the beautee al,
Ne half the bountee therewithal.
⁠I wente on right honde and on left 1445
Aboute the place; it was not left,
Til I hadde al the [yerde in] been,
In the estres that men mighte seen. ”

“ Qu'ele ot le cuer si pitéable,
Et si dous et si amiable,
Que se nus por li mal traisist,
S'el ne li aidast, el crainsist
Qu'el féïst trop grant vilonnie.
Vestue ot une sorquanie,
Hir thoughte it elles a vilanye.
And she hadde on a sukkenye,
That not of hempen herdes was;
So fair was noon in alle Arras.
Lord, it was rideled fetysly! 1235
Ther nas nat oo poynt, trewely,
That it nas in his right assyse.
Ful wel y-clothed was Fraunchyse;
For ther is no cloth sitteth bet
On damiselle, than doth roket. 1240
A womman wel more fetys is
In roket than in cote, y-wis. ”

“ Ther hadde he doon gret chivalrye
Through his vertu and his maistrye;
And for the love of his lemman
[Had] cast doun many a doughty man. 1210
⁠And next him daunced dame Fraunchyse,
Arrayed in ful noble gyse. Fraunchyse. ”

“ G. hath; Th. hate. I supply wo. 276. Read melt'th or melt. 277. Both so (for to-) . 278. Th. people; G. puple. 282. Both best. 291. G. Th. awrie. 292. G. -thart; Th. -twharte, misprint for -thwart. 293. I supply eek. G. om. a foul. 296. G. hir eien; Th. her one eye.
298. Both se. 299. So Th.; G. fairer or worthier. 303. G. seyn; Th. sene. 305. Both to haue; read hav-ë. Th. iaundice. 307. I supply as. 310. Th. yelowe; G. yolare. ”