Geoffrey Chaucer

“ It is ful fair to been y-clept "ma dame,"
And goon to vigilyës al bifore,
And have a mantel royalliche y-bore. (380)
A Cook they hadde with hem for the nones, Cook.
To boille the chiknes with the mary-bones, 380
And poudre-marchant tart, and galingale.
Wel coude he knowe a draughte of London ale.
He coude roste, and sethe, and broille, and frye,
Maken mortreux, and wel bake a pye.
But greet harm was it, as it thoughte me, 385
That on his shine a mormal hadde he;
For blankmanger, that made he with the beste. (389)
A Shipman was ther, woning fer by weste: Shipman. ”

“ And many a breem and many a luce in stewe. 350
Wo was his cook, but-if his sauce were
Poynaunt and sharp, and redy al his gere.
His table dormant in his halle alway
Stood redy covered al the longe day.
At sessiouns ther was he lord and sire; 355
Ful ofte tyme he was knight of the shire.
An anlas and a gipser al of silk
Heng at his girdel, whyt as morne milk. (360)
A shirreve hadde he been, and a countour;
Was no-wher such a worthy vavasour. 360
An Haberdassher and a Carpenter, Habaerdassher. ”

“ Wel coude he in eschaunge sheeldes selle. (280)
This worthy man ful wel his wit bisette;
Ther wiste no wight that he was in dette, 280
So estatly was he of his governaunce,
With his bargaynes, and with his chevisaunce.
For sothe he was a worthy man with-alle,
But sooth to seyn, I noot how men him calle.
A Clerk ther was of Oxenford also, Clerk.
That un-to logik hadde longe y-go. 286
As lene was his hors as is a rake,
And he nas nat right fat, I undertake; (290)
But loked holwe, and ther-to soberly.
Ful thredbar was his overest courtepy ”

“ A love-knotte in the gretter ende ther was.
His heed was balled, that shoon as any glas,
And eek his face, as he had been anoint.
He was a lord ful fat and in good point; 200
His eyen stepe, and rollinge in his heed,
That stemed as a forneys of a leed;
His botes souple, his hors in greet estat.
Now certeinly he was a fair prelat;
He was nat pale as a for-pyned goost. 205
A fat swan loved he best of any roost.
His palfrey was as broun as is a berye.
A Frere ther was, a wantown and a merye, Frere.
A limitour, a ful solempne man. ”

“ Y-lyk a staf, ther was no calf y-sene.
Wel coude he kepe a gerner and a binne;
Ther was noon auditour coude on him winne.
Wel wiste he, by the droghte, and by the reyn, 595
The yelding of his seed, and of his greyn.
His lordes sheep, his neet, his dayerye,
His swyn, his hors, his stoor, and his pultrye, (600)
Was hoolly in this reves governing,
And by his covenaunt yaf the rekening, 600
Sin that his lord was twenty yeer of age;
Ther coude no man bringe him in arrerage.
Ther nas baillif, ne herde, ne other hyne,
That he ne knew his sleighte and his covyne ”

“ Sire knight,' quod he, 'my maister and my lord,
Now draweth cut, for that is myn acord. (840)
Cometh neer,' quod he, 'my lady prioresse;
And ye, sir clerk, lat be your shamfastnesse, 840
Ne studieth noght; ley hond to, every man.' ”

“ And ther-on heng a broche of gold ful shene, 160
On which ther was first write a crowned A,
And after, Amor vincit omnia.
Another Nonne with hir hadde she, Nonne.
That was hir chapeleyne, and Preestes three. 3 Preestes.
A Monk ther was, a fair for the maistrye, Monk.
An out-rydere, that lovede venerye; 166
A manly man, to been an abbot able. ”

“ A Sergeant of the Lawe, war and wys, Man of Lawe.
That often hadde been at the parvys, 310
Ther was also, ful riche of excellence.
Discreet he was, and of greet reverence:
He semed swich, his wordes weren so wyse.
Iustyce he was ful often in assyse,
By patente, and by pleyn commissioun; 315
For his science, and for his heigh renoun
Of fees and robes hadde he many oon.
So greet a purchasour was no-wher noon. (320)
Al was fee simple to him in effect,
His purchasing mighte nat been infect. 320
No-wher so bisy a man as he ther nas,
And yet he semed bisier than he was. ”

“ Ther as he wiste to han a good pitaunce;
For unto a povre ordre for to yive 225
Is signe that a man is wel y-shrive.
For if he yaf, he dorste make avaunt,
He wiste that a man was repentaunt.
For many a man so hard is of his herte,
He may nat wepe al-thogh him sore smerte. 230
Therfore, in stede of weping and preyeres,
Men moot yeve silver to the povre freres.
His tipet was ay farsed ful of knyves
And pinnes, for to yeven faire wyves.
And certeinly he hadde a mery note; 235
Wel coude he singe and pleyen on a rote. ”

“ And of his port as meke as is a mayde. ”

“ With us ther was a Doctour of Phisyk, Doctour.
In al this world ne was ther noon him lyk
To speke of phisik and of surgerye;
For he was grounded in astronomye.
He kepte his pacient a ful greet del 415
In houres, by his magik naturel.
Wel coude he fortunen the ascendent
Of his images for his pacient. (420)
He knew the cause of everich maladye,
Were it of hoot or cold, or moiste, or drye, 420
And where engendred, and of what humour;
He was a verrey parfit practisour.
The cause y-knowe, and of his harm the rote,
Anon he yaf the seke man his bote. ”

“ Ne was ther swich another pardoner.
For in his male he hadde a pilwe-beer,
Which that, he seyde, was our lady veyl: 695
He seyde, he hadde a gobet of the seyl
That sëynt Peter hadde, whan that he wente
Up-on the see, til Iesu Crist him hente. (700)
He hadde a croys of latoun, ful of stones,
And in a glas he hadde pigges bones. 700
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. ”

“ In al the parisshe wyf ne was ther noon
That to the offring bifore hir sholde goon; 450
And if ther dide, certeyn, so wrooth was she,
That she was out of alle charitee.
Hir coverchiefs ful fyne were of ground;
I dorste swere they weyeden ten pound
That on a Sonday were upon hir heed. 455
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. (460)
She was a worthy womman al hir lyve,
Housbondes at chirche-dore she hadde fyve, 460
Withouten other companye in youthe ”

“ Everich a word, if it be in his charge,
Al speke he never so rudeliche and large; ”

“ A baggepype wel coude he blowe and sowne, 565
And ther-with-al he broghte us out of towne.
A gentil Maunciple was ther of a temple, Maunciple.
Of which achatours mighte take exemple (570)
For to be wyse in bying of vitaille.
For whether that he payde, or took by taille, 570
Algate he wayted so in his achat,
That he was ay biforn and in good stat.
Now is nat that of God a ful fair grace,
That swich a lewed mannes wit shal pace
The wisdom of an heep of lerned men? 575
Of maistres hadde he mo than thryes ten,
That were of lawe expert and curious ”

“ Ther nas no man no-wher so vertuous.
He was the beste beggere in his hous;
[And yaf a certeyn ferme for the graunt; [1] 252 b
Noon of his bretheren cam ther in his haunt;] 252 c
For thogh a widwe hadde noght a sho,
So plesaunt was his "In principio,"
Yet wolde he have a ferthing, er he wente. 255
His purchas was wel bettre than his rente.
And rage he coude, as it were right a whelpe.
In love-dayes ther coude he muchel helpe. (260)
For there he was nat lyk a cloisterer,
With a thredbar cope, as is a povre scoler, 260
But he was lyk a maister or a pope. ”

“ He taughte, and first he folwed it him-selve. (530)
With him ther was a Plowman, was his brother, Plowman.
That hadde y-lad of dong ful many a fother, 530
A trewe swinker and a good was he,
Livinge in pees and parfit charitee.
God loved he best with al his hole herte
At alle tymes, thogh him gamed or smerte,
And thanne his neighebour right as him-selve. 535
He wolde thresshe, and ther-to dyke and delve,
For Cristes sake, for every povre wight,
Withouten hyre, if it lay in his might. ”

“ Ther-to he strong was as a champioun.
He knew the tavernes wel in every toun, 240
And everich hostiler and tappestere
Bet than a lazar or a beggestere;
For un-to swich a worthy man as he
Acorded nat, as by his facultee,
To have with seke lazars aqueyntaunce. 245
It is nat honest, it may nat avaunce
For to delen with no swich poraille,
But al with riche and sellers of vitaille.
And over-al, ther as profit sholde aryse,
Curteys he was, and lowly of servyse. ”

“ Of which ther were a doseyn in that hous, (580)
Worthy to been stiwardes of rente and lond
Of any lord that is in Engelond, 580
To make him live by his propre good,
In honour dettelees, but he were wood,
Or live as scarsly as him list desire ”

“ Ther was also a Nonne, a Prioresse, Prioresse.
That of hir smyling was ful simple and coy;
Hir gretteste ooth was but by sëynt Loy; 120
And she was cleped 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, 125
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, 130
That no drope ne fille up-on hir brest. ”

“ And on hir feet a paire of spores sharpe.
In felawschip wel coude she laughe and carpe.
Of remedyes of love she knew per-chaunce, 475
For she coude of that art the olde daunce.
A good man was ther of religioun, Persoun. ”

“ Hn. Cp. Hl. bigan.—823. E. Hn. aller; Hl. althur; Cp. alther; Pt. Ln. alder.—825. E. paas.—829. E. foreward (badly) .—E. Hn. om. I.—831. Hl. ferst a tale.—835. Cp. Pt. Ln. ferther; Hl. forther.—836. E. Hn. shorteste.—840. E. shamefastnesse.—848, 852. E. foreward (badly) .—850. All insert that after saugh (needlessly) .—854. Hl. thou (for the) .—857. Cm. mery; E. myrie.—858. So E. Hl.; rest as ye may here.—Colophon: from MS. Sloane 1685, which has Heere endith, heere, knyghte (sic) .
↑ Lines 252 b and 252 c and the subsequent bracketed line numbers apply to the 'Hengwrt' MS (Hn.) only. ”

“ E. fressh. E. in; rest is.—E. Hn. Monthe; Cp. month; Hl. Pt. Ln. moneth; Cm. monyth.—96. E. weel.—98. Hl. Cp. sleep; rest slepte.—E. -moore. 99. Hl. Cp. Ln. lowly; E. Hn. Pt. lowely.—101. E. seruantz.—102. E. soo.—104. Hl. Cp. Pt. Ln. pocok.—Cm. bryghte; rest bright.—107. E. Hise.—108, 111. E. baar.—113. E. oother.—115. Hn. Cristofre; E. Cristophere.—E. sheene.—122. E. soong.—123. E. semeely.—131. Cm. brest; E. Hn. brist.—132. Cp. moche; Cm. meche; E. Hn. muchel.—Hl. lest; E. Hn. Cm. list.—134. Hl. was; rest ther was.—137. E. Hn. desport; rest disport.—140. E. to been; Hl. Hn. ”

“ Cp. verdit; Pt. veredit; Hl. Ln. verdite; Cm. verdoit; E. Hn. voirdit.—789. E. taak; Ln. tak; Cp. Pt. take; Hl. Hn. taketh.—791. Cp. Hl. your; rest our; cf. l. 803.—795. Hl. ther (for whylom) .—797, 798. ”

“ Hl. Thestat; Hn. Thestaat; E. The staat; Cm. Cp. The estat.—718. E. as; rest at.—724. E. oure (but our in l. 723) .—725. E. youre; Hl. ȝour.—726. E. Hn. Cm. narette; Cp. Pt. Hl. ne rette.—734. E. or; Hl. ne; rest and.—741. All but Hl. om. that.—747. E. chiere. E. hoost (see l. 751) .—752. Hl. han ”