Geoffrey Chaucer

“ The quene saw they dide him swich honour, And had herd ofte of Eneas, er tho, And in her herte she hadde routhe and wo That ever swich a noble man as he Shal been disherited in swich degree; And saw the man, that he was lyk a knight, And suffisaunt of persone and of might, And lyk to been a veray gentil man; And wel his wordes he besette can, 1070And had a noble visage for the nones, And formed wel of braunes and of bones. For, after Venus, hadde he swich fairnesse, That no man might be half so fair, I gesse. ”

“ But she was yit the fairest creature That ever was y-formed by nature; And Eneas and Achates she grette, And thus she to hem spak, whan she hem mette. "Sawe ye," quod she, "as ye han walked wyde, And of my sustren walke yow besyde, 980With any wilde boor or other beste That they han hunted to, in this foreste, Y-tukked up, with arwes in her cas?" "Nay, soothly, lady," quod this Eneas; "But, by thy beaute, as hit thinketh me, Thou mightest never erthely womman be, But Phebus suster artow, as I gesse. And, if so be that thou be a goddesse, Have mercy on our labour and our wo." ”

“ Up-on a thikke palfrey, paper-whyt, With sadel rede, enbrouded with delyt, 1200Of gold the barres up-enbossed hye, Sit Dido, al in gold and perre wrye; And she is fair, as is the brighte morwe, That heleth seke folk of nightes sorwe. Upon a courser, startling as the fyr, Men mighte turne him with a litel wyr, Sit Eneas, lyk Phebus to devyse; So was he fresshe arayed in his wyse. The fomy brydel with the bit of gold Governeth he, right as him-self hath wold. 1210And forth this noble guene thus lat I ryde An hunting, with this Troyan by her syde. The herd of hertes founden is anoon, With "hey! ”

“ This fresshe lady, of the citee quene, Stood in the temple, in her estat royal, So richely, and eek so fair with-al, So yong, so lusty, with her eyen glade, That, if that god, that heven and erthe made, 1040Wolde han a love, for beaute and goodnesse, And womanhod, and trouthe, and seemlinesse, Whom sholde he loven but this lady swete? ”

“ This Eneas, that hath so depe y-swore, Is wery of his craft with-in a throwe; The hote ernest is al over-blowe. And prively he doth his shippes dighte, And shapeth him to stele a-wey by nighte. 1290This Dido hath suspecioun of this, And thoughte wel, that hit was al a-mis; For in his bedde he lyth a-night and syketh; She asketh him anoon, what him mislyketh -- "My dere herte, which that I love most?" ”

“ But sooth is this, the quene hath mad swich chere Un-to this child, that wonder is to here; And of the present that his fader sente She thanked him ful ofte, in good entente. 1150Thus is this quene in plesaunce and in Ioye, With al this newe lusty folk of Troye. And of the dedes hath she more enquered Of Eneas, and al the story lered Of Troye; and al the longe day they tweye Entendeden to speken and to pleye; Of which ther gan to breden swich a fyr, That sely Dido hath now swich desyr With Eneas, her newe gest, to dele, That she hath lost her hewe, and eek her hele. ”

“ She syketh sore, and gan her-self turmente. She waketh, walweth, maketh many a brayd, As doon thise loveres, as I have herd sayd. And at the laste, unto her suster Anne She made her moon, and right thus spak she thanne. 1170"Now, dere suster myn, what may hit be That me agasteth in my dreme?" quod she. "This ilke Troyan is so in my thoght, For that me thinketh he is so wel y-wroght, And eek so lykly for to be a man, And therwithal so mikel good he can, That al my love and lyf lyth in his cure. ”

“ For thilke wind that blew your ship a-wey, The same wind hath blowe a-wey your fey," -- But who wol al this letter have in minde, Rede Ovide, and in him he shal hit finde. Explicit Legenda Didonis martiris, Cartaginis regine. ”