Geoffrey Chaucer - The Canterbury Tales

Webbe. Dyere.

Were with us eek, clothed in o liveree,

Tapicer.

Of a solempne and greet fraternitee.

365

Ful fresh and newe hir gere apyked was;

Hir knyves were y-chaped noght with bras,

But al with silver, wroght ful clene and weel,

(370)

Hir girdles and hir pouches every-deel.

[12: T. 371-406.]

Wel semed ech of hem a fair burgeys,

370

To sitten in a yeldhalle on a deys.

Everich, for the wisdom that he can,

Was shaply for to been an alderman.

For catel hadde they y-nogh and rente,

And eek hir wyves wolde it wel assente;

375

And elles certein were they to blame.

It is ful fair to been y-clept " ma dame ,"

And goon to vigilyës al bifore,

(380)

And have a mantel royalliche y-bore.

363. So Hl.; rest And they were clothed alle. 364. All but Hl. and a. 366. Hl. I-chapud; Cm. chapid; rest chaped. 370. E. yeldehalle. 376. E. Hn. ycleped; Hl. clept; rest cleped, clepid. 380. Hl. om. 1st the.

Cook.

A Cook they hadde with hem for the nones,

380

To boille the chiknes with the mary-bones,

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.

385

But greet harm was it, as it thoughte me,

That on his shine a mormal hadde he;

(389)

For blankmanger, that made he with the beste.

383. E. Hl. boille; Cm. boyle; rest broille, broile. 388. E. wonynge; Hn. wonyng.

Shipman.

A Shipman was ther, woning fer by weste:

For aught I woot, he was of Dertemouthe.

390

He rood up-on a rouncy, as he couthe,

In a gowne of falding to the knee.

A daggere hanging on a laas hadde he

Aboute his nekke under his arm adoun.

The hote somer had maad his hewe al broun;

395

And, certeinly, he was a good felawe.

Ful many a draughte of wyn had he y-drawe

From Burdeux-ward, whyl that the chapman sleep.

(400)

Of nyce conscience took he no keep.

If that he faught, and hadde the hyer hond,

400

By water he sente hem hoom to every lond.

But of his craft to rekene wel his tydes,

His stremes and his daungers him bisydes,

His herberwe and his mone, his lodemenage,

Ther nas noon swich from Hulle to Cartage.

[13: T. 407-441.]

405

Hardy he was, and wys to undertake;

With many a tempest hadde his berd been shake.

He knew wel alle the havenes, as they were,

(410)

From Gootlond to the cape of Finistere,

And every cryke in Britayne and in Spayne;

410

His barge y-cleped was the Maudelayne.

396. Cm. I-drawe; rest drawe. 407. Hl. ins. wel; rest om.

Doctour.

With us ther was a Doctour of Phisyk,

In al this world ne was ther noon him lyk

To speke of phisik and of surgerye;

For he was grounded in astronomye.

415

He kepte his pacient a ful greet del

In houres, by his magik naturel.

Wel coude he fortunen the ascendent

(420)

Of his images for his pacient.

He knew the cause of everich maladye,

420

Were it of hoot or cold, or moiste, or drye,

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.

425

Ful redy hadde he his apothecaries,

To sende him drogges and his letuaries,

For ech of hem made other for to winne;

(430)

Hir frendschipe nas nat newe to biginne.

Wel knew he the olde Esculapius,

430

And Deiscorides, and eek Rufus,

Old Ypocras, Haly, and Galien;

Serapion, Razis, and Avicen;

Averrois, Damascien, and Constantyn;

Bernard, and Gatesden, and Gilbertyn.

435

Of his diete mesurable was he,

For it was of no superfluitee,

But of greet norissing and digestible.

(440)

His studie was but litel on the Bible.

In sangwin and in pers he clad was al,

[14: T. 442-478.]

440

Lyned with taffata and with sendal;

And yet he was but esy of dispence;

He kepte that he wan in pestilence.

For gold in phisik is a cordial,

Therfore he lovede gold in special.

415. Hl. wondurly wel; rest a ful greet deel (del). 416. E. Hn. natureel. 418. E. Hn. hise; Cm. hese. 421. E. Cm. Hl. where they; Hn. where it. 424. Cm. Ln. seke; rest sike. 425. E. hise. 426. E. Hn. Cm. drogges; Cp. Pt. Ln. drugges; Hl. dragges. 430. Pt. Rufus; Cm. Rufijs; Hn. Cp. Ln. Hl. Rusus; E. Risus. 431. Hl. Pt. Old; rest Olde.

Wyf of Bathe.

A good Wyf was ther of bisyde Bathe,

446

But she was som-del deef, and that was scathe.

Of clooth-making she hadde swiche an haunt,

(450)

She passed hem of Ypres and of Gaunt.

In al the parisshe wyf ne was ther noon

450

That to the offring bifore hir sholde goon;

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

455

That on a Sonday were upon hir heed.

Hir hosen weren of fyn scarlet reed,

Ful streite y-teyd, and shoos ful moiste and newe.

(460)

Bold was hir face, and fair, and reed of hewe.

She was a worthy womman al hir lyve,

460

Housbondes at chirche-dore she hadde fyve,

Withouten other companye in youthe;

But therof nedeth nat to speke as nouthe.

And thryes hadde she been at Ierusalem;

She hadde passed many a straunge streem;

465

At Rome she hadde been, and at Boloigne,

In Galice at seint Iame, and at Coloigne.

She coude muche of wandring by the weye.

(470)

Gat-tothed was she, soothly for to seye.

Up-on an amblere esily she sat,

470

Y-wimpled wel, and on hir heed an hat

As brood as is a bokeler or a targe;

A foot-mantel aboute hir hipes large,

And on hir feet a paire of spores sharpe.

In felawschip wel coude she laughe and carpe.

475

Of remedyes of love she knew per-chaunce,

For she coude of that art the olde daunce.

452. Hl. was thanne out. 453, 455. E. weren. 457. Cp. Hl. schoos; E. Pt. Ln. shoes. 458. E. Hn. Boold. 463. Ln. had. 467. Ln. muche; Hl. Pt. Cp. moche; E. Hn. muchel. 474. E. Hn. felaweschip. 476. Hl. For of that art sche knew.

[15: T. 479-513.]

Persoun.

A good man was ther of religioun,

(480)

And was a povre Persoun of a toun;

But riche he was of holy thoght and werk.

480

He was also a lerned man, a clerk,

That Cristes gospel trewely wolde preche;

His parisshens devoutly wolde he teche.

Benigne he was, and wonder diligent,

And in adversitee ful pacient;

485

And swich he was y-preved ofte sythes.

Ful looth were him to cursen for his tythes,

But rather wolde he yeven, out of doute,

(490)

Un-to his povre parisshens aboute

Of his offring, and eek of his substaunce.

490

He coude in litel thing han suffisaunce.

Wyd was his parisshe, and houses fer a-sonder,

But he ne lafte nat, for reyn ne thonder,

In siknes nor in meschief, to visyte

The ferreste in his parisshe, muche and lyte,

495

Up-on his feet, and in his hand a staf.

This noble ensample to his sheep he yaf,

That first he wroghte, and afterward he taughte;

(500)

Out of the gospel he tho wordes caughte;

And this figure he added eek ther-to,

500

That if gold ruste, what shal iren do?