Geoffrey Chaucer - The Canterbury Tales

Eek therto he was right a mery man,

(760)

And after soper pleyen he bigan,

And spak of mirthe amonges othere thinges,

760

Whan that we hadde maad our rekeninges;

And seyde thus: 'Now, lordinges, trewely,

Ye been to me right welcome hertely:

For by my trouthe, if that I shal nat lye,

I ne saugh this yeer so mery a companye

765

At ones in this herberwe as is now.

Fayn wolde I doon yow mirthe, wiste I how.

And of a mirthe I am right now bithoght,

(770)

To doon yow ese, and it shal coste noght.

747. E. chiere. E. hoost ( see l. 751). 752. Hl. han; rest om. 754. E. Hn. was. 755. E. Hn. Boold. 756. Cm. Cp. lakkede; E. lakked. 761. now] Hl. lo. 764. Hl. ne saugh; rest saugh nat (seigh not, &c.). Hl. Cm. mery; E. myrie.

Ye goon to Caunterbury; God yow spede,

770

The blisful martir quyte yow your mede.

And wel I woot, as ye goon by the weye,

Ye shapen yow to talen and to pleye;

For trewely, confort ne mirthe is noon

To ryde by the weye doumb as a stoon;

775

And therfore wol I maken yow disport,

As I seyde erst, and doon yow som confort.

And if yow lyketh alle, by oon assent,

(780)

Now for to stonden at my Iugement,

And for to werken as I shal yow seye,

780

To-morwe, whan ye ryden by the weye,

Now, by my fader soule, that is deed,

But ye be merye, I wol yeve yow myn heed.

Hold up your hond, withouten more speche.'

774. a] E. the; Hn. om. 778. All but Hl. om. Now. 782. E. But if; rest But. E. myrie. Hl. merye smyteth of.

Our counseil was nat longe for to seche;

785

Us thoughte it was noght worth to make it wys,

And graunted him withouten more avys,

And bad him seye his verdit, as him leste.

785. Hl. nas. 787. Cp. verdit; Pt. veredit; Hl. Ln. verdite; Cm. verdoit; E. Hn. voirdit.

(790)

'Lordinges,' quod he, 'now herkneth for the beste;

But tak it not, I prey yow, in desdeyn;

790

This is the poynt, to speken short and pleyn,

That ech of yow, to shorte with your weye,

[24: T. 794-827.]

In this viage, shal telle tales tweye,

To Caunterbury-ward, I mene it so,

And hom-ward he shal tellen othere two,

795

Of aventures that whylom han bifalle.

And which of yow that bereth him best of alle,

That is to seyn, that telleth in this cas

(800)

Tales of best sentence and most solas,

Shal have a soper at our aller cost

800

Here in this place, sitting by this post,

Whan that we come agayn fro Caunterbury.

And for to make yow the more mery,

I wol my-selven gladly with yow ryde,

Right at myn owne cost, and be your gyde.

805

And who-so wol my Iugement withseye

Shal paye al that we spenden by the weye.

And if ye vouche-sauf that it be so,

(810)

Tel me anon, with-outen wordes mo,

And I wol erly shape me therfore.'

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. E. caas, solaas. 802. E. Hn. Cp. mury. 803. Hl. my seluen gladly; E. my self goodly. 805. E. wole ( but wol in l. 809).

810

This thing was graunted, and our othes swore

With ful glad herte, and preyden him also

That he wold vouche-sauf for to do so,

And that he wolde been our governour,

And of our tales Iuge and reportour,

815

And sette a soper at a certeyn prys;

And we wold reuled been at his devys,

In heigh and lowe; and thus, by oon assent,

(820)

We been acorded to his Iugement.

And ther-up-on the wyn was fet anon;

820

We dronken, and to reste wente echon,

With-outen any lenger taryinge.

812. E. would. 816. Hl. wolde; Pt. wold; rest wol, wolen, wiln, wil. 817. Hl. lowe; E. lough.

A-morwe, whan that day bigan to springe,

Up roos our host, and was our aller cok,

And gadrede us togidre, alle in a flok,

825

And forth we riden, a litel more than pas,

[25: T. 828-860.]

Un-to the watering of seint Thomas.

And there our host bigan his hors areste,

(830)

And seyde; 'Lordinges, herkneth, if yow leste.

Ye woot your forward, and I it yow recorde.

830

If even-song and morwe-song acorde,

Lat se now who shal telle the firste tale.

As ever mote I drinke wyn or ale,

Who-so be rebel to my Iugement

Shal paye for al that by the weye is spent.

835

Now draweth cut, er that we ferrer twinne;

He which that hath the shortest shal biginne.

Sire knight,' quod he, 'my maister and my lord,

(840)

Now draweth cut, for that is myn acord.

Cometh neer,' quod he, 'my lady prioresse;

840

And ye, sir clerk, lat be your shamfastnesse,

Ne studieth noght; ley hond to, every man.'

822. E. Hn. that; Hl. that the; rest the. E. gan for; 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.

Anon to drawen every wight bigan,

And shortly for to tellen, as it was,

Were it by aventure, or sort, or cas,

845

The sothe is this, the cut fil to the knight,

Of which ful blythe and glad was every wight;

And telle he moste his tale, as was resoun,

(850)

By forward and by composicioun,

As ye han herd; what nedeth wordes mo?

850

And whan this gode man saugh it was so,

As he that wys was and obedient

To kepe his forward by his free assent,

He seyde: 'Sin I shal biginne the game,

What, welcome be the cut, a Goddes name!

855

Now lat us ryde, and herkneth what I seye.'

848, 852. E. foreward ( badly ). 850. All insert that after saugh ( needlessly ). 854. Hl. thou ( for the).

And with that word we riden forth our weye;

And he bigan with right a mery chere

(860)

His tale anon, and seyde in this manere.

Here endeth the prolog of this book; and here biginneth the first tale, which is the Knightes Tale.

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 ).

[26: T. 861-885.]

Iamque domos patrias, Scithice post aspera gentis

Prelia, laurigero, &c.

[Statius, Theb. xii. 519.]

Whylom, as olde stories tellen us,

860

Ther was a duk that highte Theseus;

Of Athenes he was lord and governour,

And in his tyme swich a conquerour,

That gretter was ther noon under the sonne.

Ful many a riche contree hadde he wonne;

865

What with his wisdom and his chivalrye,

He conquered al the regne of Femenye,

That whylom was y-cleped Scithia;

(10)

And weddede the quene Ipolita,

And broghte hir hoom with him in his contree

870

With muchel glorie and greet solempnitee,

And eek hir yonge suster Emelye.

And thus with victorie and with melodye

Lete I this noble duk to Athenes ryde,

And al his hoost, in armes, him bisyde.

Quotation; so in E. Hn. Cp. Pt. Ln. 865. E. Hl. That; rest What. 868. Cp. Hl. weddede; Slo. weddide; rest wedded. 871. E. faire; Pt. yenge; rest yonge.

875

And certes, if it nere to long to here,

I wolde han told yow fully the manere,