Geoffrey Chaucer - The Canterbury Tales

How wonnen was the regne of Femenye

(20)

By Theseus, and by his chivalrye;

And of the grete bataille for the nones

880

Bitwixen Athenës and Amazones;

And how asseged was Ipolita,

The faire hardy quene of Scithia;

And of the feste that was at hir weddinge,

[27: T. 886-921.]

And of the tempest at hir hoom-cominge;

885

But al that thing I moot as now forbere.

I have, God woot, a large feeld to ere,

And wayke been the oxen in my plough.

(30)

The remenant of the tale is long y-nough.

I wol nat letten eek noon of this route;

890

Lat every felawe telle his tale aboute,

And lat see now who shal the soper winne;

And ther I lefte, I wol ageyn biginne.

876. Hl. han told ȝow; E. yow haue toold; rest haue toold (told). 880. Tyrwhitt inserts the after and; but see 968, 973, 1023, &c. 889. Hl. lette eek non of al; rest letten, and omit al. 892. Hl. agayn; E. Hn. Cp. Pt. ayeyn.

This duk, of whom I make mencioun,

When he was come almost unto the toun,

895

In al his wele and in his moste pryde,

He was war, as he caste his eye asyde,

Wher that ther kneled in the hye weye

(40)

A companye of ladies, tweye and tweye,

Ech after other, clad in clothes blake;

900

But swich a cry and swich a wo they make,

That in this world nis creature livinge,

That herde swich another weymentinge;

And of this cry they nolde never stenten,

Til they the reynes of his brydel henten.

897. E. om. hye; rest hye, heighe, hihe, highe, high.

905

'What folk ben ye, that at myn hoom-cominge

Perturben so my feste with cryinge?'

Quod Theseus, 'have ye so greet envye

(50)

Of myn honour, that thus compleyne and crye?

Or who hath yow misboden, or offended?

910

And telleth me if it may been amended;

And why that ye ben clothed thus in blak?'

The eldest lady of hem alle spak,

When she hadde swowned with a deedly chere,

That it was routhe for to seen and here,

915

And seyde: 'Lord, to whom Fortune hath yiven

Victorie, and as a conquerour to liven,

Noght greveth us your glorie and your honour;

(60)

But we biseken mercy and socour.

Have mercy on our wo and our distresse.

[28: T. 922-957.]

920

Som drope of pitee, thurgh thy gentillesse,

Up-on us wrecched wommen lat thou falle.

For certes, lord, ther nis noon of us alle,

That she nath been a duchesse or a quene;

Now be we caitifs, as it is wel sene:

925

Thanked be Fortune, and hir false wheel,

That noon estat assureth to be weel.

And certes, lord, to abyden your presence,

(70)

Here in the temple of the goddesse Clemence

We han ben waytinge al this fourtenight;

930

Now help us, lord, sith it is in thy might.

912. Cm. eldest; E. eldeste. 914. E. routhe; Ln. rewthe; Slo. reuthe. Hl. or; rest and. 915. Hn. yiuen; E. yeuen. 916. Hn. conquerour; E. conqueror. 917. Hn. Hl. Noght; E. Pt. Ln. Nat. Hl. om. 2nd your. 922. Hl. nys; rest is. 923. E. Hn. Pt. Ln. ne hath. 924. Cp. Hl. caytifs; E. Hn. Pt. caytyues.

I wrecche, which that wepe and waille thus,

Was whylom wyf to king Capaneus,

That starf at Thebes, cursed be that day!

And alle we, that been in this array,

935

And maken al this lamentacioun,

We losten alle our housbondes at that toun,

Whyl that the sege ther-aboute lay.

(80)

And yet now the olde Creon, weylaway!

That lord is now of Thebes the citee,

940

Fulfild of ire and of iniquitee,

He, for despyt, and for his tirannye,

To do the dede bodyes vileinye,

Of alle our lordes, whiche that ben slawe,

Hath alle the bodyes on an heep y-drawe,

945

And wol nat suffren hem, by noon assent,

Neither to been y-buried nor y-brent,

But maketh houndes ete hem in despyt.'

(90)

And with that word, with-outen more respyt,

They fillen gruf, and cryden pitously,

950

'Have on us wrecched wommen som mercy,

And lat our sorwe sinken in thyn herte.'

931. E. crie; Hn. Hl. waille; Cp. Pt. weile. 938. Only Hl. om. now. 943. Hl. i-slawe. 944. E. He hath; rest Hath.

This gentil duk doun from his courser sterte

With herte pitous, whan he herde hem speke.

Him thoughte that his herte wolde breke,

955

Whan he saugh hem so pitous and so mat,

[29: T. 958-995.]

That whylom weren of so greet estat.

And in his armes he hem alle up hente,

(100)

And hem conforteth in ful good entente;

And swoor his ooth, as he was trewe knight,

960

He wolde doon so ferforthly his might

Up-on the tyraunt Creon hem to wreke,

That al the peple of Grece sholde speke

How Creon was of Theseus y-served,

As he that hadde his deeth ful wel deserved.

965

And right anoon, with-outen more abood,

His baner he desplayeth, and forth rood

To Thebes-ward, and al his host bisyde;

(110)

No neer Athenës wolde he go ne ryde,

Ne take his ese fully half a day,

970

But onward on his wey that night he lay;

And sente anoon Ipolita the quene,

And Emelye hir yonge suster shene,

Un-to the toun of Athenës to dwelle;

And forth he rit; ther nis namore to telle.

955. E. maat. 956. E. estaat. 974. Hn. Cp. nys; rest is.

975

The rede statue of Mars, with spere and targe,

So shyneth in his whyte baner large,

That alle the feeldes gliteren up and doun;

(120)

And by his baner born is his penoun

Of gold ful riche, in which ther was y-bete

980

The Minotaur, which that he slough in Crete.

Thus rit this duk, thus rit this conquerour,

And in his host of chivalrye the flour,

Til that he cam to Thebes, and alighte

Faire in a feeld, ther as he thoghte fighte.

985

But shortly for to speken of this thing,

With Creon, which that was of Thebes king,

He faught, and slough him manly as a knight

(130)

In pleyn bataille, and putte the folk to flight;

And by assaut he wan the citee after,

990

And rente adoun bothe wal, and sparre, and rafter;

And to the ladyes he restored agayn

The bones of hir housbondes that were slayn,

To doon obsequies, as was tho the gyse.

[30: T. 996-1031.]

But it were al to long for to devyse

995

The grete clamour and the waymentinge

That the ladyes made at the brenninge

Of the bodyes, and the grete honour

(140)

That Theseus, the noble conquerour,

Doth to the ladyes, whan they from him wente;

1000

But shortly for to telle is myn entente.

Whan that this worthy duk, this Theseus,

Hath Creon slayn, and wonne Thebes thus,

Stille in that feeld he took al night his reste,

And dide with al the contree as him leste.

984. Hn. thoghte; E. thoughte. 992. E. weren. 996. Hl. Which that.

1005

To ransake in the tas of bodyes dede,

Hem for to strepe of harneys and of wede,

The pilours diden bisinesse and cure,

(150)

After the bataille and disconfiture.

And so bifel, that in the tas they founde,

1010

Thurgh-girt with many a grevous blody wounde,

Two yonge knightes ligging by and by,

Bothe in oon armes, wroght ful richely,

Of whiche two, Arcita hight that oon,

And that other knight hight Palamon.

1015

Nat fully quike, ne fully dede they were,

But by hir cote-armures, and by hir gere,

The heraudes knewe hem best in special,