Geoffrey Chaucer - The Canterbury Tales

In which thou whylom brendest for desyr,

2385

Whan that thou usedest the grete beautee

Of fayre yonge fresshe Venus free,

And haddest hir in armes at thy wille,

(1530)

Al-though thee ones on a tyme misfille

Whan Vulcanus had caught thee in his las,

2390

And fond thee ligging by his wyf, allas!

For thilke sorwe that was in thyn herte,

Have routhe as wel up-on my peynes smerte.

I am yong and unkonning, as thou wost,

And, as I trowe, with love offended most,

2395

That ever was any lyves creature;

For she, that dooth me al this wo endure,

[69: T. 2399-2436.]

Ne reccheth never wher I sinke or flete.

(1540)

And wel I woot, er she me mercy hete,

I moot with strengthe winne hir in the place;

2400

And wel I woot, withouten help or grace

Of thee, ne may my strengthe noght availle.

Than help me, lord, to-morwe in my bataille,

For thilke fyr that whylom brente thee,

As wel as thilke fyr now brenneth me;

2405

And do that I to-morwe have victorie.

Myn be the travaille, and thyn be the glorie!

Thy soverein temple wol I most honouren

(1550)

Of any place, and alwey most labouren

In thy plesaunce and in thy craftes stronge,

2410

And in thy temple I wol my baner honge,

And alle the armes of my companye;

And evere-mo, un-to that day I dye,

Eterne fyr I wol biforn thee finde.

And eek to this avow I wol me binde:

2415

My berd, myn heer that hongeth long adoun,

That never yet ne felte offensioun

Of rasour nor of shere, I wol thee yive,

(1560)

And ben thy trewe servant whyl I live.

Now lord, have routhe up-on my sorwes sore,

2420

Yif me victorie, I aske thee namore.'

2385. Hl. the gret; rest om. gret. 2402. E. Hn. Thanne. 2420. All ins. the (Hl. thy) after me; ( read victórie).

The preyere stinte of Arcita the stronge,

The ringes on the temple-dore that honge,

And eek the dores, clatereden ful faste,

Of which Arcita som-what him agaste.

2425

The fyres brende up-on the auter brighte,

That it gan al the temple for to lighte;

And swete smel the ground anon up-yaf,

(1570)

And Arcita anon his hand up-haf,

And more encens in-to the fyr he caste,

2430

With othere rytes mo; and atte laste

The statue of Mars bigan his hauberk ringe.

And with that soun he herde a murmuringe

Ful lowe and dim, that sayde thus, 'Victorie:'

For which he yaf to Mars honour and glorie.

[70: T. 2437-2473.]

2435

And thus with Ioye, and hope wel to fare,

Arcite anon un-to his inne is fare,

As fayn as fowel is of the brighte sonne.

2425. Hn. Cm. brende; E. Cp. Hl. brenden. 2433. E. Hn. Hl. and; rest that. 2436. E. Hn. Cm. in.

(1580)

And right anon swich stryf ther is bigonne

For thilke graunting, in the hevene above,

2440

Bitwixe Venus, the goddesse of love,

And Mars, the sterne god armipotente,

That Iupiter was bisy it to stente;

Til that the pale Saturnus the colde,

That knew so manye of aventures olde,

2445

Fond in his olde experience an art,

That he ful sone hath plesed every part.

As sooth is sayd, elde hath greet avantage;

(1590)

In elde is bothe wisdom and usage;

Men may the olde at-renne, and noght at-rede.

2450

Saturne anon, to stinten stryf and drede,

Al be it that it is agayn his kynde,

Of al this stryf he gan remedie fynde.

2441. E. stierne. 2445. an] E. Pt. and. 2449. Hl. Pt. but; rest and.

'My dere doghter Venus,' quod Saturne,

'My cours, that hath so wyde for to turne,

2455

Hath more power than wot any man.

Myn is the drenching in the see so wan;

Myn is the prison in the derke cote;

(1600)

Myn is the strangling and hanging by the throte;

The murmure, and the cherles rebelling,

2460

The groyning, and the pryvee empoysoning:

I do vengeance and pleyn correccioun

Whyl I dwelle in the signe of the leoun.

Myn is the ruine of the hye halles,

The falling of the toures and of the walles

2465

Up-on the mynour or the carpenter.

I slow Sampsoun in shaking the piler;

And myne be the maladyes colde,

(1610)

The derke tresons, and the castes olde;

My loking is the fader of pestilence.

2470

Now weep namore, I shal doon diligence

That Palamon, that is thyn owne knight,

[71: T. 2474-2506.]

Shal have his lady, as thou hast him hight.

Though Mars shal helpe his knight, yet nathelees

Bitwixe yow ther moot be som tyme pees,

2475

Al be ye noght of o complexioun,

That causeth al day swich divisioun.

I am thin ayel, redy at thy wille;

(1620)

Weep thou namore, I wol thy lust fulfille.'

2462. E. om. 1st the. 2466. Hl. in; rest om. 2468. Hl. tresoun.

Now wol I stinten of the goddes above,

2480

Of Mars, and of Venus, goddesse of love,

And telle yow, as pleynly as I can,

The grete effect, for which that I bigan.

Explicit tercia pars. Sequitur pars quarta.

Greet was the feste in Athenes that day,

And eek the lusty seson of that May

2485

Made every wight to been in swich plesaunce,

That al that Monday Iusten they and daunce,

And spenden it in Venus heigh servyse.

(1630)

But by the cause that they sholde ryse

Erly, for to seen the grete fight,

2490

Unto hir reste wente they at night.

And on the morwe, whan that day gan springe,

Of hors and harneys, noyse and clateringe

Ther was in hostelryes al aboute;

And to the paleys rood ther many a route

2495

Of lordes, up-on stedes and palfreys.

Ther maystow seen devysing of herneys

So uncouth and so riche, and wroght so weel

(1640)

Of goldsmithrie, of browding, and of steel;

The sheeldes brighte, testers, and trappures;

2500

Gold-hewen helmes, hauberks, cote-armures;

Lordes in paraments on hir courseres,

Knightes of retenue, and eek squyeres

Nailinge the speres, and helmes bokelinge,

Gigginge of sheeldes, with layneres lacinge;

[72: T. 2507-2543.]

2505

Ther as need is, they weren no-thing ydel;

The fomy stedes on the golden brydel

Gnawinge, and faste the armurers also

(1650)

With fyle and hamer prikinge to and fro;

Yemen on fote, and communes many oon

2510

With shorte staves, thikke as they may goon;

Pypes, trompes, nakers, clariounes,

That in the bataille blowen blody sounes;

The paleys ful of peples up and doun,

Heer three, ther ten, holding hir questioun,

2515

Divyninge of thise Thebane knightes two.

Somme seyden thus, somme seyde it shal be so;

Somme helden with him with the blake berd,

(1660)

Somme with the balled, somme with the thikke-herd;

Somme sayde, he loked grim and he wolde fighte;

2520

He hath a sparth of twenty pound of wighte.

Thus was the halle ful of divyninge,

Longe after that the sonne gan to springe.

2489. Hl. Erly a-morwe for to see that fight. 2493. E. ins. the after in. 2500. Hl. Gold-beten. 2503. Nailinge] Hl. Rayhyng. 2504. Hl. Girdyng. 2511. E. nakerers ( wrongly ). 2513. Hl. pepul; Pt. puple; Ln. peple.

The grete Theseus, that of his sleep awaked

With minstralcye and noyse that was maked,

2525

Held yet the chambre of his paleys riche,

Til that the Thebane knightes, bothe y-liche

Honoured, were into the paleys fet.