Geoffrey Chaucer - The Canterbury Tales

What helpeth it to tarien forth the day,

To tellen how she weep, bothe eve and morwe?

For in swich cas wommen have swich sorwe,

Whan that hir housbonds been from hem ago,

That for the more part they sorwen so,

2825

Or elles fallen in swich maladye,

That at the laste certeinly they dye.

2819. E. Hn. baar. 2822. Hl. can haue; rest om. can. 2823. E. housbond is.

Infinite been the sorwes and the teres

(1970)

Of olde folk, and folk of tendre yeres,

In al the toun, for deeth of this Theban;

2830

For him ther wepeth bothe child and man;

So greet a weping was ther noon, certayn,

Whan Ector was y-broght, al fresh y-slayn,

To Troye; allas! the pitee that was ther,

Cracching of chekes, rending eek of heer.

2835

'Why woldestow be deed,' thise wommen crye,

'And haddest gold y-nough, and Emelye?'

No man mighte gladen Theseus,

(1980)

Savinge his olde fader Egeus,

[81: T. 2841-2876.]

That knew this worldes transmutacioun,

2840

As he had seyn it chaungen up and doun,

Ioye after wo, and wo after gladnesse:

And shewed hem ensamples and lyknesse.

2828. E. eek; for 2nd folk. 2834. E. Hn. Cm. Pt. rentynge. 2840. Hn. chaungen; Hl. torne; rest om.

'Right as ther deyed never man,' quod he,

'That he ne livede in erthe in som degree,

2845

Right so ther livede never man,' he seyde,

'In al this world, that som tyme he ne deyde.

This world nis but a thurghfare ful of wo,

(1990)

And we ben pilgrimes, passinge to and fro;

Deeth is an ende of every worldly sore.'

2850

And over al this yet seyde he muchel more

To this effect, ful wysly to enhorte

The peple, that they sholde hem reconforte.

2843. Hn. deyed; E. dyed. 2849. E. worldes.

Duk Theseus, with al his bisy cure,

Caste now wher that the sepulture

2855

Of good Arcite may best y-maked be,

And eek most honurable in his degree.

And at the laste he took conclusioun,

(2000)

That ther as first Arcite and Palamoun

Hadden for love the bataille hem bitwene,

2860

That in that selve grove, swote and grene,

Ther as he hadde his amorous desires,

His compleynt, and for love his hote fires,

He wolde make a fyr, in which thoffice

Funeral he mighte al accomplice;

2865

And leet comaunde anon to hakke and hewe

The okes olde, and leye hem on a rewe

In colpons wel arrayed for to brenne;

(2010)

His officers with swifte feet they renne

And ryde anon at his comaundement.

2870

And after this, Theseus hath y-sent

After a bere, and it al over-spradde

With cloth of gold, the richest that he hadde.

And of the same suyte he cladde Arcite;

Upon his hondes hadde he gloves whyte;

[82: T. 2877-2913.]

2875

Eek on his heed a croune of laurer grene,

And in his hond a swerd ful bright and kene.

He leyde him bare the visage on the bere,

(2020)

Therwith he weep that pitee was to here.

And for the peple sholde seen him alle,

2880

Whan it was day, he broghte him to the halle,

That roreth of the crying and the soun.

2854. Hn. Caste; E. Hl. Cast. now] Hl. busyly. 2861. E. amorouse. 2863. E. the office; Hl. thoffice. 2869. E. ryden. 2875. Cp. Pt. Hl. croune; rest coroune.

Tho cam this woful Theban Palamoun,

With flotery berd, and ruggy asshy heres,

In clothes blake, y-dropped al with teres;

2885

And, passing othere of weping, Emelye,

The rewfulleste of al the companye.

In as muche as the service sholde be

(2030)

The more noble and riche in his degree,

Duk Theseus leet forth three stedes bringe,

2890

That trapped were in steel al gliteringe,

And covered with the armes of daun Arcite.

Up-on thise stedes, that weren grete and whyte,

Ther seten folk, of which oon bar his sheeld,

Another his spere up in his hondes heeld;

2895

The thridde bar with him his bowe Turkeys,

Of brend gold was the cas, and eek the harneys;

And riden forth a pas with sorweful chere

(2040)

Toward the grove, as ye shul after here.

The nobleste of the Grekes that ther were

2900

Upon hir shuldres carieden the bere,

With slakke pas, and eyen rede and wete,

Thurgh-out the citee, by the maister-strete,

That sprad was al with blak, and wonder hye

Right of the same is al the strete y-wrye.

2905

Up-on the right hond wente old Egeus,

And on that other syde duk Theseus,

With vessels in hir hand of gold ful fyn,

(2050)

Al ful of hony, milk, and blood, and wyn;

Eek Palamon, with ful greet companye;

2910

And after that cam woful Emelye,

With fyr in honde, as was that tyme the gyse,

[83: T. 2914-2949.]

To do thoffice of funeral servyse.

2883. E. rugged. 2892. Hl. that weren; rest om. 2893. E. Ln. sitten. 2894. E. om. up. 2901. Ln. slake ( for slakke); rest slak. 2904. Hl. al; rest om. 2912. So Hl. Cp.; rest the office.

Heigh labour, and ful greet apparaillinge

Was at the service and the fyr-makinge,

2915

That with his grene top the heven raughte,

And twenty fadme of brede the armes straughte;

This is to seyn, the bowes were so brode.

(2060)

Of stree first ther was leyd ful many a lode.

But how the fyr was maked up on highte,

2920

And eek the names how the treës highte,

As ook, firre, birch, asp, alder, holm, popler,

Wilow, elm, plane, ash, box, chasteyn, lind, laurer,

Mapul, thorn, beech, hasel, ew, whippeltree,

How they weren feld, shal nat be told for me;

2925

Ne how the goddes ronnen up and doun,

Disherited of hir habitacioun,

In which they woneden in reste and pees,

(2070)

Nymphes, Faunes, and Amadrides;

Ne how the bestes and the briddes alle

2930

Fledden for fere, whan the wode was falle;

Ne how the ground agast was of the light,

That was nat wont to seen the sonne bright;

Ne how the fyr was couched first with stree,

And than with drye stokkes cloven a three,

2935

And than with grene wode and spycerye,

And than with cloth of gold and with perrye,

And gerlandes hanging with ful many a flour,

(2080)

The mirre, thencens, with al so greet odour;

Ne how Arcite lay among al this,

2940

Ne what richesse aboute his body is;

Ne how that Emelye, as was the gyse,

Putte in the fyr of funeral servyse;

Ne how she swowned whan men made the fyr,

Ne what she spak, ne what was hir desyr;

2945

Ne what Ieweles men in the fyr tho caste,

Whan that the fyr was greet and brente faste;

Ne how som caste hir sheeld, and som hir spere,

[84: T. 2950-2986.]

(2090)

And of hir vestiments, whiche that they were,

And cuppes ful of wyn, and milk, and blood,

2950

Into the fyr, that brente as it were wood;

Ne how the Grekes with an huge route

Thryës riden al the fyr aboute

Up-on the left hand, with a loud shoutinge,

And thryës with hir speres clateringe;

2955

And thryës how the ladies gonne crye;

Ne how that lad was hom-ward Emelye;

Ne how Arcite is brent to asshen colde;

(2100)

Ne how that liche-wake was y-holde

Al thilke night, ne how the Grekes pleye

2960

The wake-pleyes, ne kepe I nat to seye;

Who wrastleth best naked, with oille enoynt,

Ne who that bar him best, in no disioynt.

I wol nat tellen eek how that they goon