Geoffrey Chaucer - The Canterbury Tales

And yet ik have alwey a coltes tooth,

As many a yeer as it is passed henne

3890

Sin that my tappe of lyf bigan to renne.

For sikerly, whan I was bore, anon

Deeth drogh the tappe of lyf and leet it gon;

And ever sith hath so the tappe y-ronne,

(40)

Til that almost al empty is the tonne.

3895

The streem of lyf now droppeth on the chimbe;

The sely tonge may wel ringe and chimbe

Of wrecchednesse that passed is ful yore;

With olde folk, save dotage, is namore.'

3885. E. eelde. 3886. E. vnweelde. 3893. Hn. sith; E. sithe.

Whan that our host hadde herd this sermoning,

3900

He gan to speke as lordly as a king;

He seide, 'what amounteth al this wit?

What shul we speke alday of holy writ?

The devel made a reve for to preche,

(50)

And of a souter a shipman or a leche.

3905

Sey forth thy tale, and tarie nat the tyme,

Lo, Depeford! and it is half-way pryme.

Lo, Grenewich, ther many a shrewe is inne;

It were al tyme thy tale to biginne.'

3904. E. Cm. And; rest Or. All but Hn. om. 2nd a. 3907. Cp. Pt. Ln. that ( for ther). 3908. Pt. hie ( for al).

'Now, sires,' quod this Osewold the Reve,

3910

'I pray yow alle that ye nat yow greve,

Thogh I answere and somdel sette his howve;

For leveful is with force force of-showve.

3912. In margin of E.—vim vi repellere.

This dronke millere hath y-told us heer,

(60)

How that bigyled was a carpenteer,

3915

Peraventure in scorn, for I am oon.

And, by your leve, I shal him quyte anoon;

Right in his cherles termes wol I speke.

I pray to god his nekke mote breke;

He can wel in myn yë seen a stalke,

3920

But in his owne he can nat seen a balke.

3918. Hl. tobreke; Pt. alto-breke. 3919. Pt. ye; Cp. ȝe; rest eye.

[114: T. 3919-3943.]

Here biginneth the Reves tale.

At Trumpington, nat fer fro Cantebrigge,

Ther goth a brook and over that a brigge,

Up-on the whiche brook ther stant a melle;

And this is verray soth that I yow telle.

3925

A Miller was ther dwelling many a day;

As eny pecok he was proud and gay.

Pypen he coude and fisshe, and nettes bete,

And turne coppes, and wel wrastle and shete;

And by his belt he baar a long panade,

3930

And of a swerd ful trenchant was the blade.

(11)

A Ioly popper baar he in his pouche;

Ther was no man for peril dorste him touche.

A Sheffeld thwitel baar he in his hose;

Round was his face, and camuse was his nose.

3935

As piled as an ape was his skulle.

He was a market-beter atte fulle.

Ther dorste no wight hand up-on him legge,

That he ne swoor he sholde anon abegge.

A theef he was for sothe of corn and mele,

3940

And that a sly, and usaunt for to stele.

(21)

His name was hoten dëynous Simkin.

A wyf he hadde, y-comen of noble kin;

The person of the toun hir fader was.

With hir he yaf ful many a panne of bras,

3945

For that Simkin sholde in his blood allye.

[115: T. 3944-3976.]

She was y-fostred in a nonnerye;

For Simkin wolde no wyf, as he sayde,

But she were wel y-norissed and a mayde,

To saven his estaat of yomanrye.

3950

And she was proud, and pert as is a pye.

(31)

A ful fair sighte was it on hem two;

On haly-dayes biforn hir wolde he go

With his tipet bounden about his heed,

And she cam after in a gyte of reed;

3955

And Simkin hadde hosen of the same.

Ther dorste no wight clepen hir but 'dame.'

Was noon so hardy that wente by the weye

That with hir dorste rage or ones pleye,

But-if he wolde be slayn of Simkin

3960

With panade, or with knyf, or boydekin.

(41)

For Ialous folk ben perilous evermo,

Algate they wolde hir wyves wenden so.

And eek, for she was somdel smoterlich,

She was as digne as water in a dich;

3965

And ful of hoker and of bisemare.

Hir thoughte that a lady sholde hir spare,

What for hir kinrede and hir nortelrye

That she had lerned in the nonnerye.

3923. E. Hn. Cm. which; rest whiche. 3928. Hl. wrastle wel ( om. and). 3934. Hl. camois; Pt. camoyse. 3939. E. was of corn and eek of Mele. 3941. E. Cp. Hl. hoote; Cm. hotyn; rest hoten. Pt. deyneȝouse. 3944. panne] Cm. peny. 3948. E. But if; rest But. 3949. Hn. Cm. Pt. yemanrye. 3950. E. Hn. Pt. peert. 3951. Cm. Hl. on; rest vp-on. 3953. Cm. boundyn; Pt. bounden; Hn. Cp. Ln. wounden; Hl. ybounde. 3956. Hl. ma dame. 3958. Hl. elles ( for ones). 3959. Hl. Symekyn. 3965. Hn. Cm. And; rest As. Hl. bissemare; Cp. bisemare; E. Hn. Pt. Ln. bismare.

A doghter hadde they bitwixe hem two

3970

Of twenty yeer, with-outen any mo,

(51)

Savinge a child that was of half-yeer age;

In cradel it lay and was a propre page.

This wenche thikke and wel y-growen was,

With camuse nose and yën greye as glas;

3975

With buttokes brode and brestes rounde and hye,

But right fair was hir heer, I wol nat lye.

3974. Cp. Pt. Ln. Hl. camoys. MSS. eyen, eyȝen. 3975. E. Cm. om. With.

The person of the toun, for she was feir,

In purpos was to maken hir his heir

[116: T. 3977-4012.]

Bothe of his catel and his messuage,

3980

And straunge he made it of hir mariage.

(61)

His purpos was for to bistowe hir hye

In-to som worthy blood of auncetrye;

For holy chirches good moot been despended

On holy chirches blood, that is descended.

3985

Therfore he wolde his holy blood honoure,

Though that he holy chirche sholde devoure.

3977. E. Cm. This; rest The.

Gret soken hath this miller, out of doute,

With whete and malt of al the land aboute;

And nameliche ther was a greet collegge,

3990

Men clepen the Soler-halle at Cantebregge,

(71)

Ther was hir whete and eek hir malt y-grounde.

And on a day it happed, in a stounde,

Sik lay the maunciple on a maladye;

Men wenden wisly that he sholde dye.

3995

For which this miller stal bothe mele and corn

An hundred tyme more than biforn;

For ther-biforn he stal but curteisly,

But now he was a theef outrageously,

For which the wardeyn chidde and made fare.

4000

But ther-of sette the miller nat a tare;

(81)

He craketh boost, and swoor it was nat so.

3987. E. Cm. sokene.

Than were ther yonge povre clerkes two,

That dwelten in this halle, of which I seye.

Testif they were, and lusty for to pleye,

4005

And, only for hir mirthe and revelrye,

Up-on the wardeyn bisily they crye,

To yeve hem leve but a litel stounde

To goon to mille and seen hir corn y-grounde;

And hardily, they dorste leye hir nekke,

4010

The miller shold nat stele hem half a pekke

(91)

Of corn by sleighte, ne by force hem reve;

And at the laste the wardeyn yaf hem leve.

Iohn hight that oon, and Aleyn hight that other;

Of o toun were they born, that highte Strother,

[117: T. 4013-4045.]

4015

Fer in the north, I can nat telle where.

4002. Pt. Ln. Than; rest Thanne. 4004. Pt. Teestif. 4005. Ln. revelrie; rest reuerye; ed. 1561, reuelry. 4013. E. highte ( 1st ); heet ( 2nd ). Cp. Pt. Ln. Hl. hight.

This Aleyn maketh redy al his gere,

And on an hors the sak he caste anon.

Forth goth Aleyn the clerk, and also Iohn,