1. Cf. Amorous Complaint, 87; Troil. v. 1318, i. 960.
3. 'Love hath me taught no more of his art,' &c.; Compl. to his Lady, 42-3.
9. Cf. Compl. of Mars, 13, 14; p. xxx above, l. 43; Parl. Foules, 386-9; Amorous Complaint, 85-6.
19. eche , augment; 'hir sorwes eche ,' T. i. 705.
27. 'And to your trouthe ay I me recomaunde;' T. v. 1414. 'I am a boistous man;' C. T., H 211.
XXVI.—I take the title from l. 12; see T. v. 232, 638, 1392.
7. sounde , heal, cure; as in Anelida, 242.
8. Perhaps read hertes sorwes leche ; see T. ii. 1066.
10. Cf. 'as in his speche;' T. ii. 1069.
26. impresse ; cf. T. ii. 1371.
28. spille ; cf. Compl. to his Lady, 121.
32. reyne , bridle. For this image, cf. Anelida, 184.
39. MS. deth the kerue . As e and o are constantly confused, the prefix to (written apart) may have looked like te , and would easily be altered to the . Cf. forkerveth in the Manc. Tale, H 340.
47. Here spac-e rimes with embrac-e , but in l. 5 it rimes with allas . This variation is no worse than the riming of embrace with compas in Proverbs, 8 (vol. i. p. 407). Cf. plac-e in C.T., B 1910, with its variant plas , B 1971.
N.B. The Complaints numbered XXV and XXVI are obviously by the same author; compare XXV. 26 with XXVI. 15; XXV. 9 with XXVI. 43; and XXV. 29-31 with XXVI. 39, 40. They were probably written nearly at the same time.
[1: T. 1-22.]
GROUP A. THE PROLOGUE.
Here biginneth the Book of the Tales of Caunterbury.
Whan that Aprille with his shoures sote
The droghte of Marche hath perced to the rote,
And bathed every veyne in swich licour,
Of which vertu engendred is the flour;
5
Whan Zephirus eek with his swete breeth
Inspired hath in every holt and heeth
The tendre croppes, and the yonge sonne
Hath in the Ram his halfe cours y-ronne,
And smale fowles maken melodye,
10
That slepen al the night with open yë,
(So priketh hem nature in hir corages):
Than longen folk to goon on pilgrimages
(And palmers for to seken straunge strondes)
To ferne halwes, couthe in sondry londes;
15
And specially, from every shires ende
Of Engelond, to Caunterbury they wende,
The holy blisful martir for to seke,
That hem hath holpen, whan that they were seke.
Heading. From E. 1. E. hise; rest his. 8. Hl. halfe; rest half. 9. Hl. fowles; Pt. Ln. foules; E. Hn. foweles. 10. Hl. yhe; Hn. Iye; E. eye. 12. Pt. Ln. Than; E. Thanne. E. pilg ri mage ( by mistake ). 13. Pt. Hl. palmers; E. Palmeres. 16. Hn. Caunter-; E. Cauntur-. 18. E. seeke.
Bifel that, in that seson on a day,
20
In Southwerk at the Tabard as I lay
Redy to wenden on my pilgrimage
To Caunterbury with ful devout corage,
[2: T. 23-58.]
At night was come in-to that hostelrye
Wel nyne and twenty in a companye,
25
Of sondry folk, by aventure y-falle
In felawshipe, and pilgrims were they alle,
That toward Caunterbury wolden ryde;
The chambres and the stables weren wyde,
And wel we weren esed atte beste.
30
And shortly, whan the sonne was to reste,
So hadde I spoken with hem everichon,
That I was of hir felawshipe anon,
And made forward erly for to ryse,
To take our wey, ther as I yow devyse.
19. Hn. Bifel; E. Bifil. 23. E. were; rest was. 24. E. Hn. compaignye. 26, 32. E. felaweship e . Hl. pilgryms; E. pilgrimes. 34. E. oure.
35
But natheles, whyl I have tyme and space,
Er that I ferther in this tale pace,
Me thinketh it acordaunt to resoun,
To telle yow al the condicioun
Of ech of hem, so as it semed me,
40
And whiche they weren, and of what degree;
And eek in what array that they were inne:
And at a knight than wol I first biginne.
35. E. Hn. nathelees. 40. Hl. weren; rest were, weere.
Knight.
A Knight ther was, and that a worthy man,
That fro the tyme that he first bigan
45
To ryden out, he loved chivalrye,
Trouthe and honour, fredom and curteisye.
Ful worthy was he in his lordes werre,
And therto hadde he riden (no man ferre)
As wel in Cristendom as hethenesse,
50
And ever honoured for his worthinesse.
49. Hn. Hl. as; rest as in.
At Alisaundre he was, whan it was wonne;
Ful ofte tyme he hadde the bord bigonne
Aboven alle naciouns in Pruce.
In Lettow hadde he reysed and in Ruce,
55
No Cristen man so ofte of his degree.
In Gernade at the sege eek hadde he be
Of Algezir, and riden in Belmarye.
At Lyeys was he, and at Satalye,
[3: T. 59-92.]
Whan they were wonne; and in the Grete See
60
At many a noble aryve hadde he be.
At mortal batailles hadde he been fiftene,
And foughten for our feith at Tramissene
In listes thryes, and ay slayn his foo.
This ilke worthy knight had been also
65
Somtyme with the lord of Palatye,
Ageyn another hethen in Turkye:
And evermore he hadde a sovereyn prys.
And though that he were worthy, he was wys,
And of his port as meke as is a mayde.
70
He never yet no vileinye ne sayde
In al his lyf, un-to no maner wight.
He was a verray parfit gentil knight.
But for to tellen yow of his array,
His hors were gode, but he was nat gay.
75
Of fustian he wered a gipoun
Al bismotered with his habergeoun;
For he was late y-come from his viage,
And wente for to doon his pilgrimage.
53. E. nacions. 56. E. seege. 60. Hl. ariue; Cm. aryue; E. Hn. armee; Cp. Ln. arme. 62. E. oure. 64. Pt. had; rest hadde. 67. E. -moore. 68. E. Hn. Cm. were; rest was. 74. E. Pt. weren; Hl. Ln. was; rest were. Hl. Hn. he ne was.
Squyer.
With him ther was his sone, a yong Squyer,
80
A lovyere, and a lusty bacheler,
With lokkes crulle, as they were leyd in presse.
Of twenty yeer of age he was, I gesse.
Of his stature he was of evene lengthe,
And wonderly deliver, and greet of strengthe.
85
And he had been somtyme in chivachye,
In Flaundres, in Artoys, and Picardye,
And born him wel, as of so litel space,
In hope to stonden in his lady grace.
Embrouded was he, as it were a mede
90
Al ful of fresshe floures, whyte and rede.
Singinge he was, or floytinge, al the day;
He was as fresh as is the month of May.
[4: T. 93-127.]
Short was his goune, with sleves longe and wyde.
Wel coude he sitte on hors, and faire ryde.
95
He coude songes make and wel endyte,
Iuste and eek daunce, and wel purtreye and wryte,
So hote he lovede, that by nightertale
He sleep namore than dooth a nightingale.
Curteys he was, lowly, and servisable,
100
And carf biforn his fader at the table.
83. Ln. euen; rest euene. 84. Hl. Ln. delyuer; rest delyuere. E. Hn. of greet; Cm. of gret; rest gret of. 85. Ln. had. 87. E. weel. 89, 90. E. meede, reede. 92. E. fressh. E. in; rest is. E. Hn. Monthe; Cp. month; Hl. Pt. Ln. moneth; Cm. monyth. 96. E. weel. 98. Hl. Cp. sleep; rest slepte. E. -moore. 99. Hl. Cp. Ln. lowly; E. Hn. Pt. lowely.
Yeman.
A Yeman hadde he, and servaunts namo
At that tyme, for him liste ryde so;
And he was clad in cote and hood of grene;
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