Geoffrey Chaucer - The Canterbury Tales

A sheef of pecok-arwes brighte and kene

105

Under his belt he bar ful thriftily;

(Wel coude he dresse his takel yemanly:

His arwes drouped noght with fetheres lowe),

And in his hand he bar a mighty bowe.

A not-heed hadde he, with a broun visage.

110

Of wode-craft wel coude he al the usage.

Upon his arm he bar a gay bracer,

And by his syde a swerd and a bokeler,

And on that other syde a gay daggere,

Harneised wel, and sharp as point of spere;

115

A Cristofre on his brest of silver shene.

An horn he bar, the bawdrik was of grene;

A forster was he, soothly, as I gesse.

101. E. seruantz. 102. E. soo. 104. Hl. Cp. Pt. Ln. pocok. Cm. bryghte; rest bright. 107. E. Hise. 108, 111. E. baar. 113. E. oother. 115. Hn. Cristofre; E. Cristophere. E. sheene.

Prioresse.

Ther was also a Nonne, a Prioresse,

That of hir smyling was ful simple and coy;

120

Hir gretteste ooth was but by sëynt Loy;

And she was cleped madame Eglentyne.

Ful wel she song the service divyne,

Entuned in hir nose ful semely;

And Frensh she spak ful faire and fetisly,

125

After the scole of Stratford atte Bowe,

For Frensh of Paris was to hir unknowe.

At mete wel y-taught was she with-alle;

[5: T. 128-161.]

She leet no morsel from hir lippes falle,

Ne wette hir fingres in hir sauce depe.

130

Wel coude she carie a morsel, and wel kepe,

That no drope ne fille up-on hir brest.

In curteisye was set ful muche hir lest.

Hir over lippe wyped she so clene,

That in hir coppe was no ferthing sene

135

Of grece, whan she dronken hadde hir draughte.

Ful semely after hir mete she raughte,

And sikerly she was of greet disport,

And ful plesaunt, and amiable of port,

And peyned hir to countrefete chere

140

Of court, and been estatlich of manere,

And to ben holden digne of reverence.

But, for to speken of hir conscience,

She was so charitable and so pitous,

She wolde wepe, if that she sawe a mous

145

Caught in a trappe, if it were deed or bledde.

Of smale houndes had she, that she fedde

With rosted flesh, or milk and wastel-breed.

But sore weep she if oon of hem were deed,

Or if men smoot it with a yerde smerte:

150

And al was conscience and tendre herte.

Ful semely hir wimpel pinched was;

Hir nose tretys; hir eyen greye as glas;

Hir mouth ful smal, and ther-to softe and reed;

But sikerly she hadde a fair forheed;

155

It was almost a spanne brood, I trowe;

For, hardily, she was nat undergrowe.

Ful fetis was hir cloke, as I was war.

Of smal coral aboute hir arm she bar

A peire of bedes, gauded al with grene;

160

And ther-on heng a broche of gold ful shene,

On which ther was first write a crowned A,

[6: T. 162-195.]

And after, Amor vincit omnia.

122. E. soong. 123. E. semeely. 131. Cm. brest; E. Hn. brist. 132. Cp. moche; Cm. meche; E. Hn. muchel. Hl. lest; E. Hn. Cm. list. 134. Hl. was; rest ther was. 137. E. Hn. desport; rest disport. 140. E. to been; Hl. Hn. omit to. 144. Hl. Hn. Cp. Ln. sawe; E. saugh; Cm. seye. 146. Pt. Ln. had; rest hadde. 148. Ln. wepped; rest wepte; read weep; cf . l. 2878. E. any; rest oon, on, one. 151. E. semyly. E. wympul; Hn. wympel. 160. E. Hn. brooch; rest broche.

Nonne.

Another Nonne with hir hadde she,

3 Preestes.

That was hir chapeleyne, and Preestes three.

Monk.

A Monk ther was, a fair for the maistrye,

166

An out-rydere, that lovede venerye;

A manly man, to been an abbot able.

Ful many a deyntee hors hadde he in stable:

And, whan he rood, men mighte his brydel here

170

Ginglen in a whistling wind as clere,

And eek as loude as dooth the chapel-belle,

Ther as this lord was keper of the celle.

The reule of seint Maure or of seint Beneit,

By-cause that it was old and som-del streit,

175

This ilke monk leet olde thinges pace,

And held after the newe world the space.

He yaf nat of that text a pulled hen,

That seith, that hunters been nat holy men;

Ne that a monk, whan he is cloisterlees,

180

Is lykned til a fish that is waterlees;

This is to seyn, a monk out of his cloistre.

But thilke text held he nat worth an oistre;

And I seyde, his opinioun was good.

What sholde he studie, and make him-selven wood,

185

Upon a book in cloistre alwey to poure,

Or swinken with his handes, and laboure,

As Austin bit? How shal the world be served?

Lat Austin have his swink to him reserved.

Therfore he was a pricasour aright;

190

Grehoundes he hadde, as swifte as fowel in flight;

Of priking and of hunting for the hare

Was al his lust, for no cost wolde he spare.

I seigh his sleves purfiled at the hond

With grys, and that the fyneste of a lond;

195

And, for to festne his hood under his chin,

[7: T. 196-231.]

He hadde of gold y-wroght a curious pin:

A love-knotte in the gretter ende ther was.

His heed was balled, that shoon as any glas,

And eek his face, as he had been anoint.

200

He was a lord ful fat and in good point;

His eyen stepe, and rollinge in his heed,

That stemed as a forneys of a leed;

His botes souple, his hors in greet estat.

Now certeinly he was a fair prelat;

205

He was nat pale as a for-pyned goost.

A fat swan loved he best of any roost.

His palfrey was as broun as is a berye.

170. Hl. Cp. whistlyng; E. whistlynge. E. Cm. als; Ln. al-so; Hl. so; rest as. 176. E. Hn. heeld; Cm. held. 178. Hn. Hl. been; E. beth. 179. Hl. cloysterles; E. Hn. recchelees; Cp. Pt. Ln. recheles; Cm. rekeles (Ten Brink proposes recetlees). 182. E. Hn. heeld; Cm. held. 188. E. his owene; rest om. owene. 190. Hl. swifte; rest swift. 193. Hl. Hn. purfiled; Cm. purfilid; E. ypurfiled. 196. Hl. a; rest a ful. 196, 218. Ln. had; rest hadde. 199. E. it; rest he. 203, 4. E. estaat, prelaat.

Frere.

A Frere ther was, a wantown and a merye,

A limitour, a ful solempne man.

210

In alle the ordres foure is noon that can

So muche of daliaunce and fair langage.

He hadde maad ful many a mariage

Of yonge wommen, at his owne cost.

Un-to his ordre he was a noble post.

215

Ful wel biloved and famulier was he

With frankeleyns over-al in his contree,

And eek with worthy wommen of the toun:

For he had power of confessioun,

As seyde him-self, more than a curat,

220

For of his ordre he was licentiat.

Ful swetely herde he confessioun,

And plesaunt was his absolucioun;

He was an esy man to yeve penaunce

Ther as he wiste to han a good pitaunce;

225

For unto a povre ordre for to yive

Is signe that a man is wel y-shrive.

For if he yaf, he dorste make avaunt,

He wiste that a man was repentaunt.

For many a man so hard is of his herte,

230

He may nat wepe al-thogh him sore smerte.

Therfore, in stede of weping and preyeres,

[8: T. 232-265.]

Men moot yeve silver to the povre freres.

His tipet was ay farsed ful of knyves

And pinnes, for to yeven faire wyves.

235

And certeinly he hadde a mery note;

Wel coude he singe and pleyen on a rote.

Of yeddinges he bar utterly the prys.

His nekke whyt was as the flour-de-lys;

Ther-to he strong was as a champioun.

240