Geoffrey Chaucer - Geoffrey Chaucer - The Canterbury Tales (English Edition)

For she, that doth* me all this woe endure, *causes

Ne recketh ne'er whether I sink or fleet* *swim

And well I wot, ere she me mercy hete*, *promise, vouchsafe

I must with strengthe win her in the place:

And well I wot, withoute help or grace

Of thee, ne may my strengthe not avail:

Then help me, lord, to-morr'w in my bataille,

For thilke fire that whilom burned thee,

As well as this fire that now burneth me;

And do* that I to-morr'w may have victory. *cause

Mine be the travail, all thine be the glory.

Thy sovereign temple will I most honour

Of any place, and alway most labour

In thy pleasance and in thy craftes strong.

And in thy temple I will my banner hong*, *hang

And all the armes of my company,

And evermore, until that day I die,

Eternal fire I will before thee find

And eke to this my vow I will me bind:

My beard, my hair that hangeth long adown,

That never yet hath felt offension* *indignity

Of razor nor of shears, I will thee give,

And be thy true servant while I live.

Now, lord, have ruth upon my sorrows sore,

Give me the victory, I ask no more."

The prayer stint* of Arcita the strong, *ended

The ringes on the temple door that hong,

And eke the doores, clattered full fast,

Of which Arcita somewhat was aghast.

The fires burn'd upon the altar bright,

That it gan all the temple for to light;

A sweete smell anon the ground up gaf*, *gave

And Arcita anon his hand up haf*, *lifted

And more incense into the fire he cast,

With other rites more and at the last

The statue of Mars began his hauberk ring;

And with that sound he heard a murmuring

Full low and dim, that saide thus, "Victory."

For which he gave to Mars honour and glory.

And thus with joy, and hope well to fare,

Arcite anon unto his inn doth fare.

As fain* as fowl is of the brighte sun. *glad

And right anon such strife there is begun

For thilke* granting, in the heav'n above, *that

Betwixte Venus the goddess of love,

And Mars the sterne god armipotent,

That Jupiter was busy it to stent*: *stop

Till that the pale Saturnus the cold,<70>

That knew so many of adventures old,

Found in his old experience such an art,

That he full soon hath pleased every part.

As sooth is said, eld* hath great advantage, *age

In eld is bothe wisdom and usage*: *experience

Men may the old out-run, but not out-rede*. *outwit

Saturn anon, to stint the strife and drede,

Albeit that it is against his kind,* *nature

Of all this strife gan a remedy find.

"My deare daughter Venus," quoth Saturn,

"My course*, that hath so wide for to turn, *orbit <71>

Hath more power than wot any man.

Mine is the drowning in the sea so wan;

Mine is the prison in the darke cote*, *cell

Mine the strangling and hanging by the throat,

The murmur, and the churlish rebelling,

The groyning*, and the privy poisoning. *discontent

I do vengeance and plein* correction, *full

I dwell in the sign of the lion.

Mine is the ruin of the highe halls,

The falling of the towers and the walls

Upon the miner or the carpenter:

I slew Samson in shaking the pillar:

Mine also be the maladies cold,

The darke treasons, and the castes* old: *plots

My looking is the father of pestilence.

Now weep no more, I shall do diligence

That Palamon, that is thine owen knight,

Shall have his lady, as thou hast him hight*. *promised

Though Mars shall help his knight, yet natheless

Betwixte you there must sometime be peace:

All be ye not of one complexion,

That each day causeth such division,

I am thine ayel*, ready at thy will; *grandfather <72>

Weep now no more, I shall thy lust* fulfil." *pleasure

Now will I stenten* of the gods above, *cease speaking

Of Mars, and of Venus, goddess of love,

And telle you as plainly as I can

The great effect, for which that I began.

Great was the feast in Athens thilke* day; *that

And eke the lusty season of that May

Made every wight to be in such pleasance,

That all that Monday jousten they and dance,

And spenden it in Venus' high service.

But by the cause that they shoulde rise

Early a-morrow for to see that fight,

Unto their reste wente they at night.

And on the morrow, when the day gan spring,

Of horse and harness* noise and clattering *armour

There was in the hostelries all about:

And to the palace rode there many a rout* *train, retinue

Of lordes, upon steedes and palfreys.

There mayst thou see devising* of harness *decoration

So uncouth* and so rich, and wrought so weel *unkown, rare

Of goldsmithry, of brouding*, and of steel; *embroidery

The shieldes bright, the testers*, and trappures** *helmets<73>

Gold-hewen helmets, hauberks, coat-armures; **trappings

Lordes in parements* on their coursers, *ornamental garb <74>;

Knightes of retinue, and eke squiers,

Nailing the spears, and helmes buckeling,

Gniding* of shieldes, with lainers** lacing; *polishing <75>

There as need is, they were nothing idle: **lanyards

The foamy steeds upon the golden bridle

Gnawing, and fast the armourers also

With file and hammer pricking to and fro;

Yeomen on foot, and knaves* many one *servants

With shorte staves, thick* as they may gon**; *close **walk

Pipes, trumpets, nakeres*, and clariouns, *drums <76>

That in the battle blowe bloody souns;

The palace full of people up and down,

There three, there ten, holding their questioun*, *conversation

Divining* of these Theban knightes two. *conjecturing

Some saiden thus, some said it shall he so;

Some helden with him with the blacke beard,

Some with the bald, some with the thick-hair'd;

Some said he looked grim, and woulde fight:

He had a sparth* of twenty pound of weight. *double-headed axe

Thus was the halle full of divining* *conjecturing

Long after that the sunne gan up spring.

The great Theseus that of his sleep is waked

With minstrelsy, and noise that was maked,

Held yet the chamber of his palace rich,

Till that the Theban knightes both y-lich* *alike

Honoured were, and to the palace fet*. *fetched

Duke Theseus is at a window set,

Array'd right as he were a god in throne:

The people presseth thitherward full soon

Him for to see, and do him reverence,

And eke to hearken his hest* and his sentence**. *command **speech

An herald on a scaffold made an O, <77>

Till the noise of the people was y-do*: *done

And when he saw the people of noise all still,

Thus shewed he the mighty Duke's will.

"The lord hath of his high discretion

Considered that it were destruction

To gentle blood, to fighten in the guise

Of mortal battle now in this emprise:

Wherefore to shape* that they shall not die, *arrange, contrive

He will his firste purpose modify.

No man therefore, on pain of loss of life,

No manner* shot, nor poleaxe, nor short knife *kind of

Into the lists shall send, or thither bring.

Nor short sword for to stick with point biting

No man shall draw, nor bear it by his side.

And no man shall unto his fellow ride

But one course, with a sharp y-grounden spear:

*Foin if him list on foot, himself to wear. *He who wishes can

And he that is at mischief shall be take*, fence on foot to defend

And not slain, but be brought unto the stake, himself, and he that

That shall be ordained on either side; is in peril shall be taken*