Or breke it, at a renning, with his heed.
His berd as any sowe or fox was reed,
And ther-to brood, as though it were a
spade.

Up-on the cop 11 right of his nose he hade
A werte, and ther-on stood a tuft of heres,
Reed as the bristles of a sowe's eres;
His nose-thirles 12 blake were and wyde.
A swerd and bokeler bar he by his syde;
His mouth as greet was as a greet forneys.
He was a janglere 13 and a goliardeys,14 560
And that was most of sinne and har-
lotryes. 15

Wel coude he stelen corn, and tollen thryes;

16

To yeve and lene him of his owne good, And have a thank, and yet a cote and hood.

In youthe he lerned hadde a good mister, 1

He was wel good wrighte, a carpenter.
This reve sat up-on a ful good stot,2

That was al pomely grey, and highte
Scot.

A long surcote of pers up-on he hade,
And by his syde he bar a rusty blade.
Of Northfolk was this reve, of which I
telle,

Bisyde a toun men clepen Baldeswelle. 620
Tukked he was, as is a frere, aboute,

And ever he rood the hindreste of our route.

A SOMNOUR was ther with us in that place,

That hadde a fyr-reed cherubinnes face, For sawcefleem 4 he was, with eyen narwe. As hoot he was, and lecherous, as a sparwe; With scalled 5 browes blake, and piled berd;

Than wolde he speke, and crye as he were wood,

And whan that he wel dronken hadde the wyn,

Than wolde he speke no word but Latyn.
A fewe termes hadde he, two or three,
That he had lerned out of some decree; 640
No wonder is, he herde it al the day;
And eek ye knowen wel, how that a jay
Can clepen Watte,' as well as can the pope.
But who-so coude in other thing him grope, 10
Thanne hadde he spent al his philosophye;
Ay Questio quid iuris,' 11 wolde he crye.

He was a gentil harlot 12 and a kinde;

650

A bettre felawe sholde men noght finde.
He wolde suffre, for a quart of wyn,
A good felawe to have his concubyn
A twelf-month, and excuse him atte fulle:
Ful prively a finch eek coude he pulle.18
And if he fond o-wher a good felawe,
He wolde techen him to have non awe,
In swich cas, of the erchedeknes curs,
But-if a mannes soule were in his purs;
For in his purs he sholde y-punisshed be.
Purs is the erchedeknes helle,' seyde
he.

And also war him of a significavit.14
In daunger 15 hadde he at his owne gyse
The yonge girles 16 of the diocyse,
And knew hir counseil, and was al hir reed.
A gerland hadde he set up-on his heed,
As greet as it were for an ale-stake,17
A bokeler hadde he maad him of a cake.
With him ther rood a gentil PARDONER
Of Rouncival,18 his freend and his com-
peer,
670
That streight was comen fro the court of
Rome.

Ful loude he song, 'Com hider, love, to me.'

This somnour bar to him a stif burdoun, 19 Was never trompe of half so greet a soun. This pardoner hadde heer as yelow as

Dischevele, save his cappe, he rood al bare. Swiche glaringe eyen hadde he as an hare. A vernicle 26 hadde he sowed on his cappe. His walet lay biforn him in his lappe,

13 fleece a gull. 14 A writ of excommunication. 15 Within his power. 16 youth of either sex.

17 Sign of an ale-house. 19 bass.

in Charing.

18 The name of a hospital 20 hank. 21 small portions. 24 It seemed to

22 shreds. 23 here and there. him. 25 the latest fashion.

26 Miniature of St. Veronica's handkerchief with the face of Christ - a token of his having been at Rome.

Bret-ful1 of pardoun come from Rome al hoot.

A voys he hadde as small as hath a goot.
No berd hadde he, never sholde have,
As smothe it was as it were late y-shave; 690
I trowe he were a gelding or a mare.
But of his craft, fro Berwik into Ware,
Ne was ther swich another pardoner.
For in his male 2 he hadde a pilwe-beer,3
Which that he seyde was our lady veyl:
He seyde he hadde a gobet of the seyl
That seynt Peter hadde, whan that he

wente

700

Up-on the see, til Jesu Crist him hente.
He hadde a croys of latoun,4 ful of stones,
And in a glas he hadde pigges bones.
But with thise relikes, whan that he fond
A povre person dwelling up-on lond,
Up-on a day he gat him more moneye
Than that the person gat in monthes tweye.
And thus, with feyned flaterye and japes,
He made the person and the peple his apes.
But trewely to tellen, atte laste
He was in chirche a noble ecclesiaste.
Wel coude he rede a lessoun or a storie,
But alderbest he song an offertorie;
For wel he wiste, whan that song was
songe,

710

He moste preche, and wel affyle' his

tonge,

To winne silver, as he ful wel coude; Therefore he song so meriely and loude.

Now have I told you shortly, in a clause, Th'estat, th'array, the nombre, and eek the

cause

Why that assembled was this companye
In Southwerk, at this gentil hostelrye,
That highte the Tabard, faste by the
Belle.

720

But now is tyme to yow for to telle
How that we baren us that ilke night,
Whan we were in that hostelrye alight.
And after wol I telle of our viage,
And al the remenaunt of our pilgrimage.
But first I pray yow, of your curteisye,
That ye n'arette 8 it nat my vileinye,
Thogh that I pleynly speke in this ma-
tere,

To telle yow hir wordes and hir chere;
Ne thogh I speke hir wordes properly.
For this ye knowen al-so wel as Ì,

730

Who-so shal telle a tale after a man,
He moot reherce, as ny as ever he can,
Everich a word, if it be in his charge,
Al speke he never so rudeliche and large;9
Or elles he moot telle his tale untrewe,
Or feyne thing, or finde wordes newe.
He may nat spare, al-thogh he were his
brother;

He moot as wel seye o word as another.
Crist spak him-self ful brode in holy writ,
And wel ye woot, no vileinye is it.
Eek Plato seith,10 who-so that can him
rede,

The wordes mote be cosin to the dede.
Also I prey yow to foryeve it me,

740

Al have I nat set folk in hir degree 11
Here in this tale, as that they sholde stonde;
My wit is short, ye may wel understonde.
Greet chere made our hoste us eve-
richon,

And to the soper sette us anon;

And served us with vitaille at the beste. Strong was the wyn, and wel to drinke us leste.12

750

A semely man our hoste was with-alle
For to han been a marshal in an halle;
A large man he was with eyen stepe,18
A fairer burgeys is ther noon in Chepe:
Bold of his speche, and wys, and wel
y-taught,

14

And of manhod him lakkede right naught.
Eek therto he was right a mery man,
And after soper pleyen he bigan,
And spak of mirthe amonges othere thinges,
Whan that we hadde maad our reken-

And seyde thus: 'Now, lordinges, trewely,
Ye been to me right welcome hertely:
For by my trouthe, if that I shal nat lve,
I ne saugh this yeer so mery a companye
At ones in this herberwe as is now.
Fayn wolde I doon yow mirthe, wiste I how.
And of a mirthe I am right now bithoght,
To doon yow ese, and it shal coste
noght.

770

'Ye goon to Caunterbury; God yow spede, The blisful martir quyte yow your mede. And wel I woot, as ye goon by the weye, Ye shapen yow to talen 15 and to pleye; For trewely, confort ne mirthe is noon To ryde by the weye doumb as a stoon; 9 freely.

10 Boethius, bk. III, prose 12; Plato's Timaeus, 29 B. 11 in order of precedence.

12 we were disposed - leste is Kentish dialect.

13 prominent. 14 Cheapside. 15 tell stories.

And therfore wol I maken yow disport,
As I seyde erst,1 and doon yow som confort.
And if yow lyketh alle, by oon assent,
Now for to stonden at my jugement,
And for to werken as I shal yow seye,
To-morwe, whan ye ryden by the weye, 780
Now, by my fader2 soule, that is deed,
But ye be merye, I wol yeve yow myn heed.
Hold up your hond, withouten more speche.'
Our counseil was nat longe for to seche;
Us thought it was noght worth to make it
wys,

And graunted him withouten more avys,
And bad him seye his verdit, as him leste.
'Lordinges,' quod he, 'now herkneth for
the beste;

But tak it not, I prey yow, in desdeyn; This is the poynt, to speken short and pleyn,

790

That ech of yow, to shorte with your weye,
In this viage, shal telle tales tweye,
To Caunterbury-ward, I mene it so,
And hom-ward he shal tellen othere two,
Of aventures that whylom han bifalle.
And which of yow that bereth him best of
alle,

That is to seyn, that telleth in this cas
Tales of best sentence and most solas,
Shal have a soper at our aller cost
Here in this place, sitting by this post, 800
Whan that we come agayn fro Caunter-
bury.

And for to make yow the more mery,
I wol my-selven gladly with yow ryde,
Right at myn owne cost, and be your gyde.
And who-so wol my jugement withseye
Shal paye al that we spenden by the weye.
And if ye vouche-sauf that it be so,
Tel me anon, with-outen wordes mo,8
And I wol erly shape me therfore.'

9

This thing was graunted, and our othes

In heigh and lowe ; 10 and thus, by oon as

sent,

We been acorded to his jugement.
And ther-up-on the wyn was fet 11 anon;
We dronken, and to reste wente echon, 820
With-outen any lenger taryinge.

12

A-morwe, whan that day bigan to springe,
Up roos our host, and was our aller cok,1
And gadrede us togidre, alle in a flok,
And forth we riden, a litel more than
pas, 18

Un-to the watering of seint Thomas.14
And there our host bigan his hors areste,
And seyde; 'Lordinges, herkneth, if yow
leste.

Ye woot your forward,15 and I it yow recorde.

If even-song and morwe-song acorde,16 830
Lat see now who shal telle the firste tale.
As ever mote I drinke wyn or ale,
Who-so be rebel to my jugement
Shal paye for al that by the weye is spent.
Now draweth cut,17 er that we ferrer
twinne; 18

He which that hath the shortest shal biginne.

Sire knight,' quod he, 'my maister and my lord,

Now draweth 19 cut, for that is myn acord. Cometh 19 neer,' quod he, 'my lady prior

20

Anon to drawen every wight bigan. And shortly for to tellen, as it was, Were it by aventure, or sort, or cas,2 The sothe is this, the cut fil to the knight, Of which ful blythe and glad was every wight;

And telle he moste his tale, as was resoun, By forward and by composicioun,21 As ye han herd; what nedeth wordes mo? And whan this gode man saugh it was so, 850 As he that wys was and obedient To kepe his forward by his free assent, He seyde: 'Sin I shal beginne the game, What, welcome be the cut, a Goddes name! 10 wholly. 11 fetched. 12 the cock who waked us all. 13 faster than a walk. 14 A watering-place for horses two miles out. 15 agreement. 16 If you sing the same tune now that you did last night. 17 lots. 18 draw farther from town. 19 Polite imperative plurals. 20 by hap, or fate, or chance. 21 promise and agreement.

Jamque domos patrias, Scithice post aspera gentis
Prelia, laurigero, etc. [Statius, Theb. x11, 519.] 1
WHYLOM, as olde stories tellen us,
Ther was a duk that highte Theseus;
Of Athenes he was lord and governour,
And in his tyme swich a conquerour
That gretter was ther noon under the sonne.
Ful many a riche contree hadde he wonne;
What with his wisdom and his chivalrye,
He conquered al the regne 2 of Femenye,
That whylom was y-cleped Scithia;
And weddede the quene Ipolita,

10

And broghte hir hoom with him in his con

tree

With muchel glorie and greet solempnitee,
And eek hir yonge suster Emelye.
And thus with victorie and with melodye
Lete I this noble duk to Athenes ryde,
And al his hoost in armes him bisyde.

8

20

And certes, if it nere to long to here, I wolde han told yow fully the manere How wonnen was the regne of Femenye By Theseus, and by his chivalrye; And of the grete bataille for the nones Bitwixen Athenes and Amazones; And how asseged was Ipolita, The faire, hardy quene of Scithia; And of the feste that was at his weddinge, And of the tempest at his hoom-cominge; But al that thing I moot 4 as now forbere. I have, God woot, a large field to ere,5 And wayke been the oxen in my plough. The remenant of the tale is long y-nough. 30 I wol nat letten 6 eek noon of this route; Lat every felawe telle his tale aboute, And lat see now who shal the soper winne; And ther I lefte, I wol ageyn biginne.

This duk, of whom I make mencioun, When he was come almost unto the toun, In al his wele and in his moste pryde, He was war, as he caste his eye asyde,

1 The Knight's Tale is a free adaptation of Boccaccio's Teseide, a much longer poem. Both are based after a fashion on the Thebaiad of the late Roman poet, Statius.

for the nonce-a colorless phrase.
6 hinder. 7 weal, well-being.

2 realm. 4 must. ' plough.

Wher that ther kneled in the hye weye
A companye of ladies, tweye and tweye, 40
Ech after other, clad in clothes blake;
But swich a cry and swich a wo they
make,

That in this world nis creature livinge
That herde swich another weymentinge; 8
And of this cry they nolde never stenten,
Til they the reynes of his brydel heuten.10
'What folk ben ye, that at myn hoom-
cominge

Perturben so my feste with cryinge?' Quod Theseus. Have ye so greet envye Of myn honour, that thus compleyne and crye?

50

Or who hath yow misboden,11 or offended? And telleth me if it may been amended; And why that ye ben clothed thus in blak?'

The eldest lady of hem alle spak, When she hadde swowned with a deedly

chere,

That it was routhe for to seen and here, And seyde: 'Lord, to whom Fortune hath yiven

Victorie, and as a conquerour to liven, Noght greveth us your glorie and your honour;

60

But we biseken mercy and socour.
Have mercy on our wo and our distresse.
Som drope of pitee, thurgh thy gentilesse,
Up-on us wrecched wommen lat thou falle.
For certes, lord, ther nis noon of us alle
That she nath been a duchesse or a quene;
Now be we caitifs, as it is wel sone:
Thanked be Fortune, and hir false wheel,
That noon estat assureth to be weel.
And certes, lord, t'abyden your presence,
Here in the temple of the goddesse Cle-