The Clerkes Tale: With Life, Grammar, Notes and an Etymological Glossary |
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Common terms and phrases
adjective adverb agayn allied array called century Chaucer chere child Clerk dative dialect doon doughter Ellesmere ending English euery fader final French genitive gerund gives glad Gothic greet Grisild hath haue herte hold honour Icel INDIC Italy kind knowe leste literally lord lust maner markis meaning myghte neuer note to line nought nouns occurs origin p. s. pr past tense peple person Petrarch plural prefix prep present pron pronounced quod reading rime root Scan Scand sergeant seyde seye shal sholde short singular stem story strong subj suffix swich syllable Tale Ther thing thou tyme verbs vn-to vowel weak whan wolde word written
Popular passages
Page 66 - But al be that he was a philosophre, Yet hadde he but litel gold in cofre; But al that he mighte of his freendes hente...
Page 6 - FORGET six counties overhung with smoke, Forget the snorting steam and piston stroke, Forget the spreading of the hideous town; Think rather of the pack-horse on the down, And dream of London, small, and white, and clean, The clear Thames bordered by its gardens green...
Page 66 - As lene was his hors as is a rake, And he was not right fat, I undertake ; But loked holwe, and therto soberly.
Page 75 - O waly waly, but love be bonny A little time while it is new ; But when 'tis auld, it waxeth cauld And fades awa
Page 70 - Speak unto the children of Israel, and bid them that they make them fringes in the borders of their garments throughout their generations, and that they put upon the fringe of the borders a riband of blue : and it shall be unto you for a fringe, that ye may look upon it, and remember all the commandments of the Lord, and do them...
Page 26 - I wol yow telle a tale which that I Lerned at Padowe of a worthy clerk, As preved by his wordes and his werk. He is now deed and nayled in his cheste, I prey to god so yeve his soule reste.
Page 10 - I feyth and ful credence, And in myn herte have hem in reverence So hertely, that ther is game noon That fro my bokes maketh me to goon...
Page 64 - Beth egre as is a tygre yond in Ynde, Ay clappeth as a mille, I yow consaille. Ne dreed hem nat, doth hem no reverence, For though thyn housbonde armed be in maille, The arwes of thy crabbed eloquence Shal perce his brest and eek his aventaille.
Page 62 - For if that they were put to swiche assayes, The gold of hem hath now so badde alayes With bras, that thogh the coyne be fair at ye, It wolde rather breste a-two than plye.
Page 63 - Ye archewyves, stondeth at defense, Syn ye be strong as is a greet camaille; Ne suffreth nat that men yow doon offense. And sklendre wyves, fieble as in bataille, Beth egre as is a tygre yond in Ynde; Ay clappeth as a mille, I yow consaille.