Now holde youre mouth, par charitee,
Bothė knyght and lady free,

And herkneth to my spelle;
Of batailles and of chivalry,
And of ladyës love-drury,
Anon I wol yow telle.

Men speken of romauns of prys,—
Of Hornchild, and of Ypotys,

Of Beves and of sir Gy,

Of sir Lybeux and Pleyn-damour;

But sir Thopas he bereth the flour
Of roial chivalry!

His goodė steede al he bistrood,

2085

2090

His heer, his berd, was lyk saffroun,
That to his girdel raughte adoun;

Hise shoon of cordéwane.
Of Brugges were his hosen broun,
His robe was of syklatoun

That costė many a jane.

He koudė hunte at wildė deer,
And ride an haukyng for river

With grey goshauk on honde;

1920

1925

Ther-to he was a good archeer;

Of wrastlyng was ther noon his peer,
Ther any ram shal stonde.

1930

Ther spryngen herbės grete and smale,
The lycorys and cetéwale

1950

Sire Thopas fil in love-longýnge
Al whan he herde the thrustel synge,
And pryked as he were wood;

1949. Bitidde, befallen. 1951. cetewale, valerian. 1957. papejay, parrot.

1963. thrustel, H briddes.

1964. wood, mad.

1960

"Na moore of this, for Goddės dignitee !" Quod ourẻ Hostė, "for thou makest me

So wery of thy verray lewėdnesse
That, also wisly God my soulė blesse,
Min erės aken of thy drasty speche.
Now swich a rym the devel I biteche !
This may wel be rym dogerel," quod he.

2098. shonde, harm.

2099. auntrous, adventurous. 2101. liggen, lie.

2102. wonger, pillow. 2103. dextrer, steed.

2110

2115

2107. worthy under wede, brave under arms.

2111. lewednesse, stupidity. 2113. of, H for.

drasty, full of dregs, worthless.

2114. biteche, commit to.

"Why so?" quod I; "why wiltow lette me Moore of my tale than another man, Syn that it is the bestė ryme I kan?"

2120

"By God," quod he, "for pleynly at a word,
Thy drasty rymyng is nat worth a toord;
Thou doost noght ellés but despendest tyme;
Sire, at o word, thou shalt no lenger ryme.
Lat se wher thou kanst tellen aught in geeste,
Or telle in prose somwhat, at the leeste,
In which ther be som murthe, or some doctrýne."
"Gladly," quod I, "by Goddės sweetė pyne!

I wol yow telle a litel thyng in prose
That oghtė liken yow, as I suppose,
Or elles, certės, ye been to daungerous.
It is a moral talė vertuous,

Al be it told somtyme in sondry wyse
Of sundry folk, as I shal yow devyse.

2124

2130

"As thus; ye woot that every Evaungelist

That telleth us the peyne of Jhesu Crist

Ne seith nat alle thyng as his felawe dooth;

2135

But nathėlees hir sentence is al sooth,

And alle acorden as in hire sentence,

Al be ther in hir tellyng difference;

For somme of hem seyn moore, and sommé lesse, Whan they his pitous passioun expresse,

2116. lette, hinder.

2131. told, E take.

2140

2118. ryme, E tale.

2123. aught in geeste, some prose story.

2129. daungerous, difficult to please.

2135. nat, om. H2.

2137. sentence, meaning.

2139. lesse, E seyn lesse.