But gret harm was it, as it semede me,
That on his schyne a mormal hadde he;
For blankmanger he made with the beste.

21. THE SCHIPMAN.

A SCHIPMAN was ther, wonyng fer by weste: 390 For ought I woot, he was of Dertemouthe.

He rood upon a rouncy, as he couthe,

In a gowne of faldyng to the kne.
A dagger hangyng on a laas hadde he

Aboute his nekke under his arm adoun.

The hoote somer hadde maad his hew al broun;
And certeinly he was a good felawe.

Ful many a draught of wyn had he y-drawe

395.

From Burdeux-ward, whil that the chapman sleep.
Of nyce conscience took he no keep.

If that he foughte, and hadde the heigher hand,
By water he sente hem hoom to every land.

400

391. woot, sometimes wot, 1st sing. pres. ind. of witen, to know. 395. aboute, from A.S. on-butan by the change of on into a.

adoun, from the A.S. of-dune by changing of into a. 398. draught-y-drawe, a noun and the verb from which it is formed, draught meaning that which is drawn (1) down the throat, (2) along a road, or (3) from a stock-whether in bank or cask.

399. Burdeux-ward, a French name with a Saxon affix, and meaning on the voyage from Bordeaux.

Cf. Wrack'd as homeward he did come.-Macbeth. ward is probably from wardian, to look at, and was therefore joined to any person, place, or thing, to or from which our view might be directed. See also line 787.

sleep, past tense A.S. slaep.

402. hoom, adv., A.S. ham. The adverb when correctly written was hom, not home. The word is still used adverbially, as in Tennyson's line

'Home they brought her warrior dead.'

But of his craft to rikne wel the tydes,
His stremes and his dangers him bisides,
His herbergh and his mone, his lodemenage,
Ther was non such from Hulle to Cartage.
Hardy he was, and wys to undertake ;
With many a tempest hadde his berd ben schake.
He knew wel alle the havenes, as thei were,
From Scotlond to the cape of Fynestere,
And every cryk in Bretayne and in Spayne;
His barge y-clepud was the Magdelayne.

22. THE DOCTOUR OF PHisik.

405

410

Ther was also a DOCTOUR OF PHISIK,
In al this world ne was ther non him lyk

404. besides, from A.S. be, sidan. Chaucer also uses beside.

The

s is most likely a relic of former flexion. Here the word means against or contrary to, as in Hooker's phrase'Besides all men's expectation.'

405. lodemenage, formed from a Saxon noun by adding a French termination.

408. with by, a usage, common also in Shakespere, as, 'Boarded with a pirate,' 'torn with a bear,' &c.

410. Scotland. Several MSS. have Gotland, and that reading is supported on the ground that there was more trade with the Baltic, of which Wisby, the chief town of Gothland, was a central depôt, than with Scotland. But the historical note on this line will show that the trade with Scotland towards the end of the 14th century was not inconsiderable.

412. y-clepud, pp. of clepe, A.S. cleopian, to call, or name.

LINES 413-446.

414. ne was ther non, a double negative.

417. pacient, a word of three syllables, pa-ci-ent. Note that ci, si, and ti, frequently interchange.

In houres by his magik naturel.

Wel cowde he fortune the ascendent

Of his ymages for his pacient.

420

He knew the cause of every maladye,

Were it of cold, or hete, or moyst, or drye,

And where thei engendrid, and of what humour;

He was a verrey perfight practisour.

The cause i-knowe, and of his harm the roote, 425
Anon he yaf the syke man his boote.
Ful redy hadde he his apotecaries,

To sende him dragges, and his letuaries,

For eche of hem made othur for to wynne;

Here frendschipe was not newe to begynne.

430

Wel knew he the olde Esculapius,

And Deiscorides, and eeke Rufus ;
Old Ypocras, Haly, and Galien;

Serapyon, Razis, and Avycen ;

Averrois, Damescen, and Constantyn;
Bernard, and Gatisden, and Gilbertyn.

Of his diete measurable was he,

435

For it was of no superfluité,

But of gret norisching and digestible.

wondurly wel, the reading of the Harl. MS. The six MSS. have a ful gret del.

422. were it. Note the subjunctive use of were.

it and thei. See lines 173-5.

424. verrey perfight. See also lines 72 and 340. 426. anon, as in 32, &c. in one instant, at once.

boote, A.S. bot, bote

=

boot, or remedy.

429. eche made othur. The old English othur is on-ther, one of two. In modern English, the words are frequently used together, thus-'They made each other win,'

437. of

439. but.

= as regards.

Cf. the same word in lines 440 and 443.

His studie was but litel on the Bible.
In sangwin and in pers he clad was al,
Lined with taffata and with sendal.
And yit he was but esy in dispence ;
He kepte that he wan in pestilence.
For gold in phisik is a cordial,
Therfore he lovede gold in special.

23. THE WIF OF BATHE.

A good WIF was ther of byside Bathe,

But sche was somdel deef, and that was skathe.

Of cloth makyng she hadde such an haunt,

Sche passed hem of Ypris and of Gaunt.
In all the parisshe wyf ne was ther noon
That to the offryng byforn hire schulde goon,
And if ther dide, certeyn so wroth was sche,
That sche was thanne out of all charité.
Hire keverchefs weren ful fyne of grounde;
I durste swere they weyghede ten pounde
That on a Sonday were upon hire heed.
Hire hosen were of fyne scarlett reed.

440

445

450

455

Ful streyte y-teyed, and schoos ful moyste and newe.

=

444. that the modern compound relative what, the A.S. that, that that, that.

LINES 447-478.

447. byside, A.S. be-sidan; of byside Bathe from the neighbour

hood of Bath.

448. somdel, A.S. som dæl, some part, or somewhat.

450. passed surpassed.

452. byforn hire, A.S. beforan hire.

schulde goon

ought to go.

456. ten pounde. In Anglo-Saxon, things numbered were expressed in the singular. Cf. 'ten mile,' 'seven night,' &c. 459. streyte, an adverb in e. The tendency of the e to become

Bold was hir face, and fair, and reed of hewe.
Sche was a worthy womman al hire lyfe,
Housbondes atte chirche dore hadde sche fyfe,
Withouten othur companye in youthe;

But thereof needeth nought to speke as nouthe.
And thries hadde sche ben at Jerusalem ;
Sche hadde passud many a straunge streem;
At Rome sche hadde ben, and at Boloyne,
In Galice at seynt Jame, and at Coloyne.
Sche cowde moche of wandrying by the weye.
Gattothud was sche, sothly for to seye.

Uppon an amblere esely sche sat,

Wymplid ful wel, and on hire heed an hat

460

465

470

silent, and afterwards to be dropped, most likely explains the use of adjectives for adverbs so common in Shakespere. y-teyed, past part. tied.

schoos, the plural of schoo (255), though schoon also occurs. 462. housebondes, plural of housebonde, A.S. husbonda.

chirche dore; chirche is a noun used as an adj., as, bever in 'bever hat,' &c.

463. withouten, A.S. withutan. See also lines 540, 802, 815. In lines 777 and 780, we have the other form withoute. 464. needeth nought. Note the Saxon termination eth, where we now use s. The three dialects of early English are easily distinguished by this termination. The Southern has eth, the Northern es, and the Midland n. Nought is the A.S. nan-wuht, 'no whit,' contracted to na-w-t, and the adverb not is a contracted form of nought.

as nouthe

Cf.

465. thries.

466. many a.

as now, now, or at present.

But al that thing I most as now forbere.'

'From that day till nowith.'

See note on line 63.

See note on line 168.

-Knight's Tale, 27.

468. at seynt Jame at Sant Iago. The name Santiago de Compostella has been formed out of the Latin phrase Sancto Jacobo Apostolo.

470. sothly for to seye. Cf. Scott's phrase 'Sooth to say.' In Anglo-Saxon the adverb was soth, sothe, truly.

472-5. For a like construction see lines 201-3, or lines 274-5.