My wit is short, ye may wel understonde.

Greet chere made our hoste us everichon, And to the soper sette he us anon;

And served us with vitaille at the beste.

Strong was the wyn, and wel to drinke us leste. 750 A semely man our hoste 2 was with-alle

3

For to han been a marshal in an halle;

A large man he was with eyen stepe,

A fairer burgeys was ther noon in Chepe:

Bold of his speche, and wys, and wel y-taught, 755 And of manhod him lakkede right naught.

4

Eek therto he was right a mery man,

And after soper pleyen he bigan,

And spak of mirthe amonges other thinges,
Whan that we hadde maad our rekeninges;
And seyde thus: 'Now, lordinges, trewely
Ye ben to me right welcome hertely:
For by my trouthe, if that I shal nat lye,

6

7

I ne saugh this yeer so mery a compaignye
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.

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 and to pleye;
For trewely, confort ne mirthe is noon
To ryde by the weye doumb as a stoon;
And therfore wol I maken yow disport,

1 E. chiere.

8

3 Hl. han; rest om. 5 HI. lo.

2 Hl. ooste; E. hoost. * Cm. Cp. lakkede; E. lakked. Hl. ne saugh; rest saugh nat (seigh not, &c.).

7 Hl. Cm. mery; E. myrie.

760

765

770

775

E. the; Hn. om; rest a.

As I seyde erst, and doon yow som confort.
And if yow lyketh alle, by oon assent,
Now for to stonden at my Iugement,
And for to werken as I shal yow seye,
To-morwe, whan ye ryden by the weye,
Now, by my fader soule, that is deed,,

2

But ye be merye, I wol yeve yow myn heed.
Hold up your hond, withoute more speche.'

Our counseil was nat longe for to seche;

5

780

Us thought it was noght worth to make it wys, 785
And graunted him with-outen 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,
That ech of yow, to shorte with our weye,

In this viage, shal telle tales tweye,
To Caunterbury-ward, I mene it so,

And hom-ward he shal tellen othere two,

8

Of aventures that whylom han bifalle.

And which of yow that bereth him best of alle,

9

That is to seyn, that telleth in this cas
Tales of best sentence and most solas",
Shal han a soper at our aller cost
Here in this place, sitting by this post,
Whan that we come agayn fro Caunterbury.
And for to make yow the more mery 10,
with yow ryde,

I wol my-selven gladly "

790

795

800

1 All but Hl. om. Now.

3 Hl. merye; E. myrie.

2 E. But if; rest But.
Hl. smyteth of.

5 Hl. nas.

6 Cp. verdit; Pt. veredit; Hl. Ln. verdite; Cm. verdoit; E. Hn. voirdit.

7 E. taak; Ln. tak; Cp. Pt. take; Hl. taketh.

9 E. caas, solaas.

10 E. Hn. Cp. mury.

" Hl. myseluen gladly; E. my self goodly.

8 Hl. ther.

Right at myn owne cost, and be your gyde.
And who-so wol1 my Iugement 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,
And I wol erly shape me therfore.'

805

This thing was graunted, and our othes swore 810 With ful glad herte, and preyden him also That he wold 2 vouche-sauf for to do so, And that he wolde been our governour, And of our tales Iuge and reportour, And sette a soper at a certeyn prys;

815

And we wold reuled been at his devys,

In heigh and lowe1; and thus, by oon assent,
We been acorded to his Iugement.

And ther-up-on the wyn was fet anoon;

820

We dronken, and to reste wente echoon,
With-outen any lenger taryinge.

5

A-morwe, whan that day bigan to springe",
Up roos our host, and was our aller cok,

And gadrede us togidre, alle in a flok,

And forth we riden, a litel more than pas3,
Un-to the watering of seint Thomas.

825

And there our host bigan his hors areste,

And seyde; 'Lordinges, herkneth if yow leste.
Ye woot your forward, and I 10 it yow recorde.

832

If even-song and morwe-song acorde,

Lat se now who shal telle the firste tale".

As evere mote I drinke wyn or ale,

1 E. wole (but wol in 1. 809).

2 E. would.

3 Hl. wolde; Pt. wold; rest wol, wolen, wiln. wil.

Hl. lowe; E. lough.

for to sprynge.

E. gan

8

E. paas.

11 HI. ferst a tale.

5 So E. Hn.; H1. that the; rest the. Hl. althur; Cp. alther; Pt. Ln. alder. 10 E. Hn. om. I.

E. foreward (badly).

Who-so be rebel to my Iugement

Shal paye for al that by the weye is spent.
Now draweth cut, er that we ferrer twinne;
He which that hath the shortest1 shal biginne.'
'Sire knight,' quod he, 'my maister and my lord,
Now draweth cut, for that is myn acord.
Cometh neer,' quod he, my lady prioresse;
And ye, sir clerk, lat be your shamfastnesse 2,
Ne studieth noght; ley hond to, every man.'
Anon to drawen every wight bigan,

And shortly for to tellen, as it was,
Were it by aventure, or sort, or cas,

835

840

The sothe is this, the cut fil to the knight,

845

Of which ful blythe and glad was every wight;

And telle he moste his tale, as was resoun,

By forward and by composicioun,

As ye han herd; what nedeth wordes mo?

And whan this goode man saugh it was so,
As he that wys was and obedient

$50

To kepe his forward by his free assent,
He seyde: Sin I shal biginne the game,
What, welcome be the cut, a Goddes name!
Now lat us ryde, and herkneth what I seye.'

5

And with that word we riden forth our weye;

And he bigan with right a mery chere

855

His tale anon, and seyde in this manere.

Heere endith the prolog of this book; and heere bigynneth the first tale which is the Knyghte[s]

Tale.

1 E. Hn. shorteste.

3 E. foreward (badly).

5 Hl. thou.

2 E. shamefastnesse.

All insert that after saugh (needlessly).
Cm. mery; E. myrie.

COLOPHON: from MS. Sloane 1685.

THE KNIGHTES TALE.

(GROUP A, 11. 859-3108 in the Six-text edition.)

Iamque domos patrias, Scithice post aspera gentis

Prelia laurigero, &c.

[Statius, Theb. xii. 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 ;
That with his wisdom and his chivalrye
He conquered al the regne of Femenye,
That whylom was y-cleped Scithia;
And weddede1 the queen Ipolita,

2

And broghte hir hoom with him in his contree
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.
And certes, if it nere to long to here,
I wolde han told yow fully the manere,

3

Cp. Hl. weddede; Cm. weddide; the rest wedded.

2 E. faire; Pt. yenge; the rest yonge.

3 Hl. han told yow; E. yow haue toold; the rest haue toold(told).

15