Hire mouth ful smal, and therto softe and reed;
But sikurly sche hadde a fair forheed.
It was almost a spanne brood, I trowe,
For hardily sche was not undurgrowe.
Ful fetys was hire cloke, as I was waar.
Of smal coral aboute hire arme sche baar
A peire of bedes gaudid al with grene;
And theron heng a broch of gold ful schene,
On which was first i-writen a crowned A,
And after that, Amor vincit omnia.
Anothur NONNE also with hire hadde sche,
That was hire chapelleyn, and PRESTES thre.
A MONK ther was, a fair for the maistrie,
An out-rydere, that loved[e] venerye ;
A manly man, to ben an abbot able.
Ful many a deynté hors hadde he in stable :
And when he rood, men might his bridel heere
Gyngle in a whistlyng wynd so cleere,
And eek as lowde as doth the chapel belle.
Ther as this lord was keper of the selle,
The reule of seynt Maure or of seint Beneyt,
Bycause that it was old and somdel streyt,
This ilke monk leet [him] forby hem pace,
And held aftur the newe world the space.
He yaf nat of that text a pulled hen,
That seith, that hunters been noon holy men;
Ne that a monk, whan he is cloysterles,
Is likned to a fissche that is watirles,
This is to seyn, a monk out of his cloystre.
But thilke text hild he not worth an oystre.
And I seide his opinioun was good.
What schulde he studie, and make himselven wood, Uppon a book in cloystre alway to powre,
Or swynke with his handes, and laboure,
As Austyn byt? How schal the world be served? Lat Austyn have his swynk to him reserved. Therfore he was a pricasour aright;
Greyhoundes he hadde as swifte as fowel in flight;
Of prikyng and of huntyng for the hare
Was al his lust, for no cost wolde he spare.
I saugh his sleves purfiled atte hond[e]
With grys, and that the fynest of a lond[e].
And for to festne his hood undur his chyn[ne]
He hadde of gold y-wrought a curious pyn[ne]:
A love-knotte in the gretter ende ther was.
His heed was ballid, and schon as eny glas,
And eek his face as he hadde be anoynt.
He was a lord ful fat and in good poynt;
His eyen steep, and rollyng in his heed[e],
That stemed as a forneys of a leed[e];
His bootes souple, his hors in gret estat.
Now certeinly he was a fair prelat;
He was not pale as a for-pyned goost.
A fat swan loved he best of eny roost.
His palfray was as broun as eny berye.
A FRERE ther was, a wantoun and a merye,
A lymytour, a ful solempne man.
In alle the ordres foure is noon that can
So moche of daliaunce and fair langage.
He hadde i-mad many a fair mariage
Of yonge wymmen, at his owne cost.
Unto his ordre he was a noble post.
Ful wel biloved and famulier was he
With frankeleyns overal in his cuntre,
And eek with worthi wommen of the toun:
For he hadde power of confessioun,
As seyde himself, more than a curat,
For of his ordre he was licenciat.
Ful sweet[e]ly herde he confessioun,
And plesaunt was his absolucioun ;
He was an esy man to yeve penance
Ther as he wiste han a good pitance;
For unto a povre ordre for to yeve
Is signe that a man is wel i-schreve.
For if he yaf, he dorste make avaunt,
He wiste that a man was repentaunt.
For many a man so hard is of his herte,
He may not wepe though him sore smerte.
Therfore in stede of wepyng and prayeres,
Men mooten yiven silver to the pore
His typet was ay farsud ful of knyfes
And pynnes, for to yive faire wyfes.
And certayn [li] he hadde a mery noote.
Wel couthe he synge and pleye[n] on a rote.
Of yeddynges he bar utturly the prys.
His nekke whit was as the flour-de-lys.
Therto he strong was as a champioun.
He knew wel the tavernes in every toun,
And every ostiller or gay tapstere,
Bet than a lazer, or a beggere,
For unto such a worthi man as he
Acorded not, as by his faculté,
To have with sike lazars aqueyntaunce.
It is not honest, it may not avaunce,
For to delen with such poraile,
But al with riche and sellers of vitaille.
And overal, ther eny profyt schulde arise,
Curteys he was, and lowe[ly] of servyse.
Ther was no man nowher so vertuous.
He was the beste begger in al his hous,
[And yaf a certeyn ferme for the graunte
Non of his bretheren cam in his haunte]
For though a widewe hadde but oo schoo,
So plesaunt was his In principio,
Yet wolde he have a ferthing or he wente.
His purchace was bettur than his rente.
And rage he couthe and pleye[n] as a whelpe,
In love-days ther couthe he mochil helpe.
For ther was he not like a cloysterer,
With a thredbare cope as a pore scoler,
But he was like a maister or a pope.
Of double worstede was his semy-cope,
That rounded was as a belle out of presse.
Somwhat he lipsede, for [his] wantounesse,
To make his Englissch swete upon his tunge;
And in his harpyng, whan that he hadde sunge,
His eyghen twynkeled in his heed aright,
As don the sterres in the frosty night.
This worthi lymytour was called Huberd.
A MARCHAUNT was ther with a forked berd,
In motteleye, and high on horse he sat,
Uppon his heed a Flaundrisch bever hat;
His botus clapsud faire and fetously.
His resons he spak ful solempnely,
Sownynge alway the encres of his wynnynge.
He wolde the see were kepud for eny thinge
Bitwixe Middulburgh and Orewelle.
Wel couthe he in eschange scheeldes selle.
This worthi man ful wel his witte bisette;
Ther wiste no man that he was in dette,
So estately was he of governaunce,
With his bargayns, and with his chevysaunce.
For sothe he was a worthi man withalle,
But soth to say, I not what men him calle.
A CLERK ther was of Oxenford also,
That unto logik hadde longe i-go.
Al-so lene was his hors as is a rake,
And he was not right fat, I undertake;
But lokede holwe, and therto soburly.
Ful thredbare was his overest courtepy,
For he hadde nought geten him yit a benefice,
Ne was not worthy to haven an office.
For him was lever have at his beddes heed
Twenty bookes, clothed in blak and reed,
Of Aristotil, and of his philosophie,
Then robus riche, or fithul, or [gay] sawtrie.
But al-though he were a philosophre,
Yet hadde he but litul gold in cofre;
But al that he might [e] gete, and his frendes sende On bookes and his lernyng he it spende,
And busily gan for the soules pray[e]
Of hem that yaf him wherwith to scolay[e]
Of studie took he most[e] cure and heede.
Not oo word spak he more than was neede;
Al that he spak it was of heye prudence,
And schort and quyk, and ful of gret sentence.
Sownynge in moral manere was his speche,
And gladly wolde he lerne, and gladly teche.
A SERGEANT OF LAWE, war and wys,
That often hadde ben atte parvys,
Ther was also, ful riche of excellence.
Discret he was, and of gret reverence:
He semed[e] such, his wordes were so wise,
Justice he was ful often in assise,
By patent, and by pleyn commissioun ;
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