THE PROLOGUE

WHAN that Aprille with his shoures sote
The droughte of March hath perced to the rote,
And bathed every veyne in swich° licour
Of which vertu engendred is the flour;
Whan Zephirus eek with his swete breeth
Inspired hath in every holt and heeth
The tendre croppes, and the yonge sonne
Hath in the Ram° his halfe cours y-ronne,
And smale fowles maken melodye,
That slepen al the night with open ye,
So priketh hem nature in hir corages:
Than longen folk to goon on pilgrimages,
And palmeres for to seken straunge strondes.
To ferne halwes couthe in sondry londes,
And specially from every shires ende
Of Engelond to Caunterbury they wende,
The holy blisful martir° for to seke,

That hem hath holpen whan that they were seke.
Bifel° that in that sesoun on a day

In Southwerk at the Tabard as I lay

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ΙΟ

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Redy to wenden on my pilgrimage
To Caunterbury with ful devout corage,"
At night was come into that hostelrye
Wel nine and twenty° in a compaignye
Of sondry folk by aventure y-falle

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In felaweshipe, and pilgrimes were they alle,
That toward Caunterbury wolden ride.

The chambres and the stables weren wide,
And wel we weren esed atte beste.

And shortly, whan the sonne was to reste,
So hadde I° spoken with hem everichon,
That I was, of hir felaweshipe anon;
And made forward erly for to rise,

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To take our wey, ther as I yow devise.

But natheles, whyl I have time and space,

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Er that I ferther in this tale pace,
Me thinketh° it acordaunt to resoun
To telle yow al the condicioun
Of ech of hem so as it semed me,

And whiche they weren and of what degree,
And eek in what array that they were inne°;
And at a knight than wol I first biginne.

A KNIGHT ther was and that a worthy° man,
That, fro the time that he first bigan
To riden out, he loved chivalrye,

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Trouthe and honour, fredom and curteisye.
Ful worthy was he in his lordes werre,
And therto hadde he riden, no man ferre,
As wel in cristendom as in hethenesse,
And evere honoured for his worthinesse.
At Alisaundre° he was whan it was wonne;
Ful ofte time he hadde the bord bigonne
Aboven alle naciouns in Pruce.

In Lettow hadde he reysed and in Ruce,
No Cristen man so ofte of his degree.
In Gernade at the sege eek hadde he be
Of Algezir, and riden in Belmarye.
At Lyeys was he, and at Satalye,

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Whan they were wonne; and in the Grete See
At many a noble armee hadde he be.

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At mortal batailles hadde he been fiftene,
And foughten for our feith at Tramissene
In listes thryes, and ay slayn his foo.
This ilke worthy knight hadde been also
Somtime with the lord of Palatye,

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Agayn another hethen in Turkye:

And everémore he hadde a sovereyn prys.

And though that he were worthy, he was wys,
And of his port as meke as is a mayde.

He nevere yet no vileinye ne sayde

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