24

The clotered blood for any leche-craft
Corrumpeth, and is in his bouke ylaft,
'That neyther veine-blood ne ventousing,
Ne drinke of herbes, may ben his helping.
The vertue expulfif or animal,
Frothilke v rtue cleped natural,
Ne may the venime voiden ne expeil;
The pipes of his longes gan to fwell,
And every lacerte in his breft adoun
Is fhent with 'venime and corruptioun.
Him gaineth neyther for to get his lif
Vomit upward ne dounward laxatif ;
All is to-broften thilke region;
Nature hath now no domination:
And certainly ther nature wol not werche.
Farewel phyfike; go bere the man to cherche.
This is all and fom, that Arcite mofte die;
For which he fendeth after Emelie,
And Palamon, that was his cofin dere;
Than fayd he thus, as ye fhuln after here.
Nought may the woful fpirit in myn herte
Declare o point of all my forwes smerte
To you my lady, that I love most,
But I bequethe the fervice of my goft
To you aboven every creature,
• Sin that my lif ne may no lenger dure.
Alas the wo! alas the peines ftrong,
That I for you have fuffered, and so longe
Alas the deth! alas min Emelie !
Alas departing of our compagnie!
Alas min hertes quene! alas my wif!
Min hertes ladie, ender of my lif!

What is this world? what axen men to have
Now with his love, now in his colde grave
Alone withouten any compagnie.
Farewel my fwete, farewel min Emelie !
And fofte take me in your armes twey
For love of God, and herkeneth what I fey.

I have here with my cofin Palamon
Had ftrif and rancour many a day agon
For love of you, and for my jaloufie;
And Jupiter fo wis my foule gie,
To fpeken of a fervant proprely,
With alle circumstances trewely,

That is to fayn, trouth, honour, and knighthede,
Wifdom, humbleffe, eftat, and high kinrede,
Fredoni, and all that longeth to that art,
So Jupiter have of my foule part,

As in this world right now ne know I non
So worthy to be loved as Palamon,
'That ferveth you, and wol don all his lif;
And if that ever ye fhal ben a wif,
Foryete not Palamon, the gentil man.

And with that word his speche faille began;
For from his feet up to his breft was come
The cold of deth that had him overnome;
And yet moreover in his armes two
The vital ftrength is loft and all ago;
Only the intellect, withouten more,
That dwelled in his herte fike and fore,
Gan faillen whan the herte felte deth;
Dufked his eyen two, and failled his breth
But on his ladie yet caft he his eye;
His lafte word was, Mercy, Emelie!

His fpirit changed hous, and wente the
As I cam never I cannat tellen wher;
Therfore I ftent, I am no diviniftre;
Of foules find I not in this registre :
Ne me luft not th' opinions to telle

Of hem, though that they written wher they dwelle.
Arcite is cold, ther Mars his foule gie.
Now wol I fpeken forth of Emelie,

Shright Emelie, and houleth Palamon,
And Thefeus his fifter toke anon
Swouning, and bare her from the corps away.
What helpeth it to tarien forth the day,

To tellen how the wep both even and morwe?
For in fwiche cas wimmen have fwiche forwe,
Whan that hir houfbonds ben fro hem ago,
That for the more part they forwen so,
Or elles fallen in fwiche maladie,
That atte lafte certainly they die.

Infinite ben the forwes and the teres
Of olde folk and folk of tendre yeres
In all the toun for deth of this Theban;
For him ther wepeth bothe child and man ;
So gret a weping was ther non certain
Whan Hector was ybrought all fresh yslain
To Troy: alas! the pitee that was there;
Cratching of chekes, rending eke of here.
Why woldest thou be ded? thise women crie,
And haddeft gold ynough and Emelie.

No man might gladen this Duk Thefeus
Saving his olde fader Egeus,

That knew this worldes tranfmutation,
As he had seen it chaungen up and doun
Joye after wo, and wo after gladneffe,
And shewed him enfample and likeneffe..

Right as ther died never man (quod he).
That he ne lived in erth in fom degree,
Right fo ther lived never man (he feyd).
In all this world that fomtime he ne deyd:
This world n'is but a thurghfare ful of wo,
And we ben pilgrimes pafling to and fro:
Deth is an end of every worldes fore.

And over all this yet faid he mochel more
To this effect, ful wifely to enhort
The peple that they fhuld hem recomfort.
Duk Thefeus with all his befy cure
He cafteth now wher that the fepulture
Of good Arcite may best ymaked be,
And eke most honourable in his degree;
And at the laft he toke conclufion
That ther as firft Arcite and Palamon
Hadden for love the bataille hem betwenc..
That in that felve grove, fote and grene,
Ther as he hadde his amorous defires,
His complaint, and for love his hote fires,
He wolde make a fire, in which the office
Of funeral he might all accomplife;
And let anon commande to hack and hewe
The okes old, and lay hem on a rew
In culpons, wel araied for to brenne.
His officers with fwifte feet they renne
And ride anon at his commandement.
And after this, this Thefeus hath fent
After a bere, and it all overfpradde
With cloth of gold the richest that he hadde,

And of the fame fuit he chadde Arcite.
Upon his hondes were his gloves white,
Eke on his hed a croune of laurer grene,.
And in his hond a fwerd ful bright and kene.
He laid him bare the vifage on the bere,
Therwith he wept that pitee was to here;
And for the peple fhulde seen hun alle,
Whan it was day he brought him to the halle,
That roreth of the crying and the foun.

Tho came this woful Theban Palamon
With flotery berd and ruggy asfhy heres,
In clothes blake, ydropped all with teres,
And (paffing over of weping Emelie),
The reufulleft of all the compagnie.

And in as much as the service fhuld be
The more noble and riche in his degree,
Duk Thefeus let forth three ftedęs bring,
That trapped were in ftele all glittering,
And covered with the armes of Dan Arcite;
And eke upon these stedes gret and white
Ther faten folk, of which on bare his fheld,
Another his fpere up in his hondes held;
The thridde bare with him his bow Turkeis,
Of brent gold was the cas and the harneis;
And riden forth a pas with forweful chere
Toward the grove, as ye fhal after here.

The noblest of the Grekes that ther were
Upon hir fhuldres carrieden the bere,
With flacke pas, and eyen red and wete,
Thurghout the citee, by the maister strete,
That fprad was all with black, and wonder hie
Right of the fame is all the strete ywrie,
Upon the right hand went olde Egeus,
And on that other fide Duk Thefeus,
With veffels in hir hond of gold ful fine,
All ful of hony, milk, and blood, and wine
Eke Palamon with ful gret compagnie,
And after that came woful Emelie
With fire in hond, as was that time the gife,
To don the office of funeral fervice.

High labour and ful gret-apparailling
Was at the fervice of that fire making,
That with his grene top the heaven raught,
And twenty fadom of brede the armes straught;
This is to fain, the boughes were fo brode.
Of ftre first there was laied many a lode.

But how the fire was maked up on highte,
And eke the names how the trees highte,
As oke, fir, birch, aspe, alder, holm, poplere,
Wilow, elm, plane, afh, box, cheftein, lind, laurere,
Maple, thorn, beche, hafel, ew, whipultre,
How they were feld, fhal not be told for me;
Ne how the goddes rannen up and doun
Difherited of hir habitatioun,

In which they woneden in reft and pees,
Nimphes, Faunes, and Amidriades;

Ne how the beftes and the briddes alle
Fledden for fere whan the wood
faile;
gan
Ne how the ground agaft was of the light,
That was not wont to fee the fonne bright;
Ne how the fire was couched firft with ftre,
And then with dric flickes cloven a-thre,
And than with grene wood and spicerie,
And than with cloth of gold and with perrie,

And gerlonds hanging with ful many a flour,
The mirre, the encenfe alfo with fwete odour ;
Ne how Arcita lay among all this,

Ne what richesse about his body is;
Ne how that Emilie, as was the gife,
Put in the fire of funeral service;

Ne how the fwouned whan fhe made the fire,
Ne what the fpake, ne what was hire defire;
Ne what jewelles men in the fire cafte,
Whan that the fire was gret and brente fafte;
Ne how fom caft hir fheld and fom hir spere,
And of hir veftimentes which they were,
And cuppes full of wine, and milk, and blood,
Into the fire, that brent as it were wood;
Ne how the Grekes with a huge route
Three times riden all the fire aboute
Upon the left hond, with a loud fhouting,
And thries with hir fperes clatering,
And thries how the ladies gan to crie;
Ne how that led was homeward Emelie;
Ne how Arcite is brent to aihen cold;
Ne how the liche-wake was yhold
All thilke night; ne how the Grekes play
The wake-plaies ne kepe I not to fay;
Who wrestled beft naked, with oile enoint,
Ne who that bare him beft in no disjoint a
I woll not tellen eke how they all gon
Home till Athenes whan the play is don,
But shortly to the point now wol I wende,
And maken of my longe Tale an ende.

By proceffe and by lengthe of certain yereg
All ftenten is the mourning and the teres
Of Grekes by on general affent :
'Than femeth me ther was a parlement
At Athenes upon certain points and cas;
Amonges the which points yfpoken was
To have with certain contrees alliance,
And have of Thebanes fully obeifance :
For which this noble Thefeus anon
Let fenden after gentil Palamon.

Unwift of him what was the cause and why:
But in his blacke clothes forwefully

He came at his commandment on hie;
Tho fente Thefeus for Emelie.

Whan they were fet, and husht was al the place, And Thefeus abiden hath a space,

Or any word came from his wife breft

His eyen fet he ther as was his left,
And with a fad vifage he liked ftill,
And after that right thus he fayd his will.

The firfte Mover of the cause above,
Whan he firfte made the fayre chaine of love,
Gret was th' effect, and high was his entent;
Well wift he why and what therof he ment
For with that fayre chaine of love he bond
The fire, the air, the watre, and the lond,
In certain bondes, that they may not flee:
That fame prince and Mover eke (quod he)

The custom of watching with dead bodies (lice, Sax.) is probably very ancient in this country. It was abufed, as other wakes and vigils were. See Du Cange in v. Virgiliac. "In vigiliis circa corpora mortuorum vetantur choreae et cantilenae, feculares ludi et alii turpes et fa. "tui." Syncd. Wagorn, an. 1240, C. 5、

Hath ftablifht, in this wretched world adoun, Certain of dayes and duration

To all that are engendred in this place, Over the which day they ne mow not pace, Al mow they yet the dayes well abrege. Ther nedeth non autoritee allege, For it is preved by experience, But that me luft declaren my fentence. Than may men by this ordre wel difcerne That thilke Mover ftable is and eterne; Wel may men knowen, but it be a fool, That every part deriveth from his hool; For Nature hath not taken his beginning Of no partie ne cantel of a thing, But of a thing that parfit is and stable, Defcending fo til it be corrumpable; And therefore of his wife purveyance He hath fo wel befet his ordinance, That fpeces of thinges and progreffions Shullen enduren by fucceffions, And not eterne, withouten any lie; This maieft thou understand and feen at eye. Lo the oke, that hath fo long a norishing Fro the time that it ginneth first to spring, And hath fo long a lif, as ye may fee, Yet at the lafte wafted is the tree. Confidereth eke how that the harde stone Under our feet, on which we trede and gon, It wafteth as it lieth by the wey; The brode river fometime wexeth drey; The grete tounes fee we wane and wende; : Than may ye fee that all thing hathe an ende. Of man and woman fee we wel alfo, That nedes in on of the termes two, That is to fayn, in youthe or elles age, He mote be ded the king as fhall a page; Som in his bed, fom in the depe fee, Som in the large feld, as ye may fee: Ther helpeth nought, all goth that ilke wey; Than may I fayn that aile thing mote dey. What maketh this but Jupiter the King, The which is prince and caufe of alle thing, Converting alle unto his propre wille, From which it is derived, foth to telle? And here-againes no creature on live Of no degree availleth for to ftrive. Than is it wifdom, as it thinketh me, To maken vertue of neceflite, And take it wel that we may not efchewe, And namely that to us all is dewe; And whofo grutcheth ought he doth folie, And rebel is to him that all may gie. And certainly a man hath most honour To dien in his excellence and flour, Whan he is fiker of his goode name; Than hath he don his frend ne hita no fhame; And glader ought his frend ben of his deth, Whan with honour is yolden.up his breth,

Than whan his name appalled is for age,
For all foryetten is his vaflalage":
Ihan is it beft as for a worthy fame,
To dein whan a man is beft of name.
The contrary of all this is wilfulneffe.
Why grutchen we? why have we hevineffe,
That good Arcite, of chivalry the flour,
Departed is, with dutee and honour,
Out of this foule priton of this lif?
Why grutchen here his cofin and his wif
Of his welfare, that loven him fo wel?
Can he hem thank? nay, God wot, never a del,
That both his foule and eke hemfelf offend,
And yet they mow her luftres not aniend.
What may I conclude of this longe ferie,
But after forwe I rede us to be merie,
And thanken Jupiter of all his grace;
And er that we departen from this place,
I rede that we make of forwes two
O parfit joye lasting evermo :
And loketh now wher moft forwe is herein,
Ther wol I firfte amenden and begin.

Sifter, (quod he) this is my full-affent,
With all th' avis here of my parlement,
That gentil Palamon, your owen knight,
That ferveth you with will, and herte, and might,
And ever hath don fin you firft him knew,
That ye fhall of your grace upon him rew,
And taken him for hufbond and for lord:
Lene me your hand, for this is oure accord.
Let fee now of your womanly pitee:
He is a kinges brothers fome pardee;
And though he were a poure bachelere,
Sin he hath ferved you so many a yere,
And had for you so gret adverfite; ·
It mofte ben confidered, leveth me, ‹
For gentil mercy oweth to paffen right.

Than fayd he thus to Palamon the Knight;

I trow ther nedeth litel fermoning

To maken you affenten to this thing.
Cometh ner, and take your lady by the hond.
Betwixen hem was maked anon the bond
That highte Matrimoine or Mariage,

By all the confeil of the baronage;

And thus with alle bliffe and melodie

Hath Palamon ywedded Emelie ;

And God, that all this wide world hath wrought, Send him his love that hath it dere ybought.

For now is Palamon in alle wele,

Living in bliffe, in richeffe, and in hele,
And Emilie him loveth fo tendrely, '
And he hire ferveth all fo gentilly,
That never was ther no word hem betwene
Of jaloufie, ne of non other tene.

Thus endeth Palamon and Emelie,
And God fave all this fayre compagnie.

3

WHAN that the Knight had thus his Tale told,
In all the compagnie n'as ther young ne old
That he ne faid it was a noble ftoric,
And worthy to be drawen to memorie,
And namely the gentiles everich on.
Our Hofte lough and fwore, So mote I gon
This goth aright; unbokeled is the male;
Let fee now who fhall tel another Tale,
For trewely this game is wel begonne :
Now telleth ye fire.Monk, if that ye conne,
Somewhat to quiten with the Knightes Tale.
The Miller, that for-dronken was all pale,
So that unnethes upon his hors he fat,
He n'old avalen neither hood ne hat,
Ne abiden no man for his curtefie,
But in Pilates vois, he gan to crie,

And swore by armes, and by blood, and bones,
I can a noble Tale for the nones,

With which I will now quite the Knightes Tale.
Our Hofte faw that he was dronken of ale,
And fayd, abide, Robin, my leve brother,
Some better man fhall tell us first another;
Abide, and let us werken thriftily.

By Goddes foule (quod he) that wol not I,
For I wol fpeke, or elles go my way.

Our Hofte answered, Tell on a devil way; Thou art a fool; thy wit is overcome.

Now herkeneth, quod the Miller, all and fome: But first I make a proteftatioun

That I am dronke, I know it by my foun,
And therefore if that I miffpeke or fay
Wite it the ale of Southwerk 1 you pray;
For I woll tell a legend and a lif
Both of a carpenter and his wif,
How that a clerk has fet the wrightes cappe.
The Reve anfwerd and faide, Stint thy clappe;
Let be thy lewed dronken harlotrie.

It is a finne and eke a gret folie
To apeiren any man, or him defame,

And ckc to bringen wives in fwiche a name;

Thou mayft ynough of other thinges fain.
This dronken Miller fpake ful fone again,
And fayde, Leve brother Ofewold,
Who hath no wif he is no cokewold;
But I fay not therefore that thou art on;
Ther ben ful goode wives many on*.
Why art thou angry with my Tale now?
I have a wif parde as wel as thou,
Yet n'olde I for the oxen in my plough
Taken upon me more than ynough
As demen of myfelf that I am on;
I wol beleven wel that I am non.
An hufbond fhuld not be inquifitif.
Of Goddes privite ne of his wif:
So he may finden Goddes foifon there
Of the remenant nedeth not to enquère.

What fhuld, 1 more fay, but this Millere
He n'olde his wordes for no man forbere,
But told his cherles Tale in his manere,
Me thinketh that I fha! reherfe it here;
And therefore every gentil wight I pray,
For Goddes love, as deme not that I fay
Of evil entent, but that I mote reherfe
Hir Tales alle, al be they better or werfe,
Or elles fallen fom of my matere;
And therefore who fo lift it not to here
Turne over the leef, and chefe another Tale,
For he fhal find ynow bothe grete and fmale,
Of ftorial thing that toucheth gentilleffe,

And eke moralite and holineffe.
Blameth not me if that ye chefe amis;
The Miller is a cherl, ye know well this,
So was the Reve, (and many other mo)
And harlotrie they tolden bothe two.
Avifeth you now, and put me out of blame;
And eke men fhuld not make ernest of game.

* After this verfe the two following are found in fo many mfl. that perhaps they ought to have been inferted in the text;

And ever a thoufind good ageins on badde,
That knowett thou wel but it thou be madde.

WHILOM ther was dwelling in Oxenforde
A riche gnof, that geftes heide to borde,
And of his craft he was a carpenter.
With him ther was dwelling a poor scoler,
Had lerned art, but all his fantafie-
Was turned for to lerne aftrologie,
And coude a certain of conclufions
To demen by interrogations,

If that men alked him in certain houres
Whan that men fhulde have drought or elles
Or if men afked him what fhulde falle [fhoures;
Of every thing, I may not reken alle.

This clerk was cleped Hendy Nicholas;
Of derne love he coude and of folas;
And therto he was flie and ful prive,
And like a maiden meke for to se.
A chambre had he in that hoftelrie
Alone, withouten any compagnie,
Ful fetifly ydight with herbes fote,
And he himself was fwete as is the rote,
Of licoris, or any fetewale.

His almagefte, and bokes gret and smale,
His aftrelabre, longing for his art,
His augrim ftones †, layen faire apart
On fhelyes couched at his beddes hed,
His preffe ycovered with a falding red;
And all above ther lay a gay fautrie,
On which he made on nightes melodie
So fwetely, that all the chambre rong,
And Angelus ad Virginem he fong;
And after that he fong the kinges note
Ful often blefled was his mery throte,
And thus this fwete clerk his time spent
After his frendes finding and his rent.

This carpenter ha) wedded new a wif
Which that he loved more than his lif:
Of eightene yere she was I gefe of age.
Jalous he was, and held hire narwe in cage,
For fhe was wild and yonge, and he was old,
And demed himfelf belike a cokewold.
He know not Caton, for his wit was rude,
That bade a man fhudde wedde his fimilitude;
Men frulden wedden after hir eftate,
For youthe and elde is often at debate;
But fithen he was fallen in the fnare
He most endure (as other folk) his care.
Fayre was this yongue wif, and therwithal
As any wefel hire body gent and fmal.
A feint fhe wered, barred all of filk,

A barme-cloth cke as white as morwe milk

Nicholas, a fcholar of Oxford, practifeth with Alifon, the carpenter's wite of Omney, to deceive her hufband, but la the end is rewarded accordingly. This is one of thofe Tales that Lydgate in his Prologue to The Story of the Siege of Thebes) fays are of sibauturie,

To makin laughitir in the company. So, reader, you know what you afe to expect; read or forbear as you think fitting. Urry.

+dugrim is a corruption of algorithm, the Arabian term for numeration, Augrim Homes therefore were the pebbles or counters which were anciently used in numeration.

Upon hire lendes, ful of many a gore;
White was hire finok, and brouded all before
And eke behind on hire colere aboute
Of cole-black filk within and eke withoute
The tapes of hire white volupere
Were of the fame fuit of hire colere;
Hire fillet brode of filk, and fet full hye;
And fikerly fhe had a likerous eye:
Ful fmal ypulled were hire browes two,
And they were bent, and black as any ilo:
She was wel more blissful for to fee
Than is the newe perienete tree,

And fofter than the wolle is of a wether.

And by hire girdel heng a purfe of lether
Taffeled with filk and perled with latoun.
In all this world to feken up and doun
Ther n'is no man fo wife that coude thenche
So gay a popelot or fwiche a wenche.
Ful brighter was the fhining of hire hewe
Than in the Tour the noble y forged newe;
But of hire fong, it was as loud and yerne
As any fwalow fitting on a berne.
'Thereto the coude fkip and make a game
As any kid or calf folowing his dame.
Hire mouth was fwete as braket or the mctb,
Or hord of apples laid in hay or heth.
Winfing fhe was as is a joly colt,
Long as a mast, and upright as a bolt.
A broche fhe bare upon hire low colere,
As brode as is the boffe of a bokelere.
Hire fhoon were laced on hire legges hie;
She was a primerole, a piggefnie,
For any lord to liggen in his bedde,
Or yet for any good yemen to wedde.

Now fire, and eft fire, fo befell the cas,
That on a day this Hendy Nicholas
Fel with this yonge wif to rage and pleye,
While that hire hufbond was at Ofeney,
As clerkes ben ful fubtil and ful queint,
And prively he caught hire by the queint,
And fayde, Ywis but if I have my will
For derne love of thee, lemman, I fpill;
And helde hire fafte by the hanche bones,
And fayde, Lemman, love me wel at ones,
Or I wol dien, al fo God me fave.

And the fprong as a colt doth in the trave
And with hire hed the writhed faste away,
And fayde, I wol not kiffe thee by my fay.
Why, let be, (quod fhe) let be, Nicholas,
Or I wol crie out Harow and Alas!
Do way your hondes for your curtefie.

This Nicholas gan mercy for to cric,
And fpake fo faire, and profered him fo faft,
That the hire love him granted at the laft,
And fwore hire oth by Seint Thomas of Kent,
That the wold ben at his commandement
Whan that the may hire leifer wel efpic.
Myn hufbond is is fe ful of jalousie