In swich cas, of the erchedeknes curs,
But-if1 a mannes soule were in his purs;
For in his purs he sholde y-punisshed be.
"Purs is the erchedeknes helle," seyde he.
But wel I woot he lyed right in dede;
Of cursing oghte ech gilty man him drede-
For curs wol slee, right as assoilling?
saveth-
And also war him3 of a significavit.
Which that, he seyde, was our lady veyl:16
He seyde, he hadde a gobet17 of the seyl 696
That seynt Peter hadde, whan that he
wente
Up-on the see, til Iesu Crist him hente.18
He hadde a croys of latoun,19 ful of stones,
And in a glas he hadde pigges bones.
But with thise relikes, whan that he fond
A povre person dwelling up-on lond,20
In daunger hadde he at his owne gyse Up-on a day he gat him more moneye
The yonge girles of the diocyse,
And knew hir counseil, and was al hir
reed.7
A gerland hadde he set up-on his heed,
As greet as it were for an ale-stake;
A bokeler hadde he maad him of a cake.
But hood, for Iolitee, ne wered he noon,680
For it was trussed up in his walet.
Him thoughte, he rood al of the newe
Iet;12
Dischevele, save his cappe, he rood al bare.
Swiche glaringe eyen hadde he as an hare.
A vernicle hadde he sowed on his cappe.685
His walet lay biforn him in his lappe,
Bret-ful13 of pardoun come from Rome al
hoot.
A voys he hadde as smal as hath a goot.
No berd hadde he, ne never sholde have,
As smothe it was as it were late
y-shave;
Than that the person got in monthes
And thus with feyned flaterye and Iapes,2
He made the person and the peple his apes.
But trewely to tellen, atte laste,
He was in chirche a noble ecclesiaste.
Wel coude he rede a lessoun or a storie,
But alderbest22 he song an offertorie;
For wel he wiste, whan that song was
songe,
He moste preche, and wel affyle23 his tonge,
To winne silver, as he ful wel coude;
Therefore he song so meriely⚫and loude.
Now have I told you shortly, in a clause,
Thestat,24 tharray, the nombre, and eek
the cause
716
Why that assembled was this companye
In Southwerk, at this gentil hostelrye,
That highte the Tabard, faste by the
Belle.
But now is tyme to yow for to telle
How that we baren us that ilke night,
Whan we were in that hostelrye alight.
And after wol I telle of our viage,
And al the remenaunt of our pilgrimage.
But first I pray yow, of your curteisye, 725
That ye narette25 it nat my vileinye,25
Thogh that I pleynly speke in this matere,
To telle yow hir wordes and hir chere,26
Ne thogh I speke hir wordes properly.27
For this ye knowen al-so wel as I,
Who-so shal telle a tale after a man,
He moot reherce, as ny as ever he can,
Everich a28 word, if it be in his charge,
Al speke he29 never so rudeliche and large;30
Or elles he moot telle his tale untrewe, 735
Or feyne thing, or fynde wordes newe.
He may nat spare, al-thogh he were his
brother;
He moot as wel seye o word as another.
17 piece. 18 took.
16 the Virgin Mary's veil.
22 best of all. 25 "ascribe it not to my ill
27 literally.
29 although he speak.
Crist spak him-self ful brode in holy writ,
And wel ye woot, no vileinye is it.
Eek Plato seith, who-so that can him rede,
The wordes mote be cosin to the dede.
Also I prey yow to foryeve it me,
Al have I nat set folk in hir degree1
Here in this tale, as that they sholde
stonde;
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.2
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.9 And wel I woot, as ye goon by the weye,771 Ye shapen yow to talen10 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, 775
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,780
Now, by my fader soule, that is deed,
But ye be merye, I wol yeve yow myn
heed.
In this viage, shal telle tales tweye,
To Caunterbury-ward, I mene it so,
And hom-ward he shal tellen othere two,
Of aventures that whylom14 han bifalle.795
And which of yow that bereth him best of
alle,
That is to seyn, that telleth in this cas
Tales of best sentence15 and most solas, 16
Shal han a soper at our aller cost17
Here in this place, sitting by this post, 800
Whan that we come agayn fro Caunter-
bury.
And for to make yow the more mery,
I wol my-selven gladly with yow ryde,
Right at myn owne cost, and be your gyde.
And who-so wol my Iugement withseye 805
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 me18 therfore."
This thing was graunted, and our othes
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With ful glad herte, and preyden him also
That he wold 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;
And we wold reuled been at his devys,
In heigh and lowe; and thus, by oon assent,
We been acorded to his Iugement.
And ther-up-on the wyn was fet20 anon;
We dronken, and to reste wente echon, 820
With-outen any lenger taryinge.
A-morwe, whan that day bigan to springe,
Up roos our host, and was our aller cok,21 And gadrede us togidre, alle in a flok,
Un-to the watering of seint Thomas.
And there our host bigan his hors areste,2
And seyde; "Lordinges, herkneth if yow
leste.
Ye woot your forward,3 and I it yow recorde.1
If even-song and morwe-song acorde, 830
Lat se now who shal telle the firste tale.
As ever mote I drinke wyn or ale,
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:6
THE NUN'S PRIEST'S TALE Here biginneth the Nonne Preestes Tale of the Cok and Hen, Chauntecleer and Pertelote.
A povre widwe somdel stope17 in age, Was whylom dwelling in a narwe cotage, Bisyde a grove, stondyng in a dale. This widwe, of which I telle yow my tale, Sin thilke18 day that she was last a wyf, In pacience ladde a ful simple lyf, For litel was hir catel19 and hir rente;2 By housbondrye, of such as God hir sente, She fond21 hir-self, and eek hir doghtren
For whan degrees fiftene were ascended, Thanne crew he, that it mighte nat ben amended.1
His comb was redder than the fyn coral,
And batailed, as it were a castel-wal.
His bile3 was blak, and as the Ieet1 it
shoon;
Lyk asur were his legges, and his toon;5
His nayles whytter than the lilie flour,
And lyk the burned gold was his colour.
This gentil cok hadde in his governaunce 45
Sevene hennes, for to doon al his plesaunce,
Whiche were his sustres and his para-
mours,
And wonder lyk to him, as of colours.
Of whiche the faireste hewed on hir
throte
Was cleped faire damoysele Pertelote. 50 Curteys she was, discreet, and debonaire, And compaignable, and bar hirself so faire,
Syn thilke day that she was seven night old,
That trewely she hath the herte in hold"
Of Chauntecleer loken in every lith;9
He loved hir so, that wel was him ther-
with.
But such a Ioye was it to here hem singe, Whan that the brighte sonne gan to springe,
In swete accord, "My lief is faren10 in londe."
For thilke tyme, as I have understonde, 60 Bestes and briddes coude speke and singe.
And so bifel, that in a daweninge,11 As Chauntecleer among his wyves alle Sat on his perche, that was in the halle, And next him sat this faire Pertelote, This Chauntecleer gan gronen in his throte, As man that in his dreem is drecched12
Allas!" quod she, "for, by that god above,
Now han ye lost myn herte and al my love;
I can nat love a coward, by my feith.
For certes, what so any womman seith,
We alle desyren, if it might be,
To han housbondes hardy, wyse, and free,1
And secree, and no nigard, ne no fool,
Ne him that is agast of every tool, 18
Ne noon avauntour, 19 by that god above!
How dorste ye seyn for shame unto your
love,
Swevenes engendren of 20 replecciouns,
And ofte of fume, 21 and of complecciouns, 22
Whan humours been to habundant in a
wight.
Certes this dreem, which ye han met tonight,
Cometh of the grete superfluitee
Of youre rede23 colera,24 pardee,
Which causeth folk to dreden in here
Of arwes, 25 and of fyr with rede lemes, 26 IIO Of grete bestes, that they wol hem byte, Of contek,27 and of whelpes grete and lyte;
On pilgrimage, in a full good intente;
And happed so, they come into a toun,
Wher as ther was swich congregacioun
Of peple, and eek so streit 16 of herber-
gage,"
That they ne founde as muche as o18 cotage,
In which they bothe mighte y-logged be.
Wherfor thay mosten, of necessitee,
As for that night, departen compaignye;
And ech of hem goth to his hostelrye,
And took his logging as it wolde falle. 175
That oon of hem was logged in a stalle,
Fer in a yerd, with oxen of the plough;
That other man was logged wel y-nough,
As was his aventure,19 or his fortune,
That us governeth alle as in commune.
And so bifel, that, long er it were day, This man mette21 in his bed, ther-as he lay,
How that his felawe gan up-on him calle,
And seyde, 'allas! for in an oxes stalle
This night I shal be mordred ther22 I lye.
Now help me, dere brother, er I dye;
In alle haste com to me,' he sayde.
This man out of his sleep for fere abrayde;2
But whan that he was wakned of his sleep,
He turned him, and took of this no keep;2
Him thought his dreem nas but a vanitee.
Thus twyes in his sleping dremed he.
And atte thridde tyme yet his felawe
Cam, as him thoughte, and seide 'I am now
slawe;25
Bihold my blody woundes, depe and wyde!
Arys up erly in the morwe-tyde,
10 berries of the gay-tree. 12 dominus, lord.
I prosper. 17 lodging.
20 commonly.
|