For, hardily, she was nat undergrowe.
Ful fetis1 was hir cloke, as I was war.
Of smal coral aboute hir arm she bar
A peire2 of bedes, gauded al with grene;
And ther-on heng a broche of gold ful
shene,
On which ther was first write a crowned A,
And after, Amor vincit omnia.
Another NONNE with hir hadde she,
That was hir chapeleyne, and PREESTES
thre.
A MONK ther was, a fair for the mais-
trye,3
An out-rydere, that lovede venerye;1
A manly man, to been an abbot able.
And eek his face, as he had been anoint.
He was a lord ful fat and in good point;"
His eyen stepe,16 and rollinge in his heed,
That stemed1 as a forneys of a leed;1
His botes souple, his hors in greet estat.
Now certeinly he was a fair prelat;
He was nat pale as a for-pyned19 goost. 205
A fat swan loved he best of any roost.
His palfrey was as broun as is a berye.
A FRERE there was, a wantown and a
merye,
Ful many a deyntee hors hadde he in A limitour,20 a ful solempne21 man.
In alle the ordres foure is noon that can22
And, whan he rood, men mighte his brydel So moche of daliaunce and fair langage.211 here
This ilke monk leet olde thinges pace,"
And held after the newe world the space.
He yaf nat of that text a pulled hen,
That seith, that hunters been nat holy
men;
Ne that a monk, whan he is cloisterlees,
Is lykned til a fish that is waterlees;
This is to seyn, a monk out of his cloistre.
But thilke text held he nat worth an oistre.
And I seyde, his opinioun was good.
What sholde he studie, and make him-
selven wood,9
Upon a book in cloistre alwey to poure, 185
Or swinken 10 with his handes, and laboure,
As Austin bit? How shal the world be
served?
Lat Austin have his swink to him reserved.
Therfore he was a pricasour11 aright;
Grehoundes he hadde, as swifte as fowel
in flight;
Of priking 12 and of hunting for the hare
Was al his lust, for no cost wolde he spare.
I seigh his sleves purfiled13 at the hond
With grys,14 and that the fyneste of a
lond;
And, for to festne his hood under his chin,
He hadde maad ful many a mariage
Of yonge wommen, at his owne cost.
Un-to his ordre he was a noble post.
Ful wel biloved and famulier was he
With frankeleyns23 over-al in his contree,
And eek with worthy wommen of the
For he had power of confessioun,
As seyde him-self, more than a curat,
For of his ordre he was licentiat.24
Ful swetely herde he confessioun,
And plesaunt was his absolucioun;
He was an esy man to yeve25 penaunce
Ther-as he wiste to han a good pitaunce;
For unto a povre order for to yive
Is signe that a man is wel y-shrive.
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 nat wepe al-thogh him sore
10 work. 11 hard rider.
gray fur.
17 glowed.
19 wasted away.
24 licensed to hear confessions.
And rage he coude as it were right a whelpe.
In love-dayes ther coude he mochel helpe.
For ther he was nat lyk a cloisterer,
With a thredbar cope, as is a povre scoler,
But he was lyk a maister or a pope.
Of double worsted was his semi-cope,
That rounded as a belle out of the presse.
Somwhat he lipsed, for his wantownesse,
To make his English swete up-on his
tonge;
265
And in his harping, whan that he had
songe,
His
eyen twinkled in his heed aright,
As doon the sterres in the frosty night.
This worthy limitour was cleped Huberd.
A MARCHANT was ther with a forked
berd,
In mottelee, and hye on horse he sat,
Up-on his heed a Flaundrish bever hat;
His botes clasped faire and fetisly.
His resons he spak ful solempnely,
Souninge12 alway thencrees of his winning.
He wolde the see were kept13 for any
thing
For sothe he was a worthy man with-alle,
But sooth to seyn, I noot 18 how men him
calle.
A CLERK ther was of Oxenford also, 285
That un-to logik hadde longe y-go.
As lene was his hors as is a rake,
And he nas nat right fat, I undertake;
But loked holwe, and ther-to soberly.
Ful thredbar was his overest courtepy;19290
For he had geten him yet no benefyce,
Ne was so worldly for to have offyce.
For him was lever have at his beddes heed
Twenty bokes, clad in blak or reed,
Of Aristotle and his philosophye,
Than robes riche, or fithele,20 or gay sau-
trye.21
But al be that he was a philosophre,
Yet hadde he but litel gold in cofre;
A SERGEANT OF THE LAWE, war26 and wys,
That often hadde been at the parvys,27
270
Ther was also, ful riche of excellence.
Discreet he was, and of greet reverence:
He semed swich, his wordes weren so wyse.
Iustyce he was ful often in assyse,
By patente, and by pleyn commissioun;315
For28 his science, and for his heigh renoun,
Of fees and robes hadde he many oon.
So greet a purchasour29 was nowher noon.
Al was fee simple to him in effect,
His purchasing mighte nat been infect. 320
Nowher so bisy a man as he ther nas,
And yet he semed bisier than he was.
In termes hadde he caas30 and domes31 alle,
That from the tyme of king William were
falle.
Bitwixe Middlelburgh and Orewelle.
Wel coude he in eschaunge sheeldes11 selle.
This worthy man ful wel his wit bisette;15
Ther wiste no wight that he was in dette,
So estatly was he of his governaunce,16 281
With his bargaynes, and with his chev-
isaunce.17
3 leper. 4 beggar woman.
6 profit.
poor people.
Therto he coude endyte, and make a thing, Ther coude no wight pinche1 at his wryting;
And every statut coude he pleyn by rote.
He rood but hoomly in a medlee2 cote
Girt with a ceint3 of silk, with barres
smale;
Of his array telle I no lenger tale.
A FRANKELEYN was in his companye; Whyt was his berd, as is the dayesye.
Of his complexioun he was sangwyn.1
But al with silver, wroght ful clene and weel,
Hir girdles and hir pouches every-deel.
Wel semed ech of hem a fair burgeys,
To sitten in a yeldhalle25 on a deys.
Everich, for the wisdom that he can,
Was shaply for to been an alderman.
For catel26 hadde they y-nogh and rente,
And eek hir wyves wolde it wel assente;
And elles certein were they to blame.
It is ful fair to been y-clept "ma dame",
Wel loved he by the morwes a sop in And goon to vigilyës al bifore,
wyn.6
To liven in delyt was ever his wone,
For he was Epicurus owne sone,
That heeld opinioun that pleyn delyts
Was verraily felicitee parfyt.
An housholdere, and that a greet, was he;
Seynt Iulian he was in his contree.
Wo was his cook, but-if his sauce were
Poynaunt and sharp, and redy al his gere.
His table dormant15 in his halle alway
Stood redy covered al the longe day.
At sessiouns ther was he lord and sire.
Ful ofte tyme he was knight of the shire.
An anlas16 and a gipser1 al of silk
Heng at his girdel, whyt as morne milk.
A shirreve hadde he been, and a countour;18
Was no-wher such a worthy vavasour. 360
An HABERDASSHER and a CARPENTER,
A WEBBE, 20 a DYERE, and a TAPICER, 21
Were with us eek, clothed in o22 liveree,
Of a solempne and greet fraternitee.
Ful fresh and newe hir gere apyked23 was;
Hir knyves were y-chaped24 noght with
bras,
find fault with. 'ruddy.
wine with bread in it.
2 of mixed colors.
in the morning.
of one quality. 12 a sort of fish.
3 girdle.
7 custom.
10 stored with wine.
13 pike.
"fish-pond. 15 permanent side table. 16 short dagger.
19 landed gentleman.
22 one.
He coude roste, and sethe,30 and broille, and frye,
Maken mortreux,31 and wel bake a pye. But greet harm was it, as it thoughte me,
385 That on his shine a mormal32 hadde he; For blankmanger,33 that made he with the beste.
A SHIPMAN was ther, woning fer by
For aught I woot, he was of Dertemouthe.
He rood up-on a rouncy,34 as he couthe,35
In a gowne of falding36 to the knee.
A daggere hanging on a laas37 hadde he
Aboute his nekke under his arm adoun.
The hote somer had maad his hewe al
broun;
And, certeinly, he was a good felawe. 395
Ful many a draughte of wyn had he
y-drawe
From Burdeux-ward, whyl that the chap-
man38 sleep.
Of nyce conscience took he no keep.39
If that he faught, and hadde the hyer
hond,
A good WYF was ther of bisyde BATHE, But she was som-del deef, and that was scathe.14
446 Of clooth-making she hadde swiche an haunt, 15
She passed hem of Ypres and of Gaunt.
In al the parisshe wyf ne was ther noon
He knew wel alle the havenes, as they That to the offring bifore hir sholde goon;
fyve, Withouten other companye in youthe; But therof nedeth nat to speke as nouthe.19 And thryes hadde she been at Ierusalem; She hadde passed many a straunge streem; At Rome she hadde been, and at Boloigne, In Galice at seint Iame, and at Coloigne. She coude muche of wandring by the 467 Gat-tothed 20 was she, soothly for to seye. Up-on an amblere esily she sat, Y-wimpled21 wel, and on hir heed an hat 470 As brood as is a bokeler or a targe; A foot-mantel22 aboute hir hipes large, And on hir feet a paire of spores sharpe. In felaweschip wel coude she laughe and carpe.
Of remedies of love she knew per-chaunce,
For she coude of that art the olde daunce.
A good man was ther of religioun,
And was a povre PERSOUN24 of a toun;
But riche he was of holy thoght and werk.
He was also a lerned man, a clerk,
That Cristes gospel trewely wolde preche;
His parisshens devoutly wolde he teche.
Benigne he was, and wonder diligent,
And in adversitee ful pacient;
And swich he was y-preved25 ofte sythes.26
Ful looth were him to cursen for his tythes,
watched for his patient's favorable star. following lines consult the notes. 7 remedy.
$ On the five root, origin. 10 red cloth.
12 thin silk. 13 expenditure.
19 at present. 20 with teeth far apart. 21 her head well covered with a wimple. 22 cloth to protect the skirt. 24 parish priest.
Out of the gospel he tho wordes caughte;
And this figure he added eek ther-to,
That if gold ruste, what shal iren do?
For if a preest be foul, on whom we truste,
No wonder is a lewed1 man to ruste;
And shame it is, if a preest take keep,"
A [spotted] shepherde and a clene sheep.
Wel oghte a preest ensample for to yive,505
By his clennesse, how that his sheep shold
live.
He sette nat his benefice to hyre,
Ful big he was of braun, and eek of bones; And leet his sheep encombred in the That proved wel, for over-al ther he cam, myre,
And ran to London, un-to sëynt Poules,
To seken him a chaunterie for soules,
Or with a bretherhed to been withholde;
But dwelte at hoom, and kepte wel his
folde,
So that the wolf ne made it nat miscarie;
He was a shepherde and no mercenarie.
And though he holy were, and vertuous,515
He was to sinful man nat despitous,7
Ne of his speche daungerous ne digne,
But in his teching discreet and benigne.
To drawen folk to heven by fairnesse
By good ensample, this was his bisinesse:
But it were any persone obstinat,
What so he were, of heigh or lowe estat, Him wolde he snibben10 sharply for the
At wrastling he wolde have alwey the ram. 24
He was short-sholdred, brood, a thikke knarre,
Or breke it, at a renning, with his heed.
His berd as any sowe or fox was reed,
And ther-to brood, as though it were a
spade.
Up-on the cop27 right of his nose he hade
A werte, and ther-on stood a tuft of heres,
Reed as the bristles of a sowes eres; 556
His nose-thirles28 blake were and wyde.
A swerd and bokeler bar he by his syde;
His mouth as greet was as a greet forneys.
He was a Ianglere29 and a goliardeys,30
And that was most of sinne and harlotryes.
Wel coude he stelen corn, and tollen
thryes;
* disdainful.
11 over-scrupulous.
24 win the prize, a ram.
26 could not lift off its hinges.
|