Therto he coude endyte, and make a thing, Ther coude no wight pinche1 at his wryting; 326

But al with silver, wroght ful clene and weel,

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.

330

Hir girdles and hir pouches every-deel.
Wel semed ech of hem a fair burgeys,
To sitten in a yeldhalle 25 on a deys.
Everich, for the wisdom that he can,
Was shaply for to been an alderman.
For catel 26 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",

370

375

wyn.6

And have a mantel royalliche y-bore.

27

A Cook they hadde with hem for the nones,

That heeld opinioun that pleyn delyt
Was verraily felicitee parfyt.
An housholdere, and that a greet, was he;
Seynt Iulian he was in his contree.

340

.9

His breed, his ale, was alwey after oon; A bettre envyned10 man was no-wher noon. With-oute bake mete was never his hous, Of fish and flesh, and that so plentevous, It snewed in his hous of mete and drinke, Of alle deyntees that men coude thinke.346 After the sondry sesons of the yeer,

So chaunged he his mete and his soper. Ful many a fat partrich hadde he in mewe,

11

And many a breem12 and many a luce13 in stewe.14

weste:

350

For aught I woot, he was of Dertemouthe. He rood up-on a rouncy, 34 as he couthe, 35

391

Ful ofte tyme he was knight of the shire.
An anlas 16 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. 19 360
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 apyked 23 was;
Hir knyves were y-chaped 24 noght with
bras,

366

y-drawe

man38 sleep.

Of nyce conscience took he no keep. 39 If that he faught, and hadde the hyer hond,

By water 40 he sente hem hoom 40 to every lond.

400

But of his craft11 to rekene wel his tydes, His stremes42 and his daungers him bisydes,

In al the parisshe wyf ne was ther noon That to the offring bifore hir sholde goon; And if ther dide, certeyn, so wrooth was she,

451

That she was out of alle charitee.
Hir coverchiefs 16 ful fyne were of ground; 17
I dorste swere they weyeden ten pound
That on a Sonday were upon hir heed. 455
Hir hosen weren of fyn scarlet reed,
Ful streite y-teyd, and shoes ful moiste18
and newe.

Bold was hir face, and fair, and reed of hewe.

She was a worthy womman al hir lyve;
Housbondes at chirche-dore she hadde
fyve,
460
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,

425

Anon he yaf the seke man his bote.7
Ful redy hadde he his apothecaries,
To sende him drogges, and his letuaries,
For ech of hem made other for to winne;
Hir frendschipe nas nat newe to biginne.
Wel knew he the olde Esculapius,

430

467

She coude muche of wandring by the
weye.
Gat-tothed20 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.

23

474

In sangwin10 and in pers11 he clad was al,
Lyned with taffata and with sendal, 12
And yet he was but esy of dispence;13
He kepte that he wan in pestilence.
For gold in phisik is a cordial,

440

Therfore he lovede gold in special.

500

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 lewed man to ruste;
And shame it is, if a preest take keep,5

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,

And leet his sheep encombred in the myre,

510

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,
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

521

For Cristes sake, for every povre wight,
Withouten hyre, if it lay in his might.
His tythes payed he ful faire and wel,
Bothe of his propre swink18 and his catel. 19
In a tabard 20 he rood upon a mere.

541

Ther was also a Reve21 and a Millere, A Somnour22 and a Pardoner also, A Maunciple, 23 and my-self; ther were

nones.

A bettre preest I trowe that nowher noon is.

He wayted after no pompe and reverence, Ne maked him a spyced11 conscience, 526 But Cristes lore, and his apostles twelve, He taughte, and first he folwed it himselve.

Of which achatours1 mighte take exemple
For to be wyse in bying of vitaille.
For whether that he payde, or took by
taille,2

570

Algate3 he wayted so in his achat,5
That he was ay biforn and in good stat.
Now is nat that of God a ful fair grace,
That swich a lewed mannes wit shal pace
The wisdom of an heep of lerned men? 575
Of maistres hadde he mo than thryes ten,
That were of lawe expert and curious;

In youthe he lerned hadde a good mister; 18
He was a wel good wrighte, a carpenter.
This reve sat up-on a ful good stot, 19 615
That was al pomely 20 grey, and highte Scot.
A long surcote of pers21 up-on he hade,
And by his syde he bar a rusty blade.
Of Northfolk was this reve, of which I telle,
Bisyde a toun men clepen Baldeswelle.620
Tukked22 he was, as is a frere, aboute,

And evere he rood the hindreste of our

route.

A SOMNOUR was ther with us in that place,

Of which ther were a doseyn in that hous, Worthy to been stiwardes of rente and lond

That hadde a fyr-reed cherubinnes face,

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.

720

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 narette 25 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.

730

He may nat spare, al-thogh he were his brother;

He moot as wel seye o word as another.