GEOFFREY CHAUCER (1340?-1400)

TROILUS AND CRISEYDE
FROM BOOK I

And so bifel, whan comen was the tyme
Of Aperil, whan clothed is the mede
With newe grene, of lusty Ver1 the pryme,
And swote smellen floures whyte and rede,
In sondry wyses shewede, as I rede,
The folk of Troye hir observaunces olde,
Palladiones feste for to holde.

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And to the temple, in al hir beste wyse,
In general, ther wente many a wight,
To herknen of Palladion the servyse;
And namely, so many a lusty knight,
So many a lady fresh and mayden bright,
Ful wel arayed, bothe moste and leste,
Ye, bothe for the seson and the feste.
Among thise othere folk was Criseyda,
In widewes habite blak; but nathelees,
Right as our firste lettre is now an A,
In beautee first so stood she, makelees;
Hir goodly looking gladede al the prees.5
Nas never seyn thing to ben preysed derre,'
Nor under cloude blak so bright a sterre

As was Criseyde, as folk seyde everichoon
That hir bihelden in hir blake wede;
And yet she stood ful lowe and stille alloon,
Bihinden othere folk, in litel brede,10

And neigh the dore, ay under shames drede,
Simple of atyr, and debonaire of chere,
With ful assured loking and manere.

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This Troilus, as he was wont to gyde
His yonge knightes, ladde hem up and doun
In thilke " large temple on every syde,
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Biholding ay the ladyes of the toun,
Now here, now there, for no devocioun
Hadde he to noon, to reven 12 him his reste,
But gan to preyse
and lakken 13 whom him leste.14
And in his walk ful fast he gan to wayten 15
If knight or squyer of his companye
Gan for to syke, or lete his eyen bayten 17
On any woman that he coude aspye;
He wolde smyle, and holden it folye,
And seye him thus, "God wot, she slepeth softe
For love of thee, whan thou tornest ful ofte.

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peerless crowd more dearly 8 every one garment 11 that same 12 take away 13 blame 14 it 15 observe 17 feast

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2 especially greatest spring

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was not

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10 space pleased

16 sigh

So lyk a man of armes and a knight
He was to seen, fulfild of heigh prowesse;
For bothe he hadde a body and a might
To doon that thing, as wel as hardinesse;
And eek to seen him in his gere him dresse, 635
So fresh, so yong, so weldy 10 semed he,

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It was an heven up-on him for to see.

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His helm to-hewen " was in twenty places,
That by a tissew heng, his bak bihinde,
His sheld to-dasshed was with swerdes and maces,
In which men mighte many an arwe finde
That thirled 12 hadde horn and nerf 13 and rinde; "
And ay the peple cryde, "Here cometh our joye,
And, next his brother, holdere up of Troye!"

For which he wex a litel reed for shame,
When he the peple up-on him herde cryen,
That to biholde it was a noble game,
How sobreliche he caste doun his yen.
Cryseyda gan al his chere aspyen,

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And leet so softe it in hir herte sinke, That to hir-self she seyde, "Who yaf drinke ?" 17

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And sholden al our herte on hevene caste. And forth he wente, shortly for to telle, Ther as Mercurie sorted him to dwelle.

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Ne me ne list1 this sely' womman chyde
Ferther than the story wol devyse.
Hir name, allas! is publisshed so wyde
That for hir gilt it oughte y-now' suffyse.
And if I mighte excuse hir any wyse,
For she so sory was for hir untrouthe,
Y-wis,' I wolde excuse hir yet for routhe."

Go, litel book, go litel myn tregedie,
Ther God thy maker yet, er that he dye,
So sende might to make in som comedie!
But litel book, no making thou nenvye,
But subgit be to alle poesye;

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And kis the steppes, wher-as thou seest pace
Virgile, Ovyde, Omer, Lucan, and Stace.

And for 10 ther is so greet diversitee
In English and in wryting of our tonge,
So preye I God that noon miswryte thee,
Ne thee mismetre for defaute of tonge.
And red wher-so thou be, or elles songe,
That thou be understonde I God beseche!
But yet to purpos of my rather " speche.

The wraththe, as I began yow for to seye,
Of Troilus, the Grekes boughten dere;
For thousandes his hondes maden deye,
As he that was with-outen any pere,
Save Ector, in his tyme, as I can here.
But weylaway, save only Goddes wille,
Dispitously 12 him slough the fiers Achille.

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And doun from thennes faste he gan avyse
This litel spot of erthe, that with the see
Enbraced is, and fully gan despyse
This wrecched world, and held al vanitee
To respect of " the pleyn " felicitee
That is in hevene above; and at the laste,
Ther he was slayn, his loking doun he caste;
And in him-self he lough right at the wo 1821
Of hem that wepten for his deeth so faste;
And dampned al our werk that folweth so
The blinde lust, the which that may not laste,

1 nor do I wish 2 poor enough certainly pity where composition 8 9 envy not pass 10 because 11 former 12 pitilessly 13 spirit 14 gone 15 sphere 16 leaving behind (so that they seemed convex) 17 saw 18 perfect understanding 19 harmony 20 did perceive 21 in comparison with perfect 23 laughed

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THE CANTERBURY TALES

FROM THE PROLOGUE

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Whan that Aprille with hise shoures soote1 The droghte of Marche hath perced to the roote, And bathed every veyne' in swich 3 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 foweles' maken melodye That slepen al the nyght with open eye, So priketh hem Nature in hir corages, Thanne longen folk to goon on pilgrimages, And palmeres for to seken straunge strondes, To ferne halwes,10 kowthe " in sondry londes; And specially, from every shires ende Of Engelond, to Caunterbury they wende, The hooly blisful martir for to seke,

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ΤΟ

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That hem hath holpen whan that they were seeke.
Bifil 12 that in that seson on a day,

In Southwerk at the Tabard as I lay,
Redy to wenden on my pilgrymage
To Caunterbury with ful devout corage,13
At nyght was come into that hostelrye
Welnyne-and-twenty in a compaignye,
Of sondry folk, by aventure 15 y-falle
In felaweshipe, and pilgrimes were they alle,
That toward Caunterbury wolden ryde.
The chambres and the stables weren wyde,
And wel we weren esed atte beste.10

And, shortly, whan the sonne was to reste,
So hadde I spoken with hem everychon,
That I was of hir felaweshipe anon,
And made forward 17 erly for to ryse,

To take oure wey, ther-as I yow devyse.18

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At Lyeys 11 was he, and at Satalye,"
Whan they were wonne; and in the Grete See 12
At many a noble armee 13 hadde he be.

At mortal batailles hadde he been fiftene,
And foughten for oure feith at Tramyssene "
In lystes thries, and ay slayn his foo.
This ilke "worthy knyght hadde been also
Somtyme with the lord of Palatye 11
Agayn 15 another hethen in Turkye;
And evermoore he hadde a sovereyn prys.'
And though that he were worthy, he was wys,
And of his port as meeke as is a mayde.

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He was a verray, parfit, gentil knyght.

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But for to tellen yow of his array,

His hors were goode, but he was nat gay; Of fustian 19 he wered a gypon

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For he was late y-come from his viage,23