The Canterbury Tales, and Other Poems Part 4

For in his mail* he had a pillowbere**, *bag <58> **pillowcase Which, as he saide, was our Lady's veil: He said, he had a gobbet* of the sail *piece That Sainte Peter had, when that he went Upon the sea, till Jesus Christ him hent*. *took hold of He had a cross of latoun* full of stones, *copper And in a gla.s.s he hadde pigge's bones.

But with these relics, whenne that he fond A poore parson dwelling upon lond, Upon a day he got him more money Than that the parson got in moneths tway; And thus with feigned flattering and j.a.pes*, *jests He made the parson and the people his apes.

But truely to tellen at the last, He was in church a n.o.ble ecclesiast.

Well could he read a lesson or a story, But alderbest* he sang an offertory: *best of all For well he wiste, when that song was sung, He muste preach, and well afile* his tongue, *polish To winne silver, as he right well could: Therefore he sang full merrily and loud.

Now have I told you shortly in a clause Th' estate, th' array, the number, and eke the cause Why that a.s.sembled was this company In Southwark at this gentle hostelry, That highte the Tabard, fast by the Bell.<59> But now is time to you for to tell *How that we baren us that ilke night*, *what we did that same night*

When we were in that hostelry alight.

And after will I tell of our voyage, And all the remnant of our pilgrimage.

But first I pray you of your courtesy, That ye *arette it not my villainy*, *count it not rudeness in me*

Though that I plainly speak in this mattere.

To tellen you their wordes and their cheer; Not though I speak their wordes properly.

For this ye knowen all so well as I, Whoso shall tell a tale after a man, He must rehea.r.s.e, as nigh as ever he can, Every word, if it be in his charge, *All speak he* ne'er so rudely and so large; *let him speak*

Or elles he must tell his tale untrue, Or feigne things, or finde wordes new.

He may not spare, although he were his brother; He must as well say one word as another.

Christ spake Himself full broad in Holy Writ, And well ye wot no villainy is it.

Eke Plato saith, whoso that can him read, The wordes must be cousin to the deed.

Also I pray you to forgive it me, *All have I* not set folk in their degree, *although I have*

Here in this tale, as that they shoulden stand: My wit is short, ye may well understand.

Great cheere made our Host us every one, And to the supper set he us anon: And served us with victual of the best.

Strong was the wine, and well to drink us lest*. *pleased A seemly man Our Hoste was withal For to have been a marshal in an hall.

A large man he was with eyen steep*, *deep-set.

A fairer burgess is there none in Cheap<60>: Bold of his speech, and wise and well y-taught, And of manhoode lacked him right naught.

Eke thereto was he right a merry man, And after supper playen he began, And spake of mirth amonges other things, When that we hadde made our reckonings; And saide thus; "Now, lordinges, truly Ye be to me welcome right heartily: For by my troth, if that I shall not lie, I saw not this year such a company At once in this herberow*, am is now. *inn <61> Fain would I do you mirth, an* I wist* how. *if I knew*

And of a mirth I am right now bethought.

To do you ease*, and it shall coste nought. *pleasure Ye go to Canterbury; G.o.d you speed, The blissful Martyr *quite you your meed*; *grant you what And well I wot, as ye go by the way, you deserve*

Ye *shapen you* to talken and to play: *intend to*

For truely comfort nor mirth is none To ride by the way as dumb as stone: And therefore would I make you disport, As I said erst, and do you some comfort.

And if you liketh all by one a.s.sent Now for to standen at my judgement, And for to worken as I shall you say To-morrow, when ye riden on the way, Now by my father's soule that is dead, *But ye be merry, smiteth off* mine head. *unless you are merry, Hold up your hands withoute more speech. smite off my head*

Our counsel was not longe for to seech*: *seek Us thought it was not worth to *make it wise*, *discuss it at length*

And granted him withoute more avise*, *consideration And bade him say his verdict, as him lest.

Lordings (quoth he), now hearken for the best; But take it not, I pray you, in disdain; This is the point, to speak it plat* and plain. *flat That each of you, to shorten with your way In this voyage, shall tellen tales tway, To Canterbury-ward, I mean it so, And homeward he shall tellen other two, Of aventures that whilom have befall.

And which of you that bear'th him best of all, That is to say, that telleth in this case Tales of best sentence and most solace, Shall have a supper *at your aller cost* *at the cost of you all*

Here in this place, sitting by this post, When that ye come again from Canterbury.

And for to make you the more merry, I will myselfe gladly with you ride, Right at mine owen cost, and be your guide.

And whoso will my judgement withsay, Shall pay for all we spenden by the way.

And if ye vouchesafe that it be so, Tell me anon withoute wordes mo'*, *more And I will early shape me therefore."

This thing was granted, and our oath we swore With full glad heart, and prayed him also, That he would vouchesafe for to do so, And that he woulde be our governour, And of our tales judge and reportour, And set a supper at a certain price; And we will ruled be at his device, In high and low: and thus by one a.s.sent, We be accorded to his judgement.

And thereupon the wine was fet* anon. *fetched.

We drunken, and to reste went each one, Withouten any longer tarrying A-morrow, when the day began to spring, Up rose our host, and was *our aller c.o.c.k*, *the c.o.c.k to wake us all*

And gather'd us together in a flock, And forth we ridden all a little s.p.a.ce, Unto the watering of Saint Thomas<62>: And there our host began his horse arrest, And saide; "Lordes, hearken if you lest.

Ye *weet your forword,* and I it record. *know your promise*

If even-song and morning-song accord, Let see now who shall telle the first tale.

As ever may I drinke wine or ale, Whoso is rebel to my judgement, Shall pay for all that by the way is spent.

Now draw ye cuts*, ere that ye farther twin**. *lots **go He which that hath the shortest shall begin."

"Sir Knight (quoth he), my master and my lord, Now draw the cut, for that is mine accord.

Come near (quoth he), my Lady Prioress, And ye, Sir Clerk, let be your shamefastness, Nor study not: lay hand to, every man."

Anon to drawen every wight began, And shortly for to tellen as it was, Were it by a venture, or sort*, or cas**, *lot **chance The sooth is this, the cut fell to the Knight, Of which full blithe and glad was every wight; And tell he must his tale as was reason, By forword, and by composition, As ye have heard; what needeth wordes mo'?

And when this good man saw that it was so, As he that wise was and obedient To keep his forword by his free a.s.sent, He said; "Sithen* I shall begin this game, *since Why, welcome be the cut in G.o.dde's name.

Now let us ride, and hearken what I say."

And with that word we ridden forth our way; And he began with right a merry cheer His tale anon, and said as ye shall hear.

Notes to the Prologue

1. Tyrwhitt points out that "the Bull" should be read here, not "the Ram," which would place the time of the pilgrimage in the end of March; whereas, in the Prologue to the Man of Law's Tale, the date is given as the "eight and twenty day of April, that is messenger to May."

2. Dante, in the "Vita Nuova," distinguishes three cla.s.ses of pilgrims: palmieri - palmers who go beyond sea to the East, and often bring back staves of palm-wood; peregrini, who go the shrine of St Jago in Galicia; Romei, who go to Rome. Sir Walter Scott, however, says that palmers were in the habit of pa.s.sing from shrine to shrine, living on charity -- pilgrims on the other hand, made the journey to any shrine only once, immediately returning to their ordinary avocations. Chaucer uses "palmer" of all pilgrims.

3. "Hallows" survives, in the meaning here given, in All Hallows -- All-Saints -- day. "Couth," past participle of "conne" to know, exists in "uncouth."

4. The Tabard -- the sign of the inn -- was a sleeveless coat, worn by heralds. The name of the inn was, some three centuries after Chaucer, changed to the Talbot.

5. In y-fall," "y" is a corruption of the Anglo-Saxon "ge"

prefixed to participles of verbs. It is used by Chaucer merely to help the metre In German, "y-fall," or y-falle," would be "gefallen", "y-run," or "y-ronne", would be "geronnen."

6. Alisandre: Alexandria, in Egypt, captured by Pierre de Lusignan, king of Cyprus, in 1365 but abandoned immediately afterwards. Thirteen years before, the same Prince had taken Satalie, the ancient Attalia, in Anatolia, and in 1367 he won Layas, in Armenia, both places named just below.

7. The knight had been placed at the head of the table, above knights of all nations, in Prussia, whither warriors from all countries were wont to repair, to aid the Teutonic Order in their continual conflicts with their heathen neighbours in "Lettowe"

or Lithuania (German. "Litthauen"), Russia, &c.

8. Algesiras was taken from the Moorish king of Grenada, in 1344: the Earls of Derby and Salisbury took part in the siege.

Belmarie is supposed to have been a Moorish state in Africa; but "Palmyrie" has been suggested as the correct reading. The Great Sea, or the Greek sea, is the Eastern Mediterranean.

Tramissene, or Tremessen, is enumerated by Froissart among the Moorish kingdoms in Africa. Palatie, or Palathia, in Anatolia, was a fief held by the Christian knights after the Turkish conquests -- the holders paying tribute to the infidel.

Our knight had fought with one of those lords against a heathen neighbour.

9. Ilke: same; compare the Scottish phrase "of that ilk," -- that is, of the estate which bears the same name as its owner's t.i.tle.

10. It was the custom for squires of the highest degree to carve at their fathers' tables.

11. Peac.o.c.k Arrows: Large arrows, with peac.o.c.ks' feathers.

12. A nut-head: With nut-brown hair; or, round like a nut, the hair being cut short.

13. Grey eyes appear to have been a mark of female beauty in Chaucer's time.

14. "for the mastery" was applied to medicines in the sense of "sovereign" as we now apply it to a remedy.

15. It was fas.h.i.+onable to hang bells on horses' bridles.

16. St. Benedict was the first founder of a spiritual order in the Roman church. Maurus, abbot of Fulda from 822 to 842, did much to re-establish the discipline of the Benedictines on a true Christian basis.

17. Wood: Mad, Scottish "wud". Felix says to Paul, "Too much learning hath made thee mad".

18. Limitour: A friar with licence or privilege to beg, or exercise other functions, within a certain district: as, "the limitour of Holderness".