Chaucer's Works-The Canterbury Tales Part 6

XXIV.--I take the t.i.tle from l. 25; cf. Troil. i. 287.

The metre exhibits the nine-line stanza, as in Anelida, 211-9; but the same rimes recur in all three stanzas. The six-line Envoy, with the rime-formula _a b a b a a_, is unique in Chaucer. There are nineteen lines ending in _-aunce_, twelve in _-esse_, and two in _-ede_.

1. Note how ll. 1 and 2 are re-echoed in ll. 32, 33. For a similar effect, see Anelida, 211, 350.

8. _ful chose_, fully chosen; parallel to _ful drive_ in C. T., F 1230.

14. _souvenance_, remembrance; not found elswhere in Chaucer.

16. _humblely_ is trisyllabic; see Leg. 156, Troil. ii. 1719, v. 1354.

20. _lo_ emphasises _swich_; cf. _lo, this_, T. v. 54; _lo, which_, T.

iv. 1231.

22. _allegeaunce_, _alleviation_; the verb _allegge_ is in the Glossary.

26. _outrance_, extreme violence, great hurt; see G.o.defroy.

27. _unbuxumnesse_, unsubmissiveness; cf. _buxumnesse_, Truth, 15.

XXV.--I take the t.i.tle from l. 26; cf. Compl. to his Lady, 41, 64.

1. Cf. Amorous Complaint, 87; Troil. v. 1318, i. 960.

3. 'Love hath me taught no more of his art,' &c.; Compl. to his Lady, 42-3.

9. Cf. Compl. of Mars, 13, 14; p. x.x.x above, l. 43; Parl. Foules, 386-9; Amorous Complaint, 85-6.

19. _eche_, augment; 'hir sorwes _eche_,' T. i. 705.

27. 'And to your trouthe ay I me recomaunde;' T. v. 1414. 'I am a _boistous_ man;' C. T., H 211.

XXVI.--I take the t.i.tle from l. 12; see T. v. 232, 638, 1392.

7. _sounde_, heal, cure; as in Anelida, 242.

8. Perhaps read _hertes sorwes leche_; see T. ii. 1066.

10. Cf. 'as _in_ his speche;' T. ii. 1069.

26. _impresse_; cf. T. ii. 1371.

[x.x.xii] 28. _spille_; cf. Compl. to his Lady, 121.

32. _reyne_, bridle. For this image, cf. Anelida, 184.

39. MS. _deth the kerue_. As _e_ and _o_ are constantly confused, the prefix _to_ (written apart) may have looked like _te_, and would easily be altered to _the_. Cf. _forkerveth_ in the Manc. Tale, H 340.

47. Here _s.p.a.c-e_ rimes with _embrac-e_, but in l. 5 it rimes with _allas_. This variation is no worse than the riming of _embrace_ with _compas_ in Proverbs, 8 (vol. i. p. 407). Cf. _plac-e_ in C.T., B 1910, with its variant _plas_, B 1971.

N.B. The Complaints numbered XXV and XXVI are obviously by the same author; compare XXV. 26 with XXVI. 15; XXV. 9 with XXVI. 43; and XXV.

29-31 with XXVI. 39, 40. They were probably written nearly at the same time.

[1: T. 1-22.]

THE CANTERBURY TALES.

GROUP A. THE PROLOGUE.

HERE BIGINNETH THE BOOK OF THE TALES OF CAUNTERBURY.

Whan that Aprille with his shoures sote The droghte of Marche hath perced to the rote, And bathed every veyne in swich licour, Of which vertu engendred is the flour; Whan Zephirus eek with his swete breeth 5 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 fowles maken melodye, That slepen al the night with open ye, 10 (So priketh hem nature in hir corages): Than longen folk to goon on pilgrimages (And palmers for to seken straunge strondes) To ferne halwes, couthe in sondry londes; And specially, from every s.h.i.+res ende 15 Of Engelond, to Caunterbury they wende, The holy blisful martir for to seke, That hem hath holpen, whan that they were seke.

HEADING. _From_ E. 1. E. hise; _rest_ his. 8. Hl. halfe; _rest_ half. 9. Hl. fowles; Pt. Ln. foules; E. Hn. foweles. 10. Hl. yhe; Hn. Iye; E. eye. 12. Pt. Ln. Than; E. Thanne. E. pilg_ri_mage (_by mistake_). 13. Pt. Hl. palmers; E. Palmeres. 16. Hn. Caunter-; E.

Cauntur-. 18. E. seeke.

Bifel that, in that seson on a day, In Southwerk at the Tabard as I lay 20 Redy to wenden on my pilgrimage To Caunterbury with ful devout corage, [2: T. 23-58.]

At night was come in-to that hostelrye Wel nyne and twenty in a companye, Of sondry folk, by aventure y-falle 25 In felaws.h.i.+pe, and pilgrims were they alle, That toward Caunterbury wolden ryde; The chambres and the stables weren wyde, And wel we weren esed atte beste.

And shortly, whan the sonne was to reste, 30 So hadde I spoken with hem everichon, That I was of hir felaws.h.i.+pe anon, And made forward erly for to ryse, To take our wey, ther as I yow devyse.

19. Hn. Bifel; E. Bifil. 23. E. were; _rest_ was. 24. E. Hn.

compaignye. 26, 32. E. felawes.h.i.+pe. Hl. pilgryms; E. pilgrimes.

34. E. oure.

But natheles, whyl I have tyme and s.p.a.ce, 35 Er that I ferther in this tale pace, Me thinketh it acordaunt to resoun, To telle yow al the condicioun Of ech of hem, so as it semed me, And whiche they weren, and of what degree; 40 And eek in what array that they were inne: And at a knight than wol I first biginne.

35. E. Hn. nathelees. 40. Hl. weren; _rest_ were, weere.

A KNIGHT ther was, and that a worthy man, KNIGHT.

That fro the tyme that he first bigan To ryden out, he loved chivalrye, 45 Trouthe and honour, fredom and curteisye.

Ful worthy was he in his lordes werre, And therto hadde he riden (no man ferre) As wel in Cristendom as hethenesse, And ever honoured for his worthinesse. 50

49. Hn. Hl. as; _rest_ as in.

At Alisaundre he was, whan it was wonne; Ful ofte tyme he hadde the bord bigonne Aboven alle naciouns in Pruce.

In Lettow hadde he reysed and in Ruce, No Cristen man so ofte of his degree. 55 In Gernade at the sege eek hadde he be Of Algezir, and riden in Belmarye.

At Lyeys was he, and at Satalye, [3: T. 59-92.]

Whan they were wonne; and in the Grete See At many a n.o.ble aryve hadde he be. 60 At mortal batailles hadde he been fiftene, And foughten for our feith at Tramissene In listes thryes, and ay slayn his foo.

This ilke worthy knight had been also Somtyme with the lord of Palatye, 65 Ageyn another hethen in Turkye: And evermore he hadde a sovereyn prys.

And though that he were worthy, he was wys, And of his port as meke as is a mayde.

He never yet no vileinye ne sayde 70 In al his lyf, un-to no maner wight.