Aboven allë naciouns in Pruce.

In Lettowe hadde he reysed1 and in Ruce,
No cristen man so ofte of his degre.

In Gernade attë siegë hadde he be
Of Algesir, and riden in Belmarie.

At Lieys was he, and at Satalie,

Whan they were wonne; and in the Greetë see
At many a noble arive 2 hadde he be.
At mortal batailles hadde he ben fiftene,
And foughten for our feith at Tramassene
In lystës thriës, and ay slayn his foo.
This ilke worthy knight hadde ben also
Somtyme with the lord of Palatye,
Ageyn another hethen in Turkye :

And evermore he hadde a sovereyn prys3.
And though that he was worthy, he was wys,
And of his port as meke as is a mayde.

He nevere yit no vileinye ne sayde
In al his lyf, unto no maner wight.

He was a verray perfight gentil knight.

But for to tellen you of his array,

His hors was good, but he ne was nought gay.
Of fustyan he werede a gepoun

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Al bysmotered with his habergeoun".

For he was late ycome from his viage,
And wente for to doon his pilgrimage.

With him ther was his sone, a yong SQUYER,

A lovyere, and a lusty bacheler,

With lokkës crulle as they were leyd in presse.
Of twenty yeer of age he was, I gesse.

Of his stature he was of even lengthe,

And wonderly delyver, and gret of strengthe.
And he hadde ben somtyme in chivachye,

In Flaundres, in Artoys, and Picardye,
And born him wel, as of so litel space,

In hope to stonden in his lady grace.

Embrowded was he, as it were a mede
Al ful of fresshë floures, white and reede.
Syngynge he was, or floytynge1, al the day;
He was as fressh as is the moneth of May.
Schort was his goune, with sleevës longe and wyde.
Wel cowde he sitte on hors, and faire ryde.
He cowde songës make and wel endite,

Juste and eek daunce, and wel purtreye and write.
So hote he lovede, that by nightertale 2
He sleep nomore than doth a nightyngale.
Curteys he was, lowly, and servysable,
And carf3 byforn his fader at the table.

A YEMAN hadde he, and servauntz nomoo
At that tyme, for him lustë * rydë soo;
And he was clad in coote and hood of grene.
A shef of pocok arwës brighte and kene
Under his belte he bar ful thriftily.

Wel cowde he dresse his takel yemanly;
His arwes drowpede nought with fetheres lowe.
And in his hond he bar a mighty bowe.
A not-heed hadde he with a broun visage.
Of woode-craft wel cowde he al the usage.
Upon his arm he bar a gay bracer",
And by his side a swerd and a bokeler,
And on that other side a gay daggere,
Harneysed wel, and scharp as poynt of spere;
A Cristofre on his brest of silver schene.
An horn he bar, the bawdrik was of grene;
A forster was he sothly, as I gesse.

Ther was also a Nonne, a PRIORESSE,
That of hire smylyng was ful symple and coy;
Hire grettest ooth ne was but by seynt Loy*;
And sche was cleped madame Eglentyne.
Ful wel sche sang the servisë divyne,
Entuned in hire nose ful semëly;

And Frensch sche spak ful faire and fetysly",

After the scole of Stratford attë Bowe,
For Frensch of Parys was to hire unknowe.
At metë wel i-taught was sche withalle;
Sche leet no morsel from hire lippës falle,
Ne wette hire fyngres in hire sauce deepe.
Wel cowde sche carie a morsel, and wel keepe,
That no dropë ne fille upon hire breste.
In curteisie was set ful moche hire leste.
Hire overlippe wypede sche so clene,

That in hire cuppe was no ferthing sene

Of grecë, whan sche dronken hadde hire draughte.
Ful semely after hir mete sche raughte1,
And sikerly sche was of gret disport,
And ful plesaunt, and amyable of port,
And peynede hir2 to countrefetë cheere
Of court, and ben estatlich of manere,
And to ben holden digne of reverence.
But for to speken of hir conscience,
Sche was so charitable and so pitous,
Sche wolde weepe if that sche saw a mous
Caught in a trappe, if it were deed or bledde.
Of smalë houndës hadde sche, that sche fedde
With rosted flessh, or mylk and wastel breed 3.
But sore weep sche if oon of hem were deed,
Or if men smot it with a yerde smerte:
And al was conscience and tendre herte.
Ful semely hire wympel i-pynched was;
Hir nose tretys5; hir eyën greye as glas;
Hir mouth ful smal, and therto softe and reed
But sikerly sche hadde a fair forheed.
It was almost a spannë brood, I trowe;
For hardily sche was not undergrowe.
Ful fetys was hir cloke, as I was war.
Of smal coral aboute hir arm sche bar
A peire of bedës gauded al with grene;
And theron heng a broch of gold ful schene,

On which was first i-write a crowned A,
And after, Amor vincit omnia.

Another NONNE with hir hadde sche,

That was hir chapeleyne, and PRESTES thre.
A MONK ther was, a fair for the maistryë 1,
An out-rydere, that lovedë veneryë;

A manly man, to ben an abbot able.

Ful many a deynté hors hadde he in stable :
And whan he rood, men mighte his bridel heere
Gynglen in a whistlyng wynd as cleere,

And eek as lowde as doth the chapel belle.
Ther as this lord was kepere of the celle,
The reule of seynt Maure or of seint Beneyt,
Bycause that it was old and somdel streyt,
This ilkë monk leet olde thingës pace,
And held after the newë world the space.
He yaf nat of that text a pullëd hen2,
That seith, that hunters been noon holy men ;
Ne that a monk, whan he is recchëles"
Is likned to a fissch that is waterles;
This is to seyn, a monk out of his cloystre.
But thikë text held he not worth an oystre.

And I seide his opinioun was good.

What schulde he studie, and make himselven wood,
Upon a book in cloystre alway to powre.

Or swynke with his handës, and laboure,

As Austyn bit? How schal the world be served?
Lat Austyn have his swynk to him reserved.
Therfor he was a pricasour' aright;

Greyhoundes he hadde as swifte as fowel in flight;
Of prikyng and of huntyng for the hare
Was al his lust, for no cost wolde he spare.

I saugh his slevës purfiled attë honde
With grys, and that the fyneste of a londe.
And for to festne his hood under his chynne
He hadde of gold y-wrought a curious pynne:

A love-knot in the grettere ende ther was.
His heed was balled, that schon as eny glas,
And eek his face, as he hadde ben anoynt.
He was a lord ful fat and in good poynt ;
His eyën steepe1, and rollyng in his heede,
That stemëde as a forneys of a leede2;
His bootës souple, his hors in gret estat.
Now certeinly he was a fair prelat;
He was not pale as a for-pyned3 goost.
A fat swan lovede he best of eny roost.
His palfrey was as broun as is a berye.

A FRERE there was, a wantown and a merye,
A lymytour, a ful solempnë man.

In alle the ordres foure is noon that can
So moche of daliaunce and fair langage.
He hadde i-mad ful many a mariage
Of yonge wymmen, at his owën cost.
Unto his ordre he was a noble post.
Ful wel biloved and famulier was he
With frankeleyns over-al in his cuntre,
And eek with worthy wommen of the toun :
For he hadde power of confessioun,
As seyde himself, more than a curat,
For of his ordre he was licentiat".
Ful swetely herde he confessioun,
And plesaunt was his absolucioun ;
He was an esy man to yeve penaunce
Ther as he wistë han a good pitaunce;
For unto a poure ordre for to yive
Is signe that a man is wel i-schrive.
For if he yaf, he dorstë make avaunt,
He wistë that a man was repentaunt.
For many a man so hard is of his herte,
He may not wepe although him sorë smerte.
Therfore in stede of wepyng and preyeres,
Men moot yive silver to the poure freres.

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