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 holt1 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 yë,
(So priketh hem nature in hir corages2):
Than longen folk to goon on pilgrimages
(And palmers for to seken straunge
To ferne halwes, couthe5 in sondry londes;
And specially, from every shires ende
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;
And eek in what array that they were inne:
And at a knight than wol I first biginne. A KNIGHT ther was, and that a worthy man,
Ful worthy was he in his lordes werre,
And therto hadde he riden (no man ferre11)
As wel in Cristendom as hethenesse,
And ever honoured for his worthinesse. 50
At Alisaundre he was, whan it was wonne;
Ful ofte tyme he hadde the bord bi-
gonne12
Aboven alle naciouns in Pruce.
In Lettow hadde he reysed13 and in Ruce, No Cristen man so ofte of his degree.
In Gernade at the sege eek hadde he be
Of Algezir, and riden in Belmarye.
At Lyeys was he, and at Satalye,
Whan they were wonne; and in the Grete
At many a noble aryve14 hadde he be.
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 hadde been also
Somtyme with the lord of Palatye,
Ageyn another hethen in Turkye:
And evermore he hadde a sovereyn
prys. 15
And though that he were worthy, he was
14 disembarkation.
16 no sort of person.