I durste swere they weyghedë ten pounde1
That on the Sonday were upon hire heed.
Hir hosen weren of fyn scarlett reed,

Ful streyte y-teyed, and schoos ful moyste and newe.
Bold was hir face, and fair, and reed of hewe.
Sche was a worthy womman al hire lyfe,
Housbondes at chirchë dorë hadde sche fyfe,
Withouten other companye in youthe;

But thereof needeth nought to speke as nouthe.2
And thries hadde sche ben at Jerusalem;
Sche hadde passëd many a straungë streem;
At Rome sche haddë ben, and at Boloyne,
In Galice at seynt Jame, and at Coloyne.
Sche cowde3 moche of wandryng by the weye.
Gat-tothed was sche, sothly for to seye.
Uppon an amblere esely sche sat,
Wympled ful wel, and on hire heed an hat
As brood as is a bocler or a targe;
A foot-mantel aboute hire hipes large,
And on hire feet a paire of sporës scharpe.
In felawschipe wel cowde she lawghe and carpe.
Of remedyes of love sche knew parchaunce,
For of that art sche knew the oldë daunce.
A good man was ther of religioun,
And was a porë PERSOUN of a toun;
But riche he was of holy thought and werk.
He was also a lerned man, a clerk

That Cristës gospel gladly wolde preche;
His parischens devoutly wolde he teche.
Benigne he was, and wonder diligent,
And in adversitë ful pacient;

And such he was i-provëd oftë sithes. 6
Ful loth were him to curse for his tythes,
But rather wolde he geven out of dowte,
Unto his porë parisschens aboute,

Of his offrynge, and eek of his substaunce.
He cowde in litel thing han suffisance.

at the time.

1 The reference is to the immense and heavy head-dresses fashionable . Just now. Having teeth wide apart.

3 Knew. An ambling nag.

• Times.

Wyd was his parisch, and houses fer asondër,
Be he ne laftë1 not for reyne ne thonder,
In siknesse ne in meschief to visite

The ferrest in his parissche, moche and lite,2
Uppon his feet, and in his hond a staf.

This noble ensample unto his scheep he gaf,
That ferst he wroughte, and after that he taughte,
Out of the gospel he tho3 wordës caughte,
And this figure he added yit therto,

That if gold rustë, what schulde yren doo ?
For if a prest be foul, on whom we truste,
No wonder is a lewid1 man to ruste . . .
Wel oughte a prest ensample for to give,

By his clennesse, how that his scheep schulde lyve.
He settë not his benefice to hyre,

And left his scheep encombred in the myre,
And ran to Londone, unto seynte Poulës,
To seeken him a chaunterie for soulës,
Or with a brethurhede to be withholde;5
But dwelte at hoom, and keptë wel his folde,
So that the wolfe ne made it not myscarye.
He was a schepperde and no mercenarie.
And though he holy were, and vertuous,
He was to sinful man nought dispitous,
Ne of his spechë daungerous ne digne,
But in his teching discret and benigne.
To drawë folk to heven by fairnesse,
By good ensample, was his busynesse :
But it were eny persone obstinat,
What so he were of high or lowe estat,
Him wolde he snybbë' scharply for the nonës.8
A bettre preest I trowe ther nowher non is.
He wayted after no pompe ne reverence,
Ne maked him a spiced conscience,
But Cristës lore, and his apostles twelve,
He taught, and ferst he folwed it himselve.

Ceased.
Maintained.

2 Small.

• Proud.

3 Those.
Reprove.

7

'Ignorant. • Nonce.

EMILY IN THE GARDEN

(From The Knightes Tale)

This passeth yeer by yeer, and day by day,

Till it fel oonës in a morn of May
That Emelie, that fairer was to seene
Than is the lilie upon his stalkë grene.

And fresscher than the May with flourës newe-
For with the rosë colour strof hire hewe,
I not1 which was the fyner of hem two-
Er it was day, as sche was wont to do,
Sche was arisen, and al redy dight;
For May wole have no sloggardye a-night.
The sesoun priketh every gentil herte,
And maketh him out of his sleepe to sterte,
And seith, Arys, and do thine observance.'
This makëd Emelye han remembrance
To do honour to May, and for to ryse.
I-clothed was sche fressh for to devyse.
Hire yelow heer was browded2 in a tresse,
Byhynde hire bak, a yerdë long I gesse.
And in the gardyn at the sonne upriste3
Sche walketh up and doun wher as hire liste,
Sche gadereth flourës, partye whyte and reede,
To make a sotel1 gerland for hire heede,
And as an aungel hevenly sche song.

THE COCK AND THE FOX
(From The Nonne Prestes Tale)

This Chaunteclere stood heighe upon his toos,
Strecching his necke, and held his eyen cloos,
And gan to crowë lowdë for the noones;
And Dan Russel the fox stert up at oones,
And by the garget5 hentë® Chaunteclere,
And on his bak toward the woode him bere.
For yit he was there no man that him sewed."
O desteny, that maist not ben eschiewed !8
2 Braided. 3 Sunrise. Well-arranged.
Seized.
? Followed.
8 Avoided.

1 Wot not, know not.

5 Throat.

Allas, that Chaunteclere fleigh fro the bemës !
Allas, his wif ne roughtë1 nought of dremës !
And on a Friday fel al this mischaunce.
O Venus, that art goddes of pleasaunce,
Syn2 that thy servant was this Chaunteclere,
And in thy service did al in his powere,
More for delit, than the world to multiplie,
Why woldest thou suffre him on thy day to dye ?
O Gaufred, derë mayster soverayn,3

That, whan the worthy king Richard was slayn
With schot, compleynedist his deth so sore,
Why ne had I nought thy sentence and thy lore,
The Friday for to chiden, as dede ye?
(For on a Fryday sothly slayn was he.)
Than wold I schewe how that I couthë pleyne,
For Chaunteclerës drede, and for his peyne
Certis such cry ne lamentacioun

Was never of ladies maad, whan Ilioun

Was wonne, and Pirrus with his streitë1 swerd,
Whan he had hent kyng Priam by the berd,
And slaugh him (as saith us Enëydos),5

As maden alle the hennes in the clos,

Whan thay had sayn of Chauntecler the sight.
Bot soveraignly dame Pertëlotë schright,“
Ful lowder than did Hasdrubaldes wyf;
Whan that hir housebond haddë lost his lyf,
And that the Romayns had i-brent Cartage,
Sche was so ful of torment and of rage,
That wilfully unto the fuyr sche stert,
And brend hirselven with a stedfast hert.

O woful hennës, right so cridë ye,

As, whan that Nero brentë' the citie

Of Rome, criden the senatourës wyves,

For that her housbondes losten alle here lyves;
Withouten gilt this Nero hath hem slayn.

Now wol I torne to my matier agayn.

The selyR wydow, and hir doughtres two,

3 Geoffrey de Vinsarf, author of a treatise on composition. Chaucer's reference is to some affected lines on the death of Richard I.

• Drawn.

The Eneid. • Shrieked. ' Burned. • Harmless.

Herden these hennys crie and maken wo,
And out at dorës startë they anoon,

And sayen the fox toward the woode is goon,
And bar upon his bak the cok away;

They criden,' Out! harrow and wayleway!
Ha, ha, the fox!' and after him thay ran,
And eek with stavës many another man;
Ran Colle our dogge, and Talbot, and Garlond,
And Malkyn, with a distaf in hir hond;
Ran cow and calf, and eek the verray hogges
So were they fered for berkyng of the dogges,
And schowtyng of the men and wymmen eke,
Thay ronnë that thay thought her hertë breke.
They yelleden as feendës doon in helle;
The dokës criden as men wold hem quelle ;1
The gees for ferë flowen over the trees;
Out of the hyvë came the swarm of bees;
So hidous was the noyse, a benedicite !
Certës he Jakkë Straw, and his meynë,2
Ne maden schoutës never half so schrille,
Whan that thay wolden eny Flemyng kille,
As thilke day was maad upon the fox.

Of bras thay broughten hornës and of box,
Of horn and boon, in which thay blew and powped,
And therwithal thay schrykëd and thay howped;
It semëd as that heven schuldë falle.

GOWER

(OUTLINE HISTORY, § 13)

PHOEBUS AND DAPHNE
(From Confessio Amantis, III.)

A MAIDEN whilom3 there was one

Which Daphne hight; and such was none
Of beauty then, as it was said.

Phoebus his love hath on her laid;

1 Kill.

2 Followers

' Formerly,

• Was called.