Canterbury Tales and Other Poems, Geoffrey Chaucer [good fiction books to read txt] 📗

>The thirde bare with him his bow Turkeis, Turkish.

Of brent* gold was the case** and the harness: burnished *quiver And ride forth a pace with sorrowful cheer** at a foot pace

Toward the grove, as ye shall after hear. **expression The noblest of the Greekes that there were Upon their shoulders carried the bier, With slacke pace, and eyen red and wet, Throughout the city, by the master* street, *main <86>

That spread was all with black, and wondrous high Right of the same is all the street y-wrie. covered <87>

Upon the right hand went old Egeus,

And on the other side Duke Theseus,

With vessels in their hand of gold full fine, All full of honey, milk, and blood, and wine; Eke Palamon, with a great company;

And after that came woful Emily,

With fire in hand, as was that time the guise, custom To do th’ office of funeral service.

 

High labour, and full great appareling preparation Was at the service, and the pyre-making, That with its greene top the heaven raught, reached And twenty fathom broad its armes straught*: *stretched This is to say, the boughes were so broad.

Of straw first there was laid many a load.

But how the pyre was maked up on height, And eke the names how the trees hight, were called As oak, fir, birch, asp*, alder, holm, poplere, aspen Willow, elm, plane, ash, box, chestnut, lind, laurere, linden, lime Maple, thorn, beech, hazel, yew, whipul tree, How they were fell’d, shall not be told for me; Nor how the goddes rannen up and down *the forest deities Disinherited of their habitatioun,

In which they wonned* had in rest and peace, *dwelt Nymphes, Faunes, and Hamadryades;

Nor how the beastes and the birdes all Fledden for feare, when the wood gan fall; Nor how the ground aghast* was of the light, terrified That was not wont to see the sunne bright; Nor how the fire was couched first with stre*, laid **straw And then with dry stickes cloven in three, And then with greene wood and spicery, spices And then with cloth of gold and with pierrie, precious stones And garlands hanging with full many a flower, The myrrh, the incense with so sweet odour; Nor how Arcita lay among all this,

Nor what richess about his body is;

Nor how that Emily, as was the guise, custom *Put in the fire* of funeral service<88>; appplied the torch

Nor how she swooned when she made the fire, Nor what she spake, nor what was her desire; Nor what jewels men in the fire then cast When that the fire was great and burned fast; Nor how some cast their shield, and some their spear, And of their vestiments, which that they wear, And cuppes full of wine, and milk, and blood, Into the fire, that burnt as it were wood*; mad Nor how the Greekes with a huge rout *procession Three times riden all the fire about <89>

Upon the left hand, with a loud shouting, And thries with their speares clattering; And thries how the ladies gan to cry;

Nor how that led was homeward Emily;

Nor how Arcite is burnt to ashes cold; Nor how the lyke-wake* was y-hold *wake <90>

All thilke* night, nor how the Greekes play that The wake-plays, ne keep** I not to say: funeral games *care Who wrestled best naked, with oil anoint, Nor who that bare him best in no disjoint. in any contest

I will not tell eke how they all are gone Home to Athenes when the play is done; But shortly to the point now will I wend, come And maken of my longe tale an end.

 

By process and by length of certain years All stinted* is the mourning and the tears *ended Of Greekes, by one general assent.

Then seemed me there was a parlement

At Athens, upon certain points and cas*: *cases Amonge the which points y-spoken was

To have with certain countries alliance, And have of Thebans full obeisance.

For which this noble Theseus anon

Let* send after the gentle Palamon, caused Unwist of him what was the cause and why: *unknown But in his blacke clothes sorrowfully

He came at his commandment *on hie*; in haste

Then sente Theseus for Emily.

When they were set*, and hush’d was all the place seated And Theseus abided had a space waited Ere any word came from his wise breast His eyen set he there as was his lest, he cast his eyes And with a sad visage he sighed still, wherever he pleased*

And after that right thus he said his will.

“The firste mover of the cause above

When he first made the faire chain of love, Great was th’ effect, and high was his intent; Well wist he why, and what thereof he meant: For with that faire chain of love he bond bound The fire, the air, the water, and the lond In certain bondes, that they may not flee:<91>

That same prince and mover eke,” quoth he, “Hath stablish’d, in this wretched world adown, Certain of dayes and duration

To all that are engender’d in this place, Over the whiche day they may not pace, pass All may they yet their dayes well abridge.

There needeth no authority to allege

For it is proved by experience;

But that me list declare my sentence*. opinion Then may men by this order well discern, That thilke mover stable is and etern. *the same Well may men know, but that it be a fool, That every part deriveth from its whole.

For nature hath not ta’en its beginning Of no *partie nor cantle* of a thing, part or piece

But of a thing that perfect is and stable, Descending so, till it be corruptable.

And therefore of His wise purveyance* providence He hath so well beset his ordinance,

That species of things and progressions Shallen endure by successions,

And not etern, withouten any lie:

This mayst thou understand and see at eye.

Lo th’ oak, that hath so long a nourishing From the time that it ‘ginneth first to spring, And hath so long a life, as ye may see, Yet at the last y-wasted is the tree.

Consider eke, how that the harde stone Under our feet, on which we tread and gon, walk Yet wasteth, as it lieth by the way.

The broade river some time waxeth drey*. dry The greate townes see we wane and wend. *go, disappear Then may ye see that all things have an end.

Of man and woman see we well also, —

That needes in one of the termes two, —

That is to say, in youth or else in age,-

He must be dead, the king as shall a page; Some in his bed, some in the deepe sea, Some in the large field, as ye may see: There helpeth nought, all go that ilke* way: *same Then may I say that alle thing must die.

What maketh this but Jupiter the king?

The which is prince, and cause of alle thing, Converting all unto his proper will,

From which it is derived, sooth to tell And hereagainst no creature alive,

Of no degree, availeth for to strive.

Then is it wisdom, as it thinketh me,

To make a virtue of necessity,

And take it well, that we may not eschew, escape And namely what to us all is due.

And whoso grudgeth* ought, he doth folly, murmurs at And rebel is to him that all may gie. *direct, guide And certainly a man hath most honour

To dien in his excellence and flower,

When he is sicker* of his goode name. certain Then hath he done his friend, nor him, no shame himself And gladder ought his friend be of his death, When with honour is yielded up his breath, Than when his name appalled is for age*; decayed by old age

For all forgotten is his vassalage*. *valour, service Then is it best, as for a worthy fame, To dien when a man is best of name.

The contrary of all this is wilfulness.

Why grudge we, why have we heaviness,

That good Arcite, of chivalry the flower, Departed is, with duty and honour,

Out of this foule prison of this life?

Why grudge here his cousin and his wife Of his welfare, that loved him so well?

Can he them thank? nay, God wot, neverdeal*, — *not a jot That both his soul and eke themselves offend, hurt And yet they may their lustes* not amend**. desires *control What may I conclude of this longe serie, string of remarks But after sorrow I rede* us to be merry, *counsel And thanke Jupiter for all his grace?

And ere that we departe from this place, I rede that we make of sorrows two

One perfect joye lasting evermo’:

And look now where most sorrow is herein, There will I first amenden and begin.

“Sister,” quoth he, “this is my full assent, With all th’ advice here of my parlement, That gentle Palamon, your owen knight, That serveth you with will, and heart, and might, And ever hath, since first time ye him knew, That ye shall of your grace upon him rue, take pity And take him for your husband and your lord: Lend me your hand, for this is our accord.

*Let see* now of your womanly pity. make display

He is a kinge’s brother’s son, pardie*. *by God And though he were a poore bachelere,

Since he hath served you so many a year, And had for you so great adversity,

It muste be considered, *‘lieveth me*. believe me

For gentle mercy oweth to passen right.” ought to be rightly Then said he thus to Palamon the knight; directed

“I trow there needeth little sermoning To make you assente to this thing.

Come near, and take your lady by the hand.”

Betwixte them was made anon the band,

That hight matrimony or marriage,

By all the counsel of the baronage.

And thus with alle bliss and melody

Hath Palamon y-wedded Emily.

And God, that all this wide world hath wrought, Send him his love, that hath it dearly bought.

For now is Palamon in all his weal,

Living in bliss, in riches, and in heal*. *health And Emily him loves so tenderly,

And he her serveth all so gentilly,

That never was there worde them between Of jealousy, nor of none other teen*. *cause of anger Thus endeth Palamon and Emily

And God save all this faire company.

 

Notes to The Knight’s Tale.

 

1. For the plan and principal incidents of the “Knight’s Tale,”

Chaucer was indebted to Boccaccio, who had himself borrowed from some prior poet, chronicler, or romancer. Boccaccio speaks of the story as “very ancient;” and, though that may not be proof of its antiquity, it certainly shows that he took it from an earlier writer. The “Tale” is more or less a paraphrase of Boccaccio’s “Theseida;” but in some points the copy has a distinct dramatic superiority over the original. The “Theseida”

contained ten thousand lines; Chaucer has condensed it into less than one-fourth of the number. The “Knight’s Tale” is supposed to have been at first composed as a separate work; it is undetermined whether Chaucer took it direct from the Italian of Boccaccio, or from a French translation.

 

2. Highte: was called; from the Anglo-Saxon “hatan”, to bid or call; German, “Heissen”, “heisst”.

 

3. Feminie: The “Royaume des Femmes” — kingdom of the Amazons. Gower, in the “Confessio Amantis,” styles Penthesilea the “Queen of Feminie.”

 

4. Wonnen: Won, conquered; German