1 here bygynneth the book of the tales of caunterbury whan that aprill
2 with his shoures soote the droghte of march hath perced to the roote
3 and bathed every veyne in swich licour of which vertu engendred is the
4 flour whan zephirus eek with his sweete breath inspired hath in every
5 holt and heeth the tendre croppes and the yonge sonne hath in the ram
6 his halve course yronne and smale foweles maken melodye that slepen al
7 the nyght with open ye so priketh hem nature in hir corages thanne
8 longen folk to goon on pilgrimages and palmeres for to seken straunge
9 strondes to ferne halwes kowthe in sondry londes and specially from
10 every shires ende of engelond to caunterbury they wende the hooly
11 blisful martir for to seke that hem hath holpen whan that they were
12 seeke bifil that in that seson on a day inb southwerk at the tabard as
13 i lay redy to wenden on my pilgrimage to caunterbury with fuldevout
14 corage at nyght was come into that hostelrye wel nyne and twenty in a
15 compaignye of sondry folk by aventure yfalle in felaweshipe and
16 pilgrimes were they alle that toward caunterbury wolden ryde the
17 chambres and the stbles weren wyde and wel we weren esed atte beste and
18 shortly whan the sonne was to reste so hadde i spoken with hem
19 everichon that i was of hir felaweshipe anon and made forward erly for
20 to ryse to take oure way ther as i yow devyse but nathelees whil i have
21 tyme and space er that i ferther in this tale pace me thynketh it
22 acordaunt to resoun to telle you al the condicioun of ech of hem so as
23 it semed me and whiche they weren and of what degree and eek in what
24 array that they were inne and at a knyght than wol i first bigynne
25 allas i wepynge am constreyned to bygynnnen vers of sorwful matere that
26 whilom in florysschyng studie made delitable ditees for lo randynge
27 muses of poetes enditen to me thynges to ben writen and drery vers of
28 wretchidnesse weten my face with verray teres at the leeste no drede ne
29 myghte overcomen tho muses that thei ne were felawes and folwyden my
30 wey that is to seyn whan i was exiled they that weren glorie of my
31 youthe whilom weleful and grene conforten now the sorwful wyerdes of me
32 olde man for eelde is comyn unwarly uppon me hasted by the harmes that
33 y have and sorwe hath comandid his age to ben in me heeris hore arn
34 schad overtymeliche upon myn heved and the slakke skyn trembleth of myn
35 emptid body thilke deth of men is weleful that ne comyth noght in
36 yeeris that be swete but cometh to wrecches often yclepid allas allas
37 with how deef an ere deth cruwel turneth awey fro wrecches and nayteth
38 to closen wepynge eien whil fortune unfeithful favourede me with
39 lyghten goodes the sorwful houre that is to seyn the deth hadde almoost
40 dreynt myn heved but now for fortune cloudy hath chaunged hir
41 deceyvable chere to meward myn unpietous lif draweth along unagreable
42 duellynges o ye my freended what or wherto avaunted ye me to be weleful
43 for he that hath fallen stood noght in stedefast degre in the mene
44 while that i stille recordede these thynges with myself and merkid my
45 weply compleynte with office of poyntel i saw stondynge aboven the
46 heghte of myn heved a womman of ful greet reverence by semblaunt hit
47 eien brennynge and cleerseynge over the comune myghte of men with a
48 lifly colour and with swich vogour and strengthe that it ne myghte nat
49 ben emptid al were it so that sche was ful of so greet age that men ne
50 wolden nat trowen in no manere that sche were of our elde the stature
51 of hire was of a doutous jugement for sometyme it semede that sche
52 touchede the hevene with the heghte of here heved and whan sche hef hir
53 heved heyer sche percede the selve hevenne so that the sighte of men
54 lokynge was in ydel hir clothes weren makid of right delye thredes and
55 subtil craft of perdurable matere the whiche clothes sche hadde duskid
56 and dirked as it is wont to dirken besmokede ymages in the nethereste
57 hem of bordure of thise clothes men redden ywoven in a gekissch p that
58 signifieth the lif actif and aboven that lettre in the heieste bordure
59 a grekyssh t that signifieth the lif contemplatif and betwixen thise
60 two lettres ther were seyn degrees nobly ywrought in manere of laddres
61 by which degrees men myghten clymben fro the nethereste lettre to the
62 uppereste natheles handes of some men hadden korve that cloth by
63 violence or by strengthe and everich man of hem hadde boren awey swiche
64 peces as he myghte geten and for sothe this forseide womman bar smale
65 bokis in hir right hand and in hir left hand sche bar a ceptre and whan
66 she saugh thise poetical muses aprochen aboute my bed and enditynge
67 wordes to my wepynges sche was a litil amoeved and glowede with cruel
68 eighen who quod sche hath suffred aprochen to this sike man thise
69 comune strompettis of swich a place that men clepen the theatre the
70 whiche not oonly ne asswagen noght his sorwes with none remedies but
71 thei wolden fedyn and noryssen hym with sweete venym for sothe thise
72 ben tho that with thornes and prikkynges of talentz of afeccions whiche
73 that ne bien nothyng fructifyenge nor profitable destroyen the corn
74 plentyvous of fruytes of resoun for thei holden hertes of men in usage
75 but thei delyvre noght folk fro maladye but yif ye muses hadden
76 withdrawen fro me with youre flateries any unkunnynge and unprofitable
77 man as men ben wont to fynde comonly among the peple i wolde wene
78 suffre the lasse grevosly forwhi in swych an unprofitable man myne
79 ententes weren nothyng endamaged but ye withdrawen me this man that
80 hath ben noryssed in the studies or scoles of eleaticis and achademycis
81 in grece but goth now rather awey ye mermaydenes which that ben swete
82 til it be at the laste and suffreth this man to ben cured and heeled by
83 myne muses that is to seyn by noteful sciences and this the companye of
84 muses iblamed casten wrothly the chere dounward to the erthe and
85 schewing be rednesse hir schame thei passeden sorwfully the thesschfold
86 and i of whom the sighte ploungid in teeres was dirked so that y ne
87 myghte noght knowen what that womman was of so imperial auctorite i wax
88 al abayssched and astoned and caste my syghte doun to the erthe and
89 bygan stille for to abide what sche woolde doon aftirward tho com sche
90 ner and sette her doun uppon the uttereste corner of my bed and sche
91 byholfynge my chere that was cast to the erthe hevy and grevous of
92 wepynge compleynde with thise wordis that i schal seyn the perturbacion
93 of my thought the romaunt of the rose amant whanne i hadde herde all
94 resoun seyn which hadde spilt hir speche in veyn dame seide i i dar wel
95 sey of this avaunt me wel i may that from youre scole so devyaunt i am
96 that never the more avaunt right nought am i thurgh youre doctrine i
97 dulle under youre duscipline i wot no more that i wist er to me so
98 contrarie and so fer is every thing that ye me ler and yit i can it all
99 par cuer myn herte foryetith therof right nought it is so writen in my
100 thought and depe greven it is so tendir that all be herte i can it
101 rendre and rede it over comunely bit to mysilf lewedist am i but sith
102 ye love discreven so and lak and preise it bothe twoo defyneth it into
103 this letter that i may thenke on it the better for i herde never
104 diffyne it er and wilfully i wolde it ler raisoun if love be serched
105 wel and sought it is a syknesse of the thought annexed and knet bitwixe
106 tweyne which male and female with oo cheyne so frely byndith that they
107 nyll twynne whether so therof they leese or wynne the roote springith
108 thurgh hoot brennyng into disordinat desiryng for to kissen and enbrace
109 and at her lust then to solace of other thyng love recchith nought but
110 setteth her herte and all her thought more for delectacioun than ony
111 procreacioun of other fruyt by engendring which love to god is not
112 plesing for of her body fruyt to get they yeve no force they are so set
113 upon delit to pley infeere and somme have also this manere to feynen
114 hem for love sek sich love i preise not at a lek for paramours they do
115 but feyne to love truly they disdeyne they falsen ladies traitoursly
116 and swern hem othes utterly with many a lesyng and many a fable and all
117 they fynden deceyvable and whanne they han her lust geten the hoote
118 ernes they al foryeten wymmen the harm they bien full sore but men this
119 thenken evermore that lasse harm is so mote i the decyve them than
120 decyved be and namely where they ne may fynde non other mene wey
projects / name-generation.git / blob