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