| |
| Sin that his lord was twenty yeer of age; | |
| Ther coude no man bringe him in arrerage. 1 | |
| Ther nas baillif, ne herde, ne other hyne, 2 | |
| That he ne knew his sleighte and his covync; 3 | |
| They were adrad of him, as of the deeth. 4 | 605 |
| His woning 5 was ful fair up-on an heeth, | |
| With grene treës shadwed was his place. | |
| He coude bettre than his lord purchace. | |
| Ful riche he was astored 6 prively. | |
| His lord wel coude he plesen subtilly, | 610 |
| To yeve and lene him of his owne good, | |
| And have a thank, and yet a cote, and hood. | |
| In youthe he lerned hadde a good mister; 7 | |
| He was a wel good wrighte, a carpenter. | |
| This reve sat up-on a ful good stot, 8 | 615 |
| That was al pomely 9 grey, and highte 10 Scot. | |
| A long surcote 11 of pers 12 up-on he hade, | |
| And by his syde he bar a rusty blade. | |
| Of Northfolk was this reve, of which I telle, | |
| Bisyde a toun men clepen Baldeswelle. | 620 |
| Tukked 13 he was, as is a frere, aboute, | |
| And evere he rood the hindreste of our route. | |
| A SOMNOUR 14 was ther with us in that place, | |
| That hadde a fyr-reed cherubinnes face, | |
| For sawceflem 15 he was, with eyen narwe. | 625 |
| As hoot he was, and lecherous as a sparwe, | |
| With scalled 16 browes blake, and piled 17 berd; | |
| Of his visage children were aferd. | |
| Ther nas quick-silver, litarge, 18 ne brimston, | |
| Boras, 19 ceruce, 20 ne oille of tartre 21 noon, | 630 |
| Ne oynement that wolde clense and byte, | |
| That him mighte helpen of his whelkes 22 whyte, | |
| Ne of the knobbes sittinge on his chekes. | |
| Wel loved he garleek, oynons, and eek lekes, | |
| And for to drinken strong wyn, reed as blood. | 635 |
| Thanne wolde he speke, and crye as he were wood. 23 | |
| And whan that he wel dronken hadde the wyn, | |
| Than wolde he speke no word but Latyn. | |
| A fewe termes hadde he, two or thre, | |
| That he had lerned out of som decree; | 640 |
| No wonder is, he herde it al the day; | |
| And eek ye knowen wel, how that a jay | |
| Can clepen ‘Watte,’ as well as can the pope. | |
| But who-so coude in other thing him grope, 24 | |
| Thanne hadde he spent al his philosophye; | 645 |
| Ay ‘Questio quid iuris’ 25 wolde he crye. | |
| He was a gentil harlot 26 and a kynde; | |
| A bettre felawe sholde men noght fynde. | |
| He wolde suffre for a quart of wyn | |
| A good felawe to have his concubyn | 650 |
| A twelf-month, and excuse him atte fulle: | |
| And prively a finch eek coude he pulle. 27 | |
| And if he fond owher a good felawe, | |
| He wolde techen him to have non awe, | |
| In swich cas, of the erchedeknes curs, | 655 |
| But-if 28 a mannes soule were in his purs; | |
| For in his purs he sholde y-punisshed be. | |
| ‘Purs is the erchedeknes helle,’ seyde he. | |
| But wel I woot he lyed right in dede; | |
| Of cursing oghte ech gulty man him drede— | 660 |
| For curs wol slee right as assoilling 29 saveth— | |
| And also war him of a significavit 30 | |
| In daunger 31 hadde he at his owne gyse 32 | |
| The yonge girles 33 of the diocyse, | |
| And knew hir counseil, and was al hir reed. 34 | 665 |
| A gerland hadde he set up-on his heed, | |
| As greet as it were for an ale-stake; 35 | |
| A bokeler hadde he maad him of a cake. | |
| With him ther rood a gentil PARDONER | |
| Of Rouncivale, his frend and his compeer, | 670 |
| That streight was comen fro the court of Rome. | |
| Ful loude he song, ‘Com hider, love, to me.’ | |
| This somnour bar to him a stiff burdoun, 36 | |
| Was nevere trompe of half so greet a soun. | |
| This pardoner hadde heer as yelow as wex, | 675 |
| But smothe it heng, as doth a strike 37 of flex; | |
| By ounces 38 henge his lokkes that he hadde, | |
| And ther-with he his shuldres overspradde; | |
| But thinne it lay, by colpons 39 oon and oon; | |
| But hood, for jolitee, ne wered he noon, | 680 |
| For it was trussed 40 up in his walet. | |
| Him thoughte, he rood al of the newe jet; 41 | |
| Dischevele, save his cappe, he rood al bare. | |
| Swiche glaringe eyen hadde he as an hare. | |
| A vernicle 42 hadde he sowed on his cappe, | 685 |
| His walet lay biforn him in his lappe, | |
| Bret-ful 43 of pardoun come from Rome al hoot, | |
| A voys he hadde as smal as hath a goot. | |
| No berd hadde he, ne nevere sholde have, | |
| As smothe it was as it were late y-shave; | 690 |
| I trowe he were a gelding or a mare. | |
| But of his craft, fro Berwik into Ware, | |
| Ne was ther swich another pardoner. | |
| For in his male 44 he hadde a pilwe-beer, 45 | |
| Which that, he seyde, was our lady 46 veyl: | 695 |
| He seyde, he hadde a gobet 47 of the seyl | |
| That seynt Peter hadde, whan that he wente | |
| Up-on the see, til Iesu Crist him hente. | |
| He hadde a croys of latoun, 48 ful of stones, | |
| And in a glas he hadde pigges bones. | 700 |
| But with thise relikes, whan that he fond | |
| A povre person dwelling up-on lond, | |
| Up-on a day he gat him more moneye | |
| Than that the person gat in monthes tweye. | |
| And thus with feyned flaterye and japes, 49 | 705 |
| He made the person gat in monthes tweye. | |
| But trewely to tellen, atte laste, | |
| He was in chirche a noble ecclesiaste. | |
| Wel coude he rede a lessoun or a storie, | |
| But alderbest 50 he song an offertorie; | 710 |
| For wel he wiste, whan that song was songe, | |
| He moste preche, and wel affyle 51 his tonge, | |
| To winne silver, as he ful wel coude; | |
| Therefore he song so meriely and loude. | |
| Now have I told you shortly, in a clause, | 715 |
| Thestat, tharray, the nombre, and eek the cause | |
| Why that assembled was this compaignye | |
| In Southwerk, at this gentil hostelrye, | |
| That highte 52 the Tabard, faste by the Belle. | |
| But now is tyme to yow for to telle | 720 |
| How that we baren 53 us that like 54 night, | |
| Whan we were in that hostelrye alight. | |
| And after wol I telle of our viage 55 | |
| And al the remenaunt of our pilgrimage. | |
| But first I pray yow of your curteisye, | 725 |
| That ye narette 56 it nat my vileinye, 57 | |
| Thogh that I pleynly speke in this matere, | |
| To telle yow hir wordes and hir chere; 58 | |
| Ne thogh I speke hir wordes proprely. | |
| For this ye knowen al-so 59 wel as I, | 730 |
| Who-so shal telle a tale after a man, | |
| He moot reherce, as ny as evere he can, | |
| Everich a word, if it be in his charge, 60 | |
| Al 61 speke he never so rudeliche and large, 62 | |
| Or elles he moot telle his tale untrewe, | 735 |
| Or feyne thing, or fynde wordes newe. | |
| He may nat spare, al-thogh he were his brother; | |
| He moot as wel seye o word asanother. | |
| Crist spak him-self ful brode in holy writ, | |
| And wel ye woot, no vileinye 63 is it. | 740 |
| Eek Plato seith, who-so that can him rede, | |
| “The wordes mote 64 be cosin to the dede.” | |
| Also I prey yow to foryeve it me, | |
| Al 65 have I nat set folk in hir 66 degree | |
| Here in this tale, as that they sholde stonde; | 745 |
| My wit is short, ye may wel understonde. | |
| Greet chere made our hoste us everichon, 67 | |
| And to the soper sette he us anon; | |
| And served us with vitaille at the beste. | |
| Strong was the wyn, and wel to drink us leste. 68 | 750 |
| A semely man our hoste was with-alle | |
| For to han been a marshal in an halle; | |
| A large man he was with eyen stepe, 69 | |
| A fairer burgeys was ther noon in Chepe: 70 | |
| Bold of his speche, and wys, and wel y-taught, | 755 |
| And of manhod him lakkede right naught. | |
| Eek therto 71 he was right a mery man, | |
| And after soper pleyen he bigan, | |
| And spak of mirthe amonges othere thinges, | |
| Whan that we hadde maad our rekeninges; | 760 |
| And seyde thus: ‘Now, lordinges, trewely | |
| Ye ben to me right welcome hertely: | |
| For by my trouthe, if that I shall nat lye, | |
| I ne saugh 72 this yeer so mery a compaignye | |
| At ones in this herberwe 73 as is now. | 765 |
| Fayn wolde I doon yow mirthe, wiste I how. | |
| And of a mirthe I am right now bithoght, | |
| To doon yow ese, and it shall coste noght. | |
| Ye goon to Caunterbury; God yow spede, | |
| The blishful martir quyte yow your mede. 74 | 770 |
| And wel I woot, as ye goon by the weye, | |
| Ye shapen 75 yow to talen 76 and to pleye; | |
| For trewely, confort ne mirthe is noon | |
| To ryde by the weye doumb as a stoon; | |
| And therefore wol I maken yow disport, | 775 |
| As I seyde erst, 77 and doon yow som confort. | |
| And if yow lyketh 78 alle, by oon assent, | |
| Now for to stonden at my jugement, | |
| And for toe werken as I shal yow seye. | |
| To-morwe, whan ye ryden by the weye, | 780 |
| Now, by my fader 79 soule, that is deed, | |
| But 80 ye be merye, I wol yeve yow myn heed. | |
| Hold up your hond, withoute more speche.’ | |
| Our counseil was nat longe for to seche; | |
| Us thoughte it was noght worth to make it wys, 81 | 785 |
| And graunted him with-outen more avys, 82 | |
| And bad him seye his verdit, as him leste, | |
| ‘Lordinges,’ quod he, ‘now herkneth for the beste; | |
| But tak it not, I prey yow, in desdeyn; | |
| This is the poynt, to speken short and pleyn, | 790 |
| That ech of yow, to shorte with our weye, | |
| In this viage, shal telle tales tweye, | |
| To Caunterbury-ward, I mene it so, | |
| And hom-ward he shal tellen othere two, | |
| Of aventures that whylom 83 han bifalle. | 795 |
| And which of yow that bereth him best of alle, | |
| That is to seyn, that telleth in this cas | |
| Tales of best sentence 84 and most solas, 85 | |
| Shal han a soper at our aller 86 cost | |
| Here in this place, sitting by this post, | 800 |
