THE PARDONER
669: With hym ther rood a gentil pardoner
670: Of rouncivale, his freend and his compeer,
671: That streight was comen fro the court of rome.
672: Ful loude he soong com hider, love, to me!
673: This somonour bar to hym a stif burdoun;
674: Was nevere trompe of half so greet a soun.
675: This pardoner hadde heer as yelow as wex,
676: But smothe it heeng as dooth a strike of flex;
677: By ounces henge his lokkes that he hadde,
678: And therwith he his shuldres overspradde;
679: But thynne it lay, by colpons oon and oon.
680: But hood, for jolitee, wered he noon,
681: For it was trussed up in his walet.
682: Hym thoughte he rood al of the newe jet;
683: Dischevelee, save his cappe, he rood al bare.
684: Swiche glarynge eyen hadde he as an hare.
685: A vernycle hadde he sowed upon his cappe.
686: His walet lay biforn hym in his lappe,
687: Bretful of pardoun, comen from rome al hoot.
688: A voys he hadde as smal as hath a goot.
689: No berd hadde he, ne nevere sholde have;
690: As smothe it was as it were late shave.
691: I trowe he were a geldyng or a mare.
692: But of his craft, fro berwyk into ware,
693: Ne was ther swich another pardoner
694: For in his male he hadde a pilwe-beer,
695: Which that he seyde was oure lady veyl:
696: He seyde he hadde a gobet of the seyl
697: That seint peter hadde, whan that he wente
698: Upon the see, til jhesu crist hym hente.
699: He hadde a croys of latoun ful of stones,
700: And in a glas he hadde pigges bones.
701: But with thise relikes, whan that he fond
702: A povre person dwellynge upon lond,
703: Upon a day he gat hym moore moneye
704: Than that the person gat in monthes tweye;
705: And thus, with feyned flaterye and japes,
706: He made the person and the peple his apes.
707: But trewely to tellen atte laste,
708: He was in chirche a noble ecclesiaste.
709: Wel koude he rede a lessoun or a storie,
710: But alderbest he song an offertorie;
711: For wel he wiste, whan that song was songe,
712: He moste preche and wel affile his tonge
713: To wynne silver, as he ful wel koude;
714: Therefore he song the murierly and loude.
THE TABARD'S HOOST
715: Now have I toold you soothly, in a clause,
716: Th' estaat, th' array, the nombre, and eek the cause
717: Why that assembled was this compaignye
718: In southwerk at this gentil hostelrye
719: That highte the tabard, faste by the belle.
720: But now is tyme to yow for to telle
721: How that we baren us that ilke nyght,
722: Whan we were in that hostelrie alyght;
723: And after wol I telle of our viage
724: And al the remenaunt of oure pilgrimage.
725: But first I pray yow, of youre curteisye,
726: That ye n' arette it nat my vileynye,
727: Thogh that I pleynly speke in this mateere,
728: To telle yow hir wordes and hir cheere,
729: Ne thogh I speke hir wordes proprely.
730: For this ye knowen al so wel as I,
731: Whoso shal telle a tale after a man,
732: He moot reherce as ny as evere he kan
733: Everich a word, if it be in his charge,
734: Al speke he never so rudeliche and large,
735: Or ellis he moot telle his tale untrewe,
736: Or feyne thyng, or fynde wordes newe.
737: He may nat spare, althogh he were his brother;
738: He moot as wel seye o word as another.
739: Crist spak hymself ful brode in hooly writ,
740: And wel ye woot no vileynye is it.
741: Eek plato seith, whoso that kan hym rede,
742: The wordes moote be cosyn to the dede.
743: Also I prey yow to foryeve it me,
744: Al have I nat set folk in hir degree
745: Heere in this tale, as that they sholde stonde.
746: My wit is short, ye may wel understonde.
747: Greet chiere made oure hoost us everichon,
748: And to the soper sette he us anon.
749: He served us with vitaille at the beste;
750: Strong was the wyn, and wel to drynke us leste.
751: A semely man oure hooste was withalle
752: For to han been a marchal in an halle.
753: A large man he was with eyen stepe --
754: A fairer burgeys is ther noon in chepe –
755: Boold of his speche, and wys, and wel ytaught,
756: And of manhod hym lakkede right naught.
757: Eek therto he was right a myrie man,
THE TALE'S GENESIS
758: And after soper pleyen he bigan,
759: And spak of myrthe amonges othere thynges,
760: Whan that we hadde maad oure rekenynges,
761: And seyde thus: now, lordynges, trewely,
762: Ye been to me right welcome, hertely;
763: For by my trouthe, if that I shal nat lye,
764: I saugh nat this yeer so myrie a compaignye
765: Atones in this herberwe as is now.
766: Fayn wolde I doon yow myrthe, wiste I how.
767: And of a myrthe I am right now bythoght,
768: To doon yow ese, and it shal coste noght.
769: Ye goon to caunterbury -- God yow speede,
770: The blisful martir quite yow youre meede!
771: And wel I woot, as ye goon by the weye,
772: Ye shapen yow to talen and to pleye;
773: For trewely, confort ne myrthe is noon
774: To ride by the weye doumb as a stoon;
775: And therfore wol I maken yow disport,
776: As I seyde erst, and doon yow som confort.
777: And if yow liketh alle by oon assent
778: For to stonden at my juggement,
779: And for to werken as I shal yow seye,
780: To-morwe, whan ye riden by the weye,
781: Now, by my fader soule that is deed,
782: But ye be myrie, I wol yeve yow myn heed!
783: Hoold up youre hondes, withouten moore peche.
784: Oure conseil was nat longe for to seche.
785: Us thoughte it was noght worth to make it wys,
786: And graunted hym withouten moore avys,
787: And bad him seye his voirdit as hym leste.
788: Lordynges, quod he, now herkneth for the beste;
789: But taak it nought, I prey yow, in desdeyn.
790: This is the poynt, to speken short and pleyn,
791: That ech of yow, to shorte with oure weye,
792: In this viage shal telle tales tweye
793: To caunterbury-ward, I mene it so,
794: And homward he shal tellen othere two,
795: Of aventures that whilom han bifalle.
796: And which of yow that bereth hym best of alle,
797: That is to seyn, that telleth in this caas
798: Tales of best sentence and moost solaas,
799: Shal have a soper at oure aller cost
800: Heere in this place, sittynge by this post,
801: Whan that we come agayn fro caunterbury.
802: And for to make yow the moore mury,
803: I wol myselven goodly with yow ryde,
804: Right at myn owene cost, and be youre gyde,
805: And whoso wole my juggement withseye
806: Shal paye al that we spenden by the weye.
807: And if ye vouche sauf that it be so,
808: Tel me anon, withouten wordes mo,
809: And I wol erly shape me therfore.
810: This thyng was graunted, and oure othes swore
811: With ful glad herte, and preyden hym also
812: That he wolde vouche sauf for to do so,
813: And that he wolde been oure governour,
814: And oure tales juge and reportour,
815: And sette a soper at a certeyn pris,
816: And we wol reuled been at his devys
817: In heigh and lough; and thus by oon assent
818: We been acorded to his juggement.
819: And therupon the wyn was fet anon;
820: We dronken, and to reste wente echon,
821: Withouten any lenger taryynge.
822: Amorwe, whan that day bigan to sprynge,
823: Up roos oure hoost, and was oure aller cok,
824: And gradrede us togidre alle in a flok,
825: And forth we riden a litel moore than paas
826: Unto the wateryng of seint thomas;
827: And there oure hoost bigan his hors areste
828: And seyde, lordynges, herkneth, if yow leste.
829: Ye woot youre foreward, and I it yow recorde.
830: If even-song and morwe-song accorde,
831: Lat se now who shal telle the firste tale.
832: As evere mote I drynke wyn or ale,
833: Whoso be rebel to my juggement
834: Shal paye for al that by the wey is spent.
835: Now draweth cut, er that we ferrer twynne;
836: He which that hath the shorteste shal bigynne.
837: Sire knyght, quod he, my mayster and my lord,
838: Now draweth cut, for that is myn accord.
839: Cometh neer, quod he, my lady prioresse.
840: And ye, sire clerk, lat be youre shamefastnesse,
841: Ne studieth noght; ley hond to, every man!
842: Anon to drawen every wight bigan,
843: And shortly for to tellen as it was,
844: Were it by aventure, or sort, or cas,
845: The sothe is this, the cut fil to the knyght,
846: Of which ful blithe and glad was every wyght,
847: And telle he moste his tale, as was resoun,
848: By foreward and by composicioun,
849: As ye han herd; what nedeth wordes mo?
850: And whan this goode man saugh that it was so,
851: As he that wys was and obedient
852: To kepe his foreward by his free assent,
853: He seyde, syn I shal bigynne the game,
854: What, welcome be the cut, a goddes name!
855: Now lat us ryde, and herkneth what I seye.
856: And with that word we ryden forth oure weye,
857: And he bigan with right a myrie cheere
858: His tale anon, and seyde as ye may heere.
HERE ENDETH THE PROLOGUE