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Clene concience and wit/kende 10 me to his place, And dude enseure" me seththe 12/ to serve him for evere,

Bothe to sowen and to setten, / while I swynke mighte.

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I have ben his folower / this fiftene wynter,
Bothe i-sowed his seed / and suwed " his beestes,
And eke i-kept his corn, / and cariede hit to house,
I-dyket and i-dolven,15 / and don what he highte,"
With-innen and withouten / i-wayted 17 his profyt.
Ther nis no laborer in this lordschip / that he
loveth more;

38 For, thaugh I sigge 18 hit myself, / I serve him topaye.19

I have myn hure 20 of him wel/ and otherwhile

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Among thise othere folk was Criseyda,
In widewes habite blak; but nathelees,
Right as our firste lettre is now an A,
In beautee first so stood she, makelees;
Hir goodly looking gladede al the prees.
Nas 6
never seyn thing to ben preysed derre,'
Nor under cloude blak so bright a sterre

As was Criseyde, as folk seyde everichoon
That hir bihelden in hir blake wede; 9
And yet she stood ful lowe and stille alloon,
Bihinden othere folk, in litel brede,10

And neigh the dore, ay under shames drede,
Simple of atyr, and debonaire of chere,
With ful assured loking and manere.

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This Troilus, as he was wont to gyde
His yonge knightes, ladde hem up and doun
In thilke "large temple on every syde, 185
Biholding ay the ladyes of the toun,
Now here, now there, for no devocioun
Hadde he to noon, to reven 12 him his reste,
But gan to preyse and lakken 13 whom him leste.14
And in his walk ful fast he gan to wayten 15
If knight or squyer of his companye
Gan for to syke, 18 or lete his eyen bayten
On any woman that he coude aspye;
He wolde smyle, and holden it folye,
And seye him thus, "God wot, she slepeth softe
For love of thee, whan thou tornest ful ofte.

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1 at all 2 saint 3 direct 4 fellow 5 spiked staff 6 scrip, bag 7 before 8 naturally, well " intelligence 10 instructed 11 did bind 12 afterwards 13 work 14 followed 15 dyked and delved 10 commanded 17 looked out for say 19 acceptably 20 hire 21 1 spring 2 especially greatest promptest 4 peerless 5 crowd 22 withholds 23 servant 24 has not 25 low, humble 6 was not more dearly every one garment 26 will 27 know 28 direct you 29 10 yea, dear Piers 30 I space 11 that same 12 take away would not take 31 go pleased 15 observe 16 sigh 17 feast

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As proude Bayard ginneth for to skippe
Out of the wey, so priketh him his corn,19
Til he a lash have of the longe whippe,
Than thenketh he, "Though I praunce al biforn
First in the trays, ful fat and newe shorn,
Yet am I but an hors, and horses lawe

I moot endure, and with my feres 20 drawe."

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So lyk a man of armes and a knight
He was to seen, fulfild of heigh prowesse;
For bothe he hadde a body and a might
To doon that thing, as wel as hardinesse;
And eek to seen him in his gere him dresse, 635
So fresh, so yong, so weldy 10 semed he,

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It was an heven up-on him for to see.

His helm to-hewen " was in twenty places,
That by a tissew heng, his bak bihinde,
His sheld to-dasshed was with swerdes and maces,
In which men mighte many an arwe finde
That thirled 12 hadde horn and nerf 13 and rinde;
And ay the peple cryde, "Here cometh our joye,
And, next his brother, holdere up of Troye!"

For which he wex a litel reed for shame,
When he the peple up-on him herde cryen,
That to biholde it was a noble game,
How sobreliche he caste doun his yen.

Cryseyda gan al his chere aspyen,

And leet 15 so softe it in hir herte sinke, That to hir-self she seyde, "Who yaf drinke ?" 17

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And for 1o ther is so greet diversitee
In English and in wryting of our tonge,
So preye I God that noon miswryte thee,
Ne thee mismetre for defaute of tonge.
And red wher-so thou be, or elles songe,
That thou be understonde I God beseche!
But yet to purpos of my rather "speche.

The wraththe, as I began yow for to seye,
Of Troilus, the Grekes boughten dere;
For thousandes his hondes maden deye,
As he that was with-outen any pere,
Save Ector, in his tyme, as I can here.
But weylaway, save only Goddes wille,
Dispitously 12 him slough the fiers Achille.
And whan that he was slayn in this manere,
His lighte goost 13 ful blisfully is went
Up to the holownesse of the eighte spere,15
In convers letinge every element;
And ther he saugh," with ful avysement,"
The erratik sterres, herkeninge armonye 19
With sownes fulle of hevenish melodye.

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Swich fyn hath, lo, this Troilus for love,
Swich fyn hath al his grete worthinesse;
Swich fyn hath his estat real2 above,
Swich fyn his lust, swich fyn hath his noblesse;
Swich fyn hath false worldes brotelnesse."
And thus bigan his lovinge of Criseyde,
As I have told, and in this wyse he deyde.

O yonge fresshe folkes, he or she, 1835 In which that love up groweth with your age, Repeyreth hoom from worldly vanitee,

And of your herte up-casteth the visage

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O moral Gower, this book I directe

To thee, and to the philosophical Strode,

To vouchen sauf, ther 13 nede is, to corecte, Of your benignitees and zeles gode.

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And to that sothfast Crist, that starf 15 on rode,10
With al myn herte of mercy ever I preye;
And to the Lord right thus I speke and seye:

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And in him-self he lough 23 right at the wo 1821
Of hem that wepten for his deeth so faste;
And dampned al our werk that folweth so
The blinde lust, the which that may not laste,

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Thou oon, and two, and three, eterne on-lyve,17 That regnest ay in three and two and oon, Uncircumscript, and al mayst circumscryve, 1865 Us from visible and invisible foon

Defende; and to thy mercy, everichoon,

So make us, Jesus, for thy grace digne,18

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For love of mayde and' moder thyn benigne ! Amen.

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1 end royal 3 brittleness, frailty buy, redeem 6 died 7 sits 8 will not 10 since 11 cursed 12 examine 13 where faithful 15 died 16 cross 17 eternally living

• that same 9 entirely 14 true and 18 worthy

THE CANTERBURY TALES

FROM THE PROLOGUE

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Whan that Aprille with hise shoures soote1 The droghte of Marche hath perced to the roote, And bathed every veyne in swich licour Of which vertu engendred is the flour; Whan Zephirus eek with his swete breeth Inspired hath in every holt and heeth The tendre croppes, and the yonge sonne Hath in the Ram his halfe cours y-ronne, And smale foweles' maken melodye That slepen al the nyght with open eye, So priketh hem Nature in hir corages, Thanne longen folk to goon on pilgrimages, And palmeres for to seken straunge strondes, To ferne halwes,10 kowthe " in sondry londes; And specially, from every shires ende Of Engelond, to Caunterbury they wende, The hooly blisful martir for to seke,

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At mortal batailles hadde he been fiftene, And foughten for oure feith at Tramyssene In lystes thries, and ay slayn his foo. This ilke 14 worthy knyght hadde been also Somtyme with the lord of Palatye Agayn 15 another hethen in Turkye; And evermoore he hadde a sovereyn prys.16 And though that he were worthy, he was wys, And of his port 17 as meeke as is a mayde. de.

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He never yet no vileynye ne sayde

In al his lyf unto no maner wight.
He was a verray, parfit, gentil knyght.

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But for to tellen yow of his array, His hors were goode, but he was nat gay; Of fustian 19 he wered a gypon

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Al bismotered 21 with his habergeon; 22
For he was late y-come from his viage,23
And wente for to doon his pilgrymage.
With hym ther was his sone, a yong Squier,
A lovyere and a lusty bacheler,

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And made forward 17 erly for to ryse,

But nathelees, whil I have tyme and space, 35

To take oure wey, ther-as I yow devyse.18

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With lokkes crulle, as 25

they were leyd in presse.

Of twenty yeer of age he was, I gesse.

Of his stature he was of evene lengthe,20

And wonderly delyvere 27 and greet of strengthe;
And he hadde been somtyme in chyvachye,28_85

In Flaundres, in Artoys and Pycardye,
And born hym weel, as of so litel space,

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In hope to stonden in his lady grace. Embrouded was he, as it were a meede 30 Al ful of fresshe floures whyte and reede;

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