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But for to tellen yow of his array,
His hors1 were goode, but he was nat gay.
Of fustian he wered a gipoun2
Al bismotered3 with his habergeoun;4
For he was late y-come from his viage,5
And wente for to doon his pilgrimage.
With him ther was his sone, a yong
SQUYER,

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A lovyere, and a lusty bacheler,
With lokkes crulle, as they were leyd in
presse.

Of twenty yeer of age he was, I gesse.
Of his stature he was of evene lengthe,7
And wonderly deliver, and greet of
strengthe.

And he had been somtyme in chivachye,"
In Flaundres, in Artoys, and Picardye, 86
And born him wel, as of so litel space,10
In hope to stonden in his ladyll grace.
Embrouded 12 was he, as it were a mede13
Al ful of fresshe floures, whyte and rede. 90
Singinge he was, or floytinge,14 al the day;
He was as fresh as is the month of May.
Short was his goune, with sleves longe and
wyde.

Wel coude he sitte on hors, and faire ryde. He coude songes make and wel endyte, 95 Iuste15 and eek daunce, and wel purtreye16

and wryte.

So hote1 he lovede, that by nightertale18 He sleep namore than dooth a nightingale.

Curteys he was, lowly, and servisable,
And carf biforn his fader at the table.

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Harneised 23 wel, and sharp as point of spere;

A Cristofre24 on his brest of silver shene.115 An horn he bar, the bawdrik 25 was of grene; A forster26 was he, soothly, as I gesse.

Ther was also a Nonne, a PRIORESSE, That of hir smyling was ful simple and coy;

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Hir gretteste ooth was but by sëynt Loy,
And she was cleped27 madame Eglentyne.
Ful wel she song the service divyne,
Entuned in hir nose ful semely;
And Frensh she spak ful faire and fetisly,28
After the scole of Stratford atte Bowe, 125
For Frensh of Paris was to hir unknowe.
At mete wel y-taught was she with-alle;
She leet no morsel from hir lippes falle,
Ne wette hir fingres in hir sauce depe.
Wel coude she carie a morsel, and wel
kepe,
That no drope ne fille up-on hir brest.
In curteisye was set ful moche hir lest.29
Hir over lippe wyped she so clene,
That in hir coppe was no ferthing sene
Of grece, whan she dronken hadde hir
draughte.

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For, hardily, she was nat undergrowe.
Ful fetis1 was hir cloke, as I was war.
Of smal coral aboute hir arm she bar

A peire2 of bedes, gauded al with grene; And ther-on heng a broche of gold ful shene,

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On which ther was first write a crowned A,
And after, Amor vincit omnia.

Another NONNE with hir hadde she, That was hir chapeleyne, and PREESTES thre.

A MONK ther was, a fair for the mais-
trye,3

An out-rydere, that lovede venerye;4
A manly man, to been an abbot able.

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And eek his face, as he had been anoint.
He was a lord ful fat and in good point;"
His eyen stepe,16 and rollinge in his heed,
That stemed17 as a forneys of a leed;18
His botes souple, his hors in greet estat.
Now certeinly he was a fair prelat;
He was nat pale as a for-pyned19 goost. 205
A fat swan loved he best of any roost.
His palfrey was as broun as is a berye.
A FRERE there was, a wantown and a
merye,

Ful many a deyntee hors hadde he in A limitour, 20 a ful solempne21 man.
stable:

In alle the ordres foure is noon that can22

And, whan he rood, men mighte his brydel So moche of daliaunce and fair langage.211 here

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He hadde maad ful many a mariage
Of yonge wommen, at his owne cost.
Un-to his ordre he was a noble post.
Ful wel biloved and famulier was he
With frankeleyns23 over-al in his contree,
And eek with worthy wommen of the

toun:

For he had power of confessioun,

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As seyde him-self, more than a curat,
For of his ordre he was licentiat.2
Ful swetely herde he confessioun,
And plesaunt was his absolucioun;
He was an esy man to yeve25 penaunce
Ther-as he wiste to han a good pitaunce;
For unto a povre order for to yive
Is signe that a man is wel y-shrive.
For if he yaf, he dorste make avaunt,2
He wiste that a man was repentaunt.
For many a man so hard is of his herte,
He may nat wepe al-thogh him sore

smerte.

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Therfore, in stede of weping and preyeres,
Men moot yeve silver to the povre freres.
His tipet was ay farsed27 full of knyves
And pinnes, for to yeven faire wyves.
And certeinly he hadde a mery note;
Wel coude he synge and pleyen on a rote.28
Of yeddinges29 he bar utterly the prys.
His nekke whyt was as the flour-de-lys;
Ther-to he strong was as a champioun.
He knew the tavernes well in every

toun,

15 in good condition.

18 fire under a cauldron.

20 licensed beggar.

5 somewhat strict.

6 same.

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go.

23 country gentlemen.

• mad.

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25 give.

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28 a sort of fiddle.

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And everich hostiler and tappestere1
Bet2 than a lazar3 or a beggestere;4
For unto swich a worthy man as he
Acorded nat, as by his facultee,5
To have with seke lazars aqueyntaunce.245
It is nat honest, it may nat avaunce®
For to delen with no swich poraille,7
But al with riche and sellers of vitaille.
And over-al, ther as profit sholde aryse,
Curteys he was, and lowly of servyse.
Ther nas no man nowher so vertuous.
He was the beste beggere in his hous;
For thogh a widwe hadde noght a sho,
So plesaunt was his In principio,
Yet wolde he have a ferthing, er he wente.
His purchas10 was wel bettre than his
rente.11

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And rage he coude as it were right a whelpe.

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In love-dayes ther coude he mochel helpe.
For ther he was nat lyk a cloisterer,
With a thredbar cope, as is a povre scoler,
But he was lyk a maister or a pope.
Of double worsted was his semi-cope,
That rounded as a belle out of the presse.
Somwhat he lipsed, for his wantownesse,
To make his English swete up-on his
tonge;
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And in his harping, whan that he had
songe,

His eyen twinkled in his heed aright,
As doon the sterres in the frosty night.
This worthy limitour was cleped Huberd.

A MARCHANT was ther with a forked berd, 270

In mottelee, and hye on horse he sat,
Up-on his heed a Flaundrish bever hat;
His botes clasped faire and fetisly.
His resons he spak ful solempnely;
Souninge12 alway thencrees of his winning.
He wolde the see were kept13 for any
thing
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For sothe he was a worthy man with-alle, But sooth to seyn, I noot18 how men him calle.

A CLERK ther was of Oxenford also, 285 That un-to logik hadde longe y-go. As lene was his hors as is a rake, And he nas nat right fat, I undertake; But loked holwe, and ther-to soberly. Ful thredbar was his overest courtepy;19290 For he had geten him yet no benefyce, Ne was so worldly for to have offyce. For him was lever have at his beddes heed Twenty bokes, clad in blak or reed, Of Aristotle and his philosophye, Than robes riche, or fithele,20 or gay sautrye.21

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But al be that he was a philosophre,
Yet hadde he but litel gold in cofre;
But al that he mighte of his freendes
hente, 22

On bokes and on lerninge he it spente, 300
And bisily gan for the soules preye

Of hem that yaf him wher-with to scoleye. Of studie took he most cure and most hede.

Noght o word spak he more than was nede, And that was seyd in forme and rever

ence,

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A SERGEANT OF THE LAWE, war26 and wys, That often hadde been at the parvys,27 Ther was also, ful riche of excellence. Discreet he was, and of greet reverence: He semed swich, his wordes weren so wyse. Iustyce he was ful often in assyse, By patente, and by pleyn commissioun;315 For28 his science, and for his heigh renoun, Of fees and robes hadde he many oon. So greet a purchasour29 was nowher noon. Al was fee simple to him in effect, His purchasing mighte nat been infect. 320 Nowher so bisy a man as he ther nas, And yet he semed bisier than he was. In termes hadde he caas30 and domes31 alle, That from the tyme of king William were falle.

3 leper. 6 profit.

7

4 beggar woman. poor people.

11 regular income.

22 get.

13 guarded.

Gospel of

St. John.

15 employed.

17 dealings.

18 know not.

24 meaning.

27 church-porch. 30 cases.

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Therto he coude endyte, and make a thing, Ther coude no wight pinche1 at his wryting;

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And every statut coude he pleyn by rote.
He rood but hoomly in a medlee2 cote
Girt with a ceint3 of silk, with barres
smale;

Of his array telle I no lenger tale.

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A FRANKELEYN was in his companye; Whyt was his berd, as is the dayesye.

Of his complexioun he was sangwyn.*

But al with silver, wroght ful clene and weel,

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Hir girdles and hir pouches every-deel.
Wel semed ech of hem a fair burgeys,
To sitten in a yeldhalle25 on a deys.
Everich, for the wisdom that he can,
Was shaply for to been an alderman.
For catel26 hadde they y-nogh and rente,
And eek hir wyves wolde it wel assente;
And elles certein were they to blame.
It is ful fair to been y-clept "ma dame",

Wel loved he by the morwe a sop in And goon to vigilyës al bifore,

wyn.6

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And have a mantel royalliche y-bore.

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fyve, Withouten other companye in youthe; But therof nedeth nat to speke as nouthe. 19 And thryes hadde she been at Ierusalem; She hadde passed many a straunge streem; At Rome she hadde been, and at Boloigne, In Galice at seint Iame, and at Coloigne. She coude muche of wandring by the

weye. 467 Gat-tothed 20 was she, soothly for to seye. Up-on an amblere esily she sat, Y-wimpled21 wel, and on hir heed an hat 470 As brood as is a bokeler or a targe; A foot-mantel22 aboute hir hipes large, And on hir feet a paire of spores sharpe. In felaweschip wel coude she laughe and carpe.2

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Of remedies of love she knew per-chaunce,
For she coude of that art the olde daunce.
A good man was ther of religioun,
And was a povre PERSOUN24 of a toun;
But riche he was of holy thoght and werk.
He was also a lerned man, a clerk,
That Cristes gospel trewely wolde preche;
His parisshens devoutly wolde he teche.
Benigne he was, and wonder diligent,
And in adversitee ful pacient;

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