| |
| But of his craft to rekene wel his tydes, | |
| His stremes 1 and his daungers him bisydes, | |
| His herberwe 2 and his mone, his lodemenage, 3 | |
| Ther nas noon swich from Hulle to Cartage. | |
| Hardy he was, and wys to undertake, 4 | 405 |
| With many a tempest hadde his berd been shake. | |
| He knew wel alle the havenes, as they were, | |
| From Gootlond to the cape of Finistere, | |
| And every cryke in Britayne and in Spayne; | |
| His barge y-cleped was the Maudelayne. | 410 |
| With us ther was a DOCTOUR OF PHISYK, | |
| In al this world ne was ther noon him lyk | |
| To speke of phisik and of surgerye; | |
| For he was grounded in astronomye. | |
| He kepte 5 his pacient a ful greet del | 415 |
| In houres, 6 by his magik naturel. | |
| Wel coude he fortunen the ascendent | |
| Of his images for his pacient. 7 | |
| He knew the cause of everich maladye, | |
| Were it of hoot or cold, or moiste, or drye, | 420 |
| And where engendred, and of what humour; 8 | |
| He was a verrey parfit practisour. | |
| The cause y-knowe, and of his harm the rote, | |
| Anon he yaf the seke man his bote. 9 | |
| Ful redy hadde he his apothecaries, | 425 |
| To sende him drogges, 10 and his letuaries, 11 | |
| For ech of hem made other for to winne; | |
| Hir frendschipe nas nat newe to biginne. | |
| Wel knew he the olde Esculapius, | |
| And Deiscorides, and eek Rufus; | 430 |
| Old Ypocras, Haly, and Galien; | |
| Serapion, Razis, and Avicen; | |
| Averrois, Damascien, and Constantyn; | |
| Bernard, and Gatesden, and Gilbertyn. 12 | |
| Of his diete mesurable 13 was he, | 435 |
| For it was of no superfluitee, | |
| But of greet norissing and digestible. | |
| His studie was but litel on the Bible. | |
| In sangwin 14 and in pers 15 he clad was al, | |
| Lyned with taffata and with sendal; 16 | 440 |
| And yet he was but esy of dispence; 17 | |
| He kepte that he wan in pestilence. | |
| For gold in phisik is a cordial, | |
| Therfor he lovede gold in special. | |
| A good WYF was ther of bisyde BATHE, | 445 |
| But she was som-del deef, and that was scathe. 18 | |
| Of cloth-making she hadde swiche an haunt, 19 | |
| She passed hem of Ypres and of Gaunt. | |
| In al the parisshe wyf ne was ther noon | |
| That to the offring bifore hir sholde goon; | 450 |
| And if ther dide, certeyn, so wrooth was she, | |
| That she was out of alle charitee. | |
| Hir coverchiefs ful fyne were of ground; 20 | |
| I dorste swere they weyeden ten pound | |
| That on a Sonday were upon hir heed. | 455 |
| Hir hosen weren of fyn scarlet reed, | |
| Ful streite y-teyd, 21 and shoos ful moiste and newe. | |
| Bold was hir face, and fair, and reed of hewe. | |
| She was a worthy womman al hir lyve, | |
| Housbondes at chirche-dore 22 she hadde fyve, | 460 |
| Withouten other compaignye in youthe; | |
| But therof nedeth nat to speke as nouthe. 23 | |
| And thryes hadde she been at Ierusalem; | |
| But hadde passed many a straunge streem; | |
| At Rome she hadde been, and at Boloigne, | 465 |
| In Galice at seint Iame, and at Coloigne. 24 | |
| She coude moche of wandring by the weye. | |
| Gat-tothed 25 was she, soothly for to seye. | |
| Up-on an amblere esily she sat, | |
| Y-wimpled 26 wel, and on hir heed an hat | 470 |
| As brood as is a bokeler or a targe; 27 | |
| A foot-mantel aboute hir hipes large, | |
| And on hir feet a paire 28 of spores sharpe. | |
| In felaweschip wel coude she laughe and carpe. 29 | |
| Of remedies of love she knew per-chaunce, | 475 |
| For she coude of that art the olde daunce. 30 | |
| A good man was ther of religioun, | |
| And was a povre PERSOUN 31 of a toun; | |
| But riche he was of holy thoght and werk. | |
| He was also a lerned man, a clerk, | 480 |
| That Cristes gospel trewely wolde preche; | |
| His parisshens devoutly wolde he teche. | |
| Benigne he was, and wonder diligent, | |
| And in adversitee ful pacient; | |
| And swich he was y-preved 32 ofte sythes. 33 | 485 |
| Ful looth were him to cursen 34 for his tythes, | |
| But rather wolde he yeven, out of doute, | |
| Un-to his povre parisshens aboute | |
| Of his offring, and eek of his substaunce. | |
| He coude in litel thing han suffisaunce. | 490 |
| Wyd was his parisshe, and houses fer a-sonder, | |
| But he ne lafte 35 nat, for reyn ne thonder, | |
| In siknes nor in meschief, to visyte | |
| The ferreste in his parisshe, moche and lyte, 36 | |
| Up-on his feet, and in his hand a staf. | 495 |
| This noble ensample to his sheep he yaf, | |
| That first he wroghte, and afterward he taughte; | |
| Out of the gospel he tho 37 wordes caughte; | |
| And this figure he added eek ther-to, | |
| That if gold ruste, what shal yren do? | 500 |
| For if a preest be foul, on whom we truste, | |
| No wonder is a lewed 38 man to ruste; | |
| And shame it is,if a preest take keep, 39 | |
| A shiten shepherde and a clene sheep. | |
| Wel oghte a preest ensample for to yive, | 505 |
| By his clennesse, how that his sheep shold live. | |
| He sette nat his benefice to hyre, | |
| And leet 40 his sheep encombred in the myre, | |
| And ran to London, un-to sëynt Poules, | |
| To seken him a chaunterie for soules, | 510 |
| Or with a bretherhed to been withholde; | |
| But dwelte at hoom, and kepte wel his folde, | |
| So that the wolf ne made it nat miscarie; | |
| He was a shepherde and no mercenarie; | |
| And though he holy were, and vertuous, | 515 |
| He was to sinful man nat despitous, 41 | |
| Ne of his speche daungerous 42 ne digne, 43 | |
| But in his teching discreet and benigne. | |
| To drawen folk to heven by fairness | |
| By good ensample, this was his bisynesse: | 520 |
| But it were any persone obstinat, | |
| What so he were, of heigh or lowe estat, | |
| Him wolde he snibben 44 sharply for the nones. 45 | |
| A bettre preest, I trowe that nowher non is. | |
| He wayted after no pompe and reverence, | 525 |
| Ne maked him a spyced 46 conscience, | |
| But Cristes lore, and his apostles twelve, | |
| He taughte, but first he folwed it him-selve. | |
| With him ther was a PLOWMAN, was his brother, | |
| That hadde y-lad of dong ful many a fother, 47 | 530 |
| A trewe swinkere 48 and a good was he, | |
| Livinge in pees and parfit charitee. | |
| God loved he best with al his hole herte | |
| At alle tymes, thogh him gamed or smerte, 49 | |
| And thanne his neighebour right as him-selve. | 535 |
| He wolde thresshe, and ther-to dyke 50 and delve, | |
| For Cristes sake, for every povre wight, | |
| Withouten hyre, if it lay in his might. | |
| His tythes payed he ful faire and wel, | |
| Bothe of his propre swink 51 and his catel. 52 | 540 |
| In a tabard 53 he rood upon a mere. | |
| Ther was also a Reve and a Millere, | |
| A Somnour and a Pardoner also, | |
| A Maunciple, and my-self; ther wer namo. 54 | |
| The MILLER was a stout carl, for the nones, 55 | 545 |
| Ful big he was of braun, and eek of bones; | |
| That proved wel, for over-al ther he cam, | |
| At wrastling he wolde have alwey the ram. 56 | |
| He was short-sholdred, brood, a thikke knarre, 57 | |
| Ther nas no dore that he nolde 58 heve of harre, 59 | 550 |
| Or breke it, at a renning, with his heed. | |
| His berd as any sowe or fox was reed, | |
| And ther-to brood, as though it were a spade. | |
| Up-on the cop 60 right of his nose he hade | |
| A werte, and ther-on stood a tuft of heres, | 555 |
| Reed as the bristles of a sowes eres, | |
| His nose-thirles blake were and wyde. | |
| A swerd and bokeler bar he by his syde; | |
| His mouth as greet was as a greet forneys. | |
| He was a janglere 61 and a goliardeys, 62 | 560 |
| And that was most of sinne and harlotryes. | |
| Wel coude he stelen corn, and tolled 63 thryes; | |
| And yet he hadde a thombe of gold 64 pardee. | |
| A whyt cote and a blew hood wered he. | |
| A baggepype wel coude he blowe and sowne, | 565 |
| And therwithal he broghte us out of towne. | |
| A gentil MAUNCIPLE 65 was ther of a temple, 66 | |
| Of which achatours 67 mighte take exemple | |
| For to be wyse in bying of vitaille. | |
| For whether that he payde, or took by taille, 68 | 570 |
| Algate 69 he wayted so in his acaht, 70 | |
| That he was ay biforn 71 and in good stat. | |
| Now is nat that of God a ful fair grace, | |
| That swich a lewed 72 mannes wit shal pace 73 | |
| The wisdom of an heep of lerned men? | 575 |
| Of maistres hadde he mo than thryes ten, | |
| That were of lawe expert and curious; | |
| Of which ther were a doseyn in that hous, | |
| Worthy to been stiwardes of rente and lond | |
| Of any lord that is in Engelond, | 580 |
| To make him live by his propre good, | |
| In honour dettelees, but he were wood. 74 | |
| Or live as scarsly 75 as him list desire; | |
| And able for to helpen al a shire | |
| In any cas that mighte falle or happe; | 585 |
| And yit this maunciple sette hir aller cappe. 76 | |
| The REVE 77 was a sclendre colerik man, | |
| His berd was shave as ny as ever he can. | |
| His heer was by his eres round y-shorn. | |
| His top was dokked lyk a preest biforn. | 590 |
| Ful longe were his legges, and ful lene, | |
| Y-lyk a staf, ther was no calf y-sene. | |
| Wel coude he kepe a gerner 78 and a binne; | |
| Ther was noon auditour coude on him winne. | |
| Wel wiste he, by the droghte, and by the reyn, | 595 |
| The yeldyng of his seed, and of his greyn. | |
| His lordes sheep, his neet, his dayerye, | |
| His swyn, his hors, his stoor, 79 and his pultrye, | |
| Was hoolly in this reves governing, | |
| And by his covenaunt yaf the rekening, | 600 |
