To sende him drogges1, and his letuaries,
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 2;
Old Ypocras, Haly, and Galien;
Serapion, Razis, and Avicen;
Averrois, Damascien, and Constantyn;
Bernard, and Gatesden, and Gilbertyn.
Of his diete mesurable was he,
For it was of no superfluitee,
But of greet norissing and digestible.
His studie was but litel, on the Bible.
In sangwin and in pers he clad was al,
Lyned with taffata and with sendal;
And yet he was but esy of dispence;
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,
But she was som-del deef, and that was scathe.
Of cloth-making she hadde swiche an haunt,
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;
And if ther dide, certeyn, so wrooth was she,
That she was out of alle charitee.
Hir coverchiefs ful fyne were of ground;
I dorste swere they weyeden ten pound
That on a Sonday were upon hir heed.
1 E. Hn. Cm. drogges; Cp. Pt. Ln. drugges; Hl. dragges.
2 Hl. Pt. Rufus; Cm. Rufijs; Hn. Cp. Ln. Rusus; E. Risus.
3 Hl. inserts thanne.
Hir hosen weren of fyn scarlet reed,
Ful streite y-teyd, and shoos1 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 she hadde fyve,
Withouten other compaignye in youthe;
But therof nedeth nat to speke as nouthe.
And thryes hadde2 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 moche 3 of wandring by the weye.
Gat-tothed was she, soothly for to seye.
Up-on an amblere esily she sat,
Y-wimpled wel, and on hir heed an hat
As brood as is a bokeler or a targe;
A foot-mantel aboute hir hipes large,
And on hir feet a paire of spores sharpe.
In felaweschip wel coude she laughe and carpe.
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 PERSOUN 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;
And swich he was y-preved" ofte sythes.
1 Cp. Hl. schoos; E. shoes.
3 Hl. Pt. Cp. moche; E. Hn. muchel. 4 Hl. For of that art sche knew.
5 Hl. i-proued; E. Cp. Pt. preued.
Ful looth were him to cursen for his1 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.
Wyd was his parisshe, and houses fer a-sonder,
But he ne lafte nat, for reyn ne thonder,
The ferreste in his parisshe, moche and lyte,
Up-on his feet, and in his hand a staf.
This noble ensample to his sheep he yaf,
That first 5 he wroghte, and afterward he taughte;
Out of the gospel he tho wordes caughte;
And this figure he added eek ther-to,
That if gold ruste, what shal yrer do?
For if a preest be foul, on whom we truste,
No wonder is a lewed man to ruste;
And shame it is, if a preest take keep,
A [spotted] shepherde and a clene sheep.
Wel oghte a preest ensample for to yive3,
By his clennesse, how that his sheep shold live.
He sette nat his benefice to hyre,
And leet his sheep encombred in the myre,
And ran to London, un-to sëynt9 Poules,
To seken him a chaunterie 10 for soules,
Or with a bretherhed to been withholde;
But dwelte at hoom, and kepte 12 wel his folde,
So that the wolf ne made it nat miscarie;
19 E. siknesse.
5 E. firste.
2 Hl. Cm. Pt. han; E. Hn. Cp. haue. Hl. Cp. moche; E. Hn. muche.
6 E. ins. that (by mistake). Hl. alone ins. that.
8 Hl. 3iue; E. yeue.
10 Hl. chaunterie; E. chauntrie.
12 E. keepeth; Ln. keped; rest kepte.
9 Hl. Cp. seynte. 11 E. dwelleth; rest dwelte.
He was a shepherde and no1 mercenarie.
And though he holy were, and vertuous,
He was to sinful man nat despitous,
Ne of his speche daungerous ne digne,
But in his teching discreet and benigne.
To drawen folk to heven by fairnesse
By good ensample, this was his bisynesse:
But it were any persone obstinat,
What so he were, of heigh or lowe3 estat,
Him wolde he snibben sharply for the nones
I trowe that nowher non is.
A bettre preest,
He wayted after no pompe and reverence,
Ne maked him a spyced conscience,
But Cristes lore, and his
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,
A trewe swinkere 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,
And thanne his neighebour right as him-selve.
He wolde thresshe, and ther-to dyke 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 10 swink and his cateì.
tabard he rood upon a mere.
2 Hl. to senful man nought; rest nat to sinful man.
Hn. lowe; E. lough.
5 E. waiteth; rest waited, wayted.
Cp. Pt. payed; Cm. Hl. payede; E. Hn. payde.
Ther was also a Reve and a Millere,
par slow
A Somnour and a Pardoner also,
A Maunciple, and my-self; ther were namo.
The MILLER was a stout carl, for the nones,
Ful big he was of braun, and eek of bones;
That proved wel, for over-a
ther he cam,
At wrastling he wolde have alwey the ram.
He was short-sholdred, brood, a thikke knarre,
Ther nas no dore that he nolde1 heve of harre, 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 right of his nose he hade
A werte, and ther-on stood a tuft of heres 3,
Reed as the bristles of a sowes eres 3;
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 langlere and a goliardeys,
And that was most of sinne and harlotryes.
Wel coude he stelen corn, and tollen thryes;
And yet he hadde a thombe of gold, pardee.
A whyt cote and a blew hood wered he.
A baggepype wel' coude he blowe and sowne,
And therwithal he broghte us out of towne.
A gentil MAUNCIPLE was ther of a temple,
Of which achatours mighte take exemple
For to be wyse in bying of vitaille.
For whether that he payde, or took by taille,
1 Cp. Hl. nolde; Hn. noolde; E. ne wolde.
2 E. toft; Ln. tofte; rest tuft.
Hn. bristles; E. brustles; Pt. brysteles; Hl. Cp. berstles.
5 All but Cp. ins. a. 6 Hl. wyde; rest greet, gret. 7 Hl. om. wel.
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