The Wife of Bath's Prologue and Tale :CHAUCER/ An Interlinear Translation/CU/CC4/SEMESTER2
1
"Experience, though noon auctoritee
"Experience,
though no written authority
2 Were in this world, is right ynogh for me
Were in this world, is
good enough for me
3 To speke of wo that is in mariage;
To speak of the woe
that is in marriage;
4 For, lordynges, sith I twelve yeer was of age,
For, gentlemen, since I
was twelve years of age,
5 Thonked be God that is eterne on lyve,
Thanked be God who is
eternally alive,
6 Housbondes at chirche dore I have had fyve --
I have had five
husbands at the church door --
7 If I so ofte myghte have ywedded bee --
If I so often might
have been wedded --
8 And alle were worthy men in hir degree.
And all were worthy men
in their way.
9 But me was toold, certeyn, nat longe agoon is,
But to me it was told,
certainly, it is not long ago,
10 That sith that Crist ne wente nevere but onis
That since Christ went
never but once
11 To weddyng, in the Cane of Galilee,
To a wedding, in the
Cana of Galilee,
12 That by the same ensample taughte he me
That by that same
example he taught me
13 That I ne sholde wedded be but ones.
That I should be wedded
but once.
14 Herkne eek, lo, which a sharp word for the
nones,
Listen also, lo, what a
sharp word for this purpose,
15 Biside a welle, Jhesus, God and man,
Beside a well, Jesus,
God and man,
16 Spak in repreeve of the Samaritan:
Spoke in reproof of the
Samaritan:
17 `Thou hast yhad fyve housbondes,' quod he,
`Thou hast had five
husbands,' he said,
18 `And that ilke man that now hath thee
`And that same man that
now has thee
19 Is noght thyn housbonde,' thus seyde he
certeyn.
Is not thy husband,'
thus he said certainly.
20 What that he mente therby, I kan nat seyn;
What he meant by this,
I can not say;
21 But that I axe, why that the fifthe man
But I ask, why the
fifth man
22 Was noon housbonde to the Samaritan?
Was no husband to the
Samaritan?
23 How manye myghte she have in mariage?
How many might she have
in marriage?
24 Yet herde I nevere tellen in myn age
I never yet heard tell
in my lifetime
25 Upon this nombre diffinicioun.
A definition of this
number.
26 Men may devyne and glosen, up and doun,
Men may conjecture and
interpret in every way,
27 But wel I woot, expres, withoute lye,
But well I know,
expressly, without lie,
28 God bad us for to wexe and multiplye;
God commanded us to
grow fruitful and multiply;
29 That gentil text kan I wel understonde.
That gentle text I can
well understand.
30 Eek wel I woot, he seyde myn housbonde
Also I know well, he
said my husband
31 Sholde lete fader and mooder and take to me.
Should leave father and
mother and take to me.
32 But of no nombre mencion made he,
But he made no mention
of number,
33 Of bigamye, or of octogamye;
Of marrying two, or of
marrying eight;
34 Why sholde men thanne speke of it vileynye?
Why should men then
speak evil of it?
35
Lo, heere the wise kyng, daun Salomon;
Lo, (consider) here the
wise king, dan Salomon;
36 I trowe he hadde wyves mo than oon.
I believe he had wives
more than one.
37 As wolde God it leveful were unto me
As would God it were
lawful unto me
38 To be refresshed half so ofte as he!
To be refreshed half so
often as he!
39 Which yifte of God hadde he for alle his wyvys!
What a gift of God he
had because of all his wives!
40 No man hath swich that in this world alyve is.
No man that in this
world is alive has such (a gift).
41 God woot, this noble kyng, as to my wit,
God knows, this noble
king, according to my judgment,
42 The firste nyght had many a myrie fit
The first night had
many a merry fit
43 With ech of hem, so wel was hym on lyve.
With each of them, so
well things went for him in his lifetime.
44 Yblessed be God that I have wedded fyve!
Blessed be God that I
have wedded five!
44a [Of whiche I have pyked out the beste,
[Of which I have picked
out the best,
44b Bothe of here nether purs and of here cheste.
Both of their lower
purse (scrotum) and of their strongbox.
44c Diverse scoles maken parfyt clerkes,
Differing schools make
perfect clerks,
44d And diverse practyk in many sondry werkes
And differing practice
in many various works
44e Maketh the werkman parfyt sekirly;
Makes the workman truly
perfect;
44f Of fyve husbondes scoleiyng am I.]
Of five husbands'
schooling am I.]
45 Welcome the sixte, whan that evere he shal.
Welcome the sixth,
whenever he shall appear.
46 For sothe, I wol nat kepe me chaast in al.
For truly, I will not
keep myself chaste in everything.
47 Whan myn housbonde is fro the world ygon,
When my husband is gone
from the world,
48 Som Cristen man shal wedde me anon,
Some Christian man
shall wed me straightway,
49 For thanne th' apostle seith that I am free
For then the apostle
says that I am free
50 To wedde, a Goddes half, where it liketh me.
To wed, by God's side
(I swear), wherever it pleases me.
51 He seith that to be wedded is no synne;
He says that to be
wedded is no sin;
52 Bet is to be wedded than to brynne.
It is better to be
wedded than to burn.
53 What rekketh me, thogh folk seye vileynye
What do I care, though
folk speak evil
54 Of shrewed Lameth and his bigamye?
Of cursed Lamech and
his bigamy?
55 I woot wel Abraham was an hooly man,
I know well Abraham was
a holy man,
56 And Jacob eek, as ferforth as I kan;
And Jacob also, insofar
as I know;
57 And ech of hem hadde wyves mo than two,
And each of them had
more than two wives,
58 And many another holy man also.
And many another holy
man also.
59 Wher can ye seye, in any manere age,
Where can you find, in
any historical period,
60 That hye God defended mariage
That high God forbad
marriage
61 By expres word? I pray yow, telleth me.
By express word? I pray
you, tell me.
62 Or where comanded he virginitee?
Or where commanded he
virginity?
63 I woot as wel as ye, it is no drede,
I know as well as you,
it is no doubt,
64 Th' apostel, whan he speketh of maydenhede,
The apostle, when he
speaks of maidenhood,
65 He seyde that precept therof hadde he noon.
He said that he had no
precept concerning it.
66 Men may conseille a womman to been oon,
Men may advise a woman
to be one,
67 But conseillyng is no comandement.
But advice is no commandment.
68 He putte it in oure owene juggement;
He left it to our own
judgment;
69 For hadde God comanded maydenhede,
For had God commanded
maidenhood,
70 Thanne hadde he dampned weddyng with the dede.
Then had he damned
marriage along with the act (of procreation).
71 And certes, if ther were no seed ysowe,
And certainly, if there
were no seed sown,
72 Virginitee, thanne wherof sholde it growe?
Then from what should
virginity grow?
73 Poul dorste nat comanden, atte leeste,
In any case, Paul dared
not command
74 A thyng of which his maister yaf noon heeste.
A thing of which his
master gave no command.
75 The dart is set up for virginitee;
The prize is set up for
virginity;
76 Cacche whoso may, who renneth best lat see.
Catch it whoever can,
let's see who runs best.
77
But this word is nat taken of every wight,
But this word does not
apply to every person,
78 But ther as God lust gyve it of his myght.
But where God desires
to give it by his power.
79 I woot wel that th' apostel was a mayde;
I know well that the
apostle was a virgin;
80 But nathelees, thogh that he wroot and sayde
But nonetheless, though
he wrote and said
81 He wolde that every wight were swich as he,
He would that every
person were such as he,
82 Al nys but conseil to virginitee.
All is nothing but
advice to (adopt) virginity.
83 And for to been a wyf he yaf me leve
And he gave me leave to
be a wife
84 Of indulgence; so nys it no repreve
By explicit permission;
so it is not blameful
85 To wedde me, if that my make dye,
To wed me, if my mate
should die,
86 Withouten excepcion of bigamye.
Without objection on
the grounds of bigamy.
87 Al were it good no womman for to touche --
Although it would be
good to touch no woman --
88 He mente as in his bed or in his couche,
He meant in his bed or
in his couch,
89 For peril is bothe fyr and tow t' assemble;
For it is perilous to
assemble both fire and flax;
90 Ye knowe what this ensample may resemble.
You know what this
example may apply to.
91 This is al and som: he heeld virginitee
This is the sum of it:
he held virginity
92 Moore parfit than weddyng in freletee.
More perfect than
wedding in weakness.
93 Freletee clepe I, but if that he and she
Weakness I call it,
unless he and she
94 Wolde leden al hir lyf in chastitee.
Would lead all their
life in chastity.
95
I graunte it wel; I have noon envie,
I grant it well; I have
no envy,
96 Thogh maydenhede preferre bigamye.
Though maidenhood may
have precedence over a second marriage.
97 It liketh hem to be clene, body and goost;
It pleases them to be
clean, body and spirit;
98 Of myn estaat I nyl nat make no boost,
Of my state I will make
no boast,
99 For wel ye knowe, a lord in his houshold,
For well you know, a
lord in his household,
100 He nath nat every vessel al of gold;
He has not every
utensil all of gold;
101 Somme been of tree, and doon hir lord servyse.
Some are of wood, and
do their lord service.
102 God clepeth folk to hym in sondry wyse,
God calls folk to him
in various ways,
103 And everich hath of God a propre yifte --
And each one has of God
an individual gift --
104 Som this, som that, as hym liketh shifte.
Some this, some that,
as it pleases Him to provide.
105
Virginitee is greet perfeccion,
Virginity is great
perfection,
106 And continence eek with devocion,
And continence also
with devotion,
107 But Crist, that of perfeccion is welle,
But Christ, who is the
source of perfection,
108 Bad nat every wight he sholde go selle
Did not command that
every one should go sell
109 Al that he hadde, and gyve it to the poore,
All that he had, and
give it to the poor,
110 And in swich wise folwe hym and his foore.
And in such wise follow
him and his footsteps.
111 He spak to hem that wolde lyve parfitly;
He spoke to those who
would live perfectly;
112 And lordynges, by youre leve, that am nat I.
And gentlemen, by your
leave, I am not that.
113 I wol bistowe the flour of al myn age
I will bestow the
flower of all my age
114 In the actes and in fruyt of mariage.
In the acts and in
fruit of marriage.
115
Telle me also, to what conclusion
Tell me also, to what
purpose
116 Were membres maad of generacion,
Were members of
generation made,
117 And of so parfit wys a [wright] ywroght?
And by so perfectly
wise a Workman wrought?
118 Trusteth right wel, they were nat maad for
noght.
Trust right well, they
were not made for nothing.
119 Glose whoso wole, and seye bothe up and doun
Interpret whoever will,
and say both up and down
120 That they were maked for purgacioun
That they were made for
purgation
121 Of uryne, and oure bothe thynges smale
Of urine, and both our
small things
122 Were eek to knowe a femele from a male,
Were also to know a
female from a male,
123 And for noon oother cause -- say ye no?
And for no other cause
-- do you say no?
124 The experience woot wel it is noght so.
The experience knows
well it is not so.
125 So that the clerkes be nat with me wrothe,
Provided that the
clerks be not angry with me,
126 I sey this: that they maked ben for bothe;
I say this: that they
are made for both;
127 That is to seye, for office and for ese
That is to say, for
urination and for ease
128 Of engendrure, ther we nat God displese.
Of procreation, in
which we do not displease God.
129 Why sholde men elles in hir bookes sette
Why else should men set
in their books
130 That man shal yelde to his wyf hire dette?
That man shall pay to
his wife her debt?
131 Now wherwith sholde he make his paiement,
Now with what should he
make his payment,
132 If he ne used his sely instrument?
If he did not use his
blessed instrument?
133 Thanne were they maad upon a creature
Then were they made
upon a creature
134 To purge uryne, and eek for engendrure.
To purge urine, and
also for procreation.
135
But I seye noght that every wight is holde,
But I say not that
every person is required,
136 That hath swich harneys as I to yow tolde,
That has such equipment
as I to you told,
137 To goon and usen hem in engendrure.
To go and use them in
procreation.
138 Thanne sholde men take of chastitee no cure.
Then should men have no
regard for chastity.
139 Crist was a mayde and shapen as a man,
Christ was a virgin and
shaped like a man,
140 And many a seint, sith that the world bigan;
And many a saint, since
the world began;
141 Yet lyved they evere in parfit chastitee.
Yet lived they ever in
perfect chastity.
142 I nyl envye no virginitee.
I will envy no
virginity.
143 Lat hem be breed of pured whete-seed,
Let them be bread of
pure wheat-seed,
144 And lat us wyves hoten barly-breed;
And let us wives be
called barley-bread;
145 And yet with barly-breed, Mark telle kan,
And yet with
barley-bread, Mark can tell it,
146 Oure Lord Jhesu refresshed many a man.
Our Lord Jesus
refreshed many a man.
147 In swich estaat as God hath cleped us
In such estate as God
has called us
148 I wol persevere; I nam nat precius.
I will persevere; I am
not fussy.
149 In wyfhod I wol use myn instrument
In wifehood I will use
my instrument
150 As frely as my Makere hath it sent.
As freely as my Maker
has it sent.
151 If I be daungerous, God yeve me sorwe!
If I be niggardly, God
give me sorrow!
152 Myn housbonde shal it have bothe eve and
morwe,
My husband shall have
it both evenings and mornings,
153 Whan that hym list come forth and paye his
dette.
When it pleases him to
come forth and pay his debt.
154 An housbonde I wol have -- I wol nat lette --
A husband I will have
-- I will not desist --
155 Which shal be bothe my dettour and my thral,
Who shall be both my
debtor and my slave,
156 And have his tribulacion withal
And have his suffering
also
157 Upon his flessh, whil that I am his wyf.
Upon his flesh, while I
am his wife.
158 I have the power durynge al my lyf
I have the power during
all my life
159 Upon his propre body, and noght he.
Over his own body, and
not he.
160 Right thus the Apostel tolde it unto me,
Right thus the Apostle
told it unto me,
161 And bad oure housbondes for to love us weel.
And commanded our
husbands to love us well.
162 Al this sentence me liketh every deel" --
All this sentence
pleases me every bit" --
163
Up stirte the Pardoner, and that anon;
Up sprang the Pardoner,
and that at once;
164 "Now, dame," quod he, "by God
and by Seint John!
"Now, madam,"
he said, "by God and by Saint John!
165 Ye been a noble prechour in this cas.
You are a noble
preacher in this case.
166 I was aboute to wedde a wyf; allas!
I was about to wed a
wife; alas!
167 What sholde I bye it on my flessh so deere?
Why should I pay for it
so dearly on my flesh?
168 Yet hadde I levere wedde no wyf
to-yeere!"
Yet would I rather wed
no wife this year!"
169
"Abyde!" quod she, "my tale is nat bigonne.
"Wait!" she
said, "my tale is not begun.
170 Nay, thou shalt drynken of another tonne,
Nay, thou shalt drink
from another barrel,
171 Er that I go, shal savoure wors than ale.
Before I go, which
shall taste worse than ale.
172 And whan that I have toold thee forth my tale
And when I have told
thee forth my tale
173 Of tribulacion in mariage,
Of suffering in
marriage,
174 Of which I am expert in al myn age --
Of which I am expert in
all my life --
175 This is to seyn, myself have been the whippe
--
This is to say, myself
have been the whip --
176 Than maystow chese wheither thou wolt sippe
Than may thou choose
whether thou will sip
177 Of thilke tonne that I shal abroche.
Of that same barrel
that I shall open.
178 Be war of it, er thou to ny approche;
Beware of it, before
thou too near approach;
179 For I shal telle ensamples mo than ten.
For I shall tell
examples more than ten.
180 `Whoso that nyl be war by othere men,
`Whoever will not be
warned by (the examples of) other men,
181 By hym shul othere men corrected be.'
Shall be an example by
which other men shall be corrected.'
182 The same wordes writeth Ptholomee;
The same words writes
Ptholomy;
183 Rede in his Almageste, and take it
there."
Read in his Almagest,
and take it there."
184
"Dame, I wolde praye yow, if youre wyl it were,"
"Madam, I would
pray you, if it were your will,"
185 Seyde this Pardoner, "as ye bigan,
Said this Pardoner,
"as you began,
186 Telle forth youre tale, spareth for no man,
Tell forth your tale,
refrain for no man,
187 And teche us yonge men of youre
praktike."
And teach us young men
of your practice."
188
"Gladly," quod she, "sith it may yow like;
"Gladly," she
said, "since it may please you;
189 But yet I praye to al this compaignye,
But yet I pray to all
this company,
190 If that I speke after my fantasye,
If I speak according to
my fancy,
191 As taketh not agrief of that I seye,
Do not be annoyed by
what I say,
192 For myn entente nys but for to pleye.
For my intention is
only to amuse.
193
Now, sire, now wol I telle forth my tale.
Now, sir, now will I
tell forth my tale.
194 As evere moote I drynken wyn or ale,
As ever may I drink
wine or ale,
195 I shal seye sooth; tho housbondes that I
hadde,
I shall speak the
truth; those husbands that I had,
196 As thre of hem were goode, and two were badde.
Three of them were
good, and two were bad.
197 The thre were goode men, and riche, and olde;
The three were good
men, and rich, and old;
198 Unnethe myghte they the statut holde
Hardly might they the
statute hold (pay the debt)
199 In which that they were bounden unto me.
In which they were
bound unto me.
200 Ye woot wel what I meene of this, pardee!
You know well what I
mean of this, by God!
201 As help me God, I laughe whan I thynke
So help me God, I laugh
when I think
202 How pitously a-nyght I made hem swynke!
How pitifully at night
I made them work!
203 And, by my fey, I tolde of it no stoor.
And, by my faith, I set
no store by it.
204 They had me yeven hir lond and hir tresoor;
They had given me their
land and their treasure;
205 Me neded nat do lenger diligence
I needed not work hard
any longer
206 To wynne hir love, or doon hem reverence.
To win their love, or
do them reverence.
207 They loved me so wel, by God above,
They loved me so well,
by God above,
208 That I ne tolde no deyntee of hir love!
That I reckoned little
of their love!
209 A wys womman wol bisye hire evere in oon
A wise woman will be
constantly busy
210 To gete hire love, ye, ther as she hath noon.
To get their love, yes,
when she has none.
211 But sith I hadde hem hoolly in myn hond,
But since I had them
wholly in my hand,
212 And sith they hadde me yeven al hir lond,
And since they had me
given all their land,
213 What sholde I taken keep hem for to plese,
Why should I take care
to please them,
214 But it were for my profit and myn ese?
Unless it were for my
profit and my pleasure?
215 I sette hem so a-werke, by my fey,
I set them so to work,
by my faith,
216 That many a nyght they songen `Weilawey!'
That many a night they
sang `Woe is me!'
217 The bacon was nat fet for hem, I trowe,
The bacon was not
fetched for them, I believe,
218 That som men han in Essex at Dunmowe.
That some men have in
Essex at Dunmowe.
219 I governed hem so wel, after my lawe,
I governed them so
well, according to my law,
220 That ech of hem ful blisful was and fawe
That each of them was
very blissful and eager
221 To brynge me gaye thynges fro the fayre.
To bring me gay things
from the fair.
222 They were ful glad whan I spak to hem faire,
They were very glad
when I spoke to them pleasantly,
223 For, God it woot, I chidde hem spitously.
For, God knows it, I
cruelly scolded them.
224
Now herkneth hou I baar me proprely,
Now listen how well I
conducted myself,
225 Ye wise wyves, that kan understonde.
You wise wives, that
can understand.
226 Thus shulde ye speke and bere hem wrong on
honde,
Thus should you speak
and accuse them wrongfully,
227 For half so boldely kan ther no man
For half so boldly can
there no man
228 Swere and lyen, as a womman kan.
Swear and lie, as a
woman can.
229 I sey nat this by wyves that been wyse,
I do not say this
concerning wives that are wise,
230 But if it be whan they hem mysavyse.
Unless it be when they
are ill advised.
231 A wys wyf, if that she kan hir good,
A wise wife, if she
knows what is good for her,
232 Shal beren hym on honde the cow is wood,
Shall deceive him by
swearing the bird is crazy,
233 And take witnesse of hir owene mayde,
And prove it by taking
witness of her own maid
234 Of hir assent. But herkneth how I sayde:
Who is in league with
her. But listen how I spoke:
235
`Sire olde kaynard, is this thyn array?
`Sir old doddering
fool, is this thy doing?
236 Why is my neighebores wyf so gay?
Why is my neighbor's
wife so gay?
237 She is honoured overal ther she gooth;
She is honored
everywhere she goes;
238 I sitte at hoom; I have no thrifty clooth.
I sit at home; I have
no decent clothing.
239 What dostow at my neighebores hous?
What dost thou at my
neighbor's house?
240 Is she so fair? Artow so amorous?
Is she so fair? Art
thou so amorous?
241 What rowne ye with oure mayde? Benedicite!
What do you whisper
with our maid? Bless me!
242 Sire olde lecchour, lat thy japes be!
Sir old lecher, let thy
tricks be!
243 And if I have a gossib or a freend,
And if I have a close
friend or an acquaintance,
244 Withouten gilt, thou chidest as a feend,
Innocently, thou scold
like a fiend,
245 If that I walke or pleye unto his hous!
If I walk or go unto
his house to amuse myself!
246 Thou comest hoom as dronken as a mous,
Thou comest home as
drunk as a mouse,
247 And prechest on thy bench, with yvel preef!
And preach on thy
bench, bad luck to you!
248 Thou seist to me it is a greet meschief
Thou sayest to me it is
a great misfortune
249 To wedde a povre womman, for costage;
To wed a poor woman,
because of expense;
250 And if that she be riche, of heigh parage,
And if she be rich, of
high birth,
251 Thanne seistow that it is a tormentrie
Then thou sayest that
it is a torment
252 To soffre hire pride and hire malencolie.
To put up with her
pride and her angry moods.
253 And if that she be fair, thou verray knave,
And if she be fair,
thou utter knave,
254 Thou seyst that every holour wol hire have;
Thou sayest that every
lecher wants to have her;
255 She may no while in chastitee abyde,
She can not remain
chaste for any length of time,
256 That is assailled upon ech a syde.
Who is assailed on
every side.
257
Thou seyst som folk desiren us for richesse,
Thou sayest some folk
desire us for riches,
258 Somme for oure shap, and somme for oure
fairnesse,
Some for our shape, and
some for our fairness,
259 And som for she kan outher synge or daunce,
And one because she can
either sing or dance,
260 And som for gentillesse and daliaunce;
And some because of
noble descent and flirtatious talk;
261 Som for hir handes and hir armes smale;
Some because of their
hands and their slender arms;
262 Thus goth al to the devel, by thy tale.
Thus goes all to the
devil, according to you.
263 Thou seyst men may nat kepe a castel wal,
Thou sayest men may not
defend a castle wall,
264 It may so longe assailled been overal.
It may so long be
assailed on all sides.
265
And if that she be foul, thou seist that she
And if she be ugly,
thou sayest that she
266 Coveiteth every man that she may se,
Covets every man that
she may see,
267 For as a spanyel she wol on hym lepe,
For like a spaniel she
will on him leap,
268 Til that she fynde som man hire to chepe.
Until she find some man
to buy (take) her.
269 Ne noon so grey goos gooth ther in the lake
Nor does any goose go
there in the lake, no matter how drab,
270 As, seistow, wol been withoute make.
That, thou sayest, will
be without a mate.
271 And seyst it is an hard thyng for to welde
And thou sayest it is a
hard thing to control
272 A thyng that no man wole, his thankes, helde.
A thing that no man
will, willingly, hold.
273 Thus seistow, lorel, whan thow goost to bedde,
Thus sayest thou,
scoundrel, when thou goest to bed,
274 And that no wys man nedeth for to wedde,
And that no wise man
needs to wed,
275 Ne no man that entendeth unto hevene.
Nor any man that hopes
(to go) to heaven.
276 With wilde thonder-dynt and firy levene
With wild thunder-bolt
and fiery lightning
277 Moote thy welked nekke be tobroke!
May thy wrinkled neck
be broken in pieces!
278
Thow seyst that droppyng houses, and eek smoke,
Thou sayest that leaky
houses, and also smoke,
279 And chidyng wyves maken men to flee
And scolding wives make
men to flee
280 Out of hir owene houses; a, benedicitee!
Out of their own
houses; ah, bless me!
281 What eyleth swich an old man for to chide?
What ails such an old
man to chide like that?
282
Thow seyst we wyves wol oure vices hide
Thou sayest we wives
will hide our vices
283 Til we be fast, and thanne we wol hem shewe --
Until we be securely
tied (in marriage), and then we will them show --
284 Wel may that be a proverbe of a shrewe!
Well may that be a
proverb of a scoundrel!
285
Thou seist that oxen, asses, hors, and houndes,
Thou sayest that oxen,
asses, horses, and hounds,
286 They been assayed at diverse stoundes;
They are tried out a
number of times;
287 Bacyns, lavours, er that men hem bye,
Basins, wash bowls,
before men them buy,
288 Spoones and stooles, and al swich housbondrye,
Spoons and stools, and
all such household items,
289 And so been pottes, clothes, and array;
And so are pots,
clothes, and adornments;
290 But folk of wyves maken noon assay,
But folk of wives make
no trial,
291 Til they be wedded -- olde dotard shrewe! --
Until they are wedded
-- old doddering scoundrel! --
292 And thanne, seistow, we wol oure vices shewe.
And then, sayest thou,
we will show our vices.
293
Thou seist also that it displeseth me
Thou sayest also that
it displeases me
294 But if that thou wolt preyse my beautee,
Unless thou will praise
my beauty,
295 And but thou poure alwey upon my face,
And unless thou peer
always upon my face,
296 And clepe me "faire dame" in every
place.
And call me "dear
lady" in every place.
297 And but thou make a feeste on thilke day
And unless thou make a
feast on that same day
298 That I was born, and make me fressh and gay;
That I was born, and
make me happy and gay;
299 And but thou do to my norice honour,
And unless thou do
honor to my nurse,
300 And to my chamberere withinne my bour,
And to my chambermaid
within my bedchamber,
301 And to my fadres folk and his allyes --
And to my father's folk
and his allies --
302 Thus seistow, olde barel-ful of lyes!
Thus sayest thou, old
barrelful of lies!
303
And yet of oure apprentice Janekyn,
And yet of our
apprentice Janekin,
304 For his crispe heer, shynynge as gold so fyn,
Because of his curly
hair, shining like gold so fine,
305 And for he squiereth me bothe up and doun,
And because he
familiarly attends me everywhere,
306 Yet hastow caught a fals suspecioun.
Yet hast thou caught a
false suspicion.
307 I wol hym noght, thogh thou were deed tomorwe!
I do not want him,
though thou were dead tomorrow!
308
But tel me this: why hydestow, with sorwe,
But tell me this: why
hidest thou, bad luck to you,
309 The keyes of thy cheste awey fro me?
The keys of thy
strongbox away from me?
310 It is my good as wel as thyn, pardee!
It is my property as
well as thine, by God!
311 What, wenestow make an ydiot of oure dame?
What, think thou to
make a fool of the lady of the house?
312 Now by that lord that called is Seint Jame,
Now by that lord that
is called Saint James,
313 Thou shalt nat bothe, thogh that thou were
wood,
Thou shalt not both,
though thou were crazy with anger,
314 Be maister of my body and of my good;
Be master of my body
and of my property;
315 That oon thou shalt forgo, maugree thyne yen.
One of them thou must
give up, despite anything you can do.
316 What helpith it of me to enquere or spyen?
What helps it to
inquire about me or spy?
317 I trowe thou woldest loke me in thy chiste!
I believe thou would
lock me in thy strongbox!
318 Thou sholdest seye, "Wyf, go wher thee
liste;
Thou should say,
"Wife, go where you please;
319 Taak youre disport; I wol nat leve no talys.
Enjoy yourself; I will
not believe any gossip.
320 I knowe yow for a trewe wyf, dame Alys."
I know you for a true
wife, dame Alys."
321 We love no man that taketh kep or charge
We love no man who
takes notice or concern about
322 Wher that we goon; we wol ben at oure large.
Where we go; we will be
free (to do as we wish).
323
Of alle men yblessed moot he be,
Of all men blessed may
he be,
324 The wise astrologien, Daun Ptholome,
The wise astrologer,
Dan Ptolemy,
325 That seith this proverbe in his Almageste:
Who says this proverb
in his Almagest:
326 "Of alle men his wysdom is the hyeste
"Of all men his
wisdom is the highest
327 That rekketh nevere who hath the world in
honde."
Who never cares who has
the world in his control."
328 By this proverbe thou shalt understonde,
By this proverb thou
shalt understand,
329 Have thou ynogh, what thar thee recche or care
If thou have enough,
why should thou take note or care
330 How myrily that othere folkes fare?
How merrily other folks
fare?
331 For, certeyn, olde dotard, by youre leve,
For, certainly, old
senile fool, by your leave,
332 Ye shul have queynte right ynogh at eve.
You shall have pudendum
right enough at eve.
333 He is to greet a nygard that wolde werne
He is too great a miser
that would refuse
334 A man to lighte a candle at his lanterne;
A man to light a candle
at his lantern;
335 He shal have never the lasse light, pardee.
He shall have never the
less light, by God.
336 Have thou ynogh, thee thar nat pleyne thee.
If thou have enough,
thou need not complain.
337
Thou seyst also, that if we make us gay
Thou sayest also, that
if we make ourselves gay
338 With clothyng, and with precious array,
With clothing, and with
precious adornments,
339 That it is peril of oure chastitee;
That it is dangerous to
our chastity;
340 And yet -- with sorwe! -- thou most enforce
thee,
And yet -- bad luck to
thee! -- thou must reinforce thy argument,
341 And seye thise wordes in the Apostles name:
And say these words in
the Apostle's name:
342 "In habit maad with chastitee and shame
"In clothing made
with chastity and shame
343 Ye wommen shul apparaille yow," quod he,
You women shall apparel
yourselves," he said,
344 "And noght in tressed heer and gay
perree,
"And not in
carefully arranged hair and gay precious stones,
345 As perles, ne with gold, ne clothes
riche."
Such as pearls, nor
with gold, nor rich cloth."
346 After thy text, ne after thy rubriche,
In accordance with thy
text, nor in accord with thy interpretation,
347 I wol nat wirche as muchel as a gnat.
I will not do as much
as a gnat.
348
Thou seydest this, that I was lyk a cat;
Thou said this, that I
was like a cat;
349 For whoso wolde senge a cattes skyn,
For if anyone would
singe a cat's skin,
350 Thanne wolde the cat wel dwellen in his in;
Then would the cat well
stay in his dwelling;
351 And if the cattes skyn be slyk and gay,
And if the cat's skin
be sleek and gay,
352 She wol nat dwelle in house half a day,
She will not stay in
house half a day,
353 But forth she wole, er any day be dawed,
But forth she will
(go), before any day be dawned,
354 To shewe hir skyn and goon a-caterwawed.
To show her skin and go
yowling like a cat in heat.
355 This is to seye, if I be gay, sire shrewe,
This is to say, if I be
well dressed, sir scoundrel,
356 I wol renne out my borel for to shewe.
I will run out to show
my poor clothes.
357
Sire olde fool, what helpeth thee to spyen?
Sir old fool, what help
is it for thee to spy?
358 Thogh thou preye Argus with his hundred yen
Though thou pray Argus
with his hundred eyes
359 To be my warde-cors, as he kan best,
To be my bodyguard, as
he best knows how,
360 In feith, he shal nat kepe me but me lest;
In faith, he shall not
keep me but as I please;
361 Yet koude I make his berd, so moot I thee!
Yet could I deceive
him, as I may prosper!
362
Thou seydest eek that ther been thynges thre,
Thou said also that
there are three things,
363 The whiche thynges troublen al this erthe,
The which things
trouble all this earth,
364 And that no wight may endure the ferthe.
And that no one can
endure the fourth.
365 O leeve sire shrewe, Jhesu shorte thy lyf!
O dear sir scoundrel,
Jesus shorten thy life!
366 Yet prechestow and seyst an hateful wyf
Yet thou preachest and
sayest a hateful wife
367 Yrekened is for oon of thise meschances.
Is reckoned as one of
these misfortunes.
368 Been ther none othere maner resemblances
Are there no other
sorts of comparisons
369 That ye may likne youre parables to,
That you can use in
your sayings,
370 But if a sely wyf be oon of tho?
Without a poor wife's
being one of them?
371
Thou liknest eek wommenes love to helle,
Thou also compare
women's love to hell,
372 To bareyne lond, ther water may nat dwelle.
To barren land, where
water may not remain.
373 Thou liknest it also to wilde fyr;
Thou compare it also to
Greek (inextinguishable) fire;
374 The moore it brenneth, the moore it hath desir
The more it burns, the
more it has desire
375 To consume every thyng that brent wole be.
To consume every thing
that will be burned.
376 Thou seyest, right as wormes shende a tree,
Thou sayest, just as
worms destroy a tree,
377 Right so a wyf destroyeth hire housbonde;
Right so a wife
destroys her husband;
378 This knowe they that been to wyves bonde.'
This know they who are
bound to wives.'
379
Lordynges, right thus, as ye have understonde,
Gentlemen, right thus,
as you have heard,
380 Baar I stifly myne olde housbondes on honde
I firmly swore to my
old husbands
381 That thus they seyden in hir dronkenesse;
That thus they said in
their drunkenness;
382 And al was fals, but that I took witnesse
And all was false, but
I took witness
383 On Janekyn, and on my nece also.
On Janekin, and on my
niece also.
384 O Lord! The peyne I dide hem and the wo,
O Lord! The pain I did
them and the woe,
385 Ful giltelees, by Goddes sweete pyne!
Entirely guiltless
(they were), by God's sweet pain!
386 For as an hors I koude byte and whyne.
For like a horse I
could bite and whinny.
387 I koude pleyne, and yit was in the gilt,
I could complain, and
yet was in the wrong,
388 Or elles often tyme hadde I been spilt.
Or else many times had
I been ruined.
389 Whoso that first to mille comth, first grynt;
Whoever first comes to
the mill, first grinds;
390 I pleyned first, so was oure werre ystynt.
I complained first, so
was our war ended.
391 They were ful glade to excuse hem blyve
They were very glad to
excuse themselves quickly
392 Of thyng of which they nevere agilte hir lyve.
Of things of which they
were never guilty in their lives.
393 Of wenches wolde I beren hem on honde,
Of wenches would I
falsely accuse them,
394 Whan that for syk unnethes myghte they stonde.
When for sickness they
could hardly stand.
395
Yet tikled I his herte, for that he
Yet I tickled his
heart, for he
396 Wende that I hadde of hym so greet chiertee!
Believed that I had of
him so great affection!
397 I swoor that al my walkynge out by nyghte
I swore that all my
walking out by night
398 Was for t' espye wenches that he dighte;
Was to spy out wenches
with whom he had intercourse;
399 Under that colour hadde I many a myrthe.
Under that pretense I
had many a mirth.
400 For al swich wit is yeven us in oure byrthe;
For all such wit is
given us in our birth;
401 Deceite, wepyng, spynnyng God hath yive
Deceit, weeping,
spinning God has given
402 To wommen kyndely, whil that they may lyve.
To women naturally,
while they may live.
403 And thus of o thyng I avaunte me:
And thus of one thing I
boast:
404 Atte ende I hadde the bettre in ech degree,
At the end I had the
better in every way,
405 By sleighte, or force, or by som maner thyng,
By trickery, or force,
or by some such thing,
406 As by continueel murmur or grucchyng.
As by continual
grumbling or grouching.
407 Namely abedde hadden they meschaunce:
Especially in bed they
had misfortune:
408 Ther wolde I chide and do hem no plesaunce;
There would I scold and
do them no pleasure;
409 I wolde no lenger in the bed abyde,
I would no longer in
the bed abide,
410 If that I felte his arm over my syde,
If I felt his arm over
my side,
411 Til he had maad his raunson unto me;
Until he had paid his
penalty to me;
412 Thanne wolde I suffre hym do his nycetee.
Then would I allow him
to do his foolishness.
413 And therfore every man this tale I telle,
And therefore this tale
I tell to every man,
414 Wynne whoso may, for al is for to selle;
Anyone can profit, for
everything is for sale;
415 With empty hand men may none haukes lure.
One can lure no hawks
with an empty hand.
416 For wynnyng wolde I al his lust endure,
For profit I would
endure all his lust,
417 And make me a feyned appetit;
And make me a feigned
appetite;
418 And yet in bacon hadde I nevere delit.
And yet in bacon (old
meat) I never had delight.
419 That made me that evere I wolde hem chide,
That made me so that I
would always scold them,
420 For thogh the pope hadde seten hem biside,
For though the pope had
sat beside them,
421 I wolde nat spare hem at hir owene bord,
I would not spare them
at their own table,
422 For, by my trouthe, I quitte hem word for
word.
For, by my troth, I
paid them back word for word.
423 As helpe me verray God omnipotent,
As help me true God
omnipotent,
424 Though I right now sholde make my testament,
Though I right now
should make my will,
425 I ne owe hem nat a word that it nys quit.
I owe them not one word
that has not been avenged.
426 I broghte it so aboute by my wit
I brought it so about
by my wit
427 That they moste yeve it up, as for the beste,
That they had to give
it up, as the best they could do,
428 Or elles hadde we nevere been in reste;
Or else had we never
been at peace;
429 For thogh he looked as a wood leon,
For though he looked
like a furious lion,
430 Yet sholde he faille of his conclusion.
Yet should he fail to
attain his goal.
431 Thanne
wolde I seye, `Goode lief, taak keep
Then I would say,
`Sweetheart, see
432 How mekely looketh Wilkyn, oure sheep!
How meekly looks Willy,
our sheep!
433 Com neer, my spouse, lat me ba thy cheke!
Come near, my spouse,
let me kiss thy cheek!
434 Ye sholde been al pacient and meke,
You should be all
patient and meek,
435 And han a sweete spiced conscience,
And have a sweet tender
disposition,
436 Sith ye so preche of Jobes pacience.
Since you so preach of
Job's patience.
437 Suffreth alwey, syn ye so wel kan preche;
Suffer always, since
you so well can preach;
438 And but ye do, certein we shal yow teche
And unless you do,
certainly we shall teach you
439 That it is fair to have a wyf in pees.
That it is fair to have
a wife in peace.
440 Oon of us two moste bowen, doutelees,
One of us two must bow,
doubtless,
441 And sith a man is moore resonable
And since a man is more
reasonable
442 Than womman is, ye moste been suffrable.
Than a woman is, you
must be able to bear suffering.
443 What eyleth yow to grucche thus and grone?
What ails you to grouch
thus and groan?
444 Is it for ye wolde have my queynte allone?
Is it because you want
to have my pudendum all to yourself?
445 Wy, taak it al! Lo, have it every deel!
Why, take it all! Lo,
have it every bit!
446 Peter! I shrewe yow, but ye love it weel;
By Saint Peter! I would
curse you, if you did not love it well;
447 For if I wolde selle my bele chose,
For if I would sell my
`pretty thing,'
448 I koude walke as fressh as is a rose;
I could walk as fresh
(newly clothed) as is a rose;
449 But I wol kepe it for youre owene tooth.
But I will keep it for
your own pleasure.
450 Ye be to blame, by God! I sey yow sooth.'
You are to blame, by
God! I tell you the truth.'
451
Swiche manere wordes hadde we on honde.
Such sorts of words we
had in hand.
452 Now wol I speken of my fourthe housbonde.
Now will I speak of my
fourth husband.
453
My fourthe housbonde was a revelour --
My fourth husband was a
reveller --
454 This is to seyn, he hadde a paramour --
This is to say, he had
a mistress --
455 And I was yong and ful of ragerye,
And I was young and
full of playfulness,
456 Stibourn and strong, and joly as a pye.
Stubborn and strong,
and jolly as a magpie.
457 How koude I daunce to an harpe smale,
How well I could dance
to a small harp,
458 And synge, ywis, as any nyghtyngale,
And sing, indeed, like
any nightingale,
459 Whan I had dronke a draughte of sweete wyn!
When I had drunk a
draft of sweet wine!
460 Metellius, the foule cherl, the swyn,
Metellius, the foul
churl, the swine,
461 That with a staf birafte his wyf hir lyf,
Who with a staff
deprived his wife of her life,
462 For she drank wyn, thogh I hadde been his wyf,
Because she drank wine,
if I had been his wife,
463 He sholde nat han daunted me fro drynke!
He should not have
frightened me away from drink!
464 And after wyn on Venus moste I thynke,
And after wine on Venus
must I think,
465 For al so siker as cold engendreth hayl,
For as surely as cold
engenders hail,
466 A likerous mouth moste han a likerous tayl.
A gluttonous mouth must
have a lecherous tail.
467 In wommen vinolent is no defence --
In drunken women there
is no defense --
468 This knowen lecchours by experience.
This lechers know by
experience.
469
But -- Lord Crist! -- whan that it remembreth me
But -- Lord Christ! --
when I remember
470 Upon my yowthe, and on my jolitee,
My youth, and my
gaiety,
471 It tikleth me aboute myn herte roote.
It tickles me to the
bottom of my heart.
472 Unto this day it dooth myn herte boote
Unto this day it does
my heart good
473 That I have had my world as in my tyme.
That I have had my
world in my time.
474 But age, allas, that al wole envenyme,
But age, alas, that all
will poison,
475 Hath me biraft my beautee and my pith.
Has deprived me of my
beauty and my vigor.
476 Lat go. Farewel! The devel go therwith!
Let it go. Farewell!
The devil go with it!
477 The flour is goon; ther is namoore to telle;
The flour is gone;
there is no more to tell;
478 The bren, as I best kan, now moste I selle;
The bran, as I best
can, now I must sell;
479 But yet to be right myrie wol I fonde.
But yet I will try to
be right merry.
480 Now wol I tellen of my fourthe housbonde.
Now will I tell of my
fourth husband.
481
I seye, I hadde in herte greet despit
I say, I had in heart
great anger
482 That he of any oother had delit.
That he had delight in
any other.
483 But he was quit, by God and by Seint Joce!
But he was paid back,
by God and by Saint Joce!
484 I made hym of the same wode a croce;
I made him a cross of
the same wood;
485 Nat of my body, in no foul manere,
Not of my body, in no
foul manner,
486 But certeinly, I made folk swich cheere
But certainly, I
treated folk in such a way
487 That in his owene grece I made hym frye
That I made him fry in
his own grease
488 For angre, and for verray jalousye.
For anger, and for pure
jealousy.
489 By God, in erthe I was his purgatorie,
By God, in earth I was
his purgatory,
490 For which I hope his soule be in glorie.
For which I hope his
soul may be in glory.
491 For, God it woot, he sat ful ofte and song,
For, God knows it, he
sat very often and cried out in pain,
492 Whan that his shoo ful bitterly hym wrong.
When his shoe very
bitterly pinched him.
493 Ther was no wight, save God and he, that
wiste,
There was no person who
knew it, save God and he,
494 In many wise, how soore I hym twiste.
In many a way, how
painfully I tortured him.
495 He deyde whan I cam fro Jerusalem,
He died when I came
from Jerusalem,
496 And lith ygrave under the roode beem,
And lies buried under
the rood beam,
497 Al is his tombe noght so curyus
Although his tomb is
not so elaborate
498 As was the sepulcre of hym Daryus,
As was the sepulcher of
that Darius,
499 Which that Appelles wroghte subtilly;
Which Appelles wrought
skillfully;
500 It nys but wast to burye hym preciously.
It is nothing but waste
to bury him expensively.
501 Lat hym fare wel; God yeve his soule reste!
Let him fare well; God
give his soul rest!
502 He is now in his grave and in his cheste.
He is now in his grave
and in his casket.
503
Now of my fifthe housbonde wol I telle.
Now of my fifth husband
I will tell.
504 God lete his soule nevere come in helle!
God let his soul never
come in hell!
505 And yet was he to me the mooste shrewe;
And yet he was to me
the greatest scoundrel;
506 That feele I on my ribbes al by rewe,
That feel I on my ribs
one after another,
507 And evere shal unto myn endyng day.
And ever shall unto my
final day.
508 But in oure bed he was so fressh and gay,
But in our bed he was
so lively and gay,
509 And therwithal so wel koude he me glose,
And moreover he so well
could deceive me,
510 Whan that he wolde han my bele chose;
When he would have my
`pretty thing';
511 That thogh he hadde me bete on every bon,
That though he had beat
me on every bone,
512 He koude wynne agayn my love anon.
He could win back my
love straightway.
513 I trowe I loved hym best, for that he
I believe I loved him
best, because he
514 Was of his love daungerous to me.
Was of his love
standoffish to me.
515 We wommen han, if that I shal nat lye,
We women have, if I
shall not lie,
516 In this matere a queynte fantasye:
In this matter a
curious fantasy:
517 Wayte what thyng we may nat lightly have,
Note that whatever
thing we may not easily have,
518 Therafter wol we crie al day and crave.
We will cry all day and
crave for it.
519 Forbede us thyng, and that desiren we;
Forbid us a thing, and
we desire it;
520 Preesse on us faste, and thanne wol we fle.
Press on us fast, and
then will we flee.
521 With daunger oute we al oure chaffare;
With niggardliness we
spread out all our merchandise;
522 Greet prees at market maketh deere ware,
A great crowd at the
market makes wares expensive,
523 And to greet cheep is holde at litel prys:
And too great a supply
makes them of little value:
524 This knoweth every womman that is wys.
Every woman that is
wise knows this.
525
My fifthe housbonde -- God his soule blesse! --
My fifth husband -- God
bless his soul! --
526 Which that I took for love, and no richesse,
Whom I took for love, and
no riches,
527 He som tyme was a clerk of Oxenford,
He was formerly a clerk
of Oxford,
528 And hadde left scole, and wente at hom to bord
And had left school,
and came home to board
529 With my gossib, dwellynge in oure toun;
With my close friend,
dwelling in our town;
530 God have hir soule! Hir name was Alisoun.
God have her soul! Her
name was Alisoun.
531 She knew myn herte, and eek my privetee,
She knew my heart, and
also my secrets,
532 Bet than oure parisshe preest, so moot I thee!
Better than our parish
priest, as I may prosper!
533 To hire biwreyed I my conseil al.
To her I revealed all
my secrets.
534 For hadde myn housbonde pissed on a wal,
For had my husband
pissed on a wall,
535 Or doon a thyng that sholde han cost his lyf,
Or done a thing that
should have cost his life,
536 To hire, and to another worthy wyf,
To her, and to another
worthy wife,
537 And to my nece, which that I loved weel,
And to my niece, whom I
loved well,
538 I wolde han toold his conseil every deel.
I would have told every
one of his secrets.
539 And so I dide ful often, God it woot,
And so I did very
often, God knows it,
540 That made his face often reed and hoot
That made his face
often red and hot
541 For verray shame, and blamed hymself for he
For true shame, and
blamed himself because he
542 Had toold to me so greet a pryvetee.
Had told to me so great
a secret.
543
And so bifel that ones in a Lente --
And so it happened that
once in a Springtime --
544 So often tymes I to my gossyb wente,
Since frequently I went
to visit my close friend,
545 For evere yet I loved to be gay,
For I always loved to
be gay,
546 And for to walke in March, Averill, and May,
And to walk in March,
April, and May,
547 Fro hous to hous, to heere sondry talys --
From house to house, to
hear various bits of gossip --
548 That Jankyn clerk, and my gossyb dame Alys,
That Jankin the clerk,
and my close friend dame Alys,
549 And I myself, into the feeldes wente.
And I myself, into the
fields went.
550 Myn housbonde was at Londoun al that Lente;
My husband was at
London all that Spring;
551 I hadde the bettre leyser for to pleye,
I had the better
opportunity to amuse myself,
552 And for to se, and eek for to be seye
And to see, and also to
be seen
553 Of lusty folk. What wiste I wher my grace
By amorous folk. What
did I know about where my good fortune
554 Was shapen for to be, or in what place?
Was destined to be, or
in what place?
555 Therfore I made my visitaciouns
Therefore I made my
visitations
556 To vigilies and to processiouns,
To religious feasts and
to processions,
557 To prechyng eek, and to thise pilgrimages,
To preaching also, and
to these pilgrimages,
558 To pleyes of myracles, and to mariages,
To plays about
miracles, and to marriages,
559 And wered upon my gaye scarlet gytes.
And wore my gay scarlet
robes.
560 Thise wormes, ne thise motthes, ne thise
mytes,
These worms, nor these
moths, nor these mites,
561 Upon my peril, frete hem never a deel;
Upon my peril (I
swear), chewed on them never a bit;
562 And wostow why? For they were used weel.
And know thou why?
Because they were well used.
563
Now wol I tellen forth what happed me.
Now will I tell forth
what happened to me.
564 I seye that in the feeldes walked we,
I say that in the
fields we walked,
565 Til trewely we hadde swich daliance,
Until truly we had such
flirtation,
566 This clerk and I, that of my purveiance
This clerk and I, that
for my provision for the future
567 I spak to hym and seyde hym how that he,
I spoke to him and said
to him how he,
568 If I were wydwe, sholde wedde me.
If I were a widow,
should wed me.
569 For certeinly -- I sey for no bobance --
For certainly -- I say
this for no boast --
570 Yet was I nevere withouten purveiance
I was never yet without
providing beforehand
571 Of mariage, n' of othere thynges eek.
For marriage, nor for
other things also.
572 I holde a mouses herte nat worth a leek
I hold a mouse's heart
not worth a leek
573 That hath but oon hole for to sterte to,
That has but one hole
to flee to,
574 And if that faille, thanne is al ydo.
If that should fail,
then all is lost.
575
I bar hym on honde he hadde enchanted me --
I falsely swore that he
had enchanted me --
576 My dame taughte me that soutiltee --
My mother taught me
that trick --
577 And eek I seyde I mette of hym al nyght,
And also I said I
dreamed of him all night,
578 He wolde han slayn me as I lay upright,
He would have slain me
as I lay on my back,
579 And al my bed was ful of verray blood;
And all my bed was full
of real blood;
580 `But yet I hope that ye shal do me good,
`But yet I hope that
you shall do me good,
581 For blood bitokeneth gold, as me was taught.'
For blood symbolizes
gold, as I was taught.'
582 And al was fals; I dremed of it right naught,
And all was false; I
dreamed of it not at all,
583 But as I folwed ay my dames loore,
But I followed always
my mother's teaching,
584 As wel of this as of othere thynges moore.
As well in this as in
other things more.
585
But now, sire, lat me se what I shal seyn.
But now, sir, let me
see what I shall say.
586 A ha! By God, I have my tale ageyn.
A ha! By God, I have my
tale again.
587
Whan that my fourthe housbonde was on beere,
When my fourth husband
was on the funeral bier,
588 I weep algate, and made sory cheere,
I wept continuously,
and acted sorry,
589 As wyves mooten, for it is usage,
As wives must do, for
it is the custom,
590 And with my coverchief covered my visage,
And with my kerchief
covered my face,
591 But for that I was purveyed of a make,
But because I was
provided with a mate,
592 I wepte but smal, and that I undertake.
I wept but little, and
that I affirm.
593
To chirche was myn housbonde born a-morwe
To church was my
husband carried in the morning
594 With neighebores, that for hym maden sorwe;
By neighbors, who for
him made sorrow;
595 And Jankyn, oure clerk, was oon of tho.
And Jankin, our clerk,
was one of those.
596 As help me God, whan that I saugh hym go
As help me God, when I
saw him go
597 After the beere, me thoughte he hadde a paire
After the bier, I
thought he had a pair
598 Of legges and of feet so clene and faire
Of legs and of feet so
neat and fair
599 That al myn herte I yaf unto his hoold.
That all my heart I
gave unto his keeping.
600 He was, I trowe, twenty wynter oold,
He was, I believe,
twenty years old,
601 And I was fourty, if I shal seye sooth;
And I was forty, if I
shall tell the truth;
602 But yet I hadde alwey a coltes tooth.
But yet I had always a
colt's tooth.
603 Gat-tothed I was, and that bicam me weel;
With teeth set wide
apart I was, and that became me well;
604 I hadde the prente of seinte Venus seel.
I had the print of
Saint Venus's seal.
605 As help me God, I was a lusty oon,
As help me God, I was a
lusty one,
606 And faire, and riche, and yong, and wel bigon,
And fair, and rich, and
young, and well fixed,
607 And trewely, as myne housbondes tolde me,
And truly, as my
husbands told me,
608 I hadde the beste quoniam myghte be.
I had the best pudendum
that might be.
609 For certes, I am al Venerien
For certainly, I am all
influenced by Venus
610 In feelynge, and myn herte is Marcien.
In feeling, and my
heart is influenced by Mars.
611 Venus me yaf my lust, my likerousnesse,
Venus me gave my lust,
my amorousness,
612 And Mars yaf me my sturdy hardynesse;
And Mars gave me my
sturdy boldness;
613 Myn ascendent was Taur, and Mars therinne.
My ascendant was
Taurus, and Mars was therein.
614 Allas, allas! That evere love was synne!
Alas, alas! That ever
love was sin!
615 I folwed ay myn inclinacioun
I followed always my
inclination
616 By vertu of my constellacioun;
By virtue of the state
of the heavens at my birth;
617 That made me I koude noght withdrawe
That made me that I
could not withdraw
618 My chambre of Venus from a good felawe.
My chamber of Venus
from a good fellow.
619 Yet have I Martes mark upon my face,
Yet have I Mars' mark
upon my face,
620 And also in another privee place.
And also in another
private place.
621 For God so wys be my savacioun,
For as God may be my
salvation,
622 I ne loved nevere by no discrecioun,
I never loved in
moderation,
623 But evere folwede myn appetit,
But always followed my
appetite,
624 Al were he short, or long, or blak, or whit;
Whether he were short,
or tall, or black-haired, or blond;
625 I took no kep, so that he liked me,
I took no notice,
provided that he pleased me,
626 How poore he was, ne eek of what degree.
How poor he was, nor
also of what rank.
627
What sholde I seye but, at the monthes ende,
What should I say but,
at the month's end,
628 This joly clerk, Jankyn, that was so hende,
This jolly clerk,
Jankin, that was so courteous,
629 Hath wedded me with greet solempnytee,
Has wedded me with great
solemnity,
630 And to hym yaf I al the lond and fee
And to him I gave all
the land and property
631 That evere was me yeven therbifoore.
That ever was given to
me before then.
632 But afterward repented me ful soore;
But afterward I
repented very bitterly;
633 He nolde suffre nothyng of my list.
He would not allow me
anything of my desires.
634 By God, he smoot me ones on the lyst,
By God, he hit me once
on the ear,
635 For that I rente out of his book a leef,
Because I tore a leaf
out of his book,
636 That of the strook myn ere wax al deef.
So that of the stroke
my ear became all deaf.
637 Stibourn I was as is a leonesse,
I was as stubborn as is
a lioness,
638 And of my tonge a verray jangleresse,
And of my tongue a true
chatterbox,
639 And walke I wolde, as I had doon biforn,
And I would walk, as I
had done before,
640 From hous to hous, although he had it sworn;
From house to house,
although he had sworn the contrary;
641 For which he often tymes wolde preche,
For which he often
times would preach,
642 And me of olde Romayn geestes teche;
And teach me of old
Roman stories;
643 How he Symplicius Gallus lefte his wyf,
How he, Simplicius
Gallus, left his wife,
644 And hire forsook for terme of al his lyf,
And forsook her for
rest of all his life,
645 Noght but for open-heveded he hir say
Because of nothing but
because he saw her bare-headed
646 Lookynge out at his dore upon a day.
Looking out at his door
one day.
647
Another Romayn tolde he me by name,
Another Roman he told
me by name,
648 That, for his wyf was at a someres game
Who, because his wife
was at a midsummer revel
649 Withouten his wityng, he forsook hire eke.
Without his knowledge,
he forsook her also.
650 And thanne wolde he upon his Bible seke
And then he would seek
in his Bible
651 That ilke proverbe of Ecclesiaste
That same proverb of
Ecclesiasticus
652 Where he comandeth and forbedeth faste
Where he commands and
strictly forbids that
653 Man shal nat suffre his wyf go roule aboute.
Man should suffer his
wife go wander about.
654 Thanne wolde he seye right thus, withouten
doute:
Then would he say right
thus, without doubt:
655
`Whoso that buyldeth his hous al of salwes,
`Whoever builds his
house all of willow twigs,
656 And priketh his blynde hors over the falwes,
And spurs his blind
horse over the open fields,
657 And suffreth his wyf to go seken halwes,
And suffers his wife to
go on pilgrimages,
658 Is worthy to been hanged on the galwes!'
Is worthy to be hanged
on the gallows!'
659 But al for noght, I sette noght an hawe
But all for nothing, I
gave not a hawthorn berry
660 Of his proverbes n' of his olde sawe,
For his proverbs nor
for his old sayings,
661 Ne I wolde nat of hym corrected be.
Nor would I be
corrected by him.
662 I hate hym that my vices telleth me,
I hate him who tells me
my vices,
663 And so doo mo, God woot, of us than I.
And so do more of us,
God knows, than I.
664 This made hym with me wood al outrely;
This made him all
utterly furious with me;
665 I nolde noght forbere hym in no cas.
I would not put up with
him in any way.
666
Now wol I seye yow sooth, by Seint Thomas,
Now will I tell you the
truth, by Saint Thomas,
667 Why that I rente out of his book a leef,
Why I tore a leaf out
of his book,
668 For which he smoot me so that I was deef.
For which he hit me so
hard that I was deaf.
669
He hadde a book that gladly, nyght and day,
He had a book that
regularly, night and day,
670 For his desport he wolde rede alway;
For his amusement he
would always read;
671 He cleped it Valerie and Theofraste,
He called it Valerie
and Theofrastus,
672 At which book he lough alwey ful faste.
At which book he always
heartily laughed.
673 And eek ther was somtyme a clerk at Rome,
And also there was once
a clerk at Rome,
674 A cardinal, that highte Seint Jerome,
A cardinal, who is
called Saint Jerome,
675 That made a book agayn Jovinian;
That made a book
against Jovinian;
676 In which book eek ther was Tertulan,
In which book also
there was Tertullian,
677 Crisippus, Trotula, and Helowys,
Crisippus, Trotula, and
Heloise,
678 That was abbesse nat fer fro Parys,
Who was abbess not far
from Paris,
679 And eek the Parables of Salomon,
And also the Parables
of Salomon,
680 Ovides Art, and bookes many on,
Ovid's Art, and many
other books,
681 And alle thise were bounden in o volume.
And all these were
bound in one volume.
682 And every nyght and day was his custume,
And every night and day
was his custom,
683 Whan he hadde leyser and vacacioun
When he had leisure and
spare time
684 From oother worldly occupacioun,
From other worldly
occupations,
685 To reden on this book of wikked wyves.
To read in this book of
wicked wives.
686 He knew of hem mo legendes and lyves
He knew of them more
legends and lives
687 Than been of goode wyves in the Bible.
Than are of good women
in the Bible.
688 For trusteth wel, it is an impossible
For trust well, it is
an impossibility
689 That any clerk wol speke good of wyves,
That any clerk will
speak good of women,
690 But if it be of hooly seintes lyves,
Unless it be of holy
saints' lives,
691 Ne of noon oother womman never the mo.
Nor of any other woman
in any way.
692 Who peyntede the leon, tel me who?
Who painted the lion,
tell me who?
693 By God, if wommen hadde writen stories,
By God, if women had
written stories,
694 As clerkes han withinne hire oratories,
As clerks have within
their studies,
695 They wolde han writen of men moore wikkednesse
They would have written
of men more wickedness
696 Than al the mark of Adam may redresse.
Than all the male sex
could set right.
697 The children of Mercurie and of Venus
The children of Mercury
(clerks) and of Venus (lovers)
698 Been in hir wirkyng ful contrarius;
Are directly contrary
in their actions;
699 Mercurie loveth wysdam and science,
Mercury loves wisdom
and knowledge,
700 And Venus loveth ryot and dispence.
And Venus loves riot
and extravagant expenditures.
701 And, for hire diverse disposicioun,
And, because of their
diverse dispositions,
702 Ech falleth in otheres exaltacioun.
Each falls in the
other's most powerful astronomical sign.
703 And thus, God woot, Mercurie is desolat
And thus, God knows,
Mercury is powerless
704 In Pisces, wher Venus is exaltat,
In Pisces (the Fish),
where Venus is exalted,
705 And Venus falleth ther Mercurie is reysed.
And Venus falls where
Mercury is raised.
706 Therfore no womman of no clerk is preysed.
Therefore no woman is
praised by any clerk.
707 The clerk, whan he is oold, and may noght do
The clerk, when he is
old, and can not do
708 Of Venus werkes worth his olde sho,
Any of Venus's works
worth his old shoe,
709 Thanne sit he doun, and writ in his dotage
Then he sits down, and
writes in his dotage
710 That wommen kan nat kepe hir mariage!
That women can not keep
their marriage!
711
But now to purpos, why I tolde thee
But now to the point,
why I told thee
712 That I was beten for a book, pardee!
That I was beaten for a
book, by God!
713 Upon a nyght Jankyn, that was oure sire,
Upon a night Jankin,
that was master of our house,
714 Redde on his book, as he sat by the fire,
Read on his book, as he
sat by the fire,
715 Of Eva first, that for hir wikkednesse
Of Eve first, how for
her wickedness
716 Was al mankynde broght to wrecchednesse,
All mankind was brought
to wretchedness,
717 For which that Jhesu Crist hymself was slayn,
For which Jesus Christ
himself was slain,
718 That boghte us with his herte blood agayn.
Who bought us back with
his heart's blood.
719 Lo, heere expres of womman may ye fynde
Lo, here clearly of
woman you may find
720 That womman was the los of al mankynde.
That woman was the
cause of the loss of all mankind.
721
Tho redde he me how Sampson loste his heres:
Then he read me how
Sampson lost his hair:
722 Slepynge, his lemman kitte it with hir sheres;
Sleeping, his lover cut
it with her shears;
723 Thurgh which treson loste he bothe his yen.
Through which treason
he lost both his eyes.
724 Tho redde he me, if that I shal nat lyen,
Then he read to me, if
I shall not lie,
725 Of Hercules and of his Dianyre,
Of Hercules and of his
Dianyre,
726 That caused hym to sette hymself afyre.
Who caused him to set
himself on fire.
727
No thyng forgat he the care and the wo
He forgot not a bit of
the care and the woe
728 That Socrates hadde with his wyves two,
That Socrates had with
his two wives,
729 How Xantippa caste pisse upon his heed.
How Xantippa caste piss
upon his head.
730 This sely man sat stille as he were deed;
This poor man sat still
as if he were dead;
731 He wiped his heed, namoore dorste he seyn,
He wiped his head, no
more dared he say,
732 But `Er that thonder stynte, comth a reyn!'
But `Before thunder
stops, there comes a rain!'
733
Of Phasipha, that was the queene of Crete,
Of Phasipha, that was
the queen of Crete,
734 For shrewednesse, hym thoughte the tale swete;
For sheer malignancy,
he thought the tale sweet;
735 Fy! Spek namoore -- it is a grisly thyng --
Fie! Speak no more --
it is a grisly thing --
736 Of hire horrible lust and hir likyng.
Of her horrible lust
and her pleasure.
737
Of Clitermystra, for hire lecherye,
Of Clitermystra, for
her lechery,
738 That falsly made hire housbonde for to dye,
That falsely made her
husband to die,
739 He redde it with ful good devocioun.
He read it with very
good devotion.
740
He tolde me eek for what occasioun
He told me also for
what occasion
741 Amphiorax at Thebes loste his lyf.
Amphiorax at Thebes
lost his life.
742 Myn housbonde hadde a legende of his wyf,
My husband had a legend
of his wife,
743 Eriphilem, that for an ouche of gold
Eriphilem, that for a
brooch of gold
744 Hath prively unto the Grekes told
Has secretly unto the
Greeks told
745 Wher that hir housbonde hidde hym in a place,
Where her husband hid
him in a place,
746 For which he hadde at Thebes sory grace.
For which he had at
Thebes a sad fate.
747
Of Lyvia tolde he me, and of Lucye:
Of Livia told he me,
and of Lucie:
748 They bothe made hir housbondes for to dye,
They both made their
husbands to die,
749 That oon for love, that oother was for hate.
That one for love, that
other was for hate.
750 Lyvia hir housbonde, on an even late,
Livia her husband, on a
late evening,
751 Empoysoned hath, for that she was his fo;
Has poisoned, because
she was his foe;
752 Lucia, likerous, loved hire housbonde so
Lucia, lecherous, loved
her husband so much
753 That, for he sholde alwey upon hire thynke,
That, so that he should
always think upon her,
754 She yaf hym swich a manere love-drynke
She gave him such a
sort of love-drink
755 That he was deed er it were by the morwe;
That he was dead before
it was morning;
756 And thus algates housbondes han sorwe.
And thus always
husbands have sorrow.
757
Thanne tolde he me how oon Latumyus
Then he told me how one
Latumius
758 Compleyned unto his felawe Arrius
Complained unto his
fellow Arrius
759 That in his gardyn growed swich a tree
That in his garden grew
such a tree
760 On which he seyde how that his wyves thre
On which he said how
his three wives
761 Hanged hemself for herte despitus.
Hanged themselves for
the malice of their hearts
762 `O leeve brother,' quod this Arrius,
`O dear brother,' this
Arrius said,
763 `Yif me a plante of thilke blissed tree,
`Give me a shoot of
that same blessed tree,
764 And in my gardyn planted shal it bee.'
And in my garden shall
it be planted.'
765 Of
latter date, of wyves hath he red
Of latter date, of
wives has he read
766 That somme han slayn hir housbondes in hir
bed,
That some have slain
their husbands in their bed,
767 And lete hir lecchour dighte hire al the
nyght,
And let her lecher
copulate with her all the night,
768 Whan that the corps lay in the floor upright.
When the corpse lay in
the floor flat on its back.
769 And somme han dryve nayles in hir brayn,
And some have driven
nails in their brains,
770 Whil that they slepte, and thus they had hem
slayn.
While they slept, and
thus they had them slain.
771 Somme han hem yeve poysoun in hire drynke.
Some have given them
poison in their drink.
772 He spak moore harm than herte may bithynke,
He spoke more harm than
heart may imagine,
773 And therwithal he knew of mo proverbes
And concerning this he
knew of more proverbs
774 Than in this world ther growen gras or herbes.
Than in this world
there grow grass or herbs.
775 `Bet is,' quod he, `thyn habitacioun
`Better is,' he said,
`thy habitation
776 Be with a leon or a foul dragoun,
Be with a lion or a
foul dragon,
777 Than with a womman usynge for to chyde.
Than with a woman
accustomed to scold.
778 Bet is,' quod he, `hye in the roof abyde,
Better is,' he said,
`to stay high in the roof,
779 Than with an angry wyf doun in the hous;
Than with an angry wife
down in the house;
780 They been so wikked and contrarious,
They are so wicked and
contrary,
781 They haten that hir housbondes loven ay.'
They always hate what
their husbands love.'
782 He seyde, `A womman cast hir shame away,
He said, `A woman casts
their shame away,
783 Whan she cast of hir smok'; and forthermo,
When she casts off her
undergarment'; and furthermore,
784 `A fair womman, but she be chaast also,
`A fair woman, unless
she is also chaste,
785 Is lyk a gold ryng in a sowes nose.'
Is like a gold ring in
a sow's nose.'
786 Who wolde wene, or who wolde suppose,
Who would believe, or
who would suppose,
787 The wo that in myn herte was, and pyne?
The woe that in my
heart was, and pain?
788
And whan I saugh he wolde nevere fyne
And when I saw he would
never cease
789 To reden on this cursed book al nyght,
Reading on this cursed
book all night,
790 Al sodeynly thre leves have I plyght
All suddenly have I
plucked three leaves
791 Out of his book, right as he radde, and eke
Out of his book, right
as he read, and also
792 I with my fest so took hym on the cheke
I with my fist so hit
him on the cheek
793 That in oure fyr he fil bakward adoun.
That in our fire he
fell down backwards.
794 And he up stirte as dooth a wood leoun,
And he leaped up as
does a furious lion,
795 And with his fest he smoot me on the heed
And with his fist he
hit me on the head
796 That in the floor I lay as I were deed.
That on the floor I lay
as if I were dead.
797 And whan he saugh how stille that I lay,
And when he saw how
still I lay,
798 He was agast and wolde han fled his way,
He was frightened and
would have fled on his way,
799 Til atte laste out of my swogh I breyde.
Until at the last out
of my swoon I awoke.
800 `O! hastow slayn me, false theef?' I seyde,
`O! hast thou slain me,
false thief?' I said,
801 `And for my land thus hastow mordred me?
`And for my land thus
hast thou murdered me?
802 Er I be deed, yet wol I kisse thee.'
Before I am dead, yet
will I kiss thee.'
803
And neer he cam, and kneled faire adoun,
And near he came, and
kneeled gently down,
804 And seyde, `Deere suster Alisoun,
And said, `Dear sister
Alisoun,
805 As help me God, I shal thee nevere smyte!
So help me God, I shall
never (again) smite thee!
806 That I have doon, it is thyself to wyte.
What I have done, it is
thyself to blame (you drove me to it).
807 Foryeve it me, and that I thee biseke!'
Forgive it me, and that
I beseech thee!'
808 And yet eftsoones I hitte hym on the cheke,
And yet immediately I
hit him on the cheek,
809 And seyde, `Theef, thus muchel am I wreke;
And said, `Thief, thus
much am I avenged;
810 Now wol I dye, I may no lenger speke.'
Now will I die, I may
no longer speak.'
811 But atte laste, with muchel care and wo,
But at the last, with
much care and woe,
812 We fille acorded by us selven two.
We made an agreement
between our two selves.
813 He yaf me al the bridel in myn hond,
He gave me all the
control in my hand,
814 To han the governance of hous and lond,
To have the governance
of house and land,
815 And of his tonge, and of his hond also;
And of his tongue, and
of his hand also;
816 And made hym brenne his book anon right tho.
And made him burn his
book immediately right then.
817 And whan that I hadde geten unto me,
And when I had gotten
unto me,
818 By maistrie, al the soveraynetee,
By mastery, all the
sovereignty,
819 And that he seyde, `Myn owene trewe wyf,
And that he said, `My
own true wife,
820 Do as thee lust the terme of al thy lyf;
Do as you please the
rest of all thy life;
821 Keep thyn honour, and keep eek myn estaat' --
Guard thy honor, and
guard also my reputation' --
822 After that day we hadden never debaat.
After that day we never
had an argument.
823 God helpe me so, I was to hym as kynde
As God may help me, I
was to him as kind
824 As any wyf from Denmark unto Ynde,
As any wife from
Denmark unto India,
825 And also trewe, and so was he to me.
And also true, and so
was he to me.
826 I prey to God, that sit in magestee,
I pray to God, who sits
in majesty,
827 So blesse his soule for his mercy deere.
So bless his soul for
his mercy dear.
828 Now wol I seye my tale, if ye wol heere."
Now will I say my tale,
if you will hear."
Beholde the wordes
bitwene the
Somonour and the Frere
829
The Frere lough, whan he hadde herd al this;
The Friar laughed, when
he had heard all this;
830 "Now dame," quod he, "so have I
joye or blis,
"Now dame,"
he said, "as I may have joy or bliss,
831 This is a long preamble of a tale!"
This is a long preamble
of a tale!"
832 And whan the Somonour herde the Frere gale,
And when the Summoner
heard the Friar cry out,
833 "Lo," quod the Somonour,
"Goddes armes two!
"Lo," said
the Summoner, "By God's two arms!
834 A frere wol entremette hym everemo.
A friar will always
intrude himself (in others' affairs).
835 Lo, goode men, a flye and eek a frere
Lo, good men, a fly and
also a friar
836 Wol falle in every dyssh and eek mateere.
Will fall in every dish
and also every discussion.
837 What spekestow of preambulacioun?
What speakest thou of
perambulation?
838 What! amble, or trotte, or pees, or go sit
doun!
What! amble, or
trot, or keep still, or go sit down!
839 Thou lettest oure disport in this manere."
Thou spoil our
fun in this manner."
840
"Ye, woltow so, sire Somonour?" quod the Frere;
"Yes, wilt
thou have it thus, sir Summoner?" said the Friar;
841 "Now, by my feith I shal, er that
I go,
"Now, by my
faith I shall, before I go,
842 Telle of a somonour swich a tale or two
Tell of a
summoner such a tale or two
843 That alle the folk shal laughen in this
place."
That all the folk
shall laugh in this place."
844
"Now elles, Frere, I bishrewe thy face,"
"Now
otherwise, Friar, I curse thy face,"
845 Quod this Somonour, "and I
bishrewe me,
Said this
Summoner, "and I curse myself,
846 But if I telle tales two or thre
Unless I tell
tales two or three
847 Of freres er I come to Sidyngborne
Of friars before
I come to Siitingbourne
848 That I shal make thyn herte for to
morne,
That I shall
make thy heart to mourn,
849 For wel I woot thy pacience is
gon."
For well I know
thy patience is gone."
850
Oure Hooste cride "Pees! And that anon!"
Our Host cried
"Peace! And that right now!"
851 And seyde, "Lat the womman telle
hire tale.
And said,
"Let the woman tell her tale.
852 Ye fare as folk that dronken ben of
ale.
You act like
folk that are drunk on ale.
853 Do, dame, telle forth youre tale, and
that is best."
Do, dame, tell
forth your tale, and that is best."
854
"Al redy, sire," quod she, "right as yow lest,
"All ready,
sir," she said, "right as you please,
855 If I have licence of this worthy
Frere."
If I have
permission of this worthy Friar."
856
"Yis, dame," quod he, "tel forth, and I wol
heere."
"Yes,
dame," he said, "tell forth, and I will hear."
Heere
endeth the Wyf of Bathe hir Prologe
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wish to test your knowledge of the Middle English, click here.
Or go to the beginning of this set of
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The Wife of Bath's Tale
Heere
bigynneth the Tale of the Wyf of Bathe
857
In th' olde dayes of the Kyng Arthour,
In the old days
of King Arthur,
858 Of which that Britons speken greet
honour,
Of whom Britons
speak great honor,
859 Al was this land fulfild of fayerye.
This land was
all filled full of supernatural creatures.
860 The elf-queene, with hir joly
compaignye,
The elf-queen,
with her jolly company,
861 Daunced ful ofte in many a grene mede.
Danced very
often in many a green mead.
862 This was the olde opinion, as I rede;
This was the old
belief, as I read;
863 I speke of manye hundred yeres ago.
I speak of many
hundred years ago.
864 But now kan no man se none elves mo,
But now no man
can see any more elves,
865 For now the grete charitee and prayeres
For now the
great charity and prayers
866 Of lymytours and othere hooly freres,
Of licensed
beggars and other holy friars,
867 That serchen every lond and every
streem,
That overrun
every land and every stream,
868 As thikke as motes in the sonne-beem,
As thick as
specks of dust in the sun-beam,
869 Blessynge halles, chambres, kichenes,
boures,
Blessing halls,
chambers, kitchens, bedrooms,
870 Citees, burghes, castels, hye toures,
Cities, towns,
castles, high towers,
871 Thropes, bernes, shipnes, dayeryes --
Villages, barns,
stables, dairies --
872 This maketh that ther ben no fayeryes.
This makes it
that there are no fairies.
873 For ther as wont to walken was an elf
For where an elf
was accustomed to walk
874 Ther walketh now the lymytour hymself
There walks now
the licensed begging friar himself
875 In undermeles and in morwenynges,
In late mornings
and in early mornings,
876 And seyth his matyns and his hooly
thynges
And says his
morning prayers and his holy things
877 As he gooth in his lymytacioun.
As he goes in
his assigned district.
878 Wommen may go saufly up and doun.
Women may go
safely up and down.
879 In every bussh or under every tree
In every bush or
under every tree
880 Ther is noon oother incubus but he,
There is no
other evil spirit but he,
881 And he ne wol doon hem but dishonour.
And he will not
do them any harm except dishonor.
882
And so bifel that this kyng Arthour
And so it
happened that this king Arthur
883 Hadde in his hous a lusty bacheler,
Had in his house
a lusty bachelor,
884 That on a day cam ridynge fro ryver,
That on one day
came riding from hawking,
885 And happed that, allone as he was born,
And it happened
that, alone as he was born,
886 He saugh a mayde walkynge hym biforn,
He saw a maiden
walking before him,
887 Of which mayde anon, maugree hir heed,
Of which maiden
straightway, despite all she could do,
888 By verray force, he rafte hire
maydenhed;
By utter force,
he took away her maidenhead;
889 For which oppressioun was swich clamour
For which wrong
was such clamor
890 And swich pursute unto the kyng Arthour
And such demand
for justice unto king Arthur
891 That dampned was this knyght for to be
deed,
That this knight
was condemned to be dead,
892 By cours of lawe, and sholde han lost
his heed --
By course of
law, and should have lost his head --
893 Paraventure swich was the statut tho --
Perhaps such was
the statute then --
894 But that the queene and other ladyes mo
Except that the
queen and other ladies as well
895 So longe preyeden the kyng of grace
So long prayed
the king for grace
896 Til he his lyf hym graunted in the
place,
Until he granted
him his life right there,
897 And yaf hym to the queene, al at hir
wille,
And gave him to
the queen, all at her will,
898 To chese wheither she wolde hym save or
spille.
To choose
whether she would him save or put to death.
899
The queene thanketh the kyng with al hir myght,
The queen thanks
the king with all her might,
900 And after this thus spak she to the
knyght,
And after this
she spoke thus to the knight,
901 Whan that she saugh hir tyme, upon a
day:
When she saw her
time, upon a day:
902 "Thou standest yet," quod
she, "in swich array
"Thou
standest yet," she said, "in such condition,
903 That of thy lyf yet hastow no suretee.
That of thy life
yet thou hast no assurance
904 I grante thee lyf, if thou kanst tellen
me
I grant thee
life, if thou canst tell me
905 What thyng is it that wommen moost
desiren.
What thing it is
that women most desire.
906 Be war, and keep thy nekke-boon from
iren!
Beware, and keep
thy neck-bone from iron (axe)!
907 And if thou kanst nat tellen it anon,
And if thou
canst not tell it right now,
908 Yet wol I yeve thee leve for to gon
Yet I will give
thee leave to go
909 A twelf-month and a day, to seche and
leere
A twelvemonth
and a day, to seek to learn
910 An answere suffisant in this mateere;
A satisfactory
answer in this matter;
911 And suretee wol I han, er that thou
pace,
And I will have,
before thou go, a pledge
912 Thy body for to yelden in this
place."
To surrender thy
body in this place."
913
Wo was this knyght, and sorwefully he siketh;
Woe was this
knight, and sorrowfully he sighs;
914 But what! He may nat do al as hym
liketh.
But what! He can
not do all as he pleases.
915 And at the laste he chees hym for to
wende
And at the last
he chose to leave
916 And come agayn, right at the yeres
ende,
And come again,
exactly at the year's end,
917 With swich answere as God wolde hym
purveye;
With such answer
as God would provide him;
918 And taketh his leve, and wendeth forth
his weye.
And takes his
leave, and goes forth on his way.
919
He seketh every hous and every place
He seeks every
house and every place
920 Where as he hopeth for to fynde grace
Where he hopes
to have the luck
921 To lerne what thyng wommen loven moost,
To learn what
thing women love most,
922 But he ne koude arryven in no coost
But he could not
arrive in any region
923 Wher as he myghte fynde in this mateere
Where he might
find in this matter
924 Two creatures accordynge in-feere.
Two creatures
agreeing together.
925 Somme seyde wommen loven best richesse,
Some said women
love riches best,
926 Somme seyde honour, somme seyde
jolynesse,
Some said honor,
some said gaiety,
927 Somme riche array, somme seyden lust
abedde,
Some rich
clothing, some said lust in bed,
928 And oftetyme to be wydwe and wedde.
And frequently
to be widow and wedded.
929 Somme seyde that oure hertes been moost
esed
Some said that
our hearts are most eased
930 Whan that we been yflatered and
yplesed.
When we are
flattered and pleased.
931 He gooth ful ny the sothe, I wol nat
lye.
He goes very
near the truth, I will not lie.
932 A man shal wynne us best with flaterye,
A man shall win
us best with flattery,
933 And with attendance and with bisynesse
And with
attentions and with solicitude
934 Been we ylymed, bothe moore and lesse.
We are caught,
every one of us.
935
And somme seyen that we loven best
And some say
that we love best
936 For to be free and do right as us lest,
To be free and
do just as we please,
937 And that no man repreve us of oure
vice,
And that no man
reprove us for our vices,
938 But seye that we be wise and no thyng
nyce.
But say that we
are wise and not at all silly.
939 For trewely ther is noon of us alle,
For truly there
is not one of us all,
940 If any wight wol clawe us on the galle,
If any one will
scratch us on the sore spot,
941 That we nel kike, for he seith us
sooth.
That we will not
kick back, because he tells us the truth.
942 Assay, and he shal fynde it that so
dooth;
Try it, and
whoever so does shall find it true;
943 For, be we never so vicious withinne,
For, be we never
so vicious within,
944 We wol been holden wise and clene of
synne.
We want to be
considered wise and clean of sin.
945
And somme seyn that greet delit han we
And some say
that we have great delight
946 For to been holden stable, and eek
secree,
To be considered
steadfast, and also (able to keep a) secret,
947 And in o purpos stedefastly to dwelle,
And in one
purpose steadfastly to remain,
948 And nat biwreye thyng that men us
telle.
And not reveal
things that men tell us.
949 But that tale is nat worth a
rake-stele.
But that tale is
not worth a rake handle.
950 Pardee, we wommen konne no thyng hele;
By God, we women
can hide nothing;
951 Witnesse on Myda -- wol ye heere the
tale?
Witness on Midas
-- will you hear the tale?
952
Ovyde, amonges othere thynges smale,
Ovid, among
other small matters,
953 Seyde Myda hadde, under his longe
heres,
Said Midas had,
under his long hair,
954 Growynge upon his heed two asses eres,
Two ass's ears,
growing upon his head,
955 The whiche vice he hydde as he best
myghte
The which vice
he hid as he best could
956 Ful subtilly from every mannes sighte,
Very skillfully
from every man's sight,
957 That, save his wyf, ther wiste of it
namo.
That, except for
his wife, there knew of it no others.
958 He loved hire moost, and trusted hire
also;
He loved her
most, and trusted her also;
959 He preyede hire that to no creature
He prayed her
that to no creature
960 She sholde tellen of his disfigure.
She should tell
of his disfigurement.
961
She swoor him, "Nay"; for al this world to wynne,
She swore him,
"Nay"; for all this world to win,
962 She nolde do that vileynye or synne,
She would not do
that dishonor or sin,
963 To make hir housbonde han so foul a
name.
To make her
husband have so foul a reputation.
964 She nolde nat telle it for hir owene
shame.
She would not
tell it for her own shame.
965 But nathelees, hir thoughte that she
dyde
But nonetheless,
she thought that she would die
966 That she so longe sholde a conseil
hyde;
If she should
hide a secret so long;
967 Hir thoughte it swal so soore aboute
hir herte
She thought it
swelled so sore about her heart
968 That nedely som word hire moste
asterte;
That necessarily
some word must escape her;
969 And sith she dorste telle it to no man,
And since she
dared tell it to no man,
970 Doun to a mareys faste by she ran --
She ran down to
a marsh close by --
971 Til she cam there hir herte was afyre
--
Until she came
there her heart was afire --
972 And as a bitore bombleth in the myre,
And as a bittern
bumbles in the mire,
973 She leyde hir mouth unto the water
doun:
She laid her
mouth down unto the water:
974 "Biwreye me nat, thou water, with
thy soun,"
"Betray me
not, thou water, with thy sound,"
975 Quod she; "to thee I telle it and
namo;
She said;
"to thee I tell it and no others;
976 Myn housbonde hath longe asses erys
two!
My husband has
two long asses ears!
977 Now is myn herte al hool; now is it
oute.
Now is my heart
all whole; now is it out.
978 I myghte no lenger kepe it, out of
doute."
I could no
longer keep it, without doubt."
979 Heere may ye se, thogh we a tyme abyde,
Here you may
see, though we a time abide,
980 Yet out it moot; we kan no conseil
hyde.
Yet out it must
come; we can hide no secret.
981 The remenant of the tale if ye wol
heere,
The remnant of
the tale if you will hear,
982 Redeth Ovyde, and ther ye may it leere.
Read Ovid, and
there you may learn it.
983
This knyght, of which my tale is specially,
This knight, of
whom my tale is in particular,
984 Whan that he saugh he myghte nat come
therby --
When he saw he
might not come to that --
985 This is to seye, what wommen love moost
--
This is to say,
what women love most --
986 Withinne his brest ful sorweful was the
goost.
Within his
breast very sorrowful was the spirit.
987 But hoom he gooth; he myghte nat
sojourne;
But home he goes;
he could not linger;
988 The day was come that homward moste he
tourne.
The day was come
that homeward he must turn.
989 And in his wey it happed hym to ryde,
And in his way
he happened to ride,
990 In al this care, under a forest syde,
In all this
care, near a forest side,
991 Wher as he saugh upon a daunce go
Where he saw
upon a dance go
992 Of ladyes foure and twenty, and yet mo;
Ladies four and
twenty, and yet more;
993 Toward the whiche daunce he drow ful
yerne,
Toward the which
dance he drew very eagerly,
994 In hope that som wysdom sholde he
lerne.
In hope that he
should learn some wisdom.
995 But certeinly, er he cam fully there,
But certainly,
before he came fully there,
996 Vanysshed was this daunce, he nyste
where.
Vanished was
this dance, he knew not where.
997 No creature saugh he that bar lyf,
He saw no
creature that bore life,
998 Save on the grene he saugh sittynge a
wyf --
Save on the
green he saw sitting a woman --
999 A fouler wight ther may no man devyse.
There can no man
imagine an uglier creature.
1000 Agayn the knyght this olde wyf gan ryse,
At the knight's
coming this old wife did rise,
1001 And seyde, "Sire knyght, heer forth ne
lith no wey.
And said,
"Sir knight, there lies no road out of here.
1002 Tel me what that ye seken, by youre fey!
Tell me what you
seek, by your faith!
1003 Paraventure it may the bettre be;
Perhaps it may be
the better;
1004 Thise olde folk kan muchel thyng," quod
she.
These old folk
know many things," she said.
1005
"My leeve mooder," quod this knyght, "certeyn
"My dear
mother," said this knight, "certainly
1006 I nam but deed but if that I kan seyn
I am as good as
dead unless I can say
1007 What thyng it is that wommen moost desire.
What thing it is
that women most desire.
1008 Koude ye me wisse, I wolde wel quite youre
hire."
If you could
teach me, I would well repay you."
1009
"Plight me thy trouthe heere in myn hand," quod she,
"Pledge me
thy word here in my hand," she said,
1010 "The nexte thyng that I requere thee,
"The next
thing that I require of thee,
1011 Thou shalt it do, if it lye in thy myght,
Thou shalt do
it, if it lies in thy power,
1012 And I wol telle it yow er it be nyght."
And I will tell
it to you before it is night."
1013
"Have heer my trouthe," quod the knyght, "I
grante."
"Have here
my pledged word," said the knight, "I agree."
1014 "Thanne," quod she, "I dar me
wel avante
"Then,"
she said, "I dare me well boast
1015 Thy lyf is sauf, for I wol stonde therby;
Thy life is
safe, for I will stand thereby;
1016 Upon my lyf, the queene wol seye as I.
Upon my life,
the queen will say as I.
1017 Lat se which is the proudeste of hem alle
Let's see which
is the proudest of them all
1018 That wereth on a coverchief or a calle
That wears a
kerchief or a hairnet
1019 That dar seye nay of that I shal thee teche.
That dares say
`nay' of what I shall teach thee.
1020 Lat us go forth withouten lenger
speche."
Let us go forth
without longer speech."
1021 Tho rowned she a pistel in his ere,
Then she
whispered a message in his ear,
1022 And bad hym to be glad and have no fere.
And commanded
him to be glad and have no fear.
1023 Whan they be comen to the court, this knyght
When they are come
to the court, this knight
1024 Seyde he had holde his day, as he hadde
hight,
Said he had held
his day, as he had promised,
1025 And redy was his answere, as he sayde.
And his answer
was ready, as he said.
1026 Ful many a noble wyf, and many a mayde,
Very many a
noble wife, and many a maid,
1027 And many a wydwe, for that they been wise,
And many a
widow, because they are wise,
1028 The queene hirself sittynge as a justise,
The queen
herself sitting as a justice,
1029 Assembled been, his answere for to heere;
Are assembled,
to hear his answer;
1030 And afterward this knyght was bode appeere.
And afterward
this knight was commanded to appear.
1031
To every wight comanded was silence,
Silence was
commanded to every person,
1032 And that the knyght sholde telle in audience
And that the
knight should tell in open court
1033 What thyng that worldly wommen loven best.
What thing (it
is) that worldly women love best.
1034 This knyght ne stood nat stille as doth a
best,
This knight
stood not silent as does a beast,
1035 But to his questioun anon answerde
But to his
question straightway answered
1036 With manly voys, that al the court it herde:
With manly
voice, so that all the court heard it:
1037
"My lige lady, generally," quod he,
"My liege
lady, without exception," he said,
1038 "Wommen desiren to have sovereynetee
"Women
desire to have sovereignty
1039 As wel over hir housbond as hir love,
As well over her
husband as her love,
1040 And for to been in maistrie hym above.
And to be in
mastery above him.
1041 This is youre mooste desir, thogh ye me
kille.
This is your
greatest desire, though you kill me.
1042 Dooth as yow list; I am heer at youre
wille."
Do as you
please; I am here subject to your will."
1043 In al the court ne was ther wyf, ne mayde,
In all the court
there was not wife, nor maid,
1044 Ne wydwe that contraried that he sayde,
Nor widow that
denied what he said,
1045 But seyden he was worthy han his lyf.
But said that he
was worthy to have his life.
1046 And with that word up stirte the olde wyf,
And with that
word up sprang the old woman,
1047 Which that the knyght saugh sittynge on the
grene:
Whom the knight
saw sitting on the green:
1048 "Mercy," quod she, "my
sovereyn lady queene!
"Mercy," she said, "my sovereign lady queen!
1049 Er that youre court departe, do me right.
Before your
court departs, do me justice.
1050 I taughte this answere unto the knyght;
I taught this
answer to the knight;
1051 For which he plighte me his trouthe there,
For which he
pledged me his word there,
1052 The firste thyng that I wolde hym requere
The first thing
that I would ask of him
1053 He wolde it do, if it lay in his myghte.
He would do, if
it lay in his power.
1054 Bifore the court thanne preye I thee, sir
knyght,"
Before the court
then I pray thee, sir knight,"
1055 Quod she, "that thou me take unto thy
wyf,
Said she,
"that thou take me as thy wife,
1056 For wel thou woost that I have kept thy lyf.
For well thou
know that I have saved thy life.
1057 If I seye fals, sey nay, upon thy fey!"
If I say false,
say `nay', upon thy faith!"
1058
This knyght answerde, "Allas and weylawey!
This knight
answered, "Alas and woe is me!
1059 I woot right wel that swich was my biheste.
I know right
well that such was my promise.
1060 For Goddes love, as chees a newe requeste!
For God's love,
choose a new request!
1061 Taak al my good and lat my body go."
Take all my
goods and let my body go."
1062
"Nay, thanne," quod she, "I shrewe us bothe two!
"Nay,
then," she said, "I curse both of us two!
1063 For thogh that I be foul, and oold, and poore
For though I am
ugly, and old, and poor
1064 I nolde for al the metal, ne for oore
I would not for
all the metal, nor for ore
1065 That under erthe is grave or lith above,
That under earth
is buried or lies above,
1066 But if thy wyf I were, and eek thy love."
Have anything
except that I were thy wife, and also thy love."
1067
"My love?" quod he, "nay, my dampnacioun!
"My
love?" he said, "nay, my damnation!
1068 Allas, that any of my nacioun
Alas, that any
of my family
1069 Sholde evere so foule disparaged be!"
Should ever be
so foully degraded!"
1070 But al for noght; the ende is this, that he
But all for
naught; the end is this, that he
1071 Constreyned was; he nedes moste hire wedde,
Constrained was;
he must by necessity wed her,
1072 And taketh his olde wyf, and gooth to bedde.
And takes his
old wife, and goes to bed.
1073
Now wolden som men seye, paraventure,
Now would some
men say, perhaps,
1074 That for my necligence I do no cure
That because of
my negligence I make no effort
1075 To tellen yow the joye and al th' array
To tell you the
joy and all the rich display
1076 That at the feeste was that ilke day.
That was at the
(wedding) feast that same day.
1077 To which thyng shortly answeren I shal:
To which thing
shortly I shall answer:
1078 I seye ther nas no joye ne feeste at al;
I say there was
no joy nor feast at all;
1079 Ther nas but hevynesse and muche sorwe.
There was
nothing but heaviness and much sorrow.
1080 For prively he wedded hire on morwe,
For he wedded
her in private in the morning,
1081 And al day after hidde hym as an owle,
And all day
after hid himself like an owl,
1082 So wo was hym, his wyf looked so foule.
So woeful was
he, his wife looked so ugly.
1083
Greet was the wo the knyght hadde in his thoght,
Great was the
woe the knight had in his thought,
1084 Whan he was with his wyf abedde ybroght;
When he was
brought to bed with his wife;
1085 He walweth and he turneth to and fro.
He wallows and
he turns to and fro.
1086 His olde wyf lay smylynge everemo,
His old wife lay
smiling evermore,
1087 And seyde, "O deere housbonde,
benedicitee!
And said,
"O dear husband, bless me!
1088 Fareth every knyght thus with his wyf as ye?
Does every
knight behave thus with his wife as you do?
1089 Is this the lawe of kyng Arthures hous?
Is this the law
of king Arthur's house?
1090 Is every knyght of his so dangerous?
Is every knight
of his so aloof?
1091 I am youre owene love and youre wyf;
I am your own
love and your wife;
1092 I am she which that saved hath youre lyf,
I am she who has
saved your life,
1093 And, certes, yet ne dide I yow nevere
unright;
And, certainly,
I did you never wrong yet;
1094 Why fare ye thus with me this firste nyght?
Why behave you
thus with me this first night?
1095 Ye faren lyk a man had lost his wit.
You act like a
man who had lost his wit.
1096 What is my gilt? For Goddes love, tel it,
What is my
offense? For God's love, tell it,
1097 And it shal been amended, if I may."
And it shall be
amended, if I can."
1098
"Amended?" quod this knyght, "Allas, nay, nay!
"Amended?" said this knight, "Alas, nay, nay!
1099 It wol nat been amended nevere mo.
It will not be
amended ever more.
1100 Thou art so loothly, and so oold also,
Thou art so
loathsome, and so old also,
1101 And therto comen of so lough a kynde,
And moreover
descended from such low born lineage,
1102 That litel wonder is thogh I walwe and wynde.
That little
wonder is though I toss and twist about.
1103 So wolde God myn herte wolde breste!"
So would God my
heart would burst!"
1104
"Is this," quod she, "the cause of youre
unreste?"
"Is
this," she said, "the cause of your distress?"
1105
"Ye, certeinly," quod he, "no wonder is."
"Yes,
certainly," he said, "it is no wonder."
1106
"Now, sire," quod she, "I koude amende al this,
"Now,
sir," she said, "I could amend all this,
1107 If that me liste, er it were dayes thre,
If I pleased,
before three days were past,
1108 So wel ye myghte bere yow unto me.
Providing that
you might behave well towards me.
1109
"But, for ye speken of swich gentillesse
"But, since
you speak of such nobility
1110 As is descended out of old richesse,
As is descended
out of old riches,
1111 That therfore sholden ye be gentil men,
That therefore
you should be noble men,
1112 Swich arrogance is nat worth an hen.
Such arrogance
is not worth a hen.
1113 Looke who that is moost vertuous alway,
Look who is most
virtuous always,
1114 Pryvee and apert, and moost entendeth ay
In private and
public, and most intends ever
1115 To do the gentil dedes that he kan;
To do the noble
deeds that he can;
1116 Taak hym for the grettest gentil man.
Take him for the
greatest noble man.
1117 Crist wole we clayme of hym oure gentillesse,
Christ wants us
to claim our nobility from him,
1118 Nat of oure eldres for hire old richesse.
Not from our
ancestors for their old riches.
1119 For thogh they yeve us al hir heritage,
For though they
give us all their heritage,
1120 For which we clayme to been of heigh parage,
For which we
claim to be of noble lineage,
1121 Yet may they nat biquethe for no thyng
Yet they can not
bequeath by any means
1122 To noon of us hir vertuous lyvyng,
To any of us
their virtuous living,
1123 That made hem gentil men ycalled be,
That made them
be called noble men,
1124 And bad us folwen hem in swich degree.
And commanded us
to follow them in such matters.
1125
"Wel kan the wise poete of Florence,
"Well can
the wise poet of Florence,
1126 That highte Dant, speken in this sentence.
Who is called
Dante, speak on this matter.
1127 Lo, in swich maner rym is Dantes tale:
Lo, in such sort
of rime is Dante's speech:
1128 `Ful selde up riseth by his branches smale
`Very seldom
grows up from its small branches
1129 Prowesse of man, for God, of his goodnesse,
Nobility of man,
for God, of his goodness,
1130 Wole that of hym we clayme oure gentillesse';
Wants us to
claim our nobility from him';
1131 For of oure eldres may we no thyng clayme
For from our
ancestors we can claim no thing
1132 But temporel thyng, that man may hurte and
mayme.
Except temporal
things, that may hurt and injure a man.
1133
"Eek every wight woot this as wel as I,
"Also every
person knows this as well as I,
1134 If gentillesse were planted natureelly
If nobility were
planted naturally
1135 Unto a certeyn lynage doun the lyne,
Unto a certain
lineage down the line,
1136 Pryvee and apert thanne wolde they nevere
fyne
Then in private
and in public they would never cease
1137 To doon of gentillesse the faire office;
To do the just
duties of nobility;
1138 They myghte do no vileynye or vice.
They could do no
dishonor or vice.
1139
"Taak fyr and ber it in the derkeste hous
"Take fire
and bear it in the darkest house
1140 Bitwix this and the mount of Kaukasous,
Between this and
the mount of Caucasus,
1141 And lat men shette the dores and go thenne;
And let men shut
the doors and go away;
1142 Yet wole the fyr as faire lye and brenne
Yet will the
fire as brightly blaze and burn
1143 As twenty thousand men myghte it biholde;
As if twenty
thousand men might it behold;
1144 His office natureel ay wol it holde,
Its natural
function it will always hold,
1145 Up peril of my lyf, til that it dye.
On peril of my
life (I say), until it dies.
1146
"Heere may ye se wel how that genterye
"Here may
you see well that nobility
1147 Is nat annexed to possessioun,
Is not joined
with possession,
1148 Sith folk ne doon hir operacioun
Since folk not
do behave as they should
1149 Alwey, as dooth the fyr, lo, in his kynde.
Always, as does
the fire, lo, in its nature.
1150 For, God it woot, men may wel often fynde
For, God knows
it, men may well often find
1151 A lordes sone do shame and vileynye;
A lord's son
doing shame and dishonor;
1152 And he that wole han pris of his gentrye,
And he who will
have praise for his noble birth,
1153 For he was boren of a gentil hous
Because he was
born of a noble house
1154 And hadde his eldres noble and vertuous,
And had his
noble and virtuous ancestors,
1155 And nel hymselven do no gentil dedis
And will not
himself do any noble deeds
1156 Ne folwen his gentil auncestre that deed is,
Nor follow his
noble ancestry that is dead,
1157 He nys nat gentil, be he duc or erl,
He is not noble,
be he duke or earl,
1158 For vileyns synful dedes make a cherl.
For churlish
sinful deeds make a churl.
1159 For gentillesse nys but renomee
For nobility is
nothing but renown
1160 Of thyne auncestres, for hire heigh bountee,
Of thy
ancestors, for their great goodness,
1161 Which is a strange thyng to thy persone.
Which is a thing
not naturally part of thy person.
1162 Thy gentillesse cometh fro God allone.
Thy nobility
comes from God alone.
1163 Thanne comth oure verray gentillesse of
grace;
Then our true
nobility comes from grace ;
1164 It was no thyng biquethe us with oure place.
It was not at
all bequeathed to us with our social rank.
1165
"Thenketh hou noble, as seith Valerius,
"Think how
noble, as says Valerius,
1166 Was thilke Tullius Hostillius,
Was that same
Tullius Hostillius,
1167 That out of poverte roos to heigh noblesse.
That out of poverty
rose to high nobility.
1168 Reedeth Senek, and redeth eek Boece;
Read Seneca, and
read also Boethius;
1169 Ther shul ye seen expres that it no drede is
There shall you
see clearly that it is no doubt
1170 That he is gentil that dooth gentil dedis.
That he is noble
who does noble deeds.
1171 And therfore, leeve housbonde, I thus
conclude:
And therefore,
dear husband, I thus conclude:
1172 Al were it that myne auncestres were rude,
Although it is
so that my ancestors were rude,
1173 Yet may the hye God, and so hope I,
Yet may the high
God, and so hope I,
1174 Grante me grace to lyven vertuously.
Grant me grace
to live virtuously.
1175 Thanne am I gentil, whan that I bigynne
Then am I noble,
when I begin
1176 To lyven vertuously and weyve synne.
To live
virtuously and abandon sin.
1177
"And ther as ye of poverte me repreeve,
"And
whereas you reprove me for poverty,
1178 The hye God, on whom that we bileeve,
The high God, on
whom we believe,
1179 In wilful poverte chees to lyve his lyf.
In voluntary
poverty chose to live his life.
1180 And certes every man, mayden, or wyf
And certainly
every man, maiden, or woman
1181 May understonde that Jhesus, hevene kyng,
Can understand
that Jesus, heaven's king,
1182 Ne wolde nat chese a vicious lyvyng.
Would not choose
a vicious form of living.
1183 Glad poverte is an honest thyng, certeyn;
Glad poverty is
an honest thing, certain;
1184 This wole Senec and othere clerkes seyn.
This will Seneca
and other clerks say.
1185 Whoso that halt hym payd of his poverte,
Whoever
considers himself satisfied with his poverty,
1186 I holde hym riche, al hadde he nat a sherte.
I consider him
rich, although he had not a shirt.
1187 He that coveiteth is a povre wight,
He who covets is
a poor person,
1188 For he wolde han that is nat in his myght;
For he would
have that which is not in his power;
1189 But he that noght hath, ne coveiteth have,
But he who has
nothing, nor covets to have anything,
1190 Is riche, although ye holde hym but a knave.
Is rich,
although you consider him but a knave.
1191 Verray poverte, it syngeth proprely;
True poverty, it
rightly sings;
1192 Juvenal seith of poverte myrily:
Juvenal says of
poverty merrily:
1193 `The povre man, whan he goth by the weye,
`The poor man,
when he goes along the roadway,
1194 Bifore the theves he may synge and pleye.'
Before the
thieves he may sing and play.'
1195 Poverte is hateful good and, as I gesse,
Poverty is a
hateful good and, as I guess,
1196 A ful greet bryngere out of bisynesse;
A very great
remover of cares;
1197 A greet amendere eek of sapience
A great amender
also of wisdom
1198 To hym that taketh it in pacience.
To him that
takes it in patience.
1199 Poverte is this, although it seme alenge:
Poverty is this,
although it may seem miserable:
1200 Possessioun that no wight wol chalenge.
A possession
that no one will challenge.
1201 Poverte ful ofte, whan a man is lowe,
Poverty very
often, when a man is low,
1202 Maketh his God and eek hymself to knowe.
Makes him know
his God and also himself.
1203 Poverte a spectacle is, as thynketh me,
Poverty is an
eye glass, as it seems to me,
1204 Thurgh which he may his verray freendes see.
Through which
one may see his true friends.
1205 And therfore, sire, syn that I noght yow
greve,
And therefore,
sir, since I do not injure you,
1206 Of my poverte namoore ye me repreve.
You (should) no
longer reprove me for my poverty.
1207
"Now, sire, of elde ye repreve me;
"Now, sir,
of old age you reprove me;
1208 And certes, sire, thogh noon auctoritee
And certainly,
sir, though no authority
1209 Were in no book, ye gentils of honour
Were in any
book, you gentlefolk of honor
1210 Seyn that men sholde an oold wight doon
favour
Say that men
should be courteous to an old person
1211 And clepe hym fader, for youre gentillesse;
And call him
father, because of your nobility;
1212 And auctours shal I fynden, as I gesse.
And authors
shall I find, as I guess.
1213
"Now ther ye seye that I am foul and old,
"Now where
you say that I am ugly and old,
1214 Than drede you noght to been a cokewold;
Than do not fear
to be a cuckold;
1215 For filthe and eelde, also moot I thee,
For filth and
old age, as I may prosper,
1216 Been grete wardeyns upon chastitee.
Are great
guardians of chastity.
1217 But nathelees, syn I knowe youre delit,
But nonetheless,
since I know your delight,
1218 I shal fulfille youre worldly appetit.
I shall fulfill
your worldly appetite.
1219
"Chese now," quod she, "oon of thise thynges
tweye:
"Choose
now," she said, "one of these two things:
1220 To han me foul and old til that I deye,
To have me ugly and
old until I die,
1221 And be to yow a trewe, humble wyf,
And be to you a
true, humble wife,
1222 And nevere yow displese in al my lyf,
And never
displease you in all my life,
1223 Or elles ye wol han me yong and fair,
Or else you will
have me young and fair,
1224 And take youre aventure of the repair
And take your
chances of the crowd
1225 That shal be to youre hous by cause of me,
That shall be at
your house because of me,
1226 Or in som oother place, may wel be.
Or in some other
place, as it may well be.
1227 Now chese yourselven, wheither that yow
liketh."
Now choose
yourself, whichever you please."
1228
This knyght avyseth hym and sore siketh,
This knight
deliberates and painfully sighs,
1229 But atte laste he seyde in this manere:
But at the last
he said in this manner:
1230 "My lady and my love, and wyf so deere,
"My lady
and my love, and wife so dear,
1231 I put me in youre wise governance;
I put me in your
wise governance;
1232 Cheseth youreself which may be moost plesance
Choose yourself
which may be most pleasure
1233 And moost honour to yow and me also.
And most honor
to you and me also.
1234 I do no fors the wheither of the two,
I do not care
which of the two,
1235 For as yow liketh, it suffiseth me."
For as it
pleases you, is enough for me."
1236
"Thanne have I gete of yow maistrie," quod she,
"Then have
I gotten mastery of you," she said,
1237 "Syn I may chese and governe as me
lest?"
"Since I
may choose and govern as I please?"
1238
"Ye, certes, wyf," quod he, "I holde it
best."
"Yes,
certainly, wife," he said, "I consider it best."
1239
"Kys me," quod she, "we be no lenger wrothe,
"Kiss
me," she said, "we are no longer angry,
1240 For, by my trouthe, I wol be to yow bothe --
For, by my
troth, I will be to you both --
1241 This is to seyn, ye, bothe fair and good.
This is to say,
yes, both fair and good.
1242 I prey to God that I moote sterven wood,
I pray to God
that I may die insane
1243 But I to yow be also good and trewe
Unless I to you
be as good and true
1244 As evere was wyf, syn that the world was
newe.
As ever was
wife, since the world was new.
1245 And but I be to-morn as fair to seene
And unless I am
tomorrow morning as fair to be seen
1246 As any lady, emperice, or queene,
As any lady,
empress, or queen,
1247 That is bitwixe the est and eke the west,
That is between
the east and also the west,
1248 Dooth with my lyf and deth right as yow lest.
Do with my life
and death right as you please.
1249 Cast up the curtyn, looke how that it
is."
Cast up the
curtain, look how it is."
1250
And whan the knyght saugh verraily al this,
And when the
knight saw truly all this,
1251 That she so fair was, and so yong therto,
That she so was
beautiful, and so young moreover,
1252 For joye he hente hire in his armes two.
For joy he
clasped her in his two arms.
1253 His herte bathed in a bath of blisse.
His heart bathed
in a bath of bliss.
1254 A thousand tyme a-rewe he gan hire kisse,
A thousand time
in a row he did her kiss,
1255 And she obeyed hym in every thyng
And she obeyed
him in every thing
1256 That myghte doon hym plesance or likyng.
That might do
him pleasure or enjoyment.
1257
And thus they lyve unto hir lyves ende
And thus they
live unto their lives' end
1258 In parfit joye; and Jhesu Crist us sende
In perfect joy;
and Jesus Christ us send
1259 Housbondes meeke, yonge, and fressh abedde,
Husbands meek,
young, and vigorous in bed,
1260 And grace t' overbyde hem that we wedde;
And grace to
outlive them whom we wed;
1261 And eek I praye Jhesu shorte hir lyves
And also I pray
Jesus shorten their lives
1262 That noght wol be governed by hir wyves;
That will not be
governed by their wives;
1263 And olde and angry nygardes of dispence,
And old and
angry misers in spending,
1264 God sende hem soone verray pestilence!
God send them
soon the very pestilence!
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