Today | News | Books | Recipes Adventure | Science Fiction | Ghost stories | Poetry | Children | History Bookther may no man hit preve. But goddes forbode, but men shulde leve 10 +Wel more thing then men han seen with yë! +Men shal nat wenen every-thing a lyë For that he seigh it nat of yore ago. God wot, a thing is never the lesse so +Thogh every wight ne may hit nat y-see. 15 +Bernard the monk ne saugh nat al, parde! +Than mote we to bokes that we finde, +Through which that olde thinges been in minde, +And to the doctrine of these olde wyse, +Yeven credence, in every skilful wyse, 20 And trowen on these olde aproved stories +Of holinesse, of regnes, of victories, +Of love, of hate, of other sundry thinges, +Of whiche I may not maken rehersinges. +And if that olde bokes were a-weye, 25 +Y-loren were of remembraunce the keye. Wel oghte us than on olde bokes leve, Ther-as ther is non other assay by preve. And, as for me, though that my wit be lyte, +On bokes for to rede I me delyte, 30 +And in myn herte have hem in reverence; And to hem yeve swich lust and swich credence, That ther is wel unethe game noon That from my bokes make me to goon, But hit be other up-on the haly-day, 35 Or elles in the Ioly tyme of May; Whan that I here the smale foules singe, +And that the floures ginne for to springe, Farwel my studie, as lasting that sesoun! Now have I therto this condicioun 40 +That, of alle the floures in the mede, +Than love I most these floures whyte and rede, +Swiche as men callen daysies in our toun. +To hem have I so greet affeccioun, +As I seyde erst, whan comen is the May, 45 +That in my bed ther daweth me no day +That I nam up, and walking in the mede To seen these floures agein the sonne sprede, Whan hit up-riseth by the morwe shene, *The longe day, thus walking in the grene. 50 _From_ A. 55-58. This dayesye, of alle floures flour, (B. 53) Fulfild of vertu and of alle honour, +And ever y-lyke fair and fresh of hewe, As wel in winter as in somer newe-- And whan the sonne ginneth for to weste, (B. 61) Than closeth hit, and draweth hit to reste. So sore hit is afered of the night, *Til on the morwe, that hit is dayes light. This dayesye, of alle floures flour, 55 Fulfild of vertu and of alle honour, +And ever y-lyke fair and fresh of hewe, As wel in winter as in somer newe, Fain wolde I preisen, if I coude aright; (B. 67) *But wo is me, hit lyth nat in my might! 60 For wel I wot, that folk han her-beforn (B. 73) +Of making ropen, and lad a-wey the corn; +And I come after, glening here and there, +And am ful glad if I may finde an ere Of any goodly word that they han left. 65 And, if hit happe me rehersen eft That they han in her fresshe songes sayd, I hope that they wil nat ben evel apayd, Sith hit is seid in forthering and honour Of hem that either serven leef or flour. 70 For trusteth wel, I ne have nat undertake As of the leef, ageyn the flour, to make; Ne of the flour to make, ageyn the leef, +No more than of the corn ageyn the sheef. For, as to me, is leefer noon ne lother; 75 I am with-holde yit with never nother. I not who serveth leef, ne who the flour; That nis nothing the entent of my labour. For this werk is al of another tunne, Of olde story, er swich stryf was begunne. 80 +But wherfor that I spak, to yeve credence (B. 97) To bokes olde and doon hem reverence, Is for men shulde autoritees beleve, Ther as ther lyth non other assay by preve. *For myn entent is, or I fro yow fare, 85 *The naked text in English to declare *Of many a story, or elles of many a geste, *As autours seyn; leveth hem if yow leste! Whan passed was almost the month of May, (B. 108) And I had romed, al the someres day, 90 *The grene medew, of which that I yow tolde, Upon the fresshe daysy to beholde, And that the sonne out of the south gan weste, And closed was the flour and goon to reste For derknesse of the night, of which she dredde, 95 +Hoom to myn hous ful swiftly I me spedde; +And, in a litel erber that I have, Y-benched newe with turves fresshe y-grave, +I bad men shulde me my couche make; +For deyntee of the newe someres sake, 100 +I bad hem strowe floures on my bed. +Whan I was layd, and had myn eyen hed, I fel a-slepe with-in an houre or two. Me mette how I was in the medew tho, *And that I romed in that same gyse, 105 To seen that flour, as ye han herd devyse. *Fair was this medew, as thoughte me overal; With floures swote enbrowded was it al; As for to speke of gomme, or erbe, or tree, +Comparisoun may noon y-maked be. 110 For hit surmounted pleynly alle odoures, +And eek of riche beaute alle floures. +Forgeten had the erthe his pore estat +Of winter, that him naked made and mat, And with his swerd of cold so sore had greved. 115 Now had the atempre sonne al that releved, And clothed him in grene al newe agayn. +The smale foules, of the seson fayn, +That from the panter and the net ben scaped, +Upon the fouler, that hem made a-whaped 120 +In winter, and distroyed had hir brood, +In his despyt, hem thoughte hit did hem good +To singe of him, and in hir song despyse +The foule cherl that, for his covetyse, +Had hem betrayed with his sophistrye. 125 +This was hir song--'the fouler we defye!' Somme songen [layes] on the braunches clere (B. 139) Of love and [May], that Ioye hit was to here, In worship and in preysing of hir make, And of the newe blisful someres sake, 130 That songen, 'blissed be seynt Valentyn! (B. 145) [For] at his day I chees yow to be myn, +With-oute repenting, myn herte swete!' +And therwith-al hir bekes gonnen mete. [They dide honour and] humble obeisaunces, 135 And after diden other observaunces Right [plesing] un-to love and to nature; *So ech of hem [doth wel] to creature. *This song to herkne I dide al myn entente, *For-why I mette I wiste what they mente. 140 _From_ A. 90. And I had romed, al the someres day, (B. 180) _From_ A. 92. Up-on the fresshe daysy to beholde. (B. 182) _From_ A. 71-80. For trusteth wel, I ne have nat undertake (B. 188) As of the leef, ageyn the flour, to make; Ne of the flour to make, ageyn the leef, +No more than of the corn ageyn the sheef. For, as to me, is leefer noon ne lother; 75 I am with-holde yit with never nother. I not who serveth leef, ne who the flour; That nis nothing the entent of my labour. For this werk is al of another tunne, Of olde story, er swich stryf was begunne. 80 _From_ A. 93-96. And that the sonne out of the south gan weste, And closed was the flour and goon to reste For derknesse of the night, of which she dredde, +Hoom to myn hous ful swiftly I me spedde _From_ A. 106. To seen that flour, as ye han herd devyse. _From_ A. 97-104. +And, in a litel erber that I have, Y-benched newe with turves fresshe y-grave, +I bad men shulde me my couche make; +For deyntee of the newe someres sake, 100 +I bad hem strowe floures on my bed. +Whan I was layd, and had myn eyen hed, I fel a-slepe within an houre or two. Me mette how I was in the med |