Whan that Aprille with his shoures sote
The droghte of Marche hath perced to the rote,
And bathed every veyne in swich licour,
Of which vertu engendred is the flour;
Whan Zephirus eek with his swete breeth 5
Inspired hath in every holt and heeth
The tendre croppes, and the yonge sonne
Hath in the Ram his halfe cours y-ronne,
And smale fowles maken melodye,
That slepen al the night with open yë, 10
(So priketh hem nature in hir corages):
Than longen folk to goon on pilgrimages
(And palmers for to seken straunge strondes)
To ferne halwes, couthe in sondry londes;
And specially, from every shires ende 15
Of Engelond, to Caunterbury they wende,
The holy blisful martir for to seke,
That hem hath holpen, whan that they were seke.
HEADING. _From_ E. 1. E. hise; _rest_ his. 8. Hl. halfe; _rest_
half. 9. Hl. fowles; Pt. Ln. foules; E. Hn. foweles. 10. Hl. yhe;
Hn. Iye; E. eye. 12. Pt. Ln. Than; E. Thanne. E. pilg_ri_mage (_by
mistake_). 13. Pt. Hl. palmers; E. Palmeres. 16. Hn. Caunter-; E.
Cauntur-. 18. E. seeke.
Bifel that, in that seson on a day,
In Southwerk at the Tabard as I lay 20
Redy to wenden on my pilgrimage
To Caunterbury with ful devout corage,
[2: T. 23-58.]
At night was come in-to that hostelrye
Wel nyne and twenty in a companye,
Of sondry folk, by aventure y-falle 25
In felawshipe, and pilgrims were they alle,
That toward Caunterbury wolden ryde;
The chambres and the stables weren wyde,
And wel we weren esed atte beste.
And shortly, whan the sonne was to reste, 30
So hadde I spoken with hem everichon,
That I was of hir felawshipe anon,
And made forward erly for to ryse,
To take our wey, ther as I yow devyse.
19. Hn. Bifel; E. Bifil. 23. E. were; _rest_ was. 24. E. Hn.
compaignye. 26, 32. E. felaweship_e_. Hl. pilgryms; E. pilgrimes.
34. E. oure.
But natheles, whyl I have tyme and space, 35
Er that I ferther in this tale pace,
Me thinketh it acordaunt to resoun,
To telle yow al the condicioun
Of ech of hem, so as it semed me,
And whiche they weren, and of what degree; 40
And eek in what array that they were inne:
And at a knight than wol I first biginne.