Here bygynneth the Book of the tales of Caunterbury From Ch Here bigynneth the prolog of this book the which is namede the talis of Cauntur bury in the whiche pro log thautour openly declarith the names of alle the pilgremes there condicions and there array
From Ha2 Here begynneth the book . of tales of Caunterburye . compiled by Geffraie Chaucers . of Brytayne chef poete .From Ha3 ¶ O yee so noble and worthi pryncis and princesse
Oþer estatis or degrees · what euer yee beo þᵗat haue
Disposicione or plesaunce · to rede or here þe stories
Of olde tymis Passed to kepe yow frome ydelnesse
And slowþe · mescheuing oþer folies þat might
Be cause of more harome filowyng / vowcheth sauf
I be seche yowe to fynde yowe occupacioıı̄un in þe Reding
Here of þe tales / of Caunterburye wiche beon
Compilid / in þis boke filowing First foundid yma
Genid and made / boþe for disporte and leornyng
Of aƚƚlle þoo that beon gentile of birthe or of cōndicoıı̄uns
By þe laureal and moste famous poete þat euer /
Was to fore him as in þemvelisshing of oure rude
Moders englisshe tonge · clepid Chaucyer a Gavfrede
Of whos soule · god · for his mercy have pitee of his
Grace Amen
¶ Nowe here firste begynnyþe þe prologe of þe
kneytis tale
From Ch Incipit liber Galfridi Chaucer de gestis peregrinorum versus CantuariamFrom Cx2 GRete thankes lawde and honour / ought to be gy-
uen vnto the clerkes / poetes / and historiographs
that haue wreton many noble bokes of wysedom
of the lyues / passiōms / ⁊and myracles of holy sayntes
of hystoryes / of noble and famous Actes / and
faittes / And of the cronycles sith the begynnyng
of the creacion of the world / vnto thys present tyme / by whyche
we ben dayly enformed / and haue knowleche of many thynges /
of whom we shold not haue knowen / yf they had not left to vs
theyr monumentis wreton / Emong whom and inespecial to fore
alle other we ought to gyue a synguler laude vnto that noble ⁊and
grete philosopher Gefferey chaucer the whiche for his ornate wry-
tyng in our tongue maye wel haue the name of a laureate poe-
te / For to fore that he by hys labour enbelysshyd / ornated / and
made faire our englisshe / in thys Royame was had rude speche ⁊and
incongrue / as yet it appiereth by olde bookes / whyche at thys day
ought not to haue place ne be compred emōmg ne to hys beaute-
uous volumes / and aournate writynges / of whom he made ma-
ny bokes and treatyces of many a noble historye as wel in me-
tre as in ryme and prose / and them so craftyly made / that he cōm-
prehended hys maters in short / quyck and hye sentences / es-
chewyng prolyxyte / castyng away the chaf of superfluyte / and
shewyng the pyked grayn of sentence / vtteryd by crafty and su-
gred eloquence / of whom emong all other of hys bokes / I pur-
pose temprynte by the grace of god the book of the tales of caun
tyrburye / in whiche I fynde many a noble hystorye / of euery asta
te and degre / fyrst rehercyng the condictiōms / and tharraye of eche
of them as properly as possyble is to be sayd / And after theyr
tales whyche ben of noblesse / wysedom / gentylesse / Myrthe / and
also of veray holynesse and vertue / wherin he fynysshyth thys
sayd booke / whyche book I haue dylygently ouersen and duly
examyned to thende that it be made acordyng vnto his owen ma
kyng / for I fynde many of the sayd bookes / whyche wry -
ters haue abrydgyd it and many thynges left out / And in
som̄e place haue sette certayn versys / that he neuer made ne sette
in hys booke / of whyche bookes so incorrecte was one brought to
me vj yere passyd / whyche I supposed had ben veray true ⁊and cor-
recte / And accordyng to the same I dyde do enprynte a certayn
nombre of them / whyche anon were sold to many and dyuerse
gentyl men / of whome one gentylman cam to me / and said that
this book was not accordyng in many places vnto the book that
Gefferey chaucer had made / To whom I answerd that I had ma-
de it accordyng to my copye / and by me was nothyng added ne
mynusshyd / Thenne he sayd he knewe a book whyche hys fader
had and moche louyd / that was very trewe / and accordyng vn-
to hys owen first book by hym made / and sayd more yf I wold
enprynte it agayn he wold gete me the same book for a copye /
how be it he wyst wel / that hys fader wold not gladly departe
fro it / To whom I said / in caas that he coude gete me suche a book
trewe and correcte / yet I wold ones endeuoyre me to enprynte it
agayn / for to saysfye thauctour / where as to fore by ygnouraūnce
I erryd in hurtyng and dyffamyng his book in dyuerce places
in settyng in some thynges that he neuer sayd ne made / and le -
utyng out many thynges that he made whyche ben requysite to be
sette in it / And thys we fyll at accord / And he ful gentylly
gate of hys fader the said book / and delyuerd it to me / by whiche
I haue corrected my book / as here after alle alonge by thayde of
almyghty god shal folowe / whom I humbly beseche to gyue me
grace and ayde to achyeue / and accomplysshe / to hys lawde ho -
nour and glorye / and that alle ye that shal in thys book rede or
heere / wyll of your charyte emong your dedes of mercy / remem-
bre the sowle of the sayd Gefferey chaucer first auctour / and ma
ker of thys book / And also that alle we that shal see and rede
therin / may so take and vnderstōmde the good and vertuous ta-
les / that it may so prouffyte / vnto the helthe of our sowles / that
after thys short and transitorye lyf we may come to euerlastyng
lyf in heuen / Amen
Whan that Aueryll with his shoures soote
The droghte of March hath perced to the roote
And bathed euery veyne in swich lycour
Of which vertu engendred is the flour
Whan Zephirus eek with his sweete breeth
Inspired hath in euery holt and heeth
The tendre croppes and the yonge sonne
Hath in the Ram his halfe cours yronne
And smale foweles maken melodye
That slepen al the nyght with open iye
So priketh hem nature in hir corages
Thanne longen folk to goon on pilgrymages
And palmeres for to seeken straunge strondes
To ferne halwes kouthe in sondry londes
And specially from euery shyres ende
Of Engelond to Caunterbury they wende
The holy blisful martir for to seke
From HtTo seche the blisful marter that is meke
That hem hath holpen whan that they weere seeke
Bifel that in that sesoun on a day
In Southwerk at the Tabard as I lay
Redy to weenden on my pilgrymage
To Caunterbury with ful deuout corage
At nyght was come into that hostelrye
Wel nyne and twenty in a compaignye
Of sondry folk by auenture yfalle