Canterbury Tales (Barnes & Noble Classics Series)

by Geoffrey Chaucer

  Have heard; I need not tell it more.

  “Oh mercy, dear father!” said this maid;

  And with that word she both her arms laid

  About his nekke, as she was wont to do:

  The tres broste out of hir eyen two,

  And seyde, “gode fader, shal I dye?

  Is ther no grace? is there no remedye?”

  “No, certes, dere doghter myn,” quod he.

  “Thanne yif me leyser, fader myn,” quod she,

  “My deeth for to compleyne a litel space;

  For pardee, Jepte yaf his doghter grace

  For to compleyne, er he hir slow, alias!

  And god it woot, no-thing was hir trespas,

  But for she ran hir fader first to see,

  To welcome him with greet solempnitee.”

  And with that word she fil aswoyne anon,

  And after, whan hir swowning is agon,

  She ryseth up, and to hir fader sayde,

  “Blessed be god, that I shal dye a mayde.

  Yif me my deeth, er that I have a shame;

  Doth with your child your wil, a goddes name!”

  And with that word she preyed him ful ofte,

  That with his swerd he wolde smyte softe,

  And with that word aswowne doun she fil.

  Hir fader, with ful sorweful herte and wil,

  Hir heed of smoot, and by the top it hente,

  And to the juge he gan it to presente,

  As he sat yet in doom in consistorie.

  And whan the juge it saugh, as seith the storie,

  He bad to take him and anhange him faste.

  But right anon a thousand peple in thraste,

  To save the knight, for routhe and for pitee,

  For knowen was the false iniquitee.

  The peple anon hath suspect of this thing,

  By manere of the cherles chalanging,

  That it was by th‘assent of Apius;

  They wisten wel that he was lecherous.

  For which un-to this Apius they gon,

  And caste him in a prison right anon,

  Wher-as he slow him-self; and Claudius,

  That servant was un-to this Apius,

  Was demed for to hange upon a tree;

  About his neck, as she was wont to do.

  The tears burst out of her eyes two,

  And said, “Good father, shall I die?

  Is there no grace, is there no remedy?”

  “No, certainly, dear daughter mine,” said he.

  “Then give me leisure, father mine,” said she,

  “My death to complain a little while;

  For, by God, Jephtha gave his daughter grace8

  To complain, before he her slew, alas!

  And, God it knows, no thing was her trespass,

  But she ran her father first to see,

  To welcome him with great solemnity.”

  And with that word she fell aswoon anon,

  And after, when her swooning was gone,

  She rose up, and to her father said,

  “Blessed be God that I shall die a maid!

  Give me my death, before I have a shame;

  Do with your child your will, in God’s name!”

  And with that word she prayed him full often

  That with his sword he would smite soft;

  And with that word a-swooning down she fell.

  Her father, with full sorrowful heart and will,

  Her head off smote, and held it by the hair,

  And to the judge he began to present it,

  As he sat giving judgement in his court.

  And when the judge it saw, as says the story,

  He bade to take him and hang him fast;

  But right anon a thousand people in thrust,

  To save the knight, for mercy and pity,

  For known was the false iniquity.

  The people had anon suspected this thing,

  By reason of the churl’s claiming,

  That it was by the assent of Apius;

  They knew well that he was lecherous.

  For which unto Apius they were gone

  And cast him in a prison right anon,

  There where he slew himself; and Claudius,

  Who servant was unto this Apius,

  Was deemed to hang upon a tree,

  But that Virginius, of his pitee,

  So preyde for him that he was exyled;

  And elles, certes, he had been bigyled.

  The remenant were anhanged, more and lesse,

  That were consentant of this cursednesse.—

  Heer men may seen how sinne hath his meryte!

  Beth war, for no man woot whom god wol smyte

  In no degree, ne in which maner wyse

  The worm of conscience may agryse

  Of wikked lyf, though it so privee be,

  That no man woot ther-of but god and he.

  For be he lewed man, or elles lered,

  He noot how sone that he shal been afered.

  Therfore I rede yow this conseil take,

  Forsaketh sinne, er sinne yow forsake.

  But Virginius, of his pity,

  So prayed for him that he was exiled,

  Otherwise, certainly, would he have been killed.

  The remainder were hanged, more and less,

  Who had consented in this cursedness.

  Here may men see how sin is repaid.

  Beware, for no man knows who God will smite

  In any way, nor in what manner;

  The worm of conscience may writhe inside

  The wicked, though it so secret be

  That no man knows thereof but God and he.

  For be he an unlearned man, or else learned,

  He knows not how soon that he shall be stricken.

  Therefore I advise you now this counsel take:

  Forsake sin, before your sins you forsake.

  Endnotes

  The General Prologue

  1 (p. 3) The holy blissful martyr: Saint Thomas Becket, archbishop of Canterbury, was assassinated in Canterbury Cathedral on December 29, 1170. The place where he was martyred quickly became one of Europe’s most popular pilgrimage sites.

  2 (p. 3) Tabard: The Tabard is an inn in Southwark, a district across the Thames from London.

  3 (p. 3) anon: At once, soon, shortly; the word occurs often in both Chaucer and Shakespeare.

  4 (p. 5) A Knight there was: The list of battles that follows spans many decades, perhaps more than a single knight could be assumed to have undertaken, but all were places in which English knights fought during the fourteenth century, either as crusaders or in support of the ambitions of English or other rulers.

  5 (p. 7) Flanders, Artois and Picardy: These are places where the English campaigned during the so-called Hundred Years’ War. The references here are probably to an abortive “crusade” against Flemish schismatics led by Bishop Dispencer of Norwich.

  6 (p. 9) Stratford at Bow: The Benedictine Nunnery of Saint Leonard’s was located here, about two miles from London.

  7 (p. 11) Amor vincit omnia: This translates from the Latin as “love conquers all” (from Virgil’s Eclogues 10.69). The phrase originally referred to erotic passion, but also was used in medieval Christian discourse.

  8 (p. 11) The rule of Saint Maurus or of Saint Benedict: Benedict of Nursia (c.480—c.543) composed the Rule that came to be the authoritative document governing the life of Western European Christian monks. Saint Maurus was an influential follower of Benedict.

  9 (p. 11) Augustine: Saint Augustine of Hippo (354-430), an influential Church father, was the supposed author of a monastic rule followed by the religious order of Augustinian canons.

  10 (p. 13) A Friar: A member of one of the four fraternal or mendicant orders, founded in the thirteenth century to combat heresy and to preach the faith to the largely ignorant laity of the Catholic Church. Originally they were to live in poverty, constantly moving from place to place and surviving by beggi
ng.

  11 (p. 13) power of confession: During the thirteenth century, the Papacy allowed members of the mendicant orders to hear confessions, modifying the rule that laypeople could confess only to their parish priest. Because it was customary to offer a small donation to one’s confessor after confessing one’s sins, the parish clergy resented the intrusion of the friars and collaborated in the accusation that friars gave easy penances in return for larger donations (the sin of simony).

  12 (p. 15) And gave a certain payment for the grant: A friar would be granted by his order a certain area (his “ferme”) in which to beg, from which he was expected to raise a certain amount (his “rente”). No other friars could beg in this area, and if the friar made more (his “purchas”) than his assigned “rente,” he sometimes kept the excess (improperly).

  13 (p. 15) In principio: “In the beginning...” (Latin).

  14 (p. 15) scholar: Modernized from “Clerk” in Middle English.

  15 (p. 17) Middleburgh and Orowelle: Dutch and English ports, respectively, crucial to the export of wool and other commodities by English merchants in the late fourteenth century.

  16 (p.19) Sergeant of the Law: One of a small group of powerful lawyers entitled to hear and argue the most important legal cases.

  17 (p. 19) parvis: From the French word paradise. The porch of Saint Paul’s Cathedral in London, where clients came to consult with sergeants on legal matters.

  18 (p. 19) assizes cases: Only sergeants could serve on assizes courts, which had jurisdiction over civil cases in English counties.

  19 (p. 19) Franklin: A landholder of free but not noble status; many such men became rich and prominent after the Plague of 1348-1349 made land available for purchase by survivors.

  20 (p. 19) Of his temperament he was sanguine: The theory of humors divided people into four groups, each dominated by a specific “humor” (bodily fluid) that determined their physical features and temperament. The Franklin’s behavior, as described in his “portrait,” accords with the sanguine (blood-dominated) humor.

  21 (p. 19) Saint Julian: Patron saint of hospitality.

  22 (p. 21 ) His table ... for his dinner set: Boards set upon trestles served as tables for meals in the great hall of a castle. Normally the tables were disassembled after each meal; the Franklin leaves his tables permanently assembled as a sign of his readiness to entertain all comers.

  23 (p. 21) parish guild: An association of people from one or more trades and professions, attached to a parish church where they hold periodic services under the protection of the patron saint of the parish. Parish guilds also levied membership fees that were then used to make contributions to the widows of guild members and to support sick and destitute members.

  24 (p. 23) Shipman: Ship captain.

  25 (p. 23) the signs for his patient: Medieval medicine made use of astrological lore as well as the theory of humors in its treatment of the sick and injured.

  26 (p. 25) The old Aesculapius ... and Gilbert: This passage lists a pantheon of classical and Arabic medieval medical theorists and practitioners.

  27 (p. 25) Of clothmaking ... Ypres and Ghent: In the late fourteenth century, English cloth began to be exported in large quantities, in competition with the cloth manufactured in the Flemish towns of Ypres and Ghent. As a cloth-maker or clothier, the Wife of Bath is an entrepreneur who presides over the production of cloth by many cottage workers, then collects and sells the finished product to merchants who will market it in England or abroad.

  28 (p. 25) certain so angry ... out of charity: This is a charge frequently made against women in misogynist literary discourse.

  29 (p. 25) Husbands at church door: In much of medieval Europe, weddings were celebrated with a priest in attendance, but at the front door of the church rather than at the altar.

  30 (p. 27) To Rome she had been . . . : The list that follows includes several popular European pilgrimage destinations.

  31 (p. 27) excommunicate for his tithes: Laypeople were expected by the Church to commit a portion of their income (usually one-tenth) to support the parish priest. Many resented the necessity of tithing.

  32 (p. 29) chantry-priest ... chaplain for a guild: A chantry-priest was employed by a wealthy family to say masses periodically for deceased members of the family buried within a private (chantry) chapel within a church. Parish guilds required the services of a priest to say mass for the deceased members of the guild. In the years following the plague, some poorly paid country parish priests decamped for London, where they could earn better pay as employees of guilds or well-to-do urban families.

  33 (p. 29) Plowman: Farmhand.

  34 (p. 31) Reeve: The head serf of an estate, who functioned as the manager or accountant for the property.

  35 (p. 31) Summoner: The official who brought wrongdoers before the ecclesiastical court, in this instance having to do with matrimony, adultery, and fornication.

  36 (p. 31) Pardoner: A pardoner sold papal indulgences (pardons for sinners); some pardoners were frauds.

  37 (p. 31) Manciple: Steward; purchaser of provisions and keeper of accounts.

  38 (p. 35) Questio quid iuris: The question is, what point of law applies? (Latin).

  39 (p. 35) the Archdeacon’s curse: The archdeacon was the diocesan official responsible for the operation of the ecclesiastical courts in that diocese.

  40 (p. 37) Rouncival: Saint Mary Rouncival was a hospital at Charing Cross, at that time outside London, that used pardoners to raise the money needed for its operation. Donations to the hospital would earn the donor remission of some of the purgatorial pain he or she would otherwise encounter. The system was subject to abuse.

  41 (p. 37) A veronica: A badge showing that the wearer had made a pilgrimage to Rome. It depicted the cloth that Veronica used to wipe the face of Christ during his Passion; an image of Christ’s face was believed to have been imprinted on the cloth.

  42 (p. 39) Bell: The Bell Inn.

  43 (p. 41) And Plato says ... The words must be cousin to the deed: The phrase is originally from Plato’s Timaeus, which Chaucer could have known in the Latin translation by Calcidius; it is repeated in Boethius’ Consolation of Philosophy, which Chaucer translated.

  44 (p. 45) Saint Thomas a Watering: The reference is to a brook a short distance outside London on the Canterbury road.

  The Knight’s Tale

  1 (p. 51) Fortune and her false wheel: Medieval images of the goddess Fortune characteristically depict her with an ever-turning wheel on which she places great rulers, who first rise on it, then inevitably fall off it as it revolves.

  2 (p. 53) king Capaneus: One of seven kings who, according to classical legend, attacked the city of Thebes. The lore about Thebes in “The Knight’s Tale” is based on Statius’ Roman epic the Thebaid, directly or through the mediation of Boccaccio’s romance epic Il Teseida, on which Chaucer’s tale is based.

  3 (p. 55) The Minotaur: A mythical creature, half human, half bull, slain by Theseus as a young man, with the help of Ariadne, whom he promised to marry but later abandoned on the island of Naxos. The story was widely known in classical antiquity

  4 (p. 61) Some wicked aspect ... some constellation: Astrology is based on the belief that the interaction of planets with the constellations they pass through in the night sky has profound effects on human lives.

  5 (p. 65) A worthy duke named Perotheus: The friendship of Theseus and Pirithous was reported in a number of classical sources, which do not, however, include a journey to the underworld to rescue a dead friend.

  6 (p. 73) Juno, jealous, angry and wild: Chaucer derives Juno’s hatred of Thebes from the Thebaid, where the goddess is depicted as furious with Jupiter for his love affairs with Theban women.

  7 (p. 83) “In hope that I something green may get”: This is an oblique reference to the fact that young men and women went into the woods to celebrate May and along the way managed to get “green” on their clothes from lying on the grass to make love. Compare the famous English
carol “Greensleeves.”

  8 (p. 83) Seldom is Friday like the week’s other days: In folklore, Friday was the most changeable day of the week.

  9 (p. 89) Who stood in the clearing with a spear: In hunting ferocious animals, beaters and dogs formed a circle around the beast’s lair, leaving a gap through which it would seek to escape, but at which those responsible for killing it would wait with their weapons.

  10 (p. 97) benedicite: God bless you (Latin).

  11 (p. 103) a cuckoo sitting on her hand: In medieval popular culture, the cuckoo, which laid its eggs in other birds’ nests, was a symbol of the cuckolded husband.

  12 (p. 105) the mount of Cythaeron: A confusion with the island of Cytherea, traditional home of Venus in classical legend.

  13 (p. 105) Medea and Circe: A mortal woman and a goddess, respectively, famous in classical legend as practitioners of sorcery to gain power over mortal lovers.

  14 (p. 105) Turnus: Aeneas’ rival for the hand of Lavinia in Virgil’s Aeneid.

  15 (p. 105) Croesus: King of Lydia, fabled in classical civilization for his wealth and bad fortune.

  16 (p.107) Crime, Treachery, and all the plotting ... : The elaborate description of misdeeds and calamities within the temple of Mars reflects the fact that Mars was both the classical god of war and the planetary deity whose astrological influence was widely believed to result in all types of violence, intended or accidental.

  17 (p. 109) Puella ... Rubeus: Figures related to Mars in medieval systems of divination.

  18 (p. 111) Callisto: A nymph, follower of Diana, who was punished by the goddess for becoming pregnant. See Ovid, Metamorphoses, 2, 409-507.

  19 (p. 111 ) Daphne: Beautiful daughter of a river god, wooed by Apollo and, as she flees his advances, turned into a laurel tree. See Ovid, Metamorphoses, 2, 452-567.

  20 (p. 111) Actaeon: A hunter who saw Diana naked at her bath and was punished by the goddess by being turned into a stag and hunted down by his own hounds. See Ovid, Metamorphoses, 3, 138-252.

  21 (p. 111 ) Lucina: Diana in her manifestation as the goddess of childbirth.

  22 (p.119) And in her hour: Each planet was supposed to govern certain hours of the day, depending upon certain variables. Palamon, Emily, and Arcita all visit the temples of their respective protecting deities at the proper time for the god or goddess in question to have the most influence.