The Knight's Tale
Folio 21r
23 of 48 folios
¶ And shortly to concluden / ; swicħ a place
Was noon in erthe / as in so litel space
For in the lond / ther was no crafty man
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That geometrie / or Ars Metrik kan
Ne portreitor / ne keruer of ymages
That Theseus / ne yaf mete and wages
The Theatre / for to maken and deuyse
And for to doon / his ryte and sacrifise
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He Estward / hath vp on the gate aboue
In worshipe of Venus goddesse of loue
Doon make an Auter / and an Oratorie
And on the westward / in memorie
Of Mars / he maked hath rigħt swich another
1050
That coste largely / of gold a fother
And Northward / in a Touret on the wal
Of Alabastre whit and reed coral
An Oratorie / riche for to see
In worshipe of Dyane of Chastitee
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Hath Theseus doon wrogħt in noble wyse
¶ But yet hadde I foryeten to deuyse
The noble keruyng and the portreitures
The shape / the contenaunce and the figures
That weren / in thise Oratories thre
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¶ First / in the temple of Venus / maystow se
Wrogħt on the wal / ful pitous to biholde
The broken slepes / and the sikes colde
The sacred teeris / and the waymentynge
The firy strokes / and the desirynge
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That loues seruantz / in this lyf enduren
The othes / that hir couenantz assuren
Plesaunce and hope / desir foolhardynesse
Beautee and youthe / bauderie richesse
Charmes and force / lesynges flaterye
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Despense / bisynesse and Ialousye
That wered of yelewe gooldes a gerland
And a Cokkow / sittynge on hir hand
Festes / Instrumentz / caroles daunces
Lust and array / and alle the circumstaūces
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Of loue / whiche þt I rekned haue / & rekne shal
By ordre / weren peynted on the wal
And mo / than I kan make of mencioū
For soothly / al the mount of Citheroū
Ther Venus / hath hir pincipal dwellynge
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Was shewed on the wal / in portreyynge
With al the gardyn / and the lustynesse
Nat was foryeten / the Porter ydelnesse
Ne Narcisus the faire / of yore agon
And yet the folye / of kyng Salomou