The Knight's Tale
Folio 23v
28 of 48 folios
Hise lymes grete / hise brawnes harde and stronge
Hise shuldres brode / hise Armes rounde and longe
And as the gyse was in his contree
1280
Ful hye / vpon a Chaar of gold / stood he
With foure white boles in the trays
In stede of Cote Armure / ouer his harnays
With nayles yelewe / and brigħte as any gold
He hadde a Beres skyn / colblak / for old
1285
His longe heer / was kembd / bihynde his bak
As any Rauenes fethere / it shoon for blak
A wrethe of gold arm greet of huge wighte
Vpon his heed / set ful of stones brigħte
Of fyne Rubyes / and of Dyamauntz
1290
Aboute his Chaar ther wenten white Alauntz
Twenty and mo / as grete as any steer
To hunten at the Leou or / or the deer
And folwed hym / wt mosel faste ybounde
Colered of gold / and trrettes fyled rounde
1295
An hundred lordes / hadde he in his route
Armed ful wel / wt hertes stierne and stoute
With Arcite / in stories as men fynde
The grete Emetreus / the kyng of Inde
Vp on a steede bay / trapped in steel
1300
Couered in clooth of gold / dyapred weel
Cam ridynge / lyk the god of Armes Mars
His Cote Armure / was of clooth of Tars
Couched with perles / white and rounde & grete
His Sadel / was of brend gold newe ybete
1305
A Mantel / vp on his shulder hangynge
Brat ful of Rubyes rede / as fyr sparklynge
His crispe heer / lyk rynges was yronne
And that was yelow / and glytered as the sonne
His nose was heigħ / hise eyen bright citryn
1310
Hise lippes rounde / his colour was sangwyn
A fewe frakenes / in his face yspreynd
Bitwixen yelow / and somdel blak ymeynd
And as a Leou / he his lookyng caste
Of fyue and twenty yeer / his age I caste
1315
His berd / was wel bigonne for to sprynge
His voys / was as a trompe thondrynge
Vp on his heed / he wered of laurer grene
A gerland / fressħ / and lusty for to sene
Vpon his hand / he bar for his deduyt
1320
An Egle tame / as any lilye whyt
An hundred Lordes / hadde he wt hym there
Al armed saue hir heddes / in al hir gere
Ful richely / in alle maner thynges
For trusteth wel / þt dukes / Erles kynges