The Knight's Tale
Folio 20r
35 of 35 folios
To drugge and drawe / what men wold deuyse
And shortly of this matere / for to seyn
560
He fel in office / with a Chaumberleyn
The whicħ þat dwellyng was / with Emelye
For he was wys / and coude sone espie
Of euery seruaūt / whicħ þat serueth hire
Wel coude he hewe / wode / and water bere
565
For he was ȝong & mygħty / for þe nones
And ther to he was long / and bygge of bones
To don þat ony wygħt / can hī deuyse
A ȝere or two / he was in this seruyse
Page of the chaumbre / of Emelye the brygħt
570
And Philostrate he seide / that he higħt
But half so wel byloued a man / as he
Ne was þere neuere in courte / of his degre
He was so gentil / of condicioū
That þorugħ ouȝt al the court / was his renoū
575
They seiden þat it were / a charite
That Theseus wold / enhaunce his degre
And putten hī / in worshipful seruyse
There as he mygħt / his vertue exercise
And thus wt Inne a while / his name is spronge
580
Bothe of his dedes / and his goode tonge
That Theseus hath taken hī / so nere
That of his chaumbre / he mad hī a squyere
And ȝaf hī gold / to meyntene his degree
And eke men brouȝt hī / ouȝt of his contre
585
From ȝere to ȝere / ful preuyly his rent
But honestly & slily / he it spent
That no man wondrede / how þt he it hadde
And thre ȝere in this wyse / his lyf he ladde
And bar hī so in pees / and eke in werre
590
There was noman / þt Theseus hath derre
¶ And in this blisse / lete I now Arcite
And speke I wyl of Palamon / a lyte
In derknesse and orrible / and strong prisoū
This seuene ȝer / hath seten Palamoū
595
For pyned / what for woo / and for distresse
Who feleth double soor / and heuynesse
But Palamoū / þat loue distreyneth so
That wod ouȝt of his wytte / he goth for woo
And eke ther to / he is a prisonere
600
Perpetuelly / nougħt oonly for a ȝere