The General Prologue
Folio 1r
1 of 18 folios
WHan that Apriƚƚ with hise shoures soote
The droghte of Marcħ / hath perced to the roote
And bathed euery veyne / in swich licour
Of which vertu / engendred is the flour
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Whan Zephirus eek / wt his sweete breetħ
Inspired hath / in euery holt and heetħ
The tendre croppes / and the yonge sonne
Hath in the Ram / his half cours yronne
And smale foweles / maken melodye
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That slepen al the nygħt / with open eye
So priketh hem nature in hir corages
Thanne longen folk / to goon on pilgimages
And Palmeres / for to seken straunge strondes
To ferne halwes / kowthe in sondry londes
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And specially / fram euery shires ende
Of Engelond / to Caunterbury they wende
The hooly blisful martir for to seke
That hem hath holpen / whan þt they were seeke
Bifil that / in that seson on a day
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In Southwerk / at the Tabard as I lay
Redy / to wenden on my pilgrymage
To Caunterbury / with ful deuout corage
At nygħt / were come / in to that hostelrye
Wel nyne and twenty in a compaignye
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Of sondry folk / by auenture yfalle
In felaweshipe / and pilgimes were they alle
That toward Caunterbury wolden ryde
The chambres and the stables weren wyde
And wel we weren esed atte beste
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And shortly / whan the Sonne was to reste
So hadde I spoken / wt hem euerichon
That I was / of hir felaweshipe anon
And made forward / erly for to ryse
To take oure wey / ther as I yow deuyse
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But nathelees / whil I haue tyme & space
Er that I ferther / in this tale pace
Me thynketh / it acordaunt to resoū
To telle yow / al the condicioū
Of ech of hem / so as it semed me
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And whiche they were / and of what degree
And eek in what array / that they were Inne
And at a knygħt than wol I first bigynne
A knygħt ther was / and that a worthy man
That fro the tyme / that he first bigan
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To riden out / he loued chiualrie
Trouthe and honour / fredom and curteisie
Ful worthy was he / in his lordes werre
And ther to / hadde he riden / no man ferre