The General Prologue
Folio 1r
1 of 23 folios
Whan that aprille witħ his schowres swoote
The drougħt of Marche haþ perced to þe roote
And bathud euery veyne in swich licour
Of which vertue engendred is þe flour
5
Whan zephirus eek with his swete breeth
Enspirud hatħ in euery holte and heetħ
The tendre croppes and þe ȝonge sonne
Hath in þe Ram his halfe cours I ronne
And smale fowles maken melodie
10
That slepen al þe nigħt wiþ open yhe
So prikeþ hem nature in here corages
Thanne longen folk to gon on pilgrimages
And palmers for to seeken straunge strondes
To ferne halwes kouthe in sondry londes
15
And specially from euery schires ende
Of Engelond to Canturbury þey wende
The holy blisful martir for to seeke
That hem haþ holpen whan þat þey were seeke
Byfel þat in þat sesoun on a day
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In Southwerk at þe Tabbard as I lay
Redy to wenden on my pilgimage
To Canturbury with ful deuout corage
At nigħt was come in to þat hostelrie
Wel nyne and twenty in a companye
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Of sondry folk by auenture I falle
In felaschipe and pilgryms were þei alle
That toward Canturbury wolden ryde
The Chambres and þe stables weren wyde
And wel we weren esud atte beste
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And schortly whan þe sonne was to reste
So hadde I spoken with hem euerychon
That I was of here felawschipe anon
And made forward erly to a Ryse
To take oure weye ther as I ȝow deuyse
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But natheles whiles I haue tyme and space
Or þat I ferþere in þis tale pace
Me þinkeþ it acordant to resoun
To telle ȝow alle þe condicioun