The General Prologue
Folio 2v
16 of 22 folios
And maade forward / erly for to ryse
To take oure wey / ther as .I. yow deuyse
35
¶ But nathelees / while .I. haue tyme and space
Er that I ferther / in this tale pace
Me thynketh it acordant to resoū
To telle yow / al the condicioū
Of eech of hem / so as it seemed me
40
And whiche they weere / and of what degree
And eek in what array / þt they weere Inne
And at a knyght thanne wol I first bigynne
¶ A knyght ther was / and that a worthy man
That fro the tyme / þt he first bigan
45
To ryden out he loued chiualrye
Trouthe and honor / fredom and curteisye
Ful worthy was he / in his lordes werre
And ther to hadde he ryden / no man ferre
As wel in cristendom / as hethenesse
50
And euere honured / for his worthynesse
¶ At Alisaundre he was / whan it was wonne
Ful ofte tyme / he hadde the bord bigonne
Abouen alle nacions / in Pruce
In lectow / hadde he reysed / and in Ruce
55
No cristen man so ofte / of his degree
In Gernade at the seege eek hadde he be
At Algizir / and ryden in Belmarye
At lyeys was he / and at Satalye
Whan they weere wonne / and in the grete See
60
At many a noble ariuee / hadde he bee
¶ At mortal batailles / hadde he been fiftene
And foghten for oure feyth / at Tramyssene
In lystes thryes / and ay slayn his foo
¶ This ilke worthy knyght hadde been also
65
Som tyme / with the lord of Palatye
Agayn another hethen in Turkye
And euere moore / he hadde a souereyn prys
And thogh þt he weere worthy / he was wys
And of his poort. as meke / as is a mayde
70
Ne neuere yet no vileynye he sayde
In al his lyf vn to no manere wight
He was a verray parfit gentil knyght