Opening the text

Chaucer's Works, Volume 3 — The House of Fame; The Legend of Good Women; The Treatise on the Astrolabe; The Sources of the Canterbury TalesChaucer, Geoffrey

General

Chaucer's Works, Volume 3 — The House of Fame; The Legend of Good Women; The Treatise on the Astrolabe; The Sources of the Canterbury Tales

Name: Chaucer's Works, Volume 3 — The House of Fame; The Legend of Good Women; The Treatise on the Astrolabe; The Sources of the Canterbury Tales
Author: Chaucer, Geoffrey

Chaucer, Geoffrey

English poetry -- Middle English, 1100-1500

Whan passed was almost the month of May,                    (B. 108)
   And I had romed, al the someres day,                                  90
  *The grene medew, of which that I yow tolde,
   Upon the fresshe daysy to beholde,
   And that the sonne out of the south gan weste,
   And closed was the flour and goon to reste
   For derknesse of the night, of which she dredde,                      95
  +Hoom to myn hous ful swiftly I me spedde;
  +And, in a litel erber that I have,
   Y-benched newe with turves fresshe y-grave,
  +I bad men shulde me my couche make;
  +For deyntee of the newe someres sake,                                100
  +I bad hem strowe floures on my bed.
  +Whan I was layd, and had myn eyen hed,
   I fel a-slepe with-in an houre or two.
   Me mette how I was in the medew tho,
  *And that I romed in that same gyse,                                  105
   To seen that flour, as ye han herd devyse.
  *Fair was this medew, as thoughte me overal;
   With floures swote enbrowded was it al;
   As for to speke of gomme, or erbe, or tree,
  +Comparisoun may noon y-maked be.                                     110
   For hit surmounted pleynly alle odoures,
  +And eek of riche beaute alle floures.
  +Forgeten had the erthe his pore estat
  +Of winter, that him naked made and mat,
   And with his swerd of cold so sore had greved.                       115
   Now had the atempre sonne al that releved,
   And clothed him in grene al newe agayn.
  +The smale foules, of the seson fayn,
  +That from the panter and the net ben scaped,
  +Upon the fouler, that hem made a-whaped                              120
  +In winter, and distroyed had hir brood,
  +In his despyt, hem thoughte hit did hem good
  +To singe of him, and in hir song despyse
  +The foule cherl that, for his covetyse,
  +Had hem betrayed with his sophistrye.                                125
  +This was hir song--'the fouler we defye!'
   Somme songen [layes] on the braunches clere                 (B. 139)
   Of love and [May], that Ioye hit was to here,
   In worship and in preysing of hir make,
   And of the newe blisful someres sake,                                130

   That songen, 'blissed be seynt Valentyn!                    (B. 145)
   [For] at his day I chees yow to be myn,
  +With-oute repenting, myn herte swete!'
  +And therwith-al hir bekes gonnen mete.
   [They dide honour and] humble obeisaunces,                           135
   And after diden other observaunces
   Right [plesing] un-to love and to nature;
  *So ech of hem [doth wel] to creature.
  *This song to herkne I dide al myn entente,
  *For-why I mette I wiste what they mente.                             140

           _From_ A. 90.
       And I had romed, al the someres day,                    (B. 180)

           _From_ A. 92.
       Up-on the fresshe daysy to beholde.                     (B. 182)

Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.

Opening the text

Chaucer's Works, Volume 3 — The House of Fame; The Legend of Good Women; The Treatise on the Astrolabe; The Sources of the Canterbury TalesChaucer, Geoffrey

General

Chaucer's Works, Volume 3 — The House of Fame; The Legend of Good Women; The Treatise on the Astrolabe; The Sources of the Canterbury Tales

Chaucer, Geoffrey

English poetry -- Middle English, 1100-1500

Whan passed was almost the month of May,                    (B. 108)
   And I had romed, al the someres day,                                  90
  *The grene medew, of which that I yow tolde,
   Upon the fresshe daysy to beholde,
   And that the sonne out of the south gan weste,
   And closed was the flour and goon to reste
   For derknesse of the night, of which she dredde,                      95
  +Hoom to myn hous ful swiftly I me spedde;
  +And, in a litel erber that I have,
   Y-benched newe with turves fresshe y-grave,
  +I bad men shulde me my couche make;
  +For deyntee of the newe someres sake,                                100
  +I bad hem strowe floures on my bed.
  +Whan I was layd, and had myn eyen hed,
   I fel a-slepe with-in an houre or two.
   Me mette how I was in the medew tho,
  *And that I romed in that same gyse,                                  105
   To seen that flour, as ye han herd devyse.
  *Fair was this medew, as thoughte me overal;
   With floures swote enbrowded was it al;
   As for to speke of gomme, or erbe, or tree,
  +Comparisoun may noon y-maked be.                                     110
   For hit surmounted pleynly alle odoures,
  +And eek of riche beaute alle floures.
  +Forgeten had the erthe his pore estat
  +Of winter, that him naked made and mat,
   And with his swerd of cold so sore had greved.                       115
   Now had the atempre sonne al that releved,
   And clothed him in grene al newe agayn.
  +The smale foules, of the seson fayn,
  +That from the panter and the net ben scaped,
  +Upon the fouler, that hem made a-whaped                              120
  +In winter, and distroyed had hir brood,
  +In his despyt, hem thoughte hit did hem good
  +To singe of him, and in hir song despyse
  +The foule cherl that, for his covetyse,
  +Had hem betrayed with his sophistrye.                                125
  +This was hir song--'the fouler we defye!'
   Somme songen [layes] on the braunches clere                 (B. 139)
   Of love and [May], that Ioye hit was to here,
   In worship and in preysing of hir make,
   And of the newe blisful someres sake,                                130

   That songen, 'blissed be seynt Valentyn!                    (B. 145)
   [For] at his day I chees yow to be myn,
  +With-oute repenting, myn herte swete!'
  +And therwith-al hir bekes gonnen mete.
   [They dide honour and] humble obeisaunces,                           135
   And after diden other observaunces
   Right [plesing] un-to love and to nature;
  *So ech of hem [doth wel] to creature.
  *This song to herkne I dide al myn entente,
  *For-why I mette I wiste what they mente.                             140

           _From_ A. 90.
       And I had romed, al the someres day,                    (B. 180)

           _From_ A. 92.
       Up-on the fresshe daysy to beholde.                     (B. 182)

Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.

Chaucer's Works, Volume 3 — The House of Fame; The Legend of Good Women; The Treatise on the Astrolabe; The Sources of the Canterbury Tales

Chaucer's Works, Volume 3 — The House of Fame; The Legend of Good Women; The Treatise on the Astrolabe; The Sources of the Canterbury Tales

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