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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

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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

How Creusa was y-lost, allas!
  That deed, [but] noot I how, she was;
  How he hir soughte, and how hir gost                                  185
  Bad him to flee the Grekes ost,
  And seyde, he moste unto Itaile,
  As was his destinee, sauns faille;
  That hit was pitee for to here,
  Whan hir spirit gan appere,                                           190
  The wordes that she to him seyde,
  And for to kepe hir sone him preyde.
  Ther saw I graven eek how he,
  His fader eek, and his meynee,
  With his shippes gan to sayle                                         195
  Toward the contree of Itaile,
  As streight as that they mighte go.
    Ther saw I thee, cruel Iuno,
  That art daun Iupiteres wyf,
  That hast y-hated, al thy lyf,                                        200
  Al the Troyanisshe blood,
  Renne and crye, as thou were wood,
  On Eolus, the god of windes,
  To blowen out, of alle kindes,
  So loude, that he shulde drenche                                      205
  Lord and lady, grome and wenche
  Of al the Troyan nacioun,
  Withoute any savacioun.
    Ther saw I swich tempeste aryse,
  That every herte mighte agryse,                                       210
  To see hit peynted on the walle.
    Ther saw I graven eek withalle,
  Venus, how ye, my lady dere,
  Wepinge with ful woful chere,
  Prayen Iupiter an hye                                                 215
  To save and kepe that navye
  Of the Troyan Eneas,
  Sith that he hir sone was.
    Ther saw I Ioves Venus kisse,
  And graunted of the tempest lisse.                                    220
  Ther saw I how the tempest stente,
  And how with alle pyne he wente,
  And prevely took arrivage
  In the contree of Cartage;
  And on the morwe, how that he                                         225
  And a knight, hight Achatee,
  Metten with Venus that day,
  Goinge in a queynt array,
  As she had ben an hunteresse,
  With wind blowinge upon hir tresse;                                   230
  How Eneas gan him to pleyne,
  Whan that he knew hir, of his peyne;
  And how his shippes dreynte were,
  Or elles lost, he niste where;
  How she gan him comforte tho,                                         235
  And bad him to Cartage go,
  And ther he shuldë his folk finde,
  That in the see were left behinde.
    And, shortly of this thing to pace,
  She made Eneas so in grace                                            240
  Of Dido, quene of that contree,
  That, shortly for to tellen, she
  Becam his love, and leet him do
  That that wedding longeth to.
  What shulde I speke more queynte,                                     245
  Or peyne me my wordes peynte,
  To speke of love? hit wol not be;
  I can not of that facultee.
  And eek to telle the manere
  How they aqueynteden in-fere,                                         250
  Hit were a long proces to telle,
  And over long for yow to dwelle.
    Ther saw I grave, how Eneas
  Tolde Dido every cas,

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

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