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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

Mo then sterres been in hevene,
  Of whiche I nil as now not ryme,                                     1255
  For ese of yow, and losse of tyme:
  For tyme y-lost, this knowen ye,
  By no way may recovered be.
    Ther saugh I pleyen Iogelours,
  Magiciens and tregetours,                                      (170) 1260
  And phitonesses, charmeresses,
  Olde wicches, sorceresses,
  That use exorsisaciouns,
  And eek thise fumigaciouns;
  And clerkes eek, which conne wel                                     1265
  Al this magyke naturel,
  That craftely don hir ententes,
  To make, in certeyn ascendentes,
  Images, lo, through which magyk
  To make a man ben hool or syk.                                 (180) 1270
  Ther saugh I thee, queen Medea,
  And Circes eke, and Calipsa;
  Ther saugh I Hermes Ballenus,
  Lymote, and eek Simon Magus.
  Ther saugh I, and knew hem by name,                                  1275
  That by such art don men han fame.
  Ther saugh I Colle tregetour
  Upon a table of sicamour
  Pleye an uncouthe thing to telle;
  I saugh him carien a wind-melle                                (190) 1280
  Under a walsh-note shale.
    What shuld I make lenger tale
  Of al the peple that I say,
  Fro hennes in-to domesday?
    Whan I had al this folk beholde,                                   1285
  And fond me lous, and noght y-holde,
  And eft y-mused longe whyle
  Upon these walles of beryle,
  That shoon ful lighter than a glas,
  And made wel more than hit was                                 (200) 1290
  To semen, every thing, y-wis,
  As kinde thing of fames is;
  I gan forth romen til I fond
  The castel-yate on my right hond,
  Which that so wel corven was                                         1295
  That never swich another nas;
  And yit hit was by aventure
  Y-wrought, as often as by cure.
    Hit nedeth noght yow for to tellen,
  To make yow to longe dwellen,                                  (210) 1300
  Of this yates florisshinges,
  Ne of compasses, ne of kervinges,
  Ne how they hatte in masoneries,
  As, corbets fulle of imageries.
  But, lord! so fair hit was to shewe,                                 1305
  For hit was al with gold behewe.
  But in I wente, and that anoon;
  Ther mette I crying many oon,--
  'A larges, larges, hold up wel!
  God save the lady of this pel,                                 (220) 1310
  Our owne gentil lady Fame,
  And hem that wilnen to have name
  Of us!' Thus herde I cryen alle,
  And faste comen out of halle,
  And shoken nobles and sterlinges.                                    1315
  And somme crouned were as kinges,
  With crounes wroght ful of losenges;
  And many riban, and many frenges
  Were on hir clothes trewely.
    Tho atte laste aspyed I                                      (230) 1320
  That pursevauntes and heraudes,
  That cryen riche folkes laudes,
  Hit weren alle; and every man
  Of hem, as I yow tellen can,

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

Mo then sterres been in hevene,
  Of whiche I nil as now not ryme,                                     1255
  For ese of yow, and losse of tyme:
  For tyme y-lost, this knowen ye,
  By no way may recovered be.
    Ther saugh I pleyen Iogelours,
  Magiciens and tregetours,                                      (170) 1260
  And phitonesses, charmeresses,
  Olde wicches, sorceresses,
  That use exorsisaciouns,
  And eek thise fumigaciouns;
  And clerkes eek, which conne wel                                     1265
  Al this magyke naturel,
  That craftely don hir ententes,
  To make, in certeyn ascendentes,
  Images, lo, through which magyk
  To make a man ben hool or syk.                                 (180) 1270
  Ther saugh I thee, queen Medea,
  And Circes eke, and Calipsa;
  Ther saugh I Hermes Ballenus,
  Lymote, and eek Simon Magus.
  Ther saugh I, and knew hem by name,                                  1275
  That by such art don men han fame.
  Ther saugh I Colle tregetour
  Upon a table of sicamour
  Pleye an uncouthe thing to telle;
  I saugh him carien a wind-melle                                (190) 1280
  Under a walsh-note shale.
    What shuld I make lenger tale
  Of al the peple that I say,
  Fro hennes in-to domesday?
    Whan I had al this folk beholde,                                   1285
  And fond me lous, and noght y-holde,
  And eft y-mused longe whyle
  Upon these walles of beryle,
  That shoon ful lighter than a glas,
  And made wel more than hit was                                 (200) 1290
  To semen, every thing, y-wis,
  As kinde thing of fames is;
  I gan forth romen til I fond
  The castel-yate on my right hond,
  Which that so wel corven was                                         1295
  That never swich another nas;
  And yit hit was by aventure
  Y-wrought, as often as by cure.
    Hit nedeth noght yow for to tellen,
  To make yow to longe dwellen,                                  (210) 1300
  Of this yates florisshinges,
  Ne of compasses, ne of kervinges,
  Ne how they hatte in masoneries,
  As, corbets fulle of imageries.
  But, lord! so fair hit was to shewe,                                 1305
  For hit was al with gold behewe.
  But in I wente, and that anoon;
  Ther mette I crying many oon,--
  'A larges, larges, hold up wel!
  God save the lady of this pel,                                 (220) 1310
  Our owne gentil lady Fame,
  And hem that wilnen to have name
  Of us!' Thus herde I cryen alle,
  And faste comen out of halle,
  And shoken nobles and sterlinges.                                    1315
  And somme crouned were as kinges,
  With crounes wroght ful of losenges;
  And many riban, and many frenges
  Were on hir clothes trewely.
    Tho atte laste aspyed I                                      (230) 1320
  That pursevauntes and heraudes,
  That cryen riche folkes laudes,
  Hit weren alle; and every man
  Of hem, as I yow tellen can,

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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