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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

And, lord! the hevenish melodye                                      1395
  Of songes, ful of armonye,
  I herde aboute her trone y-songe,
  That al the paleys-walles ronge!
  So song the mighty Muse, she
  That cleped is Caliopee,                                       (310) 1400
  And hir eighte sustren eke,
  That in hir face semen meke;
  And evermo, eternally,
  They songe of Fame, as tho herde I:--
  'Heried be thou and thy name,                                        1405
  Goddesse of renoun and of fame!'
    Tho was I war, lo, atte laste,
  As I myn eyen gan up caste,
  That this ilke noble quene
  On hir shuldres gan sustene                                    (320) 1410
  Bothe tharmes and the name
  Of tho that hadde large fame;
  Alexander, and Hercules
  That with a sherte his lyf lees!
  Thus fond I sitting this goddesse,                                   1415
  In nobley, honour, and richesse;
  Of which I stinte a whyle now,
  Other thing to tellen yow.
    Tho saugh I stonde on either syde,
  Streight doun to the dores wyde,                               (330) 1420
  Fro the dees, many a pileer
  Of metal, that shoon not ful cleer;
  But though they nere of no richesse,
  Yet they were maad for greet noblesse,
  And in hem greet [and hy] sentence;                                  1425
  And folk of digne reverence,
  Of whiche I wol yow telle fonde,
  Upon the piler saugh I stonde.
    Alderfirst, lo, ther I sigh,
  Upon a piler stonde on high,                                   (340) 1430
  That was of lede and yren fyn,
  Him of secte Saturnyn,
  The Ebrayk Iosephus, the olde,
  That of Iewes gestes tolde;
  And bar upon his shuldres hye                                        1435
  The fame up of the Iewerye.
  And by him stoden other sevene,
  Wyse and worthy for to nevene,
  To helpen him here up the charge,
  Hit was so hevy and so large.                                  (350) 1440
  And for they writen of batailes,
  As wel as other olde mervailes,
  Therfor was, lo, this pileer,
  Of which that I yow telle heer,
  Of lede and yren bothe, y-wis.                                       1445
  For yren Martes metal is,
  Which that god is of bataile;
  And the leed, withouten faile,
  Is, lo, the metal of Saturne,
  That hath ful large wheel to turne.                            (360) 1450
  Tho stoden forth, on every rowe,
  Of hem which that I coude knowe,
  Thogh I hem noght by ordre telle,
  To make yow to long to dwelle.
    These, of whiche I ginne rede,                                     1455
  Ther saugh I stonden, out of drede:
  Upon an yren piler strong,
  That peynted was, al endelong,
  With tygres blode in every place,
  The Tholosan that highte Stace,                                (370) 1460
  That bar of Thebes up the fame
  Upon his shuldres, and the name
  Also of cruel Achilles.
  And by him stood, withouten lees,
  Ful wonder hye on a pileer                                           1465

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

And, lord! the hevenish melodye                                      1395
  Of songes, ful of armonye,
  I herde aboute her trone y-songe,
  That al the paleys-walles ronge!
  So song the mighty Muse, she
  That cleped is Caliopee,                                       (310) 1400
  And hir eighte sustren eke,
  That in hir face semen meke;
  And evermo, eternally,
  They songe of Fame, as tho herde I:--
  'Heried be thou and thy name,                                        1405
  Goddesse of renoun and of fame!'
    Tho was I war, lo, atte laste,
  As I myn eyen gan up caste,
  That this ilke noble quene
  On hir shuldres gan sustene                                    (320) 1410
  Bothe tharmes and the name
  Of tho that hadde large fame;
  Alexander, and Hercules
  That with a sherte his lyf lees!
  Thus fond I sitting this goddesse,                                   1415
  In nobley, honour, and richesse;
  Of which I stinte a whyle now,
  Other thing to tellen yow.
    Tho saugh I stonde on either syde,
  Streight doun to the dores wyde,                               (330) 1420
  Fro the dees, many a pileer
  Of metal, that shoon not ful cleer;
  But though they nere of no richesse,
  Yet they were maad for greet noblesse,
  And in hem greet [and hy] sentence;                                  1425
  And folk of digne reverence,
  Of whiche I wol yow telle fonde,
  Upon the piler saugh I stonde.
    Alderfirst, lo, ther I sigh,
  Upon a piler stonde on high,                                   (340) 1430
  That was of lede and yren fyn,
  Him of secte Saturnyn,
  The Ebrayk Iosephus, the olde,
  That of Iewes gestes tolde;
  And bar upon his shuldres hye                                        1435
  The fame up of the Iewerye.
  And by him stoden other sevene,
  Wyse and worthy for to nevene,
  To helpen him here up the charge,
  Hit was so hevy and so large.                                  (350) 1440
  And for they writen of batailes,
  As wel as other olde mervailes,
  Therfor was, lo, this pileer,
  Of which that I yow telle heer,
  Of lede and yren bothe, y-wis.                                       1445
  For yren Martes metal is,
  Which that god is of bataile;
  And the leed, withouten faile,
  Is, lo, the metal of Saturne,
  That hath ful large wheel to turne.                            (360) 1450
  Tho stoden forth, on every rowe,
  Of hem which that I coude knowe,
  Thogh I hem noght by ordre telle,
  To make yow to long to dwelle.
    These, of whiche I ginne rede,                                     1455
  Ther saugh I stonden, out of drede:
  Upon an yren piler strong,
  That peynted was, al endelong,
  With tygres blode in every place,
  The Tholosan that highte Stace,                                (370) 1460
  That bar of Thebes up the fame
  Upon his shuldres, and the name
  Also of cruel Achilles.
  And by him stood, withouten lees,
  Ful wonder hye on a pileer                                           1465

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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