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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

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

Ech of us, of thy grace, a bone!'
  And somme of hem she graunted sone,
  And somme she werned wel and faire;
  And somme she graunted the contraire                           (450) 1540
  Of hir axing utterly.
  But thus I seye yow trewely,
  What hir cause was, I niste.
  For this folk, ful wel I wiste,
  They hadde good fame ech deserved,                                   1545
  Althogh they were diversly served;
  Right as hir suster, dame Fortune,
  Is wont to serven in comune.
    Now herkne how she gan to paye
  That gonne hir of hir grace praye;                             (460) 1550
  And yit, lo, al this companye
  Seyden sooth, and noght a lye.
    'Madame,' seyden they, 'we be
  Folk that heer besechen thee,
  That thou graunte us now good fame,                                  1555
  And lete our werkes han that name;
  In ful recompensacioun
  Of good werk, give us good renoun.'
    'I werne yow hit,' quod she anoon,
  'Ye gete of me good fame noon,                                 (470) 1560
  By god! and therfor go your wey.'
    'Alas,' quod they, 'and welaway!
  Telle us, what may your cause be?'
    'For me list hit noght,' quod she;
  'No wight shal speke of yow, y-wis,                                  1565
  Good ne harm, ne that ne this.'
  And with that word she gan to calle
  Hir messanger, that was in halle,
  And bad that he shulde faste goon,
  Up peyne to be blind anoon,                                    (480) 1570
  For Eolus, the god of winde;--
  'In Trace ther ye shul him finde,
  And bid him bringe his clarioun,
  That is ful dyvers of his soun,
  And hit is cleped Clere Laude,                                       1575
  With which he wont is to heraude
  Hem that me list y-preised be:
  And also bid him how that he
  Bringe his other clarioun,
  That highte Sclaundre in every toun,                           (490) 1580
  With which he wont is to diffame
  Hem that me list, and do hem shame.'
    This messanger gan faste goon,
  And found wher, in a cave of stoon,
  In a contree that highte Trace,                                      1585
  This Eolus, with harde grace,
  Held the windes in distresse,
  And gan hem under him to presse,
  That they gonne as beres rore,
  He bond and pressed hem so sore.                               (500) 1590
    This messanger gan faste crye,
  'Rys up,' quod he, 'and faste hye,
  Til that thou at my lady be;
  And tak thy clarions eek with thee,
  And speed thee forth.' And he anon                                   1595
  Took to a man, that hight Triton,
  His clariouns to bere tho,
  And leet a certeyn wind to go,
  That blew so hidously and hye,
  That hit ne lefte not a skye                                   (510) 1600
  In al the welken longe and brood.
    This Eolus no-wher abood
  Til he was come at Fames feet,
  And eek the man that Triton heet;
  And ther he stood, as still as stoon.                                1605
  And her-withal ther com anoon

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

Ech of us, of thy grace, a bone!'
  And somme of hem she graunted sone,
  And somme she werned wel and faire;
  And somme she graunted the contraire                           (450) 1540
  Of hir axing utterly.
  But thus I seye yow trewely,
  What hir cause was, I niste.
  For this folk, ful wel I wiste,
  They hadde good fame ech deserved,                                   1545
  Althogh they were diversly served;
  Right as hir suster, dame Fortune,
  Is wont to serven in comune.
    Now herkne how she gan to paye
  That gonne hir of hir grace praye;                             (460) 1550
  And yit, lo, al this companye
  Seyden sooth, and noght a lye.
    'Madame,' seyden they, 'we be
  Folk that heer besechen thee,
  That thou graunte us now good fame,                                  1555
  And lete our werkes han that name;
  In ful recompensacioun
  Of good werk, give us good renoun.'
    'I werne yow hit,' quod she anoon,
  'Ye gete of me good fame noon,                                 (470) 1560
  By god! and therfor go your wey.'
    'Alas,' quod they, 'and welaway!
  Telle us, what may your cause be?'
    'For me list hit noght,' quod she;
  'No wight shal speke of yow, y-wis,                                  1565
  Good ne harm, ne that ne this.'
  And with that word she gan to calle
  Hir messanger, that was in halle,
  And bad that he shulde faste goon,
  Up peyne to be blind anoon,                                    (480) 1570
  For Eolus, the god of winde;--
  'In Trace ther ye shul him finde,
  And bid him bringe his clarioun,
  That is ful dyvers of his soun,
  And hit is cleped Clere Laude,                                       1575
  With which he wont is to heraude
  Hem that me list y-preised be:
  And also bid him how that he
  Bringe his other clarioun,
  That highte Sclaundre in every toun,                           (490) 1580
  With which he wont is to diffame
  Hem that me list, and do hem shame.'
    This messanger gan faste goon,
  And found wher, in a cave of stoon,
  In a contree that highte Trace,                                      1585
  This Eolus, with harde grace,
  Held the windes in distresse,
  And gan hem under him to presse,
  That they gonne as beres rore,
  He bond and pressed hem so sore.                               (500) 1590
    This messanger gan faste crye,
  'Rys up,' quod he, 'and faste hye,
  Til that thou at my lady be;
  And tak thy clarions eek with thee,
  And speed thee forth.' And he anon                                   1595
  Took to a man, that hight Triton,
  His clariouns to bere tho,
  And leet a certeyn wind to go,
  That blew so hidously and hye,
  That hit ne lefte not a skye                                   (510) 1600
  In al the welken longe and brood.
    This Eolus no-wher abood
  Til he was come at Fames feet,
  And eek the man that Triton heet;
  And ther he stood, as still as stoon.                                1605
  And her-withal ther com anoon

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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