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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

'Ful gladly, lady myn,' he seyde;
  And out his trumpe of golde he brayde
  Anon, and sette hit to his mouthe,
  And blew hit est, and west, and southe,                        (590) 1680
  And north, as loude as any thunder,
  That every wight hadde of hit wonder,
  So brode hit ran, or than hit stente.
  And, certes, al the breeth that wente
  Out of his trumpes mouthe smelde                                     1685
  As men a pot-ful bawme helde
  Among a basket ful of roses;
  This favour dide he til hir loses.
    And right with this I gan aspye,
  Ther com the ferthe companye--                                 (600) 1690
  But certeyn they were wonder fewe--
  And gonne stonden in a rewe,
  And seyden, 'Certes, lady brighte,
  We han don wel with al our mighte;
  But we ne kepen have no fame.                                        1695
  Hyd our werkes and our name,
  For goddes love! for certes we
  Han certeyn doon hit for bountee,
  And for no maner other thing.'
  'I graunte yow al your asking,'                                (610) 1700
  Quod she; 'let your werk be deed.'
    With that aboute I clew myn heed,
  And saugh anoon the fifte route
  That to this lady gonne loute,
  And doun on knees anoon to falle;                                    1705
  And to hir tho besoughten alle
  To hyde hir gode werkes eek,
  And seyde, they yeven noght a leek
  For fame, ne for swich renoun;
  For they, for contemplacioun                                   (620) 1710
  And goddes love, hadde y-wrought;
  Ne of fame wolde they nought.
    'What?' quod she, 'and be ye wood?
  And wene ye for to do good,
  And for to have of that no fame?                                     1715
  Have ye dispyt to have my name?
  Nay, ye shul liven everichoon!
  Blow thy trumpe and that anoon,'
  Quod she, 'thou Eolus, I hote,
  And ring this folkes werk by note,                             (630) 1720
  That al the world may of hit here.'
  And he gan blowe hir loos so clere
  In his golden clarioun,
  That through the world wente the soun,
  So kenely, and eek so softe;                                         1725
  But atte laste hit was on-lofte.
    Thoo com the sexte companye,
  And gonne faste on Fame crye.
  Right verraily, in this manere
  They seyden: 'Mercy, lady dere!                                (640) 1730
  To telle certein, as hit is,
  We han don neither that ne this,
  But ydel al our lyf y-be.
  But, natheles, yit preye we,
  That we mowe han so good a fame,                                     1735
  And greet renoun and knowen name,
  As they that han don noble gestes,
  And acheved alle hir lestes,
  As wel of love as other thing;
  Al was us never broche ne ring,                                (650) 1740
  Ne elles nought, from wimmen sent,
  Ne ones in hir herte y-ment
  To make us only frendly chere,
  But mighte temen us on bere;
  Yit lat us to the peple seme                                         1745

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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

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