THE PROLOGUE.
“HEY! Godde’s mercy!” said our Hoste tho,* *then“Now such a wife I pray God keep me fro’.Lo, suche sleightes and subtilitiesIn women be; for aye as busy as beesAre they us silly men for to deceive,And from the soothe* will they ever weive,** *truth **swerve, departAs this Merchante’s tale it proveth well.But natheless, as true as any steel,I have a wife, though that she poore be;But of her tongue a labbing* shrew is she; *chatteringAnd yet* she hath a heap of vices mo’. *moreoverThereof *no force;* let all such thinges go. *no matter*But wit* ye what? in counsel** be it said, *know **secret, confidenceMe rueth sore I am unto her tied;For, an’* I shoulde reckon every vice *ifWhich that she hath, y-wis* I were too nice;** *certainly **foolishAnd cause why, it should reported beAnd told her by some of this company(By whom, it needeth not for to declare,Since women connen utter such chaffare <1>),And eke my wit sufficeth not theretoTo tellen all; wherefore my tale is do.* *doneSquier, come near, if it your wille be,And say somewhat of love, for certes ye*Conne thereon* as much as any man.” *know about it*“Nay, Sir,” quoth he; “but such thing as I can,With hearty will, — for I will not rebelAgainst your lust,* — a tale will I tell. *pleasureHave me excused if I speak amiss;My will is good; and lo, my tale is this.”
Notes to the Prologue to the Squire’s Tale
1. Women connen utter such chaffare: women are adepts atgiving circulation to such wares. The Host evidently means thathis wife would be sure to hear of his confessions from somefemale member of the company.
THE TALE.<1>
*Pars Prima.* *First part*
At Sarra, in the land of Tartary,There dwelt a king that warrayed* Russie, <2> *made war onThrough which there died many a doughty man;This noble king was called Cambuscan,<3>Which in his time was of so great renown,That there was nowhere in no regiounSo excellent a lord in alle thing:Him lacked nought that longeth to a king,As of the sect of which that he was born.He kept his law to which he was y-sworn,And thereto* he was hardy, wise, and rich, *moreover, besidesAnd piteous and just, always y-lich;* *alike, even-temperedTrue of his word, benign and honourable;*Of his corage as any centre stable;* *firm, immovable of spirit*Young, fresh, and strong, in armes desirousAs any bachelor of all his house.A fair person he was, and fortunate,And kept alway so well his royal estate,That there was nowhere such another man.This noble king, this Tartar Cambuscan,Hadde two sons by Elfeta his wife,Of which the eldest highte Algarsife,The other was y-called Camballo.A daughter had this worthy king also,That youngest was, and highte Canace:But for to telle you all her beauty,It lies not in my tongue, nor my conning;* *skillI dare not undertake so high a thing:Mine English eke is insufficient,It muste be a rhetor* excellent, *orator*That couth his colours longing for that art,* * see <4>*If he should her describen any part;I am none such, I must speak as I can.
And so befell, that when this CambuscanHad twenty winters borne his diadem,As he was wont from year to year, I deem,He let *the feast of his nativity* *his birthday party**Do crye,* throughout Sarra his city, *be proclaimed*The last Idus of March, after the year.Phoebus the sun full jolly was and clear,For he was nigh his exaltationIn Marte’s face, and in his mansion <5>In Aries, the choleric hot sign:Full lusty* was the weather and benign; *pleasantFor which the fowls against the sunne sheen,* *brightWhat for the season and the younge green,Full loude sange their affections:Them seemed to have got protectionsAgainst the sword of winter keen and cold.This Cambuscan, of which I have you told,In royal vesture, sat upon his dais,With diadem, full high in his palace;And held his feast so solemn and so rich,That in this worlde was there none it lich.* *likeOf which if I should tell all the array,Then would it occupy a summer’s day;And eke it needeth not for to devise* *describeAt every course the order of service.I will not tellen of their strange sewes,* *dishes <6>Nor of their swannes, nor their heronsews.* *young herons <7>Eke in that land, as telle knightes old,There is some meat that is full dainty hold,That in this land men *reck of* it full small: *care for*There is no man that may reporten all.I will not tarry you, for it is prime,And for it is no fruit, but loss of time;Unto my purpose* I will have recourse. *story <8>And so befell that, after the third course,While that this king sat thus in his nobley,* *noble arrayHearing his ministreles their thinges playBefore him at his board deliciously,In at the halle door all suddenlyThere came a knight upon a steed of brass,And in his hand a broad mirror of glass;Upon his thumb he had of gold a ring,And by his side a naked sword hanging:And up he rode unto the highe board.In all the hall was there not spoke a word,For marvel of this knight; him to beholdFull busily they waited,* young and old. *watched
This strange knight, that came thus suddenly,All armed, save his head, full richely,Saluted king, and queen, and lordes all,By order as they satten in the hall,With so high reverence and observance,As well in speech as in his countenance,That Gawain <9> with his olde courtesy,Though he were come again out of Faerie,Him *coulde not amende with a word.* *could not better himAnd after this, before the highe board, by one word*He with a manly voice said his message,After the form used in his language,Withoute vice* of syllable or letter. *faultAnd, for his tale shoulde seem the better,Accordant to his worde’s was his cheer,* *demeanourAs teacheth art of speech them that it lear.* *learnAlbeit that I cannot sound his style,Nor cannot climb over so high a stile,Yet say I this, as to *commune intent,* *general sense or meaning**Thus much amounteth* all that ever he meant, *this is the sum of*If it so be that I have it in mind.He said; “The king of Araby and Ind,My liege lord, on this solemne daySaluteth you as he best can and may,And sendeth you, in honour of your feast,By me, that am all ready at your hest,* *commandThis steed of brass, that easily and wellCan in the space of one day naturel(This is to say, in four-and-twenty hours),Whereso you list, in drought or else in show’rs,Beare your body into every placeTo which your hearte willeth for to pace,* *pass, goWithoute wem* of you, through foul or fair. *hurt, injuryOr if you list to fly as high in airAs doth an eagle, when him list to soar,This same steed shall bear you evermoreWithoute harm, till ye be where *you lest* *it pleases you*(Though that ye sleepen on his back, or rest),And turn again, with writhing* of a pin. *twistingHe that it wrought, he coude* many a gin;** *knew **contrivance <10>He waited* in any a constellation, *observedEre he had done this operation,And knew full many a seal <11> and many a bondThis mirror eke, that I have in mine hond,Hath such a might, that men may in it seeWhen there shall fall any adversityUnto your realm, or to yourself also,And openly who is your friend or foe.And over all this, if any lady brightHath set her heart on any manner wight,If he be false, she shall his treason see,His newe love, and all his subtlety,So openly that there shall nothing hide.Wherefore, against this lusty summer-tide,This mirror, and this ring that ye may see,He hath sent to my lady Canace,Your excellente daughter that is here.The virtue of this ring, if ye will hear,Is this, that if her list it for to wearUpon her thumb, or in her purse it bear,There is no fowl that flyeth under heaven,That she shall not well understand his steven,* *speech, soundAnd know his meaning openly and plain,And answer him in his language again:And every grass that groweth upon rootShe shall eke know, to whom it will do boot,* *remedyAll be his woundes ne’er so deep and wide.This naked sword, that hangeth by my side,Such virtue hath, that what man that it smite,Throughout his armour it will carve and bite,Were it as thick as is a branched oak:And what man is y-wounded with the strokeShall ne’er be whole, till that you list, of grace,To stroke him with the flat in thilke* place *the sameWhere he is hurt; this is as much to sayn,Ye muste with the flatte sword againStroke him upon the wound, and it will close.This is the very sooth, withoute glose;* *deceitIt faileth not, while it is in your hold.”
And when this knight had thus his tale told,He rode out of the hall, and down he light.His steede, which that shone as sunne bright,Stood in the court as still as any stone.The knight is to his chamber led anon,And is unarmed, and to meat y-set.* *seatedThese presents be full richely y-fet,* — *fetchedThis is to say, the sword and the mirrour, —And borne anon into the highe tow’r,With certain officers ordain’d therefor;And unto Canace the ring is boreSolemnely, where she sat at the table;But sickerly, withouten any fable,The horse of brass, that may not be remued.* *removed <12>It stood as it were to the ground y-glued;There may no man out of the place it driveFor no engine of windlass or polive; * *pulleyAnd cause why, for they *can not the craft;* *know not the cunningAnd therefore in the place they have it laft, of the mechanism*Till that the knight hath taught them the mannereTo voide* him, as ye shall after hear. *remove
Great was the press, that swarmed to and froTo gauren* on this horse that stoode so: *gazeFor it so high was, and so broad and long,So well proportioned for to be strong,Right as it were a steed of Lombardy;Therewith so horsely, and so quick of eye,As it a gentle Poileis <13> courser were:For certes, from his tail unto his earNature nor art ne could him not amendIn no degree, as all the people wend.* *weened, thoughtBut evermore their moste wonder wasHow that it coulde go, and was of brass;It was of Faerie, as the people seem’d.Diverse folk diversely they deem’d;As many heads, as many wittes been.They murmured, as doth a swarm of been,* *beesAnd made skills* after their fantasies, *reasonsRehearsing of the olde poetries,And said that it was like the Pegasee,* *PegasusThe horse that hadde winges for to flee;* *flyOr else it was the Greeke’s horse Sinon,<14>That broughte Troye to destruction,As men may in the olde gestes* read. *tales of adventuresMine heart,” quoth one, “is evermore in dread;I trow some men of armes be therein,That shape* them this city for to win: *design, prepareIt were right good that all such thing were know.”Another rowned* to his fellow low, *whisperedAnd said, “He lies; for it is rather likeAn apparence made by some magic,As jugglers playen at these feastes great.”Of sundry doubts they jangle thus and treat.As lewed* people deeme commonly *ignorantOf thinges that be made more subtillyThan they can in their lewdness comprehend;They *deeme gladly to the badder end.* *are ready to thinkAnd some of them wonder’d on the mirrour, the worst*That borne was up into the master* tow’r, *chief <15>How men might in it suche thinges see.Another answer’d and said, it might well beNaturally by compositionsOf angles, and of sly reflections;And saide that in Rome was such a one.They speak of Alhazen and Vitellon,<16>And Aristotle, that wrote in their livesOf quainte* mirrors, and of prospectives, *curiousAs knowe they that have their bookes heard.And other folk have wonder’d on the swerd,* *swordThat woulde pierce throughout every thing;And fell in speech of Telephus the king,And of Achilles for his quainte spear, <17>For he could with it bothe heal and dere,* *woundRight in such wise as men may with the swerdOf which right now ye have yourselves heard.They spake of sundry hard’ning of metal,And spake of medicines therewithal,And how, and when, it shoulde harden’d be,Which is unknowen algate* unto me. *howeverThen spake they of Canacee’s ring,And saiden all, that such a wondrous thingOf craft of rings heard they never none,Save that he, Moses, and King Solomon,Hadden *a name of conning* in such art. *a reputation forThus said the people, and drew them apart. knowledge*Put natheless some saide that it wasWonder to maken of fern ashes glass,And yet is glass nought like ashes of fern;*But for* they have y-knowen it so ferne** *because **before <18>Therefore ceaseth their jangling and their wonder.As sore wonder some on cause of thunder,On ebb and flood, on gossamer and mist,And on all things, till that the cause is wist.* *knownThus jangle they, and deemen and devise,Till that the king gan from his board arise.
Phoebus had left the angle meridional,And yet ascending was the beast royal,The gentle Lion, with his Aldrian, <19>When that this Tartar king, this Cambuscan,Rose from the board, there as he sat full highBefore him went the loude minstrelsy,Till he came to his chamber of parements,<20>There as they sounded diverse instruments,That it was like a heaven for to hear.Now danced lusty Venus’ children dear:For in the Fish* their lady sat full *PiscesAnd looked on them with a friendly eye. <21>This noble king is set upon his throne;This strange knight is fetched to him full sone,* *soonAnd on the dance he goes with Canace.Here is the revel and the jollity,That is not able a dull man to devise:* *describeHe must have knowen love and his service,And been a feastly* man, as fresh as May, *merry, gayThat shoulde you devise such array.Who coulde telle you the form of dancesSo uncouth,* and so freshe countenances** *unfamliar **gesturesSuch subtle lookings and dissimulances,For dread of jealous men’s apperceivings?No man but Launcelot,<22> and he is dead.Therefore I pass o’er all this lustihead* *pleasantnessI say no more, but in this jollinessI leave them, till to supper men them dress.The steward bids the spices for to hie* *hasteAnd eke the wine, in all this melody;The ushers and the squiers be y-gone,The spices and the wine is come anon;They eat and drink, and when this hath an end,Unto the temple, as reason was, they wend;The service done, they suppen all by dayWhat needeth you rehearse their array?Each man wot well, that at a kinge’s feastIs plenty, to the most*, and to the least, *highestAnd dainties more than be in my knowing.
At after supper went this noble kingTo see the horse of brass, with all a routOf lordes and of ladies him about.Such wond’ring was there on this horse of brass,That, since the great siege of Troye was,There as men wonder’d on a horse also,Ne’er was there such a wond’ring as was tho.* *thereBut finally the king asked the knightThe virtue of this courser, and the might,And prayed him to tell his governance.* *mode of managing himThe horse anon began to trip and dance,When that the knight laid hand upon his rein,And saide, “Sir, there is no more to sayn,But when you list to riden anywhere,Ye muste trill* a pin, stands in his ear, *turn <23>Which I shall telle you betwixt us two;Ye muste name him to what place also,Or to what country that you list to ride.And when ye come where you list abide,Bid him descend, and trill another pin(For therein lies th’ effect of all the gin*), *contrivance <10>And he will down descend and do your will,And in that place he will abide still;Though all the world had the contrary swore,He shall not thence be throwen nor be bore.Or, if you list to bid him thennes gon,Trill this pin, and he will vanish anonOut of the sight of every manner wight,And come again, be it by day or night,When that you list to clepe* him again *callIn such a guise, as I shall to you saynBetwixte you and me, and that full soon.Ride <24> when you list, there is no more to do’n.’Informed when the king was of the knight,And had conceived in his wit arightThe manner and the form of all this thing,Full glad and blithe, this noble doughty kingRepaired to his revel as beforn.The bridle is into the tower borne,And kept among his jewels lefe* and dear; *cherishedThe horse vanish’d, I n’ot* in what mannere, *know notOut of their sight; ye get no more of me:But thus I leave in lust and jollityThis Cambuscan his lordes feastying,* *entertaining <25>Until well nigh the day began to spring.
*Pars Secunda.* *Second Part*
The norice* of digestion, the sleep, *nurseGan on them wink, and bade them take keep,* *heedThat muche mirth and labour will have rest.And with a gaping* mouth he all them kest,** *yawning **kissedAnd said, that it was time to lie down,For blood was in his dominatioun: <26>“Cherish the blood, nature’s friend,” quoth he.They thanked him gaping, by two and three;And every wight gan draw him to his rest;As sleep them bade, they took it for the best.Their dreames shall not now be told for me;Full are their heades of fumosity,<27>That caused dreams *of which there is no charge:* *of no significance*They slepte; till that, it was *prime large,* *late morning*The moste part, but* it was Canace; *exceptShe was full measurable,* as women be: *moderateFor of her father had she ta’en her leaveTo go to rest, soon after it was eve;Her liste not appalled* for to be; *to look paleNor on the morrow *unfeastly for to see;* *to look sad, depressed*And slept her firste sleep; and then awoke.For such a joy she in her hearte tookBoth of her quainte a ring and her mirrour,.That twenty times she changed her colour;And in her sleep, right for th’ impressionOf her mirror, she had a vision.Wherefore, ere that the sunne gan up glide,She call’d upon her mistress’* her beside, *governessesAnd saide, that her liste for to rise.
These olde women, that be gladly wiseAs are her mistresses answer’d anon,And said; “Madame, whither will ye gonThus early? for the folk be all in rest.”“I will,” quoth she, “arise; for me lestNo longer for to sleep, and walk about.”Her mistresses call’d women a great rout,And up they rose, well a ten or twelve;Up rose freshe Canace herselve,As ruddy and bright as is the yonnge sunThat in the Ram is four degrees y-run;No higher was he, when she ready was;And forth she walked easily a pace,Array’d after the lusty* season swoot,** *pleasant **sweetLightely for to play, and walk on foot,Nought but with five or six of her meinie;And in a trench* forth in the park went she. *sunken pathThe vapour, which up from the earthe glode,* *glidedMade the sun to seem ruddy and broad:But, natheless, it was so fair a sightThat it made all their heartes for to light,* *be lightened, gladWhat for the season and the morrowning,And for the fowles that she hearde sing.For right anon she wiste* what they meant *knewRight by their song, and knew all their intent.The knotte,* why that every tale is told, *nucleus, chief matterIf it be tarried* till the list* be cold *delayed **inclinationOf them that have it hearken’d *after yore,* *for a long time*The savour passeth ever longer more;For fulsomness of the prolixity:And by that same reason thinketh me.I shoulde unto the knotte condescend,And maken of her walking soon an end.
Amid a tree fordry*, as white as chalk, *thoroughly dried upThere sat a falcon o’er her head full high,That with a piteous voice so gan to cry;That all the wood resounded of her cry,And beat she had herself so piteouslyWith both her winges, till the redde bloodRan endelong* the tree, there as she stood *from top to bottomAnd ever-in-one* alway she cried and shright;** *incessantly **shriekedAnd with her beak herselfe she so pight,* *woundedThat there is no tiger, nor cruel beast,That dwelleth either in wood or in forest;But would have wept, if that he weepe could,For sorrow of her; she shriek’d alway so loud.For there was never yet no man alive,If that he could a falcon well descrive;* *describeThat heard of such another of fairnessAs well of plumage, as of gentleness;Of shape, of all that mighte reckon’d be.A falcon peregrine seemed she,Of fremde* land; and ever as she stood *foreign <28>She swooned now and now for lack of blood;Till well-nigh is she fallen from the tree.
This faire kinge’s daughter Canace,That on her finger bare the quainte ring,Through which she understood well every thingThat any fowl may in his leden* sayn, **language <29>And could him answer in his leden again;Hath understoode what this falcon said,And well-nigh for the ruth* almost she died;. *pityAnd to the tree she went, full hastily,And on this falcon looked piteously;And held her lap abroad; for well she wistThe falcon muste falle from the twist* *twig, boughWhen that she swooned next, for lack of blood.A longe while to waite her she stood;Till at the last she apake in this mannereUnto the hawk, as ye shall after hear:“What is the cause, if it be for to tell,That ye be in this furial* pain of hell?” *raging, furiousQuoth Canace unto this hawk above;“Is this for sorrow of of death; or loss of love?For; as I trow,* these be the causes two; *believeThat cause most a gentle hearte woe:Of other harm it needeth not to speak.For ye yourself upon yourself awreak;* *inflictWhich proveth well, that either ire or dread* *fearMust be occasion of your cruel deed,Since that I see none other wight you chase:For love of God, as *do yourselfe grace;* *have mercy onOr what may be your help? for, west nor east, yourself*I never saw ere now no bird nor beastThat fared with himself so piteouslyYe slay me with your sorrow verily;I have of you so great compassioun.For Godde’s love come from the tree adownAnd, as I am a kinge’s daughter true,If that I verily the causes knewOf your disease,* if it lay in my might, *distressI would amend it, ere that it were night,So wisly help me the great God of kind.** *surely **natureAnd herbes shall I right enoughe find,To heale with your hurtes hastily.”Then shriek’d this falcon yet more piteouslyThan ever she did, and fell to ground anon,And lay aswoon, as dead as lies a stone,Till Canace had in her lap her take,Unto that time she gan of swoon awake:And, after that she out of swoon abraid,* *awokeRight in her hawke’s leden thus she said:
“That pity runneth soon in gentle heart(Feeling his simil’tude in paines smart),Is proved every day, as men may see,As well *by work as by authority;* *by experience as by doctrine*For gentle hearte kitheth* gentleness. *shewethI see well, that ye have on my distressCompassion, my faire Canace,Of very womanly benignityThat nature in your princples hath set.But for no hope for to fare the bet,* *betterBut for t’ obey unto your hearte free,And for to make others aware by me,As by the whelp chastis’d* is the lion, *instructed, correctedRight for that cause and that conclusion,While that I have a leisure and a space,Mine harm I will confessen ere I pace.”* *departAnd ever while the one her sorrow told,The other wept, *as she to water wo’ld,* *as if she would dissolveTill that the falcon bade her to be still, into water*And with a sigh right thus she said *her till:* *to her*“Where I was bred (alas that ilke* day!) *sameAnd foster’d in a rock of marble graySo tenderly, that nothing ailed me,I wiste* not what was adversity, *knewTill I could flee* full high under the sky. *flyThen dwell’d a tercelet <30> me faste by,That seem’d a well of alle gentleness;*All were he* full of treason and falseness, *although he was*It was so wrapped *under humble cheer,* *under an aspectAnd under hue of truth, in such mannere, of humility*Under pleasance, and under busy pain,That no wight weened that he coulde feign,So deep in grain he dyed his colours.Right as a serpent hides him under flow’rs,Till he may see his time for to bite,Right so this god of love’s hypocriteDid so his ceremonies and obeisances,And kept in semblance all his observances,That *sounden unto* gentleness of love. *are consonant to*As on a tomb is all the fair above,And under is the corpse, which that ye wet,Such was this hypocrite, both cold and hot;And in this wise he served his intent,That, save the fiend, none wiste what he meant:Till he so long had weeped and complain’d,And many a year his service to me feign’d,Till that mine heart, too piteous and too nice,* *foolish, simpleAll innocent of his crowned malice,*Forfeared of his death,* as thoughte me, *greatly afraid lestUpon his oathes and his surety he should die*Granted him love, on this conditioun,That evermore mine honour and renownWere saved, bothe *privy and apert;* *privately and in public*This is to say, that, after his desert,I gave him all my heart and all my thought(God wot, and he, that *other wayes nought*), *in no other way*And took his heart in change of mine for aye.But sooth is said, gone since many a day,A true wight and a thiefe *think not one.* *do not think alike*And when he saw the thing so far y-gone,That I had granted him fully my love,In such a wise as I have said above,And given him my true heart as freeAs he swore that he gave his heart to me,Anon this tiger, full of doubleness,Fell on his knees with so great humbleness,With so high reverence, as by his cheer,* *mienSo like a gentle lover in mannere,So ravish’d, as it seemed, for the joy,That never Jason, nor Paris of Troy, —Jason? certes, nor ever other man,Since Lamech <31> was, that alderfirst* began *first of allTo love two, as write folk beforn,Nor ever since the firste man was born,Coulde no man, by twenty thousandCounterfeit the sophimes* of his art; *sophistries, beguilementsWhere doubleness of feigning should approach,Nor worthy were t’unbuckle his galoche,* *shoe <32>Nor could so thank a wight, as he did me.His manner was a heaven for to seeTo any woman, were she ne’er so wise;So painted he and kempt,* *at point devise,* *combed, studiedAs well his wordes as his countenance. *with perfect precision*And I so lov’d him for his obeisance,And for the truth I deemed in his heart,That, if so were that any thing him smart,* *painedAll were it ne’er so lite,* and I it wist, *littleMethought I felt death at my hearte twist.And shortly, so farforth this thing is went,* *goneThat my will was his wille’s instrument;That is to say, my will obey’d his willIn alle thing, as far as reason fill,* *fell; allowedKeeping the boundes of my worship ever;And never had I thing *so lefe, or lever,* *so dear, or dearer*As him, God wot, nor never shall no mo’.
“This lasted longer than a year or two,That I supposed of him naught but good.But finally, thus at the last it stood,That fortune woulde that he muste twin* *depart, separateOut of that place which that I was in.Whe’er* me was woe, it is no question; *whetherI cannot make of it description.For one thing dare I telle boldely,I know what is the pain of death thereby;Such harm I felt, for he might not byleve.* *stay <33>So on a day of me he took his leave,So sorrowful eke, that I ween’d verily,That he had felt as muche harm as I,When that I heard him speak, and saw his hue.But natheless, I thought he was so true,And eke that he repaire should againWithin a little while, sooth to sayn,And reason would eke that he muste goFor his honour, as often happ’neth so,That I made virtue of necessity,And took it well, since that it muste be.As I best might, I hid from him my sorrow,And took him by the hand, Saint John to borrow,* *witness, pledgeAnd said him thus; ‘Lo, I am youres all;Be such as I have been to you, and shall.’What he answer’d, it needs not to rehearse;Who can say bet* than he, who can do worse? *betterWhen he had all well said, then had he done.Therefore behoveth him a full long spoon,That shall eat with a fiend; thus heard I say.So at the last he muste forth his way,And forth he flew, till he came where him lest.When it came him to purpose for to rest,I trow that he had thilke text in mind,That alle thing repairing to his kindGladdeth himself; <34> thus say men, as I guess;*Men love of [proper] kind newfangleness,* *see note <35>*As birdes do, that men in cages feed.For though thou night and day take of them heed,And strew their cage fair and soft as silk,And give them sugar, honey, bread, and milk,Yet, *right anon as that his door is up,* *immediately on hisHe with his feet will spurne down his cup, door being opened*And to the wood he will, and wormes eat;So newefangle be they of their meat,And love novelties, of proper kind;No gentleness of bloode may them bind.So far’d this tercelet, alas the day!Though he were gentle born, and fresh, and gay,And goodly for to see, and humble, and free,He saw upon a time a kite flee,* *flyAnd suddenly he loved this kite so,That all his love is clean from me y-go:And hath his trothe falsed in this wise.Thus hath the kite my love in her service,And I am lorn* withoute remedy.” *lost, undone
And with that word this falcon gan to cry,And swooned eft* in Canacee’s barme** *again **lapGreat was the sorrow, for that hawke’s harm,That Canace and all her women made;They wist not how they might the falcon glade.* *gladdenBut Canace home bare her in her lap,And softely in plasters gan her wrap,There as she with her beak had hurt herselve.Now cannot Canace but herbes delveOut of the ground, and make salves newOf herbes precious and fine of hue,To heale with this hawk; from day to nightShe did her business, and all her might.And by her bedde’s head she made a mew,* *bird cageAnd cover’d it with velouettes* blue,<36> *velvetsIn sign of truth that is in woman seen;And all without the mew is painted green,In which were painted all these false fowls,As be these tidifes,* tercelets, and owls; *titmiceAnd pies, on them for to cry and chide,Right for despite were painted them beside.
Thus leave I Canace her hawk keeping.I will no more as now speak of her ring,Till it come eft* to purpose for to sayn *againHow that this falcon got her love againRepentant, as the story telleth us,By mediation of Camballus,The kinge’s son of which that I you told.But henceforth I will my process holdTo speak of aventures, and of battailes,That yet was never heard so great marvailles.First I will telle you of Cambuscan,That in his time many a city wan;And after will I speak of Algarsife,How he won Theodora to his wife,For whom full oft in great peril he was,*N’had he* been holpen by the horse of brass. *had he not*And after will I speak of Camballo, <37>That fought in listes with the brethren twoFor Canace, ere that he might her win;And where I left I will again begin. . . . . <38>
Notes to the Squire’s Tale
1. The Squire’s Tale has not been found under any other formamong the literary remains of the Middle Ages; and it isunknown from what original it was derived, if from any. TheTale is unfinished, not because the conclusion has been lost, butbecause the author left it so.
2. The Russians and Tartars waged constant hostilities betweenthe thirteenth and sixteenth centuries.
3. In the best manuscripts the name is “Cambynskan,” and thus,no doubt, it should strictly be read. But it is a most pardonableoffence against literal accuracy to use the word which Miltonhas made classical, in “Il Penseroso,” speaking of
“him that left half-toldThe story of Cambuscan bold,Of Camball, and of Algarsife,And who had Canace to wife,That owned the virtuous Ring and Glass,And of the wondrous Horse of Brass,On which the Tartar King did ride”
Surely the admiration of Milton might well seem to the spirit ofChaucer to condone a much greater transgression on his domainthan this verbal change — which to both eye and ear is anunquestionable improvement on the uncouth original.
4. Couth his colours longing for that art: well skilled in usingthe colours — the word-painting — belonging to his art.
5. Aries was the mansion of Mars — to whom “his” applies.Leo was the mansion of the Sun.
6. Sewes: Dishes, or soups. The precise force of the word isuncertain; but it may be connected with “seethe,” to boil, and itseems to describe a dish in which the flesh was served up amid akind of broth or gravy. The “sewer,” taster or assayer of theviands served at great tables, probably derived his name fromthe verb to “say” or “assay;” though Tyrwhitt would connectthe two words, by taking both from the French, “asseoir,” toplace — making the arrangement of the table the leading duty ofthe “sewer,” rather than the testing of the food.
- Heronsews: young herons; French, “heronneaux.”
- Purpose: story, discourse; French, “propos.”
9. Gawain was celebrated in mediaeval romance as the mostcourteous among King Arthur’s knights.
10. Gin: contrivance; trick; snare. Compare Italian, “inganno,”deception; and our own “engine.”
11. Mr Wright remarks that “the making and arrangement ofseals was one of the important operations of mediaeval magic.”
- Remued: removed; French, “remuer,” to stir.
13. Polies: Apulian. The horses of Apulia — in old French“Poille,” in Italian “Puglia” — were held in high value.
14. The Greeke’s horse Sinon: the wooden horse of the GreekSinon, introduced into Troy by the stratagem of its maker.
15. Master tower: chief tower; as, in the Knight’s Tale, theprincipal street is called the “master street.” See note 86 to theKnight’s Tale.
16. Alhazen and Vitellon: two writers on optics — the firstsupposed to have lived about 1100, the other about 1270.Tyrwhitt says that their works were printed at Basle in 1572,under the title “Alhazeni et Vitellonis Opticae.”
17. Telephus, a son of Hercules, reigned over Mysia when theGreeks came to besiege Troy, and he sought to prevent theirlanding. But, by the art of Dionysus, he was made to stumbleover a vine, and Achilles wounded him with his spear. Theoracle informed Telephus that the hurt could be healed only byhim, or by the weapon, that inflicted it; and the king, seekingthe Grecian camp, was healed by Achilles with the rust of thecharmed spear.
18. Ferne: before; a corruption of “forne,” from Anglo-Saxon,“foran.”
19. Aldrian: or Aldebaran; a star in the neck of the constellationLeo.
20. Chamber of parements: Presence-chamber, or chamber ofstate, full of splendid furniture and ornaments. The sameexpression is used in French and Italian.
21. In Pisces, Venus was said to be at her exaltation or greatestpower. A planet, according to the old astrologers, was in“exaltation” when in the sign of the Zodiac in which it exertedits strongest influence; the opposite sign, in which it wasweakest, was called its “dejection.”
22. Launcelot: Arthur’s famous knight, so accomplished andcourtly, that he was held the very pink of chivalry.
- Trill: turn; akin to “thirl”, “drill.”
- Ride: another reading is “bide,” alight or remain.
- Feastying: entertaining; French, “festoyer,” to feast.
26. The old physicians held that blood dominated in the humanbody late at night and in the early morning. Galen says that thedomination lasts for seven hours.
27. Fumosity: fumes of wine rising from the stomach to thehead.
28. Fremde: foreign, strange; German, “fremd” in the northerndialects, “frem,” or “fremmed,” is used in the same sense.
29. Leden: Language, dialect; from Anglo-Saxon, “leden” or“laeden,” a corruption from “Latin.”
30. Tercelet: the “tassel,” or male of any species of hawk; socalled, according to Cotgrave, because he is one third (“tiers”)smaller than the female.
31. “And Lamech took unto him two wives: the name of theone Adah, and the name of the other Zillah” (Gen. iv. 19).
32. Galoche: shoe; it seems to have been used in France, of a“sabot,” or wooden shoe. The reader cannot fail to recall thesame illustration in John i. 27, where the Baptist says of Christ:“He it is, who coming after me is preferred before me; whoseshoe’s latchet I am not worthy to unloose.”
33. Byleve; stay; another form is “bleve;” from Anglo-Saxon,“belitan,” to remain. Compare German, “bleiben.”
34. This sentiment, as well as the illustration of the bird whichfollows, is taken from the third book of Boethius, “DeConsolatione Philosophiae,” metrum 2. It has thus beenrendered in Chaucer’s translation: “All things seek aye to theirproper course, and all things rejoice on their returning again totheir nature.”
35. Men love of proper kind newfangleness: Men, by their own— their very — nature, are fond of novelty, and prone toinconstancy.
36. Blue was the colour of truth, as green was that ofinconstancy. In John Stowe’s additions to Chaucer’s works,printed in 1561, there is “A balade whiche Chaucer madeagainst women inconstaunt,” of which the refrain is, “In stead ofblue, thus may ye wear all green.”
37. Unless we suppose this to be a namesake of the Camballowho was Canace’s brother — which is not at all probable — wemust agree with Tyrwhitt that there is a mistake here; which nodoubt Chaucer would have rectified, if the tale had not been“left half-told,” One manuscript reads “Caballo;” and though notmuch authority need be given to a difference that may be due tomere omission of the mark of contraction over the “a,” there isenough in the text to show that another person than the king’syounger son is intended. The Squire promises to tell theadventures that befell each member of Cambuscan’s family; andin thorough consistency with this plan, and with the canons ofchivalric story, would be “the marriage of Canace to someknight who was first obliged to fight for her with her twobrethren; a method of courtship,” adds Tyrwhitt, “veryconsonant to the spirit of ancient chivalry.”
38. (Trancriber’s note) In some manuscripts the following twolines, being the beginning of the third part, are found: -
Apollo whirleth up his chair so high,Till that Mercurius’ house, the sly…