[In “The Assembly of Fowls” — which Chaucer’s “Retractation”describes as “The Book of Saint Valentine’s Day, or of theParliament of Birds” — we are presented with a picture of themediaeval “Court of Love” far closer to the reality than we findin Chaucer’s poem which bears that express title. We have aregularly constituted conclave or tribunal, under a presidentwhose decisions are final. A difficult question is proposed forthe consideration and judgment of the Court — the disputantsadvancing and vindicating their claims in person. The attendantsupon the Court, through specially chosen mouthpieces, delivertheir opinions on the cause; and finally a decision isauthoritatively pronounced by the president — which, as inmany of the cases actually judged before the Courts of Love inFrance, places the reasonable and modest wish of a sensitiveand chaste lady above all the eagerness of her lovers, all theincongruous counsels of representative courtiers. So far,therefore, as the poem reproduces the characteristic features ofprocedure in those romantic Middle Age halls of amatoryjustice, Chaucer’s “Assembly of Fowls” is his real “Court ofLove;” for although, in the castle and among the courtiers ofAdmetus and Alcestis, we have all the personages andmachinery necessary for one of those erotic contentions, in thepresent poem we see the personages and the machinery actuallyat work, upon another scene and under other guises. Theallegory which makes the contention arise out of the loves, andproceed in the assembly, of the feathered race, is quite inkeeping with the fanciful yet nature-loving spirit of the poetryof Chaucer’s time, in which the influence of the Troubadourswas still largely present. It is quite in keeping, also, with theprinciples that regulated the Courts, the purpose of which wasmore to discuss and determine the proper conduct of loveaffairs, than to secure conviction or acquittal, sanction orreprobation, in particular cases — though the jurisdiction andthe judgments of such assemblies often closely concernedindividuals. Chaucer introduces us to his main theme throughthe vestibule of a fancied dream — a method which berepeatedly employs with great relish, as for instance in “TheHouse of Fame.” He has spent the whole day over Cicero’saccount of the Dream of Scipio (Africanus the Younger); and,having gone to bed, he dreams that Africanus the Elder appearsto him — just as in the book he appeared to his namesake — andcarries him into a beautiful park, in which is a fair garden by ariver-side. Here the poet is led into a splendid temple, through acrowd of courtiers allegorically representing the variousinstruments, pleasures, emotions, and encouragements of Love;and in the temple Venus herself is found, sporting with herporter Richess. Returning into the garden, he sees the Goddessof Nature seated on a hill of flowers; and before her areassembled all the birds — for it is Saint Valentine’s Day, whenevery fowl chooses her mate. Having with a graphic touchenumerated and described the principal birds, the poet sees thaton her hand Nature bears a female eagle of surpassing lovelinessand virtue, for which three male eagles advance contendingclaims. The disputation lasts all day; and at evening theassembled birds, eager to be gone with their mates, clamour fora decision. The tercelet, the goose, the cuckoo, and the turtle —for birds of prey, water-fowl, worm-fowl, and seed-fowlrespectively — pronounce their verdicts on the dispute, inspeeches full of character and humour; but Nature refers thedecision between the three claimants to the female eagle herself,who prays that she may have a year’s respite. Nature grants theprayer, pronounces judgment accordingly, and dismisses theassembly; and after a chosen choir has sung a roundel in honourof the Goddess, all the birds fly away, and the poet awakes. It isprobable that Chaucer derived the idea of the poem from aFrench source; Mr Bell gives the outline of a fabliau, of whichthree versions existed, and in which a contention between twoladies regarding the merits of their respective lovers, a knightand a clerk, is decided by Cupid in a Court composed of birds,which assume their sides according to their different natures.Whatever the source of the idea, its management, and the wholeworkmanship of the poem, especially in the more humorouspassages, are essentially Chaucer’s own.]
THE life so short, the craft so long to learn,Th’assay so hard, so sharp the conquering,The dreadful joy, alway that *flits so yern;* *fleets so fast*All this mean I by* Love, that my feeling *with reference toAstoneth* with his wonderful working, *amazesSo sore, y-wis, that, when I on him think,Naught wit I well whether I fleet* or sink, *float
For *all be* that I know not Love indeed, *albeit, although*Nor wot how that he *quiteth folk their hire,* *rewards folk forYet happeth me full oft in books to read their service*Of his miracles, and of his cruel ire;There read I well, he will be lord and sire;I dare not saye, that his strokes be sore;But God save such a lord! I can no more.
Of usage, what for lust and what for lore,On bookes read I oft, as I you told.But wherefore speak I alle this? Not yoreAgone, it happed me for to beholdUpon a book written with letters old;And thereupon, a certain thing to learn,The longe day full fast I read and yern.* *eagerly
For out of the old fieldes, as men saith,Cometh all this new corn, from year to year;And out of olde bookes, in good faith,Cometh all this new science that men lear.* *learnBut now to purpose as of this mattere:To reade forth it gan me so delight,That all the day me thought it but a lite.* *little while
This book, of which I make mention,Entitled was right thus, as I shall tell;“Tullius, of the Dream of Scipion:” <1>Chapters seven it had, of heav’n, and hell,And earth, and soules that therein do dwell;Of which, as shortly as I can it treat,Of his sentence I will you say the great.* *important part
First telleth it, when Scipio was comeTo Africa, how he met Massinisse,That him for joy in armes hath y-nome.* *taken <2>Then telleth he their speech, and all the blissThat was between them till the day gan miss.* *failAnd how his ancestor Africane so dearGan in his sleep that night to him appear.
Then telleth it, that from a starry placeHow Africane hath him Carthage y-shew’d,And warned him before of all his grace, <3>And said him, what man, learned either lewd,* *ignorantThat loveth *common profit,* well y-thew’d, *the public advantage*He should unto a blissful place wend,* *goWhere as the joy is without any end.
Then asked he,* if folk that here be dead *i.e. the younger ScipioHave life, and dwelling, in another place?And Africane said, “Yea, withoute dread;”* *doubtAnd how our present worldly lives’ spaceMeant but a manner death, <4> what way we trace;And rightful folk should go, after they die,To Heav’n; and showed him the galaxy.
Then show’d he him the little earth that here is,*To regard* the heaven’s quantity; *by comparison withAnd after show’d he him the nine spheres; <5>And after that the melody heard he,That cometh of those spheres thrice three,That wells of music be and melodyIn this world here, and cause of harmony.
Then said he him, since earthe was so lite,* *smallAnd full of torment and of *harde grace,* *evil fortuneThat he should not him in this world delight.Then told he him, in certain yeares’ space,That ev’ry star should come into his place,Where it was first; and all should *out of mind,* *perish from memory*That in this world is done of all mankind.
Then pray’d him Scipio, to tell him allThe way to come into that Heaven’s bliss;And he said: “First know thyself immortal,And look aye busily that thou work and wiss* *guide affairsTo common profit, and thou shalt not missTo come swiftly unto that place dear,That full of bliss is, and of soules clear.* *noble <6>
“And breakers of the law, the sooth to sayn,And likerous* folk, after that they be dead, *lecherousShall whirl about the world always in pain,Till many a world be passed, *out of dread;* *without doubt*And then, forgiven all their wicked deed,They shalle come unto that blissful place,To which to come God thee sende grace!”
The day gan failen, and the darke night,That reaveth* beastes from their business, *taketh awayBerefte me my book for lack of light,And to my bed I gan me for to dress,* *prepareFull fill’d of thought and busy heaviness;For both I hadde thing which that I n’old,* *would notAnd eke I had not that thing that I wo’ld.
But, finally, my spirit at the last,Forweary* of my labour all that day, *utterly weariedTook rest, that made me to sleepe fast;And in my sleep I mette,* as that I say, *dreamedHow Africane, right in the *self array* *same garb*That Scipio him saw before that tide,* *timeWas come, and stood right at my bedde’s side.
The weary hunter, sleeping in his bed,To wood again his mind goeth anon;The judge dreameth how his pleas be sped;The carter dreameth how his cartes go’n;The rich of gold, the knight fights with his fone;* *foesThe sicke mette he drinketh of the tun; <7>The lover mette he hath his lady won.
I cannot say, if that the cause were,For* I had read of Africane beforn, *becauseThat made me to mette that he stood there;But thus said he; “Thou hast thee so well borneIn looking of mine old book all to-torn,Of which Macrobius *raught not a lite,* *recked not a little*That *somedeal of thy labour would I quite.”* *I would reward you for some of your labour*Cytherea, thou blissful Lady sweet!That with thy firebrand dauntest *when thee lest,* *when you please*That madest me this sweven* for to mette, *dreamBe thou my help in this, for thou may’st best!As wisly* as I saw the north-north-west, <8> *surelyWhen I began my sweven for to write,So give me might to rhyme it and endite.* *write down
This foresaid Africane me hent* anon, *tookAnd forth with him unto a gate broughtRight of a park, walled with greene stone;And o’er the gate, with letters large y-wrought,There were verses written, as me thought,On either half, of full great difference,Of which I shall you say the plain sentence.* *meaning
“Through me men go into the blissful place <9>Of hearte’s heal and deadly woundes’ cure;Through me men go unto the well of grace;Where green and lusty May shall ever dure;This is the way to all good adventure;Be glad, thou reader, and thy sorrow off cast;All open am I; pass in and speed thee fast.”
“Through me men go,” thus spake the other side,“Unto the mortal strokes of the spear,Of which disdain and danger is the guide;There never tree shall fruit nor leaves bear;This stream you leadeth to the sorrowful weir,Where as the fish in prison is all dry; <10>Th’eschewing is the only remedy.”
These verses of gold and azure written were,On which I gan astonish’d to behold;For with that one increased all my fear,And with that other gan my heart to bold;* *take courageThat one me het,* that other did me cold; *heatedNo wit had I, for error,* for to choose *perplexity, confusionTo enter or fly, or me to save or lose.
Right as betwixten adamantes* two *magnetsOf even weight, a piece of iron set,Ne hath no might to move to nor fro;For what the one may hale,* the other let;** *attract **restrainSo far’d I, that *n’ist whether me was bet* *knew not whether it wasT’ enter or leave, till Africane, my guide, better for me*Me hent* and shov’d in at the gates wide. *caught
And said, “It standeth written in thy face,Thine error,* though thou tell it not to me; *perplexity, confusionBut dread thou not to come into this place;For this writing *is nothing meant by* thee, *does not refer to*Nor by none, but* he Love’s servant be; *unlessFor thou of Love hast lost thy taste, I guess,As sick man hath of sweet and bitterness.
“But natheless, although that thou be dull,That thou canst not do, yet thou mayest see;For many a man that may not stand a pull,Yet likes it him at wrestling for to be,And deeme* whether he doth bet,** or he; *judge **betterAnd, if thou haddest cunning* to endite, *skillI shall thee showe matter *of to write.”* *to write about*
With that my hand in his he took anon,Of which I comfort caught,* and went in fast. *tookBut, Lord! so I was glad and well-begone!* *fortunateFor *over all,* where I my eyen cast, *everywhere*Were trees y-clad with leaves that ay shall last,Each in his kind, with colour fresh and greenAs emerald, that joy it was to see’n.
The builder oak; and eke the hardy ash;The pillar elm, the coffer unto carrain;The box, pipe tree; the holm, to whippe’s lashThe sailing fir; the cypress death to plain;The shooter yew; the aspe for shaftes plain;Th’olive of peace, and eke the drunken vine;The victor palm; the laurel, too, divine. <11>
A garden saw I, full of blossom’d boughes,Upon a river, in a greene mead,Where as sweetness evermore enow is,With flowers white, blue, yellow, and red,And colde welle* streames, nothing dead, *fountainThat swamme full of smalle fishes light,With finnes red, and scales silver bright.
On ev’ry bough the birdes heard I sing,With voice of angels in their harmony,That busied them their birdes forth to bring;The pretty conies* to their play gan hie; *rabbits **hasteAnd further all about I gan espyThe dreadful* roe, the buck, the hart, and hind, *timidSquirrels, and beastes small, of gentle kind.* *nature
Of instruments of stringes in accordHeard I so play a ravishing sweetness,That God, that Maker is of all and Lord,Ne hearde never better, as I guess:Therewith a wind, unneth* it might be less, *scarcelyMade in the leaves green a noise soft,Accordant* the fowles’ song on loft.** *in keeping with **above
Th’air of the place so attemper* was, *mildThat ne’er was there grievance* of hot nor cold; *annoyanceThere was eke ev’ry wholesome spice and grass,Nor no man may there waxe sick nor old:Yet* was there more joy a thousand fold *moreoverThan I can tell, or ever could or might;There ever is clear day, and never night.
Under a tree, beside a well, I sey* *sawCupid our lord his arrows forge and file;* *polishAnd at his feet his bow all ready lay;And well his daughter temper’d, all the while,The heades in the well; and with her wile* *clevernessShe couch’d* them after, as they shoulde serve *arranged in orderSome for to slay, and some to wound and kerve.* *carve, cut
Then was I ware of Pleasance anon right,And of Array, and Lust, and Courtesy,And of the Craft, that can and hath the mightTo do* by force a wight to do folly; *makeDisfigured* was she, I will not lie; *disguisedAnd by himself, under an oak, I guess,Saw I Delight, that stood with Gentleness.
Then saw I Beauty, with a nice attire,And Youthe, full of game and jollity,Foolhardiness, Flattery, and Desire,Messagerie, and Meed, and other three; <12>Their names shall not here be told for me:And upon pillars great of jasper longI saw a temple of brass y-founded strong.
And [all] about the temple danc’d alwayWomen enough, of whiche some there wereFair of themselves, and some of them were gayIn kirtles* all dishevell’d went they there; *tunicsThat was their office* ever, from year to year; *duty, occupationAnd on the temple saw I, white and fair,Of doves sitting many a thousand pair. <13>
Before the temple door, full soberly,Dame Peace sat, a curtain in her hand;And her beside, wonder discreetely,Dame Patience sitting there I fand,* *foundWith face pale, upon a hill of sand;And althernext, within and eke without,Behest,* and Art, and of their folk a rout.** *Promise **crowd
Within the temple, of sighes hot as fireI heard a swough,* that gan aboute ren,** *murmur **runWhich sighes were engender’d with desire,That made every hearte for to bren* *burnOf newe flame; and well espied I then,That all the cause of sorrows that they dree* *endureCame of the bitter goddess Jealousy.
The God Priapus <14> saw I, as I wentWithin the temple, in sov’reign place stand,In such array, as when the ass him shent* <15> *ruinedWith cry by night, and with sceptre in hand:Full busily men gan assay and fand* *endeavourUpon his head to set, of sundry hue,Garlandes full of freshe flowers new.
And in a privy corner, in disport,Found I Venus and her porter Richess,That was full noble and hautain* of her port; *haughty <16>Dark was that place, but afterward lightnessI saw a little, unneth* it might be less; *scarcelyAnd on a bed of gold she lay to rest,Till that the hote sun began to west.* *decline towards the wesr
Her gilded haires with a golden threadY-bounden were, untressed,* as she lay; *looseAnd naked from the breast unto the headMen might her see; and, soothly for to say,The remnant cover’d, welle to my pay,* *satisfaction <17>Right with a little kerchief of Valence;<18>There was no thicker clothe of defence.
The place gave a thousand savours swoot;* *sweetAnd Bacchus, god of wine, sat her beside;And Ceres next, that *doth of hunger boot;*<19> *relieves hunger*And, as I said, amiddes* lay Cypride, <20> *in the midstTo whom on knees the younge folke criedTo be their help: but thus I let her lie,And farther in the temple gan espy,
<See note 21 for the stories of the lovers inthe next two stanzas>
That, in despite of Diana the chaste,Full many a bowe broke hung on the wall,Of maidens, such as go their time to wasteIn her service: and painted over allOf many a story, of which I touche shallA few, as of Calist’, and Atalant’,And many a maid, of which the name I want.* *do not have
Semiramis, Canace, and Hercules,Biblis, Dido, Thisbe and Pyramus,Tristram, Isoude, Paris, and Achilles,Helena, Cleopatra, Troilus,Scylla, and eke the mother of Romulus;All these were painted on the other side,And all their love, and in what plight they died.
When I was come again into the placeThat I of spake, that was so sweet and green,Forth walk’d I then, myselfe to solace:Then was I ware where there sat a queen,That, as of light the summer Sunne sheenPasseth the star, right so *over measure* *out of all proportion*She fairer was than any creature.
And in a lawn, upon a hill of flowers,Was set this noble goddess of Nature;Of branches were her halles and her bowersY-wrought, after her craft and her measure;Nor was there fowl that comes of engendrureThat there ne were prest,* in her presence, *ready <22>To *take her doom,* and give her audience. *receive her decision*
For this was on Saint Valentine’s Day,When ev’ry fowl cometh to choose her make,* *mateOf every kind that men thinken may;And then so huge a noise gan they make,That earth, and sea, and tree, and ev’ry lake,So full was, that unnethes* there was space *scarcelyFor me to stand, so full was all the place.
And right as Alain, in his Plaint of Kind, <23>Deviseth* Nature of such array and face; *describethIn such array men mighte her there find.This noble Emperess, full of all grace,Bade ev’ry fowle take her owen place,As they were wont alway, from year to year,On Saint Valentine’s Day to stande there.
That is to say, the *fowles of ravine* *birds of prey*Were highest set, and then the fowles smale,That eaten as them Nature would incline;As worme-fowl, of which I tell no tale;But waterfowl sat lowest in the dale,And fowls that live by seed sat on the green,And that so many, that wonder was to see’n.
There mighte men the royal eagle find,That with his sharpe look pierceth the Sun;And other eagles of a lower kind,Of which that *clerkes well devise con;* *which scholars wellThere was the tyrant with his feathers dun can describe*And green, I mean the goshawk, that doth pine* *cause painTo birds, for his outrageous ravine.* *slaying, hunting
The gentle falcon, that with his feet distraineth* *graspsThe kinge’s hand; <24> the hardy* sperhawk eke, *pertThe quaile’s foe; the merlion <25> that painethHimself full oft the larke for to seek;There was the dove, with her eyen meek;The jealous swan, against* his death that singeth; *in anticipation ofThe owl eke, that of death the bode* bringeth. *omen
The crane, the giant, with his trumpet soun’;The thief the chough; and eke the chatt’ring pie;The scorning jay; <26> the eel’s foe the heroun;The false lapwing, full of treachery; <27>The starling, that the counsel can betray;The tame ruddock,* and the coward kite; *robin-redbreastThe cock, that horologe* is of *thorpes lite.* *clock *little villages*
The sparrow, Venus’ son; <28> the nightingale,That calleth forth the freshe leaves new; <29>The swallow, murd’rer of the bees smale,That honey make of flowers fresh of hue;The wedded turtle, with his hearte true;The peacock, with his angel feathers bright; <30>The pheasant, scorner of the cock by night; <31>
The waker goose; <32> the cuckoo ever unkind; <33>The popinjay,* full of delicacy; *parrotThe drake, destroyer of his owen kind; <34>The stork, the wreaker* of adultery; <35> *avengerThe hot cormorant, full of gluttony; <36>The raven and the crow, with voice of care; <37>The throstle old;* and the frosty fieldfare.<38> *long-lived
What should I say? Of fowls of ev’ry kindThat in this world have feathers and stature,Men mighten in that place assembled find,Before that noble goddess of Nature;And each of them did all his busy cure* *care, painsBenignely to choose, or for to take,By her accord,* his formel <39> or his make.** *consent **mate
But to the point. Nature held on her handA formel eagle, of shape the gentilestThat ever she among her workes fand,The most benign, and eke the goodliest;In her was ev’ry virtue at its rest,* *highest pointSo farforth that Nature herself had blissTo look on her, and oft her beak to kiss.
Nature, the vicar of th’Almighty Lord, —That hot, cold, heavy, light, and moist, and dry,Hath knit, by even number of accord, —In easy voice began to speak, and say:“Fowles, take heed of my sentence,”* I pray; *opinion, discourseAnd for your ease, in furth’ring of your need,As far as I may speak, I will me speed.
“Ye know well how, on Saint Valentine’s Day,By my statute, and through my governance,Ye choose your mates, and after fly awayWith them, as I you *pricke with pleasance;* *inspire with pleasure*But natheless, as by rightful ordinance,May I not let,* for all this world to win, *hinderBut he that most is worthy shall begin.
“The tercel eagle, as ye know full weel,* *wellThe fowl royal, above you all in degree,The wise and worthy, secret, true as steel,The which I formed have, as ye may see,In ev’ry part, as it best liketh me, —It needeth not his shape you to devise,* — *describeHe shall first choose, and speaken *in his guise.* *in his own way*
“And, after him, by order shall ye choose,After your kind, evereach as you liketh;And as your hap* is, shall ye win or lose; *fortuneBut which of you that love most entriketh,* *entangles <40>God send him her that sorest for him siketh.”* *sighethAnd therewithal the tercel gan she call,And said, “My son, the choice is to thee fall.
“But natheless, in this conditionMust be the choice of ev’reach that is here,That she agree to his election,Whoso he be, that shoulde be her fere;* *companionThis is our usage ay, from year to year;And whoso may at this time have this grace,*In blissful time* he came into this place.” *in a happy hour*With head inclin’d, and with full humble cheer,* *demeanour
This royal tercel spake, and tarried not:“Unto my sov’reign lady, and not my fere,* *companionI chose and choose, with will, and heart, and thought,The formel on your hand, so well y-wrought,Whose I am all, and ever will her serve,Do what her list, to do me live or sterve.* *die
“Beseeching her of mercy and of grace,As she that is my lady sovereign,Or let me die here present in this place,For certes long may I not live in pain;*For in my heart is carven ev’ry vein:* *every vein in my heart isHaving regard only unto my truth, wounded with love*My deare heart, have on my woe some ruth.* *pity
“And if that I be found to her untrue,Disobeisant,* or wilful negligent, *disobedientAvaunter,* or *in process* love a new, *braggart *in the courseI pray to you, this be my judgement, of time*That with these fowles I be all to-rent,* *torn to piecesThat ilke* day that she me ever find *sameTo her untrue, or in my guilt unkind.
“And since none loveth her so well as I,Although she never of love me behet,* *promisedThen ought she to be mine, through her mercy;For *other bond can I none on her knit;* *I can bind her no other way*For weal or for woe, never shall I let* *cease, failTo serve her, how far so that she wend;* *goSay what you list, my tale is at an end.”
Right as the freshe redde rose newAgainst the summer Sunne colour’d is,Right so, for shame, all waxen gan the hueOf this formel, when she had heard all this;*Neither she answer’d well, nor said amiss,* *she answered nothing,So sore abashed was she, till Nature either well or ill*Said, “Daughter, dread you not, I you assure.”* *confirm, support
Another tercel eagle spake anon,Of lower kind, and said that should not be;“I love her better than ye do, by Saint John!Or at the least I love her as well as ye,And longer have her serv’d in my degree;And if she should have lov’d for long loving,To me alone had been the guerdoning.* *reward
“I dare eke say, if she me finde false,Unkind, janglere,* rebel in any wise, *boastfulOr jealous, *do me hange by the halse;* *hang me by the neck*And but* I beare me in her service *unlessAs well ay as my wit can me suffice,From point to point, her honour for to save,Take she my life and all the good I have.”
A thirde tercel eagle answer’d tho:* *then“Now, Sirs, ye see the little leisure here;For ev’ry fowl cries out to be agoForth with his mate, or with his lady dear;And eke Nature herselfe will not hear,For tarrying her, not half that I would say;And but* I speak, I must for sorrow dey.** *unless **die
Of long service avaunt* I me no thing, *boastBut as possible is me to die to-day,For woe, as he that hath been languishingThis twenty winter; and well happen mayA man may serve better, and *more to pay,* *with more satisfaction*In half a year, although it were no more.Than some man doth that served hath *full yore.* *for a long time*
“I say not this by me for that I canDo no service that may my lady please;But I dare say, I am her truest man,* *liegeman, servant*As to my doom,* and fainest would her please; *in my judgement*At shorte words,* until that death me seize, *in one word*I will be hers, whether I wake or wink.And true in all that hearte may bethink.”
Of all my life, since that day I was born,*So gentle plea,* in love or other thing, *such noble pleading*Ye hearde never no man me beforn;Whoso that hadde leisure and cunning* *skillFor to rehearse their cheer and their speaking:And from the morrow gan these speeches last,Till downward went the Sunne wonder fast.
The noise of fowles for to be deliver’d* *set free to departSo loude rang, “Have done and let us wend,”* *goThat well ween’d I the wood had all to-shiver’d:* *been shaken to“Come off!” they cried; “alas! ye will us shend!* pieces* *ruinWhen will your cursed pleading have an end?How should a judge either party believe,For yea or nay, withouten any preve?”* *proof
The goose, the duck, and the cuckoo also,So cried “keke, keke,” “cuckoo,” “queke queke,” high,That through mine ears the noise wente tho.* *thenThe goose said then, “All this n’is worth a fly!But I can shape hereof a remedy;And I will say my verdict, fair and swith,* *speedilyFor water-fowl, whoso be wroth or blith.”* *glad
“And I for worm-fowl,” said the fool cuckow;For I will, of mine own authority,For common speed,* take on me the charge now; *advantageFor to deliver us is great charity.”“Ye may abide a while yet, pardie,”* *by GodQuoth then the turtle; “if it be your willA wight may speak, it were as good be still.
“I am a seed-fowl, one th’unworthiest,That know I well, and the least of cunning;But better is, that a wight’s tongue rest,Than *entremette him of* such doing *meddle with* <41>Of which he neither rede* can nor sing; *counselAnd who it doth, full foul himself accloyeth,* *embarrassethFor office uncommanded oft annoyeth.”
Nature, which that alway had an earTo murmur of the lewedness behind,With facond* voice said, “Hold your tongues there, *eloquent, fluentAnd I shall soon, I hope, a counsel find,You to deliver, and from this noise unbind;I charge of ev’ry flock* ye shall one call, *class of fowlTo say the verdict of you fowles all.”
The tercelet* said then in this mannere; *male hawk“Full hard it were to prove it by reason,Who loveth best this gentle formel here;For ev’reach hath such replication,* *replyThat by skilles* may none be brought adown; *argumentsI cannot see that arguments avail;Then seemeth it that there must be battaile.”
“All ready!” quoth those eagle tercels tho;* *then“Nay, Sirs!” quoth he; “if that I durst it say,Ye do me wrong, my tale is not y-do,* *doneFor, Sirs, — and *take it not agrief,* I pray, — *be not offended*It may not be as ye would, in this way:Ours is the voice that have the charge in hand,And *to the judges’ doom ye muste stand.* *ye must abide by the judges’ decision*“And therefore ‘Peace!’ I say; as to my wit,Me woulde think, how that the worthiestOf knighthood, and had longest used it,Most of estate, of blood the gentilest,Were fitting most for her, *if that her lest;* *if she pleased*And, of these three she knows herself, I trow,* *am sureWhich that he be; for it is light* to know.” *easy
The water-fowles have their heades laidTogether, and *of short advisement,* *after brief deliberation*When evereach his verdict had y-saidThey saide soothly all by one assent,How that “The goose with the *facond gent,* *refined eloquence*That so desired to pronounce our need,* businessShall tell our tale;” and prayed God her speed.
And for those water-fowles then beganThe goose to speak. and in her cackelingShe saide, “Peace, now! take keep* ev’ry man, *heedAnd hearken what reason I shall forth bring;My wit is sharp, I love no tarrying;I say I rede him, though he were my brother,But* she will love him, let him love another!” *unless
“Lo! here a perfect reason of a goose!”Quoth the sperhawke. “Never may she the!* *thriveLo such a thing ’tis t’have a tongue loose!Now, pardie: fool, yet were it bet* for thee *betterHave held thy peace, than show’d thy nicety;* *foolishnessIt lies not in his wit, nor in his will,But sooth is said, a fool cannot be still.”
The laughter rose of gentle fowles all;And right anon the seed-fowls chosen hadThe turtle true, and gan her to them call,And prayed her to say the *soothe sad* *serious truth*Of this mattere, and asked what she rad;* *counselledAnd she answer’d, that plainly her intentShe woulde show, and soothly what she meant.
“Nay! God forbid a lover shoulde change!”The turtle said, and wax’d for shame all red:“Though that his lady evermore be strange,* *disdainfulYet let him serve her ay, till he be dead;For, sooth, I praise not the goose’s rede* *counselFor, though she died, I would none other make;* *mateI will be hers till that the death me take.”
*“Well bourded!”* quoth the ducke, “by my hat! *a pretty joke!*That men should loven alway causeless,Who can a reason find, or wit, in that?Danceth he merry, that is mirtheless?Who shoulde *reck of that is reckeless?* *care for one who hasYea! queke yet,” quoth the duck, “full well and fair! no care for him*There be more starres, God wot, than a pair!” <42>
“Now fy, churl!” quoth the gentle tercelet,“Out of the dunghill came that word aright;Thou canst not see which thing is well beset;Thou far’st by love, as owles do by light,—The day them blinds, full well they see by night;Thy kind is of so low a wretchedness,That what love is, thou caust not see nor guess.”
Then gan the cuckoo put him forth in press,* *in the crowdFor fowl that eateth worm, and said belive:* *quickly“So I,” quoth he, “may have my mate in peace,I recke not how longe that they strive.Let each of them be solain* all their life; *single <43>This is my rede,* since they may not accord; *counselThis shorte lesson needeth not record.”
“Yea, have the glutton fill’d enough his paunch,Then are we well!” saide the emerlon;* *merlin“Thou murd’rer of the heggsugg,* on the branch *hedge-sparrowThat brought thee forth, thou most rueful glutton, <44>Live thou solain, worme’s corruption!*For no force is to lack of thy nature;* *the loss of a bird of yourGo! lewed be thou, while the world may dare!” depraved nature is no matter of regret.*“Now peace,” quoth Nature, “I commande here;For I have heard all your opinion,And in effect yet be we ne’er the nere.* *nearerBut, finally, this is my conclusion, —That she herself shall have her electionOf whom her list, whoso be *wroth or blith;* *angry or glad*Him that she chooseth, he shall her have as swith.* *quickly
“For since it may not here discussed beWho loves her best, as said the tercelet,Then will I do this favour t’ her, that sheShall have right him on whom her heart is set,And he her, that his heart hath on her knit:This judge I, Nature, for* I may not lie *becauseTo none estate; I *have none other eye.* *can see the matter in no other light*“But as for counsel for to choose a make,If I were Reason, [certes] then would ICounsaile you the royal tercel take,As saith the tercelet full skilfully,* *reasonablyAs for the gentilest, and most worthy,Which I have wrought so well to my pleasance,That to you it ought be *a suffisance.”* *to your satisfaction*
With dreadful* voice the formel her answer’d: *frightened“My rightful lady, goddess of Nature,Sooth is, that I am ever under your yerd,* *rod, or governmentAs is every other creature,And must be yours, while that my life may dure;And therefore grante me my firste boon,* *favourAnd mine intent you will I say right soon.”
“I grant it you,” said she; and right anonThis formel eagle spake in this degree:* *manner“Almighty queen, until this year be doneI aske respite to advise me;And after that to have my choice all free;This is all and some that I would speak and say;Ye get no more, although ye *do me dey.* *slay me*
“I will not serve Venus, nor Cupide,For sooth as yet, by no manner [of] way.”“Now since it may none other ways betide,”* *happenQuoth Dame Nature, “there is no more to say;Then would I that these fowles were away,Each with his mate, for longer tarrying here.”And said them thus, as ye shall after hear.
“To you speak I, ye tercels,” quoth Nature;“Be of good heart, and serve her alle three;A year is not so longe to endure;And each of you *pain him* in his degree *strive*For to do well, for, God wot, quit is sheFrom you this year, what after so befall;This *entremess is dressed* for you all.” *dish is prepared*
And when this work y-brought was to an end,To ev’ry fowle Nature gave his make,By *even accord,* and on their way they wend: *fair agreement*And, Lord! the bliss and joye that they make!For each of them gan other in his wings take,And with their neckes each gan other wind,* *enfold, caressThanking alway the noble goddess of Kind.
But first were chosen fowles for to sing,—As year by year was alway their usance,* — *customTo sing a roundel at their departing,To do to Nature honour and pleasance;The note, I trowe, maked was in France;The wordes were such as ye may here findThe nexte verse, as I have now in mind:
Qui bien aime, tard oublie. <45>
“Now welcome summer, with thy sunnes soft,That hast these winter weathers overshake * *dispersed, overcomeSaint Valentine, thou art full high on loft,Which driv’st away the longe nightes blake;* *blackThus singe smalle fowles for thy sake:Well have they cause for to gladden* oft, *be glad, make mirthSince each of them recover’d hath his make;* *mateFull blissful may they sing when they awake.”
And with the shouting, when their song was do,* *doneThat the fowls maden at their flight away,I woke, and other bookes took me to,To read upon; and yet I read alway.I hope, y-wis, to reade so some day,That I shall meete something for to fareThe bet;* and thus to read I will not spare. *better
Explicit.* *the end
Notes to The Assembly of Fowls
1. “The Dream of Scipio” — “Somnium Scipionis” — occupiesmost of the sixth book of Cicero’s “Republic;” which, indeed, asit has come down to us, is otherwise imperfect. ScipioAfricanus Minor is represented as relating a dream which he hadwhen, in B.C. 149, he went to Africa as military tribune to thefourth legion. He had talked long and earnestly of his adoptivegrandfather with Massinissa, King of Numidia, the intimatefriend of the great Scipio; and at night his illustrious ancestorappeared to him in a vision, foretold the overthrow of Carthageand all his other triumphs, exhorted him to virtue and patriotismby the assurance of rewards in the next world, and discoursedto him concerning the future state and the immortality of thesoul. Macrobius, about AD. 500, wrote a Commentary upon the“Somnium Scipionis,” which was a favourite book in the MiddleAges. See note 17 to The Nun’s Priest’s Tale.
2. Y-nome: taken; past participle of “nime,” from Anglo-Saxon,“niman,” to take.
3. His grace: the favour which the gods would show him, indelivering Carthage into his hands.
4. “Vestra vero, quae dicitur, vita mors est.” (“Truly, as is said,your life is a death”)
5. The nine spheres are God, or the highest heaven, constrainingand containing all the others; the Earth, around which theplanets and the highest heaven revolve; and the seven planets:the revolution of all producing the “music of the spheres.”
- Clear: illustrious, noble; Latin, “clarus.”
7. The sicke mette he drinketh of the tun: The sick man dreamsthat he drinks wine, as one in health.
8. The significance of the poet’s looking to the NNW is notplain; his window may have faced that way.
9. The idea of the twin gates, leading to the Paradise and theHell of lovers, may have been taken from the description of thegates of dreams in the Odyssey and the Aeneid; but the iterationof “Through me men go” far more directly suggests the legendon Dante’s gate of Hell:—
Per me si va nella citta dolente,Per me si va nell’ eterno dolore;Per me si va tra la perduta gente.
(“Through me is the way to the city of sorrow,Through me is the way to eternal suffering;Through me is the way of the lost people”)
The famous line, “Lasciate ogni speranza, voi che entrate” —“All hope abandon, ye who enter here” — is evidentlyparaphrased in Chaucer’s words “Th’eschewing is the onlyremedy;” that is, the sole hope consists in the avoidance of thatdismal gate.
10. A powerful though homely description of torment; thesufferers being represented as fish enclosed in a weir fromwhich all the water has been withdrawn.
11. Compare with this catalogue raisonne of trees the amplerlist given by Spenser in “The Faerie Queen,” book i. canto i. Inseveral instances, as in “the builder oak” and “the sailing pine,”the later poet has exactly copied the words of the earlier.The builder oak: In the Middle Ages the oak was asdistinctively the building timber on land, as it subsequentlybecame for the sea.The pillar elm: Spenser explains this in paraphrasing it into “thevineprop elm” — because it was planted as a pillar or prop tothe vine; it is called “the coffer unto carrain,” or “carrion,”because coffins for the dead were made from it.The box, pipe tree: the box tree was used for making pipes or horns.Holm: the holly, used for whip-handles.The sailing fir: Because ships’ masts and spars were made of itswood.The cypress death to plain: in Spenser’s imitation, “the cypressfuneral.”The shooter yew: yew wood was used for bows.The aspe for shaftes plain: of the aspen, or black poplar, arrowswere made.The laurel divine: So called, either because it was Apollo’stree — Horace says that Pindar is “laurea donandus Apollinari” (“tobe given Apollo’s laurel”) — or because the honour which itsignified, when placed on the head of a poet or conqueror, lifteda man as it were into the rank of the gods.
12. If Chaucer had any special trio of courtiers in his mind whenhe excluded so many names, we may suppose them to beCharms, Sorcery, and Leasings who, in The Knight’s Tale, comeafter Bawdry and Riches — to whom Messagerie (the carryingof messages) and Meed (reward, bribe) may correspond.
13. The dove was the bird sacred to Venus; hence Ovidenumerates the peacock of Juno, Jove’s armour bearing bird,“Cythereiadasque columbas” (“And the Cythereian doves”) —“Metamorphoses. xv. 386
14. Priapus: fitly endowed with a place in the Temple of Love,as being the embodiment of the principle of fertility in flocksand the fruits of the earth. See note 23 to the Merchant’s Tale.
15. Ovid, in the “Fasti” (i. 433), describes the confusion ofPriapus when, in the night following a feast of sylvan andBacchic deities, the braying of the ass of Silenus wakened thecompany to detect the god in a furtive amatory expedition.
- Hautain: haughty, lofty; French, “hautain.”
17. Well to my pay: Well to my satisfaction; from French,“payer,” to pay, satisfy; the same word often occurs, in thephrases “well apaid,” and “evil apaid.”
18. Valentia, in Spain, was famed for the fabrication of fine andtransparent stuffs.
19. The obvious reference is to the proverbial “Sine Cerere etLibero friget Venus,” (“Love is frozen without freedom andfood”) quoted in Terence, “Eunuchus,” act iv. scene v.
20. Cypride: Venus; called “Cypria,” or “Cypris,” from theisland of Cyprus, in which her worship was especiallycelebrated.
21. Callisto, daughter of Lycaon, was seduced by Jupiter,turned into a bear by Diana, and placed afterwards, with herson, as the Great Bear among the stars.Atalanta challenged Hippomenes, a Boetian youth, to a race inwhich the prize was her hand in marriage — the penalty offailure, death by her hand. Venus gave Hippomenes threegolden apples, and he won by dropping them one at a timebecause Atalanta stopped to pick them up.Semiramis was Queen of Ninus, the mythical founder ofBabylon; Ovid mentions her, along with Lais, as a type ofvoluptuousness, in his “Amores,” 1.5, 11.Canace, daughter of Aeolus, is named in the prologue to TheMan of Law’s Tale as one of the ladies whose “cursed stories”Chaucer refrained from writing. She loved her brotherMacareus, and was slain by her father.Hercules was conquered by his love for Omphale, and spunwool for her in a woman’s dress, while she wore his lion’s skin.Biblis vainly pursued her brother Caunus with her love, till shewas changed to a fountain; Ovid, “Metamorphoses.” lib. ix.Thisbe and Pyramus: the Babylonian lovers, whose death,through the error of Pyramus in fancying that a lion had slain hismistress, forms the theme of the interlude in the “MidsummerNight’s Dream.”Sir Tristram was one of the most famous among the knights ofKing Arthur, and La Belle Isoude was his mistress. Their storyis mixed up with the Arthurian romance; but it was also thesubject of separate treatment, being among the most popular ofthe Middle Age legends.Achilles is reckoned among Love’s conquests, because,according to some traditions, he loved Polyxena, the daughterof Priam, who was promised to him if he consented to join theTrojans; and, going without arms into Apollo’s temple atThymbra, he was there slain by Paris.Scylla: Love-stories are told of two maidens of this name; onethe daughter of Nisus, King of Megara, who, falling in love withMinos when he besieged the city, slew her father by pullingout the golden hair which grew on the top of his head, and onwhich which his life and kingdom depended. Minos won thecity, but rejected her love in horror. The other Scylla, fromwhom the rock opposite Charybdis was named, was a beautifulmaiden, beloved by the sea-god Glaucus, but changed into amonster through the jealousy and enchantments of Circe.The mother of Romulus: Silvia, daughter and only living childof Numitor, whom her uncle Amulius made a vestal virgin, topreclude the possibility that his brother’s descendants couldwrest from him the kingdom of Alba Longa. But the maidenwas violated by Mars as she went to bring water from afountain; she bore Romulus and Remus; and she was drownedin the Anio, while the cradle with the children was carried downthe stream in safety to the Palatine Hill, where the she-wolfadopted them.
- Prest: ready; French, “pret.”
23. Alanus de Insulis, a Sicilian poet and orator of the twelfthcentury, who wrote a book “De Planctu Naturae” — “TheComplaint of Nature.”
24. The falcon was borne on the hand by the highestpersonages, not merely in actual sport, but to be caressed andpetted, even on occasions of ceremony, Hence also it is calledthe “gentle” falcon — as if its high birth and breeding gave it aright to august society.
25. The merlion: elsewhere in the same poem called “emerlon;”French, “emerillon;” the merlin, a small hawk carried by ladies.
26. The scorning jay: scorning humbler birds, out of pride of hisfine plumage.
27. The false lapwing: full of stratagems and pretences to divertapproaching danger from the nest where her young ones are.
- The sparrow, Venus’ son: Because sacred to Venus.
29. Coming with the spring, the nightingale is charmingly saidto call forth the new leaves.
30. Many-coloured wings, like those of peacocks, were oftengiven to angels in paintings of the Middle Ages; and inaccordance with this fashion Spenser represents the Angel thatguarded Sir Guyon (“Faerie Queen,” book ii. canto vii.) ashaving wings “decked with diverse plumes, like painted jay’s.”
31. The pheasant, scorner of the cock by night: The meaning ofthis passage is not very plain; it has been supposed, however, torefer to the frequent breeding of pheasants at night withdomestic poultry in the farmyard — thus scorning the sway ofthe cock, its rightful monarch.
32. The waker goose: Chaucer evidently alludes to the passagein Ovid describing the crow of Apollo, which rivalled thespotless doves, “Nec servataris vigili Capitolia voce cederetanseribus” — “nor would it yield (in whiteness) to the geesedestined with wakeful or vigilant voice to save the Capitol”(“Metam.,” ii. 538) when about to be surprised by the Gauls ina night attack.
33. The cuckoo ever unkind: the significance of this epithet isamply explained by the poem of “The Cuckoo and theNightingale.”
34. The drake, destroyer: of the ducklings — which, if notprevented, he will kill wholesale.
35. The stork is conspicuous for faithfulness to all familyobligations, devotion to its young, and care of its parent birds intheir old age. Mr Bell quotes from Bishop Stanley’s “History ofBirds” a little story which peculiarly justifies the specialcharacter Chaucer has given: — “A French surgeon, at Smyrna,wishing to procure a stork, and finding great difficulty, onaccount of the extreme veneration in which they are held by theTurks, stole all the eggs out of a nest, and replaced them withthose of a hen: in process of time the young chickens cameforth, much to the astonishment of Mr and Mrs Stork. In ashort time Mr S. went off, and was not seen for two or threedays, when he returned with an immense crowd of hiscompanions, who all assembled in the place, and formed acircle, taking no notice of the numerous spectators whom sounusual an occurrence had collected. Mrs Stork was broughtforward into the midst of the circle, and, after someconsultation, the whole flock fell upon her and tore her topieces; after which they immediately dispersed, and the nest wasentirely abandoned.”
36. The cormorant feeds upon fish, so voraciously, that whenthe stomach is crammed it will often have the gullet and billlikewise full, awaiting the digestion of the rest.
37. So called from the evil omens supposed to be afforded bytheir harsh cries.
- The fieldfare visits this country only in hard wintry weather.
39. “Formel,” strictly or originally applied to the female of theeagle and hawk, is here used generally of the female of all birds;“tercel” is the corresponding word applied to the male.
40. Entriketh: entangles, ensnares; french, “intriguer,” toperplex; hence “intricate.”
41. Entremette him of: meddle with; French, “entremettre,” tointerfere.
42. The duck exhorts the contending lovers to be of light heartand sing, for abundance of other ladies were at their command.
- Solain: single, alone; the same word originally as “sullen.”
44. The cuckoo is distinguished by its habit of laying its eggs inthe nests of other and smaller birds, such as the hedge-sparrow(“heggsugg”); and its young, when hatched, throw the eggs ornestlings of the true parent bird out of the nest, thus engrossingthe mother’s entire care. The crime on which the emerloncomments so sharply, is explained by the migratory habits of thecuckoo, which prevent its bringing up its own young; andnature has provided facilities for the crime, by furnishing theyoung bird with a peculiarly strong and broad back, indented bya hollow in which the sparrow’s egg is lifted till it is thrown outof the nest.
45. “Who well loves, late forgets;” the refrain of the roundelinculcates the duty of constancy, which has been imposed onthe three tercels by the decision of the Court.