The start of the general prologue is below, with a glossary. Here’s a link to the The Pardoner’s tale . Chaucer has been regarded with disdain because of legal record of “raptus” involving Cecily Chaumpaigne until recently, when new documents were discovered by Sobecki and Roger.
The Prologue to the Canterbury Tales Lines 1–50. ~The numbers 1 - 29 in the middle of lines refer to the footnote glossary.
WHAN that Aprille with his shoures soote 1
The droghte 2 of Marche hath perced to the roote,
And bathed every veyne in swich 3 licour,
Of which vertu engendred is the flour;
Whan Zephirus eek with his swete breeth 5
Inspired hath in every holt 4 and heeth
The tendre croppes, 5 and the yonge sonne
Hath in the Ram his halfe cours y-ronne, 6
And smale fowles maken melodye,
That slepen al the night with open ye, 10
(So priketh hem nature in hir corages: 7
Than longen folk to goon on pilgrimages,
And palmers for to seken straunge strondes, 8
To ferne halwes, 9 couthe 10 in sondry londes;
And specially, from every shires ende 15
Of Engelond, to Caunterbury they wende,
The holy blisful martir for to seke,
That hem hath holpen, whan that they were seke. 11
Bifel that, in that sesoun on a day,
In Southwerk at the Tabard as I lay 12 20
Redy to wenden on my pilgrimage
To Caunterbury with ful devout corage,
At night was come in-to that hostelrye
Wel 13 nyne and twenty in a compaignye,
Of sondry folk, by aventure 14 y-falle 15 25
In felawshipe, and pilgrims were they alle,
That toward Caunterbury wolden ryde;
The chambres and the stables weren wyde,
And wel we weren esed atte beste. 16
And shortly, whan the sonne was to reste, 30
So hadde I spoken with hem everichon, 17
That I was of hir felawshipe anon,
And made forward 18 erly for to ryse,
To take our wey, ther as I yow devyse. 19
But natheles, 20 whyl I have tyme and space, 35
Er that I ferther in this tale pace, 21
Me thinketh it acordaunt to resoun,
To telle yew al the condicioun 22
Of ech of hem, so as it semed me,
And whiche 23 they weren, and of what degree; 40
And eek in what array that they were inne:
And at a knight than wol I first biginne.
A KNIGHT ther was, and that a worthy man,
That fro the tyme that he first bigan
To ryden out, he loved chivalrye, 45
Trouthe and honour, fredom 24 and curteisye.
Ful worthy was he in his lordes werre, 25
And thereto 26 hadde he riden (no man ferre 27)
As wel in cristendom as hethenesse,
And evere honoured for his worthinesse. 50
At Alisaundre he was, whan it was wonne;
Ful ofte tyme he hadde the bord bigonne 28
Aboven alle naciouns in Pruce. 29
1. Its sweet showers.
2. Drought.
3. Such.
4. Wood.
5. Young shoots.
6. The sun left the sign of the Ram about mid April.
7. Hearts.
8. Foreign strands.
9. Distant saints.
10. Known.
11. Sick.
12. Lodged.
13. Full.
14. Chance.
15. Fallen.
16. Made comfortable in the best style.
17. Every one.
18. Compact.
19. Tell.
20. Nevertheless.
21. Go.
22. Character.
23. What sort.
24. Liberality.
25. War.
26. Besides.
27. Farther.
28. Sat at the head of the table.
29. Prussia.
This is a good time to practise the cardinal vowels.
31. Made expeditions.
32. Russia.
33. Granada.
34. In Africa.
35. In Asia Minor.
36. In Asia Minor.
37. Mediterranean.
38. Naval expedition.
39. In Africa.
40. Same.
41. In Asia Minor.
42. Great reputation.
43. Bearing.
44. Discourtesy.
45. Kind of person.
46. Coarse cloth.
47. Short coat.
48. Soiled.
49. Coat of mail.
50. Journey.
51. Curled.
52. Moderate height.
53. Active.
54. Cavalry expeditions.
55. Considering his youth.
56. Lady’s.
57. Whistling.
58. Compose.
59. Night-time.
60. Carved.