The Online Library of Liberty

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• Introduction
• Errata.
• Additions to ‘the Minor Poems’ In Vol. I.
• XXIV.: Womanly Noblesse.
• XXV.: Complaint to My Mortal Foe.
• XXVI.: Complaint to My Lode-sterre.
• Notes to the Preceding Poems.
• The Canterbury Tales. Group A.
• The Prologue.
• The Knightes Tale.
• The Miller’s Prologue.
• The Milleres Tale.
• The Reeve’s Prologue.
• The Reves Tale.
• The Cook’s Prologue.
• The Cokes Tale.
• Group B.
• Introduction to the Man of Law’s Prologue. (t. 4421-4446.)
• The Tale of the Man of Lawe.
• The Shipman’s Prologue.
• The Shipmannes Tale.
• The Prioress’s Prologue. (t. 13365-13382.)
• The Prioresses Tale.
• Prologue to Sir Thopas. (t. 13621-13641.)
• Sir Thopas.
• Prologue to Melibeus. (t. 13847-13875.)
• The Tale of Melibeus.
• The Monk’s Prologue. (t. 13895-13924.)
• The Monkes Tale.
• The Prologue of the Nonne Prestes Tale. (t. 14773-14798).
• The Nonne Preestes Tale.
• Epilogue to the Nonne Preestes Tale.
• Group C.
• The Phisiciens Tale. (t. 11935-11957.)
• Words of the Host. (t. 12221-12239.)
• The Prologue of the Pardoners Tale. (t. 12263-12288).
• The Pardoners Tale. ( Numbered In Continuation of the Preceding. )
• Group D.
• The Wife of Bath’s Prologue. (t. 5583-5602; For T. 5582, See P. 164.)
• The Tale of the Wyf of Bathe.
• The Friar’s Prologue. (t. 6847-6868).
• The Freres Tale.
• The Somnour’s Prologue. (t. 7247-7270.)
• The Somnours Tale.
• Group E.
• The Clerk’s Prologue. (t. 7877-7898.)
• The Clerkes Tale.
• The Merchant’s Prologue. (t. 9089-9120).
• The Marchantes Tale.
• Epilogue to the Marchantes Tale.
• Group F.
• The Squieres Tale. (t. 10315-10334).
• The Franklin’s Prologue. (t. 11021-11040).
• The Frankeleyns Tale.
• Group G.
• The Seconde Nonnes Tale.
• The Canon’s Yeoman’s Prologue. (t. 16022-16043.)
• The Chanouns Yemannes Tale.
• Group H.
• The Manciple’s Prologue. (t. 16950-16968).
• The Maunciples Tale.
• Group I.
• The Parson’s Prologue. (t. 17312-17330).
• The Persones Tale.
• Appendix to Group A.
• The Tale of Gamelyn.

ADDITIONS TO ‘THE MINOR POEMS’ IN VOL. I.

[Further researches have brought to light some more of Chaucer’s Minor Poems. I first met with the excellent Balade on ‘Womanly Noblesse’ in MS. Phillipps 9030 (now MS. Addit. 34360) on June 1, 1894; and on the following day I noticed in MS. Harl. 7578 (partly described in vol. i. p. 58) two Complaints that may perhaps be attributed to our author. As, from the nature of the case, they could not be included in Vol. i, they are inserted here.]

XXIV.

WOMANLY NOBLESSE.

• • Balade that Chaucier made.
  • So hath my herte caught in rémembraunce
  • Your beautè hool, and stedfast governaunce,
  • Your vertues allè, and your hy noblesse,
  • That you to serve is set al my plesaunce;
  • So wel me lykth your womanly contenaunce, 5
  • Your fresshe fetures and your comlinesse,
  • That, whyl I live, my herte to his maistresse,
  • You hath ful chose, in trew perséveraunce,
  • Never to chaunge, for no maner distresse.
• • And sith I [you] shal do this observaunce10
  • Al my lyf, withouten displesaunce,
  • You for to serve with al my besinesse,
  • [Taketh me, lady, in your obeisaunce,]
  • And have me somwhat in your souvenaunce.
  • My woful herte suffreth greet duresse;15
  • And [loke] how humbl[el]y, with al simplesse,
  • My wil I cónforme to your ordenaunce,
  • As you best list, my peynes to redresse.
• • Considring eek how I hange in balaunce
  • In your servysè; swich, lo! is my chaunce,20
  • Abyding grace, whan that your gentilnesse
  • Of my gret wo list doon allegeaunce,
  • And with your pitè me som wyse avaunce,
  • In ful rebating of my hevinesse;
  • And thinkth, by reson, wommanly noblesse25
  • Shuld nat desyre for to doon outrance
  • Ther-as she findeth noon unbuxumnesse.

• Lenvoye.
• Auctour of norture, lady of plesaunce,
• Soveraine of beautè, flour of wommanhede,
• Take ye non hede unto myn ignoraunce,30
• But this receyveth of your goodlihede,
• Thinking that I have caught in rémembraunce
• Your beautè hool, your stedfast governaunce.

XXV.

COMPLAINT TO MY MORTAL FOE.

• • Al hoolly youres, withouten otheres part!
  • Wherefore? y-wis, that I ne can ne may
  • My service chaungen; thus of al suche art
  • The lerninge I desyre for ever and ay.
  • And evermore, whyl that I live may,5
  • In trouthe I wol your servant stille abyde,
  • Although my wo encresè day by day,
  • Til that to me be come the dethes tyde.
• • Seint Valentyne! to you I rénovele
  • My woful lyf, as I can, compleyninge;10
  • But, as me thinketh, to you a quarele
  • Right greet I have, whan I, rememberinge
  • BBitwene, how kinde, ayeins the yeres springe,
  • Upon your day, doth ech foul chese his make;
  • And you list not in swich comfórt me bringe,15
  • That to her grace my lady shulde me take.
• • Wherfor unto you, Cupide, I beseche,
  • Furth with Venús, noble lusty goddesse,
  • Sith ye may best my sorowe lesse and eche;
  • And I, your man, oppressed with distresse,20
  • Can not crye ‘help!’ but to your gentilnesse:
  • So voucheth sauf , sith I, your man, wol dye,
  • My ladies herte in pitè folde and presse,
  • That of my peyne I finde remedye.
• • To your conning, my hertes right princesse,25
  • My mortal fo, whiche I best love and serve,
  • I recommaunde my boistous lewednesse.
  • And, for I can not altherbest deserve
  • Your grace, I preye, as he that wol nat swerve,
  • That I may fare the better for my trouthe;30
  • Sith I am youres, til deth my herte kerve,
  • On me, your man, now mercy have and routhe.

XXVI.

COMPLAINT TO MY LODE-STERRE.

• • Of gretter cause may no wight him compleyne
  • Than I; for love hath set me in swich caas
  • That lasse Ioye and more encrees of peyne
  • Ne hath no man; wherfore I crye ‘allas!’
  • A thousand tyme, whan I have tyme and space.5
  • For she, that is my verray sorowes grounde,
  • Wol with her grace no wyse my sorowes sounde.
• • And that, shulde be my sorowes hertes leche,
  • Is me ageins, and maketh me swich werre,
  • That shortly, [in] al maner thought and speche,10
  • Whether it be that I be nigh or ferre,
  • I misse the grace of you, my lode-sterre,
  • Which causeth me on you thus for to crye;
  • And al is it for lakke of remedye.
• • My soverain Ioye thus is my mortal fo;15
  • She that shulde causen al my lustinesse
  • List in no wyse of my sorowes saye ‘ho!’
  • But let me thus darraine, in hevinesse,
  • With woful thoughtes and my grete distresse,
  • The which she might right wele, [at] every tyde,20
  • If that her liste, out of my herte gyde.
• • But it is so, that her list, in no wyse,
  • Have pitè on my woful besinesse;
  • And I ne can do no maner servyse
  • That may me torne out of my hevinesse;25
  • So woldè god, that she now wolde impresse
  • Right in her herte my trouthe and eek good wille;
  • And let me not, for lakke of mercy, spille.
• • Now wele I woot why thus I smerte sore;
  • For couthe I wele, as othere folkes, feyne,30
  • Than neded me to live in peyne no more,
  • But, whan I were from you, unteye my reyne,
  • And, for the tyme, drawe in another cheyne.
  • But woldè god that alle swich were y-knowe,
  • And duely punisshed of hye and lowe.35
• • Swich lyf defye I, bothe in thoughte and worde,
  • For yet me were wel lever for to sterve
  • Than in my herte for to make an horde
  • Of any falshood; for, til deth to-kerve
  • My herte and body, shal I never swerve40
  • From you, that best may be my fynal cure,
  • But, at your liste, abyde myn aventure;
• • And preye to you, noble seint Valentyne,
  • My ladies herte that ye wolde enbrace,
  • And make her pitè to me more enclyne45
  • That I may stonden in her noble grace
  • In hasty tyme, whyl I have lyves space:
  • For yit wiste I never noon, of my lyve,
  • So litel hony in so fayre hyve.

NOTES TO THE PRECEDING POEMS.

XXIV.

—I take the title from l. 25; cf. Troil. i. 287.

The metre exhibits the nine-line stanza, as in Anelida, 211-9; but the same rimes recur in all three stanzas. The six-line Envoy, with the rime-formu a a b a b a a, is unique in Chaucer. There are nineteen lines ending in -aunce, twelve in -esse, and two in -ede.

1. Note how ll. 1 and 2 are re-echoed in ll. 32, 33. For a similar effect, see Anelida, 211, 350.

8. ful chose, fully chosen; parallel to ful drive in C. T., F 1230.

14. souvenance, remembrance; not found elswhere in Chaucer.

16. humblely is trisyllabic; see Leg. 156, Troil. ii. 1719, v. 1354.

20. lo emphasises swich; cf. lo, this, T. v. 54; lo, which, T. iv. 1231.

22. allegeaunce, alleviation; the verb allegge is in the Glossary.

26. outrance, extreme violence, great hurt; see Godefroy.

27. unbuxumnesse, unsubmissiveness; cf. buxumnesse, Truth, 15.

XXV.

—I take the title from l. 26; cf. Compl. to his Lady, 41, 64.

1. Cf. Amorous Complaint, 87; Troil. v. 1318, i. 960.

3. ‘Love hath me taught no more of his art,’ &c.; Compl. to his Lady, 42-3.

9. Cf. Compl. of Mars, 13, 14; p. xxx above, l. 43; Parl. Foules, 386-9; Amorous Complaint, 85-6.

19. eche, augment; ‘hir sorwes eche,’ T. i. 705.

27. ‘And to your trouthe ay I me recomaunde;’ T. v. 1414. ‘I am a boistous man;’ C. T., H 211.

XXVI.

—I take the title from l. 12; see T. v. 232, 638, 1392.

7. sounde, heal, cure; as in Anelida, 242.

8. Perhaps read hertes sorwes leche; see T. ii. 1066.

10. Cf. ‘as in his speche;’ T. ii. 1069.

26. impresse; cf. T. ii. 1371.

28. spille; cf. Compl. to his Lady, 121.

32. reyne, bridle. For this image, cf. Anelida, 184.

39. MS. deth the kerue. As e and o are constantly confused, the prefix to (written apart) may have looked like te, and would easily be altered to the. Cf. forkerveth in the Manc. Tale, H 340.

47. Here spac-e rimes with embrac-e, but in l. 5 it rimes with allas. This variation is no worse than the riming of embrace with compas in Proverbs, 8 (vol. i. p. 407). Cf. plac-e in C. T., B 1910, with its variant plas, B 1971.

N. B. The Complaints numbered XXV and XXVI are obviously by the same author; compare XXV. 26 with XXVI. 15; XXV. 9 with XXVI. 43; and XXV. 29-31 with XXVI. 39, 40. They were probably written nearly at the same time.

[]From MS. Addit. 34360, fol. 21, back (with ascription by Shirley); hitherto unprinted. Rejected readings of the MS. are here given.

[1. ]hert.

[2. ]Yowre (throughout); hoole; stidefast.

[3. ]al; hie.

[4. ]yow; sette.

[5. ]likith;for womanly perhaps read wyfly.

[6. ]comlynesse.

[7. ]whiles; myn hert; maystresse.

[8. ]triev.

[10. ]I insert you.

[11. ](Accent on Al); live.

[12. ]besynesse.

[13. ]Dr. Furnivall supplies this lost line; cf. Complaint to Pity, l. 84.

[15. ]hert suffrith grete.

[16. ]I supply loke; humbly.

[17. ]ordynaunce.

[18. ]for to (I omit for).

[19. ]eke.

[20. ]service suche loo.

[21. ](Perhaps omit that).

[22. ]grete woo; do.

[23. ]wise.

[24. ]rebatyng; myn hevynesse.

[25. ]And thynkith be raison that (too long).

[26. ]desire; for til do the (I omit the).

[27. ]fyndith non vn-.

[29. ]Soueraigne; floure.

[31. ]receyvith; goodelyhede.

[32. ]Thynkyng.

[33. ]hole; stidefast.

[]From MS. Hail. 7578, fol. 15. At the bottom of fol. 14, back, is the last line of Chancer’s Complaint to Pity, beneath which is written ‘Balade.’ But the present poem is really a Complaint, like the preceding one. Rejected readings of the MS. are here given. There is no title in the MS. except ‘Balade.’

[1. ]holly; others parte.

[2. ]I wisse.

[3. ]By (surely an error for My); arte.

[4. ]lernynge; desire; euer (and u for v often).

[5. ]while; leue.

[6. ]trought (sic); youre; abide.

[7. ]be (for by).

[9. ]valentine; Renouele.

[10. ]compleynynge.

[12. ]grete; whanne; remembringe.

[13. ]Bytwene howe kende.

[14. ]Vppon youre; doith eche foule.

[15. ]lyste; suche comforte.

[21. ]cry helpe; vnto (for to); gentelnesse.

[22. ]safe.

[24. ]peine; fynde I may (for I finde); remydie.

[25. ]konnyngge; princes.

[26. ]foo.

[27. ]leudenesse.

[29. ]prey; swerne.

[30. ]trouth.

[31. ]herte wol kerue (I omit wol).

[32. ]haue; routh.

[]From MS. Harl. 7578, fol. 15, back. No title but ‘Balade’; but it is really a Complaint. Rejected readings of the MS. are here given.

[2. ]y (for I); hath me sette in swiche.

[3. ]encrese.

[5. ]whenne; haue.

[6. ]sheo; werry (for verray).

[7. ]Wolle; wise; (sounde means heal).

[9. ]Ys; swide (miswritten for swiche).

[10. ]I supply in; alle manere.

[11. ]Whethre.

[12. ]mys; loode-.

[13. ]Whiche.

[14. ]alle; remydie.

[15. ]souueraine; foo.

[16. ]alle; lustynesse.

[17. ]Liste; wise; say hoo.

[18. ]lete; heuinesse.

[19. ]wooful; grette.

[20. ]sheo; I supply at; euery.

[21. ]oute; guyde.

[22. ]liste; wise.

[23. ]Haue pitee.

[24. ]kanne; manere seruice.

[25. ]be (for me); oute; heuynesse.

[26. ]sheo nowe.

[27. ]herre (for her); trough (sic); eke.

[28. ]lette; lake.

[29. ]woote; why that I thus smerte so sore (two syllables too much).

[30. ]couth; sayne (for feyne).

[31. ]Thanne nedes; lyue.

[32. ]whenne; vnteye.

[33. ]into (for in); a-nothre.

[35. ]punisshede both of high (I omit both).

[36. ]Swiche; defie.

[37. ]yette; sterue.

[38. ]Thanne; hoorde.

[39. ]falshode; til deth the kerue (but see note on p. xxxii).

[40. ]neuere swerue.

[41. ]youre (for my).

[42. ]atte youre; abide.

[43. ]prey; sainte valentine.

[45. ]pitee.

[46. ]here.

[47. ]whiles; haue lyues.

[48. ]yitte; neuere none; lyfe.

[49. ]hiue.