The Online Library of Liberty

A project of Liberty Fund, Inc.

• 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.

THE PARSON’S PROLOGUE.
(T. 17312-17330).

Here folweth the Prologe of the Persones Tale.

• BY that the maunciple hadde his tale al ended,
• The sonne fro the south lyne was descended
• So lowe, that he nas nat, to my sighte,
• Degreës nyne and twenty as in highte.
• Foure of the clokke it was tho, as I gesse;5
• For eleven foot, or litel more or lesse,
• My shadwe was at thilke tyme, as there,
• Of swich feet as my lengthe parted were
• In six feet equal of proporcioun.
• Ther-with the mones exaltacioun,10
• I mene Libra, alwey gan ascende,
• As we were entringe at a thropes ende;
• For which our host, as he was wont to gye,
• As in this caas, our Ioly companye,
• Seyde in this wyse, ‘lordings everichoon,15
• Now lakketh us no tales mo than oon.
• Fulfild is my sentence and my decree;
• I trowe that we han herd of ech degree.
• Almost fulfild is al myn ordinaunce;
• I prey to god, so yeve him right good chaunce,20
• That telleth this tale to us lustily.
• Sir preest,’ quod he, ‘artow a vicary?
• Or art a person? sey sooth, by thy fey!
• Be what thou be, ne breke thou nat our pley;
• For every man, save thou, hath told his tale,25
• Unbokel, and shewe us what is in thy male;
• For trewely, me thinketh, by thy chere,
• Thou sholdest knitte up wel a greet matere.
• Tel us a tale anon, for cokkes bones!’
• This Persone him answerde, al at ones,30
• ‘Thou getest fable noon y-told for me;
• For Paul, that wryteth unto Timothee,
• Repreveth hem that weyven soothfastnesse,
• And tellen fables and swich wrecchednesse.
• Why sholde I sowen draf out of my fest,35
• Whan I may sowen whete, if that me lest?
• For which I seye, if that yow list to here
• Moralitee and vertuous matere,
• And thanne that ye wol yeve me audience,
• I wol ful fayn, at Cristes reverence,40
• Do yow plesaunce leefful, as I can.
• But trusteth wel, I am a Southren man,
• I can nat geste—rum , ram, ruf—by lettre,
• Ne, god wot, rym holde I but litel bettre;
• And therfor, if yow list, I wol nat glose.45
• I wol yow telle a mery tale in prose
• To knitte up al this feeste, and make an ende.
• And Iesu, for his grace, wit me sende
• To shewe yow the wey, in this viage,
• Of thilke parfit glorious pilgrimage50
• That highte Ierusalem celestial.
• And, if ye vouche-sauf, anon I shal
• Biginne upon my tale, for whiche I preye
• Telle your avys, I can no bettre seye.
• But nathelees, this meditacioun55
• I putte it ay under correccioun
• Of clerkes, for I am nat textuel;
• I take but the sentens, trusteth wel.
• Therfor I make protestacioun
• That I wol stonde to correccioun.’60
• Up-on this word we han assented sone,
• For, as us semed, it was for to done,
• To enden in som vertuous sentence,
• And for to yeve him space and audience;
• And bede our host he sholde to him seye,65
• That alle we to telle his tale him preye.
• Our host hadde the wordes for us alle:—
• ‘Sir preest,’ quod he, ‘now fayre yow bifalle!
• Sey what yow list, and we wol gladly here’—
• And with that word he seyde in this manere—70
• ‘Telleth,’ quod he, ‘your meditacioun.
• But hasteth yow, the sonne wol adoun;
• Beth fructuous, and that in litel space,
• And to do wel god sende yow his grace!’

Explicit prohemium.

[816. ]Hl. wolde; Pt. wold; rest wol, wolen, wiln, wil.

[817. ]Hl. lowe; E. lough.

[822. ]E. Hn. that; Hl. that the; rest the. E. gan for; Hn. Cp. Hl. bigan.

[1. ]E. Hn. al; rest om.

[2. ]E. Cm. was; rest is.

[3. ]E. ne nas, Cm. ne was; Cp. Pt. Ln. was.

[5. ]The MSS. have Ten; but see the note.

[8. ]Hn. swich; E. swiche.

[10. ]Perhaps for the mones we should read Saturnes; see the note.

[11. ]So all but Hl., which has In mena.

[12. ]thropes] Hl. townes.

[17. ]E Fulfilled; Hn. Cp. Fulfild; see l. 19.

[23. ]Cm. art; E. Hn. arte; Hl. artow; rest art thou.

[30. ]I supply him from ed. 1550.

[32. ]E. Hn. Thymothee.

[33. ]E. Hl. weyueth.

[40. ]E. omits ful.

[41. ]E. leefful; Hn. leueful; Pt. leefull; Cp. Ln. lefful.

[43. ]E. geeste. rum] Hn. Cp. Ln. rom.

[46. ]E. Hn. myrie.

[57. ]E. textueel, weel.

[58. ]E. textueel, weel.

[58. ]E. omits the. Hl. sentens; rest sentence.

[59. ]E. make a; rest omit a.

[62. ]E. vs; rest it, which is inferior.

Colophon.So E. Hn. Ln.; Pt.—Thus endeth the prolog of the persons tale.