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But trewely to tellen, atte laste,
He was in chirche a noble ecclesiaste.
Wel coude he rede a lessoun or a storie,
But alderbest he song an offertorie;

For wel he wiste, whan that song was songe,
He moste preche, and wel affyle his tonge,
To winne silver, as he ful wel coude;
Therefore he song so meriely, and loude.

Now have I told you shortly, in a clause,
Th' estat, th'array, the nombre, and eek the cause
Why that assembled was this companye

In Southwerk, at this gentil hostelrye,

That highte the Tabard, faste by the Belle.
But now is tyme to yow for to telle
How that we baren us that ilke night,
Whan we were in that hostelrye alight.
And after wol I telle of our viage,
And al the remenaunt of our pilgrimage.
A semely man our hoste was with-alle
For to han been a marshal in an halle;

But to tell the whole truth, he was a noble ecclesiast in the church. He could read a lesson or a story admirably, but best of all was his singing of the offertory; for he knew well that, when the song was sung, he had to preach and soften his tongue to gain silver as he very well could; therefore he sang so merrily and loud.

Now have I told you shortly, in a word or two, the condition, the dress, the number, and also the reason why this company was gathered in Southwark at this pleasant hostelry called the Tabard, near the Bell. Now it is time to tell you how we conducted ourselves the night we alighted in the inn; and afterwards I will tell of our journey, and all the rest of our pilgrimage.

Our host was in all respects fitted to be a marshal of a hall.

A large man he was with eyen stepe,

A fairer burgeys is ther noon in Chepe :

Bold of his speche, and wys, and wel y-taught,
And of manhod him lakkede right naught.

Eek therto he was right a mery man,

And after soper pleyen he bigan,

And spak of mirthe amonges othere thinges,
Whan that we hadde maad our rekeninges;
And seyde thus: "Now, lordinges, trewely
Ye been to me right welcome hertely:

For by my trouthe, if that I shal nat lye,
I ne saugh this yeer so mery a companye
At ones in this herberwe as is now.
Fayn wolde I doon yow mirthe, wiste I how.
And of a mirthe, I am right now bithoght,
To doon yow ese, and it shal coste noght.

Ye goon to Caunterbury; God yow spede,

The blisful martir quyte yow your mede.
And wel I woot, as ye goon by the weye,
Ye shapen yow to talen and to pleye;

A large man, with bright eyes, there is not a finer citizen in all Cheapside, bold in speech, sensible, well taught, and lacking absolutely nothing of manhood. Besides he was a jolly fellow; and after supper he began to make merry; and after we had paid our bills, he spoke jovially, among other things, and said: "Now, sirs, you are welcome to me with all my heart; for by my troth, I have not seen this year so merry a company in this inn at one time as now. I would gladly give you some pleasure if I knew how; and I have just now thought of a good plan to amuse you, and it shall cost you nothing.

"You are going to Canterbury; God speed you! the blessed martyr give you your reward! Now I know well that, as you travel, you plan to tell stories and jokes; for surely there

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For trewely, confort ne mirthe is noon
To ryde by the weye doumb as a stoon;
And therfore wol I maken yow disport,
As I seyde erst, and doon yow som confort.
And if yow lyketh alle, by oon assent,
Now for to stonden at my jugement,
And for to werken as I shal yow seye,
To-morwe, whan ye ryden by the weye,
Now, by my fader soule, that is deed,
But ye be merye, I wol yeve yow myn heed.
Hold up your hond, withouten more speche."

Our counseil was nat longe for to seche;
Us thought it was noght worth to make it wys,
And graunted him with-outen more avys,

And bad him seye his verdit, as him leste.

"Lordinges," quod he, "now herkneth for the beste; But tak it not, I prey yow, in desdeyn;

This is the poynt, to speken short and pleyn,

That ech of yow, to shorte with your weye,

In this viage, shal telle tales tweye,

is neither comfort nor pleasure in riding along dumb as a stone, and therefore will I make a diversion for you, as I said before, and give you some entertainment. And if it shall please you all to accept unanimously my decision and do as I say, to-morrow when you ride, now by the soul of my dead father, unless you are merry I will give you my head! Hold up your hands, without more ado.”

It did not take long to get our opinion. It seemed to us not worth while to make it a matter for deliberation, and we granted his wish without hesitation, and bade him give his verdict as it pleased him.

"Sirs," said he, "now harken, but don't, I pray you, disdain it: this is the point, to speak briefly and plainly, that each of you, to make the time pass quickly, shall tell on this journey two tales on the way to Canterbury, and on the

To Caunterbury-ward, I mene it so,

And hom-ward he shal tellen othere two,

Of aventures that whylom han bifalle.

And which of yow that bereth him best of alle,

This thing was graunted, and our othes swore
With ful glad herte, and preyden him also
That he wold vouche-sauf for to do so,

way home he shall tell two others, of adventures that happened some time or other. And the one who conducts himself best of all, that is to say, who tells under this plan tales best suited for instruction and amusement, shall have a supper at the expense of us all, here in this place, sitting by this post, when we return from Canterbury. In order to make you more merry, I will myself gladly ride with you, all at my own expense, and be your guide. And whoever disputes my judgment shall pay all that we spend on the road. If you agree, tell me at once, without more words, and I will quickly get ready."

The thing was granted, and we took our oaths with glad heart, and prayed him also that he would vouchsafe to do so, and that he would be our governor and the judge and

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And that he wolde been our governour,
And of our tales juge and reportour,
And sette a soper at a certeyn prys;
And we wold reuled been at his devys,
In heigh and lowe; and thus, by oon assent,
We been acorded to his jugement.

And ther-up-on the wyn was fet anon;
We dronken, and to reste wente echon,
With-outen any lenger taryinge.

A-morwe, whan that day bigan to springe,
Up roos our host, and was our aller cok,
And gadrede us togidre, alle in a flok,
And forth we riden, a litel more than pas,
Un-to the watering of seint Thomas.
And there our host bigan his hors areste,
And seyde; "Lordinges, herkneth if yow leste.
Ye woot your forward, and I it yow recorde.
If even-song and morwe-song acorde,

Lat se now who shal telle the firste tale.
As ever mote I drinke wyn or ale,

Who-so be rebel to my jugement

Shal paye for al that by the weye is spent.

reporter of our tales, and that he would set a supper at a fixed price; we would be ruled by his opinion under all circumstances, and so we unanimously agreed to his judgment. Thereupon the wine was fetched right away; we drank, and each one went to rest without longer tarrying.

In the morning at daybreak, up rose our host and was cock of us all, and gathered us all together in a flock, and we rode forth at a little more than a foot-pace to the Watering of Saint Thomas. There our host stopped his horse and said: "Sirs, listen, please. You know your agreement, and I recall it to your memory. If evening song and morning song agree, let's see now who shall tell the first tale. As surely as I hope to drink wine or ale, whoever rebels against my judgment shall pay for all that is spent on the road.