The Canterbury Tales and Other Poems

Geoffrey Chaucer

Translated by David Laing Purves

52 chapters · about 15 h

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The opening

THE PROLOGUE.

WHEN that Aprilis, with his showers swoot, The drought of March hath pierced to the root, And bathed every vein in such licour, Of which virtue engender’d is the flower; When Zephyrus eke with his swoote breath Inspired hath in every holt and heath The tender croppes and the younge sun Hath in the Ram his halfe course y-run, And smalle fowles make melody, That sleepen all the night with open eye, (So pricketh them nature in their corages); Then longe folk to go on pilgrimages, And palmers for to seeke strange strands, To ferne hallows couth in sundry lands; And specially, from every shire’s end Of Engleland, to Canterbury they wend, The holy blissful Martyr for to seek, That them hath holpen, when that they were sick.

Befell that, in that season on a day, In Southwark at the Tabard as I lay, Ready to wenden on my pilgrimage To Canterbury with devout corage, At night was come into that hostelry Well nine and twenty in a company Of sundry folk, by aventure y-fall In fellowship, and pilgrims were they all, That toward Canterbury woulde ride. The chamber, and the stables were wide, And well we weren eased at the best. And shortly, when the sunne was to rest, So had I spoken with them every one, That I was of their fellowship anon, And made forword early for to rise, To take our way there as I you devise.

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About this edition

The words
David Laing Purves's English translation, copied word for word.
Left out
  • The source library's header, footer and license, in 2 places
  • The title page and opening pages before chapter 1
  • The printed table of contents (the app makes its own)
  • A preface, foreword or afterword, in 9 places
  • Notes and pages added by translators, editors or publishers, in 6 places
  • Purves's prose (his own voice): his outline of the omitted matter in the Tale of Melibee (in parentheses, his own prose)
  • Purves's prose (his own voice): his outline of the Parson's Tale (in brackets, his own voice) (2 blocks)
  • Purves's prose (his own voice): his outline of the Parson's Tale (in brackets) (7 blocks)
  • Purves's prose (his own voice): his outline of the Parson's Tale (his own prose)
  • Left out: closing line 'THE END OF THE CANTERBURY TALES' (Purves's)
  • Purves's prose (his own voice): Purves's outline of The Court of Love (his prose) (17 blocks)
  • Left out: closing line 'Explicit' with Purves's English gloss (5 blocks)
  • Left out: closing line 'Explicit' (2 blocks)
  • Purves's prose (his own voice): Purves's outline of The House of Fame (his prose) (8 blocks)
  • Left out: closing line 'Here endeth the Book of Fame'
  • Purves's prose (his own voice): Purves's outline of Troilus and Cressida (his prose) (54 blocks)
  • Purves's prose (his own voice): Purves's outline of Troilus and Cressida (his prose quoting the poet) (2 blocks)
  • Left out: ellipsis placeholder (a row of dots) for omitted stanzas (4 blocks)
  • Purves's prose (his own voice): Purves's lead-in sentence to a song (his prose)
  • Purves's prose (his own voice): Purves's lead-in to an omitted passage (his prose)
  • Left out: closing line 'Explicit' of Troilus and Cressida
  • Purves's prose (his own voice): Purves's outline of Chaucer's Dream (his prose) (9 blocks)
  • Left out: closing line 'Thus endeth the Prologue'