The Ellesmere ms of Chaucer's Canterbury tales / edited by Frederick J. Furnivall.

[6-text p 191]

¶ Heere bigynneth Chaucers tale of Thopas.

[The First Fit.]

[Each third line is on the right of its couple, in the MS.]

Listeth lordes in good entent And I wol telle verrayment Of myrthe and of solas Line 1904 Al of a knyght / was fair and gent In bataille / and in tourneyment His name was sire Thopas Line 1907

¶ Yborn he was / in fer contree In flaundres / al biyonde the see At Poperyng in the place Line 1910 His fader was / a man ful free And lord he was / of that contree As it was goddes grace Line 1913

¶ Sire Thopas / wax a doghty swayn Whit was his face as Payndemayn Hise lippes rede as rose Line 1916 His rode is lyk / scarlet in grayn And I yow telle / in good certayn He hadde / a semely nose Line 1919

¶ His heer / his berd / was lyk saffroun That to his girdel raughte adoun Hise shoos of Cordewane Line 1922 Of Brugges / were his hosen broun His Robe / was of Syklatoun That coste many a Iane Line 1925

[6-text p 192] Line 1925

¶ He koude hunte / at wilde deer And ride an haukyng for Riuer With grey goshauk on honde Line 1928 Ther-to he was / a good Archeer Of wrastlyng was ther noon his peer Ther any Ram shal stonde Line 1931

¶ fful many a mayde / bright in bour They moorne for hym paramour Whan hem were bet to slepe Line 1934 But he was chaast and no lechour And sweete as is the Brembul flour That bereth the rede hepe Line 1937

And so bifel vp on a day ffor sothe / as I yow telle may Sire Thopas / wolde out ride Line 1940 He worth / vpon his steede gray And in his hand a launcegay A long swerd / by his side Line 1943

¶ He priketh / thurgh a fair forest [folio 156a] Ther Inne / is many a wilde best Ye bothe bukke and hare Line 1946 And as he priketh North and Est I telle it yow / hym hadde almest Bitidde / a sory care Line 1949

¶ Ther spryngen herbes / grete and smale The lycorys and Cetewale And many a clowe gylofre Line 1952 And Notemuge / to putte in Ale Wheither it be moyste / or stale Or for to leye in cofre Line 1955

[6-text p 193] Line 1955

¶ The briddes synge / it is no nay The sparhauk and the papeiay That ioye it was to heere Line 1958 The thrustelcok / made eek hir lay The wodedowue / vp on a spray She sang ful loude and cleere Line 1961

¶ Sire Thopas fil in loue longynge Al whan he herde / the thrustel synge And pryked / as he were wood Line 1964 His faire steede in his prikynge So swatte / þat men myghte him wrynge His sydes / were al blood Line 1967

¶ Sire Thopas eek / so wery was ffor prikyng on the softe gras So fiers was his corage Line 1970 That doun he leyde him in that plas To make his steede som solas And yaf hym good forage Line 1973

¶ O seinte Marie benedicite What eyleth / this loue at me To bynde me so soore Line 1976 Me dremed / al this nyght pardee An elf queene / shal my lemman be And slepe vnder my goore Line 1979

¶ An Elf queene / wol I loue ywis ffor in this world / no womman is Worthy to be my make? Line 1982 In towne ¶ Alle othere wommen I forsake And to an Elf queene I me take By dale and eek by downe Line 1986

[6-text p 194] Line 1986

¶ In to his sadel / he clamb anon And priketh ouer stile and stoon An Elf queene for tespye Line 1989 Til he so longe / hadde riden and goon That he foond / in a pryue woon The contree of ffairye Line 1992 so wilde ffor in that contree was ther noon? . . . . . Neither wyf ne childe Line 1996

¶ Til þat ther cam a greet geaunt His name was / sire Olifaunt A perilous man of dede Line 1999 He seyde child by Termagaunt / But if thou prike / out of myn haunt Anon I sle thy steede Line 2002 with mace ¶ Heere is / the queene of ffairye With harpe / and pipe and symphonye Dwellynge in this place Line 2006

¶ The child seyde / Al so moote I thee Tomorwe / wol I meete with thee Whan I haue myn Armoure Line 2009 ¶ And yet I hope / par ma fay That thou shalt with this launcegay Abyen it ful sowre Line 2012 Thy mawe Thyn hauberk / shal I percen / if I may Er it be fully pryme of day ffor heere thow shalt be slawe Line 2016

[6-text p 195] Line 2016

¶ Sire Thopas / drow abak ful faste This geant at hym stones caste Out of a fel staf slynge Line 2019 ¶ But faire escapeth sire Thopas And al it was thurgh goddes gras And thurgh his fair berynge Line 2022

Yet listeth / lordes / to my tale [folio 156b] Murier than the Nightyngale I wol yow rowne Line 2025 How sir Thopas / with sydes smale Prikyng ouer hill and dale Is comen agayn to towne Line 2028

¶ His murie men / comanded he To make hym / bothe game and glee ffor nedes / moste he fighte Line 2031 With a geaunt with heuedes three ffor paramour and Iolitee Of oon / that shoon ful brighte Line 2034

¶ Do come he seyde / my Mynstrales And geestours / for to tellen tales Anon in myn Armynge Line 2037 Of Romances / that been Roiales Of Popes / and of Cardinales And eek of loue likynge Line 2040

¶ They sette hym first sweete wyn And Mede eek in a Mazelyn And Roial spicerye Line 2043 And Gyngebreed / þat was ful fyn And lycorys and eek Comyn With sugre þat is so trye Line 2046

[6-text p 196] Line 2046

¶ He dide / next his white leere Of clooth of lake / fyn and cleere A breech / and eek a sherte Line 2049 And next his sherte an Aketon And ouer that an haubergeon ffor percynge of his herte Line 2052

¶ And ouer that / a fyn hawberk Was al ywroght of Iewes werk fful strong it was of plate Line 2055 And ouer that his cote Armour As whit as is / a lilye flour In which / he wol debate Line 2058

¶ His sheeld / was al / of gold so reed And ther Inne / was a bores heed A Charbocle bisyde Line 2061 And there he swoor / on ale and breed How þat the geaunt shal be deed Bityde what bityde Line 2064

¶ Hise Iambeux were of quyrboilly His swerdes shethe of Yuory His helm of laton bright Line 2067 His sadel was of Rewel boon His brydel / as the sonne shoon Or as the moone light Line 2070

¶ His spere it was / of fyn Ciprees That bodeth werre / and no thyng pees The heed / ful sharpe ygrounde Line 2073 ¶ His steede was / al dappull gray It gooth an Ambil in the way fful softely and rounde Line 2076

[6-text p 197] Line 2076

In londe ¶ Loo lordes myne / heere is a fit If ye wol any moore of it To telle it / wol I fonde Line 2080

[The Second Fit.]

NOw holde youre mouth par charitee Bothe knyght and lady free And herkneth to my spelle Line 2083 ¶ Of batailles / and of Chiualry And of ladyes / loue drury Anon I wol yow telle Line 2086

¶ Men speken of Romances of prys Of Hornchild / and of Ypotys Of Beves and of sir Gy Line 2089 Of sir lybeux and pleyn damour But sir Thopas / he bereth the flour Of Roial Chiualry Line 2092

¶ His goode Steede / al he bistrood And forth / vpon his wey he rood As sparcle / out of the bronde Line 2095 ¶ Vp on his Creest He bar a tour [folio 157a] And ther Inne / stiked a lilie flour God shilde his cors fro shonde Line 2098

¶ And for he was / a knyght Auntrous He nolde slepen / in noon hous But liggen in his hoode Line 2101 ¶ His brighte helm / was his wonger And by hym / baiteth his dextrer Of herbes fyne and goode Line 2104

[6-text p 198] Line 2104

¶ Hym self / drank water of the well As dide the knyght sire Percyuell So worly vnder wede ¶ Til on a day Line 2108

Notes

• on leaf 155, bk
• no gap in the MS.
• [all over an erasure]