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

[6-text p 191]

¶ Here bigynneth Chaucers tale of Thopas

[Fit I.]

[Each third line is on the right of its couple, in the MS, and there are no breaks between the stanzas.]

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

¶ Yborn he was / in fer contree In fflaundres / 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

¶ Sir Thopas wax / a doghty swayn Whit was his face / as Payndemayn His lippes reed as Rose Line 1916 His rode is lyk / scarlet in grayn As I yow telle / in good certayn He hadde a semely nose Line 1919

¶ His heer / his berd / was lyk Safrown That to his girdel / raughte adown Hise shoon / of Cordewane Line 1922 Of Brugges / were his hosen brown His Robe was / of syklatown That coste many a Iane Line 1925

[6-text p 192] Line 1925

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

¶ fful many mayde / bright in bour [folio 214a] They moorne for hym / par amour Whan hem were bet to slep[e] Line 1934 But he was chaast and no lechour And sweete / as is the brambel flour That bereth the rede hepe Line 1937

¶ And so it fel / vp on a day ffor sothe / as I yow telle may Sir Thopas / wolde out ryde Line 1940 He warth vp on / his Steede gray And in his hand / a launcegay A long swerd / by his syde Line 1943

¶ He priketh thurgh / a fair fforest Ther Inne / is many a wilde best Ye bothe / bukke and hare Line 1946 And as he priketh / North & Est I telle it yow / hym hadde almest bitydde / a sory care Line 1949

¶ There spryngen herbes / grene & smale The licorys / 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 bryddes synge / it is no nay The Sperhauk and the Popyniay That ioye / it was to here Line 1958 The Thurstelock / made eek his lay The wodedowue / vp on the spray She sang ful loude & clere Line 1961

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

¶ Sir Thopas eek / so wery was ffor prikyng/ on the softe gras So fiers / was his corrage Line 1970 That doun he leyde hym / in the 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 gore Line 1979

¶ An Elf queene / wol I haue ywys 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 anoon And priketh ouer / style and stoon An Elf queene / for tespye Line 1989 Til he so longe / hath riden & goon That he foond / in a pryuee woon The contree of ffairye // Line 1992 So wylde? ffor in that contree / was ther noon [folio 214b] . . . . . 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 thow pryke / out of myn haunt Anon I sle thy Steede Line 2002 ¶ with Mace ¶ Heere is this queene / of ffairye With harpe & pipe / & Symphonye dwellyng in this place Line 2006

¶ The child seyde / als mote I thee Tomorwe / wil I meete thee / Whan I haue myn Armowre Line 2009 ¶ And yet I hope / par ma fay That thow shalt with this launcegay Abyen it ful sowre Line 2012 ¶ Thy Mawe Shal I percen / if I may Er it be fully pryme of day ffor here shaltow ben 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 / child Thopas And al it was / thurgh goddes graas And thurgh his fair berynge Line 2022

Ȝet lesteth lordes / to my tale Murier than the nyghtyngale I wol yow rowne Line 2025 How sire Thopas / with sydes smale Prikyng ouer hyll and dale Is come agayn to towne Line 2028

¶ Hys murye men / comanded he To make hym / bothe game and glee ffor nedes moste he fighte Line 2031 With a geant with heuedes thre ffor paramour / and Iolitee Of oon / that shoon ful brighte Line 2034

¶ Do come he seyde / my Mynstrales And Gestours / for to tellen tales Anon / in myn Armyng Line 2037 Of romances / that been reales Of Popes / and of Cardynales And eek/ of loue likyng Line 2040

¶ They fette hym first swete wyn And Mede eek in a Maselyn And real Spicerye Line 2043 Of gyngebred / that was ful fyn And lycorys / and eek Comyn With Sugre / that is trye Line 2046

[6-text p 196] Line 2046

¶ He dide next his white leer Of clooth of lake / fyn & cleer A breech / and eek a Sherte Line 2049 And next his Sherte / an Aketon And ouer that an haubergeon ffor percyng of his herte Line 2052

¶ And ouer that a fyn hauberk Was al ywroght of Iewes werk fful strong it was of plate Line 2055 And ouer that / his cote Armour [folio 215a] As whit as is / a lilie 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 / by his syde Line 2061 And there he swoor / on Ale and breed How þat the geant / shal be deed Bityde / what bityde Line 2064

¶ Hise Iambeux were / of quyrboily His swerdes shethe / of Yuory His helm / of laton bright Line 2067 His Sadel was / of Rewel bon His brydel / as the sonne shon Or as the moone light Line 2070

¶ His spere was / of fyn Cipres That bodeth werre / and no thyng pes The heed / ful sharpe ygrounde Line 2073 His Steede was / al dappel gray It goth an Ambel / in the way fful softely / and rounde // Line 2076

[6-text p 197] Line 2076

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

[Fit II.]

n Ow hoold youre mouth per charitee Bothe knyght and lady free And herkneth to my spelle Line 2083 ¶ Of bataille / and of chiualry And of ladyes / loue drury Anon / I wol yow telle Line 2086

¶ Men speken / of Romances of pris Of Hornchild / and of Ypotys Of Beves and Sir Gy Line 2089 Of Sire lybeux / and playn damour But sire Thopas / he bereth the flour Of real Chiualry Line 2092

¶ His goode Steede / al he bystrood And forth vp on his wey he glood As Sparcle / out of the bronde Line 2095 ¶ Vp on his Creest he bar a tour 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 hode Line 2101 His brighte helm / was his wonger And by hym / bayteth his destrer 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

• no gap in the MS.