The Harleian ms. 7334 of Chaucer's Canterbury tales. Ed. by Frederick J. Furnivall.

                                  
                                    Whan þat arcite to Thebes come was
                                  
                                    Ful ofte a day he swelde and seyde alas
                                    Line 1356 
                                  
                                    For seen his lady schal he neuer mo
                                  
                                    And schortly to concluden al his wo
                                  
                                    So moche sorwe had neuer creature
                                  
                                    That is or schal whil þat þe world wol dure
                                    Line 1360 
                                  
                                    his sleep his mete his drynk is him by-raft
                                  
                                    That lene he wexe / and drye as eny schaft/
                                  
                                    his eyen holwe / grisly to biholde
                                  
                                    his hewe falwe and pale as asschen colde
                                    Line 1364 
                                  
                                    And solitary he was and euer alone
                                  
                                    And dwellyng al þe night making his moone
                                  
                                    And if he herde song or Instrument/ [folio 19a] 
                                  
                                    Then wolde he wepe he mighte nought be stent
                                    Line 1368 
                                  
                                    So feble were his spirites and so lowe
                                  
                                    And chaunged so þat no man couþe knowe
                                  
                                    his speche noþer his vois þough men it herde
                                  
                                    And in his gir for al þe world he ferde
                                    Line 1372 
                                  
                                    Nought oonly lyke þe louers maladye
                                  
                                    Of hercos but raþer lik manye
                                  
                                    Engendrud of humour malencolyk
                                  
                                    Byforne in his selle fantastyk
                                    Line 1376 
                                  
                                    And schortly turned was al vp so doun
                                  
                                    Bothe abyt and eek disposicioun
                                  
                                    Of him þis woful louere daun arcite
                                  
                                    what schulde I alway of his wo endite
                                    Line 1380 
                                  
                                    whan he endured hadde a ȝeer or tuoo
                                  
                                    In þis cruel torment peyne and woo
                                  
                                    At Thebes in his contre as I seyde
                                  
                                    vpon a night in sleep as he him leyde
                                    Line 1384 
                                  
                                    him þought þat how þe venged god mercurie /
                                  
                                    Byforn him stood and bad him to be murye
                                  
                                    his slepy ȝerd in hond he bar vp right
                                  
                                    An hat he wered vpon his heres bright /

                                    Line 1388

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About this Item

Title: The Harleian ms. 7334 of Chaucer's Canterbury tales. Ed. by Frederick J. Furnivall.
Author: Chaucer, Geoffrey, d. 1400.
Canvas: Page 40
Publication: London,: Pub. for the Chaucer society by N. Trübner & co.,; 1885.

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Collection: Corpus of Middle English Prose and Verse
Link to this Item: https://name.umdl.umich.edu/agz8246.0001.001
Link to this scan: https://quod.lib.umich.edu/c/cme/agz8246.0001.001/52:3

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Manifest: https://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/t/text/api/manifest/cme:agz8246.0001.001

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Full citation: "The Harleian ms. 7334 of Chaucer's Canterbury tales. Ed. by Frederick J. Furnivall." In the digital collection Corpus of Middle English Prose and Verse. https://name.umdl.umich.edu/agz8246.0001.001. University of Michigan Library Digital Collections. Accessed May 6, 2025.

The Harleian ms. 7334 of Chaucer's Canterbury tales. Ed. by Frederick J. Furnivall.

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