The Canterbury Tales

wisely when he preferred the second. ↩

Counsel, plot. ↩

Arranged. ↩

Historical, authentic. ↩

Discourse, account. ↩

True. ↩

Judgments. ↩

In haste. ↩

Petition. ↩

Cause. ↩

Know, learn. ↩

Slave. ↩

Prove. ↩

Be not displeased. ↩

Villainous. ↩

Pronounce, determine. ↩

Piercing. ↩

Although. ↩

Swerve, turn aside. ↩

Saw. ↩

Bewail. ↩

Judges 11:37, 38. “And she said unto her father, Let⁠ ⁠… me alone two months, that I may go up and down upon the mountains, and bewail my virginity, I and my fellows. And he said, go.” ↩

Offence. ↩

Stern, cruel. ↩

Took. ↩

Judgement. ↩

Thrust. ↩

Suspicion. ↩

“Cast into gaol,” according to Urry’s explanation; though we should probably understand that, if Claudius had not been sent out of the country, his death would have been secretly contrived through private detestation. ↩

Villainy. ↩

Desert. ↩

Cause a man to tremble because of. ↩

Illiterate or learned. ↩

Advise. ↩

Mad. ↩

The nails and blood of Christ, by which it was then a fashion to swear. ↩

Counsellors; those who aid their undertakings. ↩

Nevertheless. ↩

Innocent. ↩

Paid for, suffered for. ↩

Profit. ↩

No matter. ↩

Body. ↩

See note 151. ↩

Box; French boite, old form boiste. ↩

Thrive. ↩

In set form. ↩

Makest. ↩

Grieve; from Anglo-Saxon, earme, wretched. ↩

Heartache; from Greek, καρδιαλγια. ↩

Unless. ↩

A remedy. ↩

New and strong, nappy. As to “moist,” see note 159. ↩

Unless. ↩

Broken, burst. ↩

Jokes. ↩

Alehouse sign. ↩

Learn. ↩

Wisdom, sense. ↩

Surely. ↩

The outline of this “Tale” is to be found in the Cento Novelle Antiche, but the original is now lost. As in the case of the “Wife of Bath’s Tale,” there is a long prologue, but in this case it has been treated as part of the “Tale.” ↩

Take pains, make an effort. ↩

Loud, lofty; from French, hautain. ↩

“The love of money is the root of all evil” (1 Tim. 6:10). ↩

For the protection of my person. ↩

Rags, fragments. ↩

As my auditors think. ↩

Brass. ↩

Heed. ↩

Heed. ↩

Owneth. ↩

Mistrust. ↩

Although. ↩

Glove, mitten. ↩

Confessed. ↩

Cuckold. ↩

Jest, trick. ↩

Ignorant. ↩

Jests. ↩

Barn. ↩

Briskly. ↩

Wickedness. ↩

Especially. ↩

The meaning of this is not very clear, but it is probably a periphrastic and picturesque way of indicating damnation. ↩

Preaching is often inspired by evil motives. ↩

Sharply. ↩

Escape. ↩

Offended. ↩

Am I revenged on. ↩

Depart. ↩

Unlearned. ↩

Because. ↩

In respect of the poverty enjoined on and practised by them. ↩

Although. ↩

Although. ↩

Die. ↩

Guitars. ↩

Dreadful; fitted to agrise or horrify the listener. ↩

See note 759. Mr. Wright says: “The common oaths in the Middle Ages were by the different parts of God’s body; and the popular preachers represented that profane swearers tore Christ’s body by their imprecations.” The idea was doubtless borrowed from the passage in Hebrews (6:6), where apostates are said to “crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put Him to an open shame.” ↩

Laughed. ↩

Female dancers or tumblers; from Anglo-Saxon, tumban, to dance. ↩

Dainty. ↩

Fruit-girls. ↩

Revellers. ↩

Cake-sellers. ↩

“Be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess.” (Eph. 5:18). ↩

Unnaturally. ↩

The reference is probably to the diligent inquiries Herod made at the time of Christ’s birth. See Matt. 2:4⁠–⁠8. ↩

Command. ↩

A drunkard. “Perhaps,” says Tyrwhitt, “Chaucer refers to Epist. LXXXIII, ‘Extende in plures dies illum ebrii habitum; nunquid de furore dubitabis? nunc quoque non est minor sed brevior.’ ” ↩

Madness. ↩

One evil-tempered. ↩

Atoned for. ↩

Doubt. ↩

Forbidden. St. Jerome, in his book against Jovinian, says that so long as Adam fasted, he