The Canterbury Tales

be, or in what place?
Therefore made I my visitatións
To vigilies,1941 and to processións,
To preachings eke, and to these pilgrimáges,
To plays of miracles, and marriáges,
And weared upon me gay scarlet gites.1942
These wormës, nor these mothës, nor these mites
On my apparel frett1943 them never a deal1944
And know’st thou why? for they were used1945 well.
Now will I tellë forth what happen’d me:
I say, that in the fieldës walked we,
Till truëly we had such dalliance,
This clerk and I, that of my purveyance1946
I spake to him, and told him how that he,
If I were widow, shouldë weddë me.
For certainly, I say for no bobance,1947
Yet was I never without purveyance1948
Of marriage, nor of other thingës eke:
I hold a mouse’s wit not worth a leek,
That hath but one hole for to startë to,1949
And if that failë, then is all y-do.1950
[I bare him on hand1951 he had enchanted me
(My damë taughtë me that subtilty);
And eke I said, I mette1952 of him all night,
He would have slain me, as I lay upright,
And all my bed was full of very blood;
But yet I hop’d that he should do me good;
For blood betoken’d gold, as me was taught.
And all was false, I dream’d of him right naught,
But as I follow’d aye my damë’s lore,
As well of that as of other things more.]
But now, sir, let me see, what shall I sayn?
Aha! by God, I have my tale again.
When that my fourthë husband was on bier,
I wept algate1953 and made a sorry cheer,1954
As wivës must, for it is the uságe;
And with my kerchief covered my viságe;
But, for I was provided with a make,1955
I wept but little, that I undertake.1956
To churchë was mine husband borne a-morrow
With neighëbours that for him madë sorrow,
And Jenkin, ourë clerk, was one of tho:1957
As help me God, when that I saw him go
After the bier, methought he had a pair
Of leggës and of feet so clean and fair,
That all my heart I gave unto his hold.1958
He was, I trow, a twenty winter old,
And I was forty, if I shall say sooth,
But yet I had always a coltë’s tooth.
Gat-toothed1959 I was, and that became me well,
I had the print of Saintë Venus’ seal.
[As help me God, I was a lusty one,
And fair, and rich, and young, and well begone:1960
For certes I am all venerian
In feeling, and my heart is martian;1961
Venus me gave my lust and liquorishness,
And Mars gave me my sturdy hardiness.]
Mine ascendant was Taure,1962 and Mars therein:
Alas, alas, that ever love was sin!
I follow’d aye mine inclinatión
By virtue of my constellatión:
That made me that I couldë not withdraw
My chamber of Venus from a good felláw.
[Yet have I Martë’s mark upon my face,
And also in another privy place.
For God so wisly1963 be my salvatión,
I loved never by discretión,
But ever follow’d mine own appetite,
All1964 were he short, or long, or black, or white,
I took no keep,1965 so that he liked me,
How poor he was, neither of what degree.]
What should I say? but that at the month’s end
This jolly clerk Jenkin, that was so hend,1966
Had wedded me with great solemnity,
And to him gave I all the land and fee
That ever was me given therebefore:
But afterward repented me full sore.
He wouldë suffer nothing of my list.1967
By God, he smote me onës with his fist,
For that I rent out of his book a leaf,
That of the stroke mine earë wax’d all deaf.
Stubborn I was, as is a lioness,
And of my tongue a very jangleress,1968
And walk I would, as I had done beforn,
From house to house, although he had it sworn:1969
For which he oftentimes wouldë preach,
And me of oldë Roman gestës1970 teach.
How that Sulpitius Gallus left his wife,
And her forsook for term of all his,
For nought but open-headed1971 he her say1972
Looking out at his door upon a day.
Another Roman1973 told he me by name,
That, for his wife was at a summer game
Without his knowing, he forsook her eke.
And then would he upon his Bible seek
That ilkë1974 proverb of Ecclesiast,
Where he commandeth, and forbiddeth fast,
Man shall not suffer his wife go roll about.
Then would he say right thus withoutë doubt:
“Whoso that buildeth his house all of sallows,1975
And pricketh his blind horse over the fallows,
And suff’reth his wife to go seekë hallows,1976
Is worthy to be hanged on the gallows.”
But all for nought; I settë not a haw1977
Of his provérbs, nor of his oldë saw;
Nor would I not of him corrected be.
I hate them that my vices tellë me,
And so do more of us (God wot) than I.
This made him wood1978 with me all utterly;
I wouldë not forbear1979 him in no case.
Now will I say you sooth, by Saint Thomas,
Why that I rent out of his book a leaf,
For which he smote me, so that I was deaf.

He had a book, that gladly night and day
For his disport he would it read alway;
He call’d it Valerie,1980 and Theophrast,
And with that book he laugh’d alway full fast.
And eke there was a clerk sometime at Rome,
A cardinal, that hightë Saint Jerome,
That made a book against Jovinian,
Which book was there; and eke Tertullian,
Chrysippus, Trotula, and Heloïse,
That was an abbess not far from Paris;
And eke the Parables1981 of Solomon,
Ovidë’s Art,1982 and bourdës1983 many one;
And allë these were bound in one volume.
And every night and day was his custume
(When he had leisure and vacatión
From other worldly occupatión)
To readen in this book of