And whan he rode, men mighte his bridel here
Gingeling in a whistling wind as clere,
And eke as loude, as doth the chapell belle,
Ther as this lord was keper of the celle.

The reule of seint Maure and of seint Beneit,
Because that it was olde and somdele streit,
This ilke monk lette olde thinges pace,
And held after the newe world the trace.
He yave not of the text a pulled hen,1
That saith, that hunters ben not holy men;
Ne that a monk, whan he is rekkeles,2
Is like to a fish that is waterles;

This is to say, a monk out of his cloistre.
This ilke text held he not worth an oistre.
And I say his opinion was good.

What shulde he studie, and make himselven wood,
Upon a book in cloistre alway to pore,
Or swinken with his hondes, and laboure,

As Austin bit ?3 how shal the world be served?
Let Austin have his swink to him reserved.
Therfore he was a prickasoure a right:
Greihoundes he hadde as swift as foul of flight:
Of pricking and of hunting for the hare
Was all his lust, for no cost wolde he spare.

1 I. e., he cared not a straw. One MS. reads a pullet hen, which seems more intelligible, unless it refer to the supposition that a plucked hen cannot lay eggs.-Tyrwhitt, gl.

2 Rekkeles. MS. C. reads Cloisterles; to which the only objection is, that if it had been the true reading there would have been no occasion to explain or paraphrase it in ver. 181. The text alluded to is attributed by Gratian, Decret. P. ii. Cau. xvi. Q. 1. c. viii. to a Pope Eugenius.Sicut piscis sine aquâ caret vitâ, ita sine monasterio monachus. In P. P., according to MS. Cotton. Vesp. B. xvi. (for the passage is omitted in the printed editions), a similar saying is quoted from Gregory.

Gregori the grete clerk garte write in bokes
The rewle of alle religioun riytful and obedient
Riyt as fishes in a flod whan hem faileth water
Deien for drowthe whan thei drie liggen
Riyt so religious roten and sterven

That out of covent or cloistre coveiten to dwelle.

As the known senses of rekkeles, viz., careless, negligent, by no means suit with this passage, I am inclined to suspect that Chaucer possibly wrote reghelles, i. e., without rule. Regol, from Regula, was the Saxon word for a rule, and particularly for a monastic rule.—Tyrwhitt.

3 Biddeth.

4 Labour.

A hard rider, from prick, to spur on a horse.

I saw his sleves purfiled at the hond
With gris,' and that the finest of the lond.
And for to tasten his hood under his chinne,
He hadde of gold ywrought a curious pinne:
A love-knotte in the greter end ther was.
His hed was balled, and shone as any glas,
And eke his face, as it hadde ben anoint.
He was a lord ful fat and in good point.
His eyen stepe, and rolling in his hed,
That stemed as a forneis of a led.
His botes souple, his hors in gret estat,
Now certainly he was a fayre prelat.
He was not pale as a forpined3 gost.
A fat swan loved he best of any rost.
His palfrey was as broune as is a bery.

A Frere ther was, a wanton and a mery,
A Limitour, a ful solempne man.
In all the ordres foure is non that can
So moche of daliance and fayre langage.
He hadde ymade ful many a mariage
Of yonge wimmen, at his owen cost.
Until his ordre he was a noble post
Ful wel beloved, and familier was he
With frankeleins over all in his contree,
And eke with worthy wimmen of the toun:
For he had power of confession,

As saide himselfe, more than a curat,
For of his ordre he was licenciat.
Ful swetely herde he confession,
And plesant was his absolution.
He was an esy man to give penance,
Ther as he wiste to han a good pitance:
For unto a poure ordre for to give
Is signe that a man is wel yshrive.
For if he gave, he dorste make avant,
He wiste that a man was repentant.
For many a man so hard is of his herte,

He may not wepe although him sore smerte.

The habit of wearing fur trimmings was forbidden the monks by
Cardinal Wolsey, in 1519.

Sunk deep in his head.

3 Wasted, tormented.

AI. e., one licensed to beg within a certain district.

• Wealthy landholders; country gentlemen of good estate.

6 Boast.

"apstere,

an as he

a acuite. Synce. ance

We nouraille, -u-r» taile.

1 maid arise,

servise.

artuous.

́s Mous:

The grant,

is naunt. ut a shoo,

er he went.

wi etter han his rent.

de ben a whelp,

Influencere e nochei help.

I that we be nas like a foisterere,

it ith thredare cope, as is a pours scolere,
Pot he was like a master or a pope.
Double worsted was his semicope,
17ot count was as a belle out of the presse.
To make his English swete upon his tonge;
what he lieped for his wantonnesse,
And in his harping, whan that he hadde songe,

coumensity psov pople,
My wore, by heart.

!,

3A kind of song.

bar none of the Istin text either of Genesis or of St. John's

sproof d for the amicable settlement or arbitration of dif

His eyen twinkeled in his hed aright,
As don the sterres in a frosty night.
This worthy limitour was cleped Huberd.

A Marchant was ther with a forked berd,
In mottelee,' and highe on hors he sat,
And on his hed a Flaundrish bever hat.
His botes clapsed fayre and fetisly.
His resons spake he ful solempnely,
Souning alway the encrese of his winning.
He wold the see were kept3 for anything
Betwixen Middelburgh and Orewell.*
Wel coud he in eschanges sheldes selle.
This worthy man ful wel his wit besette;
Ther wiste no wight that he was in dette,
So stedefastly didde he his governance,
With his bargeines, and with his chevisance.
Forsothe he was a worthy man withalle,
But soth to sayn, I n'ot how men him calle.

A Clerk ther was of Oxenforde also,
That unto logike hadde long ygo.
As lene was his hors as is a rake,
And he was not right fat, I undertake;'
But loked holwe, and therto soberly.
Ful thredbare was his overest courtepy?
For he hadde geten him yet no benefice,
Ne was nought worldly to have an office.
For him was lever han at his beedes hed
A twenty bokes, clothed in black or red,
Of Aristotle, and his philosophie,
Than robes riche, or fidel, or sautrie.9

2 Sounding.

1 Mixed, various colours, motley. Guarded. The old subsidy of tonnage and poundage was given to the king pur la sauf garde et custodie del mer, 12 E. IV. c. 3.-Tyrwhitt. 4 A seaport in Essex.

5 French crowns, so called from their having a shield stamped on one 6 An arrangement for borrowing money.

side.

7A sort of short upper cloak. 8 I. c., he had rather, he preferred. Psaltery. It may be observed, that although organ-builders have Introduced reed stops, purporting to represent the sacbut, clarion, paltery, shalm, and other instruments mentioned in Scripture, we are totally ignorant what they were. The psaltery was probably a stringed instrument, and perhaps the same as the "rote" spoken of elsewhere.

Therfore in stede of weping and praieres,
Men mote give silver to the poure freres.
His tippet was ay farsed' ful of knives,
And pinnes, for to given fayre wives.
And certainly he hadde a mery note.
Wel coude he singe and plaien on a rote.
Of yeddinges he bare utterly the pris.
His nekke was white as the flour de lis.
Therto he strong was as a champioun,
And knew wel the tavernes in every toun,
And every hosteler and gay tapstere,
Better than a lazar or a beggere,
For unto swiche a worthy man as he
Accordeth nought, as by his faculte,
To haven with sike lazars acquaintance.
It is not honest, it may not avance,
As for to delen with no swiche pouraille,
But all with riche, and sellers of vitaille.

And over all, ther as profit shuld arise,
Curteis he was, and lowly of servise.
Ther n'as no man nowher so vertuous.
He was the beste begger in all his hous:
And gave a certaine ferme for the grant,
Non of his bretheren came in his haunt.
For though a widewe hadde but a shoo,
(So plesant was his In principio)ė

Yet wold he have a ferthing or he went.
His pourchas was wel better than his rent.
And rage he coude as it hadde ben a whelp,
In lovedayes, ther coude he mochel help.
For ther was he nat like a cloisterere,
With thredbare cope, as is a poure scolere,
But he was like a maister or a pope.
Of double worsted was his semicope,
That round was as a belle out of the presse.
Som what he lisped for his wantonnesse,
To make his English swete upon his tonge;
And in his harping. whan that he hadde songe,

1 Stuffed.

2 By rote, by heart.

4 I.e., commonalty, poor people.

3 A kind of song.

5 The beginning of the Latin text either of Genesis or of St. John's Gospel.

6 Days appointed for the amicable settlement or arbitration of dif ferences.