Parv. is an abbreviation for Promptorium Parvulorum, ed. Way (Camden Society).

With respect to the subject of Chaucer's metre, a brief explanation is necessary. In an essay by myself, printed at pp. 172– 196 of vol. i. of the Aldine edition of Chaucer (Bell and Daldy, 1866), the results there given were due to an independent investigation, before I had met with the work by Professor Child. Nearly all of them agree with his, though obtained with less care, and deficient in some of the details. But with respect to many minuter points, I have no doubt I must have since learnt much from him; and it ought never to be forgotten that the only full and almost complete solution of the question as to the right scansion of Chaucer's Canterbury Tales is due to what Mr. Ellis1 rightly terms the wonderful industry, acuteness, and accuracy' of Professor F. J. Child, of Harvard College, Cambridge, Mass. U.S. I wish also to express my obligations to Tyrwhitt's Chaucer, with its learned and scholarly notes; to Mr. A. J. Ellis's great work on Early English Pronunciation; to Mr. Furnivall's Sixtext Edition of the Canterbury Tales, and his numerous useful contributions to our knowledge concerning both the poet and his works; to Mr. H. Bradshaw, Cambridge University Librarian, for much help of various kinds; and especially to the Rev. Dr. Morris, who has kindly assisted me in revising the proof-sheets of this edition.

1 The account of Chaucer's metre by Mr. Ellis (Early English Pronunciation, pp. 318-342) is much fuller than that in my slight essay, and contains the results of independent work. In the main, the results obtained thus independently agree very well together.

GROUP B. MAN OF LAW'S HEAD-LINK.

[Introduction to the Man of Law's Prologue.]

The wordes of the Hoost to the compaignye.

Our hoste sey wel that the bryghte sonne
The ark of his artificial day hath ronne

The fourthe part, and half an houre, and more;
And though he were not depe expert1 in lore,
He wiste it was the eightetethe2 day

Of April, that is messager to May;
And sey wel that the shadwe of euery tree
Was as in lengthe the same quantitee

5

That was the body erect that caused it.

And therfor by the shadwe he took his wit

That Phebus, which that shoon so clere and bryghte,
Degrees was fyue and fourty clombe on hyghte;
And for that day, as in that latitude,

3

It was ten of the clokke, he gan conclude,

And sodeynly he plyghte his hors aboute.

'Lordinges,' quod he, 'I warne yow, al this route,

1 Cm. wanting; Cp. Pt. Ln. Hl. expert; E. Hn. ystert.

IO

15

2 Hn. xviijthe; Cp. xviije; Cm. Pt. Ln. xviij; E. eighte and twentithe; Hl. threttenthe.

3 Cm. Pt. Hl. of the; E. Hn. at the; Cp. atte; Ln. att.

The fourthe party of this day is goon;
Now, for the loue of god and of seint Iohn,
Leseth no tyme, as ferforth as ye may;
Lordinges, the tyme wasteth nyght and day,
And steleth from vs, what priuely slepinge,
And what thurgh necligence in our wakinge,
As dooth the streem, that turneth neuer agayn,
Descending fro the montaigne in-to playn.
Wel can Senec, and many a philosophre
Biwailen tyme, more than gold in cofre.
"For los of catel may recouered be,
But los of tyme shendeth vs," quod he.

Sir man of lawe,' quod he, so haue ye blis,
Tel vs a tale anon, as forward is;
Ye ben submitted thurgh your free assent
To stonde in this cas at my Iugement.
Acquiteth yow, and holdeth your biheste,
Than haue ye doon your deuoir atte leste2.'
'Hoste,' quod he, depardieux ich assente,
To breke forward is not myn entente.
Biheste is dette, and I wol holde fayn
Al my biheste; I can no better seyn.

For swich lawe as man2 yeueth another wyghte,
He sholde him-seluen vsen it by ryghte;

Thus wol our text, but natheles certeyn

I can ryght now no thrifty tale seyn,

3

But Chaucer, though he can but lewedly

On metres and on ryming craftily,

1 Hl. and holdeth; the rest of (badly).

2 Cm. man; the rest a man.

3 MS. Camb. Dd. 4. 24 has But; the rest That; see note.

20

25

33

35

40

45

Hath seyd hem in swich english as he can
Of olde tyme, as knoweth many a man.
And if he haue not seyd hem, leue brother,
In o boke, he hath seyd hem in another.
For he hath told of loueres vp and doun
Moo than Ovide made of mencioun

In his Epistolis, that ben ful olde.

What sholde I tellen hem, sin they ben tolde?
In youthe he made of Ceys and Alcioun,
And sithen hath he spoke of euerichoon,
Thise noble wyues and thise loueres eek.
Who so that wol his large volume seek
Cleped the seintes legende of Cupyde,

60

Ther may he seen the large woundes wyde
Of Lucresse, and of Babiloin Tisbee ;

The swerd1 of Dido for the false Enee;

65

The tree of Phillis for hir Demophon;
The pleinte of Dianire2 and Hermion,
Of Adriane and of Isiphilee;

3

The bareyne yle stonding in the see;
The dreynt Leander for his fayre Erro;
The teres of Eleyne, and eek' the wo
Of Brixseide, and of thee, Ladomëa;
The cruelte of thee, queen Medea,
Thy litel children hanging by the hals
For thy Iason, that was of loue so fals!

6

O Ypermistra, Penelope, Alceste,

70

75

Your wyfhood he comendeth with the beste!

1 Hl. sorwe; but the rest swerd.

2 E. Cm. Hl. Diane; but Hn. Cp. Pt. Ln. Dianire, or Dyanyre.

3 Hl. fayre, which the rest omit.

E. omits eek, which is in the rest.

5 E. omits of, but it is in the rest. E. Cm. in; the rest of.

But certeinly no word ne wryteth he

Of thilke wikke ensample of Canacee;

And therfor he, of ful auysement,

Nolde neuer wryte in none of his sermouns
Of swiche vnkynde abhominaciouns,
Ne I wol noon reherse, if that I may.
But of my tale how shal I doon this day?
Me were looth be lykned douteles
To Muses that men clepen Pierides—
Metamorphoseos wot what I mene—
But natheles, I recche noght a bene
Though I come after him with hawe bake1;
I speke in prose, and lete him rymes make.'
And with that word he, with a sobre chere,
Bigan his tale, as ye shal after here.

The prologe of the mannes tale of lawe.

O hateful harm! condicion of pouerte!

86

90

95

With thurst, with cold, with hunger so confounded! 100
To asken help thee shameth in thyn herte ;

If thou noon aske, with nede artow so wounded 2,
That verray need vnwrappeth al thy wounde hid!
Maugre thyn heed, thou most for indigence
Or stele, or begge, or borwe thy despence!

Thou blamest Crist, and seyst ful bitterly,
He misdeparteth richesse temporal;

105

1 Hn. Cp. Pt. Hl. hawe bake; E. hawebake; Cm. aw bake; Ln. halve bake.

2 So Hn.; Cm. Cp. with nede art bou so wounded; Ln. with nede þou wounded; Hl. with neede so art thou woundyd; but E. so soore artow