| Geoffrey Chaucer (c. 1340–1400). The Complete Poetical Works. 1894. | | | | The Canterbury Tales | | The Franklin’s Prologue |
| | The Prologe of the Frankeleyns Tale.
THISE olde gentil Britons in hir dayes | |
| Of diverse aventures maden layes, | |
| Rymeyed in hir firste Briton tonge; | |
| Which layes with hir instruments they songe, | |
| Or elles redden hem for hir plesaunce; | 5 |
| And oon of hem have I in remembraunce, | |
| Which I shal seyn with good wil as I can. | |
| But, sires, by-cause I am a burel man, | |
| At my biginning first I yow biseche | |
| Have me excused of my rude speche; | 10 |
| I lerned never rethoryk certeyn; | |
| Thing that I speke, it moot be bare and pleyn. | |
| I sleep never on the mount of Pernaso, | |
| Ne lerned Marcus Tullius Cithero. | |
| Colours ne knowe I none, with-outen drede, | 15 |
| But swiche colours as growen in the mede, | |
| Or elles swiche as men dye or peynte. | |
| Colours of rethoryk ben me to queynte; | |
| My spirit feleth noght of swich matere. | |
| But if yow list, my tale shul ye here. | 20 | | | |
|
|
