Chaucer Texts
eChaucer ¤ Chaucer in the Twenty-First Century
| The Canterbury Tales - The Franklin's Prologue | |
| |
| The Prologe of the Frankeleyns Tale | |
| |
| Thise olde gentil Britouns in hir dayes |
| 710 | Of diverse aventures maden layes, |
| Rymeyed in hir firste Briton tonge, |
| Whiche layes with hir instrumentz they songe |
| Or elles redden hem for hir plesaunce; |
| And oon of hem have I in remembraunce, |
| 715 | Which I shal seyn with good wyl as I kan. |
| But, sires, by cause I am a burel man, |
| At my bigynnyng first I yow biseche, |
| Have me excused of my rude speche. |
| I lerned nevere rethorik, certeyn; |
| 720 | Thyng that I speke, it moot be bare and pleyn. |
| I sleep nevere on the Mount of Pernaso, |
| Ne lerned Marcus Tullius Scithero. |
| Colours ne knowe I none, withouten drede, |
| But swiche colours as growen in the mede, |
| 725 | Or elles swiche as men dye or peynte. |
| Colours of rethoryk been to me queynte; |
| My spirit feeleth noght of swich mateere. |
| But if yow list, my tale shul ye heere. |