© Librarius All rights reserved. |
Thise olde gentil Britouns in hir dayes | |
Of diverse aventures maden layes, | |
Rymeyed in hir firste Briton tonge; | |
Whiche layes with hir instrumentz they songe, | |
5 | Or elles redden hem, for hir plesaunce. |
And oon of hem have I in remembraunce, | |
Whiche 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, | |
10 | Have me excused of my rude speche. |
I lerned nevere rethorik, certeyn; | |
Thyng that I speke, it moot be bare and pleyn. | |
I sleep nevere on the Mount of Parnaso, | |
Ne lerned Marcus Tullius Scithero. | |
15 | Colours ne knowe I none, withouten drede, |
But swiche colours as growen in the mede, | |
Or elles swiche, as men dye or peynte. | |
Colours of rethoryk been me to queynte, | |
My spirit feeleth noght of swich mateere; | |
20 | But if yow list, my tale shul ye heere. |
Next: The Franklin's Tale (ll. 21-916) | © Librarius All rights reserved. |