From Geoffrey Chaucer's "The Canterbury Tales", The Man of Law's Tale, lines 169-189

Previous:
From The Man of Law's Tale, lines 148-168:
The emperor's beautiful daughter Constance

From The Canterbury Tales:
The Man of Law's Tale
lines 169-189: The merchants tell the sultan about Constance

	And al this voys was sooth, as God is trewe!
170	But now to purpos, lat us turne agayn;
	Thise marchantz han doon fraught hir shippes newe,
	And whan they han this blisful mayden sayn,
	Hoom to Surrye been they went ful fayn,
	And doon hir nedes as they han doon yoore,
175	And lyven in wele, I kan sey yow namoore.

	And all this voice said truth, as God is true.
170	But to our story let us turn again.
	These merchants all have freighted ships anew,
	And when they'd seen the lovely maid, they fain
	Would seek their Syrian homes with all their train,
	To do their business as they'd done yore,
175	And live in weal; I cannot tell you more.

Now fil it, that thise marchantz stode in grace

Of hym, that was the Sowdan of Surrye.

For whan they cam from any strange place,

He wolde, of his benigne curteisye,

180 Make hem good chiere, and bisily espye

Tidynges of sondry regnes, for to leere

The wondres that they myghte seen or heere.

Now so it was, these merchants stood in grace

Of Syria's sultan; and so wise was he

That when they came from any foreign place

He would, of his benignant courtesy,

180 Make them good cheer, inquiring earnestly

For news of sundry realms, to learn, by word,

The wonders that they might have seen and heard.

Amonges othere thynges, specially

Thise marchantz han hym toold of dame Custance

185 So greet noblesse, in ernest ceriously,

That this Sowdan hath caught so greet plesance

To han hir figure in his remembrance,

That all his lust and al his bisy cure

Was for to love hir, while his lyf may dure.

Among some other things, especially

These merchants told him tales of fair Constance;

185 From such nobility, told of earnestly,

This sultan caught a dream of great pleasance,

And she so figured in his remembrance

That all his wish and all his busy care

Were, throughout life, to love that lady fair.

Next:
From The Man of Law's Tale, lines 190-203:
The predictive power of the stars