No Fear Literature: The Canterbury Tales: The Knight’s Tale, Part One Page 9

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Original Text	Modern Text
This Palamon, whan he tho wordes herde, Dispitously he loked, and answerde: ‘Whether seistow this in ernest or in pley?’	This Palamon, whan he tho wordes herde, Dispitously he loked, and answerde: ‘Whether seistow this in ernest or in pley?’
‘Nay,’ quod Arcite, ‘in ernest, by my fey! God help me so, me list ful yvele pleye.’	‘Nay,’ quod Arcite, ‘in ernest, by my fey! God help me so, me list ful yvele pleye.’
This Palamon gan knitte his browes tweye: ‘It nere,’ quod he, ‘to thee no greet honour For to be fals, ne for to be traytour To me, that am thy cosin and thy brother Y-sworn ful depe, and ech of us til other, That never, for to dyen in the peyne, Til that the deeth departe shal us tweyne, Neither of us in love to hindren other, Ne in non other cas, my leve brother; But that thou sholdest trewely forthren me In every cas, and I shal forthren thee. This was thyn ooth, and myn also, certeyn; I wot right wel, thou darst it nat withseyn. Thus artow of my counseil, out of doute. And now thou woldest falsly been aboute To love my lady, whom I love and serve, And ever shal, til that myn herte sterve. Now certes, fals Arcite, thou shalt nat so. I loved hir first, and tolde thee my wo As to my counseil, and my brother sworn To forthre me, as I have told biforn. For which thou art y-bounden as a knight To helpen me, if it lay in thy might, Or elles artow fals, I dar wel seyn.’	This Palamon gan knitte his browes tweye: ‘It nere,’ quod he, ‘to thee no greet honour For to be fals, ne for to be traytour To me, that am thy cosin and thy brother Y-sworn ful depe, and ech of us til other, That never, for to dyen in the peyne, Til that the deeth departe shal us tweyne, Neither of us in love to hindren other, Ne in non other cas, my leve brother; But that thou sholdest trewely forthren me In every cas, and I shal forthren thee. This was thyn ooth, and myn also, certeyn; I wot right wel, thou darst it nat withseyn. Thus artow of my counseil, out of doute. And now thou woldest falsly been aboute To love my lady, whom I love and serve, And ever shal, til that myn herte sterve. Now certes, fals Arcite, thou shalt nat so. I loved hir first, and tolde thee my wo As to my counseil, and my brother sworn To forthre me, as I have told biforn. For which thou art y-bounden as a knight To helpen me, if it lay in thy might, Or elles artow fals, I dar wel seyn.’

Original Text	Modern Text
This Palamon, whan he tho wordes herde, Dispitously he loked, and answerde: ‘Whether seistow this in ernest or in pley?’	This Palamon, whan he tho wordes herde, Dispitously he loked, and answerde: ‘Whether seistow this in ernest or in pley?’
‘Nay,’ quod Arcite, ‘in ernest, by my fey! God help me so, me list ful yvele pleye.’	‘Nay,’ quod Arcite, ‘in ernest, by my fey! God help me so, me list ful yvele pleye.’
This Palamon gan knitte his browes tweye: ‘It nere,’ quod he, ‘to thee no greet honour For to be fals, ne for to be traytour To me, that am thy cosin and thy brother Y-sworn ful depe, and ech of us til other, That never, for to dyen in the peyne, Til that the deeth departe shal us tweyne, Neither of us in love to hindren other, Ne in non other cas, my leve brother; But that thou sholdest trewely forthren me In every cas, and I shal forthren thee. This was thyn ooth, and myn also, certeyn; I wot right wel, thou darst it nat withseyn. Thus artow of my counseil, out of doute. And now thou woldest falsly been aboute To love my lady, whom I love and serve, And ever shal, til that myn herte sterve. Now certes, fals Arcite, thou shalt nat so. I loved hir first, and tolde thee my wo As to my counseil, and my brother sworn To forthre me, as I have told biforn. For which thou art y-bounden as a knight To helpen me, if it lay in thy might, Or elles artow fals, I dar wel seyn.’	This Palamon gan knitte his browes tweye: ‘It nere,’ quod he, ‘to thee no greet honour For to be fals, ne for to be traytour To me, that am thy cosin and thy brother Y-sworn ful depe, and ech of us til other, That never, for to dyen in the peyne, Til that the deeth departe shal us tweyne, Neither of us in love to hindren other, Ne in non other cas, my leve brother; But that thou sholdest trewely forthren me In every cas, and I shal forthren thee. This was thyn ooth, and myn also, certeyn; I wot right wel, thou darst it nat withseyn. Thus artow of my counseil, out of doute. And now thou woldest falsly been aboute To love my lady, whom I love and serve, And ever shal, til that myn herte sterve. Now certes, fals Arcite, thou shalt nat so. I loved hir first, and tolde thee my wo As to my counseil, and my brother sworn To forthre me, as I have told biforn. For which thou art y-bounden as a knight To helpen me, if it lay in thy might, Or elles artow fals, I dar wel seyn.’