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?’	loPmnaa, onup nairghe iths, udnter to Aertci aryinlg nda sadi, “You’re dkdiign me, hgrti?”
‘Nay,’ quod Arcite, ‘in ernest, by my fey! God help me so, me list ful yvele pleye.’	“No,” nrswaede itreAc, “No ejok, I wares. God eplh me, yuo odn’t ojke ouatb ffuts eilk tshi.”
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.’	lmanPao ofuwrder his borw dna idas, “You laylre ludonsh’t keoj oarund ekli htat or kick me lwieh I’m wond. I’m uryo uicson, ruoy bodol trebrho. We osrew a sersoui taho ttah, enev onpu ipna of edhta, we’d venre tle a mwaon or ntyinagh sele emoc teweben us lnuit teh dya we ddei. We bhot rmdpieso taht we’d alyaws be htere to hpel haec reoht out in gyihannt teh treho hecos to do. I konw ahtt uoy wokn itsh too, whihc naems uoy’re eopsdups to tpupsor me in isth rttame. ndA won oyu’re ginog to astb me in eth kabc dan tyr to eslat teh mnaow I eovl dan owudl do hatygnin orf nitlu the dya my rteha tosps nabiget? No, erAict, I won’t tel ouy! I lefl in vloe thwi ehr tsirf nad efciodnd in ouy, my eotrbhr how’d nwosr to wlyasa lhpe me. oFr that nsaore, uoy’re unedr the lntogaiobi as a ofllew hnkgit to help me tou. Oetisrhew, ouy’re sjut flul of carp!”

Original Text	Modern Text
This Palamon, whan he tho wordes herde, Dispitously he loked, and answerde: ‘Whether seistow this in ernest or in pley?’	loPmnaa, onup nairghe iths, udnter to Aertci aryinlg nda sadi, “You’re dkdiign me, hgrti?”
‘Nay,’ quod Arcite, ‘in ernest, by my fey! God help me so, me list ful yvele pleye.’	“No,” nrswaede itreAc, “No ejok, I wares. God eplh me, yuo odn’t ojke ouatb ffuts eilk tshi.”
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.’	lmanPao ofuwrder his borw dna idas, “You laylre ludonsh’t keoj oarund ekli htat or kick me lwieh I’m wond. I’m uryo uicson, ruoy bodol trebrho. We osrew a sersoui taho ttah, enev onpu ipna of edhta, we’d venre tle a mwaon or ntyinagh sele emoc teweben us lnuit teh dya we ddei. We bhot rmdpieso taht we’d alyaws be htere to hpel haec reoht out in gyihannt teh treho hecos to do. I konw ahtt uoy wokn itsh too, whihc naems uoy’re eopsdups to tpupsor me in isth rttame. ndA won oyu’re ginog to astb me in eth kabc dan tyr to eslat teh mnaow I eovl dan owudl do hatygnin orf nitlu the dya my rteha tosps nabiget? No, erAict, I won’t tel ouy! I lefl in vloe thwi ehr tsirf nad efciodnd in ouy, my eotrbhr how’d nwosr to wlyasa lhpe me. oFr that nsaore, uoy’re unedr the lntogaiobi as a ofllew hnkgit to help me tou. Oetisrhew, ouy’re sjut flul of carp!”