No Fear Literature: The Canterbury Tales: The Knight’s Tale The Knight’s Tale, Part Three Page 2

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Original Text	Modern Text
But yet hadde I foryeten to devyse The noble kerving, and the portreitures, The shap, the countenaunce, and the figures, That weren in thise oratories three.	But yet hadde I foryeten to devyse The noble kerving, and the portreitures, The shap, the countenaunce, and the figures, That weren in thise oratories three.
First in the temple of Venus maystow see Wroght on the wal, ful pitous to biholde, The broken slepes, and the sykes colde; The sacred teres, and the waymenting; The fyry strokes of the desiring, That loves servaunts in this lyf enduren; The othes, that hir covenants assuren; Plesaunce and hope, desyr, fool-hardinesse, Beautee and youthe, bauderie, richesse, Charmes and force, lesinges, flaterye, Dispense, bisynesse, and Ielousye, That wered of yelwe goldes a gerland, And a cokkow sitting on hir hand; Festes, instruments, caroles, daunces, Lust and array, and alle the circumstaunces Of love, whiche that I rekne and rekne shal, By ordre weren peynted on the wal, And mo than I can make of mencioun. For soothly, al the mount of Citheroun, Ther Venus hath hir principal dwelling, Was shewed on the wal in portreying, With al the gardin, and the lustinesse. Nat was foryeten the porter Ydelnesse, Ne Narcisus the faire of yore agon, Ne yet the folye of king Salamon, Ne yet the grete strengthe of Hercules— Thenchauntements of Medea and Circes— Ne of Turnus, with the hardy fiers corage, The riche Cresus, caytif in servage. Thus may ye seen that wisdom ne richesse, Beautee ne sleighte, strengthe, ne hardinesse, Ne may with Venus holde champartye; For as hir list the world than may she gye. Lo, alle thise folk so caught were in hir las, Til they for wo ful ofte seyde ‘allas!’ Suffyceth heer ensamples oon or two, And though I coude rekne a thousand mo.	First in the temple of Venus maystow see Wroght on the wal, ful pitous to biholde, The broken slepes, and the sykes colde; The sacred teres, and the waymenting; The fyry strokes of the desiring, That loves servaunts in this lyf enduren; The othes, that hir covenants assuren; Plesaunce and hope, desyr, fool-hardinesse, Beautee and youthe, bauderie, richesse, Charmes and force, lesinges, flaterye, Dispense, bisynesse, and Ielousye, That wered of yelwe goldes a gerland, And a cokkow sitting on hir hand; Festes, instruments, caroles, daunces, Lust and array, and alle the circumstaunces Of love, whiche that I rekne and rekne shal, By ordre weren peynted on the wal, And mo than I can make of mencioun. For soothly, al the mount of Citheroun, Ther Venus hath hir principal dwelling, Was shewed on the wal in portreying, With al the gardin, and the lustinesse. Nat was foryeten the porter Ydelnesse, Ne Narcisus the faire of yore agon, Ne yet the folye of king Salamon, Ne yet the grete strengthe of Hercules— Thenchauntements of Medea and Circes— Ne of Turnus, with the hardy fiers corage, The riche Cresus, caytif in servage. Thus may ye seen that wisdom ne richesse, Beautee ne sleighte, strengthe, ne hardinesse, Ne may with Venus holde champartye; For as hir list the world than may she gye. Lo, alle thise folk so caught were in hir las, Til they for wo ful ofte seyde ‘allas!’ Suffyceth heer ensamples oon or two, And though I coude rekne a thousand mo.

Original Text	Modern Text
But yet hadde I foryeten to devyse The noble kerving, and the portreitures, The shap, the countenaunce, and the figures, That weren in thise oratories three.	But yet hadde I foryeten to devyse The noble kerving, and the portreitures, The shap, the countenaunce, and the figures, That weren in thise oratories three.
First in the temple of Venus maystow see Wroght on the wal, ful pitous to biholde, The broken slepes, and the sykes colde; The sacred teres, and the waymenting; The fyry strokes of the desiring, That loves servaunts in this lyf enduren; The othes, that hir covenants assuren; Plesaunce and hope, desyr, fool-hardinesse, Beautee and youthe, bauderie, richesse, Charmes and force, lesinges, flaterye, Dispense, bisynesse, and Ielousye, That wered of yelwe goldes a gerland, And a cokkow sitting on hir hand; Festes, instruments, caroles, daunces, Lust and array, and alle the circumstaunces Of love, whiche that I rekne and rekne shal, By ordre weren peynted on the wal, And mo than I can make of mencioun. For soothly, al the mount of Citheroun, Ther Venus hath hir principal dwelling, Was shewed on the wal in portreying, With al the gardin, and the lustinesse. Nat was foryeten the porter Ydelnesse, Ne Narcisus the faire of yore agon, Ne yet the folye of king Salamon, Ne yet the grete strengthe of Hercules— Thenchauntements of Medea and Circes— Ne of Turnus, with the hardy fiers corage, The riche Cresus, caytif in servage. Thus may ye seen that wisdom ne richesse, Beautee ne sleighte, strengthe, ne hardinesse, Ne may with Venus holde champartye; For as hir list the world than may she gye. Lo, alle thise folk so caught were in hir las, Til they for wo ful ofte seyde ‘allas!’ Suffyceth heer ensamples oon or two, And though I coude rekne a thousand mo.	First in the temple of Venus maystow see Wroght on the wal, ful pitous to biholde, The broken slepes, and the sykes colde; The sacred teres, and the waymenting; The fyry strokes of the desiring, That loves servaunts in this lyf enduren; The othes, that hir covenants assuren; Plesaunce and hope, desyr, fool-hardinesse, Beautee and youthe, bauderie, richesse, Charmes and force, lesinges, flaterye, Dispense, bisynesse, and Ielousye, That wered of yelwe goldes a gerland, And a cokkow sitting on hir hand; Festes, instruments, caroles, daunces, Lust and array, and alle the circumstaunces Of love, whiche that I rekne and rekne shal, By ordre weren peynted on the wal, And mo than I can make of mencioun. For soothly, al the mount of Citheroun, Ther Venus hath hir principal dwelling, Was shewed on the wal in portreying, With al the gardin, and the lustinesse. Nat was foryeten the porter Ydelnesse, Ne Narcisus the faire of yore agon, Ne yet the folye of king Salamon, Ne yet the grete strengthe of Hercules— Thenchauntements of Medea and Circes— Ne of Turnus, with the hardy fiers corage, The riche Cresus, caytif in servage. Thus may ye seen that wisdom ne richesse, Beautee ne sleighte, strengthe, ne hardinesse, Ne may with Venus holde champartye; For as hir list the world than may she gye. Lo, alle thise folk so caught were in hir las, Til they for wo ful ofte seyde ‘allas!’ Suffyceth heer ensamples oon or two, And though I coude rekne a thousand mo.