No Fear Literature: The Canterbury Tales: 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.	Oh, tbu rfoeeb I refogt, tel me tlle you a ttllie tbi rome taubo the lsuseutcpr dan spnigiatn htat rddeoan tsehe eehtr sltaar euebasc tehy ewer urlty gzmaain.
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.	Wlel, stifr, if ouy kolo at eth tarla tddovee to uVsne, uoy’ll ese ignpasint of lal rsots of pepoel how pysreofin egriythnev ttha veol has eht labtiiy to eakm leopep lfee: selruPea, peoH, Dereis, Foshensliso, taBeuy, Ytuho, Luts, Wtlhea, cMgia, Prowe, eiDtec, tetrFlay, Ouelpnce, oilT, nad elasuyJo, ohw rwoe a nrglaad of nogeld ofwlrse nda ahd a ucckoo bdri siigttn on reh hadn. hTe ptannsigi salo ctpied pesrtia, amsulic seisuttnnmr, grisesn, ngcnaid, asehpinsp, dna eengytvihr lsee htat veol has hte wopre to eeract ubt taht I dno’t vhea time to kalt obatu. herTe saw laos a tngianip of iuaeufltb tnMuo trheCyia, het oehm of nVuse. reheT erwe sola igisptnan of all rtsso of pelepo woh’ve eltf olev’s suaelrep nda ipan, udnciginl aruiNssc, hte nma owh lfle in love htiw shi now fnrilceoet; nKig ooloSmn; uecesHrl; teh ssrnei aMede dan Ceirc; eifrec ursTnu; adn eawhylt Ceuross. So, as uoy nac ese, no noe is emunmi fmor nuVes’s wprsoe of vole, ont vene the tssiew dan hesrcit nda sstgnerto nem out ehter. I dcuol go on dan on, btu you egt the iade.

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.	Oh, tbu rfoeeb I refogt, tel me tlle you a ttllie tbi rome taubo the lsuseutcpr dan spnigiatn htat rddeoan tsehe eehtr sltaar euebasc tehy ewer urlty gzmaain.
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.	Wlel, stifr, if ouy kolo at eth tarla tddovee to uVsne, uoy’ll ese ignpasint of lal rsots of pepoel how pysreofin egriythnev ttha veol has eht labtiiy to eakm leopep lfee: selruPea, peoH, Dereis, Foshensliso, taBeuy, Ytuho, Luts, Wtlhea, cMgia, Prowe, eiDtec, tetrFlay, Ouelpnce, oilT, nad elasuyJo, ohw rwoe a nrglaad of nogeld ofwlrse nda ahd a ucckoo bdri siigttn on reh hadn. hTe ptannsigi salo ctpied pesrtia, amsulic seisuttnnmr, grisesn, ngcnaid, asehpinsp, dna eengytvihr lsee htat veol has hte wopre to eeract ubt taht I dno’t vhea time to kalt obatu. herTe saw laos a tngianip of iuaeufltb tnMuo trheCyia, het oehm of nVuse. reheT erwe sola igisptnan of all rtsso of pelepo woh’ve eltf olev’s suaelrep nda ipan, udnciginl aruiNssc, hte nma owh lfle in love htiw shi now fnrilceoet; nKig ooloSmn; uecesHrl; teh ssrnei aMede dan Ceirc; eifrec ursTnu; adn eawhylt Ceuross. So, as uoy nac ese, no noe is emunmi fmor nuVes’s wprsoe of vole, ont vene the tssiew dan hesrcit nda sstgnerto nem out ehter. I dcuol go on dan on, btu you egt the iade.