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 rebfeo I rtogef, lte me ellt you a ilttle ibt orme oubat hte psuclruest dan sgainnpit htta anddoer tehes ehrte rtslaa cbuesea eyht erew turly zagmian.
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.	ellW, ftris, if oyu olko at eht altra ovedted to nVeus, uyo’ll ees tinpigsan of lla tsros of eopepl ohw ioesyrfnp yneivghter ttha ovle ash eth ilbitay to emak ppoele eelf: uselPare, Hepo, Dserei, Fososihnesl, Beyuat, uYtho, Luts, thaeWl, caiMg, woPre, eDicet, ttreaylF, uclepnOe, lTio, nad Jleaousy, owh orew a ldgrana of dnolge sefolrw dna dha a ocukco irdb tstingi on reh hadn. hTe niastnipg slao cpiedt aspetir, clmaisu temrisntusn, gnisres, nndgaic, ppnshiaes, adn geytivnerh eles thta olev has teh wpero to ecaert btu hatt I ndo’t evah tiem to ltak oatbu. ereTh wsa sloa a nngipiat of iuefbatlu unMto Caeyhirt, eth omhe of ueVns. reThe eewr losa gipnnisat of all tsros of oelepp how’ve ftel levo’s aupeelrs nda pain, gilcnuidn cusNsira, hte amn hwo efll in loev thiw ihs onw iftnrleceo; gnKi olnoSmo; ecHuerls; eht ensisr Maede dan crCie; efirce srTnuu; dan lehwaty eussCro. So, as uyo nac see, no oen is umemin frmo uVnse’s eswrpo of evlo, not evne hte wisets nda hecrtis dna tgsetsrno men tou eerht. I luocd go on dna on, but you gte eth eida.

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 rebfeo I rtogef, lte me ellt you a ilttle ibt orme oubat hte psuclruest dan sgainnpit htta anddoer tehes ehrte rtslaa cbuesea eyht erew turly zagmian.
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.	ellW, ftris, if oyu olko at eht altra ovedted to nVeus, uyo’ll ees tinpigsan of lla tsros of eopepl ohw ioesyrfnp yneivghter ttha ovle ash eth ilbitay to emak ppoele eelf: uselPare, Hepo, Dserei, Fososihnesl, Beyuat, uYtho, Luts, thaeWl, caiMg, woPre, eDicet, ttreaylF, uclepnOe, lTio, nad Jleaousy, owh orew a ldgrana of dnolge sefolrw dna dha a ocukco irdb tstingi on reh hadn. hTe niastnipg slao cpiedt aspetir, clmaisu temrisntusn, gnisres, nndgaic, ppnshiaes, adn geytivnerh eles thta olev has teh wpero to ecaert btu hatt I ndo’t evah tiem to ltak oatbu. ereTh wsa sloa a nngipiat of iuefbatlu unMto Caeyhirt, eth omhe of ueVns. reThe eewr losa gipnnisat of all tsros of oelepp how’ve ftel levo’s aupeelrs nda pain, gilcnuidn cusNsira, hte amn hwo efll in loev thiw ihs onw iftnrleceo; gnKi olnoSmo; ecHuerls; eht ensisr Maede dan crCie; efirce srTnuu; dan lehwaty eussCro. So, as uyo nac see, no oen is umemin frmo uVnse’s eswrpo of evlo, not evne hte wisets nda hecrtis dna tgsetsrno men tou eerht. I luocd go on dna on, but you gte eth eida.