Today | News | Books | Recipes Adventure | Science Fiction | Ghost stories | Poetry | Children | History Chaucer's Works, Volume 4 — The Canterbury TalesThe Project Gutenberg eBook of Chaucer's Works, Volume 4 - The Canterbury Tales This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you will have to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this eBook. Title: Chaucer's Works, Volume 4 - The Canterbury Tales Author: Geoffrey Chaucer Editor: Walter W. Skeat Release date: July 22, 2007 [eBook #22120] Most recently updated: April 30, 2021 Language: Middle English Other information and formats: www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/22120 Credits: by Jonathan Ingram, Keith Edkins and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net Revised by Richard Tonsing. *** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK CHAUCER'S WORKS, VOLUME 4 - THE CANTERBURY TALES *** HENRY FROWDE, M.A. PUBLISHER TO THE UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD LONDON, EDINBURGH, AND NEW YORK * * * * * THE COMPLETE WORKS OF GEOFFREY CHAUCER _EDITED, FROM NUMEROUS MANUSCRIPTS_ BY THE REV. WALTER W. SKEAT, M.A. LITT.D., LL.D., D.C.L., PH.D. ELRINGTON AND BOSWORTH PROFESSOR OF ANGLO-SAXON AND FELLOW OF CHRIST'S COLLEGE, CAMBRIDGE * * * * THE CANTERBURY TALES: TEXT 'Let every felawe telle his tale aboute, And lat see now who shal the soper winne.' _The Knightes Tale;_ A 890 SECOND EDITION Oxford AT THE CLARENDON PRESS M DCCCC * * * * * [Illustration: _Frontispiece_. CAMBRIDGE MS. (Gg. 4. 27). Prol. 326-342] Oxford PRINTED AT THE CLARENDON PRESS BY HORACE HART, M.A., PRINTER TO THE UNIVERSITY [v] * * * * * CONTENTS INTRODUCTION.-§ 1. The Present Text. § 2. The MSS.-I. In the British Museum. II. In Oxford. III. In Cambridge. IV. In other Public Libraries. V. In private hands. § 3. The Printed Editions. § 4. Plan of the present Edition. § 5. Table of symbols denoting MSS. § 6. Table showing various ways of numbering the lines. § 7. The four types of MSS. THE CANTERBURY TALES GROUP A. THE PROLOGUE THE KNIGHTES TALE THE MILLER'S PROLOGUE THE MILLERES TALE THE REEVE'S PROLOGUE THE REVES TALE THE COOK'S PROLOGUE THE COKES TALE GROUP B. INTRODUCTION TO THE MAN OF LAW'S PROLOGUE MAN OF LAW'S PROLOGUE THE TALE OF THE MAN OF LAWE THE SHIPMAN'S PROLOGUE THE SHIPMANNES TALE THE PRIORESS'S PROLOGUE THE PRIORESSES TALE PROLOGUE TO SIR THOPAS SIR THOPAS PROLOGUE TO MELIBEUS THE TALE OF MELIBEUS THE MONK'S PROLOGUE THE MONKES TALE:-Lucifer; Adam; Sampson; Hercules; Nabugodonosor; Balthasar; Cenobia; De Petro Rege Ispannie; De Petro Rege De Cipro; De Barnabo de Lumbardia; De Hugelino Comite de Pize; Nero; De Oloferno; De Rege Anthiocho; De Alexandro; De Iulio Cesare; Cresus [vi] THE PROLOGUE OF THE NONNE PRESTES TALE THE NONNE PRESTES TALE EPILOGUE TO THE NONNE PRESTES TALE GROUP C. THE PHISICIENS TALE WORDS OF THE HOST PROLOGUE OF THE PARDONERS TALE THE PARDONERS TALE GROUP D. THE WIFE OF BATH'S PROLOGUE THE TALE OF THE WYF OF BATHE THE FRIAR'S PROLOGUE THE FRERES TALE THE SOMNOUR'S PROLOGUE THE SOMNOURS TALE GROUP E. THE CLERK'S PROLOGUE THE CLERKES TALE THE MERCHANT'S PROLOGUE THE MARCHANTES TALE EPILOGUE TO THE MARCHANTES TALE GROUP F. THE SQUIERES TALE WORDS OF THE FRANKLIN THE FRANKLIN'S PROLOGUE THE FRANKELEYNS TALE GROUP G. THE SECONDE NONNES TALE THE CANON'S YEOMAN'S PROLOGUE THE CHANOUNS YEMANNES TALE GROUP H. THE MANCIPLE'S PROLOGUE THE MAUNCIPLES TALE GROUP I. THE PARSON'S PROLOGUE THE PERSONES TALE APPENDIX TO GROUP A. The Tale of Gamelyn [vii] * * * * * INTRODUCTION § 1. THE PRESENT TEXT. The text of the 'Canterbury Tales,' as printed in the present volume, is an entirely new one, owing nothing to the numerous printed editions which have preceded it. The only exceptions to this statement are to be found in the case of such portions as have been formerly edited, for the Clarendon Press, by Dr. Morris and myself. The reasons for the necessity of a formation of an absolutely new text will appear on a perusal of the text itself, as compared with any of its predecessors. On the other hand, it owes everything to the labours of Dr. Furnivall for the Chaucer Society, but for which no satisfactory results could have been obtained, except at the cost of more time and toil than I could well devote to the subject. In other words, my work is entirely founded upon the splendid 'Six-text' Edition published by that Society, supplemented by the very valuable reprint of the celebrated 'Harleian' manuscript in the same series. These Seven Texts are all exact reproductions of seven important MSS., and are, in two respects, more important to the student than the MSS. themselves; that is to say, they can be studied simultaneously instead of separately, and they can be consulted and re-consulted at any moment, being always accessible. The importance of such opportunities is obvious. § 2. THE MANUSCRIPTS. The following list contains all the MSS. of the existence of which I am aware. As to their types, see § 7. [viii] I. MSS. IN THE BRITISH MUSEUM. 1. Harl. 7334; denoted here by HL. By Tyrwhitt called 'C.' A MS of the B-type (see below). Printed in full for the Chaucer Society, 1885. Collated throughout. A MS. of great importance, but difficult to understand or describe. For the greater clearness, I shall roughly describe the MSS. as being of the A-type, the B-type, the C-type, and the D-type (really a second C-type). Of the A-type, the best example is the Ellesmere MS.; of the B-type, the best example is the Harleian MS. 7334; of the C-type, the Corpus and Lansdowne MSS.; the D-type is that exhibited by Caxton and Thynne in the early printed editions. They may be called the 'Ellesmere,' 'Harleian,' 'Corpus,' and 'Caxton' types respectively. These types differ as to the arrangement of the Tales, and even MSS. of a similar type differ slightly, in this respect, among themselves. They also frequently differ as to certain characteristic readings, although many of the variations of reading are peculiar to one or two MSS. only. MS. Hl. contains the best copy of the Tale of Gamelyn, for which see p. 645; this Tale is not found in MSS. of the A-type. Moreover, Group G here precedes Group C and a large part of Group B, whereas in the Ellesmere MS. it follows them. In the Monk's Tale, the lines numbered B 3565-3652 (containing the Tales called the 'modern instances') immediately follow B 3564 (as in this edition), whereas in the Ellesmere MS. these lines come at the end of the Tale. The 'various readings' of this MS. are often peculiar, and it is difficult to appraise them. I take them to be of two kinds: (i) readings which are better than those of the Six-text, and should certainly be preferred, such as _halfe_ in A 8, _cloysterlees_ in A 179, |