Vulgar words in The Canterbury Tales, and Other Poems (Page 1)
This book at a glance
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~ ~ ~ Sentence 70 ~ ~ ~
Before a perusal of these hundred pages, will melt away for ever the lingering tradition or prejudice that Chaucer was only, or characteristically, a coarse buffoon, who pandered to a base and licentious appetite by painting and exaggerating the lowest vices of his time.
~ ~ ~ Sentence 513 ~ ~ ~
He was a jangler, and a goliardais*, *buffoon <46> And that was most of sin and harlotries.
~ ~ ~ Sentence 709 ~ ~ ~
Goliardais: a babbler and a buffoon; Golias was the founder of a jovial sect called by his name.
~ ~ ~ Sentence 1,629 ~ ~ ~
And privily he caught her by the queint,* *cunt And said; "Y-wis,* but if I have my will, *assuredly For *derne love of thee, leman, I spill.
~ ~ ~ Sentence 1,837 ~ ~ ~
Now Nicholas was risen up to piss, And thought he would *amenden all the jape*; *improve the joke* He shoulde kiss his erse ere that he scape: And up the window did he hastily, And out his erse he put full privily Over the buttock, to the haunche bone.
~ ~ ~ Sentence 1,839 ~ ~ ~
This Nicholas anon let fly a fart, As great as it had been a thunder dent*; *peal, clap That with the stroke he was well nigh y-blent*; *blinded But he was ready with his iron hot, And Nicholas amid the erse he smote.
~ ~ ~ Sentence 2,119 ~ ~ ~
Soon after this the wife *her routing lete*, *stopped snoring* And gan awake, and went her out to piss And came again and gan the cradle miss And groped here and there, but she found none.
~ ~ ~ Sentence 2,612 ~ ~ ~
A manner Latin corrupt: a kind of bastard Latin.
~ ~ ~ Sentence 2,854 ~ ~ ~
Nothing forgot he of the care and woe That Socrates had with his wives two; How Xantippe cast piss upon his head.
~ ~ ~ Sentence 2,936 ~ ~ ~
"cunt".)
~ ~ ~ Sentence 3,001 ~ ~ ~
Ovid, amonges other thinges smale* *small Saith, Midas had, under his longe hairs, Growing upon his head two ass's ears; The whiche vice he hid, as best he might, Full subtlely from every man's sight, That, save his wife, there knew of it no mo'; He lov'd her most, and trusted her also; He prayed her, that to no creature She woulde tellen of his disfigure.
~ ~ ~ Sentence 3,003 ~ ~ ~
But natheless her thoughte that she died, That she so longe should a counsel hide; Her thought it swell'd so sore about her heart That needes must some word from her astart And, since she durst not tell it unto man Down to a marish fast thereby she ran, Till she came there, her heart was all afire: And, as a bittern bumbles* in the mire, *makes a humming noise She laid her mouth unto the water down "Bewray me not, thou water, with thy soun'" Quoth she, "to thee I tell it, and no mo', Mine husband hath long ass's eares two!
~ ~ ~ Sentence 3,446 ~ ~ ~
And when this sicke man felte this frere About his taile groping there and here, Amid his hand he let the friar a fart; There is no capel* drawing in a cart, *horse That might have let a fart of such a soun'.
~ ~ ~ Sentence 3,447 ~ ~ ~
The friar up start, as doth a wood* lioun: *fierce "Ah, false churl," quoth he, "for Godde's bones, This hast thou in despite done for the nones:* *on purpose Thou shalt abie* this fart, if that I may."
~ ~ ~ Sentence 3,473 ~ ~ ~
Who shoulde make a demonstration, That every man should have alike his part As of the sound and savour of a fart?
~ ~ ~ Sentence 3,480 ~ ~ ~
** *foolish **thrive The rumbling of a fart, and every soun', Is but of air reverberatioun, And ever wasteth lite* and lite* away; *little There is no man can deemen,* by my fay, *judge, decide If that it were departed* equally.
~ ~ ~ Sentence 3,485 ~ ~ ~
"My lord," quoth he, "be ye not *evil paid,* *displeased* I coulde telle, for a gowne-cloth,* *cloth for a gown* To you, Sir Friar, so that ye be not wrot, How that this fart should even* dealed be *equally Among your convent, if it liked thee."
~ ~ ~ Sentence 3,490 ~ ~ ~
Then shall this churl, with belly stiff and tought* *tight As any tabour,* hither be y-brought; *drum And set him on the wheel right of this cart Upon the nave, and make him let a fart, And ye shall see, on peril of my life, By very proof that is demonstrative, That equally the sound of it will wend,* *go And eke the stink, unto the spokes' end, Save that this worthy man, your confessour' (Because he is a man of great honour), Shall have the firste fruit, as reason is; The noble usage of friars yet it is, The worthy men of them shall first be served, And certainly he hath it well deserved; He hath to-day taught us so muche good With preaching in the pulpit where he stood, That I may vouchesafe, I say for me, He had the firste smell of fartes three; And so would all his brethren hardily; He beareth him so fair and holily."
~ ~ ~ Sentence 5,188 ~ ~ ~
Let cut them off, I will thee help them carry; They shall be shrined in a hogge's turd."
~ ~ ~ Sentence 5,928 ~ ~ ~
*olive trees <4> A thousand men he slew eke with his hand, And had no weapon but an ass's cheek.
~ ~ ~ Sentence 5,929 ~ ~ ~
When they were slain, so thirsted him, that he Was *well-nigh lorn,* for which he gan to pray *near to perishing* That God would on his pain have some pity, And send him drink, or elles must he die; And of this ass's check, that was so dry, Out of a wang-tooth* sprang anon a well, *cheek-tooth Of which, he drank enough, shortly to say.
~ ~ ~ Sentence 6,468 ~ ~ ~
"Nigellus Wireker," says Urry's Glossary, "a monk and precentor of Canterbury, wrote a Latin poem intituled 'Speculum Speculorum,' ('The mirror of mirrors') dedicated to William Longchamp, Bishop of Ely, and Lord Chancellor; wherein, under the fable of an Ass (which he calls 'Burnellus') that desired a longer tail, is represented the folly of such as are not content with their own condition.
~ ~ ~ Sentence 6,766 ~ ~ ~
Waters rubifying, and bulles' gall, Arsenic, sal-armoniac, and brimstone, And herbes could I tell eke many a one, As egremoine,* valerian, and lunary,** *agrimony **moon-wort And other such, if that me list to tarry; Our lampes burning bothe night and day, To bring about our craft if that we may; Our furnace eke of calcination, And of waters albification, Unslaked lime, chalk, and *glair of an ey,* *egg-white Powders diverse, ashes, dung, piss, and clay, Seared pokettes,<5> saltpetre, and vitriol; And divers fires made of wood and coal; Sal-tartar, alkali, salt preparate, And combust matters, and coagulate; Clay made with horse and manne's hair, and oil Of tartar, alum, glass, barm, wort, argoil,* *potter's clay<6> Rosalgar,* and other matters imbibing; *flowers of antimony And eke of our matters encorporing,* *incorporating And of our silver citrination, <7> Our cementing, and fermentation, Our ingots,* tests, and many thinges mo'.
~ ~ ~ Sentence 7,036 ~ ~ ~
Or had thou with some quean* all night y-swunk,** *whore **laboured So that thou mayest not hold up thine head?"
~ ~ ~ Sentence 7,077 ~ ~ ~
"Dun" is a name for an ass, derived from his colour.
~ ~ ~ Sentence 7,331 ~ ~ ~
These folk take little regard of the riding of God's Son of heaven, and of his harness, when he rode upon an ass, and had no other harness but the poor clothes of his disciples; nor we read not that ever he rode on any other beast.
~ ~ ~ Sentence 7,570 ~ ~ ~
And not to wander like a dulled ass, Ragged and torn, disguised in array, Ribald in speech, or out of measure pass, Thy bound exceeding; think on this alway: For women be of tender heartes ay, And lightly set their pleasure in a place; When they misthink,* they lightly let it pace.
~ ~ ~ Sentence 7,741 ~ ~ ~
Balais: Bastard rubies; said to be so called from Balassa, the Asian country where they were found.
~ ~ ~ Sentence 9,128 ~ ~ ~
"Nor jompre* eke no discordant thing y-fere,** *jumble **together As thus, to use termes of physic; In love's termes hold of thy mattere The form alway, and *do that it be like;* *make it consistent* For if a painter woulde paint a pike With ass's feet, and head it as an ape,<32> It *'cordeth not,* so were it but a jape."
~ ~ ~ Sentence 9,680 ~ ~ ~
A pike with ass's feet etc.
~ ~ ~ Sentence 10,044 ~ ~ ~
For, Sir, it is no mastery for a lord To damn* a man, without answer of word; *condemn And for a lord, that is *full foul to use.