# The Legend of Good Women/Appendix/Prologue Version "A"
### Prologue, Version "A"

| | A thousand sythes have I herd men telle, |
| | That ther is Ioye in heven, and peyne in helle; |
| | And I acorde wel that hit is so; |
| | But natheles, this wot I wel also, |
| | That ther nis noon dwelleth in this contree, |
| | That either hath in helle or heven y-be, |
| | Ne may of hit non other weyes witen, |
| | But as he hath herd seyd, or founde hit writen; |
| | For by assay ther may no man hit preve. |
| 10 | But goddes forbode, but men shulde leve |
| | Wel more thing then men han seen with ye! |
| | Men shal nat wenen every-thing a lye |
| | For that he seigh it nat of yore ago. |
| | God wot, a thing is never the lasse so |
| | Thogh every wight ne may hit nat y-see. |
| | Bernard the monk ne saugh nat al, parde! |
| | Than mote we to bokes that we finde, |
| | Through which that olde thinges been in minde, |
| | And to the doctrine of these olde wyse, |
| 20 | Yeven credence, in every skilful wyse, |
| | And trowen on these olde aproved stories, |
| | Of holinesse, or regnes, of victories, |
| | Of love, of hate, of other sundry thinges, |
| | Of whiche I may not maken rehersinges. |
| | And if that olde bokes were a-weye, |
| | Y-loren were of remembraunce the keye. |
| | Wel oghte us than on olde bokes leve, |
| | Ther-as ther is non other assay by preve. |
| | And, as for me, though that my wit be lyte, |
| 30 | On bokes for to rede I me delyte, |
| | And in myn herte have hem in reverence; |
| | And to hem yeve swich lust and swich credence, |
| | That ther is wel unethe game noon |
| | That from my bokes make me to goon, |
| | But hit be other up-on the haly-day; |
| | Or elles in the Ioly tyme of May; |
| | Whan that I here the smale foules singe, |
| | And that the floures ginne for to springe, |
| | Farwel my studie, as lasting that sesoun! |
| 40 | Now have I therto this condicioun |
| | That, of alle the floures in the mede, |
| | Than love I most these floures whyte and rede, |
| | Swiche as men callen daysies in our toun. |
| | To hem have I so great affeccioun, |
| | As I seyde erst, whan comen is the May, |
| | That in my bed ther daweth me no day |
| | That I nam up, and walking in the mede |
| | To seen these floures agein the sonne sprede, |
| | Whan hit up-riseth by the morwe shene, |
| 50 | The longe day, thus walking in the grene. |
| | And whan the sonne ginneth for to weste, |
| | Than closeth hit, and draweth hit to reste. |
| | So sore hit is afered of the night, |
| | Til on the morwe, that hit is dayes light. |
| | This dayesye, of alle floures flour, |
| | Fulfild of vertu and of alle honour, |
| | And ever y-lyke fair, and fresh of hewe; |
| | As wel in winter as in somer newe, |
| | Fain wolde I preisen, if I coude aright; |
| 60 | But wo is me, hit lyth nat in my might! |
| | For wel I wot, that folk han her-beforn |
| | Of making ropen, and lad a-wey the corn; |
| | And I come after, glening here and there, |
| | And am ful glad if I may finde an ere |
| | Of any goodly word that they han left. |
| | And, if it happe me rehersen eft |
| | That they han in her fresshe songes sayd, |
| | I hope that they wil nat ben evel apayd, |
| | Sin hit is seid in forthering and honour |
| 70 | Of hem that either serven leef or flour. |
| | For trusteth wel, I ne have nat undertake |
| | As of the leef, ageyn the flour, to make; |
| | Ne of the flour to make, ageyn the leef, |
| | No more than of the corn ageyn the sheef. |
| | For, as to me, is leefer noon ne lother; |
| | I am with-holde yit with never nother. |
| | I not who serveth leef, ne who the flour; |
| | That nis nothing the entent of my labour. |
| | For this werk is al of another tunne, |
| 80 | Of olde story, er swich stryf was begunne. |
| | But wherfor that I spak, to yeve credence |
| | To bokes olde and doon hem reverence, |
| | Is for men shulde autoritees beleve, |
| | Ther as ther lyth non other assay by preve. |
| | For myn entent is, or I fro yow fare, |
| | The naked text in English to declare |
| | Of many a story, or elles of many a geste, |
| | As autours seyn; leveth hem if yow leste! |
| | Whan passed was almost the month of May, |
| 90 | And I had romed, al the someres day, |
| | The grene medew, of which that I yow tolde, |
| | Upon the fresshe daysy to beholde, |
| | And that the sonne out of the south gan weste, |
| | And closed was the flour and goon to reste |
| | For derknesse of the night, of which she dredde, |
| | Hoom to myn hous ful swiftly I me spedde; |
| | And, in a litel erber that I have, |
| | Y-benched newe with turves fresshe y-grave, |
| | I bad men shulde me my couche make; |
| 100 | For deyntee of the newe someres sake, |
| | I bad hem strowe floures on my bed. |
| | Whan I was layd, and had myn eyen hed, |
| | I fel a-slepe with-in an houre or two. |
| | Me mette how I was in the medew tho, |
| | And that I romed in that same gyse, |
| | To seen that flour, as ye han herd devyse. |
| | Fair was this medew, as thoughte me overal; |
| | With floures swote enbrowded was it al; |
| | As for to speke of gomme, or erbe, or tree, |
| 110 | Comparisoun may noon y-maked be. |
| | For hit surmounted pleynly alle odoures, |
| | And eek of riche beaute alle floures. |
| | Forgeten had the erthe his pore estat |
| | Of winter, that him naked made and mat, |
| | And with his swerd of cold so sore had greved. |
| | Now had the atempre sonne al that releved, |
| | And clothed him in grene al newe agayn. |
| | The smale foules, of the seson fayn, |
| | That from the panter and the net ben scaped, |
| 120 | Upon the fouler, that hem made a-whaped |
| | In winter, and distroyed had hir brood, |
| | In his despyt, hem thoughte hit did hem good |
| | To singe of him, and in hir song despyse |
| | The foule cherl that, for his covetyse, |
| | Had hem betrayed with his sophistrye. |
| | This was hir song -- "the fouler we defye!" |
| | Some songen [layes] on the braunches clere |
| | Of love and [May], that Ioye hit was to here, |
| | In worship and in preysing of hir make, |
| 130 | And of the newe blisful someres sake, |
| | That songen, "blissed be seynt Valentyn! |
| | [For] at his day I chees yow to be myn, |
| | With-oute repenting, myn herte swete!" |
| | And therwith-al hir bekes gonnen mete. |
| | [They did honour and] humble obeisaunces, |
| | And after diden other observaunces |
| | Right [plesing] un-to love and to nature; |
| | So ech of hem [doth wel] to creature. |
| | This song to herkne I dide al myn entente, |
| 140 | For-why I mette I wiste what they mente. |
| | Til at the last a larke song above: |
| | "I see," quod she, "the mighty god of love! |
| | Lo! yond he cometh, I see his winges sprede!" |
| | Tho gan I loken endelong the mede, |
| | And saw him come, and in his hond a quene, |
| | Clothed in ryal abite al of grene. |
| | A fret of gold she hadde next hir heer, |
| | And up-on that a whyt coroun she beer |
| | With many floures, and I shal nat lye; |
| 150 | For al the world, right as the dayesye |
| | I-coroned is with whyte leves lyte, |
| | Swich were the floures of hir coroun whyte. |
| | For of o perle fyn and oriental, |
| | Hir whyte coroun was y-maked al; |
| | For which the whyte coroun, above the grene, |
| | Made hir lyk a daysie for to sene, |
| | Considered eek the fret of gold above. |
| | Y-clothed was this mighty god of love |
| | Of silke, y-brouded ful of grene greves; |
| 160 | A garlond on his heed of rose-leves |
| | Sticked al with lilie floures newe; |
| | But of his face I can nat seyn the hewe. |
| | For sekirly his face shoon so brighte, |
| | That with the gleem a-stoned was the sighte; |
| | A furlong-wey I mighte him nat beholde. |
| | But at the laste in hande I saw him holde |
| | Two fyry dartes, as the gledes rede; |
| | And aungellich his wenges gan he sprede. |
| | And al be that men seyn that blind is he, |
| 170 | Al-gate me thoughte he mighte wel y-see; |
| | For sternly on me he gan biholde, |
| | So that his loking doth myn herte colde. |
| | And by the hande he held the noble quene, |
| | Corouned with whyte, and clothed al in grene, |
| | So womanly, so benigne, and so meke, |
| | That in this world, thogh that men wolde seke, |
| | Half hir beautee shulde men nat finde |
| | In creature that formed is by kinde. |
| | Hir name was Alceste the debonayre; |
| 180 | I prey to god that ever falle she fayre! |
| | For ne hadde confort been of hir presence, |
| | I had be deed, withouten any defence, |
| | For drede of Loves wordes and his chere, |
| | As, whan tyme is, her-after ye shal here. |
| | Byhind this god of love, up-n this grene, |
| | I saw cominge of ladyes nyntene |
| | In ryal abite, a ful esy pas, |
| | And after hem com of wemen swich a tras |
| | This, sin that god Adam made of erthe, |
| 190 | The thredde part of wemen, ne the ferthe, |
| | Ne wende I nat by possibilitee |
| | Hadden ever in this world y-be; |
| | And trewe of love thise wemen were echoon. |
| | Now whether was that a wonder thing or noon, |
| | That, right anoon as that they gonne espye |
| | This flour, which that I clepe the dayesye, |
| | Ful sodeinly they stinten alle at ones, |
| | And kneled adoun, as it were for the nones. |
| | And after that they wenten in compas, |
| 200 | Daunsinge aboute this flour an esy pas, |
| | And songen, as it were in carole-wyse, |
| | This balade, which that I shal yow devyse. |