Dear Literature Folks, It is April, that means it is time for Geoffrey Chaucer's Canterbury Tales, starting with the 'Middle English' Prologue: Here bygynneth the Book of the Tales of Caunterbury. 1 Whan that Aprille, with hise shoures soote, 2 The droghte of March hath perced to the roote 3 And bathed every veyne in swich licour, 4 Of which vertu engendred is the flour; 5 Whan Zephirus eek with his swete breeth 6 Inspired hath in every holt and heeth 7 The tendre croppes, and the yonge sonne 8 Hath in the Ram his halfe cours yronne, 9 And smale foweles maken melodye, 10 That slepen al the nyght with open eye- 11 So priketh hem Nature in hir corages- 12 Thanne longen folk to goon on pilgrimages 13 And palmeres for to seken straunge strondes 14 To ferne halwes, kowthe in sondry londes; 15 And specially, from every shires ende 16 Of Engelond, to Caunturbury they wende, 17 The hooly blisful martir for the seke 18 That hem hath holpen, whan that they were seeke. 19 Bifil that in that seson, on a day, 20 In Southwerk at the Tabard as I lay, 21 Redy to wenden on my pilgrymage I just spent almost one hour trying to copy & paste the 2-columned Middle English version & Modern English version side-by-side, from internet sources and MS Word...and because I am a techno newbie (who still reads Middle English with joy... :-) I apologize for my inability to format this posting the way I wanted to... But rest assured that YOU CAN find printable online pages with the wonderful side-by-side versions... Which is a wonderful way to learn and teach the Question: "Where did our English Language come from?" Plus there are brief youtube videos spoken with both voice versions... From your Gentyl Purfect Knyghte, Allen
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