That of hir smylyng was ful symple and coy;
Hire gretteste ooth was but by Seinte Loy;
And she was clepedcalled, named Madame Eglentyne.
Ful weel she soong the service dyvyne,
Entuned in hir nose ful semely,
And Frenssh she spak ful faire and fetislystylishly,
After the scoleschool, fashion of Stratford atte Bowe,
For Frenssh of Parys was to hire unknowe.
At metemeat (mealtime) wel ytaught was she with alle:
She leet no morsel from hir lippes falle,
Ne wette hir fyngres in hir sauce depe;
Wel koude she carie a morsel and wel kepe
That no drope ne fille upon hire brest.
In curteisie was set ful muchel hir lest
Hir over-lippe wyped she so clene
That in hir coppe ther was no ferthyng
Of grecegrease, whan she dronken hadde hir draughte.
Ful semely after hir metefor her food she raughtereached.
And sikerlysurely, certainly she was of greet desport,
And ful plesaunt, and amyable of port,
And peyned hiretook pains to countrefeteimitate cheere
Of court, and to been estatlichstately, dignified of manere,
And to ben holden digneworthy of reverence.
But, for to speken of hire conscience,
She was so charitable and so pitouscompassionate
She wolde wepe, if that she saugh a mous
Kaught in a trappe, if it were deed or bledde.
Of smale houndes hadde she that she fedde
With rosted flesshmeat, or milk and wastel-breed.
But soore wepte she if oon of hemone of them were deed,
Or if men smootsmote, hit it with a yerdestick smertesmartly;
And al was conscience and tendre herte.
Ful semyly hir wympula headdress pynchedpleated was,
Hir nose tretysnicely shaped, hir eyen greye as glas,
Hir mouth ful smal, and therto softe and reed;
But sikerly she hadde a fair forheed;
It was almoost a spanneabout 9 inches brood, I trowebelieve;
For, hardily, she was nat undergrowe.
Ful fetysstylish was hir cloke, as I was war.
Of smal coral aboute hire arm she bar
A peire of bedes, gaudeddecorated al with grene,
And theron heng a brooch of gold ful sheeneshining,
On which ther was first write a crowned A,
And after Amor Vincit OmniaLove Conquers All.
Another nonne with hire hadde she,
That was hir chapeleynechaplain, and preestes thre.
A monk ther was, a fair for the maistrie,
An outridere, that lovede veneriehunting,
A manly man, to been an abbot able.
Ful many a deynteefine hors hadde he in stable,
And whan he rood, men myghte his brydel heere
GynglenJingle in a whistlynge wynd alsas cleere
And eekalso as loude as dooth the chapel belle.
Ther asWhere this lord was kepere of the celle,
The reulerule of Seint MaureMaurus or of Seint BeneitBenedict,
By cause that it was old and somdel streit
This ilkesame monk leet olde thynges pacepass,
And heeld after the newe world the spacemeanwhile.
He yafgave nat of that text a pulledplucked hen,
That seith that hunters ben nat hooly men,
NeNor that a monk, whan he is reccheleesunregulated,
Is likned tilto a fissh that is waterlees, --
This is to seyn, a monk out of his cloystre.
But thilkethe same text heeldconsidered he nat worth an oystre;
And I seyde his opinion was good
WhatWhy sholde he studie and make hymselven woodcrazy,
Upon a book in cloystre alwey to pourepore, study,
Or swynkenwork with his handes, and laboure,
As Austyn bitAugustine commanded? How shal the world be served?
Lat Austyn have his swynk to hym reserved!
Therfore he was a prikasourhorseman aright:
Grehoundes he hadde as swift as fowel in flight;
Of prikyngspurring and of huntyng for the hare
Was al his lust, for no cost wolde he spare.
I seighsaw his sleves purfiledbordered at the hond
With grysfine (squirrel) fur, and that the fyneste of a lond;
And, for to festne his hood under his chyn,
He hadde of gold ywroght a ful curious pyn;
A love-knotte in the gretter ende ther was.
His heed was balledbald, that shoon as any glas,
And eek his face, asas if he hadde been enoyntannointed.
He was a lord ful fat and in good poynt;
His eyen stepebright, and rollynge in his heed,
That stemedgleamed as a forneys of a leed;
His bootes souplesupple, his hors in greet estaat.
Now certeinly he was a fair prelaat;
He was nat pale as a forpynedtormented goost.
A fat swan loved he best of any roost.
His palfreyan easy-gaited saddle horse was as broun as is a berye.
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