Canterbury Tales

by: Geoffrey Chaucer (1387)

Whan that Aprille with his shoures soote

The droghte of March hath perced to the root,

And bathed every veyne in swich licour

Of which vertu engendred is the flour;

Whan Zephirus eek with his sweete breeth

Inspired hath in every holt and heath

The tender croppes, and the yonge sonne

Hath in the Ram his halve cours yronne,

And smale foweles makenmelodye,

That slepen al the nyght with open ye

(So priketh hem nature in hir corages) ;

Thanne longen folk to goon on pilgrimages,

And palmeres for to seken straunge strondes,

To ferne halwes, kouthe in sondry londes;

And specially from every shires ende

Of Engelond to Caunterbury they wende,

The hooly blissful martir for to seke,

That hem hath holpen whan that they were seeke.

Bifil that in that seson on a day,

In Southwerk at the Tabard as I lay

Redy to wenden on my pilgrimage

To Caunterbury with ful devout corage,

At nyght was come into that hostelrye,

Wel nyne and twenty in a compaignye,

Of sondry folk, by aventure yfalle

In felaweshipe, and pilgrims were they alle,

Diatas adalah puisi bahasa Inggris abad menengah 1100M-1450M yang banyak didominasi oleh kata kata dari bahasa Perancis yang digunakan hanya untuk kalangan atas pada waktu itu.