The Canterbury Tales- The General Prologue

WHEN APRIL with his showers sweet with fruit The drought of March has pierced unto the root And bathed each vein with liquor that has power To generate therein and sire the flower; When Zephyr also has, with his sweet breath, Quickened again, in every holt and heath, The tender shoots and buds, and the young sun Into the Ram one half his course has run, And many little birds make melody That sleep through all the night with open eye (So Nature pricks them on to ramp and rage)— Then do folk long to go on pilgrimage, And palmers to go seeking out strange strands, To distant shrines well known in sundry lands. And specially from every shire's end Of England they to Canterbury wend, The holy blessed martyr there to seek Who helped them when they lay so ill and weak. Befell that, in that season, on a day In Southwark, at the Tabard, as I lay Ready to start upon my pilgrimage To Canterbury, full of devout courage, There came at nightfall to that hostelry Some nine and twenty in a company Of sundry persons who had chanced to fall In fellowship, and pilgrims were they all That toward Canterbury town would ride. The rooms and stables spacious were and wide, And well we there were eased, and of the best. And briefly, when the sun had gone to rest, So had I spoken with them, every one, That I was of their fellowship anon, And made agreement that we'd early rise To take our way, as to you I'll devise. But nonetheless, whilst I have time and space, Before yet farther in this tale I pace, It seems to me accordant with reason To inform you of the state of every one Of all of these, as it appeared to me, And who they were, and what was their degree, And also what array they all were in; And with a knight thus will I first begin.

當四月的甘霖滲入三月時乾枯的根， 花草皆受其滋潤成長 西風也使嫩芽花苞們生意盎然 旭日也過了白羊座的一半了 鳥兒歌唱且整晚不閉眼睡覺 (大自然使牠們如此興奮) 人們前往各個遙遠的土地朝聖 來榮耀其聖地 遊方憎也想探詢外地 尤其英國各地人都想去坎特伯里 來追尋那些他們生病時幫助過他們的殉道者 在那個時節的某天， 當我正在Southwark的Tabard旅店， 虔誠地準備展開我的坎特伯里朝聖之旅時， 裡那個旅店來了許多的成群的朝聖者 所幸旅店的馬廏和房間都很寬敞， 而大家偶遇了要去坎特伯里的人便結伴而行 總之，那晚我跟每個人談過話也加入了他們 而明天一早就將前往我所告訴你的地方 以那虔誠且堅定不移的心 儘管如此，我想在故事開始深入之前 我還有點時間和空間 我想我有責任介紹的朝聖團成員 像是當我遇到他們時， 感覺他們是怎樣的人 以及它們的樣貌 首先我從一名騎士開始說起