Opening Lines of THE CANTERBURY TALES (Middle English Pronunciation)

The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer (1342-1400 A.D.) Once upon a time, in late April, a group of pilgrims on the way to visit the shrine of Saint Thomas à Becket in Canterbury entered the Tabard Inn. Now centuries later, in late April, Chaucer himself tells the tale. Well, at least the first 18 lines of it. Below are the first 18 lines in the East Midland dialect of Middle English, the English of Geoffrey Chaucer. “Middle English” is the stage of English lasting (roughly) from 1150-1500 A.D. It is not so different from modern English as the poem Beowulf, which comes from the Old English period (450-1150 A.D.), but, as you can see, it was quite different. (Visit here for my recitation of “Caedmon’s Hymn,” a poem in Old English.) Interestingly, standardized spelling did not exist when Chaucer wrote. That can be confusing at times, but it can also be quite helpful in determining what the language sounded like since people spelled the way they spoke, more or less. General Prologue First 18 lines in Middle English Whan that Aprille with his shoures soote, The droghte of March hath perced to the roote, And bathed every veyne in swich licóur Of which vertú engendred is the flour; Whan Zephirus eek with his swete breeth Inspired hath in every holt and heeth The tendre croppes, and the yonge sonne Hath in the Ram his halfe cours y-ronne, And smale foweles maken melodye, That slepen al the nyght with open ye, So priketh hem Natúre in hir corages, Thanne...