Modern Translation

And it was as broad as a spade. 553
Right on the tip of his nose he had
A wart, from which a tuft of hairs was spread,
Just as red as bristles on a sow's ears;
His nostrils were black and wide. 557
He had a sword and a buckler at his side.
His mout was as great as a furnace. And he
Could tell some jokes and stories, though they were
Mostly of sin and lust. He could well steal 561
Much corn, and then charged three times the price for a toll;
Yet he had a golden thumb, I do declare.
He wore a white coat and a blue hood.
He knew well how to blow and play a bagpipe, 565
And played it as he brought us out of town.
From an Inn of Court a gentle manciple
Was with us, one who set a fine example
In buying victuals wisely. Whether he 569
Would buy with cash or with credit,
He took such care in his purchases
That he would come well before in a good start.
Now is that not a sign of God's fair grace, 573
That such a simple man's wit shall displace
The wisdom of a heap of learned men?
He had more than three times ten masters,
That were expert and curious lawyers; 577
A dozen of them in that house (Inn of Court)
Worthy to be stewards of rent and land
Of any lord that is in England,
He might live, enjoying all that he had 581
In honor a debtless (unless he had gone mad),
Or live as poorly as he might desire;
And able to help an entire shire
In any case that might happen. 585
And yet this Manciple could shame them all.
The Reeve was a slender, choleric man.
He shaved his beard as closely as one can;
His hair was shortly cut around the ears 589
And on the top cut just like a priest's.
His legs were very long and very lean,
Each like a staff, no flesh was to be seen.
Well could he keep a granary and bin 593
There was no auditor who could beat him,
He could tell by the drought and rain
The true yield of his seed and of his grain.
His lord's sheep, his cattle, milk cows, 597
His swine, his horses, his store his poultry
Were wholly left under this Reeve's control,
And by contract his was the reckoning
Since his lord was twenty years old. 601
There could be no man to pay him late;


Jose Monfort, Clive Pertegas; J. Manuel Martin