Sophie Gee

So I am going to read the very famous opening sentence of the Canterbury Tales and obviously of the general prologue.

Juan, that April, with his shore as sorter, the drocht of March, hath pursed to the rotor, and bothered every vein, in switchly cour of which vertu engendred is the floor.

Juan, Zephyrus' acre, with his swaser breath, in spirit hath in every halt and hath, the tondra croppers and the younger son, hath in the ram his halve, of course, he run, and smile of fool, as muck and melody, that slepen all the nicht with open ear.

So pricketh him that who are in here courages than long and folk to go on pilgrimages, and palmers for to second throngest rondes, to ferny hallways couth in sundry launders, and specially from every sheerest end of England to Canterbury they wende, the holy blissful myrtle for to sake, that him hath hope and want.

that they were sacred.

Thank you, Jonty.

That was very clarifying.

Can I spend a few moments with us back on the original?

Because this is one of the most famous, for those of us who are in the biz, this is one of the most famous pieces of writing in the English canon.

And yet it's not actually obvious, I don't think, from either the modern translation or the verbally read original, what makes it so extraordinary.

So may I?

Yes.

Yeah, I'm going to remove the tea towel, actually.

Okay.

Sartorial break.

I think we're inhabiting the medieval world so completely now that we don't need props anymore.

Wouldn't you agree?

Yeah.

He loves bawdy humour.

No, he'd still be laughing and he'd be farting in my face and trying to get me to take my tea towel off.