Theseus was at the height of his power and glory.
859 Whilom, as olde stories tellen us,
860 Ther was a duc that highte Theseus;
861 Of Atthenes he was lord and governour,
862 And in his tyme swich a conquerour
863 That gretter was ther noon under the sonne.
864 Ful many a riche contree hadde he wonne;
865 What with his wysdom and his chivalrie,
866 He conquered al the regne of Femenye,
867 That whilom was ycleped Scithia,
868 And weddede the queene Ypolita,
869 And broghte hire hoom with hym in his contree
870 With muchel glorie and greet solempnytee,
871 And eek hir yonge suster Emelye.
872 And thus with victorie and with melodye
873 Lete I this noble duc to Atthenes ryde,
874 And al his hoost in armes hym bisyde.The Knight tells us of all of the things he could describe, but will not, in the interest of brevity. Chaucer will use this device again, at much greater length, in his description of the funeral of Arcite.
875 And certes, if it nere to long to heere,
876 I wolde have toold yow fully the manere
877 How wonnen was the regne of Femenye
878 By Theseus and by his chivalrye;
879 And of the grete bataille for the nones
880 Bitwixen Atthenes and Amazones;
881 And how asseged was Ypolita,
882 The faire, hardy queene of Scithia;
883 And of the feste that was at hir weddynge,
884 And of the tempest at hir hoom-comynge;
885 But al that thyng I moot as now forbere.
886 I have, God woot, a large feeld to ere,
887 And wayke been the oxen in my plough.
888 The remenant of the tale is long ynough.
889 I wol nat letten eek noon of this route;
890 Lat every felawe telle his tale aboute,
891 And lat se now who shal the soper wynne;
892 And ther I lefte, I wol ayeyn bigynne.
893 This duc, of whom I make mencioun,
894 Whan he was come almoost unto the toun,It is again emphasized that Theseus is at the height of his power and glory. And so there is a great contrast with the misery of the supplicants.
895 In al his wele and in his mooste pride,
896 He was war, as he caste his eye aside,
897 Where that ther kneled in the heighe weye
898 A compaignye of ladyes, tweye and tweye,
899 Ech after oother clad in clothes blake;
900 But swich a cry and swich a wo they make
901 That in this world nys creature lyvynge
902 That herde swich another waymentynge;
903 And of this cry they nolde nevere stenten
904 Til they the reynes of his brydel henten.
905 "What folk been ye, that at myn hom-comynge
906 Perturben so my feste with criynge?"
907 Quod Theseus. "Have ye so greet envye
908 Of myn honour, that thus compleyne and crye?
909 Or who hath yow mysboden or offended?
910 And telleth me if it may been amended,
911 And why that ye been clothed thus in blak."
912 The eldeste lady of them alle spak,
913 Whan she hadde swowned with a deedly cheere,
914 That it was routhe for to seen and heere;First use of the word "Fortune."
915 She seyde, "Lord, to whom Fortune hath yiven
916 Victorie, and as a conqueror to lyven,
917 Nat greveth us youre glorie and youre honour,
918 But we biseken mercy and socour.
919 Have mercy on oure wo and oure distresse!
920 Som drope of pitee, thurgh thy gentillesse,
921 Upon us wrecched wommen lat thou falle,These women have all been queens, and so they are all -- by the medieval definition of tragedy -- tragic figures.
922 For, certes, lord, ther is noon of us alle
923 That she ne hath been a duchesse or a queene.
924 Now be we caytyves, as it is wel seene,
925 Thanked be Fortune and hire false wheel,
926 That noon estaat assureth to be weel.
927 And certes, lord, to abyden youre presence,
928 Heere in this temple of the goddesse Clemence
929 We han ben waitynge al this fourtenyght.
930 Now help us, lord, sith it is in thy myght.
931 "I, wrecche, which that wepe and wayle thus,
932 Was whilom wyf to kyng Cappaneus,
933 That starf at Thebes -- cursed be that day! --
934 And alle we that been in this array
935 And maken al this lamentacioun,
936 We losten alle oure housbondes at that toun,
937 Whil that the seege theraboute lay.
938 And yet now the olde Creon -- weylaway! --
939 That lord is now of Thebes the citee,
940 Fulfild of ire and of iniquitee,
941 He, for despit and for his tirannye,
942 To do the dede bodyes vileynye
943 Of alle oure lordes whiche that been yslawe,
944 Hath alle the bodyes on an heep ydrawe,
945 And wol nat suffren hem, by noon assent,
946 Neither to been yburyed nor ybrent,
947 But maketh houndes ete them in despit."
948 And with that word, withouten moore respit,
949 They fillen gruf and criden pitously,
950 "Have on us wrecched wommen som mercy,
951 And lat oure sorwe synken in thyn herte."
952 This gentil duc doun from his courser stertePity plays a key role in other parts of the story.
953 With herte pitous, whan he herde them speke.
954 Hym thoughte that his herte wolde breke,
955 Whan he saugh hem so pitous and so maat,
956 That whilom weren of so greet estaat;
957 And in his armes he hem alle up hente,
958 And hem conforteth in ful good entente,
959 And swoor his ooth, as he was trewe knyght,
960 He wolde doon so ferforthly his myght
961 Upon the tiraunt Creon hem to wreke
962 That al the peple of Grece sholde speke
963 How Creon was of Theseus yserved
964 As he that hadde his deeth ful wel deserved.
965 And right anoon, withouten moore abood,
966 His baner he desplayeth, and forth rood
967 To Thebes-ward, and al his hoost biside.
968 No neer Atthenes wolde he go ne ride,
969 Ne take his ese fully half a day,
970 But onward on his wey that nyght he lay,
971 And sente anon Ypolita the queene,
972 And Emelye, hir yonge suster sheene,
973 Unto the toun of Atthenes to dwelle,
974 And forth he rit; ther is namoore to telle.
975 The rede statue of Mars, with spere and targe,
976 So shyneth in his white baner large
977 That alle the feeldes glyteren up and doun;
978 And by his baner born is his penoun
979 Of gold ful riche, in which ther was ybete
980 The Mynotaur, which that he wan in Crete.
981 Thus rit this duc, thus rit this conquerour,
982 And in his hoost of chivalrie the flour,
983 Til that he cam to Thebes and alighte
984 Faire in a feeld, ther as he thoughte to fighte.
985 But shortly for to speken of this thyng,
986 With Creon, which that was of Thebes kyng,
987 He faught, and slough hym manly as a knyght
988 In pleyn bataille, and putte the folk to flyght;
989 And by assaut he wan the citee after,
990 And rente adoun bothe wall and sparre and rafter;
991 And to the ladyes he restored agayn
992 The bones of hir freendes that were slayn,
993 To doon obsequies, as was tho the gyse.
994 But it were al to longe for to devyse
995 The grete clamour and the waymentynge
996 That the ladyes made at the brennynge
997 Of the bodies, and the grete honour
998 That Theseus, the noble conquerour,
999 Dooth to the ladyes, whan they from hym wente;
1000 But shortly for to telle is myn entente.