Here, find the script for our final dinner’s entertainment:
This slideshow requires JavaScript.
Our Pilgrimage
Whan in July with her scorching sune
Our teaching courses long since done
We gan our pilgrimage to Londontowne
To meet you two—in Chaucer world—RENOWN!
And we found the eight and twenty mansiouns
For sleeping not and capyng at the moone.
And on the morwe ful tired, in agonye
“Help us, Seinte Starbuck!” We al did crye.
In classe we brought you tribulation
With sad attempts at translation
With patience greeted you our unlearned speech
And like the clerk you said “We gladly teeche”!
From nine to noone we wyrked in Mile End
Good chier accompanied us as we did wende
From tale to another to and fro
Virgins, maidens, cockes, and fabliaux.
The knight brought us a tale of courtly love
And there our minds we turned to thoughts above
But fecal humor did consume our thoughts
A longe time did we speak of the buttocks.
And here, in fragment two, we part from regular meter brought to you by Melibee:
As Susanna once said punning delights in the play of language,
It is the work of true genius like Geoff to hone the art of word usage.
“He could not cozen his cousin” is tired, old, not quite as queynte
As Chaucer’s “hende,” his “wo man,” “ful seemly” and his “queyente.”
And onto fragment three…
David and his hats came to our heath
And knowledge to us all he did bequeath
Susanna through her wit and artistry
Translated all the tales so parfitly!
Our days were spent (how they did flye)
In parfit leyser and heigh fantasye.
At night, gon we to pleys and sundry thinges
Swich as dauncing, but mostly readings.
Susanna leading finely at the front
To sites medieval here and yon to hunt.
Journeying in fairest compainye
David made sure we were in tow in courteisie.
With Falstaff and Hal we spent an evening,
Full stonding we learned of Lancaster cleaving.
The story full of battles and grandeur
But Priapus at the start made us voyeurs.
Spiced ale dronke we, and ful wel we eet
Say you twere sepulture of oure wit?
We gathered in our full diversity
Of art and song such full variety.
Sith we are sely pilgrims at our wittes ende,
I darn nat tellen of oure wilde weekends–
Our gentilesse will not permit this tale
For Luke’s blogge well certes may tell alle
At Senate House we went to fondle books
While there Ms. Attar gave us dirty looks
A wyse thought that was said by ASG:
“No limit to mankind’s stupidity.”
Our clerkes took our invitacion
To eat, to drink, with conversation
To kitchene nine anon you both did wende
A lovely berry torte was in your hende.
One morn we mounted Red Wing, splendid coache.
And gan our journey with our hende hostes.
First to Rochester wende we to pleye
For some perhaps the very finest daye
We took the castle with sword and courteisie
And found a four star loo where we did pee
You two knoweth taverns in every towne.
Eek tea houses, so there we satteth downe.
Churches, castles, tombstones we did see
Before we goon to Canter-ra-buryea;
At nyght we came for certe we were not meek
The holy blissful Parrot for to seek.
Returned we to oure paradise
Inspired by the martyr’s sacrifice.
One weeke remained, to pricketh toward the trouthe
Ful sweaty we were building up a frothe
Enlightened by our David’s Chaunticleer
And cooing Pertolote, his lady deere.
And so we leave Mile End with heavy hertes
Trusting Lady Fortune—who is the smartest—
To bring together again our compaignye.
We want to thank you for your curteisey.
Lo! How we pleyd and reed greet werkes,
Finding sentence and solaas like sotile clerkes.
Our pilgrimage is doon, an there is namo,
For oon month han we parfit blisses two.
