When in April, with its sweet showers,
The drought of March had pierced to the root,
And bathed every root in such liquor
Of which virtue engendered is the flower.
Basically, it’s setting the scene for the coming story (it’s the introduction to The Canterbury Tales), and talking about in April spring starts to see rain dispelling the drought of March and filling the roots with sweet water.
It goes on to talk about the winds and the birds, where the sun is in the sky (directly overhead), and then to pilgrims starting their pilgrimages, as a sort of “And this is where we begin our story” thing.
I would like to clarify that Chaucer is Late Middle English, and English standards were in large part based on his writing, so his writing is generally understandable for most English readers. Early & Middle Middle English, though, not so much…
I only speak German as a second language, so I can’t verify this, but I see a lot of native German+English speakers say that some of Old English and earlier Middle English texts are actually quite readable for them. I imagine something similar would apply to people literate in Icelandic, but I haven’t seen that yet.
I’m a swedish native with decent german fluidity, the 12th century stuff reads like a hybrid between old norse and german, and by 15th century it just sounds like modern swenglish (look it up, it’s fucking hilarious)
When in April, with its sweet showers, The drought of March had pierced to the root, And bathed every root in such liquor Of which virtue engendered is the flower.
Basically, it’s setting the scene for the coming story (it’s the introduction to The Canterbury Tales), and talking about in April spring starts to see rain dispelling the drought of March and filling the roots with sweet water.
It goes on to talk about the winds and the birds, where the sun is in the sky (directly overhead), and then to pilgrims starting their pilgrimages, as a sort of “And this is where we begin our story” thing.
I would like to clarify that Chaucer is Late Middle English, and English standards were in large part based on his writing, so his writing is generally understandable for most English readers. Early & Middle Middle English, though, not so much…
Wow, it goes from something that looks almost German to nearly readable modern English. That was crazy to see. Thanks for the information.
I only speak German as a second language, so I can’t verify this, but I see a lot of native German+English speakers say that some of Old English and earlier Middle English texts are actually quite readable for them. I imagine something similar would apply to people literate in Icelandic, but I haven’t seen that yet.
I’m a swedish native with decent german fluidity, the 12th century stuff reads like a hybrid between old norse and german, and by 15th century it just sounds like modern swenglish (look it up, it’s fucking hilarious)
Don’t forget Frisian.
“Brea, bûter en griene tsiis is goed Ingelsk en goed Frysk”