Canterbury Tales in Middle English, transcribed by a Mac

Once, long ago, Ms. Markham, my eleventh grade English teacher, made me memorize the beginning of the Canterbury Tales.  In Middle English.  Because it was basically a rote memory task that required repetition, it’s a parlor trick I still have in my memory banks.  I was playing around with my Mac transcription function and greatly appreciated its ability to type “Arnold Schwarzenegger” and “schadenfreude.” Obviously the next test would be Chaucer.

What I find most interesting about this transcription is that you can sort of half hear it, if you read it out loud.

One that I feel with the shorter so that,
The drop of March of passion to the realtor,
And bothered everything and switch the core
Of which virtue engendered is the floor;
One selfish act with the switch of breaking
Spirit half an difficult and hit
The gym the compass, and the young the summer
Of in the Ramas Honda Accord Urona
I’m smaller father smocking melody,
That Shevenell the needs an open yet,
So picket him not to inhere crushes,
The moving forward to going on to the motions
I’m Palmitas what to say can Strom just send those,
To family how is, Cruisin something on this;
Especially if I’m ever shadows in the
Oven but I’m to kind about it I wonder,
What it is for Monteforte to Seca
Him have open one that they were sick.

The Original:

Whan that aprill with his shoures soote
The droghte of march hath perced to the roote,
And bathed every veyne in swich licour
Of which vertu engendred is the flour;
Whan zephirus eek with his sweete breeth
Inspired hath in every holt and heeth
Tendre croppes, and the yonge sonne
Hath in the ram his halve cours yronne,
And smale foweles maken melodye,
That slepen al the nyght with open ye
(so priketh hem nature in hir corages);
Thanne longen folk to goon on pilgrimages,
And palmeres for to seken straunge strondes,
To ferne halwes, kowthe in sondry londes;
And specially from every shires ende
Of engelond to caunterbury they wende,
The hooly blisful martir for to seke,
That hem hath holpen whan that they were seeke.

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Canterbury Tales in Middle English, transcribed by a Mac
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23 thoughts on “Canterbury Tales in Middle English, transcribed by a Mac

  1. 1

    This was very interesting. What I find amazing is how this small piece of memorizing has stuck with my former students to the point that they repeat it when they see me years and years later. There is a definite rhythm and an unquestionable “madness” to the assignment. I wish I had required more memorizing because it’s powerful and lasting. Thanks for showing me this technique. Congrats on all your academic work. Your variety of careers is astounding. Take care. Francie Markham

  2. 2

    I was playing around with my Mac transcription function and greatly appreciated its ability to type “Arnold Schwarzenegger” and “schadenfreude.” Obviously the next test would be Chaucer.

    This is the best quip about voice transcription … evaaarrr.

  3. 3

    I love it. It had never occurred to me that Chaucer could be processed in this way.

    It rather makes me think of the pseudo-French classic ‘Mot d’heures Gousses Rames’ {Mother Goose Rhymes) – does anyone still know this collection of nursery rhymes?
    Humpty Dumpty gets translated as ‘Un petit d’un petit…’ and so forth.

  4. 4

    Un petit d’un petit
    S’étonne aux Halles
    Un petit d’un petit
    Ah! degrés te fallent
    Indolent qui ne sort cesse
    Indolent qui ne se mène
    Qu’importe un petit d’un petit
    Tout Gai de Reguennes

    1. 6.1

      Whan that aprill with his shoures soote
      The droghte of march hath perced to the roote,
      And bathed every veyne in swich licour
      Of which vertu engendred is the flour;
      Whan zephirus eek with his sweete breeth
      Inspired hath in every holt and heeth
      Tendre croppes, and the yonge sonne
      Hath in the ram his halve cours yronne,
      And smale foweles maken melodye,
      That slepen al the nyght with open ye
      (so priketh hem nature in hir corages);
      Thanne longen folk to goon on pilgrimages,
      And palmeres for to seken straunge strondes,
      To ferne halwes, kowthe in sondry londes;
      And specially from every shires ende
      Of engelond to caunterbury they wende,
      The hooly blisful martir for to seke,
      That hem hath holpen whan that they were seeke.

  5. 7

    I kind of want to try Jabberwock, but talking to Siri is a deeply unpleasant experience for me.

    I always come away thinking that I’m incomprehensible. If I try both Siri and handwriting recognition in the same day, I start booking CAT scans to see if I’ve become aphasic.

  6. 9

    This reminded me of an old blog site called Japes for Owre Tymes, which local Toronto comic artist and English instructor Kari Maaren did for a while. It involved taking newspaper comic strips and rewriting them in Middle English, partly because she could, and partly because a great many of those strips had a view of society that would have been right at home back when Middle English was still spoken.

  7. 11

    The Very Worst Thing about knowing the Prologue is also knowing that it can be sung to the tune of the Mills Brothers’ “Glow, Little Glowworm.”

    You young’uns watch out – you may have to bleach your brains if you go look up that song………

  8. 12

    In college, as part of learning sounds of dead and forgotten languages, we had to memorize the opening to Beowulf in Old English. I only remember “Hwæt! We Gardena, in geardagum,” or “Hear me! We Danish soldiers, in the years of old,”

    When my professor, a small man with a soft voice and quiet demeanor, recited this well into the epic, it was amazing how imposing he became. I’d like to see a version of this done in Old English to a cartoon, so we can keep up with what’s happening. Whoever first penned this was a master.

  9. 13

    […] Canterbury Festival, Kent's International Arts Festival, is celebrating its 30th birthday this year by introducing a dedicated Festival venue from 19 October – 2 …<a href="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://www.kentcricket.co.uk/news/canterbury-festivals-spiegeltent-is-coming-to-the-spitfire-ground-st-lawrence&ct=ga&cd=&cad=CAI&usg=AFQjCNEWLUqhDusYJKTmuVUG8LTP8ZG1TA&#8221; target=”_blank”>See all stories on this topic […]

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    […] If you see Cadets marching and demonstrating military equipment in your local high street this weekend (October 12th), don't worry – it's all for a good cause.<a href="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://www.cant-col.ac.uk/about-canterbury-college/news/kent-cadet-week-ready-to-launch&ct=ga&cd=&cad=CAI&usg=AFQjCNGu3W4QNPBPRvmrV9V2al4qUQ_aYA&#8221; target=”_blank”>See all stories on this topic […]

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    […] Free lunchtime concerts during the Canterbury Festival, 21 October – 2 November. A spectacular music recital from outstanding alumni of the department.<a href="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.canterbury.ac.uk/events/event-details.asp%3FeventId%3D3938&ct=ga&cd=&cad=CAI&usg=AFQjCNH9GCFz47_Uid6aNcuyvHhkZODkOQ&#8221; target=’_blank’>See all stories on this topic […]

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