canterbury tales

Today a student came to the reference desk asking for a copy of The Canterbury Tales.
And in an instant, I was taken back to Mr. Rainey's 12th grade English class, when we had to memorize the first stanza of the prologue in middle English. I then began reciting for this poor student the first few lines, which are all that I can remember. She seemed embarrassed for me. Grownups are so weird.

For your reading pleasure:

WHAN that Aprille with his shoures soote
The droghte of Marche hath perced to the roote,
And bathed every veyne in swich licour,
Of which vertu engendred is the flour;
Whan Zephirus eek with his swete breeth	5
Inspired hath in every holt and heeth
The tendre croppes, and the yonge sonne
Hath in the Ram his halfe cours y-ronne,
And smale fowles maken melodye,
That slepen al the night with open ye,	10
(So priketh hem nature in hir corages:
Than longen folk to goon on pilgrimages,
And palmers for to seken straunge strondes,
To ferne halwes, couthe in sondry londes;
And specially, from every shires ende	15
Of Engelond, to Caunterbury they wende,
The holy blisful martir for to seke,
That hem hath holpen, whan that they were seke.