Question

Read the excerpt from the General Prolgue to the Canterbury Tales.

To any kind of man; he was indeed
The very pattern of a noble knight.
But as for his appearance and outfit,
He had good horses, yet was far from smart.

Which is the correct translation of the excerpt into Middle English?

In listes thryes, and ay slayn his foo.
This ilke worthy knight had been also
Somtyme with the lord of Palatye,
Ageyn another hethen in Turkye:
And evermore he hadde a sovereyn prys.
And though that he were worthy, he was wys,
And of his port as meke as is a mayde.
He never yet no vileinye ne sayde
In al his lyf, un-to no maner wight.
He was a verray parfit gentil knight.
But for to tellen yow of his array,
His hors were gode, but he was nat gay.
Of fustian he wered a gipoun
Al bismotered with his habergeoun;
For he was late y-come from his viage,
And wente for to doon his pilgrimage.

Answer 1

The second block you gave is the correct Middle English (Chaucerian) wording corresponding to those Modern-English lines. In particular:

- "To any kind of man; he was indeed / The very pattern of a noble knight." ≈ "He was a verray parfit gentil knight."
- "But as for his appearance and outfit," ≈ "But for to tellen yow of his array,"
- "He had good horses, yet was far from smart." ≈ "His hors were gode, but he was nat gay."

Notes: “array” = attire, “gode” = good, “hors” = horses, “nat gay” = not showy. The fuller Middle English passage you quoted includes surrounding lines from Chaucer’s General Prologue (tournaments, late return from voyage, his gipoun bismotered with his habergeon, etc.).