I did this a couple of weeks ago for a class and I meant to post it somewhere but forgot until now... since I did ask for help here and this is the English/Linguistics forum, I thought here would be the best place.
Enjoy!
Ther was a cliuer man of bisynesse,
A man of five and thritty yeers, I gesse,
Though yong he looked as a vampyr* doth.
There never was a murier laughe, for sothe,
Nor wydder smyle to shew more euen teeth.
No wyf he hadde; of amends and seeth
He selden to the sweete womman spoke
And so she wept and left his herte tobroke,
Until he did another mayden wyn
Who loved armes strong and fingres fyn.
Plesaunt was he and ful of courtesie;
Thy cosyn’s name he had in memorie,
To ask her helthe and beg her compagnye.
That connyng mynd sought not philosophie
Nor redde fable, poetrie or book
Or canon; nor did at the sterres look;
In stede astoned frendes yong and old
With pleye at nombres and a talent gold
For mathematik in a game of chaunce.
With cardes lede he a murie daunce,
(Ful wel did his soft handes pleye with hertes
And caughte falle dyamauntz, for certes)
But he was best and fortunat alweye
At delynge in the art of just moneye.
This cliuer knakke used he at werk
Whar this good man was swiche a skilful clerke
And eek a greet embelisher of bookes.
Whan he conseilled he was fair in lookes,
His clothes comlich coste nat a lite;
His coler and his sherte weren white,
And for his cote he could nat pay moore,
And eek a named spectacle he wore
To save his eyen from the sonne bryght.
A verray sleper was this gentil wyght
Who on a fether pilowe leyd his heed.
*The vampire myth kind of existed back then. In Bulgaria. I had to stretch the rules a little.
