Press 'Play' in the player below to listen to a recording from The Prose Brut (14th Century) as you read along with the text.
The Prose Brut
And þo sayd Albyne:
“ful wel y wot, fayr sustres, þat oure housbandes
haue playned vnto owre fadir vpon vs,
wherfore he hath þus vs foul reproued & despised.
Wherfore, sustres, my counseil is þat, þis nyght,
when owre housbandes ben abed,
all we with on assent cutten here throtes,
& þan we mow be in pees of hem,
& better we mowe do þis þing vndir our fadres power
þan elles-where.” & anon All þe ladyes consentid
and graunted vnto þis council.
And whan nyght was comyn, þe lordes & ladies
wente to bedde, & anon as here lordes were in slepe,
þei cutte all here housbandes throtes,
& so they slowen hem all.
Additional Readings from Chaucer
Alan Baragona and others read from Chaucer. This WordPress site hosts a number of recordings of Chaucer's poetry under the heading "The Criying and the Soun: Chaucer Audio Files." Select the lines you want to hear and then scroll down for the audio player. This could be a useful tool for practicing your own pronunciation.
Here you can listen to Chaucer's "Shipman’s Tale" and "Prioress’s Tale" from The Canturbury Tales. You can follow along in the interlinear translation of "Shipman’s Tale" and "Prioress’s Tale" found on The Geoffrey Chaucer Page.
