Chaucer's The Wife ofBath's Tale is worthy of comment for two reasons. First, it is an early and excellent example of a fairy-tale, and secondly it contains a medieval example of the complaint of the departure of the fairies after the manner of Corbet's 'Farewell, Rewards and Fairies'. It seems that from the earliest times the fairies have always been leaving us, and yet sometimes they never quite go.

In th'olde dayes of the Kyng Arthour,

Of which that Britons speken greet honour,

All was this land fulfild of fayerye.

The elf-queene, with hir joly compaignye,

Daunced ful ofte in many a grene mede.

This was the olde opinion, as I rede;

I speke of manye hundred yeres ago.

But now kan no man se none elves mo,

For now the grete charitee and prayeres

Of lymytours and othere hooly freres,

That serchen every lond and every streem,

As thikke as motes in the sonne-beem,

Blessynge halles, chambres, kichenes, boures,

Citees, burghes, castels, hye toures,

Thropes, bernes, shipnes, dayeryes,

This maketh that ther been no fayeryes.

For ther as wont to walken was an elf,

Ther walketh now the lymytour hymself

In undermeles and in morwenynges,

And seyth his matyns and his hooly thynges

As he gooth in his lymytacioun.

Wommen may go saufly up and doun.

In every bussh or under every tree

Ther is noon oother incubus but he,