The Merchant's Tale
Folio 115r
11 of 27 folios
Ne coude of it / the beaute wel deuyse
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Ne Priapus / mygħt nougħt suffise
Thougħ he be god / of gardeynes for to telle
The beaute of the gardeyn / and the welle
That stod vnder a laurer / alwey grene
Ful ofte tyme he / Pluto and his Quene
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Proserpina / and al hire feyree
Disporten hē / and maken melodee
A boute that welle / and daunsyng as men told
¶ This noble knygħt / Ianuarie the old
Swicħ deynte hatħ / in it to walke and pley
800
That he wol suffre / no wygħt bere the key
But he hi self / for of the smal wyket
He bar alwey / of siluere / a cleket
Witħ whiche / whan that hī liste / he it vnshette
And whan he wold pay / his wyues dette
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In somer sesoū / thider wold he go
And May his wyf / and no wygħt but they two
And thynges / whicħ / that were nat don a bedde
He in the gardeyn / parfourmed hē / and spedde
And in this wyse / ful many a mery day
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Lyuetħ this Ianuarie / and this fressħ May
¶ But worldly ioye / may nougħt alwey endure
To Ianuarie / ne to no creature
O sodeyne hape / o thow fortune vnstable
Lyke to the Skorpioū / so disceyuable
815
That flaterest witħ thyn hede / whan þu wylt stynge
Thy tail is detħ / thurgħ thyn envenemynge
O brotel ioye / o swete venym queynte
O monstre / that so sotelly / canst peynte
Thy ȝiftes / vnder hewe of stedfastnes
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That thow disceyuest / bothe more and lesse
Why hast þu Ianuarie / thus disceyued
That haddest hī / for thy ful frend resceyued
And now þu hast byreft hī / bothe hise eyen
For sorwe of whicħ / he desiretħ to deyen
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Allas this noble Ianuarie / the free
A mydde hise lust / and his prosperitee
Is waxen blynd / and that al sodeynly
He wepetħ / he weyletħ also / pitously
And there witħ al / the fire of Ielousie
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Leste that his wyf / shulde falle in som folie
So brent his hert / that he wolde fayn
That som man / bothe hire and hī had slayn
For neither after his detħ / ne in his lyf
Ne wolde he / þat she were / no loue ne wyf