The Monk's Tale
Folio 180r
13 of 18 folios
And bar the heuene / on his nekke longe
¶ Was neuere wigħt / sithe þt the world bigan
That slow so manye monstres / as dide he
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Thurgħ out this wyde world / his name ran
What for his strengthe / & for his heigħ bounte
And euery rewme / went he for to se
He was so stonge / þt noman mygħt hī lette
At bothe the worldles endes / seitħ Trophee
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In stide of boundes / he a piler sette
¶ A lēman hadde / this noble champioū
That higħt Dyamra / as fressħ as May
And as þeise Clerkes / maken mencioū
She hatħ hī sent a shert / fressħ and gay
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Allas this sherte / allas & weyleway
Envenymed was / so sotilly witħ alle
That or þt he had wered it / half a day
It made his flessħ / al from his bones falle
¶ But nathelees / some clerkes hire excusen
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By oon þt higħt nessus / that it maked
Be as be may / I wol hire nougħt accusen
But oon his bak / the shert he wered al naked
Til þt his flessħ / was for the venym blaked
And whan he sey / noon other remedye
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In hote coles / he hatħ hī seluen raked
For witħ no venym / deigned hī to dye
¶ Thus starf / this worthy mygħty hercules
Loo / who may troste / on fortune any throwe
For hī þt folwetħ / al this world of prees
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Or he be war / is oft I leid ful lowe
Ful wys is he / that can hī seluen knowe
Betħ war / for whan þt fortune list to glose
Thāne waytetħ she / hire man to ouerthrowe
By suche a wey / as he wolde leest suppose
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¶ The mygħty trone / the precious tresor
The gloriouse ceptre / and real maiestee
That hadde the kyng / Nabugodonosor
Witħ tonge vnethe / may descryued be
He twies wan Ierusalem / the Citee
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The vesseƚƚ of the temple / he wt hī ladde
At Babiloyne / was his souereyne see
In whicħ his glorie / and his delit he hadde
¶ The fairest children / of the blood real
Of Israel / he let do gelde a noon