The Nun's Priest's Tale
Folio 191v
9 of 12 folios
By swiche ensamples olde / maist þu leere
That noman shulde be to rechelees
Of dreemes / for I sey the doutelees
That many a dreeme / ful sore is for to drede
290
¶ Loo in the lyf of Seynt kenhelm / I rede
That was kenulphus sone / the noble kyng
Of Mertenrike / how kenelm mette a thȳng
A lite or he was mordred / on the day
His mordre / in his auysioū he say
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His Norice / ħī expouned euerydel
His sweuene / & bad ħī for to kepe ħī wel
Fro tresoun / but he nas but seuene ȝer old
And þerfore / litel tale hatħ he told
Of any dreem / so holy was his herte
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By god I hadde leuere / than my sherte
That ȝe had red his legende / as haue I
¶ Dame Partelote / I seye ȝow trewely
Macrobeus / that wryt the auysioun
In Affrike of the worthy Cipioun
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Affermetħ dreemes / & seitħ þt they ben
Warnynge of thynges / that men after sen
¶ And forþermore / I preye ȝow loketħ wel
In the olde testament / of Danyel
If he helde dreemes / any vanytee
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¶ Rede eke of Ioseph / & þere shuln ȝe see
Where dreemes ben somtyme / I seye nat alle
Warnyng of thynges / þt shuln after falle
Loke of Egipte / the kyng Daun pharaoo
His Bakere / and his Boteler also
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Wher they ne felt / noon effecte in dreemes
Who so wol seke actes / of sondry Remes
May rede of Dreemes / many a wondir thyng
Lo Cresus / whicħ þt was / of lyde kyng
Mette he nat / that he sat vp oon a tree
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Whicħ signyfied / he shulde an hanged be
¶ Lo heere Andremacha / Ectoris wyf
That day þt Ector / shulde lese his lif
She dreemed / on the same nygħt byforñ
How þt the lyf of Ector / shulde be lorñ
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If thilke day he went / in to bataille
She warned ħī / but it mygħt nat a vaille
He went for to figħt / nathelees
But he was slayn a noon / of Achilles
But thilke tale / is al to long to telle