The Pardoner's Prologue & Tale
Folio 143r
10 of 16 folios
45
He that his hond / wol putte in this Mitayn
He shal haue multipliyng / of his grayn
Whan he hatħ sowen / be it whete or Otes
So that he offre pens / or ellis grotes
Goode men & wōmen / oo thyng warne I ȝow
50
If any wigħt / be in this chirche now
That hatħ don Synne horrible / that he
Dar nat for shame / of it I shryuen be
Or any wōman / be she ȝong or old
That hatħ I maked / hire housbonde Cokewold
55
Swicħ folk shuln haue / no power ne no gace
To offren to my relikes / in this place
And who so fyndetħ hī / out of swicħ blame
They wol come vp / and offre a goddis name
And I assoille hī / by the auctoritee
60
Whicħ that by bulle / I graunted was to me
¶ By this gaude / haue I wonne ȝer by ȝer
An hundred mark / sithe I was Pardoner
I stonde like a Clerk / in my pulpet
And whan the lewede peeple / is doun I set
65
I preche so / as ȝe han herd bifore
And telle an hundred / false iapes more
Thanne peyne I me / to strecche fortħ the nekke
And Est and West / vp on the peeple I bekke
As dotħ a dowue / sittyng on a berne
70
Myne handes / and my tonge / goon so ȝerne
That it is ioye / to seen my besynesse
Of auarice / and of swicħ cursednesse
Is al my prechyng / for to make hem free
To ȝeue here pens / and namely vn to me
75
For myn entente is nat / but for to wynne
And no thyng / for correccioū of synne
I rekke neuere / whan that they ben beryed
Thougħ that here soules / gon a blakeberyed
For certes / many a predicaciou
80
Cometħ ofte / of Yuel entencioū
Som for plesaūce of folk / and flaterie
To ben a vaunced / by Ypocrisye
And som for veyn glorie / and som for hate
For whan I dar / noon other weyes debate
85
Thanne wol I stynge hi / witħ my tonge smerte
In perchyng / so that he / shal nat a sterte
To ben defamed falsly / if that he
Hatħ trespased / to myne bretheren or to me