The Pardoner's Prologue & Tale
Folio 146v
2 of 16 folios
Hens ouer a myle / witħ Inne a gret vilage
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Bothe man and wōman / child / hyne / and page
I trowe / his habitacioū be there
To ben a vysed / gret wysdom it were
Or that he dede a man / a deshonour
Ȝa goddis armes / quod this riotour
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Is it swicħ perile / witħ hī for to mete
I shal hī seke / by weye and eke by strete
I make a vow / to goddes digne bones
Herkenetħ felawes / we thre ben alle oones
Lat eche of vs / hold vp his hand to other
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And eche of vs / bycome others brother
And we wol slen / this false traytour detħ
He shal be slayn / he that so manye sletħ
By goddes dignite / or it be nygħt
To gyderes han theise thre / here trougħthes pligħt
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To lyue and dyen / eche of hem for other
As thougħ he were / his owne I bore brother
And vp they stirte / al dronken in this rage
And fortħ they gon / towardes that vilage
Of whicħ the Tauernere / had spoke biforñ
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And many a grisly otħ / than han they sworñ
And Cristes blissed body / they to rent
Detħ shal be ded / if they moun hī hent
¶ Whan they han gon / nat fully half a myle
Rigħt as they wolde / han treden ouer a stile
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An olde man / and a pore wigħt / hē mette
This olde man / ful mekely hem grette
And seide thus / now lordes god ȝow se
The proudest / of theise riotoures thre
Answerde a geyn / what karle witħ sory grace
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Why artow al for wrapped / saue thy face
Why lyuest thow so longe / in so gret age
This olde man gan loke / in his visage
And seide thus / for I ne can nat fynde
A man / thougħ that I walked in to Ynde
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Neither in Citee / ne in no vilage
That wolde chaunge his ȝouthe / for myn age
And therfore mote I / han myn age stille
As longe tyme / as it is goddes wille
Ne detħ allas / ne wol nat han my lyf
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Thus walke I / like a restles caytif
And on the ground / whicħ is my modres gate
I knokke witħ my staf / bothe erly and late
And seye leue moder / lete me In