The Wife of Bath's Prologue
Folio 75r
9 of 20 folios
The transcription of the Wife of Bath's Prologue was created by Orietta Da Rold and has no relationship to the transcription which appears on the Cambridge University Press CD-ROM.
670
Who peynted the lyou / telle me who
By god if a womman / had wryten stories
As Clerkes han / witħ Inne here oratories
They wold han wretyn of men / more wykkednesse
Than al the mark of Adam / may redresse
675
The children of Mercurie / and of venus
Ben in here werkyng / ful contrarious
Mercurie louetħ wysdom / and science
And venus louetħ riot / and despence
And for here dyuers / disposicioū
680
Eche fayletħ / in others exaltacioū
As thus / god woot / Mercurie is desolate
In pisses / whan venus is exaltate
And venus falletħ / there Mercurie is reised
Therfore no womman / of no Clerk is preysed
685
The Clerk whan he is old / & may nat do
Of venus werkes / wortħ his olde shoo
Than syt he doun / and wrytetħ in his dotage
That wommen conne nout kepen / here mariage
But now to purpos / why I tolde the
690
That I was beten / for a book parde
Vp on a nygħt / Iankyn that was oure Sire
Red on his book / as he sat by the fyre
Of Eue first / that for hire wykkednesse
Was almankynde brougħt / to wrechednesse
For whicħ that iħu crist / hī self was slayn
That bougħt vs / witħ his hert blod a gayn
Loo heere expres of wōmen / may ȝe fynde
That wōman was the losse / of al mankynde
695
Tho redde he me / how Sampsoū loost hise heeres
Slepynge his lemman / kytte hē wt hire sheres
Thurgħ whicħ tresou / lost he bothe hise eyen
Tho redde he me / if that I shal nat lyen
Of Hercules / and of Dyanyre
700
That caused hī / to sette hī self a fyre
Nothyng for gat he / the care and the woo
That Socrates had / witħ hise wyues twoo
How Exantipa / cast pisse vpvp on hise hed
This sely man sat stille / as he were ded
705
He wypte his hed / nomore durst he seyn
But er that the thonder stynt / cometħ reyn
Of Phasipha / that was the Quene of Creete
For shrewednesse hī thougħt / the tale swete
Fy speke nomore / it is a grisly thyng
710
Of hire horrible lust / & hire lykyng
Of Clithermystra / for hire lecherie
That falsly mad hire husbonde / for to deye