The Merchant's Tale
Folio 106r
8 of 26 folios
And al this / axeth leyser / for tenquere
300
For god it woot I haue wept many a teere
Ful pryuely / syn I haue had a wyf
Preyse who so wole / a wedded mannes lyf
Certein I fynde in it but cost and care
And obseruances / of alle blisses bare
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And yet god woot my neighebores aboute
And namely / of wōmen many a route
Seyn þt I haue / the mooste stedefast wyf
And eek / the mekeste oon / that bereth lyf /
But I woot best / wher wryngeth me my sho
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Ye mowe for me / rigħt as yow liketh do
Auyseth yow / ye been a man of age
How that ye entren / in to mariage
And namely / with a yong wyf / and a fair
By hym þt made water / erthe / and Air
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The yongeste man / þt is in al this route
Is bisy ynougħ / to bryngen it aboute
To han his wyf allone / trusteth me
Ye shul nat plesen hir / fully yeres thre
This is to seyn / to doon hir ful plesaūce
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A wyf axeth / ful many an obseruaūce
I prey yow / þt ye be nat yuele apayd
¶ Wel quod this Ianuarie / and hastow ysayd
Straw for thy Senek / and for thy prouerbes
I counte nat a panyer ful of herbes
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Of scole termes / / wyser men than thow
As thou hast herd / assenteden rigħt now
To my purpos / Placebo / what sey ye ;
¶ I seye / it is a cursed man quod he
That letteth matrimoigne sikerly
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And with that word / they rysen sodeynly
And been assented / fully þt he sholde
Be wedded / whanne hym liste and wher he wolde
Heigħ fantasye / and curious bisynesse
Fro day to day / gan in the soule impersse
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Of Ianuarie / aboute his mariage
Many fair shape / and many a fair visage
Ther passeth thurgħ his herte / xx nygħt by nygħt
As who so tooke a Mirour polissħed brygħt
And sette it in a cōmune Market place
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Thanne sholde he se / ful many a figure pace
By his Mirour / and in the same wyse
Gan Ianuarie / in with his thogħt deuyse
Of maydens / whiche þt dwellen hym bisyde
He wiste nat wher þt he mygħte abyde
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For if þt oon / haue beaute / in hir face
Another stant so / in the peples grace