The Pardoner's Prologue & Tale
Folio 140v
6 of 14 folios
¶ By seinte Marie / seyde this Tauerner
The child seith sooth / for he hath slayn this yeer
Henne ouer a Mile / with Inne a greet village
360
Bothe man and wōman / child & hyne / & page
I trowe / his habitacioū be there
To been auysed / greet wysdom it were
Er that he dide a man / a dishonour
¶ Ye goddes Armes / quod this Riotour
365
Is it swich peril / with hym for to meete ;
I shal hym seke / by wey and eek by Strete
I make auow / to goddes digne bones
Herkneth felawes / we thre been al ones
Lat ech of vs / holde vp his hand til oother
370
And ech of vs / bicomen otheres brother
And we wol sleen / this false traytor deetħ
He shal be slayn / which þt so manye sleetħ
By goddes dignitee / er it be nygħt
¶ Togidres han thise thre / hir trouthes pligħt
375
To lyue and dyen / ech of hem for oother
As thougħ he were / his owene yborn brother
And vp they stirte / and dronken in this rage
And forth they goon / towardes that village
Of which the Tauerner / hadde spoke biforn
380
And many a grisly ooth / thanne han they sworn
And Cristes blessed body / they to rente
Deeth shal be deed / if that they may hym hente
¶ Whan they han goon / nat fully half a Mile
Rigħt as they wolde / han troden ouer a stile
385
An oold man and a poure / w hem mette
This olde man / ful mekely hem grette
And seyde thus / now lordes / god yow see
¶ The proudeste / of thise Riotours three
Answerde agayn / what carl w sory gace
390
Why artow / al forwrapped saue thy face ;
Why lyuestow so longe / in so greet age ;
¶ This olde man / gan looke in his visage
And seyde thus / for I ne kan nat fynde
A man / thougħ þt I walked in to ynde
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Neither in Citee / nor in no village
That wolde chaunge / his youthe for myn Age
And therfore / moot I han myn Age stille
As longe tyme / as it is goddes wille
¶ Ne deeth allas / ne wol nat han my lyf
400
Thus walke I / lyk a restelees kaityf
And on the ground / which is my moodres gate
I knokke with my staf bothe erly and late
And seye / leeue mooder leet me In
Lo how I vanyssħe / flessħ and blood and skyn