The Pardoner's Prologue & Tale
Folio 141r
5 of 14 folios
405
Allas / whan shul / my bones been at reste
Mooder / with yow / wolde I chaunge my cheste
That in my chambre / longe tyme hath be
Ye for an heyre clowt to wrappe me
But yet to me / she wol nat do that gace
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For which / ful pale / and welked is my face
¶ But sires to yow / it is no curteisye
To speken / to an old man vileynye
But he trespasse / in word / or elles in dede
In hooly writ ye may your self wel rede
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Agayns an oold man / hoor vpon his heed
Ye sholde arise / wherfore I yeue yow reed
Ne dooth vn to an oold man / noon harm now
Namoore than þt ye wolde / men did to yow
In Age / if that ye so longe abyde
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And god be w yow / wher ye go or ryde
I moot go thider / as I haue to go
¶ Nay olde cherl / by god thou shalt nat so
Seyde this oother hasardour anon
Thou partest nat so ligħtly / by Seint Ioħn
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Thou spak rigħt / now / of thilke traytor deeth
That in this contree / alle oure freendes sleeth
Haue heer my trouthe / as thou art his espye
Telle wher he is / or thou shalt it abye
By god / and by the hooly sacrement
430
For soothly / thou art oon of his assent
To sleen vs yonge folk / thou false theef
¶ Now sires quod he / if þt ye be so leef
To fynde deeth / turne vp this croked wey
For in that groue / I lafte hym by my fey
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Vnder a tree / and there he wole abyde
Noght for your boost he wole ħi no thyng hyde
Se ye that ook rigħt ther ye shal hym fynde
God saue yow þt boghte agayn mankynde
And yow amende / thus seyde this olde man
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And euerich / of thise Riotours ran
Til he cam to that tree / and ther they founde
Of floryns fyne of gold ycoyned rounde
Wel ny an .viij. bussħels / as hem thougħte
No lenger thanne / after deeth they sougħte
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But ech of hem / so glad was of that sigħte
For þt the floryns / been so faire and brigħte
That doun they sette hem / by this percious hoord
The worste of hem / he spak the firste word
¶ Bretheren quod he / taak kepe what I seye
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My wit is greet thougħ þt I bourde and pleye
This tresor / hath Fortune vn to vs yeuen
In myrthe and Ioliftee / oure lyf to lyuen