The General Prologue
Folio 137r
11 of 20 folios
From burdeux ward whil that the chapman slep
400
Of nyce consience tok he none kep
Ȝif that he fauȝt & hadde the heyere hand
Be watyr he sente hē hom by euery land
But of hese craft to rekene wel hese tydis
Hese stremys & hese daūgerys hȳ besyde
405
His herberwe & hese mone his lodmȳgage
There nas non swich frō hul to cartage
Hardy he was & wys to vndirtake
With manye a tēpest hadde his berd ben schake
He knew alle þe hauenys as þey were
410
Fro gotlond to the kape of fenystere
And euery Cryk in bretayne & in spayne
His barge clepid was demaudelayne
With vs þere was a doctor of phisik
In al þis world was ther non hȳ lik
415
To speke of phisik & of surgerye
For he was groūdit in astronomye
Hepte hese pacient a ful gret del
In houres by his Magik naturel
Wel couthe he fortwnē the ascendent
420
Of hese ymagis / for hese pacient
He knew the cause of euery maladye
Were it hot or cold or moyst or dreye
And where þey engendere & of what humor
He was averay parfyt praktysour
425
The cause I knowe & of hese harm the rote
Anon he ȝaf the seke man hese bote
Ful redy hadde he sese apotecaryis
To syndyn hȳ hese droggis & hese letewaryis
For eche of hē made oþere for to wynne
430
Here frenschepe was not newe to begȳne
Wel knew he the olde exculapijs
And diascorides & ek Rufijs
Olde ypocras lylye & galien