The Nun's Priest's Tale
Folio 242r
9 of 16 folios
290
Lo in the lif of seint kenelm I rede
That was kenulphus sone þat noble king
Of mertinrike how kenilm mette a þing
A lutil he was mordred vpon a day
His mordre in his auysioun he say
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His norice him expouned euerydel
His sweuen and bad him for to kepe him wel
For traisoun for he nas but seuen ȝer old
And þerfore litel tale haþ he told
Of eny drem so holy was his hert
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By god I hadde leuer þan my schert
Þat ȝe had rad his legend as haue I
Dame pertelot I say ȝow trewely
Macrobius þat writ þe avisiou~
In auffrik of þe worþy Cipioun
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Affermeþ dremes and saith þat þay been
Warnyng of þinges þat men after seen
And forþermore I pray ȝow lokeþ wel
In þe olde testament of Daniel
If he huld dremes eny vanyte /
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Rede eek of Ioseph and þer schal ȝe see /
Wheþir dremes ben som tyme I say nougħt alle
Warnyng of þinges þat schul after faƚƚ
Lok of Egipt þe king daun pharao
His baker and his botiler also
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Whethir þay felte noon effect in dremis
Who so wol seke actes of sondry remys
May rede of dremes many a sondry þing
Lo Cresus which þat was of lydes king
Mette þat he sat vpon a tre
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Which signified he schuld hanged be /
Lo hir adromachia Ectors wif
That day þat Ector schulde lese his lif
Sche dremed on þe same night byforn
How þat þe lif of Ector schulde be lorn
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If þilke day he wente to batayle
Sche warned him but it might nouȝt auaile /
He wente forþ to fighte naþeles | F 242v|
But he was slayn anoon of achilles
But þilke tale is al to long to telle /
330
And eek it is neigh day I may not duelle
Schortly I say as for conclusiou~
That I schal haue of þis auisiou~
Aduersite and I say forþermore
That I ne telle of laxatifs no store
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For þay ben venemous I wot it wel
I hem defye I loue hem neuer a del
Now let vs speke of mirthe and lete al þis
Madame pertilot so haue I blis
Of o þing god haþ me sent large gace
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For whan I se þe beaute of ȝour face
Ȝe ben so scarlet hiew about ȝour eyȝen
Hit makith al my drede for to deyȝen
For als siker as In principio
Mulier est hominis confusio
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Madame þe sentence of þis latyn is
Wōman is mannes ioye and mannes blis
For whan I fiele a nigħt ȝour softe syde /
Al be it þat I may not on ȝou ryde
For þat ȝour perche is mad so narow allas
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I am so ful of ioye and solas
That I defye boþe sweuen and drem
And with þat word he fleigħ doun fro þe beem
For it was day and eek his hennes alle
With a chuk . he gan hem for to calle /
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For he had found a corn lay in þe ȝerd
Real he was he was nomore aferd
He fetherid pertelote . twenty tyme
And trad as ofte er þat it was prime
He lokith as it were a grim lioun
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And on his toon he romeþ vp and dou~
Him deyneth not to set his foot to grounde
Ay chukkiþ whan he haþ a corn I founde
And to him rennen þan his wifes alle
Thus real as a prince is in his haƚƚe
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¶ Leue I þis Chauntecler in his pasture