The Nun's Priest's Tale
Folio 103r
8 of 16 folios
God woot it reweth me / and haue good day
And thus / he took his leue / and wente his way
But er þt he / hadde half his cours yseyled
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Noot I nat why / ne what meschaunce it eyled
But casuelly / the shippes botme rente
And shipe and man / vnder the water wente
In sighte of othere shippes / it bisyde
That wt hem seyled / at the same tyde
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And therfore / faire Pertelote so deere
By swiche ensamples olde / maystow leere
That no man / sholde ben to recchelees
Of dremes / for I sey thee doutelees
That many a dreem / ful soore is for to drede
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¶ Lo / in the lyf of Seint kenelm I rede
That was kenulphus sone / the noble kyng
Of Mertenrike / how kenelm mette a thyng
Alite / er he was mordred / on a day
His mordre / in his auysion he say
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His norice / hym expowned euery del
His sweuene / and bad hym for to kepe hym wel
For traysoū / but he nas but .vij. yeer old
And therfore / litel tale hath he told
Of any dreem / so holy was his herte
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By god / I hadde leuere than my sherte
That ye hadde rad his legende / as haue I
Dame Pertelote / I sey yow trewely
Macrobeus / that writ the auysioū
In Affrike / of the worthy Cipioū
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Affermeth dremes / and seith þt they ben
Warnynge of thynges / þt men after sen
¶ And forther moore / I pray yow looketh wel
In the olde testament of Danyel
If he heeld dremes / any vanytee
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¶ Rede eek of Ioseph / and there shul ye see
Wher dremes be som tyme / I sey nat alle
Warnynge of thynges / þt shul after falle
¶ Looke of Egipte / the kyng Daun Pharao
His bakere / and his butiller also
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Wher they ne felte / noon effect in dremes
Who so wol seke / Actes of sondry Remes