The Pardoner's Prologue & Tale
Folio 200v
3 of 17 folios
375
To lyue and dyen / ech of hem with oother
As thogh he were / his owene ybore brother
And vp they stirte / al dronken / in this rage
And forth they goon / towardes that village
Of which the Tauerner / hadde spoke biforn
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And many a grisly ooth / thanne han they sworn
And Cristes blessed body / they to rente
Deeth shal be deed / if they may hym hente
¶ Whan they han goon / nat fully half a myle
Right as they wolde / han treden ouer a style
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An old man and a poure / with hem mette
This olde man / ful mekely hem grette
And seyde thus / now lordes god yow se
¶ The proudeste / of thise Riotours thre
Answerde agayn / what carl w sory gace
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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 / thogh þt I walked in to Inde
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Neither in Citee / ne in no village
That wolde chaunge / his youthe for myn age
And ther fore moot I han / myn age stille
As longe tyme / as it is goddes wille
¶ Ne deeth allas / ne wol nat haue my lyf
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Thus walke I / lyk a restelees caytyf
And on the ground / which is my modres gate
I knokke with my staf / bothe erly and late
And seye / leeue moder leet me In
Lo how I vanysshe / flessħ & blood & skyn
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Allas / whan shal my bones / been at reste
Moder / 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 trespase in word / or ellis in dede
In holy writ ye may your self wel rede Agayns an old man ~