þey weren ful glad and ioyfuƚƚ and answer-
den ful mekely and benygnely
ȝeldynge gaces and þankes to her
lord Mellibe and to aƚƚ his companye
835
¶ And schopen hē wiþoutē
delay to go wiþ þe messangeres and obeye to þe comaundement
of here lord Mellibe
¶ And rigħt anon þey token here wey to Mel-
libe
¶ And toke þe sōme of here trewe wordes and frendes to maken
feiþ for hem and for to ben here borwes
¶ And whanne þey comen to
þe persence of Mellibe ¶ He seyde hem þese wordes
¶ It stant þus quod
Mellibe and soþ it is þat ȝe
840
causeles and wiþouten skile and resoū
han don grete Iniuries and wronges to me and to my wyf dame
Prudence and to mȳ doughter also
¶ For ȝe han entred in to myn
hous by vyolence
and han doon suche outrage þat aƚƚ men knowen
wel þat ȝe han disserued þe deþ
¶ And þerfore wil I knowen and wyten
of ȝou
845
wheþer þat ȝe wollen putte þe punysschemēt and chastisyng
and þe vengaūce of þis outrage in þe wille of me and my wyf da-
me Prudence or ȝe woln nouȝt
¶ Thenne þe wisest of hem þre an-
swerde for hem aƚƚ and sayde
ser quod he wex knowen wel þat we ben
vnworþy to come to ȝoure court of so gret a lord and of so worþy as
ȝe ben
For we han so gretly mystaken vs and han offended and a-
gult in such a wise aȝeins ȝour heighe lordschipe .
þat trewly we han
deserued þe deth
850
¶ But ȝit for þe grete goodnesse and debonairte þat
aƚƚ þe world witnesseþ of ȝoure persone
¶ We submitten vs to þe ex-
cellence and benignite of ȝoure gacious lordschipe
and ben redy to
obeye to aƚƚ ȝour comaundementz
besechynge ȝou þat of ȝoure mercy-
able pite . ȝe woln considre oure grete repentaunce and lowe sub-
missioū
and to gaunte vs forȝeuenesse of oure outragous trespas
and offence
855
¶ For wel we knowe þat ȝoure liberaƚƚ grace & mercy
streccheþ ferþer in to goodnesse þan don oure outrageous gultes
and trespaces in to wickednesse .
al be hit . þat cursedly and dampna-
bly we han gult aȝeins ȝoure heyhe lordschipe
¶ Thenne Mellibe
took him vp fro þe grounde ful benygnely
and receyued here ob-
ligacioūs and here bandes by here oþes vppon here plegges and
here borwes
and assigned hem a certeyn day to retournen vnto
his courtes
860
For to accepte and receyue þe sentences and þe Iugge-
mentes þat Mellibe wolde comaūde to ben don on hem by þe cau-
ses a forn sayde /
whiche þinges ordeyned ; euery man retournede to
to his hous