The Friar's Tale
Folio 82r
2 of 9 folios
Ne neuere shuln / terme of al here lyues
Peter so ben the wōmen / of the styues
Quod the Sompnour / I put out of oure cure
Pees wt myschaunce / and witħ mysauenture
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Thus seide oure host / and late hī telle his tale
Now telleth fortħ / and lat the Sompnour gale
Ne sparetħ nougħt / myn owen maister deere
This fals thef / this Sompnour / qd the frere
Had alwey / Baudes / redy to his hond
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As ony hauke / to lure in Engelond
That told hī al the secree / that they knewe
For hire acqueyntaunce / was nat comen of newe
They weren hise approwoures / preuyly
He tok hī self / a gret profyt ther by
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His maister knew nat alwey / what he wan
Witħ outen maundement / a lewed man
He coude sompne / vp peyne of cristes curs
And they were Inly glad / for to fille his purs
And make hī greete festis / at the nale
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And rigħt as Iudas / had purses smale
And was a thef / rigħt swicħ a thef was he
His maister had but half / his duete
He was / if I shal ȝeuen hīhī hislandelavdeladē
A thef / and eke a Sompnour / and a baude
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He had eke wenchis / at his retynew
That wheither Sire Robert / or Sire Heugħe
Or Ioħn or Raf / or who so that it were
That lay by hem / they told it in his eere
Thus was the wenche / and he of oon assent
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And he wold fecche / a feyned maundement
And sompne hem to chapetle / bothe two
And pille the man / and late the wenche go
Than wold he sey frend / I shal for thy sake
Do strike the out / of oure ƚres blake
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The thar nomore / as in this cas trauaille
I am thy frend / there I may the auaille
Certeyn he knew / of bryboures moo
Than possible is / to telle in ȝeres twoo
For in this world / nys dogge for the bowe
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That can an hurt Deer / from an hol bet knowe
Than that this Sompnour / knew a sly lechour
Or on aduouter / or a Paramour
And for that was the fruyt / of al his rente
Therfore on it he sette / al his entente
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And so byfel / that ones vp on a day
This sompnour euere / waytyng on his pray