The Knight's Tale
Folio 19v
34 of 35 folios
Engendred / of humor / malicolyk
Byforn his owen / Celle fantasyk
And shortly trned / was al vp so doun
520
Bothe habit / and eke disposicioū
Of hym / this wooful louyer Arcite
What shuld I al day / of hys woo endite
Whan he endured had / a ȝere or two
Thys cruel trment / & this peyne & woo
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At Thebes in his contre / as I seyde
Vp on a nygħt in slepe / as he hī leyde
Hī þouȝt how þt / the wynged god M ercurie
Byforn hī stod / & bad hī to be merie
His slepy yerde / in honde he bar vp rigħt
530
An hatte he wered / vp on his heris brigħt
Arrayed was þis god / as I tok kepe
As he was / whan Argus / toke his slepe
And seide hī thus / to Athenes shalt þu wende
There is the shapen / of thy woo an ende
535
¶ And with that word / Arcite woke and stirt
Now trewely / how sore þat me smert
Quod he / to Athenes / rigħt now wyl I fare
Ne for the drede of deth / I wyl nat spare
To se my lady / whom þat I loue and serue
540
In hire persence / I rekke nouȝt / thougħ I sterue
And wt þat word / he caugħt a gret Myrour
And saw / þt chaunged was / al his colour
And saw his visage / al in an oþer kynde
And rigħt a non / it ran hī in his mynde
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That sithe his face / was so disfigured
Of maladye / that he had endured
He mygħt wele ȝeue / that he bare hym lowe
Lyue in Athenes / eueremore vnknowe
And sen his lady / wel ny day by day
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And rigħt a non / he chaunged his array
And clad hī / as a pore laborere
And al a lone / saue oonly a Squyere
That knew his preuyte / and al his cas
Whicħ was disgysed / porely as he was
555
To a Athenes is he gon / the next wey
And to the court / he com on a dey
And at the gate / he profred his seruyse