The Nun's Priest's Tale
Folio 192v
11 of 12 folios
That it was pime / and krew witħ blisful steuene
The Sonne he seide / is clomben vp on heuene
Fourty degrees and oon / and more I wys
380
Madame Pertelote / my worldlis blys
Herkenetħ theise blisful bryddes / how they synge
And se the fresshe floures / how they sprynge
Ful is myn herte / of reuel and solas
But sodeynly ħī fel / a sorweful caas
385
For euere the lattere ende / of ioye / is woo
God woot þt worldly ioye / is sone a go
And if a Rethor / coude faire endite
He in a cronycle saufly / mygħt it wryte
As for a souereyn / notabilitee
390
Now euery wys man / lat ħī herkne me
This storie is also trewe / I vndertake
As is the book / of launcelot de lake
That wōmen holde / in ful gret reuerence
Now wol I turne a geyn / to my sentence
395
¶ A Colfox ful / of sly iniquytee
That in the groue had woned / ȝeres three
By hey ymaginacioū / fore cast
The same nygħt / thurgħ out the hegges brast
In to the ȝerd / there Chaunteclere the faire
400
Was wont / and eke his wyues to repaire
And in a bed of wortes / stille he lay
Til it was passed / vnderne of the day
Waytyng his tyme / on Chauntecleer to falle
As gladly doon / theise homycides alle
405
That in a wayt liggen / to murdre men
O false mordrour / liggyng in thy den
O newe scaryot / newe Gaenylon
Fals dissimilour / o greek Synon
That brougħtest Troye / al vttirly to sorwe
410
O Chaunteclere / accursed be the morwe
That þu in to þt ȝerd / flaugħ / fro the beemes
Thow were ful wel I warned / by thy dreemes
That thilke day / was perilous to thee
But what þt god forwoot / mot nedes bee
415
After the opynyoun / of certeyn Clerkes
Wytnesse oon ħī / þt any parfyt Clerk is
That in Scole / is gret altricacioun
In this matere / and gret disputisioun
And hatħ ben / of an hundred thousand menBut I ne kan nat