The Summoner's Tale
Folio 90r
13 of 13 folios
What shulde I telle / the answere of the knygħt
365
His sone was slayn / there nys nomore to seye
By war therfore / witħ lordes how toȝeto ȝe pleye
Syngetħ Placebo / and I shal if I can
But if it be / vn to a pore man
To a pore man / men shulde hise vices telle
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But nat to a lord / thougħ he shulde go to helle
¶ Loo ~ Irrous Cirus / thilk percieñ
How destroyed he / the ryuer of Gyseñ
For that an hors of his / was dreynt there Inne
Whan that he went / Babylon to wynne
375
He made that the Ryuer / was so smal
That wommen mygħt / wade it oueral
Lo ~ what seide he / that so wel teche can
Ne be no felawe / to annonan non Irous man
Ne witħ no wood man / walke by the weye
380
Lest the repente / I wol no forthere seye
Now Thomas leue brother / leeue thyn I re
Thow shalt me fynde / as Iust as is a squire
Holde nat the deuelis knyf / ay at thyn herte
TynThynThyn anger dotħ the / al to sore smerte
385
But shewe to me / al thyn confessione
Nay qd this seke man / be Seynt Symon
I haue ben shreue this day / at myn curat
I haue hī told / holly al myn estat
It nedetħ nomore / to speke of it seitħ he
390
But if me liste / of myn humylitee
¶ Ȝeue me thanne of thy good / to make oure cloistre
Quod he / for many a muscle and many an Oistre
Whan other men / han ben ful wel at eese
Hatħ ben oure fode / oure cloistre for to reise
395
And ȝet god woot / vnethe the fundament
Parfourmed is / ne of oure pauement
Is nat a tyle ȝet / witħ Inne oure wones
By god we owen / fourty pound for stones
Now help Thomas / for hī þt harwed helle
400
Or elles mote we / oure bookes selle
And if þu lakke / oure predicaciou
Than gotħ the world / al to destruccioū
For who so fro this world / wold vs byreue
So god me saue Thomas / be ȝoure leeue
405
He wold byreue / out of this world the Sonne
For who can teche and werken / as we conne
And that is nat / of lytel tyme qd he
But sithe Ely was / and Helysee
Han freres ben / that fynde I of recorde
410
In charitee / I thanked be oure lorde