The Franklin's Tale
Folio 125v
5 of 20 folios
185
Thise Rokkes / sleen myn herte for the feere
Thus wolde she seyn / wt many a pitous teere
¶ Hir freendes sawe / that it was no disport
To romen by the see / but disconfort
And shopen for to pleyen / somwher elles
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They leden hir / by Ryueres and by welles
And eek / in othere places delitables
They dauncen / and they pleyen / at ches and tables
¶ So on a day / rigħt in the morwe tyde
Vn to a gardyn / that was ther bisyde
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In which / that they hadde maad hir ordinaūce
Of vitaille / and of oother purueiaūce
They goon and pleye hem / al the longe day
And this was / in the sixte morwe of May
Which May hadde peynted / wt his softe shoures
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This gardyn / ful of leues and of floures
And craft of mannes hand so curiously
Arrayed hadde / this gardyn trewely
That neuere / was ther gardyn of swich prys
But if it were / the verray Paradys
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The odour of floures / and the fressħe sigħte
Wolde han maked / any herte ligħte
That euere was born / but if to greet siknesse
Or to greet sorwe / helde it in distresse
So ful it was / of beautee with plesaūce
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At after dyner gonne they to daunce
And synge also / saue Dorigen allone
Which made alwey / hir cōpleint & hir moone
For she ne saugħ hym / on the daunce go
That was hir housbonde / and hir loue also
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But nathelees / she moste a tyme abyde
And with good hope / lete hir sorwe slyde
¶ Vp on this daunce / amonges othere men
Daunced a Squier / biforn Dorigen
That fressħer was / and Iolyer of array
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As to my doom / than is the Monthe of May
He syngeth / daunceth / passynge any man
That is // or was / sith þt the world bigan
Ther wt he was / if men sholde hym discryue
Oon of the beste farynge man on lyue
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Yong / strong rigħt vertuous / and riche & wys
And wel biloued / and holden in greet prys
And shortly / if the sothe I tellen shal
Vnwityng of this Dorigen at al
This lusty Squier / seruant to Venus
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Which that ycleped was Aurelius
Hadde loued hir / best of any creature
Two yeer and moore / as was his auenture