The General Prologue
Folio 8v
16 of 18 folios
How that we baren vs that ilke nygħt
Whan we were / in that hostelrie alygħt
And after wol I telle / of oure viage
And al the remenaunt of oure pilgimage
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But first I pray yow / of youre curteisye
That ye narette it nat my vileynye
Thogħ þt I pleynly speke in this mateere
To telle yow / hir wordes and hir cheere
Ne thogh I speke hir wordes proprely
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For this ye knowen / also wel as I
Who so shal telle a tale / after a man
He moot reherce / as ny as euere he kan
Euerich a word / if it be in his charge
Al speke he / neuer so rudeliche or large
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Or ellis / he moot telle his tale vntrewe
Or feyne thyng. or fynde wordes newe
He may nat spare / al thogh he were his brother
He moot as wel / seye o word as another
Crist spak hym self / ful brode in hooly writ /
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And wel ye woot no vileynye is it
Eek Plato seith / who so kan hym rede
The wordes / moote be cosyn to the dede
Also I prey yow / to foryeue it me
Al haue I nat set folk in hir degree
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Heere in this tale / as þt they sholde stonde
My wit is short ye may wel vnderstonde
¶ Greet chiere made oure hoost vs euerichon
And to the soper / sette he vs anon
He serued vs / with vitaille at the beste
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Strong was the wyn / and wel to drynke vs leste
A semely man / oure hoost was with alle
For to been / a Marchal in an halle
A large man he was / with eyen stepe
A fairer Burgeys / was ther noon in Chepe
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Boold of his speche / and wys and wel ytaugħt
And of manhod / hym lakked rigħt naugħt
Eek therto / he was right a myrie man
And after soper / pleyen he bigan
And spak of myrthe / amonges othere thynges
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Whan that we / hadde maad oure rekenynges
And seyde thus / now lordynges trewely
Ye been to me / rigħt welcome hertely
For by my trouthe / if that I shal nat lye
I saugh nat this yeer / so myrie a cōpaignye
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Atones in this herberwe as is now
Fayn wolde I doon yow myrthe / wiste I how
And of a myrthe / I am rigħt now bythogħt
To doon yow ese / and it shal coste nogħt