The General Prologue
Folio 9r
17 of 18 folios
¶ Ye goon to Caunterbury / god yow speede
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The blisful martir / quite yow youre meede
And wel I woot as ye goon by the weye
Ye shapen yow / to talen and to pleye
For trewely / confort ne myrthe is noon
To ride by the weye doumb as the stoon
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And therfore / wol I maken yow disport
As I seyde erst and doon yow som confort
And if yow liketh alle / by oon assent
For to stonden / at my Iuggement
And for to werken / as I shal yow seye
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Tomorwe / whan ye riden by the weye
Now by my fader soule that is deed
But if ye be myrie / I wol yeue yow myn heed
¶ Hoold vp youre hond wt outen moore speche
Oure conseil / was nat longe for to seche
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Vs thoughte / it was noght worth / to make it wys
And graunted hym / wit outen moore auys
And bad hym seye his voirdit as hym leste
¶ Lordynges quod he / now herkneth for the beste
But taak it nougħt / I prey yow in desdeyn
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This is the poynt to speken short and pleyn
That ech of yow / to shorte with oure weye
In this viage / shal telle tales tweye
To Caunterburyward / I mene it so
And homward / he shal tellen othere two
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Of auentures / that whilom han bifalle
And which of yow / that bereth hym best of alle
That is to seyn / that telleth in this caas
Tales of best sentence / and moost solaas
Shal haue a soper at oure aller cost
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Heere in this place / sittynge by this post
Whan that we come agayn fro Caunterbury
And for to make yow / the moore mury
I wol my self / goodly with yow ryde
Rigħt at myn owene cost and be youre gyde
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And who so wole / my Iuggement withseye
Shal paye / al that we spenden by the weye
And if ye vouche sauf that it be so
Tel me anon / with outen wordes mo
And I wol erly / shape me therfore
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¶ This thyng was graunted and oure othes swore
With ful glad herte / and preyden hym also
That he wolde vouche sauf for to do so
And that he / wolde been oure gouernour
And of oure tales / Iuge and Reportour
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And sette a soper at a certeyn pris
And we / wol reuled been at his deuys