The Miller's Prologue
Folio 34r
2 of 3 folios
Abyde / and lat vs werken thriftily
¶ By goddes soule quod he / that wol nat I
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For I wol speke / or elles go my wey
Oure hoost answerde / tel on a deuele wey
Thou art a fool / thy wit is ouercome
¶ Now herkneth quod the Miller alle and some
But first I make a protestacioun
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That I am dronke / I knowe it by my soun
And therfore / if that I mysspeke or seye
Wyte it the Ale of Southwerk I preye
For I wol telle / a legende and a lyf
Bothe of a Carpenter / and of his wyf
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How that a clerk / hath set the wrightes cappe
¶ The Reue answerde / and seyde stynt thy clappe
Lat be / thy lewed dronken harlotrye
It is a synne / and eek a greet folye
To apeyren any man / or hym defame
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And eek to bryngen wyues in swich fame
Thou mayst ynogħ / of othere thynges seyn
¶ This dronke Miller / spak ful soone ageyn
And seyde / leue brother Osewold
Who hath no wyf / he is no Cokewold
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But I sey nat therfore / that thou art oon
Ther been ful goode wyues many oon
And euere / a thousand goode / ayeyns oon badde
That knowestow wel thy self but if thou madde
Why artow angry / with my tale now
I haue a wyf pardee / as wel as thow
Yet nolde I / for the oxen in my plogħ
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Take vp on me / moore than ynogħ
As demen of my self / that I were oon
I wol bileue wel / that I am noon
An housbonde / shal nat been Inquisityf
Of goddes pryuetee / nor of his wyf
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So he may fynde goddes foysou there
Of the remenant nedeth nat enquere
¶ What sholde I moore seyn / but this Miller
He nolde his wordes / for no man forbere
But tolde his cherles tale in his manere
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Mathynketh / that I shal reherce it heere
And therfore / euery gentil wight I preye
For goddes loue / demeth nat that I seye
Of yuel entente / but that I moot reherce
Hir tales alle / be they bettre or werse
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Or elles / falsen som of my mateere
And therfore / who so list it nat yheere
Turne ouer the leef / and chese another tale
For he shal fynde ynowe / grete and smale