The Nun's Priest's Tale
Folio 184v
12 of 14 folios
Syn that thy seruant. was this Chauntecleer
And in thy seruyce / dide al his poweer
525
Moore for delit than world to multiplye
Why woldestow suffre hym / on thy day to dye
¶ O Gaufred deere Maister souerayn
That whan thy worthy kyng Richard was slayn
With shot. compleynedest his deeth so soore
530
Why ne hadde I now / thy sentence / and thy loore
The friday for to chide / as diden ye
For on a friday / soothly slayn was he
Thanne wolde I shewe yow / how þt I. koude pleyne
For Chauntecleres drede / and for his peyne
535
¶ Certes / swich cry / ne lamentaciou
Was neuere / of ladyes maad / whan yliou
Was wōne / and Pirrus wt his streite swerd
Whan he hadde hent kyng Priam / by the berd
And slayn hym / as seith vs Eneydos
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As maden / alle the hennes in the clos
Whan they had seyn / of Chauntecleer the sigħte
But sodeynly / dame Pertelote shrigħte
Ful louder than dide Hasdrubales wyf
Whan þt hir housbonde / hadde lost his lyf
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And þt the Romayns / hadde brend Cartage
She was / so ful of torment and of rage
That wilfully / in to the fyr she sterte
And brende hir seluen / with a stedefast herte
¶ O woful hennes / rigħt so criden ye
550
As whan that Nero / brende the Citee
Of Rome / cryden senatours wyues
For þt hir housbondes / losten alle hir lyues
With outen gilt this Nero hath hem slayn
Now turne I wole / . to my tale agayn
555
This sely wydwe / and eek hir doghtres two
Herden thise hennes crie / and maken wo
And out at dores / stirten they anon
And syen the fox / toward the groue gon
And bar vp on his bak / the Cok away
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And cryden out harrow / and weylaway
Ha . ha / the fox / and after hym they ran
And eek with staues / many another man
Ran Colle oure dogge / and Talbot and Gerland
And Malkyn / with a dystaf / in hir hand
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Ran Cow and Calf and the verray hogges
So fered / for berkyng of the dogges
And shoutyng of the men and wōmen eek
The ronne so / hem thougħte hir herte breek
They yolleden / as feendes doon in helle /
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The dokes cryden / as men wolde hem quelle