The Physician's Tale
Folio 135v
6 of 7 folios
O gēme o Chastitee in pacience
Take thou thy deeth / for this is my sentence
225
For loue and nat for hate / thou most be deed
My pitous hand / moot smyten of thyn heed
Allas / that euere Apius the say
Thus hath he falsly / Iugged the today
And tolde hir al the cas / as ye bifore
230
Han herd / nat nedeth for to telle it moore
¶ O mercy deere fader / quod this mayde
And wt that word / she bothe hir Armes layde
Aboute his nekke / as she was wont to do
The teeris / bruste out of hir eyen two
235
And seyde / goode fader shal I dye
Is ther no grace / is ther no remedye
¶ No certes / deere dogħter myn quod he
¶ Thanne yif me leyser / fader myn quod she
My deeth for to compleyne / a litel space
240
For pardee / Iepte yaf his doghter grace
For to compleyne / er he hir slow allas
And god it woot no thyng was hir trespas
But for she ran / hir fader for to see
To welcome hym / with greet solempnitee
245
And wt that word / she fil aswowne anon
And after whan hir swownyng is agon
She riseth vp / and to hir fader sayde
Blissed be god / that xx I shal dye a mayde
Yif me my deeth / er that I haue a shame
250
Dooth wt your child / youre wyl agoddes name
¶ And with that word / she preyed hym ful ofte
That with his swerd / he wolde smyte softe
And wt that word / aswowne doun she fil
Hir fader / wt ful sorweful herte and wil
255
Hir heed of smoot and by the tope it hente
And to the Iuge / he gan it to persente
As he sat yet in doom in Consistorie
And whan the Iuge it saugħ / as seith the storie
He bad to take hym / and anhange hym faste
260
But rigħt anon / a thousand peple in thraste
To saue the knygħt for routhe and for pitee
For knowen was / the false Iniquitee
The peple anon / hath suspect of this thyng
By manere / of the cherles chalangyng /
265
That it was / by the assent of Apius
They wisten wel / that he was lecherus
For which / vn to this Apius they gon
And caste hym in a pisoū rigħt anon
Ther as he slow hym self / and Claudius
270
That seruant was / vn to this Apius