The Reeve's Tale
Folio 42v
2 of 10 folios
A ioly popper / baar he in his pouche
Ther was no man / for peril / dorste hym touche
A Sheffeld thwitel / baar he in his hose
Round was his face / and camuse was his nose
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As piled as an Ape / was his skulle
He was a Market beter atte fulle
Ther dorste no wight / hand vp on hym legge
That he ne swoor / he sholde anon abegge
A theef he was / of corn and eek of Mele
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And that a sly / and vsaunt for to stele
His name was hoote / deynous Symkyn
A wyf he hadde / ycomen of noble kyn
The person of the toun / hir fader was
With hir he yaf / ful many a panne of bras
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For that Symkyn / sholde in his blood allye
She was yfostred in a Nonnerye
For Symkyn / wolde no wyf / as he sayde
But if she were / wel ynorissed and a mayde
To sauen his estaat of yomanrye
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And she was proud / and peert as is a pye
A ful fair sigħte / was it vp on hem two
On halydayes / biforn hir wolde he go
With his typet bounde aboute his heed
And she cam after / in a gyte of reed
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And Symkyn / hadde hosen of the same
Ther dorste no wigħt / clepen hir but dame
Was noon so hardy / that wente by the weye
That with hir / dorste rage / or ones pleye
But if / he wolde be slayn of Symkyn
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With panade / or with knyf / or boidekyn
For Ialous folk / been perilous eueremo
Algate / they wolde hir wyues wenden so
And eek / for she was somdel smoterlicħ
She was as digne / as water in a dicħ
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As ful of hoker / and of bismare
Hir thoughte / þt a lady sholde hir spare
What for hir kynrede / and hir nortelrie
That she hadde lerned in the Nonnerie
¶ A doghter hadde they bitwixe hem two
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Of twenty yeer / with outen any mo
Sauynge a child / þt was of half yeer age
In Cradel it lay / and was a propre page
This wenche thikke / and wel ygrowen was
With kamuse nose / and eyen greye as glas
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Buttokes brode / and brestes rounde and hye
But rigħt fair was hir heer / I wol nat lye
¶ This person of the toun / for she was feir
In purpos was / to maken hir his heir