The Shipman's Tale
Folio 146v
7 of 10 folios
Now sikerly / this is a smal requeste
My gold is youres / whan þt it yow leste
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And nat oonly my gold / but my chaffare
Take what yow list god shilde þt ye spare
¶ But o thyng is / ye knowe it wel ynogħ
Of Chapmen / that hir moneie is hir plogħ
We may creaūce / whil we haue a name
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But goldlees for to be / it is no game
Paye it agayn / whan it lith in youre ese
After my mygħt / ful fayn wolde I yow plese
¶ Thise hundred frankes / he fette hym forth anon
And piuely / he took hem to daun Ioħn
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No wight in al this world / wiste of this loone
Sauynge this Marchant and daun Ioħn allone
They drynke / and speke / and rome a while & pleye
Til þt daun Ioħn / rideth to his Abbeye
The morwe cam / and forth this Marchant ridetħ
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To Flaundresward / his perntys wel hym gydetħ
Til he cam / in to Brugges murily
Now gooth this Marchant faste and bisily
Aboute his nede / and byeth and creaunceth
He neither pleyeth at dees ne dauncetħ
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But as a Marchaūt shortly for to telle
He let his lyf / and there I lete hym dwelle
The sonday next this Marchant was agon
To Seint denys / ycomen is daun Ioħn
With crowne and berd al fressħ and newe yshaue
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In al the hous / ther nas so litel a knaue
Ne no wigħt elles / þt he nas ful fayn
That my lord daun Ioħn / was come agayn
And shortly / rigħt to the point for to gon
This faire wyf acorded with daun Ioħn
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That for thise hundred frankes / he sholde al nygħt
Haue hir in hise Armes / bolt vprigħt
And this acord / parfourned was in dede
In myrthe alnygħt a bisy lyf they lede
Til it was day / þt daun Ioħn wente his way
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And bad the meynee / fare wel haue good day
For noon of hem / ne no wigħt in the toun
Hath of daun Ioħn / rigħt no suspecioun
And fortħ he rydeth / hoom to his Abbeye
Or where hym list . namoore of hym I seye
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This Marchant whan þt ended was the faire
To Seint Denys / he gan for to repaire
And with his wyf he maketh feeste and cheere
And telleth hir / that Chaffare is so deere
That nedes / moste he make a cheuyssaūce
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For he was bounden / in a reconyssaūce