The Shipman's Tale
Folio 147r
8 of 10 folios
To paye twenty thousand sheeld anon
For which / this Marchant is to Parys gon
To borwe / of certeine freendes þt he hadde
A certeyn frankes / and sōme wt hī he ladde
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And whan þt he was come / in to the toun
For greet chiertee / and greet Affeccioū
Vn to daun Ioħn / he gooth hym first to pleye
Nat for to axe / or borwe of hym moneye
But for to wite / and seen of his welfare
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And for to tellen hym / of his chaffare
As freendes doon / whan they been met yfeere
Daun Ioħn / hym maketh feeste and murye cheere
And he hym tolde agayn / ful specially
How he hadde wel ybogħt and gaciously
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Thanked be god / al hool his marchandise
Saue þt he moste / in alle maner wise
Maken a cheuyssaūce / as for his beste
And thanne / he sholde been / in ioye and reste
¶ Daun Ioħn answerde / certes I am fayn
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That ye in heele / ar comē hom agayn
And if þt I were riche / as haue I blisse
Of twenty thousand sheeld / sholde xx ye nat mysse
For ye / so kyndely / this oother day
Lente me gold / and as I kan and may
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I thanke yow / by god and by Seint Iame
But nathelees / I took vn to oure dame
Your wyf / at hom / the same gold ageyn
Vpon your bench / she woot it wel certeyn
By certeyn tokenes / that I kan yow telle
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Now by youre leue / I may no lenger dwelle
Oure Abbot wole out of this toun anon
And in his compaignye / moot I goon
Grete wel oure Dame / myn owene Nece sweete
And fare wel deere cosyn / til we meete
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This Marchant which þt was ful war & wys
Creanced hath / and payd eek in Parys
To certeyn lumbardes / redy in hir hond .i. obligacionem
The sōme of gold / and hadde of hem his bond
And hoom he gooth / murie as a Papeiay
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For wel he knew / he stood in swich array
That nedes moste he wynne in that viage
A thousand frankes / abouen al his costage
¶ His wyf ful redy / mette hym atte gate
As she was wont of oold vsage algate
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And al that nyght in myrthe they bisette
For he was riche / and cleerly out of dette
Whan it was day / this Marchant gan embrace
His wyf / al newe / and kiste hir on hir face