The Parson's Prologue
Folio 235v
2 of 2 folios
For which I seye / þt if yow list to heere
Moralitee / and vertuous matere
And thanne / þt ye wol yeue me Audience
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I wole ful fayn / at Cristes reuerence
Do yow plesance / leueful / as I kan
But trusteth wel / I am a Southren man
I kan nat geste / rom / ram / ruf / by lettre
Ne god woot rym holde I but litel bettre
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And ther fore if yow lest I wol nat glose
I wol yow telle / a myrie tale in prose
To knytte vp al this feste / and make an ende
And Iħu for his gace / wit me sende
To shewe yow the wey / in this viage
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Of thilke parfit glorious pilgrymage
That highte Ierusalem celestial
And if ye vouche sauf anon I shal
Bigynne vp on my tale / for which I preye
Telle youre auys / I kan no bettre seye
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But nathelees / this meditacioū
I putte it ay / vnder correccioū
Of clerkes / for I am nat textuel
I take but the sentence / trusteth wel
Ther fore / I make protestacioū
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That I wol stonde / to correccioū
¶ Vp on this word / we han assented soone
For as it semed / it was for to doone
To enden / in som vertuous sentence
And for to yeue hym / space and audience
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And bede oure hoost he sholde to hym seye
That alle we / to telle his tale hym preye
¶ Oure hoost hadde the wordes for vs alle
Sire preest quod he / now faire yow bifalle
Sey what yow list and we wol gladly heere
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And with that word / he seyde in this manere
Telleth quod he / youre meditacioū
But hasteth yow / the sonne wole adoun
Beth fructuous / and that in litel space
And to do wel / god sende yow his grace