The Physician's Tale
Folio 194v
7 of 8 folios
¶ No certes / deere doghter myn quod he
¶ Thanne yif me leyser / fader myn quod she
My deeth for to compleyne / a litel space
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For pardee Iepte / yaf his doghter grace
For to compleyne / er he hir slowe allas
And god it woot no thyng was hir trespas
But for she ran / hir fader for to se
To wel come hym / with greet solempnytee
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And with that word / she fil aswowne anon
And after / whan hir swownyng is agon
She riseth vp / and to hir fader sayde
Blessed be god / þt I shal dye a mayde
Yif me my deeth / er þt I haue a shame
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Dooth with your child / youre wyl a goddes name
And wt that word / she preyed hym ful ofte
That with his swerd / he wolde smyte softe
And with that word / aswowne doun she fil
¶ Hir fader / with ful sorweful herte and wil
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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 saw / as seith the storie
He bad to take hym / and anhange hym faste
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But right anon / a thousand peple In thraste
To saue the knyght for routhe and for pitee
For knowen was / the false Iniquitee
¶ The peple anon / hadde suspect in this thyng
By manere / of the cherles chalangyng
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That it was / by the assent of Apius
They wisten wel / þt he was lecherus
For which / vn to this Apius they gon
And caste hym in a pison / right anon
Ther as he slow hymself / and Claudius
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That seruant was / vn to this Apius
Was demed / for to hange vp on a tree
But that Virginius / of his pitee
So preyde for hym / that he was exiled
And ellis certes / he hadde been bigyled
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The remenant were anhanged / moore and lesse
That were consentant of this cursednesse