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1. The General Prologue
2. The Knight's Tale
3. The Miller's Prologue
4. The Miller's Tale
5. The Reeve's Prologue
6. The Reeve's Tale
7. The Cook's Prologue
8. The Cook's Tale
9. Introduction to the Man of Law's Tale
10. The Man of Law's Tale
11. The Wife of Bath's Prologue
12. The Wife of Bath's Tale
13. The Friar's Prologue
14. The Friar's Tale
15. The Summoner's Prologue
16. The Summoner's Tale
17. The Clerk's Tale
18. Lenvoye de Chaucer
19. Words of the Host
20. The Merchant's Prologue
21. The Merchant's Tale
22. Epilogue to the Merchant's Tale
23. The Squire's Tale
24. The Franklin's Tale
25. The Physician's Tale
26. Introduction to the Pardoner's Tale
27. The Pardoner's Prologue & Tale
28. The Shipman's Tale
29. The Prioress' Tale
30. The Tale of Sir Thopas
31. Here the Host 'stynteth' Chaucer's Tale of Sir Thopas
32. The Tale of Melibeus
33. The Monk's Prologue
34. The Monk's Tale
35. The Nun's Priest's Prologue
36. The Nun's Priest's Tale
37. Epilogue to the Nun's Priest's Tale
38. The Second Nun's Tale
39. The Canon's Yeoman's Prologue
40. The Canon's Yeoman's Tale
The Franklin's Tale Folio 129r 18 of 18 folios
Ȝe profre me / to haue so large a reyne
Ne wolde neuer e god / bytwixte vs tweyne
As in my gilt / were either werre or strif
50
Sire / I wil be ȝoure humble / trewe wyf
Haue here my trouthe / til that myn herte breste
Thus ben they bothe / in quiete and in reste
That frendes / euer icħ other / mot obeye
55
If they wiln longe / holden compaignye
Loue wol nat be constreyned / by maistrye
Whan maistrie cometħ / god of loue a noon
Betetħ hise wynges / and fare wel he is gon
Loue is a thyng
60
Wō men of kynde / desiren libertee
And nat to be constreyned / as a thral
And so doon men / If I sootħ seyn / shal
Loke who that most / is pacient in loue
He is at his auauntage / al a boue
65
Pacience / is an heigħ vertu / certeyn
For it venquysshetħ / alle theise clerkes seyn
Thynges / that rigour shulde neuer e ateyne
For euer y word / men moun nat chide or pleyne
Lernetħ to suffre / or elles so mot I gon
70
Ȝe shuln it lerne / wheiþ er so ȝe wol or noon
For in this world certeyn / there no wygħ t is
That he ne dotħ or seitħ / somtyme amys
Ire / sykenesse / or constellacioū
Wyn / woo / or chaungyng
75
Causetħ ful ofte / to don a mys or spekyn
On euer y wrong
After the tyme / must be temper aunce
To euer y wygħ t / that can on gouer naunce
And therfore hatħ / this wys worthy knygħ t
80
To lyue in ease / suffraunce hire behigħ t
And she to hī / ful wysly gan to swere
That neuer e shulde there be / defaute in hire
Thus hatħ she take hire seruaū t / & hire lord
85
Seruaunt in loue / and lord in mariage
Thanne was he / bothe in lordshipe / & ser uage
Seruage nay / but in lordshipe a boue
Sithe he hatħ bothe / his lady and his loue