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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 Friar's Tale Folio 85r 8 of 9 folios
If I the excuse / thougħ thow shuldest be spilt
Allas qd she / god wot I haue no gilt
Paie me qd he / or by the swete Seynt Anne
As I wol bere a wey / thy newe panne
315
For dette / whicħ þ u owest me of olde
Whan þ u madest thyn husbonde / Cokewolde
I paid at hom / for thyn correcciou
Ne was I neuer e or now / wydewe ne wyf
320
Somound vn to ȝoure court / in al my lyf
Ne neuer e I nas / but of my body trewe
Vn to the deuele blak / & row of hewe
Ȝeue I thy body / and my panne also
And whanne the deuele / herd hire cursen so
325
Vp on hire knees / he seide in this manere
Now Mabily / myn owen moder deere
Is this ȝoure wylle in ernest / that ȝe seye
The Deuele qd she / so fecche hī or he deye
And panne and al / but he wol hī repente
330
Nay olde stot / that is nat myn entente
Quod this Sompnor / for to repente me
For ony thyng / that I haue had of the
I wold I had thy smok / and euer y clotħ
Now brother qd the deuele / be nat wrotħ
335
Thy body and this panne / ben myne be rigħ t
Thow shalt to helle / witħ me / ȝet to nygħ t
There thow shalt knowen / of oure pryuete
More than a Maister / of dyuynyte
340
Body and soule / he witħ the Deuele wente
Where as theise Sompnoures / han here heritages
And god that made / aftir his Image
Man kynde saue / and gyde / vs alle and some
And leue this Sompnour / good man to bycome
345
Had I had leyser / for this Sompnour heere
After the tixt of crist / Poule and Ioħ n
Swiche peynes / that ȝoure hertes mygħ t a gryse
350
Al be it so / no tonge may it deuyse
Thougħ that I mygħ t / a thousand wynter telle
The peynes of that cursed hous / in helle
But for to kepe vs / fro that cursed place
Waketħ and preyetħ / iħ u for his grace
355
So kepe vs / fro the temptour Sathanas
Herkenetħ this word / by war as in this cas
The lyou sittetħ / in his wayte alwey
To slee the Innocent / if that he may