The General Prologue
Folio 13r
9 of 9 folios
Ne studieth nought / ley hand to euery mañ
A non to drawe / euery wygħt bygan
And shortly to telle / as it was
Were it by auenture / or sort / or cas
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The soth is this / the kut fel on the knygħt
Of which ful glad / was euery wygħt
And telle he must his tale / as it was resoū
By forward / and by composicioū
As ȝe han herd / what nedeth wordes mo
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And whan þis good man / saugh þt it was so
As he þat wys was / and obedient
To kepe his forward / by his free assent
And seide / sithe / I shal begynne þe game
Welcome be the cutte / in goddes name
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Now late vs ride / and herkeneth what I sey
And wt þat word / we redyn forth oure wey
And he bygan / wt rigħt a mery chere
This tale a non / and seide on þis manere
¶ Iamque domos patrias scithice post aspera gentis / prelia laurigero et cetera
¶ Heere bigynnetħ / the knyghtes tale ~
Whilom there was / as olde stories tellen vs
A Duke / a worthy man that higħt Theseus
Of Athenes / he was lord and gouernour
And in his tyme / swiche a conquerour
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That grett ere was ther non / vnder the Sonne
Ful many a riche contre / had he wonne
What with his wysdom / and Chyualrie
He conquered al the regne / of femenye
That whilom cleped was / Scithia
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And wedded the fressħ quene / Ypolita
And brouȝt hire hom wt hī / to his contre
W meche glorie / and grete solempnyte
And eke hire ȝonge suster / Emelye
And thus with blisse / and wt victorie
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Lete I this noble Duke / to Athenes ride
And al his Ost / in armes / by his side
And certes if it ne were / to longe to here
I wold haue told fully / the manere
How wōne was the regne / of Femonye