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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 General Prologue Folio 8v 6 of 9 folios
465
She had passed / many a straunge strem
At Rome had she be / and at Boloyne
In Galice at Seynt Iamez / and at Coloyne
She coude meche / of wandryng by the weye
470
Gat tothed was she / sothly to seye
Vp on an aumblere / esily she sat
Wel I wympled / and on hire hed an hat
A fote mantel / aboute hire hepes large
475
And on hire fete / a peire of spores sharpe
In felashippe / coude she / laughe & carpe
The remedies of loue / she coude par chaunce
For of þ at art / she knew þ e olde daunce
A Good man þ er e was / of religion ¶ A parsoun
480
That was / Corrected from: a Persou / of a poreof a pore / a Persoū a b Persoū / of a a pore toun
Persou : A letter b is written above the word Persou , and a letter a above the word pore to indicate the correct word order in a lighter shade of ink.ODR
But riche he was / of holy thouȝt and werke
He was also / a lerned man / a clerke
That cristes gospel / trewely wold preche
His per isshyns deuoutly / wold he teche
485
Benygne he was / and wonder diligent
And in aduer site / ful a bidyng / and pacient
For whicħ he was preued / often sithes
Ful loth were hī to curse / for hise tithes
But rather wold he ȝeuen / wt oute doute
490
Vn to his pore parisshyns / a boute
Of his offryng / and eke of his substance
He coude in litil / thyng / haue suffisance
Wyde was his per issħ / and houses fer a sonder
But he left nouȝt / for reyn ne for thonder
495
In sekenesse and in myschef / to visite
The ferthest / in his per issħ / moche and lite
Vp on his feet / and in his hond a staf
This noble ensaumple / to his shepe he ȝaf
That first he wrouȝt / and afterward he taugħ t
500
Ouȝt of þ e gospel / he tho wordes caugħ t
And this figr e / he added eke ther to
That if gold rust / what shuld Iren do
For if a preest be foul / on whom we trust
No wonder is / a lewed man to rust
505
And shame it is / if a preest take kepe
To se a sheton shepherde / & a clene shepe