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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
Introduction to the Man of Law's Tale Folio 54v 2 of 3 folios
For swicħ lawe as a man ȝeuetħ / a noþ er wygħ t
He shulde hī selue vsen it / be rigħ t
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Thus wyl oure text / but natheles certeyn
I can rigħ t now / no thrifty tale seyn
But Chaucer / thougħ he can but lewedly
On meetris / and on rymyng craftily
Hatħ seid hem / in swicħ englissħ as he can
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Of olde tyme / as knowetħ many a man
And if he haue nouȝt seid hē / leue brother
In o boke / he hath seid hē / in a nother
For he hath told of louyers / vp and downe
Moo than Ouyde made of / mencione
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In hise epistles / that ben ful olde
What shulde I telle hē / syn they ben tolde
In ȝouthe he made / of Ceys and Alcione
And sithen hatħ he spoken / of euer ychone
Theise noble wyues / and theise louyers eke
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Who so þ at wyl / his large volume seke
Cleped the Seyntes legende / of cupide
There may he sen / the large woundes wyde
Of lucresse / and of babilan Tesbe
The swerd of Dido / for the fals Eue
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The tree of phillis / for hir demophon
The pleynte of Diane / and of hermyoū
Of Adriane / and Isiphilee
The baraigne Isle / stondynge in the see
The dreynte leandre / for his erro
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The teeres of Eleyne / and eke the woo
Of Brixseide / and of the ladomya
The cruelte / of the Quene Medea
Thy litel children hangynge / by the hals
For thy Ioson that was of loue so fals
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O Per mystre / Penolape Alceste
Ȝoure wyfhode / ȝe comende with the beste
But certeynly / no word wrytetħ he
Of thilke wykked ensaumple / of Canacee
That loued hire owen brother / synfully
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Of swiche cursed stories / I seye fy
Or ellis of Tiro Appollonius
How þ t the cursed kyng / Antiochus
Biraft hire dougħ ter / of hire maydenhede
That is so horrible a tale / for to rede
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Whan he hire threwe / vp on the paument