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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 Merchant's Tale Folio 110v 2 of 27 folios
He was a poynted / there he wold a byde
Placebo cam / and eke hise frendes sone
And alderfirst / he bad hē alle a boone
375
That noone of hē / noone argumentez make
A geyn the purpos / whicħ þ t he hatħ take
Whicħ purpos / was plesyng to god / seide he
And verray ground / of his prosperite
He seide there was / a mayden in the toun
380
Whicħ that of beaute / had gret renoun
Suffisetħ hym / hire ȝouthe and hire beaute
Whicħ maide he seide / he wolde han to his wyf
To lede in ease and holynesse / his lyf
385
That no wygħ t / his blisse parten shal
And preyed hem / to laboure in this nede
For than he seide / his spirit was at ease
390
Than is qd he / no thyng may me displese
Saue o thyng / prykketħ in my conscience
The whicħ I wol reherce / in ȝoure per sence
I haue qd he herd seid / ful ȝore a go
There may noman haue / par fyt blisses two
395
This is to seyn / in erthe and eke in heuene
For thougħ he kepe hī / fro the synnes seuene
And eke from euer y braunche / of thilke tree
Ȝet is there / so parfyt felicite
And so grete ese / and lust in mariage
400
That euer e I am a gast / now in myn age
That I shal lede now / so mery a lyf
So delicat / witħ outen woo and strif
That I shal haue / myn heuene in erthe heere
For sithe that verray heuene / is bougħ t so dere
405
Witħ tribulacioū s / and gret penaunce
How shuld I than / that lyue in swicħ plesaunce
As alle wedded men / don witħ here wyues
Come to the blisse / there crist eterne / oon lyue ys
This is my drede / and ȝe myne bretheryn twey
410
Assoyletħ me / this questioū / I prey
And for he wold / his longe tale a bregge
He wold noon auctorite / allege
415
But seide sire / so there be noon obstacle