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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 111r 3 of 27 folios
Othere than this / g od of his heye myracle
That er ȝe han / ȝoure rigħ tis of holichirche
Ȝe may repent / of wedded mā nys lyf
420
In whicħ ȝe seyn / there nys no woo ne strif
And elles god forbede / but he sent
A wedded man / hym grace to repent
Wel oft rather / than a sengle man
And þ er fore sire / the best red that I can
425
Despeire ȝow nougħ t / but haue in ȝoure memorie
She may be goddis meene / and goddis whipe
Than shal ȝoure soule / vp to heuene skipe
Swiftere than an arwe / dotħ out of a bowe
430
I hope to god / here after shulñ ȝe knowe
That there nys noon / so gret felicite
In mariage / ne neuer e more shal be
That ȝow shal lette / of ȝoure sauaciou
So that ȝe vse / as skyl is and resou
435
The lustes of ȝoure wyf / attemprely
Take hem nat ofte / but mesurabely
And that ȝe kepyn ȝow / eke / from other synne
My tale is doū / for my wyt is thynne
Betħ nat a gast / here of / my brother dere
440
But late vs waden / out of this matere
The wyf of Bathe / if ȝe han vnderstonde
Of mariage / whicħ we han oon honde
Declared / hatħ / ful wel in litel space
Faretħ now wel / god haue ȝow in his grace
445
Han tan here leue / and ecħ of hem of other
For whan they saugħ / that it must nedes be
They wrougħ ten so / by sleyte and wys tretee
That she this Mayde / whicħ that Mayus higħ t
450
As hastily / as euer e that she mygħ t
Shal wedded be / vn to this Ianuarie
I trowe it were / to longe ȝow to tarie
If I ȝow told / of euer y script and bond
By whicħ that she / was feffed in his lond
455
Or for to rekken / of hire riche a ray
But finally / I comen is that day
That to the chirche / bothe be they went
For to resceyue / the holy sacrament
Fortħ cometħ the prest / witħ stole a boute his nekke
460
And bad hire be lyke / Sarra and Rebekke
In wysdom / and in trouthe of mariage
And seide hise orisouns / as is vsage