The Merchant's Tale
Folio 111r
3 of 27 folios
Othere than this / god of his heye myracle
And of his mercy / may so for ȝow werche
That er ȝe han / ȝoure rigħtis of holichirche
Ȝe may repent / of wedded mānys lyf
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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 þerfore sire / the best red that I can
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Despeire ȝow nougħt / but haue in ȝoure memorie
Parauenture she may / be ȝoure purgatorie
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
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I hope to god / here after shulñ ȝe knowe
That there nys noon / so gret felicite
In mariage / ne neuere more shal be
That ȝow shal lette / of ȝoure sauaciou
So that ȝe vse / as skyl is and resou
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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
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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
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¶ And witħ that word / this Iustinë & his brother
Han tan here leue / and ecħ of hem of other
For whan they saugħ / that it must nedes be
They wrougħten so / by sleyte and wys tretee
That she this Mayde / whicħ that Mayus higħt
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As hastily / as euere that she mygħt
Shal wedded be / vn to this Ianuarie
I trowe it were / to longe ȝow to tarie
If I ȝow told / of euery script and bond
By whicħ that she / was feffed in his lond
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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
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And bad hire be lyke / Sarra and Rebekke
In wysdom / and in trouthe of mariage
And seide hise orisouns / as is vsage
And crouched hem / and bad god shuld hem blis