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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 111v 4 of 27 folios
465
THus ben they wedded / with solempnyte
And at the fest sittetħ / he and she
Witħ othere worthy folk / vp oon the deys
Al ful of ioye and blisse / is the paleys
And ful of Instrumentez / and of vetaille
470
The most deynteuoƫ / of al Ytaille
Byforñ hem were there / Instrumentes of swicħ soun
That Orpheus / nor Thebes Amphioun
Ne maden neuer e / swicħ a melody
At euer y cours / than cam loude Mynstralsy
475
That neuer e tromped / Ioab / for to here
Ne he Theodomas / half so clere
At Thebes / whan the Citee was in doute
Bacus / the wyn / hem shynketħ al a boute
And venus laugħ etħ / vp oon euer y wygħ t
480
For Ianuarie / was bycome hire knygħ t
In liberte / and eke in mariage
And witħ hire fyrbrond / in hire hand a boute
Dauncetħ byforñ the Bryde / and al the route
485
That Ymeneus / whicħ god of weddyng is
Saw neuer e his lyf / so merye a wedded man
Holde þ u thy pees / thow Poete Marcian
That wrytest vs / that ilke weddyng mery
490
Of hire Philosophie / and hym Marcury
And of the songes / that the Muses song
To smal is bothe thy penne / and eke thy tong
For to discryuen / of this mariage
Whan tendre ȝouthe / hatħ wedded stoupyng age
495
There is swicħ myrthe / that it may nat be wretyn
Assayetħ it ȝoure self / than may ȝe wetyn
If that I lye / or noon / in this matere
Mayus that syt / witħ so benigne a chere
Hire to byholde / it semed feyrie
500
Quene Ester / loked neuer e witħ swicħ an eye
On assure / so meke a loke hatħ she
I may ȝow nat deuyse / al hire beaute
But thus meche / of hire beaute / tellen I may
That she was lyke / the brigħ t morwe of May
505
Fulfilled of al beaute / and plesaunce
This Ianuarie / is rauysshed / in a traunce
At euer y tyme / he loked oon hire face
But in his hert / he gan hire to manace
That he that nygħ t / in armes wolde hire streyne