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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 Monk's Tale Folio 178v 1 of 18 folios
95
Now herkenetħ / if ȝow liketħ for to heere
But first I ȝow byseke / in this matere
Thougħ I be ordre / telle nat theise thynges
Be it of Popes / Emper or s or kynges
After here ages / as men writen fynde
100
But telle hē some bifore / & some bihynde
Haue me excused / of myn ignoraunce
titled de casibus virorum
I wol be wayle / in manere of Corrected from: tragedetragedietragedie
The harm of hem / þ t stoden in hey degree
And fellen so / þ t þ er e was no remedie
To brynge hē out / of here aduer sitee
5
For certeyn / whan þ t fortune list to flee
There may noman / the cours of hire witħ holde
Lat noman truste / on blynd pro sper itee
Be war / by theise ensamples / trewe & olde
10
For thougħ fortune may / non Aungel dere
From heigħ degree / ȝet fel he for his synne
O lucifer brigħ test / of Aungelis alle
15
Now artow Sathanas / þ t maist nat twynne
Out of miserie / in whicħ þ t þ u art falle ¶ Adam
W goddes owne fynger / wrougħ t was he
And nat bigeten / of mā nes sper me vnclene
Hadde neuer e wordly man / so heigħ degree
Was dryuen out / of his heye pro sper itee
To labour & to helle / and to meschaunce
By the Aungel / longe / or his natyuyte
And was to god almygħ ty / consecrat
20
Was neuer e sucħ a nother / as was he
To speke of strengthe / & ther wt hardynesse
But to hise wyues / told he his secree