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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 Nun's Priest's Tale Folio 189v 1 of 12 folios
70
What eyletħ yow to grone in this manere
Ȝe ben a verrey slepere / fy for shame
And he answerde / and seide thus Madame
I preye yow / that ȝe take it nat a grief
By god me mette / I was in swicħ meschief
75
Rigħ t now / þ t ȝet myn herte is sore a frigħ t
Now god qd he / my sweuene recche a rigħ t
W Inne oure ȝerd / where as I saugħ a beest
80
Was lyke an hound & wolde han mad a reest
Vp on my body and an had me deed
His colour was bitwexe / ȝelew and reed
And tipped was his tail / & bothe hise Erys
Witħ blak / vnlike the remenaū t of hise heris
85
His snoute was smal / wt glowyng eyen tweye
Ȝet for his look / for fere al moost I deye
This caused me / my gronyng doutelees
Allas quod she / for by þ t god a boue
90
Now han ȝe loost myn herte / & al my loue
I can nougħ t loue a Coward / by my feitħ
For certes / what so any wō man seitħ
We alle desyren / if it mygħ t be
To han an housbonde / hardy wys & free
95
Ne hī þ t is a gast / of euer y tool
Ne noon auentour / by þ at god a boue
How dursten ȝe for shame / seye to ȝoure loue
That any thyng / mygħ t make ȝow a ferd
100
Han ȝe no mā nes herte / and han a berd
Allas / and konne ȝe ben a gast of sweuenys
No thyng god wot / but vanytee in sweuene is
Sweuenes ben engendred / of replexiouns
And ofte of fume / and of complexiouns
105
Whan humours ben to habundaū t / in a wygħ t
Certes this drem / whicħ ȝe han met to nygħ t
Cometħ of the gret / super fluytee
Of ȝoure rede Colera / parde
Whicħ causetħ folk / to dredyn in here dreemes
110
Of arwes and of fyr / witħ rede lemes
Of rede beestes / that they wol hem byte
Of contekes and of waspes / grete and lyte
Rigħ t as the humour / of malencolie
Causetħ many a man / in sleepe to crie
115
For fere of Blake Beres / or Booles blake
Or elles blake deueles / þ t wole hem take
Of othere humours / coude I telle also
That werken many a man / in sleepe ful woo
But I wol passe / as ligħ tly as I can
120
Lo Catoū whicħ / þ t was so wys a man
Seide he nat thus / ne do no fors of dremes
Now sire qd she / whan we flee fro theise bemes
For goddes loue / as take som laxatyf
Vp per il of my soule / and of my lyf
125
I counseil yow the beste / I wol nat lye
That bothe of colour / and of malencolie
Ȝe purge ȝow and for ȝe shuln nat tarie
Thougħ in this toun / is noon Appotocarie
I shal my self / to herbes techen ȝow
130
That shal be for ȝoure ese / & for ȝoure prow
The whicħ han / of here pro prete / by kynde
To purgen ȝow bynethe / and eke a boue
Sire forȝete nat this / for goddes loue
135
Ȝe ben ful colerik / of complexioun
War that the sonne / in his assencioun
Ne fynde ȝow nat replet / of humours hote
And if it do / I dar wel leye a grote
That ȝe shuln han / a feuere terciane
140
Or an agu / whicħ þ t may be ȝoure bane
Of wormes / or ȝe take ȝoure laxatyues
Of lauriol / centaure / and fumetere
Or elles of ellebor / that growetħ there
145
Of Catapuce / or of gait Rys beries
Of herbe yue / growyng in oure ȝerd þ er e merie is
Pikke hē rigħ t as they growe / and ete hem In
Betħ merie housbonde for ȝoure fader kyn
150
But nathelees / as touchyng daun Catoun
That hatħ of wysdom / swicħ a gret renoun
Thougħ þ t he bad / no dremes for to drede
By god men moun / in olde bookes rede
155
Of many a man / more of auctoritee