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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 193r 12 of 12 folios
420
But I ne kan nat / bulte it to the bren
As can the holy Doctour / Augustyn
Or Boyce / or the Bysshope Bradwardyn
Wheither þ t goddis worthy / fore wetyng
Streynetħ me needly / for to doon a thyng
425
Needly / clepe I / symple necessitee
Or ellis if free chois / be grauntid me
To doo þ t same thyng / or do it nougħ t
Thougħ god forn woot it / or þ t it was wrougħ t
Or if his wityng / streynetħ neuer e a del
430
But by necessite / condicionel
I wole nat han to done / of swicħ matere
My tale is of the Cok / as ȝe may heere
That took his coū seil / of his wyf / wt sorwe
To walken in the ȝerd / vp oon þ t morwe
435
That he had mette þ t dreem / þ t I ȝow tolde
Wō mens coū seils / ben ful often colde
Wō mannes counseil / brougħ t vs first to woo
And made Adam / fro paradys to goo
There as he was ful merie / & wel at ese
440
But for I not to whom / it mygħ t displese
If I counseil of wō men / wolde blame
Passe ouer / for I seide it in my game
Rede auctoures / ther they trete of swicħ matere
And what they seyn of wō men / ȝe moun heere
445
Theise ben the Cokkes wordes / & nat myne
I kan noon harm / on no wō man deuyne
Lith Pertelote / and hire sustres by
A geyn the Sonne / and Chauntecler so free
450
Sang meriere / than the Mermayde in the See
For Phisiologus / seitħ sikerly
How þ t they syngen wel / and merily
Among the wortes / on a boterflye
455
He was war of this fox/ þ t lay ful lowe
No thyng / ne liste ħ ī thā ne / for to crowe
But cried a noon / kok / Cok / & vp he stirte
For naturely / a beest desiretħ flee
460
From his conta rie / if þ t he may it se
Thougħ he neuer e erst / had seen it / wt his eye
This Chauntecleer / whan he gan ħ ī espye