The Pardoner's Prologue & Tale
Folio 146r
16 of 16 folios
315
Lo rathere he forbedetħ / swicħ sweryng
Than homicide / or many a cursed thyng
I seye / that as by ordre / thus it standitħ
This knowen they / that hise hestes vndirstonditħ
How that the secunde heest of god / is that
320
And forthere ouere / I wol the telle al plat
That vengeaūce / shal nat parten / fro his hous
That of hise othes / is to outrageous
By goddes percious herte / and by his nayles
And by the blod of Crist / that is in hayles
325
Seuene is my chaunce / and thyn synk and treye
By goddes armes / if thow falsely pleye
This dagger shal / thurgħ out thyn herte goo
This fruyt cometħ / of the becched bones two
Forsweryng / Ire / falsnesse / homycyde
330
Now for the loue of Crist / that for vs dyede
Lete ȝoure othes / bothe grete and smale
But Sires / now wol I telle fortħ my tale
¶ Theise riotoures thre / of whicħ I telle
Longe erst or pryme rong / of any belle
335
Weren set hem in a Tauerne / to drynke
And as they sat / they herde a belle clynke
Byforñ a cors / was caried to his graue
That on of hem / gan callen to his knaue
Go bet qd he / and axe redily
340
What cors is this / that passetħ heere forby
And loke that thow / reporte his name wel
Sire quod this boy / it nedetħ neuere a del
¶ It was me told / or ȝe come heere / two houres
He was parde / an olde felawe of ȝoures
345
And sodeynly / he was I slayn to nygħt
For dronke as he sat / on his benche vp rigħt
Ther come a pryue thef / men clepen detħ
That in this contree / al the peeple sleetħ
And witħ his spere / he smot his herte a twoo
350
And went his wey / witħ oute wordes moo
He hatħ a thousand slayn / this pestilence
And maister or ȝe come / in his presence
Me thynketħ that it were / necessarie
For to be war / of swicħ an aduersarie
355
Betħ redy for to mete hī / eueremoore
Thus taugħt me my dame / I sey nomore
¶ By Seynt Marie / seide this Tauernere
The child seitħ sotħ / for he hatħ slayn this ȝere