The Shipman's Tale
Folio 152v
5 of 9 folios
175
They wolden that here / housbondes / shulden be
Hardy and wyse / and riche / and ther to free
And buxome vn to his wyf / and fressħ a bedde
But by that ilke lord / that for vs bledde
For his honour / my self for to arraye
180
A Sonday next / I mot nedes paye
An hundred Frankes / or elles am I lorñ
Ȝet were me leuere / that I were vnborñ
Than me were don a sclaundre / or vyleynye
And if myn housbonde eke / mygħt it espie
185
I nere but lost / and therfore I ȝow preye
Lene me this sōme / or elles mot I deye
Daun Ioħn I seye / lene me this hondred frankes
Parde / I wyl nougħt fayle ȝow / my thankes
If that ȝow list / to don that I ȝow preye
190
For at a certeyn day / I wol ȝow paye
And do to ȝow / what plesaunce & seruyse
That I may don / rigħt as ȝow list deuyse
And but I do / god take on me vengeaunce
As foul as euere had / Geneloū of Fraunce
195
¶ This gentil Monk / answered in this manere
Now trewely / myn owen lady deere
I haue qd he on ȝow / so gret a routhe
That I ȝow swere / & pligħt ȝow my trouthe
That whan ȝoure housbonde / is to flaundrez fare
200
I wol delyuere ȝow / out of this care
For I wol brynge ȝow / an hondred Frankes
And witħ that word / he caugħt hire by the flankes
And hire embracetħ hard / and kist hire oft
Gotħ now ȝoure wey qd he / al stille and soft
205
And lat vs dyne / as sone as that ȝe may
For by my Chilyndre / it is pime of day
Gotħ now & betħ as trewe / as I shal be
¶ Now elles god forbede / sire quod she
And fortħ she gotħ / as Ioly as a Pie
210
And bad the Cokes / that they shulde hē hye
So that men mygħt dyne / and that a noon
Vp to hire housbonde / is this wyf I gon
And knokkitħ at his Countour dore / boldly
Who is there quod he
/ Petir it am I
¶ qy la
Qy la is written alongside the paragraph mark in the left margin.Est
215
Quod she / what sire how longe wol ȝe faste
How longe tyme / wil ȝe rekne and caste
Ȝoure sōmes / & ȝoure bokes / & ȝoure thynges
The deuele haue part / on alle swicħ rekenynges
Ȝe han I now parde / of goddis sonde