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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 Wife of Bath's Prologue Folio 67r 1 of 20 folios
The transcription of the Wife of Bath's Prologue was created by Orietta Da Rold and has no relationship to the transcription which appears on the Cambridge University Press CD-ROM.
1055
Doun on hire knees / falletħ she to go unde
Wepynge for tendirnesse / in hert blithe
She herietħ god / an hundred thousand sithe
They lyuen alle / and neuer e a sonder wende
1060
Til deetħ departetħ hem / this lif they lede
And faretħ now wel / my tale is at an ende
Now iħ u crist / that of his mygħ t may sende
Ioye after woo / gouerne vs / in his grace
And kepe vs alle / that ben in this place ¶ Amen qd Wytton;¶ A men qd Wytton : These words occur in the right margin ODR.
/ Incipit pro logus vxoris de Bathe
Exper ience / thougħ noon auctoritee
Were in this world / is rigħ t I now for me
To speken of woo / that is in mariage
For lordynges / syn I twelue ȝer was of age
5
Thanked be god / that is eterne on lyue
Husbondes at the chirche doore / haue I had fyue
If I so often mygħ t / han wedded be
But me was told / nougħ t longe agon is
10
That sithen Crist / ne went neuer e but oonys
To weddyng / in the Cane of Galilee
That by the same ensaumple / taugħ t he me
That I ne wedded / shuld be but ones
Loo ; herkene whicħ / a sharpe word / for the nones
15
Beside a welle / iħ c god and man
Spak in repreue / of the Samaritan
Thow hast I had / fyue husbondes qd he
And that ilke man / whicħ that now hatħ the
Is nat thyn husbonde / thus seide he certeyn
20
What that he ment ther by / I can nougħ t seyn
But that I aske why / that the fifte man
Was noon husbonde / to the Samaritan
How many mygħ t she haue / in mariage
Ȝet herd I neuer e / tellen in myn age
25
Vp on this noumbre / diffinicioū
Men may deuyne / and glosen vp and douñ
But wel I woot / expresse / witħ outen lye
God bad vs for to wexe / and multiplie