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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 70r 18 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.
245
If th at I walk e or rome / vn to hir hous
Thow comest hom / as dronken as a mous
And prechest on thy benche / with euele preef
Thow seist to me / it is a gret myschief
To wedde a poore womman / for costage
250
Than seist thow / that it is a turmentrie
To suffre hire pride / and hire malacolie
And if that she be fair / thow verray knaue
Thow seist that euer y holour / wol hire haue
255
She may nowhile / in chastite a byde
That is assayled / vp on eche a syde
Thow seist sō me folk / desiren vs for richesse
Sō me for oure shape / and sū me for oure fairnesse
And sum for she can / either synge or daunce
260
Sum for hire hondes / and hire armes smale
Thus gotħ al to the deuele / by thy tale
Thow seist men moun nat kepe / a castel wal
It may so longe / assailed ben / ouer al
265
And if that she be foul / thow seist that she
Coueytetħ euer y man / that she may Corrected from: sheeseshee se
For as a spaynel / she wol on hī lepe
Til that she fynde sum man / hire to chepe
Ne noon so grey goos / gotħ there in the lake
270
As seist þ u / wyl be witħ outen a make
And seist it is / an hard thyng for to welde
Thus seist þ u lorel / whan thow gost to bedde
And that no wyseman / nedetħ for to wedde
275
Ne noman that entendetħ / vn to heuen
Witħ wylde thundir dynt / and firy leuen
Mote thy welked nekke / be to broke
Thow seist that droppyng houses / & eke smoke
And chidyng wyues / maken men to flee
280
Out of here owen houses / a benedicite
What eilitħ swicħ an olde man / to chide
Thow seist we wyues / wyln oure vices hide
Til we be fast / and thanne we wol hem shewe
Wel may this be / a prouerbe of a shrewe
285
Thow seist that Oxen / Assen / hors and houndes
They ben assayed / at diuer se stoundes
Basyns / lauours / or that men hem bye