The Wife of Bath's Tale
Folio 78r
5 of 10 folios
940
Hire thougħt it swal / so sore a boute hire hert
That nedely som word / hire must a stert
And sithe she durst nat / telle it to noman
¶ Doun to a Mareys
/ fast by
/ she ran
¶ Nota bene
Til she come there / hire hert was a fyre
945
And as a bytore / bumbletħ in the myre
She leid hire moutħ / vn to the water doun
Bewreye me nat / thow water witħ thy soun
Quod she / to the I telle it and no moo
Myn husbonde hat
ħ longe
/ Corrected from: asshassesasshasses Eres twoo
950
Now is myn hert al hol / now is it oute
I mygħt no lengere kepe it / out of doute
Here may ȝe se / thougħ we a tyme a byde
Ȝet out it must
/ we conne no counseil hide
¶ Verum est
The remenaūt of the tale / if ȝe wol here
955
Redetħ Ouyde / and there ȝe may it lere
¶ This knygħt of whiche / my tale is specially
Whan that he saw / he mygħt nougħt come ther by
This is to seyn / what wommen louen most
Witħ Inne his breest / ful sorweful was the goost
960
But hom he gotħ / he mygħt nat soiourne
The day was comen / þt homward must he turne
And in his wey / as happed hī to ride
In al his care / vnder a Forest side
Where as he sey / vp on a daunce goo
965
Of ladyes foure and twenty / and ȝet moo
Toward the whicħ daunce / he drow ful ȝerne
In hope that he / sum wysdom shulde lerne
But certeynly / Corrected from: h<nothing> h er he cam fully there
I vanysshed was this daunce / he nyst where
970
No creature saw he / that bar lyf
Saue oon the grene / he saw sittyng a wyf
A foulere wygħt / there may noman deuyse
A geyn the knygħt / this olde wyf gan aryse
And seide
/ sire knyg
ħt
/ Corrected from: herefortħhere fortħhere/fortħ ne lit
ħ no wey
here fortú There is a vertical space marker between these two words.Est
975
Telle me / what that ȝe seken / be ȝoure fey
Par auenture / it may the bettir be
Theise olde folk / conne mechil Corrected from: goodthynggoodthyng qd she
My leue Moder / qd this knygħt certeyn
I nam but ded / but if that I can seyn
980
What thyng it is / that wommen most desire
Coude ȝe me wysse / I wolde wel quyte ȝour hire
Plygħt me thy trouthe / here in myn hond qd she
The nexte thyng / that I requere the
Thow shalt it do / if it be in thy mygħt
985
And I wyl telle it ȝow / er it be nygħt