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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 Tale Folio 79v 8 of 10 folios
Now sire qd she / I coude amende al this
1080
If that me list / er it were dayes three
So wel ȝe mygħ t bere ȝow / vn to me
As is descendid / out of olde richesse
That therfore ȝe shulden / ben gentilmen
1085
Swicħ arrogance / is nat wortħ an hen ¶ arrogance , is pride
Loke who that is most / vertuous al wey
Preue and apert and most entendetħ ay ¶ Nota verissimam causam generositatis
To do the gentil dedis / that he can
Take hī for the grettest / gentil man
- These lines are bracketed together.Est
1090
Crist wol we clayme of hī / oure gentilnesse
Nougħ t of oure eldres / for here old richesse
For thougħ they ȝeue vs / al here heritage
For whicħ we cleyme / to be of hey parage
Ȝet may they nat be quethe / for no thyng
1095
To noon of vs / here vertuous leuyng
That mad hē gentil men / called to be
And bad vs folwen hem / in swicħ degree
Wel can the wys poete / of Florence
That higħ t Dant / speken of this sentence
1100
Lo in swicħ maner ryme / is Dantes tale
Ful selde vp risetħ / by his braunches smale
Prowesse of man / for god of his goodnes
Wol / that of hī we clayme / oure gentilnes
For of oure auncestres / mow we no thyng clayme
1105
But temporal thyng / that man may hurt & mayme
Euer y wygħ t wot this / as wel as I
If gentilnesse were plaunted / naturelly
Vn to a certeyn lynage / doun the lyne
Pryue and apert / than wold they neuer e fyne
1110
To don of gentilnesse / the fair office
They mygħ t do / no velanye or vice
Tak fir & bere it / in the derkest hous ¶ exemplum
Be twix this / and the Mount of Caukasous
And lete men shette the dores / & go thenne
1115
Ȝet wol the fyr / as faire lye and brenne
His office naturel / ay wol it holde
Vp per il of my lyf / til that it deye
Here may ȝe se wel / how that gentrie
1120
Is nat annexed / to possessione
Sitħ folk ne doon / here oper acione
Alwey as dotħ the fir / lo in his kynde
For god it wot / men moun wel often fynde
A lordes sone do shame / and velanye
1125
And he that wol han / prys of his gentrye
For he was born / of a gentil hous
And had hise auncestres / noble and vertuous