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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 80r 9 of 10 folios
Ne folwe his gentil auncetrye / that ded is
1130
He is nat gentil / be he Duke or Erl
For vyleyns synful dedes / maken a Cherl
For gentilnesse / nys but renounee
Of thyn Auncestres / for here heye bounte
Whicħ is a straunge thyng / to thy per sone
1135
Thy gentilnesse cometħ / fro god allone
Thanne cometħ oonly / oure gentilnesse of grace
It was no thyng be quethed vs / wt oure place
Thynketħ how noble / as seitħ Valerius
Was thilke Tullius hostilius
1140
That out of pouer te roos / to heygħ noblesse
Redetħ Senek / and redetħ eke Boece
There shul ȝe sen exper sse / that no dred is
That he is gentil / that dotħ gentil dedis ¶ Nota bene
There is a sign in the right margin to indicate a nota in the same ink.ODR
And therfore leue husbonde / I thus conclude
1145
Ȝet may the heye god / and so hope I
Graunte me grace / to lyuen vertuously
Than am I gentil / whan that I begynne
To lyuen vertuously / and weyven synne
1150
The heye god / on whom that we byleue
In wylful pouert / ches to leue his lyf
And certes euer y man / Mayden or wyf
May vnderstonde / that Iħ c heuene kyng
1155
Ne wolde nat chese / a vicious lyuyng
Glad pouerte / is an honest thyng certeyn
This wol Senek / and othere clerkes seyn
Who so that halt hī paid / of his Corrected from: pouertepouertpouerte
I hold hī riche / al had he nougħ t a shert
1160
He that coueytetħ / is a pore wygħ t
For he wold han / that is nougħ t in his mygħ t
But he that nougħ t hatħ / ne coueytetħ to haue
Is riche / al thougħ Corrected from: heȝeh ȝe hold hī but a knaue
Verray Corrected from: <nothing> synne issynne ispouer te / Corrected from: is synne<nothing> is synne pro prely
1165
Iuuenal speketħ / of pouer te merily
The pore man / whan he gotħ by the wey
Byfore the theues / he may synge & pley
Pouerte is hateful good / and as I gesse
A ful greet bryngere / out of besynesse
1170
A gret amendere eke / of sapience
To hī that taketħ it / in pacience
Pouer te is this / al thougħ it seme alenge
Possessioū / that no wygħ t wol chalenge
Pouer te ful often / whan a man is lowe ¶ Nota bene