The Man of Law's Tale
Folio 62v
26 of 27 folios
¶ Who kan / the pitous ioye / tellen al
Bitwixe hem thre / syn they been thus ymette
But of my tale / make an ende I shal
The day goth faste / I wol no lenger lette
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This glade folk / to dyner they hem sette
In ioye and blisse / at mete I lete hem dwelle
A thousand foold / wel moore than I kan telle
¶ This child Maurice / was sithen Emperour
Maad by the pope / and lyued cristenly
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To cristes chirche / he dide greet honour
But I lete al his storie passen by
Of Custance / is my tale specially
In the olde Romayn geestes / may men fynde
Maurices lyf / I bere it noght in mynde
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¶ This kyng Alla / whan he his tyme say
With his Custance / his hooly wyf so sweete
To Engelond / been they come the righte way
Wher as they lyue / in ioye and in quiete
But litel while it lasteth / I yow heete
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Ioye of this world / for tyme wol nat abyde
Fro day to nygħt / it changeth as the tyde
Who lyued euere / in swich delit o day
That hym ne moeued / outher conscience
Or Ire / or talent or som kynnes affray
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Enuye / or pride / or passion / or offence
I ne seye / but for this ende this sentence
That litel while / in ioye / or in plesance
Lasteth the blisse of Alla with Custance
For deeth / that taketh / of heigħ and logh / his xx rente
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Whan passed was a yeer / euene as I gesse
Out of this world / this kyng Alla he hente
For whom / Custance hath ful greet heuynesse
Now lat vs praye to god / his soule blesse
And dame Custance / finally to seye
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Toward the toun of Rome / goth hir weye
¶ To Rome is come / this hooly creature
And fyndeth hir freendes / hoole and sounde
Now is she scaped / al hir auenture
And whan þt she / hir fader hath yfounde
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Doun on hir knees / falleth she to grounde
Wepynge for tendrenesse / in herte blithe
She heryeth god / an hundred thousand sithe