The Monk's Tale
Folio 172r
7 of 19 folios
And Darius / occupieth his degree
240
Thogħ he therto / hadde neither rigħt ne lawe
Lordynges / ensample / heer by may ye take
How that / in lordshipe / is no sikernesse
For whan Fortune / wole a man forsake
She bereth awey / his regne and his richesse
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And eek hise freendes / bothe moore and lesse
For what man / þt hath freendes / thurgħ Fortune
Mishape / wol maken hem enemys as I gesse
This prouerbe / is ful sooth and ful cōmune
CEnobia / of Palymerie Queene
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As writen Persiens / of hir noblesse
So worthy was in Armes / and so keene
That no wigħt passed hir in hardynesse
Ne in lynage / nor in oother gentillesse
Of kynges blood of Perce / is she descended
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I seye nat that she hadde moost fairnesse
But of hir shape / she mygħte nat been amended
From hir childhede / I fynde that she fledde
Office of wōmen / and to wode she wente
And many a wilde hertes blood she shedde
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With Arwes brode / that she to hem sente
She was so swift / þt she anon hem hente
And whan þt she was elder / she wolde kille
Leoūs / Leopardes / and Beres al to rente
And in hir Armes / weelde hem at hir wille
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She dorste / wilde beestes dennes seke
And rennen in the montaignes al the nygħt
And slepen vnder the bussħ / and she koude eke
Wrastlen / by verray force / and verray mygħt /
With any yong man / were he neuer so wigħt
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Ther myghte / no thyng in hir armes stonde
She kepte hir maydenhod / from euery wigħt
To no man / deigned hir for to be bonde
But atte laste / hir freendes han hir maried
To Onedake / a Prynce of that contree
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Al were it so / that she hem longe taried
And ye shul vnderstonde / how that he ;
Hadde swiche fantasies / as hadde she
But nathelees / whan they were knyt infeere simul
They lyued / in ioye / and in felicitee
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For ech of hem / hadde oother lief and deere