The Wife of Bath's Tale
Folio 97v
1 of 11 folios
IN olde dayes of þe kyng arthour
Of which þat britoūs speken gret honour
Al was þis lond fulfilled of fayrie
The elf queen with hir ioly compaignye
835
Daunced fuloft in many a grene mede
This was þe old oppynyoū as I rede
I speke of many hundrid ȝer ago
But now can no man see noon elues mo
For now þe grete charite and prayeres
840
Of lymytours and oþer holy freres
That sechen euery lond and euery streem
As thik as motis in þe sonne beem
Blessynge halles . chambres . kichenes boures .
Citees . burghes . castels . hihe and toures .
845
Thropes . bernes . schepnes . and dayeries
That makith þat þer ben no fayeries
For þer as wont was to walken an elf
Ther walkith noon . but þe lymytour himself
In vndermeles and in morwenynges
850
And saith his matyns and his holy þinges
As he goþ in his lymytaciou~
Wōmen may go saufly vp and doun
In euery bussch or vnder euery tre
Þer is non oþer incumbent but he /
855
And ne wol but doon hem dishonour
And so bifel it / þat þis king arthour
Had in his hous a lusty bacheler
That on a day com rydyng fro ryuer
And happed al alone as sche was born
860
He saugh a mayde walkyng him byforn
Of which mayden anoon maugre hir heed
By verray fors byraft hir maydenhed
For such oppressioun was such clamor
And such pursuyte vnto kyng arthour
865
That dampned was þe knigħt and schuld be ded
By cours of lawe and schuld haue lost his heed
Parauentre such was þe statut þo
But þat þe queen and oþer ladys mo