That he you
had an hundred frankes paide
By redy token: and held him evil apaide,
For that I to him spake of chevisance:
(Me semed so as by his contenance)
But natheles by God our heven king,
I thought not to axe of him no thing.
I pray thee, wif, ne do thou no more so.
Tell me alway, er that I fro thee go,
If any dettour hath in min absence
Ypaide thee, lest thurgh thy negligence
I might him axe a thing that he hath paide.
This wif was not aferde ne affraide,
But boldely she saide, and that anon;
Mary I defie that false monk Dan John,
I kepe not of his tokenes never a del:
He toke me certain gold, I wote it wel.
What? evil thedome on his monkes snoute!
For, God it wote, I wend withouten doute,
That he had yeve it me, because of you,
To don therwith min honour and my prow,
For cosinage, and eke for belle chere,
That he hath had ful often times here.
But sith I see I stonde in swiche disjoint,
I wol answere you shortly to the point.
Ye have mo slakke dettours than am I:
For I wol pay you wel and redily
Fro day to day, and if so be I faille,
I am your wif, score it upon my taile,
And I shal pay as sone as ever
I may.
For by my trouth, I have on min array,
And not in waste, bestowed it every del.
And for I have bestowed it so wel
For your honour, for Goddes sake I say,
As beth not wrothe, but let us laugh and play.
Ye shal my joly body han to wedde:
By God I n'ill not pay you but a-bedde:
Foryeve it me, min owen spouse dere;
Turne hitherward and maketh better chere.
This marchant saw ther was no remedy:
And for to chide, it n'ere but a foly,
Sith that the thing may not amended be.
Now, wif, he said, and I foryeve it thee;
But by thy lif ne be no more so large;
Kepe bet my good, this yeve I thee in charge.
Thus endeth now my tale, and God us sende
Taling ynough, unto our lives ende.
THE PRIORESSES PROLOGUE. WEL said by corpus Domini, quod our Hoste, Now longe mote thou sailen by the coste, Thou gentil Maister, gentil Marinere.
God give the monke a thousand last quad yere.
A ha, felawes, beth ware of swiche a jape.
The monke put in the mannes hode an ape,
And in his wifes eke, by Seint Austin.
Draweth no monkes more into your in.
But now passe over, and let us seke aboute,
Who shal now tellen first of all this route
Another tale: and with that word he said,
As curteisly as it had ben a maid,
My lady Prioresse, by your leve, So that I wist I shuld you not agreve, I wolde demen, that ye tellen shold A tale next, if so were that ye wold. Now wol ye vouchesauf, my lady dere? Gladly, quod she, and saide as ye shul here.
THE PRIORESSES TALE.
O LORD our lord, thy name how merveillous
Is in this large world ysprad! (quod she)
For not al only thy laude precious
Parfourmed is by men of dignitee,
But by the mouth of children thy bountee
Parfourmed is, for on the brest souking
Somtime shewen they thin herying.
Wherfore in laude, as I can best and
Of thee and of the white lily flour,
Which that thee bare, and is a maide alway,
To tell a storie I wol do my labour;
Not that I may encresen hire honour,
For she hireselven is honour and rote
Of bountee, next hire sone, and soules bote.
O mother maide, o maide and mother fre,
O bushe unbrent, brenning in Moyses sight,
That ravishedest doun fro the deitee, [alight:
Thurgh thin humblesse, the gost that in thee
Of whos vertue, whan he thin herte light,
Conceived was the fathers sapience:
Helpe me to tell it in thy reverence.
Lady, thy bountee, thy magnificence,
Thy vertue and thy gret humilitee,
Ther may no tonge expresse in no science:
For somtime, lady, or men pray to thee,
Thou gost beforn of thy benignitee,
And getest us the light, of thy prayere,
To giden us unto thy sone so dere.
My conning is so weke, o blisful quene,
For to declare thy grete worthinesse,
That I ne may the weighte not sustene;
But as a child of twelf moneth old or lesse,
That can unnethes any word expresse,
Right so fare I, and therfore I you pray,
Gideth my song, that I shal of you say.
THER was in Asie, in a gret citee,
Amonges Cristen folk a Jewerie,
Sustened by a lord of that contree,
For foule usure, and lucre of vilanie,
Hateful to Crist, and to his compagnie:
And thurgh the strete men mighten ride and
For it was free, and open at eyther ende.
A litel scole of Cristen folk ther stood
Doun at the ferther ende, in which ther were
Children an hepe comen of Cristen blood,
That lerned in that scole yere by yere,
Swiche manere doctrine as men used there:
This is to say, to singen and to rede,
As smale children don in hir childhede.
Among thise children was a widewes sone,
A litel clergion, sevene yere of age,
That day by day to scole was his wone,
And eke also, wheras he sey the image
Of Cristes moder, had he in usage,
As him was taught, to knele adoun, and say
Ave Marie, as he goth by the way.
Thus hath this widewe hire litel sone ytaught
Our blisful Lady, Cristes moder dere,
To worship ay, and he forgate it naught:
For sely childe wol alway sone lere.
But ay, whan I remembre on this matere,
Seint Nicholas stant ever in my presence,
For he so yong to Crist did reverence.
This litel childe his litel book lerning,
As he sate in the scole at his primere,
He Alma redemptoris herde sing,
As children lered hir antiphonere:
And as he dorst, he drow him nere and nere,
And herkened ay the wordes and the note,
Til he the firste vers coude al by rote.
Nought wist he what this Latin was to say, For he so yonge and tendre was of age; But on a day his felaw gan he pray To expounden him this song in his langage, Or telle him why this song was in usage: This prayde he him to construe and declare, Ful often time upon his knees bare.
His felaw, which that elder was than he, Answerd him thus: This song, I have herd say, Was maked of our blisful Lady fre,
Hire to salue, and eke hire for to prey
To ben our help, and socour whan we dey.
I can no more expound in this matere:
I lerne song, I can but smal grammere.
And is this song maked in reverence
Of Cristes moder? said this innocent;
Now certes I wol don my diligence
To conne it all, or Cristemasse be went,
Though that I for my primer shal be shent,
And shal be beten thries in an houre,
I wol it conne, our Ladie for to honoure.
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