The Hengwrt ms of Chaucer's Canterbury tales / edited by Frederick J. Furnivall.

[6-text p 283]

¶ Here bigynneth the Nonnes preestes tale of the Cok/ and Hen / Chauntecler & Pertelote / [folio 99b]

A poore widwe / som del stape in age was whilom dwellynge / in a narwe cotage Line 4012 Biside a groue / stondyng in a dale This widwe / of which I telle yow my tale Syn thilke day / þat she was last a wyf In pacience / ladde a ful symple lyf Line 4016 ffor / litel was hire catel and hire rente By housbondrye / of swich as god hire sente She foond hire self / and eek hire doghtren two Thre large sowes / hadde she and namo Line 4020 Thre kyn / and eek a sheepe / þat highte Malle fful sooty was hire bour / and eek hire halle In which she eet ful many a sklendre meel Of poynant sawce / hir neded neuer a deel Line 4024 No deyntee morsel / passed thurgh hir throte Hir diete / was acordant to hir cote Repleccion / ne made hire neuere syk Attempree diete / was al hire phisyk Line 4028 And excercise / and hertes suffisaunce The gowte / lette hire no thyng for to daunce Napoplexie / shente nat hire heed No wyn ne drank she / neither whit ne reed Line 4032 Hire bord was serued / moost with whit and blak Milk and broun breed / in which she foond no lak Seynd bacon / and som tyme an Ey / or tweye ffor she was / as it were / a maner deye Line 4036 A yeerd she hadde / enclosed al aboute With stikkes / and a drye dych with-oute In which / she hadde a cok/ heet Chantecler In al the land / of crowyng nas his peer Line 4040

[6-text p 284] Line 4040 His voys was murier / than the myrie Orgon On massedayes / þat in the chirche gon Wel sikerer / was his crowyng in his logge Than is a Clokke / or any Abbey Orlogge Line 4044 By nature / he knew ech ascencion Of equinoxial / in thilke town ffor whan degrees .xv. / were ascended [folio 100a] Thanne krew he / þat it myghte nat ben amended Line 4048 His komb / was redder / than the fyn coral And batayled / as it were a Castel wal His byle was blak and as the Ieet it shoon Lyk Asure / were hise legges and his toon Line 4052 Hise nayles whitter / than the lylye flour And lyk the burned gold / was his colour This gentil cok/ hadde in his gouernaunce Seuene hennes / for to doon al his plesaunce Line 4056 Whiche were hise sustres / and his paramours And wonder lyke to hym / as of colours Of whiche / the faireste hewed on hire throte Was clepid / faire damoysele Pertelote Line 4060 Curteys she was / discret/ and debonaire And compaignable / and bar hir self so faire Syn thilke day / þat she was seuen nyght oold That trewely / she hath the herte in hoold Line 4064 Of Chantecler / loken in euery lyth He loued hire so / þat wel was hym ther with But swich a ioye was it to here hem synge Whan þat / the brighte sonne gan to sprynge Line 4068 In swete acord / my leef/ is faren in londe ffor thilke tyme / as I haue vnderstonde Beestes / and briddes / kouden speke and synge And so bifel / þat in a dawenynge Line 4072 As Chantecler / among hise wyues alle Sat on his perche / that was in the halle And next hym sat this faire Pertelote This Chantecler / gan gronen in his throte Line 4076

[6-text p 285] Line 4076 As man / þat in his dreem / is drecched soore ¶ And whan þat Pertelote / thus herde hym rore She was agast/ and seyde herte deere What eyleth yow · to grone in this manere Line 4080 Ye ben a verray slepere / fy for shame ¶ And he answerde / and seyde thus / madame I prey yow / þat ye take it nat agrief By god me mette / I was in swich meschief Line 4084 Right now / þat yet myn herte is soore afright Now god quod he / my sweuene recche aright [Rats.] [folio 100b] [A]nd kepe my body / out of foul prisoun Me mette / how that I romed vp and doun Line 4088 With-Inne oure yeerd / where as I say a beest Was lyk an hound / and wolde han maad arest Vp-on my body / and han had me ded His colour / was bitwixe yelow and red Line 4092 And tipped was his tayl / and bothe hise erys With blak vnlik the remenant of hise herys His snowte smal / with glowyng eyen tweye Yet of his look for fere almoost I deye Line 4096 This caused me / my gronyng doutelees ¶ Avoy quod she / fy on yow hertelees Allas quod she / for by that god aboue Now han ye lost myn herte and al my loue Line 4100 I kan nat loue a Coward / by my feith ffor certes / what so any womman seith We alle desiren / if it myghte be To han housbondes / hardy / wise and fre Line 4104 And secree / and no nygard / ne no fool Ne hym / þat is agast of euery tool Ne noon auauntour / by that god aboue How dorste ye seyn / for shame / vn-to youre loue Line 4108 That any thyng myghte make yow aferd Haue ye no mannes herte / and han a berd Allas / and konne ye ben agast of sweuenys No thyng god woot but vanytee in sweuene is Line 4112

[6-text p 286] Line 4112 Sweuenes / engendren of replexions And ofte / of fume / and of complexions Whan humours / ben to habundant in a wight Certes this dreem / which ye han met to nyght Line 4116 Comth / of the grete superfluitee Of youre rede Colera pardee Which causeth folk / to dreden in hir dremes Of Arwes / and of fyr with rede lemes Line 4120 Of rede bestes / that they wol hem byte Of contek and of whelpes grete and lyte Right as the humour / of Malencolie Causeth ful many a man / in sleepe to crie Line 4124 ffor fere of blake beres / or boles blake Or ellis / blake deueles wol hem take Of othere humours / koude I telle also [folio 101a] That werken many a man / in sleep ful wo Line 4128 But I wol passe / as lightly as I kan Lo Caton which þat was so wys a man Seyde he nat thus / ne do no fors of dremes Now sire quod she / whan we fle fro thise bemes Line 4132 ffor goddes loue / as taak som laxatif Vp peril of my soule / and of my lif I conseile yow the beste / I wol nat lye That bothe of Colere / and of Malencolye Line 4136 Ye purge yow / and for ye shal nat tarye Thogh/ in this town / is noon Apothecarye I shal my self / to herbes techen yow That shul ben / for youre heele and for youre prow Line 4140 And in oure yerd / tho herbes shal I fynde The whiche han / of hire propretee by kynde To purge yow / bynethe and eek aboue fforyet nat this / for goddes owene loue Line 4144 Ye ben ful colerik of complexion Ware the sonne / in his Ascencion Ne fynde yow nat replet of humours hote And if it do / I dar wel leye a grote Line 4148

[6-text p 287] Line 4148 That ye shul haue / a feuere terciane Or an Agew / þat may be youre bane A day / or two / ye shul han degestyues Of wormes / er ye take youre laxatyues Line 4152 Of Lauriol / Centaure and ffumetere Or ellis of Ellebor / that groweth there Of Katapuce / or of Gaytrys beryis Of herbe yue growyng in oure yerd / they merye is Line 4156 Pekke hem vp right as ther growe / and ete hem In Be myrie housbonde / for youre fader kyn Dredeth no dreem / I kan sey yow namoore ¶ Madame quod he / grant mercy of youre loore Line 4160 But nathelees / as touchyng dann Catoun That hath of wisdom / swich a gret renoun Thogh þat he bad / no dremes for to drede By god men may / in olde bokes rede Line 4164 Of many a man / moore of auctoritee Than euere Caton was / so mote I thee [Rats.] [folio 101b] [T]hat al the reuers seyn / of his sentence And han wel founden / by experience Line 4168 That dremes / ben signyficacions As wel / of ioye / as tribulacions That folk enduren / in this lyf present Ther nedeth / make of this noon argument Line 4172 The verray preue / sheweth it in dede ¶ Oon of the gretteste Auctour / þat men rede Seith thus / þat whilom two felawes wente On pilgrymage / in a ful good entente Line 4176 And happed so / they coomen in a town Where as ther was / swich congregacioun Of peple / and eek so streit of herbergage That they ne founde / as muche as o cotage Line 4180 In which they bothe / myghte ylogged be Wherfore / they mosten of necessitee As for that nyght departe compaignye And ech of hem / gooth to his hostelrye Line 4184

[6-text p 288] Line 4184 And took his loggyng as it wolde falle That oon of hem / was logged in a stalle ffer in a yeerd / with oxen of the plow That oother man / was logged wel ynow Line 4188 As was his auenture / or his fortune That vs gouerneth alle / as in commune And so bifel / þat longe / er it were day This man mette in his bed / ther as he lay Line 4192 How þat his felawe / gan vp-on hym calle And seyde allas / for in an Oxes stalle This nyght I shal be mordred ther I lye Now help me deere brother / or I dye Line 4196 In alle haste / com to me / he sayde ¶ This man / out of his sleepe / for feere abrayde But whan þat he was wakned / of his sleep He turned hym / and took of this no keepe Line 4200 Hym thoughte / his dreem nas but a vanytee Thus twies / in his slepyng dremed he And atte thridde tyme / yet his felawe Cam as hym thoughte / and seyde I am now slawe Line 4204 Bihoold my blody woundes / depe and wyde Arys vp erly / in the morwe tyde And atte Westgate of the town quod he [folio 102a] A Carte ful of donge / ther shaltow se Line 4208 In which / my body is hyd ful priuely Do thilke Cart aresten boldely My gold caused my mordre / sooth to seyn And tolde hym euery poynt how he was sleyn Line 4212 With a ful pitous face / pale of hewe And truste wel / his dreem he fond ful trewe ffor on the morwe / as soone as it was day To his felawes In / he took the way Line 4216 And whan þat he cam / to this Oxes stalle After his felawe / he bigan to calle ¶ The hostiler / answerde hym anon And seyde / sire / youre felawe is agon Line 4220

[6-text p 289] Line 4220 As soone as day / he wente out of the town ¶ This man / gan fallen in suspecioun Remembrynge / on hise dremes þat he mette And forth he goth / no lenger wolde he lette Line 4224 Vn-to the westgate of the town / and fond A dong Carte / went as it were to donge lond That was arrayed / in that same wise As ye han herd / the dede man deuyse Line 4228 And with an hardy herte / he gan to crye Vengeaunce / and Iustice / of this felonye My felawe / mordred is / this same nyght And in this Cart heere / he lyth gapyng vp-right Line 4232 I crye / on the Mynystres / quod he That sholde kepe / and rulen this Citee Harrow / allas / heere lyth my felawe slayn What sholde I moore / vn-to this tale sayn Line 4236 The peple vp sterte / and caste the Cart to grounde And in the myddel of the dong they founde The dede man / þat mordred was al newe ¶ O blisful god / þat art so Iust and trewe Line 4240 Lo / how þat thow biwreyest mordre alway Mordre wol out that se we day by day Mordre / is so wlatsom / and abhomynable To god / that is so Iust and resonable Line 4244 That he ne wod nat suffre it helyd be Though it abyde / a yeer / or two / or thre [Rats.] [folio 102b] [M]ordre wol out this my conclusioun And right anon / Ministres of that town Line 4248 Han hent the Cartere / and so soore hym pyned And eek the hostiler / so sore engyned That they biknewe / hire wikkednesse anon And were anhanged / by the nekke bon Line 4252 Heere may men sen / þat dremes ben to drede ¶ And certes / in the same book I rede Right in the nexte Chapitre / after this I gabbe nat so haue I ioye or blys Line 4256

[6-text p 290] Line 4256 Two men / þat wolde han passed ouer see ffor certeyn cause / in-to a fer contree If þat the wynd / ne hadde ben contrarie That made hem / in a Citee for to tarie Line 4260 That stood ful myrie / vp on an hauen syde But on a day / agayn the euen tyde The wynd gan chaunge / and blew right as hem leste Iolif and glad / they wenten vn-to reste Line 4264 And casten hem / ful erly for to sayle But herkneth / to that o man / fil a gret meruaille ¶ That oon of hem / in slepyng as he lay Hym mette a wonder dreem / agayn the day Line 4268 Hym thoughte / a man stood / by his beddes syde And hym comanded / þat he sholde abyde And seyde hym thus / if thow tomorwe wende Thow shalt be dreynt my tale is at an ende Line 4272 ¶ He wook / and tolde his felawe what he mette And preyde hym / his viage to lette As for that day / he preyde hym to byde ¶ His felawe / þat lay / by his beddes syde Line 4276 Gan for to laughe / and scorned hym ful faste No dreem quod he / may so myn herte agaste That I wol lette / for to do my thynges I sette nat a straw / by thy dremynges Line 4280 ffor sweuenes ben / but vanytees and Iapes Men dreme al day / of Owles / or of Apes And of many a maze / ther with al Men dreme of thyng þat neuere was ne shal Line 4284 But sith I see / þat thow wolt here abyde And thus forslewthen / wilfully thy tyde God woot it reweth me / and haue good day [folio 103a] And thus / he took his leue / and wente his way Line 4288 But er þat he / hadde half his cours yseyled Noot I nat why / ne what meschaunce it eyled But casuelly / the shippes botme rente And shipe and man / vnder the water wente Line 4292

[6-text p 291] Line 4292 In sighte of othere shippes / it bisyde That with hem seyled / at the same tyde And therfore / faire Pertelote so deere By swiche ensamples olde / maystow leere Line 4296 That no man / sholde ben to recchelees Of dremes / for I sey thee doutelees That many a dreem / ful soore is for to drede ¶ Lo / in the lyf of Seint Kenelm I rede Line 4300 That was Kenulphus sone / the noble Kyng Of Mertenrike / how Kenelm mette a thyng Alite / er he was mordred / on a day His mordre / in his auysion he say Line 4304 His norice / hym expowned euery del His sweuene / and bad hym for to kepe hym wel ffor trayson / but he nas but .vij. yeer old And therfore / litel tale hath he told Line 4308 Of any dreem / so holy was his herte By god / I hadde leuere than my sherte That ye hadde rad his legende / as haue I Dame Pertelote / I sey yow trewely Line 4312 Macrobeus / that writ the Auysion In Affrike / of the worthy Cipion Affermeth dremes / and seith þat they ben Warnynge of thynges / þat men after sen Line 4316 ¶ And forther moore / I pray yow looketh wel In the olde testament of Danyel If he heeld dremes / any vanytee ¶ Rede eek of Ioseph / and there shul ye see Line 4320 Wher dremes be som tyme / I sey nat alle Warnynge of thynges / þat shul after falle ¶ Looke of Egipte / the Kyng Daun Pharao His bakere / and his butiller also Line 4324 Wher they ne felte / noon effect in dremes Who so wol seke / Actes of sondry Remes [Rats.] [folio 103b] [M]ay rede of dremes / many a wonder thyng ¶ Lo Cresus / which þat was of Lyde kyng Line 4328

[6-text p 292] Line 4328 Mette he nat þat he sat vp-on a tree Which signyfide / he sholde an hanged be ¶ Lo here Andromacha / Ectores wyf That day that Ector / sholde lese his lyf Line 4332 She dremed / on the same nyght biforn How þat the lyf of Ector sholde be lorn If thilke day / he wente in-to bataille She warned hym / but it myghte nat auaille Line 4336 He wente for to fighte / nathelees And he was slayn anon / of Achilles But thilke tale / is al to long to telle And eek / it is ney day / I may nat dwelle Line 4340 Shortly I seye / as for conclusion That I shal han / of this auysion Aduersitee / and I seye forther moor That I ne telle / of laxat·yues no stoor Line 4344 ffor they ben venymes / I woot it wel I hem deffie / I loue hem neuer a del ¶ Now lat vs speke of myrthe and stynte al this Madame Pertelote / so haue I blys Line 4348 Of o thyng god hath sent me large grace ffor whan I se / the beautee / of youre face Ye ben so scarlet reed / aboute youre eyen It maketh / al my drede for to deyen Line 4352 ffor also siker / as In principio Mulier / est hominis confusio Madame / the sentence / of this latyn is Womman / is mannes ioye and al his blys Line 4356 ffor whan I feele a nyght youre softe syde Al be it þat I may nat on yow ryde ffor þat oure perche / is maad so narwe allas I am so ful / of Ioye and of solas Line 4360 That I deffie / bothe sweuene and dreem And with that word / he fley doun fro the beem ffor it was day / and eke hise hennes alle And with a chuk he gan hem for to calle Line 4364

[6-text p 293] Line 4364 ffor he hadde founde a corn / lay in the yerd Real he was / he was namoore aferd He fethered Pertelote / twenty tyme [folio 104a] And trad as ofte / er it was pryme Line 4368 He looketh / as it were a grym leoun And on hise toos / he rometh vp and doun Hym deyned nat/ to sette his foot to grounde And chukketh / whan he hath a corn yfounde Line 4372 And to hym rennen thanne / hise wyues alle Thus real / as a Prince is in his halle Leue I this Chauntecler / in his pasture And after / wol I telle his auenture Line 4376 ¶ Whan that the Monthe / in which the world bigan That highte March / whan god first maked man Was complet and passed were also Syn March bigan / 30. dayes and two Line 4380 Bifel / þat Chauntecler / in al his pryde Hise seuene wyues / walkyng him bisyde Caste vp hise eyen / to the brighte sonne That in the signe of Taurus / hadde yronne Line 4384 xx. degrees and oon /· and som what moore And knew by kynde / and by noon oother loore That it was pryme / and krew with blisful steuene The sonne he seyde / is clomben vp on heuene Line 4388 40. degrees and oon / and moore ywis Madame Pertelote / my worldes blys Herkneth thyse blisful bryddes / how they synge And se the fresshe floures / how they sprynge Line 4392 fful is myn herte / of reuel and solas But sodeynly / hym fil a sorweful cas ffor euere the latter ende of ioye / is wo God woot þat worldly ioye / is soone ago Line 4396 And if a Rethor / koude faire endite He in a Cronycle / saufly myghte it write As for a souereyn notabilitee [Petrus Comestor] Now euery wys man / lat hym herkne me Line 4400

[6-text p 294] Line 4400 This storie / is also trewe I vndertake As is the book/ of Launcelot de Lake That wommen holde / in ful gret reuerence Now wol I / torne agayn to my sentence Line 4404 ¶ A Colfox / ful of sley Iniquitee That in the groue / hadde woned yeres thre [Rats.] [folio 104b] [By] heigh ymaginacion / forncast The same nyght thurgh-out the hegges brast Line 4408 In-to the yerd / ther Chauntecler the faire Was wont and eek hise wyues to repaire And in a bed of wortes / stille he lay Til it was passed / vndren of the day Line 4412 Waitynge his tyme / on Chauntecler to falle As gladly doon / thise homycides alle That in awayt liggen / to mordre men O false mordrour / lurkynge in thy den Line 4416 O newe Scariot newe Genylon ffalse dissimilour / o greek Synon That broghtest Troye / al outrely to sorwe O Chauntecler / acursed be that morwe Line 4420 That thow in-to the yerd / flaugh fro the bemys Thow were / ful wel y-warned by thy dremys That thilke day / was perilous to thee But what þat god forwoot moot nedes be Line 4424 After the opynyon of certeyn clerkis Witnesse on hym / þat any parfit clerk is That in scole / is gret altercacion In this matere / and gret disputison Line 4428 And hath ben / of an hundred thousand men But I ne kan / nat bulte it to the bren As kan / the holy doctour Augustyn Or Boece / or the Bisshope Bradwardyn Line 4432 Wheither / þat goddes worthy forewityng Streyneth me nedely / for to doon a thyng/ Nedely clepe I / symple necessitee Or ellis / if fre choys / be graunted me Line 4436

[6-text p 295] Line 4436 To do that same thyng or do it noght Though god forwoot it/ er þat I was wroght Or if his wityng streyneth neuer a del But by necessitee / condicionel Line 4440 I wol nat han to do / of swich matere My tale is of a Cok as ye may heere That took his conseil / of his wyf/ with sorwe To walken in the yerd / vp-on that morwe Line 4444 That he hadde met the dreem / þat I yow tolde Wommens conseils / be ful ofte colde Wommannes conseil / broghte vs first to wo [folio 105a] And made Adam / fro Paradys to go Line 4448 Ther as he was / ful myrie and wel at ese But for I noot to whom it myghte displese If I conseil of wommen / wolde blame Passe ouer / for I seyde it in my game Line 4452 Rede Auctours / where they trete of swich matere And what they seyn of wommen heere Thise ben the Cokkes wordes and nat myne I kan noon harm / on no womman deuyne Line 4456 ¶ ffaire in the Sond / to bathe hire myrily Lyth Pertelote / and alle hire sustres by Agayn the sonne / and Chauntecler so free Song myrier / than the Mermayde in the see Line 4460 ffor Phisiologus / seith sikerly How þat they syngen / wel and myrily ¶ And so bifel / that as he caste his eye Among the wortes / on a Boterflye Line 4464 He was war of this fox / þat lay ful lowe No thyng ne liste hym thanne for to crowe But cryde anon / cok cok and vp he sterte As man / þat was affrayd in his herte Line 4468 ffor naturelly / a beest desireth flee ffro his contrarie / if he may it see Though he neuere erst hadde seye it with his eye This Chauntecler / whan he gan hym espye Line 4472

[6-text p 296] Line 4472 He wolde han fled / but þat the fox anon Seyde gentil sire / allas wher wol ye gon Be ye affrayd / of me þat am youre freend Now certes / I were worse than a feend Line 4476 If I to yow / wolde harm / or vileynye I am nat come / youre conseil for tespye But trewely / the cause of my comynge Was oonly / for to herkne how þat ye synge Line 4480 ffor trewely / ye han as myrie a steuene As any Angel hath / þat is in heuene Ther with / ye han in Musyk moore feelynge Than hadde Boece / or any þat kan synge Line 4484 My lord youre fader / god his soule blesse And eek youre moder / of hire gentillesse [Rats.]] [folio 105b] [Ha]n in myn hous yben / to my gret ese And certes sire / ful fayn wolde I yow plese Line 4488 ¶ But for men speke of syngynge / I wol seye So mote I browke wel / myne eyen tweye Saue ye / I herde neuere man so synge As dide youre fader / in the morwenynge Line 4492 Certes / it was of herte / al that he song And for to make his voys / the moore strong He wolde so peyne hym / þat with bothe hise eyen He moste wynke / so loude he wolde cryen Line 4496 And stonden on his typton / ther with al And strecche forth his nekke / long and smal And eek/ he was of swich discrecion That ther nas no man / in no Region Line 4500 That hym in song / or wisdom myghte passe I haue wel rad / in daun Burnelle the Asse Among hise vers / how þat ther was a cok ffor a preestes sone / yaf hym a knok Line 4504 Vp-on his leg whil he was yong and nyce He made hym / for to lese his benefice But certeyn / ther nys no comparison Bitwix the wisdom / and discrecion Line 4508

[6-text p 297] Line 4508 Of youre fader / and of his subtiltee Now syngeth sire / for seynte charitee Lat se / konne ye youre fader countrefete ¶ This Chauntecler / hise wynges gan to bete Line 4512 As man þat koude / his trayson nat espie So was he rauysshed / with his flaterie ¶ Allas ye lordes / many a fals flatour Is in youre court and many a losengeour Line 4516 That plesen yow wel moore / by my feyth Than he / þat soothfastnesse vn-to yow seith Redeth Ecclesiaste / of flaterye Beth war ye lordes / of hir trecherye Line 4520 ¶ This Chauntecler / stood hye vp on his toos Strecchynge his nekke / and heeld hise eyen cloos And gan to crowe / lowde for the nones And daun Russelle the fox / stirte vp atones Line 4524 And by the gargat hente Chauntecler And on his bak / toward the wode hym beer ffor yet ne was ther no man / þat hym sewed [folio 106a] ¶ O destynee / þat mayst nat ben eschewed Line 4528 Allas þat Chauntecler / fly fro the bemes Allas / his wif/ ne roghte nat of dremes And on a friday / fil al this meschance ¶ O Venus / þat art goddesse of plesance Line 4532 Syn þat thy seruant was this Chauntecler And in thy seruyce / dide al his power Moore for delit than world to multiplie Why woldestow suffre hym / on thy day to dye Line 4536 ¶ O Gaufred / deere maister souerayn That whan / thy worthy kyng Richard was slayn With shot compleynedest his deth so soore Why ne hadde I now / thy sentence and thy loore Line 4540 The friday for to chide / as diden ye ffor on a ffriday / soothly slayn was he Thanne wolde I shewe yow / how þat I kowde pleyne ffor Chaunteclerys drede / and for his peyne Line 4544

[6-text p 298] Line 4544 ¶ Certes / swich cry / ne lamentacion Was neuere of ladyes maad / whan ylion Was wonne / and Pirrus / with his streite swerd Whanne he hadde hent kyng Priam by the berd Line 4548 And slayn hym / as seith vs Eneydos As maden / alle the hennes in the cloos Whan they hadde seyn / of Chauntecler the sighte But souereynly / dame Pertelote shrighte Line 4552 fful louder / than dide Hasdrubales wyf Whan þat hire housbonde / hadde ylost his lyf And þat the Romayns / hadden brend Cartage She was / so ful of torment and of rage Line 4556 That wilfully / vn-to the fyr she sterte And brende hir seluen / with a stedefast herte ¶ O woful hennes / right so cryden ye As / whan þat Nero / brende the Citee Line 4560 Of Rome / cryden the senatours wyues ffor þat hir housbondes / losten alle hire lyues With-outen gilt this Nero hath hem slayn Now wol I turne / to my tale agayn Line 4564 ¶ The sely widwe / and eek hire doghtres two Herden thise hennes crye / and maken wo [Rats.] [folio 106b] [And] out at dores / stirten they anon [Rats.] [A]nd seyen the fox / toward the groue gon Line 4568 And bar vp-on his bak/ the cok/ away And criden / out harrow and weilaway Ha / ha. the fox / and after hym they ran And eek with staues / many another man Line 4572 Ran Colle oure dogge / and Talbot and Gerlande And Malkyn / with a distaf in hire hande Ran Cow and calf / and eek the verray hogges So fered / for berkynge of the dogges Line 4576 And showtynge of the men / and wommen eek They ronne so / hem thoughte hire herte breek They yelleden / as fendes doon in helle The dokes cryden / as men wolde hem quelle Line 4580

[6-text p 299] Line 4580 The gees for feere / flowen ouer the trees Out of the hyue / cam the swarm of bees So hydous was the noyse / a benedicite Certes / he Iakke Straw / and his meynee Line 4584 Ne made neuere showtes / half so shrille Whan þat they wolden / any flemyng kille As thilke day / was maad vp-on the fox Of bras / they broghten bemys / and of box Line 4588 Of horn / of boon / in whiche they blewe and powped And ther with al / they skryked and they howped It semed / as þat heuene sholde falle Now goode men / I prey yow herkneth alle Line 4592 Lo / how ffortune / turneth sodeynly The hope / and pryde eek of hire enemy This cok þat lay vp-on the foxes bak In al his drede / vn-to the fox he spak Line 4596 And seyde sire / if þat I were as ye Yit sholde I seyn / as wys god helpe me Turneth ayein ye proude cherles alle A verray pestilence / vp-on yow falle Line 4600 Now I am come / vn-to this wodes syde Maugree youre heed / the cok shal here abyde I wol hym ete in feith / and that anon ¶ The fox answerde / in feith it shal be don Line 4604 And [as] he spak that word / al sodeynly This cok / brak from his mouth delyuerly And hye vp on a tree / he fley anon [folio 107a] ¶ And whan the fox say / þat he was gon Line 4608 Allas quod he / o Chauntecler Allas I haue to yow quod he / ydon trespas In as muche / as I maked yow aferd Whan I yow hente / and broghte in-to this yerd Line 4612 But sire / I dide it in no wikke entente Com doun / and I shal telle yow what I mente I shal seye sooth to yow / god help me so ¶ Nay thanne quod he / I shrewe vs bothe two Line 4616

[6-text p 300] Line 4616 And first I shrewe my self / bothe blood and bones If thow bigile me / any ofter than ones Thow shalt namoore / thurgh thy flaterye Do me to synge / and wynken with myn eye Line 4620 ffor he þat wynketh / whan he sholde see Al wilfully / god lat hym neuere thee ¶ Nay quod the fox / but god yeue hym meschance That is / so vndiscret/ of gouernance Line 4624 That Iangleth / whan he sholde holde his pees ¶ Lo swich it is / for to be recchelees And necligent and truste on flaterye But ye / þat holden this tale a folye Line 4628 As of a fox / or of a cok and hen Taketh the moralitee / goode men ffor Seint Poul seith / þat al that writen is To oure doctryne / it is ywrite ywis Line 4632 Taketh the fruyt and lat the chaf be stille Now goode god / if þat it be thy wille As seith my lord / so make vs alle goode men [Dominus Archie|piscopus Cantu|ariensis] And brynge vs / to his heye blisse Amen [6-text p 576]

¶ Here is ended / the Nonnes Preestes tale. [[The Manciple's Prologue follows in the MS.]]