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

[6-text p 527]

GROUP G. FRAGMENT VIII.

§ 1. THE SECOND NUN'S TALE.

ELLESMERE MS. [THE PROEM.] ¶ The prologe of the Seconde Nonnes tale . [folio 189b]

(1)

THe Ministre and the Norice / vn-to vices Line 1 Which that men clepe in Englissh ydelnesse That Porter of the gate is / of delices To eschue / and by hire contrarie / hire oppresse Line 4 That is to seyn / by leueful bisynesse Wel oghten we / to doon al oure entente Lest that the feend / thurgh ydelnesse vs shente Line 7

(2)

ffor he / that with hise / thousand cordes slye Line 8 Continuelly / vs waiteth to biclappe Whan he may man / in ydelnesse espye He kan so lightly / cacche hym in his trappe Line 11 Til þat a man / be hent right by the lappe He nys nat war / the feend hath hym in honde Wel oghte vs werche / and ydelnesse withstonde Line 14

(3)

And though men dradden / neuere for to dye Line 15 Yet seen men wel / by reson doutelees That ydelnesse / is roten slogardye Of which ther neuere comth / no good nencrees Line 18 And seen / þat slouthe / it holdeth in a lees Oonly to slepe / and for to ete and drynke And to deuouren / al that othere swynke Line 21

[6-text p 528] Line 21

(4)

And for to putte vs / fro swich ydelnesse Line 22 That cause is / of so greet confusion I haue heer doon / my feithful bisynesse After the legende / in translacion Line 25 Right of thy glorious lif and passion Thou with thy gerland/ wroght with rose and lilie Thee meene I / mayde and mooder Cecilie Line 28

(5)

ANd thow / that flour of virgines art alle [folio 190a] [¶ Inuocacio ad Ma|riam.] Of whom that Bernard/ list so wel to write To thee / at my bigynnyng first I call Thou confort of vs wrecches / do me endite Line 32 Thy maydens deeth / that wan thurgh hire merite The eterneel lyf / and of the feend victorie As man may after / reden in hire storie Line 35

(6)

Thow mayde and mooder / doghter of thy sone Line 36 Thow welle of mercy / synful soules cure In whom / that god for bountee / chees to wone Thow humble and heigh / ouer euery creature Line 39 Thow nobledest so ferforth / oure nature That no desdeyn / the makere hadde of kynde His sone / in blood and flessh / to clothe and wynde Line 42

(7)

With-Inne the Cloistre blisful of thy sydis Line 43 Took mannes shape / the eterneel loue and pees That of the tryne compas / lord and gyde is Whom erthe and see / and heuene out of relees Line 46 Ay heryen / and thou virgine wemmelees Baar of thy body / and dweltest mayden pure The creatour / of euery creature Line 49

[6-text p 529] Line 49

(8)

Assembled is in thee / magnificence Line 50 With mercy / goodnesse / and with swich pitee That thou / that art the sonne of excellence Nat oonly / helpest hem that preyen thee Line 53 But often tyme / of thy benygnytee fful frely / er that men / thyn help biseche Thou goost biforn / and art hir lyues leche Line 56

(9)

Now help thow meeke / and blisful faire mayde Line 57 Me flemed wrecche / in this desert of galle Thynk on the womman Cananee / that sayde That whelpes eten / somme of the crommes alle Line 60 That from hir lordes table / been yfalle And though that I / vnworthy sone of Eue Be synful / yet accepte my bileue Line 63

(10)

And for that feith is deed / with-outen werkis Line 64 So for to werken / yif me wit and space That I be quit fro thennes / þat moost derk is O thou / that art so fair / and ful of grace Line 67 Be myn Aduocat in that heighe place Theras with-outen ende / is songe Osanne Thow Cristes mooder / doghter deere of Anne Line 70

(11)

And of thy light my soule in prison lighte [folio 190b] That troubled is / by the contagion Of my body / and also by the wighte Of erthely lust and fals affeccion Line 74 O hauene of refut o saluacion Of hem / þat been in sorwe / and in distresse Now helpe / for to my werk I wol me dresse Line 77

[6-text p 530] Line 77

(12)

Yet preye I yow / þat reden that I write Line 78 fforyeue me / that I do no diligence This ilke storie / subtilly to endite ffor boþe haue I / the wordes and sentence Line 81 Of hym / that at the seintes reuerence The storie wroot and folwen hire legende I pray yow / that ye wole my werk amende Line 84

(13) [THE TALE.]

First wolde I / the name of seinte Cecile [¶ Interpretacio no|minis Cecilie / quam ponit frater lacobus lanuensis in legenda] Expowne / as men may in hir storie see It is to seye in englissh / heuenes lilie ffor pure chaastnesse of virginitee Line 88 Or / for she whitnesse hadde of honestee And grene of Conscience / and of good fame The soote favour lilie / was hir name Line 91

(14)

Or Cecilie is to seye / the wey to blynde Line 92 ffor she ensample was / by good techynge Or elles Cecile / as I writen fynde Is ioyned / by a manere conioynynge Line 95 Of heuene and lia / and heere in figurynge The heuene is set for thoght of hoolynesse And lia / for hire lastynge bisynesse Line 98

(15)

Cecile / may eek be seyd / in this manere Line 99 Wantynge of blyndnesse / for hir grete light Of sapience / and for hire thewes cleere Or elles loo / this maydens name bright Line 102 Of heuene and leos comth / for which by right Men myghte hire wel / the heuene of peple calle Ensample / of goode / and wise werkes alle Line 105

[6-text p 531] Line 105

(16)

ffor leos / peple in englissh is to seye Line 106 And right as men may / in the heuene see The sonne and moone / and sterres euery weye Right so men goostly / in this mayden free Line 109 Syen of feith / the magnanymytee And eek the cleernesse hool / of sapience And sondry werkes / brighte / of excellence Line 112

(17)

And right/ so / as thise Philosophres write [folio 191a] That heuene is swift and round / and eek brennynge Right so / was faire Cecilie the white fful swift and bisy / euere in good werkynge Line 116 And round and hool / in good perseuerynge And brennynge euere / in charite ful brighte Now haue I yow declared what she highte Line 119

¶ Explicit/

¶ Here bigynneth the Seconde Nonnes tale / of the lyf of Seinte Cecile .

(18)

This mayden bright Cecilie / as hir lif seith [[Painting of the Second Nun]] Was comen of Romayns / and of noble kynde And from hir Cradel / vp fostred in the feith Of Crist and bar his gospel in hir mynde She neuere cessed / as I writen fynde Of hir preyere / and god to loue and drede Bisekynge hym / to kepe hir maydenhede Line 126

(19)

And whan this mayden / sholde vn-to a man Line 127 Ywedded be / that was ful yong of age Which that ycleped was Valerian And day was comen / of hir marriage Line 130 She ful devout and humble in hire corage Vnder hir robe of gold / that sat ful faire Hadde next hire flessh / yclad hire in an haire Line 133

[6-text p 532] Line 133

(20)

And whil the Orgues / maden melodie Line 134 To god allone / in herte thus sang she O lord / my soule / and eek my body gye Vnwemmed / lest that it confounded be Line 137 And for his loue / that dyde / vp-on a tree Euery seconde / and thridde day she faste Ay biddynge / in hire orisons ful faste Line 140

(21)

The nyght cam / and to bedde moste she gon Line 141 With hire housbonde / as ofte is the manere And pryuely / to hym she seyde anon O sweete / and wel biloued spouse deere Line 144 Ther is a conseil / and ye wolde it heere Which that right fayn / I wolde vn-to yow seye So that ye swere / ye shul me nat biwreye Line 147

(22)

¶ Valerian / gan faste vn-to hire swere [folio 191b] That for no cas / ne thyng/ that myghte be He sholde neuere mo / biwreyen here And thanne at erst to hym thus seyde she Line 151 I haue an Aungel / which that loueth me That with greet loue / wher so I wake or sleepe Is redy ay / my body for to kepe Line 154

(23)

And if he / may feelen out of drede Line 155 That ye me touche // or loue in vileynye He right anon / wol sle yow with the dede And in youre yowthe / thus ye sholden dye Line 158 And if that ye / in clene loue me gye He wol yow louen as me / for youre clennesse And shewen yow / his ioye and his brightnesse Line 161

[6-text p 533] Line 161

(24)

¶ Valerian / corrected / as god wolde Line 162 Answerde agayn / if I shal trusten thee Lat me that Aungel se / and hym biholde And if that it a verray Angel bee Line 165 Thanne wol I doon / as thou hast prayed me And if thou loue / another man / for sothe Right with this swerd/ thanne wol I sle yow bothe Line 168

(25)

Cecile answerde anon / right in this wise Line 169 If that yow list. the Angel shul ye see So þat ye trowe in Crist/ and yow baptize Gooth forth / to Via Apia / quod shee Line 172 That fro this toun / ne stant but Miles three And to the poure folkes / þat ther dwelle Sey hem right thus / as that I shal yow telle Line 175

(26)

Telle hem / that I Cecile / yow to hem sente Line 176 To shewen yow / the goode Vrban the olde ffor secree thynges / and for good entente And whan that ye / Seint Vrban han biholde Line 179 Telle hym the wordes / whiche þat I to yow tolde And whan þat he / hath purged yow fro synne Thanne shul ye se / that Angel er ye twynne Line 182

(27)

¶ Valerian / is to the place ygon Line 183 And right as hym was taught/ by his lernynge He foond this hooly / olde Vrban anon [.i. latitantem] Among the Seintes buryeles lotynge Line 186 And he anon / with-outen tariynge Dide his message / and whan þat he it tolde Vrban for ioye / his handes gan vp holde Line 189

[6-text p 534] Line 189

(28)

The teeris / from his eyen leet he falle [folio 192a] Almyghty lord / o Ihesu Crist quod he Sower of chast conseil / hierde of vs alle The fruyt of thilke seed of Chastitee Line 193 That thou hast sowe in Cecile / taak to thee Lo / lyk a bisy bee / with-outen gile Thee serueth ay / thyn owene thral Cecile Line 196

(29)

ffor thilke spouse / that she took right. now Line 197 fful lyk a fiers leoun / she sendeth heere As meke / as euere / was any lamb to yow And with that word / anon ther gan appere Line 200 An oold man / clad in white clothes cleere That hadde a book with lettre of gold in honde And gan / bifore Valerian to stonde Line 203

(30)

Valerian as deed / fil doun for drede Line 204 Whan he hym saugh / and he vp hente hym tho And on his book / right thus he gan to rede O. lord. o. feith. o. god with-outen mo Line 207 O. Cristendom / and fader of alle also Abouen alle / ouer alle / euerywhere Thise wordes / al with gold ywriten were Line 210

(31)

Whan this was rad / thanne seyde this olde man Line 211 Leeuestow this thyng or no? / sey ye or nay? I leeue al this thyng / quod Valerian ffor oother thyng than this / I dar wel say Line 214 Vnder the heuene / no wight thynke may Tho vanysshed this olde man / he nyste where And Pope Vrban / hym cristned right there Line 217

[6-text p 535] Line 217

(32)

¶ Valerian gooth hoom / and fynt Cecilie Line 218 With-Inne his chambre / with an Angel stonde This Angel / hadde / of Roses and ¹of lilie¹ [[^1_1 later]] Corones two / the which he bar in honde Line 221 And first to Cecile / as I vnderstonde He yaf that oon / and after gan he take That oother / to Valerian hir make Line 224

(33)

With body clene / and with vnwemmed thoght Line 225 Kepeth ay wel / thise corones three ffro Paradys to yow / haue I hem broght Ne neuere mo / ne shal they roten bee Line 228 Ne lese hir soote sauour / trusteth me Ne neuere wight shal seen hem with his eye But he be chaast and hate vileynye Line 231

(34)

And thow Valerian / for thow so soone [folio 192b] Assentedest to good conseil also Sey what thee list and thou shalt han thy boone I haue a brother / quod Valerian tho Line 235 That in this world / I loue no man so I pray yow / that my brother may han grace To knowe the trouthe / as I do in this place Line 238

(35)

¶ The Angel seyde / god liketh thy requeste Line 239 And bothe / with the palm of martirdom Ye shullen come / vn-to his blisful feste And with that word / Tiburce his brother coom Line 242 And whan that he / the sauour vndernoom Which that the Roses / and the lilies caste With-Inne his herte / he gan to wondre faste Line 245

[6-text p 536] Line 245

(36)

And seyde / I wondre / this tyme of the yeer Line 246 Whennes / that soote sauour cometh so Of Rose and lilies / that I smelle heer ffor though I hadde hem / in myne handes two Line 249 The sauour / myghte in me no depper go The sweete smel / þat in myn herte I fynde Hath chaunged me / al in another kynde Line 252

(37)

¶ Valerian seyde / two corones / han we Line 253 Snow white and Rose reed / that shynen cleere Whiche þat thyne eyen / han no myght to see And as thou smellest hem / thurgh my preyere Line 256 So shaltow seen hem / leeue brother deere If it so be / thou wolt with-outen slouthe Bileue aright and knowen verray trouthe Line 259

(38)

¶ Tiburce answerde / seistow this to me Line 260 In soothnesse / or in dreem I herkne this In dremes quod valerian / han we be Vn-to this tyme / brother myn ywis Line 263 But now at erst in trouthe our dwellyng is How woostow this quod Tiburce / in what wyse? Quod Valerian / that shal I thee deuyse Line 266

(39)

¶ The Aungel of god / hath me trouthe ytaught Line 267 Which thou shalt seen / if that thou wolt reneye The ydoles and be clene / and elles naught And of the myracle / of thise corones tweye Line 270 Seint Ambrose / in his preface list to seye Solempnely / this noble doctour deere Commendeth hym / and seith in this manere Line 273

[6-text p 537] Line 273

(40)

¶ The palm of martirdom / for to receyue [folio 193a] Seinte Cecile / fulfild of goddes yifte The world / and eek hire chambre / gan she weyue Witnesse / Tyburces / and Cecilies shrifte Line 277 To whiche / god of his bountee wolde shifte Corones two / of floures wel smellynge And made his Angel / hem the corones brynge Line 280

(41)

The mayde hath broght men / to blisse aboue Line 281 The world hath wist / what it is worth certeyn Deuocion of Chastitee to loue Tho shewed hym Cecile / al open and pleyn Line 284 That alle ydoles / nys but a thyng in veyn ffor they been dombe / and therto they been deue And charged hym / hise ydoles for to leue Line 287

(42)

Who so / that troweth nat this / a beest he is Line 288 Quod tho Tiburce / if þat I shal nat lye And she gan kisse his brest. that herde this And was ful glad / he koude trouthe espye Line 291 This day / I take thee / for myn Allye Seyde this blisful / faire mayde deere And after that. she seyde as ye may heere Line 294

(43)

¶ Lo / right so / as the loue of Crist quod she Line 295 Made me thy brotheres wyf/. right in that wise Anon for myn Allyee / heer take I thee Syn that thou wolt thyne ydoles despise Line 298 Go with thy brother now / and thee baptise And make thee clene / so þat thou mowe biholde The Angeles face / of which thy brother tolde Line 301

[6-text p 538] Line 301

(44)

¶ Tiburce answerde / and seyde brother dere Line 302 ffirst tel me / whider þat I shal / and to what man? To whom quod he? com forth / with right good cheere I wol thee lede / vn-to the Pope Vrban Line 305 Til Vrban? brother myn Valerian Quod tho Tiburce /. woltow me thider lede Me thynketh / that it were a wonder dede Line 308

(45)

Ne menestow nat Vrban / quod he tho Line 309 That is so ofte / dampned to be deed And woneth in halkes / alwey to and fro And dar nat ones / putte forth his heed Line 312 Men sholde hym brennen / in a fyr so reed If he were founde / or þat men myghte hym spye And we also / to bere hym compaignye Line 315

(46)

And whil we seken / thilke diuinitee [folio 193b] That is yhid / in heuene pryuely Algate / ybrend in this world shul we be To whom Cecile / answerde boldely Line 319 Men myghten dreden / wel and skilfully This lyf to lese / myn owene deere brother If this were lyuynge oonly and noon oother Line 322

(47)

But ther is bettre lif in oother place Line 323 That neuere shal be lost ne drede thee noght Which goddes sone / vs tolde thurgh his grace That fadres sone / hath alle thyng ywroght Line 326 And al that wroght is / with a skilful thoght The goost. that fro the fader gan procede Hath sowled hem / with-outen any drede Line 329

[6-text p 539] Line 329

(48)

By word and by myracle / goddes sone Line 330 Whan he was in this world declared heere That ther was oother lyf/ ther men may wone To whom answerde Tiburce / o suster deere Line 333 Ne seydestow right now / in this manere Ther nys but o god / lord in soothfastnesse And now of three / how maystow bere witnesse Line 336

(49)

¶ That shal I telle quod she / er I go Line 337 Right as a man / hath sapiences three Memorie / Engyn / and Intellect also So / in beynge / of diuinitee Line 340 Thre persones / may ther right wel bee Tho gan she hym / ful bisily to preche Of Cristes come / and of hise peynes teche Line 343

(50)

And many pointes / of his passion Line 344 How goddes sone / in this world was withholde To doon mankynde / pleyn remission That was ybounde in synne and cares colde Line 347 Al this thyng. she vn-to Tiburce tolde And after this / Tiburce in good entente With Valerian / to Pope Vrban he wente Line 350

(51)

[qui. scilicet Vrbanus] That thanked god / and with glad herte and light Line 351 He cristned hym / and made hym in that place Parfit in his lernynge / goddes knyght And after this / Tiburce / gat swich grace Line 354 That euery day / he saugh in tyme and space The Aungel of god / and euery maner boone That he god axed // it was sped ful soone Line 357

[6-text p 540] Line 357

(52)

¶ It were ful hard / by ordre for to seyn [folio 194a] How manye wondres / Ihesus for hem wroghte But atte laste / to tellen short and pleyn The sergeantz / of the toun of Rome hem soghte Line 361 And hem / biforn Almache the Prefect broghte Which hem opposed / and knew al hire entente And to the ymage / of Iuppiter hem sente Line 364

(53)

And seyde / who so wol nat sacrifise Line 365 Swape of his heed / this my sentence heer Anon thise martirs þat I yow deuyse Oon Maximus / that was an Officer Line 368 Of the Prefectes / and his Corniculer Hem hente / and whan he forth the Seintes ladde Hym self he weepe / for pitee that he hadde Line 371

(54)

Whan Maximus / had herd the Seintes loore Line 372 He gat hym / of the tormentours leue And ladde hem to his hous / with-oute moore And with hir prechyng er that it were eue Line 375 They gonnen / fro the tormentours to reue And fro Maxime / and fro his folk echone The false feith / to trowe in god allone Line 378

(55)

¶ Cecile cam / whan it was woxen nyght Line 379 With preestes / that hem cristned alle yfeere And afterward / whan day was woxen light Cecile hem seyde / with a ful stedefast cheere Line 382 Now Cristes owene knyghtes / leeue and deere Cast alle awey / the werkes of derknesse And Armeth yow / in Armure of brightnesse Line 385

[6-text p 541] Line 385

(56)

Ye han for sothe / ydoon a greet bataille Line 386 Youre cours is doon / youre feith han ye conserued Gooth to the corone of lif that may nat faille The rightful Iuge / which þat ye han serued Line 389 Shal yeue it yow / as ye han it deserued And whan this thyng was seyd / as I deuyse Men ledde hem forth / to doon the sacrefise Line 392

(57)

But whan they weren / to the place broght Line 393 To tellen shortly / the conclusioun They nolde encense / ne sacrifise right noght But on hir knees / they setten hem adoun Line 396 With humble herte / and sad deuocioun And losten / bothe hir heuedes in the place Hir soules wenten / to the kyng of grace Line 399

(58)

This Maximus / that saugh this thyng bityde [folio 194b] With pitous teeris / tolde it anon right That he hir soules / saugh to heuene glyde With Aungels / ful of cleernesse and of light Line 403 And with this word / conuerted many a wight ffor which Almachius / dide hym so bete With whippe of leed / til he the lif gan lete Line 406

(59)

¶ Cecile hym toook/ and buryed hym anon Line 407 By Tiburce / and Valerian softely With-Inne hire buriyng place vnder the stoon And after this / Almachius hastily Line 410 Bad hise Ministres / fecchen openly Cecile / so that she myghte in his presence Doon sacrifice / and Iuppiter encense Line 413

[6-text p 542] Line 413

(60)

[.scilicet Ministres] But they conuerted / at hir wise loore Line 414 Wepten ful soore / and yauen ful credence Vn-to hire word/ and cryden moore and moore Crist goddes sone / with-outen difference Line 417 Is verray god / this is oure sentence That hath so good a seruant/ hym to serue This with o voys / we trowen / thogh we sterue Line 420

(61)

¶ Almachius / that herde of this doynge Line 421 Bad fecchen Cecile / that he myghte hire see And alderfirst. lo this was his axynge What maner womman / artow quod he? Line 424 I am a gentil womman born quod she I axe thee quod he / though it thee greeue Of thy Religion / and of thy bileeue Line 427

(62)

¶ Ye han bigonne / youre question folily Line 428 Quod she / that wolden two answeres conclude In o demande / ye axed lewedly Almache answerde / vn-to that similitude Line 431 Of whennes comth / thyn answeryng so rude? Of whennes quod she /? whan þat she was freyned Of Conscience / and of good feith vnfeyned Line 434

(63)

¶ Almachius seyde / ne takestow noon heede Line 435 Of my power / and she answerde hym Youre myght quod she / ful litel is to dreede ffor euery / mortal / mannes power nys Line 438 But lyke a bladdre / ful of wynd ywys ffor with a nedles poynt whan it is blowe May al the boost of it be leyd ful lowe Line 441

[6-text p 543] Line 441

(64)

¶ fful wrongfully / bigonne thow quod he [folio 195a] And yet in wrong is thy perseuerance Wostow nat how oure myghty princes free Han thus comanded / and maad ordinance Line 445 That euery cristen wight shal han penance But if that he / his cristendom withseye And goon al quit. if he wole it reneye Line 448

(65)

¶ Yowre princes erren / as youre nobleye dooth Line 449 Quod tho Cecile / and with a wood sentence Ye make vs gilty / and [it] is nat sooth ffor ye / that knowen wel oure Innocence Line 452 ffor as muche / as we doon a reuerence To crist and for we bere a cristen name Ye putte on vs / a cryme / and eek a blame Line 455

(66)

But we that knowen / thilke name so Line 456 ffor vertuous / we may it nat withseye Almache answerde / chees oon of thise two Do sacrifice / or cristendom reneye Line 459 That thou mowe now / escapen by that weye At which / the hooly blisful faire mayde Gan for to laughe / and to the Iuge sayde Line 462

(67)

¶ O Iuge / confus in thy nycetee Line 463 Woltow / that I reneye Innocence To make me / a wikked wight quod she Lo / he dissymuleth heere / in Audience Line 466 He stareth / and he woodeth in his Aduertence To whom Almachius / vnsely wrecche Ne woostow nat how far my myght may strecche Line 469

[6-text p 544] Line 469

(68)

Han noght oure myghty princes / to me yeuen Line 470 Ye bothe power / and Auctoritee To maken folk/ to dyen or to lyuen Why spekestow / so proudly thanne to me Line 473 I speke noght / but stedfastly quod she Nat proudly / for I speke as for my syde We naten deedly / thilke vice of pryde Line 476

(69)

[.i. audire] And if thou drede nat a sooth to heere Line 477 Thanne wol I shewe / al openly by right [hic] That thou hast maad / a ful gret lesyng heere Thou seyst thy Princes / han thee yeuen myght Line 480 Bothe for to sleen / and for to quyken a wight Thou that ne mayst but oonly lyf bireue Thou hast noon oother power ne no leue Line 483

(70)

But thou mayst seyn / thy princes han thee maked [folio 195b] Ministre of deeth / for if thou speke of mo Thou lyest for thy power is ful naked Do wey thy booldnesse / seyde Almachius tho Line 487 And sacrifie to oure goddes er thou go I recche nat what wrong þat thou me profre ffor I can suffre it / as a Philosophre. Line 490

(71)

¶ But thilke wronges / may I nat endure Line 491 That thou spekest of oure goddes heere quod he Cecile answerde / o nyce creature Thou seydest no word / syn thou spak to me Line 494 That I ne knew ther with / thy nycetee And that thou were / in euery maner wise A lewed Officer / and a veyn Iustise Line 497

[6-text p 545] Line 497

(72)

[exterioribus oculis] Ther lakketh no thyng. to thyne outter eyen Line 498 That thou nart blynd / for thyng þat we seen alle That it is stoon / þat men may wel espyen That ilke stoon / a god thow wolt it calle Line 501 I rede thee / lat thyn hand vp on it falle And taste it wel / and stoon thou shalt it fynde Syn that thou seest nat with thyne eyen blynde Line 504

(73)

It is a shame / that the peple shal Line 505 So scorne thee / and laughe at thy folye ffor communly / men woot it wel oueral That myghty god / is in hise heuenes hye Line 508 And thise ymages / wel thou mayst espye To thee / ne to hem self ne mowen noght profite ffor in effect they been nat worth a myte Line 511

(74)

¶ Thise wordes / and swiche othere seyde she Line 512 And he weex wrooth / and bad men sholde hir lede Hom til hir house / and in hire hous quod he Brenne hire / right in a bath of flambes rede Line 515 And as he bad / right so was doon in dede ffor in a Bath / they gonne hire faste shetten And nyght and day / greet fyre they vnder betten Line 518

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¶ The longe nyght / and eek a day also Line 519 ffor al the fyr / and eek the bathes heete She sat al coold / and feeled no wo It made hire / nat a drope for to sweete Line 522 But in that Bath / hir lyf she moste lete ffor he Almachius / with a ful wikke entente To sleen hire in the Bath his sonde sente Line 525

[6-text p 546] Line 525

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Thre strokes in the nekke / he smoot hire tho [folio 196a] The tormentour / but for no maner chaunce He myghte noght smyte / al hir nekke atwo And for ther was / that tyme an ordinaunce Line 529 That no man / sholde doon men swich penaunce The ferthe strook/ to smyten softe or soore This tormentour / ne dorste do namoore Line 532

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But half deed / with hir nekke ycoruen there Line 533 He lefte hir lye / and on his wey he went The cristen folk / which that aboute hire were With sheetes / han the blood / ful faire yhent Line 536 Thre dayes lyued she / in this torment And neuere cessed / hem the feith to teche That she hadde fostred / hem she gan to preche Line 539

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And hem she yaf / hir moebles / and hir thyng Line 540 And to the Pope Vrban / bitook hem tho And seyde / I axed this at heuene kyng To han respit. thre dayes and namo Line 543 To recomende to yow / er that I go Thise soules lo / and þat I myghte do werche Heere of myn hous / perpetuelly a cherche Line 546

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¶ Seint Vrban / with hise deknes priuely Line 547 This body fette / and buryed it by nyghte Among hise othere seintes / honestly Hir hous / the chirche of seinte Cecilie highte Line 550 Seint Vrban halwed it / as he wel myghte In which / in to this day / in noble wyse Men doon to Crist. and to his seinte seruyse Line 553

¶ Heere is ended / the Seconde Nonnes tale .

[6-text p 547]

¶ The prologe / of the Chanons yemannes tale . [on leaf 196]

Whan toold was al the lyf /. of seinte Cecile Er we hadde riden / fully fyue Mile At Boghton vnder Blee / vs gan atake A man / that clothed was / in clothes blake Line 557 And vnder-nethe / he wered a surplys His hakeney / which þat was al pomely grys So swatte / that it wonder was to see It semed / as he had priked Miles three Line 561 The hakeney eek / þat his yeman rood vpon So swatte / that vnnethe myghte it gon . . . . . . . . . . [no gap in the MS.] Line 565 A Male tweyfoold / vp on his croper lay [folio 196b] It semed / that he caried lite array Al light for Somer / rood this worthy man And in myn herte / to wondren I bigan Line 569 What þat he was / til that I vnderstood How that his cloke / was sowed to his hood ffor which / whan I hadde longe auysed me I demed hym / som Chanon for to be Line 573 His hat heeng / at his bak / doun by a laas ffor he hadde riden / moore than trot or paas He hadde ay priked/ lik as he were wood A Clote leef / he hadde vnder his hood Line 577 ffor swoot and for to kepe his heed from heete But it was ioye / for to seen hym swete His forheed dropped / as a stillatorie Were ful of Plantayne / and of Paritorie Line 581

[6-text p 548] Line 581 And whan that he was come / he gan to crye Line 582 God saue quod he / this ioly compaignye ffaste haue I priked quod he / for youre sake By cause / that I wolde yow atake Line 585 To riden / in som myrie compaignye His yeman eek was ful of curteisye And seyde sires / now in the morwe tyde Out of youre hostelrie / I saugh you ryde Line 589 And warned heer / my lord and my souerayn Which / to ryden with yow / is ful fayn ffor his desport he loueth daliance ¶ ffreend / for thy warnyng god yeue thee chance Line 593 Thanne seyde oure hoost. for certein / it wolde seme Thy lord were wys / and so I may wel deme He is ful iocunde also / dar I leye Can he oght telle / a myrie tale or tweye Line 597 With which / he glade may this compaignye? ¶ Who sire / my lord? ye / ye with-outen lye He kan of murthe / and eek of Iolitee Nat but ynough / also sire trusteth me Line 601 And ye hym knewe / as wel as do I Ye wolde wondre / how wel and craftily He koude werke / and that in sondry wise He hath take on hym /. many a greet emprise Line 605 Which were ful hard / for any that is heere To brynge aboute / but they of hym it leere As hoomely / as he rit amonges yow If ye hym knewe / it wolde be for youre prow Line 609 Ye wolde nat forgoon his Aqueyntaunce ffor muchel good / I dar leye in balaunce Al that I haue / in my possessioun He is a man / of heigh discrecioun Line 613 I warne yow wel / he is a passyng man [folio 197a] ¶ Wel quod oure hoost. I pray thee tel me than Is he a clerk / or noon? telle what he is ¶ Nay / he is gretter than a clerk ywis Line 617

[6-text p 549] Line 617 Seyde this yeman / and in wordes fewe Line 618 Hoost of his craft som what I wol yow shewe ¶ I seye / my lord / kan swich subtilitee But al his craft /. ye may nat wite for me Line 621 And som what helpe I yet to his wirkyng That al this ground / on which we been ridyng Til that we come / to Caunterbury toun He koude al clene / turne it vp so doun Line 625 And paue it / al of siluer / and of gold ¶ And whan this yeman / hadde this tale ytold Vn-to oure hoost/ he seyde benedicitee This thyng is wonder merueillous to me Line 629 Syn that thy lord / is of so heigh prudence By cause of which / men sholde hym reuerence That of his worshipe / rekketh he so lite His ouerslope / nys nat worth a myte Line 633 As in effect to hym / so moot I go It is al baudy / and to-tore also Why is thy lord so sluttissh I the preye And is of power/ bettre clooth to beye Line 637 If that his dede / accorde with thy speche Telle me that . and that I thee biseche ¶ Why quod this yeman? wherto axe ye me? God help me so / for he shal neuere thee Line 641 But I wol nat auowe that I seye And therfore / keepe it secree I yow preye He is to wys / in feith / as I bileeue That that is ouerdoon / it wol nat preeue [¶ Omne quod est nimium &cetera] Aright?/ as clerkes seyn / it is a vice Wherfore in that I holde hym lewed and nyce ffor whan a man / hath ouer greet a wit fful oft hym happeth / to mysusen it Line 649 So dooth my lord / and that me greueth soore God it amende / I kan sey yow namoore ¶ Ther-of no fors / good yeman / quod oure hoost Syn of the konnyng of thy lord thow woost Line 653

[6-text p 550] Line 653 Telle how he dooth / I pray thee hertely Line 654 Syn that he is / so crafty and so sly Where dwelle ye / if it to telle be? ¶ In the suburbes / of a toun quod he Line 657 Lurkynge in hernes / and in lanes blynde Where as thise robbours / and thise theues by kynde Holden / hir pryuee fereful residence As they / that dar nat shewen hir presence Line 661 So faren we / if I shal seye the sothe [folio 197b] ¶ Now quod oure hoost /. lat me telle to the Why artow / so discoloured of thy face? ¶ Peter quod he / god yeue it harde grace Line 665 I am so vsed / in the fyr to blowe That it hath chaunged my colour I trowe I am nat wont/ in no Mirour to prie But swynke soore / and lerne multiplie Line 669 We blondren euere / and pouren in the fir And for al that / we faille of oure desir ffor euere we lakke / of oure conclusion To muchel folk / we doon illusion Line 673 And borwe gold / be it a pound or two Or ten / or twelue / or manye sommes mo And make hem / wenen at the leeste weye That of a pound / we koude make tweye Line 677 Yet is it fals / but ay we han good hope It for to doon / and after it we grope But that science / is so fer vs biforn We mowen nat al though we hadden sworn Line 681 It ouer-take / it slit awey so faste It wole / vs maken beggers atte laste ¶ Whil this yeman / was thus in his talkyng This Chanon drough hym neer / and herde al thyng Line 685 Which this yeman spak / for suspecion Of mennes speche / euere hadde this Chanon ffor Caton seith / that he that gilty is [¶ Cato.] Demeth alle thyng. be spoke of hym ywis Line 689

[6-text p 551] Line 689 That was the cause / he gan so ny/ hym drawe Line 690 To his yeman / to herknen al his sawe And thus he seyde / vn-to his yeman tho Hoold thou thy pees / and spek no wordes mo Line 693 ffor if thou do / /thou shalt it deere abye Thou sclaundrest me / heere in this compaignye And eek discouerest that thou sholdest hyde ¶ Ye quod our hoost / telle on what so bityde Line 697 Of al his thretyng rekke nat a myte ¶ In feith quod he / namoore I do but lyte ¶ And whan this Chanon / saugh it wolde nat be But his yeman / wolde telle his pryuetee Line 701 He fledde awey / for verray sorwe and shame ¶ A quod the yeman / heere shal arise game Al that I kan / anon now wol I telle Syn he is goon / the foule feend hym quelle Line 705 ffor neuere heer / wol I with hym meete ffor peny ne for pound / I yow biheete He that me broghte first vn-to that game Er that he dye / sorwe haue he and shame Line 709 ffor it is / ernest to me by my feith [folio 198a] That feele I wel / what that any man seith And yet for al my smert and al my grief ffor al my sorwe / labour / and meschief Line 713 I koude neuere leue it / in no wise Now wolde god / my wit myghte suffise To tellen / al that longeth / to that Art And naþelees / yow wol I tellen part Line 717 Syn that my lord is goon / I wol nat spare Swich thyng as that I knowe / I wol declare

¶ Heere endeþ þe prologe of the Chanons yemannes tale .

[6-text p 552]

¶ Heere bigynneth / the Chanons yeman his tale. [THE PREAMBLE.] [folio 198]

With this Chanon / I dwelt haue seuen yeer And of his science / am I neuer the neer Al that I hadde / I haue lost ther-by And god woot so hath many mo than I Ther I was wont to be right fressh and gay Of clothyng and of oother good array Line 725 Now may I were / an hose vp-on myn heed And wher my colour / was bothe fressh and reed Now is it wan / and of leden hewe Who so it vseth / soore shal he rewe Line 729 And of my swynk / yet blered is myn eye Lo / which auantage / is to multiplie That slidynge science / hath me maad so bare That I haue no good / wher þat euere I fare Line 733 And yet I am endetted so ther-by Of gold / that I haue borwed trewely That whil I lyue / I shal it quite neuere Lat euery man / be war by me for euere Line 737 What maner man / that casteth hym ther to If he continue / I holde his thrift ydo ffor so helpe me god / ther-by shal he nat wynne But empte his purs / and make hise wittes thynne Line 741 And whan he / thurgh his madnesse and folye Hath lost his owene good / thurgh Iupartye Thanne he exciteth / oother folk / ther-to Line 744 To lesen hir good / as he hym self hath do [¶ Solacium miser|iorum &cetera.] ffor vn-to shrewes / ioye it is and ese To haue hir felawes / in peyne and disese

[6-text p 553] Thus was I / ones lerned of a Clerk Of that no charge / I wol speke of oure werk Line 749 ¶ Whan we been there / as we shul excercise Oure Eluysshe craft/ we semen wonder wise Oure termes / been so clergial / and so queynte [folio 198b] I blowe the fir / til that myn herte feynte Line 753

What sholde I tellen eche proporcion Of thynges / whiche þat we werche vpon As on fyue / or sixe Ounces / may wel be Of siluer / or som oother quantitee Line 757 And bisye me / to telle yow the names Of Orpyment brent bones / Iren Squames That in-to poudre / grounden been ful smal And in an erthen pot put is al Line 761 And salt yput In / and also papeer Biforn thise poudres / that I speke of heer And wel ycouered / with a lampe of glas And muchel oother thyng / which þat ther was Line 765 And of the pot and glasses enlutyng That of the Eyr/ myghte passe out no thyng And of the esy fir / and smart also Which that was maad / and of the care and wo Line 769 That we hadden / in oure matires sublymyng And in Almalgamyng and calceniyng Of quyk/ siluer / yclept Mercurie crude ffor alle our sleightes / we kan nat conclude Line 773 Oure Orpyment. and sublymed Mercurie Oure grounden litarge eek in the P[o]rfurie And ech of thise / of Ounces a certeyn Noght helpeth vs / oure labour is in veyn Line 777 Ne eek oure spirites Ascencioun Ne oure matires / þat lyen al fix adoun Mowe in oure werkyng no thyng vs auaille ffor lost is / al oure labour and trauaille Line 781 And al the cost/ a twenty deuel way Is lost also / which we vp-on it lay

[6-text p 554] ¶ Ther is also / ful many another thyng That is / vn-to oure craft apertenyng Line 785 Though I by ordre / hem nat reherce kan By cause / that I am a lewed man yet wol I telle hem / as they come to mynde Thogh I ne kan nat sette hem in hir kynde Line 789 As Boole / armonyak vertgrees / Boras And sondry vessels / maad of erthe and glas Oure vrynals / and our descensories Violes / crosletz / and sublymatories Line 793 Cucurbites / and Alambikes eek And othere swiche / deere ynough a leek Nat nedeth it for to reherce hem alle Watres rubifiyng and Boles galle Line 797 Arsenyk / sal Armonyak and Brymstoon And herbes / koude I telle eek many oon As Egremoyne / Valerian / and lunarie [folio 199a] And othere swiche / if that me liste tarie Line 801 Oure lampes brennyng bothe nyght and day To brynge aboute / oure purpos / if we may Oure fourneys eek / of Calcinacion And of watres Albificacion Line 805 Vnslekked lym / Chalk / and gleyre of an ey Poudres diuerse / asshes / donge / pisse / and cley Cered pottes / sal Peter / vitriole And diuerse fires / maad of wode and cole Line 809 Sal tartre / Alkaly / and sal preparat/ And combust matires / and coagulat Cley / maad with hors / and mannes heer and oille Of Tartre / Alum glas / berme / wort and argoille Line 813 Resalgar / and oure matires enbibyng And eek of oure matires encorporyng And of oure siluer citrinacion And of oure cementyng and fermentacion Line 817 Oure yngottes / testes / and many mo

I wol yow telle / as was me taught also

[6-text p 555] The seuene spirites / and the bodies seuene By ordre / as ofte I herde my lord hem neuene Line 821 ¶ The firste spirit quyk siluer called is The seconde Orpyment the thridde ywis Sal Armonyak / and the ferthe Brymstoon The bodyes seuene eek/. lo hem heere anoon Line 825 ¶ Sol gold is / and Luna / siluer we threpe Mars Iren / Mercurie quyk siluer we clepe Saturnus leed / and Iuppiter is tyn And Venus Coper / by my fader kyn Line 829 ¶ This cursed craft/ who so wole excercise He shal no good han / þat hym may suffise ffor al the good / he spendeth ther aboute He lese shal / ther-of haue I no doute Line 833 Who that listeth / outen his folie Lat hym come forth / and lerne multiplie And euery man / that oght hath in his cofre Lat hym appiere / and wexe a Philosophre Line 837 Ascauns / that craft is so light to leere Nay nay god woot al be he Monk or frere Preest or Chanon / or any oother wyght Though he sitte at his book bothe day and nyght Line 841 In lernyng of this Eluysshe nyce loore Al is in veyn / and parde muchel moore To lerne a lewed man this subtiltee ffy spek nat ther-of / for it wol nat bee Line 845 And konne he letterure / or konne he noon As in effect. he shal fynde it al oon ffor bothe / two / by my sauacion [folio 199b] Concluden in multiplicacion Line 849 Ylike wel / whan they han al ydo This is to seyn / they faillen bothe two

Yet/ forgat I / to maken rehersaille Of watres corosif / and of lymaille Line 853 And of bodies mollificacion And also / of hire induracion

[6-text p 556] Oilles / Ablucions / and metal fusible To tellen al / wolde passen any Bible Line 857 That owher is / wherfore as for the beste Of alle thise names / now wol I me reste ffor as I trowe / I haue yow toold ynowe To reyse a feend / al looke he neuer so rowe Line 861 ¶ A nay lat be / the Philosophres stoon Elixer clept./ we sechen faste echoon ffor hadde we hym / thanne were it siker ynow But vn-to god of heuene / I make avow Line 865 ffor al oure craft whan we han al ydo With al oure sleighte / he wol nat come vs to He hath maad vs spenden muchel good ffor sorwe of which / almoost we wexen wood Line 869 But that good hope / crepeth in oure herte Supposynge / though we sore smerte To be releeued / by hym afterward Swich supposyng and hope / is sharpe and hard Line 873 I warne yow wel / it is to seken euere That futur temps / hath maad men disseuere In trust ther-of / from al þat euere they hadde Yet of that Art they kan nat wexen sadde Line 877 ffor vn-to hem / it is a bitter sweete So semeth it for nadde they but a sheete Which þat they myghte wrappe hem Inne at nyght And a brat to walken Inne by day lyght Line 881 They wolde hem selle / and spenden on the craft They kan nat stynte / til no thyng be laft And eueremoore / where þat euere they goon Men may hem knowe / by smel of Brymstoon Line 885 ffor al the world / they stynken as a goot Hir sauour / is so rammyssh and so hoot That though a man / a Mile from hem be The sauour wole infecte hym truste me Line 889 And thus by smel / and threedbare array If þat men liste / this folk they knowe may

[6-text p 557] And if a man / wole aske hem pryuely Why they been clothed / so vnthriftily Line 893 They right anon / wol rownen in his ere And seyn / þat if þat they espied were Men wolde hem slee / by cause of hir science [folio 200a] Lo / thus / this folk bitrayen Innocence Line 897

Passe ouer this / I go my tale vn-to Er þat the pot be on the fir ydo Of metals / with a certeyn quantitee My lord hem tempreth / and no man but he Line 901 Now he is goon / I dare seyn boldely ffor as men seyn / he kan doon craftily Algate I woot wel / he hath swich a name And yet ful oft / he renneth in a blame Line 905 And wite ye how / ful ofte it happeth so The pot tobreketh / and farewel al is go Thise Metals / been of so greet violence Oure walles / mowe nat make hem resistence Line 909 But if they weren wroght/ of lym and stoon They percen so / and thurgh the wal they goon And somme of hem / synke in to the ground Thus han we lost by tymes many a pound Line 913 And somme are scatered / al the floor aboute Somme lepte in-to the roof with-outen doute Though þat the feend / noght in oure sighte hym shewe I trowe he with vs be / that ilke shrewe Line 917 In helle / where þat he lord is and sire Nis ther moore wo / ne moore rancour ne Ire Whan that oure pot is broke / as I haue sayd Euery man chit and halt hym yuele apayd Line 921 ¶ Somme seyde / it was along on the fir makyng Somme seyde nay / it was on the blowyng Thanne was I fered / for that was myn office ¶ Straw quod the thridde / ye been lewed and nyce Line 925 It was nat tempred as it oghte be ¶ Nay quod the fourthe / stynt and herkne me

[6-text p 558] By cause our fir / ne was nat maad of Beech That is the cause / and oother noon so theech Line 929 I kan nat telle / wher-on it was along But wel I woot greet strif vs is among ¶ What quod my lord / ther is namoore to doone Of thise perils / I wol be war eft soone Line 933 I am right siker/ that the pot was crased Be as be may / be ye no thyng amased As vsage is / lat swepe the floor as swithe Plukke vp youre hertes / and beeth glad and blithe Line 937 ¶ The Mullok/ on an heepe / sweped was And on the floor / ycast a Canevas And al this Mullok/ in a syve ythrowe And sifted / and ypiked many a throwe Line 941 ¶ Pardee quod oon / somwhat of oure metal Yet is ther heere / though þat we han nat al Al though this thyng myshapped haue as now [folio 200b] Another tyme / it may be wel ynow Line 945 Vs moste putte / oure good in auenture A Marchant pardee / may nat ay endure Trusteth me wel / in his prosperitee Somtyme his good / is drenched in the see Line 949 And somtyme / comth it sauf / vn-to the londe ¶ Pees quod my lord / the nexte tyme I shal fonde To bryngen oure craft / al in another plite And but I do / lat me han the wite Line 953 Ther was defaute in som what wel I woot ¶ Another seyde / the fir was ouer hoot And be it hoot or coold / I dar seye this That we concluden / eueremoore amys Line 957 We faille of that / which þat we wolden haue And in oure madnesse / eueremoore we raue And whan we been / togidres euerichoon Euery man / semeth a Salomon Line 961 But euery thyng which þat seineth as the gold [¶ Non teneas Au|rum &cetera] Nis nat gold / as þat I haue herd told

[6-text p 559] Ne euery appul / that is fair to eye [¶ Nec pulcrum pomum &cetera] Nis nat good / what so men clappe or crye Line 965 ¶ Right so / fareth it/ amonges vs He þat semeth the wiseste by Ihesus Is moost fool / whan it comth to the preef And he þat semeth trewest is a theef/ Line 969 That shul ye knowe / er þat I fro yow wende By that/ I of my tale haue maad an ende

¶ Explicit prima pars /

[6-text p 560]

Et sequitur pars secunda . [THE TALE.]

Ther was / a Chanon of Religioun Amonges vs / wolde infecte al a toun Line 973 Thogh it as greet were / as was Nynyuee Rome / Alisaundre / Troye / and othere three His sleighte / and his infinit falsnesse Ther koude no man / writen as I gesse Line 977 Though þat he lyue myghte a thousand yeer In al this world / of falshede nas his peer ffor in hise termes / so he wolde hym wynde And speke hise wordes / in so sly a kynde Line 981 Whanne he commune shal with any wight That he wol make hym doten anon right But it a feend be / as hym seluen is fful many a man / hath he bigiled er this Line 985 And wole / if that he lyue may a while And yet men ride and goon ful many a Mile Hym for to seke / and haue his Aqueyntaunce [folio 201a] Noght knowynge / of his false gouernaunce Line 989 And if yow list. to yeue me Audience I wol it telle heere / in youre presence ¶ But worshipful Chanons Religious Ne demeth nat. that I desclaundre youre hous Line 993 Al-though that my tale / of a Chanoun bee Of euery ordre / som shrewe is pardee And god forbede / that al a compaignye Sholde rewe / o. singuleer mannes folye Line 997 To sclaundre yow / is no thyng myn entente But to correcten / that is mys I-mente

[6-text p 561] This tale / was nat oonly / toold for yow But eek / for othere mo / ye woot wel how Line 1001 That among. cristes Apostles twelue Ther nas no traytour/ but Iudas hym selue Thanne / why sholde al the remenant haue a blame That giltlees were / by yow I seye the same Line 1005 Saue oonly this / if ye wol herkne me If any Iudas / in youre Couent be Remoeueth hym bitymes / I yow rede If shame / or los / may causen any drede Line 1009 And beeth no thyng displesed I yow preye But in this cas / herketh what I shal seye

IN London / was a preest Annueleer That ther-Inne / had dwelled many a yeer Line 1013 Which was so plesaunt and so seruysable Vn-to the wyf / where as he was at table That she wolde suffre hym no thyng for to paye ffor bord ne clothyng wente he neuer so gaye Line 1017 And spendyng siluer / hadde he right ynow Ther-of no fors / I wol procede as now And telle forth my tale / of the Chanon That broghte this preest/ to confusion Line 1021 ¶ This false Chanon / cam vp on a day Vn-to this preestes chambre / wher he lay Bisechynge hym / to lene hym a certeyn Of gold / and he wolde quite it hym ageyn Line 1025 Leene me a marc quod he / but dayes three And at my day / I wol it quiten thee And if so be / that thow me fynde fals Another day / do hange me by the hals Line 1029 ¶ This preest hym took a marc and that as swithe And this Chanoun / hym thanked ofte sithe And took/ his leue / and wente forth his weye And at the thridde day / broghte his moneye Line 1033 And to the preest / he took his gold agayn Wher-of this preest was wonder glad and fayn

[6-text p 562] ¶ Certes quod he / no thyng/ anoyeth me [folio 201b] To lene a man / a noble / or two / or thre Line 1037 Or what thyng / were in my possession Whan he / so trewe is of condicion That in no wise / he breke wole his day To swich a man / I kan neuer seye nay Line 1041 ¶ What quod this Chanoun / sholde I be vntrewe? Nay that were a thyng yfallen al of newe Trouthe is a thyng that I wol euere kepe In to that day / in which that I shal crepe Line 1045 In to my graue / or ellis god forbede Bileueth this / as siker as the Crede God thanke I / and in good tyme / be it sayd That ther was neuere man yet yuele apayd Line 1049 ffor gold ne siluer / that he to me lente Ne neuere falshede / in myn herte I mente And sire quod he / now of my pryuetee Syn ye so goodlich / han been vn-to me Line 1053 And kithed to me / so greet gentillesse Somwhat to quyte with youre kyndenesse I wol yow shewe / if that yow list to leere I wol yow teche / pleynly the manere Line 1057 How I kan werken / in Philosophie Taketh good heede / ye shul wel seen at eye That I wol doon / a maistrie er I go Line 1060 ¶ Ye quod the preest. ye sire quod he / and wol ye so? Marie / ther-of / I pray yow hertely ¶ At youre comandement sire trewely Quod the Chanon / and ellis god forbeede ¶ Loo how this theef koude his seruice beede Line 1065 fful sooth it is / that swich profred seruyse Stynketh / as witnessen thise olde wyse And that ful soone / I wol it verifie In this Chanon / roote of alle trecherie Line 1069 That euere moore / delit hath and gladnesse Swiche feendly thoughtes / in his herte impresse

[6-text p 563] How Cristes peple / he may to meschief / brynge God kepe vs / from his false dissymulynge Line 1073 ¶ Noght wiste this preest with whom þat he delt N[e] of his harm comynge / he no thyng felte O sely preest / o sely Innocent With coueitise / anon thou shalt be blent Line 1077 O gracelees / ful blynd is thy conceite No thyng/ ne artow war/ of the deceite Which that this fox / yshapen hath for thee Hise wily wrenches / thou ne mayst nat flee Line 1081 Wherfore to go / to the conclusion That refereth / to thy confusion Vnhappy man / anon I wol me hye [folio 202a] To tellen thyn vnwit / and his folye Line 1085 And eek the falsnesse / of that oother wrecche As ferforth / as my konnyng may strecche

This Chanon was my lord / ye wolden weene Sire hoost in feith / and by the heuenes queene Line 1089 It was another Chanon / and nat hee That kan an hundred foold moore subtiltee He hath bitrayed folkes many tyme Of his falshede / it dulleth me to ryme Line 1093 Euere whan þat I speke / of his falshede ffor shame of hym / my chekes wexen rede Algates / they bigynnen for to glowe ffor reednesse haue I noon / right wel I knowe Line 1097 In my visage / for fumes diuerse Of metals / whiche ye han herd me reherce Consumed / and wasted han my reednesse Now taak heede / of this Chanons cursednesse Line 1101 ¶ Sire quod he to the preest lat youre man gon ffor quyk siluer / that we hadde it anon And lat hym / bryngen Ounces two or three And whan he comth / as faste shal ye see Line 1105 A wonder thyng which ye saugh neuere er this ¶ Sire quod the preest it shal be doon ywis

[6-text p 564] He bad his seruant. fecchen hym this thyng And he al redy / was at his biddyng Line 1109 And wente hym forth / and cam anon agayn With this quyk siluer / soothly for to sayn And toke thise Ounces thre / to the Chanoun And he hem leyde / faire and wel adoun Line 1113 And bad the seruant. coles for to brynge That he anon / myghte go to his werkynge ¶ The coles / right anon weren yfet And this Chanon / took out a Crosselet Line 1117 Of his bosom / and shewed it to the preest This Instrument quod he / which þat thou seest Taake in thyn hand / and put thy self ther Inne Of this quyk siluer an Ounce / and heer bigynne Line 1121 In the name of Crist. to wexe a philosofre Ther been ful fewe / to whiche I wolde profre To shewen hem / thus muche of my science ffor ye shul seen / heer by experience Line 1125 That this quyk siluer / wol I mortifye Right in youre sighte anon / I wol nat lye And make as good siluer / and as fyn As ther is any / in youre purse or myn Line 1129 Or elleswhere / and make it malliable And elles / holdeth me / fals and vnable Amonges folk/ for euere to appeere [folio 202b] I haue a poudre heer / þat coste me deere Line 1133 Shal make al good / for it is cause of al My konnyng / which þat I to yow shewen shal Voyde youre man / and lat hym be ther oute And shette the dore / whils we been aboute Line 1137 Oure pryuetee / that no man vs espie Whils that we werke / in this Philosophie ¶ Al as he bad / fulfilled was in dede This ilke seruant anonright out yede Line 1141 And his Maister / shette the dore anon And to hire labour/ spedily they gon

[6-text p 565] ¶ This preest at this cursed Chanons biddyng Vp on the fir/ anon sette this thyng Line 1145 And blew the fir / and bisyed hym ful faste And this Chanon / in-to the Crosselet cast A poudre noot I wher of / that it was Ymaad / ouþer of chalk or of glas Line 1149 Or som what elles / was nat worth a flye To blynde with the preest. and bad hym hye The coles / for to couchen al aboue The Crosselet. for in tokenyng I thee loue Line 1153 Quod this Chanon / thyne owene handes two Shul werche al thyng/. which shal heer be do ¶ Graunt mercy quod the preest and was ful glad And couched cole / as that Chanon bad Line 1157 And while he bisy was // this feendly wrecche This false Chanoun / the foule feend hym fecche Out of his bosom / he took/ a Bechen cole In which ful subtilly / was maad an hole Line 1161 And ther-Inne / put was of siluer lemaille An Ounce / and stopped was with-outen faille The hole with wex / to kepe the lemaille In And vnderstondeth / that this false gyn Line 1165 Was nat maad ther / but it was maad bifore And othere thynges / I shal tellen moore Herafterward / whiche þat he with hym broghte Er he cam there / hym to bigile he thoghte Line 1169 And so he dide / er þat they wente atwynne Til he had terned hym / he koude nat blynne It dulleth me / whan that I of hym speke On his falshede / fayn wolde I me wreke Line 1173 If I wiste how / but he is heere and there He is so variaunt / þat he abit nowhere ¶ But taketh heede / now sires for goddes loue He took this cole / of which I spak aboue Line 1177 And in his hand / he baar it pryuely And whils the preest couched bisily

[6-text p 566] The coles / as I tolde yow er this [folio 203a] This Chanon seyde / freend ye doon amys Line 1181 This is nat couched / as it oghte be But soone / I shal amenden it quod he Now lat me medle ther-with / but a while ffor of yow / haue I pitee by seint Gile Line 1185 Ye been right hoot. I se wel how ye swete Haue heer a clooth / and wipe awey the wete And whils þat the preest wiped his face This Chanon / took his cole with harde grace Line 1189 And leyde it aboue / vp on the myddeward Of the Crosselet. and blew wel afterward Til that the coles / gonne faste brenne ¶ Now yeue vs drynke / quod the Chanon thenne Line 1193 As swithe al shal be wel I vndertake Sitte we doun / and lat vs myrie make And whan þat / this Chanones [[MS ns]] Bechen cole Was brent. al the lemaille out of the hole Line 1197 In-to the Crosselet fil anon adoun And so it moste nedes by resoun Syn it so euene / abouen it couched was But ther-of / wiste the preest no thyng alas Line 1201 He demed alle the coles yliche good ffor of that sleighte / he no thyng vnderstood And whan this Alkamystre saugh his tyme Ris vp quod he sire preest. and sit by me Line 1205 And for I woot wel / Ingot haue I noon Gooth walketh forth and brynge vs a Chalk/ stoon ffor I wol make oon / of the same shape That is an Ingot. if I may han hape Line 1209 And bryngeth eek with yow / a bolle or a panne fful of water / and ye shul se wel thanne How þat oure bisynesse / shal thryue & preeue And yet for ye shul han no mysbileeue Line 1213 Ne wrong conceite of me / in youre Absence I ne wol nat been out of youre presence

[6-text p 567] But go with yow / and come with yow ageyn The chambre dore / shortly for to seyn Line 1217 They opened and shette / and wente hir weye And forth with hem / they carieden the keye And coome agayn / with-outen any delay What sholde I tarien / al the longe day Line 1221 He took the Chalk / and shoope it in the wise Of an Ingot as I shal yow deuyse ¶ I seye / he took/ out of his owene sleeue A teyne of siluer / yuele moot he cheeue Line 1225 Which þat was nat / but an Ounce of weighte And taak heede now / of his cursed sleighte ¶ He shoope his Ingot in lengthe and eek in breede [folio 203a] Of this teyne / with-outen any drede Line 1229 So slyly / that the preest it nat espide And in his sleue / agayn he gan it hide And fro the fir/ he took vp his mateere And in thyngot putte it with myrie cheere Line 1233 And in the water vessel / he it caste Whan þat hym luste / and bad the preest as faste What þat heer is / put In thin hand and grope Thow fynde shalt ther siluer as I hope Line 1237 [. . . . . [[Not in Reg. 17 D xv, leaf210, bk. In Brit. Mus. Addit. 5140, leaf 303, back; Reg. 18 C ii, lf 171; Harl. 7333, leaf 92, col. 1, &c.]] . . . . . [no gap in the MS.] ] He putte his hand In / and took vp a teyne Of siluer fyn / and glad in euery veyne Line 1241 Was this preest. whan he saugh it was so Goddes blessyng and his moodres also And alle halwes / have ye sire Chanon Seyde this preest. and .I. hir malison Line 1245 But and ye vouche-sauf to techen me This noble craft and this subtiltee I wol be youre / in al that euere I may ¶ Quod the preest yet wol I make assay Line 1249 The seconde tyme / þat ye may taken heede And been expert of this / and in youre neede

[6-text p 568] Another day / assaye in myn absence This disciplyne / and this crafty science Line 1253 Lat take another Ounce / quod he tho Of quyk siluer / with-outen wordes mo And do ther with / as ye han doon er this With that oother / which þat now siluer is Line 1257 ¶ This preest hym bisieth / in al þat he kan To doon / as this Chanon / this cursed man Comanded hym / and faste he blew the fir ffor to come / to theffect of his desir Line 1261 And this Chanon / right in the meene while Al redy was / the preest eft to bigile And for a contenance / in his hand he bar An holwe stikke / taak kepe and be war Line 1265 In the ende of which / an Ounce and namoore Of siluer lemaille / put was as bifore In his cole / and stopped with wex weel ffor to kepe In / his lemaille euery deel Line 1269 And whil this preest was in his bisynesse This Chanon / with his stikke gan hym dresse To hym anon / and his poudre caste In As he dide er / the deuel / out of his skyn Line 1273 Hym terve / I pray to god / for his falshede ffor he was euere fals / in thoght and dede And with this stikke / aboue the Crosselet That was ordeyned / with that false Iet/ Line 1277 He stired the coles / til relente gan [folio 204a] The wex agayn the fir / as euery man? But it a fool be / woot wel it moot nede And al that in the stikke was out yede Line 1281 And in the crosselet hastily it fel ¶ Now good sires / what wol ye bet than wel Whan þat this preest. thus was bigiled ageyn Supposynge noght but treuthe sooth to seyn Line 1285 He was so glad / that I ne kan nat expresse In no manere / his myrthe and his gladnesse

[6-text p 569] And to the Chanon / he profred eftsoone Body and good / ye quod the Chanon soone Line 1289 Though poure I be / crafty thou shalt me fynde I warne thee / yet is ther moore bihynde ¶ Is ther any coper/ her Inne seyde he? ¶ Ye quod the preest sire I trowe wel ther be Line 1293 ¶ Elles go bye vs som / and that as swithe Now good sire / go forth thy wey and hy the ¶ He wente his wey / and with the coper cam And this Chanon / it in hise handes nam Line 1297 And of that coper / weyed out but an Ounce ¶ Al to symple / is my tonge to pronounce As Ministre of my wit the doublenesse Of this Chanon / roote of alle cursednesse Line 1301 He semed freendly / to hem / þat knewe hym noght But he was feendly / bothe in herte and thoght It weerieth me / to telle of his falsnesse And nathelees / yet wol I it expresse Line 1305 To thentente / that men may be war therby And for noon oother cause trewely ¶ He putte the Ounce of Coper in the Crosselet And on the fir / as swithe he hath it set/ Line 1309 And caste In poudre / and made the preest/ to blowe And in his werkyng for to stoupe lowe As he dide er / and al nas but a Iape Right as hym liste / the preest he made his Ape Line 1313 And afterward / in the Ingot he it caste And in the panne / putte it at the laste Of the water / In he putte his owene hand And in his sleue / as ye biforn hand Line 1317 Herde me telle / hadde a siluer teyne He slyly tooke it out/ this cursed heyne Vnwityng this preest of his false craft And in the pannes botme / he hath it laft Line 1321 And in the water / rombled to and fro And wonder pryuely / took vp also

[6-text p 570] The coper teyne / noght knowynge this preest And hidde it and hym hente by the breest Line 1325 And to hym spak and thus seyde in his game [folio 204b] Stoupeth adoun / by god ye be to blame Helpeth me now / as a dide yow whil eer Putte In youre hand / and looketh what is theer Line 1329 ¶ This preest took vp / this siluer teyne anon And thanne seyde the Chanon / lat vs gon With thise thre teynes / whiche þat we han wroght To som Goldsmyth / and wite if they been ouht Line 1333 ffor by my feith / I nolde for myn hood But if that they were siluer/ fyn and good And that as swithe / preeued it shal bee ¶ Vn-to the Goldsmyth / with thise teynes three Line 1337 They wente / and putte thise teynes in Assay To fir and hamer / myghte no man seye nay But þat they weren / as hem oghte be ¶ This sotted preest. who was gladder than he Line 1341 Was neuere brid / gladder agayn the day Ne nyghtyngale / in the seson of May Nas neuere man / that luste bet to synge Ne lady / lustier in carolynge Line 1345 Or for to speke of love and wommanhede Ne knyght in Armes / to doon an hardy dede To stonden in grace / of his lady deere Than hadde this preest this soory craft to leere Line 1349 And to the Chanon / thus he spak and seyde ffor loue of god / that for vs alle deyde And as I may / deserue it vn-to yow What shal this receite coste / telleth now Line 1353 ¶ By oure lady quod this Chanon / it is deere I warne yow wel / for saue I and a frere In Engelond / ther kan no man it make ¶ No fors quod he / now sire for goddes sake Line 1357 What shal I paye / telleth me I preye? ¶ Ywis quod he / it is ful deere I seye

[6-text p 571] Sire at o word / if that thee list it haue Ye shul paye fourty pound / so god me saue Line 1361 And nere the freendshipe / þat ye dide er this To me /. ye sholde paye moore y-wis ¶ This preest the somme of fourty pound anon Of nobles fette / and took hem euerichon Line 1365 To this Chanon / for this ilke receit Al his werkyng nas but fraude and deceit ¶ Sire preest he seyde / I kepe han no loos Of my craft / for I wolde it kept were cloos Line 1369 And as ye loue me / kepeth it secree ffor and men knewen / al my soutiltee By god / they wolden han so greet enuye To me / by cause / of my Philosophye Line 1373 I sholde be deed / ther were noon oother weye [folio 205a] ¶ God it forbeede quod the preest/ what sey ye Yet hadde I leuere / spenden al the good Which þat I haue / or elles wexe I wood Line 1377 Than that ye sholden falle in swiche mescheef/ ¶ ffor youre good wyl / sire haue ye right good preef Quod the Chanon / and farwel grant mercy He wente his wey / and neuer the preest hym sy Line 1381 After that day / and whan þat this preest shoolde Maken assay / at swich tyme as he wolde Of this receit / farwel / it wolde nat be Lo thus byiaped / and bigiled was he Line 1385 Thus maketh he / his introduccion To brynge folk/ to [hir] destruccion

COnsidereth sires / how þat in ech estaat Bitwixe men and gold / ther is debaat Line 1389 So ferforth / that vnnethe is ther noon This multiplying blent so many oon That in good feith / I trowe þat it bee The cause grettest of swich scarsetee Line 1393 Philosophres / speken so mystily In this craft þat men kan nat come therby

[6-text p 572] ffor any wit þat men han now a dayes They mowe wel chiteren / as þat doon Ioyes [[so]] Line 1397 And in hir termes / sette hir lust and peyne But to hir purpos / shul they neuere atteyne A man may lightly lerne / if he haue aught To multiplie / and brynge his good to naught Line 1401 ¶ Lo / swich a lucre / is in this lusty game A mannes myrthe / it wol turne vn-to grame And empten also / grete and heuye purses And maken folk / for to purchacen curses Line 1405 Of hem / þat han hir good / ther-to ylent ffy for shame / they þat han been brent Allas / kan they nat flee / the fires heete Ye that it vse / I rede ye it leete Line 1409 Lest ye lese al / for bet than neuere is late Neuere to thryue / were to long a date Though ye prolle ay / ye shul it neuere fynde Ye been as boold as is Bayard the blynde Line 1413 That blondreth forth / and peril casteth noon He is as boold / to renne agayn a stoon As for to goon / bisides in the weye So faren ye / that multiplie I seye Line 1417 If þat youre eyen / kan nat seen aright Looke þat youre mynde / lakke noght his sight ffor though ye looken neuer so brode and stare Ye shul no thyng wynne on that chaffare Line 1421 But wasten / al that ye / may rape and renne [folio 205b] Withdraweth the fir / lest it to faste brenne Medleth namoore / with that Art I mene ffor if ye doon / youre thrift is goon ful clene Line 1425 And right as swithe / I wol yow tellen heere What þat the Philosophres seyn in this mateere

LO thus seith Arnold of the newe toun As his Rosarie / maketh mencioun Line 1429 He seith right thus / with-outen any lye Ther may no man / Mercurie mortifie

[6-text p 573] But it be / with his brother knowlechyng How þat he / which þat first seyde this thyng Line 1433 Of Philosophres / fader first was hermes He seith / how þat the dragon doutelees Ne dyeth nat. but if that he be slayn With his brother/ and that is for to sayn Line 1437 By the dragon / Mercurie and noon oother He vnderstood / and Brymstoon by his brother That out of sol / and Luna were ydrawe And therfore seyde he / taak heede to my sawe Line 1441 Lat no man bisye hym / this Art for to seche But if þat he / thentencion and speche Of Philosophres / vnderstonde kan And if he do / he is a lewed man Line 1445 ffor this science / and this konnyng quod he Is of the secree / of the secretes pardee ¶ Also / ther was a disciple of Plato That on a tyme / seyde his maister to Line 1449 As his book senior / wol bere witnesse And this was his demande in soothfastnesse Telle me the name / of the priuee stoon ¶ And Plato answerde / vn-to hym anoon Line 1453 Take the stoon / that Titanos men name ¶ Which is that quod he? Magnasia is the same Seyde Plato / ye sire / and is it thus? This is / ignotum per ignocius Line 1457 What is Magnasia / good sire I yow preye? ¶ It is a water / that is maad I seye Of elementes foure quod Plato ¶ Telle me the roote / good sire quod he tho Line 1461 Of that water / if it be youre wille ¶ Nay nay quod Plato / certein that I nylle The Philosophres / sworn were euerychoon That they / sholden discouere it vn-to noon Line 1465 Ne in no book it write / in no manere ffor vn-to Crist / it is so lief and deere

[6-text p 574] That he wol nat that it discouered bee But where it liketh / to his deitee Line 1469 Man for tenspire / and eek / for to deffende [folio 206a] Whom þat hym liketh / lo this is the ende ¶ Thanne conclude I thus / sith þat god of heuene Ne wil nat that the Philosophres neuene Line 1473 How þat a man / shal come vn-to this stoon I rede vs for the beste / lete it goon ffor who so / maketh god his Aduersarie As for to werken / any thyng in contrarie Line 1477 Of his wil / certes neuer shal he thryue Thogh that he multiplie terme of lyue And there a poynt for ended is my tale Line 1480 God sende euery trewe man / boote of his bale Amen .

¶ Heere is ended the Chanons yemannes tale .