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

§ 1. THE MANCIPLE'S HEAD-LINK.

ELLESMERE MS.

¶ Heere folweth the Prologe / of the Maunciples tale . [on leaf 206]

Woot ye nat / where ther stant/ a litel toun Which þat ycleped is Bobbe up and doun Vnder the Blee / in Caunterbury weye Ther gan oure hoost for to Iape and pleye Line 4 And seyde sires / what Dun is in the Myre Is ther no man / for preyere ne for hyre That wole awake / oure felawe al bihynde A theef / myghte hym ful lightly robbe and bynde Line 8 See how he nappeth / see how for Cokkes bones As he wol falle / fro his hors atones Is that a Cook of London / with meschance Do hym come forth / he knoweth his penaunce Line 12 ffor he shal telle a tale / by my fey Al-though / it be nat worth a Botel hey Awake thou Cook quod he / god yeue thee sorwe What eyleth thee / to slepe by the morwe? Line 16 Hastow had fleen al nyght or artow dronke? Or hastow / with som quene / al nyght yswonke? So that thow mayst nat holden vp thyn heed ¶ This Cook / þat was ful pale and no thyng reed Line 20 Seyde to oure hoost. so god my soule blesse As ther is falle on me swich heuynesse Noot I nat why? þat me were leuere slepe Than / the beste galon wyn in Chepe Line 24

[6-text p 577] Line 24 ¶ Wel quod the Maunciple / if it may doon ese Line 25 To thee sire Cook / and to no wight displese Which þat heere rideth / in this compaignye And that oure hoost/ wole of his curteisye Line 28 I wol now / excuse thee / of thy tale ffor in good feith / thy visage is ful pale Thyne eyen daswen eek as that me thynketh [folio 206b] And wel I woot / thy breeth / ful soure stynketh Line 32 That sheweth wel / thou art nat wel disposed Of me certeyn / thou shalt nat been yglosed See how he ganeth / lo this dronken wight As though he wolde / swolwe vs anonright Line 36 Hoold cloos thy mouth man / by thy fader kyn The deuel of helle / sette his foot ther-In Thy cursed breeth / infecte wole vs alle ffy stynkyng swyn / fy / foule moote thou falle Line 40 A taketh heede sires / of this lusty man Now sweete sire / wol ye Iusten atte ffan Therto me thynketh / ye been wel yshape I trowe / that ye dronken han wyn Ape Line 44 And that is / whan men pleyen with a straw And with this speche / the Cook wax wrooth & wraw And on the Manciple / he gan nodde faste ffor lakke of speche / and doun the hors hym caste Line 48 Where as he lay / til þat men vp hym took This was / a fair chyuachee / of a Cook Allas / he nadde / holde hym by his ladel And er þat he / agayn were in his Sadel Line 52 Ther was greet showuyng bothe to and fro To lifte hym vp / and muchel care and wo So vnweeldy / was this sory palled goost And to the Manciple / thanne spak oure hoost/ Line 56 ¶ By cause / drynke / hath dominacion Vpon this man / by my sauacion I trowe / lewedly / he wolde telle his tale ffor were it wyn / or oold / or moysty Ale Line 60

[6-text p 578] Line 60 That he hath dronke / he speketh in his nose Line 61 And fneseth faste / and eek he hath the pose ¶ He hath also / to do moore than ynough To kepen hym and his Capul out of slough Line 64 And if he falle / from his capul eftsoone Thanne shal we alle / haue ynogh to doone In liftyng vp / his heuy dronken cors Telle on thy tale / of hym make I no fors Line 68 ¶ But yet Manciple / in feith thou art/ to nyce Thus openly / repreue hym of his vice Another day / he wole perauenture Reclayme thee / and brynge thee to lure Line 72 I meene / he speke wole / of smale thynges As for to pynchen / at thy rekenynges That were nat honeste / if it cam to preef / ¶ No quod the Manciple / that were a greet mescheef Line 76 So myghte he lightly / brynge me in the snare Yet hadde I leuere / payen for the Mare Which that he rit on / than he sholde with me stryue [folio 207a] I wol nat wratthen hym / al so moot I thryue That that/ I speke / I seyde it in my bourde Line 81 And wite ye what I haue heer in a gourde A draghte of wyn / ye of a ripe grape And right anon / ye shul seen a good Iape Line 84 This Cook shal drynke ther of / if þat I may Vp peyne of deeth / he wol nat seye me nay ¶ And certeynly / to tellen as it was Of this vessel / the Cook drank faste / allas? Line 88 What neded hym / he drank ynough biforn And whan he hadde / pouped in this horn To the Manciple / he took the gourde agayn And of that drynke / the Cook was wonder fayn Line 92 And thanked hym / in swich wise as he koude ¶ Thanne gan oure hoost to laughen wonder loude And seyde / I se wel / it is necessarie Where þat we goon / þat drynke we with vs carie Line 96

[6-text p 579] Line 96 ffor that wol turne / rancour and disese Line 97 Tacord and loue / and many a wrong apese ¶ O Bacus / yblessed be thy name That so kanst turnen / ernest in-to game Line 100 Worshipe and thank be to thy deitee Of that mateere / ye gete namoore of me Telle on thy tale / Manciple I thee preye ¶ Wel sire quod he / now herkneth what I seye Line 104