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

Experience / though noon Auctoritee Were in this world / were right ynogh to me To speke of wo / that is in mariage ffor lordynges / sith I .xij. yeer was of Age Line 4 Ythonked be god / that is eterne on lyue Housbondes at chirche dore I haue had fyue ffor I so ofte / haue ywedded bee And alle / were worthy men in hir degree Line 8 But me was toold certeyn / nat longe agoon is That sith that Crist ne wente neuere but onis To weddyng in the Cane of Galilee [¶ In Cana Galilee] By the same / ensample / thoughte me Line 12 That I ne sholde / wedded be but ones [¶ Qui enim semel iuit ad nupcias / doeuit semel esse nubendum] Herkne eek / which a sharpe word for the nones Beside a welle / Ihesus god and man Spak / in repreeue of the Samaritan Line 16 Thou hast yhad / fyue housbondes quod he And that man / the which þat hath now thee Is noght thyn housbonde / thus seyde he certeyn What that he mente ther by / I kan nat seyn Line 20 But þat I axe / why that the fifthe man Was noon housbonde to the samaritan How manye / myghte she haue in mariage [¶ Non est vxorum numerus diffinitus;] Yet herde I neuere tellen in myn age Line 24

[6-text p 335] Line 24 Vpon this nombre diffinicioun [quia secundum Paulum / Qui habent vxores sic sint tanquam non habentes] Men may deuyne / and glosen vp and doun But wel I woot expres with-oute lye God bad vs / for to wexe and multiplye [¶ Crescite & multiplicamini] Line 28 That gentil text kan I [wel] vnderstonde Eek wel I woot he seyde myn housbonde Sholde lete fader and mooder / and take me But of no nombre / mencion made he Line 32 Of bigamye / or of Octogamye [folio 67b] Why sholde men / speke of it vileynye ¶ Lo heere [audi] / the wise kyng dann salomon I trowe / he hadde wyues / mo than oon Line 36 As wolde god / it were leueful vn-to me To be refresshed / half so ofte as he Which yifte of God / hadde he / for alle hise wyuys No man hath swich / þat in this world alyue is Line 40 God woot / this noble kyng as to my wit The firste nyght had many a myrie fit With ech of hem / so wel was hym on lyue Yblessed be god / that I haue wedded fyue Line 44 Welcome the sixte / whan that euere he shal ffor sothe / I wol nat kepe me chaast in al [¶ Si autem non continent/ nubant/] Whan myn housbonde / is fro the world ygon Som cristen man / shal wedde me anon Line 48 ffor thanne / thapostle seith / I am free [¶ Quod si dormie|rit vir eius liberata est/ cui vult nubat in Domino] To wedde a goddes half where ¹it liketh¹ [[^1_1 on an erasure]] me He seith / to be wedded / is no synne [¶ Si acceperis vxorem non peccasti / et si nupserit virgo non peccauit/ set hij qui domino se vouerunt Ita idem &c] Bet is / to be wedded / than to brynne Line 52 What rekketh me / thogh folk seye vileynye Of shrewed lameth / and of bigamye I woot wel / Abraham / was an hooly man [¶ Melius est nubere quam vri] And Iacob eek /as ferforth as I kan [¶ Lameth qui primus intrauit bigamiam / sanguinarius & homicida est &c.] Line 56 And ech of hem / hadde wyues mo than two And many another man Also Whanne saugh ye euere / in [any] manere Age [¶ Abraham trigamus] That hye god / defended mariage [¶ Iacob quatri|gamus] Line 60

[6-text p 336] Line 60 By expres word / I pray you telleth me Or where / comanded he virginitee I woot as wel as ye / it is no drede Whan thapostel / speketh of maydenhede Line 64 He seyde / that precept ther-of hadde he noon Men may conseille / a womman to been oon But conseillyng is nat comandement He putte it in oure owene Iuggement Line 68 ffor hadde god / comanded maydenhede Thanne hadde he dampned weddyng with the dede And certein / if ther were / no seed y-sowe Virginitee / wher-of thanne sholde it growe Line 72 Poul / ne dorste nat / comanden atte leeste [¶ Paulus ‖ de virginibus / preceptum non habeo / consilium autem do &cetera] A thyng of which his maister yaf noon heeste The dart is set vp / of virginitee Cacche who so may / who renneth best lat see [¶ Inuitat ad cursum tenet in manu virginitatis brauium qui potest capere / capiat & cetera] Line 76 ¶ But this word / is nat taken of euery wight But ther / as god lust gyue it of his myght I woot wel / the Apostel was a mayde But nathelees / thogh / that he wroot and sayde Line 80 He wolde / þat euery wight / were swich as he [folio 68a] [¶ Volo autem omnes homines esse sicut me ipsum] Al nys / but conseil to virginitee And for to been a wyf / he yaf me leue Of Indulgence / so it is no repreue Line 84 To wedde me / if my make dye With outen / excepcion of Bigamye Al were it good / no womman for to touche [¶ Bonum est homini / mulierem non tangere] He mente / as in his bed / or in his couche Line 88 ffor peril is / bothe fyr and tow tassemble Ye knowe / what this ensample may resemble This is al and som / that virginitee Moore profiteth / than weddyng / in freletee Line 92 ffreeltee clepe I / but if that he and she Wolde lede / al hir lyf in chastitee ¶ I graunte it wel / I haue noon envie Thogh maydenhede preferre Bigamye Line 96

[6-text p 337] Line 96 Hem liketh to be clene / body and goost Of myn estaat I nyl nat make no boost ffor wel ye knowe / a lord in his houshold He nath nat euery vessel / al of gold Line 100 Somme been of tree / and doon hir lord seruyse God clepeth folk to hym / in sondry wyse And euerich hath of god a propre yifte [¶ Vnusquisque proprium habet donum ex deo; alius quidem sic/ alius autem sic/] Som this som that as hym liketh shifte Line 104 ¶ Virginitee / is greet perfeccion And continence eek with deuocion [¶ Qui cantant sequentur Agnum xliiij^or Millia] But crist/ that of perfeccion is welle Bad nat euery wight / sholde go selle Line 108 All that he hadde / and gyue it to the poore And in swich wise / folwe hym and his foore [.i. steppes] He spak to hem / that wolde lyue parfitly And lordynges by youre leue / that am nat I Line 112 I wol bistowe / the flour of myn age In the Actes and in fruyt of mariage ¶ Telle me also / to what conclusion Were membres ymaad / of generacion Line 116 And for what profit was a wight ywroght Trusteth right wel / they were nat maad for noght Glose who so wole / and seye bothe vp and doun That they were maad / for purgacioun Line 120 Of vryne bothe / and thynges smale And eek to knowe / a femele from a male And for noon oother cause / sey ye no? The experience / woot wel it is noght so Line 124 So that the clerkes / be nat with me wrothe I sey yis / that they beth maked for bothe This is to seye / for office and for ese Of engendrure / ther we nat god displese Line 128 Why sholde men elles / in hir bookes sette [folio 68b] That a man shal yelde / to his wyf hire dette Now wher with / sholde he make his paiement If he ne vsed / his sely Instrument Line 132

[6-text p 339] Line 132 ¶ Abyde quod she / my tale is nat bigonne [¶ Item viri diligite vxores verecundas] Nay / thou shalt drynken of another tonne Er that I go / shal sauoure wors than Ale And whan þat I / haue toold forth my tale Line 172 Of tribulacion / that is in mariage Of which / I am expert in al myn age This to seyn / my self haue been the whippe Than maystow chese / wheither thou wolt sippe Line 176 Of that tonne / that I shal abroche [folio 69a] Be war of it/ er thou to ny approche ffor I shal tell ensamples / mo than ten Who so / þat wol nat be war / by othere men Line 180 By hym / shul othere men corrected be The same wordes / writeth Protholomee Rede it in his Almageste / and take it there ¶ Dame / I wolde praye / if youre wyl it were Line 184 Seyde this Pardoner / as ye bigan Telle forth youre tale / spareth for no man And teche vs yonge men / of youre praktike ¶ Gladly sires / sith it may yow like Line 188 But yet I praye / to al this compaignye If that I speke / after my fantasye As taketh not agrief / that I seye ffor myn entente / is but for to pleye Line 192

NOw sire / now wol I telle forth my tale [¶ Bihoold how this goode wyf / serued hir .iij. firste housbondes whiche were goode olde men] As euere / moote I drynken wyn or Ale I shal seye sooth / of tho housbondes þat I hadde As thre of hem were goode / and two were badde Line 196 The thre men / were goode / and riche / and olde Vnnethe / myghte they / the statut holde In which / that they were / bounden vn-to me [¶ Ierephancias quoque Atheniencium / vsque hodie / cicute sorbicione castrari] Ye woot wel / what I meene of this pardee Line 200 As help me god / I laughe whan I thynke How pitously / anyght I made hem swynke And by my fey / I tolde of it no stoor They had me yeuen hir gold/ and hir tresoor Line 204

[6-text p 338] Line 204 Thanne were they maad / vp-on a creature To purge vryne / and for engendrure ¶ But I seye noght þat euery wight is holde That hath swich harneys / as I of tolde Line 136 To goon and vsen hem in engendrure They shul nat take / of chastitee no cure Crist was a mayde / and shapen as a man And many a seint sith the world bigan Line 140 Yet lyued they euere / in perfit chastitee I nyl nat enuye / no virginitee Lat hem be breed / of pured whete seed And lat vs wyues / hoten barly breed Line 144 And yet with barly breed / Mark telle kan Oure lord / refresshed many a man In swich estaat as god hath cleped vs [¶ Ea vocacione qua vooati estis & cetera] I wol perseuere / I nam nat precius Line 148 In wyfhode I wol vse myn Instrument/ As frely / as my makere hath it sent If I be daungerous / god yeue me sorwe Myn housbonde shal it haue / bothe eue and morwe Line 152 Whan þat hym list com forth and paye his dette An housbonde I wol haue / I nyl nat lette Which shal be / bothe my dettour / and my thral [¶ Qui vxorem habet & debitor dicitur. & esse i prepucio & seruu vxoris & qui malorum seruo|rum est alligatus] And haue / his tribulacion with al Line 156 Vp-on his flessh / whil that I am his wyf/ I haue the power / durynge al my lyf Vp-on his propre body / and noght he Right thus / the Apostel / tolde it vn-to me [¶ Et iterum seruus vxoris es / noli propter hoc habere tristiciam] Line 160 And bad oure housbondes / for to loue vs weel Al this sentence / me liketh euery deel [¶ Item si acceperis vxorem non peccasti tribula|cionem tamen carnis habebunt huiusmodi & cetera]

Vp stirte the Pardoner / and that anon Now dame quod he / by god and by seint Iohn Line 164 Ye been a noble prechour in this cas I was aboute / to wedde a wyf allas [¶ Item vir corporis sui non habet potestatem/ set vxor] What sholde I bye it on my flessh so deere Yet hadde I leuere / wedde no wyf to yeere Line 168

[6-text p 340] Line 168 Me neded nat / do lenger diligence To wynne hir loue / or doon hem reuerence They loued me so wel / by god aboue That I ne tolde / no deyntee of hir loue Line 208 A wys womman / wol sette hire euere in oon To gete hire loue / ther as she hath noon But sith I hadde hem / hoolly in myn hond And sith / they hadde / me yeuen all hir lond Line 212 What sholde I taken heede / hem for to plese But it were / for my profit and myn ese I sette hem so a werk / by my fey That many a nyght they songen weilawey Line 216 The bacon / was nat fet for hem I trowe That som men han / in Essexe at Dunmowe I gouerned hem / so wel after my lawe That ech of hem / was ful blisful and fawe Line 220 To brynge me / gaye thynges / fro the ffayre They were ful glad / whan I spak to hem faire ffor god it woot / I chidde hem spitously ¶ Now herkneth / hou I baar me proprely Line 224 Ye wise wyues / that kan vnderstonde [folio 69b] ¶ Thus shul ye speke / and beren hem on honde ffor half so boldely / kan ther no man Swere and lye / as kan a womman Line 228 I sey nat this / by wyues þat been wyse But if it be / whan they hem mysauyse A wys wyf / if that she kan hir good Shal bere hym on hond / the Cow is wood Line 232 And take witnesse / of hir owene mayde Of hir assent but herkneth how I sayde ¶ Sire olde kaynard / is this thyn array Why is / my neighebores wyf so gay Line 236 She is honoured / ouer al ther she gooth I sitte at hoom / I haue no thrifty clooth What dostow / at my neighebores hous Is she so fair / artow so amorous Line 240

[6-text p 341] Line 240 What rowne ye with oure mayde benedicite Sire olde lecchour / lat thy Iapes be And if I haue / a gossib or a freend With-outen gilt thou chidest as a feend Line 244 If that I walke / or pleye vn-to his hous Thou comest hoom / as dronken as a Mous And prechest on thy bench / with yuel preef Thou seist to me / it is a greet meschief Line 248 To wedde a poure womman for costage And if she be riche / and of heigh parage Thanne seistow / it is a tormentrie To soffren hire pride / and hire malencolie Line 252 And if that she be fair / thou verray knaue Thou seyst that euery holour wol hire haue She may no while / in chastitee abyde That is assailled / vp-on ech a syde Line 256 ¶ Thou seyst that som folk / desiren vs / for richesse Somme for oure shape / somme for oure fairnesse And som / for she kan synge and daunce And som for gentillesse / and som for daliaunce Line 260 Som for hir handes / and hir Armes smale Thus goth al to the deuel / by thy tale Thou seyst men may nat kepe a Castel wal It may so longe / assailled been ouer al Line 264 ¶ And if that she be foul / thou seist that she Coueiteth euery man / that she may se ffor as a spaynel / she wol on hym lepe Til þat she fynde / som man hire to chepe Line 268 Ne noon so grey goos gooth in the lake As seistow / wol been with-oute make And seyst it is an hard thyng for to welde A thyng þat no man wole his thankes helde Line 272 Thus seistow lorel / whan thow goost to bedde [folio 70a] And þat no wys man / nedeth for to wedde Ne no man / that entendeth vn-to heuene With wilde thonder dynt and firy leuene Line 276

[6-text p 342] Line 276 Moote / thy welked nekke be to-broke ¶ Thow seyst that droppyng houses / and eek smoke And chidyng wyues / maken men to flee Out of hir owene houses / a benedicitee Line 280 What eyleth / swich an old man for to chide ¶ Thow seyst þat we wyues / wol oure vices hide Til we be fast and thanne we wol hem shewe Wel may that be / a prouerbe of a shrewe Line 284 ¶ Thou seist þat Oxen / Asses / hors / and houndes They been assayd / at diuerse stoundes Bacyns / lauours / er that men hem bye Spoones and stooles / and al swich housbondrye Line 288 And so been / pottes clothes / and array But folk of wyues / maken noon assay Til they be wedded / olde dotard shrewe Thanne seistow / we wol oure vices shewe Line 292 ¶ Thou seist also / that it displeseth me But if that thou / wolt preyse my beautee And but thou poure alwey / vp-on my face And clepe me faire dame in euery place Line 296 And but thou make a feeste / on thilke day That I was born / and make me fressh and gay And but thou do / to my norice honour And to my chambrere / with-Inne my bour Line 300 And to my fadres folk / and hise allyes Thus seistow / olde barel ful of lyes ¶ And yet of oure Apprentice / Ianekyn [¶ Et procurator calamistratus & cetera] ffor his crispe heer / shynynge as gold so fyn Line 304 And for he squiereth me / bothe vp and doun Yet hastow caught a fals suspecioun I wol hym noght / thogh thou were deed tomorwe ¶ But tel me / why hydestow with sorwe Line 308 The keyes of my cheste / awey fro me It is my good / as wel as thyn pardee What wenestow / to make an ydiot of oure dame Now by that lord / that called is seint Iame Line 312

[6-text p 343] Line 312 Thou shalt nat bothe / thogh thou were wood Be maister / of my body / and of my good That oon thou shalt forgo / maugree thyne eyen What nedeth thee / of me / to enquere or spyen Line 316 I trowe / thou woldest loke me in thy chiste Thou sholdest seye / wyf go wher thee liste Taak youre disport I wol leue no talys I knowe yow / for a trewe wyf dame Alys Line 320 We loue no man / that taketh kepe / or charge [folio 70b] Wher that we goon / we wol ben at our large ¶ Of alle men / blessed moot he be The wise Astrologien / Daun Protholome Line 324 That seith this prouerbe / in his Almageste Of alle men / his wysdom is the hyeste That rekketh neuere / who hath the world in honde [¶ Intra omnes alcior existit/ qui non curat in cuius manu sit mundus] By this prouerbe / thou shalt vnderstonde Line 328 Haue thou ynogh / what thar thee recche or care How myrily / that othere folkes fare ffor certeyn / olde dotard by youre leue Ye shul haue queynte / right ynogh at eue Line 332 He is to greet a nygard / that wolde werne A man / to lighte his candle at his lanterne He shal haue / neuer the lasse light pardee Haue thou ynogh / thee thar nat pleyne thee Line 336 ¶ Thou seyst also / þat if we make vs gay With clothyng and with precious array That it is peril of oure chastitee And yet with sorwe / thou most enforce thee Line 340 And seye thise wordes / in the Apostles name [¶ similiter & mulieres in habitu ornato cum verecundia & castitate ornent se / non in tortis crinibus aut auro aut margaritis siue veste preciosa & cetera /. Hec Paulus] In habit maad / with chastitee and shame Ye wommen / shul apparaille yow quod he And noght in tressed heer / and gay perree Line 344 As perles / ne with gold / ne clothes riche After thy text ne after thy Rubriche I wol nat wirche / as muchel as a gnat ¶ Thou seydest this / that I was lyk a Cat Line 348

[6-text p 344] Line 348 ffor who so wolde / senge a Cattes skyn Thanne wolde the Cat wel dwellen in his In And if the Cattes skyn / be slyk and gay She wol nat dwelle in house / half a day Line 352 But forth she wole / er any day be dawed To shewe hir skyn / and goon a Caterwawed This is to seye / if I be gay sire shrewe I wol renne out / my borel for to shewe Line 356 ¶ Sire olde fool / what eyleth thee to spyen Thogh thou preye Argus / with hise hundred eyen To be my wardecors / as he kan best/ In feith / he shal nat kepe me but lest Line 360 Yet koude I make his berd / so moot I thee ¶ Thou seydest eek / that ther been thynges thre [¶ eciam odiosa vxor si habeat virum bonum & cetera] The whiche thynges / troublen al this erthe And þat no wight / may endure the ferthe Line 364 O leeue sire shrewe / Ihesu / shorte thy lyf / Yet prechestow / and seyst and hateful wyf Yrekened is / for oon of thise meschances Been ther none othere resemblances Line 368 That ye may likne / youre parables to [folio 71a] But if/ a sely wyf / be oon of tho ¶ Thou liknest wommenes loue to helle [¶ Amor illius inferno & arenti terre & incendio comparata ‖ Vnde illud & cetera] To bareyne lond / ther water may nat dwelle Line 372 ¶ Thou liknest it also / to wilde fyr [¶ Infernus & amor mulieris & terra que non saciatur aqua & ignis non dicent satis & cetera] The moore it brenneth / the moore it hath desir To consumen euery thyng þat brent wole be Thou seyst . right as wormes shendeth a tree Line 376 Right so a wyf/ destroyeth hire housbond [¶ Sicut in ligno vermis ita perdet virum suum vxor] This knowe they / that been to wyues bonde [¶ Nemo melius scire potest / quid sit vxor vel mulier / nisi ille qui passus est/]

LOrdynges / right thus / as ye haue vnderstonde Baar I stifly / myne olde housbondes on honde Line 380 That thus they seyden / in hir dronkenesse And al was fals / but that I took witnesse On Ianekyn / and on my Nece also O lord / the peyne I dide hem / and the wo Line 384

[6-text p 345] Line 384 fful giltlees / by goddes sweete pyne ffor as an hors / I koude byte and whyne I koude pleyne / thogh I were in the gilt Or elles / often tyme / hadde I been spilt Line 388 Who so comth first to Mille / first grynt I pleyned first / so was oure werre y-stynt They were ful glad / to excusen hem blyue Of thyng / of which they neuere agilte hir lyue Line 392 ¶ Of wenches / wolde I beren hym on honde Whan that for syk vnnethes myghte he stonde Yet tikled it his herte / for that he Wende / þat I hadde of hym so greet chiertee Line 396 I swoor / þat al my walkynge out by nyghte Was / for tespye wenches þat he dighte Vnder that colour / hadde I many a myrthe ffor al swich thyng was yeuen vs in oure byrthe Line 400 Deceite / wepyng spynnyng god hath yeue To wommen kyndely / whil that they may lyue And thus / of o thyng I auaunte me Atte ende / I hadde the bettre in ech degree Line 404 By sleighte / or force / or by som maner thyng As by continueel murmure or grucchyng Namely / abedde / hadden they meschaunce Ther wolde I chide / and do hem no plesaunce Line 408 I wolde / no lenger in the bed abyde If that I felte his Arm ouer my syde Til he / had maad / his raunson vn-to me Thanne wolde I suffre hym / do his nycetee Line 412 And ther-fore / euery man / this tale I telle Wynne who so may / for al is for to selle With empty hand / men may none haukes lure ffor wynnyng wolde I al his lust endure Line 416 And make me / a feyned appetit/ [folio 71b] And yet in bacon / hadde I neuere delit That made me / that euere I wolde hem chide ffor thogh the pope / hadde seten hem biside Line 420

[6-text p 346] Line 420 I wolde nat spare hem / at hir owene bord ffor by my trouthe / I quitte hem word for word As helpe me / verray god omnipotent Though I right now / sholde make my testament Line 424 I ne owe hem nat a word / þat it nys quit I broghte it so aboute by my wit/ That they moste yeue it vp / as for the beste Or elles / hadde we neuere been in rest Line 428 ffor thogh he looked / as a wood leon Yet sholde he faille / of his conclusion ¶ Thanne wolde I seye / goode lief taak keepe How mekely / looketh Wilkyn oure sheepe Line 432 Com neer my spouse / lat me ba thy cheke Ye sholde been / al pacient and meke And han / a sweete spiced conscience Sith ye so preche / of Iobes pacience Line 436 Suffreth alwey / syn ye so wel kan preche And but ye do / certein we shal yow teche That it is fair / to haue a wyf in pees Oon of vs two / moste bowen doutelees Line 440 And sith a man / is moore resonable Than womman is / ye moste been suffrable What eyleth yow / to grucche thus and grone Is it for ye wolde haue my queynte allone Line 444 Wy taak it al / lo haue it euery deel Peter I shrewe yow / but ye loue it weel ffor if I wolde / selle my bele chose I koude walke / as fressh as is a rose Line 448 But I wol kepe / it for youre owene tooth Ye be to blame / by god / I sey yow sooth ¶ Swiche manere wordes hadde we on honde Now wol I speken / of my fourthe housbonde Line 452

My fourthe housbonde / was a reuelour [¶ Of the con|dicione of the fourthe hous|bonde of this goode wyf/ And how she serued hym] This is to seyn / he hadde a paramour And I was yong and ful of ragerye Stibourne and strong and ioly as a pye Line 456

[6-text p 347] Line 456 Wel koude I daunce / to an harpe smale And synge ywis / as any nyghtyngale Whan I had dronke / a draughte of sweete wyn [¶ Valerius. libro. 6^o capitulo 3^o ‖ Metellius vxorem suam / eo quod vinum bibisset/ fuste percussam interemit/] Metellius / the foule cherl the swyn Line 460 That with a staf / birafte his wyf hire lyf ffor she drank wyn / thogh I hadde been his wyf / He sholde nat han daunted me fro drynke And after wyn / on Venus moste I thynke Line 464 ffor al so siker / as cold engendreth hayl [folio 72a] A likerous mouth / moste han a likerous tayl In wommen vinolent / is no defence This knowen lecchours by experience Line 468 ¶ But lord crist / whan that it remembreth me Vp-on my yowthe / and on my Iolitee It tikleth me / aboute myn herte roote Vn-to this day / it dooth myn herte boote Line 472 That I haue had my world / as in my tyme But Age allas / that al wole enuenyme Hath me biraft / my beautee / and my pith Lat go fare wel / the deuel go therwith Line 476 The flour is goon / ther is namoore to telle The bren as I best kan / now moste I selle But yet to be right myrie / wol I fonde Now wol I tellen / of my fourthe housbonde Line 480 ¶ I seye / I hadde in herte greet despit That he / of any oother had delit But he was quit by god / and by seint Ioce I made hym / of the same wode a croce Line 484 Nat of my body / in no foul manere But certein / I made folk swich cheere That in his owene grece / I made hym frye ffor Angre / and for verray Ialousye Line 488 By god / in erthe I was his purgatorie ffor which I hope / his soule be in glorie ffor god it woot he sat ful ofte and song / Whan þat his shoo / ful bitterly hym wrong Line 492

[6-text p 348] Line 492 Ther was no wight saue god and he þat wiste In many wise / how soore I hym twiste He deyde / whan I cam fro Ierusalem And lith ygraue / vnder the roode beem Line 496 Al is his tombe / noght so curyus As was the sepulcre / of hym Daryus Which that Appelles / wroghte subtilly [¶ Appelles / fecit mirabile opus in tumulo Darij / vnde in Alex|andro. libro. 6^o.] It nys but wast to burye hym preciously Line 500 Lat hym fare wel / god yeue his soule reste He is now / in his graue / and in his cheste

NOw / of my fifthe housbonde wol I telle [¶ Of the fifthe housbonde of this wyf / . and hou she bar hire ayens hym] God lete his soule / neuere come in helle Line 504 And yet was he to me / the mooste shrewe That feele I / on my ribbes al by rewe And euere shal / vn-to myn endyng day But in oure bed / he was / ful fressh and gay Line 508 And ther-with-al / so wel koude he me glose Whan that he wolde han my bele chose That thogh / he hadde me bet on euery bon He koude wynne / agayn my loue anon Line 512 I trowe I loued hym best for that he [folio 72b] Was of his loue / daungerous to me We wommen han / if that I shal nat lye In this matere / a queynte fantasye Line 516 Wayte what thyng we may nat lightly haue Ther after / wol we crie / al day and craue fforbede vs thyng and that desiren we Preesse on vs faste / and thanne wol we fle Line 520 With daunger / oute we al oure chaffare Greet prees at Market maketh deere ware And to greet cheepe / is holde at litel prys This knoweth / euery womman that is wys Line 524 ¶ My fifthe housbonde / god his soule blesse Which þat I took for loue / and no richesse He som tyme / was a clerk of Oxenford And hadde left scole / and wente at hom to bord Line 528

[6-text p 349] Line 528 With my gossib / dwellynge in oure toun God haue hir soule / hir name was Alisoun She knew myn herte / and eek my priuetee Bet than oure parisshe preest as moot I thee Line 532 To hire / biwreyed I / my conseil al ffor hadde myn housbonde / pissed on a wal Or doon a thyng þat sholde han cost his lyf / To hire / and to another worthy wyf / Line 536 And to my Nece / which þat I loued weel I wolde han toold / his conseil euery deel And so I dide / ful often god it woot That made his face / ful often reed and hoot Line 540 ffor verray shame / and blamed hym self for he? Had toold to me / so greet a pryuetee ¶ And so bifel / that ones in a lente So often tymes / I to my gossyb wente Line 544 ffor euere yet I loued to be gay And for to walke / in March / Auerill and May ffro hous to hous / to heere sondry talys That Iankyn Clerk and my gossyb dame Alys Line 548 And I my self / in-to the feeldes wente Myn housbonde / was at London al the lente I hadde / the bettre leyser for to pleye And for to se / and eek for to be seye Line 552 Of lusty folk what wiste I / wher my grace Was shapen for to be / or in what place Therfore / I made my visitacions To vigilies / and to processions Line 556 To prechyng eek and to thise pilgrimages To pleyes of myracles / and to mariages And wered vpon / my gaye scarlet gytes Thise wormes / ne thise Motthes / ne thise mytes Line 560 Vpon my peril / frete hem neuer a deel [folio 73a] And wostow why? for they were vsed weel

NOw wol I tellen forth / what happed me I seye / that in the feeldes walked we Line 564

[6-text p 350] Line 564 Till trewely / we hadde swich daliance This clerk and I / that of my purueiance I spak to hym / and seyde hym / how þat he? If I were wydwe / sholde wedde me Line 568 ffor certeinly / I sey for no bobance Yet was I neuere / with-outen purueiance Of mariage / nof othere thynges eek I holde a Mouses herte / nat worth a leek/ Line 572 That hath but oon hole / for to sterte to And if þat faille / thanne is al ydo ¶ I bar hym on honde / he hadde enchanted me My dame taughte me that soutiltee Line 576 And eek I seyde / I mette of hym al nyght He wolde han slayn me / as I lay vp right And al my bed / was ful of verray blood But yet I hope / that he shal do me good Line 580 ffor blood / bitokeneth gold / as me was taught And al was fals / I dremed of it right naught But I folwed ay / my dammes loore As wel of this / as of othere thynges moore Line 584 ¶ But now sire / lat me se / what I shal seyn A / ha / by god / I haue my tale ageyn ¶ Whan þat my fourthe housbonde / was on beere I weepe algate / and made sory cheere Line 588 As wyues mooten / for it is vsage And with my couerchief / couered my visage But for þat I / was purueyed of a make I wepte but smal / and that I vndertake Line 592 ¶ To chirche / was myn housbonde / born a morwe With neighebores / that for hym maden sorwe And Iankyn oure Clerk / was oon of tho As help me god / whan þat I saugh hym go Line 596 After the beere / me thoughte he hadde a paire? Of legges / and of feet / so clene and faire That al myn herte / I yaf vn-to his hoold He was I trowe / a twenty wynter oold Line 600

[6-text p 351] Line 600 And I was fourty / if I shal seye sooth But yet I hadde alwey / a coltes tooth Gat tothed I was / and that bicam me weel I hadde the prente / of seint Venus seel Line 604 As help me god / I was a lusty oon And faire and riche / and yong and wel bigon And trewely / as myne housbondes tolde me I hadde the beste Quonyam myghte be Line 608 ffor certes / I am al Venerien [folio 73b] In feelynge / and myn herte is Marcien Venus me yaf my lust my likerousnesse [¶ Mansor Amphorison'.19.] And Mars yaf me / my sturdy hardynesse [¶ Cumque in ascendente fuerint infortune turpem notam in facie pacietur ‖ In natiuitatibus mulierum cum fuerit ascendens aliqua de domibus Veneris / Marte existente in eis / vel e contrario erit mulier inpudica ‖ Idem erit/ si habuerit capricornum in ascendente ‖ He[c] Hermes in libro fiducie Am|phoris^o. 24^o.] Line 612 Myn Ascendent was Taur and Mars ther-Inne Allas / allas / þat euere loue was synne I folwed ay / myn Inclinacion By vertu / of my constellacion Line 616 That made me / I koude noght withdrawe My chambre of Venus / from a good felawe Yet haue I / Martes Mark vp-on my face And also / in another priuee place Line 620 ffor god so wys / be my sauacion I ne loued neuere / by no discrecion But euere / folwed myn appetit Al were he / short or long or blak / or whit Line 624 I took no kepe / so that he liked me How poore he was / ne eek/ of what degree ¶ What sholde I seye / but at the Monthes ende This ioly clerk/ Iankyn þat was so hende Line 628 Hath wedded me / with greet solempnytee And to hym yaf I / al the lond and fee That euere / was me yeuen ther-bifoore But afterward / repented me ful soore Line 632 He nolde suffre / nothyng of my list By god / he smoot me ones on the lyst ffor þat I rente / out of his book a leef / That of the strook / myn ere wax al deef / Line 636

[6-text p 352] Line 636 Stibourne I was / as is a Leonesse And of my tonge / a verray Iangleresse And walke I wolde / as I had doon biforn ffrom hous to hous / al-though he had it sworn Line 640 ffor which / he often tymes wolde preche And me / of olde Romayn geestes teche How he symplicius Gallus / lefte his wyf [¶ Valerius. libro 6^o. folio. 19^o.] And hire forsok / for terme of al his lyf Line 644 Noght but for open-heueded / he hir say Lokynge out at his dore / vpon a day ¶ Another Romayn / tolde he me by name That for his wyf / was at a someres game Line 648 With-outen his wityng he forsook hire eke And thanne wolde he / vp-on his Bible seke That ilke prouerbe / of Ecclesiaste Where he comandeth / and forbedeth faste Line 652 Man shal nat suffre his wyf go roule aboute Thanne wolde he seye right/ thus / with-outen doute ¶ Who so / that buyldeth his hous / al of salwes [¶ Nota.] And priketh his blynde hors / ouer the falwes Line 656 ¶ And suffreth his wyf / to go seken halwes [folio 74a] [¶ Ne des mulieri nequam veniam prodeundi ecclesiastici .25^o. [verse 25-6]] Is worthy / to been hanged / on the galwes But al for noght I sette noght an hawe Of his prouerbes / nof his olde awe Line 660 Ne I wolde nat of hym corrected be I hate hym / that my vices telleth me And so doo mo / god woot of vs / than I This made hym / with me wood al outrely Line 664 I nolde noght / forbere hym in no cas ¶ Now wol I seye yow sooth / by seint Thomas Why þat I rente / out of his book a leef ffor which / he smoot me so / þat I was deef Line 668 ¶ He hadde a book / þat gladly nyght and day ffor his desport he wolde rede alway He cleped it Valerie / and Theofraste At which book/ he lough alwey ful faste Line 672

[6-text p 353] Line 672 ¶ And eek/ ther was som tyme / a clerk at Rome A Cardinal / that highte Seint Ierome That made a book agayn Iouinian In which book eek ther was Tertulan Line 676 Crisippus / Trotula / and Helowys That was Abbesse / nat fer fro Parys And eek the Parables of Salomon Ouides Art and bookes many on Line 680 And alle thise / were bounden / in o volume And euery nyght and day / was his custume Whan he hadde leyser / and vacacion ffrom oother / worldly / occupacion Line 684 To reden on this book / of wikked wyues He knew of hem / mo legendes and lyues Than been / of goode wyues in the Bible. ffor trusteth wel / it is an impossible Line 688 That any clerk wol speke good of wyues But if it be / of hooly seintes lyues Ne noon oother womman / neuer the mo Who peynted the leon / tel me who? [¶ Quis pinxit leonem] Line 692 By god / if wommen / hadde writen stories As clerkes han / with-Inne hire oratories They wolde han writen / of men moore wikkednesse Than all the mark/ of Adam may redresse Line 696 The children / of Mercurie and Venus Been in hir wirkyng ful contrarius Mercurie / loueth wysdam and science And Venus / loueth ryot and dispence Line 700 And for hire diuerse disposicion Ech falleth / in otheres exaltacion [¶ Vterque cadit vbi alia exaltatur] And thus god woot Mercurie is desolat In Pisces / wher Venus is exaltat Line 704 And Venus falleth / ther Mercurie is reysed [.i. in Virgine] [folio 74b] [¶ In libro Mansor primo ‖ Vniuscujusque planetarum. 4. ‖ Exaltacio illo in loco fore dicitur in quo subito patitur ab alio contrarium & cetera / Velut Mercurius in virgine que est casus veneris ‖. Alter. scilicet. Mercurius significat scientiam & philosophiam ‖. Alter vero cantus & alacritates & quicquid est sapiferum corpori] Therfore no womman / of no clerk is preysed The clerk whan he is oold / and may noght do Of Venus werkes / worth his olde sho Line 708

[6-text p 354] Line 708 Thanne sit he doun / and writ in his dotage That wommen / kan nat kepe hir mariage

But now to purpos / why I tolde thee That I was beten / for a book pardee Line 712 Vp-on a nyght Iankyn þat was oure sire Redde on his book / as he sat by the fire Of Eua first that for hir wikkednesse Was al mankynde / broght to wrecchednesse Line 716 ffor which crist hym self/ was slayn That boghte vs / with his herte blood agayn Lo heere expres / of womman may ye fynde That womman / was the los / of al mankynde Line 720 ¶ Tho redde he me / how Sampson loste hise heres Slepynge / his lemman / kitte it with hir sheres Thurgh which treson / loste he bothe hise eyen ¶ Tho redde he me / if that I shal nat lyen Line 724 Of Hercules / and of his Dianyre That caused hym / to sette hymself afyre ¶ No thyng forgat he / the sorwe and wo That Socrates / hadde with hise wyues two Line 728 How Xantippa / caste pisse vp-on his heed This sely man / sat stille as he were deed He wiped his heed / namoore dorste he seyn But er þat thonder stynte / comth a reyn Line 732 ¶ Of Phasifpha / that was the queene of Crete [¶ Quid referam Phasifphen / Clitermistram & Eriphilem /. quarum prima delicijs fluens quippe vt Regis vxor Tauri dicitu, adpetisse concubitus. Alla occidisse virum suum ob amorem Adulterij .‖ Tercia perdidisse Amphiorax & saluti viri monile Aureum pertulisse &c ‖ Hec Metellius Marrio secundum Valerium] ffor shrewednesse / hym thoughte the tale swete ffy speke namoore / it is a grisly thyng Of hire / horrible lust and hir likyng Line 736 ¶ Of Clitermystra / for hire lecherye That falsly / made hire housbonde for to dye He redde it/ with ful good deuocion ¶ He tolde me eek for what occasion Line 740 Amphiorax / at Thebes loste his lyf Myn housbonde / hadde a legende of his wyf / ¶ Eriphilem / that for an Ouche of gold Hath priuely / vn-to the grekes told Line 744

[6-text p 355] Line 744 Wher that hir housbonde / hidde hym in a place ffor which / he hadde at Thebes sory grace ¶ Of Lyma tolde he me / and of Lucye They bothe / made hir housbondes for to dye Line 748 That oon for loue / that oother was for hate Lyma hir housbonde / vp-on an euen late Empoysoned hath / for þat she was his fo Lucia likerous / loued hire housbonde so Line 752 That for he sholde / alwey vp-on hire thynke [folio 75a] She yaf hym / swich a manere loue drynke That he was deed / er it were by the morwe And thus algates / housbondes han sorw Line 756 ¶ Thanne tolde he me / how þat oon Latumyus Compleyned / vn-to his felawe Arrius That in his gardyn / growed swich a tree On which he seyde / how that hise wyues thre Line 760 Hanged hem self for herte despitus ¶ O leeue brother / quod this Arrius Yif me a plante / of thilke blissed tree And in my gardyn / planted it shal bee Line 764 ¶ Of latter date of wyues / hath he red That somme / han slayn hir housbondes in hir bed And lete hir lecchour / dighte hire al the nyght Whan that the corps / lay in the floor vp right Line 768 ¶ And somme / han dryue nayles / in hir brayn Whil þat they slepte / and thus they han hem slayn ¶ Somme han hem yeue / poysoun in hire drynke He spak moore harm / than herte may bithynke Line 772 And ther-with-al / he knew of mo prouerbes Than in this world / ther growen gras or herbes Bet is quod he / thyn habitacioun Be with a leoun / or a foul dragoun Line 776 Than with a womman / vsynge for to chyde Bet is quod he / hye in the roof abyde Than with an angry wyf / doun in the hous They been so wikked and contrarious Line 780

[6-text p 356] Line 780 They haten / that hir housbondes / loueth ay He seyde / a womman cast hir shame away Whan she cast of hir smok and forther mo A fair womman / but she be chaast also Line 784 Is lyk a gold ryng in a sowes nose [¶ Circulus aureus in naribus Suis Mulior formosa & fatua .i. impudica] Who wolde leeue / or who wolde suppose The wo / that in myn herte was and pyne ¶ And whan I saugh / he wolde neuere fyne Line 788 To reden on this cursed book al nyght Al sodeynly / thre leues haue I plyght Out of his book right as he radde / and eke, I with my fest so took hym on the cheke Line 792 That in oure fyr / he fil bakward adoun And he vp stirte / as dooth a wood leoun And with his fest he smoot me on the heed That in the floor / I lay / as I were deed Line 796 And whan he saugh / how stille þat I lay He was agast and wolde han fled his way Til atte laste / out of my swogh I breyde O hastow slayn me / false theef I seyde Line 800 And for my land / thus hastow mordred me [folio 75b] Er I be deed / yet wol I kisse thee ¶ And neer he cam / and kneled faire adoun And seyde / deere suster Alisoun Line 804 As help me god / I shal thee neuere smyte That I haue doon / it is thy self to wyte fforyeue it me / and that I thee biseke And yet eft soones / I hitte hym on the cheke Line 808 And seyde theef/ thus muchel am I wreke Now wol I dye / I may no lenger speke But atte laste / with muchel care and wo We fille acorded / by vs seluen two Line 812 He yaf me / al the bridel in myn hond To han the gouernance / of hous and lond And of his tonge / and his hond also And made hym brenne his book anon right tho Line 816

[6-text p 357] Line 816 And whan that I / hadde geten vn-to me By maistrie / al the soueraynetee And that he seyde / myn owene trewe wyf/ Do as thee lust to terme of al thy lyf Line 820 Keepe thyn honour / and keepe eek myn estaat/ After that day / we hadden neuer debaat God helpe me so / I was to hym as kynde As any wyf from Denmark vn-to Ynde Line 824 And also trewe / and so was he to me I prey to god / that sit in magestee So blesse his soule / for his mercy deere Now wol I seye my tale / if ye wol heere Line 828