Corpus of Middle English Prose and Verse

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

[6-text p 664] synne [874] Auowtrie in latyn is for to seyn. Approchynge [¶ What Auowtrie is / . And of diuerse perils þat longen to Auowtrie] of oother mannes bed. thurgh which / tho that whilom weren o flessh abawndone hir bodyes to othere persones [875] ¶ Of this synne / as seith the wise man folwen manye harmes ¶ ffirst brekynge of feith. and certes. in feith is the keye of Cristendom. [876] and whan that feith is broken and lorn. soothly Cristendom stant veyn and with-outen fruyt [877] ¶ This synne is eek a [¶ How in Auowtrie is com|prehended thefte] thefte. for thefte generally is for to reue a wight his thyng agayns his wille [878] ¶ Certes / this is the fouleste thefte that may be. whan a womman / steleth hir body from hir housbonde and yeueth it to hire holour to defoulen hire ./ and steleth hir soule fro Crist / and yeueth it to the deuel. [879] this is a fouler thefte. than for to breke a chirche and stele the chalice ‖. for thise Auowtiers breken the temple of god spiritually and stelen the vessel of grace. that is the body and the soule. for which Crist shal destroyen hem. as seith Seint Paul [880] ¶ Soothly [¶ Sanctus Paulus] of this thefte douted gretly Ioseph. whan that his lordes [¶ Nota de Iosepho] wyf preyed hym of vileynye. whan he seyde. lo my lady. how my lord hath take to me vnder my warde al that he hath in this world. ne no thyng of hise thynges is out of my power/ but oonly / ye that been his wyf. [881] And how sholde I thanne do this wikkednesse and synne so horrible agayns god / and agayns my lord? god it forbeede. Allas al to litel. is swich trouthe now y-founde [882] ¶ The thridde harm. is the filthe / thurgh which they breken the comandement of god. and defoulen the Actour of matrimoyne þat is Crist/. [883] ffor certes / in so muche as the sacrement of mariage is so noble and so digne. so muche is it gretter synne for to breken it. for god made mariage in Paradys in the estaat of Innocence to multiplye man kynde to the seruice of god. [884] and therfore. is the brekynge moore greuous. of which brekynge comen false heires ofte tyme that wrongfully ocupien folkes heritages. And therfore / wol Crist putte
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About this Item

Title
The Ellesmere ms of Chaucer's Canterbury tales / edited by Frederick J. Furnivall.
Author
Chaucer, Geoffrey, d. 1400.
Canvas
Page 660
Publication
London :: Published for the Chaucer Society by N. Trübner,
1868-1879.

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https://name.umdl.umich.edu/agz8232.0001.001
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https://quod.lib.umich.edu/c/cme/agz8232.0001.001/694:12

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"The Ellesmere ms of Chaucer's Canterbury tales / edited by Frederick J. Furnivall." In the digital collection Corpus of Middle English Prose and Verse. https://name.umdl.umich.edu/agz8232.0001.001. University of Michigan Library Digital Collections. Accessed April 30, 2025.
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