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

[6-text p 402]

[6-text p 402]

[6-text p 403]

GROUP E. FRAGMENT VI.

§ 1. THE CLERK'S HEAD-LINK.

HENGWRT MS.

¶ The Prohemie of the Clerkys tale of Oxenford [folio 173b]

SIre clerk of Oxenford / oure hoost sayde Ye ride as coy / and stille as dooth a mayde Were newe spoused / sittyng at the bord This day ne herde I / of youre tonge a word Line 4 I trowe ye studie / aboute som Sophyme But Salomon seith / euery thyng hath tyme ¶ ffor goddes sake / as beth of bettre cheere It is no tyme / for to studien heere Line 8 Tel vs som murie tale / by youre fey ffor what man / that is entred in a pley He nedes moot/ vn-to the pley assente But precheth nat/ as freres doon in lente Line 12 To maken vs / for oure olde synnes wepe Ne that thy tale / make vs nat to slepe ¶ Tel vs / som murye thyng of auentures Youre termes / youre colours / and youre figures Line 16 Kepe hem in stoor / til so be ye endite Heigh stile / as whan þat men to kynges write Speketh so pleyn at this tyme / we yow preye That we may vnderstonde / what ye seye Line 20 ¶ This worthy clerk/ benygnely answerde Hoost quod he / I am vnder youre yerde Ye han of vs / as now the gouernance And therfore / wol I do yow obeisance Line 24

[6-text p 404] Line 24 As fer / as reson asketh hardily I wol yow telle a tale / which that I Lerned at Padwe / of a worthy Clerk As proued / by his wordes and his werk Line 28 He is now deed / and nayled in his Cheste I pray to god / so yeue his soule reste ¶ ffraunceys Petrak the lauryat poete Highte this clerk whos Rethoryk swete Line 32 Enlumyned al Ytaille / of Poetrie As Lynyan dide / of Philosophie Or lawe / or oother art particuler But deth / þat wol nat suffre vs dwellen her Line 36 But as it were / a twynklyng of an eye [folio 174a] Hem bothe hath slayn / and alle shul we dye ¶ But forth to tellen / of this worthy man That taughte me this tale / as I bigan Line 40 I seye þat first with heigh stile he enditeth Er he / the body of his tale writeth A prohemie / in which discryueth he Pemond / and of Saluces the contree [¶ Est ad ytalie latus occiduum vesulus [ex Appe|nini] Iugis mons altissimus qui vertice nu[bila super]ans liquido sese ingerit etheri / Mons [suapte] nobilis natura / padi ortu no|bilissimus qu[i latere] fonte lapsus exiguo orientem contra solem fert[ur &c.] [folio 173b] ] Line 44 And speketh of Appenyn / the hilles hye That been the boundes / of west lumbardye And of Mouut Vesulus / in special Wher as the Poo / out of a welle smal Line 48 Taketh his firste spryngyng / and his cours That Estward / ay encresseth in his cours To Emeleward / to fferare / and Venyse The which / a long thyng were to deuyse Line 52 And trewely / as to my Iuggement Me thynketh it a thyng inpertinent Saue þat he wole / convoien his matere But this his tale / which þat ye shal heere Line 56

[6-text p 405]

¶ Here bigynneth the tale.

Ther is / at the west syde of Ytaille [¶ Inter cetera ad radicem Vesuli terra Saluciarum vicis & castellis. [folio 174a] ] Line 57 Doun at the roote / of Vesulus the colde A lusty playne / habundant of vitaille [¶ grata planicies] Wher many a tour and town / thow mayst biholde Line 60 That founded were / in tyme of fadres olde And many another / delitable sighte And Saluces / this noble contree highte Line 63

¶ A Markys whilom / lord was of that lond Line 64 As were his worthy eldres hym bifore And obeysant ay redy to his hond Were alle his liges / bothe lasse and moore Line 67 Thus in delit he lyueth / and hath doon yoore Biloued and drad / thurgh fauour of ffortune Bothe of his lordes / and of his commune Line 70

[Th [Rats.] [folio 174b] ]er with he was / to speke as of lynage The gentileste / yborn of Lumbardye A fair persone / and strong and yong of age And ful of honour / and of curteisye Line 74 Discret ynogh / his contree for to gye Saue in some thynges / þat he was to blame And Walter / was this yonge lordes name Line 77

¶ I blame hym thus / that he considered noght Line 78 In tyme comynge / what myghte hym bityde But on his lust present was al his thoght As for to hauke / and hunte on euery syde Line 81 Wel neigh / alle oothere cures leet he slyde And eek he nolde / and that was worst of alle Wedde no wyf/ for noght þat may bifalle Line 84

[6-text p 406] Line 84

¶ Oonly that point his peple bar so soore Line 85 That flokmele on a day / they to hym wente [cateruatim.] And oon of hem / þat wisest was of loore Or ellis / þat the lord / best wolde assente Line 88 That he sholde telle hym / what his peple mente Or ellis koude he / shewe wel swich matere He to the Markys seyde / as ye shal heere Line 91

¶ O noble Markys / youre humanitee [// tua inquid humanitas optime Marchio] Assureth vs / and yeueth vs hardynesse As ofte / as tyme is of necessitee That we to yow / mowe telle oure heuynesse Line 95 Accepteth lord / now of youre gentillesse That we with pitous herte / vn to yow pleyne And lat youre erys / noght my voys disdeyne Line 98

¶ Al haue I noght to doone / in this matere Line 99 Moore than another man / hath in this place Yet for as muche / as ye my lord so deere Han alwey shewed me / fauour and grace Line 102 I dar the bettre / aske of yow a space Of audience / to shewen oure requeste And ye my lord / to doon right as yow leste Line 105

¶ ffor certes lord so wel vs liketh yow [folio 175a] Line 106 And al youre werk and euere han doon / þat we Ne kouden nat vs self / deuysen how We myghte lyuen / in moore felicitee Line 109 Saue o thyng lord / if it youre wille be That for to been a wedded man / yow leste Thanne were youre peple / in souereyn hertes reste Line 112

¶ Boweth youre nekke / vnder that blisful yok Line 113 Of souereyntee / noght of seruyse Which that men clepe / spousaille / or wedlok And thenketh lord / among youre thoghtes wise Line 116

[6-text p 407] Line 116 How þat oure dayes passe / in sondry wyse ffor thogh we slepe / or wake / or renne / or ryde Ay fleeth the tyme / it nel no man abyde Line 119

¶ And thogh youre grene youthe / floure as yit Line 120 In crepeth age alwey / as stille as stoon And deth / manaceth euery age and smyt In ech estat for ther escapeth noon Line 123 And also certeyn / as we knowe echon That we shal dye / as vncerteyn we alle Been of that day / whan deth shal on vs falle Line 126

¶ Accepteth thanne of vs / the trewe entente Line 127 That neuere yet refuseden thyn heste And we wol lord / if þat ye wol assente Chese yow a wyf/ in short tyme at the leeste Line 130 Born of the gentileste / and of the meeste Of al this lond / so þat it oghte seme Honour / to god and yow / as we kan deme Line 133

¶ Delyuere vs / out of al this bisy drede Line 134 And tak a wyf / for heighe goddes sake ffor if so bifelle / as god forbede That thurgh youre deeth / youre ligne sholde slake Line 137 And that a straunge Successour / sholde take Youre heritage / o. wo were vs alyue Wher fore / we pray yow / hastily to wyue Line 140

[Hir [Rats.] [folio 175b] meke prayere / and hir pitous cheere Made the Markys herte / han pitee Ye wol quod he / myn owene peple deere To that I neuere erst thoghte / streyne me Line 144 I me reioysed / of my libertee That selde tyme / is founde in mariage Ther I was free / I moot ben in seruage Line 147

[6-text p 408] Line 147

¶ But nathelees / I se youre trewe entente Line 148 And truste vp on youre wit and haue doon ay Wher fore / of my free wyl / I wol assente To wedde me / as soone as euere I may Line 151 But ther as ye / han profred me to day To chese me a wyf/ I yow relesse That choys / and pray yow of that profre cesse Line 154

¶ ffor god it woot þat children ofte ben Line 155 Vnlyk/ hir worthy eldres hem bifore Bountee comth al of god / nat of the stren Of which / they been engendred and ybore Line 158 I triste in goddes bountee / and ther fore My mariage / and myn estat and reste I hym bitake / he may doon as hym leste Line 161

¶ Lat me allone / in chesyng of my wyf Line 162 That charge vp on my bak I wol endure But I pray yow / and charge vp on youre lyf That what wyf þat I take / ye me assure Line 165 To worshipe hire / whil þat hir lyf may dure In word and werk/ bothe here and euerywhere As she / an Emperours doghter were Line 168

¶ And ferther moore / this shal ye swere / þat ye Line 169 Agayn my choys / shal neither grucche ne stryue ffor sith / I shal forgoon my libertee At your requeste / as euere mote I thryue Line 172 Ther as myn herte is set/ ther wol I wyue And but ye wol assente / in swich manere I pray yow / speketh namoore of this matere Line 175

¶ With hertly wyl / they sworen and assenten [folio 176a] To al this thyng ther seyde no wight nay Bisekynge hym of grace / ēr þat they wenten That he wolde / graunten hem a certein day Line 179

[6-text p 409] Line 179 Of his spousaille / as soone as euere I may ffor yet alwey / the peple som what dredde Lest that the Markys / no wyf wolde wedde Line 182

¶ He graunted hem a day / swich as hym leste Line 183 On which / he wolde be wedded sikerly And seyde / he dide al this at hir requeste And they / with humble entente buxomly Line 186 Knelynge vp on hir knees / ful reuerently Hym thanken alle / and thus they han an ende Of hir entente / and hom agayn they wende Line 189

And her vp on / he to his officers Line 190 Comaundeth / for the feste to purueye And to his pryuee knyghtes and Squyers Swich charge yaf / as hym liste on hem leye Line 193 And they / to his comandement obeye And ech of hem / dooth al his diligence To doon / vn-to the feste reuerence Line 196

¶ Explicit prima pars.

¶ Incipit pars secunda.

NOght fer / fro thilke paleys honurable Line 197 Wher as this Markys / shoope his mariage Ther stood a Throope / of site delitable In which þat poure folk / of that village Line 200 Hadden hir bestes / and hir herbergage And of hir labour / token hir sustenance After that the erthe / yaf hem habundance Line 203

[A [Rats.] [folio 176b] ]mong this poure folk / ther dwelte a man Which þat was holden / pourest of hem alle But heighe god / som tyme senden kan His grace / in to a litel Oxes Stalle Line 207 Ianicula / men of that Throope hym calle A doghter hadde he / fair ynogh to sighte And Grisildis / this yonge mayden highte Line 210

[6-text p 410] Line 210

¶ But for to speke / of vertuous beautee Line 211 Thanne was she / oon the faireste vnder the sonne ffor poureliche / yfostred vp was she No likerous lust was thurgh hir herte yronne Line 214 Wel ofter of the welle / than of the tonne She drank and for she wolde vertu plese She knew wel labour / but noon ydel ese Line 217

¶ But thogh this mayde / tendre were of age Line 218 Yet in the brest of hir virginitee Ther was enclosed / rype and sad corage And in gret reuerence / and charitee Line 221 Hir olde poure fader / fostred she A fewe sheepe / spynnynge / on feld she kepte She wolde noght been ydel / til she slepte Line 224

¶ And whan she homward cam / she wolde brynge Line 225 Wortes / or othere herbes / tymes ofte The whiche she shredde / and seeth for his lyuynge And made hir bed ful harde / and no thyng softe Line 228 And ay she kepte / hir fadres lyf on lofte With euery obeysance / and diligence That child may doon / to fadres reuerence Line 231

¶ Vp on Grisilde / this poure creature Line 232 fful ofte sithe / this Markys sette his eye And he / on huntyng rood per auenture And whan it fil / þat he myghte hire espie Line 235 He noght wit wantowne lookyng of folye Hise eyen caste on hire / but in sad wyse Vp on hir cheere / he wolde hym ofte auyse Line 238

¶ Commendynge in his herte / hir wommanhede [folio 177a] And eek hir vertu / passyng any wight Of so yong age / as wel in cheere as dede ffor thogh the peple / hath no greet insight Line 242

[6-text p 411] Line 242 In vertue / he considered ful right Hir bountee / and disposed þat he wolde Wedde hire oonly / if euere he wedden sholde Line 245

¶ The day of weddyng cam / but no wight kan Line 246 Telle what womman / þat it sholde be ffor which merueille / wondred many a man And seyden / whan they were in priuetee Line 249 Wol nat oure lord / yet leue his vanytee Wol he nat wedde / allas the while Why wol he thus / hym self and vs bigyle Line 252

¶ But nathelees / this Markys hath doon make Line 253 Of gemmes / set in gold and in Asure Broches and rynges / for Grisildis sake And of hir clothyng took he the mesure Line 256 Of a mayde / lyk to hir stature And eek of othere / aournementes alle That vn-to swich a weddyng sholde falle Line 259

¶ The tyme of vndren / of the same day Line 260 Approcheth / þat this weddyng sholde be And al the palays / put was in array Bothe halle and chambres / ech in his degree Line 263 Houses of office / stuffed with plentee Ther maystow seen / of deynteuous vitaille That may be founde / as fer as last Ytaille Line 266

¶ This Roial Markys / richeliche arrayed Line 267 Lordes and ladys / in his compaignye The whiche / þat to the feste were yprayed And of his retenue / the Bachilrye Line 270 With many a sown / of sondry melodye Vn to the village / of the which I tolde In this array / the righte wey han holde Line 273

[6-text p 412] Line 273

[Gri [Rats.] [folio 177b] ]silde of this / god woot ful Innocent [T [Rats.] ]hat for hire shapen was / al this array To fecchen water / at a welle / is went And cometh hom / as soone as euer she may Line 277 ffor wel she hadde herd seyd / þat thilke day The Markys sholde wedde / and if she myghte She wolde fayn han seyn / som of that sighte Line 280

¶ She thoghte / I wole with othere maydens stonde Line 281 That been my felawes / in oure dore and se [¶ vt expeditis curis alijs ad visendum domini sui sponsam cum puellis comitibus properaret.] The Markisesse / and therfore wol I fonde To doon at hom / as soone as it may be Line 284 The labour / which þat longeth vn to me And thanne I may / at leyser hir biholde Yf she this wey / vn to the Castel holde Line 287

¶ And as she wolde / ouer the thresshfold gon Line 288 The Markys cam / and gan hire for to calle And she sette doun / hir water pot anon Bisyde the thresshfold / in an Oxes Stalle Line 291 And doun vp on hir knees / she gan to falle And with sad contenance / kneleth stille Til she hadde herd / what was the lordes wille Line 294

¶ This thoghtful Markys / spak vn to this mayde [¶ quum Walterus cogitabundus incedens eamque compellans nomine.] fful sobrely / and seyde in this manere Where is youre fader / o. Grisildis he sayde And she with reuerence / in humble cheere Line 298 Answerde / lord he is al redy heere And she goth / with outen lenger lette And to the Markys / she hir fader fette Line 301

¶ He by the hand / than took this olde man Line 302 And seyde thus / whan he hym hadde asyde Ianicula / I neither may ne kan Lenger / the plesance of myn herte hyde Line 305

[6-text p 413] Line 305 If that thow vouche sauf / what so bityde Thy doghter wol I take / er that I wende As for my wyf/ vn to my lyues ende Line 308

¶ Thow louest me / I woot it wel certeyn [folio 178a] Line 309 And art my feithful lige man ybore And al that liketh me / I dar wel seyn It liketh thee / and specially ther fore Line 312 Tel me that point/ that I haue seyd bifore If that thow wolt vn to that purpos drawe To take me / as for thy sone in lawe Line 315

¶ The sodeyn cas / this man astoneyd so Line 316 That reed he weex abayst and al quakyng He stood / vnnethe seyde he wordes mo But oonly this / lord quod he / my willyng Line 319 Is as ye wole / ne ayeins youre likyng I wol no thyng ye be my lord so deere Right as yow list/ gouerneth this matere Line 322

¶ Yet wol I / quod this Markys / softely Line 323 That in thy chambre / .I. and thow. and she Haue a collacion / and wostow why ffor .I wol aske / if it hir wille be Line 326 To be my wyf / and rule hire after me And al this shal be doon / in thy presence I wol noght speke / out of thyn audience Line 329

¶ And in the chambre / whil they were aboute Line 330 Hir tretys / which as ye shal after heere The peple cam / vn to the hous with oute And wondred hem / in how honeste manere Line 333 And tentifly / she kepte hir fader deere But outrely / Grisildis wondre myghte ffor neuere eft ne saw she swich a sighte Line 336

[6-text p 414] Line 336

¶ No wonder is / thogh þat she were astoned [¶ Et insolito tanti hospitis aduentu stupidam inuenit/] To seen so greet a gest come in to place She neuere was / to swiche gestes woned ffor which she looked / with ful pale face Line 340 But shortly / forth this matere for to chace Thise arn the wordes / þat this Markys sayde To this benygne / verray feithful mayde Line 343

[Gri [Rats.] [folio 178b] ]silde he seyde / ye shal wel vnderstonde [¶ Et patri tuo placet inquid & michi vt vxor mea sis / et credo idipsum tibi placeat / set habeo ex te querere &cetera.] It liketh to youre fader / and to me That I yow wedde / and eek it may so stonde As I suppose / ye wol þat it so be Line 347 But thise demandes / aske I first quod he That sith it shal be doon / in hastif wyse Wol ye assente / or ellis yow auyse Line 350

¶ I sey this / be ye redy / with good herte Line 351 To al my lust and þat I frely may As me best thynketh / do yow laughe or smerte And neuere ye to grucche it/ nyght ne day Line 354 And eek whan I sey ye / ne sey nat nay Neither by word / ne frownyng contenance [¶ Sine vlla frontis aut verbi impugnacione.] Swere this / and heere I swere oure alliance Line 357

¶ Wondrynge vp on this word / quakyng for drede [¶ Nil ego vnquam sciens nedum faciam set eciam cogitabo quod contra animum tuum sit/ nec tu aliquid facies / et si me mori iusseris quod moleste feram.] She seyde lord / vndigne / or vnworthy I am / to thilke honour / þat ye me bede But as ye wol your self/ right so wol I Line 361 And heere I swere / that neuere willyngly In werk ne thoght I nel yow disobeye ffor to be deed / thogh me were looth to deye Line 364

¶ This is ynough / Grisilde myn quod he Line 365 And forth he goth / with a ful sobre cheere Out at the dore / and after that cam she And to the peple / he seyde in this manere Line 368

[6-text p 415] Line 368 This is my wyf quod he / that standeth heere Honureth hire / and loueth hire I preye Who so me loueth / there is namoore to seye Line 371

¶ And for þat no thyng of hir olde gere [¶ dehinc ne quid reliquiarum fortune veteris nouam inferat in domum / nudari eam iussit/] Line 372 She sholde brynge in to his hous / he bad That wommen / sholde dispoylen hir right there Of which / thise ladys / were noght right glad Line 375 To handle hir clothes / wher Inne she was clad But nathelees / this mayde bright of hewe ffro foot to heed / they clothed han al newe Line 378

¶ Hir herys han they kembd / that laye vntressed [folio 179a] fful rudely / and with hir fyngres smale A coroune on hir heed / they han ydressed And sette hire ful Nowches grete and smale Line 382 Of hir array / what sholde I make a tale Vnnethe the peple hir knew / for hir fairnesse Whan she translated was / in swich richesse Line 385

¶ This Markys / hath hire spoused with a ryng Line 386 Broght for the same cause / and thanne hir sette Vp on an hors snow whyt and wel amblyng And to his palays / er he lenger lette Line 389 With ioyful peple / þat hir ledde and mette Convoied hire / and thus / the day they spende In reuel / til the sonne gan descende Line 392

¶ And shortly / forth this tale for to chace Line 393 I seye / þat to this newe Markysesse God hath / swich fauour sent hire of his grace That it ne semed nat by liklynesse Line 396 That she / was born and fed in rudenesse As in a cote / or in an Oxes Stalle But norissed / in an Emperours halle Line 399

[6-text p 416] Line 399

¶ To euery wight she woxen is so deere [//Atque apud omnes supra fidem cara & venera|bilis facta est/ vix quod hijs ipsis qui illius originem nouerant/ persuaderi posset Ianicule natam esse tantus vite / tantus morum decor ea verborum grauitas atque dulcedo quibus omnium animos nexu sibi magni amoris astrinxerat/] Line 400 And worshipful / þat folk ther she was bore That from hir burthe / knewe hire yeer by yeere Vnnethe trowed they / but dorste han swore Line 403 That to Ianicle / of which I spak bifore She doghter were / for as by coniecture Hem thoughte / she was another creature Line 406

¶ ffor thogh þat euere / vertuous was she Line 407 She was encressed / in swich excellence Of thewes goode / yset in heigh bountee And so discreet and fair of eloquence Line 410 So benygne / and so digne of reuerence And koude so / the peples herte embrace That ech hir louede / that looked on hir face Line 413

[N [Rats.] [folio 179b] ]oght oonly / of Saluce in the town Publissed was / the bountee of hir name But eek bisyde / in many a Regioun If oon seyde wel / another seyde the same Line 417 So spradde / of hir heighe bountee the fame That men and wommen / as wel yonge as olde Goon to Saluce / on hire to biholde Line 420

¶ Thus Walter lowely / nay but roially [¶ Sic Walterus humili quidem set insigni ac prospero matrimonio honestatis summa dei in pace &cetera.] Line 421 Wedded / with fortunat honestetee In goddes pees / lyueth ful esily At hom / and outward grace ynow hath he Line 424 And for he saugh / þat vnder lowe degree [¶ Quodque eximiam virtutem tanta sub inopia latitantem tam perspicaciter deprendisset vulgo prudentissimus habebatur.] Was ofte vertu hyd / the peple hym helde A prudent man / and that is seyn ful selde Line 427

¶ Noght oonly / this Grisildis / thurgh hir wit [Neque vero solers sponsa muliebria tantum ac do|mestica / set vbi res posceret publica eciam subibat officia.] Koude al the feet of wifly humblenesse But eek whan þat the cas required it The commune profit koude she redresse Line 431

[6-text p 417] Line 431 Ther nas discord / rancour / ne heuynesse In al that land / þat she ne koude apese And wisly / brynge hem alle in reste and ese Line 434

¶ Thogh þat hir housbond absent were / anon [¶ viro absente lites patrie / nobilium discordias dirimens atque componens tam grauibus responsis / tantaque maturi|tate & Iudicij equitate vt omnes ad salutem publicam demissam celo feminam predicarent.] If gentil men / or othere of hir contree Were wrothe / she wolde bryngen hem aton So wise / and rype wordes hadde she Line 438 And Iuggementz / of so greet equytee That she from heuene sent was / as men wende Peple to saue / and euery wrong tamende Line 441

¶ Nat longe tyme after that this Grisild Line 442 Was ywedded / she a doghter hath ybore Al hadde hir leuere / haue had a knaue child Glad was the Markys / and the folk ther fore Line 445 ffor thogh a mayde child / coome al bifore She may / vn to a knaue child atteyne By liklyhede / syn she nys nat bareyne Line 448

Explicit secunda pars.

Incipit/ pars tercia.

THer fil / as it bifalleth tymes mo [ [folio 180a] ¶ cepit [ut fit interdum Walterum cum] iam [ablactata esset infantula] mirabilis q[uedam quam laudabilis] cupiditas sat[is expertam care fidem] coniugis experien[di alcius & iterum] atque iterum retem[ptandi].] Whan þat this child / hath souked but a throwe This Markys / in his herte longeth so To tempte his wyf/ hir sadnesse for to knowe Line 452 That he ne myghte / out of his herte throwe This merueilous desir / his wyf tassaye Nedelees god woot he thoghte hire for tafraye Line 455

¶ He hadde assayed hire / ynow bifore Line 456 And fond hir euere good / what neded it Hir for to tempte / and alwey moore & moore Thogh som men preyse it for a subtil wit Line 459 But as for me / I seye þat yuele it sit Tassaye a wyf / whan þat it is no nede And putten hire / in angwyssh and in drede Line 462

[6-text p 418] Line 462

ffor which / this Markys / wroghte in this manere Line 463 He cam allone a nyght ther as she lay With steerne face / and with ful trouble cheere And seyde thus / Grisilde quod he that day Line 466 That I yow took out of youre poure array And putte yow in estat of heigh noblesse Ye haue nat that forgeten as I gesse Line 469

¶ I seye Grisilde / this present dignitee Line 470 In which þat I haue put yow / as I trowe Maketh yow / nat foryetful for to be That I yow took in poure estat ful lowe Line 473 ffor any wele / ye mote your seluen knowe Tak hede of euery word / þat I yow seye Ther is no wight þat hereth it but we tweye Line 476

¶ Ye woot your self wel / how þat ye cam heere Line 477 In to this hous / it is nat longe ago And thogh to me / þat ye be lief and deere Vn to my gentils / ye be no thyng so Line 480 They seyn / to hem / it is greet shame & wo ffor to be subgitz / and been in seruage To thee / that born art of a smal village Line 483

¶ [An [Rats.] [folio 180b] ]d namely / sith thy doghter was ybore Thise wordes / han they spoken doutelees But I desire / as I haue doon bifore To lyue my lyf with hem / in reste and pees Line 487 I may nat in this cas be recchelees I moot doon with thy doghter / for the beste Nat as I wolde / but as my peple leste Line 490

¶ And yet god woot this is ful looth to me Line 491 But nathelees / with outen youre wityng I wol nat doon / but this wol I quod he That ye to me assente / as in this thyng Line 494

[6-text p 419] Line 494 Shewe now youre pacience / in youre wirkyng That ye me highte / and swore in yone village That day / þat maked was oure mariage Line 497

¶ Whan she hadde herd al this / she noght ameued Line 498 Neither in word / or cheere / or contenance [Nec verbo mota / nec vultu.] ffor as it semed / she was nat agreued She seyde lord / al lith in youre plesance Line 501 My child and I / with hertly obeisance Been youres al / and ye mowe saue or spille Youre owene thyng werketh after youre wille Line 504

¶ Ther may no thyng god so my soule saue Line 505 Liken to yow / þat may displesen me Ne I ne desire / no thyng for to haue Ne drede for to lese / saue oonly thee / [vel ye] Line 508 This wyl is in myn herte / and ay shal be No lengthe of tyme / or deth may this deface Ne chaunge my corage / to oother place Line 511

¶ Glad was this Markys / of hir answeryng Line 512 But yet he feyned / as he were nat so Al drery was his cheere / and his lookyng Whan þat he sholde / out of the chambre go Line 515 Soone after this / a furlang wey or two He pryuely / hath told al his entente Vn to a man / and to his wyf hym sente Line 518

¶ A maner sergeant/ was this priuee man [folio 181a] Line 519 The which þat feithful ofte / he founden hadde In thynges grete / and eek swich folk wel kan Doon execucion / in thynges badde Line 522 The lord knew wel / that he [hy]m loued and dradde And whan this sergeant wiste his lordes wille In to the chambre / he stalked hym ful stille Line 525

[6-text p 420] Line 525

¶ Madame he seyde / ye mote foryeue it me Line 526 Thogh I do thyng to which I am constreyned Ye ben so wys / þat ful wel knowe ye That lordes hestes / mowe nat ben yfeyned Line 529 They mowe wel been / biwailled / or compleyned But men mote nede / vn to hir lust obeye And so wol I / ther is namoore to seye Line 532

¶ This child / I am comaunded for to take Line 533 And spak namoore / but out the child he hente Despitously / and gan a cheere make As thogh he wolde / han slayn it er he wente Line 536 Grisildis moot al suffre / and al consente And as a lamb / she sitteth meke and stille And leet this crewel sergeant doon his wille Line 539

¶ Suspecious was / the diffame of this man [¶ Suspecta viri fama.] [¶ Suspecta facies.] Suspect his face / suspect his word also [¶ Suspecta hora.] Suspect/ the tyme / in which he this bigan [¶ Suspecta erat oracio.] Allas hir doghter / þat she loued so She wende / he wolde / han slayn it right tho But nathelees / she neither weepe ne syked Conformynge hire / to that the Markys liked Line 546

¶ But at the laste / speken she bigan Line 547 And mekely / she to the sergeant preyde So as he was / a worthy gentil man That she moste kisse hir child / er þat it deyde Line 550 And on hir barm / this litel child she leyde With ful sad face / and gan the child to blesse And lulled it and after gan it kesse Line 553

¶ [A [Rats.] [folio 181b] ]nd thus she seyde / in hir benygne voys ffare wel my child / I shal thee neuere see But sith I thee / haue marked with the croys Of thilke fader / blessed mote he be Line 557

[6-text p 421] Line 557 That for vs deyde / vp on a croys of tree Thy soule litel child / I hym bitake ffor this nyght shaltow dyen for my sake Line 560

¶ I trowe / that to a Norice in this cas Line 561 It hadde been hard / this routhe for to se Wel myghte a moder / haue cryd allas But nathelees / so sad stedefast was she Line 564 That she endured / al aduersitee And to the Sergeant mekely she sayde Haue here agayn / youre litel yonge mayde Line 567

¶ Goth now quod she / and doth my lordes heste Line 568 But o thyng wol I pray yow / of youre grace That but my lord / forbad yow at the leeste Burieth this litel body / in som place Line 571 That bestes / ne no bryddes / it to-race But he no word / wol to that purpos seye But took the child / and wente vp on his weye Line 574

¶ This sergeant cam / vn to his lord agayn Line 575 And of Grisildis wordes / and hir cheere He tolde hym poynt for poynt in short and playn And hym presenteth / with his doghter deere Line 578 Som what this lord / hadde routhe in his manere But nathelees / his purpos held he stille As lordes doon / whan they wol han hir wille Line 581

¶ And bad this Sergeant þat he pryuely Line 582 Sholde this child / softe wynde and wrappe With alle circumstances tendrely And carie it in a cofre / or in a lappe Line 585 But vp on peyne / his heed of for to swappe That no man sholde knowe / of this entente Ne whennes he cam / ne whider þat he wente Line 588

[6-text p 422] Line 588

¶ But at Boloigne / he to his suster deere [folio 182a] That thilke tyme / of Pauyk was Countesse He sholde it take / and shewe hire this matere Bisekynge hire / to doon hir bisynesse Line 592 This child to fostre / in alle gentilesse And whos child þat it was / he bad hire hyde ffrom euery wight for aught þat may bityde Line 595

¶ The Sergeant goth / and hath fulfild this thyng Line 596 But to this Markys / now retourne we ffor now goth he / ful faste ymagynyng If by his wyues cheere / he myghte se Line 599 Or by hir word aparceyue / that she Were chaunged / but he neuere hir koude fynde But euere in oon / ylike sad and kynde Line 602

¶ As glad / as humble / as busy in seruyse [¶ Par alacritas atque sedalitas solitum obsequium/ idem amor nulla filie mencio.] And eek in loue / as she was wont to be Was she to hym / in euery maner wise Ne of hir doghter / noght a word spak she Line 606 Noon accident for noon aduersitee Was seyn in hire / ne neuere hir doghter name Ne nempned she / in ernest ne in game Line 609

¶ Explicit tercia pars.

¶ Incipit pars quarta.

IN this estat ther passed ben .4. yeer [¶ transiuerant hoc/ in statu anni .4. dum ecce grauida &cetera.] Line 610 Er she with childe was / but as god wolde A knaue child she bar / by this Walter fful gracious / and fair for to biholde Line 613 And whan þat folk / it to his fader tolde Nat oonly he / but al his contre merye Was for this child / and god they thanke and herye Line 616

¶ Whan it was two yeer old / and fro the brest [folio 182b] Departed of his Norice / on a day This Markys / caughte yet another lest

[6-text p 423] To tempte his wyf / yet ofter / if he may Line 620 O nedelees / was she tempted in assay But wedded men / ne knowe no mesure Whan þat they fynde / a pacient creature Line 623

¶ Wyf quod this Markys / ye han herd er this [¶ Et olim ait audisti populum meum egre nos|trum ferre connubium &cetera.] My peple / sikly berth this mariage And namely / sith my sone yborn is Now is it worse / than euere in al oure age Line 627 The murmur sleeth myn herte / and my corage ffor to myne erys / comth the voys so smerte That it wel neigh / destroyed hath myn herte Line 630

¶ Now sey they thus / whan Walter is agon Line 631 Thanne shal / the blood of Ianycle succede And been oure lord / for oother haue we noon Swiche wordes / seith my peple out of drede Line 634 Wel oghte I / of swich murmur taken hede ffor certeinly / I drede swich sentence Though they nat pleyn / speke in myn audience Line 637

¶ I wolde lyue in pees / if þat I myghte Line 638 Wherfore / I am disposed outrely As I his suster / serued by nyghte Right so thenke I / to serue hym priuely Line 641 This warne I yow / þat ye nat sodeynly Out of your self / for no wo sholde outraye Beth pacient and ther of I yow praye Line 644

¶ I haue quod she seyd thus / and euere shal Line 645 I wol no thyng ne nyl no thyng certeyn But as yow list noght greueth me at al Thogh that my doghter / and my sone be sleyn Line 648 At youre comandement this is to seyn I haue nat had no part of children tweyne But first siknesse / and after wo and peyne Line 651

[6-text p 424] Line 651

¶ Ye ben oure lord / dooth with youre owene thyng [folio 183a] Right as yow list axeth no reed of me ffor as I lefte at hom / al my clothyng Whan I first cam to yow / right so quod she Line 655 Lefte I my wyl / and al my libertee And took youre clothyng/ wherfore I yow preye Dooth youre plesance / I wol youre lust obeye Line 658

¶ And certes / if I hadde prescience [¶ ffac sen[ten]ciam tibi placere quod moriar volens moriar.] Line 659 Youre wyl to knowe / er ye youre lust me tolde I wolde it doon / with outen necligence But now I woot youre lust/ and what ye wolde Line 662 Al youre plesance / ferm and stable I holde ffor wiste I / þat my deeth / wolde doon yow ese Right gladly wolde I dyen / yow to plese Line 665

¶ Deeth may nat make / no comparisoun Line 666 Vn-to your love And whan this Marqys say The constance of hys wyf / he caste adoun Hise eyen two / and wondreth þat she may Line 669 In pacience / suffre al this array And forth he goth / with drery contenance But to his herte / it was ful gret plesance Line 672

¶ This vggly sergeant in the same wyse Line 673 That he hir doghter caughte / right so he Or worse / if men worse kan deuyse Hath hent hir sone / þat ful was of beautee Line 676 And euere in oon / so pacient was she That she / no cheere made of heuynesse But kiste hir sone / and after gan it blesse Line 679

¶ Saue this she prayde hym / þat if he myghte Line 680 Hir litel sone / he wolde in erthe graue His tendre lymes / delicat to sighte ffro foweles / and fro bestes / hem to saue Line 683

[6-text p 425] Line 683 But she noon answere / of hym myghte haue He wente his wey / as hym no thyng roghte But to Boloigne / he tendrely it broghte Line 686

[T [Rats.] [folio 183b] ]his Markys wondreth / euer lenger the moore Vp on hir pacience / and if þat he Ne hadde soothly / knowen ther bifoore That parfitly / hir children loued she Line 690 He wolde haue wend / þat of som subtiltee And of malice / or of cruel corage That she hadde suffred this / with sad visage Line 693

¶ But wel he knew / þat next hym self certayn Line 694 She loued hir children best in euery wise But now of wommen / wolde I asken fayn If thise assayes / myghte nat suffise Line 697 What koude a sturdy housbond / moore deuyse To proue hir wifhod / and hir stedfastnesse And he contynuynge / euere in sturdynesse Line 700

¶ But ther ben folk / of swich condicion Line 701 That whan they haue / a certeyn purpos take They kan nat stynte / of hir entencion But right as they were bounden to that stake Line 704 They wol nat of that firste purpos slake Right so this Markys / fulliche hath purposed To tempte his wyf / as he was first disposed Line 707

¶ He wayteth / if by word / or contenance Line 708 That she to hym / was chaunged of corage But neuere / koude he fynde variance She was ay oon / in herte and in visage Line 711 And ay the ferther / þat she was of age The moore trewe / if þat were possible She was to hym in loue / and moore penyble Line 714

[6-text p 426] Line 714

¶ ffor which it semed thus / þat of hem two Line 715 Ther nas but o wyl / for as Walter leste The same lust was hir plesance also And god be thanked / al fyl for the beste Line 718 She shewed wel / for no worldly vnreste A wif as of hir self no thyng ne sholde Wille in effect but as hir housbond wolde Line 721

¶ The sclaundre of Walter / ofte and wyde spradde [folio 184a] [¶ ceperit sensi[m de Waltero] decolor fama [cre|brescere.]] That of a cruel herte / he wikkedly ffor he / a poure womman / wedded hadde Hath mordred / bothe his children pryuely Line 725 Swich murmur / was among hem comunly No wonder is / for to the peples ere Ther cam no word / but þat they mordred were Line 728

¶ ffor which / wher as his peple ther bifore Line 729 Hadde loued hym wel / the sclaundre of his diffame Made hem / that they hym hated therfore To ben a mordrere / is an hateful name Line 732 But natheles / for ernest ne for game He / of his cruel purpos nolde stente To tempte his wyf / was set al his entente Line 735

¶ Whan that this doghter /.xij. yer was of age Line 736 He to the court of Rome / in subtil wise Enformed of his wil / sente his message Comaundynge hem / swiche bulles to deuyse Line 739 As to his cruel purpos / may suffise How þat the pope / as for his peples reste Bad hym to wedde / another if hym leste Line 742

¶ I seye / he bad they sholde contrefete Line 743 The popes bulles / makyng mencion That he hath leue / his firste wyf to lete As by the popes dispensacion Line 746

[6-text p 427] Line 746 To stynte rancour / and dissencion Bitwix his peple and hym / thus seyde the bulle The which / they han publissed at the fulle Line 749

¶ The rude peple / as it no wonder is Line 750 Wenden ful wel / þat it hadde ben right so But whan thise tidynges / cam to Grisildis I deme / that hir herte was ful wo Line 753 But she / ylike sad for euere mo Disposed was / this humble creature Thaduersitee of ffortune / al tendure Line 756

¶ Abidynge euere / his lust and his plesance [folio 184b] To whom þat she was yeuen / herte and al As to hire / verray worldly suffisance But shortly / if this storie I tellen shal Line 760 This Markys / writen hath in special A lettre / in which / he sheweth his entente And secrely / he to Boloigne it sente Line 763

¶ To the Erl of Pavyk which þat hadde tho Line 764 Wedded his suster / prayde he specially To bryngen hom agayn / his children two In honurable estat al openly Line 767 But o thyng he hym prayde outrely That he to no wight th[o]gh men wolde enquere Sholde nat tellen / whos children þat they were Line 770

¶ But seye / the mayden sholde ywedded be Line 771 Vn to the Markys of Saluce / anon And as this Erl was prayd / so dide he ffor at day set he on his wey is gon Line 774 Toward Saluce / and lordes many oon In riche array / this mayden for to gyde Hir yonge brother / ridyng hir bisyde Line 777

[6-text p 428] Line 777

¶ Arrayed was / toward hir mariage Line 778 This fresshe mayde / ful of gemmes clere Hir brother / which þat seuen yeer was of age Arrayed eek ful fressh in his manere Line 781 And thus in gret noblesse / and with glad cheere Toward Saluces / shapyng hir iourney ffro day to day / they ryden in hir wey Line 784

¶ Explicit quarta pars.

¶ Incipit pars qinta / ¶ The Cler[kes Tale] [folio 185a]

Among al this / after his wikke vsage Line 785 This Markys yet his wif to tempte moore To the outreste preue / of hir corage ffully to han / experience and loore Line 788 If that she were / as stedefast as bifore He on a day / in open audience fful boystously / hath seyd hire this sentence Line 791

¶ Certes Grisilde / I hadde ynogh plesance Line 792 To han yow to my wyf / for youre goodnesse And for youre trouthe / and for youre obeysance Noght for youre lynage / ne for youre richesse Line 795 But now knowe I / in verray sothfastnesse That in gret lordshipe / if I wel auyse Ther is gret seruitute / in sondry wyse Line 798

¶ I may nat do / as euery Plowman may Line 799 My peple / me constreyneth for to take Another wyf / and cryen day by day And eek the pope / rancour for to slake Line 802 Consenteth it that dar I vndertake And trewely / thus muche I wol yow seye My newe wif / is comynge by the weye Line 805

¶ Be strong of herte / and voyde anon hir place Line 806 And thilke dowere / þat ye broghten me Tak it agayn / I graunte it of my grace

[6-text p 429] Retourneth / to youre fadres hous quod he Line 809 No man may / alwey han prosperitee With euene herte / I rede yow tendure The strook / of ffortune / or of auenture Line 812

¶ And she agayn / answerde in pacience Line 813 My lord quod she / I woot and wiste alway How þat bitwixen / youre magnificence And my pouerte / no wight kan ne may Line 816 Maken comparison / it is no nay I ne heeld me neuere digne / in no manere To be youre wyf/ no; ne youre chambrere Line 819

And in this hous / ther ye me lady made [folio 185b] The heighe god take I / for my witnesse And also wisly / he my soule glade I neuere heeld me lady / ne maistresse Line 823 But humble seruant to youre worthynesse And euere shal / whil þat my lyf may dure Abouen / euery worldly creature Line 826

¶ That ye so longe / of youre benygnytee Line 827 Han holden me / in honour and nobleye Where as I was / noght worthy for to be That thonke I god and yow / to whom I preye Line 830 fforyelde it yow / ther is namoore to seye Vn to my fader / gladly wol I wende And with hym dwelle / vn to my lyues ende Line 833

¶ Ther I was fostred / of a child ful smal Line 834 Til I be deed / my lyf ther wol I lede A wydewe clene / in body / herte / and al ffor sith / I yaf to yow / my maydenhede Line 837 And am youre trewe wyf / it is no drede God shilde / swich a lordes wyf to take Another man / to housbond / or to make Line 840

[6-text p 430] Line 840

¶ And of youre newe wyf / god of his grace Line 841 So graunte yow / wele and prosperitee ffor I wol gladly / yelden hire my place In which / þat I was blisful wont to be Line 844 ffor sith it liketh yow / my lord quod she That whilom weren / al myn hertes reste That I shal goon / I wol goon whan yow leste Line 847

¶ But ther as ye / me profre swich dowaire Line 848 As I first broghte / it is wel in my mynde It were my wrecched clothes / no thyng faire The whiche to me / were hard now for to fynde Line 851 O goode god / how gentil / and how kynde Ye semed / by youre speche / and youre visage The day / that maked was oure mariage Line 854

¶ But sooth is seyd / algate I fynde it trewe [folio 186a] Line 855 ffor in effect it proued is on me Loue is noght old / as whan þat it is newe But certes lord / for noon aduersitee Line 858 To dyen in this cas / it shal nat be That euere in word or werk/ I shal repente That I yow yaf myn herte / in hool entente Line 861

¶ My lord ye woot þat in my fadres place Line 862 Ye dide me strepe / out of my poure wede And richely / me cladden of youre grace To yow broghte I / noght ellis out of drede Line 865 But feith / and nakednesse / and maydenhede And here agayn / my clothyng I restore And eek my weddyngryng for euere moore Line 868

¶ The remenant of youre Iewels / redy be Line 869 In with youre chambre / dar I saufly sayn Naked / out of my fadres hous quod she I cam / and naked moot I turne agayn Line 872

[6-text p 431] Line 872 Al youre plesance / wol I folwen fayn But yet I hope / it be nat youre entente That I smoklees / out of youre palays wente Line 875

¶ Ye koude nat doon / so dishoneste a thyng Line 876 That thilke wombe / in which youre children leye Sholde biforn the peple / in my walkyng Be seyn al bare / wher fore I yow preye Line 879 Lat me / nat lyk a worm / go by the weye Remembre yow / myn owene lord so deere I was youre wyf / thogh I vnworthy weere Line 882

¶ Wher fore / in gerdon of my maydenhede Line 883 Which þat I broghte / and noght agayn I bere As voucheth sauf to yeue me to my mede But swich a smok as I was wont to were Line 886 That I ther with / may wrye the wombe of here That was youre wyf / and here take I my leeue Of yow myn owene lord / lest I yow greeue Line 889

¶ The smok quod he / that thow hast on thy bak/ [folio 186b] Lat it be stille / and bere it forth with thee But wel vnnethes / thilke word he spak But wente his wey / for routhe and for pitee Line 893 Biforn the folk / hir seluen strepeth shee And in hir smok/ with heued & feet al bare Toward hir fader hous / forth is she fare Line 896

¶ The folk hir folwen / wepynge in hir weye Line 897 And ffortune / ay they cursen as they goon But she fro wepyng kepte hir eyen dreye Ne in this tyme / word ne spak she noon Line 900 Hir fader / that this tidynge herde anon Curseth the day and tyme / þat nature Shoope hym / to been a lyues creature Line 903

[6-text p 432] Line 903

¶ ffor out of doute / this olde poure man Line 904 Was euere / in suspect of hir mariage ffor euere he demed / sith þat it bigan That whan the lord / fulfild hadde his corage Line 907 Hym wolde thynke / it were a disparage To his estat so lowe for talighte And voyden hire / as soone as euere he myghte Line 910

¶ Agayns his doghter / hastiliche goth he Line 911 ffor he by noyse of folk / knew hir comynge And with hir olde cote / as it myghte be He couered hire / ful sorwefully wepynge Line 914 But on hir body / myghte he it nat brynge ffor rude was the clooth / and she moore of age By dayes fele / than at hir mariage Line 917

¶ Thus with hir fader / for a certein space Line 918 Dwelleth this flour / of wifly pacience That neyther / by hir wordes / ne hir face Biforn the folk/ ne eek in hir absence Line 921 Ne shewed she / þat hir was doon offence Ne of hir heighe estat no remembrance Ne hadde she / as by hir contenance Line 924

¶ No wonder is / for in hir grete estat [folio 187a] Line 925 Hir goost was euere / in pleyn humylitee No tendre mouth / noon herte delicat No pompe / no semblant of realtee Line 928 But ful / of pacient benygnytee Discreet and pridelees / ay honurable And to hir housbonde / euere meke & stable Line 931

¶ Men speke of Iob / and moost for his humblenesse Line 932 As clerkes whan hem lest konne wel endite Namely of men / but as in soothfastnesse Thogh clerkes / preyse wommen but a lite Line 935

[6-text p 433] Line 935 Ther kan no man / in humblesse hym acquite As wommen kan / ne kan be half so trewe As wommen been / but it be falle of newe Line 938

[PART VI.]

¶ ffro Boloigne / is this Erl of Pavyk come Line 939 Of which the fame vp sprong to moore & lesse And to the peples erys / alle and some Was kouth eek/ þat a newe Markisesse Line 942 He with hym broghte / in swich pompe & richesse That neuere was ther seyn / with mannes eye So noble array / in al westlumbardye Line 945

¶ The Markys / which þat shoope / and knew al this Line 946 Er that this Erl was come / sente his message ffor thilke / sely / poure Grisildis And she with humble herte / and glad visage Line 949 Nat with no swollen thoght in hir corage Cam at his heste / and on hir knees hir sette And reuerently / and wysly she hym grette Line 952

¶ Grisilde quod he / my wil is outrely Line 953 This mayden / þat shal wedded been to me Receyued be tomorwe / as really As it possible is / in myn hous to be Line 956 And eek/ that euery wight in his degree Haue his estat in sittyng and seruyse And heigh plesance / as I kan best deuyse Line 959

[I [Rats.] [folio 187b] ] haue no wommen suffisant certayn Line 960 The chambres for taraye / in ordynance After my lust and ther fore wolde I fayn That thyn were / al swich manere gouernance Line 963 Thow knowest eek of old al my plesance Though thyn array be badde / and yuel biseye Do thow thy deuoir / at the leeste weye Line 966

[6-text p 434] Line 966

¶ Nat oonly lord / that I am glad / quod she Line 967 To doon youre lust but I desire also Yow for to serue / and plese in my degree With outen feyntyng and shal euere mo Line 970 Ne neuere / for no wele / ne no wo Ne shal the goost with Inne myn herte stente To loue yow best with al my trewe entente Line 973

¶ And with that word / she gan the hous to dighte Line 974 And tables for to sette / and beddes make And peyned hire / to doon al that she myghte Preyynge the chambreres / for goddes sake Line 977 To hasten hem / and faste swepe and shake And she / the mooste seruysable of alle Hath euery chambre arrayed / and his halle Line 980

¶ Abouten vndren / gan this Erl alighte Line 981 That with hym broghte / thise noble children tweye ffor which the peple / ran to seen the sighte Of hire array / so richely biseye Line 984 And thanne at erst / amonges hem they seye That Walter was no fool / thogh þat hym leste To chaunge his wyf/ for it was for his beste Line 987

¶ ffor she is fairer / as they demen alle Line 988 Than is Grisilde / and moore tendre of age And fairer fruyt bitwene hem sholde falle And moore plesant for hire heigh lynage Line 991 Hir brother eek / so fair was of visage That hem to seen / the peple hath caught plesance Commendynge now / the Markys gouernance Line 994

¶ O. stormy peple / vnsad / and euere vntrewe [folio 188a] Line 995 Ay vndiscreet and chaungyng as a vane Delitynge euere in rumbel / þat is newe ffor lyk the moone / ay wexe ye and wane Line 998

[6-text p 435] Line 998 Ay ful of clappyng deere ynow a Iane Youre doom is fals / youre constance yuele preueth A ful greet fool is he / that on yow leueth Line 1001

¶ Thus seyden sadde folk/ in that Citee Line 1002 Whan that the peple / gazed vp and doun ffor they were glad / right for the noueltee To han / a newe lady / of hir town Line 1005 Namoore of this / make I now mencioun But to Grisilde agayn / wol I me dresse And telle hir constance / and hir bisynesse Line 1008

¶ fful bisy was Grisilde / in euery thyng Line 1009 That to the feste / was apertinent Right noght was she abayst of hir clothyng Thogh it were rude / and somdel eek to-rent Line 1012 But with glad cheere / to the yate is she went With oother folk/ to greete the Markysesse And after that/ dooth forth hir bisynesse Line 1015

¶ With so glad cheere / his gestes she receyueth Line 1016 And so konnyngly / euerich in his degree That no defaute / no man aparceyueth But ay they wondren / what she myghte be Line 1019 That in so poure array / was for to se And koude swich honour / and reuerence And worthily / they preysen hir prudence Line 1022

¶ In al this mene while / she ne stente Line 1023 This mayde / and eek hir brother to commende With al hir herte / in ful benygne entente So wel / þat no man koude hir prys amende Line 1026 But at the laste / whan þat thise lordes wende To sitten doun to mete / he gan to calle Grisilde / as she was bisy in his halle Line 1029

[6-text p 436] Line 1029

¶ Grisilde quod he / as it were in his pley [folio 188b] How liketh thee my wyf / and hir beautee Right wel quod she my lord / for in good fey A fairer / saw I neuere noon / than she Line 1033 I prey to god / yeue hire prosperitee And so hope I / þat he wol to yow sende Plesance ynough / vn to youre lyues ende Line 1036

¶ O thyng biseke I yow / and warne also [vnum bona fide precor ac moneo / ne hanc/ illis aculeis agites / quibus alteram agitasti namque & iunior & delicacius nutrita est/ pati quantum ego vt reor non valeret/] That ye ne prike / with no tormentynge This tendre mayden / as ye han do mo ffor she is fostred / in hir norissynge Line 1040 Moore tendrely / and to my supposynge She koude nat aduersitee endure As koude / a poure fostred creature Line 1043

¶ And whan this Walter / saw hir pacience Line 1044 Hir glad cheere / and no malice at al And he so ofte / had doon to hire offence And she ay sad / and constant as a wal Line 1047 Continuynge euere / hir Innocence ouer al [vbique.] This sturdy Markys / gan his herte dresse To rewen / vp on hir wyfly stedfastnesse Line 1050

¶ This is ynogh / Grisilde myn quod he Line 1051 Be now namoore agast ne yuele apayed I haue thy feith / and thy benygnytee As wel / as euere womman was.? assayed Line 1054 In greet estat and poureliche arrayed Now knowe I deere wyf / thy stedfastnesse And hire in armes took / and gan hir kesse Line 1057

¶ And she for wonder / took of it no keepe Line 1058 She herde nat what thyng he to hir seyde She ferde / as she hadde stirt out of a sleepe Til she / out of hir mazednesse abreyde Line 1061

[6-text p 437] Line 1061 Grisilde quod he / by god þat for vs deyde Thow art my wyf / noon oother I haue Ne neuere hadde / as god my soule saue Line 1064

¶ This is thy doghter / which thow hast supposed [folio 189a] To be my wyf / that oother feithfully Shal be myn heir / as I haue ay supposed Thow bare hym / in thy body trewely Line 1068 At Boloigne / haue I kept hem priuely Tak hem agayn / for now maistow nat seye That thow hast lorn / noon of thy children tweye Line 1071

¶ And folk / þat oother weys / han seyd of me Line 1072 I warne hem wel / þat I haue doon this dede ffor no malice / ne for no crueltee But for tassaye in thee / thy wommanhede Line 1075 And nat to sleen my children / god forbede But for to kepe hem / pryuely and stille Til I thy purpos knewe / and al thy wille Line 1078

¶ Whan she this herde / / aswowne doun she falleth Line 1079 ffor pitous ioye / and after hir swownynge She bothe hir yonge children / vn to hire calleth And in hir armes / pitously wepynge Line 1082 Embraceth hem / and tendrely kissynge fful lyk a moder / with hir salte terys She batheth / bothe hir visage and hir herys Line 1085

¶ O which a pitous thyng it was to se Line 1086 Hir swownyng and hir humble voys to heere Grant mercy lord / god thanke it yow / quod she That ye han saued me / my children deere Line 1089 Now rekke I neuere / to been ded right heere Sith I stonde in youre loue / and in youre grace No fors of deeth / ne whan my spirit pace Line 1092

[6-text p 438] Line 1092

¶ O tendre / o deere / o yonge children myne Line 1093 Youre woful moder / wende stedefastly That cruel houndes / or som foul vermyne Hadde eten yow / but god of his mercy Line 1096 And youre benygne fader / tendrely Hath doon yow kept and in that same stounde Al sodeynly / she swapte adoun to grounde Line 1099

¶ And in hir swogh / so sadly holdeth she [folio 189b] Hir children two / whan she gan hem tembrace That with greet sleghte / and greet difficultee The children from hir arm / they gonne arace Line 1103 O. many a teer / o many a pitous face Doun ran / of hem þat stoden hir bisyde Vnnethe aboute hire / myghte they abyde Line 1106

¶ Walter hir gladeth / and hir sorwe slaketh Line 1107 She riseth vp abaysed / from hir traunce And euery wight hir ioye and feste maketh Til she / hath caught agayn hir contenance Line 1110 Walter hir dooth / so feithfully plesance That it was deyntee / for to seen the cheere Bitwix hem two / now they ben met yfeere Line 1113

¶ Thise ladies / whan þat they / hir tyme say Line 1114 Han taken hire / and in to chambre goon And strepen hire / out of hir rude aray And in a clooth of gold / þat brighte shoon Line 1117 With a coroune / of many a riche stoon Vp on hir hed / they in to halle hir broghte And ther she was / honured as hir oghte Line 1120

¶ Thus hath this pitous day / a blisful ende Line 1121 ffor euery man and womman / dooth his myght This day / in murthe and reuel to dispende Til on the welkne / shoon the sterres lyght Line 1124

[6-text p 439] Line 1124 ffor moore solempne / in euery mannes syght This feste was / and gretter of costage Than was / the reuel of hir mariage Line 1127

¶ fful many a yeer / in heigh prosperitee Line 1128 Lyuen thise two / in concord and in reste And richely / his doghter maried he Vn to a lord / oon of the worthyeste Line 1131 Of al Ytaille / and thanne in pees and reste His wyues fader / and his court he kepeth Til that the soule / out of his body crepeth Line 1134

¶ His sone / succedeth in his heritage [folio 190a] Line 1135 In reste and pees / after his fader day And fortunat was eek his mariage Al putte he nat his wyf in gret assay Line 1138 This world is nat so strong it is no nay As it hath been / in olde tymes yore And herkneth / what this Auctour seith therfore Line 1141

¶ This storie is seyd / nat for þat wyues sholde [

¶ hanc historiam stilo nunc alto retexere vis[um fuit] non tum ideo / vt matronas nostri temporis [ad] imitandam huius vxoris pacienciam que mich[i] inimitabilis videtur / quam vt legentes ad imitandam saltem femine constanciam excitaren|tur

¶ vt que hec viro suo prestitit/ hoc prestare deo nostro audeat quilibet/ vt Iacobus ait Apostolus/ / Intemptator sit malorum & ipse neminem temptat/ probat tamen et sepe nos multis ac graui|bus flagellis excerceri sinit / non vt animum nostrum sciat/ quem sciuit antequam crearemur &cetera.

] ffolwen Grisilde / as in humylitee ffor it were importable / thogh they wolde But for þat euery wight in his degree Line 1145 Sholde be constant in aduersitee As was Grisilde / therfore Petrak writeth This storie / which he with heigh stile enditeth / Line 1148

¶ ffor sith a womman / was so pacient Line 1149 Vn to a mortal man / wel moore vs oghte Receyuen al in gree / that god vs sent ffor gret skile is / he preue that he wroghte Line 1152 But he ne tempteth / no man þat he boghte As seith Seint Iame / if ye his pistel rede He preueth folk al day / it is no drede Line 1155

[6-text p 440] Line 1155

¶ And suffreth vs / as for oure exercise Line 1156 With sharpe scourges / of aduersitee fful ofte to be bete / in sondry wise Nat for to knowe oure wyl / for certes he Line 1159 Er we were born / knew al oure freletee And for oure beste / is al his gouernance Let vs thanne lyue / in vertuous suffrance Line 1162

¶ But o word lordynges / herkneth er I go Line 1163 It were ful hard / to fynde now a dayes In al a town / Grisildis thre or two ffor if þat they were put to swiche assayes Line 1166 The gold of hem / hath now so badde alayes With bras / that thogh the coigne / be fair at eye It wolde rather / breste atwo than plye Line 1169

¶ ffor which heere / for the wyues loue of Bathe [folio 190b] Whos lyf/ and al hir secte / god mayntene In heigh maistrie / or ellis were it scathe I wol with lusty herte / fressh and grene Line 1173 Seye yow a song to glade yow I wene And lat vs stynte / of ernestful matere Herkneth my song that seith in this manere Line 1176

¶ Here is ended the tale / of the clerk of/ Oxenford.

¶ Lenuoy de Chaucer.

GRisilde is deed / and eek hir pacience And bothe atones / buryed in Ytaille ffor which I crye / in open audience Line 1179 No wedded man / so hardy be tasssaille His wyues pacience / in trust to fynde Grisildis / for in certein he shal faille Line 1182

[6-text p 441] Line 1182

¶ O noble wyues / ful of heigh prudence Lat noon humilitee / youre tonge nayle Ne lat no clerk / haue cause or diligence Line 1185 To write of yow / a storie of swich meruaile As of Grisildis / pacient and kynde Lest Chichyuache / yow swelwe in hir entrayle Line 1188

¶ ffolweth Ekko / that holdeth no silence But euere answereth / at the countretaile Beth nat bidaffed / for youre Innocence Line 1191 But sharply / tak on yow the gouernaile Emprinteth wel / this lesson in youre mynde ffor commune profit/ sith it may auaile Line 1194

¶ Ye Archewyues / stondeth at defense [folio 191a] Syn ye be strong as is a gret Camaile Ne suffreth nat þat men yow doon offense Line 1197 And sklendre wyues / fieble as in bataile Beth egre / as is a tigre yond in Ynde Ay clappeth as a Mille / I yow consaile Line 1200

¶ Ne dreed hem nat dooth hem no reuerence ffor thogh thyn housbond / armed be in maile The arwes / of thy crabbed eloquence Line 1203 Shal perce his brest and eek his auentaile In Ialousie / I rede eek thow hym bynde And thow shalt make hym couche / as dooth a Quaile

¶ If thow be fair / ther folk ben in presence Shewe thow thy visage / and thyn aparaile If thow be foul / be fre of thy dispence Line 1209 To gete thee freendes / ay do thy trauaile Be ay of cheere / as light as leef on lynde And lat hym care and wepe / and wrynge & wayle Line 1212

¶ Explicit.

[6-text p 477]

APPENDIX TO GROUP E, § 2. [? Original, but rejected, End-Link to the Clerk's Tale, perhaps following l. 1162, with which the paraphrase of Petrarch's Latin ends, or l. 1169.]

¶ This worthy Clerk whan ended was his tale [[on leaf 191]] Oure hoost seyde / and swoor by goddes bones Me were leuere / than a barel ale My wyf at hom / had herd this legende ones Line 4 This is / a gentil tale for the nones As to my purpos / wiste ye my wille But thyng that wol nat be / lat it be stille Line 7