The Corpus ms (Corpus Christi coll., Oxford) of Chaucer's Canterbury tales. Ed. by Frederick J. Furnivall.

                                
                                     [6-text p 581] 
                                  
                                  Whit was þis Crowe as is a snow whit swan
                                  Line 133 
                                
                                  And countrefeted þe speche of euery man
                                
                                  he cowde when he schulde telle a tale
                                
                                  Ther-wiþ in al þe world no nightyngale
                                  Line 136 
                                
                                  Ne couþe by an hundred þousend deel [folio 258a] 
                                
                                  Syngen so wonderly meryly and weel
                                
                                  Now hadde þis Phebus in his hous a wyf
                                
                                  Which þat he loued more þan his owne lyf
                                  Line 140 
                                
                                  And night and day dyd euer his diligence
                                
                                  Hir for to plese and don hire reuerence
                                
                                  Saue oonly if þe soþ þat I schal sayn
                                
                                  Gelous he was and wolde haue kept hire fayn
                                  Line 144 
                                
                                  ffor him were loþ by-Iaped for to be
                                
                                  And so euery wight in such degre
                                
                                  But al for nouȝt for it auayleþ nouȝt
                                
                                  A good wyff þat is clene of werk and þought
                                  Line 148 
                                
                                  Schulde nought be kepte in non awayte certain
                                
                                  And trewely þe labour is in vayn
                                
                                  To kepe a schrewe for it wol nouȝt be
                                
                                  This halde I for a verray nycete
                                  Line 152 
                                
                                  To spille labour for to keepe wyues
                                
                                  Thus writen olde Clerkes in here lyues
                                
                                  But now to purpos as I first bigan
                                
                                  This worþy Phebus doþ al þat he can
                                  Line 156 
                                
                                  To plesen hyre wenyng by such plesance
                                
                                  And for his manhode and his gouernance
                                
                                  That no man schulde haue put him fro hir grace
                                
                                  But god it woot/ þer may no man enbrace
                                  Line 160 
                                
                                  As to distreyne a þing which þat nature
                                
                                  Haþ naturelly sette in a creature
                                
                                  Take eny bryd and put it in a kage
                                
                                  And do al þin entent and þy corage
                                  Line 164 
                                
                                  To fostre it tendrely wiþ mete and drinke
                                
                                  Of alle deyntees þat þou canst byþinke
                                
                                  And keepe it/ also clenly as þou may
                                
                                  Al þough his cage of golde be neuer so gay

                                  Line 168

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Title: The Corpus ms (Corpus Christi coll., Oxford) of Chaucer's Canterbury tales. Ed. by Frederick J. Furnivall.
Author: Chaucer, Geoffrey, d. 1400.
Canvas: Page 593
Publication: London,: Pub. for the Chaucer society by N. Trübner & co.,; 1868-[1869]

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Collection: Corpus of Middle English Prose and Verse
Link to this Item: https://name.umdl.umich.edu/agz8235.0001.001
Link to this scan: https://quod.lib.umich.edu/c/cme/agz8235.0001.001/621:12

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DPLA Rights Statement: No Copyright - United States

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Full citation: "The Corpus ms (Corpus Christi coll., Oxford) of Chaucer's Canterbury tales. Ed. by Frederick J. Furnivall." In the digital collection Corpus of Middle English Prose and Verse. https://name.umdl.umich.edu/agz8235.0001.001. University of Michigan Library Digital Collections. Accessed May 5, 2025.

The Corpus ms (Corpus Christi coll., Oxford) of Chaucer's Canterbury tales. Ed. by Frederick J. Furnivall.

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