Corpus of Middle English Prose and Verse

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

[6-text p 666] special meyne of god / ffor whiche whan thei don dedly synne / thei ben the special traytours of god / & of his peple / ffor thei leven of the peple / to praie for the peple / And while they ben suche traitours / here praiers availen nat to the peple / [895] ¶ Prestes ben as Aungels / as bi the dignite of here misterie / but for sothe seint Poule [¶ Paulus.] seith / that Sathanas transformeth him in an Aungel of light / [896] sothely the preste that haunteth dedly synne / he may be likened to the Angel of derkenesse / transformed / in the Angel of light / he semeth an Angel of light / & but for sothe he is an Angel of derkenesse / [897] suche prestes ben the sones of Belye as shewith in the boke of kynges / that thei weren the sones of Belial / that is the deuel / [898] Belyal is to seyne withouten Iugge And so faren thei / hem thenketh thei ben fre / & han no Iugge / no more than hath a fre Boole / that taketh whiche kow that him liketh in the towne / [899] Right so faren thei bi wommen / ffor right as a fre Boole is I-nough for al a toune / Right so is a wikked preste corrupt / I-nough for al a parissh / or for al a contre / [900] these prestes as seith the booke / ne conne nat the mynysterie of presthode to the pepel / ne god knowith hem nought / thei holde hem nat a-paide as seith the booke / of soden flessh that was to hem offred / but thei toke bi force the flessh that is rawe / [901] Certes right so these olde shrewis / ne holde hem nat a-paide of rosted flessh / & soden flessh / with the whiche the peple feden hem with grete reuerence / but thei wol haue rawe flessh / as men-is [¶ prestes wol haue rawe flesshe.] wivis & here doughtren / [902] And certis these women that consenten to here harlotries / don grete wronges to criste / & to holy chirche / And to alle halowes / & to alle soules / ffor they [MS Arch. Seld. B. 14 folio 301b] bireven him alle these that sholden wourshipe criste / & holy chirche / & pray for alle cristen soules / [903] And therefore haue suche prestes & here lemmans eke that consenten to here lecherie / the malison of al cristen courte / til thei come to amendement /
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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 678
Publication
London,: Pub. for the Chaucer society by N. Trübner & co.,
1868-[1869]

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"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 21, 2025.
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