The Petworth ms. of Chaucer's Canterbury tales. Ed. by Frederick J. Furnivall.

§ 1. MAN OF LAW'S HEAD-LINK.

PETWORTH MS.

And here by|gynnes þe prologe of þe man of lawe

Oure hoost segh wel þat þe briȝt sonne þe arke of þis artificial day hadde ronne þe feerþ part and half an houre or more And þough he were not depe expert in lore Line 4 He wist it was þe xviij. day Of Aprile þat is massagere to may And seghe wel þat þe shadowe of euery tre Was as in length þe same quantite Line 8 þat was þe body erecte þat caused it And þerfore by þe shadowe he toke his witte Þat Phebus which þat shoon so clere and briȝt Degrees was xlv. clombe on hight Line 12 And for þat day as in þat latitude [folio 85a] Hit was .x. of þe clok he gan conclude And sodeynly he pliȝt his hors about Lordingges quod he I warne ȝow al þis route Line 16 þe feer party of þis day is goon Now for þe loue of god and of seint Iohn Leseþ no tyme as ferforþ as ȝe may Lordingges þe tyme it wasteþ boþ nyȝt and day Line 20 And steleþ from vs what priuely slepinge And what þourgh neglygence in our wakinge As doþ þe streme þat turneþ neuere agayn / Descending from þe mounteyn into playn Line 24 Wel can Senec and many a philosophre Byweillen tyme more þan gold in Cofre ffor losse of Catel may recouered be But losse of tyme shendeþ vs quod he Line 28

[6-text p 130] Line 28 It wil not come aȝein wiþ-outen drede No more þan wil Malkyns Maidenhede Whan she haþ lost it in her wantonesse Lat vs nout mowlen þus in Ydelnesse Line 32 Sire man of lawe quod he so haue I blesse Telle vs a tale anoon as forward es Ȝe bene submitted þourgh ȝour fre assent To stonden in þis cas at my Iuggement Line 36 Aquiteþ ȝou nowe of ȝoure biheest þan han ȝe done ȝoure devoire at þe leest Oost quod he depardeux ich assent To breke forward is not myn entent Line 40 Biheest is dette and I wil holde fayne Al my biheest I can no better seyne ffor such lawe as a man ȝeueþ anoþer wiȝt He shuld hym self vsen it by riȝt Line 44 Thus wil our text but naþeles certeyne I can riȝt now no trusty tale seyne þat chaucere þouȝt he can but lewdely On meters and in rymyng craftely Line 48 Haþ seide hem in such englissh as he can [folio 85b] Of olde tyme as knoweþ mony a man And if he haue nouȝt seide hem leue broþer In oo boke he haþ seide in a-noþer Line 52 ffor he haþ told of louers vp and doun Moo þan Ovide made mencioun In his Epistels þat bene ful olde What shuld I tellen hem siþ þei be tolde Line 56 In ȝouþe he made of Ceys and Alcione And siþ haþ he spoke of euerychone Thise noble wyues and þise louyers eke Who so þat wol his large volom seke Line 60 Cleped þe Seintes legende of Cupide þer may he see þe large woundes wide Of lucresse and of Babylan Tysbe þe swerd of Dido for þe fals ene Line 64

[6-text p 131] Line 64 The tre of Phillis for hir demophon þe pleynte of Dyanyre and of Hermyon Of Andrian and of ysiphilee Þe barayn Isle stonding in þe see Line 68 Þe dreynt leander for his erro The teres of Elyne and eke þe woo Of Brixseid and of þe ladomya The cruelte of quene Medea / Line 72 Þe litel children honging by þe hals ffor þe Iason þat was of loue so fals Of ypinistra penolope Alceste Ȝoure wivehode he commendeþ wiþ þe best Line 76 But certeynly no worde ne writeþ he Of þilk wicke ensample of canace Þat luffed her oune broþere synfully Of suche cursed storis I seie fye Line 80 Or ellis of Tiro Appolloneus How þat þe cursed king Antiocus Biraft his douȝter of her maydenhede Þat is so horrible a tale for to rede Line 84 Whan he her drewe þorgh-out þe pament [folio 86a] And þerfor he of ful avisement Nold neuer write in none of his sermons Of such vnkinde abhomynacions. Line 88 Ne I ne wil none reherce if þat I may But of my tale how shal I done þis day Me were loth be likned doutlees To muses þat men clepen pieriades Line 92 Methanorphoseos wote what I mene But naþelees I recche not a bene Þouȝe I come after hym wiþ hawe bake I speke in prose and lat hym rymes make Line 96 And wiþ þat word he wiþ a sobre chere Bygan his tale as ȝe shal after here Line 98

¶ Thus endeþ þe prologe

Notes

• on leaf 84, back
• ¶ Prologus viri legis
• [no break in the MS.]