Alphabet of tales : an English 15th century translation of the Alphabetum narrationum of Etienne de Besançon, from Additional MS. 25,719 of the British Museum / by Etienne de Besançon

About this Item

Title
Alphabet of tales : an English 15th century translation of the Alphabetum narrationum of Etienne de Besançon, from Additional MS. 25,719 of the British Museum / by Etienne de Besançon
Author
Etienne de, Besançon, d. 1294
Editor
Banks, Mary Macleod
Publication
London: Kegan Paul, Trench, Trübner, & Co., Ltd.
1904, 1905
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Link to this Item
http://name.umdl.umich.edu/AlphTales
Cite this Item
"Alphabet of tales : an English 15th century translation of the Alphabetum narrationum of Etienne de Besançon, from Additional MS. 25,719 of the British Museum / by Etienne de Besançon." In the digital collection Corpus of Middle English Prose and Verse. https://name.umdl.umich.edu/AlphTales. University of Michigan Library Digital Collections. Accessed May 12, 2025.

Pages

CCCLVII.
Histriones aliquando maliciose se vindicant.

Iacobus de Vetriaco tellis how som̛ tyme þer was ane abbott of Ceustus ordur; and when̛ he was a monke, he was a passand hard̛ man̛, & a sparand̛. So hym̛ happynd̛ be made hosteler̛, to kepe gestis in þer ostrie, afor̛ he was made abbott. So on̛ a tyme þer come vnto þis abbay on̛ a day a mynstraƚƚ, & was sett in þe ostrie att dyner. And þis monke servid̛ hym̛ of passand̛ gray bread̛, & thyn [MS. thyng.] potage, & a little salte; & he had no drynk bod watir. & at evyn̛ he was layd̛ in a uyƚƚ bedd̛, & a hard̛. And opon̛ þe morn̛ þis mynstraƚƚ was iƚƚ plesid̛, & vmthoght hym̛ how þatt he mott venge hym̛ on̛ þis monke at had servid̛ hym̛ so evuƚƚ. So as he went furth of his chamber þer he lay, hym̛ happend̛ to mete with þe abbot, and þis mynstraƚƚ come vnto hym̛ & haylsid̛ hym̛, and said̛; "My lord̛, I thanke you & your wurthie covent of grete cher̛ at I hafe had here, & of grete coste þat I hafe taken̛ of you; ffor yone gude liberaƚƚ monke, your hostley, servid̛ me yistrevyn̛ at my supper wurthelie, with many dyvers costious mece of ffissℏ, & I drank̘ passand̛ gude wyne. And now, when̛ at I went, he gaff me a payr̛ of new butis, & a gude payr of new knyvis, and a poynt to hym̛ þaim with."

Page 246

And when̛ þe abbott had hard̛ þis, onone he went vnto þe closter, & callid̛ þis monke befor̛ aƚƚ [MS. repeats, aƚƚ.] his covent, & betid̛ hym̛ grevuslie here-for̛, & putt hym̛ furtℏ of his offes for þis mynstraƚƚ saying, þuf aƚƚ he war not wurthi.

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