Corpus of Middle English Prose and Verse

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

[6-text p 445] But take no kepe / of al swich vanytee Deffie Theofraste / and herke me ¶ A wyf/ is goddes yifte verraily [¶ Vxor est diligenda quia donum dei est ‖ Ihesus filius sirac/ domus & diuicie dantur a parentibus / a domino autem proprie vxor bona vel prudens.] Alle otherere manere yiftes hardily 1312 As londes / rentes / pasture / or commune Or moebles / alle been yiftes of ffortune [// dona fortune] That passen / as a shadwe vpon a wal But dredelees / if pleynly speke I shal 1316 A wyf wol laste / and in thyn hous endure Wel lenger than thee list/ parauenture ¶ Mariage is / a ful greet sacrement He / which þat hath no wyf / I holde hym shent 1320 He lyueth helplees / and al desolat I speke of folk in seculer estaat And herke why / I sey nat this for noght That womman is / for mannes helpe ywroght 1324 The hye god / whan he hadde Adam maked And saugh him al allone / bely naked God of his grete goodnesse / seyde than [¶ ffaciamus ei adiutorium & extracta costa de corpore Ade fecit Euam & dixit / propter hec/ relinquet homo pa|trem & matrem & adherebit &cetera et erunt duo in carne vna.] Lat vs now make an helpe vn-to this man 1328 Lyk to hym self and thanne he made him Eue Heere may ye se / and heer-by may ye preue That wyf is mannes helpe / and his confort His Paradys terrestre / and his disport 1332 So buxom / and so vertuous is she They moste nedes / lyue in vnitee O flessh they been / and o flessh as I gesse Hath but oon herte / in wele and in distresse 1336 ¶ A wyf /? a Seinte marie benedicite How myghte a man / han any aduersitee That hath a wyf/ certes I kan nat seye The blisse / which þat is bitwixe hem tweye 1340 Ther may no tonge telle / or herte thynke If he be poure / she helpeth hym to swynke She kepeth his good / and wasteth neuer a deel Al that hire housbonde lust hire liketh weel 1344
/ 846
Pages Index

Actions

file_download Download Options Download this page PDF - Page 279 Image - Page 279 Plain Text - Page 279

About this Item

Title
The Ellesmere ms of Chaucer's Canterbury tales / edited by Frederick J. Furnivall.
Author
Chaucer, Geoffrey, d. 1400.
Canvas
Page 279
Publication
London :: Published for the Chaucer Society by N. Trübner,
1868-1879.

Technical Details

Link to this Item
https://name.umdl.umich.edu/agz8232.0001.001
Link to this scan
https://quod.lib.umich.edu/c/cme/agz8232.0001.001/310:6

Rights and Permissions

The University of Michigan Library provides access to these materials for educational and research purposes. These materials are in the public domain. If you have questions about the collection, please contact [email protected]. If you have concerns about the inclusion of an item in this collection, please contact [email protected].

DPLA Rights Statement: No Copyright - United States

Related Links

Manifest
https://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/t/text/api/manifest/cme:agz8232.0001.001

Cite this Item

Full citation
"The Ellesmere ms of Chaucer's Canterbury tales / edited by Frederick J. Furnivall." In the digital collection Corpus of Middle English Prose and Verse. https://name.umdl.umich.edu/agz8232.0001.001. University of Michigan Library Digital Collections. Accessed June 19, 2025.
Do you have questions about this content? Need to report a problem? Please contact us.