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

                                
                                     [6-text p 448] 
                                  
                                  She shal nat passe twenty yeer certayn
                                
                                  Oold fissh and yong flessh / wolde I haue fayn
                                
                                  Bet is quod he / a pyk than a pykerel
                                
                                  And bet than olde boef is the tendre veel
                                  Line 1420 
                                
                                  I wol no womman / thritty yeer of age
                                
                                  It is but benestraw / and greet forage
                                
                                  And eek/ thise olde wydwes / god it woot
                                
                                  They konne / so muchel craft on Wades boot
                                  Line 1424 
                                
                                  So muchel broken harm / whan þat hem leste
                                
                                  That with hem / sholde I neuere lyue in reste
                                
                                  ffor sondry scoles / maken sotile clerkis
                                
                                  Womman of manye scoles / half a clerk is
                                  Line 1428 
                                
                                  But certeynly / a yong thyng may men gye
                                
                                  Right as men may / warm wex with handes plye
                                
                                  Wherfore / I sey yow pleynly / in a clause
                                
                                  I wol noon oold wyf han / for this cause
                                  Line 1432 
                                
                                  ffor if so were / þat I hadde swich myschance
                                
                                  That I in hire / ne koude han no plesance
                                
                                  Thanne sholde I lede my lyf in Auoutrye
                                
                                  And streight vn-to the deuel / whan I dye
                                  Line 1436 
                                
                                  Ne children / sholde I none vp on hire geten
                                
                                  Yet were me leuere / þat houndes had me eten
                                
                                  Than þat myn heritage sholde falle
                                
                                  In straunge hand / and this I telle yow alle
                                  Line 1440 
                                
                                  I dote nat I woot the cause why?
                                
                                  Men sholde wedde / and forthermoore woot I
                                
                                  Ther speketh / many a man of mariage
                                
                                  That woot namoore of it than woot my page
                                  Line 1444 
                                
                                  ffor whiche causes / man sholde take a wyf /
                                
                                  Siththe / he may nat lyuen chaast his lyf /
                                
                                  Take hym a wyf with greet deuocion [folio 109a] 
                                
                                  By cause / of leueful procreacion
                                  Line 1448 
                                
                                  Of children / to thonour of god aboue
                                
                                  And nat oonly / for paramour or loue
                                
                                  And for they sholde / leccherye eschue
                                
                                  And yelde hir dettes / whan þat they ben due

                                  Line 1452

Pages

Index

About this Item

Title: The Ellesmere ms of Chaucer's Canterbury tales / edited by Frederick J. Furnivall.
Author: Chaucer, Geoffrey, d. 1400.
Canvas: Page 282
Publication: London :: Published for the Chaucer Society by N. Trübner,; 1868-1879.

Technical Details

Collection: Corpus of Middle English Prose and Verse
Link to this Item: https://name.umdl.umich.edu/agz8232.0001.001
Link to this scan: https://quod.lib.umich.edu/c/cme/agz8232.0001.001/313

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

IIIF

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 May 19, 2025.

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

Annotations Tools

Actions

About this Item

Technical Details

Rights and Permissions

Related Links

IIIF

Cite this Item