And thoghte, 'Allas! now comth Nowelis flood!'
He sit him up with-outen wordes mo,

And with his ax he smoot the corde a-two,
And doun goth al; he fond neither to selle,
Ne breed ne ale, til he cam to the celle
Up-on the floor; and ther aswowne he lay.
Up sterte hir Alison, and Nicholay,
And cryden'out' and 'harrow' in the strete.
The neighebores, bothe smale and grete,
In ronnen, for to gauren on this man,
That yet aswowne he lay, bothe pale and wan;
For with the fal he brosten hadde his arm;
But stonde he moste un-to his owne harm.
For whan he spak, he was anon bore doun
With hende Nicholas and Alisoun.
They tolden every man that he was wood,
He was agast so of 'Nowelis flood'
Thurgh fantasye, that of his vanitee

He hadde y-boght him kneding-tubbes three,
And hadde hem hanged in the roof above;
And that he preyed hem, for goddes love,
To sitten in the roof, par companye.

3820

3825

(640)

3830

3835

(650)

The folk gan laughen at his fantasye;
In-to the roof they kyken and they gape,
And turned al his harm un-to a Iape.
For what so that this carpenter answerde,
It was for noght, no man his reson herde;
With othes grete he was so sworn adoun,

3840

That he was holden wood in al the toun;

3845 (660)

For every clerk anon-right heeld with other.

They seyde, the man is wood, my leve brother;'

And every wight gan laughen of this stryf.

Thus swyved was the carpenteres wyf,

3850

3818. E. Hn. Nowelis; Cp. Noweles (intentionally); Cm. Newelis; Pt.

Ln. Hl. noes. 3821. Hl. he goth (for goth al).
E. Hn. he; rest om. 3831. Pt. Ln. Hl. born.
Cp. Ln. the Nowels; Pt. pe Noes; Hl. Noes.
3838. E. Hn. Ln. preyde.
3848. E. Hn. Hl. was; rest is.
3850. E. this; rest the.

E. Hn. foond. 3828.

3834. E. Hn. Nowelis; 3837. E. roue; see 1. 3839.

3841. E. Hn. Cp. cape. 3846. E. holde. 3849. E. of this; Hn. at this; rest at his.

For al his keping and his Ialousye;
And Absolon hath kist hir nether yë;
And Nicholas is scalded in the toute.

This tale is doon, and god save al the route!

Here endeth the Millere his tale.

(667) 3854

3852. Pt. Hl. ye; Hn. Iye; E. Ln. eye.

3853. E. Hn. the; rest his.

COLOPHON. So E. (with Heere); Hl. Pn. Here endeth the Millers tale; Hn. Here is ended the Millerys tale; Cp. Ln. Explicit fabula Molendinarii.

Diverse folk diversely they seyde;

But, for the more part, they loughe and pleyde,

Ne at this tale I saugh no man him greve,
But it were only Osewold the Reve,
By-cause he was of carpenteres craft,

3860

A litel ire is in his herte y-laft,

He gan to grucche and blamed it a lyte.

"So theek,' quod he, 'ful wel coude I yow quyte

(10)

With blering of a proud milleres yë,

3865

If that me liste speke of ribaudye.

But ik am old, me list not pley for age;

Gras-tyme is doon, my fodder is now forage,
This whyte top wryteth myne olde yeres,

3870

Myn herte is al-so mowled as myne heres,
But-if I fare as dooth an open-ers;
That ilke fruit is ever leng the wers,
Til it be roten in mullok or in stree.

We olde men, I drede, so fare we;
Til we be roten, can we nat be rype;
We hoppen ay, whyl that the world wol pype.
For in oure wil ther stiketh ever a nayl,
To have an hoor heed and a grene tayl,

(20)

3875

As hath a leek; for thogh our might be goon,

Our wil desireth folie ever in oon.

3880

For whan we may nat doon, than wol we speke;

Yet in our asshen olde is fyr y-reke.

Foure gledes han we, whiche I shal devyse,

Avaunting, lying, anger, coveityse;

(30)

3862. E. Pt. om. is.

3865. E. Ln. eye.

3867. E. Hn. no (for not).

3869. Hl. My (for This). 3870. E. mowled also.

rest lenger.

3876. E. ay whil that; Hn. alwey whil pat; rest alwey while,

3872. E. leng; Ln. longe:

Thise foure sparkles longen un-to elde.
Our olde lemes mowe wel been unwelde,
But wil ne shal nat faillen, that is sooth.
And yet ik have alwey a coltes tooth,
As many a yeer as it is passed henne

3885

Sin that my tappe of lyf bigan to renne.

For sikerly, whan I was bore, anon

3890

Deeth drogh the tappe of lyf and leet it gon;
And ever sith hath so the tappe y-ronne,

Til that almost al empty is the tonne.

The streem of lyf now droppeth on the chimbe;
The sely tonge may wel ringe and chimbe
Of wrecchednesse that passed is ful yore;
With olde folk, save dotage, is namore.'

Whan that our host hadde herd this sermoning,
He gan to speke as lordly as a king;
He seide, 'what amounteth al this wit?
What shul we speke alday of holy writ?
The devel made a reve for to preche,
And of a souter a shipman or a leche.
Sey forth thy tale, and tarie nat the tyme,
Lo, Depeford! and it is half-way pryme.
Lo, Grenewich, ther many a shrewe is inne;
It were al tyme thy tale to biginne.'

'Now, sires,' quod this Osewold the Reve,
'I pray yow alle that ye nat yow greve,
Thogh I answere and somdel sette his howve;
For leveful is with force force of-showve.
This dronke millere hath y-told us heer,
How that bigyled was a carpenteer,
Peraventure in scorn, for I am oon.

And, by your leve, I shal him quyte anoon ;
Right in his cherles termes wol I speke.
I pray to god his nekke mote breke;

(40) 3895

3900

(50)

3905

3910

(60)

3915

He can wel in myn yë seen a stalke,

But in his owne he can nat seen a balke.

3885. E. eelde.

3886. E. vnweelde. 3893. Hn. sith; E. sithe.

3920

3904.

E. Cm. And; rest Or. All but Hn. om. 2nd a. 3907. Cp. Pt. Ln. that (for

ther). 3908. Pt. hie (for al). 3918. Hl. tobreke; Pt. alto-breke.

3912. In margin of E.—vim vi repellere. 3919. Pt. ye; Cp. 3e; rest eye.

I

THE REVES TALE.

A

Here biginneth the Reves tale.

T Trumpington, nat fer fro Cantebrigge,

Ther goth a brook and over that a brigge,
Up-on the whiche brook ther stant a melle;
And this is verray soth that I yow telle.
A Miller was ther dwelling many a day;
As eny pecok he was proud and gay.
Pypen he coude and fisshe, and nettes bete,
And turne coppes, and wel wrastle and shete;
And by his belt he baar a long panade,
And of a swerd ful trenchant was the blade.
A Ioly popper baar he in his pouche;
Ther was no man for peril dorste him touche.
A Sheffeld thwitel baar he in his hose;
Round was his face, and camuse was his nose.
As piled as an ape was his skulle.
He was a market-beter atte fulle.
Ther dorste no wight hand up-on him legge,
That he ne swoor he sholde anon abegge.
A theef he was for sothe of corn and mele,
And that a sly, and usaunt for to stele.
His name was hoten dëynous Simkin.
A wyf he hadde, y-comen of noble kin;
The person of the toun hir fader was.
With hir he yaf ful many a panne of bras,
For that Simkin sholde in his blood allye.

3925

3930

(11)

3935

3940

(21)

3945

3923. E. Hn. Cm. which; rest whiche. 3928. Hl. wrastle wel (om. and). 3934. Hl. camois; Pt. camoyse. 3939. E. was of corn and eek of Mele.

3941. E. Cp. Hl. hoote; Cm. hotyn; rest hoten. Pt. deynezouse.

3944.

panne] Cm. peny.