2058. Cm. wolde; Hl. wold; rest wol, wole, wil. 2061. Hn. Cm. Pt. Hl.

by his syde; Cp. him besyde.
Hl. rowel; Cp. Ln. ruel,

2063. Cm. Cp. Ln. schulde. 2071. E. it was; rest omit it.

2068. Pt.

[The Second Fit.]

Now hold your mouth, par charitee,

(180)

Bothe knight and lady free,

And herkneth to my spelle;

Of bataille and of chivalry,
And of ladyes love-drury
Anon I wol yow telle.

Men speke of romances of prys,
Of Horn child and of Ypotys,
Of Bevis and sir Gy,

Of sir Libeux and Pleyn-damour ;
But sir Thopas, he bereth the flour
Of royal chivalry.

His gode stede al he bistrood,
And forth upon his wey he glood

As sparkle out of the bronde ;
Up-on his crest he bar a tour,
And ther-in stiked a lily-flour,

God shilde his cors fro shonde!

And for he was a knight auntrous,
He nolde slepen in non hous,

But liggen in his hode;
His brighte helm was his wonger,
And by him baiteth his dextrer
Of herbes fyne and gode.

Him-self drank water of the wel,
As did the knight sir Percivel,

So worthy under wede,

Til on a day-▬▬▬▬

2085

2090

(190)

2095

2100

(200)

2105

(207)

Here the Host stinteth Chaucer of his Tale of Thopas.

2089. E. Pt.

2084. E. batailles; Hn. bataille; rest bataile, batail, batell. and of; rest omit of. 2094. E. rood; rest glood, glod, glode. 2095. Hl. Pt. spark; Cp. Ln. sparcles. 2107. Hl. worthy; E. Hn. worly; Pt. worthely; Cm. Cp. Ln. omit 11. 2105-8. COLOPHON. From E. (E. Heere; Hoost).

PROLOGUE TO MELIBEUS.

(T. 13847-13875.)

O more of this, for goddes dignitee,'

N°

Quod oure hoste, 'for thou makest me
So wery of thy verray lewednesse
That, also wisly god my soule blesse,
Myn eres aken of thy drasty speche;
Now swiche a rym the devel I biteche!
This may wel be rym dogerel,' quod he.
'Why so?' quod I, 'why wiltow lette me
More of my tale than another man,

Sin that it is the beste rym I can?'

'By god,' quod he, 'for pleynly, at a word,
Thy drasty ryming is nat worth a tord;
Thou doost nought elles but despendest tyme,
Sir, at o word, thou shalt no lenger ryme.
Lat see wher thou canst tellen aught in geste,
Or telle in prose somwhat at the leste

In which ther be som mirthe or som doctryne.'
'Gladly,' quod I, 'by goddes swete pyne,

I wol yow telle a litel thing in prose,
That oghte lyken yow, as I suppose,
Or elles, certes, ye been to daungerous.
It is a moral tale vertuous,

Al be it told som-tyme in sondry wyse
Of sondry folk, as I shal yow devyse.
As thus; ye woot that every evangelist,
That telleth us the peyne of Iesu Crist,
Ne saith nat al thing as his felaw dooth,
But natheles, hir sentence is al sooth,
And alle acorden as in hir sentence,

2110

2115

(10)

2120

2125

(20)

2130

2135

2118. E. tale; rest rym, ryme.

2131. E. take; rest told, tolde, toold.

Al be ther in hir telling difference.

For somme of hem seyn more, and somme lesse,
Whan they his pitous passioun expresse;

I mene of Marke, Mathew, Luk and Iohn;
But doutelees hir sentence is al oon.
Therfor, lordinges alle, I yow biseche,
If that ye thinke I varie as in my speche,
As thus, thogh that I telle som-what more
Of proverbes, than ye han herd bifore,
Comprehended in this litel tretis here,
To enforce with the theffect of my matere,
And thogh I nat the same wordes seye
As ye han herd, yet to yow alle I preye,
Blameth me nat; for, as in my sentence,
Ye shul not fynden moche difference
Fro the sentence of this tretis lyte
After the which this mery tale I wryte.

And therfor herkneth what that I shal seye,

And lat me tellen al my tale, I preye.'

Explicit.

2139. E. Hn. Ln. somme seyn; but Cp. Pt. Hl. omit 2nd seyn.

1561, Marke; E. Cp. Pt. Hl. Marke (?); Hn. Ln. Mark.

yow; rest ye. Cp. Ln. om. as. 2146. Cp. prouerbis.

(30)

2140

2145

(40)

2150

2155

(48)

2141. Ed. 2144. E. HI. 2152. Cm. Cp.

Ln. Ye schal not fynden moche; E. Hn. Pt. Hl. Shul ye nowher fynden. 2154. E. murye; Hn. myry; Hl. litil; rest mery.

THE TALE OF MELIBEUS.

Here biginneth Chaucers Tale of Melibee.

§ 1. A yong man called Melibeus, mighty and riche, bigat up-on his wyf that called was Prudence, a doghter which that called was Sophie./

§ 2. Upon a day bifel, that he for his desport is went in-to the feeldes him to pleye. His wyf and eek his doghter hath he left inwith his hous, of which the dores weren fast y-shette. / Thre of his olde foos han it espyed, and setten laddres to the walles of his hous, and by the windowes been entred, / and betten his wyf, 2160 and wounded his doghter with fyve mortal woundes in fyve sondry places; this is to seyn, in hir feet, in hir handes, in hir eres, in hir nose, and in hir mouth; and leften hir for deed, and wenten awey./

§ 3. Whan Melibeus retourned was in-to his hous, and saugh al this meschief, he, lyk a mad man, rendinge his clothes, gan to wepe and crye./

§ 4. Prudence his wyf, as ferforth as she dorste, bisoghte him of his weping for to stinte;/ but nat for-thy he gan to crye and wepen ever lenger the more. /

2165

§ 5. This noble wyf Prudence remembered hir upon the sentence of Ovide, in his book that cleped is The Remedie of Love, wher-as he seith; 'he is a fool that destourbeth the moder to wepen in the deeth of hir child, til she have wept hir fille, as for a certein tyme ;/ and thanne shal man doon his diligence with amiable wordes hir to reconforte, and preyen hir of hir weping for to stinte.'/ For which resoun this noble wyf Prudence suffred hir housbond for to wepe and crye as for a certein space; / and whan she saugh hir tyme, she seyde him in this wyse. Allas, my lord,' quod she, 'why make ye your-self for to be lyk a fool?/ For 2170

HEADING. From E. 2159. inwith] Ln. Cp. within. 2160. Thre] Cp. Ln. Foure. E. hise. E. foes; Hn. Cp. Ln. Hl, foos. by the] E. Hn. om. the. 2162. E. erys.

2163. E. Hn. Ln. rentynge; rest rendyng.