The Complete Works of Geoffrey Chaucer: The Canterbury tales: text

Frontispiece

****

herto he coude endre a maße a thing Ther conide no man pynche at Hefe wetpng and euy ftatut couse he pleyn be rote He rod but homely ma medely cate Gyrt with a feynt of fill ist barrys fmale of Hefe arap telleno lengere tule a frankeleyn was ni Hese cupane whn was hese berd as is pe dapfie Of cöplenou he was sanguyn wel lonede be pe motse aseppe in wyn Ho leuyn mtelit was euere hese toone ffor he was epian owene fone

The held oppmyon pt plepn thpt
was very feliate parfyt

An Housholdere a pagret was he
Sevin Jellon he was in that antre

Hefe bied hese ale was albey afar on
a betere enupnete man was nother non

CAMBRIDGE MS. (Gg. 4. 27). Prol. 326-342

THE COMPLETE WORKS

OF

GEOFFREY CHAUCER

Edited, from numerous MANUSCRIPTS

BY THE

REV. WALTER W. SKEAT, LITT. D., LL.D., M.A.

ELRINGTON AND BOSWORTH PROFESSOR OF ANGLO-SAXON

AND FELLOW OF CHRIST'S COLLEGE, CAMBRIDGE

[ocr errors][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small]

Oxford

PRINTED AT THE CLARENDON PRESS

BY HORACE HART, PRINTER TO THE UNIVERSITY

CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION.-§ 1. The Present Text. § 2. The MSS.-I. In the
British Museum. II. In Oxford. III. In Cambridge. IV. In
other Public Libraries. V. In private hands. § 3. The Printed
Editions. § 4. Plan of the present Edition. § 5. Table of
symbols denoting MSS. § 6. Table showing various ways of
numbering the lines. § 7. The four types of MSS.

THE CANTERBURY TALES

GROUP A. THE PROLOGUE

PAGE