Geoffrey Chaucer

“ Who shuld her rule, who shuld her reed,
1080Who shuld her forthren, who shuld avayl?
Ech man shall live by his travayl;
Who best doth, shall have moste mede;
With strength if men the churche assayl,
With strength men must defende her nede. ”

“ This living is not religious
1020According to Benet in his living.
They ben clerkes, hir courtes they oversee,
Hir pore tenaunts fully they flyte;
The hyer that a man amerced be,
The gladlyer they woll it wryte. ”

“ And though that they ben right sory,
To speke they shull not be so bolde
880For sompning to the consistory;
And make hem say [with] mouth “I ly,”
Though they it sawe with hir y;
His lemman holden openly,
No man so hardy to axë why! ”

“ Who speketh ther-agayn, they say he raved.’
45‘What, man,’ quod our host, ‘canst thou preche?
Come neer, and tell us some holy thing.’
‘Sir,’ quod he, ‘I herde ones teche
A prest in pulpit a good preching.’
‘Say on,’ quod our host, ‘I thee beseche.’
50‘Sir, I am redy at your bidding.
I pray you that no man me reproche
Whyl that I am my tale telling.
Thus endeth the prologue, and here foloweth the first
part of the tale.
From Thynne (ed. 1542) . I give rejected spellings.
1. Ploweman; plowe. 3. eate ynowe. 4. lyge; chynne. 5. cowe. 6. bone; skynne. 7. shoke; drowe. 8. honge; pynne. 9. toke ”

“ Cutted clothes to sewe hir hewe,
930With longë pykes on hir shoon;
Our goddes gospell is not trewe,
Eyther they serven the divell or noon!
Now ben prestes pokes so wyde,
Men must enlarge the vestëment ”

“ From hy god they mow hem nat hyde,
780Such willers wit is nat worth a neld.
They ben so roted in richesse,
That Christes povert is foryete,
Served with so many messe,
Hem thinketh that manna is no mete.
785All is good that they mow get,
They wenë to live evermore ”

“ There-as they soules cacche shold.
Hir servaunts be to †hem unhold,
But they can doublin †hir rentall
475To bigge hem castels, and bigge hem hold;
And all such falsë, foule hem fall!
Here endeth the first part of this tale, and herafter
foloweth the seconde part.
53. stryfe. 55. bene. 57. great; vngrounde (!) . 58. souble (error for souple) . 60. foule. 61. one. 63. freers. 64. great. 65. heuyn. 68. foule mought. 70. Supply al; prease. 71. caytyffes. 72. one; encrease. 73. I-clepeth (!) ; londlese. 74. bene. 75. peace. 76. foule. 78. knowe. 79. trauayle. 80. ferre. 82. wodde. 83. sawe. ”

“ Ayenst. 1230. shulde. 1232. pouerte. 1235. dystrye. 1238. leaue; preache. 1239. speake agaynst. 1240. falsely teache. 1245. sayde. 1248. falshede.
1253. badde. 1254. seruauntes. 1255. amende. 1259. nothynge; estate. 1260. dysease. 1261. leaue. 1262. porte. 1263. cursynge shulde. 1264. brynge. 1266. nothynge; done. 1268. howe soone. 1269. wode. 1271. swore; bloode. 1274. reasons; the. 1275. fleshe. 1276. shake. 1277. flewe; waye. 1278. wepe. 1279. saye. 1280. shepe. 1281. herde. 1282. worde. 1283. wrytte.
1286. trauayle; any man wolde (om. man) . 1287. solde. ”

“ There. 1352. downe. 1353. bete; slewe. 1358. wrytynge. 1361. mayde. 1362. And the lambe (om. And) ; supply for sinners. 1364. erthely harme. 1366–7. wrytynge. 1369. freshe. 1370. maynteyne. 1371. often (read oft) . ”

“ Poore; spirite. 1133. the. 1135. haste; lyue (read leve) . 1136. eche. 1139. glosynge. 1141. wolde; eche; there shulde. 1142. enuye. 1146. lyfe. 1148. the; stryfe. 1149. Supply ye. 1151. neyther (read not) . 1154. warme; supply be. ”

“ To bringe a man to yvell grace.
Wyteth the Pellican, and not me,
For herof I nil not avowe,
1375In hy ne in low, ne in no degrè,
But as a fable take it ye mowe.
To holy churche I will me bowe;
Ech man to amende him, Christ send space!
And for my wryting me alowe
1380He that is almighty, for his grace.’
Finis.
701. forbode. 702. shulde. 704. shulde; lordshyppe. 705. bolde. 706. suche lordeshyppes; them (for hem) . 707. her shepe; her folde.
709. countrefete. 710. her fruite. 711. Her; foryete. 712. dispyte. 713. poore. 715. her shepe. 720–1. great. 722. thre; supply han. 723. playeng. 724. ”

“ Thus endeth the seconde part of this tale, and herafter
foloweth the thirde.
478. fynde. 479. nowe. 480. saye behynde. 481. Howe; pynde. 482. kende; see l. 530. 483. putte; mynde. 484. amende. 485. nowe. 486. Howe. 487. howe. 488. worde; telleth (see l. 487) . 490. offrende. 492. amende.
493. saye. 495. Suche hathe nowe. 497. varry. 498. wende. 500. pytie; amende. 501. lyfe. 503. sufferaunce; stryfe. 505. wysedome. 506. tende. 507. measure. 508. maye amende. 509. lyfe. 514. comprehende. 515. maynteyne. 516. amende. 517. delyghtes. 518. stronge. 519. vsen. 520. Agaynste pytie punishementes. ”

“ Supply els. 804. false.
808. her lorde. 811. falsely; worde. 812. her. 814. the; supply me. 815. suche; supply folk. 818. suche falsely fayne. 819. dredeful. 820. payne. 821. selfe; done. 825. Supply the. 826. her false. ”