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As faire as any man in Englelond,

Which were me yeven by the Popes hond.

If any of you wol of devotion

Offren, and han min abfolution,

Cometh forth anon, and kneleth here adoun,
And mekely receiveth my pardoun;

Or elles taketh pardon as ye wende,
Al newe and freshe at every tounes ende,
So that ye offren alway newe and newe

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Nobles or pens which that ben good and trewe.
It is an honour to everich that is here

That ye moun have a fuffifant Pardonere.
To affoilen you in contree as ye ride

For aventures which that moun betide..

Paraventure ther may falle on or two

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Doun of his hors, and breke his necke atwo. 12870

Loke, which a feurtee is it to you alle

That I am in your felawship yfalle,

That may affoile you both more and laffe,
Whan that the foule fhal fro the body passe.
I rede that our Hofte fhal beginne,
For he is most envoluped in finne.

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Come forth, Sire Hofte, and offre firft anon,
And thou shalt kiffe the relikes everich on,
Ye for a grote : unbokel anon thy purse.
Nay, nay, quod he; than have I Cristes curse.
Let be, quod he; it fhal not be, fo the ich.
Thou woldest make me kisse thin olde brech,

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And fwere it were a relike of a feint,

Though it were with thy foundement depeint :
But by ice crois which that Seint Heleine fond
I wolde'r had thin coilons in min hond
Inftede of relikes or of feintuarie.

Let cut hem of, I wol thee help hem carie:
They fhul be fhrined in an hogges tord.
This Pardoner answered not a word;
So wroth he was no worde ne wolde he fay.
Now, quod our Hofte, I wol no lenger play
With thee, ne with non other angry man.

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But right anon the worthy knight began, (Whan that he faw that all the peple lough) 12895 No more of this, for it is right ynough.

Sire Pardoner, be mery and glad of chere;
And ye, Sire Hofte, that ben to me fo dere,
I pray you that ye kiffe the Pardoner;
And, Pardoner, I pray thee draw thee ner,
And as we diden let us laugh and play.
Anon they kiffed, and riden forth hir way.

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12885. Seint Heleine] Sir John Mandeville, c. vii. p. 93; "And nyghe that awtier is a place undre erthe, 42 degrees of depeneffe, where the holy croys was founden be the wytt of "Seynte Elyne, undir a roche, where the Jewes had hidde it; "and that was the veray croys affayed; for they founden 3 "croffes, on of oure Lord, and 2 of the 2 theves: and Seynte "Elyne proved hem on a ded body, that aros from dethe to "lyve, whan that it was leyd on it that oure Lord dyed on." See alfo c. ii. p. 15.

THE SHIPMANNES PROLOGUE.

OUR Hofte upon his stirrops stode anon,

And faide, Good men, herkeneth everich on,
This was a thrifty Tale for the nones.

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Sire Parish Preeft, quod he, for Goddes bones
Tell us a Tale, as was thy forward yore;

I fee wel that ye lerned men in lore
Can mochel good, by Goddes dignitee.

The Perfon him answerd, Benedicite!

What eileth the man fo finfully to fwere?
Our Hofte answerd, O Jankin! be ye there?

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Now good men, quod our Hofte, herkneth to me;
I fmell a Loller in the wind, quod he:
Abideth for Goddes digne pallion,

For we fhul han a predication:

This Loller here wol prechen us fomwhat.
Nay, by my fathers foule, that fhal he nat,
Sayde the Shipman; here fhal he nat preche;
He fhal no gospel glofen here ne teche.

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.12914. Ifmell a Loller] This is in character, as appears from a treatise of the time, Harl. Catal. n. 1666.; "Now in Enge lond it is a comun protectioun ayens perfecutioun—if a man is cuftomable to fwere nedeles, and fals, and unavised, by the "bones, nailes, and fides, and other membres of Crift.-And "to abfteyne fro othes nedeles and unleful-and repteve finne "by way of charite, is mater and caufe now why prelates " and fum lordes fclaundren men, and clepen hem Lollardes, "Eretikes," &c.

. 12919. Sayde the Shipman] So mf. B. d. the one mf. (as I have said in the Discourse, &c. § 31,) which countenances the Volume IV. H

We leven all in the gret God, quod he:
He wolde fowen som difficultee,

Or fpringen cockle in our clene corne;

And therfore Hofte, I warne thee beforne
My joly body fhal a Tale telle,

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And I fhal clinken you fo mery a belle

That I fhal waken all this compagnie ;
But it fhal not ben of philofophie,

Ne of phyfike, ne termes queinte of lawe:
Ther is but litel Latin in my mawe.

THE SHIPMANNES TALE. A Marchant whilom dwelled at Seint Denise That riche was, for which men held him wife: A wif he had of excellent beautee,

And compaignable and revelous was she,

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giving of this Prologue to the Shipman. In mff. C. and D. this paffage is given to the Sompnour, but not by way of Prologue to his Tale. In C. it is followed by 'The Wife of Bathes Prologue, and in D. by the Prologue which in this edit. is prefixed to 'The Squieres Tale. When thefe diverfities are confidered, and alfo that the whole pafiage is wanting in the five beft mfl. it may perhaps appear not improbable that these twenty eight lines, though composed by Chaucer, had not been inserted by him in the body of his Work, that they were therefore omitted in the first copies, and were afterwards injudiciously prefixed to The Squieres Tale when the true Prologue of that Tale, as printed above, was become unfuitable, by reafonof the Tale it felf being removed out of its proper place.

V. 12923. Springen cockle] This feems to allude to Loller as derived from lolium; but Du Cange, in v. Lollardus, rather fuppofes that Lollard was a word of German original, fignifying mufitator, a mumbler of prayers. See alfo Kilian, in v. Lolaerd. The Shipmannes Tale] A marchant of St. Denise is coufined

Which is a thing that causeth more difpence 12935
Than worth is all the chere and reverence

That men hem don at feftes and at dances:
Swiche falutations and contenances

Paffen as doth a fhadwe upon the wal;

But wo is him that payen mote for all.

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The fely hufbond algate he mote pay,

He mote us clothe and he mote us array.
All for his owen worship richely,

In which array we dancen jolily:
And if that he may not paraventure,
Or elles luft not fwiche difpence endure,
But thinketh it is wafted and ylost,
Than mote another payen for our coft,
Or lene us gold, and that is perilous.

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This noble marchant held a worthy hous, 1295Q For which he had all day so gret repaire

For his largeffe, and for his wif was faire,
That wonder is. But herkeneth to my Tale.
Amonges all thise geftes gret and fmale
There was a monk, a faire man and a bold, 12955
I trow a thritty winter he was old,

That ever in on was drawing to that place.

This yonge monk, that was so faire of face,

by his owne wife, and by a monke called Dan John. This Argument is taken out of Bochas and his Novels. Speght.

.12942. He mote us clothe] In ed. Urr. it is them; but all the mff. that I have feen read us, which would lead one to fufpect that this Tale was originally intended for a female character.

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