'My lady Prioresse, by your leue,
So that I wiste I shulde you nat greue,
I wolde demen that ye tellen sholde

A tale next, if so were that ye wolde.
Now wol ye vouche sauf, my lady dere?'
'Gladly,' quod she, and seyde as ye shal here.
Explicit.

1640

GROUP B. THE PRIORESSES TALE.

The prologe of the Prioresses tale.

Domine, dominus noster.

O lord our lord, thy name how merueillous

Is in this large worlde ysprad-quod she:—

1645

For noght oonly thy laude precious
Parfourned is by men of dignitee,

But by the mouth of children thy bountee
Parfourned is, for on the brest souking
Som tyme shewen they thyn herying.

Wherfor in laude, as I best can or may,

1650

Of thee, and of the whyte1 lily flour

Which that thee bar, and is a mayde alway,

To telle a storie I wol doon my labour;

Not that I may encresen hir honour;
For she hir-self is honour, and the rote

1655

Of bountee, next hir sone, and soules bote.

O mooder mayde! o mayde mooder free! O bush vnbrent, brenning in Moyses syghte, That rauysedest doun fro the deitee,

Thurgh thyn humblesse, the goost that in thalyghte, 1660 Of whos vertu, whan he thyn herte lyghte,

Conceyued was the fadres sapience,

Help me to telle it in thy reuerence!

1 E. omits whyte, found in the rest.

Lady! thy bountee, thy magnificence,

Thy vertu, and thy grete humilitee

1665

Ther may no tonge expresse in no science;

For som tyme, lady, er men praye to thee,
Thou goost biforn of thy benignitee,

And getest vs the1 lyght, thurgh2 thy preyere,

To gyden vs vn-to thy sone so dere.

1670

My conning is so wayk, o blisful quene,
For to declare thy grete worthynesse,
That I ne may the weighte nat sustene,

But as a child of twelf monthe old, or lesse,

That can vnnethes any word expresse,

1675

Ryght so fare I, and therfor I yow preye,

Gydeth my song that I shal of yow seye.
Explicit.

Heere bigynneth the Prioresses tale.

Ther was in Asie, in a gret citee,

Amonges cristen folk a Iewerye,
Sustened by a lord of that contree

For foule vsure and lucre of vilanye,
Hateful to Crist and to his companye;

And thurgh the strete men myght ryde or wende,
For it was free, and open at eyther ende.

A litel scole of Cristen folk ther stood

Doun at the ferther ende, in which ther were
Children an heep, ycomen of Cristen blood,
That lerned in that scole yeer by yere
Swich maner doctrine as men vsed there,

1 Hn. Cm. Ln. Hl. the; E. thurgh; Cp. Pt. to.
2 E. Hn. of; but the rest thurgh.

1680

1685

This is to seyn, to singen and to rede,
As smale children doon in hir childhede.

Among thise children was a widwes sone,
A litel clergeon, seuen yeer of age,
That day by day to scole was his wone,
And eek also, wher as he sey thimage
Of Cristes mooder, hadde he in vsage,

1690

1695

As him was taught, to knele adoun and seye
His Aue Marie as he goth by the weye.

Thus hath this widwe hir litel sone ytaught
Our blisful lady, Cristes mooder dere,
To worshipe ay, and he forgat it naught,
For sely child wol alday sone lere;
But ay, whan I remembre on this matere,
Seint Nicholas stant euer in my presence,
For he so yong to Crist did reuerence.

1700

1705

This litel child his litel book lerninge,
As he sat in the scole at his prymer,

He Alma redemptoris herde singe,

As children lerned hir antiphoner;

And, as he dorste, he drough hym ner and ner,
And herkned ay the wordes and the note,

1710

Til he the firste vers coude al by rote.

Noght wiste he what this latin was to seye,
For he so yong and tendre was of age;
But on a day his felaw gan he preye
Texpounden him this song in his langage,
Or telle him why this song was in vsage;
This preyde he him to construe and declare
Ful ofte tyme vpon his knowes bare.

1715

His felaw, which that elder was than he,

Answerde him thus: this song, I haue herd seye,
Was maked of our blisful lady free,

Hir to salue, and eek hir for to preye

To been our help and socour whan we deye.

I can no more expounde in this matere;

I lerne song, I can but smal grammere.'

And is this song maked in reuerence Of Cristes mooder?' seyde this Innocent; 'Now certes, I wol do my diligence

1720

1725

To conne it al, er Cristemasse is went;
Though that I for my prymer shal be shent,
And shal be beten thryës in an houre,

1730

I wol it conne, our lady for1 to honoure.'

His felaw taughte him homward priuely,
Fro day to day, til he coude it by rote,
And than he song it wel and boldely
Fro word to word, acording with the note;
Twyes a day it passed thurgh his throte,
To scoleward and homward whan he wente;
On Cristes mooder set was his entente.

As I haue seyd, thurgh-out the Iewerye

This litel child, as he cam to and fro,

Ful merily than 2 wolde he singe, and crye
O Alma redemptoris euer-mo.

3

The swetnes hath his herte perced so
Of Cristes mooder, that, to hir to preye,

He can nat stinte of singing by the weye.

1 Cm. Cp. Pt. Hl. omit for; it seems best retained

2 Cm. Cp. Pt. Ln. Hl. than; E. Hn. omit it.
8 Cm. Cp. Pt. Ln. HI. hath; E. Hn. omit it.

1735

1740

1745