C Ryht with þat ran repentaunce / and rehersede his teme
And made will to wepe / water with his eyes
And long was ar he LX lokede vp / and lord mercy cryede
And bihyhte to hym þat vs alle made
A sholde vnsowen here serk / and sette þeron an hayre
To affayten here flesshe / þat fers was to synne
Shal neuere heyh herte me hente / but holde me lowe
And soffre to be mysseyde / and so dyde y neuere
But now wol y meke me / and mercy byseche
Of alle þat y haue hated / in myn herte
Repente þe quod repentaunce / as resoun þe tauhte
And shryue the sha{.}rpeliche / and shak of alle pruyde
For y formost and furste / to my fader and to my moder
Haue be vnbuxum / y byseche god of mercy
And vnbuxum y be LG / nat a-baschet to agulte
God and goode men / so gret was myn herte
Inobedient to holychurche / holy churche / and to hem þat þer serueth
Demed for here vuel vices / and exitede oþere
Thorw my word and my witt / here euel werkes to shewe
And scornede hem and oþere / yf y askil / a skil founde
Lauhyng al aloude / for lewede men sholde
Wene y were witty / and wiser then another
Scornare and vnskilful / to hem þat skil shewede
In alle maneres / my name to be knowe
Semyng asouerayn / a souerayn oen / where-so me byfull
To telle eny tale / y trowed me wysor
To carpe and to consayle then eny Clerk or lewed
Proud of aparayle / inport / in port amonges þe peple
Other-wyse then y haue / with-ynne or with-outen
Me wilnynge þat men wente / y were as in auer
Bostyng and braggynge / with many bolde othes
Vantyng vp my vaynglorie / for eny vnder-nymynge
And ȝut so synguler be my-sulue / as to syhte of peple
Was non such as hym-sulue / ne non so popholy
Summe-tyme in o sekte / summe-tyme in another
In alle kyne couent / contreuede how y myhte
Be holden for holy / and honoured by þat enchesoun
Wilnynge þat men wente / myne werkes weren þe beste
And þe connyngest of my craft Clerkysh oþer other
And strengest vppon stede / and styuest vnder gyrdel
And louelokest to loke vppon / alykyngest / a lykyngest abedde
And likynge of such a lyf / þat no lawe preiseth
Prout of my fayre fetures / and for y song shille
And what y gaf for godes loue / to gossipes y tolde
They to wene þat y were / wel holy and wel almesfull
And non so bolde a beggare / to bidde and to craue
Tales to telle in tauernes / and in stretes
And lyed o my lycame / and on my lyf bothe
Of werkes þat y wel dede / witnesses take
And sygge to suche / þat sytte me byside
Lo yf ȝe leue me nat / or þat y lye wenen
Ascuth at hym or at here / and he ȝow cantelle / can telle
What y soffrede and seyh / and some-tymes hadde
And what y couthe and knewe / and of what kyn y cam of
Of al a LX wolde þat men wiste / when it to pruyde souneth
As to be preised amonges þe peple / thow he T pore seme
¶ Si hominibus placerem / christi seruus non essem / nemo potest duobus dominis seruire
Now god for his goodnesse / gyue the grace to amende
¶ Quod repentaunce riht with þat / and thenne aroos enuye
Enuye with heuy herte / asked aftur shrifte
And cryede mea culpa / corsynge alle his enemyes
His clothes were of corse men / and of kene wordes
Sholde no lyf lyue / þat on his lond pissede
Chidynge and chalengynge þat was his cheef lyflode
And blame men byhynde herebak / here bak / and bidde hem meschaunce
And þat a wiste by wille / to watek{e}yn he tolde hit
And al þat he wiste by watte / tolde hit wille aftur
And made of frendes foes / thorw fikel and fals tonge
Or thorw myhte of mouthe / or thorw mannes sleythes
Venged me vele tymes / other vrete myself with-ynne
Lyke a sc{t}hupestares sharre / and shrewed myn euencristene
Aȝeyn þe consayl of Crist / as clerkes fyndeth in bokes
¶ Cuius maledictione os plenum est & amaritudine / sub lingua eius labor & dolor
Filij hominum dentes eorum / Arma & sagitte & lingua eorum gladius acutus
And when y may nat haue þe maystrie / suche malecolie y take T
That y cache þe crompe the cardiacle sume-tyme
Or an ague in suche angre / and som-tyme afeuere / a feuere
That taketh me al twelmonthe / til þat y despise
Leche-craft of oure lord / and leue on a wycche
And segge þat no clerk ne can / ne Crist as y leue
To the soutere of southewerk / suche is his grace
For god ne goddes word / ne gras helpe me neuere
But thorw acharme / a charme hadde y chaunce / and my chef hele
Y myhte nat ete many ȝer / as aman / a man ouhte
For enuye and euyl wil / is euel to defye
May no sugre ne swete thyng / a-swage my swellynge
Ne derworth drynke / dryue hit fro myn herte
Ne noþer shame ne shryfte / but ho-so shrapede my mawe
¶ Ȝus redily quod repentaunce / and thow be ryht sory
For thy synnes souereynly · and biseke god of mercy
I · am euere sory sayde enuye / y am selde othur
And þat maketh me so megre / for y ne may me venge
Amonges C marchauntes many tymes / and nameliche in londone
When he solde and y nat thenne was y aredy
To lye and to loure / and to lakke myn neyhebores
Here werkes and here wordes / where þat y seete
Now hit a-thynketh me in my thouhte / þat euere y so wrouhte
{...?...?...}¶ Graunte me gode lord / grace of amendement
Thenne a-wakede wrathe / with two wyhte eyes
And with a niuilynges nose / nippynge his lippes
I am wrothe quod þat weye / wol gladliche smyte
Bothe with stoon and with staf / and stele vppon myn enemye
To sle hym sleyliche / sleythes y by-thenke
Thow y sitte this seuene ȝer / y sholde nat wel telle
The harm þat y haue do / with hand and with tonge
Inpacient in alle penaunces / and pleyned as hit were
On god when me greued auht / and grochede of his sonde
As som-tyme in somur / and also in heruest
But y hadde weder at my wille · y witte god þe cause
In alle manere angres / þat y hadde or felede
Amonges alle manere men / my dwellyng is som-tyme
With lewed and lered / þat leef ben to here
Harm of eny man / byhynde or bifore
And preuen inparfit / prelates of holychurche / holy churche
And prelates pleyneth on hem / for they here parschiens shryuen
With-oute licence and leue / and her-by lyueth wrathe
Thus thei speke and dispute / þat vch on dispiseth oþer
Thus Beggares and Barones / at debat aren ofte
Til y wrathe wexe an hey / and walke with hem bothe
Or til they bothe be beggares / and by spirituale libbe
Or alle riche and ryde · / reste shal y nat wrathe
That y ne mot folowe this folk / my fortune is non oþer
¶ Y haue an Aunte to nonne / and an abbesse
Here were leuer swowe or swelte / then soffre eny payne
Y haue be coek in here kychene / and the couent serued
Mony mont{k}hes with hem / and with monkes bothe
I · was the Prioresse potager / and oþer pore ladies
And made hem ioutes of iangelynge / dame Ione was abastard / a bastard
And dame clarice a knyhtes douhter / a cokewolde was here syre
Thus sytte they sustres / sumtyme and disputen
Til thow lixt and thow lixt / be lady ouer hem alle
And thenne awake y wrathe / and wolde be a-venged
And thenne y crye and crache / with my kene nayles
Byte and bete / and brynge forth suche the{u}wes
That alle ladyes me loteth / lot[h]eth / þat louyet eny worschipe
Y-parrokeded / Y-parrok[ed] in pues / the parsone hit knoweth
How lytel y louye / letyse at þe style
For she had halybred / haly bred ar y / my herte gan change
Aftur mete aftuward / aftu[r]ward / she and she chydde
And y wrath was war / and warthe on hem bothe
Tyl ayþer clepede oþer hore / and on with the clothes
Til bothe here hedes were bar / and blody here chekes
Amonges monkes y myhte be / Ac mony tyme y spare
For there aren many felle frekes / myn a-feres to aspye
That is Priour and supriour / and oure pater Abbas
And yf y telle eny tales / they taken hem to-gyderes
And doen me faste fridayes / to bred and to water
Ȝut am y chalenged / in oure chapitre-hous as y a childe were
And balayshed on þe bare ers / and no brech bytwene
Y haue no luste lef me / to longe amonges monkes
For y ete more fysch then flesche there and feble ale drynke
Ac other-while when wyn cometh / and when y drynke late at euen
Y haue aflux / a flux of a foul mouth / wel fyue daies aftur
And al þat y wiste wykked / by eny of oure couent
Y couȝthe hit vp in oure Cloystre / þat al þe couent woet hit
¶ Now repente quod repentaunce / and reherce neuere
Consayl þat thow knowest / by continaunce ne by speche
And drynke nat ouerdelycatly / no to depe neyther
That thy wil ne thy wit / to wreche myhte turne
¶ Esto sobrius he saide / and assoiled hym aftur
And bad hym bid to god / be his helpe to amende
¶ Thenne seyde lecherye alas / and to oure lady cryede
Lady to {l}thy leue sone / loute for me nouthe
That he haue pite on me pitouur / pito[ur] of his puyr mercy
With þat y shal quod þat shrewe saturdayes for thy moder loue
drynke but with þe doke / and dyne but ones
Y gulty in gost to god y me shryue
As in likynge of lecherye / my lycames gultes
In word and in wedes / in waytynge of eyes
Semyng to synneward / and summe y gan taste
Aboute þe mouthe and by-nethe · by-gan y to grope
Til bothe oure wil was oen / and to þe werk we ȝeden
As wel fastyng dayes / and frydayes and heye festes euenes
As leef in lente as out of lente / alle tymes y-lyche
Such werkes with vs were neuere / out of sesoun
Til we myhte no more / thenne hadde we mery tales
Of putour and of paramours / and proueden thorw speche
And handlyng and halsyng / and also thorw kyssyng
Exited either oþer / til oure olde synne
Sotiled songes / and sente out olde baudes
To wynne to my wille / wymmen with gyle
By sorserie sum-tyme / and sum-tyme by maistrie
Y lay by þe louelokest / and louede here neuere aftur
When y was olde and hoor and hadde ylore þat kynde
Y hadde likyng to lythe of lecherye tales
Now lord for thy lewete / on lechours haue mercy
¶ Thenne cam couetyse / y can hym nat descreue
So hungrily and holow / sire heruy hym lokede
He was bitelbrowed and baburlippid with two blered eyes
And as a letherne pors / lollede his chekes
Wel syddore then his chyn / y-cheueled for elde
And as a bonde-mannes bacoun / his berd was y-shaue
With his hood on his heued / and his hat bothe
In a tore tabard / of twelue wynter age
¶ Y haue be couetous quod this kaytif / y biknowe hit here
For som-tyme y serued / symme at þe style
And was his prentis y-plyht / his profit to wayte
Furste y lerned to lye / a leef oþer tweye
To wy and to wynchestre / y wente to þe fayre
With many manere merchandise / as my maister hyhte
Ne hadde þe grace of Gyle / go among my ware
Thenne drow y me amonge drapers / my donet to lere
To drawe the lyst along / the lengur hit semede
Amonges the ryche rayes / y rendrede alessoun / a lessoun
To brochen hem with abatnelde / a batnelde / and bande hem to-gyderes
Potte hem in pressoures / and pynne hem þerynne
Til ten ȝerde other twelue / tolde out threttene
My wyf was a webbe / and wollone cloth made
The pound tho he payede hem by / peysed aquarter / a quarter
More then myn auncer / when y wayed treuthe
Y bouhte here barly / and T brew hit to sulle
For laboreres and for louh folk / þat lay by hym-sulue
A galon for a grote / and ȝut no grayth mesure
When hit cam in coppe-mele / this crafte my wyf vsede
Rose þe regrater / was here ryhte name
¶ Repentedest neuere quod repentaunce / ne restitucioun madest
Ȝus ones y was he{l}rberwed quod he / with an heep of chapmen
Y roes and ryflede here males / when the areste were
That was a rufol restitucioun / quod repentaunce for sothe
Thow wolt be hanged heye þerfore / here oþer in helle
¶ Vsedest euere vsurye / in al thy lyf-tyme
Nay sothly he saide / saue in my ȝouthe
Y lernede among lumbardus / a lessoun and of iewes
To weye pans with a peyse / and parede þe heuegeste
And lente for loue of þe wed / the whych y lette bettere
And more worth then the moneye / or men þat y lenede
Y lene folk þat lese wole / a lyppe of vch a noble
And with lumbardus lettres / lene gold to Rome
So what buyrn of me borewede / a bouhte T the tyme
¶ Lenedest euere eny lord / for loue of his mayntenaunce
Y haue lent lordes and ladyes / þat louede me neuere aftur
And haue y-mad many a knyht / bothe mercer and draper
Payed neuere for his prentished / nat apayre / a payre gloues
That chaffared with my cheuesaunces / cheued selde aftur
Now redily quod repentaunce / and by þe rode y leue
Shal neuere seketoure wel by-sette / the syluer þat thow hem lenest
Ne thyn heyres as y hope / haue ioye of þat thow wonne
For þe pope with alle his pentauncers / power hem fayleth
To assoyle the of this synne / sine restitucioun
¶ Numquam dimittitur peccatum & cetera
With false wordes and whites / haue y y-wonne my godes
And with Gyle and glosynge / y-gadered þat y haue
Meddeled my merchaundyse / and made a good mostre
The worste lay with-ynne / a greet wit y lat hit
And yf my neyhebore / hadde an hyne / or eny beste elles
More profitable then myn / y made many wentes
How y myhte haue hit / al my wit y caste
And but y hit hadde by other wey / at the laste y stale hit
Or priueliche his pors shoke / and vnpiked his lokes
And yf y ȝede to þe plough / y pynched on his half aker
That a foet lond or aforw / a forw / fecchen y wolde
Of my neyhebore nexst / nymen of his erthe
And y raap ouer-reche / or ȝaf hem red þat repe
To sese to me with here sikel / þat y ne sewe neuere
In halydayes at holy churche / when y herde masse
Ne hadde y neuere will witterly / to by-seche mercy
For my mysdedes / þat y ne mourned aftur
For loos of good leef me / then for lycames gultes
As thow y deddly synne dede / y dradde nat so sore
As whenne y lenede and leuede hit lost / or longe or hit were payed
And yf y sente ouer-see / my seruauntes to Bruges
Or in pruys-lond my prenties / my profit to awayte
Myhte neuere me comforte in the mene-tyme
Nother matynes ne masse / ne no maner syhtes
Ne neuere penaunce parformede / ne pater noster sayde
That my muynde ne was / more in my godes in a doute
Then in the grace of god / and in his grete myhte
¶ Vbi tezaurus tuus / ibi cor tuum
Now redily quod repentaunce / y haue reuthe of thy lyuynge
Were y afrere / a frere in good fayth / for al þe gold on erthe
Y ne wolde cope me with thy catel / ne oure kyrke mende
Ne take ameles / a meles mete of thyn / and myn herte hit wiste
¶ Melius est mori / quam male viuere
Y rede no faythful frere / at thy feste to sytte
Ȝut were me leuer by oure lord / lyue al by welle-cresses
Then haue my fode / and my fyndynge of fals menne wynnynges
Pane tuo pocius / vescere liber eris
¶ Thow art an vnkynde creature / y can the nat assoile
Til thow haue y-mad by thy myhte / to alle men restitucioun
For alle that hauen of thy good / haue god my treuthe
Ys haldyng at the heye dome / to helpe the restitue
Ȝe þe prest þat thy tythe toek / trowe y non other
Shal parte with the in purgatorye / and helpe paye thy dette
Yf he wiste thow were such / when he resseyued thyn offrynge
And what lede leueth þat y lye / look in þe sauter glosed on T
¶ Ecce enim veritatem dilexisti
And there shal he wite witturly / what vsure is to mene
And penaunce the prest shal haue / þat prooud / p[ro]ud is of his tithes
For an hore of here ers wynnynge / may hardiloker tythe
Then an errant vsurer haue god my treuthe
And arste shal come to heuene
Thenne was there a walschman / was wonderly sory
Hyhte ȝeuan ȝelde aȝeyn / yf y so moche haue
Al þat y wikkedly wan / sithen y witte hadde
And thow me lyflode lakke / leten y nelle
That eche man ne shal haue his / ar y hennes wende
For me is leuere in this lyue / as alorel / a lorel begge
Then in lysse to lyue / and lese lyf and soule
Robert the ruyflare / on reddite lokede
Ac ȝut þat synful shrewe / saide to the heuene
Crist þat on Caluarie / on þe cresse P deyedest
Tho dysmas my brother / bisouhte ȝowof / ȝow of grace
And haddest mercy vppon þat man / for memento his sake
So rewe on Robert / þat reddere ne haue
Ne neuere wene to wynne / with craft þat y knowe
For thy mochel mercy mitigacioun y biseche
dampne me nat at domesday / for þat y dede so ylle
What byful of this feloun / y can nat fayre shewe
And knolechede to Crist / his coupe ȝut eft-sones
That repentaunce is pyk-staff / a wolde polesche newe
for he hadde layȝe by latro / luciferes aunte
Be þe rode quod repentaunce / thow romest toward heuene
By so hit be in thyn herte / as y here thy tonge
For al the wrecchednesse of this world / and wikkede dedes
And deyede with a drop water / so doth alle synnes
And cryen hym mercy / shal neuere come in helle
omnis iniquitas / quoad misericordiam dei est quasi sintilla in medio maris
Repente þe anon quod repentaunce C ryhte to the vsurer
And haue his mercy in thy mynde / and merchaundise leue hit
For thow hast no good by good fayth / to gete the with a wastel
For the good that thow hast gete · / bygan al with falshede
And as longe as thow lyuest ther-with / þou ȝeldest nat bote borwest
And ȝif thow wyte neuere to whom / ne where to restitue
Bere hit to thy bischop / and bide hym of his grace
To by-setten hit hym-sulue / as beste be for thy soule
For he shal onswerie for the / at the hey dome
For the and for many mo / þat man shal ȝeue a rykenynge
¶ Now bygynneth glotoun / for to go to shryfte
And kayres hym to kyrkeward / his coupte / coup[e] to shewe
Fastyng on afriday / a friday / forth gan he wende
by betene hous the brewestere / þat bad hym good morwen
And whodeward he wolde / the breuh-wyf hym askede
To holy churche quod he / for to here masse
And sennes sitte and be shryue / and synege nomore
¶ Y haue good ale gossip / Glotoun woltow assaye
Hastow quod he eny hote spyces
Y haue pepur and pyonie / and a pound of garlek
A ferthyngworth fenkel sedes / for fastyng dayes y bouhte hit
¶ Thenne goth glotoun in / and grete othes aftur
Sesse þe souhteres / saet on þe benche
Watte þe wernare and his wyf dronke
Tymme þe Tynekare / and tweyne of his knaues
Hicke þe hackenayman / and hewe þe nedlare
Claryce of cockes lane / and the clerc of þe churche
Syre {peres} C of prydie and purnele of Flaundres
An hayward an heremyte / the hangeman of tybourne
Dawe þe dikere / with a dosoyne harlotes
Of portours and of pike-porses / and of pilede toth-draweres
A rybibour and a ratoner / a rakeare and his knaue
A ropere and a redyngkynge / and Rose þe disshere
Godefray þe garlekmonger / and Gryffyth þe walshe
And of vphalderes an heep / herly LX by þe morwe
¶ Clement þe Coblere / cast of his cloke
And to þe newe fayre / nemp{e}nede forth to sull
Hicke þe hackenayman hit his hod aftur
And bade bute þe bochere / ben on his syde
There were chapmen y-chose / this chaffare to preyse
That ho-so hadde the hood / sholde nat haue þe cloke
And that the bettere thyng be arbitreres / bote sholde þe worse
Tho rysen vp rape / and rounned to-gyderes
And preisede this penworthis / apart by hem-sulue
And there were othes an heep / for on sholde haue þe worse
They couthe nat {...?...}by here Consience acorden for treuthe
Til Robyn þe Ropere / aryse they bisouhte
And nempned hym / for anoumper / a noumper / þat no debat were
Hicke þe hostiler / hadde þe cloke
In couenaunt þat clement sholde / the coppe fulle
And haue hickes hood þe hostiler / and holde hym yserued
And ho-so repentede hym rathest / sholde aryse aftur
And grete syre glotoun / with a galoun of ale
There was leyhing and louryng / and lat go the coppe
Bargaynes and Beuereges bygan tho to awake
And seten so til euenson / euenson[g] / and songen vm-by-while
Til glotoun hadde y-globbed / a galoun and a gylle
His gottes gan to gothly / as to grydy T sowes
A blew his rownd ruet / at his ryngebones ende
That alle þat herde þe horun / helde here nose aftur
And wesched hit hadde wasche with a weps of breres
He myhte noþer steppe ne stande / til he a staf hadde
And thenne gan he go lyke a glemans byche
Sum-tyme a-syde / and sum-tyme arere
As ho-so layth lynes / for to lacche foules
And when he drow to the dore / thenne dymmede his yes
And thromblede at the thresfold / and threw to þe erthe
And Clement þe coblere / cauhte hym by þe myddel
And for to lyfte hym aloft / leyde hym on his knees
Ac gloton was a greet cherl / and greued in þe luftynge
¶ And cowed vp a caudel / in Clementis lappe
Ys non{n}e so hungry hound / in hertford-shyre
durste lape of þat lyuynge / so vn-louely hit smauhte
With alle þe wo of this world / his wyf and his wenche
Beren hym to his bed / and brouhten hym þer-ynne
And aftur al this exces / he hadde an accidie aftur
A sleep saturday and sonenday / til þe sonne ȝede to reste
Then gan he wake wel wanne / and wolde haue y-dronke
The furste þat he spake was to halt þe bolle
His wyf and his inwit / Edwitede / hym of his synne
A wax a-shamed þat shrewe / and shrofe hym a swythe
To repentaunce ryht thus / haue reuthe on me he saide
To the god y glotoun / gulty / y me ȝelde
Of þat y haue trespased with tonge / y can nat telle how ofte
There no nede ne was / many sythe falsly
And ouersopped at my soper / and som-tyme at nones
More then my kynde / myhte deffye
And as an hound þat eet gras / so gan y to brake
And spilde þat y a-spele myhte / y kan nat speke for shame
The vilony of my foule mouthe / and of my foule mawe
Out of resoun among rybaudes / here rybaudrye to here
Her-of gode god graunte me forȝeuenesse
Of al my luyther lyf / in al my lyf-tyme
For y vowe to verray god / for eny hungur or furste
Shal neuere fysch in þe fryday / defyen in my wombe
Til abstinence myn Aunte / haue ȝeue me leue
And ȝut haue y chasted here / al my lyf-tyme
passus
// pride scryueþ
hym hyere
hym hyere
de
passus
Repentance
// Wrathe goth
to schryfte
to schryfte
de
passus
nota wyues
Repentance
de
passus
[R]ose þe regrater
de
passus
/ wals{k}he-man
// Robert
ryfflere
ryfflere
de
passus
de
passus
corrigitur
· 6us ·
visione
// Hyer goþ Enuye
to scryfte
to scryfte
· 6us ·
To sle hym sleylyche
visione
// freris ben wrothe
6us
// Hyer was letise
at stile y-schent
for sche tok hali bred
to rathe
at stile y-schent
for sche tok hali bred
to rathe
// Heyr cam lecherye
to schrefteward
to schrefteward
visione
[leftward-looking face] C
// Hyere cam couetyse
to schrefteward
to schrefteward
6us
visione
// notate diuites
[trefoil] C
legitur C
· 6us ·
visione
// Glotonyȝe goþ
to schryfte
to schryfte
· 6us ·
visione
// Glotoun cowede a caudel
in clementis lappe
in clementis lappe
· 7us ·