And curteis, as a man of your eftat, i rolled
In compagnie we wiln have no debat:
Telleth your Tale, and let the Sompnour be.
Nay, quod the Sompnour, let him fay by me
What fo him lift; whan it cometh to my lot
By God I shal him quiten every grot;
I fhal him tellen which a gret honour
It is to be a flatering limitour,

And eke of many another maner crime,
Which nedeth not reherfen at this time,
And his office I fhal him tell ywis.

Our Hofte answered, Pees, no more of this.
And afterward he said unto the Frere
Tel forth your Tale min owen maister dere.

THE FRERES TALE.

WHILOM ther was dwelling in my contree

An archedeken, a man of high degree,
That boldely did execution

In punishing of fornication,

Of witchecraft, and eke of bauderie,
Of defamation, and avouterie,

Of chirche-reves, and of teftaments,

6870

6875

6880

6885

Of contracts, and of lack of facraments,

6890

Of ufure, and of fimonie alfo,

But certes lechours did he greteft wo;

The Freres Tale] A Sompnour and the devil meeting on the way, after conference become fworn brethren, and to hell they go together. A covert invective against the bribery and corruption of the fpiritual courts in thofe days. Urry.

They shulden fingen if that they were hent,
And fmale titheres weren foule yhent;

If any perfone wold upon hem plaine
Ther might aftert hem no pecunial peine.
For fmale tithes and smale offering

6895

He made the peple pitoufly to fing,

For er the bishop hent hem with his crook

6900

They weren in the archedekens book;
Than had he thurgh his jurisdiction
Power to don on hem correction.

He had a Sompnour redy to his hond,

A flier boy was non in Englelond;

For fubtilly he had his espiaille,

6905

That taught him wel wher it might ought availle.

He coude spare of lechours on or two

To techen hem to foure-and-twenty mo:

For though this Sompnour wood be as an hare,

To tell his harlotrie I wol not fpare,
For we ben out of hir correction,
They han of us no jurisdiction,

6910

Ne never fhul have, terme of all hir lives.
Peter, fo ben the women of the stives,
Quod this Sompnour, yput out of our cure?

6915

Pees, with mischance and with misaventure,

Our Hofte faid, and let him tell his Talc.

Now telleth forth, and let the Sompnour gale,
Ne fpaireth not, min owen maister dere.

This falfe theef, this Sompnour, quod the Frere,

Had alway baudes redy to his hond,

As any hanke to lure in Englelond,

6991

That told him all the secree that they knewe,

For hir acquaintance was not come of newe;
They weren his approvers prively:

6925

He tooke himself a gret profit therby,

His maister knew not alway what he wan.
Withouten mandement a lewed man

He coude fompne up peine of Cristes curse,
And they were inly glad to fille his purse,
And maken him gret festes at the nale.
And right as Judas hadde purses smale,

6930

And was a theef, right swiche a theef was he;

His master hadde but half his duetee.

He was (if I fhal yeven him his laud)

6935

A theef, and eke a Sompnour, and a baud.

He had eke wenches at his retenue,

That whether that Sire Robert or Sire Hue,
Or Jakke or Rauf, or who so that it were
That lay by hem, they told it in his ere.
Thus was the wenche and he of on affent;
And he wold fecche a feined mandement,
And sompne hem to the chapitre bothe two,
And pill the man and let the wenche go:

6940

Than wold he fay, Frend, I fhal for thy fake 6945 Do strike thee out of oure lettres blake;

.6931. the nale] The alehouse, P. P. fol. 32, b.;

And than fatten fome and fonge at the nale.

Skinner fuppofes it to be a corruption of inn-ale, which is not impoffible. See Gloff. in v. Nale.

Volume 111.

F

Thee thar no more as in this cas travaille;
I am thy frend ther I may thee availle.
Certain, he knew of briboures many mo
Than poflible is to tell in yeres two;
For in this world n'is dogge for the bowe
That can an hurt dere from an hole yknowe
Bet than this Sompnour knew a flie lechour,
Or an avoutrer or a paramour,

6950

And for that was the fruit of all his rent,

6955

Therfore on it he fet all his entent.

And fo befell that ones on a day

This Sompnour, waiting ever on his pray,

Rode forth to fompne a widewe, an olde ribibe,
Feining a caufe, for he wold han a bribe;

6960

And happed that he faw beforn him ride

A gay yeman under a forest side;

A bow he bare, and arwes bright and kene,
He had upon a courtepy of grene,

An hat

6965

upon his hed with frenges blake. Sire, quod the Sompnour, haile, and wel atake.

. 6959. an olde ribibe] He calls her below, ver. 7155, an olde rebekke. They were both fames for the fame musical inftrument. See Menage, in v. Rebec. Ribeba, in The Decameron, ix. 5, is rendered by Macon, the old French translator, rebec and guiterne. Chaucer ufes alfo the diminutive ribible, ver. 3331, 4395. How this inftrument came to be put for an old woman I cannot guefs, unlefs perhaps from its ihrilinets. An old writer, quoted by Du Cange, in v. Baudeja, has the following lines in his description of a concert;

Quidam rebeccam arcuabant
Muliebrem vocem confingentes.

Welcome, quod he, and every good felaw. Whider ridest thou under this grene shaw? (Saide this yeman) wolt thou fer to-day?

6975

This Sompnour him answerd, and faide Nay. 6970 Here fafte by (quod he) is min entent To riden, for.to reifen up a rent That longeth to my lordes duetee. A! art thou than a baillif? Ye, quod he. (He dorfte not for veray filth and flame Say that he was a Sompnour for the name.) De par dieux. quod this yeman, leve brother, Thou art a baillit, and I am another. I am unknowen as in this contree; Of thin acquaintance I wol prayen thee, And eke of brotherhed, if that thee lift. I have gold and filver lying in my chift; If that thee hap to come in to our shire Al fhal be thin, right as thou welt defire.

6980

Grand mercy, quod this Sompnour, by my faith.

Everich in others hond his trouthe laith

For to be fworne brethren til they dey.

6986

In daliaunce they riden forth and pley.

This Sompnour, which that was as ful of jangles As ful of venime ben thise wariangles, 6990

¥. 6990. wariangles] 【 have nothing to say either in refutation or support of Mr. Speght's explanation of this word— "A kind of birds full of noife, and very ravenous, preying up"on others, which when they have taken they ufe to hang 66 upon a thorne or pricke, and teare them in peeces, and de