Page:Disciplina Clericalis (English translation) from the fifteenth century Worcester Cathedral Manuscript F. 172.djvu/15

  of the known manuscript versions of the original Disciplina Clericalis. Caxton designates this tale as follows: 'The xii fable is of a blynd man and of his wyf.' In Steinhöwel's compilation the Latin title is, 'De ceco et eius uxore ac rivali;' the German, 'Von dem blinden und synem wyb.' Machault has, according to the Black Letter edition (without date) which belongs in the British Museum, 'La xii fable dun aueugle et de sa femme.' Now since Hilka and Söderhjelm do not mention this tale as being in any one of the 63 Mss. of the Latin versions of the Disciplina Clericalis which they have so carefully described and collated, it is not improbable that Steinhöwel incorrectly attributed this tale to Peter Alphonse (or one of his sources had done it) in gathering the materials for his compilation. The tale falls immediately after that of 'The Old Procuress with the Weeping Bitch'—one of the most popular of Peter Alphonse's collection — which is No. xiii of the original as arranged by Hilka and Söderhjelm, and immediately before the story of 'The King's Tailor and his Servants'—No. xx of the Hilka-Söderhjelm edition and xviii of the earlier edition as reprinted by (op cit. cols. 693-694.) On account the interest of the tale and for the sake of giving the reader an opportunity to compare the English of the Worc. version with that of Caxton (both being probably of about the same date) I reprint it herewith complete according to the original edition.

There was sometyme a blynd man whiche had a fayre wyf, of the whiche he was much Jalous. He kepte her so that she myght not goo nowher, for euer (Jacobs 'ewer') he had her by the hand. And after that she was enamoured of a gentil felawe, they coude not fynde the maner ne no place for to fulfylle theyr wyll. But notwithstandyng the woman whiche was subtyle and Ingenyous counceylled to her frende that he shold come in to her hows and that he shold entre in to (Jacobs omits 'to') the gardyn, and that there he shold clymme vpon a pere tree. And he did as she told hym. And when they had made theyr enterpryse, the woman came ageyne in to the hows and sayd to her husbond: "My frend, I praye yow that ye wylle go in to our gardyn for to disporte (Jacobs 'despose') vs a lytel whyle there." Of the whiche prayer the blynd man was wel content and sayd to his wyf: "Wel my good frend, I