en 
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72 Neue Erzählungen und Zusätze. 
Romam adiit: pacificat imperium restituitque ino- 
litas leges, in amiciciam imperatoris et civium et 
provincialium summis meritis se mittit, proditori 
suo nullam significans simultatem. Casu coniu- 
gem inter pauperes pauperrimum invenit, quem 
nutriri fecit. 
praedictam perdiccionem (lies: prodicionem) ad 
delectaccionem convivarum. Tunc demum se ape- 
rit: iudicatur in mortem ex confessione sua, redit 
pauper (Hs parumper) ad res suas et illa ad con- 
iugem suam. 
Anm. Vgl. über diese das Wettemotiv (G. 
Paris, Le Cycle de la gageure = Romania X XXII 
(1903), 481—551) enthaltende Erzählung Hulme, 
A middle English Addition to the Wager Cycle = 
Modern Language Notes XXIV (1909), 218—222. 
Das lat. Original des mittelenglischen Textes hat 
sich somit inzwischen auffinden lassen. 
Coram proditore suo narrari fecit 
III. 
Quidam volens castigare nepotem suum et ab 
illiseito retrahere amore mulierum et ex innume- 
rabilibus adversitatibus, quae huius rei gracia 
saepe contingunt (Hs contigit) cuiusdam clerici 
pavorem scribere curavit. 
Erat vir quidam praepotens, habens uxorem. 
Qui quadam die a domo sua itineris spacio unius 
diei ad quoddam placitum perrexit. Mulier vero 
per sui viri absenciam quendam clericum, ama- 
Qui 
cum obseoeno concubitu perfruerentur, ex impro- 
torem suum, sub obscura nocte advocavit. 
viso maritus rediit, obvium enim fuerat in itinere 
Cui venienti 
familia cum luminaribus occurrit. Quod clericus 
verteret se penitus 
Tandem latenter egressus et prae nimio pavore 
stupefactus, quid ageret, quo se verteret vel per 
quem aditum a curia exiret, penitus ignorabat. 
qui placitum protelaverat. omnis 
audiens, quo ignoravit. 
Audiebat enim omnem familiam, ut fit in tali 
negocio, commotam et ad ea, quae domino et 
sociis suis et equis erant necessaria, praeparanda 
hue illueque cursitantem. Interim mulier, quam 
kynde of elothis beryng hym silf evene to the 
kyng in manyfold seruice in the friendship of 
the kyng hym bare, as myght be in curtesye 
most swift and light as admynistratrice of al the 
realme. The kynges rentis wern infinytily mul- 
tiplied bi his providence. Than themperour of 
Rome dede; his yong sone whan he empired 
in the empire, herd of the sapient wisdom 
of hym of Alisaunder, sent hym to Rome, 
peased thempire, restored soft and easy lawes, 
into the friendship of themperour and the cite- 
zeins and the provynce with his high merites, 
nat puttyng hym silf any symulacioun or token 
vnto his traitour. Bi hap and fortune fond hir 
husbond among poore folk most porest and dide 
hym to be nurisshed. And bifore his traitour 
dide to be rehersed his treason bifore the cite- 
zeyns; that don arraied a feste to the delecta- 
cioun that is to say of felawship and festers; 
than at the last he opened and deemed into 
deth of his owne confessioun. 'The pore man went 
his wey and she to hir husbond. 
ILI. 
Sucheon willyng to chastice his nephew or 
cosyn and to withdrawe hym from the vnlieful 
love of wymmen and from the vnnumerable ad- 
uersites whiche often tyme fallith of this vnhappy 
thyng, of suche a clerk dide to write the pavour, 
basshidnes and the dreede: 
Suche a myghti man ther was whiche suche 
a day from his house the space of a daies jorney 
went to his place. The wif forsoth for hir hous- 
bondis made sure suche a clerk hir love cald in 
the derk of the nyght. Whiche while of the 
fowle lust that thei vsiden, the husbonde vnavi- 
sed and vnwares com hom ageyne. Forsoth ther 
mette hym in his jorney whiche plesaunt thynges 
hym told. To whom al his houshold meyne mette 
hym with lightis. The clerk heryng that wher- 
for to torn hym vtterley he wist nat, only out 
of the chamber hee went for to huyde hym, and 
for overmoche dreede so astonyed that he wist 
nat wher to torne hym or bi what wey to go 
out of the court, vtterly he wist nat. 
also he herd al the houshold as in suche a busy- 
nes evene moeved and to the thynges whiche to 
Tom. XXXVIII. 
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40 
Forsoth ' 
45 
