Geoffrey Chaucer, the Sir Thopas in the Canterbury Tales — 207 lines in 6-line, tail-rhyme stanzas.

Author(s): Geoffrey Chaucer

Title(s): Sir Thopas; Canterbury Tales

Subjects: pilgrims/pilgrimage; Romance; satire

Versification: — tail-rhyme, six-line — aabaab, aabccb

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Note: VII.805, 918 omitted.

Attributed Title: Here Chauncers tellith of Sir Thopas (f. 167v); Chauncers tale (RT); Here oure Ost letteth Chauncers his rymyng (f. 170v)

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Note: VII.804, 852-4, 915-8 omitted.

Attributed Title: …and / here begynnihe þe tale (f. 203)

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Note: VII.803-6, 823, 887, 918 omitted

Attributed Title: The tale of Sir Thopas (f. 148v)

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Note: VII.805, 887 omitted.

Attributed Title: Nexte foloweþ Chaucers tale of Thopas / And here begynneth his tale (f. 170); Here the hoost stynteth Chaucer of his tale of / Thopas and biddeth hym telle a nother tale (f. 172v)

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Note: VII.852-4, 918 omitted; 805 left blank; 865 inserted in margin.

Attributed Title: …And next begynneth the tale / of sire Thopas (f. 187); The Thopas (RT); Here endeth the tale of sir Thopas… (f. 189v)

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Note: VII.805, 918 omitted.

Attributed Title: …Here begynneþ þe tale of sir Thopas (f. 225v); thopas (RT)

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Note: Everything after VII.866 lost. Catchphrase on f. 239v: ‘As white is[gutter]’.

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Note: VII.731-2, 822-3, 887, 891-918 omitted; spurious lines follow 733, 800, 821,

Attributed Title: Here bigynneth Chaucers tale of syre thopias (f. 95); Chaucer (RT)

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Note: VII.805, 852-4, 915-918 omitted; 823 follows 825.

Attributed Title: Here begynnyth Thopias tale (f. 104); thopas (f. 104, margin); the thopas (RT); here endith thopias tale… (f. 105v)

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Note: VII.805, 918 omitted; 810-11 reversed.

Attributed Title: …And here beginneth A tale of Maister Chaucer (f. 180v); Chaucer (RT)

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Attributed Title: Here begynneth the tale (f. 135)

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Note: VII.805, 915-18 omitted; 915-17 supplied in margin later; blank line follows 774.

Attributed Title: Here bygynneth þe tale of Chaucer of sire Thopas (f. 214); Camxixm (f. 214, margin)

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Note: VII.715, 803, 805, 821-4, 891, 918 omitted.

Attributed Title: Ryme of Ser Topas (f. 208); Sir Thopas (RT)

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Note: VII.720-2, 752, 846-9 omitted; spurious line follows 806.

Attributed Title: Incipit fabula Chauceris de Thopas (f. 198); Chauceris de Thopas (RT); Thopas (RT)

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Note: VII.712-44 lost. The final line (918) follows 917 in the margin, written as if one line, separated only by a punctus elevatus.

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Note: Although the guide letter for the opening initial is an ‘L’, the limner executed a ‘T’. VII.906-18 lost; 805 omitted.

Attributed Title: Heere begynnyth Chaucers tale of sere Thopas (f. 323)

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Note: VII.719-20, 722, 803, 805, 887, 918 omitted; spurious line follows 806; 814-15 reversed.

Attributed Title: …And here begynneth the tale of sir Thopas (f. 187); Chawcers (RT); Here endeth the tale of Sir Thopas (f. 188v)

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Note: VII.805, 852-4, 918 omitted.

Attributed Title: Here begynneth þe tale of Chaucer be sir thopas (f. 197); Capitulum xixm (f. 197, margin); Sir thopas (RT)

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Note: VII.719-22, 760-77, 805, 833-87, 903-18 omitted.

Attributed Title: The tale of Thopas (f. 218v)

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Note: VII.742-918 omitted.

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Note: VII.805 omitted.

Attributed Title: …Et incipit fabula eiusdem (f. 234v); Chauncer (RT)

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Note: VII.85, 918 omitted.

Attributed Title: here bigynneth Chaucers tale of Syr Topias (f. 166); Chaucer (RT)

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Note: VII.893-5 omitted.

Attributed Title: …& incipit fabula sua de Sir Thopas (f. 180v)

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Note: VII.712-49, 911-18 lost; 852-4 omitted.

Attributed Title: Sire Thopas (RT)

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Note: VII.805 omitted.

Attributed Title: Here begynneth the tale of sir Thopas (f. 189v); sir thopias is tale (RT)

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Note: VII.805, 887 omitted; 803, 812, 825, 887 marked ‘deficit’ in margin.

Attributed Title: …and begynneth the tale (f. 166v); Sir Thopas (RT); Here endith Sir Thopas (f. 168v, with blank space following)

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Note: VII.805, 918 omitted; 803 follows 806.

Attributed Title: No more of this for goddis dignite (f. 99va, rubricated and formatted as heading)

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Note: VII.805, 918 omitted.

Attributed Title: [trimmed]eþ sir thopas his tale (f. 203v, margin, in scribe’s informal hand); Chauceres tale (RT)

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Note: VII.805, 852-4, 915-18 omitted; 801-3 inserted in margin.

Attributed Title: …Incipit fabula (f. 189); Sir Thopas (RT)

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Note: VII.803, 918 omitted.At the foot, in the margin, is ‘finis verte folium’. Two-thirds of the verso is left blank before the explicit.

Attributed Title: …And begynnyth / the tale of sir thopas by / Master Chaucer (f. 238v, margin); Here endithe the tale of sir thopas by Chaucer (f. 241v)

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Note: VII.805, 852-4, 915-18 omitted.

Attributed Title: …And begynneth the tale (f. 194); sir Thopas (RT); Explicit… (f. 196v, margin)

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Note: VII.805, 852-4, 887, 915-18 omitted.

Attributed Title: …And begynneth his tale (f. 244); [A] tale of Chauncer (RT)

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Note: VII.805 omitted.

Attributed Title: Here bigynneth Chaucers tale of Thopas (f. 213); Chaucer of sire Thopas (RT); here the host stynteth Chauce of his tale of / Thopas and biddeth hym telle another tale (f. 215)

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Note: VII.793, 805, 818 omitted.

Attributed Title: …And here begynyth the tale of Sir Thopas (f. 158)

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Note: VII.805, 887, 918 omitted.

Attributed Title: Here begynneth the tale of Sir Thopas (f. 64rb); Thopas (RT)

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Note: VII.726-918 lost.

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Note: VII.712-783 lost; resupplied on a seventeenth-century leaf. 805, 852-4, 915-18 omitted.

Attributed Title: Sire Thopas (RT)

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Note: VII.762, 818, 917-18 ommitted; 917 supplied later in margin.

Attributed Title: Here byginnyth the tale of sire thopas (f. 191v); Chaucer sere Topas (RT)

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Note: VII.803-6, 842-4, 877, 918 omitted.

Attributed Title: …Incipit ffabula de Thopas (f. 256)

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Note: VII.793, 803, 823, 887 omitted.

Attributed Title: Here begynnyth Chauncers tale / of Sire Thopas (f. 126v); Chauncers tale of / Ser Thopas (f. 126v, margin); Chaucer (RT)

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Note: VII.805, 852-4, 918 omitted.

Attributed Title: Here bygynneþ þe tale of chaucere by Sire Thopas (f. 224); Capitulum xixm (f. 224, top margin); Sire Thopas (RT)

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Note: VII.805 omitted.

Attributed Title: …Heere bigynneth Chaucers tale of Sire Thopas (f. 5vb); Heere stynteth the hoost Chaucer of his tale of Sire Thopas / and biddeth hym telle another tale… (f. 7)

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Attributed Title: Here begynneth the tale of Sir Thopas (f. 160, foot); Chauncer (RT)

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Note: VII.731-2, 805, 823, 887, 891-918 omitted.

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Note: VII.805, 852-4, 915-18 omitted.

Attributed Title: Here bigynneth the tale of Chaucers of sir Thopas (f. 206v); Sir Thopas (RT)

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Note: VII.727-9, 805, 852-4, 918 omitted.

Attributed Title: …And here bygynneth the tale (f. 152); Sir thopas (RT)

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Note: An 11-folio fragment, of which this leaf bears VII.846-918 of Thopas and 919-22 the ‘Thopas-Melibee Link’.

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Note: VII.777, 803, 805, 883, 887, 912-18 omitted.

Attributed Title: Her begynnyth Sir Thopas (f. 158); Sir Thopas (RT); Herer endith the tale of Sir Thopas (f. 161)

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Note: VII.805 omitted.

Attributed Title: …Heere bigynneth Chaucers tale of Thopas (f. 151v); Chaucer Thopas (RT); (RT); Heere the hoost stynteth Chaucer of his tale of Thopas (f. 153)

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Note: VII.730-918 omitted.

Attributed Title: Hic narrat fabula sua Chauncers / de quodam milite Thopas… (f. 71va)

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Note: VII.893-5 omitted.

Attributed Title: …Et Incipit fabula sua de Sir Thopas (f. 171v); Chaucers Tale (RT)

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Note: VII.805 omitted.

Attributed Title: Chauceris tale (RT)

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Note: VII.803-6, 823, 887. 918 omitted.

Attributed Title: Chaucers tale of Sir Thopas (f. 173v, rubric)

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Note: VII.742, 803, 805, 821-4, 887, 918 omitted; spurious line follows 806.

Attributed Title: Ryme of sir Topas (f. 261)

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Note: VII.805, 918 omitted.

Attributed Title: Ryme of Syr Thopas (sig. ii.2v); Of Syr Topas (RT); The hoost Interrupteth his tale… (sig. ii.5)

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Attributed Title: …And begynneth Ryme of sir Topas (sig. ll.3); Ryme of Sir Thopas (RT)

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Attributed Title: …Here begynneth Chaucers tale / tale of syre Thopas (sig. r.2rb, foot); The tale of Chaucer (RT); Here styntyth the hoste Chaucer / of his tale of syre Thopas & byd / dyth hym telle a nother tale (sig. r.4ra)