Geoffrey Chaucer, the ‘Squire’s Headlink’ of the Canterbury Tales — 8 lines in couplets.

Note: These lines are almost always conjoined with IV.2419-40 (745), the ‘Merchant’s Endlink’, though in some MSS the references to ‘Squire‭ are altered to ‘Franklin’ to function as a prologue to the Franklin’s Tale.

Author(s): Geoffrey Chaucer

Title(s): ‘Squire’s Headlink’; Squire’s Prologue; Canterbury Tales

Subjects: pilgrims/pilgrimage; love; links

Versification: — couplets — aa

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Attributed Title: Here endith the Squyers prolog…(f. 131v)

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Note: Present in this MS in this seven-line form and preceded by a seven-line version of IV.2427-32 (745), together introducing the Franklin’s Tale.

Attributed Title: here endith þe prologe… (f. 149v).

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Attributed Title: Here endeth þe prologe of þe Squyers tale… (f. 129v)

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Attributed Title: Prolog of þe ffrankelyn (RT)

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Attributed Title: Here endeþ þe prolog of þe Squier… (f. 161v)

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Note: Present in this MS in this seven-line form and preceded by a seven-line version of IV.2427-32, together introducing the Franklin’s Tale.

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Note: These lines here serve to introduce the Merchant’s Tale; see below where they function as a headlink to the Squire’s Tale.

Attributed Title: Prologus Mercatorij (f. 123v)

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Note: Second occurrence in MS.

Attributed Title: Armiger (RT)

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Attributed Title: Hic desinit prologus… (f. 119v)

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Attributed Title: ffrankleyn (RT)

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Note: V.4 omitted.

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Note: Present in this MS in this nine-line form and preceded by a seven-line version of IV.2427-32, together functioning to introduce the Franklin’s Tale.

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Attributed Title: Explicit prologus Armigeri… (f. 171v)

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Attributed Title: the Squyer (RT)

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Attributed Title: Hic desinit prologus Armigeri… (f. 139)

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Attributed Title: The sqwyer (RT); Hic desinit prologus… (f. 145v)

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Note: Present in this MS in this seven-line form and preceded by a seven-line version of IV.2427-32, together functioning to introduce the Franklin’s Tale.

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Attributed Title: Her endith þe prologe… (f. 148v)

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Attributed Title: Here endith the prolog… (f. 96v)

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Note: Present in this MS in this seven-line form and preceded by a seven-line version of IV.2427-32, together functioning to introduce the Franklin’s Tale.

Attributed Title: Here endith the prolog… (f. 146)

Transcription:

Note: Present in this MS in this seven-line form and preceded by a seven-line version of IV.2427-32, together functioning to introduce the Franklin’s Tale.

Attributed Title: Here endeth þe Prologe… (f. 145v)

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Attributed Title: Explicit (f. 153v)

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Note: Present in this MS in this seven-line form and preceded by a seven-line version of IV.2427-32, together functioning to introduce the Franklin’s Tale.

Transcription:

Note: Present in this MS in this seven-line form and preceded by a seven-line version of IV.2427-32, together functioning to introduce the Franklin’s Tale.

Attributed Title: The ffrankeleyn (RT); Thus endeth þe prologe… (f. 153v, rubric)

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Note: These lines are added in the margin. Following IV.1212, at the end of Clerk’s Tale, is the explicit: ‘Now is endid þe clerkis tale of oxenford And now / biginneth þe prolog of the frankelens tale’. What follows, however, is the ‘Host’s Stanza’, (IV.1212a-g, 5801), which is then followed by V.709-728, the Franklin’s Prologue. Next to IV.1212g, in the gutter, a second scribe adds a ‘+’, followed by ‘Sir Frankl[eyn]’. In the margin, below a corresponding ‘+’, this scribe writes V.1-8, but a third hand subsequently crosses out ‘frankleyn’ and writes ‘skquier’ above. Also in the margin, but written much smaller, are three sets of comments (written by the same hand that deletes ‘frankleyn’ and writes ‘skquier’ above): opposite the incipit for Franklin’s Tale is ‘heer sholde þe marchantz tale’; five lines lower is ‘And þis prolog is fals for it is / for skquiers tale’; at the very bottom, opposite V.717, is V.9, ‘[A]t Sarray in þe londe of Tartrie’. These three comments appear to be by yet another scribe.

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Attributed Title: Hic desinit prologus fabule Armigeri… (f. 98); Squyer (RT)

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Note: The ‘Merchant’s Endlink’ (745) is here conjoined with the ‘Squire’s Headlink’ to introduce the Franklin’s Tale.

Attributed Title: Here endeþ þe prologe of þe ffraunkeleyn… (f. 178); The prologe of þe ffraunkleyn (RT)

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Attributed Title: Hic desinit prologus… (f. 121v); Squyer (RT)

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Note: Smudges partially obscure the beginning of the first line.

Attributed Title: The ffrankeleyn (RT)

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Note: V.7 precedes 5-6.

Attributed Title: The ffrankeleyn (RT); Thus endeth the prologe of the ffrankeleyn… (f. 152v)

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Attributed Title: Squier (RT)

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Attributed Title: Explicit prohemium fabule Armi / geri… (f. 57ra)

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Attributed Title: Hic desinit Prologus Armigeri… (f. 130v, rubric)

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Note: Present in this MS in this nine-line form and preceded by a seven-line version of IV.2427-32, together functioning to introduce the Franklin’s Tale.

Attributed Title: Explicit prologe (f. 81va, deleted)