Hoccleve Archive Demo


And opneth his dore and doun gooth his wey.
And aftir blyve out of hir bed they ryse
And cam doun eek. Hir fadir thanken they
Of his good cheere in hire beste wyse –
And al was for the goldes ;
And to goon hoom they axen of him leve;
They been departed and they there him leve.

Walkynge homward, they janglid faste and speek
the gold which they sy hir fadir have.
Oon seide, “I wondre theron;” “And I eek,”
Quod anothir, “for also God me save,
Yistirday, thogh I sholde into my grave
Han crept, I durste on it han leid my lyf
That gold with him nat hadde be so ryf.”

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Compare Hoccleve’s retelling of the exemplum with Caxton’s later Middle English translation of The Chessbook.
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n. Immoderate desire for acquiring worldly goods or estate; covetousness, greed; the acquisitive function of avarice; also, avarice [the fifth deadly sin]; coveiten ~, have a desire or craving.

See the full entry in the Middle English Dictionary

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lines 4264-4277 in Newberry Library MS 33.7