10

Upon my trouthe I sey yow feithfully,
That he ben of my lyf and deeth the quene;
For with my deeth the trouthé shal be sene.

Your eyen two wol slee me sodenly,
I may the beauté of hem not sustene,
So woundeth hit through-out my hertė

kene.

50

To whom be yeve praise, honour, and gloriė.
Of well saying firstė in our language;
Chief Registrer in this our pilgrimage,
All that he told, forgetting naught at all,
Not feigned tales, nor thing historical,
With many proverbs, diverse and uncouth,
By the rehearsing of his sugаred mouth.
Of eachė thingė keeping in substánce
The sentence whole withoutė variance,
Voiding the chaff, soothly for to sain,
Illumining the true picked grain,
By crafty writing of his sawės sweet.

Sir Thomas Clanvowe

Fl. c. 1400

55

743

5

10

750

THE CUCKOO AND THE NIGHTINGALE

(c. 1405) The god of love, a! benedicite! How mighty and how great a lord is he!

For he can make of lowė heartės hye,

And of hye low, and likė for to dye,
And hardė heartės he can maken free.
And he can make, within a little stoundėl
Of sekė? folk full wholė, fresh and soundė,

And of the wholė, he can makė seke;
And he can binden and unbinden eke
What he will have bounden or unboundė.
To tell his might my wit may not suffysė;
For he may do all that he will devysė

For he can make of wisé folk full nice,

And eke in lyther; folk destroyen vice; And proudė heartės he can make agrysė.* Shortly, all that e'er he wills he may; Ageinėss him there dare no wight say nay.

For he can glad and grievė whom him liketh;

And whom he will, he laugheth or he syketh; And most his might he showeth ever in May. 20 For every trewė gentle heartė free That with him is, or thinketh for to be,

Ageinės May now shall have some stirring,

Either to joy, or allės to mourning,
In no sesóun so great, as thinketh me.
For when they mowė? hear the briddės sing,
And see the flowers and the leaves spring,

That bringeth into heartės rémembráunce

A kind of easė, mingled with greváunce, And lusty thoughtės fullė of longing. . .

15

753

THE TESTAMENT OF JOHN LYDGATE

(From Testamentum Johannis Lydgate) Midst of a cloister, painted on a wall, I saw a crucifix with wounds not small, With this word VIDE, written there beside, “Behold my meekness, Child, and learn ihy

pride." The which word when I came to understand,

In my last agė taking the sentence, Thinking thereon, my pen I took in hand, And straightway wrote with humble rever

ence, On this word vide with much diligence, In memory of Christės passioun

This little song, this compilatioun. ... “Turn home again, thy sin do thou forsake, 867

Behold and see if aught be left behind;
To mercy I am ready thee to take,

Give me thy heart and be no more unkind;
Thy love and mine, together do them bind,
And let them never part in any wise;
When thou wast lost, thy soul again to find,

My blood I gave for thee in sacrifice. . . .874 Tarry no longer towards thine heritage:

Haste on thy way and be of right good cheer; Go each day onward on thy pilgrimage,

Think how short time thou shalt abidė here!
Thy place is built above the starrés clear,
No earthly palace wrought in stately wise. 895
Come on, my friend, my brother most entere,
For thee I shed my blood in sacrifice."

869

25

890

30

Thomas hoccleve or Occleve

c. 1370-c. 1450

John Lydgate

c. 1370-c. 1451 IN PRAISE OF CHAUCER (From the Prologue to The Story of Thebes.

c. 1420) Him that was, if I shall not feign, Flower of Poets, throughout of all Britáin, 40 Which soothly had moost of excellence In Rhetorykė and in eloquencė. Read his making, who list the truthé findė, Which never shall appallen” in my mindė, But always fresh been in my memoriė; 45 i Time. 2 Sick.

THOMAS HOCCLEVE'S COMPLAINT

THE PROLOGUE After that Harvest gathered had his sheavės,

And that the brown sesóun of Michaelmessė! Was come, and gan the trees rob of their leaves

That green had been and in lustý freshnessė, 3 Given. 4 Unfamiliar.

Through God's just doom and through His judgement,

393 And for my bestė now I take and deem, Gave that good Lord to me my punishment; 395

In wealth I took of Him no heed or yeme, Him for to please and Him honour and

queme,? And me He gave a bones on which to gnaw,

Me to correct and of Him to have awe. He gave me wit, and wit He took away 400

When that He saw that I it sore misspent,
And gave again, when it was His to pay

And granted me my guiltės to repent,
And then henceforth to set all mine intent
Unto His Deity to do pleasaunce,

And to amend my sinful governaunce.
Laud and honour and thanks unto Thee be,

Lord God that salve art to all my heaviness! Thanks for my wealth and mine adversitie, Thanks for mine age and for my sickėness, And thanks be to Thine infinite goodness 411 For all Thy gifts and benefices all, And to Thy mercy and Thy grace I call.

15

405

Which for to waive is in no mannės might,

How rich he be, strong, lusty, fresh, and gay. And at November's end, upon a night,

Sighing most sore, as in my bed I lay,
For this and other thoughts, which many a

day Before I had, sleep came none in mine eye, 20 So vexed me the thoughtful malady. . .

A LAMENT FOR CHAUCER (From The Regimen of Princes, c. 1412) But welaway! so is my heartė woe

1958 That the honour of English tongue is deed,?

Of whom I used to have counsel and rede.3 O master dear, and father reverent!

My master Chaucer, flower of eloquence,
Mirror of fructuous entendement,

0, universal father in sciénce!
Alas! that thou thine excellent prudénce 1965
On thy bed mortal mightest not bequeathé!
What ailėd death? alas! why would he slay

thee?
O death! thou didest not harm singular 5

In slaying him, but all this land it smarteth; But ne'ertheless, thou hast not any power 1970

His name to slay; his high virtúe upstarteth Unslain by thee, which aye us lively heart

eth With bookės of his ornate inditing,

That are to all this land illumining. 1974 Simple my spirit, scarce my letterure ? 2073

Unto your excellency for to write
Mine inward love, and yet, in aventure 2075

I put myself, although I can but lyte.8
My dearė master-(God his soul requite!)
And father, Chaucer, fain would have me

taught; But I was dull, and little learned or naught. 6 Care.

83

Some time I thought as lite as any man, 106

For to have fallen in that wildernessė, But God, when that Him list, may, will, and

can, Our health withdraw and send a wight sick

nessė, Though man be well this day, no sykernessės To him is promised that it shall endure;. 111 God now can hurt and now can heal and

With voice full rauk," she said in this manéir: "Gude morn, Sir Mouse, what is your errand

here?”

15

pay."

25

31

35

"See'st thou," quoth she, "of corn yon jolie

flats Of ripened oats, of barley, pease, and wheat; I am hungrie, and fain would be thereat,

But I am stoppit by this water great;

And on this side I get na thing to eat But hardest nuts, whilk with my teeth I bore, 20 Were I beyond, my feast were far the more. “I haf na boat, here is na marinére;

And though there were, I has no freight to Quoth she: "Sister, let be your heavy cheer;

Do my counsél, and I shall find the way

Withouten horse, brig, boat, or yet gallay, To bring you o'er safelybe not afeardNor even wet the tip of your long beard." "I haf great wonder," quoth the silly Mouse, “How thou can'st float without feathér or

fin! This river is sa deep and dangerous, Methinks that thou would drowned be

therein. Tell me, therefore, what facultie or gin, Thou hast to bring thee o'er this water?''

Than Thus to declare, the Paddock soon began: “With my twa feet," quoth she, “webbėd and

braid, Instead of oars, I row the stream full still; And though the flood be perilous to wade,

Baith to and fra I row at my ain will.

I may not drown,-for why?-my open gill 40 Devoidis10 aye the water I resaif," Therefore to droun, forsooth, na dreid I haif.” 12 The Mouse looked hard upon her fronsit1face,

Her wrinkled cheekės, and her lippės wide; Her hanging browės, and her voice sa hace;

Her sprawling leggés, and her harskyls hide. She ran aback, and to the Paddock cried: “If I have ony skill in phisnomie, 16 Thou hast some part of falsehood and envíe. "For wise men say the inclinatioun

Of mannės thought proceedeth commonlie After the corporal complexioun

To guid or ill, as nature will applie;

A twisted face, a twisted phisnomie. The auld provérb is witness of this lorum:17 Distortum vultum, sequitur distortio morum.' “Na," quoth the Toad, “that proverb is not

true; For fairest things are oftentimes found

14

45

Then up she gazed, and to the heavens gan cry:

“O Jupiter! of Nature, god and king, I mak an aith truly to thee, that I

This little Mouse shall o'er this water bring.” This aith was made. The Mouse not pér

ceiving The false device of this foul trickster Taid,24 97 Tuik threid, and bound her leg, as she her bade.

50

55

Then foot for foot they leapt baith in the brim;

But in their minds they were quite different: The Mouse thought of na thing but for to swim,

The Paddock for to drown 25 set her intent. When they had gained mid-stream, as on they went,

103 With all her force the Paddock pressed down, And thought the Mouse without mercíe to drown.

105

Perceiving this, the Mouse on her gan cry:

“Traitor to God, and man-sworn unto me, Thou swore the murther-aith right now, that I Sans force or harm should ferrièd be and

free!” And when she saw there was but do or dee, 110 With all her micht she forced her to swim And struggled on the Paddock's back to clim.20

Mak thee gude cheer of it that God thee sends,

For warldės wrack but welfare nocht avails. No gude is thine, save only that thou spends;11

Remanent all thou brookis but with bales.

Seek to soláce when sadness thee assails; In dolour long thy life may not endure,

Wherefore of comfort set up all thy sails; 15 Without gladnéss availis no treasúre.

The dread of death then made her strength in

crease; Forced her to save herself with micht and

main. The Mouse upward, the Paddock down gan

preis; 27 Now to, now fra, now duck, now up again. 116

This silly Mouse thus plunged in great pain, So fought as lang as breath was in her breist, Till at the last she cryėd for a priest. As thus she sighed, a Gled28 perched on a

bough, And to this wretched battle tuik guid heid, 29 And with a whisk, ere either one knew how, He clutched his claw between them in the

threid; Then to the land he bore them with guid

speed, Glad of his prize, which shrieked for fear of

skaith, Then loosed he them, and ruthless slew them

baith. ...

120

To gather goods in all their lives space; And, when their bags are full, their selves are

bare, And of their riches but the keeping hes;5 While others come to spend it, that have

grace, Whilk of thy winnings no labour had nor cure,

Tak thou example, and spend with merriness; Without gladnéss availis no treasúre.

32

125

36

CONTENT (From The Tale of the Upland Mouse and the

Burgess Mouse)
Blessed be simple life, withouten dreid;

Blessėd be sober feast in quietie;
Who has enough, of no more has he need,

Though it be little into quantitie.

Great abundance, and blind prosperitie, Ofttimės mak an ill conclusion;

The sweetest life, therefore, in this countrie, Is to live safe, with small possession.

Though all the wealth?that e'er had living wight

Were only thine, no more thy part does fall But meat, drink, clothes, and of the rest a sight, Yet, to the Judge, thou shalt give 'compt of

all. Ane reckoning richt comes of ane ragments

small, Be just and joyous, and do to nane injúre,

And truth shall mak thee strong, as ony wall; Without gladness availis no treasure. 40

215

William Dunbar

1460-c. 1525

NO TREASURE WITHOUT GLADNESS Be merry, man! and tak not sairin mind The wavering of this wretched world of

sorrow! To God be humble and to thy friend be kind, And with thy neighbours gladly lend and

borrow: His chance to-nicht, it may be thine to

morrow; Be blithe in heart for ony adventúre; For oft with wise men, 't has been said

5