[Harleian MSS. 2255, f. 45b.]
Riht myhty prynce, and it be your wille,
Condescende leiser for to take,
To seen the content of this litil bille,
Which whan I wrot, myn hand I felte quake;
Tokne of mornyng weryd clothys blake,
Cause my purs was falle in gret rerage;
Lynyng outward, his guttys wer out shake,
Oonly for lak of plate, and of coignage.
I souhte leechys for a restoratiff,
In whom I fond no consolacione;
Appotecaryes for a confortatiff;
Dragge nor dya was noon in Bury tone,
Botme of his stomak was tournyd up so done;
A laxatif did hym so gret outrage,
Made hym slendre by a consumpcione,
Oonly for lak of plate, and of coignage.
Ship was ther noon, nor seilis rede of hewe,
The wynd froward to make hem ther to londe;
The flood was passyd, and sodeynly of newe,
A lowh ground ebbe was faste by the stronde;
No maryneer durste take on honde,
To caste an ankir for streihtnesse of passage,
The custom skars, as fow may undirstonde,
Oonly for lak of plate, and of coignage.
Ther was no tokne sent done from the Tour,
As any gossomer the countirpeys was liht,
A fretyng etyk causyd his langour,
By a cotidian which heeld hym day and nyht:
Sol and Luna wer clypsyd of ther liht,
Ther was no cros nor preent of no visage,
His lynyng dirk, ther wer no platys briht,
Oonly for lak, and scarsete of coignage.
Harde to likke hony out of a marbil stoon,
For ther is nouthir licour nor moisture;
An ernest grote, whan it is dronke and goon,
Bargeyn of marchauntys stant in aventure.
My purs and I be callyd to the lure
Off indigence, our stuff leyd in morgage;
But ye, my lord, may al our soor recure,
With a receyt of plate, and of coignage.
Nat sugre plate maad by thappotecarye,
Plate of briht metal yevith a mery sone,
In Boklerys bury is noon such letuary;
Gold is a cordial, gladdest confeccione,
Ageyn etiques of oold consumpcione,
Auru’ potabile, for folk ferre ronne in age,
In quynt essence best restauracione,
With silver plate, enprentyd with coignage.
O seely bille! why art thu nat ashamyd,
So malapertly to shewe out thy constreynt;
But povert hath so nyh thy tonne attamyd,
That nichil habet is cause of thy compleynt.
A drye tisyk makith oold men ful feynt;
Reediest weye to renewe ther corage,
Is a fresshe dragge of no spycis meynt,
But of a briht plate, enpreentyd with coignage.
Thu mayst afferme, as for thyn excus,
Thy bareyn soyl is sool and solitarye;
Of cros nor pyl ther is no reclus,
Preent nor impressione in al thy seyntuarye.
To conclude breefly, and nat tarye,
Ther is no noyse herd in thyn hermytage;
God sende soone a gladdere letuarye,
With a cleer sone of plate, and of coignage.
EXt. Qd. LYDGATE.
[Harleian MSS. 2255, f. 6.]
Off God and kynde procedith al bewte:
Crafft may shewe a foreyn apparence,
But nature ay must have the sovereynte:
Thyng countirfet hath noon existence,
Twen gold and gossomer is gret difference;
Trewe metal requerith noon allay,
Unto purpoos by cleer experyence;
Bewte wyl shewe, thouh hornes wer away.
Riche attires of gold, and perre,
Charbonclis, rubies of moost excellence,
Shewe in dirknesse, liht wher so they be,
By ther natural hevenly influence.
Doubletys of glas yeve a gret evidence;
Thyng contirfet wil faylen at assay:
On this mateer concludyng in sentence,
Bewte wyl shewe, thouh hornys wer away.
Aleyn remembryth his compleynt, who lyst see
In his book of famous eloquence;
Clad al in floures and blosmys of a tree,
He sawh Nature in hir moost excellence,
Upon hir hed a keverchef of Valence,
Noon othir richesse of countirfet array;
T’exemplefye by kyndly providence,
Bewte wil shewe, thouh hornys wer away.
Famous poetys of antiquyte,
In Grece and Troye, renoumyd of prudence,
Wroot of queen Helene, and Penelope,
Off Polyceene with hir chaast innocence:
For wyves trewe calle Lucrece to presence,
That they wer fayr, ther can no man sey nay;
Kynde wrouht hem with so gret dilligence,
Ther bewte couthe, hornys wer cast away.
Clerkys recorde by gret auctorite,
Hornys wer yove to beestys for diffence;
A thyng contrary to femynyte,
To be maad sturdy of resistence:
But arche wyves egre in ther violence,
Fers as tygre for to make affray,
They have despyt ageyn conscience,
Lyst nat of pryde, ther hornys cast away.
L’ENVOYE.
Noble Pryncessys, this litel shoort ditee,
Rewdly compiled, lat it be noon offence,
To your womanly merciful pitee,
Thouh it be rad in your audience:
Peysed ech thyng in your iust advertence,
So it be no displesaunce to your pay,
Undir support of your pacience,
Yevyth example, hornys to cast away.
Grettest of vertues is humylite,
As Salomon seith, sone of sapience,
Moost was accepted to the Deite.
Takith heed heer of yeuyth, to this woord credence,
How Maria, whiche hadde a premynence
Above alle women, in Bedleem whan she lay,
At Cristes birthe no cloth of gret dispence,
She weryd a keverche, hornys wer cast away.
Off birthe she was hihest of degre,
To whom alle aungelis did obedience;
Of David is lyne which sprang out of Jesse,
In whom alle vertues by iust convenience,
Maad stable in God, by goostly confidence:
This roose of Jerycho, ther greuh noon suych in May,
Poore in spirit, parfight in pacience,
In whoom alle hornys of pryde wer put away.
Moodir of J’hu, myrour of chastite,
In woord nor thouht that nevir did offence,
Trewe exemplaire of virginite,
Heedspryng and welle of parfit contynence,
Was nevir clerk, by rethoryk nor science
Kowde alle hir vertues reherse to this day;
Noble Pryncessys of meeke benyvolence,
B’example of hir, your hornys cast away.
[Harleian MSS. 2255.]
Put out his hed lyst nat for to dare,
But lyk a man upon that tour to abyde,
For cast of eggys wil not conys spare,
Tyl he be quaylled body, bak, and syde;
His heed endooryd, and of verray pryde,
Put out his armys, shewith abrood his face,
The fenestrallys be made for hym so wyde,
Cleymyth to been a capteyn of that place.
The bastyle longith of verray dewe ryght,
To fals bakerys it is trewe herytage;
Severelle to them, this knoweth every wight,
Be kynde assyngned for ther sittyng stage,
Wheer they may freely shewe out ther visage,
Whan they take oonys there possessione,
Owthir in youthe or in myddyl age,
Men doon hem wrong yif they take hym done.
Let mellerys and bakerys gadre hem a gilde,
And alle of assent make a fraternite;
Undir the pillory a litil chapell bylde,
The place amorteyse and purchase liberte,
For alle thoo that of ther noumbre be;
Whatevir it coost afftir that they wende,
They may cleyme be just auctorite,
Upon that bastile to make an ende.
EXPt. Q’ LYDGATE.
THE END.
LONDON:
PRINTED BY RICHARD TAYLOR.
ALERE FLAMMAM.
[1] Sic.
[3] Sic in the Harl. MS., and mlijcxxiij in the Cotton MS.
[4] Prechours in the Cotton MS.
[7] Oyster-gate in the Cotton MS.
[8] Gloucestre in the Cotton MS.
[10] Gloucestre in the Cotton MS.
[13] “Lambatre vanc” in the Cotton MS.
[14] “Devy” in the Cotton MS.
[15] Corrected from the Cotton MS.
[16] “Lambatre vanc, and otherwise it is called Abrestewith” in the Cotton MS.
[17] “Lancastre” in the Cotton MS.
[18] “Gregorie Rokesley p’ p’te anni” in the Cotton MS.
[19] “at Carnarvon” in the Cotton MS.
[20] “Fenles” in the Cotton MS.
[21] “Raffe Sandwich custos pro p’te anni” in the Cotton MS.
[22] “Of the collectours” in the Cotton MS.
[24] “xxx thousand” in the Cotton MS.
[25] Omitted in the Cotton MS.
[26] “The day of Marie Mawdelyne” in the Cotton MS.
[27] “xxx ml”—Ibid.
[28] “the iiijth day” in the Cotton MS.
[29] “xiiij Kalend’ Decembris” in the Cotton MS.
[35] “Bitekyn” in the Cotton MS.
[36] “A carter son” in the Cotton MS.
[37] “The carter.” Ibid.
[38] “William Bedyngton” in the Cotton MS.
[39] “Sir Hugh Spencer son” in the Cotton MS.
[46] “of the Belle of the mydday” in the Cotton MS.
[48] “and Sir Hugh Spencer the father was drawen,” &c. in the Cotton MS.
[49] “the yere of his age xv.”—Ibid.
[50] “et anno etatis sue xiiij” is omitted in the Cotton MS.
[51] “V c.” in the Cotton MS.
[52] “the fadir”—Ibid.
[53] “in the xxj yere of his reigne.”—Ibid.
[54] “even of the”—Ibid.
[55] “his grandfather” in the Cotton MS.
[56] “the countes make peas” in the Cotton MS.
[59] “xxvj”—in the Cotton MS.
[60] “vj c.”—Ibid.
[61] “ml, iijc xlix” in the Cotton MS.
[62] Supplied from the Cotton MS.
[69] “Monsr Colman” in the Cotton MS.
[70] “Cachehill” in the Cotton MS.
[74] “Plass’he” in the Cotton MS.
[75] “Earl” in the Cotton MS.
[79] “whiche was kyng after his fa’ir Henry of Derby” in the Cotton MS.
[80] “xxiij of September” in the Cotton MS.
[81] “a lollard and an eritik approved afore alle the clergye” in the Cotton MS.
[82] “with a quart’ of Sr. Herry Percie’s hedde” in the Cotton MS.
[83] “worthie lordes, knyghts, and squyers, gentilles, and good yomen” in the Cotton MS.
[84] “one of the saide carikes” in the Cotton MS.
[85] “the lord Moubray erle marchal” in the Cotton MS.
[86] “xxiiij day” in the Cotton MS.
[87] “Clerkenwelle” in the Cotton MS.
[89] “in forme of brede” in the Cotton MS.
[91] “John” in the Cotton MS.
[93] “so that a noble shuld weye but iiij d. and an ob. weight: so that liij nobles, &c.” in the Cotton MS.
[94] “xx day” in the Cotton MS.
[97] i.e. the third year of his reign. See note EE.
[98] Sic, query “uncle.”
[102] “was mischevously drowned at Seint Katerines mille as he went to eas hym” in the Cotton MS.
[107] “in the morning between,” &c. in the Cotton MS.