The Ellesmere ms of Chaucer's Canterbury tales / edited by Frederick J. Furnivall.

¶ Heere begynneth the man of lawe his tale

IN Surrye whilom dwelte a compaignye Of chapmen riche / and therto sadde and trewe That wyde where / senten hir spicerye Clothes of gold / and satyns riche of hewe Line 137 Hir chaffare / was so thrifty and so newe That euery wight / hath deyntee to chaffare With hem / and eek / to sellen hem hire ware Line 140

Now fil it that the maistres / of that sort Han shapen hem / to Rome for to wende Were it for chapmanhode / or for disport Noon oother message / wolde they thider sende Line 144 But comen hem self to Rome / this is the ende And in swich place / as thoughte hem auantage ffor hire entente / they take hir herbergage Line 147

¶ Soiourned han thise Marchantz / in that toun A certein tyme / as fil to hire plesance And so bifel / that thexcellent renoun Of the Emperours doghter / Dame Custance Line 151 Reported was / with euery circumstance Vn to thise Surryen Marchantz / in swich a wyse ffro day to day / as I shal yow deuyse Line 154

¶ This was the commune voys of every man Oure Emperour of Rome / god hym see A doghter hath / that syn the world bigan To rekene as wel / hir goodnesse as beautee Line 158 Nas neuere / swich another as is shee I prey to god / in honour hire susteene And wolde she were / of all Europe the queene

In hire / is heigh beautee / with oute pride [folio 55a] Yowthe / with oute grenehede / or folye To alle hire werkes / vertu is hir gyde Humblesse / hath slayn in hire al tirannye Line 165 She is Mirour / of alle curteisye Hir herte / is verray chambre of hoolynesse Hir hand / Ministre of fredam for almesse Line 168

And al this voys was sooth / as god is trewe But now to purpos / lat vs turne agayn Thise Marchantz / han doon fraught / hir shippes newe And whan they han / this blisful mayden sayn Line 172 Hoom to Surrye / been they went ful fayn And doon hir nedes / as they han doon yoore And lyuen in wele / I kan sey yow namoore Line 175

¶ Now fil it that thise Marchantz / stode in grace Of hym / that was the Sowdan of Surrye ffor whan they cam / from any strange place He wolde / of his benigne curteisye Line 179 Make hem good chiere / and bisily espye Tidynges / of sondry regnes for to leere The wondres / that they myghte seen or heere Line 182

Amonges othere thynges specially Thise Marchantz / han hym toold / of dame Custance So greet noblesse / in ernest ceriously That this Sowdan / hath caught so greet plesance Line 186 To han hir figure / in his remembrance That all his lust and al his bisy cure Was for to loue hire / while his lyf may dure Line 189

Parauenture / in thilke large book/ Which þat men clipe the heuene / ywriten was With sterres / whan that he his birthe took/ That he for loue / sholde han his deeth allas Line 193

Line 193 For in the sterres / clerer than is glas Is writen god woot who so koude it rede The deeth of euery man / withouten drede Line 196

In sterres many a wynter / ther biforn Was writen the deeth / of Ector / Achilles Of Pompei Iulius / er they were born The strif of Thebes / and of Ercules Line 200 Of Sampson / Turnus / and of Socrates The deeth / but mennes wittes ben so dulle That no wight kan wel rede it atte fulle Line 203

¶ This Sowdan / for his priuee conseil sente [folio 55b] And shortly / of this matiere for to pace He hath to hem / declared his entente And seyde hem certein / but he myghte haue grace Line 207 To han Custance / with-Inne a litel space He nas but deed / and charged hem in hye To shapen for his lyf / som remedye Line 210

¶ Diuerse men / diuerse thynges seyden They argumenten / casten vp and doun Many a subtil resoun / forth they leyden They speken of / Magyk and Abusion Line 214 But finally / as in conclusion They kan nat seen / in that noon auantag Ne in noon oother wey saue mariage Line 217

Thanne sawe they ther-Inne swich difficultee By wey of reson / for to speke al playn By cause / that ther was swich diuersitee Bitwene hir bothe lawes / that they sayn Line 221 They trowe / þat no cristene prince wolde fayn Wedden his child / vnder oure lawes sweete That vs were taught by Mahoun oure prophete Line 224

Line 224

¶ And he answerde / rather than I lese Custance./ I wol be cristned doutelees I moot been hires / I may noon oother chese I prey yow / hoold youre argumentz in pees Line 228 Saueth my lyf / and beth noght recchelees To geten hire / that hath my lyf in cure For in this wo / I may nat longe endure Line 231

¶ What nedeth / gretter dilatacion I seye / by tretys / and Embassadrie And by / the popes mediacion And al the chirche / and al the chiualrie Line 235 That in destruccion of Maumettrie And in encrees / of cristes lawe deere They been acorded / so as ye shal heere Line 238

How that the sowdan / and his Baronage And alle hise liges / sholde ycristned be And he shal han / Custance / in mariage And certein gold / I noot what quantitee Line 242 And heer to founden / sufficient suretee This same accord / was sworn on eyther syde Now faire Custance / almyghty god thee gyde Line 245

¶ Now wolde som men / waiten as I gesse [folio 56a] That I sholde tellen / al the purueiance That themperour / of his grete noblesse Hath shapen / for his doghter dame Custance Line 249 Wel may men knowen / þat so greet ordinance May no man tellen / in a litel clause As was arrayed / for so heigh a cause Line 252

Bisshopes been shapen / with hire for to wende Lordes / ladies / knyghtes of renoun And oother folk ynogh / this is thende And notified is / thurgh out the toun Line 256

Line 256 That euery wight / with greet deuocioun Sholde preyen crist that he this mariage Receyue in gree / and spede this viage Line 259

¶ The day is comen / of hir departynge I seye / the woful day fatal is come That ther may be / no lenger tariynge But forthward they hem dressen / alle and some Line 263 Custance / þat was with sorwe al ouercome fful pale arist and dresseth hire to wende ffor wel she seeth / ther is noon oother ende Line 266

Allas / what wonder is it thogh she wepte That shal be sent / to strange nacion ffro freendes þat so tendrely hire kepte And to be bounden / vnder subieccion Line 270 Of oon / she knoweth nat his condicion Housbondes been alle goode / and han ben yoore That knowen wyues / I dar say yow na moore Line 273

¶ ffader she seyde / thy wrecched child Custance Thy yonge doghter / fostred vp so softe And ye my mooder / my souerayn plesance Ouer alle thyng out taken crist on lofte Line 277 Custance youre child / hire recomandeth ofte Vn to your grace / for I shal to Surrye Ne shal I neuere / seen yow moore with eye Line 280

Allas / vn to the Barbre nacion I moste goon / syn that it is youre wille But crist that starf / for our sauacion So yeue me grace / hise heestes to fulfille Line 284 I wrecche womman / no fors / though I spille Wommen are born / to thraldom and penance And to been / vnder mannes gouernance Line 287

Line 287

¶ I trowe at Troye / whan Pirrus brak / the wal [folio 56b] Or Ilion / brende Thebes the Citee Nat Rome / for the harm thurgh Hanybal That Romayns / hath venquysshed tymes thre Line 291 Nas herd / swich tendre wepyng for pitee As in the chambre was for hire departynge But forth she moot wher so she wepe or synge Line 294

¶ O firste moeuyng / crueel firmament With thy diurnal sweigh / that crowdest ay And hurlest al / from Est til Occident That naturelly / wolde holde another way Line 298 Thy crowdyng / set the heuene in swich array At the bigynnyng of this fiers viage That crueel Mars / hath slayn this mariage Line 301

Infortunat Ascendent tortuous Of which / the lord is helplees falle allas Out of his Angle / in to the derkeste hous O Mars / o Atazir / as in this cas Line 305 O fieble Moone / vnhappy been thy paas Thou knyttest thee / ther thou art nat receyued Ther thou were weel / fro thennes artow weyued Line 308

Imprudent Emperour / of Rome allas Was ther / no philosophre / in al thy toun Is no tyme bet than oother / in swich cas Of viage / is ther noon eleccion Line 312 Namely / to folk / of heigh condicion Noght whan a roote / is of a burthe yknowe Allas / we been / to lewed or to slowe Line 315

¶ To ship is come / this woful faire mayde Solempnely / with euery circumstance Now Ihesu crist be with yow alle she sayde Ther nys namoore / but farewel / faire Custance Line 319

Line 319 She peyneth hire / to make good contenance And forth / I lete hire saille / in this manere And turne I wole / agayn to my matere Line 322

¶ The mooder / of the Sowdan / welle of vices Espied hath / hir sones pleyn entente How he wol lete / hise olde sacrifices And right anon / she for hir conseil sente Line 326 And they been come / to knowe what she mente And whan assembled was / this folk in feere She sette hire doun / and seyde as ye shal heere Line 329

¶ Lordes / she seyde / ye knowen euerichon [folio 57a] How that my sone / in point is for to lete The hooly lawes / of oure Alkaron Yeuen by goddes message Makomete Line 333 But oon auow / to grete god I heete The lyf shal rather / out of my body sterte Than Makometes lawe / out of myn herte Line 336

What sholde vs tyden / of this newe lawe But thraldom to our bodies and penance And afterward / in helle to be drawe ffor we reneyed / Mahoun oure creance Line 340 But lordes / wol ye maken assurance As I shal seyn / assentynge to my loore And I shal make vs sauf for eueremoore Line 343

¶ They sworen / and assenten euery man To lyue with hire and dye / and by hire stonde And euerich / in the beste wise he kan To strengthen hire / shal alle hise frendes fonde Line 347 And she hath / this emprise ytake on honde Which ye shal heren / that I shal deuyse And to hem alle / she spak right in this wyse Line 350

Line 350

¶ We shul first feyne vs / cristendom to take Coold water / shal nat greue vs but a lite And I shal / swiche a feeste and reuel make That as I trowe / I shal the Sowdan quite Line 354 ffor thogh his wyf / be cristned neuer so white She shal haue nede / to wasshe awey the rede Thogh she / a font ful water / with hire lede Line 357

O Sowdanesse / roote of Iniquitee Virago / thou Semyrame the secounde O serpent / vnder femynynytee Lik to the serpent depe in helle ybounde Line 361 O feyned womman / al that may confounde Vertu and Innocence / thurgh thy malice Is bred in thee / as nest of euery vice Line 364

O Sathan enuious / syn thilke day That thou were chaced from oure heritage Wel knowestow / to wommen the olde way Thou madest Eua / brynge vs in seruage Line 368 Thou wolt fordoon / this cristen mariage Thyn Instrument so weylawey the while Makestow of wommen / whan thou wolt bigile Line 371

¶ This Sowdanesse / whom I thus blame and warye [folio 57b] Leet priuely / hire conseil goon hire way What sholde I in this tale lenger tarye She rydeth to the Sowdan / on a day Line 375 And seyde hym / that she wolde reneye hir lay And cristendom / of preestes handes fonge Repentynge hire / she hethen was so longe Line 378

Bisechynge hym / to doon hire that honour That she moste han / the cristen folk to feeste To plesen hem I wol do my labour The Sowdan seith / I wol doon at youre heeste Line 382

Line 382 And knelynge / thanketh hire of that requeste So glad he was / he nyste what to seye She kiste hir sone / and hoome she gooth hir weye Line 385

¶ Explicit prima pars

¶ Sequitur pars secunda.

Arryued been / this cristen folk to londe In Surrye / with a greet solempne route And hastifliche / this Sowdan sente his sonde ffirst to his mooder / and all the regne aboute Line 389 And seyde / his wyf was comen oute of doute And preyde hire / for to ryde agayn the queene The honour of his regne / to susteene Line 392

Greet was the prees / and riche was tharray Of Surryens and Romayns met yfeere The mooder of the Sowdan / riche and gay Recyueth hire / with also glad a cheere Line 396 As any mooder / myghte hir doghter deere And to the nexte Citee / ther bisyde A softe paas / solempnely they ryde Line 399

¶ Noght trowe I / the triumphe of Iulius Of which / that Lucan maketh swich a boost Was roialler / or moore curius Than was thassemblee / of this blisful hoost Line 403 But this scorpioun / this wikked goost The Sowdanesse / for all hire flaterynge Caste vnder this / ful mortally to stynge Line 406

¶ The Sowdan comth hym self soone after this [folio 58a] So roially / that wonder is to telle And welcometh hire / with alle ioye and blis And thus / in murthe and ioye I lete hem dwelle Line 410

Line 410 The fruyt of this matiere / is that I telle Whan tyme cam / men thoughte it for the beste The reuel stynte / and men goon to hir reste Line 413

¶ The tyme cam / this olde Sowdanesse Ordeyned hath this feeste / of which I tolde And to the feeste / cristen folk hem dresse In general / ye bothe yonge and olde Line 417 Heere may men / feeste / and roialtee bihold And deyntees mo / than I kan yow deuyse But all to deere / they boghte it er they ryse Line 420

Osodeyn wo / that euere art successour To worldly blisse / spreynd with bitternesse The ende of the ioye / of oure worldly labour Wo occupieth / the fyn of oure gladnesse Line 424 Herke this conseil / for thy sikernesse Vp on thy glade day / haue in thy mynde The vnwar wo / or harm þat comth bihynde Line 427

ffor soothly / for to tellen / at o word The sowdan / and the cristen everichone Been al tohewe / and stiked at the bord But it were oonly / dame Custance allone Line 431 This olde Sowdanesse / cursed krone Hath with hir freendes / doon this cursed dede ffor she hir self / wolde all the contree lede Line 434

Ne was Surryen noon / that was conuerted That of the conseil / of the Sowdan woot That he nas al tohewe / er he asterted And Custance / han they take anon foot hoot Line 438 And in a ship / all steerelees god woot They han hir set and biddeth hire lerne saille Out of Surrye / agaynward to Ytaille Line 441

Line 441

A certein tresor / that she with hire ladde And sooth to seyn / vitaille greet plentee They han hire yeuen / and clothes eek she hadde And forth she sailleth / in the salte see Line 445 O my Custance / ful of benignytee O Emperours yonge doghter deere He that is lord of ffortune be thy steere Line 448

She blesseth hire / and with ful pitous voys [folio 58b] Vn to the croys of Crist thus seyde she O cleere / o woful Auter / hooly croys Reed of the lambes blood / ful of pitee Line 452 That wesshe the world / fro the olde Iniquitee Me fro the feend / and fro his clawes kepe That day / that I shal drenchen in the depe Line 455

Victorious tree / proteccion of trewe That oonly / worthy were for to bere The kyng of heuene / with his woundes newe The white lamb / þat hurt was with the spere Line 459 fflemere of feendes / out of hym and here On which / thy lymes / feithfully extenden Me helpe / and yif me myght / my lyf tamenden Line 462

¶ Yeres and dayes / fleteth this creature Thurghout the See of Grece / vn to the Strayte Of Marrok. as it was hire Auenture On many a sory meel / now may she bayte Line 466 After hir deeth / ful often may she wayte Er that the wilde wawes / wol hire dryue Vn to the place / ther she shal arryue Line 469

Men myghten asken / why she was nat slayn Eek at the feeste / who myghte hir body saue And I answere / to that demande agayn Who saued danyel / in the horrible Caue Line 473

Line 473 Ther euery wight saue he / maister and knaue Was with the leon frete / er he asterte No wight but god / that he bar in his herte Line 476

God liste to shewe / his wonderful myracle In hire / for we sholde seen / his myghty werkis Crist which that is / to euery harm triacle By certeine meenes ofte / as knowen clerkis Line 480 Dooth thyng for certein ende / that ful derk is To mannes wit/. that for oure ignorance Ne konne noght knowe / his prudent purueiance Line 483

¶ Now sith she was nat / at the feeste yslawe Who kepte hire / fro the drenchyng / in the see? Who kepte Ionas / in the fisshes mawe Til he / was spouted vp at Nynyuee? Line 487 Wel may men knowe / it was no wight but he That kepte peple Ebrayk from hir drenchynge With drye feet thurgh out the see passynge Line 490

¶ Who bad the foure spirites of tempest [folio 59a] That power han / tanoyen lond and see Bothe North and South / and also west and Est Anoyeth neither / see / ne land ne tree Line 494 Soothly / the Comandour of that was he That fro the tempest / ay this womman kepte As wel / when she wook as whan she slepte Line 497

¶ Where myghte this womman / mete and drynke haue? Thre yeer and moore / how lasteth hire vitaille? Who fedde / the Egypcien Marie in the Caue? Or in desert? no wight but crist / sanz faille Line 501 ffyue thousand folk / it was as greet meruaille With loues fyue / and fisshes two to feede God sente his foyson / at hir grete neede Line 504

Line 504

¶ She dryueth forth / in to oure Occian Thurgh out oure wilde see / til atte laste Vnder an hoold / that nempnen I ne kan ffer in Northhumberlond / the wawe hire caste Line 508 And in the sond / hir ship / stiked so faste That thennes wolde it noght of al a tyde The wyl of crist. was þat she sholde abyde Line 511

¶ The Constable of the Castel / doun is fare To seen his wrak and al the ship he soghte And foond / this wery womman ful of care He foond also / the tresor þat she broghte Line 515 In hir langage / mercy she bisoghte The lyf / out of hire body for to twynne Hire to deliuere / of wo / that she was Inne Line 518

A maner latyn corrupt / was hir speche But algates / ther by was she vnderstonde The Constable / whan hym lyst no lenger seche This woful womman / broghte he to the londe Line 522 She kneleth doun / and thanketh goddes sonde But what she was / she wolde no man seye ffor foul ne fair / thogh þat she sholde deye Line 525

She seyde / she was / so mazed in the see That she forgat hir mynde / by hir trouthe The Constable / hath of hire so greet pitee And eke his wyf / that they wepen for routhe Line 529 She was so diligent with outen slouthe To serue and plese / euerich in that place That alle hir louen / that looken in hir face Line 532

¶ This Constable / and dame Hermengyld his wyf/ [folio 59b] Were payens / and that contree euery where But Hermengyld / loued hire right as hir lyf And Custance / hath so longe soiourned there Line 536

Line 536 In orisons / with many a bitter teere Til Ihesu / hath conuerted / thurgh his grace Dame Hermengyld / Constablesse of that place Line 539

In al that lond / no cristen dorste route Alle cristen folk / been fled fro that contree Thurgh Payens / that conquereden al aboute The plages of the North by land and see Line 543 To Walys / fledde the Cristyanytee Of olde Britons / dwellynge in this Ile Ther was hir refut for the meene while Line 546

But yet nere cristene Britons so exiled That ther nere somme / that in hir priuetee Honoured crist and hethen folk bigiled And ny the Castel / swiche ther dwelten three Line 550 That oon of hem was blynd / and myghte nat see But it were / with thilke eyen of his mynde With whiche men seen / whan þat they ben blynde Line 553

Bright was the sonne / as in that someres day ffor which the Constable / and his wyf also And Custance / han ytake the righte way Toward the see / a furlong wey or two Line 557 To pleyen / and to romen to romen to and fro And in hir walk this blynde man they mette Croked and oold / with eyen faste yshette Line 560

In name of Crist cride this olde Briton Dame Hermengyld / yif me / my sighte agayn This lady / weex affrayed of the soun Lest that hir housbonde / shortly for to sayn Line 564 Wolde hire / for Ihesu cristes loue han slayn Til Custance made hire boold / and bad hire wirche The wyl of Crist as doghter of his chirche Line 567

Line 567

¶ The Constable / weex abasshed of that sight And seyde / what amounteth all this fare Custance answerde / sire / it is cristes myght That helpeth folk / out of the feendes snare Line 571 And so ferforth / she gan oure lay declare That she the Constable / er that it were eue Conuerteth / and on Crist maketh hym bileue Line 574

This Constable / was no thyng lord of this place [folio 60a] Of which I speke / ther he Custance fond But kepte it strongly many wyntres space Vnder Alla / kyng of al Northhumbrelond Line 578 That was ful wys / and worthy of his hond Agayn the Scottes / as men may wel heere But turne I wole / agayn to my mateere Line 581

¶ Sathan / that euere vs waiteth to bigile Saugh of Custance / al hire perfeccioun And caste anon / how he myghte quite hir while And made a yong knyght / þat dwelte in that toun Line 585 Loue hire so hoote of foul affeccioun That verraily / hym thoughte he sholde spille But he of hire myghte ones haue his wille Line 588

He woweth hire / but it auailleth noght/ She wolde do no synne / by no weye And for despit he compassed in his thoght To maken hire / on shameful deeth to deye Line 592 He wayteth / whan the Constable was aweye And pryuely / vp on a nyght he crepte In Hermengyldes chambre / whil she slepte Line 595

¶ Wery / for-waked / in hire orisons Slepeth Custance / and Hermengyld also This knyght thurgh Sathans temptacions All softely / is to the bed ygo Line 599

Line 599 And kitte the throte / of Hermengyld atwo And leyde the blody knyf / by dame Custance And wente his wey / ther god yeue hym meschance Line 602

¶ Soone after / cometh this Constable hoom agayn And eek Alla / þat kyng was of that lond And saugh his wyf / despitously yslayn ffor which ful ofte he weep / and wroong his hond Line 606 And in the bed / the blody knyf he fond By Dame Custance / allas what myghte she seye For verray wo / hir wit was al aweye Line 609

¶ To kyng Alla / was toold al this meschance And eek the tyme / and where / and in what wise That in a ship / was founden dame Custance As heer biforn / that ye han herd deuyse Line 613 The kynges herte / of pitee gan agryse Whan he saugh / so benigne a creature ffalle in disese / and in mysauenture Line 616

ffor as the lomb / toward his deeth is broght [folio 60b] So stant this Innocent bifore the kyng This false knyght þat hath this treson wroght Berth hire on hond / þat she hath doon thys thyng Line 620 But nathelees / ther was greet moornyng Among the peple / and seyn / they kan nat gesse That she had doon / so greet a wikkednesse Line 623

ffor they / han seyn hire euere so vertuous And louynge Hermengyld / right as hir lyf/ Of this baar witnesse / euerich in that hous Saue he / þat Hermengyld / slow with his knyf/ Line 627 This gentil kyng / hath caught a greet motyf Of this witnesse / and thoghte he wolde enquere Depper in this / a trouthe for to lere Line 630

Line 630

¶ Allas Custance / thou hast no champion Ne fighte kanstow noght so weylaway But he / that starf for our redempcion And boond Sathan / and yet lith ther he lay Line 634 So be / thy stronge champion this day ffor but if crist open myracle kithe Withouten gilt thou shalt be slayn as swithe Line 637

She sit hire doun on knees / and thus she sayde Immortal god / that sauedest Susanne ffro fals blame / and thou merciful mayde Mary I meene / doghter to Seint Anne Line 641 Bifore whos child / Angeles synge Osanne If I be giltlees / of this felonye My socour be / or ellis shal I dye Line 644

Haue ye nat seyn / som tyme a pale face Among a prees / of hym þat hath be lad Toward his deeth / wher as hym gat no grace And swich a colour / in his face hath had Line 648 Men myghte knowe / his face that was bistad Amonges alle the faces / in that route So stant Custance / and looketh hire aboute Line 651

O Queenes / lyuynge in prosperitee Duchesses / and ladyes euerichone Haueth som routhe / on hire Aduersitee An Emperours doghter / stant allone Line 655 She hath no wight / to whom to make hir mone O blood roial / that stondest in this drede ffer been thy freendes / at thy grete nede Line 658

This Alla kyng hath swich compassioun [folio 61a] As gentil herte / is fulfild of pitee That from hise eyen / ran the water doun Now hastily / do fecche a book quod he Line 662

Line 662 And if this knyght wol sweren how þat she This womman slow / yet wol we vs auyse Whom þat we wole / that shal been our Iustise Line 665

A Briton book / written with Euaungiles Was fet and on this book he swoor anoon She gilty was / and in the meene whiles An hand hym smoot vpon the nekke boon Line 669 That doun he fil / atones as a stoon And bothe hise eyen / broste out of his face In sighte / of euery body in that place Line 672

¶ A voys was herd / in general Audience And seyde thou hast desclaundred giltlees The doghter of hooly chirche / in heigh presence Thus hastou doon / and yet holde I my pees Line 676 Of this meruaille / agast was al the prees As mazed folk they stoden euerichone ffor drede of wreche / saue Custance allone Line 679

¶ Greet was the drede / and eek the repentance Of hem / that hadden wronge suspecion Vpon / this sely Innocent Custance And for this miracle in conclusion Line 683 And by Custances mediacion The kyng and many another in that place Conuerted was / thanked be cristes grace Line 686

¶ This false knyght was slayn for his vntrouthe By Iuggement of Alla hastifly And yet Custance / hadde of his deeth greet routhe And after this Ihesus of his mercy Line 690 Made Alla wedden ful solempnely This hooly mayden / that is so bright and sheene And thus hath crist ymaad Custance a queene Line 693

Line 693

But who was woful / if I shal nat lye Of this weddyng but Donegild and na mo The kynges mooder / ful of tirannye Hir thoughte / hir cursed herte brast atwo Line 697 She wolde noght hir sone had do so Hir thoughte a despit that he sholde take So strange a creature vn to his make Line 700

¶ Me list nat of the chaf / or of the stree [folio 61b] Maken so long a tale / as of the corn What sholde I tellen / of the roialtee At mariages / or which cours goth biforn Line 704 Who bloweth in the trumpe / or in an horn The fruyt of euery tale / is for to seye They ete / and drynke / and daunce / and synge and pleye

They goon to bedde / as it was skile and right ffor thogh þat wyues / be ful hooly thynges They moste take / in pacience at nyght Swiche manere necessaries / as been plesynges Line 711 To folk / þat han ywedded hem with rynges And leye a lite / hir hoolynesse aside As for the tyme / it may no bet bitide Line 714

On hire he gat a man childe anon And to a bisshop / and his Constable eke He took his wyf to kepe / whan he is gon To Scotlondward / his foomen for to seke Line 718 Now faire Custance / that is so humble and meke So longe is goon with childe / til that stille She halt hire chambre / abidyng cristes wille Line 721

The tyme is come / a man child she beer Mauricius at the fontstoon / they hym calle This Constable / dooth forth come a Messageer And wroot vn to his kyng that cleped was Alle Line 725

Line 725 How that this blisful tidyng is bifalle And othere tidynges / spedeful for to seye He taketh the lettre / and forth he gooth his weye Line 728

¶ This Messager / to doon his auantage Vn to the kynges mooder rideth swithe And salueth hire ful faire in his langage Madame quod he / ye may be glad and blithe Line 732 And thanketh god / an hundred thousand sithe My lady queene / hath child with outen doute To ioye and blisse / to al this regne aboute Line 735

Lo heere the lettres / seled of this thyng That I moot bere / with al the haste I may If ye wol aught vn to youre sone the kyng/ I am youre seruant bothe nyght and day Line 739 Donegild answerde / as now at this tyme nay But heere al nyght / I wol thou take thy reste To-morwe / wol I seye thee / what me leste Line 742

¶ This Messager / drank sadly ale and wyn [folio 62a] And stolen were hise lettres pryuely Out of his box / whil he sleep as a swyn And countrefeted was ful subtilly Line 746 Another lettre / wroght ful synfully Vn to the kyng direct of this mateere ffro his Constable / as ye shal after heere Line 749

The lettre spak the queene deliuered was Of so horrible a feendly creature That in the Castel / noon so hardy was That any while / dorste ther endure Line 753 The mooder was an Elf by auenture Ycomen / by charmes / or by sorcerie And euerich / hateth hir compaignye Line 756

Line 756

¶ Wo was this kyng whan he this lettre had sayn But to no wight he tolde his sorwes soore But of his owene hand / he wroot agayn Wel come the sonde of crist for eueremoore Line 760 To me / that am now lerned in his loore Lord / wel come be thy lust and thy plesance My lust I putte al in thyn ordinance Line 763

Kepeth this child / al be it foul or feir And eek my wyf / vn to myn hoom comynge Crist whan hym list may sende me an heir Moore agreable than this / to my likynge Line 767 This lettre he seleth pryuely wepynge Which to the Messager / was take soone And forth he gooth / ther is na moore to doone Line 770

O Messager / fulfild of dronkenesse Strong is thy breeth / thy lymes faltren ay And thou biwreyest / alle secreenesse Thy mynde is lorn / thou ianglest as a Iay Line 774 Thy face is turned / in a newe array Ther dronkenesse / regneth in any route Ther is no conseil hyd / with outen doute Line 777

O Donegild / I ne haue noon englissh digne Vn to thy malice / and thy tirannye And therfore / to the feend I thee resigne Lat hym enditen / of thy traitorie Line 781 ffy mannysh fy / o nay by god I lye ffy feendlych spirit for I dar wel telle Thogh thou heere walke / thy spirit is in helle Line 784

¶ This Messager / comth fro the kyng agayn [folio 62b] And at the kynges moodres¹ court he lighte¹ And she was / of this Messager ful fayn And plesed hym / in al that euer she myghte Line 788

Line 788 He drank / and wel his girdel vnderpighte He slepeth / and he snoreth in his gyse All nyght til the sonne gan aryse Line 791

Eft were hise lettres stolen euerychon And countrefeted lettres / in this wyse The king comandeth / his Constable anon Vp peyne of hangyng and on heigh Iuyse Line 795 That he ne sholde / suffren in no wyse Custance / in with his Reawme for tabyde Thre dayes / and o quarter of a tyde Line 798

But in the same ship / as he hire fond Hire and hir yonge sone / and al hir geere He sholde putte / and croude hire fro the lond And chargen hire / she neuer eft coome theere Line 802 O my Custance / wel may thy goost haue feere And slepynge in thy dreem / been in penance Whan Donegild / cast al this ordinance Line 805

¶ This Messager / on morwe / whan he wook Vn to the Castel / halt the nexte way And to the Constable / he the lettre took And whan þat he / this pitous lettre say Line 809 fful ofte he seyde / Allas and weylaway Lord crist quod he / how may this world endure So ful of synne / is many a creature Line 812

¶ O myghty god / if that it be thy wille Sith thou art rightful Iuge / how may it be That thou wolt suffren / Innocentz to spille And wikked folk / regnen in prosperitee Line 816 O goode Custance / Allas so wo is me That I moot be thy tormentour or deye On shames deeth / ther is noon oother weye Line 819

Line 819

¶ Wepen bothe yonge and olde / in al that place Whan þat the kyng this cursed lettre sente And Custance / with a deedly pale face The ferthe day / toward the ship she wente Line 823 But nathelees / she taketh in good entente The wyl of Crist and knelynge on the Stronde She seyde lord / ay wel come be thy sonde Line 826

He that me kepte / fro the false blame [folio 63a] While I was / on the lond amonges yow He kan me kepe / from harm / and eek fro shame In salte see / al thogh I se noght how Line 830 As strong as euere he was / he is yet now In hym triste I / and in his mooder deere That is to me / my seyl / and eek my steere Line 833

Hir litel child / lay wepyng in hir arm And knelynge / pitously / to hym she seyde Pees litel sone / I wol do thee noon harm With that hir couerchief / ouer hir heed she breyde Line 837 And ouer hise litel eyen / she it leyde And in hir Arm / she lulleth it ful faste And in to heuene / hire eyen vp she caste Line 840

¶ Mooder quod she / and mayde bright Marie Sooth is / that thurgh wommanes eggement Man kynde was lorn / and damned ay to dye ffor which thy child / was on a croys yrent Line 844 Thy blisful eyen / sawe al his torment Thanne is ther / no comparison bitwene Thy wo / and any wo / man may sustene Line 847

Thow sawe thy child yslayn bifore thyne eyen And yet now / lyueth my child parfay Now lady bright / to whom alle woful cryen Thow glorie of wommanhede / thow faire may Line 851

Line 851 Thow hauen of refut brighte sterre of day Rewe on my child / that of thy gentillesse Ruest on euery reweful in distresse Line 854

¶ O litel child / allas what is thy gilt That neuere wroghtest synne / as yet pardee Why wil thyn harde fader / han thee spilt O mercy deere Constable quod she Line 858 As lat my litel child / dwelle heer with thee And if thou darst nat sauen hym for blame Yet kys hym ones / in his fadres name Line 861

Ther with / she looked / bakward to the londe And seyde / fare wel housbonde routhelees And vp she rist / and walketh doun the stronde Toward the Ship / hir folweth al the prees Line 865 And euere she preyeth hire child / to holde his pees And taketh hir leue / and with an hooly entente She blissed hire / and in to ship she wente Line 868

Vitailled was the ship / it is no drede [folio 63b] Habundantly / for hire ful longe space And othere necessaries / that sholde nede She hadde ynogh / heryed be goddes grace Line 872 ffor wynd and weder / almyghty god purchace And brynge hire hoom / I kan no bettre seye But in the see / she dryueth forth hir weye Line 875

¶ Explicit secunda pars

¶ Sequitur pars tercia

Alla the kyng / comth hoom soone after this Vn to his Castel / of the which I tolde And asketh / where his wyf / and his child is The Constable / gan aboute his herte colde Line 879

Line 879 And pleynly / al the manere he hym tolde As ye han herd / I kan telle it no bettre And sheweth the kyng his seel and his lettre Line 882

And seyde / lord / as ye comanded me Vp peyne of deeth / so haue I doon certein This Messager / tormented was til he Moste biknowe / and tellen plat and pleyn Line 886 ffro nyght to nyght / in what place he had leyn And thus by wit / and sobtil enquerynge Ymagined was / by whom this harm gan sprynge Line 889

¶ The hand was knowe / that the lettre wroot And all the venym / of this cursed dede But in what wise / certeinly I noot Theffect is this / þat Alla out of drede Line 893 His mooder slow / that may men pleynly rede ffor þat she traitoure was to hire ligeance Thus endeth olde Donegild with meschance Line 896

The sorwe that this Alla / nyght and day Maketh for his wyf / and for his child also Ther is no tonge / that it telle may But now wol I / vn to Custance go Line 900 That fleteth in the see / in peyne and wo ffyue yeer and moore / as liked cristes sonde Er that hir ship / approched vn to the londe Line 903

¶ Vnder an hethen Castel / atte laste [folio 64a] Of which the name / in my text noght I fynde Custance / and eek hir child / the see vp caste Almyghty god / that saued al mankynde Line 907 Haue on Custance / and on hir child som mynde That fallen is / in hethen hand eft soone In point to spille / as I shal telle yow soone Line 910

Line 910

¶ Doun fro the Castel / comth ther many a wight To gauren on this ship / and on Custance But shortly / from the Castel / on a nyght The lordes styward / god yeue him meschance Line 914 A theef / that hadde reneyed oure creance Came in to the ship allone / and seyde he sholde Hir lemman be / wher so she wolde or nolde Line 917

¶ Wo was this wrecched womman tho bigon Hir child cride / and she cride pitously But blisful Marie / heelp hire right anon ffor with hir struglyng wel and myghtily Line 921 The theef fil ouer bord / al sodeynly And in the see / he dreynte for vengeance And thus hath crist vnwemmed kept Custance Line 924

O foule lust of luxurie / lo thyn ende Nat oonly / that thou feyntest mannes mynde But verraily / thou wolt his body shende Thende of thy werk or of thy lustes blynde Line 928 Is compleynyng hou many oon may men fynde That noght for werk som tyme / but for thentente To doon this synne / been outher slayn or shente Line 931

How may this wayke womman / han this strengthe Hire to defende / agayn this renegat O Golias / vnmesurable of lengthe Hou myghte Dauid / make thee so maat Line 935 So yong and of Armure so desolaat Hou dorste he looke / vp on thy dredful face Wel may men seen / it nas but goddes grace Line 938

Who yaf Iudith / corage or hardynesse To sleen hym Oloferne / in his tente And to deliueren / out of wrecchednesse The peple of god / I seye for this entente Line 942

Line 942 That right as god / spirit of vigour sente To hem / and saued hem / out of meschance So sente he myght and vigour to Custance Line 945

¶ fforth gooth hir ship / thurgh out the narwe mouth [folio 64b] Of Iubaltare and Septe dryuynge alway Som tyme West and som tyme North and South And som tyme est ful many a wery day Line 949 Til cristes mooder / blessed be she ay Hath shapen / thurgh hir endelees goodnesse To make an ende / of al hir heuynesse Line 952

Now lat vs stynte / of Custance but a throwe And speke we / of the Romayn Emperour That out of Surrye / hath by lettres knowe The slaughtre of cristen folk / and dishonour Line 956 Doon to his doghter / by a fals traytour I mene / the cursed wikked Sowdanesse That at the feeste / leet sleen both moore and lesse Line 959

ffor which this Emperour / hath sent anon His senatour / with roial ordinance And othere lordes / god woot many oon On Surryens / to taken heigh vengeance Line 963 They brennen / sleen / and brynge hem to meschance Ful many a day / but shortly / this is thende Homward to Rome / they shapen hem to wende Line 966

¶ This senatour / repaireth with victorie To Rome ward saillynge ful Roially And mette the ship dryuynge / as seith the storie In which Custance / sit ful pitously Line 970 No thyng knew he / what she was / ne why? She was in swich array / ne she nyl seye/ Of hire estaat thogh she sholde deye Line 973

Line 973

He bryngeth hire to Rome / and to his wyf/ He yaf hire / and hir yonge sone also And with the senatour / she ladde hir lyf Thus kan oure lady / bryngen out of wo Line 977 Woful Custance / and many another mo And longe tyme / dwelled she in that place In hooly werkes euere / as was hir grace Line 980

The senatours wyf / hir Aunte was But for all that she knew hire neuer the moore I wol no lenger / tarien in this cas But to kyng Alla / which I spake of yoore Line 984 That wepeth for his wyf / and siketh soore I wol retourne / and lete I wol Custance Vnder / the Senatours gouernance Line 987

Kyng Alla / which that hadde his mooder slayn [folio 65a] Vp on a day fil in swich repentance That if I / shortly / tellen shal and playn To Rome he comth / to receyuen his penance Line 991 And putte hym / in the popes ordinance In heigh and logh / and Ihesu crist bisoghte fforyeue / hise wikked werkes þat he wroghte Line 994

¶ The fame anon / thurgh out the toun is born How Alla kyng / shal comen on pilgrymage By herbergeours / that wenten hym biforn ffor which / the Senatour / as was vsage Line 998 Rood hym agayns / and many of his lynage As wel to shewen / his heighe magnificence As to doon / any kyng a reuerence Line 1001

¶ Greet cheere / dooth this noble Senatour To kyng Alla / and he to hym also Euerich of hem / dooth oother greet honour And so bifel / that in with a day or two Line 1005

Line 1005 This Senatour / is to kyng Alla go To feste / and shortly / if I shal nat lye Custances sone / wente in his compaignye Line 1008

¶ Som men wolde seyn / at requeste of Custance This Senatour / hath lad this child to feeste I may nat tellen / euery circumstance Be as be may / ther was he at the leeste Line 1012 But sooth is this / that at his moodres heeste Biforn Alla / durynge the metes space The child stood / lookynge in the kynges face Line 1015

¶ This Alla kyng hath of this child greet wonder And to the senatour / he seyde anon Whos is that faire child / that stondeth yonder? I noot quod he / by god / and by seint Iohn Line 1019 A mooder he hath / but fader hath he noon That I of woot but shortly / in a stounde He tolde Alla / how that this child was founde Line 1022

But god woot quod this senatour also So vertuous a lyuere in my lyf Ne saugh I neuere as she / ne herde of mo Of worldly wommen / mayde ne of wyf Line 1026 I dar wel seyn / hir hadde leuere a knyf Thurgh out hir brest than ben a womman wikke There is no man / koude brynge hire to that prikke Line 1029

¶ Now was this child / as lyke vn to Custance [folio 65b] As possible is / a creature to be This Alla / hath the face in remembrance Of dame Custance / and ther on mused he Line 1033 If that the childes mooder / were aught she That is his wyf / and pryuely he sighte And spedde hym fro the table / that he myghte Line 1036

Line 1036

Parfay thoghte he / fantome is in myn heed I oghte deme / of skilful Iuggement That in the salte see / my wyf is deed And afterward / he made his Argument Line 1040 What woot I / if that Crist haue hyder ysent My wyf by see / as wel as he hire sente To my contree / fro thennes that she wente Line 1043

And after Noon / hoom with the Senatour Goth Alla / for to seen this wonder chaunce This Senatour / dooth Alla greet honour And hastifly / he sente after Custaunce Line 1047 But trusteth weel / hire liste nat to daunce Whan þat she wiste / wherfore was that sonde Vnnethe / vp on hir feet she myghte stonde Line 1050

¶ Whan Alla saugh his wyf faire he hire grette And weep / that it was routhe for to see ffor at the firste look he on hire sette He knew wel verraily / that it was she Line 1054 And she for sorwe / as doumb stant as a tree So was hir herte shet in hir distresse Whan she remembred / his vnkyndenesse Line 1057

Twyes she swowned / in his owene sighte He weep / and hym excuseth pitously Now god quod he / and hise halwes brighte So wisly on my soule / as haue mercy Line 1061 That of youre harm / as giltlees am I As is Maurice my sone / so lyk youre face Elles the feend / me fecche out of this place Line 1064

¶ Long was the sobbyng/ and the bitter peyne Er that / hir woful hertes myghte cesse Greet was the pitee / for to heere hem pleyne Thurgh whiche pleintes / gan hir wo encresse Line 1068

Line 1068 I pray yow alle / my labour to relesse I may nat telle hir wo / vn til to morwe I am so wery / for to speke of sorwe Line 1071

But finally / whan that the sothe is wist [folio 66a] That Alla giltlees / was of hir wo I trowe / an hundred tymes / been they kist And swich a blisse / is ther bitwix hem two Line 1075 That saue the ioye / that lasteth eueremo Ther is noon lyk / that any creature Hath seyn or / shal / whil þat the world may dure Line 1078

Tho preyde she hir housbonde mekely In relief / of hir longe pitous pyne That he wolde preye / hir fader specially That of his magestee / he wolde enclyne Line 1082 To vouche sauf / som day with hym to dyne She preyde hym eek / he wolde by no weye Vn to hir fader / no word of hire seye Line 1085

¶ Som men wold seyn / how þat the child Maurice Dooth this Message / vn to this Emperour But as I gesse / Alla was nat so nyce To hym that was / of so souereyn honour Line 1089 As he that is / of cristen folk the flour Sente any child / but it is bet to deeme He wente hym self / and so it may wel seeme Line 1092

¶ This Emperour / hath graunted gentilly To come to dyner / as he hym bisoughte And wel rede I / he looked bisily Vp on this child / and on his doghter thoghte Line 1096 Alla goth to his In / and as him oghte Arrayed for this feste / in euery wise As ferforth / as his konnyng may suffise Line 1099

Line 1099

¶ The morwe cam / and Alla gan hym dresse And eek his wyf / this Emperour to meete And forth they ryde / in ioye and in gladnesse And whan she saugh / hir fader in the strete Line 1103 She lighte doun / and falleth hym to feete ffader quod she / youre yonge child Custance Is now ful clene / out of youre remembrance Line 1106

I am youre doghter / Custance quod she That whilom / ye han sent / vn to Surrye It am I fader / that in the salte see Was put allone / and dampned for to dye Line 1110 Now goode fader / mercy I yow crye Sende me namoore / vn to noon hethenesse But thonketh my lord heere / of his kyndenesse Line 1113

¶ Who kan / the pitous ioye / tellen al [folio 66b] Bitwixe hem thre / syn they been thus ymette But of my tale / make an ende I shal The day goth faste / I wol no lenger lette Line 1117 This glade folk / to dyner they hem sette In ioye and blisse / at mete I lete hem dwelle A thousand foold / wel moore than I kan telle Line 1120

¶ This child Maurice / was sithen Emperour Maad by the pope / and lyued cristenly To cristes chirche / he dide greet honour But I lete all his storie passen by Line 1124 Of Custance / is my tale specially In the olde Romane geestes / may men fynde Maurices lyf / I bere it noght in mynde Line 1127

¶ This kyng Alla / whan he his tyme say With his Custance / his hooly wyf so sweete To Engelond / been they come the righte way Wher as they lyue / in ioye and in quiete Line 1131

Line 1131 But litel while it lasteth / I yow heete Ioye of this world / for tyme wol nat abyde ffro day to nyght / it changeth as the tyde Line 1134

Who lyued euere / in swich delit o day That hym ne moeued / outher conscience Or Ire / or talent or som kynnes affray Enuye / or pride / or passion / or offence Line 1138 I ne seye but for this ende this sentence That litel while in ioye / or in plesance Lasteth the blisse of Alla with Custance Line 1141

ffor deeth / that taketh / of heigh and logh / his rente Whan passed was a yeer / euene as I gesse Out of this world / this kyng Alla he hente For whom / Custance / hath ful greet heuynesse Line 1145 Now lat vs praye to god / his soule blesse And dame Custance / finally to seye Toward the toun of Rome / goth hir weye Line 1148

¶ To Rome is come / this hooly creature And fyndeth hire freendes / hoole and sounde Now is she scaped / al hire auenture And whan þat she / hir fader hath yfounde Line 1152 Doun on hir knees / falleth she to grounde Wepynge for tendrenesse / in herte blithe She heryeth god / an hundred thousand sithe Line 1155

¶ In vertu / and hooly almus dede [folio 67a] They lyuen alle / and neuere a sonder wende Till deeth departed hem / this lyf they lede And fareth now weel / my tale is at an ende Line 1159 Now Ihesu Crist that of his myght may sende Ioye after wo / gouerne vs in his grace And kepe vs alle / that been in this place Amen. Line 1162

¶ Heere endeth the tale / of the man of Lawe .

Notes

• [Painting of the Man of Law, on the left.]
• Europa est tercia pars mundi.
• .i. ceriose
• ¶ Ceptra Phorenei fratrum fratrum discordia Thebe ¶ fflammam Phetontis Deucalionis Aque ¶ In stellis Priami / species Audacia Turni ¶ Sensus Vlixeus Herculeus que vigor.
• ¶ Vnde Ptholomeus. libro i^o. capitulo. 8^o. ¶ Primi mo|tus celi duo sunt quorum vnus est qui mouet totum semper ab Oriente in Occidentem / vno modo super orbes &c. / Item al[i]ter vero motus est qui mouet orbem stellarum currencium contra mo|tum primum / videlicet / ab Occidente in Orientem super alios duos polos, &c.
• ¶ Omnes concordati sunt / quod elecciones sint debiles nisi in diuitibus / habent enim isti licet debilitentur eorum elec|ciones radicem .i. natiuitates eorum que conforta[n]t omnem plane|tam debilem in itinere &c.
• ¶ Auctor
• ¶ Nota de inopinato dolore ¶ Semper mundane leticie tristicia repentina succedit / Mundana igitur felicitas multis ama|ritudinibus est respersa / extrema gaudii luctus occupat. Audi ergo salubre consilium / In die bonorum ne immemor sis malorum.
• [so]
• [altered from knaue.]
• [altered from knaue.]
• ¶ Quid turpius ebrioso / cui fetor in ore tremor in cor|pore / qui promit stulta / prodit occulta / cuius mens alienatur / facies transformatur / nullum enim latet secretum vbi regnat ebrietas.
• [^1_1 corrected.]
• [king later]
• Auctor.
• ¶ O extrema libidinis turpitudo que non solum mentem effeminat / set eciam corpus eneruat / semper sequntur dolor & penitentia post &cetera.
• ¶ A mane vsque ad vesperam mutabitur tempus / tenent tympanum & gaudent / ad sonum organi &cetera.
• ¶ Quis vnquam vnicam diem totam duxit / in sua dileccione iocundam quem in aliqua parte diei reatus consciencie / vel impetus Ire vel motus concupiscencie non turbauerit / quem liuor Inuidie / vel Ardor Auaricie / vel tumor superbie non vex|auerit / quem aliqua iactura vel offensa / vel passio non com|mouerit &cetera.
• [The Wife of Bath's Prologue follows in the MS.]