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

¶ Heere bigynneth / the ffrankeleyns tale /

IN Armorik/ that called is Britayne Ther was a knyght / þat loued and dide his payne To serue a lady / in his beste wise And many a labour / many a greet emprise Line 732

[6-text p 501] Line 732 He for his lady wroghte / er she were wonne ffor she was / oon the faireste vnder sonne And eek therto / comen of so heigh kynrede That wel vnnethes / dorste this knyght for drede Line 736 Telle hire his wo / his peyne / and his distresse But atte laste / she for his worthynesse And namely / for his meke obeysance Hath swich a pitee caught of his penance Line 740 That pryuely / she fil of his accord To take hym / for hir housbonde and hir lord Of swich lordshipe / as men han ouer hir wyues And for to lede / the moore in blisse hir lyues Line 744 Of his free wyl / he swoor hire as a knyght That neuere in al his lyf he day ne nyght Ne sholde vp on hym / take no maistrie Agayn hir wyl / ne kithe hire Ialousie Line 748 But hire obeye / and folwe hir wyl in al [folio 128a] As any louere / to his lady shal Saue / that the name of soueraynetee That wolde he haue / for shame of his degree Line 752 ¶ She thanked hym / and with ful greet humblesse She seyde sire / sith of youre gentillesse Ye profre me / to haue so large a reyne Ne wolde neuere god / bitwixe vs tweyne Line 756 As in my gilt were outher werre or stryf/ Sire / I wol be / youre humble trewe wyf Haue heer my trouthe / til þat myn herte breste Thus been they / bothe in quiete and in reste Line 760 ¶ ffor o thyng sires / saufly dar I seye That freendes / euerych oother moot obeye If they wol longe / holden compaignye Loue / wol nat been constreyned by maistrye Line 764 Whan maistrie comth / the god of loue anon Beteth hise wynges / and farewel he is gon Loue is a thyng as any Spirit free Wommen of kynde / desiren libertee Line 768

[6-text p 502] Line 768 And nat/ to been constreyned as a thral And so doon men / if I sooth seyen shal Looke / who þat is moost pacient in loue He is / at his auantate al aboue Line 772 Pacience / is an heigh vertu certeyn ffor it venquysseth / as thise clerkes seyn Thynges / þat rigour / sholde neuere atteyne ffor euery word / men may nat/ chide or pleyne Line 776 Lerneth to suffre / or elles so moot I goon Ye shul it lerne / wher so ye wole or noon ffor in this world certein / ther no wight is That he ne dooth or seith / som tyme amys Line 780 Ire / siknesse / or constellacion Wyn / wo / or chaungynge of complexion Causeth ful ofte / to doon amys or speken On euery wrong a man may nat be wreken Line 784 After the tyme / moste be temperance To euery wight þat kan on gouernance And therfore / hath this wise worthy knyght To lyue in ese / suffrance hire bihight Line 788 And she to hym / ful wisly gan to swere That neuere / sholde ther be defaute in here ¶ Heere may men seen / an humble wys accord Thus hath she take / hir seruant and hir lord Line 792 Seruant in love / and lord in mariage Thanne was he / bothe in lordshipe and seruage Seruage? nay / but in lordshipe aboue Sith he hath / bothe his lady and his loue Line 796 His lady certes / and his wyf also [folio 128b] The which / þat lawe of loue acordeth to And whan he was / in this prosperitee Hoom with his wyf / he gooth to his contree Line 800 Nat fer fro Pedmark/ ther his dwellyng was Where as he lyueth / in blisse and in solas ¶ Who koude telle / but he hadde wedded be The ioye / the ese / and the prosperitee Line 804

[6-text p 503] Line 804 That is / bitwixe an housbonde / and his wyf A yeer and moore / lasted this blisful lyf Til þat the knyght of which I speke of thus That of kayrrud / was cleped Arueragus Line 808 Shoope hym to goon / and dwelle a yeer or tweyne In Engelond / that cleped was eek Briteyne To seke in Armes / worshipe and honour ffor al his lust he sette in swich labour Line 812 And dwelled there two yeer / the book seith thus ¶ Now wol I stynten / of this Arueragus And speken I wole / of Dorigene his wyf That loueth hire housbonde / as hire hertes lyf Line 816 ffor his Absence / wepeth she and siketh As doon thise noble wyues / whan hem liketh She moorneth / waketh / wayleth / fasteth / pleyneth Desir of his presence / hire so distreyneth Line 820 That al this wyde world / she sette at noght Hire freendes / whiche þat knewe hir heuy thoght Conforten hire / in al þat euer they may They prechen hire / they telle hire nyght and day Line 824 That causelees / she sleeth hir self allas And euery confort possible in this cas They doon to hire / with all hire bisynesse Al / for to make hire / leue hire heuynesse Line 828 ¶ By proces / as ye knowen euerichoon Men may so longe / grauen in a stoon Til som figure / ther Inne emprented be So longe han they conforted hire / til she Line 832 Receyued hath / by hope and by reson The emprentyng of hire consolacion Thurgh which / hir grete sorwe gan aswage She may nat alwey / duren in swich rage Line 836 ¶ And eek Arueragus / in al this care Hath sent hire lettres hoom / of his welfare And þat he wol come hastily agayn Or elles hadde this sorwe / hir herte slayn Line 840

[6-text p 504] Line 840 ¶ Hire freendes sawe / hir sorwe gan to slake And preyde hire on knees / for goddes sake To come / and romen hire in compaignye Awey to dryue / hire derke fantasye Line 844 And finally / she graunted that requeste [folio 129a] ffor wel she saugh / that it was for the beste ¶ Now stood hire Castel / faste by the See And often / with hire freendes walketh shee Line 848 Hire to disporte / vp on the bank an heigh Where / as she / many a shipe and barge seigh Seillynge hir cours / where as hem liste go But thanne was that a parcel of hire wo Line 852 ffor to hir self ful ofte allas seith she Is ther no shipe / of so manye as I se Wol bryngen hom my lord / thanne were myn herte Al warisshed / of hise bittre peynes smerte Line 856 ¶ Another tyme / ther wolde she sitte and thynke And caste hir eyen / dounward fro the brynke But whan she saugh / the grisly Rokkes blake ffor verray feere / so wolde hir herte quake Line 860 That on hire feet she myghte hire noght sustene Thanne wolde she / sitte adoun vpon the grene And pitously / in to the see biholde And seyn right thus / with sorweful sikes colde Line 864 ¶ Eterne god / that thurgh thy purueiaunce Ledest the world / by certein gouernaunce In ydel as men seyn / ye no thyng make But lord / thise grisly / feendly Rokkes blake Line 868 That semen rather / a foul confusion Of werk than any fair creacion Of swich a parfit wys god and a stable Why han ye wroght this werk vnresonable Line 872 ffor by this werk / South / North / ne West ne Eest Ther nys yfostred / man / ne bryd ne beest It dooth no good to my wit but anoyeth Se ye nat lord / how mankynde it destroyeth Line 876

[6-text p 505] Line 876 An hundred thousand bodyes of mankynde Han Rokkes slayn / al be they nat in mynde Which mankynde / is so fair part of thy werk That thou it madest lyk to thyn owene merk Line 880 ¶ Thanne semed it ye hadde a greet chiertee Toward mankynde / but how thanne may it bee That ye swiche meenes make / it to destroyen Whiche meenes do no good / but euere anoyen Line 884 I woot wel / clerkes wol seyn as hem leste By Argumentz / that al is for the beste Though I kan / the causes nat yknowe But thilke god / that made wynd to blowe Line 888 As kepe my lord / this my conclusion To clerkes lete I / al this disputison But wolde god / that alle thise Rokkes blake Were sonken in to helle for his sake Line 892 Thise Rokkes / sleen myn herte for the feere [folio 129b] Thus wolde she seyn / with many a pitous teere ¶ Hire freendes sawe / that it was no disport To romen by the see / but disconfort Line 896 And shopen for to pleyen / somwher elles They leden hire / by Ryueres and by welles And eek/ in othere places delitables They dauncen / and they pleyen / at ches and tables Line 900 ¶ So on a day / right in the morwe tyde Vn to a gardyn / that was ther bisyde In which / that they hadde maad hir ordinance Of vitaille / and of oother purueiance Line 904 They goon and pleye hem / al the longe day And this was / in the sixte morwe of May Which May hadde peynted / with his softe shoures This gardyn / ful of leues and of floures Line 908 And craft of mannes hand so curiously Arrayed hadde / this gardyn trewely That neuere / was ther gardyn of swich prys But if it were / the verray Paradys Line 912

[6-text p 506] Line 912 The odour of floures / and the fresshe sighte Wolde han maked / any herte lighte That euere was born / but if to greet siknesse Or to greet sorwe / helde it in distresse Line 916 So ful it was / of beautee with plesance At after dyner / gonne they to daunce And synge also / saue Dorigen allone Which made alwey / hir compleint and hir moone Line 920 ffor she ne saugh hym / on the daunce go That was hir housbonde / and hir loue also But nathelees / she moste a tyme abyde And with good hope / lete hir sorwe slyde Line 924 ¶ Vp on this daunce / amonges othere men Daunced a squier / biforn Dorigen That fressher was / and Iolyer of array As to my doom / than is the Monthe of May Line 928 He syngeth / daunceth / passynge any man That is // or was / sith þat the world bigan Ther-with he was / if men sholde hym discryue Oon / of the beste farynge man on lyue Line 932 Yong/ strong right vertuous / and riche and wys And wel biloued / and holden in greet prys And shortly / if the sothe I tellen shal Vnwityng of this Dorigen at al Line 936 This lusty Squier / seruant to Venus Which that ycleped was Aurelius Hadde loued hire / best of any creature Two yeer and moore / as was his auenture Line 940 But neuere / dorste he tellen hire his greuance [folio 130a] With outen coppe / he drank al his penance He was despeyred / no thyng dorste he seye Saue in his songes / somwhat wolde he wreye Line 944 His wo / as in a general compleynyng He seyde he louede / and was biloued no thyng Of swich matere / made he manye layes Songes / compleintes / roundels / virelayes Line 948

[6-text p 507] Line 948 How that/ he dorste nat/ his sorwe telle But langwissheth / as a furye dooth in helle And dye he moste he seyde / as dide Ekko ffor Narcisus / that dorste nat telle hir wo Line 952 In oother manere / than ye heere me seye Ne dorste he nat. to hire his wo biwreye Saue that parauenture / som tyme at daunces Ther yong folk/ kepen hir obseruaunces Line 956 It may wel be / he looked on hir face In swich a wise / as man þat asketh grace But no thyng wiste she / of his entente Nathelees / it happed er they thennes wente Line 960 By cause / that he was hire Neighebour And was a man / of worshipe and honour And hadde yknowen hym / of tyme yoore They fille in speche / and forthe moore and moore Line 964 Vn to this purpos / drough Aurelius And whan he saugh his tyme / he seyde thus ¶ Madame quod he / by god þat this world made So that I wiste / it myghte youre herte glade Line 968 I wolde that day / that youre Arueragus Wente ouer the see / that I Aurelius Hadde went ther neuere I sholde haue come agayn ffor wel I woot my seruyce is in vayn Line 972 My gerdon is / but brestyng of myn herte Madame / reweth vpon my peynes smerte ffor with a word / ye may me sleen or saue Heere at youre feet/ god wolde þat I were graue Line 976 I ne haue as now / no leyser moore to seye Haue mercy sweete / or ye wol do me deye ¶ She gan to looke / vp on Aurelius Is this youre wyl quod she / and sey ye thus? Line 980 Neuere erst quod she / ne wiste I what ye mente But now Aurelie / I knowe youre entente By thilke god / that yaf me soule and lyf Ne shal I neuere / been vntrewe wyf Line 984

[6-text p 508] Line 984 In word ne werk/ as fer as I haue wit/ I wol been his / to whom þat I am knyt Taak this for fynal answere / as of me But after that in pley thus seyde she Line 988 ¶ Aurelie quod she / by heighe god aboue [folio 130b] Yet wolde I graunte yow / to been youre loue Syn I yow se / so pitously complayne Looke what day / that endelong Britayne Line 992 Ye remoeue alle the Rokkes / stoon by stoon That they ne lette / shipe ne boot to goon I seye / whan ye han maad / the coost so clene Of Rokkes / that ther nys no stoon ysene Line 996 Thanne wol I / loue yow best of any man Haue heer my trouthe / in al þat euere I kan ¶ Is ther noon oother grace / in yow quod he. ¶ No / by that lord quod she that maked me Line 1000 ffor wel I woot þat it shal neuer bityde Lat swiche folies / out of youre herte slyde What deyntee sholde a man / han in his lyf ffor to go loue / another mannes wyf Line 1004 That hath hir body / whan so þat hym liketh ¶ Aurelius / ful ofte soore siketh Wo was Aurelie / whan þat he this herde And with a sorweful herte / he thus answerde Line 1008 ¶ Madame quod he / this were an inpossible Thanne moot I dye / of sodeyn deth horrible And with that word / he turned hym anon Tho coome / hir othere freendes many oon Line 1012 And in the Aleyes / romeden vp and doun And no thyng wiste / of this conclusioun But sodeynly / bigonne reuel newe Til that the brighte sonne / loste his hewe Line 1016 ffor Thorisonte / hath reft the sonne his lyght This is as muche to seye / as it was nyght And hoom they goon / in ioye and in solas Saue oonly / wrecche Aurelius allas Line 1020

[6-text p 509] Line 1020 He to his hous is goon / with sorweful herte He seeth / he may nat fro his deeth asterte Hym semed / that he felte his herte colde Vp to the heuene / hise handes he gan holde Line 1024 And on hise knowes bare / he sette hym doun And in his rauyng seyde his orisoun ffor verray wo / out of his wit he breyde He nyste what he spak but thus he seyde Line 1028 With pitous herte / his pleynt hath he bigonne Vn to the goddes / and first vn to the sonne ¶ He seyde Appollo / god and gouernour Of euery plaunte / herbe / tree and flour That yeuest after thy declinacion To ech of hem / his tyme and his seson As thyn herberwe / chaungeth lowe or heighe Lord Phebus / cast thy merciable eighe [folio 131a] Line 1036 On wrecche Aurelie / which am but lorn Lo lord / my lady hath my deeth y-sworn With oute gilt but thy benignytee Vpon my dedly herte / haue som pitee Line 1040 ffor wel I woot / lord Phebus / if yow lest Ye may me helpen / saue my lady best Now voucheth sauf / þat I may yow deuyse How þat I may been holpen / and in what wyse Line 1044 ¶ Youre blisful suster / Lucina the sheene That of the see / is chief goddesse and queene Though Neptunus / haue deitee in the See Yet Emperisse / abouen hym is she Line 1048 Ye knowen wel lord / that right as hir desir Is to be quyked / and lightned of youre fir ffor which / she folweth yow / ful bisily Right/ so / the see desireth naturelly Line 1052 To folwen hire / as she that is goddesse Bothe in the see / and Ryueres moore and lesse Wherfore lord Phebus / this is my requeste Do this miracle / or do myn herte breste Line 1056

[6-text p 510] Line 1056 That now next at this opposicion Which in the signe / shal be of the leon As preieth hire / so greet a flood to brynge That fyue fadme at the leeste it ouersprynge Line 1060 The hyeste Rokke / in Armorik / Briteyne And lat this flood / endure yeres tweyne Thanne certes / to my lady may I seye Holdeth youre heste / the Rokkes been aweye Line 1064 ¶ Lord Phebus / dooth this miracle for me Preye hire / she go no faster cours than ye I seye / preyeth your suster / that she go No faster cours than ye / thise yeres two Line 1068 Thanne shal she been / euene atte fulle alway And spryng flood / laste bothe nyght and day And but she vouche sauf / in swich manere To graunte me / my souereyn lady deere Line 1072 Prey hire / to synken euery Rok adoun In to / hir owene dirke Regioun Vnder the ground / ther Pluto dwelleth Inne Or neuere mo / shal I my lady wynne Line 1076 Thy Temple in Delphos / wol I barefoot seke Lord Phebus / se the teeris on my cheke And of my peyne / haue som compassioun And with that word / in swowne he fil adoun Line 1080 And longe tyme / he lay forth in a traunce ¶ His brother/ which þat knew of his penaunce Vp caughte hym / and to bedde he hath hym broght Dispeyred / in this torment and this thoght Line 1084 Lete I / this woful creature lye [folio 131b] Chese he for me / wheither he wol lyue or dye

Arueragus / with heele and greet honour As he / þat was / of chiualrie the flour Line 1088 Is comen hoom / and othere worthy men O blisful / artow now / thou Dorigen That hast thy lusty housbonde in thyne Armes The fresshe knyght the worthy man of Armes Line 1092

[6-text p 511] Line 1092 That loueth thee / as his owene hertes lyf No thyng list hym / to been ymaginatyf If any wight had spoke / whil he was oute To hire of loue / he hadde of it no doute Line 1096 He noght entendeth / to no swich mateere But daunceth / Iusteth / maketh hire good cheere And thus / in ioye and blisse / I lete hem dwelle And of the sike Aurelius / I wol yow telle Line 1100

IN langour/ and in torment furyus Two yeer and moore / lay wrecche Aurelyus Er any foot . he myghte on erthe gon Ne confort in this tyme / hadde he noon Line 1104 Saue of his brother / which þat was a clerk He knew of al this wo / and al this werk ffor to noon oother creature certeyn Of this matere / he dorste no word seyn Line 1108 Vnder his brest he baar it moore secree Than euere dide Pamphilus for Galathee His brest was hool / with oute for to sene But in his herte / ay was the Arwe kene Line 1112 And wel ye knowe / that of a Sursanure In Surgerye / is perilous the cure But men myghte touche the Arwe / or come therby His brother / weepe / and wayled pryuely Line 1116 Til atte laste / hym fil in remembrance That whiles he was / at Orliens in ffrance As yonge clerkes / that been lykerous To reden Artes / that been curious Line 1120 Seken / in euery halke / and euery herne Particuler sciences / for to lerne He hym remembred / that vpon a day At Orliens in studie / a book he say Line 1124 Of Magyk/ natureel / which his felawe That was that tyme / a Bacheler of lawe Al were he ther / to lerne another craft Hadde priuely / vpon his desk ylaft Line 1128

[6-text p 512] Line 1128 Which book spak muchel / of the operacions Touchynge / the eighte and twenty mansions That longen to the moone / and swich folye As in oure dayes / is nat worth a flye Line 1132 ffor hooly chirches feith / in oure bileue [folio 132a] Ne suffreth noon illusion vs to greue And whan this book / was in his remembraunce Anon for ioye / his herte gan to daunce Line 1136 And to hym self he seyde pryuely My brother/ shal be warisshed hastily ffor I am siker / þat ther be sciences By wh[i]c[h]e / men make diuerse apparences Line 1140 Swiche / as thise subtile tregetours pleye ffor ofte at feestes / haue I wel herd seye That tregetours / with Inne an halle large Haue maad come In / a water and a barge Line 1144 And in the halle / rowen vp and doun Somtyme / hath semed come a grym leoun And somtyme floures sprynge / as in a Mede Somtyme a Vyne / and grapes white and rede Line 1148 Somtyme a Castel / al of lym and stoon And whan hym lyked / voyded it anoon Thus semed it to euery mannes sighte ¶ Now thanne conclude I thus / þat if I myghte Line 1152 At Orliens / som oold felawe yfynde That hadde / this moones mansions in mynde Or oother Magyk natureel aboue He sholde wel make / my brother han his loue Line 1156 ffor with an apparence / a clerk may make To mannes sighte / þat alle the Rokkes blake Of Britaigne / weren yvoyded euerichon And shippes / by the brynke comen and gon Line 1160 And in swich forme / enduren a wowke or two Thanne were my brother // warisshed of his wo Thanne moste she nedes / holden hire biheste Or elles / he shal shame hire atte leeste Line 1164

[6-text p 513] Line 1164 ¶ What sholde I make / a lenger tale of this Vn to his brotheres bed / he comen is And swich confort he yaf hym for to gon To Orliens / that he vp stirte anon Line 1168 And on his wey / forthward thanne is he fare In hope / for to been lissed of his care ¶ Whan they were come / almoost to that Citee But if it were / a two furlong or thre Line 1172 A yong clerk romynge by hym self they mette Which þat in latyn / thriftily hem grette And after that he seyde a wonder thyng I knowe quod he / the cause of youre comyng Line 1176 And er they ferther / any foote wente He tolde hem / al that was in hire entente ¶ This Briton clerk hym asked of felawes The whiche þat he had knowe / in olde dawes Line 1180 And he answerde hym / that they dede were [folio 132b] ffor which / he weep ful ofte many a teere ¶ Doun of his hors / Aurelius lighte anon And with this Magicien / forth is he gon Line 1184 Hoom to his hous / and maden hem wel at ese Hem lakked no vitaille / þat myghte hem plese So wel arrayed hous / as ther was oon Aurelius in his lyf / saugh neuere noon Line 1188 ¶ He shewed hym / er he wente to Sopeer fforestes / Parkes / ful of wilde deer Ther saugh he hertes / with hir hornes hye The gretteste / that euere were seyn with eye Line 1192 He saugh of hem / an hondred slayn with houndes And somme with Arwes blede / of bittre woundes ¶ He saugh / whan voyded were thise wilde deer Thise ffauconers / vpon a fair Ryuer Line 1196 That with hir haukes / han the heron slayn ¶ Tho saugh he knyghtes / iustyng in a playn And after this / he dide hym swich plesaunce That he hym shewed / his lady on a daunce Line 1200

[6-text p 514] Line 1200 On which hym self / he daunced / as hym thoughte And whan this Maister / þat this Magyk wroughte Saugh it was tyme / he clapte hise handes two And farewel / al oure reuel was ago Line 1204 And yet remoeued they neuere / out of the hous Whil they saugh / al this sighte merueillous But in his studie / ther as hise bookes be They seten stille / and no wight but they thre Line 1208 ¶ To hym / this Maister called his Squier And seyde hym thus / is redy oure soper Almoost an houre it is I vndertake Sith I yow bad / oure soper for to make Line 1212 Whan that thise worthy men / wenten with me In to my studie / ther as my bookes be ¶ Sire quod this Squier / whan it liketh yow It is al redy / though ye wol right now Line 1216 Go we thanne soupe quod he / as for the beste This amorous folk / som tyme moote han hir reste ¶ At after soper / fille they in tretee What somme / sholde this Maistres gerdon be Line 1220 To remoeuen / alle the Rokkes of Britayne And eek from Gerounde / to the mouth of Sayne ¶ He made it straunge / and swoor / so god hym saue Lasse than a thousand pound / he wolde nat haue Line 1224 Ne gladly / for that somme he wolde nat goon ¶ Aurelius / with blisful herte anoon Answerde thus / fy on a thousand pound This wyde world / which that men seye is round Line 1228 ¶ I wolde it yeue / if I were lord of it [folio 133a] This bargayn is ful dryue / for we been knyt Ye shal be payed / trewely by my trouthe But looketh now / for no necligence or slouthe Line 1232 Ye tarie vs heere / no lenger than to morwe ¶ Nay quod this clerk haue heer my feith to borwe ¶ To bedde is goon Aurelius / whan hym leste And wel ny / al that nyght he hadde his reste Line 1236

[6-text p 515] Line 1236 What for his labour / and his hope of blisse His woful herte / of penaunce hadde a lisse ¶ Vpon the morwe / whan þat it was day To Britaigne / tooke they the righte way Line 1240 Aurelius / and this Magicien bisyde And been descended / ther they wolde abyde And this was / as thise bookes me remembre The colde / frosty seson of Decembre Line 1244

Phebus wax old / and hewed lyk laton That in his hoote declynacion Shoon as the burned gold / with stremes brighte But now in Capricorn / adoun he lighte Line 1248 Where as he shoon ful pale / I dar wel seyn The bittre frostes / with the sleet and reyn Destroyed hath the grene / in euery yerd Ianus sit by the fyr / with double berd And drynketh / of his bugle horn the wyn Biforn hym / stant brawen / of the tusked swyn And Nowel / crieth euery lusty man ¶ Aurelius / in al that euere he kan Line 1256 Dooth to his Maister / chiere and reuerence And preyeth hym / to doon his diligence To bryngen hym / out of his peynes smerte Or with a swerd / þat he wolde slitte his herte Line 1260 ¶ This subtil clerk swich routhe had of this man That nyght and day / he spedde hym þat he kan To wayten a tyme / of his conclusion This is to seye / to maken illusion Line 1264 By swich a apparence or Iogelrye I ne kan no termes / of Astrologye That she and euery wight sholde wene and seye That of Britaigne / the Rokkes were aweye Line 1268 Or ellis / they were sonken vnder grounde So atte laste / he hath his tyme yfounde To maken hise Iapes / and his wrecchednesse Of swich / a supersticious cursednesse Line 1272

[6-text p 516] Line 1272 Hise tables tolletanes / forth he brought fful wel corrected / ne ther lakked nought Neither his collect ne hise expans yeeris Ne hise rootes / ne hise othere geeris Line 1276 As been his centris / and hise Argumentz [folio 133b] And hise proporcioneles conuenientz ffor hise equacions / in euery thyng And by his .8. speere in his wirkyng Line 1280 He knew ful wel / how fer Alnath was shoue ffro the heed / of thilke fixe Aries aboue That in the .9. speere considered is fful subtilly / he hadde kalkuled al this Line 1284 ¶ Whan he hadde founde / his firste mansion He knew the remenant by proporcion And knew the arisyng of his moone weel And in whos face / and terme and euerydeel Line 1288 And knew ful weel / the moones mansion Acordaunt to his operacion And knew also / hise othere obseruances ffor swiche illusions / and swiche meschances Line 1292 As hethen folk / vseden in thilke dayes ffor which / no lenger maked he delayes But thurgh his magik / for a wyke or tweye It semed / that alle the Rokkes were aweye Line 1296 ¶ Aurelius / which þat yet despeired is Wher he shal han his loue / or fare amys Awaiteth nyght and day / on this myracle And whan he knew / þat ther was noon obstacle Line 1300 That voyded were / thise Rokkes euerychon Doun / to hise Maistres feet he fil anon And seyde / I woful wrecche Aurelius Thanke yow lord / and lady myn Venus Line 1304 That me han holpen / fro my cares colde And to the temple / his wey forth hath he holde Where as he knew / he sholde his lady see And whan he saugh his tyme / anon right hee Line 1308

[6-text p 517] Line 1308 With dredful herte / and with ful humble cheere Salewed hath / his souereyn lady deere

My righte lady / quod this woful man Whom I moost drede and loue as I best kan Line 1312 And lothest were / of al this world displese Nere it þat I for yow / haue swich disese That I moste dyen heere / at youre foot anon Noght wolde I telle / how me is wo bigon Line 1316 But certes / outher moste I dye or pleyne Ye sle me giltlees / for verray peyne But of my deeth / thogh þat ye haue no routhe Auyseth yow / er þat ye breke youre trouthe Line 1320 Repenteth yow / for thilke god aboue Er ye me sleen / by cause þat I yow loue ffor madame / wel ye woot what ye han hight Nat þat I chalange / any thyng of right Line 1324 Of yow my souereyn lady / but youre grace [folio 134a] But in a gardyn yond / at swich a place Ye woot right wel / what ye bihighten me And in myn hand / youre trouthe plighten ye Line 1328 To loue me best god woot ye seyde so Al be / þat I vnworthy be therto Madame I speke it / for the honour of yow Moore than to saue / myn hertes lyf right now Line 1332 I haue do so / as ye comanded me And if ye vouche sauf / ye may go see Dooth as yow list haue youre biheste in mynde ffor quyk or deed / right there ye shal me fynde Line 1336 In yow lith al / to do me lyue or deye But wel I woot the Rokkes been aweye ¶ He taketh his leue / and she astonied stood In al hir face / nas a drope of blood Line 1340 She wende neuere / han come in swich a trappe Allas quod she / þat euere this sholde happe ffor wende I neuere / by possibilitee That swich a Monstre / or merueille myghte be Line 1344

[6-text p 518] Line 1344 It is / agayns the proces of nature And hoom she goth / a sorweful creature ffor verray feere / vnnethe may she go She wepeth / wailleth / al a day or two Line 1348 And swowneth / that it routhe was to see But why it was / to no wight tolde shee ffor out of towne / was goon Arueragus But to hir self/ she spak and seyde thus Line 1352 With face pale / and with ful sorweful cheere In hire compleynt as ye shal after heere ¶ Allas quod she / on thee ffortune I pleyne That vnwar / wrapped hast me in thy cheyne Line 1356 ffor which tescape / woot I no scour Saue oonly / deeth or dishonour Oon of thise two / bihoueth me to chese But nathelees / yet haue I leuere to lese Line 1360 My lif/ than of my body haue a shame Or knowe my seluen fals / or lese my name And with my deth / I may be quyt ywis Hath ther nat/ many a noble wyf er this And many a mayde / yslayn hir self allas Rather / than with hir body doon trespas ¶ Yis certes / lo thise stories beren witnesse Whan .xxx. tirauntz / ful of cursednesse Line 1368 Hadde slayn Phidon / in Atthenes at feste They comanded / hise doghtres for tareste And bryngen hem / biforn hem in despit Al naked / to fulfille hir foul delit Line 1372 And in hir fadres blood / they made hem daunce [folio 134b] Vpon the pauement god yeue hem myschaunce ffor which / thise woful maydens ful of drede Rather / than they wolde lese hir maydenhede Line 1376 They priuely / been stirt/ in to a welle And dreynte hem seluen / as the bookes telle

They of Mecene / leete enquere and seke Of Lacedomye / fifty maydens eke

[6-text p 519] On whiche / they wolden doon hir lecherye But was ther noon of al that compaignye That she nas slayn / and with a good entente Chees / rather for to dye than assente Line 1384 To been oppressed / of hir maydenhede Why sholde I thanne / to dye been in drede

Lo eek / the tiraunt Aristoclides That loued a mayden / heet Stymphalides Line 1388 Whan that hir fader / slayn was on a nyght Vn to Dianes temple / goth she right And hente the ymage / in hir handes two ffro which ymage / wolde she neuere go Line 1392 No wight / ne myghte hir handes of it arace Til she was slayn / right in the selue place ¶ Now sith þat maydens / hadden swich despit To been defouled / with mannes foul delit Line 1396 Wel oghte a wyf / rather hir seluen slee Than be defouled / as it thynketh me

What shal I seyn / of Hasdrubales wyf That at Cartage / birafte hir self hir lyf Line 1400 ffor whan she saugh / that Romayns wan the toun She took hir children alle / and skipte adoun In to the fyr / and chees rather to dye Than any Romayn / dide hire vileynye Line 1404

Hath nat Lucresse / yslayn hir self allas At Rome / whan she oppressed was Of Tarquyn / for hire thoughte it was a shame To lyuen / whan she had lost hir name Line 1408

The seuene maydens / of Melesie also Han slayn hem self / for drede and wo Rather than folk of Gawle / hem sholde oppresse Mo than a thousand stories / as I gesse Line 1412 Koude I now telle / as touchynge this mateere

Whan habradate was slayn / his wyf so deere Hirseluen slow / and leet hir blood to glyde In habradates woundes depe and wyde Line 1416

[6-text p 520] Line 1416 And seyde my body / at the leeste way Ther shal no wight / defoulen if I may ¶ What sholde I / mo ensamples heer of sayn Sith that so manye / han hem seluen slayn Line 1420 Wel rather / than they wolde defouled be [folio 135a] I wol conclude / that it is bet for me To sleen my self / than been defouled thus I wol be trewe / vn to Arueragus Line 1424 Or rather/ sleen my self in som manere As dide / Demociones doghter deere By cause / þat she wolde nat defouled be OCedasus / it is ful greet pitee To reden / how thy doghtren deyde allas That slowe hem self / for swich manere cas As greet a pitee was it/ or wel moore The Theban mayden / that for Nichanore Line 1432 Hir seluen slow / right for swich manere wo Another Theban mayden / dide right so ffor oon of Macidonye / hadde hire oppressed She with hire deeth / hir maydenhede redressed Line 1436 What shal I seye of Nicerates wyf That for swich cas / birafte hir self hir lyf / How trewe eek was / to Alcebiades His loue / rather for to dyen chees Line 1440 Than for to suffre / his body vnburyed be Lo which a wyf / was Alceste quod she What seith Omer / of goode Penalopee Al Grece / knoweth of hire chastitee Line 1444 Pardee / of Lacedomya / is writen thus That whan at Troie / was slayn Protheselaus No lenger/ wolde she lyue / after his day The same / of noble Porcia telle I may With oute Brutus / koude she nat lyue To whom she hadde / al hool hir herte yeue The parfit wyfhod of Arthemesie Honured is / thurgh al the Barbarie Line 1452

[6-text p 521] Line 1452 O Teuta queene / thy wyfly chastitee To alle wyues / may a Mirour bee The same thyng / I seye of Bilyea Of Rodogone / and eek Valeria Line 1456 ¶ Thus pleyne Dorigene / a day or tweye Purposynge euere / that she wolde deye ¶ But nathelees / vpon the thridde nyght Hoom cam Arueragus / this worthy knyght Line 1460 And asked hire / why that she weepe so soore And she gan wepen / euer lenger the moore ¶ Allas quod she / that euere I was born Thus haue I seyd quod she / thus haue I sworn Line 1464 And toold hym al / as ye han herd bifore It nedeth nat reherce it yow namoore ¶ This housbonde / with glad chiere in freendly wyse Answerde and seyde / as I shal yow deuyse Line 1468 Is ther oght elles Dorigen / but this? [folio 135b] ¶ Nay nay quod she / god helpe me so as wys This is to muche / and it were goddes wille ¶ Ye wyf quod he / lat slepen that is stille Line 1472 It may be wel / parauenture yet to day Ye shul youre trouthe / holden by my fay ffor god so wisly / haue mercy vp on me I hadde wel leuere / ystiked for to be Line 1476 ffor verray loue / which that I to yow haue But if ye sholde / youre trouthe kepe and saue Trouthe / is the hyeste thyng þat man may kepe But with that word / he brast anon to wepe Line 1480 And seyde / I yow forbede / vp peyne deeth That neuere / whil thee lasteth / lyf ne breeth To no wight telle thou of this auenture As I may best I wol my wo endure Line 1484 Ne make / no contenance of heuynesse That folk/ of yow / may demen harm or gesse ¶ And forth / he cleped / a squier and a mayde Gooth forth anon / with Dorigen he sayde Line 1488

[6-text p 522] Line 1488 And bryngeth hire / to swich a place anon They take hir leue / and on hir wey they gon But they ne wiste / why she thider wente He nolde / no wight tellen his entente Line 1492 ¶ Parauenture / an heepe of yow ywis Wol holden hym / a lewed man in this That he wol putte / his wyf in Iupartie Herkneth the tale / er ye vp on hire crie Line 1496 She may haue bettre ffortune / than yow semeth And whan þat ye han herd the tale / demeth

This squier / which þat highte Aurelius On Dorigen / that was so amorus Line 1500 Of auenture / happed hire to meete Amydde the toun / right in the quykkest strete As she was bown / to goon the wey forth right Toward the gardyn / ther as she had hight Line 1504 And he was / to the gardynward also ffor wel he spyed / whan she wolde go Out of hir hous / to any maner place But thus they mette / of auenture or grace Line 1508 And he saleweth hire / with glad entente And asked of hire / whiderward she wente ¶ And she answerde / half as she were mad Vn to the gardyn / as myn housbonde bad Line 1512 My trouthe for to holde / allas / allas ¶ Aurelius / gan wondren on this cas And in his herte / hadde greet compassion Of hire / and of hire lamentacion Line 1516 ¶ And of Arueragus the worthy knyght [folio 136a] That bad hire holden / al þat she had hight So looth hym was / his wyf sholde breke hir trouthe And in his herte / he caughte of this greet routhe Line 1520 Considerynge / the beste on euery syde That fro his lust yet were hym leuere abyde Than doon / so heigh a cherlyssh wrecchednesse Agayns franchise / and alle gentillesse Line 1524

[6-text p 523] Line 1524 ffor which / in fewe wordes seyde he thus ¶ Madame / seyeth to youre lord Arueragus That sith I se his grete gentillesse To yow / and eek I se wel youre distresse Line 1528 That him were leuere han shame / and þat were routhe Than ye to me / sholde breke thus youre trouthe I haue wel leuere / euere to suffre wo Than I departe / the loue bitwix yow two Line 1532 I yow relesse madame / in to youre hond Quyt euerysurement and euery bond That ye han maad to me / as heer biforn Sith thilke tyme / which þat ye were born Line 1536 My trouthe I plighte / I shal yow neuer repreue Of no biheste / and heere I take my leue As of the treweste / and the beste wyf/ That euere yet I knew in al my lyf/ Line 1540 But euery wyf/ be war of hire biheeste On Dorigene / remembreth / atte leeste Thus kan a Squier/ doon a gentil dede As wel as kan a knyght with outen drede Line 1544 ¶ She thonketh hym / vp on hir knees al bare And hoom / vn to hir housbonde is she fare And tolde hym al / as ye han herd me sayd And be ye siker / he was so weel apayd Line 1548 That it were inpossible / me to wryte What sholde I lenger / of this cas endyte ¶ Arueragus / and Dorigene his wyf In souereyn blisse / leden forth hir lyf Line 1552 Neuere eft ne was ther Angre hem bitwene He cherisseth hire / as though she were a queene And she was to hym / trewe for eueremoore Of thise folk / ye gete of me namoore Line 1556

Aurelius / that his cost hath al forlorn Curseth the tyme / þat euere he was born Allas quod he / allas that I bihighte Of pured gold / a thousand pound of wighte Line 1560

[6-text p 524] Line 1560 Vn to this Philosophre / how shal I do I se namoore / but that I am fordo Myn heritage / moot I nedes selle And been a beggere / heere may I nat dwelle Line 1564 And shamen / al my kynrede in this place [folio 136b] But I of hym / may gete bettre grace But nathelees / I wole of hym assaye At certeyn dayes / yeer by yeer to paye Line 1568 And thanke hym / of his grete curteisye My trouthe wol I kepe / I wol nat lye ¶ With herte soor / he gooth vn to his cofre And broghte gold / vn to this Philosophre Line 1572 The value / of fyue hundred pound I gesse And hym bisecheth of his gentillesse To graunte hym dayes of the remenaunt And seyde maister / I dar wel make auaunt Line 1576 I failled neuere / of my trouthe as yit ffor sikerly / my dette shal be quyt Towardes yow / how euere that I fare To goon a begged / in my kirtle bare Line 1580 But wolde ye vouche sauf/ vp on seuretee Two yeer or thre / for to respiten me Thanne were I wel / for elles moot I selle Myn heritage / ther is namoore to telle Line 1584

This Philosophre / sobrely answerde And seyde thus / whan he thise wordes herde Haue I nat holden couenant vn to thee? ¶ Yes certes / wel and trewely quod he Line 1588 ¶ Hastow nat had /thy lady / as thee liketh? ¶ No no quod he / and sorwefully he siketh ¶ What was the cause / tel me if thou kan? ¶ Aurelius / his tale anon bigan Line 1592 And tolde hym al / as ye han herd bifoore It nedeth nat/ to yow reherce it moore ¶ He seide / Arueragus of gentillesse Hadde leuere dye / in sorwe / and in distresse Line 1596

[6-text p 525] Line 1596 Than þat his wyf / were of hir trouthe fals The sorwe of Dorigen / he tolde hym als How looth hire was / to been a wikked wyf And þat she leuere had lost that day hir lyf Line 1600 And þat hir trouthe / she swoor thurgh Innocence She neuere erst hadde herd speke of Apparence That made me han of hire so greet pitee And right as frely / as he sente hire me Line 1604 As frely / sente I hire to hym ageyn This al and som / ther is namoore to seyn ¶ This Philosophre answerde / leeue brother Euerich of yow / dide gentilly til oother Line 1608 Thou art a Squier / and he is a knyght But god forbede / for his blisful myght But if a clerk / koude doon a gentil dede As wel as any of yow / it is no drede Line 1612 ¶ Sire / I releesse thee / thy thousand pound [folio 137a] As thou right now / were cropen out of the ground Ne neuere er now / ne haddest knowen me ffor sire / I wol nat taken a peny of thee Line 1616 ffor al my craft ne noght for my trauaille Thou hast ypayed wel / for my vitaille It is ynogh / and farewel haue good day And took his hors / and forth he goth his way Line 1620

Lordynges / this question thanne wolde I aske now Which was the mooste fre as thynketh yow Now telleth me / er that ye ferther wende I kan namoore / my tale is at an ende Line 1624

¶ Heere is ended the ffrankeleyns tale

Notes

• [Painting of the Franklin.]
• ¶ Methamorposios.
• ¶ The compleint/ of Aurelius/ to the goddes and to the sonne.
• .i. luna
• ¶ Pamphilus ad Galatheam / vulneror & clausum porto sub pectore telum & cetera
• ¶ Ianus biceps.
• ¶ Alnath dicitur prima mansio lune.
• ¶ In nona spera.
• ¶ The compleynt/ of Dorigene ayeyns ffortune
• ¶ 30^a. Atheniensium tiranni cum Phidonem necassent/ in con|uiuio filias eius virgines ad se venire iusserunt & scortorum more nudari / ac super pauimenta patris sanguine cruentatas inpudicis gestibus ludere ‖ que paulisper dissimulato dolore cum timulentos conuiuas cernerent quasi ad requisita nature egredientes inuicem se complexē precipitauerunt in puteum vt virginitatem morte ser|uarent/
• ¶ Cum .50^a. vir|gines lacedoniorum Messeni violare temptassent / .
• ¶ Aristoclides Orcomeni tirannus adamauit vir|ginem stymphalidem que cum patre occiso ad templum diane & cetera.
• ¶ Nam hasdrubalis vxor capta & incensa vrbe cum se cerneret a Romanis capienda & cetera.
• ¶ primo ponam lucreciam / que violate pudicie nolens superuivere maculam corporis cruore deleuit/
• ¶ Quis valet silencio preterire vij. Milesias vir|gines que Gallorum & cetera.
• ¶ Senapho in Ciri maioris scribit/ infancia oc|ciso Habradate & cetera.
• ¶ Democionis Ariopagitarum principis virgo filia & cetera.
• ¶ Quo ore laudande sunt Cedasij filie & cetera
• ¶ Nichanor victis Thebis vnius captiue virginis superatus est.
• ¶ Narrant scriptores Grecie & aliam Thebanam virginem & cetera.
• ¶ Quid loquar Nicerati coniugem pie impaciens iniurie viri mortem & cetera.
• ¶ Alcebiades ille socra|ticus victus & cetera
• Alcesten fabule ferunt pro marito Adameto sponte defunctam / et Penolopes pudicia Omeri carmen est [?].
• ¶ Lacedomia quoque poetarum ore cantatur oc|ciso apud Troiam Protheselao & cetera.
• ¶ Porcia sine Bruto viuere non potuit
• Arthemesia quoque vxor Mauseoli insignis pudicijs fuisse prohibetur & cetera.
• Teuta / Illicorum Regina & cetera.
• ¶ Memorandum strato regulus. ¶ Vidi & omnes pene Barbares capitulo .xxvj^o. primi. ¶ Item Cornelia & cetera. ¶ Imitentur g^o nupte Theanam / Cleobiliam / Gorgim / Thymodiam / Claudias atque Cornelias / in fine libri primi.
• [ or Gorgun]
• ¶ Singulas has historias & plures hanc materiam concernentes recitat beatus Ieronimus contra Iouinianum in primo suo libro capitulo .39^o.
• [or sirement]