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

[6-text p 478]

GROUP F. FRAGMENT VII.

§ 1. THE SQUIRE'S HEAD-LINK.

HENGWRT MS.

¶ Sire ffrankeleyn / com neer/ if it youre wille be And sey vs a tale / for certes ye konnen ther on / as muche as any man ¶ Nay sire quod he / but I wol seye as I kan Line 4 [ [folio 153b] W]ith hertly wyl / for I wol nat rebelle Agayns youre wyl / a tale wol I telle Haue me excused / if þat I speke amys My wyl is good / and lo my tale is this. Line 8

¶ Explicit.

[6-text p 500]

¶ Here bigynneth the ffrankeleyns tale

[THE PROEM.]

THise olde gentil Britons / in hir dayes Of diuerse auentures / maden layes Rymeyed / in hir firste Briton tonge Whiche layes / with hir Instrumentz they songe Line 712 Or ellis redden hem / for hire plesance And oon of hem / haue I in remembrance Which I shal seyn / with good wyl as I kan ¶ But sires / by cause I am a burel man Line 716 At my bigynnyng first I yow biseche Haue me excused / of my rude speche I lerned neuere / Rethorik certeyn Thyng þat I speke / It moot be bare and pleyn Line 720 I sleepe neuere / in the Mount of Parnaso [folio 154a] Ne lerned / Marcus Tullius Scithero Colours ne knowe I none / with outen drede But swiche colours / as growen in the mede Line 724 Or ellis swiche / as men dye / or peynte Colours of Rethoryk they ben to queynte My Spirit feeleth nat of swich matere But if yow list my tale shul ye heere Line 728

[THE TALE.]

IN Armorik that called is Britayne Ther was a knyght þat louede & dide his payne To serue a lady / in his beste wise And many a labour / many a gret 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 ther to / come 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 priuely / she fel of his acord To taken hym / for hir housbonde & 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 fre wyl / he swoor hire as a knyght That neuere in al his lyf he day ne nyght Ne sholde vp on hym take / no maistrye Agayn hir wyl / ne kothe hire Ialousye Line 748 But hire obeye / and folwe hir wyl in al As any louere / to his lady shal Saue / þat the name of soueraynetee That wolde he haue / for shame of his degree Line 752 ¶ She thonked hym / and with ful gret humblesse She seyde sire / sith of youre gentillesse Ye profre me / to haue so large a reyne Ne wolde neuere god / bitwix 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 that myn herte breste Thus been they bothe / in quiete and in reste Line 760 [ffor [folio 154b] ] o thyng sires / saufly dar I seye [T]hat freendes / euerich oother moote obey If they wol longe holden compaignye Loue wol nat be constreyned by maistrye Line 764 Whan maistrie comth / the god of loue anon Beteth his wynges / and farwel 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 seyn shal Looke / who þat moost/ is pacient in loue He is / at his auantage al aboue Line 772 Pacience / is an heigh vertu certeyn ffor it venquysseth / as thise clerkes seyn Thynges / that rigour sholde neuere atteyne ffor euery word / men may nat chide or pleyne Line 776 Lerneth to suffre / or ellis so moot I gon Ye shul it lerne / wher so ye wole or non ffor in this world / certeyn ther no wight is That he ne dooth / or seith som tyme amys Line 780 Ire / siknesse / or constellacion Wyn / wo / or chaungyng 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 temperaunce To euery wight þat kan on gouernaunce 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 ¶ Here may men seen / an humble wys acord Thus hath she take / hir seruant and hir lord Line 792 Seruant in loue / and lord in mariage Thanne was he bothe / in lordshipe & 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 The which / þat lawe of loue acordeth to And whan he was / in this prosperitee Hom with his wyf he gooth to his contree Line 800 Nat fer fro Pedmark ther his dwellyng was [folio 155a] Wher 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 / bitwix 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 Kairrud / was clepid Arueragus Line 808 Shoope hym to goon / and dwelle a yeer or twayne In Engelond / that clepid was ek Britayne To seke in armes / worshipe and honour ffor al his lust he sette in swich labour Line 812 And dwelled ther two yeer / the book seith thus ¶ Now wol I stynte / of this Arueragus And speke I wole / of Dorigene his wyf That loueth hir housbonde / as hir hertes lyf Line 816 ffor his absence / wepeth she and siketh As doon thise noble wyues / whan hem liketh She moorneth / waketh / waileth / fasteth / pleyneth Desir of his presence / hir so destreyneth Line 820 That al this wide world / she set at noght Hir freendes whiche þat knowe / hir heuy thoght Conforten hire / in al that 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 al hir bisynesse Al for to make hire / leue hir heuynesse Line 828 ¶ By proces / as ye knowen euerichoon Men may so longe / grauen in a stoon Til som figure / ther Inne emprinted be So longe / han they conforted hire / til she Line 832 Receyued hath / by hope and by reson The emprintyng of hir 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 hom / of his welfare And that he wole / come hastily agayn Or ellis hadde this sorwe / hir herte slayn Line 840

[6-text p 504] Line 840 [Hire [folio 155b] ] freendes sawe hir sorwe gan to slake [An]d preyde hire on knees / for goddes sake To come / and romen hire in compaignye Awey to dryue / hir derke fantasye Line 844 And finally / she graunted that requeste ffor wel she saw / þat it was for the beste ¶ Now stood hir Castel / faste by the See And often / with hir freendes walketh she Line 848 Hir to disporte / vp on the bank an heigh Wher as she / many a Shipe and Barge seigh Seillynge hir cours / wher as hem liste go But thanne was that a parcel of hir wo Line 852 ffor of 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 / there wolde she sitte and thynke And caste hir eyen / downward fro the Brynke But whan she seigh / the grisly Rokkes blake ffor verray fere / so wolde hir herte quake Line 860 That on hir feet she myghte hir noght sustene Thanne wolde she / sitte adoun vp on the grene And pitously / in to the See biholde And seyn right thus / with sorweful sikes colde Line 864 ¶ Eterne god / that thurgh thy purueiance Ledest the world / by certeyn gouernance 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 Est Ther nys yfostred / man / ne bryd / ne beest It doth 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 bodies / of mankynde Han Rokkes slayn / al be they nat in mynd Which mankynde / is so fair part of thy werk That thow it madest lyk to thyn owen merk Line 880 Thanne semed it ye hadde a greet chiertee [folio 156a] Toward mankynde / but how thanne may it be That ye swiche menes make / it to destroyen Whiche menes 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 Thogh I ne kan / the causes nat yknowe But thilke god / þat made wynd to blowe Line 888 As kepe my lord / this my conclusion To clerkes / lete I al disputison But wolde god / þat alle thise Rokkes blake Were sonken in to helle / for his sake Line 892 Thise Rokkes sleen myn herte / for the feere Thus wolde she seyn / with many a pitous teere ¶ Hir freendes sawe / that it was no disport To romen by the See / but disconfort Line 896 And shopen / for to pleyen / som wher ellys They leden hire / by Ryuers and by wellys And eek in othere places delitables They dauncen / and they pleyen at Ches & 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 / on 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 hond / 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 sight Wolde han maked / any herte lighte That euere was born / but if to greet siknesse Or to greet sorwe / helde it in destresse Line 916 So ful it was / of beautee with plesaunce At after dyner / gonne they to daunce And synge also / saue Dorigen allone Which made alwey / hir compleynt and hir mone Line 920 [ [folio 156b] ffo]r 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 / bifore Dorigen That fressher was / and Iolier of array As to my doom / than is the Monthe of May Line 928 He syngeth / daunceth / passyng 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 gret 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 yclepid 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 With outen coppe / he drank al his penance He was despeyred / no thyng dorste he seye Saue in his songes / som what wolde he wreye Line 944 His wo / as in a general compleynyng He seyde he louede / and was biloued no thyng Of which matere / made he many layes Songes / compleyntes / roundels / vyrelayes Line 948

[6-text p 507] Line 948 How þat he dorste nat his sorwe telle But langwissheth / as a fuyre 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 / hir neghebour [folio 157a] And was a man / of worshipe and honour And hadde yknowen hym / of tyme yoore They fille in speche / and forth 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 that this world made So þat I wiste / it myghte youre herte glade Line 968 I wolde that day / þat 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 / vp on my peynes smerte ffor with a word / ye may me sle or saue Here at youre feet god wolde þat I were graue Line 976 I ne haue as now / no leyser moore to seye Haue mercy swete / or ye wol do me deye ¶ She gan to looke / vp on Aurelius Is this youre wil 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 a wyf Line 984

[6-text p 508] Line 984 In word ne werk as fer as I haue wyt I wol been hys / to whom þat I am knyt Taak this for fynal / as of me But after that in pleye thus seyde she Line 988 ¶ Aurelie quod she / by heighe god aboue Yet wolde I graunte yow / to been youre loue Syn I yow se / so pitously complayne Looke what day / þat 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 that euere I kan ¶ Is ther noon oother grace / in yow quod he ¶ No by that lord quod she / that maked me Line 1000 [ffor [folio 157b] ] wel I woot that it shal neuere bityde [L]at swiche folies / out of youre herte slyde What deyntee / sholde a man han his lyf ffor to loue / another mannes wyf Line 1004 That hath hir body / whan so that 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 light This is as muche to seye / as it was nyght And hom they goon / in ioye and in solas Saue oonly / wrecched Aurelius allas Line 1020

[6-text p 509] Line 1020 He to his hous is goon / with sorweful herte He seeth / he may nat from his deeth asterte Hym semed / that he felte his herte colde Vp to the heuene / hise hondes he gan holde Line 1024 And on his knowes bare / he sette hym doun And in his rauynge / 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 Line 1032 That yeuest after thy declynacion To ech of hem / his tyme and his seson As thyn herberwe / chaungeth / lowe or heighe Lord Phebus / cast thy merciable eighe Line 1036 On wrecche Aurelie / which þat am but lorn Lo lord / my lady hath my deeth ysworn With outen gilt but thy benygnytee Vp on my dedly herte / haue som pitee Line 1040 ffor wel I woot lord Phebus / if yow lest/ [folio 158a] Ye may me helpen / saue my lady best Now voucheth sauf / þat I may yow deuyse How þat I may been holpe / and in what wyse Line 1044 ¶ Youre blisful Suster / lueyna the shene That of the See / is chief goddesse and queene Thogh Neptunus / haue deitee in the See Yet Empiresse / abouen hym is she Line 1048 Ye knowen wel lord / that right as hir desir Is / to be quyked / and lighted of youre fyr ffor which / she folweth yow / ful bisily Right so the See / desireth naturelly Line 1052 To folwen hire / as she þat is goddesse Bothe in the See / and Ryuers moore and lesse Wherfore lord Phebus / this is my requeste Do this myracle / 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 Lion As preyeth hire / so greet a flood to brynge That fyue fadme at the leeste / it ouer sprynge Line 1060 The hyeste Rok in Armoryk Britayne And lat this flood / endure yeris twayne Thanne certes / to my lady / may I seye Holdeth youre heste / the Rokkes been aweye Line 1064 ¶ Lord Phebus / dooth this myracle for me Pray hire / she go no faster cours than ye I seye this / prayeth youre Suster / þat she go No faster cours than ye / thise yeris two Line 1068 Thanne shal she been euene / at the fulle alway And spryng flood lasten / bothe nyght and day And but she vouche sauf/ in swich manere To graunte me / my souerayn lady deere Line 1072 Pray hire / to synken euery Rok/ adown 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 barfoot seke Lord Phebus / Se the teerys on my cheke And of my peyne / haue som compassioun And with that word / in swowne he fil adoun Line 1080 [And [folio 158b] ] longe tyme / he lay forth in a traunce [H]is brother / which that knew of his penaunce Vp caughte hym / and to bedde he hath hym broght Despeired / in this torment and this thoght Line 1084 Lete I / this woful creature lye Chese he for me / wher he wol lyue or dye ¶ Arueragus / with heele / and greet honour As he þat was / of Chiualrie the flour Line 1088 Is comen hom / and othere worthy men O blisful artow now / thow dorigen That hast thy lusty housbonde / in thyn 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 ymagynatyf If any wight hadde spoke / whil he was oute To hire of loue / he ne hadde of it no doute Line 1096 He noght entendeth / to no swich matere But daunceth / Iusteth / maketh hir good cheere And thus in ioye and blisse / I lete hem dwelle And of the Syke Aurelius / wol I telle Line 1100 ¶ In langour / and in torment furyus Two yeer and moore / lay wrecche Aurelius Er any foot he myghte on erthe gon Ne confort in this tyme / hadde he non 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 brist he baar it moore secree Than euere dide Panfilus / for Galathee His brist was hool / with oute for to sene But in his herte / ay was the arwe kene Line 1112 And wel ye knowe / þat 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 at the laste / hym fil in remembrance That whils he was / in Orliens in ffrance As yonge clerkes / that been lykerous To reden Artes / that been curious Line 1120 Seken / in euery halke / and euery herne [folio 159a] Particuler Sciences / for to lerne He hym remembred / þat vp on a day At Orliens in Studie / a book he say Line 1124 Of Magyk naturel / which his felawe That was that tyme / a Bachiler of lawe Al were he ther / to lerne another craft Hadde priuely / vp on his desk ylaft Line 1128

[6-text p 512] Line 1128 Which book spak muchel / of the operacions Touchynge / the .xxviij. mansions That longen to the Moone / and swich folye As in oure dayes / is nat worth a flye Line 1132 ffor holy chirches feith / in oure bileue Ne suffreth / noon illusion vs to greue And whan this book was in his remembrance Anon for ioye / his herte gan to dance Line 1136 And to hym self / he seyde pryuely My brother / shal be warisshed hastily ffor I am siker / þat ther be sciences By whiche / men make diuerse apparences Line 1140 Swiche / as thise subtile / Tregettours pleye ffor ofte at festes / haue I wel herd seye That Tregettours / with Inne an halle large Haue maad come In / a water / and a barge Line 1144 And in the halle / rowen vp and doun Som tyme hath semed / come a grym leoun And som tyme floures sprynge / as in a mede Som tyme a vyne / and grapes white and rede Line 1148 Som tyme a Castel / al of lym and Stoon And whan hem 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 old felawe yfynde That hadde / this Moones mansions in mynde Or oother Magyk naturel 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 / were yvoyded euerichon And Shippes / by the brynke / comen and gon Line 1160 [And [folio 159b] ] in swich forme / enduren a day or two Thanne were my brother / warisshed of his wo Thanne moste she nedes / holden hir biheste Or ellis / he shal shame hire / at the 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 he is 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 hir entente ¶ This Briton clerk hym asked of felawes The whiche þat he hadde knowe / in olde dawes Line 1180 And he answerde hym / þat they dede were ffor which / he weepe ful ofte many a teere ¶ Doun of his hors / Aurelius lighte anon And with this Magicien / forth he is gon Line 1184 Hom to his hous / and maden hem wel atese Hem lakked no vitaille / þat myghte hem plese So wel arrayed hous / as ther was oon Aurelius in his lyf / saw neuere noon Line 1188 ¶ He shewed hym / er he wente to soper fforestes / Parkes / ful of wilde deer Ther saw he hertes / with hir hornes hye The gretteste / þat euere were seyn with eye Line 1192 He say of hem / an hundred slayn with houndes And somme with arwes blede / of bittre woundes ¶ He saw / whan voyded were thise wilde deer Thise ffawconers / vp on a fair Ryuer Line 1196 That with hir hawkes / han the heron slayn ¶ Tho saugh he knyghtes / Iustyng in a playn And after this / he dide hym this 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 [folio 160a] And whan this maister / þat this magyk wroughte Saugh it was tyme / he clapte his handes two And farwel / al our reuel was ago Line 1204 And yet remoeued they neuere / out of the hous Whil they sawe / al this sighte merueillous But in his studie / ther as his bookes be They sitten stille / and no wight but they thre Line 1208 ¶ To hym this maister / called his Squyer And seide 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 Squyer / whan it liketh yow It is al redy / thogh ye wol right now Line 1216 Go we thanne soupe quod he / as for the beste This amorous folk som tyme mote 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 gon ¶ Aurelius / with blisful herte anon Answerde thus / fy on a thousand pound This wyde world / which þat men seye is round Line 1228 I wolde it yeue / if I were lord of it This bargayn is ful dryue / for we ben knyt Ye shal be payed trewely / by my trouthe But looketh now / for no necligence or slouthe Line 1232 Ye tarie vs heer / no lenger than tomorwe ¶ Nay quod this clerk haue heer my feith to borwe ¶ To bedde is goon Aurelius / whan hym leste And wel neigh 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 ¶ Vp on the morwe / whan þat it was day To Britayne / tooke they the righte way Line 1240 [¹Aur]elius / and this Magicien bisyde [folio 160b] 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 hote declynacion Shoon as the burned gold / with stremys 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 Destruyed 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 / al þat euere he kan Line 1256 Dooth to this maister / cheere & reuerence And preyeth hym / to doon his diligence To bryngen hym / out of his peynes smerte Or with a swerd / þat he wolde slytte his herte Line 1260 ¶ This subtil clerk swich routhe hadde of this man That nyght and day / he spedde hym that he kan To wayten a tyme / of his conclusion This is to seyn / to make illusion Line 1264 By swich an apparence / or Iogelrye I ne kan / no termes of Astrologye That she and euery wight sholde wene and seye That of Britayne / the Rokkes were aweye Line 1268 Or ellis / were sonken vnder grounde So at the laste / he hath his tyme yfounde To maken his Iapes / and his wrecchednesse Of swich / a supersticious cursednesse Line 1272

[6-text p 516] Line 1272 His tables tolletanes / forth he broght fful wel corrected / ne ther lakked noght Neither his collect ne his expans yeris Ne hise rootes / ne hise othere geris Line 1276 As been his centris / and hise argumentz And hise proporcionels 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 [folio 161a] ffro the heed / of thilke fixe Aries aboue That in the .9. speere / considered is fful subtilly/ he kalkuled al this Line 1284 ¶ Whan he hadde founde / his firste mansion He knew the remenaunt by proporcion And knew the arisyng of his Moone wel And in whos face / and terme / and euery del Line 1288 And knew ful wel / the Moones mansion Acordaunt / to his operacion And knew also / hise othere obseruaunces 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 magyk 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 / that ther was noon obstacle Line 1300 That voyded were / thise Rokkes euerichon Doun to his maistres feet he fil anon And seyde / I woful wrecche Aurelius Thonke 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 Wher as he knew / he sholde his lady se And whan he saw his tyme / anon right he Line 1308

[6-text p 517] Line 1308 With dredful herte / and with ful humble cheere Salued hath / his souerayn 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 heer/ at youre foot anon Noght wolde I telle yow / how me is wo bigon Line 1316 But certes / outher moste I dye / or pleyne Ye sleen me giltlees / for verray peyne But of my deeth / thogh þat ye haue no routhe Auyseth yow / er that ye breke your trouthe Line 1320 [ [folio 161b] Repen]teth yow / for thilke god aboue Er ye me sleen / by cause that 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 But in a gardyn yond / at swich a place Ye woot right wel / what ye bihighten me And in myn hand / your trouthe plighten ye Line 1328 To loue me best god woot ye seyden so Al be / þat I vnworthy am ther to 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 comaunded me And if ye vouche sauf / ye may go se Dooth as yow list haue youre biheste in mynde ffor quyk/ or deed / right ther ye shal me fynde Line 1336 In yow lyth al / to do me lyue or deye But wel I woot the Rokkes been aweye ¶ He taketh his leue / and she astoned stood In al hir face / nas a drope of blood Line 1340 She wende neuere haue 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 hom she gooth / a sorweful creature ffor verray feere / vnnethe may she go She wepeth / wayleth / al a day or two Line 1348 And swowneth / that it routhe was to se But why it was / to no wight tolde she 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 hir compleinte / 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 socour Saue oonly / deeth / or deshonour Oon of thise two / bihoueth me to chese But nathelees / yet haue I leuere to lese Line 1360 My lyf / than of my body to haue a shame/ [folio 162a] Or knowen my seluen fals / or lese my name And with my deeth / I may be quyt ywis Hath ther nat many a noble wyf er this Line 1364 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 atte feste They comaunded / his doghtren 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 Vp on the pauement god yeue hem meschaunce ffor which / thise woful maydens / ful of drede Rather / than they wolde lese hir maydenhede Line 1376 They pryuely / been stirt in to a welle And dreynte hem seluen / as the bokes telle ¶ They of Mecene / leete enquere and seke Of Lacedomye / fifty maydens eke Line 1380

[6-text p 519] Line 1380 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 ¶ Loo eek / the tiraunt Aristoclides That loued a mayden / highte Stymphalides Line 1388 Whan þat hir fader / slayn was on a nyght Vn to Dianes temple / gooth 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 sle 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 [folio 162b] ] whan she saw / that Romayns wan the town [S]he took hir children alle / and skipte adown 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 hir thoughte it was a shame To lyuen / whan she hadde lost hir name Line 1408 ¶ The .vij. maydens / of Milesie also Han slayn hem self/ for verray 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 touchyng this matere ¶ Whan habradace was slayn / his wyf so deere Hir seluen slow / and leet hir blood to glyde In Habradaces 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 / her of sayn Sith that so manye / han hem seluen slayn Line 1420 Wel rather / than they wolde defouled be I wol conclude / that it is bet for me To sleen my self than ben defouled thus I wol be trewe / vn to Arueragus Line 1424 Or rather sle my self in som manere As dide / democienis doghter deere By cause / þat she wolde nat defouled be ¶ O Cedasus / it is ful gret pitee Line 1428 To reden / how thy doghtren deyde allas That slowe hem self for swich maner cas ¶ As greet a pitee was it or wel moore The Theban mayden / that for Nychanore Line 1432 Hir seluen slow / right for swich manere wo ¶ Another Theban mayden / dide right so ffor oon of Macedonye / hadde hire oppressed She with hir owene deeth / hir maydenhed redressed Line 1436 ¶ What shal I seyn / of Nyceratis wyf That for swich cas / birafte hir self hir lyf ¶ How trewe eek / was to Alcebiades His loue / that rather for to dyen chees Line 1440 Than for to suffre / his body vnburyed be [folio 163a] ¶ Lo which a wyf / was Alceste quod she ¶ What Omer / of goode Penolopee Al Grece / knoweth of hir chastitee Line 1444 ¶ Pardee of Laodomya / is writen thus That whan at Troye / was slayn Protheselaus No lenger wolde she lyue / after his day ¶ The same / of noble Porcia telle I may Line 1448 With oute Brutus / koude she nat lyue To whom she hadde / al hool hir herte yeue ¶ The parfit wifhod / of Arthemesye Honoured is / thurgh al the Barbarye Line 1452

[6-text p 521] Line 1452 ¶ O Teuta queene / thy wifly chastitee To alle wyues / may a Mirour bee [. . . . . . . . . .] ¶ Thus pleyned Dorigene / a day or tweye Purposynge euere þat she wolde deye ¶ But nathelees / vp on the thridde nyght Hom cam Arueragus / this worthy knyght And asked hire / why þat she weepe so soore Line 1461 And she gan wepen / euer lenger the moore ¶ Allas quod she / þat euere was I born Thus haue I seyd quod she / thus haue I sworn Line 1464 And tolde hym al / as ye han herd bifore It nedeth nat reherce it yow namoore ¶ This housbond with glad cheere / in frendly wise Answerde and seyde / as I shal yow deuyse Line 1468 ¶ Is ther oght ellis dorigen / but this ¶ Nay nay quod she / god help 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 perauenture / 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 þat 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 of deeth That neuere whil thee lasteth / lyf ne breeth [To no [folio 163b] ] wight tel thow / 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 clepyd / a Squyer and a mayde Goth forth anon with Dorigen / he sayde Line 1488

[6-text p 522] Line 1488 And bryngeth hire / to swich a place anon They toke hir leue / and on hir wey they gon But they ne wiste / why they thider wente He nolde to no wight tellen his entente Line 1492 [. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ¶ This Squyer / which þat highte Aurelius On Dorigen / þat was so amorus Line 1500 Of auenture / happed hir to meete Amydde the town / right in the quykkest strete As she was boun / 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 meete / of auenture or grace Line 1508 And he salueth 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 housbond 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 hir lamentacion Line 1516 And of Arueragus / the worthy knyght That bad hir holden / al that 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 hym were leuere han shame / and that were routhe [folio 164a] Than ye to me / sholde breke thus your 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 euery serement and euery bond That ye han maad to me / as her biforn Sith thilke tyme / which þat ye were born Line 1536 My trouthe I plighte / I shal you neuer repreue Of no biheeste / and here 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 hir biheste On Dorigene / remembreth at the leste Thus kan a Squyer / 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 hom vn to hir housbond / is she fare And tolde hym al / as ye han herd me sayd And be ye siker / he was so wel apayd Line 1548 That it were inpossible / me to write What sholde I lenger / of this cas endite ¶ 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 thogh she were a queene And she was to hym trewe / for euere moore Of thise two folk/ ye gete of me namoore Line 1556 ¶ Aurelius / that his cost hath al forlorn Curseth the tyme / that 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 for-do Myn heritage / moot I nedes selle And been a beggere / here may I nat dwelle Line 1564 And shamen al my kynrede / in this place But I of hym / may gete bettre grace But nathelees / I wol of hym assaye At certeyn dayes / yeer by yeer to paye Line 1568 [And [folio 164b] ] thonke hym / of his grete curteisye [M]y trouthe wol I kepe / I nel 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 graunten hym dayes / of the remenant And seyde Maister / I dar wel make auant Line 1576 I fayled neuere / of my trouthe as yit ffor sikerly / my dette shal be quyt Towardes yow / how euere þat I fare To goon abegged / in my kirtel bare Line 1580 But wolde ye vouche sauf vp on seuretee Two yeer or thre / for to respiten me Thanne were I wel / for ellis 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 ¶ Yis 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 thow kan ¶ Aurelius / his tale anon bigan Line 1592 And tolde hym al / as ye han herd bifore It nedeth nat to yow reherce it moore ¶ He seyde / 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 hir was / to ben 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 hir me Line 1604 As frely sente I hire / to hym agayn This al and som / ther is namoore to sayn ¶ This Philosophre answerde / leeue brother Euerich of yow / dide gentilly til oother Line 1608 Thow art a Squyer / and he is a knyght [folio 165a] 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 relesse thee / thy thowsand pound As thow right now / were cropen out of the ground Ne neuere er now / ne haddest knowen me ffor sire / I wol nat take a peny of thee Line 1616 ffor al my craft ne noght for my trauaille Thow hast ypayed wel / for my vitaille It is ynogh / and fare wel haue good day And took his hors / and forth he goth his way Line 1620 ¶ Lordynges / this question / than wol I aske now Which was the mooste free / as thynketh yow Now telleth me / er that ye ferther wende I kan namoore / my tale is at an ende [6-text p 527] Line 1624

¶ Here endeth the ffrankeleyns tale.

Notes

• [on lf 153]
• Rats.
• [on leaf 153, bk]
• ¶ Vnde Persius ¶ Nec f[onte] caballino .. . parnaso meme.
• ¶ Narrat
• Rats.
• Rats.
• Rats.
• Rats.
• Rats.
• Rats.
• Rats.
• Rats.
• Rats.
• Rats.
• ¶ Ianus biceps.
• Rats.
• ¶ 30^a Atheniensium tiranni [cum Phidonem] necassent/ in conuiuio filia[s eius virgi]nes ad se venire iusserunt/ & s[cotorum mo]re nudari / ac super pauimentu[m patris] sanguine cruentatas inpudicis ge[stibus] ludere / que paulisper dissimulato [dolo]re / cum tumulentos conuiuas cerneren[t] quasi ad requisita nature egredientes inuicem se complexe precipi|tauerun[t] in puteum vt virginitate morte seruaren[t].
• ¶ Singulas has historias & plur[es] hanc materiam concernentes reci[tat] beatus Ieronimus contra Iouini|an[um] in primo suo libro, capitulo .39.
• Rats.
• Rats.
• [Not in Reg. 18 C ii, lf 154, bk; or Sloane 1685, lf 155, bk; or Harl. 1758, lf 135; or Harl. 7335, lf 151, bk; or Harl. 7333, lf 85 bk, col. 2; or Sloane 1686, lf 205; or Reg. 17 D xv, lf 188, bk (leaf out of Harl. 1239). Not in any Cambr. or Bodl. MS, or Christ|Church.]
• no gap in the MS.
• Rats.
• Rats.
• [Not in Reg. 18 C ii, leaf 155, or Sloane 1685, lf 156,or Harl. 7335, lf 152, or Harl. 1758, lf 135; bk; or Harl. 7333, lf 86 col. 1; or Sloane 1686, lf 205 bk; or Reg. 17 D xv, lf 189; leaf out of Harl. 1239. l. 1493-8 known only in the Ellesmere MS.]
• no gap in the MS.
• Rats.
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• [No more text on this page of the MS.]