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

[6-text p 256]

¶ Here bigynneth the Monkes tale.

I Wol biwaille / in manere of Tragedie The harm of hem / that stoode in heigh degree And fillen so / that ther nas no remedie To brynge hem / out of hire Aduersitee Line 3184 ffor certeyn / whan þat ffortune list to flee Ther may no man / the cours of hire withholde Lat no man triste / on blynd prosperitee Beth war / by thise ensamples trewe and olde Line 3188

[Lucifer.]

AT lucifer / thogh he an Aungel were [folio 89b] And nat a man / at hym I wol bigynne ffor thogh ffortune / may noon Aungel dere ffrom heigh degree / yet fil he for his synne Line 3192 Doun in to Helle / where as he yet is Inne O Lucifer / brightest of Aungels alle Now artow Sathanas / that mayst nat twynne Out of Miserie / in which þat thou art falle Line 3196

[Adam.]

Lo Adam in the feld of Damyssene [[this stanza is in the margin in a later 15th-century hand]] With godes owne fynger wrowt was he .. And nat bygeten of mannes sperme vnclene .. And welte al paradiis sauyng o tree .. Line 3200 Had neuer wordly man so hey degre .. As Adam til he for mysgouernance .. Was dryue owt of his hey prosperitee .. To labour and to helle and to meschance Line 3204

[6-text p 257]

[Sampson.]

LO Sampson / which that was anunciat [Sampson.] By the Aungel / longe er his natiuitee And was / to god almyghty consecrat And stood in noblesse / whil that he myghte see Line 3208 Was neuere swich another / as was he To speke of strengthe / and ther-with hardynesse But to hise wyues / tolde he his secree Thurgh which / he slow hym self for wrecchednesse Line 3212

¶ Sampson / this noble almyghty champion With-outen wepne / saue hise hondes tweye He slow / and al to-rente the leon Toward his weddyng walkynge by the weye Line 3216 His false wyf / koude hym so plese and preye Til she his conseil knew / and she vntrewe Vn-to his foos / his conseil gan biwreye And hym forsook/ and took another newe Line 3220

¶ Thre hundred foxes / took Sampson for Ire And alle hir tayles / he togydre bond And sette the foxes tayles / alle on fire ffor he on euery tayl / hadde knyt a brond Line 3224 And they brende / alle the cornes in that Lond And alle hire Olyueris / and Vynes eke A thousand men / he slow with his hond And hadde no wepne / but an Asses cheke Line 3228

¶ Whan they were slayn / so thursted hym / þat he Was wel ny lorn / for which he gan to preye That god / wolde on his peyne / haue som pitee And sende hym drynke / or ellis moste he deye Line 3232 And of this Asses cheke / that was dreye Out of a wang tooth / sprang anon a welle Of which he drank ynogh / shortly to seye Thus heelp hym god / as Iudicum kan telle Line 3236

[6-text p 258] Line 3236

¶ By verray force / at Gazan / on a nyght [folio 90a] Maugree Philistiens / of that Citee The gates of the toun / he hath vp plight And on his bak ycaried hem hath he Line 3240 Hye on an hill / where as men myght hem se O noble almyghty Sampson / leef and deere Had thow nat toold / to wommen thy secree In al this world / ne hadde been thy peere Line 3244

¶ This Sampson / neuere Ciser drank ne wyn Ne on his heed / cam Rasour noon ne shere By precept of the Messager deuyn ffor alle his strengthes / in his herys were Line 3248 And fully .xx. wynter / yeer by yere He hadde of Israel / the gouernance But soone / shal he wepe many a teere ffor wommen / shul hym bryngen to meschaunce Line 3252

¶ Vn-to his lemman Dalida / he tolde That in his herys / al his strengthe lay And falsly / to his fomen she hym solde And slepynge in hir barm / vp on a day Line 3256 She made to clippe / or shere his heer away And made his fomen / al this craft espien And whan þat they / hym fond in this array They bounde hym faste / and putten out his eyen Line 3260

¶ But/ er his heer / was clipped or yshaue Ther was no bond / with which / men myghte hym bynde But now is he / in prisone in a Caue Where as they made hym / at the querne grynde Line 3264 O noble Sampson / strengest of mankynde O whilom / Iuge in glorie / and in richesse Now / maystow wepen / with thyne eyen blynde Sith thow fro wele / art falle in wrecchednesse Line 3268

[6-text p 259] Line 3268

¶ The ende of this caytif was as I shal seye His fomen / made a feste vp-on a day And made hym as hire fool / bifore hem pleye And this was / in a temple of greet array Line 3272 But atte laste / he made a foul affray ffor he two pilers shook / and made hem falle And doun fil temple and al / and there it lay And slow hym self / and eek his fomen alle Line 3276

¶ This is to seyn / the Prynces euerychon [folio 90b] And eek thre thousand bodies / were ther slayn With fallyng of the grete temple of stoon Of Sampson / now wol I namoore sayn Line 3280 Beth war by this ensample / old and playn That no men / telle hir conseil / til hir wyues Of swich thyng as they wolde han secree fayn If þat it touche / hir lymes / or hir lyues Line 3284

[Hercules.]

Of hercules / the souereyn conquerour [¶ Hercules.] Syngen hise werkes / laude and heigh renoun ffor in his tyme / of strengthe he was the flour He slow / and rafte the skyn fro the leoun Line 3288 He of Centauros / leyde the boost adown He Arpies slow / the cruel briddes felle The golden Apples / rafte of the dragoun He drow out Cerberus / the hound of helle Line 3292

¶ He slow the cruel tyrant Busirus And made his hors / to frete hym flessh and bon He slow the firy serpent venymus Of Achilois two hornes / he brak oon Line 3296 And he slow Cakus / in a Caue of stoon He slow the geant. Antheus the stronge He slow the grisly boor / and that anon And bar the heuene / on his nekke longe Line 3300

[6-text p 260] Line 3300

¶ Was neuere wight sith þat this world bigan That slew so manye monstres / as dide he Thurgh-out this wide world / his name ran What for his strengthe / and for his heigh bountee Line 3304 And euery Reawme / wente he for to se He was so strong þat no man myghte hym lette At bothe the worldes endes / seith Trophee / [¶ Ille vates Calde|orum Tropheus.] In stede of boundes / he a piler sette Line 3308

¶ A lemman / hadde this noble champion That highte Dian[i]ra / fressh as May And as thise clerkes / maken mencion She hath hym sent a sherte / fressh and gay Line 3312 Allas this sherte / allas and weylaway Enuenymed was / so subtilly with alle That er þat he / hadde wered it half a day It made his flessh / al from hise bones falle Line 3316

¶ But natheles / somme clerkes hire excusen [folio 91a] By oon þat highte Nessus / þat it maked Be as be may / I wol hire noght accusen But on his bak the sherte he wered al naked Line 3320 Til þat his flessh / was for the venym blaked And whan he say / noon oother remedie In hote coles / he hath hym seluen raked ffor with no venym / deigned hym to dye Line 3324

¶ Thus starf / this worthy myghty Hercules Lo who may truste on ffortune / any throwe ffor hym þat folweth / al this world of prees Er he be war / is ofte yleyd ful lowe Line 3328 fful wys is he / þat kan hym seluen knowe Beth war / for whan þat ffortune list to glose Thanne waiteth she / hir man to ouerthrowe By swich a wey / as he wolde leest suppose Line 3332

[6-text p 261]

[Nebuchadnezzar.]

The myghty trone / the precious tresor / [Nabugodonosor] The glorious ceptre / and roial maiestee That hadde / the kyng Nabugodonosor With tonge / vnnethe / may discryued be Line 3336 He twies / wan Ierusalem the Citee The vessel of the temple / he with hym ladde At Babiloigne / was his souereyn see In which / his glorie / and his delit he hadde Line 3340

¶ The faireste children / of the blood roial Of Israel / he leet do gelde anon And maked ech of hem / to been his thral Amonges othere / Danyel was oon Line 3344 That was / the wiseste child of euerychoon ffor he the dremes / of the kyng expowned Ther as in Chaldeye / clerk/ ne was ther noon That wiste / to what fyn his dremes sowned Line 3348

¶ This proude kyng leet make a Statue of gold Sixty cubites long and Seuene in brede To which ymage / he bothe yong and old Comanded to loute / and haue in drede Line 3352 Or in a fourneys / ful of flambes rede He shal be brend / that wolde noght obeye But neuere / wolde assente to that dede Danyel / ne hise yonge felawes tweye Line 3356

¶ This kyng of kynges / proud was and elat [folio 91b] He wende / that god / þat sit in magestee Ne myghte hym nat bireue / of his estat But sodeynly / he loste his dignytee Line 3360 And lyk a beest hym semed for to be And eet hey as an Oxe / and lay ther oute In reyn / with wilde beestes walked he Til certeyn tyme / was ycome aboute Line 3364

[6-text p 262] Line 3364 ¶ And lyk an Egles fetheres / wax hise herys Hise nayles / lyk a briddes clawes weere Til god relessed hym / a certeyn yerys And yaf hym wit and thanne with many a teere Line 3368 He thanked god / and euere his lyf in feere Was he to doon amys / or moore trespace And til that tyme / he leyd was on his beere He knew / that god / was ful of myght & grace Line 3372

[Belshazzar.]

¶ His sone / which that highte Balthasar [/ Balthasar /] That heeld the regne / after his fader day He by his fader / koude noght be war ffor proud he was / of herte and of array Line 3376 And eek an ydolastre / was he ay His hye estat / assured hym in pryde But ffortune caste hym down / and ther he lay And sodeynly / his regne gan dyuyde Line 3380

¶ A feste he made / vn-to hise lordes alle Vp-on a tyme / and made hem blithe be And thanne hise Officers / gan he calle Gooth bryngeth forth / the vessels quod he Line 3384 Whiche that my fader / in his prosperitee Out of the temple of Ierusalem / birafte And to oure hye goddes / thanke we Of honour / that oure eldres / with vs lafte Line 3388

¶ His wyf / hise lordes / and hise concubynes Ay dronken / whil hire appetites laste Out of thise noble vessels / sondry wynes And on a wal / this kyng hise eyen caste Line 3392 And say an hand armlees / that wroot ful faste ffor feere of which / he quook / and siked soore This hand / þat Balthasar so soore agaste Wroot Mane techel phares / and namoore Line 3396

[6-text p 263] Line 3396

¶ In al that land / Magicien was noon [folio 92a] That koude expounde / what that lettre mente But Danyel / expowned it anoon And seyde / Kyng god to thy fader lente Line 3400 Glorie / and honour / regne / tresor / rente And he was proud / and no thyng god ne dradde And ther-fore / god greet wreche vp-on hym sente And hym birefte / the regne þat he hadde Line 3404

¶ He was out cast of mannes compaignye With Asses / was his habitacion And eet hey as a beest in weet and drye Til þat he knew / by grace / and by reson Line 3408 That god of heuene / han domynacion Ouer euery regne / and euery creature And thanne / hadde god of hym compassion And hym restored / his regne and his figure Line 3412

¶ Eke / thow that art his sone / art proud also And knowest Alle thise thynges verraily And art rebel to god / and art his fo Thow drank eek / of his vessel boldely Line 3416 Thy wyf eke / and thy wenches synfully Dronke of the same vessels / sondry wynys And heriest false goddes cursedly Therfore to thee / yshapen ful greet pyne is Line 3420

¶ This hand was sent fro god / that on the wal Wroot Mane techel phares / truste me Thy regne is doon / thow weyest noght at al Dyuyded is thy regne / and it shal be Line 3424 To Medes and to Perses / yeuen quod he And thilke same nyght this kyng was slawe And Darius / occupieth his degree Though he ther to / hadde neither right ne lawe Line 3428

[6-text p 264] Line 3428

¶ Lordynges / ensample heer-by may ye take How that in lordshipe / is no sikernesse ffor whan ffortune / wol a man forsake She bereth awey / his regne and his richesse Line 3432 And eke hise freendes / bothe moore and lesse ffor what man / þat hath freendes thurgh ffortune Mishape / wol make hem enemys I gesse This prouerbe / is ful sooth / and ful commune Line 3436

[Zenobia.]

CEnobia / of Palymerie queene [folio 92b] As writen Perciens / of hir noblesse So worthy was in Armes / and so keene That no wight passed hire in hardynesse Line 3440 Ne in lynage / ne oother gentilesse Of kynges blood of Perce / is she descended I sey nat þat she hadde moost fairnesse But of hir shape / she myghte nat been amended Line 3444

¶ ffrom hire childhede / I fynde þat she fledde Office of wommen / and to wode she wente And many / a wilde hertes blood she shedde With Arwes brode / that she to hem sente Line 3448 She was so swift þat she anoon hem hente And whan þat she was elder / she wolde kille Leons / Leopardes / and Beres al torente And in hir Armes / welde hem at hir wille Line 3452

¶ Sche dorste / wilde beestes dennes seke And rennen in the montaynes / al the nyght And slepen vnder the bussh / and she koude eke Wrastlen / by verray force / and verray myght Line 3456 With any yong man / were he neuer so wight Ther myghte no thyng in hir armes stonde She kepte hir maydenhede / from euery wight. To no man / deigned hire to be bonde Line 3460

[6-text p 265] Line 3460

¶ But atte laste / hir freendes han hire maryed To Onedake / a prynce of that contree Al were it so / that she hem longe taryed And ye shal vnderstande / how þat he Line 3464 Hadde swiche fantasies / as hadde she But nathelees / whan they weere knyt in feere [simul] They lyued / in ioye / and in felicitee ffor ech of hem / hadde oother lief and deere Line 3468

¶ Saue o thyng that she wolde neuere assente By no wey / that he sholde by hire lye But ones / for it was hir pleyn entente To haue a child / the world to multiplye Line 3472 And also soone / as that she myghte espye That she was nat with childe / with that dede Thanne wolde she suffren hym doon his fantasye Eft soone / and noght but ones / out of drede Line 3476

¶ And if she were with childe / at thilke cast [folio 93a] Namoore / sholde he pleyen thilke game Til fully / .xl. dayes weren past Thanne wolde she ones / suffre hym do the same Line 3480 Al were this Onedake / wilde / or tame He gat namoore of hire / for thus she seyde It was to wyues / lecherie and shame In oother cas / if þat men with hem pleyde Line 3484

¶ Two sones / by this Onedake hadde she The whiche she kepte / in vertu and lettrure But now / vn-to oure tale turne we I seye / so worshipful a creature Line 3488 And wys ther-with / and large with mesure So penyble in the werre / and curteis eke Ne moore labour / myghte in werre endure Was noon / thogh al this world men sholde seke Line 3492

[6-text p 266] Line 3492

¶ Hir riche array / ne myghte nat be toold As wel in vessel / as in hire clothyng She was al clad / in perree and in gold And eek she lafte noght for noon huntyng Line 3496 To haue / of sondry tonges ful knowyng Whan þat she leyser hadde / and for to entende To lerne bookes / was al hir likyng How she in vertu / myghte hir lyf despende Line 3500

¶ And shortly / of this storie for to trete So doughty was hire housbonde / and eek she That they conquered / manye regnes grete In thorient with many a fair Citee Line 3504 Appertenant vn-to the magestee Of Rome / and with strong hond / heeld hem ful faste Ne neuere myghte / hir fomen / doon hem flee Ay / whil that Onedakes dayes laste Line 3508

¶ Hir batailles / who so list hem for to rede Agayn Sapor the kyng/ and othere mo And how / þat al this proces / fil in dede Why she conquered / and what title ther to Line 3512 And after / of hire meschief and hire wo How that she was / biseged and ytake Lat hym / vn-to my maister Petrak go That writ ynow of this / I vndertake Line 3516

¶ Whan Onedake was deed / she myghtily [folio 93b] The regnes heeld / and with hire propre hond Agayns hir foos / she faught so cruelly That ther nas kyng ne Prince in al that lond Line 3520 That he nas glad / if he þat grace fond That she ne wolde / vp-on his land werreye With hire / they made alliance by bond To been in pees / and lete hire ryde and pleye Line 3524

[6-text p 267] Line 3524

¶ The Emperour of Rome / Claudius Ne hym biforn / the Romayn Galien Ne dorsten neuere / been so corageus Ne noon Ermyn / ne noon Egipcien Line 3528 No Surryen / ne noon Arabien With-Inne the feeldes / þat dorste with hire fighte Lest þat she wolde / hem with hir handes slen Or with hire meynee / putten hem to flighte Line 3532

¶ In kynges habit wenten hire sones two As heires / of hir fadres regnes alle And Hermanno / and Thymalao Hir names weere / as Persiens hem calle Line 3536 But ay ffortune / hath in hire hony galle This myghty queene / may no while endure ffortune / out of hir regne made hire falle To wrecchednesse / and to mysauenture Line 3540

¶ Aurelian / whan þat the gouernance Of Rome / cam in-to hise handes tweye He shoope / vp-on this queene / to doon vengeance And with his legions / he took his weye Line 3544 Toward Cenobie / and shortly for to seye He made hire flee / and atte laste hire hente And fettred hire / and eek hire children tweye And wan the land / and hoom to Rome he wente Line 3548

¶ Amonges othere thynges / that he wan His Chaar / þat was with gold wroght & perree This grete Romayn / this Aurelian Hath with hym lad / for þat men sholde it see Line 3552 Biforn his triumphe / walketh she With gilte cheynes / on hire nekke hangynge Corowned was she / as after hire degree And ful of perree / charged hir clothynge Line 3556

[6-text p 268] [6-text p 271] Line 3556

¶ Allas ffortune / she that whilom was [folio 94a] Dredeful / to kynges / and to Emperoures Now gawreth al the peple / on hire allas And she that helmed was / in starke stoures Line 3560 And wan by force / townes stronge and toures Shal on hire heed / now were a vitremyte And she þat bar / the Ceptre ful of floures Shal bere a distaf hire cost for to quyte [[The modern instances which should come here, are at the end of the Tale in this MS.]] Line 3564

[Nero.]

Al though / that Nero were vicius [/ De Nerone] As any feend / that lyth ful lowe adown Line 3654 Yet he / as telleth vs Swetonius This wide world / hadde in subieccioun Line 3656 Bothe Est and West North / and Septemtrioun Of Rubies / Saphires / and of perles white Were alle hise clothes / browded vp and doun ffor he in gemmes / greetly gan delite Line 3660

¶ Moore delicat moore pompous of array Moore proud / was neuere Emperour than he That ilke clooth / that he hadde weryd o day After that tyme / he nolde it neuere see Line 3664 Nettes of gold threed / hadde he greet plentee To fisshen in Tybre / whan hym liste pleye Hise lustes were al lawe / in his decree ffor ffortune / as his freend / hym wolde obeye Line 3668

¶ He Rome brende / for his delicacie The Senatours / he slow vp-on a day To heere / how þat men wolde wepe & crye And slow his brother / and by his suster lay Line 3672 His moder he made / in pitous array ffor he hire wombe slytte / to biholde Where he conceyued was / so weilaway That he so litel / of his moder tolde Line 3676

[6-text p 271] [6-text p 272] Line 3676

¶ No teere out of hise eyen / for that sighte Ne cam / but seyde / a fair womman was she Greet wonder is / how þat he koude / or myghte Be domesman / of hire dede beautee Line 3680 The wyn to bryngen hym / comanded he And drank anoon / noon oother wo he made Whan myght is ioyned / vn-to crueltee Allas to depe / wol the venym wade Line 3684

[¶] In youthe / a maister hadde this Emperour [folio 94b] To teche hym lettrure / and curteisye ffor of moralitee / he was the flour As in his tyme / but if bookes lye Line 3688 And whil this maister / hadde of hym maistrye He maked hym / so louyng and so souple That longe tyme it was / er tirannye Or any vice / dorste in hym vncouple Line 3692

¶ This Seneca / of which þat I deuyse By cause Nero / hadde of hym swich drede ffor he fro vices / wolde hym ay chastise Discretly / as by word / and nat by dede Line 3696 Sire wolde he seyn / an Emperour moot nede Be vertuous / and hate tirannye ffor which he in a bath / made hym to blede On bothe hise armes / til he moste dye Line 3700

¶ This Nero / hadde eek / of acustumance In youthe / agayns his maister for to rise Which afterward / hym thoughte a greet greuance Ther-fore / he made hym dyen in this wise Line 3704 But nathelees / this Seneca the wise Chees / in a bath / to dye in this manere Rather than han / another tormentrise And thus hath Nero / slayn his maister deere Line 3708

[6-text p 272] [6-text p 273] Line 3708

¶ Now fil it so / that ffortune liste no lenger The hye pride of Nero / to cherice ffor thogh þat he was strong/ yet was she strenger She thoghte thus / by god I am to nyce Line 3712 To sette a man / that is fulfild of vice In heigh degree / and Emperour hym calle By god / out of his sete I wol hym trice Whan he leest weneth / sonnest shal he falle Line 3716

¶ The peple roos / vp on hym / on a nyght ffor his defaute / and whan he it espied Out of his dores / anon he hath hym dight Allone / and there he wende han been allyed Line 3720 He knokked faste / and ay the moore he cryed The faster shette they / the dores alle ffor drede of this / hym thoughte þat he dyed And wente his wey / no lenger dorste he calle Line 3724

¶ The peple cryde / and rombled vp and doun [folio 95a] That with hise erys / herde he / how they seyde Where is this false tirant this Neroun ffor fere almoost out of his wit he breyde Line 3728 And to hise goddes / pitously he preyde ffor socour / but it myghte noght bityde ffor drede of this / hym thoughte þat he deyde And ran in to a gardyn / hym to hyde Line 3732

¶ And in this gardyn / foond he cherles tweye That seten by a fyr / greet and reed And to thise cherlis two / he gan to preye To sleen hym / and to girden of his heed Line 3736 That to his body / whan þat he were deed Were no despit ydoon / for his defame Hym self he slow / he koude no bettre reed Of which / ffortune / lough and hadde a game Line 3740

[6-text p 273] [6-text p 274]

[Holofernes.]

¶ Was neuere Capitayn / vnder a kyng [/ De Oloferno] That regnes mo / putte in subieccioun Ne strenger was in feeld / of alle thyng As in his tyme / ne gretter of renoun Line 3744 Ne moore pompous / in heigh presumpcioun Than Oloferne / which ffortune ay kiste So likerously / and ladde hym vp and doun Til þat his heed was of / er that he wiste Line 3748

¶ Nat oonly / that this world hadde hym in awe ffor lesynge / of richesse / or libertee But made euery man / reneyen his lawe Nabugodonosor / was god seyde he Line 3752 Noon oother god / sholde adoured be Agayns this heste / no wight dorste trespace Saue in Bethulia / a strong Citee [// Et fecerunt filij Israel / secundum quod constituerat eis sacerdos dom|ini Eliachym] Where Eliachym / a preest was of that place

¶ But tak kepe / of the deeth of Oloferne Amydde his oost he dronke lay a nyght With-Inne his tente / large as is a berne And yet for al his pompe / and al his myght Line 3760 Iudith a womman / as he lay vpright Slepynge / his heed of smoot and from his tente fful pryuely she stal / from euery wight And with his heed / vn-to hir toun she wente Line 3764

[Antiochus.]

What nedeth it of kyng Anthiochus [folio 95b] To telle / his hye Roial magestee His hye pryde / hise werkes venymus ffor swich another / was ther noon as he Line 3768 Reed which that he was / in Machabee And reed / the proude wordes / þat he seyde And why he fil / fro heigh prosperitee And in an Hille / how wrecchedly he deyde Line 3772

[6-text p 274] [6-text p 275] Line 3772

¶ ffortune / hym hadde enchaunted so in pride That verraily / he wende he myghte attayne Vn-to the sterres / vp on euery syde And in balance / weyen ech montayne Line 3776 And alle the floodes / of the see restrayne And goddes peple / hadde he moost in hate Hem wolde he sleen / in torment and in payne Wenynge / that god ne myghte / his pryde abate Line 3780

¶ And for that Nichanore / and Thymothe Of Iewes / weren venquysshed myghtily Vn-to the Iewes / swich an hate hadde he That he bad greithe his Chaar ful hastily Line 3784 And swoor / and seyde ful despitously Vn-to Ierusalem / he wolde eft soone To wreken his Ire / on it ful cruelly But of his purpos / he was let ful soone Line 3788

¶ God for his manace / hym so soore smoot With invisible wounde / ay incurable That in hise guttes / carf it so and boot That hise peynes / weren inportable Line 3792 And certeinly / the wreche was resonable ffor many a mannes guttes / dide he peyne But from his purpos / cursed and dampnable ffor al his smert he wolde hym nat restreyne Line 3796

¶ But bad anon / apparaillen his hoost And sodeynly / er he was of it war God daunted / al his pride / and al his boost ffor he / so soore fil / out of his char Line 3800 That it hise lymes / and his skyn totar [lacerauit] So þat / he neither myghte go ne ryde But in a chayer / men aboute hym bar Al forbrused / bothe bak and syde Line 3804

[6-text p 275] [6-text p 276] Line 3804

¶ The wreche of god / hym smoot so cruelly [folio 96a] That thurgh his body / wikked wormes crepte And ther with al / he stank so horribly That noon / of al his meynee þat hym kepte Line 3808 Wheither so he wook/ or ellis slepte Ne myghte noght for stynk of hym endure Is this meschief / he wayled and eek wepte And knew god / lord of euery creature Line 3812

¶ To al his hoost and to hym self also fful wlatsom / was the stynk of his careyne No man / ne myght hym bere to ne fro And in this stynk and this horrible peyne Line 3816 He starf ful wrecchedly / in a monteyne Thus hath this Robbour / and this homycide That many a man / made to wepe and pleyne Swich gerdon / as bilongeth vn-to pryde Line 3820

[Alexander the Great.]

The Storie of Alisandre / is so commune [/ De Alexandro] That euery wight þat hath discrecion Hath herd som-what or al / of his fortune This wide world / as in conclusion Line 3824 He wan by strengthe / or for hys hye renon They were glad / for pees vn-to hym sende The pryde / of man and beest / he leyde adoun Where so he cam / vn-to the worldes ende Line 3828

¶ Comparison / myghte neuere yet ben maked Bitwixe hym / and another Conquerour ffor al this world / for drede of hym hath quaked He of knyghthod / and of fredom flour Line 3832 ffortune hym made / the heir of hire honour Saue wyn and wommen / no thyng myghte aswage His hye entente / in armes and labour So was he ful / of leonyn corage Line 3836

[6-text p 276] [6-text p 277] Line 3836

¶ What prys were it to hym / thogh I yow tolde Of Darius / and an hundred thousand mo Of kynges / Prynces / Dukes / Erles bolde Whiche he conquered / and broghte hem in-to wo Line 3840 I seye / as fer / as man may ride or go The world was his / what sholde I moore deuyse ffor thogh I write / or tolde yow euere mo Of his knyghthode / it myghte nat suffise Line 3844

[T]welf yeer he regned / as seith Machabee [folio 96b] Philippes sone of Macidoyne / he was That first was kyng in Grece the contree O worthy / gentil Alisandre allas Line 3848 That euere / sholde fallen swich a cas Empoysoned / of thyn owene folk thow weere Thyn sys / ffortune hath turned in-to Aas And for thee / ne weep she neuer a teere Line 3852

¶ Who shal me yeue teeris / to compleyne The deeth / of gentilesse / and of franchise That al this world / weldid in his demeyne And yet hym thoughte / it myghte nat suffise Line 3856 So ful was his corage / of heigh emprise Allas / who shal me helpe to endite ffalse ffortune / and poyson to despise The whiche two / of al this wo I wyte Line 3860

[Julius Cœsar.]

By wisdom / manhede / and by greet labour [/ De Iulio Cesare] ffrom humble bed / to Roial magestee Vp roos / he Iulius the Conquerour That wan al the Occident by land and see Line 3864 By strengthe of hond / or ellis by tretee And vn-to Rome / made hem tributarie And sith of Rome / the Emperour was he Til that ffortune / weex his Aduersarie Line 3868

[6-text p 277] [6-text p 278] Line 3868

¶ O myghty Cesar / that in Thessalie Agayn Pompeus / fader thyn in lawe That of thorient hadde al the chiualrie As fer / as þat the day bigynneth dawe Line 3872 Thow / thurgh thy knyghthod / hast hem take & slawe Saue fewe folk þat with Pompeus fledde Thurgh which / thow puttest al Thorient in Awe Thanke ffortune / that so wel thee spedde Line 3876

¶ But now a litel while / I wol biwaille This Pompeus / this noble gouernour Of Rome / which þat fleigh at this bataille I seye / oon of hise men / a fals traitour Line 3880 His heed of smoot/ to wynnen hym fauour Of Iulius / and hym the heed he broghte Allas Pompeie / of Thorient conquerour That ffortune / vn-to swich a fyn thee broghte Line 3884

¶ To Rome agayn / repaireth Iulius [folio 97a] With his triumphe / lauriat ful hye But on a tyme / Brutus Cassius That euere hadde / of his heighe estat enuye Line 3888 fful pryuely / hath maad conspiracie Agayns this Iulius / in subtil wise And caste the place / in which he sholde dye With Boydekyns / as I shal yow deuyse Line 3892

¶ This Iulius / to the Capitolie wente Vp-on a day / as he was wont to goon And in the Capitolie / anon hym hente This false Brutus / and hise othere foon Line 3896 And stiked hym / with Boydekyns anon With many a wounde / and thus they lete hym lye But neuere gronte he / at no strook but oon Or ellis at two / but if his storie lye Line 3900

[6-text p 278] [6-text p 279] Line 3900

¶ So manly / was this Iulius of herte And so wel / louede estatly honestee And thogh hise deedly woundes / so sore smerte His mantel ouer his hipes / caste he Line 3904 ffor no man / sholde seen his pryuetee And as he lay / of dyyng in a traunce And wiste verraily that deed was he Of honestee / yet hadde he remembraunce Line 3908

¶ Lucan. / to thee this storie I recomende And to Sweton / and to Valerius also That of this storie / writen word & ende How that to thise grete Conquerours two Line 3912 ffortune / was first freend / and siththe a foo No man ne triste / vp-on hire fauour longe But haue hire / in awayt for euere mo Witnesse / on alle thise Conquerours stronge Line 3916

[Cresus.]

This riche Cresus / whilom kyng of Lyde [[Cresus]] Of which Cresus / Cirus soore hym dradde Yet was he caught amyddes al his pryde And to be brent/ men to the fyr hym ladde Line 3920 But swich a reyn / doun fro the welkne shadde That slow the fyr / and made hym to escape But to be war / no grace yet he hadde Til ffortune / on the galwes made hym gape Line 3924

[ [Rats.] Wh]anne he escaped was / he kan nat stente [folio 97b] ffor to bigynne / a newe werre agayn He wende wel / for þat ffortune hym sente Swich hape / that he escaped thurgh the rayn Line 3928 That of his foos / he myghte nat be slayn And eek a sweuene / vp-on a nyght he mette Of which / he was so proud / and eek so fayn That in vengeance / he al his herte sette Line 3932

[6-text p 279] [6-text p 280] [6-text p 268] Line 3932

¶ Vp on a tree he was / as þat hym thoughte Ther Iuppiter hym wessh / bothe bak and syde And Phebus eek / a fair towaille hym broughte To drye hym with / and ther-fore wax his pryde Line 3936 And to his doghter / that stood hym bisyde Which that he knew / in heigh sentence habounde And bad hire telle hym / what it signyfide And she his dreem / bigan right thus expounde Line 3940

¶ The tree quod she / the galwes is to mene And Iuppiter / bitokneth snow and reyn And Phebus / with his towaille so clene Tho been / the sonnes stremes for to seyn Line 3944 Thow shalt an hanged be / fader certeyn Reyn shal thee wasshe / and sonne shal thee drye Thus warned hym / ful plat and ful pleyn His doghter / which þat called was Phanye Line 3948

¶ An hanged was Cresus / the proude kyng His Roial trone / myghte hym nat auaille Tragedies noon oother manere thyng Ne kan in syngyng/ crye ne biwaille Line 3952 But þat ffortune / alwey wole assaille With vnwar strook/ the regnes þat been proude ffor whan men trusteth hire / thanne wol she faille And couere hire brighte face / with a clowde [[These 4 modern instances ought to follow 'Zenobia,' p. 268.]] Line 3956

[Peter the Cruel, of Spain.]

O noble / o worthy Petro / glorie of Spayne [De Petro Ispannie] Whom ffortune heeld / so heighe in magestee Wel oghten men / thy pitous deeth complayne Out of thy land / thy brother made thee flee Line 3568 And after at a sege / by subtiltee Thow were bitraysed / and lad vn-to his tente Where as he / with his owene hand slow thee Succedynge / in thy regne and in thy rente Line 3572

[6-text p 268] [6-text p 269] Line 3572

¶ The feeld of snow / with thegle of blak ther-Inne [folio 98a] Caught with the lymrod / coloured as the glede [[Bertrand du Guesclin.]] He brew this cursednesse / and al this synne The wikked nest was werkere of this nede Line 3576 Noght Charles Olyuer / þat took ay hede of trouthe and honour / but of Armorike [[Oliver de Mauny of Britanny.]] Genylon Olyuer / corrupt for mede Broghte this worthy kyng in swich a brike Line 3580

[Peter of Cyprus.]

O worthy Petro / kyng of Cipre also [De Petro de Cipro] That Alisaundre wan / by heigh maistrie fful many an hethen / wroghtestow ful wo Of which / thyne owene liges hadde envie Line 3584 And for no thyng but for thy chiualrie They in thy bed / han slayn thee by the morwe Thus kan ffortune / hire wheel gouerne and gye And out of ioye / brynge men to sorwe Line 3588

[Bernabo Visconti, of Milan.]

Of Melan / grete Barnabo Viscounte [/ De Barnabo /] God of delit and scourge of Lumbardye Why sholde I noght thyn Infortune acounte Sith in estat/ thow clombe were so hye Line 3592 Thy brother sone / that was thy double allye ffor he thy Nevew was / and sone in lawe With-Inne his prison / made thee to dye But why ne how / noot .I. that thow were slawe Line 3596

[Ugolino, Count of Pisa.]

Of the Erl Hugelyn of Pize / the langour [/ De hugelyn Comite de Pize] Ther may no tonge / tellen for pitee But litel out of Pize / stant a tour In which[e] tour / in prison put was he Line 3600 And with hym been / hise litel children thre The eldeste scarsly / fyue yeer was of age Allas ffortune / it was greet crueltee Swiche briddes / for to putte in swich a cage Line 3604

[6-text p 269] [6-text p 270] Line 3604

¶ Dampned was he / to dyen in that prison ffor Roger / which þat bisshope was of Pize Hadde on hym maad / a fals suggestion Thurgh which the peple / gan vp on hym rise Line 3608 And putten hym to prison / in swich wise As ye han herd / and mete and drynke he hadde So smal / that wel vnnethe it may suffise And ther with al / it was ful poure and badde Line 3612

[ [Rats.] [folio 98b] A]nd on a day bifel / þat in that hour Whan þat his mete / wont was to be broght The Gayler / shette the dores of the tour He herde it wel / but he spak / right noght Line 3616 And in his herte / anon ther fil a thoght That they for hunger / wolde doon hym dyen Allas quod he / allas þat I was wroght Ther with / the teeris fillen from hise eyen Line 3620

¶ His yonge sone / þat thre yeer was of age Vn-to hym seyde / fader / fader / why do ye wepe Whanne wol the Gayler / bryngen oure potage Is ther no morsel breed / þat ye do kepe Line 3624 I am so hungry / that I may nat slepe Now wolde god / þat I myghte slepen euere Thanne sholde noght hunger / in my wombe crepe Ther is no thyng but breed / þat me were leuere Line 3628

¶ Thus day by day / this child bigan to crye Til in his fadres barm / adoun it lay And seyde / farewel fader / I moot dye And kiste his fader / and deyde the same day Line 3632 And whan the woful fader / deed it say ffor wo / hise armes two / he gan to byte And seyde / allas ffortune and weylaway Thy false wheele / my wo al may I wyte Line 3636

[6-text p 270] Line 3636

¶ Hise children wende / that it for hunger was That he hise armes gnow / and nat for wo And seyden fader / do nat so allas But rather / ete the flessh vp-on vs two Line 3640 Oure flessh thow yaf taak oure flessh vs fro And ete ynow / right thus they to hym seyde And after that with-Inne a day / or two They leyde hem / in his lappe adoun / and deyde Line 3644

¶ Hym self despeired / eek / for hunger starf Thus ended is / this myghty Erl of Pize ffrom heigh estat. ffortune awey hym carf Of this tragedie / it oghte ynogh suffise Line 3648 Who so wole it heere it in a lenger wise Redeth / the grete Poete of Ytaille That highte Dant. for he kan al deuyse ffro point to point nat o word wol he faille [6-text p 281] Line 3652

Here is ended the Monkes tale