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

[PART VI.]

¶ ffro Boloigne / is this Erl of Pavyk come Line 939 Of which the fame vp sprong to moore & lesse And to the peples erys / alle and some Was kouth eek/ þat a newe Markisesse Line 942 He with hym broghte / in swich pompe & richesse That neuere was ther seyn / with mannes eye So noble array / in al westlumbardye Line 945

¶ The Markys / which þat shoope / and knew al this Line 946 Er that this Erl was come / sente his message ffor thilke / sely / poure Grisildis And she with humble herte / and glad visage Line 949 Nat with no swollen thoght in hir corage Cam at his heste / and on hir knees hir sette And reuerently / and wysly she hym grette Line 952

¶ Grisilde quod he / my wil is outrely Line 953 This mayden / þat shal wedded been to me Receyued be tomorwe / as really As it possible is / in myn hous to be Line 956 And eek/ that euery wight in his degree Haue his estat in sittyng and seruyse And heigh plesance / as I kan best deuyse Line 959

[I [Rats.] [folio 187b] ] haue no wommen suffisant certayn Line 960 The chambres for taraye / in ordynance After my lust and ther fore wolde I fayn That thyn were / al swich manere gouernance Line 963 Thow knowest eek of old al my plesance Though thyn array be badde / and yuel biseye Do thow thy deuoir / at the leeste weye Line 966

[6-text p 434] Line 966

¶ Nat oonly lord / that I am glad / quod she Line 967 To doon youre lust but I desire also Yow for to serue / and plese in my degree With outen feyntyng and shal euere mo Line 970 Ne neuere / for no wele / ne no wo Ne shal the goost with Inne myn herte stente To loue yow best with al my trewe entente Line 973

¶ And with that word / she gan the hous to dighte Line 974 And tables for to sette / and beddes make And peyned hire / to doon al that she myghte Preyynge the chambreres / for goddes sake Line 977 To hasten hem / and faste swepe and shake And she / the mooste seruysable of alle Hath euery chambre arrayed / and his halle Line 980

¶ Abouten vndren / gan this Erl alighte Line 981 That with hym broghte / thise noble children tweye ffor which the peple / ran to seen the sighte Of hire array / so richely biseye Line 984 And thanne at erst / amonges hem they seye That Walter was no fool / thogh þat hym leste To chaunge his wyf/ for it was for his beste Line 987

¶ ffor she is fairer / as they demen alle Line 988 Than is Grisilde / and moore tendre of age And fairer fruyt bitwene hem sholde falle And moore plesant for hire heigh lynage Line 991 Hir brother eek / so fair was of visage That hem to seen / the peple hath caught plesance Commendynge now / the Markys gouernance Line 994

¶ O. stormy peple / vnsad / and euere vntrewe [folio 188a] Line 995 Ay vndiscreet and chaungyng as a vane Delitynge euere in rumbel / þat is newe ffor lyk the moone / ay wexe ye and wane Line 998

[6-text p 435] Line 998 Ay ful of clappyng deere ynow a Iane Youre doom is fals / youre constance yuele preueth A ful greet fool is he / that on yow leueth Line 1001

¶ Thus seyden sadde folk/ in that Citee Line 1002 Whan that the peple / gazed vp and doun ffor they were glad / right for the noueltee To han / a newe lady / of hir town Line 1005 Namoore of this / make I now mencioun But to Grisilde agayn / wol I me dresse And telle hir constance / and hir bisynesse Line 1008

¶ fful bisy was Grisilde / in euery thyng Line 1009 That to the feste / was apertinent Right noght was she abayst of hir clothyng Thogh it were rude / and somdel eek to-rent Line 1012 But with glad cheere / to the yate is she went With oother folk/ to greete the Markysesse And after that/ dooth forth hir bisynesse Line 1015

¶ With so glad cheere / his gestes she receyueth Line 1016 And so konnyngly / euerich in his degree That no defaute / no man aparceyueth But ay they wondren / what she myghte be Line 1019 That in so poure array / was for to se And koude swich honour / and reuerence And worthily / they preysen hir prudence Line 1022

¶ In al this mene while / she ne stente Line 1023 This mayde / and eek hir brother to commende With al hir herte / in ful benygne entente So wel / þat no man koude hir prys amende Line 1026 But at the laste / whan þat thise lordes wende To sitten doun to mete / he gan to calle Grisilde / as she was bisy in his halle Line 1029

[6-text p 436] Line 1029

¶ Grisilde quod he / as it were in his pley [folio 188b] How liketh thee my wyf / and hir beautee Right wel quod she my lord / for in good fey A fairer / saw I neuere noon / than she Line 1033 I prey to god / yeue hire prosperitee And so hope I / þat he wol to yow sende Plesance ynough / vn to youre lyues ende Line 1036

¶ O thyng biseke I yow / and warne also [vnum bona fide precor ac moneo / ne hanc/ illis aculeis agites / quibus alteram agitasti namque & iunior & delicacius nutrita est/ pati quantum ego vt reor non valeret/] That ye ne prike / with no tormentynge This tendre mayden / as ye han do mo ffor she is fostred / in hir norissynge Line 1040 Moore tendrely / and to my supposynge She koude nat aduersitee endure As koude / a poure fostred creature Line 1043

¶ And whan this Walter / saw hir pacience Line 1044 Hir glad cheere / and no malice at al And he so ofte / had doon to hire offence And she ay sad / and constant as a wal Line 1047 Continuynge euere / hir Innocence ouer al [vbique.] This sturdy Markys / gan his herte dresse To rewen / vp on hir wyfly stedfastnesse Line 1050

¶ This is ynogh / Grisilde myn quod he Line 1051 Be now namoore agast ne yuele apayed I haue thy feith / and thy benygnytee As wel / as euere womman was.? assayed Line 1054 In greet estat and poureliche arrayed Now knowe I deere wyf / thy stedfastnesse And hire in armes took / and gan hir kesse Line 1057

¶ And she for wonder / took of it no keepe Line 1058 She herde nat what thyng he to hir seyde She ferde / as she hadde stirt out of a sleepe Til she / out of hir mazednesse abreyde Line 1061

[6-text p 437] Line 1061 Grisilde quod he / by god þat for vs deyde Thow art my wyf / noon oother I haue Ne neuere hadde / as god my soule saue Line 1064

¶ This is thy doghter / which thow hast supposed [folio 189a] To be my wyf / that oother feithfully Shal be myn heir / as I haue ay supposed Thow bare hym / in thy body trewely Line 1068 At Boloigne / haue I kept hem priuely Tak hem agayn / for now maistow nat seye That thow hast lorn / noon of thy children tweye Line 1071

¶ And folk / þat oother weys / han seyd of me Line 1072 I warne hem wel / þat I haue doon this dede ffor no malice / ne for no crueltee But for tassaye in thee / thy wommanhede Line 1075 And nat to sleen my children / god forbede But for to kepe hem / pryuely and stille Til I thy purpos knewe / and al thy wille Line 1078

¶ Whan she this herde / / aswowne doun she falleth Line 1079 ffor pitous ioye / and after hir swownynge She bothe hir yonge children / vn to hire calleth And in hir armes / pitously wepynge Line 1082 Embraceth hem / and tendrely kissynge fful lyk a moder / with hir salte terys She batheth / bothe hir visage and hir herys Line 1085

¶ O which a pitous thyng it was to se Line 1086 Hir swownyng and hir humble voys to heere Grant mercy lord / god thanke it yow / quod she That ye han saued me / my children deere Line 1089 Now rekke I neuere / to been ded right heere Sith I stonde in youre loue / and in youre grace No fors of deeth / ne whan my spirit pace Line 1092

[6-text p 438] Line 1092

¶ O tendre / o deere / o yonge children myne Line 1093 Youre woful moder / wende stedefastly That cruel houndes / or som foul vermyne Hadde eten yow / but god of his mercy Line 1096 And youre benygne fader / tendrely Hath doon yow kept and in that same stounde Al sodeynly / she swapte adoun to grounde Line 1099

¶ And in hir swogh / so sadly holdeth she [folio 189b] Hir children two / whan she gan hem tembrace That with greet sleghte / and greet difficultee The children from hir arm / they gonne arace Line 1103 O. many a teer / o many a pitous face Doun ran / of hem þat stoden hir bisyde Vnnethe aboute hire / myghte they abyde Line 1106

¶ Walter hir gladeth / and hir sorwe slaketh Line 1107 She riseth vp abaysed / from hir traunce And euery wight hir ioye and feste maketh Til she / hath caught agayn hir contenance Line 1110 Walter hir dooth / so feithfully plesance That it was deyntee / for to seen the cheere Bitwix hem two / now they ben met yfeere Line 1113

¶ Thise ladies / whan þat they / hir tyme say Line 1114 Han taken hire / and in to chambre goon And strepen hire / out of hir rude aray And in a clooth of gold / þat brighte shoon Line 1117 With a coroune / of many a riche stoon Vp on hir hed / they in to halle hir broghte And ther she was / honured as hir oghte Line 1120

¶ Thus hath this pitous day / a blisful ende Line 1121 ffor euery man and womman / dooth his myght This day / in murthe and reuel to dispende Til on the welkne / shoon the sterres lyght Line 1124

[6-text p 439] Line 1124 ffor moore solempne / in euery mannes syght This feste was / and gretter of costage Than was / the reuel of hir mariage Line 1127

¶ fful many a yeer / in heigh prosperitee Line 1128 Lyuen thise two / in concord and in reste And richely / his doghter maried he Vn to a lord / oon of the worthyeste Line 1131 Of al Ytaille / and thanne in pees and reste His wyues fader / and his court he kepeth Til that the soule / out of his body crepeth Line 1134

¶ His sone / succedeth in his heritage [folio 190a] Line 1135 In reste and pees / after his fader day And fortunat was eek his mariage Al putte he nat his wyf in gret assay Line 1138 This world is nat so strong it is no nay As it hath been / in olde tymes yore And herkneth / what this Auctour seith therfore Line 1141

¶ This storie is seyd / nat for þat wyues sholde [

¶ hanc historiam stilo nunc alto retexere vis[um fuit] non tum ideo / vt matronas nostri temporis [ad] imitandam huius vxoris pacienciam que mich[i] inimitabilis videtur / quam vt legentes ad imitandam saltem femine constanciam excitaren|tur

¶ vt que hec viro suo prestitit/ hoc prestare deo nostro audeat quilibet/ vt Iacobus ait Apostolus/ / Intemptator sit malorum & ipse neminem temptat/ probat tamen et sepe nos multis ac graui|bus flagellis excerceri sinit / non vt animum nostrum sciat/ quem sciuit antequam crearemur &cetera.

] ffolwen Grisilde / as in humylitee ffor it were importable / thogh they wolde But for þat euery wight in his degree Line 1145 Sholde be constant in aduersitee As was Grisilde / therfore Petrak writeth This storie / which he with heigh stile enditeth / Line 1148

¶ ffor sith a womman / was so pacient Line 1149 Vn to a mortal man / wel moore vs oghte Receyuen al in gree / that god vs sent ffor gret skile is / he preue that he wroghte Line 1152 But he ne tempteth / no man þat he boghte As seith Seint Iame / if ye his pistel rede He preueth folk al day / it is no drede Line 1155

[6-text p 440] Line 1155

¶ And suffreth vs / as for oure exercise Line 1156 With sharpe scourges / of aduersitee fful ofte to be bete / in sondry wise Nat for to knowe oure wyl / for certes he Line 1159 Er we were born / knew al oure freletee And for oure beste / is al his gouernance Let vs thanne lyue / in vertuous suffrance Line 1162

¶ But o word lordynges / herkneth er I go Line 1163 It were ful hard / to fynde now a dayes In al a town / Grisildis thre or two ffor if þat they were put to swiche assayes Line 1166 The gold of hem / hath now so badde alayes With bras / that thogh the coigne / be fair at eye It wolde rather / breste atwo than plye Line 1169

¶ ffor which heere / for the wyues loue of Bathe [folio 190b] Whos lyf/ and al hir secte / god mayntene In heigh maistrie / or ellis were it scathe I wol with lusty herte / fressh and grene Line 1173 Seye yow a song to glade yow I wene And lat vs stynte / of ernestful matere Herkneth my song that seith in this manere Line 1176