The romance of Guy of Warwick. The second or 15th-century version. Edited from the paper ms. Ff. 2. 38. in the University Library, Cambridge, by Dr. Julius Zupitza ...
Zupitza, Julius, 1844-1895.
When þat hys deþe day was ycome,
He clepyd anon to hys grome:
'Lefe felowe,' then seyde he,
'To Warwykk þou wende, y prey þe.
10580
To the cowntas þou schalt goon
On my message ryght anon.
Thys rynge,*. [MS. Thys halfe rynge.] þou hyt not forȝete
And on my behalfe þou hur grete
10584
And sey to hur, þat þe same pylgryme,
That sche sende bothe bredde and wyne,
And sey to hur, for that presente
Thys rynge y haue to hur sente.
10588
Y wot well, sche wyll hyt knowe
Also soon, as þou doyst hyt to hur schowe.*. [MS. schewe.]
Then anon sche wyll aske the,
And a ryche gyfte þou schalt haue,' seyde he.
10592
'Aftur me hur askynge schall be mest,*. [MS. moest.]
And þou schalt sey, that in þe foreste
An ermyte y am and in poynt to dye
And þeryn þat thou me sye;
10596
And þat þere þou longe ne dwelle,
But ȝyt þou schalt hur telle,
That sche hastely to me come;
For dethe me hath nygh ouercome.
10600
To Iesu Cryste now y betake the.'
¶ Now ys the page forthe goon:
To Warwyck he came anoon.
10604
The cowntas he fonde in hur halle:
On knees to hur soone can he falle.
'Lysten to me, lady, now, y prey the:
A message ys sente to yow by me [folio 229b:2]
10608
Fro my lorde, that pylgryme,
That was in yowre halle in hys slauyn
And þat ye sende to plente of mete.
To grete yow well he wyll not forgete.
10612
Now he ys dwellyng in þe foreste:
By ȝerbes and rootys he leuyth mest.*. [MS. moest.]
Lyfe he ledyth, as man well wyse:
Of goddys grace fulfyllyd he ys.
10616
Thys same rynge to yow he sente,
That y to yow take now in presente.'
¶ The rynge to hur sche can brayde:
'Gode felowe,' to hym sche sayde—
10620
'Allas, lefe lorde, now mercy!
Thys was my lordys rynge, syr Gye.'
In swownyng she fell and hur hert agroos,
And, when þat sche of swownyng aroos:
10624
'Thys tokyn y knowe, þat to me ys broȝt.
For my loue, ne heyle hyt noght
And tresowre þou schalt haue, y telle þe,
The soþe yf þou wylt sey to me.'
10628
'In þe foreste,' he seyde wyth wordys mylde,
'Wyth þe bestys wode and wylde
There he lyueth,*. [MS. lyeth.] be god aboue;
And he beseketh yow for loue,
10632
That he be beryed þorow yowre redde;
For there he lyeth almost dedde;
And þat ye bewrye hym to no wyght:
So he me badde, syr Gye, þe knyght.
Page 306
10636
And ye schall dye not longe to:
He sende me to yow to sey so.
Of myrthys ye schull haue þe meest
In the yoye, þat euyr schall laste.' [folio 230a:1]
10640
¶ Furste for sorow sche was nye madde
And syþen sche became full gladde,
That sche schulde hur lorde see,
And a dolefuller loker may none be:
10644
That sche schulde see hym dedd,
Hur harte was heuyer, þen þe ledde.
Vpon a palfrey sche lepte anoon
And hastyly forthe can sche goon.
10648
Forþe she rode wyth knyȝt, squyere and page,
Tyll sche came to that ermytage.
There þat lady dud feyre alyght,
And so dud many a gentyll knyght,
10652
Erlys, barons, and abbottys tho,
Archebyschopes and byschoppes also.
¶ The cowntas lyȝt downe in grete hye
And, hur lordys body when sche sye,
10656
Wondurly hygh*. [hyght written originally, but the last letter blotted out.] sche caste vp a crye.
Wyth þat hys eyen openyd syr Gye:
Vp he loked anon ryȝt*. [The abbreviation for and blotted out after ryȝt.]
And clepyd Felyce, as he myght,
10660
And helde vp boþe hys handys
Before þat lady, as sche standys,
In tokenyng hur mercy for to crye
Of þe sorowe, sche dud for him drye.
10664
Hedde to hedde þere lay they thoo:
Swetely eyther kyssed other also.
But oon worde Gye þere ne speke,
And þe*. [þen originally, but the n blotted out in MS.] goost þen fro hym breke.
10668
¶ When þat hys sowle fro hym wente,
Page 307
Seynt Myghell anon hyt hente:
As a whyte dowve,*. [v in dowve altered from n in MS.] he toke hyt þere. [folio 230a:2]
To god in heuen he dud hyt bere
10672
Wyth grete yoye and mery songe:
'Gloria in excelsys' þey seyde amonge.
¶ That louely lady, Felys la Belle,*. [MS. ffelysabelle.]
Wyth dolefull harte dwellyþ in þat chapelle.
10676
On hym sche swowned in þat place
And often sche kyssyd hym mowþe and face.
'Thes be þe hondys,' sche seyde thoo,
'That the rynges breke atwoo.'
10680
Of hur fyngers þe blode owt ranne:
Sorowe and woo sche had than.
¶ Grete worschyp þere god hym dudde,
Syr Gye, þat ys in þat blessed stude.
10684
Of Gye a sauour spronge at þe laste
And hath so grete swetnes caste,
As and all þe spycys, þat man may see,
And all swete þyngys, þat here may bee,
10688
In oon stude togedur were,
Swete and swote bothe in fere.
So swete a þyng in erthe was noon,
As of hys body then can goon.
10692
They þat were in grete sykenes,
Heele þey had þorow þat swetnesse.
The swetnesse lasted, wythowten lees,
Tyll þat the body beryed wes.*. [MS. was.]
10696
¶ To Warwyk þen þey wolde hym haue dyȝt,
But remeve hym þere no man myght;
For thretty knyghtys þere were broght
And hym remeve myght þey noght.
10700
All þat was þorow goddys wylle,
And þey hym þere beleuyd stylle. [folio 230b:1]
Felyce, that was feyre and free,
Page 308
To þem sche seyde: 'now letteth bee.
10704
He sente me a sonde be a messengere,
That y*. [s blotted out after y in MS.] hym schulde berye here.'
A through þey ordeyned gode and fyne
Hys body and bones to berye þeryn.
10708
Thretty masses þere were songe,
And almes dudde to oolde and ȝonge,
That euyr lasteth vnto þys day:
Ther ys none soche geuyn for man nor may.
10712
¶ When þe body was leyde in grownde,
Thens þey wente in a lytull stownde.
But þe cowntas, sche leuyd there:
Fro þens on lyue go wolde sche nere.
10716
Fro þat place neuyr sche go nolde,
But þere to serue god sche wolde.
Forty dayes there leuyd þat lady
And beryed sche was be gode syr Gye.
10720
In oon pytte þey lye togedur boo:
Iesu kepe þer sowlys from woo.
And all, þat here oght of thys,
God of hys grace grawnt þem blys.
10724
¶ Now, lordyngys, ye haue harde of Gye
Of Warwyk, þat was wondur hardy,
And also of feyre Felyce, hys wyfe,
That he moste louyd of women on lyue,
10728
And in what maner þey partyd in twoo
And how þey leued*. [MS. loued.] then alsoo
And how þey dredde god almyght:
Euery synfull schulde so wyth ryght.
10732
As ye haue herde me rede or þys, [folio 230b:2]
Ther lyfes þus þere endyd ys.
Iesu Cryste all weldynge,
That art god and crowned kynge
10736
(In trynyte þou art þe fadur fre
And all knytt in oon persones thre),
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We the beseche lowde and stylle,
That þou vs grawnt þorow þy wylle
10740
To be also safe, as*. [part of an y blotted out before as in MS.] ys Gyown
Of Warwykk, þat bolde baroun.
To Mary mylde prey we for þan,
That sche wyll helpe euery synfull man,
10744
That god forgeue vs owre synnes all,
That we all day beyth yn yfalle,
And that owre sowles we mote hym sende,
When we owte of þys worlde schull wende.
10748
