The Cambridge ms. Dd. 4. 24. of Chaucer's Canterbury tales, completed by the Egerton ms. 2726 (the Haistwell ms) Ed. by Frederick J. Furnivall ...

Squyere come ner / if it ȝoure wylle be [on leaf 119, back] And seye som-what of loue / for certes ȝe Konen ther-oon / as meche as any man Nay sire quod he / but swich thyng as I can Line 4 With hertly wylle / for I wil nought rebelle A-geyn ȝoure lust / a tale wol I ȝow telle haue me excused / if I speke amys My wyl is good / and lo my tale is this Line 8

¶ Sic desinit prologus

& Incipit fabula Armigeri [on leaf 119, back]

At Sarray / in the lond of Tartarye There dwelled a kyng / that werred Russye Thorugh which there deyed / many a doughty man This noble kyng was cleped / Cambyuscan Which in his tyme / was of so gret renoun Line 13 That ther was nowher / in no region So excellent a lord / of al thyng him lakked no thyng / that longeth to a kyng Line 16 As of the secte / of which that he was born he kept his lay / to which that he was sworn And ther-to he was hardy / wys and riche And pitous and Iust / alwey I-liche Line 20 Sooth of his word / benygne and honurable A[n]d of his corage / alwey sad and stable Ȝong fressh and strong / in armes desirous As any bacheler / of al his hous Line 24 A faire persone he was / and fortunat And kept alwey so wel / Real estat That there nas no-wher / such an-other man ¶ This noble kyng / this Tartre Cambiuscan Line 28 hadde two sones / on Elfeta his wyf Of which the eldest hight / Algarsyf That other sone / was called Camballo A doughter hadde / this worthy kyng also Line 32 That ȝongest was / and hight Canacee [folio 120a] But for to telle ȝow / al hire beaute It lith nought in my tonge / or my konnynge I dar nought vndertake / so heigh a thynge Line 36

Line 36 Myn englyssh eke is / insufficient It must ben a Rethor / excellent That coude hise colours / longyng for that art If he shulde hire discryuen / euery part Line 40 I nam noon suche / I mot speke as I can And so byfel / that whan this Cambiuscan hadde twenty wynter / born his Diademe As he was wont / fro ȝere to ȝere I deme Line 44 he lete the feste / of his Natiuitee Do crien thurgh-out Sarray / his Citee The last ydus of March / after the ȝer Phebus the Sonne / ful iolyf was and cler Line 48 ffor he was ney / his exaltacion In martes face / & in his mancion In Aries / the coleryk hote signe fful lusty was the wedir / & benygne Line 52 ffor which the foules / ageyn the sonne shene What for the seson / & the ȝonge greene fful loude songen / in here affeccions hem semed haue geten hem / proteccions Line 56 Ageyns the swerd of wynter / kene & colde This Cambiuscan / of which I haue ȝow tolde In real vestiment / syt on his deys With Diademe ful heigh / in his paleys Line 60 And halt his feste / so solempne & so riche That in this world / ne was þere noon it liche Of which / if I shal tellen / al the array Than wold it occupie / a someres day Line 64 And eke it nedeth nat / for to deuyse At euery cours / the ordre of here seruyse I wyl nought tellen / of here straunge sewes Ne of here swannes / ne here heronsewes Line 68 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . [no gap in the MS.] Line 72

Line 72 I wyl nought tarien ȝow / for it is pryme And for it is no fruyt / but losse of tyme vn-to my first / I wyl haue myn retours And so byfel after / the thridde cours Line 76 whil that this kyng syt thus / in his nobleye Herkenyng his mynstralles / here thynges pleye Biforn him at the bord / deliciously In at the halle dore / al sodeynly [folio 120b] Line 80 There cam a knyght / vp-on a steede of Bras And in his hand / a brode Myrour of glas Vp-on his thombe / he hadde of gold a ryng And by his syde / a naked swerd hangyng Line 84 And vp he rideth / vn-to the heigh bord In al the halle / ne was there spoke a word ffor merueille of this knyght / him to byholde fful bisily they wayten / ȝonge and olde Line 88 ¶ This straunge knyght / that cam thus sodeynly Al armed saue his hed / ful richely Salueth kyng and Quene / and lordes alle By ordre / as they setyn / in the halle Line 92 With so heigh reuerence / and obeisaunce As wel in speche / as in his countenaunce That Gawayn / with his olde curteisye Though he were come a-geyn / out of fairye Line 96 Ne coude him nought amende / with a word And after this / bifore the heigh bord he with a manly voice / seide his message After the fourme vsed / in his langage Line 100 With-outen vice of silable / or lettre And for his tale / shulde seme the bettre Accordant to his wordes / was his chiere As techeth art of speche / hem that it lere Line 104 Al be it / that I can nought / sowne his stile Ne can nought clymben / ouer so heigh a stile Ȝet sey I this / that as to comune entent Thus meche amounteth / al þat euere he ment Line 108

Line 108 If it so be / that I haue it in mynde ¶ He seide the kyng of Arabe / and of Ynde My lige lord / on this solempne day Salueth ȝow / as he best can and may Line 112 And sendeth ȝow / in honour of ȝoure feste By me / that am al redy / at ȝoure heste This steede of Bras / that esily and wel Can in the space / of oo day naturel Line 116 That is to seyn / in foure and twenty houres Where-so ȝow list / in drought or ellis shoures Beren ȝoure body / in-to euery place To which ȝoure herte wylneth / for to pace Line 120 With-outen wem of ȝow / thurgh foule and fair Or if ȝow list / to fleighe as heigh in the eyr As doth an Egle / whan him list to sore [folio 121a] This same Steede / shal bere ȝow eueremore Line 124 With-outen harm / til ȝe be there ȝow list Though that ȝe slepen / on his bak & rest And turne ageyn / with writhyng of a pyn he that it wrought / he coude many a gyn Line 128 he wayted many / a constellacion Or he had don / this operacion And knew ful many / a sel / & many a bonde ¶ This Mirour eke / that I haue in myn honde Line 132 hath swich a myght / that men moun in it se Whan there shal fallen / any aduersitee vn-to ȝoure regne / or to ȝoure self also And openly / who is ȝoure frend or foo Line 136 And ouer al this / if any lady bright hath set hire herte / on any maner wyght If he be fals / she shal his treson see his newe loue / and al his subtiltee Line 140 So openly / there shal no thyng hyde Wherfore / a-geyns this lusty someres tyde This Myrour & this Ryng / that ȝe may se he hath sent / to my lady Canacee Line 144

Line 144 Ȝoure excellente doughter / that is here The vertu of the Ryng / if ye wiln heere Is this / that if hire list / it / for to were vp-on hire thombe / or in hire purs it bere Line 148 There nys no foule / that flieth vnder the heuene That she ne shal wel / vnderstonde his steuene And knowe his menyng / openly and pleyn And answere him / in his langage ageyn Line 152 And euery gras / that groweth vp-on rote She shal eke knowe / & whom it wol do bote Al ben hise woundes / neuere so depe & wyde ¶ This naked swerd / that hangeth be my syde Line 156 Swich vertu hath / that what man þat ȝe smyte Thurgh-out his armure / it wil kerue & byte Were it as thikke / as is a braunched ook And what man þat is wounded / with the strok Line 160 Shal neuere be hol / til that ȝow list of grace To stroke him with the plat / in thilke place There he is hurt / this is so meche to seyn Ȝe mote with the plat swerd / a-geyn Line 164 Stroke him in the wounde / and it wol close This is a verray soth / with-outen glose It failleth not / whil it is in ȝoure wolde [folio 121b] ¶ And whan this knyght / hath thus his tale I-tolde Line 168 he rideth out of halle / and doun he light his Steede which that shone / as sonne bright Stant in the courte / as stille as ony ston This knyght is to his chaumber / lad a-non Line 172 And is vnarmed / and to mete I-sette The presentes / ben ful richelich I-fette This is to seyn / the swerd and the Mirour And born a-non / vn-to the heigh Tour Line 176 With certeyne officers / ordeyned therfore And to Canacee / the Ryng is bore Solempnely / there she sat at the table But sekerly / with-outen any fable Line 180

Line 180 The hors of Bras / that can nought be remewed Is stant as it were / to the ground I-glewed There may no man / out of that place it dryue ffor non engyne / of wyndas or polyue Line 184 And cause why / for they conne nought the craft And therfore in the place / they han it laft Til that the knyght / hath taught hem the manere To voiden him / as ȝe shuln after here Line 188 ¶ Greet was the prees / that swarmeth to and froo To gauren on this hors / that stondeth so ffor it so heigh was / & so brode and longe So wel proporcioned / for to be stronge Line 192 Right as it were a Steede / of lumbardie There-with so horsly / and so quyk at eye As it a gentil poleis / courser were ffor certes from his taille / vn-to his ere Line 196 Nature ne art / ne coude him nought amende In no degree / as al the peple wende But euere moo / here moost wondre was how that it coude gon / & was of bras Line 200 It was a fayrie / as the peeple semed Diuerse folk / diuersely han demed As many hedes / as many wyttes ben They mormered / as doth a swarm of been Line 204 And maden skyles / after here fantasies Rehersyng / of this olde poetries And seiden it was like / the pegasee [¶ id est equus pe|gaseus / percius 4^to] The hors that hadde / wenges for to flee Or ellis it was / the Grekes hors sinon Line 209 That brought Troye / to destruccion As men moun / in theise old gestes rede Myn herte quod on / is eueremo in drede [folio 122a] Line 212 I trowe some men of armes / ben there-Inne That shapen hem / this Citee for to wynne It were right good / that al such thyng were knowe An other rouned / to his felawe lowe Line 216

Line 216 And seide he lyeth / for it is rather lyk An apparence I-made / by some magyk As iogeloures pleyen / at thise grete Of sondry doutes / thus they Iangle & trete Line 220 As lewede peeple demen / comunely Of thynges that ben made / more subtily Than they can / in here lewednes comprehende They demen gladly / to the baddere ende Line 224 ¶ And some of hem wondred / on the Mirour That born was vp / vn-to the maister Tour how men myght in it / swich thynges se Another answered & seide / it myght wel be Line 228 Naturely / by composicions Of anglys / and of sligh reflexions And seiden / that in Rome / was swich on They spoken of Alocen / and vitulon Line 232 Of Aristotle / that wretyn in here lyues Of queynt Miroures / and of perspectyues As knowen they / that han here bokes herd And other folk / han wondred on the swerd Line 236 That wolde percen / thurgh-out euery thyng And feln in speche / of Thelephus the kyng And of Achilles / for his queynt spere ffor he coude with it / bothe hele and dere Line 240 Right in swich gise / as men moun with the swerd Of which right now / ȝe han ȝoure seluen herd They speken of sondry hardyng / of metal And speken of medicynes / ther-with-al Line 244 And how & whanne / it shulde I-harded be Which is vnknowe / algates vn-to me Tho speken they / of Canaces ryng And seiden alle / that swich a wonder thyng Line 248 Of craft of Rynges / herd they neuere non Saue that he Moyses / and kyng Salamon hadden a name of konnyng / in swich art Thus seith the peeple / & drawen hem a-part Line 252

Line 252 But nathelees some seiden / that it was Wonder to make / of ffern asshen / glas And ȝet is glas / nought lyke asshen of fern And for they han I-knowen it / so fern [folio 122b] Line 256 Therfore cesseth here iangelyng / & here wonder As sore wonder some / on cause of thonder On ebbe on flode / on gossomer & on myst And on alle thynge / til þat the cause is wist Line 260 Thus iangle they / & demen & deuyse Til that the kyng / gan fro the bord arise ¶ Phebus hath lost / the angle mediornal And ȝet ascendyng / was the best roial Line 264 The gentil leon / with his aldiran Whan that this tartre kyng / Cambyuscan Ros fro his bord / there as he sat ful heye Bifore him goth / the loude mynstralcye Line 268 Til he come to his chambre / of parementȝ There as there sounen / diuerse Instrumentȝ That it is like an heuene / for to here Now dauncen lusty venus / children dere Line 272 ffor in the ffissh / here lady sat ful heye And loketh on hem / with a frendlich eye This noble kyng / is set vp-on his Trone This straunge knyght / is to him fet ful sone Line 276 ¶ And on the daunce he goth / with Canacee here is the reuel / and the Iolitee That is nat able / a dul man to deuyse he must han knowen loue / and his seruyse Line 280 And ben a feestlich man / as fressh as May That shulde ȝow deuysen / swich a-ray who coude telle ȝow / the fourrme of daunces So vncouth / and swich fressh countenaunces Line 284 Swich subtil lokyng / and dissimulynges ffor drede / of gelous mennes / aparceyuynges Noman but launcelot / and he is ded Therfore I passe / of al this lustied Line 288

Line 288 I sey no more / but in this Iolynesse I lete hem / til men to the Soper dresse The Styward / bit spices for to hye And eke the wyn / and al this melodye Line 292 The vsshers / and the Squyery is gon The spices and the wyn / is come anon They ete & drynke / and whan this had an ende vn-to the temple / as reson was / they wende Line 296 ¶ The seruyse don they / & soupen al be day what nedeth to ȝow / rehercen here / here array Eche man wot wel / that a kynges fest Hath plentee to the meest / and to the leest Line 300 And deyntes moo than ben / in my knowyng [folio 123a] At after soper / goth this noble kyng To sen this hors / of Bras / with al a route Of ladyes / and of lordes / him a-boute Line 304 ¶ Swich wondryng was there / on this hors of Bras That syn the gret assege / of Troie was There as men wondred / on an hors also Ne was there swich a wondryng / as was tho Line 308 But fynaly / the kyng axed the knyght The vertu of this courser / and the myght And preyed him to telle / his gouernaunce This hors a-non / gan for to trippe & daunce Line 312 whan that the knyght / leid hand vp-on his reyne And seide sire / there nys no more to seyne But whan ȝow list / to riden any where Ȝe moten trille a pyn / stant in his Ere Line 316 which I shal tellen ȝow / betwixe vs two Ȝe moten nempne him / to what place also Or to what contre / that ȝow list to ryde And whan ȝe come there / as ȝow list abide Line 320 Bid him decende / and trille an other pyn ffor þere-Inne lith the effect / of al the gyn And he wol doun decende / & don ȝoure wille And in that place / he wol abyden stille Line 324

Line 324 Though al the world / the contrarie had swore he shal nat thens be drawe / ne be bore Or if ȝow list / to bidde him / thens gon Trille this pyn / & he wol vanysshe a-non Line 328 Out of the sight / of euery manere wyght And come a-geyn / be it day or nyght whan that ȝow list / to clepen him a-geyn In swich a gyse / as I shal to ȝow seyn Line 332 Betwixen ȝow & me / & that ful sone Ryde whan ȝow list / there is no more to done ¶ Enformed whan the kyng was / of this knyght And hath conceyued / in his wyt a-right Line 336 The manere & the fourme / of al this thyng fful glad and blithe / this noble lusty kyng Repaireth to his reuel / as byforn The brydel is / in-to the Tour I-born Line 340 And kept among his Iueles / lief & deere The hors vanysshed / I not in which manere Out of here sight / ȝe gete no more for me But thus I leete / in lust and Iolitee Line 344 This Cambyuscan / his lordes festeiynge Til wel neygh / the day bygan to springe [folio 123b]

¶ Explicit prima pars [[In margin. No break in MS.]]

[PART II.]

The norice of digestion / the sleep Gan on hem wynke / & bad hem taken kep Line 348 That mechel drynk & labour / wyl haue rest And with a galpyng mouth / hem alle he kest And seide that it was tyme / to lye a-doun ffor blod was / in his dominacion Line 352 Cherisheth blood / natures frend quod he They thanked him galpyng / by two by three And euery wyght / gan drawe him to his rest As sleep hem bad / they toke it for the best Line 356

Line 356 here dremes shuln nat now / ben tolde for me fful were here hedes / of fumositee That causeth dreem / of which there is no charge They slepe / til that it was / prime large Line 360 The moste parte / but it were Canacee She was ful mesurable / as wommen be ffor of hire fader / had she taken leue To gon to rest / sone after it was eue Line 364 hire list nat appalled / for to be Ne on the morwe / vnfestliche for to se And slept hire first sleep / & thanne a-woke ffor swich a ioie / she in hire hert toke Line 368 Bothe of hire queynt Ryng / & hire Mirour That twenty tyme / she chaunged hire colour And in hire sleep / right for the inpression Of hire Mirour / she had a vision Line 372 wherfore / er that the sonne / gan vp glyde She cleped vp-on hire Maistres / hire beside And seide / that hire list for to ryse Theise olde wommen / that ben gladly wyse Line 376 As is hire Maistresse / answered a-non And seide Madame / whider wolde ȝe gon Thus erly / for the folk ben alle in rest I wil quod she arrisen / for me lest Line 380 No lengere for to slepe / and walke a-boute hire Maistresse clepeth wommen / a gret route And vp they risen / wel an ten or twelue vp riseth fressh Canacee / hire selue Line 384 As rody and bright / as doth the ȝonge Sonne That in the Ram / is foure degrees vp ronne Non heighere was he / whan she redy was And forth she walketh / esily a paas Line 388 Arrayed after the lusty seson / swote lightly for to pleye / & walke on foote Nat but with fyue or sexe / of hire meyne [folio 124a] And in a trenche / forth in the Park goth she Line 392

Line 392 ¶ The vapor / which / that from the erthe glode Made the Sonne to seme / rody and brode But nathelees it was / so fair a sight That it made alle here hertes / for to light Line 396 What for the Seson / & the morwenyng What for the foules / that she herd syng ffor right a-non / she wist what they ment Right by here song / & knew al here entent Line 400 ¶ The knotte why / that euery tale is told If it be taried / til the lust be cold Of hem / that after it / han herkened ȝore The sauour passeth / euere lengere the more Line 404 ffor fulsumnesse / of his prolixitee And by this same reson / thynketh me I shulde vn-to the knot / condescende And maken of here walkyng / sone an ende Line 408 ¶ Amydde a tree ful drye / as white as chalk As Canace was pleiyng / in hire walk There sat a faucon / ouer hire hed ful heye That with a pitous voice / so gan to crye Line 412 That al the wode / resouned of hire cry I-betyn had she hire self / so pitously with bothe hire wenges / til the red blod Ran endelong the tree / there as she stood Line 416 And euere in on alwey / she cried and shright And with hire beek / hire seluen she so twight That there nas tygre / ne so cruel beste That dwelleth either in wode / or in foreste Line 420 That nolde han wept / if that he wepe coude ffor sorwe of hire / she shright alwey so loude ¶ ffor þere was neuere ȝet / no man a-lyue If that I coude / a faucon wel discryue Line 424 That herd of swich an other / of fairnesse As wel of plumage / as of gentilnesse Of shap / of al that myght I-rekened be A faucon peregryn / than semed she Line 428

Line 428 Of fremd land / and eueremo there she stod She swoughned now and now / for lakke of blood Til wol ny is she fallen / fro the Tree This faire kynges doughter / Canacee Line 432 That on hire fyngre / bare the queynt Ryng Thurgh which / she vnderstod wel / euery thyng That any foul / may in his ledne seyn Line 435 And coude answere him / in his ledne a-geyn [folio 124b] hath vnderstonden / what this faucon seide And wel neigh for the routhe / almest she deiede And to the tree / she goth ful hastily And on this faucon / loketh pytously Line 440 And held hire lappe a-brod / for wel she wiste The faucon must fallen / fro the twiste when that it swoughneth next / for lak of blood A longe while / to wayten hire she stood Line 444 Til at the laste / she spak in this manere vn-to the hauke / as ȝe shuln after heere what is the cause / if that it be to telle That ȝe ben / in this furyal peyne of helle Line 448 Quod Canacee / vn-to this hauke a-boue Is this for sorwe of deth / or losse of loue ffor as I trowe / theise ben causes two That causen moost / a gentil herte woo Line 452 Of other harm / it nedeth nat to speke ffor ȝe ȝoure self / vp-on ȝoure self ȝow wreke which preeueth wel / that either Ire or drede Mote ben encheson / of ȝoure cruel dede Line 456 Syn that I se / noon other wyght / ȝow chace ffor loue of god / as doth ȝoure seluen grace Or what may ben ȝoure helpe / for west north est Ne saw I neuere or now / no bryd nor beest Line 460 That ferde with him self / so pitously Ȝe slee me with ȝoure sorwe / verreyly I haue of ȝow / so gret compassion ffor goddes loue / come fro the tree a-doun Line 464

Line 464 And as I am / a kynges doughter trewe If that I verreyly / the causes knewe Of ȝoure dissese / if it lay in my myght I wolde amende it / or that it were nyght Line 468 As wisly helpe me / gret god of kynde And herbes shal I / right I-nowe fynde To hele with ȝoure hurtes / hastily Tho shright this faucon / ȝet more pitously Line 472 Than euere she dide / & fel to grounde anon And lith a-swoughne / as ded as lith a ston Til Canacee / hath in hire lappe / hire take In-to that tyme / she gan of swough a-wake Line 476 And after that / she of swouȝnyng gan a-breyde Right in hire haukes ledne / thus she seide ¶ That pitee renneth sone / in gentil herte ffelyng his similitude / in peynes smerte Line 480 Is preeued al day / as men moun it se As wel by werk / as by auctoritee [folio 125a] ffor gentil herte / kitheth gentillesse I se wel ȝe han / of my distresse Line 484 Compassion / my faire Canacee Of verray wommanly / benygnetee That nature / in ȝoure principiis hath set But for non hope / for to fare the bet Line 488 But for to obeye / vn-to ȝoure herte free And for to maken othere / I-war by me As by the whelp / is chastised the leon Right for that cause / and that conclusion Line 492 whil that I haue a leiser / and a space Myn harm I wil confessen / or I pace And whil that oon / hire sorwe tolde That other wep / as she to water wolde Line 496 Til that the faucon / bad hire to be stille And with a syke / right thus she seide hire wylle ¶ There I was bred / allas that ilke day An forstred in a roche / of marbel gray Line 500

Line 500 So tenderly / that no thyng eyled me I nyst nat / what was aduersitee Til I coude flee / ful heigh vnder the sky Tho dwelled a Tercelet / me fast by Line 504 That semed welle / of al gentillesse Al were he ful of treson / & falsnesse It was so wrapped / vnder humble chere And vnder hew of trouthe / in such manere Line 508 vnder plesaunce / & vnder besy peyne That no wyght wold han wend / he coude feyne So diep in greyn / he dyed hise colours Right as a serpent / hideth vnder floures Line 512 Til he may sen his tyme / for to byte Right so / this god of loues ypocrite Doth his sermouns / and obeisaunces And kepeth in semblaunt / alle his obseruaunces Line 516 That sovneth in-to gentillesse / of loue As on a Toumbe / is al the fair a-boue And vnder is the cors / swich as ȝe wote Swich was this ypocrite / bothe cold and hote Line 520 And in this wyse / he serued his entente That saue the fend / noon wist what he ment Til he so longe had weped / and compleyned And many ȝere / his seruyse to me feyned Line 524 Til that myn herte / to pitous & to nyce Al Innocent / of his crowned malice So fered of his deth / as thought me vp-on hise othes / and on his seurtee [folio 125b] Line 528 Graunted him loue / on this condicion That euere mo / myn honour & renoun were saued / bothe pryue and apert This is to seyn / that after his desert Line 532 I ȝaf him al myn hert / & al my thought God wot and he / that other weyes nought And toke his herte / in chaunge of myn for ay But soth is seide / gon sithen many a day Line 536

Line 536 A trewe wyght and a thef / thynke nat on ¶ And whan he sey the thyng / so fer I-gon That I had graunted him / fully my loue In swich a gyse / as I haue seid a-boue Line 540 And ȝeuen him / my trewe herte / as free As he swore / that he ȝaf his herte to me A-non this Tigre / ful of doublenesse ffel on his knees / with so deuout humblesse Line 544 with so heigh reuerence / as by his chere So like a gentil louere / of manere So rauysshed / as it semed for the ioye That neuere Iason / or Paris of Troye Line 548 Iason certes / ne non other man Syn lameth was / that alderfirst bygan To louen two / as wryten folk byforn Ne neuere syn / the first man was born Line 552 Ne coude man / by twenty thousand parte Countrefete the sophimes / of his arte Ne were worthy / don bokelyn his galoche There doublenesse or feynyng / shulde approche Line 556 Ne so coude thanke a wyght / as he did me his manere was an heuene / for to se To any womman / were she neuere so wys So peynted he and kempt / at poynt deuys Line 560 As wel hise wordes / as his countenaunce And so loued him / for his obeisaunce And for the trouthe / I demed in his herte That if so were / that any thyng him smerte Line 564 Al were it neuere so lite / and I it wiste Me thought I felt deth / myn herte twiste And shortly so ferforth / this thyng is wente That my wyl was / his willes Instrumente Line 568 This is to seyn / my wyl obeyed his wille In alle thynge / as fer as reson fille kepyng the boundes / of my worship euere Ne neuere hadde I thyng / so lief ne leuere Line 572

Line 572 As hym god woot / ne neuere shal no moo [folio 126a] This last lengere / than a ȝer or twoo That I supposed of him / nought but good But fynally / thus at the laste it stod Line 576 That fortune wolde / that he must twynne Out of that place / which that I was Inne where me was woo / that is no question I can nat make of it / discripcion Line 580 ffor oo thyng dar I tellen / boldely I knowe what is the peyne of deth / ther-by Swich harm I felt / for he ne myght byleue So on a day of me / he tok his leue Line 584 So sorweful eke / that I wende verreily That he had felt / as muchel harm as I whan that I herd him speke / & saugh his hewe But natheles I thought / he was so trewe Line 588 And eke that he repeire / shulde a-geyn with-Inne a litel tyme / soth to seyn And reson wolde eke / that he must go ffor his honour / as often happeth so Line 592 That I made vertu / of necessite And toke it wel / syn that it must be As I best myght / I hidde fro him my sorwe And tok him by the hand / Seynt Iohn to borwe Line 596 And seide him thus / I am ȝowres al Beth swich as I to ȝow / haue ben & shal what he answered / it nedeth nat reherce who can seyn bet / than he / and don werse Line 600 whan he hath al wel seid / than hath he don Therfore byhoued hire / a ful long spon That shal ete with the fend / thus herd I seye So at the laste / he must forth his weye Line 604 And forth he fleeth / til he come þere him luste ¶ Whan it come him to purpos / for to reste [¶ reditu suo sin|gula gaudent;] I trowe that he hadde / thilke text in mynde That al thyng / repairyng to his kynde Line 608

Line 608 Gladeth him self / thus seyn men as I gesse Men louen of propre kynde / newfangelnesse As briddes don / that men in kages fede ffor though thow nyght & day / take of hem hede Line 612 And strowe here cage / as faire & softe as sylk And ȝeue hem sugre / hony bred and mylk Ȝet right a-non / as that his dore is vppe he with his feet / wol spurne doun his cuppe Line 616 And to the wode he wole / & wormes ete So newefongel ben they / of here mete [folio 126b] And louen nouelries / of propre kynde No gentillesse of blod / ne may hem bynde Line 620 So ferde this Tercelet / allas that day Though he were gentil born / & fressh & gay And goodlich for to sen / and humble and free he sey vp-on a tyme / a kyte flee Line 624 And sodeynly / he loued / this kyte so That al his loue / is clene fro me a-go And hath his trouthe I-falsed / in this wyse Thus hath the kyte my loue / in hire seruyse Line 628 And I am born / with-outen remedie And with that word / this faucon gan to crie And swoughned eft / in Canacees barm ¶ Gret was the sorwe / for the haukes harm Line 632 That Canacee / & alle hire wommen made They nyste how they myghte / the faucon glade But Canacee hom bereth hire / in hire lappe And softly in plaistris / gan hire wrappe Line 636 There as she with hire hook / had hurt hire selue Now can nat Canacee / but herbes delue Out of the ground / and make salues newe Of herbes preciouse / and fyne of hewe Line 640 To helen with this hauke / fro day to nyght She doth hire besynesse / with al hire myght And by hire beddes hed / she mad a Mewe And couered it / with veluettes blewe Line 644

Line 644 In signe of trouthe / that is in wommen sene And al with-oute the Mewe / is peynted grene In which were peynted / alle theise false foules As ben theise Tidifs / Tercellettes and Oules Line 648 Right for despit / were peynted hem be-side And Pies on hem / for to crie and chide That lete I Canacee / hire hauke kepyng I wol no more as now / speke of hire Ryng Line 652 Til it come eft to purpos / for to seyn how that this faucon / gat hire loue a-geyn Repentaunt / as the story telleth vs By mediacion / of Kambalus Line 656 The kynges sone / of which that I ȝow tolde But hens-forth / I wol my processe holde To speke of auentures / and of batailles That neuere ȝet was herd / so greete meruailles Line 660 ffirst wol I telle ȝow / of Cambyuscan That in his tyme / many a citee wan And after wol I speke / of Algerlif how that he wan / Theodera to his wif Line 664 ffor whom ful ofte / in gret perile he was [folio 127a] Ne had he ben holpen / by the Steede of Bras And after wol I speken / of Kambalo That faught in listes / with the bretheren two Line 668 ffor Canacee / or that he myght hire wynne And there I lefte / I wil aȝein begynne

¶ Here endith the Squyeres tale / as meche as Chaucer made. [[the rest of leaf 127 & back, blank; leaf 128 gone.]]

¶ Explicit secunda pars

& incipit prologus Clerici Oxonie [Eg. 2726, on leaf 147]

In feiþ Squyer / þu hast þe wele y-quytte And gentilly / I preise wele thy witte Koþ þe ffrankeleyn / consideryng þy youthee So felyngly þou spekest / sir I the alough þe Line 676 As to my dome / þere is none that is here Of elloquence / þat shall be þy pere Yf þat þou lyve / god yeue þe gode chaunce And in vertue / send the contynuaunce Line 680 For of thy speche / I haue grete deynte [Eg. 2726 folio 147b] I haue a son / and by þe Trinitee I hade leuer / þan .xx.li. worþ lond Though it right now / were fall in myn hond Line 684 He were a man / of soch discrescioun As þat ye ben / fye on possessioun But yf a man / be vertuous withall / I haue my son subbed / and yitte shall Line 688 ffor he to vertue / listeth nat to entende But for to pley at Dys / and dispende And lese all þat he hath / is his vsage And he hath leuer / talken with a page Line 692 Than to commoun / with ony gentle wight/ Where he myght lerne / gentilnes aright/ Strawe for gentilnes / koth our Hoost/ What ffrankeleyn / parde sir wele þou wost Line 696 That ecch of you / mot tellen atte leest A tale or two / or breke his heest That knowe I wele sir / koth þe ffrankeleyn I pray you haueth me nat / in disdeyn Line 700

Line 700 Though to this man / I speke a word or two Tell on thy tale without / wordes mo / Gladly sir hoost koth he / I woll obeye Vn-to your will / now herkeneth what I seye Line 704 I woll you nat contrarie in no wise As fer þat / all my wittes wollen suffise I pray to god / þat it may plesen you Than wote I wele / þat it is gode ynow Line 708

Hic desinit prologus de ffrankeleyn

& Incipit fabula sua de Rokkes de Bretayne [Eg. 2726, on leaf147, bk.]

Thise old gentle Bretons / in her dayes Of diuers auentures / maden layes Romaunced in her first bretons tung Which laies / with her Instrumentes þey song Line 712 Or els reden hem / for her plesaunce And one of hem / haue I in remembraunce Which I shall seyn / with gode will / as I can [Eg. 2726 folio 148a] But sires / by-cause I am a borell man Line 716 At my begynnyng/ first I you beseche Haue me excused of my rude speche I lerned neuer retoryk certeyn Thyng þat I speke / mot be bare and pleyn Line 720 I slepe neuere on the mount of parnaso Ne lerned neuer Marcus Tullyus Sythero Colours ne knowe I noon / without drede But soch colours / þat growen in the mede Line 724 Or els soch as men dye / or peynt/ Colours of Rethoryk/ ben to me queynt/ My spirit feleth nat of soch matere But yf you list/ my tale shull ye here Line 728

[THE TALE.]

IN Amoryk/ þat called is Bretayne There was a knyght / þat loued and did his peyne To serue a lady / in his best wise And many a labour / many a grete emprise Line 732

Line 732 He for his lady wrought/ or she were won ffor she was one / þe fairest vnder son And eke þere-to come / of so high kynrede That well vnethes/ durst þis knyght for drede Line 736 Tell hir his wo / his peyn / and his distresse But at þe last / she for his worthynesse And namely / for his meke obeysaunce Hath soch a Pite caught/ of his penaunce Line 740 That priuely / she fell of his accorde To take hym / for hir housbond and hir lord Of soch lordshipe / as men / han of her wyfes And for to lede the more in blys / her lyfes Line 744 Of his free will / he swore hir / as a knyght That neuer in all his lyue / he day ne night Ne shold vp-on hym take / no maistrie Ageyn hir will / ne kithe hir ielousye Line 748 But hir obeye / and folow hir will/ in all As ony louer / vn-to his lady shall/ Saue þat the name of soueraintee That wold he haue / for shame of his degree Line 752 She thanked hym and with full grete Humblesse [[Eg. ends]] She seide sire / sithe of ȝoure gentillesse [Dd. 4. 24, leaf 129] Ȝe profre me / to haue so large a reyne Ne wolde neuere god / bytwixte vs tweyne Line 756 As in my gilt / were either werre or strif Sire / I wil be ȝoure humble / trewe wyf haue here my trouthe / til that myn herte breste Thus ben they bothe / in quiete and in reste Line 760 ¶ ffor oo thyng sires / safly dar I seye That frendes / euerich other / mot obeye If they wiln longe / holden compaignye loue wol nat be constreyned / by maistrye Line 764 Whan maistre cometh / god of loue a-noon Beteth hise wynges / and fare-wel he is gon loue is a thyng / as any spirit free Wommen of kynde / desiren libertee Line 768

Line 768 And nat to be constreyned / as a thral And so doon men / If I sooth seyn / shal loke who that most / is pacient in loue he is at his auauntage / al a-boue Line 772 Pacience / is an heigh vertu / certeyn ffor it venquyssheth / alle theise clerkes seyn Thynges / that rigour shulde neuere ateyne ffor euery word / men moun nat chide or pleyne Line 776 Lerneth to suffre / or elles so mot I gon Ȝe shuln it lerne / wheiþer so ȝe wol or noon ffor in this world certeyn / there no wyght is That he ne doth or seith / somtyme amys Line 780 Ire / sykenesse / or constellacion Wyn / woo / or chaungyng of complexion Causeth ful ofte / to don a-mys or spekyn On euery wrong / a man may nat be wrekyn Line 784 After the tyme / must be temperaunce To euery wyght / that can on gouernaunce And therfore hath / this wys worthy knyght To lyue in ease / suffraunce hire behight Line 788 And she to him / ful wysly gan to swere That neuere shulde there be / defaute in hire ¶ heere moun men sen / an humble wys accord Thus hath she take hire seruaunt / & hire lord Line 792 Seruaunt in loue / and lord in mariage Thanne was he / bothe in lordshipe / & seruage Seruage nay / but in lordshipe a-boue Sithe he hath bothe / his lady and his loue Line 796 His lady certes / and his wyf also [folio 129b] To which / that lawe of loue / accordeth to And whan he was / in this prosperitee hoom with his wyf / he gooth to his contree Line 800 Nat fer fro Pedmarke / there his dwellyng was Where as he lyueth / in blisse and in solas ¶ Who coude telle / but he had wedded be The ioye / the ese / and the prosperitee Line 804

Line 804 That is bytwixte / an husbonde / and his wyf A ȝere and more / lasteth this blisful lif Til that the knyght / of which I speke of thus That of kairud / was cleped Arueregus Line 808 Shoope him to gon / and dwelled a ȝere or tweyne In Engelond / that cleped was eke Bretaigne To seke in armes / worshipe and honour ffor al his lust / he sette in swich labour Line 812 And dwelled there / the ȝere / the book seith thus ¶ Now wol I stynten / of this Arueragus And speken I wol / of Dorigen his wif That loueth hire husbonde / as hire hertes lyf Line 816 ffor his absence / wepeth she and syketh As doon theise noble wyues / whan hem liketh She morneth / waketh / wayleth / fasteth / pleyneth Desire of his presence / hire so destreyneth Line 820 That al this wyde world / she sette at nought hire frendes / which that knewe / hire heuy thought Conforten hire / in al that euere they may They prechen hire / they tellen hire / nyght & day Line 824 That causelees / she sleth hire self / allas And euery confort / possible in this cas They don to hire / with al here besynesse Al for to make hire leue / hire heuynesse Line 828 ¶ By processe / as ȝe knowen euerychon Men moun so longe / grauen in a ston Til som figure / ther-Inne empreynted be So longe han they / conforted hire / til she Line 832 Receyued hath / by hope and by reson The empryntynge / of hire consolacion Thurgh which / hire gret sorwe / gan a-swage She may nat alwey duren / in swich rage Line 836 ¶ And eke Arueragus / in al this care hath sent hire lettres hom / of his welfare And that he wol come hastily / a-geyn Or elles had this sorwe / hire hert slayn Line 840

Line 840 ¶ hire frendes saugh / hire sorwe gan to slake And preyeden hire on knees / for goddes sake [folio 130a] To come and romen hire / in compaignye Awey to dryue / hire derk fantasie Line 844 And finally she graunted / that requeste ffor wel she saugh / that it was for the beste ¶ Now stood hire Castel / fast by the see And often with hire frendes / walketh she Line 848 hire to disporte / vp-on the banke an heigh Where-as she many a ship / and barge seigh Seylyng here cours / where as hem list to goo But thanne was that / a parcel of hire woo Line 852 ffor to hire self / ful ofte allas seith she Is there no ship / of so manye as I se Wil bryngen hom my lord / thanne were myn herte Al warisshed / of hise bittre peynes smerte Line 856 ¶ A-nother tyme / there wold she sitte and thynke And cast hire eighen / dounward fro the brynke But whan she seigh / the grisly Rokkes blake ffor verrey fere / so wold hire hert quake Line 860 That on hire feet / she myght hire nought sustene Than wolde she sitte a-doun / vp-on the grene And pitously / in-to the See byholde And seyn right thus / with sorweful sikes colde Line 864 Eterne god / that thurgh thy purueaunce ledest the world / by eterne gouernaunce In ydel as men seyn / ȝe no thyng make But lord theise grisly / fendly rokkes blake Line 868 That semen rather / a foul confusion Of werk / than any fair / creacioun Of swich a parfyt wys god / and a stable Why han ȝe wrought this werk / vn-resonable Line 872 ffor by this werk / South / North / West ne Est Ther nys I-fostred no man / ne bryd ne beest It dooth no good / to my wytte / but annoyeth Se ȝe nat lord / how mankynde it destroyeth Line 876

Line 876 An hundred thouȝsand bodyes / of man-kynde han Rokkes slayn / al be they nought in mynde Which mankynde is so faire / a part of thy werke That thow it madest / like to thyn owen merke Line 880 Thanne semed it / ȝe had a gret chierte Toward mankynde / but how thanne may it be That ȝe swich menes make / it to destroyen Which menes do no good / but euere annoyen Line 884 I wot wel / clerkes wiln seyn as hem lest By argumenteȝ that al is for the best [folio 130b] Though I ne can the causes / nought I-knowe But thilke god / that made wynd to blowe Line 888 As kepe my lord / this is myn conclusion To clerkes lete I / al disputisioun But wolde god / that alle theise Rokkes blake Were sonken in-to helle / for his sake Line 892 Theise Rokkes slen myn herte / for the fere Thus she seide / with many a pytous tere hire frendes saugh / that it was no disport To romen by the See / but discomfort Line 896 And shopen for to pleyen / som-wher elles They leddyn hire by Ryuers / and by welles And eke in othere places / delitables They dauncen / and they pleyen at chesse / and tables ¶ So on a day / right in the morwe tyde Line 901 vn-to a gardeyn / that was there beside In which they had mad / here ordinaunce Of vitaille / and of other purueaunce Line 904 They gon and pleye hem / al the longe day And this was on the sexte morwe / of May Which May had peynted / with his softe shoures This gardeyn ful of leues / and of floures Line 908 And craft of mannys hand / so curiously Arrayed had this gardeyn / trewely That neuere was there gardyn / of swich a prys But if it were / the verray Paradys Line 912

Line 912 The odour of floures / and the fressh sight Wolde han maked / any hert light That euere was born / but if to gret sykenesse Or to gret sorwe / helde it in destresse Line 916 So ful it was of beaute / with plesaunce Line 918 At after dyner / gonne they to daunce Line 917 And synge also / saue Dorigen allone Which made alwey / hire compleynt and hire mone Line 920 ffor she ne saugh him / on the daunce goo That was hire husbonde / and hire loue also But nathelees / she must a tyme a-byde And with good hope / late hire sorwe slyde Line 924 ¶ Vp-on this daunce / amonges othere men Daunced a Squyer / byfore Dorigen That fresshere was / and Ioliere of array As to my doom / than is the monthe of May Line 928 he syngeth / daunceth / passyng any man That is / or was / sithe that the world bygan There-with he was / if men shulde him discryue [folio 131a] On of the best faryng man / on lyue Line 932 Ȝong / strong / right vertuous / and riche and wys And welbyloued / and holden in gret prys And shortly / if the sothe / I tellen shal vnwetyng of this / Dorigen at al Line 936 This lusty squyere / seruaunt to venus Which that I-cleped was / Aurelius hadde loued hire best / of any creature Two ȝere and more / as was his auenture Line 940 But neuere durst he tellen hire / his greuaunce With-outen cuppe he drank / al his penaunce he was dispeyred / nothyng durst he seye Saue in hise songes / somwhat wolde he wreye Line 944 his woo / as in a gentil compleynyng he seide he loued / and was byloued no thyng Of which matere / made he many layes Songes / compleyntes / roundels / virelayes Line 948

Line 948 how that he durst nat / his sorwe telle But languyssheth / as a fire doth in helle And deye he must / he seide / as dide Ekko ffor Narcisus / that durst nat telle hire wo Line 952 In othere manere / than ȝe heere me seye Ne durst he nat to hire / his woo bewreye Saue that perauenture / somtyme at daunces There ȝonge folk kepen / here obseruaunces Line 956 It may wel be / he loked on hire face In swych a wyse / as man that asketh grace But no thyng wist she / of his entent Nathelees it happed / er they thens went Line 960 Bycause that he was / hire neighebour And was a man of worshipe and honour And hadde I-knowen him / of tyme ȝore They fel in speche / and forth more and more Line 964 vn-to that purpos / drough Aurelius And whan he saw his tyme / he seide thus ¶ Madame quod he / by god that this world made If that I wiste / it myght ȝoure hert glade Line 968 I wolde that day / that ȝour Arueragus Went ouer the see / that I Aurelius hadde went / there neuere I shulde haue come ageyn ffor wel I woot / my seruyse is in veyn Line 972 My gerdon is / but brestyng of myn herte Madame / reweth vp-on / my peynes smerte ffor with a word / ȝe moun me slen or saue Heere at ȝoure feet / god wolde that I were graue [folio 131b] I ne haue as now / no leiser more to seye Line 977 haue mercy swete / or ȝe wol do me deye ¶ She gan to loke vp / on Aurelius Is this ȝoure wil quod she / and seye ȝe thus Line 980 Neuere erst quod she / ne wist I what ȝe mente But now Aurelie / I knowe ȝoure entente By thilke god / that ȝaf me soule and lyf Ne shal I neuere ben / an vntrewe wyf Line 984

Line 984 In word ne werk / as fer as I haue wit I wol ben his / to whom that I am knyt Take this for fynal answere / as of me But after that in pley / thus seide she Line 988 ¶ Aurelie quod she / by heigh god a-boue Ȝet wolde I graunte ȝow / to ben ȝoure loue Syn I ȝow se / so pitously compleigne loke what day / endelong Britaigne Line 992 Ȝe remoue alle the Rokkes / ston by ston That they ne lette ship / ne bot to gon I seye whan ȝe han mad / the coost so clene Of Rokkes / that there nys no stoon I-sene Line 996 Thanne wol I loue ȝow best / of any man haue heere my trouthe / in al that euere I can ¶ Is there non other grace in ȝow / quod he No by that lord quod she / that maked me Line 1000 ffor wel I wot / that it shal neuere betide late swich folies / from ȝoure herte slide What deynte / shulde a man han / in his lyf ffor to go loue / another mannes wyf Line 1004 That hath hire body / whan so þat him liketh Aurelius ful ofte / sore siketh ¶ Woo was Aurelie / whan that he this herde And with a sorweful hert / he thus answerde Line 1008 Madame quod he / this were an inpossibile Thanne moot I deye / of sodeyn deth possible And with that word / he turned him a-noon Tho come hire othere frendes / many oon Line 1012 And in the Aleyes / romeden vp and doun And nothyng wisten / of this conclusion But sodeynly bygonne / reuel newe Til that the bright sonne / lost his hewe Line 1016 ffor thorisonte hath reft / the sonne his light This as meche to seye / as it was nyght And hoom they gon / in Ioye and in solas Saue oonly / wrecched Aurelius / Allas Line 1020

Line 1020 He to his hous is gon / with sorweful herte [folio 132a] he seeth he may nat / froo his deeth a-sterte hym semed that he felt / his hert colde vp to the heuene / hise hondes he gan holde Line 1024 And on hise knees bare / he sette him doun And in his rauyng / seide his orisoun ffor werray woo / out of his wyt he breide he nyste what he spak / but thus he seide Line 1028 With pitous herte / his pleynt hath he bygonne vn-to the goddes / and first vn-to the Sonne ¶ he seide Apollo / god and gouernour Of euery plaunte / herbe / Tree and flour Line 1032 That ȝeuest after / thy declynacion To eche of hem / his tyme and his sesoun As thyn herberwe chaungeth / lowe or heighe lord Phebus / cast thy mercyable eye Line 1036 On wrecched Aurelie / which that am but lorn loo lord my lady / hath my deth I-sworn With-outen gilt / but thyn benygnetee vp-on my dedly hert / haue some pitee Line 1040 ffor wel I woot / lord Phebus / if ȝow list Ȝe moun me helpen / saue my lady best Now vouche-saf / that I may ȝow deuyse how that I may be holpen / and in what wyse [id est lina] Line 1044 ¶ Ȝoure blisful suster / lucyna the shene That of the see / is chief goddes and quene Though Neptunus / haue deitee in the see Ȝet emperesse a-bouen him / is she Line 1048 Ȝe knowen wel lord / that right as hire desire Is to be quyked and lighted / of ȝoure fyre ffor which she folweth ȝow / ful besily Right to the see / desireth naturely Line 1052 To folwen hire / as she that is goddesse Bothe in the See / and Ryuers more and lesse Wherfore lord Phebus / this is my requeste Do this myracle / or do myn herte breste Line 1056

Line 1056 That now next / at this apposicioun which in the signe shal be / of the leoun As preieth hire / so gret a flood to brynge That fyue fadme at the leste / it ouer springe Line 1060 The heieste Rokke / in armoryk Brytayne And late this flode / endure ȝeres tweyne Thanne certes to my lady / may I seye haldeth ȝoure heste / the Rokkes ben a-weye Line 1064 ¶ lord Phebus / do this myracle for me Preye hire she go / no fastere cours than ȝe [folio 132b] I seye / preieth ȝoure suster that she goo No faster cours than ȝe / theise ȝeres twoo Line 1068 Thanne shal she ben euene / at the fulle alwey And spryng flood lastynge / bothe nyght and day And but she vouche-saf / in swich manere To graunte me / my souereigne lady deere Line 1072 Preye hire to synken / euery Rokke a-doun In-to hire owen derk / region vnder the ground / there pluto dwelleth Inne Or neuere moo shal I / my lady wynne Line 1076 Thy temple in delphos / wol I barfot seke lord Phebus / se the teeres on my cheke And of my peyne / haue som compassion And with that word / in sorwe he fel a-doun Line 1080 And longe tyme he lay forth / in a traunce ¶ his brother which that knew / of his penaunce vp caughte him / and to bedde he hath him brought Dispeired in this turment / and this thought Line 1084 late I this wooful creature / lye Chese he for me / wheiþer he wil lyue or dye ¶ Arueragus with hele / and gret honour As he that was / of Chyualrie the flour Line 1088 Is comen hom / and othere worthy men O bli[s]ful artow now / thow Dorigen That hast thy lusty housbonde / in thyne armes The fresshe knyght / the worthy man of armes Line 1092

Line 1092 That loueth the / as his owne hertes lyf No thyng list him / to ben ymagnityf If any wyght had spoke / whil he was oute To hire of loue / he ne hadde of it / no doute Line 1096 he nought entendeth / to no swich matere But daunceth / Iusteth / maketh hire good chere And thus in ioye and blisse / I late hem dwelle And of the seke Aurelius / wol I telle Line 1100 ¶ In langour / and in turment furious Two ȝere and more / lay wrecched Aurelius Er any foot / he myght on erthe goon Ne comfort in this tyme / had he noon Line 1104 Saue of his brother / which that was a clerk he knew of al this woo / and al this werk ffor to noon other creature / certeyn Of this matere / he durst no word seyn Line 1108 vnder his brest / he bare it more secree Than euere dide Pamphilus / for Galathee his brest was hole / with-oute for to sene But in his herte / ay was the arwe kene [folio 133a] Line 1112 And wel ȝe knowe / that of a sursanure In surgerie / is perilous the cure But men myght touche the arwe / or come ther-by his brother weep / and wailed preuyly Line 1116 Til at the laste / him fel in remembraunce That whiles he was / at Orleens in fraunce As ȝonge clerkes / that ben likerous To reden artes / that ben curious Line 1120 Seken in euery halke / and euery herne Particulere sciences / for to lerne he him remembred / that 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 bacheler of lawe Al were he there / to lerne a-nother craft hadde preuely / vp-on his deske I-laft Line 1128

Line 1128 Which book spak muchel / of the operaciouns Touchyng the xxviij^ty mansciouns That longeth to the mone / and swich folie As in our dayes / is nat worth a flie Line 1132 ffor holichirche feith / in oure byleue Ne suffreth noon illusion / vs to greue And whan this book / was in his remembraunce A-noon for ioye / his herte gan to daunce Line 1136 And to him self / he seide priuely My brother shal be warisshed / hastily ffor I am syker / that there be sciences By which men make / dyuerse apparences Line 1140 Swich as theise subtile tregetoures / pleye ffor ofte atte festes / haue I wel herd seye That Tregetours / with-Inne an halle large han made come in / a water and a barge Line 1144 And in the halle / rowen vp and doun Some tyme hath semed come / a grym leoun And somtyme floures springe / as in a Mede Somtyme a vyne and grapes / white & reede Line 1148 Somtyme a castel / al of lyme and ston And whan him lyked / voided it a-noon Thus semed it / to euery mannes sight Now thanne conclude I thus / that if I myght Line 1152 At Orliens / some olde felawe I-fynde That hadde this mones mansiouns / in mynde Or other magyk / naturel a-boue he shulde wel make my brother / haue his loue Line 1156 ffor with an apparence / a Clerk may make To mannes sight / that alle the Rokkes blake [folio 133b] Of Britaygne / were I-voided euerychon And shippes by the brynke / come and gon Line 1160 And in swich fourme / endure / a day or two Thanne were my brother warisshede / of his woo Thanne must she nedes holden / hire byheste Or elles he shal shame hire / atte the leste Line 1164

Line 1164 ¶ What shulde I make / a lengere tale of this vn-to his brothers bed / he comen is And swich confort / he ȝaf him for to gon To Orliens / that he vp stirte a-noon Line 1168 And on his wey forthward / thanne is he fare In hope for to ben lissed / of his care ¶ Whan they were come / almoost to that Citee But if it were / a two forlong or three Line 1172 A ȝonge Clerk romyng / by him self / they mette Which that in latyn / thriftily hem grette And after that he seide / a wonder thyng I knowe quod he the cause / of ȝoure comyng Line 1176 And er they ferthere / any foote wente he told hem al that was / in here entente ¶ This Britoun Clerk / him asked of felawes The which that he had knowe / in olde dawes Line 1180 And he answered him / that they deede were ffor which he wep ful ofte / many a teere Doun of his hors / Aurelius light a-noon And with this Magicien / forth he is goon Line 1184 hom to his hous / and maden hem wel att ese hem lakked no vitaille / that myght hem plese So wel arrayed hous / as there was oon Aurelius in his lyf / saw neuere noon Line 1188 he shewed him / er he wente to soupere fforestes Parkes / ful of wylde dere There saw he hertes / with here hornes heye The grettest / that euere was seyn / with eye Line 1192 he saw of hem / an hundred slayn with houndes And some with arwes blede / of bittere woundes ¶ he saw whan voided were / the wilde deere Theise faucons / vp-on a fair Ryuere Line 1196 That with here haukes / han the heroun slayn Tho saw he knyghtes / Iustyng in a pleyn And after this / he dide him swich plesaunce That he him shewed / his lady on a daunce Line 1200

Line 1200 On which him self he daunced / as him thought And whan this Maister / that this Magyk wrought [folio 134a] Saw it was tyme / he clapt hise handes two And fare wel / al oure reuel was a-goo Line 1204 And remeeued they neuere / out of the hous While they saugh / al this sight merueillous But in his studie / there as hise bookes bee They seten stille / but no wyght / but they three Line 1208 To him this maister called / his squyere And seide him thus / is redy oure soupere Almost an houre it is / I vndertake Sithe I ȝow bad / oure souper for to make Line 1212 Whan that theise worthy men / wenten with me In-to my studie / there as my bookes be ¶ Sire quod this squyere / whan that it lyketh ȝow It is al redy / though ȝe wol right now Line 1216 Go we thanne soupe / quod he / for the beste Theise amerous folk / somtyme mot han here reste ¶ At after souper / fel they in tretee What somme / shulde this maistres / gerdoun be Line 1220 To remeeuen alle the Rokkes / of Brytaigne And eke from gerounde / to the mouth of sayne he mad it straunge / and swor so god him saue lasse than a thouȝsand pound / he wolde nat haue Line 1224 Ne gladly for that somme / he wolde nat gon Aurelius / with blisful herte a-noon Answered thus / fy on a thousand pound This wide world / which that men seye is round Line 1228 I wolde it ȝeue / if I were lord of it This bargeyn is ful dreue / for we ben knyt Ȝe shal be paid trewely / by my trouthe But loketh now / for no necligence / or slouthe Line 1232 Ȝe tarie vs heere / no lengere than to-morwe Nay quod this Clerk / haue heere my feith to borwe To bedde is gon Aurelius / whan him leste And wel ny al that nyght / he had his reste Line 1236

Line 1236 What for his labour / and his hope of blisse his wooful herte / of penaunce had a lisse ¶ vp-on the morwe / whan that it was day To Britaigne toke they / the right way Line 1240 Aurelius / and this Magicien byside And ben descended / there they wolde a-byde And this was / as theise bookes me remembre The colde frosty sesoun / of Decembre Line 1244 ¶ Phebus wex old / and hewed like latoun That in his hote / declinacioun [folio 134b] Shoon / as the burned gold / with stremes bright But now in Capricorn / a-doun he lyght Line 1248 Where-as he shon ful pale / I dar wel seyn The bittre frostes / with the sleet and reyn Destroyed hath the grene / in euery ȝerd [¶ Ianus biceps] Ianus syt by the fyre / with double berd Line 1252 And drynketh of his bugle horn / the wyn Biforn him stant Brawn / of the tusked swyn And nowel crieth / euery lusty man ¶ Aurelius / in al that euere he can Line 1256 Doth to this Maister / chiere and reuerence And preieth him / to doon his diligence To bryngen him / out of hise peynes smerte Or with a swerd / that he wold slitte his herte Line 1260 ¶ This subtil clerk / swich routhe had of this man That nyght and day / he spedde him that he can To wayten a tyme / of his conclusioun This is to seyn / to make illusioun Line 1264 By swich an apparence / or Iogelrie I ne can no termes / of Astrologie That she and euery wyght / shulde wene and seye That of Brytaigne / the Rokkes were a-weye Line 1268 Or elles they were sonken / vnder grounde So at the laste / he hath his tyme I-founde To make his Iapes / and his wrechednesse Of swich a supersticies / cursednesse Line 1272

Line 1272 his tables tolletanes / forth he brought fful wel corrected / ne there lakked nought Neither his collect / ne his expans ȝeres Ne hise rootes / ne hise othere geres Line 1276 As ben hise centris / and hise argumenteȝ And hise proporcionelles / conuenienteȝ ffor hise equaciouns / in euery thyng And by hise eighte spere / in his werkyng Line 1280 he knew ful wel / how fer alnath was shoue ffro the hed / of thilk fixe Aries a-boue That in the .ix. spere / considered is fful subtilly / he kalculed al this Line 1284 Whan he had founde / his first mansioun he knewe the remenaunt / by proporcioun And knew the arisyng / of his Mone wel And in whos face and terme / and euerydel Line 1288 And knewe ful wele / the Mones mansioun Acordaunt / to his operacioun And knew also / hise othere obseruaunces ffor which illusions / and swich meschaunces [folio 135a] Line 1292 As hethen folk vseden / in thilke dayes ffor which no lengere / maketh he delayes But thurgh his Magyk / for a weke or tweye It semed / that alle the Rokkes / were aweye Line 1296 ¶ Aurelius / which that ȝet / despayred is Wheither he shal han his lyf / or fare amys A-wayteth nyght and day / on this myracle And whan he knew / that there was noon obstacle Line 1300 That voided were theise Rokkes / euerychon Doun to his maistres feet / he fel a-noon And seide / I wooful wrecched Aurelius Thank ȝow lord / and lady myn / venus Line 1304 That me han holpen / for my cares colde And to the Temple / his weye / forth hath he holde Where as he knew / he shulde his lady se And whan he saugh his tyme / a-noon right he Line 1308

Line 1308 With dredful herte / and with humble chere Salued hath / his souerayn lady dere ¶ My rightful lady / quod this wooful man Whom I moost drede and loue / as I best can Line 1312 And lothest were / of al this world / displese Nere it that I / for ȝow haue swich dissese That I must deyen heere / at ȝoure foot a-noon Nought wolde I telle / how me is woo-bygon Line 1316 But certes / either must I dye or pleyne Ȝe sleen me giltlees / for verray peyne But of my deth / though that ȝe haue no routhe A-vyseth ȝow / er that ȝe breke ȝoure trouthe Line 1320 Repenteth ȝow / for thilke god a-boue Or ȝe me sleen / by-cause that I ȝow loue ffor Madame wel ȝe woot / what ȝe han hight Nat that I chalenge / any thyng of right Line 1324 Of ȝow / my souerayn lady / but ȝoure grace But in a gardeyn ȝonder / at swich a place Ȝe wot right wel / what ȝe behighten me And in myn hond / ȝoure treuthe plight ȝe Line 1328 To loue me best / god wot ȝe seide so Al be / that I vnworthy am ther-to Madame / I speke it for the honour of ȝow More than to saue / myn hertes lyf right now Line 1332 I haue do so / as ȝe comaunded me And if ȝe vouchesaf / ȝe may go se Doth as ȝow list / haue ȝowre bihest in mynde [folio 135b] ffor quykke or ded / right there ȝe shal me fynde Line 1336 In ȝow lith al / to do me lyue or deye But wel I woot / the Rokkes ben a-weye he taketh his leue / and she astoned stode In al hire face / nas a drope of bloode Line 1340 She wend neuere han come / in swich a trappe ¶ Allas quod she / that euere this shulde happe ffor wende I neuere / by possibilitee That such a moastre / or merueille myght be Line 1344

Line 1344 It is a-geyns / the processe of nature And hom she goth / a sorweful creature ffor verrey fere / vnethe may she goo She wepeth weyleth / al a day or two Line 1348 And swoughneth / that it reuthe was to se But why it was / to no wyght told she ffor ought of toune / was goon Arueragus But to hire self she spak / and seide thus Line 1352 With face pale / and with ful sorweful chere In hire compleynte / as ȝe shuln after heere Allas quod she / oon the fortune / I pleyne That vnwar / wrapped hast me / in thy cheyne Line 1356 ffro which to escape / woot I no socoure Saue oonly deth / or ellis dishonoure [¶ ȝo . Athenientium tiranni cum phidonem ne|cassent in conuiuio filias eius virgines ad se venire iusserunt & scortorum more nudari / Ac super pauimenta patris sanguine cruen|tatas inpudicis gestibus ludere / que paulisper dissimulato dolore cum temulentos conuiuas cernerent quasi ad requisita nature egredi|entes inuicem se complexere precipitauerunt in puteum vt virgini|tatem morte seruarent;] Oon of theise two / bihoueth me to chese But nathelees / ȝet haue I leuere to lese Line 1360 My lyf / than of my body haue a shame Or knowe my seluen false / or lese my name And with my deth / I may be quyte I-wys hath there nat / many a noble wyf er this Line 1364 And many a mayde / I-slayn hire self / allas Rather than with hire body / do trespas ¶ Ȝis certes / lo þeise stories beren wytnesse Whan thretty Tyraunteȝ / ful of cursednesse Line 1368 had slayn Phidon / in Athenes atte feste They comaunded his doughtren / fort arreste And bryngen hem biforn him / in despit Al naked / to fulfille here foule delit Line 1372 And in here fadres blod / they mad hem daunce Vp-on the pauement / god ȝeue hem myschaunce ffor which theise wooful maydenes / ful of drede Rathere than they wold lese / here maydenhede Line 1376 They pryuely ben stirt / in-to a welle And dreynt hem seluen / as the bookes telle ¶ They of Metene / lete enquere and seke Of lacedomye / fifty maydenes eke Line 1380

Line 1380 On which they wolden doon / here lecherie [folio 136a] But was there noon / of al that companye That she nas slayn / and with a good entente Ches rather for to deye / than assente Line 1384 To ben oppressed / of here maydenhede Why shulde I thanne to dye / ben in drede lo eke the Tiraunt / Aristoclides That loued a mayden / hight Stymphalides Line 1388 Whan that hire fader / slayn was / on a nyght Vn-to Dianes temple / gooth she right [¶ Iouinianum] And hente the ymage / in hire handes twoo ffro which ymage / wold she neuere goo [¶ Singulas has historias & plures hanc materi|am concernentes recitat Beatus Ieronimus contra Iouinianum in primo suo libro cap. 39.] ¶ No wight ne myght / hire handes of it arrace Line 1393 Til she was slayn / right in the selue place Now sithe that maydenes / hadden swich despit To ben defouled / with mannes foule delit Line 1396 Wel ought I wyf / rather my seluen slee Than be defouled / as it thynketh me What shal I seyn / of Hasterubales wyf That at Cartage / byrafte hire selue hire lif Line 1400 ffor whan she saw / that Romeyns wan the Toun She took hire children alle / and skipte a-doun In-to the fire / and ches rathere to deye Than any Romayn / dide hire velanye Line 1404 ¶ hath nat lucresse / I-slayn hire self allas At Rome / whan she oppressed was Of Tarquyn / for hire thoughte it was a shame To lyuen / whan she had lost hire name Line 1408 ¶ The Seuene Maydenes / of Melesie also han slayn hem self / for verrey drede and woo Rather than folk of Sawle / hem shulde oppresse moo than a thousand stories / as I gesse Line 1412 Coude I now telle / as touchyng this matere ¶ Whan habradate was slayn / his wyf so deere hire seluen slow / and leet hire blood to glide In habradeces woundes / depe and wyde Line 1416

Line 1416 And seide my body / atte þe leste weye There shal no wyght defoulen / if I maye What shulde I moo ensaumples / here-of sayn Sithe that so manye / han hem seluen slayn Line 1420 Wel rathere than they wolde / defouled be I wol conclude / that it is bet for me To sleen my self / than be defouled thus I wol be trewe / vn-to Arueragus Line 1424 Or rather slee my self / in some manere As dide Democienis / doughter dere [folio 136b] By-cause that she wolde nought / defouled be ¶ O Cedasus / it is ful greet pitee Line 1428 To reden how thyne doughtren deyeden / allas That slowen hem self / for suche manere cas ¶ As greet pitee was it / or wel more The Theban Mayden / that for Nichamore Line 1432 hire seluen slough / right for such manere woo ¶ An-other Theban mayden / did right so ffor oon of Macedoigne / had hire oppressed She with hire deth / hire maydenhod redressed Line 1436 ¶ What shal I seyn / of Nycerates wyf That for such cas / byrefte hir self hir lyf ¶ how trewe eke was / Alcebiades his loue / that rathere for to dyen chees Line 1440 Than for to suffre his body . vnberied be ¶ loo which a wyf / was Alceste quod she ¶ What seith Omere / of goode Penelopee Al grece knoweth / of hire chastitee Line 1444 ¶ Parde of laodomia / is wryten thus That whan at Troie / was slayn Protheselaus No lengere wolde she lyue / after his day ¶ The same of noble Portia / telle I may Line 1448 With-oute Brutus / coude she nat lyue To whom she had al hool / hire herte ȝyue ¶ The parfyt wyfhod / of Arthemesye honoured is / thorugh al the Barbarye Line 1452

Line 1452 ¶ O Theuta Quene / thy wyfly chastitee To alle wyues / may a myrour be . . . . . [no gap in the MS: these lines] . . . . . [known only in Ellesmere MS.] Line 1456 Thus pleyned Dorigen / a day or tweye Purposyng euere / that she wolde deye But nathelees / vp-on the thridde nyght hoom come Arueragus / this worthy knyght Line 1460 And axed hire / why that she wepe so sore And she gan wepen / euere the lengere the more Allas quod she / that euere was I born Thus haue I seide quod she / thus haue I sworn Line 1464 And told him al / as ȝe han herd byfore It nedeth nat / reherce it ȝow no more ¶ This housbond with glad chere / and frendly wyse Answered & seide / as I shal ȝow deuyse Line 1468 Is there out elles / Dorigen but this Nay nay quod she / god help me so as wys This is to meche / and it were goddis wylle [leaf 137 gone] Ye wyf koth he / let slepen that is still [Eg. 2726 folio 157a] It may be wele / perauenture yitte to-day ye shull your trouth hold by my fay ffor god so wisly / haue mercy vpon me I hade wele leuer / stikked for to be Line 1476 For verray loue / which that I to you haue [Eg. 2726 folio 157b] But yf / ye shold your trouth / kepe and save Trouth is the hiest thyng / þat man may kepe But with þat word he brast anon to wepe Line 1480 And seid / I you forbede vp-on peyn of deth That neuer while you / lasteth lyf or breth To no wight/ tell þou of this auenture As I may best/ I woll my wo endure Line 1484 Ne make no countenaunce / of hevynes That folk of you / mow deme harme or gesse And forth he cleped a squyer / and a meid Goth forth anon / with Dorigen he seid Line 1488

Line 1488 And bryng hir / to soch a place anoon They take her leue / and on her wey þey gon But þey ne wist/ why she theder went He nold no wight/ tell his intent Line 1492 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Line 1496 . . . . . [no gap in the MS.: these lines] . . . . . [known only in the Ellesmere MS.] This Squyer / which þat hight Aurelius On Dorigen / that was so amerus Line 1500 Of auenture / happed hir to mete Amyd the toun / right in þe quykkest strete And she was boun / to go the wey forth right/ Toward the gardyn / there as she hade hight/ Line 1504 And he was to þe / gardynward also ffor wele he spied / whan she wold go Out of hir hous / to ony maner place But þus þey mette / of auenture or grace Line 1508 And he salueth hir / with gode intent And axed of hir / whider-ward she went/ And she answerd / half as she were mad Vn-to the gardyn as myn housbond bad Line 1512 My trouth for to hold / Allas Allas Aurelius gan wonder / on þis caas And in his hert/ hade grete compassioun Of hir / and hir lamentacioun Line 1516 And of Arueragus / þe worthy knyght That bade hir hold / all þat she hade hight So loth hym was / his wif / shold breke hir treuth And in his hert / he caught of þis grete reuth Line 1520 Consideryng/ þe best / on euery side That from his lust / yitte leuer were hym bide Than don so heigh / a / cherlyssh wrecchednes [Eg. 2726 folio 158a] Ayeinst / fraunchise / and all gentilles Line 1524

Line 1524 ffor which in fewe wordes / seid he þus Madame seith to your lord / Arueragus That seth I se / his grete gentilles To you / and eke / I se wele / your distres Line 1528 That hym were leuer haue shame / and þat were reuth Than ye to me / shold breke þus your treuth I haue wele leuer euer to suffre wo Than I depart the love / bitwene you two Line 1532 I you relese madame / in-to your honde Quyte euery surement/ And euery bonde That ye han made / to me / as here-byforn Seth thylk tyme / which þat ye were born Line 1536 My trouth I plight/ I shall you neuer repreue Of no byhest/ and here I take my leue As of þe truest / and þe best wyf That euer yitte / I knew in all my lyf Line 1540 But euery wyf / be ware / of hir byhest On Dorigen / remembreth atte lest Thus can a Squyer don a gentle dede As wele / as can a knyght without drede Line 1544 She thanketh hym / vpon her knees bare And home to hir housbond / is she fare And told hym all / as ye han herd me seid And be ye siker / he was so wele appeid Line 1548 That it were impossible / me to write What shold I lenger / of þis caas endite Arueragus / and Dorigen his wyf In souerayn blys / leden forth her lyf Line 1552 Neuer eft / was þere angre / hem bitwene He cherissheth hir / right as she were a quene And she was to hym true / for euermore Of thise .ij. folk / ye gete of me no more Line 1556 Aurelius / þat his cost / hath all forlorn Curseth the tyme / þat euer was he born Allas koth he / allas that I behight Of pured gold a M^l. pound of wight Line 1560

Line 1560 Vn-to this Philisophre / how shall I do I sey no more / but þat I am fordo Myn heritage mot I nedes sell [Eg. 2726 folio 158b] And ben a begger / here may I nat dwell/ [[Eg. ends]] Line 1564 And shamen al my kynrede / in this place [folio 138a] But I of hym / myght gete bettre grace But nathelees / I wyl of hym assaye At certeyne dayes / ȝere by ȝere to paye Line 1568 And thanke him / of his grete curteisie My trouthe wil I kepe / I wyl nought lye ¶ With herte sore / he gooth vn-to his coffre And brought gold / vn-to his Philosophre Line 1572 The value of fyue hundred pound / I gesse And him bisecheth / of his gentillesse To graunt him dayes / of the remenaunt And seide Maister / I dar wel make auaunt Line 1576 I failled neuere / of my trouthe / as ȝet ffor sikerly my dette / shal be quyt Towardes ȝow / how euere that I fare To goon a begged / in my kirtel bare Line 1580 But wolde ȝe vouche-sauf / vp-on seuretee Two ȝere or thre / for to respiten me Thanne were I wel / for elles mot I selle Myn heritage / ther nys na more to telle Line 1584 ¶ This Philosophre / sobrely answerde And seide thus / whan he theise wordes herde haue I nat holden / couenaunt vn-to the ¶ Ȝis certes / wel and trewely / quod he Line 1588 hast thow nat had thy lady / as the liketh ¶ No no quod he / and sorwefully he syketh What was the cause / telle me if thow can ¶ Aurelius his tale / a-noon bygan Line 1592 And told him al / as ȝe han herd bifore It nedeth nat to ȝow / reherce it more ¶ he seide Arueragus / of gentillesse hadde leuere dye / in sorwe and in distresse Line 1596

Line 1596 Than that his wyf / were of hir trouthe fals The sorwe of Dorigene / he told him als how loth hire was / to ben a wykked wyf And that she lost had leuere / that day / hir lyf Line 1600 And that hir trouthe / she swor of Innocence She neuere erst / had herd speke / of apparence That mad him han of hire / so gret pitee And right as freely / as he sent hir me Line 1604 [MS. torn] sent I hire / to him a-geyn [MS. torn] some / ther nys na more to seyn [MS. torn] hre / answerd leue brother [MS. torn] dide gentilly to other Line 1608 Thow art a Squyer / and he is a knyght [folio 138b] But god forbede / for his blisful myght But if a Clerk / coude doon a gentil dede As wel as any of ȝow / it is no drede Line 1612 ¶ Sire I relesse the / thy thousand 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 the Line 1616 ffor al my craft / ne nought for my trauaille Thow hast I-paid wel / for my vitaille It is I-now / and farewel haue good day And toke his hors / & forth he goth his wey Line 1620 lordynges this question / than wil I axe now Which was the moost free / as thynketh ȝow Now telleth me / or that ȝe ferthere wende I can namore / my tale is at an ende [¶ Amen.] Line 1624

Here endeth the ffrankeleyns tale;