Caxton's Blanchardyn and Eglantine, c. 1489 : from Lord Spencer's unique imperfect copy, completed by the original French and the second English version of 1595

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Title
Caxton's Blanchardyn and Eglantine, c. 1489 : from Lord Spencer's unique imperfect copy, completed by the original French and the second English version of 1595
Editor
Kellner, Leon, 1859-1928, Caxton, William, ca. 1422-1491
Publication
London: Oxford University Press
1890
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"Caxton's Blanchardyn and Eglantine, c. 1489 : from Lord Spencer's unique imperfect copy, completed by the original French and the second English version of 1595." In the digital collection Corpus of Middle English Prose and Verse. https://name.umdl.umich.edu/Blanchardyn. University of Michigan Library Digital Collections. Accessed April 27, 2025.

Pages

¶ The xxxiij chapyter conteyneth how Blanchardyn made pyteouse complayntes for his lady wythin a gardyne, [Wanting in the French.] and of the grete recomforte that was made to hym of sadoyne / [En promettant que de tout son pouoir lui aideroit]

Ye haue all ynoughe vnderstande here a fore how blanchardyn had the goode grace of the kynge of prusse, of Sadoyne his sone, & the loue of all the barons of the sayde royalme. And how he had reffused the kynges cosyne for to haue her in maryage; but the grete loue & fydelyte that he had toward his lady, the proude pucelle in amours, kept hym there fro / for rather he wold haue deyed than to haue falsed his feyth ayenst her, for whome he had at herte so many a sorowful & hevy thought for to bere / for nother nyght nor daye he dyde non other thinge, but thynke how & what manere he myght departe out of the contrey where he was Inne, for to go to gyue socoure vnto the proude pucell [sign. G iiij.] in amours his fayre loue, that was his souerayn desyre & his right besy & contynually thoughte, wherof it happed upon a daye amonge other as blanchardyn was entred in a gardyne wythin þe kynges paleys alone, wythout eny feliship, for to complayne the better his hertes sorowes, that in beholdyng vpon the fayre flouris wherof nature had fayre appareylled the gardyne, & amonge other he sawe a rosier tree laden with many a fayr rose that had a smel ful swete / emonge whiche one was ther that of flagraunt odoure & of beaulte passed all the other; wherfore vpon her he dyde arrest

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his eyen, & said in this maner / 'Ha, noble rose, preelect & chosen byfore all other flouris that ben about the / how be it they be right fayre / thou puttest into my remembraunce thurgh the fayrnes that I see in the / the right parfyt & excellent beaulte of myn owne goode lady, the proude mayden in amours, [the right parfyt & excellent beaulte of myn owne goode lady, the proude mayden in amours = madame] whom god gyue all that whiche her noble herte wysheth & desyreth / I am so ferre from her / that aduyse it is to me, and also I byleue the same / that I neuer shal see her nomore. I can not curse to moche myn vnfortune that hath brought me, whiche was come to haue the goode grace of the most parfyt creature that god & nature wythout comparison wold euer make, in to the grete sorowes where I am now Inne / Now most I be ferre from her: wolde god now that ye, myn owne swete lady, wyst that I am aliue, & how goode a wyll I haue to socoure you, yf it were to me possible;' & in proferryng this wordes, þe teeris fel grete from his eyen in grete haboundaunce without ceasse [Wanting in the French.] / sadoyne that coude not dure nor be with-out blanchardyn, went him seking in all þe place so longe that at the last he cam & sawe hym wythin the gardyne / & cam there as he was or euer blanchardyn was aware of hym / He fonde him the terres at the eyes of hym makynge his full pituouse complayntes / the whiche sadoyne had herde a part of hem / he cam & set hym self doun besyde blanchardyn, & prayed hym that he wolde telle him the cause of his sorowe & grete lamentacion, promyttyng to hym that it sholde neuer be told noo knowen by him, & saide vnto him: 'My right trusty felawe, ye do sobbe & make grete sorowe, wherfor I true & thinke for ueray throuth / that it is loue that so ledes you' / 'Certes, sadoyne,' sayde blanchardyn, 'ye may beleue well for certayn that the god of loue werreth ayenst me right sore, to holde & kepe me here in this contrey / & to myn

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aduyse, yf he wolde be content wyth reason / he sholde suffre that som worde were brought here to me to the comforte of one parte of my grete sorowe, from her for whos sake they be sore grounded wythin my penseful herte [Wanting in the French.] / I loke styl ouer the mountaynes & valeye als ferre as my sight can comprehende; but, alas, I can not chuse nor see the toure wherynne she holdeth her self' / 'O my right trusty frende & dere felawe,' sayde sadoyne, 'is it the toure of babylonye where she doth holde her / or of Rome, of spayne, or of Almanye.' [of spayne, or of Almanye = patras despaigne ditalie ou dallemaigne.] 'Certes,' sayde blanchardyn, 'it is not so ferre as ye wene, [as ye wene = ou madame se tient que celles que vous auez nommees sont.] but syth that ye desyre so sore to knowe myn angwyshe & sorowe, I shall telle you what is me befal / I am a seruaunt reteyned wyth the lady of Tourmaday, that is called of euery man the proude mayden in amours. She is beseged within her cyte by Kynge Alymodes, a cruel tyraunt, kynge of Cassydonye, that hath had me as his prysoner here before, but by fortune of the see and the goode aduenture, thanked be oure lord, j am escaped; he wold haue by strengthe & puyssaunce to his spouse my sayd lady / But by cause that she wil not haue him tyl her lord, he hath purposed to kepe his power men of werre by fore her cyte of tourmaday vnto tyme that he haue her at his wylle.' After the wordes, the teeres ranne doune from his eyen.

¶ And whan Sadoyne sawe his true and feythfull felawe Blanchardyn make suche a sorowe, his herte bygan to quake wythin hymself for pyte that he had of blanchardyn / & sayde thus vnto hym, 'Certaynly, dere felawe myne, yf ye wol do after me, we shal go wyth all pouer & myght to helpe & socoure your lady, for whos loue ye take suche a sorowe, & shal delyuere her from Kynge Alymodes handes' / Blanchardyn, thenne

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beholdyng ful pyteously vpon his felawe sadoyne, sayde vnto hym, 'O the right grete recomforte of my sorowful lyf / wolde god it were so as ye saye / for þe Kyng Alymodes hath a daughter of his owne, whiche is so fayr that god & nature can not amende her, nor in no lande can be choson no fayrer / Certaynly yf we coude bringe this werke at an ende, she sholde be yours wythout faylle' / 'My frende dere,' sayde sadoyne, 'it lieth in the wylle of the goddes. We haue goode men of werre ynough for to furnysshe this enterpryse, whiche I sore do desyre for to gyue helpe to youre sorowes. I wyll go toward the kynge my fader, for to haue leue for you & for me.' Whether blanchardyn of this tydynge was glad / it is not to be asked /

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