Pithy pleasaunt and profitable workes of maister Skelton, Poete Laureate. Nowe collected and newly published. Anno 1568

FOr Philip sparowes soule Set in our bead roule Let vs now whisper Pater noster. Lauda anima mea dominum. ••o weep with me loke y^t ye come ••ll maner of byrds in your kynd ••ee none be left be hynd To morning loke that ye fawl With dolorous songes funerall ••ome to sing, and some to say ••ome to weep and some to praye ••uery bird in his lay ••he Goldfinch the wagtaile The iangling Iaye to rayle The flecked Pye to chatter

Of this dolorous matter And Robyn red breste He shalbe the preest The Requiem masse to syng Loftly warbeling With helpe of the red sparow And the chattering swallow This hearse for to halow The Larke with his long toe The spinke & the Martinet also The shouelar with his brode beck The doterell that folish pecke And also the mad coote With a balde face to toote The felde fare and the snyte The crowe and the kyte The rauen called rolfe His playne songe to solfe The partryche, the quayle The plouer wyth vs to wayle The wodhacke y^t singeth churre Horsly as hee had the murre The lusty chaunting nightingale The popingaye to tel her tale That toteth oft in a glasse Shal rede the Gospel at masse The mauis with her whistell Shal rede there the pistell

But with a large and a longe •• kepe iust playne songe Our chaūters shalbe y^t Cuckoue ••he Culuer, the stockedoue With puwyt the Lapwing ••he versycles shal synge The Bitter with his bumpe The Crane with his trumpe The swan of Menander The Goose and the Gander ••he ducke and the drake Shal watche atthys wake The Pecocke so proude Because hys voyce is loud And hath a gloryous tale He shal synge the grayle The Owle that so foule Must helpe vs to Houle the Heron so gaunte And the cormoraunte Wyth the Fesaunt And the gaglyng gaunte And the churlish Choughe the rout and the kough the barnacle the bussard With the wilde mallard the diuendop to sleep the water ben to weep

Thhe puffin, and the tele Money they shall dele To pore folke at large That shalbe theyr charge The semew, and the titmose The wodcocke with the long nose The thre still with her warblinge The starling with her brablinge The rooke, with the Ospray That putteth fisshes to afray And the deinty curlew With the turtil most true

At this Placebo. We may not well forgo The countring of the co The storke also That maketh his nest In chimneyes to rest Within those walles No broken galles Maye there abide Of cokoldry syde Or els Philosophy Maketh a greatlye

The Estridge that wil eate An horshowe so greate In the stede of meat Such feruent heat

His stomake doth freat He cannot wel fly Nor synge tunably Yet at abrayde He hath well assayd To solf a aboue Ela Fa lorell fa fa Ne quaando Male cantando The best that we can To make him our belman An let him ring the bels He can do nothing els, Chaunteclere our Cocke Must tell what is of the clocke By the astrologye That he hath naturally Conceyued and caught And was neuer taught By Al bumazer The astronomer Nor by ptholomy Prince of Astronomer Nor yet by Haly And yet he croweth dayly And nightly the tydes That no man abides With partlot his hen

Whome now and then Hee plucketh by the hed whan he doth her tred

The bird of Arabye that potenciallye May neuer dye And yet there is none But one alone A phenix it is this herse that must blis With armaticke gummes that cost great summes the way of thurification to make fumigacion Swete of reflarye And redolent of ayre This corse for sence With great reuerence As Patriarke or Pope In a blacke cope Whiles he senseth He shal syng the verse Libera me In de la sol re Softly bemole For my sparowes soule Plinni sheweth al In his story natural

What he doth finde Of the Phenix kinde Of whose incineracion There riseth a new creacion Of the same facion Wythout alteracion Sauing that old age Is turned into corage Of fresh youth agayne This matter true and playne Playne matter in deed Who so lyst to rede

But for the Egle doth fly Hyest in the sky He shalbe thy se deane The quere to demeane As prouost principall To teach them their Ordinall Also the noble fawcon With the gerfawcon The tarsel gentil They shall morne softe and still In theyr amisse of gray The sacre with them shal say Dirige for Philips soule The Goshauke shal haue a roul The querestrers to controule The lanners and marlions

shall stādī their mournīggounes The hobby and the musket The sēsers aud the crosse shall fet The kestrel in al this warke Salbe holy water clarks And now the darke cloudy night Chaseth away phebus bryght taking his course toward the weste God sēd my sparoes soule good rest Rcquiē eternā dona eis domine Fa fa fa my re A por ta in fe ri Fa fa fa my my

¶ Credo Videre bona domini I pray god philip to heuen may flie Domine exaudi or acionem me am to heauē he shal frō heuē he came ¶ Do mi nus vo bis cum of al good praiers god sēd him sum Oremus. De{us} cui propreū est miserere & percere On Phillips soule haue pity: