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

The boke compiled by maister Skelton, Poet Laureat called speake Parrot.

MY name is parrot, a bird of paradise By nature deuised, of a wonderous kynd Dienteli dieted, with diuers delicate spice Tyl Euphrates that floud, driueth me into Inde Where men of that countrey, bi fortune me find And send me, to great Ladyes of estate Then parrot must haue an almon or a date.

A cage curiously caruen, with siluer pin Properly painted, to be my couertowre A myrrour of glasse, that I may tote therin These maidēs ful mekely w^c many a diuers flour Freshly they dresse, and make swete my boure with speke parrot I prai you, ful courteously thei say Parrot is a goodly byrd, a prety Popagey

With my becke bent, my litle wanton eye My feders freshe, as is the Emrawde grene About my necke a circulet, lyke the ryche rubye My lyttle legges, my fete both fete and cleane I am a minion, to wayt vpon the quene My proper parrot, my lytle prety foole With ladies I learne, and go with them to scole.

Hagh, ha, ha, parrot, ye can laugh pretely Parrot hath not dined, of al this long day Lyke your pus cat parrot can mute and cry In lattyn, in Ebrew, Araby and Caldey In greke tonge, parrot, can both speake and saye As percius that poet, doth report of me Quis expediuit psitatio suum Chire.

Howse frenche of parrise, Parrot can learne Pronousynge my purpose, after my properte With perliez bien, Parrot ou perlez rien With Duche, with Spanish, my tonge can agre In English, to God Parrot can supple Christ saue king Henry the eight our roial king The red rose in honour, to florish and spring.

With Katherin incōparable: our roial quene also That parelespōgarnet christ saue her noble grace Parrot sauies, habler castiliano With sidasso de costo, in turkey and in trace Uis consilii expers, as teacheth me horace Mole ruit sua, whose dices at pregnaunte.

My lady maisters, dame Philology Gaue me a gift, in my nest whan I lay To learne al language, and it to speke aptely Now pandez mory, wax franticke som men saye Proneles or freneses, may not hold her way

An almon now for Parrot, delicatly drest In salue festa dies toto, their doth best.

Moderata iuuant, but toto doth excede Dicression is mother of noble vertues all Niden agan, in greke tonge we rede But reason, and wit wanteth their prouinciall When wilfulnes, is virar generall Hec res acu tangitur, Parrot parmafoy Ticez vous Parrot, Tenez vous coye.

Besy, besy, besy, and besines agayne Que pēsez voz parrot, what meneth this besines Uitulus in Oreb, troubled Arons brayn Melchisedecke mercifull, made Moloe merciles To wise is no vertue, to medling, to restles In measure is treasure, cum sensu marturat•• Ne tropo saung, ne tropo mato.

Aram was fired, with caldies fire called Ur Iob was brought vp, in the land of Hus The linage of lot, toke supporte of Assur Iereboseth is Ebrue, who list the law discus Peace Parrot ye prate, as ye were ebrius Howst the lyuer god, van hemrick ic seg In popeting grew peres, whā parrot was ancg

What is this to purpose, ouer in a whinninmeg

Hop Lobin of Lowdeon, wold haue a bit of bread The Iebet of Baldock, was made for Iacke leg A narow vnfethered, and without an hed A bagpype without blowyng, standeth in no sted Some run to far before, some run to far behinde Some be to churlish, and some be to kynd.

Ic dien serueth for Erstrych fether Ic dien, is the lauguage of the land of Beme In Affric tongue, Byrsa is a tonge of lether In Palestina, there is Ierusalem Collustrū now for parot, whit bred & swete creme our thomase she doth trip, our ienet she doth shall Parrot hath a blackebeard, & a faire grene tayle.

Morysh myne owne shelf, the ostermonger say Fate, fate, fate, ye trysh water lag In flettering fables, men fynde but lytle fayth But moueatur terra, let the world wag Let syr wrig wag, wrastle wyth sir declarag Euery man, after his maner of wayes Pawbe uene aruer, so the welche man sayes

Such shredis of sentence, strowed in the shop Of auncient Aristippus, and such other mo I gather together, and close in my crip Of my wanton conceyt, vnde do promo Dilemata docta, in pedagogio Sacro vatum, wherof to you I breake

I pray you, let parrot haue lybertie to speke: But ware the cat parrot, ware the false cat With who is there, a mayd, nay, nay, I trow Ware ryat parrot, ware ryot, ware that Meate, meate for parrot: meate I say how Thus diuers of language, by learnyng I grow with bas me swete parrot: bas me swete swete To dwel amonge Ladies, parrat is mete.

Parrot, parrot, parrot, praty popigay With my beke I can pyke, my lytle prety too My delight is solas, pleasure: disport and play Lyke a wanton whan I will, I rele to and froo Parrot can say, Cesar, aue, also But Parrot, hath no fauour to Esebon Aboue all other byrdes, set parrot alone.

Ulula, Esebon, for Ieremy doth wepe Sion is in sadnes, Rachel ruly doth loke Madionita, Ietro, our moyses kepeth hys shepe Gedeon is gon, that Zalmane vndertoke Oreb et zeb, of Iudicum rede the boke Nowe Gebal, Amon, and Amoloch, harke, harke Parrot pretendeth to be a bibil clarke.

O Esebon Esebon, to the is come agayne Seon the regent amoreorum And hog that fat hog, or basan dothe retayne

The crafty coistroinus canaueorum And assilum, whilom, refugium miserorum Non phanum sed prophanum, standeth in little sted Ulula Esebon, for iept is starke ded.

Estbon, Maribon, wheston, nexte Barnet A trim tram for an hors mil it wer a nise thinge Deintes for dammoysels, Chaffer far fet Bo ho doth barkwel, but hough ho ruleth y^t ring Frō scarpary to tartari renoun therin doth sprīg With he said, & we said ich wot now what ich wot Quod magnus est dominus iudas scarioth.

Ptholomie, and haly were cunnyng and wyse In the vol vel, in the quadrant, & in the astroloby To pronosticate truli the chaūce of fortunes dise Some trete of their tirikis, some of astrology Some pseudo propheta with Chiromancy If fortune be frendly, and grace be the guyde Honoure with renowne, will renne of that side

Manon calon

Agaton quod parato. In greca

Let parrot I pray you, haue liberty to prate For aurea lingua greca, ought to be magnified If it wer cond perfitely, and after the rate As lingua latina, in schole matter occupied But our grekis, their greke so wel haue applied That they cannot say in greke, riding by the way

How hosteler, fetche my horse a bottel of hay.

Neither frame a silogisme, in phriese somorū For maliter et grece, cum medio termino Our grekes ye walow, in the washbol argolicorū For though ye can tel in greke what is phormio Yet ye seke out your greke, in Capricornio For they scrape out good scripture, & set in a gal Ye go about to amend, and ye mar all.

Some argue, secundum quid ad simpliciter And yet he would be rekened, pro ario pagita And some make distinctions, multipliciter Whether ita were before uou, or uou before ita Nether wise nor well lerned but like hermophra dita Set sophia a side, for euery Iacke raker. And euery mad medler must now be a maker.

In achademia Parrot, dare no probleme kepe For grecisari, so occupieth the chayre That letinum fari, may fal to rest and slepe And silogisari, was drowned at sturbridge faire Triuiale, & quatriuials, so sore now they appair That Parrot that Popagay, hath pity to beholde How y^t rest of good lerning, is roulled vp & trolde

Albertus de modo significandi And Donatus, be dryuen out of schole

Prisians hed broken, now handy dandy And inter did ascolos, is rekened for a fole Alexander, a gander of Menanders pole With da cansales, is cast out of the gate And da racionales, dare not shew his pate,

Plaut si in his comedies, a child shal now rehers And medil with Quintilian, in his declarations That pety Caton, can scantly construe a verse With Aueto, in Greco, & such solempn salutaciōs Can skantly the tensis, of his comugacions Setting their mindes, so much of eloquence That of theyr scole maters, lost is the hole sētēce

Now a nutmeg, a nut meg, cum gariopholo For parrot to pike vpon, his brayne for to stable Swete synamum stickes, and pleris commusco In paradise. that place of pleasure perdurable The progeny of parrottis, wer faire & fanorable Now in valle ebron, parrot is fayne to fede Christ crosse, & sanct nicolas, parrot be your good pede

The myrour that I tote in, quasi diaphonum Uel quasi speculum, in Enigmate Elencum, or elles, Emtimaticum For logicions to loke on, somwhat sophistice Retorcions and oratours, in freshe humanite Support parrot, I pray you w^t your suffrage or∣nat

Of confuse tantū, auoyding the checkmate

But of that suposicion, that called is arte Confuse distrubitiue, as parrot hath deuised Let euery man, after his merit, take hys part For in this proces, parrot nothīg hath surmised No matter pretended, nor nothyng enterprysed But that metaphora, alegoria with all Shall be his protection, his pauis and his wall.

For parrot is no churlish chough nor no flekid py Parrot is no pendugum, that men call a carlyng Parrot is no woodcocke, nor no butter fly Parrot is no stamring stare, that mē cal a stariīg But parrot is mine own dere harte, & my derlīg Melpomene y^e fair maid, she burnished his beke I pray you let parrot, haue libertie to speke.

Parrot is a fayre byrd for a Lady God of his goodnes him framed and wrought Whan parrot is dead she doth not putrify Ye all thinge mortall shall turne vnto noughte Except mannes soule, that Christ so dere bought That neuer may dye, nor neuer dye shall Make much of parrot, that popegay royal.

For that pereles prynce, that parrot did creat He made you of nothing, by his magisty Point wel this probleme, that parrot doth prate

And remembre among, how parrot and ye Shal lepe from this life, as merye as we be Pompe, pryde, honour, ryches and worldly luste Parrot saith plainly, shall tourne all to dust.

Thus parrot doth pray you

With heart most tender

To reken with this recule nowe

And it to remember

Psitacus ecce cauo nec sunt mea carmina phebo

Dignascio Tamen est

Plena camena dec.

Secundum Skeltonida famigeratum

In picreorum Cathalago numeratum

Gala thea.

Itaque Consolanimi inuicem

In uerbis istis.

Candidi lectores callide callete

Vestrum seuete, psitacum.

Galethea.

Now kus me parrot, kus me, kus, kus, kus

Gods blessing light on thy swete litle mus

Vita & anima

zoelzepsiche

Aquinates Amen,

Concubunt grece, Non

est hic sermo pudicus

Actica dictamina

Ergo Suus plumbilamina

Vel spuria Vitulamino

Auertat hoc Vxania.

Amen amen

and set to a. d

And then it is amend

Our new found a. b. c.

Cum ccrteris

Paribus.