The works of our ancient, learned, & excellent English poet, Jeffrey Chaucer as they have lately been compar'd with the best manuscripts, and several things added, never before in print : to which is adjoyn'd The story of the siege of Thebes, by John Lidgate ... : together with The life of Chaucer, shewing his countrey, parentage, education, marriage, children, revenues, service, reward, friends, books, death : also a table, wherein the old and obscure words in Chaucer are explained, and such words ... that either are, by nature or derivation, Arabick, Greek, Latine, Italian, French, Dutch, or Saxon, mark'd with particular notes for the better understanding of their original.

¶The Legend of Hipsiphile and Medea.

THou root of false lovers, Duke Iason, Thou sleer, devourer, and confusion Of gentlewomen, gentle creatures, Thou madest thy reclaiming and thy lures To Ladies of thy scathliche apparaunce, And of thy words farsed with pleasaunce, And of thy fained trouth, and thy manere, With thine obeisaunce and humble chere, And with thine counterfeited paine and wo, There other fallen one, thou falsed two, O oft swore thou that thou wouldest die For love, when thou ne feltest maladie, Save foule delite, which thou callest love, If that I live, thy name shall be shove In English, that thy deceit shall be know, Have at thee Iason, now thine honor is blow, But certes, it is both routh and wo, That Love with false lovers werketh so, For they shall have well better love & chere, Than he that hath bought love full dere, Or had in armes many a bloodie boxe, * For ever as tender a Capon eateth y^e Foxe, Though he be fals, & hath the foule betraied, As shall the good man that therefore paied, Although he have to the Capon skill & right, The false Foxe woll have his part at night. On Iason this ensample is well iseene, By Hipsiphile and Medea the Queene. In Thessalie, as Ovide telleth vs, There was a knight, that hight Peleus, That had a brother, which that hight Eson, And when for age he might vnnethes gon, He yave to Peleus the governing Of al his reign, and made him lord and king, Of which Eson, this Iason getten was, That in his time in all that land there nas Nat such a famous knight of gentillesse, Of freedome, of strength, and of lustinesse, After his fathers death he bare him so, That there nas none that list ben his fo, But did him all honour and companie, Of which this Peleus hath great envie, Imagining, that Iason might be Enhaunsed so, and put in such degre, With love of lordes of his regioun, That from his reigne he may be put adoun. And in his wit a night compassed he How Iason might best destroyed be, Withouten slaunder of his compasment: And at the last he tooke avisement, That to send him into some ferre countre, There as this Iason may destroyed be, This was his wit, all made he to Iason Great chere of looke, and of affection, For drede least his lords it espide, So fell it, as fame ronneth wide, There was such tiding over all, and such loos, That in an Isle, that called was Colcos, Beyond Troy Eastward in the see, That there was a Ram, that men might see, That had a flees of gold, that shone so bright, That no where was there such another sight, But it was kept alway with a Dragoun, And many other marvailes vp and doun, And with two Buls, maked all of Bras, That spitten fire, and much thing there was, But this was eke the tale nathelees, That who so would winnen thilke Flees, He must both, or he it winnen might, With the Buls and the Dragon fight. And king Otes lord was of that Ile, This Peleus bethought vpon this while, That he his nephew Iason would exhort, To sailen to that lond, him to disport, And sayd, nephew, if it might bee, That such worship might fall thee, That thou this famous treasure might win, And bring it my region within, It were to me great pleasaunce and honour, Then were I hold to quite thy labour, And all thy costes I woll my selfe make, And chose w^t folke thou wolt with thee take, Let see now, darste thou taken this voyage. Iason was yong, and lustie of corage, And vndertooke to done this like emprise, Anon Argus his ships gan devise. With Iason went the strong Hercules, And many another, that he with him ches, But who so asketh, who is with him gon, Let him rede Argonauticon, For he woll tell a tale long ynough. Philoctetes anon the saile vp drough, When the wind was good, and gan him hie Out of his countrey, called Thessalie, So long they sayled in the salt see, Till in the Isle of Lemnon arrived hee, All be this nat rehearsed of Guido, Yet saieth Ovide in his Epistles so, And of this Isle lady was and Quene, The faire yong Hipsiphile the shene, That whylom Thoas doughter was y^• king. Hipsiphile was gone in her playing, And roming on the clevis by the see, Vnder a banke anone esped she Where lay the ship, that Iason gan arrive: Of her goodnesse adoune she sendeth blive, To weten, if that any straunge wight With tempest thider were iblow anight, To done him succour, as was her vsaunce, To further en every wight, & done pleasaunc••

Of very bountie, and of courtesie. This messenger adoune him gan to hie, And found Iason and Hercules also, That in a cogge to lond were igo, Hem to refreshen, and to take the aire. The morning attempre was and faire, And in her way this messenger hem mette, Full cunningly these lordes two he grette, And did his message, asking hem anon If y^• they were broken, or ought wo begon, Or had need of lodesmen or vitaile, For succour they should nothing faile, For it was vtterly the Queenes will. Iason answerde meekely and still: My lady (qd. he) thanke I hartely Of her goodnesse, vs needeth truly Nothing as now, but that we weary be, And come for to play out of the see, Till that the wind be better in our way. This lady rometh by the cliffe to play With her meine, endlong the strond, And findeth this Iason and this other stond In speaking of this thing, as I you told. This Hercules and Iason gan behold How that the queen it was, & faire her grete, Anone right as they with this lady mete, And she tooke heed, and knew by her manere, By her array, by wordes, and by chere, That it were gentill men of great degree, And to the castle with her leadeth she These strange folk, & doth hem great honour, And asketh hem of travaile and of labour That they have suffred in the salt see, So that within a day two or three She knew by the folke that in his ships be, That it was Iason full of renomee, And Hercules, that had the great loos, That soughten the aventures of Colcos, And did hem honour more than before, And with hem dealed ever longer the more, For they ben worthy folke withouten lees, And namely most she spake with Hercules, To him her hart bare, he should be Sadde, wise, and true, of words avisee, Withouten any other affection Of love, or any other imagination. This Hercules hath this Iason praised, That to the Sunne he hath it vp raised, That halfe so true a man there nas of love Vnder the cope of heaven, that is above, And he was wise, hardie, secret, and riche, Of these iii. points, there nas none him liche, Of freedome passed he, and lustie head, All tho that liven, or ben dead, Thereto so great a gentill man was he, And of Thessalie likely king to be, There nas no lacke, but that he was agast To love, and for to speake shamefast, Him had lever himselfe to murder and die, Than that men should a lover him espie, As would God that I had iyeve My blood and flesh, so that I might live With the bones, y^• he had aught where a wife For his estate, for such a lustie life She shoulden lede with this lustie knight. And all this was compassed on the night Betwixt him Iason, and this Hercules, Of these two here was a shreud lees, To come to house vpon an innocent, For to bedote this Queene was her entent: And Iason is as coy as is a maid, He looketh pitously, but naught he sayd But freely yave he to her counsailers Yefts great, and to her officers, As would God that I leaser had and time, By processe, all his wrong for to rime: But in this house, if any false lover be, Right as himselfe now doth, right so did he, With faining, and with every subtill dede, Ye get no more of me, but ye woll rede Thoriginall, that telleth all the caas, The sooth is this, that Iason wedded was Vnto this queene, & tooke of her substaunce What so him list, vnto his purveyaunce, And vpon her begate children two, And drough his faile, and saw her never mo: A letter sent she him certaine, Which were too long to writen and to saine, And him reproveth of his great vntrouth, And praieth him on her to have some routh, And on his children two, she sayd him this, That they be like of all thing iwis To Iason, save they couth nat beguile, And prayd God, or it were long while, That she that had his hart ireft her fro, Must ••nden him vntrue also: And that she must both her children spill, And all tho that suffreth him his will: And true to Iason was she all her life, And ever kept her chast, as for his wife, Ne never had she joy at her hart, But died for his love of sorrowes smart. To Colcos come is this duke Iason, That is of love devourer and dragon, As Matire appeteth forme alway, And from forme to forme it passen may, Or as a well that were bottomles, Right so can Iason have no pees, For to desiren through his appetite, To done with gentlewomen his delite, This is his lust, and his felicite, Iason is romed forth to the citie, That whylome cleped was Iasonicos, That was the master toune of all Colcos, And hath itold the cause of his comming Vnto Otes, of that countrey king, Praying him that he must done his assay To get the Fleece of gold, if that he may, Of which the king assenteth to his boone, And doth him honour, as it is doone, So ferforth, that his doughter and his heire, Medea, which that was so wise and faire, That fairer saw there never man with eie, He made her done to Iason companie At meat, and sitte by him in the hall. Now was Iason a seemely man withall, And like a Lord, and had a great renoun, And of his looke as royall as a Lioun, And godly of his speech, and famil lere, And coud of love all the craft and art plenere Withouten booke, with everiche observaunce, And as fortune her ought a foule mischaunce,

She woxe enamoured vpon this man. Iason (qd. she) for ought I see or can, As of this thing, the which ye ben about, Ye and your selfe ye put in much dout, For who so woll this aventure atcheve, He may nat wele asterten as I leve, Withouten death, but I his helpe be, But nathelesse, it is my will (qd. she) To forthren you, so that ye shall nat die, But turnen sound home to your Thessalie. My right lady (qd. this Iason) tho, That ye have of my death or my wo Any regard, and done me this honour, I wot well, that my might, ne my labour, May nat deserve it my lives day, God thanke you, there I ne can ne may, Your man am I, and lowely you beseech To ben my helpe, withouten more speech, But certes for my death shall I not spare. Tho gan this Medea to him declare The perill of this case, fro point to point Of his batayle, and in what desioint He mote stonde, of which no creature Save only she, ne might his life assure: And shortly, right to the point for to go, They ben accorded fully betwixt hem two, That Iason shall her wedde, as true knight, And terme yset to come soone at night Vnto her chambre, and make there his othe Vpon the goddes, that he for lefe or lothe Ne shulde her never falsen night ne day, To ben her husband whyle he live may, As she that from his deth him saved here, And her vpon at night they mete yfere, And doth his othe, & gothe with her to bedde, And on the morow vpward he him spedde, For she hath taught him how he shall nat faile The flees to winne, & stinten his bataile, And saved him his life, and his honour, And gate him a name, as a conquerour, Right through y^e sleight of her enchantment, Now hath Iason the flese, & home is went With Medea, & treasours fell great wonne, But vnwist of her father she is gonne To Thessalie, with duke Iason her lefe, That afterward hath broght her to mischeife, For as a traytour he is from her go, And with her left yong children two, And falsely hath betraied her, alas, And ever in love a chefe traytour he was, And wedded yet the thirde wife anon, That was the doughter of king Creon, This is the meede of loving and guerdon, That Medea received of duke Iason Right for her trouth, and for her kindnesse, That loved him better than her selfe I gesse, And left her father, and her heritage, And of Iason this is the vassalage, That in his dayes nas never none yfound So salse a lover, going on the ground, And therfore in her letter thus she said, First when she of his falsenesse him vpbraid: Why liked the my yellow haire to see, More than the bounds of mine honestie? Why liked me my youth and thy fairenesse, And of thy tong the infinite graciousnesse? O haddest thou in thy conquest dead ybe, Ful mikel vntrouth had there diede with thee, Well can Ovide her letter in verse endite. Which were as now too long for to write.