Today | News | Books | Recipes Adventure | Science Fiction | Ghost stories | Poetry | Children | History Bookhis mighty god of love In silke, enbrouded ful of grene greves, In-with a fret of rede rose-leves, *The fresshest sin the world was first bigonne. *His gilte heer was corouned with a sonne, 230 *In-stede of gold, for hevinesse and wighte; Therwith me thoughte his face shoon so brighte That wel unnethes mighte I him beholde; And in his hande me thoughte I saugh him holde +Two fyry dartes, as the gledes rede; 235 And aungellyke his winges saugh I sprede. +And al be that men seyn that blind is he, Al-gate me thoughte that he mighte see; +For sternely on me he gan biholde, +So that his loking doth myn herte colde. 240 +And by the hande he held this noble quene, +Corouned with whyte, and clothed al in grene, +So womanly, so benigne, and so meke, +That in this world, thogh that men wolde seke, +Half hir beautee shulde men nat finde 245 +In creature that formed is by kinde. _From_ B. 276-295. That is so good, so fair, so debonaire; I prey to god that ever falle hir faire! +For, nadde comfort been of hir presence, +I had ben deed, withouten any defence, +For drede of Loves wordes and his chere; 280 +As, when tyme is, her-after ye shal here. Behind this god of love, upon the grene, +I saugh cominge of ladyës nyntene +In real habit, a ful esy paas; +And after hem com of women swich a traas, 285 That, sin that god Adam had mad of erthe The thridde part of mankynd, or the ferthe, +Ne wende I nat by possibilitee, Had ever in this wyde worlde y-be; +And trewe of love thise women were echoon. 290 +Now whether was that a wonder thing or noon, +That, right anoon as that they gonne espye +This flour, which that I clepe the dayesye, +Ful sodeinly they stinten alle at ones, And kneled doun, as it were for the nones, 295 *And therfor may I seyn, as thinketh me, 247 *This song, in preysing of this lady fre. BALADE. +Hyd, Absolon, thy gilte tresses clere; +Ester, ley thou thy meknesse al a-doun; 250 +Hyd, Ionathas, al thy frendly manere; +Penalopee, and Marcia Catoun, +Mak of your wyfhod no comparisoun; +Hyde ye your beautes, Isoude and Eleyne, My lady cometh, that al this may disteyne. 255 +Thy faire body, lat hit nat appere, +Lavyne; and thou, Lucresse of Rome toun, +And Polixene, that boghten love so dere, And Cleopatre, with al thy passioun, Hyde ye your trouthe of love and your renoun; 260 And thou, Tisbe, that hast of love swich peyne; My lady cometh, that al this may disteyne. Herro, Dido, Laudomia, alle y-fere, And Phyllis, hanging for thy Demophoun, +And Canace, espyed by thy chere, 265 Ysiphile, betraysed with Jasoun, Maketh of your trouthe neyther boost ne soun; Nor Ypermistre or Adriane, ye tweyne; My lady cometh, that al this may disteyne. This balade may ful wel y-songen be, 270 *As I have seyd erst, by my lady free; *For certeynly, alle these mow nat suffyse *To apperen with my lady in no wyse. *For as the sonne wol the fyr disteyne, *So passeth al my lady sovereyne, 275 That is so good, so fair, so debonaire; I prey to god that ever falle hir faire! +For, nadde comfort been of hir presence, +I had ben deed, withouten any defence, +For drede of Loves wordes and his chere; 280 +As, when tyme is, her-after ye shal here. Behind this god of love, upon the grene, +I saugh cominge of ladyës nyntene +In real habit, a ful esy paas; +And after hem com of women swich a traas, 285 That, sin that god Adam had mad of erthe, The thridde part of mankynd, or the ferthe, +Ne wende I nat by possibilitee, Had ever in this wyde worlde y-be; +And trewe of love thise women were echoon. 290 +Now whether was that a wonder thing or noon, +That, right anoon as that they gonne espye +This flour, which that I clepe the dayesye, +Ful sodeinly they stinten alle at ones, And kneled doun, as it were for the nones, 295 *And songen with o vois, 'Hele and honour *To trouthe of womanhede, and to this flour *That berth our alder prys in figuringe! *Hir whyte coroun berth the witnessinge!' And with that word, a-compas enviroun, 300 +They setten hem ful softely adoun. First sat the god of love, and sith his quene +With the whyte coroun, clad in grene; +And sithen al the remenant by and by, As they were of estaat, ful curteisly; 305 +Ne nat a word was spoken in the place +The mountance of a furlong-wey of space. I kneling by this flour, in good entente +Abood, to knowen what this peple mente, +As stille as any stoon; til at the laste, 310 This god of love on me his eyen caste, And seyde, 'who kneleth ther'? and I answerde Unto his asking, whan that I hit herde, +And seyde, 'sir, hit am I'; and com him neer, +And salued him. Quod he, 'what dostow heer 315 So nigh myn owne flour, so boldely? +For it were better worthy, trewely, A worm to neghen neer my flour than thou.' +'And why, sir,' quod I, 'and hit lyke yow?' +'For thou,' quod he, 'art ther-to nothing able. 320 *Hit is my relik, digne and delytable, And thou my fo, and al my folk werreyest, +And of myn olde servaunts thou misseyest, +And hindrest hem, with thy translacioun, And lettest folk from hir devocioun 325 +To serve me, and holdest hit folye To serve Love. Thou mayst hit nat denye; For in pleyn text, with-outen nede of glose, +Thou hast translated the Romaunce of the Rose, +That is an heresye ageyns my lawe, 330 +And makest wyse folk fro me withdrawe. And of Criseyde thou hast seyd as thee liste, That maketh men to wommen lasse triste, That ben as trewe as ever was any steel. *Of thyn answere avyse thee right weel; 335 For, thogh that thou reneyed hast my lay, As other wrecches han doon many a day, By seynt Venus, that my moder is, If that thou live, thou shalt repenten this So cruelly, that hit shal wel be sene!' 340 Tho spak this lady, clothed al in grene, +And seyde, 'god, right of your curtesye, +Ye moten herknen if he can replye Agayns al this that ye han to him meved; +A god ne sholde nat be thus agreved, 345 +But of his deitee he shal be stable, And therto gracious and merciable. *And if ye nere a god, that knowen al, *Than mighte hit be, as I yow tellen shal; This man to you may falsly been accused, 350 +Ther as by right him oghte been excused. +For in your court is many a losengeour, +And many a queynte totelere accusour, That tabouren in your eres many a soun, Right after hir imaginacioun, 355 To have your daliance, and for envye; *These been the causes, and I shall nat lye. Envye is lavender of the court alway; +For she ne parteth, neither night ne day, +Out of the hous of Cesar; thus seith Dante; 360 Who-so that goth, algate she wol nat wante. _From_ B. 350, 351. This man to yow may falsly been accused, +Ther as by right him oghte been excused. And eek, paraunter, for this man is nyce, He mighte doon hit, gessing no malyce, But for he useth thinges for to make; Him rekketh noght of what matere he take; 365 +Or him was boden maken thilke tweye +Of som persone, and durst |