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- Herausgeber: Seltzer Books
- Kategorie: Poesie und Drama
- Sprache: Englisch
- Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2018
This classic anthology includes work by 289 poets, arranged chronologically by the year of birth of the poet. The extensive table of contents links to every poet. By "English", the editor means in the English language, including poetry by some Americans, Canadians, Austalians, and Irish. Of American poets, Emerson, Whittier, Longfellow, Poe, Howells, Whitman, and Bret Harte won the honor of inclusion. This edition also includes 12 illustrations. According to Wikipedia: "Sir Arthur Thomas Quiller-Couch (21 November 1863 – 12 May 1944) was a British writer, who published under the pen name of Q. He is primarily remembered for the monumental Oxford Book Of English Verse 1250–1900 (later extended to 1918), and for his literary criticism."
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BOOK OF ENGLISH VERSE (1900), CHOSEN AND EDITED BY ARTHUR QUILLER-COUCH
Published by Seltzer Books
established in 1974, now offering over 14,000 books
feedback welcome: [email protected]
Poetry Collections available from Seltzer Books:
Book of English Verse 1250-1900 edited by Quiller-Couch
Australian Poetry: Patersn, Lawson, and Dennis
Byron's Complete Poetry
Canterbury Tales by Chaucer
Bliss Carmen 6 books of poetry
Complete Poetical Works of Coleridge
Emily Dickinson's Works
John Keats, Poems of 1817 and 1820
Milton's Poetic Works
Complete Poetical Works of Shelley
Leaves of Grass by Whitman
Poetical Works of Wordsworth
compiled 1900
this edition printed 1919
TO THE PRESIDENT FELLOWS AND SCHOLARS OF TRINITY COLLEGE OXFORD, A HOUSE OF LEARNING ANCIENT LIBERAL HUMANE AND MY MOST KINDLY NURSE
PREFACE
Anonymous. c. 1250
Anonymous. c. 1300
Anonymous. c. 1350
Robert Mannyng of Brunne. 1269-1340
John Barbour. d. 1395
Geoffrey Chaucer. 1340?-1400
Thomas Hoccleve. 1368-9?-1450?
John Lydgate. 1370?-1450?
King James I of Scotland. 1394-1437
Robert Henryson. 1425-1500
William Dunbar. 1465-1520?
Anonymous. 15th Cent.
Anonymous. 16th Cent.
John Skelton. 1460?-1529
Stephen Hawes. d. 1523
Sir Thomas Wyatt. 1503-1542
Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey. 1516-47
Nicholas Grimald. 1519-62
Alexander Scott. 1520?-158-
Robert Wever. c. 1550
Richard Edwardes. 1523-66
George Gascoigne. 1525?-77
Alexander Montgomerie. 1540?-1610?
William Stevenson. 1530?-1575
Anonymous. 16th Cent. (Scottish)
Numbers from Elizabethan Miscellanies & Song-books by Unnamed or Uncertain Authors. 1557
Numbers from Elizabethan Miscellanies & Song-books by Unnamed or Uncertain Authors. 1589
Numbers from Elizabethan Miscellanies & Song-books by Unnamed or Uncertain Authors. 1599
Numbers from Elizabethan Miscellanies & Song-books by Unnamed or Uncertain Authors. 1600
Numbers from Elizabethan Miscellanies & Song-books by Unnamed or Uncertain Authors. 16th Cent.
Numbers from Elizabethan Miscellanies & Song-books by Unnamed or Uncertain Authors. 1601
Numbers from Elizabethan Miscellanies & Song-books by Unnamed or Uncertain Authors. 1602
Numbers from Elizabethan Miscellanies & Song-books by Unnamed or Uncertain Authors. 1603
Numbers from Elizabethan Miscellanies & Song-books by Unnamed or Uncertain Authors. 1604
Numbers from Elizabethan Miscellanies & Song-books by Unnamed or Uncertain Authors. 1605
Numbers from Elizabethan Miscellanies & Song-books by Unnamed or Uncertain Authors. 1607
Numbers from Elizabethan Miscellanies & Song-books by Unnamed or Uncertain Authors. 1609
Numbers from Elizabethan Miscellanies & Song-books by Unnamed or Uncertain Authors. 1622
Nicholas Breton. 1542-1626
Sir Walter Raleigh. 1552-1618
Edmund Spenser. 1552-1599
John Lyly. 1553-1606
Anthony Munday. 1553-1633
Sir Philip Sidney. 1554-86
Fulke Greville, Lord Brooke. 1554-1628
Thomas Lodge. 1556?-1625
George Peele. 1558?-97
Robert Greene. 1560-92
Alexander Hume. 1560-1609
George Chapman. 1560-1634
Robert Southwell. 1561-95
Henry Constable. 1562?-1613?
Samuel Daniel. 1562-1619
Mark Alexander Boyd. 1563-1601
Joshua Sylvester. 1563-1618
Michael Drayton. 1563-1631
Christopher Marlowe. 1564-93
Sir Walter Raleigh. 1564-93
William Shakespeare. 1564-1616
Richard Rowlands. 1565-1630?
Thomas Nashe. 1567-1601
Thomas Campion. 1567?-1619
John Reynolds. 16th Cent.
Sir Henry Wotton. 1568-1639
Sir John Davies. 1569-1626
Sir Robert Ayton. 1570-1638
Ben Jonson. 1573-1637
Richard Barnefield. 1574-1627
Thomas Dekker. 1575-1641
Thomas Heywood. 157?-1650
John Fletcher. 1579-1625
John Webster. ?-1630?
William Alexander, Earl of Stirling. 1580?-1640
Phineas Fletcher. 1580-1650
Sir John Beaumont. 1583-1627
William Drummond, of Hawthornden. 1585-1649
Giles Fletcher. 158?-1623
Francis Beaumont. 1586-1616
John Ford. 1586-1639
George Wither. 1588-1667
William Browne, of Tavistock. 1588-1643
Robert Herrick. 1591-1674
Francis Quarles. 1592-1644
Henry King, Bishop of Chichester. 1592-1669
George Herbert. 1593-1632
James Shirley. 1596-1666
Thomas Carew. 1595?-1639?
Jasper Mayne. 1604-1672
William Habington. 1605-1654
Thomas Randolph. 1605-1635
Sir William Davenant. 1606-1668
Edmund Waller. 1606-1687
John Milton. 1608-1674
Sir John Suckling. 1609-1642
Sir Richard Fanshawe. 1608-1666
William Cartwright. 1611-1643
James Graham, Marquis of Montrose. 1612-1650
Thomas Jordan. 1612?-1685
Richard Crashaw. 1613?-1649
Richard Lovelace. 1618-1658
Abraham Cowley. 1618-1667
Alexander Brome. 1620-1666
Andrew Marvell. 1621-1678
Henry Vaughan. 1621-1695
John Bunyan. 1628-1688
Ballads and Songs By Unknown Authors. 17th Cent.
William Strode. 1602-1645
Thomas Stanley. 1625-1678
Thomas D'Urfey. 1653-1723
Charles Cotton. 1630-1687
Katherine Philips ('Orinda'). 1631-1664
John Dryden. 1631-1700
Charles Webbe. c. 1678
Sir George Etherege. 1635-1691
Thomas Traherne. 1637?-1674
Thomas Flatman. 1637-1688
Charles Sackville, Earl of Dorset. 1638-1706
Sir Charles Sedley. 1639-1701
Aphra Behn. 1640-1689
John Wilmot, Earl of Rochester. 1647-1680
John Sheffield, Duke of Buckinghamshire. 1649-1720
Thomas Otway. 1652-1685
John Oldham. 1653-1683
John Cutts, Lord Cutts. 1661-1707
Matthew Prior. 1664-1721
William Walsh. 1663-1708
Lady Grisel Baillie. 1665-1746
William Congreve. 1670-1729
Joseph Addison. 1672-1719
Isaac Watts. 1674-1748
Thomas Parnell. 1670-1718
Allan Ramsay. 1686-1758
William Oldys. 1687-1761
John Gay. 1688-1732
Alexander Pope. 1688-1744
George Bubb Dodington, Lord Melcombe. 1691?-1762
Henry Carey. 1693?-1743
William Broome. ?-1745
James Thomson. 1700-1748
George Lyttelton, Lord Lyttelton. 1709-1773
Samuel Johnson. 1709-1784
Richard Jago. 1715-1781
Thomas Gray. 1716-1771
William Collins. 1721-1759
Mark Akenside. 1721-1770
Tobias George Smollett. 1721-1771
Christopher Smart. 1722-1770
Jane Elliot. 1727-1805
Oliver Goldsmith. 1728-1774
Robert Cunninghame-Graham of Gartmore. 1735-1797
William Cowper. 1731-1800
James Beattie. 1735-1803
Isobel Pagan. 1740-1821
Anna Laetitia Barbauld. 1743-1825
Fanny Greville. 18th Cent.
John Logan. 1748-1788
Lady Anne Lindsay. 1750-1825
Sir William Jones. 1746-1794
Thomas Chatterton. 1752-1770
George Crabbe. 1754-1832
William Blake. 1757-1827
Robert Burns. 1759-1796
Henry Rowe. 1750-1819
William Lisle Bowles. 1762-1850
Joanna Baillie. 1762-1851
Mary Lamb. 1765-1847
Carolina, Lady Nairne. 1766-1845
James Hogg. 1770-1835
William Wordsworth. 1770-1850
Sir Walter Scott. 1771-1832
Samuel Taylor Coleridge. 1772-1834
Robert Southey. 1774-1843
Walter Savage Landor. 1775-1864
Charles Lamb. 1775-1834
Thomas Campbell. 1774-1844Thomas Moore. 1779-1852
Thomas Moore. 1779-1852
Edward Thurlow, Lord Thurlow. 1781-1829
Ebenezer Elliott. 1781-1849
Allan Cunningham. 1784-1842
Leigh Hunt. 1784-1859
Thomas Love Peacock. 1785-1866
Caroline Southey. 1787-1854
George Gordon Byron, Lord Byron. 1788-1824
Sir Aubrey De Vere. 1788-1846
Percy Bysshe Shelley. 1792-1822
Hew Ainslie. 1792-1878
John Keble. 1792-1866
John Clare. 1793-1864
Felicia Dorothea Hemans. 1793-1835
John Keats. 1795-1821
Jeremiah Joseph Callanan. 1795-1839
William Sidney Walker. 1795-1846
George Darley. 1795-1846
Hartley Coleridge. 1796-1849
Thomas Hood. 1798-1845
William Thom. 1798-1848
Sir Henry Taylor. 1800-1866
Thomas Babington Macaulay, Lord Macaulay. 1800-1859
William Barnes. 1801-1886
Winthrop Mackworth Praed. 1802-1839
Sara Coleridge. 1802-1850
Gerald Griffin. 1803-1840
James Clarence Mangan. 1803-1849
Thomas Lovell Beddoes. 1803-1849
Ralph Waldo Emerson. 1803-1882
Richard Henry Horne. 1803-1884
Robert Stephen Hawker. 1804-1875
Thomas Wade. 1805-1875
Francis Mahony. 1805-1866
Elizabeth Barrett Browning. 1806-1861
Frederick Tennyson. 1807-1898
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. 1807-1882
John Greenleaf Whittier. 1807-1892
Helen Selina, Lady Dufferin. 1807-1867
Caroline Elizabeth Sarah Norton. 1808-1876
Charles Tennyson Turner. 1808-1879
Edgar Allan Poe. 1809-1849
Edward Fitzgerald. 1809-1883
Alfred Tennyson, Lord Tennyson. 1809-1892
Richard Monckton Milnes, Lord Houghton. 1809-1885
Henry Alford. 1810-1871
Sir Samuel Ferguson. 1810-1886
Robert Browning. 1812-1889
William Bell Scott. 1812-1890
Aubrey De Vere. 1814-1902
George Fox. 1815-?
Emily Bronte. 1818-1848
Charles Kingsley. 1819-1875
Arthur Hugh Clough. 1819-1861
Walt Whitman. 1819-1892
John Ruskin. 1819-1900
Ebenezer Jones. 1820-1860
Frederick Locker-Lampson. 1821-1895
Matthew Arnold. 1822-1888
William Brighty Rands. 1823-1880
William Philpot. 1823-1889
William (Johnson) Cory. 1823-1892
Coventry Patmore. 1823-1896
Sydney Dobell. 1824-1874
William Allingham. 1824-1889
George MacDonald. 1824-1905
Dante Gabriel Rossetti. 1828-1882
George Meredith. 1828-1909
Alexander Smith. 1829-1867
Christina Georgina Rossetti. 1830-1894
Thomas Edward Brown. 1830-1897
Edward Robert Bulwer Lytton, Earl of Lytton. 1831-1892
James Thomson. 1834-1882
William Morris. 1834-1896
Roden Berkeley Wriothesley Noel. 1834-1894
Thomas Ashe. 1836-1889
Theodore Watts-Dunton. 1836-1914
Algernon Charles Swinburne. 1837-1909
William Dean Howells. b. 1837
Bret Harte. 1839-1902
John Todhunter. 1839-1916
Wilfrid Scawen Blunt. b. 1840
Henry Austin Dobson. b. 1840
Henry Clarence Kendall. 1841-1882
Arthur William Edgar O'Shaughnessy. 1844-1881
John Boyle O'Reilly. 1844-1890
Robert Bridges. b. 1844
Andrew Lang. 1844-1912
William Ernest Henley. 1849-1903
Edmund Gosse. b. 1849
Robert Louis Stevenson. 1850-1894
T. W. Rolleston. b. 1857
John Davidson. 1857-1909
William Watson. b. 1858
Henry Charles Beeching. 1859-1919
Bliss Carman. b. 1861
Douglas Hyde. b. 1861
Arthur Christopher Benson. b. 1862
Henry Newbolt. b. 1862
Gilbert Parker. b. 1862
William Butler Yeats. b. 1865
Rudyard Kipling. b. 1865
Richard Le Gallienne. b. 1866
Laurence Binyon. b. 1869
George William Russell ('A. E.'). b. 1853
T. Sturge Moore. b. 1870
Francis Thompson. 1859-1907
Henry Cust. 1861-1917
Katharine Tynan Hinkson. b. 1861
Frances Bannerman.
Alice Meynell. b. 1850
Dora Sigerson. d. 1918
Margaret L. Woods. b. 1856
Anonymous. c. 19th Cent.
PREFACE
For this Anthology I have tried to range over the whole field of English Verse from the beginning, or from the Thirteenth Century to this closing year of the Nineteenth, and to choose the best. Nor have I sought in these Islands only, but wheresoever the Muse has followed the tongue which among living tongues she most delights to honour. To bring home and render so great a spoil compendiously has been my capital difficulty. It is for the reader to judge if I have so managed it as to serve those who already love poetry and to implant that love in some young minds not yet initiated.% My scheme is simple. I have arranged the poets as nearly as possible in order of birth, with such groupings of anonymous pieces as seemed convenient. For convenience, too, as well as to avoid a dispute-royal, I have gathered the most of the Ballads into the middle of the Seventeenth Century; where they fill a languid interval between two winds of inspiration--the Italian dying down with Milton and the French following at the heels of the restored Royalists. For convenience, again, I have set myself certain rules of spelling. In the very earliest poems inflection and spelling are structural, and to modernize is to destroy. But as old inflections fade into modern the old spelling becomes less and less vital, and has been brought (not, I hope, too abruptly) into line with that sanctioned by use and familiar. To do this seemed wiser than to discourage many readers for the sake of diverting others by a scent of antiquity which--to be essential-- should breathe of something rarer than an odd arrangement of type. But there are scholars whom I cannot expect to agree with me; and to conciliate them I have excepted Spenser and Milton from the rule.% Glosses of archaic and otherwise difficult words are given at the foot of the page: but the text has not been disfigured with reference-marks. And rather than make the book unwieldy I have eschewed notes--reluctantly when some obscure passage or allusion seemed to ask for a timely word; with more equanimity when the temptation was to criticize or 'appreciate.' For the function of the anthologist includes criticizing in silence.% Care has been taken with the texts. But I have sometimes thought it consistent with the aim of the book to prefer the more beautiful to the better attested reading. I have often excised weak or superfluous stanzas when sure that excision would improve; and have not hesitated to extract a few stanzas from a long poem when persuaded that they could stand alone as a lyric. The apology for such experiments can only lie in their success: but the risk is one which, in my judgement, the anthologist ought to take. A few small corrections have been made, but only when they were quite obvious.% The numbers chosen are either lyrical or epigrammatic. Indeed I am mistaken if a single epigram included fails to preserve at least some faint thrill of the emotion through which it had to pass before the Muse's lips let it fall, with however exquisite deliberation. But the lyrical spirit is volatile and notoriously hard to bind with definitions; and seems to grow wilder with the years. With the anthologist--as with the fisherman who knows the fish at the end of his sea-line--the gift, if he have it, comes by sense, improved by practice. The definition, if he be clever enough to frame one, comes by after-thought. I don't know that it helps, and am sure that it may easily mislead.% Having set my heart on choosing the best, I resolved not to be dissuaded by common objections against anthologies--that they repeat one another until the proverb [Greek] loses all application--or perturbed if my judgement should often agree with that of good critics. The best is the best, though a hundred judges have declared it so; nor had it been any feat to search out and insert the second-rate merely because it happened to be recondite. To be sure, a man must come to such a task as mine haunted by his youth and the favourites he loved in days when he had much enthusiasm but little reading.
A deeper import
Lurks in the legend told my infant years
Than lies upon that truth we live to learn.
Few of my contemporaries can erase--or would wish to erase--the dye their minds took from the late Mr. Palgrave's Golden Treasury: and he who has returned to it again and again with an affection born of companionship on many journeys must remember not only what the Golden Treasury includes, but the moment when this or that poem appealed to him, and even how it lies on the page. To Mr. Bullen's Lyrics from the Elizabethan Song Books and his other treasuries I own a more advised debt. Nor am I free of obligation to anthologies even more recent--to Archbishop Trench's Household Book of Poetry, Mr. Locker-Lampson's Lyra Elegantiarum, Mr. Miles' Poets and Poetry of the Century, Mr. Beeching's Paradise of English Poetry, Mr. Henley's English Lyrics, Mrs. Sharp's Lyra Celtica, Mr. Yeats' Book of Irish Verse, and Mr. Churton Collins' Treasury of Minor British Poetry: though my rule has been to consult these after making my own choice. Yet I can claim that the help derived from them--though gratefully owned--bears but a trifling proportion to the labour, special and desultory, which has gone to the making of my book.% For the anthologist's is not quite the dilettante business for which it is too often and ignorantly derided. I say this, and immediately repent; since my wish is that the reader should in his own pleasure quite forget the editor's labour, which too has been pleasant: that, standing aside, I may believe this book has made the Muses' access easier when, in the right hour, they come to him to uplift or to console-- [Greek]% My thanks are here tendered to those who have helped me with permission to include recent poems: to Mr. A. C. Benson, Mr. Laurence Binyon, Mr. Wilfrid Blunt, Mr. Robert Bridges, Mr. John Davidson, Mr. Austin Dobson, Mr. Aubrey de Vere, Mr. Edmund Gosse, Mr. Bret Harte, Mr. W. E. Henley, Mrs. Katharine Tynan Hinkson, Mr. W. D. Howells, Dr. Douglas Hyde, Mr. Rudyard Kipling, Mr. Andrew Lang, Mr. Richard Le Gallienne, Mr. George Meredith, Mrs. Meynell, Mr. T. Sturge Moore, Mr. Henry Newbolt, Mr. Gilbert Parker, Mr. T. W. Rolleston, Mr. George Russell ('A. E.'), Mrs. Clement Shorter (Dora Sigerson), Mr. Swinburne, Mr. Francis Thompson, Dr. Todhunter, Mr. William Watson, Mr. Watts-Dunton, Mrs. Woods, and Mr. W. B. Yeats; to the Earl of Crewe for a poem by the late Lord Houghton; to Lady Ferguson, Mrs. Allingham, Mrs. A. H. Clough, Mrs. Locker-Lampson, Mrs. Coventry Patmore; to the Lady Betty Balfour and the Lady Victoria Buxton for poems by the late Earl of Lytton and the Hon. Roden Noel; to the executors of Messrs. Frederic Tennyson (Captain Tennyson and Mr. W. C. A. Ker), Charles Tennyson Turner (Sir Franklin Lushington), Edward FitzGerald (Mr. Aldis Wright), William Bell Scott (Mrs. Sydney Morse and Miss Boyd of Penkill Castle, who has added to her kindness by allowing me to include an unpublished 'Sonet' by her sixteenth-century ancestor, Mark Alexander Boyd), William Philpot (Mr. Hamlet S. Philpot), William Morris (Mr. S. C. Cockerell), William Barnes, and R. L. Stevenson; to the Rev. H. C. Beeching for two poems from his own works, and leave to use his redaction of Quia Amore Langueo; to Mssrs. Macmillan for confirming permission for the extracts from FitzGerald, Christina Rossetti, and T. E. Brown, and particularly for allowing me to insert the latest emendations in Lord Tennyson's non-copyright poems; to the proprietors of Mr. and Mrs. Browning's copyrights and to Messrs. Smith, Elder & Co. for a similar favour, also for a copyright poem by Mrs. Browning; to Mr. George Allen for extracts from Ruskin and the author of Ionica; to Messrs. G. Bell & Sons for poems by Thomas Ashe; to Messrs. Chatto & Windus for poems by Arthur O'Shaughnessy and Dr. George MacDonald, and for confirming Mr. Bret Harte's permission; to Mr. Elkin Mathews for a poem by Mr. Bliss Carman; to Mr. John Lane for two poems by William Brighty Rands; to the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge for two extracts from Christina Rossetti's Verses; and to Mr. Bertram Dobell, who allows me not only to select from James Thomson but to use a poem of Traherne's, a seventeenth-century singer rediscovered by him. To mention all who in other ways have furthered me is not possible in this short Preface; which, however, must not conclude without a word of special thanks to Dr. W. Robertson Nicoll for many suggestions and some pains kindly bestowed, and to Professor F. York Powell, whose help and wise counsel have been as generously given as they were eagerly sought, adding me to the number of those many who have found his learning to be his friends' good fortune.
October 1900
A.T.Q.C.
Anonymous. c. 1250
1. Cuckoo Song
SUMER is icumen in,
Lhude sing cuccu!
Groweth sed, and bloweth med,
And springth the wude nu--
Sing cuccu!
Awe bleteth after lomb,
Lhouth after calve cu;
Bulluc sterteth, bucke verteth,
Murie sing cuccu!
Cuccu, cuccu, well singes thu, cuccu:
Ne swike thu naver nu;
Sing cuccu, nu, sing cuccu,
Sing cuccu, sing cuccu, nu!
lhude] loud. awe] ewe. lhouth] loweth. sterteth] leaps. swike]
cease.
Anonymous. c. 1300
2. Alison
BYTUENE Mershe ant Averil
When spray biginneth to spring,
The lutel foul hath hire wyl
On hyre lud to synge:
Ich libbe in love-longinge
For semlokest of alle thynge,
He may me blisse bringe,
Icham in hire bandoun.
An hendy hap ichabbe y-hent,
Ichot from hevene it is me sent,
From alle wymmen my love is lent
Ant lyht on Alisoun.
On heu hire her is fayr ynoh,
Hire browe broune, hire eye blake;
With lossum chere he on me loh;
With middel smal ant wel y-make;
Bote he me wolle to hire take
For to buen hire owen make,
Long to lyven ichulle forsake
Ant feye fallen adoun.
An hendy hap, etc.
Nihtes when I wende and wake,
For-thi myn wonges waxeth won;
Levedi, al for thine sake
Longinge is y-lent me on.
In world his non so wyter mon
That al hire bounte telle con;
Hire swyre is whittore than the swon,
Ant feyrest may in toune.
An hendy hap, etc.
Icham for wowyng al for-wake,
Wery so water in wore;
Lest eny reve me my make
Ichabbe y-yerned yore.
Betere is tholien whyle sore
Then mournen evermore.
Geynest under gore,
Herkne to my roun--
An hendy hap, etc.
on hyre lud] in her language. ich libbe] I live. semlokest]
seemliest. he] she. bandoun] thraldom. hendy] gracious. y-hent]
seized, enjoyed. ichot] I wot. lyht] alighted. hire her] her
hair. lossum] lovesome. loh] laughed. bote he] unless
she. buen] be. make] mate. feye] like to die. nihtes] at
night. wende] turn. for-thi] on that account. wonges waxeth won]
cheeks grow wan. levedi] lady. y-lent me on] arrived to me. so
wyter mon] so wise a man. swyre] neck. may] maid. for-wake] worn
out with vigils. so water in wore] as water in a weir. reve]
rob. y-yerned yore] long been distressed. tholien] to
endure. geynest under gore] comeliest under woman's
apparel. roun] tale, lay.
Anonymous. c. 1300
3. Spring-tide
LENTEN ys come with love to toune,
With blosmen ant with briddes roune,
That al this blisse bryngeth;
Dayes-eyes in this dales,
Notes suete of nyhtegales,
Vch foul song singeth;
The threstlecoc him threteth oo,
Away is huere wynter wo,
When woderove springeth;
This foules singeth ferly fele,
Ant wlyteth on huere winter wele,
That al the wode ryngeth.
The rose rayleth hire rode,
The leves on the lyhte wode
Waxen al with wille;
The mone mandeth hire bleo,
The lilie is lossom to seo,
The fenyl ant the fille;
Wowes this wilde drakes,
Miles murgeth huere makes;
Ase strem that striketh stille,
Mody meneth; so doth mo
(Ichot ycham on of tho)
For loue that likes ille.
The mone mandeth hire lyht,
So doth the semly sonne bryht.
When briddes singeth breme;
Deowes donketh the dounes,
Deores with huere derne rounes
Domes forte deme;
Wormes woweth under cloude,
Wymmen waxeth wounder proude,
So wel hit wol hem seme,
Yef me shal wonte wille of on,
This wunne weole y wole forgon
Ant wyht in wode be fleme.
to toune] in its turn. him threteth oo] is aye chiding
them. huere] their. woderove] woodruff. ferly fele] marvellous
many. wlyteth] whistle, or look. rayleth hire rode] clothes
herself in red. mandeth hire bleo] sends forth her light. lossom
to seo] lovesome to see. fille] thyme. wowes] woo. miles]
males. murgeth] make merry. makes] mates. striketh] flows,
trickles. mody meneth] the moody man makes moan. so doth mo] so
do many. on of tho] one of them. breme] lustily. deowes]
dews. donketh] make dank. deores] dears, lovers. huere derne
rounes] their secret tales. domes forte deme] for to give (decide)
their decisions. cloude] clod. wunne weole] wealth of joy. y
wole forgon] I will forgo. wyht] wight. fleme] banished.
Anonymous. c. 1300
4. Blow, Northern Wind
ICHOT a burde in boure bryht,
That fully semly is on syht,
Menskful maiden of myht;
Feir ant fre to fonde;
In al this wurhliche won
A burde of blod ant of bon
Never yete y nuste non
Lussomore in londe.
Blou northerne wynd!
Send thou me my suetyng!
Blou northerne wynd! blou, blou, blou!
With lokkes lefliche ant longe,
With frount ant face feir to fonge,
With murthes monie mote heo monge,
That brid so breme in boure.
With lossom eye grete ant gode,
With browen blysfol under hode,
He that reste him on the Rode,
That leflych lyf honoure.
Blou northerne wynd, etc.
Hire lure lumes liht,
Ase a launterne a nyht,
Hire bleo blykyeth so bryht.
So feyr heo is ant fyn.
A suetly swyre heo hath to holde,
With armes shuldre ase mon wolde,
Ant fingres feyre forte folde,
God wolde hue were myn!
Blou northerne wynd, etc.
Heo is coral of godnesse,
Heo is rubie of ryhtfulnesse,
Heo is cristal of clannesse,
Ant baner of bealte.
Heo is lilie of largesse,
Heo is parvenke of prouesse,
Heo is solsecle of suetnesse,
Ant lady of lealte.
For hire love y carke ant care,
For hire love y droupne ant dare,
For hire love my blisse is bare
Ant al ich waxe won,
For hire love in slep y slake,
For hire love al nyht ich wake,
For hire love mournynge y make
More then eny mon.
Blou northerne wynd!
Send thou me my suetyng!
Blou northerne wynd! blou, blou, blou!
Ichot] I know. burde] maiden. menskful] worshipful. feir]
fair. fonde] take, prove. wurhliche] noble. won] multitude. y
nuste] I knew not. lussomore in londe] lovelier on
earth. suetyng] sweetheart. lefliche] lovely. fonge] take
between hands. murthes] mirths, joys. mote heo monge] may she
mingle. brid] bird. breme] full of life. Rode] the Cross. lure]
face. lumes] beams. bleo] colour. suetly swyre] darling
neck. forte] for to. hue, heo] she. clannesse] cleanness,
purity. parvenke] periwinkle. solsecle] sunflower. won] wan.
Anonymous. c. 1300
5. This World's Joy
WYNTER wakeneth al my care,
Nou this leves waxeth bare;
Ofte I sike ant mourne sare
When hit cometh in my thoht
Of this worldes joie, hou hit goth al to noht.
Nou hit is, and nou hit nys,
Al so hit ner nere, ywys;
That moni mon seith, soth hit ys:
Al goth bote Godes wille:
Alle we shule deye, thah us like ylle.
Al that gren me graueth grene,
Nou hit faleweth albydene:
Jesu, help that hit be sene
Ant shild us from helle!
For y not whider y shal, ne hou longe her duelle.
this leves] these leaves. sike] sigh. nys] is not. al so hit ner
nere] as though it had never been. soth] sooth. bote] but,
except. thah] though. faleweth] fadeth. albydene] altogether. y
not whider] I know not whither. her duelle] here dwell.
Anonymous. c. 1300
6. A Hymn to the Virgin
OF on that is so fayr and bright
Velut maris stella,
Brighter than the day is light,
Parens et puella:
Ic crie to the, thou see to me,
Levedy, preye thi Sone for me,
Tam pia,
That ic mote come to thee
Maria.
Al this world was for-lore
Eva peccatrice,
Tyl our Lord was y-bore
De te genetrice.
With ave it went away
Thuster nyth and comz the day
Salutis;
The welle springeth ut of the,
Virtutis.
Levedy, flour of alle thing,
Rose sine spina,
Thu bere Jhesu, hevene king,
Gratia divina:
Of alle thu ber'st the pris,
Levedy, quene of paradys
Electa:
Mayde milde, moder es
Effecta.
on] one. levedy] lady. thuster] dark. pris] prize.
Anonymous. c. 1350
7. Of a rose, a lovely rose,
Of a rose is al myn song.
LESTENYT, lordynges, both elde and yinge,
How this rose began to sprynge;
Swych a rose to myn lykynge
In al this word ne knowe I non.
The Aungil came fro hevene tour,
To grete Marye with gret honour,
And seyde sche xuld bere the flour
That xulde breke the fyndes bond.
The flour sprong in heye Bedlem,
That is bothe bryht and schen:
The rose is Mary hevene qwyn,
Out of here bosum the blosme sprong.
The ferste braunche is ful of myht,
That sprang on Cyrstemesse nyht,
The sterre schon over Bedlem bryht
That is bothe brod and long.
The secunde braunche sprong to helle,
The fendys power doun to felle:
Therein myht non sowle dwelle;
Blyssid be the time the rose sprong!
The thredde braunche is good and swote,
It sprang to hevene crop and rote,
Therein to dwellyn and ben our bote;
Every day it schewit in prystes hond.
Prey we to here with gret honour,
Che that bar the blyssid flowr,
Che be our helpe and our socour
And schyd us fro the fyndes bond.
lestenyt] listen. word] world. xuld] should. schen]
beautiful. hevene qwyn] heaven's queen. bote] salvation.
Robert Mannyng of Brunne. 1269-1340
8. Praise of Women
NO thyng ys to man so dere
As wommanys love in gode manere.
A gode womman is mannys blys,
There her love right and stedfast ys.
There ys no solas under hevene
Of alle that a man may nevene
That shulde a man so moche glew
As a gode womman that loveth true.
Ne derer is none in Goddis hurde
Than a chaste womman with lovely worde.
nevene] name. glew] gladden. hurde] flock.
John Barbour. d. 1395
9. Freedom
A! Fredome is a noble thing!
Fredome mays man to haiff liking;
Fredome all solace to man giffis,
He levys at ese that frely levys!
A noble hart may haiff nane ese,
Na ellys nocht that may him plese,
Gyff fredome fail; for fre liking
Is yarnyt our all othir thing.
Na he that ay has levyt fre
May nocht knaw weill the propyrte,
The angyr, na the wretchyt dome
That is couplyt to foule thyrldome.
Bot gyff he had assayit it,
Than all perquer he suld it wyt;
And suld think fredome mar to prise
Than all the gold in warld that is.
Thus contrar thingis evirmar
Discoweryngis off the tothir ar.
liking] liberty. na ellys nocht] nor aught else. yarnyt] yearned
for. perquer] thoroughly, by heart.
Geoffrey Chaucer. 1340?-1400
10. The Love Unfeigned
O YONGE fresshe folkes, he or she,
In which that love up groweth with your age,
Repeyreth hoom from worldly vanitee,
And of your herte up-casteth the visage
To thilke god that after his image
Yow made, and thinketh al nis but a fayre
This world, that passeth sone as floures fayre.
And loveth him, the which that right for love
Upon a cros, our soules for to beye,
First starf, and roos, and sit in hevene a-bove;
For he nil falsen no wight, dar I seye,
That wol his herte al hoolly on him leye.
And sin he best to love is, and most meke,
What nedeth feyned loves for to seke?
repeyreth] repair ye. starf] died.
Geoffrey Chaucer. 1340?-1400
11. Balade
HYD, Absolon, thy gilte tresses clere;
Ester, ley thou thy meknesse al a-doun;
Hyd, Jonathas, 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.
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;
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,
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 distevne.
disteyne] bedim. y-fere] together.
Geoffrey Chaucer. 1340?-1400
12. Merciles Beaute
A TRIPLE ROUNDEL
1. CAPTIVITY
YOUR eyen two wol slee me sodenly,
I may the beaute of hem not sustene,
So woundeth hit through-out my herte kene.
And but your word wol helen hastily
My hertes wounde, whyl that hit is grene,
Your eyen two wol slee me sodenly,
I may the beaute of hem not sustene.
Upon my trouthe I sey yow feithfully,
That ye ben of my lyf and deeth the quene;
For with my deeth the trouthe shal be sene.
Your eyen two wol slee me sodenly,
I may the beaute of hem not sustene,
So woundeth hit through-out my herte kene.
2. REJECTION
So hath your beaute fro your herte chaced
Pitee, that me ne availeth not to pleyne;
For Daunger halt your mercy in his cheyne.
Giltles my deeth thus han ye me purchaced;
I sey yow sooth, me nedeth not to feyne;
So hath your beaute fro your herte chaced
Pitee, that me ne availeth not to pleyne.
Allas! that nature hath in yow compassed
So greet beaute, that no man may atteyne
To mercy, though he sterve for the peyne.
So hath your beaute fro your herte chaced
Pitee, that me ne availeth not to pleyne;
For Daunger halt your mercy in his cheyne.
3. ESCAPE
Sin I fro Love escaped am so fat,
I never thenk to ben in his prison lene;
Sin I am free, I counte him not a bene.
He may answere, and seye this or that;
I do no fors, I speke right as I mene.
Sin I fro Love escaped am so fat,
I never thenk to ben in his prison lene.
Love hath my name y-strike out of his sclat,
And he is strike out of my bokes clene
For ever-mo; ther is non other mene.
Sin I fro Love escaped am so fat,
I never thenk to ben in his prison lene;
Sin I am free, I counte him not a bene.
halt] holdeth. sclat] slate.
Thomas Hoccleve. 1368-9?-1450?
13. Lament for Chaucer
ALLAS! my worthi maister honorable,
This landes verray tresor and richesse!
Deth by thy deth hath harme irreparable
Unto us doon: hir vengeable duresse
Despoiled hath this land of the swetnesse
Of rethorik; for unto Tullius
Was never man so lyk amonges us.
Also who was hier in philosophie
To Aristotle in our tonge but thou?
The steppes of Virgile in poesie
Thou folwedist eeke, men wot wel ynow.
Thou combre-worlde that the my maister slow--
Wolde I slayn were!--Deth, was to hastyf
To renne on thee and reve the thi lyf...
She myghte han taried hir vengeance a while
Til that sum man had egal to the be;
Nay, lat be that! sche knew wel that this y1e
May never man forth brynge lyk to the,
And hir office needes do mot she:
God bad hir so, I truste as for the beste;
O maister, maister, God thi soule reste!
hier] heir. combre-worlde] encumberer of earth. slow] slew.
John Lydgate. 1370?-1450?
14. Vox ultima Crucis
TARYE no lenger; toward thyn heritage
Hast on thy weye, and be of ryght good chere.
Go eche day onward on thy pylgrymage;
Thynke howe short tyme thou hast abyden here.
Thy place is bygged above the sterres clere,
Noon erthly palys wrought in so statly wyse.
Come on, my frend, my brother most entere!
For the I offered my blood in sacryfice.
bygged] built. palys] palace.
King James I of Scotland. 1394-1437
15. Spring Song of the Birds
WORSCHIPPE ye that loveris bene this May,
For of your blisse the Kalendis are begonne,
And sing with us, Away, Winter, away!
Cum, Somer, cum, the suete sesoun and sonne!
Awake for schame! that have your hevynnis wonne,
And amorously lift up your hedis all,
Thank Lufe that list you to his merci call!
suete] sweet. Lufe] Love.
Robert Henryson. 1425-1500
16. Robin and Makyne
ROBIN sat on gude green hill,
Kepand a flock of fe:
Mirry Makyne said him till
'Robin, thou rew on me:
I haif thee luvit, loud and still,
Thir yeiris twa or thre;
My dule in dern bot gif thou dill,
Doutless but dreid I de.'
Robin answerit 'By the Rude
Na thing of luve I knaw,
But keipis my scheip undir yon wud:
Lo, quhair they raik on raw.
Quhat has marrit thee in thy mude,
Makyne, to me thou shaw;
Or quhat is luve, or to be lude?
Fain wad I leir that law.'
'At luvis lair gif thou will leir
Tak thair ane A B C;
Be heynd, courtass, and fair of feir,
Wyse, hardy, and free:
So that no danger do thee deir
Quhat dule in dern thou dre;
Preiss thee with pain at all poweir
Be patient and previe.'
Robin answerit hir agane,
'I wat nocht quhat is lufe;
But I haif mervel in certaine
Quhat makis thee this wanrufe:
The weddir is fair, and I am fain;
My scheip gois haill aboif;
And we wald prey us in this plane,
They wald us baith reproif.'
'Robin, tak tent unto my tale,
And wirk all as I reid,
And thou sall haif my heart all haill,
Eik and my maiden-heid:
Sen God sendis bute for baill,
And for murnyng remeid,
In dern with thee bot gif I daill
Dowtles I am bot deid.'
'Makyne, to-morn this ilka tyde
And ye will meit me heir,
Peraventure my scheip may gang besyde,
Quhyle we haif liggit full neir;
But mawgre haif I, and I byde,
Fra they begin to steir;
Quhat lyis on heart I will nocht hyd;
Makyn, then mak gude cheir.'
'Robin, thou reivis me roiff and rest;
I luve bot thee allane.'
'Makyne, adieu! the sone gois west,
The day is neir-hand gane.'
'Robin, in dule I am so drest
That luve will be my bane.'
'Ga luve, Makyne, quhair-evir thow list,
For lemman I luve nane.'
'Robin, I stand in sic a styll,
I sicht and that full sair.'
'Makyne, I haif been here this quhyle;
At hame God gif I wair.'
'My huny, Robin, talk ane quhyll,
Gif thow will do na mair.'
'Makyn, sum uthir man begyle,
For hamewart I will fair.'
Robin on his wayis went
As light as leif of tre;
Makyne murnit in hir intent,
And trowd him nevir to se.
Robin brayd attour the bent:
Then Makyne cryit on hie,
'Now may thow sing, for I am schent!
Quhat alis lufe at me?'
Makyne went hame withowttin fail,
Full wery eftir cowth weip;
Then Robin in a ful fair daill
Assemblit all his scheip.
Be that sum part of Makynis aill
Out-throw his hairt cowd creip;
He fallowit hir fast thair till assaill,
And till her tuke gude keip.
'Abyd, abyd, thow fair Makyne,
A word for ony thing;
For all my luve, it sall be thyne,
Withowttin departing.
All haill thy hairt for till haif myne
Is all my cuvating;
My scheip to-morn, quhyle houris nyne,
Will neid of no keping.'
'Robin, thow hes hard soung and say,
In gestis and storeis auld,
The man that will nocht quhen he may
Sall haif nocht quhen he wald.
I pray to Jesu every day,
Mot eik thair cairis cauld
That first preissis with thee to play
Be firth, forrest, or fauld.'
'Makyne, the nicht is soft and dry,
The weddir is warme and fair,
And the grene woid rycht neir us by
To walk attour all quhair:
Thair ma na janglour us espy,
That is to lufe contrair;
Thairin, Makyne, baith ye and I,
Unsene we ma repair.'
'Robin, that warld is all away,
And quyt brocht till ane end:
And nevir agane thereto, perfay,
Sall it be as thow wend;
For of my pane thow maid it play;
And all in vane I spend:
As thow hes done, sa sall I say,
"Murne on, I think to mend."'
'Makyne, the howp of all my heill,
My hairt on thee is sett;
And evirmair to thee be leill
Quhill I may leif but lett;
Never to faill as utheris feill,
Quhat grace that evir I gett.'
'Robin, with thee I will nocht deill;
Adieu! for thus we mett.'
Makyne went hame blyth anneuche
Attour the holttis hair;
Robin murnit, and Makyne leuche;
Scho sang, he sichit sair:
And so left him baith wo and wreuch,
In dolour and in cair,
Kepand his hird under a huche
Amangis the holttis hair.
kepand] keeping. fe] sheep, cattle. him till] to him. dule in
dern] sorrow in secret. dill] soothe. but dreid] without dread,
i.e. there is no fear or doubt. raik on raw] range in
row. lude] loved. leir] learn. lair] lore. heynd]
gentle. feir] demeanour. deir] daunt. dre] endure. preiss]
endeavour. wanrufe] unrest. haill] healthy, whole. aboif] above,
up yonder. and] if. tak tent] give heed. reid] advise. bute for
baill] remedy for hurt. bot gif] but if, unless. daill]
deal. mawgre haif I] I am uneasy. reivis] robbest. roiff]
quiet. drest] beset. lemman] mistress. sicht] sigh. in hir
intent] in her inward thought. brayd] strode. bent] coarse
grass. schent] destroyed. alis] ails. be that] by the time
that. till] to. tuke keip] paid attention. hard] heard. gestis]
romances. mot eik] may add to. be] by. janglour]
talebearer. wend] weened. howp] hope. but lett] without
hindrance. anneuche] enough. holttis hair] grey
woodlands. leuche] laughed. wreuch] peevish. huche] heuch,
cliff.
Robert Henryson. 1425-1500
17. The Bludy Serk
THIS hinder yeir I hard be tald
Thair was a worthy King;
Dukis, Erlis, and Barronis bald,
He had at his bidding.
The Lord was ancean and ald,
And sexty yeiris cowth ring;
He had a dochter fair to fald,
A lusty Lady ying.
Off all fairheid scho bur the flour,
And eik hir faderis air;
Off lusty laitis and he honour,
Meik bot and debonair:
Scho wynnit in a bigly bour,
On fold wes nane so fair,
Princis luvit hir paramour
In cuntreis our allquhair.
Thair dwelt a lyt besyde the King
A foull Gyand of ane;
Stollin he has the Lady ying,
Away with hir is gane,
And kest her in his dungering
Quhair licht scho micht se nane;
Hungir and cauld and grit thristing
Scho fand into hir waine.
He wes the laithliest on to luk
That on the grund mycht gang:
His nailis wes lyk ane hellis cruk,
Thairwith fyve quarteris lang;
Thair wes nane that he ourtuk,
In rycht or yit in wrang,
Bot all in schondir he thame schuk,
The Gyand wes so strang.
He held the Lady day and nycht
Within his deip dungeoun,
He wald nocht gif of hir a sicht
For gold nor yit ransoun--
Bot gif the King mycht get a knycht,
To fecht with his persoun,
To fecht with him beth day and nycht,
Quhill ane wer dungin doun.
The King gart seik baith fer and neir,
Beth be se and land,
Off ony knycht gif he mycht heir
Wald fecht with that Gyand:
A worthy Prince, that had no peir,
Hes tane the deid on hand
For the luve of the Lady cleir,
And held full trew cunnand.
That Prince come prowdly to the toun
Of that Gyand to heir,
And fawcht with him, his awin persoun,
And tuke him presoneir,
And kest him in his awin dungeoun
Allane withouten feir,
With hungir, cauld, and confusioun,
As full weill worthy weir.
Syne brak the bour, had hame the bricht
Unto her fadir fre.
Sa evill wondit wes the Knycht
That he behuvit to de;
Unlusum was his likame dicht,
His sark was all bludy;
In all the world was thair a wicht
So peteouss for to se?
The Lady murnyt and maid grit mane,
With all her mekill mycht--
'I luvit nevir lufe bot ane,
That dulfully now is dicht;
God sen my lyfe were fra me tane
Or I had seen yone sicht,
Or ellis in begging evir to gane
Furth with yone curtass knycht.'
He said 'Fair lady, now mone I
De, trestly ye me trow;
Take ye my serk that is bludy,
And hing it forrow yow;
First think on it, and syne on me,
Quhen men cumis yow to wow.'
The Lady said 'Be Mary fre,
Thairto I mak a vow.'
Quhen that scho lukit to the sark
Scho thocht on the persoun,
And prayit for him with all hir hart
That lowsit hir of bandoun,
Quhair scho was wont to sit full merk
Into that deip dungeoun;
And evir quhill scho wes in quert,
That was hir a lessoun.
Sa weill the Lady luvit the Knycht
That no man wald scho tak:
Sa suld we do our God of micht
That did all for us mak;
Quhilk fullily to deid was dicht,
For sinfull manis sak,
Sa suld we do beth day and nycht,
With prayaris to him mak.
This King is lyk the Trinitie,
Baith in hevin and heir;
The manis saule to the Lady,
The Gyand to Lucefeir,
The Knycht to Chryst, that deit on tre
And coft our synnis deir;
The pit to Hele with panis fell,
The Syn to the woweir.
The Lady was wowd, but scho said nay
With men that wald hir wed;
Sa suld we wryth all sin away
That in our breist is bred.
I pray to Jesu Chryst verray,
For ws his blud that bled,
To be our help on domisday
Quhair lawis ar straitly led.
The saule is Godis dochtir deir,
And eik his handewerk,
That was betrayit with Lucefeir,
Quha sittis in hell full merk:
Borrowit with Chrystis angell cleir,
Hend men, will ye nocht herk?
And for his lufe that bocht us deir
Think on the BLUDY SERK!
hinder yeir] last year. ring] reign. fald] enfold. ying]
young. fairheid] beauty. air] heir. laitis] manners. bot and]
and also. scho wynnit] she dwelt. bigly] well-built. fold]
earth. paramour] lovingly. our allquhair] all the world over. a
lyt besyde] a little, (i.e. close) beside. of ane] as any. kest]
cast. dungering] dungeon. into hir waine] in her lodging. hellis
cruk] hell-claw. quhill] until. dungin doun] beaten down. his
awin persoun] himself. withouten feir] without companion. the
bricht] the fair one. likame] body. lowsit hir of bandoun] loosed
her from thraldom. quert] prison. coft] bought. straitly led]
strictly carried out. hend] gentle.
William Dunbar. 1465-1520?
18. To a Lady
SWEET rois of vertew and of gentilness,
Delytsum lily of everie lustynes,
Richest in bontie and in bewtie clear,
And everie vertew that is wenit dear,
Except onlie that ye are mercyless
Into your garth this day I did persew;
There saw I flowris that fresche were of hew;
Baith quhyte and reid most lusty were to seyne,
And halesome herbis upon stalkis greene;
Yet leaf nor flowr find could I nane of rew.
I doubt that Merche, with his cauld blastis keyne,
Has slain this gentil herb, that I of mene;
Quhois piteous death dois to my heart sic paine
That I would make to plant his root againe,--
So confortand his levis unto me bene.
rois] rose. wenit] weened, esteemed. garth] garden-close. to
seyne] to see. that I of mene] that I complain of, mourn for.
William Dunbar. 1465-1520?
19. In Honour of the City of London
LONDON, thou art of townes A per se.
Soveraign of cities, seemliest in sight,
Of high renoun, riches and royaltie;
Of lordis, barons, and many a goodly knyght;
Of most delectable lusty ladies bright;
Of famous prelatis, in habitis clericall;
Of merchauntis full of substaunce and of myght:
London, thou art the flour of Cities all.
Gladdith anon, thou lusty Troynovaunt,
Citie that some tyme cleped was New Troy;
In all the erth, imperiall as thou stant,
Pryncesse of townes, of pleasure and of joy,
A richer restith under no Christen roy;
For manly power, with craftis naturall,
Fourmeth none fairer sith the flode of Noy:
London, thou art the flour of Cities all.
Gemme of all joy, jasper of jocunditie,
Most myghty carbuncle of vertue and valour;
Strong Troy in vigour and in strenuytie;
Of royall cities rose and geraflour;
Empress of townes, exalt in honour;
In beawtie beryng the crone imperiall;
Swete paradise precelling in pleasure;
London, thou art the flour of Cities all.
Above all ryvers thy Ryver hath renowne,
Whose beryall stremys, pleasaunt and preclare,
Under thy lusty wallys renneth down,
Where many a swan doth swymme with wyngis fair;
Where many a barge doth saile and row with are;
Where many a ship doth rest with top-royall.
O, towne of townes! patrone and not compare,
London, thou art the flour of Cities all.
Upon thy lusty Brigge of pylers white
Been merchauntis full royall to behold;
Upon thy stretis goeth many a semely knyght
In velvet gownes and in cheynes of gold.
By Julyus Cesar thy Tour founded of old
May be the hous of Mars victoryall,
Whose artillary with tonge may not be told:
London, thou art the flour of Cities all.
Strong be thy wallis that about thee standis;
Wise be the people that within thee dwellis;
Fresh is thy ryver with his lusty strandis;
Blith be thy chirches, wele sownyng be thy bellis;
Rich be thy merchauntis in substaunce that excellis;
Fair be their wives, right lovesom, white and small;
Clere be thy virgyns, lusty under kellis:
London, thou art the flour of Cities all.
Thy famous Maire, by pryncely governaunce,
With sword of justice thee ruleth prudently.
No Lord of Parys, Venyce, or Floraunce
In dignitye or honour goeth to hym nigh.
He is exampler, loode-ster, and guye;
Principall patrone and rose orygynalle,
Above all Maires as maister most worthy:
London, thou art the flour of Cities all.
gladdith] rejoice. Troynovaunt] Troja nova or
Trinovantum. fourmeth] appeareth. geraflour] gillyflower. are]
oar. small] slender. kellis] hoods, head-dresses. guye] guide.
William Dunbar. 1465-1520?
20. On the Nativity of Christ
RORATE coeli desuper!
Hevins, distil your balmy schouris!
For now is risen the bricht day-ster,
Fro the rose Mary, flour of flouris:
The cleir Sone, quhom no cloud devouris,
Surmounting Phebus in the Est,
Is cumin of his hevinly touris:
Et nobis Puer natus est.
Archangellis, angellis, and dompnationis,
Tronis, potestatis, and marteiris seir,
And all ye hevinly operationis,
Ster, planeit, firmament, and spheir,
Fire, erd, air, and water cleir,
To Him gife loving, most and lest,
That come in to so meik maneir;
Et nobis Puer natus est.
Synnaris be glad, and penance do,
And thank your Maker hairtfully;
For he that ye micht nocht come to
To you is cumin full humbly
Your soulis with his blood to buy
And loose you of the fiendis arrest--
And only of his own mercy;
Pro nobis Puer natus est.
All clergy do to him inclyne,
And bow unto that bairn benyng,
And do your observance divyne
To him that is of kingis King:
Encense his altar, read and sing
In holy kirk, with mind degest,
Him honouring attour all thing
Qui nobis Puer natus est.
Celestial foulis in the air,
Sing with your nottis upon hicht,
In firthis and in forrestis fair
Be myrthful now at all your mycht;
For passit is your dully nicht,
Aurora has the cloudis perst,
The Sone is risen with glaidsum licht,
Et nobis Puer natus est.
Now spring up flouris fra the rute,
Revert you upward naturaly,
In honour of the blissit frute
That raiss up fro the rose Mary;
Lay out your levis lustily,
Fro deid take life now at the lest
In wirschip of that Prince worthy
Qui nobis Puer natus est.
Sing, hevin imperial, most of hicht!
Regions of air mak armony!
All fish in flud and fowl of flicht
Be mirthful and mak melody!
All Gloria in excelsis cry!
Heaven, erd, se, man, bird, and best,--
He that is crownit abone the sky
Pro nobis Puer natus est!
schouris] showers. cumin] come, entered. seir] various. erd]
earth. lest] least. synnaris] sinners. benyng] benign. attour]
over, above. perst] pierced. raiss] rose. best] beast.
William Dunbar. 1465-1520?
21. Lament for the Makers
I THAT in heill was and gladness
Am trublit now with great sickness
And feblit with infirmitie:--
Timor Mortis conturbat me.
Our plesance here is all vain glory,
This fals world is but transitory,
The flesh is bruckle, the Feynd is slee:--
Timor Mortis conturbat me.
The state of man does change and vary,
Now sound, now sick, now blyth, now sary,
Now dansand mirry, now like to die:--
Timor Mortis conturbat me.
No state in Erd here standis sicker;
As with the wynd wavis the wicker
So wannis this world's vanitie:--
Timor Mortis conturbat me.
Unto the Death gois all Estatis,
Princis, Prelatis, and Potestatis,
Baith rich and poor of all degree:--
Timor Mortis conturbat me.
He takis the knichtis in to the field
Enarmit under helm and scheild;
Victor he is at all mellie:--
Timor Mortis conturbat me.
That strong unmerciful tyrand
Takis, on the motheris breast sowkand,
The babe full of benignitie:--
Timor Mortis conturbat me.
He takis the campion in the stour,
The captain closit in the tour,
The lady in bour full of bewtie:--
Timor Mortis conturbat me.
He spairis no lord for his piscence,
Na clerk for his intelligence;
His awful straik may no man flee:--
Timor Mortis conturbat me.
Art-magicianis and astrologgis,
Rethoris, logicianis, and theologgis,
Them helpis no conclusionis slee:--
Timor Mortis conturbat me.
In medecine the most practicianis,
Leechis, surrigianis, and physicianis,
Themself from Death may not supplee:--
Timor Mortis conturbat me.
I see that makaris amang the lave
Playis here their padyanis, syne gois to grave;
Sparit is nocht their facultie:--
Timor Mortis conturbat me.
He has done petuously devour
The noble Chaucer, of makaris flour,
The Monk of Bury, and Gower, all three:--
Timor Mortis conturbat me.
The good Sir Hew of Eglintoun,
Ettrick, Heriot, and Wintoun,
He has tane out of this cuntrie:--
Timor Mortis conturbat me.
That scorpion fell has done infeck
Maister John Clerk, and James Afflek,
Fra ballat-making and tragedie:--
Timor Mortis conturbat me.
Holland and Barbour he has berevit;
Alas! that he not with us levit
Sir Mungo Lockart of the Lee:--
Timor Mortis conturbat me.
Clerk of Tranent eke he has tane,
That made the anteris of Gawaine;
Sir Gilbert Hay endit has he:--
Timor Mortis conturbat me.
He has Blind Harry and Sandy Traill
Slain with his schour of mortal hail,
Quhilk Patrick Johnstoun might nought flee:--
Timor Mortis conturbat me.
He has reft Merseir his endite,
That did in luve so lively write,
So short, so quick, of sentence hie:--
Timor Mortis conturbat me.
He has tane Rowll of Aberdene,
And gentill Rowll of Corstorphine;
Two better fallowis did no man see:--
Timor Mortis conturbat me.
In Dunfermline he has tane Broun
With Maister Robert Henrysoun;
Sir John the Ross enbrast has he:--
Timor Mortis conturbat me.
And he has now tane, last of a,
Good gentil Stobo and Quintin Shaw,
Of quhom all wichtis hes pitie:--
Timor Mortis conturbat me.
Good Maister Walter Kennedy
In point of Death lies verily;
Great ruth it were that so suld be:--
Timor Mortis conturbat me.
Sen he has all my brether tane,
He will naught let me live alane;
Of force I man his next prey be:--
Timor Mortis conturbat me.
Since for the Death remeid is none,
Best is that we for Death dispone,
After our death that live may we:--
Timor Mortis conturbat me.
heill] health. bruckle] brittle, feeble. slee] sly. dansand]
dancing. sicker] sure. wicker] willow. wannis] wanes. mellie]
mellay. sowkand] sucking. campion] champion. stour]
fight. piscence] puissance. straik] stroke. supplee]
save. makaris] poets. the lave] the leave, the rest. padyanis]
pageants. anteris] adventures. schour] shower. endite]
inditing. fallowis] fellows. wichtis] wights, persons. man]
must. dispone] make disposition.
Anonymous. 15th Cent.
22. May in the Green-Wood
IN somer when the shawes be sheyne,
And leves be large and long,
Hit is full merry in feyre foreste
To here the foulys song.
To se the dere draw to the dale
And leve the hilles hee,
And shadow him in the leves grene
Under the green-wode tree.
Hit befell on Whitsontide
Early in a May mornyng,
The Sonne up faire can shyne,
And the briddis mery can syng.
'This is a mery mornyng,' said Litulle Johne,
'Be Hym that dyed on tre;
A more mery man than I am one
Lyves not in Christiante.
'Pluk up thi hert, my dere mayster,'
Litulle Johne can say,
'And thynk hit is a fulle fayre tyme
In a mornynge of May.'
sheyne] bright.
Anonymous. 15th Cent.
23. Carol
I SING of a maiden
That is makeles;
King of all kings
To her son she ches.
He came al so still
There his mother was,
As dew in April
That falleth on the grass.
He came al so still
To his mother's bour,
As dew in April
That falleth on the flour.
He came al so still
There his mother lay,
As dew in April
That falleth on the spray.
Mother and maiden
Was never none but she;
Well may such a lady
Goddes mother be.
makeles] matchless. ches] chose.
Anonymous. 15th Cent. (?)
24. Quia Amore Langueo
IN a valley of this restles mind
I sought in mountain and in mead,
Trusting a true love for to find.
Upon an hill then took I heed;
A voice I heard (and near I yede)
In great dolour complaining tho:
See, dear soul, how my sides bleed
Quia amore langueo.
Upon this hill I found a tree,
Under a tree a man sitting;
From head to foot wounded was he;
His hearte blood I saw bleeding:
A seemly man to be a king,
A gracious face to look unto.
I asked why he had paining;
[He said,] Quia amore langueo.
I am true love that false was never;
My sister, man's soul, I loved her thus.
Because we would in no wise dissever
I left my kingdom glorious.
I purveyed her a palace full precious;
She fled, I followed, I loved her so
That I suffered this pain piteous
Quia amore langueo.
My fair love and my spouse bright!
I saved her from beating, and she hath me bet;
I clothed her in grace and heavenly light;
This bloody shirt she hath on me set;
For longing of love yet would I not let;
Sweete strokes are these: lo!
I have loved her ever as I her het
Quia amore langueo.
I crowned her with bliss and she me with thorn;
I led her to chamber and she me to die;
I brought her to worship and she me to scorn;
I did her reverence and she me villany.
To love that loveth is no maistry;
Her hate made never my love her foe:
Ask me then no question why--
Quia amore langueo.
Look unto mine handes, man!
These gloves were given me when I her sought;
They be not white, but red and wan;
Embroidered with blood my spouse them brought.
They will not off; I loose hem nought;
I woo her with hem wherever she go.
These hands for her so friendly fought
Quia amore langueo.
Marvel not, man, though I sit still.
See, love hath shod me wonder strait:
Buckled my feet, as was her will,
With sharpe nails (well thou may'st wait!)
In my love was never desait;
All my membres I have opened her to;
My body I made her herte's bait
Quia amore langueo.
In my side I have made her nest;
Look in, how weet a wound is here!
This is her chamber, here shall she rest,
That she and I may sleep in fere.
Here may she wash, if any filth were;
Here is seat for all her woe;
Come when she will, she shall have cheer
Quia amore langueo.
I will abide till she be ready,
I will her sue if she say nay;
If she be retchless I will be greedy,
If she be dangerous I will her pray;
If she weep, then bide I ne may:
Mine arms ben spread to clip her me to.
Cry once, I come: now, soul, assay
Quia amore langueo.
Fair love, let us go play:
Apples ben ripe in my gardayne.
I shall thee clothe in a new array,
Thy meat shall be milk, honey and wine.
Fair love, let us go dine:
Thy sustenance is in my crippe, lo!
Tarry thou not, my fair spouse mine,
Quia amore langueo.
If thou be foul, I shall thee make clean;
If thou be sick, I shall thee heal;
If thou mourn ought, I shall thee mene;
Why wilt thou not, fair love, with me deal?
Foundest thou ever love so leal?
What wilt thou, soul, that I shall do?
I may not unkindly thee appeal
Quia amore langueo.
What shall I do now with my spouse
But abide her of my gentleness,
Till that she look out of her house
Of fleshly affection? love mine she is;
Her bed is made, her bolster is bliss,
Her chamber is chosen; is there none mo.
Look out on me at the window of kindeness
Quia amore langueo.
My love is in her chamber: hold your peace!
Make ye no noise, but let her sleep.
My babe I would not were in disease,
I may not hear my dear child weep.
With my pap I shall her keep;
Ne marvel ye not though I tend her to:
This wound in my side had ne'er be so deep
But Quia amore langueo.
Long thou for love never so high,
My love is more than thine may be.
Thou weepest, thou gladdest, I sit thee by:
Yet wouldst thou once, love, look unto me!
Should I always feede thee
With children meat? Nay, love, not so!
I will prove thy love with adversite
Quia amore langueo.
Wax not weary, mine own wife!
What mede is aye to live in comfort?
In tribulation I reign more rife
Ofter times than in disport.
In weal and in woe I am aye to support:
Mine own wife, go not me fro!
Thy mede is marked, when thou art mort:
Quia amore langueo.
yede] went. het] promised. bait] resting-place. weet] wet. in
fere] together. crippe] scrip. mene] care for.
Anonymous. 15th Cent.
25. The Nut-Brown Maid
He. BE it right or wrong, these men among
On women do complain;
Affirming this, how that it is
A labour spent in vain
To love them wele; for never a dele
They love a man again:
For let a man do what he can
Their favour to attain,
Yet if a new to them pursue,
Their first true lover than
Laboureth for naught; for from her thought
He is a banished man.
She. I say not nay, but that all day
It is both written and said
That woman's faith is, as who saith,
All utterly decayd:
But nevertheless, right good witness
In this case might be laid
That they love true and continue:
Record the Nut-brown Maid,
Which, when her love came her to prove,
To her to make his moan,
Would not depart; for in her heart
She loved but him alone.
He. Then between us let us discuss
