But for to make short tale, and nought to tarie longe,
He ordeyned him a queste of his men so stronge; 872
The justice and the scherreve bothe honged hye,
To weyven with ropes and with the wynd drye;
And the twelve sisours, sorwe have that rekke!
Alle they were hanged faste by the nekke.
Thus ended the fals knight with his treccherie,
That ever had i-lad his lyf in faisnes and folye;

He was hanged by the nek, and nought by the purs,

That was the meede that he had for his fadres curs. Sire Ote was eldest, and Gamelyn was ying, 881 They wenten with here freendes even to the kyng; They made pees with the kyng of the best assise. The kyng loved wel sir Ote and made him a justise. And after the kyng made Gamelyn, bothe in est Chef justice of al his fre forest; [and west, Alle his wighte yonge men the kyng forgaf here gilt, And sitthen in good office the kyng hem hath i-pilt. Thus wan Gamelyn his lond and his leede, [meede, And wrak him of his enemys, and quyt hem here

And sire Ote his brother made him his heir,
And siththen wedded Gamelyn a wyf bothe good
and feyr;

They lyveden togidere whil that Crist wolde,
And sithen was Gamelyn graven under moolde.
And so schal we alle, may ther no man fle:
God bryng us to the joye that ever schal be!

THE MAN OF LAWES PROLOGE.

892

OWRE Hoste sawh that the brighte sonne The arke of his artificial day hath i-ronne The fourthe part, of half an hour and more; And though he were nat depe expert in lore, He wist it was the eightetene day Of April, that is messanger to May; And sawe wel that the schade of every tree Was in the lengthe the same quantité That was the body erecte, that caused it; And therfore by the schadwe he took his wit, 4430 That Phebus, which that schoon so fair and bright, Degrees was five and fourty clombe on hight; And for that day, as in that latitude,

66

It was ten of the clokke, he gan conclude;
And sodeynly he plight his hors aboute.
Lordynges," quod he, "I warne you al the route,
The fourthe party of this day is goon;
Now, for the love of God and of seint Jon,
Leseth no tyme, as forthe as ye may.
Lordynges, the tyme passeth night and day, 4440
And stelith fro us, what pryvely slepyng,
And what thurgh necligence in oure wakyng,
As doth the streem, that torneth never agayn,
Descendyng fro the mounteyn into playn.
Wel can Senek and many philosopher
Bywaylen time, more than gold in cofre.
For losse of catel may recovered be,
But losse of tyme schendeth us, quod he.
It wil nat come agayn, withoute drede,
Nomore than wol Malkyns maydenhede,
Whan sche had lost it in hir wantownesse.
Let us nat mowlen thus in ydelnesse.
"Sir Man of Lawe," quod he," so have ye blisse,
Telle us a tale anon, as forward ys.
Ye be submitted thurgh your fre assent
To stonden in this cas at my juggement.

4450

4425. eightetene. This is the reading in which the MSS. seem mostly to agree. The Ms. Harl. reads threttenthe. Tyrwhitt has eighte and twenty.

4440. passeth. Most of the MSS. read wasteth. 4445. Malkyns maydenhede. This appears to have been a proverbial saying, and occurs in Piers Ploughman.

4460

4470

Acquyteth yow, and holdeth youre by heste;
Than have ye doon your devour atte leste."
"Host," quod he, "depardeux, I assent;
To breke forward is nat myn entent.
Byheste is dette, and I wol holde fayn
Al my by hest, I can no better sayn.
For such lawe as a man geveth another wight,
Thus wol oure text: but natheles certeyn
He schuld himselve usen it by right.
I can right now non other tale seyn,
That Chaucer, they he can but lewedly
On metres and on rymyng craftely,
Hath seyd hem in such Englisch as he can,
Of olde tyme, as knoweth many man.
And gif he have nought sayd hem, leeve brother,
In o bok, he hath seyd hem in another.
For he hath told of lovers up and doun,
Moo than Ovide made of mencioun
In his Epistelles, that ben so oide.
What schuld I tellen hem, syn they be tolde?
In youthe he made of Ceys and Alcioun,
And siththe hath he spoke of everychon
These noble wyfes, and these lovers eeke,
Who so wole his large volume seeke,
Cleped the seintes legende of Cupide;
Ther may he see the large woundes wyde
Of Lucresse, and of Babiloun Tysbee;
The sorwe of Dido for the fals Enee;
The tree of Philles for hir Demephon;
The pleynt of Dyane and of Ermyon,
Of Adrian, and of Ysyphilee;
The barreyn yle stondyng in the see;
The dreynt Leandere for his fayre Erro;
The teeres of Eleyn, and eek the woo
Of Bryxseyde, and of Ledomia;
The cruelté of the queen Medea,
For thiike Jason, that was of love so fals.
The litel children hangyng by the hals,
O Ypermystre, Penollope, and Alceste,
Youre wyfhood he comendeth with the beste.
But certeynly no worde writeth he
Of thilke wikked ensample of Canace,
That loved hir owen brother synfully;
On whiche corsed stories I seye fy;
Or elles of Tyro Appoloneus,

How that the cursed kyng Anteochus
That is so horrible a tale for to reede,
Byreft his doughter of hir maydenhede,
Whan he hir threw upon the pament.
And therfore he of ful avysement
Wolde never wryte in non of his sermouns
Of such unkynde abhominaciouns;
Ne I wol non reherse, if that I may.
But of my tale how schal I do this day?
Me were loth to be lykned douteles
To Muses, that men clepen Pyerides,

4480

4490

4500

4510

4477. Ceys and Alcioun. This story forms the introduction to the Boke of the Duchesse.

4481. Legende of Cupide. This is the poem more frequently entitled the Legende of good women.

4486. Dyane. The Ms. Lansd. reads Dianyre, which Tyrwhitt adopts. The readings are very various, and not easy to be reconciled.

4498. Canace. This and the story of Apollonius of Tyre are told in Gower's Confessio Amantis, whence it has been supposed that Chaucer intended here to blame that writer -a notion for which there appears to be no good foundation. The story of Apollonius was very popular in the middle ages, and was published in a variety of forms. 4512. Pyerides. "He rather means, I think, the daughters of Pierus, who contended with the Muses, and were changed into pies. Ovid. Metam. 1. v."-Tyrwhitt.

(Methamorphoseos wot what I mene);
But natheles I recche nat a bene,
They I come after him with hawe-bake,
I speke in prose, and let him rymes make."
And with that word, he with a sobre cheere
Bygan his tale, as ye schal after heere.

THE MAN OF LAWES TALE.

O HATEFUL harm, condicioun of povert, 4519 With thurst, with cold,with honger so confoundyd, To asken help it schameth in thin hert, If thou non aske, with neede so art thou woundyd, That verray neede unwrappeth al thy wounde Maugré thyn heed thou most for indigence [hyd; Or stele, or begge, or borwe thy dispence.

Thow blamest Crist, and seyst ful bitterly, He mysdeparteth riches temporal; And thyn neyhebour thou wytes synfully; And seyst thou hast to litel, and he hath al. Parfay, seystow, som tyme he rekne schal, 4530 Whan that his tayl schal brennen in the gleede, For he nought helpeth the needful in his neede. Herkneth what is the sentens of the wyse, Bet is to dye than have indigence; Thy selve neyghebour wol the despyse, If thou be pore, farwel thy reverence. Yet of the wyse man tak this sentence, Alle the dayes of pore men be wikke; Be war therfore or thou come to that prikke. If thou be pore, thy brother hateth the, And alle thy frendes fleeth fro the, allas! O riche marchaundz, ful of wele be ye, O noble prudent folk as in this cas, Youre bagges beth nat fuld with ambes aas, But with sys synk, that renneth on your chaunce; At Crystemasse wel mery may ye daunce.

4540

Ye seeke land and see for youre wynnynges, As wyse folk as ye knowe alle thastates Of regnes, ye be fadres of tydynges, Of tales, bothe of pees and of debates.

I were right now of tales desolat,

4550

Nere that a marchaunt, gon siththen many a

yere,

Me taught a tale, which ye schal after heere.
In Surrie dwelled whilom a companye
Of chapmen riche, and therto sad and trewe,
That wyde where sent her spycerye,
Clothes of gold, and satyn riche of hewe.
Her chaffar was so thrifty and so newe,

The Man of Lawes Tale. This tale was probably taken

direct from a French romance. All the incidents in it are of frequent occurrence in medieval stories. The whole story is found in Gower; and a similar story forms the plot of the romance of Emare (printed in Ritson's Metrical Romances). The treachery of King Alla's mother enters into the French romance of the Chevalier au cigne, and into the still more ancient Anglo-Saxon romance of King Offa, preserved in a Latin form by Matthew Paris. It is also found in the Italian collection, said to have been composed in 1378, under the title of Il Pecorone di ser Giovanni Fiorentino (an imitation of the Decameron), gior. x. No. 1. The treason of the knight who murders Hermengilde is an incident in the French Roman de la Violette; and in the English metrical romance of Le bone Florence of Rome (printed in Ritson's collection); and is found in the English Gesta Romanorum, c. 69 (ed. Madden), joined in the latter place with Constance's adventure with the steward. It is also found in Vincent of Beauvais, and other writers. Gower's version appears to be taken from the French chronicle of Nicolas Trivet, Ms. Arundel, No. 56, fol. 45 vo.

4534. Bet is to dye. This saying of Solomon is quoted in the Roman de la Rose, as cited by Tyrwhitt:

Mieux vault mourir que pauvres estres.

That every wight had deynté to chaffare
With hem, and eek to selle hem of here ware.
Now fel it, that the maystres of that sort 4561
Han schapen hem to Rome for to wende,
Were it for chapmanhode or for disport,
Non other message nolde they thider sende,
But came hemself to Rome, this is the ende;
And in such place as thought hem avauntage
For here entent, they tooke her herburgage.
Sojourned have these marchauntz in the toun
A certeyn tyme, as fel to here plesaunce.
But so bifell, that thexcellent renoun
Of themperoures doughter dame Custaunce
Reported was, with every circumstaunce,
Unto these Surrienz marchauntz, in such wyse
Fro day to day, as I schal you devyse.

4570

4580

This was the comyn voys of every man:
"Oure emperour of Rome, God him see!
A doughter hath, that, sith the world bygan,
To rekne as wel hir goodnes as hir bewté,
Nas never such another as was sche.
I prey to God hir save and susteene,
And wolde sche were of al Europe the queene,
"In hire is hye bewté, withoute pryde;
Yowthe, withoute grefhed or folye;
To alle hire werkes vertu is hire gyde;
Humblesse hath slayne in hir tyrrannye;
Sche is myrour of alle curtesye,

Hir herte is verrey chambre of holynesse,
Hir hond mynistre of fredom and almesse."
And al this voys is soth, as God is trewe. 4589
But now to purpos let us turne agein: [newe,
These marchantz have don fraught here schippes
And whan they have this blisful mayde seyn,
Home to Surrey be they went agein,
And doon here needes, as they have don yore,
And lyven in wele, I can you say no more.

Now fel it, that these marchauntz stooden in
Of him that was the sowdan of Surrye. [grace
For whan they come fro eny straunge place,
He wolde of his benigne curtesye
Make hem good chere, and busily aspye 4600
Tydynges of sondry regnes, for to lere
The wordes that they mighte seen and heere.
Among other thinges specially

These marchauntz him told of dame Constaunce
So gret noblesse, in ernest so ryally,
That this sowdan hath caught so gret plesaunce
To have hir figure in his remembraunce,
Was for to love hir, whiles his lyf may dure.
That al his lust, and al his besy cure,

4610

Paraventure in thilke large booke,
Which that is cleped the heven, i-write was
With sterres, whan that he his burthe took,
That he for love schulde have his deth, allas!
For in the sterres, clerere then is glas,

4614. in the sterres. See before, 1. 2039. Chaucer seems to have had in his eye in the following stanza a passage of the Megacosmus of Bernardus Silvestris, a rather popular Latin poet of the twelfth century. Some of these lines are quoted in the margin of Ms. Lansd.

Præjacet in stellis series, quam longior ætas
Explicet et spatiis temporis ordo suis,
Sceptra Phoronei, fratrum discordia Thebis,
Flamma Phaethontis, Deucalionis aquæ.
In stellis Codri paupertas, copia Crosi,
Incestus Paridis, Hippolytique pudor.
In stellis Priami species, audacia Turni,
Sensus Ulyxeus, Herculeusque vigor.
In stellis pugil est Pollux, et navita Typhis,
Et Cicero rhetor, et geometra Thales.
In stellis lepidum dictat Maro, Milo figurat,

Is wryten, God woot, who so cowthe it rede, The deth of every man, withouten drede.

In sterres many a wynter therby fore, Was write the deth of Ector and Achilles, Of Pompé, Julius, er they were i-bore; The stryf of Thebes, and of Ercules, Of Sampson, Turnus, and of Socrates The deth; but mennes wittes ben so dulle, That no wight can wel rede it at the fulle. This sowdan for his pryvé counseil sent, And schortly of this mater for to pace, He hath to hem declared his entent,

4620

And seyd hem certeyn, but he might have grace
To have Constance withinne a litel space,
He nas but deed, and charged hem in hyghe
To schapen for his lyf som remedye.

Dyverse men divers thinges seyde,
The argumentes casten up and doun;
Many a subtyl resoun forth they leyden;
They spekyn of magike, and of abusioun ;
But fynally, as in conclusioun,

4630

They can nought seen in that non avauntage, Ne in non other wey, save in mariage.

(I say the woful day that than is come)
That ther may be no lenger taryyng,

But forthe-ward they dresse hem alle and so ne.
Constance, that with sorwe is overcome,
Ful pale arist, and dresseth hir to wende,
For wel sche saugh ther nas non other ende.
Allas! what wonder is it though sche wepte,
That schal be sent to straunge nacioun,
Fro freendes, that so tenderly hir kepte,
And to be bounde undur subjeccioun
Of oon sche knew nat his condicioun?
Housbondes ben al goode, and han be yore;
That knowen wyfes, I dar say no more.

4690

Than sawgh they therin such difficulté By wey of resoun, to speke it al playn, Bycause that ther was such dyversité Bitwen here bothe lawes, as they sayn, They trowe that "no cristen prince wold fayn Wedden his child under our lawe swete, That us was taught by Mahoun oure prophete." And he answerde: "Rather than I lese Constance, I wol be cristen douteles;

I

I moot be heres, I may non other cheese; pray you haldeth your arguments in pees, Saveth my lyf, and beth nat recheles.

Goth, geteth hire that hath my lyf in cure, 4650 For in this wo I may no lenger dure."

What needeth gretter dilatacioun?
I say, by tretys and ambassatrye,
And by the popes mediacioun,

And al the chirche, and al the chyvalrye,
That in destruccioun of mawmetrye,
And in encresse of Cristes lawe deere,
They ben acordid, as ye schal after heere,

4660

How that the soudan and his baronage,
And alle his lieges schuld i-crystned be,
And he schal have Constance in mariage,
And certeyn gold, I not what quantité,
And therfore founden they suffisant seurté.
This same acord was sworn on every syde;
Now, fair Constance, almighty God the guyde!
Now wolde som men wayten, as I gesse,
That I schulde tellen al the purvyaunce,
That themperour of his gret noblesse
Hath schapen for his doughter dame Constaunce.
Wel may men knowe that so gret ordynaunce
May no man telle in so litel a clause,
As was arrayed for so high a cause.
Bisschops ben schapen with hir for to wende,
Lordes, ladyes, and knightes of renoun,
And other folk ynowe, this is the ende.
And notefied is thurghout the toun,
That every wight with gret devocioun
Schulde preye Crist, that he this mariage
Receyve in gree, and spede this viage.
The day is come of hire departyng,

Fulgurat in Latia nobilitate Nero.
Astra notat Persis, Ægyptus parturit artes,
Græcia docta legit, prælia Roma gerit.

4671

4680

I trowe at Troye whan Pirrus brak the wal,
Or Yleon that brend Thebes the citee,
Ne at Rome for the harme thurgh Hanibal, 4710
That Romayns have venquysshed tymes thre,
Nas herd such tender wepyng for pité,

As in the chambur was for hir partyng;
But forth sche moot, whether sche weep or syng.
O firste mevyng cruel firmament,
With thi diurnal swough that crowdest ay,
And hurlest al fro est to occident,
That naturelly wold hold another way;
Thyn crowdyng sette the heven in such array
At the bygynnyng of this fiers viage, 4720
That cruel Martz hath slayn this marriage.
Infortunat ascendent tortuous,

Of which the lordes helples falle, allas!
Out of his angle into the derkest hous.
O Mariz Attezere, as in this caas;

O feble moone, unhappy been thi paas,
Thou knettest the ther thou art nat receyved,
Ther thou were wel fro thennes artow weyved.
Inprudent emperour of Rome, allas!
Was ther no philosopher in al thy toun? 4730
Is no tyme bet than other in such caas?
Of viage is ther noon eleccioun,

4715. firste mevyng. The following note is written in the margin of the Lansd. Ms. "Unde Tholomeus, libro primo,

capitulo 8: Primi motus cœli duo sunt, quorum unus est

qui movet totum semper ab oriente in occidentem uno modo super orbes, etc. Alter vero motus est qui movet orbem stellarum currentium contra motum primum, viz. ab occidente in orientem super alios duos polos, etc."

4725. O Mariz Attezere. The readings of the мSS. vary much. Tyrwhitt reads O Mars, O Atyzar. I have followed the Harl. Ms. It would require a deeper knowledge of medieval astrology than I possess, to correct it with any certainty, or to determine if it need correction.

4732. eleccioun The marginal note in the Lansd. Ms. quoted above, adds, "Omnes enim sunt concordati quod electiones sint debiles, nisi in divitibus; habent enim isti, licet debilitentur eorum electiones, radicem, i. e. nativitates eorum quæ confortant omnem planetam debilem in itinere: hæc philosophus." Tyrwhitt gives this from another MS. It is taken from the Liber electionum of Zahel, of which there is a copy in Ms. Harl. No. 80. The above passage occurs at fol. 68 vo.

Namly to folk of heigh condicioun,
Nought whan a roote is of a birthe i-knowe?
Allas! we ben to lewed, and eek to slowe.

To schippe is brought this woful faire mayde
Solempnely, with every circumstaunce.
"Now Jhesu Crist so be with you," sche sayde.
Ther nys nomor, but farwel, fair Custaunce;
Sche peyneth hire to make good contienaunce.
And forth I lete hire sayle in this manere, 4741
And torne I wol agein to my matiere.

The moder of the sowdan, ful of vices, Aspyed hath hir sones playn entente, How he wol lete his olde sacrifices; And right anoon sche for hir counseil sent, And they ben come, to knowe what sche ment; And whan assembled was this folk in fere, Sche sette hir doun, and sayd as ye schal heere. "Lordes," quod sche, "ye knowen everichon, How that my sone in poynt is for to lete The holy lawes of our Alkaroun, Geven by Goddes messangere Makamete; But oon avow to grete God I hete, The lyf schuld rather out of my body stert, Or Makametes law go out of myn hert.

4751

4760

"What schal us tyden of this newe lawe But thraldam to oure body and penaunce, And afterward in helle to be drawe, For we reneyed Mahound oure creaunce? But, lordes, wol ye maken assuraunce, As I schal say, assentyng to my lore? And I schal make us sauf for evermore." They sworen and assenten every man To lyf with hir and dye, and by hir stonde; And everich in the beste wise he can To strengthen hir schal al his frendes fonde. And sche hath emperise take on honde, Which ye schul heere that I schal devyse, And to hem alle sche spak in this wyse: "We schul first feyne ous cristendom to take; Cold watir schal nat greve us but a lite; And I schal such a fest and revel make, That, as I trow, I schal the sowdan quyte. For though his wyf be cristned never so white, Sche schal have need to waissche away the rede, They sche a font of watir with hir lede."

O sowdones, root of iniquité,
Virago thou Semyram the secounde;
O serpent under feminité,

Lyk to the serpent deep in helle i-bounde;
O feyned womman, alle that may confounde
Vertu and innocence, thurgh thy malice,
Is bred in the, as nest of every vice.

4770

4780

O Satan envyous, syn thilke day That thou were chased fro oure heritage, Wel knewest thou to wommen the olde way. Thou madest Eve to bryng us in servage, Thou wolt fordoon this cristen mariage. Thyn instrument so (weylaway the while!) 4790 Makestow of wommen whan thou wolt bygyle. This sowdones, whom I thus blame and wary, Let prively hir counseil gon his way; What schuld I in this tale lenger tary? Sche rideth to the soudan on a day, And seyd him, that sche wold reney hir lay, And cristendam of prestes handes fonge, Repentyng hir sche hethen was so longe;

4752. Alkaroun. The Koran was translated into Latin in the twelfth century, and it and the history of its author Mohammed were subjects of interest in the West.

4801

Bysechyng him to doon hir that honour, That sche most have the cristen men to feste; "To plesen hem I wil do my labour." The sowdan seith, "I wol do at your heste," And knelyng, thanketh hir of that requeste; So glad he was, he nyst nat what to seye. Sche kyst hir sone, and hom sche goth hir weye.

Arryved ben the cristen folk to londe
In Surry, with a gret solempne route,
And hastily this sowdan sent his sonde,
First to his moder, and al the regne aboute,
And seyd, his wyf was comen out of doute, 4811
And preyeth hir for to ride agein the queene,
The honour of his regne to susteene.

Gret was the prees, and riche was tharray
Of Surriens and Romayns mette in feere.
The mooder of the sowdan riche and gay
Receyved hir with al so glad a cheere,
As eny mooder might hir doughter deere;
And to the nexte citee ther bysyde
A softe paas solempnely thay ryde.

Nought trow I the triumphe of Julius,
Of which that Lukan maketh moche bost,
Was ryaller, ne more curious,

Than was thassemblé of this blisful oost.
But this scorpioun, this wikked goost,
The sowdones, for al hir flateryng,
Cast under this ful mortally to styng.

4820

The sowdan comth himself sone after this So really, that wonder is to telle; And welcometh hir with al joy and blys. 4829 And thus with mirth and joy I let hem dwelle. The fruyt of this matier is that I telle. Whan tyme com, men thought it for the best That revel stynt, and men goon to her rest. The tyme com, the olde sowdonesse Ordeyned hath this fest of which I told; And to the feste cristen folk hem dresse In general, bothe yong and old. Ther men may fest and realté byholde, And deyntés mo than I can of devyse, But al to deere they bought it ar they ryse.

4839

O sodeyn wo! that ever art successour To worldly blis, spreynd is with bitternesse The ende of oure joye, of oure worldly labour; Wo occupieth the fyn of oure gladnesse. Herken this counseil for thyn sikernesse; Upon thyn glade dayes have in thi mynde The unwar woo that cometh ay bihynde.

For schortly for to tellen at o word, The sowdan and the cristen everichone Ben al to-hewe and stiked atte bord, But it were dame Constaunce allone. This olde sowdones, this cursed crone, Hath with hir frendes doon this cursed dede, For sche hirself wold al the contré lede.

4850

Ne ther was Surrien noon that was converted, That of the counseil of the sowdon woot, That he nas al to-hewe or he asterted; And Constaunce have they take anon foot-hoot, And in a schippe, stereles, God it woot,

4847. unwar woo. This is a good example of the manner in which corruptions of the text gain ground. Some one had apparently given or harm as a marginal gloss to woo; another scribe copied this into the text, and some мss. (as the Lansd. Ms. and one of the Cambridge Mss.) have unwar wo or harme. This was again altered to make apparent sense, and Tyrwhitt has the line,

The unware wo of harm, that cometh behinde.

They have hir set, and bad hir lerne to sayle 4860 Out of Surry agein-ward to Ytaile.

A certein tresour that sche thider ladde, And, soth to sayn, vitaile gret plenté, They have hir geven, and clothes eek sche hadde, And forth sche sayleth in the salte see. O my Constaunce, ful of benignité, O emperoures yonge doughter deere, He that is lord of fortun be thi steere!

4870

4880

4891

Sche blesseth hir, and with ful pitous voys Unto the croys of Crist than seyde sche: "O cler, O welful auter, holy croys, Red of the lambes blood, ful of pité, That wissh the world fro old iniquité, Me fro the feend and fro his clowes keepe, That day that I schal drenchen in the deepe. "Victorious tre, proteccioun of trewe, That oonly were worthy for to bere The kyng of heven, with his woundes newe, The white lamb, that hurt was with a spere; Flemer of feendes, out of him and here On which thy lymes feithfully extenden, Me kepe, and gif me might my lyf to menden." Yeres and dayes flette this creature Thurghout the see of Grece, into the strayte Of Marrok, as it was hir adventure. O many a sory mele may sche bayte, After hir deth ful ofte may sche wayte, Or that the wilde wawe wol hir dryve Unto the place ther as sche schal arryve. Men mighten aske, why sche was nought slayn? Ek at the fest who might hir body save? And I answer to that demaunde agayn, Who saved Daniel in thorrible cave, That every wight, sauf he, mayster or knave, Was with the lioun frete, or he asterte? No wight but God, that he bar in his herte. God lust to schewe his wondurful miracle In hir, for we schuld seen his mighty werkes; Crist, which that is to every harm triacle, By certeyn menes ofte, as knowen clerkes, 4900 Doth thing for certeyn ende, that ful derk is To mannes witt, that for our ignoraunce Ne can nought knowe his prudent purvyaunce. Now sith sche was nat at the fest i-slawe, Who kepte hir fro drenching in the see? Who kepte Jonas in the fisches mawe, Til he was spouted up at Ninive? Wel may men knowe, it was no wight but he That kept the pepul Ebrayk fro her drenchyng, With drye feet thurghout the see passyng. 4910 Who badde foure spiritz of tempest, That power han to noyen land and see, Bothe north and south, and also west and est, Anoyen neyther londe, see, ne tree? Sothly the comaunder of that was he That fro the tempest ay this womman kepte, As wel when sche awok as when sche slepte. Wher might this womman mete and drinke have? Thre yer and more, how lasteth hir vitaille? Who fedde the Egipcien Marie in the cave, 4920 Or in desert? no wight but Crist saunz faile. Fyf thousand folk it was a gret mervaile With loves fyf and fissches tuo to feede; God sent his foysoun at her grete neede. Sche dryveth forth into oure occean Thurghout oure wilde see, til atte last

4927. that nompnen I ne can. The мs. reads that men

петрпе сап.

4940

4950

Sche was, sche seyd, so mased in the see, That sche forgat hir mynde, by hire trowthe. The constable had of hir so gret pitee, And eek his wyf, they wepeden for routhe; Sche was so diligent withouten slouthe To serve and plese ever in that place, That alle hir loven that loken on hir face. The constable and dame Hermegyld his wyf, To telle you playne, payenes bothe were; But Hermegyld loved Constance as hir lyf; And Constance hath so long herberwed there In orisoun, with many a bitter teere, Til Jhesu hath converted thurgh his grace Dame Hermegyld, the constables of the place.

In al the lond no cristen men durst route; 4960 Al cristen men ben fled from that contré Thurgh payens, that conquered al aboute The places of the north by land and see. To Wales fled the cristianité Of olde Britouns, dwellyng in this yle; Ther was hir refut for the mene while.

But yit nere cristen Britouns so exiled, That ther nere some in here pryvité Honoured Crist, and hethen folk bygiled; And neigh the castel such ther dwellid thre. 4970 That oon of hem was blynd, and might nat se, But if it were with eyen of his mynde, With which men seen after that they ben blynde. Bright was the sonne, as in someres day, For which the constable and his wif also And Constaunce had take the right way Toward the see, a forlong wey or two, To pleyen, and to romen to and fro; And in that walk this blynde man they mette, Croked and olde, with eyen fast y-schette. 4980 "In name of Crist," cryed this old Britoun, Dame Hermegyld, gif me my sight ageyn!" This lady wax affrayed of the soun, Lest that hir houseband, schortly to sayn, Wold hir for Jhesu Cristes love have slayn, Til Constaunce made hir bold, and bad hir werche The wil of Crist, as doughter of holy chirche.

66

The constable wax abaisshed of that sight, 4939. a maner Latyn corupt. In the romance of Fulke fitz Warine (p. 91), where a pretended merchant from the East comes to London, we are told,-" Et quanqu'il parla fust Latyn corupt, mès le meir le entendy bien." 4954. Tyrwhitt gives (from other мss.) instead of this line,

Were payenes, and that contree every wher. The Harl. Ms. has in peynes for payenes,