Therfore with wilde hors he dede hem drawe,

And after that he heng hem by the lawe.
Upon his beere ay lith the innocent
Biforn the chief auter whiles the masse last:

And after that, thabbot with his covent

Han sped hem for to burie him ful fast:

And whan thay halywater on him cast,

15050

Yet spak this child, whan spreynde was the water,

And song, O alma redemptoris mater.

This abbot, which that was an holy man,

As monkes ben, or elles oughte be,
This yonge child to conjure he bigan,
And sayd: "O deere child, I halse the,
In vertu of the holy Trinité,

Tel me what is thy cause for to synge,

Sith that thy throte is kit at my semynge.'

My throte is kit unto my nekke-boon,"
Sayde this child, "and as by way of kynde
I schulde han ben deed long tyme agoon :
But Jhesu Crist, as ye in bookes fynde,
Wol that his glorie laste and be in mynde;
And for the worschip of his moder deere,
Yet may I synge O alma lowde and cleere.
"This welle of mercy, Cristes moder swete,
I loved alway, as after my connynge:
And whan that I my lyf schulde leete,
To me sche cam, and bad me for to synge
This antym verraily in my deyinge,

As ye have herd, and, whan that I had songe,
Me thought sche layde a grayn under my tonge.

15060

15070

moot certeyne

"Wherfor I synge, and synge
In honour of that blisful mayden fre,
Til fro my tonge taken is the greyne.
And after that thus saide sche to me;
My litil child, now wil I fecche the,
Whan that the grayn is fro thi tonge i-take:
Be nought agast, I wol the nought forsake."

This holy monk, this abbot him mene I,
His tonge out caught, and took awey the greyn;
And he gaf up the gost ful softely.

And whan the abbot hath this wonder seyn,
His salte teres striken doun as reyn:

And gruf he fel adoun unto the grounde,
And stille he lay, as he had ben y-bounde.
The covent eek lay on the pavyment
Wepyng and herying Cristes moder deere.
And after that thay rise, and forth thay went,
And took away this martir fro his beere,
And in a tombe of marble stoones cleere
Enclosed thay this litil body sweete:

Ther he is now, God lene us for to meete!
O yonge Hughe of Lyncoln, slayn also
With cursed Jewes, (as it is notable,
For it nys but a litel while ago),

Pray eek for us, we synful folk unstable,
That of his mercy God so merciable

15080

15090

15095-Hughe of Lyncoln. The story of Hugh of Lincoln, which was made the subject of a variety of ballads, etc., is placed by the historians in the year 1255. The ballads in English and French, were collected together by M. Michel, and published at Paris in a small volume in 1834.

On us his grete mercy multiplie,

For reverence of his modir Marie.

15100

PROLOGE TO SIRE THOPAS.

WHAN sayd was this miracle, every man As sober was, that wonder was to se,

Til that oure host to jape he bigan,

And than at erst he loked upon me,

And sayde thus: "What man art thou?" quod he. "Thou lokest as thou woldest fynde an hare,

For ever upon the ground I se the stare.

"Approche ner, and loke merily.

Now ware you, sires, and let this man have space. He in the wast is schape as well as I:

This were a popet in an arm to embrace

For any womman, smal and fair of face.
He semeth elvisch by his countenaunce,

For unto no wight doth he daliaunce.

Say now som what, sins other folk han said;
Telle us a tale and that of mirthe anoon."

"Host," quod I, "ne beth nought evel apayd,
For other tale certes can noon,
But of a rym I lerned yore agoon."

Ye, that is good," quod he,

66 now schul we heere

Som deynté thing, me thinketh by thy cheere."

15111

15120

15104—he bigan. I have ventured to add the personal pronoun, which is wanting in the Harl. and Lansd. MSS., from Tyrwhitt.

THE TALE OF SIR THOPAS.

LESTENETH, lordyngs, in good entent,
And I wol telle verrayment

Of myrthe and solas,

Al of a knyght was fair and gent
In batail and in tornament,

His name was sir Thopas.

I-bore he was in fer contré,
In Flaundres, al byyonde the se,

At Poperyng in the place;
His fader was a man ful fre,
And lord he was of that contré:

As it was Goddes grace.

Sir Thopas wax a doughty swayn;
Whyt was his face as payndemayn,
His lippes reed as rose;

15130

The Tale of sir Thopas. The introduction of this story by Chaucer is clearly intended as a satire on the dull metrical romances, then so popular, but of which Chaucer fully saw the absurdity. It is in fact a protest against the literary taste of his day. It is made up of phrases from the common metrical romances, if it be not a fragment of a romauce dragged in by Chaucer. It has been stated that such a romance existed under the title of The giant Olyphant and chylde Thopas, but literary historians have not yet been able to find any traces of such a romance. This notion is, however, somewhat favoured by the circumstance that all the MSS. do not end with the same line, the Lansd. MS. concluding with 1. 15322, and the Harl. wanting the last fragment of a line, as though different scribes omitted some, or added as from a poem which they had in memory.

15131-Poperyng. Poppering or Poppeling was a parish in the marches

of Calais.

His rode is lik scarlet en grayn,

And I yow telle in good certayn

He had a semly nose.

His heer, his berd, was lik safroun,
That to his girdil raught adoun;

His schoon of cordewane;
Of Brigges were his hosen broun;
His robe was of sicladoun,
That coste many a jane.

He couthe hunt at wilde deer,
And ride on haukyng for ryver

With gray goshauk on honde:
Therto he was a good archeer,
Of wrastelyng was noon his peer,
Ther eny ram schal stonde.
Ful many mayde bright in bour
Thay mourne for him, par amour,
Whan hem were bet to slepe;
But he was chast and no lecchour,
And sweet as is the brembre flour

That bereth the reede heepe.

15140

15150

15146-jane. A coin of Genoa (Janua), some of which, apparently of inferior value, are called in the English statutes galley halfpence. The siglaton, or siclaton, was a rich cloth or silk brought from the East, and is therefore appropriately mentioned as bought with Genoese coin. 15148-on haukyng for ryver. The river side is commonly described in the romances as the scene of hawking. Thus in the Squier of Low Degree,

Homward thus schal ye ryde

On haukyng by the ryvers syde,

With goshauke and with gentil fawcon,

With buglehorn and merlyon.

See also before, 1. 6466.

15152-eny ram. See before, line 550 and the tale of Gamelyn, 1. 172.