"Dwelleth within a castle rially."
So than apace I journed forth among,
And as he said, so fond I there truly;
For I beheld the toures high and strong,
And high pinacles, large of hight and long,
With plate of gold bespred on every side,
And precious stones, the stone werke for to hide.

No saphire in Inde, no rubie rich of price,
There lacked than, nor emeraud so grene,
Bales Turkes, ne thing to my device,
That may the castle maken for to shene:
All was as bright as sterres in winter bene,
And Phebus shone to make his peace ageine,
For trespas done to high estates tweine,

Venus and Mars, the god and goddesse clere,
Whan he them found in armes cheined fast;
Venus was than full sad of herte and chere,
But Phebus' beams streight as is the mast,
Upon the castle ginneth he to cast,
To please the lady, princes of that place,
In signe he looketh after Loves grace.

For there n'is god in Heaven or Hell ywis,
But he hath ben right soget unto Love;
Jove, Pluto, or whatsoever he is,
Ne creature in yearth, or yet above;
Of these the revers may no wight approve.
But furthermore, the castle to descrie,
Yet saw I never none so large and hie;

For unto Heaven it stretcheth, I suppose,
Within and out depeinted wonderly,
With many a thousand daisies rede as rose,
And white also, this saw I verely:
But who tho daisies might do signifie,
Can I not tell, safe that the quenes floure,
Alceste it was that kept there her sojoure;

Which under Venus lady was and quene,
And Admete king and soveraine of that place,
To whom obeied the ladies good ninetene,
With many a thousand other bright of face:
And yong men fele came forth with lusty pace,
And aged eke, their homage to dispose,
But what they were I coud not well disclose.

Yet nere and nere forth in I gan me dress
Into an hall of noble apparaile,
With arras spred, and cloth of gold I gesse,
And other silke of esier availe:

Under the cloth of their estate, sauns faile,
The king and quene there sat as I beheld;
It passed joy of Helise the field.

There saints have their comming and resort,
To seene the king so rially beseine

In purple clad, and eke the quene in sort,
And on their heads saw I crownes twaine,
With stones fret, so that it was no paine,
Withouten meat and drink, to stand and see
The kinges honour and the rialtee.

And for to treat of states with the king,
That ben of councel cheef, and with the quene;
The king had Danger nere to him standing,
The quene of love, Disdain, and that was sene :
For by the faith I shall to God, I wene,
Was never straunger none in her degree,
Than was the quene in casting of her eye.

And as I stood perceiving her apart,

And eke the beames shining of her eyen,
Me thought they weren shapen lich a dart,
Sharpe and persing, and smal and streight of line;
And all her haire it shone as gold so fine,
Dishivil crispe, downe hanging at her backe
A yard in length: and soothly than I spake.

"O bright regina, who made thee so faire ?
Who made thy colour vermelet and white?
Wher wonneth that god, how far above the aire ?
Great was his craft, and great was his delite.
Now marvell I nothing that ye do hight
The quene of love, and occupie the place
Of Cithare: now sweet lady thy grace."

In mewet spake I so, that nought astart
By no condition word, that might be hard;
But in my inward thought I gan advert,
And oft I said "My wit is dull and hard:"
For with her beauty thus, God wot, I ferde
As doth the man yravished with sight,
Whan I beheld her cristall eyen so bright;

No respect having what was best to doone,
Till right anone beholding here and there,
I spied a friend of mine, and that full soone,
A gentlewoman, was the chamberere
Unto the quene, that hote as ye shall here,
Philobone, that loved all her life:

Whan she me sey, she led me forth as blife;

And me demanded how and in what wise
I thither come, and what my errand was?
"To seen the court" (quod I)" and all the guise,
And eke to sue for pardon and for grace,
And mercy aske for all my great trespace,
That I none erst come to the Court of Love:
Foryeve me this, ye goddes all above."

"That is well said," (quod Philobone) "indede:
But were ye not assomoned to appere
By Mercurius, for that is all my drede?"
"Yes gentill feire," (quod I) "now am I here;
Ye yet what tho though that be true my dere?”
"Of your free will ye should have come unsent;
For ye did not, I deme ye will be shent:

"For ye that reigne in youth and lustinesse,
Pampired with ease, and jalous in your age,
Your duty is, as ferre as I can gesse,
To Loves Court to dressen your viage,
As soone as nature maketh you so sage,
That ye may know a woman from a swan,
Or whan your foot is growen halfe a span.

"But sith that ye by wilfull negligence'
This eighteene year hath kept your self at large,
The greater is your trespas and offence,
And in your neck you mote bere all the charge:
For better were ye ben withouten barge
Amidde the sea in tempest and in raine,
Than biden here, receiving wo and paine

"That ordained is for such as them absent
Fro Loves Court by yeres long and fele.
I ley my life ye shall full soone repent,
For Love will rive your colour, lust, and hele;
Eke ye must bait on many an heavy mele ;
No force ywis: I stirred you long agone
To draw to court" (quod) little Philobone.

"Ye shall well see how rough and angry face
The king of love will shew, whan ye him se:
By mine advise kneel down and ask him grace,
Eschewing perill and adversite,

For well I wote, it woll none other be;
Comfort is none, ne counsell to your ease,
Why will ye than the king of love displease?"

"O mercy God," (quod iche) " I me repent, Caitife and wretch in herte, in will, and thought, And after this shall be mine hole entent

To serve and please, how dere that love be bought:
Yet sith I have mine own pennance ysought,
With humble sprite shall I it receive,
Though that the king of love my life bereive.

"And though that fervent loves qualite
In me did never worch truly, yet I
With all obeisaunce and humilite,

And benigne herte shall serve him till I die:
And he that lord of might is great and hie,
Right as him list me chastice and correct,
And punish me with trespace thus infect."

These words said, she caught me by the lap,
And led me forth in till a temple round,
Both large and wide and as my blessed hap
And good aventure was, right soone I found
A tabernacle raised from the ground,
Where Venus sat, and Cupide by her side:
Yet halfe for drede I can my visage hide;

Yet eft againe, I looked and beheld,
Seeing full sundry people in the place,
And mistere folke, and some that might not weld
Their limmes wele, me thought a wonder case:
The temple shone with windows all of glass,
Bright as the day with many a fair image;
And there I see the fresh queen of Cartage,

Dido, that brent her beauty for the love
Of false Æneas; and the waimenting
Of her, Annelida, true as turtle dove
To Arcite fals; and there was in peinting
Of many a prince, and many a doughty king,
Whose martirdom was shewed about the wals,
And how that fele for love had suffred fals.

But sore I was abashed and astonied

Of all tho folke that there were in that tide,
And than I askeden where they had wonned:
"In divers courts" (quod she)" here beside."
In sundry clothing mantill wise full wide
They were arraied, and did their sacrifise
Unto the god and goddesse in their guise.

"And women eke: for, truly, there is none
Exception made, ne never was ne may;
This court is ope and free for everichone,
The king of love he will not say them nay:
He taketh all in poore or rich array,
That meekely sewe unto his excellence
With all their herte and all their reverence."

And walking thus about with Philobone
I see where come a messengere in hie
Streight from the king, which let command anone,
Throughout the court to make an ho and cry:
"All new come folke abide, and wote ye why?
The kings lust is for to seene you sone:
Come nere let see, his will mote need be done."

Than gan I me present tofore the king,
Trembling for fere with visage pale of hew,
And many a lover with me was kneeling,
Abashed sore, till unto the time they knew
The senteuce yeve of his entent full trew :
And at the last, the king hath me behold
With sterne visage, and seid, "What doth this oid
"Thus ferre ystope in yeres come so late
Unto the court?" "Forsooth, my liege," (quod I)
"An hundred time I have ben at the gate
Afore this time, yet coud I never espie
Of mine acqueintaunce any in mine eie,
And shamefastnesse away me gan to chace;
But now I me submit unto your grace."

"Well, all is pardoned, with condition,
That thou be true from henceforth to thy might,
And serven Love in thine entention;
Sweare this, and than, as ferre as it is right,
Thou shalt have grace here in thy quenes sight."
"Yes, by the faith I owe to your croun, I swere,
Though Death therefore me thirlith with his spere."

And whan the king had seene us everychone,
He let commaund an officer in hie
To take our faith, and shew us, one by one,
The statutes of the court full busily:
Anon the booke was laid before their eie,
To rede and see what thing we must observe
In Loves Court, till that we die and sterve.

They weare the colour aye and ever shall,

In signe they were and ever will be trew
Withouten chaunge; and soothly yonder all
That ben in black, and mourning cry and call
Unto the gods, for their loves bene,

Som sick, som dede, som all to sharp and kene."
"Yea, than" (quod I)" what done these priests here,
Nonnes and hermites, freres, and all tho,
That sit in white, in russet, and in grene?"
"Forsooth" (quod she) "they wailen of their wo."
"O mercy lord, may they so come and go
Freely to court and have such liberty?'
"Yea, men of each condition and degre;

Councell of love, not blowing every where
All that I know, and let it sinke and flete ;
It may not sowne in every wights ere;
Exiling slaunder aye for drede and fere,
And to my lady which I love and serve,
Be true and kind her grace for to deserve.

The third statute was clerely writ also,
Withouten chaunge to live and die the same,
None other love to take for wele ne wo,
For blind delite, for ernest, nor for game;
Without repent for laughing or for grame,
To bidden still in full perseveraunce:
All this was hole the kings ordinaunce.

The fourth statute, to purchase ever to here,
And stirren folke to love, and beten fire
On Venus auter, here about and there,
And preach to them of love and hote desire,
And tell how love will quiten well their hire:
This must be kept, and loth me to displease:
If love be wroth, passe: for thereby is ease.
The fifth statute, not to be daungerous,
If that a thought would reve me of my slepe;
Nor of a sight to be over squemous;
And so verely this statute was to kepe,
To turne and wallow in my bed and wepe,
Whan that my lady of her cruelty
Would from her herte exilen all pity.

The sixt statute, it was for me to use
Alone to wander, void of company,
And on my ladies beauty for to muse,
And to thinke it no force to live or die
And eft againe to thinke the remedie,
How to her grace I might anone attaine,
And tell my wo unto my soveraine.

The seventh statute, was to be patient,
Whether my lady joyfull were or wroth,
For words glad or heavy, diligent,
Wheder that she me helden lefe or loth:
And hereupon I put was to mine oth,
Her for to serve, and lowly to obey,

In shewing her my chere, ye, twenty sithe aday.

The eighth statute, to my remembraunce,
Was to speaken and pray my lady dere,
With hourely labour and great entendaunce,
Me for to love with all her herte entere,
And me desire, and make me joyfull chere,
Right as she is surmounting every faire,
Of beauty well and gentle debonaire.

The ninth statute, with letters writ of gold,
This was the sentence, how that I, and all,
Should ever dread to be to overbold
Her to displease; and truely, so I shall,
But ben content for thinge that may fall,
And meekely take her chastisement and yerd,
And to offend her ever ben aferd.

The tenth statute, was egally to discerne
Betwene the lady and thine ability,
And thinke thy selfe art never like to yerne,
By right, her mercy nor her equity,
But of her grace and womanly pity;
For though thy selfe be noble in thy strene,
A thousand fold more noble is thy quene,

Thy lives lady and thy soveraine,
That hath thine herte all hole in governaunce;
Thou mayst no wise it taken to disdaine
To put thee humbly at her ordinaunce,
And give her free the reine of her plesaunce,
For liberty is thing that women looke,
And truly els the matter is a crooke.

The eleventh statute, thy signs for to know
With eye and finger, and with smiles soft,
And low to couch, and alway for to show,
For drede of spies, for to winken oft,
And secretly to bring up a sigh aloft;
But still beware of overmuch resort,
For that paraventure spileth all thy sport.

The twelfth statute remember to observe :
For all the paine thou hast for love and wo,
All is too lite her mercy to deserve,
Thou musten think, wherever thou ride or go:
And mortall woundes suffer thou also,
All for her sake, and thinke it well besette
Upon thy love, for it may not be bette.

The thirteenth statute, whilome is to thinke
What thing may best thy lady like and please,
And in thine hertes bottome let it sinke;
Some thing devise, and take for it thine ease,
And send it her, that may her herte appease;
Some herte, or ring, or letter, or device,
Or precious stone, but spare not for no price.
The fourteenth statute eke thou shalt assay,
Formely to keepe the most part of thy life:
Wish that thy lady in thine armes lay,

And nightly dreme, thou hast thy nights hertes wife,
Sweetly in armes, straining her as blife;
And whan thou seest it is but fantasie,
See that thou sing not over merely,

For too much joy hath oft a wofull end:
It longeth eke this statute for to hold,
To deme thy lady ever more thy friend,
And thinke thy selfe in no wise a cokold.
In every thing she doth but as she should:
Construe the best, beleeve no tales new,
For many a lye is told, that seemeth full trew.

But thinke that she, so bounteous and faire,
Coud not be false; imagine this algate:
And think that tonges wicked would her appaire,
Selandering her name and worshipfull estate,
And lovers true to setten at debate:
And though thou seest a faut right at thine eye,
Excuse it blive, and glose it pretily.

The fifteenth statute, use to swere and stare,
And counterfeit a lesing hardely,

To save thy ladies honour every where,
And put thy selfe for her to fight boldely:
Say she is good, vertuous, and ghostly,

Clere of entent, and herte, yea, thought and will,
And argue not for reason ne for skill,

Againe thy ladies pleasure ne entent;
For love will not be countrepleted indede :
Say as she saith, than shalt thou not be shent,
The crow is white, ye truly so I rede:
And aye what thing that she thee will forbede,
Eschew all that, and give her soveraintee,
Her appetite followe in all degree.

The sixteenth statute keepe it if thou may:
Seven sithe at night thy lady for to please,
And seven at midnight, seven at morrow day,
And drinke a caudle earely for thine ease.
Do this and keep thine head from all disease,
And win the garland here of lovers all,
That ever came in court, or ever shall.
Full few, think I, this statute hold and keep:
But truely, this my reason giveth me fele,
That some lovers should rather fall asleepe,
Than take on hand to please so oft and wele.
There lay none oth to this statute adele,
But keep who might, as gave him his corage;
Now get this garland lusty folke of age: