That weren pale and fade hewed,
And as a busfhe, whiche is befnewed,
Here berdes weren hore and white.
There was of kinde but a lite,
That they ne femen fully dede.
They comen to the king and bede
Some of his good pur charite.
And he with great humilite
Out of his chare to grounde lepte
And hem in both his armes kepte
And kist hem bothe foot and honde
Before the lordes of his londe
And yaf hem of his good therto.
And whan he hath this dede do
He goth into his chare ayeine.
Tho was murmur, tho was difdeine,
Tho was compleinte on every fide,
They faiden of their owne pride
Echone till other: what is this?
Our king hath do this thing amis
So to abeffe his roialte,
He toke therof and was the fame
Above all other, which mofte blame
Upon his lege lord hath laid
And hath unto the lordes faid,
Anone as he may time finde,
There shall nothing be left behinde,
That he wol fpeke unto the king.
Now lift what fell upon this thing.
The weder was merie and fair inough,
Echone with other pleid and lough
And fellen into tales newe,
How that the fresfhe floures grewe,
And how the grene leves fpronge,
And how that love amonge the yonge
Began the hertes thanne awake,
And every brid hath chofe his make.
And thus the maies day to thende
They lede and home ayein they wende.
The king was nought so fone come,
That whan he had his chambre nome,
His brother ne was redy there
And brought a tale unto his ere
Of that he didde such a shame
In hindring of his owne name,
Whan he him felfe wolde dreche,
That to fo vile a pouer wrecche
Him deigneth fhewe such simplesse
Ayein the state of his nobleffe.
And faith, he shall it no more use
And that he mot him felfe excufe
Toward his lordes everichone.
The king stood still as any stone
And to his tale an ere he laide
And thought more than he saide.
But netheles to that he herde
Well curteisly the king answerde
And tolde, it shulde ben amended.
And thus whan that here tale is ended,
All redy was the bord and cloth,
The king unto his fouper goth
Among the lordes to the halle.
And whan they hadde fouped alle,
They token leve and forth they go.
The king bethought him selfe tho,
How he his brother may chaftie,
That he through his furquedrie
Toke upon honde to difpreise
Humilite, which is to preise,
And therupon yaf such counseil
Toward his king, that was nought heil,
Wherof to be the better lered
He thenketh to make him afered.
It fell fo, that in thilke dawe
There was ordeigned by the lawe
A trompe with a sterne breth,
Which was cleped the trompe of deth.
And in the court, where the king was,
A certein man this trompe of brass
Hath in keping and therof ferveth,
That whan a lord his deth deferveth,
He shall this dredfull trompe blowe
To-fore his gate and make it knowe,
How that the jugement is yive
Of deth, which shall nought be foryive.
The king whan it was night anone
This man afsent and bad him gone
To trompen at his brothers gate.
And he, which mot so done algate,
Goth forth and doth the kinges hest.
This lord, which herde of this tempest,
That he to-fore his gate blewe,
Tho wist he by the lawe and knewe,
That he was sekerlich dede.
And as of helpe he wist no rede,
But fende for his frendes all
And tolde hem how it is befalle.
And they him axe cause why,
But he the fothe nought forthy
Ne wift, and there was forwe tho.
For it ftood thilke time so,
This trompe was of such sentence,
That there ayein no refiftence
They couthe ordeine by no weie,
That he ne mot algate deie,
But if fo that he may purchace
To get his lege lordes grace.
Here wittes therupon they cafte
And ben appointed ate laste.
This lorde a worthy lady had
Unto his wife, whiche alfo drad
Her lordes deth, and children five
Betwene hem two they had alive,
That weren yonge and tender of age
And of stature and of visage
Right faire and lufty on to fe.
Tho caften they, that he and she
Forth with their children on the morwe, As they that were full of forwe,
All naked but of smock and sherte
To tendre with the kinges herte
And pardon of the deth beseche.
Thus paffen they that wofull night,
And erly whan they figh it light
They gone hem forth in fuche a wife,
As thou to-fore haft herd divife,
All naked but here fhertes on
They wepte and made mochel mone.
Here hair hangend about here eres.
With fobbing and with fory teres
This lord goth than an humble
That whilom proud and noble was,
Wherof the cite fore a flight
Of hem that fawen thilke fight.
And netheless all openly
With fuch weping and with fuch cry
Forth with his children and his wife
He goth to praie for his life.
Unto the court whan they be come
And men therin have hede nome,
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