Her shuldé bringe after his deth. "This hath she swore, and forth he geth

With all the power of his londe Unto the marché, where he fonde His enemy full embatailed.

The Souldan hath the feld assailed. They that ben hardy sone assemblen,

Wherof the dredfull hertés tremblen.

That one sleeth, and that other sterveth,1

But above all his prise deserveth This knightly Romain; where he rode

His dedly swerd no man abode,
Ayein the which was no defence,
Egipté fledde in his presence,
And they of Perse upon the chace
Pursuen, but I not 2 what grace
Befell, an arwe out of a bowe
All sodeinly within a throwe
The Souldan smote, and there he
lay.

The chas is left for thilké day,
And he was bore into a tent.
The Souldan sigh how that it went,
And that he shulde algaté deie.
And to this knight of Romainie,
As unto him whome he most triste,
His doughters ring, that none it

wiste,

He toke and tolde him all the cas,
Upon her othe what token it was
Of that she shuldé ben his wife.
Whan this was said, the hertés life
Of this Souldán departeth sone.
And therupon, as was to done,
The dedé body well and faire
They carry till they come at Kaire,
There he was worthely begrave.

"The lordés, whiche as wolden

save

1 Sterveth, dies. Not, know not (ne wot).

The regné, which was desolate,
To bringe it into good estate
A parlément they set anone.
Now herken what fell therupon.
This yougé lord, this worthy knight
Of Rome upon the samé night
That they a morwe treté sholde,
Unto his bacheler he tolde
His counseil, and the ring with al
He sheweth, through which that he
shall,

He saith, the kingés doughter wedde,

For so the ring was leid to wedde,1 He tolde, into her faders honde, That with what man that she it

fonde

She shulde him take unto her lorde. 'And thus,' he saith, 'stant of recorde.

But no man wot who hath this ring.'

This bacheler upon this thing
His ere and his ententé laid
And thoughté moré than he said;
And feigneth with a fals viságe,
That he was glad, but his coráge
Was all set in another wise.
These oldé philosophres wise
They writen upon thilké while,
That he may best a man beguile
In whom the man hath most
credénce.

And this befell in evidence
Toward this yongé lord of Rome.
His bacheler, which haddé come
Whan that his lord by nighté
slepte,

This ring, the which his maister kepte,

Out of his purs awey he dede
And put another in the stede.

"A morwe whan the court is set The yongé lady was forth fet,

1 To wedde, as pledge.

To whom the lordés done homáge,
And after that of mariage
They treten and axen of her wille.
But she, which thoughté to fulfille
Her faders hest in this matére,
Said openly, that men may here,
The chargé whiche her fader bad.
Tho was this lorde of Romé glad
And drough toward his purs anone,
But all for nought, it was agone.
His bacheler it hath forth drawe
And axeth therupon the lawe,
That she him holdé covenaunt.
The token was so suffisaúnt,
That it ne mighté be forsake.
And nethéles his lorde hath take
Quaréle ayein his owné man,
But for no thing that ever he can
He might as thanné nought be
herde,

So that his claime is unanswérde, And he hath of his purpos failed. "This bacheler was tho counseiled

And wedded and of thilke empíre He was coroúnéd lord and sire, And all the lond him hath received;

Wherof his lord, which was deceived,

A siknesse er the thriddé morwe Conceived hath of dedly sorwe. And as he lay upon his deth, There while him lasteth speche and breth

He sendé for the worthiést

Of all the londe and eke the best And tolde hem all the sothé tho, That he was sone and heire also Of themperoúr of greté Rome, And how that they to-gider come, This knight and he, right as it was He tolde hem all the pleiné cas. And for that he his counseil tolde, That other hath all that he wolde

And he hath failéd of his mede.
As for the good he taketh none hede
He saith, but only of the love,
Of which he wend have ben above.
And therupon by letter write
He doth his fader for to wite
Of all the mater how it stode.
And thanné with an hertely mode
Unto the lordés he besought
To tell his lady howe he bought
Her love, of whiche another glad-
deth.

And with that worde his hewéfadeth
And saide: 'a dieu my lady swete.'
The life hath lost his kindely hete,
And he lay dede as any stone,
Wherof was sory many one,
But none of allé so as she.

"This falsé knight in his degre Arested was and put in holde. For openly whan it was tolde Of the tresón, whiche is befalle, Throughout the lond they saiden alle,

If it be soth that men suppose
His owne untrouth him shall depose.
And for to seche an evidence
With honour and great reverence,
Wherof they mighté knowe an ende,
To themperóur anon they sende
The letter whiche his soné wrote.
And whan that he the sothé wote,
To tell his sorwe is endéles;
But yet in hasté nethéles
Upon the talé whiche he herde,
His steward into Persé ferde
With many a worthy Romain eke
His legé tretour1 for to seke.
And whan they thider comé were,
This knight him hath confesséd
there,

How falsly that he hath him bore,
Wherof his worthy lord was lore.

1 His legé tretour, his traitorous liegeman. 2 Lore, lost.

"Tho saiden some he shuldé deie,

But yet they founden such a weie,
That he shall nought be dede in
Perse,

And thus the skillés ben diverse.
By causé that he was coróned,
Of that the lond was abandoned
To him, all though it were unright,
There is no peiné for him dight,
But to this point and to this ende
They graunten wel, that he shall
wende

With the Romaíns to Rome ayein.
And thus accorded full and plein
The quické body with the dede
With levé také 1 forth they lede,
Where that supplant hath his juise.2
Wherof that thou thee might avise
Upon this enformaciön
Touchend of Supplantaciön,
That thou, my soné, do nought so
And for to také hede also
What Supplant doth in other halve,
There is no man can finde a salve
Pleinly to helen suche a sore.
It hath and shall ben evermore,
Whan Pride is with Envié joint,
He suffreth no man in good point,
Where that he may his honour let.
And therupon if I shall set
Ensample, in holy chirche I finde
How that Supplant is nought be-
hinde.

God wote, if that it now be so.
For in croníque of time ago
I finde a talé concordáble
Of Supplant, which that is no fable,
In the manér as I shall telle
So as whilóm the thingés felle.

At Rome as it hath ofté falle
The Viker Generall of alle
Of hem that leven Cristés feith

1 Levé také, leave taken. 2 Juise (judicium), judgment.

His lasté day,-which none withsaith,

Hath shette as to the worldes eye;
Whos name, if I shall specifie,
He highté Popé Nicholas.
And thus whan that he passed was,
The Cardinals, that wolden save
The forme of lawe in the conclave,
Gon for to chese a newé Pope,
And after that they couthe agrope
Hath eche of hem said his entent.
Til atté lasté they assent
Upon an holy clerk recluse,
Which full was of gostlý vertuse.
His paciënce and his simplesse
Hath set him into highe noblesse.
Thus was he Popé canonised
With great honoúr and intronised.
And upon chaunce, as it is falle,
His namé Celestin men calle ;
Which notifiéd was by bulle
To holy chirche, and to the fulle
In allé londés magnified.
But every worship is envíed,
And that was thilké timé sene.
For whan this Pope, of whome I
mene,

Was chose and other set beside,
A Cardinal was thilké tide,
Which the papate long hath desired
And therupon gretely conspired.
But whan he sigh fortúne is failed,
For which long time he hath_tra-
vailed,

That ilké fire whiche Ethna brenneth

Throughout his wofull herté renneth,
Whiche is resembled to Envie,
Wherof Supplant and Trecherie
Engendred is. And nethéles
He feigneth love, he feigneth pees.
Outward he doth the reverénce,
But all within his consciënce
Through fals ymaginaciön
He thoughté Supplantaciön.

And therupon a wonder wile
He wroughté. For at thilké while
It fel so, that of his lignage

He hadde a clergeon of yonge age, Whom he hath in his chambre affaited.1

"This Cardinal his time hath waited

And with his wordés sly and queint, The whiche he couthé wisely peint, He shope this clerke, of whiche I telle,

Toward the Popé for to dwelle, So that within his chamber a night He lay, and was a privé wight Toward the Pope on nightés tide; May no man fle that shall betide. "This Cardinal, which thoughté guile,

Upon a day, whan he hath while, This yongé clerke unto him toke And made him swere upon a boke And tolde him what his willé was. And forth with al a trompe of bras He hath him take and bad him

this:

'Thou shalt,' he saidé, whan time is

Awaite and také right good kepe, Whan that the Pope is fast aslepe And that none other man be nigh. And thanné that thou be so sligh Through out the trompe into his

ere,

Fro heven as though a vois it were,
To soune of such prolaciön,
That he his meditaciön
Therof may take, and understonde
As though it were of Goddés sonde.
And in this wisé thou shalt say,
That he do thilk estate away
Of Pope, of whiche he stant hon-
oúred,

So shall his soulé be socoúred

1 Affaited, adapted to his purpose.

Of thilké worship atté last
In heven which shall ever last.'

"This clerk, whan he hath herd
the form,

How he the Popé shuld enform,
Toke of the Cardinal his leve
And goth him home, till it was eve.
And privély the trompe he hedde,
Til that the Popé was a bedde.
And at the midnight, whan he
knewe

The Popé slepté, than he blewe
Within his trompé through the wall
And tolde, in what manér he shall
His Papacíe leve, and take
His firste estate. And thus awake
This holy Pope he made thries,
Wherof diversé fantasies
Upon his greté holinésse
Within his hert he gan impresse,
The Popé full of innocence
Conceiveth in his conscience
That it is Goddés wil he cesse.1
But in what wise he may relesse
His highe estate, that wote he
nought.

And thus within him selfe be thought,

He bare it stille in his memoire,
Till he cam to the consistoire,
And there in presence of hem alle
He axeth if it so befalle,
That any Popé cessé wolde,
How that the lawe it suffré sholde.
They seten allé stille and herde,
Was none, which to the point
answérde;

For to what purpos that it ment
There was no man knew his en-

tent

But only he which shope the guile.

"This Cardinal the samé while All openly with wordés pleine Saith if the Popé woll ordeigne, 1 Cesse, abdicate.

That there be suche a lawé wrought, Than might he cesse, and elles

nought.

"And as he saidé, done it was. The Pope anone upon the cas Of his papáll auctorité

Hath made and yové the decré.
And whan the lawé was confermed
In dué forme and all affermed,
This innocent which was deceived
His papacie anone hath weived,1
Renounced and resignéd eke.
That other was no thing to seke,
But undernethé suche a jape
He hath so for him selfé shape,
That how as ever it him beseme
The mitre with the diademe
He hath through Supplantaciön
And in his confirmaciön,
Upon the fortune of his grace,
His name was clepéd Boneface.
"Under the viser of Envie,
Lo, thus was hid the trecherie
Whiche hath beguiléd many one.
But such counseil there may be none
Which treson, whan it is conspired,
That it nis lich the sparké fired
Up in the roof, which for a throwe
Lith hid til, whan the windés blowe,
It blaseth out on every side.
This Boneface, which can nought
hide

The trecherie of his supplaunt,
Hath openly made his avaunt,
How he the papacie hath wonne.
But thing which is with wrong be-
gonne

May never stondé wel at ende. Where Pride shall the bowé bende, He shet 2 ful oft out of the way. And thus the Pope, of whom I say, Whan that he stood on high the whele,

1 Weived, put aside. Shet, shoots.

He can nought suffre himself be wele.

Envië, whiche is lovéles,

And Pridé, whiche is lawéles,
With such tempésté made him erre,
That charité goth out of herre.1
So that upon misgovernaunce
Ayein Lewíis the King of Fraunce
He toké quarell of his oultrage
And said, he shuldé don homáge
Unto the chirché bodély.

But he, that wist no thingé why
He shuldé do so great servíce
After the worlde in suche a wise,
Withstood the wrong of that
demaunde,

For nought the Popé may commaunde

The King woll nought the Pope obeie.

This Popé tho by allé weie

That he may worche of violénce,
Hath sent the bulle of his sentence
With cursinge and with enterdite.
The king upon this wrongfull plite
To kepe his regné from serváge,
Counseiléd was of his barnáge,2
That might with might shall be
withstond.

Thus was the causé tak on hond,
And saiden, that the papacie
They wolden honoúr and magnifie
In all that ever is spirituáll,
But thilké Pridé temporall
Of Boneface in his persone
Ayein that ilké wronge alóne
They woldé stonden in debate,
And thus the man and nought the