Of which I tolde yow, and telle schal) Was evene joynyng to the gardeyn wal, As was his wone, by leve of his gayler And eek the gardeyn, ful of braunches grene, That thurgh a wyndow thikke and many a barre And therwithal he bleynte and cryed, a! 1070 1080 Of Saturne, by sum constellacioun, Hath geven us this, although we hadde it sworn; 1090 We moste endure it: this is the schort and pleyn." This Palamon answered, and seyde ageyn; "Cosyn, for sothe of this opynyoun Thou hast a veyn ymaginacioun. This prisoun caused me not for to crye. I not whethur sche be womman or goddesse; And therwithal on knees adoun he fil, 1100 1110 1090.-Saturne. According to the old astrological system, this was a very unpropitious star to be born under. It may be observed, that in the present story there is a constant allusion to medieval astrology, which could not be fully illustrated without long notes. Wher as this lady romed to and fro. And with that sight hire beauté hurt him so, 66 Of hir that rometh yonder in the place; I nam but deed; ther nys no more to seye." Whether seistow in ernest or in pley?" "Nay," quoth Arcite, "in ernest, in good fey. God helpe me so, me lust ful evele pleye." This Palamon gan knytte his browes tweye: "It nere," quod he, "to the no gret honour, For to be fals, ne for to be traytour To me, that am thy cosyn and thy brother 1120 1130 1134-I-swore. It was a common practice in the middle ages for persons to take formal oaths of fraternity and friendship, and a breach of the oath was considered something worse than perjury. This incident enters into the plots of some of the medieval romances. A curious example will be found in the Romance of Athelston, Reliq. Antiq. ii, p. 85. 1135.-deyen in the payne. This appears to have been a proverbial expression, taken from the French. In Froissart, as cited by Tyrwhitt, Edward III is made to declare, that he would bring the war to a successful issue, or il mourroit en la peine. Neyther of us in love to hynder other, "Thou schalt," quoth he, "be rather fals than I. For par amour I loved hir first then thow. What wolt thou sayn? thou wost not yit now Thyn is affeccioun of holynesse, And myn is love, as of a creature; For which I tolde the myn aventure As to my cosyn, and my brother sworn. I pose, that thou lovedest hire biforn: 1137.-love. The Harl. MS. has lande. 1140 1150 1160 E Wost thou nat wel the olde clerkes sawe, A man moot needes love maugré his heed. 1170 He may nought fle it, though he schulde be deed, To stonden in hire grace, no more schal I: That thou and I been dampned to prisoun We stryve, as doth the houndes for the boon, They foughte al day, and yit here part was noon. 1180 Ther com a kyte, whil that they were wrothe, And bar awey the boon bitwixe hem bothe. Eche man for himself, ther is non other. And sothly, leeve brother, this is al. 1165.-the olde clerkes sawe. Consolat. Philos. lib. iii, met. 12, 1179.-houndes. Boethius, who says, in his treatise De Quis legem det amantibus? Major lex amor est sibi. This is a medieval fable which I have not met with elsewhere, though it may probably be found in some of the inedited collections. |