For wyndow on the walle ne was ther noon,
Thorugh the which men might no light discerne.
The dores wer alle ademauntz eterne,

I-clenched overthward and endelong

With iren tough; and, for to make it strong,
Every piler the tempul to susteene

Was tonne greet, of iren bright and schene.
Ther saugh I furst the derk ymaginyng
Of felony, and al the compassyng;
The cruel ire, as reed as eny gleede;
The pikepurs, and eek the pale drede ;
The smyler with the knyf under his cloke;
The schipne brennyng with the blake smoke;
The tresoun of the murtheryng in the bed;
The open werres, with woundes al bi-bled;
Contek with bloody knyf, and scharp manace.
Al ful of chirkyng was that sory place.
The sleer of himself yet saugh I there,
His herte-blood hath bathed al his here;
The nayl y-dryve in the schode a-nyght;
The colde deth, with mouth gapyng upright.
Amyddes of the tempul set mischaunce,
With sory comfort and evel contynaunce.
I saugh woodnes laughyng in his rage;

1990

2000

2010

2000.-pikepurs. The pikepurses were, I believe, the plunderers who followed the army, and their introduction here is not so inappropriate as Tyrwhitt seemed to think.

2005.-contek. I have kept Tyrwhitt's reading, supported by most of the MSS. The Harl. MS. reads kuttud, evidently by error. 2013.-Tyrwhitt, with most of the MSS., has Yet saw I woodnesse laughing in his rage, which is perhaps the correct reading. The MS. Harl. reads woundes for wodnes, and here rage.

G

The hunt strangled with wilde bores corage;
[The caroigne in the busshe, with throte y-corve;
A thousand slaine, and not of qualme y-storve;
The tiraunte, with the preye by force y-raft;
The toun destroied, ther was no thynge laft.
Yet sawgh I brente the schippes hoppesteres ;
The hunte strangled with the wilde beres:]
The sowe freten the child right in the cradel;
The cook i-skalded, for al his longe ladel.
Nought beth forgeten the infortune of Mart;
The carter over-ryden with his cart,

Under the whel ful lowe he lay adoun.

2020

2015-2020.-These lines, given here from Tyrwhitt, are omitted in MS. Harl., and in some of the other MSS. I have corrected Tyrwhitt's orthography by the best of the two Cambridge MSS.

2023.-infortune of Mart. Tyrwhitt thinks that Chaucer might intend to be satirical in these lines, but the introduction of such apparently undignified incidents arose from the confusion already mentioned of the god of war with the planet to which his name was given, and the influence of which was supposed to produce all the disasters here mentioned. The following extract from the " Compost of Ptholomeus," already quoted, gives some of the supposed effects of Mars. "Under Mars is borne theves and robbers that kepe hye wayes, and do hurte to true men, and nyght walkers, and quarell pykers, bosters, mockers, and skoffers, and these men of Mars causeth warre and murther, and batayle, they wyll be gladly smythes or workers of yron, lyght fyngred, and lyers, gret swerers of othes in vengeable wyse, and a great surmyler and crafty. He is red and angry, with blacke heer, and lytell iyen, he shall be a great walker, and a maker of swordes and knyves, and a sheder of mannes blode, and a fornycatour, and a speker of rybawdry....and good to be a barboure and a blode letter, and to drawe tethe, and is peryllous of his handes." The following extract is from an old astrological book of the sixteenth century:-" Mars denoteth men with red faces and the skinne redde, the face round, the eyes yellow, horrible to behold, furious men, cruell, desperate, proude, sedicious, souldiers, captaines, smythes, colliers, bakers, alcumistes, armourers, furnishers, butchers, chirurgions, barbers, sargiants, and hangmen, according as they shal be well or evill disposed."

Ther were also of Martz divisioun,

The barbour, and the bowcher, and the smyth,
That forgeth scharpe swerdes on his stith.

And al above depeynted in a tour

Saw I conquest, sittyng in gret honour,
With the scharpe swerd over his heed
Hangynge by a sotil twyne threed.
Depeynted was ther the slaught of Julius,
Of grete Nero, and of Anthonius:
Al be that ilke tyme they were unborn,
Yet was here deth depeynted ther byforn,
By manasyng of Martz, right by figure,
So was it schewed right in the purtreture
As is depeynted in sterres above,
Who schal be slayn or elles deed for love.
Sufficeth oon ensample in stories olde,

I

may not reken hem alle, though I wolde.
The statue of Mars upon a carte stood,

Armed, and loked grym as he were wood;
And over his heed ther schyneth two figures
Of sterres, that been cleped in scriptures,
That oon Puella, that othur Rubius.
This god of armes was arayed thus:

A wolf ther stood byforn him at his feet

2030

2040

2027.-Tyrwhitt has altered this line to Th`armerer, and the bowyer, and the smith. The barber and butcher, as well as the smith, were under the influence of Mars. See the extracts in the last note.

2039.-in sterres. It was supposed by astrologers that every man's fortunes were depicted in the stars from the beginning of the world. Other MSS., with Tyrwhitt, read cercles.

2042.-This line is left blank in MS. Harl.

With eyen reed, and of a man he eet:
With sotyl pencel depeynted was this storie,
In redoutyng of Mars and of his glorie.

Now to the temple of Dyane the chaste
As schortly as I can I wol me haste,
To telle you al the descripcioun.
Depeynted ben the walles up and doun,
Of huntyng and of schamefast chastité.
Ther saugh I how woful Calystopé,
Whan that Dyane was agreved with here,
Was turned from a womman to a bere,
And after was sche maad the loode-sterre:
Thus was it peynted, I can say no ferre;
Hire son is eek a sterre, as men may see.
Ther sawgh I Dyane turned intil a tree,
I mene nought the goddes Dyane,

But Peneus doughter, the whiche hight Dane.
Ther saugh I Atheon an hert i-maked,
For vengance that he saugh Dyane al naked:

2050

2060

I saugh how that his houndes han him caught,
And freten him, for that they knew him naught. 2070
Yit i-peynted was a litel forthermore,

How Atthalaunce huntyd the wilde bore,

And Melyagre, and many another mo,

For which Dyane wrought hem care and woo.

Ther saugh I eek many another story,

The which me list not drawe to memory.

2063.-a sterre. The Harl MS. reads, by an evident mistake, is eek aftir as men may see.

This goddes on an hert ful hye seet,

With smale houndes al aboute hire feet,
And undernethe hir feet sche had the moone,
Wexyng it was, and schulde wane soone.
In gaude greene hire statue clothed was,
With bowe in hande, and arwes in a cas.
Hir eyghen caste sche ful lowe adoun,
Ther Pluto hath his derke regioun.
A womman travailyng was hire biforn,
But for hire child so longe was unborn
Ful pitously Lucyna gan sche calle,

And seyde; "Help, for thou mayst best of alle."
Wel couthe he peynte lyfly that it wrought,
With many a floren he the hewes bought.

Now been thise listes maad, and Theseus

That at his grete cost arayed thus
The temples and the theatres every del,
Whan it was don, it liked him right wel.
But stynt I wil of Theseus a lite,

And speke of Palamon and of Arcite.

The day approcheth of her attournyng,

That every schuld an hundred knightes bryng,
The batail to derreyne, as I you tolde;

2080

2090

And til Athenes, her covenant to holde,

Hath every of hem brought an hundred knightes,

Wel armed for the werre at alle rightes.

And sikerly ther trowed many a man,

That never, siththen that this world bigan

For to speke of knighthod of her hond,

2100