Produced by MWS, John Campbell and the Online Distributed
Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was
produced from images generously made available by The
Internet Archive/American Libraries.)









  TRANSCRIBER’S NOTE

  Italic text is denoted by _underscores_.

  A superscript is denoted by ^x or ^{xx}, for example v^o or 4^{or}.

  The yogh symbol is denoted by Ȝ or ȝ; the eth symbol is denoted
  by ð; and the thorn symbol by Þ or þ. The Tironian et is denoted
  by ⁊.

  The translation of each song has been moved to the end of that song.
  The last song in the book ‘POEM ON THE EVIL TIMES OF EDWARD II’,
  at page 323, is the only one without a translation.

  ‘Various Readings’ and ‘Glossary’ sections were inserted into each
  page of some of the songs in the original text. These have not been
  moved, because they contain references to specific line numbers of
  the song just above the inserted section.

  There are no Footnotes in this book. The bracketed numbers in the
  text, for example [70], refer to the line number of the relevant
  song.

  Some minor changes to the text are noted at the end of the book.




  THE

  POLITICAL SONGS

  OF ENGLAND.




  THE

  POLITICAL SONGS

  OF ENGLAND,

  FROM THE REIGN OF JOHN TO THAT OF EDWARD II.


  EDITED AND TRANSLATED

  BY THOMAS WRIGHT, ESQ., M.A., F.S.A., &c.

  OF TRINITY COLLEGE, CAMBRIDGE.


  [Illustration: (Publisher’s colophon.)]

  LONDON:
  PRINTED FOR THE CAMDEN SOCIETY,
  BY JOHN BOWYER NICHOLS AND SON, PARLIAMENT STREET.

  M.DCCC.XXXIX.




COUNCIL

OF

THE CAMDEN SOCIETY,

ELECTED MAY 2, 1839.


  _President_,
  THE RIGHT HON. LORD FRANCIS EGERTON, M.P.

  THOMAS AMYOT, ESQ. F.R.S. Treas. S.A. _Director_.

  THE REV. PHILIP BLISS, D.C.L., F.S.A., Registrar of the
  University of Oxford.

  JOHN BRUCE, ESQ. F.S.A. _Treasurer_.

  JOHN PAYNE COLLIER, ESQ. F.S.A.

  C. PURTON COOPER, ESQ. Q.C., D.C.L., F.R.S., F.S.A.

  RT. HON. THOMAS PEREGRINE COURTENAY.

  T. CROFTON CROKER, ESQ. F.S.A., M.R.I.A.

  THE REV. ALEXANDER DYCE, B.A.

  SIR HENRY ELLIS, K.H., F.R.S., Sec. S.A.

  THE REV. JOSEPH HUNTER, F.S.A.

  JOHN HERMAN MERIVALE, ESQ. F.S.A.

  JOHN GAGE ROKEWODE, ESQ. F.R.S., Director S.A.

  THOMAS STAPLETON, ESQ. F.S.A.

  WILLIAM J. THOMS, ESQ. F.S.A. _Secretary_.

  THOMAS WRIGHT, ESQ. M.A., F.S.A.




PREFACE.


Few historical documents are more interesting or important than
the contemporary songs in which the political partizan satirised
his opponents and stirred up the courage of his friends, or in
which the people exulted over victories gained abroad against their
enemies or at home against their oppressors, or lamented over evil
counsels and national calamities. Yet, though a few specimens have
been published from time to time in collections of miscellaneous
poetry, such as those of Percy and Ritson, and have never failed to
attract attention, no book specially devoted to ancient Political
Songs has yet appeared.

The quantity of such productions has generally varied with the
character of the age. They were frequent from a very early period
in other countries of Europe, as well as England. It would be
easy to produce proofs that in our island they were very numerous
in Saxon times,--a few specimens, indeed, have escaped that
destruction which visits the monuments of popular and temporary
feeling before all others; and for years after the Norman conquest
the oppressed people continued to sing the songs of former days
at their rustic festivals or amid their everyday labours. As the
feelings which caused them to be remembered died away gradually
before the weight of a new political system, a new class of songs
also arose. From the Conquest to the end of the twelfth century,
the political songs of the Anglo-Normans were in a great measure
confined, as far as we can judge from the few specimens that are
left, to laudatory poems in Latin, or to funereal elegies on
princes and great people. Yet we can hardly doubt that, with the
turbulent barons of these troublous times, the harp of the minstrel
must have resounded frequently to subjects of greater present
excitement.

With the beginning of the thirteenth century opened a new scene
of political contention. It is amid the civil commotions of the
reign of John, that our manuscripts first present traces of the
songs in which popular opinion sought and found a vent, at the same
time that the commons of England began to assume a more active
part on the stage of history. The following reign was a period
of constant excitement. The weak government of Henry the Third
permitted every party to give free utterance to their opinions and
intentions, and the songs of this period are remarkably bold and
pointed. These effusions are interesting in other points of view
besides their connexion with historical events; they illustrate in
a remarkable manner the history of our language; they show us how
Latin, Anglo-Norman, and English were successively the favourite
instruments by which the thoughts of our ancestors were expressed;
and collaterally they show us how the clerk (or scholar) with his
Latin, the courtier with his Anglo-Norman, and the people with
their good old English, came forward in turns upon the scene. In
our Songs we see that, during the earlier part of the reign of
the third Henry, the satirical pieces which inveighed against the
corruptions of the state and demanded so loudly their amendment,
are all in Latin, which is as much as to say that they came from
the scholastic part of the people, or those who had been bred
in the universities, then no small or unimportant part of the
community. They seem to have led the way as bold reformers; and the
refectory of the monastery not less than the baronial hall rang
frequently with the outbursts of popular feeling. The remarkable
and highly interesting declaration of the objects and sentiments
of the Barons, which was published after the battle of Lewes, is
written in Latin. Amid the Barons’ wars was composed the first
political song in English that has yet been found. It is remarkable
that all the songs of this period which we know, whether in
Latin, Anglo-Norman, or English, are on the popular side of the
dispute--all with one accord agree in their praise and support of
the great Simon de Montfort.

The circumstance of our finding no songs in English of an earlier
date does not, however, prove that they did not exist. On the
contrary, it is probable that they were equally abundant with the
others; but the Latin songs belonged to that particular party
who were most in the habit of committing their productions to
writing, and whose manuscripts also were longest preserved. It
is probable that a very small portion of the earlier English
popular poetry was ever entered in books--it was preserved in
people’s memory until, gradually forgotten, it ceased entirely to
exist except in a few instances, where, years after the period
at which it was first composed, it was committed to writing by
those who heard it recited. The English song on the battle of
Lewes is found in a manuscript written in the reign of Edward
II.; when, perhaps, the similar character of the time led people
to give retrospective looks to the doings of Earl Simon and his
confederate barons. They were sometimes written on small rolls of
parchment, for the convenience of the minstrel, who thus carried
them about with him from house to house, and chanted them at the
will of his entertainers. From these rolls and loose scraps they
were occasionally copied into books, long after they had ceased to
possess any popular interest, by some “clerk” who loved to collect
antiquities; for in those days, too, there were antiquaries. One
of the Anglo-Norman songs printed in this collection is taken
from the original roll; and the Latin songs on the death of Peter
de Gaveston were found in a manuscript written in the fifteenth
century.

The constant wars of the reign of Edward I.--the patriotic hatred
of Frenchman and Scot, which then ran at the highest--furnished
the groundwork of many a national song during the latter years of
the thirteenth century and the first years of the fourteenth. The
English song becomes at this period much more frequent, though
many were still written in Latin. Popular discontent continued
to be expressed equally in Latin, Anglo-Norman (a language the
influence of which was now fast declining), and English. In the
“Song against the King’s Taxes,” composed towards the end of the
thirteenth century, we have the first specimen of that kind of
song wherein each line began in one language and ended in another;
and which, generally written in hexameters, seems to have been
extremely popular during the two centuries following. One song, in
the reign of Edward II. presents in alternate succession all the
three languages which were then in use. The political songs during
this last-mentioned reign are not very numerous, but they are by no
means devoid of interest.

It was the Editor’s original intention to continue the series of
songs in the present volume to the deposition of Richard II. But,
having adopted the suggestion of giving a translation, with the
hope of making them more popular, and finding that in consequence
the volume was likely to extend to a much greater length than
was at first calculated upon, it has been thought advisable to
close the present collection with another convenient historical
period, the deposition of his grandfather Edward II.; and it is his
intention at some future period to form a second volume, which will
be continued to the fall of the house of York in the person of the
crook-backed Richard III.

The wars of Edward III. produced many songs, both in Latin and in
English, as did also the troubles which disturbed the reign of
his successor. With the end of the reign of Edward II. however,
we begin to lose sight of the Anglo-Norman language, which we
shall not again meet with in these popular effusions. During the
fifteenth century political songs are less numerous and also less
spirited. With it we are introduced to a dark period of literature
and science. It was the interval between the breaking up of the old
system, and the formation of the new one which was to be built upon
its ruins. When we come to the wars of the Roses, so fatal to the
English nobility and gentry, the page even of history becomes less
interesting, because it is less intellectual:--the great mental
workings which had influenced so much the political movements of
the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, were replaced by the
reckless and short-sighted bitterness of personal hatred, and the
demoralizing agency of mere animal force. As it had required a
long age of barbarism and ignorance to sweep away even the latest
remnants of ancient pagan splendour, before the site was fit to
build up the beautiful edifice of Christian civilization; so it
seemed as though another, though a shorter and comparatively less
profound, age of barbarism was required to turn men’s minds from
the defective learning of the schools, and the imperfect literature
to which they had been habituated, and to break down old prejudices
and privileges, which were but impediments in the way of the new
system that came in with the Reformation.

The nature of the following collection of Songs requires little
explanation. They have been brought together from scattered
sources. It was the Editor’s desire to make it as complete as
possible; but further researches will probably bring to light other
songs of no less interest, and these, if they become sufficiently
numerous, he hopes will be collected together as a supplement to
the present volume. He has also omitted a few Anglo-Irish songs,
because he expects they will, ere long, receive more justice
than he is capable of doing them, at the hands of Mr. Crofton
Croker. It is hoped that the texts will be found as correct as
the manuscripts would allow. The translation is offered with
diffidence, and requires many excuses; the variety of languages
and dialects in which they are written, their dissimilarity in
style of composition, the cramped constructions which were rendered
necessary in the Latin Songs to allow the multiplicity of rhymes,
the allusions which cannot now be easily explained, and above all,
the numerous corruptions which have been introduced by the scribes
from whose hands the different manuscripts came (for the greater
part of these songs have been printed from unique copies), are
the cause of so many difficulties, that in some instances little
more has been done than to guess at the writer’s meaning. The
translation is in general as literal as possible--the Anglo-Norman,
French, and English Songs are rendered line for line; but the
Editor is almost inclined to regret that he did not give a freer
version.

The Appendix consists of extracts from the inedited metrical
chronicle of Peter Langtoft, which are here introduced, because
they contain fragments in what was then termed “_ryme cowée_,” or
tailed rhyme, which are apparently taken from songs of the time.
The text is printed from a transcript made by the Editor several
years ago; and it contains many lines of the English songs which
are not found in the manuscripts preserved at the British Museum.
The Editor introduces these extracts the more willingly, as it is
not very probable that the Chronicle itself will be published at
present. As a monument of the Anglo-Norman language, it is far
inferior to many others that remain still inedited; and, as a
historical document, it is already well known through the English
version of Robert de Brunne, which was printed by Thomas Hearne.
The collations have been made chiefly with a philological view; the
comparison of the different manuscripts shows us how entirely the
grammatical forms of the Anglo-Norman language were at this time
neglected. To these extracts, the Editor has been enabled to add
a very curious English poem from the Auchinleck MS. at Edinburgh,
by the extreme kindness of David Laing, Esq., to whom the Camden
Society owes the transcript and collation of the proofs of this
poem.

It only remains for the Editor to fulfil the agreeable task of
expressing his gratitude for the assistance which, in the course
of the work, he has derived from the kindness of his friends:
to Mons. d’Avezac, of Paris, so well known by his valuable
contributions to geographical science, to whom he has had recourse
in some of the greater difficulties in the French and Anglo-Norman
songs, and who collated with the originals those which were taken
from foreign manuscripts before they were sent to press; to Sir
Frederick Madden, from whom he has derived much assistance in
the English songs, and whose superior knowledge in everything
connected with early literature and manuscripts has been of the
greatest use to him; to James Orchard Halliwell, Esq., for many
services, and for collating with the originals the songs taken from
Cambridge Manuscripts; and to John Gough Nichols, Esq., for the
great attention which he has paid to the proofs, and for various
suggestions, which have freed this volume from very many errors
that would otherwise have been overlooked.

  THOMAS WRIGHT.




CONTENTS.


        REIGN OF KING JOHN.                                     PAGE

  Song on the Siege of Thouars (_French_)                          1

  Sirvente on King John (_Provençal_)                              3

  Song on the Bishops (_Latin_)                                    6

  Song on the Times (_Latin_)                                     14


        REIGN OF HENRY III.

  The Taking of Lincoln (_Latin_)                                 19

  Song on the Corruptions of the Time (_Latin_)                   27

  Sirvente against King Henry (_Provençal_)                       36

  Another Sirvente (_Provençal_)                                  39

  The Song of the Church (_Anglo-Norman_)                         42

  Song against the Bishops (_Latin_)                              44

  Song on the Times (_Latin_)                                     46

  Song upon the Tailors (_Latin and Anglo-Norman_)                51

  Song of the Welsh (_Latin_)                                     56

  Song of the Barons (_Anglo-Norman_)                             59

  Song of the Peace with England (_French_)                       63

  Song against the King of Almaigne (_English_)                   69

  The Battle of Lewes (_Latin_)                                   72

  Song upon the Divisions among the Barons (_Latin_)             121

  Lament of Simon de Montfort (_Anglo-Norman_)                   125


        REIGN OF EDWARD I.

  Praise of the Young Edward (_Latin_)                           128

  Song on the Times (_Latin, with an Anglo-Norman version_)      133

  The Order of Fair-Ease (_Anglo-Norman_)                        137

  Song of the Husbandman (_English_)                             149

  Against the Pride of the Ladies (_English_)                    153

  Satire on the Consistory Courts (_English_)                    155

  Song on the Scottish Wars (_Latin_)                            160

  On the Deposition of Baliol (_Latin_)                          180

  Song against the King’s Taxes (_Anglo-Norman and Latin_)       182

  Song on the Flemish Insurrection (_English_)                   187

  Song on the Times (_English_)                                  195

  Song against the Scholastic Studies (_Latin_)                  206

  Song of “Nego” (_English_)                                     210

  Song on the Execution of Sir Simon Fraser (_English_)          212

  Song on the Venality of the Judges (_Latin_)                   224

  The Outlaw’s Song of Trailebaston (_Anglo-Norman_)             231

  Song against the Retinues of the Great People (_English_)      237


        REIGN OF EDWARD II.

  Lament on the Death of Edward I. (_Anglo-Norman_)              241

  Elegy on the Death of Edward I. (_English_)                    246

  Song on the Times (_Anglo-Norman, Latin, and English_)         251

  On the King’s Breaking his Confirmation of Magna Charta
  (_Anglo-Norman and English_)                                   253

  Two Songs on the Death of Peter de Gaveston (_Latin_)     258, 259

  The Battle of Bannockburn (_Latin_)                            262

  Office of St. Thomas of Lancaster (_Latin_)                    268


        APPENDIX.

  Extracts from Peter Langtoft’s Chronicle (_Anglo-Norman and
  English_):--

        1. Edward I.’s War with Scotland                         273
        2. The Trailebastons, and Execution of Wallace           318

  Poem on the Evil Times of Edward II. (_English_)               323


        NOTES                                                    347

        INDEX                                                    403




  THE

  POLITICAL SONGS

  OF ENGLAND,

  FROM KING JOHN TO KING EDWARD II.




POLITICAL SONGS.




KING JOHN. 1199-1216.


The thirteenth century opens amid the violence of party feelings,
and the few political songs which we find during the reign of King
John are full of keenness. Early in his reign the English Monarch
suffered himself to be robbed of his possessions in Normandy, and
the poetry of the Troubadours contains many expressions of regret
at their separation from England, and bitter reflections on the
King’s cowardice and weakness. The following song seems to have
been written when Thouars was in danger, during Philippe Auguste’s
incursions into Poitou, in 1206. Savary of Mauleon is famous in
contemporary history, and was himself a poet of no small renown. He
was a firm adherent to the English party.


SONG ON THE SIEGE OF THOUARS.

[Royal Library at Paris, MS. du fonds de St. Germain, No. 1989,
fol. 111, v^o. 13th cent.]

        Mors est li siècles briemant,
      Se li rois Touwairs sormonte;
        De ceu li vait malement
      Ke li faillent li troi conte,
        Et li vieillairs de Bouaing
      I averait grant honte,
      C’après la mort à vifconte
        Morrait à si mauté.

        Savaris de Maliéon,
      Boens chiveliers à cintainne,
        Se vos fals à ces besons,
      Perdue avons nostre poinne;
        Et vos, xanexals
      Asi d’Anjow et dou Mainne,
      Xanexal ont an Torainne
        Atre ke vos mist.

        Et vos, sire xanexals,
      Vos et Dan Jehan dou Mainne,
        Et Ugues, antre vos trois
      Mandeis à roi d’Alemaigne,
        Ke cist rois et cil Fransois
      C’ameir ne nos d[a]ignent,
      Cant por .j. mulet d’Espaigne
        Laxait Bordelois.

        Et vos, signors bacheleirs,
      Ki ameis lois et proeses,
        Cant vos souliez garreir
      Touwairs iert vos forteresce.
        Jà Deus ne vos doust porteir
      Ne mainche ne treses,
      Se Touwairt au teil tristesce
        Laixiez oblieir.

  TRANSLATION.--The world will shortly come to nought,--if the king
  overcome Thouars.--On this account it fares ill with it,--that
  the three earls desert it,--and the old man of Bouaing--would
  have there great shame,--that after the death of the viscount--he
  should die in such evil case.

  Savary of Mauleon,--a good knight at the quintain,--if you
  fail us in this need,--we have lost our labour;--and you,
  Seneschal,--both of Anjou and of Maine,--they have placed a
  seneschal in Touraine--other than you.

  And you, Sir Seneschal,--you and Sir John of Maine,--and Hugh,
  between you three,--send word to the King of Almain,--that this
  king and him of France,--deign not to love us,--when for a mule
  of Spain--he left the Bordelois.

  And you, Sir bachelors,--who love praise and prowess,--when you
  were wont to war--Thouars was your fortress.--Now God hinder
  you from bearing--sleeves or tresses,--if Thouars in such
  distress--you allow to be forgotten.

       *       *       *       *       *

John’s own friends, disgusted with his weakness, began to desert
him; and the following bitter song was addressed by the younger
Bertrand de Born, to Savary de Mauleon, to persuade him to follow
their example.


A SIRVENTE ON KING JOHN.

[Raynouard, Choix, tom. iv. p. 201.]

      Quant vei lo temps renovellar,
        E pareis la fueill’ e la flors,
        Mi dona ardimen amors
      E cor e saber de chantar;
      E doncs, pois res no m’ en sofraing,
        Farai un Sirvent escozen,
        Que trametrai lai par presen
      Al rei Joan que s n’a vergoing.

      E deuria s’ be’n vergoignar,
        Si l’ membres de sos ancessors,
        Com laissa sai Peitieus e Tors
      Al rei Felip ses demandar;
      Per que tota Guiana plaing
        Lo rei Richard, qu’ en deffenden
        En mes mant aur e mant argen;
      Mas acest no m’ par ’n aia soing.

      Mais ama l’ bordir e l’ cassar,
        E bracs e lebriers et austors,
        E sojorn; per que il faill honors,
      E s’ laissa vius deseretar;
      Mal sembla d’ardimen Galvaing,
        Que sai lo viram plus soven;
        E pois autre cosseil non pren,
      Lais sa terra al seignor del Groign.

      Miels saup Lozoics desliurar
        Guillelme, e l’ fes ric secors
        Ad Aurenga, quan l’Almassors
      A Tibaut l’ac fait asetjar:
      Pretz et honor ’n ac ab gazaing;
        Jeu o dic per chastiamen
        Al rei Joan que pert sa gen,
      Que non lor secor pres ni loing.

      Baron, sai vir mon chastiar
        A vos, cui blasme las follors
        Que us vei far, e pren m’en dolors,
      Car m’ aven de vos a parlar,
      Que pretz avetz tombat e’ l’ faing,
        Et avetz apres un fol sen,
        Que non doptas chastiamen,
      Mas qui us ditz mal, aquel vos oing.

      Domna, cui dezir e tenc car
        E dopt e blan part las meillors,
        Tant es vera vostra lauzors
      Qu’ieu non la sai dir ni comtar;
      C’aissi com aurs val mais d’estaing,
        Valetz mais part las meillors cen,
        Et ez plus leials vas joven
      Non son a Dieu cill de Cadoing.

      Savarics, reis cui cors sofraing
        Greu fara bon envasimen,
        E pois a flac cor recrezen,
      Jamais nuls hom en el non poing.

  TRANSLATION.--When I see the fair weather return,--and leaf and
  flower appear,--love gives me hardiesse--and heart and skill to
  sing;--then, since I do not want matter,--I will make a stinging
  sirvente,--which I will send yonder for a present,--to King John,
  to make him ashamed.

  And well he ought to be ashamed,--if he remember his
  ancestors,--how he has left here Poitou and Touraine--to
  King Philip, without asking for them.--Wherefore all Guienne
  laments--King Richard, who in its defence--would have laid out
  much gold and much silver;--but this man does not appear to me to
  care much for it.

  He loves better fishing and hunting,--pointers, greyhounds, and
  hawks,--and repose, wherefore he loses his property,--and his
  fief escapes out of his hands;--Galvaing seems ill-furnished with
  courage,--so that we beat him here most frequently;--and since he
  takes no other counsel,--let him leave his land to the lord of
  the Groing.

  Louis knew better how to deliver--William, and gives him rich
  succour--at Orange, when the Almassor--had caused Tiebald to
  besiege him;--glory and honour he had with profit;--I say it for
  a lesson--to King John who loses his people,--because he succours
  them not near or far off.

  Barons, on this side my lesson of correction aims--at you, whose
  delinquencies it blames--that I have seen you do, and I am
  grieved thereat,--for it falls to me to speak of you,--who have
  let your credit fall into the mud,--and afterwards have a foolish
  sentiment,--that you do not fear correction,--but he who told you
  ill, it is he who disgraces you.

  Lady, whom I desire and hold dear,--and fear and flatter above
  the best,--so true is your praise,--that I know not how to say it
  or to relate it;--that, as gold is more worth than tin,--you are
  worth more than the best hundred,--and you are better worth to a
  young man,--than are they (the monks) of Caen to God.

  Savary, a king without a heart,--will hardly make a successful
  invasion,--and since he has a heart soft and cowardly,--let no
  man put his trust in him.

       *       *       *       *       *

The dishonours which John suffered abroad, were, however, soon
forgotten in the troubles which broke out at home. The following
virulent libel on the three bishops of Norwich, Bath, and
Winchester, who adhered to the King in his quarrel with the Pope
about the presentation to the see of Canterbury, was no doubt the
work of one of his ecclesiastical opponents.


SONG ON THE BISHOPS.

[Flacius Illyricus, p. 161.]

_Planctus super Episcopis._

      Complange tui, Anglia,
        Melos suspendens organi;
      Et maxime tu, Cantia,
        De mora tui Stephani.
      Thomam habes sed alterum,
      Secundum habes iterum
      Stephanum, qui trans hominem
      Induens fortitudinem
            Signa facit in populo.
      Dolos dolens metropolis
        Quos subdoli parturiunt,
      Orbata tuis incolis,
        Dolose quos ejiciunt,
      Largos emittis gemitus,
      Patre privata penitus.
      Sed cum habebis Stephanum,
      Assumes tibi tympanum,
            Chelym tangens sub modulo.

      Ubi es, quæso, Moyses,
        Per quem cedat confractio?
      Ubi legem zelans Phinees,
        Per quem cesset quassatio?
      Quis natum David arguens?
      Quis Thaü signum statuens
      In limine et postibus,
      Ut sic confusis hostibus
            Liberetur Israel?
      Abraham, pater gentium
        Multarum, surge, domine,
      Agar expelle filium,
        Saræ ancillæ dominæ;
      Nam post subducet aliam.
      Jam adversus ecclesiam
      Prævalent portæ Tartari:
      Jam ludo ludunt impari
            Isaac et Ismael.

      Balthasar bibit iterum
        De vasis templi Domini:
      Vasa rapit vas scelerum
        Dei dicata nomini.
      Scribentem cerno digitum,
      Et literis implicitum
      Scriptis, “Mane, Tecchel, Phares;”
      Quid sibi velit ea res,
            Rei probabit exitus.
      Jam patet in prætorio,
        Et infimis et arduis,
      Quod regni jam divisio
        Et finis est in januis.
      Crescit malorum cumulus,
      Est sacerdos ut populus,
      Currunt ad illicitum,
      Uterque juxta libitum
            Audax et imperterritus.

      Plebs in Ægypti cophino
        Servit, et sudat anxia
      Sub Pharaone domino:
        Edicta currunt varia:
      Exactor opus exigit,
      Israel lutum colligit.
      Non est qui eum eruat,
      Vel Pharaonis subruat
            Equos cum ascensoribus.
      Spargit Assur ac dejicit
        Lapides Sanctuarii.
      Quare? quia non objicit
        Se lapis adjutorii.
      Imo qui se objicere
      Deberent, et effundere
      Sanguinem pro justitia,
      Tractant de avaritia,
            Quos his noto apicibus.

      Si præsuli Bathoniæ
        Fiat quandoque quæstio,
      Quot marcæ bursæ regiæ
        Accedant in scaccario:
      Respondet voce libera,
      Mille, centum, et cætera,
      Ad bursam regis colligo,
      Doctus in hoc decalogo,
            Cæcus in forma canonis.
      Tu, Norwicensis bestia,
        Audi quid dicat veritas:
      Qui non intrat per ostia
        Fur est. An de hoc dubitas?
      Heu! cecidisti gravius
      Quam Cato quondam tertius:
      Cum præsumpta electio
      Justo ruat judicio,
            Empta per dolum Simonis.

      Wintoniensis armiger
        Præsidet ad Scaccarium,
      Ad computandum impiger,
        Piger ad Evangelium,
      Regis revolvens rotulum;
      Sic lucrum Lucam superat,
      Marco marcam præponderat,
            Et libræ librum subjicit.
      Hi Belphegor prænunciant,
        Et sedem Baal subjiciunt;
      Ut melius proficiant,
        Baal sibi præficiunt,
      Complectuntur pro niveis
      Nigra, stercus pro croceis.
      Hi tres insatiabiles,
      Sanguisugis persimiles,
            “Affer,” dicunt, “non sufficit.”

      Tres tribus his appositi
        Sunt, sed longe dissimiles,
      Virtutum flore præditi,
        Morum vigore nobiles,
      Noe, David, et Daniel,
      Quos depingit Ezechiel.
      Justitiam hi sitiunt,
      Ob hæc sese objiciunt
            Murum pro domo Domini.
      Joannes nostri temporis
        Surgit Decanus Angliæ,
      Canus mente, vi roboris
        Stratam vadit justiciæ,
      Canit laudum præco nia
      Qui jure de Ecclesia
      Mariæ nomen accipit,
      Dum conflictum hunc suscipit
            Sacræ devotus Virgini.

      Heliensis progreditur,
        Huïc datur discrimini,
      _Heli_ ut _ensis_ dicitur,
        Parcens paucis, vel nemini.
      Helia, ensem exere,
      Et impios tres contere,
      Ac Babylonis principem
      Hujus doli participem
            Ictu prosterne simplici.
      Tu, Wolstani subambule,
        Es in conflictu tertius,
      Robustus insta sedule
        Triumphi veri conscius.
      Hæres Wolstani diceris,
      Si vere sit, tu videris:
      Prius resigna baculum,
      Et ephod et annulum,
            Quam Baal velis subjici.

      De Roffensi episcopo
        Nil scio mali dicere.
      Mentior et rem syncopo:
        Hic est, et hic a latere
      Est pauper Sarisburiæ,
      Qui dormit usque hodie,
      Ignem et aquam bajulat,
      Nec causatur, nec ejulat
            Pro desolata vinea.
      I Romam, liber parvule,
        Nec remeare differas,
      Saluta quosque sedule,
        Et Papæ salve differas.
      Dic quid de tribus sentiam.
      Ipse promat sententiam,
      Utrum suo judicio
      Sint liberi a vitio;
            Et michi detur venia.

  TRANSLATION.--Complain, O England! and suspend the melody of
  thine organ, and more especially thou, Kent, for the delay of
  thy Stephen. But thou hast another Thomas; thou hast again a
  second Stephen, who putting on a fortitude beyond that of man,
  performs signs among the people. O metropolis! who grievest over
  the plots which the cunning people bring forth, bereaved of thine
  inhabitants, whom they treacherously have ejected, thou givest
  vent to heavy groans, being utterly deprived of thy father. But
  when thou shalt have Stephen, thou wilt take up the timbrel, and
  touch the harp to measure.

  Where art thou, I ask, O Moses! through whom may the rupture
  cease? Where Phineas, zealous for the law, through whom the
  scourging may have an end? Who is there to accuse the son
  of David? Who is there that may set the sign of Thau on the
  threshold and the door-posts, that thus, her enemies being
  confused, Israel may be liberated? Abraham, father of many
  people, arise, lord, expel the son of Agar, the waiting-maid of
  her mistress Sarah; for after she shall deceive the other. Now
  the gates of Tartarus prevail against the Church: now Isaac and
  Ismael play at an unequal game.

  Balthasar drinks again out of the vessels of the Lord’s temple:
  the vessel of iniquities carries away the vessels dedicated
  to God’s name. I perceive the hand, writing, and involved in
  the written letters, “Mane, Techel, Phares;” what this thing
  may mean, the event of the thing will prove. Now it appears in
  the court, both to the low and the high, that at present the
  division and end of the kingdom is at the gate. The mass of evils
  increases; the priest is as the people; they, bold and fearless,
  hasten to that which is unlawful, each according to his will.

  The people serves in the coffer of Egypt, and anxiously sweats
  under the rule of Pharaoh: various edicts fly about: the
  collector exacts the work, Israel collects clay. There is no one
  who may rescue him, or who may overwhelm the horses of Pharaoh
  with their riders. Assur scatters and overthrows the stones of
  the Sanctuary. Why? because the Stone of Help does not oppose
  itself. Nay, they who ought to oppose, and to shed their blood
  for justice’s sake, are occupied with avarice, whom I signalise
  by these marks.

  If the question were perchance asked of the bishop of Bath,
  “How many marks come in to the King’s purse in the Exchequer?”
  he would answer readily, “A thousand, a hundred, and so on,
  I collect into the King’s purse,” learned as he is in this
  decalogue, blind in the form of the canon. Thou, beast of
  Norwich! hear what the Truth saith: “He who enters not by the
  door is a thief.” Dost thou doubt of this? Alas! thou hast
  fallen more heavily than once the third Cato, since thy presumed
  election falls by just judgment, having been bought by the craft
  of Simon.

  The arm-bearer of Winchester presides at the Exchequer, diligent
  in computing, sluggish at the Gospel, turning over the King’s
  roll; thus lucre overcomes Luke; he makes a marc weigh heavier
  than Mark, and subjects the bible to the scales. These are they
  who fore-show Belphegor; they subject the seat to Baal; that
  they may profit better, they make Baal their lord; they embrace
  black for white, dung instead of saffron. These three are
  insatiable--very like unto leeches; they cry, “Give! there is not
  enough!”

  There are three opposed to these, but very unlike them,
  endowed with the flower of virtues, noble in the vigour of
  good-breeding--Noah, David, and Daniel, whom Ezechiel paints.
  These thirst after justice; for this they oppose themselves
  as a wall for God’s house. John arises the dean of England of
  our time, hoary in mind: with the might of oak, he proceeds
  on the way of justice; he sings the proclamations of praises,
  who rightly takes his name from the church of Mary, while he
  undertakes this conflict in devotion to the Holy Virgin.

  He of Ely advances; he is given to this battle, as he is called
  the Sword of Hely, sparing few or none. Helias, draw forth the
  sword, and bruise the three impious ones, and lay prostrate the
  prince of Babylon, the participater in this plot, with a single
  blow. Thou, who walkest in the place of Wolstan, art the third in
  the conflict: robust as thou art, press on sedulously, certain of
  a true triumph. Thou art called the heir of Wolstan; if thou be
  truly so, thou art seen: sooner resign the staff, and the ephod,
  and the ring, than be willing to bow to Baal.

  I know nothing ill to say of the bishop of Rochester. I lie,
  and cut the matter short; he is here, and here by his side the
  poor man of Salisbury also, who sleeps till to-day; he carries
  about fire and water, nor pleads for, nor bewails, the desolated
  vineyard. Go to Rome, little book, nor delay thy return; salute
  them all diligently; and carry a salutation to the Pope: tell
  what I think of the three: let him give judgment, whether in his
  opinion they be free from vice; and let pardon be granted to me.

       *       *       *       *       *

It was during these religious dissensions that arose up, or at
least became strong, that powerful spirit of opposition to the
papal tyranny, which produced during the whole of this century so
much satirical poetry; much of it attributed, perhaps with little
reason, to Walter Mapes. The following song is supposed to have
been written during the interdict. In the fourth line the lion is
said to designate King John, and the asses the Bishops, and at the
end the King is represented by Jupiter, whilst the Pope receives
the contemptuous designation of Pluto.


SONG ON THE TIMES.

[MS. Harl. 978, fol. 108, r^o. Reign of Hen. III.]

_Invectio contra avaritiam._

        Utar contra vitia carmine rebelli;
      Mel proponunt alii, fel supponunt melli,
      Pectus subest ferreum deauratæ pelli,
      Et leonis spolium induunt aselli.
        Disputat cum animo facies rebellis,
      Mel ab ore defluit, mens est plena fellis;
      Non est totum melleum quod est instar mellis;
      Facies est alia pectoris quam pellis.
        Vitium est in opere, virtus est in ore,
      Picem tegunt animi niveo colore:
      Membra dolent singula capitis dolore,
      Et radici consonat pomum in sapore.
        Roma mundi caput est, sed nil capit mundum:
      Quod pendet a capite totum est inmundum;
      Transit enim vitium primum in secundum,
      Et de fundo redolet quod est juxta fundum.
        Roma capit singulos et res singulorum;
      Romanorum curia non est nisi forum.
      Ibi sunt venalia jura senatorum,
      Et solvit contraria copia nummorum.
        Hic in consistorio si quis causam regat
      Suam, vel alterius, hoc in primis legat,--
      Nisi det pecuniam Roma totum negat,
      Qui plus dat pecuniæ melius allegat.
        Romani capitulum habent in decretis,
      Ut petentes audiant manibus repletis:
      Dabis, aut non dabitur, petunt quia petis;
      Qua mensura seminas, et eadem metis.
        Munus et petitio currunt passu pari,
      Opereris munere si vis operari:
      Tullium ne timeas si velit causari,
      Nummus eloquentia gaudet singulari.
        Nummis in hac curia non est qui non vacet;
      Crux placet, rotunditas, et albedo placet,
      Et cum totum placeat, et Romanis placet,
      Ubi nummus loquitur, et lex omnis tacet.
        Si quo grandi munere bene pascas manum,
      Frustra quis objiciet vel Justinianum,
      Vel sanctorum canones, quia tanquam vanum
      Transferunt has paleas, et inbursant granum.
        Solam avaritiam Roma novit parca,
      Parcit danti munera, parco non est parca:
      Nummus est pro numine, et pro Marco marca,
      Et est minus celebris ara, quam sit arca.
        Cum ad papam veneris, habe pro constanti,
      Non est locus pauperi, soli favet danti;
      Vel si munus præstitum non est aliquanti,
      Respondet hic tibi sic, Non est michi tanti.
        Papa, si rem tangimus, nomen habet a re,
      Quicquid habent alii, solus vult papare;
      Vel si verbum Gallicum vis apocopare,--
      _Paez_, _Paez_, _dit li mot_, si vis impetrare.
        Papa quærit, chartula quærit, bulla quærit,
      Porta quærit, cardinalis quærit, cursor quærit,
      Omnes quærunt: et si quod des uni deerit,
      Totum jus falsum est, tota causa perit.
        Das istis, das aliis, addis dona datis,
      Et cum satis dederis, quærunt ultra satis.
      O vos bursæ turgidæ, Romam veniatis;
      Romæ viget physica bursis constipatis.
        Prædantur marsupium singuli paulatim;
      Magna, major, maxima, præda fit gradatim.
      Quid irem per singula? colligam summatim,--
      Omnes bursam strangulant, et expirat statim.
        Bursa tamen Tityi jecur imitatur,
      Fugit res, ut redeat, perit, ut nascatur,
      Et hoc pacto loculum Roma deprædatur,
      Ut cum totum dederit, totus impleatur.
        Redeunt a curia capite cornuto:
      Ima tenet Jupiter, cœlum tenet Pluto,
      Et accedit dignitas animali bruto,
      Tanquam gemma stercori et pictura luto.
        Divites divitibus dant, ut sumant ibi,
      Et occurrunt munera relative sibi:
      Lex est ista celebris, quam fecerunt scribi,
      Si tu michi dederis, ego dabo tibi. _Finit._

  TRANSLATION.--I will use against vices rebelling song; others
  put forward honey, while under the honey they lay on gall; the
  iron breast is concealed under the gilt skin, and asses put on
  the lion’s spoil.--The rebelling face disputes with the soul
  within; honey flows from the mouth, the mind is full of gall;
  it is not all sweet that looks like honey; the breast has a
  different countenance from the skin.--While vice is in the
  work, virtue is in the face; they cover the pitchy blackness
  of the mind with a white colour; each of the members suffers
  by the pain of the head, and the flavour of the apple depends
  upon the root from whence it springs.--Rome is the head of the
  world; but it receives nothing clean; all that depends from the
  head is unclean; for the first vice passes on into the second,
  and that which is near the bottom smells of the bottom.--Rome
  receives all, and the goods of all; the court of the Romans
  is but a market. There are offered for sale the rights of the
  senators, and abundance of money dissolves all differences of
  opinion.--Here, in the consistory, if any body plead a cause, be
  it his own or another’s, let him first read this,--“Unless he
  give money, Rome denies every thing; he who gives most money will
  come off the best.”--The Romans have a chapter in the decretals,
  that they should listen to petitions from those who come with
  their hands full; thou shalt give, or nothing shall be granted
  thee; they ask because thou askest; by the same measure as you
  sow, you shall reap.--A bribe and a petition go side by side, and
  it is with a bribe that you must work if you wish to succeed:
  then you need have no fear, even of Tully, were he pleading
  against you; for money possesses a singular eloquence.--There is
  nobody in this court who does not look after money: the cross on
  the coin pleases them; the roundness of it, and the whiteness
  thereof, pleases them; and since every part of it pleases, and
  it is the Romans whom it pleases, where money speaks, there all
  law is silent.--If you only feed the hand well with some goodly
  bribe, it will be in vain even to quote Justinian against you,
  or the canons of the saints, because they would throw them away
  as vanity and chaff, and pocket the grain.--Penurious Rome
  claims acquaintance with nothing but avarice; she spares to him
  who brings gifts, but she spares not to him who is penurious:
  money stands in the place of God, and a marc for Mark, and the
  altar is less attended than the coffer.--When you come to the
  Pope, take it as a rule, that there is no place for the poor, he
  favours only the giver; or if there is not a bribe of some value
  or another forthcoming, he answers you, “I am not able.”--The
  Pope, if we come to the truth of the matter, has his name from
  the fact, that, whatever others have, he alone will suck the pap;
  or if you like to apocopate a French word, “pay, pay,” saith the
  word, if you wish to obtain anything.--The Pope begs, the brief
  begs, the bull begs, the gate begs, the cardinal begs, the cursor
  begs,--all beg! and if you have not wherewith to bribe them all,
  your right is wrong, and the whole cause comes to nothing.--You
  give to these, you give to the others, you add gifts to those
  already given, and when you should have given enough, they seek
  as much more. O, you full purses, come to Rome! at Rome there
  is choice medicine for costive pockets.--They all prey upon
  the purse by little and little; great, greater, or greatest,
  gradually becomes a prey to them. Why should I go through all
  the particulars? I will put it in a few words; they all choke
  the purse, and it expires immediately.--Yet the purse imitates
  the liver of Tityus; the substance flies in order to return;
  dies that it may be born: and on this condition Rome preys upon
  the pocket, that when it has given all, it may all be filled
  again.--They return from the court with mitred heads; Jupiter is
  placed in the Infernal Regions, Pluto holds Heaven, and dignity
  is given to a brute animal, as a jewel to the dung and a picture
  to the mud.--The rich give to the rich, that they may receive
  again, and gifts mutually meet one another: that law is most in
  use, which they have caused to be written, “If you give to me, I
  will give to you.”




KING HENRY III. 1216-1272.


The death of King John offered an opportunity of putting an end to
the distractions that had become so universal during the latter
years of his reign, which most of the belligerents were glad
to embrace. The following short, but highly spirited poem, was
probably written immediately after the pacification which followed
the taking of Lincoln, apparently by a churchman, and certainly
a partizan of King Henry. Some of the expressions in it, such as
“the iron-girt bees of war,” and the like, remind us of the lofty
metaphors of Saxon verse.


THE TAKING OF LINCOLN.

[From MS. Cotton. Vespas. B. XIII. fol. 130, v^o. in a hand of the
beginning of the 14th Cent.]

¶ _Incipiunt versus de Guerra Regis Johannis._

      Serpserat Angligenam rabies quadrangula gentem.
      In proprium jurata jugum, motuque minaci
      Gens sibi degenerans, ut libera serviat, alta
      Corruat, incolumis ægrotet, tuta pavescat,
      Vendicat antiquas inimico consule leges;
      Non legis libra, non juris luce, nec igne
      Sacri consilii, sed nec lima rationis,
      Fulgurat in vetitum spreta ratione voluntas.
    ¶ Prima fuit rabies proprio concepta tumore;
      Altera belligeras Francorum traxerat alas;
      Conduxit nigras Scottorum tertia turmas;
      Flexit quarta leves tenui sub veste Galenses.
    ¶ Fœdera rumpuntur pacis, tonitrusque minaces;
      Serpsit in attonitas corrupta licentia turres,
      In quibus ægra fides latuit, medicumque salutis
      Expectata diu, tandem de munere Christi
      Convaluit, traxitque suas in bella cohortes.
    ¶ Hæc rabies patiente Deo permissa parumper
      Non concessa fuit, ut molles fulmina mentes
      Comburant, nec ut ira Dei confundat inermes.
      Sed cordis scrutator oves deserta petentes
      Errantesque diu proprio revocavit amore,
      Vapulet ut meritas medicato verbere culpas,
      Divinasque minas clementia patris amicans
      Ubere materno lenivit verbera patris.
    ¶ Anglorum nutabat honor, regnique venustas,
      Inclinata caput divini judicis iram
      Senserat, et tumido timuit servire tyranno.
      Pendula palma, diu dubio protracta favore,
      Nunc risit Gallis, nunc risum contulit Anglis,
      Verius applaudens istis, fallacius illis.
    ¶ Non tulit ulterius regem regnare furentem
      Vindicis ira Dei; cecidit percussus ab illo
      Cujus templa, domos, combusserat igne minaci.
      A face fax oritur fati, flammæque furorem
      Dum furit in regem febris vindicta fugavit.
      Summus honos mors illa fuit, culmenque decoris
      Attulit, in nullo quod erat superatus ab hoste,
      Et tot erant hostes; victus victore superno,
      Invictusque suos hostes moriendo momordit.
    ¶ Desinat ira tumens; discat servire potestas
      Curvarique Deo, cui subdens colla resurget;
      In surgendo cadet: brevis est humana potestas,
      Et brevibus discat finem properare diebus.
    ¶ Planxerat extinctum regio viduata Johannem,
      Degenerique timens sua subdere colla marito
      Invocat Angligenas Anglorum lacrima vires;
      Quo gravior dolor est, propior medicina doloris.
    ¶ Fulserat interea minimæ scintillula formæ,
      Regia progenies, laceri spes unica regni,
      Stella quasi succensa Deo, nubemque paternam
      Exuit, irradians nova lux, stellasque fugatas
      Fulmine de patrio pueri candela vocavit.
    ¶ O Pietas preciosa Dei! qui magna magistrat,
      Fortia confundit, infirma levat, feritates
      Fulminat, inflatos frangit, qui virginis alvo
      Parvulus egressus, parvum suscepit alendum,
      Ecclesiæque dedit gremio, quem matris in ulnas
      Blanda parens recipit, nato blandita parentis
      Obsequio, teneram capiti positura coronam.
      Consilium cœleste fuit, quod consona sacri
      Unio consilii regi parere puello
      Non timuit, timuitque magis servire tyranno.
    ¶ Unio sacra novum maturat ad ardua regem;
      Utilitas, pietasque, fides, concurrere fatis
      Conjurant, cunctos[que] crucis signare sigillo;
      Constiterant vexilla crucis, regemque novellum
      Ambierant, bajulosque crucis crux alba decorans
      Instabiles statuit fidei fundamine turmas.
    ¶ O famosa viri legatio, lima beati
      Consilii, sidus recti, speculum rationis,
      Gala dei cultor, curæ cristata galero!
      Anglia victrices strinxit divinitus enses,
      In commune bonum fundunt castella catervas
      Signiferas, belloque truces, hostique minaces.
    ¶ Tempus erat quo terra novo pubescere partu
      Cœperat, et teneras in crines solverat herbas,
      Vellera pratorum redolens infantia florum
      Pinxerat, et, renovas crispans coma primula silvas,
      Innumeras avium revocavit ad organa linguas,
      Gallica tum rabies aquilonis adhæserat Anglis,
      Conjurata manus medios transire per Anglos,
      Londoniis egressa suis, longasque latebras
      Deseruit Lodovica cohors, comitesque superbos
      Concessa pudet ire via, Montique Sorello
      Subsidium ferale ferunt, nam quo magis illum
      Major palma colit, graviorem ferre ruinam
      Præcavet ira Dei; sed cautior inde recessit
      Nobilitas comitum, fidei flos, regia virtus,
      Cestrensis clipeus, donec frendente tumultu
      Transierat rabies notum super ardua castrum,
      Trigintæque latus, longique superbia belli
      Fluxit ad obsessam matronæ nobilis arcem.
    ¶ Huc ubi fata feras fremitu flexere phalangas,
      Fama volat, comitesque vocat, comitumque sodales
      Cestrenses, crescitque seges clipeata virorum.
      Regia signa micant, et conjurata sequuntur
      Agmina, clara fides cum denique protrahit ora,
      Candida signa crucis juvenum præstantia pingunt
      Pectora, consolidat communis corda voluntas;
      Vincendi spes una fuit, victoria cunctas
      In facies præmissa patet, plausuque secundo
      Permittunt socias in consona prælia dextras.
    ¶ Instabat sabbatum quo festa peracta superni
      Flaminis, et trinum celebrat deitatis honorem
      Vespera; sol prima lambebat lampade terras,
      Cum tuba terribili dederat præludia cantu;
      Bella movent ferrata duces, tot signa videres
      Nutantes tremulo galeas superare volatu,
      Tot clipeos vario mutantes signa colore.
      Fulsit in armatas solaris gratia turmas,
      Febricitabat iners, validabant corda feroces.
      Venit ut attonitam constantia Martis ad urbem,
      Terribili juvenes muros cinxere corona,
      Rimanturque novos aditus; nec protinus urbem
      Invasere duces; legatio mittitur intus
      Sacrilegos revocare viros ad fœdera pacis.
      Nec placuit pax ulla feris, convitia fundunt,
      Legatos spernunt, adduntque minacia verba.
    ¶ Irrita legati postquam mandata reportant,
      Magnanimos monet ire duces; tum bellicus horror
      Infremuit, tonuere tubæ, mugitus in auras
      Horridus insurgit, et, constrepitante tumultu,
      Mirari poterant terrena tonitrua nubes.
      Transiliunt fossas, transcendunt mœnia, portas
      Confringunt, aditus rumpunt, et prælia miscent.
      Et gladiis fecere viam; confusio digna
      Sacrilegos sternit, fundunt examina Christi
      Ferrigeras Mavortis apes, stimulisque timendis
      Hostiles penetrant tunicas, squamosaque ferri
      Texta secant, Saulosque trahunt ad vincula Pauli,
      Reddidit et lepores conversio sacra leones.
    ¶ Hic Moyses in Monte stetit, Josue stationem
      Fixerat hic solis, magnum premit inde Goliam
      Funda lapisque David; vidit venerabile mirum
      Lincolniensis honor, vidit maris ira trophæum
      Imperiale Dei, vidit quadrangula pestis
      In se victrici vexilla resurgere palma.
      Vidit, et obstupuit, sensitque superbia belli
      Pro puero pugnare Deum; nec sponte quievit,
      Sed crepuit, pacisque pedes in colla recepit.
    ¶ O famosa dies, nostrum veneranda per ævum!
      Bellica qua rabies latuit, qua pacifer ensis
      Pestiferas domuit partes, qua gratia Christi
      Dedecus extersit natum, fideique lavacro
      Proluit inscriptum versa de fronte pudorem.

              _Expliciunt versus de Guerra regis Johannis._

  TRANSLATION.--A four-fold rage had crept upon the English
  nation. Conspiring against its own government, and threatening
  rebellion, the degenerate nation,--that it may change freedom
  for slavery,--that it may fall from its high position, from
  health to sickness, from safety to danger,--lays claim to ancient
  laws under a hostile governor; not governed by the balance of
  the law, not by the light of justice, nor by the fire of holy
  counsel, nor yet by the file of reason, the will, in despite of
  reason, darts like lightning into what is forbidden. ¶ The first
  rage was conceived by its own pride; the second drew hither the
  warlike legions of the French; the third conducted the black
  troops of the Scots; the fourth bent the inconstant Welsh under
  their light garment. ¶ The leagues of peace are broken, and the
  threatening thunders follow; corrupt licence has crept into the
  astonished towers, in which Faith lay hid and sick, and long
  waiting a physician of health, at length by the generosity of
  Christ she recovered, and drew out her bands to the wars. ¶ This
  rage, by the sufferance of God, was permitted for a while, but
  not allowed that the lightnings should burn the effeminate minds,
  or that the anger of God should confound the defenceless. But
  the Searcher of hearts recalled by his own love the sheep which
  sought the desert and were long wandering, that he might correct
  the deserving faults with a healing lash, and reconciling his
  divine threats with paternal mercy, softened the corrections of
  a father with the love of a mother. ¶ The honour of the English
  bowed, and the comeliness of the Kingdom; its bending head had
  felt the anger of the divine judge, and feared to serve the proud
  tyrant. The balanced palm, long held out with dubious favour,
  now smiled on the French, now turned its smile to the English,
  applauding with more truth these latter, more deceitful to the
  others. ¶ The anger of an avenging God allowed no longer the
  furious king to reign; he fell, struck by him whose temples and
  houses he had burnt with threatening fire. From this torch arises
  the torch of fate, and the avenging fever, while it raged against
  the king, drove away the rage of the flame. That death was the
  highest honour, and was accompanied with the highest glory, that
  he was in nothing overcome by the enemy, amidst so many enemies;
  vanquished by the conqueror who is above, and unconquered, he
  bit his own enemies even in his death. ¶ Let proud anger cease;
  let power learn to serve and to bow to God, in submitting the
  neck to whom she elevates herself; in rising she falls: short is
  the power of man; and let it learn that the end approaches in
  a few days. ¶ The widowed state had mourned the death of John,
  and, fearing to bow the neck to a degenerate husband, the tear
  of the English calls up the strength of England; the heavier the
  grief, the nearer is its cure. ¶ Meanwhile had shone forth the
  minute spark of most small beauty, the royal offspring, sole
  hope of the torn Kingdom, a star, as it were, lit by God, it had
  divested itself of the cloud that obscured its father, shining
  forth a new light, and the candle of the child called back the
  stars which had been scared by the father’s thunder. ¶ O precious
  piety of God! who masters things that are great, confounds those
  that are strong, raises such as are infirm, strikes ferocity with
  lightning, breaks the haughty, who himself having come a child
  out of the virgin’s womb, thus took a child to nourish, gave it
  to the bosom of the Church, which the gentle parent receives in a
  mother’s arms, rendered gentle by the obedience now newly born,
  and about to place on its head a tender crown. It was heavenly
  ordinance, that the consonant union of holy counsel feared not
  to obey a boy king, and feared more to serve a tyrant. ¶ Sacred
  union matures the new king to lofty things; utility, and piety,
  and faith, swear together to concur with the fates, and to sign
  them all with the seal of the Cross; they had raised together
  the standard of the Cross and had ranged themselves round the
  new King, and the white cross decorating the bearers of the
  Cross fixed the unstable troops in the foundation of faith. ¶
  O famous legation of a man! file of blessed council! star of
  right! mirror of reason! helmet of the worship of God! crested
  with the plume of care! England hath grasped her conquering
  swords by impulse of God; her castles pour forth for the common
  good the standard-bearing troops, fierce in war, and threatening
  the enemy. ¶ What time the Earth had begun to bloom with new
  fruitfulness, and had spread out her fresh grass in locks,
  redolent of flowers had painted the young fleece of the fields,
  and, whilst the new verdure curled the renascent woods, recalled
  innumerable tongues of birds to the song; then the Gallic fury
  had resolved to join the English of the north, the band having
  conspired to pass through the midst of the English, having issued
  from their London, the army of Louis deserted the long shades,
  and the proud earls have the shame of going the way that is
  open to them, and they carry fierce aid to Mountsorrel; for as
  a greater victory attends it, so has the anger of God ordained
  that it should not undergo a greater ruin. But with more caution
  retires thence the nobility of earls, the flower of the faith,
  the royal strength, the shield of Chester, until with roaring
  tumult the rage of the others had passed the famous castle on the
  heights (Nottingham), and the bank of Trent, and the pride of
  long war had flown to the besieged citadel of the noble matron
  (Lincoln). ¶ Hither when the fates have turned the fierce troops
  with a murmuring noise, Fame flies, and calls the earls, and the
  Cestrensian companions of the earls, and the shielded harvest of
  men increases. The royal standards glitter, and the conspiring
  bands follow, when clear faith at last draws out their faces,
  the bright signs of the Cross paint the excelling breasts of
  the youth, a common will strengthens their hearts; there was
  one sole hope of conquering; victory was already stamped on all
  their faces; and with a shout, ominous of good, they put forth
  their associated hands to the accordant battle. ¶ The sabbath was
  at hand in which the festival of the high God is performed, and
  the eve celebrates the triune honour of the deity; the sun was
  touching the earth with his first light, when the trumpet with
  its terrible song had given the flourish; the leaders move iron
  war; many were the standards you might see with tremulous flight
  above the nodding helms, many the shields changing their ensigns
  with various colours. The beauty of the sun shone upon the armed
  troops; the coward became feverish; the brave strengthened their
  hearts. When the constancy of war came to the astonished town,
  the youth encircled the walls with a fearful wreath, and seek new
  approaches; nor do the leaders immediately attack the city; a
  legation is sent in to summon the sacrilegious men to the league
  of peace. Yet no peace satisfied these fierce men; they utter
  insults, despise the messengers, and add threatening words. ¶
  When the messengers bring back the angry message, the leaders
  order their bold followers to the attack; then the horror of
  war roared, the trumpets thundered, a fearful noise rose into
  the air, and in the resounding tumult the clouds might wonder
  at earthly thunders. They leap over the fosses, mount over the
  walls, break the gates, force the passages, and join battle. And
  they made way with their swords; a merited confusion strikes the
  sacrilegious men; the hives of Christ send forth the iron-girt
  bees of war, and with fearful stings they penetrate the hostile
  shirts, and cut the scaly textures of iron, and draw Sauls to the
  chains of Paul, and the holy conversion turned hares into lions.
  ¶ Here stood Moses in the Mount; here Josua had fixed the station
  of the sun; there the sling and stone of David overcome the great
  Golias; the honour of Lincoln sees the venerable wonder; the
  rage of the sea sees the imperial trophy of God; the four-fold
  plague sees the standards rise again against it with conquering
  palm. It saw, and was astonished; and the pride of war felt
  that God fought for the boy; nor was it quiet by its own will,
  but it burst, and received the feet of peace on its neck. ¶ O
  famous day, to be venerated through our age! in which the rage of
  war hid itself,--in which the peace-bringing sword subdued our
  pestiferous divisions,--in which the grace of Christ washed out
  the dishonour that had been brought forth, and, with the font of
  faith, cleansed from the averted brow the disgrace which had been
  inscribed on it.

       *       *       *       *       *

All authorities agree in describing the great pride and avarice
and luxury of the nobles in general, but particularly of the
Romish prelates, at the beginning of the thirteenth century. The
following song is a fair specimen of the unsparing satire which was
universally directed against them by their contemporaries.


SONG ON THE CORRUPTIONS OF THE TIME.

[MS. Harl. No. 978. fol. 105, v^o. reign of Hen. III.]

_Contra avaros._

        Quam sit lata scelerum et quam longa tela
      Sub qua latent pectora vitiis anhela,
      Musa vultu lugubri refer et revela,
      Si curas cor spectantis tetigisse querela.
        Pensant vota miseræ gentis et prophanæ
      Non virtutis pretium, set lini vel lanæ;
      Vespere quod agitur est infectum mane,
      O curas hominum, o quantum est [in] rebus inane!
        Est ad jura quilibet oculus obtusus;
      Omnis ad injurias animus diffusus;
      Ad fortunæ prodeunt aleas et usus
      Mille hominum spes et rerum discolor usus.
        Cum Sabinæ conferant saltum meretrici,
      Pauperizent Arabes sub toga mendici,
      Suo neget Tydeus fidem Polynici,
      Spectatum admissi, risum teneatis, amici?
        Singulos per singula si nosse labores,
      Qui cultores otii, qui doli structores,
      Qui ministri Mammonæ, qui Dei spretores,
      Ætatis cujusque notandi sunt mores.
        Puer pede certior, odit fores, foras
      Fugit, minus minimis colit res, honoras,
      Et iram post gaudia, breves rumpens moras,
      Colligit et ponit, temere mutatur in horas.
        A custode juvenis evolat et seris,
      Gaudet equis, canibus, aleis, et meris,
      Venator libidinis, auceps mulieris,
      Utilium tardus provisor, prodigus æris.
        Vir ut præsit civibus, imperet prætori,
      Ut extendat prædia fune longiori,
      Et impregnet scrinia censu pleniori;
      Quærit opes et amicitias, inservit honori.
        Multa circumveniunt senem casus duri,
      Vel quod eget, abstinens, census perituri,
      Vel quod tractat gelide res, ut prosint furi,
      Dilator, spe longus, iners, avidusque futuri.
        Sic ætates variat temporum respectus,
      Transit ætas tenera cordis in affectus,
      Vir in alta, sed ei quem torquet senectus,
      Fervet avaritia miseraque cupidine pectus.
        Omnis ad hoc hominum animus senescit,
      Qui dum quærit extra se res, quærens se nescit,
      Non rebus crescentibus ambitus quiescit;
      Crescit amor nummi quantum ipsa pecunia crescit.
        Sed hoc uno veniam vitium meretur,
      Quod cum rerum dominis semper dominetur;
      Tanto mens conspectius quæ nil reveretur
      Crimen habet, quanto qui peccat major habetur.
        Roma, turpitudinis jacens in profundis,
      Virtutes præposterat opibus inmundis,
      Vacillantis animi fluctuans sub undis,
      Diruit, ædificat, mutat quadrata rotundis.
        Vultus blandos asperat, quibus nunc arrisit;
      Sinu fovet placido quos prius elisit;
      Dum monetam recipit, tractat, et revisit;
      Quod petiit, spernit, repetit quod nuper omisit.
        Si non recte percipit quocumque modo rem,
      Et quem primo didicit non oblita morem,
      Morem testæ redolet, quæ diutiorem
      Quo semel est inbuta recens servabit odorem.
        Coram cardinalibus, coram patriarcha,
      Libra libros, reos res, Marcum vincit marca,
      Tantumque dat gratiæ lex non parco parca,
      Quantum quisque sua nummorum servat in arca.
        Si stateram judicum quæris, quæras ære,
      Cum ab ære pendeat gratia stateræ;
      Non quæras inducias, sed quod quærunt quære,
      Unde habeas quærit nemo, sed oportet habere.
        Commissus notario munera suffunde;
      Statim causæ subtrahet, quando, cur, et unde,
      Et formæ subjiciet canones rotundæ,
      Quem res plus nimio delectavere secundæ.
        Roma cunctos erudit ut ad opus transvolent,
      Plus quam Deo Mammonæ cor et manus inmolent,
      Sic nimirum palmites mala stirpe redolent,
      Cui caput infirmum cetera membra dolent.
        Calcant archipræsules colla cleri prona,
      Et extorquent lacrimas ut emungant dona;
      Nec, si ferunt miseri pauca, vel non bona,
      Æquis accipient animis, donantve corona.
        Si de contumelia cæperit quis conqueri,
      Statim causæ porrigunt aurem, manum muneri;
      Si semel acceperint rem pluralis numeri,
      Cras poterunt fieri turpia sicut heri.
        Diligit episcopus hilarem datorem,
      Fas et nefas ausus post muneris odorem,
      Nescius resumere, post lapsum pudorem,
      Ejectum semel attrita de fronte ruborem.
        Nec archidiacono minor turpitudo,
      Quem semel arripuit serio vel ludo
      Tenet, nec misertus est inopi vel nudo;
      Non missura cutem nisi plena cruoris hirudo.
        Decanus insidias natus ad æternas,
      Ut exploret symbolum et res subalternas,
      Mutans linguæ modulum et vestes hesternas,
      Migrat in obscuras humili sermone tabernas.
        Presbiter quæ mortui quæ dant vivi, quæque
      Refert ad focariam, cui dat sua seque;
      Ille sacri nominis, ille mentis æquæ,
      Legem qui Domini meditatur nocte dieque.
        Fulti verbis laici cleri delinquentis,
      Non tam verbis inhiant quam famæ docentis:
      Nec sensus sic flectere minis aut tormentis
      Humanos edicta valent, quam vita regentis.
        Regna movent principes statusque lascivi,
      Ut ducant exercitus, pœnam donativi
      Infligentes rustico miseroque civi;
      Quicquid delirant reges plectuntur Achivi.
        Qui regni vel curiæ curis accinguntur,
      Dum arrident detrahunt, et dum blandiuntur
      Jacturam vel dedecus semper moliuntur;
      Nulla fides pietasve viris qui castra sequuntur.
        Si te civis percipit, demollit ut urat,
      Si dena contuleris mutuum futurat,
      Te de tuo submovet, percipe, dum durat;
      Pone merum et talos pereat, qui crastina curat.
        Si quis ad forensium domos devolutus
      Censum palam deferat, et minus astutus,
      Nam cum cubans dormiet fessus et imbutus,
      Vivitur ex rapto, non hospes ab hospite tutus.
        Sic raptus, insidiæ, dolus, et simultas
      Reddunt gentes devias, miseras, et stultas;
      Sic inescant omnium mentes inconsultas
      Ambitus, et luxus, et opum metuenda facultas.
        Sed quid confert miseris luxus aut potestas
      Qui spretis virtutibus colunt res funestas,
      Aurum, gemmas, purpuram, et opes congestas?
      Cum labor in dampno est, crescit mortalis egestas.
        Quid ad rem, de purpura, gemmis, auro, rure?
      Assunt cum divitiis odia, jacturæ,
      Placita, jejunia, metus, et de jure
      Insompnes longo veniunt ex agmine curæ.
        Regnat pauper tutius quam rerum collator,
      Qui, dum rapit domini gratiam delator,
      Vel onustum spoliat prudens spoliator;
      Cantabit vacuus coram latrone viator.
        Sæpe vivunt gratius rebus destituti,
      Sub exili tegete lateris aut luti,
      Quam in regum domibus mollibus induti;
      Serviet æternum qui parvo nesciet uti.
        Sed si quæris copiam veræ facultatis,
      Rejice superflua, cole quod est satis,
      Exue divitias, nudus cede fatis;
      Tolle moram, nocuit semper differre paratis.
        Si dum iter arripis ad utiliora,
      Spem metus dissuadeat, vel successus mora,
      Animum ne revoces, nec reflectas lora,
      Grata superveniet quæ non sperabitur hora.
        Thesaurizes illud quo non potes abuti,
      Curam gerens inopis, cæci, claudi, muti;
      Animæ, non animo servias vel cuti,
      Pauca voluptati debentur, plura saluti.
        Nemo regis solio tutus, vel asylo,
      Cum nec lingua nequeat exprimi vel stilo
      Quam sub fato pendulo vicinoque pilo,
      Omina sunt hominum tenui pendentia filo.
        Prospere dum navigas æquoris extremum,
      Pensa non præsentia, sed futura demum,
      Et puppim considerans, non proram vel remum,
      Omnem crede diem tibi diluxisse supremum.

  TRANSLATION.--How wide and how long is the web of crimes with
  which our breasts, choked with vices, are enveloped, tell, and
  reveal, O muse, with a mournful countenance, if you care to touch
  the heart of the spectator with your lament.--The wretched and
  profane people seem to form their wishes in consideration, not
  of the price of virtue, but of flax or wool: what is done in the
  evening is unwrought in the morning. O cares of men! O how much
  emptiness there is in things!--Every eye is blind to justice;
  every mind is large to injustice; a thousand hopes of men and
  the differing aspects of things depend on the dice and uses of
  fortune.--When chaste maidens join in dance with the strumpet,
  when the Arabs play the pauper under the robe of a beggar, when
  Tydeus denies his faith to his Polynices, then, if you are
  admitted to the spectacle, my friends, can you restrain your
  laughter?--If you are anxious to know all men by their several
  failings, who practise sloth, who are the plotters of treason,
  who the servants of Mammon, who the despisers of God, we must
  observe the manners of every age of life.--The boy, as he learns
  the use of feet, hates the doors, flies abroad; he respects
  things and honours less than the least; anger and joy succeed
  each other with short intervals, for his changes are sudden.--The
  youth flies from his tutor and confinement; he delights in
  horses, dogs, dice, and wine, a hunter of his pleasures, whose
  occupation is with women, a slow provider of useful things,
  prodigal of money.--When arrived at manhood, that he may rule
  the citizens and dictate to the prætor, that he may extend his
  possessions with a longer cable, and fill his bags with greater
  treasure, he seeks riches and friendships, and is a slave to
  honours.--Many serious troubles surround the old man, either
  that, from stinginess, he spares his perishing wealth, or that
  he handles his riches with fear, lest they should fall to the
  thief; he is one who delays long, depending on hope, inactive,
  and greedy of the future.--Thus difference of time causes variety
  of ages; the tender age is occupied on the affections of the
  heart, the man on lofty things, but he whom old age bends, his
  breast glows with avarice and miserable cupidity.--In this
  respect the whole mind of men grows old, which, while it seeks
  things external, is ignorant of itself in the pursuit; ambition
  is not quieted by success: the love of money increases as fast
  as the money itself increases.--But in this point alone may
  vice claim some credit, that it is always prevalent among the
  great; yet that disposition which respects no control is the more
  conspicuously criminal, in proportion as the sinner occupies a
  higher station.--Rome, lying in the depths of turpitude, ranks
  virtues beneath filthy lucre; fluctuating under the waves of a
  vacillating mind, she overthrows, builds, and changes square
  things for round.--She despises the bland countenances at which
  but now she smiled; she cherishes in her placid breast those whom
  before she rolled down; while she receives money, she treats
  and revises: what she sought she despises, and seeks again what
  lately she let go.--If she does not perceive rightly a thing in
  any manner whatever, and has not forgotten the custom which she
  first learnt, she smells of the custom of the cask, which will
  keep very long the odour with which it was once endued while
  fresh.--Before the cardinals and before the patriarch, a pound
  overcomes the Bible, money the accused, and a marc Mark, the
  law sparing to him who is not sparing, gives only as much grace
  as each has money in his purse.--If you seek the balance of the
  judges, you should seek it with copper, since the favour of the
  balance hangs from copper; you should not ask respite, but ask
  what they ask; whence you obtain it nobody will inquire, but you
  needs must have it.--When you are turned over to the notary, pour
  out your bribes; he will at once extricate you from your cause,
  when, why, or whence it may arise, and will subject the canons to
  the form that is round (i. e. the coin), whom prosperity delights
  not a little.--Rome teaches all that they should fly over to
  expediency, that they should offer heart and hand to Mammon
  rather than to God; thus it happens that the branches smell of
  a bad root; where the head is infirm, the other members are in
  pain.--The archbishops tread under foot the necks of the clergy,
  and extort tears in order that they may be dried by gifts; nor,
  if the poor wretches bring few or not good ones, do they take
  them in good part, or acknowledge them with favour.--If any one
  begins to complain of an injury, they immediately stretch their
  ear to the cause, their hand to the gift; if they once receive
  a thing of the plural number, to-morrow the same basenesses may
  be done as yesterday.--The bishop loves a cheerful giver, and
  dares either right or wrong after the smell of a bribe, unable
  to resume, after he has thrown shame aside, the blush once
  rejected from his worn brow.--Nor is there less baseness in the
  archdeacon; whom he has once taken up, whether in earnest or in
  joke, he holds; nor has he mercy for the needy or the naked;
  the leech which will not let go the skin till he is filled with
  blood.--The dean, born to everlasting wiles, that he may explore
  the creed (symbolum) and the things which succeed, changing the
  tune of his tongue and yesterday’s garments, migrates with humble
  speech to the obscure taverns.--The priest, whatever either the
  dead or the living give, carries all to his fireside-woman, to
  whom he gives himself and what he has; he of the holy name and
  the equal mind, who meditates the law of the Lord by day and by
  night.--The laymen resting on the words of the clergy who depart
  from them, pay less attention to the words than to the character
  of the teacher: nor can laws subdue the senses of men by
  threats and torments, so much as the example of the ruler.--The
  luxurious princes stir kingdoms and states, that they may lead
  armies, inflicting the punishment of a tax on the rustic and the
  miserable citizen; for whenever the kings run wild, the Greeks
  pay the piper.--They who are occupied with the cares of the
  kingdom or of the court, detract while they smile, and when they
  flatter they are plotting damage or disgrace; there is neither
  faith nor honesty in those who follow camps.--If a citizen
  perceive you, he caresses that he may burn you; if you lay down
  ten, he puts the payment of his stake to another time; he cheats
  you out of your own; look to it, while it lasts; he may perish
  behind the wine and the dice, who leaves care till to-morrow.--If
  any one going to the houses of the lawyers, carries his money
  openly, he also is a simpleton; for when he sleeps in his bed
  weary and full, people live by rapine, the guest is not safe
  from his host.--Thus rapine, snares, treachery, and strife, lead
  people into error, misery, and folly; thus ambition and luxury,
  and the revered possession of riches, allure the foolish minds of
  all men.--But what availeth luxury and power to those miserable
  people who, despising virtues, esteem only things that produce
  evil, such as gold, gems, and heaps of wealth? when our labour
  is expended on what is injurious to us, the misery of mortals is
  on the increase.--What avails it to talk of purple, gems, gold,
  land? With riches we have feuds, losses, pleas, fastings, fears,
  and justly sleepless cares come in a long train.--The poor man
  reigns more safely than he that amasses wealth, who, while the
  informer deprives the lord of his favour, or the lurking spoiler
  spoils him who is laden, he, an empty traveller, will sing before
  the thief.--They who are destitute often live more pleasantly
  under a slight hut of brick or mud, than those who are delicately
  clothed in the palaces of kings; he will be ever a slave who
  knows not how to use moderation.--But if you seek abundance of
  true property, reject superfluity, seek what is enough, strip
  yourself of riches, and die naked; delay not this, for those who
  are prepared are ever injured by delay.--If while you are on
  your road to what is more useful, fear dissuade hope, or delay
  endanger success; change not your mind, nor slacken your reins;
  the grateful hour will arrive when least expected.--Treasure up
  that which you cannot abuse, having a care of the needy, the
  blind, the lame, and the dumb; serve your soul, and not your
  mind or your skin; you owe little to pleasure, but more to your
  salvation.--No one is safe on a king’s throne, or in a sanctuary,
  since it can be expressed neither by tongue nor pen by how
  slender a thread the destinies of men hang under the imminent
  approach of death.--While you navigate prosperously the far side
  of the sea, weigh not the present but the future, and considering
  the poop more than the prow or the oar, act as though you thought
  every day your last.

       *       *       *       *       *

The foreign policy of Henry III. was even less manly than that of
his father. Among the many songs of the Normans and Poitevins,
reclaiming the assistance of their ancient sovereign, we may give
as an example the Sirvente of Bernard de Rovenac, addressed to
Henry and his contemporary James I. King of Aragon, from whom
Louis IX. had taken Languedoc to give it as a portion to his
brother Alphonsus. There is internal evidence that it was written
about 1229, the year in which Henry III. made his ill-conducted
expedition into Brittany.


A SIRVENTE AGAINST KING HENRY.

[Raynouard, Choix, tom. iv. p. 203.]

      Ja no vuelh do ni esmenda
          Ni grat retener
          Dels ricx ab lur falz saber,
      Qu’en cor ay que los reprenda
          Dels vils fatz mal yssernitz;
          E no vuelh sia grazitz
      Mos sirventes entr’ els flacx nualhos,
      Paupres de cor et d’ aver poderos.

      Rey Engles prec que entenda,
          Quar fa dechazar
          Son pauc pretz per trop temer,
      Quar no’l play qu’ els sieus defenda,
          Qu’ans es tan flacx e marritz
          Que par sia adurmitz,
      Qu’el reys frances li tolh en plas perdos
      Tors et Angieus e Normans e Bretos.

      Rey d’Arago, ses contenda,
          Deu ben nom aver
          Jacme, quar trop vol jazer;
      E qui que sa terra s prenda,
          El es tan flacx e chausitz
          Que sol res no y contraditz;
      E car ven lay als Sarrazis fellos
      L’anta e’l dan que pren say vas Lymos.

      Ja tró son payre car venda
          No pot trop valer,
          Ni s cug qu’ ieu li diga plazer,
      Tró foc n’abraz e n’essenda
          E n’ sian grans colps feritz;
          Pueys er de bon pretz complitz,
      S’al rey frances merma sos tenezos,
      Quar el sieu fieu vol heretar N Anfos.

      Coms de Toloza, la renda
          Que soletz tener
          De Belcaire us deu dolar,
      S’al deman faitz lonj’ atenda
          Vos e ’l reys que us es plevitz;
          L’enprendemen n’er aunitz,
      S’ar no vezem tendas e pabalhos,
      E murs fondre, e cazer autas tors.

          Ricx homes, mal yssernitz,
          En vey hom vostres malz ditz,
      E laissera us, s’ie us vis arditz ni pros,
      Mas no us tem tan que ja m’en lays per vos.

  TRANSLATION.--I wish neither for the gifts and favours--nor to
  obtain the good-will--of the rich, with their false wisdom;--but
  I have in my heart the intention to reproach them--with their
  vile deeds ill-conceived;--and I don’t wish to be agreable--my
  Sirventes among the cowardly idlers,--poor in heart and heavy in
  riches.

  The English King, I pray him to hear it,--for he causes to
  fall--his little glory by too much timidity,--for it does not
  please him to defend his own people,--and thus he is so cowardly
  and so vile,--that he seems to be asleep,--while the French King
  takes from him with impunity--Tours, and Angiers, and Normans,
  and Bretons.

  The King of Aragon, without any doubt,--ought really to have the
  name--of James; for he is too willing to lie down;--and whoever
  it be that takes his land,--he is so cowardly and caitiff,--that
  he does not even contradict it;--and he revenges on that side
  against the felon Saracens----the shame and damage which he
  receives on this side towards Limoux.

  Until he have revenged his father,--he cannot have much
  esteem,--nor let him imagine that I will speak to please
  him,--unless he ravage and put in flames,--and unless great
  blows be struck.--For there will have been accomplished great
  honour,--if he narrows the domains of the French King,--for Don
  Alfonse desires to inherit his fief.

  Earl of Toulouse, the rent--which you used to hold--from
  Beaucaire, you ought to regret,--if you make long delay to
  demand it,--you, and that King, because you are in league;--that
  undertaking will not be disgraced,--if we now see tents and
  pavilions,--and walls fall and high towers break.

  Rich men, ill-advised,--one sees your evil sayings,--I would let
  you alone, if I saw you hardy and courageous,--but I do not fear
  you so much as to leave it on your account.

       *       *       *       *       *

The following Sirvente, by the same author, is also directed
against Henry and James, and was written about the year 1250. It
repeats the same articles of accusation, and its object was to
persuade those kings to invade the dominions of Louis, while he was
himself absent on his crusade.


A SIRVENTE AGAINST KING HENRY.

[Raynouard, tom. iv. p. 205.]

        D’un sirventes m’es grans volontatz preza,
      Ricx homes flacx, e non sai que us disses,
        Quar ja lauzor no y auria ben meza,
      Ni us aus blasmar, e val pauc sirventes
        Que laza quan blasmar deuria;
        Pero si tot vos par follia,
      A me platz mais que us blasme dizen ver,
      Que si menten vos dizia plazer.

        Amdos los reys an una cauz’ empressa,
      Selh d’Arago et aisselh dels Engles,
        Que no sia per elhs terra defeza
      Ni fasson mal ad home qu’el lur fes,
        E fan merces e cortezia,
        Quar al rey que conquer Suria
      Laisson en patz lur fieus del tot tener;
      Nostre Senher lur en deu grat saber.

        Vergonha m pren, quant una gens conqueza
      Nos ten aissi totz vencutz e conques,
        E degr’ esser aitals vergonha prezza,
      Quom a me pren, al rey Aragones
        E al rey que pert Normandia,
        Mas prez an aital companhia
      Que ja nulh temps no fasson lur dever,
      Et anc non vitz autre tan ben tener.

        E pus no pren en la leuda torneza
      Qu’a Monpeslier li tollon siey borzes,
        Ni no y s venja de l’anta que y a preza,
      Ja no ’lh sia mais retragz Carcasses,
        Pos als sieus eys no s defendria,
        Assatz fa sol qu’en patz estia;
      Patz non a ges senher ab gran poder,
      Quan sas antas torna a non chaler.

        Ges trop lauzar, quan valors es mal meza,
      Non apel patz, quar mala guerra es;
        Ni ja per me non er per patz enteza,
      Mielhs deuria aver nom gauch de pages,
        E dels ricx que perdon tot dia
        Pretz, e ja fort greu no lur sia,
      Quar pauc perdon e pauc lur deu doler,
      Quar ges de pauc non pot hom trop mover.

        Lo reys N Anfos a laissat cobezeza
      Als autres reys, qu’a sos ops non vol ges,
        Et a sa part elh a preza largueza,
      Mal a partit qui reptar l’en volgues;
        E dic vos que m par vilania
        Qui partis e qui ’l mielhs s’ atria,
      Mas ges pertant non a fag non dever,
      Quar a pres so qu’elhs no volon aver.

        Ricx malastrucx, s’ieu vos sabia
        Lauzor, volontiers la us diria;
      Mas no us pessetz menten mi alezer,
      Que vostre grat no vuelh ni vostr’ aver.

  TRANSLATION.--I am seized by a great desire of writing a
  sirvente,--O rich yet cowardly men! and I know not what I shall
  say to you,--for there will be little room for praise;--nor dare
  I blame you, and a sirvente is worth little--which praises when
  it ought to blame:--but though it may seem all folly to you,--yet
  it pleases me more to blame you by telling the truth,--than if I
  spoke falsehood to please you.

  Both the kings have resolved on one thing,--he of Aragon
  and he of the English,--that by them the land shall not be
  defended,--and that they will do ill to no one who does ill
  to them;--they are merciful and courteous;--for they let the
  King who is conquering Syria--retain their fiefs altogether in
  peace;--our Lord ought to be very thankful to them for it.

  Shame seizes on me, when a vanquished people--holds us thus all
  subdued and conquered,--and such shame ought to seize--the King
  of Aragon, as seizes me,--and the King who loses Normandy,--but
  they take such company--that now they never perform their
  duty,--and I never saw another hold so well.

  And afterwards he does not receive the tax,--which at Montpellier
  his burgesses take from him,--neither does he revenge himself of
  the disgrace he received there,--now Carcasson may no more be
  recovered by him;--for he would not defend his own eyes,--his
  only endeavour is that he may be in peace;--a noble lord with
  great power has no peace,--when he turns his ways to nonchalance.

  To praise people too much, when valour is ill esteemed,--I do not
  call it peace, for it is bad war;--nor shall it now be understood
  by me for peace,--it ought rather to have the name of pages’
  play,--and of the rich who lose every day--honour, and yet it
  grieves them not much,--for they lose little and need not grieve
  much,--for we cannot be moved much by a little thing.

  The king Don Alfonso has left covetousness--to the other kings,
  because he will not make use of it,--and he has taken for his
  share largess,--he has an ill share who wishes to recover this
  from him;--and I tell you that it appears to me villany,--when
  one shares and takes the best to himself;--yet no one has done
  otherwise than right,--when he has taken that which others will
  not have.

  Rich men ill-advised, if I knew any thing in you--worthy of
  praise, I would willingly tell you of it;--but think not to take
  up my leisure,--for I desire neither your thanks nor your goods.

       *       *       *       *       *

Henry’s embarrassments at home were now becoming every day
more numerous and more complicated. Scarcely any part of the
nation, clergy, barons, or people, were any longer his friends.
The following song (made in 1256) was evidently written by one
belonging to the former of these classes, indignant at the taxes
which the King, with the consent of the Pope, had levied on the
clergy, in the vain hope of placing one of his sons on the throne
of Sicily, and afterwards to pay the debt which he had contracted
towards the supreme pontiff. The King of France, quoted as an
example, was the saintly Louis IX.


THE SONG OF THE CHURCH.

[MS. Cotton. Jul. D. VII. fol. 133, v^o. of 13th century.]

_Istud canticum factum fuit anno gratiæ m^occ^olvi^o supra
desolatione Ecclesiæ Anglicanæ._

      Or est acumpli à men acient
      La pleinte Jeremie, ke oï avez suvent;
          ke dit cument set sule
          cité pleine de fule
      Plurant amerement,
          ore est sanz mariage
          e mis en tailage,
      La dame de la gent.
      Cest est seint eglise trestut apertement,
      Ke est ja hunie e tut mis a vent:
      E si est maumise, nus veum cument.
          Ele gent e plure,
          n’a ad nul ke sucure
      De sun marement.

      Jà fu cleregie
          franche e à desus,
      Amée e cherie,
          nule ren pot plus.
      Ore est enservie,
      E trop envilie,
          e abatu jus;
      Par iceus est hunie,
      Dunt dut aver aïe;
          jo n’os dire plus.

      Li rois ne l’apostoile ne pensent altrement,
      Mès coment au clers tolent lur or e lur argent.
          Co est tute la summe,
          ke la pape de Rume
      Al rei trop consent,
          pur aider sa curune
          la dime de clers li dune,
      De ço en fet sun talent.

      Jo ne quid pas ke li rois face sagement,
      Ke il vit de roberie ke il de la clergie prent.
          Jà ne fra bone prise,
          pur rober seinte eglise;
      Il la say verament.
          Ke vot aver semblance,
          regarde le rois de France
      E sun achevement.

  TRANSLATION.--Now is accomplished as I conceive--the plaint
  of Jeremiah, which you have often heard,--who tells how this
  sole--city full of people--bewailing bitterly,--is now without
  marriage--and put in contribution,--the Lady of the people.--That
  is holy church very evidently,--who is now disgraced and all put
  to sale;--and truly is she in ill case, we see how.--She laments
  and weeps,--there is none who helps her--out of her desolation.

  Formerly clergy was--free and uppermost,--loved and
  cherished,--nothing could be more so.--Now it is enslaved,--and
  too much debased,--and trodden down.--By those is it
  disgraced,--from whom it ought to have help;--I dare not say more.

  The king and the pope think of nothing else,--but how they may
  take from the clergy their gold and their silver.--This is the
  whole affair,--that the pope of Rome--yields too much to the
  king,--to help his crown,--the tenth of the clergy’s goods he
  gives him,--and with that he does his will.

  I do not think that the King acts wisely,--that he lives of
  robbery which he commits upon the clergy.--He will never be a
  gainer,--by robbing holy church;--he knows it truly.--He who
  seeks an example,--let him regard the King of France--and his
  achievement.

       *       *       *       *       *

The next Song, directed against the avarice of the Bishops, appears
to be of about the same date. In the manuscript it is written, like
the foregoing, as prose.


A SONG AGAINST THE BISHOPS.

[From the same folio of the same MS.]

      Licet æger cum ægrotis,
      Et ignotus cum ignotis,
      Fungar tamen vice totis,
      Jus usurpans sacerdotis;
            flete, Syon filiæ,
            præsides ecclesiæ
            imitantur hodie
      Christum a remotis.

      Jacet ordo clericalis
      In respectu laicalis,
      Sponsa Christi fit venalis,
      Generosa generalis;
            veneunt altaria,
            venit eucharistia,
            cum sit nugatoria
      Gratia venalis.

      Donum Dei non donatur
      Nisi gratis conferatur;
      Quod qui vendit vel mercatur,
      Lepra Syri vulneratur;
            quem sic ambit ambitus,
            ydolorum servitus
            templo sancti spiritus
      Non compaginatur.

      In diebus juventutis
      Timent annos senectutis,
      Ne fortuna destitutis
      Desit eis splendor cutis.
            Sed dum quærunt medium,
            vertunt in contrarium,
            fallit enim vitium
      Specie virtutis.

      Tu qui tenes hunc tenorem,
      Frustra dicis te pastorem;
      Nec te regis ut rectorem,
      Rerum mersus in ardorem:
            Hæc est alia
            sanguisugæ filia,
            quam venalis curia
      Duxit in uxorem.

  TRANSLATION.--Although sick with those who are sick, and unknown
  with those who are unknown, yet I will assume all characters in
  turn, usurping the right of the priest: weep, ye daughters of
  Sion, the bishops of the church at the present day are but remote
  imitators of Christ!

  The clerical order is debased in respect of the laity; the spouse
  of Christ is made venal,--she that is noble, common; the altars
  are for sale; the eucharist is for sale, although venal grace is
  vain and frivolous.

  God’s gift is not given if it be not conferred gratis; and he who
  sells and makes merchandise of it, is, in so doing, struck with
  the leprosy of Syrus; the service of idols, at which his ambition
  thus aims, may not be engrafted on the temple of the Holy Spirit.

  In their days of youth, they look forwards to old age with fear,
  lest, deserted by fortune, they possess no longer their sleek
  skin. But while they seek the mean, they turn into the contrary
  extreme; for vice deceives them in the guise of virtue.

  Thou who holdest this course, vainly thou callest thyself a
  pastor; neither doest thou govern thyself like a ruler, immersed
  in the heat of temporary affairs; she is another--daughter of the
  leech, whom the venal court has taken to wife.

       *       *       *       *       *

The following is another bitter satire on the vices of the great,
during the reign of Henry III. Who were the four brothers against
whom the song is more particularly directed, would not be easily
ascertained without other particulars besides those here furnished.


A SONG ON THE TIMES.

[MS. Harl. No. 978. fol. 123, v^o. of the 13th cent.]

        Mundi libet vitia cunctis exarare;
      Nam in mundo video multos nunc errare,
      Spernere quod bonum est, quod malum est amare,
      Et ad mala sæpius sponte declinare.
        Mundus quia malus est, male scit nocere;
      Mala novit facere, nescit pœnitere;
      Caro quicquid appetit pro posse vult habere,
      Sed quod Deus præcipit nequit adimplere.
        Jam nil valet aliquis ni sciat litigare,
      Nisi sciat cautius causis cavillare,
      Nisi sciat simplices dolis impugnare,
      Nisi sciat plenius nummos adunare.
        Mundi status hodie multum variatur,
      Semper in deterius misere mutatur;
      Nam qui parcit nemini, quique plus lucratur,
      Ille plus dilectus est et plus commendatur.
        Rex et regni proceres satis sunt amari;
      Omnes fere divites nimis sunt avari;
      Pauper pauca possidens debet depilari,
      Et ut ditet divitem rebus spoliari,
        Bona per superflua dives excæcatur;
      Circa temporalia tota mens versatur:
      Et in vanis quoniam nimis delectatur,
      Bona differt facere, malum non vitatur.
        Ex prælatis plurimum Deum non timentes
      Sunt sub boni specie mala facientes,
      Hiique plus quam laici sæpe sunt nocentes,
      Bene curant corpora, male pascunt mentes,
        Regnat nunc impietas, pietas fugatur,
      Nobilisque largitas procul relegatur;
      Stricta nam tenacitas multos comitatur,
      Et in multis caritas sic refrigeratur.
        Fas et nefas ambulant pene casu pari,
      Vix est jam quem pudeat nefas operari;
      Carus hic acceptus est qui scit adulari,
      Hicque privilegio gaudet singulari.
        Quod ad lucrum pertinet nimis affectatur;
      Lucra quisquis prospicit, cautus judicatur;
      Res qui servat strictius, sapiens vocatur;
      Sua qui dat largius, stultus reputatur.
        Dolus avaritiæ comes copulatur;
      Fidei perfidia jam parificatur;
      Nam qui scit decipere, prudens prædicatur;
      Qui plus mali perpetrat plus appretiatur.
        Quatuor sunt maxime qui sic operantur,
      Et cum malefecerint pejus meditantur,
      Quorum infra scelera satis declarantur,
      Et eorum nomina sic intitulantur.
        Hii sunt fratres quatuor, Robertus, et Ricardus,
      Gilebertus postea, vir valde Wandelardus,
      Quartus inter alios frater est bastardus,
      Galfridus, qui piger est, et ad bona tardus.
        Cuique satis proprie nomen adaptatur,
      Per quod quæ proprietas cujusque sit notatur;
      Nam qui recte nominum vim interpretatur,
      Scire potest certius quid significatur.
        Competenter per _Robert_, _robbur_ designatur;
      Et per _Richard_, _riche hard_ congrue notatur;
      _Gilebert_ non sine re _gilur_ appellatur;
      _Gefrei_, si rem tangimus, in _jo frai_ commutatur.
        Per istorum nomina, quæ sic figurantur,
      Modus, fraus, et opera multorum denotantur;
      Et ut cunctis clarius hæc aperiantur,
      Melius et plenius hic notificantur.
        Robertus excoriat, extorquet, et minatur;
      Et Ricardus retinet totum quod lucratur;
      Gilebertus decipit, et inde gloriatur;
      Galfridus se procrastinat, et nil operatur.
        Veritatem prosequar ore nunc aperto:
      Vir quicunque rabidus consors est Roberto;
      Vir fallax et cupidus par fit Gileberto;
      Vir piger et tepidus Galfridus est pro certo.
        Tempus piger protrahit omni tardus hora;
      Operari negligit quæ sunt meliora;
      Bona nimis differens ruit in pejora;
      Et ut bene faciat semper est in mora.
        Hic promittit quodlibet, sed nil vult implere;
      Semper dicit “faciam,” nunquam facit vere;
      Sed cum mors est proxima, tunc incipit dolere;
      Magnum est periculum tam sero pœnitere.
        Quisque sibi caveat ne decipiatur;
      Pœnitere studeat antequam labatur;
      Dum est compos corporis bene mereatur,
      Ne dum differt interim forte moriatur.
        Fons et auctor, Dominus, summæ pietatis
      Nobis hic sic annuat flere pro peccatis,
      Et dum sumus validi pœnitere gratis,
      Ut possimus alibi gaudere cum beatis! AMEN.

  TRANSLATION.--Everybody has a right to satirize the world’s
  vices; for now I see many in the world err, despise what is good,
  love what is bad, and most frequently turning off spontaneously
  to evil.--Because the world is depraved, it knows how to do
  injury; it knows how to act ill, but not how to repent; the
  flesh will do all it can to possess whatever it desires, but is
  unable to fulfill God’s commandments.--Now nobody is esteemed
  unless he knows how to litigate; unless he can cavil cunningly in
  law-suits; unless he can overreach the simple; unless he know how
  to amass abundance of money.--The state of the world is at the
  present day constantly changing; it is always becoming miserably
  worse; for he who spares nobody, and who is bent most on gain,
  is most beloved and most commended.--The King and his nobles are
  sufficiently bitter; almost all the rich men are too avaricious;
  the poor man, who possesses little, must be robbed and spoiled
  of his property to enrich the wealthy.--The rich man is blinded
  by superfluous wealth; his whole mind is occupied with temporal
  matters; and, since he is too much pleased with vanities, he puts
  off the doing of good, but avoids not the evil.--Of the prelates,
  there are very many who, having no fear of God, do evil under
  the mask of good, and they often do more injury than the laymen;
  they take great care of the body, but feed ill the mind.--Now
  impiety reigns, piety is driven away, and noble liberality is
  sent into far exile; for narrow stinginess is the companion
  of many, and thus in many charity is become cold.--Right and
  wrong march nearly on an equal footing; there is now scarcely
  one who is ashamed of doing what is unlawful; the man is
  held dear who knows how to flatter, and he enjoys a singular
  privilege.--Lucre is a thing too much sought after; whoever has
  an eye to it, is considered prudent; he who keeps very close
  what he has, is called a wise man; he who gives liberally, is
  set down for a fool.--Treachery accompanies avarice; perfidy
  is now put on equality with honesty; for he who knows how to
  deceive, is proclaimed a prudent man; and he who does most ill
  is most prized.--There are four persons in particular who work
  thus; who, even while doing ill, are meditating to do worse,
  whose crimes are sufficiently declared below, and whose names
  are as follows:--They are four brothers, Robert, and Richard;
  next Gilbert, a true Wandelard; the fourth is a bastard brother,
  Geoffrey, who is a sluggard, and slow to do anything good.--Each
  of them has a very appropriate name, by which his own character
  is described; for if any one interpret rightly the names, he
  may know most accurately what each signifies.--By _Robert_, is
  very sufficiently indicated _a robber_; and by Richard, with
  much fitness, a _rich hard_ man; _Gilbert_ is not without reason
  called a _guiler_; and _Geoffrey_ is, if we come to the point,
  changed into _jo frai_ (i. e. I will do it).--By these people’s
  names, which are thus described, are denoted the habit, and
  fraud, and works, of many men; and in order that these may be
  made more manifest to all, they are here published better and
  more fully--Robert fleeces, extorts, and threatens; and Richard
  keeps all he gains; Gilbert deceives, and afterwards boasts of
  it; Geoffrey procrastinates, and does nothing.--I will follow up
  the truth now in full cry: every ravenous man is the companion
  of Robert; a false and miserly man is similar to Gilbert; a slow
  and listless man is, without doubt, a Geoffrey.--The latter idly
  protracts the time, behindhand at whatever hour is appointed,
  he neglects to do what is good, and by putting off the good he
  falls into that which is evil, and he is always backward in
  acting well:--he promises anything, but will perform nothing; he
  always says, “I will do,” but never does; but when death is at
  hand, he begins to lament: there is great danger in repenting so
  late.--Let every one take care that he is not himself deceived;
  let him try to repent before his end, that he may merit well
  while he is in health, lest by putting it off, he chance to die
  before it is done.--The Lord, who is the fountain and author of
  the highest degree of piety, give us here the inclination so to
  mourn for our faults, and to be penitent spontaneously while we
  are in health, that in the next world we may be in joy with the
  saints!

       *       *       *       *       *

A perpetual subject of popular outcry against the great, during
this and the following centuries, was afforded by the foreign and
extravagant fashions in dress, which were prevalent. A glance at
the illuminations in contemporary manuscripts will show us that
these complaints were not without foundation. We, even at the
present day, can with difficulty conceive the immense sums which
were in former days expended on the toilet. This profusion was
frequently and severely commented upon in the prose writings of the
clergy, and was not uncommonly the subject of popular satire. The
following song upon the tailors is very playful.


SONG UPON THE TAILORS.

[MS. Harl. 978. fol. 99, v^o. reign of Hen. III.]

_In nova fert animus mutatas dicere formas Corpora, Dii cœptis, nam
vos mutastis et illas, Aspirate meis._

      Ego dixi, dii estis;
      Quæ dicenda sunt in festis
          Quare prætermitterem?
      Dii, revera, qui potestis
      In figuram novæ vestis
          Transmutare veterem.

      Pannus recens et novellus
      Fit vel capa vel mantellus,
          Sed secundum tempora
      Primum capa, post pusillum
      Transmutatur hæc in illum;
          Sic mutatis corpora.

      Antiquata decollatur,
      Decollata mantellatur,
          Sic in modum Proteos
      Demutantur vestimenta;
      Nec recenter est inventa
          Lex metamorphoseos.

      Cum figura sexum mutant;
      Prius ruptam clam reclutant
          Primates ecclesiæ;
      Nec donatur, res est certa,
      Nisi prius sit experta
          Fortunam Tiresiæ.

      Bruma tandem revertente,
      Tost unt sur la chape enté
          Plerique capucium;
      Alioquin dequadratur,
      De quadrato retundatur,
          Transit in almucium.

      Si quid restat de morsellis
      Cæsi panni sive pellis,
          Non vacat officio:
      Ex hiis fiunt manuthecæ,
      Manutheca quidem Græcè
          Manuum positio.

      Sic ex veste vestem formant,
      Engleis, Tyeis, Franceis, Normant,
          Omnes generaliter;
      Ut vix nullus excludatur.
      Ita capa declinatur,
          Sed mantellus aliter.

      Adhuc primo recens anno,
      Nova pelle, novo panno,
          In arca reconditur;
      Recedente tandem pilo,
      Juncturarum rupto filo,
          Pellis circumciditur.

      Sic mantellus fit apella;
      Ci git li drap, e la pel là,
          Post primum divortium;
      A priore separata
      Cum secundo reparata
          Transit in consortium.

      Quod delictum dices majus?
      Istud palam est contra jus:
          Nam si nupsit alteri,
      Conjugium est violatum,
      Dum fit novo copulatum
          Reclamante veteri.

      N’est de concille, ne de sene,
      Deus dras espuser à une pene,
          E si nus le juggium;
      Permittunt hoc decreta? non:
      Sed reclamat omnis canon
          Non esse conjugium.

      Pannus primum circumcisus,
      Viduatus et divisus
          A sua pellicula,
      Jam expertus Judaismum,
      Emundatur per baptismum
          A quacumque macula.

      Circumcisus mundatusque,
      Est adeptus utriusque
          Legis testimonium;
      Quem baptismus emundavit,
      Cum secunda secundavit
          Pelle matrimonium.

      Pilis expers, usu fractus,
      Ex Esaü Jacob factus,
          Quant li peil en est chaü,
      Inversatur vice versa,
      Rursus idem ex conversa
          Ex Jacob fit Esaü.

      Pars pilosa foris paret,
      Sed introrsus pilis caret
          Vetustas abscondita;
      Datur tamen, k’il n’i eit perte,
      Servienti, pur deserte,
          Mantellus hypocrita.

  TRANSLATION.--I have said, ye are gods; why should I omit the
  service which should be said on festival days? Gods certainly
  ye are, who can transform an old garment into the shape of a
  new one.--The cloth, while fresh and new, is made either a cape
  or mantle; but, in order of time, first it is a cape, after a
  little space this is transformed into the other; thus ye “change
  bodies.”--When it becomes old, the collar is cut off; when
  deprived of the collar, it is made a mantle: thus, in the manner
  of Proteus, are garments changed; nor is the law of metamorphosis
  a new discovery.--With their shape they change their sex; the
  primates of the church privately close up again what was before
  torn; nor is it given, assuredly, till it has first undergone
  the fortune of Tiresias.--When, at length, winter returns,
  many engraft immediately upon the cape a capuce; then it is
  squared; after being squared it is rounded; and so it becomes an
  aumuce.--If there remain any morsels of the cloth or skin which
  is cut, it does not want a use: of these are made gloves; a glove
  is called in Greek “the placing of the hands.”--This is the
  general manner they all make one robe out of another, English,
  Germans, French, and Normans, with scarcely an exception. Thus
  _cape_ is declined; but _mantle_ otherwise.--In the first year,
  while it is still fresh, the skin and the cloth being both
  new, it is laid up in a box; when, however, the fur begins to
  be worn off, and the thread of the seams broken, the skin is
  circumcised.--Thus the mantle is made a Jew; here lays the cloth,
  there the skin, after the first divorce: being separated from
  its former husband, after separation it passes in reparation
  to marriage with a second husband.--But what will you say is a
  greater crime? this is clearly against right; for if she have
  married a second, the marriage is broken, when a new conjunction
  is made in spite of the reclamations of the old partner.--It is
  neither canonic nor wise to marry two cloths to one fur, and so
  we judge it. Do the decretals permit this? No: on the contrary,
  every canon declares, that it is no marriage.--The cloth having
  been first circumcised, then widowed and separated from its skin,
  now having experienced Judaism, is cleansed by baptism, from
  every stain (_i. e._ it is dyed).--Being circumcised and cleaned,
  and having obtained the testimony of both laws, he whom baptism
  has cleansed, contracts a new marriage with a second skin.--Being
  devoid of hair, and worn by use, from Esau having become Jacob,
  when the hair is fallen from it, the process is inverted, and
  again conversely from Jacob it becomes Esau.--The hairy part is
  turned out, but the old part, concealed inwardly, is bare of
  hairs. Now the hypocritical mantle, in order that there may be
  nothing lost, is given to the servant for his wages.

       *       *       *       *       *

We are now approaching the eventful period of the Barons’ wars.
The turbulent Welshmen were ever ready to seize an opportunity
of invading the Marches; and the following song, whether it were
composed by one of them, or be the work of one of the English who
took the opportunity of satirising them, gives us a fair picture of
the spirit in which they interfered.


THE SONG OF THE WELSH.

[From the Public Library of Leyden, MS. Vossius, No. 104, fol. 144,
r^o. of the 13th cent.]

        Trucidare Saxones soliti Cambrenses
      Ad cognatos Britones et Cornubienses;
      Requirunt ut veniant per acutos enses,
      Ad debellandos inimicos Saxonienses.
        Venite jam strenue loricis armati;
      Sunt pars magna Saxonum mutuo necati,
      Erit pars residua per nos trucidati:--
      Nunc documenta date qua sitis origine nati.
        Mellinus veredicus nunquam dixit vanum;
      Expellendum populum prædixit vexanum.
      Et vos hoc consilium non servatis sanum;
      Cernite fallaces quorum genus omne profanum.
        Prædecessor validus rex noster Arturus
      Si vixisset hodie, fuissem securus
      Nullus ei Saxonum restitisset murus;
      Esset ei[s] sicut meruerunt in prece durus.
        Procuret omnipotens sibi successorem
      Saltem sibi similem, nollem meliorem,
      Qui tollat Britonibus antiquum dolorem,
      Et sibi restituat patriam patriæque decorem.
        Hoc Arturi patruus velit impetrare,
      Sanctus [qui]dam maximus, Anglum ultra mare;
      Scimus festum Martis kalendis instare,--
      Ad natale solum Britones studeat revocare.
        Virtuosos filii patres imitantur;
      Sic Arturum Britones virtute sequantur:
      Quam probo, quam strenuo monstrant procreantur;
      Ut fuit Arturus sic victores habeantur!
        Regnabat Parisius potestas Romana,
      Frollo gygas strenuus, cujus mens ursana;
      Hunc Arthurus perimit, credit fides sana,
      Testis tentorium sit et insula Parisiana.
        Insanit qui Britones necat generosos;
      Videtur quod habeat sic eos exosos,
      Namque per invidiam clamat odiosos
      Semper et assidue, quos audit victoriosos.
        Ex hac gente iiij^{or} sunt imperatores,
      Arthurus, Broinsius, fortes bellatores,
      Constantinus, Brennius, fere fortiores.
      Hii monarchiam tenuerunt ut probiores.
        Solum suum Karolum Francia præjectat;
      Et Ricardum Anglia probitate jactat;
      Paucitatem numerus major labefactat,
      Virtutem regis quia quadrupla gloria mactat.
        Istis suis finibus contigit regnare;
      Illis duces, præsides, reges triumphare,
      Quibus nullo merito se possint æquare;
      Est quam regnare longe plus induperare.

  TRANSLATION.--The Cambrians, who are used to slay the Saxons,
  salute their relations the Britons and Cornish-men: they require
  them to come with their sharp swords to conquer their Saxon
  enemies.--Come now, vigorously, armed with coats of mail; a
  great part of the Saxons are fallen in mutual slaughter, the
  remainder shall be slain by us: now is the time for you to show
  of what blood you are sprung.--The soothsayer Merlin never said
  a thing that was vain; he foretold that the mad people should
  be expelled. And you do not keep this wise counsel; observe
  deceitful people of whom the whole race is accursed.--If our
  valiant predecessor, King Arthur, had been now alive, I am sure
  not one of the Saxon walls would have resisted him; he would
  have been hard to them, spite of their prayers, as they have
  deserved.--May the Omnipotent procure him a successor only
  similar to him, I would not desire a better, who may deliver
  the Britons from their old grievance, and restore to them their
  country and their country’s glory.--May it please the uncle of
  Arthur to obtain this for us, a certain very great saint, [to
  send] the Englishman over the sea; we know that his festival
  is approaching on the kalends of March (St. David’s day), may
  he make it his study to recall the Britons to their native
  land.--Sons imitate their virtuous fathers, so let the Britons
  take Arthur for their example in valour; they show from what a
  good and brave man they are descended; as Arthur was, so let them
  be, conquerors!--The Roman power reigned at Paris, the bold giant
  Frollo, with the bearish mind; him Arthur slew: every person
  of good faith believes it: witness the tent and the Parisian
  island.--He is a madman who kills the noble Britons: it seems
  that he holds them thus hated; for he invidiously proclaims them
  hateful always and incessantly, who he hears are victorious.--Of
  this nation there have been four great commanders, Arthur and
  Broinsius, powerful warriors; Constantine and Brennius, more
  powerful, if it were possible; these held the monarchy by
  reason of their being the best.--France can only boast of her
  Charlemaine; and England glories in the valour of King Richard;
  a larger number overcomes a smaller, because a four-fold glory
  increases the valour of the King.--To these latter it was granted
  to reign within their own bounds; to the others, to triumph,
  over commanders, governors, and kings, with whom they can in no
  respect claim equality: it is a far greater thing to command,
  than to reign.

       *       *       *       *       *

The following fragment of what appears once to have been a long
ballad, made to be sung in the halls of the Barons, seems to have
been written soon after the disturbances in London in 1263, though
there is not enough preserved to enable us to determine the precise
occasion on which it was composed. Several nobles are here joined
together, who afterwards took different sides.

THE SONG OF THE BARONS.

[A roll of parchment, of the 13th cent. in a private library.]

          *    *    *    *
      Mès de Warenne ly bon quens,
      Que tant ad richesses et biens,
          Si ad apris de guere,
      En Norfolk en cel pens[is]
      Vint conquerrant ses enemis,
          Mès ore ne ad que fere.

      Sire Jon Giffard deit bien nomé,
      Que n’out gueres un pem ... é
          En cele chivauchée;
      E si fu touz jors à devant,
      Prus e sages et pernant,
          E de grant renomée.

      Et Sire Jon D’Ayvile,
      Que onques ni aima treyson ne gile,
          Fu en lur conpanie;
      Et sire Peres de Montfort,
      Si tint bien à lur acord,
          Si out grant seignurie.

      Et de Cliffort ly bon Roger
      Se contint cum noble ber,
          Si fu de grant justice;
      Ne suffri pas petit ne grant,
      Ne arère ne par devant,
          Fere nul mesprise.

      Et Sire Roger de Leyburne,
      Que sà et là sovent se torne,
          Mout ala conquerrant;
      Assez mist paine de gainer,
      Pur ses pertes restorer,
          Que Sire Edward le fist avant.

      Mout furent bons les barons;
      Mès touz ne sai nomer lur nons,
          Tant est grant la some:
      Pur ce revenk al quens Simon,
      Pur dire interpretison,
          Coment hom le nome.

      Il est apelé de Monfort,
      Il est el mond et si est fort,
          Si ad grant chevalerie;
      Ce voir, et je m’acort,
      Il eime dreit, et het le tort,
          Si avera la mestrie.

      El mond est veréement;
      Là ou la comun à ly concent,
          De la terre loée;
      C’est ly quens de Leycestre,
      Que baut et joius se puet estre
          De cele renomée.

      Ly eveske de Herefort
      Sout bien que ly quens fu fort,
          Kant il prist l’affère:
      Devant ce esteit mult fer,
      Les Engleis quida touz manger,
          Mès ore ne set que fere.

      Et ly pastors de Norwis,
      Qui devoure ses berbis,
          Assez sout de ce conte;
      Mout en perdi de ses biens,
      Mal ert que ly lessa riens,
          Ke trop en saveit de honte.

      Et Sire Jon de Langelé,
      Soune chose fu gainé,
          Deheiz eit que l’en pleine!
      Tot le soen en fist porter
      De Cliffort mi Sire Roger,
          Ne vout que rien remeine.

      Ne à Sire Mathi de Besile
      Ne lesserent une bile,
          En champ u en vile.
      Tot le soen fu besilé,
      E cointement fu detrussé
          Par un treget sanz gile.

      Mès mi Sire Jon de Gray
      Vint à Lundres, si ne sai quoi,
          Que must une destance
      Par entre Lundres et ly,
      Que tot son hernois en perdi,
          Ce fu sa meschance.

      Et Sire Willem le Latimer
      Vint à Lundres pur juer,
          *    *    *    *

  TRANSLATION.--But the good Earl of Warenne,--who has so much
  riches and property,--and has skill in war,--in Norfolk in this
  thought--he came conquering his enemies,--but now he has nothing
  to do.

  Sir John Gifford ought well to be named,--who had scarcely a
  ...--in this riding-bout;--and he was always forward,--valiant
  and wise, and active,--and of great renown.

  And Sir John Dayville,--who never loved treason or guile,--was in
  their company;--and Sir Peter de Montfort,--he held firm to their
  agreement,--and had great seignory.

  And the good Roger de Clifford--behaved like a noble baron,--and
  exercised great justice;--he suffered neither little nor
  great,--neither behind or before,--to do any wrong.

  And Sir Roger de Leyburne,--who often turns him on this side and
  on that,--made great progress conquering;--he laboured much to
  gain,--to restore his losses,--which Sir Edward had caused him
  before.

  Right good men were the barons;--but I cannot tell all their
  names,--the number is so great:--therefore I return to Earl
  Simon,--to give the interpretation,--what is his name.

  He is called de Montfort;--he is in the world (_monde_), and he
  is strong (_fort_);--and he has great chivalry:--this is true,
  and I agree to it,--he loves right and hates wrong,--and he shall
  have the mastery.

  He is truly in the world,--there where the commons are in accord
  with him--which are praised of the land;--it is the Count of
  Leicester,--who may be glad and joyous--of this renown.

  The Bishop of Hereford--knew well that the Earl was strong,--when
  he took the matter in hand;--before that he (the bishop) was very
  fierce;--he thought to eat up all the English;--but now he does
  not know what to do.

  And the pastor of Norwich,--who devours his own sheep,--knows
  enough of this story;--he lost much of his goods;--it is pity
  they left him anything,--who was too much acquainted with shame.

  And Sir John de Langley,--his property was gained,--cursed
  be he who complains of it;--all he had my lord Roger de
  Clifford--caused to be carried away;--he would let nothing remain.

  Neither to Sir Matthew de Besile--did they leave one
  farthing,--in country or in town.--All his property was
  ravaged,--and neatly was he stripped--by a ‘treget’ without guile.

  But Sir John de Gray--came to London, and some thing or
  other--made a quarrel--between London and him,--that he lost all
  his harness;--that was his mischance.

  And Sir William le Latimer--came to London to play, * * *

       *       *       *       *       *

The following satyrical song seems to have been written on the
occasion of the intermediation of Louis IX. of France, between the
contending parties in England, in the beginning of the year 1264.
Much of its point consists in a rather gross play upon words which
cannot always be translated; it is written in a very broad dialect;
and the numerous instances of bad French, which are observed in it,
were, no doubt, committed intentionally, to increase the hilarity
of the listeners, at the expense of the English and their King.


SONG OF THE PEACE WITH ENGLAND.

[From a MS. of the thirteenth century, in the Bibl. du Roi, at
Paris, No. 7218, fol. 220, v^o.]

      Or vint la tens de May, que ce ros panirra,
      Que ce tens serra beles, roxinol chanterra,
      Ces prez il serra verdes, ces gardons florrirra;
      J’ai trova à ma cul .j. chos que je dirra.

      De ma ray d’Ingleters qui fu à bon naviaus,
      Chivaler vaelant, hardouin, et léaus,
      Et d’Adouart sa filz qui fi blont sa chaviaus,
      Mai covint que je faites .j. dit troute noviaus.

      Et de ce rai de Frans, cestui longue baron,
      Qui tenez Normandi à tort par mal choison;
      Lonc tens fout-il croupier sor Parris son maison,
      Qu’il onc for por .i. gaire ne chauça d’asperon.

      Sinor, tendez à mai; ne devez pas rier:
      Ce navel que je port doit tout le mont crier.
      L’autr’ier je fi à Londres une grosse concier;
      Là ne movra baron la meilleur ne la pier,

      Que tout ne fout venez à ce grand plaidement.
      Là arra fet tel chos, je craie vraiement,
      Qu ’i farra rois François .i. grant poentement
      De ce terres qu’il tient contre le Glaise gent.

      Sinor, lonc tens fout-il que Mellins profita
      Que Philippes de Frans, .i. sinor qui fi jà,
      Conquerra tout ce ters quanqu’il fout par deçà,
      Mès toute vois, dit je l’, qu’encore Glais l’arra.

      Or sont-il vint le tans que Glais voura vauchier;
      S’il trovez la François qui la voura groncier,
      Qui parra si froirrous d’espé ou de levrier,
      Qu’il n’arra talant por gondre Glais grondier.

      Le bon rai d’Ingleter se traina à .i. part,
      Li et Trichart sa frer irrous comme lipart.
      Il suspire de cul, si se claima à l’art,--
      “Hui Diex! com puis-je voir de Normandi ma part?”

      “Ne vous maie mi,” dit la conte à Clocestre,
      “Vous porra bien encors; tel chos poistron bien estre,
      Se Diex salva ma cul, ma pié, et ma poing destre,
      Tu sarra sus Parris encore troute mestre.”

      La cont Vincestre dit au buer rai d’Ingletiere,
      “Rai, rai, veus-tu sivier? Festes mouvoir ton guere,
      Et je te conduira trestout ton gent à foire:
      Tu porras Normandi à ce pointes conquerre.”

      “Se je pois rai François à bataille contrier,
      Et je porrai mon lance desus son cul poier,
      Je crai que je ferra si dourrement chier
      Qu’il se brisa son test, ou ma cul fu rompier.

      Je prendrez bien droitur, se je puis, à Diex poise,
      Quant j’arra en mon main Normandi et Pontoise;
      Je ferra soz Parris achier mon gent Gloise,
      Puis vondrai prender Frans, maugré conte d’Angoise.

      Par la .v. plais à Diex, François maubali sont;
      Si g’i la puis grapier, certes il chateront.
      Quant Inglais irront là, mult bahot i serront;
      Par la mort Dieu! je crai que toutes s’enfuiront.”

      Sir Symon à Montfort atendi ce navel,
      Doncques sailli à piez; il ne fout mie bel.
      A dit à rai Inglais, “Par le cors saint Anel!
      Lessiez or cesti chos:--François n’est mi anel.

      Se vous aler seur leus, il se voudra dafandre:
      Toute ta paveillons metra feu à la cendre.
      Il n’a si vaelant qui l’ose mi atendre;
      Mult sarra maubali qui le François puet prendre.”

      “Qoi dites-vous, Symon?” pona Rogier Bigot;
      “Bien tenez-vous la rai por binart et por sot?
      Fout insi hardouin que vous sone plus mot,
      Ne te pot besoner por vostre mileur cot!”

      “Sir Rogier,” dit la rai, “por Dieu, ne vous chaele!
      Ne sai mi si irrous contre ce merdaele.
      Je ne dout mi Françoys tout qui sont une mele;
      Je farra ma talent comment la chos aele.

      Je pandra bien Parris, je suis toute certaine;
      Je bouterra le fu en cele eve qui [fu] Saine;
      La moulins arderra; ce fi chos mult gravaine
      Se n’i menja de pain de troute la semaine.

      [P]ar la .v. plais à Diex, Parris fout vil mult grant
      Il i a .i. chapel dont je fi coetant;
      Je le ferra portier, à .i. charrier rollant,
      A Saint Amont à Londres toute droit en estant.

      Quant j’arra soz Parris mené tout me naviaus,
      Je ferra le moustier Saint Dinis la Chanciaus
      Corronier d’Adouart soz sa blonde chaviaus.
      La voudra vous toer de vaches à porciaus.

      Je crai que vous verra là endret grosse fest,
      Quant d’Adouart arra corroné France test.
      Il l’a bien asservi, ma fil; il n’est pas best;
      Il fout buen chivaler, hardouin, et honest.”

      “Sir rai,” ce dit Rogier, “por Dieu à mai entent;
      Tu m’as percé la cul, tel la pitié m’a prent.
      Or doint Godelamit, par son culmandement,
      Que tu fais cestui chos bien gloriousement!”

              _Explicit la pais aus Englois._

  TRANSLATION.--Now comes the time of May, when the rose will
  open,--when the seasons will be fair, and the nightingale
  sing,--the fields will be green, and the gardens will bloom;--I
  have found behind me a thing which I will relate.

  Of my King of England, who is in a good ship,--a valiant knight,
  hardy, and loyal,--and of Edward his son, who hath flaxen
  hair,--it pleases me to make a saying which is quite new.

  And of that King of France, that long baron,--who held Normandy
  wrongfully by ill event;--long time did he settle his house upon
  Paris,--that he never but for a war alone put on his spur.

  Lords, attend to me; you must not laugh:--all the world ought to
  cry this news which I bring.--The other day there was at London
  a great assembly;--there no baron, from the best to the worst,
  would move,

  But they would all come to this great debating.--There would have
  been done such a thing, I believe truly,--that it would have
  caused the French King a great fright--concerning the lands which
  he holds against the English people.

  Lords, it is a long time since Merlin prophecied--that Philip of
  France, a lord who was formerly,--should conquer all the land,
  such as it is, on this side;--but, at all events, I say it, the
  English will still have it.

  Now is come the time that the English would make an inroad,--if
  he should find the French inclined to grumble,--who would appear
  frightened by swords and by greyhounds(?),--that he would have no
  courage to grumble against the English.

  The good King of England drew himself on one side,--he and
  Richard his brother, as angry as leopards.--He sighs from behind,
  and so cries with alacrity,--“O God! how may I have my part of
  Normandy?”

  “Do not disturb yourself at all,” said the Earl of
  Gloucester,--“you may still do it; such things may still
  easily be,--if God preserve my backside, my foot, and my right
  fist,--thou shalt still be entire master over Paris.”

  The Earl of Winchester said to the noble King of England,--“King,
  King, wilt thou follow? Set agoing the war,--and I will conduct
  thee all thy people in abundance:--at this juncture thou wilt be
  able to conquer Normandy.

  “If I can constrain the King of France to a battle,--and I can
  strike him with my lance behind,--I think that I shall make him
  fall so hard--that he will break his head, or my tail will be
  broken.

  “I will take good right, if I can, with God’s will,--when I shall
  have in my hand Normandy and Poitou,--I will make my English
  people approach to Paris,--and then I will go to take France in
  spite of the Earl of Anjou.

  “By the five wounds of God! the French are in bad case;--if I
  can lay hold upon them, truly they shall be punished.--When the
  English go there, there will be a great disturbance;--God’s
  death! I think they will all fly away.”

  Sir Simon de Montfort heard this speech,--then he leaped on his
  feet; he did not look very handsome.--Says he to the English
  King, “By the body of the holy Lamb!--now let this thing alone;
  the Frenchman is not a lamb.

  “If you attack them, they will defend themselves:--he will burn
  all thy tents to ashes.--There is no man so valiant who dare wait
  for him;--they will be in ill case whom the Frenchman can catch.”

  “What is that you say, Simon?” replied Roger Bigot;--“do you take
  the King for a simpleton and a fool?--if you are so bold as to
  say another word,--you will not serve yourself with your best
  coat.”

  “Sir Roger,” said the King, “for God’s sake! dont be in a
  heat;--I am not so angry against this scamp.--I dont care half a
  farthing for all the French that are;--I will do as I like, let
  the matter go as it will.

  “I will easily take Paris, I am quite certain;--I will set fire
  to the river which is called Seine;--I will burn the mill; this
  will be a very grievous thing,--if they eat no bread all the week.

  “By the five wounds of God! Paris is a very great city!--There is
  a chapel, of which I am desirous;--I will cause it to be carried
  in a rolling cart,--straight to Saint Amont in London, just as it
  stands.

  “When I have led all my ships to Paris,--I will cause the
  Chancellor in the monastery of St. Denis--to crown Edward on his
  flaxen hair.--There I will kill for you cows and pigs.

  “I believe that you will see there a great feast,--when France
  shall have crowned Edward’s head. He has well deserved it, my
  son; he is no fool;--he is a good knight, brave, and courteous.”

  “Sir King,” said Roger, “for God’s sake, listen to me;--thou hast
  pierced me behind, so much has pity overcome me;--Now may God
  Almighty ordain by his commandment,--that thou perform this thing
  very gloriously!”

       *       *       *       *       *

The decisive battle of Lewes, in 1264, was the subject of great
exultation amongst the adherents of Simon de Montfort. The
following song, in English, is directed against the king’s brother,
Richard Earl of Cornwall, who had become very unpopular by his
foreign schemes of ambition. He took shelter at a windmill, after
he saw the king’s party defeated.


SONG AGAINST THE KING OF ALMAIGNE.

[MS. Harl. No. 2253, fol. 58 v^o, of the reign of Edw. II.]

      Sitteth alle stille ant herkneth to me:
      The Kyn of Alemaigne, bi mi leauté,
      Thritti thousent pound askede he
      For te make the pees in the countré,
                ant so he dude more.
          Richard, thah thou be ever trichard,
                trichen shalt thou never more.

      Richard of Alemaigne, whil that he wes kyng,
      He spende al is tresour opon swyvyng;
      Haveth he nout of Walingford o ferlyng:--
      Let him habbe, ase he brew, bale to dryng,
                maugre Wyndesore.
          Richard, thah thou be ever, etc.

      The Kyng of Alemaigne wende do ful wel,
      He saisede the mulne for a castel,
      With hare sharpe swerdes he grounde the stel,
      He wende that the sayles were mangonel
                to helpe Wyndesore.
          Richard, etc.

      The Kyng of Alemaigne gederede ys host,
      Makede him a castel of a mulne post,
      Wende with is prude ant is muchele bost,
      Brohte from Alemayne mony sori gost
                to store Wyndesore.
          Richard, etc.

      By God, that is aboven ous, he dude muche synne,
      That lette passen over see the Erl of Warynne:
      He hath robbed Engelond, the mores, ant th[e] fenne,
      The gold, ant the selver, ant y-boren henne,
                for love of Wyndesore.
          Richard, etc.

      Sire Simond de Mountfort hath swore bi ys chyn,
      Hevede he nou here the Erl of Waryn,
      Shulde he never more come to is yn,
      Ne with sheld, ne with spere, ne with other gyn,
                to help of Wyndesore.
          Richard, etc.

      Sire Simond de Montfort hath suore bi ys cop,
      Hevede he nou here Sire Hue de Bigot,
      Al he shulde quite here twelfmoneth scot,
      Shulde he never more with his fot pot
                to helpe Wyndesore.
          Richard, etc.

      Be the luef, be the loht, sire Edward,
      Thou shalt ride sporeles o thy lyard
      Al the ryhte way to Dovere ward;
      Shalt thou never more breke fore-ward,
                ant that reweth sore:
          Edward, thou dudest ase a shreward,
                forsoke thyn emes lore.
          Richard, etc.

  TRANSLATION.--Sit all still and listen to me:--the King of
  Almaigne, by my loyalty,--thirty thousand pound he asked--to make
  peace in the country,--and so he did more.--Richard, though thou
  art ever a traitor,--thou shalt never more deceive.

  Richard of Almaigne, while he was king,--he spent all his
  treasure upon luxury;--have he not of Wallingford one
  furlong:--let him have, as he brews, evil to drink,--in spite of
  Windsor.

  The King of Almaigne thought to do full well,--they seized the
  mill for a castle;--with their sharp swords they ground the
  steel,--they thought the sails had been mangonels--to help
  Windsor.

  The King of Almaigne gathered his host,--he made him a
  castle of a mill-post,--he went with his pride and his great
  boast,--brought from Almaigne many a wretched soul--to garrison
  Windsor.

  By God, that is above us, he did great sin,--who let the Earl
  of Warenne pass over sea:--he hath robbed England both the moor
  and the fen,--of the gold and the silver, and carried them
  hence,--for love of Windsor.

  Sir Simon de Montfort hath sworn by his chin,--had he now
  here the Earl of Warenne,--he should never more come to his
  lodging,--neither with shield, nor with spear, nor with other
  contrivance,--to help Windsor.

  Sir Simon de Montfort hath sworn by his head,--had he now here
  Sir Hugh de Bigot,--he should pay here a twelvemonth’s scot,--he
  should never more tramp on his feet,--to help Windsor.

  Be it agreeable to thee, or disagreeable, Sir Edward,--thou
  shalt ride spurless on thy hack--all the straight road towards
  Dover;--thou shalt never more break covenant;--and that sore
  rueth thee;--Edward, thou didst like a shrew,--forsookest thine
  uncle’s teaching.

       *       *       *       *       *

The following long, but singularly interesting, poem may be
considered as the popular declaration of the principles with which
the barons entered into the war, and the objects which they had in
view. It bears internal proofs of having been written immediately
after the decisive battle of Lewes; and the moderate and deeply
moral and religious feeling which the reforming party here shows,
even in the moment of triumph, is extremely remarkable, and is
closely connected with the complaints against the licentiousness
of the other party in the satyrical songs which precede. We might
almost suppose ourselves transported to the days of Wickliffe or
Cromwell.


THE BATTLE OF LEWES.

[MS. Harl. 978. fol. 128, r^o. of the middle of the 13th cent.]

        Calamus velociter scribe sic scribentis,
      Lingua laudabiliter te benedicentis,
      Dei patris dextera, domine virtutum,
      Qui das tuis prospera quando vis ad nutum;
      In te jam confidere discant universi,
      Quos volebant perdere qui nunc sunt dispersi.
      Quorum caput capitur, membra captivantur;
      Gens elata labitur, fideles lætantur.
      Jam respirat Anglia, sperans libertatem;
      Cuï Dei gratia det prosperitatem!                   10
      Comparati canibus Angli viluerunt,
      Sed nunc victis hostibus caput extulerunt.
        Gratiæ millesimo ducentesimoque
      Anno sexagesimo quarto, quarta quoque
      Feria Pancratii post sollempnitatem,
      Valde gravis prelii tulit tempestatem
      Anglorum turbatio, castroque Lewensi;
      Nam furori ratio, vita cessit ensi.
      Pridie qui Maii Idus confluxerunt,
      Horrendi discidii bellum commiserunt;               20
      Quod fuit Susexiæ factum comitatu,
      Fuit et Cicestriæ in episcopatu.
      Gladius invaluit, multi ceciderunt,
      Veritas prævaluit, falsique fugerunt.
      Nam perjuris restitit dominus virtutum,
      Atque puris præstitit veritatis scutum.
      Hos vastavit gladius foris, intus pavor;
      Confortavit plenius istos cœli favor.
      Victoris sollempnia sanctæque coronæ
      Reddunt testimonia super hoc agone;                 30
      Cum dictos ecclesia sanctos honoravit,
      Milites victoria veros coronavit.
      Dei sapientia, regens totum mundum,
      Fecit mirabilia bellumque jocundum;
      Fortes fecit fugere, virosque virtutis
      In claustro se claudere, locis quoque tutis.
      Non armis sed gratia christianitatis,
      Id est in ecclesia, excommunicatis
      Unicum refugium restabat, relictis
      Equis, hoc consilium occurrebat victis.             40
      Et quam non timuerant prius prophanare,
      Quam more debuerant matris honorare,
      Ad ipsam refugiunt, licet minus digni,
      Amplexus se muniunt salutaris ligni.
      Quos matrem contempnere prospera fecerunt,
      Vulnera cognoscere matrem compulerunt.
      Apud Northamptoniam dolo prosperati,
      Spreverunt ecclesiam infideles nati;
      Sanctæ matris viscera ferro turbaverunt,
      Prosperis non prospera bella meruerunt.             50
      Mater tunc injuriam tulit patienter,
      Quasi per incuriam, sed nec affluenter:
      Punit hanc et alias quas post addiderunt,
      Nam multas ecclesias insani læserunt;
      Namque monasterium, quod Bellum vocatur,
      Turba sævientium, quæ nunc conturbatur,
      Inmisericorditer bonis spoliavit,
      Atque sibi taliter bellum præparavit.
      Monachi Cystercii de Ponte-Roberti
      A furore gladii non fuissent certi,                 60
      Si quingentas principi marcas non dedissent.
      Quas Edwardus accipi jussit, vel perissent.
      Hiis atque similibus factis meruerunt
      Quod cesserunt hostibus et succubuerunt.
      Benedicat dominus .S. de Monte-Forti!
      Suis nichilominus natis et cohorti!
      Qui se magnanimiter exponentes morti,
      Pugnaverunt fortiter, condolentes sorti
      Anglicorum flebili, qui subpeditati
      Modo vix narrabili, peneque privati                 70
      Cunctis libertatibus, immo sua vita,
      Sub duris principibus langüerunt ita,
      Ut Israelitica plebs sub Pharaone,
      Gemens sub tyrannica devastatione.
      Sed hanc videns populi Deus agoniam,
      Dat in fine seculi novum Mathathiam,
      Et cum suis filiis zelans zelum legis,
      Nec cedit injuriis nec furori regis.
        Seductorem nominant .S. atque fallacem;
      Facta sed examinant probantque veracem.             80
      Dolosi deficiunt in necessitate;
      Qui mortem non fugiunt, sunt in veritate.
      Sed nunc dicit æmulus, et insidiator,
      Cujus nequam oculus pacis perturbator:
      “Si laudas constantiam, si fidelitatem,
      Quæ mortis instantiam vel pœnalitatem
      Non fugit, æqualiter dicentur constantes
      Qui concurrunt pariter invicem pugnantes,
      Pariter discrimini semet exponentes,
      Duroque cognomini se subjicientes.”                 90
      Sed in nostro prelio cuï nunc instamus,
      Qualis sit discretio rei videamus.
        Comes paucos habuit armorum expertos
      Pars regis intumuit, bellatores certos
      Et majores Angliæ habens congregatos,
      Floremque militiæ regni nominatos;
      Qui Londoniensibus armis comparati,
      Essent multis milibus trecenti prælati;
      Unde contemptibiles illis extiterunt,
      Et abhominabiles expertis fuerunt.                 100
      Comitis militia plurima tenella;
      In armis novitia, parum novit bella.
      Nunc accinctus gladio tener adolescens
      Mane stat in prelio armis assuescens;
      Quid mirum si timeat tyro tam novellus,
      Et si lupum caveat impotens agnellus?
      Sic ergo militia sunt inferiores
      Qui pugnant pro Anglia, sunt et pauciores
      Multo viris fortibus, de sua virtute
      Satis gloriantibus, ut putarent tute,              110
      Et sine periculo, velut absorbere
      Quotquot adminiculo Comiti fuere.
      Nam et quos adduxerat Comes ad certamen,
      De quibus speraverat non parvum juvamen,
      Plurimi perterriti mox se subtraxerunt,
      Et velut attoniti fugæ se dederunt;
      Et de tribus partibus tertia recessit.
      Comes cum fidelibus paucis nunquam cessit.
      Gedeonis prelium nostro comparemus,
      In quibus fidelium vincere videmus                 120
      Paucos multos numero fidem non habentes,
      Similes Lucifero de se confidentes.
      “Si darem victoriam,” dicit Deus, “multis,
      Stulti michi gloriam non darent, sed stultis.”
      Sic si Deus fortibus vincere dedisset,
      Vulgus laudem talibus non Deo dedisset.
        Ex hiis potest elici quod non timuerunt
      Deum viri bellici, unde nil fecerunt
      Quod suam constantiam vel fidelitatem
      Probet, sed superbiam et crudelitatem;             130
      Volentes confundere partem quam spreverunt,
      Exeuntes temere cito corruerunt.
      Cordis exaltatio præparat ruinam,
      Et humiliatio meretur divinam
      Dari sibi gratiam; nam qui non confidit
      De Deo, superbiam Deus hanc elidit.
      Aman introducimus atque Mardocheum;
      Hunc superbum legimus, hunc verum Judæum;
      Lignum quod paraverat Aman Mardocheo,
      Mane miser tollerat suspensus in eo.               140
      Reginæ convivium Aman excœcavit,
      Quod ut privilegium magnum reputavit;
      Sed spes vana vertitur in confusionem,
      Cum post mensam trahitur ad suspensionem.
      Sic extrema gaudii luctus occupavit,
      Cum finem convivii morti sociavit.
      Longe dissimiliter accidit Judæo,
      Honorat sublimiter quem rex, dante Deo.
      Golias prosternitur projectu lapilli;
      Quem Deus persequitur, nichil prodest illi.        150
      Ad prædictas varias adde rationes,
      Quod tot fornicarias fætidi lenones
      Ad se convocaverant, usque septingentas,
      Quas scire debuerant esse fraudulentas,
      Sathanæ discipulas ad decipiendas
      Animas, et faculas ad has incendendas,
      Dolosas novaculas ad crines Samsonis
      Radendos, et maculas turpis actionis
      Inferentes miseris qui non sunt cordati,
      Nec divini muneris gratia firmati,                 160
      Carnis desideriis animales dati,
      Cujus immunditiis, brutis comparati,
      Esse ne victoria digni debuerunt,
      Qui carnis luxuria fœda sorduerunt:
      Factis lupanaribus robur minuerunt,
      Unde militaribus indigni fuerunt.
      Accingitur gladio super femur miles,
      Absit dissolutio, absint actus viles;
      Corpus novi militis solet balneari,
      Ut a factis vetitis discat emundari.               170
      Qui de novo duxerant uxores legales,
      Domini non fuerant apti bello tales,
      Gedeonis prelio teste, multo minus
      Quos luxus incendio læserat caminus.
      Igitur adulteros cur Deus juvaret,
      Et non magis pueros mundos roboraret?
      Mundentur qui cupiunt vincere pugnando;
      Qui culpas subjiciunt sunt in triumphando;
      Primo vincant vitia, qui volunt victores
      Esse cum justitia super peccatores.                180
      Si justus ab impio quandoque videtur
      Victus, e contrario victor reputetur;
      Nam nec justus poterit vinci, nec iniquus
      Vincere dum fuerit juris inimicus.
        Æquitatem comitis Symonis audite:
      Cum pars regis capitis ipsius et vitæ
      Solam pœnam quæreret, nec redemptionem
      Capitis admitteret, sed abscisionem,
      Quo confuso plurima plebs confunderetur,
      Et pars regni maxima periclitaretur,               190
      Ruina gravissima statim sequeretur;
      Quæ mora longissima non repareretur!
      .S. divina gratia præsul Cycestrensis,
      Alta dans suspiria pro malis immensis
      Jam tunc imminentibus, sine fictione,
      Persüasis partibus de formatione
      Pacis, hoc a Comite responsum audivit:
      “Optimos eligite, quorum fides vivit,
      Qui decreta legerint, vel theologiam
      Decenter docuerint sacramque sophiam,              200
      Et qui sciant regere fidem Christianam;
      Quicquidque consulere per doctrinam sanam
      Quicquidve discernere tales non timebunt,
      Quod dicent, suscipere promptos nos habebunt;
      Ita quod perjurii notam nesciamus,
      Sed ut Dei filii fidem teneamus.”
      Hinc possunt perpendere facile jurantes,
      Et quod jurant spernere parum dubitantes,
      Quamvis jurent licita, cito recedentes,
      Deoque pollicita sana non reddentes,               210
      Quanta cura debeant suum juramentum
      Servare, cum videant virum nec tormentum
      Neque mortem fugere propter jusjurandum,
      Præstitum non temere, sed ad reformandum
      Statum qui deciderat Anglicanæ gentis,
      Quem fraus violaverat hostis invidentis.
      En Symon obediens spernit dampna rerum,
      Pœnis se subjiciens, ne dimittat verum,
      Cunctis palam prædicans factis plus quam dictis,
      Quod non est communicans veritas cum fictis.       220
      Væ perjuris miseris, qui non timent Deum!
      Spe terreni muneris abnegantes eum,
      Vel timore carceris, sive pœnæ levis;
      Novus dux itineris docet ferre quævis
      Quæ mundus intulerit propter veritatem,
      Quæ perfectam poterit dare libertatem.
      Nam Comes præstiterat prius juramentum,
      Quod quicquid providerat zelus sapientum
      Ad honoris regii reformationem,
      Et erroris devii declinationem,                    230
      Partibus Oxoniæ, firmiter servaret,
      Hujusque sententiæ legem non mutaret;
      Sciens tam canonicas constitutiones
      Atque tam catholicas ordinationes
      Ad regni pacificam conservationem,
      Propter quas non modicam persecutionem
      Prius sustinuerat, non esse spernandas;
      Et quia juraverat fortiter tenendas,
      Nisi perfectissimi fidei doctores
      Dicerent, quod eximi possent juratores,            240
      Qui tale præstiterant prius jusjurandum,
      Et id quod juraverant non esse curandum.
      Quod cum dictus pontifex regi recitaret,
      Atque fraudis artifex forsitan astaret,
      Vox in altum tollitur turbæ tumidorum,
      “En jam miles subitur dictis clericorum!
      Viluit militia clericis subjecta!”
      Sic est sapientia Comitis despecta;
      Edwardusque dicitur ita respondisse,
      “Pax illis præcluditur, nisi laqueis se            250
      Collis omnes alligent, et ad suspendendum
      Semet nobis obligent, vel ad detrahendum.”
      Quid mirum si Comitis cor tunc moveretur,
      Cum non nisi stipitis pœna pareretur?
      Optulit quod debuit, sed non est auditus;
      Rex mensuram respuit, salutis oblitus.
      Sed ut rei docuit crastinus eventus,
      Modus quem tunc noluit post non est inventus.
      Comitis devotio sero deridetur,
      Cujus cras congressio victrix sentietur.           260
      Lapis hic ab hostibus diu reprobatus,
      Post est parietibus duobus aptatus.
      Angliæ divisio desolationis
      Fuit in confinio, sed divisionis
      Affuit præsidio lapis angularis,
      Symonis religio sane singularis.
      Fides et fidelitas Symonis solius
      Fit pacis integritas Angliæ totius;
      Rebelles humiliat, levat desperatos,
      Regnum reconsilians, reprimens elatos.             270
      Quos quo modo reprimit? certe non laudendo,
      Sed rubrum jus exprimit dure confligendo;
      Ipsum nam confligere veritas coegit,
      Vel verum deserere, sed prudens elegit
      Magis dare dexteram suam veritati,
      Viamque per asperam junctam probitati,
      Per grave compendium tumidis ingratum,
      Optinere bravium violentis datum,
      Quam per subterfugium Deo displicere,
      Pravorumque studium fuga promovere.                280
      Nam quidam studuerant Anglorum delere
      Nomen, quos jam cæperant exosos habere,
      Contra quos opposuit Deus medicinam,
      Ipsorum cum noluit subitam ruinam.
        Hinc alienigenas discant advocare
      Angli, si per advenas volunt exulare.
      Nam qui suam gloriam volunt ampliare,
      Suamque memoriam vellent semper stare,
      Suæ gentis plurimos sibi sociari,
      Et mox inter maximos student collocare;            290
      Itaque confusio crescit incolarum,
      Crescit indignatio, crescit cor amarum,
      Cum se premi sentiunt regni principales
      Ab hiis qui se faciunt sibi coæquales,
      Quæ sua debuerant esse subtrahentes,
      Quibus consüeverant crescere, crescentes.
      Eschaetis et gardiis suos honorare
      Debet rex, qui variis modis se juvare
      Possunt, qui quo viribus sunt valentiores,
      Eo cunctis casibus sunt securiores.                300
      Sed qui nil attulerant, si suis ditantur,
      Qui nullius fuerant, si magnificantur,
      Crescere cum ceperint, semper scandunt tales
      Donec supplantaverint viros naturales;
      Principis avertere cor a suis student,
      Ut quos volunt cadere gloria denudent.
      Et quis posset talia ferre patienter?
      Ergo discat Anglia cavere prudenter,
      Ne talis perplexitas amplius contingat,
      Ne talis adversitas Anglicos inpingat.             310
      Hüic malo studuit comes obviare,
      Quod nimis invaluit quasi magnum mare,
      Quod parvo conamine nequibat siccari,
      Sed magno juvamine Dei transvadari.
      Veniant extranei cito recessuri,
      Quasi momentanei, sed non permansuri.
      Una juvat aliam manuum duarum,
      Neutra tollens gratiam verius earum;
      Juvet et non noceat locum retinendo.
      Quæque suum valeat ita veniendo;                   320
      Gallicus ad Anglicum benefaciendo.
      Et non per sophisticum vultum seducendo,
      Nec alter alterius bona subtrahendo;
      Immo suum potius onus sustinendo.
      Commodum si proprium comitem movisset,
      Nec haberet alium zelum, nec quæsisset
      Toto suo studio reformationi
      Regni, sed intentio dominationi,
      Solam suam quæreret, et promotionem
      Suorum proponerat, ad ditationem                   330
      Filiorum tenderet, et communitatis
      Salutem negligeret, ac duplicitatis
      Palli[o] supponeret virus falsitatis;
      Sic fidem relinqueret Christianitatis,
      Et horrendæ subderet se pœnalitatis
      Legi, nec effugeret pondus tempestatis.
      Et quis potest credere quod se morti daret,
      Suos vellet perdere, ut sic exaltaret?
      Callide si palliant honorem venantes;
      Et quod mortem fugiant semper meditantes;          340
      Nulli magis diligunt vitam temporalem,
      Nulli magis eligunt statum non mortalem.
      Honores qui sitiunt simulate tendunt,
      Caute sibi faciunt nomen quod intendunt;
      Non sic venerabilis .S. de Monte-forti,
      Qui se Christo similis dat pro multis morti;
      Ysaac non moritur cum sit promptus mori;
      Vervex morti traditur, Ysaac honori.
      Nec fraus nec fallacia Comitem promovit,
      Sed divina gratia, quæ quos juvet novit.           350
      Horam si vocaveris locum que conflictus,
      Invenire poteris quod ut esset victus
      Potius quam vinceret illi conferebat;
      Sed ut non succumberet Deus providebat.
      Non de nocte subito surripit latenter;
      Immo die redito pugnat evidenter.
      Sic et locus hostibus fuit oportunus,
      Ut hinc constet omnibus esse Dei munus,
      Quod cessit victoria de se confidenti.
      Hinc discat militia, quæ torneamenti               360
      Laudat exercitium, ut sic expedita
      Reddatur ad prælium, qualiter contrita
      Fuit hic pars fortium exercitatorum,
      Armis imbecillium et inexpertorum:
      Ut confundet fortia, promovet infirmos,
      Confortat debilia Deus, sternit firmos.
      Sic nemo confidere de se jam præsumat;
      Sed in Deum ponere spem si sciat, sumat
      Arma cum constantia, nichil dubitando,
      Cum sit pro justitia Deus adjuvando.               370
      Sicque Deum decuit Comitem juvare,
      Sine quo non potuit hostem superare.
      Cujus hostem dixerim? Comitis solius?
      Vel Anglorum sciverim regnique totius?
      Forsan et ecclesiæ, igitur et Dei?
      Quod si sic, quid gratiæ; conveniret ei?
      Gratiam demeruit in se confidendo,
      Nec juvari debuit Deum non timendo.
      Cadit ergo gloria propriæ virtutis;
      Et sic in memoria, qui dat destitutis              380
      Viribus auxilium, paucis contra multos,
      Virtute fidelium conterendo stultos,
      Benedictus dominus Deus ultionum!
      Qui in cœlis eminus sedet super thronum,
      Et virtute propria colla superborum
      Calcat, subdens grandia pedibus minorum.
      Duos reges subdidit et hæredes regum,
      Quos captivos reddidit transgressores legum,
      Pompamque militiæ cum magna sequela
      Dedit ignominiæ; nam barones tela                  390
      Quæ zelo justitiæ pro regno sumpserunt,
      Filiis superbiæ communicaverunt,
      Usque dum victoria de cœlo dabatur,
      Cum ingenti gloria quæ non sperabatur,
      Arcus namque fortium tunc est superatus,
      Cœtus inbecillium robore firmatus;
      Et de cœlo diximus, ne quis glorietur;
      Sed Christo quem credimus omnis honor detur!
      Christus enim imperat, vincit, regnat idem;
      Christus suos liberat, quibus dedit fidem.         400
      Ne victorum animus manus osculetur
      Suas, Deum petimus quod illis præstetur;
      Et quod Paulus suggerit ab ipsis servetur,
      “Qui lætatus fuerit, in Deo lætetur.”
      Si quis nostrum gaudeat vane gloriatus,
      Dominus indulgeat, et non sit iratus!
      Et cautos efficiat nostros in futurum;
      Ne factum deficiat, faciant se murum!
      Quod cæpit perficiat vis omnipotentis,
      Regnumque reficiat Anglicanæ gentis!               410
      Ut sit sibi gloria, suis pax electis,
      Donec sint in patria se duce provectis.
      Hæc Angli de prælio legite Lewensi,
      Cujus patrocinio vivitis defensi;
      Quia si victoria jam victis cessisset,
      Anglorum memoria victa viluisset.
        Cuï comparabitur nobilis Edwardus?
      Forte nominabitur recte leopardus.
      Si nomen dividimus, leo fit et pardus:
      Leo, quia vidimus quod non fuit tardus             420
      Aggredi fortissima, nullius occursum
      Timens, audacissima virtute discursum
      Inter castra faciens, et velut ad votum
      Ubi et proficiens, ac si mundum totum
      Alexandro similis cito subjugaret
      Si fortunæ mobilis rota semper staret;
      In qua summus protinus sciat se casurum,
      Qui regnat ut dominus parum regnaturum.
      Quod Edwardo nobili liquet accidisse,
      Quem gradu non stabili constat cecidisse.          430
      Leo per superbiam, per ferocitatem;
      Est per inconstantiam et varietatem
      Pardus, verbum varians et promissionem,
      Per placentem pallians se locutionem.
      Cum in arcto fuerit quicquid vis promittit;
      Sed mox ut evaserit, promissum dimittit.
      Testis sit Glovernia, ubi quod juravit
      Liber ab angustia statim revocavit.
      Dolum seu fallaciam quibus expeditur
      Nominat prudentiam; via qua venitur                440
      Quo vult quamvis devia recta reputatur;
      Nefas det placentia, fasque nominatur;
      Quicquid libet licitum dicit, et a lege
      Se putat explicitum, quasi major rege.
      Nam rex omnis regitur legibus quas legit;
      Rex Saül repellitur, quia leges fregit;
      Et punitus legitur David mox ut egit
      Contra legem; igitur hinc sciat qui legit,
      Quod non potest regere qui non servat legem;
      Nec hunc debent facere ad quos spectat regem.      450
      O Edwarde! fieri vis rex, sine lege;
      Vere forent miseri recti tali rege!
      Nam quid lege rectius qua cuncta reguntur,
      Et quid jure verius quo res discernuntur?
      Si regnum desideras, leges venerare;
      Vias dabit asperas leges impugnare,
      Asperas et invias quæ te non perducent;
      Leges si custodias ut lucerna lucent.
      Ergo dolum caveas et abomineris;
      Veritati studeas, falsum detesteris.               460
      Quamvis dolus floreat, fructus nequit ferre;
      Hoc te psalmus doceat; ad fideles terræ
      Dicit Deus, “Oculi mei sunt, sedere
      Quos in fine seculi mecum volo vere.”
      Dolus Northamptoniæ vide quid nunc valet;
      Nec fervor fallaciæ velut ignis calet.
      Si dolum volueris igni comparare,
      Paleas studueris igni tali dare,
      Quæ mox, ut exarserint, desistunt ardere,
      Et cum vix inceperint terminum tenere.             470
      Ita transit vanitas non habens radices;
      Radicata veritas non mutat per vices.
      Ergo tibi libeat id solum quod licet,
      Et non tibi placeat quod vir duplex dicet.
      Princeps quæ sunt principe digna cogitabit:
      Ergo legem suscipe, quæ te dignum dabit
      Multorum regimine, dignum principatu,
      Multorum juvamine, multo comitatu.
      Et quare non diligis quorum rex vis esse?
      Prodesse non eligis, sed tantum præesse.           480
      Qui nullius gloriam nisi suam quærit,
      Ejus per superbiam quicquid regit, perit.
      Ita totum periit nuper quod regebas;
      Gloria præteriit quam solam quærebas;
        En radicem tangimus perturbationis
      Regni de quo scribimus, et dissentionis
      Partium quæ prælium dictum commiserunt.
      Ad diversa studium suum converterunt.
      Rex cum suis voluit ita liber esse;
      Et sic esse debuit, fuitque necesse                490
      Aut esse desineret rex, privatus jure
      Regis, nisi faceret quicquid vellet; curæ
      Non esse magnatibus regni, quos præferret
      Suis comitatibus, vel quibus conferret
      Castrorum custodiam, vel quem exhibere
      Populo justitiam vellet, et habere
      Regni cancellarium thesaurariumque.
      Suum ad arbitrium voluit quemcumque,
      Et consiliarios de quacumque gente,
      Et ministros varios se præcipiente,                500
      Non intromittentibus se de factis regis
      Angliæ baronibus, vim habente legis
      Principis imperio, et quod imperaret
      Suomet arbitrio singulos ligaret.
      Nam et comes quilibet sic est compos sui,
      Dans suorum quidlibet quantum vult et cuï
      Castra, terras, redditus, cuï vult committit,
      Et quamvis sit subditus, rex totum permittit.
      Quod si bene fecerit, prodest facienti;
      Si non, ipse viderit, sibimet nocenti              510
      Rex non adversabitur. Cur conditionis
      Pejoris efficitur princeps, si baronis,
      Militis, et liberi res ita tractantur?
      Quare regem fieri servum machinantur,
      Qui suam minuere volunt potestatem,
      Principis adimere suam dignitatem,
      Volunt in custodiam et subjectionem
      Regiam potentiam per seditionem
      Captivam retrudere, et exhæredare
      Regem, ne tam ubere valeat regnare                 520
      Sicut reges hactenus qui se præcesserunt,
      Qui suis nullatenus subjecti fuerunt,
      Sed suas ad libitum res distribuerunt,
      Et ad suum placitum sua contulerunt.
      Hæc est regis ratio, quæ vera videtur,
      Et hæc allegatio jus regni tuetur.
        Sed nunc ad oppositum calamus vertatur:--
      Baronum propositum dictis subjungatur;
      Et auditis partibus dicta conferantur,
      Atque certis finibus collata claudantur,           530
      Ut quæ pars sit verior valeat liquere.
      Veriori promor populus parere.
      Baronum pars igitur jam pro se loquatur,
      Et quo zelo ducitur rite prosequatur.
      Quæ pars in principio palam protestatur,
      Quod honori regio nichil machinatur;
      Vel quærit contrarium, immo reformare
      Studet statum regium et magnificare;
      Sicut si ab hostibus regnum vastaretur,
      Non sine baronibus tune reformaretur,              540
      Quibus hoc competeret atque conveniret;
      Et qui tunc se fingeret, ipsum lex puniret
      Ut reum perjurii, regis proditorem,
      Qui quicquid auxilii regis ad honorem
      Potest, debet domino cum periclitatur,
      Cum velut in termino regnum deformatur.
        Regis adversarii sunt hostes bellantes,
      Et consiliarii regi adulantes,
      Qui verbis fallacibus principem seducunt,
      Linguisque duplicibus in errorem ducunt:           550
      Hii sunt adversarii perversis pejores;
      Hii se bonos faciunt cum sint seductores,
      Et honoris proprii sunt procuratores;
      Incautos decipiunt, quos securiores
      Reddunt per placentia, unde non caventur,
      Sed velut utilia dicentes censentur.
      Hii possunt decipere plusquam manifesti,
      Qui se sciunt fingere velut non infesti.
      Quid si tales miseri, talesque mendaces,
      Adhærerent lateri principis, capaces               560
      Totius malitiæ, fraudis, falsitatis,
      Stimulis invidiæ puncti, pravitatis
      Facinus exquirerent, per quod regni jura
      Ad suas inflecterent pompas, quæque dura
      Argumenta fingerent, quæ communitatem
      Paulatim confunderent, universitatem
      Populi contererent et depauperarent,
      Regnumque subverterent et infatuarent,
      Quod nullus justitiam posset optinere,
      Nisi qui superbiam talium fovere                   570
      Vellet, per pecuniam largiter collatam;
      Quis tantam injuriam sustineret ratam?
      Et si tales studiis suis immutarent
      Regnum, ut injuriis jura supplantarent;
      Calcatis indigenis advenas vocarent;
      Et alienigenis regnum subjugarent:
      Magnates et nobiles terne non curarent,
      Atque contemptibiles in summo locarent;
      Et magnos dejicerent et humiliarent;
      Ordinem perverterent et præposterarent;            580
      Optima relinquerent, pessimis instarent;
      Nonne qui sic facerent regnum devastarent?
      Quamvis armis bellicis foris non pugnarent,
      Tamen diabolicis armis dimicarent,
      Et regni flebiliter statum violarent;
      Quamvis dissimiliter, non minus dampnarent.
      Sive rex consentiens per seductionem,
      Talem non percipiens circumventionem,
      Approbaret talia regni destructiva;
      Seu rex ex malitia faceret nociva,                 590
      Proponendo legibus suam potestatem,
      Abutendo viribus propter facultatem;
      Sive sic vel aliter regnum vastaretur,
      Aut regnum finaliter destitueretur,
      Tunc regni magnatibus cura deberetur,
      Ut cunctis erroribus terra purgaretur.
      Quibus si purgatio convenit errorum,
      Convenit provisio gubernatrix morum,
      Qualiter prospicere sibi non liceret,
      Ne malum contingere posset quod noceret?           600
      Quod postquam contigerit debent amovere,
      Subitum ne faciat incautos dolere.
      Sic quod non eveniat quicquam prædictorum,
      Quod pacis impediat vel bonorum morum
      Formam, sed inveniat zelus peritorum
      Quod magis expediat commodo multorum;
      Cur melioratio non admitteretur,
      Cuï vitiatio nulla commiscetur?
      Nam regis clementia regis et majestas
      Approbare studia debet, quæ molestas               610
      Leges ita temperant quod sunt mitiores,
      Et dum minus onerant Deo gratiores.
      Non enim oppressio plebis Deo placet,
      Immo miseratio qua plebs Deo vacet.
      Phara[o] qui populum Dei sic afflixit,
      Quod vix ad oraculum Moysi quod dixit
      Poterant attendere, post est sic punitus,
      Israel dimittere cogitur invitus;
      Et qui comprehendere credidit dimissum,
      Mersus est dum currere putat per abyssum.          620
      Salomon conterere Israel nolebat,
      Nec ullum de genere servire cogebat;
      Quia Dei populum scivit quem regebat,
      Et Dei signaculum lædere timebat;
      Et plusquam judicium laudat misereri,
      Et plusquam supplicium pacem patri[s] veri.
        Cum constat baronibus hæc cuncta licere,
      Restat rationibus regis respondere.
      Amotis custodibus vult rex liber esse,
      Subdique minoribus non vult sed præesse;           630
      Imperare subditis et non imperari;
      Sibi nec præpositis vult humiliari.
      Non enim præpositi regi præponuntur;
      Immo magis incliti qui jus supponuntur.
      Unius rex aliter unicus non esset,
      Sed regnarent pariter quibus rex subesset.
      Et hoc inconveniens quod tantum videtur,
      Sit Deus subveniens, facile solvetur.
      Deum namque credimus velle veritatem,
      Per quem sic dissolvimus hanc dubietatem.          640
      Unus solus dicitur et est rex revera,
      Per quem mundus regitur majestate mera;
      Non egens auxilio quo possit regnare,
      Sed neque consilio qui nequit errare.
      Ergo potens omnia sciensque præcedit
      Infinita gloria omnes quibus dedit
      Sub se suos regere quasique regnare,
      Qui possunt deficere, possunt et errare,
      Et qui suis viribus nequeunt præstare,
      Suisque virtutibus hostes expugnare,               650
      Neque sensu proprio regna gubernare,
      Sed erroris invio male deviare.
      Indigent auxilio sibi suffragante,
      Necnon et consilio se rectificante.
      Dicit rex: “Consentio tuæ rationi;
      Sed horum electio subsit optioni
      Meæ; quos voluero michi sociabo,
      Quorum patrocinio cuncta gubernabo;
      Et si mei fuerint insufficientes,
      Sensum non habuerint, aut non sint potentes,       660
      Aut si sint malevoli, et non sint fideles,
      Sed sint forte subdoli, volo quod reveles
      Cur ad certas debeam personas arctari,
      A quibus prævaleam melius juvari?”
      Cujus rei ratio cito declaratur,
      Si quæ sit arctatio regis attendatur;
      Non omnis arctatio privat libertatem,
      Nec omnis districtio tollit potestatem.
      Potestatem liberam volunt principantes,
      Servitutem miseram nolunt dominantes.              670
      Ad quid vult libera lex reges arctari?
      Ne possint adultera lege maculari.
      Et hæc coarctatio non est servitutis,
      Sed est ampliatio regiæ virtutis.
      Sic servatur parvulus regis ne lædatur;
      Non fit tamen servulus quando sic arctatur.
      Sed et sic angelici spiritus arctantur.
      Qui quod apostatici non sint confirmantur.
      Nam quod Auctor omnium non potest errare,
      Omnium principium non potest peccare,              680
      Non est inpotentia, sed summa potestas,
      Magna Dei gloria magnaque majestas.
      Sic qui potest cadere, si custodiatur
      Ne cadat, quod libere vivat, adjuvatur
      A tali custodia, nec est servitutis
      Talis sustinentia, sed tutrix virtutis.
      Ergo regi libeat omne quod est bonum,
      Sed malum non audeat; hoc est Dei donum.
      Qui regem custodiunt ne peccet temptatus,
      Ipsi regi serviunt, quibus esse gratus             690
      Sit, quod ipsum liberant ne sit servus factus,
      Quod ipsum non superant a quibus est tractus.
      Sed quis vere fuerit rex, est liber vere
      Si se recte rexerit regnumque; licere
      Sibi sciat omnia quæ regno regendo
      Sunt convenientia, sed non destruendo.
      Aliud est regere quod incumbit regi;
      Aliud destruere resistendo legi.
      A ligando dicitur lex, quæ libertatis
      Tam perfecte legitur qua servitur gratis.          700
        Omnis rex intelligat quod est servus Dei:
      Illud tantum diligat quod est placens ei;
      Et illius gloriam quærat in regendo,
      Non suam superbiam pares contempnendo.
      Rex qui regnum subditum sibi vult parere,
      Reddat Deo debitum alioquin vere;
      Sciat quod obsequium sibi non debetur,
      Qui negat servitium quo Deo tenetur.
      Rursum sciat populum non suum sed Dei,
      Et ut adminiculum suum prosit ei:                  710
      Et qui parvo tempore populo præfertur,
      Cito clausus marmore terræ subinfertur.
      In illos se faciat ut unum ex illis;
      Saltantem respiciat David cum ancillis.
      Regi David similis utinam succedat,
      Vir prudens et humilis qui suos non lædat;
      Certe qui non læderet populum subjectum,
      Sed illis impenderet amoris affectum,
      Et ipsius quæreret salutis profectum,
      Ipsum non permitteret plebs pati defectum.         720
      Durum est diligere se non diligentem;
      Durum non despicere se despicientem;
      Durum non resistere se destituenti;
      Convenit applaudere se suscipienti.
      Principis conterere non est, sed tueri;
      Principis obprimere non est, sed mereri
      Multis beneficiis suorum favorem,
      Sicut Christus gratiis omnium amorem.
      Si princeps amaverit, debet reamari;
      Si recte regnaverit, debet honorari;               730
      Si princeps erraverit, debet revocari
      Ab hiis quos gravaverit injuste negari,
      Nisi velit corrigi; si vult emendari,
      Debet ab hiis erigi simul et juvari.
      Istam princeps teneat regulam regnandi,
      Ut opus non habeat non suos vocandi:
      Qui confundunt subditos principes ignari,
      Sentient indomitos sic nolle domari.
      Si princeps putaverit universitate
      Quod solus habuerit plus de veritate,              740
      Et plus de scientia, plus cognitionis,
      Plus abundet gratia, plusque Dei donis:
      Si non sit præsumptio, immo sit revera,
      Sua tune instructio suorum sincera
      Subditorum lumine corda perlustrabit;
      Et cum moderamine suos informabit.
        Moysen proponimus, David, Samuelem,
      Quorum quemque novimus principem fidelem;
      Qui a suis subditis multa pertulerunt,
      Nec tamen pro meritis illos abjecerunt,            750
      Nec illis extraneos superposuerunt,
      Sed rexerunt per eos qui sui fuerunt.
      “Ego te præficiam populo majori,
      Et hunc interficiam;” dicit Deus.--“Mori
      Malo, quam hic pereat populus,” benignus
      Moyses respondeat, principatu dignus.
      Sicque princeps sapiens nunquam reprobabit
      Suos, sed insipiens regnum conturbabit.
      Unde si rex sapiat minus quam deberet;
      Quid regno conveniat regendo? num quæret           760
      Suo sensu proprio quibus fulciatur,
      Quibus diminutio sua suppleatur?
      Si solus elegerit, facile falletur,
      Utilis qui fuerit a quo nescietur.
      Igitur communitas regni consulatur;
      Et quid universitas sentiat, sciatur,
      Cuï leges propriæ maxime sunt notæ.
      Nec cuncti provinciæ sic sunt idiotæ,
      Quin sciant plus cæteris regni sui mores,
      Quos relinquunt posteris hii qui sunt priores.     770
      Qui reguntur legibus magis ipsas sciunt;
      Quorum sunt in usibus plus periti fiunt;
      Et quia res agitur sua, plus curabunt,
      Et quo pax adquiritur sibi procurabunt.
      Pauca scire poterunt qui non sunt experti;
      Parum regno proderunt, nisi qui sunt certi.
      Ex hiis potest colligi quod communitatem
      Tangit quales eligi ad utilitatem
      Regni recte debeant; qui velint et sciant
      Et prodesse valeant, tales regis fiant             780
      Et consiliarii et coadjutores;
      Quibus noti varii patriæ sunt mores;
      Qui se lædi sentiunt, si regnum lædatur;
      Regnumque custodiunt, ne, si noceatur
      Toti, partes doleant simul patientes;
      Gaudenti congaudeant, si sint diligentes.
      Nobile juditium regis Salomonis
      Ponamus in medium; quæ divisionis
      Parvuli non horruit inhumanitatem,
      Quia non condoluit atque pietatem                  790
      Maternam non habuit, quod mater non erat
      Teste rege docuit; ergo tales quærat
      Princeps, qui condoleant universitati,
      Qui materne timeant regnum dura pati.
      Sed si quem non moveat ruina multorum;
      Si solus optineat quæ vult placitorum;
      Multorum regimini non est coaptatus,
      Suo cum sit omnium soli totus datus.
      Communis conveniens est communitati;
      Sed vir incompatiens cordis indurati               800
      Non curat si veniant multis casus duri;
      Casibus non obviant tales modo muri.
      Igitur eligere si rex per se nescit
      Qui sibi consulere sciant, hinc patescit
      Quid tunc debet fieri. Nam communitatis
      Est ne fiant miseri duces dignitatis
      Regiæ, sed optimi et electi viri,
      Atque probatissimi qui possint inquiri.
      Nam cum gubernatio regni sit cunctorum
      Salus vel perditio, multum refert quorum           810
      Sit regni custodia; sicut est in navi;
      Confunduntur omnia si præsint ignavi;
      Si quis transfretantium positus in navi
      Ad se pertinentium abutatur clavi,
      Non refert si prospere navis gubernetur.
      Sic qui regnum regere debent, cura detur
      Si de regno quispiam non recte se regit;
      Viam vadit inviam quam forsan elegit.
      Optime res agitur universitatis,
      Si regnum dirigitur via veritatis.                 820
      Et tamen si subditi sua dissipare
      Studeant, præpositi possunt refrenare
      Suorum stultitiam et temeritatem,
      Ne per insolentiam vel fatuitatem
      Stultorum potentia regni subnervetur,
      Hostibus audacia contra regnum detur.
      Nam quocumque corporis membro violato,
      Fit minoris roboris corpus. Ita dato
      Quod vel viri liceat propriis abuti,
      Quamvis regno noceat; plures mox secuti            830
      Et libertatem noxiam, sic multiplicabunt
      Erroris insaniam, quod totum dampnabunt.
      Nec libertas proprie debet nominari,
      Quæ permittit inscie stultos dominari;
      Sed libertas finibus juris limitetur,
      Spretisque limitibus error reputetur.
      Alioquin liberum dices furiosum,
      Quamvis omne prosperum illi sit exosum.
      Ergo regis ratio de suis subjectis,
      Suomet arbitrio quorum volunt vectis,              840
      Per hoc satis solvitur, satis infirmatur;
      Dum quivis qui subditur majore domatur.
      Quia nulli hominum dicemus licere
      Quicquid vult, sed dominum quemlibet habere
      Qui errantem corrigat, benefacientem
      Adjuvat, et erigit quandoque cadentem.
      Præmio præferimus universitatem;
      Legem quoque dicimus regis dignitatem
      Regere; nam credimus esse legem lucem,
      Sine qua concludimus deviare ducem.                850
      Lex qua mundus regitur atque regna mundi
      Ignea describitur; quod sensus profundi
      Continet mysterium, lucet, urit, calet;
      Lucens vetat devium, contra frigus valet,
      Purgat et incinerat quædam, dura mollit,
      Et quod crudum fuerat ignis coquit, tollit
      Torporem, et alia multa facit bona.
      Sancta lex similia p’rat (?) regi dona.
      Istam sapientiam Salomon petivit;
      Ejus amicitiam tota vi quæsivit.                   860
      Si rex hac caruerit lege, deviabit;
      Si hanc non tenuerit, turpiter errabit;
      Istius præsentia recte dat regnare,
      Et ejus absentia regnum perturbare.
      Ista lex sic loquitur, “per me regnant reges;
      Per me jus ostenditur hiis qui condunt leges.”
      Istam legem stabilem nullus rex mutabit;
      Sed se variabilem per istam firmabit.
      Si conformis fuerit huïc legi, stabit;
      Et si disconvenerit isti, vacillabit.              870
      Dicitur vulgariter, “ut rex vult, lex vadit:”
      Veritas vult aliter, nam lex stat, rex cadit.
      Veritas et caritas zelusque salutis
      Legis est integritas, regimen virtutis;
      Veritas, lux, caritas, calor, urit zelus;
      Hæc legis varietas tollit omne scelus.
      Quicquid rex statuerit, consonum sit istis;
      Nam si secus fecerit, plebs reddetur tristis;
      Confundetur populus, si vel veritate
      Caret regis oculus, sive caritate                  880
      Principis cor careat, vel severitate
      Zelum non adimpleat semper moderate.
      Hiis tribus suppositis, quicquid placet regi
      Fiat; sed oppositis, rex resistit legi.
      Sed recalcitratio stimulo non nocet;
      Pauli sic instructio de cœlo nos docet.
      Sic exhæredatio nulla fiet regi,
      Si fiat provisio concors justæ legi.
      Nam dissimulatio legem non mutabit,
      Cujus firma ratio sine fine stabit.                890
      Unde si quid utile diu est dilatum,
      Irreprehensibile sit sero perlatum.
      Et rex nihil proprium præferat communi;
      Quia salus omnium sibi cessit uni.
      Non enim præponitur sibimet victurus;
      Sed ut hic qui subditur populus securus.
      Reges esse noveris nomen relativum;
      Nomen quoque sciveris esse protectivum;
      Unde sibi vivere soli non licebat,
      Qui multos protegere vivendo delebat.              900
      Qui vult sibi vivere, non debet præesse,
      Sed seorsum degere, et ut solus esse.
      Principis est gloria plurimos salvare;
      Cum sua molestia multos relevare.
      Non alleget igitur suimet profectum,
      Sed in quibus creditur subditis prospectum.
      Si regnum salvaverit, quod est regis fecit;
      Quicquid secus egerit in ipso defecit.
      Vera regis ratio ex hiis satis patet;
      Quod vacantem proprio status regis latet.          910
      Namque vera caritas est proprietati
      Quasi contrarietas, et communitati
      Fœdus insolubile, conflans velut ignis
      Omne quod est habile, sicut fit in lignis
      Quæ dant igni crescere patiens activo,
      Subtracta decrescere modo recitivo.
      Ergo si fervuerit princeps caritate,
      Quantumcumque poterit de communitate,
      Si sollicitabitur quod recte regatur,
      Et nunquam lætabitur si destituatur,               920
      Unde si dilexerit rex regni magnates,
      Quamvis solus sciverit, quasi magnus vates,
      Quicquid opus fuerit ad regnum regendum,
      Quicquid se decuerit, quicquid faciendum,
      Quod sane decreverit illis non celabit,
      Præter quos non poterit id quod ordinabit
      Ad effectum ducere; igitur tractabit
      Cum suis, quæ facere per se [non] putabit.
      Cur sua consilia non communicabit,
      A quibus auxilia supplex postulabit?               930
      Quicquid suos allicit ad benignitatem,
      Et amicos efficit, fovet unitatem,
      Regiam prudentiam decet indicare
      Hiis qui suam gloriam possunt augmentare.
      Dominus discipulis cuncta patefecit,
      Dividens a servulis quos amicos fecit;
      Atque quasi nescius a suis quæsivit
      Quid sentirent sæpius, quod profecte scivit.
      O! si Dei quærerent principes honorem,
      Regna recte regerent, et præter errorem.           940
      Si Dei notitiam principes haberent,
      Omnibus justitiam suam exhiberent.
      Ignorantes dominum, velut excæcati,
      Quærunt laudes hominum, vanis delectati.
      Qui se nescit regere, multos male reget;
      Si quis vult inspicere Psalmos, idem leget.
      Joseph ut se debuit principes docere,
      Propter quod rex voluit ipsum præminere.
      Et in innocentia cordis sui David,
      Et intelligentia, Israelem pavit.                  950
      Ex prædictis omnibus poterit liquere,
      Quod regem magnatibus incumbit videre
      Quæ regni conveniant gubernationi,
      Et pacis expediant conservationi;
      Et quod rex indigenas sibi laterales
      Habeat, non advenas, neque speciales,
      Vel consiliarios vel regni majores,
      Qui supplantant alios atque bonos mores.
      Nam talis discordia paci novercatur,
      Et inducit prælia, dolos machinatur.               960
      Nam sicut invidia diaboli mortem
      Induxit, sic odia separat cohortem.
      Incolas in ordine suo rex tenebit,
      Et hoc moderamine regnando gaudebit.
      Si vero studuerit suos degradare,
      Ordinem perverterit, frustra quæret quare
      Sibi non obtemperant ita perturbati;
      Immo si sic facerent essent insensati.

  TRANSLATION.--Write quickly, O pen of one who, writing such
  things as follow, blesses and praises with his tongue, thee,
  O right hand of God the Father, Lord of virtues, who givest
  prosperity at thy nod to thine own, whenever it is thy will; let
  all those people now learn to put their trust in thee, whom they,
  who are now scattered, wished to destroy--they of whom the head
  is now taken, and the members are in captivity; the proud people
  is fallen; the faithful are filled with joy. Now England breathes
  in the hope of liberty; [10] to which (England) may the grace of
  God give prosperity! The English were despised like dogs; but now
  they have raised their head over their vanquished enemies.

  In the year of grace one thousand two hundred and sixty-four,
  and on the Wednesday after the festival of St. Pancras, the army
  of the English bore the brunt of a great battle at the castle
  of Lewes: for reasoning yielded to rage, and life to the sword.
  They met on the fourteenth of May, [20] and began the battle of
  this terrible strife; which was fought in the county of Sussex,
  and in the bishopric of Chichester. The sword was powerful;
  many fell; truth prevailed; and the false men fled. For the
  Lord of valour resisted the perjured men, and defended those
  who were pure with the shield of truth. The sword without, and
  fear within, routed the former; the favour of heaven comforted
  very fully the latter. The solemnities of the victor, and the
  sacred crowns, [30] give testimony on this contest; since the
  Church honoured the said persons as saints, and victory crowned
  the true soldiers. The wisdom of God, which rules the whole
  world, performed miracles and made a joyful war; caused the
  strong to fly, and the valorous men to shut themselves up in
  a cloister, and in places of safety. Not in arms, but in the
  grace of Christianity, that is in the Church, remained the only
  refuge for those who were excommunicated; after deserting their
  horses [40] this counsel alone occurred to the vanquished. And
  her whom previously they had not hesitated to profane, her whom
  they ought to have honoured in the place of a mother--in her
  they seek refuge, though little worthy of it, and seek their
  defence in embracing the wood of salvation. Those whom prosperity
  caused to despise their mother, their wounds compelled to know
  their mother. When at Northampton they succeeded by treachery,
  the faithless children despised the church; with the sword they
  disturbed the bowels of the holy mother, and in their prosperity
  [50] did not merit a successful war. The mother then bore the
  injury patiently, as though heedless of it, but not letting it
  pass unmarked: she punishes this and other injuries which were
  afterwards added, for the madmen ravaged many churches; and the
  band of enraged men, which has now been thrown into confusion,
  mercilessly spoiled the monastry which is called Battle, of its
  goods, and thus they prepared a _battle_ for themselves. The
  Cistercian monks of Robertsbridge [60] would not have been safe
  from the fury of the sword, unless they had given five hundred
  marks to the prince, which Edward ordered to be received, or
  they had perished. By these, and similar deeds, they merited to
  give way and succumb before their enemies. May the Lord bless
  Simon de Montfort! and also his sons and his army! who, exposing
  themselves magnanimously to death, fought valiantly, condoling
  the lamentable lot of the English who, trodden under foot in a
  manner scarcely to be described, [70] and almost deprived of all
  their liberties, nay, of their lives, had languished under hard
  rulers, like the people of Israel under Pharaoh, groaning under
  a tyrannical devastation. But God, seeing this suffering of the
  people, gives at last a new Matathias, and he with his sons,
  zealous after the zeal of the law, yields neither to the insults
  nor to the fury of the king.

  They call Simon a seductor and a traitor; [80] but his deeds
  lay him open and prove him to be a true man. Traitors fall off
  in time of need; they who do not fly death, are those who stand
  for the truth. But says his insidious enemy now, whose evil eye
  is the disturber of peace, “If you praise the constancy and the
  fidelity, which does not fly the approach of death or punishment,
  they shall equally be called constant who, in the same manner, go
  to the combat fighting on the opposite side, in the same manner
  exposing themselves to the chance of war, [90] and subjecting
  themselves to a hard appellation.” But in our war in which we are
  now engaged, let us see what is the state of the case.

  The earl had few men used to arms; the royal party was numerous,
  having assembled the disciplined and greatest warriors in
  England, such as were called the flower of the army of the
  kingdom; those who were prepared with arms from among the
  Londoners, were three hundred set before several thousands;
  whence they were contemptible to those, [100] and were detested
  by those who were experienced. Much of the earl’s army was
  raw; fresh in arms, they knew little of war. The tender youth,
  only now girt with a sword, stands in the morning in battle
  accustoming himself to arms; what wonder if such an unpractised
  tyro fear, and if the powerless lamb dread the wolf? Thus those
  who fight for England are inferior in military discipline, and
  they are much fewer than the strong men, who boasted in their own
  valour, [110] because they thought safely, and without danger,
  to swallow up, as it were, all whom the earl had to help him.
  Moreover, of those whom the earl had brought to the battle, and
  from whom he hoped for no little help, many soon withdrew from
  fear, and took to flight as though they were amazed; and of three
  parts, one deserted. The earl with a few faithful men never
  yielded. We may compare our battle with that of Gideon; [120] in
  both of which we see a few of the faithful conquer a great number
  who have no faith, and who trust in themselves like Lucifer did.
  God said, “If I should give the victory to the many, the fools
  will not give the glory to me, but to fools.” So if God had made
  the strong to conquer, the common people would have given the
  credit of it to the men, and not to God.

  From these considerations it may be concluded that the warlike
  men did not fear God, wherefore they did nothing to prove their
  constancy or fidelity, [130] but they showed on the contrary
  their pride and cruelty; and wishing to confound those whom
  they despised, issuing forth boldly, they perished quickly.
  Exaltation of the heart brings on ruin, and humility merits to
  receive the divine grace; for he who does not trust in God,
  God overthrows his pride. We may bring forward as examples
  Aman and Mardocheus; we read that the former was arrogant, the
  latter a true Israelite; the gallows which Aman had prepared for
  Mardocheus, [140] in the morning the wretch bore it himself in
  order to be hanged upon it. The queen’s banquet blinded Aman,
  which he reputed as an extraordinary privilege; but his vain
  expectation is turned into confusion, when after the feast he is
  dragged to the gallows. Thus sorrow followed close upon joy, when
  it coupled death with the end of the feast. Very differently,
  it happens, to the Israelite, whom, by God’s will, the king
  honours. Golias is overthrown by the stroke of a little stone;
  [150] nothing profits him whom God pursues. Add to the various
  reasons already mentioned, that the stinking bawds collected
  with them so many strumpets, amounting to seven hundred, which
  they ought to have known to be fraudulent persons, disciples of
  Satan to deceive men’s souls, and matches to set them on fire,
  treacherous scissars to cut the hairs of Samson, inflicting the
  stains of base action on the wretches who are not strong in
  heart, [160] nor made firm by the grace of the divine gift, but
  animals dedicated to the lust of the flesh, by the uncleanness
  of which, reduced to the level of brutes, they ought not to
  be worthy of victory, who grovelled in the foul luxury of the
  flesh; they diminish their strength in the stews which they had
  made, therefore they were unworthy of the attributes of knights.
  A knight is girt on the thigh with a sword, that it may not be
  ungirt, and that vile deeds should be eschewed; the body of a new
  knight is accustomed to be bathed, [170] in order that he may
  learn to be clean from unlawful deeds. They who had newly married
  lawful wives, were not fit for the Lord’s warfare, as the battle
  of Gideon witnesseth, much less those whom the furnace of luxury
  hath injured with its fire. Why then should God help adulterers,
  and not rather strengthen clean children? Let them be clean who
  desire to conquer in fighting; they who vanquish their faults are
  in the way to triumph; first let them conquer their vices, [180]
  who wish with justice to have the victory over sinners. If the
  just man seems sometimes to be vanquished by the impious man, on
  the contrary he should be reputed the conqueror; for neither can
  the just man be vanquished, nor the unjust man conquer while he
  is the enemy of the law.

  Listen to the equity of Earl Simon: when the royal party would
  be satisfied only with his head and his life, nor would allow
  his head to be redeemed, but would have it cut off, by whose
  confusion they hoped the body of the people should be confounded,
  [190] and the greatest part of the state brought into danger,
  so that the most grievous ruin would immediately follow;--may
  it be very long before this happen!--Stephen, by divine grace,
  bishop of Chichester, groaning deeply for the immense evils which
  were then impending, (without exaggeration,) the two parties
  being persuaded to treat of a peace, received this answer from
  the Earl: “Choose the best men, who have a lively faith, [200]
  who have read the decretals, or who have taught, in a becoming
  manner, theology and sacred wisdom, and who know how to rule the
  Christian faith, whatever they may resolve by sound doctrine, or
  whatever they may have the courage to decree, they shall find us
  ready to agree to what they shall dictate, in such a manner as
  that we may escape the stigma of perjury, and keep the league as
  children of God.” Hence it may easily be understood by those who
  swear, and show little reluctance to despise what they swear,
  receding quickly from it although they swear to what is right,
  [210] and not rendering whole what they have promised to God,
  with how much care they ought to keep their oath, when they see
  a man neither avoiding torment nor death on account of his oath,
  which was made not inconsiderately, but for the reformation of
  the fallen state of the English nation, which the fraud of an
  inveterate enemy had violated. Behold Simon, obedient, despises
  the loss of property, submitting himself to punishment, rather
  than desert the truth, proclaiming to all men openly by his deeds
  more than by his words, [220] that truth has nothing in common
  with falsehood. Woe to the perjured wretches who fear not God!
  denying him for the prospect of an earthly reward, or for fear of
  imprisonment or light punishment; the new leader of the journey
  teaches to bear all that the world may inflict on account of
  truth, for it is this which can give perfect liberty. For the
  Earl had first pledged his oath that whatever the zeal of the
  wise had provided for the reformation of the King’s honour, [230]
  and for the repression of wandering error, at Oxford, he would
  steadfastly keep it, and would not change the law then ordained,
  knowing that such canonical constitutions, and such catholic
  ordinances for the pacific conservation of the kingdom, on
  account of which he had before sustained no slight persecution,
  were not to be despised; and because he had sworn to hold them
  firmly, unless the most perfect doctors of the faith should say,
  [240] that the jurators might be absolved, who had before taken
  such oath, and that no further account was to be made of what
  they had sworn. Which, when the said bishop recited to the king,
  and perhaps the artificer of fraud was standing by, the voice of
  the crowd of arrogant courtiers was raised high, “See now the
  soldier is to give way to the sayings of clerks! The military
  order subjected to clerks is debased!” Thus the wisdom of the
  Earl was despised; and Edward is said to have answered thus:
  [250] “They shall have no peace unless they all put halters about
  their necks, and deliver themselves up to us to be hanged, or
  to be drawn.” What wonder if the Earl’s heart was then moved,
  when nothing but the pain of the stake was prepared for him? He
  offered what he ought to do, but he was not listened to; the king
  rejected measure, forgetting what was good for him. But, as the
  event of the matter next day taught him, the measure which he
  then refused, afterwards was not to be had. In the evening was
  derided the Earl’s devotion, [260] the shock of which, next day,
  was found to be victorious. This stone, long rejected from the
  doorway, was afterwards fitted to the two walls. The division
  of England was on the verge of desolation, but the corner-stone
  was there as a help to the division, the truly singular religion
  of Simon. The faith and fidelity of Simon alone becomes the
  security of the peace of all England; he humbles the rebellious,
  raises those who were in despair, [270] reconciling the kingdom,
  repressing the proud. And how does he repress them? certainly not
  by praising them; but he presses out the red juice in the hard
  conflict; for truth obliges him to fight, or to desert the truth,
  and prudently he chooses rather to devote his right hand to the
  truth, and by the rough way, which is joined to probity, by the
  harder and shorter way which is unpleasant to the proud, to
  obtain the reward which is given to those who use force, than to
  displease God by shrinking, [280] and to promote the designs of
  bad men by flight. For some men had studied to erase the name of
  the English, whom they had already begun to regard with hatred,
  against whom God opposed a medicine, since he did not desire
  their sudden ruin.

  Hence let the English learn to call in strangers, if they wish to
  be exiled by strangers. For these when they wish to enlarge their
  own glory, and wish their own memory to stand always, study to
  associate with themselves very many of their own nation, [290]
  and by degrees to make them the principal nobles; and thus grows
  the confusion of the natives, with indignation and bitterness of
  heart, when the chief men of the kingdom feel themselves to be
  beaten down by those who make themselves their equals, taking
  from them the things which ought to appertain to them, growing by
  the things by which they used to grow. The King ought to honour
  with escheats and wards his own people, who can help him in
  various ways, who, by as much as they are more powerful by their
  own strength, [300] are so much the more secure in all cases.
  But those who have brought nothing, if they are enriched by his
  goods, if they are made great who were of no account, such men,
  when they begin to grow, always go on climbing till they have
  supplanted the natives; they study to avert the prince’s heart
  from his own people, that they may strip of glory those whose
  ruin they are seeking. And who could bear such things patiently?
  Therefore let England learn prudently to have a care, lest such a
  perplexity should happen any more, [310] lest such an adversity
  should fall upon the English. The Earl studied to obviate this,
  because it had gained too much head, like a great sea, that could
  not be dried by a small effort, but must be forded by a great
  assistance from God. Let strangers come to return quickly, like
  men of a moment, but not to remain. One of the two hands aids
  the other, neither of them bearing more really the grace which
  belongs to both; let it help, and not injure, by retaining its
  place. [320] Each thing would avail its own possessor if they
  come so; the Frenchman by doing good to the Englishman, and not
  seducing by a flattering face, nor the one withdrawing the goods
  of the other; but rather by sustaining his own portion of the
  burden. If his own interest had moved the Earl, he would neither
  have had any other zeal, nor would he have sought with all his
  power for the reformation of the kingdom, but he would have aimed
  at power, he would have sought his own promotion only, and made
  his first object the promotion of his friends, [330] and would
  have aimed at enriching his children, and would have neglected
  the weal of the community, and would have covered the poison
  of falsehood with the cloak of duplicity, and would thus have
  deserted the faith of Christianity, and would have subjected
  himself to the retribution of fearful punishment, nor would he
  have escaped the weight of the tempest, And who can believe that
  he would give himself to death, that he would sacrifice his
  friends, in order that he might thus raise himself high? If those
  who hunt after honour cover their object cunningly; [340] always
  meditating at the same time how they may avoid death; none love
  more the present life, none choose more eagerly a position devoid
  of danger. They who thirst after honours dissimulate their aim,
  they make themselves cautiously the reputation which they seek.
  Not so the venerable Simon de Montfort, who, like Christ, offers
  himself a sacrifice for many; Isaac does not die, although he
  is ready for death; it is the ram which is given to death, and
  Isaac receives honour. Neither fraud nor falsehood promoted the
  Earl, [350] but the Divine grace which knew those whom it would
  help. If you consider the time and the place of the conflict, you
  will find that they promised him a defeat rather than victory;
  but God provided that he should not succumb. He does not take
  them on a sudden by creeping stealthily by night; but he fights
  openly when day is come. So also the place was favourable to
  his enemies, that thus it might appear plainly to all to be the
  gift of God, that victory departed from him who put his trust
  in himself. [360] Hence let the military order, which praises
  the practice of the tournament, that so it may be made expert at
  fighting, learn how the party of the strong and skilful was here
  bruised by the arms of those who were feeble and unpractised:
  that he may confound the strong, God promotes the weak, comforts
  the feeble, lays prostrate the firm. Thus let no one now presume
  to trust in himself; but if he know how to place his hope in
  God, he may take up arms with constancy, nothing doubting, [370]
  since God is a help for those who are on the side of justice.
  Thus it was right that God should help the Earl, for without God
  he could not overcome the enemy. Of whom should I call him the
  enemy?--of the Earl alone? or should I recognise him as the enemy
  of the English and of the whole kingdom?--perhaps also of the
  Church, and therefore of God? And if so, how much grace ought he
  to have? He failed to deserve grace who trusted in himself, and
  he did not merit to be helped who did not fear God. Thus falls
  the boast of personal valour, [380] and so for evermore praised
  be the Lord God of vengeance! who gives aid to those who are
  destitute of force, to a few against many, crushing fools by the
  valour of the faithful; who sits on a throne in heaven above,
  and by his own strength treads upon the necks of the proud,
  bowing the great under the feet of the less. He has subdued
  two kings and the heirs of kings, whom he has made captives,
  because they were transgressors of the laws; and he has turned
  to shame the pomp of knighthood with its numerous retinue; [390]
  for the barons employed on the sons of pride the arms, which,
  in their zeal for justice, they had taken up in the cause of
  the kingdom, until victory was given them from heaven, with a
  great glory that was not expected. For the bow of the strong was
  then overcome, and the troop of the weak was established with
  strength; and we have said that it was done by heaven, lest any
  one should boast of it; let all the honour, on the contrary, be
  given to Christ, in whom we believe! For Christ at once commands,
  conquers, reigns! [400] Christ delivers his own, to whom he has
  given his promise. We pray God to grant that the minds of the
  conquerors may not attribute their success to themselves, and let
  what Paul says be observed by them, “He who would be joyful, let
  him be joyful in God.” If any one of us indulge in vain glory,
  may God be indulgent to him, and not angry! and may he make our
  party cautious in future; lest deeds be wanting, may they make
  themselves a wall! May the power of the Almighty perfect what it
  has begun, [410] and restore to its vigour the kingdom of the
  English people! that glory may be to himself, and peace to his
  elect, until they be in the country where he shall lead them.
  O Englishmen! read this concerning the battle of Lewes! by the
  influence of which you are saved from destruction: for if victory
  had gone over to those who are now vanquished, the memory of the
  English would have lain in disgrace.

  To whom shall the noble Edward be compared? Perhaps he will be
  rightly called a leopard. If we divide the name, it becomes a
  lion and a pard:--[420] a lion, for we have seen that he was not
  slow to meet the strongest; fearing the attack of none; making
  a charge in the thick of the battle with the most unflinching
  bravery, and as though at his will, and wherever he went, as
  if, like Alexander, he would soon subdue the whole world, if
  the mutable wheel of Fortune would but stand still; in which,
  although he stand at the top, let him know that his fall is near
  at hand, and that he who reigns like a lord will not reign long.
  Which, in fact, has happened to the noble Edward, [430] who has
  manifestly fallen from his unstable position. He is a lion by his
  pride and by his ferocity; by his inconstancy and changeableness
  he is a pard, not holding steadily his word or his promise, and
  excusing himself with fair words. When he is in a difficulty, he
  promises just what you will; but as soon as he has escaped the
  danger, he forgets his promise. Witness Gloucester, where, as
  soon as he was out of the difficulty, he revoked immediately what
  he had sworn. The treachery or falseness by which he gains his
  ends [440] he calls prudence; the way by which he arrives at his
  object, be it ever so crooked, is reputed to be straight; when
  wrong serves his purpose, it is called right; he calls lawful
  whatever he wills, and thinks himself absolved from the law,
  as though he were greater than a king: for every king is ruled
  by the laws which he enacts. King Saul was deposed, because he
  brake the laws; and we read that David was punished, as soon as
  he did contrary to the law; hence, therefore, let him who reads
  know, that he cannot reign who does not keep the law; [450]
  nor ought they, whose province it is to do so, to elect such a
  man for their king. O Edward! thou desirest to be made a king
  without law; they would be truly miserable who were ruled by
  such a king! For what is more just than law, by which all things
  are ruled? and what more true than justice, by which all things
  are administered? If thou wouldest have a kingdom, reverence the
  laws; they are but rough roads, which are opposed to law, rough
  and crooked roads which will not lead thee to thy journey’s end;
  but if thou keepest the laws, they shine like a lamp. Therefore
  avoid and detest treachery; [460] labour after truth and hate
  falsehood. Although treachery may flourish, it cannot bear fruit;
  the Psalm may teach thee this; God says to the faithful of the
  earth, “They are my eyes, and it is my will that they shall sit
  with me at the end of time.” Observe how little thou hast gained
  by thy treachery at Northampton; the heat of deceit does not warm
  like fire. If you will compare treachery to fire, feed studiously
  such fire with straw, which ceases to glow as soon as it is burnt
  up, [470] and is consumed almost as soon as kindled. So passeth
  away vanity which hath no roots; rooted truth is not subject to
  vicissitudes: therefore let that alone be permitted thee which is
  lawful, and let not what the double man shall say please thee.
  A prince shall project things which are worthy of a prince:
  therefore take the law under thy protection, which will make thee
  worthy to govern many, worthy of the principality, of the aid of
  many, and of a numerous retinue. And why lovest thou not those
  of whom thou desirest to be king? [480] Thou choosest not to
  profit them, but only to govern. He who seeks only his own glory,
  everything that he governs is ruined by his pride. Thus recently
  the whole which thou governest has been ruined; the glory which
  alone thou soughtest is past.

  Lo! we are touching the root of the perturbation of the kingdom
  of which we are speaking, and of the dissension of the parties
  who fought the said battle. The objects at which these two
  parties aimed were different. The king, with his, wished thus
  to be free: [490] and so [it was urged on his side] he ought
  to be; and he must cease to be king, deprived of the rights of
  a king, unless he could do whatever he pleased; it was no part
  of the duty of the magnates of the kingdom to determine whom he
  should prefer to his earldoms, or on whom he should confer the
  custody of castles, or whom he would have to administer justice
  to the people, and to be chancellor and treasurer of the kingdom.
  He would have every one at his own will, and counsellors from
  whatever nation he chose, [500] and all ministers at his own
  discretion; while the barons of England are not to interfere with
  the king’s actions, the command of the prince having the force
  of law, and what he may dictate binding upon every body at his
  pleasure. For every earl also is thus his own master, giving to
  every one of his own men both as much as he will, and to whom he
  will; he commits castles, lands, revenues, to whom he will; and
  although he be a subject, the king permits it all. Which, if he
  do well, is profitable to the doer; [510] if not, he must himself
  see to it; the king will not hinder him from injuring himself.
  Why is the prince worse in condition, when the affairs of the
  baron, the knight, and the freeman, are thus managed? Therefore
  they aim at making the king a slave, who wish to diminish his
  power, to take away his dignity of prince; they wish by sedition
  to reduce captive into guardianship and subjection the royal
  power, and to disinherit the king, [520] that he shall be unable
  to reign so fully as hitherto have done the kings who preceded
  him, who were in no respect subjected to their people, but
  administered their own affairs at their will, and conferred what
  they had to confer according to their own pleasure. This is the
  King’s argument, which has an appearance of fairness, and this is
  alleged in defence of the right of the kingdom.

  But now let my pen turn to the other side:--let me describe the
  object at which the barons aim; and when both sides have been
  heard, let the arguments be compared, [530] and then let us
  come to a final judgment, so that it may be clear which side is
  the truest. The people is more prone to obey the truer party.
  Let therefore the party of the barons speak for itself, and
  proclaim in order by what zeal it is led. Which party in the
  first place protests openly, that it has no designs against the
  kingly honour; nay, it seeks the contrary, and studies to reform
  and magnify the kingly condition; just as if the kingdom were
  ravaged by enemies, [540] then it would not be reformed without
  the barons, who would be the capable and proper persons for this
  purpose; and should any one then hang back, the law would punish
  him as one guilty of perjury, a traitor to the king, who owes
  to his lord, when he is in danger, all the aid he can give to
  support the king’s honour, when the kingdom is as it were nigh
  its end by devastation.

  The adversaries of the king are enemies who make war upon him,
  and counsellors who flatter the king, who seduce their prince
  with deceitful words, [550] and who lead him into error by their
  double tongues: these are adversaries worse than those who are
  perverse; it is these who pretend to be good whilst they are
  seducers, and procurers of their own advancement; they deceive
  the incautious, whom they render less on their guard by means of
  things that please them, whereby they are not provided against,
  but are considered as prudent advisers. Such men can deceive more
  than those who act openly, as they are able to make an outward
  appearance of being not hostile. What if such wretches, and such
  liars, [560] should haunt the prince, capable of all malice, of
  fraud, of falsehood, excited by the spurs of envy, should seek
  to do that extreme wickedness, by which they should sacrifice
  the privileges of the kingdom to their own ostentation, that
  they should contrive all kinds of hard reasons, which by degrees
  should confound the commonalty, should bruise and impoverish the
  mass of the people, and should subvert and infatuate the kingdom,
  so that no one could obtain justice, [570] except he who would
  encourage the pride of such men as these by large supplies of
  money; who could submit to the establishment of such an injury?
  And if such, by their conduct, should change the state of the
  kingdom; if they should banish justice to put injustice in its
  place; if they should call in strangers and trample upon the
  natives; and if they should subdue the kingdom to foreigners; if
  they should not care for the magnates and nobles of the land, and
  should place contemptible persons over them; and if they should
  overthrow and humiliate the great; [580] if they should pervert
  and turn upside-down the order of things; if they should leave
  the measures that are best, to advance those which are worst;--do
  not those who act thus devastate the kingdom? although they do
  not make war upon it with arms from abroad, yet they fight with
  diabolical arms, and they violate, in a lamentable manner, the
  constitution of the kingdom; although not in the same manner
  [as a foreign enemy], yet they do no less damage. Whether the
  king, seduced to give his consent, not perceiving the design,
  should approve measures so destructive to the kingdom; [590] or
  whether the king should follow such an injurious course with
  an ill design of setting his own power above the laws, abusing
  his strength to please his own will; if thus or otherwise the
  kingdom be wasted, or the kingdom be finally left destitute,
  then the magnates of the kingdom are bound to look to it, that
  the land be purged of all errors. To whom if such a purgation of
  errors belongs, if such a provision belongs to them to regulate
  customs, how can it otherwise than appertain to them [600] to
  look out that no evil may happen which would be injurious?
  Which, after it has happened, they ought to remove, lest by a
  sudden occurrence it give those who do not provide against it
  cause to grieve. Thus, in order that no one of the aforesaid
  things may happen, which may hinder the form of peace and good
  customs, but that the zeal of the experienced men may find what
  is most expedient for the utility of the many, why is a reform
  not admitted, with which no corruption shall be mixed? For the
  king’s clemency and the king’s majesty [610] ought to approve the
  endeavours, which so amend grievous laws that they be milder,
  and that they be, while less onerous, more pleasing to God. For
  the oppression of the commons pleaseth not God, but rather the
  commiseration whereby the commons may have time to think upon
  God. Pharaoh, who so afflicted the people of God, that they could
  with difficulty repair to the oracle which he had appointed to
  Moses, was afterwards so punished, that he was obliged to dismiss
  Israel against his will; and when he thought to catch them after
  they were dismissed, [620] he was drowned whilst he thought to
  run through the deep. Solomon was unwilling to bruise Israel, nor
  would he reduce to servitude any one of the race; because he knew
  that it was God’s people over whom he reigned; and he feared to
  hurt the imprint of God; and he praises mercy more than judgment,
  and the peace of a true father more than execution.

  Since it is clear that the barons have a right of doing all this,
  it remains to answer the king’s arguments. The king wishes to
  be free by the removal of his guardians, [630] and he will not
  be subject to his inferiors, but be placed over them; he will
  command his subjects and not be commanded; he will be humiliated
  neither to himself nor to those who are his officers. For the
  officers are not set over the king; but on the contrary they are
  rather the noble men who support the law. Otherwise there would
  not be one king of one state, (?) but they would reign equally to
  whom the king was subject. Yet this inconvenience also, though it
  seem so great, with the assistance of God, is easily solved: for
  we believe that God wills truth, [640] through whom we dissolve
  this doubt as follows. He is said to be, and is in truth, one
  king alone, by whom the universe is ruled in pure majesty; who
  neither wants help whereby he may reign, nor even counsel, in as
  much as he cannot err. Therefore, all-powerful and all-knowing,
  he excels in infinite glory all those to whom he has given to
  rule and, as it were, to reign under him over his people, who
  may fail, and who may err, and who cannot avail by their own
  independent strength, [650] and vanquish their enemies by their
  own valour, nor govern kingdoms by their own wisdom, but in an
  evil manner wander in the track of error. They want help which
  should assist them, and counsel which should set them right. Says
  the king, “I agree to thy reasoning; but the choice of these must
  be left to my option; I will associate with myself whom I will,
  by whose support I will govern all things; and if my ministers
  should be insufficient, [660] if they want sense or power, or if
  they harbour evil designs, or are not faithful, but are perhaps
  traitors, I desire that you will explain, why I ought to be
  confined to certain persons, when I might succeed in obtaining
  better assistance?” The reason of this is quickly declared, if it
  be considered what the constraint of the king is: all constraint
  does not deprive of liberty, nor does every restriction take away
  power. Princes desire free power; [670] those who reign decline
  miserable servitude. To what will a free law bind kings?--to
  prevent them from being stained by an adulterated law. And this
  constraint is not one of slavery, but is rather an enlarging of
  the kingly faculty. Thus the king’s child is kept from being
  hurt; yet he is not made a slave when he is thus restricted. Nay,
  the very angels are restricted in this manner, who are confirmed
  from becoming apostates. For, that the Author of all things
  cannot err, [680] that He who is the beginning of all things
  cannot sin, is not impotence, but it is the highest degree of
  power, the great glory of God and his great majesty. Thus, he who
  may fall, if he be kept from falling, so that he may live free
  from danger, he reaps advantage from such keeping, nor is such
  a support slavery, but it is the safeguard of virtue. Therefore
  that there be permitted to a king all that is good, but that he
  dare not do evil,--this is God’s gift. They who keep the king
  from sinning when he is tempted, [690] they serve the king, to
  whom he should be grateful, that they deliver him from being made
  a slave; so that those by whom he is led do not overcome him. But
  he who should be in truth a king, he is truly free if he rule
  rightly himself and the kingdom; let him know that all things are
  permitted him which are in ruling convenient to the kingdom, but
  not such as destroy it. It is one thing to rule according to a
  king’s duty, and another to destroy by resisting the law. The law
  receives its name from binding (_a ligando_), [700] which is so
  perfectly said of liberty, whereby it is served gratefully. (?)

  Let every king bear in mind that he is a servant of God; let him
  love that only which is pleasing to Him; and let him seek His
  glory in reigning, not his own pride in despising his peers. A
  king who wishes his subject kingdom to yield obedience to him,
  let him render his duty to God in other things truly; let him
  know that obedience is not owing to him who denies the service
  in which he is bound to God. Again, let him know that the people
  is not his but God’s; [710] and that it is profitable to him as
  his help: and that he who for a short period is placed over the
  people, soon, closed in marble, will be buried in the earth.
  Towards them let him make himself as one of them; let him regard
  David joining the dance of the maids. I wish one similar to David
  may succeed the king--a prudent and humble man, who would not
  injure his people; in truth, who would not hurt the people which
  is subjected to him, but would exhibit towards them a loving
  regard, and would aim at their prosperity; [720] the commons
  would not allow him to suffer wrong. It is hard to love one who
  does not love us; it is hard not to despise one who despises us;
  it is hard not to resist one who ruins us; we naturally applaud
  him who favours us. It is not the part of a prince to bruise, but
  to protect; neither is it the part of a prince to oppress, but
  rather to deserve the favour of his people by numerous benefits
  conferred upon them, as Christ by his grace has deserved the
  love of all. If a prince love his subjects, he will necessarily
  be repaid with love; [730] if he reign justly, he will of a
  necessity be honoured; if the prince err, he ought to be recalled
  by those whom his unjust denial may have grieved, unless he be
  willing to be corrected; if he is willing to make amends, he
  ought to be both raised up and aided by these same persons. Let
  a prince maintain such a rule of reigning, that it may never
  be necessary for him to avoid depending on his own people. The
  ignorant princes who confound their subjects, will find that
  those who are unconquered will not thus be tamed. If a prince
  should think [740] that he alone has more truth, more knowledge,
  and more intelligence than the whole people, that he abounds more
  in grace and the gifts of God, if it be not presumption, but it
  be truly so, then his instruction will visit the true hearts
  of his subjects with light, and will instruct his people with
  moderation.

  We instance Moses, David, Samuel--each of whom we know to have
  been a faithful prince; who suffered many things from their
  subjects, [750] and yet for their deserts they did not cast
  them off, nor set strangers over them, but governed by means
  of those who were their own people. “I will place thee over a
  greater people; and I will slay this people” saith God. “I had
  rather die, than this people should perish,” answered kind Moses,
  who was worthy to govern. And thus a wise prince will never
  reject his people, but an unwise one will disturb the kingdom.
  Wherefore, if a king is less wise than he ought to be, [760]
  what advantage will the kingdom gain by his reign? Is he to seek
  by his own opinion on whom he should depend to have his failing
  supplied? If he alone choose, he will be easily deceived, who
  is not capable of knowing who will be useful. Therefore let the
  community of the kingdom advise; and let it be known what the
  generality thinks, to whom their own laws are best known. Nor are
  all those of the country so uninstructed, as not to know better
  than strangers the customs of their own kingdom, [770] which have
  been bequeathed from father to son. They who are ruled by the
  laws, know those laws best; they who experience them are best
  acquainted with them; and since it is their own affairs which are
  at stake, they will take more care, and will act with an eye to
  their own peace. They who want experience can know little; they
  will profit little the kingdom who are not stedfast. Hence it may
  be collected, that it concerns the community to see what sort of
  men ought justly to be chosen for the utility of the kingdom;
  they who are willing and know how, [780] and are able to profit
  it, such should be made the councillors and coadjutors of the
  king; to whom are known the various customs of their country;
  who feel that they suffer themselves when the kingdom suffers;
  and who guard the kingdom, lest, if hurt be done to the whole,
  the parts have reason to grieve while they suffer along with it;
  which rejoice, when it has cause to rejoice, if they love it.
  Let us call attention to the noble judgment of King Solomon: she
  who did not feel horror at the cruelty of dividing the infant,
  [790] because she did not feel for it, and wanted maternal love,
  shewed, as the king testified, that she was not its mother:
  therefore let a prince seek such [councillors] as may condole
  with the community, who have a motherly fear lest the kingdom
  should undergo any sufferings. But if any one be not moved by
  the ruin of the many--if he alone obtain what pleas he will--he
  is not fitted to rule over the many, since he is entirely
  devoted to his own interest, and to none other. A man who feels
  for others, is agreeable to the community; [800] but a man who
  does not feel for others, who possesses a hard heart, cares not
  if misfortunes fall upon the many--such walls are no defence
  against misfortunes. Therefore, if the king has not wisdom to
  choose by himself those who are capable of advising him, it is
  clear, from what has been said, what ought then to be done. For
  it is a thing which concerns the community to see that miserable
  wretches be not made the leaders of the royal dignity, but the
  best and chosen men, and the most approved that can be found.
  For since the governance of the kingdom is either the safety or
  perdition of all, [810] it is of great consequence who they are
  that have the custody of the kingdom; just as it is in a ship;
  all things are thrown into confusion if unskilful people guide
  it; if any one of the passengers belonging to it who is placed
  in the ship abuse the rudder, it matters not whether the ship
  be governed prosperously or not. So those who ought to rule the
  kingdom, let the care be given to them, if any one of the kingdom
  does not govern himself rightly; he goes on a wrong path which
  perhaps he has himself chosen. The affairs of the generality
  are best managed [820] if the kingdom is directed in the way of
  truth. And, moreover, if the subjects labour to dissipate their
  property, those who are set over them may restrain their folly
  and temerity, lest by the presumption and imbecility of fools,
  the power of the kingdom be weakened, and courage be given to
  enemies against the kingdom. For whatever member of the body
  be destroyed, the strength of the body is diminished thereby.
  So if it be allowed even that men may abuse what belongs to
  themselves, [830] when it be injurious to the kingdom, many
  immediately after following also the injurious liberty, will so
  multiply the wildness of error, that they will ruin the whole.
  Nor ought it properly to be named liberty, which permits fools
  to govern unwisely; but liberty is limited by the bounds of the
  law; and when those bounds are despised, it should be reputed as
  error. Otherwise you will call a raving madman free, although
  he be at enmity with everything like prosperity. Therefore the
  king’s argument concerning his subjects, [840] who are ruled
  at their own choice by whom they will, is by this sufficiently
  answered and overthrown; since every one who is subject, is ruled
  by one who is greater. Because we say that no man is permitted
  all that he will, but that every one has a lord who may correct
  him when erring, and aid him when doing well, and sometimes
  raises him up when he is falling. We give the first place to
  the community: we say also that the law rules over the king’s
  dignity; for we believe that the law is the light, [850] without
  which we conclude that he who rules will wander from the right
  path. The law whereby is ruled the world and the kingdoms of the
  world, is described as being of fire; which contains a mystery
  of deep meaning: it shines, burns, warms; shining, it hinders
  the wanderer from quitting his right path; it avails against the
  cold; it purges and burns to cinders some things; it softens what
  is hard, and what had been raw the fire cooks; it takes away
  numbness, and it does many other good things. The sacred law is
  equally serviceable to the king. Solomon asked for this wisdom;
  [860] its friendship he sought with all his might. If the king
  want this law, he will wander from the right track; if he does
  not hold it, he will err foully; its presence gives the power of
  reigning rightly, and its absence overturns the kingdom. This
  law speaks thus, “Kings reign through me; through me justice is
  shown to those who make laws.” No king shall alter this firm law;
  but by it he shall make himself stable when he is variable. If
  he conform to this law, he will stand; [870] and if he disagree
  with it, he will waver. It is said commonly, “As the king wills,
  so goes the law:” but the truth is otherwise, for the law stands,
  but the king falls. Truth and charity and the zeal of salvation,
  this is the integrity of the law, the regimen of virtue; truth,
  light, charity, warmth, zeal burns; (?) this variety of the law
  takes away all crime. Whatever the king may ordain, let it be
  consonant to these; for if it be otherwise, the commonalty will
  be made sorrowful; the people will be confounded, if either the
  king’s eye want truth, [880] or the prince’s heart want charity,
  or he do not always moderately fulfil his zeal with severity.

  These three things being supposed, whatever pleases the king
  may be done; but by their opposites the king resists the law.
  However, kicking against it does not hurt the prick; thus the
  instruction which was sent from heaven to Paul teaches us. Thus
  the king is deprived of no inherited right, if there be made a
  provision in concordance with just law. For dissimulation shall
  not change the law, [890] whose stable reason will stand without
  end. Wherefore if anything that is useful has been long put off,
  it is not to be reprehended when adopted late. And let the king
  never set his private interest before that of the community;
  as if the salvation of all yields to him alone. For he is not
  set over them in order to live for himself; but that his people
  who is subject to him may be in safety. You must know that the
  name of king is relative; you should know also that the name is
  protective; wherefore he cannot live for himself alone [900] who
  ought by his life to protect many. He who will live for himself,
  ought not to be set over others, but to live separately from
  them that he may be alone. It is the glory of a prince to save
  very many; to inconvenience himself in order to raise many up.
  Let him not therefore allege his own profit, but have regard to
  his subjects in whom he is trusted. (?) If he work the salvation
  of the kingdom, he acts the part of a king; whatever he does
  contrary to this, he fails in that point. The true province of
  a king is sufficiently clear from these arguments; [910] that
  he is ignorant of the condition of a king who is occupied only
  with his own affairs. For true charity is as it were contrary
  to self-interest, and an indissoluble league to the community,
  melting like fire everything that is near, as is done with wood
  which they subject to the active fire to increase it, and then
  in return it is taken away to decrease it. Therefore if the
  prince will be warm with charity as much as possible towards the
  community, if he shall be solicitous to govern it well, [920] and
  shall never be rejoiced at its destruction; wherefore if the king
  will love the magnates of the kingdom, although he should know
  alone, like a great prophet, whatever is needful for the ruling
  of the kingdom, whatever is becoming in him, whatever ought to be
  done, truly he will not conceal what he will decree from those
  without whom he cannot effect that which he will ordain. He will
  therefore treat with his people about bringing into effect the
  things which he will not think of doing by himself. Why will he
  not communicate his councils [930] to those whose aid he will
  ask supplicatingly? Whatever draws his people to benignity, and
  makes friends and cherishes unity, it is fit the royal prudence
  should indicate it to those who can augment his glory. Our Lord
  laid open all things to his disciples, dividing from the servants
  those whom he made his friends; and as though he were ignorant,
  he often inquired of his people what was their opinion on matters
  which he knew perfectly. Oh! if princes sought the honour of
  God, [940] they would rule their kingdoms rightly, and without
  error. If princes had the knowledge of God, they would exhibit
  their justice to all. Ignorant of the Lord, as though they were
  blind, they seek the praises of men, delighted only with vanity.
  He who does not know how to rule himself, will be a bad ruler
  over others; if any one will look at the Psalms, he will read the
  same. Joseph as he ought to teach princes, (?) on which account
  the king willed that he should be set over others. And David in
  the innocence of his heart [950] and by his intelligence fed
  Israel. From all that has been said, it may appear evident, that
  it becomes a king to see together with his nobles what things
  are convenient for the government of the kingdom, and what are
  expedient for the preservation of peace; and that the king have
  natives for his companions, not foreigners, nor favourites, for
  his councillors or for the great nobles of the kingdom, who
  supplant others and abolish good customs. For such discord is
  a step-mother to peace, [960] and produces battles, and plots
  treason. For as the envy of the devil introduced death, so hatred
  separates the troop. The king shall hold the natives in their
  rank, and by this governance he will have joy in reigning. But if
  he study to degrade his own people, if he pervert their rank, it
  is in vain for him to ask why thus deranged they do not obey him;
  in fact they would be fools if they did.

       *       *       *       *       *

The following Song was written when jealousies and dissensions were
rife among the barons, and some of them began to desert the popular
cause. It is preserved by William de Rishanger, a contemporary,
in his history of the barons’ wars. The defection of the Earl of
Gloucester contributed not a little to the disastrous termination
of the career of Simon de Montfort at the battle of Evesham.


SONG UPON THE DIVISIONS AMONG THE BARONS.

[MS. Cotton. Claudius D. VI. fol. 101 v^o, latter part of 13th
cent.]

        Plange plorans, Anglia, plena jam dolore;
      Tristis vides tristia, languens cum mærore;
      Nisi te respiciat Christus suo more,
      Eris vile canticum hostium in ore.
        Pepigerunt plurimi salvam te salvare,
      Sed jam nimis necgligunt pactum procurare:
      Nam se quidam retrahunt, qui possunt juvare;
      Quidam subterfugium quærunt ultra mare.
        Hinc est quod incipiunt cæteri certare,
      Et in partes varias animos mutare;
      Dum quæ sic dissentiunt nolunt concordare,
      Sed incepta nequeunt bene terminare.
        Sic respublica perit, terra desolatur;
      Invalescit extera gens et sublimatur;
      Vilescit vir incola et subpeditatur:
      Sustinet injurias, non est qui loquatur.
        Tam miles quam clericus ambo fiunt muti;
      Facti sunt extranei loquaces astuti:
      Inter centum Anglicos non sunt duo tuti;
      Planctum et obprobrium jam sunt assecuti.
        O Comes Gloverniæ, comple quod cœpisti;
      Nisi claudas congrue, multos decepisti.
      Age nunc viriliter sicut promisisti,
      Causam fove fortitur cujus fons fuisti.
        Si, quod absit! subtrahas manum et levamen,
      Terræ fraudem faciens, inferens gravamen:
      Maledictus maneat! fiat! fiat! Amen.
        Comes Simon de Muntford, vir potens et fortis,
      Pugna nunc pro patria, sisque dux cohortis:
      Non te minæ terreant neque timor mortis,
      Rem defende publicam resque tuæ sortis.
        O tu, Comes le Bygot, pactum serva sanum:
      Cum sis miles strenuus, nunc exerce manum.
      Totam turbat modica terra[m] turba canum;
      Exeat aut pereat genus tam prophanum.
        O vos magni proceres, qui vos obligastis
      Observare firmiter illud quod jurastis;
      Terræ si sit utile quod excogitastis,
      Juvet illud citius id quod ordinastis.
        Si velletis prosequi quod jam inchoastis,
      Consequi poteritis quod desiderastis;
      Nisi finem capiat quod diu tractastis,
      Vere dici poterit vane laborastis.
        Honor nobis maximus erit laus et digna,
      Si respondet Anglia vestra gerens signa;
      Quam ut cito liberet a peste maligna,
      Adjuvet nunc Domini pietas benigna!

  TRANSLATION.--Lament with weeping, O England, full as thou now
  art with matter of grief, in sadness thou beholdest sorrowful
  things, languishing in sorrow; unless Christ in his manner have
  regard to thee, thou wilt be but a vile song in the mouth of
  thine enemies.--Very many have pledged themselves to preserve
  thee in safety, but now they have too much neglected their
  promise: for many desert, who have it in their power to help; and
  some slink away over the sea.--Hence the rest begin to quarrel,
  and to go over to different sides; while things which disagree
  in this manner will not be reconciled, and what has been begun
  is left unfinished.--Thus the state is ruined, and the land is
  laid waste; the stranger is strengthened and raised up; the
  native is debased and trodden under foot: while he sustains
  injuries, there is no one who will speak out.--The knight as
  well as the clergy are both become mute; the strangers are
  become talkative and cunning: among a hundred Englishmen there
  are not two who are safe; the lot which they have obtained is
  lamentation and disgrace.--O Earl of Gloucester, complete what
  thou hast commenced; unless thou endest as thou hast begun, thou
  hast deceived many. Act now courageously as thou hast promised,
  cherish steadily the cause of which thou wast the fountain.--If,
  from which God preserve us! thou withdrawest thy hand and
  support, acting treacherously towards the land, and inflicting a
  great injury upon it.... May he be cursed for ever! be it so! be
  it so! amen.--Earl Simon de Montfort, a strong man and a bold,
  fight now for thy country, and be the leader of the band; neither
  let threats scare thee, nor the fear of death; defend the state
  and thy own fortune.--O thou, Earl Bigot, keep unbroken thine
  agreement: as thou art a brave knight, now use thy hand; a small
  troop of dogs puts in commotion the whole land: may such a cursed
  race depart or perish!--O you, great nobles, who bound yourselves
  to observe firmly the oath which you took; if what you imagined
  be profitable to the land, let that which you have ordained aid
  it immediately.--If you will carry to an end that which you have
  begun, you may obtain that which you desired; unless the thing
  which you have long had in hand be perfected, it may be truly
  said that you have laboured in vain.--It will be the highest
  honour to you and a worthy praise, if England answer by carrying
  your standards; which that he may soon deliver from the malignant
  plague, may the benignant piety of the Lord now help it!

       *       *       *       *       *

The triumph of the barons did not last long. In the battle of
Evesham, fought on the fourth of August in the year after that of
Lewes, their great leader fell, with the best of his followers. The
fate of Simon de Montfort was a subject of general lamentation; and
long afterwards he was revered as a saint and martyr, and was even
believed to work miracles. In MS. Cotton. Vespas. A. VI. will be
found a collection of these miracles, and a form of prayers to be
said in his honour, among which is the following hymn (fol. 189,
r^o).

      Salve, Symon Montis-Fortis,
          Totius flos militiæ,
      Duras pœnas passus mortis,
          Protector gentis Angliæ.
      Sunt de sanctis inaudita,
      Cunctis passis in hac vita,
          Quemquam passum talia;
      Manus, pedes amputari,
      Caput, corpus vulnerari,
          Abscidi virilia.
      Sis pro nobis intercessor
      Apud Deum, qui defensor
          In terris extiteras.

The whole was preceded by a life of Simon de Montfort, occupying
two pages of the manuscript, but which some hostile hand has
carefully erased. The following song was evidently written
immediately after the battle of Evesham.


THE LAMENT OF SIMON DE MONTFORT.

[MS. Harl. 2253, fol. 59 r^o, early in 14th cent.]

      Chaunter m’estoit, mon cuer le voit, en un dure langage,
      Tut en ploraunt fust fet le chaunt de nostre duz baronage,
      Que pur la pees, si loynz après se lesserent detrere,
      Lur cors trencher, e demenbrer, pur salver Engleterre.
        Ore est ocys la flur de pris, qe taunt savoit de guere,
        Ly quens Montfort, sa dure mort molt enplorra la terre.

      Si com je qui, par un mardi, firent la bataile,
      Tot à cheval, fust le mal, sauntz nulle pedaile;
      Tresmalement y ferirent de le espie forbie,
      Qe la part sire Edward conquist la mestrie.
        Ore est ocis, etc.

      Mès par sa mort, le cuens Mountfort conquist la victorie,
      Come ly martyr de Caunterbyr, finist sa vie;
      Ne voleit pas li bon Thomas qe perist seinte Eglise,
      Ly cuens auxi se combati, e morust sauntz feyntise.
        Ore est ocys, etc.

      Sire Hue le fer, ly Despencer, tresnoble justice,
      Ore est à tort lyvré à mort, à trop male guise.
      Sire Henri, pur veir le dy, fitz le cuens de Leycestre,
      Autres assez, come vus orrez, par le cuens de Gloucestre.
        Ore est ocis, etc.

      Qe voleint moryr, e mentenir la pees e la dreyture,
      Le seint martir lur fra joyr sa conscience pure,
      Qe velt moryr e sustenir les honmes de la terre,
      Son bon desir acomplir, quar bien le quidom fere.
        Ore est, etc.

      Près de son cors, le bon tresors, une heyre troverent,
      Les faus ribaus, tant furent maus, e ceux qe le tuerent;
      Molt fust pyr, qe demenbryr firent le prodhonme,
      Qe de guerrer e fei tener si bien savoit la sonme.
        Ore est, etc.

      Priez touz, mes amis douz, le fitz Seinte Marie
      Qe l’enfant, her puissant, meigne en bone vie;
      Ne vueil nomer li escoler, ne vueil qe l’em die,
      Mès pur l’amour le salveour, priez pur la clergie.
        Ore est ocys la flur de pris, qe tant savoit de guere,
        Ly quens Montfort, sa dure mort molt enplurra la terre.

      Ne say trover rien qu’il firent bien, ne baroun ne counte,
      Les chivalers e esquiers touz sunt mys à hounte,
      Pur lur lealté e verité, que tut est anentie;
      Le losenger purra reigner, le fol pur sa folie.
        Ore est ocis, etc.

      Sire Simoun, ly prodhom, e sa compagnie,
      En joie vont en ciel amount, en pardurable vie.
      Mès Jhesu Crist, qe en croyz se mist, Dieu en prenge cure,
      Qe sunt remis, e detenuz en prisone dure.
        Ore est ocys, etc.

  TRANSLATION.--I am driven to sing, my heart wills it, in
  sorrowful language,--all with tears was made the song concerning
  our gentle barons,--who for the peace so long after suffered
  themselves to be destroyed,--their bodies to be cut and
  dismembered, to save England.--Now is slain the precious flower,
  who knew so much of war, the Earl Montfort, his hard death the
  land will deeply lament.

  As I believe, it was on a Tuesday, that they fought the
  battle,--all on horse, which was the misfortune, without any
  foot,--very ill they there struck with the burnished sword,--that
  the party of Sir Edward gained the mastery. Now is slain, etc.

  But by his death the Earl Montfort gained the victory,--like the
  martyr of Canterbury he finished his life;--the good Thomas would
  not suffer holy Church to perish,--the Earl fought in a similar
  cause, and died without flinching.--Now is slain, &c.

  Sir Hugh the bold, the Despencer, a very noble justice,--is
  now wrongfully delivered to death, in too shameful a
  manner.--Sir Henry, in truth I say it, the son of the Earl of
  Leicester,--enough of others, as you will hear, by the Earl of
  Gloucester.--Now is slain, etc.

  Because they were willing to die, and to maintain peace and
  right,--the holy martyr will cause them to enjoy his pure
  conscience,--who is willing to die and to sustain the men of
  the land,--to accomplish his good desire, for we think he does
  well.--Now is, etc.

  Near his body, the good treasure, an heir they found,--the false
  ribalds, they were so wicked, and those who slew him;--what was
  much worse, they caused the worthy man to be dismembered,--who
  knew so well the art of fighting and of holding faith.--Now is,
  etc.

  Pray all, my sweet friends, to the Son of St. Mary,--that he lead
  in good life the infant, the powerful heir;--I will not name the
  scholar, I do not desire any one to mention him,--but for the
  love of the Saviour, pray for the clergy.--Now is slain, etc.

  I cannot find any thing that they did well, neither baron nor
  earl,--the knights and the esquires are all disgraced,--on
  account of their loyalty and truth, which is entirely
  annihilated;--the deceitful man may reign, the fool for his
  folly.--Now is slain, etc.

  Sir Simon, the worthy man, and his company,--are gone in joy up
  to heaven, in everlasting life.--But Jesus Christ, who placed
  himself on the cross, and God have care of those,--who are
  remitted, and detained in hard prison.--Now is slain, etc.




REIGN OF EDWARD I. 1272-1307.


Henry outlived the defeat of the barons but a very few years. He
died on the sixteenth of November, 1272, while his son Edward was
occupied in warring against the infidels in the East. Edward was
proclaimed king, while absent. A new monarch is generally welcomed
with songs of praise; and the following, evidently the work of a
zealous opponent of the popular party, seems to have been written
before his arrival in England.


THE PRAISE OF THE YOUNG EDWARD.

[MS. Cotton. Vespas. B. XIII. fol. 130 v^o, 13th cent.]

      Eaduuardi regis Anglorum me pepulere
      Florida gesta loqui, pudor est famosa tacere.
      Hic tener ætate dum vixerat in juvenili,
      Conflictus plures superavit corde virili.
      Belliger ut pardus, fragrans dulcedine nardus,
      Dum viget Eaduuardus, rutilat novus ecce Ricardus.
      Sic gemino flore Britones titulantur honore,
      Bella per Eaduuardi similis et probitate Ricardi.
      Belligeri juvenis laudabat Gallia mores;
      Ampla manus dantis meritos congessit honores.
      Invida gens cupiens meritas extinguere laudes,
      Excogitando novas cœpit contexere fraudes:
      Anglorum proceres legem fingendo novellam,
      Ubere de regno terram fecere misellam.
      Rex pater et patruus cum bina prole reguntur
      Per sibi subjectos, ex quo mala multa sequuntur.
      Degener Anglorum gens, quæ servire solebat,
      Ordine mutato regem cum prole regebat.
      Conjurat populus fruiturus lege novella;
      Fædere mox rupto consurgunt horrida bella.
      Dum Leycestrensem comitem sibi plebs sociavit,
      Intestina sibi dispendia concumulavit.
      In regem proprium gens irruit impia, natum
      Cum patre et patruo captivat, mox dominatum
      Consequitur, gaudent victores, corda tumescunt.
      Effugit Eaduardus, statim nova prælia crescunt.
      Convocat auxilium, solidantur fædera, crevit
      Turma ducis, delusa cohors sua crimina flevit.
      Concurrunt partes, quatiuntur tela, vigore
      /Militis Eaduuardi madidantur rura cruore.
      Occidit ense Comes, proceres mucrone necantur;
      Sic vincunt victi, victores exsuperantur.
      Regno pene suo spoliatus seditione,
      Victrices turmas miro superavit agone.
      Ad regimen regni patrem stirps clara revexit,
      Nequiter ablatum quod longo tempore rexit.
      Plebs devicta fremit, iterumque potentibus unit
      Turmas belligeras, dape, telis, oppida munit.
      Insula per proceres vastatur mox Eliensis.
      Urbs regni nostri capitanea Londoniensis
      Per quosdam capitur, quatitur certamine diro;
      Sed debellantur hæc omnia robore miro.
      Pax optata redit, conduntur tela, nitescunt
      Nubila quæ fuerant, Anglorum gaudia crescunt.
      Impiger Eaduuardus devitans otia, signum
      Mox crucis assumpsit, cupiens exsolvere dignum
      Obsequium Christo, qui se liberavit ab isto
      Turbine bellorum; sequitur pia turba virorum.
      Francorum regis germanus rex Siculorum
      Innumeros populos ad regnum Tuniciorum
      Duxerat, ut vetitum potuit rehabere tributum,
      Agminibus cunctis dicens iter hoc fore tutum
      In terram sanctam; cruce plebs signata dolebat,
      Dum sua vota male jam commutata videbat.
      Eaduuardus sequitur credens bellare potenter
      Cum Sarracenis; gentilis rex sapienter
      Prælia devitans, solvit quodcunque petebat.
      Rex Lodowicus obit cum prima prole, dolebat
      Gallia, rex Karolus remeat, turmasque reduxit,
      Anglos cum Siculis, Britonum plebs anxia luxit.
      Vota crucis Christi Siculorum rex male frangit,
      Et sua delusus populus discrimina plangit.
      Applicat in portu Trapennæ, mox borialis
      Turbo quatit puppes, populus perit innumeralis,
      Mergitur æs totum, salvatur et Anglica classis
      Munere divino, quod non periit valor assis.
      Rex prodire negat, renuens sua solvere vota.
      Dux pius Anglorum similis et sua concio tota
      Puppes ascendit, mare transmeat, ad loca tendit
      Gentibus obsessa, longævo turbine pressa.
      Accon respirat de tanto milite gaudens,
      Atque sepulta diu psallit nova cantica plaudens.
      Soldanus fremuit, procerem cogitando necare,
      Quem per carnificem dirum fecit jugulare.
      Hic assessinus Veteris de Monte ferebat
      Nuncia conficta, quæ falso conficiebat;
      Ingreditur thalamos præludens hostia, cultro
      Vulnera vulneribus impressit; strenuus ultro
      Restitit Eaduuardus, tortorem robore stravit,
      Quem telo proprio condigna morte necavit.
      Et quia condignum Christus famulum sibi novit,
      Illius plagas sacro medicamine fovit.

_Expliciunt versus secundum Thomam de Wyta compositi de domino
Eadwardo Angliæ rege illustrissimo._

  TRANSLATION.--The flourishing deeds of Edward King of the English
  oblige me to talk, for it is shameful to let pass famous actions
  in silence. He, while yet in his tender youth, went through many
  conflicts with a manly heart. Warlike as a pard, fragrant with
  sweetness like spikenard, whilst Edward is in his vigour, behold
  he shines like a new Richard. Thus the Britons have a double
  claim to honour, by the wars of Edward equally and by the valour
  of Richard. France praised the manners of the warlike youth; the
  ample hand of the giver amassed merited honours. The envious
  people desiring to extinguish his merited praise, began to weave
  new plots in their mind: the English nobles, by inventing a new
  law, made a wretched land of a rich kingdom. The king his father,
  and his uncle, with their two children, are governed by their
  subjects, out of which many evils follow. The degenerate race of
  the English, which used to serve, inverting the order of things,
  ruled over the king and his children. The people conspires, in
  order to enjoy a new law; soon after, the league being broken,
  horrid wars arise. While the populace associated with itself the
  Earl of Leicester, it accumulated for itself internal exhaustion.
  The impious people attacks its own king, makes captive the son
  with his father and uncle, next seizes upon the government;
  the victors rejoice, their hearts swell. Edward escapes, and
  immediately new battles follow. He calls together assistance,
  leagues are established, the army of the leader increased, the
  deluded troop laments its crimes. The parties meet; weapons are
  clashed; the fields are moistened with blood by the vigour of
  the soldier Edward. The Earl is slain by the sword; the barons
  are put to death with the weapon’s point; thus the vanquished
  conquer, and the conquerors are overcome. Although by sedition
  almost robbed of his own kingdom, he overcame the conquering
  legions by a wonderful effort. The noble offspring carried back
  his father to the government of the kingdom, wickedly wrested
  from him, which he had long ruled. The conquered populace roars,
  and again joins its warlike squadrons to the barons; fortifies
  towns with provisions and weapons. Soon after the isle of Ely
  is ravaged by the popular leaders. London, the capital city of
  our kingdom, is occupied by some, and is shaken with fearful
  strife; but all these difficulties are conquered with wonderful
  strength. Peace, wished for, returns; the arms are laid by;
  clouds have given place to sunshine; the joys of the English
  increase. The active Edward, flying from idleness, next took up
  the sign of the cross, desirous of performing a worthy service
  to Christ, who had delivered him from this whirlwind of wars;
  a pious troop of men follows. The King of Sicily, brother of
  the King of France, had conducted a vast host to the kingdom of
  Tunis, that he might recover the tribute which had been refused,
  saying that this would be a safe way for the whole army to the
  Holy Land; the people which was signed with the cross lamented to
  see its object thus unpropitiously changed. Edward follows in the
  belief that there will be powerful fighting with the Saracens;
  but the Gentile King wisely avoiding battle, paid whatever he
  asked. King Louis dies with his eldest son; France lamented;
  King Charles returns, and brings back the troops, the English
  with the Sicilians; the anxious Britons wept. The King of Sicily
  wickedly broke his vow of crusading, and the people, deceived,
  lamented his changing. He arrives at the port of Trapeni; soon
  a whirlwind from the north strikes the fleet; multitudes of
  people perish; all the money is sunk; but the English fleet is
  providentially saved, without losing the value of a farthing.
  The king refuses to proceed, or to perform his vow. The pious
  leader of the English and all his company alike embark, pass the
  sea, and make for the places which were besieged by the Gentiles,
  pressed under a long lasting storm. Acre takes breath, rejoicing
  in such a soldier, and rises as it were from the grave to sing
  new songs of praise. The Soldan was enraged, and thought to slay
  the noble leader, whom he caused to be stabbed by a detestable
  butcher. This assassin brought pretended messages from the Old
  Man of the Mountain, which were but false pretences; he enters
  the chamber and shuts the door; with a knife he adds wound upon
  wound; but Edward, on the other hand, resisted strenuously; with
  his strength he laid prostrate the murderer, whom he slew with a
  merited death by his own weapon. And because Christ knew that his
  servant was worthy, he healed his wounds with a sacred medicine.

       *       *       *       *       *

Popular dissatisfaction may be traced throughout Edward’s reign, we
may venture to say from the day in which he mounted the throne. The
following song seems to have been popular soon after his accession;
and it is written in Latin and Anglo-Norman, in order that it might
be sung more generally. In the manuscript, each stanza of the Latin
is followed by the corresponding stanza in Anglo-Norman. Between
the Latin lines of the first stanza is left space apparently for
music.


A SONG ON THE TIMES.

[From MS. Harl. 746, fol. 103 v^o, of the beginning of the reign of
Edw. I.]

      Vulneratur karitas, amor ægrotatur:
      Regnat et perfidia, livor generatur.
      Fraus primatum optinet, pax subpeditatur;
      Fides vincta carcere nimis desolatur.

      In præsenti tempore non valet scriptura;
      Sed sopita veluti latent legis jura,


          Amur gist en maladie, charité est nafré;
          Ore regne tricherie, hayne est engendré.
          Boidie ad seignurie, pes est mise suz pé;
          Fei n’ad ki lui guie, en prisun est lié.

          Ne lerray ke ne vus die, ne vaut ore escripture;
          Mès cum fust endormie e tapist dreiture,


      Et nephandi generis excæcata cura
      Nullo sensu prævio formidat futura.

      Resistentes subruunt iniquitatis nati;
      Perit pax ecclesiæ, regnant et elati.
      Hoc silendo sustinent improbi prælati,
      Mortem pro justitia recusantes pati.

      Strata pace penitus, amor refrigescit;
      Tota tellus Angliæ mærore madescit,
      Omnisque dilectio dulcis evanescit:
      Cuncti consolatium quærunt quo quiescit.


          De la gent haye avugle est la cure,
          Ke el ne dute mie venjance à venir dure.

          Les contre-estanz abatent li fiz de felonie;
          Lors perit seinte eglise, quant orgoil la mestrie.
          Ceo sustenent li prelaz ki s’i ne peinent mie,
          Pur dreiture sustenir nolent perdre vie.

          Pes est acravanté e amur refreidie;
          La terre est desconforté e de plur enmoistie,
          Amur et amisté tut est anentie:
          N’i ad nul ki ne quert confort et aye.


      Patre carent parvuli pupilli plangentes,
      Atque matre orphani fame jam deflentes;
      Qui in primis penitus fuerunt potentes,
      Nunc subcumbunt gladio, plorant et parentes.

      Ecce pravi pueri pauperes prædantur;
      Ecce donis divites dolose ditantur;
      Omnes pene proceres mala machinantur;
      Insani satellites livore lætantur.

      Ecce viri confluunt undique raptores;
      Ecce pacis pereunt legisque latores;


          Asez i ad des orphanins grant doel demenanz,
          Ke lur parenz sunt mis à fins, dunt il en sunt dolenz,
          Cil ki en comencent furent mult pussanz,
          Sunt suzmis à le espeye, e plorent li parenz.

          Li enfanz felons s’en vunt la povere gent preer;
          Li riches à tort enrichiz sunt de autri aver;
          A peine i ad haute home ki cesse mal penser;
          De hayne sunt haitez li felons esquier.

          De tote parz venent li bers ravisanz;
          Ore perissent de pes e de la ley li sustenanz;


      Dogmata despiciunt truces hii tortores,
      Et prodesse nequeunt sancti confessores.

      Hii converti respuunt virtute sermonum,
      Neque curam capiunt de vita vironum;
      Omnes simul rapiunt, ut mos est prædonum.
      Hiis vindictam ingere, Deus ultionum!


          Enseignement refusent ces cruels tormentanz,
          Espleyt ne poent fere cil ki vunt prechanz.

          Si il se ne volent amender pur dit ne pur fesance,
          Mès pur tuer quant ont poer ben ont la voillance;
          Trestuz en funt ravine, de Deu n’en ont dotance.
          Cels metez à declin, sire Deu de venjance!

  TRANSLATION.--Charity is wounded, love is sick; perfidy reigns,
  and malice is engendered. The fraud of the rulers prevails,
  peace is trodden under foot; faith fettered in prison is very
  desolate.--At present, a writing is of no use; but right and
  law lie as it were asleep, and the care of the wicked race is
  blind, it has not sufficient foresight to fear the future.--The
  sons of iniquity crush those who resist; the peace of the church
  perishes, and the proud reign. The wicked prelates support this
  state of things by their supineness, for they refuse to suffer
  death for justice.--Peace being altogether overthrown, love is
  cooled; all the land of England is moist with weeping, and all
  friendship and kindness has disappeared; all seek consolation
  and quiet.--The little orphans lament the loss of their father,
  and, deprived of their mother, they sorrow in the midst of
  hunger; they who at first were very powerful, now fall by the
  sword, and their parents weep.--Lo! wicked children rob the
  poor; lo! the wealth of the rich is increased by exacting gifts;
  almost all the nobles spend their time in contriving evil; the
  mad esquires delight in malice.--Lo! the rapacious men appear
  on every side; lo! the supporters of peace and justice perish;
  these cruel butchers despise doctrine, and the holy preachers
  have no effect.--These men will not be amended by the force of
  sermons; nor do they make any account of the lives of men; they
  all plunder together, like robbers. Take vengeance upon them, O
  God of vengeance.

       *       *       *       *       *

One of the legacies which St. Louis left to Christendom was the
number of new orders of monks which had been created during his
reign and by his encouragement. They soon spread from France into
England; but they were very far from being popular in either
country, and were the constant butt of the gibes and jokes of
the poets. The following is a bitter satire upon the different
orders of monks in England in the reign of Edward I. The idea of
caricaturing them by feigning one order which should unite the
different characteristic vices of all the others, was not new.


THE ORDER OF FAIR-EASE.

[MS. Harl. No. 2253, fol. 121 r^o. Reign of Ed. II.]

      Qui vodra à moi entendre,
      Oyr purra e aprendre
      L’estoyre de un Ordre novel,
      Qe mout est delitous e bel:
      Je le vus dirroi come l’ay apris
      Des freres de mon pays.
      L’Ordre est si foundé à droit,
      Qe de tous ordres un point estroit,
      N’i ad ordre en cest mound
      Dont si n’i ad ascun point.               10
      Le noun de l’Ordre vus vueil dyre,
      Qe um ne me pust blamer de lire;
      Qy oyr velt si se teyse,
      C’est le Ordre de Bel-Eyse.
      De l’Ordre vus dirroi la sonme;
      Quar en l’Ordre est meint prodhonme,
      E meinte bele e bone dame.
      En cel Ordre sunt sanz blame
      Esquiers, vadletz, e serjauntz;
      Mès à ribaldz e à pesauntz                20
      Est l’Ordre del tot defendu,
      Qe jà nul ne soit rescu.
      Quar il frount à l’Ordre hounte.
      Quant rybaud ou vyleyn mounte
      En hautesse ou baylie,
      Là oû il puet aver mestrie,
      N’i ad plus de mesure en eux
      Qe al le luop qe devoure aigneux.
      De cele gent lerroi ataunt,
      E de le Ordre dirroi avaunt.              30
        En cel Ordre dount je vus dy,
      Est primes issi estably,
      Que ceux qe à l’Ordre serrount,
      De Sympringham averount
      Un point, qe bien pleysant serra,
      Come l’abbeie de Sympringham a,
      Freres e sueres ensemble;
      C’est bon Ordre, come me semble.
      Mès de tant ert changié, pur veyr,
      Q’à Sympringham doit aver                 40
      Entre les freres e les sorours,
      Qe desplest à plusours,
      Fossés e murs de haute teyse;
      Mès en cet Ordre de Bel-Eyse
      Ne doit fossé ne mur aver,
      Ne nul autre destourber,
      Qe les freres à lur pleysyr
      Ne pussent à lor sueres venyr,
      E qu’il n’eit point de chalaunge.
      Jà n’i avera ne lyn ne launge             50
      Entre eux, e si le peil y a,
      Jà pur ce ne remeindra.
      De yleoque est ensi purveu,
      Qe cil q’à l’Ordre serrount rendu,
      De l’abbé deyvent bien estre:
      E ce comaund nostre mestre,
      Pur bien manger e à talent
      Treis foiz le jour, e plus sovent.
      E s’il le font pur compagnye,
      Le Ordre pur ce ne remeindra mie.         60
        De Beverleye ont un point treit,
      Qe serra tenu bien e dreit,
      Pur beyvre bien à mangier,
      E pus après desqu’à soper;
      E après al collacioun,
      Deit chescun aver un copoun
      De chandelle long desqu’al coute,
      E tant come remeindra goute
      De la chandeille à arder
      Deivent les freres à beyvre ser.          70
        Un point unt tret de Hospitlers,
      Qe sunt mult corteis chevalers,
      E ount robes bien avenauntz,
      Longes desqu’al pié traynantz,
      Soudlers e chausés bien séantz,
      E gros palefrois bien amblantz;
      Si deyvent en nostre Ordre aver
      Les freres e sueres, pur veyr.
        De Chanoynes ont un point pris,
      Qu’en l’Ordre ert bien assis;             80
      Quar chanoygnes pur grant peyne
      Mangent en la symeygne
      Char en le refreitour treis jours;
      Auxi deyvent nos sorours
      E nos freres chescun jour
      Char mangier en refreitour,
      Fors le vendredi soulement,
      E le samadi ensement.
      E si issint avenist
      Q’al samadi hoste fust,                   90
      E l’em ne ust plenté de pesshon,
      L’estor qe fust en la mesoun
      Purreint il par congié prendre,
      Jà l’Ordre ne serra le meindre.
        Un point ont tret de Moyne Neirs,
      Que volenters beyvent, pur veyrs,
      E sount cheschun jour yvre,
      Quar ne sevent autre vivre;
      Mès il le fount pur compagnie,
      E ne mie pur glotonie.                   100
      Auxi est il purveu
      Que chescun frere soit enbu,
      De jour en jour tot adès
      Devant manger e après.
      E si il avenist ensi
      Qe à frere venist amy,
      Dount se deyvent ensorter
      Pur les freres solacer,
      Qui savera bien juer le seyr;
      Ce vus di-je de veir,                    110
      Yl dormira grant matinée,
      Desque la male fumée
      Seit de la teste issue,
      Pur grant peril de la vewe.
        Des Chanoygnes Seculers,
      Qe dames servent volenters,
      Ont nos mestres un point treit,
      E vueillent qe cel point seit
      Bien tenuz e bien uséez;
      Quar c’est le point, bien sachez,        120
      Que pluz ad en l’Ordre mester,
      Pur les freres solacer.
      Si est, sur eschumygement,
      Comaundé molt estroitement,
      Que chescun frere à sa sorour
      Deit fere le giw d’amour
      Devant matines adescement,
      E après matines ensement;
      E s’il le fet avant son departyr
      Troiz foiz à soun pleysyr,               130
      Jà le frere blame ne avera,
      Ne le Ordre enpeyré serra.
        Gris Moignes sunt dure gent,
      E de lur ordre nequedent
      Vueillent nos mestres pur grever
      L’Ordre un des lur poyntz aver;
      E si n’est geres corteis,--
      Quar à matines vont sanz breys.
      Auxi deyvent nos freres fere,
      Pur estre prest à lur affere.            140
      E quant il fount nul oreysoun,
      Si deyvent estre à genulloun,
      Pur aver greindre devocioun
      A fere lur executioun.
      E ou un seyn sonnent santz plus,
      C’est lur ordre e lur us:--
      Mès nos freres pur doubler,
      Ou deus seynz deyvent soner.
      De taunt est nostre Ordre dyvers,
      Qe no sueres deyvent envers              150
      Gysyr e orer countre-mount,
      Par grant devocioun le fount.
        Issi pernent en pacience,
      C’est point de l’Ordre de Cilence;
      Chaichons est bon ordre, sanz faile,
      N’est nul des autres qe taunt vayle;--
      Pur ce vueillent ascun point trere
      De cel ordre à nostre affere.
      Chescun est en sa celle enclos,
      Pur estre soul en repos;                 160
      Auxi deyvent nos freres estre,
      Si doit chescun à sa fenestre
      Del herber aver pur solas,
      E sa suere entre ces bras,
      E estre enclos privément,
      Pur survenue de la gent.
        Ne devomz pas entreoublier,
      Si nostre ordre deit durer,
      Les Frere Menours à nul suer,
      Qe Dieu servent de bon cuer;             170
      Si devomz ascun point aver
      De lur ordre, pur mieux valer.
      Lur ordre est fondé en poverte,
      Pur quei yl vont la voie apierte
      En ciel tot plenerement;
      Si vus dirroi bien coment
      Yl querent poverte tot dis;
      Quaunt il vont par le pays,
      Al chief baroun ou chivaler
      Se lerrount il herberger,                180
      Ou à chief persone ou prestre,
      Là ou il purrount acese estre;
      Mès par Seint Piere de Ronme,
      Ne se herbigerount ou povre honme,--
      Taunt come plus riches serrount,
      Ostiel plustost demanderount.
      Ne ne deyvent nos freres fere
      Ostiel, ne autre lyu quere,
      Fors là ou il sevent plenté,
      E là deyvent en charité                  190
      Char mangier e ce qu’il ount,
      Auxi come les Menours fount.
        Pus qe avomz des menours,
      Auxi averomz des Prechours;
      Ne vont come les autres nuyz péez
      Eynz vont precher tot chaucéez,
      E s’il avient ascune feez
      Qu’il seient malades as piés,
      Yl purrount, s’il ount talent,
      Chevalcher tot plenerement               200
      Tote la jornée entière.
      Mès tot en autre manere
      Deyvent nos freres fere,
      Quant il prechent par la terre;
      Car il deyvent tot adès
      Tot dis chevalcher loinz e près:
      E quant il fount nul sermoun,
      Si deyvent estre dedenz mesoun.
      E tote foiz après manger
      Deyvent il de dreit precher;             210
      Quar meint honme est de tiele manere,
      Qu’il ad le cuer pluz dur qe piere,
      Mès quant il avera ankes bu
      Tost avera le Ordre entendu,
      E les cuers serront enmoistez,
      De plus leger serrount oyez,
      Qe à l’Ordre se rendrount
      Quant le sermon oy averont.
        Ensi est nostre ordre foundé,
      E si ount nos freres en pensée,          220
      Qe chescun counté doit aver
      Un abbé, qe eit poer
      A receyvre sueres e freres,
      E fere e tenyr ordres pleneres,
      E qe les pointz seient tenuz
      Qe nos mestres ount purveuz.
      Un provyncial en la terre
      Doit aler e enquere,
      Pur saver qy l’Ordre tendra.
      E cely qe le enfreindra,                 230
      Serra privément chastié,
      E de son meffet reprové.
      E ceux qe serront trovez
      Qe l’Ordre averount bien usez,
      Si deyvent pur lur humilité
      Estre mis en digneté,
      E serrount abbés ou priours
      A tenyr l’Ordre en honeurs.
      Issi fount les Augustyns,
      Qe tant sevent de devyns;                240
      Par tot enquergent pleynement
      Qy tienent l’Ordre lealment,
      E ceux qe l’Ordre tendrount
      Par tot loé serrount.
        Atant fine nostre Ordre,
      Q’à touz bonz ordres se acorde,
      E c’est l’Ordre de Bel-Eyse,
      Qe à plusours trobien pleyse!

  TRANSLATION.--He who will listen to me, may hear and learn the
  history of a new Order, which is very pleasant and beautiful:
  I will tell it you as I have learnt it from the brethren of my
  country. The Order is so cleverly founded, that it takes a point
  from all the other orders; there is not an order in this world,
  of which there is not there some one point. The name of the Order
  I will tell you, that I may not be blamed for what I read; he
  who will hear, let him be silent, it is the Order of Fair-Ease.
  Of this Order I will tell you the sum; for in the order is many
  a worthy fellow, and many a fair and good dame. In this Order
  there are without blame, esquires, valets, and serjeants; but
  to ribalds and to peasants the Order is entirely forbidden,
  so that no one may be received into it. For they would bring
  disgrace upon the Order. When ribald or vilein mounts to high
  place or office, there where he can have power, there is no more
  moderation in them than in the wolf which devours lambs. Of such
  people I will say no more, but I will go on to talk about the
  Order.

  In this Order of which I tell you, it is first ordained thus,
  that those who shall belong to the Order, shall have one point
  of Sempringham, which will be very agreeable, as the Abbey of
  Sempringham has, brothers and sisters together; it is a good
  Order, as it seems to me. But so far, in truth, it is changed,
  that at Sempringham there must be between the brothers and the
  sisters (a thing which displeases many,) ditches and walls of
  high measure; but in this Order of Fair-Ease there must be
  neither ditch nor wall, nor any other impediment, to hinder
  the brethren at their pleasure from visiting the sisters, nor
  shall there be any watch-word. Their intimacy shall neither be
  separated by linen nor wool, or even by their very skins. From
  thence also it is provided, that they who shall enter the Order,
  must be well entertained by the abbot: and this our master
  commands, to eat well and plentifully three times a day, and
  oftener. And if they do it for company, the Order on that account
  shall not be the worse.

  Of Beverley they have taken a point, which shall be kept well
  and accurately, to drink well at their meat, and then afterwards
  until supper; and afterwards at the collation, each must have
  a piece of candle as long as the arm below the elbow, and as
  long as there shall remain a morsel of the candle to burn, the
  brethren must continue their drinking.

  A point they have taken from the Hospitallers, who are very
  courteous knights, and have very becoming robes, so long that
  they drag at their feet; shoes and breeches which fit elegantly,
  and great palfreys that amble well; so in our Order, in truth,
  the brethren and sisters must have them.

  Of the Canons they have taken a point, which will agree well
  with the Order; for the canons, for great pain, eat in the
  refectory flesh three days in the week; so must our sisters and
  our brethren eat flesh in the refectory every day, except only
  Friday, and likewise Saturday. And if it so happen that there be
  a fast on the Saturday, and they have not plenty of fish, they
  may have leave to take what provisions are in the house; the
  Order will be none the worse for it.

  A point they have taken from the Black Monks, that they love
  drinking, forsooth, and are drunk every day, for they do not know
  any other way of living. But they do it for the sake of society,
  and not at all out of gluttony. Also it is provided, that each
  brother drink before dinner and after. And if it so happen that
  a friend visit a brother (for such must be at hand to solace
  the brethren) who shall know how to play in the evening; this I
  tell you for certain, he shall sleep late in the morning, until
  the evil fumes are issued from his head, for great danger of the
  sight.

  Of the Secular Canons, who willingly serve ladies, our masters
  have taken a point, and will that this point be well observed
  and well used; for know that this point is more needful than
  any in the Order, in order to solace the brethren. And so it
  is commanded very straightly, on pain of excommunication,
  that the brethren be constant companions of the sisters, both
  before matins and after, so that the brethren be not blamed for
  neglecting them, nor the Order receive discredit.

  The Grey Monks are a hard race; yet, nevertheless, from their
  order our masters will that the Order have one of their points
  for mortification; and in fact it is not over courteous,--for
  they go to matins without breeches. So ought our brethren to do,
  to be more at their ease. And when they make no prayer, they must
  be on their knees, to have greater and more effectual devotion:
  and they ring with one bell, and no more,--it is their order
  and usage:--but our brethren, to double it, must sound with two
  bells. Our Order has such difference, that our sisters must
  lay down flat and pray on their backs, they do it out of great
  devotion.

  Also they take in patience, it is a point from the Order of
  Silence; each is a good order, without doubt, but none of the
  others is so valuable;--therefore they will take one point of
  this order for our purpose. Each is shut up in his cell, to
  repose himself alone; so our brothers must be, and each at his
  window must have some plants to comfort him, and his sister in
  his arms, and he must be shut up privately, that nobody may
  disturb them.

  We must not forget, if our Order is to last, the Friars Minors,
  in no case; so must we have a point of their order, to be of more
  account. Their order is founded in poverty, therefore they go the
  open way to heaven completely; and I will tell you exactly how
  they seek poverty always; when they travel through the country,
  they take up their lodgings with the chief baron or knight,
  or with the chief person or priest, there where they can be
  satiated; but, by St. Peter of Rome! they will never lodge with
  a poor man,--so long as there are richer men to be found, they
  prefer asking a lodging of them. In the same manner our brethren
  must not take up their lodging, nor seek other place, than where
  they know there is plenty, and there they ought in charity to eat
  flesh and whatever they find, as the Friars Minors do.

  As we owe something to the Minors, we will borrow also of the
  Preachers; they do not go bare-foot like the others, but they
  go preaching with shoes on, and if it happen any time that they
  have sore feet, they may, if they like, ride on horseback at
  their ease all the day long. But quite in another manner ought
  our brethren to do, when they preach through the land; for they
  must ride thus always both far and near: and when they make any
  sermon, they must be within doors. And always after dinner they
  ought rightly to preach; for many a man is of such a character,
  that his heart is harder than stone; but when he shall have once
  drunk, then as soon as he has heard the Order, and the hearts
  shall be moistened, however little they might have heard, they
  will listen to the Order, when they have heard the sermon.

  Thus is our Order founded, and our brothers have deemed right,
  that each county must have an abbot, who has power to receive
  sisters and brothers, and make and hold full orders, and that
  the points shall be held which our masters have provided. A
  provincial ought to go and inquire in the land, to know who will
  hold the Order. And he who shall break it, shall be chastised
  in private, and reproved for his trespass. And those who shall
  be found to have made good use of the order, must, for their
  humility, be raised to dignity, and they shall be abbots or
  priors to hold the order in honours. Thus do the Augustine
  Monks, who know so many devices; every where they give full
  encouragement to those who hold the Order loyally, and those who
  will hold the Order shall be praised everywhere.

  Now ends our Order, which agrees with all good orders, and it is
  the Order of Fair-Ease, which to many may it please too well!

       *       *       *       *       *

Edward endeavoured to call off the vigour of his subjects from
domestic sedition to foreign wars. But the expenses dependent
upon the latter only added to the many burdens under which the
English peasantry laboured; and it is now that we begin to find the
complaints of the latter vented in the shape of popular songs.


SONG OF THE HUSBANDMAN.

[MS. Harl. No. 2253, fol. 64, r^o; reign of Edw. II.]

      Ich herde men upo mold make muche mon,
        Hou he beth i-tened of here tilyynge,
      Gode ȝeres and corn bothe beth a-gon,
        Ne kepeth here no sawe ne no song syng.
      “Now we mote worche, nis ther non other won,
        Mai ich no lengore lyve with my lesinge;
      Ȝet ther is a bitterore bid to the bon,
        For ever the furthe peni mot to the kynge.

      Thus we carpeth for the kyng, and carieth ful colde,
        And weneth for te kevere, and ever buth a-cast;
      Whose hath eny god, hopeth he nout to holde,
        Bote ever the levest we leoseth a-last.

      Luther is to leosen ther ase lutel ys,
        And haveth monie hynen that hopieth therto;
      The hayward heteth us harm to habben of his;
        The bailif bockneth us bale and weneth wel do;
      The wodeward waiteth us wo that loketh under rys;
        Ne mai us ryse no rest rycheis ne ro.
      Thus me pileth the pore that is of lute pris:
        Nede in swot and in swynk swynde mot swo:”

      Nede he mot swynde thah he hade swore,
        That nath nout en hod his lied for te hude.
      Thus wil walketh in londe, and lawe is for-lore,
        And al is piked of the pore, the prikyares prude.

      Thus me pileth the pore and pyketh ful clene,
        The ryche raymeth withouten eny ryht;
      Ar londes and ar leodes liggeth fol lene,
        Thorh b[i]ddyng of baylyfs such harm hem hath hiht.
      Meni of religioun me halt hem ful hene,
        Baroun and bonde, the clerc and the knyht.
      Thus wil walketh in loud, and wondred ys wene,
        Falsshipe fatteth and marreth wyth myht.

      Stont fulle ythe stude, and halt him ful sturne,
        That maketh beggares go with bordon and bagges.
      Thus we beth honted from hale to hurne;
        That er werede robes, nou wereth ragges.

      Ȝet cometh budeles, with ful muche bost,--
        “Greythe me selver to the grene wax:
      Thou art writen y my writ that thou wel wost.”
        Mo then ten sithen told y my tax.
      Thenne mot ych habbe hennen a-rost,
        Feyr on fyhshe day launprey ant lax;
      Forth to the chepyn geyneth ne chost,
        Thah y sulle mi bil ant my borstax.

      Ich mot legge my wed wel ȝef y wolle,
        Other sulle mi corn on gras that is grene.
      Ȝet I shal be foul cherl, thah he han the fulle,
        That ich alle ȝer spare thenne y mot spene.

      Nede y mot spene that y spared ȝore,
        Aȝeyn this cachereles cometh thus y mot care;
      Cometh the maister budel brust ase a bore,
        Seith he wole mi bugging bringe ful bare.
      Mede y mot munten a mark other more,
        Thah ich at the set dey sulle mi mare.
      Ther the grene wax us greveth under gore,
        That me us honteth ase hound doth the hare.

      He us honteth ase hound hare doh on hulle;
        Seththe y tek to the lond such tene me wes taht.
      Nabbeth ner budeles boded ar sulle,
        For he may scape ant we aren ever caht.

      Thus y kippe ant cacche cares ful colde,
        Seththe y counte ant cot hade to kepe;
      To seche selver to the kyng y mi seed solde,
        Forthi mi lond leye lith ant leorneth to slepe.
      Seththe he mi feire feh fatte y my folde,
        When y thenk o mi weole wel neh y wepe;
      Thus bredeth monie beggares bolde,
        Ant ure ruȝe ys roted ant ruls er we repe.

      Ruls ys oure ruȝe ant roted in the stre,
        For wickede wederes by brok ant by brynke.
      Ther wakeneth in the world wondred ant wee,
        Ase god is swynden anon as so for te swynke.

  TRANSLATION.--I heard men on the earth make much
  lamentation,--how they are injured in their tillage,--good years
  and corn are both gone,--they keep here no saying and sing no
  song.--Now we must work, there is no other custom,--I can no
  longer live with my gleaning;--yet there is a bitterer asking for
  the boon,--for ever the fourth penny must [go] to the king.

  Thus we complain for the king, and care full coldly,--and think
  to recover, and ever are cast;--he who hath any goods, expects
  not to keep them,--but ever the dearest we lose at last.

  It is grievous to lose, where there is little,--and we have many
  fellows who expect it;--the hayward commandeth us harm to have
  of his;--the bailiff causeth us to know evil, and thinks to do
  well;--the woodward has woe in keeping for us, who looketh under
  branches;--there may not arise to us or remain with us riches or
  repose.--Thus they rob the poor man, who is of little value:--he
  must needs in sweat and in labour waste away so.

  He must needs pine away, though he had swore (?),--that hath not
  a hood to hide his head.--Thus will walketh in the land, and law
  is destroyed,--and all the pride of the rider is picked from the
  poor.

  Thus they rob the poor and pick him full clean,--the rich
  lord it without any right;--their lands and their people lay
  full lean,--through asking of bailifs such harm has befallen
  them.--Many of religion hold them full abject,--baron and
  bond-man, the clerk and the knight.--Thus will walks in the land,
  and consternation is frequent,--falsehood fattens and marrs with
  might.

  He stands full in the place, and holds him full sternly,--that
  makes beggars go with bordon and bags.--Thus we are hunted from
  hall to corner;--they who once wore robes, now wear rags.

  Still there come beadles, with very great boast,--“Prepare me
  silver for the green wax:--thou art entered in my writing, that
  thou knowest well of.”--More than ten times I paid my tax.--Then
  must I have hens roasted,--fair on the fish day lamprey and
  salmon;--forth to the market gains not cost,--though I sell my
  bill and my borstax.

  I must lay my pledge well if I will,--or sell my corn while it is
  but green grass.--Yet I shall be a foul churl, though they have
  the whole,--what I have saved all the year, I must spend then.

  I must needs spend what I saved formerly,--I must thus take care
  against the time these catchpoles come;--the master beadle comes
  as roughly as a boar,--he says he will make my lodgings full
  bare;--I must give him for meed a mark or more,--though I sell
  my mare at the day fixed.--There the green wax grieveth us under
  garment,--so that they hunt us as a hound doth the hare.

  They hunt us as a hound doth a hare on the hill;--since I took to
  the land such hurt was given me:--the beadles have never asked
  their ...,--for they may scape, and we are always caught.

  Thus I take and catch cares full cold,--since I reckoning
  and cot had to keep;--to seek silver for the king, I sold
  my seed,--wherefore my land lies fallow and learneth to
  sleep.--Since they fetched my fair cattle in my fold,--when
  I think of my weal I very nearly weep;--thus breed many bold
  beggars,--and our rye is rotted and ... before we reap.

  ... is our rye and rotted in the straw,--on account of the
  bad weather by brook and by brink.--There wakes in the world
  consternation and woe,--as good is to perish at once as so to
  labour.

       *       *       *       *       *

The following song appears to be directed against the gay fashions
in Ladies’ clothing which became prevalent about this time, and
seem even to have been aped by the middle and lower ranks.


AGAINST THE PRIDE OF THE LADIES.

[MS. Harl. 2253, fol. 61, v^o; reign of Edw. II.]

      Lord that lenest us lyf, ant lokest uch an lede,
      For te cocke with knyf nast thou none nede;
      Bothe wepmon ant wyf sore mowe drede,
      Lest thou be sturne with strif, for bone that thou bede,
                      in wunne
          That monku[n]ne
          Shulde shilde hem from sunne.

      Nou hath prude the pris in everuche plawe;
      By mony wymmon un-wis y sugge mi sawe,
      For ȝef a ledy lyne is leid after lawe,
      Uch a strumpet that ther is such drahtes wl drawe;
                      in prude
          Uch a screwe wol hire shrude
          Thah he nabbe nout a smoke hire foule ers to hude.

      Furmest in boure were boses y-broht,
      Levedis to honoure ichot he were wroht;
      Uch gigelot wol loure, bote he hem habbe soht;
      Such shrewe fol soure ant duere hit hath a-boht;
                      in helle
          With develes he shule duelle,
          For the clogges that cleveth by here chelle.

      Nou ne lacketh hem no lyn boses in to beren;
      He sitteth ase a slat swyn that hongeth is eren.
      Such a joustynde gyn uch wrecche wol weren,
      Al hit cometh in declyn this gigelotes geren;
                      upo lofte
          The devel may sitte softe,
          Ant holden his halymotes ofte.

      Ȝef ther lyth a loket by er outher eȝe,
      That mot with worse be wet for lat of other leȝe;
      The bout and the barbet wyth frountel shule feȝe;
      Habbe he a fauce filet, he halt hire hed heȝe,
                      to shewe
          That heo be kud ant knewe
          For strompet in rybaudes rewe.

  TRANSLATION.--Lord, that givest us life, and regardest every
  people,--to ... with knife thou hast no need;--both man and
  woman sorely may dread,--lest thou be stern with wrath, for the
  boon that thou askedst,--in joy--that mankind--should shield
  themselves from sin.

  Now pride hath the prize in every play;--of many unwise women
  I say my saw,--for if a lady’s linen is laid after law,--every
  strumpet that there is such draughts will draw;--in pride--every
  shrew will clothe herself,--though she have not a smock to hide
  her dirty tail.

  First in bower were bosses brought,--to honour ladies I wot they
  were wrought;--every giglot will lour, unless she have them
  sought;--such shrew full sourly and dearly hath bought it;--in
  hell--with devils they shall dwell,--on account of the clogs
  which hang by their jowls.

  Now they want no linen to bear bosses in;--they sit like a
  slit swine which hangs its ears.--Such a justling contrivance
  every wretch will wear,--that these giglots’ gear all comes
  to nothing;--on high--the devil may sit softly,--and hold his
  sabbaths often.

  If there lies a locket by ear or eye,--that may with worse be
  wet, for lack of other lye; the but and the barbel with frontlet
  shall quarrel;--if she have a false fillet, she holds her head
  high,--to show--that she is famous and well known--for a strumpet
  in the ribalds’ ranks.

       *       *       *       *       *

Another song, written apparently about the same period, is a satire
upon the smaller Ecclesiastical Courts, and the vexation which they
caused to the peasantry.


A SATYRE ON THE CONSISTORY COURTS.

[MS. Harl. No. 2253, fol. 70, v^o; of reign of Edw. II.]

      Ne mai no lewed lued libben in londe,
      Be he never in hyrt so haver of honde,
          So lerede us bi-ledes;
      Ȝef ich on molde mote with a mai,
      Y shal falle hem byfore ant lurnen huere lay,
          Ant rewen alle huere redes.
      Ah bote y be the furme day on folde hem by-fore,
      Ne shal y nout so skere scapen of huere score;
          So grimly he on me gredes,
      That y ne mot me lede ther with mi lawe,
      On alle maner othes that heo me wulleth awe,
          Heore boc ase un-bredes.
              Heo wendeth bokes un-brad,
              Ant maketh men a moneth a-mad;
          Of scathe y wol me skere,
          Ant fleo from my fere;
          Ne rohte he whet it were,
              Boten heo hit had.

      Furst ther sit an old cherl in a blake hure,
      Of all that ther sitteth semeth best syre,
          And leyth ys leg o lonke.
      An heme in an herygoud with honginde sleven,
      Ant mo then fourti him by-fore my bales to breven,
          In sunnes ȝef y songe:
      Heo pynkes with heore penne on heore parchemyn,
      Ant sayen y am breved ant y-broht yn
          Of al my weole wlonke.
      Alle heo bueth redy myn routhes to rede,
      Ther y mot for menske munte sum mede,
          Ant thonkfulliche hem thonke.
              Shal y thonke hem ther er y go?
              Ȝe, the maister ant ys men bo.
          Ȝef y am wreint in heore write,
          Thenne am y bac-bite,
          For moni mon heo maketh wyte
              Of wymmene wo.

      Ȝet ther sitteth somenours syexe other sevene,
      Mys motinde men alle by here evene,
          Ant recheth forth heore rolle;
      Hyrd-men hem hatieth, ant uch mones hyne,
      For everuch a parosshe heo polketh in pyne,
          Ant clastreth with heore colle.
      Nou wol uch fol clerc that is fayly,
      Wende to the bysshop ant bugge bayly;
          Nys no wyt in is nolle.
      Come to countene court couren in a cope,
      Ant suggen he hath privilegie proud of the pope,
          Swart ant al to-swolle.
              Aren heo to-swolle for swore?
              Ȝe, the hatred of helle beo heore!
          For ther heo beodeth a boke,
          To sugge ase y folht toke;
          Heo shulen in helle on an hoke
              Honge therefore.

      Ther stont up a ȝeolumon, ȝeȝeth with a ȝerde,
      Ant hat out an heh that al the hyrt herde,
          Ant cleopeth Magge ant Malle;
      Ant heo cometh by-modered ase a mor-hen,
      Ant scrynketh for shome, ant shometh for men,
          Un-comely under calle.
      Heo biginneth to shryke, ant scremeth anon,
      Ant saith, “by my gabbyng ne shal hit so gon,
          Ant that beo on ou alle;
      That thou shalt me wedde ant welde to wyf.”
      Ah me were levere with lawe leose my lyf,
          Then so to fote hem falle.
              Shal y to fote falle for mi fo?
              Ȝe monie by-swyketh heo swo.
          Of thralles y am ther thrat,
          That sitteth swart ant for-swat,
          Ther y mot hente me en hat,
              Er ich hom go.

      Such chaffare y chepe at the chapitre,
      That maketh moni thryve-mon un-thenfol to be,
          With thonkes ful thunne:
      Ant seththe y go coure at constory,
      Ant falle to fote uch a fayly,
          Heore is this worldes wynne,
      Seththen y pleide at bisshopes plee.
      Ah! me were levere be sonken y the see,
          In sor withouten synne.
      At chirche ant thourh cheping ase dogge y am drive,
      That me were levere of lyve then so for te lyve,
          To care of al my kynne.
              Atte constorie heo kenneth us care,
              Ant whissheth us evele ant worse to fare;
          A pruest proud ase a po,
          Seththe weddeth us bo,
          Wyde heo worcheth us wo,
              For wymmene ware.

  TRANSLATION.--No unlearned (lay) person may live in the land,--be
  he in assembly never so ... of hand,--the learned (the clergy) so
  lead us about;--if I chance to go on the earth with a maid,--I
  shall fall before them and learn their lay,--and rue all their
  counsels.--But unless I be on the foremost day in the land
  before them,--I shall not escape so clear of their score,--they
  cry on me so grimly,--that I may not lead myself there with my
  law,--on all kinds of oaths that they will give me,--their books
  as....--They turn over books that are not broad,--and make men
  a month mad;--from hurt I will save myself,--and fly from my
  companion;--she recked not what it were,--but she had it.

  First, there sit an old churl in a black gown,--of all who sit
  there he seems to be most the lord,--and lays his leg along.--A
  hem in a cloak with hanging sleeves,--and more than forty before
  him to write my bales,--in sins if I sung:--they pink with their
  pens on their parchment,--and say I am briefed and brought in--of
  all my fair wealth.--They are all ready to read my sorrow--there
  I must out of respect give some bribe,--and gratefully thank
  them.--Shall I thank them there before I go?--Yea, the master
  and his men both.--If I am accused in their writing,--then am I
  back-bitten,--for many men they make to know--woe from women.

  Yet there sit somnours six or seven,--misjudging men all
  alike,--and reach forth their roll;--herdsmen hate them, and each
  man’s servant,--for every parish they put in pain,--and clatter
  with their collar (?).--Now will each foolish clerk that is ...,
  go to the bishop and buy bailywick;--there is no sense in his
  head.--He comes creeping to the county court in a cope,--and
  saying he hath proud privilege of the pope,--black and all
  swollen.--Are they swollen for swearing (?)?--yea, the hatred
  of hell be theirs!--for there they offer a book,--to say as I
  baptism took;--they shall in hell on a hook--hang for it.

  There stands up a yellow-man, and jogs with a rod,--and shouts
  out aloud that all the assembly heard,--and calls Mag and
  Mal;--and she comes be-mothered as a moor-hen,--and shrinks
  for shame, and is ashamed on account of the men,--un-comely
  under petticoat.--She begins to screech, and screams anon,--and
  says, “by my gabbing, it shall not go so,--and that be on you
  all;--that thou shalt wed me and have me to wife.”--But I would
  rather with law lose my life,--than so fall at their feet.--Shall
  I fall at the feet of my foes?--Yea, many she deceiveth so.--I
  am there threatened by thralls,--who sit black and covered with
  sweat,--there I must take me a command,--before I go home.

  Such merchandise I buy at the chapter,--that makes many thrifty
  men to be unthankful,--with very thin thanks:--and since I
  go creeping to the consistory,--and fall at the foot of each
  ...,--theirs is the world’s joy,--since I played at the bishop’s
  pleading.--But I had rather be drowned in the sea,--in sorrow
  without sin.--At church and through the market like a dog I
  am driven,--that I would rather be dead than so to live,--to
  have care for all my kindred.--At the consistory they teach us
  care,--and wish us evil and worse to fare;--a priest as proud
  as a peacock--afterwards weds us both,--widely they work us
  woe,--for women’s ware.

       *       *       *       *       *

In the latter years of the thirteenth century, Edward became
involved in the Scottish wars; and the enmity of the two nations
was manifested in multitudes of songs, of which the greater part
are lost, although a few are preserved, and a fragment or two
of others are found in the old historians. The following song,
attributed in the several manuscripts to different writers, was (if
we may judge by the number of copies which remain,) very popular.
Different persons seem, from time to time, to have altered it and
added to it. It appears to have been composed in 1298, soon after
the sanguinary battle of Falkirk; but the latter stanzas, found
only in one manuscript, have apparently been added at a somewhat
later period.


SONG ON THE SCOTTISH WARS.

[MS. Cotton. Claudius, D. VI. fol. 182, v^o; of the beginning of
the fourteenth cent. (_C._ 1.)--MS. Cotton. Titus, A. XX. fol. 64,
v^o; of reign of Edw. III. (_C._ 2.)--MS. of Clare Hall, Cambridge,
of fourteenth cent. (_Cl._)--MS. Sloan. No. 4934, fol. 103, r^o;
a modern copy from a MS. not now known. (_Sl._)--MS. Bodl. Oxfd.
Rawl. B. 214, fol. 216, r^o; of the fifteenth cent.]

        Ludere volentibus ludens paro lyram;
      De mundi malitia rem demonstro miram;
      Nil quod nocet referam, rem gestam requiram;
      Scribo novam satyram, sed sic ne seminet iram.
        Ira movet militum mentes modernorum,
      Dum inermes detrahunt factis fortiorum;

    VARIOUS READINGS.--2. _militia_, C. 2. & Cl. _demonstrans_, C.
    2.--3. _perquiram_, Cl.--7. _sed vos non commoveant_, C. 1.

      Te tamen non terreant dentes detractorum:
      Cum recte vivas, ne cures verba malorum.
        [Ira si duraverit, transit in livorem;
      Livor non cohibitus agitat furorem;
      Furor dies breviat, ducens in anguorem;
      Ira odium generat, concordia nutrit amorem,
        Amor orbis obiit, virus est in villa;
      Prodiit ex odio pestis non pusilla;                     †10
      Lator homicidii levavit vexilla:
      Acrius invidia nichil est, nil nequius illa.
        Invido nil nequius, nullus est qui nescit;
      Nam de bono proximi dolor ejus crescit.
      Unde justus proficit, hinc ipse tabescit.
      Sincerum nisi vas, quodcumque infundis acescit.
        Ut acescant igitur mentes malignorum,
      Narrabo quæ noveram de gestis Anglorum.

    VARIOUS READINGS.--8. Instead of this second tetrastich, the
    Sloane and Cambridge MSS. have the four which are here given
    in brackets.--[†7. _languorem_, Sl.--†9. _abiit_, Sl.--†12.
    _Nequius ... nil est, nil acrius_, Sl.

      Non verebor a modo voces invidorum.
      Cum recte vivas, ne cures verba malorum.]               †20
        Malis inest proprium mala semper fari,
      Validis detrahere, viles venerari.                       10
      Ex timore talium nolo vos turbari;
      Laus est discretis a pravis vituperari.
        Pravis enim displicet vitæ rectitudo:
      Lex in eis læditur, et est lis pro ludo.
      Ribaldorum requies est inquietudo;
      Dum stultos revoco, quasi frigida ferra recudo.
        Ferrum cudit frigidum quisquis obstinato
      Consulit ut redeat de suo peccato;
      Dicit enim sapiens sermone sensato,
      Verba serit vento qui prædicat infatuato.                20
        Prædicantur undique fraudes infidorum,

    VARIOUS READINGS.--†19. _verebor animo_, Sl. _voces
    malignorum_, Cl.]--9. _inest spiritum_, C. 2. _proprie_,
    Cl.--10. _validos_, Sl.--11. _nubari_, Sl.--13. _sanctitudo_,
    C. 1 and 2.--15. _reproborum_, C. 1.--16. _stultum_, C. 2.--18.
    _suadet ut_, C. 1. _præcipit ut_, Sl. _ut fugiat_, Cl. _a suo_,
    Sl.--19. _serato_, Sl.--21. _malignorum_, Cl.

      Qui molestant Angliam viribus armorum;
      Franci, Scoti, Wallici, potestatem quorum
      Comprimat omnipotens qui continet alta polorum!
        Polorum dispositor quem clamamus Deum,
      Qui per multa populum protexit Hebræum,
      Anglicis ex hostibus tribuat trophæum!
      Mille viris præbere potest pincerna Lyæum.
        Ut pincerna pluribus dat per velle potum,
      Ita suis Dominus vires dat ad votum;                     30
      Edwardus rex inclitus istud habet notum;
      Christo devotum studeat se tradere totum.
        Totus Christo traditur rex noster Edwardus;
      Velox est ad veniam, ad vindictam tardus;
      Fugat adversarios tanquam leopardus;
      Fama fœtet fatui, justus redolet quasi nardus.

    VARIOUS READINGS.--24. _Destruat ipse Deus qui_, C. 1 and 2.
    _possidet_, C. 2.--25. _clamavimus_, Sl.--26. _cuncta_, Cl.
    _produxit_, C. 2.--29. _dare potest pot._ Cl. _paribus dare
    possit p._ Sl. _sicut unus pluribus dat pincerna pot._ C.
    1.--31. _illud habet_, Cl. et Sl.--34. _ad_ is omitted in C. 2
    and Cl. In Sl. the two lines (34 and 35) are transposed.--35.
    _Hostes fugat singulos t._ C. 1. _fugat hostes undique t._ C.
                                                               2.

        Tanquam nardus redolet laus regis Anglorum,
      Qui conatus reprimit hostium suorum;
      Ipsum omnes timeant hostes Anglicorum:
      Sæpe molossus ovem tollit de fauce luporum.              40
        In luporum faucibus Angli sunt hiis annis;
      Nam, devictis omnibus Walliæ tyrannis,
      Scoti levant lanceas armati sub pannis;
      In paucis annis oriuntur mira Johannis.
        Johannes jam Scotiæ clemens rex et castus,
      Regni tenens regimen, ut rex erat pastus,
      Hunc tandem deposuit gentis suæ fastus.
      Exulat ejectus de sede pia protoplastus.
        Exulat et merito, quia, sicut legi,

    VARIOUS READINGS.--36. C. _virtus redolet_, C. 1. _secet_, by
    an error, for _fetet_, Sl. _istius redolet_, Sl. _fama replens
    mundum fragrat velut optima n._ C. 2.--37. _quasi nardus_,
    Cl. and Sl.--38, 39. _Qui regit rempublicam more Romanorum |
    Innocentes erripit de manu pravorum_, C. 1. _Fama cujus attigit
    fines seculorum; | Ipsum tr’imēt Scotici fures jumentorum_,
    C. 2. _Dum conatus, &c._ Cl.--41. _faucibus hiis consistunt
    annis_, Sl.--42. _devinctis_, Sl.--45. _J. rex Sc. quondam cl.
    cast._ Cl. _quidem Scotiæ_, Sl.--47. _disposuit_, C. 1 et C.
    2.--48. _sede sua_, C. 1 and Sl.--49. _Hic dum rexit Scotiam
    prout dudum legi_, C. 1. _Hic dum sedem tenuit regnum d. l._
    Sl. _Hic dum regnum tenuit in scriptis jam l._ Cl.

      Spopondit homagium Anglicano regi;                       50
      Declinavit postea frango, frangis, fregi:
      Omnia quæ pepigi prodendo pacta peregi.
        Pactum prætergressus est princeps prænotatus,
      Quando non compescuit pravorum conatus;
      Vox in Rama sonuit, fletus et ploratus;
      Mitis prælatus facit ignavos famulatus.
        Ab ignavis famulis rex inhonoratur;
      Sanctitas subvertitur, lex evacuatur;
      Sæpe fit seditio, pax periclitatur.
      Sit maledicta domus ubi quisque cliens dominatur!        60
        Quando cliens imperat, et princeps obedit,
      Tunc ruit respublica, requies recedit.
      O quantos impietas inpunita lædit!
      Inpius impunis semper se vincere credit.
        Credebant duodecim Scotiæ prælati

    VARIOUS READINGS.--50. _Quod fecit hom._ Cl. and Sl.--51. _sed
    declinat_, C. 2.--55. _resonat_, Cl.--61-68, are omitted in
    Cl.--64. _Inpius imprimis_, Sl.

      Anglorum resistere magnæ probitati;
      Ceciderunt igitur plures vulnerati.
      Dixit bufo crati, “maledicti tot dominati!”
        Dominantes plurimi sub duce tantillo,
      Conspirant in Anglicos, rege tunc tranquillo;            70
      Tandem simul obviant levato vexillo.
      Flumina magna trahunt ortum de fonte pusillo.
        De pusillis fontibus magni surgunt rivi;
      Sic de gente Scotiæ conatus lascivi.
      Plurimi propterea ducti sunt captivi:
      Quicquid delirant reges, plectuntur Achivi.
        Plebs Achiva periit ad Dunbar in bello,
      Ubi Scoti cæsi sunt Anglorum flagello.
      Videres cadavera, velut in macello
      Vilia vendentis, tunicato stricta popello.               80
        Tunicatus populus multus et immanis,

    VARIOUS READINGS.--68. _bufo cuncti_, Sl.--69. _sub dicto_, C.
    1.--70. _Anglico_, Cl.--71. _obviat_, C. 1. _sibi obviant_, Sl.
    _stulti levant lanceas armato v._ Cl.--74. _de Scotis miseris_,
    C. 1. _de plebe Scotiæ_, Sl.--77. _ad Berwik_, C. 2.--80.
    _Vilis_, C. 2. _strincta_, C. 2. et Cl. _cincta_, Sl.--81.
    _inanis_, C. 1. _vilis et inanis_, Sl.

      Qui solet detrahere viris Anglicanis,
      Apud Dunbarre corruit, jam fœtet ut canis:
      Sic faciunt stulti, quos gloria vexat inanis.
        Vana fecit gloria populum fallacem
      Diffiteri dominum Scotiæ veracem;
      Facto tamen prælio veniunt ad pacem.
      De fatuo quandoque facit fortuna sagacem.
        Sagax est in prælio qui majori cedit;
      Sed gens bruta Scotiæ cito fidem lædit.                  90
      Nemo potest tollere quod natura dedit:
      Osse radicatum raro de carne recedit.
        Recessit rex inclitus, parcens plebi tantæ;
      Peragravit Scotiam turba comitante.
      Angli castra muniunt, rege sic mandante;
      Nam levius lædit quicquid providimus ante.

    VARIOUS READINGS.--83. _cadebant in foveis_, C. 1. _cadebant
    in prælio_, Sl.--85. _plebem contumacem_, C. 2. _facit ...
    prophetam fal._ Sl.--86. _Edwardum contempnere dominum v._ C.
    2.--88. _quemcunque facit_, Sl.--90. _Scotica_, C. 2.--92. _de
    carne raro_, C. 1.--93. _recedit_, Sl. _rex igitur_, C. 1.--94.
    _Scotiam pertransiit_, C. 1.--95. _rege procurante_, C. 1 and
    Sl.--96. _prævidimus_, C. 1.

        Regis providentia bella gubernantur;
      Scoticani proceres Anglis subjugantur:
      Statuuntur judices, leges renovantur;
      Ipsæ etenim leges cupiunt ut jure regantur.             100
        Rex ad regni regimen dignum deputavit,
      Johannem Warenniæ, quem sæpe probavit.
      Hic in quantum valuit leges observavit;
      Elatos perdens, humiles in pace locavit.
        Rex in pace rediit hiis ita patratis,
      Comiti de Flandria succursurus gratis;
      Magnam classem præparat tempestive satis;
      Tolle moram, semper nocuit differe paratis.
        Nec mora, conveniunt Scotici versuti;
      Tactis Evangeliis sacris sunt locuti,                   110

    VARIOUS READINGS.--97. _valla_, C. 1.--98. _Scotiani_, C.
    1.--99. _revocantur_, Sl. _prænotantur_, C. 1.--100. _ipse
    rerum_, Sl.--102. _Johan Warenne_, C. 1.--103. _potuit Scotos
    registravit_, C. 1. _valuit jura conservavit_, Sl.--104.
    _prodens_, Sl. _levavit_, C. 1.--105. _in pace rex_, C.
    1.--107. _Morari non patitur, navibus paratis_, C. 1. _Præparat
    navigia tempestive satis_, Sl.--108. _deferre_, C. 1.

      Quod Trentam non transient austro constituti:
      Pauca voluptati debentur, plura saluti.
        Scoticani proceres jurant omnes læte,
      Et a rege singulis limitantur metæ:
      Vide ne perjuri sint, et ruant in rete;
      Nam miranda canunt, sed non credenda, poetæ.
        Tunc rex mire credulus mare transfretavit,
      Et Francos in Flandria potens expugnavit;
      Senectutis inmemor multos non expavit.
      Consilio pollet, cui vim natura negavit.                120
        Non negavit Dominus robur et vigorem
      Regi, quem constituit fore mundi florem;
      Cujus acta singulos agunt in stuporem;
      Quemvis namque potest animo sufferre laborem.
        Labor novus oritur; Sathan suscitatur;

    VARIOUS READINGS.--111. _Quod trugam non_, C. 2.--112. _P. v.
    plura debent sal._ Sl.--113. _Per salutem regiam Scoti jurant
    l._ C. 1 and Sl.--114. _singuli_, Sl.--115. _ac ruant_, C.
    1.--119. _sententiæ immemor_, Sl.--120. _vis_, C. 2.--122.
    _Regem, quem_, Sl.--123. _Ejus bella_, C. 1. _Actus ejus_,
    Sl.--124. _namque animo potuit_, Sl.

      Scotorum fidelitas procul effugatur;
      Anglicorum probitas falso depravatur.
      Arbitrii nostri non est, quod quisque loquatur.
        Loquuntur ad invicem scurræ derelictæ;
      “Ecce dantur Anglicis triumphales vittæ.                130
      O! Guyllam de Wallia, nos ad ipsos mitte:
      Loricam duram possunt penetrare sagittæ.
        Omnes sagittarios nostros convocemus;
      Ad custodem Scotiæ simul properemus.
      Nam pro nostra patria fas est ut pugnemus:
      Victorem a victo superari sæpe videmus.”
        Custos ergo Scotiæ coarctatur nimis;
      Et ad Strivelyne convenit gens corde sublimis;
      Fraus occidit Anglicos, et ruunt in imis:
      Non eodem cursu respondent ultima primis.               140

    VARIOUS READINGS.--127. _Et Anglorum_, C. 1 and Sl.
    _dampnatur_, Sl.--129. _turbæ de._ C. 2. _derilictæ_, C.
    1.--131. _non ad_, Sl.--133. _Viros sag._ C. 1 and Sl. _omnes
    con._ Sl.--134. _cito prop._ C. 2. This line and the following
    are transposed in Sl.--135. _pat. est ut propugnemus_,
    Sl.--138. _Strivelyn_, C. 1. _Strevelyn_, Sl. _properat gens_,
    C. 2 and Sl.--139. _Defraudantur Anglici_, C. 2.

        Primus pontem transiit comes dux Anglorum,
      Penetrans audaciter cuneos Scotorum;
      Sed seductus rediit, non ob vim virorum:
      Fraus est materia multorum sæpe malorum.
        Fraus effecit Anglicos rubore perfundi,
      Dum suorum sanguinem passim vident fundi.
      Reus fraudis Levenax est et Ricardus Lundi.
      Quam brevis est risus, quam longaque lacrima mundi!
        O mundi perfidia! quis te non miratur?
      Dolus in domesticis latens occultatur;                  150
      Versutus pacifico semper adversatur:
      Pastor oves minat baculo, lupus ore minatur.
        Quid minatur barbara bruta gens et stulta?
      Numquid hæc perfidia manebit inulta?

    VARIOUS READINGS.--142. _audacter cuneas_, Sl.--144. _mater
    multorum_, Sl.--145. _Fraus confecit_, C. 1. _robore_, Sl. _in
    campo confundi_, C. 2.--146. _bello vident_, C. 1 and Sl.--147.
    _le faux est et Ricardus secundi_, C. 1. _Letenax et_, C. 2.
    _Reus fraus L._ Sl.--148. _usus quam_, C. 1. _longa lac._ C. 2
    and Sl.--149. _O mundi malitia_, Sl.--151. _admiratur_, C. 1
    and C. 2.--152. _bac. minat._ Sl.--153. _miraris_, Sl.--154.
    _hæc injuria_, Sl. _hæc_ is omitted in C. 1.

      Veniet rex Angliæ manu non occulta,
      Multa super Priamo rogitans, super Hectore multa.
        Multa sibi cumulat mala gens superba,
      Anglicos ad prælia provocans acerba;
      Verbera cum venient, tunc cessabunt verba:
      Cum totum fecisse putas, latet anguis in herba.         160
        [“Non latebit,” inquiunt, “nobis luce Phœbus;
      Per nos ruent Anglici simul hiis diebus,
      Nullus pervilibus percel speciebus.” (?)
      Ludit in humanis divina potentia rebus.
        O Dei potentia! te pro tuis peto!
      Anglis in auxilium veni vultu læto!
      Regis causam judicas, gratiam præbeto:
      Tu sine principio non vincere falsa jubeto.]
        Post hæc dux fallaciæ suum vocat cœtum,

    VARIOUS READINGS.--157. _tibi cumulans_, Sl. _magna gens_,
    C. 2.--158. _Nam fortes_, Sl.--159. _Numquid non intelligit
    sapientis verba_, C. 1. _Non enim intel. sap. v._ C. 2.--160.
    The eight lines which follow (included in brackets) are found
    only in Sl.--161. _Statim dux fallacis_, C. 1. _Falsus d. f.
    convocavit c._ Sl.

      Sciens quod abierit rex noster trans fretum;
      Cremare Northumbriam statuit decretum:
      “Sæpe videmus,” ait, “post gaudia rumpere fletum.”
        Lugeat Northumbria nimis desolata!
      Facta est ut vidua filiis orbata.
      Vescy, Morley, Somervile, Bertram sunt in fata:
      O quibus, et quantis, et qualibet est viduata!
        In hac, cum sit vidua, cunei Scotorum
      Redigunt in cineres prædia multorum.                    170
      Willelmus de Wallia dux est indoctorum;
      Gaudia stultorum cumulant augmenta dolorum.
        Ad augmentum sceleris hactenus patrati,
      Alnewyke dant ignibus viri scelerati;
      Circumquaque cursitant velut incensati.
      Electi pauci sunt, multi vero vocati.

    VARIOUS READINGS.--165. _Luge nunc N._, Sl. _Northumbriæ_,
    C. 1.--167. _V., Bertram, Sum., Merlaii_, C. 1. _Vessy ...
    Borthram_, C. 2.--168. _in quantis_, C. 2. _es viduata_,
    Sl.--169. _In hanc_, C. 1. _hac, ergo vid._ C. 2. _In te cum
    sis_, Sl.--170. _in cinerem_, Sl. _Intrant et dant ignibus
    prædia proborum_, C. 1.--172. _cumulat ... malorum_, C.
    1.--173. _augmenta_, Sl.--174. _Alnewik_, C. 1. _Alnewyk_, Sl.


        Multi quærunt mutuo qualiter sit factum,
      Quod Newmonasterium non est igne tactum.
      Dona spondent monachi, sed non solvunt pactum:
      Sicut opus fuerat, sic res processit in actum.          180
        Hujus rei gratia captivum ducerunt
      Priorem cœnobii, quem tunc repererunt;
      Captis rebus vacuas domos reliquerunt.
      Munifici pauci, multi qui munera querunt.
        Jam redit in Scotiam populus malignus;
      Et Willelmo datum est militare pignus;
      De prædone fit eques, ut de corvo cignus;
      Accipit indignus sedem, cum non prope dignus.
        Digno tandem principi litera præbetur,
      In qua rei series tota continetur.                      190

    VARIOUS READINGS.--177. _sit actum_, Sl.--178. _Nōmonasterium
    ... sit_, C. 2. _Novummonasterium_, Sl.--179. _non tenent_,
    C. 2.--180. _ad actum_, C. 2.--182. _invenerunt_, Sl.--183.
    _domus_, C. 2.--184. _qui præmia_, C. 1 and Sl.--185. _suam
    petit patriam pop._ C. 1. _suam petunt pat. pop._ Sl.--186.
    _Et Wallensis accipit m. p._ Sl. _Et Wallensem accipit_, C.
    1.--188. _quam non_, C. 2. _Si non_, Sl.--189. _Digno tamen_,
    C. 1.

      Si commotus fuerit, nullus admiretur:
      Tranquillum nequit esse fretum, dum peste movetur.
        Motus, suos milites sic cœpit affari:
      “Adhuc vos pro patria decet præliari,--
      Malo semel vincere, quam sæpe turbari:
      Bella valent melius quam longa lite gravari,”
        “Ne graveris,” inquiunt, “si Scotorum fures
      Propriis capitibus acuant secures;
      Unus Anglus perimet Scoticos quam plures.
      Non est plaustelo barbati jungere mures.”               200
        Vix est mure melior Walays, aut Gilmaurus,
      Ad quorum victoriam nunquam crescet laurus;
      Desunt enim robora, deestque thesaurus:
      Bella movet citius cui desunt cornua taurus.

    VARIOUS READINGS.--191. _Si turbatus_, C. 1 and Sl.--193. _Tunc
    rex suos_, C. 1. _affare_, C. 2.--194. _detur præliari_.--195.
    _Malo malos perdere, quam sic molestari_, C. 2. _Malos Scotos
    perdere, quam sic conturbari_, Sl.--196. _volunt melius_, C.
    1.--199. _perimet totum sicut plures_, C. 2. _Unus nam Anglicus
    Scotos valet plures_, Sl.--200. _surgere mures_, C. 2. _mingere
    m._ C. 1.--201. _Vix est murus melior mari ait(?) Gilm._ C. 1.
    _melior Scotus Guilm._ Sl.--202. _Ad cujus vic. crescit_, C. 1
    and Sl. _cresset_, C. 2.

        Bello cadunt miseri die Magdalenæ;
      Fere centum millia subdit rex arenæ;
      Cæsorum cadaverum pascuæ sunt plenæ.
      Oderunt peccare mali formidine pœnæ.
        Pœnæ metu territus tergum dat tyrannus,
      Cuï quondam placuit decurtatus pannus;                  210
      Fallax die prælii fugit ut trutannus.
      Sæpe dat una dies quod totus denegat annus.
        Una die miseri multi perimuntur;
      Et Scotos qui fugerant Angli persequuntur;
      Perforantur lanceis, vestesque tolluntur.
      Alba ligustra cadunt, vaccinia nigra leguntur.
        Cadit, Waleys, tua laus, ut quid arma geris,
      Ex quo gentem gladio tuam non tueris,

    VARIOUS READINGS.--207. _cæsis cadaveribus_, C. 2 and Sl.--210.
    _cui quidem_, Sl.--213. _Illa die plurimi Scoti per._ C.
    1. _plurimi pravi puniuntur_, Sl.--214. _Fugientes miseros
    Ang. per._ C. 1. _Fug. mis. Angl. prosequuntur_, Sl.--216.
    _vaticinia_, Sl.--218. _Ex quo tuum populum tuens non tueris_,
    C. 1. _Ex quo tuos gladio tutor non t._ Sl.

      Jus est ut dominio tuo jam priveris.
      Ast michi qui quondam semper asellus eris.              220
        Eris in proverbium quod non præteribit;
      Regnum tuum scissum est, et stare nequibit;
      Potum quem paraveras, gens tua jam bibit.
      Deridens alios, non inderisus abibit.
        O res apta risui, patens hiis diebus!
      Fortuna sub variis ludet speciebus.
      Profugus de principe, de Juda fit Jebus.
      Ludit in humanis divina potentia rebus.
        Rebus sic ruentibus rura rex rimatur,
      Et fures a foveis fugando venatur;                      230
      Omnis qui repertus est, gladio mactatur:
      Exigit hoc justum, quod culpam pœna sequatur.

    VARIOUS READINGS.--219. _Jam tuo dominio jus est ut pri._ C.
    1. and Sl.--220. _acellus_, C. 2. In the Sl. MS. the song ends
    with this line. In C. 1, it ends with l. 232, the last twelve
    lines, however, being written by another and rather later hand.
    The rest is found only in C. 2.--221. _scissum quod stare_, C.
    1.--226. _ludis speciebus_, C. 1.--227. _Profugo sub p. ...
    Gebus_, C. 1,--228. _divinis_, C. 1.--230. _a foveis fugat vel
    ven._ C. 2. _Et suis_, C. 1.

        [Consequenter redit rex, ut Francorum florem
      Margaretam reginam ducat in uxorem;
      Per hanc regna capiunt pacem pleniorem.
      Ira cædem generat, concordia nutrit amorem.
        Amor inter principes pullulans præclaros
      Exulat a subditis gemitus amaros;
      Jamque fit per nuncios firma pax non raros;
      Hiis etenim rebus conjungit gratia caros.               240
        Justus est gratiæ Scotis pars pusilla,
      Quia non est impiis pax aut mens tranquilla.
      Comyn, Karryk, Umfraville erigunt vexilla:
      Acrius invidia nichil est, nil nequius illa.
        Nequam sponte natio non vult obedire;
      Regem cogit inclitum cum suis redire;
      Jam timent qui necligunt ad pacem venire,
      Sub gladio diræ mortis languendo perire.
        Deperirent protinus patres et hæredes;
      Nisi darent citius ad currendum pedes,                  250
      Fugientes renuunt villulas et ædes:
      Idæos lepores puer exagitat Ganymedes.
        Inter hæc rex Franciæ, mittens absque mora,
      Regem rogat Angliæ pro treuga decora.
      Annuit rex precibus, mox reflectens lora:
      Grata superveniet quæ non sperabitur hora
        Horam Scotis optimam fore quis ignorat,
      In qua cessat gladius a plebe quæ plorat,
      Rexque suos proceres unit et honorat.
      Dum calor est et pulcra dies, formica laborat.          260
        Post hos et hujusmodi bellicos labores,
      Angli velut angeli semper sunt victores,
      Scoticis et Wallicis sunt præstantiores;
      Si vitam inspicias hominum sidereus (?) mores.
        Quasi sus insurgeret leonis virtuti,
      Sic expugnant Angliam Scotici polluti:
      Et rex illos idcirco subdet servituti:
      Serviet æterno qui parvo nesciet uti.]

  TRANSLATION.--I playing prepare a harp for those who desire to
  play; I set forth a wonderful matter concerning the malice of the
  world; I will tell nothing that is noxious, but will relate a
  historical incident; I write a new satire, yet let it not on that
  account sow anger.--Anger moves the minds of the soldiers of the
  present day, since the weak detract from the praise of the deeds
  of the strong; yet let not teeth of the detractors scare thee:
  if you live well, you need not care for what evil men say.--[If
  anger last, it turns into malice; malice if not restrained
  drives people into rage; rage shortens our days, by bringing
  us into anguish; anger breeds hatred, whilst concord nourishes
  love.--The love which was in the world is gone, and poison has
  taken its place; out of hatred has sprung no small plague; the
  homicide has raised his standard; nothing is sharper than envy,
  and nothing more wicked.--There is nothing more wicked than an
  envious man, as every one knows; for his unhappiness increases
  with the prosperity of his neighbour; he pines away by the very
  cause which brings profit to the just man. Unless the vessel be
  clean, whatever you pour in becomes soured.--In order, therefore,
  that the minds of the wicked may be soured, I will relate what
  I have learnt of the deeds of the English. Henceforward I will
  not fear the words of the envious. If you live well, you need
  not care for what evil men say.]--It is the property of wicked
  men always to say evil, to detract from the able, to respect
  the vile. I am unwilling that you should be disturbed by the
  fear of such men; it is praiseworthy in the prudent to be abused
  by the wicked.--For the wicked are displeased by rectitude of
  life: the law is injured in them, and they esteem strife as a
  joke. The repose of ribalds is inquietude; to attempt to convert
  fools is, as it were, to put cold iron on the anvil.--Every one
  strikes cold iron, who counsels the obstinate man to desert his
  sins; for the wise man says very sensibly, “he sows words in the
  wind who preaches to a madman.”--Every where are preached the
  fraudulent actions of the faithless men, who molest England by
  force of arms; the French, Scotch, and Welsh, whose power may the
  Omnipotent who holds the world repress!--May the Governor of the
  universe whom we address as God, who protected the Hebrew people
  through many difficulties, give the English victory over their
  enemies! The butler can furnish liquor to a thousand men.--As the
  butler at will gives drink to many, so the Lord gives strength
  at his will to those whom he has chosen; Edward the noble
  King knows this; and he labours to devote himself entirely to
  Christ.--Edward our King is entirely devoted to Christ; he is
  quick to pardon, and slow to vengeance; he puts to flight his
  adversaries like a leopard; the reputation of the fool stinks,
  the just man smells sweet as spikenard.--Like spikenard smells
  the fame of the King of the English, who represses the attempts
  of his enemies; him let all the enemies of the English fear:
  often the mastiff snatches the sheep from the wolves’ jaws.--In
  the wolves’ jaws the English have been of late; for, when all the
  turbulent chiefs of Wales were reduced, the Scotch raise their
  spears armed in their rags: a few years exhibit the wonderful
  fortune of John.--John being now King of Scotland, clement and
  chaste, governing the kingdom as though he had been bred a king,
  him at length the pride of his nation deposed. The first-created
  was an exile, driven from his pious seat.--He, however, was
  deservedly exiled, for, as I have read, he promised homage to the
  English King; afterwards he declined the verb _frango_ (I break);
  by breaking all which I had promised, (said he,) I performed
  my agreement.--The aforesaid prince broke his promise, when he
  did not restrain the attempts of the wicked; a voice was heard
  in Rama, weeping and lamentation; a remiss master makes lazy
  servants.--By slack servants the King is dishonoured; holiness
  is overthrown, the law is made of no avail; there is frequent
  sedition, the peace is endangered. Cursed be the house, where
  every dependent is master!--When the dependant commands, and the
  prince is a servant, then the state is in danger, and quietness
  departs. O how many people impiety, when unpunished, injures!
  The impious man unpunished always thinks that he conquers.--The
  twelve rulers of Scotland thought that they could resist the
  great valour of the English; therefore many of them fell by
  the sword. Said the toad to the harrow, “cursed be so many
  rulers!”--Many rulers under such a diminutive leader conspire
  against the English, whilst the king was at peace; at length
  they meet with standards raised. Great rivers take their rise
  from a small fountain.--From small fountains great rivers arise;
  so it is with the wanton attempts of the people of Scotland.
  Many thereupon are led captives: whenever the kings run wild, it
  is the subjects who suffer.--The subject populace perished in
  battle at Dunbar, where the Scotch were slain by the flail of
  the English. You might see the carcases, as in the shambles of
  a seller of refuse meat, cut off from the kilted rabble.--The
  kilted people, numerous and savage, who are accustomed to detract
  from the Englishmen, fell at Dunbar, and now stink like a dog:
  thus do fools, who are tormented by vain glory.--Vain glory made
  the deceitful people deny the true lord of Scotland; but after
  the battle they seek peace. Sometimes fortune makes a wise man of
  a fool.--He is wise in battle who yields to his superior; but the
  wild people of Scotland soon break their faith. No one can take
  away what nature gave: the disease which is rooted in the bone,
  can seldom be expelled from the flesh.--The noble king departed,
  sparing so great a mass of populace; he traversed Scotland with a
  crowd of attendants. The English fortify castles, by the king’s
  command; for that hurts less which we have provided against.--The
  wars are governed by the king’s providence; the Scottish nobles
  are subdued to the English; judges are appointed, the laws
  are revised; for the laws themselves require to be regulated
  aright.--The king appointed a worthy man to the government of
  the kingdom, John de Warenne, whom he had often proved. He to
  the utmost of his power observed the laws; destroying the proud,
  he placed the humble in peace.--The king, after these things had
  been performed, returned in peace, preparing to aid gratuitously
  the Count of Flanders; he prepares a great fleet as quickly as
  he can; banish delay, to those who are prepared it is always
  injurious to procrastinate.--Nor was there any delay, for the
  cunning Scots meet together; with their hands on the gospels,
  they have said that from their station in the south they will not
  pass the Trent: little is owing to pleasure, more to safety.--The
  Scottish nobles all swear with alacrity, and their boundaries
  are limited to each by the king; see that they be not perjured,
  and fall into the net; for the poets sing wonderful things that
  are not to be believed.--Then the king, wonderfully credulous
  in them, passed the sea, and powerfully warred against the
  French in Flanders; unmindful of old age, he was not terrified
  by numbers. He flourishes by counsel, to whom nature has denied
  strength.--The Lord has not denied strength and vigour to the
  king, whom he ordained to be the flower of the world; whose
  acts excite everybody’s wonder; for his mind is capable of
  undergoing every labour.--A new labour arises; Satan is raised
  up; the fidelity of the Scots disappears entirely; the valour
  of the English is undeservedly set at nought. What everybody
  says, does not rest upon our opinion.--The abandoned scoffers
  hold mutual conversations; “Lo! triumphant garlands are given to
  the English. O William de Wallace! send us to them: arrows can
  penetrate the hard mail.--Let us call together all our archers;
  let us hasten together against the Guardian of Scotland. For it
  is right that we should fight for our country: we often see the
  conqueror overcome by the vanquished.”--Accordingly the Guardian
  of Scotland is very hard pressed; and the people assemble at
  Stirling, proud in spirit; treachery destroys the English, and
  they are on the brink of ruin: the end does not correspond with
  the beginning.--The Earl, who was leader of the English, first
  passed the bridge, penetrating boldly into the Scotish columns;
  but he was driven back by treachery, and not by the force of
  arms: fraud is often the cause of many evils.--Fraud caused the
  English to blush, whilst they saw on all sides the blood of their
  own people flowing; Levenax and Richard Lundi are convicted of
  fraud. How short is the joy, and how lasting the sorrow, of the
  world!--O perfidiousness of the world! who is not astonished by
  thee? Treachery lies hid, concealed among our household; the
  cunning man is always opposed to the peaceful; the shepherd
  leads his sheep with a staff, the wolf threatens them with his
  mouth.--What does the barbarous brutal and foolish race threaten?
  Will this perfidy remain unavenged? The King of England will
  come with open force, inquiring much about Priam and much about
  Hector.--The proud people raise a heap of evils for themselves,
  provoking the English to the bitter contest; words will cease,
  when the blows come; though you think you have finished entirely,
  there is a snake concealed in the grass.--[“The sun,” they say,
  “will not be concealed from us with his light; the time is come
  when the English will all fall by our hands; no one....” The
  Divine power plays with the prospects of men.--O power of God!
  I petition thee in favour of thy people! come with a propitious
  countenance to the aid of the English; judge the king’s cause,
  and give him grace: thou who art without beginning, do not let
  falseness triumph.]--After this the leader of the plot calls
  together his party, knowing that our king would be gone over the
  sea; he made an order to ravage Northumberland: “we oft see,”
  says he, “weeping after joy.”--Northumberland, much desolated,
  may weep! She is made as a widow robbed of her children. Vescy,
  Morley, Somerville, Bertram are dead: Alas! of how many, and
  how great men in every part is she widowed!--In her, since she
  is a widow, the troops of the Scots reduce the estates of many
  to cinders. William Wallace is the leader of these savages; the
  rejoicings of fools breed increase of griefs.--To increase the
  wickedness which they had hitherto perpetrated, these wicked
  men deliver Alnwick to the flames; they run about on every side
  like madmen. Few are chosen, but many are called.--Many ask
  each other how it happened, that the Newminster was not touched
  by the fire. The monks promise gifts, but they do not fulfil
  their promise: as there was need, so was the thing carried into
  effect.--On this account they led away captive the prior of the
  monastery, whom they then found; having carried away the goods,
  they left the houses empty. Few are munificent, but there are
  many who seek after gifts.--Now the malignant people returns to
  Scotland; and the honour of knighthood is given to William; from
  a robber he becomes a knight, just as a swan is made out of a
  raven; an unworthy man takes the seat, when a worthy man is not
  by.--At length a letter reaches the worthy prince, in which the
  whole course of events is told. Let nobody be surprized if he was
  enraged at it: the sea cannot be quiet when the storm rages.--In
  his anger he began thus to address his knights: “Again you must
  prepare to fight for your country. I would rather conquer once,
  than be often tormented; wars are better than being troubled
  with lasting strife.”--“Do not be troubled,” said they, “if the
  Scottish thieves sharpen axes for their own heads; one Englishman
  will slay very many Scots. It is not the part of a man who has
  a beard to join mice to a little cart.”--Wallace, or Gilmaurus,
  is scarcely better than a mouse, to whose victory the laurel
  will never grow; for they want strength and treasure: a bull
  who has lost his horns is the more eager for the war.--On St.
  Magdalen’s day the wretches fall in battle; the king subdues
  in the field near a hundred thousand; the meadows are covered
  with their carcases. The wicked hate sin from the fear of
  punishment.--Scared by the fear of punishment the tyrant turns
  his back, whom the short jacket once pleased; faithless in the
  day of battle he flies like a truant. One day often gives what
  the whole year denies.--In one day many wretches were slain; and
  the English pursue the Scots who had fled; they are transfixed
  with spears, and robbed of their clothes. The white thorns are
  cut down, while the black bilberries are gathered.--Wallace, thy
  reputation as a soldier is lost; since thou didst not defend thy
  people with the sword, it is just thou shouldst now be deprived
  of thy dominion.

  But, in my view, thou wilt always be the ass thou wert
  formerly.--Thou wilt pass into a lasting proverb; thy kingdom
  is divided, and cannot stand; thy people now drink of the cup
  which thou hast prepared. He who turns others into derision,
  will not escape being derided.--O laughable thing, that has
  been manifested in our time! Fortune will play in various ways.
  The prince has been turned into an outcast, Judah into Jebus.
  The Divine power plays with the prospects of men.--Things being
  brought to this pass, the king searches the country, and hunts
  the thieves out of their hiding places; every one who is found
  is put to the sword: justice requires this, that the punishment
  come after the fault.--[Next the king returns, that he may
  marry Queen Margaret, the flower of the French; through her the
  kingdoms receive a more complete peace. Anger begets slaughter,
  concord nourishes love.--When love buds between great princes,
  it drives away bitter sobs from their subjects; and now a firm
  peace is negotiated by frequent messengers: for by these things
  grace makes people friends.--It is just that the Scots should
  have a small portion of grace, because the impious people have
  neither peace nor quiet of mind. Comyn, Carrick, Umfraville raise
  their standards: there is nothing more sharp than envy, nor more
  wicked.--The nation, voluntarily wicked, will not be obedient;
  it forces the illustrious king with his army to return; now they
  fear who neglect to come to peace, lest they perish languishingly
  by the sword of dire death.--Let them perish utterly both fathers
  and sons; unless they quickly give their feet to flight, flying
  they desert their towns and houses: the child Ganymedes drives
  about the hares on mount Ida.--In the midst of these transactions
  the King of France, sending without delay, asks an honourable
  truce of the King of England. The king accedes to his request,
  soon afterwards turning his reins: the grateful hour will arrive
  when it is least expected.--Who knows not that that would be
  the best hour for the Scots, in which the sword ceases from the
  weeping commonalty, and the king unites and honours the nobles.
  While it is warm and fair weather, the ant labours.--After
  all these warlike labours, the English like angels are always
  conquerors, they are more excellent than the Scotch and Welsh;
  you will learn people’s manners by contemplating their lives.--As
  though a swine should resist the valour of the lion, so the
  filthy Scots attack England; and the king for that reason reduces
  them to slavery: he will ever be a slave, who cannot be content
  with the little which Providence has given him.]

       *       *       *       *       *

The following verses seem to have been written immediately after
John Baliol had retired to Normandy, in 1290. In the manuscript,
they are accompanied by a picture representing a ship, full of
people, passing the sea.


ON THE DEPOSITION OF BALIOL.

[From MS. Cotton. Julius, A. V. fol. 2, r^o. of beginning of 14th
cent.]

      Ecce dies veniunt Scoti sine principe fiunt;
      Regnum Balliolus perdit, transit mare solus.
      Defendi bello Scotus mucrone novello
      Sperans Gallorum, vires expectat eorum.
      De gwerra tuti Gallorum viribus uti
      Congaudent Scoti; currunt ad prælia moti.
      Gallia de parvo Scoto profecit in arvo.
      Cur in conflictu Scotus ter corruit ictu?
      Conflictu quarto Scoti ponuntur in arto:
        Quales sunt et erunt, carmina plura ferunt,
      Carmina qui didicit Trojam per prælia vicit,
        Ovidius docuit quæ sibi causa fuit.
      Percussis bellis, sterilis fit Troja puellis;
      Finitis motis, sic fiet Scotia Scotis.
      Vastantur gwerra Trojani, de prope terra
      Castrorum plena, cum finibus est aliena.
      Urbibus et villis proles dominatur Achillis;
      Pyrrhus vastat eas, Priamum ploravit Æneas.
      Merlinus scribit quod turba superba peribit;
      Latrans exibit canis, et bos profugus ibit.
      Tunc nemus Eutherium pennata fronde carebit;
      Et genus Albaneum sua regna perire videbit.
      Scote miser, plora, tibi flendi jam venit hora;
        Nam regnum patruum desinet esse tuum.
      Principe privaris, campo sic subpeditaris,
        Quod meritis miseris semper asellus eris.
      Vox de profundis Cambini te vocat undis,
      Torquendum clade, quam non novit genus Adæ.
      Illuc tende vias, et dæmonis assecla fias!
        Amplius Andreas ducere nescit eas.

  TRANSLATION.--Lo! the time is come when the Scots are without a
  prince; Baliol loses the kingdom, and passes the sea alone. The
  Scot, hoping to be defended in battle by the new spear of the
  French, is waiting for their power. The Scots rejoice together
  in the belief that they will have the better in the war by the
  aid of the French; they rebel, and haste to fight. France will
  profit little the Scot in the field. Why has the Scot been beaten
  in three battles? By the fourth battle the Scots are reduced to
  extremities: such as they are and will ever be, very many songs
  tell. He who learnt songs conquered Troy in battle; Ovid has
  told us what was the cause of it. After the war, Troy was barren
  of maidens; when the rebellion is over, so will Scotland be of
  Scots. Troy is ravaged by war, the land near about being full of
  camps, it is with its boundaries become the property of another.
  The son of Achilles rules over the cities and towns; Pyrrhus
  lays them waste, Æneas has wept for Priam. Merlin writes that
  the proud crowd shall perish; the barking dog shall depart, and
  the ox shall go into exile. Then shall the Eutherian grove be
  stripped of its feathered branches; and the Albanian race will
  see their kingdom perish. Wretched Scot, lament, thy hour of
  weeping is now come; for the kingdom of thy forefathers ceases
  to be thine. Thou art deprived of a prince, and art so trodden
  down in the field, that by thy ill merits thou wilt always be an
  ass. A voice from the bottom of the Cambine waters calls thee,
  to be punished with such slaughter as the race of Adam has not
  yet seen. Hasten thither, and become the companion of the devil!
  Andrew will no longer be their leader.

       *       *       *       *       *

The general hatred to the Scots did not hinder the people from
feeling grieved by the heavy taxes which were raised to support the
war, and more particularly the expeditions into Flanders, (which
latter were ill managed, and produced no results,) or from showing
their dissatisfaction. The King’s measures of ambition were often
thwarted by the stern opposition of the barons and the commons.
The following song was directed more particularly against the
unconstitutional seizure of wool, and generally against all the
taxes raised for the Flemish war.


SONG AGAINST THE KING’S TAXES.

[MS. Harl. No. 2253, fol. 137, v^o, written in reign of Edw. II.]

      Dieu, roy de magesté, ob personas trinas,
      Nostre roy e sa meyné ne perire sinas;
      Grantz mals ly fist aver gravesque ruinas,
      Celi qe ly fist passer partes transmarinas.
        Rex ut salvetur, falsis maledictio detur!

      Roy ne doit à feore de gere extra regnum ire,
      For si la commune de sa terre velint consentire:
      Par tresoun voit honme sovent quam plures perire;
      A quy en fier seurement nemo potest scire.
        Non eat ex regno rex sine consilio.

      Ore court en Engletere de anno in annum
      Le quinzyme dener, pur fere sic commune dampnum.
      E fet avaler que soleyent sedere super scamnum;
      E vendre fet commune gent vaccas, vas, et pannum.
        Non placet ad summum quindenum sic dare nummum.

      Une chose est countre foy, unde gens gravatur,
      Que la meyté ne vient al roy, in regno quod levatur.
      Pur ce qu’il n’ad tot l’enter, prout sibi datur,
      Le pueple doit le plus doner, et sic sincopatur.
        Nam quæ taxantur, regi non omnia dantur.

      Unquore plus greve à simple gent collectio lanarum,
      Que vendre fet communement divitias earum.
      Ne puet estre que tiel consail constat Deo carum,
      Issi destrure le poverail pondus per amarum,
        Non est lex sana, quod regi sit mea lana.

      Uncore est plus outre peis, ut testantur gentes,
      En le sac deus pers ou treis per vim retinentes.
      A quy remeindra cele leyne? quidam respondentes,
      Que jà n’avera roy ne reygne, sed tantum colligentes.
        Pondus lanarum tam falsum constat amarum.

      Depus que le roy vodera tam multum cepisse,
      Entre les riches si purra satis invenisse;
      E plus, à ce que m’est avys, et melius fecisse
      Des grantz partie aver pris, et parvis pepercisse.
        Qui capit argentum sine causa peccat egentum.

      Honme ne doit à roy retter talem pravitatem,
      Mès al maveis consiler per ferocitatem.
      Le roy est jeovene bachiler, nec habet ætatem,
      Nule malice compasser, sed omnem probitatem.
        Consilium tale dampnum confert generale.

      Rien greve les grantz graunter regi sic tributum;
      Les simples deyvent tot doner, contra Dei nutum.
      Cest consail n’est mye bien, sed vitiis pollutum;
      Ceux que grauntent ne paient ren, est male constitutum.
        Nam concedentes nil dant regi, sed egentes.

      Coment fra honme bon espleit ex pauperum sudore,
      Que les riches esparnyer doit, dono vel favore?
      Des grantz um le dust lever, Dei pro timore;
      Le pueple plus esparnyer, qui vivit in dolore.
        Qui satis es dives, non sic ex paupere vives.

      Je voy en siècle qu’ore court gentes superbire,
      D’autre biens tenir grant court, quod cito vult transire.
      Quant vendra le haut juggement, magna dies iræ,
      S’il ne facent amendement, tunc debent perire.
        Rex dicit reprobis, “ite:”--“venite,” probis.

      Dieu, que fustes coronée cum acuta spina,
      De vostre pueple eiez pitée gratia divina!
      Que le siècle soit aleggée de tali ruina!
      A dire grosse veritée est quasi rapina.
        Res inopum capta, nisi gratis, est quasi rapta.

      Tel tribut à nul feor diu nequit durare;
      Devoyde qy puet doner, vel manibus tractare?
      Gentz sunt à tiel meschief quod nequeunt plus dare;
      Je me doute, s’ils ussent chief, quod vellent levare.
        Sæpe facit stultas gentes vacuata facultas.

      Yl y a tant escarceté monetæ inter gentes,
      Qe honme puet en marché, quam parci sunt ementes,
      Tot eyt honme drap ou blée, porcos vel bidentes,
      Rien lever en verité, tam multi sunt egentes.
        Gens non est læta, cum sit tam parca moneta.

      Si le roy freyt moun consail, tunc vellem laudare,
      D’argent prendre le vessel, monetamque parare;
      Mieu valdreit de fust ma[n]ger, pro victu nummos dare,
      Qe d’argent le cors servyr, et lignum pacare.
        Est vitii signum pro victu solvere lignum.

      Lur commissiouns sunt trochiers qui sunt ultra mare;
      Ore lur terres n’ount povers eosdem sustentare.
      Je ne say coment purrount animas salvare,
      Que d’autrui vivre voderount, et propria servare.
        Non dubitant pœnas cupientes res alienas.

      Dieu pur soun seintime noun, confundat errores,
      E ceux que pensent fere tresoun, et pacis turbatores!
      E vengaunce en facez ad tales vexatores!
      E confermez e grantez inter reges amores!
        Perdat solamen qui pacem destruit! AMEN.

  TRANSLATION.--O God, king of majesty, for the sake of the
  Trinity,--do not permit our king and his household to
  perish;--great hurt and great ruin he caused him to have,--who
  made him pass over the sea.--In order that the king may prosper,
  may his false advisers be accursed.

  A king ought not to go out of his kingdom to make war,--unless
  the commons of his land will consent:--by treason we often
  see very many perish;--no one can tell in whom to trust with
  certainty.--Let not the king go out of his kingdom without
  counsel.

  Now goes in England from year to year--the fifteenth penny, to
  do thus a common harm.--And it makes them go down, who used to
  sit upon a bench;--and it obliges the common people to sell both
  cows, vessels, and clothes.--It does not please thus to pay the
  fifteenth to the last penny.

  One thing is against faith, whereby the people is
  aggrieved,--that the half of what is raised in the kingdom does
  not come to the king.--Since he has not the whole, as it is given
  to him,--the people is obliged to give the more, and thus they
  are cut short.--For the taxes which are raised are not all given
  to the king.

  The collecting of the wool grieves the common people still
  more,--which drives them commonly to sell their property.--Such
  counsel cannot be acceptable to God,--thus to destroy the poor
  people by a bitter burthen.--It is not sound law, which gives my
  wool to the king.

  What is still more contrary to peace, as people witness,--they
  retain two or three parts in the sack.--To whom shall remain
  this wool? Some answer,--that neither king nor queen shall have
  it, but only the collectors.--Such a false weight of wool is
  manifestly a bitter thing.

  Since the king is determined to take so much,--he may find enough
  among the rich and he would get more and do better, as it appears
  to me,--to have taken a part from the great, and to have spared
  the little.--He sins who takes the money of the needy without
  cause.

  We ought not to lay such wickedness to the charge of the
  king,--but to the bad counsellor, by his rapacity. The king is a
  young bachelor, and is not of an age--to compass any malice, but
  to do all probity.--Such counsel does general harm.

  It is no trouble to the great thus to grant to the king a
  tax; the simple must pay it all, which is contrary to God’s
  will.--This counsel is not at all good, but polluted with
  vice;--it is ill ordained, that those who grant should pay
  nothing.--For those who make the grant give nothing to the king,
  it is the needy only who give.

  How will they perform good deeds out of the sweat of the
  poor,--whom the rich ought to spare, by gift or favour?--they
  ought to tax the great, for the fear of God;--and spare more the
  people, who live in pain.--Thou who art rich enough, live not
  thus upon the poor.

  I see at the present day how people are proud,--with other
  people’s goods they hold great court, which will quickly
  pass.--When the high judgment comes, the great day of
  wrath,--unless they make atonement, they must then perish.--The
  King says to the bad, “Go:” to the good, “Come.”

  O God, who wast crowned with the sharp thorn,--have pity with
  divine grace upon thy people!--May the world be comforted of
  such ruin!--To tell unvarnished truth, it is mere robbery.--The
  property of the poor taken without their will, is as it were
  stolen.

  Such tribute can in no manner last long;--out of emptiness who
  can give, or touch anything with his hands.--People are reduced
  to such ill plight, that they can give no more;--I fear, if they
  had a leader, they would rise in rebellion.--Loss of property
  often makes people fools.

  There is so much scarcity of money among people,--that people can
  in the market, there are so few buyers,--although they may have
  cloth or corn, swine or sheep,--make nothing of them, in truth,
  there are so many needy people.--The people is not joyful, when
  money is so scarce.

  If the king would take my advice, I would praise him then,--to
  take the vessels of silver, and make money of them;--it would be
  better to eat out of wood, and to give money for victuals--than
  to serve the body with silver, and pay with wood.--It is a sign
  of vice, to pay for victuals with wood.

  The commissions of those who are employed over sea are too
  dear;--now the poor have not their lands to sustain the same.--I
  do not know how they can save their souls,--who would live upon
  other people’s goods, and save their own.--They cannot doubt but
  they will be punished, who covet the property of others.

  May God, for the sake of his holy name, confound errors,--and
  those who meditate treason, and the disturbers of the peace!--and
  take vengeance on such tormentors!--and confirm and grant love
  between the kings!--May he lose consolation who breaks the peace!
  Amen.

       *       *       *       *       *

Although the English people were grieved by the King’s expensive
and ill-conducted foreign wars, yet they were not wanting in
commiseration for the Flemish burghers in their struggle against
France. The song which follows was composed soon after the battle
of Courtrai, in which the Comte d’Artois and his army were defeated
and destroyed by the Flemings in 1302.


SONG ON THE FLEMISH INSURRECTION.

[MS. Harl. No. 2253, fol. 73, v^o. of reign of Edw. II.]

      Lustneth, lordinges, bothe ȝonge ant olde,
      Of the Freynsshe-men that were so proude ant bolde,
      Hou the Flemmysshe-men bohten hem ant solde
                      upon a Wednesday.
      Betere hem were at home in huere londe,
      Then for te seche Flemmysshe by the see stronde,
      Wharethourh moni Frenshe wyf wryngeth hire honde,
                      ant singeth, weylaway!

      The Kyng of Fraunce made statuz newe
      In the lond of Flaundres, among false ant trewe,
      That the commun of Bruges ful sore con a-rewe,
                      ant seiden amonges hem,
      “Gedere we us togedere hardilyche at ene,
      Take we the bailifs by tuenty ant by tene,
      Clappe we of the hevedes an oven o the grene,
                      ant caste we y the fen.”

      The webbes ant the fullaris assembleden hem alle,
      Ant makeden huere consail in huere commune halle;
      Token Peter Conyng huere kyng to calle,
                      ant beo huere cheventeyn.
      Hue nomen huere rouncyns out of the stalle,
      Ant closeden the toun withinne the walle;
      Sixti baylies ant ten hue maden a-doun falle,
                      ant moni another sweyn.

      Tho wolde the baylies, that were come from Fraunce,
      Dryve the Flemisshe that made the destaunce;
      Hue turnden hem aȝeynes with suerd ant with launce,
                      stronge men ant lyht.
      Y telle ou for sothe, for al huere bobaunce,
      Ne for the avowerie of the Kyng of Fraunce,
      Tuenti score ant fyve haden ther meschaunce
                      by day ant eke by nyht.

      Sire Jakes de Seint Poul y-herde hou hit was;
      Sixtene hundred of horsmen asemblede o the gras;
      He wende toward Bruges _pas pur pas_,
                      with swithe gret mounde.
      The Flemmysshe y-herden telle the cas;
      A-gynneth to clynken huere basyns of bras,
      Ant al hem to-dryven ase ston doth the glas,
                      ant fellen hem to grounde.

      Sixtene hundred of horsmen hede ther here fyn;
      Hue leyȝen y the stretes y-styked ase swyn;
      Ther hue loren huere stedes, ant mony rouncyn,
                      thourh huere oune prude.
      Sire Jakes ascapede by a coynte gyn,
      Out at one posterne ther me solde wyn,
      Out of the fyhte hom to ys yn,
                      in wel muchele drede.

      Tho the Kyng of Fraunce y-herde this, anon
      Assemblede he is dousse pers everuchon,
      The proude Eorl of Artoys ant other mony on,
                      to come to Paris.
      The barouns of Fraunce thider conne gon,
      Into the paleis that paved is with ston,
      To jugge the Flemmisshe to bernen ant to slon,
                      thourh the flour-de-lis.

      Thenne seide the Kyng Philip, “Lustneth nou to me,
      Myn eorles ant my barouns gentil ant fre,
      Goth, faccheth me the tray tours y-bounde to my kne,
                      hastifliche ant blyve.”
      Tho suor the Eorl of Seint Poul, “_Par la goule Dé!_
      We shule facche the rybaus wher thi wille be,
      Ant drawen hem [with] wilde hors out of the countré,
                      by thousendes fyve.”

      “Sire Rauf Devel,” sayth the Eorl of Boloyne,
      “_Nus ne lerrum en vie chanoun ne moyne_,
      Wende we forth anon ritht withoute eny assoygne,
                      ne no lyves man.
      We shule flo the Conyng, ant make roste is loyne;
      The word shal springen of him into Coloyne,
      So hit shal to Acres ant into Sesoyne,
                      ant maken him ful wan.”

      Sevene eorles ant fourti barouns y-tolde,
      Fiftene hundred knyhtes proude ant swythe bolde,
      Sixti thousent swyers amonge ȝunge ant olde,
                      Flemmisshe to take.
      The Flemmisshe hardeliche hem come to-ȝeynes;
      This proude Freinsshe eorles, huere knyhtes, ant huere sweynes
      A-quelleden ant slowen by hulles ant by pleynes,
                      al for huere kynges sake.

      This Frenshe come to Flaundres so liht so the hare;
      Er hit were mydnyht hit fel hem to care;
      Hue were laht by the net so bryd is in snare,
                      with rouncin ant with stede.
      The Flemmisshe hem dabbeth o the het bare;
      Hue nolden take for huem raunsoun ne ware;
      Hue doddeth of huere hevedes, fare so hit fare,
                      ant thareto haveth hue nede.

      Thenne seith the Eorl of Artois, “Y ȝelde me to the,
      Peter Conyng by thi nome, ȝef thou art hende ant free,
      That y ne have no shame ne no vylté,
                      that y ne be noud ded.”
      Thenne swor a bocher, “By my leauté!
      Shalt thou ner more the Kyng of Fraunce se,
      Ne in the toun of Bruges in prisone be,
                      thou woldest spene bred.”

      Ther by were knulled y the put-falle,
      This eorles ant barouns ant huere knyhtes alle;
      Huere ledies huem mowe abide in boure ant in halle
                      wel longe.
      For hem mot huere kyng other knyhtes calle,
      Other stedes taken out of huere stalle:
      Ther hi habbeth dronke bittrere then the galle,
                      upon the drue londe.

      When the Kyng of Fraunce y-herde this tydynge,
      He smot doun is heved, is honden gon he wrynge.
      Thourhout al Fraunce the word bygon to springe;
                      wo wes huem tho!
      Muche wes the sorewe ant the wepinge
      That wes in al Fraunce among olde ant ȝynge:
      The meste part of the lond bygon for te synge
                      “alas! ant weylawo!”

      Awey thou ȝunge pope! whet shal the to rede?
      Thou hast lore thin cardinals at thi meste nede;
      Ne keverest thou hem nevere for nones kunnes mede,
                      for sothe y the telle.
      Do the forth to Rome to amende thi misdede;
      Bide gode halewen hue lete the betere spede:
      Bote thou worche wysloker, thou losest lont ant lede,
                      the coroune wel the felle.

      Alas! thou seli Fraunce, for the may thunche shome,
      That are fewe fullaris maketh ou so tome;
      Sixti thousent on a day hue maden fot lome,
                      with eorl ant knyht.
      Herof habbeth the Flemysshe suithe god game,
      Ant suereth bi Seint Omer ant eke bi Seint Jame,
      Ȝef hy ther more cometh, hit falleth huem to shame,
                      with huem for te fyht.

      I tell ou for sothe, the bataille thus bigon
      Bituene Fraunce ant Flaundres, hou hue weren fon;
      Vor Vrenshe the eorl of Flaundres in prison heden y-don,
                      with tresoun untrewe.
      Ȝe[f] the Prince of Walis his lyf habbe mote,
      Hit falleth the Kyng of Fraunce bittrore then the sote;
      Bote he the rathere therof welle do bote,
                      wel sore hit shal hym rewe.

  TRANSLATION.--Listen, Lordings, both young and old,--of the
  Frenchmen that were so proud and bold,--how the Flemmish men
  bought and sold them--upon a Wednesday.--Better it had been
  for them at home in their country,--than to seek Flemings by
  the sea-strand,--through which many a French woman wrings her
  hands,--and sings, weladay!

  The King of France made new statutes--in the land of Flanders,
  among false and true,--that the commons of Bruges full sorely
  began to rue,--and said amongst themselves,--“Let us assemble
  together boldly in the evening,--let us take the bailiffs by
  twenties and by tens,--let us clap off their heads above on the
  green,--and let us cast them in the fen.”

  The weavers and the fullers assembled them all,--and held
  their council in their common hall,--they took Peter Conyng to
  be called their king,--and to be their chieftain.--They took
  their horses out of the stable,--and closed the town within the
  wall;--seventy bailiffs they made down fall,--and many another
  man.

  Then would the bailiffs that were come from France--drive out
  the Flemings who made the disturbance;--but they turned against
  them with sword and with lance,--strong men and nimble.--I tell
  you for truth, in spite of their vaunting,--and in spite of the
  patronage of the King of France,--four hundred and five had there
  mischance--by day and also by night.

  Sir Jacques de St. Paul heard how it was:--he assembled sixteen
  hundred knights on the grass;--they went towards Bruges step by
  step,--with a very great body of people.--The Flemings heard tell
  of the case; they begin to clink their basins of brass,--and they
  break them all to pieces as a stone does glass,--and fell them to
  the ground.

  Sixteen hundred knights had there their end;--they lay in the
  streets stuck like swine;--there they lost their steeds, and many
  a horse,--through their own pride;--Sir Jacques escaped by a
  cunning contrivance,--out at a postern where they sold wine,--out
  of the fight home to his lodging,--in very great fear.

  When the King of France heard this, anon--he assembled his douze
  peers every one,--the proud Comte d’Artois and others many
  a one,--to come to Paris.--The barons of France began to go
  thither,--into the palace that is paved with stone,--to judge the
  Flemings to be burnt and slain,--through the fleur-de-lis.

  Then said King Philip, “Listen now to me,--my earls and my
  barons gentle and free,--go, fetch me the traitors in bonds to
  my knees,--hastily and quickly.”--Then swore the Comte de Saint
  Paul, “By the throat of God!--we shall fetch the ribalds wherever
  it be thy will,--and draw them with wild horses out of the
  country--by five-thousands.”

  “Sir Ralf Devel,” says the Comte de Bologne,--“we will not leave
  alive either canon or monk,--let us go forth anon right without
  any excuse,--nor no man alive (?).--We shall flay the Conyng
  (rabbit), and cause his loins to be roasted;--the fame of him
  shall spring as far as Cologne,--so shall it to Acre and into
  Saxony,--and make them full pale.”

  Seven counts and forty barons in number,--fifteen hundred knights
  proud and very bold,--sixty thousand squires what with young and
  old,--to take the Flemings.--The Flemings boldly came against
  them;--these proud French comtes, their knights, and their
  men--they killed and slew over the hills and the plains,--all for
  their King’s sake.

  These French came to Flanders as light as the hare;--before it
  was midnight there fell upon them care;--they were caught in the
  net as a bird is in the snare,--with horse and with steed.--The
  Flemings dab them on the bare head;--they will take for them
  neither ransom nor pay;--they dod off their heads, happen what
  may,--and thereto have they need.

  Then saith the Comte d’Artois, “I yield me to thee,--Peter Conyng
  by name, if thou art gentle and free,--that I may suffer no
  shame nor disgrace,--and that I may not be slain.”--Then swore a
  butcher, “By my loyalty!--thou shalt never more see the King of
  France,--nor be in prison in the town of Bruges,--thou wouldest
  consume bread.”

  There they were heaped into the pit-full,--these counts and
  barons and all their knights;--their ladies may wait for them
  in bower and in hall--very long.--In their place must their
  king call other knights,--and take other steeds out of their
  stables:--there they have drunk bitterer than gall,--upon the dry
  land.

  When the King of France heard these tidings,--he cast down his
  head, his hands he began to wring.--Throughout all France the
  news began to spread;--woe was to them all!--Much was the sorrow
  and the weeping--that was in all France among old and young;--The
  greatest part of the land began to sing,--“Alas! and welaway!”

  Away, thou young pope! what will be thy counsel?--Thou hast lost
  thy cardinals at thy greatest need;--thou wilt never recover them
  for any kind of reward,--for truth I tell thee.--Go forth to Rome
  to atone for thy misdeeds;--pray to good saints that they let
  thee speed better:--unless thou workest more wisely, thou losest
  land and people,--the crown fell well to the. (?)

  Alas! thou simple France, it may appear a shame for thee,--that
  a few fullers make thee so tame;--sixty thousand in a day they
  made trip quickly, (?)--with count and knight.--Thereof have
  the Flemings very good game,--and swear by St. Omer and eke by
  St. James,--if they come there any more, it will fall them to
  shame,--with them to fight.

  I tell you for truth, the battle thus begun,--between France and
  Flanders, how they were foes;--for the French had put the Count
  of Flanders in prison,--with treason faithlessly.--If the Prince
  of Wales his life might have,--it will happen to the King of
  France more bitter than soot;--unless he before-hand do make good
  amends for it,--very sorely he shall rue it.

       *       *       *       *       *

The following song seems to have been popular about the beginning
of the fourteenth century. The wolf and the fox pourtray exactly
the characters of the two classes of people who then oppressed and
plundered the middle and lower classes.


A SONG ON THE TIMES.

[MS. Harl. No. 913, fol. 44, v^o. written about A.D. 1308.]

      Whose thenchith up this carful lif,
        Niȝte and dai that we beth inne,
      So moch we seeth of sorow and strif,
        And lite ther is of worldis winne,
      Hate and wreth ther is wel rive,
        And trew love is ful thinne:
      Men that beth in heiiȝist live
        Mest i-charged beth with sinne.

      Fals and lither is this lond,
        As al dai we mai i-se:
      Therin is bothe hate and onde,--
        Ic wene that ever so wol be.
      Coveitise hath the law an honde,
        That the trewthe he ne mai i-se:
      Nou is maister pride and onde;--
        Alas! Loverde, whi suffrith he?

      Wold holi cherch pilt is miȝte,
        And law of lond pilt him to;
      Than scholde coveitise and un-riȝte
        Ute of lond ben y-do.
      Holi cherch schold hold is riȝt
        For no eie no for no love;
      That hi ne schold schow har miȝt
        For lordingen boste that beth above.

      To entredite and amonsi
        Al thai, whate hi evir be,
      That lafful men doth robbi,
        Whate in lond what in see;
      And thos hoblurs, namelich,
        That husbond benimeth eri of grund;
      Men ne schold ham biri in non chirch,
        Bot cast ham ute as a hund.

      Thos kingis ministris beth i-schend,
        To riȝt and law that ssold tak hede,
      And al the lond for t’ amend,
        Of thos thevis hi taketh mede.
      Be the lafful man to deth i-broȝt,
        And his catel awei y-nom;
      Of his deth ne tellith hi noȝt,
        Bot of har prei hi hab som.

      Hab hi the silver, and the mede,
        And the catel under-fo,
      Of feloni hi ne taketh hede,
        Al thilk trepas is a-go.
      Of thos a vorbisen ic herd telle;
        The Lion is king of all beeste,
      And--herknith al to mi spelle--
        In his lond he did an heste.

      The Lyon lete cri, as hit was do,
        For he hird lome to telle;
      And eke him was i-told also
        That the wolf didde noȝte welle.
      And the fox, that lither grome,
        With the wolf, i-wreiid was;
      To-for har lord hi schold come,
        To amend har trepas.

      And so men didde that seli asse,
        That trepasid noȝt, no did no gilte,
      With ham bothe i-wreiid was,
        And in the ditement was i-pilt.
      The voxe hird amang al menne,
        And told the wolf with the brode crune;
      That on him send gees and henne,
        That other geet and motune.

      The seli aasse wend was saf,
        For he ne eete noȝt bote grasse;
      None ȝiftes he ne ȝaf,
        No wend that no harm nasse.
      Tho hi to har lord com to tune,
        He told to ham law and skille;
      Thos wikid bestis luid a-dune,
        “Lord,” hi seiid, “what is thi wille?”

      Tho spek the Lion hem to,
        To the fox anone his wille,--
      “Tel me, boi, what hast i-do?
        Men beth aboute the to spille.”
      Tho spek the fox first anone,
        “Lord King, nou thi wille;
      Thos men me wreiith of the tune,
        And wold me gladlich for to spille.--

      Gees no hen nad ic noȝt,
        Sire, for soth ic the sigge,
      Bot as ic ham dere boȝt,
        And bere ham up myn owen rigge.”
      ”Godis grame most hi have,
        That in the curte the so pilt!
      Whan hit is so, ich vouchsave,
        Ic forȝive the this gilte.”

      The fals wolf stode behind;
        He was doggid and ek felle:--
      “Ic am i-com of grete kind,
        Pes thou graunt me, that miȝt ful welle.”
      “What hast i-do, bel amy,
        That thou me so oxist pes?”
      “Sire,” he seid, “I nel noȝt lie,
        If thou me woldist hire a res.

      For ic huntid up the doune,
        To loke, Sire, mi biȝete;
      Ther ic slow a motune,
        Ȝe, Sir, and fewe gete.
      Ic am i-wreiid, Sire, to the,
        For that ilk gilt;--
      Sire, ichul sker me,
        I ne ȝef ham dint no pilt.”

      “For soth I sigge the, bel ami,
        Hi nadde no gode munde,
      Thai that wreiid the to mei,
        Thou ne diddist noȝt bot thi kund.--
      Sei thou me, asse, wat hast i-do?
        Me thenchith thou cannist no gode.
      Whi nadistou, as other mo?
        Thou come of lither stode.”

      “Sertis, Sire, not ic noȝt;
        Ic ete sage alnil gras,--
      More harm ne did ic noȝt;
        Therfor i-wreiid ic was.”
      “Bel ami, that was mis-do,
        That was aȝe thi kund,
      For to ete such gras so:--
        Hastilich ȝe him bind;

      Al his bonis ȝe to-draw,
        Loke that ȝe noȝt lete;
      And that ic ȝive al for lawe,
        That his fleis be al i-frette.”--
      Also hit farith nou in lond,
        Whose wol tak therto hede:
      Of thai that habbith an hond,
        Of thevis hi takith mede.

      The lafful man ssal be i-bund,
        And i-do in strang pine,
      And i-hold in fast prisund,
        Fort that he mak fine.
      And the thef to skap so,
        That doth ever aȝe the riȝt.
      God take hede therto,
        That is al ful of miȝt!

      Thus farith al the world nuthe,
        As we mai al i-se,
      Both est and west, north and suthe;
        God us help and the Trinité!
      Trewth is i-faillid with fremid and sibbe,
        And so wide as al this lond
      Ne mai no man therin libbe,
        What throȝ coveitise and throȝ onde.

      Thoȝ lafful man wold hold is lif
        In love, in charité, and in pes,
      Sone me ssul compas is lif,
        And that in a litil res.
      Prude is maister and coveitise,
        The thrid brother men clippith ond;
      Niȝt and dai he fondith i-wisse
        Lafful men, to hab har lond.

      Whan erth hath erthe i-gette
        And of erthe so hath i-nouȝ,
      Whan he is therin i-stekke,
        Wo is him that was in wouȝ!
      What is the gode that man ssal hab,
        Ute of this world whan he ssal go?
      A sori wed,--whi ssal ic gab?--
        For he broȝt him no mo.

      Riȝt as he com, he ssal wend,
        In wo, in pine, in poverté;--
      Takith gode hede, men, to ȝure end,
        For as I sigge, so hit wol be.
      Y not wharof beth men so prute;
        Of erthe and axen, felle and bone?
      Be the soule enis ute,
        A vilir caraing nis ther non.

      The caraing is so lolich to see,
        That under erth men mot it hide;
      Bothe wif and child wol fram him fle,
        Ther nis no frend that wol him bide.
      What wol men for the sowle del?
        Corne no mel, wel thou wost;
      Bot wel seld at the mele
        A rowȝ bare trenchur, other a crust.

      The begger that the crust ssal hab,
        Wel hokerlich he lokith theran:
      Soth to sigge, and noȝt to gabbe,
        Riȝt noȝt he is i-paiid a pan.
      Than seiith the begger in is mode,
        “The crust is bothe hard and tougth,
      The wreche was hard that ow the gode,
        Hard for hard is gode y-nowȝ.”

      Moch misanter that for him bidde
        Pater noster other crede;
      Bot let him hab as he didde,
        For of the ȝift nath he no mede.
      Ic red up no man thou hab triste.
        No uppon non other;
      Ok del hit with ȝure owen fist,
        Trist to soster no brother.

      Anurith God and holi chirch,
        And ȝiveth the pouir that habbith nede;
      So Godis wille ȝe ssul wirche,
        And joi of heven hab to mede.
              To whoch joi us bring
              Jhesus Crist heven king! AMEN.

  TRANSLATION.--Whoso reflecteth upon this life which is full of
  care,--night and day that we are in,--so much we see of sorrow
  and strife,--and little there is of world’s joy.--Hate and wrath
  there is very rife,--and true love is very rare:--men who are in
  the highest station of life,--are most laden with sin.

  False and wicked is this land,--as every day we may see:--in it
  there is both hate and contention,--I think it will always be
  so.--Covetousness hath the law in hand,--that he may not see the
  truth:--Now pride is master, and contention;--Alas! Lord! why
  suffereth he?

  If holy church would exert its might,--and the law of the land
  exert it too;--then should covetousness and injustice--out of the
  land be driven.--Holy church should withhold its right--for no
  fear nor for no love;--that they should not show their might--for
  the boast of lordings that are above.

  To interdict and admonish--all those, whatever they be,--who
  lawful men do rob,--whether on the land or on the sea;--and those
  hoblers in particular,--that take from the husbandman the tillage
  of the ground;--men ought not to bury them in any church,--but to
  throw them out like a dog.

  Those king’s ministers are corrupted,--that should take heed to
  right and law,--and all the land for to amend,--of these thieves
  they take bribe.--If the man who acts lawfully is brought to
  death,--and his property taken away;--of his death they make no
  account,--but of their prey they have a share.

  If they have the silver and the bribe--and the property
  received,--they take no heed of felony,--every trespass is
  allowed to pass.--Of these a parable I heard tell;--the Lion is
  king of all beasts,--and (hearken all to my tale)--in his land he
  made a command.

  The Lion caused to be proclaimed, as it was done,--for he heard
  frequently tell;--and eke it was told him also--that the wolf did
  not well.--And the fox, that wicked fellow,--with the wolf was
  accused;--before their lord they must come,--to make amends for
  their trespass.

  And so men did [accuse] the simple ass,--that trespassed not,
  nor did any crime,--with them both he was accused,--and in
  the indictment was put.--The fox heard [talk of it] among all
  men,--and told the wolf with the broad crown;--the one sent to
  him [the Lion] geese and hens,--the other kids and mutton.

  The simple ass thought he was safe,--for he eat nothing but
  grass;--no gifts he gave,--nor suspected that there was any
  harm.--When they came in the presence of their Lord,--he counted
  out to them law and reason;--these wicked beasts laid themselves
  down [prostrate],--“Lord,” said they, “what is thy will?”

  Then spake the Lion to them,--to the fox in the first place [he
  declared] his will,--“Tell me, fellow, what hast thou done?--Men
  are about thee to ruin.”--Then spake the fox first,--“Lord King,
  now thy will;--these men accuse me of the town,--and would gladly
  ruin me.

  “Gees nor hen had I not,--Sire, for truth I tell thee,--but as
  I bought them dearly,--and bore them upon my own back.”--“God’s
  anger may they have,--that in the court so placed thee!--Since it
  is so, I vouchsafe,--I forgive thee this guilt.”

  The false wolf stood behind;--he was dogged and eke fell:--“I
  am come of a great race,--grant thou me peace, who may full
  well.”--“What hast thou done, fair friend,--that thou so askest
  me peace?”--“Sire,” he said, “I will not lie,--if thou wouldst
  hear me a little while.

  “For I hunted up the downs,--to look, Sire, after my gain;--There
  I slew a mutton,--yea, Sire, and a few kids.--I am accused, sire,
  to thee,--for that same crime;--Sire, I shall clear myself,--I
  gave them neither blow nor hurt.”

  “For truth I tell thee, fair friend,--they had no good
  mind,--they who accused thee to me,--thou didst nothing but thy
  nature.--Tell thou me, ass, what hast thou done?--Methinks thou
  art capable of no good.--Why haddest thou not [done] as others
  more?--thou art come of wicked place.”

  “Certes, Sire, I know not;--I eat sage and only grass,--more harm
  did I not;--therefore was I accused.”--“Fair friend, that was
  misdone,--that was against thy nature,--for to eat such grass
  so:--hastily ye him bind;

  “Draw ye all his bones to pieces,--look that ye do not fail;--and
  that I give all for law,--that his flesh be all torn to
  pieces.”--Thus it fares now in the land,--whoever will take heed
  thereto:--of they that have in hand,--of thieves they take gifts.

  The man who acts according to law shall be bound,--and condemned
  to strong pain,--and held in fast prison,--until he pays a
  fine.--And the thief to escape so,--that acts ever against the
  right!--God take heed thereto,--who is all full of might!

  Thus fares all the world now,--as we may all see,--both east
  and west, north and south;--God and the Trinity help us!--Truth
  is failed with stranger and relation,--and as wide as all this
  land--no man can live therein,--what through covetousness and
  through contention.

  Though the man who acts according to law would hold his life--in
  love, in charity, and in peace,--soon they will compass his
  life,--and that in a little space of time.--Pride is master and
  covetousness--the third brother is called contention;--night and
  day they labour certainly--lawful men, to have their land.

  When earth has obtained earth,--and thus of earth hast
  enough,--when he is stuck therein,--woe to him that was in
  wickedness!--What is the good that man shall have,--when he shall
  go out of this world?--A sorry garment,--why shall I joke?--For
  he brought him no more.

  Just as he came, he shall go,--in woe, in pain, in poverty;--take
  good heed, men, to your end,--for as I say, so it will be.--I
  know not of what men are so proud;--of earth, and ashes, skin and
  bone?--when the soul is once out,--there is no viler carcase.

  The carcase is so loathsome to see,--that under earth men must it
  hide;--both wife and child will from him fly,--there is no friend
  that will stay with him.--What will men for the soul give?--corn
  nor meal, well thou knowest;--but very seldom at their meal,--a
  rough bare trencher, or a crust.

  The beggar that the crust shall have,--right scornfully he looks
  thereon:--truth to say, and not to joke,--right not a pan he
  is paid.--Then saith the beggar in his mood,--“The crust is
  both hard and tough,--the wretch was hard that possessed the
  goods,--hard for hard is good enough.”

  May he have much misadventure who for him saith--Pater-noster
  or creed;--but let him have as he did,--for of the gift hath he
  no reward.--I counsel thee have trust in no man,--nor upon no
  other;--but share it with your own fist,--trust neither to sister
  nor brother.

  Honour God and holy church,--and give to the poor that have
  need;--Thus ye shall work God’s will,--and have for reward the
  joy of heaven.--To which joy us bring--Jesus Christ heaven’s
  King. AMEN.

       *       *       *       *       *

The scholastic philosophy flourished through the thirteenth
century, the age of Albertus Magnus, of Grosteste, and of Roger
Bacon; but, towards the close of that period, the importance of the
schools and universities was rapidly declining. They had received
a shock from the triumph of the monks over the scholars during
the reign of St. Louis, which they could never recover. Political
events, and the great change which was then operating in the whole
political--we may perhaps say social--system, hastened their fall.
The nice quibbles of the dialectitian, although they still had
their weight in the cloister, began to be sneered at in the world
without. The following song, which perhaps belongs to the beginning
of the fourteenth century, is directed against the _artistæ_, or
those who studied the seven arts, the scholastic _trivium_ and
_quadrivium_.


SONG AGAINST THE SCHOLASTIC STUDIES.

[From MS. Cotton. Titus A. XX. fol. 66, v^o, written in reign of
Edw. II.; and MS. Bodl. Oxford. Rawl. B. 214, fol. 168, v^o, of
15th cent.]

        Meum est propositum gentis imperitæ
      Artes frugi reddere melioris vitæ,
      Et ad artes singulas procedatis rite:
      Ad mea decepti juvenes documenta venite.
        Adversatur legibus omne genus cleri,
      Cujus status hodie pejor est quam heri;
      Sua sacra presbiter quisque vult tueri.
      Ingenium magni livor detraxit Homeri.
        Quando contra boream nauta pandit velum,
      Et asellus vincere cursu vult camelum,
      Non formidat ponere manus os in cœlum:
      Vulneror et clausum porto sub pectore telum.
        Præferri bidentibus capra vult hirsuta,
      Stulta non considerans unde sit induta;
      Illi æqua vellera non sunt attributa:
      Pennatis avibus quondam testudo locuta.
        Cum sint nuda gloria logici contenti,
      Sub egentis propere vivunt indumenti,
      Verumtamen invident opulentæ genti.
      Summa petit livor, perflant altissima venti.
        Modus est invidiæ semper, ut ab imis
      Sursum tendant, ultima contradicunt primis:
      Invidere negligit infimo sublimis.
      Invidus alterius rebus macescit opimis.
        Si non cupis vivere pauper et mendicus,
      Semper in laboribus sicut servus Stichus,
      Igni digna subjici sine fructu ficus,
      Dilige sic alios ut sis tibi carus amicus.
        Expedit pauperibus abhærere legi;
      Insudare nimium artibus elegi.
      Ignoro propterea unde possum regi,
      Carmina qui quondam studio florente peregi.
        Nonne circa logicam si quis laborabit,
      Spinas atque tribulos illi germinabit?
      In sudore nimio panem manducabit;
      Vix tamen hoc illi garula lingua dabit.
        In arenam logicus frustra semen serit,
      Nam metendi tempore fructus nullus erit;
      Circa ficum sterilem labor omnis perit.
      Arbor qualis erit, talia poma gerit.
        Licet sis ad apicem artium provectus,
      Fies junioribus in brevi despectus;
      Dicunt de te, “senio desipit affectus.”
      Æmula quid cessas finem properare senectus?
        Veræ pestilentiæ cathedra tu sedes,
      Qui Thebanas lectitas vel Trojanas cædes;
      Affluunt divitiis legistarum sedes,
      Et modo vadit equis qui solet ire pedes.
        Propter artes vigilans est revera stultus;
      Cur circa Georgicam pateris singultus?
      Ager sic per steriles jaceat incultus,
      Telluris si forte velis cognoscere cultus.
        Propter leges merito labor est ferendus;
      Ager reddens centuplum non est deferendus.
      Est libellus pauperum pauperi legendus;
      Hic tibi præcipue sit pura mente colendus.
        Circa dialecticam tempus cur consumis,
      Tu qui nullos redditus aliunde sumis?
      Colat qui per patriam natus est e summis,
      Dives agro, dives positis in fænore nummis.
        Dives in fallaciis discat esse fortis;
      Discat capram facere de persona sortis.
      Artes nunquam deserat citra tempus mortis.
      Contentus fama lateat Lucanus in hortis.
        Si forte deliquerit artibus imbutus,
      Ad legistas fugiet si vult esse tutus:
      Quia se defendere nescit plus quam mutus,
      Græcorum studia nimium diuque sequutus.
        Atria nobilium video patere;
      Cum legista venerit dissolvuntur ceræ.
      Exclusus ad januam poteris sedere,
      Ipse licet venias musis comitatus, Homere.
        Logicus araneæ potest comparari,
      Quæ subtiles didicit telas operari,
      Quæ suis visceribus volunt consummari;
      Est pretium musca, si forte queat laqueari.
        Si fortuna logico favet in privigno,
      Vultu namque logicum respicit benigno;
      Si sit dives logicus hoc sub cœli signo;
      Rara avis in terra nigroque simillima cigno.
        Naturæ cognoscere si velis archana,
      Stude circa physicam quæ dat membra sana:
      Sat quicquid expostulat egestas humana,
      Sat Galienus opes et sanctio Justiniana.

  TRANSLATION.--It is my design to turn the arts of an unskilful
  race to the fruit of a better life, and so proceed ye to each
  of the arts in order: O youth who have been deceived, come to
  my lessons.--Every class of the clergy is opposed to the laws,
  of whom the condition to-day is worse than it was yesterday;
  every priest will hold his own rites: envy detracted from the
  talents of great Homer.--When the sailor spreads his sail against
  the north wind, and the ass thinks to conquer the camel in the
  race, then the hand fears not to put the face towards heaven;
  I am wounded and carry the weapon shut up in my breast.--The
  shaggy she-goat wishes to be preferred to the sheep, in her folly
  not considering with what she is clothed; so fine a fleece has
  not been given to her: as the tortoise once said to the winged
  birds.--Although the logicians are satisfied with naked glory,
  and live under the garb of the needy, nevertheless they envy the
  rich. Envy seeks the summit, the wind blows vehemently on lofty
  places.--It is always the manner of envy, that they aim from
  the bottom upwards, the last speak against the first: he who is
  elevated does not think it worth while to envy him who is most
  low. The envious man becomes lean by regarding the fatness of
  another.--If you do not desire to live poor and beggarly, always
  labouring like the servant Stichus, a fig-tree without fruit
  worthy to be cast in the fire; love others so that thou mayest be
  a dear friend to thyself.--It is good for poor men to adhere to
  the law; I have chosen to labour much on the arts. I am ignorant
  therefore how I may be guided, who once composed verses, while
  my study flourished.--If any one will expend his labour upon
  logic, will it not produce him thorns and brambles? in too much
  sweat he will eat his bread; and even that his talkative tongue
  will hardly give him.--The logician in vain sows his seed in the
  sand, for in harvest time there will be no fruit; upon a barren
  fig-tree all labour is lost. Such as is the tree, such will be
  the fruit it bears.--Although you be arrived at the summit of
  the arts, you will be in a short time despised by the younger
  aspirants; they will say of thee, “he doats, affected with old
  age.” Old age, why do you emulous cease to hasten the end?--Thou
  sittest in the chair of a true pestilence, who readest the
  tragedy of Thebes or of Troy; [whilst] the seats of the legists
  abound in riches, and now he goes on horseback who used to go
  on foot.--He who sits up at night to study the arts is truly a
  fool; why do you yawn over the Georgic? thus the field may lie
  neglected and barren, while by chance you may be desirous of
  understanding the culture of the earth.--It is right that we
  should labour upon the laws; a field that produces a hundred-fold
  is not to be set aside. The book of the poor is to be read by the
  poor man; this chiefly is the book to be devotedly cultivated
  by thee.--Why do you consume your time upon dialectics, thou
  who receivest no income from other sources? Let him cultivate
  it who is born of high family in the country, rich in land and
  rich in money laid out at interest.--Let the rich man learn to
  be strong in fallacies; let him learn to make a she-goat of the
  person of chance. Let him never desert the arts, before the hour
  of his death. Satisfied with fame, let Lucan lie hid in the
  gardens.--If imbued in the arts he should chance to fail, he will
  fly to the legists if he will be safe: because he knows no more
  how to defend himself than one who is dumb, having pursued too
  much and too often the study of the Greeks.--I see the halls of
  the nobles open; when the legist comes, the bolts are undone;
  thou, shut out, mayest sit at the door, although thou thyself,
  Homer, shouldst come along with the muses.--The logician may be
  compared to a spider, which learns to spin subtle webs, that are
  made out of its own bowels; the reward is a fly, if by chance
  it can be netted.--If fortune favour a logician in his kindred,
  for she looks upon the logician with a benignant countenance; if
  a logician be rich under this sign of the heavens; he is a rare
  bird upon earth, and very like a black swan.--If you wish to know
  the secrets of nature, study physic which gives health to the
  limbs; what man’s need requires is enough, Galen and the sanction
  of Justinian are riches enough.

       *       *       *       *       *

The following English verses, composed at the same period, seem
also intended as a satire upon the studies and arguments of the
dialectitians.


THE SONG OF “NEGO.”

[From MS. Harl. No. 913, fol. 58, v^o. written in 1308.]

      Hit nis bot trewth, I wend, an afte
      For te sette _nego_ in eni crafte;
      Trewth so drawith to heven blisse,
      _Nego_ doth noȝt so i-wisse.
      For-sak and save is thef in lore,
      _Nego_ is pouer clark in store.
      Whan menne horlith ham here and there,
      _Nego_ savith ham fram care.
      Awei with _nego_ ute of place!
      Whose wol have Goddis grace;
      Whoso wol aȝens the devil fiȝte,
      Ther mai _nego_ sit a-riȝte.
      Ak loke that we never more
      _Nego_ sette in trew lore.
      For whoso can lite, hath sone i-do,
      Anone he drawith to _nego_.
      Now o clerk seiith _nego_;
      And that other _dubito_;
      Seiith another _concedo_;
      And another _obligo_,
      _Verum falsum_ sette therto;
      Than is al the lore i-do.
      Thus the fals clerkes of har hevid,
      Makith men trewth of ham be revid.

  TRANSLATION.--It is contrary to truth, I believe, and ...--to
  set _nego_ in any craft;--truth draweth us to the joy of
  heaven,--_nego_ does not so certainly.--Forsake and save is a
  thief in doctrine,--_nego_ is a poor clerk in store.--When men
  hurl them here and there,--_nego_ saves them from care.--Away
  with _nego_ out of the place!--whoever will have God’s
  grace;--he who will against the devil fight,--there may _nego_
  sit rightly.--But see that we never more--set _nego_ in true
  doctrine.--For he who knows little has soon done,--anon he
  draws to _nego_.--Now one clerk says _nego_;--and the other
  _dubito_;--saith another _concedo_;--and another _obligo_,--with
  _verum falsum_ set to it;--then is all their learning done.--Thus
  the false clerks of their head,--make men of truth through them
  be bereaved.

       *       *       *       *       *

The Scottish wars occupied incessantly the remaining years of
Edward’s reign. The following song was composed probably in the
September of the year 1306, soon after the battle of Kirkencliff,
and on the immediate occasion of the execution of Sir Simon Fraser,
who was taken prisoner there.


SONG ON THE EXECUTION OF SIR SIMON FRASER.

[MS. Harl. 2253, fol. 59, v^o. of reign of Edw. II.]

      Lystneth, lordynges, a newe song ichulle bigynne,
      Of the traytours of Scotlond that take beth wyth gynne;
      Mon that loveth falsnesse and nule never blynne,
      Sore may him drede the lyf that he is ynne,
                              ich understonde:
                          Selde wes he glad
                          That never nes a-sad
                              of nythe ant of onde.

      That y sugge by this Scottes that bueth nou to-drawe,
      The hevedes o Londone brugge whose con y-knawe:
      He wenden han buen kynges, ant seiden so in sawe;
      Betere hem were han y-be barouns ant libbe in Godes lawe,
                              wyth love.
                          Whose hateth soth ant ryht,
                          Lutel he douteth Godes myht,
                              the heye kyng above.

      To warny alle the gentilmen that bueth in Scotlonde,
      The Waleis wes to-drawe, seththe he was an-honge,
      Al quic biheveded, ys bowels y-brend,
      The heved to Londone brugge wes send
                              to abyde.
                          After Simond Frysel,
                          That wes traytour ant fykell,
                              and y-cud ful wyde.

      Sire Edward oure kyng, that ful ys of pieté,
      The Waleis quarters sende to is oune contré,
      On four half to honge, huere myrour to be,
      Theropon to thenche, that monie myhten se
                              ant drede.
                          Why nolden he be war
                          Of the bataile of Donbar,
                              hou evele hem con spede?

      Bysshopes and barouns come to the kynges pes,
      Ase men that weren fals, fykel, ant les,
      Othes hue him sworen in stude ther he wes,
      To buen him hold ant trewe for ailes cunnes res,
                              thrye,
                          That hue ne shulden aȝeyn him go,
                          So hue were temed tho;
                              weht halt hit to lye?

      To the kyng Edward hii fasten huere fay;
      Fais wes here foreward so forst is in May,
      That sonne from the southward wypeth away:
      Moni proud Scot therof mene may
                              to ȝere.
                          Nes never Scotlond
                          With dunt of monnes hond
                              allinge a-boht so duere!

      The Bisshop of Glascou ychot he was y-laht;
      The Bisshop of Seint André bothe he beth y-caht;
      The Abbot of Scon with the Kyng nis nout saht;
      Al here purpos y-come hit ys to naht,
                              thurh ryhte.
                          Hii were unwis
                          When hii thohte pris
                              aȝeyn huere kyng to fyhte.

      Thourh consail of thes bisshopes y-nemned byfore,
      Sire Robert the Bruytz furst kyng wes y-core,
      He mai everuche day ys fon him se byfore;
      Ȝef hee mowen him hente, ichot he bith forlore,
                              sauntz fayle.
                          Soht for te sugge,
                          Duere he shal abugge
                              that he bigon batayle.

      Hii that him crounede proude were ant bolde,
      Hii maden kyng of somere, so hii ner ne sholde,
      Hii setten on ys heved a croune of rede golde,
      Ant token him a kyne-ȝerde so me kyng sholde,
                              to deme.
                          Tho he wes set in see,
                          Lutel god couthe he
                              kyne-riche to ȝeme.

      Now Kyng Hobbe in the mures ȝongeth,
      For te come to toune nout him ne longeth;
      The barouns of Engelond, myhte hue him gripe,
      He him wolde techen on Englysshe to pype,
                              thourh streynthe:
                          Ne be he ner so stout,
                          Ȝet he bith y-soht out
                              o brede and o leynthe.

      Sire Edward of Carnarvan, Jhesu him save ant see!
      Sire Emer de Valence, gentil knyht ant free,
      Habbeth y-suore huere oht that, _par la grace Dée!_
      Hee wollith ous delyvren of that false contree,
                              ȝef hii conne.
                          Much hath Scotlond forlore,
                          Whet a-last, whet bifore,
                              ant lutel pris wonne.

      Nou ichulle fonge ther ich er let,
      Ant tellen ou of Frisel, ase ich ou byhet;
      In the batayle of Kyrkenclyf, Frysel was y-take;
      Ys continaunce abated eny bost to make
                              biside Strivelyn:
                          Knyhtes ant sweynes,
                          Fremen ant theynes,
                              monye with hym.

      So hii weren byset on everuche halve,
      Somme slaye were, ant somme dreynte hem-selve;
      Sire Johan of Lyndeseye nolde nout abyde,
      He wod into the water his feren him bysyde
                              to adrenche.
                          Whi nolden hii be war?
                          Ther nis non aȝeyn stare:--
                              why nolden by hem by-thenche?

      This wes byfore Seint Bartholomeus masse,
      That Frysel wes y-take, were hit more other lasse:
      To Sire Thomas of Multone, gentil baroun ant fre,
      Ant to Sire Johan Jose, bytake tho wes he
                              to honde:
                          He wes y-fetered weel
                          Both with yrn ant wyth steel,
                              to bringen of Scotlonde.

      Sone therafter the tydynge to the kyng com;
      He him sende to Londone with mony armed grom;
      He com yn at Newegate, y telle yt ou aplyht,
      A gerland of leves on ys hed y-dyht
                              of grene;
                          For he shulde ben y-knowe
                          Bothe of heȝe ant of lowe
                              for treytour, y wene.

      Y-fetered were ys legges under his horse wombe;
      Bothe with yrn ant with stel mankled were ys honde;
      A gerland of peruenke set on ys heved;
      Muche wes the poer that him wes byreved
                              in londe:
                          So God me amende!
                          Lutel he wende
                              so be broht in honde.

      Sire Herbert of Morham, feyr knyht ant bold,
      For the love of Frysel ys lyf wes y-sold;
      A wajour he made, so hit wes y-told,
      Ys heved of to smhyte ȝef me him brohte in hold,
                              wat so bytyde.
                          Sory wes he thenne,
                          Tho he myhte him kenne
                              thourh the toun ryde.

      Thenne seide ys scwyer a word anon ryht,
      “Sire, we beth dede, ne helpeth hit no wyht,”--
      (Thomas de Boys the scwyer wes to nome)--
      “Nou ychot oure wajour turneth us to grome,
                              so y-bate.”
                          Y do ou to wyte,
                          Here heved wes of smyte
                              byfore the Tour gate.

      This wes on oure Levedy even, for sothe ych understonde,
      The justices seten for the knyhtes of Scotlonde,
      Sire Thomas of Multone, an hendy knyht ant wys,
      Ant Sire Rauf of Sondwyche that muchel is told in pris,
                              ant Sire Johan Abel;
                          Mo y mihte telle by tale,
                          Bothe of grete ant of smale,
                              ȝe knowen suythe wel.

      Thenne saide the justice, that gentil is ant fre,
      “Sire Simond Frysel, the kynges traytour hast thou be,
      In water ant in londe, that monie myhten se:
      What sayst thou thareto? hou wolt thou quite the?
                              do say.”
                          So foul he him wiste,
                          Nede waron truste
                              for to segge, nay.

      Ther he wes y-demed, so hit wes londes lawe,
      For that he wes lord-swyke, furst he wes to-drawe,
      Upon a retheres hude forth he wes y-tuht:
      Sum while in ys time he wes a modi knyht,
                              in huerte.
                          Wickednesse ant sunne,
                          Hit is lutel wunne
                              that maketh the body smerte.

      For al is grete poer, ȝet he wes y-laht;
      Falsnesse ant swykedom, al hit geth to naht;
      Tho he wes in Scotlond, lutel wes ys thoht
      Of the harde jugement that him wes bysoht
                              in stounde.
                          He wes four-sithe for-swore
                          To the kyng ther bifore,
                              ant that him brohte to grounde.

      With feteres ant with gyves ichot he wes to-drowe,
      From the Tour of Londone, that monie myhte knowe,
      In a curtel of burel a selkethe wyse,
      Ant a gerland on ys heved of the newe guyse,
                              thurh Cheepe;
                          Moni mon of Engelond
                          For to se Symond
                              thideward con lepe.

      Tho he com to galewes, furst he wes an-honge,
      Al quic by-heveded, thah him thohte longe,
      Seththe he wes y-opened, is boweles y-brend,
      The heved to Londone-brugge wes send
                              to shonde:
                          So ich ever mote the!
                          Sum while wende he
                              ther lutel to stonde.

      He rideth thourh the sité, as y telle may,
      With gomen and wyth solas, that wes here play,
      To Londone-brugge hee nome the way,
      Moni wes the wyves chil that theron laketh a day,
                              ant seide, alas!
                          That he wes i-bore,
                          Ant so villiche for-lore,
                              so feir mon ase he was.

      Nou stont the heved above the tu-brugge,
      Faste bi Waleis, soth for te sugge;
      After socour of Scotlond longe he mowe prye,
      Ant after help of Fraunce wet halt hit to lye,
                              ich wene.
                          Betere him were in Scotlond
                          With is ax in ys hond
                              to pleyen o the grene.

      Ant the body hongeth at the galewes faste,
      With yrnene claspes longe to laste;
      For te wyte wel the body, ant Scottyshe to garste,
      Foure ant twenti ther beoth to sothe ate laste
                              by nyhte.
                          Ȝef eny were so hardi
                          The body to remuy
                              al so to dyhte.

      Were Sire Robert the Bruytz y-come to this londe,
      Ant the Erl of Asseles, that harde is an honde,
      Alle the other pouraille, for sothe ich understonde,
      Mihten be ful blythe ant thonke Godes sonde,
                              wyth ryhte:
                          Thenne myhte uch mon
                          Bothe riden ant gon
                              in pes withoute vyhte.

      The traytours of Scotlond token hem to rede,
      The barouns of Engelond to brynge to dede;
      Charles of Fraunce, so moni mon tolde,
      With myht ant with streynthe hem helpe wolde,
                              his thonkes!
                          Tprot, Scot, for thi strif!
                          Hang up thyn hachet ant thi knyf,
                          Whil him lasteth the lyf
                              with the longe shonkes.

  TRANSLATION.--Listen, lordings, a new song I will begin,--of the
  traitors of Scotland who are taken with a trap;--he who loves
  falseness, and will never leave it,--sore may he dread the life
  that he is in,--I believe:--seldom was he glad--that never was
  sorrowful--for his wickedness and turbulence.

  I say that of these Scots who are now drawn,--their heads on
  London bridge anybody may recognise:--they thought to have been
  kings, and said so in their talk;--better was it for them to have
  been barons and live in God’s law,--with love.--He who hateth
  truth and right,--little he fears God’s might,--the high king
  above.

  To be a warning to all the gentlemen who are in Scotland,--the
  Wallace was drawn, and afterwards was hanged,--beheaded all
  alive, his bowels burnt,--the head to London Bridge was sent--to
  remain there.--Afterwards Simon Fraser, who was traitor and
  fickle,--and known full wide.

  Sir Edward our king, who is full of piety,--sent the Wallace’s
  quarters to his own country,--to hang in four parts (of the
  country), to be their mirror,--thereupon to think, in order that
  many might see--and dread.--Why would they not take warning--of
  the battle of Dunbar,--how ill they sped?

  Bishops and barons came to the king’s peace,--as men that were
  false, fickle, and lying,--oaths they swore to him in the place
  where he was,--to be firm and true to him in all kinds of
  moments,--thrice (?),--that they should not against him go,--so
  were they tamed then;--what profits it to lie?

  To King Edward they plight their faith;--false was their covenant
  as frost is in May,--which the sun from the southward wipes
  away;--many a proud Scot thereof may lament--in year.--Was never
  Scotland--by dint of man’s hand--altogether bought so dear.

  The Bishop of Glasgow, I wot he was taken;--the Bishop of St.
  Andrew, too, he is caught;--the Abbot of Scone with the King is
  not ...;--all their purpose is come to nothing,--by right.--They
  were unwise--when they thought it praiseworthy--against their
  king to fight.

  Through counsel of these bishops named before,--Sir Robert the
  Bruce first was chosen king,--he may every day his foes see
  before him;--if they may catch him, I wot he is undone,--without
  fail.--To say the truth,--dearly he shall pay--for having begun
  battle.

  They that crowned him were proud and bold,--they made a king of
  summer, as they never should,--they set on his head a crown of
  red gold,--and gave him a sceptre as one should to a king,--to
  judge.--When he was set on a throne,--little good knew he--a
  kingdom to rule.

  Now King Hobbe gangeth in the moors,--to come to town he has no
  desire;--the barons of England if they might gripe him,--they
  would teach him to pipe in English,--through strength:--be he
  never so stout,--yet he is sought out--wide and far.

  Sir Edward of Caernarvon, (Jesus save him and have him in
  regard!)--and Sir Aymer de Valence, a gentle knight and
  liberal,--they have sworn their oath that, by the grace of
  God!--they will deliver us from that false country,--if
  they can.--Much hath Scotland lost,--what latterly and what
  before,--and little praise won.

  Now I shall take up where I left off before,--and tell you of
  Fraser, as I promised you;--in the battle of Kirkencliff Fraser
  was taken;--his countenance ceased from making any boast--near
  Stirling:--knights and swains,--freemen and thanes,--many with
  him.

  They were so beset on every part,--some were slain and some
  drowned themselves.--Sir John de Lyndsay would not remain,--he
  waded into the water with his companions beside him--to
  drown.--Why would not they beware?--There is none looked again
  (?):--why would not they reflect?

  It was before St. Bartholomew’s mass,--that Fraser was taken,
  were it more or less:--To Sir Thomas de Multon, a gentle knight
  and liberal,--and to Sir John Jose, he was delivered then--in
  hand:--he was well fettered--both with iron and with steel,--to
  bring out of Scotland.

  Soon afterwards the tidings came to the king;--they sent him to
  London with many an armed man;--he came in at Newgate, I tell
  it you faithfully,--a garland of leaves placed on his head--of
  green;--because he should be known--both by high and by low--as
  a traitor, I ween.

  Fettered were his legs under his horse’s belly;--both with iron
  and with steel manacled were his hands;--a garland of periwinkle
  set on his head;--much was the power that was taken from him--in
  land:--As may God amend me!--he little supposed--so to be brought
  in hand.

  Sir Herbert of Morham, a fair knight and bold,--for the love
  of Fraser his life was sold;--a wager he made, so it was
  said,--to smite off his head if they took him in hold,--whatever
  betide.--Sorry was he then,--when he might know him--to ride
  through the town.

  Then said his squire a word anon right,--“Sir, we are dead, there
  is no creature to help us;”--(the squire was named Thomas de
  Bois)--“now I wot our wager turns to our sorrow,--so bet.”--I
  give you to know,--their heads were smitten off--before the gate
  of the Tower.

  It was on our Lady’s eve, for truth I understand,--the justices
  sat for the knights of Scotland,--Sir Thomas de Multon, a
  gentle knight and wise,--and Sir Ralph de Sandwich, who is much
  esteemed in worth,--and Sir John Abel;--more I might tell by
  reckoning,--both of great and of small,--ye know very well.

  Then said the justice, who is gentle and free,--“Sir Simon
  Fraser, the king’s traitor hast thou been,--on water and on land,
  as many may see:--what sayest thou thereto? how wilt thou clear
  thyself?--do say.”--He knew himself to be so foul,--he had not
  whereon to trust--to say, nay.

  There he was judged, as it was the law of the land,--because he
  was traitor to his lord, first he was drawn,--upon a bullock’s
  hide forth he was led:--for once in his life he was a moody
  knight--in heart.--Wickedness and sin,--it is little gain--that
  makes the body smart.

  For all his great power, still he was taken;--falseness and
  treachery all come to nothing;--when he was in Scotland, little
  was his thought--of the hard judgment which was prepared for
  him--in a short time.--He was four times perjured--to the king
  there before,--and that brought him to the ground.

  With fetters and with gyves I wot he was drawn,--from the
  Tower of London, that many might know,--in a kirtle of
  sack-cloth in strange wise,--and a garland on his head of the
  new guise,--through Cheap;--many a man of England--to see
  Simon--thither began to leap.

  When he came to the gallows, first he was hanged,--beheaded all
  alive, though it seemed to him long,--afterwards he was opened,
  his bowels burnt,--the head to London Bridge was sent--for
  disgrace:--As I may ever thrive!--at one time he thought--little
  there to stand.

  They ride through the city, as I may tell,--with game and with
  solace, that was their play,--to London Bridge they took the
  way,--many was the woman’s child that thereon lacks-a-day,--and
  said, alas!--that he was born,--and so vilely undone,--so fair a
  man as he was.

  Now stands the head above the twi-bridge,--fast by Wallace,
  to say the truth;--after succour from Scotland long they may
  pray,--and after help from France what profits it to wait, (?)--I
  ween.--It were better for him in Scotland--with his axe in his
  hand--to play on the green.

  And the body hangs fast on the gallows,--with iron clasps long
  to last;--to guard well the body, and the Scotch to drive away
  (?),--four-and-twenty there are for sooth at least--by night.--If
  any one were so hardy--the body to remove--immediately to attack
  them.

  If Sir Robert the Bruce were come to this land,--and the Earl of
  Athol that is hard in hand,--all the rest of the common people,
  for truth I understand,--might be full blith, and thank God’s
  sending,--with right:--then might each man--both ride and go--in
  peace, without fighting.

  The traitors of Scotland took counsel with themselves,--to bring
  the barons of England to death;--Charles of France, as many a one
  said,--with might and with strength would help them,--thanks to
  him!--Tprot, Scot, for thy strife!--hang up thy hatchet and thy
  knife,--while life lasts to him--with the long shanks.

       *       *       *       *       *

The following song, remarkable for the playfulness of its metres
and rhymes, gives us a strong picture of the extortions committed
at this period of our history upon the weak and defenceless, by the
magistrates and the officers connected with the courts of law.


SONG ON THE VENALITY OF THE JUDGES.

[From MS. Harl. No. 913, fol. 59, r^o. of the beginning of the 14th
century. This song is in the MS. written as prose.]

      Beati qui esuriunt
      Et sitiunt, et faciunt
              justitiam,
      Et odiunt et fugiunt
              injuriæ nequitiam;
      Quos nec auri copia
      Nec divitum encennia
              trahunt a rigore,
              nec pauperum clamore;
      Quæ sunt justa judicant,
      Et a jure non claudicant
              divitum favore.
              Sed nunc miro more
      Multos fallit seculum,
      Et trahit in periculum,
              mundi ob favorem,
              ut lambeant honorem.
      Hoc facit pecunia,
      Quam omnis fere curia
              jam duxit in uxorem.

      Sunt justitiarii,
      Quos favor et denarii
              alliciunt a jure;
      Hii sunt nam bene recolo,
      Quod censum dant diabolo,
              et serviunt hii pure.
              Nam jubet lex naturæ,
      Quod judex in judicio
      Nec prece nec pretio
              acceptor sit personæ;
              quid, Jhesu ergo bone,
      Fiet de judicibus,
      Qui prece vel muneribus
              cedunt a ratione?

      Revera tales judices
      Nuncios multiplices
              habent;--audi quare.
              Si terram vis rogare,
      Accedet ad te nuncius,
      Et loquitur discretius,
              dicens, “Amice care,
              vis tu placitare?
      Sum cum justitiario
      Qui te modo vario
              possum adjuvare;
              si vis impetrare
      Per suum subsidium,
      Da michi dimidium,
              et te volo juvare.”

      Ad pedes sedent clerici,
      Qui velut famelici
              sunt, donis inhiantes;
              et pro lege dantes,
      Quod hii qui nichil dederint,
      Quamvis cito venerint,
              erunt expectantes.

      Sed si quædam nobilis,
      Pulcra vel amabilis,
              cum capite cornuto,
              auro circumvoluto,
      Accedat ad judicium,
      Hæc expedit negotium
              ore suo muto.

      Si pauper muliercula,
      Non habens munuscula,
              formam neque genus,
              quam non pungit Venus,
      Infecto negotio
      Suo pergit hospitio,
              dolendo corde tenus.

      Sunt quidam ad hanc curiam,
      Qui exprimunt juditiam;
              dicuntur relatores;
              cæteris pejores.
      Utraque manu capiunt,
      Et sic eos decipiunt
              quorum sunt tutores.
              Et quid janitores?
      Qui dicunt pauperibus
      Curiam sequentibus,
              “Pauper, cur laboras?
              Cur facis hic moras?
      Nisi des pecuniam
      Cuique ad hanc curiam,
              in vanum laboras.
              Quid, miser, ergo ploras?
      Si nichil attuleris,
              stabis omnino foras.”

      De vicecomitibus,
      Quam duri sunt pauperibus,
              quis potest enarrare?
              Qui nichil potest dare,
      Huc et illuc trahitur,
      Et in assisis ponitur,
              et cogitur jurare,
              non ausus murmurare.
      Quod si murmuraverit,
      Ni statim satisfecerit,
              est totum salsum mare.

      Hoc idem habent vitium,
      Cum subeunt hospitium
              cujusdam patriotæ,
              vel abbathiæ notæ,
      Quo potus et cibaria,
      Et cuncta necessaria,
              eis dentur devote.
      Nil prosunt sibi talia,
      Nisi mox jocalia
              post prandium sequantur,
              et cunctis largiantur,
      Bedellis, garcionibus,
      Et qui sunt secum omnibus.
              Nec adhuc pacantur,
              nisi transmittantur
      Robæ suis uxoribus
      Ex variis coloribus.
              Si non clam mittantur,
              Et post sic operantur;
      Quotquot habent averia
      Ad sua maneria
              cum impetu fugantur,
              et ipsi imparcantur
      Quousque satisfecerint,
      Ita quod duplum dederint;
              tunc demum liberantur.

      Clericos irrideo
      Suos, quos prius video
              satis indigentes,
              et quasi nil habentes,
      Quando ballivam capiunt;
      Qua capta mox superbiunt,
              et crescunt sibi dentes,
              collaque erigentes,
      Incipiunt perpropere
      Terras et domos emere,
              et redditus placentes;
              nummosque colligentes,
      Pauperes despiciunt,
      Et novas leges faciunt,
              vicinos opprimentes;
              fiuntque sapientes.
      In hoc malum faciunt,
      Et patriam decipiunt,
              nemini parcentes.

  TRANSLATION.--Blessed are they who hunger and thirst, and do
  justice, and hate and avoid the wickedness of injustice; whom
  neither abundance of gold nor the jewels of the rich draw from
  their inflexibility, or from the cry of the poor; they judge what
  is just, and do not fall off from the right for the sake of the
  rich. But now the age deceives many in a wonderful manner, and
  draws them into danger, for love of the world, that they may lick
  up honours. The cause of this is money, to which almost every
  court has now wedded itself.

  There are judges, whom partiality and bribes seduce from justice;
  these are they, I remember well, that pay toll to the devil,
  and they serve him alone. For the law of nature commands, that
  a judge in giving judgment should not be an acceptor of anybody
  either for prayer or money; what therefore, O good Jesus, will be
  done with the judges, who for prayers or gifts recede from what
  is just?

  In fact such judges have numerous messengers;--listen for what
  purpose. If you wish to claim land, a messenger will come to you,
  and speaks in confidence, saying, “Dear friend, do you wish to
  plead? I am one who can help you in various ways with the judge;
  if you wish to obtain anything by his aid, give me half, and I
  will help you.”

  At his feet sit clerks, who are like people half-famished,
  gaping for gifts; and proclaiming it as law, that those who give
  nothing, although they come early, will have to wait.

  But if some noble lady, fair and lovely, with horns on her head,
  and that encircled with gold, come for judgment, such a one
  despatches her business without having to say a word.

  If the woman be poor, and has no gifts, neither beauty nor rich
  relationship, whom Venus does not stimulate, she goes home
  without effecting her business, sorrowful at heart.

  There are some at this court, who express judgment; whom they
  call relaters, worse than the others. They take with both hands,
  and so deceive those whose defenders they are. And what shall we
  say to the ushers? who say to the poor that follow the court,
  “Poor man, why do you trouble yourself? why do you wait here?
  unless you give money to everybody in this court, you labour
  in vain. Why then, wretch, do you lament? If you have brought
  nothing, you will stand altogether out of doors.”

  Concerning the sheriffs, who can relate with sufficient fulness
  how hard they are to the poor? He who has nothing to give is
  dragged hither and thither, and is placed in the assises, and is
  obliged to take his oath, without daring to murmur. But if he
  should murmur, unless he immediately make satisfaction, it is all
  salt sea.

  The same people have this vice, when they enter the house of some
  countryman, or of a famous abbey, where drink and victuals, and
  all things necessary, are given to them devoutly. Such things
  are of no avail, unless by and by the jewels follow after the
  meal, and are distributed to all, bedels and garçons, and all
  who are with them. Nor even yet are they paid, unless robes of
  various colours are transmitted to their wives. If these are not
  sent privately, then they proceed as follows; whatever cattle
  they find, are driven off violently to their own manors, and
  the owners themselves are put in confinement until they make
  satisfaction, so that they give the double: then at length they
  are liberated.

  I laugh at their clerks, whom I see at first indigent enough, and
  possessing next to nothing, when they receive a bailiwick; which
  received they next show themselves proud, and their teeth grow,
  and holding up their necks they begin very hastily to buy lands
  and houses, and agreeable rents; and amassing money themselves,
  they despise the poor, and make new laws, oppressing their
  neighbours; and they become wise men. In this they do wickedness,
  and deceive their country, sparing no one.

       *       *       *       *       *

The next song was doubtlessly considered as very libellous at the
time when it was composed, and professes to have been written in
the wild wood; the means of publication being to drop it on the
high road, that it might fall into the hands of passengers. It is
directed against one of the king’s ordinances.


THE OUTLAW’S SONG OF TRAILLEBASTON.

[MS. Harl. No. 2253, fol. 113, v^o. of the reign of Edw. II.]

      Talent me prent de rymer e de geste fere
      D’une purveaunce qe purveu est en la terre;
      Mieux valsit uncore que la chose fust à fere:
      Si Dieu ne prenge garde, je quy que sourdra guere.

      Ce sunt les articles de Trayllebastoun;
      Salve le roi meismes, de Dieu eit maleysoun
      Qe a de primes graunta tiel commissioun!
      Quar en ascuns des pointz n’est mie resoun.

      Sire, si je voderoi mon garsoun chastier
      De une buffe ou de deus, pur ly amender,
      Sur moi betera bille, e me frad atachier,
      E avant qe isse de prisone raunsoun grant doner.

      Quaraunte souz pernent pur ma raunsoun,
      E le viscounte vint à son guerdoun,
      Qu’il ne me mette en parfounde prisoun.
      Ore agardez, seigneurs, est-ce resoun?

      Pur ce me tendroi antre bois sur le jolyf umbray;
      Là n’y a fauceté ne nulle male lay;--
      En le bois de Belregard, où vole le jay,
      E chaunte russinole touz jours santz delay.

      Mès le male doseynes, dount Dieu n’eit jà pieté!
      Parmi lur fauce bouches me ount enditée
      De male robberies e autre mavestée,
      Que je n’os entre mes amis estre receptée.

      J’ai servi my sire le roy en pées e en guere,
      En Flaundres, Escoce, en Gascoyne sa terre;
      Mès ore ne me sai-je point chevisaunce fere;--
      Tot mon temps ay mis en veyn pur tiel honme plere.

      Si ces maveis jurours ne se vueillent amender,
      Que je pus à mon pais chevalcher e aler,
      Si je les pus ateindre la teste lur froi voler,
      De touz lur manaces ne dorroi un dener.

      Ly Martyn et ly Knoville sunt gent de pieté,
      E prient pur les povres qu’il eyent sauveté;
      Spigurnel e Belflour sunt gent de cruelté,
      Si il fuissent en ma baylie ne serreynt retornée.

      Je lur apre[n]droy le giw de Traylebastoun,
      E lur bruseroy l’eschyne e le cropoun,
      Les bras e les jaunbes, ce serreit resoun,
      La lange lur tondroy e la bouche ensoun.

      Qy cestes choses primes comença,
      Jà jour de sa vie amendé ne serra;
      Je vus di pur veyr, trop graunt pecché en a,
      Quar pur doute de prisone meint laroun serra.

      Ytel devendra leres que ne fust unque mès,
      Que pur doute de prisone ne ose venir à pes;
      Vivre covient avoir chescum jour adès;
      Qy ceste chose comenca, yl emprist grant fes.

      Bien devoient marchaunz e moygnes doner maliçoun
      A tous iceux que ordinerent le Traillebastoun;
      Ne lur vaudra un ayle le roial proteccioun,
      Que il ne rendrount les deners sauntz regerdoun.

      Vus qy estes endité, je lou, venez à moy,
      Al vert bois de Belregard, là n’y a nul ploy,
      Forque beste savage e jolyf umbroy;
      Car trop est dotouse la commune loy.

      Si tu sachez de lettrure, e estes coroucé,
      Devaunt les justices serrez appellée;
      Uncore poez estre à prisone retornée,
      En garde de le evesque, jesque seiez purgée,
      E soffryr messayse e trop dure penaunce,
      E par cas n’averez jamès delyveraunce.

      Pur ce valt plus ou moi à bois demorer,
      Q’en prisone le evesque fyerge gyser.
      Trop est la penaunce e dure à soffrer;
      Quy le mieux puet eslyre, fol est qe ne velt choyser.

      Avant savoy poy de bien, ore su-je meins sage;
      Ce me fount les male leis par mout grant outrage,
      Qe n’os à la pes venyr entre mon lignage;
      Les riches sunt à raunsoun, povres à escolage.

      Fort serroit engager ce qe ne puet estre aquytée,
      C’est la vie de honme que taunt est cher amée.
      E je n’ay mye le chatel de estre rechatée;
      Mès si je fusse en lur baundoun à mort serroi lyverée;

      Uncore attendroy grace e orroi gent parler,
      Tiels me dient le mal que me ne osent aprochier.
      E volenters verroient mon corps ledenger;
      Mès entre myl debles Dieu puet un honme sauver.

      Cely me pust salver que est le fitz Marie;
      Car je ne su coupable, endité su par envye;
      Qy en cesti lu me mist, Dieu lur maldie!
      Le siècle est si variant, fous est qe s’affye.

      Si je sei compagnoun e sache de archerye,
      Mon veisyn irra disaunt, “cesti est de compagnie,
      De aler bercer à bois e fere autre folie;”
      Que ore vueille vivre come pork merra sa vye.

      Si je sache plus de ley qe ne sevent eux,
      Yl dirrount, “cesti conspyratour comence de estre faus,”
      E le heyre n’aprocheroy de x. lywes en d’eus;
      De tous veysinages hony seient ceux.

      Je pri tote bone gent qe pur moi vueillent prier,
      Qe je pus à mon pais aler e chyvaucher;
      Unqe ne fu homicide, certes à moun voler,
      Ne mal robberes pur gent damager.

      Cest rym fust fet al bois desouz un lorer,
      Là chaunte merle, russinole, e cyre l’esperver;
      Escrit estoit en parchemyn pur mout remenbrer,
      E gitté en haut chemyn, qe um le dust trover.

  TRANSLATION.--I am seized with the desire to rhyme and to make a
  story,--of a purveyance which is provided in the land;--it would
  be much better if the thing were still undone:--if God does not
  avert it, I think that there will arise war.

  It is the articles of Traillebaston;--except the king himself,
  may he have God’s curse--whoever first granted such a
  commission!--For there is little reason in any of the points of
  it.

  Sire, if I wished to chastise my lad--with a slap or two, to
  amend him,--he will ask a bill against me, and will cause me to
  be arrested,--and to give a great ransom before I escape from
  prison.

  Forty shillings they take for my ransom,--and the sheriff comes
  for his fee,--that he may not put me in deep prison.--Now
  consider, lords, is this right?

  For this cause I will keep myself among the woods, in the
  beautiful shade;--where there is no falseness and no bad law;--in
  the wood of Beauregard, where the jay flies,--and where the
  nightingale sings always without ceasing.

  But the bad idlers, on whom may God have no pity!--with their
  false mouths have indited me--of ill robberies and other
  delinquency,--so that I dare not be received among my friends.

  I have served my lord the king in peace and in war,--in Flanders,
  Scotland, and his land of Gascony;--but now I do not know how to
  make any expedient for myself;--all my time I have spent in vain
  to please such a man.

  If these wicked jurors will not amend,--that I may be able to
  ride and go at my peace,--if I can reach them I will make their
  heads fly off,--I would not give a penny for all their threats.

  The Martin and the Knoville are people of piety,--and pray for
  the poor that they may have safety;--Spigurnel and Belflour are
  people of cruelty,--if they were in my keeping they should not be
  returned.

  I would teach them the game of Trailebaston,--and would break
  their backbone and their crupper,--their arms and their legs, it
  would be but right,--I would cut their tongues and their mouths
  likewise.

  He who first commenced these things,--never in his life will he
  be amended;--I tell you for truth, he has committed therein too
  great a sin,--for out of the fear of prison there will be many a
  robber made.

  He will become a robber who was never so before,--who for fear
  of prison dare not come to peace;--it is necessary to have
  livelihood every day as it comes;--he who commenced this thing,
  undertook a great task.

  Well may merchants and monks bestow a curse--on all those who
  ordained the Trailebaston;--the royal protection will not be
  worth a garlic to them,--if they do not repay the pence without
  recompense.

  You who are indited, I advise you, come to me,--to the green wood
  of Beauregard, there where there is no plea,--except wild beast
  and beautiful shade;--for the common law is too much to be feared.

  If thou knowest letters, and art enraged,--thou shalt be called
  before the justices;--again you may be returned to prison,--in
  keeping of the bishop, until you be cleansed;--and suffer
  mis-ease and too hard penance,--and perchance you will never have
  deliverance.

  Therefore it is better to dwell with me in the wood,--than to lie
  cast in the bishop’s prison.--Too much is the penance, and hard
  to suffer;--he who has the opportunity to select what is better,
  is a fool if he does not make the choice.

  Before I knew little what was good, now I am less wise;--the bad
  laws cause this by very great outrage,--so that I dare not come
  to the peace among my kindred;--the rich are put to ransom, the
  poor to prison.

  It would be penible to engage what cannot be acquitted;--that is
  the life of man which is so dearly loved;--and I have not at all
  the goods wherewith to be bought off;--but if I were in their
  power I should be put to death.

  Yet if I should expect grace and hear people talk,--those would
  say evil to me who dare not approach me,--and would willingly
  see my body disgraced.--But God can save a man in the midst of a
  thousand devils.

  He can save me, who is the son of Mary;--for I am not culpable, I
  am indited out of malice;--God’s curse be on those who drove me
  to this place!--The world is so variable, that he is a fool who
  trusts in it.

  If I am a companion and know archery,--my neighbour will go and
  say, “This man belongs to a company,--to go hunt in the wood and
  do other folly;”--so now I will live as a pig will lead his life.

  If I happen to know more law than they know,--they will say this
  conspirator begins to be treasonable,--and I will not approach
  home within ten leagues of them;--of all neighbourhoods cursed be
  those.

  I pray all good people that they will pray for me,--that I may be
  able to go and ride to my country;--I was never a homicide, at
  least by design,--nor an ill robber to do people damage.

  This rhyme was made in the wood beneath a bay tree,--there sings
  the thrush, the nightingale, and the hawk cries (?);--it was
  written on parchment to be better remembered,--and cast in the
  highway, that people may find it.

       *       *       *       *       *

The following song is a satire upon the numerous retinues of the
nobles and rich people, whose idle attendants and servants preyed
upon the produce of the industrious peasantry. It shows us how
great were the pride and ostentation of the courtiers of the latter
years of Edward the First.


A SONG AGAINST THE RETINUES OF THE GREAT PEOPLE.

[MS. Harl. 2253, fol. 124, v^o; of reign of Edw. II.]

      Of ribaudz y ryme
        Ant rede o mi rolle,
      Of gedelynges, gromes,
        Of Colyn ant of Colle,
      Harlotes, hors-knaves,
        Bi pate ant by polle;
      To devel ich hem to-lvyre
        Ant take to tolle!

      The gedelynges were gedered
        Of gonnylde gnoste;
      Palefreiours ant pages,
        Ant boyes with boste;
      Alle weren y-haht
        Of an horse thoste:
      The devel huem afretye,
        Rau other a-roste!

      The shuppare that huem shupte,
        To shome he huem shadde,
      To fles ant to fleye,
        To tyke ant to tadde;
      So seyth Romaunz,
        Whose ryht radde,--
      Fleh com of flore,
        Ant lous com of ladde.

      The harlotes bueth horlynges,
        Ant haunteth the plawe:
      The gedelynges bueth glotouns,
        Ant drynketh er hit dawe.
      Sathanas huere syre
        Seyde on is sawe,
      Gobelyn made is gerner
        Of gromene mawe.

      The knave crommeth is crop,
        Er the cok crawe;
      He momeleth ant moccheth,
        Ant marreth is mawe;
      When he is al for-laped,
        Ant lad over lawe,
      A doseyn of doggen
        Ne myhte hyre drawe.

      The rybaudz a-ryseth
        Er the day rewe;
      He shrapeth on is shabbes,
        Ant draweth huem to dewe.
      Sene is on is browe
        Ant on is eȝe-brewe,
      That he louseth a losynger,
        And shoyeth a shrewe.

      Nou beth capel-claweres
        With shome to-shrude;
      Hue bosketh huem with botouns,
        Ase hit were a brude;
      With lowe lacede shon
        Of an hayfre hude,
      Hue pyketh of here provendre
        Al huere prude.

      Whose rykeneth with knaves
        Huere coustage,
      The luthernesse of the ladde,
        The prude of the page,
      Thah he ȝeve hem cattes-dryt
        To huere companage,
      Ȝet hym shulde a-rewen
        Of the arrerage.

      Whil God wes on erthe
        And wondrede wyde,
      Whet wes the resoun
        Why he nolde ryde?
      For he nolde no grom
        To go by ys syde,
      Ne grucchyng of no gedelyng
        To chaule ne to chyde.

      Spedeth ou to spewen,
        Ase me doth to spelle;
      The fend ou afretie
        With fleis ant with felle!
      Herkneth hideward, horsmen,
        A tidyng ich ou telle,
      That ȝe shulen hongen,
        Ant herbarewen in helle!

  TRANSLATION.--Of ribalds I rhyme--and read in my roll,--of
  gadlings, grooms,--of Colin and of Colle,--scoundrels,
  horse-boys,--by pate and by poll;--to the devil I them
  deliver--and give for toll.

  The gadlings were gathered--of ...;--palfrey-keepers and
  pages,--and boys with boast;--all were ...--of a horse ...:--may
  the devil devour them--raw or roasted!

  The maker that made them,--he shed them to shame,--to fleas and
  to fly,--to tyke and to toad;--so saith Romanz,--whoever read
  right,--fly comes of flower,--and louse comes of lad.

  The rogues are horelings,--and haunt the play:--the gadlings are
  gluttons,--and drink before it dawns.--Satan their sire--said in
  his saying,--Goblin made his garner--of the grooms’ maw.

  The knave crams his crop--before the cock crows;--he mumbles
  and mocks,--and marrs his maw;--when he is all weary of lapping
  (?),--and laid over law,--a dozen of dogs--could not draw him.

  The ribalds arise--before the day breaks;--they scrape on their
  scabs,--and draw themselves to the dew.--Seen it is on his
  forehead--and on his eye-brows, that he looseth a flatterer,--and
  shoeth a shrew.

  Now are horse-clawers--shamefully clothed;--they busk them with
  buttons--as it were a bride:--with low laced shoes--of a heifer’s
  hide,--they pick out of their provender--all their pride.

  Whoever reckons with knaves--their expense,--the perverseness
  of the lad,--the pride of the page,--though he give them cats’
  dirt--for their sustenance,--yet he shall rue--of the arrears.

  While God was on earth--and wandered wide,--what was the
  reason--why he would not ride?--Because he would not have a
  groom--to go by his side,--nor the grudging of any gadling--to
  jaw or to chide.

  Haste you to spew,--as men do to spell (talk);--may the fiend
  devour you--with flesh and with skin!--Harken this way,
  horsemen,--a tiding I tell you,--that ye shall hang,--and be
  lodged in hell.




REIGN OF EDWARD II. 1307-1327.


Edward the First quitted the stage at a period when wars from
without and internal troubles were gathering fast over his country.
His son and successor, a weak and ill-advised prince, was little
calculated to repel the one or to calm the other; and the following
song shows us that, contrary to the general rule in such cases, the
people were more sorrowful for their loss than pleased with the
novelty of a new monarch.


LAMENT ON THE DEATH OF EDWARD I.

[MS. Bibl. Publ. Cantab. Gg. I. 1, fol. 489, of the reign of Edw.
II.]

      Seigniurs, oiez, pur Dieu le grant,
          Chançonete de dure pité,
      De la mort un rei vaillaunt;
          Homme fu de grant bounté,
          E que par sa leauté
      Mut grant encuntre ad sustenue;
          Ceste chose est bien prové;
      De sa terre n’ad rien perdue.
          Priom Dieu en devocioun
          Que de ses pecchez le face pardoun.

      De Engletere il fu sire,
          E rey qe mut savoit de guere;
      En nule livre puet home lire
          De rei qe mieuz sustint sa tere.
          Toutes les choses qu’il vodreit fere,
      Sagement les tinst à fine.
          Ore si gist soun cors en tere:
      Si va le siècle en decline.

      Le rei de Fraunce grant pecché fist,
          Le passage à desturber
      Qe rei Edward pur Dieu emprist,
          Sur Sarazins l’ewe passer.
          Sun tresour fust outre la mere,
      E ordine sa purveaunce
          Seint eglise pur sustenire:
      Ore est la tere en desperaunce.

      Jerusalem, tu as perdu
          La flour de ta chivalerie,
      Rey Edward le viel chanu,
          Qe tant ama ta seignurie.
          Ore est-il mort; jeo ne sai mie
      Toun baner qi le meintindra:
          Sun duz quor par grant druerie
      Outre la mere vous mandera.

      Un jour avant que mort li prist,
          Od son barnage voleit parler;
      Les chivalers devant li vist,
          Durement commenca de plurer.
          “Jeo murrai,” dist, “par estover,
      Jeo vei ma mort que me vent quere;
          Fetes mon fiz rey corouner,
      Qe Dampnt-Dieu li don bien fere!”

      A Peiters à l’apostoile
          Une messager la mort li dist;
      E la Pape vesti l’estole,
          A dure lermes les lettres prist.
          “Alas!” ceo dist, “comment? morist
      A qi Dieu donna tant honur?
          A l’alme en face Dieu mercist!
      De seint eglise il fu la flour.”

      L’apostoile en sa chambre entra,
          A pein le poeit sustenir;
      E les cardinals trestuz manda,
          Durement commenca de plurir.
          Les cardinals li funt teisir,
      En haut commencent lur servise:
          Parmy la cité funt sonir,
      Et servir Dieu en seint eglise.

      L’apostoile meimes vint à la messe,
          Oue mult grant sollempnité;
      L’alme pur soudre sovent se dresse,
          E dist par grant humilité:
          “Place à Dieu en Trinité,
      Qe vostre fiz en pust conquere
          Jerusalem la digne cité,
      E passer en la seinte tere!”

      Le jeofne Edward d’Engletere
          Rey est enoint e corouné:
      Dieu le doint teil conseil trere,
          Ki le pais seit gouverné;
          E la coroune si garder,
      Qe la tere seit entere,
          E lui crestre en bounté,
      Car prodhome i fust son pere.

      Si Aristotle fuste en vie,
          E Virgile qe savoit l’art,
      Les valurs ne dirr[ai]ent mie
          Del prodhome la disme part.
          Ore est mort le rei Edward,
      Pur qui mon quor est en trafoun;
          L’alme Dieu la salve garde,
      Pur sa seintime passioun! AMEN.

  TRANSLATION.--Lords, listen, for the sake of God the great,--a
  little song of grievous sorrow,--for the death of a precious
  king;--a man he was of great goodness,--and who by his
  loyalty--has sustained many a great encounter;--this thing is
  proved well;--of his land he lost none.--Let us pray God with
  devotion--that he pardon him his sins.

  Of England he was lord,--and a king who knew much of war;--in no
  book can we read--of a king who sustained better his land.--All
  the things which he would do,--wisely he brought them to an
  end.--Now his body lies in the earth;--and the world is going to
  ruin.

  The King of France did great sin,--to hinder the voyage--which
  King Edward undertook for God’s sake,--to pass the water against
  the Saracens.--His treasure was beyond the sea,--and he ordains
  his purveyance--to sustain holy church:--now is the land in
  despair.

  Jerusalem, thou hast lost--the flower of thy chivalry,--King
  Edward the old and hoary,--who loved so much thy lordship.--Now
  he is dead; I know not at all--who will maintain thy banner:--his
  gentle heart for great love--he will send you over the sea.

  One day before death took him,--he would talk with his
  baronage;--he saw the knights before him,--grievously he began
  to weep.--“I shall die,” he said, “of necessity,--I see my death
  which comes to seek me;--cause my son to be crowned king,--may
  the Lord God give him grace to do well!”

  At Poitiers to the pope--a messenger told his death;--and
  the pope put on the stole,--with bitter tears he took the
  letters.--“Alas!” he said, “how? is he dead--to whom God gave so
  much honour?--May God grant mercy to his soul!--he was the flower
  of holy church.”

  The pope entered in his chamber,--he could scarcely support
  it;--and he sent for all the cardinals,--grievously he began to
  weep.--The cardinals made him desist,--aloud they begin their
  service they cause the bells to be rung through the city,--and
  God’s service to be performed in holy church.

  The pope himself came to the mass,--with very great
  solemnity;--he often applies himself to absolve the soul,--and
  said in great humility:--“May it please God in Trinity,--that
  your son may effect the conquest--of Jerusalem the noble
  city,--and pass into the Holy Land!”

  The young Edward of England--is anointed and crowned king:--may
  God grant that he follow such counsel,--that the country may
  be governed;--and so to keep the crown,--that the land may be
  entire,--and himself to increase in goodness,--for his father was
  a worthy man.

  If Aristotle were alive,--and Virgil who knew skill,--they would
  not say the value--of the worthy man a tenth part.--Now is dead
  King Edward,--for whom my heart is in desolation;--may God
  preserve his soul in safety,--for the sake of his holy passion!
  Amen.

       *       *       *       *       *

The following song, in English, on the same event, is preserved
in another manuscript. It is somewhat singular that one of these
songs is clearly translated from the other, the variations being
comparatively small, and consisting chiefly in the transposition of
some of the stanzas. The French song was probably the original.


ELEGY ON THE DEATH OF EDWARD I.

[MS. Harl. No. 2253, fol. 73, r^o. of the reign of Edw. II.]

      Alle that beoth of huerte trewe,
        A stounde herkneth to my song,
      Of duel that deth hath diht us newe,
        That maketh me syke ant sorewe among;
        Of a knyht that wes so strong,
      Of wham God hath don ys wille:
        Me thuncheth that deth hath don us wrong,
      That he so sone shal ligge stille.

      Al Englond ahte for te knowe
        Of wham that song is that y synge;--
      Of Edward kyng that lith so lowe,
        Ȝent al this world is nome con springe.
        Trewest mon of alle thinge,
      Ant in werre war ant wys,
        For him we ahte oure honden wrynge,
      Of Christendome he ber the prys.

      Byfore that oure kyng wes ded,
        He speke ase mon that wes in care,--
      “Clerkes, knyhtes, barouns,” he sayde,
        “Y charge ou by oure sware,
        That ȝe to Engelonde be trewe.
      Y deȝe, y ne may lyven na more;
        Helpeth mi sone ant crouneth him newe,
      For he is nest to buen y-core.

      “Ich biquethe myn herte aryht,
        That hit be write at mi devys,
      Over the see that hue be diht,
        With fourscore knyhtes al of prys,
        In werre that buen war ant wys,
      Aȝeyn the hethene for te fyhte,
        To wynne the croiz that lowe lys;
      Myself ycholde ȝef that y myhte.”

      Kyng of Fraunce, thou hevedest sunne,
        That thou the counsail woldest fonde,
      To latte the wille of kyng Edward
        To wende to the holy londe:
        That oure kyng hede take on honde
      Al Engelond to ȝeme ant wysse,
        To wenden into the Holy Londe,
      To wynnen us heve[n]riche blisse.

      The messager to the Pope com,
        And seyde that oure kynge wes ded:
      Ys oune hond the lettre he nom,
        Y-wis his herte wes ful gret:
        The Pope himself the lettre redde,
      Ant spec a word of gret honour,--
        “Alas!” he seide, “is Edward ded?
      Of Christendome he ber the flour!”

      The Pope to is chaumbre wende,
        For del ne mihte he speke na more;
      Ant after cardinals he sende,
        That muche couthen of Cristes lore,
        Bothe the lasse ant eke the more,
      Bed hem bothe rede ant synge:
        Gret deol me myhte se thore,
      Mony mon is honde wrynge.

      The Pope of Peyters stod at is masse,
        With ful gret solempneté,
      Ther me con the soule blesse:--
        “Kyng Edward, honoured thou be!
        God lene thi sone come after the
      Bringe to ende that thou hast bygonne;
        The holy crois y-mad of tre,
      So fain thou woldest hit han y-wonne!

      “Jerusalem, thou hast i-lore
        The flour of al chivalerie;
      Now Kyng Edward liveth na more:--
        Alas! that he ȝet shulde deye!
        He wolde ha rered up fol heyȝe
      Oure baners, that bueth broht to grounde;
        Wel longe we mowe clepe and crie
      Er we a such kyng han y-founde!”

      Nou is Edward of Carnarvan
        King of Engelond al aplyht,
      God lete him ner be worse man
        Then is fader, ne lasse of myht
        To holden is pore-men to ryht,
      Ant understonde good consail,
        Al Engelond for te wisse ant diht;
      Of gode knyhtes darh him nout fail.

      Thah mi tonge were mad of stel,
        Ant min herte y-ȝote of bras,
      The godnesse myht y never telle
        That with Kyng Edward was:
        Kyng, as thou art cleped conquerour,
      In uch bataille thou hadest pris;
        God bringe thi soule to the honour
      That ever wes ant ever ys,
        That lesteth ay withouten ende!
      Bidde we God ant oure Ledy,
        To thilke blisse Jesus us sende. AMEN.

  TRANSLATION.--All that are true of heart,--a while hearken to my
  song,--of grief that death hath wrought us now,--which makes me
  sigh and sorrow in turns.--Of a knight that was so powerful,--on
  whom God hath done his will;--methinks that death has done us
  wrong,--that he so soon shall lie still.

  All England ought to know--of whom the song is that I sing;--of
  Edward the king that lies so low,--through all this world his
  name sprang.--Trewest man of all things,--and in war wary and
  wise,--for him we ought our hands to wring,--of Christendom he
  bare the prize.

  Before that our king was dead,--he spoke as one that was in
  care,--“Clergy, knights, barons,” he said,--“I charge you by
  your oath,--that ye to England be true.--I die, I may not live
  any more;--help my son, and crown him now,--for he is next to be
  chosen.

  “I bequeath my heart rightly,--that it be written at my
  devise,--over the sea that it be sent,--with fourscore knights
  all of repute,--in war that are wary and wise,--against the
  heathen for to fight,--to win the cross which lies low;--myself
  I would [go] if I could.”

  King of France, thou hadst sin,--that thou shouldest seek
  counsel,--to hinder the will of King Edward--to go to the Holy
  Land:--that our king had taken in hand--all England to rule and
  teach,--to go into the Holy Land,--to win us heaven’s bliss.

  The messenger to the pope came,--and said that our king was
  dead:--to his own hand the letter he took,--truly his heart
  was very full:--the pope himself the letter read,--and spake a
  word of great honour,--“Alas!” he said, “is Edward dead?--of
  Christendom he bare the flower!”

  The pope to his chamber went,--he could speak no more for
  grief;--and after the cardinals he sent,--who knew much of
  Christ’s doctrine,--both the less and also the greater,--bade
  them both read and sing;--great grief might be seen there,--many
  a man to wring his hands.

  The pope of Poitiers stood at his mass,--with very great
  solemnity,--there they began to bless the soul:--“King Edward,
  honoured be thou!--God give thy son, who comes after thee,--to
  bring to end what thou hast begun;--the holy cross made of
  wood,--so fain thou wouldst it have won.

  “Jerusalem, thou hast lost--the flower of all chivalry;--now King
  Edward lives no more:--Alas! that he yet should die!--He would
  have reared up full high--our banners, that are brought to the
  ground;--very long we may call and cry--before we have found such
  a king!”

  Now is Edward of Caernarvon--entirely King of England,--God let
  him never be worse man--than his father, nor less of might--to
  hold his commons to right,--and to understand good counsel,--all
  England to direct and manage;--of good knights there need not
  fail him.

  Though my tongue were made of steel,--and my heart produced out
  of brass,--I could never tell the goodness--that was with King
  Edward:--King, as thou art called conqueror,--in each battle thou
  haddest prize;--God bring thy soul to the honour--which ever was
  and ever is,--which lasts ever without end!--Pray we God and our
  Lady,--to that bliss Jesus us send! AMEN.

       *       *       *       *       *

The old cry against the oppression of the poor and honest by the
rich, and the general corruption of the age, is repeated in the
following piece. It probably describes the state of feeling amongst
many in the earlier years of Edward’s reign.


SONG ON THE TIMES.

[MS. Reg. 12, C. XII. fol. 7, r^o. of reign of Edw. II.]

      Quant honme deit parleir, videat quæ verba loquatur;
      Sen covent aver, ne stultior inveniatur.
      Quando quis loquitur, bote resoun reste therynne,
      Derisum patitur, ant lutel so shal he wynne.
      En seynt eglise sunt multi sæpe priores;
      Summe beoth wyse, multi sunt inferiores.
      When mon may mest do, tunc velle suum manifestat,
      In donis also, si vult tibi præmia præstat.
      Ingrato benefac, post hæc à peyne te verra;
      Pur bon vin tibi lac non dat, nec rem tibi rendra.
      Sensum custodi, quasi mieu valt sen qe ta mesoun;
      Thah thou be mody, robur nichil est sine resoun.
      Lex lyth doun over al, fallax fraus fallit ubique;
      Ant love nys bote smal, quia gens se gestat inique.
      Wo walketh wyde, quoniam movet ira potentes:
      Ryht con nout ryde, quia vadit ad insipientes.
      Dummodo fraus superest, lex nul nout lonen y londe;
      Et quia sic res est, ryth may nout radlyche stonde.
      Fals mon freynt covenaunt, quamvis tibi dicat, “habebis.”
      Vix dabit un veu gaunt, lene les mon postea flebis.
      Myn ant thyn duo sunt, qui frangunt plebis amorem;
      Ce deus pur nus sunt facienda sæpe dolorem.
      Tresoun dampnificat, et paucis est data resoun;
      Resoun certificat, confundit et omnia tresoun.
      Pees may nout wel be, dum stat per nomina bina;
      Lord Crist, that thou se, per te sit in hiis medicina!
      Infirmus moritur, thah lechcraft ligge bysyde;
      Vivus decipitur, nis non that her shal abyde
      Tels plusours troverez, qui de te plurima prendrount;
      Au dreyn bien verrez, quod nullam rem tibi rendrount.
      Esto pacificus, so myh thou welde thy wylle;
      Also veridicus, ant stond pro tempore stille.
      Pees seit en tere, per te, Deus, alma potestas!
      Defendez guere, ne nos invadat egestas.
      God Lord Almyhty, da pacem, Christe benigne!
      Thou const al dyhty, fac ne pereamus in igne!

  TRANSLATION.--When a man has to speak, let him consider what
  words he utters;--he ought to pay attention to them, lest
  he appear a fool.--When any one speaks, unless reason rest
  therein,--he is laughed at, and so he shall gain little.--In holy
  church there are often many who hold advanced situations;--some
  are wise, many are inferior.--When a man may do most, then he
  exhibits his will,--in gifts also, if he will he gives thee
  presents.--Do a kindness to an ungrateful man, and afterwards
  he will scarcely look at you;--he will not even give you
  milk for good wine, nor will he make you any return.--Take
  care of thy intellect, as of a thing which is worth more
  than thy house;--although thou be moody, strength is nothing
  without reason.--Law lies down over all, false fraud deceives
  everywhere;--and there is but little love, because people
  conduct themselves wickedly.--Woe walks wide, since anger moves
  those who are powerful;--right cannot ride, because it goes to
  the ignorant.--Now that fraud is alive, law will not dwell in
  the land;--and since the matter is in that position, right may
  not easily stand.--The false man breaks his promise, although
  he say to thee, “thou shalt have it.”--He will scarcely give
  an old glove, ... thou shalt afterwards weep.--Mine and thine
  are two, which break the love of the people;--these two for
  us will cause frequent grief.--Treason injures, and reason
  is given to few;--reason makes sure, while treason confounds
  all things.--Peace may not well be, while it stands by two
  names;--Lord Christ, do thou look to it, through thee may there
  be a medicine for these things!--The sick man dies, although the
  art of medicine lie by his side;--the living man is deceived,
  there is none who shall abide here.--You will find many such as
  will take very much from you;--in the end you will see well,
  that they will return you nothing.--Be pacific, so mayest thou
  possess thy will;--also a teller of truth, and stand for the time
  still.--May there be peace in the land, through thee, God, kind
  power!--forbid war, lest want invade us.--Good Lord Almighty,
  give peace, O benignant Christ!--Thou canst do all things, hinder
  us from perishing in the fire.

       *       *       *       *       *

The following song appears to have been made in the latter end of
the year 1311, on the occasion of the King’s journey to the North,
where he was joined by his lately banished favourite, Peter de
Gaveston, and disregarded the charter which he had confirmed in the
beginning of the October of that year.


ON THE KING’S BREAKING HIS CONFIRMATION OF MAGNA CHARTA.

[The Auchinleck MS. in the Advocates’ Library, at Edinburgh, art.
21, of the reign of Edw. II.]

      L’en puet fere et defere,
          Ceo fait-il trop sovent;
      It nis nouther wel ne faire;
          Therfore Engelond is shent.
      Nostre prince de Engletere,
          Par le consail de sa gent,
      At Westminster after the feire
          Made a gret parlement.
      La chartre fet de cyre,
          Jeo l’enteink et bien le crey,
      It was holde to neih the fire,
          And is molten al awey.
      Ore ne say mès que dire,
          Tout i va à Tripolay,
      Hundred, chapitle, court, and shire,
          Al hit goth a devel way.
      Des plusages de la tere
          Ore escotez un sarmoun,
      Of iiij. wise-men that ther were,
          Whi Engelond is brouht adoun.

      The ferste seide, “I understonde
      Ne may no king wel ben in londe,
          Under God Almihte,
      But he cunne himself rede,
      Hou he shal in londe lede
          Everi man wid rihte.
                For might is riht,
                Liht is night,
                And fiht is fliht.
      For miht is riht, the lond is laweles;
      For niht is liht, the lond is loreles;
      For fiht is fliht, the lond is nameles.”

      That other seide a word ful god,
      “Whoso roweth aȝein the flod,
          Off sorwe he shal drinke;
      Also hit fareth bi the unsele,
      A man shal have litel hele
          Ther agein to swinke.
                Nu on is two,
                Another is wo,
                And frend is fo.
      For on is two, that lond is streintheles;
      For wel is wo, the lond is reutheles;
      For frend is fo, the lond is loveles.”

      That thridde seide, “It is no wonder
      Off thise eyres that goth under,
          Whan theih comen to londe
      Proude and stoute, and ginneth ȝelpe,
      Ac of thing that sholde helpe
          Have theih noht on honde.
                Nu lust haveth leve,
                Thef is reve,
                And pride hath sleve.
      For lust hath leve, the lond is theweles;
      For thef is reve, the lond is penyles;
      For pride hath sleve, the lond is almusles.”

      The ferthe seide, that he is wod
      That dwelleth to muchel in the flod,
          For gold or for auhte;
      For gold or silver, or any wele,
      Hunger or thurst, hete or chele,
          Al shal gon to nohte.
                Nu wille is red,
                Wit is qued,
                And god is ded.
      For wille is red, the lond is wrecful;
      For wit is qued, the lond is wrongful;
      For god is ded, the lond is sinful.

      Wid wordes as we han pleid,
      Sum wisdom we han seid
          Off olde men and ȝunge;
      Off many a thinge that is in londe,
      Whoso coude it understonde,
          So have I told wid tongue.

      Riche and pore, bonde and fre,
      That love is god, ȝe mai se;
          Love clepeth ech man brother;
      For it that he to blame be,
      Forȝif hit him _par charité_,
          Al theih he do other.

      Love we God, and he us alle,
      That was born in an oxe stalle,
          And for us don on rode.
      His swete herte-blod he let
      For us, and us faire het
          That we sholde be gode.

      Be we nu gode and stedefast,
      So that we muwen at the last
          Haven hevene blisse.
      To God Almihti I preie
      Lat us never in sinne deie,
          That joye for to misse.

      Ac lene us alle so don here,
      And leve in love and god manere,
          The devel for to shende;
      That we moten alle i-fere
      Sen him that us bouhte dere,
          In joye withoute ende. AMEN.

  TRANSLATION.--A person may make, and unmake,--it is what he
  too often does;--it is neither well nor fair;--on account of
  it England is ruined.--Our prince of England,--by the counsel
  of his people,--at Westminster after the fair--made a great
  parliament.--The charter he made of wax,--so I understand, and
  I readily believe it,--it was held too near the fire,--and is
  all melted away.--Now I know not what more to say,--all goes to
  Tripoly,--hundred, chapter, court, and shire,--all it goes the
  devil’s way.--Of the wisest men of the land--now listen to a
  discourse,--of four wise men that there were,--why England is
  brought down.

  The first said, “I understand--no king may be prosperous in
  land--under God Almighty,--unless he can counsel himself,--how
  he shall in land lead--every man with right.--For might is
  right,--light is darkness,--and fight is flight.--Because might
  is right, the land is lawless;--because darkness is light, the
  land is without doctrine;--because fight is flight, the land is
  without reputation.”

  The second said a very good word,--“Whoever rows against
  the flood,--he shall drink of sorrow;--thus it fares by the
  unfortunate,--a man shall have little strength--to labour
  against it.--Now one is two,--another is woe,--and friend is
  foe.--Because one is two, the land is without strength;--because
  weal is woe, the land is without ruth;--because friend is foe,
  the land is without love.”

  The third said, “It is no wonder--of these heirs that go
  under,--when they come to land--proud and stout, and begin to
  yelp,--but of anything that might help--they have nought in
  hand.--Now lust hath leave,--thief is magistrate,--and pride
  hath sleeves.--Because lust hath leave, the land is destitute
  of morality;--because thief is magistrate, the land is
  pennyless;--because pride hath sleeves, the land is without alms.”

  The fourth said, “That he is mad--who dwells too much in
  the flood,--for gold or for property;--for gold or silver,
  or any weal,--hunger or thirst, heat or cold,--all shall
  go to nothing.--Now will is counsel,--wit is wicked,--and
  good is dead.--Because will is counsel, the land is full
  of revenge;--because wit is wicked, the land is full of
  wrong;--because good is dead, the land is full of sin.”

  With words as we have played,--some wisdom we have said--of old
  men and young;--of many a thing that is in land,--whoever might
  understand it,--thus have I told with tongue.

  Rich and poor, bond and free,--that love is good, ye may
  see;--love calls every man brother;--for that for which he may be
  to blame,--forgive it him in charity,--although he do other.

  Love we God, and may he love us all,--who was born in an oxe’s
  stable,--and for us placed on the cross.--His sweet heart’s blood
  he shed--for us, and bade us fairly--that we should be good.

  Be we now good and steadfast,--so that we may at last--have the
  bliss of heaven.--To God Almighty I pray,--let us never die in
  sin,--to miss that joy.

  But grant us all so to do here,--and live in love and good
  manner,--the devil for to shame;--that we may all in company--see
  him that bought us dearly,--in joy everlasting. AMEN.

       *       *       *       *       *

Edward’s wretched favourite, Peter de Gaveston, was beheaded by
the Barons in the May of 1312. The two following songs exhibit the
general feeling of exultation which attended this execution. It is
scarcely necessary to say that they are parodies on two hymns in
the old church service.


SONGS ON THE DEATH OF PETER DE GAVESTON.

[MS. Trin. Coll. Cambr. O. 9. 38. 15th cent. on paper.]

I.

_De Petro de Gaverstone._

      Vexilla regni prodeunt,
          fulget cometa comitum,
      Comes dico Lancastriæ
          qui domuit indomitum;
      Quo vulneratus pestifer
          mucronibus Walensium,
      Truncatus est atrociter
          in sexto mense mensium.
      Impleta sunt quæ censuit
          auctoritas sublimium;
      Mors Petri sero patuit,--
          regnavit diu nimium.
      Arbor mala succiditur,
          dum collo Petrus cæditur:--
      Sit benedicta framea
          quæ Petrum sic aggreditur!
      Beata manus jugulans!
          beatus jubens jugulum!
      Beatum ferrum feriens
          quem ferre nollet sæculum!
      O crux, quæ pati pateris
          hanc miseram miseriam,
      Tu nobis omnem subtrahe
          miseriæ materiam!
      Te, summa Deus Trinitas,
          oramus prece sedula,
      Fautores Petri destruas
          et conteras per sæcula! AMEN.


II.

        Pange, lingua, necem Petri qui turbavit Angliam,
      Quem rex amans super omnem prætulit Cornubiam;
      Vult hinc comes, et non Petrus, dici per superbiam.
        Gens est regni de thesauri fraude facta condolens,
      Quando Petrus de thesauro prodige fit insolens,
      Quid ventura sibi dies pariat non recolens.
        Hoc opus nostræ salutis, quod Petrus interiit;
      Multiformis proditoris ars tota deperiit;
      Ex nunc omen cor lætetur, quia væ præteriit.
        Quando venit apta rei plenitudo temporis,
      Est præcisum caput ei de junctura corporis;
      Turbans turbas intra regnum nunc turbatur a foris.
        Nulli volens comparari, summo fastu præditus,
      Se nolente subdit collum passioni deditus;
      De condigna morte cujus est hic hympnus editus.
        Perdit caput qui se caput paribus præposuit:
      Rite corpus perforatur cujus cor sic tumuit:
      Terra, pontus, astra, mundus, plaudant quod hic corruit.
        Trux, crudelis inter omnes, nunc a pompis abstinet;
      Jam non ultra sicut comes, vel ut rex, se continet;
      Vir indignus, morte dignus, mortem dignam sustinet.
        Flexis ramis arbor illa ruit in proverbia;
      Nam rigor lentescit ille quem dedit superbia;
      Sic debet humiliari qui sapit sublimia.
        Ædes Petri qua tenetur non sit fulta robore;
      Sit prophanus alter locus, sit et in dedecore,
      Quem fœdus cruor fœdavit fusus Petri corpore!
        Gloria sit creatori! gloria comitibus
      Qui fecerunt Petrum mori cum suis carminibus!
      A modo sit pax et plausus in Anglorum finibus! AMEN.

  TRANSLATION.--I. The banners of the kingdom go forth, the comet
  of Earls shines, I mean the Earl of Lancaster, who tamed him whom
  nobody else could tame; whereby the pestiferous one being wounded
  by the blades of the Welsh, was disgracefully beheaded in the
  sixth month. What the authority of the powers above willed has
  been fulfilled; the death of Peter at last has been effected,--he
  reigned much too long. The bad tree is cut down, when Peter is
  struck on the neck:--Blessed be the weapon which thus approached
  Peter! Blessed be the hand which executed him! blessed the man
  who ordered the execution! blessed the steel which struck him
  whom the world would not bear any longer! O Cross, which allowed
  to be suffered this wretched misery, do thou take from us all
  the material of misery. Thee, highest God in Trinity, we pray
  earnestly, destroy and crush for ever the maintainers of Peter.
  AMEN.

  II. Celebrate, my tongue, the death of Peter who disturbed
  England, whom the king in his love for him placed over all
  Cornwall; hence in his pride he will be called Earl, and not
  Peter.--The people of the kingdom was made sorrowful for the
  fraud upon the treasure, when Peter becomes wastefully insolent
  with the treasury, not bearing in mind what the future day may
  produce for him.--This is the work of our salvation, that Peter
  is dead; all the artfulness of the multifarious traitor has
  perished; henceforth let the good omen rejoice our hearts, for
  sorrow is past.--When the fulness of time which was fit for the
  thing came, his head is cut off from the juncture of the body;
  he who raised troubles within the kingdom is now troubled from
  without.--He who was unwilling to have an equal, clothed in
  the extreme of pride, against his will bends his neck to the
  executioner; of whose merited death this hymn is set forth.--He
  who placed himself as a head above his equals, loses his own
  head; justly his body is pierced, whose heart was so puffed up;
  both land, sea, stars, and world, rejoice in his fall.--Ferocious
  and cruel among all men, he ceases now from his pomp; now he no
  longer behaves himself like an earl, or a king; the unworthy man,
  worthy of death, undergoes the death which he merits.--This tree
  with its branches bent falls into a proverb; for the stiffness
  which pride gave is softened; thus ought the ambitious and
  aspiring man to be humbled.--May the house of Peter, in which he
  is held, not be supported in strength; may the other place be
  profane, and may it be in disgrace, which the filthy gore spilled
  from Peter’s body has defiled!--Glory be to the Creator! Glory to
  the Earls who have made Peter die with his charms! Henceforth may
  there be peace and rejoicing throughout England! AMEN.

       *       *       *       *       *

The events of the Scottish war during the reign of Edward II. were
not of a character to draw forth the songs of triumph which had
attended the campaigns of his father. The loss of his father’s
conquests, and the reverses of his own arms, while they produced
universal dejection, only tended to widen the breach which his
own folly had made between himself and his people. The following
song was made in 1313, immediately after the disastrous battle of
Bannockburn, where the Earl of Gloucester was slain. The writer,
while he laments the humiliation to which his country had been
reduced, glances from time to time at the evil counsels which had
led to it.


THE BATTLE OF BANNOCKBURN.

[From MS. Cotton. Titus, A. XX., fol. 68 r^o. written in the reign
of Ed. III.]

_Quomodo comes Gloverniæ fuerat occisus apud Strivelyn, et Anglici
victi._

        Me cordis augustia cogit mira fari,
      Scotiæ quod Anglia cæpit subjugari:
      Nova jam prodigia dicitur patrari,
      Quando matri filia sumit dominari.
        Regionum Anglia plurium matrona,
      Cuï tributaria jam dabantur dona,
      Proth dolor! nunc cogitur nimis esse prona
      Filiæ, qua læditur materna corona.
        Exiit per Angliam edictum vulgare,
      Admonendo quempiam arma præparare,
      Ut adiret Scotiam phalanx vendicare
      Jura, vel injuriam posse vindicare.
        Ad quod thema debeam nimis protelare:
      Rex cæpit militiam suam adunare,
      Inconsultus abiit Scotos debellare.
      Ira sponte rediit nolens plus obstare.
        Erant in excercitu plures generosi,
      Milites in exitu nimis et pomposi;
      Cum ad bellum venerant tot impetuosi,
      Satis promti fuerant hostes animosi.
        Animosi fuerant et hoc apparebat;
      Cum partes certaverant, illa permanebat
      Stabilis, sed fugiit quæ superbiebat.
      Inproba succubuit, astuta vincebat.
        Inauditus ingruit inter hos conflictus;
      Primitus prosiliit Acteus invictus,
      Comes heu! Gloverniæ dans funestos ictus;
      Assistens in acie qui fit derelictus.
        Hic phalangas hostium disrupi coegit,
      Et virorum fortium corpora subegit;
      Sed fautor domesticus sibi quem elegit,
      Hic non erat putitus quando factum fregit.
        Hic est proditorius vir Bartholomeus,
      In cunctis victoriis quem confundat Deus!
      Domino quod varius fit ut Pharisæus.
      Hinc Judæ vicarius morte fiet reus.
        Videns contra dominum hostes desævire,
      Fingit se sex seminum longius abire;
      Domino quod renuit suo subvenire,
      Proditor hic meruit tormenta obire.
        Plures sunt quem perperam comes est seductus,
      Ut ovis ad victimam et ad mortem ductus,
      Qui [sunt] per quos oritur tam vulgaris luctus,
      Hoc satis cognoscitur per eorum fructus.
        Quorum virus Anglia tota toxicatur;
      Vulgaris justitia sic et enervatur;
      Regale judicium per hos offuscatur;
      Ex hoc in exilium fides relegatur.
        Victa jacet caritas, et virtus calcatur;
      Viret ingratuitas, et fraus dominatur;
      Quicquid in hiis finibus mali perpetratur,
      Dictis proditoribus totum inputatur.
        Iste deceptorius vir non erat solus,
      Per quem proditorius jam fiebat dolus;
      Alter sed interfuit, quem non celet polus,
      Et fiat ut meruit infernalis bolus.
        Hujusmodi milites, regno pervicaces,
      Sathanæ satellites, sunt nimis rapaces;
      Regis si sint judices undique veraces,
      Destruent veneficos suos et sequaces.
        Capitis sententiam pati meruerunt,
      Cum sponte militiam talem prodiderunt;
      Qui fuerunt rustici, sicut permanserunt,
      Comitis domestici fugam elegerunt.
        Hii fraude multiplica virum prodiderunt,
      Inpia gens Scotica quem circumdederunt;
      Ipsum a dextrario suo prostraverunt,
      Et prostrati vario modo ceciderunt
        Fideles armigeri qui secum fuerunt;
      Milites et cæteri secum corruerunt;
      Cum sui succurrere sibi voluerunt,
      Hostibus resistere tot non valuerunt.
        Sic comes occubuit præ cunctis insignis,
      Qui sua distribuit prædia malignis;
      Sibi quisque caveat istis intersignis,
      Jam fidem ne præbeat talibus indignis.
        Ex hoc illi comites actibus periti,
      Adhuc qui superstites sunt, fiant muniti,
      Alias in prælio cum sistant uniti,
      Ne sic proditorio telo sint attriti.
        Cruciatur Anglia nimio dolore,
      Tali quod versutia privatur honore,
      Muniatur cautius mentis cum labore,
      Error ne novissimus pejor sit priore.
        Consulo comitibus adhuc qui sunt vivi,
      Quod sint proditoribus amodo nocivi;
      Sic et per industriam omnes sint captivi:
      Anglici ad Scotiam fiant progressivi.
        Credo verum dicere, non mentiri conor;
      Jam cæpit deficere nostri gentis honor;
      Comitem cum lividus mortis texit color,
      Angliæ tunc horridus statim crevit dolor.
        Nostræ gentis Angliæ quidam sunt captivi;
      Currebant ab acie quidam semivivi;
      Qui fuerunt divites fiunt redemptivi;
      Quod delirant nobiles plectuntur Achivi.
        Mentes ducum Angliæ sunt studendo fessæ,
      Nam fœdus justitiæ certo caret esse;
      Ergo rex potentiæ stirps radice Jessæ,
      Fautores perfidiæ ducat ad non esse!
        Quando sævit aquilum, affricus quievit;
      Et australi populo dampnum mortis crevit.
      Anglia victoria frui consuëvit,
      Sed prolis perfidia mater inolevit.
        Si scires, Glovernia, tua fata, fleres,
      Eo quod in Scotia tuus ruit hæres;
      Te privigni capient quorum probra feres;
      Ne te far ... facient, presens regnum teres.
        Facta es ut domina viro viduata,
      Cujus sunt solamina in luctum mutata;
      Tu es sola civitas capite truncata;
      Tuos casus Trinitas fæcundet beata!

  TRANSLATION.--Perplexity of heart compels me to tell wonderful
  things, that England begins to be subjected to Scotland: it is
  said that new prodigies are now performed, when the daughter
  takes upon her to lord it over the mother.--England the matron
  of many regions, to whom tributary gifts were given, is now,
  alas! constrained too much to be prostrate to the daughter, by
  whom the maternal crown is injured.--A general proclamation went
  through England, admonishing everybody to take up arms, that the
  army might go to Scotland to vindicate our rights, or to be able
  to avenge our injury.--To which theme I ought to procrastinate
  very much; the king began to assemble his troops, unadvisedly he
  went to make war on the Scots: his anger voluntarily subsided,
  unwilling longer to hold out.--There were in the army many
  nobles, knights who were too showy and pompous; when so many
  impetuous men came to the conflict, the courageous enemies
  were ready enough.--They were courageous, as will appear; when
  the two sides engaged, that one remained firm, but that which
  had shown so much pride fled. The wicked party succumbed, the
  cunning one conquered.--An unheard-of battle thickened between
  them; first rushed forward the unconquered Actæus, the Earl of
  Gloucester, alas! giving fatal blows; who, standing in the thick
  of the battle, is deserted.--He compelled the troops of the
  enemy to break, and subdued the bodies of strong men; but one of
  his own chosen retainers, he was not a fool when he ruined the
  affair.--This is the traitorous man, Bartholomew, whom in all
  victories may God confound! Because he has been to his master
  as changeable as a Pharisee. Hence as the representative of
  Judas he shall be condemned to death.--Seeing the enemy’s rage
  against his master, he pretends that he had been out more than
  six weeks; because he refused to come to his master’s support,
  this traitor has deserved to be put to the rack.--Many are they
  whereby the Earl was seduced, led like a sheep to the sacrifice
  and to death; through whom such common lamentation arises,
  is sufficiently known by their fruits.--With whose venom all
  England is poisoned; and thus common justice is weakened; by
  these the royal judgment is darkened; in consequence of this,
  faith is driven into exile.--Charity lies subdued, and virtue is
  trodden down; ingratitude flourishes, and fraud rules; whatever
  of evil is perpetrated in this country, is all the work of the
  aforesaid traitors.--This deceitful man was not the only one
  by whom the art of treason was now exercised; but there was
  another concerned in it, whom may heaven not conceal, and may
  he become, as he deserves, a morsel of hell.--Knights such
  as these, obstinate against the kingdom, retainers of Satan,
  are too rapacious; if the King’s judges every where are true,
  they will destroy the enchanters and their followers.--They
  deserved to suffer judgment of decapitation, since voluntarily
  they have betrayed such a soldiery; the Earl’s domestics, who
  were clowns, as they have remained, took to flight.--These by
  a multifarious treason betrayed their lord, whom the impious
  people of Scotland surrounded; they struck him down from his
  steed, and the faithful esquires who were with him fell struck
  down in different ways; the knights and others fell along with
  him; when his friends tried to succour him, they were not able to
  resist so many enemies.--Thus died an Earl who was distinguished
  above all others, who had given his property to wicked men; let
  every one have a care to himself, after these examples, that
  he give not henceforth trust to such unworthy people.--By this
  let those Earls who are still alive, learning from experience,
  be on their guard, when at another time they stand united
  in battle, that they be not thus bruised by the weapon of
  treason.--England is tormented with very much grief, that she is
  deprived of her honour by such craftiness; let her be fortified
  more cautiously, with labour of mind, that the last error be
  not worse than the former.--I advise the Earls who are still
  alive, that henceforward they destroy traitors; and thus by their
  industry let them all be made prisoners; let the English thus
  make their way into Scotland.--I believe that I tell the truth,
  I endeavour not to say what is false; now the honour of our
  nation begins to decline; when the livid colour of death spread
  itself over the Earl, then immediately grew the terrible grief
  of England.--Of our people of England some are in captivity;
  some ran away from the battle half dead; they who were rich are
  made ransom; because the nobles go mad, the common people are
  the sufferers.--The minds of the chieftains of England are weary
  with studying, for the league of justice is without any certain
  existence; may therefore the King of power, who sprang from the
  root of Jesse, destroy utterly the maintainers of perfidy!--When
  the north-east wind rages, the south-west wind dropped; and to
  the people of the south the pain of death increased. England
  used to obtain victory, but by the treachery of the offspring
  the mother hath lost her savour.--If you knew, Gloucester, your
  fate, you would weep, because your heir perishes in Scotland; thy
  sons-in-law will take thee, from whom thou wilt suffer disgrace;
  lest they should make thee ... thou will bruise the present
  government.--Thou art made as a lady widowed of her husband,
  whose comfort is changed into weeping; thou art a solitary city
  deprived of thy head; may the blessed Trinity amend thy fortune!

       *       *       *       *       *

The last piece in our collection is rather different in character
from those which have preceded it. One of the most unpopular acts
of this weak reign was the execution of the Earl of Lancaster in
1322. The love which the people bore towards him, led them to
sanctify his memory. A martyr in what was loudly proclaimed to be
the cause of God, his countrymen believed that he testified his
unshaken love for those in whose defence he had fallen by miracles
performed at his tomb, and a regular form of service was composed
for his worship.


THE OFFICE OF ST. THOMAS OF LANCASTER.

[MS. Reg. 12, c. XII. fol. 1, r^o. of the end of the reign of
Edward II., or beginning of that of Edw. III., written all as
prose.]

      _Ant._--Gaude Thoma, ducum decus, lucerna Lancastriæ,
              Qui per necem imitaris Thomam Cantuariæ;
              Cujus caput conculcatur pacem ob ecclesiæ,
              Atque tuum detruncatur causa pacis Angliæ;
              Esto nobis pius tutor in omni discrimine.

_Oratio._--Deus, qui, pro pace et tranquillitate regnicolarum
Angliæ, beatum Thomam martyrem tuum atque comitem gladio
persecutoris occumbere voluisti, concede propitius, ut omnes qui
ejus memoriam devote venerantur in terris, præmia condigna cum ipso
consequi mereantur in cœlis, ꝑ đn. ñ.

      _Prosa._--Sospitati dat ægrotos precum Thomæ fusio;
                Comes pius mox languentum adest in præsidio;
                Relevantur ab infirmis infirmi suffragio.
                Sancti Thomæ quod monstratur signorum indicio.
                Vas regale trucidatur regni pro remedio.
                O quam probat sanctum ducem morborum curatio!
                Ergo laudes Thomæ sancto canamus cum gaudio;
                Nam devote poscens illum, statim proculdubio
                                              sospes regreditur.

      _Sequentia._--Summum regem honoremus,
                        dulcis pro memoria
                    Martyris, quem collaudemus
                        summa reverentia.
                    Thomas comes appellatur,
                        stemmate egregio;
                    Sine causa condempnatur,
                        natus thoro regio.
                    Qui cum plebem totam cernit
                        labi sub naufragio,
                    Non pro jure mori spernit,
                        lætali commercio.
                    O flos militum regalis,
                        tuam hanc familiam
                    Semper conserves a malis,
                        perducens ad gloriam! AMEN.

      Pange, lingua, gloriosi comitis martyrium,
      Sanguinisque præciosi Thomæ floris militum,
      Germinisque generosi laudis, lucis comitum.
        De parentis utriusque regali prosapia
      Prodit Thomas, cujus pater proles erat regia,
      Matrem atque sublimavit reginam Navarria.
        Dux fidelis suum gregem dum dispersum conspicit,
      Æmulumque suum regem sibi motum meminit,
      Mox carnalem juxta legem in mirum contremuit.
        Benedicti benedictus capitur vigilia,
      Agonista fit invictus statim die tertia,
      Diræ neci est addictus, ob quod luget Anglia.
        Proht dolor! acephalatur plebis pro juvamine,
      Suorumque desolatur militum stipamine,
      Dum dolose defiandatur per sudam Hoylandiæ.
        Ad sepulcrum cujus fiunt frequenter miracula,
      Cæci, claudi, surdi, muti, membra paralytica,
      Prece sua consequuntur optata præsidia.
        Trinitati laus et honor, virtus et potentia
      Patri, proli, flaminique sacro sit per sæcula,
      Quæ nos salvat a peccatis Thomæ per suffragia! AMEN.

      O jam Christi pietas,
      Atque Thomæ caritas
          palam elucescit!
      Heu! nunc languet æquitas,
      Viget et impietas,
          veritas vilescit!
      Nempe Thomæ bonitas,
      Ejus atque sanctitas,
          indies acrescit;
      Ad cujus tumbam sospitas
      Ægris datur, ut veritas
          cunctis nunc clarescit.
      Copiosæ caritatis
        Thoma pugil strenue,
      Qui pro lege libertatis
        decertasti Angliæ,
      Interpella pro peccatis
        nostris patrem gloriæ
      Ut ascribat cum beatis
        nos cœlestis curiæ. AMEN.

  TRANSLATION.--_Anthem._--Rejoice, Thomas, the glory of
  chieftains, the light of Lancaster, who by thy death imitatest
  Thomas of Canterbury; whose head was broken on account of the
  peace of the Church, and thine is cut off for the cause of the
  peace of England; be to us an affectionate guardian in every
  difficulty.

  _Prayer._ O God, who, for the peace and tranquillity of the
  inhabitants of England, willed that the blessed Thomas thy martyr
  and Earl should fall by the sword of the persecutor, grant
  propitious, that all who devoutly reverence his memory on earth,
  may merit to obtain worthy reward along with him in heaven,
  through our Lord.

  _Prosa._ The pouring out of prayers to Thomas restores the sick
  to health; the pious Earl comes immediately to the aid of those
  who are feeble; they are relieved from their infirmities by
  the suffrage of one who was infirm. So that it is shown by the
  evidence of the miracles of St. Thomas, that the royal vessel is
  beheaded for the cure of the kingdom. O how the cure of diseases
  declares the sainted leader! Therefore with rejoicing let us sing
  praises to St. Thomas; for he who asks him devoutly, immediately
  without doubt he will return healed.

  _Sequence._ Let us honour the highest King, for the memory of the
  sweet martyr, whom we join in praising with the utmost reverence.
  He is called Earl Thomas, of an illustrious race; he is condemned
  without cause, who was born of a royal bed. Who when he perceived
  that the whole commons were falling into wreck, did not shrink
  from dying for the right, in the fatal commerce. O royal flower
  of knights, preserve ever from evils this thy family, bringing
  them to glory! AMEN.

  Declare, my tongue, the martyrdom of the glorious Earl, and
  of the precious blood of Thomas the flower of knights, and of
  the praise of the noble sprout, the light of Earls.--Thomas
  sprang from a royal race by both his parents, whose father
  was the son of a king, and whose mother Navarre raised to be
  a queen.--The faithful leader when he saw that his flock was
  dispersed, and he called to mind that his king was moved with
  jealousy towards him, soon according to the law of the flesh he
  trembled wonderfully.--The blessed man is taken on the vigil of
  St. Benet, on the third day he is suddenly made an unconquered
  champion, he is delivered to dire death, on account of which
  England mourns.--Alas! he is beheaded for the aid of the commons,
  he is deserted by the company of his knights, whilst he is
  treacherously deserted by Robert de Hoyland.--At whose tomb are
  frequently performed miracles; the blind, the lame, the deaf,
  the dumb, and paralytics, by his prayer obtain the help they
  desire.--Praise and honour, virtue and power be to the Trinity,
  Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, for ever, which preserve us from sin
  through the intercession of Thomas! AMEN.

  O now the piety of Christ, and the charity of Thomas, shine
  openly! Alas! equity now pines away, and impiety flourishes,
  truth is made vile! Yet the goodness of Thomas, and his sanctity,
  daily increase; at whose tomb health is given to the sick, that
  the truth may now be clear to all.

  O Thomas, strenuous champion of plentiful charity, who didst
  combat for the law of England’s liberty, intercede for our sins
  with the Father of Glory, that he may give us a place with the
  blessed in the heavenly court. AMEN.




APPENDIX.


EXTRACTS FROM PETER LANGTOFT’S CHRONICLE.


EDWARD THE FIRST’S WAR WITH SCOTLAND IN 1294.

[From a MS. in the Public Library of the University of Cambridge,
Gg. I. 1, fol. 337, written early in the reign of Edw. II.--The
Collations are from MS. Cotton. Julius, A. V. fol. 137, v^o.
(_C._), of about the same age; and MSS. Reg. 20, A. II. fol. 123,
r^o. (_R._ 1), and 20, A. XI. fol. 105, r^o. (_R._ 2), both of the
fourteenth century.]

          *    *    *    *    *
      Gales soit maldit de Deus e de Saint Symoun!
      Car tuz jours ad esté pleins de tresoun.

      Escoce soit maldit de la Mere Dé!
      E parfount à diable Gales enfoundré!

    VARIOUS READINGS.--The two first lines are wanting in C.--1.
    _Dieu_, R. 1 and 2.--2. _plein_, R. 1 and 2.--3. _maudite_, C.

      En l’un ne en li autre fust unkes verité.
      Car si toust en Gales guere est comencé,
      Et de Aquitaine le covenaunt taillé
      Fu par le rai de Fraunce rumpu e refusé,
      E Edward e Philippe comencent medlé,
      Li fol rai de Escoce, Jon Baliol nomé,                     10
      Qe par le ray Edward al regne est aproché,
      Par l’enticement de sun faus barné,
      Encuntre sun homage e encuntre sa fealté,
      Ad la court de Rome ad messagers maundé,
      A Celestine la pape, ke al houre tint le sé,
      Par suggestioun ad fausement demustré
      Qe le regne d’Escoce ouf la dignité
      Dait de li tenir par antiquité,
      Et li rais Edward par poer e posté
      Li fist fere homage encuntre volonté;                      20

    VARIOUS READINGS.--5. _ne l’autre fu_, C.--9. _Et Sir Eduuard_,
    C. _comenscait_, R. 1.--10. _Bayllolf_, C. _Baylliolf_, R.
    1. _Johan Baillol_, R. 2.--12. _Par le consail ... fol b._,
    C.--15. _que cel h._, R. 2.--16. _ount ... moustré_, C. _ad ...
    moustré_, R. 1 and 2.--19. _le rei_, R. 2.

      E prie q’il seit assolz e devolupé
      De la fay le ray, à ki il fu joré.
      La pape Celestine, trop desayvisé,
      Assolt le rai d’Escoce par lettre enbullé.
      Si toust cum en Escoce [la] chose est nuncié,
      Les barnez unt fest ad lour hounteté
      Duze peres d’Escoce, et sunt counsaillé
      Desheriter Edward de la souverainté.
      Pour le graunt honur ke Edward le sené
      Fist à Johan Bailloil, tele est la bounté                  30
              Dunt le rays Edward
              Du ray Johan musard
                          est regwerdoné.
              De Escoce sait cum pot,
              Parfornir nus estoet
                          la geste avaunt parlé.

      Quant Morgan est renduz, e Madok est pris,
      Le ray revient à Loundres, par cunsail des amys.

    VARIOUS READINGS.--22. _la fay ly roys_, R. 1.--23. _fu trop_,
    R. 2.--25. _la chose_, C., R. 1.--27. _en Escoce_, C.--28.
    _Sire Edward à la s._, R. 1.--30. _Bayllof_, C., R. 1.--32.
    _mosard_, R. 1.--37. _Morgar_, R. 2.

      Deus chardinals de Rome la pape i ad transmys,
      Ke ouf le ray de Fraunce parleint à Parys;                 40
      Del amur entre eus la pape est entremys.
      Les chardinals al rai ount dist lur avis;
      Edward e Philippe ount durement requis
      Reposer une pesce chascoun en son pais,
      Issint qe bone gent de poer e de pris,
      Qe ad nule parte se facent enemys;
      Ou la pape meissme sait par là justis,
      Ad parfere l’acorde de quant qe sait mespris.

      Taunt cum les cardinales de la pes parlaint,
      Les gens de Normendie suz Dover arivaint,                  50
      En la compaignie les Kauleys estaint.
      En la vile de Dover sodainement entraint,
      E parti du burge arder comensaynt;

    VARIOUS READINGS.--40. _plaint_, R. 1.--41. _ad entremys_, R.
    1. _s’est entremis_, R. 2.--42. _al rays_, C. _le reis_, R.
    1.--43. _Sir Eduuard_, C. _E Edward_, R. 2.--45. _Issi ke_, C.,
    R. 1. This line is omitted in R. 2.--47, 48. _soit_, R. 2.--50.
    _suth Dover_, C.--51. _les Kalays_, C. _Calays_, R. 1 and 2.

      Des joevenes e des vels .xiii. homes tuaynt.
      Quant vindrent à la cunte .x. pur un lessaint.
      Li gardain du chastel e cels qe manaynt,
      En meismes de la celle, ke bien se gwiaint,
      Se pristrent à defense, e les escriaint;
      Normaunz e Picards, ke forfet avaint,
      Furent degagés; les chapels demorraint                     60
      Ouf le chef des uns, le[s] autres s’en alaint.
      Un moygne i fu pur veir, à ki .xx. enclinaint,
      E si les assoit, mot plus ne savaint.
      Les cardinals après ad Paris repeiraint;
      Ne sai leqel respouns du ray enportaint.
      Noun pur ceo plusurs entre els disaint,
      Qe toutes les parlaunces à drein descendaint,
      Ke Edward e Philippe lur gent sustrarraint,

    VARIOUS READINGS.--54. _i tuaynt_, C.--55. _.xx. pur un_, R.
    1.--56. _del chastel et cel ke la m._, C.--57. _Et moynes
    de la c._, C. _E moignes_, R. 1 and 2.--59. _Pikard_, C.
    _forfez_, R. 1.--61. _Of les chefs_, C., R. 1 and 2.--62. _Un
    moyne de la celle à ky_, C.--63. _Et cyl les ... sonaynt_, C.,
    R. 1 and 2.--65. _Ne sai quels respouns_, C., R. 2. _Ne say
    quel respons_, R. 1. _reportaient_, R. 2. 67. _Qe totes ...
    descendraint_, R. 1.--68. _lur genz suthrayeraynt_, C., R. 2.
    _gentz_, R. 1.

      Issi qe genz par mer et par tere irraint
      En soffraunce de pesse, ke amys purraint;                  70
      Parfournir l’acorde les Englais volaint,
      Et les Alemaunz ad sei se assentiraint.

      Taunt cum les cardinals se sunt entremis
      De reformer la pes, e fere les rays amis,
      Thomas de Turbevile, ke ad Rouns fu pris,
      Taunt ad parlé al provost de Parys,
      Ke fet l’ad soun homage, et hostages mys
      Ses deuz fiz en garde, e seurement promis
      Aler en Engletere espier le pais,
      E dire al ray Edward k’il vent futifs,                     80
      Eschapé de prisoun par mi ses amys.
      Le provost l’ad graunté, e fet en ses escris
      Cent lievre de tere par autel devis;

    VARIOUS READINGS.--69. _ou par tere_, R. 1. _Issint que gent_,
    R. 2.--71. _le volaynt_, C. _la volaint_, R. 1.--72. _à ço se
    as._, C. _Si les A. ... à ceo_, R. 1.--74. _De perfornir_, R.
    1.--75. _Tourbevyle ... à Ryouns_, C. _à Riouns_, R. 1 and
    2.--76. _en taunt ... of le p._, C. _En taunt_, R. 1.--77.
    _hostage_, C., R. 2.--80. _al rays ... ke il vynt_, C.--81.
    _Eschapa de p. par my ses enemys_, C. _enemys_, R. 1 and
    2.--83. _liverez_, C. _liveres_, R. 2.

      Et Thomas l’affiaunce sur les evangelis,
      Ke tut Engletere e Walays e Marchis,
      E du regne d’Escoce quanke sunt de pris,
      Serrunt enclinaunz à Philippe fiz Lowis.

      Escotez ore coment la grace Jhesu Crist
      Li gentil rays Edward de la traisoun garnist.              90
      Thomas en Engletere vint ad rais e dist,
      Ke hors de la prisoun nutauntre issist,
      E pur amur Sire Edward à tel peril se prist.
      Curtaise assez li ray li countrefist;
      Et Turbevile après de jour en jour enquist
      L’estate de la tere, et sun aler purvist
      De leu en leu enqueir de graunt e de petist,
      Coment as Englais peut fere tel despit,
      Ke li rais Edward sa tere perdisist.

    VARIOUS READINGS.--86. _kant ke_, C.--87. _enclynaunt_, C.,
    R. 1 and 2.--89. _Ly gentiz ray Ed._, C. _rei_, R. 2.--90.
    _al ray_, C. _au rei_, R. 2.--91. _nuyt auntre issist_, C.
    _nutaunte_, R. 2.--92. This line is omitted in C. _l’amur
    Edward à tielle se p._, R. 1 and 2.--93. _Curtaisye ... li
    rays_, C., R. 1. _Curtaisie_, R. 2.

      L’estate de tote part, tel cum entendist,
      Of les cardinals par un de sons tramist                   100
      Al provost de Paris, ke joie assez en fist.
      Li cleirs ke la lettre ad Turbevile escrit,
      Ad plus privé le rais l’entente descoverist.
      Li lers l’aparcust, ad fust tost se mist,
      Un serjaunt as armes, ke plus près suist,
      Le tierz jour après le Turbevile surprist.

      Le traitour est pris, e à Lundres remené,
      Ouf mult grant fausine ke sur lui fust trové.
      Chose[s] que sunt dites, quels il ad graunté,
      Par volunté le rai sunt mis desuz pié,                    110
      Jeskes seo sècle seit autrement turné.
      Turbeville en curt cum traitur est jugé;
      Par my la vile de Lundres primes fu trainé,

    VARIOUS READINGS.--99. _Les estat de tote parz_, C. _L’estat
    de totes partz_, R. 2.--102. _Li clerk_, C.--103. _le rei_, R.
    2.--104. _Ly leers tost l’ap._, R. 1.--106. _Le tierce jour
    après le traytour soupryst_, C.--109. _Choses_, C., R. 1 and
    2.--110. _le rays_, C., R. 1. _mis suth pé_, R. 2.--111. _Jekes
    à ço ... chaungé_, C., R. 1. _chaungé_, R. 2.--113. This line
    is omitted in C.

      E puis pendu cum lers, pur sa malfeté.
      Pur nostre rais Edward mult ad Deus overé
      Ore et autre fiez ad sa sauveté.

      Quant de Turbeville fet est la vengaunce,
      Les cardinales de Rome repeirez en Fraunce
      Ont ouf le rei Phelippe sovent eu parlaunce,
      Et sovent requis li rais des Alemaunce,                   120
      E par clers e leys ount fet demoustraunce
      Ad gentil rais Edward, ke dure est les destaunce
      Dunt li e Philippe sunt en descordaunce;
      Par ount il unt fet une tele ordinaunce,
      Ke li e les deus rais enverrount sanz tarjaunce
      A Kaumbré clers e lays de grant conyssaunce,
      Ad trere de la pees, e juger la grevance,

    VARIOUS READINGS.--114. _E pendu ... malveté_, R. 1.
    _maveisté_, R. 2.--115. _rei_, R. 2.--118. _repairent_,
    C.--120. _ly ray_, C. _del Almaunz_, R. 1. _le rei_, R.
    2.--122. _rey_, R. 1 and 2.--125. _Ke ly e ly altre env._, R. 1
    and 2.--126. _à Kaumbray_, C. _Kambrai_, R. 1. _Kaunbrai_, R.
    2.--127. _à treter_, C., R. 1 and 2.

      E fere les amendes de la contrariaunce.
      Ly rays Edward s’assent en bone affiaunce;
      A Kaumbray ad maundé saunz nule delaiaunce                130
      Eveskes e barouns de graunt apparaunce:
      Les garde de tresoun Dieu par sa puissaunce!

      Taunt cum cels seignurs sunt alez cel message,
      Sire Edmund frere le rai de gentil corage,
      Le counte de Nincole ouf toute sun menage,
      Sir Willeam de Vescy, chivaler prus e sage,
      Barouns e vavasours de gentil linnage,
      Chivalers e serjaunce ouf lur cosynage,
      Genz à pié saunz noumbre de more e de boscage,
      E Galais qe sevent combatir par usage,                    140
      Sunt alez en Gascoyn, e entrés en passage,
      Ouf .xxx. et .vi. baners de meillur escuage
      Ke feust en Engletere, salve le vacellage

    VARIOUS READINGS.--134. _le rays_, C. _ly roys_, R. 1.--135.
    _Nicole of tote ses menages_, C.--139. _gent_, R. 2.--142. _Of
    .xxvj. baneresce del m._, C. _Ouf .xx. et .vj._, R. 1. _od vint
    e sis_, R. 2.--143. _vassellage_, R. 1 and 2.

      De cels qe ore ne faillent ad lour seignurage.
      Car cels qe sunt remis garder lur heritage.
      Ad le rei requis e pris en sun veiage
      Sur le ray d’Escoce e sur sun fals barnage,
      Ke ad ray Edward dedient lur homage.
      Le primer jour de Marce, en tot le graunt orage,
      Vint le ray Edward à trop grant costage                   150
      A Novechastel-sur-Tyne, pur le graunt utrage
      Ke les fels mastins ount bracé par folage.
      Nostre rays Edward ait la male rage!
      Et ne les prenge e tiènge si estrait en kage,
      Ke rien lour demourge après sun taliage,
      Fors soul les rivelins et la nue nage.

      Robert de Ros de Werke des Englais s’en fuist,
      E ouf les genz d’Escoce à la gwere se mist.
      Li rais Sire Edward sun chastel seisist,

    VARIOUS READINGS.--146. _en son menage_, R. 1.--147. _et sun
    fol barnage_, C.--148. _ke al rays_, C.--150. _ly rois_,
    R. 1.--151. _Newechaustel_, R. 1.--152. _ke les fols_, C.
    _bracez_, R. 1.--153. _rays Sir Eduuard_, C.--154. _Si il ne
    les_, R. 1. _S’il ne les_, R. 2.--156. _rivelinges_, C. _à la
    nue n._, R. 1.--158. _od le rei se mist_, R. 2.--159. _le rei_,
    R. 2.

      La feste de pasche y tint, après s’en partist             160
      Devers Berwike-sur-Twede, e la vile assist.
      Le people maluré al primour surprist
      Deus navez des Englais, e tuer le fist.
      Li rays Edward l’oit dire, les portes assailist;
      Les fossés passait li Englais sanz respit.
      Le vendredi de pasche ad truele conquist
      La vile de Berwike; li Englais lo occist
      Quatre mile de Escoce, e autres plus perdist.
      Chivaler un saunz plus Sire Edward i perdist,
      Richard de Cornewalle, un Fleming li ferist               170
      Hors de [la] sale rouge d’u[n] quarel qu’il tendist.
      Tost fu la sale pris, le fu en fist tut quist.
      Li gardein du chasteil quant la force vist,
      Le chastel saunz assalt al rais Edward rendist.

    VARIOUS READINGS.--160. _de la paske_, C. _departist_, R.
    1.--161. _Vers B._, R. 1.--163. _les fist_, C.--165. _les
    Englais_, C.--166. _al releve conquyst_, C. _al revele_, R. 1.
    _au relevée_, R. 2.--167. _i occyst_, C. _Les Englais oc._, R.
    2.--168. _e ankes plus_, C., R. 1 and 2.--171. _du sale_, C.
    _de la sale_, R. 1 and 2. _d’un_, R. 2.

      Willeam de Douglasse dedens esteit elist,
      E Ricard Fresel, pur fere al ray despit;
      Le ray les ad prisoune, merci Jhesu Crist!

      Li quens de la Merche, Patrik li renomé,
      Ad la pes le rays se rendist de gré;
      Gilbert de Umfravile avaunt fust demoré                   180
      Ouf le rais Edward, à ki il fu joré;
      Sire Robert de Brus of toute sa mesné
      Vers le rais Edward tint tuz jours sa fealté,
      Encuntre les Escotes amurs li ad mustré.
      Quant Berwike fu pris, [de]denz estait trové
      Or e argent saunz noumbre, des altres metals plenté,
      E toute la nobley ke apendait à cité.
      Ly Bailloill ad perdu li issu e l’entré
      De la plus noble vile qe fust en sa poesté.
      Le rais Edward la tent conquis par l’espé,                190

    VARIOUS READINGS.--176. _Richard Fres’_, C. _Simoun Fresel_,
    R. 1. _Simon Fresele_, R. 2.--177. _prisouns_, C., R. 1 and
    2. _merciez_, R. 2.--179. _le rei_.--181. _al rays_, C. _od
    le rei_, R. 2.--183. _vers le roy_, R. 1 and 2.--185. _dedenz
    estayt_, C., R. 1 and 2.--186. _or, argent assez, des_,
    C.--187. _la noblye_, C.--188. _Balliolf_, C.

      La fet environner de fossé large e lé,
      En restrovant l’Escote k’ad de li chaunté,
      E par mokerie en Englais rymaié.
            Piket hym and diket him,
            On scorne saiden he,
                        hu best hit mai be.
            He pikes and he dikes,
            On lengthe alle him likes,
                        als by mowe best y-se.
            Scatered heir the Scotes,                           200
            Hodred in the hottes,
                        never thai ne the:
            Ritht if y rede,
            Thay toumble in Twede
                        that woned bi the se.

    VARIOUS READINGS.--191. This line is omitted in C.--192.
    _reprovant_, C., R. 1 and 2.--193. _rymeyé_, C., R. 1 and
    2.--194. _Pykit_, C. _Pikit ... dikit_, R. 2.--195. _scoren
    sayd_, C. _in scoren_, R. 1. _in scorn_, R. 2.--196. _best
    may_, C. Where this line is given in place of line 199, which
    is omitted. It is the same in R. 1 and 2.--197. _He dikes,
    he pikes_, C., R. 1 and 2.--198. _On lenche als hym_, C. _On
    leghe als hym_, R. 1. _als_, R. 2.--200. _Skaterd he the_, C.
    _Scatird er_, R. 1. _are the Scottis_, R. 2.--201. _Hoderd in
    thar_, C. _Hodird in thaire_, R. 1. _Hodered in their_, R.
    2.--202. _nevere_, R. 2.--203. _ȝif_, R. 2.--204. _tumbed_, C.,
    R. 2. _toumbe_, R. 1.--205. _be_, R. 2.


      Taunt cum Sire Edward ouf cuntes e barouns
      Fist Berwiche enclore de fossez envirrouns,
      Issuz sunt d’Escoce trais countes, par nouns
      De Mar, de Ros, de Montesce, [of] .xl. mile felouns;
      Estaint en la rute alaunt en tapisouns,                   210
      Tyndale unt destruite en cendres e carbouns,
      La vile de Corbridge e deuz religiouns
      De Exillesham e Lanercost en unt destruite par arcouns,
      Du people du pais ount fet occisiouns,
      Enporté les biens, en chacé les chanouns.
      Après la ravine cum foles e bricouns
      Sunt alez de Dunbar à lur confusiouns.
      Le chastel unt pris, estendent pavillouns,
      Ad Counte de la Marche esteint les mesouns.

    VARIOUS READINGS.--209. _De Mare, de Rosse, de Menethet, of
    .xl._, C. _De Ros, Assetle, de Menetz_, R. 1. _De Ros, Ascetel,
    de Menetest_, R. 2.--210. _alaunz_, C.--211. _En passan unt
    d._, R. 1. _En passaunt_, R. 2.--213. _De Hexhilesham et
    Lanercost ennentiz par arsouns_, C. _De Exilsham e Lanertoft
    enenty_, R. 1. _De Exilham ... anenti_, R. 2.--215. _Emportez_,
    R. 1. _emportez ... enchacez_, R. 2.--216. _ravye cum fols_,
    C.--217. _à Dunbar_, C., R. 1 and 2.--218. _estendi_, R.
    1.--219. _al counte_, C.

      Le rais Edward l’oit dire, fet fere les somouns           220
      Dunbar pur recovre, e prendre les larouns,
      Ke de seint eglise unt fet destrucciouns.
      Poy avaunt cel houre parmis les regiouns
      Revint le cardinal de Kaumbrai ouf respouns,
      E du ray de Fraunce, cum après orrums;
      Sire Amy de Sauvaye, quens de graunt renouns,
      Vint en la compagnie, e Otes de Graunt-souns.
      Cil vint hors de Cypre e ses compaignouns,
      Ke quant Acres fu pris, la mer as [a]virrouns
      En passaunt eschapaint, sanz autres acheisouns.           230
      Avaunt vus ai cunté quels mals e quels tresouns
      Sunt fet à seinte eglise à tort e saunz reisouns;
      E oy avez sovent en les sainz sermouns
      Ke Deus est dreitureles en tuz sels werdouns:

    VARIOUS READINGS.--220. This line is omitted in C. _Le rei_,
    R. 2.--225. _en orroums_, R. 2.--226. _Sir Emery de Sauvay_,
    C.--227. _Othes_, R. 1. _Sire Otes_, R. 2.--228. _de ses_, R. 1
    and 2.--229. _avyrouns_, C., R. 1 and 2.--232. _Sont feez_, R.
    1. _fez_, R. 2.--234. This line is omitted in R. 2.

      Ore oiez de Dunbar où saunz evasaiouns
      Les enemys Deus sunt pris en faude cum motouns.

      An le meis de May, le mardi primer,
      Ad Berwike-sur-Twede ouf le ray parler,
      Coment les foles felouns, ke feseint arder
      Exillisham e Lanercost, n’esparnaynt muster,              240
      Pris avaint Dunbar, chastel sur la mer,
      Ouf li quens Patrik tint sa mulier.
      Li rais Sire Edward par taunt i fist maunder
      Le counte de Garenne ouf tute sun poer,
      Le counte de Warwik e Huge le [De]spencer,
      Barouns e vavasours, chivaler, esquier;
      Sorrais e Norrais i alaint de bon quer;
      Assez de gent à pié i menent al mester,
      E venent à Dunbar li chastel asseger.

    VARIOUS READINGS.--236. _Deu_, C., R. 1 and 2.--237. _En le
    mays de May_, C., R. 1 and 2.--238. _oyst le ray_, C. _oit_,
    R. 2.--240. _Hexlesham_, C. _Exilsham e Lanertoft_, R. 1.
    _Exilham_, R. 2.--245. _le Despenser_, C. _W. Sire Hughe le
    Despenser_, R. 1. _e_ is also omitted in R. 2.--247. _Surays
    et Norays_, C. _Sorais e Norais il a._, R. 1. _Surrais_, R.
    2.--248. _de genz ... et menent_, C. _gentz ... il m._, R. 1.

      Se atirent al saut, ne volent demorer.                    250
      Les foles felouns dedenz espairent ayde aver;
      Se sotillent coment les Englais enginner.
      Sire Richard Syward, ke solait demorer
      Ouf nostre rays Edward ad robe e à dener,
      Maundent par descayt ouf nos Englais treiter;
      Si les vent, e dist, ke mult tres volenter
      Les fra le chastel rendre, si il volent graunter
      Treis jours de respit, ke il puissent consailler
      Li ray de Ballioll, e lur estate maunder.
      E si il cel houre ne venge le sege remover,               260
      Le chastel renderunt sanz plus par là targer.
      Hostage par taunt i mette, e fet nuncier
      Al hoste de Escoce en meisme la maner,
      Cum vus orrez après, le fet recorder.

    VARIOUS READINGS.--250. _al assaut ... esparnyer_, C.--254.
    _rei_, R. 2.--255. _à nos_, C.--256. _Cyl les vynt_, C.--259.
    _Le rays de Bayllof et lur maunder_, C.--260. _E si cel h._, R.
    1 and 2.

      Li messager s’en va, e tost aprochait
      Al ray Johan e al hoste ke ouf li estait,
      Lur dist cum li Siward enfourmez l’avait.
      “Sire rais, vos barouns demourent en dure plait
      En la chastel de Dunbar, en chaunce les chascait;
      Car quant li rais Edward lur estre là saveit,             270
      Parti de sun hoste illeukes maunder fesait.
      Li Englais quant là vint le chastel assegait.
      Sire Richard Siward, ke tuz les conussait,
      Issist du chastel e taunt bien parlait,
      Qe treve pur treis jours li Englais li otrait.
      Pour quai la compaignie, ke illoek par vus alait,
      Ad vus cum à seignur aler me commandait,
      E dire veraiment ke home ne set ne vait
      Dunt vus les porrez vendre, si non par descait,

    VARIOUS READINGS.--266. _Al ray Jon Bayllof là ou il estayt_,
    C.--267. _enfourmé_, R. 1.--268. _dur esplayt_, C., R. 1. _sire
    rei_, R. 2.--269. _en chauns_, C.--272. _quant vynt_, C.--274.
    _taunt cum il porrait_, C. _taunt beel parlait_, R. 1.--275.
    _Pur trewe de .iij. ... grauntait_, C.--276. _par quai_,
    C.--279. Omitted in R. 2.

      Dedenz le terme de treve ke l’Englais nus grauntait.      280
      A demayn cele hour k’em manghehust e bait,
      Alez de ceste part hastivement l’andrait;
      Les nos du chastel vous verrunt par agait;
      Istrunt sur li Englais ke lour venir ne creit;
      Happés-les entre vous, si tenés-les si estreit,
      Ke mès en champ ne venent fere à les voz surfait.
      Vous ne avez autre vaie qe valer vous dait.
      Ore armez-vous, si aloums, nul alme ne se trait
      Qe nos enemis quant serrunt pris merci nul en ayt.
            Ferrez du braund;                                   290
            Northumberlaund
                        le vostre ert de drait;
            Tote Engletere
            Par ceste guere
                        volez qe perdu sait:
            Unkes Albanie
            Par coup d’espeie

    VARIOUS READINGS.--280. All which follows, to line 354, is
    omitted in R. 1.--281. _k’em mangeust_, C.--284. _sur les_,
    C.--286. _pur fere les voz_, C.--288. _ne se retrayt_, C.--289.
    _qe serrunt ... n’eit_, R. 2.--295. _voyliez_, C.

                        fist si bon esplait.”
            On grene,
            That kindrede kene                                  300
                        gaderid als gait;
            Y wene
            On sum it is sene,
                        ware the bit bait.

      Al dit le messager la route de rascaylle
      Arenger se comence al foer de bataille.
      Sir Richard Siward, qe dona ceste counsaille,
      Vent à nos Englais, dis[t], “Si Dieu me vaille!
      Jeo voy gent venir de mult grant apparaille,
      Cum batailler vousissent, saunz numbre de pittaille.      310
      Je vois, si vous [loez], feir .i. desturbaille,
      Ke plus [près] ne venent.” Les nos dient, “nun kaille,”
      E pernent li Siward, ke plus avaunt n’i aille;

    VARIOUS READINGS.--299. _on the g._, R. 2.--300. _kynered_,
    C. _kinred_, R. 2.--301. _als the gait_, R. 2.--303. _summe
    it es_, C. _summe is it_, R. 2.--304. _whar_, C. _whare_, R.
    2.--305. _al route_, C.--308. _et dist si_, C.--309. _genz_,
    C.--311. _vus loez fere .i. d._, C.--312. _plus près_, R. 2.
    _noun kaylle_, C., R. 2.

      Establient gardayns al porte e al muraille;
      Umfray de Boune le jovene tent le garde en baille,
      Ke aide du chastel lur rergarde ne assaille;
      E mountent les destrers, les brouchent al mountaille,
      Ke plus tost peust coure avaunt li altre saille.
      L’Escote les vait venir, la cowe les turne cum quaille,
      En enfuaunt se vole al vent cum fet la paille.            320
      Les Englais après les chacent cum owaille,
      Cum feust quant veit le lowe venir de boscaille.
      Li surquider Escote quide ke countrevaille
      Le duk sire Corynée, qe conquist Cornwaille.
      De taunt des genz as armes mult ai grant mervaille
      Ke nes un de tuz al fet vaut un maille,
      Fors Patrick de Graham, ke demourt e daille
      Del espé furbie, mes tuez est saunz faille.
      Dis mil .l. et .iiij. sunt tuez al travaille;

    VARIOUS READINGS.--316. _lur’ ne regard ne_, C. _rereward_,
    R. 2.--320. _S’en vole_, C.--322. _Ke fuist_, C.--323.
    _surquiders_, C.--325. _De taunz de gens armez_, C., R. 2.

      Trestuz sunt d’Escoce, le noumbre ai par taille.          330
      Cels furent les cheitifs [qe] demaglaynt le aumaille
      Par mi Northumberlaund, as chiens lessaint le[n]traille;
      Escomegez estaint al livre e kaundaille,
      Pur ceo ke saint eglise, ne prestre, ne clerjaille,
      Nent plus esparnent ke four ou toraille.
      Pecché les ad chacé à tele arivaille,
      Ke perduz unt al champ le chief oufveke l’oraille.
            The fote folke
            Puth the Scotes in the polke,
                        and nakned their nages:                 340
            By waie
            Herd i never saie
                        of prestre pages,
            To pike
            The robes of the riche

    VARIOUS READINGS.--331. _les cheftayns ke demaglerent_, C. _qe
    de._, R. 2.--332. _l’entraylle_, C., R. 2.--337. _les chefs
    of le oraylle_, C.--338. _fotfolk_, R. 2.--339. _That the_,
    R. 2.--340. _nackened thair nages_, C. _nakid their nages_,
    R. 2.--341. _By wai | her I nevere sai | of prestere p._, R.
    2.--343. _prester_, C.--345. _rike_, C., R. 2.

                        that in the felde felle.
            Thai token ath tulke;
            The roglre raggi sculke
                        rug ham in helle!

      De bataille ne puingce feust unkes recordez,              350
      Ke taunt de genz si tost estaient outraiez,
      N’ensint saunz defence lez renes rethornez.
      Corfs ayent les cors, les almes les malfez
      De trestuz k’esint gweres ount gwiez!
      Car de cele part fut unkes une fez,
      Deinz vile ne dehors, un bon fet esprovez,
      Mès for gopiller e robber les vilez,
      Arder seint eglise, tuer les ordinez,
      Cil Dieu sait loé k’ad Dunbar l’ad vengez!
      Les countes qe avaint fet les malvestez,                  360
      Si toust cum savoint e furent avisez

    VARIOUS READINGS.--346. For this line and the three following,
    R. 2 has--_And in the dik souue | Thou wiffin | Scot of
    Abrenityn, | cloutid is thi houue_.--348. _roghe raggy sculke_,
    C.--351. _Ke taunz_, C.--352. _Ne issynt_, C.--353. _seient
    sauvez_, R. 2.--354. _ke issint_, C.

      De la desconfiture sur lur parentez,
      As Englais quant repairent le chastel ount liverez,
      E saunz condiciouns els memes obligez
      Al ray Sire Edward, dunt fere ses voluntez.
      Li rais lendemayn i vint à ses barnez,
      Le[s] prisouns ke sunt pris li unt presentez,
      Treis countes, treis barouns, treis banerés nomez,
      E saunz eus .xxviij. chivalers adubbez,
      Ouf .v. vinz gentilles homes ke illeukes sunt trovez;     370
      Deus clers e deus Pikards par entre sunt numbrez.
      A la Tour de Loundres les countes sunt maundez.
      Les uns de[s] baro[uns] les sunt associez;
      A diverse chasteles les autres ad envoiez,
      Par deus e deus ensemble une hakenai muntez,
      Les uns en charrettes enfirgez les peez;
      En tel pleit de carole lour jue est terminez!
      Par my Engletere en toutes les countrez,

    VARIOUS READINGS.--362. _de lur_, R. 1.--365. _Al reis_, R.
    1.--366. _e ses b._, R. 1.--367. _les prisouns ... li sunt p._,
    C., R. 1 and 2.--373. _Les uns des barons_, R. 1 and 2.--375.
    _sur hakenays_, R. 1.--378. This line is omitted in C.

      De lur surquideri ert tuz jours parlés
      Taunt cum le siècle dure, lour fet les ad mokés.          380
            For S[c]ottes
            Telle I for sottes,
                        and wirches unwarre;
            Unsele
            Dintes to dele
                        thaim drohg to Dunbarre.

      Des ore est tens à dire du compassement
      Les .xii. peres d’Escoce, qe quidaint seurement
      Engletere destrure, bien vous dirrai coment.
      Quant le ray de Fraunce, après le dayllement              390
      De cele mariage dunt fu parlé sovent,
      Volait tenir Gascoyn par abatement;
      E le rays Edward illok maunda sa gent,
      E partie par gwere de su Frauncays reprent;
      Li rai Johan d’Escoce, par l’enticement

    VARIOUS READINGS.--380. _fet ad mokez_, R. 2.--381. _For
    Scottes_, C., R. 1. _For the Scottis_, R. 2.--383. _And
    wrecches unwar_, C. _wreches_, R. 1. _wecchis unwar_, R.
    2.--386. _tham drohu to Dunbar_, C. _droght_, R. 1. _drouh
    to Dunbar_, R. 2.--390. _le dallyement_, C. _daliement_, R.
    1.--394. _guere sur Fr._, C. _sur Français_, R. 1 and 2.

      De countes e barouns, de clers ensement,
      Ad maundez en Fraunce par commune assent
      L’eveske de Seint Andreu, par ki procurement
      Frere le rai de Fraunce, Charles nomément,
      Pur fiz le ray d’Escoce ad fet aliement,                  400
      Dount marier sa fille, e après par serment
      Fraunsays e les Escoce irraint uniement
      En Engletere destrure de Twede jekes en Kent;
      E ke le rai de Fraunce prendrait arivement
      Qe l’houre q’il vousist, en Twede prestement,
      Parunt Northumberlaund prendrait sodainement,
      E peus la tere toute sanz desturbement;
      Ne larrait home en vie, ne pere ne parent.
      La faus purparlauns saunz espleit attent;
      Le seneschall d’Escoce est venu bonement                  410
      Al rays sire Edward, auf quanke à li apent,

    VARIOUS READINGS.--397. _maundé_, R. 1.--400. _Pur le fiz_,
    C.--402. _les Escoz_, R. 1.--403. _En_, at the beginning
    of this line, is omitted in C., and R. 1 and 2.--406.
    _prendraynt_, C.--408. _ne frere_, R. 2.--410. _venu
    fayntement_, C. _venuz b._, R. 1.

      Countes e barouns e esveskes pleinement,
      Sunt venuz à sa pes tut à sun talent.
      Le ray Johan e sun fiz, saunz tere e tenement,
      Sunt menez à Lundres à tenir jugement.
      Ore ad li rays Edward Escoce enterement,
      Cum Albanak l’avait al comencement.
            Galays, Yrays,
            Ad nos Englais
                        aident durement.                        420
            Dunt les Escoz
            Ount par les noz
                        emprisounement;
            Et cele tere
            Par ceste gwere
                        est perdu finablement.
            Les Galais sunt repairés,
            E les Irrays retournez
                        al sigle e al vent.

    VARIOUS READINGS.--413. _encountre lur talent_, C.--415.
    _attender jugement_, C.--416. _le rei_, R. 2.--417. Omitted
    in R. 2.--425. _par cel gwere_, R. 1.--426. _finablement_, C.
    _finalment_, R. 1 and 2.--427. _Les Walays_, C. _qe sont_, R. 1.

      Vous Englais i demorrez;                                  430
      Devoutement prier devez
                  ke Dampne-Deu defent,
      Aman recosilier,
      E Mardocheum exiler
                  en regal parlement.
      Edward, par my tuz vos reisuns,
      Volez penser des arsouns
                  du temple Deu omnipotent,
      Ad Exlysham, où cel hoste
      De la croiz fesait roste,                                 440
                  figure de humaine salvement.
      Herodes i fert, l’emphle mourt,
      En ceste anguisse Rachel plourt;
                  Edward, or fa le vengement.
      Tu averas jugé, jugez à dreit;
      Soffrez qu’il pent ke pendre deit,

    VARIOUS READINGS.--431. _Doucement_, C.--432. _Dampne Deu
    omnipotent_, C.--434. _E Marche_, R. 2.--436. _vos respons_,
    R. 2.--437. _Voilliez_, C.--438. _En temple_, R. 1.--439.
    _Hexelesham_, C. _Exilsham_, R. 1.--440. _de la croice
    fesaint_, C. _croice fesaunt_, R. 1.--442. _emphele_, R. 1.
    _Herodes fert, l’enfant murt_, R. 2.--445. _avera_, R. 1.--446.
    _suffrez pendre_, R. 2.

                  la ley le vol[t] certeinement.
      La peine est dure e cruele,
      Car ele est perpetuele,
                  à tuz qe jugent autrement.                    450
      Vos enemys ore chastiez,
      K’il ne se movent altre fez,
                  en un novele torment.
      Home dait mercy aver;
      Mès à traitour ne dait valer,
                  ilokes la ley la suspent.
      Pur amy ne pur dener
      Ray ne dait esparnier,
                  k’il ne juge owelement.
      Si li ray volt Dieu servir,                               460
      La lei le convient maintenir;
                  si noun, il pecche e mult mesprent.
      Pur veir quant Johan Balliolle
      Leissa sun livre e l’escole,

    VARIOUS READINGS.--448. _molt cruele_, C.--453. _turnayment_,
    R. 1. _un novel turnement_, R. 2.--456. _la lei les_, R.
    2.--460. _Si li rays_, C.--463. _J. de Bailliole_, R. 1.--464.
    _sun liver à l’escol_, C.

                        desceu fut trop malement.
          ¶ For boule bred in his boke,
            Whenne he tint that he toke
                        with the kinge-dome;
            For he haves ovirhipped,
            Hise typeth is typped,                              470
                        hise tabard es tome.
            He loghe wil him liked,
            His paclir es thurck piked,
                        he wende e were liale;
            Begkot an bride,
            Rede him at ride
                        in the dismale.

      Orgoyl en pays est urtille en herber,
      Ke surcrest la rose e la boute arer;
      Einsint est du Baliol, ke par li [li] .xii. per           480
      Sunt chay aval pur lur vil mister,

    VARIOUS READINGS.--466. _bredde_, R. 1. _his book_, R. 2.--467.
    _Wen_, R. 1. _Whan ... took_, R. 2.--468. _kyngdome_, R. 1.
    _kingdom_, R. 2.--469. _over-hippede_, R. 1. _has_, R. 2.--470.
    _tipet_, C., R. 1 and 2. _typpede_, R. 1.--472-477. These six
    lines are omitted in C., and R. 1 and 2.--478. _urtiz_, R.
    2.--479. _suztret_, C. _reboute_, R. 2.--480. This line is
    omitted in R. 1 and 2.--481. This line is omitted in C.

      Perduz ait realme, e va sojorner
      A la Tour de Loundres sur autri dener.
      Li reis Sire Edward eces fet garder;
      Li quens Jon de Gwarenne est chief justicer,
      E Henri de Perci aid Galwei à gwier;
      A Berwick-sur-Twede a la cheker,
      Et Huge de Cressingham illokes est tresorer;
      Et li Amundisham Walter est chanceler.
      Li reis puis pes norir baunc i fet crier,                 490
      Et justis .v. le rei à guverner.
      Viscuntes e baillifs sunt mis al mester
      Des Engleis qe sevent e voleint dreit juger.
      La garde est establi si bon e si enter,
      Ne Flemyng ne Fraunceis de quer avera poer
      Entrer en Escoce, si non pur marchaunder.
      De tuz les mels vanez ke deivent demorer

    VARIOUS READINGS.--484. _Escoce fet g._, C., R. 1. _Le rei ...
    Escoce_, R. 2.--485. _quens de G. i est_, C. _q. Johan de G. i
    est j._, R. 1.--487. _Twede assise est le escheker_, C. _assise
    ad l’esc._, R. 1 and 2.--489. _Hamundesham_, C. _Aymundesham_,
    R. 2.--490. _pur pes ... baunk_, C., R. 1 and 2.--491. _la lay
    à g._, C., R. 1 and 2.--495. _dès ore n’avera_, C. _dès or
    av._, R. 1.

      Pris sunt les homages, li reis le[s] fist jurer,
      Ke leals li seront par tere e par mer.
      Ki comensaint la gwere e li consailler                    500
      Sunt maundés delà la Trent en sew à repoter,
      Taunt cum en Gascoyne la gwer deit durer.
      Issint deit li sires ses homes chacer.
      Le eveske de Duram, ke mout fet à loer,
      En conquerant la tere fu tuz jours li primer;
      Ne fussent ses enprises e hardiment de quouer,
      Choses or chyviaus serraint à comencer.
            Les duze peres
            S’en vount as freres
                        els confesser;                          510
            Le jugement
            Ke les attent
                        purrount doter.
            Kambynoy
            Se tent tut coy,

    VARIOUS READINGS.--498. _les fist_, C., R. 1. _pris unt_, R.
    2.--501. _reposer_, C., R. 1. _delà Tr. en southe reposer_,
    R. 2.--503. _li sire, ... chastier_, R. 2.--506. _quer_, R.
    1.--507. _ore chevyes_, C., R. 1 and 2.--510. _pur els_, C., R.
    2.--513. _il doter_, C.

                  ne volt aider.
      La sorcerye
      De Albanye
                  ne pout valer.
      Andreu se dort,                                           520
      Ou il est mort
                  al mouster.
      L’Escos ke fra,
      Quant il orra
                  le rei parler,
      A seint Edmon,
      Et de tresoun
                  apeler
      Count e baroun,
      Ke par arsoun                                             530
                  destruit l’a[u]ter?
      Plus loins ne pout,
      Illokes l’estoet
                  ester cum ler;
      E par agard
      Li rais Edward
                  determiner.

    VARIOUS READINGS.--520, 521. _Andreu est mort, ou il se dort_,
    C.--528. _le appeller_, R. 2.--531. _destrut l’autr’er_, R. 1.
    _l’auter_, R. 2.--536. _le rey_, R. 1 and 2.

            And swa mai man kenne
            The Scottes to renne,
                        and wer biginne.                        540
            Sum es left na thing
            Boute his rivyn riveling,
                        to hippe thar-hinne.
            Thair kinges scet of Scone
            Es driven ovir doune,
                        to Londen i-led.
            In toun herd I telle,
            The baghel and the belle
                        ben filched and fled.

      Deus! cum Merlins dist sovent veritez                     550
      En ses propheciez! si cum vous lisez,
      Ore sunt le deus ewes en un arivez,
      Ke par graunt mountaignes ount esté severez;

    VARIOUS READINGS.--538. _men_, R. 2.--540. _werre_, C. _were_,
    R. 1 and 2.--541. _somme_, C. _is lest_, R. 2.--542. _bot
    his rough_, C. _bot his riven_, R. 1. _but the riven r._, R.
    2.--543. _thar ynne_, C. _inne_, R. 1 and 2.--544. _sette_, C.
    _thar king set ous Sc._, R. 1. _The kinges sete_, R. 2.--545.
    _over done_, C., R. 1 and 2.--546. _i-ledde_, C., R. 1.--547.
    _In toune_, C., R. 2.--548. _Thair b. and thair_, C.--549.
    _fledde_, C. _fliched and fledde_, R. 1. _bien_, R. 2.--550.
    _Ha Deus ke Merlyn_, C. _E! Deus com Merlyn_, R. 1. _A! Dieu
    cum Merlin_, R. 2.--552. _les .ij._, C., R. 1.

      Et un realme est fet [de] deus diverse regnez,
      Ke solaint par deus rays estre governez.
      Ore sunt les insulanes trestuz assemblez,
      Et Albanye rejoynte à les regaltez,
      Des quels li rais Edward est seignur clamez;
      Cornewale e Galez sunt en ses poestez,
      E Irlaunde la graunte à sez voluntez.                     560
      Reis n’i ad nent plus de tut les cuntrez
      Fors li rais Edward k’ensi les ad visitez.
      Arthur n’i avait unkes si plainement les fez.
      Dès ore n’ait ke fere for porver ses alez,
      Sur le ray de Fraunce conquer sez heritez,
      E puis porter la croiz où Jhesu Crist fu nez.
            Ses enemys,
            Deu mercis!
                        sunt châtiez;

    VARIOUS READINGS.--554. _Et une r. fet de diverse regnez_, C.
    _E un r., de d._, R. 1 and 2.--561. _ad ne prince de tuz les_,
    C. _a. n. p. de totes_, R. 1. _Rei n’i ad ne p._, R. 2.--562.
    _fors le ray ... joustez_, C. _li ad justicez_, R. 1 and
    2.--568. _Deus mercys_, C.

      Trestuz sunt maz,                                         570
      Et pris cum raz,
                  enlachés.
      Il ad corouns
      E combatons
                  bien assez,
      Od deuz rays
      Ad un fays,
                  et utraés;
      Celi de sà
      Ore aille de là,                                          580
                  od ses barnés.
      Jon e Thomas
      Li lerount pas
                  desaydés;
      Cuthbert li vent,
      Ke od li tent
                  en les medlez.
      En Deu vous die,
      Merlin de li
                  ad prophetez;                                 590

    VARIOUS READINGS.--572. _enlacez_, C., R. 1 and 2.--573,
    574. _coruz | Et combatuz_, C., R. 1. _coru | e cumbatu_, R.
    2.--582. _Johan e Thomas_, R. 1 and 2.--587. _ses medlez_, C.

            Trais regiouns
            En ses baundouns
                        Serrount waynez;
            Ne sait blemy
            La prophecie
                        par pecchez;
            Sire Deus omnipotent
            Ad seint Edmound al parlement
                        li consaillé,
            E sur li faus Phelippe de Fraunce,                  600
            Par ta vertu aver vengeaunce,
            K’il jamès ne seit avaunce
                        pur sa pure fauseté.

      Al burk de Seint Edmond le jour est establie,
      Sunt venuz les eveskes, ouf la compaignie
      De lais e clers, ad quels li ray prie
      Des biens de seint eglise ayde e curtaysie,
      Einsint cum els pramistrent auntane en l’abie

    VARIOUS READINGS.--597. _Sire Deu_, R. 1 and 2.--599.
    _consaillez_, R. 1 and 2.--602. This line is omitted in C.,
    and R. 1 and 2.--603. _Ly grantez_, R. 1 and 2.--604. _jour
    establye_, C., R. 1 and 2.--606. _Des ercedenes et clers ... li
    rays_, C., R. 1. _Des ercediakenes_, R. 2.

      De Westmoster, par quai li rais de ceo s’affye
      En socour de sa guere, ke n’est pas finie.                610
      Countes e barouns à la chivalerie
      Pur eus e pur le people grauntent en aie
      [Le disime dener, et pur la marchaundye]
      Le setim par my aide sa tresorie.
      E li erceveske, ke tent la primacie
      Deu sé de Canturbirs, sur respouns estudie,
      E par deus eveskes al ray signefie
      L’estat de seint eglise, ke mult est empoverie.
      Le erceveske après al rais va e die,
      “Sire, pur Deu! là sus ne te greves mie,                  620
      Pur tut seint eglise [je te certefye,
      Desuz Deus en terre est nul alme en vye
      Ke ad sur saint eglise] por ne mestrie,
      For la pape de Rome, qe tent la vicarie

    VARIOUS READINGS.--610. This line is omitted in R. 1 and
    2.--611. _e la chiv._, C., R. 2. _ly grant en aye_, R. 1.--612.
    The following line is not found in the Cambridge MS.--613.
    _parmye à sa tresorye_, C., R. 1 and 2.--616. _sur respouns
    estodye_, C., R. 1 and 2.--617. _al reis_, R. 1.--619. _al
    ray_, C.--620. _eglise je te certefye_, C.--622. _Qe south
    Dieu_, R. 2.--623. _poesté et mestrye_, C.

      Qe seint Pere li apostoille avoit en baillie.
      La pape est nostre chef, il nous garde e guye,
      E estatute ad fet qe durement nous lie,
      Sur privaciune de rent e de prelacie,
      Ke disme, ne .v.time, ne moité, ne partie
      A tei ne à nul autre nul de nous otrie                    630
      Saunz sun maundement en avowerie,
      Sur le sollempnement escomege e maldie
      Trestuz le fiz de mere qe par seignurie
      Aserveint seint eglise, ke Deus aide en fraunchie.”
      “Sire cler,” dit li rais, “tu as parlé folie;
      Promis est dette due, si fay ne seit oublie;
      Mès ke joe te vais de boule saysie
      Einsint tuz li autre, par le fiz Marie!
      Ne puriez de ceste ayde estre desublie.”

    VARIOUS READINGS.--627. _Estatute ad_, C.--629. _vintime_,
    C., R. 1 and 2.--630. _à ly altre_, C., R. 1.--632. _Sur co_,
    C., R. 1.--633. _les fiz_, C., R. 1.--634. _Deus ad f._, C.
    _ad enf._, R. 1 and 2.--635. _Sire clers_, R. 1 and 2.--636.
    _promesse_, R. 1 and 2.--637. _jeo te vaise de la bulle s._,
    R. 1. _jeo vei de la bulle s._, R. 2.--638. _Ansint tuz les
    altres_, C.--639. _ne purrai_, R. 2.

      “Sire,” dit le erceveske, “mout trevolunter               640
      Ad tei cum al seignur volums tuz aider
      Par geongé de la pape, si tu le volez maunder
      Par un de tes clers ouf nostre messager,
      Ke toun estate e nostre li purroit cunter;
      E sur ceo qe la pape nous fra remaunder,
      Volum solum nos aises curtaisement ayder.”
      “Sire clers,” redit li rais, “jeo n’ai pas mester
      De ceo qe tu me dais la pape consailler;
      Mès si tu vols respit en ceo kas aver,
      Fa quant tu vodras tes clers assembler,                   650
      Enparlés du promesse, e tretez ent du quer;
      Après la Seint Hillari venez à Westmouster,
      E fras la respouns sanz plus à parler.”
      “Sire,” dist le erceveske, “pur Deu e Seint Richer!
      Volez si e là tes gens comander,

    VARIOUS READINGS.--642. _congé_, C., R. 1.--644. _porrount
    moustrer_, C., R. 1 and 2.--645. _Et soulom ço ke_, C.--646.
    _Voloums souloum_, C. _Volums nus de nostre aider e prester_,
    R. 1 and 2.--651. _Perfournir la pr. ... enparler_, C.--653.
    _fetez, ... en parler_, R. 1 and 2.--655. _Voylliez_, C.

      Ke sunt tes ministres ad .xii. dener,
      Ke nous ne nos tenaunz facent molester,
      Ne nos temperaltez ouf les lays taxer.”
      “Sire,” respount li rays, “ceo n’estut doter;
      Car ben ne mal ne frunt ad nule de ton poer.              660
      Noun pur ceo, bel sire, jeo prie e requer,
      Par my ta deocise comandez prier
      Pur moy e pur le[s] menz, e Deu mercier,
      Ke largement pur nous fet ad cea en arer.”
      Le erceveske otrie, e fet sun dever.
      Poi avaunt cel houre revint le tresorer
      Water de Langetoune, ke fu passé la mer
      Ouf le cardinale de la pes treter.
      Respouns qu’els i port ne pot nule home saver,
      Fors cels du consaille qe ne l’osent reveler.             670
      Messagers après vindrent nuncier
      Al rays Sire Edward forme de amourer

    VARIOUS READINGS.--657. _ne facent_, C.--659. _ço dist le
    rais_, C.--661. _li rays li prie_, C.--663. _les mens_, R.
    2.--664. _fet sla_, C. _fet ad ça_, R. 1. _fet de scea_, R.
    2.--665. _l’ottrye, e fet_, R. 1 and 2.--668. _les chardinals_, C.

      Contek de Gascoyne, e fet acorder
      Li ouf le Rey Phellipp sanz plus guerrer,
      Si cum les cardinals ount fet ordiner.
      Li Rays Edward par taunt ad fet retorner
      Water de Langetoun, e Hugue le Despenser,
      E Jon de Beruik, clerk avertik ber.
      Counduire les face Dieus, e bien remener!

      Les barouns d’Escoce à cel parlement                      680
      Ne fu resoun rendu, ne doné jugement,
      Ly rais est si corteis, de si pitouse talent,
      E de si graunt merci, jeo crei certeinement
      Ke sa misericorde serra sauvement
      A cels ke ount la mort deservi plainement,
      E des fez attainz felonousement.
      La grant pité du quer q’il ad eu sovent
      Des felons de Gales, en parlent tote gent,

    VARIOUS READINGS.--672. _de amourer_, C. _de amurer_, R. 1.
    _au rei ... de amourer_, R. 2.--673. _du contek du ... fere_,
    C., R. 1. _du c. ... fere_, R. 2.--674. _guerrayer_, C., R. 1.
    _guerreier_, R. 2.--678. _anerty_, C. _Johan de Berwike ...
    avertiz_, R. 1. _Johan ... clerk e averti_, R. 2.--680. _Des
    barouns_, C.--681. _renduz_, C.--686. _de fez_, C.

      Quan[t] plus ad eu affer pur son avancement,
      Meuz li ount la gwere, e fet desturbement,                690
      Dunt ses alez aillours laisser li covient.

      Apres le Seint Hillori, quant le rays quidait
      Parlement à Loundres, cum ordinez aveit,
      Noveles li vindrent par cil ke les estayt
      Venuz de Kaumbray, e li nunciait
      Ke la parlance de pez se fist pur nul esplait.
      Par quey le rais Edward demourt e se purvait
      Par mer e par tere ke trahi ne sait;
      En Westmouster de ses gens equait
      Treter de sour quel ayde la clergie li frait.             700
      Ly Sire de Canturbir sur ceo se tint etrahit,
      Pur luy e sa paroche à Seint Thomas vouait
      Ke nul de sa eglise taillé plus ne serrait,

    VARIOUS READINGS.--691. _ses alers_, R. 1.--693. _tenir à L._,
    C.--694. _lors estait_, C., R. 1 and 2.--697. _le rei_, R.
    2.--698. _Par tere et par mer_, C. _mer ne par t._, R. 2.--699.
    _en vait_, C., R. 1 and 2. _E à W._, R. 1.--700. _Treter sur
    quele aide_, C., R. 1.--702. _et pur sa p._, C.

      Ne mis en servage taunt cum il viverait,
      Saunz maundement la pape, ke governer le deit.
      Li sire de Nichole ataunt se [a]cordait;
      Oliver li eveske, ke flecher ne solait.
      Li rais vers la clergie par taunt se corucait,
      E hors de sa pese juguer la comaundait.
      Mès meintenaunt après cele fet repellait.                 710
      Co feceint les eveskes ki volunté chascait
      Aider à lur seignur dunt recoverir soun drait,
      A seinte eglise defendre de hounte e de fourfait.
      L’elyt de Everwyke, ke pes desirrait,
      Dit ke volunters pur quanke li tuchait,
      Dount saint eglise defendre le quint dener mettrait.
      Des Escoz chaitifs nule aime i parlait:
      Demorez sunt suz garde en autel plait,
      Cum avaunt estaient, Dunbar les achascait.

    VARIOUS READINGS.--705. _les dait_, C., R. 1.--713. _Et
    sainte_, C., R. 1. _surfait_, R. 1.--718. _sunt uncore suz g.
    en a. esplait_, C. _sont en garde mult à lour deshait_, R. 1.
    _tut à lour desheit_, R. 2.--719. This line ends in C., and R.
    1 and 2, with the words _escotez ke ço dayt_, and the English
    lines following are omitted.

      For thar wer thai bal brend,                              720
      He kauged ham thidre kend,
                  aut dreved to dote.
      For Scottes at Dunbar
      Haved at thayre gau char
                  schame of thar note.
      Wer never dogges there
      Hurled out of herre
                  fro coylthe ne cotte.

  TRANSLATION.--May Wales be accursed of God and of St. Simon!--for
  it has always been full of treason.

  May Scotland be accursed of the mother of God!--and may Wales
  be sunk down deep to the devil!--In neither of them was there
  ever truth.--For as soon as war was commenced in Wales,--and
  the covenant which had been cut out in Aquitaine--was broken
  and refused by the King of France,--and Edward and Philip
  began hostilities,--the foolish King of Scotland, named John
  Baliol,--who was brought to the kingdom by King Edward,--by
  the seductions of his false baronage,--against his homage and
  against his fealty,--sent messengers to the court of Rome--to
  pope Celestin, who at the time held the see,--by a trick falsely
  showed--that the kingdom of Scotland with the dignity--ought
  to hold of him by testimony of ancient times,--and that King
  Edward by force and might--made him do homage against his
  will;--and prays that he may be absolved and delivered--from
  his faith to the king, to whom he was sworn.--Pope Celestin,
  too unadvised,--absolves the King of Scotland by his bull.--As
  soon as the thing is announced in Scotland,--the barons have
  made to their disgrace--twelve peers of Scotland, and have taken
  counsel--to disinherit Edward of the sovereignty.--For the great
  honour which Edward the prudent--did to John Baliol, such is the
  goodness--with which King Edward--by King John the sleeveless--is
  rewarded.--With Scotland let it be as it may,--it is needful for
  us to complete--the history before mentioned.

  When Morgan has submitted, and Madoc is taken,--the king
  returns to London by the advice of his friends.--Two cardinals
  of Rome the pope has sent there,--who had talked with the King
  of France at Paris;--the pope has interfered to establish love
  between them.--The cardinals have stated their object to the
  king;--pressingly they have requested Edward and Philip--to
  remain in peace each in his country,--like good people of power
  and value,--who on no side make themselves enemies;--or that the
  pope himself should be their judge,--to effect the reconciliation
  wherever might be the trespass.

  Whilst the cardinals were talking of the peace,--the people
  of Normandy came to Dover,--along with them were those of
  Calais.--They entered suddenly into the town of Dover,--and
  began to burn a part of the town;--of young and old they killed
  thirteen men.--When they came to the reckoning, they left ten
  for one.--The keeper of the castle and those who remained,--and
  the monks of the cell, who bare themselves well,--took to their
  defence and cried out upon them;--Normans and Picards who had
  put themselves in debt,--were let out of pledge; the hats
  remained--with the heads of some, the others went away.--There
  was a monk in truth, to whom twenty bowed down,--and he absolved
  them all, they knew not a word more.--The cardinals afterwards
  repaired to Paris;--I do not know what answer they carried from
  the king.--Nevertheless divers among them said,--that all the
  conversations would come to this at last,--that Edward and Philip
  should withdraw their people,--so that people should go by sea
  and by land,--in sufferance of peace, as friends could;--the
  English would perform the agreement,--if the Germans would agree
  with them.

  Whilst the cardinals are interfering--to re-establish the peace,
  and to make the kings friends,--Thomas de Turbevile, who was
  taken at Rion,--has talked so much to the Provost of Paris,--that
  he has done his homage to him, and given as hostages--his two
  sons in keeping, and solemnly promised--to go to England to
  spy the country,--and to say to King Edward that he came a
  fugitive--escaped from prison among his enemies.--The Provost
  agreed to it, and put in his writing--a hundred pounds of land
  on such a devise;--and Thomas pledges on the Gospels,--that all
  England, and Wales and the Marches,--and all who are of value in
  the kingdom of Scotland,--shall bow to Philip the son of Louis.

  Hear now how the grace of Jesus Christ--warned the gentle King
  Edward of the treason.--Thomas came to England and said to the
  king,--that he had escaped out of prison by night,--and that he
  had run so great a risk out of love to Sir Edward.--The king
  showed him in return courtesy enough;--and afterwards Turbeville
  inquired day by day--the state of the land, and provided for his
  going--from place to place to seek of great and of little,--how
  he could do such injury to the English,--that King Edward
  should lose his land.--The condition of every part, as he
  understood it,--he sent over with the cardinals by one of his
  own servants--to the Provost of Paris, who made joy enough about
  it.--The clerk who wrote the letter for Turbeville,--made known
  its contents to the king’s most secret counsellor.--The thief
  got to know this, and immediately took to flight;--a serjeant at
  arms, who followed him very closely,--surprised Turbeville the
  third day after.

  The traitor is taken, and brought to London,--with very great
  wickedness which was found upon him.--The things which are
  aforesaid, which he had agreed to do,--by the king’s will are put
  under foot,--until the world is otherwise turned.--Turbeville is
  judged in the court as a traitor;--he was first drawn through
  the town of London,--and then hanged like a thief, for his
  malpractices.--For our King Edward God has interfered much--now
  and at other times for his safety.

  When vengeance is done upon Turbeville,--the cardinals of Rome,
  who had repaired to France--have had frequent conversation with
  King Philip,--and have often besought the King of Germany,--and
  have demonstrated by clerks and laymen--to the gentle King
  Edward, that the variance is hard--about which he and King Philip
  are at discord;--whereby they have so ordained the matter,--that
  he and the two kings shall send without delay--to Cambrai clerks
  and laymen of great knowledge,--to treat of the peace, and to
  judge the grievances,--and to make the amends for the war.--King
  Edward agrees to it with good faith;--to Cambrai he has sent
  without any delay--bishops and barons of great account.--May God
  by his power guard them from treason!

  While these lords are gone upon this message,--Sir Edward the
  brother of the King of gentle spirit,--the Earl of Lincoln with
  all his retainers,--Sir William de Vescy, a good and prudent
  knight,--barons and vavasors of gentle lineage,--knights
  and sergeants with their cousinage,--footmen without number
  from moor and wood,--and Welshmen who know how to fight from
  frequent practice,--are gone into Gascony, and entered on the
  passage,--with thirty-six banners of the best escuage--that
  was in England, except the vassalage--of those who now
  perform their seignorage.--For those who are left to guard
  their inheritance,--the king has required and taken into
  his expedition--against the King of Scotland and his false
  baronage,--who have withdrawn their homage from King Edward.--The
  first day of March, in all the great storm,--comes King Edward
  with very great purveyance,--to Newcastle-upon-Tyne, for the
  great outrage--which the wicked dogs have effected in their
  folly.--May our King Edward suffer the “male rage,”--if he does
  not take them and hold them so fast in cage,--that nothing shall
  remain after his taillage,--except only their rivelings and their
  bare backsides.

  Robert de Ros of Wark fled from the English,--and entered into
  the war with the people of Scotland.--The King Sir Edward seized
  his castle,--held the festival of Easter there, and afterwards
  went--towards Berwick-on-Tweed, and besieged the town.--The
  ill-fated people at first surprised--two ships of English, and
  put them to death.--King Edward heard of it, and attacked the
  gates;--the English passed the ditches without respite.--On
  Easter Friday in the afternoon he conquered--the town of Berwick;
  the English slew there--four thousand Scotchmen, and many others
  perished.--Sir Edward lost there one knight and no more,--Richard
  de Cornwall [was he], a Fleming struck him--with an arrow which
  he shot out of the red hall.--Soon was the hall taken, the
  fire cleared the way.--The keeper of the castle when he saw
  the necessity,--delivered the castle to King Edward before it
  was assaulted.--William Douglas was chosen in it,--and Richard
  Fraser, to do injury to the king;--the king has them prisoners.
  Jesus Christ be thanked!

  The Earl of the March, the famous Patrick,--of his own free
  will came in to the king’s peace;--Gilbert de Umfraville before
  remained--with King Edward, to whom he was sworn;--Sir Robert
  de Bruce with all his household--holds always his fealty to
  King Edward,--and has shown him love in his wars against the
  Scots.--When Berwick was taken, there was found within it--gold
  and silver without measure, and plenty of the other metals,--and
  all the nobility which belonged to a city.--The Baliol has
  lost the issue and entry--of the noblest town that was in his
  power.--King Edward holds it conquered by the sword,--causes
  it to be surrounded with a ditch large and broad,--in reproof
  of the Scot who had sung of him,--and made rhymes in English
  for mockery.--Let him pike and let him dike,--they said in
  scorn,--how it may best be.--He pikes and he dikes,--in
  length as he likes,--as they may best see.--Scattered are the
  Scots,--huddled in their huts,--they never thrive:--Right if I
  read,--they tumble in Tweed--who dwelt by the sea.

  Whilst Sir Edward with earls and barons--caused Berwick to be
  surrounded with ditches,--there are issued from Scotland three
  earls, by name--Mar, Ross, and Menteith, with forty thousand
  rascals;--they were going in the route in parties,--they reduced
  Tindale to ashes and cinders,--the town of Corbridge and the
  two monasteries--of Hexham and Lanercost they have destroyed
  by fire,--they have made slaughter of the people of the
  country,--carried off their goods, driven away the canons.--After
  the ravage like fools and miserable wretches--they are gone to
  Dunbar to their confusion.--They have taken the castle, and erect
  their tents,--the houses belonged to the Earl of the March.--King
  Edward heard tell of it, and issued summonses--to recover Dunbar,
  and take the thieves--who had made destruction of holy church.--A
  little before this time, through the regions,--the cardinal
  returned from Cambrai with an answer--of the King of France, as
  we shall hear afterwards;--Sire Amy de Savoy, a count of great
  renown,--came in his company, and Otho de Grauntsoun.--The
  latter came with his companions from Cyprus,--who, when Acres
  was taken, escaped--by passing the neighbouring sea, without
  other accidents.--I have told you before what evil and what
  destruction--were done to holy church wrongfully and without
  reason;--and you have often heard in the holy sermons--that God
  is just in all his dealings:--Now hear of Dunbar, where without
  evasions--the enemies of God are caught in a fold like sheep.

  On the first Monday in the month of May,--at Berwick-upon-Tweed
  the king heard say,--how the foolish rascals, who had
  burnt--Hexham and Lanercost, nor spared the monasteries,--had
  taken Dunbar, the castle by the sea,--where the Earl Patrick
  kept his wife.--The King Sir Edward forthwith caused to be
  sent there--the Earl of Warenne with all his power,--the Earl
  of Warwick and Hugh le Despenser,--barons and vavasours,
  knights, squires;--Southerns and Northerns went there right
  courageously;--they take there footmen enough for their
  need,--and come to Dunbar to besiege the castle.--They prepared
  for the attack, and would not delay.--The foolish felons within
  hoped to have aid;--they plotted together how to trick the
  English.--Sir Richard Syward, who used to dwell--with our King
  Edward, at robe and pay,--they send deceitfully to treat with our
  English;--so he comes to them, and says, that very willingly--he
  will cause the castle to be delivered to them, if they will
  grant--three days’ respite, that they may consult--the King
  Baliol, and tell him their condition.--And if he at that time
  do not come to raise the siege,--they will deliver the castle
  without further delay.--Forthwith he gives hostages, and causes
  to be announced--to the host of Scotland in the same manner,--as
  you will hear after, he caused it to be recorded.

  The messenger goes, and soon came to--King John and to the host
  which was with him,--he said to them as Siward had instructed
  him:--“Sir King, your barons remain in hard strait--in the castle
  of Dunbar, in danger of being driven out.--For when King Edward
  knew of their being there,--he caused part of his host to be
  sent thither.--The Englishman, when he came there, besieged the
  castle.--Sir Richard Siward, who knew them all,--issued from the
  castle, and talked them over so well,--that the English gave him
  a truce for three days.--Wherefore the company, who were there on
  your part,--commanded me to go to you as to their lord,--and to
  say truly, that the man neither sits nor goes,--who can hinder
  your coming, unless by some deceit,--within the term of truce
  which the English has granted us.--To-morrow at the hour when
  people eat and drink,--go hence hastily straight there;--ours
  in the castle will watch for you;--they will issue upon the
  English who do not expect their coming,--entrap them between you
  and hold them so tight,--that they shall no more come in the
  field to do annoyance to yours.--You have no other way that will
  avail you.--Now arm, and let us go, and may no soul survive--who
  shall have any mercy on our enemies when they are taken!--Strike
  with the sword--Northumberland--will be yours by right;--All
  England--by this war--you will that it be lost:--Never did
  Albania--by stroke of the sword--do so great an exploit.”--On the
  green--that keen generation--gathered like goats;--I reckon--on
  some it is seen,--where the bit bit.

  At the saying of the messenger the rout of vagabonds--begin to
  arrange themselves in order of battle.--Sir Richard Siward, who
  gave this counsel,--comes to the English, and says, “God help
  me!--I see people coming in very great apparel,--as though they
  would give battle, without number of footmen.--I go, if you think
  well, to hinder them,--that they may not come nearer.”--Our
  people say, “Do not trouble yourself!”--And they take Siward,
  that he may proceed no further;--they place guards at the gate
  and at the wall;--Humphrey de Bohun the younger is keeper of
  the guard,--to hinder aid from the castle from attacking their
  rear;--and they mount their steeds, and spur to the hill;--he who
  can run fastest springs before the others.--The Scot sees them
  come, and turns his tail like a quail,--he flies away as straw
  does before the wind.--The English pursue them like a sheep--when
  it flies at the sight of the wolf issuing from the wood.--The
  proud Scot imagines that he is as good as--the Duke Sir Corineus,
  who conquered Cornwall.--Of so many men at arms I marvel very
  much--that there is not one of them all worth a farthing in
  action,--except Patrick de Graham, who remains and strikes--with
  the burnished sword, but he is slain without fail.--Ten thousand
  and fifty-four are slain in the engagement;--they are all Scots,
  I have the number by reckoning.--These were the caitiffs who
  butchered the cattle--in Northumberland, and left the entrails to
  the dogs.--They were excommunicated by book and candle,--because
  neither holy church nor priest or clergy--they spared no more
  than bake-house or barn.--Sin has driven them to such a hap--that
  they have lost in the field the head with the ears.--The
  foot-people--put the Scots in the poke,--and made bare their
  backsides:--By way--heard I never tell--of readier pages,--to
  pick--the robes off the men,--who in the field fell.--They took
  of each man;--the rough ragged devil--tear them in hell!

  In battle or encounter it was never recorded--that so many
  people were destroyed so soon,--or thus turned their backs
  without making any defence.--May the crows have the bodies,
  and the devils the souls--of all that thus have conducted the
  wars!--For of this part there was never once,--within town or
  without, a good action proved,--but only prowling and robbing
  the towns,--burning holy church, killing the clergy,--may God
  be praised who has revenged it at Dunbar!--The earls who had
  done the wicked deeds,--as soon as they knew and were aware--of
  the defeat of their kindred,--have delivered the castle to
  the English on their return,--and without conditions obliged
  themselves--to the King Sir Edward, to do his will.--The king
  next day came there to his baronage,--the prisoners who are taken
  they have presented to him,--three earls, three barons, three
  bannerets,--and besides them twenty-eight dubbed knights,--with
  five score gentlemen who were found there;--two clerks and
  two Picards are counted among them.--The Earls are sent to
  the Tower of London.--Some of the barons are associated with
  them;--the others are sent to different castles,--two by two
  mounted together on a hackney;--some with their feet fettered
  in carts;--in such kind of dance their game ended!--Throughout
  England in every country--people will always talk of their
  pride--as long as the world lasts, people have scoffed at
  their action.--For the Scots--I reckon for sots,--and wretches
  unwary;--ill luck--to give blows--drew them to Dunbar.

  Now it is time to tell the plot--of the twelve peers of Scotland,
  who thought surely--to destroy England, I will just tell you
  how.--When the King of France, after the breaking off--of that
  marriage which was often talked of,--would retain Gascony by
  abatement,--and King Edward sent thither his people,--and re-took
  a part by war from the French;--King John of Scotland, by the
  enticement--of earls and barons, and of clerks also,--sent
  to France by common agreement--the bishop of St. Andrew’s,
  by whose procurement--the brother of the King of France,
  namely, Charles,--made an alliance for the son of the King of
  Scotland,--who was to marry his daughter, and afterwards by
  oath--the French and Scots should go conjointly--into England
  to destroy from the Tweed to Kent;--and that the King of France
  should land,--when he would, suddenly in the Tweed,--forthwith
  he should suddenly take all Northumberland,--and then all the
  land without hindrance;--that he should not leave a man alive,
  neither father nor kindred.--The traitorous negotiation being
  entered upon without completion,--the seneschal of Scotland
  is come in without more ado--to the King Sir Edward, with all
  that belongs to him,--earls and barons and bishops fully,--are
  come to his peace all at his desire.--King John and his son,
  without land or tenement,--are led to London to support
  judgment.--Now King Edward possesses Scotland entirely,--like
  Albanac had it at the beginning.--The Welsh and Irish--to
  our English--aid doughtily.--Whereby the Scots--have through
  ours--imprisonment;--and that land--by this war--is lost for
  ever.--The Welsh are gone home,--and the Irish returned--with
  sail and with wind.--You English remain there;--you ought to pray
  devoutly--that the Lord God forbid,--to take Aman into favour
  again,--and exile Mardocheus,--in royal parliament.--Edward,
  amid all your accusations,--please to remember the burnings,--of
  the temple of God Almighty,--at Hexham, where that host--of
  the cross made roast,--the figure of human salvation.--Herod
  strikes there, the child dies,--in this anguish Rachael
  weeps;--Edward, wreak vengeance for it.--Thou wilt be judge,
  judge according to right;--let him hang who ought to hang,--the
  law wills it certainly.--The punishment is hard and cruel,--for
  it is everlasting,--for all who give judgment otherwise.--Now
  chastise your enemies,--that they may not stir again--in a new
  mischief.--We ought to have mercy;--but that ought not to avail a
  traitor,--there the law suspends it.--For love nor for pence,--a
  king ought not to spare,--so as not to judge equally.--If the
  king will serve God,--it is right he should maintain the law;--if
  he does not, he sins and errs very much.--In truth when John
  Baliol--left his book at school,--he was too ill deceived.--¶
  For bale bred in his book,--when he lost what he took--with the
  kingdom;--for he has over-hopped,--his tippet is tipped,--his
  tabard is empty.--He laughed while it pleased him,--his pack (?)
  is pierced through,--he thought he was loyal;--....

  Pride in a country, is like a nettle in the garden,--which
  overgrows the rose and pushes it back;--so it is with Baliol,
  that, by him the twelve peers--are fallen down for their wicked
  proceeding,--he has lost his realm, and is gone to lodge--in the
  Tower of London, at another’s expense.--The King Sir Edward makes
  guard enough;--the Earl John de Warenne is chief justice,--and
  Henry de Percy has Galway to rule;--at Berwick-upon-Tweed is
  established the exchequer,--and Hugh de Cressingham is treasurer
  there;--and Walter de Amundisham is chancellor.--The King to
  nourish the peace causes his bench to be proclaimed there,--and
  five judges to govern the law.--Sheriffs and bailiffs are
  established for the need--of the English who could and would
  judge according to right.--The guard is established so good and
  so perfect,--neither Fleming nor Frenchman henceforth shall
  have the power,--to enter into Scotland, unless it be for
  commerce.--Of all those of most account who were to remain--the
  homages are taken, the King makes them swear--that they will
  be loyal by land and by sea.--They who began the war and the
  advisers of it--are sent beyond the Trent to repose in the
  south,--so long as the war lasts in Gascony.--Thus ought the lord
  to chastise his men.--The bishop of Durham, who did much worthy
  of praise,--in conquering the land was always the first,--were
  it not for his activity and boldness of heart,--things now
  finished would be to begin.--The twelve peers--go away to
  the friars--to confess them,--the judgment--which awaits
  them--they may fear.--Kambynoy--holds himself all coy,--he
  will not help.--The sorcery--of Albania--cannot avail.--Andrew
  sleeps,--or he is dead--at the monastery.--What will the Scot
  do,--when he will hear--the King talk,--at St. Edmund’s,--and
  of treason--accuse--earl and baron,--who by burning--destroys
  the altar?--He can go no further,--there he must--stand like a
  thief;--and by judgment--King Edward--determine.--And so may
  man teach--the Scots to run,--and begin war.--To some is left
  nothing--but his torn riveling--to hop therein.--Their King’s
  seat of Scone--is driven over down,--and led to London.--In town
  I heard tell,--the ... and the bell--are stolen and fled.

  O God! how often Merlin said truth--in his prophecies! As you
  read,--now are the two waters come into one,--which have been
  separated by great mountains; and one realm is made out of two
  different kingdoms,--which used to be governed by two kings.--Now
  are the islanders all brought together,--and Albania is
  rejoined to its regalities,--of which King Edward is proclaimed
  lord;--Cornwall and Wales are in his power,--and Ireland the
  great is at his will.--There is no longer any king of all the
  countries--except King Edward who has thus visited them.--Arthur
  had never so fully the feudalities.--Henceforth he has nothing
  to do but to look after his goings,--to conquer his inheritance
  from the King of France,--and then to carry the cross where Jesus
  Christ was born.--His enemies,--thank God!--are chastised;--they
  are all vanquished,--and taken like rats,--and bound.--He has
  run about--and fought--quite enough,--with two kings--at one
  time,--and overthrown them;--the one on this side--now goes
  to that side--with his baronage.--John and Thomas--will not
  leave him--unassisted;--Cuthbert comes to him,--who holds
  with him--in the combats.--In God, I tell you,--Merlin of
  him--prophesied;--three regions--in his possession--shall be
  gained.--Let not be blamed--the prophecy--sinfully;--Lord
  God Almighty,--at St. Edmund’s at the parliament--give him
  counsel.--And on false Philip of France--by thy virtue to have
  vengeance,--that he may never be advanced--for his mere falseness.

  To the borough of St. Edmund, on the day which was fixed,--are
  come the bishops, with the company--of laymen and clerks,
  of whom the king prays--aid and courtesy of the goods of
  holy church,--as they had promised before in the abbey--of
  Westminster, whereby the king trusts to it--for the help of
  his war which is not finished.--Earls and barons, with the
  knights,--for themselves and for the people grant in aid--the
  tenth penny, and for the merchants--the seventh part for the aid
  of his treasury.--And the archbishop, who holds the primacy--of
  the see of Canterbury, studies for an answer,--and explains to
  the king by two bishops--the condition of holy church, which is
  much impoverished.--The bishop afterwards goes to the king and
  says,--“Sire, for God’s sake, do not grieve yourself at all about
  that,--for all holy church, I certify thee,--under God there is
  no soul alive in the world--who has over holy church power or
  mastery,--except the pope of Rome, who holds the vicary--which
  St. Peter the apostle had in keeping.--The pope is our head, he
  keeps and rules us,--and he has made a statute which binds us
  closely,--on privation of rent and of prelacy,--that neither
  tenth, nor twentieth, nor half, nor part--none of us give to thee
  or to any other,--without his commandment and allowance,--upon
  it he solemnly excommunicates and curses--every son of a mother
  that by lordship--injures holy church, which may God help in
  its freedom!”--“Sir clerk,” said the King, “thou hast talked
  folly;--promise is debt due, if faith be not forgotten;--but if
  I saw thee here in possession of the bull--as well as all the
  others, by the son of Mary!--you should not be relieved of this
  aid.”

  “Sire,” said the Archbishop, “very willingly--thee as our lord
  we will all aid--with the leave of the pope, if thou wilt send
  to him--by one of thy clerks with our messenger,--who could
  relate to him thy condition and ours;--and according to the
  message which the pope shall send us back,--we will as far as
  our abilities go courteously aid thee.”--“Sir clerk,” says the
  King again, “I have no need--for thee to advise me to consult
  the pope;--but if thou wilt have respite in this case,--cause
  thy clerks to assemble when thou wilt,--talk to them of
  the promise, and treat heartily of it;--after St. Hilary’s
  day come to Westminster,--and make the answer without more
  talk!”--“Sire,” said the Archbishop, “for the sake of God and
  St. Richard!--please to command here and there thy people,--who
  are thy agents for the twelfth penny,--that they cause to be
  molested neither us nor our tenants,--nor tax our temporalities
  along with the layman.”--“Sir,” answers the King, “you need not
  fear it,--for they shall do neither well nor ill to none of
  thy power.--Nevertheless, fair Sir, I pray and require,--that
  throughout thy diocese thou commandest to pray--for me and mine,
  and to thank God,--who has done largely for us in our recent
  affairs.”--The Archbishop grants it, and does his duty.--A little
  before this time returned the treasurer--Walter de Langton,
  who had passed the sea--with the cardinal, to treat of the
  peace.--The answer which they bring no man can know,--except
  those of the council who dare not reveal it.--Messengers
  afterwards came to announce--to the King Sir Edward a form of
  arranging--the strife of Gascony, and to cause him to agree--with
  King Philip, without further war,--as the cardinals had caused
  it to be ordained.--King Edward forthwith sent back--Walter de
  Langton and Hugh le Despenser,--and John de Berwick, a clerk and
  a valiant knight.--May God conduct them there, and bring them
  well back again!

  Of the barons of Scotland, at this parliament--reason was not
  rendered, nor judgment given.--The King is so courteous, so
  full of pity,--and of so great mercy, I believe certainly--that
  his mercy will be the saving--of those who have fully
  deserved death,--by their deeds attainted of felony.--The
  great pity of heart which he has often had--upon the felons
  of Wales, every body talks of it;--when he was most occupied
  for his advancement,--they made war upon him, and cause a
  diversion,--whereby he was obliged to leave his goings elsewhere.

  After the day of St. Hilary, when the King thought (to
  hold)--parliament at London, as he had ordained,--news came to
  him by him who was then--come from Cambrai, and announced to
  him--that the talk of peace was made with no intention of coming
  to an end.--Wherefore King Edward remained and prepared--by
  sea and by land that he might not be betrayed;--at Westminster
  he collected his people--to treat about what aid the clergy
  should give him.--The Lord of Canterbury held himself very
  rigid on this matter,--he vowed to St. Thomas for him and his
  parish,--that no one of his church should be any more taxed,--nor
  placed in servage as long as he lived,--without command of the
  pope, who ought to govern them.--The Lord of Lincoln agreed to
  this,--Bishop Oliver, who was not used to bend.--The King was
  so enraged against the clergy,--that he commanded them to be
  judged out of his peace.--But now afterwards he repealed that
  decree.--This did those bishops who willingly consented--to aid
  their lord whereby to recover his right,--to defend holy church
  from shame and loss.--The elect of York, who desired peace,--said
  that willingly as far as concerned him--he would give the fifth
  penny wherewith to defend holy church.--Not a soul spoke there
  of the caitiff Scots:--they remained in keeping in the same
  care,--as they were before, Dunbar caused them vexation.--For
  there were they burnt ...--he ... them thither,--and drove to
  dote.--For Scots at Dunbar--had at their ...--shame of their
  note.--Never were dogs there--hurled out of....

       *       *       *       *       *

THE TRAILEBASTONS, AND EXECUTION OF WALLACE.

[From MS. Cotton. Julius A. V. fol. 162, v^o. collated with MS.
Reg. 20, A. II. fol. 144, r^o. (R. 1.); and with MS. Reg. 20, A.
XI. fol. 125, r^o. (R. 2.)]

      En Septembre après Estrivelyn est rendu;
      Ly reys Sire Edwarde ses travayls ad sentu,
      Vers Brustewik sur Humbre son chemyn ad tenu,

    VARIOUS READINGS.--2. _au rei_, R. 2.--3. _est meu_, R. 1. _en
    son ch. est meu_, R. 2.

      Sugiour une pece i prist pur sa salu.
      Sire Jon de Warenne, count been conu,
      Mortz fu lors et prest à mette en sarcu.
      Ly reys, ke Deu garde! en alaunt vers le su,
      Par my Lendesey enquist de lu en lu,
      Taunt com en Escoz en sa guere fu,
      Ky out sa pees enfraynt, ki out sa pees tenu;       10
      Pur taunt com il volait, remede fu purveu
      Sur cil ke fust ataynt de sa pees rumpu.

      Respouns ount fet au reys gentz de been voyllance,
      Coment parmy la tere fet est grant grevaunce
      Par comune contekours, ke sunt par fiaunce
      Obligez ensemble à une purviaunce;
      Traylbastouns sunt nomez de cel retenaunce,
      En fayres et marchez se proferent fere covenaunce,

    VARIOUS READINGS.--5. _Johan ... counte_, R. 1 and 2.--6.
    _mort_, R. 2.--7. _le rei, le sieu_, R. 2.--8. _Lyndesey_,
    R. 1.--10. _qi l’ount tenu_, R. 2.--11. _volait_, R. 1. _cum
    avolait_, R. 2.--13. _au rei_, R. 2.--15. _comuns_, R. 2.

      Pur treys souz ou .iiii., ou pur la valiaunce,
      Batre un prodomme ke unk fist nosaunce              20
      A cors Cristiene, par nuli temoygnaunce.
      Si homme countredye à nul de l’aliaunce,
      Ou marchaund de ses merz li vee fere creaunce,
      En sa mesoun demené, sauntz altre daliaunce,
      Batuz serrait been, ou pur l’acordaunce
      Dora de ses deners et prendre aquitaunce.
      Si en la riot ne seit fet desturbaunce,
      Une commune guere se levera par chaunce.
      Entendu ad ly reys la plaint et la parlaunce,
      Escutez ore coment purveu est la vengaunce.         30

      Parmy Engletere gentz de graunz resouns
      Assignez sunt justizes sur les traylbastouns;
      Les uns par enquest sunt jugez à prisouns;

    VARIOUS READINGS.--19. _voillaunce_, R. 1.--20. _ne fist_, R.
    2.--23. _vee de er._, R. 2.--26. _prendra_, R. 2.--31. _grant
    resons_, R. 1. _gent de grant_, R. 2.

      Li altre alez à fourches à pendre envirouns;
      Plusours sunt privez de [lour] possessiouns;
      Ke meyns mesfesaynt sunt passez par raunsouns.
      Si chastiment ne fust de ribaldes et bricouns,
      Osé ne serrait homme vivre en mesouns.
      O! cum Deus est bons de drayturels guerdouns,
      Ke taunt sovent nous ad vengé de felouns!           40
      Novel avoms oy entre compaygnouns
      De William le Walays, mestre de larouns;
      Sire Jon de Meneteft li suist à talouns,
      Enprès de sa puteyne li prist en tapisouns;
      A Loundres le menait en ferges et laceouns,
      Où jugez esteit sur cels condiciouns;
      En primer à fourches fust trayné pur tresouns,
      Pendu pur roberyes et pur occisiouns,

    VARIOUS READINGS.--34. _altres_, R. 1 and 2.--36. _passé_, R.
    2.--39. _est draiturels e de bone_, R. 1.--40. _vengés_, R.
    2.--41. _Novels_, R. 1.--42. _des barouns_, R. 1.--43. _Johan
    de Menetest_, R. 1. _Mentest_, R. 2.--44. _Semprès de sa_, R. 2.

      Et pur ceo k’il avait ennenty par arsouns.
      Viles et eglises et religiouns,                     50
      Avalez est de fourches, et overt les ventrouns,
      Le quoer et la bowel brullez en carbouns,
      Et copé la teste par tels mesprisiouns,
      Pur ceo ke il avait par ces havyllouns
      Maintenuz la guere, doné protecciouns,
      Seysye seygnurye en ses subjecciouns
      De altri realme par ses entrusiouns.
      Copé li fust le cors en quatre porciouns,
      Chescun pende par say en memor de ses nouns,
      En lu de sa banere cels sunt ces gunfanouns.        60
            Pur finir sa geste,
            A Loundres est sa teste,
                        du cors est fet partye
            En .iiii. bones viles,
            Dount honurer les ylles

    VARIOUS READINGS.--55. _meintenu_, R. 2.--56. _en sa_, R. 1.

                  ke sunt en Albanye.
      And tus may you here,
      A ladde to lere
                  to bigken in pais.
      It falles in his eghe,                              70
      That hackes ovre heghe,
                  wit at Walays.

    VARIOUS READINGS.--67. _thus_, R. 1 and 2. _mai men_, R.
    2.--68. _te lere_, R. 2.--69. _biggen_, R. 1. _biggin_, R.
    2.--70. _fallis ... iȝe_, R. 2.--71. _hagges_, R. 1. _hakkis
    ... hie_, R. 2.--72. _with that Waleis_, R. 2.

  TRANSLATION.--In September after Stirling was delivered;--the
  King Sir Edward was fatigued with his labours,--he held his way
  towards Burstwick on Humber,--he remained there a while for his
  health.--Sir John de Warenne, an Earl well known,--was then dead
  and ready to be put in his coffin.--The King, whom God keep!
  in going towards his own,--through Lindsey inquired from place
  to place,--whilst he had been in Scotland in his war,--who had
  broken his peace, and who had held it;--straight at his will,
  remedy was provided--for him who was attainted of having broken
  his peace.

  People of good will have made answer to the King,--how a great
  grievance is made in the land--by common squabblers, who are
  by oath--obliged together to a purveyance;--this company are
  called Trailebastons,--they offer to make conventions at fairs
  and markets,--for three or four shillings, or merely to show
  their courage,--to beat a good man, who never did hurt--to any
  Christian body, by the testimony of no one.--If a man contradict
  any one of the alliance,--or a merchant will not trust them
  for his merchandise,--taken in his own house, without other
  interference,--he shall be well beaten, or by agreement--he
  shall give of his money and take acquittance.--If there were no
  hindrance made to their riot,--a war among the commons would
  by chance arise.--The King has heard the complaint and the
  talk,--now hear how the punishment is provided.

  Throughout England men of great account--are assigned as
  judges on the Trailebastons;--some by inquest are judged
  to prisons;--others to go to the gallows, to hang there
  about;--many are deprived of their possessions;--those who
  had done least ill are obliged to pay fines. If there was
  not chastisement of ribalds and rascals,--people would not
  dare to live in their houses.--O! how God is good in his just
  dealings,--who has so often revenged us of felons!--We have
  heard news among companions--of William Wallace, the master of
  the thieves;--Sir John de Menteith followed him close at his
  heels,--and took him in bed beside his strumpet;--he brought
  him to London in fetters and bonds,--where he was judged on the
  following conditions:--first to be drawn to the gallows for
  his treasons,--to be hung for robbery and for slaughter,--and
  because he had destroyed by burning--towns and churches and
  monasteries,--he is taken down from the gallows, and his belly
  opened,--the heart and bowels burnt to ashes,--and his head cut
  off for such faults,--because he had by these ...,--maintained
  war, given protections,--seized lordship into his subjection--of
  the realm of another by his intrusions.--His body was cut
  into four parts,--each hung by itself in memory of his
  name,--instead of his banner these are his standards.--To finish
  his history,--at London is his head,--his body is divided--in
  four good towns,--whereby to honour the isles--that are in
  Albania.--And thus may you hear,--a lad to learn--to build in
  peace.--It falls in his eye,--who hacks too high,--with the
  Wallace.

       *       *       *       *       *

POEM ON THE EVIL TIMES OF EDWARD II.

[From the Auchinleck MS. fol. 328, r^o. written in the beginning of
the reign of Edw. III. in the Advocates Library, at Edinburgh.]

_The Simonie._

      Whii werre and wrake in londe and manslauht is i-come,
      Whii hungger and derthe on eorthe the pore hath undernome,
      Whii bestes ben thus storve, whii corn hath ben so dere,

    GLOSSARY.--1. _werre and wrake_, war and mischief.--2.
    _undernome_, undertaken, seized upon.--3. _storve_, starved,
    perished.

      Ȝe that wolen abide, listneth and ȝe muwen here
                                          the skile.
      I nelle liȝen for no man, herkne who so wile.

      God greteth wel the clergie, and seith theih don amis,
      And doth hem to understonde that litel treuthe ther is;
      For at the court of Rome, ther treuthe sholde biginne,
      Him is forboden the paleis, dar he noht com therinne        10
                                          for doute;
      And thouh the pope clepe him in, ȝit shal he stonde theroute.

      Alle the popes clerkes ban taken hem to red,
      If treuthe come amonges hem, that he shal be ded.
      There dar he noht shewen him for doute to be slain,
      Among none of the cardinaus dar he noht be sein,
                                          for feerd,
      If Symonie may mete wid him he wole shaken his berd.

      Voiz of clerk is sielde i-herd at the court of Rome;
      Ne were he nevere swich a clerk, silverles if he come,      20
      Thouh he were the wiseste that evere was i-born,
      But if he swete ar he go, al his weye is lorn
                                          i-souht,
      Or he shal singe _si dedero_, or al geineth him noht.

      For if there be in countre an horeling, a shrewe,
      Lat him come to the court hise nedes for to shewe,

    GLOSSARY.--4. _wolen_, will (pl.). _muwen_, may.--5. _skile_,
    cause, reason.--6. _nelle liȝen_, will not lie.--7. _theih_,
    they.--10. _paleis_, palace.--11. _doute_, fear.--12. _clepe_,
    call.--13. _han_, have (pl.). _red_, counsel.--19. _voiz_,
    voice. _sielde i-herd_, seldom heard.--20. _swich_, such.--22.
    _ar_, before.

      And bringe wid him silver and non other wed,
      Be he nevere so muchel a wrecche, hise nedes sholen be spede
                                          ful stille,
      For Coveytise and Symonie han the world to wille.           30

      And erchebishop and bishop, that ouhte for to enquere
      Off alle men of holi churche of what lif theih were,
      Summe beth foles hemself, and leden a sory lif,
      Therfore doren hii noht speke for rising of strif
                                          thurw clerkes,
      And that everich biwreied other of here wrecchede werkes.

      But certes holi churche is muchel i-brouht ther doune,
      Siththen Seint Thomas was slain and smiten of his croune.
      He was a piler ariht to holden up holi churche,
      Thise othere ben to slouwe, and feinteliche kunnen worche,   40
                                          i-wis;
      Therfore in holi churche hit fareth the more amis.

      But everi man may wel i-wite, who so take ȝeme,
      That no man may wel serve tweie lordes to queme.
      Summe beth in ofice wid the king, and gaderen tresor to hepe,
      And the fraunchise of holi churche hii laten ligge slepe
                                          ful stille;
      Al to manye ther beth swiche, if hit were Godes wille.

    GLOSSARY.--27. _wed_, pledge.--28. _muchel a wrecche_, great
    a wretch. _sholen be_, shall be.--29. _stille_, quietly.--34.
    _doren hii_, dare they.--35. _thurw_, through.--36. _everich_,
    every one. _biwreied_, accused.--38. _Siththen_, since.--39.
    _piler_, pillar.--40. _slouwe_, slothful. _kunnen_, know
    how.--41. _i-wis_, truely, in truth.--43. _i-wite_, know.
    _ȝeme_, care (_take ȝeme_, pay attention).--44. _queme_,
    pleasure.--45. _gaderen_, gather. _to hepe_, in a heap.

      And thise ersedeknes that ben set to visite holi churche,
      Everich fondeth hu he may shrewedelichest worche;           50
      He wole take mede of that on and that other,
      And late the parsoun have a wyf, and the prest another,
                                          at wille;
      Coveytise shal stoppen here mouth, and maken hem al stille.

      For sone so a parsoun is ded and in eorthe i-don,
      Thanne shal the patroun have ȝiftes anon;
      The clerkes of the cuntré wolen him faste wowe,
      And senden him faire ȝiftes and presentes i-nowe,
                                          and the bishop;
      And there shal Symonye ben taken bi the cop.                60

      Coveytise upon his hors he wole be sone there,
      And bringe the bishop silver, and rounen in his ere,
      That alle the pore that ther comen, on ydel sholen theih worche,
      For he that allermost may ȝive, he shal have the churche;
                                          i-wis,
      Everich man nu bi dawe may sen that thus hit is.

      And whan this newe parsoun is institut in his churche,
      He bithenketh him hu he may shrewedelichest worche;
      Ne shal the corn in his berne ben eten wid no muis,

    GLOSSARY.--49. _ersedeknes_, archdeacons.--50. _fondeth_,
    seeketh, endeavours. _shrewedelichest worche_, work most
    cursedly.--51. _mede_, bribe.--52. _late_, let.--54. _stoppen_,
    stop.--55. _sone so_, as soon as.--57. _wowe_, woo, court.--58.
    _i-nowe_, enough.--60. _cop_, head.--62. _rounen_, whisper.
    _ere_, ear.--63. _on ydel_, fruitlessly, to no avail.--64.
    _allermost_, most of all.--66. _nu bi dawe_, now-a-days.--68.
    _hu_, how.--69. _muis_, mouse.

      But hit shal ben i-spended in a shrewede huis;              70
                                          if he may,
      Al shal ben i-beten out or Cristemesse-day.

      And whan he hath i-gadered markes and poundes,
      He priketh out of toune wid haukes and wid houndes
      Into a straunge contré, and halt a wenche in cracche;
      And wel is hire that first may swich a parsoun kacche
                                          in londe.
      And thus theih serven the chapele, and laten the churche stonde.

      He taketh al that he may, and maketh the churche pore,
      And leveth thare behinde a theef and an hore,               80
      A serjaunt and a deie that leden a sory lif;
      Al so faire hii gon to bedde as housebonde and wif;
                                          wid sorwe
      Shal there no pore lif fare the bet nouther on even ne on morwe.

      And whan he hath the silver of wolle and of lomb,
      He put in his pautener an honne and a komb,
      A myrour and a koeverchef to binde wid his crok,
      And rat on the rouwe bible and on other bok
                                          no mo;
      But unthank have the bishop that lat hit so go.             90

      For thouh the bishop hit wite, that hit bename kouth,
      He may wid a litel silver stoppen his mouth;

    GLOSSARY.--70. _huis_, house.--74. _priketh_, rideth.--75.
    _cracche_, properly a manger, perhaps here, a cradle.--76. _wel
    is hire_, it is well for her.--81. _deie_, dairymaid.--85.
    _lomb_, lamb.--86. _pautener ... honne_,....--87. _koeverchef_,
    kerchief. _crok_, crook.--88. _rat_, reads. _rouwe_,
    rough.--89. _mo_, more.--91. _bename kouth_, could take in
    hand. (?)

      He medeth wid the clerkes, and halt forth the wenche,
      And lat the parish for-worthe; the devel him adrenche
                                          for his werk!
      And sory may his fader ben, that evere made him clerk.

      And if the parsoun have a prest of a clene lyf,
      That be a god consailler to maiden and to wif,
      Shal comen a daffe and putte him out for a litel lasse,
      That can noht a ferthing worth of god, unnethe singe a masse   100
                                          but ille.
      And thus shal al the parish for lac of lore spille.

      For riht me thinketh hit fareth bi a prest that is lewed,
      As bi a jay in a kage, that himself hath bishrewed;
      God Engelish he speketh, ac he wot nevere what;
      No more wot a lewed prest in boke what he rat
                                          bi day.
      Thanne is a lewed prest no betir than a jay.

      But everi man may wel i-wite, bi the swete rode!
      Ther heth so manye prestes, hii ne muwe noht alle be gode.    110
      And natheles thise gode men fallen oft in fame,
      For thise wantoune prestes that pleien here nice game,
                                          bi nihte,
      Hii gon wid swerd and bokeler as men that wolde fihte.

    GLOSSARY.--93. _medeth_, takes bribe.--94. _for-worthe_, go
    to nought. _adrenche_, drown.--96. _ben_, be.--97. _prest_,
    priest.--99. _daffe_, fool. _lasse_, less.--100. _unnethe_,
    hardly.--102. _for lac of lore spille_, be ruined for want of
    teaching.--104. _bishrewed_, cursed.--105. _wot_, knows.--106.
    _rat_, reads.--109. _rode_, cross, rood.--110. _muwe_, may.

      Summe bereth croune of acolite for the crumponde crok,
      And ben ashamed of the merke the bishop hem bitok;
      At even he set upon a koife, and kembeth the croket,
      Adihteth him a gay wenche of the newe jet,
                                          sanz doute;
      And there hii clateren cumpelin whan the candel is oute.   120

      And thise abbotes and priours don aȝein here rihtes;
      Hii riden wid hauk and hound, and contrefeten knihtes.
      Hii sholde leve swich pride, and ben religious;
      And nu is pride maister in everich ordred hous;
                                          i-wis,
      Religioun is evele i-holde and fareth the more [amis.]

      For if there come to an abey to pore men or thre,
      And aske of hem helpe _par seinte charité_,
      Unnethe wole any don his ernde other ȝong or old,
      But late him coure ther al day in hunger and in cold,      130
                                          and sterve.
      Loke what love ther is to God, whom theih seien that hii serve!

      But there come another and bringe a litel lettre,
      In a box upon his hepe, he shal spede the betre;
      And if he be wid eny man that may don the abot harm,
      He shal be lad into the halle, and ben i-mad full warm
                                          aboute the mawe.
      And Godes man stant ther oute; sory is that lawe.

    GLOSSARY.--115. _crumponde crok_, crumpled crook(?).--116.
    _bitok_, gave, delivered to.--117. _kembeth_, combs. _croket_,
    curl or lock of hair.--118. _Adihteth him_, fits himself
    with.--121. _don aȝein_, do against.--126. _evele i-holde_,
    evil held, in ill repute.--127. _to_, two.--129. _ernde_,
    errand. _ȝong_, young.--130. _coure_, cower.--134. _hepe_,
    pack (?).

      Thus is God nu served thurwout religioun;
      There is he al to sielde i-sein in eny devocioun;          140
      His meyné is unwelcome, comen hii erliche or late;
      The porter hath comaundement to holde hem widoute the gate,
                                          in the fen.
      Hu mihte theih loven that loverd, that serven thus his men?

      This is the penaunce that monekes don for ure lordes love:
      Hii weren sockes in here shon, and felted botes above;
      He hath forsake for Godes love bothe hunger and cold;
      But if he have hod and cappe fured, he nis noht i-told
                                          in covent;
      Ac certes wlaunknesse of wele hem hath al ablent.          150

      Religioun was first founded duresce for to drie;
      And nu is the moste del i-went to eise and glotonie.
      Where shal men nu finde fattere or raddere of leres?
      Or betre farende folk than monekes, chanons, and freres?
                                          In uch toun
      I wot non eysiere lyf than is religioun.

      Religioun wot red I uch day what he shal don?
      He ne carez noht to muche for his mete at non;
      For hous-hire ne for clothes he ne carez noht;

    GLOSSARY.--140. _to sielde i-sein_, too seldom seen.--141.
    _meyné_ (_maisné_, Fr.), household, people. _erliche_,
    early.--145. _ure_, our.--146. _Hii weren_, they wear. _shon_,
    shoes. _botes_, boots.--148. _But if_, unless. _hod_, hood.
    _fured_, furred. _he nis noht i-told_, he is not reckoned, or
    esteemed.--150. _wlaunknesse_, pride. _wele_, weal. _ablent_,
    blinded.--151. _duresce_, hardness. _drie_, bear, suffer.--152.
    _nu_, now. _moste del_, greatest part.--153. _raddere of
    leres_, redder of complexion.--155. _uch_, each.--156. _wot_,
    know. _eysiere_, more easy.

      But whan he cometh to the mete, he maketh his mawe touht    160
                                          off the beste;
      And anon therafter he fondeth to kacche reste.

      And ȝit ther is another ordre, Menour and Jacobin,
      And freres of the Carme, and of Seint Austin,
      That wolde preche more for a busshel of whete,
      Than for to bringe a soule from helle out of the hete
                                          to rest.
      And thus is coveytise loverd bothe est and west.

      If a pore man come to a frere for to aske shrifte,
      And ther come a ricchere and bringe him a ȝifte;           170
      He shal into the freitur and ben i-mad ful glad;
      And that other stant theroute, as a man that were mad
                                          in sorwe;
      Ȝit shal his ernde ben undon til that other morwe.

      And if there be a riche man that evel hath undernome,
      Thanne wolen thise freres al day thider come;
      And if hit be a pore lyf in poverte and in care,
      Sorwe on that o frere that kepeth come thare
                                          ful loth;
      Alle wite ȝe, gode men, hu the gamen goth.                 180

      And if the riche man deie that was of eny mihte,
      Thanne wolen the freres for the cors fihte.

    GLOSSARY.--160. _touht_, full.--162. _fondeth to kacche_,
    seeketh to take.--163. _ȝit_, yet.--168. _loverd_, lord.--169.
    _shrifte_, confession.--170. _ȝifte_, gift.--171. _freitur_,
    refectory. _i-mad_, made.--172. _stant_, stands.--173.
    _sorwe_, sorrow.--174. _ernde_, errand. _morwe_, morrow.--175.
    _undernome_, undertaken.--178. _o_, one. _that kepeth_, that
    cares.--180. _wite ȝe_, know ye. _gamen_, game.

      Hit nis noht al for the calf that kow louweth,
      Ac hit is for the grene gras that in the medewe grouweth
                                          so god.
      Alle wite ȝe what I mene, that kunnen eny god.

      For als ich evere brouke min hod under min hat,
      The frere wole to the direge, if the cors is fat;
      Ac bi the feith I owe to God, if the cors is lene,
      He wole wagge aboute the cloistre and kepen hise fet clene    190
                                          in house.
      Hu mihte theih faire forsake that hii ne ben coveytouse?

      And officials and denes that chapitles sholden holde,
      Theih sholde chastise the folk, and theih maken hem bolde.
      Mak a present to the den ther thu thenkest to dwelle,
      And have leve longe i-nouh to serve the fend of helle
                                          to queme;
      For have he silver, of sinne taketh he nevere ȝeme.

      If a man have a wif, and he ne love hire noht,
      Bringe hire to the constorie ther treuthe sholde be souht,    200
      And bringge tweye false wid him and him self the thridde,
      And he shal ben to-parted so faire as he wole bidde
                                          from his wif;
      He shal ben holpen wel i-nouh to lede a shrewede lyf.

    GLOSSARY.--183. _Hit nis_, it is not. _louweth_, lows.--184.
    _Ac_, but.--186. _kunnen_, know.--187. _als_, as. _brouke_,
    use, hold.--192. _theih_, they.--193. _chapitles_,
    chapters.--195. _ther_, where.--196. _i-nouh_, enough. _fend_,
    fiend.--197. _queme_, pleasure.--198. _ȝeme_, care.--200.
    _constorie_, consistory. _souht_, sought.--202. _to-parted_,
    separated. _bidde_, ask.

      And whan he is thus i-deled from his rihte spouse,
      He taketh his neiheboures wif and bringeth hire to his house;
      And whiles he hath eny silver the clerkes to sende,
      He may holde hire at his wille to his lives ende
                                          wid unskile;
      And but that be wel i-loked, curs in here bile.            210

      And ȝit ther is another craft that toucheth the clergie,
      That ben thise false fisiciens that helpen men to die;
      He wole wagge his urine in a vessel of glaz,
      And swereth that he is sekere than evere ȝit he was,
                                          and sein,
      “Dame, for faute of helpe, thin housebonde is neih slain.”

      Thus he wole afraien al that ther is inne,
      And make many a lesing silver for to winne.
      Ac afterward he fondeth to comforte the wif,
      And seith, “Dame, for of thin I wole holde his lyf,”       220
                                          a[n]d liȝe;
      Thouh he wite no more than a gos wheither he wole live or die.

      Anon he wole biginne to blere the wives eiȝe;
      He wole aske half a pound to bien spicerie;
      The .viij. shillinges sholen up to the win and the ale;
      And bringe rotes and rindes bret ful a male
                                          off noht;
      Hit shal be dere on a lek, whan hit is al i-wrouht.

    GLOSSARY.--205. _i-deled_, parted.--209. _wid unskile_, with
    wrong.--210. _here_, their.--215. _sein_, say.--218. _lesing_,
    falsehood.--219. _he fondeth_, he tries.--221. _liȝe_,
    lie.--222. _gos_, goose.--223. _eiȝe_, eyes.--224. _bien_,
    buy.--226. _bret ful_, broad full, filled up. _male_, chest,
    pannier.--228. _on a lek_, for a leek. (?)

      He wole preisen hit i-nohw, and sweren, as he were wod,
      For the king of the lond the drink is riche and god;       230
      And ȝeve the gode man drinke a god quantité,
      And make him worsse than he was; evele mote he the!
                                          that clerk,
      That so geteth the silver, and can noht don his werk.

      He doth the wif sethe a chapoun and piece beof,
      Ne tit the gode man noht therof, he him nevere so leof;
      The best he piketh up himself, and maketh his mawe touht;
      And ȝeveth the gode man soupe, the lene broth that nis noht
                                          for seke;
      That so serveth eny man, Godes curs in his cheke!          240

      And thilke that han al the wele in freth and in feld,
      Bothen eorl and baroun and kniht of o sheld,
      Alle theih beth i-sworne holi churche holde to rihte;
      Therfore was the ordre mad for holi churche to fihte,
                                          sanz faille;
      And nu ben theih the ferste that hit sholen assaille.

      Hii brewen strut and stuntise there as sholde be pes;
      Hii sholde gon to the Holi Lond and maken there her res,
      And fihte there for the croiz, and shewe the ordre of knihte,
      And awreke Jhesu Crist wid launce and speir to fihte       250
                                          and sheld;
      And nu ben theih liouns in halle, and hares in the feld.

    GLOSSARY.--229. _wod_, mad.--231. _ȝeve_, if.--232. _evele mote
    he the!_ ill may he thrive!--234. _don_, do.--235. _doth_,
    causeth. _sethe_, to boil.--236. _tit_, touches. _leof_, dear
    (_i. e._ have he ever so much desire).--238. _nis noht_, is
    nothing.--241. _freth_, wood.--247. _strut and stuntise_,
    strife and debate(?).--248. _her res_, their assault,
    onset.--249. _croiz_, cross.--250. _awreke_, revenge.

      Knihtes sholde weren weden in here manere,
      After that the ordre asketh also wel as a frere;
      Nu ben theih so degysed and diverseliche i-diht,
      Unnethe may men knowe a gleman from a kniht,
                                          wel neih;
      So is mieknesse driven adoun, and pride is risen on heih.

      Thus is the ordre of kniht turned up-so-doun,
      Also wel can a kniht chide as any skolde of a toun.        260
      Hii sholde ben also hende as any levedi in londe,
      And for to speke alle vilanie nel nu no kniht wonde
                                          for shame;
      And thus knihtshipe [is] acloied and waxen al fot lame.

      Knihtshipe is acloied and deolfulliche i-diht;
      Kunne a boy nu breke a spere, he shal be mad a kniht.
      And thus ben knihtes gadered of unkinde blod,
      And envenimeth that ordre that shold be so god
                                          and hende;
      Ac o shrewe in a court many man may shende.                270

      And nu nis no squier of pris in this middel erd,
      But if that he bere a babel and a long berd,
      And swere Godes soule, and vuwe to God and hote;
      But sholde he for everi fals uth lese kirtel or kote,

    GLOSSARY.--253. _weden_, garments.--255. _degysed_, arrayed.
    _i-diht_, arranged, clothed.--256. _unnethe_, scarcely.--258.
    _mieknesse_, meekness.--261. _hende_, gentle. _levedi_,
    lady.--262. _nel_, will not. _wonde_, stay.--264. _acloied_,
    debased. _fot lame_, lame of foot.--265. _deolfulliche
    i-diht_, lamentably arrayed.--270. _o_, one. _shende_,
    ruin.--271. _middel erd_, world, middle earth.--272. _bere_,
    carry. _babel_, fool’s bauble(?).--273. _vuwe_, vow. _hote_,
    promise.--274. _uth_, oath.

                                          I leve,
      He sholde stonde starc naked twye o day or eve.

      Godes soule is al day sworn, the knif stant a-strout,
      And thouh the botes be torn, ȝit wole he maken hit stout;
      The hod hangeth on his brest, as he wolde spewe therinne,
      Ac shortliche al his contrefaiture is colour of sinne,     280
                                          and bost,
      To wraththe God and paien the fend hit serveth allermost.

      A newe taille of squierie is nu in everi toun;
      The raye is turned overthuert that sholde stonde adoun;
      Hii ben degised as turmentours that comen from clerkes plei;
      Hii ben i-laft wid pride, and cast nurture awey
                                          in diche;
      Gentille men that sholde ben, ne beth hii none i-liche.

      And justises, shirreves, meires, baillifs, if I shal rede aricht,
      Hii kunnen of the faire day make the derke niht;           290
      Hii gon out of the heie wey, ne leven hii for no sklaundre,
      And maken the mot-halle at hom in here chaumbre,
                                          wid wouh;
      For be the hond i-whited, it shal go god i-nouh.

      If the king in his werre sent after mihti men,
      To helpe him in his nede, of sum toun .ix. or .x.,

    GLOSSARY.--275. _I leve_, I believe.--276. _twye_, twice.--277.
    _a-strout_, sticking out (?).--282. _allermost_, most of
    all.--283. _newe taille_, new cut.--284. _raye_, cloth,
    garment. _overthuert_, crosswise.--286. _ben i-laft wid_,
    have separated from, or have sent away.--289. _shirreves_,
    sheriffs.--290. _kunnen_, know how, they can.--292.
    _mot-halle_, hall of meeting, the justice-hall.--293. _wouh_,
    wrong.--294. _i-whited_, whitened.

      The stiffeste sholen bileve at hom for .x. shillinges or .xii.,
      And sende forth a wrecche that may noht helpe himselve
                                          at nede.
      Thus is the king deceyved, and pore men shent for mede.    300

      And if the king in his lond maketh a taxacioun,
      And everi man is i-set to a certein raunczoun,
      Hit shal be so for-pinched, to-toilled, and to-twiht,
      That halvendel shal gon in the fendes fliht
                                          off helle;
      Ther beth so manye parteners may no tunge telle.

      A man of .xl. poundes-worth god is leid to .xii. pans rounde;
      And also much paieth another that poverte hath brouht to grounde,
      And hath an hep of girles sittende aboute the flet.
      Godes curs moten hii have! but that be wel set             310
                                          and sworn,
      That the pore is thus i-piled, and the riche forborn.

      Ac if the king hit wiste, I trowe he wolde be wroth,
      Hou the pore beth i-piled, and hu the silver goth;
      Hit is so deskatered bothe hider and thidere,
      That halvendel shal ben stole ar hit come togidere,
                                          and acounted;
      An if a pore man speke a word, he shal be foule afrounted.

    GLOSSARY.--297. _bileve_, remain.--300. _shent_, ruined.
    _mede_, reward, bribery.--303. _for-pinched_, pinched to
    pieces. _to-toilled_, laboured away. _to-twiht_, twitted
    away.--304. _halvendel_, one half.--307. _god_, goods. _pans_,
    pence.--309. _flet_, floor.--312. _i-piled_, robbed.--315.
    _deskatered_, scattered about.--318. _afrounted_, accosted
    (French, _affronter_).

      Ac were the king wel avised, and wolde worche bi skile,
      Litel nede sholde he have swiche pore to pile;             320
      Thurfte him noht seke tresor so fer, he mihte finde ner,
      At justices, at shirreves, cheiturs, and chaunceler,
                                          and at les;
      Swiche mihte finde him i-nouh, and late pore men have pes.

      For who so is in swich ofice, come he nevere so pore,
      He fareth in a while as thouh he hadde silver ore;
      Theih bien londes and ledes, ne may hem non astonde.
      What sholde pore men [ben] i-piled, when swiche men beth in londe
                                          so fele?
      Theih pleien wid the kinges silver, and breden wod for wele.   330

      Ac shrewedeliche for sothe hii don the kinges heste;
      Whan everi man hath his part, the king hath the leste.
      Everi man is aboute to fille his owen purs;
      And the king hath the leste part, and he hath al the curs,
                                          wid wronge.
      God sende treuthe into this lond, for tricherie dureth to longe.

      And baillifs and bedeles under the shirreve,
      Everich fondeth hu he may pore men most greve.
      The pore men beth over al somouned on assise;
      And the riche sholen sitte at hom, and ther wole silver rise   340
                                          to shon.
      Godes curs moten hii have, but that be wel don!

    GLOSSARY.--319. _skile_, reason, right.--320. _swiche_,
    such.--321. _thurfte him_, need he. _ner_, near.--322.
    _cheiturs_, escheators.--324. _pes_, peace.--327. _bien_, buy.
    _ledes_, possessions. _astonde_, withstand.--329. _fele_,
    many.--330. _wod_, wood.--331. _heste_, command.--332. _leste_,
    least.--338. _fondeth_, tries, endeavours.--341. _shon_, to be
    shewn, to be seen.--342. _moten_, may.

      And countours in benche that stondeth at the barre,
      Theih wolen bigile the in thin hond, but if thu be the warre.
      He wole take .xl. pans for to do doun his hod,
      And speke for the a word or to, and don the litel god,
                                          I trouwe.
      And have he turned the bak, he makketh the a mouwe.

      Attourneis in cuntré theih geten silver for noht;
      Theih maken men biginne that they nevere hadden thouht;    350
      And whan theih comen to the ring, hoppe if hii kunne.
      Al that theih muwen so gete, al thinketh hem i-wonne
                                          wid skile.
      Ne triste no man to hem, so false theih beth in the bile.

      And sumtime were chapmen that treweliche bouhten and solde;
      And nu is thilke assise broke, and nas noht ȝore holde.
      Chaffare was woned to be meintened wid treuthe,
      And nu is al turned to treccherie, and that is muchel reuthe
                                          to wite,
      That alle manere godnesse is thus adoun i-smite.           360

      Unnethe is nu eny man that can eny craft,
      That he nis a party los in the haft;
      For falsnesse is so fer forth over al the londe i-sprunge,

    GLOSSARY.--345. _pans_, pence.--348. _mouwe_, mow, contemptuous
    gesture.--352. _muwen_, may. _i-wonne_, won.--353. _skile_,
    reason.--354. _triste_, trust. _beth_, are.--355. _chapmen_,
    merchants. _treweliche_, truly.--356. _nas noht ȝore holde_,
    has not been held a long time.--357. _Chaffare_, traffic.--358.
    _muchel reuthe_, great pity.--361. _can_, knows.--362. _party
    los in the haft_,....

      That wel neih nis no treuthe in hond, ne in tunge,
                                          ne in herte;
      And tharfore nis no wonder thouh al the world it smerte.

      Ther was a gamen in Engelond that durede ȝer and other;
      Erliche upon the Monenday uch man bishrewed other;
      So longe lastede that gamen among lered and lewed,         369
      That nolde theih nevere stinten, or al the world were bishrewed,
                                          i-wis;
      And therfore al that helpe sholde, fareth the more amis.

      So that for that shrewedom that regneth in the lond,
      I drede me that God us hath for-laft out of his hond,
      Thurw wederes that he hath i-sent cold and unkinde;
      And ȝit ne haveth no man of him the more minde
                                          ariht;
      Unnethe is any man aferd of Godes muchele miht.

      God hath ben wroth wid the world, and that is wel i-sene;
      For al that whilom was murthe, is turned to treie and tene.    380
      He sente us plenté i-nouh, suffre whiles we wolde,
      Off alle manere sustenaunce grouwende upon molde
                                          so thicke;
      And evere aȝeines his godnesse we weren i-liche wicke.

    GLOSSARY.--367. _gamen_, game. _ȝer and other_, a year and an
    other, _i. e._ two years.--369. _lered and lewed_, learned
    and unlearned, clergy and laity.--370. _nolde theih_, they
    would not. _stinten_, desist. _or_, before. _bishrewed_,
    accursed.--373. _shrewedom_, cursedness.--374. _for-laft_,
    dismissed.--375. _Thurw_, through. _wederes_, weathers.--380.
    _treie and tene_, vexation and sorrow.--382. _grouwende_,
    growing. _molde_, earth.--384. _i-liche wicke_, equally wicked.

      Men sholde noht sumtime finde a boy for to bere a lettre,
      That wolde eten eny mete, but it were the betre.
      For beof ne for bakoun, ne for swich stor of house,
      Unnethe wolde eny don a char, so were theih daungerouse
                                          for wlaunke;
      And siththen bicom ful reulich, that thanne weren so ranke.    390

      For tho God seih that the world was so over gart,
      He sente a derthe on eorthe, and made hit ful smart.
      A busshel of whete was at foure shillinges or more,
      And so men mihte han i-had a quarter noht ȝore
                                          i-gon;
      So can God make wane, ther rathere was won.

      And thanne gan bleiken here ble, that arst lowen so loude,
      And to waxen al hand-tame that rathere weren so proude.
      A mannes herte mihte blede for to here the crie
      Off pore men that gradden, “Allas! for hungger I die       400
                                          up rihte!”
      This auhte make men aferd of Godes muchele miht.

      And after that ilke wante com eft wele i-nouh,
      And plenté of alle gode grouwende on uch a bouh.
      Tho god ȝer was aȝein i-come, and god chep of corn,
      Tho were we also muchele shrewes as we were beforn,

    GLOSSARY.--388. _don a char_, do a turn, or task.--389.
    _wlaunke_, pride.--390. _siththen_, since. _reulich_,
    pitiful.--391. _tho_, when. _over gart_, over proud.--394-95.
    _noht ȝore i-gon_, not long ago.--397. _gan bleiken here
    ble_, their complexion turned pale. _arst lowen_, formerly
    laughed.--398. _rathere_, earlier, before.--400. _gradden_,
    said lamentingly.--403. _eft_, again.--405-6. _Tho ... tho_,
    when ... then.

                                          or more;
      Also swithe we forȝeten his wreche and his lore.

      Tho com ther another sorwe that spradde over al the lond;
      A thusent winter ther bifore com nevere non so strong.      410
      To binde alle the mene men in mourning and in care,
      The orf deiede al bidene, and maden the lond al bare,
                                          so faste,
      Com nevere wrecche into Engelond that made men more agaste.

      And tho that qualm was astin[t] of beste that bar horn,
      Tho sente God on eorthe another derthe of corn,
      That spradde over al Engelond bothe north and south,
      And made seli pore men afingred in here mouth
                                          ful sore;
      And ȝit unnethe any man dredeth God the more.              420

      And wid that laste derthe com ther another shame,
      That ouhte be god skile maken us alle tame.
      The fend kidde his maistri, and arerede a strif,
      That everi lording was bisi to sauve his owen lyf,
                                          and his god.
      God do bote theron, for his blessede blod!

      Gret nede hit were to bidde that the pes were brouht,
      For the lordinges of the lond, that swich wo han i-wrouht,

    GLOSSARY.--408. _wreche_, punishment. _lore_, teaching.--409.
    _sorwe_, sorrow.--412. _orf deiede al bidene_, cattle died
    all forthwith.--414. _wrecche_, punishment.--415. _qualm_,
    mortality. _astint_, stopped.--418. _seli_, simple. _afingred_,
    hungry.--422. _god skile_, good reason.--423. _fend_, fiend,
    devil. _kidde_, showed. _arerede_, raised.--424. _bisi_,
    busy.--426. _do bote_, make a remedy.--427. _bidde_, pray.

      That nolde spare for kin that o kosin that other;
      So the fend hem prokede uch man to mourdren other          430
                                          wid wille,
      That al Engelond i-wis was in point to spille.

      Pride prikede hem so faste, that nolde theih nevere have pes
      Ar theih hadden in this lond maked swich a res,
      That the beste blod of the lond shamliche was brouht to grounde,
      If hit betre mihte a ben, allas! the harde stounde
                                          bitid,
      That of so gentille blod i-born swich wreche was i-kid.

      Allas! that evere sholde hit bifalle that in so litel a throwe,
      Swiche men sholde swich deth thole, and ben i-leid so lowe.   440
      Off eorles ant of barouns baldest hii were;
      And nu hit is of hem bicome riht as theih nevere ne were
                                          i-born.
      God loke to the soules, that hii ne be noht lorn!

      Ac whiles thise grete lordinges thus han i-hurled to hepe,
      Thise prelatz of holi churche to longe theih han i-slepe;
      Al to late theih wakeden, and that was muchel reuthe;
      Theih weren ablent wid coveytise, and mihte noht se the treuthe
                                          for mist.              449
      Theih dradden more here lond to lese, than love of Jhesu Crist.

    GLOSSARY.--430. _prokede_, urged.--432. _spille_, to be ruined,
    spoilt.--434. _Ar_, before. _swich a res_, such a rage.--438.
    _wreche_, destruction. _i-kid_, shown.--440. _thole_, undergo,
    bear. _i-leid_, laid.--444. _lorn_, lost.--445. _i-hurled
    to hepe_, thrown on a heap.--448. _ablent_, blinded.--450.
    _dradden_, dreaded. _lese_, lose.

      For hadde the clergie harde holden to-gidere,
      And noht flecched aboute nother hider ne thidere,
      But loked where the treuthe was, and there have bileved,
      Thanne were the barnage hol, that nu is al to-dreved
                                          so wide;
      Ac certes Engelond is shent thurw falsnesse and thurw pride.

      Pride hath in his paunter kauht the heie and the lowe,
      So that unnethe can eny man God Almihti knowe.
      Pride priketh aboute, wid nithe and wid onde;
      Pes and love and charité hien hem out of londe             460
                                          so faste,
      That God wole for-don the world we muwe be sore agaste.

      Alle wite we wel it is oure gilt, the wo that we beth inne;
      But no man knoweth that hit is for his owen sinne.
      Uch man put on other the wreche of the wouh;
      But wolde uch man ranczake himself, thanne were al wel i-nouh
                                          i-wrouht.
      But nu can uch man demen other, and himselve nouht.

      And thise assisours, that comen to shire and to hundred,
      Damneth men for silver, and that nis no wonder.            470
      For whan the riche justise wol do wrong for mede,
      Thanne thinketh hem theih muwen the bet, for theih han more nede

    GLOSSARY.--451. _to-gidere_, together.--452. _flecched_,
    wavered.--453. _bileved_, remained.--454. _barnage_, baronage.
    _hol_, whole, entire. _to-dreved_, separated, driven to
    pieces.--456. _shent_, ruined. _thurw_, through.--457.
    _paunter_, pantry. _heie_, high.--459. _priketh_, rideth.
    _nithe_, strife. _onde_, envy.--460. _hien_, hie, haste.--462.
    _for-don_, destroy. _muwe_, may. _agaste_, afraid.--463.
    _wite_, know. _wo_, woe.--465. _Uch_, each. _wreche_, blame.
    _wouh_, wrong.--468. _demen_, judge.--471. _mede_, bribe.--472.
    _bet_, better.

                                          to winne.
      Ac so is al this world ablent, that no man douteth sinne.

      But bi seint Jame of Galice, that many man hath souht!
      The pilory and the cucking-stol beth i-mad for noht,
           *     *     *     *     *

    GLOSSARY.--474. _douteth_, feareth.




NOTES.


_Page_ 1, _line_ 10, _Savory of Mauleon_.--For an interesting
article on this Baron and his poems, see the eighteenth volume of
the Histoire Littéraire de France, pp. 671-682. His name is of
frequent occurrence in the English rolls and charters of the reigns
of John and Henry III.

---- _l._ 20, _laxait Bordelois_.--Alphonso VIII. King of Castille,
married Alianor, daughter of Henry II. of England, and in her right
he claimed Gascony, in opposition to King John, and invaded it. In
1206, he laid siege to Bourdeaux. See Dom. Bouquet, Collect. des
Historiens de France, tom. xviii. p. 245.

_P._ 3, _l._ 2, _lois_ is the Latin _laudes_.

---- _l._ 19, _par presen_.--It has been suggested that this may
mean _as though he were present_; but I think the translation
adopted is preferable.

_P._ 4, _l._ 6, _Lo rei Richard_.--Richard I. was in Aquitaine when
he received the wound which caused his death.

---- _l._ 17, _Lozoics ... Guillelme ... ad Aurenga_.--The
allusion, I suppose, is to the inedited romance of Guillaume
d’Orange.

_P._ 5, _l._ 20, _Cadoing_.--Perhaps _Cadomum_, or Caen, as
here translated. But there was also a place called Cadoing near
Périgueux, which had a celebrated abbey.

It may be observed, as a peculiar characteristic of the Provençal
songs of this class, that the poet generally introduces an address
to a lady, although she has nothing to do with the subject.

_P._ 6, _l._ 11. SONG ON THE BISHOPS.--Since this part of the
volume was printed, I have found among the manuscripts of the
British Museum (MS. Reg. 7 F, V, fol. 1, r^o, written in a
contemporary hand) a copy of this song, containing important
variations, which would have enabled me to give the text more
correctly. In this manuscript the lines are arranged thus in each
stanza:--

      Complange tuum, Anglia, melos suspendens organi;
      Et maxime tu, Cantia, de mora tui Stephani.
      Thomam habes sed alterum, secundum habes iterum
      Stephanum, qui trans hominem induens fortitudinem signa facit
            in populo.
      Dolos doles metropolis quos subdoli parturiunt,
      Orbata tuis incolis, dolose quos ejiciunt,
      Largos emittis gemitus, patre privata penitus.
      Sed cum habebis Stephanum, assumes tibi tympanum, chelym
            tangens sub modulo.

The following are the various readings offered by this MS.--_P._
6, _l._ 1, _tuum_.--_P._ 7, _l._ 4, _doles_.--15, _vel
legem_.--17, _quis Nathan David_.--19, _vel postibus_.--21, _jam
liberetur_.--_P._ 8, _l._ 2, _exurge_.--4, _ancilla_.--5, _jam
superductis aliam_.--7, _Portæ prævalent inferi_, with _Tartari_
written over the last word.--8, _nam ludo_.--16, _Scriptis_
omitted.--19, _Patet interpretatio | et arduis et infimis, | Nam
regni_, &c.--_P._ 9, _l._ 2, _et sacerdos_, with _et_ erased and
_nam_ written over it.--3, _concurrit ad_.--7, _sudet_.--12,
_eos_.--15, _et deicit_.--20, _debent et suum fundere_.--22,
_jactant_.--_P._ 10, _l._ 8, _in hac_.--11, _clamet_.--16,
_dum_.--17, _perit_.--20, _sedet ad_.--22, _Euvangelium_.--23,
after this line should come the following, _Ad nummos vertit
oculum_.--_P._ 11, _l._ 1, _lucro lucam_.--2, _Marcum marca_.--3,
_librum libra_.--8, _Amplectuntur_.--13, _sunt appositi | Sed
longe_.--20, _ob hoc_.--_P._ 12, _l._ 1, _In canes nostri_.--10,
_Eliensis_.--11, _datus_.--12, _Eli et ensis_.--14, _Elios_.--16,
_Et Babilonis_.--19, _Wlstani_.--_P._ 13, _l._ 1, _Wlstani_.--4,
_Effot, mitram, et anulum_.--8, _et_ is omitted.--9, _Hinc est, et
hinc a latere | Et pauper_.--13, _non causatur_.--14, _des. Cantia_.

---- _l._ 16, _tui Stephani_.--Stephen Langton, whom the Pope had
appointed to the archbishopric of Canterbury, in opposition to the
election of the monks and the King. He was archbishop from 1207 to
1229.

_P._ 7, _l._ 17, _natum_ should be _Nathan_; see the above various
readings for this as well as for some other necessary corrections,
which would have rendered the translation less difficult.

_P._ 8, _l._ 3, _Agar ... filium_.--The marginal note in Flacius
says, Joannem Graye Episcopum Nordovicensem intelligit. It is not
said whether these side-notes are given from the MS. which Flacius
used, or are of his own making.

_P._ 8, _l._ 14.--The same side-notes tell us the _scribentem
digitum_ means the Pope--Papam intelligit.

_P._ 9, _l._ 12, _Non est qui_.--The allusion, according to the
side-note, is to Pandulph the legate. This explanation is, however,
rather doubtful.

_P._ 10, _l._ 1, _præsuli Bathoniæ_.--Joceline de Welles, Bishop
of Bath and Wells from 1205 to 1242. He fled out of England with
the Bishops of London, Ely, and Worcester, who had published the
interdict.

---- _l._ 10, _Norwicensis bestia_.--John Graye, Bishop of Norwich,
who was designed by the King to the see of Canterbury. The three
Bishops who took part with the King, whom Matthew Paris calls “tres
episcopi curiales,” were those of Norwich, Winchester, and Durham.

---- _l._ 15, _Cato quondam tertius_.--I do not quite understand the
allusion. It occurs again at the end of the _Apocalypsis Goliæ_--

      De cælo cecidi ut Cato tertius,
      Nec summi venio secreti nuncius,
      Sed meus michi quod inscripsit socius,
      Hoc vobis dicere possum fidelius.

---- _l._ 19, _Wintoniensis armiger_.--Peter de Rupibus, Bishop
of Winchester, from 1204 to 1238. He was a native of Poitiers in
France, and had been a knight before his consecration. He, with
the Bishops of Durham and Norwich, supported the party of the King
against the Pope. In 1214 he was made chief-justice of England, and
he was protector of the realm during the minority of Henry III. See
_Godwin, de Præsulibus_.

_P._ 11, _l._ 1, _lucro Lucam ... Marco marcam ... libræ
librum_.--These puns are frequently repeated in the satirical
poetry of the thirteenth century. They will be found further on in
the present volume, pp. 16 and 31, as well as in some of the poems
of Walter Mapes. Giraldus Cambrensis uses a similar pun in relating
his journey to Rome, where he says he differed in one particular
from others who went there, for he offered _libros, non libras_.
_Libra_ in the song should probably be translated _a pound_, as at
p. 31, not _the scales_.

_P._ 12, _l._ 1, _Joannes ... decanus_.--For Joannes, the King’s
MS. has _canes_, which is perhaps right, as _canus_ and _canit_ in
the following line seem to be continued puns upon the word.

_P._ 12, _l._ 10, _Heliensis_.--Eustace, Bishop of Ely, from
1197 to 1214. As has been observed, he was one of the three who
published the pope’s interdict.

---- _l._ 19, _Wolstani subambule_.--Maugerius, Bishop of
Worcester, from 1200 to 1212. He was also one of those who
published the interdict, and having like the others fled to the
Continent, he died in exile at Pontiniac, in 1212. It is hardly
necessary to observe that St. Wolstan had held the see of Worcester
in the eleventh century.

_P._ 13, _l._ 6, _De Roffensi episcopo_.--Gilbert de Glanville,
Bishop of Rochester, from 1185 to 1214. Between him and his monks
there was perpetual contention, and he diminished much the goods of
his church. See Godwin.

---- _l._ 10, _pauper Sarisburiæ_.--Robert, Bishop of Salisbury,
who seems to have lived in obscurity. Godwin says he could find no
other information relating to him, except the date of his being
bishop.

---- _l._ 15, _I Romam_.--Flacius Illyricus gives here the
following side-note--“Golias ad librum, vel Gualterus Mapes.”

_P._ 14, _l._ 6-10.--This information is conveyed in two side-notes
in Flacius Illyricus, who has printed this Song imperfectly; but
whether these notes were composed by the editor, or found in the
manuscript, we are not told. There are no circumstances in the
Song itself which would lead us to fix it to this date rather than
to any other in the first half of the thirteenth century. The two
notes are at the beginning,--“Leo, Joannes Rex; aselli, episcopi
sunt;”--and at the end, “Jupiter Rex Joannes est: Pluto, Romanus
pontifex.” On reference, however, to Bale, I find that he speaks of
Mapes as calling King John sometimes a lion and sometimes Jupiter,
and as designating the Pope by the name of Pluto, and the bishops
as asses, which seems to prove that he had read these side-notes,
perhaps in the manuscript from which Flacius’s transcript was made.
It is not indeed improbable that the latter obtained it from Bale
himself, who was perhaps the author of the side-notes.

---- _l._ 11, SONG ON THE TIMES.--Flacius has printed this Song
in his _Varia Doctorum, etc. Poemata_, p. 406, with the omission
of the three first stanzas, which he had previously given as a
separate song at p. 159. The text now printed is made up from a
comparison of the manuscript with the printed text. The variations
are as follows:--_L._ 1, _utor_, Flacius.--3, _deaurati belli_,
Fl.--9, _Facies in opere_, MS.--10, _Tegunt partem an._, Fl.--_P._
15, _l._ 2, _congruit ramum in_, Fl.--3, _caput mundi_, Fl.--5,
_Trahit enim ... et sec._, Fl.--7, _singula_, Fl.--9, _Romæ sunt
v._, Fl.--11, _In hoc cons._, Fl.--17, _petunt quando petis_,
Fl.--18, _seminas, eadem tu metis_, Fl.--_P._ 16, _l._ 4, _Munus
al. pollet sing._, Fl.--6, _rot. placet, totum pl._, Fl.--7, _Et c.
ita pl. ... Romanis_, Fl.--10, _objiciat_, Fl.--12, _transeunt, ut
bursa det g._, Fl.--13, _Romam avaritiæ vitet manus p._, Fl.--16,
_At est_, MS.--_P._ 17, _l._ 1, _non sit_, Fl.--2, _Respondet,
hæc tybia non est michi tanti_, MS.--4, _pappare_, Fl.--5, _nomen
Gallicum_, Fl.--6, _Paies, paies, dist le mot_, Fl.--7-10, These
four lines are not found in the MS.--11, _Da istis, da aliis,
addas_, Fl.--_P._ 18, _l._ 1, _Burse_, Fl.--4, _Ut cum fiat
vacuus, magis imp._, Fl.--6, _habet Pl._, Fl.--In Fl. the two last
tetrastichs are transposed.

_P._ 16, _l._ 6, _crux placet_.--The face of the coin was marked
with a cross.

_P._ 20, _l._ 1, _prima rabies_.--The insurrection of the Barons.

---- _l._ 2, _altera belligeras Francorum_.--The expedition of
Prince Louis to help the Barons, who were hard pressed by John’s
foreign auxiliaries.

---- _l._ 3, _Scottorum tertia_.--_l._ 4, _Flexit quarta
Galenses_.--Both the Scots and Welsh joined actively in the war, or
rather took that occasion of invading the kingdom.

---- _l._ 6, _turres_.--The MS. has _turmas_ in the text, and “vel
turres” in the margin.

_P._ 22, _l._ 13.--The writer evidently intended a pun, or rather
a double meaning, in the word _parentis_ at the end of the line.

_P._ 23, _l._ 5, _viri_, _i. e._ Gualo the legate. The poem was
evidently written by a strong partizan of the Pope.

---- _l._ 10, _truces_.--The MS. has _traces_.

---- _l._ 15, &c.--Louis and his party were at London, which they
quitted in the November after King John’s death, in order to
march towards the North. On the 6th December they took Hertford
Castle, and that of Berkhampstead on the 20th, and proceeded to St.
Alban’s. A truce was then agreed to, which continued till after
Easter.

_P._ 24, _l._ 2, _Montique Sorello_.--When hostilities recommenced,
the Barons of the king’s party laid siege to Mount Sorrel, in
Lincolnshire, but were obliged to retreat by the approach of a part
of the army of Louis under the command of the Comte de Perche.

---- _l._ 7, _Cestrensis clipeus_.--Ranulph de Blundeville, Earl of
Chester, one of the most powerful Barons on the king’s party, who
now commanded the army which had besieged Mount Sorrel, and which
soon afterwards defeated the Comte de Perche at Lincoln.

_P._ 24, _ll._ 8, 9, 10, in the margin, opposite these three lines
respectively, the original scribe has written, “S. Notingham.
Trente. Nicole.” The _nobilis matrona_ was Nichola, widow of Gerard
de Camville, who defended Lincoln Castle against the French.

---- _l._ 11.--It may be well to point out the remarkable
alliteration in this line and the following.

---- _l._ 14, _signa_.--The MS. has _singna_, a form not uncommon
in such words.

---- _l._ 15, _ora_.--The MS. has _hora_.

_P._ 25, _l._ 2, _Sabbatum_.--Saturday, May 20, 1217. The next day
was Trinity Sunday.

_P._ 28, _l._ 11, _Sabinæ_.--Sabina was a very common term for a
modest woman in low Latin, just as Thais was for a strumpet. See
on the latter word a note in the _Early Mysteries and other Latin
Poems_, p. 131.

---- _l._ 12, _Arabes_.--Arabia, the land of gems and spices, was
believed to contain inexhaustible stores of riches.

_P._ 33, _l._ 4, _Refert ad focariam_.--_Focaria_ was the name
given to the wives or concubines of the priests and clergy, who
had been recently proscribed. It occurs again in the _Apocalypsis
Goliæ_--

      Seductam nuncii fraude præambuli,
      Capit _focariam_, ut per cubiculi
      Fortunam habeat fortunam loculi,
      Et per vehiculum omen vehiculi.

I have rendered the word, according to its derivation, by
_fire-side woman_, for it is explained in an old gloss as
_meretrix foco assidens_. See _Ducange in v._ Fuller (Church
Hist. p. 27, folio edit.) makes very needless difficulties on the
meaning of this word, apparently for the sake of introducing some
equally needless jokes. The following article in the _decreta_
of Pope Alexander, printed in the History of Henry of Huntingdon
(Scriptores post Bedam, fol. 1601), p. 589, which one would think
must have passed under his eyes, left little room for doubt;--


“_Ne clerici in sacris ordinibus constituti_ focarias _habeant._

“Clerici in sacris ordinibus constituti, qui mulierculas in domibus
suis sub incontinentiæ nota tenuerint, aut abjiciant eas et
continenter vivant, aut beneficio et officio fiant ecclesiastico
alieni.”

In the statutes of Stephen, Archbishop of Canterbury, MS. Cotton.
Julius D. II. fol. 167, r^o, we find also a chapter--


“_De_ focariis _amovendis._

“Sacerdotibus vero præcipue et spiritualiter in virtute Spiritus
Sancti et sub periculo beneficii districte præcipimus quod
continenter vivant et honeste, concubinas suas a domibus suis
procul expellant, et nullam familiaritatem cum eis de cætero
habeant, nec in propriis domibus nec in alienis, nisi volunt simul
beneficiis et officiis contra hoc agendo privari,” etc.

And again, just after, we have the following title:--


“_De pœna et satisfactione_ focariarum.

“Concubinæ sacerdotum frequenter moneantur ab archidiaconis,
et præcipue a sacerdotibus in quorum parochia morantur, vel ut
contrahant, vel ut claustrum ingrediantur, vel sicut publice
peccaverunt publicam agant pœnetentiam.”

The word _focaria_ is often used by Giraldus Cambrensis. Speaking
of a priest on the Borders of Wales, he says, “More sacerdotum
parochialium Angliæ fere cunctorum damnabili quidem et detestabili,
publicam secum habebat comitem individuam et _in foco focariam_ et
in cubiculo concubinam.” (Wharton, Anglia Sacr. vol. ii. p. 525.)
From this passage it is clear that the name _focaria_ was given to
them because they lived publicly with the priests in their houses,
and _shared their fire-sides_; and from some other circumstances
mentioned in Giraldus, it appears that they were in reality married
to the priests, though the stricter party considered the marriage
to be uncanonical.

_P._ 36, _l._ 2, _Omina_.--The MS. has _Homina_.

---- _Bernard de Rovenac_.--For all that is known of this poet, see
the _Histoire Littéraire de France_, tom. xviii. p. 667.

_P._ 48, _ll._ 7-10, _Regnat nunc impietas_, &c. These four lines
resemble very closely the first four lines of another song, in MS.
Sloane, No. 1580, fol. 160, v^o, which will be printed among the
Poems of Walter Mapes--

      Captivata largitas longe relegatur,
      Exulansque probitas misere fugatur,
      Dum virtuti veritas prave novercatur,
      Inperat cupiditas atque principatur.

_P._ 49, _l._ 8, _Wandelardus_.--Perhaps _a Vandal_.

---- _ll._ 15-18. With the little information given in the song,
it is difficult to ascertain who were the four brothers the writer
intended to satirise. This punning way of deriving and explaining
proper names was by no means uncommon during the middle ages. In
a splendid Bible in three volumes folio, written in England early
in the twelfth century, and now preserved in the Library of St.
Geneviève at Paris, the scribe gives the following very curious
account of his family. Its being previously inedited will be a
sufficient excuse for inserting it here.

“Hanc Bibliothecam scripsit Mainerus scriptor Cantuariensis. Sed
ne ab ignorantibus parentelam suam putaretur nothus, sive spurius,
placuit ei nomen proprium suum et nomen propinquorum parentum
suorum scribere et ethimo-logizare. Ipse itaque scriptor inter suos
recto nomine Mainerus nominabatur, quod nomen ei desienter datum
est; Mainerus enim interpretatus est, imitata in sua manu gnatus,
quia peritus fuit et gnarus in arte scribendi. Pater ejus Wimundus
nominabatur, quod nomen interpretatum Latine sonat _hodie mundus_;
poterat enim de eo dici cotidie quod mundus esset, quod mundus in
mundo munde vixit, ad Creatorem suum sine immunditia migravit.
Nomen matris suæ dicebatur Anglice Livena, quod Latine sonat
_lætitia_; fuit enim mulier hylaris, facie decora, moribus ornata
et pudica, et semper in largiendo bona sua pro Dei amore datrix
hilaris; sana et incolumis per .lxxx. annos et plus feliciter
vixit. Avus suus nominabatur Ulgerus, i. ulnas gerens; fuit enim
vir magnus et fortis, qui magnas habebat ulnas. Nomen aviæ suæ
dicebatur Anglice Elvera, quod interpretatur _Dei vidua_, quæ et in
bona viduitate diu vixit. Quatuor habuit fratres et unam sororem,
quorum primus vocabatur Radulphus, i. ratus et adustus, i. firmus
in adolescentia; fortis enim valde juvenis fuit. Secundus dicebatur
Robertus, quia a re nomen habuit, spoliator enim diu fuit et prædo.
Tertius nuncupabatur Giroldus, girovagus enim fuit omnibus diebus
vitæ suæ. Quartus nominabatur Johannes, quod nomen interpretatum
sonat _Dei gratia_; et iste gratiam Dei gratia Dei adeptus est;
fuit enim juvenis ætate, senex moribus, virgo castitate, vita
beatus. Soror ipsius dicebatur Dionisia, id est Deo nitens;
nitebatur enim semper bonis operibus ad Deum venire. Animæ omnium
istorum et animæ omnium fidelium defunctorum per misericordiam Dei
requiescant in pace! Amen!”

_P._ 51. SONG UPON THE TAILORS.--It is scarcely necessary to say
that the three lines which form the theme of this song, are the
commencement of Ovid’s Metamorphoses. Llewellin, Prince of Wales,
invaded the Marches in 1263.

_P._ 53, _l._ 3, _capucium_.--The name capuce was given sometimes
to a separate piece of apparel with which the head was covered, and
at others to the upper part of the tunic of the monks which covered
the head. In the present instance it must be taken in the former
sense. A full account of the different senses of the word will be
found in Ducange.

---- _l._ 6, _almucium_.--The aumuce was a separate article of
clothing which covered both head and shoulders. One of the articles
of the canons for the behaviour of the monks, given by Pope Clement
V., was, “ut almutiis de panno nigro, vel pellibus, caputiorum
loco, uterentur.”

---- _l._ 14, _Tyeis_.--The French and Anglo-Norman form of the
Latin _Teutonicus_. It is the origin of the name of several old
English families.

_P._ 57, _l._ 4, _Cernite_.--The MS. has _scernite_.

_P._ 58, _l._ 2, _Frollo_.--This personage is a famous character in
the fabulous history of Arthur, and is there said to have been King
of Paris under the Romans. When hard pressed by Arthur, who had
conquered “all France and all Germany,” he took refuge in Paris,
and was besieged there. The people in the city beginning to feel
the effects of famine, persuaded Frollo to engage Arthur in single
combat. The battle was said to have taken place in the “isle”
(insula Parisiensis), the part of the French capital included
between the two branches of the Seine, in which, at the present
day, stand Nôtre-Dame and the Palais de Justice, with its beautiful
Sainte-Chapelle. The story of Arthur and Frollo is told at length
in Geoffrey of Monmouth.

---- _ll._ 10, 11, _Arthurus_.--King Arthur, the hero of so many
romances. _Broinsius._ (?) _Constantinus._--Constantine the
Great, whose mother Helena was said to have been a British lady.
_Brennius_: the conqueror of Rome, who, according to the British
history, was a Briton.

_P._ 58, _ll._ 13, 14, _Karolum_--Charlemagne; _Ricardum_--Richard
Cœur-de-Lion: both of whom were the heroes of romances and popular
songs. The same two heroes of French and English fable are
mentioned in a curious passage of the Polychronica of Ralph Higden:
“Quemadmodum Græci suum Alexandrum, Romani suum Octavium, Angli
suum Ricardum, Franci suum Karolum, sic Britones suum Arthurum
præconiantur.” P. 225, in Gale’s Scriptores.

_P._ 59. THE SONG OF THE BARONS.--The transcript of this curious
fragment was communicated to me by Sir Frederick Madden. The
original is written in a contemporary hand on a roll twenty-two
inches long, by three broad, and was evidently intended to be
carried about by the minstrel who was to sing it. On the reverse
had been written a curious interlocutory poem in English of a later
period, entitled, “Interludium de Clerico et Puella.” It was, in
1838, in the possession of the Rev. Dr. Richard Yerburgh, Vicar of
Sleaford, in Lincolnshire.

Such rolls appear to have been in common use. A very curious vellum
roll of the fifteenth century, containing chiefly religious songs
with the music, and, among the rest, a copy of the well-known song
on the battle of Agincourt printed by Percy, has been recently
deposited in the Library of Trinity College, Cambridge. I am
informed that another, of the thirteenth century, has been lately
found among the archives of Sir John Hanmer, Bart., containing
an Anglo-Norman romance previously unknown, on the adventures of
Melors, son of Melians of Cornwall. Among the Sloane MSS. in the
British Museum (No. 809), is an early copy of the curious poem of
Walter de Biblesworth, designed for the instruction of children
in the French language, written in a similar manner on a roll of
parchment, evidently for the purpose of being more easily used in
a school.

---- _l._ 1, _de Warenne ly bon quens ... en Norfolk_.--John, Earl
of Warenne, a staunch supporter of the royal party, in whose cause
we shall soon afterwards find him fighting at Lewes.

---- _l._ 7, _Sire Jon Giffard_.--Sir John Giffard, of Brimsfield,
in Gloucestershire, a firm adherent of the Barons. When Sir
Roger de Clifford delivered Gloucester to Prince Edward, Giffard
fortified his castle of Brimsfield, and greatly annoyed the
royalist garrison of the former place. For an account of his
exploits at this time, see Robert of Gloucester’s Chronicle, pp.
538, 539. He was on the Barons’ party at the battle of Lewes, and
was taken prisoner there; but afterwards, when Simon de Montfort
was in the height of his power, Giffard deserted him. See Robert of
Gloucester, p. 550.

_P._ 60, _l._ 1, _Sire Jon Dayvile_.--Sir John Dayvile, or D’Ayvile
(Robert of Gloucester calls him in one place De Eivile) does not
appear very prominent in these troubles till after the death
of Simon de Montfort at Evesham. He then headed those of the
Barons who established themselves at Chesterford in the Peak, and
afterwards was the chief of those who held the Isle of Ely against
the King. Knighton calls him “homo callidus et bellator fortis.”
See Knighton (in Twysden), col. 2454; Chron. Thomæ Wikes (Gale),
pp. 81, 82; Robert of Gloucester, p. 564.

---- _l._ 7, _De Cliffort ly bon Roger_.--Roger de Clifford first
took part with the Barons, but early in the war deserted them, and
delivered Gloucester castle, which he held for them, to Prince
Edward. He was with the King at Northampton.

---- _l._ 13, _Sire Roger de Leyburne ... ses pertes que Sire
Edward le fist_.--Sir Roger de Leyburn was at first a partizan
of the Barons, and had been taken prisoner at Rochester Castle,
and committed to the custody of John Mareschall. It was on this
occasion, probably, that he was visited with the penalties alluded
to in the song. He was afterwards seduced by the royal party, and
made Warden of the Cinque Ports. He was with the King at the taking
of Northampton, at the defence of Rochester, where he was wounded,
and at Lewes.

_P._ 61, _l._ 16, _Ly eveske de Herefort_.--Peter de Egueblanche,
Bishop of Hereford, a staunch adherent to the King, and, by his
oppressions, exceedingly obnoxious to the Commons. In 1263, the
Barons seized and imprisoned him, and confiscated his treasures. He
was a native of Savoy.

_P._ 62, _l._ 1, _ly pastors de Norwis_.--Simon de Wanton, Bishop
of Norwich, from 1257 to 1265, chaplain to King Henry III., and one
of his justices.

---- _l._ 7, _Sire Jon de Langelé_.--According to the Annales de
Dunstaple, the estates of _G._ de Langley were plundered soon after
the arrest of the Bishop of Hereford:--“idem facientes de maneriis
G. de Langele et ejus bonis.” Vol. i. p. 354. Perhaps this was the
same person.

_P._ 62, _l._ 13, _Sire Mathi de Besile_.--We should perhaps read
_Machi_; Robert of Gloucester and Stow call him _Macy_. He was a
French knight, who had been made Sheriff of Gloucester, after the
King had sworn to the articles of Oxford. The Barons ejected him,
and put another sheriff in his place; Sir Macy came with a body
of armed men and the authority of the King, reinstated himself by
force, and drove away his rival. Sir Roger de Clifford and Sir John
Giffard came against him, besieged and took Gloucester Castle, and
imprisoned him along with the “Freinss bissop” of Hereford, whom
they seized immediately afterwards. Robert of Gloucester mentions
the confiscation of his property:--

      “And Sir Jon Giffard nom to him is quic eiȝte echon,
      And al that he fond of is, and nameliche at Sserton.”

The song here printed was evidently written just after this event,
and previous to the subsequent desertion of Clifford and others
mentioned in it.

---- _l._ 18, _treget_.--It has been suggested that this word
represents the Latin _treugellum_, a little truce.

---- _l._ 19, _mi Sire Jon de Gray_.--John de Gray held on the
King’s party, and was rewarded for his loyalty by the grant of
various high offices. The circumstance alluded to in the song is
thus told in the Annales de Dunstaple (Ed. Hearne, vol. i. p. 357);
it occurred in the disturbances in London in 1263.--“Quo perpetrato
facinore, cives Londoniarum contra ipsum et alios de consilio regis
in civitate commorantes, insurrexerunt; in tantum quod hospitium
Johannis de Grey extra Ludgate invaserunt, et equos ejus triginta
duo et alia quæcunque ibidem inventa abduxerunt: ipso Johanne cum
difficultate maxima ultra alveum de Flete fugam arripiente. Idem
fecerunt de domibus et bonis Simonis Passelewe.”

---- _l._ 21, _que must_, quod movit.

_P._ 63, _l._ 4, _Sire Willem le Latimer_.--Sir William le Latimer
was a firm adherent of the King, and held at different times
several offices of trust. He suffered considerable losses in the
Barons’ wars. He afterwards appears to have accompanied Prince
Edward to the Holy Land, and was at the siege of Carlaverock in
1300. He died in 1305, at a very advanced age. Knighton calls him
_miles strenuissimus_.

_P._ 63. SONG OF THE PEACE WITH ENGLAND.--It has been suggested
to me that the word _cul_ in this song is only a form of _col_
(collum); and I am told that among the titles of some fables in
the same manuscript there is one of the stork “au long _cul_.” In
this song, however, I am inclined to think such an interpretation
not admissible. It is a rude burlesque not only upon the event to
which it relates, but upon the English in general, and contains
much coarse humour such as is not uncommonly used at the present
day. The grammatical construction is, evidently by design, a
complete confusion of tenses, numbers, and genders. It appears to
me that not a little of the effect it was intended to produce,
depended upon the coarse play upon words involved in the use of
the expression above mentioned. When the reciter introduced King
Henry to his auditors, and they expected he was going to sigh from
his heart, instead of completing the sentence _il suspire de cœur_
(p. 65), _i. e._ ille suspirat de corde, he introduces another
word beginning with the same letter, and says _il suspire de cul_
(ille suspirat de culo). That _Trichart_ in the preceding line
was intended for a pun upon _Richard_, we may conjecture from the
rhymes in the English song on the same person’s name, p. 69. Again,
at p. 66, it would naturally be expected that he would place his
lance against his enemy’s _cœur_; the blow was to be so strong,
that if his opponent did not give way, he would himself suffer in
that part which was in communication with the saddle, and where, of
course, the resistance was concentrated. These jokes must have been
extremely diverting to the class of people for whom this song was
designed.

The Song of the Peace with England had been previously printed by
Mons. Achille Jubinal, well known for his numerous publications
of early French literature, in a very curious volume entitled
“Jongleurs et Trouvères,” 8vo. Paris, 1835. M. Jubinal also gave
a translation into modern French of this song, as well as of the
piece I am now going to mention, in the “Journal de l’Institut
Historique,” Jan. 1835, which has been reproduced in the Histoire
de Saint Louis, by the Marquis de Villeneuve-Trans, 8vo. Paris,
1839, vol. iii. p. 614. In the manuscript from which this song is
printed, it is accompanied by a piece in prose on the same event,
and of a similar character, entitled _Le Chartre de la Pais aus
Anglois_, which I venture to reprint here from M. Jubinal’s book,
as the latter is now out of print, and very scarce. It will be
observed that the same style of gross joking which is found in the
song, runs through the charter; a double meaning was evidently
intended, for example, in the words _qu’il fu fet .i. gros pes
entre, etc._, which might be taken as signifying, in this broken
French, either _grossa pax_, or _grossus peditus_.


_La Chartre de la Pais aus Anglois._

“Ce sache sil qui sont et qui ne sont mi, et qui ne doivent mi
estre, qu’il fu fet .i. gros pes entre ce rai Hari d’Ingleter, et
ce riche homme Loys à Parris, sarra forretier de ce grant forrest
à Normandi. Et quant ce rai Hari d’Ingleter voudra vauchier par
son terre, ce riche homme Loys à Parris voudra donier à ce rai
Hari meismes .ii. poronssores à mester soz son houses, por ester
plus minet; et quant ce rai Hari voudra aler de mort à vie, cestui
riche homme Loys à Parris, devra donier à d’Adouart sa fils
cesti chos meism, souz vise quitement, francement di-je, c’avant
c’arier. C’est donques à saver .i. poronssores quant il voudra
vauchier par son terre à meter soz son houses, por ester plus minet
aussinc comme à sa piere. Et por ce que je véele que ce chos fout
fiens en estable, je véele pendez ma saiele à ce cul par derrier,
avoecques la saiele à mi barons d’Ingleter. L’an de l’incarnacion
nostres sinors Jesoucriet mimes qui souffri mort à la crucefimie
por nous, m. cc. lx. i. ij. et iij., à ce jodi assolier, derrière
ce vendredi, à orre que Marri Masalaine chata ce honissement à
honissier les .v. plais Jesoucriet nostre sinors mimes, qui souffra
mort à la croucefin por nous, et Marri Mauvaise-alaine portez ce
honnissement à la Saint Supoucre; et Marri Mauvaise-alaine véez
l’angiel, et l’angiel pona: “Marri! Marri! quei quieré vous quei?”
Et Marri pona: “Je queres Jhesum qui fout à la crucefimie.” Et
l’angel pona à Marri: “Marri! Marri! aléici, aléici: il ne fout pas
çi, il fout alé cestui matin à Galerrie.”

_P._ 64, _l._ 6, _choison_; from _choir_ (cadere).

_P._ 65, _l._ 6, _gondre Glais grondier_, contra Anglos grunnire.

---- _l._ 9, _à l’art_.--Perhaps it should be _alart_, and is
derived from the Latin _alacriter_.

---- _l._ 11, _la conte à Clocestre_.--Gilbert de Clare, who
succeeded his father in the Earldoms of Hereford and Gloucester in
1262, and was a zealous partizan of the Barons, until he deserted
Simon de Montfort before the battle of Evesham.

---- _l._ 15, _la cont Vincestre_.--Roger de Quincy, Earl of
Winchester. Why his name is introduced so prominently, does not
seem clear. He died in the year following (1264), and the title
became extinct.

_P._ 67, _l._ 3, _Rogier Bigot_.--Roger Bigod, Earl of Norfolk.

_P._ 67, _l._ 18, _Saint Amont_, means, probably, St. Edmund.

_P._ 69. SONG AGAINST THE KING OF ALMAIGNE.--This song was first
printed in Percy’s Reliques of Ancient English Poetry.

---- _l._ 2, _Kyn of Alemaigne_.--It is hardly necessary to say
that this was Richard Earl of Cornwall, the King’s brother.

---- _l._ 3, _Thritti thousent pound_.--The Barons had offered him
this sum, if he would by his intermediation persuade the King to
agree to a peace with them, and at the same time accept the terms
they demanded.

---- _l._ 10, _Walingford_.--The honour of Wallingford had been
conferred on Richard in 1243.

---- _l._ 12.--Windsor was the stronghold of the royal party, and
had been garrisoned by foreigners.

---- _l._ 15, _mulne_.--“After the battle was lost, Richard, King
of the Romans, took refuge in a windmill, which he barricadoed, and
maintained for some time against the Barons, but in the evening
was obliged to surrender. See a very full account of this in the
Chronicle of Mailros.” _Percy._

_P._ 70, _l._ 8.--The Earl of Warenne escaped from the battle, and
fled into France.

---- _l._ 20, _Sire Hue de Bigot_.--Hugh Bigod escaped with the
Earl of Warenne to Pevensey, and from thence to France. He was
cousin to the Hugh Bigod who took part with the Barons, and was
slain at Lewes.

_P._ 71, _l._ 6, _lyard_.--This word (in low Latin _liardus_)
means, properly, a dapple-grey horse; but it is often used, like
several other similar words, as a common name for a horse in
general. I have interpreted it as meaning a hack; but probably the
passage implies a sneer at Edward, who had been more than once
with his army to Dover, in the hope of taking the castle from the
Barons, and the word may mean simply his horse.

_P._ 72, _l._ 13.--The battle of Lewes was fought on Thursday, (?)
May 14, 1264.

_P._ 73, _l._ 36, _in claustro_.--A great part of those of the
King’s party who quitted the field, took shelter in the abbey of
Lewes, where they were besieged by the Barons.

_P._ 74, _l._ 47, _apud Northamptoniam_.--Northampton had been
taken by the King on the third of April preceding.

_P._ 74, _l._ 55, _monasterium, quod Bellum vocatur_.--I have not
found any notice elsewhere of the contributions forced from the
abbies of Battle and Robertsbridge.

_P._ 75, _l._ 1, _monachi Cystercii de Ponte-Roberti_.--There was
an abbey of Cistertian monks at Robertsbridge, in Sussex.

---- _ll._ 73-77.--With these lines may be compared a passage in
Knighton’s Chronicle (ap. Twysden), col. 2445:--“Et sicut Simon
Machabæus surrexit pro fratre suo Juda, ut pro populo Dei et lege
paterna certaret ad mortem; sic et Simon de Monteforti pro Anglia
erexit se, ut pro legibus et libertatibus ejus usque ad mortis
perniciem dimicaret.”

_P._ 76, _l._ 94, _intumuit_.--In the MS. the scribe has written
_intimuit_ in the margin, either as a various reading, or as an
improvement of his own.

_P._ 78, _l._ 128, _bellici_.--The MS. has _vellici_.

_P._ 79, _l._ 145, _gaudii_.--The MS. has _gladii_ in the text,
with _gaudii_ written in the margin.

_P._ 81, _l._ 193, _S. divina gratia præsul Cycestrensis_.--Stephen
de Berkstead, Bishop of Chichester. He was excommunicated for his
staunch adherence to the party of Simon de Montfort.

_P._ 88, _l._ 325, _movisset_.--The MS. has _novisset_.

---- _l._ 330, _for_ proponerat, _read_ proponeret.

_P._ 89, _l._ 252, _invenire_.--The MS. has _inveniere_.

_P._ 94, _l._ 437, _Testis sit Glovernia_.--Alluding to the
delivery of Gloucester to Prince Edward, and his treatment of the
town.

_P._ 102, _l._ 609, _regis et_.--The MS. has _regisset_.

_P._ 104, _l._ 635, _Unius rex, etc._--This line appears to be very
corrupt, as are one or two others in the poem.

_P._ 114, _l._ 833, _Nec libertas proprie debet nominari, | quæ
permittit inscie stultos dominari_.--The reader will hardly fail to
call to mind the similar sentiment expressed in the line of Milton--

      “Licence they mean, when they cry liberty.”

_P._ 115, _l._ 858, _p’rat_.--The MS. has pr̄at, the meaning of
which is by no means clear.

_P._ 116, _l._ 875, _Veritas, lux, caritas, calor, urit
zelus_.--Perhaps the commas should be omitted after _veritas_ and
_caritas_, and the whole be translated, “Truth is light, charity is
warmth, zeal burns.”

_P._ 117, _Regis esse noveris nomen relativum_.--It would be by
no means uninteresting to collect the expressions of the popular
doctrine concerning the kingly character held by our forefathers
at different periods. Perhaps it may not be considered altogether
foreign to the subject to point out here a few of them.

I.--In a MS. of the tenth century (MS. Cotton. Nero, A. I., fol.
71, r^o.) we have, among some other things of a similar kind,
the following sketch of the opinion of the Anglo-Saxons on this
subject, said to be from the pen of Alfric:--

Cristenum cyninge ge-byreð on cristenre þeode, þæt he sy eal swa
hit riht is folces frofer, ⁊ rihtwis hyrde ofer cristene heorde,
⁊ hym ge-byreð þæt he eallum mægene cristendom rære, ⁊ Godes
cyrcan æghwar georne fyrðrie ⁊ friðrie, ⁊ eal cristen folc sibbie
⁊ sehte mid rihtre lage, swa he geornost mæge, ⁊ þurh ælc þing
riht-wisnesse lufie, for Gode ⁊ for worolde. For þam þurh þæt he
sceal sylf fyrmest ge-þeon, ⁊ his þeodscype eac swa, þe he riht
lufige, for Gode ⁊ for worolde. ⁊ him ge-byreð þæt he geornlice
fylste þam þe riht willan, ⁊ á hetelicest yre þam þe þryres wyllan.

He sceal mán dæde men þreagean þearle, mid woroldlicre steore; ⁊
he sceal ryperas ⁊ reaferas ⁊ worold-struderas hatian ⁊ hynan;
⁊ eallum Godes feondum styrnlice wiðstandan; ⁊ ægðer he sceal
beon mid rihte ge milde ge reðe, milde þam godum, ⁊ styrne þam
yfelum. Ðæt bið cyninges riht, ⁊ cynelic ge-wuna, ⁊ þæt sceal on
þeode swyþost ge-fremian. La! þurh hwæt sceal Godes þeowum ⁊ Godes
þearfum frið ⁊ fultum cuman, butan þurh Crist ⁊ þurh cristenne
cyning? Ðurh cyninges wisdom folc wyrð ge-sælig, ge-sundful, ⁊
sigefæst, ⁊ þy sceal wis cyning Cristendom ⁊ cynedom miclian ⁊
mærsian, ⁊ á he sceal hæþendom hindrian ⁊ hyrwan.

He sceal boc-larum hlystan swyþe georne, ⁊ Godes beboda geornlice
healdan, ⁊ ge-lome wið witan wisdom smeagan, gyf he gode wile
rihtlice hyran. ⁊ gif hwa to þam stræt sy ahwar on þeode, þæt riht
nelle healdan swa swa he scolde, ac Godes lage wyrde, oððe folc
lage myrre, þonne cyþe hit man þam cynge, gif man þæt nyde scyle,
⁊ he þonne sona ræde ymbe þa bote ⁊ ge-wylde hine georne, to þam
þe his þearf sy huru unþances, gif he elles ne mæge. ⁊ do swa him
þearf is, clænsige his þeode, for Gode ⁊ for worolde, gif he Godes
miltse ge-earnian wylle.

      It behoves a Christian King in a Christian people, that he
      be all as it is right the people’s protector, and a just
      shepherd over the Christian flock, and it behoves him that he
      with all his might raise Christendom, and advance and protect
      God’s church everywhere diligently, and pacify and reconcile
      with just law all Christian people, as he most earnestly
      may, and love justice in every thing, before God and before
      the world. Because by that he shall profit himself in the
      first place, and also his people, whom let him love rightly,
      before God and before the world. And it behoveth him that he
      diligently help those who wish for justice, and ever most
      hatefully persecute those who wish for wrong. He shall punish
      men severely for evil deeds, with secular punishment; and he
      shall hate and put down thieves and robbers and oppressors of
      the world; and sternly resist all God’s enemies; and he shall
      be with justice both mild and severe, mild to the good and
      stern to the bad. This is the king’s right, and the manner of
      a king, and this shall be most efficient in the people. Lo!
      through what shall peace and help come to God’s servants and
      to God’s poor, except through Christ and through a Christian
      king? Through the king’s wisdom the people shall be happy,
      prosperous, and victorious, and on that account shall a
      wise king enlarge and increase Christianity and royalty,
      and ever he shall hinder and persecute heathendom. He shall
      listen very diligently to scholars, and diligently hold God’s
      commandments, and frequently search wisdom from his witans,
      if he will rightly hear what is good. And if any one openly
      be any where in the people, that will not hold justice as
      he should, but infringes God’s law, or obstructs the law of
      the people, then let people declare it to the king, if they
      would extinguish that violence, and there let them soon take
      counsel for the amends, and subdue him diligently, until that
      he be reduced at last by force, if he may not otherwise.
      And let him do as it is needful for him, purify his people,
      before God and before the world, if he will earn God’s mercy.

And again, a little further on (fol. 72, r^o.)--

  Ælc riht cynestol stent on þrim stapelum, þe fullice ariht
  stænt. An is _Oratores_, ⁊ oðer is _Laboratores_, ⁊ þridde
  is _Bellatores_. _Oratores_ syndon gebedmen, þe Gode scylan
  þeowian, ⁊ dæges ⁊ nihtes for ealne þeodscype þingigan georne.
  _Laboratores_ syndon weorc-men, þe tilian scylan þæs þe eal
  þeodscype big sceal libban. _Bellatores_ syndon wig-men, þe eard
  scylon werian, wiglice mid wæpnum. On þyssum þrim stapelum sceal
  ælc cynestol standan mid rihte on Cristenre þeode. ⁊ awacie heora
  ænig, sona se stol scylfð; ⁊ ful berste heora ænig, þonne hryst
  se stol nyþer, ⁊ þæt wyrð þære þeode eal to un-þearfe.

  Ac staþelige man ⁊ strangige and trymme hy georne, mid wislicre
  Godes lage ⁊ mid rihtlicre worold lage, þæt wyrð þam ðeodscype
  to langsuman ræde. ⁊ soð is þæt ic secge, awacie se Cristendom,
  sona scylfð se cynedom; ⁊ arære man un-laga ahwar on lande
  oððon únsida lufige ahwar to swyþe, þæt cymð þære þeode eal to
  un-þearfe. Ac do man swa hit þearf is, alecge man un-riht, ⁊ rære
  up Godes riht, þæt mæg to þearfe for Gode ⁊ for worolde. _Amen._

      Every just throne stands on three props, that stands
      perfectly right. One is _Oratores_, and the other is
      _Laboratores_, and the third is _Bellatores_. The _Oratores_
      are the men of prayer, who shall serve God, and by day and
      night intercede for the whole nation. The _Laboratores_ are
      the workmen, who shall labour in order that all the nation
      shall live thereby. The _Bellatores_ are the men of war (_i.
      e._ knights), who shall defend the land, valiantly with
      weapons. On these three props shall every throne stand with
      justice among Christian people. And if any of them become
      weakened, soon the throne wavers; and if any one of them
      fail entirely, then the throne falls down, and that will
      be the entire ruin of the people. But let man establish
      and strengthen and confirm them diligently, with the wise
      law of God and just law of the world, that will be to the
      nation for a lasting counsel. And it is true what I say, if
      Christendom be weakened, soon royalty wavers; and if people
      raise lawlessness everywhere in the land, or love everywhere
      wickedness too much, that brings the people entirely to ruin.
      But let people do as it is needful, let people put down
      injustice, and raise up God’s justice, that may bring it to
      prosperity before God and before the world. _Amen._

II. In the curious poem of the proverbs of Alfred, composed perhaps
in the twelfth century, and which is here quoted from a MS. of the
earlier part of the thirteenth century (MS. Trin. Coll. Cambridge,
B. 14, 39) is the following account of the duties of King and
People.

    ¶ þus quad Alfred,
      Englene frovere:
      May no riche king
      ben onder Crist selves,
      bote þif he be booc-lerid,
      ⁊ he writes wel kenne,
      ⁊ bote he cunne letteris,
      lokin himselven
      wu he sule his lond
      laweliche holden.

    ¶ þus quad Helfred:
      þe herl ⁊ þe heþeling
      þo ben under þe King,
      þe lond to leden
      mid lauelich i-dedin,
      boþe þe clerc ⁊ þe cnit
      demen evenliche rict.
      For after þat mon souit,
      als inpich sal he mouin,
      ⁊ everiches monnes dom
      to his oge dure cherricd.

    ¶ þus quad Alfred:
      þe cnith biovit
      kerliche to cnouen
      for to weriin þe lond
      of here ⁊ of here-gong,
      þat þe riche habbe gryt,
      ⁊ þe cherril be in frit,
      his sedis to souin,
      his medis to mowen,
      his plouis to drivin,
      to ure alre bi-lif.
      þis is þe cnichs lage,
      loke þat hit wel fare.

      Thus saith Alfred,
      the protector of the English:
      There may no just king
      be under Christ himself,
      unless he be book-learned,
      and he know well writings,
      and unless he know letters,
      to look himself
      how he shall his land
      hold with good laws.

      Thus saith Alfred:
      The Earl and the Atheling
      they are under the King,
      the land to lead
      by example of lawful deeds,
      both the clerk and the knight
      to judge impartially right.
      For according as a man sows,
      so shall he mow,
      and every man’s judgment
      falls at his own door.

      Thus saith Alfred:
      It behoves the knight
      carefully to know
      how to defend the land
      from army and from invasion,
      that the rich may have peace,
      and the churl be in tranquillity,
      his seeds to sow,
      his meadows to mow,
      to drive his ploughs,
      for the sustenance of us all.
      This is the knights’ law,
      see that it goes well.

III. In the middle of the thirteenth century, at the period of the
Barons’ wars, we have the passage to which this forms a note.

IV. In the reign of Edward III. the writer of Piers Ploughman
gives us the following description of the relative duties of the
different orders of society.

      Thanne kam ther a kyng,
      knyȝthod hym ladde,
      miȝt of the communes
      made hym to regne.
      And thanne cam kynde wit,
      and clerkes he made,
      for to counseillen the kyng,
      and the commune save.
      The kyng and knyȝthod,
      and clergie bothe,
      casten that the commune
      sholde hemself fynde.
      The commune contreved
      of kynde wit craftes,
      and for profit of al the peple
      plowmen ordeyned,
      to tilie and to travaille,
      as trewe lif asketh.
      The kyng and the commune,
      and kynde wit the thridde,
      shopen lawe and leauté,
      ech man to knowe his owene.

      Then came there a king,
      knighthood led him,
      the power of the commons
      made him to reign.
      And then came natural sense,
      and he made clerks,
      in order to counsel the king,
      and to be a safeguard to the commons,
      The king and knighthood,
      and clergy along with them,
      determined that the commons
      should find themselves.
      The commons contrived
      arts by means of natural sense,
      and for the profit of the people
      ordained ploughmen,
      to till and to labour,
      as true life requires.
      The king and the commons,
      and natural sense the third,
      created law and loyalty,
      each man to know his own.

V. We may compare all these with the Alliterative Poem on the
Deposition of Richard the Second, p. 23, to which, as it is one
of the Publications of the Camden Society, I need do no more than
refer.

_P._ 120, _l._ 947.--This line cannot be construed as it stands,
and is evidently corrupt.

_P._ 121. _William de Rishanger_ was a monk of St. Alban’s, and
is said to have been the King’s historiographer (historiographus
regius) after Matthew Paris’s death. He died in 1312. He tells
us that this song was written before, and not after, the battle
of Lewes; and that it was the defection of some of the Barons
mentioned in the song at p. 59, which gave rise to it. It is,
therefore, probably placed wrongly after the battle of Lewes.

_P._ 122, _l._ 19, _O Comes Gloverniæ_.--This was Gilbert de
Clare, who was extremely active in the cause of the Barons, and
distinguished himself at the battle of Lewes.

_P._ 123, _l._ 3.--The second line of this tetrastich seems to be
lost.

---- _l._ 10, _Comes le Bygot_.--This was Roger Bigod, Earl of
Norfolk, whom the Barons made Governor of Orford in Suffolk, after
the battle of Lewes.

_P._ 124, _l._ 3, _nobis_.--A mere error of the press for _vobis_.

_P._ 125. THE LAMENT OF SIMON DE MONTFORT.--This song was printed
privately, with some other Anglo-Norman poems from the same MS.,
by Sir Francis Palgrave, in 1818, in a collection which is now
extremely rare. It was also inserted in the second edition of
Ritson’s Ancient Songs (1829), where it is accompanied with a
translation in English verse by George Ellis.

---- _l._ 8, _Tot à cheval_.--The Barons were surprised at Evesham
before they were joined by their foot soldiers, and when therefore
they were unprepared for this decisive conflict.

_P._ 126, _l._ 4, _Sire Hue le fer, ly Despencer, tresnoble
justice_.--Hugh Despencer, appointed justiciary of England by the
Barons. He fell at Evesham.

---- _l._ 6, _Sire Henri ... fitz le cuens de Leycestre_.--The
eldest son of Simon de Montfort; he fell in the battle.

---- _l._ 7, _par le cuens de Gloucestre_.--After the battle
of Lewes, the Earl of Gloucester, becoming jealous of Simon de
Montfort’s popularity, deserted to the King, and fought against his
former associates at Evesham.

---- _l._ 14, _une heyre_.--I suppose this refers to Guy de
Montfort, Simon’s second son, who was taken prisoner at Evesham,
but afterwards escaped and fled to the Continent.

_P._ 126, _l._ 15, _les faus ribaus_.--As this word, _ribaldus_,
_ribaus_, _ribaud_, occurs frequently in our Songs, both in Latin,
Anglo-Norman, and English, it may be worth while to say something
about it.

It is one of those curious words of which the origin and primary
signification are very doubtful. It was certainly applied to a
particular class of people, and a class which seems to have been
dependant on the household of the great. Giraldus Cambrensis, when
telling his various troubles and persecutions (Wharton, Anglia
Sacra, vol. iii. p. 575), speaks thus of the witnesses brought
against him by his enemies:--“Archidiaconus (_i. e._ Giraldus
himself) autem statim, productis testibus illis coram auditoribus
ad jurandum, proposuit in singulorum personas se dicturum; in
canonicos Menevenses tanquam perjuros et excommunicatos, in
monachos tanquam trutannos et domorum suarum desertores, in
_ribaldos_ tanquam vilissimos et, sicut cæteri cuncti, mercede
conductos.” And again, on the next page, “Et testium multitudinem
de garcionibus et _ribaldis_ partis adversæ, qui omnes jurare
parati fuerant et testificare ... trutannus ille vilissimus id
totum faciebat; qui et _ribaldos suos_ cunctos ad hoc probandum
simul cum ipso mittebat.... Videns igitur archidiaconus _ribaldos
illos_ ad nutum _dominorum suorum_ quidlibet probare paratos....
Sciens itaque si _probatio ribaldica_ procederet ... _ribaldica
multitudo_, etc.” They seem to have been the lowest class of
retainers, perhaps men without any certain appointment, who had
no other mode of living than following the courts of the Barons,
and who were employed on all kinds of disgraceful and wicked
actions. One authority quoted by Ducange couples “parasitos
atque _ribaldos_.” A story quoted from a MS. at Berne, by Sinner
(Catalogus, tom. i. p. 272), shows us that a _goliard_ belonged to
the class of _ribalds_: now a _goliard_ seems to have been only
another name for a _jongleur_ (joculator), or one who attended the
tables of the rich to amuse the guests by jokes, buffoonery, and
mountebank tricks. An ecclesiastical statute quoted in Ducange
(v. Goliardus) says, “item præcipimus quod clerici non sint
_joculatores_, _goliardi_, seu _bufones_;” and another commands,
“quod clerici _ribaldi_, maxime vero qui dicuntur _de familia
goliæ_, per episcopos ... tondere præcipiantur.” Matthew Paris,
sub an. 1229, says, “quidam famuli, vel mancipia, vel illi quos
solemus _goliardenses_ appellare, versus ridiculos componebant.”
In this last passage we find them classed with the famuli, or
household retainers. This class appears, at least in France, to
have enjoyed certain popular rights or privileges. In a very
curious charter of the year 1380, printed in Ducange, we find one
Antony de Sagiac “se _gerens pro ribaldo_, et se dicens de ordine
seu de statu goliardorum, seu buffonum,” claiming a fine of five
pence upon incontinent women, and accused of trying to extract
money from a woman, whom he accused wrongfully, on this account,
“de talique et alio vili questu, quem sub umbra _ribaldiæ_,
_goliardiæ_, seu _buffoniæ_ ejusmodi ... vivebat.” In the household
of the King of France there was a _rex ribaldorum_, whose office
was to judge disputes, &c. which might occur among the retainers of
his class, and who had also a jurisdiction over the public stews.
As the lives of this class of men were set at a small value by
their masters, they were commonly exposed to the first brunt of
battle in the wars, and the name is sometimes given to the body
which is now called the _forlorn hope_ in the attack of a town. The
_ribaldi_ who accompanied the army were also employed in plundering
and destroying the country. As they were people of vile life and
condition, the term _ribald_ came gradually into use as a common
appellation for a low and infamous person, and was used, as in the
present instance, as an epithet of contempt and degradation.

_P._ 128, _l._ 1, _pepulere_.--The MS. has _pepulare_.

_P._ 130, _l._ 8, _Plebs devicta fremit_.--Alluding to the rising
at Chesterfield, the occupation of the Isles of Axholme and Ely,
and other insurrections.

---- _l._ 11, _Urbs Londoniensis_.--The Earl of Gloucester,
dissatisfied with the King’s proceedings after the battle of
Evesham, had taken up arms and established himself at London, the
citizens of which joined his party readily, as they were themselves
enraged against the King for having deprived them of their charter.

_P._ 131, _l._ 2, _Francorum regis germanus rex Siculorum_.--Prince
Edward left England in July, 1270, to join the King of France,
Saint Louis, in his expedition to the Holy Land. Louis was
persuaded by his brother, Charles, then King of Sicily, to turn
aside, in order to make war on the Bey of Tunis, from whom he
claimed a tribute. Louis died at Carthage of a disease produced by
the climate; and when Prince Edward and his English army arrived,
they found their ally dead, and the King of Sicily, who had made
advantageous terms with the Bey, ready to return home. Charles, who
hastened to take possession of the throne of France, refused to
proceed in the crusade, and Edward, who was obliged to go alone,
went over to Sicily, and wintered at Trapani. Here, on the night
of December 23, the day after their arrival, occurred the terrible
storm alluded to in the Poem. Early in the spring, Edward, with his
small army, proceeded on their voyage, and landed at Acre.

_P._ 132, _l._ 5, _Accon respirat_.--Acre was besieged by Bondocar,
Sultan of Babylon, who was preparing to take the place by assault,
at the moment when Edward arrived to raise the siege.

---- _l._ 9, _Assessinus Veteris de Monte_.--On the Old Man of the
Mountain, and the Assassins, or Assessins, much information will
be found in a popular form, in the Marquis of Villeneuve-Trans,
Histoire de St. Louis.

---- _l._ 16.--This seems to be a new testimony against the truth
of the story which makes Edward’s Queen suck the poison from his
wound. A song made on the occasion would hardly have failed to
mention such a circumstance, if it had been known.

---- _l._ 17, _Thomam de Wyta_.--This writer’s name is not found in
Tanner.

_P._ 135, _l._ 13, _comencent_.--Probably an error of the scribe
for _comencement_.

_P._ 136, _l._ 4, _vironum_.--The MS. has _virronum_. _Viro_ is
given by Ducange as synonymous with _baro_, and is supposed to be
derived from _vir_.

_P._ 137, _ll._ 15, 16, _sonme ... prodhonme_.--In old manuscripts
it is quite impossible to say whether the scribe meant _n_ or _u_,
unless we know otherwise which it ought to be, and the _n_ in words
of the form of those just quoted may perhaps be intended for _u_.
But I am rather inclined to think such was not the case.

_P._ 138, _l._ 34, _Sympringham_.--The order of Sempringham,
commonly called Gilbertine canons, was founded by Sir Gilbert de
Sempringham, in the first half of the twelfth century. One of its
peculiarities was the establishment of monks and nuns in the same
house, though their different habitations were carefully separated,
and all intercourse between them strictly forbidden.

Nigellus Wireker speaks of this as a newly established order,
and satirizes the near collocation of nuns and monks in a spirit
similar to that of our song:--

      Canonici missas tantum, reliquumque sorores
          Explent; officii debita jura sui.
      Corpora, non voces, murus disjungit, in unum
          Psallant directe psalmitis absque metro.

And again, in describing his own order, he says, archly,--

      Quid de Semplingama? quantum? vel qualia sumam?
          Nescio, nam nova res me dubitare facit.
      Hoc tamen ad præsens nulla ratione remittam,
          Namque necem nimis fratribus esse reor;
      Quod nunquam nisi clam, nullaque sciente sororum,
          Cum quocunque suo fratre manere licet.

_P._ 139, _l._ 61, _De Beverleye_.--The monks of Beverley were
Franciscans.

_P._ 140, _l._ 71, _De Hospitlers_.--The order of Knights
Hospitalers, founded during the first crusades, was introduced
into England about the year 1100. They were laymen, and, from an
humble beginning, they became exceedingly rich and proud. In the
Patent Rolls (45 Edw. III.) we find that the King “constituit
Ricardum de Everton visitatorem Hospitalis S. Joannis Jerusalem in
Anglia ad reprimendam religiosorum insolentiam, et ad observandam
religiosorum honestatem.” See Ellis’s Dugdale, vol. vi. p. 786.

---- _l._ 79, _De Chanoynes_.--The regular canons were a less
strict order than the other monks in general, and followed the rule
of St. Augustine. One of the rules of their order was expressed
simply thus--“Carnem vestram domate jejuniis et abstinentia escæ
quantum valetudo permittit.” They appear to have been particularly
enjoined frequent abstinence from flesh. However, at the time when
this song was written, they seem not to have observed their rule
in this respect very strictly. Rutebeuf says of them (Jubinal’s
Rutebeuf, vol. i. p. 239)--

      En l’ordre des canoines qu’on dist Saint-Augustin,
      Ils vivent à plenté, sans noise et sans hustin.
      Je lo que leur soviègne au soir et au matin
      Que la chars bien nourie porte à l’âme venin.

_P._ 141, _l._ 95, _de Moyne Neirs_.--The Black Monks were the
Benedictines.

_P._ 142, _l._ 115, _Des Chanoygnes Seculers_.--The luxury of the
secular canons is often alluded to by the early satirists. Nigellus
Wireker says of them--

      Illud præcipue tamen instituere, tenendum
          Omnibus in tota posteritate sua,
      Lex vetus ut suasit, ne quilibet absque sua sit,
          Et quod quisque suas possit habere duas.
      Hi sunt qui mundum cum flore cadente tenentes,
          Ne sic marcescat, sæpe rigare student.
      Hi sunt qui faciunt quidquid petulantia carnis
          Imperat, ut vitiis sit via prona suis.

Rutebeuf (ed. Jubinal, vol. i. p. 239) says that there were many of
them--

                ----qui ont grant signorie,
      Qui poi font por amis et assés por amie.

_P._ 143, _l._ 133, _Gris Moignes_.--Perhaps the Cistercians.
In a poem on the Grey Monks, _De Grisis Monachis_ (MS. Cotton.
Vespas. A. XIX. fol. 56, r^o), which will be found among the works
of Walter Mapes, they are ridiculed for the same arrangement of
clothing,--

      Carent femoralibus partes turpiores,
      Veneris ut usibus sint paratiores,
      Castitatis legibus absolutiores;
      In cunctis hominibus nulli sunt pejores.

The _Albi Monachi_ are similarly satirized by Nigellus Wireker for
going without breeches. The Friars de Sacco wore no breeches under
their robes.

_P._ 144, _l._ 154, _l’Ordre de Cilence_.--Perhaps the Carthusian
monks, a branch of the Benedictines, whose order, which was
peculiarly strict, was introduced into England by Henry II. They
were enjoined to live in separate cells, and to keep very strict
silence, and have little communication with each other.

---- _l._ 169, _Les Frere Menours_.--The Friars Minors were better
known as Franciscans, and in France as the Cordeliers. Their order
enjoined, above all things, poverty and humility. They were not to
ride when travelling, unless some manifest necessity or infirmity
obliged them. See Dugdale, vi. 1505.

_P._ 145, _l._ 188.--The MS. has _en autre_, which seems to be a
mere error for _ne autre_.

_P._ 146, _l._ 194, _des Prechours_.--The preaching friars were the
Dominicans, called, in France, Jacobins. This order was introduced
into England in 1221. Rutebeuf says that instead of adhering to
their primitive humility and poverty, the Jacobins became the
richest and most overbearing of all the orders. Jubinal, vol. i.
pp. 152, 175-179.

_P._ 148, _l._ 240, _devyns_ seems to be a mere variation of
_devys_, thus spelt in order to accommodate the rhyme.

_P._ 149. SONG OF THE HUSBANDMAN.--This Song is in many parts
extremely difficult to translate, from the numerous words in it
which do not occur elsewhere, as well as from the abruptness of the
phraseology. The same may be said of one or two other songs printed
from the same manuscript.

_P._ 154, _l._ 14, _halymotes_.--This word means literally _holy
meetings_. It is translated _sabbath_, in the supposition that
there is some allusion to the popular notion of the festive
meetings of the devils and the witches.

_P._ 160. SONG ON THE SCOTTISH WARS.--The copy of this Song
preserved among the manuscripts of Clare Hall was first pointed out
by Mr. Hunter, in the Appendix to the last Report of the Record
Commission. I have obtained a copy of part of it by the kindness
of Mr. Halliwell, who was unable from different circumstances
to continue his transcript beyond the 72nd line. The Oxford MS.
I only know through Mr. Halliwell’s description of it: to judge
by the articles contained in this MS., I should be inclined to
think they were mostly copied from the Cottonian MS. Titus A. XX.
In the Cottonian MS., Claudius D. VI. this poem bears the title
“Commendatio Gentis Anglorum et processus guerræ inter Anglos et
Scotos.” In the Clare Hall MS. the Song is attributed to the “Prior
de Blithe.” The Prior of Blythe, in Nottinghamshire, at this time,
was William Burdon. See Ellis’s Dugdale, iv. 621. The MS. in the
Sloane Library seems to be a transcript from a monastic register,
perhaps of Alnwick, in Northumberland, for the reference in the
margin is, “Regist. Prem. fol. 59, a.” It is there attributed
to the Prior of Alnwick. The original title seems to have been
“Rithmus bonus de bello Scotiæ ad Dunbarre;” which the transcriber
had first copied, and then, after erasing it, substituted the
following, “Prioris Alnwicensis de Bello Scotico apud Dunbarr,
tempore regis Edwardi I., dictamen sive rithmus Latinus; quo de
Willielmo Wallace, Scotico illo Robin Whood, plura, sed invidiose,
canit.” Ritson, in his preface to Robin Hood, was misled by this
latter title, and cites it as a proof that this hero was popular in
the thirteenth century. In MS. Cotton. Titus A. XX. a hand of the
sixteenth century ascribes this poem to Robert Baston.

It will already have been observed by the reader, that, in verse
of this kind, the fourth line of each tetrastich is an hexameter
(sometimes a pentameter), taken from some poet then popular,
and often from a classic writer. In the MS. from which the
Sloane transcript was made, the authorities for the hexameters,
in the present Song, were indicated in the margin. They are
as follows:--_ll._ 4, _Morus_.--8, _Cato_.--†8, _Cato_.--†12,
_Poetria_.--†16, _Oracius_.--12, _Cato_.--16, _Doctrinale_.--20,
_Doctrinale_.--24, _De proprio_.--28, _Doctrinale_.--32,
_Cartul._--36, _Urbanus_.--40, _Doctrinale_.--44, _Morus_.--48,
_Theodorus_.--52, _De proprio_.--56, _Vulgat._--60, _Pu_....--64,
_Vulgat._--68, _Buliardus_.--72, _Oracius_.--76, _Oracius_.--80,
_Oracius_.--84, _Cato_.--88, _Ovidius_.--92, _Doctrinale_.--96,
_Cato_.--100, _Cato_.--104, _Ovidius_.--108, _Cato_.--112,
_Cato_.--116, _Cato_. (?)--120, _Cato_.--124, _Cato_.--128,
_Cato_.--132, _Doctrinale_.--136, _Cato_.--140, _Cato_.--144,
_Poeta_.--148, _Poeta_.--152, _Orasius_.--156, _Virgilius_.--160,
_Statius_.--†164, _Oratius_.--†168, _Teodorus_.--164,
_Omerus_.--168, _Ovid. Omer._--172, _Cartul._--176, _Veritas
evangelica_.--180, _De proprio_.--184, _Ovidius_.--188,
_Vulgat._--192, _Doctrinale_.--196, _Vulgat._--200,
_Doctrinale_.--204, _Idem_.--208, _Oracius_.--212, _De Vulg._--216,
_Doctrinale_.--220, _Amianus_.

In the above list of names, _Poetria_ refers to the celebrated
work of Galfridus de Vinesauf. _Poeta_ seems to be a mere error
of the scribe for _Poetria_. _Doctrinale_ is here only another
name for the _Parabolæ_ of Alanus de Insulis. _Cato_ refers to the
well-known _Disticha_. _De proprio_ means that the verse is of the
author’s own making.

_P._ 164, _l._ 44, _Joannis_, John Baliol.--In the Cottonian MS.
Claudius D. VI. the following lines are here inserted, which
evidently do not belong to the poem:

               “_Exprobratio Scotorum._
      Caude causantur, regnarunt, apocapantur;
      Privantur caude, fas fandi, Scotia, plaude.
                _Responsio Anglorum._
      Scotia scotabit strebæ, Scotus vix latitabit;
      Anglia, jam pange, fas fandi, Scotia, plange.”

_P._ 168, _l._ 102, _Johannem Warenniæ_.--This was the same John de
Warenne, Earl of Surrey, who, staunch to the party of Henry III.,
had escaped from the battle of Lewes. He commanded the English army
at the battle of Dunbar, was afterwards made Governor or Guardian
of Scotland, and was again at the head of the English forces when
they were defeated at Stirling.

_P._ 169, _l._ 1, _Quod Trentam non transient_.--The King had
carried with him to London the Scottish knights whom he most
suspected, and, before he went to Flanders, he exacted from them
solemn oaths that during his absence they would not repass the
Trent without his permission.

_P._ 170, _l._ 138, _ad Strivelyne_.--The battle of Stirling was
fought on Thursday the 11th of September, 1297.

_P._ 171, _l._ 141, _comes dux Anglorum_.--The Earl of Surrey
(Warenne).

---- _l._ 147, _Levenax et Ricardus Lundi_.--For an account of
this reverse, and the part which the Earl of Levenax (Lennox) and
Richard Lundi acted, see Knighton, in Twisden, coll. 2516, et seq.

_P._ 172, _l._ 163.--This line is evidently corrupt; but, as it is
only found in one MS., I have no means of correcting it.

_P._ 173, _l._ 163, _Cremare Northumbriam_.--The invasion of
Northumberland and the burning of Hexham and Corbridge are told by
Matthew of Westminster, p. 427. See also Peter Langtoft, in the
present volume, p. 287; and Knighton, coll. 2520, et seq. None of
them mention the damages done at Alnwick.

---- _l._ 167, _Vesey, Morley, Somervile, Bertram_.--The poet
seems to refer to members of those families who had distinguished
themselves in opposing the inroads of the Scots at different
periods, but who were dead at the time of this invasion.

_P._ 174, _l._ 186, _Willelmo datum est militare pignus_.--On his
return from the expedition into England, Wallace was solemnly
installed Guardian of Scotland.

_P._ 176, _l._ 205, _die Magdalenæ_.--The battle of Falkirk, so
fatal to the Scots, was fought on St. Mary Magdalen’s day, the 22nd
of July, 1298.

---- _l._ 211, _trutannus_.--This word is the origin of the
modern word _truant_. Its primary meaning has not been accurately
ascertained, but it seems to have been most generally used for
a person who wandered about, and gained his living by false
pretences, or passed himself under a different character to that
which really belonged to him. It is applied sometimes to abbots or
priors who lived abroad and neglected their monasteries, or to
monks who had quitted their houses, as in the passage of Giraldus,
quoted at p. 369.

_P._ 178, _l._ 234, _Margaretam reginam_.--Edward married, in
second nuptials, Margaret, sister of the King of France.

---- _l._ 243, _Comyn, Karryk, Umfraville_.--Three of the most
active leaders of the Scots in their opposition to Edward. The Earl
of Karrik was Robert Bruce. Gilbert de Umfraville, Earl of Angus,
had been one of Edward’s Commissioners for manning and fortifying
the castles in Scotland.

_P._ 183, _l._ 11, _collectio lanarum_.--The oppressive duty upon
wool, which was the staple of English commerce at that period, was
severely felt and complained of. In 1296, the King seized all the
wool in the merchants’ warehouses, and sold it for his own profit,
paying for it, as usual, with tallies, and promises to repay
them to the full. “Ministri regis omnes saccos lanæ, quinarium
numerum excedentes, datis talliis, acceperunt ad opus regis, et ab
unoquoque sacco, numerum quinarium non excedente, ab ipsis eorum
dominis, nomine _malæ totæ_, xl. solidos extorserunt.” Hemingford,
p. 110.

_P._ 186, _l._ 11, _de fust manger_ (de fusto manducare).--In low
Latin, _fustum_ was a generic name for everything made of wood.
It need hardly be said that it means here the plates and other
utensils of the table, which among the lower classes were generally
of this material. It would be more reasonable, says the writer of
the song, if the court would eat out of wooden vessels, and pay for
their provisions with silver, than to live sumptuously with plate,
and only pay their victuals with wooden tallies.

---- _l._ 13, _Est vitii signum pro victu solvere lignum_.--The
King’s purveyors were a great grievance to the peasantry. In
the curious poem of “King Edward and the Shepherd” (printed by
Hartshorne from a MS. in the University Library, Cambridge), the
latter personage is made to say:--

      “In Wynsour was I borne;
      Hit is a myle but here beforne,
          The town then maist thou see.
      I am so pyled with the Kyng,
      That I most fle fro my wonyng,
          And therefore woo is me.
      I hade catell, now have I non;
      Thay take my bestis, and don thaim slon,
          And payen but _a stick of tre_.”

And when the King, in disguise, promises to obtain redress, the
Shepherd proceeds--

      “Sir,” he seid, “be seynt Edmonde,
      Ther is owand .iiii. pounde
          And odd twa schillyng.
      _A stikke_ I have to my witnesse,
      _Off hasill_ I mene that hit is,
          I ne have non other thyng.
          *    *    *    *
      Thei do but gode, the kynges men,
      Thei ar worse then sich ten
          That bene with hym no dell.
      Thei goo aboute be .viij. or nyne,
      And done the husbondes mycull pyne,
          That carfull is their mele.
      Thei take geese, capons, and henne,
      And alle that ever thei may with renne,
          And reves us our catell.
      Sum of them was bonde sore,
      And afturwarde honget therfore,
          For soth as I you say.
      Ȝet ar ther of them nyne moo;
      For at my hows thei were also,
          Certis, ȝisturday.
      Thei toke my hennes and my geese,
      And my schepe with all the fleese,
          And ladde them forth away.
      Be my doȝtur thei lay al nyȝt.
      To come agayne thei have me hyȝt;
          Of helpe I wolde yow pray.
      With me thei lefte alle their thyng,
      That I am sicur of theire comyng,
          And that me rewes sore.
      I have fayre chamburs thre;
      But non of them may be with me
          While that thei be thore.
      Into my cart-hows thei me dryfe;
      Out at the dur thei put my wyfe,
          For she is olde gray-hare.”

_P._ 187. SONG ON THE FLEMISH INSURRECTION.--This Song was printed
by Ritson, in his _Ancient Songs_.

_P._ 188, _l._ 16, _Peter Conyng_.--Peter Coning (in English, Peter
King,) was a weaver of Bruges. A brief account of this insurrection
is given in Matthew of Westminster, p. 444. See, for a more
complete narrative, Michelet’s Histoire de France, vol. iii. p. 76.

_P._ 189, _l._ 8, _avowerie_.--This is the low Latin _advocaria_.
See Ducange, in voce.

---- _l._ 11, _hou_.--The MS. has _hout_.

_P._ 189, _l._ 17, _to clynken huere basyns of bras_.--This
circumstance occurred on the 21st March, 1302, at the beginning
of the insurrection. In the towns of Flanders, as in the boroughs
in England, the people were called up in an insurrection by the
sound of the church bell. There was a famous distich on the bell of
Roland, at Bruges--

      Roelandt, Roelandt, als ick kleppe dan ist brandt,
      Als ick luye, dan ist storm in Vlaenderlandt.

On the present occasion, the people dared not go to their bell,
on account of their French governors, so they beat their brass
basins:--cumque ad campanam civitatis non auderent accedere, pelves
suas pulsantes ... omnem multitudinem concitarent. Meyer, Annal. in
a. 1301, p. 90.

_P._ 191, _l._ 9, _Conyng_.--This word, in English, meant a
_rabbit_, and is here made the subject of a pun. In Flemish, it
signified _king_.

_P._ 193, _ll._ 17, 18, _Awey thou ȝunge pope!... Thou hast lore
thin cardinals_.--_P._ 194, _l._ 2, _Do the forth to Rome_.--An
allusion to the dissensions between the Pope and the family of the
Colonnas.--“Illis etiam diebus, dominus papa, fidei et orationum
quæ erant beati Petri oblitus, assumens quæ non erant ejus, tam
aurum videlicet a viduis et orphanis quam argentum, non viduis
et orphanis, sed militibus bellicosis illud erogare curavit,
contra schema quorundam cardinalium, eos denique degradando, et
contra regem Siciliæ guerram movendo. Sed dicti regis exercitus de
galeatis turmis domini papæ multa millia viriliter necaverunt.”
Matthew of Westminster, p. 432. This was the famous Pope Boniface
VIII., who suffered so much from the persecutions of the King of
France.

---- _l._ 7, _fot lome_, probably means _foot-lame_, lame of foot.
It occurs again in p. 335 of the present volume.

_P._ 195. A SONG ON THE TIMES.--The MS. from which this song is
taken, MS. Harl. No. 913, was written in Ireland, about the year
1308, by an English monk. For a detailed description of it, see Mr.
Crofton Croker’s _Popular Songs of Ireland_.

_P._ 196, _l._ 19, _hoblurs_.--The name _hoblurs_ (hobellarii) was
given properly to a kind of light-armed soldiers.

_P._ 198, _l._ 14, _geet_.--This word should probably be translated
_goats_, rather than _kids_.

_P._ 199, _l._ 7, _anone_.--In the MS. this word is explained by
the original scribe in the margin as “at one time.”

_P._ 206. SONG AGAINST THE SCHOLASTIC STUDIES.--In the Cottonian
MS. from which this song is taken, a hand of the 16th century has
written in the margin that it was the work of Robert Baston.

The Oxford MS. was pointed out to me by Mr. Halliwell, but I have
not been able to obtain a collation.

_P._ 207, _l._ 2, _propere_.--The MS. has ̃p̃pe, the meaning of
which is not clear.

---- _l._ 10, _Sicut servus Stichus_.--This name was given to a
servant in the Roman comic writers. It is introduced here for the
sake of rhyme.

_P._ 208, _l._ 2, _nullus_.--The MS. has _unus_.

---- _l._ 10, _Thebanas ... vel Trojanas cædes_.--Referring to the
Thebaid of Statius, and the poem _De bello Trojano_ of Joseph of
Exeter, both of them at that period popular reading books.

---- _l._ 16, _Telluris_.--The MS. has _Celurus_.

_P._ 209, _l._ 4, _agro ... positis_.--The MS. has _ager_ and
_positus_.

_P._ 212. SONG ON THE EXECUTION OF SIR SIMON FRASER.--This song was
printed by Ritson, in his _Ancient Songs_.

_P._ 213, _l._ 6, _The Waleis_.--Wallace was taken prisoner at the
second battle of Dunbar, in 1305, and was executed at London on the
Eve of St. Bartholomew, (Aug. 24) 1306. The places to which his
quarters were sent were Newcastle, Berwick, Perth, and Aberdeen.

---- _l._ 10, _Simond Frysel_.--This was the original form of the
name of Fraser, and is the way in which it is spelt in all the
English documents.

_P._ 215, _l._ 14, _kyng of somere_.--Matthew of Westminster gives
a popular story, that Bruce’s queen had told him in derision, he
was but a _summer king_, and that his kingdom would scarcely last
in the winter. See Holinshed, p. 314.

_P._ 215, _l._ 9, _Sire Edward of Carnarvon_.--The Prince of Wales.

_P._ 216, _l._ 10, _Sir Emer de Valence_.--Aylmer de Valence,
second Earl of Pembroke, a Baron who was frequently occupied in the
Scottish wars, and who was appointed by Edward to be one of the
guardians of his son, Edward II.

---- _l._ 19, _the batayle of Kyrkenclyff_.--Fought, according to
Holinshed, on the next Sunday after Midsummer day, 1306.

---- _l._ 15, _Sire Thomas of Multone_.--Thomas de Multon, of
Egremond, in Cumberland. He was active in the Scottish wars of this
reign.

_P._ 218, _l._ 17, _Sire Herbert of Morham_.--Apparently a mere
error of the scribe for Norham. Matthew of Westminster relates the
same anecdote.

_P._ 219, _l._ 13, _oure Levedy even_.--The seventh of September,
1306.

---- _l._ 16, _Sire Rauf of Sondwyche_.--Ralph de Sandwich was
constable of the Tower of London (_constabularius turris London_).

_P._ 221, _l._ 7, _a curtel of burel_.--_Burellus_, in low Latin,
_bureau_ or _burel_ in old French, was a kind of coarse and common
cloth.

_P._ 222, _l._ 9, _tu-brugge_.--Perhaps this word means a
drawbridge. It occurs again in Robert of Gloucester, p. 543:--

      “And the castel brugge out of the med he barnde fram then ende
      To the tu-brugge along, vor me ne ssolde out wende.”

Which means probably that he burnt all that part of the bridge on
the meadow side up to the place where its communication with the
rest was cut off by the raising of the drawbridge.

_P._ 223, _l._ 6, _Erl of Asseles_.--John de Strathbogie, Earl of
Athol. He also was captured and executed.

---- _l._ 18, _Tprot, Scot, for thi strif!_--The word _tprot_
appears to be a mere exclamation of contempt. In a poem on “The
Propertees of the Shyres of Engelond,” printed by Hearne in the
Introduction to the fifth volume of Leland’s Itinerary, we find it
used, as here, against the Scots:--

      “Northumbrelond hasty and hoot;
      Westmerlond _tprut Scotte_!”

It will be found similarly used in a passage quoted in a note
further on (p. 391). In Sir Thomas de la More’s Chronicle, it is
applied to King Edward II.:--“_Tprut!_ Sire King!” It seems to be
taken from the French: in Jean Bodel’s Jeu de S. Nicolas (Théatre
Français au Moyen-Age, edited by MM. Monmerqué and Michel) it is
put in the mouths of the common gamblers in a public-house:--

      “_Tproupt! tproupt!_ bevons hardiement;
      Ne faisons si le coc emplat.”--(p. 183.)

And again, immediately after (p. 184):--

      “_Tproupt! tproupt!_ où que soit passé, Diex!”

_P._ 223, _l._ 21, _with the longe shonkes_.--King Edward, still
known popularly as Edward Long-shanks.

_P._ 224. SONG ON THE VENALITY OF THE JUDGES.--After this song
was printed, I found another copy of it in MS. Reg. 12, c. XII.
fol. 1, v^o. of reign of Edw. II., written likewise as prose,
which presents the following variations:--_P._ 224, _ll._ 1, 2,
_esuriunt | Et faciunt justitiam | et od._--7, _exhennia_.--9,
this line is omitted, and the following begins _Sed quæ_.--11,
_et aure non_.--13, _Sed modo miro more_.--15, _ad peric._--17,
_ambiant_.--_P._ 225, _l._ 1, _hæc_.--7, _nam_ is omitted.--8, _Qui
sensum_.--9, _ei pure_.--14, _Quid ergo Jhesu bone_.--_P._ 226,
_l._ 1, _accedit_.--2, _secretius_.--7, _potest_.--_ll._ 12-18 are
placed after _l._ 10 in the next page.--14, _dona_.--15, _et hoc
pro l._--17, _quamvis prius_.--19, _Si quædam pulcra nobilis |
decora vel am._--_P._ 227, _l._ 2, _hoc_.--12, _ut exprimant_.--13,
_vocantur_.--14, _priores_.--18, _Sed quid_.--_P._ 228, _l._ 1,
_quid laboras_.--2, _quid facis_.--8, _ibis Omere, foras_.--9, _De
vinctibus_.--11, _enumerare_.--19, _Est salsum totum_. This MS.
ends with this verse.

---- _l._ 7, _encennia_.--This word answers as nearly as may be to
the modern word _jewels_. The other MS., of which the variations
are given above, reads _exennia_, i. e. _treasures_.

_P._ 225, _l._ 17, _cedunt_.--In the MS. the scribe has written
over this word “i. re,” that is, “i. e. recedunt.”

_P._ 226, _l._ 21, _cum capite cornuto_.--The head dress of the
ladies of rank and fashion at this period was arranged in the form
of two horns.

_P._ 227, _l._ 13, _relatores_, “qui querelam ad judices referunt.”
Ducange.

_P._ 229, _l._ 13, _transmittantur_.--The MS. has _transmutantur_.

_P._ 229, _l._ 18, _averia_.--The term _averium_ is commonly used
to signify all kinds of moveable property; but more particularly to
signify cattle and horses.

_P._ 230, _l._ 1, _clericos_.--The scribe has written above this
word, in the MS. “i. pauperes.”

_P._ 231. THE OUTLAW’S SONG OF TRAILEBASTON.--This song also was
printed by Sir Francis Palgrave in the collection mentioned in a
former note. The notion that the judges were called Trailebastons
on account of the hastiness of their proceedings, is quite
incorrect. The term was applied not to the judges, but to the
persons judged, who received this name because they carried with
them long staffs. An account of the origin of the Trailebastons
will be found in the extract of Peter Langtoft, at p. 318 of the
present volume. The proceedings against them led to many abuses,
and were often made the means of gratifying personal revenge. The
statute against the Trailebastons was continued in force through
the reigns of Edward II. and Edward III.

_P._ 232, _l._ 1, _souz_.--In old French and Anglo-Norman, the word
_sous_ was not used in its present sense, but represented the Latin
_solidos_.

---- _l._ 7, _le bois de Belregard_.--Perhaps a fictitious name,
invented by the poet.

_P._ 233, _l._ 3, _ly Martyn ... ly Knoville_.--_l._ 5, _Spigurnel
... Belflour_.--By the following commission, given in Rymer, we
find that these Barons were the commissioners appointed to judge
the Trailebastons in the western counties of England. There can
be little doubt that _Belflour_ in the song is meant for the
name which in the commission is _Bellafagus_. This document is
curious, both for the light it throws on the subject, and for
the circumstance that it fixes the period at which the song was
written; it bears date at Westminster, April 6, 1305.

“_De transgressionibus nominatis Trailbaston audiendis et
terminandis per totum regnum._--Rex delectis et fidelibus suis,
Wilielmo Martyn, Henrico Spigurnell, Wilielmo de Knovill, Rogero
de Bellafago, et Thomæ de la Hyde, salutem.--Quia quamplures
malefactores, et pacis nostræ perturbatores, homicidia,
deprædationes, incendia, et alia dampna quamplurima nocte dieque
perpetrantes, vagantur et discurrunt in boscis, in parcis,
et aliis locis diversis, tam infra libertates quam extra, in
comitatibus Cornubiæ, Devoniæ, Sumersetiæ, Dorsetiæ, Herefordiæ,
Wygorniæ, Salopiæ, Staffordiæ, Wiltes’, et Suthamptoniæ, et ibidem
receptantur, in maximum periculum tam hominum per partes illas
transeuntium, quam ibidem morantium, et nostri contemptum, ac pacis
nostræ læsionem manifestam, ut accepimus: Per quorum incursus
poterunt pejora prioribus de facili evenire, nisi remedium super
hoc citius apponatur: Nos, eorum malitiæ in hac parte obviare, et
hujusmodi dampnis et periculis præcavere volentes, assignavimus
vos justiciarios nostros: Ad inquirendum, per sacramentum tam
militum quam aliorum proborum et legalium hominum de comitatibus
prædictis, tam infra libertates quam extra, per quos rei veritas
melius sciri poterit, qui sunt illi malefactores, et eorum scienter
receptatores, et eis consentientes, vim et auxilium præbentes, seu
dictas transgressiones fieri procurantes et præcipientes: Et etiam
ad inquirendum de illis, qui pro muneribus suis pactum fecerunt
et faciunt cum malefactoribus, et pacis nostræ perturbatoribus,
et eos conduxerunt et conducunt ad verberandum, vulnerandum, male
tractantandum et interficiendum plures de regno nostro, in feriis,
mercatis, et aliis locis, in dictis comitatibus, pro inimicitia,
invidia, malitia, et etiam pro eo quod in assisis, juratis,
recognitionibus, et inquisitionibus factis de feloniis, positi
fuerunt, et veritatem dixerunt: unde per conductionem hujusmodi
malefactorum, juratores assisarum, juratorum recognitionum, et
inquisitionum illarum, præ timore dictorum malefactorum et horum
minarum, sæpius veritatem dicere seu dictos malefactores indictare
minime aussi fuerunt, et sunt: Et etiam ad inquirendum de illis
qui hujusmodi munera dederunt et dant: et quantum et quibus:
et qui hujusmodi munera receperunt et recipiunt: et a quibus,
et qualiter, et quo modo: et qui hujusmodi malefactores in sua
malitia fovent, nutriunt, et manutenent in comitatibus prædictis:
Et etiam de illis, qui, ratione potestatis et dominii sui, aliquos
in eorum protectionem et advocationem pro suo dando susceperunt,
et adhuc suscipiunt: Et de illis qui pecuniam ab aliquo, per
graves minas ei factas, malitiose extorserunt: Et ad felonias et
transgressiones illas audiendas et terminandas secundum legem et
consuetudinem regni nostri, et juxta formam ordinationis per nos
et consilium nostrum super hoc factæ, et vobis in parliamento
nostro liberatæ: Et etiam ad omnes felonias et transgressiones,
de quibus inquisitiones coram dilectis et fidelibus nostris,
Henrico de Cobeham, Thoma Paynel, Hugone de Sancto Philiberto, et
Johanne Randolf, in prædictis comitatibus Wiltes’ et Suthamtoniæ
factæ sunt, et per vos, si necesse fuerit, faciendæ, audiendas et
terminandas in forma prædicta:” etc.

_P._ 235, _l._ 6, _escolage_, answers probably to a low Latin word
_excollectionem_.

_P._ 237. A SONG AGAINST THE RETINUES OF THE GREAT PEOPLE.--Half of
this song is written in the original in short lines, and the other
half in long lines, to suit the convenience of the MS. It contains
numerous popular words and phrases, the meaning of which it is now
very difficult to ascertain.

_P._ 242, _l._ 9, _Le rei de Fraunce_.--Edward seems to have long
cherished the design of embarking in a new crusade, which had been
strongly advocated by the Pope, but he had been hindered by his
continued wars and embarrassments, which the writer of the song
attributes to the intrigues of the King of France.

_P._ 243, _l._ 13, _A Peiters à l’Apostoile_.--Pope Clement the
Fifth, who was constantly in hostilities with his Italian subjects,
and little more than a dependent on France, resided a great part of
his pontificate at Poitiers.

_P._ 245, _ll._ 5, 6, _Si Aristotle ... e Virgile_.--Aristotle and
Virgil were names in great repute in the popular literature of the
middle ages, and were the subject of much legend and romance.

_P._ 246. ELEGY ON THE DEATH OF EDWARD I.--This song had been
already printed in Percy’s Reliques of Ancient English Poetry.

_P._ 253. ON THE KING’S BREAKING HIS CONFIRMATION OF MAGNA
CHARTA.--This curious poem is reprinted from an interesting
little volume of early poetry, edited and printed privately by
David Laing, Esq. and W. B. D. D. Turnbull, Esq. under the title
of “Owain Miles, and other Inedited Fragments of Ancient English
Poetry.” 8vo. Edinburgh, 1837.

---- _l._ 7, _the feire_.--Probably the fair of St. Bartholomew.

_P._ 254, _l._ 5, _Of .iiij. wise-men_.--This was a very popular
story, and found its way into the celebrated Gesta Romanorum.
It also occurs frequently in a separate and different form in
manuscripts of the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. The
sentences of the wise men were popular sayings independent of the
tale, and are sometimes found separately. They varied at different
periods, both as they are found separately, and as they are given
in the different recensions of the story. It would be a curious
and interesting work to collect together such popular political
proverbs in chronological order. I have met with this story in a
MS. in the British Museum contemporary with the present song, in
which, if I remember right, both the sayings and the explanations
of them are given in full both in English and Latin, but I have
unfortunately mislaid my reference to it. The following is taken
from MS. Reg. 5 A. VI. fol. 83 r^o, of the end of the 14th or
beginning of the 15th cent. A more modern copy, with rather larger
commentary, will be found in MS. Harl. No. 206, fol. 38, v^o.

“Legitur quendam Regem quondam fuisse qui habuit 4^{or} Philosophos
in regno suo. In quo regno multæ plagæ, multa infortunia, et
multi defectus fiebant in populis. Rex autem videns se ipsum
nullo peccato mortali vulneratum, mirabatur valde, et diligenter
inquirebat a prædictis 4^{or} Philosophis qua de causa hæc
infortunia magis agebantur in populis in tempore suo quam in
tempore prædecessorum suorum.

“Primus Philosophus dixit, _Miȝt is riȝt_; Unde illud Ysaiæ,
69, Conversum est retrorsum judicium, et justitia longe stetit;
corruit in platea veritas, et æquitas non potuit ingredi. _Liȝt is
nyȝt_; unde Ewang., Væ homini illi per quem scandalum venit! Per
eum scandalum venit qui alios malo exemplo corrumpit. Dominus in
Levetico dixit: Time, inquit, Dominum Deum tuum, ut vivere possit
frater tuus apud te; hoc est, ut sic vivas quod frater tuus per
tuum exemplum vitam possit habere non mortem. _Fiȝt is fliȝt_; unde
Augustinus: Bene agere et illicita non prohibere consensus erroris
est. Gregorius: Facientis proculdubio culpam habet qui quod potest
corrigere negligit emendare.

“Secundus Philosophus dixit, _One is too_; unde Ewang.: Omne
regnum in se divisum desolabitur. Ambrosius: Sicut sine via nullus
pervenit quo tendit, sic sine caritate, quæ dicta est via, non
ambulare possunt homines, sed errare. _Frend is foo_; hoc potest
intelligi quando homines et præcipue potentes veram pacem vel
justitiam aut Dei ecclesiam strangulant, quibus principaliter
propter Deum militare deberent. _Weele is woo_; Gregorius: Qui bona
mundi diligit, velit nolit timori et dolori bene succumbit. Seneca:
Avarus nisi dum moritur nichil bene facit.

“Tertius Philosophus dixit, _Lust has leve_; unde Paulus: Si
secundum carnem vixeritis, moriemini. Jeronimus: Qui post carnem
ambulant, in ventrem et libidinem proni, quasi irrationalia jumenta
reputantur. _Thef is refe_; unde Jeremias: Væ qui ædificant domum
suam non in justitia! Robertus Lincolniensis: Væ illis qui dicunt,
faciamus mala, ut veniant bona, quorum damnatio justa est! _Pride
has slef_; unde in Ps.: Irritaverunt eum in adinventionibus suis,
et multiplicata est in eis ruina. David autem dixit: Non habitabit
in medio domus meæ qui facit superbiam.

“Quartus Philosophus dixit, _Wille is red_; unde per Psalmistam
dicitur: Noluit intelligere ut bene aget. Prover. 12: Via stulti
recta in oculis ejus; qui autem sapiens est audit consilium.
_Wytte is qued_; unde P.: Erit enim tempus cum sanam doctrinam non
sustinebunt. Augus.: Juventuti malorum hominum venenum est quidquid
virtus præcipit, esca vero quidquid diabolus suggerit. _Good is
ded_; unde in psalmo: Universa vanitas omnis homo vivens, i. vivens
secundum hominem, non secundum Deum. Augus.: Sicut mors corporalis
separat animum a corpore, ita peccatum mortale animam a vera vita,
quæ est Deus.”

In the following, which is taken from the common printed Gesta
Romanorum, cap. 144, the English is translated.

“Fertur de quodam Rege cujus regnum in tam subitam devenit
mutationem, quod bonum in malum, verum in falsum, forte in debile,
justum in injustum est mutatum. Quam mutationem Rex admirans, a
quattuor Philosophis sapientissimis causam hujus quæsivit; qui,
inquam, Philosophi post sanam deliberationem ad quattuor portas
civitates pergentes quilibet eorum tres causas ibi scripsit.
Primus scripsit, Potentia est justitia, ideo terra sine lege;
dies est nox, ideo terra sine via; fuga est in pugna, ideo regnum
sine honore. Secundus scripsit, Unum est duo, ideo regnum sine
veritate; amicus est inimicus, ideo regnum sine fidelitate; malum
est bonum, ideo terra sine pietate. Tertius scripsit, Ratio habet
licentiam, ideo regnum sine nomine; fur est præpositus, ideo regnum
sine pecunia; corabola vult esse aquila, ideo nulla discretio in
patria. Quartus scripsit, Voluntas est consiliarius, ideo terra
male disponitur; denarius dat sententiam, ideo terra male regitur;
Deus est mortuus, ideo totum regnum peccatoribus est repletum.”

In the moralisation, these sentences are applied to the time in
which it was written. In the English _Gesta Romanorum_ (edited by
Sir Frederick Madden for the Roxburghe Club in 1838, and which it
is to be regretted is not published in a popular form), p. 397, we
have the following version of the story.

“This is redde in the Cronycles of Rome, that in the tyme of
Antynyane the Emperour, in the citie of Rome befille a grete
pestilence of men and bestes, and grete hungre in alle the empire.
The comons risene agayne her lordes, and agayne her Emperour.
The Emperour desirede to wete the cause of the tribulacions and
diseases, and disposede hym for to putte a remedie agayne the
foresaide disease. He callede to hym .iiij. wise Philisophers,
for to shew hym the cause of the grete vengeaunce; of the whiche
Philisophers the first saide thus, ‘Gifte is domesman, and Gile is
chapman; the grete holde no lawe, and servauntes have none awe.’
The seconde saide, ‘Witte is turnede to trechery, and love into
lechery; the holy day into glotonye, and gentrie into vilanie.’
The thirde saide, ‘Wise men are but scornede, and wedowes be sore
yernede; grete men are but glosede, and smale men borne downe and
myslovede.’ The fourthe saide, ‘Lordes wexen blynde, and kynnesmen
ben unkynde; dethe out of mynde, and trewthe may no man fynde.’”

The sentences in this last version are also found frequently in
MSS. in a separate form. An imperfect copy of them will be found
in the _Reliquiæ Antiquæ_, (Pickering, 1839,) p. 58. I have met
recently with a much more complete copy, agreeing closely with the
sentences in the above tale from the English _Gesta_, but I have
also unfortunately lost the reference to it, and cannot recall it
to mind at the present moment. In MS. Cotton. Vespas. E. XII. fol.
100, r^o., of the end of the fourteenth century, is given another
Latin version of this story, where the scene is laid at Carthage,
the King is Hannibal, and instead of the four wise men we have
Virgil, and the sayings are again different from the others. This
version is important both for the history of the story, and for its
connexion with the fable of the legendary Virgilius.

_P._ 256, _l._ 9, _god is ded_.--It will have been observed in the
foregoing note that one of the versions of the story interprets
_god_ by _Deus_;--God is dead,--which is most probably right, and
the former editors have very properly given the word with a capital.

_P._ 258. SONGS ON THE DEATH OF PETER DE GAVESTON.--Both these
songs are parodies upon hymns in the Romish ritual.

_P._ 260, _l._ 1, _Vult hic comes, et non Petrus, dici_.--The
favourite was, indeed, extremely angry because people persisted in
calling him Peter, and obtained a Royal decree that no one should
be permitted to call him otherwise than Earl of Cornwall in future.

_P._ 262. THE BATTLE OF BANNOCKBURN.--The text of this poem is
extremely corrupt. It appears, from Mr. Halliwell’s description of
the MS., that there is another copy of it at Oxford, MS. Rawl. B.
214. This poem is attributed to Robert Baston, a carmelite, who,
according to a popular story, was present at the battle, and was
taken prisoner by the Scots. We are told that he was liberated on
condition of composing a poem to celebrate the valour of the Scots:
the song here printed is of quite a different character.

_P._ 262, _l._ 6, _dabantur_.--_Debantur_ in the MS.

---- _l._ 10, _præparare_.--The MS. has _portare_, with “p’p’are”
written above.

_P._ 263, _l._ 9, _conflictus_.--The MS. had _consultus_, which is
changed into _conflictus_.

---- _l._ 10, _Comes heu! Gloverniæ_.--Gilbert de Clare, son of
that Earl of Gloucester who was so active in the Barons’ wars of
the reign of Henry III. On his death, at Bannockburn, the title
became extinct.

---- _l._ 17, _proditorius vir Bartholomeus_.--Perhaps Bartholomew
de Badlesmere, who was Steward of the King’s household, and
attended the King in these wars.

_P._ 264, _l._ 2, _sex seminum_.--This word evidently represents
the French _semaines_.

_P._ 265, _l._ 2, _nimis_.--The MS. has _nims_.

---- _l._ 4, _veneficos_.--The MS. has _venifices_.

---- _l._ 9, _multiplica_.--In middle-age Latin, the form
_multiplicus_ is frequently used for _multiplex_.

---- _l._ 14, _corruerunt_.--The scribe has written _sub_ over the
first syllable of this word in the MS., as though he would correct
it to _subruerunt_.

_P._ 266, _l._ 16, _horridus_.--The MS. has _oridus_, and just
afterwards it seems to have _quievit_ for _crevit_.

_P._ 267, _l._ 4, _stirps radice_.--The MS. has _radix_, with
_ortus_ written over it; from which it may be conjectured that the
original from which the scribe copied had the reading which I have
given, and that the word _ortus_ was written over it, or in the
margin, to supply the construction--_stirps ortus radice Jessæ_.

---- _l._ 12, _far_....--The MS. has _far?_.

_P._ 268. THE OFFICE OF ST. THOMAS OF LANCASTER.--Popular heroes
and patriots were frequently canonised by the people after their
death. Such was the case with Simon de Montfort. See p. 124 of the
present volume. A very curious story of this kind will be found
in William of Newbury, l. 5, cc. 20, 21. The King, in the present
instance, was obliged to issue a proclamation forbidding the
worship of Earl Thomas of Lancaster.

_P._ 268, _l._ 2, _Thomam Cantuariæ._--All the popular heroes were
compared to St. Thomas of Canterbury. We have seen the comparison
used in the case of Simon de Montfort, see p. 125 of the present
volume.

_P._ 270, _l._ 11, _pater proles erat regia._--Thomas Plantagenet, Earl
of Lancaster, was son of Edmund, younger brother of Edward I.

---- _l._ 12, _matrem ... reginam Navarria._--Blanche, daughter of
Robert, Earl of Artois, and widow of Henry, King of Navarre, who
was espoused in second marriage to Edmund Plantagenet.

---- _l._ 16, _Benedicti capitur vigilia...., l. 17, die
tertia._--After the battle of Boroughbridge (March 15, 1322), the
Earl of Lancaster took refuge in a chapel, where he was taken on
the 20th, brought to Pontefract on the 21st, tried on the 22nd, and
beheaded the same day. The 20th of March was the eve of St. Benet.

_P._ 271, _l._ 2,_ Hoylandiæ._--Robert de Hoyland (the father of Thomas
de Holand, Earl of Kent, the first husband of Joan, Princess of
Wales,) had been sent to collect forces in Lancashire, to assist
the Earl of Lancaster, but when he had gotten them together, he
deserted the Earl, and went over with them to the King’s party.

---- _sudam_ appears to be an error for some other word.

_P._ 273. PETER LANGTOFT’S CHRONICLE.--The Cambridge MS. contains
only the history of Edward I., which is given as a complete work,
with the title, “Ici commence le Brut coment li bon rei Edward
gaigna Escotz e Galis.” The Fairfax MS. seems also to have given
the same portion of Langtoft’s Chronicle. Since my text was
printed, Sir Frederick Madden has kindly given me his transcripts
of the English fragments as they stand in the Fairfax MS. No. 24,
in the Bodleian Library, at Oxford, and in the Arundel MS. No. 14,
in the College of Arms. The numerous variations in these lines, and
the frequent recurrence of lines in one MS. which are omitted in
another, seem clearly to prove they were fragments of popular songs
interwoven into the Chronicle by its writer. I ought to say that,
at the time the extracts in the present volume were printed off, it
was not in my power to have the sheets collated with the original.
It may also be observed, that it has not been thought proper to
correct the text by the various readings, but the translation is
frequently made from the latter, when the text is evidently wrong.

_P._ 274, _l._ 15, _Celestine la pape._--Pope Celestin the Fifth, who
was elected in July, 1294, and abdicated in the December following.

_P._ 275, _l._ 50, _suz Dover._--An account of this attack upon Dover
will be found in Matthew of Westminster, p. 424, and in Knighton,
col. 2502.

_P._ 278, _l._ 75, _Thomas de Turbevile._--See, on this affair, Matthew
of Westminster, p. 425, Knighton, col. 2502, Hemingford, p. 58.

---- _l._ 83, _Cent lievre de tere._--Robert de Brunne’s version has
a hundred pounds of land, i. e. lands of that yearly value.

_P._ 280, _l._ 106, _Le tierz jour._--Robert de Brunne says--

      Opon the thrid day, at a toun hamelet,
      Thomas was his pray, as he to mete was set.

---- _l._ 112, _cum traitur est jugé._--Robert of Brunne has given
more details of Turbeville’s trial than are found in the original.

_P._ 282, _l._ 135, _Le counte de Nincole._--Henry de Lacy, Earl of
Lincoln and Salisbury.

---- _l._ 136, _Sir Willeam de Vescy._--William de Vescy, Lord of
Alnwick, and governor of Scarborough Castle.

---- _l._ 153, _la male rage._--“_Male rage_: Faim extraordinaire,
enragée; _mala rabies_.” Roquefort.

---- _l._ 156, _rivelins._--Apparently a kind of rough boots worn by
the Scots, so called perhaps on account of their ragged and torn
appearance.

---- _la nue nage._--_Nage_ is the Latin _nates_. The Fairfax and
Arundel MS. have here a line or two of the French which is not
found in the other copies, with the following fragments of English--

      (F.) Tprut! Skot riveling,
           In unseli timing
               crope thu out of cage.

      (A.) Tprut! Scot riveling,
           With mikel mistiming
             crop thu ut of kage.

---- _l._ 157, _Robert de Ros de Werke._--Robert de Ros was an
English Baron, but, falling in love with a Scottish lady, he
deserted to the Scots, for which his possessions were confiscated.
See Hemingford, p. 85.

_P._ 284, _l._ 168, _quatre mile._--The English version makes it _forty
thousand_--

      In the non tyme felle this cas, that slayn was ilk a man,
      That were in Berwik, fourti thousand and mo.

---- _l._ 170, _Richard de Cornewalle._--Holinshed, p. 298, says Sir
Richard Cornwall was brother to the Earl of Cornwall. See also
Hemingford, p. 91.

---- _l._ 171, _la sale rouge._--The Red Hall was the factory of the
Flemish merchants, who carried on an extensive trade with Berwick.

_P._ 285, _l._ 175, _Willeam de Douglasse._--William Douglas was
captain of the garrison of Berwick. See Hemingford, _ib._

---- _l._ 176, _Ricard Fresel._--The English has _Symoun Freselle_.

---- _l._ 178, _li quens de la Merche, Patrik._--Patrick, Earl of
Dunbar and March, served in the English army; but his Countess,
who was left in the castle of Dunbar, and who hated the English,
delivered the castle to the Scots.

---- _l._ 180, _Gilbert de Umfravile._--Gilbert de Umfraville, Earl
of Angus, was one of the Scottish Barons who remained faithful to
the English.

_P._ 286, _l._ 194, _Piket him, etc._--The Fairfax MS. has only four
lines of this song:--

      Piket him and diket him,
              in skorn seiden he;
      Nu piketh he it and diketh it,
              his owen for to be.

In the Arundel MS. it stands thus:--

      Pikit him and dikit him,
              in hoker seiden he;
      Nu pikes he it and dikes it,
              his owen for to be.
      Skiterende Scottes
      Hodere in their hottes,
              nevere thei ne the;
      Rigth if I rede,
      Thei tumbled in Twede,
              that woned bi the se.

Robert of Brunne gives the fragment as follows, with six additional
lines:--

      Now dos Edward dike Berwik brode and long,
      Als they bad him pike, and scorned him in ther song.
      Pikit him and dikit him
              on scorne said he,
      He pikes and dikes
      in length as him likes
              how best it may be.
      And thou has for thi pikyng
      Mykille ille likyng,
              the sothe is to se.
      Without any lesyng
      Alle is thi hething
              fallen opon the,
      For scatred er thi Scottis,
      And hodred in ther hottes,
              never thei ne the.
      Right als I rede,
      Thei tombled in Tuede,
              that woned bi the se.

_P._ 288, _l._ 227, _Otes de Graunt-souns._--Otho had been sent into
the East to the aid of the Christians by Edward I., who intended
to follow him in person. An account of the loss of Acre, and the
escape of the Christians to Cyprus, will be found in Hemingford,
pp. 21-28.

_P._ 289, _l._ 245, _le counte de Warwik e Huge le Despencer._--Guy de
Beauchamp, Earl of Warwick, and Hugh Despencer, who was afterwards
so famous as the favourite of Edward II.

_P._ 293, _l._ 299, _On grene, &c._--In Robert of Brunne, these lines
stand thus:--

      Ther on that grene,
      That kynrede kene
              gadred als the gayte.
      Right als I wene,
      On som was it sene
              ther the bit bayte.

_P._ 294, _l._ 324, _sire Corynée._--The fabulous hero who was said to
have killed the giant Gogmagog.

_P._ 295, _l._ 338, _The fote folke, etc._--Robert of Brunne gives
these lines as follows, with an introduction of his own, in which
he says distinctly that they were rhymes which the English made on
the Scots:--

    ¶ The Scottis had no grace,
      To spede in ther space,
              for to mend ther misse,
      Thei filed ther face,
      That died in that place;
              the Inglis rymed this.
      Oure fote folk
      Put tham in the polk,
              and nakned ther nages,
      Bi no way
      Herd I never say
              of prester pages,
      Purses to pike,
      Robis to rike,
              and in dike tham schonne,
      Thou wiffin
      Scotte of Abrethin,
              kotte is thi honne.

In the Fairfax MS. they stand thus:--

      Wel worthe swich a fot folk,
      That drof the Skottes in the polk,
              and paiede hem here wages.
      Bi wode ne bi weye,
      Ne herd I nevere seien
              of prestere pages,
      To pullen and to piken
      The robes of the rike
              that in the feld fellen.
      Fi! Skot, hu spedde ye thenne?
      The devel I you bikenne,
              that ragged rit in helle!

The Arundel MS. gives them thus:--

      Wel worth swich a fote folk,
      That put the Scottes in the polk,
              and paied tham their wages.
      Bi wode ne bi weie,
      Herd I nevere seie
              of prestere pages,
      To pulle and to pike
      The robes of the rike
              that in the feld felle.
      Hou ferd the wreches thenne?
      The devel I them bikenne
              that ragged sit in helle.

In my transcript of the Cambridge MS. I had written _wages_ in
the third line, but, thinking it might be an error of my own, I
ventured to change it to _nages_, in conformity with the readings
of the other MSS. I have no doubt that _nages_, the French _nages_
(see before, p. 283, l. 156, and the note), the Latin _nates_,
is the right word. The other reading of the line was perhaps
substituted by some one who did not understand the word.

_P._ 298, _l._ 380, _For Scottes, etc._--Robert of Brunne agrees with
the present text, in this song. In the Fairfax and Arundel MSS. it
stands thus:--

      (F.) For skiterande Skottes
           Tell I for sottes,
               of wrenches unwarre.
           Hem to wrothere hele
           Dintes to dele
               driven to Dunbarre.

      (A.) Skiterende Scottes
           I telle for sottes,
               and wreches unwar.
           Mikel unsele
           Dintes to dele
               them drof to Dunbar.

_P._ 300, _l._ 417, _Albanak_, the son of Brute, who was said to have
first peopled Scotland, and given it the name of Albania.

_P._ 303, _l._ 466, _For boule, etc._--Robert of Brunne, like the
Museum MSS., gives only the first six lines of this fragment.

---- _l._ 471, _hise tabard es tome.--Toom tabard_ (empty tabard)
was a nickname given by the Scots to their King, John Baliol, on
account of his little wit. In like manner, we still vulgarly call
people who possess very little sense, _empty bottles_.

_P._ 304, _l._ 484, _eces;_ another form of _assez_.

---- _l._ 486, _Henri de Perci aid Galwei._--Henry de Percy, nephew
of Warenne, was made keeper of the county of Galloway and the
sheriffdom of Ayr.

_P._ 305, _l._ 504, _le eveske de Duram._--The famous Anthony Beck,
Bishop of Durham, who, at the head of his knights, attended Edward
in all his invasions of Scotland, and commanded one division of the
army at the battle of Falkirk.

---- _l._ 514, _Kambynoy._--Robert of Brunne translates this passage
as follows:--

      Cambinhoy
      Beres him coy,
            that fendes whelp,
      Ther with craft
      He has tham raft,
            it may not help.
      The Trulle the
      Drenge on se,
            thei lenge the fendes tueye,
      The hold tham fer,
      And dar no ner
            than Orkeneye.
      Andrew is wroth,
      The wax him loth,
            for ther pride.
      He is tham fro,
      Now salle thei go,
            schame to betide.
      Thou scabbed Scotte,
      Thi neck, thi hotte,
            the develle it breke,
      It salle be hard
      To here Edward
            ageyn the speke.
      He salle the ken
      Our lond to bren,
            and werre begynne
      Thou getes no thing,
      Bot thi rivelyng
            to hang therinne.
      The sete of the Scone
      Is driven over done,
            to London led;
      I hard wele telle,
      That bagelle and belle
            be filchid and fled.

_P._ 306, _l._ 521, _Ou il est mort | al mouster._--The Monastery of
Hexham, which the Scots had burnt, was dedicated to their patron
Saint, St. Andrew. Hemingford remarks, in a similar manner, the
impiety of the Scots in burning the church of their patron. This
writer, in many parts of his Chronicle, seems to paraphrase and
enlarge upon the narrative of Peter Langtoft.

_P._ 307, _l._ 550, _Deus! cum Merlins._--The Cambridge MS. has _Teus_,
with a great T., by an error of the illuminator. Robert of Brunne,
in translating this part of the Chronicle, quotes the original
author, Peter Langtoft, as his authority:--

      Nou tels Pers, on his maners, a grete selcouth,
      He takis witnes, that it soth es, of Merlyn mouth, etc.

The MS. from which Hearne printed contained a marginal note, “De
unione Scotiæ et Angliæ secundum dicta Petri et Bridlingtone,”
meaning that Bridlington had something similar in his prophecies.
Hearne, not aware that it is Peter Langtoft to whom the writer
refers, alters it to Petri de Bridlington; although, if he had
referred to Bale, he would have found that Bridlington’s name was
John, and not Peter.

_P._ 309, _l._ 582, _Jon e Thomas ... Cuthbert._--John of Beverley,
Thomas of Canterbury, and Cuthbert of Durham. These three saints
are elsewhere spoken of in Peter Langtoft as Edward’s especial
patrons and aiders.

_P._ 310, _l._ 607, _Des biens de seint eglise._--See, on this
transaction, Matthew of Westminster, p. 428, and Hemingford, p. 107.

_P._ 311. I suspect that the lines here inclosed in brackets,
as not found in the Cambridge MS., were missed by myself in
transcribing.

---- _l._ 613, _disime dener._--Robert of Brunne says the twelfth
penny.

_P._ 315, _l._ 683, _jeo crei._--The manner in which the writer here
speaks, as well as other expressions in the course of the poem,
seem to show that he wrote down the events as they happened.

_P._ 316, _l._ 701, _le Sire de Canturbir._--Robert Winchelsey,
Archbishop of Canterbury, from 1294 to 1313.

_P._ 317, _l._ 709, _Li sire de Nichole._--Oliver Sutton, Bishop of
Lincoln, who died in the November of 1299.

---- _l._ 714, _L’elyt de Everwyke._--Henry de Newark, who succeeded
to the Archbishopric in 1297, and died in 1299.

_P._ 318, _l._ 720. These English verses are only found in the
Cambridge MS.

_P._ 320, _l._ 19, _Pur treys souz, &c._--Robert of Brunne translates
this--

      Thei profere a man to bete, for tuo schilynges or thre,
      With piked staves grete beten salle he be.

We learn from this writer that it was the King who gave them the
name of _Trailebastons_.

_P._ 321, _l._ 43, _Sire Jon de Meneteft._--He is said to have been
incited by his personal hatred of Wallace to seek out and deliver
the Scottish Chieftain to his enemies. Robert de Brunne adds
something to his original in this place:--

      Sir Jon of Menetest sewed William so nehi,
      He tok him whan he wend lest, on nyght his leman bi.
      That was thorght treson of Jak Schort his man,
      He was the encheson that Sir Jon so him nam.
      Jak brother had he slayn, the Waleis that is said,
      The more Jak was fayn to do William that braid.
      Selcouthly he endis the man that is fals,
      If he trest on his frendes, thei begile him als
      Begiled is William, taken is and bondon.
      To Inglond with him thei cam, and led him unto London.

We may take this occasion of pointing out the impropriety of
quoting Robert de Brunne as Peter Langtoft. Mr. Tytler quotes this
story of Jack Short upon Langtoft’s authority, which involves two
serious errors, first, making Langtoft say what he did not say,
and, secondly, giving the story on better authority than that on
which it really rests, for, in this respect, Robert de Brunne is
certainly inferior to Langtoft.

_P._ 323, _l._ 67, _And tus, etc._--Robert of Brunne has six lines of
this fragment more than in the French MSS.

      It is not to drede,
      Traytour salle spede,
            als he is worthi,
      His lif salle he tyne,
      And die thorgh pyne,
            withouten merci.
      Thus may men here,
      A ladde for to lere
            to biggen in pays.
      It fallis in his iȝe,
      That hewes over hie,
            with the Walays.

_P._ 326, _l._ 66, _nu._--In the MS. it is written _n^ou_. Perhaps the
_o_ was added by somebody who thought the orthography should be
_nou_.

_P._ 327, _l._ 78, _serven the chapele._--This last word, which answers
to capella in the similar passage in the Song at the end of these
notes (p. 401, l. 21), means here, perhaps, a _wardrobe_.

_P._ 329, _l._ 126, _amis._--This word is added in the MS. by a later
hand than that which wrote the other part.

_P._ 336, _l._ 285, _turmentours that comen from clerkes plei._--Men
who have performed the part of devils, or tormentors, in the
miracle plays, which were performed by the clerks.

_P._ 338, _l._ 330, _Theih pleien wid the hinges silver, and breden wod
for wele._--They use the king’s silver for their own pleasures, and
produce wood, or tallies, instead of contributing to the prosperity
of the people.

_P._ 341, _l._ 392, _a derthe._--_l._ 403, _eft wele i-nouh._--_P._ 342,
_l._ 409, _another sorwe._--_l._ 416, _another derthe of corn._--Our
poem was probably composed in 1321. During the preceding years,
the kingdom had been visited repeatedly by dearth and famine.
Holinshed remarks in 1316, a great dearth and famine, insomuch that
a quarter of wheat sold for forty shillings, and at the same time
a murrain among the cattle; in 1317, a “pitiful famine” with a
“sore mortalitie of people;” the year 1318 seems to have been free
from these visitations, and may have been that in which, according
to the poem, there was “eft wele i-nouh;” in 1319, again, a great
murrain of cattle; and in the latter end of the following year and
in 1321, broke out the “great variaunce betwixt the lords and the
Spensers,” which was the cause of so much bloodshed, and which
seems to be the “strif” (_l._ 423) under which the poet represents
the people as then labouring.

_P._ 342, _l._ 418, _afingred._--For other instances of the use of this
form, see a note on “The Tale of the Basyn and the Frere and the
Boy.” (Pickering, 1836.)

_P._ 344, _l._ 457, _paunter._--The true meaning of this word seems to
be a _trap_, or _snare_. An English prose treatise of counsel for
hermits, probably by Hampole (MS. Trin. Coll. Cant. B. 15, 17, of
the reign of Edward III.), speaking of the snares laid by the devil
to deceive people, observes, “This _panter_ leyeth owre enemy to
taken us with, whan we bigynne to haten wikkednesse, and turne us
to goodnesse.”

_P._ 345.--This poem is defective at the end, by the loss of the
remainder of the MS., which is imperfect. The following curious
Song, which was given me by Mr. Halliwell, bears a remarkable
resemblance in some parts to the English poem of the Auchinleck MS.
It is taken from a MS. in the University Library, Cambridge, Ee.
VI. 29, of the beginning of the fifteenth century, though most,
if not all, the articles it contains are compositions of a much
earlier date.

        Ecce dolet Anglia luctibus imbuta!
      Gens tremit tristitia, sordibus polluta;
      Necat pestilentia viros atque bruta.
      Cur? quia flagitia regnant resoluta.
        Heu! jam totus vertitur mundus in malignum.
      Inter gentes quæritur ubi cor benignum.
      Christus non recolitur, mortuus per lignum;
      Ergo plebs perimitur in vindictæ signum.
        Pax et patientia penitus orbantur;
      Amor et justitia domi non morantur;
      Errores et vitia gentes amplexantur;
      Patrum per malitia parvuli necantur.
        Pastorum pigritia greges disperguntur;
      Insontes astutia mercantum falluntur;
      Fraus et avaritia sorores junguntur;
      Divitum nequitia pauperes plectuntur.
        Simonia colitur, Simon Magus vivit;
      Æquitas opprimitur, veritas abivit;
      Christi grex dispergitur, lupus insanivit;
      Pestisque diffunditur, agnos deglutivit.
        Favor non scientia permovet rectores;
      Intrudit potentia servos ob labores,
      Et regum clementia quosdam per favores;
      Æs et amicitia juvant pervisores.
        Fortes Christi milites modo recesserunt;
      Sathanæ satellites templum subverterunt;
      Laceras et debiles oves prodiderunt;
      Cuculi degeneres nisis successerunt.
        Patres quondam nobiles pestes fugarunt,
      Et in fide stabiles languidos sanarunt;
      Vita venerabiles signis coruscarunt;
      Actus per laudabiles Christo militarunt.
        Tales erunt vestibus asperis vestiti;
      Ut moderni mollibus raro sunt potiti.
      Hii præclaris moribus erant insigniti;
      Juvenes a sordibus sacris eruditi.
        Heu! nunc mercenarii, nec veri pastores,
      Rectores, vicarii, mutaverunt mores;
      Ambitu denarii subeunt labores;
      Tales operarii merentur mœrores:
        Isti pro ciliciis utuntur pellura;
      Farciunt deliciis ventres tota cura;
      Dant post[ea] spurcitiis se sine mensura;
      Suffulti divitiis vivunt contra jura.
        Dum capella tegitur nobili vestura,
      Sponsa Christi rapitur nudata tectura;
      Vinea destruitur porcorum ursura,
      Et vitis evellitur, carens jam cultura.
        Sacerdotes Domini sunt incontinentes;
      Actus suo nomini non sunt respondentes;
      Sacra dantes homini forent et docentes;
      Sui mores ordini non sunt congruentes.
        Ista super æthera sanguine scribantur,
      Ut patenti littera sæculis legantur;
      Ignibus cum vetera peccata purgantur,
      Sua ferant onera jam qui dominantur.
        En! amor et caritas regnis refrigescunt;
      Livor et severitas gentibus ardescunt;
      Cleri plebis veritas et fides tepescunt;
      Hinc regni nobilitas et fama quiescunt.
        Feminæ fragilitas omni caret laude;
      Mercantum subtilitas versatur in fraude;
      Et fratrum dolositas jungit caput caudæ.
      Homo, si jam veritas te gubernat, gaude!
                   _Explicit._


_P._ 14. SONG ON THE TIMES.--Giraldus Cambrensis has inserted a
copy of this Song in the Speculum Ecclesiæ, MS. Cotton. Tiberius,
B. XIII. fol. 126, v^o, and attributes it to the famous Golias,
which is commonly supposed to be only a fictitious name for
Walter Mapes. This takes away all doubt as to its age, and the
explanations given by Flacius Illyricus may be right. There is
another copy in a Cottonian MS. of the thirteenth century, Vespas.
A. XIX. fol. 59, r^o, where it is entitled _De veneranda justitia
Romanæ curiæ_. In Giraldus, the song commences with the 13th line,
_Roma mundi caput est_, &c. In the other Cotton. MS. it begins
as in our text. The variations afforded by these two MSS. are as
follow:--_P._ 14, _l._ 1, _Romanæ reb._, C.--6, _profluit_, C.--9, the
first _est_ is omitted in C.--10, _Tegunt picem_, C.--_P._ 15, _l._
12, _ramus in sap._, C.--15, _trahit enim_, G. and C.--17, _res et
sing._, C.--21, _In hoc consistorio_, G. and C.--27, _petunt quando
petis_, G. and C.--28, _eadem et metis_, C.--_P._ 16. The first
16 lines in this page are omitted in Giraldus.--_l._ 5, _nummus_,
C.--6, _rot. placet, totum pl._, C.--7, _ita pl. ... Romanos_,
C.--10, _obiceret_, C.--11, _Et sanc._, C.--12, _transeunt_,
C.--13, _venit parca_, C.--15, _pro munere_, C.--_P._ 17, _l._ 1,
_et ... sit_, G. and C. _animanti_, C.--2, _Respondet hæc tibia_,
G. and C.--6, _li mort_, C.--7, G. and C. have _Porta_ at the
beginning of this line, and _Papa_ in the next. G. omits the
words _chartula quærit_: it ought to be observed that in this MS.
the song is written as prose, so that such omissions are easily
explained.--8, G. and C. omit the words cursor quærit.--9, _omnis
quærit_, G. _si des si quid uni_, G. and C.--10, _Totum mare salsum
est, tota_, G. and C. except that the former has _salseum_ for
_salsum est_: see another example of this expression in the present
volume, p. 228, _l._ 19.--11, _Des ... des ... addas_, G.--_l._ 12,
the extract in Giraldus ends here.--_P._ 18, _l._ 4, _totum impl._,
C.--6, _habet Pluto_, C.--9, _dant divitibus_, C.

_P._ 44, _l._ 3 of Song against the Bishops, _read_ fungar vice
cotis, “I will perform the part of a whetstone.”

_P._ 282, _l._ 5 of translation, _for_ Edward, _read_ Edmund.




INDEX.


  Abel, Sir John, 219.

  Acre, 132, 288, 371, 393.

  _afingred_, 400.

  Albanac, 300, 395.

  Alfred’s Proverbs, extract from, 366.

  Almaigne, Richard, King of, 69, 281, 361.

  _almucium_, 355.

  Alnwick, 173, 376.

  Alphonso, brother to Louis IX., 36, 38.

  Alphonso VIII., 367.

  Amundisham, Walter, 304.

  Angiers, 37.

  Angus: _see_ Umfraville.

  d’Anjou, Comte, 66.

  Arabia, 28, 352.

  Aristotle, 245, 385.

  Arthur, King, 58, 355.

  Artois, Comte, 190.

  Athol, Earl of, 223, 381.

  _averia_, 383.

  _avowerie_, 378.


  Badlesmere, Bartholomew de, 263, 389.

  Bailiffs, conduct of, t. Edward I., 230.

  Baliol: _see_ John.

  Bannockburn, Song on the battle of, 261.

  Barons, objects of the confederate, t. Hen. III., 98.

  Bartholomeus, 263.

  Baston, Robert, 375, 380, 388.

  Battle abbey, 74, 362.

  Beaucaire, 38.

  Beck, Anthony, bishop of Durham, 305, 396.

  Belflour, 233, 383.

  Bellofago, Roger de, 383.

  Belregard, wood of, 232, 234, 383.

  Berkstead, Simon, Bishop of Chichester, 81, 362.

  Bertram, 173.

  Berwick-on-Tweed, 284, 285, 287, 289, 304.

  Berwick, John, 315.

  Besile, Sir Matthew or Macy de, 62, 358.

  Beverley Abbey, 139, 372.

  Bigot, Sir Hugh, 70, 361.

  Bigot, Roger, 67, 360.

  Bishops of Norwich, Bath, and Winchester, Song on the, 6.
    Notes, 347.

  Bishops, Song against, t. Hen. III., 44.

  Black Monks, order of, 141, 372.

  Bohun, Humphrey, the younger, 294.

  Bois, Thomas de, 219.

  Born, Bertrand de, 3.

  Boulogne, Comte of, 191.

  Boniface VIII. Pope, 193, 379.

  Bouaing, 2.

  Brennius, 58, 355.

  Broinsius, 58.

  Bruce, Sir Robert, (King of Scotland,) 215, 223, 285.
    Called the “summer King,” 380.

  Bruges, 188, 379.

  Burdon, William, Prior of Blythe, 374.

  _burel_, 381.

  Burstwick on Humber, 318.

  Bury St. Edmund’s, Parliament at, 310.


  Cadoing, 5, 347.

  Caen, 5, 347.

  Cambini undæ, 181.

  Cambinoy, 305, 396.

  Cambrai, 282, 288, 318.

  Camville, Nichola, 352.

  Canons, order of, 140, 372.
    secular, 142, 372.

  _capucium_, 355.

  Carcasson, 40.

  Carthusian monks, 373.

  Carrick, Earl of, 178, 377.

  Cato tertius, 10, 349.

  Celestine, Pope, 274, 390.

  _chapele_, 399.

  Charlemagne, 58, 355.

  Charles of France, 223: _see_ Sicily.

  Charter of the Peace with England, 360.

  Chester, Ranulph Earl of, 24, 351.

  Chesterfield, 370.

  Cistercians, 373.

  Clement V. Pope, 243, 385.

  Clifford, Roger, 60, 357.

  Comyn, 178, 377.

  Consistory Courts, Song on the, t. Edw. I., 155.

  Constantine, 58, 355.

  Conyng, Peter, 188, 191, 379.

  Corbridge, 287, 376.

  Corineus, 292, 393.

  Cornwall, Sir Richard, 284, 392.

  Courtrai, battle of, 187.

  Cressingham, Hugh, 304.

  Cyprus, 288.


  David, Saint, 57.

  Dayvile, Sir John, 60, 357.

  Despencer, Hugh le, 126, 269, 315, 368, 393.

  Devel, Sir Ralph, 191.

  Douglas, William, 285, 392.

  Dover, 71, 276, 391.

  Dunbar, battle of, 166, 213, 374.

  Dunbar, 287, 288, 289: _see_ March.

  Durham, Bishop of, 305, 396.


  Earls, rights of, 97.

  Edward, Prince, (Edward I.), 60, 64, 68, 93, 125, 370.

  Edward I., Latin poem in praise of, 128.
    Songs of his reign, 128-240.
    Laments on his death, 241, 246.
    His name of “Long-shanks,” 382.

  Edward, Prince of Wales, (Edward II.), 194, 216.

  Edward II., Songs of his reign, 241-272, 323-345.

  Egueblanche, Peter de, Bishop of Hereford, 61, 357.

  Ely, isle of, 130, 370.

  _encennia_, 382.

  Eustace, Bishop of Ely, 12, 350.

  Eutherium nemus, 181.

  Evesham, battle of, 125, 368.


  Falkirk, battle of, 176, 376.

  Famines in the reign of Edw. II., 338, 399.

  Flanders, Count of, 168.

  Flemish insurrection in 1302, Song on, 187.
    Notes, 378.

  _focaria_, 33, 352.

  Fraser, Richard, 285, 392.

  Fraser, Sir Simon, Song on his execution, 212.
    Notes, 380.

  Friars Minors, Order of, 144, 373.

  Frollo, 58.
    Account of him, 355.

  _fustum_, 377.


  Galloway, 304.

  Galvaing, 4.

  Gaveston, Peter, 253.
    Songs on his death, 258.
    Notes, 388.

  Gifford, Sir John, 59, 356.

  Glanville, Gilbert, Bishop of Rochester, 13, 350.

  Glasgow, Bishop of, 214.

  Gloucester, 94, 362.

  Gloucester, Earl of, 65, 122, 126, 263, 267, 360, 368, 370, 389.

  _goliard_, meaning of, 369.

  Golias, 349, 352, 402.

  Graham, Sir Patrick, 294.

  Grandison, Sir Otho, 288, 393.

  Gray, Sir John, 62, 358.

  Gray, John, Bishop of Norwich, 348, 349.

  Grey Monks, order of, 143, 373.

  Groing, 4.

  Guienne, 4.


  _halymote_, 374.

  Hemingford, the chronicler, paraphrases Peter Langtoft, 397.

  Henry III. Songs of his reign, 19-127.

  Hexham, 287, 289, 301, 376, 397.

  _hoblurs_, 380.

  Hospitallers, 140, 370.

  Hoyland, Robert de, 271, 390.

  Husbandman, Song of the, t. Edward I., 149.
    Notes, 374.


  James I., King of Aragon, 36, 37, 39, 41.

  Joceline, Bishop of Bath and Wells, 10, 349.

  John, King, Songs of his reign, 1-18.
    Styled Jupiter, 350.

  John Baliol, King of Scotland, 164, 274, 275, 285, 290, 298, 302.
    Verses on his deposition, 180.
    Nicknamed _Toom tabard_, 395.

  Jose, Sir John, 217.

  Judges, Song on the venality of, t. Edward I., 224.
    Notes, 382.


  Kambynoy, 305, 396.

  Kingly character, popular doctrine of, 363.

  Kirkencliff, battle of, 212, 216, 381.

  Knoville, William, 233, 283.


  Ladies, Song on the, t. Edw. I., 153.

  Lancaster, Thomas Earl of, office of, 268, 389, 390.

  Lancaster, Edmond Earl of, 282.

  Lanercost, 287, 289.

  Langley, Sir John, 62, 357.

  Langtoft, Peter, extracts from his Chronicle, 273.
    Notes, 390, &c.

  Langton, Archbishop, 6, 348.

  Langton, Walter de, 314.

  Latimer, Sir William, 63, 358.

  Leicester, Simon Earl of, _see_ Montfort.

  Lewes, battle of, 68, 361.
    Latin poem on, 72.

  Leyburne, Sir Roger, 60, 62, 357.

  Levenax (Lennox), Earl of, 171, 376.

  Limoux, 37.

  Lincoln, 24, 352.

  Lincoln, Henry Earl of, 282, 391.

  Lindsey, 319.

  London, 23, 130, 276, 280, 300, 307, 320, 322, 370.
    Saint Amont at, 67, 361.
    bridge, 212, 213, 221, 222.
    Cheap, 221.
    Newgate, 218.
    the Tower, 219, 221, 297, 304.

  Louis the Dauphin, 4, 23, 351.

  Louis IX., 36, 42, 63, 64.

  Lundi, Richard, 171, 376.

  _lyard_, 361.

  Lyndsay, Sir John, 217.


  Maine, Sir John of, 2.

  Mainerus, the scribe of Canterbury, his account of himself and his
        family, 354.

  _male rage_, 391.

  Mapes, Walter, 14, 349, 350, 373, 402.

  Mar, Earl of, 287.

  March, Patrick Earl of, 285, 287, 289, 392.

  Margaret, Queen, 178, 377.

  Martin, Sir William, 233, 383.

  Mauger Bishop of Worcester, 12, 350.

  Mauleon, Savary de, 1, 2, 3, 347.

  Melors, romance of, 356.

  Menteith, Earl of, 387.

  Menteith, Sir John, 321, 398.

  Merlin, 57, 64, 307, 309.

  Montfort, Guy, 126, 368.

  Montfort, Sir Henry, 126, 368.

  Montfort, Sir Hugh, 70.

  Montfort, Sir Peter, 60.

  Montfort, Simon, 61, 66, 70, 75-91, 123.
    The Lament of, 125, 362, 368.

  Montpellier, 40.

  Mountain, Old Man of the, 132, 371.

  Mountsorrell, 24, 351.

  Morham, _see_ Norham.

  Morley, 173.

  Multon, Sir Thomas, 217, 381.


  _nages_, 391, 395.

  Nego, the Song of, t. Edward I., 210.

  Newark, Henry, Archbishop elect of York, 317, 398.

  Newcastle-on-Tyne, 283.

  Newminster, 174.

  Norfolk, 59.

  Norfolk, Roger Bigod, Earl of, 123, 364.

  Norham, Sir Hubert, 218, 381.

  Northampton, 74, 361.

  Northumberland, 173, 292.

  Nottingham, 24, 352.


  d’Orange, Guillaume, 347.

  Order of Fair-Ease, Song of the, 137.
    Notes, 371.

  Ovid, 180.

  Oxford, 83.


  Paris, 67, 276, 277, 280.

  Parliament at St. Edmund’s Bury, 310.

  _paunter_, 400.

  Percy, Henry, 304.

  Philippe-Auguste, King, 4.

  Philip, King, 190, 193, 274, 281, 310, 315.

  Poitiers, 243, 384.

  Poitou, 4.

  Political Proverbs, 385-388.

  Preachers, Order of, 146, 373.


  Red Hall, at Berwick, 284, 392.

  Retinues, Song on great, t. Edward I., 237.
    Notes, 385.

  _ribald_, meaning of, 369.

  Richard I., King, 4, 58, 128, 347, 355.

  Rion, 278.

  Rishanger, William, 121, 368.

  _rivelins_, 391.

  Robert, Richard, Gilbert, and Geoffrey, four brothers, 49.

  Robert, Bishop of Salisbury, 13, 350.

  Robertsbridge, 75, 362.

  Rolls, containing songs and poems, 356.

  Rome, 15-18, 324;
    pope of, 43, 311.

  Ros, Robert de, 283, 391.

  Ross, Earl of, 287.

  de Rovenac, Bertrand, 36.

  de Rupibus, Peter, Bishop of Winchester, 10, 349.


  _Sabina_, 28, 352.

  St. Andrew’s, Bishop of, 214, 299.

  St. Denis, 68.

  de St. Paul, Sir Jacques, 189.

  St. Thomas of Canterbury, 125, 268, 390.

  Sandwich, Sir Ralph, 219, 381.

  Savoy, Sir Amy de, 288.

  Scholastic studies, Song against, t. Edward I., 206.
    Notes, 380.

  Scone, abbot of, 214:
    royal seat of, 307.

  Scottish wars, Song on, t. Edward I., 160.
    Notes, 374.

  Sempringham abbey, 138, 371.

  Sheriffs, conduct of, t. Edward I., 228.

  Short, Jack, 398.

  Sicily, Charles King of, 131, 370.

  Silence, the Order of, 144, 373.

  Simony, Song on, t. Edward II., 323.

  Somervile, 173.

  Somnours, 157.

  Spigurnel, Henry, 233, 383.

  Stirling, 217, 262, 318, 376.

  Surrey, Earl of: _see_ Warenne.

  Sutton, Oliver, Bishop of Lincoln, 317, 398.

  Syria, 40.

  Syward, Sir Richard, 290, 291, 293.


  Tailors, Song on the, t. Hen. III., 51.

  Tallies of the King’s purveyors, 184, 377, 399.

  Thouars, 1.

  Tiebald, 4.

  Tindale, 287.

  Touraine, 4.

  Toulouse, Comte de, 38.

  Tours, 37.

  _tprot Scot_, 223, 381.

  Traillebaston, Song of, t. Edward I., 231.
    Notes, 283.
    Langtoft’s account of, 319, 398.

  Trent, the river, 169, 376.

  Troy, 180.

  _trutannus_, whence _truant_, 376.

  _tu-brugge_, 381.

  Tunis, 131, 370.

  Turbevile, Thomas, 278-281, 391.

  _turmentours_, in the miracle plays, 399.

  _Tyeis_, meaning of the word, 355.


  Umfraville, Gilbert, 178, 285, 377, 392.


  de Valence, Sir Aymer, 216, 387.

  Vescy, Sir William de, 173, 282, 391.

  Virgil, and legends of him, 245, 385, 388.

  _viro_, its meaning, 371.


  Wallace, William, 170, 173, 174, 376.
    Execution of, 213, 222, 321, 380, 398.

  Wallingford, honour of, 69, 361.

  Wanton, Simon de, Bishop of Norwich, 62, 357.

  Warenne, John Earl of, 59, 70, 168, 289, 304, 319, 356, 361, 376.

  Warwick, Earl of, 289, 393.

  Welsh, Song of the, t. Hen. III., 54.
    Their turbulence, 273.

  Westminster, 253.
    Abbey, 311.

  White Monks, 373.

  Winchelsea, Archbishop, 311, 316, 398.

  Winchester, Earl of, 65, 360.

  Windsor, 69, 361.

  Wise-men, legend of the Four, 385-388.

  Wool, custom on, 377.

  Wyta, Thomas de, 132, 371.


THE END.


London: J. B. Nichols and Son, Printers, 25, Parliament Street.




  TRANSCRIBER’S NOTE

  Obvious punctuation errors have been corrected after careful
  comparison with similar occurrences within the text and consultation
  of external sources.

  Except for those changes noted below, all misspellings in the text,
  and inconsistent or archaic usage, have been retained (for example,
  participater; agreable; Eduardus; indited).

  In the Table of Contents:--
  Pg xviii: a final entry ‘INDEX   403’ has been added.

  In the songs:--
  Pg 89: line number ‘250’ replaced by ‘350’.
  Pg 271: ‘dolose desiandatur’ replaced by ‘dolose defiandatur’.

  In the translations:--
  Pg 78: ‘pride and and cruelty’ replaced by ‘pride and cruelty’.
  Pg 131: ‘with the Sicilans’ replaced by ‘with the Sicilians’.
  Pg 133: ‘is of no    but right’ (a word is missing) replaced by
  ‘is of no use; but right’.
  Pg 140: ‘the brethen must’ replaced by ‘the brethren must’.
  Pg 156: ‘all who sits there’ replaced by ‘all who sit there’.
  Pg 158: ‘then so fall’ replaced by ‘than so fall’.
  Pg 215: ‘come no nothing’ replaced by ‘come to nothing’.

  In the abstracts and glossaries:--
  Pg 160: ‘have apparenty been’ replaced by ‘have apparently been’.
  Pg 336: ‘292. _mot-hall_’ replaced by ‘292. _mot-halle_’.
  Pg 344: ‘wrong.--868’ replaced by ‘wrong.--468’.

  In the Notes:--
  Pg 349: ‘_P._ 1, _l._ 14’ replaced by ‘_P._ 8, _l._ 14’.
  Pg 349: ‘---- 15’ replaced by ‘---- _l._ 15’.
  Pg 351: ‘totum pl.,--7’ replaced by ‘totum pl., Fl.--7’ (the
  missing source reference assumed to be Fl.).
  Pg 371: ‘wintered at Trapeni’ replaced by ‘wintered at Trapani’.
  Pg 376: ‘_P._ 169,’ replaced by ‘_P._ 169, _l._ 1,’ (missing
  line number inserted).
  Pg 376: ‘---- _l._ 186,’ replaced by ‘_P._ 174, _l._ 186,’ (missing
  page number inserted).
  Pg 380: ‘The MS. has ̃p̃pe’. The original text has one large tilde
  spanning ‘pp’.
  Pg 389: ‘The MS. has _far?_’. The original text has an unusual
  symbol, similar to but not a ?. Unicode code points for these may
  come in the future from the Medieval Unicode Font Initiative (MUFI).

  In the Index:--
  Robert: ‘Geffrey’ replaced by ‘Geoffrey’,
  tu-brigge: replaced by ‘tu-brugge’.
  Entries Canons and London had sub-entries starting with ----. These
  subentries have been indented by two spaces instead, for consistency.





End of Project Gutenberg's The Political Songs of England, by Thomas Wright