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Title: The Wright's Chaste Wife

Author: active approximately 1462 of Cobsam Adam

Editor: Frederick James Furnivall

Release date: December 26, 2005 [eBook #17400]

Language: Middle English

Other information and formats: www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/17400

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Transcriber's note:

This e-text uses a number of characters that depend on utf-8 encoding, particularly small and capital yogh (ȝ, Ȝ), small and capital thorn (þ, Þ), double l with a tilde through (l̴l̴), u with a macron (ū), h with a line through the top (ħ), r with a upwards hook attached to the horizontal stem (r̛) and ae ligature with an acute accent (ǽ). If they do not display properly, you may have an incompatible browser or unavailable fonts. As a first resort, try changing your browser's default font.

This e-text also uses some characters that are not in unicode. I have rendered them following:

{m~} for a m with a loop back over the character, which looks like

{n)} for a n with a ) attached to the right side, which looks like

{d+} for the d with a little crook attached to the top right of the d, which looks like

There is also one instance of (on line 391 of the poem) a m with a ) attached to the right side (rendered as {m)} and looks like), but this is probably a typo for {m~}. I have left this as is.

Text and letters in brackets [ ] is original.

Obvious typos are corrected in this e-text and are shown with popups underlined in red.

The Wright's Chaste Wife.

Early English Text Society

Original Series, No. 12

1865

Reprinted 1891, 1905, 1965

Price 7s. 6d.

The

Wright's Chaste Wife,

OR

"A  Fable  of  a  wrygħt that  was  maryde  to  a  pore

wydows  dowtre   /   the  whiche  wydow  havyng

noo  good  to  geve  with  her  /  gave  as  for

a   precyous   Johel̴l̴   to   hym   a   Rose

garlond / the whyche sche affermyd

wold   never  fade  while   sche

kept  truly  her  wedlok."

A Merry Tale, by Adam of Cobsam.

From a MS. in the Library of the Archbishop of Canterbury, at Lambeth, about 1462 A.D.

COPIED AND EDITED BY

FREDERICK J. FURNIVALL.

Published for

THE EARLY ENGLISH TEXT SOCIETY

by the

OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS

LONDON · NEW YORK · TORONTO

FIRST PUBLISHED 1865

REPRINTED 1891, 1905, 1965.

Original Series No. 12

REPRINTED IN GREAT BRITAIN BY RICHARD CLAY

(THE CHAUCER PRESS) LTD., BUNGAY, SUFFOLK

PREFACE.

Good wine needs no bush, and this tale needs no Preface. I shall not tell the story of it—let readers go to the verse itself for that; nor shall I repeat to those who begin it the exhortation of the englisher of Sir Generides,

"for goddes sake, or ye hens wende,

Here this tale unto the ende."—(ll. 3769-70.)

If any one having taken it up is absurd enough to lay it down without finishing it, let him lose the fun, and let all true men pity him. Though the state of morals disclosed by the story is not altogether satisfactory, yet it is a decided improvement on that existing in Roberd of Brunne's time in 1303, for he had to complain of the lords of his day:

Also do þese lordynges,

Þe[y] trespas moche yn twey þynges;

Þey rauys a mayden aȝens here wyl,

And mennys wyuys þey lede awey þertyl.

A grete vylanye þarte he dous

Ȝyf he make therof hys rouse [boste]:

Þe dede ys confusyun,

And more ys þe dyffamacyun.

The volume containing the poem was shown to me by Mr Stubbs, the Librarian at Lambeth, in order that I might see the version of Sir Gyngelayne, son of Sir Gawain, which Mr Morris is some day, I trust, to edit for the Society in one of his Gawain volumes.[1] Finding the present poem also on the paper leaves, I copied it out the same afternoon, and here it is for a half-hour's amusement to any reader who chooses to take it up.

The handwriting of the MS. must be of a date soon after 1460, and this agrees well with the allusion to Edward the Fourth's accession, and the triumph of the White Rose o'er the Red alluded to in the last lines of the poem. The Garlond,

It was made ...

Of flourys most of honoure,

Of roses whyte þat wyl̴l̴ nott fade,

Whych floure al̴l̴ ynglond doth glade....

Vn-to the whych floure I-wys

The loue of God and of the comonys

Subdued bene of ryght.

For, that the Commons of England were glad of their Yorkist king, and loved Duke Richard's son, let Holinshed's record prove. He testifies:

"Wherevpon it was againe demanded of the commons, if they would admit and take the said erle as their prince and souereigne lord; which all with one voice cried: Yea, yea....

"Out of the ded stocke sprang a branch more mightie than the stem; this Edward the Fourth, a prince so highlie fauoured of the peple, for his great liberalite, clemencie, vpright dealing, and courage, that aboue all other, he with them stood in grace alone: by reason whereof, men of all ages and degrees to him dailie repaired, some offering themselues and their men to ioepard their liues with him, and other plentiouslie gaue monie to support his charges, and to mainteine his right."

Would that we knew as much of Adam of Cobsam as of our White-Rose king. He must have been one of the Chaucer breed,[2] but more than this poem tells of him I cannot learn.

3, St George's Square, N.W.,

23 November, 1865.

P.S.—There are other Poems about Edward IV. in the volume, which will be printed separately.[3] One on Women is given at the end of the present text.

PP.S. 1869.—Mr C.H. Pearson, the historian of the Early and Middle Ages of England, has supplied me with the immediate original of this story. He says:

"The Wright's Chaste Wife is a reproduction of one of the Gesta Romanorum, cap. 69, de Castitate, ed. Keller. The Latin story begins 'Gallus regnavit prudens valde.' The Carpenter gets a shirt with his wife, which is never to want washing unless one of them is unfaithful. The lovers are three Knights (milites), and they are merely kept on bread and water, not made to work; nor is any wife introduced to see her lord's discomfiture. The English version, therefore, is much quainter and fuller of incident than its original. But the 'morality' of the Latin story is rich beyond description. 'The wife is holy Mother Church,' 'the Carpenter is the good Christian,' 'the shirt is our Faith, because, as the apostle says, it is impossible to please God without faith.' The Wright's work typifies 'the building up the pure heart by the works of mercy.' The three Knights are 'the pride of life, the lust of the eyes, and the lust of the flesh.' 'These you must shut up in the chamber of penance till you get an eternal reward from the eternal King.' 'Let us therefore pray God,' &c."

With the Wright's Chaste Wife may also be compared the stories mentioned in the Notes, p. 20, and the Ballad "The Fryer well fitted; or

A Pretty jest that once befel,

How a maid put a Fryer to cool in the well"

printed "in the Bagford Collection; in the Roxburghe (ii. 172); the Pepys (iii. 145); the Douce (p. 85); and in Wit and Mirth, an Antidote to Melancholy, 8vo. 1682; also, in an altered form, in Pills to purge Melancholy, 1707, i. 340; or 1719, iii. 325"; and the tune of which, with an abstract of the story, is given in Chappell's Popular Music, i. 273-5. The Friar makes love to the Maid; she refuses him for fear of hell-fire.

Tush, quoth the Friar, thou needst not doubt;

If thou wert in Hell, I could sing thee out.

So she consents if he'll bring her an angel of money. He goes home to fetch it, and she covers the well over with a cloth. When he comes back, and has given her the money, she pretends that her father is coming, tells the Friar to run behind the cloth, and down he flops into the well. She won't help him at first, because if he could sing her out of hell, he can clearly sing himself out of the well: but at last she does help him out, keeps his money because he's dirtied the water, and sends him home dripping along the street like a new-washed sheep.

[1] The since printing of the Romance in the Percy Folio MS. Ballads and Romances, (Lybius Disconius, ii. 404,) will probably render this unnecessary. (1869.)

[2] Chaucer brings off his Carpenter, though, triumphant, and not with the swived wife and broken arm that he gives his befooled Oxford craftsman in The Milleres Tale. (1869.)

[3] In Political, Religious, and Love Poems, E.E. Text Soc., 1867.

THE WRIGHT'S CHASTE WIFE.

[MS. Lambeth 306, leaves 178-187.]

Al̴l̴myghty god, maker of alle,

My sovereigns,

Saue you my souereyns in towre & halle,

3

And send yoū good grace!

If ye wyl̴l̴ a stounde blynne,

I will tell you a tale

Of a story I wyl̴l̴ begynne,

6

And telle you al̴l̴ the cas,

Meny farleyes þat I haue herde,

Ye would haue wondyr how yt ferde;

9

Lystyn, and ye schal̴l̴ here;

of a wright

Of a wryght I wyl̴l̴ you telle,

of this land,

That some tyme in thys land gan dwelle,

12

And lyued by hys myster.

who, at work, was afraid of no earthly man.

Whether that he were yn or owte,

Of erthely man hadde he no dowte,

15

To werke hows, harowe, nor plowgh,

Or other werkes, what so they were,

Thous wrought he hem farre and nere,

18

And dyd tham wele I-nough.

At first he would wed no wife,

Thys wryght would wedde no wyfe,

Butt yn yougeth to lede hys lyfe

[leaf 178, back]

21

In myrthe and oþer melody;

for wherever he went he was welcome;

Ouer al̴l̴ where he gan wende,

Al̴l̴ they seyd "welcome, frende,

24

Sytt downe, and do gla[d]ly."

THE WRIGHT FALLS IN LOVE, AND PROPOSES.

but at last he wished

Tyl̴l̴ on a tyme he was wyllyng,

As tyme comyth of alle thyng,

27

(So seyth the profesye,)

to have a spouse to look after his goods.

A wyfe for to wedde & haue

That myght hys goodes kepe and saue,

30

And for to leue al̴l̴ foly.

A widow near had a fair daughter

Ther dwellyd a wydowe in þat contre

That hadde a doughter feyre & fre;

33

Of her, word sprang wyde,

true and meek.

For sche was bothe stabyl̴l̴ & trewe,

Meke of maners, and feyr̛ of hewe;

36

So seyd men in that tyde.

The wryght seyde, "so god me saue,

Her the wright would like to lie by him,

Such a wyfe would I haue

39

To lye nyghtly by my syde."

He þought to speke wyth þat may,

and therefore went to her mother

And rose erly on a daye

42

And þyder gan he to ryde.

The wryght was welcome to þe wyfe,

And her saluyd al̴l̴ so blyve,

45

And so he dyd her doughter fre:

and proposed for the maiden.

For the erand that he for ca{m~}

Tho he spake, þat good yema{n)};

48

Than to hym seyd sche:

The mother says she can only give him as a portion

The wydowe seyd, "by heuen kyng,

I may geue wyth her no þing,

51

(And þat forthynketh me;)

a garland

Saue a garlond I wyl̴l̴ the geue,

Ye schal̴l̴ neuer see, whyle ye lyve,

54

None such in thys contre:

of roses

Haue here thys garlond of roses ryche,

In al̴l̴ thys lond ys none yt lyche,

that will keep its colour

57

For ytt wyl̴l̴ euer be newe,

[leaf 179]

Wete þou wele withowtyn fable,

while his wife is true,

Al̴l̴ the whyle thy wyfe ys stable

60

The chaplett wolle hold hewe;

but change when she is faithless.

HE RECEIVES A ROSE GARLAND WITH HIS WIFE.

And yf thy wyfe vse putry,

Or tolle eny man to lye her by,

63

Than wolle yt change hewe,

And by the garlond þou may see,

Fekyl̴l̴ or fals yf þat sche be,

66

Or ellys yf sche be trewe."

The wright is delighted with his garland and wife,

Of thys chaplett hym was ful̴l̴ fayne,

And of hys wyfe, was nott to layne;

marries her and takes her home;

69

He weddyd her ful̴l̴ sone,

And ladde her home wyth solempnite,

And hyld her brydal̴l̴ dayes thre.

72

Whan they home come,

and then begins to think that when he is out at work

Thys wryght in hys hart cast,

If that he walkyd est or west

75

As he was wonte to done,

men will try to corrupt his wife.

"My wyfe þat ys so bryght of ble,

Men wolle desyre her̛ fro me,

78

And þat hastly and sone;"

So he plans a crafty room and tower,

Butt sone he hym byþought

That a chambyr schuld be wrought

81

Bothe of lyme and stone,

Wyth wallys strong as eny stele,

And dorres sotylly made and wele,

84

He owte framyd yt sone;

and builds it soon with plaster of Paris,

The chambyr he lett make fast,

Wyth plaster of parys þat wyl̴l̴ last,

87

Such ous know I neuer none;

which no one could ever get out of if he once got into it,

Ther ys [ne] kyng ne emperoure,

And he were lockyn in þat towre,

90

That cowde gete owte of þat wonne.

Nowe hath he done as he þought,

And in the myddes of the flore wrought

93

A wondyr strange gyle,

for there was a trapdoor in the middle,

A trapdoure rounde abowte

[leaf 179, back]

That no man myght come yn nor owte;

96

It was made wyth a wyle,

and if any one only touched it, down he'd go into a pit.

THE WRIGHT GOES TO WORK, AND LEAVES HIS WIFE AT HOME.

That who-so touchyd yt eny thyng,

In to þe pytt he schuld flyng

99

Wythyn a lytyl̴l̴ whyle.

This was to stop any tricks with his wife.

For hys wyfe he made that place,

That no man schuld beseke her of grace,

102

Nor her to begyle.

Just then the town Lord

By þat tyme þe lord of the towne

Hadde ordeynyd tymbyr redy bowne,

105

An halle to make of tre.

sends for him to build a Hall,

After the wryght the lord lett sende,

For þat he schuld wyth hym lende

(a job for two or three months,)

108

Monythys two or thre.

The lord seyd, "woult þou haue þi wyfe?

and offers to fetch his wife too.

I wyl̴l̴ send after her blyve

111

That sche may com to the."

The wryght hys garlond hadde take wyth hy{m~},

That was bryght and no þing dymme,

114

Yt wes feyre on to see.

He sees the wright's garland, and asks what it means.

The lord axyd hym as he satt,

"Felowe, where hadyst þou þis hatte

117

That ys so feyre and newe?"

The wryght answerd al̴l̴ so blyue,

"Sir, it will

And seyd, "syr, I hadde yt wyth my wyfe,

120

And þat dare me neuer̛ rewe;

tell me whether my wife is false or true;

Syr, by my garlond I may see

Fekyl̴l̴ or fals yf þat sche be,

123

Or[1] yf þat sche be trewe;

and will change its colour if she go wrong."

And yf my wyfe loue a paramoure,

Than wyl̴l̴ my garlond vade coloure,

126

And change wyl̴l̴ yt the hewe."

The lord þought "by godys myght,

"I'll try that," thinks the Lord,

That wyl̴l̴ I wete thys same nyght

129

Whether thys tale be trewe."

and goes to the wright's wife.

To the wryghtys howse anon he went,

He fonde the wyfe ther-in presente

[leaf 180]

THE LORD BRIBES THE WRIGHT'S WIFE TO LIE WITH HIM.                                                                        132

That was so bryght and schene;

Sone he hayled her trewly,

And so dyd sche the lord curtesly:

135

Sche seyd, "welcome ye be;"

Thus seyd the wyfe of the hows,

She asks after her husband

"Syr, howe faryth my swete spouse

138

That hewyth vppon your̛ tre?"

but the Lord

"Sertes, dame," he seyd, "wele,

And I am come, so haue I hele,

141

To wete the wylle of the;

declares his own love for her,

My loue ys so vppon the cast

That me thynketh my hert wolle brest,

144

It wolle none otherwyse be;

and prays her to grant him his will.

Good dame, graunt me thy grace

To pley with the in some preuy place

147

For gold and eke for fee."

She entreats him to let that be,

"Good syr, lett be youre fare,

And of such wordes speke no mare

150

For hys loue þat dyed on tre;

Hadde we onys begonne þat gle,

My husbond by his garlond myght see;

153

For sorowe he would wexe woode."

but he presses her,

"Certes, dame," he seyd, "naye;

Loue me, I pray you, in þat ye maye:

156

For godys loue change thy mode,

and offers her 40 marks.

Forty marke schal̴l̴ be youre mede

Of syluer and of gold[e] rede,

159

And that schal̴l̴ do the good."

On this she consents if he'll put down the money.

"Syr, that deede schal̴l̴ be done;

Take me that mony here anone."

162

"I swere by the holy rode

I thought when I cam hydder̛

For to bryng[2] yt al̴l̴ to-gydder̛,

165

As I mott broke my heele."

The 40 marks she takes

Ther sche toke xl marke

Of syluer and gold styff and sterke:

THE LORD IS DROPPED THROUGH A TRAPDOOR,                                                                        168

Sche toke yt feyre and welle;

and tells him to go

Sche seyd, "in to the chambyr wyl̴l̴ we,

[leaf 180, back]

Ther no man schal̴l̴ vs see;

into the secret chamber.

171

No lenger wyl̴l̴ we spare."

Upstairs he goes,

Vp the steyer they gan[3] hye:

The stepes were made so queyntly

174

That farther myght he nott fare.

stumbles,

The lord stumbyllyd as he went in hast,

and pops down 40 feet through the wright's trapdoor.

He fel̴l̴ doune in to þat chaste

177

Forty fote and somedele more.

The lord began to crye;

The wyfe seyd to hym in hye,

180

"Syr, what do ye there?"

He prays the

"Dame, I can nott seye howe

That I am come hydder nowe

183

To thys hows þat ys so newe;

I am so depe in thys sure flore

That I ne can come owte att no dore;

good dame to have pity on him.

186

Good dame, on me þou rewe!"

"Nay," says she, "not till my husband sees you."

"Nay," sche seyd, "so mut y the,

Tyl̴l̴ myne husbond come and se,

189

I schrewe hym þat yt þought."

The Lord tries to get out, but can't,

The lord arose and lokyd abowte

If he myght eny where gete owte,

192

Butt yt holpe hy{m~} ryght nogħt,

The wallys were so thycke wythy{n)},

That he no where myght owte wynne

195

But helpe to hy{m~} were brought;

and then threatens the wife,

And euer the lord made euyl̴l̴ chere,

And seyd, "dame, þou schalt by thys dere."

198

Sche seyd that sche ne rougħt;

but she doesn't care for that,

Sche seyd "I recke nere

Whyle I am here and þou art there,

201

I schrewe herre þat þe doth drede."

The lord was sone owte of her þought,

and goes away to her work.

The wyfe went in to her lofte,

AND HAS TO BEAT FLAX TO EARN HIS DINNER.                                                                        204

Sche satte and dyd her dede.

Next day the Lord begs for food.

Than yt fel̴l̴ on þat oþer daye,

Of mete and drynke he gan her pray,

207

There of he hadde gret nede.

[leaf 181]

He seyd, "dame, for seynt charyte,

Wyth some mete þou comfort me."

"You'll get none from me

210

Sche seyd, "nay, so god me spede,

For I swere by swete seynt Iohne,

Mete ne drynke ne getyst þou none

unless you sweat for it," says she;

213

Butt þou wylt swete or swynke;

"spin me some flax."

For I haue both hempe and lyne,

And a betyngstocke ful̴l̴ fyne,

216

And a swyngyl̴l̴ good and grete;

If þou wylt worke, tell me sone."

He says he will:

"Dame, bryng yt forthe, yt schal̴l̴ be done,

219

Ful̴l̴ gladly would I ete."

she throws him the tools,

Sche toke the stocke in her honde,

And in to the pytt sche yt sclang

222

With a grete hete:

the flax and hemp,

Sche brought the lyne and hempe on her backe,

and says, "Work away."

"Syr lord," sche seyd, "haue þou þat,

225

And lerne for to swete."

Ther sche toke hym a bonde

For to occupy hys honde,

228

And bade hym fast on to bete.

He does,

He leyd yt downe on the[4] stone,

lays on well,

And leyd on strockes wel̴l̴ good wone,

231

And sparyd nott on to leyne.

Whan þat he hadde wrought a thraue,

and then asks for his food,

Mete and drynke he gan to craue,

234

And would haue hadde yt fayne;

"That I hadde somewhat for to ete

Now after my gret swete;

237

Me thynketh yt were rygħt,

for he's toiled night and day.

For I haue labouryd nyght and daye

The for to plese, dame, I saye,

240

And therto putt my myght."

The wife

THE STEWARD RESOLVES TO TEMPT THE WRIGHT'S WIFE.

The wyfe seyd "so mutt I haue hele,

And yf þi worke be wrought wele

243

Thou schalt haue to dyne."

gives him meat and drink

Mete and drynke sche hym bare,

[leaf 181, back]

Wyth a thrafe of flex mare

and more flax,

246

Of ful̴l̴ long boundyn lyne.

So feyre the wyfe the lord gan praye

and keeps him up to his work.

That he schuld be werkyng aye,

249

And nought þat he schuld blynne;

The lord was fayne to werke tho,

Butt hys men knewe nott of hys woo

252

Nor of þer lordes pyne.

The Steward asks the wright after his Lord,

The stuard to þe wryght gan saye,

"Sawe þou owte of my lord to-daye,

255

Whether that he ys wende?"

The wryght answerde and seyd "naye;

I sawe hym nott syth yesterdaye;

258

I trowe þat he be schent."

then notices the garland,

The stuard stode þe wryght by,

And of hys garlond hadde ferly

261

What þat yt be-mente.

and asks who gave it him.

The stuard seyd, "so god me saue,

Of thy garlond wondyr I haue,

264

And who yt hath the sent."

"Sir, it will tell me whether my wife goes bad."

"Syr," he seyd, "be the same hatte

I can knowe yf my wyfe be badde

267

To me by eny other ma{n)};

If my floures ouþer fade or falle,

Then doth my wyfe me wrong wyth-alle,

270

As many a woman ca{n)}."

"I'll prove that this very night," says the steward,

The stuard þought "by godes mygħt,

That schal̴l̴ I preue thys same nygħt

273

Whether þou blys or banne,"

gets plenty of money, and goes off

And in to hys chambyr he gan gone,

And toke tresure ful̴l̴ good wone,

AND THINKS HE HAS SUCCEEDED SO WELL.                                                                        276

And forth he spedde hem tha{n)}.

Butt he ne stynt att no stone

to the wright's house,

Tyl̴l̴ he vn-to þe wryghtes hows come

279

That ylke same nygħt.

He mett the wyfe amydde the gate,

takes her round the neck,

Abowte þe necke he gan her take,

and offers her all

282

And seyd "my dere wyght,

[leaf 182]

Al̴l̴ the good þat ys myne

he has, to lie by her that night.

I wyl̴l̴ the geue to be thyne

285

To lye by the al̴l̴ nyght."

She refuses,

Sche seyd, "syr, lett be thy fare,

My husbond wolle wete wyth-owty{n)} mare

288

And I hym dyd that vnrygħt;

I would nott he myght yt wete

For al̴l̴ the good that I myght gete,

291

So Ihesus[5] mutt me spede

as her husband would be sure to know of it.

For, and eny man lay me by,

My husbond would yt wete truly,

294

It ys wythowtyn eny drede."

The steward urges her again,

The stuard seyd "for hym þat ys wrought,

There-of, dame, drede the nogħt

297

Wyth me to do that dede;

and offers her 20 marks.

Haue here of me xx marke

Of gold and syluer styf and starke,

300

Thys tresoure schal̴l̴ be thy mede."

She says, "Then don't tell any one,"

"Syr, and I graunt þat to yoū,

Lett no man wete butt we two nowe."

303

He seyd, "nay, wythowtyn drede."

The stuard þought, 'sykerly

Women beth both queynte & slye.'

takes his money,

306

The mony he gan her bede;

He þought wele to haue be spedde,

And of his erand he was onredde

309

Or he were fro he{m~} I-gone.

sends him up the quaint stairs,

Vp the sterys sche hym leyde

THE STEWARD IS SHOT THROUGH THE TRAPDOOR,

Tyl̴l̴ he saw the wryghtes bedde:

312

Of tresoure þought he none;

and lets him tumble through the trapdoor.

He went and stumblyd att a stone;

In to þe seller̛ he fylle sone,

315

Downe to the bare flore.

"What the devil are you?" says the Lord.

The lord seyd "what deuyl̴l̴ art þoū?

And þou hadest falle on me nowe,

318

Thowe hadest hurt me ful̴l̴ sore."

[leaf 182, back]

The stuard stert and staryd abowte

The steward finds he can't get out;

If he mygħt ower gete owte

321

Att hole lesse or mare.

The lord seyd, "welcome, and sytt be tyme,

For þou schalt helpe to dyght thys lyne

324

For al̴l̴ thy fers[e] fare."

The stuard lokyd on the knygħt,

and wonders why his Lord is there.

He seyd, "syr, for godes myght,

327

My lord, what do you here?"

He seyd "felowe, wyth-owtyn oth,

"We both came on one errand, man."

For o erand we come bothe,

330

The sothe wolle I nott lete."

The wife asks what they're doing;

Tho cam the wyfe them vn-to,

And seyd, "syres, what do you to,

333

Wyl̴l̴ ye nott lerne to swete?"

the Lord says,

Than seyd þe lord her vn-to,

"Your flax is done, and I want my dinner."

'Dame, your̛ lyne ys I-doo,

336

Nowe would I fayne ete:

And I haue made yt al̴l̴ I-lyke,

Ful̴l̴ clere, and no þing thycke,

339

Me thynketh yt gret payne."

The steward says if he ever gets out he'll crack her skull.

The stuard seyd "wyth-owtyn dowte,

And euer I may wynne owte,

342

I wyl̴l̴ breke her brayne."

But the wife chaffs him,

"Felowe, lett be, and sey nott so,

For þou schalt worke or euer þou goo,

says he'll soon be glad to eat his words,

345

Thy wordes þou torne agayne,

Fayne þou schalt be so to doo,

And thy good wylle put þerto;

BUT IS PROUD, AND WILL NOT WORK FOR HIS DINNER.                                                                        348

As a man buxome and bayne

and unless he rubs and reels, he'll get no meat.

Thowe schalt rubbe, rele, and spynne,

And þou wolt eny mete wynne,

351

That I geue to god a gyfte."

"I'll die for hunger first, unhouseled," answers he.

The stuard seyd, "then haue I wondyr;

Rather would I dy for hungyr

354

Wyth-owte hosyl̴l̴ or shryfte."

The lord seyd, "so haue I hele,

[leaf 183]

Thowe wylt worke, yf þou hungyr welle,

357

What worke þat the be brought."

The Lord works away,

The lord satt and dyd hys werke,

The stuard drewe in to the derke,

360

Gret sorowe was in hys þought.

The lord seyd, "dame, here ys youre lyne,

Haue yt in godes blessyng and myne,

363

I hold yt welle I-wrought."

and gets his food and drink.

Mete and drynke sche gaue hym y{n)},

"The stuard," sche seyd, "wolle he nott spynne,

366

Wyl̴l̴ he do ryght nogħt?"

The lord seyd, "by swete sen Ione,

None of it will he give to the steward,

Of thys mete schal̴l̴ he haue none

369

That ye haue me hydder brought."

but eats it all up,

The lord ete and dranke fast,

The stuard hungeryd att þe last,

372

For he gaue hym nought.

The stuard satt al̴l̴ in a stody,

Hys lord hadde forgote curtesy:

375

Tho[6] seyd þe stuard, "geue me some."

and won't give him one crumb:

The lord seyd, "sorowe haue þe morsel̴l̴ or sope

That schal̴l̴ come in thy throte!

378

Nott so much as o crome!

let him work and earn some for himself.

Butt þou wylt helpe to dyght þis lyne,

Much hungyr yt schal̴l̴ be thyne

381

Though þou make much mone."

The steward gives in,

Vp he rose, and went therto,

"Better ys me þus to doo

384

Whyle yt must nedys be do."

asks for work; the wife throws it him,

THE STEWARD IS OBLIGED TO WORK AFTER ALL.

The stuard began fast to knocke,

The wyfe þrew hym a swyngelyng stocke,

387

Hys mete þerwyth to wy{n)};

Sche brought a swyngyl̴l̴ att þe last,

"Good syres," sche seyd, "swyngylle on fast;

390

For no þing that ye blynne."

Sche gaue hy{m)} a stocke to sytt vppo{n)},

And seyd "syres, þis werke must nedys be done,

393

Al̴l̴ that that ys here y{n)}."

[leaf 183, back]

The stuard toke vp a stycke to saye,

and steward and Lord are both spinning away

"Sey, seye, swyngyl̴l̴ better yf ye may,

396

Hytt wyl̴l̴ be the better to spynne."

Were þe lord neuer so gret,

to earn their dinner,

Yet was he fayne to werke for hys mete

399

Though he were neuer so sadde;

Butt þe stuard þat was so stowde,

Was fayne to swyngelle þe scales owte,

402

Ther-of he was nott glad.

while the Lord's people cannot make out what has become of him.

The lordys meyne þat were att home

Wyst nott where he was bycome,

405

They were ful̴l̴ sore adrad.

Then the Proctor sees the wright

The proctoure of þe parysche chyrche rygħt

Came and lokyd on þe wryght,

408

He lokyd as he ware madde;

Fast þe proctoure gan hym frayne,

and asks where he got his garland from.

"Where hadest þou þis garlond gayne?

411

It ys euer lyke newe."

The wryght gan say "felowe,

"With my wife;

Wyth my wyfe, yf þou wylt knowe;

414

That dare me nott rewe;

and while she is true it will never fade,

For al̴l̴ the whyle my wyfe trew ys,

My garlond wolle hold hewe I-wys,

417

And neuer falle nor fade;

but if she's false it will."

And yf my wyfe take a paramoure,

Than wolle my garlond vade þe floure,

420

That dare I ley myne hede."

The proctor thinks he'll test this,

THE PROCTOR TEMPTS THE WIFE, AND IS TRAPDOORED.

The proctoure þought, "in good faye

That schal̴l̴ I wete thys same daye

423

Whether yt may so be."

goes to the wright's wife

To the wryghtes hows he went,

He grete þe wyfe wyth feyre entente,

426

Sche seyd "syr, welcome be ye."

and declares his love for her;

"A! dame, my loue ys on you fast

Syth the tyme I sawe you last;

429

I pray you yt may so be

That ye would graunt me of your̛ grace

he must have her or die.

To play wyth you in some priuy place,

[leaf 184]

432

Or ellys to deth mutt me."

Fast þe proctoure gan to pray,

She says nay,

And euer to hy{m~} sche seyd "naye,

435

That wolle I nott doo.

as her husband will know of it by his garland.

Hadest þou done þat dede wyth me,

My spouse by hys garlond myght see,

438

That schuld torne me to woo."

The proctor

The proctoure seyd, "by heuen kyng,

If he sey to the any þing

441

He schal̴l̴ haue sorowe vn-sowte;

offers her 20 marks.

Twenty marke I wolle þe geue,

It wolle þe helpe welle to lyue,

444

The mony here haue I brought."

These she takes;

Nowe hath sche the tresure tane,

they go upstairs,

And vp þe steyre be they gane,

447

(What helpyth yt to lye?)

The wyfe went the steyre be-syde,

and the proctor tumbles into the cellar,

The proctoure went a lytyl̴l̴ to wyde

450

He fel̴l̴ downe by and by.

Whan he in to þe seller felle,

and thinks he is going to hell.

He wente to haue sonke in to helle,

453

He was in hart ful̴l̴ sory.

The stuard lokyd on the knyght,

The steward asks him to sit down;

And seyd "proctoure, for godes myght,

456

Come and sytt vs by."

The proctoure began to stare,

he doesn't know where he is,

THE PROCTOR CAN'T MAKE OUT WHERE HE HAS GOT TO.

For he was he wyst neuer whare,

459

Butt wele he knewe þe knyght

And the stuard þat swyngelyd þe lyne.

but asks what the Lord and steward are after there,

He seyd "syres, for godes pyne,

462

What do ye here thys nygħt?"

The stuard seyd, "god geue the care,

Thowe camyst to loke howe we fare,

465

Nowe helpe þis lyne were dyght."

He stode styl̴l̴ in a gret þought,

What to answer he wyst noght:

468

"By mary ful̴l̴ of myght,"

working the wife's flax;

The proctoure seyd, "what do ye in þis yne

For to bete thys wyfees lyne?

[leaf 184, back]

471

For Ihesus loue, fful̴l̴ of myght,"

The proctoure seyd ryght as he þougħt,

he, the proctor, will never do the like,

"For me yt schal̴l̴ be euyl̴l̴ wrougħt

474

And I may see arygħt,

it's not his trade.

For I lernyd neuer in lon{d+}

For to haue a swyngel̴l̴ in hond

477

By day nor be nyght."

The steward says, "We're as good as you, and yet

The stuard seyd, "as good as þoū.

We hold vs that be here nowe,

480

And lett preue yt be sygħt;

have to work for our food."

Yet must vs worke for owre mete,

Or ellys schal̴l̴ we none gete,

483

Mete nor drynke to owre honde."

The Lord says, "And you'll have to work ere you go."

The lord seyd, "why flyte ye two?

I trowe ye wyl̴l̴ werke or ye goo,

486

Yf yt be as I vndyrstond."

Abowte he goys twyes or thryes;

They eat and drink, and give the proctor nothing,

They ete & drunke in such wyse

489

That þey geue hym ryght noght.

The proctoure seyd, "thynke ye no schame,

to his great disgust,

Yheue me some mete, (ye be to blame,)

492

Of that the wyfe ye brougħt."

The stuard seyd "euyl̴l̴ spede the soppe

If eny morcel̴l̴ come in thy throte

HE HAS TO WIND AND SPIN FOR HIS DINNER.                                                                        495

Butt þou wyth vs hadest wrought."

till at last

The proctoure stode in a stody

Whether he mygħt worke hem by;

498

And so to torne hys þougħt,

To the lord he drewe nere,

And to hym seyd wyth myld[e] chere,

501

"That mary mott the spede!"

he too knocks for work,

The proctoure began to knocke,

The good wyfe rawte hym a rocke,

504

For therto hadde sche nede;

Sche seyd "whan I was mayde att home,

Other werke cowde I do none

507

My lyfe ther-wyth to lede."

gets a distaff and some winding to do,

Sche gaue hym in hande a rocke hynde,

And bade hem fast for to wynde

[leaf 185]

510

Or ellys to lett be hys dede.

"Yes, dame," he seyd, "so haue I hele,

I schal̴l̴ yt worke both feyre & welle

513

As ye haue taute me."

He wauyd vp a strycke of lyne,

and spins away well.

And he span wele and fyne

516

By-fore the swyngel̴l̴ tre.

The lord seyd "þou spynnest to grete,

Therfor þou schalt haue no mete,

519

That þou schalt wel̴l̴ see."

Thus they all sit and work till the wright comes home.

Thus þey satt and wrought fast

Tyl̴l̴ þe wekedayes were past;

522

Then the wryght, home came he,

As he approaches he hears a noise.

And as he cam by hys hows syde

He herd[7] noyse that was nott ryde

525

Of persons two or thre;

One of hem knockyd lyne,

A-nothyr swyngelyd good and fyne

528

By-fore the swyngyl̴l̴ tre,

The thyrde did rele and spynne,

Mete and drynke ther-wyth to wynne,

531

Gret nede ther-of hadde he.

THE WRIGHT COMES HOME AND FINDS THE THREE CULPRITS.

Thus þe wryght stode herkenyng;

his wife comes to meet him,

Hys wyfe was ware of hys comyng,

534

And ageynst hym went sche.

"Dame," he seyd, "what ys þis dynne?

and he asks what all that noise is about.

I here gret noyse here wythynne;

537

Tel̴l̴ me, so god the spede."

"Why, three workmen have come to help us, dear.

"Syr," sche seyd, "workemen thre

Be come to helpe you and me,

540

Ther-of we haue gret nede;

Who are they?"

Fayne would I wete what they were."

The wright sees his Lord in the pit,

Butt when he sawe hys lord there,

543

Hys hert bygan to drede:

To see hys lord in þat place,

He þought yt was a strange cas,

and asks how

546

And seyd, "so god hym spede,

[leaf 185, back]

What do ye here, my lord and knygħt?

Tel̴l̴ me nowe for godes mygħt

he came there.

549

Howe cam thys vn-to?"

The knyght seyd "What ys best rede?

The Lord asks mercy: he is very sorry.

Mercy I aske for my mysdede,

552

My hert ys wondyr wo."

"So am I," says the wright, "to see you among the flax and hemp,"

"So ys myne, verament,

To se you among thys flex and hempe,

555

Ful̴l̴ sore yt ruytħ me;

To se you in such hevynes,

Ful̴l̴ sore myne hert yt doth oppresse,

558

By god in trinite."

and orders his wife to let the Lord out.

The wryght bade hys wyfe lett hy{m~} owte,

"No, bother my snout if I do," says the wife,

"Nay, þen sorowe come on my snowte

561

If they passe hens to-daye

"before his lady sees what he wanted to do with me."

Tyl̴l̴ that my lady come and see

Howe þey would haue done wyth me,

564

Butt nowe late me saye."

So she sends for the dame to fetch her lord home,

Anon sche sent after the lady brygħt

For to fett home her lord and knyght,

567

Therto sche seyd nogħt;

Sche told her what they hadde ment,

and tells her what he and his companions came there for.

THE LORD'S WIFE SEES HIM IN THE CELLAR.

And of ther purpos & ther intente

570

That they would haue wrought.

The lady

Glad was þat lady of that tydyng;

When sche wyst her lord was lyuyng,

573

Ther-of sche was ful̴l̴ fayne:

Whan sche came vn-to þe steyre aboue{n)},

looks down into the cellar,

Sche lokyd vn-to þe seller downe,

and says, "Good sirs, what are you doing?"

576

And seyd,—þis ys nott to leyne,—

"Good syres, what doo you here?"

"Earning our meat full dear:

"Dame, we by owre mete ful̴l̴ dere,

579

Wyth gret trauayle and peyne;

help us out, and I'll never come here again."

I pray you helpe þat we were owte,

And I wyl̴l̴ swere wyth-owtyn dowte

582

Neuer to come here agayne."

The lady asks the wife why

The lady spake the wyfe vn-tylle,

[leaf 186]

And seyd "dame, yf yt be youre wylle,

the men are there

585

What doo thes meyny here?"

The wife says they wanted to lie with her, and offered her gold and silver;

The carpentarys wyfe her answerd sykerly,

"Al̴l̴ they would haue leyne me by;

588

Euerych, in ther manere,

Gold and syluer they me brought,

And forsoke yt, and would yt noght,

591

The ryche gyftes so clere.

Wyllyng þey were to do me schame,

she took their gifts, and there they are.

I toke ther gyftes wyth-owtyn blame,

594

And ther they be al̴l̴ thre."

The lady says she really wants her lord for herself,

The lady answerd her ano{n)},

"I haue thynges to do att home

597

Mo than two or thre;

I wyst my lord neuer do ryght noght

Of no þing þat schuld be wrought,

600

Such as fallyth to me."

and laughs heartily when the three culprits come out.

The lady lawghed and made good game

Whan they came owte al̴l̴ in-same

603

From the swyngyl̴l̴ tre.

The Lord says,

The knyght seyd "felowys in fere,

I am glad þat we be here,

THE WRIGHT'S WIFE SETS THE CULPRITS FREE.                                                                        606

By godes dere pyte;

"Ah, you'd have worked too if you'd been with us,

Dame, and ye hadde bene wyth vs,

Ye would haue wrought, by swete Ihesus,

609

As welle as dyd we."

And when they cam vp aboue{n)}

They turnyd abowte and lokyd downe,

612

The lord seyd, "so god saue me,

I never had such a turn in my life before, I can tell you."

Yet hadde I neuer such a fytte

As I haue hadde in þat lowe pytte;

615

So mary so mutt me spede."

Then the Lord and lady go home,

The knyght and thys lady bryght,

Howe they would home that nygħt,

618

For no thyng they would abyde;

And so they went home;

as ADAM of COBSAM says.

Thys seyd Adam of Cobsa{m~}.[8]

[leaf 186, back]

621

By the weye as they rode

On their way home

Throwe a wode in ther playeng,

For to here the fowlys syng

they halt,

624

They hovyd stylle and bode.

and the steward and proctor swear they'll never go back for five and forty years.

The stuard sware by godes ore,

And so dyd the proctoure much more,

627

That neuer in ther lyfe

Would they no more come in þat wonne

Whan they were onys thens come,

630

Thys forty yere and fyve.

The lady gives all their money to the wright's wife.

Of the tresure that they brought,

The lady would geue hem ryght noght,

633

Butt gaue yt to the wryghtes wyfe.

The garland is fresh as ever.

Thus the wryghtes garlond was feyre of hewe,

And hys wyfe bothe good and trewe:

636

There-of was he ful̴l̴ blythe;

I take wytnes att gret and smal̴l̴,

Thus true are all good women now alive!

Thus trewe bene good women al̴l̴

639

That nowe bene on lyve,

So come thryste on ther hedys

MAY ALL GOOD WIVES GO TO HEAVEN!

Whan they mombyl̴l̴ on ther bedys

642

Ther pater noster ryue.

Here then is written a tale of the Wright and his Garland.

Here ys wretyn a geste of the wryght

That hadde a garlond wel̴l̴ I-dyght,

645

The coloure wyl̴l̴ neuer fade.

God grant us all his blessing,

Now god, þat ys heuyn kyng,

Graunt vs al̴l̴ hys dere blessyng

648

Owre hertes for to glade;

and may all true faithful wives

And al̴l̴ tho that doo her husbondys rygħt,

Pray we to Ihesu ful̴l̴ of myght,

651

That feyre mott hem byfalle,

come to heaven's bliss,

And that they may come to heuen blys,

For thy dere moderys loue ther-of nott to mys,

654

Alle good wyues alle.

and be such

Now alle tho that thys tretys hath hard,

Ihesu graunt hem, for her reward,

true lovers as the

657

As trew louers to be

[leaf 187]

As was the wryght vn-to hys wyfe

wright and his wife were.

And sche to hym duryng her lyfe.

Amen!

660

Amen, for charyte.

Here ends our tale of the Garland

Here endyth the wryghtes processe trewe

Wyth hys garlond feyre of hewe

663

That neuer dyd fade the coloure.

It was made, by the avyse

Of hys wywes moder wytty and wyse,

666

Of flourys most of honoure,

which was made of White Roses,

Of roses whyte þat wyl̴l̴ nott fade,

the flowers that gladden all England,

Whych floure al̴l̴ ynglond doth glade,

669

Wyth trewloues medelyd in sygħt;

Vn-to the whych floure I-wys

and receive the love of God, and of the Commons too.

The loue of god and of the comenys

Subdued[9] bene of rygħt.

Explicit.

[1] MS. of

[2] or hyng. ? MS.

[3] MS. gar

[4] ? MS. this.

[5] MS. Iħc

[6] MS. The

[7] ? MS. hard

[8] The letter between the b and a has had the lower part marked over. But it must mean a long s.

[9] May be subdied; the word has been corrected.

NOTES.

The two first of the three operations of flax-dressing described in lines 526-529, p. 15,

One of hem knocked lyne,

A-nothyr swyngelyd good and fyne

By-fore the swyngyl̴l̴-tre,

The thyrde did rele and spynne,

must correspond to the preliminary breaking of the plant, and then the scutching or beating to separate the coarse tow or hards from the tare or fine hemp. Except so far as the swingle served as a heckle, the further heckling of the flax, to render the fibre finer and cleaner, was dispensed with, though heckles (iron combs) must have been in use when the poem was written—inasmuch as hekele, hekelare, hekelyn, and hekelynge, are in the Promptorium, ab. 1440 A.D. Under Hatchell, Randle Holme gives a drawing of a heckle.

The lines through the h's in the MS. are not, I believe, marks of contraction. There are no insettings of the third lines, or spaces on changes of subject, in the MS.

For reference to two analogous stories to that of the Poem, I am indebted to Mr Thomas Wright. The first is that of Constant Duhamel in the third volume of Barbazan, and the second that of the Prioress and her three Suitors in the Minor Poems of Dan John Lydgate, published by the Percy Society, ed. Halliwell.

In the Barbazan tale "the wife is violently solicited by three suitors, the priest, the provost, and the forester, who on her refusal persecute her husband. To stop their attacks she gives them appointments at her house immediately after one another, so that when one is there and stripped for the bath, another comes, and, pretending it is her husband, she conceals them one after another in a large tub full of feathers, out of which they can see all that is going on in the room. She then sends successively for their three wives to come and bathe with her, the bath being still in the same room, and as each is stripped naked in the bath, she introduces her own husband, who dishonours them one after another, one à l'enverse, with rather aggravating circumstances, and all in view of their three husbands. Finally the latter are turned out of the house naked, or rather well feathered, then hunted by the whole town and their dogs, well bitten and beaten."

(If any one wants to see a justification of the former half of the proverb quoted by Roberd of Brunne,

Frenche men synne yn lecherye

And Englys men yn enuye,

let him read the astounding revelation made of the state of the early French mind by the tales in the 3rd and 4th vols. of Barbazan's Fabliaux, ed. 1808.)

The second story, told by Lydgate, is as follows:—A prioress is wooed by "a yonng knyght, a parson of a paryche, and a burges of a borrow." She promises herself to the first if he will lie for a night in a chapel sewn up in a sheet like a corpse; to the second, if he will perform the funeral service over the knight, and bury him; to the third, if he will dress up like a devil, and frighten both parson and knight. This the burges Sir John does well, but is himself terrified at the corpse getting up: all three run away from one another: the knight falls on a stake, and into a snare set for bucks, and breaks his fore top in falling from the tree; the merchant gets tossed by a bull; the parson breaks his head and jumps into a bramble bush; and the prioress gets rid of them all, but not before she has made the "burges" or "marchaunt" pay her twenty marks not to tell his wife and the country generally of his tricks.—Minor Poems, p. 107-117, ed. 1840.

GLOSSARY.

- And, 89, 292, if.

- Bayne, 348, ready.

- Blynne, 4, cease, stop; AS. blinnan.

- Blyue, 44, 110, 118, speedily.

- Bonde, 226, a bund-le; Du. bondt, a bavin, a bush of thornes.

- Brayne, 342, scull.

- Broke, 165, enjoy. AS. brúcan, Germ. brauchen. H. Coleridge.

- Brydalle, 71, AS. brýd-ál, bride ale, marriage feast.

- By, 197, buy.

- Chaste, 176, chest, box, pit.

- Dowte, 14, fear.

- Dyght, 323, 379, prepare, dress.

- Fare, 148, 324, going on, wish, project.

- Fere, 604, company.

- Flyte, 484, wrangle, quarrel; AS. flít, strife, wrangling.

- Forthynketh, 51, repents, makes sorry; AS. forþencan, to despair.

- Frayne, 409, ask; AS. fregnan, Goth. fraihnan.

- Gan, 22, did.

- Geue to God a gyfte, 351, I make a vow, I promise you, I'll take my oath.

- Hele, 140, salvation.

- Hovyd, 624, halted, stopt.

- Hynde, 508? natty; hende, gentle.

- I-doo, 335, done, finished.

- I-dyght, 644, prepared.

- In-same, 602, together.

- Layne, 68, hide, conceal.

- Lende, 107, stay; ? AS. landian, to land, or lengian, to prolong.

- Leyne, 231, lay, beat.

- Lyne, 214, AS. lín, flax; ? rope, 246.

- Meyne, 403, household.

- Myster, 12, trade; Fr. mestier.

- O, 329, one.

- Onredde, 308; AS. unrét, unrót, uncheerful, sorrowful, or unrǽd, imprudent.

- Oþre, 205, second.

- Putry, 61, adultery; O. Fr. puterie, whoring.

- Rawte, 503, reached, gave.

- Rewe, 186, have pity.

- Rocke, 503, 508; Du. een Rocke, Spinrock, A Distaffe, or a Spin-rock; Rocken, To Winde Flaxe or Wool upon a Rock (Hexham). Dan. rok, O.N. rokkr, G. rocken: "a distaff held in the hand from which the thread was spun by twirling a ball below. 'What, shall a woman with a rokke drive thee away?'" Digby Mysteries, p. 11 (Halliwell). "An Instrument us'd in some Parts for the spinning of Flax and Hemp." Phillips; for reeling and spinning (l. 529).

- Rought, 198, AS. róhte, p. of récan, to reck, care for.

- Ryde, 524, light, small, AS. geryd, levis, æquus, Lye.

- Ryue, 642, Du. rijf, rife, or abundant.

- Scales, 401; ? husks, bark, or rind, see shoves*, in Swyngylle, below.

- Schent, 258, destroyed; AS. scendan.

- Stounde, 4, short time.

- Strycke, 514, "Strike of Flax, is as much as is heckled at one Handful." Phillips.

- Swyngylle, 216, "Swingle-Staff, a Stick to beat Flax with," Phil.; AS. swingele, a whip, lash. "To swingle, to beat; a Term among Flax-dressers." Phillips. Though Randle Holme, Bk. III., ch. viii. No. xxxiii., gives the Swingle-Tree of a Coach-Pole (these are made of wood, and are fastened by Iron hooks, stables (sic) chains and pinns to the Coach-pole, to the which Horses are fastened by their Harnish when there is more then two to draw the Coach), yet at Chap, vi., § iv., p. 285, col. 1, he says, "He beareth Sable, a Swingle Hand erected, Surmounting of a Swingle Foot, Or. This is a Wooden Instrument made like a Fauchion, with an hole cut in the top of it, to hold it by: It is used for the clearing of Hemp and Flax from the large broken Stalks or *Shoves, by the help of the said Swingle Foot, which it is hung upon, which said Stalks being first broken, bruised, and cut into shivers by a Brake.

- S. 3, such erected in Fesse O. born by Flaxlowe.

- S. 3, such in Pale A., born by Swingler."

- (A drawing is given by Holme, No. 4, on the plate opposite p. 285.)

- "Swingowing is the beating off the bruised inward stalk of the Hemp or Flax, from the outward pill, which as (sic) the Hemp or Flax, p. 106, col. 2.

- Spinning is to twist the Flax hairs into Yarn or Thrid. Reeling is to wind the Yarn of the Wheel Spool on a Reel," p. 107, Col. 2.

- Take, 161, deliver.

- The, 187, thrive.

- Tolle, 62, entice (H.H. Gibbs).

- Tre, 105, wood, timber.

- Trewloves, 669, either figures like true-lovers' knots, or the imitations of the berb or flower Truelove, which is given by Coles as Herb Paris (a quatrefoil whose leaves bear a sort of likeness to a true-lovers' knot), and in Halliwell as one-berry: but I cannot find that Edward IV. had any such plants on his arms or badge. Knots were often worn as badges, see Edmonston's Heraldry, Appendix, Knots. On the other hand, Willement (Regal Heraldry) notices that the angels attending Richard II. in the picture at Wilton, had collars worked with white roses and broom-buds; and trueloves, if a plant be meant by it, may have been Edward's substitute for the broom (planta genisla). The Trewloves bear, one, Ar. on a chev. sa., three cinquefoils, or; the other, Ar. on a chev. sa., a quatrefoil of the field.

- Vade,[1] 125, 419, fade; Du. vadden (Hexham).

- Wone, 275, store, quantity.

- Wonne, 90, 628, dwelling.

- Woode, 153, wild, mad.

- Yheue, 491, give.

- Yougeth, 20, youth, bachelor's freedom.

[1] The use of the flat vade (l. 419, p. 12) within 2 lines of the sharp fade (l. 417), corresponds with the flat 'stowde,' l. 400, p. 12, riming with 'owte,' l. 401, badde with hatte, l. 265-6. Cost, brest, l. 142-3, are careless rimes too.

WOMEN.

[Lambeth MS. 306, leaf 135.]

Wome{n)}, wome{n)}, loue of wome{n)},

make bare purs with some me{n)},

Some be nyse as a nonne hene,[1]

4

Ȝit al thei be nat soo.

some be lewde,

some all be schrewde;

Go schrewes wher thei goo.

8

Su{m~} be nyse, and some be fonde,

And some be tame, y vndirstonde,

And some cane take brede of a manes hande,[2]

Yit all thei be nat soo.

12

[Some be lewde, &c.]

[leaf 135, back]

Some cane part with-outen hire,

And some make bate in eueri chire,

And some cheke mate with oure Sire,

16

Yit all they be nat so.

Some be lewde,

and sume be schreuede,

go wher they goo.

20

Som be browne, and some be whit,

And some be tender as a ttripe,

And some of theym be chiry ripe,

Yit all thei be not soo.

24

Sume be lewde,

and some be schrewede,

go wher they goo.

Some of the{m~} be treue of love

28

Benetħ þe gerdel̴l̴, but nat above,

And in a hode aboue cane chove,

Yit all thei do nat soo.

Some be lewde,

32

and some be schreude,

go where they goo.

Some cane whister, & some cane crie,

Some cane flater, and some can lye,

36

And some cane sette þe moke awrie,

Yit all thei do nat soo.

Sume be lewde,

and sume be schreuede,

40

go where thei goo.

He that made this songe full good,

Came of þe nortħ and of þe sother{n)} blode,

And some-what kyne to Roby{n)} Hode,

44

Yit all we be nat soo.

Some be lewde,

and some be schrewede,

go where they goo.

48

Some be lewde, some be [s]chrwde,

Go where they goo.

Explicit.

P.S.—This Poem was printed by Mr Halliwell in Reliquiæ Antiquæ, vol. i., p. 248, and reprinted by Mr Thomas Wright, at p. 103 of his edition of Songs and Carols for the Percy Society, 1847. As, besides minor differences, the reprint has manne, and the original nanne, for what I read as nonne, l. 3, while both have withowte for with oure, l. 15, and accripe for a ttripe, l. 21 (see Halliwell's Dictionary, "accripe, a herb?"), I have not cancelled this impression. The other version of the song, from Mr Wright's MS. in his text, pp. 89-91, differs a good deal from that given above.

[1] The Rev. J.R. Lumby first told me of the proverb 'As white as a nun's hen,' the nuns being famous, no doubt, for delicate poultry. John Heywood has in his Proverbes, 1562 (first printed, 1546), p. 43 of the Spencer Society's reprint, 1867,

She tooke thenterteinment of the yong men

All in daliaunce, as nice as a Nun's hen.

The proverb is quoted by Wilson in his Arte of Rhetorique, 1553 (Hazlitt's Proverbs, p. 69).

[2] For honde.

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Table of Contents

The Wright's Chaste Wife.

Early English Text Society Original Series, No. 12 1865

The Wright's Chaste Wife,

OR

A Merry Tale, by Adam of Cobsam.

From a MS. in the Library of the Archbishop of Canterbury, at Lambeth, about 1462 A.D.

COPIED AND EDITED BY FREDERICK J. FURNIVALL.

Published for THE EARLY ENGLISH TEXT SOCIETY by the OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS LONDON · NEW YORK · TORONTO FIRST PUBLISHED 1865

Original Series No. 12

PREFACE.

THE WRIGHT'S CHASTE WIFE.

[MS. Lambeth 306, leaves 178-187.]

NOTES.

GLOSSARY.

WOMEN.

[Lambeth MS. 306, leaf 135.]

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