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TRANSLATED FROM THE ORIGINAL FRENCH INTO ENGLISH

IN THE REIGN OF HENRY VI, AND EDITED FOR THE

FIRST TIME FROM THE UNIQUE MANUSCRIPT

IN THE BRITISH MUSEUM, HARL. 1764, AND

CAXTON'S PRINT, A.D. 1484, WITH AN

INTRODUCTION AND NOTES

THOMAS WRIGHT, Esq., M.A., F.S.A., M.R.S.L. &c. &c.

Corresponding Mewi>er of the Imperial Institute of France
{Academie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres).

[REVISED EDITION, 1906]

LONDON :

PUBLISHED FOR THE EARLY ENGLISH TEXT SOCIETY,
BY KEGAN PAUL, TRENCH, TRUBNER & CO., Ltd.,

DRYDEN HOUSE, 43 GEERARD STREET, SOHO, W.

M DCCCC VI.

(1SG8)

HOV 7 1941

FOREWORD,

BY Dl{. F. J. FUKXIVALL.

When the late Thomas Wright offered to edit tlie following text
for us^ I got Mr. W^m. Rossiter, then of the Working Men^s College,
to copy it, and add the missing bits from Caxton^s print of 1484.
I also offered to have the proofs of the text read with the originals
by a trustworthy man ; but Mr. Wright said he would read them
himself. Later, Mr. Edmund Brock found several mistakes in the
text, and he compiled a list of them, which we issued in a thirteen-
page appendix of ^' Additions and Corrections/^ On my asking
Mr. Wright why he had not carried out his promise to me, to read
his proofs with the MS. and Caxton, he said that he did read the
first sheet with the MS. and found it so correct that he did not
think it necessary to read the rest. This was too bad of him, as
the Society was quite ready to pay a good reader to do this part of
the Editor's work.

The book having run out of print, one of the Clarendon Press
readers made in my old copy of it all the corrections noted by
Mr. Brock ; and the new proofs to p. 48 were read with the MS. b}-
Miss Evelyn Fox, and the rest by me, I adding a few footnotes
from the French. Instead of adding a final e for all the d^, g, h, tl,
ii, of the MS., these letters have been printed as they stand.

In the extracts from Caxton I have had the tagd d^, g-^, h, printed
as they (in his fount) are used in his type No. 4^, which (says
Blades, ii. xxxvii) made its first appearance among Caxton^s types
in the autumn of 1483, when he was printing the ''Confessio
Amantis " and the " Knight of the Tower.^^ In the latter of these

VI KOREWOllD.

''fiig. f introduces the new fount to us; all after, as well as the
introductory matter,* being in type No. 4 */' — ii. xxxviii.

Though of course some slips are still in the present print, it
IS an improvement on that of the first edition, and will be sent to
all our :\lembers. T have to thank the Oxford Press Reader for
many valuable suggestions.

British Museum,
May 10, 1905.

My young friend, Jack Munro, of the Working Men's College
and the Furnivall Sculling Club, has kindly added the much-
needed " Contents '' to this volume, has written many fresh Notes,
and has made a new Glossary, a collection of Phrases and Proverbs
(pp. 254-263), and an Index of Subjects (pp. 264-8), for all
which we are much indebted to him.

Some of the stories told below are also in the interesting
Alphabet of Tales edited for our Society by Mrs. M. M. Banks, and
in Mirk^s Festial in our Extra Series, edited by Dr. Erbe.

3 St. Geoege's Sq., NW.,
March 13, 1906.

INTRODUCTION,

BY THE LATE ThOMAS WrIGHT.

The feudal castle of La Tour- Landry, from which the author of
the following book received his name, stood between Chollet and
Vezins, in the part of the old province of Anjou which lay between
Poitou and Brittany, where its ruins are still visible, consisting of a
great donjon, or keep, said to date from the twelfth century. The
family of our Knight appears to have been established there at
least as early as that date. In the year 1200, a Landry de la
Tour, lord of this place, is found engaged in a lawsuit relating to
lands ; and the names of different members of the family are met
with not unfrequently during the thirteenth century. M. de
Montaiglon, the editor of the original text of the Knight^s *^^Book,'^
who has investigated this question with laborious care, considers
that the father of our author was Geoff roy de la Tour, spoken of
at the beginning of the fourteenth century as lord of La Tour-
Landry, Bourmont, La Galoniere^ Loroux-Bottereau, and Cor-
nouaille, and who, under the banner of the Count of Anjou in
1336, distinguished himself by his courage in the war with the
English.

This Geoffroy de la Tour had two sons, our Geoffroy, who was the
eldest, and another named Arquade, who is supposed to have been
much younger than his brother. The latter, our Geoffroy de la
Tour-Landry, appears from his own account to have been present
at the siege of Aguillon in 1346. His name again appears in a
military muster in 1363. We know that he married Jeanne
de Rouge, younger daughter of Bonabes de Rouge, lord of
Erval, vicomte of La Guerche, and chamberlain to the king,
but we are unacquainted with the date of this marriage,
though in 1371 and 1372, when he composed the following
book, he must have been married a sufficient length of time
to have sons and daughters of an age to require instruction of
this kind.

(3P
///f

i/. ^-^

Mil INTROUrCTlON.

The name of (ieolYroy de la Tour occurs several times between
the date of the compilation of his book and the end of the century.
In 1378 he sent his contribution of men to the army employed in
the siege of Cherbourg*, but he did not serve in person on that
occasion. In the document recording- this fact, he is described as
a knight banneret. In 1380 Ge(jfi:*roy served in the war in
Brittany, and we find him again in active service in the September
of the year 1383. We learn from another document, that at this
last date Geoffroy^s first wife, Jeanne de Rouge, was still living ;
but she must have died within a few years afterwards, for at a
subsequent date, which M. de Montaiglon places in 1389, he
contracted a second marriage with Marguerite des Roches, lady of
La Mothe de Rendu, the widow of Jean de Clerembault, knight.
This is the latest mention of the name of our Knight which has
yet been discovered among contemporary records ; the date of his
death is quite unknown, but it probably occurred at some period
towards the end of the fourteenth century.

The descendants of Geoffroy de la Tour- Landry appear to have
been all active in the turbulent times during which they lived, and
through one of them the name became again rather curiously
connected with literary history. The Knight of La Tour tells us
that he had sons (in the plural) ; for at the beginning of the book
now published he tells us in the original that he had compiled two
books, ''^Vun pour mes jilz, et V autre pour mes Jillcs^ ;'' and in two
other passages of the present book, addressing his daughters, he
refers to the book he had compiled for their brothers, ^' on livre de
vozfreres ^" Caxton, in his printed translation, has given us at the

^ " Et pour ce . . . . ay-je fait deux livres, Tun pour mes filz, et I'autre pour mes
fiiles pour apreudre a rommancier." — Le Livre du Chevalier de la Tour, edited by
M. de Montaiglou, p. 4. "And tlierfor y haue made .ij. bokes, one for my sones,
an other for my doughtres, forto lerne hem to rede." — The Booh of the Knight^
English translation, p. 4 of the present volume.

- " Comme vous le trouverez plus a plain ou livre de voz freres." — Le Livre du Chev.
de la Tour, chap. Ixxxix. p. 175. " Si comme vous le trouverez ou livre que j'ai fait
a voz freres." "As ye shal finde it more pleinly in the boke of youre bretheren." —
The Book of the Kni(jht, chap. Ixxxix. p. 115 of the present volume.

TKTPOnr'CTlON. . IX

conclusion a little more precise information on the subject, when
he makes the good Kui^,ht refer his daughters to the other book in
the words, ^'as hit is reherceiT in the booke of my two sonnes ^."
The passage represented by these words of Caxton is not found in
the known manuscripts of the French text ; but we may be tolerably
certain, from Caxton's known exactness, that it existed in the
manuscript of which he made use, and we are justified in assuming
that, at the time when Geoffroy de la Tour-Landry compiled this
book, that is, in 1371, he had two sons. He has in no instance
mentioned the number of his daughters, but the manuscripts of the
original text are ornamented with illuminations, and in these the
Knight is always represented as attended by three daughters, for
which number the illuminators had no doubt satisfactory authority.
Of the history of these daughters we know very little. One of
them, Marie de la Tour-Landry, married, on the ist of November,
1391, Gilles Clerembault, the son of her father's second wife by
her former husband. Marie de la Tour left no issue, and died
before 1400, as in that 3 ear Gilles Clerembault married a second
wife.

This intermarriage of the two families appears to have been a
favourite idea of Geoffroy de la Tour-Landry, and was perhaps
a mere question of family interest. Charles de la Tour-Landiy,
who was Geoffroy 's eldest son, was married first to Jeanne de
Sonde, but this union appears not to have lasted long, for, after
her death, Charles married in January, 1389, Jeanne Clerembault,
the daughter of his step-mother, and sister of his brother-in-law.
Charles de la Tour-Landry was slain at the battle of Azincourt, in
October, 141 5. There is some confusion in the family history at
this time, through the imperfection of the genealogies; but a
Geoffroy de la Tour, who was at the siege of Parthenay in 1419,
and a Herve de la Tour, who served in the wars near the same
period (his name occurs in 14 15 and 141 6), are conjectured to have
been sons of the author of our book. Charles de la Tour-Landry

* fSee the present volume, p. 205.

X . INTRODUCTION.

had five 80iis. The name of the eldest is uncertain, but he is said
to have been with his father at Azincourt, and to have died of
his wounds soon after the battle. As he died childless, his brother
Pontus, the second son of Charles, remained the head of the family.
The three other sons, Thibaud, Raoulet, and Louis, died without
children. They had at least one sister, who formed a rather high
matrimonial connection.

The family appears now to have been at its greatest height
of prosperity and glory. Pontus de la Tour-Landry is cited as
knight, lord of La Tour-Landr}^, of Bourmont, and of Loroux-
Bottereau, and baron of Bouloir in the Vendomois ; he appears in a
record of the year 1424 as giving to the prior and convent of
St. Jean of Anvers the tithe of grain in his estate of Cornouaille,
and he seems to have held other considerable territories in
Brittany and elsewhere. He was not unfrequently employed in
public affairs, and was present at the battle of Formigrey in 1450.
It is only necessary on the present occasion to say that Pontus had
a daughter and a son, and that the latter, who was named Louis,
had four sons, none of whom left issue ; so that with them the
male line of La Tour-Landry became extinct.

All the older great feudal families prided themselves on tracing
their descent to the chieftains of the fabulous ages of society ; and
usually each of them had his family romance, which told the story
of the primeval heroes of his house, and which was no doubt
frequently read by his clerk or chaunted by his minstrel for the
edification of his family and his guests. These formed what were
called the Chansons or Romans de Geste, which were so numerous
in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, the period when feudalism
had reached its greatest development. As feudalism was gradually
falling from its original character, the composition of such family
romances went out of fashion, and we know of but a small number
of instances at periods subsequent to those just mentioned. Thus,
at a much later date, in the latter half of the fourteenth century,
the family of Lusignan gratified its pride by employing a writer

INTRODUCTION. • XI

named Jean cPArras to compile the romance of Melusine, according
to which the lords of Lusignan derived their descent from the
marriage of one of their great chiefs of early times with a fairy,
named Melusine, who every Saturday took the form of a serpent.
Pontus de la Tour-Landry was one of the very latest who imitated
this example. Ambitious, probably, of rivalling the fame of the
Lusignans, he appears to have employed some ' ^ clerk '^ like
Jean d' Arras to compile the Roman de Ponthus, intending espe-
cially to glorify his own particular name. It is a romance of little
merit, but appears to have been at one time rather popular, as it
was often printed. Pontus is represented as having been the son
of the king of Galicia and of his amours with the fair Sidonia,
daughter of the king of Brittany, where part of the ancestral
possessions of the lords of La Tour lay. Most of the distin-
guished companions of Ponthus came from this side of France,
and the first of them, and the one who figures most promi-
nently, bears the significant name of Landry de la Tour. The
scene is laid in Galicia, Brittany, and England. It is curious
now chiefly as forming an incident in the literary history of
the Middle Ages.

Far differently interesting is the book which the great grand-
father of the real Ponthus, our Geoffroy de la Tour-Landry,
compiled himself for the instruction of his daughters. Its interest
is the greater from the care its author has taken to make us
acquainted with the circumstances and feelings under which it
was composed. The good Knight had, as already stated, three
daughters, who had been left motherless, and for whose success
in the world he naturally felt anxiety. He undertook, therefore,
to write a treatise for the purpose of instructing them in all those
mental qualities which, in the fourteenth century, were looked
upon as constituting the character of a pure and perfect lady.
His care to inform his readers in all the particulars relating to
the origin of his book is, indeed, quite curious. He lets us know
the date when he began it, and that at which it was ended.

Ml IN'TltODrCTlOX.

He says that the idea ol' it came into his head as he was iiuUilginj;-
in somewhat melancholy pensiveness in his ^rden at the close of
the month of April in the year 137 i ^ ; and we leani from two other
incidental statements in the original text that it was completed
in the year 1372. In the forty-ninth chapter he tells an anecdote
which, he says, happened in the same year in which he was writing
— eti, cent an, qnl est Pan w'd frou cens Ixx'ij ^ ; and in another pas-
sage he speaks of the battle of Crecy as having- taken place twenty-
six years ago — // y a xxrj ans ; which, as that battle was fought
on the 26th of August, 1346, would give us the same date of
1372. He further tells us in his introduction that he employed
in compiling it two priests and two clerks ^, whose work appears
to have consisted in collecting illustrative examples and anecdotes
from different writers. Every one acquainted with medieyal
literature knows how general was this practice of teaching morals
and religion through popular stories and short historical narratives.
M. de Montaiglon has further pointed out the fact that the author
had commenced his book in the intention of following another
practice w^hich w^as very popular in the literature of this period —
that of composing books of instruction in verse. He has shown
that in the original the prologue was written in verse, and that
the rhythm, and even in great part the rhymes of this verse, are
preserved almost perfectly in writing it as prose, until nearly the
end of this prologue, when the Knight suddenly tells his readers that
it is his desig'n to write it, not in verse, but in prose, that he might
be able to write less diffusely, and more simply and easier to be
understood : ^'qne Je ne veulx point mettre en ri7ue, alnc.oys le veiilz
mettre en ])7'ose,jpo7ir Vahregier et niieulx entendre!^ or, as our English
translation expresses it, '^but y wolde not sette it in ryme, but
in prose, forto abregge it, and that it might be beter and more

' See p. I of the present volume.

'•* P. 103 of M. de Montaiglon's edition ; it is omitted in the translation we
here publish.

^ See [). 3 of the present volume.

INTRODUCTTON. XI 11

pleinly to be understoncr^^^ A very large proportion of the
stories given by Geoffroy de la Tour-Laiulry are taken from the
Scriptures and from the lives of saints and other similar produc-
tions ; but, like other moralists of his age, he adopted the stories
of the fabliaux, and the tales of the popular conteur, whenever
they seemed to suit his purpose, and in his choice he has not
rejected some which were better fitted by their want of delicacy
to the ears of his contemporaries than to those of modern times.
There then existed very little of refinement in word or thought,
and, in the best society, both sexes often conversed in terms
and on subjects which are in strange discordance with our modern
sentiments.

No doubt under the pretext of instructing his own daughters,

Geoffroy's design was to write a treatise on the domestic education

of women, and his plan appears to have extended still further^

and to have been intended to embrace the other sex also. We

learn positively from several passages in the present book, that

he had already compiled a similar book for the use of his sons,

and, from the way in which he speaks of it, the compilation

of this other work must have preceded the book for the instruction

of his daughters by some years. '^And therefor,^' he says at the

end of his prologue, "y have made .ij. bokes, one for my sones,

an other for my doughtres ^.^' In another place, in warning his

daughters against drunkenness, he says, '^ as ye shal finde it more

pleinly in the boke of youre bretheren -^ ; '^ and again, at the close

of the book, in Caxton^s translation, the knight is made to say,

'^'as hit is reherced in the booke of my two sonnes'^.^'' At least

one other allusion to this book is found in the French text ; yet,

strange to say, nobody has ever heard of the existence of a copy

of this treatise for the instruction of the Knight's sons, nor has

any trace of it ever been discovered except in the mention of it

in the book of which the translation is now published.

' See p. 3 of the present volume, - See p. 4 of the present volume.

' See p. 115 of the present volume. * See p. 205 of the present volume.

XIV FNTIlODl'CriON.

The book which Geott'roy de la Tour- Landry compiled for the
instruction of his dau«^hters, on the contrary, appears to have
become extremely popular. Nearly a dozen copies of the orig-inal
text are known to exist in manuscript, of which seven are in
the Bibliotheque Imperiale in Paris, and one in the Library of the
British Museum. One or two of them date at least as far back
as the beg'inning' of the fifteenth century, and two are adorned
with illuminations. In the year 15 14, the first printed edition
of the French text was published in Paris, by Guillaume Eustace,
the king's printer. A second appeared no long time afterwards
printed by the Veuve Jehan Trepperel, apparently copied from
the edition of Guillaume Eustace. Both are very incorrect.

No other edition of the original text of this Book of the Knight
of La Tour-Landry was printed in French until it was included
in 1854 by Jannet in the series so well known as the Bibliotheque
Elzevirienne. This critical edition was produced under the care
of one of the well-known scholars of the medieval literature of
France, M. Anatole de Montaiglon, now Secretary of the Ecole
des Chartes. M. de Montaiglon has given us, in a very portable
and convenient form, a good and correct text, formed chiefly upon
the oldest of the manuscripts preserved in the Bibliotheque Im-
periale and upon the manuscript in the British Museum (MS. Reg.
19 C vii), collated more or less with the others. It is accom-
panied with notes, and with a rather elaborate introduction, to
which I gladly refer my readers.

The popularity of this book soon extended to foreign lands,
and it was translated into several languages. The two earliest
printed translations appeared in Germany and England very nearly
at the same date. The German translation, made by a knight
named Marquard vom Stein, was first printed in a folio volume
at Bale in 1493, ^i^^^^i' the title of Der Bitter vom Turn, von
den Exempehi der Gotsforcht vnd Erherkeit (The Knight of the
Tower, of Examples of Piety and Honour). It forms a large
and very handsome volume, with a great number of engravings

INTRODUCTION. XV

on wood. The Book of the Knight of the Tower seems to have
taken greatly in Germany, and it went through ratlier numerous
editions between the date of this of Bale and the middle of the
sixteenth century. It has been reproduced much more recently,
in fact so late as 1849, edited by Professor O. L. B. Wolff, as
one of the volumes of popular romances published by the book-
seller Otto Wigand of Leipzig. The first edition in English,
as we are informed in the colophon at the end, was translated
by our first printer, William Caxton, and printed by him. He
tells us himself, in this colophon, that the translation was finished
on the first of June, 1483, and that the printing was completed
on the last day of January, in the first year of the reign of King
Richard III. As Richard III ascended the throne on the 26th
of June, 1483 ; as the January in which the book was printed must
have followed the June in which the translation was completed ;
and as we know that in the reckoning of this time the days from
the 1st of January to the 25th of March were considered as
belonging nominally to the former year and not to the year
following, it means, of course, that Caxton^s translation was
printed and ready for publication on the 31st of January, 1484;
so that the publication of the German translation had preceded
it. I enter into these particulars merely because it has been
asserted that the date of the publication of Caxton's translation
of the Knight of the Tower was January, 1483, and not January,
1484. It is a very singular circumstance that, although Caxton's
translation of the Book appears to have been widely read in England
in the sixteenth century, it was never reprinted.

There existed, however, an English translation of the Book
of Geoffroy de la Tour-Landry long anterior to that of Caxton,
though it was never printed. It is anonymous, and we have no
means whatever of ascertaining the name of the author, or, in
fact, anything whatever of its history. It is contained in a manu-
script in the Harleian collection in the British Museum (MS.
Harl. No. 1764), forming a large thin volume, in double columns.

XVI INTRODUCTION.

in a good formal writing' of the reign of King Henry VI, so
that it is not only part of a manuscript made for a person of
some rank and importance, but of a volume which no doubt con-
tained other treatises. This translation is in many respects superior
to that of Caxton. The latter is so strictly and often so nakedly
literal, that in following the words Caxton has sometimes lost the
sense of the original, and this is carried to such a degree that
it would be easy to identify the particular manuscript which Caxton
followed if it were in existence. The anon3^mous translation of
our manuscript, on the contrary, displays much more freedom, and
is more correct. This earlier translation, moreover, furnishes a
far more elegant and interesting monument of the English lan-
ffuag-e in the fifteenth centurv. It is for these reasons that I
have chosen it for the text of the present volume. Unfortunately,
it is an imperfect manuscript, for there are one or two lacunae
in the body of the work, and it is truncated at the end by nearly
one-fifth of the whole. Under these circumstances, the only re-
source was to supply from Caxton's text the parts which are
wanting in the inedited manuscript.

In other respects, I have endeavoured to give as good an edition
of the original manuscript as I could, and I have added a few
illustrative notes to such points as seemed to require explanation.
In forming my text, I cannot but acknowledge with thanks the
assistance I have received from the excellent transcript and colla-
tion made by William Rossiter, Esq., to whom also the reader
owes the side-notes and head-lines.

THOMAS WRIGHT.

Sydney Street, Bromptox,
J?f/// 13, 1867.

CONTENTS,

by j. j. munko.

Prologue. i-aok

Of the Knight himself, his wife and daughters, of the licen-
tiousness of men, and why and how this book came to
be written ......... i

Chapter I.
On the virtues of old tales and the benefits of serving God . 4

Chapter II.
Concerning prayer and praise ......-,

Chapter III.

Of two sisters of Constantinople who loved two knights.
How the eldest was disgraced and drowned, and how the
second, through her prayers for the dead, was saved from
shame and became Queen of Greece ..... 5

Chapter IV.

How another gentlewoman was protected through prayer for
the dead . . .... . . . 7

Chapter V.

On morning prayers, the right way of praying, and the hoh'
life '.7

Chapter VI.

Of two sisters, one of whom sought heavenly fare, and the
other earthly. How the second married, refused correc-
tion, deceived her husband, and was severely punished ;
and how the first married and attained riches and joy . 8

Chapter VII.

Directions to maids and women for fasting. How a devout
man had his head cut off, and j^et, on account of his fast-
ing, lived long enough to be shriven . . . .10

Chapter VIII.

How an evil woman who had fasted was saved by miracle
from drowning. Of a vision exhorting her to cleanse her
soul completely, and of the virtues of shriving . . .10

will CONTKN'I'S

CllAl'TKK l.\. l'A(ii:

< )t 11 devout woman who was damiiecl for one .-^in, and liow tlit;
woman of tho last tale was sbiiven and haved. ATore on
the virtues of fasting, and how the King of Nineveh and
his cities were saved through the fasting of the people . 12

Chapter X.

Of the virtues and power of meekness, courtesy, goodly de-
meanour, and humility . • M

CllAPl'EK XL

An admonition concerning inattention at prayer and turning

of the head to look aside . . . .15

CHAPTEit xn.

Of four kings of Christendom and the three daughters of the
King of Denmark. How the King of England chuse for
his wife the humblest and quietest ; and of the peerless-
ness of goodly demeanour . . . . ■ -15

Chapter XIIT.

How the knight refused a lady for his wife because of her
forward and familiar mannei- ; and of the value of a quiet
tongue . . . . . . • . . .18

Chapter XIV.

How the King of Spain chose of the daughters of the King of
Aragon the humblest, most courteous, and gentlest of
speech, rather than the most beautiful ; and that gentle-
women should have gentle heai ts . . . . • ^ 9

Chapter XV.

Of a woman who played with a malicious knight, quanelled
with him over the game, and, against advice, railed at
him until he slandered her and publicly shamed her.
Also of a knight who ij;ave an angry woman a wisp of
straw to chide at . . . . . . .20

Chapter XVI.

Of the woman who stole her husband's eel, ate it, and lied
about it. How a magpie told the husband of the decep-
tion, and of the wife's revenge on the bird . . .22

CONTENTS. XIX

Chapter XVII. pacjk

Concerning a wife who quarrelled Avith one of her husband's
female friends, fought with her, and was disfigured, and so
lost her husl)and's love. How the knight's aunt cured her
husband's lechery by gentleness ; and some remarks on
jealousy . . . . . . . -23

Chapter XVIII.

Of a foolish wife who publicly insulted her husband and was
by him punished and disfigured. That a woman ought to
let her husband be master ; and of the example of Hester
of Syria . . . . . .25

Chapter XIX.

Of three merchants who wagered as to whose wife was most
obedient. The trial of wives, and how the wager was won.
Obedience of wives . . . . . . .26

Chapter XX.

How a lady fed her dog on dainties while the poor starved,
and how her corpse was licked by dogs. The examples of
(jueen Blanche and the Countess of Mans in feeding and
clothing the needy . . . . . . .28

Chapter XXI.

On new and strange fashions of dress for women and the

dress of serving- women , . . . . . .29

Chapter XXII.

Of a lady at a feast who accused a good knight of an evil
tongue, and of the knight's reply. On reproving others . 32

Chapters XXIII, XXIV.

How three ladies, accusing Boucicaut of deceiving each of
them in love, found him unabashed, and proposed to draw
lots for him, but finally dismissed him. Of thre5 other
ladies who sought to kill their deceiver, and how he
escaped . . . . . . . . .33

Chapter XXV.

Of the peril of ladies who indulge in gaiety at feasts, jousts,

and plays 35

XX CONTKNTS.

Chapteti XX at. PAnK

How ii vain woman would always don lior best appniol fur
strangers anil the leasts of men, but never for God nnd the
feasts of the church ; and how a wind struck lier helpless.
Of her repentance and pardon . . 37

Chapter XXVII.

How St. Bernard, in hair-cloth, met his sister attired in rich
clothes and jewels, and reproved her. Some remarks on
charity .......... 39

Chapter XXVIII.

Of some folks, who, surrounded by fiends writing all they
said, chattered and mocked at mass said by a hermit ; and
on proper conduct at mass ...... 40

Chapter XXIX.

How St. Brice, saying mass with St. Martin, laughed when he
saw a fiend, writing the idle talk of the women present,
find his parchment too short . . . . 41

Chapter XXX.

Of a lord and lady who rose so late that mass could not be said
in their church, and how dreams warned them of their sin.
Of their repentance and penance . . . .42

Chapter XXXI.

How a lady took so long to dress that she kept mass waiting,
and how, at hist, when slie looked in the glass the devil
appeared and sent her mad, till God restored her reason,
and caused her repentance ...... 45

Chapter XXXII.

Of a lady who sorrowed for unsaid mass, and met two friars

who said mass for her ; and of a miracle that took place . 45

Chapter XXXIII.

How a lady's chaplain was hurt, and how God, hearing the
lady's prayers, sent a saint, who afterwards vanished, to
say mass in his stead. Some words on the service of God 46

CONTENTS. XXI

Chapter XXXIV. page

Concerning a wife who, deceiving her husband, went on a
pilgriraaoe with a squire whom she loved. How they
chattered at mass, and how she fell into a trance wherein
she saw visions. Her confession, repentance, and rejection
of the squire . . . . . .47

Chapter XXXV.
Of a carnal sin committed upon an altar, and its punishment . 51

Chapter XXXVI.

Of a monk of Poitou found in the same sin ; and liow Ciirist
cleared the Temple of merchant?. . . . . -52

Chapter XXXVII.
On bad example, the world, the flesh, and the devil . . 53

Chapter XXXVIII.
On good example, humility, temperance, and godliness . . 54

Chapter XXXIX— XLVI.

On the nine follies of Eve, and their punishment ; and some
words on a wife's duties to her husband and wifely counsel ;
on the dangers of listening, looking, handling, and eating
delicious things; on the foolishness of sinners; and on
truth in confession . . . . . . -54

Chapter XLVII— XLIX.»

Of a bishop who shamed his audience by reproving vanity.
The dangers of woman's vanity, and how it caused the
Flood ; and of various vain women who went to feasts in
new and strange attire . . . . . . .62

Of a knight's three wives : how the first died, and how
her bad deeds, weighed against her good deeds by St.
Michael and the Devil, proved the greater; and of her
descent into Hell-fire. Of the knight's second wife, who
after death, was for one sin condemned to one hundred
years in Purgatory. The price of false delights, and more
about dress. How the third wife was tortured by devils
in Hell for her vanity on Earth. On beauty, natural and
artificial ; and on the final charity and holiness of the
knight .......... 65

^ Note that our Chapter XLVII-XLIX corresponds with Chapters XLVII
10 LII in the French, Montaiglon's edition.

XXn CONTKNTS.

( •HAPTER LITI. PAfir.

(^11 painting of faces and dyeing of Imir . .69

Chapter LIV.

A\'liy eight cities were bnrnt and sunk to Hell ; and of Lot's

wife . . . 70

The sin of a monk and a woman, and its ])unishment . 71

Chapteii L\.

Of a damsel who, for a knight's presents, led her mistress into
wrong, and judgment thereon. The value of g(jod and
true servants . . . . - 1-

Chapter LVI.

How Jacob's daughter (Dinah) thoughtlessly left home to see
the women of other lands, and so met Shechem. Of her
sin with him and its results. Also of the daughter of a king
of Greece for whose lost honour the king made war, and
how the princess was cut in pieces . . . . • 73

Chapter LVII.

Of Tamar's sin with her father-in-law, and its conseciuences.
Of the outrages of a bastard king of Naples, and of the
burning of his mother for her wrong . . . -74

Chapter LYIII.

How Pharaoh's wife desired Joseph, and of his refusal. How
she falsely accused him, and caused his imprisonment. Of
his release, and her punishment . . . . -7^

Chapter LIX.

How Balam sent the daughters of Moab into the host of Israel
to tempt the men with their gay array, and what happened
afterwards. The moral of the tale . . . . -77

Chapter LX.

How the daughter of Midian went into the host, and tempted
into wrong a lord of the lineage of Simon, and how the
lord's nephew slew him . . . . . . -78

Chapter LXI.

How Amnon feigned sickness to be alone with his sister
Tamar, and how his brother Absalom slew him for his sin.
That a woman ouglit never to be alone with a man . . 78

CONTENTS. ' xxni

Chapter LXIT. page

Of a roper's wife who was led into sin with a prior. How Jier
husband suspected her, and how she ingeniously cheated
him several times, until at last he broke her legs. Find-
ing her quite incorrigible, he slew her, and the prior with
her. An admonition against sensuality . . . • 7y

Chaptee LXIII.

Of Apemena who, after her marriage with the king of Syria,
became proud, spurned her kinsfolk, and lacked resj^ect for
her husband, so that in hate she was driven away. On
wifely duty ......... 83

How the wife of Herod, hated for iier cruelty, was
untruthfully accused in his absence of having another
lover, and of her proud and fierce reply on his return.
How Herod slew her, and sorrowed for it. On meekly
answering husbandly wrath . . . . , .84

Chapter LXIV.

How Vasis, wife of the king of Assyria, disobeyed her
husband, and the results of her disobedience. The punish-
ment of disobediejit wives, and the example of lionn.
More on wifely duty . . . . . . . Sf

Chapter LXV.

Concerning Amon the king's seneschal, once of mean degree,
who, in his pride, required all to do him reverence. How
Mardocheus, who had nourished the queen, refused ; how
Amon built a gibbet to hang him ; and how Amon was
himself hanged for his presumption. On greatness in-
herited and achieved. More on wifely duty . . .86

CnAi'TEii LXYI.

How Jezebel, who hated the poor and the church, murdered
Naboth that Ahab the king might have his vineyard.
How Jehoshaphat made war on Ahab and slew him ; and
how, after the violent death of Jezebel,, dogs ate her body . 88

Chapter LXVII.

How Athaliah (Eutalia), after the death of her son Ahaziah
(Ozias), murdered all the heirs of the house of Juda
except Joash, nurtured by Jehoida (Joadis) ; and how
Athaliah was slain. . . . . .89

XXIV CONTENTS.

PAGE

Of Briineliault of whom the Sibyl prophesied, and of
her manifold cruelties and murders. How she .-lew all
her children and all her grandchildren except one, who got
the judgment of the barons on her deeds, and had her
slain .........

Chaptek LXVIII.

On envy. How Miriam envied Moses, and wa.s struck with
leprosy, until Moses and Aar-on prayed for her, and God
made her whole ........

Chapter LXIX.

How Phanona, wife to Archana and mother of his children,
mocked Ama his other wife, who had borne none. How
Ama meekly complained to God, and how God punished
one wife and rewarded the other . 91

Chapter LXX.

Of Samson, who, through his love for Delilah, told her of the
secret of his strength, and how she betrayed him after
cutting his hair. How at her marriage, when his hair
had grown again, he pulled down the master pillar of the
hall, and killed her and his foes. Of Judas Iscariot ; and
of covetousness, the parent of many vices . -92

Chapter LXXI.

Of a man of Ephraim, whose wife left him for her father's
house at small provocation. How her father delivered
her again to her husband ; and what happened on the
return home. Of the great sorrow and slaughter that
came of this one desertion . . -93

Chapter LXXII.

Concerning a woman who refused to eat with her husband, and
was forced to eat with a swineherd . . . . -94

Chapter LXXIII.

Of jQatterers, who, when Sisana was slain in battle, told his
wife that he was victorious. The evils of flattery ^ . -95

Chapter LXXIV.

How Samson's wife divulged his secret . • . .96

Of a squire who, to try his wife, told her he had laid
two eggs. How she imparted the secret to another, and

^ For two more anecdotes omitted by our translator see p. 213.

CONTENTS. XXV

PAGE

how the eggs grew in number with the repetition of the
tale. The squire's reprooi". That a wife should keep her
husband's counsel . . . . . . . .96

Chapter LXXV.

How David's wife mocked him when he harped and sang
among the priests before the ark, and of her punishment.
That wives should be humble and courteous to their
husbands ......... 97

Chapter LXXVI.

Telling how the charms of Bathsheba led l^avid to have her
husband slain, and to lay with her ; and of the miseries
that resulted therefrom ....... 99

Chapter LXXVII.

How Solomon's mother wanted to marry a pagan, and of his
refusal to allow it. Also of a duchess of Athens, who
wanted to marry her bastard son to his sister, and what
came of it. That a wife ought not to make unreasonable
requests ......... 99

Chapter LXXVIII.
The judgment of Solomon . . . . . . .100

Chapter LXXIX.

On the death of the child of Jeroboam ; and that the sins of
parents injure the children . . . . .101

Chapter LXXX.

How the sight of blind Tobit was restored for his patience.
How Eaguel's daughter Sara had seven husbands, whom
the devil slew for their sin, and how Sara, bearing the
blame of it meeklv. was rewarded bv havino- Tobias for a
husband . . . , . . . . .102

Of the afflictions of Job, and of his patience; and how
all things were restored to him. Of St. Eustatius who,
having lost all he had, had more than he had lost given
him for his faith. The duty of patience and submission
in tribulation . . . . . . . 103

Chapter LXXXI.

Of the slaughter of the Innocents. How Herod took from
his brother his evil wife, Herodias; how Herodias had

XXVI CONTKNTS.

VAG 1 ;

Joliii tlie lUptlst killed; and how slie and Hoi'od weii-
punisht'd lor their iiii(juities .104

Chapter L XX XII.

How Sarah, wife ol Al)rahain, protected by God lor her
goodness, gave birth to Isaac alter a hundred yearn ol
barrenness . . . . .105

Chapter LXXXTII.

Of Rebecca, who, for her gentleness and humility, was
rewarded with two cliildren, Jacob and Esau; and of the
ditt'erence in character and pursuit between these two . 106

Concerning two parents who promised to give their
first-born to God, and finding the second-born less lair
than the first, gave the second-born ; and ol* their punish-
ment. Also of those who withdraw from abbeys on
attaining riches . . . . .107

Chapter LXXXIV.

How Jacob and Leah, blest with children for her devotion,
corrected their children and prayed for them. The cor-
] ection of children. How the devil burnt and disfigured
a child cursed by its parents ...... 107

Chapter LXXXV.

Of Racliel, Jacob's second wife, who, because she did not
thank God for her child, died. Also of a queen of
Hungary who, ut the birth of her children, had the
prayers of the holy, and through that and her humility,
had noble offspring. That Mary was chosen to be Christ's
mother, for her purity, chastity., and humility . .109

Chapter LXXXVI.

How the child of the queen of Cypress, given her through
prayer in her old age, was smothered during the high
revels at its birth, because its parents omitted to thank
God devoutly and humbly . . . .110

Chapter LXXXVIl.

How the vessel, in which the mother of Moses placed him,
floated down stream to the riverside mansion of an
Egyptian princess, who rescued the child and nurtured
him, so that he became the leader of the Jews . .111

CONTENTS.

Of the child of a reverent and cliaritable woman, that,
falling into a deep pit in a river, was kept alive for eight
days by 8t. Elisabeth, when it was rescued. That charity
always has its reward .......

Chapter LXXXVIII.

How Raliub of Jericho saved the joreachers of God when the
populace sought to harm them ; and how, when the Arabs
sacked the town, God preserved her and her peojDle for it.
Of St. Anastatia, whom God delivered from gaol because
she had relieved poor prisoners. Of St. Eadegonde, Queen
of France, who relieved the poor and the needy ; and of a
miracle that took place at the abbey into which she
retired. The nobility of good deeds and charity

Chaptee LXXXIX.

Samson's mother, lamenting her childlessness in the Temple,
is told by an angel that she shall have a son, and her
husband is by an angel exhorted to suffer and do absti-
nence, and to keep the son temperate. The birth of
Samson, and his deeds against the Pagans. Excessive
eating and drinking lead to the seven deadly sins .

The terrible effects of imbibing wine, and the lustiality
of gluttony. How" an angel foretold Zachariah of his sou
St. John ; and of the difference between the missions of
Samson and St. John .... ...

xxvii

pA(;k

I 12

113

114

ii6

Chapter XC.

How Deborah learnt so well at school that she became a
ffimous prophetess, and was able to assuage the frenzy of
her cruel husband. Of St. Katherine, who by her learning
confuted the Grecian philosophers, and was after her
martyrdom carried to Mount Sinai, where her body yields
oil unto this day. How a young child overcame some
Pagans in argument, and told them that God was in his
heart ; and how, when they slew him, and cut open his
heart to examine it, a white dove flew out of it. On the
education of women and children .....

Chapter XCl.

The husband of Ruth dying, her stepchildren seek to deprive
her of her just share of his wealth; but his friends befriend
her for the great love she bore him, and she receives her
due ..........

117

iiy

XXVlll CONTKNTS.

Chapter XCIl. page

Of Abigail, who, l)y her prudence and goodnef-s, .saved her
husband from the punishment of his misdeeds. That a
woman in all things should stand by her husband. Of a
cowardly Roman senator, who, out of jealousy for his wife,
challenged another man to figiit, and out of fear failed to
meet liim. How the wife, for the sake of her husband's
honour, rode herself to the fight, strove, and conquered . 120

Chapter XCIIT.

Telling how a wife of David appeased his wrath when he
would have killed Absalom for the slaying of Amuon * ;
and how the kinar's son protected her after the king's
death . .121

Chapter XCIV.

How the queen of Sheba went to consult Solomon. The

wisdom of choosing good counsellors . . . .122

Of an emperor of Rome, who M'^as told by flatterers that
he would live, when it was patent that he must die; and
how his chamberlain told him the truth, and urged him to
prepare himself. The office of friendship . -123

Chapter XCV.

Elisha, lodged in the house of a good woman, prays that she
may have a child, and his prayer is granted. At the age
of fifteen, the child dies in the prophet's chamber. The
woman seeks out Elisha, who prays that the child may be
restored to life, and his prayer is again granted. The
advantage of converse with holy men . .124

Chapter XCVI.

More of the meekness of Sara, daughter of Raguel. Of a
Roman woman notorious for public chiding. Also of a
woman who strove with a man until, by false accusation,
he publicly shamed her. The example of the greyhound.
Of an emperor with quarrelsome daughters . . .125

Chapter XCVII.

Describing the gentleness of queen Esther towards her
garrulous husband, and the way in which she showed him
his faults and won his love. More on wifely duty, and of
the three things better than pleasures, sports, and play . 127

^ See Chapter LXI, p. 78.

CONTENTS.

XXIX

Chapter XCVITI. page

}io\v two priests discovered Susannah bathing, and threatened
to accuse lier ])efore judges of histful crime unless she
submitted to them. But Susannali feared mortal death
less than death everlasting, and refused. Her trial before
the judges ; and how she was saved by Daniel. That all
women should have faith in God . . . . .129

Chapter XCIX.

How St. Elisabeth established the peace and joy of her hus-
band and herself ; and how God rewarded her . -131

Chapter C.

The example of Mary Magdalene, who washed Christ's feet
with her tears and wiped them with her hair, who wept
for her sins, and practised abstinence in the desert for
twenty years, when God sent her heavenly food, and who
loved Christ so fervently . . . 131

('HArTEll CI.

That service to God comes before wifely service ; that a
woman's virtue may make amends for the wickedness of
her husband; and an example to that effect . . • ^.33

Chapter CII.

Of Martha, beloved of God, who harboured his servants and
ever helped the poor ; and of her sister Mary Magdalene
and Christ. That befriending the poor and oppressed is
a noble virtue . . . . . . . .134

Chapter CHI.

Of the women who wept for Christ carrying his cross, and of
his remarks to them, and their reward. More words on
womanly pity and charity. Of the Countess of Anjou
who founded the abbey of Bourgueil, and her great love and
charity. How, when she would sa}^ matins, the books
came to her from the air itself . . . -135

Chapter CIV.

All men should be at peace with the world before supplicating
God. A burgesse of good repute was dying, and a priest
went to shrive lier, but found she had not yet forgiven a
neighbour who had done her wrong. He told her of

XXX CONTENTS.

I'Aci:

Clirist's exiiiupk', uml oi a kniglit wlio at tlio urging of*
a liermit, forgave liis father's niurtlei, to wliicli kniglit,
when he went to pray, the figure of the cross leaned down,
and promised everlasting joy. She would not relent. The
priest dreamed that the devil hare away her soul, and that
a toad sat upon her heart. Both of these things proved true.
The toad, when questioned, said he was a devil, who had
tempted the burgesse for twenty years, and poisoned her
heart, and so procured her damnation , . -137

Chapter CV.

That people should straightway receive visitors, without first

retiring to newly adorn tliemselves . . . .140

Of a knight that made a long voyage, and returned with
two gowns for his two nieces. How, when he visited the
first, she kept him waiting so long while" she arrayed
lierself, that he departed ; and how the second, when he
came, was making bread, and ran to receive him with
hands covered with flour, whereby she won his love and
two gowns. Of a lady, sparing in bright dresses, that she
might look fairer on holy days . . . .140

Chapter CVI.

How a knight sought to do wrong with a maiden, and upon
her refusal, gave her, for revenge, a poisoned apple to
give to a lord's child. How the apple was given, and the
child died ; and how the kuight accused the maid of con-
spiring with enemies to do the deed. Also how the
maiden was ordered to be burnt, when God, in pity, sent
a brave knight as her champion, who slew the false kniglit,
and won his confession. Hov/ Christ, also, fought for tlie
whole world . . . . . . . .142

Chapter CVII.

The three Maries rose early in the morning to anoint
Christ's body in the tomb, but found it gone. Comment
on the burial of Christian martyrs by the good women
of Rome in the days of Nero. That charity, now-a-days,
is right thinly sown . . .144

Chapter CVIII.

Of maidens w^ho rise too late for service, and place vanity
before religious duty. That their fate shall be that of
the five foolish virgins, who awoke too late to enter with
the bridegroom. The costliness of worldly dehghts . 145

CONTENTS. XXXI

ChAPTEK CIX. PAGE

Of peerless Mary, temple of God; of her husband Joseph;
and of the Annunciation and Conception. Mary as nn
example to all women . . . . . .146

CiiAPTEK ex.

The example of Mary and her cousin Elizabeth, who, notwith-
standing their exaltation, were so humble and meek . 149

Chapter CXI.

How Mary, lor pity, asked Christ to turn the water into wine ;
how she found him disputing with the masters of the law ;
and how Simeon saw him in the temple and thanked Cod.
Mary as an example of pity and patience in sorrow . 151

Chapter CXII.

A lady at mass, seeing a poor \voman sliivering in the cold,
left the chapel, took tiie woman home, and well clothed
her : whereby God performed a miracle, for, during tlie
lady's absence, the priest could not utter a word . . 152

Chapter CXIII.

Concerning Jeanne, queen of France, and other great ladies

noted for charity and virtue . . . . . -15.3

Chapters CXIY, CXV.

Of a gentlewoman who loved and honoured her husband for
all his badness and low degree. Of a lady whose husband
was old and sick, and who, in spite of his uncleanliness,
gave up her life until he died, to serve him. How both
of these ladies lived chaste widows ; and the virtue of so
doing . . . . . -154

Chapter CXVI.

As the knight wins renown by brave deeds in great dangers,
so should womnn win lionour by great virtues in tempta-
tion 157

Chapter CXVII.

How Sir Pierre de Luge went to a feast whereat sat a young
man, whom the knight pretended to mistake for a
minstrel, because of his coat after the German guise.
How the young man, wisely following his counsel,
changed it. The duty of respecting the counsel of

158

A sfccoud aiiec lote will be found at p. 217.

XXX II CONTENTS.

CHAlTJilt CX\ili. PAGE

How the kniglits of old time placed good renown before evil
renown, and even before ;^reat renown if it were not truly
noble. Tlie decadence of our Ivniglit's times in tliis
respect . . .160

AVomen oui(ht to consider the old times when adultery
was i)unislRd by stoning and burning. The laws (^f
ditferent countries concerning adultery; and some remarks
on women of ill fame . . .162

Chafi^er CXIX. .

Christ likened a chaste woman to a spotless pearl ; and there
are three manners of chaste women that God praises —
maids, wives, and widows. The good woman is praised
more than the good man, for women are frailer ; and as a
foul vessel ought not to be used for a sweet rose, so ought
not an unclean man to go with a woman. The devil has
no power in holy matrimony, for Clod ordains it ; but the
untrue wife loses all earthly and heaveidy good, and shall
be led into the fire of hell . . . . .163

Chapter CXX (1).
How a maid received the knight she was to wed in thiu
apparel, although it was winter time, in order to appear
slim and well-shapen ; and how the knight, repelled by
her face pale with cold, chose her younger sister for his
wife . . . . . . . . . .165

Chapter CXX (II).
Of a knight who, thinly but handsomely clad, went to visit
his paramour one winter's day, and, arriving both pale
and cold, met a second knight well clad for the weather,
also amorous of the lady. How the lady favoured the
second 1< night; and how the first subsequently won her
favour for himself . . . . . . .167

Chapter CXXI.
How A^enus, the goddess of love and lechery, perverted the
natural customs of the people of Poitou and surrounding
countries, and led them into such vices that they nearly
all died. Some words on the wiles of the devil . .169

Chapter CXXII.
Our Knight's argument with his wife concerning love : a
damsel may have lovers in certain cases ; and love is wealth
and honour, and the lover is better for it . . • 1 7 1

Chapter CXXIII.
Our Knight's wife, however, tells her daughters to pay no heed
to their father in this case, for he speaks but the idle talk

CONTENTS. XXXlll

PAGE
of lords and fellows. No woman can serve both God
and love; and it is in the church itself that temptation is
strongest. The devil entered once into the body of a
damned woman who then. performed false miracles, so
that the pagans called her goddess, and worshipped her.
This was Venus, whose art is evil love. She caused the
ravishing of Helen, and all its subsequent war. Women
should therefore beware of her. Besides this, many men
are deceitful beguilers of women, and, after wronging
them, mock them . . . . . . . .172

Chapter CXXIV.

And if a man (says our Knight's wife) talk of love to
a woman, she should leave him, or call another to hear
what he has to say . . . . . . .176

Chapter CXXV.

But the Knight replies tliat, if a knight seek to woo one of
their daughters, surely she may love him : whereupon the
dame contends that all men are not alike in this respect ;
some, like the knight himself, do not care for great show
of love ^ . . . . . . . . .176

Chapter CXXVI.

And maidens should not set their love on men of lower degree,
for they are thereby abased, and lose the honour and love
of their friends and parents; nor yet on men of higher
degree, for these want them not for wives, but mistresses . 178

Chapter CXXVII.

Women, moreover, who, having plenty of money, yet set their
love on wedded men, priests, monks, and servants, are
worse than the women of brothels . . . . .178

Chapter CXXVIII.

The Knight then asks, will ye not permit, that after their
marriage, our daughters may, out of their love, find happi-
ness, and exalt some man to higher things ? . . .179

Chapter CXXIX.

The Dame replies, that wedded women should certainly do all
honour to the honourable, and render such love as is due to
valiant men ; but beyond this they should not go : for love's
thoughts are not devout, and no woman can serve both
love and God. A wedded woman has not two hearts ; and

* Referring to the Knight's history in Chapter XIII, p. 18.

XX XIV CONTKNTS.

VAfiE

tlie love she gives to another, slie takes from her husbaud.
God himself has said that man and wife are but one body ;
and the woman has promised never to abandon her lord . 179

Chapter CXXX.

Besides, if a wife should appear to favour another man, idle
tongues would ere long noise it abroad, and she would be
accused of false dealings, and much mischief would be
caused . . . .181

Chapter CXXXI.

The Knight considers her judgment hard, and inquires if she
were never amorous. She replies that once a knight
spoke to her of love, but she told all present of his words,
and said that a man ought never to tell his love for
seven and a half years. She prays her daughters may
attain good repute and honour . . . . .182

Chapter CXXXII.

The Knight still argues that a woman may stimulate a man

to greater courage and great deeds . . . .184

Chapter CXXXIII.

The Dame says there are two sorts of love. The first is
the love of a squire, rendered for honour and worthiness.
And if, says the Knight, they kisp, the wind blows it
away ! The Dame then replies, that her daughters should
not so do, for, as Sybylle says, the look and the kiss are
but steps to the deed that blasts all honour; and false
reports will often defame the most virtuous women, as, for
instance, the Duchess of Bavaria . . . . .184

Chapter CXXXIV.

A tale of a hermit who went to vibit the Provost of Aquilea,
and met him richly dressed outside the town, riding away
to hold a court of justice. The hermit was directed to
the Provost's wife, who was instructed to treat him as if
he were the Provost himself. Then follow the adventures
of the hermit during the day and night in consequence
of these instructions . . . . . . .186

Chapter CXXXV.

Describes the death of a miserly widow who, on her death-
bed, had her money-chest sealed, and hid the key. How

CONTENTS.

XXXV

PAGE

her daughter found the key and unlocked the chest, and
knowing her mother had pleaded poverty, was amazed at
the treasure displayed ; and how the mother was buried in
an abbey, but had no service or tomb. Thus we see the
devil always tempts people where they are weakest

190

Chapter CXXXVI.

How our Knight, at the age of ten, had visited a manor of
which the lady, Cecile of Belleville (1) had lately died, and
so came to know the story of her great virtues and
exemplary life . . . . . . . .192

Chapter CXXXVII.
The dying Cato gave his son instructions as to his manner of

living in the world . . . . . .194

Chapter CXXXVIII.

The first was that he should take no office of the king, if he
had sufficiency without it ; for it is good to escape the
treachery and waywardness of men. The second was, that
he should spare no man justly condemned to death ; for
in so doing he would become a participator in the man's
after crimes . . . . . . . . -195

Chapter CXXXIX.

The third was, that he should make a test of his wife, to see
whether she could keep his counsel ; for women who
cannot do so are a source of danger. So Cato the father
died ; and Cato the son kept for a while the precepts of
his father, but afterwards forgot them. He accepted an
office in the state, and he saved a thief from hanging . 195

Chapter CXL.

Cato then remembered the wise words of his father, and
resolved not to leave undone the remaining instruction.
He therefore told his wife, by way of great secret, that in
a fit of anger he had killed the emperor's son, and served
up his heart in spices for the emperor and empress to eat.
The wife made great sorrow, and was induced to tell the
story to a friend. The friend informed the empress, and
so the emperor came to hear of it. Cato was ordered to
be hanged in the midst of Rome, but prevailed upon the
officers to defer his execution until the morrow. This
was done; Cato, meanwhile, sent a squire to the knight
that kept the emperor s son, that the son might be brought
to Rome in time to save him . . , , . .196

XXXVl CONTENTS.

Chapter CXLI. paok

Aucl on the morrow Catogot the hangmen to hide themselves
for several hours ; but at the appointed time he was
conducted to the gallows before the people who loved him
so well, all of them sorry for him, and many of them sorry
that he could have done such a crime. When, however,
the gallows was reached, no hangmen could be found :
and here came forward the thief whose life Cato had
saved, and offered himself to fill the hangman's office.
But just then a gi*eat shout arose ..... 200

Chapter CXLII.

And the people saw a troup of horsemen riding towards them,
and with them the emperor's son. The boy released
Cato, set him on his horse, and led him to his father's
palace, where he met his father, and reproved him for his
summary sentence. Cato then described how his father,
when dying, had given him his three precepts . .201

Chapter CXLIII.

And gave them again, with more copious reasons in their
support. He then described the whole course of events
given above, and spoke of his wife's betrayal of his secret 202

Chapter CXLIV.

After which he resigned his office. But the emperor rewarded
him well, and he was held in great esteem. This is then an
example that a wife should keep her husband's counsel ;
for, as the shaft from the bow, so is the word from the
mouth, that once flown, may never again be recalled.
So we ought to remember the words of Solomon, who
advises deliberation before speech, and think of the many
ills that come from thoughtless speaking . . . 204

After this comes the colophon of William Caxton, and
then 205

Notes • 206

Glossary 233

Phrases and Proverbs 254

Index of Subjects . . . . . . . .264

m^t Booh of tljc yirigljt
fa Cour-f HubrjT.

[Rarleiax MS. 1764, Brit. Mus.]

PROLOGUE.

IN the yere of the incarnacion of oure lorcTM* iijc Ixxj, as y [FoI. i.
col. 1.]
was in a gardin, al heui and fuS of thought, in the shadow, in Apwia.d.

n/»i 1 PA'jj-1 Tiia. • -.^ 13711 wjisina

about the ende oi the monthe oi Aprill, but a Jiten y reioysect garden, "sad
4 me of the melodie and song of the wilde briddes ; thei sang thought,"
there in her langages, as the Thrustitt, the thrusshe, the nyting-
gale, and other briddes, the whiche were futi of mirthe and
ioye : and thaire suete songe made my herte to lighten, and when tiie

" singing of the

8 made me to thinke of the tvme that is passed of my yoiithe, ^^'"'^^ i»f^de

'' ^ J J ' j^jg think of

how loue in gret distiesse had? holde me, and how y was jnyyouth.my

o ' »' love, and my

in her seruice mani tymej futt of sorugh and gladnesse, as mani '"''^''''^s®-
lovers ben. But my sorw was heled, and my seruice wel ysette and

1 2 quitte, for he gaue [me a fayr] wyff, and that was bothe fi\ire

and good\ [whiche had'^ knowleche of alle honoure, alle good, and
fayre mayntenynge,] and of att good she was beli and the floure;
and y delited me so moche in her that y made for her loue songges, i made songs

and ballads

i6 balades, rondelles, viralles, and diiierse nwe ^ tliinges in the best for my wife
wise that y couthe. But deth, that on aH raakitbe werre, toke tin she died

20 years ago,

her from me, the whiche hathe made me haue mani a sorufuH to my great

sorrow.

^ Part of the first column is scarcely legible, and I have been obliged
to insert a few words from Caxbon's translation.

^ Caxton has "hath." The whole sentence in Caxton reads thus: But
alle myn euylles haue rewarded me. Sythe that the fayre and good hath
gyuento me/ whiche hath knowleche of alle honoure/ alle good/ and fayre
mayntenynge/.

» ? MS.-

V^ 1

4 THE BOOK OF THK KNIfJHT [Prologue.

.tliouglit and gret lieuinesse. And so it is more than .xx. yeere
tliat I haue ben for her ful of gret sorugh. For a true lover-

* [Foi. 1, is hert *forgetith neuer the woman that enis he hathe truli loued.
When in the ^^^^ «s y was in the saide gardein, tliinkynge of these thoughtj, 4

KJirden there , , ••' i i, /..i i'it

came to me y sawc comc towardcs me my .uj. doughters, of the whiche I
daughters, was joyfull, and had grete desire that thei shuld' turne to

about whom

I had sreat good and worshipe aboue alt ertheli thinges, for thei were yonge,

desire tiiat ^ ^ o

theysiiouid and had but tendir witte; and so atte the begynnyng a man 8
good;" aught to lerne his doughters with good ensaumples yevinge,
as dede the quene Proues of Hongrie, that faire and goodly
chastised and taught her doughters, as it [is] contened in her
boke. And whanne my doughters come towardes me, I be- 12
thought me of the tyrae whan that y yede and rode with my
felawes in Paytov and other diuerse places that y had ben
and I remem- in. And also y bethought and remembered me that my felawes

beredhowmy

"feiiows"had comcncd with ladies and gentil- women, the whiche praied hem 16

behaved to o » i

women in the of louc, For there was none of them that mioht finde, lady

time of ray ^ ' *'

youtii, QY gentill-woman, but thei wolde praie her; and yef that one

wolde not entende to that, other wolde anone praie. And
whethir thei had good ansuere or euett, thei raught neuer, for 20
thei had in hem no shame nor drede for the cause thei were so
usedl And therto thei had faire langage and wordes, for in eueri
place thei wolde haue hadd' her sportes and thei might.
And so thei dede bothe deseiue ladies and gentilwomen, and 24
here forthe diuerse langages on hem, som true and som fals,

from which of the wliichc there come to diuerse gret defames and

had come

much scan- sclauudrcs withoutc cause and reson. And there is not this

dal,

* [Pol. 16. day *no gretter treson thanne a gentitt woma^i to yeue her 28

selff to a traitour fals churle, blamed with vices, for there ys
mani of hem deceiued bi the foule and grete fals othes that the
fals men vsen to swere to the women; for y liaue herd' my
despiteaiimy felawcs sucrc oftc diucrsc fals othes, and y asked hem whi thei 32

reproving. ^ ^ ,

forsuore hem, saieng that thei loued euerich woma92 best that

thei spake to. For y saide vnto hem, " Seris, ye shulde loue,

t hole in MS. nor be aboute, to haue hut one." But wha[t] t y saide vnto hem,

it was neuer the heier. And therfor bi-cause y sawe atte 36

PRoroGiR.] OF LA TOUR-LANDRY. 6

that tyme the goucriiaunce of hem, the whiche y clouted, that

tyme yet regnithe, And ther be suche felawes now or worse, And tiare be

still men its

And therfor y purposed to make a liteli boke, in the whiche bad, or worse.

,.. Ill p ^ ^' 1 T'lerefore, fur

4 y wokle write the good condiciones and dedes oi ladies and the guidance

of my

gent ilt- women, that for her gcodnesse were worshipped, honoured, dangiiters, i

proposed to

praised, and renomed the tyme passed, and euer shalt be, for [»'»ke a iittie
her weldoinffe and goodnes, to that eiitent that my doughtres s:"o<i and evii

^ o ' JO women,

8 shulde take ensaumple of faire continuaunce and good manere.
And also y wol make write the manere contrarie of goodncsse,
the whiche is ''called the boke of hurtinge of euelt women, that
bathe vsed to do euelt, and had blames," to that entent that who

12 so luste may kepe hem from harme ther thei might erre, as thei
that yet be blamed, dishonoured, and shamed. & for these
causes aforesaid', y thought to make this litelt boke to my yong
doughtres, wherupon thei might rede and studie, to that entent ti at tiiey

i6 that thei might lerne and see bothe good and * euelt of the *[Foi. i*.
tyme passed, and forto kepe hem in good clennesse, and from alt might know
euett in tyme corayng. For there be such men that lyetlie
and makithe good visage and countenaunce to women afore hem,

2o that scornithe and mockithe hem in her absence. And therfor
it is harde to knowe the worlde that is now ; and ther [for] the
rescues that y haue saide you, y parted and yede oute of the
gardein, and fonde in my way .ij. prestes and .ij. clerkes tliat Going out of

the garden, I

24 y had. And y said" to hem that y wolde make a boke of met two

priests and

ensaumples, for to teche my doughtres, that thei might vnder- two derives,

and I told

stond'how thei shulde gouerne hem, and knowe good from euelt. them i would

, n\aMe a book

And so V made hem extraie me ensaumples of the Bible and •:'*'<^^'""i''^'*

•^ ■•■ for my

28 other bokes that y had?, as the gestis of kiugges, the croniclej !^[j"J*bade^'
of Fraunce, Grece, of Inglond', and of mani other strauiige J.'xamilief il^
londes. And y made hem rede me eueri boke ; And ther that various hi'st'o-
y fonde a good ensaumple, y made extraie it oute. And thanne ''^*'

32 y made this boke. But y wolde not sette it in ryme, but in from which i

~. , . Ill* -111 1 made this

prose, torto abregge it, and that it might be beter and more book, in

. prose, to be

pleinly to be understondl And y made this boke for the gret tiie better

understood.

loue that y had" to my said' doughtres, the whiche y loued as
36 fader aught to loue his child', Hauing hertely ioye to finde wayes

1—2

4 THK nOOK 01' TIIK KNIGHT ICha^. i.

to steie and turiie hem to goodiiesse and worshipi)^, and to loue

and serue her creatouie, And to haue loue of her neighhoures

Aiiimiei.ts and of the world'. And therfor all faders and moders after

hliuuld teach

tiieir chii- good nature aught to teche her children to leue alt wrong and 4
*[Foi, 2, eueli waies, and shew hem the true right * weye, as wele for the

ool. 1.] ,

saluacion of the soule as for the worship€ of the worldely bodi.
wjierefore I And therfor y haue made .ii. bokes, one for my sones, an other

made two *' o » j >

foTui' ''ons ^^^ ^y doughtres, forto lerne hem to rede. And in reding, it 8
for^iiy*^ '^"'*"" may not be but that thei shall kepe with hem som good en-
daughters. gaumple forto flee euelt and withholde the good. For it shall
not be posible but sumtyme thei shall haue mynde on sum
good ensaumple, sum good doctrine of this boke, whanne thei i^
knowe or here speke here-after, as thei fall in the rewe vpon
sum spekers of suche matiers.

[CHAPTER I.]
The mirror of The mirrour of the furst reding of these histories.

tlie first read-
ing. _^

It is a good TTIt is a noble and a faire thinge for a man or a woman i6

peoIL*to see to sec aud bcholde hem-self in the mirrour of auncient

the mirror of stories, the which hatha ben wretin bi oure Aunsetters forto

she we us good ensaumples that thei dede, to leue and to eschewe

the euelt. And, doughtres, y saie this for y am olde, and haue 20

leued longe, and see moche more of the world' thanne ye. And

therfor a parti, after my science, whiche is not ^gret, y will shew

I have great you, for y liaue gret desire that ye turne youre hertis and thoughtis

desire that ye

turn your to drede and to serue God ; for he thanne wol sende you efood 24

heartstoGod. ... . J to -r

and worship in this world?, and in the other. For in certayne all

the verray good and worship honest of man and woman comithe

of hym only, and of none other, And yeuithe longe lyff and

stont in this terreyn and wordly \s{c~\ thing like as hym lust, for 28

• [Foi. 2, all liethe in his plesir and ordinaunce. And also * he yeuithe and
col. 2.] ...

yeldithe, for the good seruice that is yeue and do to hym, the

double an hundred tymes. And therfor, doughtres, it is good to

serue suche a lorde that gardoneth his seruaunt in suche wise. 32

^ '* whiche is not " is repeated, by mistake, in the MS.

Chaps. II. III.] OF LA TOUR-I.ANDllY.

[CHAPTER II.]

ANd, tlierfor, the furst weike or laboure that a man or a a man's fii?t
work should
woman shukle be-ginne, is to serue God ; atte eueri tyme be to serve

he awakithe he ought to yeue God reconisaunce, bi thought

4 or praier, that he is his lorde, creatour, and maker. And

whanne he arisithe, to saie his matenis, or oresones, yef he

be a clerk, yekling hym thankingges and preisyngges, as to saie

liaudate dominum omnea gentes, &c. ; Benedicamus patrem.

8 &filiuiii; and to saie praiers and thingges that is praising and and to pray,

... . . fo'^

thanking to God. For it is an higher and more digne thinge

forto praise and thanke God, thanne to requere hym, for in

request askes yefte, mede, or guerdomi ; and praising and

12 thanking is seruice of aungeles, that euer praisithe and wor-

shipithe God; and it is beter to thanke God thanne to requere itisbetterto

tliank God

hym, for he wote beter what nedithe man or woman thanne than to seek

tilings from

hem selfF. After, ye aught to praie God for the soules that ii'™-
1 6 ben dede, eueri day or ye slepe ; for yef ye do, the dede praiethe
for you. And for-yete not to praie to the blessed virgine Marie,
that day and night praieth for us, and to recomaunde you to
the seintes and santas. And whanne this is done, thanne ye
30 may slepe the beter. And also y[e] oght to praie eueri tyme Also pray

every iimQ

that ye wake; and ye aught not forgete it that tyme. Also y© wake.

praie for the dede, of the whiche y will telt you an exsaumple,

how it *is good to thanke God, and to praie for alt cristen soules * [Foi. 2&.

col. 1.]

24 that ben dede, atte alt tymes that ye wake.

[CHAPTER III.]

TTIt ^ is contened in the stori of Constantine-noble, ther was
■*--'- an emperoure hadd' .ij! doughters, and the yonggest had ^" emperor
good condiciones, for she loued wel God, and praied hym, atte ^aughtera,
28 alt tymes that she awaked, for the dede. And as she and and the

youngest

her suster laie a-bedde, her suster awoke, and herde her in*^^ptti'e

eldest awake

her praieres, and scorned and mocked her, and saide, " hold" ^^ ''^''

^ ' ' prayers.

youre pees, for y may not slepe for you." And so it happed

1 MS. "Alt."

TlIK BOOK OF THE KNIGHT

[Chap. III.

And tu'i)
knJKlits came
to lie with
them ;
:iiid the one
wtni came to
the youngest,
saw a tlioii-
saiid dead
hodies, and
ran awa.v,

but the otiier
begat the
elder sister
with child.

and her fatlier
put him and
her to death ;
but the
youngest
sister was
saved.

* [Fol. 26.

col. 2.]

and married
a king of
Greece.

that you the constreyned hcin hothc to lone .ij. hretheren, that
were kiiiglites, and were goodly men. And so the suBteres
tolde her counsaile eche to other. And atte the laste thei sette
steuen that the knightes fchulde come to lye hi hem bi night 4
priuely atte sertaine owre. And that one came to the yongest
suster, but hym thought he sawe a thousand dede bodies about
her in shetis ; And he was so sore afraied and aferde, that he
ranne awaie as he had? be oute of hym selff, and caute the 8
feuers and gret sikenesse thorugh the fere that he had, and
laied hym in his bedde, and might not stere for siknesse.
Jkit that other knight come into that other suster withoutc
letting, and be-gate her with childe. And whanne her fader 12
wost she was with childe, he made cast her in-to the Riuer,
and drenche her and her childe, And made to scorcli the knight
quicke. Thus, for that delyt. thei were bothe dede; But that
other suster was saued. And y shalt tett you on the morw it 16
was in alt the hous how that *one knight was sike in his bedde;
and the yongest suster yede to see hym, and asked hym wherof
he was sike. "As y wende to haue entered" be-twene the curteynes
of youre bedde, y sawe so gret nombre of dede men that y was 20
nigli wode for fere, and yet y am aferde & afraied of the
sight/' And whanne she heide that, she thanked God humbly,
that had kept her from shame and distruccion ; And from that
forwarde she worshipped and praied God devoutly atte alt tymes 24
that she awaked, and al wey [kept] her selff clene and chaste. And
not longe after, a kinge of Grece wedded her. And was continued
a good woman and a deuoute, and had a good name ; and thus
was she saued, as ye haue lierde, forto worshippe and praie to 28
God for the dede. And her eldest suster, that mocked her, was
dede and disworshipped, as ye haue herde. And therfor,
doughters, be-thenke you on this exsaumple whan ye wake,
and slepe not tilt ye haue praied for the dede, as dede the 32
yongest doughter. Yet y wolde ye knew an exaumple how a
lorde ^ wolde haue a gentiK-woman, bi faire or be force, for to
do his foule lust with her.

^ " how a lorde" is repeated, by mistake, in the MS.

Chaps. IV. v.] OF LA TOUR-LANDllY.

[CHAPTER IV.]
Of the knight that folued the gentill- woman into the of a knisht

wlio would
bUSShe. have a gentle-

woman by

It happed that the lorde made spie how the gentitt-wonian fl.'iioweTiier,
4 "*-"*" was gone to hide her in a busshe for fere of hym ; And foraii ch'ru-
there she saide " dirige " for alt cristen sowles. And he come

thedir forto fulfelJ his foule delit, and wende forfco haue touched

her, hym thought he sawe more than x M'^ dede folk about her : and he saw

ten thousand

8 and kepte her, * And therfor he ranne aweye. And he sende * [Foi. .3,
to her, and sware to her that he Avolde neuer requere her of ^ead bodies
no suche materes, for she had? to kepe her a ferdfult companie. away^"
And she saide, " y had none with me, saue atte that tyme y saide
12 " dirige " for all cristen sowles." But she thought that thei were

tho that kepte her. And therfor it is good to praie for the dede therefore it is

good to pray
atte alt OWreS. I'or the dead.

[CHAPTER v.]

T?Aire doughtres, whanne ye arise, enterith into tlie high when yon
16 seruice of the high lord Ihesu, and saithe youre matenis matin's, and

• • 1 11 111 think not on

and yonre seruice with good herte, and thenke not on none worldly

things ;

other worldly ocupaciones in that tyme as ferforthe as ye
may, for ye may not goe two waies atte onis ; as the wise man
20 saithe, "as good is he that herithe and understondithe not, as for "as good
he that huntithe and takithe not." And therfor he that saithe heareth and

ii'i'i /» 111 !• understand-

a pater i]oster and praiers, and thmkithe of worldely thinges and eth not, as he

that hunteth

ocupaciones, his praiers profiteth not; for praiers ben celestialJ and takcth
24 thinges, and holy writte saithe "beter were a shorte orison,
saide with good devouute herte, thanne gret long matenis, saide
withoute deuocion, and thinke on worldli ocupaciones." But
the more ye sale deuoutly and with good hert, the more merite
28 ye haue. And, as holi writte makithe mencion, " like as the Prayers to
dewe of Aprilt temperithe the ertti and makithe it fructife, so the dew of

April,

praiers to God makithe man and woman to be enhaunsed ; " as
ye may see in holy legendis of seintes, confessours, uirgines.

8 TIIK nOUK Ol' TlIK KNIf.HT [i hm: \ I.

and holy wt)men that made her bedes of cutting of vynes and
•[Ko'. :?, other thingges, that shulde cause hem the laste to *slepe and

col. 2.] . , . ,

to haue rest, to that entent that thei might praie and entre
in orisones, and in good seruice, the whiche thei were in 4
day and night. And for her luboure thei wanne hem heuene;
and God hathe and dothe shewe for hem giet miracles, and
so he gardonith his seruice an hundred tymes double. And
tiierefore siiy therfor, good doughtres, saithe your matenis and praiers with- 8
thinkingonjy oute thinking sauc only of God, deuoutly and with good hert ;

of God,

And that ye saie hem fasting; for a fuTJ stomake may not be
holy & perfitly humble and deuoute. And after, herithe alt
and hear the masses that ye may, for gret profit and good ye shutt haue 1 2

masses,

therof of God, of the whiche y wolde tetl you an exaumple.

[CHAPTER VL]
^Her was a knight that had two douorhtres, the eldest of his

of winch I will I '-' a >

teiiyoiian J- furst wiff, and that other of the secounde. And she of

e.\aniple of a '

liatUwo'^^* the furst wiff was wonder deuout, for she wolde neuer ete nor 16

The^ellS driuke tilt she had saide her matenis and her seruice, And herde

Lstrng,^''^^^ alt the masses that she might here in the chirche that she was

but the Inne. And the } ongger was so cherisshed that she dede what she

wilful, and woldc; And as sone as she had herde a litelt masse, and saide .ij. 20

fond of eating. .... . , • , ^ t-i

or .uj. pater nost^rj, she come into the warderobe to ete browesse

or sum other mete; and tilt she had broken her fast, she saide

her hede oke ; but hit was but euel of custumance. And also

she wokr haue rere sopers whanne her fader and moder was 24

She was a-bedde. And thus she leued tilt she was weddid to a knight,

knight, wyse and malicious, that had knowlache of her maners, that were

* [Foi. .%. euelt bothe for bodi and soule. And thanne the * knight taught

col. 1] ° ^

who tried by her, w^ith goodly wordes and softe, that she dede euelt to lede 28

fair words to,,/Y»T-»' ^ ^ r t - /»•

teach her suche lyff. But it was ueuer the beter for no teching nor faire

better, but in

vain; wordes, for she wolde not be chastised. But it be-felt on a

tyme that her husbonde had slept his furst slepe, and groped,
and wende to haue his wyff bi hym, but she was arisen and 32
gone; But he was wrothe, and caste on hym a mantelt furred

Chap, VI.] 01' LA TOUll-LANDUY. U

•with graie, and rose, and yode into a warderoLe tliat liis wiff andoneni-iit

, , , . , . he found lier

was m, and other women, and .ij. of his men synging and crienge, in a war(iroi)e

with men and

iaping, and plaieng, making suche noise that unnethe thei might women, sing-
4 haue herde the thundre. And one of the men helde his honde "'g;
vnder one of the womannes clothes; and that sawe the goodman,
that hadJa staffe in his hande, and smote that man on the shuldre, and he smote

one of tlie

and the staf brake, that was drie : and the pece and the splinter men witii a

. staff, which

8 therof lepte, and smote oute the ladies eye, thoruorh whiche brake,.and

^ r > '^ ' o the splinter

misauenture the lady was oneyedl And for that foule mayme ^^'.'"^^^ '"^
her husbonde kiste away his herte from his wyff, And loued jf/^oo^ "Ti'is
an other, in suche wise that euer after the housholde yede to [ler "anTtiie
12 not. And this behapped her for the misgouernaunce aboue- camg^to
said, to ete and make suche reuett out of tyme bothe bi the "^"^
morw and atte night, for the whiche she lost her eye, and her
husbondes loue, and the housholde stroied ; and therfor it is Therefore it is

. , good to use

1 6 good to saie matenis and here masse fasting, for usage makithe yourself to

saying prayers

custume, for, "sette a colte in aumblynff ringes, he wilJ use f-'^st'ng' " for

' ' J & ft J set a colt in

it whiles thei aren on/' But it happed other wise with her ambling rings,

^ ^ he will use it

suster, for she acustomed her selff of youthe to serue God de- whue they are
20 voutly in the *chirche, and saie her matenis and here her masse *f,^2'"^*-
fastinge : and therfor God sferdonithe her, and gaue her a riche i^'* ">« eider

° ° ' o sister married

knight and a puissaunt, and [they] leued longe togederes worship- and^ih'^d'rn*'
fully. And after it happed that the fadercome to see his doughters, ^^'*'' '"'"•
24 and atte the Eldestys hous he was receiued worshipfulli, with
gret richesse, ioye, and gladnesse, and atte the yongest doughtres
hous it was turned up-so-dou?^, and alt unthrifti, and she one-
• yed. And whanne the fader come home to his hous, he chidde And their

father blamed

28 his wifiF, saieng that she had lost his doughter for letinff her ^'^^'ife for

" DO letting the

haue to moche her wilJ, and to lete her goormauwde oute of J^""sest^^
tyme. And bi this exsaumple it is good to serue God and here Ivly''''^"
masse, whanne folke may, fastinge, and lyue tempered and
32 moderat lyff, and ete and drinke atte oures in due tyme, as about
prime, and sope atte oure couenable after the tyme of the jeere ;
for suche lyfF as ye wilt contynue, use you to in youre youthe,
ye shal be by youre flesshe constreined to kepe in youre age.
^ MS. repeats " the splinter."

'iiii: uooK or the knight [fHAPs. vii. vin.

How maiden 8
Hhd wofiien
bhuuld faat

three days
a week,

or at least on
Fridays.

* [Fol. 4,
col.l.]

For a Chris-
tian man had
his head cut
off, and still
lived long
enough to be
shriven ;

for through
his fasting
God had
mercy on
Iiim.

An example
not to eat
meat on Wed-
nesday or any
food on Fri-
day.

An example
of an evil
woman who
fasted,

who when she
fell into a
well,

CHAPTEPv VII.

How the maydones and women shuldin faste.
i ITtor, my faire doughtres, ye aught to fast, as long a.s ye be to
^ wedde, .iij. dayes a woke, forto holde lowe youre flesshe, to
kepe you chaste and clene, in Goddes seruice. And yef ye may 4
not fast somoche, fast the Friday in the worshippe of Cristes passion
that he suffered for us ; and yef ye fast not brede and water,
etithe no thing that receiued dethe, for that is a noble thing; as
y haue herde a knight telt that yede into bataile ayenst Sarizenes, 8
for it happed a cristen man ys hede *was smiten of, and [he] deied
not tilt a prest come to shriue hyra ; and the prest asked how
he might speke withoute the body ; and the hede saide, " I
haue forborn flesshe on the Wednisday in the reuerens that God 1 2
was solde that day, And that y ete neuer no thing that suffered
dethe on the Friday ; therfor God wolde not that he that seruitlie
hym deye in dedly synne withoute confession, nor to be
dampned. Here is a faire ensaumple to forbere flesshe on the 16
Wednisday, and ete no thing on the Friday that suffered dethe.
And after, doughters, it is good to fast the Saterday for the loue
of oure ladi, and in the reuerence of her virginite. to praie her to
kepe you in clennesse, chastite, and in loue of youre frendes, in 20
good name, and oute of temptacion. And that fast is to make
you haue victori aj^enst youre flesshe ; and in soth yef ye lust
to acustume you here to, ye may wel endure these fastes, for hit
shall not greue you with vsage, bothe saieng youre seruice, hering 24
youre masse fasting, and to do other blessed dedes, as the saintes
dede, and as her legendes maken mencion, the whiche are now in
paradise.

CHAPTER VIII.

I wolde that ye had the ensaumple of an euett woman 28

that fasted the Fryday and Saterday in the worship of

Cristes passion and the virginite of oure lady, and all way

that woman wolde kepe her selfiT clene thilke two dayes.

TTIt happed her on a derke night, as she yede towardes her 32
•^■*- lemman to foly, she feli into a well that was twenty

Chap. VIII.] 0¥ LA TOUR-LANDllY. 11

fadom depe, and in iier fallyng cried lielpe on ourc lady; and found tiie

water

whannc she come to the *water, she fonde it harde undernethe *[Foi. 4,
her fete, and a uoys come to her saieng, " thou hast in the ^^^^ ,,ard
4 worship of oure hidy, kepte thin flesshe clene in her fast, and
therfor now tliou shalt be saued of this perile/' And so, on the
morw, folke come to feche and wynde up water at that welt, and
thei herde and sawe her therinne, and thanne thei drowe lier and was

saved.

8 up, hauyng moche meruaile how she might be saued ; and she

saide it was for loue of her fast the Friday and the Saterday.

And thus, as ye liaue herde, God and oure lady saued her. And

than she avowed chastite, and to Hue and vse her lyff in Goddes

12 seruice, and to lyght lompes, torches, and other lyghtes in the

chirche, and to suepe and to kepe clene the chirche. But ther Afterwards

slie had a

come a uision to her in a night, that she drowe oute of a donghitt vision,
a plater of siluer, and, as she loked theron, there was diuerse
1 6 blacke spotty s therin, and there come a voys to her and saide,
" score so long on this plate tiS ye haue hadde awey att the
blacke spottis, and make it white and clene, as whanne it come
oute of the maistres honde that made hit/' And this auision repeated

three times,

20 come to her .iij. tymes, and thanne she awoke, and bethought her
on her auysion, and praied to God to ben her helpe. And
whanne it was day she yede and shroue her to an holy man, and
tolde hym her auysion. And whanne he hadde herde her Thei in which the

'- -' soul is com-

24 saide, " Doughter, ye are moche beholde to serue God, sethe he p.^'"'-'^ *? ^

^ ' *^ ' "^ ' silver plate;

wol youre saluacion, and shew you how ye shalt wasshe and dense
you from synne by confession. And y wille shewe you what
youre auision signifiethe ; the plater *drawen oute of the donge » [Foi. 46.

28 likenithe the soule in the bodi, and yef the bodi consented not ^g the piate
to synne, the soule shulde be as white and as clene as the siluer dirt^'^so Uie^
whanne it come furst from the goldsmithe, for so clene is the by"sin.^
soule whan he comithe from bapteme ; and the soule is the

32 plater that was founde in the dongge, so is the bodi dongge,
wormes, and felthe. And whanne the bodi hath synned for his
fals delitis, thanne comithe on the soule a blacke spotte for eueri
synne. And there the spottis is, to the body that hathe done

7^6 the synne be confessed, and repente hym of his synne in as foule

12 Till-: BOOK OF THE KNIGHT [Chai'. IX.

nianere as he detle the syiine, and make satisfaccion ; and
tlierfor, doghtres, the uoys of the anision hade tl»at the plater
shukle be made clene and white as it come from the goUlsmithe,
that is, as ye come clene from the font stone. After a bade that 4
The w.ui ye shulde put the saide plater in a place there hit might be kepte

should be i -i • i i i

kept clean, clene, and that it shulde be kepte from filthe, that is to sale, that

like the plate.

ye go not into no place that wold" drawe you toward" synne, for
good it is to be shriue, but after shrifte it is beter thinge to kepe 8
a man from synne, and that ye fatt not to synne ayen ; for
falling in ayen is worse thanne the furst synne. And whanne a
man is shreue, he shulde leue no thinge vntolde, and telte in what
wise he hath done the synne, wherof, my faire doghtres, y wol 12
telt you an exsaumple of a mighti and a puissant woman.

CHAPTER IX.
An example T^Hcr was a worthi burgoyze, a good woman, wel named and

of a woman li«iijiip !••• i iki

who fasted "^ charitable, that fasted .uj. tymes a woke, two tymes in
coi.^2.'] ^' l^rede and water, and gaue gret almesses, and uisited the sike, 16
and gave and uorisshed faderles children, and was atte the masses

great alms,

yet was lost i[^ myddav, and saide her matenis, with eret and meruailous

for one sin, j .j ■> 70

other seruise, and used the blessed lyf that any woman might.
And hit happed that she deied, and oure lorde wolde shewe 20
ensaumple how she was lost and dampned for one dedly synne ;
for in ali mennis sight her berieles began to smoke, and the
erthe to brenne, and on night was gret torment herde on her
pitte, of the whiche pepitt was gretly amerueiled of what it 24
might be ; before thei supposed euer that she was saued ouer alt
other. And thedir come an holy man with the holy crosse, and
coniured the sowle in the name of God to hett, and shew what
stinke and what turment that was and brenninge. Thanne spake 28
a uoys, and saide, " y am the poure synner, y am dampned in
fyre, for God shewithe that my wreched body yeldithe smoke
and turment in exsaumple ; beware by me, for whanne y was
whicbshedid youge, for the lust of my flesshe, y laye with a monke; & y 32

not confess,

for fear of durste ncuer telt it to my confesscur, for drede of encursinge,

shame.

Chap. TX.] OF LA TOUR-LANDRY. 13

dredinge shame and the bobaunce of the worlde, more thanne
spirituel uengeaunce of myn synne. And yet y sende and gaue
my good for Goddes sake, herde masses, and saide my seruice
4 diligently, wenyng that the good and the abstinence that y dede
shulde haue clensed the synne that y durst not telt the preest,
and therein y am deseiued, and lost; for y saie you aK, who
that dothe a dedly synne and confessith hym not therof, * and *[Fo1,5,

col.].]

8 deieth so, he is dampned perpetuelly ; and therfor ye shulde
telt the synne as foule as ye do it, and in the same manere;"
and whanne she hadde saide, aH that herde ^ her were abaisshed,
for there was none that wende but she had be saued. And

12 this exsaumple the good man that shroue the woman in the
nexst tale afore tolde her in her shrifte, to that entent that
she shulde tett alt her synne, and so she shroue ^ her and
was sethe of holy lyfif, and so she had awaye the spottys of

i6 the siluer plater. And so was she saued by her shrifte. And
the beginnyng of her saluacion was the fast on the Friday and
Saterday in worship of Cristes passion and the uirginite of oure
lady, for the whiche she was furst saued from the perile of the

2o wefi, for there nys no good dede but it be quitte. Therfor it is it is a blessed
a blessed thinge to faste, for the more harme it dothe the faster, and the more

1 ., •!/. 1 n 1 ^ n harm it does

the more is the merit, and of gretter valour ; for and the fast to the body,

the greater

greued not, hit were not merit. And yet forto shewe an other the merit.
24 exsaumple that fastinge is gret meryt, the king of Nynbe and The king of

,. .. -. . . .. iT>Mi/»/^iii Nineveh and

nis citees were saued, as it is wretin in the liible, tor God had his cities were

saved,

made mani citees to sinke for the synne that thei delited hem
inne. And so God sent worde to the kinge and the citee bi
28 the profete lonas, But yef thei amende hem, the citee and the
peple shulde be perysshed. And thanne the peple were aferde,
and forto apese the wrathe of God, alt thei that were of age because the

people fasted.

to fast fasted fourty dayes and nightes, and knelyng on her kneys
32 and elbowes in sygne of humilite. And whanne *God sawe her »[Foi.5,

col. 2.]

humblesse, he had mercy on hem, and [they] were saued, and called

out of pestelence by fastinge and humilite. And therfor, faire

doughtres, fastinge is an abstinence of vertu, right couenable to

1 MS. " herde herde." 2 ^g. " sroue."

It TIIK BOOK OF THK KNKJllT |Chap. X.

swage the yre of Ood, and refrainithe the flesshe of euett wiHcs,
and humblithe the herte, uud impetret pardon and grace of
Cod; and therfor yong women auglit to faste, and specially
maydenes and wedwes, as is aforesaid by diuerse exsaumples, the 4
whiche, and God before, ye shaft take hede of and kepe hem
welt.

CHAPTER X.

How women shulde behaue hem curtesly and mekely.
Meeknessand A ffter, doughtres, yc must be meke and curteys, for there nis 8

courte-.y are f\

great virtues. -^-*- nonc SO gret a vertu to gete the grace of God and the loue
Goodly (le- of alt peple ; for humilite and curtesie ouercomithe alt proude

mcaiiuur will i i /. >a.

bring a hertys that be feu, as a sparhauke, be he ncuer so ramageus, ye

" ramageus "

sparrow- may ouercome hym with goodly and curteys demening, ye may 12

hawk from a o »/

tree to jour make hvm come from the tre to your honde. And yef ye fare

hand. "^ •^ J J

rudely and be cruelt with hym, he wilt fle his way, and neuer
come atte you. And sethe that curtesye and softenesse may
ouercome a wilde bridde, that hathe no reson, nedes it aught to 16
Humility is refraiue felons proude herte of man and woman. And humilite

the beguming ■*•

of friendship, jg ^\^q furst entre and wey of frenship and wordely loue, and that

ouercomithe gret hertis, and suagithe ire and wrathe of alt

persones. Ther was a lorde that y knew, that conquered the 20

knightes and squiers by his curtesie and humilite to do hem

[more] plesaunce in the tyme of his werre, than other lordes

*[Foi.56. couthe gete with her "fold? *and siluer or ani other yeftes. And
col. 1.] . .

also y haue know mani ladies and gentilt women that haue gote 24

hem moche loue of gret and smale for her curtesie and humilite.

And therfor y rede you be curteys and humble to gret and smale,

and to do curtesie and reuere'nce, and speke to hem faire, and to

be meke in ansuere to the pore, and thei wol praise you, and 28

here forthe of you good worde and good fame more than wolt

Courtesy to the grcte that ye make curtesie to ; for to grete ye make curtesie

the great is . .

their right, of right, the whiche is dew to hem. But the curtesie that is made
poor is of to poure gentilmen, or to other of lasse degre, it comithe of fre 32
' and gentilt curteys and humble hert. And the smalt peple that
the curtesye and humblesse is done to, holdith hem worshipped

CHAks. XI. XIT.] OF LA TOUR-LAXDllY. 15

theiby, And tlianne, ouer att there thei comitbe, thei praisithe
and spekithe good of hym that dothe hem reuerence and cuitesie.
And of the pore that curtesie is done to, comithe gret loos and
4 good name fro tyme to tyme, and getithe loue of the peple ; as
it happed as y was not longe sethe with a coinpanie of knyhtes asaiady wiio

l)Owed to a

and ladies, a gret ladi dede of her hode and bowed her ayenst tailor.
a taillour. And one of the knyghtes saide, " Madame, ye haue
8 done of youre hode to a taillour." And she saide that she was
gladder that she had do it of to hym thanne to a lorde. And
thei alt sawe her mekenesse and wisdom, and helde her wyse,
and the knight leuid that tolde her of the tailour.

CHAPTER XL
1 2 A ffterwarde, in sayeng youre praiers atte masse or in other place, in praying,

f\ . . . pray witli

-'"*- be not like the * crane or the tortu; for thei are like the attention, not

* [Fol. 56,

crane and the turtu that turnithe her hede and fases bacward', coi. 2.']
and lokithe ouer the shuldre, and, euer steringe with the hede crane or the
1 6 like a vessett, hauithe youre loke and holdithe your hede fenne turn their

heads back-

as a best that is called a lymer ; the whiche lokithe euer ^vards,
afore hym, withoute turning her hede liedir or thedir, but
lokithe euer forth right. And therfor bethe ferine and lokithe but, if you

want to look

20 forthe right afore you plainly, and, yef ye luste to loke asyde, aside, "turn

± i- ./ ./ ./ your body

turnithe youre body and uisage togedre, and so youre counte- ''^"'^ y'^'^^f
nauuce shal be most forme and sure ; for thei that lokithe bak,
and ar ofte steriug with the hede, ar ofte scorned & mocked.
24 Doughtres, y wolde ye hadd* herde and withholde with you
an ensauniple upon this matere,

CHAPTER XIL

Of the kingges doughters of Denmark, the whiche
y will tell you.

T^Her ben .iiij. knightes that marieth hem for worships, with- ofthec'augh-
-^ oute couetys of lond'or good, as forto wedde kinges doughtres, king of '
or woma?i of noble bii the, and of good name, ferme behauing,

l() Tin; BOOK OF TlfK KMOHT ['hap. XII.

wcW maneivd and coudicioned, and lier wifTes munt be sent* that
thei haue tliat women augbt to haue, and they be lykly to bere
children. These .iiij. knightis is the king of Fiaunce, the king
of Inglond) the king of Spaine, and the king of Hungry, that is 4
of right marschalt of cristendoni in the werres ayenst tlie hethen.

The king of And SO it happed that the king of Inglond' was to wedde, and he
herde that the king of Denmark ha<i .iij. faire doughtres welt

•[Foi.fi, born, and because the king and the quene of Deu*marke were 8

col. 1.]

sent am- of notable worshippe and of good lyff, the kinge of Inglonde sent

bassadors to •■T-k i j-i-i iii« o ^

Denmark ouer into Denmark seilaine knightes and ladies, ot the most
to seek him sufficiaunt of his reaume, forto see whiche was most couenable

a wife.

for hym of the saide doughtres. And whanne the king and the 12
quene of Denmark sawe the embassitours, thei made hem gret
chere .iiij.dayes afore that thei yede about to chese whiche of the
doughtres thei wolde haue. And so the doughters were arraied
They examin- and had fortlie to be chose. And there a wise knight and a 16

ed the king's ^

three daugh- \.^^y amongc the cmbassitours, that sette wel her eye and hert to

see the countenaunce and the manere of hem, notwitAstondinge

the eldest was ^jj^t the eldest was fairest, she helde not her astate and port

beautiful but ' *^

nmiln^er scurc, for she loked smal and wynked ofte, & spake afore she 20

understode w^hat was saide of her, and euer loked ouer the
the second shuldrc, and euer betinff her eyelyddes toofedre. The secounde

was wise, but ' o j j o

milc'i? ^^^ doughter hadd? meruailous moche langage, she understode what
youngest >yas ^^'^^ saidc to her ; and the yonggest doughter was not fairest, 24
humble? but shc was most loueliche and goodly in her behauing counte-
naunce, and manere most seure and ferme, and spake demurly
and litett, with meke loke,and more ferme thanne ani of that other
.ij. And so the embassitours toke her counsaile and auys to go 28
againe as to the king of Inglond?, and to tett hym as thei hadd'
founde hi the saide doughtres. And thanne he toke whiche hym
lust. And thei come to the king and the quene of Denmark,
and thanked hym of the worshippe that thei hadd" done hym, 32
saieng that thei wolde report to her king like as thei thought bi
* [Foi 6. tiie doughtres, * and thanne the kinge shulde do as hym lust.
And thanne the king of Denmark gaue hem gret yeftes, and thei
bassadore took her leue and yode into Inglond", and reported as thei hadd' 36

Chap. XII.] OF LA TOUR-LANDRY. 17

founde bi the doughtres of beauute, maners, countenaunce, and returned to

^ ' ' tlie King of

behauing. And so ther was moche speche whiche he shulde England
take, mani folke susteninge to take the elder or the secounde,

4 for hit was more worship to take the eldest thanne the yongest.
And whanne the kingges counsaile had debated ynough, The
king was wise of naturett witte, and spake last and saide, ''myn
aunsetters neuer maried for couetise, but forto haue worships,

8 goodnesse, and plesaunce, but y wilt take none for fairenesse nor
plesaunce, But y wilt haue her that is of demure manere, ferme who chose the

•*■ ^ youngesi

in estat and countenaunce, and of goodly behauing. For there is daughter for
no beauute nor nobelnesse that is pere to good raaneres, techeth manners.

12 and ferme in behauing and countenaunce ; and there nis not in
this world? gretter richesse thanne to haue a wyff ferme in her
estate, behauing, and of good maners," And therfor the king
saide, " y chese the yongest of the .iij. doughters, for y nilt none

i6 other." And so he sent for her to be his wiff, of the whiche the
eldest and the secound" had gret meruaile and desdeyn. And
therfor she that was most seure and stedfast in her manere and
behauing, she was queue of Inglond", and the eldest suster for her

20 high and vnferme loking forsaken, and the secound' suster for
she wolde speke to moche and clatre there it nedithe not. And
therfor, good doughtres, takithe ensaumple "^of these .iij.doughtres * t^?'- 6&.
of the kinges of Denmarke, and that ye haue not youre ye to Therefore be

^ ^ not light of

24 besy in lokinge, and that ye turne not youre hede hedirward' manner, nor
and thedirward) withoute ye turne the body with, and hauithe ™*"y words.
ferme chere. And y praie you haue not mani wordes, for who
so usithe to speke moche, he saithe not euer trouthe ; and ther

28 for ansuerith atte leyser, and understonde what is saide to you
or ye ansuere. And yef ye make a litelt rest in youre ansuere,
ye shatt ansuere the beter and the more wisely and suerly, for
there is an olde prouei be that saithe, " asmoche is he worthe He that

,,., iii'i hunteth and

32 that huntithe and takithe not as he that herithe and vnder- taketh not.is

like him that

stondith not." Yet, douehtres, wilt y telt you an exsaumple heareth and

' ^ ' J J f understand.

on this matere. eth not.

18 THE BOOK OP THE KNIGHT [f'HAr. XITI.

CHAPTER XIII.

My father TTIt liapped my frendes spake to me to be maried into a noble
nee a lady I -"-A place, and mv fader biou'^ht me to see her that y shulde

was to iiiarry, x ' ./ o ./

haue, and there we hadd' gret chere, & my fader sette me in
langage with her, that y shulde haue knoulech of her speche and 4
langage, and so we fett in wordes of prisoners, and y saide,
** damesett, it were beter to fatt to be youre prisoner thanne to
and we talked mani other, for y trow youre prison shuld not be so harde to me

much to« _

gether, as it shuldo be and y were take with Englisshe men." And she 8

ansuered, " y haue saie sum not long sethe that y wolde were
my prisoner." And y asked her yef she wolde putte hym in euett
prison ; and she saide, nay, she wolde kepe hym as she wolde
her owne body; and y saide he was happi that might come into 12
so noble a prison. What shaft y saie 1 she loued me ynough,
*(Foi. 66. and hadd'a *quicke yee, and a light, and ther was mani wordes.

col. 2,]

And so atte the laste she waxe right familier with me, for she

praied me .ij. or .iij. tymes that y shulde not abide longe, but that 16

but 1 mar. y shulde come and see her how euer it were ; of the whiche y

famuiar had meruaile, seing that y was neuer aqueinted with her, nor

hadd" spoken, nor see her afore that tyme; and she knew weTt

that folke were aboute to marie us togedre. Whan we were 20

parted, my fader asked me, " how likithe you ? teU me youre

and told ray avys J " and y saide, she was bothe good and faire, but she shulde

should be to be to me no nere than she was. And y tolde my fader how me

me no nearer

than bhe liked, and of her estate and langage ; and so y saide y wolde not 24

was."

of her, for she was so pert and so light of manors that caused me
to be discoraged from her, of the whiche y haue thanked God
sethe diuerse tymes. For in sothe it was not half a yeere after
that she was blamed ; but y note whedir it was fals or true. 28
And after she deied. And therfor, doughtres, aft gentilwomen
and nobitt maydenes comen of good kyn ought to be goodli,
meke, wele tached, ferme in estate, behauing, and manors, litett
Many have softc and osy in speche. And in ansuere curteys & gentilt, and not 32

lost their i«i«ii' -n -i ii • -, • ♦-

marriage by light in lokinge. t OT mam haue lost her manage bi to mocli
discouering hem selfF, and to haue mani wordes ; and by to gret

Chap. XIV.] OF LA TOUR-LANDRY. 19

seml)launtis making, of the whiclie diuerse tymes is trowed in too iigiit

mniiiieruiirl

hem that thei neuer tliought ne dedc. I wolde ye wys-t how to3 many

woids.

Amesse, the kingges doughter of Ara[gon], lost the king of
4 Spayne to he her husbon J" thorugh her foly.

CHAPTER XIV.

TTIt is conteined in the gestis of * Spaine, how the king of *J,^f ] ^'
-^-^ Aragon had .ij. doughters, and the king of Spaine wolde T»ie king of
haue had that one. And forto finde waye how he might chese ^au,\]^grg
8 whiche hym liked best of hem, he disgised hym as a seriiaunt, of spaiii'^"'^
and yede into Aragon with his embassitours, the whiche were a ^,l*e"|)nhem,
bisshoppe and two barouTis, and hit nedith not to tett the chere couitl^dis. ^
that the king of Aragone made hem. And the kinges doughters fmke his*

1 2 di3t and made hem redy in her best wise ; And in speciatt the
eldest doughter, that thought thei come for her. And the em-
bassitours were .iij. dayes therinne to see the maners and the
countenanses of hem. And in the mornyng wha^i thei salued

1 6 the eldest doughter, she ansuered hem no thinge but bituxst

her tethe ; and she was fers, of gret port and hert, but her The eider

was too

suster was humble, and fult of curtesie, and salued humbly bothe proud,

gret and smatt. Afterward" these two susteres plaide atte the

2o tables with .ij. knightes, but the eldest chidde with the knight and quarrel-
some,
that plaied with her, and gaue hym augri, hasti, and bote

langage. But her suster, that had lost atte the plaie as wett as but the

younger was

she, made no semblaunt of her losse, nor saide not, but made as iiumbieand

courteous,

24 good chere as she hadd" wonne. And the king of Spaine drow
hym asyde, and called to hym his embassitours, and saide hem,
" ye wote weft the king of Spaine and of Fraunce shulde not
wedde hem for couetise, but nobly, to a woman weft born, of

28 good maners and condicions, and likly to come to good and
worshipe, and likly to biing forthe fruit. And y haue sein these
*.ij. doughters, her gise and maners, and me thinkithe that »[Fo1 7,

col 2.]

the yongest is most curteys and humble, and is not so high and the king

clios6 her

32 herted as that other, and therfor y chese her." And this meyni
ansuered hym, the eldest is fairest. And he ansuered that " na

2-2

20 THE BOOK OF THE KNIGHT (Chah XV.

worldely plesaunce and worships may not apparage to goodnesse,
and in especiatt to humilite. And for y liaue sayne the yongest
most humble and most curteys, y will haue her." And thus he
chace her. And thanne the bisshoppd & the barones of Spaine 4
tothesur. come to the kinge of Aragon, and asked for her lorde the

prise of her

lather, yougest doughtor ; of the whiche the kinge and atl his men

helde gret meruaile, that he toke not the eldest, that was fairest.
But thus hit happed that the yongest was quene of Spaine, for she 8
was humble, and faire, and softe of spech to smal and grete,
and for her curtesie and humilite she was chosen; of the whiche

and anger of the eldest suster had gret spite and disdayn, and was almost

her sister. or j »

oute of her self for anger. And therfor here is good ensaumple 12
that by humilite men growithe in loue of the worU; for there nis
no thinge so plesaunt as forto be humble and curteys and to
sraale, faire, pore, and ricbe, And make chere of no wynning nor
losse. For a gentitt woman shuld' haue no wrathe in hem, for 16
A gentle- thei aught to haue gentitt herte, and faire and softe in ansuere.

woman

should have and to be humble, as God saithe in the gospett : for he that is

a gentle ' to r »

heart. most wise and riche, the more humble he aught to be. For he

•[Koi. 76. that humbelith hym most, is more hiojhed * with God, as dede 20
col. 1.] , J » o »

this yongest dought^r of Aragon, that for her curtesye and

lowlinesse conquered to be quene of Spaine, and toke it awey

from the eldest suster, of the whiche she had gret dispite. Faire

"Take no doughters, kcpe you that ye take no striff with no comberous folke, 24

brain-sick nor folcs that are brayne sik, for it is gret perile; of the whiche y

fools,"

wott tett you an exsaumple that betidde in a castell that diuerse
ladiez woned in.

CHAPTER XV.

for a knight's fpHer was a gentitt knighted doughter that wratthed? atte the 28

daughter I

quarrelled -■■ tables With a gentitt man that was riotous and comberous
and hadd" an euett hede ; and the debate was on a point that he
plaied, that she saide it was wronge ; and so the wordes and the
debate rose so, that she saide that he was a lewde fole, And 32
thanne lost the game in chiding. And y saide to the gentitt
woman, "anger you not in no maner wise of that that he saithe.

with a man.

Chap. XV.] OF LA TOUR-LANDRY. 21

for ye know wel that he is of higli wordes and futt of foly who was

riotous,

ansueres, wherfor y praie you for youre worship that ye take no
debate with hyra." And y tolde her lyk as y wolde haue saide

4 to my suster her [? or] doughter, but she wolde not do after me,
but chidde faster with the squier, more thanne afore, and saide
that he was not ; with mani other wordes ; & he ansuered " y
am beter man that ye ar woman." And she saide he lyed ; and

8 the wordes rose soo titt he saide, yef she were wise and good, she and words

rose between

wolde not come in mennis chaumbres bi night derkelyng with- them,
oute candett, nor to colt and kisse men in her beddis alone, *as * [Foi. 76.

col. 2.]

she dede. And she wende weft haue venged her, and saide he

12 lied; and he saide he did not, And that suche and suche had

saine her do hit. And so ther was mani that herde and wist

yt, that knew it not. And sum saide it hadd' be beter for her to

holde her pees, and haue saide no worde, and that she had bete

i6 her selff with her owne staffe ; that is to saie, by her tonge and

her speche. And, after these wordes, she wepte and saide he had

sclaundred her, and that it shuld" not abide unponisshed ; and

she assailed hym agayn, and cried and chidde with hym afore alt

2o the peple, tilt he spake yet fouler and worse wordes, and more tm he

. i/> 11' shamed her

shamfutl by her, that neuer might fan from her for no shakinge before au the

people.

that eiier she coulde shake, and thus she shamed her selff with
her gret herte, and wordes. And therfor here is a good ensaumple

24 how no woman ought to chide nor to striue with a fole that she no woman
supposith haue a malicious hert, but she shulde rather eschewe with fools,
his companye. And whanne thei wilt speke highly, lete hem be,
and go from hem, and speke not to hem. And saie, " frendes, y

28 see ye wylt speke riotesly and oute of the waye, and therfor y
wilt leue you the felde, and go my way." As a knight dede to
a ladi that y knew, that had an euelt hede and enuyouse, & saide but leare

them.

mani euelt wordes to the knight afore alt folk, and he saide,
32 " ladi, hit likithe you to saie here bi me mani merueylous wordes,
and, yef y herkyn you, y do you no wrong ; y see ye be wrothe,
of the whiche y am sori." & not for that yet she wolde not
holde *her pees, he writhed a litelt wipse of strawe, and sette it *^^^!' ®»
36 afore her, and saide, "ladi, yef that ye wilt chide more, chide with

22 THE bOOK OF THE KNIGHT (Chai. XVI,

tljat straw, for y leue you here in my stetle." And lie yedc liis
waye & lefte her, and it was holde wett done of the knight ;
and thanne she was w[r]otlier thanne afore, whanne she Tonde no
body to chide with. And so shulde it be done to striuers and to 4
cbiders, for folke shulde not striue with foles ; and thei that
haue an euetl hede and wold" chide, folke aught to eschewe hem,
as the knight dede the lady, as ye haue herd".

CHAPTER XVI.

I watt tett you an ensaumple of a woman that ete the 8
good morsett in the absence of her husbonde.

There was a ^l^Hcr was a woinan that had a pie in a cage, that spake and

woman had a I

•nagpiei wolde tett talys that she saw do. And so it happed that

her husbonde made kepe a gret ele in a litelt ponde in his gardin, 12
to that eutent to yeue it sum of his frendes that wolde come to
see hym ; but the wyff, whanne her husbowd' was oute, saide to
her maide, "late us ete the gret ele, and y wilt saie to my husbond*
that tlie otour hathe eten hym; " and so it was done. And wlian 16
which told the good man was come, the pye began to tett hym how her
of what she maistrcssc had eten the ele. And he yode to the ponde, and

did wiieii he^ , »i-i iii* 'PfT

was out, fonde not the ele. And he asked his wm wher the ele was be-
come. And she wende to haue excused her, but he saide her, 20
" excuse you not, for y wote well ye haue eten yt, for the pye
liathe told? me." And so ther was grtt noyse betwene the man and
hys wiff for etinge of the ele. But whanne the good man was
* [Foi. 8, gone, the maistresse and the maide come* to the pie, and plucked 24
and she ^^ ^^ ^^^ fedres on the pyes hede, saieng; " thou hast discouered
feather off. us of the ele ; " and thus was the pore pye plucked. But euer after,
whanne the pie sawe a balled or a pilled man, or a woman with
an high forhede, the pie saide to hem, " ye spake of the ele." 28
And therfor here is an ensaumple that no woman shulde ete no
lycorous morcelles in the absens and withoute weting of her
husbond', but yef it so were that it be with folk of worshippe, to
make hem chere ; for this woman was afterward" mocked for the 32
pye and the ele.

Chap. XVII,] OF LA TOUR-I.ANDRY. 23

CHAPTER XVII.

I will sale an ensaumple that it is an euell thinge
to a woman to be in ielousie.

THer was a geiititt woman that was weddid to a squier, and There was a
gentlewoman
^ she loued hym so moche that she was lelous ouer alt women w'>o was

jealous,

that he spake with ; for the whiche he blamed ofte her, but
it was neuer the beter. And amonge other she was gelous
of a woman that hadd' a gret and an high herte ; And so on a
8 tyme she reproued that woman with her husbonde, and she saide and qnarrei-

All led with her

she saide not true, and the wifi saide she lied. And they ranne "vai,
togedres and pulled of alt that euer was on her hedes, and
plucked eche other bi the here of the hede right euelt. And
12 she that was accused, caught a staffe, and smote the wiff on the

nose suche a stroke that she brake her nose, and that al her lyff and had her

. nose broken,

after she hadd" her nose al croked, the whiche was a foule mayme
and blemesshing of her uisage ; for it is the fairest membre that

i6 man or woman hathe, and sittithe in the * midditt of the uisage. • (Fol. 86,
And so was the wiff fouled and maymed alt her lyff, and her
husbonde saide ofte to her, that it hadde be beter that she had
not be ielous, thanne forto haue undone her uisage as she hadd'.

2o And also for that defoulyng of her uisage her husbonde might by which she

lost her hus-

neuer finde in his herte to loue her hertly as he dede before, and band's love.
he toke other women, and thus she lost his loue thorugti her
ielosie and foly. And therfor here [is] a good ensaumple to alt
24 good women, that thei aught to leue att such fantasyes, and suffre
and endure j^aciently her anger, yef thei haue ani; as dede an aunte
of myn, the whiche tolde me diuerse tymes of that she had My aunt had

a husl)and

suffered. She was a ladi of Fraunce, that might spende more w''o loved

other women,

28 thanne fyue hundred pounde bi yeere, and hekle a noble estate,
and she had a knight to her husbond' that was merueilously
lecherous, the whiche had eueri day in his hous one or two
women besides the lady his wiff. And ofte tyme he rose from

32 her to go lyge with his leude women, and alt wey, whanne he

. come agein from hem to bedde, he fonde euer the candett light,

and water to wasshe his hondes, and he saide he come from the

24 THE BOOK OF THE KNIGHT (Chap. XVII.

and when lie priuc. Aiid thaniic saide the ladi, '* Bomoche haue ye tlie more

came fri)ni

ti.eiushe iiede to wasshe you;" and she saide iieuer lio thing ellys to

Rave him

water to waah hym, but ycf it wcie atte sum tyme whaniie thei were meri and
and by her allone, she wulde sale, " syr, y know att youre doinge by suche 4

meeknes«

regained hia womcu and suche, but sethe it ys youre lust, and that y may

•^^e. sette no remedie theron, y wilt make you nor them neuer the

worse chere ; For y were a fole to slee my selff for youre sportes.

*c^^2]^' *^^^ y praie you, sethe it is welt, that ye make me neuer the 8
worse chere, and that y lese not youre loue, nor that ye make
me not the worse semblaunt, and of the remenaunt y reporte me
to you, y wolt suffre it." And so with her goodly wordes he
repented hym, and was conuerted in goodnesse atte the laste, 12
and he dede nomore euetl ; And thus with fairenesse she ouer-

womenmay come hym. And bi this ensaumple it may be sene that a

rebuke their

husbands woman uiav chastise her husbonde, and make hym do wett, with

with fairness

rather than fairnessc rather thanne with rudenesse. For there is mani men 16

with rude-
ness, ^jjy^^ haue euett hertys, and thei be foule spoken to, wilt do the

worse, not withstondinge the husbond aught [not] to loue his wiff

the wors thou she be ielous ouer liym. For the wise man saithe

for jealousy is that ielosve is a gret ensaumple of loue, for he that louith me 20

a proof of . .

love, not J rechithe neuer whedir y do welt or euett ; but my frende is

sori whanne y do euel^, and tlierfor ielosie is neuer withoute gret
loue. But there is .ij. diuerse ielosyes, whiche that one ys worse
thanne that other. For there is one ^ withoute reson, as a man 24
to be ielous withoute cause, and in suche wise as to shame hym
selff and his wiff; but that other ys of a woman that is aferde
lest an other shulde haue the herte of her husbonde, that she
augh[t]to haue her selff, after the law of God and the chirche. 28
But the wisest aught to be leste ielous, and restreine and take lest

but the wisest hede, for that is gret wisdom who may do it ; but yef the

should be the • • i

least jealous, husbonde perceiuithe of the wiff sum leude taches in her gouern-

* [Foi. 9, aunce or behauing, that he aught to be ielous. *For he must 32

take her and sjieke therof priueli betwene hem two, that no man

wete it, for drede of sclaunder and wratthinge of her, and sauing

her the gret loue, " that ye loue me wett, neuer let youre hert

1 MS. •* none."

Chap. XVIII.] OF LA TOUll-LANDRY. 25

turne to loue none other but me, and therof y am suore and
with the grace of God, ye will kepe youre worship and myn."
And with suche goodly wordes ye aught to entrete youre wiff to Amansiiouid

entreat his

4 brinff her oute of her leudenesse ; for yef a man rebuke her, and wife with

° 'J goodly words,

fare foule with her, it wilt make her do and thenke the worse, as
it were to putte fere in flexe ; for diuerse women be more fers in
her euell dedes thanne in goodnesse. And therfor it is gret drede
8 to fare foule with hem in suche materes. And though a woman
haue a litelt debate and noyse for ielousie with her husbond",
she aught not to loue hym the worse; for she aught to thinke and a woman

should not

that he dotlie it for the feruent loue that he bathe to her, and love her

husband the

12 for ferde that ani other shulde haue the loue of her sauf he hym le-^s foraiittie

jealousy.

selff, and that yef so be that an other man might haue her loue,
he shal neuer haue her loue he shal neuer haue it after, and that
the ioye of her mariage is done, and her housholde lost.

CHAPTER XVIII.

i6 And therfor here is a good ensaumple to amesure in this matere

bothe herte and thought. Also, a woman aught not to striue Nor ought she
with her husbonde, nor yeue hym no displesaunce ^ [nor] ansuere him before

strangers,

her husbonde afore straungers, as dede ouis a woman that dede
2o ansuere her husbonde afore straungeres like a rampe, with gret
uelonis wordes, dispraising hym and setting hym atte not ; of the
whiche he was ofte ashamed, and bade her holde her pees for for a husband

once struck

shame, but *the more faire he spake, the worse [s]he dede. And his wife
24 he, that was angri of her gouernaunce, smote her with his fiste coi.V.f '
downe to the erthe : And thanne with hys fote he stroke her in ^"•^ ^J'^''® '^^''

' <} nose, because

the uisage and brake her nose, and alt her lyff after she had her ilJoj^bSr**
nose croked, the whiche shent and dysfigured her uisage after, p^'^p'®*

28 that she might not for shame she we her uisage, it was so foule
blemisshed. And this she had for her euelt and gret langage,
that she was wont to saie to her husbonde. And therfor the wiff
aught to suffre and lete the husbonde haue the wordes, and to

32 be maister, for that is her worshipp^; for it is shame to here

^ MS. "displesaunte."

26 THE BOOK OF THE KNIGHT [L'uap. XIX.

stiilV betwcne hem, and in especial before fulke. But y saie not
nut, wJien ]jut wlianne thei be allonc, but she may tell hym with coodly
alone, a wife ^yonles, and counsaile hym to amende yef he do amys. And yef

nmy coiiiiKel '' t/ j ^

her huabond. jj^ caniic ani good, thanne he wilt cunne her moche thanke, and 4
saie she dothe as she aught to do. And thus simlde a good
woman do ; as dede Hester the quene of Sury, the whiche had a
king to her husbonde, that was bote and hasti, but whanne he
was angri she wolde saie no wordes titt he was appesed. And 8
whanne the hete was passed, she might rule hym as her lust. And
this was gret witte of that ladi, and so shulde att women do.
And all women that ben gret herted and raisansueringe her
husbondes, that wolde not do her husbondes comaundement, be la
not of the obeisaunce that a merchauntez wiff was of, of the
whiche y witt tett you an exaumple and a tale.

CHAPTEK XIX.

Three mer- TTIt happcd onis there were .iij. marchauntes that yede hom-
* [Foi. 96. -*— ^ warde from a faiere, and *as thei fett in talkinge, ridyng on 16

col. 1.]

laid a the wayc, one of hem saide, " it is a noble thinge a man to haue

wife was most a good wiff that obeiethe and dothe his biddinge atte att tymes."

obedient. ;

" Be my trouthe ' saide that other " my wiff obeiethe me truly.'
''Be God," saide that other "y trowe myn obeietti best to her 20
husbonde." Thanne he that beganne furst to speke saide, "lete
leye a wager of a dener, and whos wiff that obeiethe worst,
lete her husbonde paie for the dener ; " and thus the wager was
leyde. And thei ordeined amonges hem how thei shulde saie 24
her wyfes, for thei ordeined that eueri man shulde bidde his wyff
lepe into a basin that thei shulde sette afore her, and they were
suoren that none shulde late his wiff haue weting of her wager,
saue only thei shulde saye, "lokithe, wiff, that y comaunde be 28
The first told done." How euer it be, after one of hem bade his wiff lepe into

nis wife to ' ^

leap into a ^jjg basin that he had sette afore her on the grounde, and she

basin, and she o '

"^ \? hv ? •• ansuered and axed wherto, and he saide, " for it is myn luste,. and y

witt ye do it." " Be God," qwod' she, "y witt furst wete wherto ye 3?

Chap. XIX.] OF LA TOUR-LANDRY. 27

witt haue me lef e into the basin." And for no tliinge her IiusbontT

coude do she wolde not do it. So her husbonde up with his fuet, so he stmck

lier with hits

and gaue her .ij. or .iij. grct strokes; and thanne ycde thei to the ^''^•
4 secounde marchauntys hous, and he comaunded that what euer The second

told his wife

he bade do it shulde be do. but it was not longe after but he to do so and

she would

bade his wiff lepe into the basin that was afore her on the flore, "»*.
and she asked wherto, and she saide she wolde not for hym.
8 And thanne lie toke a staffe, and al tobete her ; and thanne thei so he beat

her with a

yode to the *thridde marchauntes hous, and there thei fondethe staff.
mete on the borde, and he rowned in one of his felawes heres, coi.2i
and saide, "after dyner y wilt assaie my wiff, and bidde her lepe

12 into the basin." And so thei sette hem to her dyner. And
whan thei were sette, the good man saide to his wiff, " whateuer
y bidde, loke it be done, how euer it be." And she that loued
hym, and dredde hym, herde what he saide, and toke hede to that

i6 worde ; but she west not what he ment, but it happed that thei The third told

his wife to put

had atte her dyner rere eggis, and there lacked salt on the horde, salt on the

table ;

and the good man saide, " wiff, sele sus table ; " and the wiff

understode that her husbonde had saide, " seyle sus table," the

2o whiche is in Frenshe 'Mepe on the horde." And she, that was

aferde to disobeie, lepte upon the horde, and threw down mete, and she,

mistaking

and drinke, and brake the verres, and spilt aft that there was on him, jumped

on the. table

the horde. " What," saide the good man, "thanne canne ye none 'leweif,
24 other plaie, wiff?" "Be ye wode, sir," she saide, "y haue do
youre biddinge, as ye bade me to my power, notwithstondinge
it is youre harme and myn ; but y had leuer ye had harme and
y bothe, thanne y disobeied youre biddinge. For ye saide 'seyle
28 sus table.' " " Nay," quod" he, " y saide, sele sus table, that is to
saie, salt on the horde." " Bi my trouthe," she saide, " y under-
stode that ye bade me lepe on the horde," and there was moche
mirthe and laughinge. And the other two marchauntes saide it hy which her

husband won

32 was no nede to bidde her lepe into the basin, for she obeied the wager,
ynough ; wher thorugh thei consented that her husbond had
wonne the wager, and thei had lost bothe. And after she was *[Foi. lo,
gretly preised *for her obeisaunce to her husbonde, and she was

36 not bete, as were that other .ij. wyues that wolde not do her

THE BOOK OF THE KNIGHT

[Chap. XX.

husbondes comainulement. And thus poru men canne chaste
her wyues with fere and strokes, but a gentitt woman shulde
chastise her selff with fairenesse, for other wise thei shulde not
A woman, the be tauffht. And a gentitt woman, the fairer that she is ferde 4

better slie is " ^

jTsIi"'*' ^vith, the more ferdfutt she shulde be to displese or to disobeye

treated,
l>€tter

have^ ^*" her husbonde ; for the good doutithe and louithe her husbondes,

as dede the thridde marchauntes wiff, that for fere to disobeye
her husbonde leped on the borde. ^' so aught eueri good 8
woman do the comaundement of her husbonde, be it euel or welt,
for yef he bidde her thing that she aught not to do, it is his shame.
Now haue y treted of the obeysaunce of the drede that a woman
aught to haue to her husbonde; and how she shulde not 12
ansuere hym ouerthwartly atte euery worde, for it is gret shame
for her ; and also what perile it is to ansuere to euei i worde, as
dede the knightes doughter, that spake to the leude squier, the
whiche thorugh her wordes undede her good name and her 16
worshippe. But there be mani folke that are so hasti and high
herted, that for her hastinesse saithe att that thei knowe that
comithe to her mouthe ; and therfor it is gret perile to beginne
to chide with suehe folke, for who doutithe it, he puttithe his 20
worshippe in iupardye and auenture. For many folke witt saie
more thanne they know, to venge hem selflf, thow that they saie
fidse.

Of the lady
wlio gave
• ' good mor-
sels "

* tFol. 10,

col. 2]
to two little
dogs.

CHAPTER XX.

I win ten you of a lady that gaue the flesshe and the 24
goode morselles of mete to the liteH dogges.

rilHer was a lady that had two lit eft doggis, and she loued
hem so that she toke gret plesaunce in the sight and feding
of hem. And she made euery day dresse and make for hem 28
disshes with soppes of mylke, and after gaue hem flesshe. But
there was ones a frere that saide to her that it was not wel
done that the dogges were fedde and made so fatte^ and the
pore pepitt: so lene and famisshed for hunger. And so the lady, 3*
for his saieng, was wrothe with hym, but she wolde not amende

Chap.XXI] of la TOUIl-LANDRY. 29

it. And after she happed she deied, and there fett a wonder and when she

•^^ _^ ^ died two Httle

meruailouB sight, for there was sevn euer on her bedde .ii. litett hiackdogs

*^ *' were seen on

blake dogges, and in her deyeng thei were about her mouthe ''^"^ ^^ '»
4 and liked it, and whanne she was dede, there the dogges had
lyked it was al blacke as cole, as a gentitt woman tolde me
that sawe it, and named me the lady. And therfor here is a an example

that no lady

good ensaumple that ladves nor gentilt women shulde not haue should take

° * JO pleasure in

8 her plesaunce in suche bestys, nor yeue hem that the pore «u<-'h beasts,
pepitt might be susteyned with that deyen for hunger, the
which be Goddes creatoures and seruauntis made to his lyknesse.
And the women that dothe so, haue litelt understonde the wordes

12 of the gospett, there God saithe, "who dothe good to the pore
in myn name, he dothe it to myn selff." These that done soo
was not lyche the quene Blaunche, seint Lowes moder ; For she
alwey made take the mete afore her, and yeue it to the most

i6 nedy. And so dede seint Lowys, her sone, after her, * for he *[Foi.iob.
uisited the pore and fedde hem with his hondes. The plesaunce The pleasure

of women

of alt goode women aught to be to uisite and fede the pore !**o,"'? '^^ *<*

" " ^ feed the poor.

and faderles children, and to norshe and clothe yong litett chil-
20 dren, as dede an holy woman that was countesse of Mans, that
norshed euer xxx^i faderles children, and saide that was her
sporte ; and therfor she was loued of God, and had good lyff and
ende, and atte her dethe was saine a grete clerete ^' light
24 and full of small children, Innocentes, about her; and that sight
was not the litett blacke dogges that was sayn atte the dethe
of that other ladi that ye herde of afore.

CHAPTER XXI.

Now the knight said© unto his doughtres- that thei
28 shulde not beginne furst to take new gises of raye-
ment.

T?Aire doughtres, y praie you that ye be not the furst to take i pray you be
•^ new shappes and gises of array of women of straunge to take new

shapes of

32 contrey, as y will telt you there was a debate betwene a a"ire.

30 ■ THE BOOK OK THE KNIfillT IChap. XXr.

baroncBse, that duelled in Guyen, and an other lorde that was
A imiy found a ^yisc kni<'lit und a malicious. For the baronesse saide unto

fault with u °

kiiiKht thjit hyni, " cousin, y come out of liretaine, and there y haue sene

his wife WJ13 J f ' J 3 J

woiuiTuli ^y cosin youre wifF, but she nis not arrayed like as ladies 4
of this contrey of Guyene be, nor of diuei-se other plasez here
aboute, for her hodes, taylles, and sleues be not furred ynowgh

His reply. after the shape that rennithe now."' And the knight ansuered,
" sethe she Dys not arrayed on youre gise, and that ye thenke 8

"Ye shall her array and her furre to litett, and that ye blame me for it,

have no more

cause to forsothe ye shalt haue nomore cause to blame me, For y w'lt

blame me ;

»[Foi. iw>. make arraye her as * nobly as ani of you alt, and as queintly;

for ye haue but half youre hodes ^' cotes furred with ermyn 12
or meneuer, and y wol do beter to her, for y woft furre her
gowne, coleres, sleues, and cotes, the here outwarde ; thus she
my wife shall shaft be beter purfiled and furred thanne other ladies and gentift

be better

dressed than womcu. And suDDOse ve not that y witt see that she be arraied 16

any other, ri J J

after the state of the good women and worshipfuft of Fraunce,
nor of them of this cuutre, that hath not take the state of
the unthrifti women that bene eueft women of her body and
but not after chambreres to Englisshe men and other men of werre that 20

the manner • i i i • i

of evil women duellen With hem as her lemmannys, for thei were the furst

and foreign-
ers, for that brought up this astate that ye use of gret purfiles and

slitte cotes, for y haue of that tyme and y sawe it. And to

take arraie that such women bringithe up furst, y holde 24

hym that doth it but febly conseled. And as to my wiff, she

shal not ; but the princesses and ladyes of Inglond? haue taken

up the saide stat and gise, and they may weft holde it yef

ladies should hem luste. But y haue herde saie that ladies and gentift 28

dress after

good women womeu shulde sonner take the ffise after good women thanne

rather tiian ^ °

evil." after eueft, and not take the eueft suche noueltees." And so

these wordes weren saide betvvene the baronesse and the knight
tofore aft the peple, and the baronnesse helde her pees for shame, 32
for she wost not what to saie nor to ausuere ; and so ther was
mani that saide it hadde be beter for her to haue holde her
is good to pees. And therfor, doughtres, ye may see by this ensaumple,
"common hit is good to holde the mene astate of the good women, and 3^

Chap. XXI] OF LA TOUR-LANDRY. 31

of *threl comune astate of the rewme, that is to saie the state of *[Fo1, ii,

. ... ^^^- 1 ]

the most partie that good women usithe, and in especiatt such estate of the

realm,"

astate as thei that wetith it may meintaine. Forto take array
4 of straunge contrey hathe i.ot be used, and leue that of his
owne, that causithe mani to be mocked and scorned, as ye may
see bi this knight that spake thus to his lady. And wetithe
who so takithe furst a nouelte of array on hym, thei ben moche
8 spoken of, but now a dayes and a woman here of a newe gette,
she wilt neuer be in pees titt she haue the same. And the
wiues saien to her Imsbondes euery day, " sir, suche a wyff and and to follow

•^ *" ' '' the dress of

suche hathe suche goodly arraye that besemithe her weft, and wise, and not
1 2 y praie you y may haue of the same ; " and yef her husbonde saie, women.
" wiff, yef suche haue suche arraie, suche that are wiser thanne
thei haue it not," she wil saie, " no force it is, for thei canne
not were it, and yef y haue it ye shal see how welt it wilt
i6 become me, for y can were it." And thus with her wordes her
husbonde must nedis ordeine her that she desirithe, other he
shalt neuer haue pees with her, for thei wol finde so mani
resones that thei witt not be werned. But the women that dothe
2o and saithe thus, be not most wisest nor canne not best her good,
but thei haue more her herte to the plesaunce of the worlde
thanne to her husbondes profit. And there is a maner now Serving.

woraen now

amonge seruynff women of lowe astate, the whiche is comen wearfuron

° , "^ ° ' ^ ' their collars

24 for thei furre her colors, that hangin doune into the middil of ^"^'^^eis,
the backe, and thei furre her heles, the whiche is doubed with
filth, and it is sengilt about her brest ; the whiche arraie y which in

^ . . f, winter were

praise not in winter nor somer, for hem were beter take the *[Foi. ii,

... . col. 2.]

28 furre that hanggithe about her helis m the winter and sette it better on their
about her stomak'es, for that had more nede of hete thanne
her helys, and in somer it were beter awey, for flies hidethe and in sum-
hem thermne ; and therfor y praise not the arraye nor that siieiter for

flies.

32 nouelte in a pore man, but y saie it not be women that may
susteine and meintayne it atte her lust ; for y caste me not to
speke nor to medilt me of no thinge of her astate nor arraie
that aught to displese hem, for it longithe not to me but to

36 worshippe and to obeye hem to my power. Nor y understonde

32 THE BOOK OF THE KNIOIIT [r-HAP. XXIf.

In this book I not to speke in this lx)ke to none other women })ut to myn

speak only to

mydaughttm proprc (louffhtrcs and seruauntis of myn howse, and forto shew

and (KTvaiiU. ^ ^ n j t

hem how what is my luste and plesaunce that thei do.
Doughtres, it is a gret perile to take stryff with folke that ben 4
wise, or to dispraise the maners of hem. For gladly folke haue
but litett worships that tellithe or repreuithe ani suche folke
of thaire condiciones.

CHAPTER XXII.

At a feast a A S it happed that there were atte a feest diuerse lordes & 8

lady told a A4 ,

knight -*--*- ladies, amonge the whiche was a knight that was a man

wise of wordes and goodly behauing among ladies and gentitt
women ; and so ther was a ladi saide to hym, afore alt folke,

that he was " sir, ye are moclie holde to youre God that hathe made you 12

Iiandsome, ,.,,.. '^ ^

but had an SO faire and so goodly a knight, that it is meruaile but ye haue

evil tongue ;

an euett condicion, that is to saye that ye are fult of iangelyng,
• [Foi. 116. and haue an euett tonge and canne not holde youre pees*." " Nou

col. 1.] ^ , ,

butherepiicd, ladi," saide he, "is that the worst tache that ye know bi me?" 16

" I have said

no evil of and she saide, " ye forsothe yt is the worst." " Now," saide he,

you, and you

have of me, 'Mate vou and me haue an euen iuofe, and y trow it wilt be

therefore your "^ & ' J ^

tongue is founde that ye haue worse taches thanne y, for y wilt shew how

worse than •' j ^ j

mine." yg haue saide and reproued me of the worst that ye coude sale 20

by me, and y haue saide no thinge of you. And therfor me
thinkithe that ye haue a worse tonge thanne y, and me thinkithe,
ladi, y haue not so light a tonge, nor iangitt not somoche." As
the lady herde hym, and helde her pees, and thought that she 24
wolde she had be stitt, and that she had not spoken one worde
nor striuen with hym for diuerse causes ; for the pepitt that herde
hym suffre all her ungoodly wordes, weren wrothe witA. her,
and she hadd* ben beter to haue ben stitt thanne to haue re- 28
Therefore proucd a man opinly afore the companye. And therfor whanne
own evil one wold? reproue one of his condiciones, he shulde thenke of

before you

reprove his owue. Yet y witt telt you more on this matere, how Bursy-

others,

gaunt was amonge .iij. ladies that caste forto haue made hym 32
ashamed. And he, that was a wise knight amonges alt other
knightes, halpe hym as ye shutt here.

Chaps. XXIII, XXIV.] OF LA TOUR-LANDRY. 33

CHAPTERS XXIII, XXIV.

[Of Boucicaut and the three ladies ; and of three
other ladies who accused a knight.]

THese .iij. ladies satte togedres in a priue cliambre, and talked Three ladies
talked of
^ of her auentures, unto the tyme that one saide, " Moclie Boucicaut,

maugre haue she of us that wilt not telt, of good felawship

here amonge us .iij., of that she shal be asked, that is, yef ani

of us was this yeere praied of loue." " Truly," saide the furst,

8 "y haue ben praied." The secounde and the thridde saide the

same. " Now," saide the boldest *ladi, " sori loue haue she that * [F01.11&.

col. 2.

tellitt not the name of hym that last praied her;" and there

thei were acorded they shulde telt. " Forsothe," saide the furst, and each said

*' ^ ^ he had talked

12 "it was Bursigaunt that praied me." "And in good sothe," Jo ''^'' of
saide the secound, " so dede he me." " By my troutlie," quod
the thridde, " and he praied me also." " In good faithe," saide
the .iij. ladies, " he nis not so trewe a knight as we wende, for

16 he is but a tromper and a iaper, nofors, late us sende for hym." and they sent
And whanne he come he saide, " My ladyes, what wolde ye 1 "
and thei bade hym sitte downe on the grounde by hem. And
he saide, " Sethe y am come and must sitte, late me haue sum

20 quyshon or a stole, for y might, and y satte lowe, brake sum
of my pointes, and ye wold' saie perauenture it were sum what
ellys." And so thei gate hym a stole ; and, whanne he was sette,
as thei that were futt of ire and wrathe, saide, " Bursegaunt, we and told him

24 are foule deceiued m you the tyme passed, for we wende that true knight,
ye had be a true knight, and ye are but a mocker, and a iaper
of ladies, and that is a foule tache." And he ansuered, " Ladies,
how knowe ye that 1 " " For, sire, y[e] haue here praied my cosin

28 of loue, and so haue ye me, and ye saide ye loued us, and eche
of us had youre herte, the whiche was fals lesinge, for ye might
[not] loue us att thre best, for ye are not .iij. persones, nor
ye haue not thre hertys, and therfor ye are fals and deseiuable,

32 and ye aught not to be sette in the nombre of true knightis."
And he saide, " Ladyes, ye haue wronge, & that wott y shewe

34 HOW MEN CAN CONFOUND WOMEN. [Chaps. XXIIJ. XXIV.

you and ye wylt yeue me leue to speke, and y witt tett you
•(Koi. 12, whi. For atte t)iat tyine y spake * with eche of you, y loued
her best that y spake with, and thought tiiily the same, and
me tliinkithe therfor ye be in the wronge to haue suche laugage 4
on me, but y must suffre." And whanne thei sawe hym uomore
and proposed abusshed, thei saide they wolde drawe cutte amonge hem ther, to

to draw lots

for him, wete to whom he shulde abide. " In good faithe," saide the furst
la dye, " y witt drawe no cutte for hym, for y quite my parte 8
of hym ;'' and that other .ij. ladyes saide, '* So do we oure part, for

but he said wc witt not of hym." "A!" saide the knight," ye nede not stryue,

he would

have none for she nvs uot here that shaft haue parte of me : " and with that

of them. •' ...

lie rose and yede his waye, and lete the .iij. ladies be there aft 12
abasshed and shamed. And therfor it is a gret peritt to beginne
to haue langage with suche men that canne skitt of the worlde ;
and therfor here is an ensaumple that no woman shulde take
no striff nor wordes with suche men, for there is mani women 16
that beginnithe langage with a man that canne not ende it
Thus men can weft, for men canne fynde weyes to helpe hem selff, as dede

find ways to

help them- a man that was acused to .iii. ladies of suche an other dede

selves; as did

a man who, as dede Bursigaunt J and thei swore he shulde deye, and neuer 20
golne to Sn *^^^^i^® 1^^ more, and thei caught and shette hym in a chambre,
^'""' and as thei come eueriche with a knyff forto slee him, he saide,

** Ladies, it likitb you that y shaft deye withoute mercy, y
asked the praic you of a bone." And they graunted hym. And thanne 24
whore to he required hem that the strengest hore of hem shulde smite

strike first. o i t • i •

None did; furst the strokc. And thei stode and loked eueriche upon
col ^2]^^' other, and ther was none that wolde toucb * hym for shame,

for there was none that wolde take it on her that it were she. 28
Rot^awa^^ And he sawe hem so abaisshed, & he ranne and opened the dore,
from them, ^j^^j jede his waye ; and thus was the knight saued, and thei
abode abasshed and mocked. And therfor there be mani
thoughtes and wyles with a man to helpe hym self atte nede ; 32
but y wift leue this matere, and go to women that wol goo to
see iustinge and other diuerse sightes, and also wol go on pil-
grimage more for sjDorte than for deuocion.

Chap. XXV.] MAHRIED WOMEN SHOULD NOT GO ALONE TO FEASTS. 35

CHAPTER XXV.

[Of ladies who go to justs and pilgrimages.]

wilt tett you of a lady that caught a gret blame and sclaundre of a lady who

, , . caught great

atte iusting with-oute cause. She was a faire yonge lady, hiameby
4 and made there good chere, and daunsed and sange withJ"sts;
knightes and squieres, & all her herte was sette on the worldes
plesaunce, notwithstonding her husbonde was not best apaied
with her for her outegoinge ; but she was glad allway whanne
8 she was praied to go oute, And she fonde raenes to her hus- and her

husband let

bonde that she was alt waye praied that she might go to. Her her go,
husbonde werned her not, for ferde lasse thei that praied hym
wolde be wrothe, and teste men wolde deme that he were ielous
1 2 of his wiff ; and he dede gret coste to make her fresshe and and made her

fresh and gay,

gay at the saide festis, for the worshipp of her frendes, but she though

° *' ^ ^'^ ' against his

might haue perceiued mani tymes that it was ayenst her hus- win.
bondes wilt that she vede to suche festis. And so it happed And at a

•^ ^^ feast, after

1 6 onis atte a fest that she was atte be night, thei quenched the the lights

° '■ were put

torches sodenly, and made gret noyse and crye, * and whanne * [Foi. 12&.

the light was light agein, the ladies husbondes brother was out, she was

there, and sawe his suster-in-lawe a litelt asyde with a knight comer with a

20 in a corner ; and in good trouthe y trow there was no thing

done but good, but neuer the latter the brother tolde her

husbonde, the whiche alt his lyfF after mistrusted that his wiff

had done^ amys, and loued his wiff neuer after so welt as he and her hus-
band never
24 dede before. And so there was neuer pees betwene hem, but loved her

••■ after, because

euer glomyng, louring, and chiding, and alt her housholde yede she had an

•^ ° ° ° '' evil name.

to not for this cause.

Y knew another lady that gladly yede and was ledde to

28 festis, and she caute an euelt name bi a lorde, that she was
so full of sorugj that she was nigti dede, and in so moche
thought that she dwyned awey that there laft no thinge
on her saue the bones. And whanne slie shulde be dede, when dying

32 she sent after her Saueoure, and called alt her frendes about friends

^ MS. "done done amys."

3-2

3G WOMEN SHOULD NOT GO OUT ALONE. 1<iiaI'. XXV.

her, and saide, " Lokithe on me ; am y lyk her that ye
were wont to see atte festis and playes, so faire, fresshe, and
goodly? but that tyme is passed, for y must to the erthe
thennes that y come fro." And she saide to the lordes, kuightes, 4
squiers, and ladies, and gentilwomen that were about her,
tiiat siie was ** There is moche speche bctwene suche a lorde and me, but

innocent of

liny evil. that Lorde y receiue here be my dampnacion yef euer he had to do
more with my body thanne hadd" my fader, notwithstondinge 8
he and y hadd' gret communicacion diuerse tymes, but it was
neuer in no ueleni, nor in no euett thought nor in dede." And
so aft thei that stode about her were abasshed, for thei wende
• [Foi. 12b. in her the contrary; not for aft that her * worship was blemisshed 12
and blamyd with hym, and, yef she had not use to goo to festis
and other sportes in her husbondes absence, hit had not happed

Tiierefore it is her. And therfor it is gret perile a woman to acustume her

great pei-il for . • i i • i i • i

awomiinto or to desire to goo to suche festis ther she might abide atte 16

go to feasts,

when siie home with her worshippg saued, vndeftimed of her ffood name :

should be at . . .

home. for atte suche places mani women takith moche blame with-

oute cause. But y saie not but atte sum tyme that the[i] must
nedis goo to obeie lordes and her frendes wift, with her husbondes 20

If you have leue. And therfor, faire doughtres, yef it happe that ye must

to go to a ,

feast, nedis goo to suche festis, and that ye may not forsake it whan

keep some it is night that thei begynne to syng and daunce, loke that

servant near

you, ye haue euer a frende or sum cosin or seruaunt of youres 24

by you, for ferde and perift and eueft speche, that yef it happed
the torches to be queint, as thei were atte the feste, that thei

not for fear might be nigti you, not for no ferde of none eueft that ye wolde

of evil, but of - rPTPM- 1 in ix'i

evil tongues. Qo, but for icrde of euen tonges that gladlyer won saie harme 28
tha^i good, and more thanne thei knew. And it is good that
ye do so for the suerte of youre good name, that thei that
stondithe hi you may saie, yef that thei here a false iangeler
or a Iyer saie aught on you that is not true, that thei may be 3^
sure to saye that it ys false.

Chap. XXVI.] WOMEN SHOULD DRESS WELL ON HOLY DAYS. 37

CHAPTER XXVI.

I wol tett you another ensaumple of hem that wolde

not do on her good clothes on the halydaies nor on

the Sondayes in the worshipe of oure Lorde Ihesu, of

4 the which y wolde ye knew the ensaumple how the

gen till woman abr aided the lady her maistres of.

^pHer was a ladi that had gcod clothes, but she wolde not *[Fo1. 13,
were hem, but yef she supposed to be atte sum fest orAiadyimd
8 that she wende to finde sum lordes or gret straungers. And but would rfot
so it happed that oure lady day fett on the Sonday, and her
mayde asked her, " Madame, whi wilt ye not do on this dav "ot even on

*' ' \ "^ , " our Lady's

a good garment in the worshippe of ouie ladi day, and of the ^^y>

12 Sonday?" "Whi," saide she, "we shutt see no folke of astate

to-daye." And her mayde saide, " God and his moder is of

gretter state thanne any worldely folke, for he may take and

geue alt thing atte his luste, for alt comithe of hym, and therfor

i6 his dayes and hys moderes dayes ye shulde worshippe." " Pees,"

saide the ladi, " God and the preest seith me eueri day, and

BO dothe not the strangers. And therfor it is beter to make

me gay whanne y see hem thanne ayenst God." And the

20 mayde ansuered, " Madame, that was euett saide for ferde of

that may fall." And the ladi saide, "Fatt what wott fall, y wol

do more euell." And aFsone as she had saide that worde, there

come a sodeine wynde that smote the ladi that she might not a"<i a sudden

wind smote

24 stere nor remeue more thanne a stone, and fro that tyme her, so that

she could not

forwarde she most be bore two and fro, and swall, and become ™°V6»
grete. And thanne she knowleged her misdede, and vowed
pilgrymages, and was caried to hem in a litter. And to alt
28 folke of worshipe she tolde what was the cause of her sekenesse,
and that it was the uengeaunce of God that fell on her, the
whiche she had well deserued, for she saide that att her lyff
she had sette her to worshipe the worlde more thanne God, for worship.

• * 11 ping the world

32 And hade more loye to make her plesaunt to the worlde, to "lore than
folke of astate, and straungers, that she might haue the lokes • [Foi. 13,

col. 2.

of hem, than for loue or ani deuocion that she had to God,

38 rEOPLE SIIOILD WEAR GOOD CLOTHES ON HOLY DAYS. [Chap. XXVI.

other to ani of his seiuteB. And after who saide to yonge gentitt
women, ** Takithe hedc of the vengeaunce of God that is fatt
on me ; for turn tynie y had a faire body, and smal, as euery
body saide, to plese me. And y, for bobaunce ^ and for to be 4
preised of the workle, y clothed me in riche clothinge and in
good furres, and y made it to be shape in the best wise, streite
and wett sittinge and iuste, that sum tyme the fruite that
was in me suffered payne and was in perett ; and alt that 8
y dede to haue veyne glorie of this worlde. And whanne y
and being herde the pepitt that preised me, the whiche thei dede to plese
people's jjie, saienff, ' Here is a faire body of a woman the whiche is

l>raiso. JO' J

lykly to be loued of a worthi knight/ thanne my herte reioysed 13

of gladnesse. Now may ye see what y am, for y am gi-etter

thanne a pipe. And y am not lyk her that was sumtyme so

queint and gay in my good airaye, streite and iuste, that y

helde so cherely that y wolde not were it in the halydayes and 16

Sondayes in the worships of God. And therfor, ladyes and

frendes, God bathe shewed me my foly for sparing of my clothis

on the holy day, and to were hem afore men of astate and

fctraungers, to be preised and haue the losse and loking of hem. 20

Wherfor y praie you att that ye take here atte me a faire en-

saumple." And thus compleyned the sike lady, the whiche was

•(Foi. 136. thus swolen an hole yere. And after, whanne God *had saine
col. 1.] . .

But on her her contriclon and i epentaunce, he sent her helthe, and heled 24

JhrSas"*'^ her hole of aft her sekenesse, and euer lowly to her God, and
gaue her good garmentis for Goddis sake to the nedy, and her
selff leued sympli, not hauing her herte to the bobant of the

This is an ex- worlde, as she had before. And therfor, faire doughtres, here 28

ample how ... iipn ii •!

people should IS a faire ensaumple how folke aught beter to arraie hem on

wear their

best clothes holydavcs in worships and for the loue of God that sendith nit,

on liol^dajs, ^ " a

iox worship of and for the loue of hys blessed moder and saintes, thanne for
God. *' '

to plese the sight of the worldely peple, the whiche are but 32
donge and erthe, for to haue the praisinge of hem ; for att tho
that do so for the worldes plesaunce, y wene they displese God,
and that he witt do his uengeaunce on hem in this worlde or

^ MS. "babaunce."'

Chap. XXVir.] PEOPLE SHOULD NOT HAVE PRIDE IN DEESS. 39

in that other, as he dede on this lady that ye haue herde.
And therfor take hcde on these ensaumples, good doughtres.

CHAPTER XXVII.
I witt tell you an ensaumple on this matere.
It befelt tluit seint Bernaide, Ihat was an holy man and of saint Bernard

., ii»*-i/.»a.i« • 1 1 ^*^ ^" abbot,

gret richesse and birtn, lefte an his pcssessiones and good,

and yede to serue God in an abbey; and for his holy lyuing,

and of weringe of the hcyre, and doinge gret abstinence and

8 almes dedes, made that he was chose to be abbot of ihat place.

And he hadd? a gret ladi to his suster, that come to ?ee hym whose sister

c<ini6 richly

withe gret meyni, weft arraied with riche clothinge, and riche dressed to

see him,

atyred of perles and presious stones. And in this array she
12 come afore her brother seint * Bernard". And whanne he sawe •[Foi. i36.

col. 2.]

her in that array, he turned to her his backe and blessed hym,
and the lady was ashamed, and asked whi he ne wolde with
her speke. And he saide that he had gret pitee to see her so

1 6 disgised, and in that pride that she was inne. And she dede
of her riche ^ atyre and gay clothes, and toke other symple
arraye. And he saide. " Suster, yef y loue youre bodi, by reson for which he
y'^ shuld'btter loue youre sowle : wene ye not that ye displese of pnde.

2o God and his aungells to see in you suche pompe and pride to
aorne suche a carion as is youre body, whiche withinne .vij.
dayes that the soule ys parted from the body, he sauerithe in
suche wise that no creatoure may suffre to be nigt it or see

24 it, with gret abhominacion 1 Faire suster, whi thenke ye not
that the pore peple that deyen for hungir and colde, that for
the sixte pait of youre gay arraye .xl. persones might be clothed,
refresshed, and kepte from the colde V And thus Bernarde de-

28 Glared the foly and the pompe of the worlde to his suster. And

also the sauement of her soule. And thanne the ladi wepte. Then the sold

her clothes

and soldo awey her clothes, and leuid after an holy lyff, and and led a

holy life.

had loue of God, aungeles, and holy seintez, the whiche is beter

•

1 MS. ''riche riche atyre."

* The original reads : Belle suor, se je aime vostre corps, je doy par
raison plus amer vostre ame . , . . .

PEOPLE SHOULD NOT TALK AT MASS, [OHAr.XXVHL

tlmnne of the woildely pepitt. Tlicrfor, cloughtres, liere ys an
ciisauniple how folke shulde not haue thaire herte on the worUle,
nor make liem queint to plese it and them that be there inno,
but late yeue parte of that Clod hathe sent to the nedy in his 4
name. And he that dothe so, may gete hym hys sauement ;
• [Foi. 14, for it is beter *to haue lasse garnementis thanne the pore shulde

col. 1.]

It is better lacke. For who 80 settithe hyra al to haue plesaunce of the

to have less i>i» r t -t • /»i/»i irn ij.

rayment, woi'la, it ys foly and temptacion of the fende ; and folke aught 8

than that the n ^ ^ ^ • n r^ ^ ^ r

poor should to arraye hem more for loue and worship of God thanne for

want.

worldely foule plesaunce, the whiche ys but shadow, and is not
worthe to the rewarde of hym that att may yeue and sende.

CHAPTER XXVIII.

An example
of talking
at mass.

A hermit had
a chapel to
which pil-
grims came,

and at mass
he saw tliem
talking and
wrangling
together,

and at their
sides black
fiends wrote
down their
words.

• [Fol. 14,
col. 2.]

An other ensaumple y will tell you of them that la
u&en to clatre, speke, and iangle atte the masse, in
the whiche whanne thei shulde haue herde the deuyne
seruice of God,

TTIt is conteyned in the gestis of Athenes, that there was an 16
■*"'- holy hermite that hadd? a chapelt of seint lohan in his
hermitage ; and for the holinesse of the good man, and in the
worshippe of seint lohan, the knightes, ladyes, & gentill women
of that contrey come thedir on pilgrimage. And whanne thei 30
were come, the ermite saide hem a masse ; and as he had saide
the gospett, he turned towarde the peple, & sawe hem roune,
iape, counsaile, and iangle, eche with other. And as he loked
on hem and sawe her folysshe countenaunce, he was ware that 24
there was atte eueriche of her eeres an orrible fende, that wrote
aft that thei saide, and lough hem to scorne; and the blak
orible fendes yede lepinge on her hedys, homes, and riche atyre,
as dothe the briddes that sittithe on trees and lepithe from 28
braunche to braunche; of the whiche the holy ermyte was gretly
abasshed and meruayled. And whan he was in the canoun of
hys masse, he herde hem clatre, laugt, iangle, and * horde of
higti, that it was gret meruaile of the holy man, [and he] smote 32
hys honde on the boke to make hem hold" her pees. But there was

Chap. XXIX.] NOR DISTURB DIVINE SERVICE BY CLATTERING. 41

sum that dedc not, and thanne sayde the ermyte to God, "Lorde, iic called

to Got], but

and it be thi wilt, make these folke holde her pees atte masse, tiiey did not

•^ iieed,

and that they may know her foly." Thanne sodenly att they
4 that iangeled beganne to crye lyke wode folke oute of her
mynde, that it was a piteous thinee to here. And whanne the and after

■'■ ° mass he told

ermyte had saide masse, he tolde hem how he saw the fendes ^^at he had

^ ' seen,

of hell on her hedes, homes, and tyre, and tolde hem the perilles
8 and the synne that it was to make suche clateringe and leude
wordes, iapes, and countenaunces atte the masse. For there is
no man atte the masse shulde do no thinge ellys but praie God
deuoutly; and these fendes that he sawe was on her hedes,

12 tyre, and homes, that clatered and spake of her foly of loue
atte messe, and thought more on her iolytees and the worldes
delite, and to haue the loke of the musardes, thanne thei dede
on the seruice of God. But there was sum in the chapelt that

i6 were in her deuocion and praiers, but on hem he sawe no thing
saue good, not with stondinge they were welt arraied. And the
ermyte tolde hem, who that arraied hym more to plese the sight
of the worlde thanne God he makithe ioye and gladnesse to

2o the fendes of hell. And the pepilt that were there oute of

her mynde and turmented, as ye herde before, cried, and pulled •

euer of her tyre, as thei had ben wode. And so the good

ermyte counsailed hem to amende hem, *and to abide in praiers *[Foi. i4A.

34 in that chapel .ix. dayes ; and so thei dede, and thorugh the

praier of the holy ermite, whan they had confessed hem, and pro- "'^^" ^^^p _,

* J ' i' } X repented and

messed to God to be deuoute atte the masse, and neuer to iangle nor feTve'cod^^
to clatre whanne thei shulde serue God, than the ermite assoiled ^®"'^'"-
28 hem, and they were heled, and come againe into her witte, and
thei kepte hem euer after from iangelinge atte Goddes seruice.

CHAPTER XXIX.

And here is an ensaumple how no man thorugH his
clateringe shulde desturbe the devine seruice of God.

32 XT'Et wilt y telt you what befell atte the masse of the holy and saint

I • HT • m A • 1 nrice said

-^ man, seint Martin of Towres, And as he saide masse there masstogether,

42 PKOl'I.K SliULLD NOT BK LATE AT MASS, [Chap. XXX.

haipe hym seint Price, the whiche was hys clerke and godsone,

that aft^r seint Martin was Ershebisshop^ of Towres, the whiche

Jitter''^ I^rice toke up a gret laugliinge, and seint Martin perseined it.

laughed, And whanne the masse was done, seint Martin at-ked hym whi he 4

bocaiise a laughed, and he ansuered, that he saw the fende write att the

Hend was

writing all laughiuges that were betwene the women atte the masse, and it

tiie ulle talk o o }

on'paMr'''' ^'''^PP^'^ that the parchemyn that he wrote in was fchorte, and
Ecked'his ^^® plucked harde to haue made it lengger with his tethe, and it 8
the wuH."" scaped oute of hys mouthe, and hys hede had a gret stroke
ayenst the waft, " & that made me to laugh." And whan seint
So St. Martin Martin herde hym, he knewe that seint Brice was an holy man.

. warned the "^ •'

sinonafkilr ^^^ ^® preched this to the women, and how it was a gret peritt 12
at nmsse. ^nd synue to speke and counsaile of worldly materes atte the
[*F(.i 146. masse or atte Goddes *seruice, and that it were beter not to be

col. 2] '

tliere thanne to haue suche langage and claterirge. And yet sum
clerkes su&teinithe that none shulde not speke no manere thing 16
whiles they bene atte masse, and in especial atte the gospelt, nor
atte the ' per om7iia; ' and therfor, doughtres, here is an ensaumple
how ye shalt holde you humble and deuoute in the chiiche, and
for no thinge haue no iangelynge with nobody while }e are atte 20
• the masse, nor while ye serue God.

CHAPTER XXX.

Another ensaumple y will tell you of hem that for
slouthe lessethe her masse and makithe other to lese
her masse. 34

late

A knight and T Hauc herde of a knidit & of a lady that in her youtti

a lady slept I o J J

ma3s'co\M delited hem to rise late. And so they used longe, tilt

at^church for ^^^^Y tymes that thei loste her masse, and made other of her
iriasfoo"*'' parisshe to lese it, for the knight was lorde and patron of the 28
chirche, and therfor the preest durst not disobeye hym. And
so it happed that on a Sonday the knight sent unto the chirche
that thei shulde abide hym. And whanne he come, it was passed
none, wherfor thei might not that day haue no masse, for euery 32

Chap. XXX.] NOR KEEP OTHERS WAI'lING AT CHURCH. 43

man saide it was passed tyme of the day, and therfor tliei durst
not singe. And so that Sonday the knight, the lady, and att the
parisshe was witAoute masse, of the whiche the pepitt were sori,
4 but thei must nedes sufFre. And on a nidit there came on And the

^ , kiiiglit, the

avision to the person, that he kepte a ffret flocke of shepe in a lady, and the

r } 1 o X priest weie

felde there that there grewe no grasse; and he wolde ^^^^^ dream"'^"^ '"
ledde hem into a felde there grasse was, *but he must go whitli *J^^'y'^'
8 hem thorugh a streite pathe, and in the pathe he saw a gret
blacke swyne and a sowe, hcrned, that lay ouer-thwarte the
pathe ; And he was so sere aferde of her homes, that he yode
awey and fledde with his shepe, withoute pasturinge or fedinge

12 hem. And a uoys saide to hym, " Whi art thow aferde of these
horned bestys ? " & with that he awoke. And the same night
the knight and the lady dremed that thei were become horned
swyne and sow, and wolde not late the shepe goo to her pasture

i6 nor fedynge. And after hem thought that there come mani
blacke hunters, and blake hors, with many blake greyhoundes,
and raches; and the houndes were uncoupeled on hem, and
chaced and bote hem spitously bi the eeres and thies; and them

20 thought that tlie chace dured so longe on hem till they were
take and slayne. And of this auision, whanne they were awaked,
thei were foule afraied; for the auicion come to hem bi two
tymes. And the person come to the knightes hous, and he tolde

24 hem his auicyon, and the preest his, of the whiche thei were
gretly meruailed, and thaire sweuens^ were lyche. And the
preest saide vnto the knight, " There is hereby in a forest an
holy ermyte that canne tell us what this auicion menithe." And

28 than thei yede to hym, and tolde it hym fro point to point, and

as it was. And the wise holi man, the whiche was of blessed lyfiP, And a hermit

explained

expouned and declared her auicion in this wise : " Sir knight, t'leiT dreams,
ye & youre wiff are blacke swyne and sowes that kepithe the
32 pathe thorugli the whiche the shepe shulde go to her * sus- » [Foi. 15,
tenaunce and fode, that is to mene, that ye ar lorde of the
parisshe that ye duett in. And ye haue destroubled the paris-
shenes to here masse and Goddes seruice,' the whiche rs the

^ MS. " swemes."

44 PEOPLK SHOULD NOT BK IIINDKRED FROM HEARING MASS. [Chai-.XXX.

feeling and the pasture of the body and eoule, and for youre rest
and sloping by day, like swyne, ye haue made youre ney^tboures
lese lier maase and Goddes seruice ; and the homes that ye had
that because signifietli that ye be therfor in dedly synne. And in especiatt 4

thejr made

others to lose yc make Other to lese the seruice of God, the whiche ye may

their iuu8e«8,

neuer amende withoute ye suffre therfor gret turment. And
therfor the vengeaunce of the dede is shewed you bi auicion, that
ye shall; be tormented, and chaced, and slayn therfor with fendts 8
of belt, withoute amendement. For it were beter to you, that
ye lacked to here an hundred masses, thanne ye lette a man to
they were here one or a preest of his deuocion. For the preest most fatt

worse tlian in _

neglecting into the svnne of wrathe, and his parisshenes eone forth to the 12

their own. "^ > 1 &

ale bous or to a taueme, and thorugb taryeng lese her deuocion.
And alt this euett comithe of youre sleuth and synne, of the
whiche ye shall yelde onis acompte of; And ye shall be therfor
chaced, tormented, and slayne, and in waye to be dampned, but i6
ye amende it." And thanne the knigbt was abasshed, and asked
counsaile what was beste for hym to do. And tbe holy man
counsailed that on thre Sondayes he shulde knele on his knees
afore all the parisshenes, and crie hem mercy, and that tbey 20
wolde forgeue hym his misdede that he had kepte hem so longe
a dayes from her masse, And that tbei wold praie to God
* [Foi. 156. foryeue hym and his wyff, * and he wolde euer after be one of

coJ. 1.]

And they the furst attc the chirche. And thei were shriue of the ermite, 24

WCl'G 6V6r

after the first and had penaunce of hym, and were chastised that thei dede

at the mass. ati it- rpniiz-^.!

naught as they were wont. And he and his wyii thanked (rod
of her auicion that he sent hem, that thei might amende hem,
And Eo from that tyme forwarde thei were the furst atte the 28
masse and the laste therfrom. And also the ermite tolde the
preest his auicion like as hadde the knight, and that God shulde
be dradde and serued afore ani erthely thinge or delite of rest or
plesaunce ; wherfor, doughtres, take here ensaumple that for 32
youre persones ese that ye make not diuerse peple lese her
masse and deuocion, thorugh youre necligence and sleuthe;
for it were beter for you to here no masse thanne to lette 36
other.

Chaps. XXXI, XXXir.] LADIES SHOULD NOT TAKE TOO LONG TO DRESS. 45

CHAPTER XXXL

I wolde ye knew an ensaumple of the lady that wolde
haue alwey a quarter of a day to arraie her.

er was a ladi that duelled fast bl the chirche, that toke ^ lady took

so long to

4 euery day so longe tyme to make her redy that it made ^'"'Jfj'/'f/.,
wery and angri the person of the chirche and the parisshenes to fjj'g'jjj ''^^^^^
abide after her. And she happed to abide so longe on a Sonday
that it was fer dayes, and euery man said" to other, "This day we

8 trow shall not this lady be kemed, and arraied ; " and sum of
hem cursed her, and saide, " The deuell arraye her onis, and be ti>at they

cursed her ;

her merour, for because she makithe us euery day in use and to
abide after her." And as God wolde shew for ensaumple, atte the
12 same tyme and houre as she loked in a mirrour, in stede of * the * [Foi. 15&.

. . col. 2.]

mirrour, the deuell turned to her his ars, the whiche was so and the devii

i-1 iMiiprii 1 1 CI appeared to

foule and orible that for ferde she was wode and oute of her her in her

glass, and

mynde, and was so sike longe : and atte the laste God sent her frightened

''I ° \ hersotiiat

i6 her witte: & she was chastised, and wolde no more make ^^'^ would no

more keep

folke to mouse after her, but wolde be sonner arraied and atte ^^^^ waiting,
the chirche thanne ani other. And she thanked God that he andshethanic.

ed God He

had chastised her so that she might amende her : and therfor ^^^'^ chastised

° her that slie

20 here is an ensaumple that no body shulde take so long leyser to might amend.
arraie hem that thei lese her masse and Goddes seruice, and
make other also to lese it.

CHAPTER XXXII.
Now y will tell you an ensaumple on this matere of An example

of a holy lady

24 an holy lady that loued wel God and his seruise. thatioved

well God and
His service.

TTIt happed her on a day that she herde no masse, she wold" wiien she
■^ not that day ete flesshe nor fysshe ; & yet she wolde mass, she

, , . , , , 1 11' would eat no

be full of sorw m hert ; and hit happed on a day her chapelem flesh nor fish.

2 8 was sike that he might not synge, wherthorugh she must go behysS,^'"

home withoute masse. And she yede withoute her place crieng have no mass,

46 OF A COUNTESS WHO IIKARD THUEK MASSKS DAILY. [^h\p. XXXIII.

and cried on Oil G(xl, saieng thesc wordes, "LorcT, forgete not purueie me of thin

tlod,

lioly semice, tliougti this chapeleiii be Byke :" and as she eaide
triio 8Jiit her thesc wordes she saw comyng towardes her two freres, of the

two frianj.

wliiche she was gladde, and asked hem yef the wolde saye her 4
She asked one masse; and thei ansuered her, yee, yef her lyked. And she

of them to

Bay mass for praied one of hem shulde ao to. And she tlianked God of her

her. ^

Tiie youngest coming. And 60 the yonggest of the freres yede to masse.

' And as he was afore the Agnus Dei, the olde frere loked on hym 8
and when he liow he brake the oste in the .iij. parties. And he sawe one of

broke the

* [Koi. 16, the parties lepe *into the good ladies mouthe in manere of a gret
host in 3 clerenesse or a light; and the frere that was atte the masse loked
elder friar aboute hym where the .iij. parte of the oste was becomin, and 12

saw one of t t ^ • r i

tiiem leap trcmeled for ferde, and his felowe come to hym & saide, ''Be not

into the

lady's mouth, aferdc, for that ye seke is in the good ladies mouthe." And
friar trembled tlianne he lieldc liym content, and thanked God of that miracle,

for feur,

and then & thus it happed the lady that loued so mocti the seruice of 16

thanked God

for tiie mira- God. And therfor here is an ensaumple to loue Goddes seruice.

cle.

God shewed Grod louithc hym, as he shewed unto this good lady apertely that
tiiem who"^ had SO gret desire to serue hym and to see hyw, as ye haue herde

desire to serve , /,

iiira. here aiore. 20

CHAPTER XXXIII.
An example I wolde ye herde an ensaumple of a countesse that

of a countess

that every day euery day wolde here thre masses.

heard three
masses.

One of her i Nd as she yode a pilgrimage, one of her chapeleinez felt of

chaplains Al , ^ .

hurt himself, "'-'■ his horsc and hurte hym selff in suclie wise that he might 24

and could not °

sing. not singe, and the ladi was full of soragh that she shulde lacke

She prayed to one of her masses. And as she made deuoutly her praiers to God,

God,

who sent her hg gent her a seint in stede of a preest to saie her a masse: but

a saint, ■"■

who after. whanne he had songe and done of his vestementys, there wost 28

wards

vanished. no body where he become. And thanne the ladi wist that it was
She humbly Goddcs sondo, of the whiche she thanked hym humbelv. And

thanked God. ' .

here is a good ensaumple how God purueiethe for hym that
louithe hym, and his seruice. And y trowe there be now mani 32

chap.xxxtv.] of a lady who thought too much on the world. 47
women that passithe a dayes withe feuer masses thanne .iij. There are

■^ ^ ^ many women

and that it suffisithe hem to here one, for her deuocion is so "owwhoiiear

less than three

litelt *in the seruice of God : for who that louithe hym and >»'isses.

*[l-'ol. 16,

4 dredithe hym, he wilt ofte see God and here his holy seruice. coi. 2.]
And he that dothe contrarie, wol passe lightly, as diiierse do now days'^iiavJ'^"
a dayes, that haue more delite to plese the worlde and the flesshe ro'^pfeasVthe

world than

thanne God. God.

CHAPTER XXXIV.
8 I wol tell you an ensaumple of a yong lady that An example

of a young

had her herte moche on the worlde. lady whose

heart was on
the world.

AND there was a squier that loued her, and she hym. And for she was in
I'll '*^^^ ^^'''■'' ^
because that she might haue beter leiser to speke with hym, squire,

12 she made her husbonde to understond? that she had uowed in

diuerse pilgrimages; and her husbonde, as he that thought

none euell, and wolde not displese her, sofered and helde hym

content that she shulde go whedir her lust. And it happed that and went on

a pilgrimage

i6 she and the squier yede a pilgrimage to a place that was of oure with the
lady. And thai thought they were wel atte ease, that they
miffht haue her foly speche and communicacion tonredre, in and delighted
whiche they delited hem more thanne to saie praieres or seruice g^ti'sr rather

•' *■ than in

20 to God, or to haue ani deuocion in her pilfyrimaffe. And it Players.

■ r o & ^ And at the

happed thei were atte the masse, and thorugh the temptacion of '^ass
the deuetl they delited hem atte the masse in lokyng, and in
makinge signes, eueriche to other, of loue and iapes, more
24 thanne they delited hem in Goddes seruice, or to saie deuoutely
her matenes or praieres. And God, that wolde she we his miracle
that thei dede euell, sent the ladi suche a sodein sikenesse that she was taken

with sickness

she swalt there she stode, and that no man west whedir she
28 shulde leue or deye. And she *was taken anone in armes, and * Fci. led.

col. 1.]

born into the towne as a dede woman ; and in thre dayes after and carried
she neuer ete mete nor drinke. And so her frendes and her
husbonde were sent for, the whiche, whanne they come, made
32 moche sorugh that this auenture was fait on her ; for thei wost

48 now SHE WAS WARNKD IN' A VISION. (Chap. XXXIV.

and in a iiot wlicdir bIig sliultTliue or deye. But as she laye iu a traunce

trance her , ... ,

father and tluit .uj. daycs licr tliouglit slic sawc hcF fader and moder; and

mother cume

to her, her moder shewed her pappes and bre3tis, saieng, '• Faire doughter,

loue and worship youre husbonde that God and the chirche 4
haue geuen you, and aboue al erthely men, and loue hym lyke
as ye haue loued these brestis, the whiche hathe norisshed you."

and told her And her thought that her fiider asked her, " Whi loue ye or haue

to love none . . i i i o >> a t i

but her more plesinge to am man than to youre husbonde { And he 8

husband. • ta • • >

saide, " Doughter, loke what sight is besydez you. ' And he

saide, " But ye amende you, ye are like to faft in the fyre."

And she saw Thanne she loked besides her, and she sawe a depe well futt

tire, of the fire of belt, and she was atlmost fall therin. Of the la

whiche auicion and sight she was foule afraied. And thanne her

fader and her moder shewed her an hundred preestis that she

but for her had clothed in white for the loue of the soules of her fader and

clothing moder. And her fader and her moder thanked her therfor. 16

priests she

was kept And after she thought that she saw the yma^je of oure ladi

from it; ^ ^ ° .

holdiuge in her honde a cote and a smocke, And saide to her,

*' This cote and smocke shal kepe the from fallynge into that

weft of fire, notwithstondinge thou hast defouled myn hous." 20

* [Foi. 16^. And in that afray *she awoke of her traunce and auicion, and
col. 2.]
and when she toke up a gret sighe ; and thanne her husbonde and f rend es

clWOlCG

were glad that she was not dede. And the lady was abaisshed
of her sweuene and auicion, and asked a preest what best was for 24
she sent for a her to do ; and he dede seche her a man of holy lyff that wered

priest,

the hayre, that was a gret clerk, and a man of holy religion ;
and she was shreue to hym, and tolde him alt her auicyon, and
her fece that she hadde of the well ; and tolde hym alt her 28
who told her synne and youthe. And the holy man declared her auicion, and

what her

vision meant : saide, " Yc are as moche beholde to God and to hys blessed

moder, that wilt not that youre soule be lost, nor dampned, but

a shewed you before the perelt for youre saluacion. Furst, God 32

hathe sheued you youre fader and youre moder, And that youre

that she moder saide, ' doughter, loue and worship youre husbonde as ye

her husband, haue loued these brestis that haue norisshed you ; ' that is to

menyng that ye shulde loue and doute youre husbond", as ye 36

Chap. XXXIV.]

THE YOINC LADY S VTSIOX.

loued youre moderes brest wlianne ye were norisslied therof. ^

For the child? louithe of att thinge the pappe, for the suetnesse of
the melke of the whiche he talqthe his norisshinge and wexinge;
4 and so auffht eueri good woman do after Goddes lawe, to loue and Uve after

^ ° God's law:

her husbond" aboue aft other loues, And to forsake worldely
loues that be unlefiitt. For oure Lorde saithe with his mouthe
that woman shulde leue fader, moder, brother, and suster, for
8 her husbonde. For they are not diuerse, but two flesshes that
God hathe ioyned in one, and tliat no man shulde putte betwene
hem no * thinge that might seuere the loue that God and the * [Foi. 17,
chirche hathe ioyned in hem. Yet youre moder saide you that ye and that tiie

11 •!• ^ • pii 1 r l^ '^^ sweetness of

12 toke youre norisshinge and waxing 01 the suetnesse 01 the milke, marriage
the whicti signifiethe the swetnesse that shulde be in trew the sweetness
mariage, and grace with loue of God. And after that, youre miik :
fader saide, win take ye ani man more loue and plesaunce

16 thanne youre husbond"? and see ye that brenninge wett of the that the

/» riw-i ' 1 ' 1 • 1 ^ • -I Ti pw-rt burning well

tire 01 hen that is be-side you, in the whiche ye ar lik to lan t of fire signi-
fied that if
that signifiethe that and ye loue ani other than youre husbonde, she loved any

other man,

or ani other dele witti you, sauf he only, ye shaft fatt into the she should

•^ ' "^ ' -^ fall into hell

20 wett, and be broiled and brent, and sinke in the pitte of heft, asapunish.

^ A ' raent for the

euer to be there amonge the deueles, for the delite of that euel and wan"'^'

plesaunce that ye haue hadde ayenst Goddes lawe. And therfor, ilershi'r'^^

sen ye haue sene the fire of hett venieaunce, and the punicion

24 that ye most suffie for that fals delite yef ye do it, leue it.

And after youre moder shewed you the white preestes. And saide That the

that ye had clothed hem, and they thanked you; that signifiethe priests signi-
fied that her
that ye had made mani preestes reuest hem, and synge masses support of

priests and of

28 for thaire soules: wherof thei dede thanke you: and sertaine '"^ssesforthe

' "^ ' souls of the

lyke as ye praie for her soules and other that bene dede, so praie fiead had

'J ^j y 'X gamed her

thay for you ; and bethe sori whanne thei seithe ani that dothe sh^p^oflheu"'

for hem stondynge in way of dampnacion, as ye may see, thei ^^'"*^ *

32 were sori of the temptacion that ye hadde, and that ye stode in

waye like to be loste, and therfor thei come to socour you, for

the good dedes and masses, praiers and almesse, that ye hadde

° ^ . . * f^^oi. 17,

don * for hem. After ye sawe the ymage of oure ladi that in her coi. 2.]

that the

36 honde helde a cote and a smocke, and saide to you that this ima-e of our

50 i;\Fl,\\ATrO\ OK Till-: vision'. (Chai-. XXXIV.

j.iuiysi4iiiiit<i .shall srtiie you from fullynge in the weft, not-witli.>^toiidinge ye

tllllt lltT

iimrity in Imuo foiiled myii lious, that is to save that ye had ben in htr

••L.tliini,' lite ./ ' _ ^ J

poorimd chirche more to haue ])lesainice in sinfiiH dedes thaune fur the
foi-|jivehe«8 : jjlesaiuicc of licr thenkinge, and liauinge luxurious lokes, coun- 4
tenaunces, and signes in her chirche atte the masse. And there
the uoys of oure ladi saide ye hadde fouled the chirche. Aft
tiiatnii wiio tliei that gone on pilgrimage to a place for foule plcsaunce more
holy i.huvs thanne deuocion of the place that thei tjo to, and couerithe thai re 8

acora Ood ; ^ .

goinge with seruice of God, fowlithe and scornithe Cod and oure
lady, and the place that thei goo to, as dede the squier whanne
he come to that place, and that ye hadde more plesaunce in hym
thanne ye hadd' of the plesaunce of God, or on the pilgrimage 12
that God sent that yc yede to. And of that misdede God wolde shew that ye

her sickness

to shew her had failed in, and made you therfor suffre that peyne and eueft
but her Lady that yc haue hadde. And that oure ladi wokP haue you saued

saved her for "^ •'

her charity: fQj. j^ ^^i^^ ^^^^ ^ smockc that yc gauc to too porc women in the 16
wor&hipe of God and her, the whiche as as the uoys saide hathe
saued you, that is to saye, the almesse dede that ye dede hathe
kepte you from fallynge in the fyre of heft ; that is to mene that
youre auicyon and this fortune tliat ye haue bene inne, and that 20
ye haue bene kept bi oure lady forto not faft in synne with the

and that she squier as YC had thought. Thinke this is an exaumple and

should amend

her life a warninge forto amende you that ye were not dampned, nor lost.

* [Fol. 176.

col. 1.] And therfor thanke * God hertely, and amende you bi tyme of 24

God for the yourc errour and foly. Aud ye aught hennys forward" kepe

you weft from falling in suclie perift to lese youre soule, and

into horrible synne, as to be in wift to breke youre mariage, the

whiche God hathe made hym selff to holde hole and to be kepte. 28

Lastly, he And also ye are suoren to God and to youre husbonde atte the

reminds her

that she was cliirchc dorc aforc witnesse that ye shaft neuer breke it while

.sworn to (!od "

and to her yg jg^g to-gedrc. And yef ye do, ye are shamed and falsly for-
sworn, and not worthi neuer to come in compani of goode 32
women." And thus the good holy man shewed her and declared
her auicion that she mette of, and taught her to do weft. And

recovered, SO tlic ladi was holc, Rud thiiTzkcd God that she was saued from

and thanked

God synne, and from her foule delite and plesaunce; and after that 36

Chap. XXXV.] MIRACLE TX THE CHURCH OF BEAULIEU. 51

she loste att hei* folv, and was a cjood woman. And it hai)ped that siie was

•" *^ ^ ^ ^ saved, and

that, half a yeere after that, the squier come from a uiaffe tliat i>ecame a

•^ ' -^ "^ good woman.

he hadde ben atte, fresshe and iolyly heseen, and he be-ffanne in iiaif a year

tlie squire

4 to borde and plav with the lady with suche laneacfe as he was came back

^ '' "^ CO from a voyage,

wont to use to her ; and sayd?, " Lady, what lyff is this? haue y f^'/,[t^X*^
loste the ioy and the plesaunce that y hadde in you, that we I^llIfJ^ke'Jnl'e;
shulde haue to-geders so mcche sportis and mirthis ] " And she chsu.ged.^ '^'^
8 ansuered hym "Alt that tyme ys passed, for y will neuer haue sho replied,

she would, in

suche plesaunce; nor y wilt neuer loue no man saue my^i 'I'ture love no

ir > J J n,.j„ i,ut her

husbonde." And thanne she tolde the squier att that had be- in'shand,

and told him

happed her, notwithstondinoje he had hoped to haue turned her. s^'i that had

^ ^ ^ ^ •■■ happened to

12 But she was so afermed in efoodnesse, that it wolde not be, and '"^'■;

* [Fol. 176.

thanne he lefte her. And after he told" *to diuerse men the coi. 2.]

and all men

goodnesse and the stedfastnesse of her; and after he and an prai.sed her.
other preised her and worshiped her the more. And therfor Andthisisan

example that

16 here is an exaumple that no body shulde go in holy pilgrimages "o one should
for to fulfelt no foly, plesaunce, nor the worlde, nor flesshely j''^/''^"!''^'^"^

'i ^ y- ' ' '' lioly places,

delite. But thei shulde ffo enterly with herte to serue God; and and that it is

<=> -I ' good to pray

also that it is ffood to praie for fader and moder, and for other f«'* t''e dead,

o *- ' and to give

20 frendes that ben dede, for thei impetrithe grace for hem that ''^''"^•
be alyue. And also it is good to yeue almesse, as ye haue herde
before.

CHAPTEB XXXY.

And yet y will tell you an other ensaumple, what what hap.

pened in a

24 happed in a chirche that was called Oure Lady of ^I'm^ii.
Beaulyon.

It happed in a chirche on an euen of oure lady, one one Pers
that was called Pers Lenard", whiche was sergeaunt of sergeant,

_ _ •iiinii •! dealt with

28 Candee, on the night delt nesshely with a woman on a woman in

church ;

an auuter ; and God of his c^ret might wolde shewe that they and they wne

by a miracle

dede euelle, tyed hem fast tooedre that night and the morw alt .pined to-

'=•'=' gether all day,

day, in alt the sicrht of the pepilt that come thedir unto the ^'-'^ f" ^'''^

'^ ' '^ •'■-'■ people came

32 towne ; and alt tlie contre there about come downe j^j-^^^ to see them.
sawe hem. And thei might neuer parte, but were fast like
a dogge and a biche tngedre, that night and the morw alt

4—2

52 ADVKN'TIRE 01' A MON'K I\ A CHIHCH. IThap. XXXVr.

On the day, vnto the tymo that the pepiH yode a procesnion about

morrow h11

the people for them to pray to God that tliat orible sicht mii'ht l>e ended

made H pro- x ./ o o

cesaioM and aj^fj Iii(Ule. Aiid atte tlie hist, whanne it waB nicht, thei de-

prajed for *^ '

ihem, when parted. And after the chirche was halowed or euer tliere 4

they were ^

separated. ^yerc saidc thero-in ani masse. And they that dede the

And wlien tlie *^

ciiiireh was ({q^q Were iovnod to penaiuice, to so naked afore tlie pro-

iiKain lull- I X ' o 1

lowed

[Kol. 18,

cession thro *8ondayes, heting hem self and recordy7ig her

eoi.i.] synne tofoie the pepitt. And therfor here is an ensauniple 8

they were ./ 1. 1 t.

made to do ^]^^^ ^^ body shuldo do no suche filthe in the chirche, but l<ej)e

penance "^ ' '■

thercui. ^^ clene and worshipe God there inne.

CHAPTER XXXVI.
Another and Yet wott v teH vou an Other ensaumple upon this

sinnlar ex- «/ ./ x ir

ample. matero, that befell in the parties of Peytow not thre 12

yeere sethe.
In an abbey fTTlHere was an abbey in Peytow called Chimefere, the

in I'oitou a ' ■ » j J j

monk named ■ wluche abbey was fortefyed for werres : and the

I'ygreet was ■ j t/ '

foundwitiia prioure of that abbey had a monke there, that was 16

woman m tlie ^ *' '

same posture jjjjg ^euew, that hight Pigreet, the whiche atte a tyme
might not be founde ; and he was lost. And atte the laste
thei fonde hym in a corner of the chirche byhinde a wche
on a woman, and they might not parte that one from that 20

and all people other. And than att folke come thedir to see hem: of the

came to see

them, whiche sight the sely monke was sore ashamed of and fult

of sorw, and so was his uncle and att other monkes. And
and the monk after, whanne it was the witt of God, thei parted, and the 24

tied away for

shanie. monkc Pygreet went and fledde a-wey oute of the abbey for

This is an shamc. And therfor here is an ensaumple that no body shulde

example that

no one should do that orible synne of the delyte of the flesshe in the chirche,

seek worldly

pleasures in nor to spcke nor to make countenaunce nor lokes of foly loue 28

a church :

there inne, but yef it were of loue of mariage. For as one of
for God went the gospctt saithe that God entred into the chirche, the whiche

totheTeniple,

turned out itii ^as attc that tyme called the temple, and he fonde tliat they

who sold -^ ^ ^ •'

things there, gokle there inne marchaundises : and he made uoyde oute att ^2

*[Fol.]8, _ _ / , "^ ^

c^'i- 2.] they that solde ani thiiige therin, And saide that *the hous of

Chap. XXXVII.] DANGER OF rOLLOWING BAD EXAMPLES.

God shulde be kepte clene, and shulde serue to praie aud to and said it

. . should be a

make Orisones inne: And that it was none hous to make mar- iiouseof

prayer, and

chaundise and to do synne in. And therfor, to conferir.e this ""' "! ,.

'' ' merchandise;

4 that is afore, oure Lorde hatha sheued his myracles in these two a"<^ <'od uy

these two

chirches, how it displcsed hym that his holy place was fouled, the gy.gJe^^i.ij.
whiche was ordeined of clennesse to serue hym, that is the chirche. i^j^'^ehurciT '^'

being
"fouled."

CHAPTER XXXYII.

[Of Bad Examples.]

8 And therfor, doughtres, thei that seethe the good and takithe
the euett, by reson they shut! repent hem, y saie for there is
niani euelt eusaumples in the worlcle, and there be mani that
takithe hem sonner thanne the good ensaumples. And thei that

12 done so, done ayenst nature, and gone oute of the right way, and
ayenst the comaundement of God, that alt good and sauacion
techithe, and yeuithe us wretin the whiche we shulde holde, the
whiche we kepe febely. For we see that the most of the worlde

1 6 gouernithe hem after the delite of the flesshe and the veyne
glorie of the worlde, as sum that be prowde of her science,
richesse, and her birthe ; and there be other that be enuious to
see other in gretter degre thanne they ; and other that be futt

20 of yre and rancour ; and other futt of bote and brennyng
lechery, enflamed unmesurably like wolues, or other wyld"
beestis ; And other that be lykerous of moche mete and drinke,
takyng unresonably therof ; And other that euer are in couetise

24 of that is not heres ; And other that ben bawdes and theues,
usureres, bariters, ouerthwarteres and lyers, traytours and fals of
her worde, *and bakbyters ; and other that be slowe that wytt
do no good to hem selff ne to none other. And these manere of

28 men sheuithe that they be the children of a fals maisteris doctrine,
the whiche is the deuett of belt, that counsailethe, temptithe,
and gouernithe hem, and the deuett holdithe hem bounde in his
seruice tilt thei be vnbounde by confession ; and men of these

32 maners there be now a dayes to mani, of the whiche it is the
more pitee.

Many follow
ovil examples
rather tlian
good,

going out of
the right
way, aiid
against the
command-
ments of Ciod.
Most people
seek the
pleasures and
vain glories
of the world,
being proud,

envious,

angry, or
lecherous,
like beasts.

Others are
gluttonous,
covetous,

usurers,
liars, and
backbiters.

* [Fol. I8b.

col.l.]
Some are no
good either to
themselves or
to others.
All these are
the children
of a false
master, the
devil,

who holdetli
them hound,
until they are
unbound by
confession.

iH)(>\) IXAMl'I.KS TO UK FOLLOWED. (Chai-. XX.\ Mil.

Hilt others
have love of
God,

anil tight
aKiiiii^t
teiiiptat'oii ;

and arc
teiii{H>rate

and content.

Many men
for anger beat
tliemselves
«ith their
own stat!".

God blesseth
tlie meek and
liimible,

and is the
Father of
tliose wlio
Keep His com-
iiiandments.

* [Fol. 186.
col. 2.]

He will keep
and save all
who love and
dread Him,
The Bible
gives us ex-
amples of
good wonjen

and of evil
women.

The first
example is
Eve, through

C MATTE 11 XXXVIII.
[Of Good Examples.)
And there be other be wyse, that haue her herte and liope
ol' God. And for the loue and fere that thci haue in hyni, they
l\epe hem clene and fytithe ayenst temptaciones, and the 4
biaydes of the fyre of lecherye, and kepith hem suerly withoute
delycious metes, for the flesslie is tempted by delicious metes
and drinkes, the whiche bene letteres and kindelers of the brondes
of lecherye ; and other that haue grace to thenke that they haue 8
suffisaunce, and that is ayenst couetise. And there be other
that haue free hert, true and iuste, and be not riotous ; for who
that sekithe ryot gladl}^, lie metithe therewith, for many men
for anger betithe hym selff with his owne staffe, and sekithe hym 12
sorw from day to day. And God blessithe in the gospett the
meke and the humble hert. And alt these men that kepithe •
hem selff clene, and in the loue and drede of God, and of his
neigTiboures, slieuithe welt who is her fader, and that is God 16
the fader, of the whiche they kepe his comaundementis as holy
chirche techithe hem. And they haue free hert to witholde
good ensaumples of lyff, and ioye perdurable, and of saluacion.
And therfor, faire cloughters, haue night and day youre hertes to 20
hym *and loue hym, and drede hym, and lie wilt kepe you and
saue you from perilt and temptaciones. And therfor, my faire
dougliters, y wilt shewe you and declare you by this boke the
good ladyes that God preisithe in the Bybilt, and for thaire holy 24
lyff shal euer be praised, and therfor takithe ensauraple to lyue
clenly and honestly as thei dede. And also y wilt declare you
sum euett women that were diuerse and cruett, the whicTi made
and hadd" euelt ende, to that entent that ye may take hede by 28
hem to kepe you from the euelt, that ye fait not inne;

CHAPTEK XXXIX— XLVI.
[The Example of Eve.]

THe furst ensaumple of eueti ^ and synne, wherethorugh
the dethe ys entered in to this worlde, hit come 32
of Eue, oure furst moder, that lytett kept the
1 MS. " vvetl."

chap.xxxlx. ^,j^^ consequences of eve's fault. 55

comauiiclemeiit of God, nor tokc none liede of the wor- wiiom death

entered the

sliipp^ that God hathe sette her inne. For God had world,
made her lady of att thinges under lieuene bering lyff whom fiod

made hidy of

4 on erthe, And that aH thingges shulde obeye atte her wytt. aii tilings."
And yef she hadde not fatt in the synne to breke the comaunde- ifshehadnot

i)r()ken Cod's

ment of God, there hadde be no fisshe in water, beest on erth, ommand-

ments, all

bridde in the eyre, but they shulde haue bene alt in thai re Hshes, beasts,

•^ ' "^ and birds

8 obeysaunce to liaue demened hem atte her lust withoute ani would have

•^ been obedient

obstacle. And she shulde haue brought forthe her children **^ ^^^^'
with-oute payne or peritt. And she shulde neuer haue thrust, ;i"*i she would

r J i ' ],;ive had

nor hunger, colde, hete, nor trauayle, siknesse, heuynesse in 'le|.*'i''^[,,'r^'"'
12 herte, nor worldly dethe, nor no water shulde drenche her, nor ''""^';';J"^'^'

' •/ ' ' nes'^j nor

fyre brenne her, nor no thinge hurt her. And therfor takithe ^^^"*'
hede how one synne puttithe her oute of so liigTi a worships. And one sin

deprived her

ease, and blisse of loue into this ser*uage and bondage as we of ti>is "biiss

of love."

i6 be in, for she lost att worships, richesse, ese, and blysse, and the * [i-^oi. i9,

t;oi. 1.]
obeisaunce of att thinges, for the sinne of the disobeysaunce.

Now doughtres take hede wherinne the furste woman synned, Therefore

take heed

to that entent that ye may be ware therof by good doctrines wherein she

sinned.

20 and ensaumples. And one of the furst causes of synne that Eue one of the

• Til *'''''** causes of

dede, was for she toke aquemtaunce lightly of the serpent, and hertaiiwas

listening to

herkeninge to her langage, that made her fatt in s]oeche with the serpent.
her, the whiche she dede of mys. For atte the furst slie shulde
24 not haue take no aqueintaunce nor to haue herkened to her
speche, and thanne she hadd? scomfit the serpent atte the
furst. And therfor her lewde aqueintaunce and herkenynge
dede harme. And therfor, faire doughtres, it is not good to Therefore it

is not good to

28 herkyn and take sodeyne aqueintaunce that hathe the herte of "'^lie ac-
quaintance

faire speche, for sum tyme her speche is deseyuable and venemous, suddenly
by the whiche ye might cache grete blame and shame. And so "fair speech."
the serpent auised her tyme, whanne Eue was from her husbonde The serpenf,

A "^ ' watched when

32 alone, to that entent that she might haue beter leyser to sliewe J,;,^,Jii^ireV^^ '^^
and to saye to her false deseiuable langage. And therfor, u.er^eby'shew.
doughtres, it is not good to a woman to be founde alone with a !.ood forT
man, but yef it be with her husbonde. But y saie not but that aionewith

,,,, ,. , li- !• 1 • any man but

36 women shulde do worshippe to hem that is wortni to haue it. hei- husband.

WOMKN SliOl LU CONSULT THEIR HUSBANDS, l^"^' • ^'^^'^'^.

• [Fot. 19,

col. ■.'.]
Tlie second
folly of Kve
was to talk
with the
serpent,

for tlie answer

belonj<ed to
lnT Imshand
and not to
htr ;

therefore
women
should not
answer with-
out asking
their
huiibands.

For example,
a lady, when
a prince made
love to her,
told him she
vould ask
her husband
what answer
she should
give him ;

and thus it
got her much
worship of all
in the land.

The third
folly of I've
was to think
wrong of
God's com-
mand ;

* [Fol. I9b.

col. ].]
for she told
the devil
" perad-
venture they
should die ; "
but God did
not say
" perad-
ventui'e."

And also Ji woman puttitlie her worships in balance to ansuere
and speke to nioclie ; for one worde drauithe an other in, and
thanne there nn»y scajje sum worde tliat after may turne to
harme, And she may be scorned and mocked therfor. For 4
the * secounde foly that Eue dede was, for she ansuered to
lighttly with-oute bethenkinge her, whanne the deuett in the
liknesse of a serpent asked why she and lier husbonde ete not
of the fruit of the tree of lyfF as they ete of the other fruites, 8
and she, with-oute counsaile of lier husbonde, helde with hym
talkinge, whiclie turned her to myscheef that she ansuered, for
the ansuere longed to her husbonde, and not to her, to deuise
what fruit they shuld" ete. And therfor she might haue saide, 12
" Aske myn husbonde that questyon and not me," and thus she
might haue discharged her of her ansuere. And the[r]for, faire
doughtres, takithe ensaumple yef any requere you of foly of ani
tliinge that touchithe youre worshipp^, ye may saye ye witt wete 16
of youre husbonde, what he wilt saye that ye ansuere hym.
And y wolde that ye knew the ensaumple of a lady that the
prince of Aquile required of foly loue, the which, whanne he
hadde alt praied, ansuered that she wolde wete her husbondes 20
witt, and geue hym an ansuere. And he saw that, and lete her
be, and neu^r spake more to her of that mat ere. And the
prince tolde to att the peple that she was one of the perfit good
women of att hys londe ; and thus the lady gate her moche 24
worships that she ansuered so the prince. And so aught
eueri good woman to lete her husbonde ansuere and not they.
The thridde foly that Eue dede was whan she be-thought her
not aright of the defence that God had made to her husbonde 28
and her. For God had saide hem, yef that they ete of the fruit,
that they shuld" *deye ; and therfor, whanne she ansuered and
tolde not the sei pent the plaine trouthe, but saide *'yef we ete of
this fruit perauenture we shutt deye," and thus she putte 32
condicion in her ansuere, but oure Lorde putte ther inne no
condicion, nor no perauenture. But that worde that she saide,
perauenture, made the deuelt to take fote to tempte her, and
enharded hym to speke to her, as they that herken men whanne 36

Ch.a.'. XXXIX. p^^j^Qjjj^g Qp i^isTEXING AND LOOKING. 57

they praie hem of foly; for her herkeninge they yeue lie??i corage

to speke to hem further, as Eue herkened the feride tliat saide, And the dovii

said "ye shall

" ye may wel ete therof, and ye shatt not deye, but ye shall be not die,
4 as faire as God/ and ye shall knowe bothe good and euell ; but be good,

. and wise,

and the cause is that he hathe defended you the etynge of tlie
fruit is for ye shulde not be as faire, clere, shyni^ig, bright, ;"id as mighty
puissaunt, and as mighti as he." And thus Eue wende he had
8 saide sothe, and leued hym for couetise and faire speche. And
so done these folisslie women, that beleuithe these fals flateres Thus do

foolish women

and iangelers that counsailithe hem to foly with her faire speclie, J^''^ believe
and be-hest her the whiche they holde not, notwitlistondinge sum batterers,
1 2 tj'me they makithe hem with thaire faire speche consent to foly and after

find them-

delyte, and after they finde hem self deseyued, for whanne they selves de-
ceived, and

haue had her will, they leue hem shamed and defamed sham- ^^ft to shame.
fully. The fourthe foly of Eue was her foly sight, and lokyng The fourtii

folly of I'Jve

1 6 that she kyst on the tree and fruit of lyfF, the whiche God had was to look

longingly on

defended her, the whiche fruit her thought faire and delycious ; the tree,
and thoiugh her light loke she desired and was tempted to
ete therof. And thus for her lewde * and light lokiiige she *[^oi-i93.
2o felt into foule plesaunce and synne. And therfor it is eret »"(! ^y look-

^ "^ ° iiig fell into

perile to loke lyghtly ; for the wise man saithe that the most si".
enemy that a man hathe is the sight of the yee, the whiche haue
deceyued mani with fals leude lokiuge ; for there is maui that
24 lokith soberly, stedfastly, and mildely in her fals lokes, that
women wenen that thei be fuH of thought for distresse of loue,
and it is done but to make a fals semblaunt to deseyue hew.
And therfor, doughters, here is an ensaumple to be ware of This is an

example to

28 lokes, for many a tyrae folke be deceiued there-by. For whanne beware of

' J -J J looks, with

the deuelt of hell findithe folke to-o;ederes with suche folisshe winch the

^ devil tempt-

fals lokes, he temptithe and enflamithe, and makithe hem to^*^'
fall in the foule orible synne of lechery, thorugh whiche they for the sin

of lechery

32 lese bothe body and soule. And so ye may see that this synne cometh of

•^ ^ . lewd looking;

comithe of the lewde lokinge, of the whiche y wolde ye knew of winch

king David is

the ensaumple of king Dauid, that for a leude look that he kiste an example ;
on Barsaba, Vriis wyff, he fell into auowtry and fornicacion with fornication
36 her ; and after he fell into man slaughter, for he made slee her slaughter,

1 MS. " uood."

58 Tin: dan(ji:r of to i cuing and handling. '^""'"Ixln^!

liusboiule Yri ; for the wliiclie Gotl toke gret wratthe and uen-

geaunce on livm and his pepitt, and all the cause of the

and nil from Ix'gynninge was of a leude loke, as hit fett by Eue, that

a lewd look. r>j b H , J »

thorugTi her loke slie fett into the foule and oiible synne to 4
Through bieke Goddes comaundement, thoru^jTi the whiche att the

Kve's looking °

all the world ^yorlde and her of-sprincr was dede, and lost, and dampned.

was lost. X o > ' X

Therefore And therfor, doughtres, be ware of youre lokes, whereon ye

beware on "^

what ye look, gette Iiem stedfastly. Tlie fifthe foly of Eue was whanne she 8

The fifth foilv "^ "^

*[Foi. 20. touched the fruyte *that God had defended, for the whiche she
col. 1.]
of Eve was had be beter that she hadde hadde none hondes. It is a gret

fruit; '^ ' perilt after ye loke, for whanne that two vices be sette one

euett delite, gladly they bringe her maister into temptacion. 12

therefore no- And therfor the wise man saithe that no thinge shulde be

thing should .

be touched touched that may hurte the soule ; for leude touchinge and

that may •' ' °

hurt the soul, handelyng steritti and chafithe the flesshe and the body, and

blindithe reson that shulde gouerne att, and makithe thanne 16
follie fall into orible synne of luxurie. And the wise man

A man should saithe that a man shulde loke on his hondes and bethenke

bethink him i i • ,

thrice before hym thries or he touched ani thinge, to that entent that he

he touclies

anything, shulde know that he wolde not touche no thinge that shulde 20
stere hym to synne ; for the touchinge with honde and mouthe,
as kessinge, sterithe the blode and trobelithe the drede of God

for much sin and the worshippe of this worlde. And therfor moche synne and

and folly

comes from foly is fall by touchinge and handelinge, as it felt by Eue, 24

touching and

handling. oure furst modcr, that touched the fruit of lyff. The sixte

The sixth

folly of Eve foly that Eue dede was she etc the fruit the whiche God had

was eating the

fruit which defended her: And for that dede we w^ere deliuered att to the

God had for- '

bidden her. payne of dethe of hett, and straunged from gret ioye and blisse. 28
For the whiche folyus dede, there is fatt so moche sorw, payne,
and woo, as ye may see by holy writte; And how God hathe
and witt ponisshe them that etithe suche delycious metes and
drinkes, with the whiche they norisshe the flesshe and the 32
caryoune of the body, thorugh the whiche also is gendered ese,
reste, and hete, and steringe of the foule delite of lechery and
*[Foi. 20, other synnes. Whi takithe thei not hede *of Goddes powers

col. 2.] ^ -^ ^

pepitt that deyetti for hunger, thruste, and colde, of the 3^

Chap.XXX^IX. ^^^^ PUNISHMENT OF EVE. 59

whiche God wiH axse hem acompte at tlie dieclfutt day. And
wetithe welt that syiine is not att in moclie etinge, but in
tlie delite of sauour of the mete. And as the wyse paieth, the r)eath iieth

under the

4 dethe lyeth under tlie delites, as the fvsslie that takithe his <^<-'i'g''t of

*' " eating, as to

bayte upon an hoke. And he wenithe no thinge in it but mete, [!j,^^^j^'',,*iy"^'
and it is an hoke whiche takithe hym, and sleithe hym, and Jj^^i^"" *
is his dethe. And as the venym and poysuni ys yeuen under
8 coloure of mete and drinke, the whiche sleithe the man ; and
thorugh the sauour that is take of delite of the delicious metes
the soule is perisshed and slayne by the body, as the delite :ind the soul

is slain by the

of the apilt slow Eue oure furst moder, and turned to gret ^'^^b-
12 synne ; as furste to herken, and to take sodenly a(j[ueintaunce,
and to ansuere, And after the lokinge and beholdinge, and
thanne touchinge, and cussinge and saueringe made of fals delite
that Eue dede to ete the apitt. The seuenthe foly of Eue was The seventh

■^ _ '' folly of Eve

i6 for be-cause that she beleued not that God saide to her that she ^as nothe-

heving what

shulde deye yef that she ete of the fiuit of lyff, but he sayde not j*^''J,^ ^^'^ *^
that she shulde deye anone bodely dethe, but saide that she
shulde deye. And so dede she furst that was that she disobeyed

20 to God and felt in his yre and indygnacion. And after she
deyed bodely dethe, that was whan she had be longe in trauaile,
And had suffered mani sorwes and paynes, and was of euett
atte ease in this worlde, as God had promised her. And atte

24 the laste, after her dethe, she descended into belt, and there After her

death slie dc-

she and her husbond" " and alt tliaire liff was in prison vnto scended into
the tyme that God deied on the crosse, that was .V. thousande coi. 1.]
yere and more be-twene. And thanne God deliuered hem, and in pVfson Ivfth

28 thei that hadde serued hym in the olde lawe, and toke oute the until the ti'me
good and lefte the euett, and took the corne and lefte the straw death,
to be brent. Alas ! whi thenke not they that slepithe euer in wJi^e"cie-^^
synne to this day to amende hem, not hope lyke a fole euer aii whJ had

32 to lyue, and to abide to his last ende to amende hym ? And may the old time,
not they see the dethe that neighed hem from day to day, as sinf'ui people
dothe the theef that comitTi in atte the dore on the backe half, amend their

ii'i ii'ii 1 11* 1 ^'^ "-'^ '"^'^ once,

and robithe, and sleithe, and gothe his way, and no man wote and not hope

to live for

36 whanne he comithe ayen ; and after, the theef, whanne he hathe ever ■;

60 women's COINSEL DANGKllOCS. ''"'"* ^Yln^i!

A rohimr robbed, lie gotlie and comithe tift he be spied, and thaime is

coiiifth iiriil

goeth until lie take aiid stroyed. And so farithe it by the synners that euer

be "spied" '' J J

audtukeii; lyuen in synne from day to day titt the dethe takitti hem,
and thanne they knowe her synnes, as tlie theef dothe that can 4
not kepe hym from goyng and comyng, and delite hem in

80 the sinner thifthc tift thei be taken and putte to dethe. And so it farithe

f^oeth and *■

piteasu'rVaiid ^^ ^^^^ synner that gothe ofte to and from in his foule plesaunce,
deatii?'' '"* ^"^^ delited that his synne is aperceyued, knowe, and wist so fer 8

forthe that tliei lese her vvorshipp<;, and be shamed and defamed,
A woman bothe of God and of aft the worlde. And therfor a woman

should live on

God's com- shulde Icue on Goddes comaundementis, and do no thinge that

luandnients. ^

he hathe defended, that is to saye that no man nor woman 12
*[Foi. 20.J. shulde do no dedly synne, nor to breke her ma*riage, nor to
do none avoutri, and eueri bodi aught to beleue that it is Goddes
biddinge. For who dothe it not with-oute araendement thei
be dampned in the brenninge fyre of helle amonge the deueles 16
The eighth witlioute mercv. The .viii. foly that Eue dede was whanne she

folly of Kve "^ J J

was giving the oraue her husbonde the apift to ete, and praied and counselled

apple to her ° i ' jr

husband; j^y^j ^q g^g therof as she dede. And he toke and ete therof,

for he wolde not disobeie her, and tlierfor thei were bothe 20
dampned. And there lyue to be amonge the deuelles of

therefore a heft in prison and pain. And therfor a woman aught to

woman ought

to beware ^g ware what she counsailithe her husbonde, And that she

what counsel

hutb^'nd" ''^"^ bethenke her yef it be good or eueft what ende her counsaile 24
shoutd'con- ^^^ tume. And also a man aught not so moche to enclyne to
his^vife's* ^^^s ^^^ff ^^^ ^^^^ ^® shulde take hede whedir it were perett
counse ea s ^^ ^^ |^^^, counsaile or not. For there be many women that
s?ain t?.rouS^ rechin neuer what fallithe of her counsayle so thaire witt be 28
Scounsei. fulfellcd. For y know a man that loued his wifif, and dede after
her counsaile, for the whiche made hym be slayne for his doing
after her, the whiche was the more harme; wherfor it had
be beter that he had hadde lasse drede and beleued her, as 32
Adam that beleued his wyff, the whiche was dethe and vndoyng
wonSnshouid to hym and her, and to us aft. And therefor aft good women
that their auglit to bethenke hem, for any foluyng of her wyft, what
not their ' counsaylc they gene to her husbondes, that it turne not 36

Chap.XXX^X. j^^j,,g ^^^^ FOLLY WAS EXCUSING HERSELF. 61

after hem and her husbondes to harme and shame. For husbands

wrong ;

and she be wyse, she *aught to mesiire her thought whedir it *[Fo1. 21,

coJ. 1.]

might turne to good or euett ; for slie must liaue parte with her for a woman
4 husbonde bothe of good and euett that fallithe, and therfor, iier husband

botli in good

for loue or hate that she might haue to ani body, she aught be and evii.
ware what she counsailitlie hym, as Eue dede that wolde do
euett, that she shulde not haue counsailed her husbonde to do
8 euett. And therfor, here is an eni^aumple: yef a body witt if people wiii

' i. ^ ./ •' „(,t ^^y pood

not don good hyni selff, as fastinge and other good dedes, thei [|]g'"Jf,'j,^f,i
shulde not counsaile nor enhorte an other to do euett and synne ; ot,*grg^fo 5^11.
for, yef thei do, they are parteners in the synne that they counsaile;

12 that is to saye, thei takithe and turnithe folke from her deuocion,
fastinge, almesse, pilgrymage, shewinge good ensaumple to do
wett, and to fulfett Goddes comaundementis and the werkes
of mercy; they that lettithe it be dampned. And therfor lete

16 no body counsaile none other thinge that may be ayenst his
sowle, for, as it is saide before, he shatt be par table in the
synne. The .ix. foly, and the last, that Eue dede was the The ninth

•^ "^^ ' ^ ^ folly of Eve,

grettest, for whanne God asked her whi she had broke his thc^ last and

'-' ' greatest, was

20 comaundement, and made her husbonde to synne, she beganne J^ ^x(f"se^
to excuse her, and saide that the serpent hadd' counsailed her [Jjq"^'^ ***
and made her to do it. And so she wende to haue lytelyd her
synne, to haue charged an other, of the whiche it semithe God

24 was worst apaied with her thanne before ; for be-cause God sayde

that the bataile shulde euer be betwene the *deuett and her, for *[Foi. 21,

col. 2]

that she beleuid for to haue pareitt to God, and that she passed
his comaundement, and that she beleued to do the deuelles

28 byddinge more thanne his that made her. And for she deseyued
her husbonde by her euett counsaile, and that she enforced
her to excuse her of her misdede and synne, there was bataile
be-twene God, man, woman, and the fende; for her excusacion

32 displesed gretly God, as dothe by hem now a dayes that con- which greatly

. . displeased

fessithe hem to the preest, the whiche is in Goddes stede, that Him.
in shryfte excusithe hem and polysshithe her synne. And they
tett it not in as foule wise as they do it, And ar shamed to saye
36 it, but thei be not shamed to do it ; And therfor thei be lyke

C)2 Tin; SINFl'TA'KS.S OF THK PRTDK OK DHESS. ^' "'^''-^'ux!

Riiiiit Pi.ui Eiie tliat woltle haue excused her. liut seiiit Paule saitlie, wlio

warns us to _

confess our wiH bc clciilv wasslic uiul clcnsid of his synne, he must telt

•ins at fijully

as we do his syniic in as foule wyse as he dotlie it, or ellys he is not
clensyd of his synne. For Seint Peter saithe that, as a theef 4
wol be ghidde there as he ys liidde, and not be wrayed of liis
tliefte, nor that there is none that acusithe hym, nor that tellitli
his dedes, so farithe it by the Bynnes, for they be gladde to reste
in hem bi tlie deuellys ordenaunce that wol kepe hem priuely 8
and hide hem withonte i)lein confession and' tellynge in what

TJiisistiic wii-e they haue be done. Now wil y leue to speke of Eue oure

story of Eve. furst moder, and how the fende tempered her and made her erre.

No wise wo- And v wift tett you that no wise woman aufjht to be hasty to la

man should j j o J

beimsty to {r^l^e upou the ucw uoualitees of array and queyntys, as y herde

wear new J- ./ j. »/ t/ > ^

drel?°^ *an holy man preche, and not longe sythe. And after y wilt tell
*[roi. 21^. you upon that matere of a knight that hadde .iij. wyfFes.

CHAPTER XLVII— XLIX.
And after y wytt turne agayne to the tale and i6
matere of euett women, and of the good that holy
writte praisith.

Account of I wol telle you of a sermon that an holy bisshojDe made, that
a learned bi- I was a noble and a gret clerk, in the wliiche sermon was gret 20

shop, against [

foppery. foysuu of ladyes and gentilwomen, that were meruelously

arraied in diuerse and queiiit manors, and hadde higli homes ;
the whiche the holy man beganne to reproue, and yeue diueise

Noah's flood cusaumples to make hem to be layde doun, as Noyis flode 24

was a jiunish- •ii ivir»i -i iit

ment called that stroied the workr for the pride and the disguysnige that

down by the ^

pride ot' was amouge women. And whanne the deuett sawe hem so

dress among

women, disguysing and counterfetinge hem, he made hem fait into the

which leads foule synne of lechery, that displesed so moche oure Lorde, that 28

to lechery.

he made it reyne fouiti dayes and fourti nightes withoute cesing,
so that the water was hygher thanne ani thing on erthe or moun-
tayne bi the highthe of ten cubites; and thanne alt the worlde was
drowned and perisshed, and there lefte but Noye and his wyff 32
and his iij sonnes and her wyfes ; and att fett thorugh that
foule synne of leclierye. And after, whanne the bisshope had

^"'^-XIJAJ PUNISHMENT OF TOO ORE AT LOVE FOTl FTNETIY. 63

sliewed these ensaumples witli otlier, he saide that the women women wear-
that were so horned were lyche to be horned snuiles and hertis were like

siiuils and

and vnicornes. And al.'-o he saide by men that wered to unicorns.
4 shorte gownes and shewed her brcchis, the whiche is lier shame.
And so the man with liis ch)thes, *and the woman with her *[Foi. 2i<5.

col. 2.]

homes, mockithe God. And he saide they were like the hertys,

that bare downe her liedes in the smatt wode ; For whanue when vainiy-

(Ircssed peo-

8 thei come to the cliirche, and holy water be caste on hem, thei pie goto

cliiircli, the

bowe downe the hede. " Y doute," saide the bishoppe, " that the ^^^vii siueth

^ ^ on their heads

deueft sitte not between her homes, and that he make hem -^"^ maketh

' them bow

bowe doun the hede for ferde of the holy water." . And forsothe J? the hoi'^^*'"
12 lie tolde hem mani meruailes, and hidde no thinge, nor of the "^**^''*
settinge of her tyre pynnes and aray, unto that he had made
mani of hem right heuy and sori. And they had so gret shame And many of

his audience

that they bowed her hedes to the erthe, and hidde hem selff went away

reproved and

1 6 reproued and mocked. And there was mani of hem that yede ashamed,
home and neuer atyred hem in suche array after. For he saide and put off

their vain

that suche array was like the attercoppe that makithe his nettes attire.
to take the flyes or thei be ware, so the deuett makithe hem
20 to be taken in synne with the lokinge and sight of her tyre,
the whiche makithe hym to desire and delite foule plesaunce
of the synne of lechery, as it is more pleinly contened in the
boke that is cleped the Lyff of Faderes. And he saithe that tliey Tiiose sin

most who first

24 synned gretly that furst takithe these arrayes ; and he saithe wear fine

clothes ;

that they that ar most hardy to do it ar most foles. And he
saide that att good women aught to be aferde to take ani suclie
array titt it were take in att the contrey, and that thei may
28 no lenger flee it for worldely shame, for thei that takithe suche
arrayes furst shal be with God most blamed and haue lest
plesaunce and woishippe in heuene. And *thus the bisshope *[FoI 22,
preched to hem diuerse ensaumples, and tolde hem an ensaumple

as did two
oun"r women

32 of ij yonge women that wolde haue hasted hem tofore her felawes ^.

towardes a fest and a gret semble of ladies and gentilwomen, a fp^asTt'o *"
to that entent that they and her new array and disguysing H.'iTciothes
might be furst sayne atte the fest ; and therfor they yode ouer there fi?st

36 a mareys for the nexst waye, but thei fett in the myre, and mor.ass, and

G4 VANITY THE CAUSE OF NOAH's FLOOD. '' """-XL^X."

fell in, Ret foulcil al liGF clothes aiul array, and were latter attc the fest

tiiii; tu ilic

feattiaatuf tluiiiiie tlici that held" the high way, the whiche had her array
clene. And the cause of this ij woraenis hyenge to the fest-
warde was knowen, and liow thei wolde goo the shortest way 4
for to haue shewed furst her berett and queint array; And

when tiiey thaiHie thei Were mocked and scorned of alt folke for her

were mocked

and scorned leudcnesse j And folke saide that it was wel done that thei felt

lor their

vanity. jn the myre, for there be suche that wenithe to auaunce hern tliat 8

hinderithe hem, for, had they holde the higti waye and wered
mene array, they had be as sone atte the fest as the other ladyes

There be and gentift women that come the higti waye. Also the

many women

that, wiien prcchour tolde hem that there be diuerse women that, and thei 12

they ste tine

clothes on see a lewde woman haue a nwe guyse, they wilt neuer leue

another, give

tiieir hus- cr3'eng on her husbondes vnto they haue the same, sayenof, " Whi

bands no rest »' » J > J 0>

till they have may not y haue suche arraye as wel as she ? am not y as welt

the same. j j j j

borun as she ?" but she takithe none hede of her husbonde hathe 16
wherwith to pay fur it, or liethe in his power to maintayne
it. And thus, but she haue it, her husbonde shal neuer be in
pees with her. And she wolde not take hede to abyde unto
her nej'^gheboures and good wise ladies and gentilwomen haue 20
*[Foi. 22, ta*ken up the guyse or array that she wold" haue. And also

col. 2 ] .

For this sin the bisshop^ tolde hem that for suche disguysinge the worlde
world was was pcrisshed with Noieys flode. Also he tolde how there was

drowned i" . .^j, , »

Koah's time, ouis a gentiu woman that come to a fest so straungely atyred 24
and queintly arraied, to haue the lokes of the pepitt, that alt
that sawe her come ranne towardes her to wonder lik as on
a wilde beste, for she was atyred with hig^ long pynnes lyke
a iebet, and so she was scorned of alt the company, and saide 28

AVherea slie bare a galous on her hede. And therfor it is a gret foly

vain woman . . . ,

pleases one for ani woman to bringe up am iiewe noueltees of array ; for,

by her dress,

she displeases yef there be one that it plesithe, there is twenty that is there-
twenty. '' ...

with displesed, and scornithe and mockith it. And therfor the 32

bisshope bade hem leue these queintyses, for it is the synne

of pride, and engenderithe and kendelithe lechery, and of pride,

for the whiche pride the aungeles felt into belt, And so it

may happe they shult that usen yt. 36

now A lady's fink dresses sent her to hell. 65

Aire douahters, v wolde ye knew an ensaumple of a kniglit There was a

° ' •' "^ ^ knight wlio

that had .iii. wifes : the whiche knin;ht was a good man, »>ad three

0 J o o wives, and Ins

and had an hereniyte to hys uncle, the whiche was an \\'^';^^^^.'^^^ *"
4 holy man of lyff. And as to this knightis furst wyff, she was
a faire ladv and a ffoodly woman, and her husbonde loued ner iie loved his

•^ o ./ ' flrst wife

merueylously welt. And so it befell that dethe, the whiche att JJJJ'f^'^;.';^'^^^^,^
takithe, toke her from her husbonde, tliorugh the whiche he
8 was al-most dede for sorugti ; and he hadde none other comfort
but to goo to hys brother the heremite, and praied hym that went to his

® _ hrotlier,

he wolde praie to God to yeue hym * knowlage yef his wyf ^ [poi. 22b.
were saued or not, and that he might [wetej how it stode
12 with her. And the holy man whiche had pitee of his neuew,

sorufutt he yede into his chapelt, and praied God that he might who went to

his chapel

see in what place she was ; and whanne he had be longe in and prayed,
hys praiers, he fett aslepe. And hym semed he saw seint tin he feii

asleep, and

16 Michelt and the deuelt that had her in a balaunce, and att >» a vision saw

St. Michael

her good dedes in the same balaunce, and a deuett and alt her and the devil

° weighing the

euelt dedes in that other balaunce. And the most thinge that knight's wife,
greuid her was her good and gay clothing, and furres of gray me- against her

. . . . gay clothes

20 niuere and letuse; and the deuelt cried and sayde, *' Seint Michel, and furs*
this woman had tenne diuerse gownes and as mani cotes ; and
thou wost wett lesse mygtit haue suffised her after the lawe of
God ; and with the valu of one of her cotes or gownez there might with the cost

of one of

24 haue be clothed .1. poure men and kept from colde in gownes wiiich fifty
of white or Eusset. And also, with that that was wasted of her "^'g*>* ^^ye

been clad.

clothes, she might haue clothed .ij. or .iij., the whiche deied for
colde." And whanne the deuelt sawe her clothes, he ranne The dcvii

. . cast her

28 and toke hem, and caste hem in the balaunce with her eueR clothes and

tlie presents

dedes. And he toke alt her iuellys and rynges that was geuen ^^^^ ^^r

*-' in one scale

her by galauntys forto haue had her to do foly, and also att ^^'**^ '^^^
the false langage that she had saide in sclaundering other to
32 bringe hem oute of her good name; and she dede neuer euett
dede but yt was brought thedyr and caste in the balaunce with
her euett dedes ; and att her good dedes were putte in that and her good

deeds and

other balaunce with her selff ; but for conclusyon her array, herself in the
36 gownes, luelles, ryngges, and * euelt dedes passed the good, and *[roi. 22/^

col. 2.]

(U) ADULTERY NOT SO HAD AS (JAY CLOTHES.

and iier \v« vt (I clowiic juid oucrcunic her good dedes. And tliere the

evil detMis deiieM toku her, and hare l»er away, and ])utte lier tdothes and

Ir^S""' aniy hrennyng in the llawnie on lier with the fire of hett, and

and sho was kist htT dounc into the pitte of hell ; and tl;c pore soule cried, 4

carried down

tohtii. and made nioche sorugh and pite, hut it hoted not. And

thanne for ferde the heremitc awaked, and tolde the knight his
neuew of his auision ; and bade hym take and go sett anone
alt her clothes, and with the syluer to beye clothe to clothe pore 8
men, and to departe yt amonge hem.

Then tiie 1 Fter the kniglit was wedded to another wiff, and he and the

knight ni;»r- /I ^ '

rietiaiecmd xA secounde wiff Icucd toffedre .v. yere, and after she deycd.

wifo, and slio & j » j

died, wherfor he made as moche sorw, or more, as he dede for the furst 1 2

wiff; and thanne he yode ayen to the ermyte his uncle to wete
how it stode with her, as he wost how it stode with the furst
and tiie wyff. And so the holy man the Eremyte praied to God that
in a vision, he might haue knowlage how it stode with her. And anone by 16

saw lier in _

purgjitory, reuehicion she was sheued hym there she was in purgatori, and

that she shulde be saued, but she shulde abide in the brennyng

for a hundred fere au hundred yere, forto dense her of sertaine fauutes that

yea re,

she had done in her mariage ; for she had lete a squier lye hi 20
for her her, and brake her mariage, notwithstondinge she hadde ofte be

aduUery.

shriue therof ; and yef she had not, she had be dampned. And
thanne the Ermyte tolde his brother the knight that hys secounde
* [Foi. 23, wyf was saued, of the whiche the knight was ioyfull. * Here 24
For one sin ye may take hede that for one synne that she most be so longe

oidv she was , • t» • • i i

not eternally in the brcnning fyre of purgatone. But it might be as the holy

punished.

ermyte saide, that the squier and she hadde done the sjmnes to-
gedre .x. or .xij. tymes, and, notwithstonding confession, thei that 28
do it, for euery dede thei shall be .vij. yeere in the brenning fire
Purgatory of pui'ffatori ; for that fire dothe but pureje and dense on siufult

will purge 1 5d ' 10

but one sin. delite. And thus ye may see what she hadde for her synne.

And yet she hadde not do it with no wedded man, nor preest, 32
monke, nor frere ; and the squier had not gendered on her
no childe, the whiche synne wolde haue hadde gretter peyne ihi\n

False delights that she dcde. And therfor, fuire doughtres, here ye may see

are dear i i i i i • i a j

bought with that fals delite is atte the last dere bought with payiie. And 36

pain.

PUNISHMENT FOR LADIES PULLING OUT THEIR HAIR. 67

also that it is synne to haue so maiii diuerse clothes, and to do
so moche coste to pare tlie foule body to haue the lokes and
plesauuce of tlie worlde, the whiche, as it ys aforesaid, causithe to

4 fait into pride and into lechery, the whiche is .ij. of tlie synnes
tliat God hatithe most. And takithe hede of the knightis furst
wyff, how she was loste and dampned for her array ; for there be
mani women in the worlde that will haue a gowne of .iiij.'^x, or

8 vj^^ scutis, that wolde be full sori to yeue a scute to a pore man
to beye hym with a poure cote to kepe hym from colde. And
theifor they that haue suche array ar like and shatt ansuere onis ;
but a good woman shulde arraie her after her husbondes pusaunce a good

woman should

12 and hers, and in suche wise as it micht endure and be * mein- dress alter

)ier husband's

tevned. And vet kepe sum for to departe for the loue of God, station.

•^ ^ r 1 ^ ^ *[Fol. 23.

the which may helpe her forto haue clothinge in that other coi. 2.]
worlde, as dede the holy women that were seintis, that gaue awey
16 her array for Goddes sake.

Fter, the same knight toke another wiff, the whiche was the The knight

liad a third

thridde,and theyleued longetogedre,and atte the laste she wife, who

also died,

deyed ; and whanne she was dede, he toke suche a sorw for
20 her that unneth the knight might leue. And thanne he yede to his and the

hermit

vncle the Ermite to praie hym to wete how it stode with hys laste
thridde wiff: and the holi man lay in his praieres and fel aslepe.
And an aungeR shewed liyni the payne and the turment that she saw her suffer

great tortures

24 was made to suffre and endure, the cause why for he sawe perfitly, in heii.

how a deuett helde her bi the tresses of the here of her hede,

like as a lyon holdithe his praie, in suche wise as she might not

with her hede remoue ; and the same deuett putte and thruste Tiie devil

28 in her browes, temples, and forliede, bote brenninge alles and face hot turn-
ing awls and
nedeles, into the brayne ; and the poure woman cried atte eueri needles,

tyme that he threste in alle or neditt, the whiche was brenninge.

And the Ermyte asked the aungett win the fende dede her suffre -

32 that peyne. And the aungett saide, for because she hadde, whanne because she

she was on lyue, plucked her browes, front, and forehed, to haue the hair out

of her forc-

awey the here, to make her selff the fayrer to the plesinge of the head.
worlde : wherfor, ineuery hole that her here hathe be j^lucked oute,
36 euery day onis the deuett thrustith in a brennynge alle or a

5—2

()H AfJAlNST WOMKX WHO PAINT Til KIR FACES.

•[Foi. 2.V. nediH into the l)r:iyne. *Aik1 after tliat the dciu'tt had made
her suffre tlio gret peyiies, the which dured loiige, another
deuett come, with gret shaipc foule hideous tethe and chnves, and
And another enflaumed her face with brenning piche, oyle, terre, grece, and 4

dt'vil smeared

lur face with boyling lede, and ferde so horribly with her, that the Ermite

hilt pit( h, oil,

and tar, tremeled and was ahnost oute of his witte for ferde. And the
aungett comforted hym, and saide that he be not aferde, for she
hadde wel deserued the payne, with more ; and the Ermite asked g

because she whi. The aungelt ansuered, for whanne she was on lyue she

u ed to iiaint tit ti-ti • r- •> • ^ f ^

it. plucked, popped, and peinted her uisage,forto plese the sight of the

worlde, the whiche dede is one of the synnes that displeses most
God; and that is a synne of pride that dravvithe after liym the 12
synne of lechery, for the whiche Noieys flode come and stroyed
att the w^orld?; for of ati tliinge it displesithe most the creatourc
that wilt yeue hym-self other beauute thanne nature hathe

People shoidd geuen hym. Whi suffisithe it not that God hathe formed man 16

be satistied to

be as God and woman after hys owne shape, in the whiche the aungeles so

made them.

moche delititti hem, for ioye to see God in the uisage ? For, and
God w^olde, hym nedith not to haue made hem women, but dome
Why do bestis or serpentis. Alas! whi take women none hede of the 20

women try

to maiie gret louc that God hathe yeue hem to make hem after hys

tliemselves

otherwise figure ? and whi popithe they, and paintithe, and pluckithe her
made them/ uisage, otlier-wisc thanne God hathe ordeined hem ? And therfor

the aungelt saide it was but litelt meruaile though this lady, 24
*[Foi. 23/'. for her poppinge and peintynge, sufFre *this payne. And the

col. 2 1

aungel bade the ermite goo see the uisage of the body that was
dede, " and ye shall: see that it ys hideous and ferdfuK." And
the Ermite asked the aungelt yef she shulde be longe in turment. 28
And she was And he saidc she shulde be thereiiine a thousande yere and

to be there a

thousand more, but the terme other-wise he wolde not ieVi. And the

\ eai-s and

more. . fende alweye wolde smere her in the face with the brennynge

piche, grese, oyle, lede, and terre. And the pore soule dyd crye 32
And the and curse the tyme that euer she was made or born. And for
and told the the ferc that the Ermite hadde, he sterte and waked oute of his
he had seen, auisyon, and come to the knight, and tolde hym att that he had

sain. And the knight was abasshed, and yode to see the body 36

STORY OF A LADY WHO PAINTKD HER I'ACE. 69

that was not beryed. And he sawe his wifTes face no blucke, And tiie

knight went

horible, and hideous, that it was wonder thineje to see ; wher- a"d s^^^^ i"»w

*=> ' hiduoiis his

thorugh he beleued the Ermytes wordes were true. And so the ^''/'^'s ^^^^
4 kniglit had gret abhominacyon and fcrde at the last worde, and
wered the hay re the tuysday and tlie fryday, and gaue the thridde and he was
parte of hys good for Goddes sake ; and he used holy lyff from f,*^ ^/'^^ j^'
that tyme forwarde, and lefte the bobaunce of the worlde for ferde and""5sef?'*'
8 of the sight of his wyff, that he sawe so orible for her poppyng, ]|eJ,^cefmtii.
pluckyng, and paintynge of her uisage. And also he remembered
hym of att that his uncle the holy Ermite had tolde hym by hys
other wiffes.

[CHAPTEK LIIL]
12 [Of a lady who was punished for painting herself.]

0 conferme these ensaumples, doughtres, y witt telt you a of a lady wiio
tale that was tolde me of a lady that y knewe, that folke faidedhei-."
* saide she popped and farded her. And* y sawe hym that * iFoi. 24,
16 folke saide that toke her the thinge that she dite so her selff with.

And a gret while she was a lady of gret auctorite, worshipped she was a
and [made] moche of. And she had sura tyme more thanne and had more
.iiij.xx^ gownes, but atte the laste endyng of her lyff she had lasse, score dresses,

until lier

20 for her lorde deyed, and she had not wherwit/i to susteine her husbands

•^ ' ^ death.

astate and arraye, and she deyed in pouertee. And whanne she After,shedied
was dede, y haue lierde sale that her uisage become so hideous, and her face
and in suche a foule wise, that no maner of man might know indeous that

1 1 T ' , I 1 1 • • "*^ "^^^ could

24 that euer she had uisage, nor that no body wost what thinge it look on it.
was like there her uisage shulde haue ben, that no body wyst
what it was, nor none might endure to loke theron for obribel-
nesse. And y suppose, and so dede other, that God gaue on her And thus

28 that ensaumple and punission for because she popped, painted, an example

, of punish-

plucked, and far] died ^ her hede. Wherfor, faire douirhtres, takithe ment for

■^ •- -' ^ ^ . painting and

ensaumple, and holde it in youre herte that ve putte no thino^e popping.

^ '' J r o Wherefore no

to poppe, painte, and fayre youre uisages, the whiclie is made woman
^ ''And " repeated in MS. ^ Fr. Ic fardement de la paintupe.

70 OF LADIES WHO DYED THEIR HAIR IN WINE, ETC.

Miouid alter aft^r Goddt s ymage, other wise tlianne ycmr creatoure and nature
from what liutliL' onlcineu ; and that ye plucke no browes, nother tcmnUs,

<iii(l has •/ i II

made it nor forhed ; and also that ye wasslio not the here of voure hede

nor wath her "^ "^

lliie than"^' "^ "^^^® other thinge but in lye and water. For ye shatt fmde 4
waterr*"*^ of miracles that hatlie be done^ in the chirche ofoure lady of
Atthecimnh Rochmadame, diuerse tresses of ladies and gentitt women that

of ttur Laily,

diverse ladies had be wasslie in wyne and in other thinges forte make the here

could not ^

tome in, till of coloure Other wise thanue God made it, * the whiche ladies 8

•[Fol. 24, , *

col. 2.] and gentil women that aught the tresses were comynge thedir-
off tiieS.a'ir, warJ on pilgrimage, but they may neuer haue pouere to come
had^Ivashed withinuc the chirche dore unto the tyme that thei hadde cutte
other things of the tresses of her here, the whiche is hanged there afore the 12

to alter the _ , ^ i i • • i i •

colour of it. yinage ol oure lady; and this is trewe and tnmge proued, as
And thus our diuerse that haue ben there sayen. And this was a gret loue

Lady showed

them their of ourc lady, that she wolde late thilke ladyes and gentyl women

that aught that here, haue that knowlage, that it was for that 16
synne that they might not come into the chirche, and that she
wolde not late hem reyne euer in that synne, to be loste perdu-

thatthey rably, but she wolde thei woste wherein they folied, and that

might know . ti«i

it, and might they might amende hem, and bring hem oute of the weye of 20

amend it. • » i i

dampnacion. And therfor, doughtres, takithe here youre myrrour
and ensaumple to leue all suche lewde folyes and counterfeting,
poppinge, and peintinge. And [it] engenderithe pride and
lecherye thorugh alt the worlde, the whiche was stroyed saue 24
.viij. persones for that horrible synne of lechery.

CHAPTEK LIV.

[Of Lot's wife.]
An example ■ wol telle you an ensaumple of .viij. citees that sanke to belt,

of eight cities I o ^ mi k ^ a • f

that "sanke | and that was brent for that orible synne. Also the citee of 28

to helle,"

Venges^ in Bretayne in the bisshopriche of Nauntes, the
whiche sanke for synne of pride and lecherye. And also the citee

^ " done " repeated in MS. ^ or Veuges.

OF THE CITIES THAT SANK TO HELL. 71

of Sodom and Gomer, of the wliiche Loth was saued, and his wyff
and his iij doughtres. And also other .v. Citees, the whiche
God made hrenne with the fire of the sulphure. And alt *thci *[f»1- 24/^.

'^ col. 2.J

4 that were tliereinne were brent and sanke to heft, and the
cause was for tliey vsed the unlefuft synne of lecherye, the because of

•^ the sin of

whiche stinkithc and cronijDithe vnto heuene, and niistornithc lechery,
the ordre of nature. And thus the .viij. Citeez were sonken and
8 brent for because of her foule brenninge lechery done in hew^
ayenst nature ; for they kepte therinne notlier lawe ne reson nor
order of nature ; and as her hcrtis were brenny^ig in that foulc
synne, so with sulfur oure Lorde made brenne hem, the whiche is w'lich burnt

•^ ' _ tlie Jiearts of

12 one of the most stinkincfe fires of the worlde. And in this the the peoi.ie as

'-' tlie sulphur

vengeaunce of God was sheued hem for this synne. And therfor jJlJ^ggg^"*
here is an ensaumple how folke shulde kepe hem from suche
lustes of the flesshe that it ys ordeined by ordre of mariage, the
1 6 whiche ys the comaundement of God and the chirche. And

whanne Looth and hys wyff and his iij doughters were gone Lot and his

wife and three

oute of the Citee of Gomer by the comaundement of God, and (laughters

^ _ went out

bade that they shulde neuer turne nor loke ac:eyn, Loothis witf f'O'"

•^ o J ' (Jomorrah,

20 was not wise to kepe the comaundement of God, but she loked

ageine, and sawe the towne and the pepiK, and she turned to a but his wife

looked l)ack

stone, the whiche is significacion of hem that God deliuerithe and was

turned to a

oute of pel itt and synne, the whiche turnithe ayen therto into stone,
24 the waye of dampnacion, that is to mene, that they that be con-
fession are clensed and repented, and beden that they shulde not like those

. , ^ . who after

loke bakvvarde ayenne to do synne, and they do it, and turne confession

return again

ayen, fare as Loothis wyf, that loked bacwarde and became a to sin.
28 stone or not, as dede she that brake *Goddes comaundement. *[Fo1. 245.

' col. 2.]

DOughtres, y wolde ye knew an ensaumple of a lady that left^ a woman left
^ ^ ^ her husband

her lorde, the which was a goodly knight, and yedeawey andwentwith
a monk,

with a monke. And so her brother yede after, and sought
02 her so longe till thei fonde her and the mouke lyeng togcderes. «'^"<i 'ler

** brother fol-

And they toke a knyff, and cutte awey the moukes stones, and ^o^^^d them,
kest hew in dispite atte her uisage, and made her ete hem.
And after they toke a gret sacke, and puttc her and the monke he?and^the*

i MS. " lost."

72 lot's ixckst wrm ms uaugiitkrs.

monk ill a tlu'reiiiiic, witli maiii gret stones wiih them, and kiste lieni in-to
Hi.d threw tlic ryuci*, aucl drouned hem, and thus tliey made tliaire ende

tlieiii into tlie

river ami of that foulc svnne that they were innc : for Ldadly euetl Ivff
them. hathe euetl ende.

CHAPTER LV.
[Of Lot's daughters.]

iiow the devil % T^^t y wol tett you an ensaumple upon this orible synne
aniThfs " 1( of lechcry, of Loothis .ij. doughtres, and how the deuett
sin against tempted hem in synne ayenst nature. They sawe lier fader 8

lye naked, withoute any breche, and thei were bothe tempted to
liaue flesshely to do with her fader. And thus that one doughter
One daughter discouered her to that other, and that one counsailed to make

advised the

h*''^'^[irunk'^^ l^J^^ g^^t cherc tyl he were dronke, and thanne they two goo to 12

ra"/with iiini'^ bedde to bym, and so thei dede, and made hym to dele with hem

flesshely. And he had thus the maydenhode of his owne ij

doughteres. And therfor seith and takithe hede what perilt

is to synne in glotenie, as dede Looth, thorugh the whiche he wist 16

and he begat not wliat he dede with his doughtres, notwithstondinge he

them both •timi i '-i-irii-in

with child, begate hem bothe wath childe that night, [and had? two sones,
Caxion, the one named Moab, and the other was called Amon, of whiche

e. V. b.

two sones cam first the paynyms and" the fals lawe, and many 20

Of their two cuyls ,* and sorowe cam by that synne. And men saie they were

sons came • i • i

"fals lawe." bycome passynge proude after the transformacion of their moder,

and that all their entent was to coyntyse and arraye them self;

whiche caused the deuyll fyrst to tempte them lyghtlyer, and the 24

sooner he brought them to that fowle synne of lechery. I wold

an!pie"/a ^Iso yc couthc, and well hadde withold within youre thoughtes,

for a hood thcxample of the fowle damoysel, the whiche, for a hood that a

mistress to a kiiyght gaf her, she dyde soo moche by certayne yeftes and pro- 28

messes that her lady dyd his wylle, and made her to be diffamed

and dishonoured, wherof grete meschyef befelle. For a seruaunt

^ A leaf is here wanting in the MS., and I have been obliged to supply
the lacuna from Caxton's varying translation, sign. e. 5. bk. at top, but
neglecting his puuse-bars and some of his capitals. The MS. catchword is
<' whiche," not "and."

OF THE MAID WHO COUNSELLED HER LADY TO SIN. 73

of her lord, wTiiche of yougth he hadde broiigTit vp and norysshcd, and another

!■»- n • 111* ♦-•IT- servant told

perceyuecl Tiym of it and told it to his lord, m so moche that iws lord,
soone after he toke & fond the kny3t with tiis wyf ; he kylde
4 hym, and dyde his wyf to be mewred and putte in pryson per- uiio killed

the knight,

petuel, where-as she deyde in grete sorowe and langoure. It -I'lfi p"t '''«

wife in prison.

happed ones, or she was dede, that her lord came forth by the
pryson where she was in. He thenne stood i-tyll and harked
8 what she said, and she sorowed sore, and cursid her that had And he heard

her in prison

counceN^ed her so to doo. And thenne he sent one to wete what cursing her

maid,

was she that so had counceyled her. And she saide how it was

her daraoisell. The lord made her come tofore hym, and com-

12 maunded and straytly charged her that she sholde say trouthe.

And at the last she confessed that she was cause of her meschyef, an<i he made

her confess

and that she had counceyled her, & for her laboure she had of *''** ^^.^ 'l^^

■' counselled

the knyght a hoode. And thenne the lord saide, 'Tor a lytel ^'er lady evu,
1 6 thynge ye haue vndo yow, and haue be to me traitresse ; and

therfore I iuge and gyue sentence that the hood and the neck '"^"^ lie had

° °'^ her hood and

be bothe cutte toseder." And soo was her luejement. neck cut

^ ° together.

Now maye ye see how good is to take with hym good companye. Therefore it is
20 and in his seruyse good and trewe seruauntes, that be not blamed true servants

and not fools.

of no man lyuynge. For the saide damoysell was not wyse. And

therfore good is to take wyse seruauntes, and not fooles. For

fooles and shrewd seruauntes be sooner brought to doo somme

24 euylle, and to gyue euylle counceylle to their lorde or lady, than

other ; as dyde the two doughters of Lothe one * to other, and *ji,^'*f g^^'
the same damoysel whiche had? and receyued? the gwerdon of her
deserte.

[CHAPTEE LYI.]

28 Of the doughter of lacob that was depuceled or her
maydenhode taken fro her. Capitulo Ivj.

IShalle telle you another example of the doughter of lacob, Jacob's
, daughter, for
whiche for lyghtnes and lolyte of herte lefte the hous of lightness,

74 THE EVILS THAT CIIJLS' LIGHTNESS BllINC'S.

went to see hci* fadci' aiul of her bretlieien, fur to goo and see tl»e atoure or

WOIIUMl of

oiiur luiuu, aray of tlie wymmeii of another hmde. AVherfore hit happed that
and a great Sycliem, the sone of Amor, which was a grete h^rd in that londe,

lord saw lier, i. • i i

sawe her so taire that he coueyted her, and prayd her oi loue, in 4
and took iier SO mochc he took fio her lier maydenhode. & thenue when her

and lay witli

i)er ; and her tweluc bretheren wyste and kuewe of hit, come thyder and slewe

liretliren slew '' ' •'

of'riil"ki ""^"^ ^y^^5 ^"^ ^I'^o ^^^^ moost parte of his lygnage, and of his folke,

for tlie shame that they had of their suster that so liad be 8
Mucii damage depuccld or defowlcd. Now loke ye and see, how by a foolysshe

comes by a

looiisii woman cometh many euyllis & domages ; for by her yongthe

and by her lyght courage was made grete occysion and shedynge
as by a of bloode. As it fortuned and happed by a dougtiter of a kyng 12

daugliter of a 1 1 J o J g

ki'>K of of Grece, whiche by lier foolyssh loue acoynted her of the sone

Oreece, ' j j ./

of an erle of that countre. Wherfore the kynge made hym werre,
through duryng the which more than a thousande men were slayn.

whom a thou- -

sjuidmen And yet tiadde the werre lender lasted, when the kyn^jes broder, i"

were slain _ ^ "^ °

'" TV\ whiche was a wyse man, come to the kynge, and saide to hym,

simded h*er " ^J^'^^j" quod he, " I mcrueyle moche that, only for the sport
makTp^ace, ^"^^ delyte of youre dougtiter, so many good knyghtes ben lost,

& also so many good men. It were better that neuer she hadde 20
be borne." The kynge thenne saide, " Ye saye trouthe." And
and her anone he made his doughter to be take, by whiche the raeschyef

father had * ' "^^ "^

her cut in ^y^as bygonne, and made her to be hewen in smal pyeces. And

small pieces. ./ o ^ j. ./

thenne before all he said, that wel right it was that she sliolde be 24
so detrenchid by whome so many had ben licwen and slayn.

[CHAPTER LVIL]

Of Thamar that hadde companye with hir husbondes
fadre. Capitulo lyij.

of Judah'sson, I

Tamar, widow "[" Wyllo that yc here thexample of Thamar, whiche was wyf to 2S
Henam, that was sone of luda, sone of lacob, & broder

*[Caxton, *to loscpTi. This Henam was yrous and felon, and? of euyl lyf, of

sign.e.G.bk.]

seeing she wliiche I wyllo not say moche nor al, bycause God wold that he
drcn""'^"* deyd sodenly and pytously. And as Thamar sawe, that of her 32

OF THE EVIL OF BASTARD KINGS. '75

lord slie mytit liaue no lygnage, stie bethought her that the ftider
of her lord shold yet engendre & gete children ^vel, and that stie
was not barayn, and coueyted' and desyre J' to haue his flesshely
4 companye, whiche was ageynst the lawe. Neuertheles, so moche
stie dide that she cam by nyght in his Chambre, and leid her with lay with iier

fatlier-in-Iaw,

Tiym, and, as I wene, she conceyued" of hym two Children, of :i"<i ima two

cliildreii,

wliiche the one was named Phares, and the other had to name
8 Zaram. Wherfor many tribulacions and euylls befelle afterwardl ^^ ^^''''^'' ,

'^ *' dime great

For the children that ben not of trewe maryage, they be they by ^^''''*'
whome the grete herytages and Auncestri ben loste. Wherof I
shalle telle you an En sample of a kynge of Na[)les, as it is
1 2 conteyned" in the Cronycles of that lond. There was somtyme a a queen of

Naples had a

quene of that lond, whiche clenly ne truly kepte her body toward' son by an-
other than
her lord", in so moche she gate a sone by another than her lord. i»eriord;

It befelle afterward, that this sone was made kynae of the lond and the son

' *' ° became kuig,

i6 after the dethe of the kynge. This newe kynge was passynge
prowde, and loued not his lordis ne barons, but was to them full
hard' and felon : & also to al his comyns he was vnresonable. and governed

•' ^ badly.

For he took fro them all that he couthe, and enforced their
2o wyues, and? vyoled their doughters, and vsed all euyl dedes doing aii

evil deeds

whiche he couthe ymagfyne to doo. He bi^an werre to Tiis t'lat he could

■^ ^-^ ° imagine.

neyghbours and" to his Barons, in so moche that alle the reame
was put in exyle and brought to grete pouerte; whiche longe
24 tyme lasted. Tn that tyme was ther a Baron, a good man and a And a baron

went to a

right good knyght, whiche went vnto an Heremytage, where as iienuit,
was an hooly heremyte moche relygious, and that many thynges
knewe. The knyght demaunded? and asked of hym, " how and and asUed

how long

28 wherfore they had so louffe warre in the lond, and yf it shold yet ^''^se evils
last long tyme." And]^ *the Ermite saide it shulde dure as longe as * [FoI. 25,

col. 1.]

this man were kinge, for he is not rightfutt heire, but misgoten,

and therfor the Eeme that he hathe no right [to] may neuer acorde And the

hermit s^aid

32 with hym, nor may not haue the lone of the peple ; and whanne it would last

until the false

he ys dede, ye shutt haue rest and habundaunce of att good. And i^Jng was
as the Ermite saide, in al thinge it was; and that the Ermite saide,

* The MS. begins again here. Caxton has " the hooly Heremyte
answered hym," &c., &c.

76 OF JOSKIMI, THE SON OF JALOIJ.

And tiie son lliiit tlic fills ([Ueiie his nioclcT shulde be piiiiisslied or she ileyde

fouiid liii

niotlur iviiii; foi" liei* fttlsliecle, for tlic kiiig her soiie bhulde fiiKT her lyeiig

Nsitli u prioat,

aiui iiurnt with a piecst, and he shuld' breiiiie hem bothe in a brenninge

tlieiii both. * ' °

furnayse; and thus was her ende. Therfor, doughtres, be ware 4
for brekinge of youre manage, and of getinge of false heires, tlie
whiche may putte att a londe in tribulacion. And the moder
shaft be dampned perpetuelly, as long as thai re chyldren
kepithe awey the londe that they haue no right to from the 8
right futt heyres, that is to saie, her moderis husbondes londes.
bemire^of -^^^^ thcrfoF be warc, doughtres, of this auouutry, and that ye
ho"itmi>*to take no man saue hym that ys ordeined you by sacrement of
' " '^ '' * mariage, and kej^ithe and holdithe hym to you truly. 1 2

CHAPTER LVIII.

[Of king Pharaoh's wife and of Joseph the son

of Jacob.]

'P*^j*'*® "T^Oughtres, y witt teft you an ensaumple upon this synne of

solfl into -1—-' l.T 1 J.l__x T 1_ xl.. -. r T 1- J-T 1. 1 J _

Joseph
son

siuveT^*^ ""^ ^~^ lechery, how that loseph, the sone of lacob, that was solde i6
bi his bretheren to the kinge Pharao. This loseph was humble,
curteys, and seruisable, and gouerned hym with the kinge in

and became "^ ' > & j o

a favourite suchc wise that he was beloued of the kincje and of aft other,

with the king ^

of Egypt. g^j^^j jjg ^g^g faire yonffe, and wise * man. And the kinge lete 20

* [Fol. 25, ' J & i ^ 5

col. 2.] hym haue gouernaunce of his Reme and good. And so the

And the

queen desired queue caste her loke upon loseph, and beoranne to desire to

him to liave * r r » o

folly with her, ijr^ue hym to foly with her; and she shewed hym mani foly
and wiien ho signcs and semblauntz of fals loue and sinfuft. And whan she 24

would not, •TIT i-h Tw.'ii

siie was mad sawo and perceiued that he wola not medin with her, thanne

for soiTOw.

But he was a she was wodc for sorugh, and called hym into a chaumbre, and
and would praicd hym of foly. And he, that was a good man, said her that

not betray his tm-'ii

master, he woldc not medift with her, and that he wolde neuer be trai- 28

and she

caught his tour to his maister and lorde. And [whanl she saw he wolde not

mantle, and "- -■

began to cry, orraunt to her fals horible and dampnable witt, she caute hym

and told the ° tr ^ j

king he tried ]j[ ^}jg mautett and beganne to crie, and saide, "This fals traitour
to ravish her. ° ' '

wolde haue rauisshed and dis worshipped me here." And thanne 32

OF moab's dauciiters. it

the kiiiffe, tlioru<iTi licr fal^e subicccion, putte losepli into stronj^e Andthekinf?

*^ ' *_ '^ ^ ° put Joseph

'prison, and therein kepte hym longe. And God gaue knoulage '" Pf'soii,

to the kinge Pharon of the falshede of the quene and the trouthe t|,"'7ruth'"'
4 of loseph, and he was hadde oute of prison, and made gretter Then he made

Joseph

maister thanne euer he was, and was more worshipped. And the greater than

ever,

quene was shamed as she was worthi, and deied an euetl dethe. and the

*■ queen died

And thus God quitithe bothe good and euett. And therfor »» e^u death.
8 doughtres, be ware that ye do none auoutry, nor caste not youre
desire to haue no man saue youre husbonde, that ye be not
shamed as this queue was.

CHAPTER LIX.
[Of Moab's daughters.]

^2 I witt tett you an ensaumple of Moabis doughtres, the whiche Moab's

^ daughters

were futt of the synne of lecherie: for Balam, that was *of werefuii of

Ipchery.

the fals la we, toke hem and arraied hem gayly, and sent * [foi. iu.

col. 1.]

hem into the oste of the children of Israel, the whiche were the
i6 children of God, forto haue made hem s^mned with these euel

women, forto haue God turne ayenst hem. And whanne the ^^^^ tempted

the children

women come thus gaily and fresshely into the oste, ther was ^\f Israel to
mani tempted on hem, and dede her foule witt with hem. And
20 the prince that had the gouernaunce of the ost lete hem allone,
and made as they he hadde take none hede therof, and suffered
suche felthe to be done; and God wratthed therwith, and bade And God was

wroth and

Moyses that the princes that had knowle(?e therof, and suffered ^^^^ Moses

>> r o ' pj,t to death

24 suche synne to be done, that they shulde anone be hanged and '''^ princes
slayne. And Moyses made crye Goddes biddinge, and it was '^^^^^'^'^^ '*•
done, for the! were slaine for the sufferaunce of that foule synne
of lechery. And therfor here is an ensaumple that no folke of

28 auctoiite shulde suffre no suche synne to be done that they might
lette it ; and lete hem be ware that God ponisshe not hem
therfor. But there is now a dayes that haue the gouernaunce are
gladde that folke are of suche harlottry.

78 OF TIIK DAUGHTER OV .MIDIAN, AND OF TAMAR.

CHAPTER LX.
[Of the daughter of Midian.]

Also tiie A^'^^ Miuliemis dougbter, the wliiche arraieJ lior selflf gaily

•lauuliter of /m i i • ^ r> t-<i i • i •! i

Mitiiau went LM aiicl yecie into the oste of hbreux, that is to saye, children

to the lio,t of i %

Israel to of Israel, forto fulfelt her foule luste. And tliere she met 4

tempt them

to lust, with a gret lorde of the oste, the vvhiche was lightly tempted on

and went her, and tolte her to hys loginge, and dede hys foule witt with her.

lord. And God sende anone his Neueu to see the Iiiiquite in the oste,

•fFoi, 256. that'a man of lawe of God *shulde take another woman of an- 8

col. 2.]

vsiiose nephew other lawe ; and he diougti his suerde; and whanne he fonde
both witii a hem togedre, he persed hem bothe thurgti, and in that foule

sword

wise they deyde. And he that dede this synne with the woman,
was a lorde that was of the lynage of Symon, the whiche was 13
one of the twelue princes of the law ; but for that he was not
spared, but he was slayne by the ordenauiice of God ; for he
God would hatithe that abhominable synne of lecheri, and he wolde haue the

liave the

Israelites keep children of Israel to kepe hein clene. And therfor he gaue 16

clean, and

therefore he heux tlio uictori of att enterprises : for they hadd' euer the beter

grave them ^ "^

ever tiie Vic- jjj batailc, thougti thcr had be tenne ayenst one.

tory over ^ o t/

tlieir enemies.

CHAPTEK LXI.
[Of Tamar, King David's daughter.]
Tamaithe ANother ensaumple, doughtres, y wilt telt you, that no 20

daughter of I^L

David was to L\ womaii shuldc in no wyse be with no man allone,

take care of ^ ^

herbrutiier wei 6 lie ncucr SO nioTi of her kyn ; for Tamer,

Aranon, wlio ° "^ ' '

feigned to bo kinrre Dauid dougliter, for Araon her owne brother, for

sick, & to > >

because he fonde her allone, he feined hym sike, and 24
his suster was ordelned to kepe hym, and he lay be her.
and lie lay And whaiiiie Absolon, hys brother of fader and moder, wost

with her : i i • i •

and M)saioni that lie had lyeuc by his suster, he slow his brother Amon.

his brotiier

siewiiiiu. And therfor, doughtres, he ware, as ye wol kepe youre honoure 28
and worshippe botti, bethe neuer allone with no manere of
man, but yef it be youre husbonde, j^oure fader, or youre sone,

OF A roper's WTFE ^VIFO WAS FALSE TO IIER TII'SBAND. 79

for there bathe niani foule temptaciones fatt thcrof of right a wr>mnn

sliould trust

niffli kj'-nne afore this tvme. And therfor a woman au^ht "" >"'i". f^'r

° *' ■^ _ ^ ^ tlio devil is

truste to no man, for the deuetl is sotitt ; tlie you<xe tendir «"'^^'<^''^"<^

' 7 J n young flusli

4 flesshe, whanne it is *c]iaiifed, it is csv to be tcmi)ted. And !** ^'^'*''y,

' > .. 1 tempted,

therfor y rede you takithe the seurest waye. *[i'oi. 26,

CHAPTER LXII.
[Of a roper's wife who was false to her husband.]

wolde ye knew an ensaumple of a Ropers wifF that was not a roper's

_ , . . wife was false

8 I trew in kepinge of her manage to her busbonde ; and there to her

^ husband with

was a false bauude that was her godsib, and toke mede of a » lecherous

. prior,

Riche lecherous prioure to gete the ropers wyff to do his foly with

her, the whiche the bauude entreted her to. And thanne, for yeftes through the

12 and juelles that the Prioure gaue to the wiif, and for the entysing bawd,
of the bauude, the wiff graunted hym to do her foule lust to-
gedre. And therfor it is a true sawe, that a woman that takithe
yeftes of ani man, sekith her selff. And so it happed on a night One night the

i6 that the prioure come to lige bi the wiff whanne her busbonde iie with her,

when lier

was aslepe; and whanne the prioure had done his foule delit, 'msbandwas

asleep,

he rose, and wolde haue gone his waye, and the fyre light sodenly
in the chemeney, and the good man sawe hym goo oute. And j^"^ *''^ '"'^•
20 he sterte up and asked what that was. And his wiff saide she i"™ go away,
wost neuer; but the good man was in gret sorw and heuinesse, •in^'wasin

' ° ° ' great trouble

and ferde lest hys wyff had done amys. And the wiff, whiche '^^^ 'l'^ ^^'^®

J *> >' ' Iiad done

was full of malice, yede and spake and tolde the bauude, her u?e'wifctoid
24 godsib, all how it happed. And the bauude bade lete her allone wim'wem'to
with hym, and she wolde excuse her well ynow. And she iirthe"mor"n-
aspied he was going to the londes, spenj'ng his cortles, and came biack^wooi"^
afore hym with a rocke under a gerdell spynning blak woll. changed to
28 And whanne he come, she hadde on her rocke white woll, and and back

again.

within a litett while of blacke wolle. And all way as he come *[Fo1. 26,
to }ind from she chaunged her woU. " What ! " saide the good ^^'^^^^ sjjj^j
man, " godsyb, me thought light now ye had a rocke of blacke thought you
32 wuH under youre gerdell." " Nay, forsothc," said she ; and after ^Jooi, ^^^

80 OF A UOPRR*S rXFAITHFlL WIFE.

and now lie coiiie agciii, ami slje hail chainij^ed her rocke. " What, godsih,

inetliDiislit

yoii luui nie thouj;ht rij^ht now, ye spaiiiie whit wolle." " What, j'oclsih,"

white wool. ^ o r. ' J 1 .01

The bawd Baicle she, " wluit aylithe you ? y trow there be sum tliinge wronge

replie«l, There ^ • • 1 1 i 1

is 80111 -ihinj,' with yoii ; yt hathe be to night a night that folkc wened that 4

wrong with _ .

you. us with they haue sayne thinfjes the whiche were none suche. I trow,'*

other people ^ ./ o

wiio tiiought miQ^ slie, " ye aile sumwhat, it nis not aright with you." And the

they saw 1 ' J ' o ^

tlTuT good man wtnde she had saide soth, and saide to her bi mouthe,
repHe?*! «iw " % ^^Y trouthe, godsib, y wende y had sayne to night gone oute 8
wacffiiigso of niy chaumbre a blacke thinge, y not what." "A! godsib,'' quod
chamber! slie, " it was uo thiugc but the day and the night that stroue to-
it was the ' gedrc ; and there was gret lyghteninge." And thus she apesed the

day and night _ p i * i • i

strove to- good man of his thought by her lalshede. Another tyme it happed 1 2

gether; and

tJmsshe that he rose erliche, and lie wende to haue take a litelt poke

satisfied him.

Another time attc hys bcddes fete, to haue gone to the market iij myle from

lie rose early,

and took the hys hous, forto haue brought home fisslie ; and he toke the

prior's

breeches in prioures breke, and putte hem in his sleue. And whanne he 16

mistake for a ^ ^

bag.and went i^a^Jde bouo'lit that he wolde haue atte the market, he wende to

to market to & '

buy fish. i.ilie oute his poke, and to liaue putte inne his fysshe, and he
fonde that it was a breche. And whan he sawe it, he was futt
■When the of anger and sorugli. And whanne the monke was ryse that 20

monk rose,

he found only laye bctweue the bedde and the watt, hym lacked hys breche,

a small bag,

♦ [Foi. 26<!^, and *fonde no thinge but a littett poke. And whanne the wiff wost

but no therof, she was futt of sorugTi, for she supposed wel that her hus-

reecies. jjonde had take the brech instede of the litelt poke. And she 24

And the wife yede to her godsib, the bauude, and tolde her that was behapped,

went to the

bawd, and and praied her of her helpe : and the bauude said? to her,

they both put "^ ^ ^ '

on breeches. <' Ye shatt take a breche on you, and y witt take another,

and whan youre husbonde comithe home, I wott tett hym 28
When the that ye and y w^eritti breches." And whanne the good man

husbandcame , M.i»wrT-' j iii-i im

home, in was comeu home, alt tun ci neumesse and sorw, the lals godsib

sorrow, the iiti i-imt

bawd came to come to welcomo hym home, and asked hym " what cnere, and

him, and

asked what nsked hym yef he hadde aught lost of his good, for he made so 32

ailed him, .

and he told heui chere ; and he saide "Nay, me ayletli sumwhat ellis." And
had found. SO slie dede so moche with hym, that he tolde her what hym
She began to ^-ylod, and how he had founde a breche atte his beddes fete.
3, you do -^^^^ whanne she had herde hym, she beganne to laugh, and 36

THE HUSBAND KILLED HIS WIFE AND THE PRIOR. 81

saide liyw, " God sib, now y see weTt ye be deseyued, and inyomwife

wrong,

wey to be tempted to do my godsib you re wyff shame, and

youre selff, thorugti fals sujiposinge. And therfor leue it ;

4 y sure you that there nis not a truer wiff to her husbonde

in this towne, nor kepithe her selff clenner nor trulyer to

her husbonde ; for in good sotlie she and y weren breches she and i

- . , . botli wear

for because of the harlotis that handelithe women, and takithe breeches.
8 hem hastely hi thaire priuite. And that ye may see that
this is true, seithe youre selff." And she toke up her clothes,
and shewed hym how she was breched ; and [he] saw she
saide* sothe, and beleued her. And thus that fals bauude, his *[i^oi.2fi&.

col. 2.]

12 godsib, saued the wiff twies, that he might haue no knoulache And he be

liGved her

of his wiffes falshede ; but atte the laste the deuett woll that ag.iin.
the orible synne shulde be know. The good man thought that The good

man tliought

his wiff went ofte to the priori, and she had not to do there, tiiat his wife

went to the

i6 and he defended her, in payne of her lyff, she shulde no more P"'^''y ^'*'^-

' i- 'J ^ ' out cause,

come there, for it was not his wiK that she yode thedir for no •u'd forbade
thinge. And so on a tyme, to saye what she wulde do, her And he hid

himself to see

husbonde saide he wolde e^one oute of towne; and he hidde hym if she would

'^ ' '^ go there,

20 priuely to loke what she wolde do. And she, that was full and when she

did, he fol-

of synne, and tempted with the deuelt, yede anone with the '"«'ed and

brought her

prioure ; and her husbonde saw, and yode after her and brought '^^^''^•
her ageyn, and saide, " here, dame, thou hast broke myn com-
24 aundement." And thanne he yode into the towne, and made Then he went

to the town.

. couienaunt with a surgeon to hele two broken legges ; and and engaged

a surgeon,

whanne he had done, he come home and toke a pestett and and came

11111* f 1 I'l 1 home and

brake botlie his wyies ys leggys, and saide to her, " atte the broUe both

hib wife's legs.

28 hardest, for a while, thou wilt not goo ferre, and breke myn
comaundement, nother y fynde the contrarye." And thanne he
brought her a beddc. And there she laye so longe tilt the The wife lay

longabed,

deuett tempted her ; for, whanne she "was almost hole, she and sent for

the prior to

32 made the prioure come lye with her ther she laye, euene by her comebymght
husbonde bi night in the bedde. And the good man douted The husband

thinking some

hym that there was sum man with his wyff, and made semblaunt onewastiierc,

•^ '^ ' pretended to

that lie had slepte *, and routed: and whanne they were doinjj sleep;
36 tlie foule dede of synne, he hastely toke oute a long kniff and coi.i.]

82 "TlIK rOT GOES TO THE WATER TILL IT IS BROKEN."

niui when the peif^ed liem botlie tliorng^ into the bedde. And thus he slough
ho took out a liem bothe in doinge this orible Fynne. And whanne he had

loiiK knife

ami killed done, lie called his ney''hboure8 and the officres of the lawe, and

thfiu both. ""^ _ '

Then he fiheucd hem what he had don; the whiche saide, all with one 4

calleil liu •

neiMhboiirs uovs, that it was wel done to ponisshen hem in suche wise.

and shewed •' ' *

hiurdone^' '*^ "^^^^ thanne thei had moche meruaile that she wolde loue and
inalveued ^^^® ^^^^^ S^^^ ^^^*® black foule prioure, and lefte to loue a
silouiti'prefer goodly yonge man, wise and riche, that she had to her husbonde ; 8
a Koodiy**'^ but maiii woman farithe as the femalt of the wolff, that chesithe
to her make the foulest wolff of alt that ben in the wode. And
so dede the leude woman, thorugh teniptacion of the deuelt,
Put the more chase this foule monke. And therfor take hede, the more the ^ 2

abominable

the sin, the synue is abhominable the egerlyer thei be tempted bi the deuett,

|f"'P'^V'*" ^^ as he that was a man of religion, and she a wedded woman.

And so it farithe by a woman, yef she synne witA her kynne or

godsyb, the nere thei be of kyn the gretter is the temptacion, 16

. and the more sinfult brenning wilt thei shall ^ haue. And

"The pot therfor it is a trew prouerbe, 'pat "the potte may goo so longe to

may go so , , .

long to the Water, that atte the laste it is broken; ' as this leude woman that

water, tliat at

last it is had her husbonde ten tymes fairer thanne the prioure the whiche 20

broken."

she toke, and that she was ascaped bi the helpe of the fake

* [Foi. 27, bauude her cfodsib of ii suche periles that her husbond* * hadde
col. 2.] *= J 1^

founde by her, and after that she had broken her husbondes
comaundement, and therfor he brake her legges, and yet ' she 24
wolde not be chastised. And therfor, doughtres, here ye may see
It is the devil that it is foly, and the temptacion of the deuelt, that temptithe

that tempts

and enflames and enflamithe the hertis of folke to do this orible synne of

the heart to

lechery. lecheiye, the whiche ys a foule stinking synne. Notwith- 28
stonding, doughters, be ware bi this woman, and of her ^ afore in
this boke, and that ye take no man saue youre husbonde, and
that ye take no yeftes, nor leuithe none eueli counsaile, as dede

Now have I -fchis womau of her eodsib. Now haue y shewed you diuerse 02

shewn you ^ ./ %/ o

ain^^es^of the ^^^saumples of the Bible, and of gestys of kinges, and of other
rechST^tnd^* thingcs, how that lecheri and the disguisyng of youre array •
of anayr'"^ displesid God, and how alt the world was stroied therfor, saue
» ? Cut out either " will " or '" shall." ^ jyiS. " yest" » ? and other

OF APEMENA THE PROUD QUEEN OF SYRIA. 83

.viij. persones, and how Sodom and Gomor, and other .v. Citees,
was brent in stinking sulfure, and sank to heH, and how moche
werres [and] ma9^slaughter hatha fall and fal lithe there from

4 day to day, and how the synne of lechery stiukithe afore God
and his aungeles. And takithe hede how the uirgines had leuer
be martered rather thanne they wolde d*o that foule synne, for
no yefte, nor for no promesse, that might be made to hem ; as

8 seint Katerine, seint Margarete, seint Luce, elleuene thousand'
uirgines, and other mani uirgines, the whiche were to long to
compte the tenthe party of her fermete, for they ouercome the
deuell and hys * temptaciones, and wanne the kingdom of * [i-'oi. 276.
1 2 heuene. And y saie you, doughtres, it is no maistri to absent and how it is

^ „ easy to keep

you from that synne, yet ye won use you to kepe you clene. from sin, if

you will use

And this shall helpe to kepe you, that is, to loue and drede God you to be

clean, and

and youre husbonde, and bethenke you what sorw, harme, and loveand

•^ ' '' ' ' dread God.

16 worldes shame hathe and may fait therof, and ye do amisse ;
and how ye lese the loue of God, and of youre husbonde, kyn,
frendes, and of alt the world e that knouithe you and heres
therof; and therfor, doughters, yef temptacion assailethe you, if tempta.

tions come,

20 haue mynde day and night to make recistens ageynes hem, to resist tiiem

day and night,

kepe you clene and ferme in goodnesse. And bethenke what and ti>i"k oi

^ ^ ® ^ the shame of

ye are, and whennes ye come, and what shame and dishonour ^^^'"g ^'^'i'-
may faH ^ you yef ye do euell.

CHAPTER LXIII.
24 [Of proud women.]

Ow woll y touche of sum women that haue be proude of of women

that are

the worshippes and goodes that God hathe sent vnto proud of

worldly

them, and might not suffre ne endure in ese, as it is con- wealth.

28 teined in the Bible, where he telles of Apemena, doughter of a

symple knight that was called Verar. This Apemena was yonge, of Apemena,

, , wife to the

and of gret beauute, in so moche that the king of Surre, that was king of Syria,
mighti and of gret nobelnesse, had take her in suche manere of
32 loue that thorugli the said folious loue he toke her into his wiff,
and so was she quene of Surry. And whanne she see her selff
* " fatt " repeated in the MS.

6—2

^1 or TIFK PKOUD WIFK OF KIXG IIEROD.

•(•'•'1. 27^. exulted into j^ret puissaniice and worj-lnix!, sho preised no *niore

col. 2.) r> I 1 ' 1

who despised her owHC lynage, but had despite and indignacion of hem,

her own

family, and become so folyously proude that she deigned not to do

reuerence and worshippe unto the kinge as* slie aught f6r to 4
do, for because lie was ^yniple and debonaire ; nor also to his

80 that all lyneage, in so moche that aH nianere of peple had her in hate.

people hated

''«"■• And the king toke wratlie vnto her in suche manere that she

At last the was shent and driuen awey bi the counsaile of the kinjjges g

her away lynaffc, and shc lost the worship that she was in. For mani

w^omen may not suffre whanne thei haue worships and be wel

atte ease, unto the tyme that thorugh her orguylleus port ben

throwen doune of her worshipp^ and astate, as dede this queue 12

that come from pore lynage to gret astate. And theifor euery

The more w^omau that scitlic her husboude esv and svmple unto her

simple a ^ ./ j.

iiusband is, witlioutc malice, in so moclie she auijlit to do hym the more

the mure ' ~ *-

wife'lever- rcuereuce, and to fulfett the sonner his wilt, and to kepe his 16
ence lum. j^^^ . ^^^ therein she worshippes her ^elff, for she may not do
to her husbonde to moche worshi})^. And but yef she do so, it
may happe to make lier husbondes herte to turne from her and
hate her, tlie whiche were gret harme and perett, that there 20
shulde be suche diuision betwene hem that shulde be one.
r/^'*'!^ , I Wott tett you an ensaumple of the ffret kinge Heroudes

lleiods wife, ■ *^ i & fe

I wyff he loued merueylousl3% So it happed he went to Eome,
*[Foi 28, and duryng the tyme of his * being there, the pepitt of his 24

whom the liousliolde purposed to finde a w^ey to hynder his sayd wiff ayenst

j)eople hated

for her hym, for they loued her not, bycause she was to cruelt and to

cruelty.

They set her fers ; and reported unto hym that she hadd' a priui loue bisyde

husband

.-.gainst her hym, and in this wise dishonoured her; of the which the saide 28

by sayiiis? she

had another Herode was greuously wrothe, and of this reproued her. And
and she she ansuered hym fersely and proudely, and demeued her not

answered him

proudly and in ftiirenesse and curtesye, nor so mekely as she shulde do ; so

fiercely, -^ ' / _ '

that the sayd Herode was cruelJ and dispitoiis to her [fi>r] her 32
so that lie orofuilleux laneage, and toke a knifF and slow her, of the whiche

slew her. cs e> & j >

he was afterwarde futt sory, for he fonde tliat she was untruly
accused. And so bi her presumptuous port of langage she made

1 MS. "and"

QUEEN VASTYS WOLLD NOT COME TO HER Ill'.SBAND. 85

her selff to be slayne. And tlierlbr it is a good eiisauni})le to
euery woman to be meke and curteis, and to ansuere mekely,
curtaisly, and softely ayenst of couroux of her husbonde. For
4 the wyse Salamon saithe that, by curtesye and softe wordes, good Soiomon says

tliat by

women shulde abate the yre of thaire husbondes. For the wiff courtesy and

soft words

of rieht owithe to honoure her husbonde, though his speche be ^'"^^^ ^^<''"^"

•^ ' o J. ,„{^y abate

right or wronge, and in special in hys yre tofore the pepitt. [j'^^JJ-g^^n ^^
8 And whanne his yre is passed, she may wetl shew unto hyni
that he had wronge. And so shal she kepe the pees and tlie
loue of her husbonde, and of her housholdc, and shaH not
make her selff blamed nor slayne, as dede the fur.-ft wyff of king
^^ Herodes.

CHAPTER LXIV.
[Of Vastys queen of Assyria.]
Ow wilt y tetl you another eiisaumple of a queue that [I'oi. 28.
was called Vastys, and she was wiff to the king of Assur. or Queen
i6 ""*" ' Hit befell that the said king helde a fest to his bai'ones, to the king of

Assyria,

and there were all the gret barones of his londe ; and the king

and his barones dyned in one halt, and the queue in another.

And whanne it was after diuere, the said barones desired of the

2o kinge that hym lyked that thei might see the queue, that was

merueilously faiie. The king sent vuto her onis, tuyes, thries, who refused

to come to

and she denied not to come. So that the kinge had gret shame her husband

when he sent

therof, and axsed of his barones what he shulde do. And the for her,
24 counsaile gaue hym that he shulde putte her from hym, and and he put

^ ^ ^ her away

that she shulde not come in his presence of all a yere, to geue from him

for a year,

other eusaumple to obeye beter to her husbonde ; and so dede
the king, and made therof a lawe, that from th.nnes forwarde

28 euery woman that disobeyed or esconduyed^ her husbonde of ani
thinge that he comaunded her, so that it were thing resoiiable,
she shulde be mued alt a yere, with litelt mete and drinke,
and kept fiom the communicacion of alt peple, for to shew her

32 her defauute ; and yet holde they the same custume in that as is still the

custom in

Roialme. And thanne the queue was gretly ashamed whanne she that country,
saye she most be in mue, and wepte, and made gret sorw, but it

^ MS. " estondnyed "

8G AMON, THE king's SENESCHAL, WAS VERY IIAUGHTY,

was to late, for bi her pride slie was in mue from sight of the
•[Foi. 286 pepitt atl a yeere. So ye shulde *take here good ensaumplc.

col. 1.] , . .

For in speciatt tofore the pepift ye owe to do tlie comaunde-
Aii example Hient of youre hushondes, and oheye hym, and do hyw wor- 4

tliat a wife

si.ouid obey shippe, and shewe her semhUiunce of loue, yef ye wilt haue the

her hu>bHiid,

especially in louvnw of the worldc. But y saie you not but, whanne ye are

public; "^ ° J J •> J

though when secretly togedre allone, ye may the more largely saye or do

together in c ./ o ^ ./

private, she more yourc wilt, after ye know his manere and condicion. I 8

may spialt '' •'

mind^" wilt tell you the ensaumple of a lyon and of his properte :
A lion, when -yvhanne the lyonesse hathe done hym ani displesere or despite,

the lioness '' j l i »

hfra'^wnumt'^ ^® ^^^^ "^^ turne no more to her of att that day, ne that
timt'day'or ^^ig^^^j ^^^ ^^ thinge that may befalt; he shewes in siiche 12
And as a lion ^v^^® his lordshippe. And it is a good ensaumple to eueri
the lionTss^ womau, whauue a wilde beste, that canne no reson but auent
huSdt^obe that meues hym, makes hemselff dradde and douted of his felaw.

Now take hede thanne ! a good woman aught not to displese ne 16
disobeye her husbonde that God hathe geuen her by his holy
sacrement.

CHAPTER LXV.
[Of the wife of Aman.]
Of the wife of A^^ 5^^^ wott y tett you another ensaumple upon this 20
king's seiie- L\ mat ere, of Amons wiff, the whiche Amon was Seneschatt

schal, who j % r ^ ^ •

rose from -^-— - ^f ^]^g king, and was comen to ^ pore degre and of mene

poverty to

great riches peple, and became riche by his seruice, and purchased londes and

and power,

possessiones, and gouerned also the grettest parti of the londe, 24
and became and become ryche. And he waxe so pore "^ and presumptuous,

so proud that ,,,,, a ^ ^ n i

he would that he wolde that euery persone kneled tofore hym and dede

liave people

kneel before hym gret reuereuce. So it be fett that Mardocheus, that was

him.

* [Foi. 286. of grete noblesse, and had norisshed the queue after, the whiche 28

col. 2.] , ...

But Mar- was a good and gracious lady and luste. And it displesed

docheus, a • •> -xr -x ^

nobleman, gretly to the said Mardocheus of the pride and presumpcion of
disdained ^i^^t mail that was comeii of not, and deigned not to do hym

him, so that ' '-^ "^

and Told S^'' worshipe, ne to rise afore hym, and of the whiche the said 32
advised'him Amou was right fel and wrothe, and compleyned hym therof
docheuft^o^ to his wiff, the whiche was proude and of gret corage as he was,

*^'^"' 1 ? for '•■ of ". 2 proud (?).

AND WAS HUNG ON THE GIBBET HE HAD REARED FOR ANOTHER. 87

and counsailed hym that lie lete rise a iebet tofore his (lore,
and that he made hange the said Mardocheus theruj^on, and
to put sum cas upon hym thorujirh the whiche he had deserued upon some

^ 1 c/ & ^ ^ false cl large.

4 dethe. And tl>o fole Amon beleued his wiff, thorugti the
whiche hym befelt gret mischeef. For, whanne he had reised But when he

had raised

the iebet, the frendes of thilke Mardocheus went rennynff to the thegii)bct.

•^ ° the friends of

quene, and tolde her what Amon wolde do to hym that had Mard.cJieus

^ *' went to the

8 norisshed her. And the quene for tliat cause went to seche fi'ieen, wiio

^ asked the

Amon, and he come tofore the kinge, and he was diligentely j^JJ'^jjJ" '"''^'^®
enquered for the cause that he hadde putte upon hym, so that it ^J^g found'*
was founde that the said Mardocheus was not culpable therof, cheusiiad

12 but that the other hadde done it by enuye. Thanne the quene wronj,', she
after kneled tofore her lorde, and besought hym that men Amon should
shulde do sem[bla]ble iustice to Amon the seneschatt, and that instead;
he and his children were hanged tofore the gate, to shewe that

i6 falsly * and by enuie he hadde iuged the said Mardocheus. And » [Foi. 29,

col.l.]

as the good ladi had required, it was done; for he was hanged and so he

T-i* I'll ija.1 1-1' ^^^^' ^^'th all

atte his yate, and his seuene children, and an thorugn his his children.
piide and oultrecuydance, and by the folynesse counsaile of his
20 wyff. Thanne it is gret foly to a man that is comen of mene Therefore it

is great folly

degre, and of naught, to be proude that he knew not hym selff, for men,

come of mean

for ani erthely good, and that he dispise ne dispreise none (degree, to be
other persone, but, and he be wise, he ought to meke hym selff,
24 to that entent to fatt in the grace of alt men, and that men

haue none enuie upon hym ; for men haue often tymes gret for men envy

more those

enuie of them that coiiiithe of mene degie thanne of hem that who have

risen, than

comen of ffood place and automd of auncetry. And also the ti'ose who are

, . born great.

28 wiff of the said Amon was not wise, whan she saw the wrathe
and courance of her husbonde, to susteyne hym in his foly, [for
every wise woman should fair ] and curtesly suage and do awey
the wrathe of her husbonde by fayre wordes and softe, and

32 specially whan she seithe hym moued to do ani harme, or veleiii,

of the whiche dishonoure and harme might folw. As the wiff of

Amon, that undernam not her husbonde of his foly, but rather

atysed hym, and gaue hym counsaile thorugh the whiche he

^ Fr. Car toiit^ saige femme doit Id ]

88 JEZEBEL TAKES THE VINEYARD OF XABOTII,

•niiswftgooii (leied foule anil feloiiUh«Iy, »Su Una is a "oofill ensauunilc tliat

exiiiiiple lliiil •' o L J X

« woiuai. .^ woman elmkle not susteine her liusbonde in liis wratti and

Biioiilu not

hSm'iul m wiiilyiicolye, but sliulde rather undernyme ^ hym bi resones, litett
try to reason' ^^"^^ Htett, wliat hamies and inconueniencej mow come therof to 4
^*«\'f"i "•>') ^^'^ foule body ; and so shulde do eueri good * woman anent her
col. 2.) hiisbonde ; wherfor, faire doughters, take here ensaumple, and
beholde what harme befell anone ^ thorugli the foly of his wyff.

CHAPTER LXVI.
[Of queen Jezebel.] 8

Of Queen AFter y shal tell you an ensaumple of an euett queue and

diners and to cruell, and how it befell her. And that

who hated fwas] quenc Gesabelt, that had mani euett taches. Furtt,

pour men,

slie hated pore men, and att manere of men of the whiche she n
hermits, and might uaught haue sum manere of thinge. She liated Ermites, men

holy men,

of holy chirche, and att them that taught the cristeu faithe, and
making tiiem made them to be robed and betin, so that it behoued [them] to

to be beaten.

fle oute of the Eeaume. She had no mercy of no man, and i6
Therewa^5a therfor was shc cursed and hated of God and man. Ther was a

man called

Nabotb. nian that was called Nabot, the whiche had a good pece of

vbo had a o i

vineyard that wvnc, and the kiuge desired often tymes to haue it by beying or
wanted, otherwise, but that good man wolde not consent tlierto with 20
good herte. And so saide the king to the abouesaid queue his
wyff, that he was sori that he might not haue the pece wyne.
so Jezebel And she sayde she wolde make hym wett to haue it ; and so
to death; she dcde. For by treson she made murdre the saide Nabot, 24

which fJ's-

pieased God, and made come false witnesse that he hadde geuen her that
jehoshaphat wyue ; of the whiche it displesed God. And the king Josue

made war iitii«a

on Ahab, scut for to make her werre, so that he toke the king Ataz, and

and Ahab

wjis slain. about .Ix. children, what gret and litett, that he had norisshed 28

This was the /.i-it

vengeance of among his men, and made cutte of thaire hedes. And that was

God.

*[Foi. 296. the punicion and the uengeaunce of God. And as to that euett
col. 1.]
The queen quene * Gcsabctt, she putte her in a garet to see the kinge

went toa^ . • ^ i ^ex^ •

garret to see Josue passe, and made her quemt, and arraied her seln in 32

the king

Josiah pass, clothes of golde and ermynes and gret precious stones, att
^ MS." undermyne." Fr. repremlre. ^ "{for a mun.

AND WAS KILLED, AND EATEN BY DOGS. 89

disguysed in, and in otlier manere tlianne the other women
were. And she was displesed and proude that, as sone as she
sawe the kincje, she he^anne to curse, and saie att the villane «'^"f^ cursed

^ ' ° ' him aloud,

4 that she coude. And the kinge beganne to heliolde the
queintise and tlie disguisyng of her clothinge, and herkcnid the
malice and pride of her hincfaffe, and coraaunded sum of his men sotiiatiie

^ & o ^ b;ide his men

that thei shulde goo tliedir and caste her downe, and the hede to- throw her

'-' down ;

8 fore, in the sight of alt the peple. And as he comaunded, it was

done, for they toke her and caste her downe. And she deyed

velonusly, and the kinge comaunded that, for her gret mischef

that she liad done, that she shulde haue no berielles; and

12 nomore she hadd', hut was eten and deuoured with dogges, and and her body

/.«,! . ,. • i ^ -IT p ^^''* eaten by

SO fell her gret pride. lor m suche wise God vengithe hym of dogs.
them that haue no pitee of poure men, nor of the seruauntes of
holy chirche, and that be cruclte and couetise makithe do
i6 mani euett mordres; as dede that quene that so susteined her
husbonde in his foly, thorugh the whiche befell gret harme.
So this is good ensaumple to be petous of poure men, and of This is an

example to

the seruauntis of holy chirche, and not forto atise ne creue ^^e pitiful to

"^ ^ poor men and

30 euett counsaile to her husbonde ;' and also not to be disguysed, servants of

7 o J J ],ojy church,

but to holde the astate of good ladies of her contre ; and also and not to

say great

not to tempte ne to saie gret wordes to a gretter thanne thou words to a

greater tiian

art thi self. thyself.

* [Fol. 296.

CHAPTER LXVII. coi.2.]

24 [Of Athaliah, and queen Brunehault.]

"W'T'Et wott y tett you another ensaumple of Eutalia, that was of Eutaiia,

m r»x 1 1 u-TT • 1 queen of

W quene of lerusalem, and was eueii and dmerse without en Jerusalem,

I ^ ^ ^ ^ _ who had no

ani pitee. For whanne Ozias, her childe, was dede, she bi pity, and slew

all her grand-

28 treson made slain att the children of her sone, and alt the heiies, cinidren; save

one, that was

saue only one, that a good man, that was called Joadis, lete '''^ ^y ^ sood
norisshe priuely. That quene putte her selff in possession of
the Eeaulme, and of all the goodes, and dede mani aduersiteez
32 to the pepitt, by tailez and subsidiez, as she was w?*t/ioute reson

and pete. And whanne she had done harme ynow and cruelte And when

slie had done

in the Eeaume, the childe that was norisshed priuely, and harm enough,

the grandson

thilke Joadys that had norisshed hym, toke her and made her P"* I'^r to

*^ "^ ' death.

36 deye an euett and a shamfutt dethe. And so had she rewarde

OF BRUNEUAULT, QUEEN OF FRANCE.

<Jod always
rewards nc-
foriliiifi to
destirta eitlier
fi\r or near.

Of queen
l!ruiuhault
of France,

Vlio killed
her eluldren
and grand-
children.

But God
repaid her
at last ;

*[Ful. 30,

col. 1.]
for one of the
children, who
had escaped,
called the
harons to
judgment on
her, and she
was drawn to
pieces hy
horses.

"So oft go-
eth the pot
to water, that
at the last it
conieth
broken
liome."

Of Miriam,
the sister of
Moses,

who dis-
pleased God
by her envy
of her brother,
and was
punished by
leprosy.

An example
of the evil
of envy.

» [Fol. 30,
col. 2.]

of her nierite in the ende. For attwey God yelclithe after tlie
desert on her in the lyff or in the dethe ; for there is none eut-tt
dede but that it is ponisshed other ferre or nigh.

Iwol teft you an ensauniple of a quene of Fraunce, that was 4
named Bum, and that was the queue of the whiche Sibille
spake and profesied, and Baide " Brun shaft come into the
kingdom of Fraunce, that shal do meruailes." And so befett it, for
she made slee of her children, and of the children of her children, 8
and that a gret nombre ; and y canne not tett you the halff of her
cruelte, nor murdereres, tresones, and occasiones that she had
done. But she was paied, as it plesed to God, atte the laste.
For a * childe of her childe, that skaped alyue, the whiche knew 1 2
the gret euett dedes and crueltees that she had dou«, he putte
her dedes in iugement afure the baronis of the londe, and she
was iuged to be distroied, and drawen to peses with hors. And
so was it done. And she deyed an euett dethe, and wikedly, 16
as she euett and cruelly made deye the Innocent kingges blode.
And therfor, in olde Englisshe, it is saide that " so ofte goth the
potte to water, that atte the laste it comithe broken home."

CHAPTER LXVIII.

[Of Envy.] 20

Iwott tett you an ensaumple upon enuye, of Marie, Moyses
Buster, that for enuye that she was not as wel beloued of
God as her brother Moyses, and that God herde not as wett
her request as Moyses, and therfor she had enuye and despite 24
of her brother, of the whiche she had displesaunce to God, and
he made her become mesett, so that she was putte awey, and
departed from alt the pepilt. But neuertheles, Moyses and
Aaron had pitee of her, and made praier to God that hym liked 28
to hele her, and atte tliaire request she was hole. So take here
an ensaumple that it is euett to haue enuye upon other, and
how God ponisshed this woman that was the most noblest that
was in that tyme, that she was departed from att other pepitt 32
by the meselrye. For often tymes God ponisshed so the
enuyous and the euett spekers. And therfor, faire doughtres,
take here a good ensaumple that it is vilauous a vice to en-
liauncc hem ,selfF for to * blame and bringe downe another. 36

THE WIFE WHO PRIDED HERSELF OX HER CHILDREN. 91

CHAPTER LXIX.
[Of one of the wives of Arthana.]

wolde ye knewe another ensaumple upon this matere, of one of Anhana,
of the wiffes of a giet lorde that was called Arthana, the wives,'
whiche had .ij. wififes aft^r the custume at that tyme, of the
whiche, one was called Phanona, and that other Aina ; the
whiche Ama w>s a worthi lady and a good, but she might haue of whom one,

AT- 1 Ama, had no

no children by her husbonde. And in that tyme were most children,
8 preised they that bare children, of the whicTi the woman that
hadde children had gret pride that she hadde so mani faire
children, and therfor she had of that other w}ff despite, enuye, andwasthere-

fore mocked

and disdayne, and mocked her in sayeng gret velanies, and saide ^^y the other
12 that she was bareyne, and dede erthe, of the whicli she had '^o"*-
gret shame, and wepte often tymes, and compleyned her to God^
and made gret sorw. And God, that se her meke'nesse and But God, to

reward her

lownesse, and the pride, enuye, and despite of that other wyff, meeitness,

gave her

i6 he made deye all the children of that other wiff, and to her many chii-

•^ ' dren,

that hadde no children gaue gret plente, for the whiche her while the
husbonde toke her in gret loue, and helde her more dere Phauona

died.

thanne that other wiff, whos children were dede. And therfor
2o the iugementis of God are merueilous, for he hatithe aK
man ere of enuye, and chastisithe doun, whanne hym luste, the
enuyous, and he exhaunsithe the meke, that besechithe his grace
and mercy. And therfor it is a good ensaumple that no woman An example

that no wo-

24 shulde be proude of the goodes and graces that God hathe sent man should

_ be proud of

her, nor haue enuye nor despit * upon other, as hadde Phanona what God

that had children, the whiche had enuie and despite upon Ama, ^'®''-

' r I » «[Fol. 306.

the whiche had none. And therfor God punissheth her upon coi. 1.]
28 her children, that alt deyde, and gaue vnto that other mani,

Men should

that leued. Suche bethe the iuoementis of God. And therfor take good ex-

ample, and

men shulde take efood ensaumple, and thanke God of his ffood- *''*"'^ ^^'^ ^J

*^ -^ *-* goodness, and

nesse and sfentilnesse, and to be meke to hym and to haue none "P*^ ^® ^"*

® ' "^ V10U3.

52 enuj^e nor despite. Now will y leue this matere, and speke of ^0^^'"^

■"• speak of covet-

another^ upon couetise. ousness.

0:1 Till-: Kvii.s OK covinorsN'Ess.

CIIAITKK LXX.
[Of Covetousness.]
Of Delilah ■ wott tctl you ail eiiti^iiumple of a fals woman that was called

the wife of

tiumaon, | DuHtle, that was wiff to Sampson forte, the whiche loued

her merueilously, in so nioche that he dede no thinge hut 4
to whom, that she wost therof. And for the gret lone that he had to her,
other, he told he was SO folisslie that he dij-couered hym to her that alt the

that hia

strength lay strcngtlic was in the here of his hede. And whanne the fals

in his huir.

woman knewe that, she tolde it to the payens that were his 8
enemys, that', yef thei wolde geue her a good rewarde, she wolde
make hem take her husbonde. And the i:)ayens behight her
that yef she might do it, that she shulde haue a gret somme of
And she, iiioiieye. And she, that was gretly enfecte with couetise, 13
money, thorugh her large proferes, ouercame her husbonde with wyne

and flatering langage, that she made hym slepe in her lappe.
cut off his And, the mene while that he slepte, she share of and cut awey
and'gavehim ^^^ heres of his hede, and sent for the payens, the whiche she 16
*rFo"Tor*' ^^^^^6 hidde in a busshement for hym* and made hym there to
col. 2.] i^g taken. And whanne he awoke, he fonde that he had lost his
strengthe, for tofore-honde he was mighti ynow to haue foute
with .iij. Ml men, and whan he was taken into her hondes he hadde 20
wiio bound no might to defende hym, but they bonde hym, and putte oute
his eyes, and hys cyeu, and made hym turne in a mille hous as a blynde hors.
turn a mill. Now beholde how, thorugh couetise of a lytett golde, that wiked

woman betrayed her husbonde, the Avhiche was most douted 24
and most vaillaunt of all erthely creatoures, notwithstondiiige
the gret loue and truste that he had unto her. Truly couetyse
is in euery persone a right abhominable synne. For the couetous
hert dare wel vndertake to do gret folyes and inconueniantis. 28
Covetousness For couetisc makithe lordes to do lapine, extorcion, and

makes lords ' . . .

rapacious, tyraunye upon the pepifl ; and clerke and religieux to do
situony, symonie, and to draw to hem other mennys goodes by fals

citizens to be • ^ , . -o j - 1 j^ i

usurers, symouiez and proactiques; Burgeys and other to be vsureres; 32
maids and pore men to be theues and murdereres : Maydenes and wedues

widows to be

strumpets, to be strouipetys ; children to desire the dethe of the fader and

i MS. "thaf"

Pi\M.SOX REVENGER IIIMSEI^F OX II fS WIFE AND ITER FRIENDS. 93

moder, forto liaue tliairc ffood al only, and iiuiiii other iiicoiiue- a'"iciiiidren

to want tlieir

iiiencis. Judas, thorugh ^ couetise of a litett siluer, betrayed oiire fathers ^'oods.
Lorde ; and so do now a dayes these aduocates and pledours tliat juJa" be-'
4 sellithe the worde* and Inngage that God hatha yeuen hem in Lord, as do

T w- advocates

meyntenaunce of fals quarellys, and, for a liten syhier, to that seii the

language

j)uttc a ffood * man from his right, and other while lioldithe that God

• ° has given

on bothe parties for to finde way to gadre money, and in suche them, and

^, ^ o ./' ♦[Fol. 31,

8 wise disposithe the comune langage that God hatha geuen them. coi. i.]
And therfor couetise is right deseiuable, thorugti tha wliiche silver, put a

good man

tliis Dalida made spitt Sampson her husbonda, that was so faire, f':oni lus

stronge, and mighty. But afterwarde God yelde her that she had j{ut (iod re-
warded Dali-
12 deseruid, for slie was afterwaide wedded to one of tlie paycns laii, for when

' she married

and made a gret and solemr)ne fest, where were assembled moclie "gain, and

^ made a great

peple. And by that tyme Sampson here of his hede was growen ^^^^t'
ayan, and had his strengthe as ha hadde afore ; and lie berde samson, wiio

h id become

i6 tett of this feste., and lete lede hym vnto the place where it st''o>'g ''iMain,

came to it,

shulde be, and was ladde to the mnister j^illour of tha halla, bi
the whiche alt tha halt was susteined, and toke that pillour
with his two hondes, and drow downe that pillour, so that alt .indpuiied

down the

20 the hatt felt upon them. And there was slayne Dalida and the house, so

that -she and

most partie of alt that were atte the weddinoe. And so was he many others

■*■ ^ were killed.

venged of that cursed woman, the whiche was slayne in that
wise. For God wolde that she ware ponisshed for her cursid-
24 nesse, as reson was, that for her euetl dede she had euel.

CHAPTER LXXI.
[Of wrath.]

wilt tell you how, thorugh a litelt wrathe and goinge awey How great

harm came

of a woman from her husbonde, become a gret sorw and '"''Jni a wo.

'^ man s going

hnrme. There was a worthi man and noble of the mount f'^^'^-y ^""" ,

her husband.

of Effram, the whiche was maried to a gentilt woman of Beleen, ^o"se"of^"'^
and that gentilt woman, for a * litelt wrathe and displesaunce, jf/j^J'^fed" and
that she toke with her husbonde, went sodenly vnto her fader, Trp^^ 3^
32 for the whiche lier husbonde was sori, and went after to fet her *^°'' ^'^
1 MS. ''sorugfe" 2 MS. " worlde." Fr.ptirole.

94 THE PEOPLE OF f.ABEL AIIE KIIXKD BY THE EPHUAI MITES.

for a little avcii. And her fader blamed Iter gretly that she yede awev, and

cause went

away t,. her dcUuered her unto her hubbonde. 80 her husbonde and she, in

fiithtr, who

buimed her, retournin<T towarde thaire home, loged in a toune called Gabel,
hustand'*"^ in the whiche was gret nombre of yonge pepilt, wilde and enfecte 4
Going home with lechery, come into the hous where they were locjed in the

together, . .

tiiev lodged ni''ht, and toke her from her husbonde by force, and Rauisshed

at Gabel, ° ' _ _ . *

where some lier vclonusly, notwithstondini; that thaire oste, where thei were

young men '' ^ °

ravished the loged, wolde liaue take them one of his doughters to haue 8
And on the forbome and saue the saide gentilwomau, but they wolde for no

morrow she

died for thing, but toke her forthe and fouled her. And on the morw,

sorrow.

Her husband wlianuc she sayc her selff so shamed and defouled, she deyed

cut her body

in twelve for sorugh ; and thanne her husbonde toke her forthe with hym 12

pieces, and

sent the home to his place, and cutte her into .xij. peces, and sent euery
his friends, pg^jg "with lettrcs to certaiue of her frendes, to that entent that
thei might be ashamed of her, and of her goinge away, and
also that they might haue wilt to take vengeaunce upon hem 16
that dede her that veloni and shame. Of the whiche dede, whanne
her frendes had knowlage, they made gret sorugli, and assembled
who slew hem and att thaire puissaunce togedre, and yede to the said toune

33,000 of the 7.

people of of GabaK, and slow therfor xxxiij thousande persones, men and 20

Gabel.

*[Foi. 31&. women. Therfor, doughter^, *take hede suche a vengeaunce
was done for that leude dede of her going away ; that is to saie,
that she was dede, and so mani men slayne, the whiche shulde
haue no harme and she had not for wrathe gone awey from her 24
husbonde ; and mani were slayne for her that hadde no gilt.
Therefore, And thcrfor cuery woman aught to restraine wrathe, and to plese
ought to stay and. sufFre her husbonde, and he be wrothi, w^th faire langage,

with her

husband, and and not to go away from hym, as dede that woman, of the 28

try to please

him. whiche come moche sorugh, as the detlie of her selff and of so

gret nombre of pepitt.

CHAPTER LXXir.
[Of a woman who would not obey her husband.]
Of a woman TT wolde ye knew another ensaumple upon the woman that 32

that would I iT'iT /'Till nil

not eat with ■ wolde not ete atte the bidding of her husbonde. Ihere was

her husband, [

"■" a lady that wolde not come ete with her husbond? whanne he

THE EVILS OF HAVING FLATTERERS. 95

was atte mete, for no thywg that he coude sale her nor comaunde
her. And he saw that ; and whanne he had etin, he sent for his
swyne-herde, and made fette the kichin clothe that his disshes
4 were wiped with, and spied it on a borde, and sette mete theron,
and made the swvne-herthe sitte doun theratte : and thanne an^ he made

'' ' her sit at

he called his lady his wyff, and saide her, " Sethe ye wol not ete ^^^^ ^Y'^''

J -J ' ' '' the swine-

in my companie with me, ye shatt sitte downe and ete here with •'®''^-
8 the swyne-herthe, for there shal none other man holde you
corapani at youre mete/* And whedir she ware wrothe or
gladde, he made her sitte doun. And she wepte and made
moche sorugh that her husbonde wolde chastise her so, to make
12 her be serued in so unsfoodly *wise. And, therfor, alt women *[Fo1. 3i&.

° "^ col. 2.]

aught to be humble, and to fulfett her husbondes comaundement, Aii women

should eat

and to ete with hym in his presence rather thanne with ani witii their

husbands.

other.

CHAPTEE LXXIII.
i6 I wolde ye knew an ensaumple upon flatering.

THere was a gret lorde of Grece that hight Sisana, that yede of the mother
. I'll A 1 . of a lord of

to a bataile m the whiche he was slayne. And so his Greece, wiio
was told he
moder had gret desire to here tydinsfcjes of her sone. And was alive

20 there was a flatering woman with her that saide, " Madame, ^®*^'
abasshe you not, for my lorde youre sone hath had the felde
and takin mani prisoners, and he tariethe for the kepinge of
hem and deliueraunce." And these flatereres plesed the lady

24 with false wordes to make her gladde, as done these flatereres
now a dayes among lordes, that tellith not the trouthe to make
hem to haue gladnesse of not, as dede this woman to this good
lady that saide that her sone had uictori, and it was alt the

28 contr[ari]e : he was slayne. And afterwarde,whanne the ladi wost and ahnost
yt, she deyed almost for sorugh. Therfor it is euelt to haue sorrow when

. she knew the

natererez about a man ; for they dare not saie the trouthe, nor truth,
geue true and iuste counsaile, but bringe thaire lordes and to have

fluttcrGrs

32 ladies oute of the right waye. So men shulde not leue no
flatereris; for they that dothe, is i.ot but to deceiue and to do

OF WIVE^ WHO BETRAY TIIKIR HUSBANDS SECRETS.

plesaunce forto baue good, and forto be loued. For ye sliuMe
beter know you, yef ye be wise ; but ye auglit to loue bcin tliat
witt toll vou voure good, and will telt you the trouth.

• [Fol. 82,
col. 1.]

Sampson
made a wager
with some
pagans, whicli
lie lost
tin-ough bis
wife.

No woman
should dis-
cover her
liushand's
secrets.

CHAPTER LXXIV.

I wolde ye herde an ensaumple of Sampson the
fortis wiff.

He said Sampson, he made a wager with diuers Payens, of
.XXX. gownes of silke, that they shuld" not vndo certaine
redelles that he declared vnto them. So it happed that his 8
wiff cesed neuer to speke and to crie on hyni vnto the tyme that
she wost what it was, and, whanne she knewe it, she discouerid ]jer
husbonde, and made hym lese the .xxx. gownes. And whan her
husbonde wist that she had discouered it, he hated her gretly, la
and putte her away from hym, and went vnto the payens that
had wonne the wager, and toke of hem and dispoiled them for
dispite of his wiff. So this is here a good ensaumple to a
woman that shulde not discouer for no thinge the secret nor the i6
counsaile of her husbond", lesse she fait in the yre and hate of
hym, as dede this Sampsones wiff; for it is treson, whanne a
man trustithe in her, and she discouered his counsaile, the
whiche she is bounde to kepe secrete and priuei. 20

I wolde ye wost the tale of the squier that had a yong

Y wol

Of a squire
who told his

wife he had wiff, In What wiso he said and proued her :

laid two eggs,

tett you a gret counsaile, but discouer me not for no

•[Fol. 32,
col. 2.]

and she told
her gossip,

thinge of this that y saie you, for my worshippe liethe 24
therin, and therfor, for the loue of God , teH it not.

THere is befatl vnto me suche an auenture, that y haue
leide ij eggis." And she sware, and assured her hus-
bonde, that she wolde neuer speke therof vnto no crea- 28
toure ; but hereupon she thought longe tyme til tliat she might
fynde a wey to *goo vnto her godsib, — ''Y wolde tett you a
thinge of gret priuete, and ye witt ensure me to holde it
counsaile.'' And her godsib behight her to do so. " So helpe 3a

HOW A HUSBAND PROVED HIS WIFE. 97

me so, my dere godsib, there is befatt a merueilous auenture
vnto my husbonde, for he hathe ylaide .iij. eggis." " A ! seint
Marie," said this godsib, '' this is a gret raeruaile ! how may it
4 be ? it is a straunge thinge ! " but, whanne aft was saide, thei
departed. And the godsyb that hadde herde the wiffes counsaile, The gossip

I'liiii repeated the

in an haste she gothe forthe vnto another godsib that she had, taie to others,

and spoke of

and tolde euery worde the counsaile that such a squier had five eggs.
8 leyde .v. eggis. And in this wise it was reported, furst bi the
wiff, and after bi the godsibbes in counsaile from one to an
other, tift aft the contre spake therof, and that the squier At last the

squire heard

herde of the speche, and how he was renounced that he had leide of it, and

reproved his

12 .V. effgis. And thanne he called his wiff vnto hym before her wife before

^° her family,

frendes and her kin, and saide vnto her, " Dame, y tolde you in
counsaile suche thinge as ye haue discouered and saide it forthe
in suche wise as now aft the contre spekithe therof; for there y
1 6 tolde you that y had leide .ij. eggis, thanked be God and yowr
good report, ye haue encresed hem vnto the noumbre of .v. eggis ;
and, though it be the contrarie of aft that ye haue saide, y saying he had

feigned the

feyned suche a thinge and tolde it you in counsaile, and aft was story to prove

how she

20 forto preue you how ye wolde kepe myn counsaile as ye be- "^y^^^ '^eep
hight me to do. Wlierin y haue founde you of gret defauute,
and not true vnto me.'' And hereupon the wiff was so sore a-
shamed, that she west not what *she might do nor sey, for »[FoI. 326.

24 there was none excusacion in her folye. And bi this ensaumple
aft good women aught to be ware and auised that they discouer
not the counsaile of her husbonde, but euer more, as she is y-
bounde, to kepe his counsaile and fulfeft his comaundement.

28 Fayre doughtres, y shal teft you an ensaumple

[CHAPTER LXXV.]

Of MicheH, the wife of Dauid, that was an holy man,
and loued God aboue alle thinge.

IT befel atte a gret feste, whiche was made before the arke At a great
, feast before

52 alter the custume of the lues, in the whiche arke was the Ark of

. . God,

manna wherewith the children of Israel were Refecctoned as it

98 UOW DAVID WAS SCORNED OP HIS WIFE.

reyned doun from heuene unto hem, and there was therein also

the table of the law and the yerde wherewith Moyscs departed

King David the sec. And for to worship God, kinge Dauid putte hym selff

sang with the . • /• i i • • t

prie;*t8 at the in the temple amonge the preestis, for to harpe and to singe with 4

altar ;

hem before the auuter. And his wyff beholdinge hym in such
for which his wise amonge the prestis, she dysdeyned thereatte, and had scorne

wife scorned

him, therof, and scornfully she saide that hym semed beter to be a

mynstrelt thanne a kinge. And as sone as Dauid had vnderstonde 8
that she hadde spoken in suche wise, he ansuered her, there was
no kinge nor queue to good to serue God, nor worthi therto but
thorugh his goodnesse, and more a kinge is bounde to obey and
nnddis- serue God thanne another symple creature. So that it dis- 12
God and her plcsed both vuto God and vnto her husbonde of that she had

husband.

•[I'^oi. 326. do and saide, in so *moche that from that tyme forthe her

col. 2 1

husbonde escheued her cumpany, and she fel vnto gret disese
and sikenesse; For God shewed her gret punissyon for her pride 16
and foly. For euery good woman owithe to move and excite her
lorde and husbonde unto the seruice of God, for att good and wor-
shipe that man or woman hathe, it comithe of God. And therfor
alt suche as loue to serue God and holi chirche, thei aught to be 20
preised ; and namly a woman vnto her husbonde shulde not
iape nor scorne hym for no manere of thinge. And yef she had
cause to speke of ani thinge, she owithe to speke it in priuite and
in goodly wyse vnto her husbonde, and neither to ansuere nor 24
to saie no thinge in the presence of the peple vnto his dis-
plesaunce, for doute of mani gret Inconueniencys : as the wise
man saithe, "the displesaunt seruice or vngoodly ansuere of a
woman vnto her husbonde is cause and deceperacion of the loue a 8
betwene hem, and causithe the man forto be yrous and cruel in
should be wordc and dede." And therfor, faire doughters, bi this en-
courteous to saumple take hede how alt good women owe to be humble,

their has- . . , -i

bands. curteis, and seruisable vnto her husbondes. 32

KING David's adulteky and murder. 99

[CHAPTER LXXVL]
Another ^ ensaumple of Bersabe the wiff of Vrie.

THis Bersabe duelled before the paleis of kinge Dauid, and, as natiisheba
1 ^ t • •! <^welt before

she kembed her hede atte a wyiidow, the kinge percemed the palace of

David, who

4 her. And she was right faire raerueylously in euery beauute saw her,
that longith to woman, wherwith the kinge was gretly tempted,
and sent for her and*-^ [so moche he dyde that lie laye with her, and, [Caxton,

^ g. in. b.]

bycause of the folyssh plesaunce and delyte that he toke with her, and lay with

her, and had

8 he dyde sende his lettres to Joab, whiche was chyuetayne and her husband
capitayn of his boost, that he sholde put Vrye in suche place that
he myght be slayne. Vrye bare hym self the lettres of his dethe,
for in certayne it was done as the kynge *had?wreton. And? thus * [g. nij.]
12 kynge Dauyd'made double synne, for an homycyde he was, and'

hadde accomplysshed' and' done the synne of leclierye. Wherfor But God was

/-N-h f ^ vii 1 ii» displeased,

God' was displeased', and sente to hym and to his reame many and sent

many evils to

euyls, wherof the nombre were to longe to reherce. And" all him and his

realm, in

i6 this meschyef cam by the pryde that Bersabee had of her herte. punishment.
Therfore a woman ought not to be proude of ony beaute that
she hath [or] shewe her self only to please the world.

[CHAPTER LXXVIL]

The demaunde or askyng that the moder of Salamon
2o made. Capitulo Ixxvij.

He moder of kynge Salamon, whiche was a good lady, dy(J^ Solomon's

t mother

requyre of Salamon her sone that he wold' graunte and wanted him

to consent to

fyaunce her to a man whiche was a paynym and' theyr enemve. ''^r marrying

'' 1 ./ ./ J ./ a pagan ; but

24 Salamon ansuerd? that this enemy shold' neuer haue the wyf of ^® ^^^"'^ "°**

his lord) his fader. She held her thenne for nyce and? ashamed?

of that she had? be warned' of her demaunde and' requeste.

Therfor euery woman ought to thynke, or she requyre her lord
28 of ony thynge, yf her requeste be resonable or not. I wold' ye a duchess of

knewe the folysshe requeste which the duchesse of Athenes a bastard son,

1 MS. " In other."

' Here follows a lacuna in the MS., which is supplied from Caxton's
translation, leaving out his //, and putting in some stops and capitals.

7-2

100 THE FOLLY OP THE DUCHESS OP ATHENS.

for whom 8iie made to the du^e her lorJl She had" a bastard^ sone, and*

dusSired Uia

iiater for a therfoF she made her requeste to her lord", that he myght haue
to his wyf his owne suster. And" the duk, that savve her
symplenes, beganne to lawghe, and" dysBymyled" her requeste, and' 4

but the duke sayJ that he shold" speke with his Frendes of it. She thenne,

would not

consent; that wold" fayn haue sene this maryage to be couenaunced' and'
graunted', rested' not to speke to her lord of it, tylle at the laste
wherefore he sayd' to her that it shold' not be done ; wherfore she tooke 8

she was sick i • i i rm

for grief, suche a sorowe m her herte that she laye seke therof. The duk

prayd' her, and' also made her to be prayd' by other, to come &

80 that her lye with hym, but she wold' not. Wherfore the duke was wrothe,

lord was

wroth, and & he sware and' sayd that neuer she shold' lye in his bedde, and'u

sent her away

from him. made her to be conueyed' in a castel. Here is thenne a good
ensample how a woman ought to be ware her self that she
requyre not her lord of nothyng vnresonable or dishonest, &
hou J^at she must obeye hym, & not do lyke as f)^ duchesse of ig
Athenes did, wherfor her lord exyled & put her fro hym.

[CHAPTER LXXVIIL]
The lugement of the kynge Salamon. Capitulo Ixxviij.
[g. iiij. b.] Wylle telle yow an Ensample of a fals woman. Two wymmen

Two women J i-iii ii-i-i» i -h

lodged in one werc somtyme, whiche bothe were lodged' in one hows, and' 20

house,

and tiie child eche of them had' a sone, whiche children were bothe seke, and

of one was

killed. bothe borne vpon one daye. It befell on a nyght that one of

them was by aiienture smouldredl His moder, that sawe hym

She took the dede, went anone as a fals woman, and' toke the other child' 24

other woman; whichc lyued', & in hir cradell leyd" her sone whiche was dede,
and' he that lyued' she leyd' in her cradel. And thenne, whanne
the other woman cam to see and' take heed to her child) and'
sawe hym that was dede, she anon knewe that it was not her 28

whence came sonc ; whcrof sourdcd' a grete content and stryf bytwene these

a strife be-
tween them, two wymmen, in so moche that the cause and' matere was

brought tofore Salamon. And after he had herd' their debate

and stryf, he sayd; "Lete a swerd be brought hyder^ and I 32

HOW rehoboam's children suefered for his sins. 101

slialle parte this child in two, and gyue to eche of them one King Soio-
half/' She to whome the child" apperteyned" not, answer^ and" tiie living

child to be

saya she was content ; and" she that was moder of the child divided

between the

4 saydl " Rather than it shold" be done, I haue leuer to quvtte women,

'' ' ^ ^ but the true

yow and" gyue yow my parte, soo that his lyf may be sauedl" mother
Thenne the kynge iuged" that the child? shold" be gyuen to her tJJe^^in*' a've
that wold haue hym to be saued"; and soo was the treason of JJgr/^'"''^ ^'^
8 the fals woman approuued" and" knowen.

[CHAPTER LXXIX.]

How the synne of the fader is noyus to his Children.
Capitulo Ixxix.

The wife of

^ Nother ensample was of the wyf of kynge Roboam. She King Rei.o

1 2 had" a child? whiche was seke, wherfor the kyng sente the d&g^ised^o

quene to a holy prophete, to praye hym that he wold impetre to to ask about
God' the helthe of theyr child! The quene wente to hym, and" *

as she was come tofore the dore of his hows, and? or euer he

i6 sawe her, by the grace of the Holy Ghost, he knewe what she her, a^ndS
was, and also what she wold", and" sayd? to her with a hyghe voys, dead,*^" ^^^^
*' Quene, wyf to Roboam, your sone deyd'*this nygbt of a good? t*sign. rj'.v.]
dethe. But alle thyne other children slialle deye of euylle dethe, SeSu""

2o bycause of the synne of theyr fader, thyn husbond) whiche is a dfe beca^use
tyraunt ouer his peple, lecherous, & of euylle conscyence." The father'^ sin.
quene wente ageyne homeward) and fonde her sone cold and?
dede, and" told? her lord? what he hadde sayd", but therfor he

24 amended? hym not. Wherfor perysshed? alle his children. And?
thus is here a good? ensample to vse and? kepe honeste lyf, and' to
loue and' kepe in ryght his peple, and not greue them as Roboam
dydl For the synne of the fuder and' moder is noyous to the For the sin of

parents in-

28 children, as ye haue herdTtolbre- juresthe

" children.

102 Ol" THE PATIENCE OF TOUIT.

[CHAPTER LXXX.]

How none ought to repreue other of his meschyef.
Capitulo Ixxx.

tKf To. T f^hall telle you another ensample,liow Anna,the wyf of Thobye,

spoke foolish- spake folysslily to her lortT, whiche was a goocT anJ a hooly 4

hiwbaud, mau, and buryed" the dede bodyes whiche a paynym made to

be slayn in the despyte of God" and of his la we, the whiche wa3

• [Hari.Ms., callvd Senacheiib.l . . . *holy name. It befett that upon a tyme

17t)-l,Fol.33, ■^ J J f J

col. 1.] ii^Q (lunge of swalues fett into the eyen of this good man Tobie, g
who was wherof that he was longe tyme blynde, and in despite hereof his

blind for a ^ ^ . ,

long time ; wiff saide vnto hym that the God for whom he had beried so mam
dede men shulde yelde hym ayen his sight. And the good man
and for his ausuered her ayen in gret pacience, that alle was in the plesaunce 13

patience God

gave him of God : and wherupon it befell that she thereafter was ffretly

again his ... . . ^ »

sight. punisshed with diuerse maladies; and whanne it plesed vnto

God, he yalde ayen the sight vnto this good man. And bi this
ensaumple no goode woman shulde not dispise nor speke vn- 16
kindely unto her husbonde, ne sette the lasse bi hym for ani
sikenesse that God seudithe; for the honde of God is as welt
vpon hem that be hole as upon hem that be sike, as ye haue
herd bi Tobie, that was made hole of his sight, and his wiff that 20

Another spake cuett was made sike. Wherof y wolde that ye knewe an

example of

Raguei's other ensaumple of Raguett, that had .vii. husbondes, whiche

daughter ^ o ' J »

Sara, who ^he deuelt slow all, for as moche as they vsed unkindely werke,

had seven ' '' j '

wSin the whiche as be not for to be reherced. And this good woman 24
fheir wkked- ^udcrtoke and blamed atte a tyme her godsib, secretely betwene
bore tile* ^^^ hem bothe, of an eueH dede that she had do; but she, that was

blame of it/. j j j i • i r ^ ••■iij

meekly, ferce and proude, reproued her opmly of her vij husbondes.

And the good woman ansuered no thinge ayen, but [toke] alt in 28
pacience, and began to wepe, saieng she might not do therto,

for which and that God dothe alt atte his plesaunce. And whanne God

God re- " ^

warded her gawe her humilite, he gaue her the yonge Tobye to husbonde,
husban?'^* and they had children and * moche worships togedre. And 32

[*Foi 33, ghe that had chidde with her before and reproued her, hadde
col. 2.] -^ '

moche shame and euett ende. And the good woman had

OF THE PATIENCE OF JOB. 103

worshippe and good in gret habundaunce; and thcrfor it is
good ensaumple that none shulde reproche atte otheres blame
nor harme, for the veniaunce, punissiones, and the iugementis of
4 God be meruailous. And suche ofte putte'gret blame in other, ood punixhee

those who

whiche as God punisshethe after with gret veniaunces. "^lame others.

And yet y well tell you an other ensaumple upon
the vertu of pacience.

E haue welt herde as upon that, as tellithe the Bible, Job feii from

great riches

how God wolde, and sufferithe lob, that was an holy
man, to be tempted, and to fait from gret high worshippe
and richesse into lowe astate, and thereto pouerte,as he that was as
12 mighti as riche as a kinge ; Furst, how he lost is .vij. sones and
iij doughtres ; after, aft his bestailes and richesses, and alt his
faire duellinge places ybrent, so that there belefte hym no
thinge saue only hym selff and his wiff. And in so moche that
i6 for his ffret pouerte he had no loffinge nor duellinge place but to poverty

° ^ ^ . . and sickness.

upon a donghitt, wherewith he hadd also gret sikenesse,
maladie, and lacke of sustenaunce. And but as his wiff, with the But when

his wife urged

releef of that that pepitt gaue vnto her, she susteyned his lyff in him to biame
20 moche tribulacion and anguisshe of pouerte, wherethorugh that would not;
upon a tyme she waxe Inpaciens and wrathe, by temptacion of
the fende*, and saide vnto her husbonde, *' Sire, deie here upon
this donghiH, and blame God of *this dissese, sen ye mow [»Foi. 33&.

col. 1.]

24 haue no beter." And the good man ansuered her in this

manere paciently, " As it plesithe vnto God, bo mote it be ; saying God

gave all, and

for God yeuith att, and God may take alt, and euer more m»ght take
ythanked be God, and blessed be his name." Nor neuer, for
28 sorw nor annoy that God sende hym, he saide neuer other wise,
but euer thanked God in gret pacience; for there was neuer
dissese that he suffered that made hym inpacient, but atte att
tymes he thanked God. And whanne almighti God had so and God

rewarded his

32 assaied and proued hym, and his gret humilite and pacience, he patience by
redressed alt, and gaue hym as moche honoure, worship, richesse, jj'^f"/'®
and prosperite, as he had before in all manere wise. And as
^ " Of the fende " repeated in the MS.

104 now Joli WAS KEWARDKD FOU HIS PATIENCE.

this befett in the okle testament, right so it befeft in the
Kaiiit Kustn- nwc testament ; us ye shaft finde in the legende of seint

tins lost

lands wife, Eustace, that loste londes, goodes, wiff, and childe, wel nigh the

and child,

but (Jod space of xiij yere ; and afterwarde God releuithe, and restored 4

afterwards r J J ) »

g:ive him iiym ayen his wiff, his children, and aft hys cfoodes, in more

more than he *' "^ ' ' J o »

had before ; prosperitc [and] wordely worshippe thanne euer he had before

that tyme. And therfor here is a good ensaumple that no crea-

toure shulde disese other, for no aduersitee that God sendithe, for 8

there is no man wotithe the fortunes nor auentures cominge, or

what shaft befaft, for that is in the knowinge and sufferaunce

of God. And for ani tribulacion that may befaft, euerraore man

is yboundg to thanke God, and to resseiue aft in pacience, with 12

faithefuft hope in the mercy and grace of God, as ye may see

•[Foi. 33^. the ensaumple here of Job and seint * Eustace, that suffered
col. 2.] ^ ^ ^ ^ '

mani tribulaciones, pouertees, and aduersitees, and aftway thei
wost weft in thare thought and beleue that it was in the might 16
of God to releue and forto store hem vnto the double, whanne
an example it liked hym of his grace. Lo, thus may ye see and know the

of tlie reward ^ ° ' .

Go'i gives to crj-et meHtc and rewarde that longithe vnto these vertues,

patience and *-• o '

humility. pacicncc, humilitc, and good hope, and euermore atte aft tymes 20
lob thanking and seruing God.

[CHAPTER LXXXL]

[Of King Herod and Herodias.]

arTevli'^ ^^^^ A ^^^^^^ ensaumplc y wift teft you of an eueft woman, Hero-
whoIfi"her /A ^J^^, whiche king Herode helde and withdrow from his 24
law^Herod brother, her husbonde, that was a symple man. But kinge

imsban™ " Hcrode was diuerse, coueitous, and right malicious; and this was
he that made slee the Innocens, weninge forto haue slaine the
almighti kinge Thesus^. For whan the sterre made demonstraunce 28
of his birthe, wherof Herode hadde gret feere that such lynige
shulde take awey from hym his Reaume ; and therfor he made
slee aft the yong children Innocens. And also he was falce and
traytour vnto his owne brother, in withholdynge and kepinge 32
hys wyff from hym, ayenst God and the lawe. Whanne seint

» MS. " Ifec."

OF SA.RAH. THE WIFE OF ABllAIIAM. 105

lohan the baptist reproued of that foule synne, aiid^ the falce and when
M^oman Herodyas, for hate and despite that she had viito seint blamed them,

•^ ^ she had him

lohan, because he blamed lier and preched ayenst her synne, p"* ^^ ^*^^^^-
4 she purchaced his dethe of Herodes. This was a diuerse and a
false woman, and so [s]he hadde an euett ende, and her fals lorde
Herode also, for he deide of gret veniaunce, that smale *wormes •[FoI. 34,
slow hym as he slow smale children, yong Innocens. And right And iierod
8 so it plesed vnto God that he shulde deye vengeably, bi the leste least uving

thing, by

quicke thing that might be, as bi smale wormes in his hondes, smaii worms

, , in his body.

in alt his membres and body, that ete hym, and made hym
forto deye. Lo, thus y haue spoke unto you of diuerse women

12 that were not good, as it is continued in the Bible, and forto be
ensaumple vnto you and other, that ye may be ware do none
euelt; and so y shal now entrete and tett you of a good
woman, the whiche holy scripture preisithe gretly. And therfor

16 it is good to remembre and to recorde the condiciones of the

good, in ensaumple to other bi thaire vertu ; for the good dedes Good deeds
in vsaunce of hem that were good is a faire mirrour and gret mirror and

o C3 example to

ensaumples vnto women that be now, and also for hem that *^^^ ^jj^^j.
20 shu!t be hereafter : whereof the furst

[CHAPTER LXXXIL]

Ensaumple is of Sarra, whom the scripture hathe

in gret Recommendacion.
Arra was wiff vnto Abraham, and she was bothe good and sarah was

' ^ ° the wife of

24 ^^-^ wise, and God kepte her from mani periles ; for whanne Abraham,
king Pharao toke her bi strengthe, God sende liym mani
sorues, sikenesses, and mischeues, vnto the tyme that he had de-
liuered and Restored her ayen vnto her husbonde. And so God whom God

kept for her

28 kepte and saued her, thorugti his goodnesse and her holy praiers, goodness,
as he hathe kepte and saued mani holy men and women from
water, from dethe of suerd', and from many other turmentys, as
it is conteyned in the legende of the *lyff of seintes. This Sarra •[FoI. 34,

col. 2.1

32 suffered mani shames and mani sorues, and she was an hundred and when
yere baraine of childe beringe; but for the ferme faithe and the hundred

^ Omit "&nd:'

106 OF THE HUMILITY AND OBKDIEN'CK OK RKBECCA.

years old. He troiitliG that slie liacl alwcy vnto lier husbonde, and for her gret

giivt) her * 1 . , . >-^ ,

child. liuraihte, God gaue her grace to conceiue a faire childe, whiche

was after an holy man, and that was Ysaac, of whom that come
the .xij. linages whiche God gaue vnto hym for the bounte of 4
his true moder.

[CHAPTER LXXXIIL]
Of Hebecca the wife of Isaac]
Rebecca was A Mother ensaumple y shal telt you. of Rebecca, which was a

a woman of '~

sreat faith /m womau of grct gooduesse and passingly fairenesse, and 8
full: of alt vertuous condicion. And this Rebecca praisithe
gretly holy scripture, as to be faithefult and humble ; and she
was wiff vnto Ysaac, moder vnto lacob, as the scripture witness-
ith, and how she loued and honoured her husbonde aboue aft 12
thingges. And she kepte her selff euer more curteys, and so
humble and so plesaunt of ansuere vnto her husbonde, that as
the dethe she dede to do hym plesaunce, or to make hym
wrothe, so that, bi gret humilite that was in her, she semed beter 16
to haue be the seruaunt or the chaurabrere of the hous thanne
for to haue be the ladie or maistresse. And she was longe tyme

and God, to barein, but God, that louithe truthe and holy mariage, and for

reward lier, _ ••i-ii -i-i

gave her two the gret numilite of her, he sent her aj. children, whiche were 20

children.

yborn atte one tyme, and that one was Esaw and that other

lacob ; whiche lacob hadde .xij. scnes that were the princes of

*[Foi. 34i. .xij. lynages, wherof the *pistel1: upon the feest of Alhalwynne

col. 1. . . .

She loved makithe mencion. And this Rebecca loued best her sone lacob, 24
Letter, and and she made hym bi her gret wysdom to haue the blessinge of

made him to , , . re i»

obtain the his fader, bicause he coude best cheuisshe hym sem, and was of

blessing of ^

his father ; good puruiaunce, and in that she was like vnto the condicion of

a lyonesse, that louithe the faon beste of her bringinge forthe, 38
that canne leue by praye, and puruey for hym selff. For lacob
was of gret prudence, and Esaw loued huntyng for the venison,

dren of the and to pley and to chace for the wylde beestis in the forest. So

same parents i i •^ t r

are often that the childe of one fader and of one moder be not of one 32

different in ^ ,

mind. condicion, but they loue and desire eche contrarie unto other.

THE BEST OF EVERYTHING SHOULD BE OFFERED TO GOD. 107

IShatt telt you an ensaumple of a good man and of a good a good man
1 i 1 • • 1 1 *"*^ woman

woman, that were longe tyme togedre, and thei might haue no had no ciiii-

dren, but

children ; and atte the laste God sent hem a childe of gret when in old

age God

4 fairenesse. And before that thei hadde ani childe, they hadde sent them a

son, they

promessed vnto God that thei wolde yeue her furst childe vnto ^^^\^^ ^'™
the seruice of God and vnto holy chirche. And after that, thei c^i^ch ;

, . ^^^ when

had another childe, that was not so faire, and thanne thei they had an.

other gon

8 chaunffed her purpose, and wolde putte the childe that was not not so fair,

^ ^ ^ >■ they gave him

SO faire vnto the seruice of the chirche, and thei wolde with- *« ^?^ in-
stead,

holde the fairest to be thaire heyre. Whereof God was displesed, q^^^^I^^^

and toke awey from hem bothe her children ; nor neuer after- toSway

12 warde they hadde no mo children, wherof they had" gret soru ^°"**

and displesaunce, but God ^lete hem wete bi the prophete the *[Fo]. 34^.

. .... col. 2.]

cause and occasion therof. So that bi this it is good ensaumple

how in what wise no creatoure shulde make no promesse vnto

16 God, but suche as they wolde truli holde, for God may not be

scorned nor deceiued, as he that wolde haue geue hyw the

foulest, and haue kepte the fairest for hym selff. For there shal

neuer come no welthe vnto hem that do in such wise, as to

20 avowe her children vnto God and holy chirche for to be religious,

and after to withdrawe hem therfrom. Wherof y haue sayne these This is an ex-

ensaumples bi mani that haue be withdrawe oute of abbeyes, for what is often

seen now,

thaire londes and gret reuenus that haue befatt vnto hem after when many

withdraw

24 the decese and dethe of thaire kynne and frendes : and att it fro™ abbeys

^ ^ '' ' when they

causithe couetise, that hathe made hem for to leue thaire reli- become rich,
giousete. They haue hadde afterwarde therfor euett ende and
shamfutt, as men or women that haue lyued in vnclene lyff ayenst
28 the promesse and behest the whiche they had made vnto almighti
God, bi the aduise of her frendes and thaire wilful consentinge.

[CHAPTER LXXXIV.]
[Of Leah the wife of Jacob.]

wott telt you the ensaumple of Alia the wiff of lacob. The The Bible

33 I Bible praysithe her moche, and saithe that she loued her hus- foTher humu*

ij 'IT /. Ill » ''*y *o ''®*'

bonde souerainly, and was of grete humblesse unto hym, with husband.

108

THE DEVIL SEIZED A ClilLD THAT HIS PARENTS CUKSED.

And Ood
gave her
twelve sons ;

•fFoI. 35,
col. 1.]

a good ex-
ample that
all parents
should pray
for their
children,

and not curse
them , as a
man and
woman once
did their son,

when the
devil seized
the child by
the arms,

*[Fol. 35,

col. 2.]
and burnt
him.

alt the Reuerence that she coude, euermore atte att tymes. And
wlianue she hadde childed, she thanked God with gret lowlynesse
and deuocion. And therfor God gaue her the xij princes, of the
which there come xij lignes, the whiche were good and worthi 4
men, and loued and" * dredde God aboue art thinges. And thaire
fader and moder praied for them euery day whiles thei were yonge,
that God wolde puruey for them thorugti his high grace in
Buche wise as they might euermore continue in her true seruice ; 8
and therfor thei were holy folke, and they were worshipped before
att other. So here is a good ensaumple that eueriche fader and
moder is beholde to praie for her children in the wise as the
said lacob an[d] Alia praied vnto God. For y lete you wete that la
neuer, for defauute nor Riotte that her children trespased not
unto them, they cursed hem not atte no tyme, but blamed hem
with correcciou as belongithe vnto fader and moder to do vnto
thaire childe ; for an hundred tyme were it beter to bete the i6
childe thanne for to curse hym at ani tyme, for of cursinge
befallith mani diuerse perilles, wherof y shall tell you an
ensaumple of a woman that was frowarde and angri of lyght to
displesauuce, and she had an husbonde of the same condicion. 20
And so they had a sone that hadde do a defauute ayenst hem
bothe, wherfor that thei cursed hym, and the childe that was
yonge and of litelt cunnynge wratthed atte hem cursyng, and
ansuered his fader and moder Inpaciently and folyly, wherof 24
the fader and moder were bothe yrous so fell and displesed,
bothe atte ones thai betoke hym and gaue hym vnto the deuell
of hell, and alt sodenly the foule anemy cesed the childe by
the armes and lefte hym up from the erthe. And ouer alt where 28
as the deuetl had touched the childe, the fere * fastened upon
hym in suche wise that the childe loste his membres, and was
euermore afterwarde disfigured. And therfor it is gret peril!
for fader and moder to curse her children, ne forto destenie hem 32
vnto any wicked thinge, or forto yeue hem vnto the foule fende,
that is Enemye and aduersarie to alt mankynde. And therfor
take here a good ensaumple, and bethenke, in what wise ye be,
ye owe to praie for youre childe unto God, as lacob and Alia 3^

HOW WOMEN SHOULD THANK GOD FOR CHILDEEX. 109

praied that God wolde yeue his children lynee and generacion
and multiplicacion and enhaunsinge vnto his glorie and worships;
and do not as the man and woman folyly for thaire wrathe to
4 curse thaire sone, & to yeue hym vnto the deuett of lielt,
wherof the childe was euer after in per lit alt hys lyff.

ANo

[CHAPTER LXXXV.]
Of Rachel the second wife of Jacob.]
iNother ensaumple y shalt tett you of Racel, the second" wiff Rachel was

I m PT11 1 X 11 Tii'Ti *^® mother of

8 /-\ of lacob, that was moder vnto Joseph, that solde his breth- Joseph,
erin in Egipte. Of her spekithe the holy scripture, how
truly that she loued her husbonde, and of the gret obeysaunce that
she was vnto hym. So she was moder vnto the said Joseph, of and she died

1 111' All'* '11 • i'" child-

12 whom she deyed m gesyne. And hit is saide that it was be- bearing

because she

cause of the pride and ioye that she hadde of her childe, and thanked not
thanked not God deuoutly of her childinge, as Alya the furst
wiff hadde ydo. And therfor here is a good ensaumple vnto

1 6 women in what wise thei owe to worship, to thank e, and to
praise God of his yefte of grace that sendithe hem good auen-
ture of her childinge and in her guyses. *As a noble lady that [*Foi. 35^.
was quene of Hungri, that atte the tyme whanne she shulde a queen of

20 trauaile of childe, she sent vnto the collages vnto the holy peple whenshe'had

children, had

to praie for her and her childe, and after the childes birthe the hoiy people

... to pray for

childe thanking and preisinge vnto almighti God of his priuilege her and the
that had youen ^ grace, helthe, and prosperite, unto her and her

24 childe. And, atte the day of her Eeuett and purificacion, that
she shulde be cherisshed, she lete it be do simply withoute gret
noye, but sent for pore pepitt, and gaue hem gode to worship
God and to praie for her childe. And this good ladi offered

28 her owne childe atte the auuter before God, besechinge hym with
gret humilite and deuocion that wolde multeplie her childe in
his grace and loue of the pepilt ; and in this wise, thorugh the
good" praiers of the moder, al her children were enhaunced vnto And they all

came to great

32 gret worshipp« and grace before God and the worlde ; and nobiiity.
thus, bi uertu and humilite of this noble lady, all her children

1 MS. "youre."

110 STORY OP THE QUEEN OP CYPRUS.

come viito gret noblesse. Wlierby ye may see how God is plesed

with deuoute praiers and of liuinLle creatoures, for, of trouthe,

Tiie Son of the sonc of the fader of heuene descended from aboue into the

God came to ... .

the Virgin glorious uirp'ine Marie as moche for her humilite as for the 4

Miiry, ^

chastite ; for, att-be-it that she was pure, chaste, and clene, with-
as a reward outc ani synnc, BO was she the most meke and humble of att

for her meek-

ne83 and creatourcs, as it shewithe whan she conceyued oure Saueoure

cliaatity. ' •'

Ihesus ^ by the annunciacion angelyk, where as she said her selff 8
• [Foi. 353. « Teche, lo, me, the * humble chaumbrere of God ! his wilt and

eol. 2.] J > >

plesaunce be fulfelled in me."

[CHAPTER LXXXVL]
[Of the queen of Cyprus.]
In their old k'Nd also yc shutt understonde, bi another ensaumple whiche 12

age the king Vm " ^

and queen of l\ y ghalt tell you of the quene of Cipre, she might haue no
son; >i.-m. childe, and she was of gret age; how be, atte the laste,

thorugh good praiers of her and of her husbonde, God sende hem a
faire sone,wherof there was made gret ioye thorugh alt the reaume. 16
And of the gret ioye that thei had, they made crie festis and iustis.
And thei sent for alt the gret lordes and ladies that might come
to the feste, where there was gret nobeltee and plente of Richesses,
so that alt was fulfelled with ioye and melodie of mynstrelt. And 20
and they the fest was fulfelled and acomplet in eueri wise, as longed vuto

made a great

feast, at the hvcnesse of the birthe of the kinsfffes childe. But how it befelt

which the '' ^°

child was that for the excessiue vayne glorie of the birthe that was made of

smothered ; •' °

the childe, & not thankinge God duly, deuoutly, and humbly, as 24
the king and the quene shulde haue do in yelding prasing vnto
almighti God, it happed that, whanne thei were atte dyner in her
most ioye, the childe deyde, bicause it was saide the childe was
ouercharged with couerture. And whanne this was opened, know, 28
and tolde thorugh the kingges court, al they that were before
in gret ioye and gladnesse, al sodenly it was turned into sorw
an example and heuynesse, and so thei departed. And, therfor, here is an

of the folly

of such rain ensaumple how there aught not to be no suche fayne glories 32
col. i.f ' atte festis for the birthe of * the childe, but prasinge and

fe.3ng. thankywg vnto God, praieng hym deuoutly to perfourme his

1 MS. " ihc."

now MOSES WAS SAVED BY PIIARAOH's DAUGHTER. Ill

creatoure by his grace vnto good lyff and good ende ; for God
yeuithe and sendithe where hym plesithe, bi praiere and good
levinge, and he withdra withe his grace, and shortithe the lyff of
4 men and women and childe, bycause of synne.

[CHAPTER LXXXVIL]
[Of the daughter of Pharaoh.]

I Shaft te!t you an ensaumple upon a good dede of charitee Moses was
of a kinffffes douffhter, that norisshed Moyses, bo as y shatt kept by tiie
°° " princess of

o saie you after the lues, that were the pepitt of God, thei were ^gypt :

in seruage as prisoners in Egipte, where Pharo was kinge. And
bycause that he sawe the pepitt of lues multeply gretly^ the
said king Pharoo had gret displesaunce therof, and comaunded
1 2 to slee aft the children excepte one. And whan the moder of for hu

111- -I • ^ 111 mother put

Moyses saw that her childe must be deliuered vnto the dethe, iiiminavessei

on a river,

she putte her childe in a vessel within a Ryuer, and lete hym
dryue foorthe with the streme, and went bi auenture where it

1 6 plesed vnto God, as she that had gret pitee and sorw, and
hadde leuer to putte her childe in the hande of God thanne to
see hym be slayne before her. And so it plesed vnto God, the
vessetl aryued before the chaumbre of the doughter of king

2o Pharoo, within a lytett yle, where as the kyngges doughter
and other ladies were in her disport and playeng, and sawe the
vessett aryue fast bi hem ; and the kingges doughter with her where the

!• I'll JO,! 1 • /> 1 princess

women, thei went mto^ the vessen, where thei fonde a yonge found him ;
24 childe of gret fairenesse. Wherof the kingges * doughter had *[Foi.36,

col, 2.1

bothe pitee and ioye, and bare the childe with her, and made
hym to be norisshed in her garderobe, and called hym in bourde
her sone ; of the whiche childe there come moche welthe after-
28 wardes. For God ches and ordeyned hym to be maister and and after-

, .#.i« wards God

gouernour of his peple, and shewid hym mam of his secres, and ordained him

to be leader

toke hym the yeerde wherewith he departed the see, and wherewith of His people.
also he made the water to come oute of the stone. And also he
32 toke hym the tables of the lawe, and shewed hym mani mo secrete
thingges, for the loue that God had unto hym. But for the nori-

* The French has " dedens."

112 HOW A CHILD WAR KEPT FROM DROWNING.

turc and serulce that this lady had ydo vnto Moyses, slie was right
Oodf.jr. ^'ett rewarded, for God fort^etithe riot the seruice that ia do by

K«tteth not ' ° •'

to rtward wayc of charitee and in reuerence vnto hym, as for to norinshe

cliarity to •' J '

on)iiaiis. orphelyns and for to endoctrine hem in vertu and science. 4

Tiie child of f ■ 1 Her was a goodly lady that hadde but a yonge childe vnto

a good wo- Bi

man fell into I her sonc, that wente forto bathe hym, and happed to plonge

a deep pit in J

tiie river. and to fatt in a depe pitte withinne the Ryuer, where as

he was .viij. dayes. And the moder that had loste the childe 8
was charitable, and, in the reuerence of God and of seint
Elizabeth, had norisshed before mani pore children that were
faderles and moderles. So it befefi: that the .viij. night the
moder dremed that her sone was in a depe pitte futt of water, 12

wiiere Saint and how scint Elizabeth kepte hym, and spekinge vnto her in

Elizabeth ^ ^ r J J 1 b

kept him this wisc, " That forasmoche as ye haue be pitous, and norisshed

alive for j r >

eight days, pQj-g orplielyus, God witl not * that youre childe deye nor
col. 1.] perisshe ; wherfor drawe hym oute of the pitte where as he is." i6

And hereupon the moder arose; and as she had dremed, she
until his went, and had her childe hole and quicke oute of the depe pitte

mother found ' ^ i ir

'"'"• withinne the Reuer ; and the childe saide unto his moder, *'A

faire lady hath kepte me from dethe, bicause that ye haue be 20
pitous unto pore children, and norisshed the orphelyns for the
loue of God and of that ladi that wolde not suffre me to deye,

another ex- but she bathe saued me." Lo, herein is a faire ensaumple how

ample that

charity is it is profitable to norisshe, with good wilt, pore orphelyns and 24

always re- o j. a «/

warded. yonge children, and to putte hem to lerning of a science ; for it
is a charitable dede that plesithe moche God. And also by this
how it is sheued us in ensaumple bi the hynde, that, whanne the
moder of other bestis be slaine, yet wott she gladly, of her 28
gentitt nature, norisshe the yonge ther as she comithe, and
kindithe hem tilt they may susteine hem selfP.

[CHAPTER LXXXVIIL]
[Of Rahab of Jericho.]

th ^^i^'^''^ j\ Nother ensaumple y shall tell you upon this same nature, 32
Rahab"^*"^^ -Lx_ how it befctt in the towne of lerico, there was a woman

now EAIIAB HID THE SPIES. 113

that was called Kaab, and she was blamed amonge the pepitt,
but she was charitable. So it befett that certaine holy men were Some

preac!ior«

come into the towne forto teche and preche the pepitt, and they were crueiiy

^ ^ X i ' »/ treated, and

4 fonde the said pepitt peruerse, futt of malice and cruelnesse, in Hahab hid
so moche that they were chased ouer alt; that of necessite they
went and hidde hem withinne the hous of Raab, under gret
trusses of flexe and hempe, so * that they of the towne coude * [FoI. sg*.

^ . "^ col. 2.]

8 not fynde hem, for no serche that thei made. And afterwarde,
in the derke night, she aualed hem by a corde from aboue of the and lowered

them from

toune walles, in suchc wise as they were ascaped and were saued, the town

' J r f avails by a

so that God quiteth her, and rewarded her gretly, for that ^°'"^-
J 2 cause ; for the toune was afterwarde take by thayre enemys,
bothe men and women, and pershed, sauf Araab and her meny,
whom God kepte and saued, for by cause that she had saued and For this act

God preserved

deliuered his seruauntis from thaire enemys. And therfor, as her and her

family from

i6 God saithe in the Gospett, that the good and the seruice whiche danger.
is do vnto his ministrees, in his name and for his loue, that he
wolde yelde it ayenne an hundred double vnto hem that haue it ;
wherefor suche good dedes, it is noble thinge to be do, and to vse,

2o whanne they shall be yolde ayenne an hundred folde more.

THerof y wol that ye wote the ensaumple of seint Anastace, ood delivered
that was putte in preson, but God made her to be dely- from prisori,'*
uered, a^d lete her wete that it was for because that she hadbeenmer.

,.,,,, . 'It T/» ^'^"^ *" other

34 susteined and r^leued pore prisoners with her owne good ; for prisoners,
assone as she wpst where there was any pore prisonere that was
yprisoned for ani necessite of wronge, of enmyte, or be any
deseite, she wolde goo releue hem, and yeue hem of her goodes,

28 and helpe hem vnto her deliueraunce ; and for that cause God
guerdoned and quitte her therfor an hundred double. And also
the good lorde Ih^su Crist saithe in the Gospett, that, atte the Christ

n*i 1 ^ J ' • 1 promises

day of lugement, he wolle * haue mercy upon hem that visite and »[foi. .37,
32 haue pi tee upon poure prisoners, sike folke, and poure women

that lye in lesyne; for, atte the dredfutt day, he wolt axe '"®'■'^'^"'•
acomptes, where as there shatt none sterte to yelde ansuere,
wherof y doute that mani shaft be reprised and vndertake, in
36 defauute of good ansuere. And therfor, faire doughtres, thinke

114 OF ST. AllAGON, QUEEN OF FRANCE.

Uueen tlierupoii, aiid take ensaumple of seiiit Aragon that was queue

rmmevaited of r rauiice, that iiisiteu the poiire priaoiiers, aud iiorisshed

and r. lieved

poor prison- oii)helieiis, aud releued the sike folkes. Aud whaiine she might

tr«, orpliana, ^

and sick not ciiteiide hcrctOj for doute of disobeisaunce vuto the kincjti 4
her lorde, priuely she forsoke lier lorde, and refused aft worldely
ioye, and come into Peytiers, into an abbey of ladyes, and putte
her selff in habite amonges hem to eerue God atte her leyser

and God and plesaunce. And sen hedirto God hathe sheued gret 8

sliewed

niiraciea to miracles for her : and how there was a tree in the middes of

her;

her cloystre, that gaue vmbre and shadow of longe tyme, and
was woxe olde and drye; but God, atte the p.aier of this holy
lady, renued the tree in suche wyse as it hadde a nwe barke 12
alt fresshe and grene, and nwe braunches full of grene leues,
semyng vnto all creatoures that it was a thing ayenst the
course of nature, but only by the might of God, to whom no
thing is inpossible. And so he hathe wrought for this good 16
an example to lady mani other greet miracles. And therfor, here is vnto you

others to use

charity as grood eusaumple to bc charitable, and to use the werkes of

these ladies .

<^'^- charite, as ye haue herde before of two ladyes and of the good

Eaab, how in what wise almighti God rewarded hem in the 20
* [Foi. 37, ende for * thaire Pood scruice.

col. 2.] °

CHAPTER LXXXIX.
[Of Temperance in eating and drinking.]

Theparentsof ~w~ yyol tctt vou another ensEumple, of the fader and moder

Samson were ■ ^

buuiad°^''^' I ^^ Sampson the fort, w^hiche were holy folkes, and trew in 24

child; — ■- YiQY mariagp, but they might haue no childe, how it be

that they made mani cryengges upon God, with praiers of higti

deuocion. And it feft on a day that the good woman went

vnto the chirche, atte that tyme called the temple ; and so as 28

but God told she made her praiers wepinofe, and fult of lamentacion, God

the mother by ^ ' r o > J ^

an angel tiiat of his ffooduesse hadde plte on her, and lete her wete bi an

she should " ^

have a son. aungel that she shulde haue a childe, the whiche shulde be

the strengest man that euer was, and he shulde enhaunce 32

OF THE PARENTS OF SAMPSON. 115

the lawes of Gcd bi his strengthe. And whaime this good

woman had vuderstonde hy the auiigett in what wise she And she told

lier liusbuiid,

shulde haue a childe, she went foithe in haste to her husbonde,
4 and tolde hym how God of his goodnesse hathc purueyed for
her, and that she shulde here a sone, wherupon her husbonde
putte hym in prayer, beseching vnto God that it plesed liym
to shewe hym by his aungett as he hadde shewedd vnto his
8 wiff. And thanne God sent vnto hem bothe his aim<?el, spekiriff to whom also

^ ' '^ ° God sent by

vnto hem in this wise, "God comaundithe vou bothe to suffre '''*' *"?®1 .,

' •' tlmtlieslioiild

and to do abstinence, and that ye kepe and gouerne youre ^hlld /.uem
childe from excesse of drinkinge, and from delicasies of diuerse p®'^"^^*

1 3 metes ; " for the aungetl saide vnto hem, " excesse and gromandise
in etyng and drinkinge werithe ayenst the body and the soule."
And whanne the aungett had said in this wise, he departed
from hem, and they fulfelled the * comaundement of God bi » [Foi. 37&.

i6 the aungett, and fasted, and dede gret abstinence, & afterwarde

thei hadde this childe, that mightly maintened Goddes lawe And the son

^ ^ became a

ayenst the payent[sj, and made mani gret occysiones and dedly strongman,
batailes upon hem, as God gaue hym strengthe and halpe hym with the

2o therto, for with his owne hondes he discomfited .iij. Ml persones.
And therfor, bi this, here is a good ensaumple to do abstinence,
and for to faste ; for who so witt deuoutly require and beseche
God, it mot be by ofte confession, with gret repentaunce of

24 misleuyng, and bi fastinge and abstinences, by the whiche we
may wynne of almighti God ati that we praie for. And as
the aungelt saide vnto the fader & moder of Sampson the
fort, that thei shulde kepe thaire childe from cuer moche

28 etynge, but atte the houres resonable, and that more ouer in

special ouer moche drinkinge ; wherfor that whanne the an example

, , . , 1-1 ^^ ^''® good

holy aungel, that knowilhe so moche bi the vertu of God, ofavoidhig

the two vices

and defended thc&e ii vices, thanne it is Q'ode ensaumple of over-eating

, and drinking.

32 to all men and women how thei shulde eschew and be ware
of these tind of alt other vices. For by this ij vices we
entre into the .vij. dedely synnes, as ye shal finde it more
pleinly in the boke of youre bretherew, where it spekithe

36 how ther was an heimite that fett into that synne of glotenie,

8—2

116 THE EVILS OF DRUNKENNESS.

Gluttony in l)y tlic wliichc ftftcrwarJe: he fett into att the .vii. dedlv

often tlie ■* J j

begiimii.Kof Bvnnca, for he chesithe tlie Bvnne of i'lotonie, wenvnire that

all other Nina, -i ■>' »/ o » j o

it had he the leste of aft the synnes, wherof y shal teft
you how Salamon saithe in a boke that he makithe of an 4
ensaumple.
coi°2 1'^ "§"7^X1 rst, that wyne trouhelit*), makithe rede eyen, and feble

Wine r^ to the sight, and irapetrithe the Eres herkeninge, and

senses, spoils stoppithe the nostrelles: and it makithe the uisaffe falce 8

tlie features, * ^ ' °

fleumcd rede, and fuft of white whelkes, and makith the
and makes hondes to tremble and to quake, and waschith the good blode,

the hands ^ ^ . .

tremble. jtnd febelithe the synnues and the vaynes; it chaungithe the

body, and it hastith the dethe, and troubelithe the witte and 12
memorie, wherupon, as saithe Salamon, that there may be
no good woman nor trewe of her body and she be drunken,
for, of aft the [un]goodly condiciones that may be in a woman,
dronkynnesse is the worste ; for whan she is drunke, she is 16

Wherefore, disposed to aft manere vnclennesse and vices. Wherfor, faire

beware of

the sin of douffhtres, be ware of that foule synne and vice of dronkinnesse,

gluttony, . .

and of other delicious of ouer moche etiwge ; for onis vpon
the day to ete and drinke, it is angelik; and .ij. tymes it is 20
the lyff of man and woman; and for to ete ofte tymes after
the flesshely appetite, it is the holy lyff ^ of a beste. And aft
for as you use comithe but of vsauncc and custume; for right as ye custume

yourself in ^ , . .

youth so you youre sclff in youre youthe in etinge and drinkinge. and in 34

will want to .... .

do in age. afl; youre othor disposicion, right so ye shaft desire euer
more for to continue in youre age. And therfor it behouithe
and it is right necessarie, faire doughters, that ye putte remedie
euermore contrarie to the flesshely appetite, that vertu and 38
worship gouerne you euer more; as ye may see bi this
*[Foi. 38, ensaumple of the good aungel that taught and enfor*med

col. 1.]

the fader and moier of Sampson the fort.'^ But this aungel
Another Spake not in like wise as the aungeft that warned Zacharie, 32

angel told

zachariah how that his wiff shuldc here a childe and shulde be called

that he should

haveaBon, lo^n, the whiche shulde neue[r] drinke wyne nor ale. But this

^ ?/or holy (wholly) the JyfF. Fr. "vie de beste," p. 176, ed. 1854.
^ Fr. " Sampson fortin."

OF DEBORAH AND ST. KATIlERINt', 117

childe Sampson was ordeined and enstabelisshed by the might
of God, and bi the swerde, to kepe the faithe ayenst the payens
tmd Ennemys of God. And seint lotin was committed' and who was to

•^ preach tlie

4 ordeined bi God to preche the faithe, and forto be mirrour faitij and lif©

^ ' everlasting.

and ensaumple of chastite, of fastinge, and abbtinence, and
forto were the hayre, in shewing vnto us oure saluacion and
lyff euerlastinge; how be it that y pas^se ouer in this matere,
8 and y shal tett you an other ensaumple.

CHAPTER XC.

[How children ought to be sent to school.]

I Shall tell you an other ensaumple of a good woman and Deborah,
wlien a girl,
a lady, that hadde a doughter ynamed Delbora, which went to
12 doughter she putte vnto scole; and by vertu and grace of

the holy goste, this maide Delbora, so futt of pacience and of
sapience, she loued holi scripture, & she was of holy lyff, and
knewe the secretis of God, and spake of thinges that were and became a

prophetess,

1 6 to come, in so moche that, for so gret wisdom that was in her,
as the pepitt was counsailed bi her, & in especiatt of thingges
that were to comen touchinge vnto the Eeaume. And she had
an husbonde that was dispiteous and cruelt, but she, [by] her and by her

wit pleased

20 gret wjtte and good gouernaunce, she coude byhaue her selff her cruel

husband ;

so welt vnto hym that euer more she plesed hym, and brought

hym oute of hys frensye, and made hym paisible *vnto her »[Foi. as,

col. 2.]

and vnto alt other peple. And bi this good ensaumple that an example
24 yong women, maydenes, shulde be putte vnto scole to lerne womenshouid
vertuous thinges of the scripture, wherethorugh thei may school. ^
the beter see and knowe thaire sauuement, and to duett and
for to eschewe al that is euel in manere, as dede the good
38 lady Delbora. And in the same wise seint Katerine, that, by Also Saint

Katherine

her witte and clergy, with the grace of the holy gost, she overcame the
surmounted and ouercome the grettest philosophers in Grece, sophers,
and by her clergie and stedfast faithe she wanne the victory
32 of martirdom. And her body was borne xij lurneys longe was calned
upon the mount Synay bi the aungeles of heuen, where as martyrdom.

118 OF A BOY WHO JiAD GOD IN HIS HEART.

AUojiciiiM her blessed bodi yckllthe oyle vnto this daye. And yet y

of nine yean*,

who had been slijitt tctt yoii an ensaumplc of a childe of ix yere, the

four years at ^

school, (ii«- whiche had Ije iiii yere atte the scole : and bi the ffrace of

putetl with '' '^ ' °

pagans. QQ^\^ },g ^Hsputed the faithc ayenst the payens, and oiiercome 4

Iiem art in eirour; so that there was sum of the payens that,
whanne they aspied hyni, thei toke hym and manaced hym
to stone hym vnto deth, or ellys forto do hym to deye by
sum other cruel turment ; but, for no thinge that they coude 8
do, they might not make the childe forsake his faithe ; and
atte the laste they axed the childe where was his God that
he leuid Inne. And he ansuered hem, " My God is in heuene,
and euermore stedfastly withinne my soule, and within myn la

who after- hertc;" and hereupon the payens slou^fh the childe, and

wards kUled [ .

him, for dispite drowe oute his herte, forto see yef hys God were

*[Foi. 386. therin. And whanne *they had opened his hert, they sawe

col. 1.]

%*henawhite that there flawe oute of it a white done. And bi that 16
of his heart, miracle, raani of hem were conuerted vnto the faith, and
beleued in God. And therfor this is a good ensaumple to
putte yonge children vnto the scole, and to make hem bokys
of wisdom and of science, and bokes of vertu and profitable 20
ensaumples, whereby they may see the sauement of tbe soule
and of the body by the ensaumples of good leuinge of the
holy faderes before us, and not forto studie in the bokis that
It is better to speke of louc fables, and of other wordely vanitees. For it is 24

read examples iii. ^ -ipi i

of holy living boter and more noble thinge to here speke of good ensaumples,

than feigned

stories and and of vcrtuous leuinge of seintes, whiche profitethe to oure
sowles and body, thanne forto studie or to rede of fayned
stories and fables, suche as may not cause encrese of science, 28
and is inprofitable vnto the soule. How be it there be suche
men that haue opynion that thei wolde not ]?at her wyues
nor her doughtres shulde knowe no thinge of the scripture :
as touchinge vnto the holy scripture, it is no force though 32
women meditt not nor knowe but litett therof but forto rede ;
eueri woman it is the beter that canne rede and haue knowinge
of the lawe of God, and forto haue be lerned to haue vertu
and science to withstonde the perilles of the sowle, and forto 36

fables.

OF RUTH AND HER STEPSONS. 119

use and cxcerso the werkys of thaire sauement, for that is
thinge aproued and necessarie to att women.

CHAPTEK XCI.
[Of love to stepchildren.]
N other ensaumple y shal tett you, of a good lady named of Ruth, an
Rutti, of whom des*cended the kinge Dauid. Holy scrip- coi.2.j
ture praisithe moche the same lady, for she louithe God ancestress of

King David,

truly, and she honoured hym. And she honoured and obeyed who honoured

her husband

8 vnto her husbonde, as a good woman, atte all tymes : and for ^"d a'l his

' " ./ / friends;

the loue of her husbonde she honoured and loued att his
frendes, and bare hem more fauour and priuete thanne vnto
her owne frendes ; wherupon it befell that after, whanne her

12 husbonde was dede, his sones that were of another wyff, they
wolde haue lefte her no thinge, nor londes, heritage, nor meuble ;
and she was of a straunge contre, and fer from her frendes.
And the woman fell into a gret heuinesse bi the occasion

1 6 hereof ; but the frendes of her husbonde, that loued her for and the

11* i-i«iipi«T friends helped

the gret goodnesse and chersinge that thei had founde in her her after her

husband's

the tyme before in her husbondes [lyff]\ they withstode ayenst the death;
sones of her husbonde. And thei were with her in her helpinge,

2o in so moche that she had al that she aught to haue by right
and of custurae. And in this wise the good woman saued and
wanne her owne, for the frenshipe and good campani that
she had ydo vnto the kyn of her husbonde, and vnto his

24 frendes, whiles he was leuinge. And therfor here is a good a good

example to

ensaumple how euery good woman owithe to worshippg and 'oye the
to loue kyn and frendes of her husbonde: for av the more J^"'; ''"'-

'' J J bands.

semblaunt of loue that she she withe vnto hem, the more welthe
28 she shal haue amonges hem. So as it befell vnto the good
lady right that, forto loue and worshippe the kyn and frendes
of her husbonde, she * recouered her iuste partie of the heritage » [Foi. 39,
and the goodes of her husbonde, in the manere as ye haue
32 herde.

* ** Mai8 les amis de son feu seigneur, qui Tamoient pour la grant
doulceur et la privets et le grant semblant d'aniour et service qu'elle
avoit toujours portd," p. 179, ed.° 1854.

120 OF ABIGAIL, AND THE WIFE OF A SEXATOR.

CHAPTER XCII.
[Of women who honour their husbands.]
AbiKaiHiada "]\'^0[w] y wol tctt you another ensaumple of a good lady pat

owitlie gretly forto be praysid, and she was ynamed Aby-

gal, & she had an husbonde that was of meruailous conuer- 4

sacion vnto her, and unto his neighebouies, and eueft spekinge

of hem. So it befett he had do a forfeit vnto the kinge

wiiom the Dauid, wherfor that the kinge wokle destroie hym and putte

king would

put to death; hym to dcthe ; but the good woman his wiff, that was wise, 8

she went vnto the kinge, and clothed her selff in louly wise,
but she made and with the faire speche that she made, she made pees be-

peace be-
tween them; twene the kinge and her husbonde, so that she kepte hym

atte that tyme, and at mani other tymes, in gret and diuerse i^

daungeres and periles, that he had deserued bi his folyes and

hys wicked speche. And atte alt tymes this good ladi amended

his defauutes by her prudence and goodnesse, wherfor that she

owithe to be gretly preised, And also for as moche as she i6

suffered paciently the payne and sorw that he made her forto

an example endure. And therfor here is a good ensaumple vnto euery

to save and ,

keep your good woman how she IS beholde to suffre her husbonde ; and

husbands.

pat she owithe to supporte hym ouer all and to saue and 20
kepe hym, how be it that he be fole or diuerse, synne God
hathe knette hym togedre by bonde of manage ; for, in as moche
as she hathe gretly to suffre, and she deport her selff humbly,
» [Foi. S9, and gouerne her goodly vnto her husbonde, and ayenst * his 24
folye, so moche the more she shatt be beloued of God, and
worshipped in the worlde ; as y wilt shewe by an ensaumple
A good lady, of a ffood ladv and wife* vnto a Senatour of Rome. This

wife of a & J

Roman Scuatour was leloys of his wiff, and withoute cause, and he 28

senator, "

was diuerse, angry, and dispitous vnto her. So it befell that

he had waged bataile ayenst another knight, but he was a

fought a cowarde, and failed the day of his bataile, and his champion

battle for her

husband, who that shuldo hauc fought for hym was syke, so that for the 32
was a coward, <_> w

day he coude fynde no man that wolde fight for hym. And

in this wise he stode upon the point to be disworshipped ;

1 MS. "wise."

OF A LADY WHO FOUGHT IN THE STEAD OF HER HUSBAND. 121

but the good lady hys vviff considered the gret shame that
shukle haue befalt unto her lorde; she went her into a
chamhre, and made her to be armed, and mounted vpon a
4 good cursere, and rode into the felde, and hadde her uisage
deffait in suche wise that she was vnknowe vnto eueri creatoure.
And for as moch as God sawe the bounte and trouthe of her, and God

gave lier tlie

and that she dede it in the saluacion and the worship of her victory,
8 lord and husbonde, and for the loue that she had vnto hym,
God sent the victorie and the honoure be vnto her husbonde
bi her handes, for she conquered his enemy. And whanne the
bataile was ydo, the emperesse wold' se who was the champion
13 for the senatour, and she was brought forthe and dysarmed

before the Emperesse, and the Emperesse knewe her wett and tima sh«

had great

the wyff of the Senatour ; and from that day forwarde she & honour in

•^ _ ' "^ Rome;

att the ladies of Rome worshipped * and helde her in Reuerence [» foI. 396.

col, 1.]

1 6 moch more thanne euer thei hadde ydo before. And she was
meruailously worshipped and beloued, as wett for that she
hadde bore her stille simpely and debonairly atte alt tymes
vnto her husbonde, notwithstonding the displesaunce that he

30 hadde ydo vnto her in worde and dede, for this lelosye, and

withoute cause. And therfor this is a good ensaumple how euery a good ex.
woman shulde lowly suffre of her husbonde; for she that most suf- immbie to

. ITT • • husbands.

ferithe,and makithe no countenaunce of her di[s]ese, she is worthi
34 to be highly preised, as Salamon saithe, where he spekithe of
women, in praisinge some ^ and in dispraisinge of other.

CHAPTER XCIII.
[Of one of King David*s wives.]

ANother ensaumple y will tett you, of one of the wyves of one of the
28 /-% kinge Dauid, how the appeised the wrathe of her lorde. David,
Ye haue herde how that Amon Rauisshed and defouled
his owne suster of her maydenhode, and how that Absolon her
brother venged that same foule dede, and slow Amon ; wher- ^^^^ ^^
32 for. that Absolon fledde oute of the centre, for that the kyng .^^"j^i'^J^^iJ^^
his fader wolde haue slayne hym; but that good lady made ?dr tim!"^^

1 MS. « sore."

122

OF ABSALON AND HIS STEPMOTllEE.

• [Fol. 896.
col. 2]

AndAbsalom'
protected her
after the
king's deatli;

an example
to love the
sons of your
liusbands by
other wives.

The queen
of Sheba
came from
the East to
see King
Solomon,

and to have
his counsel.

*[Fol.40,

col. 1.]

liis pays viito the kiiige ; for she shewed so mani good resounes
vnto the kiiige her husbonde, that he forgaue Absolon att his
wrathe. And she was not his owne moder, but wiff vnto his
fader, but she kept and helde in loue her lorde and his children, 4
as a good lady, and as ought to do eueri good woman. For
a woman may not wel shewe gretter loue vnto her husbonde,
thanne forto loue his * children of another wyff, in that she
conquerithe double worshippe to susteine hem as moche as her 8
owne ; for atte the laste ende she shaft finde thereby good
and worships, as it befelt vnto this same ladi, for, whan the
kinge was dede, there were such as wolde haue do her wronge,
but the kingges sone wolde not sufifre it, and saide opinly before 13
the pepitt, " Aftthough she were not his owne moder, she
shewed hym gret loue and kindenesse, and bare hym worshippg,
and vnto alt the kinges children that were comen of her body ;
wherfor she shal not lese her right." And therfor, bi this is a 16
good ensaumple how that eueri woman shulde loue and worship
her husbonde, and att tho that be come of hym, as the children
that he hathe hadde bi his other wiffes, and suche as be of his
nexst kinrede, for gladly there is none welded but hit deserued 20
atte sum tyme, as ye haue herde how it befett vnto this goodly
lady.

CHAPTER XCIV.

[Of the evil of flatterers.]

NOw y wott teit you another ensaumple of the queue 24
[of] Saba; and she was a wise lady and a good
woman, and she came from the parties orientys
vnto Jerusalem to be counsailed bi the wise Salamon, and
she lost nother pas nor her trauaile. "Wherfor, bi this good 33
ensaumple that euery good body owithe to chese a good
man and a prudent to be counsailed by, and forto holde the
pepitt in loue and concorde. For where as there be Riottis and
debatys and striff, the wisdom of gode counsaile of a prudent 32
man withdraw*ithe and amoderithe suche thinges, and sette

^ But Absalom, killed by Joab, died before David. See 2 Sam. xviii.
14, 15. — Clarendon Press, Reader's Proof.

OF A ROMAN EMPEROR. 123

hem in pees, and bringlthe hem vnto good ende ; and who so
werkith by good counsaile, leuithe in prosperitc and shatt
ende worshipfully ; as it befett vnto this noble lady, the quene
4 of Saba, that come from fer contre to seke counsaile of the wise
Salamo)!, kinge of lerusalem.

,Nd yet y wolde that ye knewe an ensaumple of an Emperour An Emperor

of Rome was

in Rome. This saide emperoure on a tyme befel sike, and in, and about

to die, but lii?}

8 ~ shulde deye: but alt his lordes and the senatoures,forto courtiers said

*' he would get

plese the emperour, they saide vnto hym that he shulde be alt well again;
hole in hasti tyme after that he had slepte and swette ; but he
had no frende aboute hym that counsailed hym for the h el the
12 of his soule. So he had a chamberleyn with hym that he had
norisshed from his childehode, and had serued the emperoure
truly euermore. This chamberleyn sawe wel that his lorde but a

chamberlain

might not ascape that dethe, and that aft the lordes counsailed

i6 hym vnto his plesaunce. The chaumberleyn come vnto his lorde,
& axsed hym, "Sir! how fele ye youre self, and in youre
hert 1 " And the emperour saide vnto hym, " Y fele my selff
right feble and sike." And thanne his chamberlein beganne

30 to saie vnto hym in right discrete and goodly wise, " Syre ! told him the
God hathe yeue you in this worlde gret honoures, Richesses,
and alle worldly welthe and ioye ; wherfor, thanke God therfor,
and haue youre mynde vpon hym for his goodnesse; and of

34 the worldely goodes that he hathe sent you, departe hem

amonges * the poure pepitl, and to suche as haue nede therto, *[Fo1. 40,
and dispose youre self in suche wise as there be founde no
reproche in you before God." And the emperoure herkened

28 M^el vnto that he counsailed hym, and saide vnto hym in

this wise, '' Beter is the frende that prikithe, thanne the flatour "Better is

, . . the friend who

that oyntetn. ' And this he saide bicause of the lordes spake pricketh than

^ the flatterer

no thinge vnto hym but for the helthe of his body, for to plese who anoint-
32 hym, and to flater hym; and his chamberleyn spake vnto hym

sharpely and truly, for the helthe of his soule and for his

saluacion. For who so louithe the body, shulde loue the soule ;

for who so louithe his frende, he shulde not flater hym, nor
36 eschewe to counsaile hym truly in alt that longithe vnto his

124 OF THE PIIOPHLT KLli.

Truefriondi. worsliippc aiul profite, and euerraore to livu- 's

Will sp. ak * 1. i J u

the truth. & trouthe witliouto flatme, or ellys ho is his

and not forto phiie with placebo, as the K. ^'s dnjv,
emperoure,notwithestondinge thei wost wel he w.i'^ -i »' 4

that he might not escape the dethe, and wolde noi . .e

aidid this hym the profit of his soule, as dede his trewe poure ser\ . «, the

cliuuiberlain. ■•■ '

chauniberlein, vnto his lorde that putte hym in the wa^* hia
sauement. And so the eniperoure trowed his counsai^.., and de- 8
parted his goodes, and gaue it largely for the loue of God.

CHAPTER XCV.
[Of the prophet Elisha.]

woman had T Shaft tett you another ensaumple of a right good woman
hiSband; I *^^^* hadde a symple man vnto her hushonde; and thei 13

were good folke, and loued welt togedre, and the woman
•[Foi. 40^. was ryght * charitable, and loued the seruauntes of God. And
so there was an holy profyt in the contrei fast by lerusalem
and the pro- that hight Elezeus, and this good fwolman^ had ffret de- 16

phet Elisha ^ ^ _ ' & L J o

came to live uocion vnto this holv man, and required and praied hym

in theirhouse, ^ ' -i i. m

forto come to herburgti and loged in her hous; and her
huBbonde and she made a chaumbre solitarie for this holy man,
where as he might vse his deuociones and seme God. But 20
this woman might haue no child* nor lygne bi her husbonde.
and prayed This holv profit auised it, and praied for hem bothe vnto God,

for them that . . ' r

they might in suche wise that atte the laste she conseiued and had a faire

have a ciiild ;

childe, whiche leued vnto the age of xv yere, and thanne the 24
childe deyed in the same chaumbre where as the holy man
was herborued and loged before. And this good woman went
and sought ouer aft in the contre, til she had founde ayen
this holy profete, and bi her prayer brought hym ayen vnto 28
and, after- her hous, and into the chaumbre, where she sheued hym her

wards, when

the child died, childe that was dede, and saide in this wise, "A! holy man, lo
here the childe that God gaue me thorugh thi deuoute praiere,
whiche was att my ioye and sustenaunce; y beseche the that 3 2
^ Fr. "Celle bonne dame," p. 185, ed. 1854.

..jljU^D RESTORED TO LIFE. 125

thy itiic ■ to Bcnde me my childe ayen, or ellys

t . * '^^ talv viito hym also, for y wolde [not] leue

r»Hhe t my childe." And this holy profit Eliseus he prayed to

d ef^ and , compassion vpon this holy woman, and praied life to be

'^nto God, wherethorugh the childe had his lyfF ayen,
ani. r'd longe after that, and was * an holy man. AVherfor, •[foI. 40*5.
my lod doughters, ye may vnderstonde bi this, how it is good ^n example

Sand ;'>.,^)table to be aqueinted with holy men of good lyff to know men
and of good conuersacion, as had this gode woman that had
a childe bi the praier of the holy prophete. And after the
childe was dede, ayen bi the praier of the said holy man the

J 2 child" resuscited, and releued ayen from dethe to lyff; and for
certaine, God is this day as mighti and as debonayre as he was
euer here before vnto hem that deserue it. Wherfor putte
youre diligence with humble and devoute hert to serue God,

1 6 and holde the companie of good folke, of good leuing and of

charitable werkes, and truste hem that couiisaile you to vertu who win give
and worship ; for alt goodnesse comithe therby, as it befett vnto counsel.
this good woman, as ye haue herde before.

CHAPTER XCVI.
30 [Of meekness in women.]

ANother ensaumple y witt tett you of a good woman that Sara.daugh-
Ok hight Sarra.^ Ye haue welt herde how she had vij hadsevenhus'-

j % ^ bands, who

husbondes, the whiche were mischeued and slayne bi the »" ^led for

wickedness,

24 Annemy of belt, bicause thei were vntrue in thaire mariage ;

and how her chaumbrere reproued her how that aft her and she was

husbondes mischeued and deied from her. And this good therefor ;

woman sawe her chaumbrere wolde haue chidde and striued
a 8 with her, as a fole as she was, this good woman right wisly

and humbly she saide vnto her, " Faire loue ! nother to the but she bore

it meekly.

ne to me it apertenithe not to speke of the lugementis of God ; '
and more she saide not vnto her. She sembled not vnto the
32 doughter of a senatour of Rome, that * had so cmett hert * [FoI. 41,
* Called by her father's name, Raguett, on p. 102, above.

J26

now A WOMAN WAS UKIAMKI) TlIIlCUGll JANGLING.

Tlie dau^liter
uf H Uumun
•i.*iitttor struvu
and cliid with
everybody,
wlieffby slie
loat tier
marriage.

Another
woman was
quarrelling
with a man,

and would not
be counselled
to peace,

till the man
spoke evil
of her.

and defamed
her before all.

♦[Fol.41,
col. 2.]

Curs growl
nnd bark, but
greyhounds
do not so.

An emperor

found his

daughters
chiding, and
said,

that she straue Sc cliitlile in the pluiiie stiete wit lier neygti-
bouies, wherfor she had suche reiiouiic that she was hadde
oute of her good helthe of body, as for freutyk aud not of good
mynde, for whiche cause she loste her mariage. And, therfor, 4
it is gret foly to eueiy woman to chide, or ellya to ansuere
vnto hem that be of suche vngoodly condiciones, futt of noyse
and striff, and cruel, and wilfutt [and] hasty, wherof y shatt tett
you an ensaumple that y sawe by a gentitt woman testi and 8
liasti ; wherfor y saide vnto her, " Madamoiseft ! y praie you
that ye ansuere not vnto this fole, that is of suche condicion
rather to speke eueft than wele." But she wolde not do bi my
counsaile, but chidde with hym, and ansuered worse thanne la
she hadde ydo before, sayeng vnto the man that lie was
not worthe. And he ansuered her that he was beter worthe
a man thanne she for a woman. And somoche the wordes
and the noyse encresed betwene hem bothe, till atte the 16
laste the man saide vnto her, he knew suche one that had her
atte his comaundement bothe day [and] night, whanne that
he wolde, so that there was moche foule speche betuene hem,
and before moche pepitt, and the woman defamed for her 20
hautyuete and her foly and chidinge. And, therfor, her shame
and disclaunder was shewed opinly there before the peple, that
hadde no kiiowinge therof before. She was not lyke vnto the
wise Sarra, J>at made no gret ansueres vnto her chambrere ; for 24
ofte tymes, by vnauised speche, of r[i]ght is made the wronge.
And it is a myschaunt thinge for any gen*titt woman, other
to striue or to chide in ani manere, as y shatt shewe you
ensaumple bi the prop.rte of sum bestis, as ye may see bi 28
these curre doggis; of thaire nature thei growne and berke
euermore, but gentitt greyhoundes do not so. And so aught
it to be of gentitt men and gentitt women.

A Nd also y shatt tett you an ensaumple of an Emperoure 32
Uk that was ferce and right cruel, but he wolde neuer more
chide with no creatouie. And it befett on a tyme that he
fonde his ij doughtres chidinge, wherfor that he wolde haue
bete hem, ne hadde it be that other went betwene. And 36

OF THE WISDOM OF QUEEN ESTHER. 127

thanne he saide vnto his doughtres, " Oute of a gentitt herte «• viie words
shulde neuer come veleiiye word" ne dede, for by chidynge is come out of

gentle heart."

knowe the gentil from the vilanie, that spekithe it with his
4 mouthe/* And, therfor, it is gret gentilnesse and nobihiesse
to be pacient and humble, and not to chide, nor to striue in
speche with suche as be not wise. And for sertaine it befallithe
often tymes, tliat a worde folyly saide or folily ansuered, engen-
8 derith suche thinge as after causithe disworshippe and shame.
And therfor, faire doughtres, here is ensaumple how often An example

how fools will

tymes ye shaft finde, as foles that be of haultarie corage, say false

things for

whanne there is holde noyse or Eiotte ayenst hem, they witt vengeance,
12 ansuere and speke velanie thingej of thaire malice, suche as
was neuer do ne thought, but forto auenge hem in her gret
yre. And as welt euery woman aught to be ware in ansueringe and how wise

women

her husbonde before pepilt, for mani causes, as forto holde a^e humble

^ -^ and meek.

i6 her pees and be * still, she shall haue worships and be holde * foi. 413.

, -^ ^ col.l.]

wise of alt that know and see her. And yef she ansuere
vnto his displesaunce, there shall come vnto her harme and
disworshipe, as it is saide before.

CHAPTER XCVII.
2o [Of Queen Esther.]

Shalt telt you another ensaumple, of queue Ester, that Queen Esther

is praised iu

was a good woman, and a noble lady, and right wise, Scripture,
and she loued & dredde the kinge her husbonde aboue alt
24 thinge ; and holy scripture holdith her in gret recomendacion
for her goodnesse ; but the kinge her husbonde was daungerous,
and of diuerse condicion with her, and fuH of vngoodly speche ;
but for no thinge she wolde neuer ansuere hym that miffht *''»* whenever

o . . . «/ o displeased her

28 be to his displesaunce. But mani tymes whanne she sawe hym i»usband,
bi hym selff, and that he was oute of his yre, with her faire
and humble speche she coude so wel behaue her selff vnto
hym in goodly wise, that she shewed hym att his faute ; and though she

. - . showed him

32 therfor the king loued her merueilously, and saide within I'is faults.

128 LOVE AND DREAD IS DETTtll THAN PLEASURE AND SPORT.

hym Bclff that he might neuer be wrothe with liis wiff, she

was euermore so plesaunt and 80 wett auised in her speche,

Tiieonp good and in all thine, for it is one fofl the^ good thint/e that may be

in a wouian b ° L J o o j

to be of little in a woman, to be in a litett speche, and not to ansueie vnto 4

lier husbonde in wrathe; for a gentitt hert is euermore dredfutt

other to do or to saye ani thinge that might displese vnto hym

whanne she owithe to loue, worshippe and drede. Wherof the

talc is reported in the boke of Kinges, of this good ladi that 8

•fFoi. 4ifc. liad so merueilous a kinj'e and lorde vnto her hus*bonde,
col. 2.] ° '

but she her selff was euer humble and good. And upon a
When 8iie tyme her gentilt woman saide vnto her, " By asmoche as ye

was asked

why she did be fftiro and yonffe, whi witi ye not plaie and disporte you la

not play and . .< j. i. ^

disport otherwhilcs?" And she ansuered hym ayen, "For y must

she said, "I meintayue and gouerne my selff in suche wise as y^ know

must he in

peace witii my best that it plesithe vnto my lorde, myn husbonde, and as

husband," _ ^ ^ . . .

his wilt that y gouerne, forto haue his loue in pees with hym i6
euermore." And in this manere the good ladi saide vnto her
damoyselt and gentilt woman. Wherfor, my faire doughtres,
y praie you to haue these ensaumples in youre herte, and in
youre rememberaunce ; and ansuerithe not with none anoyeus 20
wordes of ungoodly speche vnto youre husbondes, nor striue
not with youre langage with no creatoure; but euermore be
gracious, humble, and curteys, as was this good lady the quene
Hester, as ye haue herde. And, as she that saide vnto her 24
damoyselt, her herte was in the loue of her lorde and husbonde,
wherby that she dede hym euermore plesaunce, and lyued
and tiiat three with hym in ioye and pees. And after that, she saide vnto her

tilings were

better than woman, that thre thinges distrained her for to eschewe diuerse 28

pleasure,

sport, and plesaunce3, disportes, and other loyeuseie, and tho were, loue,
lovrofTier drede, and shame ; and these iij thinges maistred her ' : the loue
dread"othis ^^^^ she had vnto her lorde her husbonde kepte her, that neuer
andsTanieof sho woldo do thinge that was his displesaunce ; drede, that kepte 3a

evil reproach.

her from synne and disworship^ ; shame, to be auised and saued
from velanie reproche.*

^ Fr. " une des bonnes taches," p. 190, ed. 1854. ^.'MS. ye.

^ Fr. " Ces iij. vertus la maistrioient," p. 190. * Fr. " villain reproche."

HOW SUSANNAH WAS ACCUSED OF ADULTERY. 129

[CHAPTER XCVIIL]
[Of Susannah the wife of Joachim.]
Nother ensaumj^le y sliatt tell you, of Susanne, tliat was [Uo!. 42,
the wyff of locliim, hat was a gret lorde in Babiloyne. Susaiumh was

the wife of a

This Susanne was a faire lady, and of holy lyff; and it great lord,
befctt that there were .ij. prestis of the lawe priuely hidde in
a gardein, where as this lady bathed her, and these ij preestis
come sodenly vpon her vnauised. And thei behelde tlie gret
8 beauute that was in her, and they desired to fulfett thaire and two

/I 1 • • • 1 i • 1 • priests do-

flesshely delite and concupissent of thaire body with her, in sired to ue

. ^ ^ with her,

SO moche that tho two false preestis saide unto this good lady,
that, yef she wolde not consente to fulfett thaire flesshely
12 plesaunce, they wolde here witnesse ayenst her that thei had and threat-

^ . . ened other-

founde her with a yon^e man with whom she hadde ydo wise to accuse

•^ ^ *' her falsely.

fornicacion and luxurie, and enfraynt her mariage, for the
whiche she shulde be bete with stones vnto the deth, or

16 ellys her body shulde be brent, as the vsaunce of the lawe was
atte pat tyme. Wherof this good lady was gretly abasshed, and
in grete feere and doute that, by the false witnesse of these
prestis, she sawe her dethe but yef she wolde consent vnto thaire

20 foule delite ; for ij witnesses were atte that tyme trusted
and bileued, and moste, of hem that were the prestis of the
lawe. And hereupon she auised in her thought and herte But she

thought it

that ^she had leuer to dye the worldely and bodely dethe thanne better to lose

'' J J her body than

24 for to putte her soule in auenture and to do synne, and to de[ye] ^er soui,
upon the dethe euerlastinge ^, and refused the falce prestis, and
putte her selff in the will and in the disposicion of almighti
God, in whom * was her hope and beleue. And she ansuered * [Foi. 42,

col. 2.1

28 and saide vnto the prestis that they were falce, and she wolde and would
not consent vnto hem, but she hadd" leuer to deye worldely
dethe by falce accusacion thanne forto deye in the sight of
God rightfully, by cause of synne in brekinge his lawe and

32 the sacrement of mariage. And thanne these ij prestes and Then they

. accused her

luges accused and witnessed ayenst this lady Susanne, how of adultery

with another,

they hadde founde her with another man thanne her husbonde

* "elle aymoit mieulx mourirdela mort mondaine quede la mort pardurable."

130 now SUSANNAH WAS SAVED BY DANIEL.

in the Bynne of atluoultre, wlierfor that she was incontencnt
iuged vnto the dethe. But she cried with high vo} s vnto God,
and with deuoute praier, as he that knew the trouthe in kepinge
her mariage, he wolde vouchesauf entende to her deliueraunce. 4
but Daniel And almij'hti God, that foryetithe not^ht his servaunt, sent

was sent by . . . .

tJod to beip Bodenly Daniel, whiche with gret voys cried and Baide, " O
ye iuges of Israel, iuge not vnto dethe the woman whiche as
Inconuenient and falsely acused of synne and blame, but her 8
accusatourej be enquered eche by hem selff in what wise they
fonde her;" wherof att the peple was ameruailed to here and
Be* a childe speke in suche wise, and wost wel that it was

andheques- by opin miracle of God; and so they were departed, and eche 12

tioned each

accuser by of hem examined by hem selff. And the furst saide that he

himself,

had founde hem vnder a figge tree, and the secounde saide
he hadde founde hem vnder ^ a plumme tre pruner. And for
and 80 proved the defauute was in hem, they were bothe founde fals of that 16

their _ .

falsehood. they had saide, and they were iuged vnto the dethe. And,

» [Foi. 42ft. whanne they * sawe that there was none other remedye but
col. 1.] "^ -^

that thei shulde deye, they were beknowe of thaire fals
acciisinge of this good ladi, and that thei had wel deseruid 20
An example the dethe. And therfor here is a eood ensaumple how God

how God "^ '■

keepeth those kepitlie and sauithe hem that louith and seruithe hym truly,

who serve *^ %/ ^ j

'""'• and putte al thaire disposicion ' in his honde and grace. And

this good lady, that hadde ben [fainer*] to chese the worldely 24
dethe than forsuere the lawe of God and to be fals in her
mariage vnto her husbond', doutinge the dethe euerlastinge of
her sowle more thanne ani worldely thinge, wherfor God of
his goodnesse kepte and saued her sowle, body, and worshippe, 28

WTierefore as ye hauc herde. And therfor euery good lady and euery

every good -i i /« • i i •

lady should good womaw aught euermore to haue her faithe & hope in

have faith and

hope in God, Qod and in his lawe, nor for worldely ioye, ne payne, nor

drede of dethe, to consent to synne, nor to breke the sacrement 32

as Susannah of her mariage, as by this good lady Susanne ye haue herd*
faire and good ensaumple. Wherfor, faire doughtres, y praie you
that ye withholde this ensaumple in youre herte euermore.

* MS. so. ^ MS. under vnder. ' MS. dispociciclon. * "qui mieulx vouloit."

OP HUMILITY AND REPENTANCE. 131

[CHAPTER XCIX.]
[Of Elizabeth, the mother of St. John.]

Shalt tett you another ensaumple, of seint Elizabeth, that Elizabeth,

the mother of

was moder vnto seint lohn. She serued furst God, and saint Joim,

served first

after her hushonde, and loued and dradde hym. And yef ^^^ a"^ then

' " " her husband,

there hadde ani thinge befatt vvithinne hys hous that shulde haue
turned her vnto his displesaunce, she wolde amende it, or kepe
it secrete vnto the tyme that it were amended, in suche wise
8 that her husbonde fonde neuer occasion of disple*saunce ; for * [FoI. 423.

^ ' col. 2.]

she was so good, so wett auised, and of so noble attemperaunce,

that she kepte her husbonde in loye and pees, and oute of ^nd so kept

^ ^ X ligp house in

wrathe. And so auffht euery ffood woman to do in the same J°y ^"^

^ '' ^ peace ;

12 wyse as this holy woman, that louithe and dredithe God, and

bare faithe and honoure vnto her husbond?. And, therfor, God so God re-

, , . . wardjd her

sent her to here a childe the good seint lohn the baptist, in by sending

her a son.

that she was wel guerdoned, for a woman that louithe God and
1 6 kepith her clene oute of synne, God rewardithe her in this
worldely lyff, an hundred sithe more after the departinge oute of
this worlde, as God gaue vnto this goodly lady bothe worldely
prosperite and heuenly ioye euerlastinge. And so he guerdonithe
2o and rewardith alt suche as louithe hym and kepe truly thaire
mariage, and haue thaire faithe and beleue in hym; as these
good ladies Elizabeth and Susanna, in the manere as ye haue
herde.

[CHAPTER C]

24 [Of Mary Magdalene.]

Nother ensaumple y shaft tett you, of the Magdalene that Mary Mag-

dalene be-

/A purged and clensed her selff from synne by the teres of mailed and
her eyen, wepinge whanne she wysshe the fete of oure ^'"^'
28 lorde Ih^su Crist, and wyped hem with the tresses of her hede.
She bewaked and wepte for her synnes, \ai was the loue of God
and the drede that she had for her misleuinge. And in such
wise we aught to wepe and to haue gret sorugh for oure synnes, as we ought
32 with gret shame that euer we dede so moche vilesse and vnclen- ours,
nesse, and with gret repentaunce and gret humilite come to

9—2

132 OF THE GOOD OF REPENTANCE AND FASTIKfl.

ftiuitf) confess confcfisloii, and to confesse, and shewe, and tett it oute vnto tlie

tlieiii to the

prifst ; preost truly * and faitlifully, in the same manere, and the

•[I'ol. 43. , .

col. 1.] condicion and moyan, day and tyme, as the synne hathe be do,
withoute any excusacion for drede of God, and the liardynesse that 4
man or woman hathe wiih the shame of his misdede and synne,

for shame & for to confesse it truly vnto the preest. That shame, with

and repent -

anceuvaiieth fortheukiuge of syuue, auailltlie moche vnto the mercy of God,
bothe in remission of his synne, and vnto the allegeaunce of 8
payne ; for God, that seithe the humilite & knowithe the repent-
aunce in euery herte vnto hem that be so sorufutt and repentaunt
of her misdede, he his stered vnto my[l]se, and eslargithe his pitee
vpon hem, and of his grace yeuithe hem pardone and foryeue- 12
nesse ; as he was mercifutt vnto this blessed and holy Magdalene,
whanne he forgaue her synne for the contricion and repentaunce

Mary Mapr- that she hadde. Another reson there is wherfor the blessed

dalene is also • i /• i i

i)iaised for Magdalene aught to be gretly praised: that was, for the gret loue 16

tlie love she o o o x

had for that was SO feruout vnto oure lorde Ihesu Crist, that she loued

Christ,

hym aboue ani things that euer was or might be. And for the
gret faith that she hadde in hym, for the miracles that he
who had re- wrought whanne he resuscited the Laser, her owne brother, from ao

stored her

brother to dothe vnto lyff, whiche tolde her afterwarde what payne it is to

life,

deye, and what paynes it ys to suffre after this lyfF, for hem that
be synfutt and haue leued in synne in this worlde. For the
whiche cause the holy Magdalene was neuer ioyfutt, but euer 24
sorufutt of the dethe and of the gret peyne after the departinge
* [Foi. 43, oute of this worlde, in so moche that she putte her *lyff in the
desert, and lyued in gret abstinence the space of xx wynter.
After she had And whanne she had so longe continued, doinge gret penitence, 28
f Vuv*^"*^^ that as by course of nature she might no lenger endure, God of
sentlie?*^*^ his mercy visited her, and sent her the heuenly fode & angelyk
JISl^"'^ sustenaunce, with the whiche she was refeccioned and sustened
A good ex. vnto her lyues ende. And therfor this is a good ensaumple how 32

ample of the

good of good and how profitable it is to be sorufutt for synne, and ofte

penitence.

tymes to be confessed, & to do penaunce, almesdede, and praier,
and to drede God, the dethe, and the payne that is to come
after this lyff for oure mysdede, as ye may see by ensaumple of 36

ANo

HOW A GOOD WIFE SAVED A WICKED HUSBAND. 133

this good holy Magdalene, that so moche loued and dredde God,
and wepte for her synnes, and with the teres of her eyen wysshe
his fete ; and afterwarde she leiied in desert longe tyme in
4 gret penitaunce ; and atte the laste how God had pitee upon
her, and by the aungelt sent vnto her heuenly sustenaunce.
And in the same wise he wytt do vnto att other good men and God wiii

reward all

women that witt be sorufutt for her synne, and loue and drede who repent

" and love and

8 God, and do penitaunce in fastinge and abstinence, and for euer dread hiiu.
more to refuse, and forsakinge synne, as did this good Marie
Magdalene,

[CHAPTER CI.]
[How women should care for their husbands.]
1 2 A Nother ensaumple y shall tell you of ij women, that were Two iioatiien

^ men had

the wyues of ij men that were oute of the beleue and christian

wives

faithe of almighti God. Notwithstonding that her hus-
bondes were wicked, the women were good, and ministred and

i6 serued God truly ; so by this is good en*saumple that euery good * IFo'- 436.
woman, how so it be that her husbonde were of wyked condicion,
the woman shulde not therfor eschewe to be good, nor to take
ensaumple atte his wickednesse, but moche the rather to be

2o pacient and deuoute, and [to] contenu euer in praiers to purchace

grace the rather of God for her husbonde. For the goodnesse of The goodness

, . of the woman

the woman makithe [smal &] lessithe the wickednesse of the man \ lesseneth the

man's

and aswagith the wrathe of God, and encresithe hem bothe in good wickedness.
24 and in worships; for the good dede of the woman supportithe
the euel dede of the husbonde, as it is conteined in the boke of
lyff of the olde faderes, where he spekithe of a wicked man that a wicked

1 10 1 11 •! ' c t ' n\a,\\ was

iij tymes he was saued from velayne dethe bi the praier of his saved three

_ times by his

28 good wyn; and whanne it befell that she deyed, and her hus- wife's

pi"ayers,

bonde had no more the praiers of his goode wyff vnto God for
hym, the kynge of the contre made hym forto deye upon euett
dethe, for his wicked lyfif of the tyme passed. And therfor it so tiiat a

wicked man

32 is necessarie vnto a man that is of wicked lyfF to haue a woman should have

a good wife.

of good lyuinge ; for in as moche as a woman felithe her husbonde

of euell conscience and of other euett lyff, so moche the more

\ Fr. "amendrist le mal de lui," p. 196, ed. 1856*

134 HUW CM HIST LODOKD IM THE HOUSE OF MARTHA.

she is bounde to be good, and do abstinence, and forto praie for

If there bo nyni ; for, and the goodnesao of that one supporte not the

to«avetiie wicKednesse of that other, that is to saie, the goodnesse the

it u lost. wickednesse, alt sliulde perisshe and fait into perdicion. And 4

yet y saie you that obeysaunce vnto God, and the drede of

God, is before mariage ; for we owe furste to obeye vnto oure

•[Foi. 48b. Creatoure that hath *made us vnto his seniblaunce and yma£(e.

col. 2.] . J to

Yet no For the lawe coniaundithe furst obeye vnto God ; for no 8

wuiuan

hhouid serve woman aught not to serue her husbonde before God, of whom

her liiishai^d

before God. to serue comithe the proffit of the soule that is euerlastinge.
For, as the scripture saithe, that atl the good seruice of the body
is the saluacion vnto the soule, for the welthe of the soule 12
bathe he no parail ; and therfor the wyf is bounde furst to obeye
and to serue God, and after vnto her husbonde, by the faithe of
mariage, and to praye for hyra, benignely and paciently to
counsaile hym for the welthe of his soule, and so to deturne 16
hym from eueri euelt dede, in as moche as is in her powere ; for
therto is bounde euery good woman.

[CHAPTEK GIL]
[Of Martha the sister of Mary.]
Martha the A Nother ensaumple, of Marthe, the suster of Marie 20

sister of Mary '" r- ' »

was^ohS-' r\ ^^^gtialene. This good lady was custumer^ to herburgt
chrisuo ^^® ^^^y profitees and the seruauntes of God that

woSd^iodge preched and taught his lawe, and she was futt of almesse

in her house.

dedes unto the nedy and poure folkes ; and for her good 24
and holy lyuinge, oure lorde Ihesxi wolde be loged in her
hous with her. And this was she that saide vnto oure
lorde Ihesu Crist that her suster the Magdalene wolde not
helpe her to aparaile the labour of the hous ; but oure 28
Lorde ansuered her goodly, that Marie had chose the beter
seruice, for she satte at his fete and herde his doctrine, and
wepte, and made sorw for her synne, and cried hym mercy
with humble herte. As the good lorde saide trouth, there is 32
no seruice that God louithe so moche as to crye hym mercy,

* Fr. coustumifere.

HOW IT IS GOOD TO FEED THE POOH. 133

and to be *repentaunt of mibleuinge, and to forsake att eynne; "[foi. 44,
for seint Marthe dede her seruice to herburgti and to logge jviartiia
cure lord? Ihesu, and forto aparailt mete and drinke for liym and lodg^ed
4 and his disciples, with goode deuocion and trewe entent of hig disciples,
her hert. For God dede mani miracles for the loue of her, and
come to comfort her in her deyeng, and reeeyued her soule
into his ioye euerlastinge ; and in this wise she was rewarded for which bhe

was re-

8 of God for her true loue and seruice. So that, bi this, euery warded ;
woman may take ^ good ensaumple how it is good to herberugh an example
the seruauntz of God, and suche as be prechinge and techinge iieiptiie

' . . servants of

the lawe of God and the faythe, and for to herburgh pilgrimes ^*^<^-

13 and other peple, and to refresshe hem that be nedfult to

receiue almesse ; & God hym selff witnessithe in the Gospelt,

that saithe atte the ferefutt day of his gret lugemeut he wol

axe of hem that shalt ansuere byfor hym, how and in what

16 wise they haue receiued and uisited the pore in his name,

whanne as they shall yeue acompte of thaire habundaunce of

the worldely goodes that they haue had, and not gouerned

hem vnto the plesaunce of God, in good werkes of charitee, as

20 they were lerned bi the comaundeme?it of God to do. And For it is a

noble virtue

therefor it is a noble vertu to do almesdedes, and to herburgh to give aims

and visit the

^the seruauntes of God, and to Recomfoite and uisite alt suche poor.
as by lugement are^ pore, and in aduersite of prison, or in

34 any other infirmite ^5 for there befallithe euermore good auenture
vnto hem that do soo. And God rewardithe hem a thousande
partiez aboue aft that they canne or may do; *wherfor he *[Foi. 44,
saithe in the Gospell, that who that receiuithe ani of his

28 seruauntis in his name, receiuithe hym seljBf, for they be his
messengeres & shew his trouthe and uertu.

'O'

[CHAPTER CIIL]
[Of women who were fiill of pity.]
>Nother ensaumple there is, of the ffood ladies that wepte Good ladies

i ^ . of holy life

02 l-\ for oure Lorde whari he bare the crosse upon his shuldres, wept when

•' / ■ ^ Jesus carried

whereupon he vouchedsauf to suffre dethe, for the redemp- ^^^ cross,

ANc

* MS. toke. ^"^ les pelerins, les povres, et les sergens de Dieu. ^ MS. and.

136

OF CUAUITABLK WOMEN.

and he spuke
tu tUcni,

to reward

titciu.

A woman
should be
more pitiful
thau a man.

« [Fol. 446.
col.l.]

A Countess
of Anjou

gave to her
poor kin,

and to poor
men and
women,

cion of us syniicis. Tlie^e good ladycs were of holy lyff, and
had her hertia pitous, and God turned towardes hem and BaiJ
vnto hem, " My dough ters ! wepithe not for me, but wepe for
tlic sorues that Le to come;" and shewed hem the mi.scl.ecf 4
that is befatt hin hedirwarde, as ye shal finde it in the boke
that y haue made for youre bretheren *. These goode kidyes, that
had pilee upon the soru that oure Lorde suffered, thei loste
not the teies that they wepte for hym, for he rewarded hem 8
liyly : and therefor by this ye may haue ensaumple, how euery
good woman aught to haue pitee upon the dieese of the pore
pepilt and seruauntes of God. As he saithe hym selff in the
Gospeft that, "Who that hathe pitee upon the pore, in the la
reuerence and for the loue of me, y wol haue pitee and mercy
upon hem." And as the wise man saithe, " The woman, of
nature shulde be pitous moche more thanne the man, for the
man is of more of harde corage than the woman." And, therfor, 16
it is saide, a woman that is not humble and pitous she is
mannisshe and not womanly, whiche is a nice in womanhode
to be rude or of hautaigne courage. *And also the wise man
saithe, a woman shulde not be a chiche of that she hathe in 20
gret plente, that is to saye, of wepinge teris, and of piteous
herte, to haue pitee on the pore peple, vpon her kyn and
frendes, that she seitlie in necessitee. And there was a gode
lady that was Countesse of Aniou, and founded the abbey of 24
Burgeyl, and she is there yberied; and it is saide she is there
in flesshe and blode, seminge in coloure though she were
quiche lyvinge. This good lady, she halpe and gaue her goodes
vnto her pore kyn, unto pore gentitt women and maydenes, 28
to susteine and meintaine her estate, to kepe from synne and
mysleuinge. And she enquered thorugh euery parisshe for
pore men and women that were wedded and had children,
and had not wherewith to susteyne hem, and for such and 33
for diuerse sikenesses or other aduersitees might not laboure
ne trauaile, and upon poure women in gesyne : all suche

* Cf. Caxton's " as hit is reherced, in the booke of my two sonnes."
Sign, n in bk., p. 205 below. No copy is known.

THE DUTY OF FORGIVENLSS. 137

pepitt, and mani other, she releued and conifortLd with aluiesse
of her charitable deiiocion. And also she hadde her niediciiies
and suraens forto hele and medicine aft suche as were nedefutt, and i.ad

D surgeons for

4 wherthoruf^h that for her bounte and goodnesse, God hathe ^''^ ^i^^^-
^ G "-' God re-

shewed mani miracles for her : for, as it hath be saide, whanne jv'.rded i.ct.

' lOr when slie

she shulde receiue her matenis, [t]he saulter or other bokes of j;;;,"^',^^^-;^ f^''
deucciou they were brought vnto her oute of the ayre as by ;7,;';','ouTof
8 miracle. And, therfor, bi this a good woman may haue gret ^''® '"'"•
ensaumple how and what it is good foi to be pitous upon * the MFoi 446.
poure pepitt, and to be charitable. So as atte this tyme y
passe ouer to speke more of these good ladyes, and retorne ayen
13 to other thingges, whiche y shal shew^e vnto you in other manerc.

M';

[CHAPTER CIV.]
[Of charity and forgiveness.]
faire doughtres, be ware and kepe you wett euermore Beware of

wrath, and

that ye be not ouer come with the synne of yre orwrathe; forgive with

patience and

i6 -*^'-*- for God saithe in the Gospett that we shulde foryeue aft humility,
oure mysdedes, and to be fuH of pacience and humylite ; for who-
so desirithe vengeaunce, desirithe contrarie vnto the lyfF of the
soule. For who-so takithe vengeaunce upon his malefactoures, he

30 lesithe the merite of humble sufferaunce & pacience, whereupon
oure Lorde saith that " rather make pees with thi neyghboure,
and be in charite togedre, thanne thou come with discorde to
make thine oblacion before myn auut^r." For, fur&t be in charite Be in charity

24 with att creatoures, and thanne suerly make thine offeringe and fore offering

prayers to

praier; for God receyuithe not the praier nor oblacion of man God,
nor woman that is in the synne of yre and wrethe. For God,
that made the pater-noster, saithe in the praysing the fader of

28 heuene, in ensaumple to all creatoures how they shulde for-
yeue, Et dimitte nobis debita nostra, that is to saye, God
foryeue vs as we foryeue ; and as we desire to haue mercy and
foryeuenesse of God, right so we must foryeue alt oure mysdoers,

32 euermore to be in charite. And who-so saithe or praieth his

pater-noster in other wise, he is not in parfite charitee, * and coi. i. j '

138 now A WOMAN DILD IN ANGER

otherwise our thaiiuc liis praici'S are litett or not acceptable. AVhereupronl y

pravf rs arw *-^ -• •'

not accept- shatt tett YOU an ensaumple of a buriovse, a riche woman, as

able to liim. ^ ./ ' »

Anexampia Y liauc hci'de it proched, whiche as by eeming was a charitable

of a hurgfuse, i /• »a. /»

whom all woman, and lun of ensaumples of good leuynge ; Till it be- 4
charitable, felt that she toke siknesse and shulde deye; and the person of
the chirche, that was a perfit holy man and a good preest, and
come forto shriue her, and herde her confession. And whanne
she shulde shriue her of the synne of yre, the preest laide vnto 8
her that she shulde be in uerray charitee, and foryeue att the
that had trespaced or offended her, in the same wise forto axe
foryeuenesse of att them that she had do vnto ani offence. And
until, when as unto that article, she ansuered her confessour, that a woman 1 3

dying, she

refused to that was her neisrhboure had do vnto her so gret offence that she

forgive one " ^

^ff^)d"dh r '^^S^^ neuer foryeue her with good herte. But this good maw,
bi faire ensaumples, and with faire speche, saide vnto her in
Then the that wise, oure lorde Ih^5u Ci'ist forgaue paciently his dethe, and 16

priest by the

example of also he saidc vnto her another ensaumple of a kniffhtis sone,

our Lord, ... f

in what wise, bi the counsaile of an holi heremyte, vnto whom
he was shriue, he foryaue hem that had murdred and slayne -
his fader, bi the counsaile of the holy hermite, whanne he ao
shewed hym in what wise that almighti Ihesu. oure saueoure
forgaue and perdoned hem J^at crucified hym vpon the crosse,
with mani other devoute and good ensaumples that he had
and of a saide vnto the knightis sone, wherfor he forgaue the deth of his 24

knight s son o j o -r

h/rfathUr ^^^^^ ^* t^® reuerence of God, in so moche that upon a tyme as

nnirderers. j^g * kneled before the crosse, saieng hys praiers and deuocions,

col. 2.] the crosse with the ymage bowed vnto hym, and [he] herde

a voys that saide to hym in this wyse, " For as moche as thou 28
haste foryeue the dethe of thi fader vnto hem that axed the
mercy and grace, in the reuerence of me and of my passion,
right so y foryeue the att thine offences and synnes ; and thou
shalt haue my grace euermore ; and in the ende of thi lyff thou 32
ehalt duefit with me in the ioye of heuene euerlastinge." &
tried to per- in this manere this good holy preest counsailed this woman to

suade her to

be in charity, foryeue the woman her neygheboure ; but for no amonestemewt -
nor counsaile that her gostely fader coude do nor say, she 36

BECAUSE A DEVIL HELD HER HEART. 139

wolde not pardone, she was so futt of yre, by encomberaunce but she would

not, and died

of the deuett, but she deyde in this foule dedly synne of wruthe >" anger.
and yre. So that in the same night this holy man dremed that The priest

dreamed that

4 hvm semed by auision how the deuett bare awey the soule of ti'e dtvii

' J '' -^ bare away

this burioys, and that he sawe a gret foule tode sittyng vponhersoui,
her herte ; and upon the morw, whanne the day is come, it was
tolde vnto hym that she was dede ; wherfor that her kyn and
8 frendes were all sembled forto bery her, and sent for this
preest to do her seruice forto bringe her body vnto the chirche,
as it is the vsaunce ; but he ansuered hem that she shulde not and therefore

he would not

be beried, nother in the chirche, nother in none other holy place have her

' ^ "" '- buried in the

12 where as the cristin bodyes were beried, for she deyde in dedly church.

synne of wrethe and yre, and wolde not foryeue another woman

that was her neyghboure, of certaine * displesaunce that she had * \yo\. 4&b.

vnto her; for the whiche cause, that she deied in dedly synne, she
1 6 was dampned; & more ouer he saide vnto hem that there shulde

be founde within her body, upon her herte, a foule tode. And And, when

they opened

for this cause her frendes were displesed with the person, and her body, a

toad was

saide it was not so, it was but a fafnltesi : but her frendes atte the f"""'^ holding

■- J -^ her heart.

20 laste opened her dede body, and fonde it trewe that the preest
had saide vnto hem, where they founde a foule orible tode with-
in her body, that grapped her herte with her pawes, wherof
they were hougely ameruailed. And thanne this holy man, this

34 persone, coniured this foule tode, wherfor that he was there in

that place, and what he dede. And this tode ansuered and Tiae toad said

he was a

saide, that he was a deueti of hett, that by the space of twenty devii, who

had tempted

wynter he had tempted that woman vnto mani synnes, but her for

^ ^ >> ' twenty years,

28 in special vnto that whereinne he fonde most auauntage, and
that was in the synne of yre, or of wrathe, '* for syn that tyme
she had so gret wrath vnto her neygheboure that she wolde
neuer foryeue it; for y putte so grete hate, that she might neuer

32 beholde her with her sight but she were oute of charite. And

that other day whan thou herdest her confession, y was vpon and pre-

11. -, ,. ., ... , vented her

her herte, and grapped it so sore with my iiij pawes, and from yielding

to the per-

helde it so streite and enpoysoned, that she might haue no witt suasions of

^ "^ ° the priest.

36 to yeue foryeuenesse. And yet atte one tyme y had gret fere

1-10

OF A KMUllT WHO CAML 1 KOM A VUVAUE,

that thow hast not take her away from me, and conuerted her
*lFoi. 466. with thine longe piechinge and * good ensaumnles; but as now

a)J. 2.J

y haue the uictorie in suche wise as she is myue, and shal be
darapncd in hett for euermore." And att the peple that were 4
aboute, and herde this ' thinge, thei were aferde and hougely
anieruailed, and durst no more speke to burye her within no
holy place ; but the body was ordeyned for, as lougithe therto.
An example go this is good eusaumple how euery creatoure owithe to be in 8
hix.iiid be at loue and charitee, and to be mercifutt vnto hem that axe

peace and '

charity. mercy, and to foryeue with good herte ; and who that wilt not
foryeue, may not be foryeue of God, and thanne might fatt in
such peritt as ye haue herde of this woman the burgoise. 12

That people
should hasten
to receive
viaitors.

A knight
came home
from a long
voyage.

and brought
two gowns for
Lid nieces,

but one kept
him waiting
while she
dressed
herself,

*[FoI. 46,
coi. 1.]

[CHAPTER CV.]

Off hem that shulde come in the same estate as they be,
and shew hem selff in suche wise, whanne thaire frendes
and cosynes come forto uisite hem and to see hem,
wherof y shall teR you an ensaumple. 16

THer was a knight, a noble man, that had ben oute in
straunge uiage byyende the gret see; and he hadde ij
fayre neces, the whiche he had norisshed, and afterwarde
he maried hem and loued hem meruaylously. And, in the comyng 20
homwarde from his viages, he bought for eche of hem a gowne
of the best and goodlyest shappe and deuise as atte that tyme,
and weti & richely furred. And it happed he come late vnto
the manoyre and place of one of his neces, and cried and called 24
for her, and sent vnto her that she shulde come and see hym.
And she *went streite vnto her chaumbre, forto array her in
the most fresshe wise, and sent hym worde that she wolde come
to hym in haste ; and so the knight abode and sawe his nece 28
come not, and sent ayen vnto her, and she ansuered and praied
he wolde not thenke it longe, for she wolde come vnto hym
anone. So the knight abode so longe vnto the tyme he dis-
deyned therof that his nece taried so longe, and come not vnto 32
hym, by as moche as he hadde by longe tyme be in straunge
1 MS. "and herde this & herde this."

TO SEE HIS TWO NIECES. 141

centre, and that she had not Fee hym a gret while before, and

toke his horse, and rode his waye, and went forto see his other so he wont

away, and

nece. And as faste as she herde the uoys of hym, she knewe it went to the

other niece,

4 was her vncle that hadde be so longe oute of the centre ; not-
withstondinge this woman a litett before, for her playser and
disporte, toke upon lier to make leuein for brede of whete,
and with her hondes as thei were, pasted with the leuein that

8 she handeled, al floury, in the estate as she was, she comithe who hastened

to meet him.

forthe with gret ioye, and enbraced hym plesauntly betwene
her armes, and saide vnto hym, "My dere lorde and vncle^ ye be
right welcome ! in the same astate as y herde youre voys, y am

I a come to you for the gladnesse that y haue of youre presence
and of youre comynge as this tyme ; but that y am come in so
symple a wyse before you, plese you to feryeue it me." And the
knight rewarded vnto the womanhode and manere of his nece,

1 6 and within her selfP he praised her gretly, and he loued her

moche the more thanne euer before. And he gaue her the ij so he gave

her both

gownes * that he had ordeined and bought for her and her gowns.

* [Fol. 46,

suster; and so she that come ioyfully in the state that she was coi.2.i

2o in before her vncle, she wanne two gownes; and she that taried

to arraye her self so queintly, she loste the grace and loue of

her vncle. And, therfor, she that come before her vncle in

such arraie as she was inne, and ^ afterwarde she went into her

24 chaumbre and abeled her self in the best manere, and sin saide

vnto her vncle, " Y haue aparailed my selff in this wise to do

you the more honestly seruice," she wanne the loue and the

grace of her vncle. "Wherfor, by this ensaumple, how a woman

28 niay with her worshippg come to receyue her kyn, or [be] perfit

founde, in suche arraye and habileraent as she is inne for the

tyme. And there was a boronesse that was a good lady, and a baroness

would not

she wolde nqt but seldom vse her fresshe arraie, neither in the o^e" wear

her fine

32 atyre of her hede nor for her body ; wherfor her seruauntes c'othes,
women saide vnto her, "Madame, for what cause plese it you
not to holde youre self beter beseyn in youre vesture 1 " and she
ansuered her and saide, "And y were euery day in my good

* Leave out and.

142 HOW A MAID WAS FALSELY CHARGED OF MUHDER,

which she array, and richely clothed, liow moche and wherof shulde v be

kept for Kfcat J J i j

occa»iui.». amended the day of the higTi fest, or whanne y most repaire
vnto the presence of my princesse and of other ladies ] for the
vsaunce of the Freshenesse * and of goodly array requirithe 4
tyme and place ; for euery day lyke to other is thinge comune,
it is selden praised." \^car chose commune nest jwint prnsee.^

[CHAPTER CVI.]
[Of a maid who was saved by a knight.]

• [Pol. 46?>. I Shalt tett you an ensaumple of a knight that * faught and 8
. / " I dede bataile for the loue of a faire maide. Ther was

A fiilse ■

'*"'*''•'*• duellinge, in the contre of a gret lorde, a falce knight that

required and praied a fayre yonge mayde of loue for his foule

delite; and she wolde not consent to his desire for no thinge of la

heheste, or in ani other wise, but that she kepte her self in

for revenge, clennesse of virginite. And in despite hereof, the knight thought

in hym selfF that he wolde do her disworshipg and displesaunce;

pols^oned ^^^ ^^ treson he enpoysoned an aple, and gaue it vnto this mayde 16

maid for*the ^^ ^^^'® ^* ^"^^^ ^^^ lordes sone. And this yonge woman bare it

a"nd charged f<^rt!i vuto tliis childe, by the whiche he was enpoisoned; and

murder. ' thauue this untrue knight accused her, and saide Ipat she hadde

take and receyued gret rewarde of the lordes enemys to enpoison 20
his childe ; so that this yonge mayden was dispoiled vnto her
smocke, and ordeined forto [be] brent in the fyre ; and she wepte
and made gret lamewtacion vnto God, besechinge hym to be her
comfort, and she was not gylty, and that it was the false knight 24
of whom she hadde resseiued the aple to here it vnto the childe.
But the knight denied it, and there was none forto offende ^ this
mayde, nor that durst fight for her in that quarett ayenst the
But God sent knight: he was renomed so worthi a man in armes. But almighti 28

a knight to ° ^ ^ ^ ° ^

fight for her, Qq^^ that hclpith eucry rightfult true cause, had pitee vpon this
mayde, that was Innocent of the dethe of the lordes childe ; and
as by auenture of the grace of God, there come a worthi knight
ycalled Patrydes in the defence of the mayden, as she shulde 32

• [Foi. 466. "be putte into the * fire. The knight behelde her wepinge and

* MS. " Frenshenesse." ^ Ifor defende; see "defence," L 32.

AND SAVED BY A KNIGHT. 143

makinge so gret sorw, lie hadde pite vpon her, and enquired of
her the cause of her disese ; and she tolde hym from point to
point of euery thing the trouthe as it was, wherof the most
4 party of the peple bare her recorde & witnesse. And thanne and in the
the noble knioht, that was pitous and had compassion upon this ^^ated the

c> ' ^ ^ ^ false knight,

mayden, gaged bataile ayenst the false knight, and there was
a sore bataile betwene hem bothe ; but the disconifitture befelt
8 upon the fals kuight, and was mischeued for his falsnesse; and
upon the point of his dethe he knowlaged alt the treson that he
had wrought ayenst this yong mayde. But yt happed so that but was him-
the good knight was hurte in .v. parties of his body with .v. to death.

12 dedly woundes, wherthorugh that he must nedely deye. And
whanne he was disarmed, he sent his sherte, that was pershed in
.V. places and aft blody, vnto the mayden for whom he hadde do
his bataile. And she resseiued it, and kepte hit att her lyue, and

i6 praied for hym contynuelly, for the gret goodnesse and kinde-
nesse that he shewed vnto her, to suffre deth for her deliueraunce,
and for to respite her dethe and aquite her of alt shame and
alt falce accusacion of treson, and ouercome her ennemie, and

20 made her free for euermore. Right so oure lorde Ihesu Crist So Jesus

^ Christ our

faught for us, for the gret compassion and pitee that he hadde ^(>^^ fo"g!»*
upon att humaigne lynage, whanne he deliuered us from the"^!
derkenesse of hett and dampnacion perpetuel, where as [he] faught

24 for us by the vertu of his glorious passion, whanne he * suffred * [FoI. 47.
for us his .v. woundes vpon the crosse, and bought us with his
precious blode, and receiued dethe for oure redempcion and
deliueraunce, and fraunchised us of all thraldome, and restored

28 us ayen vnto his ioye and blisse euermore lastinge ; and thorugh
hys mercy, debonairet[e], and vertu, and for loue and pitee that
he hadde vnto all his creatoures. And in this ensaumple eueri an example

' how all

man and woman aught to haue pitee and sorw of the disese of should have

° ^ pity on others,

32 thaire frendes neighboures, and vpon the poure creatoures of
God,-— -Right so as the knight had pite upon the mayde, — and
to wepe pitously, as wepte the good ladyes after oure lorde
Ih^su Crist, whanne he bare the crosse to be crucified, and suffre

36 dethe for oure synnes.

144 STORY OF THE T.'IREE MARIES.

[CHAPTER CVIL]
[Of the throo Maries, and of charity to the dead.]
The three iNotlier ensaumplc there in, of the iij Maries, whiche cam

Mrtries came

early to Ijk eily in the morw vpon Pasque, forto anoynt the hody of

Lord's body. -^ Q^ij-e lorde Ihg5u Crist, for thei had made precious oyne- 4

mont of gret coste, and they had deuoclon to serue God euermore,

as thei that were brennynge in the loue of his seruice. And

there thei fonde the aungett, that saide unto hem how oure

niid found he lorde Ihesu Crist was resuscited, wherof thei hadde crret ioye : 8

had risen ' b J )

"s'"". and for that gret gladnesse, thei went and tolde vnto the apo-

steles of his resurreccion. This good hidyes wached longe tyme
forto make this precious oynement; and thei arose before the
Sonne risinge, supposinge to haue anointe the precious bodi 12
of oure lorde before his resurreccion, that thei shulde haue
do her seruice. "VVherfor here is a good ensaumple hou that
eueri good woman that is wedded, or of religion, aught to

* [Pol. 47. be * curious, and diligent, and wakinge in the seruice of God, 16

col. 2.)

thei that may do it, for thei shaft be guerdoned an liundred

sithes double; as were these .iij. holy ladyes whiche God loued and

When Nero enliaunced. It is redde in the cronicles of Rome, that whanne

martyred the , i i •

c'liristians, tuc cmpcroure Nero and other tirauntes of the lawe martired 20

good hndies

buried their the holv seintes, (as it is contened in thaire lee^endis.) that the

bodies, ./ \ o y/

good ladies of Rome toke the bodies that were dede, and
berled hem priuely, and dede hem gret worships; and also thei
arose erly, and serued God with good deuocion. And al were 24
it so that in that tyme there were mani tyrauntes, neuertheles
there were mani good women and charitable, and blessed ladies
futt of pitee, bothe in Rome and in mani other places, where
but now-a. ^s v trowe now atte this day the charitee and holy seruice of 28

days ' chanty *' ^ ./

is right tiiiniy ^omen is riffht thinne ysowen : for there be mani that haue

sown. " ti '

more thaire herte upon the worlde, and forto obeye vnto the
worldely plesaunce, than to the honoure and seruice of God. For
thei dispose hem selff more to make hem selff fressb arraied, 32
forto be loued vpon of sum yonge louers, thanne for any other
entent. But and suche women dede thaire peyne to come and

OF THE DANGER OF DELAYING TO LIVE RIGHTLY. 145

here the serulce of God, and forto saie deuoutly thaire praiers,
as thei haue thaire thoughtis ellys where, and as they putte
thaire diligence to mal^e hern selff gay, goodly behauing in

4 fresshenesse, viito the worlde, and also to eschewe alt manere
of speche, or forto herkyn the iangelyng of foly plesaunce, whiles
thei ben in holy place, and in the chirche, it were the beste
for att suche women ; for yef thei wolde not refuse and putte

8 * awaye suche vsaunce, thei displese gretly God, and they shatt ♦[Foi. 47^.
be punisshed withoute mesure for thaire synne.

CHAPTER CVIII.
[Of the example of the five wise virgins.]
Hereupon it is also saide, now a dayes, or these faire Young ladies

^ ./ ' now so often

12 I yonge ladies mow arise, or they haue kemed her hede, J"^''^^^° '"'^\s
and iurred or avised hem selff in a mirrour, and atyred [af/forser^
hem selff with thaire riche & fresslie atyre, the procession is^"^^'
past, and aft the masses and seruice is songe & doo ; wherof as

i6 by ensaumple God spekithe in the Gospett of suche women,
of .V. maydenes that were purueyed by thaire good prudence
of oyle, light, and lompes, and were diligent to wasshe, and, to whom, as

an example,

whanne the spouse was ycome by niffbt, they entreted^ with hyra God spoke of

^ *^ J & ' J J the five wise

20 into the ioye and gladnesse of his duellyj^g place, and saide the virgins,
vatis be redy opin vnto hem. But there were other .v. bat fi"^i ^''^ five

•^ •' -^ ' foolish ones.

were inprudeut, that slept e and were not purueyed, nother of
lyght, oyle, nor lampe ; and whanne they come and wolde haue

24 entred into the place, they fonde the gatis shette and closed
ayenst hem, and the lorde the espouse saide vnto hem, whanne
thei wolde haue entred, that he knew hem not, for they were
come to late. So that, like vnto this ensaumple, y doute there be

28 mani suche women as be slouthfutt and slepe whanne thei shulde
wake in the seruice of God, and shulde be purueyed of alt suche
thingges as longithe vnto the saluacion of thaire soules, that is, in
good werkis and holy praiers, and forto haue grace of God. And fheir'^an"end^

32 y doute me that they tarie and haste hem not of thaire amende- ^nong Me"^*
ment, in truste of longe lyff unto her ende, of *the whiche ende Iq^2.] ^''^'
^ Head "entred," Fr. entrferent : see line 26.

146 WIIEX TOO LATE, HOW POOR THIS WORLD WILL SEEST.

of thtiiro lyff tliey haue no suertec, nor know the day nor the
but. like the Lourc. Y supposG the! shaft finde the e^ate ahette of thaire

foulutti vir.

Kins tiiey may sauacion, & shaft be saide vnto hem as was saide vnto the .v.

cume tuo lute.

niaidenes that were folys, that slepte and were vnpurueyed, the 4
esi)ouse knowithe hem not; and than it shal be to late, the
repentinge, for there is none recoueraunce of tyme. And they
shal be shamfuft whanne they see hem selff departed from God
and his holi seintes, and forto be ledde vnto the waye of heft, 8
with the horrible companye of the fendes, where as is cruel
payne and sorw continuel, that nener shal haue ende. Alas!
How dear how dere it shaft be solde the queintise, the plesaunt folves,

then will seem ^ i » i J >

the vanities of and the foule delvtls, that haue be used for flesshely delectacion la

the world I -^ ' "^

and worldely plesaunce; right so and by that waye shuft passe
But the good the women that haue leued sinfully; and the good women vnto

women will ,

go to bliss the blisse euerlastinfre, for thei shaft ejoo with thaire espowse, bat

eternal, like . i ' r

the wise is to saie, with God her creature. And they shaft fynde the gret i6
gate wyde opin vnto hem, forto entre into the gret ioye,bi as moclie
as they were diligent and wakinge with the light of her lampes, of
the espowse, that is to saye, that they had do holy werkes, and
were redi purueyed, by clennesse of good, abyding the houre of 30
the dethe, to departe oute of this worlde ioyefuft, and were not
encombered nor heui to slepe in synne ; but euermore they helde
hem selff clene and oute of synne, and they were ofte tymes shriue,
and kepte hem self oute of dedely synne, and loued and dredde 24

co^^i'i ^^' ^^^ aboue * aft thinge. For who that louithe God, he kepithe
Who loveth hvm selfF clene, and hatith synne. For synne is displesaunce vnto

Godkeepeth *' \ "^ *' ^ ^

himself clean. God, and departithe the creatoures from the lyff euerlastinge, as

ye haue herde here by ensaumple, bi the worde of God in the 28
Gospeft.

[CHAPTER CIX.]
[Of the Virgin Mary.]

Of the lady "|V"T Ow V shaft after this speke vnto you of a lady that hathe

that hath no ' ^ ' "^ ^ "^ *'

peer, the \^ ^<^ paraile, that is, she, the right glorious mayden Marie, 32

Saviour, -^ ^ ^^j^j moder of the Saueoure of the worlde. And this is

OF THE HUMILITY OF THE VIRGIN MAIIY. 147

SO high an ensaumple, that it may not be discreued, the whiche
the hig[h]nesse, the beauute that her sone Ihesn hatha enhaunced
her aboue att the heuenly thii)gges, as the renouun of hym,
4 her sone that is God and man, right so the renouun of this whose renown

° ia everlasting,

heuenly quene, moder and maide, is euerlastinge, whiche as for
her gret humilite she dred her sone more than euer dede moder,
for she knew weft from whennis he come, and what he was,
8 and therfor she was the chaumbre and the temple of God, who was

made the

where as was made the espoisatt, and the alyaunce and knyt- J?"\p'® ^^
tynge of the godhede vnto the manhode, diuinite vnto humanite.
Bi this glorious mayde is come the lyff and the saluacion of
1 2 mankynde. God wolde that she were espowsed and wedded vnto God wedded

/./->!, her to Joseph,

the holy man loseph, that was an olde rightfult man; for God an old good

man,

wolde be borne wetAinne the bonde of holy mariage, in ful-
fellyng and forto obeye vnto the lawe, and forto eschewe the
i6 suspecion of the worldely speclie. And also that the blessed timt she

should have

mayde shulde haue companie to plese her forto kepe her and a guide and

protector :

for * to gouerne her and to lede her into Egipte. And it *[Fo1. 48,
befell that whanne loseph aperceiued that she was gret with
20 childe, he wolde haue forsake her, and saide he knew wel that

the childe was not his; but that same night the fader of heuene and told

.. xiT* ••11 'J Joseph that

alraighti sent vnto loseph his aungel uisibly, that saide vnto she was with

child by the

loseph that he shulde no thinge doute nor be abasshed, for Hoiy Ghost.

24 she had conceiued a childe by the vertu of the holy gost, the
whiche shulde be redempcion and saluacion of alt the worlde.
And thanne this olde loseph had gret ioye, and peyned hym And Joseph
selfi to do her worshippe and seruice, for he knewe wel that

28 by the profitees as they had profesyed that the sone of God
shulde be Incarnat of mayde that hight Marie, and visibly
shulde be sayne man here in erthe ; whereof loseph thanked and thanked
God humbly of his grace and reuelacion, that it liked vnto his

32 goodnesse to make hym so worthi to see here with his eyen
and to be seruaunt vnto her that was the clene mayde and
moder vnto God and man. And in the same wise the holy But Mary
mayden honoured and was obeissaunt vnto her husbonde loseph, to her hus.

band ;

36 wherein the scripture praisithe her highly ; and for as moche

10—2

14S OF THE VIRGIN MARY AND HER COUSIN ELIZ.VBETir.

also as the aungett fontle her Eolytorie in the temph', in tlc-
ftn example to uocion & praiei' euermore contynuelly, whiche is ensaumple to

every yoiuiK

ludyiuid every eueiv cood ladv that is yonpfe, and to euerv Kood woman to

be devouute in the praier, and in the seruice of God, and 4

to loue clennesse, & to be humble and charitable. Also, the

scripture praisithe her hily, this blessed mayden, by as moche

* [Foi. m. as she was sumdel * abaisshed and douted whanne the aungett
col.l.] ^ ^ °

Mnry asked salued hcr ,* and whanne she demaunded how, in what wise, she 8

how slie might ....

iiave a child, might couceiue a childe that neu^r had companie ne flcsshely

Ihat kuew no

3«an I knowinge of man ; and the aungelt assured her, and saide that

she shulde haue no drede, nor be ameruailed therof, for she
shulde be fulfelled with the holy goste, and that there was no 12
thinge inpcssible vnto God, that is to saie, God may werke and

but likewise do att thinge unto hys plesaunce. And in the same wise, her

lier cousin

Elizabeth had cosyno Elizabeth had conceyued childe, that vj monthes had

concL'ived iu

her old ago, \)q barcyn and passed age forto here childe. And whanne the 16
aungett had assured her in this wise, she ansuered and saide
vnto the aungett, " Lo ! here the chaumbrere of almighti God !
so be it do unto me upon thi worde as thou hast saide ! "

and Mary This blessod lady Mario, she wolde furst wete how it might be ; 20

asked how > ^ ' n ^

itnjightbe, but Euo, ourc fui'st moder, wrought not in that wise, for she
trowed to lyghtly whanne the serpent made her to broke
the comaundement of God in Paradys, whanne she bote upon
the appitt, whereby she was deceyued, as mani other symple 24
women be now a dayes, that trowen lightly flateringe of foles,
wherby they fal into synne and vnto vnclennesse, for they
enqueren not, nor take no reward' nor doute not, the last ende
of suche thinges ar thei consent to doo, that is to saie, worships 28
for well doinge, or shame and punissyon for synne. Wherfor
doubting, in the glorious mayden Marie, by as moche as of her vertuous
tu[bii"knew' prudeuco she douted whanne sbe resseiued the annunciacion bi

the niL'SSii*''©

wasfromGod. the aungeH, titt she * knewe hym for the messenger of God, 32
col. 2.'] ^ ' axinge how it might be that a mayde shulde conseiue and
bere a childe; wherby is gret ensaumple vnto you ati women,
that whanne there is saide or reported ani thinge vnto you,
that neither ye ansuere ne consent tilt ye be assured what may 55

TilE HUMILITY AND COURTESY OF MARY. 149

Lefiitt vnto you in the eude, worship or blame, as Ly this glorious
mayde Marie ye haue eiisaumple.

[CHAPTEK ex.]
[Of the Virgin Mary as an example of humility.]

Lso, alt holy scripture praisithe this noble ladi of gret iioiy Scrip-
ture pmisetli
humilite that was in her, whanne the aun^^ett gaide ^'''ry for her

°^ humility,

vnto her that she shulde be moder vnto the kinge, and

Sonne of God, of whom the kingdom and rcigne shulde be endc-

8 lesly; notwithstondinge att this, she humilied and? obeied her self,

saieng she was an humble chaumbrere and servaunt vnto God,

withoute ani presumpcion, but desirin^e the wilt and i)lesaunce asdesinufi

^ ^ ' <=^ ^ i only tiie will

of almifijhti God to be fulfelled in her euermore, w jichc plesed and pleasure

. . -^ of God ;

12 highly vnto the fader almighty, the gret lowlinesse of this
blessed mayde; and for that humilite she was chose the most
wortlii of all creatoures, and so plesaunt unto the diuinite,
that, within her pure uirginalite of her flesshe, blode, and

1 6 bone, the Sone of God toke humanite; wherthorugh here an example to

all good

is good ensaumple vnto att women to loue this vertu of women of

^ humility,

humilite, that is to saie, to be humble vnto God and vnto
the worlde, and for a wedded woman to be obedient and

2o humble vnto her husbonde. For, as the scrijoture saithe, who
that makithe hym selff lytett by waye of humilite, he shal
be moch, and enhaunced by grace of God * vnto worships. And * [Foi. 49,
for certayne, God and the aungett praie and loue more humilite

24 thanne ani other vertu ; for it destroiethe pride, whiche is the winch de-

stroyeth

synne most displesaunt vnto God, as it sheuithe that for the vride, the sin

■*• most dis-

same synne the aungett fett oute of heuene. And therfor pJeasing to
euery woman shulde be humble & curteys, and thenke upon
28 the glorious maide Marie, as for the most good ensaumple
vnto all women.

A Lso the scripture praisithe this good lady for her cur- ture praiseth

/ ^^ liGr Courtesy

/•\ tesye & good nature, whanne she went forto uisite her and good-

^ M nature, as

32 cosyn seint Elizabeth, and the childe that was withinnc shown in

*^ _ _ ^ visiting

her, whiche was seint lohn the baptist, reioyed by the grace of Ehzaheth:

150 TIIK nui AT WOHTll Oi JILMILITY.

the holy gost. And scint Elizabeth, saieng vnto oure lady that
ahe was blessed alK)ue alt women, for the fruit that was with-
in her, and that it was not reson the moder of the Sone of
God shulde come to uisite so pore as she was. And in this 4
wyse fult goodly thei reuerenced and obeyed eche to other,
nn example as louyng cosyncs and parentys. As by ensaumple hereof

liow we oii^ht

ti. lovfc tiiid ye may see how ye aught to loue, uisite, and reuerence youre

visit uur

kindred. ^yn, and cche vnto other, in the manere as ye haue herde of 8
these ij good ladies, & not forto sale that, — as there be sum
amonges women that of that gret pride they sayn, — " Y am
the gretter gentitt woman, and of the more nobl lynage,
and gretter maistresse, wher she shal come rather vnto me; " la
or ellys thei be envyeusis whiche shalt goo furst up on the
offerande, forto haue most of the vayne glorie of the worlde.

• [Foi. 40, So that there be mani women that haue thay*re hertys suott

col. 2.] . . .

For many be fult of pride and cnuye, as atte diuerse assemblees and festis i6

full of envy .

and pride, tbei auysc to be the furst yset and serued, and haue the
honoure, or ellis for despite they wilt not ete nor drinke, for
the gret enuie that is within hem. Wherfor ye may see that

who think Buche women thenke litett upon the humilite and curtesye that ao

littleonthe i t -nr • i -m*

hunniityof was bctweue these two ladies. Mane and Elizabeth. Wherfor

these two

ladies. wcte it welt, that suche creatoures, so futt of vein glorie and

enuye, thei shatl be sore punisshed for thaire synne, and litelt
sette by in the sight of God ; and as saithe the good lady, quene 24
Ester, that, *' ay the more that a woman is of gret birthe and
noble lynage, she shulde be the more humble and curteys,''

By humility for by the vcrtu of humilite the pore is enhaunced and the

the poor is ^ ^ , ^ • o

enhanced and richc is yworshipped. For the pore semithe hym selff in grete 28
worshipped, worships, whanne he is cherisshed of the riche; and the rich 2
is gretly honoured whanne he is beloued of the pore; as unto
the riche forto haue good renouun, and forto be beloued, and
forto uisite thaire pore lynage, and to susteyne hem in honoure, 3*
as ye may take ensaumple of the quene of heuene, that uisited
and worshipped her cosyne ^ seint Elizabeth, that was a good
blessed woman.

1 MS. " tosyne."

OF THE VIRGIN MAllY A^D IJEIl SON. 151

[CHAPTER CXI.]

[Of the Virgin Mary as an example of pity
and of suffering.]

so, the scripture praisithe higtily this holy mayden Marie, Also Riary is

praised for

in as moche as she went vnto Galilee vnto a manage, iier pity,
where as the wyne failed atte the feest ; and this good
lady had pitee therof, and she required her sone Ihesu, as by
manere of complayninge, by as * moche as the wyne was failled;
8 and the benigne lorde Ihesvi Crist, knowinge the entent and • [Foi. 496.
desire of his moder, turned the water into wyne, for he had pitee .^^ ^j^.'^ j^^^
upon that he sawe his moder pitouse ; and, therfor, bi this wa"er"into"
good ensauwple how that a woman aught to haue pitee upon ^^*"^*
12 her parentys, kyn, and frendes, and upon the pore peple, and
helpe and socour hem in alt that she may, for it is gret
charitee and fraunchise naturett. And after this, the glorious Mary lost her
maiden went after her sone, whanne he was goo from her wiien he'dis-

, puted with

1 6 for to dispute & preche ayenst the lues and the maistres of the Jews;
the lawe, and she wost not where he was bycome. And she
fonde hym whanne she had sought hym longe tyme, and saide
unto hym in this wise, '* My faire sone, youre parens and frendes

2o & y haue had gret fere and doute forto go and seche you."
And he ansuered his moder, that suche as were his parens
and frendes, tho were they that fulfelled the comaundementis
and the witt of his fader in heuene. Wherof the lues and

24 the wise men were highly ameruailed of his gret prudence
and science that was of so yonge age. After this sorw, that
she went to haue loste her sone, she hadde another, for
whan she offered hym in the temple vnto the holy Symeon, also she

oflfered him

28 that gretly had desired forto see hym, and euer praied vnto intheXempie,
God that he shulde not deye vnto the tyme that he might
see with his eyen the sone of God, the helthe and redemptoure
of mankinde, thanne by the grace of the holy gost he sawe and Simeon

thanked God

32 knewe hym verraly, and thanne he tha[n]ked God, and saide that he saw

. . • [Fol. 4Qb,

With high voys, " Lo ! he*re the clere light, and the sauement coi. 2.]
of the worlde." And also Symeon saide vnto the moder of saviour.

15.i

OF MANY GREAT LADIES WHO WEUE CHAItlTADLE,

and prophe- Ihesu that sho BhuU see the tyme whanne the swerde of eorw

villi nmut

»..rn.w to blmkle perisshe tliorugti her hertc, that is to saye, that she
fcliulde Bee hym suffre his holy passion from the begiuuyiige
viito the eiide, for the whiche vnnethe there was ani defence 4
betwene his passion and her sorugh, sauing the dethe fur oure

an example to redempcion. And, therfor, by this is good ensaumple vnto att

others to bear o i.

sormw ladies and good women, that whan the quene of heuene and lady

of the worlde had so gret sorw in this worlde, that none other 8
creatoure aught not to be araeruailed to suflfre displesaunce and
vnese, whanne so high a ludy suffered and endured so gret sorw
and tribulacion. And therfor we aught wel to suffre and
forto haue pacience ; and we that be continuelly in synne, and 1 2
futt of vnclennesse, and that for oure Iniquite and synfutt
desertis deserue euermore punission, we aught not by reson
to be spared to endure and suffre tribulacion and sorw for oure
deseruinge, where as the sone of God spared not his owne blessed 16
moder to suffre her to be sorufutt that neuer offended.

Of Saints
Elizabeth,
Cecilia, and
other charit-
able ladies,

* [Fol. 50,
col. 1.]

and of a lady
of Rome, who
seeing a poor
woman at
mass took her
home to
cloihe her,

[CHAPTER CXIL]

[Of other examples of charity.]

A Nd that alt ladyes and women shulde be pitous and chari-
/A table, as by ensaumple of the holy lady that distributed 20
and gaue for the loue of God the gret partie of the good
that she had, and in ensaumple of her in the same wise as seint
Elizabeth, seint Luce, seint Cecile, and mani other ladyes that
were charitables, they gauen the most parte of thayre good vnto 24
pore peple that were *in necessite and mischeef, as it is expressed
and shew^ed in thaire legende ; as y shaft shew you bi the
ensaumple of a good ladi of Rome. As she was atte her masse,
she loked behinde her, and she aspied a pore [wo]man that 28
trembeled for colde in a gret froste and colde wynter ; wherof
this good ladi had grete pitee, and she cleped the pore woman
vnto her, and lefte the masse, and led her home vnto her^ hous,
and priuely this lady gaue her a gowne welt furred, and other 32
clothinge as was nedefult vnto her; wherof ther fitt gret

1 MS. his.

AND LIVED GOOD AND HOLY LIVES. 153

miracle, for the preest that was atte messe might neuer spcke and the priest

could not

worde vnto the tvme that the ladi was come ayen. And as Bone spe-'k tin her

* "^ return j

as she was come, the preest had his speche and his voys, and saw
4 in auision the cause, that for the pitee that oure lady hadde upon
the pore naked woman that she went forto clothe, that the preest
shulde abide of in his masse vnto her cominge ayen, for the loue
of the gret charite and pitee that she had upon the pore woman.
8 For God receiued before his aungelt that almessedede in gret
prai singe, for the goodnesse & humilite of the lady. Whereby here an example
is a good ensaumple vnto ladies, & vnto aft women, in what wise much pleased

<=> r f ' ^ith chanty.

they shulde be charitable and futt of almesdedes vnto att crea-
12 toures, as fer forthe as they haue powere; for almesdede plesithe
moche vnto almighti God, for it comithe of fre nature, and of
good loue vnto God, and to att creatoures that be in necessitee.

[CHAP TEE CXIIL]

[Of examples of good living and chastity.]

i6 TVT ^w here before y haue spoke of the glorious maide Ma*rie, * [Foi. 5o,
I %l vnto whom there may be no comparison; and there shatt of Roman
now be sheued you of the good ladyes that were vnaraied, lived ' chaste-

, ly and

duellynge in Rome, the bifore tyme thei had be maried, and cleanly/
2o how after that they leued chastely, clenly, and holyly in thaire
manere, and wered crounes in token of clennesse and chastite ;
but it shulde be longe tyme to reherse and speke of hem att
before tyme and comynge of oure lorde Ihesu Crist, and it hathe
24 be founde in the Bible. And after y tett you of sum good
ladyes that haue be syn the nwe testament, that is to sein, sen
God was borne of the holy mayden Marie; and, as the scripture for as Scrip-

••11 iiT o ^ •• 1 *"'"'^ praiscth

praisithe the good ladies of that tyme, it is resone that we good ladies of

old times, so

28 praisen sum ladies of the tyme whiche that we be, and of suche should we

those who

as in oure knowinge, as y shatt sale of euery astate an en- live now.
saumple or twey, forto shew ensaumple vnto other; for the
goodnesse and worshippe of hem that be now in oure dayes
32 shulde not be hidde nor withdrawe, but they shulde be praised
and putte in memorie, and regestred perpetuelly, as wett as

154

OF WOMKN OF NOBLK FAMILIES,

Of Princeu
Jeanne, late
Quoen of
France,

• [Fol. 606.
col. 1.1

and many
other noble
ladies,

who lived
good lives,
and should
be praised.

Of a noble
and fair wife,

who had an
• ungoodly '
husband,
whom she
loved and
honoured.

they that were here before, withoute ani disdayne. And furst
y she we you of the noble princesse Johanne, now late quene of
Frauuce, for she was a woman charitable and of good lyff, futt
of deuocion and of almesdedes ; and she kepte her astate so 4
noble, and of so good ordenaunce, that it were gret thinge to
recorde fro/;i point to point and in att wises. After, y putte the
duchesse et cetera^ that hathe had raoche to suffre, and euerraore
she * hathe kepte her self in holy lyuinge, whiche were longe 9
thinge to reherce and tett of her goodnesse and vertuous
condicion. And also it is not to foryete the countesse moder
vnto the erle et cetera, how that nobly she gouerned her selff and
used holy lyff. Also, of a baronesse that was of this contree, la
faire and yonge, the age of xxv wynter whanne her lorde
deide, the whiche was gretly required and desired of mani
lordes and knigthis; but for the loue that she had vnto her
lorde her husbonde, and vnto the children, she wolde neuer i6
after be wedded, but lyued in gret perfeccion, wherof that she is
highly forto be praised. And this good ladi was the baronesse
Dartws.

[CHAPTERS CXIV, CXV.]

[Examples of wives who have honoured and ao

attended their husbands.]
A Iso, y shaft tett you of a lady that was a knightez wif, how
UL it befeft vnto her sin the tyme and lourney of Crecy, the

whiche is xxvj^i wynter agone ^. This lady was faire and 34
yonge and right gretly desired, but for no thinge she wolde not be
wedded, but she loued and norisshed her children worshipfully
and goodly; wherof that she had gret praisinge of the worlde.
And yet she was moche more preised in tyme of her husbonde, 28
for her husbonde was ungoodly, and right unlykly to haue so
faire a lady; for she was a gentilt woman and of worthi lynage,
more thanne was her husbonde, and neuertheles she wor-
shipped and loued her husbonde as moche as thow he had be 32
the most goodly man of the royalme, and she dred hym and
serued hym humbly, wherof the peple praised her merueylously.
* Twenty-five years since the battle of Crecy.

WHO HAVE LOVED AND HONOURED THEIR HUSBANDS. 155

And for *this cause this lady owithe wett forto be putte in •[FoI. 506.

•^ ^ col. 2.]

rememberaunce amonge other ladycs that were good, for there

was neuer no reproche founde in her womanhode. And now y of a noble

and young

4 shatl telt you of another cfood ladie, the wiff of a kniffht, and wife whose

\ & ' o ' husband wai

she was faire and yonge and of noble lynage, and her husboude very old,
was right auncien, and turned ayen into childehode for age;
and for siknesse and febilntsse he made the issues of his
8 purgacions oueral and in his bedde, as a yonge childe ; but this
good lady was euermore entendaunt aboute hym, and serued
him in as humble wise as thou she had be a chaumbrere. And
vnnethe there might haue be founde a woman but atte sum
12 tyme she wolde haue lothed her, or ellys to haue be right

Bcoymous to ^ haue do the seruice as thes good lady serued her whom she

served con-

husbonde contynuelly. And atte diuerse tymes she was sent tinuaiiy,
for to come vnto the daunces atte the festes amonge other ladyes,
i6 but right selden she wolde not come thereatte, nor no thinge
might withholde her but that she was euermore redy atte the
houre that she wost to do her lord" seruice. And as ofte tymes though often

prayed to

it was sayde vnto her, '' Madame, ye shulde be ioyfutt, and use to leave him,
30 playe and forto disporte you, and lete youre good olde husbonde
slepe, for he takithe no rewarde but vnto hys reste." But she
vnderstode and wost wel what suche speche was worthe, and
she ansuered ayen, "In as moche as myn husbonde is olde and saying, 'my

play and glad-

24 desirithe reste, so moche more y am bounde to wayte vpon * his * [FoI. 51,

col.l.j

seruice, to kepe hym in reste and from att dissese, in as moche ness is to

, . r 1 1 ' 1 1 ^^''vs him.' .

as it may be in my powere, for that is my play and my
gladnesse to be aboute hym, and forto do hym seruice unto

28 his ease and plesaunce." For as forto saye as for her beauute
and her youthe, there were mani that entreted her vnto diuerse
worldely plesaunces, but she wolde neuer consent vnto no
thinge contrarie vnto goodnesse, she was so true vnto her

32 husbonde. And after, whan her lorde was dede, yef she were of
good gouernaunce in her mariage, she was alwey after a de-
vouute lady, and right good vnto God and vnto the worlde, and
wolde neuer consent to be maried, but euer forthe she leued in

1 MS. ta.

156 NIGHT. NUALliS SING ONLY WllKN AMOUOUS.

Thortjfuro she cliastitc and cleiincsse ; and therfor slie owitlie wctl forto be
i,ruiso.i fur putte ill rememberiiuiice and storied in Bcrinturc with other

her cliii-itity * *

ttiidgooaueas, good ladyes. Al were it so that she was not a gret princesse, yet
fui a p<>od she owithe duly to be recomended in att worship and praisin^je 4

e\iuaple unto .

otiiors. bicause of her goodnesse ; the whiche is good ensaumplc and

niirrour vnto other ladyts and women; for the praisinge of hem
that loue worshippe and tr.juthe shulde euermore be liad in
reinemberaunce as they haue deserued. And therfur y haue 8
tolde you of suche ladyes as haue be now late in oure dayes ;
but and y wolde rehtrce, and tett you of aft my matere, it shulde
be louge, for there be mani worthy ladies in the Reaume of

TiicBo Lidies Fraunce, and in other contrees also. But these ladyes of the la

were true to ^

tiiei> mar. whiche y haue spoken vnto you, thei be without e ani reproche,

*n*'oi,6i, and aproued in thaire ma*riage, trew hidies, and afterwarde

they leued chastely and deuoutly before God in worships and

vnto the worlde, and refused alt vayne plesaunces, wherfor that ^^

no creatoure might neuer speke of hem but in al goodnesse.

and took no And also yc may vnderstonde that these ladyes toke none nwe

new hus-
bands, husbondes for worldely loue or flesshely plesaunce, al be it so

that ofte tymes high astate obeyethe for love and plesaunce 20

vnto lowe degree, as there haue be diuerse ladyes that haue do

so ; good entent shal haue grace, but mariage that be made in

as some that Other wisc, there befallithe gret Inconuenient, as suche as

♦ fleshly wedde hem selff ayenst the wytt of kynne and frendes, and 24

only for the flesshely delite. And whanne the tyme rennithe

as from somer to wynter, as whanne plesaunce is fayled, and

and after they sce hem selff lesse honoured, thanne ofte tymes they falle

repent.

into Repentaille, so that loue and plesaunce is foryete ; as the 28
Nightingales nightyngalcs, as longe as they be amerouses, they synge pie-
amorous, but sauntly day and night ; and whanne they haue reioysed thaire
wards silent, amerous dcsyre and plesaunces, thei make abace melodye, for

thei synge no more. So that y passe ouer atte this tyme to 32
speke ani more of these ladyes, or of suche matere. But, my
faire doughters, take hereby a good ensaumple, that yef be
fortune ye fatt into good mariage, and afterwardes God take
youre husbondes from you, wedde you not ayen vnauisely for 36

A WOMAN SHOULD DESIRE TO HAVE A GOOD NAME. 157

vain plesaunce, but werkitlie bi the counsaile of youre true *[Foi. 5U

. . col. 1.]

frendes, and not by the instaunce of *louinge peramours ; for
there befallithe gret repeutynge vnto hem that putte thaire

4 ple&aunce in suche vnsuertee. And, therfor, to kepe the honoure,
and that ye entre not into none reproche, but that alt good-
nesse and worship may come to you, close youre ores, and
herkenithe not vnto the speche of faire spekers, for in suche

8 wyse mani women haue be deceyued. But as now y wytt cese
of this matere.

[CHAPTER CXVL]
rof the honour and respect that attend a good life.l To bear a

■- *-' J good name i9

MY right dere doughtres, yef ye knewe the grete honoure honour, ^'^'^^
and the gret welt he that is forto be well Renommed, to
here a good name, and to be welt spoken of, whiche is ^
one [of] the grettest grace that may be in the worlde, ye wolde
putte youre herte in payne to entende therto; right as a
1 6 knight that desiritlie worshippe and vaillaunce, the whiche

he wynnithe by gret payne and laboure in hete and colde, and worth
and puttith his body in so mani aduentures of dethe, and ''Attain and

* '' pieserve.

alt for to Wynne worships and good name, as by straunge
20 viages, by harde assauutes, by diuerse gret batailes, and by
mani other gret perilles in armes. And after that he hathe
suffered thus moche, thanne he is drawe forthe and putte vnto
moche worshipe, and the princez yeue hym gret lordshippes
34 and gouernaunces, for his noblesse and for he hathe no parailt

in honoure of good name. Right so it is of a good woman, a woman to

have a good

that in alt places berithe a e^oode name of honoure and name must

^ ° keep herself

goodnesse, as she that hathe atte al tymes putte her payne '='^*"»
28 in trauaile to kepe her body *vndefouled and in clennesse, *[Fo1. 5i&.

^ '' ' col. 2 ]

and refused the delytes of youthe and of foule plesaunces,
wherby she hath wonne good name and moche worships,
for euermore to be putte in the nombre of good ladyes and
32 of alt good women, wherby she hathe also wonne the loueandsowin

° ' "^ the love of

of God, and of her husbonde, and of the worlde, and the ^'^ iier inis-

' ' band, and the

saluacion of the sowle, the whiche is the worthiest and the ^^^'■''^*

» MS. " is is."

In Ct 0(1*8
ti^Ut a good
woman ia &a
inuch worth

158 now TWO OLD AND WISE KNIGHTS

Leate of att. For the sowle is the precious marguarite vnto
God. And so it is ensaumple to aft creatoures, in what wise
they owe to preise a good woman ; for she is as moche worthe
in the sight of God for her goodnesse [and] vertu, as is the knight 4
knight?** ^^^ ^^^^ armes and worthinesse in bataih'. But the right rule
fallithe as now, for honoure is not yeue vnto hem atte al
tymes that best hathe deserued it, as it might be shewed in
diuerse causes, who so woU as forto saye of mani good women. 8

[CHAPTER CXVIL]
[How foolish young men were reproved by their elders.]
Good women 1 N[d], therfor, y shaft teft you upon that as y haue herde

were praised, /m . ^ i J

werelcomed im "^^"^ lordes and knightes speke, how good women were
good^com"^°^ praised and had gret worship, and suche as were blamed 12

pany. of her gouernaunce, how they were scorned and putte out of

companie of aft other good women. And it is not yet longe
tyme agoo that suche custume was vsed, that there was no
woman so hardy that durst aforce her selfF, for she were i6
])lamed of foly, to putte her self in the companie and felawship
of hem that were vnreproued, that they shulde with gret
disworship be putte awey from hem. As y shaft telle you
•[Foi. 52, *of ij knigthes that were in that tyme, whiche were called 2a
There were Sir Raoul de Luge & Sir Piere de Luofe, and they were bothe

two knights, ° ° ' "^ ^ ^

brethren, of brctheren and knightes of gret worshippe, the whiche as in

great renown, *-■ ° ^ ^

tho dayes desire[d] to do armes and sought worship in straunge
cuntreies, and they hadde gret Renome, as Charmylour, Cicault, 24
or Sarmitre, wherfor they hadde thayre speche and were herde
in aft places where as they come, for thaire worshippe and
good name. Wherupon that and they sawe ani yonge man of
who, when thaire lynages do ani thinpre that were not wele vnto worships, 28

they saw any J o o i '

young men do ^hei wolde blame hem, and teche hem before aft peple. Wherfor

evil, would ' ■'■•'•

bS™e*'*eo"ie y^^S® ^^^ ^^®^ ^^^ ^^ ^^ places. And as y haue herde teft,
the said Sir Piere de Luge, he was atte the feste where as
were gret foyson of lordes, ladies, knightes, and squieres and 32
gentilwomen ; and so there come in a yonge squier before hem
that was sette atte dyner, and salued the companie; and he

GAVE GOOD ADVICE TO A FOOLISH YOUNG ONE. 159

was clothed in a cote hardy upon the ffuyse of Almaync, & And once

•"■ when a young

in this wise he come further before the lordes and the ladies, knight came

vanilydressed,

and made liem ffoodly rcuerence. And so the said Sir Piere J''^y p/^-

o "^ tended to

4 called this yonge squier with his voys before aft the statis, JJj'JJJa^trd? *
and said vnto hym and axed hym, where was his fedytt
or his Ribible, or suche an Instrument as longithe vnto a
mynstratt. " Syr," saide the squier, " y canne not medilt

8 me of suche thinge, it is not my crafte nor science." '' Sir,"

saide the knight, "y canne not trowe that ye saye, for ye be

counterfait in youre araye, and lyke vnto a mynstraH, for

y haue knowe herebefore alt youre * Aunsetours, and the • [FoI. 52,

col. 2,]
12 kiiightes and squiers of youre kyn, whiche were att worthi

men, but y sawe neuer none of hem that were counterfait,

nor that clothed hem in suche array." And thanne the yonge and so the

,,,., 1 ' -I a ■ 1 1 • young knight

squier ansuered the knight and saide, " otr, by as moche as it altered iiis

dress,

16 mislykithe you, it shaft be amended," and cleped a purseuaunt,
and gaue hym the cote hardy. And he abled hym selfif in an
other gowne, and come ayen into the halle, & thanne the auncyen
knight saide opinly, ''This yonge squier shaR haue worship*?, and was

. praised for

20 for he hathe trowed and do bi the counsaile of the elder, his respect to

good counsel ;

withoute ani contraryenge." For alt yonge folke that troue
and be counsailed by the techinge and ensaumples of the
olde wise, and they do and gouerne hem selff there after,
24 they may not faile to come vnto gret worshippe. So that an example

that the

hereby is a good ensaumple how euery yonge man or yonge young should
woman owithe to receyue the doctrine and techinge of hem the advice of

*' ® the old.

that bene thaire eldres, and wiser thanne they; for aft that

28 they saye and teche, it is for the profite of hem that be

yonge; but the yonge folkes now a dayes lust not to do

there after, but they haue dyspite whanne they be blamed

of thayre folye, and whanne they be more wyser thanne suche

32 as be moche more cunninge, and as haue seyn the cours of

the worlde longe tyme afore thaire birthe. For that is gret

pite, as in youthe to be vncunnynge and vnknowynge of hym

selff, for euery gentitt man or gentilwoman owithe for to

-.6 haue gret ioye to lerne, and for to *be blamed of euery vice. *oj^j'i^^^*

IGO WOMEN OF GOOD NAME ARE PUEFERKED BEFORE OTHERS.

For who SO is a gentitt nature tlesirithe naturaly geiitilncssc
and thingcs veituous, and louithe liym that counsailithe and
tcchithe hym for his beter; but a cherlous condicion is att
contrarie, for he desirithe nother vertu ne cuning, and he 4
hicldtho and hatithe liym ]yat saithe hym troutle or coun-
sailethe hym to worships. Now haue y shewed you how, in
[what] wyse, they chastised the yonge men in tho dayes by good
counsaile, nnd also how thei gaue good ensaumples unto the 8
yonge ladyes and gentitt women.

[CHAPTER CXVIII.]

[How ladies lose respect and honour by careless

living.]

J^ac'iViiT*'^ AS forto saie in that tyme it was the tyme of pees, & with- 12

feasting, J\ ^^^^^ werre, whanne the lordes and ladyes, the knightes

and squiers of eueri astate in thaire degre, eche fested

and felawshipped with other in mani Reuelles, and in diuerse

plesaunces, as thei assembled atte mani tymes, bi gret loue 16

any lady of and for houourc. The efood kniejhtes in that tyme, and hit

ill renown, o o ^ '

ofhih'Sh befelt by ani aduenture that lady or damoisett hadde ani
il renouuTi or was blamed of folye & of her honoure, and
she wolde putte her selff before ani of the good ladyes or 20
damoyselks, att were it so that she were of gret estat and
of hig^ byith and in richesse of mariage, anone the knight

was put shulde of right come and save vnto the said lady before alt,

below those & J j '

of good fame, "Madame, displese you not though this lady or damoyselt 24
of lower astate goo before or stonde aboue you, al be it so

*[^o\ 52b. g}ig \)Q not of so noble lynage and of so gret Eichesse as ye
be of; but for as moche as she is not bla*med of her worships,
and therfor she is putte before you in the ncmbre of good 28
ladyes and of other goode women, to receiue the worship
that she hathe deserued, and for to be know as she is with-
oute defauute. But yt may not be saide so of you ; whiche
thinge me displesithe, for here is none other assemble, but 32
to worship hem that haue deserued it, and therfor meruaile you

MEN SPEAK WELL OF W03IEN ONLY TO THEIR FACE. 161

not hereof/' And in this wyse the auncycn knightes shulde
furst putte them vnto worshipp^ that were of good name
and renomme, wherof they hadden gret cause forto thank God, wherefore

, - J . . thanks should

4 that had geue hem grace and might to kepe hem in suche be given to

God.

clennesse and vertu, wherthorugh they were putte vnto so
gret reuerence and honoure. And other for thaire foly
receyued gret disworship and blame. And therfor it was
8 good ensaumple vnto alt gentitt women, that, for the blame
that they might here one of another, they douted and dradden
forto do ani thinge other wise but welt. But now atte this nut now

those wJjo are

day, and that is pitee, there be mani that here gret blame, blamed have

none the less

12 and neuer the latter yet haue they gret worshipe, and more worship.
made of thanne suche as be right good, the whiche is straunge
ensaumple; but there be sum that sayen therfor "asmoche
worship haue they that do amys as they that be vndefamed,

1 6 so that it berithe no force to do itt as forto do wett ; alt

passithe and vnder one thanke." But that is nother wel thought

ne wel saide, for it is a gret vice. For truly, what chere or

what sembelaunce that men make vnto * suche women in [* foi. 53,

col. 1.]

20 thaire presence, whan thei departith from them a felow saithe Men speak
vnto another, *' Loo ! suche a gentitt woman, she is right to their faces"
curteys and kynde, for she witt suffre you to do with her them behind

1(11611* ()fl.olcs "

alt youre plesaunce, and mani a good felaw hath had his
34 parte." And thus saithe one to another of suche women.
And in this wyse, he that spekithe right fayre, and makithe
her reuerence as his lady before her, whanne they be departed
he spekithe suche worshippe of her as she hathe deserued. But ^^^ foolish

■•• women per-

28 suche women as be foles aperceiue it not, but they seme that no ^^^^^ '* "«*•
man coude knowe nor aspie thaire fauute, for they be so bolde
in thaire synne, and wilt not vnderstonde nor knowe thaire
shame, so that the tyme is chaunged. But it were moche beter

32 forto she we hem thaire blame and thaire synne, as the auncyen
knightes sheued vnto women thaire foly in that tyme, as here
before y haue tolde you. Wherfor y wolde that the tyme
were come ayen, to that entent to encrece the worship of alt

36 goode, and forto correcte [and] amende suche as be worthi and
blame.

102 IN OLD TIMES WOMEN WERE KILLED lOIl ADLLTEKY.

Women HI /TOre and women thought upon the tyme that was before

aJiouM think m/l ,,., ,. 11T1 4-, ' ,.1

more of old W I ^'^^' hirthc of oui' lorde Ine^ Crist, whiche was the space
of .V. thousande yeere, as of women that were defamed,
and most of wedded women, and it might be proued upon 4
when a her bv tweyn witnessis that and ani other man had flesshely

woman taken

In adultery companie with her but her husbonde, she shulde be brent or

was stoned or

burned; ♦ g^oiied vuto the dethe, so noble and trwe was the la we of

(• Fol. 58, '

col- 2.] God and of Moyses, ther was no richesse of golde ne syluer, 8

nor for none estate, pore ne riche ; and yet y vnnethe knowe
but In Bng- no Royaumes atte this day, but the Eeaumes of Fraunce and

land, France, . , . , . .

and the of lufflonde and the Base Almamne, but that there is do lustice

Notliorlandfl ° ^

there is no upou that svnne, and the woman de^'ed that were founde in li

justice for this ^ J } J

*'"• Buche blame assone as the trouthe is yknowe, that is to saye,

in Prouince, in Spaine, in Aragone, and in mani othe[r] Reaumes
and contrcies. In sum places thaire throtes be cutte, in sum
places thei be brent, in sum places bothe man and woman 16
putte alle quik in erthe, for the shame and punission of the
synne. And this ensaumples is good for alt women to here,
now be it that there is no iustice do thereon in this Reaume,

Yet women Hs theic is do in other, yet neuertheles suche women as do a©

that do amiss , i . .

live in blame amissc and use synne and folye, they lyue in blame, in

and slander,

esclaundre, and in gret disworship, and lese the name of
thaire estat and noblesse before God and in this worlde, as
forto yeue langage to speke vnto langeloures, that atte 24
att tymes haue thaire disportes and scorningges in suche
foule plesaunces, and outre hem self from the grace of God,
and in the loue of the worlde, and departe hem selff from
the companie of alt good women, and putte hem selff oute 28
of which there of memorie of good name and renome for euermore. As it

are many

examples in is couteyncd in the olde ensaumples of tyme passed, wherof

[•Fol. 536. there might be mani ensaumples wrete, whiche were a *lon<?e
col. 1.] *=* .

thinge to write, and y shalt shewe you bi ensaumple as for 32

the highest and the nobelest of whiche holy scripture makithe

mencion, how almighti God praisithe the bounte of a good

woman. And syn God with his owne mouthe praisithe so

highli a good woman, welt owithe alt other creatoures to 3^

loue and praise alt such as be good.

A CHASTE WOMAN IS AS A PIlECIOrS STONE. 163

[CHAPTER CXIX.]
[How Christ speaks of good women.]
T is conteined in the ffospelt of the vireines, as oure Lorde Christ com.

•^ ■^ o ' pared a chaste

preched and taught the peple, and he spake vpon the woman to a
mater of women that liueden in clennesse, he likened suche p*^^*^""''
a woman vnto a precious margarite, the whiche is a bright
thinge, rounde, white, and clene, a stone so clere and faire
that there is no tache therein, nor spotte of vnclcnne[s] ; and
8 this is saide be a woman that is not wedded, and she lyuithe for a chaste

. . 1 11- n -I • maiden or a

in uirginite, clennesse, and chastite ; or ellys bi a woman true wife
that is wedded, and she kepitlie truly and honestly the sacre-
ment of mariage, & also by them that worshipfully and perfitly

13 kepe thaire wedwhode, that lyuen in chastite and in sobriete.
These be the .iij. manere of women the whiche God praisithe,
and likenith hem vnto the precious margarite, that is att
faire, withoute ani foule tache or ani foulenesse ; for this saithe

i6 holy scripture, there is no thmg beter thanne a good woman is greatly
and rather more praised before God & the aungett thanne before God.
man. And by cause and Eaisone that woman is of more
light courage thanne man, that is, for asmoche as the woman

20 * is ycome and was drawe oute of the man, and in asmoche [* f«>- 53?'.

. . . col. 2.]

as she is more feble to withstonde the temptaciones of the

flesshe, whanne she withstondithe and ouercomithe the flesshe,

in so moche she is worthi to haue the more merite and thanke

24 before the man. And therfor God comparaged a good woman

vnto a precious margarite, and also the scripture saithe in The Scripture

says a fair rose

another place, how it were a foule thineje to take a faire should not be

^ put in a stink-

suete rose and putte hem in a stynking vessett: right so the '"g vessel, nor

■^ ./ o 3 D a woman go

28 clennesse of a mayde or of a good woman that she misuse ^^^'' ^" """

•' o clean man.

it not with vnclene men, that desyren false flesshely plesaunce ;
but the women kepe euermore the clennesse of uirginite, or
elks trewe mariage, so that the foule synne of lecherie deface
32 not the lyknesse of the precious margarite, the clennesse of
maydenhode, the sacrement of mariage, the faithe of God

11—2

164 UNCIIASTITY LOSETII TUE LOVE OF GOD.

If wives. and holy cliirchc, and the chastenesse of weduhodo. For and

inaiila, or .. ... „ . , ,

wiiio«» mis- tbese .iij. manere oi woman misuse the vertues, these vertues
virtues, tiioy boforesaide, the maide her maydenhode, the wyff her mariage,

arv Jiliti rusea

in htinkiiig the wcdwc her weduhode, thanne be they liche vnto the Koses 4

vtfasels.

in a stinkinge vessett, for thei haue lost thaire fayrenesse,
thaire suetnesse, and thaire vertu, for the vnclennesse that
they be iune ; and thanne they be right not apparent nor like
vnto the precious margarite. Wei aught a woman be displesed 8
and hate her selff in her vngoodly lyuinge, wher for her defaute
and foly that she is putte oute of the nombre and memorie
[• Foi. 34, of * att good women. As wherfor they aught wel to thenke
Unchaste upou these thinges, and she that is to marie and to be wedded, 12

maidens loso

their mar- and sho defoule her maydenhode, she lesithe her mariage and
wives lose tiie her worship and her good name euermore, she deseruithe
shame and hate of her frendes; of women that be wedded,
in brekinge thaire mariage thei lese alt worshipp^, the loue 16
of God, of her husbondes, and of att her frendes, she lesithe
alt worldely prosperite, and causithe her owne shame con-
tinuelly. For the harme the gret defamacion that fallithe bi
that cause of brekinge of mariage yt were to longe forto 20
reherce, but sothely it is gret displesaunce vnto God, for the
more partie att suche as breken thaire mariage as man or
woman, there is departing of loue, falsinge the &acrement,
and synne dampnable. And the deuelt hathe suche pouere 24
in hem, that thei make hem forto haue so gret delite in thaire
synne and rybauudise, and so brenninge plesaunce, that they
wol neuer eschew thaire synne, so that thei pursue vnto thaire
True mar- endeles dampnaciou. But true mariage is ordeined be God in 28

riage is ^

ordained of ^i^q plesaunco betwcue man and woman, is withoute dedly synne:

God, and the ^ ^ ^ *

devil has no ^j^^ thcrfor the fende of hett hathe no pouer in that holy

power therein. r J

sacrement, but he peynithe hym euermore to eschauufe^ and
to draw the man or woman by sum falce delite vnto synne ; 32
and, as a smithe that is euer blowinge in the fire, and right so
seruithe the ennemy of hett that besiethe hym euer forto
kenditt and lyght the fere flame of dedly synne witheinne

^ MS. " eschauuse."

FLESHLY DELIGHT IS REWARDED IN HELL. 165

the hertis of man and woman bi fals delite, whereby *he t'Foi.54,
bringithe the sowles vnto hett. For that is alt his crafte and
ioye, as a chosen hunter that chasithe alt the day, and atte
4 the night he takithe the beest, and ledithe it forthe with hym ;
and right so the cnnemy dothe with suche men and women Man, maid,

wife, or

as lyuen upon tliaire flesshely delite, man, mayde, wiff, or widow, that

•^ * J J > J > > lives in fleshly

wedow, as it is saide before. And so saithe the scripture, that delight,
8 alt suche as vsen to lyue after the brenninge desire of luxurie,
and they haue take thaire fowle stynkinge flesshely delite, right
so they shatt be led into the brennyng flawme of the fire of
belt, as saithe an ermite in the lyff of the olde fadres, " It is
12 rayson that suche as haue lyued in the brenninge plesaunce

of flesshely delite in this worlde, right so to be rewarded «•'«» ^e re-

•^ ' & ^ warded with

with the brennynge flawme of the fyre of hett, by right the fire of
that one hete forto duett euermore with that other hete."
1 6 And as almighti God saithe, " Ther shatt nor good dede nor
good lyff [go] vnrewarded, nor no wickednesse vnponisshed."

[CHAPTER CXX.]

[How a knight's daughter lost her marriage
by her vanity \]

2o f Shatt tett you of a ensaumple of a knightes doughter that

lost her mariage bi her nisite '^. Ther was a knight that had A knight had

three

iij doughters, of the which the eldest was wedded, and daughters,
there was a knight that axed the secounde doughter bothe for
24 londe and mariage ; in so moche that the knight come for to see

her that shulde be his wyff, and forto be assured and fyanced and anotiier

knight came

togedre, yef thei were plesed eche with other, for neither of to wed one of

hem ne hadde saie other before that tyme. And the damoiselle

28 that knew of the knightes *comyng, she araied her selff in the

best guyse that she coude, forto haue a sclender and a faire [•FoI. 546.

<5oI. 1.]
shapin body, and she clothed her in a cote hardy vnfurred, the ^ho arrayed

whiche satte right streite upon her, and it was gret colde, gret to bok weu."'^

31 froste, and gret wynde; and for ]?e simple vesture that she

* par sa folie, p. 236. ' pour sa cointise.

IGG HOW A LADY LOST HER MARRIAGE

And the cold had vpon, and for the gret colde that was atto that tyme, the

iimdv hur bo

i«ie that he colouic of the mavde was defaced, and she waxe al pale and

chose h«r ^ > x

Ulster iuatead hUiko of colde. So this knii^ht that was come forto see her, and

of her, o '

behelde the coloure of her att dede and pale, and after that 4
he loked upon that other suster that she had, and sawe her
coloure fresshe and ruddy as a rose, for she was wel clothtd,
and warme ayenst the colde, as she that thought not upon no
mariage atte so shorte a tyme, the knight behelde furst that one 8
suster and after that other. And whanne he had d}'ned, he
cleped two of his frendes and of his kynne, and saide vnto hem,
" Sires ! we be come hedir for to see the doughters of the lorde
of this place, and y know wel that y shulde haue whiche that y 13
wolde chese, wherfor y wolde haue the thridde doughter." And
ajTRinstthG J^jg frendes ansuercd hym, that it was more worship vnto hym

advice of his ./ ' k ^

friends. f^j, ^q \\q\xq the elder. '' Faire frendes," saide the knight, " ye

see but litell avauntage thereinne, for ye knowe wel thei haue 16

an elder suster, the whiche is wedded; and also y see the

yongest, the fairest and fresshest of coloure, more plesaunt

thanne her secounde suster, for whom y was spoken vnto forto

[•Foi.546, haue in mariap^e: and therfor *my plesaunce is to haue her." ao
col. 2.1 . .

. And the knight axed the thridde doughter, whiche was graunted

hym ; wherof folke were meruailed, and in especial the mayde

Butwhenthey that Went forto hauo be wedded vnto the same knight. So it

were married, i'i«i ri« •ii

be saw her happed Within short tyme after, thei mailed the yonge damay- 24

that he had

refused gelt, the whichc the knight hadde refused bi cause the colde

warmly clad

and lookincr ^q^^ paled her coloure and withdrowe her fayrenesse : after,

better than ^ j } i

lllL^'^^^*^ *"^ whanne she was wett clothed and furred, and the wedir was

chaunged to warmer, her colowr and fairenesse was comen ayen, 28
so that she was fressher and fayrer an hundred parte thanne
was her suster, the knightes wiif ; and so the knight saide vnto
her, '* My faire suster, whanne y was to wedde, and y come forto
see you, ye were not so faire bi the seuenthe part as ye be now, 32
for ye be now right faire and welt coloured, and tho ye were
alt pale and of other coloure, and now ye passe youre suster, my
wyfF, in fayrenesse, wherof y haue gret raeruaile." And thanne
the knightis wiff ansuered, " My lorde, y shal telt you how 36

wife ;

BY DRESSING TOO LIGHTLY IN WINTER. 167

it was; my suster thought wel that yc shulde come forto fiaunce wiien his

'' ° *^ . wife told him

her as for youre wifF; and forto make her gentitt, and smalt, how it was—
and falre bodied, she clothed her in a symple cote hardyc, not
4 doubled ; and it was coU wynter, and gret froste, and grct
wynde, and that permuued her coloure ; * and y, that thought
as muche to hauo suche welthe and worship as forto haue you
vnto my lorde withoute ani nisete, y clothed my selff in warme^
8 furred gounes that kepte my body warme, wherfore I had* \Caxion,
better colour than she liad'^ wherof I thanke God, For therfore
I gate your loue; And" blessyd" be the hourc that my suster
clothed her self so lyght, For yf it had" not be so, ye had not

12 take me for to haue lefte her." Thus loste, as ye haue herd*
theldest doughter her maryage, bycause she coyntcd' her self.
Now haue ye herd good" Ensample ^how one ought not to coynte an example
her body for to she we it small and? better shapen^, & specially selves warmly

i6 in the wynter, in so moche that she lost her manere and
colour. As ones it befell to Syre Foucques de Laual, as he
told me vpon the fayt of this Ensample, of whome I shal speke,
and" telle vnto yow what that happed" to hym.

[SECOND CHAPTEK CXX.]
ao How loue wylle be kepte warme. Capitulo C xx *

Ire Foucques de Laual was a fayr knyght, ^clene & wel ^'^"'g^t
s besene emong other, & was of good? maner, and" of fayr fn\ow*™°"^
maynten**. It happed to hym, as he told me, that ones he ^^^**^®'"*
24 was gone for to see his peramours in the wynter season, that the

froste was grete, and the wether passyng cold. He * thenne hadde t* '• 'J' ^-^

'-* Fr. et je, qui ne pensoye a tant d'onneur et de bien avoir comme de
V0U8 avoir a seigneur, ne me cointiay point, ains9ois estoie bien fourrde et
chaudement vestue, si avoye meilleur couleur, p. 238, ed. 1854.

^ The Manuscript ends here, and the concluding part of the book is
given from Caxton's printed translation. His pause-bars (//) are not
reprinted. Some capitals are added to his.

'•^ Fr. comment Ten ne se doit mie si lingement ne si joliettement vestir,
pour soy greslir et faire le beau corps, p. 239.

* Fr. De messire Fouques de Laval, qui ala veoir sa mie. Chappitre
VI" P.

°-' Fr. et moult net entre tous autres chevaliers, et si savoit moult sa
manibre et son maintieng.

1G8 HOW WE SHOULD DRESS WARMLY IN WINTER.

[Caxton.] in the mornynge coynte(r hym self of a scarlatte gowne wel

tjaniy"ciud, broiidred, & of a hoocT of scarlatte sengle & wythoute furrynge,

ancT nought els he haiT on hym, sauf only his fyn sTierte ; For he

hacT no mantell, ncyther gloues in his handes. The wynJand" 4

the cold' were grete, wherfore he had" eoo grete coU, that

and the wind lie became of colour black and" pale, For the perles ne the

inado liiiu ^ *■

i>uie; precious stones, wiche were on the broudryng of his sengle

gowne, couthe gyue hym no hete, ne kepe hym fro the coldl g
There came another knyght, whiche also was amerous of that
lady, but he was not so gay aourned", ne so sengle of clothes,
but he had" on hym good and warme gownes, & had" a mantell,
and a double hood) and' was reed" as a cok, and had" a good' la

and the lady lyuynge colour. The lady thenne welcomed this knyght, and

preferred >/ ^ o ^ ^ o

before him niaadc to liym better chere than she dyd" to Syre Foucques, and"
^"'8ht. held with hym better companye. And sayd" to Syre Foucques,

dressed. a gyre, hold' yow uere the fyre, for I doubte that ye be not al 16
hool, for your colour is dede and' pale." And he ansuerd" that
his herte was ioyous and' well at his ease.

This other knyght was fayrer to the lady syght than Foucques.
But within a whyle after, Syre Foucques aspyed the knyght, 20
whiche was goynge toward' the place of his peramours. He
arayed hym otherwyse than he was wonte to doo, And so moche
hyed' hym, that he came thyder as soone as the other knyght
dyd', for to preue how the mater and' his faytte shold' ende. 24
But after- But certaynly he was thenne take of his lady for the fayrest and'

wards he

clothed him- j^est colourcdl Wherfore he told' me how loue wylle be kepte

self warmly, *^ ^

and was then jj^^g g^j^^ warme, And how that he had approuued hit. Ther-

chosenbythe ' ^^

lady. £Qj.g jjj^ jg grete folye to kepe hys body sengle of clothes, for 28

to seme to the folkes syght better maad", and fayrer of body.
Yet vpon this matere I wylle reherce vnto you a grete mer-
ueylle, how many one deyd' for coldl

now THE GALOYSES CHANGED WINTER AND SUMMER. 169

[CHAPTER CXXL]

Of the folysshe loue wliiche surprysecT ancT ouercame the [Caxton.]
Galoys and" the Galoyses, wherfore many one of them deycT
for coldl Capitulo C xxj.

4 L I ^^Ayre doughters, I shalle telle yow of the Galoys and in Poitnu
Galoyses, how the deuylle by his arte made many of them caused "i'i"y
J to deye for cold", with the helpe of the flamme of Venns,
goddesse of loue and" of lecherye. It byfelle thenne in the partyes
8 of Peytou and" in other Countrees nyghe, that the goddesse Venus,
whiche hath grete power vpon yongthe, that is to wete, vpon the
yongefolke,(Forsomme she makethto be amerousof loue resonable,
And" other of folysshe loue and vnresonable, wherof somme lese
I a theyr honour and' worshyp. And other bothe body & sowle, &)
made many knyghtes and" squyers, ladyes and" damoysels, to loue
peramours eche other, And' to make an ordenaunce of a moche
sauage and" wyld' guyse, and' ageynst the kynde of the tyme,
i6 whiche ordenaunce was this, that in the somer they shold be and to wear

warm clotlies,

clothed' bote and warme with theyr furred' gownes and' with and imve

large fires in

mantels and" double hoodes, and euer fyre they shold' haue in sumnner,
theyr chemenyes, were it neuer so grete a bete; And" that they
2o shold' make of the somer wynter, & tlms to the contrarye,

In the wynter tyme : and as it was hard' frosen, these Galoys & ftnd wear tiiin

'' J ' ' J ^ clothing and

Galoyses dyd' on theyre shertes but only a shorte and' sengle ^ wuiiout
gown withoute lynyng', and' had' no mantell ne hoodl, but sengle, winter.

24 for no grete cold' ne wynd' that myght come. And yet more,
theyr chambres were withoute fyre, and' dayly made swyped"
clene ; And' yf at that season ony herbe or grasse, or somme
thynge fresshe and" grene, myght be found, it was had' into

a 8 theyr chambres & strawed" on the floor. And' vpon theyr beddes
they had thurgh al the nyght but only a sengle and' lyght
couerlet, and" nomore they myght haue, after theyr owne or-
dynaunce. Ferthermore, it was ordeyned, that as soone as a Also the

husband was

32 Galoys cam ther as a Galoyse was, & yf she had ony husbond, to wait upon

his wife's

he must by this ordenaunce go & take the Galoys horses, whiche visitors.
last was come thyder, and ryde oute of his place, & neuer to

170 THE GALOYSES SUKFERLU FOR EVIL INSTEAD OF FOR GOOD.

[CaxtoH] come agcync as long as the Galoys sT.olcT be witli liis wyf. And

also, yf her husboml were a daloys, & went to see his peranioura,

another Galoyse, & founcT her hubbond with her, it had be greto

shame to the husbond yf he had abyden at home, neyther to 4

haue ordeyned ony thynge whyles the Galoys had be with his

wyf, for he had thewne no more i)ower within his hows than

I* caxton, had" a straunger. This lyf * lasted longe whyle, vnto the tyme

And this that the most parte of them was dede anJ perysBheJ of the 8

ti.oy were grete coU whiche they suffred. Many of the Galoys deyde in

nearly nil

dead. theyr ladyes bedde, And' so dede in lyke wyse the Galoyses with

theyr frendes and" peramours, scornynge them that were waniie
and" wel clothed'. And som of them were, to whome men must 12
dysseuere theyr teethe wyth knyues, and' toste and Rost them
before the fyre, as a chyken harJ of froste. Wherfore I doubte
mocha that these Galoyses & Galoys, whiche deyde by suche
maner, were martireJ by loue, & that as they deyde of cold', 16
they shalle haue to the contrarye a grete hete and' a warme

Rut if they clothynge in the pytte of belle. For yf they had" suffred' for the

had suffered » o

for the love of loue of God, whiche suffred" soo moche for them, the tenthe parte

God one tenth ' ' ^

the* w^id^' ^^ ^^® payne and" dolour whiche they dyd' suffre for the fowle ao
delyte of theyr stynkynge lecherj-e, they shold" haue hadde mercy
and' grete guerdon in the other world'. But the deuylle, whiche
euer is aboute to make the man and" the woman to dysobeye to
God", made them to fele gretter delyte and" playsaunce in folysslie 24
loue, than to doo somme seruyse vnto God". Ajid by this reason
whiche wel is approuued", how the deuyll ttmpteth and' essayeth
man and" woman, And" holdeth in perylle bothe the sowle and' the
body; And hou he gyueth folysshe playsaunces and" many euylle 28
maners, that is to wete, somme by couetyse to drawe to hym the
good" & substaunce of other ; And" somme he holdeth in grete
pryde by the praysyng of them self and" dispraysynge of other ;

The devil Souic also by CDuye, whanne they see other haue more goodes 53

tempteth by

envy, than they; Also by glotonye, wherin the body delyteth hym

gluttony, seif^ and' maketh hym to falle in-to the synne of dronkesbip,

whiche synhe taketh fro them reason and" entendement and'

maketh them tp fall in-to carnal delyte. Eyther also by lecherye,

receive much
reward in the
otber world.

WHETHER WOMEN SHOULD LOVE PARAMOUES. 171

makyng them to liaue their peramours with them, and to loue [Caxton.]
them wyth folysshe loue ancT playsaunee, As dyJ the folysshe other vices ;
Galoys and Galoyses, and? amonge them suche a folysshe and?

4 brennynge loue that he brought them to an euylle ende, and'
to deye of dyuerse dethe. But, notwithstondyng al this, I saye
not but that there is a trewe loue without blame and" dishonoure,
And' wherof moche worship cometh. These ben trewe, the

8 which e requyre nothyng wherout may come ony falshed or
abusion. *For he ])at loueth not trewely, thynketh for to haue ['Caxton,
dishonoured his loue and' her estate ; And' suche loue is not
trewe, but is fals dyssymylynge and'trecherye. Therfore to grete
13 lustyse may not be made of them; but so moche I telle yow well,
that ther be of suche folke whiche ben of dyuerse maners, that
is to wete, somme trewe, somme fals and deceyuable, and'gyue no
force at al but to haue theyr fowle delyte and'wylle. And' many »"<^ "^^^v

" " 'J "^ such are in

i6 suche folk is as now in this world', wherfore the world' is hard' to t^e world,
knowe, and moche merueyllous. And' suche wene wel to knowe
them self; but wors they knowe them self than done ony other ^

[CHAPTER CXXIL]
The Argument of the knyght of the Towre and of his wyf.
2o Capitulo C xxij

Y dere doughters, as for to loue peramours I shal tell i will teii you

all the debate

m yow alle the debate and' stryf of me and' of your moder. i had with

your mother

I wold' susteyne ageynste her, that a lady or damoyselle about love.

24 myght loue peramours in certayne caas. For in loue is but good"
worship, withoute ony euyll be thought in it. In this thenne
wherin is thought ony euylle is not loue, but rather it is grete
falshede and mauuastye ; wherfore take ye hede, And? here ye

28 the grete debate and? stryf whiche was bytwene her and' me.

Thus thenne I sayd? to your moder, " Lady, why shalle not ^ said that in

love is wealth

the ladyes and' damoysels loue peramours % For in certayne, ''*"J honour,
me semeth that in good? loue and trewe, maye be but welthe j^ the better
32 and' honour, and' also the louer is the better therfore, & more
gay and' loly ; and" also the more encouraged" to excercyse

' Caxton leaves out Chapter CXXIII. of the printed French edition,
1854, pp. 244-6 : " Que nulle femme ne doit point croire trop legierement
ce qu'on lui dit."

17'2 THE LADY OF THE TOWEIl's REPLY TO HEB LORD.

[Caxtm] hym felf more oftc in annes, AntT taketh therfore better

nison lady is

the hatter lor iiianer in al estates, for to please vnto liis lady or loue. And
in lyke wyse dothe stie of whorae he is enamoured", for to
please hym the better, as ferre as she loueth hym, AnJ also 4
I tell yow that grete almessc it is, whaniie a lady or damoysell
maketh a good" knyght eyther a good" squyer." These ben my
reasons.

[CHAPTER CXXIIL]
i.iUi. d.] ihe answere whiche the lady of the towre maad" vnto her lord, g

Capitulo C xxi[i]j

Then your Henne ansuerd" to me your moder, " Syre, I merueyll me

' t not, yf amonge yow men sust^yne and' holde this reason,

that al women oughte to loue peramours ; But sith this 1 2
debate and" stryf is come before our owne doughters, I wylle
answere after myn aduys and" Intencion, For, vnto our children
we must hyde nothynge. Ye say, anJ so done all other men,
that a lady or damoysell is the better worth whan she loueth 16
peramours, And' that she shalle be the more gay, & of fayr
maner and" countenaunce, A^id" how she shalle do grete almesse

"This is but to make a good knyght. These wordes are but sport and*

sport ;

esbatement of lordes and' of felawes, in a langage moche comyn. 20
For they that saye that alle the honour and' worshyppe whiche
they gete and" haue, is comynge to them by theyre peramours,
And' that theyr loue encourageth them to goo in vyages, And"
for to plese to them by state of armes ; but these wordes coste 24
to them but lytyll to say, for to gete the better and' sooner
the grace and good' wylle of theyr peramours. For of suclie
wordes, and' other moche merueyllous, many one vseth full
ofte ; but how be hit that they saye that ' for them and? for 28
theyr loue they done hit,* In good" feyth they done it only
for to enhaunce them self, and' for to drawe vnto them the
therefore, grace and' vayne glory of the worldl Therfore I charge
Relieve not yow, my fayrc doughters, that in this mater ye byleue not 32

your fader. But I pray yow that ye hold your self clenly

WOMEN SHOULD NOT BE THE SLAVES OP LOVE. 173

and' without blame, ancT that ye be not amerous, for many [Oaxton.]
reasons whiche I shalle reherce vnto vow. Fyrste, I saye Every good

woman niay

not but that euery goocT woman of age maye loue well ancT i^^e peopie.of

4 better the one than the other, that is to wete, folke of worship

andT honour, And? them also that shalle counceylle her for

her owne helthe & worship. And? thus men oughte to loue,

by this manere, the one more than the other. But as for

8 to be so ferforth enamoured) in soo moche that this loue be

mayster of her, and" maketh them to falle in somme fowle

and" shamefull delyte, somtyme with ryght, and" somtyme with

wronge, for the watche whiche men *haue vpon this shameful [*caxton,\.

12 dede or feate, and* also suche dishonour and' escry, whiche

soone is not put oute. And by the false watches & bacbyters

whiche ben neuer cessyng to talke of som euylle rather than

of somme good', wherby they take away & dyffamen the

1 6 good' Renomme of the good' wymmen, and? of many a good'

lady. And? therfore alle wymmen whiche ben not wedded" but all women

should keep

may kepe and' hold? them self fro hit: And? that for many from being the

" ^ ^ ' " slaves of love.

Reasons. The fyrste Reason is, by cause that a woman whiche

20 is enamoured' of a man maye not serue God? of no good" herte

ne trewe, as she dyd? before. For many one I haue herd" saye,

the whiche haue ben amerous in theyr yongthe, that when they

were in the chirche theyre thought and' melancolye made them

24 ofte to thynke vnto theyr delytes and? to theyr peramours more

than they dyd' to the seruyse of God'. And? also the arte of

loue is of suche kynde, that whanne one is in the Chirche to

here masse and? the dyuyne seruyse, and? as the preest holdeth

28 the body of oure Lord? bytwene his handes, than cometh most

to his mynde euylle and* fowle thoughtes. This is the arte EvU love u

>> -^ o ^ the art and

or crafte of the goddesse that men calle Venus, the whiche c^aft of the

goddess

had? the name of a planete, as I herd? saye of a good' and? venus.

32 trewe man, whiche preched and' sayd? how ones the deny lie
entred' into the body of a dampned' woman, whiche was loly
and' gaye, and' moche amerous. The deuylle that was within
her body made her to doo many fals myracles; wherfor the

26 paynyms helde her for a goddesse, and worshipped? her as a

174

OF TWO WOMEN THAT DID hVIL IN CIIUHCU.

[Cnjcton.)
Venus jjave
couii'-el to
tiio Trojaiu,

and ii) the
goildoss of
lovo, and
lendcth
people to
lechery.

* [Caxton,
1. V. <;.]

god. AikT this Venus was bIic that gaf counceylle to the Tioians
that they sholcT seude Parys, the Bone of kyng Priamus, into
Grece, anJ that she sholcT raake hym rauyeshe and' haue with
hym the fayrest lady of al Grece, wherof she sayd' trouthe. 4
For Parys dyd" rauysshe the fayr Ilelayne, the wyf of the
kynge Menehius, for the whiche faytte or dede were slayne
afterward more than xl kynges and' .xii. C M other persones
anJ rao. Wherof this Venus was of al thys grete mcschycf 8
pryncipall cause. She was an euylle goddesse, fulle of euylle
teraptacion. She is the goddesse of loue, whiche kyndeleth
and chauffeth the amerous hertes, and maketh them to thynke
bothe day and" nyght to the loye and' foule delytes of lechery; la
And* specially whan they be at the masse or heryng' *the
dyuyn seruyse, the deuyl causeth this for to trouble their
feythe and* theyr deuocion whiche they haue toward* oure
Lordl And' knowe ye for certayne, my fayr doughters, that 16
a womaw whiche is amerous shalle neuer sette her herte to
God", ne she shall not saye deuoutely her houres or matyna,
ne the hert open for to here the dyuyne seruyse of God.
Two queens Wherof I shall telle yow an Ensample. Two quenes were 20
chureii, and at this sydc of the see, which in Lent, vpon the Holy Thursday,

did evil there; , r i t i -hi

in the Passion weke, took theyr fowle delytes and' playsaunce
within the Chirche duryng the seruyse dyuyne, And' rested*
not of theyr foly tylle hit was alle done. Wherfore God', 24
whiche was displeased' wyth them for theyr enorme and' fowle
synne, made theyr fowle dede and' faytte to be openly knowen
amonge the folke, In suche wyse that they were take and* .
putte vnder a grete and' heuy coope of lede ; And* there a8
wherefore they dcyd" of an euylle dethe. And the two knyghtes, theyre

they died, and

the knigiits, putycrs, deyd' also, as they that were flayne, they beynge yet
>"0"rs, were Q^ lyue. Now maye ye see how theyr fals loue was euylle

and" dampnable. And' how the temptacion of Venus, the god- 32
desse of loue and lady of lechery, tempted them so moche,
that she made them to take theyr fowle plesaunce In suche
holy tyme as vpon the Thursday and' Holy Frydaye in the
Passyon weke. By this Ensample is wel sene and' knowen 36

MEN MISLEAD AND DECEIVE WOMEN. 175

how that euery woman amerous is more tempted^ wythin the [Caxton.]
Chyrche than in eny other place. AncT the same is the fyrst
reason how a yonge woman must kepe herself fro suclie

4 folysshe loue, ancT not be in no wyse amerous. The other Manymenare

1 • !_ 1 deceitful,

raysou is by cause of many gentylle men, whiche ben so and mislead

women by

fals ancT deceyuable, that they requyre euery gentylle woman faiae promises,
that they may fynde; And* to them they swere that tliey

5 shalle kepe to them their fey the, and* be trewe to them, and*
fihalle loue them without falshed" or deceyuaunce, and' that
rather they shold" deye than to thynke ony vylonye or dys-
lionoure, And' that they shalle be the better preysed' for the

12 loue of them, And' that, yf they haue ony good? and' worship,
it shalle come by them. And* thus they shalle shewe and' saye
to them so many reasons and* abusions, that a grete meruaylle
is to here hem speke. And' yet more they gyue oute of theyr

1 6 brestes grete and" fayned' syghes. And' make as they were

thynkynge and" Melancolyous, * And' after they cast a fals loke. * [Caxtm,
And' thenne the good" and" debonayr wymmen that sene them,
supposen that they be esprysed' of trewe and* feythfull loue.

2o But al suche manor of folke whiche vsen to make suche
semblaunt, ben but deceyuours or begylers of the ladyes and'
damoysels. For there is no lady ne damoysell that wold? here to whom no

woman can

them, but that they shold? be deceyued' of them by theyr fals I'sten with-

out evil,

24 reasons, whiche they shold' not here. These ben contrary to the
fcythfulle and? trewe louers. For he that loueth with god' and'
trewe loue, as he cometh before his peramours, he is ferynge
and" dredefull lest he doo ony thyng* that may displease her;

28 For he is not so hardy to discouere ne say one onely word'. And'
yf he loue her wel, I wene that he shalle be thre or four yere
er he dar saye his secrete vnto her. But thus do not the fals
louers; For they praye al them that they fynd*, as aboue is sayd,

32 And are not in drede ne in fere to saye al that cometh vpon
theyr fals tongues; And" no shame ne vergoyne they haue of
hit; AnJ al that whiche they maye vnderstand' of them,
they reherce and" telle it amonge theyr felawes. And' of them

36 they hold' theyre talkynge, wherof they laugh and? scorne and*

17^ WOMEN SHOULD NOT LISTEN TO LOVE WHEN ALONE.

loaxton.] tftke tbeyr dieporte of hit. AncT thus by Buche a wave they

and beiiip^ i -h «/ j j

Hfttrwardi mocko aiitT scorDO the ladyes anJ damovBels, and' make newe

mocked and •'

Bcor.ieu of talkyngcs and' lesynges of them whiche before were neuer sayd*
ne spoken of. For they to whom they tellen bit, put to it ^
rather somme euyll than Bomme goodl In so moche that, fro
word' to word', and' by suche mockynge and' fryuolles, many
ladyes and' damoysels ben ofte blamed".

[CHAPTER CXXIV.]

How a woman ought not to here the wordes or talkynge 8
of hym that requyreth her of loue. Capitulo C xxiiij.
If a man Nd' to thende ye be not deceyued', kepe yow wel fro the

of such tilings, a talkynge of them. And' yf one begynne to resoune and*
^Siilnotiier' *^^® ^^^*^^^ jo^ ^f suchc mater, lete hym alone, or els 12

tohearuiflo." ^^-^^e to yow Bomme other body to here hym say what he wil;
And' thus ye shalle voyde and breke his talkynge. And' knowe
[• caxton, yow for certayne, that yf ye doo thus ones or twyes, * he shalle

1. vi. b.} - ^ V ^ J

nomore speke to yow therof, but in good' feyth at the last he 16
shalle preyse and' drede yow, and' shalle saye, ' this woman is
assured" and ferme.' And' by this maner of waye ye shalle not
be put in theyr langlory and' talkynges, anJ shall not also haue
no blame ne diffame of the world"." 20

[CHAPTER CXXV.]
How the knyght answereth to his wyf. Capitulo C xxv.
The knight Heunc I ansuerd", " Lady, ye be moche hard" & euyll, in

rcpli&s " If

some knight t as mochc that ye wyll not suffre that your doughters be

seek to marry a -h

our daughter, amerouse ; And" yf so came that somme gentyl knyght, 24

shall she not ,

love him?" worshipful, myghty, and' puyssaunt ynough after theyre degree,
had" sette his herte on one of them, and? be wyllynge to loue
her, and? take her to his wyf, why shalle she not loue hym ? "
" Syre," sayd his wyf, " To this I shalle ansuere yow, It is so as 28
to me semeth, that euery woman, mayde, or wydowe, may wel
bete her self with her owne staf ; For al men ben not of one
co^dycion, ne of one manere ; for that thynge whiche pleseth

MEN DO NOT ALWAYS WED LADIES THEY GO TO. 177

to one is dyspleasyng to the other. AikT somme ben, the [Caxton.]
whiche taken grete j}laysyre of the grete chere aiicT semblaunt ksk their

i»i 1 A-i-i-i 11 11 -HTii paramours to

that IS done to them. And" that thynken but gooa ano^ honcste. be their

wives, but

4 And" som also ben therfore more curyous to demauwde and^ some do not.
aske theyr peramours to be theyre wyues. But many other ben,
whiche are not of suche manere, but all contrarye; For
whanne they see that theyr peramours paynen them self to
8 make them chere, they preyse them lesse, And" within theyr
hertes ben doubtyng^ of them, And", as they see them so lyght
of wylle and" so enamowred', they leue them, and' demaunde
them not for to be theyr wyues. And' thus many one, for to

12 shewe them self to moche amerous, and' for to be to moche
open in beholdynge and? in gyuynge fayre semblaunt, lese
theyre maryage. For, in certayne, they that kepe them symply,
and' the whiche gyuen noo fayre token or semblaunt to one

i6 nomore than to other, ben most preysedj and' they be therfore
the sooner wedded'. Wherupon ye told" me ones an ensample
whiche I haue not forgeten, which *happed to yow of a lady to * [Caxtm,
whome I gyue no name, the whiche ye wente ones to see her,

20 wyllynge to take her in maryage* She, that wyst and* knewe well The knight
now it was spoken of yow & her tor her maryage, maade to yow a lady whom

he was to

as grete chere as she hadde loued" and' knowen your personne marry, but
all the dayes of her lyf. Ye prayd her of loue : but by cause pleased with

•^ ^ "^ ^ "^ 'J her freedom.

34 that she whiche was not wyse ynough to ansuere yow curtoysly
and' wel, ye demaunded her not; And' yf she had' hold" her
self more secrete and' couered, and' more symply, ye had' take
her to your wyf. Of whome I haue syn herd' saye that she

a 8 hath be blamed', but I wote not for certayne yf it was so.
And? certaynly, Syre, ye be not the fyrst to whome suche
aduenture is happed*; For many wymmen haue lost theyr
maryage by cause of theyr amerous loke and" fayr semblaunt.

33 Therfore it is good' to euery woman vnwedded' for to behaue
her symply and' clenely, and' specially before them of whome
is spoken for her maryage. I saye not but that men must here
honoure to euery one after that they be."

178

now WOMEN SIIOIM) LOVE IN THEI11 OWN' DF.flRE?..

[Pnxton.]

No woman
should set
her love on a
man of lower
degree,

*[Caxton,
1. vii. b.]

nor yet of
iiigher estate.

[CHAPTER CXXVT.]

How men ought to loue after his chtate aiKt" degree.
Capitulo C xxvj.

Hat eaye yow, lady, wold" ye liaue kept them sostraitly
that they shoU not take somme plesuunce more to 4
somme than to tlie other 1 " " »^yre, I wylle not that
they haue or take ony plesaimce of them that ben of lower estate
or degree than they be of ; that is to wete, tliat no woman vn-
wedded" ehalle not sette her loue vpon no man of lower or 8
Irtsse degree than she is of. For yf slie tooke hym, her parentes
and" Frendes shold' hold" her lassed" and" hyndered". These
whiche louen suche folke, done ageynste theyre wors^iip and"
honoure. For men ought to desyre ne coueyte nothynge so 12
moche in this world' as worship and' the frendsTiip of the world",
and of hir Frendes, the whiche is lost as soone as she draweth
oute her self oute of the gouernement and fro the counceyll of
them. As I myght telle, yf I woU, an ensamj^le of many whiche 16
therfore ben dyffamed' and' hated' of theyr parents & Frendes.

* " And' therfore, Syre, as I theyr moder charge and" deffende
them that they take no playsaunce, ne that in no wyse sette
theyr loue to none of lower degree tlian they be come of, Ne ao
also to none of hyhe estate, whiche they may not haue to
their lord. For the grete lordes shalle not take them to theyr ■
wyues ; but alle theyr louynge loke and? semblaunt, they do it
for to deceyue them, and' for to haue the delytes and 24
playsaunce of theyr bodyes, and for to brynge them into the
folye of the world."

Women that
set their love * * g,
on wedded
men, priests,
and servants,

[CHAPTER CXXVIL]

How wedded' wymmen, whiche haue sette theyr loue to
some of lower degree than they be of, are not worthy to be 28
callyd' wymmen. Capitulo C xxvij.

Lso, they whiche putte and" sette theyr loue on thre
maner of folke, that is to wete, wedded' men, prestes,
and monkes, and' as to seruauntes and' folke of noughte. 32

HOW WOMEN SHOULD HONOUR MEN PROPERLY. 179

These maner of wy ram en whiclie take to theyr peraraours ani^ [Caxton.]

loue Buche folke, I holcT them of none extyme ne valewe, but that than hariota,

111-111 1 ^'"^^ **'" ^^''

they be more gretter harlottes than they that ben dayly at the poverty.

4 bordell. For many wymmen of the world" done that synne of
lechery but only for nede and" pouerte. or els by cause they
haue ben deceyucd' of hit by false counceylle of bawdes. But
alle gentylle women whiche haue ynough to lyue on, the

8 whiche make theyre peramours or loners suche maner of folke
as before is sayd) it is by the grete ease wherin they be,
and' by the brennynge lecherye of theyr bodyes. For they
knowe wel that, after the la we of theyr maryage, they may
13 not haue for theyr lordes, ne to be theyr husbondes, men of
the cliirche, ne other of no valewe. This loue is not for to
recouere ony worsbip, but alle dishonour and shame."

[CHAPTER CXXVIIL]

How hit is almesse to enhaunce a man into grete valour.
J 6 Capitulo C xxviij.

T the leste, syth ye wylle not ffraunte ne accorde that [Caxton,

youre doughters loue no man peramours as longe as

they shalle be vnweddedl, please it yow to suffre that,

2o whanne they shall be wedded!, they may take somme plesaunce

of loue, for to hold" and" behaue them self the more gaye and"

loyefull, and" for the better knowe theyr behauynge and? maner

emonge folke of worsTiip. And", as before this tyme I haue

24 sayd" to yow. It were to them grete welthe and worship to make

a man of none extyme ne of valewe to become of grete valour."

[CHAPTER CXXIX.]
The answere of the lady of the Towre. Capitulo C xxix.

Ire, to thys I ansuere yow, I wylle well, and' am content, Women

*' g ^ should make

aS that they make good' chere to all worsTiipfuUe men, And" cheer to aii

worshipful

more to somme than to the other, that is to wete, to them ™e" aaord-

ing to their

of gretter name and" more gentyl, or els better men of theyr *^®sree ;
persones. And' after that they bere to them worship and
32 honour, And that they synge and" daunce before them honour-

12—2

180

now FALSK LOVE MAKES WOMEN WORSE.

[Cnxton.]

but only tu
give tu iiiiii
Hiicli love nn
will luaku
them hetter
uiid iiiuru
liuiiuiiruble.

No amorous
woman can
pray de-
voutly,

* [Caxton,
1. viii. b.]

nor love her
lord duly.

ably. But as for to loue peramours Bythe they shall be wedded,
withoute it be of suche loue as men ought to here vnto folke of
worshippe, for to loue and' worshippe them after that they be
worthy and" of valour, AnJ whiche haue had' grete payne and" 4
trauaylle to gete and" acquere glorye anJ worshyp by theyr
valyaunce in armes, These must be loued', doubted", serued",
and honoured", withoute hauynge in them ony plesaunce, sauf
only for the bounte of them. But to aaye and" hold" hit good", 8
that a wedded" woman shold" loue and" haue a peramour, Ne
take the othe and" feythe of none, to thende that they be
theyr louers and peramours, Ne also to gyue their feith and*
othe to none, I trowe and" wene certaynly that no lady ne ra
damoysell wedded", ne woman of other estate, shall not put her
estate and" worship in this balaunce, for many reasons; the
whiche I shalle declare vnto yow. Wherof the fyrst is as before
I told" yow, that none woman amerous shalle neuer be soo 16
deuoute in her prayers, ne to here the seruyse of God", as she
* was before. For oute of loue spryngen and" comen to many
thoughtes, and" Melancolye, as men sayn ; And" many one ben
so enamoured" and" enflammed" of loue that, yf they herd" ryng 20
the last peel of a masse, and" that they knewe that theyr
peramoure wold" haue come to see them, they sliold" lese the
masse for to please to theyr peramoure. This is no game egaly
parted". But suche is the temptacion of Venus, the goddesse of 24
lecherye. The other Reason I doo compare to the mercer,
whiche weyeth his sylke whiche is fyn and" lyght, but yet he
maye put so moche of it into the balaunce that it shalle
ouerbere the weyght whiche is at the other syde of the balaunce ; 28
That is to saye, that the woman may be soo moche enamoured",
that lasse she sTialle loue her lord" tberfore, and" that the loue,
worship, and cheuaunce whiche he shold" haue, she shalle take
fro hym, and" gyue it to other. And" for certayne, a woman 32
may not haue two hertes, no more than a greyhond" may
renne after two bestes. Therfore, Impossyble is that she myght
loue her peramour of trewe loue, and" her lord also, withoute
faute or deceyuaunce. But God" and Eeson naturell con- 36

TBUE MARRIAGE IS ORDAINED OF GOD. 181

Btrayneth * he r. For, as the clerkes say, and the prcdycatours. [Cnxton.]

(iod began

000" beganne the world by maiyage of man and woman; And" the world by

marriage,

God' hyra self, whanne he came in to this world, he spake and'
4 treated' at a sermon that he made of maryage, sayeng that
maryage is a sacrament loyned' and' annexed' of God" to the man
and' the woman, & how they be but one body, and" that they
oughte to loue eche other more than fader no moder, ne other
8 creature. And' therfore, syth that God" hath assembled" them,
no man mortal oujt not to separe them, ne take fro them the
loue wliiche is bytwene them. This, sayd" God"" of his owne
mouthe. And' therfore at the dore where as the preest maketh and men and

women swear

12 them to swere that they shalle loue and' kepe eche other, bothe in cimrch to

" '■ love each

seke and' hole, And' that they shalle not gwerpysshe or leue o'^^*"*
eche other for none other better or worse ; and" therfore I saye,
syth the creatour of al the creatures sayd" so, it is but one
16 thynge and' one body, that men ought to gwerpysshe and? leue al
other worldly loue, for to take the loue whiche oughte to be in
maryage, how thenne sliold? the wedded woman gyue her loue how then can

a woman give

ne do ony oth to some other, withoute consent of her lord'? I her love to

another?

20 trowe that, after *the wylle of God? and'' the commaundementes *[caxton,
of holy chirche, that this may not dewely be done withoute feythe
be broken of one syde or of [ojther, and? many horryble dedes
done. For in good" feythe I doubte not but that they whiche ben

24 amerous, and gyuen theyr feythe to other men, louen but lytel or
nought theyre husbondes, and' that they be cursed" of God?."

[CHAPTER CXXX.]

How a woman whiche wylle kepe her honour must doo ne shewe
no manner of semblaunt to none. Capitulo C xxx.

28 Here ben yet other Eeasons for to kepe the loue of her if a woman

love a man,

"t lord' clenely, Withoute daunger or parylle, that is to and her

servant or

wete, ageynst enuyous folke that haue euylle and cursed" ?"ot''e'" see

it,

tongues, whiche maken the fals reportes ; that is to saye, that yf

32 ony woman maketh somme semblaunt of loue to some man, And"

yf that somme other her seruaunt, or ony other body, perceyueth

it. As they shalle be departed" fro her, they anone shalle

^ Orig. constrayueth.

184 HOW KVIL rLKASLRES HUING AFTKll-LVlLS.

lOij(on.] talke aiitT speke thtrof before the folke; AncT thus shal the

it will \}s

talked of. and woi'des 800 fcrrc goo, that at the laste, men shalle saye that

slie will Ix-'iii- n'li iii- • >,

blamed, she liatli fawtea in decie ; and by this maner is a gooa & trewe
woman blamed and dishonouredl AnJ yf hit befalle that by 4
soinme aduenture her lord" haue ony knowlecTiynge of hit, he

and lose iier sTuille tukc her in hate, and' of hertely loue he shalle neuer

liiisbaud'it •'

love. loue her, AnJ euer he shalle saye euylle of her. And thus is

the trewe loue of raaryage lost and" go fro them, and' neuer 8
parfygtit loye ne loue shalle they haue togyder. And" therfore
grete parylle is to euery wedded' woman to put her lord' anJ his
estate, & the welthe & loye of her maryage, in this balaunce
& in suclie peryllous aue?iture. Wherfor I counceyll not to no li
good woman to haue ony peramour, ne to be amerous, in ^o
moch that she be subget to other than to her lord ; for by suche
a cause many good maryages haue ben left & forgoten, &, for
one word' that is come tlierof, an G euyls ben comen therfor. i6
I shal telle yow therof one example of them whiche ben dede,
& haue fynyssted theyr lyues by the peryla whiche ben in

Of many folysshe loue. The lady of Coussy & her peramoure deide

ladies who

died without therof, & also dyd' the castellayne of the Verger, And' after 20

confession,

*[Caxton, her the duchesse, *And' also many other deyde therof, only for
and for one ^^® loue, and" the most parte withoute Confessyon or stiryfte,
the/'suffer'''^ wherforc I wote not how they doo in the other world: But I
hundred doubtc not but that the delytes and' playsaunces whiche they 24
tooke therof in this world' shalle be to them derely sold^. AikV
the delytes of them that ben amerous ben suche, that for one
loye that they receyue of hit, they suflfre and' haue therfore
an C dolours, And' for one worship, honderd" shames. And' 28
euer I haue herd' saye, that a woman amerous shalle neuer
after loue her lord' with good' herte, but that she shalle euer be
in Melancolye and in smalle thoughtes."

[CHAPTER CXXXL]

How a knyght loued'the lady of the Toure. Ca. C xxxj. 32

Ady, ye make me to be merue3lled' how that ye so sore
discounceylle them to loue. Wene ye to doo me to

griefs.

HOW A LADY RECEIVED A KNIGHT's LOVE. 183

byleue that ye be so trewe in your spekynge, that ye neuer [Caxton.]

were araerous ? Certayuly I haue wel herd? the complaynte of

some, of whome ye liolcT wel your pees." " Syre," sayJ the hidy, xiie ludy teiis

the kniglit

4 '*! trowe that ye wokl not byleue me yf I told? to you the very
trouthe therof ; but as for to saye I haue ben prayd of loue,
I haue many tymes perceyued' how somme men were aboute to
speke to me therof, but euer I brake theyr wordes, & called

8 to me somme other, wherby I dyd? breke theyr faytte. Wherof
ones hit befelle, as many knyghtes and? ladyes were playenge
with me, that a knyght sayd to me how that he louefdl all the that a knight

' JO J L J talked to her

ladyes that ben in this world! And" I dyd'demaunde and' asked of love;

'2 hym yf hit was long syn that sekenes & euylle had taken him.
& he ansuerd that it was wel ij yere gone and past, and"
that neuer he durst telle it to me. I thenne ansuerd to hym
that it was nothynge of that space of tyme, & that he hasted"

'6 hym to moche, and that it was but a temptacion, & that he
shold goo to the chirche for to cast vpon hym holy water, and
that he shold saye his Aue raaria, & that his temptacion shold?
sone after go fro hym. For the loue was newe. And" he

2o demaunded of me why. And" thenne I sayd" to hym that but siie toid

him to wait

none peramoure or louer ought not to saye to his lady that he seven years,

and a half

loueth her, * tyll the tyme of seuen yere and? an half be * [Caxton,
passyd & gone, and that it was but a lytell temptacion.

24 Thenne he wende to haue argued", and" put many reasons vnto
me, whanne I sayd? al on hyghe : ' Behold" ye all what sayth
this knyght, whiche is but two yere syn he loued' fyrst one
lady ! ' And" thenne he prayd? that I shold? kepe my pees therof,

28 and that in good" feythe he shold" neuer speke to me therof.

But at the last he sayd to me, ' Lady of the Towre, ye be moche and he re-

plied she was

euylle and" straunge ; and" also after your wordes ouer prowd" evil and

strange,

in loue, I doubte that ye haue not be euer so straunge. Ye be
32 lyke the lady of the fucille, whiche said to me thus, that she
wold" neuer here ne vnderstaTid the noote and" wordes of none,
sauf one tyme that a knyghte prayd' her, but she had an vncle
whiche she made to hyde hym self behynd her, for to here and?
36 vnderstande what that the knyght shold? seye ; wherin she dyd?

184 LOVK KAISES MEN OF LOW DKGREE.

laixion.] grete treason. For he wende wel secretely to saye his rayson,
antT weiiiT not that ouy one haiT hercT hyni, but her self
alone. Wherfore I dare almost say that bothe yow and' she be
but grete spekers, and" lytell pyteous of them that requyre 4
mercy and' grace; And" she is of your oppynyon, that no
ladyes or danioysels may not disporte them with none other
than with theyr lord, for the resons which ye haue sayd before.*
But, syre, eayd thewne the Lady of the Tour to her lord', 8
as for your doughters, ye may saye to them and charge them
of that what shalle befalle yow, but after the faytte or dede

The Lady of ryglit shall be done. Syre, I pray to God' that to worship and"

the Tower

prays that houour they may come, as I desyre. For myn entencion and' 1 2

her daughters

may come to wyll is not to ordcyne vpon none ladyes ne damoysels, but yf
honour. i^[^ \)q ypon myn owne doughters, of whome I haue the
chastysement and' charge. For euery good' lady or damoyselle,
yf God' be pleased', shalle gouerne and* kepe hem self well to 16
theyr worship and' honour, withoute I, that am of lytell wytte
and lytell knowynge, entremete me therof."

[CHAPTER CXXXIL]
Yet speketh the knyght of the Tonre. Capitulo C xxxij.

m ij 20

*[Caxton, T the lest, my lady, I wylle yet argue to yow, sayeng»

m. ii, i>,]

" a that, yf she may seme to come vnto worship and' valour,
the whiche had neuer, ne also shold" haue courage ne
bar dynes to put hem self in payn to haue hit, but it were for 24
the loue and' playsyr of his lady, and' by good" trust to be a good?
knyght, and" E-enommed' amonge the valyaunt and' hardy, for to
Yet the S^^® worship and' the grace of his peramour. And" for a lytell
SiovT chore, a man comynge of lowe degree may be enhaunced'by his 28
fow de^ee. loue, and' be compted? amonge the worthy and' valyaunt."

[CHAPTEK CXXXIIL]

How one must be wyly and' subtyll for to discouere his loue.

Capitulo C xxxiij

The Lady of Ire, hit semcth me that there be many maners of loue, And', 32

replied, that ^ as men saye, the one is better than the other. For yf hit

KISSING IS PARENT TO EVIL DEEDS. 185

be BO that a knyght or squyer loueth sorame lady or damoyselle [Caxton.]

, «. >,, lAT-r 1 1 -fc* knights love

by worsnyp and' honoure only, And" for to kepe her worsnip for worehip

and honour

and the curtosye of her, and" for the good that she shalle do to only.
4 hym, suche loue is good", whiche is wythout prayer or request."
** What, lady, yf he requyreth her to kysse or embrace hym, it
is no force, the wyndes blowen it away ! " " Ha, a ! Syre, I The lady

replies

answere vnto yow, that as wel to my doughters as to other that
8 me semeth ; And" therto I consente, that they maye make to
them good" chere, and' that they kysse them before all, to thende
that they lose not theyr valour. But, as for my doughters
whiche ben here present, I defende and" withsaye to them the
13 kyssyng, and'alle suche maners of disportes. For the wyse lady that kissing -s

parent and

Rebecca, whiche was ryght gentylle and" noble, sayth, the cousin to foul
kyssynge is uyghe parente and Cosyn vnto the fowle faytte
or dede. And? Sybylle sayth, that the fyrst signe or token of

i6 loue is the loke or beholdyng ; and? after the amerous loke they
come to the kyssynge, and' thenne the dede or faytte; The
whiche dede taketh awey the loue & worship of God & of the
world; & thus they come from one dede to another. & I lete

20 you know that me semeth that, assone as they suffre them to be

kyssed, they * put them self in the subiection of the deuyll, * [Caxton,
whiche is to subtyll. For suche one weneth wel at the
begynnyng to kepe hym fermely and' be stronge, the whiche

24 he deceyueth by his subtyll arte and' crafte, and" by suche
kyssynges. And? thus, as one kyssynge draweth to hym another,
And as the fyre kyndeleth a strawe, and? fro that strawe it As one straw

setteth a

cometh and' kyndeleth another, & thus atte last the bedde house on fire,

so love

a8 is a fyre, & the hows also ; in lyke wyse is it of suche loue. kindieth evil.
And" yet I charge yow, my fayre doughters, that ye be no
players. For suche playeng causeth oftyme many a folysshe
loke and' beholdynge, by the whiche may perauentur come

33 blame and' euylle renomme. I herd' ones reherce and" saye a The Duchess
tale of the Duchesse of Bauyere, how that she had" wel twenty
subgettes, as men sayd', the whiche loued her, and' to eche of
them she gaf signe and' token of loue. She playd with them at

36 the tables, and wan of them coursers, and' hakneys, and" dere

186

OF A HOLY HEUMIT

[Ciutoii.

t4K)k t(\ft»

from iiiuny
wlio loved
Iter, t)ut waa
(tefuined at
la^t.

Many a
woman ia led
to evil by
covetuusness.

• [Caxton,
m. iii. b.

A holy
hermit lived
twenty-five
years on
hread and
herbs,

and in a

vision was
told to go to
Aquileia,

antT 1*3 clie furrynges, and" also ryuges aucT precious stones, and*
many other lewtls ; aniTgi'ete proufifyte she had by them. Rut,
for certayne, she coude neuer kepe her self so wel, but that at
the last she was blamed" an J dylhimed'. And" better it had" be 4
for her v\ orshyp, that she had boughb and payed" alle that she
had" of them hall derer more than it was worthe. Therfore
grete perylle is to euery lady or damoysell, and" to all other good'
and" worshipfuU wymmen, to vse suche playenge and" be of suche 8
lyf. For the most appertyse and" wyse fynJ them self at the
last, by suche delynge mocked" and" blamed", and" fowle dyffamed'.
And" therfore, my fayre doughters, take ye here good" ensam pie,
and" be ye not to curyous to ony playe for to wynne suche 12
ouches or fermaylles ; For, by the couetousnes to gete and" haue
suche Jewels for nought, many a woman put her self in subiec-
tion ; andr oftyme it befalleth therfor that they be deceyued.
And" thus is it good to aduyse and" beware hym self before the 16
comynge of the stroke."

[CHAPTER CXXXIV.]
How the holy lady approuued' the heremyte. Ca. C xxx[i]v.

m iij
Ayr doughters, I wylle telle yow one of the last ensamples 20
of this book. It is of a full good lady whiche is moche
to be preysed. And this ensample is reherced in the
booke of Vitas Patrum, how the wyf of the prouost of Acquylee
approued an holy Heremyte by his bounte. 24

Ther was thenne an holy Heremyte in an heremytage, the
whiche had" ben there by the space of xxv yere, where as he
ete but breed" and" herbes and" Piotes, And" ofte he fasted", and"
was of good" and" holy lyuynge. This good' and? holy Heremyte 28
beganne ones vpon a tyme to saye, " A, good lord", my creatour
and" my maker ! yf ageynst the I haue ony thyng mysprysed", I
demaunde and" crye to the, mercy; and" yf I haue this xxv
yere done ony good", dwellyng stylle in this Heremytage, what 32
meryte shalle I haue therfore V A vysyon came sone to hym,
by the whiche hym thought that he sawe cure Lord", wliiche
fcayd" to hym, " Thow frhalt haue the meryte of the prouost of

WHO WENT TO A PROVOST's HOUSE. 187

Acquylee and" of his wyf." AikT thenne, whanne he hed seene this [Oaxton ]

vysyon, he sayd" that he shold" neuer reste tylle he come into

Acquyllee for to enquere of the lyf and" condycions of the
4 prouost and" of his wyf. He wente thyder, And, as God wold',

thurgh the grace of the holy ghoost, the prouost and? his wyf

knewe wel the comynge of this Heremyte, and" the cause also

why he came thyder. It befelle thenne, as the Heremyte was
8 nyghe by the Towne, he sawe the prouost, whiche yssued"

cute of hit with a grete companye of men, and? wente to make

lustyse of a Squyer, whiche had slayne another Squyer; And"

was the prouost rydynge vpon a fayr courser. And had on hym
12 a fayre gowne of sylke rychely furred". And" all his men that

were aboute hym wel clothed" & arayedl And" as sone as the

prouoste sawe the Heremyte, he knewe hym, as the wylle of where the

provost sent

God" was, and? callyd" hym, and" sayd", " Good? and? trewe man, him to his

wife,

16 goo ye home to my wyf, and' take her this rynge. And" telle

her that she doo to yow as she wold" doo to me." The Heremyte

demaunded" of hym what he was. And? he answerd? to hym that

he was the prouost of Acquyllee. The Heremyte thenne, that
20 sawe hym in suche estate and? soo Rychely clothed", was

abasshedi and? ryght sore merueylled", that he * was so * [Caxton,

coyntely arayed", and" that he wente for to make a mart to be

hanged". He wyst not what he shold" thynke or saye, and? was
34 al troubled? and" abassted", And? hym thought that he had"

nothynge deserued of God". But neuertheles he wente to the

prouostes place, and founde there the lady his wyf, to whome

he toke the rynge, and said vnto her that her lord sent hym
38 thyder, And? that ste shold"" doo to hym as slie wold? doo to

hym self. The good lady receyued hym, and^ made the table to who received

him with

be couerd, & prayd hym to sytte before her. She made hym to honour,

be serued of grete plente of good and" delycate metes, and" of
32 good wynes. And? the Heremyte, whiche was not wont to haue d

before hym suche metes, Neuertheles he ete and dranke there,

And sawe how the good lady toke the goocP metes that were put

before her, and how she brake and^ dressed the good capons
36 and other metes, And" thenne she dyd" put it al togyder in a

188 TilK IIKKMIT WAS TKMITED TO SIN,

[aixton.] gretu dyBshe, and sente it to the poure folke, And toke only

for her refection brede and" water ; AnJ thus sho dyd euery day,

and niAde })otlie at souper and at dyner. And as the euen came, she had

liiiii lie ill her *■ *'

lord's imi. (,1^. Heremyte into her chamhre, whiche was rycliely han^'ed 4
with cloth of sylke, and nobly dressed and arayed, and sayd to
hym, " Good' and tiewe man, ye shall lye in the bedde of my lord
and in his chambre.'' The Heremyte wold haue relTused it; but
the lady sayd that she wold do the comaundement of her lord, 8
And that for certayne he sliold lye there. There she made to
be brought to hym good spyces, and stronge and good wynes,
wherto the good Heremyte tooke soo good a sauoure that he

And he was etc and" drankc soo moche, that he was dronke, and" ful loyous 12

heated with . , > J

wine, in his spekynge ; For the good' wyn had soone ouercomen hym,

by cause he was not wonte to drynke of hit. He wente to
bedde, and the lady vudyJ her clothes, and leyde her self by
hym, and' began ne to embrace and" taste hym. And? the 16
Heremyte, that moche hadde taken of metes and drynkes,

80 that when awaked, and his flesshe beganne sore to be meuyd', And wold

the lady

came to bed hauc accomplysshed the faytte or dede of fornycacion with the

to Ilim, he

would have lady. Thennc sayd she to hym, '' Swete Frende, whanne my 20
b^d ^r *''^ ^^^^ ^y^ haue to doo with me of suche thyng, he goeth fyrste
ofcoid"water*^ to bathe, and wassteth hym selfe in that Tubbe, whiche ye see
* [Caxton, yonder full of water, for to be the more * clene and fayre." And?

m.iiii. 6,] .

theremyte, whiche thoughte to nothyng^ than to fulfylle and' 24

ac comply sshe his wyll, sterte in the tubbe full of water, and*

bathed? and' wasshed' hym in the water, whiche was cold' as ony

yse; and anone he was as half dede of cold! Thenne the lady

called' hym to her ; And' he came alle shakynge, For his hete 28

was gone, and' also his euylle wylle. And' the lady embraced'

hym ageyne so moche that he gate hete, and was so chauffed?

that he wold* haue done his folysshe delyte. And" as she sawe

hym soo chauffed' and so brennyng in that fowle delyte of 32

lecherj^e, she prayd hym that he wold's for the loue of her, goo

and wasshe hym ageyne in the tubbe, for to be the clener ; And?

and this he he, that yet had' not slepte and' was full of myghty and" stronge

second time, wynes, as a man oute of his wytte, rose vp oute of the bedde, 5$

AND WAS AFTERWARDS ASHAMED. 189

aiKT wente ancT bathecT hym ageyn into the tubbc ; ancT anone [Caxton.]
the coltT water made hym feble & harcT for coltT. Thenne the
lady called" hym to her ageyne ; And' shakynge he came to her,

4 as he dyd" before ; his teeth shoke anJ bete eche other for
cold", And" alle his grete hete was passed" an J gone. The lady
roose vp, and" couered" hym well with warme clothes, and" lefte
hym alone, to thende he shold take his reste. And" soone

8 after, as he was a lytyll warme, he fylle into a slepe, for his and then feu

asleep.

hede was ryght pesaunt and" heuy, And? he awoke not tylle the

morowe was come. To his rysynge cam an old" preest or

chappellayne, whiche demaunded' hym how he dede. And?

12 whanne he perceyued? that he laye in so fayr a bedde, and that

he was so taken and surprysed", he was full of shame, and" in the morn-
ing he was
moche merueylled" how in that dronkeship and? folysshe wylle he ashamed, and

asked about

was falle. He thenne sawe wel, that they were of «:retter the provost

" " and his wife.

1 6 meryte than he was, And" demaunded" of the Chappellayne, of
the lyf and" gouernaunce of the Prouost and? of his wyf ; And" he
told hym that the most parte of the dayes of the yere they
wered" the hay re, And" that the good metes whiche were

2o brought at the table before them they sente to poure folke,
and' ete black brede and metes of lytyll sauoure, and' dranke but
water ; And how they fasted" the most parte of the weke. He
after demaunded" of hym why that tubbe full of cold water was

24 sette by theyr bedde ; And" he answerd that it was put there for

to kepe them fro the brennynge wylle of * lecherye, for as * [Caxton,
soone as she or he is chauffed, and" their flesshe mouyng to that
fowle delyte, they ryse out of the bed, & wasshe and" bathe

28 them self in this tubbe, whiche is ful of water, excepte one
daye of the weke. Thenne as theremyte had? this examyned the
old" Chappellayne vpon the faytte of the prouost and" of the
lady his wyf, and" that he was well certayne how they ledde

32 theyr lyf, he thought that the prouost, how be it that he
were nobly and Rychely arayed' withoute, and" to the sight of
the folke, whiche secretely, vnknowynge to no man, bare and
had on his flesshe the hayre, and" made good lustyce and the

36 execucion of the mysdoers to be done and executed" bifore hym,

190 THK HEIIMIT KKPKNTKD OF 1118 SIN.

[Caxton] was wortliy to Imue, ancT ako liis wyf, seuen tymes more
Atid thinking nierytc. For lie reinenibiytr liym of the fowle dede whiclie

(if tliu past

niKht, he waii he wold liaue commyBe J or done with the yooJ lady, AiicT

ualiained and

cursed how shc cssayctr, wherof he was moche vergoynous and" 4

shamelull, and within his herte he cursed" hyni self that euer
he departed" oute of his heremytage, and" that in trouthe he
was not worthy to pulle of theyr shone and" hosen fro theyr
legges, wherfore fro thens he departed shameful anJwepynge, 8
sayenge with a hyghe voys, "Fayre God" and" good* lord", I
knowe no gretter tresour more noble ne more precious than
is the good" lady whiche hath essayed" me, sene my foly, and"
approuued" my fallace and" decepcion ; And" veryly she is wel i*
worthy to be called" and named" the precious Margaryte, as ye
sayd" in the Euangely." Thus spake the holy Heremyte in hym

and repented Self allone, and repented" hym of his mysdede, and" humbly

cryed to God mercy, praysynge the good" lady of her good" lyf. ^6
Therfore a woman is to be preysed" whanne she essayeth her
self, and" that she can resiste ageynst the temptacions of the
deuyl, and" ageynst the feblenes of her mortal flesshe, the
folysshe wylle of her fowle delyte. And" thenne, as that fowle ^o
and" darapnable delyte is by them accomplysshed" and" done,
they repente them of it ; but it is to late. For the deuyl, as he
hath purchaced and brought them therto, he holdeth them in
his subiection, and for his seruauntes, and" assembled" and'24
bynde them togyder, in suche wyse that with grete payne
they may be vnbound".

[CHAPTER CXXXV.]

icaxton. How the deuylle tempteth many one of the synne where as he

fyndeth them most wyllynge and" redy to. 28

Capitulo C XXXV.

A great lady N Ensample I shalle reherce vnto yow of a grete lady,

was a widow, m '

with one a whichc was lady to a Baron. This lady was longe tyme

married

daughter, in the state of wedowhede, and" had" but a doughter, 3*

whiche was wedded" to a grete lord". She thenne became seke,

OF A COVETOUS WIDOW's DEATH. 191

and' laye in her dedely bedde, and" made the chaste, where as her [Caxton.]

and on her

tresoure was in, to be sealed", and" the keye to be brought vnto deathbed she

hid in the f>ed

her, whiche she put in a lynen clothe vnder her bak. The dethe the key of a

. chest,

4 ranne fast vpon her ; and" she, whiche had' euer thou3t to her
tresour, lyfte vp her hand", makynge signe or token that
none shoU approche ne come to her back. And' thus she dyd'
styll, tylle that she deyde, and' rendryd" her sowle oute of her

8 body. Thenne came the doughter, whiche was a grete lady,
and" demaunded of them that were at her deth yf she had*
t)ny tresour. They ansuerd', that they knewe of none, but
thought that she had" some, and" that yf she had" ony, it was

12 hyd'somwher aboute her bedde. They told" to her the maner of
her moder, and" how she wold' not sufFre that ony body shold'
come by her, and also how she maade a cheste to be sealed',
and" the keye of hit brought to her, whiche keye she kepte

1 6 euer vnder her back. The corps was meued' and' tourned) and'

the keye found'. And" thenne her doughter wente into a Towre in wJiich her

/-Ni '••If daughter

where as the Chyste was, and' opened' hit ; wherin she fond', as found great

wealth,

wel in coyne as in plate, more than thyrtty thousand' pound';

20 but tlie gold" was found" in cloutis and" ballys of threde and' of
wulle, and' in other thynges ; wherof alle they that knewe and'
sawe the maner of it, were merueylled", and abasshed. The
doughter thenne made a Crosse, and' sayd', that in good'

2^ feythe she held^ hsr not so ryche by the xxv parte as she was,
wherfore she merueylled moche, and" was sore abasshedl And'
yet she sayd' how of late she and" her lord also cam to her,
and" prayd" her to helpe and" lene to them some of her good" tyll

28 a certayne tyme that they shold" rendre it and' paye it her

ageyne. And" that she sware & made grete othes to them that though siie

had pre-

she had' no money, ne no syluer, but suche plate as they sawe tended to be

poor.

abrode, that was a coup and' a * pyece only ; And" therfore was * [Caxton,
32 she moche merueylled' to fynd there so grete a tresour. Thenne

sayd" the folke whiche were with her, " Madame, be not ye

merueylled, for we ben therof more merueylled' than yow ;

For yf she wold' send" on a message, or els as she had" som
36 other thyng to do, she borowed' some money of oure ser-

192

OF A COVETOUS WIDOW S DEATH. OF A GOOD WIDOW.

caxtm.] uauntes, & saytT that she haiT no money, by her feythe." The
The dauKiiter (loughter tookc alle this goocT with her, ancT went her waye

and her hus-
band kept all towarcT her lortT, to whome she was welcome : AiiiT of all this

this money,

and^aidno trcsour was neuer gyuen a halfpeny for the sowle of theyr 4

prayers for % r ^ t\ • •

their mother, mocler, but soone they forgate her. r or it is not yet longe

nor made any

tomb fur her. tyme goiie that I was where as .she was buryeJ) ancT demaundecT
and" asked^ of the Monkes of the Abbeye where she lay, and'
why she had' no tombe on her, or some token of her. And 8
they ansuerd' to me that, syn she was entered" there, no masse,
ne no seruyse at all, ne none other good" ther had" be done for
her. By this ensample may ye knowe how the deuylle is subtyll
to tempte the folke of the synne where he seeth them most 12
entatched'; & soo fast he holdeth them in it, that they maye
not leue it, withoute to be therof Cowfessyd"; and" maketh
them his seruauntes, as he dyd the forsayd" lady. For he dyd'
soo moche that she was subgette and seruaunt to her gold, in 16
siiche wyse that she durst not take of hit to doo her ony good".
And therfore, my fay re doughters, here is a good ensample that,
yf it befelle that God of his grace sende yow ony grete good',
that ye departe largely of hit to the poure folke, in the worship 20
of God and for the loue of hym, And specially to youre poure
parent es and" neyghbours ; and leue it not to be departed by the
handes of youre heyres; as dyde this lady, for whome, after
her dethe, was neuer masse ne none other good done for her, as 24
ye haue herd'tofore.

[CHAPTER CXXXVL]

Thexample of a good wydowe. Capitulo C xxxvj

Nother Ensample I wylle telle yow contrary to this. It
is of a good lady, whiche longe tyme was in wydowhede. 28
She was of a holy lyf, and moche humble & * honourable, as
she whiche euery yere kepte and" held' a Feste vpon Crystemasse
day of her neyghbours bothe ferre and' nere, tyll her halle was
ful of them. She seiued? and" honoured] eche one after his 32
degree; And specially she bare grete reuerence to the good'
and trewe wyramen, and' to them wTiiche had" deseruyd' to be

Of a widow

[* Caxton,
ra. vi. b.]

who led a
good life,

HOW SUE DID DEEDS OF CHARITY AND FASTED, 193

worshipped". Also she was of suche customme, that yf she [Caxton.
knewe ony poure gentyll woman that shoU be wedded", She poor people
arayed" her with her lewels. Also she wente to the obsequye of and funerals,
4 the poure gentyll wymmen, anJgaf there torches, and" all suche
other lumynary as it neded therto. Her dayly ordenaunce was,
that she rose erly ynough, and? had" euer Freres, and two or
thre chappellayns, whiche sayd" matyns before her within her
8 oratorye ; And" after she herd" a hyhe masse and' two lowe,
And" sayd? her sei uyse full deuoutely ; And" after this she wente
and" arayed" her self, and" walked" in her gardyn or els aboute
her place, sayenge her other deuocions & prayers. And? as tyme
1 2 was, she wente to dyner ; And" after dyner, yf she wyste and"

knewe ony seke folke or wymmen in theyr childbedde, she wente ^^^ visited

•^ " •' the sick,

to see and" vysyted" them, and? made to be brou3t to them of her
best mete. And? there as she my^t not go her self, she had a

1 6 seruaunt propyce therfore, whiche rode vpon a lytell hors, and"
bare with hym grete plente of good mete and drynke for to
gyue to the poure and" seke folke there as they were. And" after
she had" herd" euensonge, she wente to her souper, yf she fasted*

2o not. And" tymely she wente to bedde ; And" made her styward"
to come to her to wete what mete sholde be had' the next daye,
and" lyued by good" ordenaunce, and wold" be purueyed" byfore
of alle suche thynge that was nedefuU for her housholdl She observing

*' ° also all the

24 made grete abstynence, and" wered? the hayre vpon the Wednes- fasts of the
day and vpon the Fryday. And hou I knowe this, I shalle telle
it to yow. This good lady dyed? in a Manoyr whiche she held in
dowa[r]ye, the whiche was apperteynynge to my lord" my fader,

a 8 And" I and" my susters, whiche were but yonge of age, cam to
duelle there ; And" the bedde wheron this good? lady deyd" was
broken in pyeces, & vnder the strawe was founde a hayr,
whiche a damoysell toke, And sayd? to vs that it was the hayr of when she

32 her lady. And that she wered? it two or thre dayes in the found that
weke; And' also told?* and" reherced"to vs her good' condycions •[Caxton
and" her good" lyf, And' how she Eose euery nyght thre tymes, ^iJir'siurt
and" kneled doune to the ground? by her bedde, and" rendryd? *^'^® * ^^'^*

36 thankynges to God', and? prayd for al Crysten sowles, And"

194 ASl) WAS AN EXAMl'Lt TO OTIILU LADIhS.

[(Mxtan.i liow slie (lytl grcto alines to the poures. This good lady, that
te'ciieolr **"^ wel Is woi'thy to be iiainoiT and* preyBeJ', haiT to name My lady
Ceeyle of Balleuylle. And yet I haue herd" saye that her bioder
niyghte spende yerely xviij M pound"; but, notwithstondynge 4
that, she was the most humble and? the most good" and' cuitoys
lady that euer I knewe or wyste in ony countrey, anJ that
lasse was enuyous, anJ neuer she wold? here say ony euyll of
no body, but excused' them, & prayd' to God" that they myjt 8
amende them, and' that none was that knewe what to hym
shold happe. And thus she blamed them that spake euylle of
other folk, And' maade them abasshed? of that she repreued' them
an example SO as shc dydl And? thus oughte to doo euery good' woman, la

to all other .

women; and' cuory good man, at thexample of this good* lady. And'
knowe ye that hit is a noble vertu not to be enuyous. And*
not to ba loyeful of the dommage or scathe of other. And',
for certayn, this good" lady sayd that they which auaunced' 16
them of the euylle and" oramage of other, and' that mocked
theyr neyghbours and* other. And" that God shold punysshe
them or some of theyr nyghe frendes and parentes, wherof
came to them grete shame. And? that haue I sene ofte befalle, 20
as the good lady sayd'; For none oughte not to luge ne

of whom I reproche the dammage or euylle of other. Many suche fayre

recollect

many things, and prouffytablc talkyng of this good' lady is in my memorye,

though I was ^

but young Notwithstondvug the yong age whiche I was of whanne she 24

when she " <=> « o o

died. deyde ; For I was not aboue ten yere oldl She had" a ryghte

noble ende, and, as I wene, ryght agreable to God'; And", as
men say commuuely, of honest and' good lyf cometh euer a
good" ende. 28

[CHAPTER CXXXVII.]

The thre enseygnementes or lernyngts whiche Cathon gaf to his
sone. Capitulo C xxxvij

^rafvii! 6.] Nother en sample I will tell yow, of the wyse Cathon, by

a Ro^n^ whos wysedomc was all the Cyte of Eome gouerned. He 32

phuosopher, made & wrote many fayr auctorytees, the whiche yet as

now make grete msmore of hym. This Cathon had a sone,

CATHON ADVISED IIIS SON TO THREE THINGS, 195

and as he was in the Ledde of his deth, he callyJ his sone to hym, [Caxton.]
the whiche had" to name Cathonet, and sayd" to hym, " Fayre deathVe ^
sone, I haue longe lyued" in this world", whiche is moche hard' to hi, son," '""

4 knowe, and' moche merueyllous, anJ alwey shall wexe wors, as
I trowe ; wherfore I woU and" desyre moche that your gouerne-
ment and' maner of lyuynge shold" be good, to the worship of
yow and' of all your frendes. I haue take therfore to yow by

8 wrytynge many enseygnementes, the whiche shalle proufFyte
to you herafter, yf ye therto wylle sette your herte, and" haue
them in youre memorye. Neuertheles, I haue bethought in whom he

advised ;

my self to telle and? gyue yow other thre er I deye ; wherfore
12 I praye yow that euer ye wyll haue them in your memorye.

[CHAPTER CXXXVIIL]
The Fyrste enseygnement. Capitulo C xxxviij.

He fyrst enseygnement of the thre is this, that ye take first: to

*' t hold no

none ofifyce of your souerayne lord', yf so be that ye haue office of the
i6 good' ynough & good' suffysaunte after as your estate ''^^.^"^ugh

oughte to haue, and' nomore ye ought to aske of God"; And'^"*^*'
therfore ye ought not put your self in subiection to lose your
good' by somme euyll word' or by somme euyll reporte. For
20 certaynly, my fayr sone, there be lordes of dyuerse condycions
and' maners. Somme ben hasty, and? that lyghtely bileue ; And"
Bomme haue other maners of condycion; And' therfore men
oughte to haue sufifysaunce, and' be doubtynge to put hym self,
24 his estate, and' worship, in parylle and' in the daunger of folke

whiche ben lyght of wylle. The second' enseygnement is, that second : to

spare no one

ye respyte no man that hath deseruyd" to deye, & specially yf he justly con

demned to

be custommed' to doo euylle; For, yf ye soo dyde, ye shold' be death;
28 participant in al the euylle that he afterward' * shold doo, as ta.KSiT^'
ryght were.

[CHAPTER CXXXIX.]

The thyrd' enseygnement. Capitulo [C] xxxix.

" [^^He thyrd Enseygnement is, that ye preue and essaye your third: to

I prove if his

22 J wyf, to wete and" knowe yf she shalle kepe secretely your wife could

^ "^ keep his

13 — 2 secrets.

190

BUT HK NEGLECTED TWO OF TUEM,

[Caxton.]

The sun for

awhile

observed

these

precepts,

but after,
wards ao
cepted an
office of the
king.

and also
forgave a
thief con-
damned to
death.

counceylle, wtiche perauenture niygbt be cause of your dethe.
For there ben somme wTuche beii moche wyse, aiKT that can
wel kepe secretely what tliat someuer men sayen to them, ancT
the whiche also gyue gootT counceylle ancT aduysement. And" 4
somme ben, that can neuer kepe their tongue, but telle alle
that is sayd' to them, as well ageynste them, as for them."
And" thus tbe wyse Cathon gaf this thre ensygnementes to his
sone, as be lay seke at the poynt of bis dethe. This trewe 8
and? wyse man Cathon deyde, and* his sone abode on lyue,
whiche was bold' sage and" wyse. In so moche that themperour
of Rome toke bym his sone for to endoctryne and" tecbe hym.
And" afterward' be maade some lordes to speke to hym for to u
withold' bym to gouerne, and' sette in good" rewle, the grete
fayttes and" materes of Rome, and' promysed? bym to baue
therby grete auaylles and? prouffytees; wherfor, and? by tbe
couetyse of these prouffytees, he consented' to take thoffyce, 16
and' toke on bym the cbarge of it, and' forgate thenseygnement
and' tecbynge of his fader. And' after, wban be was stablyssbed'
and' receyued' in bis offyce, be rode on a daye tborugb the
byghe strete with grete companye of folke whicbe folowed'20
bym, He sawe a tbeef whiche men conueyed' to tbe galbows
for to be banged", wbicbe was mocbe yonge. Tbenne sayd" one
to Cathon, wbicbe stood? by hym, ''Syre, bycause of tbe nouellyte
of your offyce, ye may wel respyte and" kepe this man fro 34
dethe." And' be, without enquest by hym made of the caas wby
be was luged' to receyue dethe, made bym to be vnbound) and',
by cause of the nouellyte of his offyce, be kepte tbe theef fro
dethe. He was to basty; For at tbat tyme be tboujt not on a8
tbe commaundement tbat his fader bad? made vnto bym.

[CHAPTER CXL.]
* [<?»5<oj», * How Cathon, after he bad done acfeynst tbe two com-

na. vm. b.] o "^

maundements, essayed the thyrd on bis wyf. Capitulo C xl.

In the night ^ ^ *^® ^YS^^ was come, And? that Catbon bad" slept bis fyrst 32
slepe, he had? many vysyons vpon this matere, in so mocbe

AND TIIEX TRIED THE THIRD. 197

that he remembrycT how he haJ broken ancT done ageynst two [Cnxton]
of the commaundementes of his fader ; And", seynge this, he remembered
thought that he woU not brake ne do ageynst the thyrd"; advice,

,, r-i-.li -ir and told Ilis

4 wherfore he wente to his wyf, and' sayd thus to her, " My good? wife he

would tell

frende and" my wyf, I wold" telle yow a grete counceylle, whiche her, as a

secret,

toucheth my persone, and" myghte be the cause of my dethe,
yf I wyst that ye shold' kepe it secretely." " Ha, a ! my lord","
8 sayd' she, "on my feythe, I hadde leuer be dede than to discouere
to ony body youre counceylle." " Ha, a ! my frend, thenne
shalle ye knowe hit," sayd' he ; — " Trouth it is, that themperour
toke to me his sone, as ye wel knowe, for to lerne and teche
i2hym; but certaynly hit is not longe tyme gone, for somme
wordes whiche he sayd" to me, that I, as a dronken man and' as
he that was wrothe of other thynge, hastely toke the Child" and' that he had

killed the

Blewe hym, and" more I dyd", for I tooke and' arrached oute emperor's

son.

i6 of his bely his herte, the whiche I made to be confyte in sugre
and" other spyces, and' sente it to themperour his fader, and',
to his moder, And' they ete hit ; And? thus I auenged" me of
hym, but I knowe wel now that it is an euyll and abhomynable

ao dede done, wherof I me repente, but it is to late ; Therfore,
my good Frend' and my wyf, I praye yow as affectuelly as I
can, that ye kepe this counceyll secrete withyn your herte, as
I trust me to yow." But the morowe after, she beganne to

24 wepe and' maake grete sorowe ; And' a woman whiche was with

her demaunded' of her, " Madame, what hane ye that ye make The wife told

the story to

suche sorowe? Haue ye ony heuynesse wythin your herte ?" her friend;
"Veryly," sayd she thenne, "ye, my Frend', and' that a grete, but

38 rather I shold'deye, er it shold'be knowen." " Ha, a; madame !
she wer wel oute of her wytte that shold telle and dyscouere
Buche a counceylle, yf ye had" sayd' hit ; And' as for me, rather I
shold lete me drawe than I shold' telle it ageyn." "Ye,*' sayd" the

33 wyf of Cathonet, "maye I truste in yow?" "Ye, by * feyth," *[Oaxton,
saith the other woman. She tooke her feythe and? her othe. And"
thenne to her she told" and' discouered' her secrete, how her
lord' had" slayne themperours sone, and' his herte, confyted' in

36 spyces, had' sente to themperour his fader and' to his moder, &

198 HOW CATIIONKT WAS CONDEMNhD TO DIK

[Oaxton.] jjo^y. ii^Qy Ijj^j g^Q Qf }jj^ rpijjg ^voman maade a Crosse, as sfie
were soro mcruoylled, ancT saycT that she shokr kepe hit
secretely. But certaynly her taryengo there, after that she
knewe hit, thought her longe, for to haue go ancT telle it to 4

t!ii9 woman other.* For, as soone as she was departed fro Cathons hows,

told tlio ' ^ '

empress what gj-jg wento forthwith whcre thcmperours wyf was, and' came

C athoiiet (< i j }

w^fe had told ^^^^ kiKled" before her, and' sayd) " Madame to your goo J grace
I wyll speke secretely of a grete counceylle." And" thenne 8
themperesse commaunded her ladyes to go aparte, And' the
sayd'' woman beganne thus to speke: *' Madame, the grete loue
whiche I here vnto yow, and" for the grete good" that ye haue
done to me, And' as I truste that ye yet wyll doo, maketh me 12
to come hyder for to telle yow a grete counceylle, the whiche I
wold' not telle but to youre persone ; For I myght not suffre ne
and this she sec your dishonour, for none erthely good". Madame, it is so
envy to that yc loue anJhaue dere, Cathonet, more than ony other, as it 16

Cathonet. ,

appyercth wel; For ye haue made hym gouernour of the Cyte
of Rome, And' ye stewed hym gretter loue whanne ye gaf to
hym the kepynge of your sone, to whome he hath hold' such
felauship that he hath slayne him, And^ hath take his hert out of 20
his bely. And wel dressyd' and confyted? in sugre and spyces, and'
hath made yow to ete it." " What saye ye 1" sayd' themperours
wyf. '' Madame," sayd sTie, " I telle yow trewe for certayn ; For
I knowe this by the mouthe of Cathonets wyf, whiche, sorowful 24
and wepynge, told it to me in grete counceylle." And whanne
The empress themperesse herd? her so speke, she with a hyghe voys beganne
grieve, and {q cryc, and' made suche a sorowe that it was pvte to see, In

told the "^ rj }

emperor, gQQ moche that the tydynges came to themperour, how the 28
Emperesse made so grete sorowe. Themperour was sore
abasshed. And" came there as themperesse was, and? demaunded?
of her why she maade suche sorowe; And? she, with hyghe
pleynt, ansuerd? and' reherced to him al that the damoysell had 32
told her of theyr sone. And whan themperour wyst that they
» [Caxton, had eten * the herte of theyr child, he bicame ryght angre
who ordered and? sorowfull. And? commaunded that Cathonet shold? forthwith
be put to be take and hanged' in the myddes of Rome, there as the folke 3^

death.

THROUGH TRUSTING HIS WIFE WITH A SECRET. 199

mjghi loke on hym as vpon a fals murderer and tray tour. [Caxton.]
His Serffeaunts wente and" toke liym anone, and" toU hym the i^ut the

° . . omcers, for

commaundement of themperour, and that it was for his sone ''/veof

'■ ' ( athonet,

4 whiche he had'slayne. Cathonet thcnne sayJto them, "It is no t,7,'"[°e*^,lgj[^
nede that al that men sayn be trouthe; ye shall put me in ^^y*
pryson, and shalle say that it is to late to make ony execu-
cion of lustyce, And" that to-morowe I shall be hanged" before
8 the peple." The sergeaunts loued' hym moche, and? soo dyd'
alle manere of folke ; they dyd' as he badde them to doo, And"
thenne wente and sayd? to the Emperoure and" themperesse that
hit were for the beste to make lustyse of hym on the morowe

13 nexte comynge, and' that hit was to late, and" how more
people shold' thenne be gadered' and? assembled' for to see hym.
And the Emperour, whiche made grete sorowe for his sone,
graunted hit.

i6 And* notwithstondynge this, in the meane whyle that Ca- Cathonet

meantime

thonet was conueyed' to pryson, he callyd? to hym a Squyer of sent a squire
his, And? seyd? to hym, "Goo to suche a knyfjht that kepeth t^^at kept the

'•'''' *' ^ ^ emperor s

themperours sone, and' telle hym how the Emperour weneth ^"°'
2o that I haue put hym to dethe, And? that he faylle not to be
here to-morowe with hym before the houre of pryme, or els I
shalle be in grete perylle to receyue a shameful dethe." This
Squyer departed", and' soo faste rode and" waloped", that that
24 nyght he came aboute one of the cloke after mydnyght there as
Cathonet hadde take to kepe the sone of the Emperoure, as to
his trewe and" good' Frende, whiche was a trewe man, and'whowas

his friend.

moche wyse, And" merueyllously they loued" eche other. The
a8 squyr beganne to calle wyth an hyghe voys, And' dyd? soo

moche, that he came tofore the bedde there as the trewe and?

noble Baron laye, And? told" hym how somme had" done byleue

to the Emperour that Cathonet hadde slayne his sone, And"
32 how hit was ordeyned that he shold? be on that next morowe

hangedl

And? as the Baron herd' this, he was sore abasshed", & moche And the

^ ^ ^ baron arose

* merueylled" of this auenture ; & forthwith he rose onte of his *[Caxton,
36 bedde, and" made his men to be redy, and" came to the bedde

200 HOW CATHONET WAS SAVED

icajton] where the sone of themperour lay, ancT tolcT to hym the
The prTnce't Hieiueyll. AncT whanne the child vnderstooir it, he had" grete
toidhira sorowe in his herte, For ouermochc he loued Cathonet his
cathonet. maystre. Here I leue to speke of the Baron, and" of thempe- 4

rours sone, and" tourne ageyne to speke of Cathonet, whiche was

in pryson.

CHAPTER C}:LI.

How they wold" hange Cathonet. Capitulo C xlj.

was much Athonet was merueyllously loued in Rome of all maner of 8

loved by the C...

Romans, folkc, as he that was wyse, humble, trewe, and curtoys,

and' whan the morow was come, he sayd' to one his grete
frend', that at all auenture he shold* make the hangmen of the
towne to hyde them self secretely somwher tyll it were about 12
the houre of tierce. And' he dyd' as he had prayd hym to doo.
Cathonet thenne, aboute the houre of pryme, was conueyed to

who grieved tjjg ffalhows of alle the peple of Rome, whiche made grete

as they saw ° r i. ' o

''aJiovrV'' ^^* sorowe for hym; And" yet gretter sorowe had' they made, but 16
they wened" veryly that he had' done the dede of whiche he
was accused', wherof they had' grete merueylle; And' sayd*
emonge them " How may suche a wyse man haue be so sore
tempted? of the deuylle, that he hath slayne themperours sone? 20
how may this be 1 " Of this faytte was grete talkynge amonge
them : Somme byleued? hit, And' somme sayd' it was not so.
Neuertheles he was had' to the galhows, and" was asked' after
hangman ^^^ hangman, but he coude not be found' there; wherof hit 24
found,"*' ^ beff lie a grete merueylle, for he whiche Cathonet had' respyted?
& saued' fro dethe as men led" hym to be hanged? came forthe
and the man ^ sayd, " Lordes, the dede is fowle, dishonest, and? vy lay nous,
Kived"from**^ ^"^ ^^^* ^^^ ^^^^ ^^ themperour I offre my self to doo thoffyce, 28
Jfhanfhim 7^ ^here be none other that wylle doo hit." Euery man loked'
^^'^' thenne on hym & sayd, " Is not that he to whome Cathonet

graunted' his lyf whanne he was newe putte in thofiFyce of
gouernourl" " Certaynly," sayd" the other, "hit is he & none 32
other, withoute fawte." Wherfore, in token and' signe of a grete
•[Caxton, merueyll^, they blessyd' * them with thejT.* handes, sayeng,

n. ii.b.]

^ Caxton, meeueyll.

BY THE emperor's SOX. 201

" He is wel a foole that saueth ancT respyteth ony theef fro the [Caxton.]
galhows ! " Cathon[et] thenne loked on hyra, and sayd", " Thou
arte wel passyng redy. Remembryst not thow the tyme passed"?
4 but thus gone the merueylles of the worldl" And as soone as Just then a

great cry was

he had" sayd" these wordes, there was a grete nombre of men al heard,
on horsback, whiche made grete clamour, and" cryed', " Put not
to dethe the trewe man Cathonet ! "

CHAPTER CXLII.
8 How themperouis sone'* came to saue his mayster Cathonet,
and' of his escape. Capitulo C xlij.

Nd whan the people perceyued" and sawe the horses and the
rennynge toward' them, and' sawe anone the sone of son came on

horseback,

12 themperour, whiche cryed, "Touche not, neyther ley hand

on my maysters body, for I am alyue ! " they were gretely
merueylled'. The child" anone lyght of his hors, and" wente and*
vnbonde his mayster, & sore wepyng, kyssed hym ful tendirly

i6 & said, "Ha, a ! my swete frend & maister ! who hath this pur- to save his

master

chaced, & so grete a lesyng tounde & contryued vpon you, the Cathonet;
which my lord my fader hath so lyghtely byleued ? " And thenne
he embraced & kyssed hym ageyne ; & al the people, whiche was

30 gretely merueylled, as they sawe the pyte & good nature of
the child', thanked & mercyed God with al theyr hertes, of the
delyueraunce of Cathonet. The child' made his mayster to be
sette on horsbak, & ledde hym thurgh the stretes of Rome by and led him

24 the raynes of his brydell, till they came in to the palais where peror.
themperour his fader was. And whanne themperour and? his
wyf knewe for certayne the comynge of theyr sone, they wente
and' met hym with grete loye ; and' as they sawe hym ledynge

28 his mayster Cathonet by the raynes, they were gretely
merueylled', & held them ashamed? and vergoynous toward?
Cathonet, and' cam to hym, and" eche of them kyssed" hym,
and' made to hym the grettest ioye and" chere and? the grettest

33 honoure that they couthe, And' excused them toward" hym of
this dede. Thenne sayd'the child' to his fader themperour, " Ha !
my lord', wylle ye vse of so hasty lustyce, withoute makynge of

* soue, Caxton.

202 CATIIONET TELLS THE EMPEROR

[Caxion] none cnqucfetc vpon tlie dede or faytte? For a man of so hyghe

Lk'dllu " estate as ye bo, stiold & oujt to be more blamed thcrfore, tlian

c?itho"etr to be danipned' and" *defctroyed'withoute cause, it had' be grete 4

njii!f ''"' Pyte and' grete doramage; AiiJcertaynly neuer after I sliold'hauo

bad loye in my berte. For yf I can ony good', it cometh of

bym." Themperour ansuerd", " Fayr sone, hit was euylle done

of vs, and" in this we haue gretely offended" and" gete shame, but 8

the loue that we haue in the, and the trust that we haue in

thyn preferrement, toke reason fro vs, and bestoumed' our

but Cathonct wyttc." Thcnne spake Cathonet, and" sayd" to themperour, *' Syre,

told them uU

how his merueylle vow not of this thynffe ; I shalle now telle vnto yow, la

father had *^ •' ./ o

sent for him ^j^y ^1 this was savd'. Mv fader, whiche in his tyme was a

onhisdeati-- *' j j » ^

^^* ryght wyse man and a trewe, and' borne in this land", shewed to

me many good? eiiseygncmentes, yf I had be so wyse to haue
had" them euer stylle in memorye ; AuJ yet as he was seke in 16
his bedde, and' nyghe at his last ende, he callyd" me to hym,
as he whiche moche desyred' that I myght lerne and" knowe sora

and advised good', and? prayd? me that I wold" wel kepe in my memorye thre

enseygnements, emonge al other that he before that badde 20
taught to me, the whiche I wylle now recorde and" declare
them, to thende that they may be ensample in tyme to come to
euery man, as to hym to whome they haue happed', and" that
done the contrarye. 34

CHAPTER CXLIII.

How Cathonet told themperour of the lore of his fader,

and" of his escape. Capitulo C xliij.

teke any* *° "[f I 1 -^® fyrst enseygnemcnt that he taught me was thys, that

S^'emperor ; | 1 y^ ^"^^ ^^^ g^^ ™^ chaunce and' good' ynough, that I 28

shold" thank e hym moche of hit, and" haue in me suffy-
saunce, and" not coueyte ne aske more of Godl And" by cause
I sbold" haue suffysaunce, he commaunded' and' charged" me that
neuer I shold" put my self in subiection of none offyce vnder my 32
Bouerayne lordl For yf I dyd" so, by couetyse of more good',
somme enuyous, by somme fals repporte, shold? make me to

OF HIS FATIIEirs ADVICE. 203

lese my goocT ancT my self also. And" that hit was a pcryllous [Caxton.]

thynge to serue ony prynce or grete lorcT of lyght ancT hasty

wylle ; For many one ther ben whiche * enquereth them not *lCaxton,

4 yf the repporte to them made is trewe or not, wherfor the
commaundements of suche liasty lordes ben straunge and'
peryllous, as ye now haue sene how this ensample is to me,
whiche almost hath be shamefulle & greuable. And' yf I had

8 byleuyd" the counceyll of my fader, I had" neuer falle in suche
perylle. For, thanked' be God', I had' of erthely goodes ynough,
and' more than I haue deseruyd? to God', and" myght wel haue
deported" my self of takynge of thoffyce. The second' ensey^ne- second : to

IT J JO J JO g,v(j respite

13 ment was, that I neuer shokr respyte ne saue to no man his lyf, {jjjjj^j^^^"
whiche had' deserued' to deye, and' in cspeciall a theef or an dS^InV^
homycyde, whiche were custommed' to theftes and" murdre of
folke ; And' that, yf I dyd] I shold' euer be partener of alle

1 6 suche euylle dedes that they myght doo afterward! And this
commaundement I haue enfrayned' and broken. For this daye
haue I sene hym, whiche I haue respyted'hym fro the shamefulle
dethe, that offred' and' presented' hym self for to be the hang-

20 man of my body : ly tell reward' he offred? to me. The thyrd" third, to

prove

enseygnement was that I shold' essaye my wyf or euer I shold? whether his
discouere to her ony grete counceylle ; For therin is to grete ^^ep his
paryll. Neuertheles ther ben some that can wel kepe secretely

24 what men saye to them, and" in the whiche men fynd' good?
counceylle and comforte; And? other also whiche that can no
thynge kepe in secrete. And* thenne, as I me bethought how I
had* broken and done ageynst the ij enseygnmentes of my

a 8 fader, I thought and' sayd' in my self that I shold' preue and?
essaye the thyrdl Wherefore that other daye, as I was a bedde
wyth my wyf, I awaked? her, and, for to essaye her wylle, I
sayd' to her that I had? slayne the sone of themperour, and" that

33 his herte, confyted' in spyeces, I had? made themperour and' his
wyf to ete hit, And' that, for the loue of whiche she loued me,
she shold" kepe this in secrete, soo that none myght neuer
knowe no thynge of hit. Now haue I proued" and' essayed' how

36 she hath kepte secretely my counceylle, as euery one maye now

204

WORDS ONCE SPOKEN CANNOT BE RECALLED.

[Ctixton.] f-ee and knowe. But I gyue me not to grete morueylle therof ;
For hit is not of newe, how that a woman can not kepe necretely
that whiche men eayen to her in counce}lle.

*[Caxton,
n. iiii.]

Tlien
Cathonet
gave up hia
office,

and the
emperor
gave him
great gifts.

As the shaft
from the bow,
80 the word
from the
mouth cannot
be recalled.

CHAPTER CXLIV.

* How Cathonet exposed his auenture, or hap. 4

Capitulo [C] xliiij.

Ow haue ye herd" how it is happed' to me by cause I dyd"
not byleue the counceylle of my Fader, whiche was so
trewe and'wyse a man. To me theifore is come almost a 8
grete euylle." And" notwithstondynge, thus sayd" Cathonet to
themperour, "Syre, I rendre and" discharge me of your oflyce, And'
from hensforth I shalle not be enipecheJof hit." And' he therof
was discharged' with grete payne. Neuertheles he was receyued' '^
for to be mayster of the grete counceill of Rome, And" in
especiall of the grete fayttes and' dedes ; And? themperour made
hym to haue grete prouffitees, and' gaf hym grete yeftes, and'
loued' hym aboue al other, And' regned' moche holyly in the 16
loue of God and" of the peple. And" therfore, my fayre doughters,
this is here a good' ensample how ye ought to kepe the
counceyll of your lord) and not telle it to no body, what
someuer it be. For ofte comen therof many euyls ; and' for to 20
be secrete, and"' specially in suche thyng that is deffended^, may
not come sauf only goodl And' in lyke wyse as the shafte
is departed' fro the bowe, must take her flyght and? cours, and'
neuer cometh ageyne to the bowe tyll it haue smyte somme 24
thynge, Soo is the word' whiche yssued" oute of the mouthe
lyke it ; For after that he is put out of the mouth, it may neuer
be put in-to the mouthe ageyne, but that it shal be herd, be it
good' or euylle. Wherfor we oug^t wel to haue in our memorye 38
the saynges and' auctory tees of the wyse Salamon, whiche sayth
that men must thynke on the wordes twyes or thryes, or
they be putt oute of the mouthe. And thus ought to doo al
wyse folke; For ouer many grete euyls haue ben done and' 33
engendered' for to haue discouered' the counceyll and' suche
thynges as haue ben sayd' there in counceylle. Therfore I pray

THE EVILS OF HASTY SPEAKING. 205

yow, fayr dougliters, that ye wylle haue this ensample in your [Caxton.]
memory, ancT neuer forgete it. For all good and" worship may
therof come to yow. And' hit is a vertue the whiche escheweth
4 grete hate and? grete enuye, and? many euyls also ; for many Many iiave

lost goods,

one I knowe whiche haue loste moche of theyr goodes, & sufired' and suffered

evil from

many grete euyls, for to haue spoke * to lygttely of other, tpeaking too
and'for to haue reported? suche wordes as they herd? saye, of the *[Caxton,

n. ifii. 6.]

8 whiche they had" nought to doo at al. For none soo wyse is, that
may knowe what to hym is to come. And full of naturel wytte
be they whiche kepe them self fro recordynge of ony wordes ;
For he whiche wythsayeth them that blameth other as wel in
1 2 ryght as in wronge, he doth but wel. And' for to hold" and' kepe
secretely the dommage and? eyulle of other, may come but good",
as hit is reherced? in the booke of my two sonnes, and? also in an
Euangely.

i6 Here fynysshed the booke whiche the knyght of the Toure The

Colophon.
made to the enseygnement and" tecnyng of his doughters, trans-
lated oute of Frenssh into our maternell Englysshe tongue by
me, William Caxton, whiche booke was ended? & fynysshed" the
30 fyrst day of luyn, the yere of oure lord' M CCCC Ixxxiij. And?
enprynted? at Westmynstre the last day of lanyuer the fyrst
yere of the regne of kyng Rychard? the thyrd?.

[Written at end.^

[Iste Liber Pertinet Thomse Lane, &c., Gloucester, gentylman.]
34 [Quod Thomas Lane.]

[Cui scripsit carme/i, sit benedictus. Amen.]

NOTES.

P. 1, 1. 5, the nyiinggnJe. — The translator is accountable for the name of the
nightingale, which he has substituted for the melange of the Knight of La
Tour-Landry. The bird called in French a mdsange is our titmouse, a bird
more naturally associated with the thrustle and the thrush than the night-
ingale. But Caxton also translates it, as the merle, the mauys, the thrastell,
and the nyghtyngale.

p. 2, 1. 10, the queue Proues of Hongrie. — In the original it is si comme
faisoit la royne Prines, qui fa royne de Hongrie. Who was the queen of
Hungary here referred to as having written a book for the instruction of
her daughters appears to be quite unknown. Legrand d'Aussy suggested
that it was Elizabeth of Bosnia, daughter of Louis I, surnamed the Great,
who had three daughters, the eldest of whom was affianced to Louis of
France, comte of Valois, in 1374. ^' Anatole de Montaiglon, the editor
of the French original text of the Book of the Knight of La Tour-Landry,
objects to this explanation that it is inadmissible on account of the date,
but I cannot quite understand the force of this objection, as the mother
would probably have written the book for the instruction, of her daughters
long before the eldest was married. M. de Montaiglon suggests that it was
Jeanne of Bohemia first wife of Jean king of France, who died in 1349,
before her husband became king. It may be added that, in the French
text, the name may be either Prines, or Priues, for Prives, Caxton trans-
lates it, as dide a quene I suppose she was queue of Hoiigry.

p. 8, 1. 32, in ryme. — It is hardly necessary to state that at this period it
was common to write books of instruction of this description in rhyme; and
there is reason to believe that the author of the present book began writing
it in rhyme. See my Introduction,

p. 7, 1. 2, was gone to hide her in a husshe. — The original says that she
was gone into a garden ; en unjardin ou elle estoit reposte et mucde pour
la paour de lui; si estoit en un fort hutsson et disoit vigilles des mors,
Caxton translates it, where as this damoyselle was entred into an hoole,
where as she enirid, and rested there for drede of hym, and that was in
a husshe.

p. 8, 1. 21, she come into the warderdbe to ete hrowesse. — In the French it
is, elle s'en venoit en la garderdbe et la mengoit la souppe au matin ou
aucune lescherie. Caxton translates it, she wente into the garderohs, and
there ete a soupe or somme lycorous thyng.

NOTES. 207

p. 8, 1. 24, rere sopers. — At this time the rere-supper, or arriere souper,
was quite a uew fashion, and only indulged in generally by percjous who
were considered greedy and luxurious in their living and were not satisfied
with the ordinary supper as their last meal in the day, or introduced on
festive occasions when the socialities were continued late at night. There is
a passage in the English translation of the Manuel des Pechiez by Robert
of Brunne, relating to these rere-suppers and their abuse, which is curiously
illustrative of our text. Here, also, the moralist is more especially severe
against those who eat "rere sopers yn pryuytd;" for he tells us, —

**^yt are J)er ou))er rere sopers
With men J)at serue kny^tys and squyers ;
For al J)e day ])an wyl J)ey be
Before here maysters yn soberte.
But whan her© maysters are broght to beJde,
Than wyl J?ey fonde ])at \>ej be fedde,
And sytte vp jjare wyth recolage,
And ^yt do moche more outrage,
To J)e mydnyght ys but a ])rowe,
But hyt be tyl \>q cok krowe."
Mohert of Brunne's Sandlyng Synne, p. 232-3, E.E.T.S., ed. Furnivall.

p. 9, 1. 3, and .ij. of his men. — Le clavier et deux varlez in the original,
which says nothing of the " other women," except that it intimates that
the lady had some of her chamberjnaids with her as well as the varlets, by
the words which immediately follow, un de ses varlez, qui tenoit rehmssee
une des femmes de chambre. The whole is a curious picture of medieval
life.

p. 9, 1. 18, sette a colte, etc. — In the original the saying appears as a
rhyming couplet or proverb : —

" Mettez poulain en amb^ ure,
II la tendra tant comme il dure."

p. 9, 1. 32, about prime. — i.e. 6 o'clock a.m., according to our reckoning,
which was at this period the ordinary hour of dinner, and supper was
usually taken about 4 p.m.

p. 14, 1. 20, Ther loas a lorde that y Jcnew. — The original text informs us
that this lord was Messire de Craon, or, as one of the manuscripts reads,
Messire Pierre de Craon. Pierre de Craon was a well-known baron of this
time, lord of La Suse, Chantoce, BrioM, and Ingrande; he died on the
15th of September, 1376. Caxton also has, and this is my lord of Craon.

p. 15, 1. 11, and the knight leuid that tolde her of the tailour. — These
words are not found in the French text, and their meaning is not very
clear.

p. 16, 1. 7, had .iij. faire doughtres. — So it is in Caxton's translation.
The French text says four daughters, as printed by M. de Montaiglon.

208 NOTKS.

And the Englinh trauslation id evidently wrong and apparently imperfect
lower down, where it represents the following words of the French ; Et la
ij Jille avoit il uierveilleg de plait et de parollet, et renpondoit sonveut et
menu atant qu'elle peust tout entendre ce dont on luy parloit ; la tierce
ue»toit pas la plus helle <l deciser, mais elle egloit hien la plus wjffriable,
et si avoit l^ mani^re et le maiiUien seur et fenne, el paroloit asset pou et
hien meurement, et son restart esfoit humble etfeiiae, plus que de nulle des
iiij. Yet the error may perhaps lie in the I'rench text, as it now stands,
which says nothing whatever of a fourth daughter. Caxton translates, more
ferine and humble than oy that other two.

p. 19, 1. 3, Amesse, the kingyes doughtt-r of Aragon. — The name of the
king's daughter, Amesse, does not occur in the French text, and it is proba-
bly a mere error of the English translator, who misread the words, la jille
ainanie au roy d'Arrugon. Caxton translates it, lyke as dyde the yonger
douyhter of Arragon ^

p. 22, 1. 10, Ther was a woman that had a pie in a cage. — The well-
known medieval story of the pie (or magpie) is found in several different
forms, and in one form or other is often repeated by the medieval conteurs.
In nearly the same form as told here, it is the subject of a much more
modern story.

p. 23, 1. 27, She was a ladi of Fraunce. — The original text adds that
' the lady was the dame de Languillier, and adds tliat her lord had full

fifteen hundred pounds a-year, and not five hundred. Languillier is in
Anjou. M. de Montaiglon reminds us that this same story is told in the
thirty-seventh novel of the Heptameron of the queen of Navarre, without
any names, but as having occurred in Anjou. Caxton has, this good lady
was lady of Languyller.

p. 24, 1. 11, And so with her goodly wordes. — The translator has here
represented very imperfectly the words of the original, which are : — " ^t
aucunes fois, par ces doulces parolles, le cuer lui en pit^oit et ien gardoit
une grant pilce. Et ainsi toute sa tie, par grant obeissance et par grant
courtoisie h vainquoit ; car par autre voie Jamaiz ne Veust vaincu, et tant
que au derrenier il s'en repentist et se chastia.^*

p. 24, 1. 18, worse, not vnthstondinge. — This should have been printed,
worse. Notwithstondinge, as the latter word evidently begins a new
paragraph,

p. 26, 1. 15, Sit happed onis. — This story of the wager of the three
husbands occurs, I am sure, elsewhere in medieval literature, but I cannot
at present call to mind where.

p. 26, 1. 16, from a faiere. — In the original it is, venoient de Vemplette
de querre draps de Rouen. Caxton has. In a tyme it happed that mar-
chaunfes of Fraunce cam from certayn fayres, where as they sought dra-
perye, and as they cam with marchaundysefro Roan.

p. 27, 1. 17, rere eggis. — In the French oeufs moUs. Eggs that are

Caxton : Aaragon.

NOTES. 209

underdone. Here eggs are not unfrequently spoken of in the treatises on
Diet and Health published in the sixteenth century. In the Promptorium
we have " Rere, or nesche, as eggys, moUis."

p. 30, 1. 1, and an other lorde. — According to the French original, this
other lord was the sire de Beaumanoir, who is identified with Jean lord of
Beaumanoir, marechal of Brittany, the same who fought with the thirty
Bretons. His first wife, who is believed to be the one alluded to here, was
Tiphaine de Chemilld (in Anjou) ; and his son, Jean lord of Beaumanoir,
who died in 1385, married the daughter of Duguesclin. In Caxton it is, and
of the lord of Beatnnout, fader of hym that is noiv lord. (T. W.)

p. 30. 1. 26, the princesses and ladyes of Inglond". — The original is,
la princesse et autres dames d'Angleterre. The allusion is of course to the
Princess of Wales, wife of the Black Prince. Our translator has, apparently
from a feeling of patriotism, omitted a passage at the end of this speech,
which stands in the original as follows : — Et aussy par renommde Von tient
les dames de France et de cestes basses marches les meilleurs dames qui soient
et les moins blasmees. Mais en Angltterre en a moult de hlasmees, si comme
Von dist ; si ne sgay se cest d tort ou a droit. • (T. W.)

p. 80, 1. 28, gentitt women shulde sonner take the gise after good women.
— Compare our Knight's words with Robert of Brunne's Tales concerning
new fashions, Handlyng Sinne, p. 116, and his subsequent remarks,
wherein we are told : —

NoJ)eles, of ])e newe gy.se

\>e deuyl haj) made hymself chefe iustyse. 118/3401.
'' Mercy," in Mankind, Macro Plays, 7/177, is a little more lenient : —
The goode new gyse now-a-days, I wyli not dysalow ;

I dyscomende J^e vycyous gyse ; I prey haue me excusyde ;
I nede not to speke of yt ; yowur reson wyii tell it yow ;

Take ))at ys to be takyn, & leue ])at ys to be refusyde. (J. M.)
p. 81, 1. ZO, for flies hidethe hem therinne. — In the original it is, les paces
s'g miicent. (T. W.)

p. 32, 1. 9, a knight that toas a man toise of toordes. — The original is, et
Id fut le mareschal de Clermont, qui d merveilles avoit le silcle d main ;
which is translated by Caxton, ther toas the marchal of Clermont, ivhiche
merueiloussly had the tvorld in honde. This was Jean de Clermont, lord of
Chantilly, marechal of France, who was slain in the battle of Poictiers. (T.W.)
p. 32, 1. 31, Bursygannt. — Bouciqnantm the original. The person here
alluded to was the father of the famous Jean de Maingre de Boucicaut,
mardchal of France and governor of Gennes ; he was sent on an embassy
to the Duke of Burgundy by Charles V, and died at Dijon in 1367. (T.W.)
p. 34, 1. 6, ihei saide tlieg ivolde drawe cutte. — See my remarks con-
cerning these words under " Phrases." (J. M.)

p. 34, 1. 19, a man that loas acused. — The anecdote here related is the
same which is told elsewhere of Jean de Meung, one of the authors of the
celebrated Roman de la Rose. See the life of the author in M«ion's edition
of that celebrated poem. (T. W.)

210 NOTES.

p. 3d, 1. 0, hetwene suche a lorde and me. — The original ix, Ven parle
moult de mid de moy et dt inun seiyneur de Craon. (T. W.)

p. 86, 1. 8, notwithistondingt he and y hadit gret commuuicaclon diuerte
tyiaes, hut it was neuer in no neleni, nor in no euett thought nor in dede. —
The original of this is,Je ne dy viie qu'il ne couchast en nion lit, inuiz cefut
tang villennie et sans mat y penser. This is the reading of the beat manu-
scripts; but one, of* inferior authority, has, perhaps tliiough a desire of the
writer to diminish what we might consider the scandal of the lady's avowal,
je ne dis pas qiCil ne me touchat en mon lit. In all cases, it is a singular
illustration of the freedom of medieval manners. (T. W.)

p. 38, 1. 25, and euer lowly to her God. — The translation is imperfect ;
in the original it is, et fut dis tors en avant moult humble envers Dieu, which
Caxton translates, and was euer after moche humble toivarde God. (T. VV.)
p. 39, 1. 21, suche a carion as is youre body. — An example of the attitude
that the distorted medieval mind adopted towards earthly things and their
joys. Compare the lines on p. 38 : wwldely peple, the tohiche are but domje
and erthe, and on p. 11, so is the bodi domjge, ivormes, andfelthe; and also
the words of " Mankind " in Mankind, p. 8, Macro Plays, E. E. T. S. : —
Thys ys to me a lamentable stoiy,

To se my flesch, of my souli to haue gouernance :
Wher ))e goode wyff ys master, J)e goode-man may be soiy.
A-lasse ! what was J)i fortune and ])i chaunce,

To be assocyat with my flesch, J)at stynkyng dunge-hyH.
Many other similar examples could be cited, (J. M.)

p. 41, chap. xxix. — This tale of the fiends and the parchment is to
be found in Dr. Furnivall's Eobert of Brunne's Handlyng Synne, and else-
where : —

As y redde J>at yche tyde

Twey wymmen langled ))ere besyde ;

Betwyx hem to, y say a fende

with penne and parchemen yn honde,

And, wrote alle ])at euer J)ey spake,

Pryuyly be-hynde here bake :

whan hys rolle was wryte alle ful,
To drawe hyt oute he gan to pul ;
with hys tefe he gan to drawe.
And harde for to tugge and gnawe,
f>at hys rolle to-braste and rofe ;
And hys hede ajens J)e walle drofe.

Handlyng Synne, p. 291, E. E. T. S. (J. M.)
p. 43, 1. 5, the person. — au chappelain in the original, which is rather
imperfectly translated here : si avint la nuit ensuivant en avision au
chappelain par .ij.foiz ou par iroix. (T. W.)

p. 48, 1. 18, holdinge in her honde a cote and a smoche. — The words
of the original are tine cotte et une chemise. (T. W.)

p. 51, 1. 10, And thanne, &c. — This sentence should have been printed as

NOTES. 211

follows : And iJtanne she iolde the squier aft that had hehai^'pcd her.
Notioifhsiondirif/e he had hoped to haue tamed her; hut she loas so ufermed
in goodnesse, that it rvolde not he. (T. W.)

p. 51, 1. 24, Oure Lady of Beaulyon. — In the original it is, «ne eglise
qui est en ma terre, et a nam Nostre-Dame de Beaulieu. M. de Mont-
aiglon has remarked that the place alluded to as being in the Knight's
lands (which lay on the borders of Anjou and Brittany) may have been
either T?eaulieu in the neighbourhood of Loches or Beaulieu near Mans.
Caxton read it very corruptly, oure lady of Bealem. (T. W.)

p. 51, 1. 27, Pers Lenard", — In the original the name is Perrot Luart.
Caxton has, Perrot Lenard. It m.ay be remarked that a similar miracle is
related in several of the medieval religious legends; in one a Welsh king
and his queen are the offenders. In Furnivall's edition of Robert of
Erunne's Handlyng Synue, p. 281, E.E.T.S., we have the story of a man and
his wife who had fled for safety to a monastery, and been allowed by the
abbot to take shelter for the night in a chamber adjoining the church, in
which they committed a similar offence, and, as it was too near the sacred
edifice, they were punished by a similar miracle. Robert of Brunne dwells
at length on the greatness of this ofi'ence in a manner that would lead us
to suppose that it was not uncommon. (T.W.)

p. 51, 1. 27, sergeaunt of Candee. — The French text, as edited by M. de
Montaiglon, has sergent de Cande en la mer, but he informs us that one of
the MSS. omits the words en la mer, and another reads, sergent de garde
en Vannee. (T. W.)

p. 52, 1. 14, called Chime/ere. — The original has ime ahhaye qui a nom
Chievre Faye. It was the abbey of Chievrefaye in Poitou. The French
text says that the church had been damaged through the wars; dont Ves-
glise a esie empiree pour les guerres. M. p. 81. (T. W.)

p. 52, 1. 17, that hight Pigreet. — In the different MSS. of the French
original he is called Pigitre, Pigere, and Pigeree. Caxton read the name
Pygrere. (T.W.)

p. 52, 1. 29, of loiie of mariage. — M. de Montaiglon has remarked in a
note here, by way of explaining this sentiment, that, since the times of the
barbarians, the church usually served as a place of refuge in time of war ;
and as people under such circumstances lived in it as in a house, the eccle-
siastical authorities had granted to married people a permission to do that
which would not have been prevented by its refusal. (T.W.)

p. 53, 1. 8, thei that seethe the good, &c. — In M., p. 82, this is given as
a popular saying in rhyme, —

Qui le bien voit et le mal prent,

A bon droit puis s'en repent. - (T.W.)

p. 58, 1. 29, For the ivhiche folyus dede.—M., p. 94: Si avons cy grant
exemple comment par le trespassement dhme petite pomme soyent devenus
tant de douleurs et de maidx. (T.W.)

p. 60, 1. 29, For y knoio a man. — In M., p. 95, it is, Dont je congnetix
nn haron. (T.W.)

14—2

212 xoTis.

|». Gl, 1. 33, Ihcil in shrijfle ejcuailhe hem and ]>olijn«hithc her ityuue. — ■
This duty imposed upon the female sex, to deBcrihe their uitiH and vices
fully and minutely, is continually infusted upon by the eccle(iia«tieal writers,
and was no doubt one of the moHt objectionable parts of the p<jpiah .system of
confession, and led to endless disorders. In M., p. 96, it is, «t «e excusent
en letir confession devant leur prestre, et pollicent leur meffait, cest-d-diie
quilz ne dienl pas tears pechUs sy vilinent comme ilz ont mejffait, et en ont
honte de le dire ; maiz ilz n'avoient pas hunte de lefaire. (T, W.)

p. 62, 1. 11, tempered her and made her erre. — This appears to have been
miswritten by the English scribe. In M., p. 97, it is, la fist pechier et
errer. (T.W.)

p. 62, 1. 22, and hadde high homes. — In M., p. 98, et estoient Men
branchues et avoient grans comes. Caxton translates it, (he remenaunt of
their heedes was hjJce two Jiarnes. An allusion to the head-dresses of the
ladies, which at this time were made in the form of two long pointed horns
standing out one from each side of the head, and were a fertile subject of
derision to contemporary satirists. (T.W.)

p. 63, 1. 4, and shelved her brechis. — In the original, this is explained
much more fully and plainly: II dist que les femmes qui estoient ainsy
cormieget branchues ressamblent les limas corniis et les Z/corwe* (sometimes
the head-dresa was formed of one horn projecting forward), et que elles
faisoient les comes aux hommes cows vestas, qui monslroient leurs culz et
leurs hrayes et ce qui leur boce devant, c'est leur vergoigne, et que ainsi se
mocquoient et hourdoient Vun de Vaiitre, c'est le court vestu de la cornue
(M., p. 98). This will be best explained by comparing it with Chaucer's sa-
tirical description of contemporary costume in the Persones Tale. (T.W.)

p. 64, 1. 1, fouled al her clothes and array. — This story forms the six-
teenth in the Latin Disciplina Clericalis of Peter Alfonsi, and also in The
C'astoiement in French verse, printed in Barbazan, vol. ii. p. 125. (T.W.)

p. 64, 1. 23, there was onis a gentitt woman. — This part of the Knight's
book, which forms chapter xlix. of the original, is very much abridged, and,
in fact, a great part of it omitted, in our translation. It was not the bishop
who told this story of the "gentili woman" in his preaching, but a lady of
the acquaintance of the Knight of LaTour-Landry, who, as an eye-witness,
told it to him as having happened on the fc^ast of St. Margaret (July 20) in
the same year in which he entered it in his book, which he says was A.D.
1372, so that he had already spent more than a year in its compilation.
Dontje vous en diray une merveille que une bo)ine dame me compta en cest
an, qui est Van mil trois cens Ixxij. Caxton translates this account of the
strange head-dress as follows: — For her clothyng and araye was different
and no thyng lyJce to theyr, and therfore she had tvel Iter part heholdyng
and loJcyng. Thenne said the good ladyes to her, " My f rend e, telle ye vs,
yf it please yow, how ye name that aray that ye haue on yoare heed ? " She
answerde and saide, " The galhoirs aray.'^ " God blesse rs," said the good
lady, "the name of hit is not fair e.'^ . . . As f erre as I me rememhre of it,
hit was hyghe culewed tvith longe pynnes of syluer vppon her hede^ after the

NOTES. 213

tnah/n(/c and viancr of a fjyhet or galhcnvs, rujht stiaunfje and menieylous
to se. (T. W.)

p. QQ, 1. 30, for that fire dothe hut purge and dense on sinfuU delite.
That Jire signifies a fire of seveu years. The French text is more explicit
than the English: Si reyardez que pour uu pechie cells fat taut en fen ;
mats hien puet csire, si comme dii le saint horns, que ilz avoient commis ce
delit environ x. ou xij.foiz ; car pour chascun fait el delit ten est rij. ans
0(1 feu de pnrgatoire, non obstant la confession, car lefeu de vij. ans n^est
que pour espurgier et purifier Vame de chascun faulx delit (p. 107). And on
p. 108 we read again, pour chacune foiz que Vea le fait, Ven est rij. ans ou
feu ct enjlamhe en purgatoirc, non obstant la confession. (J.M.)

p. 67, 1. 7, a gotone of .iiij."^^. or rj^''^ scutis. — The original has, qui ont
hien le cuer a f aire acheter tine robe de Ix. ou de iiii.^'^. francs ; mais elles
iendroient a grant chose se elles avoient don)i6 pour Dieu un sent franc ou
une cote d'un franc a un povre homme. Caxton has, And yet many one is
in this u'orld that tvel haue the courage soo prowde, that icel they dare hye
gotvnes of thre or four e score crownes, and yet thynlcyng hit of lytel prys,
that yf so tvere they must gyue to poure folks two or thre shyllynges they
shold holde that ouermoche. In what follows, the original is again abridged
in the translation. (T. W. )

p. 67, 1. 15, holy ivomen that were seintis. — The French text specifies
sainte Elisabeth, sainte Katherine, et sainte Ayathe. (J.M.)

p. 69, 1. 14, tolde me of a lady. — The original is, Je vy une baronnesse
hien grant dame, laquelle Ven disoit qu'elle se fardoit. Caxton translates
it more literally, I saive a baronnesse, ryght a hyghe and noble lady
of lygnage, the tvhiche as men saide hlanhed and popped or peynted
her self. (T.W.)

p. 69, 1. 18, more thanne .iiij.**'. goivnes. — In the original, plus de Ix,
paires de robes. (T. W.)

p. 70, 1. 6. Bovhmadame. — In the original it is, Nostre Dame de Roche-
madour. This was a well-known place of pilgrimage near Cahors, famous
in the middle ages for the miracles performed there. (T. W.)

p. 70, 1. 28, the citee of Venges. — In the original this is given more fully
and correctly, et pour ce devint comine une pierre, tout aussy comme Saint
Martin de Verio, quant il fist fond re la cite de Erbanges, qtii estoit en
Veveschi6 de Nantes, &c. The life of St. Martin de Verto is printed by
Mabillon in the Acta Sanctorum Ordinis S. Benedicti. The city of Her-
banges is called in the Latin life of the saint Herbadilla. (T. W.)

p. 71, 1. 31, And so her brother. — It should be brothers ; in the original,
et les f re res d'elle. (T. W.)

p. 71, 1. 34, and made her ete hem. — The French text, very becomingly,
does not supply this information, simply stating, si copperent les choses du
roigne et les jetterent au visaige de leur st<er (p. 115). (J.M.) Caxton,
also, makes no mention of it. (T. W.)

p. 74, 1. 13, acoynted her of the sone of an erle of that couutre (Greece).
— The French text runs, elle (la file du roi de Grlce) accointa lefilz d'nn

214 NOTES.

coulf, qui re/iyruibsa, \>. 117. ^Vithout the mention of this hvst pait tho
war and murder of the dauj^hter seem inexplicable. (J. M.)

p. 74, 1. 23, hewen in tmul pyeces. — This conchision was prohably sug-
gested by tho story of the concubine, Judges xix. 29. See also p. 94 of
this book. (J. M.)

p. 78, Chap. LX. — This cliapter, like the one preceding and one following,
is much abridged in our version. The French text reads tliat the nephew
was nephew of Aaron, and named Finees (Phinees or Pliinelias), and that
the lord was named Zambry (Zambri or Zimri), and was of the lineage of
Simeon (see Numbers xxv. 7, and I Maccabees, ii. 26). The text then
proceeds to condemn the sin of marriage between Christians and folk of
other religions, as Jews or Saracens. (J.M.)

p. 78,1. 21, wo woman shulde in no wijse he with no man allone. See
Ilobert of Brunne's Handlyng Sinne, p. 240, where we arc told, on the
authority of St. Paul, that no man should be alone with a woman. See
also 55/34 of this book. (J. M.)

p. 79, 1. 7, « llopers tviff. — This story, or one closely resembling it, forms
the subject of one of the medieval fabliaux, or stories, but I cannot at pre-
sent refer to it. (T. W.)

p. 80, 1. 15, the p Hour es hrehe. — This was a popular medieval story, and
is found with various modifications. It was the subject of a fabliau pub-
lished under the title of Les Braies au Cordelier, in Barbazan, vol. iii.
p. 169, and analysed by Le Grand d'Aussy, Fabliaux et Contes, vol. i. p. 343,
where other sources of the story are pointed out. (T.W.)

p. 82, 1. 18, tite potte. — This well-known old proverb is given in one of
its French forma in the original text, JEt pour ce est hien dit, que tant va
la cruche a Veaue que le cul y demeure. See Le Roux de Lincy, Livre dea
Proverbes Franyais, tom. i. p. 44. (T. W.)

p. 83, 1. 8, seint Katerine, seint Margarete, seint Luce. — The original
adds, after St. Margaret, de sainte Cristine, for which one of the French
MSS. has sainte Justine. Caxton also has, of saynte Crystyn. (T.W.)

p. 83, 1. 28, Apemena...Verar. — The French text reads Apamena and
Bejart. The London MS. has Berut, and one of the Paris MSS. Baries.
(M. p. 297.) (J.M.)

p. 84, 1. 22, the gret Jcinge Heroudes ^vyff. — This, like some further state-
ments about Herod in a subsequent chapter, was taken from one of the old
legendary histories of Herod. (T. W.) This wife of Herod was Mariamne,
whom he married B.C. 37 in Samaria. When Herod went to Laodicea he
left Mariamne in the keeping of his brother-in-law Joseph. Salome, the
king's sister, spread infamous reports concerning Joseph and his charge, and
Joseph was killed. In 30 B.C. Herod visited Augustine in Rhodes, and
Salome and her mother again made charges, the result being this time, that
Mariamne was slain. This history is given by Josephus. See Byron's
poem "Herod's Lament for Mariamne" in "Hebrew Melodies" and
Voltaire's drama Marinmne. (J. M.)

p. 85, 1. 30, she shulde he mued atf a ycre. — The French text says seven
years. See Glossary under il/^tccZ. (J.M.)

NOTES. 2] 5

p. 86, 1. 2, att a yeere. — Seven years in the French. See note above to
85/30. (J.M.)

p. 86, 1. 25, .«o pore and presumpluons. — The word pore must of course
be a mere error of the scribe for proud; the original has, d fust fier et
presumpcieux. (T. W.)

p. 86, 1. 28, had norisshed the quene after. — Another scribal error. The
French text read?, avoit noxirry la royne Ester, qui fat honnc dame et
juste, p. 136. (J.M.)

p. 87,1. 15, he and his children. — M. luiavecses vij. enffans, p. 137. (J. M.)

p. 88, 1. 27, the hin<j Ataz, and about .h. children. — The French text has
Acas. (T. W.)

p. 90, 1. 5, named Bran. — The French text gives the name more properly,
Breneheast. (T.W.)

p. 90, 1. 5, Sihille. — The French text gives the pretended prophecy of tlie
Sibyl as follows : Ce fust la femme dont Sthille j^arla en prophelisant et
dist : *' Brune vendra de vers Espaigne oil royaame de Gaule, vest
France, qui f era merveilles de cruaultez et puis sera defraicte," p. 141.
To this Montaiglon adds a note, p. 297 : ** Nous n'avons trouve ces vers
de la sibylle ni dans I'ancienne Edition d'Opsopceus, ni dans la nouvelle de
M. Alexandre, ni dans la publication du cardinal Mai. II est certain que
notre chevalier n'a pas eu affaire a d'auciens textes, mais a des remaniments
latins ou fran9oi8 qu'il seroit difficile de retrouver." The edition of
M. Alexandre to which Montaiglon refers was published in Paris, 1841-56.
It was, of course, not likely to contain the prophecy given above. Anciently
the Sibyls were a number of women prophetically inspired by heaven.
Their number is uncertain : Plato mentions one; Martian Capella gives
two, the Cumseau and Phrygian ; Tasso says there were ten ; and the
medieval monks give twelve, each with her particular prophecy and
emblen). The first Sibyl was the daughter of Dardanus and Neso, and from
her the name sprung ; but the most famous is the Cumsean, known best by
her name of Amalthsea. She was beloved of Apollo ; she directed ^neas
in his journey through the underworld ; and it was she who bargained
with Tarquinius for her nine oracular books, and finally sold him three.
These books were preserved in the Capitol, and perished during the war of
Sylla in the fire of 83 B.C. Sibylline fragments were then collected from
various parts ; they were made by Augustus into two books, which were
guarded in the temple of Palatine Apollo until they were burned by
Stilicho early in the fifth century. Meanwhile the Alexandrian Jews had
turned their attention to Greek sibyllines. '* The rise of Jewish apocalyptic
literature of a sibylline character probably dates soon after Alexander the
Great, when Judaism began to look in a spirit of philosophic inquiry into
Greek and Oriental literature, attaching itself to such elements as seemed

congenial The Alexandrian Jews were the first to adopt this course

by fusing the remnants of Greek sibyllism with their native prophecy "
{Enc. Brit, ii, p. 177). The fourteen books of Greek hexameters still
extant, purporting to be sibylline oracles, were the work of these Alexan-

.'2 If) NOTES.

tlrians aud of the early Claidtiana in Kupport of their religion. The Sibyl
thus became looked upon as a divine propheteMS by the early ChriBtians,
although some of them, we learn from Origen, refused to regard her as
Huch. Coming to tlie middle ages, we find God saying, in the nnracle play
of The Annunciatiun :

As moytses sayd, and Isay,
Kyug dauid, and Jeromy,
Abacuk, and danieli,
Sybyll sage, that sayde ay weli,
And myne othere prophetis ati,
As thay haue [said] it shali befat*.

Towneley Plays, 87/47. E. E. T. S.
And in The PiopheU, a play contained in the same volume, the Sibyl
herself enters and prophesies concerning the judgement day, after the
mysterious Latin lines : —

sihilla propheta. — ludicii signum tellus sudore madescit,
E celo rex aduen'et per secla futurus
Scilicet in carne preseus vt iudicet orbem.

Towneley Plays, 6I/163. (J- ^^O
p. 91, 1. 3, called Archana. — Archaria in the original, which reads Phe-
nomia for the Fhanona of our translation, and Anna for Ama. In Caxton
the names are Helchana, Fenenna, and Anna. (T.W.)

p. 92, 1. 3, iviff to Sampson forte. — i.e. Sampson the strong. The origi-
nal is, Samson fort in. (T.W.)

p. 93, 1. 2, thorufjK couetise. — MS. sorough, for thorugTi ; perhaps a mere
?rror of the scribe. The ariginaiWQ, par convoitise d' argent. (T.W.)

p. 95, 1. 17, a gret lords 0/ Grece. — The original makes no mention of
Greece. (T. W.) M. reads, Je vous cliray sur Vexemple de grerie, p. 149.
London MS. has dejlateurs ; Paris 7073 has de grieux.

p. 96, 1. 3, the trouth. — Our translator has here omitted two anecdotes
given by the Knight of La Tour-Landry, which read as follows in Caxton 's
version :

They be lyke to the jouglours, wliiche wylle make of a cole seme and
shewe a fayr thynge ; for they preyse a thyng before the folk, and behynde
them they blame hit ; wherfor one ought not to byleue that what they
sayen. For they retche not what they say, but that they may please yow
and to haue youre loue. And yf ye be wyse, ye ought to knowe them
better than they shalle you, and put them fro yow, and take suche one that
shall telle yow the trouthe and your wele. Suche flaterers deoeyue the
ryche men, as dyd a flaterer to a woman that sold cheses, whiche was
fowle of vysage, and he made her to vnderstonde that she Avas fayr and
praty, and the woman was so folyssh that she wende he had sayd trouthe.
Somtyme she gaf hym a chese, and, as he hadde it and was behyud her
bak, he mocked her of it. I wold ye wyst thexample whiche I sawe in the
toun of Angolosnie, as the duk of Normandy cam before Aguyllon. Ther
were knyjtes which, for to take their disporte, shotte at a marke. And

^'OTJ■s. 217

whaune the duke cam into the parke where as they were for to i)Iaye and
disporte hyra, he demaunded of one of the knyghtes a bowe and an arowe
for to shete. And soono after he had drawen his arowe, there were there
by hyni two or thre that sayd, ** Certaynly my lord shoteth wel." *' Holy
Mary!" sayd another, "how he draweth ryght of mesure ! " "Ha, a!"
sayd the other, *' I wold not be armed, and that he had hit me." And
thus they began to preyse hym; but for to seye trouthe, it was nothynge
els but flateryng, for he shotte the worst of al other. And therfor grete
merueylle is how every flaterer is agreable, and so nioche pleaseth the
lordcs and the ladyes now in these dayes, and how they make them to
byleue that they be stronger and more wyse than they be, and by theyre
flateryng make them to falle in grete surquedrye of them self. (T. W.)

p. 96, 1. 21, ihe tale of i lie squier. — This appears to have been ratlier a
favourite story in the middle ages. It is given in my *' Selection of Latin
Stories," p. 104, from the Promptuarium Exemplorum, and it forms chapter
cxxv. of the Gesta Romanorum, where the squire is made to void a black
crow, instead of laying an eg^. A rather different version of it will be
found in the M^nagier de Paris, torn. i. p. 180. In more recent times it
has been told in French verse by Lafontaine, Fables, liv. viii. fab. 6, and
in English verse by John Byrom, Poems, vol. i. p. 31, who follows the ver-
sion of the Gesta Romanorum. Our translator has only given the Knight
of La Tour-Landry's story imperfectly ; for in the original the gossips raise
the number of eggs not to five only, but to a hundred. (T. W.) This,
however, is in accordance with the London MS. Montaiglon says, p. 297,
" le ms. de L. (i.e. Londres) met a tort cinq au lieu de cenV^ (ceufs). (J. M.)

p. 101, 1. 11, liohoam. — This is Jeroboam. The story of his sick son,
and of the visit of his wife to the blind prophet at Shiloh, may be found in
the Septuagint. (J.M.)

p. 102, 1. 8, dunge of stvalues. — The French is: Si advint que les arron-
delles chierent stiy les yeidx du preudhomme, p. 158. (J.M.)

p. 102, 1. 22, Raguett, that had .rij. hnshondes. — The French text speaks
of Sarra, femme au petit Thohie. Ceste Sarra fat moult preude femme el
fustfilleEagiiel,-p.j^g. (J.M.)

p. 103, 1. 23, blame God.of this dissese. — Not in the French. (J. M.)

p. 105, 11. 1, 3, lohan — The MS. mark of contraction is properly across
the h, and indicates a letter following it, representing its derivation
from the Latin Johannes, like the French Jehan. When the name
was intended to be represented in one syllable in old English, it was
written Jon. (T. W.)

p. 106, 1. 14, as the dethe she dede, &c. — The French is : elle . . . se
ienoit devant luy sy humble et sy dotdces responses donnoit, que pour mourir
elle ne deist et ne feist chose dent elle le cuidast corrocier, p. 163. (J. M.)

p. 106, 1. 2Z , Alhahoynne makithe mencion. — The French text continues :
si comme saint Jehan le racompte que il lit quant il fuf ravy au ciel, p.
163. (J.M.)

p. 108, 1. 19, a tvoman that tvas froivarde and angri, &c. — A hitnilar tale

218 NOTES.

of a cuFBCtl child is tulil in Hubert of Bninne'd Ilamilyng Syuue, p. 45. A
mother went to batho and took her daugliter with her to mind her clotlies.
On calling; after bathing, ahe cursed the child becauue of her alownesa in
making ready and in going to her : —

pe inodyr J»at sat in here bap
Wax ful of ire and of wraj),

And clej)yd ' cft-sonys aftyr here,

kursyng with ryghte grete yre,

And seyd, " \>e devyl come on \>e,

For, J>ou art nat redy to me."

** And y am redy," se3'd J)e deny),

** To take pat J)ou me betaght with euyl."

be flegh on here J)ere she stode,

And made here wytte al wode. p. 46.
In Chaucer's Fjiars' Tale we read of a similar cursing of a Sompnour,
but here an element of justification is introduced, for the Sompnour is only
seized by the devil on his refusal to repent of his villany. (J. M.)

p. 100, 1. 5, whereof the childe icas euer after in per iff aft hys li/ff. — M.,
fJe quoy Venffantfat pery ioute sa vie. For pei-y the London MS. has ^>tre.
M. p. 298. (J. M.)

p. 109, 1. 18. — As a nohle la<ly that teas quene of Ilungri. M., comme
faisoit sainte EHzahel, quifutjille au roy de Hongrie ei femmc d Londe-
gume, p. 167. To this Montaiglon prints a Note, p. 298 : 'lisez: femme
d lendeyrave. Son mari, Louis IV, ^toit, en effet, landgrave de Tliuringe."
(J. M.)

p. 110, 1. 10, there was (jretnoheltee and plente of Ri chesses. — The French
presents us with more details and a more vivid picture. It runs : Lafeste
fat moult grant et les paremens de drops d^or et de soie; tout retentissoit de
joye ct de soulas et de sons de menestriers. Les Jousfes furent grans el la
feste hien renvoysee, p. 169. Concerning this chapter there is a Note,
p. 298 : ' Ce chapitre a ete extrait du MS. 7403 (i.e. Paris MS.) par M. de
Mas Latrie, pour son Sistoire de Vile de Chypre sous le regne des princes
de la maison de Lusignan, t. II, documents, partie I, Paris, 1852, in-S",
p. 132. II met le fait vers I'annee 1324, et ajoute cette note : " Constance
d'Aragon, femme de Henri II de Lusignan, morte sans enfants, est la seule
reine de Chypre h, qui je puisse rapporter cette anecdote, qui n'a laisse
aucune trace dans les chroniques Cypriotes." ' (J. M.)

p. Ill, 1. 12, slee ait the children excepie one. — The translator has here
badly misunderstood his text. The French is, M., p. 169 : Pharaon . . .
commanda que Ven occist touz les enffans d\n an, i. e., all the children of
one year of age. (J. M.)

p. 113, 1. 13, ^r«a6.— This is for Kaab, i. e., Rahab. (J.M.)
p. 114, 1. 1, Aragon. — The French text has sainte Arragonde, p. 172,
to which Montaiglon says, p. 298 : " Sainte Arragonde est sainte Eadegonde,

^ clepyd.

NOTES. 219

sur laquelle on peut voir le recueil des Bollandistes, au 13 aoAt (Auj^usti,
t. iii. pp. 46-96), et, pour lea renvois bibliographiques, la Bibliothbque de la
France, du pere Lelong, ii. 25,008-19." Caxton has saynt Arrarjone. (J. M.)
p. 114, 1. 6, come into Pei/tiers. — The French text reads : et Hdifony en
tapinaiye cle Paris Jtisques a roitiers (p. 173) — and fled secretly from
Paris to Poitiers. (J. M.)

p. 115, 1. 86, iher teas an hermite. — This was a popular story in tlie middle
ages, and was repeated in many different forms. See Meon's Fabliaux,
vol. ii. p. 1 73. A hermit, who had fallen under the obligation of committing
one of the three sins, drunkenness or murder or adultery, chose drunken-
ness as the least. Having made himself drunk at the house of one of the
peasantry, the roan's wife accompanied him home to assist him ; on the way
he yielded to temptation and committed adultery, and, the hus})and airiv-
ing at the critical moment, the hermit, in fear of his vengeance, snatched
up an axe and slew him. Thus he committed all the three crimes instead
of one only. (T.W.)

p. 116, 1. ?>,falcefleumed rede. — This should be salce, &c., a Chaucerian
expression. Prologue, 1. 623 : —

A SoMNOUR war ther with us in that place,
That hadde a fyr-reed cherubinnes face,
For saiccejleem he was, with eyen narwe.
The expression arose from the supposition that the affected person had
too much salt phlegni (salsum phle(/ma) in his constitution. See Prof.
Skeat's remarks in his Notes to his Chaucer, p. 52, and p. 102, " Breuyary
Extracts " in Borde's Introduction of Knowledge, ed. Dr. Furnivall, E, E.
T.S., 1870. (J.M.)

p. 117, 1. 28, scint Katerine. St. Katherine of Alexandria, who is
supposed to have lived early in the fourth century. She was famous
throughout the middle ages for her culture and polemic abilities. It was
after her triumph in argument with heathen philosophers that the spiked
wheel was made to torture her : this wheel became emblematic of her.
She was martyred in Alexandria. Capgrave wrote her history in verse
(E. E. T. S. 100). Herein we find mention of the oil said to have been
found at her grave : —

The grete myracles whiche ben at hir graue
Arn ny vnknowe, right for grete distauns
Be-twyxe that and vs ; but this knowleche we haue
That oyle it renneth euere in abundauns,
With whiche oyle of scores alle grevauns
Whiche men sufire, it wil be hooled anoon.

p. 402. (See also p. 4.)
But he says afterwards, p. 403 : —

I may weel leue that swyche merueyles J)er bee,

But for be-cause I haue noon auctorite. (J. M.)

p. 117, 1. 32, xij lurnei/s. — The French text has xiiij. journees,

p. 177. (J.M.)

:220 NOTi:s.

j). 1*20, 1. 27, a Sendtour of Home. The French text toutinuex : si coinme
il est contenu hs croniques des Jlomaimi, p. i8i. Montaighrn'M note,
p. 398, iiifuniiB us that the Paria MSS. do not give des liomaine after
des croniques {en croniques?). It is pretty nearly, he says, the transla*
tion of the title of the Ciesta Itoinanorum, (J, M.)

p. 124, 1. 3, plitie with placebo. — M. readn : el ne lejlatte pas nefaire le
placebo, p. 184, — does not flatter him thai jdaceho need not be done. (J.M.)

p. 124, 1. 24, the childe deyed in the same chauuibre where as the holy man
was herbortied and loged before. The French text saya the mother had
the child put there. M., iS'^ fist mettre la mh'e Venffaid en la chambre
du sainl prophete, p. i85. (J.M.)

p. 126, 1. 2, she was hadde otite of her good helthe of body. — The
translator appears here again to have relied more on his imagination than
his text. The French reads : elle taiK^oit en plainne rue avecques sa
voisine, et tant crurent et monterent les paroles que Vautre lui dist que elle
nestoit pas nette du corpi^^ dont par cells parole, qui ala tanl avant, elle
en perdy son mariaige, feust verite ou mengo7if/e. M. p. 187. (.J. M.)

p. 126, 1. 8, a gentitf tvoman testi and hasti. — Another mistranslation,
apparently. M., ^e vous diray un fait que je vy d^une bien gentilz femme
qui tetifoit d un hotnme qui avoit male teste, p. 187. (J. M.)

p. 126, 1. 32, an ensaumple of an Emperoure. — In the original it is,
Veremple de Vempereurde Constenti noble. In the original text, too, we have
ses ij.jilz, not, as here translated, his two daughters, Caxton also has. Am
two doughfers, and calls him themperour of Constantynople. (T. W.)

p. 129, Chapter XCVIII. See The History of Susanna in the Apocrypha.

(J. M.)

p. 129, 1, d,/>at tvas a gret lorde in Babiloyne. — The translator has here
singularly misunderstood his original, which reads, qui estoit grant seigneur
en la chetivoison de Bahilonie, who was a great lord in the captivity of
Babylon. Caxton's translation is, to\iche was a grete lord in the captyuyte
ofBabylone. (T.W.)

p. 130, 1. 9, in what tvise theyfonde her. — The French text says, " under
what tree they found her." M., soubz quel arbre ilz la trouverent, p. 192.

(J.M.)

p. 131, Chapter C. — In Montaiglon's edition, p. 194, this heading is
preceded by the lines :

Cy commence d parler des exemples du Nouvel
Testament depuis que Dieu vint ou

ventre de la Yierge Marie.
Et premiers de la Magdelaine. (J. M.)

p. 134, 1. 27, her suster the Magdalene, — The original has merely, sa
suer Marie. The translator is in error ; yet Caxton also translates it, the
suster of Mary Magdalene. (T. W.)

p. 134, 1. 28, to aparaile the labour of the hous. M., Marie ne lui venoit
point aydierdfaire et appareiller a mengier, p. 198. (J.M.)

NOTES. • 221

p. 136, 1. 5, the hoke that yhatie made for youre hretheren. — See also p. 4,
1. 7; p. 115, 1. 35; p. 205, 1. 14, and Note to latter. Montaiglon puts a
Note in Lis edition, p. 299, to the effect that the Paris M.S. 7403 has a note
in the margin by the phrase equivalent to that quoted above. The mar-
ginal note is : " No. qu'il fist ung livre pour ses fils." (J. M.)

p. 136, 1. 24, Countesse of Anion. — Montaiglon's note, p. 299: "La
comtesse d'Anjou qui fonda I'abbaye de Bourgueil est Emma, femme de
Guillaume due d'Aquitaine et comte de Poitiers ; elle fonda ce monastfere
en 990. (Cf. le Gallia Christiana de Sainte-Marthe, in-fol. iv. 201-7.)"

(J.M.)

p. 137, 1. 7, wei-e brought into her cute of the ayre. — The French is :
quant Ven li hailloit son livre ou ses gans, que aucune foiz ilz se tenoient
en fair tout par eux. M. 100. (J.M.)

p. 137, Chapter CIV. The English of tins chapter does not well follow
the French; there are many differences to be found. (J.M.)

p. 188,1. 17 , another ensaumple of a hnightis sone. — This beautiful tale

of the mei'ciful knight is told at greater length by Robert of Brunne,

Handlyng Sinne, p. 130. A young knight pledged himself to avenge the

slaying of his father, and to that end besieged his enemy in his strong

castle. On the Good Friday the besieged man looked out and beheld the

folk wending their way churchward : so long was it since he heard mass

that he decided to go too. He emerged from his castle, barefoot ; then the

young knight met him, and would have slain him ; but the other prayed

him to forgive his sin on this day of days. In the end they wended to the

church together : —

And to ]>e cherche bo])e ])ey jede.

Byfore f e cros J)[e]y knelyd downe

Yn J)e wurschyp of Ihesu passyowne,

For to kesse ])e cros J)at day,

As custume ys yn crystyn lay.

JjB elder knyjt, for honoure,

3ede fyrst, and kyst hys creature;

Aftyr ])an, 5ede J)e chylde,

|>at was become meke and mylde ;

WyJ) ))e tokene he gan hym blesse,

And kneled down, ]>e cros to kesse.

fje crucyfyx, ))at pere was leyd,

hys armes fro the cros vpbreyd,

And clepd J)e chylde hym betwyx,

And aftyrward kyst hym, ])at crucyfyx. p. 13?.

Burne-Jones painted a water-colour, *'The Merciful Knight," in 1863.
Compare this tale with that of the juggler who, to do honour to the Virgin,
performed daily before her altar, and to whom her image descended to wipe
with the edge of her mantle the sweat from his brow. See p. 93, L'Etui
de Nacre, by Anatole France. (J. M.)

p. 140, 1. 21, a ffoiviie. — It must be borne in mind that at this time gowns

ooo

NOTES.

and some other articlea of dresn were very costly thingH, .ind were preserve*!
and in use for many years. (T. W.)

p. 141, 1. 6, leueinfor breile of tokete. — M., celle }Mr son ethat ae estoit
jyi'isa d /aire pain deyourment, p. 205. (J.M.)

p. 142, 1. IG, an tiple. — Thin incident of the poisoned apples fornis a part
of other medieval stories, as, for example, that of Parise la Duchesse, in
which the couspiratorH against the life of the ducheH.s send her a pre«ent of
poisoned apples, one of which is eaten by the duke's favourite nephew and
causes his death, and she is accused of the murder and condemned to be
burnt. (T. W.)

p. 142, 1. 26, offends. — An evident error of the scribe for deffende. (T.W.)

p. 145, 1. 25, the espoune saide vnto hem, &c. — The French text says that
the five foolish virgins asked for oil and *' Ten leur dist : Nescio vo», c'est-
h-dire qu'elles n'en auroient point," &c., p. 210. (J. M.)

p. 148, 1. 15, that vj. monthes had he hareyn, &c. — The French text
reads : et mesmement sa cousine Elizabeth estoit enceinte hien avoit vj. mois,
qui estoit hrahaigne el pamse aage, p. 213. (J. M.)

p. 148, 1. 27, reeyaycf= regard. See Glossary, (J. M.)

p. 150, 1. 24, quene Eater. See Chapter XCVII, p. 127. (J. M.)

p. 151, 1. 14, And after this. — The editor of the French text has re-
marked here that the Knight has fallen into a singular error in placing the
mari-iage at Cana earlier in date than the scene of Christ's disputation with
the doctors. (T. W.)

p. 151, 1. 16, preche ayenst the lues and the maistves of the laioe. — The
French text reads that Christ estoit alt disputer et preschier contre les
aaiqes de la lot/. The text then adds something that our translator dis-
regards : *9y cuida la bonne dame que ilfeud monti oa del, &c. ; the good
woman thought he had ascended into heaven. (J. M.)

p. 151, 1. 24, his grei pruden'^e and science. — M. reads : les saiges iouz
esbahis du grant sens queilz trouvoient en lai, Sec, p. 217. (J. M.)

p. 153, 1. 19, the hi/ore ti/ine thei hadbe maried, i. e., that had previously
been married. These "good ladyes " w^ere widows. The French text says :
elles se tenoicnt seintement et nettement en leur vefvete, which our trans-
lator renders : they leued chastely, clenly, and holyly in thaire manere.
The word vnaraied, 1. 18, is also remarkable. The translator appears to
have returned to, and misconstrued, the expression a few lines back : d
qui nul ne s'appareille, said in connexion with the *' glorious maide Marie,"
although he has already adequately rendered it : vnto lohora there may be
no comparison, 1. 1 7. (J. M.)

p. 153, Chapter CXIII. The division of Chapters is not here the same
as in M. Chapter CXII continues in the French to Premi^rement je y
metiray la royne Jehanne de France, p. 219. (In our edition : Andfurst
y sheice you of the noble princesse Johanne, noio late quene of Fruunce^
154/1.) (J. M.)

p. 154, 1. 2, princesse Johanne. — The Knight says of her: qui n^a gaires
qu^ellemourutffttstsaigeetdesaivte v/e, &c., p. 220. Montaiglon's note

NOTES. . 223

is : " La reine Jeanne de France n'est pas la femme de Charles V, mariue
en 1349 et moite en 1377, cinq ans aprfes la comj)osition du livre des En-
eeignements; ni Jeanne, fille du comte de Boulogne, seconde femme de
Jean II, maric'e en 1349 et morte en 1361, dix ans avant que le chevalier
^crivit; mais Jeanne, fille de Louis, comte d'Evreux, troisifenie femme du
roi de France Charles IV, dit le Bel, marine en 1325 ; veuve en 1328, et
morte en 1370, aprbs avoir passe la fin de sa vie dans la plus fervente
pratique des bonnes ceuvres; le mot du chevalier de La Tour morte n'a
gaires prouve qu'il n'a pu penser qu'k celle-lh,." p. 299. (J, M.)

p. 154, 1. 7, duchesse et cetera. — This in M. is la duchesse cV Orleans,
p. 220. — To his reading Montaiglou says: **Si la phrase relative h, la
duchesse d'Orleans, 'qui moult a eu h, souffrir et s'est toujours tenue
sainctement devant et aprfes ' (see 154/7), ^toit une interpolation, on la
rapporteroit naturellement h la belle et touchante Valentine de Milan.
Si elle est bien du chevalier de La Tour Landry, cela est impossible, car
Valentine n'epousa le due Louis d'Orleans qu'en 1389. Avant elle il
y a eu une autre duchesse d'Orleans, Blanche, fille de Charles IV le Bel
et de la reine Jeanne dont nous venous de parler, n6e en 1327 et morte
le 7 f^vrier 1392, aprfes avoir ^pous^, le 18 Janvier 1344, Philippe due
d'Orleans, dernier fils de Philippe VI de Valois, et mort le i®"" septembre
1375 sans enfants legitimes. Ce qui ne parolfc supporter cette interpretation,
c'est que le MS. de L. (Londres) est le seul qui disc la duchesse d'OrUans,
et les autres la duchesse derrenitre de ceste royne, ce qui ne peut se
comprendre que dernifere fille de la reine Jeanne, et cette premifei-e duchesse
d'Orleans est en reality sa dernibre fille. — Sur ce Philippe d'Orldans, on
peut voir un article de Polluche dans le Mercure de France, num^ro de
juillet 1749, p. 3-9." p. 299. Caxton has tlie duchesse of Orliaiince for
our duchesse et cetera. See Note below to 154/i8. (J. M.)

p. 154, 1. 10, the couniesse moder vnto the erle et cetera. The French is
simply : la contesse m^re au conte, p. 220. Caxton has the good couniesse
of Roussyllon. See Note below to 154/i8. (J. M).

p. 154, 1. 11, hoio that nobly she gouerned her selff and used holy lyff. —
The translator, who seems to have taken comparatively little interest in the
examples selected from modern history, has here abridged his original, which
reads, comment elle s'est nohlement gouvernee en sa vefvete et notirri ses
enffans et sa terre hien gouvenU et usi de bonne vie. (T. W.)

p. 154, 1. 13, the age of xxv ivynter tohanne her lorde deide. — The
translator again misreads his text. The French text reads that the
baroness remained a widow for twenty-five years : une haronesse . . .
qui a restd hien vefre Vespace de vingt-cin'i ans, et estoit jeunne et helle
quant son ieigneur mourut, p. 220. (J. M.)

p. 154, 1. 18, And this good lad i. — Et la vous desclaireray : c'est madams
d^Artus. French original. Caxton gives this chapter as follows : —
Of the queue Johane of Fraiuice. Capitulo cxj.

The good quene Jane of Fraunce, whiche of late passed out of this world,
and the whiche was wyse, of holy lyf, and moche chary table, and also ful

JiJ^4 NOTKS.

of UeuDciuii, held her eslate so cleuly aud uo noble by ho good ordenau/<ce,
that grete thynge were to reherce it. After, by her ithal we set the
ducheMrte of Orliauuce, which iu her lyf Bulfred luoch, but 8he kept her euer
cletdy and holily, but to long it were to recounte of her good lyf and good
condyciona. Also we may not forgete the good countease of Kouwiyllou, the
whiche, bhe beynge a wydowe, kepte and gouemed her self so cleuely, and
BOO peasyble dyd nourysshe her children, the whiche alwo kepte good juBtyce
and held her land and peple in pees. Also I wylle telle yow of a baron-
nesse whiche duellyd in our countrey, the whiche was in wydowhede by the
space of .XXXV. yere, and was yonge and fayr whinne her lord deyde, and
of many one she was requyred ; but she nayd in her secrete that for the loue
of her lord and of her children she shold neuer be wedded, and held her in
lier wydowhede clenly withoute ony reproche, wherof she oui^'ht to be preysed.
And her name I shalle declare vnto yow, it was my lady of Vertus. (T.W.)

p. 154, 1.22, hoio it hefeti vnto her sin the tyme and lourney ofCrecy. —
The translator here omits an essential thing, probably through misreading.
The French text runs that the lady had been a widow from the time of the
battle of Crecy : qui est refve dis le terns de la hataille de Crtcy,
p. 2 21. (J. M.)

p. 155, 1. 4, the wiff of a knight. — The French text reads hachelier,
p. 221. This is the reading of Paris MS. 7403. The other Paris MS.
(7073) and the London MS. have chevalier. Montaiglon remarks, p. 300,
that hachelier did not apply only to literary degrees, and is the correct
term. Caxton translates the passage : the myf of a symple man. In
regard to hachelier, cf. : —

Byschopes and bachelei's, and banerettes nobille,
That bowes to his banere, buske whene hym lykys.

Morte Arthure, 3/67. E. E. T. S.
And also :

fjys yche slayn kn3'5t had a chylde,

A doghty hachelere, and a wylde.

Cest chiualer qe fu oscis,
Pruz et uaillant aueit un fiz.

Kobert of Brunne, p. I3O/3803. E. E. T. S.

p. 156, 1. 28, Eepentaille. — Our translator departs from the order of the
French text after this, the comparison of the nightingales coming in
Chapter CXV (M., p. 224), in connexion with the following anecdote: —

Dontje s^ay hien un exemple d'un simple chevalier qui espousa une grant
dame, mais, toutes lesfois qxie messire de Dorval le veoit, le premier salut
que il lui fist si estoit lui suhler, et puis lui dit que il ressemble au ros-
signol ; car, quant le rossignol a jouy de ses amours, il suhle. Sy rovs
dy hien que le chevalier n'est mie lies de la hourde, quelqtie chiere que
il en feist.

Montaiglon annotates this Dorval: " lisez Derval. Dans I'armorial de
Gilles de Eouvier, dit Berry, premier h^rault d'armes de Charles VII

NOTES. 225

(fonds Colbert, No. 9-653.5.5), je vois dans le Poitou, au uoni de sire de
Derval, qu'il portoit d'argent h. deux fasces de gueules." M., p. 300. (J. M.)

p. 157, 1. 27, putte her payne in trauaile. — M., la preude femme qui met
paine el travail dtenir nettemient son corps, p. 225. (J.M.)

p. 158, 1. 1, the precious marguarite. — The phrase also occurs again
I63/4: he likened, suche a woman vnto a precious raaryarite, the tvhiche is
a hright thinge, rounde, tohite, and dene, a stone so clere and faire that
there is no tache therein, nor spoite of vnclennelsl. This last is more the
rendering of the first than of the last corresponding passage in the French :
car il Vappelle la precieusemargarite, c'est ime fine perle, qui est blanche,
ronde et cUre,san8 taiche y veoir. M., p. 226. The second passage is the
words of Christ on good and chaste women : Una preciosa margarita corn-
par avit earn. M., p. 233. See also 190/1 3. Cf. : —

Perle plesaunte to prynces paye,

To clanly clos in golde so clere,
Oute of oryent I hardyly saye,
Ne proued 1 neuer her precios pere.
So round, so reken in vche araye,
So smal, so smoJ)e her sydej were.
The Pearl, 1-6. Early English Alliterative Poems, p. i. E.E.T.S. (J. M.)

p. 158, Chapter CXVII. The division of chapters here again differs
from the division in the French text, where Chapter CXVII commences
with the passage corresponding to our Wherupon that and they sawe ani
yonge man, &c., I58/27. M., Dont il advenoit, See, p. 227. (J.M.)

p. 158, 1. 21, Sir Raoul de Luge & Sir Piere de Luge. — In the original
it is, Messire Baoul de Lugre et Vautre Messire Oieffroy. These names
appear to be unknown in history. One of the French MSS. reads Lugne
while another has Luge, as in the English. Caxton gives the name as
Lyege. (T.W.)

p. 158,1.24. Charmylour, CicauU, or Sarmitre. M., Charny, Bouci-
quaut ou Saintre. The names in the English are mutilations of those in
the French. For Saintre, Paris MS. 7403 has Caintri, and London MS.
Saint-Tref. Montaiglon's note, p. 300, tells us that Charny is Geoffroy de
Charny, lord of Lirey, who figured in the wars after 1337 and who died at
Poitiers. The other names are well known. (J. M.)

p. 158, 1. 33, a yonge squier. — The French text itself makes no mention
of a squire; but Paris MS. 7073 reads Sg arriva un ecuyer (M., p. 300).
(J. M.)

p. 159, 1. 16, cleped a purseuant. — The French says that the young man
called a minstrel and gave him the costume : Sy appella un menesirel et
lui donna sa coste et la lui fist vesiir. M., p. 227. (J. M.)

p. 161, 1. 17, and vnder one thanJce. Probably a bad reading of the
French *' tout se passe.^* Mais toutes roies ce est mat dif, &c. M., p. 230.
(J.M.)

p. 161, 1. 36, suche as he toorthi and blame. The whole of this sentence
is the translator's rendering of Sy vouldroye que cellui temps fust revenu;

1.5

'2:2G ' NOTKS.

cur Jt' penge ijue il n'et) feu/^l tult taut tie iiitnnu'ei commc il tst u pieteut.
M.,1.. 331. (J.M.)

p. 161, 1. 33, a* here hefore y hane toh\e you. — In the original there
follows heie anuthtr anecdote of Geoffroy de Luj^re, which our traiihlator
has thought proper to omit, ^i rous diray eticorea plus, comme fay otty
compter d plusieurs chevaliers qui rirerd cellui metisire Oit^ffioy de Luijre
et nnlrex, que, ne il chevauchast pur le poys, il demamhut ; ^* A qui tft
cellui herhergemetd Id?*^ et Ven lui dtid : *^ Cent a telle;" »e la dame
feust blaumde de son honneur, il se iorsist avant d'un quart de lieue que il
ne ven&id devant la parte, et luy feid un pet, et puis pransitt un p<ty de
croye qiiil portoit en soti saichet, et escrinist en la parte ou en Vuis : " Un
pet, un pet," et y faisoit un signet, tt sen vensift. Et aussi, au contraire,
se il passast devant Vostel a dame ou damoiselle de honne renomm^e, se il
')t*eust monlt grant haste, il la vensist veoir et huchast: "Ma lonne amye,
ou honne dame, ou dumoyHelle, je prie d Dieu que en cest lien et cate
honneur il vous vueille maintenir en nombre des bonnes ; car hien devez estre
loute et honnouree." Et par celle roye les bonnes se craiinjnoient et xe
tenoient plus fermes et plus closes de ne faire chose dont elles peussent
perdre leur honneur et leur estat. Sy couldroye que cellui temps fust
rerenu, &c. This paragraph is translated as follows by Caxton : —

1 haue herd reherced of many Jcnyghtes whiche saio and hneice the sayd
syre Gejfroy de Lyege^ how that as he rode thorugh the countrey, and as he
aspyed and sutve some place or manoyr, he demaunded and axked the
place, and yf he vnderstode by ony maner that the lady of the manoyr or
place were blamed of her honour and xcorship, he shold haue gone oute of
his ryght way, rather than he had not gone to the yate of the same place,
and make there a faytte, and put and setfe his signes agtynste the yate,
and thenne rode ageyne into his ryght ivay. And contrary to this dede,yf
hit happed to hym to pass ■■ before the place of a good and renommed lady
or damoyselle, al had he neuer so grete haste, he icente to see her, and sayd
to her, " Mygoodfrende" other " my lady,'^ or els "damoysell,'^ " Ipraye to
God that in this loelthe and hononre he ivylle euer hold and mayntene yow
into the nombre of the good wymmen, for loel ye oughte to he preysed and
u-or shipped." And thus, by this maner and way, the good trymmen drad
and held them more sure fro doynge ony thynge wherby they myght lese
theyr worship and honoure. Wherfore 1 wold that tyme were come ageyne.
For, as I tvene, many one shold not be blamed and diffamed as they be now.

Messire Geoffroy de Lugre must have been a rather singular individual.
(T. W.)

The London MS. gives the name simply Gieffroy ; Paris 7403 has Lugne ;
Paris 7073 Luge ; while Caxton renders it as Lyege. (J. M.)

p. 162, 1. 7, so noble and trwe teas the lawe of God. — The French says :
ne pour or nepour argent elle n en feust rachetee, tant noble feust, selon la
lay deDieu. M., p. 231. (J.M.)

p. 162, 1. 14, in Prouincc^ in Spaine, in Aragoyie. — In the original it is,
en Bommenie, en Espaigne, en Arragon. (T. W.)

NOTES. 227

p. 1G2, 1. 15, In sum places, &c. — The original enumerates the punish-
ments as follows : En aucuns lieux Ven leur couppe leg gorffes, en autrea
lieux Ven les murtrist a tonaillons, en autres lieux Ven les emmure.
Caxton translates it, In soinme places^ men hytte of theire thvotes, and in
somme they he heded before the pepJe, and in other places they he mev:red
or put hytwene two walles. (T. W.)

p. 163, 1. 5, a ptrecious marfjariie. — See note above to p. 158, 1. i.
Une marguerite^ explains the French text, est urie grosse perle rtonde
d^orianty cUre, blanche et nette. M., p. 233. (J. M.)

p. 163, 1. 26, it ivere afoule thinge to taJce a faire suete rose anl pntle
hem in a stijiihing vesseif. — The French text provides quite a dijfferent
illustration: aussg comme c'ed laide chose A baillier un blanc et delie
cueuvrechief a un grant seigneur ouquel en liii haillant Ven espendroit
grosses gouttes d'encre noire, ct aussy celles goutfes noires les espandre snr
tine esculee de lait qui est llanc, &c, M., p. 234. (J. M.)

p. 165, 1. 22, iij doughters. — M., ylusieurs filles, p. 236. (J. M.)

p. 167, 1. 17, Syre Foucques de Laual. — M., Messire Foulques de Laval,
p. 239. Montaiglon says, p. 301 : " Messire Foulques de Laval ^toit le fila
de Guy IX de Montmorency Laval, I'^poux de Jeanne Chabot, dame de
Rais, et le chef de la branche de Laval-Rais; il niourut en 1360.
(Cf. Paris, V. 85.)." (J. M.)

p. 167, Second Chapter CXX. This is Chapter 121 in M. (p. 239).
Our Chapter CXXI is Chapter 122 in M. Chapter 123 (M., Chappitre
VP'^IIP, p. 244) is omitted from our book. (See footnote, p. 171.) This
is the missing chapter : —
" Que nulle femme ne doit point croire frop legierement ce qiVon lui dit.

CHAPPITRE VI^^IIP.

ET pour ce est noble chose k toute femme de bien et d'onneur y prendre
garde et soy garder, et non mie croire trop de legier ce que I'en leur
dist, et se prendre de garde de ceuix qui usent de telles faulcetez et qui font
de petiz signes et des faulx semblans, comme de faulx regars Ions et pensis,
et de petis souspirs, et de merveilleuses contenances afFect(^es, et ont plusde
paroles h, main que autres gens. Sy est bon de soy garder de telles maniferes
de gens qui veulent user de avoir tel sifecle ; car la bonne femme qui bien
se scet garder de telx gens doit estre moult louee et honnour^e. Car c'est
grant honneur et grant victoire avoit fait de eschiver le mal langaige
du monde, et qui se puet tenir nettement et hors de leurs folles parleures,
sans ce que celles folles langu€S puissent dire ne racompter que ilz I'aient
trouvee en nulle foiblesse ne moleste de cuer, ne qui se puissent bourder ne
gangler de elles, et cestes bonnes femmes qui ainsi se tiennent fermes,
et qui ainsi se rusent de leurs faulces malices, doivent estre bien loupes
entre les bonnes, tout ainsi comme I'en loue les bons chevaliers et les bona
escuiers qui passent par vaillance et par honneur ; par la paine que ilz y ont
trait tous autres pour le grant labour que ilz y ont soufFert pour venir

' Caxton : plares.

15 — 2

X'28 NOTKS.

ii lionneur, hunt iiz pliKi pritiit'z et Imunourez que ;^eu8 clu inoiule. Tuiit
aussy et par meilleur raison doit estre la bonne dame qui bien a reitcoux tton
honneiir contre telles maniferes de gena qui ainsi usent. Et ui voub dy bieu
que mon entente nVst point par ceMt livre k blasmer bonne amour et ceulx
(jui usent de loyaulte ; car nioult de grans bieuH et hunneuni en 8ont
advenus. Mais la bonne dame de Villon, qui tant fut belle et preude
femme, dout par sa bontu et aix beault(? nioult de chevaliers furent anioureux
de elle, et elle, <[ui moult fut ^av^e et de grant g(mvernenient, ieur disuit
que toute saige femme qui bien vouloit nettement garder son bonneur doit
avant essaier son amy, c'est celui qui la prye ou qui lui fait semblant
d'amour. Et quant elle I'aura esprouve vij. ans, adonc elle sera certaiue se
il I'ayme de cuer ou de bouche. Et lors le pourra accoler pour singne
d'amour, sans plus. Mais de ceste bonne dame je me tais, car elle avoit le
cuer trop dur. II est bien mestier que celles de aujourd'uy aient le cuer
plus piteulx, et, se Dieux plaist, sy auront elles, car trop long temps
a en vij. ans. Le plus d'elles n'attendront pas que elles n'eu ayent plus
brief mercy, se Dieu plaist. Mes belles filler-, je vous laisseray un peu de
cest fait et de cestes Galoises, et vous compteray un debat qui est entre
vostre mfere et moy, sur le fait qu'elle debat que nulle femme ne doit amer
par amours, fors en certains cas, et je soustiens le coutraire, et pour
ce est le debat d'entre elle et de moy, sur lequel je vueil racompter."
M., p. 244. (J. M.)

p. 169, 1. 4, of the Galoys and Oaloyses. — Whence tlie Knight derived
this strange story it would not be easy to guess. In old French, f/alloise
meant a woman who lived licentiously. (T. W.) See Glossary.

p. 171, Chapter CXXII. — The whole of the debate between the Knight
and his lady is contained in one chapter in the French edition (Ci)appitre
VP^IIIP, p. 246), The French chapter 125 (M., p. 266) is our Chapter
■ CXXXIV, p. 186, Sow V d holy lady approuaed'the heremyte. (J. M.)

p. 171, 1. 22, and" of your moder. — She was Jeanne de Rouge, the first
wife of the Knight of La Tour- Landry. She was still alive at this time,
for she did not die before 1383. (T. W.)

p. 174, 1. 7, xl. kynges amV .xii. CM other persones and' mo. — M., plus
(le ocl. roys et plus de cent mille personnel, p. 249. The London MS. has
Ix.roys. M., p. 301. (J. M.)

p. 171, 1. 22, fowle dehjtes and' playsaunce within the Chirche. — The
French again gives more details : il fat deux roynes par deqa la mer qui
leursfaulx delis de luxurefaisoient aux tenehres le jeudy ahsolu, et le saint
vendredy aoure; quant I'en estaingnoit les chandelles, et en leurs oratoires,
&c. M., p. 250. Jeudi ahsolu was the Thursday of the Holy Week. As
to le saint vendredy aoure, compare : —

{>an fyl hyt on ]>e gode frjday.
Auint le vendredi ahure
Qe Deu pur nus fu crucifix.

Kobert of Brunne's Handlyng Synne, I3O/3819.

In connexion with the service of Tenebrae, the Dictionnaire de

NOTES. 229

rAcadumie Frari9aise says : " En parlant De TOffice de la Semaiue sainte,
on appelle T&ntbres, les Matines qui se chantent I'aprfes-dinee du Mercredi.
du Jeudi et du Vendredi." (J.M.)

p. 177, 1. 18, a ladi/ to %oliome I gyue no name, the xoldche yt wf-nie ones
to see her. — See the Knight's history, p. 18. (J. M.)

p. 177, 1. 28, Ye ^>raj/cr her of loue, &c. — Caxton has translated this
passage imperfectly, or i)erhaps some words have been omitted by his
printers. The original is, JEt les responses ne /went par trojy sauvaigen,
niais assez courioises et hien legierettes, et, potir le grant sembhint q^aelle
rotisjist, vons vous retraystes de la demander,et se elle se fust teniie un peu
plus couverte et plus simplement, vons VeassUs prise. (T. W.)

p. 181, 1. 11, at the dove. — M., a la parte de Veylise, p. 258. (J. M.)

p. 182, 1. 19, The lady of Coussy, &c. M., la dame de Coucy. Our
Verger, 1. 20, should be Vergi. M. has Vergy. These are well-known
stories, and were great favourites in the middle ages. Concerning the
diichesse (v. 182/2 1), Montaiglon says, p. 301 : "il n'est pas aussi simple de
savoir ce qu'est I'histoire de la duchesse. J'avois pensd au roman de
Parise la Duchesse ; mais il ne convient nullement." The history of the
Chatelaine of Vergi has come down to us in a number of MSS., one in the
Bodleian Library, and a number of editions of the poem have been made.
The latest is that of Dr. Brandin, published London and Paris, 1903, with an
Englishing by Alice Kemp- Welch. This text is, with a few modifications,
that of Raynaud's earlier edition (1892). Dr. Brandin says, p. xviii, that
the reader will see in Raynaud's introduction " how the Lady of Vergi
became, as early as the fourteenth century, the Lady of Vergier, and how
she was confounded, at the end of the eighteenth century, with the heroine
of a romance which enjoyed the greatest success in the middle ages — the
Chatelaine of Couci." (J. M.) The Chastelaine de Vergy will be found in
Barbazan's Fabliaux, vol. iv. p. 296, and in Le Grand d'Aussy, vol. iv.
p. 98. (T.W.)

p. 183, 1. 9, playenge with me. — In the original it is, Dont il advint nne
fois que tout plain de chevaliers el de dames jouoient au Boy qui ne menl
■ pour dire verite du nom s'amie. Caxton appears not to have known an
English name for the game, the nature of which is easily seen and under-
stood. An account of it will be found in the fabliau of Le Sentier Battu in
Barbazan, vol. i. p. 100, (T. W.)

p. 183, 1. 22, tyll the tyme ofseuen yere and" an half he passyd? & gone. —
See the French Chapter 123, printed above. (J. M.)

p. 183, 1. 29, But at the last he sayd to me, " Lady of the Toiore,*^ &c. —
Caxton's text is nothing but a mess here. The unnamed knight who spoke
of love could hardly. have called her "Lady of the Tower" before her
maiTiage. His words should really end at : in good' feythe he shold? neuer
speke to me therof (1. 28). M., et en honne foy onques puis ne m'en parla,
p. 261. At this point our Knight himself breaks in: M., Lorsje lui dis:
" Madame de La Tour, vous dies moult male et estrange . . . &c.,"
p. 261. (J. M.)

230 NOTI-S.

p. 183,1. 8'2, li/ke the ludi/ of the fucillt. — Oaxtoii lias here ni.'ide a droll
literal traiiHlatiuu. The original is, Vous rennemhltz mailame de La Jaiilf.
M. de Moijt;iiglon suppotses this to liave been Marguerite dame de La Jaille,
the wife of Hardouin de la Porte, lord of Vezins in Anjou, one of whoM
children was married in July, 1388. (T. W.)

p. 185, 1. 15, Amt SyhijUe myth. — The original, as edited by M. de
Moutaiglon, has, FA la royne de Sabha dui : but one of the French manu-
Bcripts reads, la roi/ne Sehille, which was evidently the text Caxton had.
Either is a curious authority on the subject. (T. W.)

p. 185, 1. 33, t?te Diichesse of Baayere. — Bavaria, of course. In th«
French text it is, J\nj ouy raconter d'une dame de BunUre, as M. de
Montaiglou prints it, for it may of course be read Bauiere. (T. W.)

p. 185, 1. 36, coursers, and' hakneys, and'dere and' ryche farrynges, &c. —
M., gaingnoit souvent a eulx a cellaijeu corsses, draps, pennea de ver, perles
et fjrans joyaulx, &c., p. 265. (J. M.)

p. 186, 1. 23, tJie prouost of Acqiujlce. — This is a very well-known
medieval story, which will be found in a metrical form in Mt^on'a Nouveau
Recueil de Fabliaux, tom. ii. p. 187. (T.W.)

p. 191, 1. 1, arKt made the cheste, where fw her tresoure was in, to he seaUtT.
— The French text says she had her bed made devant Vuis d^une tour oii
cstoit sa checance et son or, et fist metfre la clef de cette tour scellee en nn
di'apel souhz ses reins. M., p. 271. (J. M.)

p. 191, 1. 24, by the o:xv parte. — M., le xxx^. (J. M.)

p. 191, 1. 30, hut suehe plate as they saive ahrode, that was a coup and' a
pyece only. — This would appear to have been the ordinary amount of plate
exhibited on the sideboard of a single person who made no show. The
original i9,fors sa vaisselle d* argent de chascun jour. (T.W.)

p. 192, 1. 34, to be tvor-hipped. — Caxton has omitted the following rather
interesting passage, which follows what represents these words in the
original text : et Itt estoient les menestralx et plusieurs insiruniens, d qui
elle faisoit moult grant chieres, et letir donnoit du sien largemenf, tant
qiCilz Vamoient a grant merveilles, fellement que, quand elle fut morte, ilz
enfirent une chanson de regret delle, oil il y a au reffrain :

Helas! a la Galonniere
N^avons nous plus hel aler,
Comme endroit ma dame chiere,
Qui tant nous souloit amer.

El ainsi la regretoient. Et api'es ce elle avoit telle cousfume, &c. (T.W.)
p. 193, 1. 25, rpon the Fryday. — M. adds also et le samedi, p. 2/6.
(J. M.)

p. 194, 1. 3, My lady Cecyle of Ba lleuylle. — M., waf?a?ne Olive de Belle Ville,
p. 276. Paris MS. 7073 has Aline. Montaiglon says, p. 302 : *'Dans la
traduction anglaise du temps de Henry VI (cf. Eetrosp. Eeview, p. 193), elle
est appel^e Cecyle of Ballevyllc. Dans ce passage il y a une faute de lecture
ou d'impression : il ne falloit pas she held in Doicaye, mais she held in

KOTES. 231

dowarje. — Dans rarmorial deja citd de Gilles de Bouvier, on ti-ouve,dan8 la
partie consacr(^e au Poitou, I'ecu du seigneur de Belleville, quatre de gueules
et quatre vaires d'a^:ur et d'argent. — Elle ^toit peut-etre de la famille de
Jean de Harpedenne, 3" du nom ; seigneur de Belleville, en Poitou, que
Charles VII maria a Marguerite, sa soeur naturelle, fille de Ciiarles VI
et d'Odette de Champdivers, la petite reine." Our text has rfowa[r]ye.
103/27. (J.M.)

p. 104, 1. 4, myghte spende yerely. — M., son frere tenoit bien xviij. mil
livres de rent, p. 276. (J. M.)

p. 194, Chap. CXXXVII.— In M., Chapter 128, containing the whole
story of Cato and his son, and ending the book. (J. M.)

p. 195, 1. 2, had' to name Caihonet. — Cathon was the medieval form of
the Roman name Cato, and Cathonet was the diminutive of it — little Cato.
It is used hei*e as the name of distinction between the son and the father.
It is hardly necessary to say that Cato was a very celebrated individual
during the middle ages, especially for his wise sayings, a reputation which
arose from the popularity of the Disticha de Moribus. (T. W.)

This singularly curious story about Cato and his son appears to have
been founded upon, or at least it is in substance identical with, a tale in
the Gesta Romanorum, chap. 124. It is found slightly varied in the details
in the Dolopathos of Herbers, and forms the first story in the well-known
Facecieuses Nuits of Straparola. The name of Cato is only given to the
hero in this form of the story under which it presents itself in the book of
the Knight of La Tour-Landry. (T. W.)

p. 197, 1. 16, to he confyte in sugre and? other spyces. — In the original
it is, ct Jefis conjire en homie d to gee. (T. W.)

p. 205, 1. 14, in the hooJce of my two sonnes. This does not appear in M.,
which reads : si comme il ed contenu oil livre des saiges, et aussi en tine
evangille, p. 290. (J. M.)

EXTRA NOTES.

p. 2, 1. 5, y sawe come iowardes me my Ai). doughters. — With the list of
corrections to the edition of 1868 issued with ** The Minor Poems of William
Lauder " was the following note : " Mr. Wright's statement on p. vii, 1. 13-
14, that the Knight 'has in no instance mentioned the number of his
daughters' must be understood as applying to the French MSS. examined
by the French editor, M. Anatole de Montaiglon, whose Preface Mr. Wright
was abstracting, and not to the English text. M. A. de Montaiglon says :
Quant atix filles, elles doivenf avoir ete au nombre de trois ; en effet, si
aucun des manuscrifs que nous avons vus ne paroit avoir appartenu A
Gefforey . . . touies Ics fois qii'il y a une miniature initiale, on y voit
toujours trois Jilles, et il n'est pas a croire que cctte ressemblance ne soit
pas oriyinairement produite par une premiere source avAhentique, Accord-
ingly, the early English version edited by Mr. Wright for the Society

;232 NOTKS.

Htates distinctly on |». 2, 1. 5, y since come totvnrihg me my Aij. dovfjhters,
tliouj^h the corresponding passage iu the French edition of 1854, p. 2,1. 14,
is only et ry mesjilleg venir. The miniature of the Englitih MS. also gives
the Knight three daughters."

p. Ii6, Chapter XIX.— With this tale of the trial of wives compare The
Taming of the Skreic, Act V, Sc. ii, wherein the husbands aeud for their
wives and Petruchio proves Katharina. (J. M.)

GLOSSARY.

By JOHN MUNRO.

[It has been necessary to make an entirely new glossary, a great number
of important words having been omitted in the old one. A list of note-
worthy phrases is also added. I have made differences in, and additions to,
the Notes dealing with the text subsequent to p. 30, the old ones, by
Thomas Wright, being initialled T. W., and the new ones J. M.]

CONTRACTIONS USED.

adj..) adjective.
adv., adverb.
AS., Anglo-Saxon.
Cax. Dial., Dialogues in

French and English,

by William Caxton.

Ed. H. Bradley,

E.E.T.S. 1900.
Eneyd., Caxton's Eney-

dos, 1490. Ed. W.

Culley and Dr. Fur-

nivall, E.E.T.S. 1890.
F., French.
G., German.
God. of Bol., Godeffroy

of Boloyne, translated

from the French by
William Caxton, 1481.
Ed. Mary Noves Col-
vin, E.E.T.S. "1893.

Ice., Icelandic.

int., intransitive.

L., Latin.

M., Le Livre du Cheva-
lier de la Tour Landry.
Ed. Montaiglon. Pa-
ris, 1854.

n., noun.

OF., Old French.

0HG.,01d HigWierman.

_p., plural number.

past., past tense.

abace, v. abate I56/31. F. ahaifiser.
abass&ed; pp. I87/24. M. eshahi,

p. 267.
abraided, r. past. 3 .s\ upbraided

37/5. AS. ujf + hregdan.
abregge, v. abridge 3/33. OF.

ahregier, L. ahhreviare.
abusion, 01. deception I7I/9. F.

abuser.
accusatourej, np. accusers I3O/9.

L. acctcsator, from accusare.
a chiche, adv. niggardly 136/2 o.

M. chiche, p. 200.
acoynted, v. past. 3 s. acquainted

74/13. M. accointa, p. 117, OF.

s'accoiniier de.

pxiss., possessive case.
pp., past participle.
pres., present tense.
pron., pronoun.
.?., singular number.
v., verb.

1, first person.

2, second person.

3, third person.
Vergi, La Chatelaine dc

Vergi. Ed. Brandin.
London and Paris,
1903.
Vill., ffiuvres de Fran-
9ois Villon. Ed,
Jannet. Paris.

Acquylee, n. Aquilea I86/23.

Acquillee, p. 266.
aduoultre, n. adultery 130/i. M.

avoultrie, p. 192.
aferde, adj. afraid 24/26. AS.

afch'an.
afermed, ^p. confirmed 51/i2. OF.

afermer, L. ajfflrmare.
afray, w.fright 48/21. M.^yo7/,p.75.
Agnus Dei 46/8. A portion of

the Mass commencing, Agnus

Dei, — '' Lamb of God."
Alhalwynne, n. Allhallows IO6/23.

M. la Toussains, p. 163.
Alia,??. Leah 107/31. M.Alia,]).lQf>.
alles, np. awls 67/28. AS. dl,

OHG. dla, G. A hie, Cax. Dial.

alesnes: alles, p. 21.^

^ Note on Aivl. Tiie instrument with which the devils were often
represented to torture their victims was an iron hook or crook. In the
Life of St. KatheHne, p. 105, we read of Maxentius: "he . . . het, on
hat heorte, unhendeliche neomen hire ; i bute dom ananinht, ])urhdriuen
hire tittes wi5 irnene neiles " (Latin, clacis ferreis), 1. 2 116. The order is
carried out, and we read later, p. loS: "Heo . . . tuhen hire tittes up of
hire breosten, bi J^e bare bane, wic5 eawles of irne," 1. 2175. It is instruc-
tive to note that in the South- English Legendary, p. 99, the same circum-
stances are described as follows : " he het ])at men scholden hire lede : to
J)e tounes ende And hire brestcn fram hire bodi : M'ith Irene crokes
rende ", 1. 240 — and later : " crokes of ire ", 1. 248. JEaiol is derived from
OE. aivel. The word in its various forms is glossed as Fuscinula, tridens,

:.'34

(iLOSSAUY.

almesdode, almessodede, n. alms-

iloeil 132/34, 1^3/8. AS. ielmei<«e

+ d(£(l.
Alymayne, u. Germany 159/1- M.

Akinaijne, p. 227.
ameroua, udj. ainorous I68/9. M.

anionreu.i., p. 240.
araeruailed,(u/y". astonished 151/24,

M. eshahis, p. 217.
amesure, v. measure 25/ 16.
amoderithe, r. pres. 3 s. lessens, ap-
peases 122/33. M.«f7Jo<?ere,p. 183.
amonestenient, n. warning I38/35.

M. mimoneifteinent, p. 203.
amys, adv. amiss 26/3.
Anastace, n. Anastatia 113/21.

M. Annastaise, p. 172.
anent, prep. 88/5. AS. one/en.

M. ven<, p. 138.'
angelyk, adj. angelic 110/8.
annemy, n. Satan ; the enemy

125/24. M. renemi, p. 187.
anoyeus, adj. annoying 128/20.

M. reads eacienx, p. 190.
aorne, v. adorn 39/21. }tl. pa >-er,p.61.
aourned", j)P' adorned 16/ 10. M.

gnyement arraye, p. 240.
apaied, pp. satisfied 85/6.
aparailt, r. prepare 135/3. ^•

appar tiller.
aperceiued, r. past. 3 s. perceived

147/19. M. apperceust, p. 212.
apertely, adv. openly 46/i8. M.

appertetnent, p- 'J2.
apese, v. appease I3/30. M. ap-

paisier, p. 21.
apilt, n, apple 59/15.
apparage, v. compare, vie 20/i.

M. s\icompa7'aige, p. 31.
apperteyned; v. past. 3 s. belonged

101/2. F. appartenir.
appertyse, adj. experienced I86/9.

M. apperles, p. 265. Cf. Tancre

whiche moche was appert 8c hardy,

God. of Bol. 82/5.
approuued', ^j). proved, made mani-
fest 101/8. M. esproiivee, p. 157.
approuued', v. past. 3 s. tried, made

proof of I86/18. M. V. pies, es-

proiLve, p. 266.
Aragon, p. 1 1 4 . See Note to this line.

arraobed, r. /lUft. 1 «. dragged out
197/15. M. urrachat/, p. 280.

are,?/. arse 45/13. M.denicre, p. 70.

assoiled, v. past. '3 *. absolved 41 /a 7.

Assur, 11. AsByria 80/15. M. Ax-
sue re, p. 130.

Astate, 71. estate, rank 3I/23,
I(i0/i4.

atised, r. past. 3 s. stiiTcd up, in-
flamed 87/35. ^^- «'<><', P- 188.
C'f. the woman thus a-tysed wyth
the swete flamme of love. Eneyd.
47/16.

atiser, r. stir up, inflame 89/19.
M. entigcr, p. 140.

atoure, //. attire 74/i. M. I'atour,
p. 117.

attercoppe, n. Hp:der 63/i8. M.
iraiiKjue, i.e. Varavjnee, p. 99.

aualed, v. 2jast. 3 s. let down II3/9.
M. avaUiy p. 172.

auaylles, np. remuneration, per-
quisites 196/1 8. L. valere, F.
■ndoir.

auctorytees, «/). authorities 194/33.
M . et fist moult d'auctorifez,\i.27 7 .

auent, prep. ? anent? 86/14. M. nne
heste sauvaige, qui nulle rayson
ne scet fors que nature qui lui
esmetit, p. 135. A note on this
point printed with the corrections
to the edition of 1868 reads:
"auent is probably a vent, wind,
impulse .... Compare Cotgrave's
* 11 se laisse emporfer da vent, He
runnes on freely, carried vpon the
wings of his owne conceit ; also,
he is inconstant, light-headed,
variable, of a changeable humour :'
carried away by every impulse
{vent)yWe might say." This is also
I)r. Furuivall's reading of auent.

auision, n. vision II/19, 43/21.
M. adiision, pp. 17, 67.

auncien, adj. old 155/6. M..ancien,
p. 221.

aunsetters, np. ancestors 4/i8. M.
ancesseurs, p. 5.

auouutry, n. adultery 76/io.

auowtry, n. adultery 57/35. M*
avoultire, p. 90.

unrjida and creagra. (See Prof. Craigie's paper read before the Philolog. Socy.
Nov. 1905.) Although our alles, from the circumstances under which it is
used, might seem to be a survival of awel, it is evident that the action is one
of stabbing rather than of tearing, and the word can only be the same as
modern awl, from AS. <eI. The French is alesnes, M. p. 109.

GLOSSARY.

235

automd, pp. coufirmcd, cstablisli-
ed 87/27. L. uu III mare, to af-
firm. M. simply reads : ceulx qui
sont (Je bon lieu et iVancea^erie,
p. 137.

auuter, n. altar 5I/29.

auys, 7<. advice I6/28. M.n!m',p. 26.

avision, n. vision 43/';. M. arision,
p. 66.

axed, r. past. 3 .s. asked 26/31.

axinge, prai. p. asking I48/33.

axs9, V. ask 5y/i. AS. ascian.

ayen, adv. again I2/9.

ayenst, prep, against 10/8, 42/io.

Babiloyne, n. Babylon 129/2. M.

Jiabilonie, p. 191.
bacbyters, np. backbiters 173/ 13.

M. mesdimiis, p. 248.
balled, adj. bald 22/27.
bapteme, n. baptism II/31. M.

haptesme, p. 17.
barayn, adj. barren 75/3. M. hre-

hairKj, p. 118.
bariters, np. baraters, quarrelsome

people 53/25.
Barsaba, n. Bathsheba 57/35.
Base Almaigne, n. Netherlands

162/1 1. 'M..basseAlemaigne,-^.2Zl.
Xie^pp. been 32/25.
Beaulyon, n. Beaulieu 5I/25. M.

Beaulieu, p. 79.
beden, p2). bidden 7I/25.
begylers, np. beguilers 175/2 t.
be-hest, v.pres. "dp. promise 57/ii.
behight, v. past. 3 p. promised

92/10. AS. behdian. M, p7'0-

mistrent, p. 144.
Beleen, n. Bethlehem 93/29. M.

Bethleem, p. 146.
belefte, v. past, was left IO3/14.

M. demoura, p. 160.
beleue, n. belief 129/2 7.
ben, V. be II/21. AS. beon.
ben, v.pres. Z p. are 5/i6, &c.
berell, n. apparel? 64/5.
berieles, n. grave I2/22. M. la

fosse, p. 19.
berielles, vp. burial 89/i i ; Sy

commanda le roy .... qiielle

n'etist point de sepulcre, et non

eust-elle, ne de sepulture, p. 139.
berke, v. pres. 3 p. bark 126/2 9.

M. ahbayent, p. 188. AS. horcian.
Bersabe, n. Bathsheba 99/ 1. M.

Bersabee, p. 154.

besemithe, v. pres. 3 s. becomes,

suits 31/11.
bestailes, np. cattle, pastoral

wealth 103/13. F. helail. M.

bestes vivans, p. 159.
bestourned", ?'. j^cist. 3 p. reversed,

upset 202/10.
besydsz, prep, beside 48/9.
bethe, v. pres. 3 p. are 49/30.
be-thenke you, 6/31. M. soa-

viengne ions, p. 8.
betidde, v. past. 3 s. happened 2O/26.
beye, v. buy 66/8. AS. hycgan.
bituxst, prep, betwixt, between

19/16.
blake, adj. black 29/3- AS. Jilac.
blemesshing, n. blemishing 23/15.

OF. blesmir.
bobant, bobaxmce, n. pride, vain-
glory 13/1, 38/4, 27. OF. hohance.

it. hombtis, M. le bobant, p. 20.
body, «. woman; goodhody I22/29.
bone, 71. boon 34/24. M. don, p. 54.
borde, v. chatter, gabble 40/3 1.

M. V. past. 3 p. hourdoyent, p. 63.
Bordell, n. brothel I79/4. M.

hourdel, p. 255.
boronesse, n. baroness I4I/30. M.

baronesse, p. 206.
hoTun, pp. born 64/i6.
bote, V. past. 3 p. and 3 s. bit 43/19,

148/23. AS. hUan.
bounte, n. bounty, goodness IO6/4,

162/34. M. bonte, p. 163.
bourde, n. in, bourde, in pretence

111/26. M. par bourdes, p. 170.

Cf. Verite, bourde, aujourd'uy

m'est tout un. Vill. p. 111.
braydes, np. brands 54/5. ^^*

hrandars, p. 83.
breche, n. breeches 72/9. M. hraies,

p. 115.
breed; n. bread I86/27. M. lyain,

p. 266.
breke, v. break 58/5.
brenne,f.burn I2/23. AS. haernan.
brenning, brenninge, adj. burning

49/16, 68/4.
brent, pp. burnt, 49/20.
briddes, np. birds 1/6, 40/28. AS.

brid. M. oysillons, oiselez, pp. 1,

63.
bronds,?<2^. brands 54/7. ^•H^ons,

p. 83.
broudred, ^;/). embroidered 16 8/2.

M. hrodee, p. 239.
browesse, n. pottage 8/21. Vide

Note to til is line.

U3(y

GLObSAllV.

Burgeyl, n. liourijiieil 186/25. M.

Jionn/iteil, p. 2U0.
biirgeys, nj). hurt^etsses 92/32. M.

boiin/cois, J). 145.
burgoyze, n. burgease I2/14. M.

1>our(joisej p. 11'.
burioyse, n. burgesse I88/2. M.

boarrjoise, p. 202.
busshement, «. ambush 92/17. ^^^

embuxhement. Cf. put them all in

a busshement , God. of Bol. 131/2 4.

M. les jjaititti qui estoient ein-

huschez, p. 145.
Bybilt, n. Bible 54/24.
bygonne, pj>. begun 74/2 3.
byleuyd, pj). believed 203/8. AS.

ffelyj'an. M. crea^ p. 287.

canne, ?". know, 27/23.

canoun of hys masse, 40/30. M.

(/HCinf il fut a so7i canon, p. 63.

The canon of the mass was the

part containing the words of con-
secration,
carion, caryoune, n. carrion 39/21,

53/33. ^^- charoingne, p. 61.
caste, V. past. 3 p. planned, plotted

32/32.
castel, n. castle IOO/13. M. chastely

p. 156.
Cathon, n. Cato I94/29. M.

Cathon, p. 277.
Cathonet, n. diminutive of Cathon,

Cato, i.e. son of Cato 195/2. M.

Cathonnet, p. 278. London MS.

has throughout Chatonnet.
caute, V. past. 3 5. caught 76/30.
cesed, v. past. 3 s. seized IO8/27.

M. sahy, p. 166.
chace, v. past. 3 s. chose 2O/4. M.

esleut,\>.'61. AS.ceosan. Y.choisir.
chambreres, np. wanton women

30/20.
champion, n. substitute in battle;

champion I2O/31. M. champion,

p. 181.
chase, v. past. 3 s. chose 82/i2.

AS. cedsan. F. choisir.
cbaste, v. chastise 28/ 1. OF.

chastier.
chastysement,??. correction 184/i 5.

M. chastiement , p. 262.
chaufed, pp. warmed, excited. F.

chauffer 79/4. Cf. wette chaffed

aftre the bestes. Eneyd. 52/4;

collated eschauff'es, p. 196.
chaumbrere, n. maidservant, hand-

maid 106/1 7, 110/9. M. chum-

heritre, servante de I'oxtel, pp. 163,

168.
chemenyes, it]), chimnies I69/19,

M. chf iiiiuets , p. 241.
cherisshed, pj>. 8/19. M. chitre

ieniie et couvee, p. 12.
cherlous, adj. churlish I6O/3.
chersinga, n. cherishing II9/17.

OF. cherir.
ches, V. past. 3 «. chose III/28.
chese, v. choose I6/14. AS. cedsan.

F. choisir.
cheuance, n. wealth, import;ince

I8O/31. M. V amour et la chiere

qtCil devra avoir de son droict,

p. 257. OF. chevance. See Note

to 191/1. Andcf. :

Oublyans naturel devoir,
Par faulte d'ung peu de chevance.
ViU. 28/13.

cbeuisshe, v. provide for IO6/26.

M. chevir, p. 164.
childbedde, n. 1 93/13. M. en

(jtdiie, p. 275.
childed, pp. given birth to child

IO8/2. AS. cildian. M. avoif ea

effant, p. 165.
cbildinge, n. childing, bearing of

child 109/14.
Chimefere, 7i. Chievrefaye 52/14.

M. Chievre Faye, p. 81. See

Note to 52/14.
chose, pp. chosen I6/16.
Cipre, n. Cyprus, IIO/13. M.

Chippre, p. 168.
clatre, v. clatter 17/2 1.
cleped,^2^. called 68/23. AS. clipian.
cleped, V. past. 8 s. called I52/30,

159/j 6. "AS. clipian. M. appella,

p. 227.
clerete, n. clear brightness 29/24.

M. clarfe, p. 46.
clergy, n. learning II7/29. M.

clergie, p. 177.
Clowes, np. claws 68/3. AS. cldwu.
cloystre, n. cloister 114/io. M.

cloistre, p. 173.
cok, «. cock I68/12. M. co^j', p. 240.
colers, np. collars 3I/24. M. leurs

doz, their backs, p. 49.
coff, r. embrace 21/ 10. OF. coler.

M. accoler, p. 33. Cf. kysseth and

colleth hym. Eneyd. 48/34. ^-

col, neck,
comberous, adj. quarrelsome,

troublesome 2O/24. Comerovs,

(JLOSSAUY.

^37

Vtxatlcus. Prompt. Parv. Cf,

With that fera geant luige and

comerotcs, Romans of Partenay,

1. 406G. Ed. Skeat, 1S66.
coinen,;/p. come 31/23. A'S.caman.
commysed, /^/J- comitted 190/3. F.

coniinefire ; pp. cominis.
comparaged, v. pnxt. 3 p. compared

I63/24. M. pp. comparagiees, p.

234.
comyns, np. commons, people

75/18. OF. commune.
concupissent, ailj. concupiscent

129/9. ^' concupiscere.
confyte, pp. preserved 197/i6. M.

V. confirc, p. 280.
Constantine-noble, n. Constanti-
nople 5/25.
content, n. dispute, contention

100/29. M. contens, p. 156.
contraryenge, n. obstinacy, opposi-
tion 159/21. M. V. pres. con-

trarient mie, &c., p. 228.
cosyns, np. kinspeople, I4O/15.

OF. cosin.
couenable, arJj. .suitable, proper

9/33. M. convenable, p. 14.
couerture, n. covering IIO/28. M.

pp. convert, p. 169.
couetise, n. covetousness 17/7. ■'^•

convoitise, p. 27.
counceyled, jop. counselled 73/io.

M. conseillie, p. 116.
coup, n. cup 191/31. F. coupe, M.

S(i vahselle d\tr<jent, p. 272.
courance, n. wrath, ire 87/29. M.

le corroax, p. 137.
couroux, n. wrath 85/3. M. cor-

roux, p. 134.
couthe, r. understood 72/26. M.

sceussiez, p. 116.
cojmtyse, v. adorn gaudily 72/23.

M. elles se coiutUrent, p. 116.
creatoure, creature, n. creator

68/14, 70/i,146/i6. M.createur,

pp. 110, 211.
cristen, adj. christian 5/23.
crompithe, v.pre^. int. 3 s. becomes

corrupt 71/6. M. ([ui put taut
. ordement que la piieur en ra an

del, p. 114.
crounes, rip. crowns 153/21. M.

Veu les couronnoit, p. 219.
cunne, r. acknowledge, 26/4.
curious, adj. careful, painstaking

144/16. M. curiettses, p. 209.
cursere, n. courser, horse I2I/4.

M. eheral, p. 181.

cussinge, n. kissing 59/14. AS.

ci/Hsaii .
customer, a^^;'. accustomed 134/21.

M. coiistumiire, p. 197.
custumance, n. custom, habit 8/23.
cutte,n. lot 34/6. .See under Phrases.

Dalide, ti. Delilah 92/3. M.Dalidn,

p. 144.
danaayseM:, n. damosel I66/24.

F. demoiselle.
dar, V. dare I75/30. M. o.<e, p.

251.
daunsed, v. past. 3 s. danced 35/4.

M. dansoyt, p. 55.
debate, n. contention, discussion

171/22. M. r/eirt^, p. 246.
debonaire, adj. 84/5. M. de-

homiaire, p. 132.
debonairet [e],%. meekness I43/29.

OF. debonnairete.
debonairly, adv. 121/1 8. M.

doulcement, p. 181.
deceperacion, «. separation one from

another 98/28. OF. deceparacion

from deseparer, L. dU + separave.

Not in M.
deceyuotirs, np. deceivers 175/2 r.

M. decevears, p. 251.
dede, v. past. 1 s. did I3/4.
dede of, v. past. 3 s. took off, doffed

39/16.
dedely bedde, adj. & n. death-
bed 191/1. M. simply son lit,

p. 271.
deface, v. destroy I63/31.
defames, np. calumny 2/26. M.

diffame, p. 3. Cf. :

Une chascune de ces femmes
Lors prindrent ains qu'eussent

diff'ames,
L'une ung cleic, ung lay, I'autre

ung moine. Vill.. p. 44.

defence, u. prohibition 56/28. OF.

defendre.
defended, pp. forbidden 57/i7.

M. deffendu, p. 89.
deflfait, pp. spoiled, ruined I2I/5.

M. deffait, p. 181.
deffende, v. pres. 1 s. forbid 178/i8.

M./e lenr dejfans, p. 255.
defouled, ?". past. 3 s. defiled; de-
flowered 121/29. M. despucella,

p. 182. OF. d(f Older.
defowled, 2^P' defiled 74/9. M.

despncelUe, p. 117. OF. defonler.

:J3H

(M.OSSAIIY.

Dolborah, //. Dt-borali I17/ii. M.

Ddlhura, p. 170.
dener, n. dinner 26/2 2.
deuied, r. pant. 3 m. for tleignetl

85/2 3. M. <l(iif/ua, p. 135.
departe, v. divide GG/9. M. pp.

(lepaities, p. 106.
departe, v. divide I23/24. M. de-

partez, p. 184.
departed, r. pad. 3 «. divided 98/2.

M. acoit fait part I r la mer, p.

15:J.
departithe, v. pres. 3 s. separates

146/27. OF. depart ir.
deported", pp. prevented, made de-
sist 203/11. M. V. deporter, p.

287.

depuceld, pp. deflowered 74/9. M.
despacelUe, p. 117. F. pucelley a
maiden.

derke, adj. dark IO/32. AS. deorc.
M. la nuit ohscnre, p. 16.

derkelyng, adj. darkling 2I/9.

desdeyn, n. disdain I7/17. M. des-
daing, p. 27.

deseiuable, deseyuable, adj. de-
ceptive, deceiving 33/31, 66/29.
M. decevahle, p. 53.

deseyued, ^>2>. deceived 57/i3.

destroubled, pp. ti'oubled, hindered
43/34. M. dedourle, p. 68. OF.
destotirhler from destourhier.

detrenchid, pp. cut in pieces 74/25.
M. despeciee, p. 118.

deyen, i\ die 20/9. Ice. deyja.

deyen, v. pres. 3 j)- die 39/25.

deyeng, n. dying 29/3.

digne, adj. worthy 6/1 1. F. digne.
M. saincte, p. 6.

di^t, V. past. 3 ^). arrayed 19/i2.
AS. dihtan.

dirige, w. dirige, first word of Latin
antiphon in office for dead ; hence
name for that service 7/5. M.
vigilles des mors, p. 9. Cf. :
" That they doo and syng the same
Day for my Soule & the soules
aforsaid, Placebo & Dirige, &
masse of requiem by note." Med.
Records of a London City Ch.,
p. 6. E. E. T. S.

disclaunder, w. wi-ongful slander,

126/22.

discounceylle, v. counsel against
I82/34. OF. dis + coiiseiller.

discreued, pp. described 147/i. M.
V. descripre, p. 212.

dispiteous, dispitoiis, adj\ harsh,

pitileas 84/32, 117/19. M. dtxpi-
teux. Cf. :

Pauvret^, chajfrine et dolente,
Tousjours deifpitf.ase et rebelle,
Dit quelque parolle cuygante.
Vill., p. 31.

displesaunce, n. dispieaaure 25/ 18.

OF. ( lesp la Uau ce.
disporte, it. sport, play 176/i. OF. r.

desporter. M.esbaternent*, p. 252.
disworshipped, j}j>. dishonoured

6/30.
domages, up. danmges, ill effects

74/10. M. le doiumaiye, p. 117.
dome, adj. dumb 68/19. AS. damh^

OHG. tumh, deaf, stupid, dumb,

G. dump/.
don, ?;. do 6I/9. AS. don, OHG.

tuon, G. ihun.
done of, pp. taken off, doffed 46/28.

C'ax. I)i3i\." Ostes voBtre chappron :

Doo o/'your hood," p. 4.
do on, V. put on, don 37/i.
donghilt, 11. dunghill IO3/17. M.

un filmier, p. 160.
doubed, pp. daubed 31/2 5. OF.

dauber, to plaster, L. dealbare,

from albus, white.
doughtres, np. daughters I6/15.
doute,?« .fear 114/4. M.<?o»?>/e,p.l73.
doute, V. revere 48/36. M. doubter,

p. 75.
douted, 2>p' reverenced 92/24. M.

doubte, p. 145.
douted, V. past. 3 p>- feared I6I/9.

M. doubtoient, p. 230.
doutinge, j res. p. fearing 130/26.

M. v.past. doubtoit, p. 192.
dradde, p^. dreaded 44/31. AS.

drddan.
dradden, v. past. 3 }). dreaded I6I/9.

M. craingnoient, p. 230.
dredefuU, adj. full of dread 176/27.

M. doubteux, p. 251.
drenche, v. drown 6/14.
dronkesB.ip,?i. drunkenness 170/34,

189/1 4. M. yvresse, p. 243.
dronkinnesse, 11. drunkenness

116/ 18. M. cellui mauvais vice

de trop boire, p. 175.
drougH, drow, v. past. 3 i«. drew

19/24, 78/9. AS. dragan, G.

t rag en.
dryue, u. drift 111/15. AS. c?r(/an,

OHG. triban, G. treiben.
duelled, v. past. 3 s. dwelt 30/1.

AS. dtvellan.

GLOSSARY.

239

dured, v. past. 3 p. lasted, endured
68/2. M. dure, p. 110.

dwyned, r. past. 3 s. dwindled
35/30. AS. dwinan.

dyflfamen, v. pres. 3 ;>. defame
173/1 5. M. ilz diffament, p. 249.

dysseaere, v. sever 170/1 3. M.
deaserer, p. 242.

dyssymyled', v. pai<t. 3 s. dis-
sembled, made pretence over
100/^. M. dissimnla, p. 155.

dyssymylynge, n. dissembling

171/11. M. faulx seinhldut, p.

244. „

Ebreux, up. Hebrews 78/3. M.

Ehrieux, p. 123.
eeres, up. ears 40/2 5.
EflPram, n. Ephraim 93/27. M.

Effraim, p. 146.
egerlyer, adv. more eafjerly 82/13.
Elezeus, n. Elisha 124/i6. M.

Elizeus, p. 185.
embassitours. Tip. ambassadors

16/13. M. messagiers, p. 25.
empecfied, pp. hindered, held

204/11. V.empkher.
encursinge, n. cursii)g I2/33.
endoctryne, v. instruct II2/4,

li)6/i I. M. endoctriner, p. 279.
enfecte, pp. infected 92/i2. F. in-

fecU. M. deceue par coiivoitue,

p. 144. Cf. " the infecte odour."

Eneyd. 2I/26.
enfrayned', enfraynt, pp. violated

129/14, 203/1 7. M. enffraint, en-

fraini. pp. 191, 287.
enharded, v. past. 3 s. encouraged

56/36.
enhorte, r. exhort 6I/10. M. con-

i^eillier, p. 95.
enis, adv. once 2/3. AS. diies, gen.

of an.
enprynted", pp. imprinted 205/21.

(^ax. Dial, impressee, enprinteid, p.

51.
euqueren, r, pres. 3 j:>. inquire

148/27. M. eiiquUrenf, \y. 21B.
enquest, n. inquiry I96/25. M. r.

enqnerre, p. 279.
ensaumples, np. examples 8/25, et

paxsim.
enseygnementes, rq). teachings,

194/29. M. enseigneniens, p. 277.
enstabelisshed, pp. established

117/1. M. estahly, p. 176.
entatched*, pp. aftected, tainted

192/13. r. (ntac/ier.

entendaunt, adj. attendant 155/9.
entende, 7i.heed I3O/4. OF. entente.
enteade, v. attend, pay attention

114/4. M. enttiulre, p. 173.
entende, r. listen 2/ 1 9. M. entendre,

p. 2.
entendement, n. understanding

170/35. OF. entendre.
entent,??. intention, purpose 1 44/34.

OF. entente.
entremete, v. pres. 1 s. meddle

184/18. M. fw^remeZ/rf, p. 262.
enuyouse, envyeusis, adj. envious

21/30,150/13. M.. envy e use, ^. 34.
erliche, adv. early 80/ 13. AS.

cerlice.
ermynes, np. ermines 88/33. M.

hermiiieti, p. 139.
Ershebisshope, i%. archbishop 42/2.
Esaw, n. Esau IO6/21. M. Esaii,

p. 163.
esbatenaent, n. play, sport 172/20.

M. eshafements, p. 247.
eschauufe, v. heat, inflame 164/3 1.

M. V. es^chauffe, p. 235.
esconduyed, r. past, 3 s. refused,

denied 85/28. M. escondiroit,

p. 135. Cf. Morte de s'amor I'a

escondite. Vergi, 83/658.
escry,w. repute 173/1 2. M. cri, p. 248.
ese, 71. ease 44/33. OF. aise.
eslargithe, v. pres. 3 s. enlargens

132/11. M. eslargist, p. 194.
espoisalt, 7?. espousal 147/9. M*

les espousailles, p. 212.
esprysed* (cf), ;>^>. smitten v^rith,

enamoured 17 5/ 19. F. s'eprendre.

M. e,vprins d' amours, p. 251. Cf.

^^e$prued\xi y®loue of this queue."

Eneyd. 32/27.
essayed, pj3. made trial of; essayed

190/11. M. essaya, p. 270.
essayeth,r. ^^res. 3 5. tempts I7O/26.

In M. the verb is eschaxffe, i.e.

enflames, p. 243.
Ester, n. Esther I5O/25. M.

Hester, p. 215.
eie,v.past. 3 s. ate 58/26. AS. etan.
euericll, adj. every 2/33.
eueriche, pron. each 34/2 2, 4O/25.
Eutalia, n. Athaliah 89/25. M.

Atalia, p. 140.
exhaunsithe, v. pres. 3 s. enhances,

exalts 91/22. M. essauce, p. 144.
expouned, v. past. 3 .>-•. expounded

43/30. OF. es2^ondre. lj.eij>onere.
extraie, v. extract 3/27, 31. F.

extra ire.

'UU

C LOSS A It Y.

extymo, n. tsieeiii 17'-', 2. l\ c

liintu'.
eyre, n. air 05/7. M. air, p. 85.

fader, //.father 8/36, &c. XH.fctder.
faderles, adj. futherlesB 29/19.
fadom, II. fiithom ll/i. M. toises,

p. ItJ.
t'alce fleumed 116/8. See Note to

this line,
fait, ;>/>. fallen 88/2, 47/32.
fallace, //. transgression, failing

190/12. M. f alliance {h'om OF.

faillir), p. 270.
falslied, n. wrong, falseness 171/8.
fa[n]tesi, n. fantasy I39/19. OF.

fantasie.
farded (her), r. past. 3 s. painted (her

face) 69/15. M. sefardoity p. 111.
faster, n. faster, one who fasts 13/2 1 .

A'^.fcedaUy M. lejeuner, p. 20.
fawted; / ]>. sinned I82/3.
fayne, adj. vain IIO/32.
fay re, v. make fair 69/31. AS. adj.

fcegtr.
faytte, n. act, deed 174/26, 183/8.

M. fait, p. 260.
febelithe, v. pres. 3 s. makes feeble

II6/11. M. affaihlit,y>. 175.
febely, ode. feebly, weakly 53/'i5.

M. petiiement, p. 82.
fedres, up. feathers 22/25. AS.f€/>er.
fedyll, n. fiddle 159/5. M. sa vielle,

p. 227.
felausfiip, n. fellowship 198/20.

M. a fait telle compaignie, p. 282.
felawshipped, r. j^a^f. 3 p. frater-
nized I6O/15.
felon, adj. felonious 74/30. M.

felon, p. 118.
felthe, n. filth II/33. AS. fyW.

M. hotie, p. 18.
fende, n. fiend, devil 40/8. AS.

feond. M. ennemy, p. 62.
fer dayes,??. 45/7. The French is c/S"//

estoit moult haulte henre. M. p. 70.
ferde, v. fear 25/12. AS.yci;7-.
ferdfuU, adj. fearful 7/10,^68/27.
fere, n. fire 66/19. AS./t/r.
ferforth, adi\ extremely 173/8.
fermaylles, np. trinkets, jewels

I86/13. M. fennailles, p. 264.

^'Fermal, ftrmail, fermeillet, a-

grafe, boucle, chaine, crochet, car-
can." Roquefort's Glossaire.
fers, adj. proud I9/17, 25/6. M.
fiire^^, pp. 30, 39.

fersely, adv. fiercely 84/30. M.

jitrement, p. 133.
ferynge, adj. fearful, afraid 175/26.

M. paonreuXy p. 251.
fet, V. fetch 93/32. AH.fetian.
feuer, adj. fewer 47/i. AS./ea.
fiaunce, fyaunce, v. affiance 99/23,

107/1. M.jiancei; p. 238.
flatour, n. flatterer I23/29. M.

Jlatleuv, p. 184.
flawe, r. past. 3 «. flew II8/16.

AS. y/eof/rtM.
flawme, n. flame 66/3, I65/14. M.

lajtainbe, p. 236.
flayne, pp. flayed I74/30. M. es-

corchiez, p. 250.
flesshely, adj. carnal. M. adv.

charnellement, p. 213. Aii.Jlcesc-

lic.
flesshely, adv. carnally 51/2 8. AS.

Jicesclic.
fleumed, II6/9. See Note to 116/8.
floury, adj. 141/8. M, pasteuses,

p. 205. OF. Jlor.
fade, n. food 43/33. AS./otZa.
foiled, r. past. 3 p. did foolishly

70/19.
folw, V. follow 87/33. ASi.folffian.
foly, adj. foolish 21/i. OY.fol, n.

folie.
folynesse, adj. foolish 87/19.
fonde, r. past. 1 s. and 3 }). found

3/31,27/9. AS. fmdan.
font stone, I2/4. M.fons de hap-

teme, p. 18.
forsuere, v. forswear I3O/25. AS.

forsivearian.
forth right, adv. straight forward

15/19. Cr."a/or/A Ri'^htiXoggii of

Iryn." Med. Records of a London

CityCh. E. E.T. S., p. 224.
for-yete, v. forget 5/17. AS./or-

gietan.
fote, n. foot 56/35. AS. /of.
fouled, pp. defiled 53/^. AS. adj.

fuL
tou.te,pp. fought 92/i 9. AS.feohtan .
fowls, adj. foolish 72/27. M. fole,

p. 116.
foyson, foysun, n. abundance

62/21, 108/32. M. foi/snn, pp.

98, 227.
fraunchise, n. frankness, a free dis-
position 151/14. M. line franche

nature, p. 216. 0¥. franchise.
frensye, n. frenzy 117/2 2. M.

frenaisie, p. 177.
frentyk, adj. frantic, lunatic I26/3.

GLOSSARY.

241

frere, n. friar 28/30. M. frere

meu'Iionf, mendicant friar, p. 45.
freres, np. friars 46/3, 1^3/6. M.

freres, pp. 71, 275.
fructife, v. to become fruitful 7/29.

M.frnctifier, p. 11.
fryuolles, np. triflings 176/6. M.

par telle frivole, p. 252.
fucillel83/32. See Note to this line.
txxvTe^v. pres. 3 p. fur, trim with fur

31/24. M./ofOTf'?*/, p. 49.
fust, n. fist, 27/2,
fytithe, v. pres. 3 p. fight 54/4-

A^.feohian.

gadre, v. gather 93/7. AS. gadrian.

galoys, galoyses, np. people of fast
life? 169/2. M. ffolois, galoises,
p. 241. OF. galloise, a fast
woman. Galles, pleasures, joys.
Onller, to lead a joyous life. Cf. :

Jeplaings le temps de ma jeunesse,
Ouquel j'ay plus qu'autre galU.
Vill., p. 27.

garderobe, n. private apartment
111/26. M.garde-rohe,\^.\lO. Cf.:
Et quant illueques ne la trueve,
An chevalier commands et rueve
Qu'en la garderobe la quiere.
Vergi, 91/853.

gardonetll, r. pre6. 3 s. guerdons, re-
wards, 4/32. M. guerredonne, p. 5.

garet, n. garret 88/31. M. portail,
p. 139.

garnementis, n}). garments 40/6.

galous, adj. jealous 23/6. M.
jalouse, p. 36.

gendered, pj). engendered 66/33.
M. engendre, p. 107.

geMonithe, 9/21, ^lide gardoneth.

gestis, np. gestes, deeds, annals, viii,
3/28, 19/5. M. gestes, p. 4.

gesyne, lesyne, n. childbirth
109/12, 113/33. M. en gesine, en
gesines, pp. 167, 172.

gette, 71. acquired fashion 31/8.

gise,»/. guise I9/30. M. guise, p. 30.

gises, 7ip. guises, 29/30.

glomyng, n. looking black, frown-
ing 35/25.

glotonye, n. gluttony I7O/33. M.
gloutonnie, p. 243.

god; adj. good 175/25. AS. god.

Goddes sonde, n. God's dispensa-
tion, ordinance 46/30. AS. sand.
Cf. G. Sc7ncl-ung. " But, blyssyd

be godd of hys hye sonde," Cap-
grave's Life of St. Katherine

12/194. E. E.T.S.
godsib, n. female friend 79/9.
Gomer, n. Gomorrah 71/1. M.

Gomorre, p. 113.
good condiciones, np. good man-
ners and disposition 5/27. M.

tonnes menrs, p. 7.
goormaunde, v. gormandize 9/29.

OF. (joarmander.
greuid, v. past. 3 s. weighed down,

grieved 65/19. M. greroit, p. 105.
greyhoundes, np. 43/17. M. /e-

vriers, p. 67.
gromandise, n. gourmandizing,

115/12. M. le trop gourman-

der, p. 174.
growne, v. pres. 3 p. growl 12 6/2 9.

M. rechignent, p. 188.
guerdon, gwerdon, n. reward 5/i i,

73/26. M. gnerredon, pp. 6, 117.
guerdoned, jjp. rewarded I3I/15.

M. n. guerredon, p. 193.
guerdoned, v. past. 3 s. rewarded

113/29. ^' giierredonna, p. 172.

guyses, n^j. scribal error for gesgnel

109/18. (See above. Not in M.)

gwerpysshe, v. leave, abandon

I8I/16. M. guerpir, p. 258.

hakneys, np. ladies' ambling mares

135/36. OF. haqtiende.
halpe, IK past. 3 s. helped 32/34,

42/ 1. AS. helpan.
halydaies, np. holy days, feasts

37/2. AS. halig + dceg.
hap, n. adventure 204/4. Cf. " bon

eur : good happe." Cax. Dial.

29/22.
hardy, adj. bold 175/28. M. Jiardi,

p. 251. OHG. Jiarti.
harpe, v. harp 98/4. M. harper, p.

153.
haultarie, adj. arrogant 127/io.

M. haultain, p. 189.
hautyuete, n. haughtiness 126/21.
hayre, heyre, n. hair-cloth 39/7,

48/26. M. la haire, pp. 61, 75.

Cf. " payde for iiij yerdes heer for

J)e hye awter." Med. Records of a

London City Ch., p. 256. E.E.T.S.
hedir,arfy. hither 15/18. AS. hider.
hedirward; adv. hitherward, hither

17/24.
Helayne, n. Helen 174/5. M. la

heJle Helaine, p. 249.

242

OLOKSAKY,

helcs, rt^^ heeln Sl/ig. M. leiirx
fulviif, p. 49.

helthe, n. laalth, Bulvatioii I5I/30.
t'f. '•jiUeluya, sttluji vitii lux. That
in, A*-*-/?, lyfe, and lytj^ht." I<e{^ina
Celi Letare, 1. 16. Political ]tel.
and Love Poems, p. 176. E.E.T.S.

helys, np. heeln 3I/30. AS. hehi.

hem, j)r<))i. him 14/21, lD/27.

hem, pron. them I6/35.

hem-self, pron. themselves 4/17,

18/34.
her, poss. pron. their I6/1.
herborued, f.p. harboured, sheltered

124/26. OF. herhenjier, Cax.

Dial. " herhergier : logged," p. 49.

Perhaps of Teutonic origin, OHG.

hergan, a camp, G. berytn, to hide,

save. Skeat gives AS. hertbetgan.
herburgt, n. harbour, shelter

124/18. M. r. herbergier, p. 185.
here, n. hair 23/ii, 3O/14. AS.

hikr, G. JIaar.
hares, np. ears 27/io. AS. eare.
heres, pjron. theirs 53/24.
hertis, np. harts 63/2. M. ccrfi<

brancJiiis, p. 99.
heui, adj. heavy I/2. AS. hefig.
heyre, n. heir 107/io. M. heriiier,

p. 164.
highed, pp. exalted 20/ 20. AS.

hedn, M. s^essaulce, p. 32.
hight, pj). named, called 125/2 2,

147/29. AS. hatan.
hily, adc. highly 148/6. AS. hedlice.
hit, jj'i'ov. it 'i/16, et passim.
hode, n. hood 15/6. M. chapperon,

p. 23.
holde, pp. held 22/2. AS. heahlan.
holy, adv. wholly II6/22.
homycyde, n. 203/14. M. Itomi'

cide, p. 287.
hondes,W2?. hands 29/17. AS. hand.
hool, adj. whole, in good health

I68/17. A.S. hdl.
hore, 11. whore 34/25. M. la plus

pute, p. 54.
homes, np. horns 62/22. AS. horn,

M. comes, p. 98. See Note to

62/2 2.

hors, w^>. horses 43/ 17, 9O/15. AS.

hors.
hows, n. house IOO/20. AS. hus,

M. hostel, p. 156.
humaigne, «<//. human 143/22. F.

humain.
humilied, r. past. 3 s. humbled

149/8. F. s'lnimilier.

hurtinge, u. injury, harm '.i.'i i. .M.
It. mehaing, p. 3.

hyra, pron. them I6/32.

hynder, r. harm 84/25. M. les
genu . . . lay Jireut nut/gance par
decen Hon seigneur, p. 133.

impetre, v. impetrate, obtain by

petition IOI/13. M. empetrast, p.

157, OF. impetrer, L. impetrare.
irapetret, r. preg. 3 «. impetrateft

14/2. M. empifre, p. 21.
impetrithe, v. preg. 3 p. impetrate

51/20. M. empetrent, p. 79.
incontonent, adr. incontinently

130/1. M. tantost, p. 192. OF.

incontinerd.
inpaciens, adj. impatient 103/21.

OF. impatien*, M. elle se cour'

runra, p. 160.

jangeloures, vp. janglers, chat-
terers I62/24. M. genglenn, p.

232. OF. ja)igler.
jangelyng, n. chattering, jangling

32/14. M.janffle^y). 50 : " iauge-

lyn, or iaveryn, iaberyn, garrulo

hlatero." Prompt. Parv.
janglory, n. chatter 176/ 19. M.

gangleries, p. 252.
jape, V. mock 40/2 3. OF. Japer.
japer, n. deceiver 33/i6. OF. japer

or japper, to chatter. M. bour-

deiir, p. 52.
japing, n. chattering 9/3. OF. japer.
jebet,7i.gibbet 64/28. M.7?&^^,p.l04.
jelosie, n. jealousy 23/23. ^F.

jalousie.
jeloys, adj. jealous 120/2 8. M.

jalon^x, p. 181.
jesyne, n. childbirth II3/33. M.

en gesines, p. 172.
Joadis, n. Jehoiada 89/29. ^^'

Joadis, i.e. Joad or Jo'iadn, p. 140.
Jochim, n. Joachim I29/3. M.

Joachim, p. 191.
jolytees, np. pleasures 41/ 13. M.

amourettes, i. e. love - affairs,

amours, p. 64.
journey, n. fight, battle I54/23.

OF. joarnee. M. la bataille, p.

221.
juellys, np. jewels 65/29.
Jues, nj). Jews 97/32, 151/i6.

OF. jui.
jupardye, n. jeopardy 28/21.

GLOSSARY.

243

jnmeys, up. clay's journeys II7/32.

M.journees, p. 177.
jurred, pp. triinnied, decked 14 5/ 1 3.

M. adonnu-ea, p. 210.
justinge, u. jousting 34/34. OF.

jousfer.
justis,?i^>. jousts 110/17. M.jousfeSf

p. 168.
justyse, n. justice I71/i2. M.

justice, p. 244.

kembed, r. past. 3 .s. combed 9O/3.

AS. cemhan, M. prnrjuoit, p. 154.
kerned, /.p. combed 45/8, 145/12.

AS. cemban, M. piufpiees, p. 210.
kendill, r. kindle I64/35. M. tw-

Jfanibez, p. 235. Ice. kyndill.
knightes, «j?. I5/28. AS. cniht.

M. ro?/s <Ze frt lamer, p. 25 (kings,

not knights).
knoulech, «. knowledge I8/4. AS.

aid lean, to know,
knowlectlynge, 11. knowledge

182/5.
knowleged, v. past. 3 s. acknow-
ledged 37/26.
kynde, n. custom, rule I69/15. M.

la nature, p. 241. AS. gecynd.
kyst, r.past. 3 8. cast 57/ 16.

laft, pp. left 35/30. AS. Ufan.
lappe, n. lap (of a woman) 92/14.

AS. lappa, OHG. lappa, G. Lap-

/.€«, flap or patch. M.</?'ro;i,p. 145.
laser, n. lazar 132/20. M. le

ladre, p. 195.
lassed", /.'p. lessened, lowered l78/io.

M. abaissiee, p. 254. AS. l^ssa,

less.
late,r.let 26/27,32/18. AS.lwtan.
lede, ?^ lead 68/32. AS. lead.
leiser, leyser, n. leisure I7/28,

45/20, 47/2. M. loisir, p. 27.
leminan, n. dear friend IO/33. OE.

leofmon. AS. leaf, dear. M. son

amy, p. 16.
lengger, adv. longer 42/8. A S. lang.
lese, V. lose 24/9. Aii. forleosan.
lesinge, falsehood, lie 33/29. AS.

leiisang. M. mensconge, p. 53.
lessethe, v. pres. 3 p. lose 42/23.

AS. /or/ediSa«.
lesynges, wp. lies 176/3. AS. Zm-

suny. M. jFf jja;* ce/Ze*' voyes s'en

void geuglanl et bourdant des

dames, (fee, p. 252.

lette, r. prevent 44/io. AS. he/an,

M. tollir, p. 68.
letteres, nj). lighters 54/7- AS.

leohtan, to light, G. Lcuchter, M.

aliimail, p. 83.
letuse, 11. lettice, white-grey fur

65/20. OF. letice. M.leiticeesde

heruiines, p. 106. The London

MS. reads, de letisses et de her-

rnmes, p. 295.
leude, lewde, adj. lewd, sensual

57/33, .34- M. fol, p. 89. For

derivation see letcde below.
leue, V. believe 95/32. AS. yelyfan,

OHG. gilouhen, G. glauben.
leue, V. live 47/28, '1O6/29. AS.

libban, leojian.
leued, r. past. 3 s. believed 57/8.
leuein, 11. leaven 141/6. Cax. Dial.

lenain: leuayn,\}.\i. L. levare,io

raise,
leuer, adi\ liever. AS. leaf, G.

lieber IOI/4.
leuid, V. past. 3 s. lived II8/11.
lewde, adj. foolish 55/26. AS.

Idwed, lay, unlearned ; le6de, the

people. M./o«,p. 86. Cf. "Twey

leioed men and a clerke," Robert

of Brunne, 1. 6309.
Life of the Fathers. See Inflex.
lifF, n. life, i. e. descendants, progeny

59/25. AS. Uf, M. lignee, p. 93.
lige, lyge, v. lie 23/32, 79/i6. AS.

llcgan, G. liegen, M. couchier par

nuit, p. 126.
liked, v.past. S p. licked 29/4. AS.

liccian, OHG. lecclidn, G. lecken,

L. lingere. M. Uchoient, p. 45.

OF. lechier.
lokes, rip. looks, regard, attention

37/33. AS. locian, G. lugeii.
lompes, nj). lamps II/12, 145/i8.

M. lampes, pp. 17, 210.
lond; londe, n. land 15/2 9, 56/24.

AS. land.
longed, r. past. 3 s. ])elonged 56/i i .

AS. langian. M.appartenoif, p.87 .
loos, n. praise I5/3. M. loz, p. 23.
loueliche, adj. agreeable I6/25.

AS. lujlic.
lougtl, V. past. 3 s. laughed 4O/26.

AS. hlihhan. M. se rioyenf, p. 63.
lumynary, n. 193/5.
lust, n. desire, pleasure, will 3I/33.

AS. lust. M. reads d leur guise,

p. 49.
lust, V. pres. 2 p. deaire IO/23,

24/5. AS. lystan.

16—2

244

r.LOSSAUY.

lycoroua, lykerous, adj. lickerihh,
dainty, tasty 'I'l/io, 06/ 22. OF.
Jfcheroftx froui /ecA/<'r of Teutonic
«)rigin. See liked above. M, reads :
ne doit vteiK/ier 11 id hon morsel
par aa lencherie, p. 36. Cax. Dial.
'^Elle ed motilf yloutee : she is
moche lichorouit,^^ p. 33.

lye, n. alkalied water for cleansing,
made from ashes 7O/4. AS. Ie6h,
lie (Skeat). M. lessive, lye-wash,
p. 112.

lyers, up. liars 53/25. AS. leogere.
M. parjures, p. 83.

lygne, 11. oftispiing 124/21. M.
liijnee, p. 185.

lymer, n. bloodhound I5/17. Pro-
perly a leash-hound. F. limier.
"Gros chien dechasse avee lequel
le Veneur quete et detourne la
b^te, pour la lancer quand on
veut la courir." Diet, de TAca-
demie Fran9aise (1814). OF. lien
a leash. Hence the spelling in
M., le linitre, p. 24.

lynee, w. lineage 109/ 1. M. ling-
nees, p. 167.

lytelyd, ;>/>. littled, diminished 61/
22. AS. lytlian, M. alleyier, p. 96.

lyuynge, rtcT;'. living, = bright, ani-
mated I68/1 3. See /eete. M. nre,
p. 240.

maistred, r. pjast. 3 p. mastered
128/30. M. maistrolent, p. 190.

malefactoures, n p. evil - doers
137/19. L. malefacere, to do
wrong.

malyncolye, n. melancholy 88/3.
M. imdle colle, p 138.

raannisshe, adj. mannish 136/i8.
AS. mennisc. M. hommaux, i.e.
hommas-^esy p. 200.

man slaughter, v. 57/36. AS.
sleahi a blow, from s^lean, to slay.
OHG. slahen, G. schlagen. M.
omicide, p. 90.

mareys, m, marsh 63/36. M. inaroiz,
p. 100.

margarite, marguarite, n. pearl
158/1, I63/5. M. margarite,
p. 226. (See Note to 158/1.)

masse, n. mass 44/29. M. monsticr,
p. 69.

maugre, n. ill-will 33/5- OF.
maiigre, malgre. (See Phrase 70.)
mauuastye, n. wickedness I7I/27.
M. manvaistie, p. 217.

maynten, it. dejM>rtmfnt, bearing

I67/23. M. maintieng, p. 239.
mede, u. reward 5/ii. AS. me I.
medill, r. meddle, mix 159/;. M.

iitesler, p. 227. OF. me«ler,meiUer.
meke, v. trans, make meek 87/23.

Ice. mjtikr. M. il se doit d toua

humilier, p. 137.
melancolyous, adj. melancholy

175/17. M. vierencolieux, p. 251.
menabres, up. members, limbs

IO8/30. OF. membre.
menes, itp. means 35/8. OF. moien.
meneuer, meniuere,n. miniver, fur

of squirrel 30/i3,65/2O. OF. men'

urer ; menu, small, and rair, fur.
meny, meyni, n. people, household

39/10,113/13. M.mesgnie, grant

foyson de gens, pp. 61, 172.
msrour, n. mirror 4 5/ 10. OF,

rw^roir.
meruaile, n, marvel, astonishment

17/17. OF. merveille. M.despit,

p. 27.
mesett, 11. leper 9O/26. M. meselle,

p. 142.
meselrye, n. leprosy 9O/33. M.

mesellerie, p. 142.
meuble, n. furniture, movables

119/13. M. TnewWe, p. 179.
meued; pp. moved 191/ 16. OF.

muveir, moroir.
meues, v. pres. 3 8. moves 86/15.

M. esmeut, p. 135.
mewred, jj/j. immured 73/4. F.

murer. M. sa femme il mist en

chartre perpetttelle, p. 116.
meyni, jjrow. many I9/31. AS.

manig.
mischeef, n. mischief 87/5. ^«

meschief, p. 137.
mischeued, pp. brought to disaster

125/23, 143/8.
Merueile it is J>at y not vnysclieeue^
Jjat y neere kild, drowned, or brent.

Christ's own Complaint in Politi-
cal, Religious and Love Poems
226/563. (E.E.T. S.)
misleuyng, n. misliving, evil living

115/24.
mistornithe, r. pres. 3 s. reverses

71/6. M. hestotirne, p. 114.
moder, w. mother 29/ 1 4. AS. mddor.
moderes, n. ge^i. mother's 37/ 16.
moders, nj). mothers 4/3.
mordres, np. murders 89/i6. AS.

morSor, G. Mord, L. mors, death.
M. murtres, p. 140.

ULOSSAUY.

245

morw, n. morrow 6/16, 9/14, 11/6,
&c. AS. morgen.

most, V. prea. 3 s. must 44/i i. AS.
motan.

mouse, V. wait idly, loiter 45/17.
OF. mimer.

mow, V. might 88/4. AS. miiyan.

moyan, n. means 132/3. OF.
inoien, inoyen.

mue, n. mew, place of coiifiiienieiit
85/34. "-^ coop in which poultry
was shut UD to fatten; a prison."
(T. W.) M.' en mue, p. 135. Cf. :
♦'Why will you mew her up . . . ?"
Taming of the Shrew, i. i. 87.

mued,2>/). shut up, cooped up 85/30.

M. elle seroit xij. cms en mue,

p. 135.
murdre, v. murder 88/24. AS.

myrthrian. M. murdrir, p. 139.
musardes, np. dawdlers, loiterers

41/14. M. musars, p. 64.
rayddes, n. midst I98/36.
my[l]se, n. mildness ? 132/i i . AS.

milde. M. Dieic . . se enmuet en

pitie et eslargid sa misericorde,

p. 194.
myschaunt, adj. wrong, wicked

126/26. M. meschayite, p. 188.
mysprysed; pp. done amiss I86/30.

F. mepriser.

ne, conj. uor 19/2. AS. nc.

nedely, adv. needs, of necessity
143/12. AS. ni(J, ned.

neuew,>i. nephew 52/17. OY.neveu.

nilt, V. will not I7/15. AS. nillan —
ne tvillan.

nisete, nisite, n. foolishness, folly
165/21,167//. M. actually coi^i-
tise, hut folie in the chapter head-
ing. M.,p. 236. L.?iesct«s, foolish,
OF. nice. Cf. " It ys holde but a
nysyte." Macro Plays 57/654.
E.E.T.S.

nofors=no matter 33/i6.

none, u. noon 42/32. AS. non,
M. midy, p. 66.

norshe, v. nourish 29/19. M. nonr-
rir, p. 45.

not, n. nought 21/6, 7I/28. AS.
nd-tvihf.

note, r. know not I8/28. AS. ne
tvat ; witan to know.

nother, conj. neither 7I/9. AS.
nd-kivccder.

nouelte, n. novelty 31/32. !M.

noureaulfe, p. 49.
noueltees, ?/y>. novelties 3O/30. M.

nouieaultez, p. 47.
noye, n. noise, display IO9/26. M.

xans (jrans urroh, without great

display or array, p. 167. Our word

is probably erroneous.
Noyis, n. poss. Noah's 62/24.
noyus, adj. injurious IOI/9. L.

nocerc, to hurt; adj. noaius.
nwe, adj. new 64/13. AS. niive.
nyce, adj. foolish 99/25. ^- ''^t-e,

p. 155. L. nescius.
Nynbe, //. Nineveh 13/2 5.
nytinggale, n. nightingale I/5.

AS.nihteyale, M. la rnesanye,i.e.

the titmouse, or tomtit, p. 1. (See

Note to 1/5.) In Cax. Dial. p. 10,

Caxton has left the Flemish word

meesen for the French masanges.

3l€esen = G. Meise.

obeissaunt, adj. obedient 147/35

M. portoit . . . obeis><ance, p. 213.
obribelnesse, n. horribleness, hor-

ridness 69/26.
obsequye, n. obsequies 193/3. ^^^

obseqtie, ML. obsequio), M. enterre-

mens, p. 275.
occysiones, np. slaughterings 115/

18. M. occisions, p. 174-
ofifende, v. /or defend 142/26. M.

elle ne trouvoit qui pour les com-

hattre se voulaist offrir, \). 207.

OF. qfftnser, defend re.
ofiferande, n. offering I5O/14. OF.

qferande, ML. ojff'erenda. Cax.

Dial, loffrande : thoffrynge, p. 39.
ogfit, V. ought 5/20. AS. dijan.
oke,r./>as<. 3s. ached 8/23. A^.acan.

M. la teste luifaisoit mat, p. 12.
one, prep, on 58/12. AS. on.
onely, adj. single 175/28. AS.

(knlic, M. seul, p. 251.
oneyed; adj. one-eyed 9/9, 26. M.

Veueil trail, p. 14.
onis, adv. once 25/19. AS. cknes.
on lyue, adj. alive I74/31. AS.

on life.
or, adv. ere 5/i6, 145/ii. AS. cer,

OHG. er, G. eher.
oresones, np. orisons 5/5. M. oroy-

sons, p. 6.
orguilleux, adj. proud, haughty

84/33. M. adv. org utile usement,

p. 134.

246

(JLOSSAKY.

orguylleus, adj. proud, haughty,
84/ii. ()h\ oryueillcux.

OTievxiy a, a tlj. western 122/26. M.
n. oritnt, p. 183.

orphelyns, «/*. orphans II2/4. M.
Drphelins, p. 170.

oste, n. hoHt 46/9, ^2. M. saint
saciement, p. 71.

oste, n. host 77/15. M. ost, p. 122.

oth, n. oath 181/ 1 9. AS. dC M.
aereineiit, p. 258.

otour, n. otter 22/ 16. AS. ofer,
OHG. ottar, G. Otter, an ailder or
viper. M. le loerre, p. 35.

ouches, 11 j>. jewels, trinkets I86/13.
OF. notichey OHG. iiuscka. Di-
vided in ME. in use of the inde-
finite article, fui ouche. Catholicon
Anglicum, an Ovche ; limnla,
limule, monile, p. 2G2.

ouer-thwarte, j>rej[>. across 43/9.
AS. /iveorh, a cross.

ouerthwarteres, np. contradictors
53/25.

ouerthwartly, adv. contradictingly
28/13.

oultrecuydance, 9i. proud presump-
tion 87/19. M. oultrecuidance,
p. 137.

outre, y. set outside, beyond I62/26.
M. en otiltie Vamour et la grace
de Dleu, p. 232.

oynteth, t?.^>re*. 3 s. anoints I23/30.
M. oint, p. 184.

Ozias, w.Ahaziah 89/27. M.Ozias,
i.e. OJcosias, p. 140.

paisible,«</;. peaceable II7/2 2. M.

j>aisihle, p. 177.
parail, paraile, n. equal 134/1 3,

146/32. ISI. pay-eil, pareille, pi).

197, 212.
parchemyn, n. parchment 42/7.

M. le perchemiii, p. 65.
pare, r. adorn 67/2. OF. paver.

Cf. ^' mayde fay re : parees^

Eneyd. p. 199.
pareilt, n. equality 6I/26. OF.

pareille. (See Phrase 89.)
parfygfit, adj. perfect I82/9. M.

parfaitte, p. 259.
partener, n. participator, sharer

203/15. M. participant, p. 287.

partie, /(. pait I6I/23. OF. parlie.

parties, njt. p:irt< 122/26. OF. partie.

parylle, n. peril I8I/29. M . peril,
p. 25!).

Parys, ». Paria 174/2. M. Parti',
p. 249.

Pasque, n. Passover 144/3- M.
Paii'jneit, p. 208.

Pater-uo8ter,//.patemi>Hterl36/27.
M. piitfrnostre, p. 201.

payens, paynyms, np. pagans 92/8,
173/36. M. paitiis, payens, pp.
144, 249.

paynen,y.^>;T* 3//. take pains 177/7.

pays, n. peace 122/ 1. M. paix, p.
182.

Pay to V, 71. Poitou 2/14. M. Pol-
ton, p. 2.

pees, /(. peace 5/31. OF. pair.

peramours, n. paramour 167/2.^.
M. Ku (lame pur amours, p. 239.

perdurable, adj. everlasting 54/19.
M. pardiirable, p. 84. Cax. Dial.
'•'■ pardurahle: euerlastyuff,'^ p. 52.

perfit, adj. perfect 66/23. M.par-
faittes, p. 87.

permuued, v. past. 3 p. s. changed
167/5. M. ^erwua, p. 238.

pershed, v. past. 3 jj9. perished
113/13. OV.perir.

person, 7i. parson, priest 43/23.
LL. persona. M. la personne de
Vesfflise,ip. 67. Concerning this use
of the French personne Montai-
glon adds a note, p. 293 : ** Quoi-
que dans tout ce chapitre personne
soit toujours le pretre, je ne crois
pas qu'il faille y voir un sens ana-
logue a celui de I'anglais parson ;
cela veut dire I'homme qui est au
Seigneur, et par suite seulement
le pretre qui est au Seigneur."
In the French text personne is
used synonymously with cliap-
pelain on p. 66, and with prestre
on p. 67 : in the English text
person is used synonymously with
preet^t, p. 43, lines 23, 24.'

pert, adj. open, familiar I8/25.
OF. ajiert. M . n. appertise, p. 29.

pesaunt, adj. heavy I89/9. F.
pesanf.

pete, n. pity 89/33. OF. pile.

Peytiers, n. Poitiers 114/6. M.
Poitiers, p. 173.

^ On p. 138, pa'son of the chirche, 1. 5, is the rendenng of the French-
c'17'e, M. p. 202; I39/24, j^er^'o^e is the rendering of chappellain, M. p. 203.

(jLOSSAliV.

. 247

Peytou, Peytow, v, Poitou 52/14,

169/8. M. Foilou, p. 241.
Pharo, n. Pliaraoh III/9. M.

Pharaon, p. 169.
pilled,m(;'.bald22/27. M.pe/er,p.36.
pillour, u. pillar U3/i 7. M. pillier

p. 146. (See Phrase 66.)
pistell, n. epistle IO6/23. M.

Vespitre, p. 163.
plater, n. platter II/15, 27. OF.

plaiel. M. lutrj vaissel comme un

plat (T argent, and also le vaissel

d' argent, p. 17.
plumme tre pruner, u. plum-tree

130/15. Cax. Dial. ^' prounier:

plomtree,^'' p. 13. M. im prnnier,

p. 192.
pointes, up. points 33/21. M.

estaches, p. 52.
poke, 11. bag 8O/13. Irish jjoc,

AS. poca. M. poche, p. 127.
popithe, V. pres. 3 p. paint 68/22.
popped, pp. painted 68/10.
popped, V. past. 3 s. painted 69/15.
pore,af([/. 86/25. (See Note to 86/25.)
port, n. bearing, demeanour 84/ii.

F. port.
pouere, n. power 70/io. OY.pocir,

F. pouvoir.
powere, adj. poor 58/35. OF. povre.
poysum, n. poison 59/7. ^' ^^^

poisons, p. 92.
praye, «. piey IO6/29. OF. preie.
predycatours, 7<j». preachers I8I/1.

M. prescheurs, p. 258. F. predi-

cateur.
preue, v. prove 97/20. OF. proever.
Priamus, n. 174/2. M. da roy

Friant, p. 249.
prime, n. the canonical hour, 6 a.n).

9/33, 199/21. M. heure de prime,

p. 283.
priue, n. privy 24/i. M. chambres

aisees, p. 37.
priueli, adv. privily, privately

24/33.
priuete, n. liberty, favour 119/io.

M. privete, p. 179.
priui,arf;. secret 84/27. ^' i^^'we,

p. 133.
proferes, nj). proffers, offers 92/13.

OF. proferer.
profitees, np. prophets 134/2 2.

M. les prophctes, p. 197.
profyt, 11. prophet I24/15. M.

prophete, p. 185.
properte, M. character I26/28. M.

proprieie, p. 188.

propyce, adj. suitable, (jualified
193/16. OF. propice, M.propre,
p. 275.

prouffytees, np. profits, gains
196/15. OF. profit. U.jyroujffis,
p. 279.

puissaunt, «<(/'. powerful 57/7. ^^•
puii'sans, p. 89.

punicion, ti. punishment 49/23.
M. punicion, p. 76.

purflled, pj:>. embroidered, trimmed
30/15. M. pourfillee, p. 47.

purfiles, np. trinnnings, embroi-
deries 30/22. M. pourfilz, p. 47.

purseuant, n. pursuivant 159/i6.
(See Note to this line.)

purueie, v. purvey, provide 46/i.
M. pouneoir, p. 71.

purueyed, pp. provided, furnished
145/17. M. garnies, p. 210.

puruiance, n. purveyance; fore-
sight, carefulness IO6/27. M.
pourveance, p. 164.

pusaunce, n. power 67/ii. M.
puissance, p. 108.

putyers, np. debauched men, roues
174/30. OF.^wh'er, a debauched
man. M. rihaiix, p. 250.

queint, adj. fine 88/15, 40/ 3. OF.

coint, queint.
queint, pp. extinguished 86/26.

AS. dctvencan.
queintise, queyntys, n. fine attiro

62/13,146/11. M.cot/i^/8espp.97,

211 ; p. queintyses, 64/33.
quenched, v. past. 3 p. put out

35/16. AS.dcuencan. M..estaigny,

p. 56.
quene Proues, 2/io. (See Note to

this line.) AS. cw^n, queen,
quite, V. pres. 1 s. relinquish 34/8.

M. quitte, p. 53.
quitetfi, v.pres. 3 s. requites 113/i i.

OF. quiter. M. pj). guerredonnee,

p. 172.
quyshon, n. cushion 33/20 M.

quai reaulx ,\>. 52. OF .cuissin. Cax.

Dial, coussins : qiiysshons, p. 50.

Raab, n. Rahab 113/i. M. Raah,

p. 171.
Racel,w. Rachel, IO9/7. M. Rachel,

p. 167.
raches, np. hounds 43/i8. AS.

rcecc. M. grans chlens noirs, p,

67. Cf. ''redresse theyr brackes,

:i48

GLOS.SAUV.

letchef, and bluotle lioundes."
Eneyil. 53/i6.
ramageuB, adj. wild, untamed
14/II. OF. rammije,w\\i\. M.
sauvage, p. 22.
rampe, n. an ill-conditioned woman

25/20. M. r. rampusner, p. 40.
ranoour, 11. 53/ a o. M. rencune,

p. 83.
rauysshe, v. ravish 174/3. OF.

ravir.
reame, reme, n. realm 75/22. M.

royaulines, royanmes, p. 119.
rechin, v. pres. 3 p. care 6O/28.

AS. recan.
rechithe, v. pres. 3 s. careth 24/21.

AS. recan.
reconisaunce, n. thanks 5/3. M.

V. recongnoistre, p. 6.
rede, r. counsel, advise 14/26. AS.

rSlan.
rede, v. pres. 1 8. counsel 79/5. AS.

rddnn.
redelles, np. riddles 96/8. AS.
rddeh from rddan. See llede.
M. devinaille, p. 151.
redressed, v. past. 3 «. IO3/33. ^«

redressa, p. 160.
reed; rtc?;". red I68/12. AS. read.
OHO. r6t^ G. ro/A, M. rouge,
p. 240.
refeccioned, pp. nourished 97/33,
132/31. L. re-Jacere. M. rassa-
siee, rassasiez, pp. 153, 195.
religieux, np. men of holy orders

92/30. M. religieux, p. 145.
religiousete,92.religiousness 107/26.

OF. religiosity.
remeue, v. remove, i.e. move 37/24.

M. remuer, p. 59.
rennithe, v. pres. 3 s. runneth 30//.

AS. rennan.
rennyng, pres. p. running 87/6.

AS. rennan.
renomed, renommed',/)^. renowned
3/6, 142/28, 184/26. Cf. renom-
mees: renomed. Cax. Dial.40/19.
M^nomme, redoiibte, pp. 207, 262.
repentaille, n. repentance 156/28.

M. en repentailles, p. 223.
repreue, v. reprove 102/i. OF.

reprover.
repreued', v. past. 3 s. reproved.

194/11. OF, rejyrover.
repreuithe, v. pres. 3 j)- reprove

32/6. OF. reprover.
rere eggis 27/17. (See Note to this
line.)

rere sopers 8/24. See Note to tliiri

line.)
resuscited, V. juist. 3 n. renuscitateJ

125/12. M. resnuscita, p. 186.
reuest, r. clothe 4'J/37. M. pp.

reves'ir, p. 77.
reward, n.for regard I48/27. M.
ne retjnrdent d la Jin, &c., p. 123.
rewme, 71. realm 31/i. M. roy-

anliue, p. 48.
reyne, v. continue 70/i8.
ribible, n. a small rel>ec or ribibe.
OF. reheJ^e, "rebec." Godefroy.
Cf. : **A1 c(mne he pleye on giterne
or ribihle.^' Chaucer'sClerk'sTale,
1. 32.
rightfult, adj. good, honourable
147/13. M. //. preudommsy p. 212.
AS. riht +full.
riotte, n. dispute, disturbance

IO8/13. M. no/e, p. 166.
robed, ;ji^. robbed 88/15. M. rober,

p. 138.
Boboam, n. Jeroboam lOl/ii.
M. Jeroboam, p. 157. (See Note
to this line.)
rocke, n. distaff 79/27. M. line
quenouille, p. 127. "A ista
held in the hand from which the
thread was spun by twirling a ball
below. 'What, shall a woman with
a roMe drive thee away ?'" Digby
Mysteries, p. 11 (Halliwell). Cax.
Dial. Keneule : dystaf, p. 32.
rondelles, m^j. rondeau x I/16. M.

rondeauT, p. 2.
rotes, np. roots I86/27. Ice. rot,
AS. ivyrt, G. Wurz. M. racines,
p. 266.
roune, v. whisper 40/2 2. AS.

runian, OHG. run, G. raunen.
routed, v. past. 3 s. snored 8I/35.
AS. hrxUan. M.Jlst semhlant de
dormir et de rortjier, p. 129.
rowned, v. past. 3 *. whispered
27/10. AS. runian, OHG. run,
G. raunen.
ruddy, adj. 166/6.
rybauudise, n. sexual sin 164/26.
M. riband eries, p. 235. OHG.
hrupa, prostitute,
ryot, n. riot, riotous living 54/ii.
M. la riote, p. 84.

Saba, n. Shebah 122/2 5. M. Sahha,

p. 183.
sale, sain, saine, sayne, pp. seen

GLOSSAKV.

249

18/9, 20/2, 29/23, 68/36, I65/27.

AS. seon, G. sthen.
8aie,w. assay, try 26/24. OF. asaier.
saieng, prex. part, saying IO/24,

11/3. AS. secgan.
Salamon, n. Solomon 100/i8. M.

Salemon, p. 156.
salued, r. past. 3 p. greeted I9/15.

M. salua, p. 30.
Sampson forte, 92/3. (Soe Note

to this line.)
sauacion,n. salvation 53/1 3,145/30.

M. sauvenient, pp. 82, 210.
sauement, sauuement, n. salvation

39/29, 117/26. M. saidcement,

sauvement, pp. 62, 177.
sauerithe, v. pres. 3 .''. smells 39/2 2.

OF. savoiirer, to taste. M.purra,

p. 61.
sauf, p/fyn save, except 25/i2,

49/19, 113/13. OF. savf.
saulter, n. psalter 137/6. AS.

sealfeie, L. psalteriam.
scaped, v. pant. 3 s. escaped 42/9.

OF. escaj.er.
scarlatte, adj. scarlet I68/1. M.

escarlate, p. 239.
science, n. knowledge 4/2 2, 53/i7,

151/25. Note to 151/24. M.

science, p. 5.
sclaundre, n. slander 35/2. OF.

esclandre. ^. grant hlasme,'^. 55.
sclaundred, pp. slandered 21/i8.

M. diffamee, p. 33.
sclaundres, np. slanders 2/27.

OF. esclandre, M. diffame, p. 3.
sclender, adj. slender I65/29.

ODutch slinder (Hexham). M.

plus gresle, p. 237.
scomfit, pp. discomfited 55/25. M.

desconjit, p. 86.
scorcb, V. flay 6/14. M. escorchier,

p. 8. Cf. "flain: escorchier.'"

Eneyd. p. 202.
scoymous, adj. squeamisli 155/ 1^.

From ME. stveem vertigo + ous.

AS. sicinia, swoon.
scutis, np. crowns 67/8. OF. ecu,

OF. also, a shield ; hence a name

for the coin which bore that em-
blem. Cf. Cax. Dial. Escutz du

roy : Scutes of the kyng 17/32.
seche, v. seek 48/25, 87/8. AS.

secan.
secres, np. secrets III/29. M. secrez,

p. 170.
seintes, confessours 7/31, M. des

sains con/esseurs, p. 11.

sely, adj. simple 52/2 2. AS. sMig.
semblauntis, np. semblances 19/i.

M. semhlans, p. 29.
sembled, r. pant. 3 «. resembled

125/31. M. seinhla, p. 187.
sen, conj. since 49/23, IO3/23. AS.

siddan.
sengitt, adj. single 31/2 6.
sengle, adj. uidined I68/2. M.

sangle, p. 259.
separe, c. separate 181 79. M.

separer, p. 258.
seruage, n. servitude III/9. M.

sercai(je, p. 169.
sethe, adc. afterwards, since 13 /i 5,

18/9,52/13. AS. siddan.
sethe, conj. since 24/5. ^^' siddan.
seure, adj. sure I6/20. M. settr, p. 26.
share, v. past. 3 s. cut 92/15. AS.

sceran. M. tondit, p. 145.
shent, pp. disgraced, ruined 84/8.

AS. scendan.
shent, V. 2^c(st. 3 s. spoilt 25/27.

AS. scendan.
shette, pp. shut I45/24. AS.

scyttan. M.fermees, p. 210.
shette, V. past. 3 j>. shut 34/21.

AS. scyttan.
sllone, np. shoes I9O/7. AS. seed,

OHG. scdJi, G. Schuh.
shroue, v. past, 3 s. shrived I3/14.

AS. scrifan.
shun, V. shall 32/34. AS. sculan.
Si bille, 90/5 • (See Note to this line .)
sithes, np. times 144/i8. AS. sid.
slee, V. slay 24/;, 34/22, 57/36.

AS. slean.
sleuth, n. sloth 44/14. AS. slaw,

slow ; slSiod, slowness.
slougH, V. past. 3 p. slew II8/13.

AS. slean, M. occirent, p. 177.
slow, r. past. 3 s. slew 59/i i, 1%/2'j.

AS. slean. M. occist, pp. 97, 125.
smouldred; pp. smothered IOO/23.

AS. smorian, to stifle. M. estain-

gnit, p. 156.
smyte, jjp. smitten 204/24. AS.

smltan. M.feru, p. 289.
snailes, np, 63/2. AS. snceyel, M.

limas cornus, p. 98.
sodeine, adj. sudden 37/23. OF.

soudain.
solytarie, adj. solitary 148/i. OF.

solitaire, L. solitarius. M. seide,

p. 123.
sonier,?i. summer 31/2 7. AH.sumor.
sonde, 46/30. See Goddes sonde.
sonner,a(?v. sooner 53/1 1. AS.sdna.

:i50

GLOSSAKY.

sorugll, Eorw, n. nuivuw l/io, 2/a,

45/i7, &e. AS. sartj, (J. Sorye.
sothe8, lip. triiths 124/i. AS. «o^.
sotill, wlj. .subtle 7l>/3. M.nonbtilz,

p. Til).
sourdecT, r. ^;a*/. 3^. aroae IOO/29.
sparhavike, «. sparrow-hawk 14/li.

AS. Sfteaiwiiy OH(J. sparo, G.

iS/>e;'-lmg ; AS. hea/bc, OHG.

hapvh , G. llahichf. M. Vespervier

sauiaffe, p. 22,
spenyng, y»<?6". ;>. spinning 7U/26.

AS. sj)iuiian,G. spinnen.
spiti, v. destroy 93/io. AS. sjjillati.
spitously, (tdi: dispiteously, merci-
lessly 43/19.
sporte, 11. 2l>/2 2. OF. v. desporter.

M. eshat, p. 45.
statis, lip. estates!, lords l.'9/4. M.

simply reads : le va appeller de-

vant tons, p. 227. Of.:

Lytyl & mekyl, ])e more & )'e les,
AH pe stidis of ))e werld, is at
myn renoun.

Castell of Perseverance, 1. 3616.

(Macro Plays, p. 185. E. E. T. S.)
stere, v. stir 4/i, 37/24. AS.

styrian, M. houger, p. 59.
staring, pres. p. staring I5/23.

AS. starian.
steritB, r. prcs. 3 jp. stirs 58/15.

AS. styrian.
sterre, n. star 104/28. AS. steona,

M. Vestoille, p. 61.
sterte, v. past. 3 s. started 68/34.
steuen, see Sette steuen in Phrases,
stole, n. stool 33/20. AS. st6l, M.

si'egfe, p. 52.
stones,wj3. testicles71/33. AS. s/a».

M. les chases du moujne, p. 115.
stont, adj. short, 4/28. Cf,

" Stente, 'portion, part, Pals-
grave 1530," Halliwell. AS.

stunt, dull, foolish ; sti/ntan, to

shorten, to blunt. M. et si donne

longiie tic et cotirte es choses
. mondaines et terriennes, p. 5.
straue, v. past. 3 s. strove 126/i.

OF. est river.
straunged, 2)p. estranged 58/28.

M. Cfitrangez, p. 91.
strangest, adj. greatest 34/25.

AS. Strang.
strifiF, n. strife 2O/24. M. estrif, p.

32.
stroied,r. pott. 3 .<;. destroyed 62/25.

OF. desiruire.
styward; n. steward 193/20. AS.

ttii/tvtiird. M.. ton mai'-t itd u.^^Ul,

p. '275.
suage, 8wage, r. ah«uage 14/i,

b7/.^o. OF. uisaager.
subgettes, up. subjecta 186/34.

M. sidtgiez, p. 2^j5.
Buerd', w. sword IO5/30. AS. mveord.
suere, v. swear 2/31. AS. Hwerian.
suffysaunce, n. sufticiency 202/31.

M. 80 irffi trance, p. 287.
anofi, pp. swollen ISd/if. AH.swel-

lan,(Ji.schwellen. ^I.eiij/Ie^, p. 215.
j suore, suoren, pp. sworn 25/ 1,

26/27. AS. stverlan.
supposen, v. pres. 3 p. suppose

175/19. OF. supposer. M. cut-

deroif, p. 251.
surmounted, v. past. 3 «. out-did,

conquered II7/30. M. seur-

monta, p. 177.
Surra, Sury, n. Syria 26/6, 88/3.

M. Surie, Surye, pp. 41, 132.

Cf. *' Crete plente of peple out of

perse & surye." GodetFroy of

Boloyne33/5. E.E.;i\S.
Susanna, n. Susannah 129/2. M.

Stisanne, p. 191.
suster, n. sister 5/29. AS. stveoster,

G. 8chtvester.
swatt, r. jjast. 3 s. swelled 37/25.

AS. stvellan, G. schicellen. M.

devint grosse et enjlee comme uve

pipe, p. 59.
swalt, V. past. 3 s. fainted 47/27.

AS. sioeltan.
swalueSj^^;. swallows 102/8. AS.

swalewe, OHG. sioalawa, G.

Schwalbe. M^arrondelles, p. 158.
sward, n. sword IOO/32. AS.

sweord. M. espee, p. 156.
swatta, pp. sweated 123/io. AS.

swceian. M. sue, p. 184.
swauene, n. dream, vision 48/24.

AS. swcfen.
swauens, np. dreams, 43/25. -^.S.

swefen.
swyna-hertha, n. swineherd 95/8.

M. porchier, p. 148.
swyped", pp. swept I69/25. AS.

swdpan. M.leurs chambres et leurs
places estoient hien nettes, p. 242.
symonie, n. simony 92/31. M. np.

symoniaulx, p. 145.
syraoniez,?*^;. 92/32. (In the French

text the corresponding word is

semonces, p. 145.)
synnuas, np. sinews II6/11. M.-

les ners, p. 175.

GLOSSAllY.

Ji51

tache, 71. blemish I63/7. M. iache,

p. 233.
taches, ni). blemishes 24/31, 82/19,

88/11. M. taches, p. 138.
tailez, up. taxes 89/32. M. tallies,

p. 140.
taillour, n. tailor 15/8. M. tuillan-

dier, p. 23.
taste, V. touch I88/16. M. taster,

p. 268.
tellen, v. pres. 3 p. tell, I76/4.

AS. tellan. M. disent, p. 252.
temperithe, v. pres. 3 s. tempers

7/29. OF. temperer, L. teni-

perare. M. adoulcist, p. 11.
terre, n. tar 68/4. AS. teoru.
terreyn, n, terrain, sphere 4/28.

M. adj. choses mondaines et ter-

nennes, p. 5.
testi, adj. testy, petulant 126/8.

OF. testu from teste, the head. M.

male teste. (See Note to 126/8.)
the, pron. they 46/4. AS. lit.
thedir, adv. thither 7/6, I2/26,

15/18. AS.J>ider.
thedirward; adv. thitherward, thi-
ther 17/25.
thies, w^>. thighs 43/19. AS./>eoh,

ORG. deoh.
thifthe, n. thieving 60/6. AS.
piefQe {pe&fian, to steal"), G.

Dieb.
thilke, adj. these IO/31, 7O/15.

AS./t7e.
Thobye, n. Tobit IO2/3.
threste, v. past. 3 s. thrust 67/30.

Ice. />r^sta.
thridde, adj. third 27/9. AS.

/>ridda.
thries, adi\ thrice 85/21. AS.

/>ritva.
thrust, n. thirst 55/io. AS./>iirst,

G. Burst, M. soif, p. 85.
tierce, n. the canonical hour, 9 a.m.

200/13. M. keure de tierce, p.

284.
to, adv. too, 63/3. AS. t6.
tobete = to beat 27/8.
tofore, 2^^'^P- before 52/8. AS.

toforan.
toke, V. took.ybr gave III/30. M.

hailla, p. 170.
tortu, n. tortoise I5/13. M. la

tortile, p. 24.
Towres, n. Tours 4I/33. M. Tours,

p. 65.

trecherye, ;<. treachery 171/ii. M.

tricherie, p. 244. Cf. :

Si avez fet gi-ant tricherie,
Que plus vilaine n'estuct quere.
Vergi, 64/1 68.
tremeled, v. ixist. 3 x. trembled

46/13, 68/6. U.iramhloit,i^.lHd.
trobalithe, v. pres. 3 s. troubles

58/22, M. ils font entroblier, p.

91.
Troians, n. Trojans 174/i. M.

Troyens, p. 249.
tromper, n. deceiver 33/i6. M.

trompeur de d((mes, j). 52.
trow, V. believe 32/i8, 35/20. AS.

triowian.
trow, V. pres. 1 p. believe 45/8.
trowed, pp. believed 19/i.
tuyes,«c?t). twice 85/21. AStwitva.
tweyn, adj. two I62/5. AS. ttcegen.
tyre, n. dress or ornament for a

woman's head 41/7. ^^- atircr,

to adorn. M. attours, p. 64.
tyre, n. attire 63/20. OF. atirer.
tyre pynues, np. 63/13. M. es-.

pingles, p. 99.

IT.

ueleni, w. sin 36/io. M. villennie,
p. 57.

uelonis, adj. insolent 25/21.

uiage, n. voyage 51/2. OF.riage.

uirginalite, n. virginality I49/15.
OF. virginalite. M. Dieu . , . se
humilia encore plus comme des-
cendre du del et daiugnier pren-
dre en son ventre virginal hu-
manite, p. 214.

undernam, y. jJCi'St. 3 s. reproved,
censured 87/34. AS. tinder + ni-
man. M. reprist, p. 137.

undernyme, v. reprove, censure,
88/3. AS. under + niman. M.
reprendre, p. 138.

undo, pp. undone 73/i6. AS.
un + ddn, OHG. tuon, G. thun.

unlefult, adj. unlawful 49/6, 7I/5.
AS. un + lagu, L. lex, stem leg.

unnetii, unnethe, adv. hardly 9/3,
67/20. AS. uneade.

uoyde, v. void, empty, 52/32. OF.
voidier.

uoys, n. voice II/3, 12/2, 43/i2.
OF. Tois.

up-so-doun, adj. up - side - down
9/26. M. reads that chiez V autre
... il y trouva Varroy ct le goii-
vernement nice et malostra, p. 14.

OLOSSAUV.

valour, ». value 13/ -'2. -M. laletir,
\>. 20.

veleni, n. wrong 87/32. OF. I't-
Ittitite. M. rilluinj'uit, p. 137.

velenye, adj. vilainous 127/2. M.
n. lillenie, p. 188.

vengedyV. pcust.'S s. avenged I2I/31.
M. veiKjtu, p. 182.

veniaunce, venieaunce, n. ven-
geance 49/23, 103/3. M. ren-
(jettnce, vengences, pp. 76, 159.

venym, n. venom 59/7. ^' '^
renin, p. 92.

vergoyne, n. shame I75/33. OF.
venjuiyne. M. en }MOurs, p. 252.

vergoynous, adj. ashamed I9O/4.
M. /t. vertjoiiKjue, p. 270.

verres, 7iy>. glasses 27/2 2. M.
vuirret!, p. 42.

vessell, w. weasel 15/i6. Probably
a scribal error. AS. ivesle, OHG.
icisala,G. Wiesel. M.coinine une
heletfe, p. 24.

viralles, nj). virelays I/16. M.
virelayz, p. 2. F. virer, to turn
+ lai, song. An ancient French
song or ditty, in short-lined coup-
lets of seven or eight syllables
with a refrain.

vmbre, ?<. shade 114/io. M. amlre,
p. 173.

vnauised.acy. unconsidered I26/25.
OF. arUer.

vncunnynge, adj. ignorant 1 59/34.
AS. cunnan, to know.

vnnethe, adv. scarcely 152/4- AS.
uneade.

vouchedsauf, v. past. 3 s. vouch-
safed 135/33. '^F. Touchier, L.
vocare, to call ; OF. saiif, L. salvus.

voyde, v. avoid 176/ 14. OF. ee.-
vuidier.

Vrie, n. Uriah 99/1. M. Uries,
p. 154.

Vriis, 71. Uriah's 57/35-

vsen, V. use; are accustomed 2/31.
OF. user.

vyoled, r. past. 3 s. violated 75/20.
L- liolare. M. efforqoit femmes ,
p. 119- Cf- Cax. Dial. Afourceurs
de femmes : Rauisshers of ivym-
men, p. 43.

waloped", r- jjasf. 3 s. galloped
199/23. F. galoper. Cf. AS. geh-
ledpan, OHG. giloiiftn, OFle-

ndbh walop, gallop. Eneyd.

waloppe : galoper, p. 213. Also,

"Ther rode Agret stour, wnlopiinj

ful struiige." l{<jiiiaii« of Purlt-

nay, 1. 4827, ed. Skeat, 1866. M.

checauclia d uuitte, p. 213.
wanne, v. paxf. 3 p. won 8/5. AS.

iviiinu/i, ii. ijeicinnen.
watches, up. watchers I73/13. AS.

ivacian. M. aguetteum, p. 248.
waxe, c. past. 3 «. waxed, grew

I8/15. AS. weaxan, G. wachseu.
wche, n. a hutch or cupboard?

Cf. Cax. Dial. " En vostre hucUe

ou escrijn : In your whutchc or

cheste," p. 8.
wedues, iiju widows 92/33. '^'^■

widutve, OHG. tciitiwa, G. Witlwe,

L. vidua.
weduhode, wedwhode, n. widow-
hood 163/12, 164/1. M. vefvage,

vefiett, pp. 233, 234.
■weldoinge,/i.3/7. yL.hiem^faiZj^.'i.
■wele tached = well dispositioned

\d)/^i.^\-.dedoulcesmanieres,T^.2'd.
wel nanied = of good repute I2/14.

AS. ictl, nemnan. M. renoinmee

d'esfre preiideftmme, p. 19.
wende,!-. past. 3 s. and Ip. thought

13/11, 21/11, 33/15, &c. AS.

uenun.
wene, v. prcs. 1 s. believe 38/34.

AS. wenan, M. pen^e, p. 60.
weneD, r. pres. 3 p. ween, think

57/25. AS. loenan.
went, V. past. 3 *;. thought I5I/26.

AS. tvenan. M. cuidu, p. 217.
wenyng, 71. weening, thinking I3/4.

AS. wenan, to think,
were, v. wear 3I/15. AS. tverian.
wered, v. past. 3 p. wore 63/3.

AS. iceriau.
werned, pp. warned 3I/19, 35/io.

AS. tcearnian, OHG. wernen, G.

toarnen.
werre, n. war 14/22, 3O/20. AS.

toerre, OHG. toerra, quarrel, G.

veruirren, to disorder, OF. werre,

F. guerre.
wete, V. know 24/34, 26/32, 56/i6.

AS. to i tan.
weting, n. knowing, knowledge

22/30,26/27. AS. wiYttn. M..le

sceu, p. 36.
wetithe, v. impjerative, know (ye)

31/6. AS. loitan.
wexinge, n. growth 49/3. ■^^^

tceiuan. M. croissement , p. 75.

GLOSSARY.

253

whedir, crmj. vvliether I8/2S. AS.

wherthorugtl, a<h\ wheretlirough,
tlirough which 45/28. AS. hwdei',
park.

wipse, n. wisp 2I/35. Cf. G. Wisch,
Strohwisch. M. un petit ho uchon,

21/35.
withsaye, v. pres. 1 s. forbid 185/i i.

AH.tcidscetjffan. Cf. "liis byddyng

to tvith-seye.^^ Secrees of old Pbilo-

soffres, 1. 1109. E. E. T. S.
wode, adj. inad, demented C/21,

27/24,41/4. AS. WW?. 'M.-jeen-

raigay, demoniacles, pp. 8, 64.
wol, V. pres. 3 p. will 34/34. AS.

icillan.
wolues, np. wolves 53/21. AS.

wulf, G.Wolf. M. htefs ne hesies

sauvaiijes, p. 83.
woned, v. past. 3 p. dwelt, lived

20/27. AS. wunian, G. tvohnen.

M. (Jemenruunt, p. 32.
wormes, iip- 105/6. AS. wyrm.

M. cirons, i.e. flesh-worms, p. 161.
wost, V. past. 3 s. knew 6/13,

46/28. AS.wHau. M..scet(tfi>.S.
wote, V. pros. 3 *. knows 5/14.

AS. tvitan. M. scef, p. 6.
wote, V. pres. 2 j). know I9/26.

AS. tvitan. M. saves, p. 31.
woxe, 2)P' grown 114/ii. AS.

ueaxa7i.
wratthed; v. past. 3 s. became

wrathful 20/2 8. AS. v:rdd, wroth.

M. se va conrrouscier, p. 32.
"wratthinge, n. angering 24/34.
wreton, pp. written 99/ii. AS.

icritan.
writhed, v. past. ds. twisted 2I/35.

AS. wridan.
wrother, adv. angrier 22/3.
wulle, n. wool I9I/21. AS. tvuU,

OHG. ioolla, G. Wolle, M. laine,

p. 272.
wynning, n. gain 20/ 15. AS. ivin-

nan. M. gaain, p. 32.
wysshe, v. past. 3 s. washed I3I/27.

AS. icascan. M. lava, p. 194.
wyst, V. knew, 19/2. AS. witan.

yalde, v. past. S s. yielded IO2/15.

AS. gietdan.
yate, n. gate 87/i8. AS. (jeat.
yhovn, pp. born IO6/21. AS. heran,

OHG. heran, G. gehdreu.
ybrent, pp. burnt IO3/14. AS.

hd'rnan.
ydo, pp. done 109/1 5. AS. ddit.
Y doute me = I fear I45/32. M.

me doubte, p. 211.
ye, yee, v. eye 17/23, I8/14, 57/22.

AS. eage.
yede, v. past. 1 s. and 3 s. went

3/22, 6/18 &c. AS. and OHG.

gdn, G. gehen, E. go.
yeerde, yerde, n. wand, rod, 98/2,

111/30. AS. gierd, OHG. gartia,

G. Gerte, M. la verge, pp. 153,

170.
yef, conj. if 2/i8, IO/4 &c. AS. gif.
yefte, n. gift 5/i i. AS. giefn.
yeftes, np. gifts 79/15. AS.

giefu.
yelde, r. past. 3 s. yielded, rendered

93/11. AS. gieldan, M. rendif,

p. 145.
yeue, v. give 2/28. AS. giefan.
yeuen, p)P- given 59/7. -^^^

giefan.
y named, pp. named I2O/3. AS.

nemnan.
ynow, adv. enough 79/25. AS.

gendh, G. gemig.
yode, v. past. 3 s. went 9/i, 22/i8,

46/23.
yolde, pp. yielded 113/20. AS.

gieldan.
yongthe, n. youth I69/9. AS.

geognj), youth, geong, young. M.

juennesce, p. 241.
youen, p^9. given IO9/23.
yprisoned, ^p. imprisoned II3/26.

OF. enprisoner.
yrous, adj. hasty, hot-tempered

74/30. OF. ire, anger. M. pev

vers, p. 118.
ysowen, pp. sown I44/29. AS.

sdwan, OHG. sajan, G. sden.

PTTUASES AND PROVERBS.

These Phrases may serve to show where the English has borrowed the
French idiom, as Nos. 84, 135, &c., and may be taken as aphorisms
expressive of medieval conceptions on various subject-j. Eating and fasting
are treated of in Nos. 57, 75, 101, &c. ; the nature of woman and the worth
■of good w(niien in 116, 122, &c. ; education in 30; and the upbringing of
children in 126, 131. Those who wish to find more examples should consult
the epitomized chapters at the beginning, and the Index at the end, of
this volume. (J. M.)

1. A good pece of wyne : a good vineyard. 88/i8, M. une piece de
Hngne moult honue, p. 138.

2. A gret ladi dede of her hode and bowed her ayenst a taillour : a great
lady took off her hood and bowed to a tailor. 15/6. M. n osta une grant
"dame i^on chapperoyi et se hamUia encontre U7i taillandier, p. 23.

3. Att comithe but of v?ance and custume. 116/2 2. M. tout chiet par
^oustume et par usaige, p. 176. (8ee Phrase 129.)

4. Almor^t oute of her self for auger. 20/ii. M. toute forcennee, p. 31.
Cf. mad & beside herself: forcenee, Eneyd., p. 201. Oute of theyr
wyttes: ebetees de leur sens, p. 190. Besyde hymself : hors du sens, p. 196.

5. And therfor, in olde Englisshe, it is saide that " so ofte goth the potte
to water, that atte the laste it comethe broken home ". 90/ 1 8. M. Et pour
€e dit le saige que dts vij. ans vient eatie a fin, c'est-d-dire que taut ra le
pot d Vcaue que le cal en demeure, p. 141. (See Phrase 112.)

6. And therfor y rede you be curteys and humble to gret and smale, and
to do curtesie and leuerence, and to speke hem faire, and to be meke in
ansuere to the pore, and thei wol praise you, and bere forthe of you good
worde and good fame more than woii the grete that ye make curtesie to.
14/26. M. se voiis monsires vostre courtoisie aux petits et aux petites, c'est
de leur faire honneur et parler hel et doulcement avec eux et leurs estre de
humbles responses ; ceulx vous porteront plus grant louange et plus grant
renommee et plus grant hien que les grans, p. 23.

7. An hundred tyme were it beter to bete the childe thanne for to curse
hym at any time. IO8/16. M. il vaxddroit mieulx cent foiz bat re ses
eriffans que les mauldire une seulefoiz, p. 166.

8. As good is he that herithe and understondithe not, as he that huntithe
and takithe not. 7/20. M. autant vault celid qui oit et riens ii'entent
comme celluy qui chasce et riens neprent, p. 10. (See Phrase 11.)

9. As hym lust : as he listeth, as he will. 4/28. M. comme il hty plaist,
p. 5.

10. As it were to putte fere in flexe. 25/5. ^' ellealumera lefeu, p. 39,

PHKASKS AND PROVKKBS. 255

11. Asmoche is he worthe that huntithe ami takithe not as he that
herithe and vnderstondith not. I7/31. M. autant ranlt celhii qui oil et
rims ii'entant comme celhii qui chasse et Hens ne pi-eut, p. 28. (See Phrase 8 .)

12. As saithe Salamon, that there may be no good woman nor trewe of
her body and she be drunken : as Solomon says, no woman can be good
and chaste if she be drunken. II6/13. M. Dont Salemon (list que de axe.
feinmcK une qui seroit i/rroiif/iie ne pourroii mie est re j) reticle femme au loncj
aler, p. 175.

13. As the nightyngale>», as longe as they be amerouses, they synge
plesauntly day and night ; and whanne they haue reioysed thaire amerous
desyre and plesaunces, thei make abace melodye, for thei synge no more.
156/28. M. Quant le rossujnol a jony de ses amours, il snhle, p. 224.
(See Note to p. 156, 1. 28.)

14. A woman maynotwel shewe gretter loue vnto her husbonde, thanne
forto loue his children of another wyfF. 122/6. M. plus grant semhlant
d^ amour ne puet-elle monstrer a son seigneur que ainer ses enffans d'' autre
femme, p. 182.

15. A woman that takithe yeftes of ani man, sekith her selfF. 79/14.
Incorrectly translated, the French reading, /ejnme qui prent se vent, p. 120.

16. A woman whiche is amerous shalle neuer sette her herte to God\
174/17. M. femme bien amoureuse n'aura ja parfaitement le cuer en
Dieu, p. 250.

17. Beter is the frende that prikithe,than the flatour that oynteth. I23/29.
M. Plus vault amy qui point quejiattear qui oint, p. 184.

18. Better men of theyr persones. 179/30. M. m^iUeurs de lenrs per-
Bonnes, p. 256.

19. Bi faire or be force : by fair means or foul. 6/34. M.^ar heaii ou par
laist, p. 9.

20. But now atte this day, and that is pitee, there be mani that berc
gret blame, and neuer the hitter yet haue they gret worshipe. I6I/12.
M. Mais, Dieu mercy, aujourdui/ Von parte aussi hien honnenr aax
hlnsmees comme aux bonnes, p. 230.

21. But that worde that she saide, perauenture, made the deueli to take
fote to tempte her, and enharded hym to speke to her : but that word " per-
ad venture " gave the devil ground to tempt her and encouraged him to speak.
56/34. -^^' ^^ simple response de par aventure, que Vennemi trouva en elle,
lui donna pie de parler plus largement et de plus la tempter, p. 88.

22. But true mariage is ordeined be God in the plesaunce betwene man
and woman, is withoute dedly synne. 164/28. M. en Veuvre de mariage
qui est eiivre commandee de Dieu, n' a point de pecliie mortel, p. 235.

23. Caute the feuers and gret sickenesse : caught fever and great sick-
ness. 6/8. M. la fievre le prist etfat malades, p. 8.

24. Come againe into her witte : came again to their right senses. 4I/2S.
M. ilz revindrent en lears sens, p. 64.

25. Coniured the sowle in the name of God to helt, and shew what stinke
and what tnrment that was and brenninge. 12/2 7. M. si la conjnra de

266 rnuASKS and provkubs.

pur Dieii et eiijil requeate a JJitit fjail ltd pleust hui- demunft i er y(i\irquoy
c»Ue puenr et ce turment e»tmt, p. 19.

2o. Crie hem mercy : cry them mercy. 44/20. M. leur crintt iiteinj,
y. 69.

27. Dethe lyeth under the delitef>, as the fyrfHhe that takithe his bayte
upon an lioke, 59/4 M. la mart gist densouhz les delices, aussi comme le
poisson qui preiit Vaim par la rinnde qui y est ataclide, et c'est la m(rrt,
p. 'J2.

23. DredfuH day: i.e. ihe last day. 59/i. M. grant jour eqioventahle,
p. 92.

29. Euer beting her eyelyddes togedre : ever beating her eyelids together.
16/3 3. M. avoit le restart hien vertilleux, p. 23.

30. Eueri woman it is the beter that canne rede and liaue knowinge of
the lawe of God. II8/34. M. quant a lire, toatefcmme en vault jnieulx de
le s^aioir, et cognoist mieulx lafoy, p. 178.

31. Euery wonmn, mayde, or wydovve, may wel bete her self with her
owne staf. I76/29. M. toute ftmme a maritr, soil pucelle on vefie, se puet
hien batre de son baton mesmes, p. 253. (See Phrases 68, 92.) '

32. Excesse and gromandise in etyng and drinkinge werithe ayenst the
body and the soule. 115/i2. M. le trop f/ounnander et le trap mengier,
fors is heures deues, et aufsi le trop hoire guei'ioye le corps et Vdme^
p. 174.

33. Fall what woU fali : come what come may. 37/21. M.layissiez advenir
ce que advenir pourra, p. 59.

34. Ferme behauing. I5/30, M. de hel maintien, etfermes, p. 25.

35. Foles that are brayne sik : brain-.sick fools (i.e. crazed folk). 2O/25.
M. gensfolz qui ayent male teste, p. 32.

36. For euery day lyke to other is thinge comuue, it is selden praised.
142/5. M- ^** chose commune n^est point prisie, p. 206.

37. For there be such men that lyethe and makithe good visage and
countenaunce to women afore hem, that scornithe and mockithe hem in her
absence. 3/i8. M. Car le monde est moult dangereux et moult eniyeulx et
merveilleux ; car tel vous rit et vous fait hel devant qui par derriere s^en va
hourdant, p. 4. (The first clause of the original does not appear in our
translation.) (See Phrase 123.)

38. For there is no beauute nor nobelnesse that is pere to good maneres.
17/10. M. car nulle heaute ne noblesce we s^apareille, ne prt^se bonnes
meurs, p. 27. (See Phrase 78.)

39. Forto holde lowe youre fleshe. IO/3. M. pour mieux donter votre
chair, p. 14.

40. Fro point to point. 43/28. M. de point en point, p. 68.

41. God is this day as mighti and as debonayre as he was euer here
before vnto hem that deserue it. I25/13. M. Dieux est aujouirVny aussy
puissant et aussy dehonnaire comme il estoit lors a ceulx qui le serviroiH,
p. 186.

42. Her housholde yede to not : their household came to nought. 35/25.

PHRASES AND PROVERBS. 257

M. et en perdirent aussi comme tout leur bien et leuf hon mesnage, p. 56.
(See Phrase 151.)

43. He sent her .ij. children, whiche were yborn atte one tyme. IO6/20.
M. Dieu . . . li donna ij. enffans en une ventrie, p. 163.

44. He shalle take her in hate. 182/6, M. il la 2)rendra en hayne, p. 259.

45. He stode upon the point to be disworshipped. I2O/34. M. il east
este dehonte, p. 181.

46. He that humbelith hym most, is more highed with God. 2O/19.
M. qui plus se umilie plus s^essaalce, p, 32. (See Phrase 139.)

47. High herted. 19/31. M. de haultain couraige, p. 31.

48. Hit is not of newe, how tliat a woman can not kepe secretely that
whiche men sayen to her in counceylle. 204/2. M. ce n^est pas nouvelle
chose quefemme saiche hien tousjours celler les clioses que Pen lui dit, p. 288.

49. I bethought me. 2/ 12. M. il me va lors souvenir, p. 2.

50. I merueyll me not. l72/io. M. Je ne me merveille pas, p. 247.

51. In lyke wyse as the shafte is departed' fro the bowe, must take her
flyght and' cours, and" neuer cometh ageyne to the bowe tyll it haue smyte
somme thynge, Soo is the word* whiche yssued" out of the mouth, it may
neuer be put in-to the mouthe ageyne, but that it shal be herd, be it good*
or euylle. 204/2 2. M. aussy comme la sayette part de Varc cordd, et, quand
elle est partie, il convient qu^ellepreingne son bruit, ne jamais ne reviendra
d la corde jusques d tant qu'elle ait fern quelle chose que ce soil, tout
aussi esi-il de la parole qui ist de la bouche, car puis qu'elle est yssue
elle ny puet rentrer qu'elle ne soyt ouye et entendae, soit hien, soil mat,
p. 289.

52. In somer it were beter awey, for flies hidethe hem therinne ; and therfor
y praise not the arraye nor that nouelte in a pore man : in summer it were
better dispensed with, for flies hide in it; and therefore I cannot praise
such a dress or novelty with a poor man. 3I/30. M. en este les puces s^y
mucenf, et pour ceje ne prise riens la nouveaulte ne telle cointise, p. 49.

53. In the other world*. 170/22. M. en Vautre siecle, p. 243.

54. In the plaine strete. 126/i. M. en plainne rue, p. 187.

55. In the tyme of his werre. 14/2 2. M. au temps quHl se povoit armer,
p. 22.

56. It boted not. 66/5.

57. It is a blessed thinge to faste, for the more harme it dothe the faster,
the more is the merit, and of gretter valour. 13/20. M. Sy est une moulte
sainte chose ; et, de tant comme le jeuner fait plus de mal a la teste et au
corps, de tant est lajeune de plus grant merite et deplus grant valeur, p. 20.

58. It is a gret perilt after ye loke, for whanne that two vices be sette
one eueil delite, gladly they bringe her maister into temptacion. 58/ii.
M. Car moult est perilleux le touchier apres le regard, quand les deux
vices se consentent de mauvaise volenti, p. 90.

59. It is no nede that al that men sayn be trouthe. 199/5. M* *^ "'^*^ P^^
mestier que tout ce que Ven dit soit vray, p. 283.

60. Kepe clene. II/13. M. tenir nettement, p. 17.

258 PHRASES AND PROVERBS.

61. KUte away his herte : ca«t away his heart. 9/io. M. miat ton cuer
ailleurs, \k 13.

62. Lough hem to scorne : laughed them to scorn. 40/36. M. ne rioyent
ct jenijloyent (Veuljr, p. 63.

63. Miule hem gret chare. I6/13. M. les honnouiereni et festoj/erent,
p. 25. (See Phrases 111, 135.)

64. Made her queint, and arraied her selff in clothes of golde. 88/32.
se cointit de clnqjs d'or, p. 139.

65. Made slee her husboiide : had her husband slain. 57/36. M. comme
defaire tuer son chevalier, p. 90.

66. Maister pillour of the halle: master pillar, &c. 93/17. M. maistre
jnllier de la sale, p. 146.

67. Mani woman farithe as the feinali of the wolff, that chesithe to her
make the foulest wolff of ali that ben in the wode. 82/9. M. aucunes
^emmes ressemhlent a la louve, qui eslit son amy le plusfailly et le plus lait,
p. 130.

68. Many men for anger betithe hym selff with his owne staffe, and
sekithe hym sorw from day to day : many a man, through anger, beats
himself with his own staff, and finds sorrow from day to day. 54/1 1.
M. aucunes gens par leur grant yre et convoitise se hastent de leurs hastens
mesmes et se pourchassent de Jour en Jour peine et ennuy, p. 84. (See
Phrases 31, 92 )

69. Men that canne skill of the worlde: men who know the world ; men
of the world. 34/14. M. gens qui scevent du Steele, p. 53.

70. Moche maugre haue she of us that will not tell of good felawship :
much ill-will shall she have, &c. 33/4. M. Honnie soit elle qui ne dira
verite par bonne compaignie, p. 52.

71. No woman vnwedded" shalle not sette her loue vpon no man of lovyer
or lasse degree than she is of. I78/7. M. je ne vueil point qu'elles ayent
nulle plaisance a nulx mendres d^elles, cest assavoir que toute femme a
marier n'uyme mil qui soit mendre que elle, p. 254.

72. Now atte this day the charitee and holy seruice of women is right
thinne ysowen. 14 4/2 9. M. aujourdui la charite et le saint service des

femmes est hien cler seme en cest monde, p. 209.

73. No worldely plesaunce and worsbipe may not apparage to goodnesse,
and in especiali to humilite : no worldly delight or honour can vie with
goodness and especially with humility. I9/33. M. il tiestoit nul honneur
ne nul Men terrien qui shicomparaige a honte et a bonnes meurs, et par
especial a Vuinilite et a humblesce, p. 31. (See Phrase 38.)

74. Of honest and* good lyf cometh euer a good' ende. I94/27. M. de
bonne vie bonne Jin, p. 277.

75. Onis vpon the day to ete and drinke, it is angelik; and .ij. tymes it
is the lyff of man and woman ; and for to ete ofte tymes after the fleashely
appetite, it is the holy (i.e. wholly) lyff' of a beste. II6/19. M. Car une
foiz mengier est vie d'ange, et iJ. foiz est droite vie d'omme et de feme, et

plusieurs fois mengier est vie de beste, p. 176.

PHRASES AND PROVEimS. 259

76. Oure couenable after the tyme of the yeere : hour proper to the time
of the year. 9/33. M. heure convenahle, selon le temps, p. 14.

77. Oute of a gentiH herte shulde iieuer come velenye word' ne dede, for
by chidynjje is knowe the gentil from the vilanie, that Kpekithe it with his
mouthe. 127/i. M. Car ou tender Ven congnoist les geniilz de avecques
les villains, car cellui est villain qui de sa honche dist villenie, p. 188.

78. Oute of loue spryngen and'comen to many thoughtes, and'Melancolye.
I8O/18. M. en amours a trop de merencolies, p, 257.

79. Parties orientys. 122/26. M. de vers Orient en Jherusalem, p. 183.

80. Praied hem of loue: besought them for love. 2/i6. M. prioient
d^amours, p. 2.

81. Praied of loue. 33/7. ^^- priee d'amoiirs, p. 52.

82. Praising and thanking is seruice of aungeles. 5/11. M. rendre graces
et louenges est service et le mestier des anges, p. 6.

83. Puissant woman. II/13. M. tine hourgoyse moult puissant, p. 18.

84. Put her estate and" worship in this balaunce. I8O/13. M.Jepenseqtie
dame ne damoyselle mariee ne autre femme d'estat ne mettra ja son honneur
ne son estat en tel party ne en telle balance, p. 257.

85. Reson that shulde gouerne a^. 58/i6, M. raison . . . qiti doit le
cueur et lafenestre gouverner, p. 91.

86. Sele sus table ; seyle bus table, 27/i8, 19, 27, 28. In M. the expres-
sions are Saul sur table, p. 42, for our "sele sus table", and Sel sur table,
p. 43, for our " seyle sus table ".

87. Sette a colt in aumbling ringes, he witt use it whiles thei aren on.
9/17. M.

Mettez poulain en ambleure,

II la tendra tant comme il dare, p. 13.

88. Sette steuen. 6/3, "to fix time for the performance of anything. To
set steuen was a very common phrase," (T. W.) M. mistrent aux deux
chevalliers certaines heures, p. 7. In Chaucer's Knight's Tale, 1. 666,
we read

" For al-day meteth men at unset etevene."

89. She beleuid for- to haue pareiH to God. 6I/26. The French is
different. M. elle vonloit estre pareille a Dieu, p. 96.

90. She denied not to come: she deigned not to come, i.e. would not
come. 85/2 2. M. et oncques n^t/ daigna venir, p. 135.

91. She had be beter that she hadde none hondes : it had been better for
her had she had no hands. 58/9. M. il vaulsist mieuz que elle n'eust eu
nulles mains, p. 90.

92. She had bete her selfFwith her owne staffe. 2I/15. M. elle s^e^ioit
batue par sonbaston mesmes, p. 33. (See Phrases 31, 68.)

93. She wolde she had be stiti : she wished she had kept silent. 32/24.
M. La dame . . ama mieux ne avoir ja parU, p. 51.

94. Smalle thoughtes. I82/31. M. menus pensiers, p. 260.

95. So it befell that he had waged bataile ayenst another knight : it

17—2

2f)0 ni RASES AND rROVEKBS.

Iiufell that ho had engaged to fight witli another knight. I2O/29. M. Sy
adcinl que il e>ut It /aire ung yuige de bataille eucontre un autre, p. 181.

96. Sori loue haue she. 33/9. M. Honnie »oit die, p. 52.

97. So that the cliilde of one fader and of one inoder be not of one con-
dicion, but they h)ue and desire eche contrarie unto other. IO6/31. M. Et
ainsi ne sent pas les enfflins (Van pere et d'une mire d^ane maniere ; car les
uns aim'int un mestier et wie maniere de oeurre et les autres une autre, p. 164.

98. So youre countenannce shal be most ferme and sure ; for thei that
lokithe bak, and ar ofte btering with the hede, ar ofte scorned & mocked.
15/21. M. si en tendra Ven vostre estat plus eeur et plus ferme, car Von »e
boiirde de celles qui se ligierement hran'lellent et virent le viMaige 9a et la, p. 24.

99. Squier come from a uiage that he hadde ben atte : squire came from
a voyage on which he had been. 51/2. The French is different. M. Vescuier,
qui Vamoit par amours, riiit d'un royaige et d^une armee oii il avoit
este, p. 78.

100. Strengest hore : greatest whore. 34/25. M. la plus pute, p. 54.

101. Synne is not aH in moche etinge, but in the delite of sauour of the
mete. 59/2. M. pechie n'est pas du tout a trop mengier, mats au delit de
la saveur de la viande, p. 92.

102. Tendir witte. 2/8. M. de sens desgarnies, p. 2.

103. That good lady made his pays (i.e. peace) vnto the kinge. I2I/33.
M. celle bonne dame luifist s paix, p. 182.

104. Tliat is to wete. I7O/29. M. c'est-d-dire, p. 243. (See Phrase 105.)

105. That is to wete. I79/29. M. c^est assavoir, p. 256. (See Phrase 104.)

106. That y was nigh wode for fere : so that I was nearly mad for
fear. 6/20. M. que a pou queje n'enraigay, p. 8.

107. The deuelt arraye her onis, and be her merour, for because she
makithe us euery day in use and to abide after her. 45/9. The French text
is greatly diflferent: Mai mirer lui envoit Dieux, qui tant defois nous fait
icy muser et attendre, p. 70.

108. Thei raught neuer : they never cared. 2/20. M. ne faisoyent-ilz
compfe, p. 3.

109. Thei saide they wolde drawe cutte (i.e. draw cuts or lots). 34/6
M. Nous en jouerons au court f est u (i.e. Nous tirerons au court fetu, ou
lien, Nous tirerons a la courfe paille). The French refers to the old
practice of drawing lots by means of short straws (fetus) of unequal length
held between the index finger and the thumb. The tips of the straws were
presented to the persons concerned, who each dreto one, and thus decided
the winner. The practice is seldom seen nowadays. Peasants will some-
times arrange by this means which one among them shall pay for their
litre of wine.

110. Thei . . . were chastised that thei dede naught as they were wont.
And he and his wyfF thanked God of her auicion that he sent hem, that thei
might amende hem, 44/25. The French text is somewhat different : dis la
en avant il (i. e. le chevalier) se chastia, et mercierent, lui et safemme, nostre
Seigneur, de leur avoir demonetre celle demonstrance, p. 69.

PHRASES AND PROVEHIiS. 261

111. The lady . . . uiaade to hym better chere. I68/13. M. la danie lux
Jist bonne chiere, p. 240. (See Phrases 63, 135.)

112. "The potte may goo so longe to water, that atte the laste it ia
broken." 82/i8. M. iant va la cruche a Veaue que le cul y clemeurey p. 130,
(See Phrase 5.) It is in Handlyng Synne, the Ayenbite of Inwyt, &c.

113. The praisinge of hem that loue worshippe and trouthe shulde euer-
more be had in remeniberaunce as they haue deserued, 156/6. M. et ne
doit Ven point taire le hien de ceulx qui Vont desservy, p. 222.

114. There is no man wotithe the fortunes nor auenturea cominge, or
what shati befaH. IO4/9. M. mil ne scet qui a Vueil pent, ne nut ne se doit
esmerveillier ne et^maier des fortunes ne dee tribulacions a soy ne a ses
voydns, p. 160.

115. There is none eueH dede but that it is ponisshed other ferre or nigh :
there is no evil deed not punished sooner or later. 90/2. M. il ii'est mat
que tine fot/z ne aoit pugni, ou au loing ou au pres, p. 141. (See Phrases
117, 118.)

116. There is no thing beter thanne a good woman. 163/i6. M. Nulle
chose n''est si noble que de bonne femme, p. 234.

117. There nys no good dede but it be quitte : no good deed is unrequited.
13/20. M. il n^est nul hien qui ne soit mery, p. 20. (See Phrases 115, 118.)

118. Ther shaft no good dede nor good lyfF [go] vnrewarded, nor no
wickednesse vnpouisshed. 165/ 16. M. il ripest nul hien quHl ne soit mery ne
nul mat qui ne soit pugni, p. 236. (See Phrases 115, 117.)

119. The soule whan he comithe from bapteme : the soul when it comes
from baptism. II/30. M. l''arne quant elle vient desfons de baptesme, p. 17.

120. The synne of the fader and^moder is noyous to the children, as ye
haue herd* tofore. IOI/27. M. car le pechi4 du pere et de la mere nuist aux
enffans, si comme vous avez ouy que le saint homme le disi a la royne de son
seigneur, p. 158.

121. The wise man saithe that no thinge shulde be touched that may
hurte the soule. 58/13. M. pour ce dist le saiye en la sapience que I' en se
doit garder de touchier a delit dont le ctier soit blescie ne Vdme, p. 91.

122. The woman, of nature shulde be pitous moche more thanne the man,
for the man is of more of harde corage than the woman. I36/14. ^L. femme
de sa nature doit estre plus doulce et plus piteuse que Vomme. Car Vomme
doit estre plus dur et de plus hault couraiye, p. 200.

123. The world^ is hard^ to knowe, and moche merueyllous. I7I/16.
M. pour ce est le siecle moult fort a congnoistre et moult me neilleuxy p. 244.
(See Phrase 37.)

124. They be lykly to here children. I6/2. M. elles sont tailliees de porter
ligniee, p. 25.

125. The yonge tendir flesshe, whanne it is chaufed, it is esy to be
tempted. 79/3. M. la char quiestjeunne et gaye est aisiee a tempter, p. 126.

126. This is a good ensaumple to putte yonge children vnto the scole,
and to make hem bokys of wisdom and of science, and bokes of vertu and
profitable ensaumples, whereby they may see the sauement of the soule and

262 IMIHASES AND PROVERBS.

of tlie body by the ensauuiplea of good leuiuge of the holy faderei before u«,
and not forto Htudie in the bokis that Bpeke of louo fablee, and of other
wordely vanitees. II8/18. Et pour cent exemple et lea out res e$t bonne chose
de met Ire ses enffang Juennes a, I'escolle et let f aire apprendre es liore* de
sapience, c'tst-a-dire ts livres dea guides e' des bons enaeiynemena, ait Von voit
lea hiena et le aauveinent da corpa et de Vame, et en la vie dea perea et des
aaina. non paa lea /aire apprendre ea livrea de lecheries et dea fablea da
monde, p. 178.

127. Tolde her counsaile eche to other : told their counsel each to the
other. 6/3. M. ae deacouvrirent Vune a Pautre, p. 7-

128. True loveris hert. 2/3. M. le vray cuer de loyal amour, p. 2.

129. Usage inakithe custume. 9/i6. M. tout ne chiet que par accoutu-
manes et a Vuaaigier, p. 13. (See Phrase 3.)

130. Veyne glorie of the worlde. 53/i6. M. la vainne gloire du monde,
p. 82.

131. Vnto our children we must hyde nothynge. I72/14. M. a noa
evjjfans nous ne devona riena celer, p. 247.

132. Weli born. I6/7. M. moult bien neea, p. 25.

133. Wene ye to doo rae to byleue . . . ? I82/34. M. me cuidiez-voua
faire acroire, p. 260.

134. Wered the hayre : wore hair-cloth. 48/25. M. vestoit lahaire, p. 75.
185. "What chere". 8O/31. M. et lui demanda quelle chitre il faisoit,

p. 128. (See Phrases 63, 111.)

136. Who dothe good to the pore in myn name, he dothe it to myn selff.
29/i 2. M. qui fait bien a son poire il lefaist a lay meiamea (i. e. d Dieu), p. 45.

137. Who so louithe the body, shulde loue the soule. I23/34. M. qui
ayme le corps il doit amer Vame, p. 184.

138. Who so usithe to speke moche, he saithe not euer trouthe : he who
speaks too much cannot always wisely speak. I7/26. M. qui parle trop ne
puet tousjoura dire que aaige, p. 27.

139. Who that m.akithe hym selfF lyteli by waye of humilite, he shal be
moch, and enhaunced by grace of God vnto worshipe. 149/20. M. Qui plua
ae hiimiliera et se tendra moindre, sera plus hault easaucie et une foiz
honnonre, p. 214. (See Phrase 46.)

140. W^ise of naturefl witte. 17/6. M. sages horns et de hon sens naturd,
p. 27.

141. Withholde the good : keep to the good. 4/io. M. retenir le bien, p. 5.

142. Wode folke oute of her mynde: demented folk (out of their mind).
41/4. M. gens demoniacles, p. 64.

143. Wonder deuout : wonderfully devout. 8/16. M. d mervdlles devote,
p. 12.

144. Worldely foule plesaunce, the whiche ys but shadow. 40/io. M. la
folle plaisance du monde, qui n'e^t que umbre, p. 62.

145. Worshipe of the worldely bodi. 4/6. M. Vonnour du corps ier-
rien, p. 4.

146. Y delited me so moche in her. I/15. M. en elle tout me delifoye, p. 2.

PHRASES AND PROVERBS. 263

147. Ye are moche beholde to serue God, sethe he wol youre saluacion.
11/24. M. roas esiea moult tenue a Dieu tervir, car il vuelt voire salvacion,
p. 17.

148. Ye are moche holde to youre God that hathe made you bo faire and
so goodly a knight : you owe much to your God, &c. 32/i2. M. vous devez
grant guer redan a Dieu, car vous estee tenu pour hon chevalier et assez
beau, p. 50.

149. Ye aught to loue hem that will teli you youre good, and wiH tett
you the trouth. 96/2. M. vous devez amer ceulx qui vous diron' voetrebien
et ne vous celeront point verite pour nulle doubie, p. 150.

150. Ye be in the wronge to haue suche langage on me : you are wrong
so to speak of me. 34/4. M. avez tort de mot/ tenir pour Jengleur, p. 53.

151. Yede to not : came to nought. 9/i i. M. alia a perdicion du tout,
p. 13. (See Phrase 42.)

152. Yef ye fast not brede and water, etithe no thing that receiued dethe :
if you do not eat only bread and water in fasting, eat, at least, nothing
killed. 10/6. M. se vous ne lejeunez en pain et en yaue, au moins n'y mengier
•point de chose qui preinrjne mort, p. 15.

153. Ye haue wronge. 33/33. M. vous avez grand tort, p. 53.

154. Y must to the erthe thennes that y come fro : I must to the earth
whence I came. 36/3. M. il me convient que je aille a la terre dont Je
rins, p. 56.

155. Y reioysed" me. I/3. M. me resjouy, p. 1.

156. Y wili leue you the felde, and go my way. 2I/28. M-.je vous laivay
le champ, et rn'en yray, p. 34.

INDEX OF SUBJECTS.

Abbeys, people withdraw from,
when rich, p. 107.

Abigail, 120.

Absalom, 78, 121.

Adultery, a woman in purga-
tory 100 years for, 66; a
land punished because the
queen committed, 76.

Ahab, 88.

Altar, carnal sin on, 51.

Amnon, 78, 121.

Amon and Mardocheus, 86.

Anjou, Emma Countess of, 1 36.

Apemena, pride of, 83.

Aquilea, Provost of, 186.

Aragon, daughters of King of,
19.

Ark of God, manna in, 97.

Athaliah, 89.

Athens, unreasonable Duchess
of, 99.

Babylon, 129.

Balam, 11,

Bathsheba, David's sin with,

57, 99.
Bawd, a wife led to do wrong

by a, 79.
Beauty, natural and artificial,

68.
Black dogs, a woman was lost

for keeping two, 29.
Books, need of good, for the

young, 118; our Knight's,

1, 4, 115, 136, 205, Note to

205/14.

Boucicaut, 33, 158.
Bourgueil, abbey of, 136.
Breeches, worn by a wife to

deceive her husband, 80.
Erunehaultj 90.

Cato, the teachings of, 194.

Cecile of Belleville, 192.

Charity to orphans rewarded
by God, 112; how a woman
was saved by, 48 ; a woman
lost for want of, 139; ex-
ample of, 114.

Charmylour, 158.

Christ, carrying cross, 135;
clearing of the Temple by,
52 ; disputes with doctors,
151; is seen by Simeon, 151;
Mary washes his feet with
tears, 131; his resurrection,
142 ; turns water into wine,
151.

Churches, carnal sins in, 51, 52.

Colophon, Caxton's, 205.

Confession, danger of dying
without, 183; a means of
releasing those bound by
sin to the devil, 53; a
woman's soul lost through
neglecting, 13.

Constantinople, tale of, 5.

Courtesy, a good thing in
women, 85.

Covetousness, the effects of, on
different people, 92.

Cyprus, Queen of, 110.

INDEX OF SUBJECTS.

265

D'Artus, baroness, 154.
David, 57, 99, 120, 121.
Dead bodies, appeared to pre-
vent wickedness, 67.
Dead, masses for, 49.
Death, like a hook in fishing,

hidden behind other things,

59 ; original cause of, 54 ;

a thief that comes unseen,

59.
Deborah, 117.
Denmark, tale of princesses of,

15.
Devil, in form of toad, 139;

service of, 53.
Dinah, sins of, 74.
Dirige, power of saying, 7.
Disobedience, sin of, 55.
Dogs, sin of daintily feeding

pet, 28.
Dove, symbol of God, 118.
Dream, of a soul compared to

a silver plate, 11.
Dreams, of a knight and his

lady, 43.
Dress, ladies should imitate

good women in, 30 ; new

fashions in women's, 29, 63,

64, 89, &c.

Eating, difference between an-
gels, men and animals in, 1 1 6.

Education, good of, 118.

Elisha, 124,

Emperor, the two daughters of
the, 5.

Esther, 127, 150.

Eve, the sins of, 54-62.

Fasting, Nineveh saved by,
1 3 ; enabled a dead body
to speak, 1 0 ; kept a wo-
man alive in a well, 1 1.

Flatterers, the evil of having,
95, 112.

Fur, out of place on servants'
clothes, 31.

Gentle heart, a gentlewoman

should have a, 20.
Gibbet, Amon would have

hanged Mardocheus on a,

87.
Gluttony, in a knight's daugli-

ter, 8 ; good of avoiding,

115; the beginning of other

sins, 116.
Good deeds, a mirror to the

world, 105.
Good manners, a wife chosen

for her, 17.
Good name, the value of a, 157.
Greatness, inherited and a-

chieved; 87.

Hair, dyeing of, 70.

Hair-shirt, wearing of, 69, 193.

Helen, ravishing of, 174.

Hell, Adam and Eve in, till
the coming of Christ, 59 ;
tortures of, 67, 68.

Herod, 84, 104.

Herodias, 104.

Hester of Syria, 26.

Holy men, the good of know-
ing, 125.

Horns, women wear, 63.

Humility, examples of, 149;
the beginning of friendship,
1 4 ; enhanceth the poor,
150.

Husband, a woman fought in
the stead of her, 120; not
good for a woman to be
away from her, 55; a wo-
man should not answer with-
out the advice of her, 56.

Innocents, slaughter of, 104.

Jacob, 107.

Jezebel, history of, 88.

Joash, 89.

Job, example of, 103.

John, son of Zachariah, 116.

266

INDEX OF SUI3JKCTS.

Joseph, husband of -Mary, 147.
Joseph, Pharaoh's wife desires,
70.

Kinps, book of, 128.

Kissing, the parent of foul
deeds, 185.

Knight, books of our, 1, 4, 115,
136, 205, Note to 205/14 ;
liis wife and he argue con-
cerning lovers, 171 ; he goes
to choose a wife, 18.

Knight, how great honour was
gained by a, 157.

Lechery, caused eight cities
to sink to hell, 71 ; cometh
from lewd looking, 57; the
devil tempts people to, 72.

Leprosy, Moses's sister punish-
ed with, 90.

Life of the Fathers, book called,
63, 133, 165, 186.

Light manners, a maid lost
her marriage by, 18.

Looking-glass, how the devil
appeared in a, 45.

Lot's wife, an example to those
who sin after confession, 71 ;
unnatural sin of his daugh-
ters, 72.

Magpie, a woman betrayed to
her husband by a, 22.

Maidservant, punishment of a
false, 73.

Mans, countess of, 29.

Maries, the three, 144.

Marriage, God's laws concern-
ing, 49 ; ordained of God,
164.

Martha, sister of Mary, 134.

Mary Magdalene, 110, 131,144.

Mary, sister of Moses, 90.

Maiy, virgin, 146, 149, 151.

Mass, people should not be
hindered from, 44; people

ehould not talk at, 40; the
devil wrote down all that
was said at, 40.

Meekness, an unfaithful hus-
band regained by, 24 ; re-
warded by God, 91.

Men, how they deceive wo-
men, 2, 33.

Merchants, trial of wives by,
26.

Midian, daughter of, 78.

Miracle, at a mass, 153; of
the bread at mass leaping
into a lady's mouth, 46; in
the church of Beaulieu, 51 ;
in an abbey in Poitou, 52.

Moab's daughters and Israel, 7 7.

Monk, punishment of lascivious,
71.

Moses, 90, 111.

Naboth, history of, 88.
Naple?, chronicles of, 75.
Nero, 144.

Nineveh, King of, 13.
Noah's flood, caused by women's
vanity, 62, 68.

Paganism, origin of, 72.
Painting the face, punished in

hell with hot pitch, &c., 68.
Parchment, used by the devil

to write on, 42.
Parents, should pray for their

children, 108; the sin of,

injures children, 101.
Patience, rewarded by God,

103.
Patrides, a knight, 142.
Penitence, an example of the

good of, 131.
Phanona, wife of Archana, 91.
Pier de Luge, Sir, 158.
Pilgrimages, evil conduct on,

47-50.
Poor, clothing the, 65.
Prayer, inattention at, 15.

INDEX OF SUBJECTS.

267

Praying, man's first and last
work every day, 5 ; a maid
saved from fornication by, 6.

Preachers, cruelly treated, 1 1 3.

Pride, men come of mean de-
gree should not have, 87;
fall of angels due to, 64, 149.

Priests, libidinous, 76y 126.

Prior, a roper's wife commits
adultery with a, 82.

Proverbs. See under Phrases
and Proverb?, pp. 254-63.

Pulling the hair out, a woman
punished in hell for, 67.

Purgatory, will purge out but
one sin every seven years, 66.

Queen Blanche, 29.
Queen of Cyprus, 110.
Queen of Greece, 6.
Queen Jeanne of France, 153.
Queen Radegonde, 113.
Queen of Sheba, 121.
Queen Vasty s, 85.

Rachel, 109.

Raguel, 102.

Rahab of Jericho, 112.

Raoul de Luge, Sir, 158.

Rebecca, 106, 185.

Rome, chronicles of, 1 44, Note to
p. 120/27 ; emperor of, 123,
144; sejiator of, 120, 125.

Roper's wife, a false, 79.

Rath, 119:

Saintre (Sarmitre), 158.

Saints, example of, 83; legends
of, 144; Anastatia, 113;
Bernard and his sister, 39 ;
Brice, 42; Cecilia, 152;
Elisabeth, 112, 152; Elisa-
beth, mother of St. John,
131, 149; Eustatius, 104;
John, 40; John the Baptist,
104, 149; Katharine of
Alexandria, 117; Lewis, 29;

Luce, 1 52 ; Martin of Tours,
41; Michael and the Devil
weighing the deeds of the
dead, 65 ; Radegonde (Ara-
gon), 113.

Samson, and Delilah, 92 ; the
riddles of, 96 ; upbringing
of, 114.

Sara, daughter of Raguel, 102,
125.

Sarah, wife of Abraham, 105.

Schechem, sins of, 74.

School, young women should
be put to, 117.

Servant maid, punished for
leading her mistress wrong,
73.

Sheba, Queen of, 121.

Sibyl, 90, Note to 9O/5.

Sickness, sent by God to show
sin, 50.

Simeon, 151.

Sins — gluttony, 53 ; avarice,
53; usury, 53; lying, 53;
listening to temptation, 55 ;
longing for evil, 57 ; touch-
ing evil things, 58; attempt-
ing to excuse wrong-doing,
61 ; proper way of confess-
ing, 62.

Sisana, 95.

Sodom and Gomorrah, 71.

Solomon, foolish mother of, 99;
judgement of, 100; Queen
of Sheba and, 121 ; wisdom
of, 85.

Soul, compared to a silver
plate, 1 1 .

Spain, gestes of, 19.

Squire, tale of eggs laid by, 96.

Step-sons, women should love
their, 122.

Stories, good teaching for men
and women, 4.

Susannah, 129.

Swineherd, a lord made his
wife to eat with the, 95.

592024

•iGH

INDKX OF st'i3ji:cn.s.

TaleB, origins of our, 82.
Talking too much, the danger

of, IG.
Taraar, sins of, 74, 78,
Toad, found holding tlie heart

of a dead woman, 139.
Tobit, 102.
Troy, fall of, 174.
Turning the whole body, not

only the face, 15.

Uriah, David kills, 57, 99.

Vanity of dress, where it pleases
one, it displeases twenty, G4;
caused Noah's flood, 62.

Vanity in dress sent a knight's
wife to hell, 65.

Vastys, disobedience of Queen,
85.

Venus, origin of, 173; perver-
sions due to, 169; wiles of,
173, 174, 180.

Virgins, wise and foolish, 145.

Vision, of St. Michael and the
devil weighing a woman, 65;
of the Virgin Mary, end of
hell, 48 ; of a hermit who
went to Aquileia, 187. See
Dream.

Vitas Patrum, see liife of the
Fathers.

Wager, of three merchants

about their wives, 26.
White dove, representing God,

found in the heart of a boy,

118.
Widowhood, virtue of chaste,

154-6.
Wine, dyeing hair with, 70 ;

ill-effects of drinking too

much, 116; miracle of the

marriage, 151.

Wise servants, advantage of
having, 73.

Wives, choosing of, 15, 18, 19
165; duty to husbands of
60, 61, 79-86, 120, 128
liave part with tlieir hus
bands in good and evil, 61
husbands' lechery cured by
gentle, 23 ; should eat with
their husbands, 94 ; should
love their husbands' friends,
119; should not give bad
counsel to husbands, 60 ;
trial of, 26, 96, 193, 197,
203.

Woman, stealing of eel by, 22.

Women, creation of, I63/19;
culture of, 118; fasting of,
1 0 ; how men can confound,
34; peril of gay, 35; public
quarrelling by, 126; punish-
ment of adulterous, 162;
punishment of vain, 37, 67-
69; quarrelsome, 20, 23, 25,
32; reception of visitors by,
140; should be humble and
courteous, 98, 150; should
dress well on holy-days, 37 ;
should not alter their visage
from what God made it, 65,
68, 70; should not go alone
to feasts, 35 ; should not
take too long to dress, 45,
nor be proud of their ap-
parel, 39, 64 ; should not
wax proud of what God
gives, 91 ; should not wed
men of lower estate, 178;
should not remain alone with
a man, 55; vain plucking of
hair from brows by, 67.
Wrangling, the folly of. 21, 32.

Zachariah, 116.

/yyLJ

PR 1119 .A2 V.33 IMS

Wright

Knight of La Tour Landry

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