Thare styll I satt, my bonis for to rest,
Tyll Morpheus with sleip my spreit opprest.
So, throw the bousteous blastis of Eolus,
And throw my walkyng on the nycht before,
And throw the seyis movyng marvellous,
Be Neptunus, with mony route and rore,
Constrainit I was to sleip, withouttin more:
And quhat I dremit, in conclusioun
I sall you tell, ane marvellous visioun.
About 1528?
HOW GRAUNDE AMOURE WAS RECEYVED OF LA BELLE PUCELL
Whan she it knewe, than ryght incontynent
She called to her Peace and dame Mercy,
With Justyce, and Reason the lady excellent,
Pleasaunce, Grace, with good dame Memory,
To weyte upon her full ententyfly :
Me to receyve with all solempne joye,
Adowne her chambre she wente on her waye.
And in meane whyle the gentyll porteres,
Called Countenaunce, on my way then me ledde,
Into the basse courte of grete wydnes,
Where all of golde there was a conduyte hede,
With many dragons enameled with reed,
Whiche dyde spoute oute the dulcet lycoure,
Lyke cristall clere, with aromatyke odoure.
Alofte the basse toure foure ymages stode,
Whiche blewe the claryons well and wonderly.
Alofte the toures the golden fanes good
Dyde with the wynde make full swete armony;
Them for to here it was grete melody.
The golden toures with crystall clarefyed
Aboute were glased moost clerely purefyed.
And the gravell whereupon we wente,
Full lyke the golde that is moost pure and fyne,
Withouten spotte of blacke encombremente,
Aboute our fete it dyde ryghte clerely shyne:
It semed more lyke a place celestyne
Than an erthely mansyon whiche shall away
By longe tyme and proces an other day.
And towarde me I dyde se than comynge
La Belle Pucell, the moost fayre creature
Of ony fayre erthely persone lyvynge,
Whiche with me mette with chere so demure.
Of the shynynge golde was all her vesture.
I dyde my duty, and ones or twyes ywys
Her lyppes softe I dyde full swetely kys.
"Aha!" quod she, "that I am very fayne
That you are come, for I have thought longe
Sythen the tyme that we parted in twayne,
And for my sake you have had often wronge;
But your courage so hardy and stronge
Hath caused you for to be vyctoryous
Of your enmyes so moche contraryous."
With her praty honde, whyte as ony lyly,
She dyde me lede into a ryall hall,
With knottes kerved full ryght craftely,
The wyndowes fayre glased with crystall;
And all aboute, upon the golden wall,
There was enameled, with fygures curyous,
The syege of Troye so harde and dolorous.
The flore was paved with precyous stones;
And the rofe of mervaylous geometry,
Of the swete sypres wrought for the nones,
Encensynge oute the yll odours mysty.
Amyddes the rofe there shone full wonderly
A poynted dyamonde of mervaylous bygnes,
With many other grete stones of ryches.
So up we wente to a chambre fayre,
A place of pleasure and delectacyon,
Strowed with flowres flagraunte of ayre,
Without ony spotte of perturbacyon.
I behelde ryght well the operacyon
Of the mervaylous rofe set full of rubyes,
And tynst with saphers and many turkeys.
The walles were hanged with golden aras,
Whiche treated well of the syege of Thebes;
And yet all aboute us depured was
The crystallyne wyndowes of grete bryghtnes.
I can nothynge extende the goodlynes
Of this palays, for it is impossyble
To shewe all that unto me [was] vysyble.
But La Belle Pucell full ryght gentylly
Dyde syt adoune by a wyndowes syde,
And caused me also full swetely
By her to sytte at that gentyll tyde.
"Welcome!" she sayde: "ye shall with me abyde,
After your sorowe to lyve in joye and blysse;
You shall have that ye have deserved ywys."
My sorowe defeted, and my mynde dyde modefy,
And my dolourous herte began to pacyfy.
All thus in love we gan to devyse,
For eche of other were ryght joyous.
Than at the last, in a mervaylous wyse,
Full sodaynly there came unto us
Lytell Cupyde with his moder Venus,
Whiche was well cladde in a fayre mantyll blewe, 90
With golden hertes that were perst anewe.
And rounde aboute us she her mantyll cast,
Sayenge that she and her sonne Cupyde
Wolde us conjoyne in maryage in hast:
"And to lete knowe all your courte so wyde,
Sende you Perseveraunce before to provyde,
To warne your ladyes for to be redy
To morowe betyme, ryght well and solemply."
We answered bothe our hertes were in one,
Sayenge that we dyde ryght well agre,
For all our foes were added and gone.
Ryght gladde I was that joyfull day to se.
And than anone, with grete humylyte,
La Bell Pucell to a fayre chambre bryght
Dyde me than brynge for to rest all nyght.
And she toke her leve; I kyst her lovely.
I wente to bedde; but I coude not slepe,
For I thought so moche upon her inwardly
Her moost swete lokes into my herte dyde crepe,
Percynge it through with a wounde so depe:
For Nature thought every houre a day
Tyll to my lady I sholde my dette well paye.
About 1506.
HOWE REMEMBRAUNCE MADE HIS EPYTAPHY ON HIS GRAVE
The good dame Mercy, with dame Charyte,
My body buryed full ryght humbly,
In a fayre temple of olde antyquyte,
Where was for me a dyryge devoutely,
And with many a masse full ryght solempnely;
And over my grave, to be in memory,
Remembraunce made this lytell epytaphy:
"O mortall folke, you may beholde and se How I lye here, somtyme a myghty knyght. The ende of joye and all prosperyte
Is Dethe at last, through his course and myght:
After the day there cometh the derke nyght;
For though the day be never so longe,
At last the belles ryngeth to evensonge.
"And I my selfe, called La Graunde Amoure,
Sekynge adventure in the worldly glory,
For to attayne the ryches and honoure,
Dyde thynke full lytell that I sholde here ly,
Tyll Dethe dyde mate me full ryght pryvely.
Lo what I am, and whereto you must!
Lyke as I am, so shall you be all dust.
"Than in your mynde inwardely dyspyse
The bryttle worlde, so full of doublenes,
With the vyle flesshe, and ryght soone aryse
Out of your slepe of mortall hevynes;
Subdue the Devyll with grace and mekenes,
That, after your lyfe frayle and transytory,
You may than lyve in joye perdurably."
About 1506.
Ones yet agayne
Of you I wolde frayne,
Why come ye nat to court?—
To whyche court?
To the Kynges courte,
Or to Hampton Court?—
Nay, to the Kynges court!
The Kynges courte
Shulde have the excellence;
But Hampton Court
Hath the pre-emynence,
And Yorkes Place,
With my lordes grace,
To whose magnifycence
Is all the conflewence,
Sutys and supplycacyons,
Embassades of all nacyons.
Strawe for lawe canon!
Or for the lawe common!
Or for lawe cyvyll!
It shall be as he wyll:
|