XX.

Purse,

A BALADE,

FROM

FAIRFAX MS. 16, BODLEIAN LIBRARY.

320

PURSE. FAIRFAX MS. 16.

PURSE.

[Fairfax MS. 16, leaf 193.]

The complaynt of Chaucer to his Purse

(1)

To yow my purse/ and to noon) other wight'
Complayn I/ for ye be my lady dere
I am so sory now / that ye been) lyght'
ffor certes but yf ye make me / hevy chere
Me were as leef be layde/vpon my bere
ffor whiche vnto your mercy / thus I
Beeth hevy ageyne / or elles mote I dye

(2)

crye

Now voucheth-sauf this day / or hyt be nyght
That I of yow/ the blisful sovne may here
Or see your colour lyke / the sonne bryght'
That of yelownesse / hadde neuer pere
Ye be my lyfe / ye be myn hertys stere
Quene of comfort/ and of good companye
Beth heuy ayeyne / or elles moote I dye

(3)

nota 1

4

7

[leaf 193, back]

11

14

Now purse that ben) to me / my lyves lyght

15

And saveour/as doun) in this worlde here

Oute of this tovne / helpe me thurgh your myght'

Been verray kynge / this song to yow I sende
And ye that mowen) / alle myn) harme amende
Haue mynde/vpon my supplicacion)

26

Editor in Chief:-F.J. FURNIVALL, Esq., 3, St George's Square, Primrose Hill, N.W.
Hon. Sec. :-W. A. DALZIEL, Esq., 67, Victoria Road, Finsbury Park, N.

THE CHAUCER SOCIETY'S PUBLICATIONS.

To do honour to CHAUCER, and to let the lovers and students of him see how far the best unprinted Manuscripts of his works differd from the printed texts, this Society was founded in 1868. There were then, and are still, many questions of metre, pronunciation, orthography, and etymology yet to be settled, for which more prints of Manuscripts were and are wanted; and it is hardly too much to say that every line of Chaucer contains points that need reconsideration. The founder (Mr Furnivall) began with The Canterbury Tales, and has given of them (in parallel columns in Royal 4to) six of the best theretofore unprinted Manuscripts known. Inasmuch as the parallel arrangement necessitated the alteration of the places of certain tales in some of the MSS, a print of each MS has been issued separately, following the order of its original. The first six MSS printed have been: the Ellesmere (by leave of the Earl of Ellesmere); the Hengwrt (by leave of W. W. E. Wynne, Esq.); the Camb. Univ. Libr., MS Gg. 4. 27; the Corpus, Oxford; the Petworth (by leave of Lord Leconfield); and the Lansdowne 851 (Brit. Mus.). The Harleian 3374 will follow. Of Chaucer's Minor Poems,-the MSS of which are generally later than the best MSS of the Canterbury Tales, all the available MSS have been printed so as to secure all the existing evidence for the true text.

The Boece from the best MS, and the Troilus Parallel-Text from the 3 best MSS, are now all in type.

To secure the fidelity and uniform treatment of the texts, Mr F. J. Furnivall has read and will read all with their MSS.

Autotypes of all the best Chaucer MSS. either have been or will be publisht.

The Society's publications are issued in two Series, of which the first contains the different texts of Chaucer's works; and the Second, such originals of and essays on these as can be procured, with other illustrative treatises, and Supplementary Tales. FIRST SERIES.

The Society's issue for 1868, in the First Series, is,

I. The Prologue and Knight's Tale, of the Canterbury Tales, in 6 parallel Texts (from the 6 MSS named below), together with Tables, showing the Groups of the Tales, and their varying order in 38 MSS of the Tales, and in 5 old printed editions, and also Specimens from several MSS of the "Moveable Prologues" of the Canterbury Tales,-The Shipman's Prologue, and Franklin's Prologue,-when moved from their right places, and of the Substitutes for them. (The Six-Text, Part I.)

II. The Prologue and Knight's Tale from the Ellesmere MS.

(separate issues of the Texts forming Part I of the Six-Text edition.)

The issue for 1869, in the First Series, is,
VIII. The Miller's, Reeve's, and Cook's Tales:

Ellesmere MS.y
Hengwrt
Cambridge,,

with an Appendix of "Gamelyn' from six MSS.

(separate issues of the Texts forming the Six-Text, Part II, No. XIV.)

The issue for 1870, in the First Series, is,

XIV. The Miller's, Reeve's, and Cook's Tales, with an Appendix of the Spurious
Tale of Gamelyn, in 6 parallel Texts. (Six-Text, Part II.)

The issue for 1871, in the First Series, is,

XV. The Man of Law's, Shipman's, and Prioress's Tales, with Chaucer's own
Tale of Sir Thopas, in 6 parallel Texts from the MSS above named, and 10
coloured drawings of Tellers of Tales, after the originals in the Ellesmere MS.
XVI. The Man of Law's Tale, from the Ellesmere MS.

XIX. The Shipman's, Prioress's, and Man of Law's Tales, from the Petworth MS.
XX. The Man of Law's Tale, from the Lansdowne MS.

(each with woodcuts of fourteen drawings of Tellers of Tales in the Ellesmere MS.)

Director: F. J. FURNIVALL, Esq., 3, St George's Square, London, N.W. Treasurer: H. B. WHEATLEY, Esq., 5, Minford Gardens, West Kensington Park, W. Hon. Sec.: W. A. DALZIEL, Esq., 67, Victoria Rd., Finsbury Park, London, N. Bankers: THE UNION BANK OF LONDON, Head Office, Princes Street, E. C. Publishers: N. TRÜBNER AND Co., 57 & 59, Ludgate Hill, London, E.C.

The Early English Text Society was started by Mr Furnivall in 1864 for the purpose of bringing the mass of Old English Literature within the reach of the ordinary student, and of wiping away the reproach under which England had long rested, of having felt little interest in the monuments of her early life and language. The E. E. T. Soc. desires to print in its Original Series the whole of our unprinted MS literature; and in its Extra Series to reprint in careful editions all that is most valuable of printed MSS and early printed books.

The Society has issued to its subscribers 110 Texts, most of them of great interest; so much so indeed that the publications of its first two years have been reprinted, and those for its third year, 1866, will follow.

The Subscription is £1 1s. a year [and £1 1s. (Large Paper, £2 12s. 6d.) additional for the EXTRA SERIES], due in advance on the 1st of JANUARY, and should be paid either to the Society's Account at the Head Office of the Union Bank of London, Princes Street, E.C., or by Money Order (made payable at the Chief Office, London) to the Hon. Secretary, Mr W. A. DALZIEL, 67, Victoria Road, Finsbury Park, London, N.

In the Original Series, the Publications for 1881 will be taken from :CATHOLICON ANGLICUM, ed. S. J. HERRTAGE, B.A. [At Press. MERLIN, Part IV, containing Preface, Index, and Glossary. Ed. H. B. WHEATLEY. BEOWULF, the unique MS. autotyped and transliterated, ed. Prof. ZUPITZA. KING ALFRED'S OROSIUS, from Lord Tollemache's 9th century MS., ed. H. SWEET, M.A. [At Press.

PIERS PLOWMAN: Notes, Glossary, &c. Part II, ed. Rev. Prof. SKEAT, M.A. THE OLDEST ENGLISH TEXTS, CHARTERS, &c., ed. H. SWEET, M.A.

[At Press. GAWAYNE POEMS, ed. F. J. VIPAN, M.A. WILLIAM OF NASSINGTON'S MIRROR OF LIFE, ed. S. J. HERRTAGE, B.A. ARCHBP. THORESBY'S CATECHISM, &c., ed. REV. CANON SIMMONS. ALL THE EARLY ENGLISH VERSE LIVES OF SAINTS, ed. Dr. C. HORSTMANN.

[At Press.

PILGRIMAGE OF THE LYF OF MANHODE, in the Northern Dialect, ed. S. J. HERRTAGE, B. A.

ANGLO-SAXON AND EARLY ENGLISH PSALTERS, ed. W. ALDIS WRIGHT, M.A., and J. WoOD.

ANGLO-SAXON METRICAL LIVES OF SAINTS, in MS. Cott. Jul. E 7., ed. Rev. Prof. W. W. SKEAT, M. A. [At Press.

EARLY ENGLISH HOMILIES, 13th century, ed. Rev. Dr. R. MORRIS.

THE RULE OF ST. BENET: 5 Texts, Anglo-Saxon, Early English, Caxton, &c., ed. Rev. Dr. R. MORRIS.

CURSOR MUNDI. Part VI. Introduction and Glossary, ed. Rev. Dr. R. MORRIS. GOSPEL OF NICODEMUS, ed. PROF. WULCKER.

Those for 1880 are:-

73. THE BLICKLING HOMILIES, 971 A.D., ed. Rev. Dr. R. MORRIS. Pt III. 74. ENGLISH WORKS OF WYCLIF, hitherto unprinted, ed. F. D. MATTHEW, Esq.

In the Extra Series, the Publications for 1881 will be taken from :CHARLEMAGNE ROMANCES:-4. LYF OF CHARLES THE GRETE, Part II, ed. S. J. HERRTAGE, B.A. [At Press.

CHARLEMAGNE ROMANCES:-5. THE TAILL OF RAUF COLYEAR, ed. PROF. TRAUTMANN. [At Press.

CHARLEMAGNE ROMANCES:-6. THE SOWDONE OF BABYLONE, ed. DR. E. HAUSKNECHT. [At Press.

ANOTHER ALLITERATIVE ROMANCE OF ALEXANDER, ed. Rev. Prof.
W. W. SKEAT, M.A., and J. H. HESSELS, Esq. [At Press.

BARBOUR'S BRUCE, ed. Rev. W. W. SKEAT. Part IV. [At Press.
GUY OF WARWICK (2 parallel texts; a 14th cent. or Auchinleck MS. version;
b 15th cent. or Caius Coll. MS.), edited by Prof. ZUPITZA. Part I. [At Press.
SIR BEVIS OF HAMTON, ed. Dr. E. KÖLBING.

LONELICH'S HOLY GRAIL, ed. F. J. FURNIVALL, M.A. Part V.

Those for 1880 are:

XXXV. CHARLEMAGNE ROMANCES:-2. THE SEGE OFF MELAYNE, SIR OTUELL, &c., ed. S. J. HERRTAGE, B.A.

XXXVI. CHARLEMAGNE ROMANCES: -3. LYF OF CHARLES THE GRETE, Part I, ed. S. J. HERRTAGE, B.A.