And him so narwe bounden in his las,
Al for the love of Cleopataras,
That al the world he sette at no value.
Him thoughte, nas to him no thing so due
As Cleopatras for to love and serve;
Him roghte nat in armes for to sterve
In the defence of her, and of her right.
This noble quene eek lovede so this knight,
Through his desert, and for his chivalrye;
As certeinly, but-if that bokes lye,
He was, of persone and of gentilesse,
And of discrecioun and hardinesse,
Worthy to any wight that liven may.
And she was fair as is the rose in May.
And, for to maken shortly is the beste,
She wex his wyf, and hadde him as her leste.
The wedding and the feste to devyse,
To me that have y-take swiche empryse
Of so many a story for to make,
Hit were to long, lest that I sholde slake
Of thing that bereth more effect and charge;
For men may overlade a ship or barge;
And forthy to theffect than wol I skippe,
And al the remenant, I wol lete hit slippe.
Octovian, that wood was of this dede,
Shoop him an ost on Antony to lede
600. laas. 601. F. Alle; C. Tn. Al. 602. worlde; noo. 603. C. there nas to hym no thyng so dewe; rest there was no thing to him so due (all too long). 604. F. Tn. B. Cleopataras; rest Cleopatras. 607. ek. C. louede; F. loued. 608. Thurgh; decert. 609. bookes. 611. All but T. A. insert of after and; I omit it. 612. C. lyuyn; F. leven. 613. faire. 614. F. (only) om. for. 615. MSS. wax, wox, read wex. 616. C. Tn. feste; F. fest. 617. swich. 619. T. A. P. long; rest longe. C. T. A. lest; F. lyst. 621. shippe. 622 A. theffect; C. thefeect (sic); F. effect. 623. remenaunt. woode. 625. oost.
Al-outerly for his destruccioun,
With stoute Romains, cruel as leoun;
To ship they wente, and thus I let hem saile.
Antonius was war, aud wol nat faile
To meten with thise Romains, if he may;
Took eek his reed, and bothe, upon a day,
His wyf and he, and al his ost, forth wente
To shippe anoon, no lenger they ne stente;
And in the see hit happed hem to mete—
Up goth the trompe-and for to shoute and shete,
And peynen hem to sette on with the sonne.
With grisly soun out goth the grete gonne,
And heterly they hurtlen al at ones,
And fro the top doun cometh the grete stones.
In goth the grapenel so ful of crokes
Among the ropes, and the shering-hokes.
In with the polax presseth he and he;
Behynd the mast beginneth he to fle,
And out agayn, and dryveth him over-borde;
He stingeth him upon his speres orde;
He rent the sail with hokes lyke a sythe;
He bringeth the cuppe, and biddeth hem be blythe;
He poureth pesen upon the hacches slider;
With pottes ful of lym they goon to-gider;
And thus the longe day in fight they spende
Til, at the laste, as every thing hath ende,
Antony is shent, and put him to the flighte,
And al his folk to-go, that best go mighte.
627. Romaynes crewel. T. leoun; F. lyoun. Romaynes. 631. eke; booth. 632, oost forthe went (C. wentyn). 633. stent; C. stente. 635. gooth. 637. sovne; gooth. 638. C. Tn. heterly; A. hatirly; F. hertely. dovne. 640. gooth. 641. C. Among; F. Amonge. 642. preseth.
643. By-hynde; maste begyneth.
649. to-gedre. 651. C. Tn. laste; F. last.
folke to-goo; goo myght.
Fleeth eek the queen, with al her purpre sail,
For strokes, which that wente as thikke as hail;
No wonder was, she mighte hit nat endure.
And whan that Antony saw that aventure,
'Allas!' quod he, 'the day that I was born!
My worshipe in this day thus have I lorn!'
And for dispeyr out of his witte he sterte,
And roof him-self anoon through-out the herte
Er that he ferther wente out of the place.
His wyf, that coude of Cesar have no grace,
To Egipte is fled, for drede and for distresse ;
But herkneth, ye that speke of kyndenesse.
Ye men, that falsly sweren many an oth
That ye wol dye, if that your love be wroth,
Heer may ye seen of women whiche a trouthe!
This woful Cleopatre hath mad swich routhe
That ther nis tonge noon that may hit telle.
But on the morwe she wol no lenger dwelle,
But made her subtil werkmen make a shryne
Of alle the rubies and the stones fyne
In al Egipte that she coude espye;
And putte ful the shryne of spycerye,
And leet the cors embaume; and forth she fette
This dede cors, and in the shryne hit shette.
And next the shryne a pit than doth she grave;
And alle the serpents that she might have,
654. ek; queene; sayle.
657. C. saw; F. saugh.
655. went; thik; hayle. 656. myght. 658. borne. 659. worshippe; lorne. 665. herkeneth. 666. C. Tn. oth; F. oothe. 667. C. 668. which. 669. C. Tn. Cleopatre; F.
T. speke; rest speken.
Tn. wroth; F. wroothe.
Cleopatrie. made. 671. C. morwe; F. morowe. 672. werknen (!).
673. Tn. rubies; F. rubees.
Tn. leet; C. F. let. C. cors; Tn. pyt; F. pitte. dooth. myght.
675. C. Tn. putte; F. put. 676. F. corps (and in 1.677). 678. C. pet; 679. C. alle; F. al. C. myghte; F.
She putte hem in that grave, and thus she seyde:
'Now love, to whom my sorweful herte obeyde
So ferforthly that, fro that blisful houre
That I yow swor to been al frely youre,
I mene yow, Antonius my knight!
That never waking, in the day or night,
Ye nere out of myn hertes remembraunce
For wele or wo, for carole or for daunce;
And in my-self this covenant made I tho,
That, right swich as ye felten, wele or wo,
As ferforth as hit in my power lay,
Unreprovable unto my wyfhood ay,
The same wolde I felen, lyf or deeth.
And thilke covenant, whyl me lasteth breeth,
I wol fulfille, and that shal wel be sene;
Was never unto her love a trewer quene.'
And with that word, naked, with ful good herte,
Among the serpents in the pit she sterte,
And ther she chees to han her buryinge.
Anoon the neddres gonne her for to stinge,
And she her deeth receyveth, with good chere,
For love of Antony, that was her so dere:-
And this is storial sooth, hit is no fable.
Now, er I fynde a man thus trewe and stable,
And wol for love his deeth so frely take,
I pray god lat our hedes never ake!
Explicit Legenda Cleopatrie martiris.
680. C. Tn. putte; F. put. sayde. 682. ferforthely. 687. woo. wele; C. F. Tn. wel. deethe.
688. couenaunt; thoo. 689. T. A. Th. 690. C. power; F. powere. 692. life; 693. couenaunt while. 694. seene. 696. C. word; 700. C. receyuyth; F. receveth. 705. oure; neuere.
II. THE LEGEND OF THISBE OF BABYLON.
Incipit Legenda Tesbe Babilonie, Martiris.
AT Babiloine whylom fil it thus,
The whiche toun the queen Semiramus
Leet dichen al about, and walles make
Ful hye, of harde tyles wel y-bake.
Ther weren dwellinge in this noble toun
Two lordes, which that were of greet renoun,
And woneden so nigh, upon a grene,
That ther nas but a stoon-wal hem bitwene,
As ofte in grete tounes is the wone.
And sooth to seyn, that o man hadde a sone,
Of al that londe oon of the lustieste.
That other hadde a doghter, the faireste,
That estward in the world was tho dwellinge.
The name of everich gan to other springe
By wommen, that wer neighebores aboute.
For in that contree yit, withouten doute,
Maidens been y-kept, for Ielosye,
Ful streite, lest they diden som folye.
This yonge man was cleped Piramus,
And Tisbe hight the maid, Naso seith thus;
710. tovne. 711. grete. 712. C. nygh;
715. C. hadde; F. had (so in l. 717).
717. Tn. doghter; F. doghtre.
esteward; worlde. 719. eueryche.
F. ben. 723. Tn. som; C. sum; F. somme. 724. C. Tn. yonge; 725. Al but C. om. And. Tn. A. Tisbe; C. Th. Tysbe; F. B. Tesbe; T. Thesbe. maide.
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