Conceived hath her beautee and her chere,
Her yelow heer, her shap, and her manere,
Her hew, her wordes that she hath compleyned,
And by no crafte her beautee nas nat feyned;
And caughte to this lady swich desyr,
That in his herte brende as any fyr
So woodly, that his wit was al forgeten.
For wel, thoghte he, she sholde nat be geten ;
And ay the more that he was in dispair,
The more he coveteth and thoghte her fair.
His blinde lust was al his covetinge.
A-morwe, whan the brid began to singe,
Unto the sege he comth ful privily,
And by himself he walketh sobrely,
Thimage of her recording alwey newe;
'Thus lay her heer, and thus fresh was her hewe;
Thus sat, thus spak, thus span; this was her chere,
Thus fair she was, and this was her manere.'
Al this conceit his herte hath now y-take.
And, as the see, with tempest al to-shake,
That, after whan the storm is al ago,
Yet wol the water quappe a day or two,
Right so, thogh that her forme wer absent,
The plesaunce of her forme was present;
But natheles, nat plesaunce, but delyt,
Or an unrightful talent with despyt;
'For, maugre her, she shal my lemman be;
Hap helpeth hardy man alday,' quod he;
'What ende that I make, hit shal be so;'
And girt him with his swerde, and gan to go;
And forth he rit til he to Rome is come,
And al aloon his wey than hath he nome
1747. C. T. A. Add. shap; rest bounte. C. brende; B. brente; F. Tn. brent. rest was. B. On; rest A. rest Thus.
1749. C. nas; rest was. 1752. C. is al; Th. A. was al; 1757. F. Tn. Th. 1763. F. T. This ; 1766. C. Yit 1773. C. T. A. alday; rest alway.
1754. C. T. A. Add. that; rest om.
1760. C. Thymage; rest The ymage.
1764. C. A. now; rest newe (new).
1770. C. om. But.
1776. C. forth he rit; A. Addit. (12524) forth he ride; F. Tn. Th. he forth
Unto the house of Colatyn ful right.
Doun was the sonne, and day hath lost his light; (100)
And in he com un-to a privy halke,
And in the night ful theefly gan he stalke,
Whan every night was to his reste broght,
Ne no wight had of tresoun swich a thoght.
Were hit by window or by other gin,
With swerde y-drawe, shortly he comth in
Ther as she lay, this noble wyf Lucresse.
And, as she wook, her bed she felte presse.
'What beste is that,' quod she, 'that weyeth thus ?' 'I am the kinges sone, Tarquinius,'
Quod he, but and thou crye, or noise make,
Or if thou any creature awake,
By thilke god that formed man on lyve,
This swerd through-out thyn herte shal I ryve.'
And ther-withal unto her throte he sterte,
And sette the point al sharp upon her herte.
No word she spak, she hath no might therto.
What shal she sayn? her wit is al ago.
Right as a wolf that fynt a lomb aloon,
To whom shal she compleyne, or make moon?
What shal she fighte with an hardy knight?
Wel wot men that a woman hath no might.
What! shal she crye, or how shal she asterte
That hath her by the throte, with swerde at herte?
She axeth grace, and seith al that she can.
'Ne wolt thou nat,' quod he, this cruel man,
'As wisly Iupiter my soule save,
As I shal in the stable slee thy knave,
And leye him in thy bed, and loude crye,
That I thee finde in suche avouterye;
1784. C. T. A. Add. Were hit; rest Whether. 1793. C. thour-out; T. thorout; A. throughout; rest om. out. A. Add. point; rest swerd. C. vp-on; T. opon; Tn. Th. on; rest unto. 1798. C. T. A. fynt; Add. fyndyth; rest fayneth or feyneth (!). C. lomb; Add. lombe; T. A. Th. lambe; rest loue (!). 1801. C. T. A. Add. that; rest om. 1802. F. Add. sterte; rest asterte (astert). 1804. C. T. A. Add. seyth; rest seyde. 1805. C. A. Add. he; T. tho; rest om.
1809. C. auouterye; F. avowtrye.
And thus thou shalt be deed, and also lese
Thy name, for thou shalt non other chese.'
Thise Romain wyves loveden so hir name
At thilke tyme, and dredden so the shame,
That, what for fere of slaundre and drede of deeth,
She loste bothe at-ones wit and breeth,
And in a swough she lay and wex so deed,
Men mighte smyten of her arm or heed;
She feleth no-thing, neither foul ne fair.
Tarquinius, that art a kinges eyr,
And sholdest, as by linage and by right,
Doon as a lord and as a verray knight,
Why hastow doon dispyt to chivalrye ?
Why hastow doon this lady vilanye?
Allas! of thee this was a vileins dede!
But now to purpos; in the story I rede,
Whan he was goon, al this mischaunce is falle.
This lady sente after her frendes alle,
Fader, moder, husbond, al y-fere;
And al dischevele, with her heres clere,
In habit swich as women used tho
Unto the burying of her frendes go,
She sit in halle with a sorweful sighte.
Her frendes axen what her aylen mighte,
And who was deed? And she sit ay wepinge,
A word for shame ne may she forth out-bringe,
Ne upon hem she dorste nat beholde.
But atte laste of Tarquiny she hem tolde,
This rewful cas, and al this thing horrible.
The wo to tellen hit were impossible,
That she and alle her frendes made atones.
Al hadde folkes hertes been of stones,
1811. C. T. A. Add. non other; rest not. 1815. C. at onys bothe; rest bothe atones. 1816. C. wex; B. wexe; Tn. wax ; T. wexed; A. wox; F. Th. woxe. 1821. F. Tn. Th. B. om. 2nd as. C. worthi (for verray). 1823. C. T. A. Add. this; rest thy. 1824. C. vileyn; A. T. vileyns; Add. vilons; 1825. F. Tn. Th. B. insert the after
F. B. Tn. vilenouse; Th. villaynous.
1829. F. Tn. Th. B. om. al. C. herys; A. heeres; F. heer; Tn. T.
Th. B. here (heare, heere). C. has lost 11. 1836-1907. 1840. Add. made; T. maden; A. maid; rest make.
Hit mighte have maked hem upon her rewe,
Her herte was so wyfly and so trewe.
She seide, that, for her gilt ne for her blame,
Her husbond sholde nat have the foule name,
That wolde she nat suffre, by no wey.
And they answerden alle, upon hir fey,
That they foryeve hit her, for hit was right;
Hit was no gilt, hit lay nat in her might;
And seiden her ensamples many oon.
But al for noght; for thus she seide anoon,
'Be as be may,' quod she, 'of forgiving,
I wol nat have no forgift for no-thing.'
But prively she caughte forth a knyf,
And therwith-al she rafte her-self her lyf;
And as she fel adoun, she caste her look,
And of her clothes yit she hede took;
For in her falling yit she hadde care
Lest that her feet or swiche thing lay bare;
So wel she loved clennesse and eek trouthe.
Of her had al the toun of Rome routhe,
And Brutus by her chaste blode hath swore
That Tarquin sholde y-banisht be ther-fore,
And al his kin; and let the peple calle,
And openly the tale he tolde hem alle,
And openly let carie her on a bere
Through al the toun, that men may see and here
The horrible deed of her oppressioun.
Ne never was ther king in Rome toun
Sin thilke day; and she was holden there
A seint, and ever her day y-halwed dere
As in hir lawe: and thus endeth Lucresse,
The noble wyf, as Titus bereth witnesse.
I tell hit, for she was of love so trewe,
Ne in her wille she chaunged for no newe.
And for the stable herte, sad and kinde,
That in these women men may alday finde;
1846. So all but F. Tn. B.; F. B. That nolde she suffre; Tn. That wolde she suffren nat. 1847. T. opon; A. vpon; rest vnto (badly). 1857. T. A. Add. she hede; rest hede she. 1862. So T. A. Add.; rest hath by hir chaste blood. 1873. T. A. Add. as; rest om. 1876. T. A. Add. for the; rest in her.
Ther as they caste hir herte, ther hit dwelleth.
For wel I wot, that Crist him-selve telleth,
That in Israel, as wyd as is the lond,
That so gret feith in al the lond he ne fond
As in a woman; and this is no lye.
And as of men, loketh which tirannye
They doon alday; assay hem who so liste,
The trewest is ful brotel for to triste.
Explicit Legenda Lucrecie Rome, Martiris.
VI. THE LEGEND OF ARIADNE.
Incipit Legenda Adriane de Athenes.
IUGE infernal, Minos, of Crete king,
Now cometh thy lot, now comestow on the ring;
Nat for thy sake only wryte I this storie,
But for to clepe agein unto memorie
Of Theseus the grete untrouthe of love;
For which the goddes of the heven above
Ben wrothe, and wreche han take for thy sinne.
Be reed for shame! now I thy lyf beginne.
Minos, that was the mighty king of Crete,
That hadde an hundred citees stronge and grete,
To scole hath sent his sone Androgeus,
To Athenes; of the whiche hit happed thus,
That he was slayn, lerning philosophye,
Right in that citee, nat but for envye.
The grete Minos, of the whiche I speke,
His sones deeth is comen for to wreke;
1879. All him-self or him-selfe.
women; rest men. C. has lost 11. 1836-1907.
1888. F. B. oonly for thy sake; rest for thy sake
only. F. Tn. Th. B. writen is; T. A. Add. wryte I. 1890. F. vntrewe; rest vntrouthe (vntrouth). 1891. T. A. Add. the; rest om. (after of).
T. A. Th. had; B. wanne; F. whan (!); Tn. om.
hapned; Add. appynyd; rest happed.
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