And of the goddes that ye han forswore,
Yif that hir vengeance falle on yow therfore,
Ye be nat suffisaunt to bere the peyne.

(130)

To moche trusted I, wel may I pleyne,

2525

Upon your linage and your faire tonge,
And on your teres falsly out y-wronge.

How coude ye wepe so by craft?' quod she;

Now certes, yif ye wolde have in memorie,

Hit oghte be to yow but litel glorie

To have a sely mayde thus betrayed!

2530

To god,' quod she, 'preye I, and ofte have prayed, (140) That hit be now the grettest prys of alle,

And moste honour that ever yow shal befalle !

2535

And whan thyn olde auncestres peynted be,
In which men may hir worthinesse see,
Than, preye I god, thou peynted be also,

That folk may reden, for-by as they go, "Lo! this is he, that with his flaterye

2540

Betrayed hath and doon her vilanye

That was his trewe love in thoghte and dede!"
But sothly, of oo point yit may they rede,

That ye ben lyk your fader as in this;
For he begyled Adriane, y-wis,
With swiche an art and swiche sotelte
As thou thy-selven, hast begyled me.

(150)

2545

As in that point, al-thogh hit be nat fayr,
Thou folwest him, certein, and art his eyr.

2527. C. I-wronge;

2523. C. T. A. Yif (only); F. Tn. Th. B. That (only); but read Yif that. 2525. C. T. A. pleyne; rest seyne (!). A. yronne (error for ywronge); F. Tn. Th. B. wronge. A. Quhethir ther may (but this is Scottish). 2539. C. T. A. for by; rest forth by.

2529.

2532. All mayde. 2546. A. C. T. subtilitee.

2549. C. T. A. him; rest om. A. has lost 11. 2551-2616.

But sin thus sinfully ye me begyle,
My body mote ye seen, within a whyle,
Right in the haven of Athenes fletinge,
With-outen sepulture and buryinge;
Thogh ye be harder then is any stoon.'

And, whan this lettre was forth sent anoon,
And knew how brotel and how fals he was,
She for dispeyr for-dide herself, allas!

Swich sorwe hath she, for she besette her so.
Be war, ye women, of your sotil fo,
Sin yit this day men may ensample se;
And trusteth, as in love, no man but me.

Explicit Legenda Phillis.

2550

(160)

2555

2560 (168)

2555. F. Tn. B. om. sent.

2561. So C. T.; so Tn. Th. (with now

for as); F. B. And as in love truste no man but me.

IX. THE LEGEND OF HYPERMNESTRA.

Incipit Legenda Ypermistre.

IN Grece whylom weren brethren two,
Of whiche that oon was called Danao,

That many a sone hath of his body wonne,
As swiche false lovers ofte conne.
Among his sones alle ther was oon
That aldermost he lovede of everichoon.
And whan this child was born, this Danao
Shoop him a name, and called him Lino.
That other brother called was Egiste,
That was of love as fals as ever him liste,
And many a doghter gat he in his lyve;
Of which he gat upon his righte wyve
A doghter dere, and dide her for to calle
Ypermistra, yongest of hem alle;
The whiche child, of her nativitee,
To alle gode thewes born was she,
As lyked to the goddes, or she was born,
That of the shefe she sholde be the corn;
The Wirdes, that we clepen Destinee,
Hath shapen her that she mot nedes be
Pitouse, sadde, wyse, and trewe as steel;
And to this woman hit accordeth weel.

2563. C. cleped; rest called.

2571. F. B. in; rest of.

2565

2570

(10)

2575

2580 (20)

2574

F. B. hyt (for her).

2578.

2577. C. T. thewis goode I-born.

Tn. B. goddesse (!); F. goddesses (!). 2581. C. mot; rest moste 2582. F. B. Pitouse (fem.); C. Pyetous; Tn. T.

(muste, most).

Piteous. Th. sadde (fem.?); rest sad. C. T. and; rest om.

For, though that Venus yaf her greet beautee,
With Iupiter compouned so was she
That conscience, trouthe, and dreed of shame,
And of her wyfhood for to kepe her name,
This, thoughte her, was felicitee as here.
And rede Mars was, that tyme of the yere,
So feble, that his malice is him raft,
Repressed hath Venus his cruel craft;
What with Venus and other oppressioun
Of houses, Mars his venim is adoun,
That Ypermistra dar nat handle a knyf
In malice, thogh she sholde lese her lyf.
But natheles, as heven gan tho turne,
To badde aspectes hath she of Saturne,
That made her for to deyen in prisoun,
As I shal after make mencioun.

To Danao and Egistes also

Al-thogh so be that they wer brethren two,
For thilke tyme nas spared no linage-
Hit lyked hem to maken mariage
Betwix Ypermistra and him Lino,

2585

2590

(30)

2595

2600

(40)

And casten swiche a day hit shal be so;

2605

And ful acorded was hit witterly;

The array is wroght, the tyme is faste by.

And thus Lino hath of his fadres brother

The doghter wedded, and eche of hem hath other.
The torches brennen and the lampes brighte,
The sacrifices been ful redy dighte;

Thencens out of the fyre reketh sote,

The flour, the leef is rent up by the rote

2590. C. beraft.

2610

(50)

2592. Th. And what; C. T. That what; F. Tn. B. And; I propose What. 2597. C. F. Tn. B. To; T. Ryght; 2598. C. for; rest om.

Th. Two.

2599. C. T. As; rest And.

2600. Th. Of (for To); without authority. 2601. C. Al thow; rest And thogh (less clearly). 2603. T. C. Th. lyked; rest lyketh.

2606. F. Tn. B. witterly; rest vttyrly.

To maken garlands and corounes hye;

Ful is the place of soun of minstralcye,
Of songes amorous of mariage,

As thilke tyme was the pleyn usage.
And this was in the paleys of Egiste,
That in his hous was lord, right as him liste;
And thus the day they dryven to an ende;
The frendes taken leve, and hoom they wende.
The night is come, the bryd shal go to bedde;
Egiste to his chambre faste him spedde,
And privily he let his doghter calle.

Whan that the hous was voided of hem alle,
He loked on his doghter with glad chere,
And to her spak, as ye shul after here.

'My righte doghter, tresor of myn herte!
Sin first that day that shapen was my sherte,
Or by the fatal sustren had my dom,
So ny myn herte never thing me com
As thou, myn Ypermistra, doghter dere!
Tak heed what I thy fader sey thee here,
And werk after thy wyser ever-mo.
For alderfirste, doghter, I love thee so

2615

2620

(60)

2625

2630 (70)

2635

That al the world to me nis half so leef;

Ne I nolde rede thee to thy mischeef

For al the gode under the colde mone;

And what I mene, hit shal be seid right sone,
With protestacioun, as in this wyse,

2640

That, but thou do as I shal thee devyse,

(80)

2615. F. Tn. B. om. of soun.

F. Tn. Th. B. that (for the).

2619. F. Tn. B. om. right.

2624. F. Tn. Th. B. om. he.

F. Tn. Th. B. voided was. F. B. om. hem. 2629. F. om. 1st that.

rest om.

2620.

2625.

2627. F. om. after.

2632. C. myn; T. A. ins. my before doghter;

2633. F. Tn. Th. B. om. I. T. say; A. seye; rest seyth.

2637. C. A., I; rest om.
F. Tn. Th. B as seyn these.

2640. C. A. as in this; T. now on thys