May nat deserve hit in my lyves day;
God thanke yow, ther I ne can ne may.
Your man am I, and lowly you beseche,
To been my help, with-oute more speche;
But certes, for my deeth shal I nat spare.'
Tho gan this Medea to him declare
The peril of this cas, fro point to point,
And of his batail, and in what disioint
He mote stande, of which no creature,
Save only she, ne mighte his lyf assure.
And shortly, to the point right for to go,
They been accorded ful, betwix hem two,
That Iasoun shal her wedde, as trewe knight;
And term y-set, to come sone at night
Unto her chambre, and make ther his oth,
Upon the goddes, that he, for leef ne loth,
Ne sholde her never falsen, night ne day,
To been her husbond, whyl he liven may,
As she that from his deeth him saved here.
And her-upon, at night they mette y-fere,
And doth his oth, [and leith his feith to wedde].
And on the morwe, upward he him spedde;
For she hath taught him how he shal nat faile
The flees to winne, and stinten his bataile;
And saved him his lyf and his honour;
And gat him greet name as a conquerour
Right through the sleight of her enchantement.
Now hath Iasoun the flees, and hoom is went
1626. T. A. Th. lowly; F. louly; B. loulye; C. louely; Tn. lowe.
1631. C. T. A. And; rest om. the point right; rest ryght to the saued. F. B. there; rest here. has And here vp a nyght, &c. rest gete. F. B. (only) om. him. T. A. ryght as; rest as.
1634. C. T. A. to 1642. C. T. sauyth; rest 1643. F. Tn. B. omit this line; C. 1649. C. T. gat; A. gatt; Th. gate; T. gret; A. om. ; rest a. C. ryth as;
With Medea, and tresor ful gret woon.
But unwist of her fader is she goon
To Tessaly, with duk Iasoun her leef,
That afterward hath broght her to mescheef.
For as a traitour he is from her go,
And with her lafte his yonge children two,
And falsly hath betrayed her, allas!
And ever in love a cheef traitour he was;.
And wedded yit the thridde wyf anon,
That was the doghter of the king Creon.
This is the meed of loving and guerdon
That Medea received of Iasoun
Right for her trouthe and for her kyndenesse,
That loved him beter than her-self, I gesse,
And lafte her fader and her heritage.
And of Iasoun this is the vassalage,
That, in his dayes, nas ther noon y-founde
So fals a lover going on the grounde.
And therfor in her lettre thus she seyde
First, whan she of his falsnesse him umbreyde,
'Why lyked me thy yelow heer to see
More then the boundes of myn honestee,
Why lyked me thy youthe and thy fairnesse,
And of thy tonge the infinit graciousnesse?
O, haddest thou in thy conquest deed y-be,
Ful mikel untrouthe had ther dyed with thee!'
Wel can Ovyde her lettre in vers endyte,
Which wer as now to long for me to wryte.
Explicit Legenda Ysiphile et Medee, Martirum.
1652. F. Tn. Th. B. tresoures; C. tresor; T. A. tresour.
T. A. his; C. hire; rest om.
1659. C. thef and (for cheef). 1667. F. (only) om. the.
rest neuer. 1671. C. Fyrst of his falsenesse whan she hym vpbreyde.
V. THE LEGEND OF LUCRETIA.
Incipit Legenda Lucrecie Rome, martiris.
Now moot I seyn the exiling of kinges
Of Rome, for hir horrible doinges,
And of the laste king Tarquinius,
As saith Ovyde and Titus Livius.
But for that cause telle I nat this storie,
But for to preise and drawen to memorie
The verray wyf, the verray trewe Lucresse,
That, for her wyfhood and her stedfastnesse,
Nat only that thise payens her comende,
But he, that cleped is in our legende
The grete Austin, hath greet compassioun
Of this Lucresse, that starf at Rome toun;
And in what wyse, I wol but shortly trete,
And of this thing I touche but the grete.
Whan Ardea beseged was aboute
With Romains, that ful sterne were and stoute,
Ful longe lay the sege, and litel wroghte,
So that they wer half ydel, as hem thoghte;
And in his pley Tarquinius the yonge
Gan for to Iape, for he was light of tonge,
And seyde, that 'it was an ydel lyf,
No man did ther no more than his wyf;
1681. F. B. dedes; rest doinges. 1682. Addit. (12524) And; rest om. 1685. F. B. to (for and); rest and. 1686. C. trewe; rest om.
1689. F. Tn. Th. om. he. 1693. F. omits this line; I give the spelling as in MS. T., changing thyng into thing. 1696, 1697. C. F. Tn. Th. B. wroughten, thoughten; but thoughten is bad grammar; T. A. wrought, thought. 1701. C. no; rest om.
And lat us speke of wyves, that is best;
Praise every man his owne, as him lest,
And with our speche lat us ese our herte.'
A knight, that highte Colatyne, up sterte,
And seyde thus, nay, for hit is no nede.
To trowen on the word, but on the dede.
I have a wyf,' quod he, that, as I trowe,
Is holden good of alle that ever her knowe;
Go we to night to Rome, and we shul see.'
Tarquinius answerde, 'that lyketh me.'
To Rome be they come, and faste hem dighte
To Colatynes hous, and doun they lighte,
Tarquinius, and eek this Colatyne.
The husbond knew the estres wel and fyne,
And prively into the hous they goon;
Nor at the gate porter was ther noon;
And at the chambre-dore they abyde.
This noble wyf sat by her beddes syde
Dischevele, for no malice she ne thoghte;
And softe wolle our book seith that she wroghte
To kepen her fro slouthe and ydelnesse;
And bad her servants doon hir businesse,
And axeth hem, 'what tydings heren ye?
How seith men of the sege, how shal hit be?
God wolde the walles weren falle adoun;
Myn husbond is so longe out of this toun,
For which the dreed doth me so sore smerte,
Right as a swerd hit stingeth to myn herte
F. Tn. esters; T. estes (!); Th. efters (!!) lessly insert ful after And.
1705. C. highte; Tn. hat; rest hyght ( perhaps read hatte). So C. T.; rest to Rome to nyght. 1715. B. estres; C. A. estris ; 1716. All but T. need1718. C. they gan abyde. 1720. C. Discheuele; F. Disshevely. 1721. T. oure boke seyth; C. seyth (om. our book); Th. saith Liui; rest seyth our boke. 1725. C. seith; F. sayne. 1727. C. Th. so; rest to. 1728. C. sore; rest to (badly). 1729, 1730. C. has-That with a swerd me thynkyth that to myn herte It styngith me whan I thynke on that place.
Whan I think on the sege or of that place;
God save my lord, I preye him for his grace : '-
And ther-with-al ful tenderly she weep,
And of her werk she took no more keep,
But mekely she leet her eyen falle;
And thilke semblant sat her wel with-alle.
And eek her teres, ful of honestee,
Embelisshed her wyfly chastitee;
Her countenaunce is to her herte digne,
For they acordeden in dede and signe.
And with that word her husbond Colatyn,
Or she of him was war, com sterting in,
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And seide, dreed thee noght, for I am here ! '
And she anoon up roos, with blisful chere,
And kiste him, as of wyves is the wone.
Tarquinius, this proude kinges sone,
Conceived hath her beaute and her chere,
Her yelow heer, her shap, and her manere,
Her hew, her wordes that she hath compleyned,
And by no crafte her beaute 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 [sinful thoght] was al his covetinge.
A morwe, whan the brid began to singe,
1730. T. A. the sege; F. Tn. B. these (error for the sege, i. e. the
siege); Th. this. 1731. F. my; rest his (before grace). 1736. A. T. honestee; C. oneste; B. heuyte (!); F. hevytee (!); Tn. Th. heuynesse. 1737. C. Emblemyschid (!). Th. chastnesse. C. puts
11. 1738-9 after 1. 1743.
A. shap; rest bounte.
B. brente; F. Tn. brent.
1744. C. kiste; rest kissed. 1747. C. T. 1749. C. nas; rest was. 1751. C. brende; 1752. C. is al; Th. A. was al; rest was. 1757. F. Tn. Th. B. On; rest A.
1754. C. T. A. that; rest om.
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