The chelaundre and the papyngay.1
Than younge folk entenden 2 ay
For to ben gay and amorous,
The tyme is than so faverous.
Hard is the hert that loveth nought
In May, whan al this mirth is wrought;
Whan he may on these braunches here
The smale briddes syngen clere
Her blesful, swete song pitous,
And in this sesoun delytous,
Whan love affraieth alle thing.
Me thought a nyght, in my slepyng,
Right in my bed ful redily,
That it was by the morowe erly;
And up I roos, and gan me clothe ;
Anoon I wisshe 5 myn hondis bothe;
A sylvre nedle forth I droughe,
Out of an aguler queynt ynoughe,
And gan this nedle threde anon,
For out of toun me list to gon,
The song of briddes for to here
That in thise buskes syngen clere,
And in the swete seson that leve' is ;
With a threde bastyng my slevis,
Alone I wente in my plaiyng,
The smale foules song harknyng,
They peyned hem ful many peyre,
To synge on bowes blosmed feyre.
1 The finch and the parrot.
Washed. • Needle-case.
2 Attend. 3 Propitious. Moveth Lovely.
"I SAUGH A GARDYN."
Joly and gay, ful of gladnesse,
Toward a ryver gan I me dresse,
That I herd renne faste by;
For fairer plaiyng non saugh I
'Than playen me by that ryvere,
For from an hille that stood ther nere,
Cam doun the streme ful stif and bold.
Cleer was the water, and as cold
As any welle1 is, sooth to seyn,
And somdele lasse it was than Seyn,'
But it was strayghter, wel-away!
And never saugh I, er that day,
The water that so wel lykede3 me;
And wondir glad was I to se
That lusty place, and that ryvere;
And with that watir that ran so clere
My face I wysshe. Tho saugh I welle
The botme paved everydelle
With gravel, full of stones shene.
The medewe softe, swote and grene,
Beet right up on the watir syde.
Ful clere was than the morow tyde,
And ful attempre, out of drede.
Tho gan I walke thorough the mede.
Dounward ay in my pleiyng,
The ryver syde costeiyng.*
And whan I had a while goon,
I saugh a gardyn right anoon,
2 Seine. 8 Pleased. Walking by the bank (Lat
testa, a side; compare "coast").
Ful long and brood; and everydelle
Enclosed was, and walled welle,
With highe walles enbatailled,
Portraied without, and wel entailled,1
With many riche portraitures;
And bothe the ymages and the peyntures
Gan I biholde bysyly.
And I wole telle you redyly
Of thilk ymages the semblaunce,
As fer as I have in remembraunce.
Amyd saugh I a HATE stonde,
That for hir wrathe, yre, and onde,
Semede to ben an moveresse,
An angry wight, a chideresse.
And ful of gyle, and felle corage,
By semblaunt was that ilke ymage.
And she was no thyng wel arraied;
But lyk a wode womman afraied,
Frounced foule was hir visage,
And grennyng for dispitous rage,
Hir nose snorted up for tene.
Ful hidous was she for to sene,
Ful foule and rusty was she this.
Hir heed ywrithen was, y-wis,
Ful grymly with a greet towayle.
An ymage of another entayle,'
A lyft half, was hir by;
Hir name above hir heed saugh I,
And she was called FELONY.
Carved (Fr. tailler, to cut).
Mad. Wrinkled (Fr. froncer, to
Wreathed. 7 Carving (Fr. entaille).
Malice (O. E. anda, onda)
wrinkle, frown).
On the left side.
Another ymage, that VILANY
Clepid was, saugh I and fonde
Upon the wal on hir right honde.
Vilany was lyk somdelle
That other ymage; and, trustith wel,
She semede a wikked creature.
By countenaunce in portrayture,
She semede be ful dispitous,
And eek ful proude and outragious.
Wel coude he peynte, I undirtake,
That sich ymage coude make.
Ful foule and cherlysshe semede she,
And eek vylayneus for to be,
And litel coude1 of norture,
To worshipe any creature.
And next was peynted COVEITISE,
That eggith folk in many gise,
To take, and geve right nought ageyne,
And gret tresouris up to leyne."
And that is that for usure
Leneth to many a creature,
The lasse for the more wynnyng,
So coveitise is her brennyng.
And that is that penyes fele,
That techith for to robbe and stele
These theves, and these smale harlotes ;"
And that is routh, for by her throtes,
Ful many oon hangith at the laste.
1 Knew. Lay. She that.
That is, both male and female ribalds.
She makith folk compasse and caste
To taken other folkis thyng,
Thorough robberie, or myscoveiting.
And that is she that makith trechoures;1
And she makith false pleadoures,
'T'hat with hir termes and hir domes
Doon maydens, children, and eek gomes, 200 Her heritage to forgo.
Ful croked were hir hondis two,
For coveitise is evere wode
To gripen other folkis gode.
Coveityse, for hir wynnyng,
Ful leef hath other mennes thing.
Another ymage set saugh I
Next Coveitise faste by,
And she was clepid AVARICE.
Ful foule in peyntyng was that vice;
Ful sade and caytif was she eek,
And also grene as ony leek.
So yvel-hewed was hir colour,
Hir semede to have lyved in langour.
She was lyk thyng for hungre deed,
That ladde hir lyf oonly by breed
Kneden with eisel 5 strong and egre.
And therto she was lene and megre,
And she was clad ful porely,
Al in an old torn courtepy,
As she were al with doggis torne ;
1 Cheats. 2 Men (O. E. guma, man). 8 Mad. Vinegar. Cf. Hamlet, act. v., sc. 1, l. 299, as some read.
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