And she was symple as dowve of tree;
Ful debonaire of herte was she.
She durste never seyn ne do,
But that that hir longede1 to.
And if a man were in distresse,
And for hir love in hevynesse,
Hir herte wolde have fulle gret pite,
She was so amiable and free.
For were a man for hir bistadde,
She wolde ben right sore adradde,
That she dide over gret outrage,
But she hym holpe his harme to aswage; 1230 Hir thought it elles a vylanye.2
And she hadde on a sukkenye,"
That not of hempe ne heerdis* was ;
So fair was noon in alle Arras.
Lord, it was ridled 5 fetysly!
Ther nas a poynt, trewely,
That it nas in his right assise.
Fulle wel y-clothed was Fraunchise,
For ther is no cloth sittith bet
On damyselle, than doth roket.
A womman wel more fetys is
In roket than in cote, ywis.
The white roket rydled faire
Bitokeneth that fulle debonaire
And swete was she that it bere.
B. hir daunced a bachelere ;
Belonged. 2 Base act. 3 Frock (Fr. souquenille, a loose frock Hard, coarse flax. 5 Worked, either plaited or ornamented in he style of lace figures. 6 Rochet (Fr. rochet, a smock-frock).
CURTESYE, THAT PREISED WAS." 251
I can not telle you what he highte,1
But faire he was, and of good highte
Alle hadde he be, I sey no more,
The lordis sone of Wyndesore."
And next that dauncede CURTESYE,
That preised was of lowe and hye,
For neither proude ne foole was she.
She for to daunce callede me,
I pray God geve hir right good grace! -
Whanne I come first into the place.
She was not nyce, ne outrageous,
But wys and ware, and vertuous,
Of faire speche, and of faire answere;
Was never wight mysseid of hire ;
She ne bar rancour to no wight.
Clere broune she was, and therto bright
Of face, of body avenaunt,*
I wot no lady so plesaunt;
She were worthy for to bene
An emperesse or crowned quene.
And by hir wente a knyght dauncyng That worthy was and wel spekyng,
And ful wel koude he don honour.
The knyght was faire and styf in stour, 1270 And in armure a semely man,
And wel-biloved of his lemman.
Faire IDILNESSE thanne saugh I,
That alwey was me faste by.
Was named. That is, a son of Henry III roolish. Agree. Conflict
Of hir have 1, withoute fayle,
Told yow the shap and apparayle;
For, as I seide, loo, that was she
That dide to me so gret bounte,
That she the gate of the gardyn
Undide, and lete me passen in,
And after daunced, as I gesse.
And she fulfilled of lustynesse,
That nas not yit twelf yeer of age,
With herte wylde, and thought volage.1
Nyce she was, but she ne mente
Noon harme ne slight in hir entente,
But oonly lust and jolyte.
For yonge folk wole, witen ye,
Have lytel thought but on her play.
Hir lemman was biside alway,
In sich a gise that he hir kyste
A: alle tymes that hym lyste,
That alle the daunce myght it see;
They make no force of pryvete.
For who spake of hem yvel or welle,
They were ashamed never adelle,
But men myghte seen hem kisse there,
As it two yonge dowves were.
For yong was thilke bachelere,
Of beaute wot I noon his pere;
And he was right of sich an age,
As youthe is leef, and sich corage.
The lusty folk that dauncede there,
And also other that with hem were
That weren alle of her meyne,
Ful hende1 folk, and wys, and free,
And folk of faire port truely,
Whanne I hadde seen the countenaunces
Of hem that ladden thus these daunces,
Thanne hadde I wille to gon and see
The gardyne that so lykede me,
And loken on these faire loreyes,2
On pyn trees, cedres, and oliveris.
The daunces thanne eended were;
For many of hem that dauncede there
Were with her loves went awey
Undir the trees to have hir pley.
A, Lord! they lyvede lustyly!
A gret fool were he sikirly,
That nolde, his thankes, such lyf lede!
For this dar I seyn out of drede,
That who-so myghte so wel fare,
For better lyf durst hym not care,
For ther nys so good paradys,
As to have a love at his devys.
Oute of that place wente I thoo,
And in that gardyn gan I goo,
Pleyyng a-longe fulle meryly.
The god of Love fulle hastely
Unto hym Swete-lokyng clepte,*
No lenger wolde he that she kepte
1 Courteous. Laurel trees. 3 Willingly. Called
His bowe of gold, that shoon so bright.
He hadde hym bent anoon ryght;
And he fulle soone sette an ende,
And at a braid he gan it bende,
And toke hym of his arowes fyve,
Fulle sharp and redy forto dryve.
Now God that sittith in mageste
Fro deedly woundes he kepe me!
If so be that he hadde me shette,2
For if I with his arowe mette,
It hadde me greved sore, iwys.
But I, that no thyng wist of this,
Wente up and doun fulle many a wey,
And he me folwede fast alwey;
But no-where wold I reste me,
Tille I hadde in alle the gardyn be.
The gardyn was by mesuryng
Right evene and square in compassing; 1350
It as long was as it was large.
Of fruyt hadde every tree his charge,
But it were any hidous tree,
Of which ther were two or three.
There were, and that wote I fulle welle,
Of pome-garnettys a fulle gret delle ;
That is a fruyt fulle welle to lyke,
Namely to folk whanne they ben sike.
And trees there were of gret foisoun,*
That baren notes 5 in her sesoun,
Such as men notemygges calle,
1 All at once. 2 Shot. 8 Freight. Abundance. Nuts.
|