PROLOGUE
[Whilom by writers much ungentle name]
MADE BY MAISTRE WILLIAM CANYNGE.
I
Whilom by writers much ungentle name
Hath upon Godwin, Earl of Kent, been laid,
Thereby depriving him of faith and fame;
Ungentle divinistres e'en have said,
That he was knowen to no holy wurche;
But this was all his fault, he gifted not the church.
II
The author of this piece which we enact,
Although a clergyman, the truth will write;
In drawing of his men, no wit is lacked,
Even a king might be well pleased tonight.
Attend, and mark the parts now to be done,
We, better for to do, do challenge any one.
