University of Virginia Library


329

[The Clerk who would see The Virgin.]

Lordyngys curtase & hen(d)e,
Lystyns how þis tale schall ende
T(hat) I wyll ȝow seyne!
And if ȝe wyll with gode wyll here,
Gret gode ȝe may þer-in lere,
In hert iff ȝe (it) leyne.
I schall tell wyffe & mane
How owre lady helpe cane
That to hyre clepe at nede;
Thare schall no-man sykerly
Do nouȝht fore owre dere lady
Bot he schall haue his mede.
Thys schall I preue thorow a fkyll.
Herkyns, if it be ȝoure wyll
Thys gest forto here,
A feyre merakyll of a knyȝht,
And of hys lady feyre & bryȝht,
That was hym leffe & dere.
A knyȝht wonyd here-besyde,
That had I-noȝhe of gret pride
Vnto hys lyffys ende.
A lady he had to hys wyffe,
That he louyd as hys lyffe,
Was come of nobulle kynde.
Syche a grace(!) god theme gafe,
That þei myȝht no chyld haue
Off all a VII ȝere.
Therefore þe knyȝht & hys lady
Both þei were full sory
And changyd oft þer chere.
Neuer-þe-les þe knyȝht & hys wyffe
Both þei were of gowd lyffe.
To god þei made a bone:
That he schuld þem some chyld sende.
Jhesu Cryst, þat is so hend,
God grantyd þem well sone.
So longe to-geþer þei gane praye,
That he sent them childer tweye
Off þer awne blode.
The knyght & hys lady wer full blythe
And thankyd god many a sythe
Off hys sonde gode.
Thus þe knyght & hys wyfe
Lyued mery in clene lyffe
With Joy & grete solas,
Tyll sche was with þe thyrd chylde;
Welle oft þei thankyd Mary myld
That sente þem þat grace.
Than þei wer both blyth & glad,
Iche to oþer grete Joy made,
Both erly & late.
The deuell þer-of had envy

330

And went aboute as a spy
There trew lufe to abate.
Thus dyde þe fende, þe fowle wyght:
He was about dey & nyȝht
In bale to brynge theme bothe.
Bot he myght neuer be þe more
In all þe tyme þer-before,
Ons to make them wrothe.
Sych a maner had þe knyght
In serteyne vsage, euery nyȝht
Thorow þe longe ȝere
In-to hys chapell forto wend,
Before owre lady gode & hend
To make hys prayere.
Before oure lady suete & dere
There he made hys prayere
With full gode wyll.
Hys lady neuer ondername
When he ȝede ne when he came,
Bot ley & slepyd wyll stylle.
The fend of helle fondyd fast
Iff þat he myȝht wordys cast
Forto wrothe þem a-twyne.
And fore hys wycked intysment
Well nyȝe þei had both be schente:
Herkyns, I schall ȝow seyne.
Vpon a dey, as ȝe may here,
The knyȝht & his lady dere
Sate in solas,
And þer feyre chylder twey
Wente afore theme forto pley
In þat Iche place.
The thyrd was in hyre wome I-wys.
The knyght þerof hade Joy & blysse.
And hys lady þat stownd
“Leff syre, seyd sche,
Louyst þou any-thinge beter þan me,
That owhere may be fonde?”
“Sertys, dame, he seyd, nay,
In no-thinge, me neuyne may,
Ine haue so grete lykynge,—
Bot of a woman þat I wote
I loue wele more, god it wote,
Than any erthly thynge.”
“Ȝe, ȝe, þan seyd sche,
Louyst þou an oþer better þan me?”
And thought a lythere gyne
And wend þat hyre lord thane
Had louyd some oþer womane
In þe maner of synne.
Nay, be god! it was not so—
It was an oþer, worth þe two,
That he louyd in lede:
It was owre lady þat he mente—
And els þei had both be schente
At þer most nede.
The deuyll of hell wyst wele þis
That hyre herte wrethyd is,
And thouȝht it schulde be more;
To helle he wente with-outen feyle,
At þe fendys to take coūnseylle
What hym best do were.
Thorow coūnsyll of þe fendys felle
The most schrewe þat wer in helle
Went with-outen feylle,
To a wych in þe toūne he wente,
That was out of þe ryȝht entente,
And told hyre hys coūnsell.
“Sey, woman, þan seyd he,
Wyll þou wynne gold & fe?
Hast þou þer-to nede,
Inowȝe I schall þe gyfe of tho,
That þou of myne erande go
And do als I þe rede.
To a castyll I wyll þe send,
To þe lady gode & hende,
Go þou now forth rathe!
Sche is a party of my kyne,
Wherefore I wolde with some gynne
Werne hyre of hyre skathe.
Sche is led with grete vnryght:
Hyre lord aryseth euery nyght
And fro hyre goth full stylle,
To an oþer woman wendys he,
That he louys more than suche thre,
And pleys with hyre hys fylle.
All cold he commys aȝen hyre to.
Go to hyre & sey hyre so!

331

No word þou schalt lye.
The next nyȝht þat schall come
He schall do þat he is wone:
Loke þat sche aspye!
Sey hyre þat sche schew hym nouȝht—
So myght sche sone to deth be brouȝt;
Byd hyre lye full styll!
Iff þou do as I þe rede,
Thow schalt haue rych mede,
Of rede gold thy fylle.”
“Ȝis, sche seyde, well glad am I
Forto go to my lady;
I schall be þer full rathe.
Sche hath do me full mykyll gode;
I ame full Joyfull in my mode
To werne hyre of hyre skathe.”
Thorow þe deuyllus intyfmente
Te þe castell sche is wente,
And falewyȝh þe lady þere.
“Leffe madam, seyd sche,
I wolde speke a word with ȝow,
Iff it ȝoure wyll were.
Comly lady gente & fre,
I wold þe tell a priuyte,
Iff þou me not bewrye.
Thow schall leue onne my lare;
Thynge þat thow ne wyst are,
Herkyns now, I schall þe sey.
Thy lord, þat thow louys so myche,
He betrays þe sykerlych
And doyht þe vylony:
He gose fro þe Iche nyȝht ons
To a womane in hys wonys.
Luke þat thow aspye!
The nex(t) nyght þat schall come
He schall do as he is wone,
By hyre forto lye.
Bot at þou few hym nouȝht:
So myght þou sone to deth be broȝht;
Styll þat thow lye!”
The lady spake wordys no mo:
“Womane, sche seyd, if it be so,
Thow schall haue þi mede.
Crystys cursse on þer hedys thane,
The wych & hyre lorys-mane,
Fore þat ilke dede!”
The fyrst nyȝht þat after came
The knyght wente to bede anone,
And hys lady dere.
Styll sche ley as sche slepe,
Fore þat sch(e) wolde take kepe
The soth how it were.
Hyre lorde wend sche hade slepe tho,
And ros vp & gane to go,
Als he was bowne;
Into his chapell he gane wende,
To pray to owre lady hende,
That bare godys sone.
When the lady wyst þo
That hyre lord was fro hyre go,
Sche seyd alas þat whyle:
“Now I wote þat it is,
The wydew seyd me I-wys
My lord had do me gyle.
He louys an oþer better thane me.
Alas, alas! þan seyd sche,
Myne herte is full of care.
The werke þat he wyrkys now
It schall not fall fore hys prow,
It schall hym rew full sore!”
Thus sche gane alone speke,
And thouȝt how (sche) myȝht it wreke.
To schend hyre-selue þat tyde,
Sche drew a knyfe, soth to seyne,
And slew hyre feyre chylder tweyne
That ley be hyre syde.
When sche had þis werke wroȝht,
Sche seyd alas! & hyre bethouȝht,
“Myne herte is full of sorow!
Wyte my lorde what I haue done,
He wyll me scle ryȝht sone,
That no-mane schall me borow.
Ney, þat schall not be so,
Wers I schall my-selue do,
What-euer þerof fall.”
With a knyffe, was kene & scherpe,
She smote hyre-selue to þe herte—
That was werst of all!

332

Now was þis a rewfull syght
In þat chamber þat same nyȝht,
The mane þat myȝht beholde:
The lady & hyre chylder twey,
In hyre wombe þe thyrd, I sey,
All þei were wele colde.
The fend of hell was glad off þis,
Fore he wend wele I-wys
Off theme he schuld not feyle.
Bot ȝe schall here in a whyle
How þat he was begyle
And left all hys traueyle.
Fore þe knyȝht, as ȝe may here,
Ley welle fast in hys prayere
With full gode wylle.
When hys prayers were a(l) done,
To hys chamber he went sone
Hym-selue a-lone wele stylle.
To þe bede þe knyght gane go:
He fonde hys wyfe, hys chylder two,
Ded þei ley there;
The bede was spred with þer blode.
The knyȝht fore sorow wex ne wode
And wonderyd on þat fare.
“Lady, mersy! seyd þe knyȝht,
Who has ben here þis nyght
And done þis rewfull dede?
Lady, helpe, I ame forelorne,
Bot ȝe, þat I haue bene beforne,
Helpe me at þis nede.
Thys womane hath hyre-selue schente
Thorow þe fendys entysmente—
Lord, how may þis be?
Iff I be takyne in þis lede,
I schall be hangyd fore þis dede.
Wheþer may I fle?
Thys castell is so stronge with-alle:
I ne mey owte at þe walle
Nou-where a-boute
Tyll to-morne, þat it be dey.
Bot I may thane skape awey,
Off my deth I doute.”
Thus he wepyd & made wo.
To owre lady he clepyd tho—
In herte hade he no gamme:
As he was gyltles of þat dede,
He prayd here helpe hym in þat nede
And scheld hym fro schame.
To þe chapell he went in haste
And prayd oure lady swyth faste
Send hym of hyre grace.
What fore sorow & fore wepe,
Sone he fell fast on sclepe
In þat same plas.
Owre lady foregate hym no-thinge,
Ne hyre sone, heuen kynge,
To helpe at þat nede.—
There schall no-man sykerly
Do nouȝht fore owre dere lady,
Bot he schall haue his mede.—
Herkyns how þe fendys felle,
How þat they wente oute of hell.
So lothe þei were to tyne:
A thousand wente on a raw,
Fore þei wend in a throw
The fawle haue to pyne.
Some were ragyd & longe-tayled,
Scharpe clawyde & longe nayled,
The fendys euery-Ichon,
Some had hornes grel & longe,
Oute of þer mouth þe fyre spronge—
With-outene lake wer none.
Than þis was a grysly syght,
Who-so hade sene þem þat nyȝht
Come rakynge on a raw.
Lystyns now & herkyns gamme,
How all þer Joy was turned to schame
In a lytell throw,
Thorow þe myȝht of meyd Mary,
That sche come doūne frome heuyne hy
Aȝene þe fendys felle.
Sche seyd: “fendys, fle awey!
Fore here ȝe haue tyned ȝoure pray:
The saule schall with me duelle.”

333

“Ney, fore-soth, seyde Sathanas,
Hyte hath hyre happyd a foule cas,
Thou feylest of þi arte:
Sche slew hyre-selue with nyȝht & onde
And hyre chylder with hyre honde.
Of them(!) þou hast no parte.”
The quene of heuen stude full styll
And sofyrd þem to sey þer wyll;
There-of sche gane smyle:
“He þat lyȝht in my seruys,
It schall be at hys asyse:
He schall not tyne hys whyle.”
The fendys cryed as þei wer wode:
“Go we hens with body & blode!
No lenger wyll we duelle.”
Fowre thousand fendys & one
Wend to take hyre & gone
With-oute lettynge to helle.
“Late be, fendys, ȝoure feleny!
Wene ȝe fore-to haue mastry
At ȝoure awne wyll?
Fyrst we schall speke wordys mo,
That schall ȝow lyke non of tho
Bot make ȝoure hertys gryll.
I congour þe, fend, þat thou me sey—
That þou ne lete fore loue ne aye!—
How camme þis sorow in place?
And in what maner it fyrst begane,
Where that it were thorow fend or womane?
Tell me, or þou passe!”
“Fore-soth, lady, seyd he,
It come thorow a wych & me—
I may it not foresake;
Boldly I haue it wroȝht.
Therefore þei schall to hell be brouȝt,
There pays forto make.”
“Ney, þer me thinke þou doyst wronge,
When ȝe hyre chermyd to ȝoure hond
That lyued in pese & gryȝht.
Take ȝe, sche seyd, þat ȝe haue wrouȝt,
And leue þat my sone hath bouȝht
And delyth no-more þem wyth!
Nay, I ȝen-sey, sothly.
Whyll sche dyd þis foly,
Hyre lord was my seruaunte;
And thorow hyre lordys besekynge
They schall haue lyfe & gode endynge
Thorow my sones grante.”
The fendys lowd þei gane crye
And seyd: “late be þat, Mary!
Hens I rede þou fle!
Sche dyd it thorow a mys-chans,
With-out schryft & repenta(n)s:
Oure sche schall be.”
Than ansuerd þe quene Mary:
“Late be þis noys & þis cry!
It helpe ȝou ryȝht nouȝht.
Hyre lord & sche be of a blode,
And thorow his werkys trew & gode
To lyfe þei schall be brouȝht,
And ches þan at þer fre wyll,
After þat they thinke skyll,
To whome þei wyll þem holde:
With my sone forto duell
Or with ȝou, fendys of hell,
That makys ȝou so bolde.”
When þe angellus begane to se
The bodys schuld on lyue be
Thorow oure ladys saw,
Euery angell a deuyll hente
And thyrst þem, þat there rybbys bente
Fore tene of þer plaw.
The fendys saw þat they hade lorne:
Euery fend had oþer torne
With a mody chere.
Neuer þei stynte ne blane
To þei to þe wych came,
And sette hyre house on fyre.
The fyre was blo as brymstone;
They brake þe wychys bake-bone:
Oneth on lyffe hyre lete.
Hyre neyȝbors þer be-syde
Dorste no lenger abyde,
Bot fled awey full sore.
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