University of Virginia Library

Howe Quene Heleyne, aftire that she herd of Parys, hasted here to þe Temple.

O mortal harme, þat most is for to drede!
A, fraude y-cast be sleiȝt of wommanhede,
Of euery wo, gynnyng, crop, and rote!
Ageyn[e]s whiche helpe may no bote.
Whan lust haþ dryue in her hert a nail,
Ay dedly venym sueth at þe tail,
Whiche no man haþ power to restreyne;
Recorde I take of þe quene Eleyne,
Þat hoot[e] brent, allas! in hir desires,
Of newe lust to dele with straungeris
Whom sche knewe nat, ne neuer saw a-forn,
Wher-þoruȝ, allas, ful many man was lorn,
Of cruel deth embracid in þe cheyne
With-oute pite! now, sey, þou quene Eleyne,
What gost or spirit, allas, haþ mevid þe,
Sool fro þi lord in swiche ryalte
Oute of þin house to gon among þe pres?
Whi were þou wery to liue at home in pes,
And wentist out straungeris for to se,
Takyng noon hed [vn-]to þin honeste?
Þou schust a kepte þi closet secrely,
And not haue passed out so folily
In þe abscence of þi lorde, allas!
Þou wer to wilful & rakil in þis cas
To sen aforn what schuld after swe;
For al to sone þou wer drawe out of mwe,
Þat koudist nat kepe at home þi boundis.
Þou wentist out as hare among [þe] houndis,
For to be cauȝt, of verray wilfulnes,
And þi desyre koudist not compesse;
For þou þi lust list nat to refreyne.
O many woman haþ kauȝt in a treyne
Her goyng oute swiche halwes for to seke;
It sit hem bet hem siluen for to kepe
Clos in her chaumbre, and fleen occasioun:
For neuer schip schulde in pereil drown,
Nor skatre on rok, nor be with tempest rent,
Nor with Karibdis deuourid nor y-schent,
Nor gon to wrak with no wedris ille,
Ȝif it wer kepte in þe hauene stille.
For who wil not occasiouns eschewe,
Nor drediþ not pereil for to swe,
He most among, of necessite,
Or he be war, endure aduersite;
And who can nat hir fot fro trappis spare,
Lat hir be war or sche falle in þe snare:
For harme y-don to late is to compleine.
For ȝif whilom þe worþi quene Eleyne
Hir siluen had kepte at home in clos,
Of hir þer nadde ben so wikke a loos
Reported ȝit, grene, fresche, and newe;
Whos chaunce vnhappi eche man ouȝt[e] rewe,
Þat cause was of swiche destruccioun
Of many worþi, and confusioun
Of hir husbonde & many other mo
On Grekis syde, and [on] Troye also,
In þis story as ȝe schal after rede.
And so þis quene, as fast as sche may spede,
To þe temple hath þe wey[e] nome
Ful rially; and whan þat sche was come
Ful deuoutly with-Inne Cytheroun,
Made vn-to Venus hir oblacioun
In presence and siȝt of many on,
With many Iowel and many riche stoon.
And whan Parys had[de] þis espied,
To þe temple anon he haþ hym hyed,
Ful þriftely in al þe hast he myȝt;
And whan þat he had[de] first a siȝt
Of þe goodly, faire, fresche quene,
Cupidis dart, þat is whet so kene,
Or he was war, haþe hym markid so,
Þat for a-stonyed he nist[e] what to do,
So he merveileþ hir gret semlynes,
Hir womanhed, hir port, & hir fairnes:
For neuer a-forne [ne] wende he þat Nature
Koude haue made so faire a creature;
So aungillyk sche was of hir bewte,
So femynyn, so goodly on to se,
Þat he dempte, as by liklynes,
For hir bewte to be som goddes.
For his hert dide hym ay assure
Þat sche was no mortal creature—
So heuenly faire and so celestial
He þouȝt sche was in party & in al.
And considereth ful a-visely
Hir feturis in ordre by and by
Ententifly with-Inne in his resoun,
Euery þing by good inspeccioun:
Hir golden her, lik þe schene stremys
Of fresche Phebus with his briȝt[e] bemys,
Þe goodlyhed of hir fresche face,
So repleuished of bewte & of grace,
Euene ennwed with quiknes of colour
Of þe rose and þe lyllie flour,
So egaly, þat nouþer was to wyte
Þoruȝ noon excesse of moche nor to lite.
With-Inne þe cerclyng of hir eyen bryȝt
Was paradys compassid in hir siȝt,
Þat þoruȝ a brest þe bewte wolde perce.
And certeynly, ȝif I schal reherse
Hir schap, hir forme, and feturis by & by,
As Guydo doth by ordre ceryously,
From hed to foot, clerly to devise,
I han non englysche þat þer-to may suffyse;
It wil nat be, oure tonge is not lyke.
I want[e] flouris also of rethorik,
To sue his florischyng or his gey peynture,
For to discriue so fayre a creature;
For my colours ben to feble and feynt,
Þat nouþer can ennwe wel nor peint;
Eke I am nat a-queintid with no mwse
Of alle nyne: þer-fore I me excuse
To ȝou echon, nat al of necligence,
But for defaut only of eloquence,
And ȝou remitte to Guydo for to se
How he discriveth bi ordre hir bewte;
To take on me it were presumpcioun.
But I wil telle how Parys vp & doun
Goth in þe temple, and his eye cast
Toward Eleyne, & gan presen fast,
As he þat brent hote in Louys fyre,
Þat was enflawmed gretly be desyre.
And oft he chaungeþ countenaunce & chere,
And euer he neieth to hir ner and nere,
I-darted þoruȝ with hir eyen tweyne.
And ageynward þe fresche quene Eleyne
As hote brent in herte pryuely,
Al-be no man it outward koude espie;
For sche þouȝt sche had neuer aforn,
Of alle men þat euer ȝet wer born
Sey non so fair, nor like to hir plesaunce;
On hym to loke was hir sufficiaunce.
For in the temple sche toke hede of riȝt nouȝt,
But to compasse & castyn in hir þouȝt
How sche may cachen opportunyte
With hym to speke at good liberte:
Þis holly was al hir besynes.
For hym sche felt so inly gret distres,
Þat ofte sche chaungeþ countenaunce & hewe.
And Venus haþ marked hem of newe
With hir brondes fired by feruence,
And inflawmed be sodeyn influence,
Þat egaly þei wer brouȝt in a rage.
And saue þe eye atwen was no message:
Eche on oþer so fixe haþ cast his siȝt,
Þat þei conseiue & wist[en] a-non riȝt
With-Inne hem silfe wat her hert[e] ment.
And nere to hir euer Parys went
To seke fully and gete occasioun,
Þat þei myȝt, by ful relacioun,
Her hertis conceit declare secrely.
And so bi-fel, þat Paris neiȝeþ nyȝe
To þe place wher þe quene Eleyne
Stood in her se; & þer atwen hem tweyne,
Þei broken out þe somme of al her hert,
And ȝaf Issu to her inward smerte.
But þis was don, list þei werne espied,
Whan þe peple was most occupied
In þe temple for to stare & gase,
Now her, now þer, as it wer a mase.
Þei kepte hem clos, þat no worde a-sterte;
Þer was no man þe tresoun myȝt aduerte
Of hem tweyn, ne what þei wolde mene;
But at þe last, Paris and þis quene
Concluded han, with schort avisement,
Fully þe fyn of her boþe entent,
And sette a purpos atwix hem in certeyn,
Whan þei cast for to mete ageyn.
But list men had to hem suspecioun,
Þei made an ende, with-oute more sermoun,
And depart, al-be þat þei wer loþe.
And sobirly a-noon þis Paris goth
Out of þe temple, his hert in euery part
Wounded þoruȝ-out with Louys fyry dart;
To his schippis he halt þe riȝt[e] way.
And þan anoon, in al þe hast he may,
Whan assemblid was his chiualrie,
On and oþer of his companye,
In few[e] wordis, as schortly as he can,
To-forn hem alle his tale þus he gan.