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Lydgate's Fall of Princes

Edited by Dr. Henry Bergen ... presented to The Early English Text Society by The Carnegie Institution of Washington

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[Off Herry the eldest sone of Frederyk the secounde myscheued by his Fadir.]
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
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[Off Herry the eldest sone of Frederyk the secounde myscheued by his Fadir.]

Next to Bochas, crokid, halt & sik,
Oon callid Herry cam for to compleyne,
The eldest sone onto Frederik,
Which bi seeknesse hadde felt gret peyne,
Megre and pale, contract in eueri veyne,
Of whos langour the cheef occasioun
Was that he lay so long tyme in prisoun.
Al his disese and gret aduersite
Icausid was, for short conclusioun,
Bi his fadris froward cruelte,
As Bochas aftir maketh mencioun.
And this Herry bi generacioun
Sone to Frederik, lik as it is founde,—
I meene Frederik callid the secounde.
This saide Herry be discent of lyne
Of Cicile first was crownid kyng,
And of Iherusalem, whos renoun dide shyne
Thoruh many a lond[e] at his begynnyng;
And Fortune also in hir werkyng
Was to this Herry, passyngli notable
In al his werkis, inly fauourable.
Off his persone had this auauntage:
To al the peeple he was riht acceptable,
Weel comendid in his flouryng age,
Of cheer and face and look riht amiable,
And of his port verray demuer & stable,
Callid in his gynnyng, such fauour he hath wonne,
Of princis alle verray liht & sonne.
But ofte it fallith, that a glad morwenyng,
Whan Phebus sheweth his bemys cleer & briht,
The day sumtyme, therupon folwyng,

967

With sum dirk skie is clipsid of his liht;
And semblabli, thoruh Fortunys myht
This saide prince, bi hir fals variaunce
Fond in hir wheel ful noious fell greuaunce.
Who may the furies of Fortune appese,
Hir troubli wawes to make hem calm & pleyn;
Wher men most truste thei fynde most disese,
Wher double corages stonde in noun certeyn,
A shynyng day is ofte meynt with reyn:
Thus of Frederik the grete vnstabilnesse
Hath brouht his sone in myscheef & distresse.
This Frederik set up in gret fauour
Be the popis dilligent bisynesse,
Vnto thestat lefft up of emperour;
But thoruh his hatful froward vnkyndenesse,
Of couetise fill into suich excesse,
Took upon hym patrymonye to guie,
Of Cristes cherch that part to occupie.
Fill in the popis indignacioun,
Counsail nor trete myhte not auaile,
But of malis and [fals] presumpcioun
Caste with the pope to haue a gret bataile.
The saide Herry his fadir gan counsaille,
Ageyn the cherch to do no violence
But hym submytte with humble obedience.
This striff enduryng atween thes gret estatis,
Frederik made his sone be accusid
To hym of crym, Illese Magestatis,
Wolde nat suffre he sholde been excusid;
But lik a man maliciousli refusid,
Be his fadris cursid fals tresoun
He was comaundid to deien in prisoun.
Summe bookis sey[e]n he was take & brouht
To his fadir of doom to ha[ue] sentence,
But lik a man passid sorwe & thouht,
Which to his lyff hadde non aduertence,
Furiousli and with gret violence,

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As he was lad, alas, on hors[e]bak,
His hors fill doun & so his nekke he brak.
Summe bookis reherse of hym & seyn,
His fadir took geyn hym occasioun;
And whan he hadde longe in cheynis leyn,
At gret myscheeff he deied in prisoun.
And summe sey[e]n [how] that he fill doun
Of a bregge, Bochas reherseth heer,
And drownid was in a deep ryueer.