Early English Poetry - Forgotten Books
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Transcript of Early English Poetry - Forgotten Books
EARLY ENGLISH POETRY,
BALLADS,
AND POPULAR LITERATURE
OF THE MIDDLE AGES.
EDITED FROM ORIGINAL MAN USCRIPTS
AND SCARCE PUBLICATION S .
VOL . IV.
LONDON .
PR INTED FOR THE PERCY SOCIETY,
NY’
I‘
RICHARDS ST . MARTIN ’
S LANE
M .DCCC .XL I
CONTENTS OF VOL . IV
SPECIMENS OF LYRIC POETRY,
EDW . I .
DDTTDD D? T. WE IGH T, I OQ. I .A . I TO .
THE BOKE OF CURTASYE .
DDlTl D D ! J . 0 . BAL LIWDLL , DOG. I TC .
SPECIMENS OF OLD CHRISTMA S CAROLS .
EDITED B? T. WRIGHT, I CC. l .A .
TH E NURSERY RHYMES OF ENGLAND .
EDITE D D ! J. 0 . BADLIWEDL, 300 . ETC .
SPECIMENS
L Y R I C P O E T RY ,
COMPOSED IN ENGLAND IN THE REIGN OF
EDWARD TH E FIRST.
30m mnonus. m an. 2258, is TH E BRITISH unswn.
THOMAS WRIGHT, ESQ. M .A ., F 810.
OF TRIN ITY COLLEGE , CAI DBIDGB.
LONDON
PR INTED FOR TH E PERCY S O C I ETY ,
8 7‘I’. RICH ARDS , FOR TH E EXECUTORS OF TH E LAT E
C. RICHARDS , 100, ST . MARTIN’
S LANE .
MDCCL‘
X L II.
PREFACE .
THE manuscript from which the following piecesare edited (MS . Harl. No. is well knownto the amateurs of early English poetry . Its
date is fixed by the hand-writing and by the con
tents to the beginning of the reignof Edward II .
It contains political songs relating to different
events inthe reigns of Henry III and Edward I .
The two latest are those on the Traillebastons
(A .O. 1305) and the death of Edward I (A .O
It is probable that the manuscriptwas writtenin,or very soonafter, the latter year . Several of
the political songs inthis manuscript belong, as
I have just stated, to the reignof H enry III it
is impossible to fix any exact date from internal
evidence to the followingmiscellaneouslyric pieces,but it ismost probable that they were all of them
current during the reignof Edward I, and had
beencollected by the writer of the manuscript .
It is fortunate that we have means of ascer
taining with tolerable accuracy the place , as well
as the date , at which this manuscript was written.
Inmy Political Songs”
(p . 383) I have shown
that the song on the Traillebastons must have
beencomposed insome of the westerncounties
of England (under which head I include H ere
fordshire , Shropshire , and W orcestershire, par
ticularly specified inthe document there quoted) .
Among the other poetry, the local allusions
are of little force, as they only show where
the songs were originally composed, and there
is nothing about these which should make them
more popular in one part of the kingdom than
in another : yet in one of them there is an
allusionto the river Wye (p . 26 of the present
volume ), which renders it p robable that that
song was written inH erefordshire . There are ,
however, three pie ces inthe volume which have
a peculiarly local character (and they are the
only local pieces in it, except the song onthe
Traillebastons and that in which the W ye is
mentioned) at fol. 53, N ,we have a Latinlife of
St . E thelbert ; at fol. 132, r0 , we find the Latin
legend of St . Edfrid, who founded the abbey of
Leominster, Incip it 169d do Sand e E tfrido
p resbitero dc m iustria ; and at fol. 140 , v0,
we have another Mercian legend in Latin, De
MM yrio Sand i W’istani. These three legends
could hardly have beencollected together by anyone who was not residing in, and interested in
the monastic establishments of, H erefordshire ;
and the only question that remains appears to
be whether the writer resided at Hereford or
SPECIMENS
LYRIC POETRY.
I .
[F0]. 4 9, N J
QUY a la dame de parays
deyvent foy e leauté,
Ore entendent a mes dis,e je lur dirroy verité .
Sinul y soit que eit mespris
vers femme par mavesté,De corteysie soit forbanys,ou hastivement soit redressé
a dreyt
Quar il pert se noreture,certes, que femme deceit .
Dieu m’avaunce par charité,
auxi come j’ay mestier,
Je froi a femmesnu a, b, c,sl
’
escols si eles vueillent aler ;
spammsgsor! .
09l qhé‘shnt lettrée
as
i
ziutres purront recorder,Cement eles sunt honoree
endreyture sauntz fauser
,de nulle
va femme, lavet joie,ele ne va pas soule .
amour de femme mouncuer entame,de fere nu poy enveysure,
Pur sauver femme de tote blame,chesoundevereit mettre cure ;
Pur l’amour de une dame,
que tot le mound enterre honure,
Que femme esclaundre e met enfame
ne vint unqe de bone nature ;a veyr dyre,
Qui de femme dit vileynie,
certes sa bouche empyre .
IBeauté de femme passe rose,.qi ls vodere bienjuger,
Enmounde u’i a si douce chose,
enleauté pur bienamer .
Mes je certes biendire ls ose,
e si mestier soit prover,
Qe mavesté que enfans repose,fet sovent femme des oils lermer,
a tort
Qy femme d ne par tresoun,certes sanoreture dort .
LYRIC POETRY .
(thescunhonme endreit dc sey
deit de femmes tot biendyre ;E si vus dirroi bienpur quei,
pur une qu’est de tousmale myre,
De quinasquy le haut rey
qe de tot ls mound est syre ;Rencit soit cel arbre a fey ,
qe tiel fruit porte que jan’enpyre
Pur rien!
Quar ele porta ls noble enfaunt,
Repleni de tot bien.
Byamaundne autre piere
no sount si fynenlur vertu,Come sunt femmes enlur manere,d’amour joindre portent ls glu,
E sount pleysauntz e debonere,de nu dart d’amour me cunt fern;
Qe femme mespreyse ennulle manere,il corouce lamere Jhesu,
e pecche ;
Qy 5 cc s’
acostume,
porte vyleyne tecche .
eux out Is corps de bel entayle,entous poyntz tresbienassis ;
Um no vaudreit une mayle,si femme ne fust, ce m
’
est avys.
Donque dussum nus sauntz fayle
de tiele chose tenir grant pris ;
SPECIMENS OF
Quar iI n’y a rienque a femme
descas 1a joie de parays,enterre ;
Yln’y anulle terrene,
que purra 5 tons plere .
dFemmes portent les cyls veyrs,e regardent come faucoun;
Mont doit estre enbonespeyr
cely qe gist enlor prisoun;Quar almatynne a seyr
rienn’y avers. si joye noun;De totes bountés sunt yl heyr,fraunches e beles par resoun
come rose ;
Quy de eux dit si biennoun,sa vyleynie desclose.
G enterise encuer de femme fioryst,e espanit come fet la fiur ;
Bené soit qui 191 Is myst
enlnde si grant honur
Qy v‘ileynie de femme dist,
mout pust il estre ensur,D
’
aver hounte sauntz respist,
ennu lnmolt obscur,e peyne .
Pus que Dieu de femme na UiSt,
n’out unque nulle vyleyne.
LYRIC POETRY
fi arpe, n’
autre menestrausie,ne oyselque chaunt 11 boys,
N e sonnt sinoble melodic,come de femme cyr 1a vois.
Mont purrad mener sure vie,
que de femme pnet aver choys
Quar 5 tons biens femme plye,come fet la coudre que porte noys
Qui bealté plaunta enfemme,molt chosy noble soyl.
illn’y out unqe houme née
pus ls temps Adam e Eve,
Qe sout de femmes 1a bounté
oncomence ne ouacheve ;A demostrer tiel segrée,
a moy serreit donqe chose greve ;Mes pus qe je l
’ay comencée,
avant dirroi onparole sweve
e fyne,Femmes dussoms tons honorer,
pur l’
amour d’une meschyne.
florteysie enfemme git,enInonad bel desport ;
E cely enfenme char prist,
qe d’enfernnus dona resort ;
E de femme cilnasquist,
qe pur nus pus sufi’
ry la mort .
Qui a femme fet despit,
SPECIMENS OF
ilme semble que il ad tort,Entaunt
Quar enfemme descendist,Jhesnls tot pussannt .
l’
amour dnmound enfemme habits,
ennu Inmolt aimable ;
Yln’ad pas choysy lnpetite,més large, grant, e delitable .
Ylne trovera que ly desheryte,15.puet ilmeyndre tot dis estable ;
Sonostel est de tons mans quite,
pur veyr ls dy, sanntz mot de fable,dedenz ,
Que mavesté quert enfemme,certes il pert sontenz.
M arie, que portastes ls salveour,
vostre grace vus requer,Me seiez ayde e soconr,
pnr l’
onour de femme sauver,
Qe portent fruyt de bel colour,noble, douce, ne mic amer ;
Gentz que sount de grant valour,
qe ls mound governent enter,
par sen,Bené soit tiel arbre
qne tiel fruit porte ! Amen.
flote de la rnssinole
je tisuk pur nient entemps de May ,
SPECIMENS OF
Unque ne trovay enlyfors bonnté e cuer certeygne.
QBnoyntement s’
envont armée
de grant bealté, que pert dehors,E dedenz de tot bounté
encunt repleny tot ls cors ;
Mont serroit donque grant pisté,si tons tieles fuissent mors,
Que pur nus onnt grevement plorée,
e ce 5molt granntz tort z ,sovent ;
N ulne savera devyser
1a joye que de enx descent .
3308s, qu’
est de bel colour,
e d’este porte l’enseygne,N e gitte poynt si fynodour
come est de femme 1a douce alcyne .
Qui porreit donque nnit e jour
aver une ensondemeyne,Mont pnrreit vivre a grant honour,
e enjoie sanntz nulle peyne
u mounde ;N ulne savers. deviser
la joie que de lemme habonnde .
é i tons l’espieces entenz de pees,
qe de tons terres vensat par mer,Fuissent lyes ennnfees,
e um les devereit bienjuger,
LYRIC POETRY .
I] n’y anul de tel relees,come dc femme undouz bayser,
Ce su je prest prover adés,
qui me vodra countrepleyder
endyt
Car femme est la plus gracionse
chose que unqe Dieu fyt .
fi ryacle, tresbientryée,n’est poynt si fynense termyne,
Come est le lycour aloses
quy femme porte ensa peytrine .
Biendoit tiele chose estre amée,
que porte sinoble medicine !
Meint foy z est anguissée
par nous fenme engysyne,sanz bobance ;
Nulne savers deviser
come sunt pur nns engrevaunce .
Volablesne sunt point de corage,quar eles se tienent ennne assise ;
A eux ne serra dit hountage,
quar il sonnt de bone eprise ;Come plus est venu de hant parage,meinz s
’
enorguile entote guyse.
Chesounqu’
est de bonestage
femmes honourt par sonndevyse
tot dis ;
Honour enbone femme
as pnet estre mesassis.
10 SPECIMENS OF
xPc ls fitz Maris,
ls tresnoble snfaunt,Defsnt qs vyleynye
ns soit desorsnavant
Dit par nulle folys
a nulls femme vivant !
Mes chescunayms s’
amys,come Dieunus est amaunt
enterre,
Qns se douce face
enciel pnssoms vsrs.
§ s0pe, fencil, columbyn,Flur ds lyls alosés,
Rose que ports colour fyn,
gyngivrs racynés,s sroit crestre u chemyn,onfemme marche sonnpés
Certes cely ad bonmetyn
que de femme est amée,
saunz fsyntyss ;
Quar unqe femme ns fust,sinounde bonapriss.
z abulon, come js vus counts,c’
est nu propre noun,0mque bone femme afrounte,
jan’
eit s’
alms pardonn'
Fuisse-js my ongrant counts,onde terre noble baronn,
LYRIC POETRY .
Quy sfemme ferrsit hounte,tost ls msttroi enprisoun
sanz tort
Si ilns se vodra amender,
jan’
avereit resort .
Doncs amis, seiez csrteigne,
qns de Dieu serra meldit,
Qs dsmale parole s veyne
dient a femme hounte ondespyt ;Quar Dieu msismss sauntz nulls peyne
ds une femme eu terre nasqnyt ,La qusls snciel sa joys demeyns
de ly servyr ay grant dslyt
agrée ;Quar ele sst ds joie fonteyns.
source ds amistés.
Place 15 onfemme siet,
ensale onbane conntrs mur,Totes vileynyss hst,tant come ports fruit si pur,
De totes arbrss donut fusille chst,
si est femme soversynflur ,
Chescunhonme a mieux qu’il pnst,
sanvs lur cors s lnr honur
de hounte,Quar totes choses avsnauntss,bone femme sourmonnts.
11
12 SPECIMENS OF
Cruslsmsnt s’snvont lyé,
par la grace de ly puissaunt ;
Sins fust se grant humilité,
qs mostre a femme vertu grant ;James femme de mere nés
ns fust dslyvrés de nu enfant,Mount ssofrsnt pur nostre amiste,
s meintsfoiz vont suspirant
pur amour ;Molt sovsnt lnr naterssss
lur torns a grant dolour .
Ave Maria dsvoms dire
pur totes femmes qs grosses sonnt,Lnr colour pur nus empire .
de sale enchaunbrs quant eles vont ;Prioms Jhssnm, nostre sire,
que ensa joie sist 1aa mount,
Qns si ly plsst lur veils myre
les anguissss que pur nus ount,molt sovsnt ;
Dieu sanvs l’ononr de femmes,
e quant qs seux apsnt !
Amendsvoms trestons dire,benst seit ls tresdonz mort
Que pur nus soff’
rir nostre sire,
que d’
snfsrnnus dona resort,E eu terre sofi
'
ry grant martyrs,saunts desert at graunt tort,
LYRIC POETRY .
Saunz rancour s sanz ire,
pur nus soffry peyne fort,sncrcys,
La joie de cielnus ad grannté,msismss ds sa voys.
II .
[FOL 55, ro.j
QUA N 'r voy la revenue
d’
yver, qs si me argue
qs ly temps se rsmns,lors aym bnche fsndns,
charbonnclykant,tysounfiambannt,fende souchs meis ac dc jois channt ;
quar js l’
sym tant,
tot ls cors ms tressue.
Qnannt vient socchier,certes molt ms agrée
fagot enfournil secche sanntz fumes,
qs tost ssprent
s brsse rent ;
e je me dsgrat molt sovsnt
ls pys s l’
sschyne,
quar la char bienpus,e ds draps mal vestne ;
13
14 SPECIMENS OF
ayms molt la jorné,quar quaunt pur chalcur se sue
taunt, qs fors soit issue
la freydour e alés,
cso est moundelit,de aver beanlit
de dras brannchys,flsyrs la bués.
La tsnue coverture
c’
sst ma dssconfiture,langs sanntz foreurs,ds cslin’ai-js cure,
qnar iln’
sst prenz ;mieux aym les feus
quant je voy la refroidnre,a ly m
’
snvonmieux,aym sonjonque dons déss dstorsurs.
Quannt l’
yver s’
sstsynt par la matynée,certesmolt ms grsvés
1anoy'f e la gslés ;
mes eu vsrglaz
menues hastss enbrunz
ds ponrcslmadls ostés,pris enbone pasture,la loygns sauntz arsure,enla broche botés ;quar c
’
est manortnrs.
Tout ay ma tenure
enbonmorssl donés,enbonclare
SPECIMENS OF
tout adees ma foysoyns,vya ds haute persons,levre encivs, coninlardée,molt est fous qe saonne,formage réss quaunt rostis ay,s js 1s faz coronus,s pnr grosoillsr nuilles e chléss,
royssoléss s guafi'
rés,
e tostiz dorrez ,
perdry z , plovers,coloms, croyssrs,
ls wydscoks est bonmangiers,s andoilles lardés
js tienks pur fol qe donns
sonaver enprisonés,
pur tripss snfumés ;quar grant revient anouns.
My hosts m’
arssouns,
si dit qu’il ad trovés
countrs lanuy t nu chandon,
quit a chastsyns parés.
Enquaresme al’entre,lors sym psrchs parés,la tenchs envsrsé ,
e enscuz botés ;harang, plays,s psschonn, freshs s alosés
enpastés,
gastisu rostiz , menu bray z ,e fiaunchs salés.
LYRIC POETRY .
Darsns beez js mis
fenduz ds quonis
anguille de gors ds sa pisnvendis,conger, sstorgoun,luz , salmoun,vsndoiss, brsms, ns gerdon,as morns onl’aille, as crsinte pellé,ns roches, ne lampre,ns rays refreidé,
ly makers] freshs s novel,0 tot eist autrs bonmorsel
mout Inhom e vsydés.
Qnant la pasche rspsire,
j s m’
y last tayre,tart s fiaonfaz fsrs,
pur la essounrstrsrs ;molt aym motouna gras reynoun,e l
’
aignsl faz fors trsrs,
m’
entsncioun
met anpoyvrs defers.
Droy z est qs l’
snsyt motoun
enporrés pncynz ,enverynz ,one snfranks gards,atant novel
jns de me],
la tests enrost apres lowsl,e gras chsvsryl larde,
18 SPECIMENS OF
us me doit pas despleyrs,
pur ls manger rstrsrs,
pée de porcks ensocie,sfroit cslsr,
s haut soler,herbs mngier,msnusmsnt pondré,e js m
’
ennoys donks dormyr .
III .
[F0]. 6 1 v0 .]
CYL qs vodra cyr mes chauns,
ensonncuer se rsmyrs ;
Si il enfet, onenssmblauns,
rientenchs a la matire ;De nu chaunconeu Romanus
onla enorrsz dsscrirs,
La lessonns lsals amantz
vus y comencez alyre .
Meint honme quids aver ami
conquis ensa richesse,
Q’
asssz tost 1s avsra gsrpi,si il veit pus se dsstrssse ;
E primes 1s avera escharni
pur sa trssgrant largesse,
Sinul vus ad ds cs servi,
ns creez mes sa promesse .
LYRIC POETRY .
Si tounami as esprove,ns ly deves pas ofl
'
endrs
Mez sciez dsnne volsnté,
grant bienenpurrez prendre ;N s seiez pas de ly grevé
qusi qs um vus face entendre ;Quar meint um quids aver trove,
qs pnis ly sstuit rendre.
Si ts avisnt qs sisz mester
de souassil onde aye,
N e ls devez pas 3. tonsmostrer,tant ad ls siscls snvie .
A tounamin’sstuit cslsr
tonconsailne ta vis ;
Quar si il ts pust ds rsnvalet ,ilns vus faudra mie .
E vostre bonami tenez,ns devez pas rstrsrs,
E lsalmsnt li consilez
com leals amis doit fsrs.
Vostre counsail a ly mostrez ,sly ns devez tsre,
S i lsalment vus sntrsamsz ,lsnu pnet l’autre crsre.
Si vostre ami vslt mssalsr,la mainls devez tendre ;
19
20 SPECIMENS OF
N s ly sofi'
rsz pas sonnvoler,si vus ls posz dsfendre .
Mes bel ly devez chastisr,
s entre vus reprendre ;E come vusmsismss enls ester,
saunt z nulle rienofi'
endre .
Si vus ciez de vostre ami
parlsr par avsntnrs,N s devez mettre enchly
ds prsisir sa porture .
L es bisnz diez derere ly,devant ly a mesure ;
Quar losenger s leal ami
divsrssnt par nature .
Entrs amis seit owslsté,
ssnz , e cortsysie,
Amour s debonersté ,
e tsls compagnie,
Qs tant ms volez ds bonnté ,de solas, s ds aye,
Come vodrsz qs fsisss-je,
si js usss grant msstris.
Uncors y a enfynamour
chose qs molt ms agree,Parount si pasent ly plnsour ,
donut jan’
sst regardée ;
LYRIC POETRY .
Si vostre ami est endolour,enplay, onenmellée,
N s ls guerpsz sdsshononr,
pur coup ns pur colés.
Vostre ami cherisssz ,si me volez erere ;
De nulls rienly priez,si il us Is pust bienfsrs.
Quar si il us Is fet, vus ly grevez ,quant ilns ls pent parfsrs ;
E si ilmesfst, vus msssrrsz ,
car cs fet pur vus plere.
Uncors y a enla lessonn
nu petit plus a fsrs,La privité toncompaignoun
ns devez pas rstrsrs ;Sounconseil ts est confessioun,assez endevez ters ;
Si entant ly feisssz trssonn,a envis vus dust um erere .
Si vostre ami est enpecchie,
qsi qsnul antrs endie,Tot sachez vus la verité,us Is dsscoverez mis.
Car meint um fust plus avilés,si l
’
em sust sa folis,E meint um pecche enprivitée,e pus prent bone vie .
21
22 SPECIMENS OF
Ore ai mostré nu poi ds pas
onamour est fonndé ;
Encs vsrs trover purras
si tu les as biengardé ;
A tounamins diez pas
quanque soncuer agrés,
Mes cs qs asonnhonour verras,si ensrt amour payé.
Ore pri 5 tons Iais s clsrs,
si us me chant qs loye,
Qs nulns prsngs ls travsrs,de fynamour vsrrois
Car lsal cuer n’sst pas divers,syuz ayms droits voie ;
Ly tu autem est encs vers,
ly rsspounz soit ds joys. A MEN .
IV.
[F0]. 62 v0 .]
M IDDEL -ERD for menwes mad,nu-mihti area is meste meds
This hsdy hath onbonds y -had,
that hsvsns hem is best to hede1"herds a blisss budsl us had,
lreri domes-dai to dreds,
24 SPECIMENS OF
Wyvsswills were dsd wo,
3sf he is wicked forts welds,That burst shal bets for hem bo,
he she] him burewenthah he hire bel
By body ant souls y snggs al so,
that some bsoth foundsnunder fslde,That hath to fsrs is meste fo,
of gomsnss he mai gonal gslds,
ant sore bsnfsrsd onfolds,Lest he to harmes helds,ant happes hsnts nu-holds.
Hom nu-holdsst her is on,with-outenhells, ass ich hit holds,
So fsls busth foundsnmonnes fon,the furst of hem biforeny tolds,
Ther after-ward thisworldsswon,with muchelnu-wynns nsworsnwolds
Sons beth this gomsnss gon,that maketh us so brag ant holds,
ant biddeth us bsnblyths ;Anends he casteth ous fol colds,insnnns ant screws sythe .
Insnnns ant screws y am ssint,
that siwsth me so fully sore ;
My murths is with monrnyng msind,us may ich mythenhit namore ;
Whenwe beth with thisworld for-wlsynt,that we ne lustnsth lyvcs lore,
LYRIC POETRY.
The fend infyht us fynt so fsynt,we falleth so flour whenhit is frore,
for folkes fader al flems ;W0 him wes y -warps 3ors,that Crist nulnowyht qusms !
To queme Grist we wereny -cors,ant kend ys craftss forts knows ;
s e we nout we buenfor-lore,inlustss thah we lyggsnlows ;
We shule aryss nr fader byfors,thah fonus fallenumbs throws,
To borswsnus alls hs wes y -bors,this bounyng whenhim hemes blows,
he byt us bnsnof hyss ;
Ant onys ryht hond hsnts rows,wyth ryhtwyss mento aryss.
V.
[F0]. 63, r0 .]
laser 3 burde ina hour ass beryl so bryht,A ss saphyr insslver ssmly onsyht,
A se jasps the gentil that lsmeth with lyht,A ss gernet ingolds, ant ruby wel ryht,A ss onycls he ys ony -holdenonhyht,
A se diamannde the dsre inday whenhe is (ly
H e is coraly -cud with cayser ant knyht.
25
26 sracm sss or
A se emeraude a-morewsnthis may haveth myht .
The myht of the margarita haveth this may mere,
For charbocle ich hire shes bi chynant by chsre .
Hire rode is ass ross that rsd is onrys,
With lilys-whits leres lossum he is,The primerole he passeth, the parvenke of pris,With alisaundrs thare-‘to, ache ant anys,Coynts ass columbine, such hire cunds ys,Glad under gore ingro ant ingrys,
H e is blosme oponbleo brihtest under his,With celydoyne ant sauge, ass thou thi self sy s.
That syht uponthat ssmly, to blis he is broht,He is solsecls, to sanne ys for-soht.
H e is papejai inpyu that bete th me my bale,To trews tortls ina tour, y tells the mi tale,He is thrustle thryveninthro that singeth in
The wilds laveroc ant wols ant the wodewals,H e is faucouninfriht dernest indale,Ant with evsruch a gome gladsst ingale,From Weys he is wisist into Wyrhale,
note of the nyhtsgale .
Inannote is hire noms, nempneth hit non,Whose ryht redeth ronne to Jobon.
Mugs he is ant mondraks, thonh miht of the mono,Trews triacle y -told with tonges introns,Such licoris mai lsche from lyr e to lone,Such snore monseche th that save th mensous.
LYRIC POETRY . 27
Blithe y -blessed of Crist that baysth ms mi bone,Whendsrns dsds is indayns dsrns are done,Ass gromyl ingrsns grsns is the grone,A ss quibibs ant comyncud is incrons.
Cnd comynincourt, cans] incofrs,With gyngyvre ant ssdswals ant the gylofre .
H e is Medisrns of miht, msrcis of meds,Rsksns assnnas rescanto reds,Trews ass Tegsnintour, ass Wyr weininweds,Baldors thenByrns that of the bor beds,Ass Wylcadounhe iswys, dohty of dsde,
Fsyrors thenFloyres folkes to feds,Cud ass Cradoc incourt carf the brsde,H endors thenH ilde that havsth ms to hede.
H e haveth ms to heds this hendy a-non,Gentil ass Jonas, he joyeth with Jon.
VI .
[FO]. 63,
BYTUEN E Msrshs ant Averil
whenspray biginneth to springs,The Intel foul hath hire wyl
onhyrs lud to synge ;Ich libbs inlove-longings
For semloksst of alls thyngc,H e may we blisss brings,icham inhire baundonn.
28 SPECIMENS OF
Anhsndy hap ichabbs y -hsnt,Ichot from bevens it isme sent,From alle wymmsnmi love is lent
ant lyht onA lysoun.
Onhenhire her is fayr y -noh,hire brows brouns, hire e3s blaks ;
With lossum chsrs he onme loh
with middel smal ant wsl y -maks ;
Bots he ms wolls to hire take,Forts bnsnhire owenmake,Longs to lyvsnichulle forsake,ant feys fallena-doun.
Anhsndy hap, etc.
N ihteswheny wsnde ant wake,for-thi mynwongeswaxsth won;
s sdi, al for thins sake
longings is y -lsnt me on.
Inworld nisnonso wytsr-mon
That al hire bounté tells con
H ire swyre iswhittors thenthe swon,
ant fsyrsst may intonne.
Anhendy, etc.
Icham for wowyng al for-wake,wery so water inwere ;
L est eny revs me my make,
ychabbs y-
3yrnsd 3ors.
Betsrs is thelienwhyle sore,
LYRIC POETRY .
Thenmournsnevermore .
Gsynsst under gors,herkns to my rouns.
Anhendi, etc.
VII .
[F0]. 63, v0.]
WITH longyng y am lad,
Onmolds y waxs mad,a maids marrsth ms
Y grede, y grons, nu-
glad,For ssldsny am sad
that ssmly forts se ;
lsvsdi, thou rsws me,
To rouths thou havsst ms rad ;
Be bots of that y bad,My lyf is long onthe .
s edy, of alls lends
Lesme out of bonds,broht isham inwe,
Have resting onhonds,Ant sent thou ms thi sonds,sons, er thou ms slo ;
my rests is with the re
Thah mento me hanonds,To love nuly acht wonds,as lets for nonof the .
29
O SPECIMENS OF
Levedi, with al my miht
My love is onthe liht,to meneke wheny may ;
Thou rewant red me ryht,
To dethe thou havest me diht,y (legs longs er my day ;
thou levs uponmi lay .
Trsuthe icheve the plyht,To donthat ich have hyht,whilmi lif lssts may .
Lylie-whyt hue is,
Kim rods so rose onrys,that rsvsth ms mi rest .
Wymmonwar ant wys,Of pruds hue hereth the pris,burds onof the best
thiswommonwonsth by west,Brihtsst under bys,IIevsnc y tolds al his
That 0 nyht were hire gest.
VIII .
[Fe]. 66, r0 .]
‘Vnrmo haveth mynwongsswet,for wikkcd werk ant wons of wyt ;
Unblithe y be til y ha bet,brushes brokenass bok byt .
SPECIMENS OF
To fet y falle hem feole,
for falsleke fifti folde ;Of alle untrewe ontele,
with touée ase y her told.
Thah told beontales untounintoun,such tiding mei tide y nulnout teme,
Of brudes bryht with browes broune,or blisse heo beyonthis briddes breme ;
Inrude were roo with hem ronne,that he mihte hentenase him were heme ;
N ys kyng, cayser, ne clerk with croune,this semly serventhat me ne may seme .
Semenhim may onsonde,this semly servenso,
Bothe with fet ant honde,for onthat uswarp from wo.
N ouwo inworld yswent a-way ,ant weole is come ase we wolde,
Thourh a mihti methfulmai,that ous hath cast from cares oolde.
Ever'
wymmenich herie ay ,
ant ever inhyrd with hem ich holde ;Ant ever at neode y nyeke nay ,that y ner nemnede that heo nolde .
Y nolde ant nullyt noht,for nothyng nou anede ;
Soth is that y of hem hawroht,
as Richard erst conrede .
LYRIC POETRY .
Richard, rote of resounryht,rykening of rym ant ron,
Of maidnes meke thou hast myht,onmolde y holde the murgest mon,
Cunde comely ase a knyht,clerk y -cud that craftes con,
Inuch anhyrd thynathel ys hyht,ant uch anathel thinhap is on.
Hap that hathel hath hent,with hende let inhalle,
Selthe be hem sent
inlonde of levedis alle .
IX .
[FO]. 66,
Mos'rxrydenby Rybbesdale,
Wilde wymmenforte wale,ant welde wuch ich wolde ;
Founde were the fey rest on
That ever wesmad of blod ant boninboure best with holde.
A se sonne-hem hire bleo ys briht,Inuche londe heo leometh liht,thourh tale as monme tolde.
The lylie lossum is ant long,With riche rose ant rode among,
a fyld or fax to folde.
33
34 SPEC IMENS OF
Hire bed whenich biholde apon,The sonne-beem aboute noon
me thohte that y se3e ;
Hyre eygenarengrete ant gray y -noh,Th[at] lussum whenheo onme loh,
y-bend wax eyther bre3e.
The mone with hire muchele maht,N e leveth nonsuch lyht anaht,that is inheovene hege,
A se hire forhed doth indayFor Wham thus muchel y mourne may ,for duel to deth y dreyge .
H eo hath browes bend anheh,Whyt bytuene, ant nout to neh,lussum lyf heo ledes ;
H ire neose ys set as hit wel semeth ;Y de3e for deth that me demeth,hire speche as spices spredeth.
H ire lockes lefly arenant longe,For sone he mihte hire murthesmonge
with blisse whenhit bredes.
H ire chynys chosen, ant eyther cheke
Whit y -noh ant rode oneke
ase rosenwhenhit redes.
H eo hath a mury mouht to mele,With lefly rede lippes lele,Romaunz forte rede .
Hire teht arenwhite ase bonof whal,
LYRIC POETRY
Evene set ant atled al,
ase hende mowe takenhede .
Swannes swyre swythe wel y -sette
A sponne lengore theny -mette,
that freoly ys to fede.
Me were levere kepe hire come,Thenbeonpope ant ryde inRome
stythes uponstede .
Wheny byholde uponhire hond,The lylie
-white lef inlond
best heo myhte beo ;Byther arm anelne long,Baloynge mengeth al by
-mong,ase baum ys hire bleo.
Fyngres heo hath feir to folde ;Myhte ich hire have ant holde,inworld welwere me .
Hyre tyt tes arenanunder bis
A s apples tuo of parays,
ou self 3e mowenseo.
Hire gurdel of bete gold is al,Umbenhire middel smal,that triketh to the to ;
Al whith rubies ona rowe,With-inne corvencraft to knowe,ant emeraudes mo.
The bocle is al of whalles bon,Ther with-inne stout a ston,that warneth menfrom wo ;
35
36 SPECIMENS OF
The water that it wetes yn,Y -wis hit wortheth a] towyn,that se3ensoydenso.
H eo hath amete myddel smal,Body ant brest welmad al,
ase feynes with-oute fere ;
Byther side soft ase sylk,Whittore thenthe morenmylk
with leofly lit onlere .
Al that ich ou nempne noht,H it is wonder wele y -wroht,ant elles wonder were.
H e myhte sayenthat Crist bym se3e,
That myhte nyhtesneh hyre le3e,hevene he hevede here.
X.
[FO] . 66,
IN a fryht as y confare fremede,y foundo awel feyr fenge to fere ;
H eo glystnede ase gold whenhit glemede,nesner gome so gladly ongore.
Y wolde wyte inworld who hire kenede,this burde bryht, 3ef hire wil were ;
H eo me bed go my gates, lest hire gremede,ne kepte heononhenyng here.
LYRIC POETRY .
Y -here thou me nou, hendest inhelde,navy the none barmes to hethe ;
Casteny wol the from cares ant kelde,
oomeliche y wol the nonclethe.
”
Clothes y have forte caste,
such as y may weore with wynne ;Betere is were thunne boute laste,thensyde robes ant synke into synne .
Have 3c or wyl, 3c waxeth unwraste,afterward or thonke be thynne ;
Betre ismake forewardes faste,thenafterward to mene ant mynne.
Of munnyng ne munt thounamore,of menske thou were wurthe by my myht ;
Y take anbond to holde that y hore,of al that y the have byhyht .
Why ys the loth to levenonmy lore,lengore thenmy love were onthe lyht ;
Another myhte 3ernthe so 3ore,
that nolde the noht rede so ryht.”
Such reed me myhte spaclyche reowe,whenalmy ro were me at-raht
Sone tho waldest vachenannewe,ant take another with-inne ny3e naht .
Thenne mihti hengrenonheowe,inuch anbyrd benhated ant for-haht ;
Ant beny -cayred from alle that y kneowe,t bede clenyenther y hade claht.
”
SPECIMENS OF
Betere is takena comeliche y-clothe,
inarmes to cusse ant to cluppe,Thenawrecche y -wedded so wrothe,thah he me slowe, ne myhti him asluppe.
The beste red that y conto us bothe,that thou me take ant y the toward huppe ;
Thah y swore by treuthe ant othe,that God hath shaped me y -nou at luppe .
Mid shupping ne mey hit me ashunche,nes y never wycche ne wyle ;
Y ch am a maide, that me of thunche,luef me were gome boute gyle .
”
X I .
[F0]. 67, rm]
A WA YLE whyt as whalles bon,
A greiningolde that godly shon,A tortle that minherte is on,
intounes trewe ;Hire gladshipe nesnever gon,
whil y may glewe .
Whenheo is glad,Of al this world namore y bad
Thenbeo with hire mynone bistad.
with-cute strif
40 SPECIMENS OF
ne half so freo,Whose wole of love be trewe,
do lystne me .
Herkneth me, y ou telle,
Insuch wondryng for wo y welle,Nye no fur so hot inhelle,
al to mon,That loveth derne ant darnout telle
whet him ys on.
Ich unne hire wel ant heo me wo ;Ycham hire frend ant heo my fo ;Me thuncheth minherte wol breke a two,
for sorewe ant syke !
InGodes gneting mote heo go,
Ichwold ichwere a threstelook .
swete bryd !
Bitaene hire cur-tel ant hire smoh
LYRIC POETRY .
[F0]. 70, v0 .]
OF a monMatheu thohte,Tho he the wyngord whrohte,ant wrot hit onys boc ;
Inmarewe menhe sohte,
A t under mo he brohte,ant nom and nonforsoc.
A t mydday ant at non
H e sende hem thider fol son,
to helpenhem with hoc ;H uere foreward wes to fon,So the furmest hevede y
-don,ase the erst undertoe .
A t evesong evenneh,Ydelmenget he seh,
lomenhabbe anhonde ;To hem he sayde anheh,That suythe he wes undreh,so ydel forte stonde.
So hit wes bistad,That nomonhem ne bad,huere lomes to fonde ;
Anonhe was by -rad,
To werk that he hem lad,
for nyht nolde he nout wonde .
4-l
4-2 SPECIMENS OF
H uet e hure anyht hue nome,
a peny brod ant bryht ;This other swore alle ant some,That er were come with lome,that so nes hit nout ryht ;
Ant swore somme unsaht,That hem wes werk by -taht,longe er hit were lyht ;
For ryht were that me raht,The monthat al day wraht,the more mede anyht .
Thenne seith he y
Why , nath nout uch monhis ?
holdeth nou or pees ;A -way, thou art unwis
Tak al that thinys.
ant fare ase foreward wees.
3ef y may betera beode,To mi latere leode,to leve nam y nout lees,
To alle that ever hider code,To do to day my neode,ichulle be wraththe-lees.
Thisworld me wurcheth wo,Roo-les ase the roo,
y sike for nu-sete
Ant mourne ase mendoh mo,
LYRIC POETRY .
For doute of foule fo,hou y my sunne may bete.
Thismonthat Matheu 3ef
A peny that wes so bref,this frely folk unfete ;
get he gyrndenmore,Ant saide he come wel gore,ant gonne is love for-lete.
XIII .
[FO]. 71, v0 .]
L E N TE N ys come with love to toune,With blosmenant with briddes roune,that al this blisse bryngeth ;
Dayes-eges inthis dales,N otes suete of nyhtegales,uch foul song singeth.
The threstelcoc him threteth oo,
A -way is huere wynter wo,whenwoderove springeth ;
This foules singeth ferly fele,Ant wlyteth onhaere wynter wele,that al the wode ryngeth.
The rose rayleth hire rode,
The leves onthe lyhte wode
waxenalwith wille ;
4 -1 SPECIMENS OF
The mone mandeth hire bleo,The lilie is lossom to seo,
the fenyl ant the fille ;Wowes this Wilde drakes,Miles murgeth huere makes,
ase strem that striketh stille ;
Mody meneth, so doh mo,Ichot ycham onof tho,for love that likes ille .
The mone mandeth hire lyht,So doth the semly sonne bryht,whenbriddes singeth breme ;
Deowes donketh the dounes,Deoreswith huere derne rounes,domes forte deme ;
Wormeswoweth under olonde,Wymmenwaxeth wounder proude,
so wel hit wol hem seme.
3ef me shalwoute wille of on,
This wunne weole y wole for-
gon,ant wyht inwode be fleme.
LYRIC POETRY .
X IV.
[F0]. 71, v0 .]
IN May hit murgeth whenhit dawes,Indonnes with this dueres plawes,ant lef is lyht onlynde ;
Blosmes bredeth onthe bowes,Al this wylde wyhteswowes,sowel ych under-fynde.
Y not nonso freoli flour,Ase ledies that beth bryht inboure,with love who mihte hem hynde ;
Soworly wymmenare by west ;One of hem ich herie best,Fom Irlond into Ynde.
Wymmenwere the beste thing,That shup oure he3e hevene kyng,
3ef feole false nere ;
Heo booth to rad uponhuere red,
To love ther me hem lastes bed,
whenheo shule fenge fere ;Lut inlonde are to leve,Thah me hem trewe trouthe 3eve,
for tricherie to 3ere ;Whentrichour hath is trouthe y -
plyht,
By-swykenhe hath that suete wyht,thah he hire othes swet e .
4 6 SPECIMENS OF
Wymmon, war the with the swyke,
That feir ant freoly ys to fyke,
ys fare is o to founde ;
So wyde inworld ys huere won,Inuch a tonne untrewe is on,from Leycestre to Lounde.
Of treuthe nis the trichour noht,Bote he habbe iswille y -wroht,
at stevenyng nmbe stounde ;
Ah feyre levedis be ou-war,
To late cometh the 3eynchar,whenlove onhath y -bounde.
Wymmenbueth so feyr onhewe,
N e trowy none that nere trewe,
3ef trichour hem ne tahte ;
Ah feyre thinges freoly bore,Whenme onwoweth, beth war bifore,whuch isworldes ahte .
Al to late is send a3eyn,Whenthe ledy liht by leyu,ant lyveth by that he lahte
Ah wolde lylie leor inlyn
Y -here lovely lores myn,with selthe we werensahte .
4-8 SPECIMENS OF
A goute me hath y -
greythe d so ,
Ant other eveles monye mo,y not whet bote is beste ;
Thar er weswilde ase the t o,
N ony swyke, y meinout so,hit siweth me so faste .
Faste y wes onhorse heh,ant werede worly wede ;
N ou is farenal my feh,With serewe that ich hit ever
a staf isnonmy stede .
Wheny se stedenstythe installe,
Ant y go haltinde inthe halle,mynhuerte gynneth to helde ;
That er weswildest inwith walle,N onis under fote y -falle,
ant mey no fynger felde.
Ther ich wes luef, icham ful loht,Ant alle myngodes me at-goht,myngomenes waxeth gelde ;
That feyr e foundenme mete ant cloht,Hue wrieth a-wey as hue were wroht,
such is evcl ant elde .
Evel ant elde, ant other wo,foleweth me so faste,
LYRIC POETRY .
Me thunketh mynherte breketh a tuo ;
Sucte God, whi shal hit swo ?
honmai hit lengore laste 9
Whilmi lif wes luther ant lees,Glotonie mi glemonwes,
with me he wonede a while ;Prude wes my plowe fere,Locherie my lavendere,with hem is gabbe ant gyle .
Coveytise mynkeyes bere,N ithe ant onde were mi fere,that bueth folkes fyle ;
Lyare wesmi latymer,
Slenthe ant slep mi bedyner,that weneth me unbe-while .
Umbe-while y am to whene,wheny shalmurthes meten;
Monne mest y am to mene ;Lord, that hast me lyf to-lene,such lotes lef me leten
Such lyf ich have lad fol3ore,Merci, loverd ! y nulnamore,
bowenichulle to bete ;Syker hit siweth me fnl sore,Gabbes les ant luthere lore,snnnes bueth un-sete .
49
50 SPECIMENS OF
Godes beste ne huld y noht,Bote ever a3eyniswille y wroht ;monlereth me to lete
Such serewe hath mynsides thurb -soht,
That al y weolewe a-way to noht,wheny shalmurthes mete .
To mete murthes ich weswel
ant comely monta calle ;
Y sugge by other ase bi ous,
Alse ys hirmonhalt inhous,ase heved hount inhalle .
Dredful deth, why wolt thou dare,Bryng this body that is so bare,
ant ynbale y -bounde ?
Careful mon, y -cast incare,
Y falewe as flour y -let forth-fare,
ychabbe myndetheswounde .
Mnrthes helpeth me no more ;H elp me, Lord, er thenich hore,ant stunt my lyf a stounde
That gokkynhath y -
5yrned gore,N onhit sereweth him ful sore,ant bringeth him to grounde .
To grounde hit haveth him y -broht
whet ys the beste bote 9
LYRIC POETRY .
Bote heryenhim that baht us boht,Ure Lord that al thisworld hath wroht,ant fallenhim to fote .
Nou icham to dethe y -dyht,
y-donis almy dede ;
God us lene of ys lyht,
That we of soutes habbensyht
ant hevene to mede ! AME N .
XVI .
[FO]. 72,
BLow,northerne wynd,
Sent thou me my snetyng.
Blow,northerne wynd, blou,
Ichot a burde inboure bryht,That fully semly is onsyht,
Menskfnl maidenof myht,feir ant fre to fonde ;
Inal thiswnrhliche won,A bnrde of blod ant of bon
N ever 3ete y nuste non
lussomore inlonde . Blon,
With lokkes lefliche ant longe,With fronnt ant face feir to fonde,
51
SPECIMENS OE .
With murthesmonie mote heo monge,that brid so breme inboure ;
With lossom eye, grete ant gode,With browenblysfol under hode,H e that reste him onthe rode
that leflich lyf honoure Blon, etc.
H ire lure lumes liht,
A se a launterne anyht,H ire bleo blykyeth so bryht,
so feyr heo is ant fyn;A suetly snyre heo hath to holde,With armes, shnldre, ase monwolde,Ant fyngres feyre forte folde ;
God wolde hue were myn
Middel heo hath menskful smal ;
H ire loveliche chere as cristal ;The3es, legges, fet, ant al,
y-wraht wes of the beste .
A lussum ledy lasteles
That sweting is ant ever wes ;A botere burde never nes
y-heryed with the beste .
H eo is dereworthe inday ,Graciouse, stout, ant gay,Gentil, jolyf so the jay,
worhliche whenheo waketh ;Maidenmurgest of mouth,
LYRIC POETRY .
Bi est, biwest, by north ant south ;Ther nis fiele ne crouth
that such murthes maketh.
is coral of godnesse,is rubie of ryhtfulnesse,is cristal of clannesse,ant baner of bealté ;is lilie of largesse,
is parvenke of prouesse,is solsecle of snetnesse,ant ledy of lealté .
To love that leflich is inlonde,Y tolde him as ych nnderstonde,Honthis hende hath bent inhonde
onhuerte that mynwes ;Ant hire knyhtes me hanso soht,
Sykyng, sorewyng, ant thoht,Tho thre me baninbale broht,
a3eynthe poer of pees.
To love y putte pleyntes mo,Honsykyng me hath siwed so,
Ant eke thoht me thrat to 810 ,
with maistry gef he myhte ;Ant serewe sore inbalful bende,That he wolde for this hende
Me lede to my lyves ende,unlahfnlliche inlyhte .
54 SPECIMENS OF
Hire love me lustnede uch word,Ant beh him to me over bord,Ant bed me hente that hord,
of myne huerte hele ;Ant bisecheth that swete ant swote,Er thenthou falle ase fenof fote,That heo with the wolle of bote
dereworthliche dele .
For hire love y carke ant care,For hire love y droupne ant dare,For hire love my blisse is bare,
ant al ich waxe won;For hire love inslep y slake,
For hire love alnyht ich wake.For hire love monrnyng y make
more theneny mon.
lFl‘l. to .]
M ARlK. pnr tounenfaunt.
Qe est mi tot puissaunt.
e tot le mounde gnye.
a seiez de Inmengar-aunt.
Os li manfé ma d m an:
nusne eit enInn-lie !
SPECIMENS OF
E la char qe de vus prist,A la destre sonpere assist,
hautement la corona.
Pur la joie, mere Marie,
Qu’il vus fist enceste vie,
file Joachyn
Ore estes ensa compagnie,Des anngles haltement servye,
e serrez sauntz fyn.
Pnr celes joies qe je vus chaunt,De moi qe su repentant,
glorionse mere,Eyez merci, Quar enmonvivant
Serroi vostre lige serjaunt,enma povre manere.
Marie, mere Dée,
Pnr la tue seinte piete
e pur ta grant fraunchise,Escu me sciez vers le malfé
Que par tey seye salvé,e ma alme encielmyse
LYRIC POETRY .
XVIII.
[F0]. 75, N J
SHETE Jhesn, king of blysse,
Mynhuerte love, minhuerte lisse,Thou art sucte myd y
-wisse,
W0 is him that the shalmisse !
Suete Jhesn, minhuerte lyht,Thou art day with-oute nyht,Thou 3eve me streinthe ant eke myht,Forte lovienthe a-ryht .
Suete Jhesn, minhuerte botc,Inmynhuerte thou sete a rote
Of thi love, that is so swote,
Ant lene that hit springe mote .
Sucte Jhesn, minhuerte gleem,
Bryhtore thenthe sonne beem,
Y -bore thou were inBedlehccm,
Thou make me here thi sucte dreem .
Suete Jhesn, thi love is suete,VVo is him that the shall lete
Tharefore me shnldenofte the grete,W ith salte teres ant c3c wepe .
Suete Jhesn, kyng of londe,Thou make me for nnderstonde,
58 SPECIMENS OF
That minherte mote fonde,Honsuete bueth thi love honde .
Swete Jhesn, loverd myn,My lyf, mynhuerte, al is thin,Undo mynherte ant liht ther-yn,Ant wite me from fendes engyn.
Sucte Jhesn, my soule fode,Thinwerkes bueth bo suete ant gode,Thou bohtest me uponthe rode,For me thou sheddest thi hlode .
Sucte Jhesn, me reoweth sore,Gultes that y hawrotht 3ore
Tharefore y bidde thinmylse ant ore,Merci, lord, ynulna more
Suete Jhesn, loverd God,Thou me bohtest with thi blod,Out of thinhuerte om the flod,
Thi moder hit seh that the by stod.
Suete Jhesn, bryht ant shene,Y preye the thou here my bene,Thourh ernding of the hevene quene,That my bone be nonsene .
Suete Jhesn, berne best,With ich hope habbe rest,
LYRIC POETRY .
Whether y be south other west,The help of the be me nest !
Suete Jhesn, wel may him be,
That the may inblisse se
After mi soule let aungles te,For me ne gladieth gome ne gle .
Suete Jhesn, hevene kyng,Feir ant best of alle thyng,Thou bring me of this longyng,Ant come to the at mynendyng.
Suete Jhesn, al folkes reed,G raunte ons er we buended
The under-fonge infourme of bred,Ant seththe to heovene thou us led ?
X IX .
[FoL 75,
JasnCRIST, heovene kyng,
3ef ns alle god endyng,that bone biddeth the ;
A t the biginnyng of mi song,Jhesn, y the preye among,instude al wher y be ;
For thou art kyng of alle,
To the y clepie ant calle,thou have merci of me .
60 srscmsus or
This ender day ino morewenyng,With dreri herte ant gret monrnyng,onmi folie y thohte ;
One that is so suete a thing,That ber Jesse the hevene kyng,merci y besohte ;
Jhesu, for thi muchele myht,Thou graunte us alle hevene lyht,that us so duere bohtes;
For thi merci, Jhesnsuete,Thinhondy werk nult thou lete,that thouwel3erne sohtest.
Wel ichot, ant soth hit ys,That inthis world nysno blys,bote care, serewe, ant pyne ;
Tharefore ich rede we wurchen
That we mowe come to
the joye withoute fyne !
[FOL 75, wk]
“R'
s-rsnwakeneth almv care,
Nou this leveswaxeth bare.
Ofte y sike ant mourne sare.
“'
henhit unneth inmy theht
Of this erldes joie, honhit g oth al
LYRIC POETRY .
N owhit is, ant nowhit nys,A lso hit ner nere y -wys,
That monimonseith soth hit ys,A l goth bote Godes wille,Alle we shule deye, .thath us like
Al that grenme graneth grene,N ou hit faleweth al by
-dene ;Jhesn, help that hit be sene,Ant shild us from helle,For y not whider y shal, ne hon
XX I .
[FOL 76,
Wheny se blosmes springe,ant here soules song ;
A suete love-longynge
mynherte thourh out stong,A1 for a love newe,That is so suete ant trewe,that gladieth al my song ;
Ich wot al myd i-wisse
Myjoie ant eke my blisseonhim is al y
-long.
Wheny mi selve stonde,ant with myne3enseo,
duelle .
62 SPECIMENS OF
Thurled fot ant honde
with grete nayles threo ;Blody wes ys heved,Onhim nesnout bileved
that wes of peynes freo ;Wel, wel ohte mynherte
For his love to swerte,
ant sike ant sory beo.
Jesu milde ant softe,
3ef me streynthe ant myht,Longensore ant ofte
to lovye the a-ryht,
Pyne to tholie ant dre3e,For the sone, Marye,thou art so fre ant bryht,
Maydenant moder mylde,For love of thine childe,
crude us hevene lyht.
Alas that y no couthe turne
to him my thoht,
Ant cheosenhim to lemmon,so duere he us hath y-boht,
With woundes deope ant stronge,With peynes sore ant longe,
of love ne conne we noht ;His blod that fool to grounde,Of hise sucte wounde,of peyne us hath y -boht.
64 SPECIMENS or
Pur ce me tient ele fol,e tot pleynde folye.
Enverite le vus dy ,Si ma amie me ust garny ,
je usse pris amye .
Je pri a Dieu, etc.
Certes uncore la ameray ,quei que l
’
em me dye ;
E par taunt asayerai
si amour soit folie .
Par cest chaunsonnportez salutz a ma tresdouce
Quar ne vueil antre message, quei que je me
Si ele die riende moi,
Que me ayme enbone foy,Ja ayloursne ameroi,
taunt come su envie .
Je pri a Dieu, etc.
XXIII .
[FO]. 76, m ]
Dum ludisfloribm velut lacinia,
Le dieu d’amour moi tient entiel
Merour me tient de duel e de miseria,
Si je ne la ay quam ama sup er omnia.
LYRIC POETRY .
Bj us amor tautum mefacitj awere ;
Qe je ne soi quid p ossum indefacere ;Pnr ly covent [we swculum relinquere .
Si je ne pus l’
amour de li perquirere.
Ele est si bele e gente dame egregia,
Cum ele fnst imp eratorz’
sfi lia,De bea] semblant et pulem coutineucia,Ele est la flur inomm
'
regis curia.
Quant je la vey , je su intaligloria,
Come est la lune caelz’
inter sidera
Dieu la moi doint sua misericordia
Beyser e fere quce secuntur alia
Senpsi haze cam iua intabulz'
s .’
Monostel est enmi la vile de Paris
May y sugge namore, so we] me is ;
gef hi dege for love of hire, duel hit ys.
XXIV.
[FO]. 77,
MARIE, more a] Salveour,
De totes femmes estes flour ;Vus estes pleyne de grant doconr,Vus estes refu a] pecchcour.
65
SPECIMENS OF
Dame, vus estes virgine e mere,Espouse a le haltisme piere ;Vus estes pleyne de bounté,Vus estes dame de piete.
Tonnfitz , dame, est vostre pere,E vus file e samere,
Tresbele, tresnoble, e treschere,A tonspeccheours estes lumere .
De totes femmes estes laflour,De pureté e de douz odour ;Mestresse estes de lel amour,Marie, mere a] Salveour.
Digne ne sui de estre oye,
Pnr mondesert e ma folie,Mes par vus, qe estes douz e pie,Espier je bienaver la vie.
Marie, pleyne de bounté,Marie, pleyne de charité,Douce est vostre amysté,De moi cheitif eiez piete.
Tonfitz , dame, me ad cher achate,E grant amour a moi mostré
Alas ! trop poi le ay pensée,
Qe molt ay ver ly meserré.
Quant je regard mes pecchiez ,Bienquide certes estre dampnez ;
Mes quant regard-je vos grant bountez ,
Grant espoir ay de salvetez .
Dame, pur nus devynt enfaunt
Ly douz Jesu, roi puissaunt
Pnr vus, dame, nus ama taunt,Dame, seiez nostre garaunt .
E nus par vus averum la vie ;
Quar vus li estes si chere amye,
Qenule riena vus desdief"
Pensez de nus, douce Marie .
A ve, de totes la plus digne ;A ve, de totes la plus benigne ;A ve, de totes graces signe ;Pur moi priez que su indigne .
Mostrez , dame, qe tu es men
A tounfitz e a tounpere ;A ly portez ma priere,
Qe je pus vere sa chere,Tresdonce dame debonere .
Dame, moi donez vostre enfaunt,
Qe de vus si fust l’
estannt,Par vostre doucour fetez taunt,Autre chose ne vous demaunt .
67
' 68 SPECIMENS OF
[FO]. 77, via]
DULC IS JHE SU MEMORIA .
JE SU , suete is the love of the,
N othing so suete may be ;
A] that may with e3ense,
Havethno snetnesse ageynes the.
Jhesn, nothing may be snettere,N e noht oneorthe blysfulere,
N oht may be feled lykerusere,Thenthou so suete alumere.
Jhesn, thi love wes ous so fre,That we from hevene brohtenthe ;For love thou deore bohtest me,For love thou hong onrode tre.
Jhesu, for love thou tholedest wrong,Woundes sore ant pine strong ;Thine peynes rykene hit were long,N e may hem tellenspelne song.
Jhesn, for love thou dre3edest wo,Blody stremes ronne the fro,That thi bodiwes blak ant blo,For oure sunnes hit wes so.
LYRIC POETRY . 69
Jhesn, for love thou stehe onrode,For love thou se3e thinheorte blode ;
Love thou madest oure soule fode,Thi love us brohte to alle gode.
Jhesn, mi lemman, thou art so fre
That thou degedest for love of me ;
Whet shal y tharefore 3elde the ?
Thar nysnoht bote hit love be.
Jhesn, my God, Jhesu, my kyng,Thouna askesd me nonother thing,Bote trewe love ant eke servyng,
Ant leve teres with suete monrnyng.
Jhesu, my lyf, Jhesn, my lyht,[ch love the, ant that is ryht ;Do me love the with a] mi myht,Ant for the mournenday ant nyht
Jhesn, do me so serventhe,That ever mi thoht uponthe be,With thine suete e3enloke towart me,Ant myldeliche myne y preie a] that thou se.
Jhesu, thi love be a] mi thoht,Of other thing ne recche y noht ;Y gyrne to have thiwille y -wroht,For thou me havest wol deore y -boht .
SPECIMENS OF
We] longe thonhavest y -spared me,The more oh ich to lovie the,That thou me havest benso fre,Thy bae of thom es, thy nayles thre,The sharpe spere that thonrh-stong the .
Jesu, of love soth tocknynge,Thinarmes spredeth to mankynde,Thinheved donnboweth to suete cussinge,Thinside al openeth to love-longynge .
Jhesn, whenich thenke onthe,Ant loke uponthe rode tre,Thi suete body to-toreny se,
Hit maketh heorte to emerte me .
Jhesn, the quene that by the stod,Of love teres he weop a flod ;Thinwoundes ant thinholy blod
Made hire huerte of dreori mod.
Jhesn, suete love the dude gredyn,Love the made blod to sueten;For love thou were sore y -beten;Love the dude thi lyf to-leten.
Jhesn, fyf woundes ich fynde inthe,Thy love sprenges tacheth me,Of blod ant water the stremce be,
Us to whosshe from oure fonthre .
SPECIMENS OF
Jhesn, 3ef thou for -letest me,What may mi lykyng of that y -se,Maino god blisse with me be,Or that thou come ageynto me.
Jesu, 3ef thou bist 3eorne bysoht,Whenthou comest ant ellesnoht,N O fleishliche lnst ne wicked thoht
Into mynheorte ne be y -broht.
Jesu, mi soule is spoused to the,Ofte ych habbe mis-donageynes the,Jhesn, thimerci iswe] fre,Jhesu, merci y crie to the .
Jbeen, with herte thi love y crave,‘
Hit bihoveth nede that ich hit have ;The deu of grace uponme lave,Ant from alle barmes thou me save.
Jesu, from me be a] that thyng,That me may be to mislikyng ;A] that isnede thou me bryng ;To have thi love is my 3yrnyng.
Jhesu, mi lif of milde mod,Mi soule hath gret noode of thi god,
Tak hire treufole ant tholemod,Ant fu] hire of thi love blod
LYRIC POETRY .
Jesu, my soule bidde y the,Everemore wel us be ;
Jesu, almyhtful hevene kyng,Thi love is awe] derne thing.
Jesu, welmai mynherte se,
That milde ant meoke he mot be,Alle unthewes ant lustes fle,That felenwole the blisse Of the .
Jesu, thah ich be unworthi
To love the, loverd almyhti,
Thi love me maketh to benhardy,Ant donme al inthinmerci.
Jesu, thi mildenesse froreth me,For no monmai so sunful be,
gef he let sunne ant to the fle,That ne fynd socour at the .
For sunful folk, suete Jesus,Thou lihtest from the hege hous,Pore ant loge thou were for ous.
Thinheorte love thou sendest ous.
Jesu, for-thi byseche y the,Thi sucte love thou graunte me,That ich thareto worthi be,Make me worthi that art so fre .
SPECIMENS OF
Jesu, thou art so god a mon,Thi love y gyrne also y con
Tharefore ne lette me nomon,Thah ich for love be blac ant won.
Jesu, al suete, Jesu, a] god,Thi love drynketh mynheorte blod,Thi love maketh me so swythe wod,That y ne drede for no fiod.
Jesu, thi love is sucte ant strongMi lif is al onthe y -long,Tech me, Jhesn, thi love song,With suete teres ever among.
Jesu, do me to serventhe,Wher inlonde so y be ;Whenich the fynde, wel ys me,
gef thou ne woldest a-wey fie.
Jesu, gef thou from me go,
Mi soule is fol of serewe ant wo ;
Whet may I sugge, bote wolawo !
Whenmi lif isme at-go ?
Jesu, thinore thou rewe of me ;
For whenne shal ich come to the ;Jesu, thi lore biddeth me,With a] mynherte lovie the .
LYRIC POETRY .
Jesu, mi lif, Jhesn, my kyng,My soule haveth to the gyrnyng ;Whenthi wille is, to the hire bryng,Thou art suetest of alle thyng.
Jesu, that deore bostest me,Make me worthi come to the,Alle mi sunnes for-gef thou me,That ich with blisse the mowe se .
Jesn, so feir, Jhesn, so briht,That I biseche with a] my myht,Bring mi soule into the lyht,Ther is day withoute nyht .
Jesu, thinhelp at mynendyng,Ant ine that dredful out wendyng,Send mi soule god weryyng,That y ne drede noneovel thing.
Jesn, thi grace that is so fre
Insiker hope do thou me,A t-scapenpeyne ant come to the
To the blisse that ay shal be .
Jesu, Jesu, fulwe] benhe
That yue thi blisse mowenbe,Ant fulliche habbe the love of the !
Sucte Jesu, thou graunte it me !
75
SPECIMENS OF
Jesu, thy love haveth nonendyng,Ther nisno serowe ne no wepyng,Bote joie ant blisse ant lykyng ;Sucte Jesu, hare-to us bryng ! AMEN .
XXVI .
[FO] . 78, v0] .
Une petite parole, seigneurs, escotez ,De ce que je vus counteraine me blamerez
Mes moltz des biens apre[n]dre,Si vus volez entendre,Trestons vous poez .
Adam fust premerement
Le premer fet de tote gent,ApresDieu meismes fust fourme,Come enEscrit nus est mostré
E Eve de sonnnu costé,
Come Dieu voleit, fust taillé,
La quele primes fist pecchie,Donut nns fumes tonz dampné.
Ce vist Jhesnle Salveour,De tot le mound creatour,
Que enli fust nostre socour,
N ostre eyde e nostre honour ;
H oume devynt e enfaunt,
E pur nus sofi'
ry peyne graunt ;
LYRIC POETRY .
Molt nus fust verroi amaunt,N e se feyna taunt ne qnaunt,Enla croiz si fnmounte,E sonncuer par mi percé .
Alas ! qe taut serroit pene,Ci] qe unque ne fist pecchie
Des espines fust coronée,E d
’
escourges flaelé,
Fe] 9. boyvre ly fust doné .
Molt devoms aver grant piete
De sa benigne humilité
N e fust orgoil enly trove,
Que pout tendre a nu] pecchie
Pur ce vus pri remenbrez
Quei il sofii'y pur nos pecchiez ,E de ly sovent pensez,Quant vus estes rientemptez ,De pecchié fere ou folie,De averice onenvie,De hayne onde lecherie,
De coveytise onglotonie,Onde orgoil ensement,
Qe est racyne verroiement
De tonsmals onde tons pecchiez
Pur Dieu de ly vus Dieu gardez !
Quar Lucifer par cel pecchie,
Que fust de Dieu molt bienamé,E enciel molt halt mounté,Enenfernchiet tot parfonnd,LE ontouz remeyndronnt
77
SPECIMENS OF
Que enorguil sunt pris,Yleque serrount i] tot dis
E pur ce si vus seiez
Engrant honour enhauncez ,E de grant saver aournez ,Onde grant force onbealtez ,De cc ne vus enorguyllez ,Pensez de vusmeismes salver,E quant temps est a Dieu servyr,
N e pas tons jonrs a gayner
N e facez pas come lesnns fount,
Que de Dieu rienne pensonnt,Mes tot onut doné lur cuer
N uit e jour alnr gaigner,Des queux il fet ame rviler,De Dieu ne pensent, ne de sa mort,Mes si i nissent riena tort
Gaygner par nulle fancine,Ou par robberie onpar ravyne,De averice snnt englywé,
Q’
est nu mortel pecchie,Jamesne quident assez aver
Mes come la terre lur dust feiler
De quele gent fet a doter,Si ilne se vueillent amender .
Pur ce vus pri-je bonement
Qe vus donez entendement,E cc qe vus oiez counter,A fi
'
orcez -vus de cc tener,E apres eel trestonz overyr .
80 SPECIMENS OF
P188 e meyns par mi pierce
Riant ne serranul trove,
Que ly averount regard
Molt serra hidous quant jugera
N’
y averanul qe noise fra
Chesounserra rewerdoné
Come i] avera deservy gré .
Engrant joie les bons irronnt,E 121 sauntz fynremeindrount,os totes maneres de joies sunt .
Pnr ce vus vueil-je or garnyr,
Que vus pensez a Dieu,servyr,
E la joie graunde aver
Que nulle lange pnet counter .
Y eelnus doint ly Salveour,De cel e terre empereonr
Amen, amen, pur sa doucour
XXVII .
[FOL 79, r0.]
STOND wel, moder, under rode,By
-holt thy sone with glade mode ;blythe, moder, myht thou be.
”
Sone, honshulde y blithe stonde
Y se thinfet, y se thinhonde,nayled to the harde tre.
”
LYRIC POETRY .
Moder, do wey thy wepinge
Y thole deth for mankynde,for my gult thole y non.
”
Sone, y fele the dede stounde,The suert is at mynherte grounde,that me byhet Symeon.
Moder, merci, let me deye,For Adam out of helle beye,ant his kunthat is for-lore .
Sone, what shal me to rede ?
My peyne pyneth me to dede,lat me dege the by -fore 3”
Moder, thou rewe a] of thi bern,Thou wosshe a-wai the blody tern,hit doth me worse thenmy ded.
Sone, honmay y tereswerne ?
Y se the blody/
stremes erne
from thinherte to my fet .
Moder, nony may the seye,Betere is that ich one deye.
thena] monknnde to helle go.
Sone, y se thi bodi byswngen,Fet ant hondenthourh-out stongen,no wonder thah me be wo.
”
Moder, nowy shal the telle,
gef y ne dege, thou gost to helle,y thole (led for thine sake .
”
81
82 SPECIMENS OF
Sone, thou art so meke ant mynde,N e wyt me naht, hit is my kynde,that y for the this sorewe make.
Moder, nou thou miht we] leren,Whet sorewe haveth that childrenberen,whet sorewe hit iswith childe gon.
”
Sorewe y -wis, y conthe telle ;Bote hit be the pyne of helle,more sorewe wot y non.
”
Moder, rew of moder kare,For nou thou wost of moder fare,thou thou be elene maydenmon.
Sone, help at alle nede
Alle tho that to me grede,maiden, wif, ant folwymmon.
Moder, may y no lengore duellc,The time is come y shal to helle,
the thridde day y ryse upon.
”
Sone, y wilwith the founden,Y deye y -wis for thine wounden,
so sorewefn] ded nesnever non.
”
Whenhe ros, tho fel hire sorewe,H ire blisse sprong the thridde morewe,
blythe moder were thou tho.
L evedy , for that ilke blisse,Bysech thi sone of sunnes lisse,thou be oure sheld ageynoure fo.
LYRIC POETRY
Blessed be thou, ful of blysse,Let usnever hevene misse,thourh thi suete sones myht !
Loverd, for that ilke blod,
That thou sheddest onthe rod,thou bring us into hevene lyht
XXVI II .
[FO]. 79, v0.]
JE SU, for thi muchele miht,
thou gef us of thi grace,That we mowe dai ant nyht
thenken0 thi face .
Inmynherte hit doth me god,
WVheny thenke onJesu blod,that randonnbi ys syde,
From his herte dounto his fot,For ous he spradde is herte blod,his woudes were so wyde .
Wheny thenke onJhesnded,minherte over-werpes,
Mi soule iswonso is the led
for my fole werkes.
Fulwo is that ilke mon,That Jhesu ded ne thenkes on,what he sofi
’
rede so sore
AMEN
83
84 SPECIMENS OF
For my synnes y wilwete ,Ant alle y wyle hem for-lete
nou ant evermore .
Monthat is injoie ant blis,ant lith inshame ant synne,
H e ismore thennu-wis
that ther-of nulnout blynne.
Al thisworld hit geth a-way ,Me thynketh hit negyth domesday,nou mangos to grounde ;
Jhesu Crist that tholede ded,H e may oure soules to hevene led,withinne a lute] stounde.
Thah thou have al thi wille,thenk onGodeswoudes,
For that we me shulde spille,he tholede harde stoundes ;
A] for monhe tholede ded,
gyf he wyle leve onis red,
ant leve his folie,“r
e shule have joie ant blis,More thenwe conne seieny -wys
inJesu compagnie .
Jhesu, that wes milde ant fue,weswith spere y
-stonge ;He wasnailed to the tre,with scourges y
-swongen.
LYRIC POETRY .
A] for monhe tholede shame,
Withoutengult, Withoutenblame,bothe day ant other .
Mon,fulmuchel he lovede the ,
Whenhe wolde make the frs,ant bicome thi brother .
XXIX .
[F0]. 80, r0 ]
I SYKE wheny singe,
for sorewe that y se,
Wheny with wypinge
biholde uponthe tre ,Ant se Jhesu the suete
Is herte blod for-lete,for the love of me ;
Y swoundeswaxenwete,
Theiwepenstille ant mete
Marie, reweth the .
H ege upona doune,ther a] folk hit so may ,
A mile from uch toune .
aboute the midday,The rode is up arered,H is frendes arenafered
ant clyngeth so the clay ;
85
SPECIMENS OF
Whose wolfleysh lust for-gon,ant hevene blis abyde,
OnJhesnbe is thoht anon,that therled was ys side .
From Petresbourh in0 morewenyngA s y me wende omy pleygyng,
onmi folie y thohte,Meneny gonmy monrnyngTo hire that ber the hevene kyng,
of merci hire by-sohte :
L edy, preye thi sone for ous,
that us duere bohte,Ant shild us from the lothe hous
that to the fend iswrohte.
Mynherte of dedeswes for-dred,Of synne that y have my fleish fed,ant folewed a] my tyme ;
That y not whider I shal be led,
Wheny lygge ondethes bed,injoie ore into pyne.
On0 ledy mynhope is,moder ant virgyne,Whe shuleninto hevene blis
thurb hire medicine.
Batere is hire medycyn,Theneny mede or eny wyn;hire crbes smulleth suete ;
90 SPECIMENS or
XXXI .
[FO] . 80, v0 .]
My deth y love, my lyf ich hate, for a levedy shene,H eo is brith so daies liht, that is onme we] sene
A] y falewe so doth the lef insomer whenhit is grene,
gef mi thoht helpeth me noht, to Wham shal y me mene
Sorewe ant syke ant drery mod byndeth me so faste,
That y wene to walke wod, gef me lengore laste ;My serewe,my care, a]with aword,hemyhte a-wey caste
W het helpeth the, my sucte lemmon, my lyf thus forte
gaste
Do wey , thou clerc, thou art a fol, with the bydde y
noht chyde ;
Shalt thou never lyve that day , mi love that thou shalt
byde ;
gef thou inmy boure art take, shame the may bi-tyde,The is bettere onfote gon, thenwycked hors to ryde.
”
Wey-la-wei whi seist thou so ? thou rewe onme, thy
man;
Thou art ever inmy thoht, inlonde wher ich am ;
gef y dege for thi love, hit is the mykel sham ;
Thou lete me lyve, ant be thy luef, ant thou my sucte
lemman.
”
LYRIC POETRY . 91
Be stille, thou fol, y calle the ritht, cost thounever
blynne ;Thouar twayted day ant nyhtwith faderanta]my kyune
Be thou inmi bour y -take, lete they for no synne,Me to holde ant the to slon, the deth so thou maht
wynne.
”
Suete ledy, thou wend thi mod, sorewe thouwolt me
kythe
Ich am a] so sory mon, so ich waswhylenblythe ;Ina wyndou ther we stod, we cnste us fyfty sythe ;Feir biheste maketh mony mona] is serewes mythe.
W ey-la-wey whi seist thou so ? mi serewe thou
makest newe
Y lovede a clerk al par amours, of love hewesful trewe,H e nesnout blythe never a day, bote he me sone sege,
Ich lovede him botere thenmy lyf, whet bote is hit to
lege
Whil y wes a clerc inseole, we] muche] y couthe of
lore,Y ch have tholed for thy love woundes fele sore ;Fer from [horn] ant eke from menunder the wode gore ;Sucte ledy, thou rewe of me, nou may y no more.
Thou semest we] to bena clerc, for thou spekest so
stille
Shalt thounever for mi love woundes thole grylle ;Fader,moder, ant a] my kun, ne shalme holde so stille,That ynam thynant thou art myn, to donal thiwille .
”
92 SPECIMENS OF
XXXII .
[FOL 80, v0.]'
WHE N the nyhtegale singes, the wodeswaxengrene,Lef ant gras ant blosme springes inAvery], y wene,Ant love is to mynherte gonwith one spere so kene,N yht ant day my blod hit drynkes, mynherte deth me
tene.
Ich have loved a] this ger, that y may .love namore,Ich have siked moni syk, lemmon, for thinore ;Me nis love never the ner, ant that me reweth sore .
Suete lemmon, thench onme, ich have loved the gore .
Suete lemmon, y preye the of love one speche,Whil y lyve inworld sowyde other nulle y seche ;
W ith thy love, my suete leof, mi blisthoumihtes eche,A suete cos of thy mouth mihte be my leche .
Suete lemmon, y prege the of a love bene ;
gef thou me lovest, ase mensays, lemmon, as y wene,Ant gef hit thiwille be, thou loke that hit be sene,
So muchel y thenke uponthe, that al y waxe grene .
Bituene Lyneolne ant Lyndeseye, N orhamptounant
Lounde,N e wot y nonso fayr a may as y go fore y -bonnde
Suete lemmon, y prege the thou lovie me a stounde,
Y wole mone my song onWham that hit ys ony -long.
94 SPECIMENS OF
Levedi, scinte Marie, so fair ant so briht,Al mynhelp is onthe bi day ant by nyht,L evedi fre, thou shilde me so we] as thou myht,That y never for-leose heveriche lyht .
Levedy, seinte Marie, so fayr ant so hende,Preye JhesnCrist thi sone, that he me grace sende,So to queme him ant the, er ich henne wende,That he me bringe to the blis that is Withoutenende .
Ofte y crie merci, of mylse thou art welle,Alle buenfalse that buethmad bothe of fleyshe ant felle
Levedi suete, thou us shild from the pine of helle,Bring us to the joie that no tonge hit may of telle .
JhesnGrist, Godes sone, fader ant holy gost,H elp us at oure nede, as thou hit a] we] wost ;Bring us to thinriche ther is joie most,Let usnever hit misse for nonworldes bost !
XXXIV.
[FO]. 8 1 v0 .]
A SE y me rod this ender day ,By grene wode to seche play,Mid herte y thohte a] ona may ,
suetest of alle thinge ;Kythe, ant ichou telle maya] of that suete thinge .
LYRIC POETRY .
This maidenis sucte ant fre of
Briht ant feyr, of milde mod,Alle heo mai donus god,thurb hire bysechynge ;
Of hire he tok fleysh ant blod,Jhesnhevene kynge.
With a] mi lif y love that may ,H e is mi solasnyht ant day ,My joie ant eke my beste play,ant eke my love-longynge ;
Al the betere me is that daythat ich of hire synge .
Of alle thinge y love hire mest,My dayes blis, my nyhtes rest,H eo counseileth ant helpeth best
bothe elde ant gynge ;N owy may gef y wole
the fif joyes mynge .
The furst joie of that wynman,WhenGabriel from hevene cam,
Ant seide God shulde bicome man,
ant of hire be bore,Ant bringe up of helle pyu
monkynthat wes for-lore.
That other joie of that may,
Wes o Cristesmasse day ,WhenGod wes bore onthore lay ,
95
96 SPECIMENS OF
ant brohte us lyhtnesse
Thestriwes seie byfore day ,
this hirdes hereth wy tnesse .
The thridde joie of that levedy,That menclepeth the Epyphany ,Whenthe kynges come wery,to presente hyre sone
W ith myrre, gold, ant encenz ,that wes monbicome.
The furthe joie we telle mawen,OnEster morewe wenhit gondawen,Hyre sone that wes slawen,aros infleyshe ant bon;
More joie ne mai me haven
wyf ne maydennon.
The fifte joie of that wymman,Whenhire body to hevene cam,
The soule to the body nam,
ase hit weswoned to bene ;Crist leve us alle with that wymman
that joie a] forte sene .
Preye we alle to oure levedy ,Ant to the soutes that woneth hire by,That heo of us havenmerci,
ant that we me misse
Inthisworld to benholy,ant wynne hevene blysse AME N .
98 SPECIMENS OF
Onstonase thou stode,
p ucele, tot p ensaunt,
Thou restest the under rode,tonfitz veitesp endant
Thou sege is sides of blode,l’
alme de lg p ar taunt
H e ferede uch anfode,enmound quefust vivaunt.
Y S sidenwere sore,le sang de lg cora
That loud wes for-lore,mes il le reekata.
Ueh bernthat wes y -bore,en
H e tholede deth therfore,encielpuis mounta.
Tho Pilat herde the tydynge,moltfuj ogous baroun
H e lette byfore him brynge
Jesu N az aroun.
H e was y-erouned kynge,
pur nostre redemp cioun
Whose wolme synge,avera grant p ardoun.
LYRIC POETRY .
XXXVI .
[FO]. 106, ro.]
GOD, that a] this myhtes may ,inhevene ant orthe thy wille y S 00,
Ichabbe be losed mony a day,
or ant late y be thy foo ;Ich wes to wyte ant wiste my lay ,longe habbe holde me ther-fro ;
Vol of merci thou art ay ,
a] ungreythe icham to the to go.
To go to him that hath ous boht,my gode dedenbueth fol smalle
Of the werkes that ich hawroht,the beste is bittrore thenthe galle .
My god ich wiste, y nolde hit noht,infolie me wes luef to falle
Wheny my self have thourh-soht,
y knowe me for the wrst of alle.
God, that degedest onthe rod,
a] thisworld to forthrenant fylle,For ous thou sheddest thi suete blod,
that y ha donme lyketh ylle ;Bote er ageynthe stith y stod,.
er ant late, londe ant stille,Of myne dedenfynde y nongod,Lord, of me thou do thy wille .
99
100 SPECIMENS OF
Inherte ne myhte y never bowe,no to my kunde loverd drawe
My meste vo ys my loves trowe,Crist ne stod me never hawe ;
Ich holde me vilore thena Gyw,
ant y my self wolde bue knowe ;Lord, merci rewe me now,
reyse up that ys falle lowe .
God, that a] thisworld shal hede,thy gode myht thou hast inwolde,
Onerthe thou com for oure nede,for ous sunfulwere boht ant solde ;
Whenwe bueth dempned after ur dede,
a domesday whenryhtes bueth tolde,Whenwe Shule suenthy wonnde blede,to speke thenne we bueth unholde .
Unbold icham to bidde the bote,swythe nnrekeny S my rees ;
Thy wille ne welk y ner a fote,to wickede werkes y me chees ;
Fals y wes incrop ant rote,wheny seyde thy lore was lees ;
Jesu Crist, thou be mi bote,S0 bounicham to make my pees.
A lnnrekenis my ro,
Loverd Crist, whet shal y say ?
Of myne dedenfynde y nonfro,no nothyng that y thenke may .
OF
Monis mad of feble fom,
N e hath he no syker born,to stunte alle weystille ;
Ys ryhte stude is elleswer,Jhesn, bring us alle ther,
gef hit be thy wille
The fleysh stout ageynthe gost,Whenthou shalt dege, ner thou nost
nouther day ne nyht
Onstede ne sitte thou ner so hege,
get a-last thou shalt dege,
grey th the whil thou myht.
Infalse wonyng is monnes lyf,Whendeth draweth is Sharpe knyf,
do the some to shryve ;
For gef thou const loke ariht,N ast thou nothyng bote fyht,
whil thou art a-lyve .
thou hast wrong, ant nou ryht ;
thou art bevy, ant nonlyht ;thou lepest ase a roo ;
thou art sekest, ant nou holest ;
thou art rychest, ant nou porest ;nis this muche woo ?
Thy fleysh ne swyketh nyht ne day,Hit wol haneyse whil hit may,
ant the soule sayth, “nay ;
LYRIC POETRY . 103
3ef ich the buere to muche meth,Thou wolt me bringe to helle deth,
ant wo that lesteth ay .
Thus hit geth bituene hem tuo,
That onsaith, let, that other seyth, do,ne conne hue nout lynne
Welwe mowe alle y -se,
The soule shulde maister be,
The pris forte wynne .
N e be thounout thi fleysh uncouth,Loke wet cometh out of thy mouth,
ant elleswher wythonte ;
gef thou nymest wel god keep,N e fyndest thou nonso fyl dung-beep,
ant thou loke aboute .
N ou thou hast inthat foul hous,A thyng that is ful precious,
ful duere hit ys aboht ;Icholde the ful wilde ant wod,
gef thou lesest so muche god,ant gevest hit for noht .
Mon, be war ant eke wis,
gef thou fallest, sone arys,ne ly thounone stounde ;
With a] thi myhte thou do this,Thy soule sit ant soth hit ys,
blysse ichave y-founde .
104 SPEOIMENS OF
Mon, thou havest wicked fon,The alre worst is that on,
here nomes y shal telle ;Thynonne fleysh, thy worldes fend,That best shulde be thy frend,
that most doth the to quelle .
Thou clothest him infeir shroud,Ant makest thy fomonfat ant proud,
gof y durste seyu ;Thou dest thy selve muche wrong,Thou makest him so fat ant strong,
to fyhte the ageyn.
Do my counsail ant my reed,W ithdrah bym Ofte of is breed,
ant gof him water drynke ;N0 lot hym nothing ydel go,Bote pyne do bym ant wo,
ant Ofte let hym swynke .
Coveytiso of mony thyng,The world the bringeth infleish lykyng,
ant geveth the more ant more ;Fals he is, ant feyr he semeth,
Arle best whenhe the quemeth,he byndeth the fol sore .
Thenne shal he go to noht,Nast thou nothing hvder v-br oht,
ne nout shalt buere wvth the ;
lo6 SPECIMENS OF
Hue etenant dronkenant madenhuem
Huere lyf a] with joie y -lad,
me knelede huem by-fore ;
Hue berenhuem so swythe hege,Ant ina twynglyng of anego
so hue buenfor-lore.
Wher bueth hue thy wedes longe
Thismuchele murthe, joie, ant songe,this havekes ant this honndes ?
A l that weole is wend a-way ,
Ant a] is turud towey-la-wey !
to mouye harde stoundes.
Huere parais hue madenhere,Ant nou hue liggeth inhelle y -fere,
that fur huem berneth ever ;
Stronge y pyne ant stronge inwo,
Longe is ay, ant longe ys 0,out ne cometh hue never .
gof the feond, the foule thyng,
Thourh wycked werk, other eggyng,
a-dounbath the y -east ;
Up ant be god champioun,
Stond, ant fa] no more adoun
for a lute] blast .
Tao the rode to thy staf,
Ant thenk onhim that for the gaf
his lyf, that wes so luef ;
He hit gef, thou thonke bym ;
Agoyu thy fo such staf thounym,
ant wrek the onthat thnef.
LYRIC POETRY .
XXXVIII .
[FO]. 112, N J
Femmes a la pye
Portent eompagnye
enmauers e enmours ;
Eseotez que vus dye,
E quele assocye
yl tienent enamours.
La pie de costume
Porte penne e plum
de divers colours ;E femme se delite
Enestraunge habite,de divers atours.
La pie ad longe cowe
Que pend enlabowe,
pur la pesauncie ;
E femme fet la sowe
Plus long que nule cowe
de pounonde pye.
La pie est jangleresse,E reelement cesse
de mostrer ouele est
E la femme pur sonus,D
’
assez jangle plus;issinature crest.
107
l08 M ES S OF
Par jangle de la pie
Um vient atroverye,
Femme par parole
Meynt honme afole,e ]y rend tot mat .
Vus troverez la pye
Si pleynde boydie,
que ele se garde bien;Mes la femme pase
La pie encele grace,quar ele ne doute rien.
La pie enarbre haut
Enfreit 0 enchant,prent sounrepos;
E femme velt reposer
Enhautesse de cuer,e do syro 108.
Lapie quant ele grove,Countre sonmary love,0 l
’
enchaee do ly ;E femme do grant cuer,Sonbarounpar teneer
fet autr esy .
l’ur ieelo gyse,Jo lou que um se avyse,
avaunt qu’
il soit mary.
E nequedent la pye
SooneompaignouneSpye,
l10 SPECIMENS OF
XXXIX.
[F 0 ]. 114 , Va ]
MON inthe mone stond ant strit,onis bot forke is burthenhe hereth ;
H it is muche wonder that he nadounslyt,
for doute leste he valle he shoddreth ant shereth.
Whenthe forst freseth, muche chele he hyd ;the thornes beth kene, is hattrento-tereth ;
N isno wytht inthe world that wot wenhe syt,
ne, bote hit bue the hegge, whet wedes he wereth.
Whider trowe this monha the wey take,he hath set his 0 fot is other to-foren;
For nonhithte that he hathne sytht me bym ner shake,he is the sloweste monthat ever wes y -boren;Wher he were othe feld pyechynde stake,for hope of ys thornes to duttenis doren,
He mot myd is twy-byl other trons make,
other a] is dayeswerk ther were y -loren.
This ilke monuponheh whener he were,wher he were ythe mone borenant y -fed,
H e leneth onis forke ase a grey frere,this erokede caynard sore he is a-dred ;
H it is mony day go that he was here,
iehot of is crude he nath nout y -sped.
H e hath hewe sum wher a burthenof brere,
tharefore sum hay-ward hath takenyswed.
LYRIC POETRY 111
gef thy wed ys y-take, bring bornthe trons,
sete forth thynother fot, stryd over sty ;
We shule preye the hay -wart hom to ur hous,
ant makenbym at heyse for the maystry ;Drynke to bym deorly of fol god bous,ant oure dame douse shal sittenbym by,Whenthat he is dronke ase a dreynt mons,thenne we shule borewe the wed ate bayly .
This monhereth me nont, thah ich to bym crye ;ichot the cher] is def, the De] hym to-drawe !
Thah ich gege uponheth nulle nout hye .
the lostlase ladde connout o lawe.
Hupe forth, Hubert, hosede pye,ichot thart a-marstled into the mawe .
Thah me teone with bym that mynteh mye,the cherld nu] nout a-douner the day dawe.
[F0]. 128, Foo]
LUTEL wot hit anymon,howlove bym haveth y
-bounde,That for us othe rode ron,ant bohte us with iswounde.
The love of him us haveth y-maked sounde,
Ant y -east the grimly gost to grounde ;Ever ant oo, nyht ant day , he haveth us inis thohte,H e nulnout leose that he so deore bohte .
112 SPECIMENS OF
H e bohte us with is holy blod,what shulde he donus more ?
H e is so meoke, milde, ant good,he nagulte nout ther-fore
That we hany -don, y rede we reowensore,
Ant crienever to Jhesn, Crist, thynore .
Ever ant 00, niht ant day , etc.
H e seh his fader so wonder wroht,with monthat wes y -falle,
With herte sor he seide is oht
whe shulde abnggenalle ;H is suete sone to bym gonclepe ant calle,Ant preiede he moste deye for us alle .
Ever ant 00 , etc.
H e brohte us alle from the deth,ant dude us frendes dede ;
Subte Jhesu of N azareth,thou do us hevene mede ;
Uponthe rode, why nulle we takenhede,H is grene wounde so grimly conne blede .
Ever ant 00, etc.
His deope woundenbledeth fast,of hem we ohte munne ;
H e hath ous out of helle y -east,
y-broht us out of sunne ;
For love of us hiswonges waxeth thunne,
H is herte blod he gef for a] monkunne .
Ever ant 00 , etc.
114 SPECIMENS OF
Mury hit ys inhyre tour,wyth hatheles ant wyth heowes;
S0 hit is inhyre bour,with gomenes ant with gleowes ;
Bote heo me lovye, sore hit wolme rewe
W0 is him that loveth the love that nernnlbe trewe
Ever ant 00, etc.
Fayrest fode upo loft,my gode luef, y the greete,
A se fele sythe ant oft
as dewes dropes beth weete ;A S sterres beth inwelkne, ant grases sour ant suete ;Whose loveth untrewe, his herte is selde secte .
Ever ant 00, etc.
FIN IS .
nlcaaaos, Patxr z a. 100, ST uaar rx 5 u s e .
COUNCIL
OF
may S mitty.
P resident.
TH E RT . HON . LORD BRAYBROOKE, F .S.A .
THOMAS AMYOT , E SQ. F .R.S . TREAS . S .A .
W ILLIAM H ENRY BLACK, E SQ.
J . A . CAH USAC, E SQ. P.S.A .
WILL IAM CH APPELL, E SQ. P.S .A . Treasurer .
JOH N PAYNE COLLIER, E SQ. F.S .A .
T . CROFTON CROKER, E SQ. P.S .A .
REV. A LEXANDER DYCE .
JAMES ORCHARD H ALLIWELL,E SQ. F .R.S.
G . P. R . JAMES, E SQ.
WI LLIAM JERDAN , ESQ. P.S .A .
CHARLES MACKAY , E SQ.
T . J. PETTIGREW , E SQ. F .R .S . P.S .A .
E . F . RIMBAULT . E SQ Secretary .
JAMES WALSH ,E SQ
THOMAS WRIGHT , E SQ. M .A . F .S .A .
early tracts oncookery, including this, would be
a curious and evenvaluable additionto archaeo
logical literature . Those who are engaged in
researches. of this nature, frequently feel a diffi
culty inascertaining the precise meaning of early
technical terms inthe various arts and sciences
the inconvenience ofwhich would at least be con
siderably decreased by compilations of the kind
just mentioned.
J . O . H .
THE BOKE OF CURTASYE.
Whenthow come tho hallo dor to,DO of thy hode, thy gloves also ;Yf tho hallo be at the furst mete,
This lessonnloko thounogt forgete,The stuard, oountroller, and trosurere,Sittand at de deshe, thou baylao infore .
Sittenother gentylmenas falle that tyde ;Enclyne the fayre to hem also,{first to the ryght honde thou shalle go,
Sitthento the left hond thy nogh thou cast,
To hom thou bogh withoutenwrast ;Take hede to gomononthy ryght honde,And sithenbyfore the serene thou stonde,Inmyddys the hallo Oponthe flore,Whille marshalle or ussher come fro the dore ,And bydde the sitte or to borde the lede.
Be stabulle of chere for menske, y rede ;Yf he the sette at gentilmonnes bordo,Loke thou be hynde and lytnllo of worde .
Pare thy brede and kerne intwo,Tho over crust tho nether fro ;Infowre thou kutt tho over dole,Sett hom togedur as hit where hole ;Sithonkutt thonether crust inthre,And tnrne hit downs, lerne this at me .
And lay thy trenehour the before,And sitt upryght for any sore .
Spare brede or wyne, drynke or ale,
To thy moose of koehyne be sett insale ;
THE BOKE OF CURTASYE .
Lest mensayne thou art bongo betene,
Or ellis a glotenthat alle menwyteno.
Loko thy naylys benclone inblythe,Lest thy folaghe [othe ther wy th.
Byt not onthy bredo and lay hit doun,That isno curtesye to use intowne ;But broke as myche as thouwylle etc,
The remelant to pore thou sballo lete .
Inpoese thou etc, and ever esehowe
To flyte at bordo, that may the rewe ;If thou make mawes onany wyse,A veleny thou kacchas or ever thou rise .
Let never thy cheke be made to grete,With morsello of brode that thou shalle ete ;
Anapys mowmeu sayne he makes,
That brode and fleshe inhys oheke bakes.
Yf any manne speke that tyme to the,And thou sehalle onsware, hit wille not be,But waloande and abyde thou most,That is a sohamc for alle the host.
Onbothe halfe thy mouthe, y'f that thou ete,
Mony a skorno shalle thou gete .
Thou sballonot laughe no speke no thyng,Whille thi mouthe be fulle of meto or drynke ;
N e suppe not with grete sowndyng,N other potage no other thyng.
Let not thi spone stond inthy dysche,Whether thou be served with fleshe or fischo ;
N e lay hit not onthy dishe syde,But elense hit honestly Withoutenpride .
THE BOKE OF CURTASYE.
Loke no browyng onthy fynger pore,Bofoulo the clothe the before .
Inthi dysehe yf thonwete thy brede,Loke therof that nogt be lede,To east agayno thy dysche into,Thou art unhynde yf thou do so.
Drye thy months ay wele and fynde,Whenthou sballo drynke other ale or wyne .
N e calle thounogt a dysehe agayne,That ys take fro the borde inplayne ;
Thou shalle be holdenanuncurtayse men;nowne dogge thou scrape or clawe,
That is holdena vyse emong menknawe ;Yf thy nose thou d ense, as may befalls,
Privoly with Skyrt do hit away,Or ellis thurgh thi tope t that is so gay .
Clense not thi tethe at mete sittande,With knyfe no stre, styk ne wande .
While thou holdes mete inmonths, he war
And also fysike forbodes hit,
Yf hit go thy wrung throte into,
And steppe thy wyndo, thou art fordo.
N e telle thou never at horde no tale,To harme or shame thy felawe insale ;
For if he thenwitholde his moths,Eftsone he wylle foreast thi dethe .
THE BOKE OF CURTASY E .
N e spit not lorely for no kynmode,Before no monof God for drede .
Whosoever despise this lessonnrygt,
A t bords to sitt he hase no mygt ;H ero endysnowour fyrst talkyng,Crist graunt us alle his dere blessyng !
HERE E NDITHE THE [FIRST] BOKE or CURTA SYE .
THE BOKE OF CURTASYE .
THE SECONDE BOKE .
Y er that thou be a gong enfaunt,And thonke tho sooles for to haunt,This lessonnschulle thy maister the msrko,Cros Crist the spede inallo thiworke ;
Sytthonthy Pater N estor he wille the techs,A s Cristos owns postlss conproche ;Afte r thy A ve Maria and thi Credo,That shalle the save at dome of drede ;
Thonns aftur to blesse the with the Trinité ,Inaomine Patris teohe he wille ths;Thenwith Marks, Mathew, Luke, and Jon,With the p ro cruee and the hsghnamsTo shryve ths ingeneral thou schalle lsro,
Thy confi teor and misereatur infore ;To seche the kyngdam of God, my chylde,Thereto y rode thou be not wylde.
Thorforoworschip God, bothe oldo and gong,To be inbody and souls y -liehe strong .
Whenthou comes to the ehumhe doro,
Reds or synge or hyd prayeris
THE BOKE OF c173m
Be em13yse t0 God, and knsle doun
To monthou shalle knole oponthe toun,The tother to thyself thou haldo alone.
Whenthou ministers at the hegh autere,
With bothe hondos thou serve the prest infore,The tonto stabulls, the tother
Lest thou fayle, my dero brother .
Anothor curtasyo y wylls the teehs,
Thou worsehip and serve with alle thy mygt ,
That thou dwells the lengur inorthely lygt.
To another mando no more amys,Thenthouwoldys be done of bym and hys,So Crist thou please, and gets the love
Ofmenus and God that syttes above .
Bonot to meke, but inmono the holde,fi
'
or ollis a folo thouwylle be tolde .
He that to rygtwysneswylle'
snelyne,A s holy wrygt saysno wele and fyne,H is sods sehalle never go seche nor brode,N o sufi
'
ur of menno Shames dede.
To venjaunos loko thou some onlast
Draw tho to pese with allo thy strengtho.
{fro stryf and bats draw the onlengths.
Yf monaske the good for Goddys sake,And the wont thyng wherof to take,
With glad semblaint and pure good cher .
THE BOKE OF CURTASY E .
Yf he spoke fyrst oponthe pore,Ousware bym gladly Withoutenmore.
S o not fortho as a dombe froko,SynGod has loft ths tongs to spek
gond is amonwithoutenmouths.
Spoke never unhonestly of ni kyndo,N e 1st hit never renne inthy wynds;
fl‘
or allowo beu ofwymmenborne,And oure fadaraus beforne ;
Also awyfo be falle of rygt,
Bo eurtasyo and lot bym have the way ,
12 THE BOKE OF CURTASY E .
t er infylde wodanothsr lauude,
Yf thou sehalle onpilgrimage go,Be not the thryd felaw for wele nowo ;Thre oxeninplowgh may never wol draws.
N other be craft, rygt, no laws.
gif thonbo profert to drynk of cup,
Drynke not al oflne uo way sup ;
That is a curtasye, to spoke inplayne.
Inbedde yf thou falle herberet to be,With felawe, maystur, or her degré,Thou Shalt enqusr be curtasye
Inwhat part of the bedde he wylle lye ;Be honest and lye thou for bym fro,Thouart not wyse but thou do so.
With woso menus, botho for and nogh,The falle to go, loko thonbs slegh
To aske his uome and qweche he be,Whider he will kepe wells thos thre.
With freres onpilgrimage yf that thou go,
Als onuygt thou take thy rest,
And byde the day as tru mannos gest .
Inno kynhouse that rode-monis,No womonof tho same colour y -wys,
For those he folks that ar to drede.
14 THE BOKE OF CURTASYE .
With hondes unwasshentake never thy mete,fi
'
ro alle thes vices loko thou the kepe .
Loke thou sytt and make no stryf,
Where tho est commaundys or sllis thowyf.
Eschews the hegsst place with wyn,But thou be bedsnto sitt therin.
Of curtasie hers endis the sscunds fyt,
To hevsnCrist mot oure saulss flyt !
THE BOKE OF CURTASYE .
THE TH IRD BOKE .
DE OFFICIARIIS IN CURIIS DOMORUM .
N ow speke we wylle of officisrs
Of court, and als of her mestisrs.
fi'
ours menther be that gerdis schall hers,Porter, marshalls, stuards, usshers
The porter sehalle have the longest wands,The marshalls a Shorter sehalle have inhands;The ussher of chamber smallest sehalle have,
The stuarde inhonde sehalle have a stafe,
A fyngur gret, two whartsrs long,To reule the menus of court ymong.
DE JA N ITORE .
THE porter falls to kepe tho gate,The stokkeswith bym erly and late ;
gif any manns base incourt mysgayne,To porter-wards he schall be tans,Ther to abyds the lordeswylle,What he wille demo by rygtwys skylle.
{for wessells clothes, that nogt be solde,The porter hase that wards inholds.
15
16 THE BOKE OF CURTASYE .
Of strangers also that comento court,Tho porter schall warns ther at awords.
Lyvoray he hase of mote and drynke,And settswith bym whoso bym thynko.
Whenso ever tho lords remewe sehalle
To castell til other as hit may falls,{for eariags the porter hors schall hyre,{fours pens a psce withintho sehyrs
Be statut he sehalle take that onthe day,That is the kynges crye infayo.
DE MARESCALLO AUL/E .
N owof marschalls of hallswylle I spells,Andwhat falls to hys ofi
'
ycsnowwylle y telle ;Inabsence of stuarde he sballo arest
Whosoever is robolle incourt or fest
gomon, usshers, and grome also,Undur bym ar thes two
Tho grome for fuelle that sehalle brcnne
Inhallo, chambur, to keehyn, as I the ksnne,H e shalle delyver hit ilke a dole,Inhalls make fyro at yche amole ;
Borde, trestnls, and formss also,The cupbords inhiswards sehalle go,The dosurs cortines to hsnge inhalle,Thes ofiicesnede do he sehalle
Bryng infyro onAlhalawgh day ,To Candulmas even, I dar wells say .
18 THE BOKE OF CURTASYE .
The panter also yf he wolde stryfo,
fi'
or rewards that sett sehalle be be-lyve.
Whenas breds faylys at horde aboute ,The marshalls garos sett Withoutendoute
More breds, that calde is a rewards,So shalle hit be provet before stuarde.
DE OFFICIO PINCERNARII.
BOTLER sballo sett for yehe a messe
A pot, a lofe, Withoutendistresso;Botler, pantrer, felawes ar ay,Rekonhom togedur fullowe] y may .
The marshalle shalle hsrber alle meninfore,That benof court of any mestero ;Save the lordys chambur , tho wadrOp to,Tho usshor of chambur sehalle tout tho two.
DE HOSTIARIO ET SU IS SERVIENTIBUS .
SPE KE I wylle a lytullo q lo
Ofnssher of chambur, withoutengyle .
Two gmmes at dwlcsg a pago therto.
TEE BOKE or CURTASYE . 19
DE OFFICIO GARCIONUM .
GROME S palettes shynfyle and make liters,ix. fote onlengths without diswere ;vij . fote y -wys hit shalle be brode,Wele watered, i-wrythen, be craft y
-trodo.
Wyspes drawenout at fete and syde,Wele wrethynand turnyd agayno that tyde .
Onlogh unsoukonhit shalle be made,To tho gurdyl
-Swds hogh onlengthe and bu ds
Bothe uttor and iunsr, so God mo glado l
With croehottes and loupys sett onlyour ;Tho valance onfylour shalle bongo with wyn,ilj . eurtoyns strsgt drawenwithmno,
’
N other more, nother lease, Withoutendoute ; 450
H e stryltos hornup with forket wands,And lappea up fast aboute the lyft hands.
Tho knop up turuos and closes onrygt,
A s bolde by nolt that heuges fullo lygt .
Tho oounturpynt he lays onheddys fete,
Tapotos of Spayne onflow by syde,That sprad shyu be for pompe and pryde ;Tho chambur sydes rygt to tho done,He hengoswith tapetes that benfullo store ;And fuelwehyxnné hym falls to gas,And strevss inelof to y s ave tho hots.
THE BOKE OF CURTASYE .
fi‘
ro tho lorde at mete whsnhe is sett,Bordo, trestnls, and fourmes, Withoutenlet ;Alle thes thyngm kepe sehalle ho,
And water inchafer for laydyes fro ;iij . psrchors of wax thenshalle he fst,
Above tho chymné yt be sett,
Insyes iehons from other shalle beThe lsnghthe of other that menmay so,
To brenns, to voids, that dronkynis,
Tho ussher alloway shalle sitt at dore
A t mete, and walks sehalle onthe flore,To so that alle be servet onrygt,That is his office he day and nygt
And hyd set horde whentyms sehalle be,And take hom up whentynwsee he .
The wardrop he herbers and eke of chambur
Ladyes with hodys of coralle and lambur,Tho usshero sehalle bydde tho wardropers
Make redy for alle nygt before the fore ;Thenbrynges he forthe nygt-gone also,And Spiodys a tapst and q sshsns two,
Ho layes hom thenopona fonrme,And foteshsts theronand hit returns.
The lords sehalle skyft hys gowns at nygt,Syttand onfotoshoto tyl he be dygt.
Thenussher gose to tho botro,H ave infor alle nygt, syr,
”says he
(fyrst to the ehaundoler he sehalle go,
To take a tones lygt bym fro ;
20 THE BOKE OF CURTASYE .
fi'
ro tho lorde at mete whenhe is sett,
Borde, trestnls, and fourmes, Withoutenlet ;Alle thes thynges kepe sehalle he,
And water inchafer for laydyes freiij . perchers ofwax thenshalle he fet,
Above tho chymné yt be sett,
Insyoe ichone from other shalle beThe lenghthe of other that menmay so,
To brenne, to voide, that dronkynis,Other ellis I wote he dose amys.
Tho ussher alleway shalle sitt at dore
A t mete, and walke sehalle onthe fiore,To se that alle be servet onry3t,
That is his ofiice be day and nygt ;And hyd set horde whentyme schalle be,And take hom up whentylne see he .
The wardrop he herbers and eke of chambnr
Ladyes with bedys of coralle and lambur,Tho usshers sehalle bydde tho wardropere
Make redy for alle nygt before the few;
Thenbrynges he forthe nygt-gone also,And spredys a tapet and q sshens two,H e layes hom thenopona fourme,And foteshete theronand hit returne .
Tho lorde sehalle skyft hys gowne at ny5t,Syttand onfoteshete tyl he be dygt.
Thennssher goes to tho botré,Have infor alle nygt, syt ,
”says he ;
1?e to the chaundeler he sehalle go,
To take a tortes ly3t bym fro ;
24 THE BOKE OF CURTASYE .
t ho lorde gyf 03t to terms of lyf,
The channoeler hit seles Withoutenstryf;Tancomenosplerramenseyne, thst isquandonosplacet,
Onof tho grete he is of my5t .
DE TH ESAURIZABIO
N owspeke y wylie ofweath e r,Husbonde and honswyf he is infer ;Of the resayver he shalle resayne,Alle that is gedurt of baylé and grayne ;
To tho clerke of eochenhe payee moné,For vetayle to bye opontho counn'é .
To baker and bntler bothe y -wy l ;Gyfl
’
ys selver to bye inalle thyng
26 THE BOKE OF CURTASYE .
Som at two-pons ona day ,And som at iij . ob ., I sou say ;
Mony of hem fotementher ben,That rennenby the brydels of ladys schene .
DE PISTORE .
Or tho baker nowspeke y wylle,And wat longes his office untylle ;
Of a Lundenbuschelle he shelle bake
xx. lovys, I undurtake ;
Manchet and chet to make brom bred hard,fl
'
or chaundeler and grehoundesand buntes reward.
DE VENATORE ET SUIS CAN IBUS .
A HA LPE NY tho hunte takes onthe dayfl
'
or every bounde, tho sothe to say ;
Tho vewter two cast of brede he tase,Two lesshe of grehoundes, yf that he hase ;To yche a bone that is to telle,If I to gonthe sothe shalle spells;Bysyde hys vantage that may befalle,Of skynnes and other thyngeswithalle,That huntes contelle better thanI,Therfore I leve hit wytt[ur]ly .
DE AQUARIO.
A ND speke I wylle of other mystere
That falles to court, as 3e munhere ;
m s BOKE or CURTASYE . 27
Ansuwar inhalle there nedys to be,And chandelewsehalle have and alle napere ;He sehalle gef water to gentilmen,And als inalle 3omen.
QUI DENT MANUS LAVARE ET IN QUORUMDOMIBUS .
Inkynges court and dukes also,Ther gomenschynne wasshe and no mo ;Induke Jonys house a30mm ther was,fi
'
or his rewarde prayde snche a grace ;The duke gete graunt therof inlonde,Of the kyng his fader, I undudurstonde ; (31
°
C) 050
Inpresens of lords or levedé dare,
He sehalle knele downe opone his kne,Ellys he foryetes his curtasé
This euwer sehalle hele his lordes horde,With dowbulle napere at onbare words :
The selvage to tho lordes side withinne,And doune sehalle heng that other may wynne ;Tho over nape sehalle dowbulle be laydo,To thonttnr syde the selvage brads ;Tho over salvage he sehalle replye,
As towelle hit were fayrest inhye ;Browers he sehalle cast theropon,That the lorde sehalle clause his fyngers [on],The levedy and whosever sy ttes withinne, sea
Alle browers schynne have bathe more andmynne.
28 THE BOKE OF CURTASYE .
DE PAN ETARIO .
TH EN N E comes the pantere with loves thre,That square are corvynof trenchonr frs,To sett withinne and oonwithouts,And saller y
-covsryd and sett inroute ;With tho ovemast lofs hit shalle be sett,
Withouts forthe square, Withoutenlett ;Two kervyng knyfeswithouts one,
The thrydde to tho lords, and als a spone .
DE CULTELLIS DOM IN I .
OF tho two tho heftes schynne outwards be,Of the thrydde the hafts inwards lays he,The spony stele ther by sehalle be layds,
Moo loves of trenchirres at a brayds ;H e ssttss and servys evyr infers
To duchss his wyne that is so dsrs ;Two loves of trenchors and salt tho,H e ssttss before his sonalso ;A lofs of trenchours and salt onlast,A t bordes ends he ssttss inhast ;Thenbreds he brynges intowslls wrythyns,Thre lofys of tho wyte sehalle be gevyne ;A chet lofs to tho elmys dyshe,
W ether he servyd be with flesshs or fysche ;
A t ather ends he castes a c0pe,
Layds downe onhorde, the endys plysd up .
30 THE BOKE OF CURTASYE .
And brynges to the euwer that he come fro
To tho lordys hordes a3aya congo ;And layes iiij . trenchours tho lords before,The fyft above by good lore ;By hymself thre sehalle he dresse,To cut Openthe lordesmesse ;Smale towslls aboute hisnecks shalle bene,To clens his knyfys that benso kens.
DE ELEMOSIN ARIO .
And tho almes dysshs base sett inplace ;Therinthe kerver a lofe sehalle Bette ,
To serve God fyrst withoutenlette ;These other lofes he parys aboute,Lays hit myd dysshe Withoutendoute.
Tho over dole intwo lays to bym .
The aumsnsre a rod sehalle have inhonde,A s otfice for almes, y undurstonde.
Alls the brokenmet he kepys y wete,To dele to pors menat ths 3ate,And drynke that levee served inhalls
Of ryche and pore bothe grete and smalle.
H e is sworne to overse the servis wele,And dele hit to the pore every dele ;Selver he deles rydand by way ;And his almys-dysshe, as I 3011 say ,To the porsat manthat he canfynde,Other ellys I wot he is unhynde.
34 THE BOKE OF CURTASYE .
Inchambur no ly3t ther shalle be brent,Bot ofwax thsrto, yf 3s take tent ;
Inhalls at soper sehalle caldsls brenns
Of Parys, therinthat alle menksnns ;Ichs messe a candslls fro A lhalawghs dayTo Candslmssse, as I gou say ;
Of candel livsray squiysrs sehalle have,So long, if hit is monwills kravs.
Of breds and als also the botslsr
Schalls make lyversthurghout the gsre
To squysrs, and also wynto knygt,Or ellys he dose not his office rygt .
H ers endys the thryd speche,Of alle ours synnes Cryst be ours leche,And bryng us to his vonyng place
M en, sayss 3s, for hys grete gracs’
Amen, par charité .
c . ntcnaans, “Anna '
s u s e .
SPECIMENS OF OLD
CHRISTMAS CAROLS,
SELECTED FROM
{manuscripts anti 9mm 180035.
LONDON
PRINTED FOR THE PERCY SOCIETY ,
BY T . RICHARDS , FOR TH E EXECUTORS OF TH E LATE
C . RICHARDS , 100, ST. MARTIN'
S LANE .
MDCCCX L I .
PRE F A CE .
THE object of the following Collectionis to illus
trate one of our old popular customs, which is
fast disappearing. It was suggested that it should
be made a seasonable publication and the desire
to publish it at the giventime has necessarily
restricted a little the extent of the Editor’
s rs
searches. H e has found also that the remains of
this class of literature are not so numerous as
might have beenexpected.
The Anglo-SaxonGale or Yale, was anancient
Paganfestival, from which we derive the feast
ing and merriment still observed at the same
seasonof the year . Whenthe Anglo-Saxons
were converted, the feasting and other observa
tions were turned to another purpose, and were
made to be considered a memorial of the nativity
of our Saviour, the commemoration of which
happened at the same tints . The name of Yule
still remained, and insome parts of our island has
beenpreservs to the present day ; but after the
entry of the N ormans, a foreignappellationwas
introduced,— N oel, derived from the Latinadmits
(the diesnatalia of our Lord) , which soonbecame
naturalised inour language and literature .
‘
Our carols illustrate the festive charac ter, as
wellas the pious feelings, appropriate to the sea
son. The Anglo-N ormansong which stands first,
is the earliest carol knownto have beenwritten
inour island . It has beenprinted before, but it
is now carefully edited from the original manu
script . The late Mr . Douce translated it into
English verse ; but as his versiondoes not pre
serve a single characteristic of the original, it
has beenthought unnecessary to reprint it here .
Another F rench carol has been inserted, as
a specimenof similar compositions among our
Inour carols these names appear indifferent forms ; as301.
yol. uowcl, novels, fine . It may here be observed, that inthe first
line of the poem beginning onp . 18, a later hand has correc te d
CHRISTMAS CAROLS .
I .
[From MS. Reg. 16 E , viii. fol. 130, vo, writtenearly inthethirteenth century .]
SE IGNORs, ore entendez anus,De loinz snmes venuz awons,
Pur qusre N oel ;Car l
’
em nus dit que encest hostel
Soleit tenir se fsste anus],A hi, cest jur .
Deu doint a tuz icels joie d’amars,
Qui a danz N oel fsrunt honors !
Seignors, jo vus dis por veir,Kc danz N oelne vslt avsir
Si joie non;E rspleni se maison
De payn, ds char, e de peisou,Por fairs honor .
Deu doint a tuz css joie
CHRISTMAS CAROLS .
Seignors, il est cne enl’ost,
Que cil qui despent bien, e tost,E largement,
E fet les granz honors sovent,Deu li duble quanqus il despent,
Por fairs henor .
Deu doint a
Seignors, sscriez les malveis,Car vuz nel les troverez jamels
De bone part :
Botun, batun, fsrun, groinard,Car tot dis a ls quer cunard
Por fairs henor .
Deu doint
N oel beyt bienli vinEngleis,E li Grascoin, e li Franceys,
E l’
Angsvin
N oel fait bsivere sonveisin,
Si qu’il se dort, ls chief enclin,Sovent ls jor .
Deu doint a tuz cels
Seignors, jo vus di par N oel,E par li sires ds cest hostel,
Car bevez ben:
E jo primes beverai lsmen,E pois apres chesconls soen,
Par monconseil;Si jo vus di trestoz , Wesssyl
Dehaiz sit qui as dirra, Drincheyl
4 CHRISTMAS CAROLS .
Larkys inhot schow,ladys for to pyk,
Good drynk therto, lycyus and fyne,Elwet of A llmayne, romney and wyin,
with hay .
Gud bred alle and wyindare I wells say ,
The boris heds with musterd armyd soe gay ;
Furmente to pottage, with wsnnissunfyne,And the hombuls of the dew, and all that ever commis
in
Cappons i-baks, with the pesys of the roow,
Reysons of corrons, with odyre spysis moo.
II I .
[From MS. Sloane, No. 2593, fol. 79, r0 .writtenabout the time of
H enry VI .]
VVOLCUM 301, thumeryman,inworcheps of this
Wolcum be thu, bevens kyng,Wolcum, borninonmorwsnyng,W olcum,
for hom we xal syng,wolsum, 301.
Wolcum be 30, Stefne and Jon,Wolcum, Innocentes everychon,W olcum
, Thomas marter on,wolsum, 301.
CHRISTMAS CAROLS .
Wolsum be 3s, good news 3srs,Wolcum, twelthe day boths infers,Wolcum, seyntes lef and dsre,
wolsum, 301.
Wolcum be 3s, Candylmssss,Wolcum be 3s, q nof blys,Wolcum bothe to More and lesse,
wolcum, 301.
Wolsum be 3s that am here,Wolsum, alle, and mak good chere,Wolcum, alle, another 3ers,
wolcum, 301.
IV.
[From MS. Sloane 2593, fol. 51,
Eya, Jhesus hodz'
e natus est de
BLYSSID be that mayde Mary,Bornhe was of here body,Godis sons that syttit onhy,
nonemvirili semine.
Ina manjour of anas,Jhesu lay and lullydwas,
Ilarde psynis for to pas,
p ro p easants homine .
6 CHRISTMAS CAROLS .
Kynges comynfro dyvesse londe,With grete 3yftss inhers honde,InBedlsm the child they fonds,
stella ducts lumine .
Manand chyld, boths sld and ying,N ow inhis blysful comyng,To that chyld mowwe syng,
N owel, nowsl, inthis halls,Make merys I prey 3ou alle ;
Onto that chyld may we calle,ullo sine crimine .
V.
[From MS. Sloane, No. 2593, fol. 52,
JHE SU,Jhssu, Jhesu, Jhesu, saf usalle thorw vertu !
Jhesu, as thou art our savyour,
That thou save us fro dolour ,Jhesu ismynpar amour ;
Blyssid be thiname, Jhesu
Jhesuwas bornof a may ,UponCristemesss day,Sche was may bs-fornand ay ;
Blyssid be thiname, Jhesu !
CHRISTMAS CAROLS .
Mary moder, the frswit of the
For uswasnaylid ona tre,Inheveas isnowhismagssté,
Mary moder, the thredde dayUp he ros, as I 3owsay,
To hells he tok the ry3te way ,motufertur p rep rio.
Mary moder, after thinsons
Up thou steyist with bym to wons,The aungele wernglad quanthou were some,
incelz'
p alacz'
o.
VII .
[From MS. Sloane, No. 2593, fol. 63,
A N EW 3er l anew3er l a chyld was i-born,Us for to savynthat alwas for-lorn,
So blyssid be the tyme !
The fader of hevene his owynsons he sent,H is kyngdam for to clsymyn,
So blyssid be the tyms !
Al ina clens maydynour Lord was i-ly3t,Us for to savynwith al his 1ny3t,
So blyssid, etc.
CHRISTMAS CAROLS . 9
A I of a clene maydynour L ord was i-born,Us for to savynthat al was for-lorn,
So blyssid, etc.
Lullay ! lullay ! lytil chyld, mynowyndsre fode,Howxalt thou sufferinbe naylid onthe rods ?
So
Lullay ! lullay I lytil chyld, mynowyndsre emerte ,
Howxslt thou sufi'
srinthe scharp spere to thi herte ?
So
Lullay ! lullay ! lytyl child, I synge al for thi sake,Many onis the echarpe schour to thi body is schaps ;
So
Lullay lullay lytyl child, fayrs happis the be-falle !
Howxal thou sufl'
srinto drynke sz yl and galls ?
So
Lullay ! lullay lytil chyld , I syng al bs-forn,Howxalt thou sufi
'
srinthe scharp garlong of thorn?
So
Lullay ! lullay ! lytil chyld, q wspy thou so sore ?
And art thou bothinGod and man? quat woldyst
thou be more ?
Blyssid be the armys the chyld bar abowte !
And also the tetes the chyld onsowkyd
So
Blyssid be the moder the chyld also !
With benedicamus Domino
So blyssid be the tyms.
CHRISTMAS CAROLS .
VIII .
[From MS. Sloane, No. 2593, fol. 70,
N OWEL cl sl sl cl sl cl cl sl sl el sl sl sl el sl.
Mary moder, cum and se,
Thi sons isnaylyd ona tre,
Hand and fot he may not gs,H is body iswoundynal inwoo.
Thi swete sons, that thou hast born,To save mankynds that was for-10m ,
His hed iswrsthinina thorn,H is blysful body is al to-torn.
Quanhe this tale bs-
ganto telle,Mary wold nonlonger dwells,But hyid hers faste to that hylle,
Ther t ssu his blod bs-ganto spylle .
Mynswete sons, that art ms dsre,
w hanmenhangyd the here ?
Thi bed iswrsthinina brere ;Mynlovely sons, qwer is thi chere ?
Thinswete body, that inme rest,Thincomely mowth, that I have kest,N ow onrode is mad thinest,
Leve chyld, quat is me best ?
12 CHRISTMAS CAROLS .
Inthis tyms ksmynthre kynges,H e ksmynfro fer, with ryehe thinges,For to makynhers ofi
'
eryngss,Onhers knenwith gret honour .
Inthis tyms prey we
To bym that dsyid onthe tre,
Onus have mercy and psté,
And bryng us alle to his tour !
X.
[m MS. Sloane, N 0 . 2593, fol. 74 , t 0.]
M AN , be glad inhalls and hour,This tyms was bornour savyour.
Inthis tyms a chyld was born,To save tho sowl that wernfor-lorn,For us he werde garlond of thorn,
A l it was for our honour .
The eytende day he was schorn,To fulfylls the law that was be-forn,
Of meknssse he blewhis horn.
OnGood Fryday was dononrods,The Jewes spyltynhis herte hlode,Mary, his moder, be bym stode ;
3s benour help and our socour .
CHRISTMAS CAROLS .
OnEsterne Day he ganup ryse,To techynhem that wernon-wyse ;Jhesu, for 3our woundes five,
3s benour, etc.
OnH alwynThursday he ganup stsye
To his fader, that sit onheye
Jhesu, for 3our curteysye,
3s ben, etc.
Onwtsunday he gandounsende
Wy t and wysdam us to a-msnde
Jhesu, bryng us to that ends,
With-outyndelay, our savyour !
X I .
[From MS . Sloane, N o. 2593, fol. 74 ,
N OWE L cl sl cl, nowiswel that evsrs was woo.
A babe is bornal of a may,Inthe savasyounof us,
To hem we syngynboths ny3ht and day,Vem
'
creator sp iritus.
A t Redlsm that blyssid pas,The chyld of blysse bornhe was,
lIym to serve, go 3evs us gras,0 lawbeata trinitas.
13
14 CHRISTMAS CAROLS .
Ther come thre kynges out of the est,
To worchsps the kyng that is so frs,With gold and myrrs and francincens,A solis ortus card/inc .
The herdes berdynanaungele cry ,
A merys song thensungyu he,
w am 3s so sore a-
gast ?
The aungele comyndounwith oncry ,
A fayr song thensungynhe,
In'
the worchsps of that chyld,Gloria tibi, Domino.
X II .
[From MS. Sloane, N O. 2593, fol. 75, N J
MA N, bemsrie asbryd onbsris, and al thi cars let away
This tyms is borna chyld ful good,H e that us bowt uponthe rod ;
H e bond the dsvyl, that is so wod,Til the drydful domys
-day .
Quanthe chyld ofmschs my3t
Wold be bornof Mary bry3t,
A tokens he sente to kyng and koy3t,A sterre that schonbothe ny3t and day .
16 CHRISTMAS CAROLS .
Anaungyl fro hsfns was sent ful snsl,Hisname is clspyd Gabriel,His ardsne he dede ful snsl,
H e sat onkne and seyde, Ave !
And he seyde, Mary, ful of grace,H evsns and erthe inevery place,With-ins the tyms of lytyl space,
Reconsiled it xuld be.
Mary stod stylls as ony ston,
And to the sungyl chc seyde a-non,Thanherd I nevers of manysmon,
Ms thinkit wonder thou seyst to me.
The sungyl answerd a-nonfulwel,Mary, dryd the never a del,Thou xalt conssyvs a chyld fulwel,
The holy gost xal schadue the .
Mary onbryst here hand che lsyd,
Stylle xc stod, and thus xc seyd,Lo me here Godes owynhand mayd,
With herte and wil and body frs
Mary moder, mayde myld,For the love al of thi chyld,Fro hells pet thou us schyld,
Amen! amen! nowsynge we .
CHRISTMAS CAROLS .
X IV.
[From MS. Sloane, No. 2593, fol. 80, vo.)
we merths for Crystes berths, and syng we
til Candilmss.
THE ferste day of 301we haninmynds
H owmanwas bornal of our ksnds,For he wold the bondes on-bynde
Of alle our synne and wykkydnes.
The secunde day we syng of Stevens,That stonyd was, and Sid up evens
With Cryst ther he wold stonds inhevene,And crownyd was for his provys.
The threde day longes to Saynt Jon,That was Crystes derlyng, derest on,To hem he tok, quanhe xald gon,
H is dsre moder, for his clennes.
The forte day of the chylderyn3yng,With H erowdeswrethe to deth were throng,Of Cryst thei cowds not speke with tong,
But with here blod bars wytnesse .
The fyfte day halwyt Seynt Thomas,Ryth as strong as peler of bras,IIyld up his kyrke and slayinwas,
For he stod faste inrythwynes.
The eytende day tok Jhesu hisnam,
That savyd mankynds fro synne and schams.
C
18 CHRISTMAS CAROLS .
And circumsysid was for nonblame,But for insaun[cs] and mskenesss.
The .x1j . day ofi'
eryd to bym kynges .iij .
Gold, myrre, incens, this 3iftes frs,For God and manand kyng is he,
And thus theiworchspyd his worthinesss.
The forty day cam Mary myld
Onto the temple with here schyld,
To schswynhers clens that never was fyld ;And hers-with sudie Crystemssss.
XV.
[From MS. Harl. N 0 . 2252, fol. 153, v0
. of the fifteenth century .
This and the following ought not strictly to have a place amonga collectionof carols, but they are curious illustrations of one
part of the old popular belief relating to ChristmasDay .]
Y F Crystmas day onthe Sonday be,A troboluswynter ye shall see,Medlyd with waters stronge ;
Were shalbs good wyth-owte fabylls,
The somer it shabe resonabylle,And stormys odyr whylys amonge .
Wynns that yere shalbs goods,The hervests shalbs wete wyth floddes,Pestylens falls inmany a contré,And many younge pepylle dede shall be,Or that sekenes lynne,And grete tempsstes ther-ynne .
20 CHRISTMAS CAROLS .
XVI .
[From MS. Bar]. N o . 2252, fol. 154 , r0 .]
LORDYNGE S, I warns yow al be-forns,Y ef that day that Cryste was hom e
Falls uppona Sunday,That wynter shalbs good par fay ,But grete wyndss alofts Shalbe,
The somer Shalbe fayrs and drys ;By kynde skylls, wyth-owtynlesse,
Throwall loudes shalbs peas,And good tyms all thyngs to don;But he that stelythe, he Shalbe fownde sons ;
Whats chylde that day borne be,A grete lords he shalle gs, etc.
Y f Crystemas day onMonday be,A grete wynter that yere have shall ye,And fulls of wyndss lowde and stylle ;
But the somer, trewly to telle,Shulbe sterne wyndss also,And fulls of tsmpsste all thereto ;A ll batayle multyplye ;
And grete plenty of beeve Shall dye .
They that be borne that day, I wene,They shalle be strongs sche onand kene ;And he that stelyly ths owghte ;
Thow thows be seke, thou dyeste not.
CHRISTMAS CAROLS .
Y f Crystmas day onTuysday be,That yere Shall dyenwsmsnplsnté ;And that wynter wex grete marvaylys ;Shyppys shalbs ingrete psryllss ;
That yere shall kynges and lordes be slayne,Andmyche hothyr pepylle agayns heym.
A drye somer that yere Shalbe ;
Alle that be borne ther inmay se,
They Shalbe strongs and covsthowse.
Yf thou stsls awghts, thou lssysts thi lyfs ;Thou shalts dye throws swsrde or knyfe ;But and thow fall seke, sertayne,Thou shalts turns to lyfs agayne.
Yf Crystmas day, the soths to say ,
Fall upponaWodnysday ,That yere shalbs anbards wynter and strong,Andmany hydsuswyndss amongs ;The somer mery and good Shalbe ;
That yere shalbs wete grete plsnté ;Young folks shall dye that yere also,And Shyppus inthe see shall have gret woo .
Whats chylde that day borne ys,H e shalbs dowghtys and lyghts i-wysse,And wyss and Slyss also of dede,And fynde many menmete and weds.
Yf Crystsmas day onThursday be,A wyndy wynter se shalle yes,
Of wyndssand weders allwecked,And hards tempsstes strongs and thycke.
2]
CHRISTMAS CAROLS .
And kynges and prynces shalle dye by skylle.
He ahalle havc happs ryghte well to the,Of dedes he shalbs good and stnbylle,
Who so that day ony thefte abowte,
He shalbe shente wy th-owtyndom ;
And yf sekenss onthe that day betyde,Hyt shall sone fro the glyde.
Yf Crystmas day onthe Fx-yday be,The fyrste of wyntsr harde shalbe,
With frosts and snowe and with fiode,But the laste snde therof ys goode.
Agaym the somer shalbe good aho ;
Folkes inhyr yenshall have grete woo ;
The phyde that ys hom e that day,Shall longe lyve and lecherowus be aye.
Who so stelythe awghts, he shalbe fownde
And thou be seka hyt lastythe not longe .
Y f Crystmas day onthe Saterday falle,That wyntsr ys to be dreddenalle
Byt shalbe so full of grete tsmpeste,
That hyt shall sle bothe manand beste ;
24 CHRISTMAS CAROLS .
There cam .iij kynges fro Galylee
Into Bethleem that fayrs cytes,To seks bym that ever shulde be
by rygh3t-a
Lords and kynge and knygh3t-a.
A s they cam forth with there ofi'
ryngs,They met with H erods that mody kynge,
thys tyde-a,And thys to them he seyde-a.
Ofl"wens be ys, yow kynges .iij .
Off the Ests, as ye may see,
To seks bym that ever shulde be
by ryghsst-a
Lords and kynge and knygh3t-a.
”
W enyowat thys chylde have be,Cum home a3sync by me,Tells me the sygh3tes that yowhave
I prays yow
Go yow no nodyr way -a.
They toke her leve both olde and yongs
Off H erods that mody kynge ;They went forth with there offrynge
by lyghsth-a.
By the sterre that shoone so brygh3t-a.
Tyll they cam into the place
There Jhesu and hys modyr was,
CHRISTMAS CAROLS .
Ofi'
ryd they up with grete solace
infers-a
Golds and sense and myrre-a.
The fadyr of hsvynanawngylls downsent,To thyke .iij . kynges that made presente
thys tyde-a,
And thys to them he sayd-a.
My lords have warnyd yow sverychons,By H erods kynge yowgo not home ;For and yow do, he wylle you alone
and strye-a,
And hurts yowwondyrly -a.
”
Forth them wsnte thys kynges 11J.,
Tylls they cam home to there cuntré.
Glade and blyth they were alle ii. j .
Off the sygh3tss that they had see,
by-dene-a,
The cumpany was clene-a.
Knels we nowhere a-down,Pray we ingood devocioun
To the kynge of grete renown,of grace
-a,
Inhsvynto have a place-a.
26 CHRISTMAS CAROLS .
XVI II .
Words, in1521, from which book it is givenby H earne,inhisnotes to William of N ewbery , iii. p.
A Carol bn'
ngyng inthe boresfe ed .
The bores heed inhands bring I,With garlands gay and rosemary ;I prays you all synge merely,
The horse head, I understands,IS the chefs servyce of this lands ;Loke where ever it be fande,
Be gladde, lordes, boths more and lasse,For this hath ordeyned owr stewards,To chere you all this Christmasse,
The bores heed with mustards.
28 CHRISTMAS CAROLS .
[F rom MS. Hal-l. No. 7333, fol. 193, w. of the beginning of the
tionof the ancient customs at this seasonof the year . )
A CRISTEMA SSE game, made by Maister Benet H owe .
God A lmyghty seyde to his apostelys, and schonoff
them were baptiste, and none knewe of othir, etc.
Sanctus Petrus.
Petir ! Petir ! pryncs of aposteles alle,
Primat of the chirche and governors
Of the filokke, O pastor principalle,Whichs for my love suffridest dethes showre,
Come have thy meds ordeyned for thy labours
Come on, Petir , syt downe at my knee,H ere is a place preparate for the .
Sanctus Paulus.
Doctours of Jsutiles, O perfite Paule,By grace convertid from thy grete errours
And cruelté, chaunged to Paule fro Sawls,Of fayths and trowths moost perfyts prechowre,Slayne at Rome under thilke emperoure,
Cursyd N ero, Paule, sit downs inthis place,To the ordeyned by purvsauncs of grace.
Sanctus Jobarmes.
Jonthe wangslyst, O virgyns pure,For thy clennesse and pure virginité,
CHRISTMAS CAROLS . 29
Crystesmoder was commytts to thy cure,
Exiled to Pathmos thurghs cruslté,
Wrote the books of goddis privitee,
Of boylyng oyle va uysshing the bests,
Com Sit downe, Johan, this place for the is mete .
Sanctns Andreas.
Andrews, myldist of othir seyntys alle,To whom for meeksnssss and mansuetude
Alls worly wetnesss ssmsd bitter galls,Whos lustis alle thows dyd pleynly exclude,And inthe crosss undir Egeas rwds
Thowe suffrydiste dethe, remembring my passioun,Come nere, Andrew, to recsyvs thi guerdoun.
Sanctus Bartholomew.
Blessid Barthylmewe, bevens blisse to wynne,Aftir grete passiona and bittre tormente,
O myghty martir, right owts of thyne owns Skynne
Thow were tom e and cruelly‘
to-rent,For thy constauncs cowdsnot from feithe be bent,Of ryghtwisnesse thi labours most be q tts,
Come, Barthilmews, and right downe here thow sitte .
Thomas ! Thomas ! that sufl’redist dethe inYnde,Persid withe a spere, the feithe for to susteyns,
Hards of belesvs but yt t thow did unkynde,By thynhardnesss from mys
-bylevys certey nc
Many a sowle, and so kept hem fro peyne,
32 CHRISTMAS CAROLS.
[From No. 5396, fol. 4 , r° . of the beginning of the
sixteenth century . )
CI: risto paremus canticam, excels-is gloria .
WhenCryst was bornof Mary frs,InBedlsm inthat fayre cyte,Angellis song ther with myt and gle,
inare-elm gloria .
IIerdmenbeheld thes angellis bry3t,To hem appcryd wyth gret ly3t,
And seyd, G oddys sons is bornthisny3t,”
Thys keng ys comynto save kynde,A s ynscriptureswe fynde,Therfors this song have we inmynde,
inexcelsis gloria .
T hen, L ord, for thy gret grace,lraunt us the blys to se thy face,
It re we may syng to thy solas,inemcelsis gloria
3+ CHRISTMAS CAROLS .
XXIII .
[M m MS. Cotton.Vesp. A . xxv. fol. 136, v0
. writtenearly inthesixteenth century .)
WHo trustes Christes incarnatyone,Are chyldrsnof salwacyone .
Seaventh chapter of Isai,
A signs, a tokenye Shall se,“
'
here that that he haith savd,
Lo ! a mad shall concsyve a chyld,
Of mans knowing be undefilde,And still shall be a maids.
A mother maid a child to bringe,N owe who haithe hard of suche a things
Or who cantell at fi'
ull
H owe that a maid a mother was
Or hows this same is hrowght to pas
Manswit it is to dull.
That an) mare inverginitie,
Ant he singe bdnld and sa
TN T-r of hir r s a rm
CHRISTMAS CAROLS .
This fierie bushs that was so bright,To Moises did give suche a light,And not one leafs was brent .
Another sing behould now, 10 !
Of Sedrak, Misake, A bbednago,Ina fornace concluded,
And not one hare of them adust ;A s ys Godeswyll, Godeswyl be
Y t cannot be refussed.
Who candeny but this ys trew,
What ys Godeswyll yt must ensew,
And nature must applye ?
Why dost thou, Jew, nowmusse now than,
That God may be both God and man,A mayd a mother he ?
N ow faith inthis that must take place,Therfors who so faith wyll embrace,And trust inChrist his birth,
A s saith the scripture, they shalbs
With God above inhis glory,Where ever shalbs mirth .
FF IN IS .
35
CHRISTMAS CAROLS .
XXIV.
[MS. Cott. Vesp . A . xxv. fol. 138,
A s said the prophet Abacuc,Betwixt too bestes shulde lye our buk,
That mankind shuld redeme ;
The oxe betokenithe mekenes here,The asse our gilte that he shulde here,
And washe away our cryme .
Inmydst of doctors he was fownd,The pr0phetes planly did expownde,Throughe mydst frome deaths he fledd ;
N o where wolde die but onthe crosss,Betwixt two theives redemed our losse,His blood for bus to shedds.
Inmidst of his disciples all,Said, peace to yowuniversal] !
All synnes ye shall remite,For now is maid anunitie
With manand Godesdevinitie,Of love the knot is knits.
Saint Johnabowe the ierarchies,Se .vij . goldenluminaries,And Crist was inthe myde
And of this .vij . the trew entente
Is .vij . holie sacramentes ment,
Christ inthe midst is hide .
calm CAROLS .
Of blodye mxrtsrdome.
And all his courts one hym loking,
Dyd valiantly fight ;
Downs lyke a puy z ant knight .
A s he was crucified,
Hym for to comforths, helps, and guy ds,Of deaths abulde be nothings afi
’
raid,
Whenstoons of him did glied.
Sainete JhonBaptist se hevsnOpen,Sainete Panls se thinges not to be spoken,Some ss transfigurate ;
But Stevense Christ inhis glorys,
And thos that dyd bym haite .
Before Stephensies was set the glar e,
For his conflicts he shoulde recsyvs
A crowns, it did appere
This crownwas wrought inevery links,N o toungs cantellnor hart canthincks,
Bout those that dothe it were .
CHRISTMAS CAROLS .
This crownto were and to obtain,The creuell stones that perchs his brine
IVasno adversitie ;
Trowble, payne, hys lyve to end,H e thowght his hlods was rights well spend,For this crowns for to dis.
Whos at his bodie keste a stone,H e did forger s them every one,
And he that kept there cloosse ;
Christe grants this deis that we maie
W ith Stephento die incharitie,And for -
gevs all our fosse .
FF IN IS .
XXVI .
[MS Cotton. Vesp. A . xxv. fol. 139, v0 .]
TH E N may we joie inunitie,
And thanks the holis Trinitie .
Manto redsme and not angel],Inheavenwrought by dyvine consell,For what snchcson,
Thenhears my reason
Angell fell by no suggesturc,
And manby angell decepturc.
Discsit and falles treason.
Thenmay , etc .
39
40 CHRISTMAS CAROLS .
Ye know that angell of substance
Shuld be strongs with-outs variance ;And whis not man?
I shall shew than:
Manwas maid of flesh unpoure,Weak and feble, sons to alure,
For that mercys whan.
Thanmaye, etc.
Against the father Adam sind
And Eve against the sonne, I find ;Inwhom angell,I shall you tell
Against the holys gost commits,Which shall inno worlds remite,
But ever be inhell.
Thanmaye, etc.
Angell subvented rristslie,
And sad eritis sicut diz'
,
For what intent
Manto subvent,And make all Adam seed to die ;
But Christ againupona tre,
H is blessid blood spent .
Thenmay, etc.
Where angell said and maid a lye,N equaquam mofi emini,
H ow did it passe,A s God wylle was ;
4-2 CHRISTMAS CAROLS .
Thus, 10 ! God and mantogether begane,A s two for to joins together inone,As at this good tyme to bs sett at one ;
Thus God begane
This world for to forms and to encrsasse man.
Angel] inheavenfor offense was damned,And manalso for beings variable ;
Whether shuld be saved was examyned,Manor yst angsll; thenGod was grsable
To answer for man, for manwas not able,And said manhad mosyonand angell had none,Wherefore God and manshuld he seit at one .
Thanks we him than,
That thus did leave angell and saved man.
The Devil] clamed manby barganas this,For anthappell, he said, manwas bought and soldc
God aunswsrsd and said, the barganwas his,Withe mynstobe myne,how durst thous be so holde
?
Manmyne, syne thyne, wherfore thousart now told,Thoue bought nought, thentaike nought, the bargan
is don;
Wherfors God and manshalbs set att one .
Nows blessed be be,For we that are bownds, los ! nows are maid free .
Betwsns God and manit was great distaunce ,Formansaid that God shald have kept him upryght,
And God said manmaid all the variauncs,
For thappls to se tt his commanndsment so light
CHRISTMAS CAROLS . 43
Wherfors of hismercys sparinge the ryght,
H e thought God and manShuld be set at one ;
Seinge that God and manwas set at one,What kindneswas this,
To agree with manand the fault not his ?
Withe manand womanit was great traverse,Mansaid to the woman, woe myght thou be
N ay ,” quod the woman, why dost thous reverse ?
For womans entisinge woe be to the
For God [made] manthe heads and ruler of ms ;
Thus God saws manand womanwere not at one,H e thought ina womanto sett theime at one ;
To our solace,H ismercys he graunted for our trespace .
Of womanhede lo ! thre degres there be,Widowehede, wedlocks, and verginnitie ;
Widowehede clamed heaven, her title is this,By Oppressions that mekelie sufi
'
rethe She ;
And vergins clams by chastité alone ;ThenGod thought awomanshoulde set them at one ;A wedlocks by generacion, heavenhires shuld be,
And cease the strife ;
For Marie was maden, widows, and wife .
The ritchs and the pore the title did rehsrse ;
The pore clamedheaventhroughe his pacient havour,H e saide beatz
'
p aup eres, and further the verse,The riche manby ritches thought bym infavour,
H m m CAROLS.
Fa who was so ritchs fi t as our s viour ?
Ami g aine t ho m puns fi he m m e,
Inhsv t henhs lsv to sst us at om ?
And at ths h st snds the grsz t jovts endlfi !
FMS Cm Vesm . fd . lfi L v
A CA RROLL 0 ? 1113 m m OF CHRIS T .
The days of joye frum heavendoth Q finge,Salvaevons over-flowes the lands,Wherefore all faithful] thus mav sings,
Glorve to God most his !
And peacce onthe earth continuallve !
The births of Christ who lvst to here,
The angell Gabrisll fmm above
Was sent by G od to breaks his love
Unto the virginMarys ;
Blm d art thowof womans ravce !
CHRISTMAS CAROLS .
That swst humour
Of his lyco
Would make us sing at once
I dar well say ,I tell you as I thinks,Would not, I say ,
But that we shuld have drink .
“'
ith manv a comly dishs ;Of his good meat
I cannot eats,“
'
ithout a drink i-wysss ;N owgyve hus drink,And let cat wr uke.
I tell vou all at once.
Y t stickss so sore.
CHRISTMAS CAROLS .
XXX.
[MS . Cott . Vesp. A . xxv. p . 172, r". imperfect at the end.]
PRA ISE we the Lord that haith no pears,And thanks we bym for thisnewyere !
The second personinTrinitie,Manto restore to lybsrtie,The Shape of hym to tak certains
Dyd not refusse, but was full fayne.
Onearths he teached many a yere,Willing mankinds for to forebears
Whenhe were up to fall agains,And thenof bym he would be faine.
Whenhe had taught and preched longe,H e choysss out twelti
'
our selves amonge,To whom he would gyve knowlsdg plains,To teachs the truth, which maid them faine.
Whenhe had wrought thus for our sake,H is deth full mekely he did take,H is hart with Spears was rent intwains,Manto reedeme he was so fains.
But all this same we do forgett,By bym right nought that we do sett,
49
50 CHRISTMAS CAROLS .
Fromsynne we wyllno whytt refrains,To love the world we be so faine.
Let hus take up our selves intyms,From darknes let hus seks to clyme,
Or that our bodys by dethe be Slains,Our Lord we let
H e he fais
FF IN IS .
XXXI .
[From MS. Addit. inMus. Brit. N o. 5665, fol. 5, v0 , writteninthe reignof Henry VIII. This is the MS. formerly
inthe possessionof Ritson.]
N OWELL, nowell, nowell, nowell,Tydynges gode y thyngks to telle .
The borys heds, that we bryng here,Betokeneth a prince withowte pere,Y S borne this day to bye us dsre,
nowell.
A bore y S a soveraynbeste,And acceptabe inevery fests
So mote thys lord be to moste and lsste,
nowell.
52 CHRISTMAS CAROLS .
[MS A ddit. 5665, fol.
Forsake hyr not, they she be with chylde.
I, Josep, wonder how this may be,Thu Mary wex gret wheny and she
Ever have levyd insbastite ;
If she be with chylde, hit ys not by me.
Inhere hathe sntryd wythowts od'
ens,God and manconceyved by hys prssens,And She virgynpure wythowte violens.
Mervelle no, Joseph.
What the angelle of God to me dothe say,
I, Joseph, musts and wills umble obay,Ellys prively y wolds have stole a-way ,
But nowwille y serve here tille that y day .
Mervelle not, Josep .
Jcsep, thow Shalt here mayde and moder fynde,H ere sons redemptor of alle mankynde,Thy fore-faderes of paynes to unhynde ;Therefor muss not this mater inthy mynde .
Mervelle not.
CHRISTMAS CAROLS .
XXXIV.
[MS. A ddit. 5665, fol. 36,
P rofate, welcome, wellscome !
Thys tyms ys borne a chylde of grace,
That for usmankynds bathe take.
A kinges sons and anemperoure
Y S comynouts of amadynys tours,With us to dwells with grete honowrs.
This holy tyms of Cristesmesse,Alle sorwe and synne we shulde relsse,
And caste away alle hevynesse.
The gods lord of this place enters,Seith welcome to alle that nowapers,Unto suche fare as ye fynde here .
W ellecome be thisnewere !
And loke ye alle be of gods chere ;Our Lords God be at oure dsnsrs l
53
54 CHRISTMAS CAROLS .
[MS. Addit. No. 5665, fol. 40, v0 ]
Jhesu,fili virginis,miserere nobis.
Jhssu, of a mayde thou woldest be hom e,
To save mankynds that was for -lom e,
And alle for owr synnes,miserere nobis.
Angelis ther were, mylde of mode,Song to that swete fode,
Wyth joys and blisse
miserere nobis.
Ina cracche was that chylde layds,Bothe oxe and asse wyth bym playds,
Wyth joys and blisse,
Thenfor ushe Shadde his blods,
And alleso he dyedde onthe rods,
And for uS y -wysss,
And thento hells he toke the way,To raunsonhem that ther lay,
with joy and blisse
miserere nobis.
CHRISTMAS CAROIS .
To save us that were for-lore .
To us he gaflsa sompelle abowte,That we shulde no3t be prowts,For he wm wrapped ina clawts.
Pray we Jhesu, hevsnkyng,Alls so afisr owre endyng,To his blysse ever lastyng,
[Ms Addit. No. 5665, fol. as,
O BLE SSE God inTrinité !
G rete cause we have to bles s thy name ,
That nowwoldest sende downe fro the
The holy gost to stynte oure blame .
CHRISTMAS CAROLS . 57
Alle te seyntes inhevenonhye,And alle that bathe inerthe alleso,
Gefi‘
lauds and thangkes devotelye
To God abowe, and synge bym to,
XXXIX.
[MS. A ddit. N o. 5665, fol. 25,
N owmake we joye inthis feste,Inqua Ckmlttusnatus est,
A p atre unigenitus,.iij . gong maydens cam tille us,
And say, wellcome.
Veni, redemp tor gentium.
Agnoscat omne seculum
A bry3th sterre .iij kynges made come,A solis ortus sardine,So my3thi a lord y S nonas he .
Veni, redemp tor omm’
um gentium.
58 CHRISTMAS CAROLS .
[From a small volume of Christmas Carols, printedKele, probably between154 6 and
BE we mery inthis fests,Inqua salvator natus est.
InBetheleem, that noble place,A S by prophesy sayd it was,Of the vyrgynMary, full of grace,Salvator mundinatus est.
Be we mery, etc.
OnChrystmasnyght anangel it tolde
To the Shephardss, kepyng theyr folds,That into Betheleem with bestes wolde,Salvator mundinatus est.
Be we mery, etc.
The Shephardes were compassed ryght,
About them was a great lyght,Dreds ye nought, sayd the aungell bryght,Salvator mundinatus est.
Be we mery, etc.
Beholds to you we brynge great joy,For why ? Jesus is hom e this dayOf Mary, that mylde may ,Salvator mundinatus est.
Be mery, etc.
60 CHRISTMAS CAROLS .
Venez voir votre Maitre,
A sette voix céleste
Omnes hip astores,D
’
unair doux et modeste,E t multum gaudentes,
Incontinent marchérent
Beliota pecore
Tous ensemble arrivérsnt
InBethlem Judw.
Le premier qu’ils trouverent
Intrantes stabulnm.
Fut Joseph ce bonpere,
Qui d’ardeur nompareille,
I t obviam illz'
s,
Les recoit, les accueille
Exp ands brachiis.
I] fait 5 tons caresse,
E t inp ressep io
Fait voir plsind’
alégresse
Matrem cumfi lio
Ces bergers S’étonnerent
Intuentes sum,
Que les Anges reverent
Panm'
s involutum.
Lorsqu’ils se prosternérent
Et tous ils adorérent
P ietate summer
CHRISTMAS CAROLS .
Ce Sauveur tout aimable
Qui homofoetus est,Et qui dans une étable
N asci dignatus est.
D’
uncoeur humble et sincere,Suis muneribus,
Donnerent ala mere
Desmarques de tendresse ;A tque hisp eractis,
Font voir leur alégresse
Hymm'
s et canticis
Mills esprits angéliques
Janotip astom'
bus
Chantent dans leur musique
Puer vobisnatus
A u Dieu par quinous sommes,Gloria inexcelsis,
Et la paix soit aux hommes
Bones voluntatis !
Jamais pareilles fetes
Judicio omnium,
Meme jusques aux betes
Testantur gaudium.
Enfincette naissance
Cunctz'
s creature'
s
Donne rejouissance,E t replet gaudiis.
Qu’onne soit insensible,A deamus omnes,
(51
62 CHRISTMAS CAROLS .
Ce Dieu rendu passible
E t tous de compagnie
Exoramus sum,
Qu’ala finde la vie
Dei regnum beatum.
XL II .
[From The Christmas Prince, London,
onbringing the Boar’s H ead, used before theChristmas
Prince, at S t. Johnthe Bap tist’
s College,
Oxford, Christmas 1607.
THE Boare is dead,Loe, hears is his head
What mancould have done more
Thenhis head of to strike,
And brings it as I doe before ?
H e livings Spoyled
Where good mentoyled,Which made kinds Ceres sorrys ;
But now, dead and drawne,Is very good brawns,And wee have brought it
66 CHRISTMAS CAROLS .
The wencheswith their wassel bowls
About the streets are Singing ;The boys are come to catch the owls,The wild mare inis bringing.
Our kitchen-boy hath broke his box,And to the dealing of the ox
Our honest neighbours come by flocks,And here they will be merry.
N owkyngS and queens poor Sheep cotes
And mate with every body ;The honest nowmay play the knave,And wise menplay the noddy.
Some youthswillnowa mumming go,Some others play at Rowland-ho,And twenty other gameboys mo,Because they will be merry.
Thenwherefore inthese merry daies
Should we, I pray be duller ?
N o, let us Sing some roundelayes,
To make our mirth the fuller .
And, whilst thus inspir’
d we Sing,
Let all the streets with echoes ring,Woods and hills, and every thing,Bear witnesswe are merry.
CHRISTMAS CAROLS .
XLIV .
[From N ewCarolls for thisMery Time of Christmas, 12mo.
Lond. 1661. Thiscarol is printed inthe A rchaeologist, N o. 1.
It was sung to the tune of Essex last good
A LL you that inthis house be here,Remember Christ that for us dy
’d,
And Spend away with modest cheers
Inloving sort this Christmas tide .
And whereas plenty God hath sent,
Give frankly to your friends inlove
The bounteous mind is freely bent,And never will aniggard prove .
Our table spread withinthe hall,I knowa banquet is at hand,
And friendly sort to welcome all
That wil unto their tacklings stand .
The maids are bonny girles I see,Who have provided much good cheer,
Which at my dame’
s commandment be
To set it onthe table here .
For I have here two knives instor'
e
To lend to him that wanteth one ;
Commend my wits, good lads, therefore,That comesnowhither having none.
68 CHRISTMAS CAROLS .
For if I schuld, no Christmas pye
Would fall, I doubt, unto my Share ;Wherefore I will my manhood try ,To fight a battle if I dare .
For pastry-crust, like castle walls,
Stands braving me unto my face ;I am not well until it falls,And I made captainof the place .
The prunes so lovely look onme,I cannot chuse but venture on
The pye-meat Spiced brave I see,
The which I must not let alone .
Then, butler, fill me forth some beer,My song hath made me somewhat dry
'
And so againto this good cheer,H e quickly fall couragiously .
And for my master I will pray,With all that of his household are,
Both old and young, that long we mayOf God’s good blessings have a Share .
70 CHRISTMAS CAROLS .
With bays and rosemary,And lawrsl compleat,
And every one now
IS a king inconceit.
But as for all curmudgeons,Who willnot be free,
I wish they may die
Onthe three-legged tree .
XLVI .
[A ChristmasCarol, from Poor Robin’sA lmanac, Dec.
Nowthat the time is come wherein,our Saviour Christ was born,
The larders full of beef and pork,the gam ers fill
’
d with corn;A S God hath plenty to thee sent,
take comfort of thy labours,And let it never thee repent
to feast thy needy neighbours.
Let fires inevery chimney be,that people they may warm them ;
Tableswith dishes covered,
good victualswillnot harm them .
CHRISTMAS CAROLS .
With mutton, veals, beef, pig, and pork,well furnish every board,
Plum-pudding, furmity and what
thy stock will thenafford.
N o niggard of the liquor be,let it go round thy table,
People may freely drink, but not
so long as they are able ;Good customs they may be abus
’
d,
which makes rich menso slack us,This feast is to relieve the poor,and not to drunkenBacchus.
Thus if thou doest,’twill credit raise thee,
God will the bless,and neighbours praise thee .
XLVH .
[From Sandys, p.
A CH ILD this day is born,A child of high renown,
Most worthy of a sceptre,A sceptre and a crown.
N ovels, N ovels, N ovels,N ovels, sing allwe may,
Because the King of all kings
Was bornthis blessed day .
72 CHRISTMAS CAROIB .
This child both God and man
From heavendownto us came,
H e is the King of all kings,
And Jesus is hisname.
N ovels, &C .
These tidings shepherds heard
Infield watching their fold,
That night reveal’
d and told.
N ovels, 8tc.
Who standing near by them
To them shined so bright,That they amaz ed were
A t that most glorious sight .
N ovelS, &c.
To whom the angel Spoke,Saying, be not afraid,
Be glad, poor Silly Shepherds ;Why are you so dismayed ?
N ovels, &c.
For 10, I bring you tidings
Of gladness and of mirth,Which cometh to all people by
This holy Infant’s birth.
N ovels, 8te .
CHRISTMAS CAROLS .
The which the holy prophets
Spake of long time before,That from the fall of Adam
The Shepherds hearts were joyful
A t this great gloriousnews,That the King of all kings
was risenamongst the Jews.
N ovels, 8tc.
Without the least of hinderance
Anonthey went inthen,And found the young child Jesus Christ
Thus borninBethlehem.
N ovels, 8tc.
And as the angel told them,
So to them did appear ;They found the young child Jesus
W ith Mary his mother dear .
N ovels, 850 .
N ot sumptuously, but simply,Was the young King array
’
d ;
A manger was the cradle
Where the young child was laid.
CHRISTMAS CAROLS . 75
N o pride at all was found
Inthismost holy Child,But he being void of all Sin,The Lamb of God most mild.
N ovels, Ste .
His body unto bitter pains
H e gave to set us free :
H e is our Saviour Jesus Christ,And none but only he.
N ovels, &c.
To Father, Son, and H oly Ghost
A ll glory be therefore,To whom be all dominion
Both nowand evermore
N ovels, 8tc.
XLVIII .
[For Christmas Day inthe Morning, from Sandys, p.
THE first N owell the Angell did say
Was to three poor Shepherds inthe fields as they
Infieldswhere they lay keeping their sheep
Ina cold winter’snight that was so deep.
N owell, N owell, N owell, N owell,Bornis the King of Israel.
76 CHRISTMAS CAROLS .
They looked up and sawa star
Shining inthe East beyond them far,And to the earth it gave great light,And so it continued both day and night.
N owel,
And by the light of that same star,
Three Wise Mencame from country far ;To seek for a King was their intent,And to follow the star wherever it went .
N owel, &c.
This star drew nigh to the N orth West,
O’
sr Bethlehem it took its rest,And there it took both stop and stay
Right over the place where Jesus lay .
N owell, Ste .
Thendid they know assuredly
Withinthat house the King did
One entered inthenfor to see,
And found the babe inpoverty,N owell, &c.
Thenenter’d inthose Wise Menthree
Most reverently upontheir knee,And ofi
'
er’
d there inhis presence,Both gold, and myrrh, and frankincense .
N owell, 8tc.
CHRISTMAS CAROLS .
Thenrejoice and be you merry,We have blessings instore.
And therefore be you merry,Rejoice and be you merry,Set sorrows away.
Christ Jesus our Saviour
Was bornonthis day .
Our Lord be was born
Of a virginmost pure,W ithina poor stable
Both safe and secure .
H e was guarded most safely
With angels so bright,Who told three poor shepherds
Those things inthe night .
And therefore, 8tc.
They said, Be not fearful,But to Bethlehem go :
Thenrejoice and be chearful,
For’tis certainly so.
For a young Sonto Joseph,Is inBethlehem born
Thenrejoice all good Christians,And cease for to mourn.
And therefore, &c.
And whenthose three shepherds
Did to Bethlehem come,And arrived at the stable,Theninthey did run,
CHRISTMAS CAROLS .
Where they found blessed Mary
W ith Jesus her Son
There they found our Lord Sleeping,And thus they begun.
And therefore, 8m.
With the Sweetest Hallelujah
The heavens did rejoice,With the saints and the angels,And all with sweet voice,
Crying, Glory and honour
To our heavenly King,Inthe clouds of the air
Thenthis host they did sing,And therefore, 8m.
Thenwellmay we Christians,That dwell onthe earth,
Rejoice and be glad
For sweet Jesus his birth,Who brought us salvation,If we mind but the same
Thenlet all the nation
Sing praise to hisname .
And therefore, 850 .
With true zeal and honour
Let us joy q y Sing,
Inpraise of our salvation,To our heavenly King ;
79
80 CHRISTMAS CAROLS .
To our heavenly Father,That remaineth above,
And to our dear Saviour,That redeem’
d us with
And therefore, 8te .
FIN IS .
I ICB A I N . PN " RI , ST . I l l fl li 8 “ S F .
FRISTMAS CAROLS .
Wenly Father,lnaineth above,tr dear Saviour,Ideem
’
d uswith love .
therefore, 8m.
FIN IS .
R ICH ARDS , PRIN T ER ,ST . MARTIN‘
S LAN F .
COUNCIL
0 ?
mt 15m g 570n‘
ttp.
P resident.
TH E RT . HON . LORD BRAYBROOKE , E .S.A .
TH OMAS AMYOT , E SQ. F .R.S . TREAS . S .A .
WILLIAM H ENRY BLACK, E SQ.
J . A . CAH USAC, E SQ. F .S .A .
WI LL IAM CHAPPELL, E SQ. F .S.A . Treasurer.
JOH N PAYNE COLLIER, E SQ. F.S.A .
T . CROFTON CROKER, E SQ. F.S .A .
REV. A LEXANDER DYCE .
JAMES ORCHARD H ALLIWE LL , E SQ. F .R.S .
G . P . R . JAMES, E SQ.
WILLIAM JERDAN , E SQ. E .S.A . M .R .S L .
CHARLES MACKAY , E SQ.
T. J. PETTIGREW , E SQ. F .R .S. F .S .A .
E . F . RIMBAULT, E SQ Secretary .
JAMES WALSH ,E SQ.
THOMAS WRIGHT , E SQ. M .A . F .S .A .
ever lost, and a future race may not despise the
knowledge of our method of primary instruction
for our children, are m m aZovat Ka tnonfi ction/at .
If we had any credible sources of information,
it would be a subject worthy of investigation, to
ascertain the originof the popularity of these
national nursery melodies : but, like most other
branches of popular literature and traditional
anecdotes, their history is wrapped up ingreat
Obscurity . W e can ascertain that they have
beencurrent inour nurseries for nearly two cen
turies, inall parts of England, under forms very
Slightly differing from each other ; but more than
this we knownot . And these traditional non
sense-scraps have come downto us insuch num
bers, that inthe short space of three years the
Editor of the present volume had collected con
siderably more thana thousand. A selectionis
here presented to the reader .
A fewnursery rhymes canbe traced back to a
very early period . Every child will remember
the lines onBryanO’
Lin,
BryanO’
Lin, and hiswife, and wife’
s mother,
Allwent over a bridge together
cationbe involved inan awkward question of
copyright . I was not previously aware that
Goody Two Shoes,”
and romances of this kind,
were regarded so jealously by the trade .
My respectful and grateful thanks are due to
Sir Edward F . Bromhead, Bar t . who most kindly
and h'
berally furnished me with a verv large and
valuable collectionof nursery rhymes from Lin
colnshire, together with severalusefulsuggestions,
to which I have beengreatly indebted .
’ Nor
must I omit to mentionmy .
obligations to my
friend Mr . Black, a member of the Council of
the Percy Societv,who has also kindly givenme
his valuable assistance .
J . O . H .
35, A lfrfd Place,Feast of All Saints, 184 1.
I am in possess ion of a curious and clever satirical
pamphlet. entitled Infant Institutes,’
Sve . Lond. 1797. to
which I am indebted for some interesting scraps.
NURSERY RHYMES.
f irst (Hausa— fi atorital.
I.
WH EN good king Arthur ruled this land,H e was a goodly king ;
IIe stole three peeks of barley-meal,
To make a bag-pudding.
A bag-pudding the king did make,
And stufl"
d it wellwith plums
And init put great lumps of fat,A s big as my two thumbs.
The king and queendid eat thereof,And noblemenbeside ;
And what they could not eat that night,The queennext morning fried.
2 NURSERY RHYMES .
II.
[THE following song, relating to RobinHood, the celebrated
outlaw, iswell knownat Worksop, inDerbyshire, where it constitutes one of the nursery serica]
Roam H ood, RobinH ood
Is inthe mickle wood !
Little John, Little John,H e to the townis gone .
RobinHood, RobinH ood
Is telling his beads,A ll inthe greenwood,Among the greenweeds.
L ittle John, Little John,If he comesno more,
RobinH ood, RobinH ood,H e will fret full sore !
II I.
[THE original of The house that Jack built” is presumed to bea hymninSW H aggadah, fol. 23, a translationofwhich ishere
given. The historical interpretationwas first givenby P. N .
L eberecht, at Leipsic in1731, and is printed inthe ChristianReformer
,
”vol. xvii. p . 28 . The original is inthe Chaldee
language, and it may be mentioned that a very fine H ebrewmanuscript of the fable, with illuminations, is inthe possessionof George Ofi
'
or, Esq. of Hackney .)
NURSERY RHYMES .
Thencame the water and quenched the fire,That burned the staff,
That beat the dog,That bit the cat,That ate the kid,That my father bought
For two pieces of money
A kid, a kid.
Thencame the oz , and drank the water,That quenched the fire,That burned the staff,That beat the dog,That bit the cat,That ate the kid,That my father bought
For two pieces of money
A kid, a kid.
Thencame the butcher and slew the ox,That drank the water,That quenched the fire,That burned the staff,
That beat the dog,That bit the cat,
That ate the kid,That my father bought
For two pieces of money
A kid, a kid.
HISTORICAL .5
9. Thencame theangelqfdeathandkilled thebutcher ,
That slew the ox,That drank the water,That quenched the fire,That burned the staff,
That beat the dog,That bit the cat,
That ate the kid,That my father bought
For two pieces of money
A kid, a kid.
Thencame the H oly One, blessed be H e !
And killed the angel of death,That killed the butcher,That slew the ox,That drank the water,That quenched the fire,That burned the stafl
“,
That beat the dog,That bit the cat,
That ate the kid,
That my father bought
For two pieces of money
A kid, a kid.
The following is the interpretation1. The kid, which was one of the pure animals, denotes the
H ebrews.
The father, by whom it was purchased, is Jehovah, who re
6 smasher m uss.
presents himself as smtaining this relationto the flebrewnation.
The two pieces of money signify Moses and Aaron, through
whose mediationthe Hebrewswere brought out of Egypt.2. The cat denotes the Assyrians, by whom the tentribes
8. The dog is symbolical of the Babylonian.
5. The fire indicates the Grecianempirc underAlexander theG reat.
6 . The water betokens the Boman, or the fonrth of the great
monarchies to whom dominionthe Jewswere subjected.
7. The ex is a symbolof the Sancens, who subdued Palestine,and brought it under the caliphate.8. The butcher that killed the ox, denotes the crusaders, bywhom the Holy Land m wrested ont of the hands of the
9. The angel of death signifies the Turkish power, by whichthe land of Palestine was takenfrom the li
'
ranks, and towhichit is still subject.10. The commencement of the tenth M is desigwd to
showthat God will take signal vengeance onthe Turks, immediately after whose overthrow the Jews are to be restored to
their ownland, and live under the government of their longexpected Messiah.
IV.
[THE following versionof a popular rhyme is inone of Deucesbooks. I consider it to refer to the rebellious times of Richard IL]
M r father he died, I cannot te ll how,
But he left me six horses to drive out my plough
With awimmy lo ! wommy lo ! Jack Straw blaz ey boys
Wimmy lo ! Wommy lo ! Woh, wob, wob !
8 NURSERY RHYMES .
VI.
[The.
same song as the preceding, dictated by a lady nowlivinginthe Isle of Man, but a far better version]
MY daddy is dead, but I can’
t tell you how ;But he left me six horses to follow the plough
With my whim Wham waddle ho !
Strim stram straddle ho !
Bubble ho ! pretty boy,Over the brow.
I sold my six horses to buy me a cow,
And wasn’t that a pretty thing to follow the plough ?
With my, &c.
I sold my cow to buy me a calf,
For I never made a bargain, but I lost the best half.
W ith my, 850 .
I sold my calf to buy me a cat,
To sit downbefore the fire, to warm her little back
With my,
I sold my cat to buy me a mouse,But she took fire inher tail, and so burnt up my house
With my, 850 .
H ISTORICAL . 9
VII .
[THERE is anold proverb which says that a cat may look at a
king.
” Whether the same adage applies equally to a female
sovereign, and is referred to inthe following nursery song, or
whether it alludes to the glorious QueenBess, is nowamatter
of uncertainty .]
PUS SY eat, pussy cat, where have you been?
I’ve beento Londonto see the Queen.
Pussy eat, pussy eat, what did you there ?
I frighten’d a little mouse under the chair .
VIII .
THE rose is red, the grass is green,
Serve QueenBess our noble queen!
Kitty the Spinner
Will Sit downto dinner,And eat the leg of a frog :
All good people
Look over the steeple,And see the cat play with the dog.
10 NURSERY RHYMES .
[Takenfrom MS. Douce, 357, fol. 124 . See Echard’
s H istory ofEngland, book iii. chap. l .]
SEE saw, sack-a-day ;Monmouth is a pretie boy,Richmond is another,
Graftonis my onely joy,And why should I these three destroy,To please a pious brother ?
X.
[Writtenin164 1, onthe occasionof the marriage of Mary , the
eldest daughter of Charles I, with the young Prince of Orange ]
WHA T is the rhyme for p orringer ?
The king he had a daughter fair,And gave the Prince of Orange her .
[The following nursery song alludes toWilliam III , and George,Prince of Denmark ]
W ILLIAM and Mary, George and Anne,Four such childrenhad never aman:
They turn’d their father out of door,And call
’
d their brother the sonof awhore .
12 NURSERY RHYMES .
THE king of France went up the hill,With twenty thousand men;
The King of France came downthe hill,And ne’er went up again.
TALES .
5mm! (Haas — miles.
THERE was anold womanhad three sons,Jerry, and James, and John:
Jerry was hung, Jameswas drowned,Johnwas lost and never was found,And there was anend of her three sons,Jerry, and James, and John!
XVII .
THERE was amaninThessaly,And he was wondrous wise,
IIc jump’
d into a quickset hedge .
And scratch’d out both his eyes;
And whenhe sawhis eyes were out,
And he was ingreat pain,H e jump
’
d into a holly bush,And scratch’
d’
em inagain.
14 NURSERY RHYMES .
XVIII.
WHEN I was a bachelor, I lived by myself,And all the bread and cheese I laid uponthe shelf
The rats and the mice they made such a strife,
I was forced to go to Londonto buy me awife ;The roadswere so bad, and the laneswere so narrow,
I was forced to bring my wife home ina wheelbarrow.
The wheelbarrow broke, and my wife had a fall ;
Deuce take the wheelbarrow, wife, and all.
ROWSTY dowt, my fire’
s all out,
My little dame isnot at home I
I’
ll saddle my cock and bridle my hen,And fetch my little dame home again
H ome she came, tritty trot,She asked for the furmety she left inthe pot ;
Some she eat and some She shod,And some she gave to the truckler
’
s dog ;
She took up the ladle and knocked its head ,And nowpoor Dapsy dog is dead
16 NURSERY RHYMES .
JKIIII.
I HAD 9. little dog, and hisname was Blue Bell,I gave him some work, and he did it very well ;I sent him up stairs to pick up a pin,H e stepped inthe coal-scuttle up to the chin
I sent him to the gardento pick some sage,
H e tumbled downand fell ina rage ;
I sent him to the cellar, to draw a pot of beer,H e came up again, and said there wasnone there.
IIIIIII .
THERE was a little man,And he woo’d a little maid,
And he said, little maid, will youwed,wed,I have little more to say,
Thanwill you, yea or nay,
For least said is soonest mended— ded, ded,
The little maid replied,Some say a little sighed,
But what shallwe have for to eat, eat, eat ?
Will the love that you’
re so rich in,Make a fire inthe kitchen?
Or the little god of Love turnthe spit — Spit,
TA IJES .
I HAD a little moppet,I put it inmy pocket,
And fed it with cornand hay ;Thencame a proud beggar,And swore he would have her,
And stole my little moppet away.
XXV.
THERE were two birds sat ona stone,Fa, la, la, la, lal, de ;
One flew-away, and thentherewas one,Fa, la, la, la, lal, de ;
The other flew after, and thenthere wasnone,Fa, la, la, la, lal de ;
And so the poor stone was left all alone,Fa, la, la, la, lal, de !
XXVI.
THERE was a little Guinea-pig,Who, being little, was not big,H e alwayswalked uponhis feet,And never fasted whenhe eat .
18 NURSERY RHYMES .
Whenfrom a place he ranaway,H e never at that place did stay ;And while he ran, as I am told
,
H e ne’
er stood still for young or old.
H e oftensqueak’d, and sometimes vi’lent,
And whenhe squeak’d he ne’er was silent
Tho’ne’er instructed by a cat,
He knew a mouse wasnot a rat .
One day, as I am certified,
H e took a whim and fairly died ;And as I ’m told by menof sense,H e never has beenliving since .
DID younot hear of Betty Pringle’
s pig
It wasnot very little, nor yet very big ;The pig sat downupona dunghill,And thenpoor piggy he made his will.
Betty Pringle came to see this pretty pig,That was not very little, nor yet very big ;This little piggy it lay downand died,And Betty Pringle sat downand cried.
ThenJohnny Pringle buried this very pretty pig,That wasnot very little, nor yet very big ;
So here’
s anend of the song of all three,Johnny Pringle, Betty Pringle, and the little Piggie .
20 NURSERY RHYMES .
And eke there befel anaccident,By fault of a carpenter’s son,Who to sawchips his Sharp axe lent,Wo woeth the time may Lon
May Londonsay , wo woeth the carpenter,And all such block-head fools,
W ould he were hang’d up like a serpent here,
For jesting with edge-tools.
For into the chips there fell a Spark,Which p ut out insuch flames,
That it was knowninSouthwark,Which lies beyond the Thames.
For lo, the bridge was wondrous high,With water underneath,
O’
er which as manyfishes fly,A s birds thereindoth breath.
And yet the fire consum ’
d the bridge,N ot far from place of landing ;
And though the building was full big,Itfelldownnot-with-stcmdz
°
ng.
And eke into the water fell
So many pewter dishes,That amanmight have takenup very
Both boil’d and roasted fishes.
TALES .
And that the bridge of Londontown,For building that was sumptuous,
Was all by fire half burnt down,For being too contumptious :
And thus you have all but half my song,Pray list to what comes after ;
For now I have coal’d you with thefi re,
I’
llwarm you with the water .
I’
ll tellyou what the river’sname is,Where these childrendid slide-a,
It was fair London’s swiftest Thames,That keeps both time and tide-a.
A ll onthe tenth of January,To the wonder of much people,
’Twas frozeno’
er, that well’twould
Almost a country steeple .
Three childrensliding thereabouts,Upona place too thin,
That so at last it did fall out,
That they did all fall in.
A great lord there was that laid with the king,And with the king great wager makes
But whenhe sawhe couldnot win,He seight, and would have drawnstakes.
21
22 NURSERY RHYMES .
H e said it would bear amanfor to slide,And laid a hundred pound ;
The king said it would break, and so it did,
For three childrenthere were drown’d.
Of which one’s head was from his should
ers stricken, whose name was John,Who thencry
’d out as loud as he could,
O Lon-a, Lon-a, London!
Oh ! tut,-tut,-turnfrom thy sinful race,Thus did his speech decay :
I wonder that insuch a case
H e had no more to say .
And thus being drown’d, alack, alack,
The water randowntheir throats,And stopt their breath three hours by the clock,Before they could get any boats.
Y e parents all that childrenhave,And ye that have none yet ;
Preserve your childrenfrom the grave,And teach them at home to sit .
For had they at a sermonbeen,Or else upondry ground,
Why thenI would have never beenseen,If that they had beendrown’d.
4~ NURSERY RHYMES .
I’
LL tell you a story,About Jack a N ory ;
And nowmy story’s begun
I’ll tell you another
About Jack his brother,And nowmy story’
s done.
XXXIV.
THE maninthe moon,Came tumbling down,
And ask’d hisway to N orwich .
He went by the south,
And burnt his mouth,With supping hot pease porridge .
XXXV.
THE maninthe moondrinks claret,But he is a dull Jack-a-Dandy ;
Would he know a sheep’s head from a carrot,H e should learnto drink cider and brandy.
N)
TALES .
XXXVI.
TOM , Tom, the piper’
s son,Stole a pig, and away he run!
The pig was eat, and Tom was beat,And Tom went roaring downthe street !
THERE was anold woman
Liv’
d under a hill,She put a mouse ina bag,And sent it to mill
The miller did swear,By the point of his knife,
H e never took toll
Of a mouse inhis life !
FOUR and twenty tailors went to kill a snail,The best manamong them durst not touch her tail
She put out her horns like a little kyloe cow,Run, tailors run, or she
’
ll kill you all e’ennow.
26 NURSERY RHYMES .
JA CK Sprat could cat no fat,His wife could cat no lean;
And so, betwixt them both,They lick’
d the platter clean.
L ITTLE Jack Jingle,H e used to live single
But whenhe got tired of this kind of life,H e left off being single, and liv
’d with his
XL I.
[THE last verse of the following song is popular inournurseries,and must be of great antiquity , as it is alluded to inMS. Lansd.
760, ina poem of the time of H enry VII ]
COME all ye brisk young bachelors,That wish to have good wives ;
I’
d have you be precautions,Howyou spend your lives.
For womenthey are as various,A s the fish are inthe sea ;
They’
re tentimesmore precarious,Thanawinter or summer’s day !
28 NURSERY RHYMES .
Oh why Should I corrupt my life
The victim did reply :
For here’s a crowd of every sort,And why should I prevent the sport ?
The bargain’
s bad inevery part
The wife’s the worst ; drive onthe cart
XLII.
THE lionand the unicorn,Were fighting for the crown
The lionbeat the unicorn,A ll round about the town.
Some gave him white bread,Some gave him plum cake,And sent him out of town.
XL III .
DOCTOR Faustuswas a good man,H e whipt his childrennowand then;Whenhe whipp
’
d them he made them
Out of Scotland into France,Out of France into Spain,And thenhe whipp
’
d them back again
TALES .
XLIV.
L ITTLE Miss Mopsey,Sat inthe shopsey,
Eating curds and whey ;There came a little spider,Who sat downbeside her,And frightened little Miss Mopsey
XLV.
TOM married awife onSunday,
Beat her well onMonday,Bad was she onTuesday,Midling was she onWednesday,Worse was she onThursday,Dead was She onFriday ;Glad was Tom onSaturday night,To bury his wife onSunday.
XLVI.
SOLOMON Grundy,BornonMonday,Christened onTuesday,Married onWednesday,Took ill onThursday,Worse onFriday,
29
30 NURSERY RHYMES .
Died onSaturday,Buried onSunday ;This is the end
Of SolomonGrundy
XLVII.
THERE was a crooked man, and he went a crooked mile,H e found a crooked Sixpence against a crooked stile ;
H e bought a crooked cat, which caught a crooked
mouse,And they all liv’
d together ina little crooked house .
L ITTLE blue Betty lived ina den,She sold good ale to gentlemen
Gentlemencame every day ,And little blue Betty hopp
’d away.
She hopp’
d up stairs to make her bed,
And she tumbled downand broke her
XL IX.
THE fox and his wife they had a great strife,
They never eat mustard inall their whole life ;They eat their meat without fork or knife
And lov’d to be picking a bone, e-oh !
32 NURSERY RHYMES .
THERE was anold man, who lived ina wood,A S you may plainly see ;
H e said he could do as much work ina day ,A S his wife could do inthree.
With allmy heart, the old womansaid,If that you will allow,
To-morrowyou’
ll stay at home inmy stead,
And I’ll go drive the plough.
But you must milk the Tidy cow,
For fear that She go dry ;And you must feed the little pigs,
That are withinthe sty ;
And you must mind the speckled hen,For fear she lay away ;
And you must reel the spool of yarn,That I spunyesterday.
The old womantook a staff inher hand,And went to drive the plough
The old mantook a pail inhis hand,And went to milk the cow:
But Tidy hinched, and Tidy flinched,And Tidy broke hisnose,
And Tidy gave him such a blow,
That the blood randownto his toes
TALES . 33
H igh ! Tidy ! Ho ! Tidy high
Tidy ! stand still,
If ever I milk you Tidy, again,Twill be sore against my will
H e went to feed the little pigs,That were withinthe sty ;
H e hit his head against the beam,
And he made the blood to fly.
H e went to mind the speckled hen,For fear she’d lay astray ;
And he forgot the spool of yarn,H iswife spunyesterday.
So he swore by the sun, the moon, and the stars,
And the greenleaves onthe tree ;If hiswife didn’t do a day’
s work inher life,She should ne’er be rul’d by he.
L I.
THERE was amaninour toone, inour toone, inour
toone
There was a maninour toone, and his name was
Billy Pod ;And he played uponanold raz or, anOld raz or, anold
raz or,And he played uponanold raz or, with my fiddle fiddle
fe fum fo.
34 NURSERY RHYMES .
his hat it was made of the good roast beef,
good roast beef, 8tc.
hishat it wasmade of the good roast beef, and
name was Billy Pod ;he played uponanold raz or, 8m. 8m.
his coat it was made of the good fat tripe, the
good fat tripe, the good fat tripe,his coat it was made of the good fat tripe, and his
name was Billy Pod ;he played uponanOld razor, &0 .
his breeks they were made of the bawbie
the bawbie baps, 8tc.
his breeks they were made of the bawbie
and hisname was Billy Pod ;he played uponanold razor, 8te.
there was a manintither toone, intither toone,intither toone,
there was a manintither toone, and his name
was EdrinDrum
he played uponanold laadle, anold laadle, anold
laadle,
he played uponanold laadle, with my fiddle,fiddle fe fum fo.
And he eat up all the good roast beef, the good roast
beef, fee . 8tc.
36 NURS ERY RHYMES .
LIII .
L UCY Locket lost her pocket,Kitty Fisher found it :
But the binding round it .
L IV.
SA YS Aaronto Moses,Let
’
s cut off our noses
Says Moses to Aaron,’
Tis the fashionto wear ’
em.
LV.
SAYS Moses to Aaron,That fellow’
s a swearingSays Aaronto Moses,H e
’
s drunk I supposes.
LVI.
BE SSY Bell and Mary Gray,They were two bonnie lasses
They built their house uponthe lea,And covered it with rushes.
TALES .
Bessy kept the gardengate,And Mary kept the pantry
Bessy always had to wait,While Mary lived inplenty.
LVII.
MY lady W ind, my lady Wind,Went round about the house to find
A Chink to get her foot in
She tried the key -hole inthe door,She tried the crevice inthe floor,And drove the chimney soot in.
And thenone night, whenit was dark,Sheblewup such a tiny spark,That all the house was pothered
From it she rais’
d up such a flame,A S flamed away to Belting Lane,And White Cross folks were smothered.
And thus whenonce, my little dears,A whisper reaches itching ears,
The samewill come, you’ll find
Take my advice, restrainthe tongue,Remember what old nurse has sungOf busy lady Wind !
38 NURSERY RHYMES .
LVIII.
ROBIN the Bobbin, the big-bellied Ben,H e eat more meat thanfourscore men;H e eat a cow,
he eat a calf,
H e eat a butcher and a half ;H e eat a church, he eat a steeple,H e eat the priest and all the people !
LIX .
PEG, Peg, with awoodenleg,H er father was a miller
He tossed the dumpling at her head,And said he could not kill her .
LX .
[TH E tale of Jack Horner has long beenappropriated to the
nursery . The four lineswhich followare the traditional ones,and they form part of The pleasant History of Jack Horner
,
containing his witty Tricks and pleasant Pranks, which he
plaied from his Youth to hisriper Years,”12mo. a copy ofwhich
is inthe BodleianLibrary .]
L ITTLE Jack H orner, sat inthe corner,Eating of Christmas pie
H e put inhis thumb, and took out a plum,
And said, What a brave boy am I !”
40 NURSERY RHYMES .
LXIII .
[The following is a Scotch versionof the same song ]
THERE was a wee bit wifie,Who lived ina shoe ;
She had so many bairns,She kenn’d na What to do.
She gaed to the market
To buy a sheep-head ;Whenshe came back
They were a’
lying dead .
She went to the wright
To get them a coffin
Whenshe came back
They were a’
lying laughing.
She gaed up the stair,
To ring the bell ;The bell-rope broke,And downshe fell.
LXIV.
TA FFY was aWelchman, Taffy was a thief ;Taffy came to my house, and stole a piece of beef
I went to Tafl'
y’
s house, Tafl'
y wasnot at home ;Tafl
’
y came to my house, and stole a marrow-bone .
TALES .
I went to Tafl'
y’
s house, Tafl'
y wasnot in;Taffy came to my house, and stole a silver pin
I went to Tafi'
y’
s house, Taffy was inbed,I took up a poker and flung it at his head.
LXV.
OLD Dr. Foster went to Gloster,To preach the word of God :
Whenhe came there, he sat inhis
And gave all the people anod.
LXVI.
MARY had a pretty bird,Feathers bright and yellow,
Slender legs,— uponmy word
H e was a pretty fellow.
The sweetest note he always sung,Which much delighted Mary ;
She oftenwhere the cage was hung,Sate to hear her canary.
4 1
4 4 NURSERY RHYMES .
LXXIII.
TOMMY TROT, a manof law,
Sold his bed and lay uponstraw
Sold the straw and slept ongrass,To buy his wife a looking-glass.
LXXIV.
THERE was a lady lov’d a swine,
H oney, quoth she,
Pig, Hog, wilt thou be mine ?
H oogh, quoth he .
I’
ll build thee a silver sty,
Honey, quoth she ;
And init thou shalt lie,H oogh, quoth he .
Pinn’d with a silver pin,Honey, quoth she ;
That you may go out and in,H oogh, quoth he.
Wilt thou have me now,
H oney ? quoth she ;
H oogh, hoogh, hoogh, quoth he,And went hisway .
TALES . 47
LXXVIII.
A CARRION crow sat onanoak,Watching a tailor shape his cloak .
Wife,”cried he, bring me my bow,
That I may shoot you carrioncrow.
”
The tailor shot and miss’d hismark,And shot his ownsow through the heart
Wife, bring me some brandy ina Spoon,For our old sowis ina swoon.
”
LXXIX.
[TH I S apparently alludes to the celebrated GeneralMonk ; butas it seems to be altogether apocryphal, I have not admitted
it into the historical class.)
L ITTLE General Monk
Sat upona trunk,Eating a crust of bread ;There fell a hot coal
And burnt inhis clothes a hole,N owL ittle General Monk is dead.
Keep always from the fire :
If it catch your attire,You too, like Monk, will be dead .
See p. 4 2.
48 NURSERY RHYMES .
LXXX.
L ITTLE Jenny Wrenfell sick upona time,When in came RobinRed-breast, and brought her
bread and wine ;Eat, Jenny, drink, Jenny, all shall be thine
ThenJenny she got better, and stood uponher feet,And says to little Robin, I love thee not a bit !”
ThenRobinhe was angry and flewupona twig,H oot uponthee, fie uponthee, ungrateful chit !
”
LXXXI .
THE STORY OF CA T SKIN .
[A s related by anold nurse, aged eighty-one. The story is of
oriental origin; but the song, as recited, was so very imperfec t,that a fewnecessary additions and alterations have beenmade ]
THERE once was a gentlemangrand,Who lived at his country-seat ;
H e wanted anheir to his land,
For he’d nothing but daughters yet.
His lady’s againinthe way ,
So she said to her husband with joy ;I hope some or other fine day ,To present you, my dear, with a boy.
”
50 NURSERY RHYMES .
My lady look’d long inher face,
I’m sorry I’ve no better place,
So Catskinwas under the cook,A very sad life she led,
For oftena ladle she took,And broke poor Catskin’s head.
There isnowa grand ball to be,
3
Mrs. Cook,”said Catskin, dear me !
Howmuch I should like to go.
”
You go with your Catskin-robe,
Among the fine ladies and lords,A very fine figure you
’
d cut !”
A basinof water she took,And dashed inpoor Catskin’s face ;
But briskly her ears she shook,And went to her hiding place .
She washed every stainfrom her skin,Insome cristal waterfall;
Thenput ona beautiful dress,And hasted away to the ball.
TALES.
W henShe entered, the ladieswere mute,Overcome by her figure and face ;
But the lord, her young master, at once
Fell inlove with her beauty and grace
H e pray’d her his par tner to be ,
She said, Y es, with a sweet smiling glance ;A llnight with no other lady
But Catskin, our young lord would dance.
Pray tell me, fair maid, where you live,For nowwas the sad parting time ;
But she no other answer would give,Thanthis distych of mystical rhyme,
fliah sir, if ti) : truti) i must tell,
fi t the signof the basinof tester llhincll.
Thenshe flew from the ball-room, and put
Onher Catskinrobe again;
And slipt inunseenby the cook,Who little thought where She had been.
The young lord the very next day ,To his mother his passionbetray
’
d,
And declared he never would rest,
Till he’
d found out his beautifulmaid !
There’
s another grand ball to be,Where ladies their beauty Show ;
51
52 NURSERY RHYMES .
Mrs. Cook, said Catskin, dear me,Howmuch I should like to go.
”
You go with your Catskinrobe,You dirty, impudent slut !
Among the fine ladies and lords,A very fine figure you
’d cut !”
Ina rage the ladle she took,And broke poor Catskin’
s head ;But off she went shaking her ears,And swift to her forest she fled.
She washed every blood stainoff,Insome cristal waterfall ;
Put ona more beautiful dress,And hasted away to the ball.
My lord at the ball-room door,Was waiting with pleasure and pain;
H e longed to see nothing so much,A s the beautiful Catskinagain.
Whenhe asked her to dance, she again
Said Y es,” with her first smiling glance ;
And againall the night my young lord,W ith none but fair Catskindid dance
Pray tellme, said he, where you live ;For now ’
twas the parting time ;
54 NURSERY RHYMES .
She washed the stains of blood,Insome cristal waterfall ;
Thenput onher most beautiful dress,And hasted away to the ball.
My lord at the ball-room door,Was waiting with pleasure and pain;
H e longed to see nothing so much,A s the beautiful Catskinagain.
Whenhe asked her to dance, she again
Said Y es,” with her first smiling glance ;
And all the night long, my young lord
W ith none but fair Catskinwould dance !
Pray tell me, fair maid, where you live ;For nowwas the parting time
But she no other answer would give,Thanthis distych of mystical rhyme,
Binh air, if the truth I mimt tell,at the signof the brokenstrimmer llumu.
Thenshe flew from the ball, and threw on
H er catskin-cloak again;And slipt inunseenby the cook,Who little thought where she had been.
But not by my lord unseen,For this time he follow’
d too fast ;
TALES .
And hid inthe forest green,Saw the strange things that past !
N ext day he took to his bed,And sent for the doctor to come ;
And begg’
d him no other thanCatskin,Might come into his room !
H e told him how dearly he lov’
d her,
N ot to have her his heart would break ;Thenthe doctor kindly promis
’
d,
To the proud old lady to speak .
There’
s a struggle of pride and love,For she fear
’d her sonwould die ;
But pride at the last did yield,And love had the mastery !
Thenmy lord got quickly well,W henhe was his charmer to vow;
And Catskinbefore a twelvemonth,Of a young lord was brought to bed.
To away -faring womanand child,Lady Catskinone day sent analms ;
The nurse did the errand, and carried
The sweet little lord inher arms.
The child gave the alms to the child,Thiswas seenby the old lady mother ;
55
56 NURSERY RHYMES .
Only see, said that wicked old woman,How the beggars
’ brats take to each other
This throw went to Catskin’s heart,She flung herself downonher knees,
And pray’d her young master and lord,
To seek out her parents would please .
They set out inmy lord’
s owncoach,And travell’d ; but nought befell,
Till they reach’d the townhard by,
Where Catskin’s father did dwell.
They put up at the head in ,
Where Catskinwas left alone ;But my lord went to try if her father,H isnatural child would own.
Whenfolks are away, inshort time
What great alterations appear !
For the cold touch of death had all chill’
d,
The hearts of her sisters dear .
H er father repented too late ,And the loss of his youngest bemoan
’d
Inhis old and childless state,H e his pride and cruelty own’d !
The old gentlemansat by the fire,And hardly looked up at my lord
58 NURSERY RHYMES .
One was parson, the other clerk
The goldfinch gave the bride away,
Towards the feast gave each a share ;
Some brought grain, and some brought meat,Some brought savours, some brought sweet
And as it wasmost pleasant weather,
A hawk with Jenny flew away,And Robin, by the cruel sparrow,
[The tale of Simple Simonforms one of the chap-books, but the
SIarm; Simonmet a pieman,
Says Simple Simonto the pieman,Let me taste your ware .
TALES .
Says the piemanto Simple Simon,Shew me first your penny.
”
Says Simple Simonto the pieman,I have not got any .
”
Simple Simonwent to town,To buy a piece of meat :
H e tied it to his horse’s tail,To keep it cleanand sweet .
Simple Simonwent out fishing,For to catch a whale
All the water he had got
Was inhis mother’s pail.
Simple Simonwent to look
If plums grew ona thistle ;
H e pricked his fingers very much,Which made poor Simonwhistle.
THERE was anold womanof N orwich,Who lived onnothing but porridge !
Parading the town,She turned cloak into gown!
This thrifty old womanof N orwich.
59
\T RSERY m m .
'
lhis pions old womanof Leeds !
Went to the cupboard,To get her poor dog a bone ;
But whenshe came there,
And so the poor dog had none .
She went to the baker’s
To buy him some bread,But whenshe came back
She went to the joiner’s
But whenshe came back
62 NURSERY RHYMB .
She went to the tailor’s
But whenshe came back
H e was riding a goat .
She went to the cobler’s
To buy him some shoes,But whenshe came back
H e was reading the news.
She went to the sempstress
To buy him some linen,But whenshe came back
The dog was spinning.
She went to the hosier’s
To buy him some hose,But whenshe came back
H e was dress’d inhis clothes.
The dame made a curtsey,The dog made a how;
The dame said, your servant,The dog said, bow, wow.
TALES .
OLD King Cole
Was amerry old soul,And a merry old soulwas he ;And he called for his pipe,And he called for his glass,And he called for his fiddlers three.
And every fiddler, he had a fine fiddle,And a very fine fiddle had he ;Tweedle dee, tweedle dee,
”said the fiddlers.
Oh there’snone so rare,
A s cancompare,With King Cole and his fiddlers three !
TOM he was a piper’s son,H e learn’
d to play whenhe was young,And all the tunes that he could play,Was Over the hills and far away
Over the hills, and a great way off,
And the wind will blow my top-knot Off.
N owTom with his pipe made such anoise,That he pleas
’
d both the girls and boys,And they st0pp
’
d to hear him play,Over the hills and far away.
63
66 NURSERY RHYMES .
W henhe came to a heck,
H e fell and broke hisneck,Johnny, how dost thou now7
I made him a hat,
Of my coat-lap,
And stockings of pearly blue
A hat and a feather,
To keep out cold weather ;So, Johnny, how dost thounow
'
9
XCI.
SATURDA Y -night my wife did die,I buried her onthe Sunday,
I courted another a coming from church,And married her onthe Monday.
OnTuesday night I stole a horse,OnW ednesday was apprehended,
OnThursday I was tried and cast,
And onFriday I was hanged.
XCII .
L ITTLE Tom Trigger,Before he was bigger,Thought he would go out with his gun
68 NURSERY RHYMES .
Unhappy was his lot,.
Into a hedge he got,The mancame behind to beat him ;
Tom cannot get through,H e had the maninview,
But he contrived to cheat him.
A house was inthe vale,
And Margery sold ale,Says he, I
’
ll have some beer ;Soonit will be night,And not a bit of light,My roundabout way home to cheer .
A sow inthe sty ,
A s Tommy came by,Was calling her pigs to repose ;
Says Tom, I love fun,And at the pigs did run,
But fell downand hurt hisnose .
Margery came out,
To see what it was about,And she said, Master Tommy, O fye !
H e took up his gun,And he beganto run,
From the pigs that were inthe sty .
Tom at last got home,H e would no longer roam,
And his mother beganto scold ;
TA LES .
N owhe plays at taw,
Sometimes at see-saw,
And isnot quite so bold.
Tom and his dog Tray,Inthe month of May ,
Went to play with a ball,Which he threwup to the sky ,
Y et not so very high,It sooncame downwith a fall.
H e had a little stick,It was not very thick,H e hit the ball to make it go faster ;
H is little dog Tray,Soonscampered away,To bring the ball back to his master .
H e got up a tree,
A s high as may be,
Some eggs from anest to obtain;A bough bent intwo,
(You see it inthe view),And he fell to the ground ingreat
A doctor they did call
To cure him of the fall,
A long while he kept his bed ;A t last he got well
Of all that him befel,
So this time he shallnot be dead.
69
NURS ERY RHYMES .
W rites a pret ty letter,And is always reading his book ;
H e is not quite so wild,A swhenhe was a child
XCIII .
TH ERE was a frog liv’
d ina well,
Kitty alone, Kitty alone,
There was a frog liv’
d ina well.
Kitty alone, and I .
There was a frog liv’
d ina well,
And a farce’ mouse ina mill,
Kitty alone and I.
This frog he would a wooing ride .
This frog he would a wooing ride,
And ona snail he got astride .
Cock me cary, Ste .
Men-v.
72 NURSERY RHYMES .
The frog he came whistling through the
Kitty alone, &c.
The frog he came whistling through the
And there he met with a dainty duck .
Cock me cary, &c.
This duck she swallow’
d him up with a pluck,Kitty alone, Kitty alone,
This duck she swallow’
d him up with a
So there’
s anend of my history book .
Cock me c ry , Kitty alone,Kitty alone and I .
XCIV.
THERE was anold womantoss’d up ina blanket,N inety-nine times as high as the moon
But where she was going no mortal could tell,For under her arm she carried a broom .
Old woman, old woman, old woman, said I,Whither, ah ! whither, whither so high ?
Oh ! I’m sweeping the cobwebs off the sky ,
And I’ll be with you by and by.
TALES . 73
XCV.
THERE was anold woman,
And she sold puddings and pies
She went to the mill,And the dust flew inher eyes
Hot pies and cold pies to sell !
Wherever she goes,You canfollowher by the smell.
XCVI.
OLD Mother N iddity N od swore by the pudding-bag,
[
She would go to StokenChurch fair ;And thenold Father Peter, said he would meet her,Before she got halfway there .
XCVII.
GILE S Collins he said to his old mother,Mother, come bind up my head ;
And send to the parsonof our parish,For to-morrow I shall be dead, dead,For to-morrow I shall be dead .
74 NURSERY RHYMES .
Hismother she made him some water-gruel,And stirred it round with a spoon;
Giles Collins he ate up his water-gruel,And died before ’
twasnoon,And died before ’
twasnoon.
Lady Anna was sitting at her window,
Mending her night-robe and coif
She saw the very prettiest corpse,She’d seeninall her life, life,She’d seeninall her life.
What bear ye there, ye six strong men,Uponyour shoulders so high ?
We hear the body of Giles Collins,Who for love of you did die, die,Who for love of you did die .
Set him down set him down Lady Anna
Onthe grass that grows so green
To-morrowbefore the clock strikes ten,My body shall lie by his’n, his
’n,
My body shall lie by his’n.
Lady Annawas buried inthe cast
Giles Collinswas buried inthe west ;There grew a lily from Giles Collins,That touch’
d Lady Anna’s breast, breast,That touch’
d Lady Anna’
s breast .
76 NURSERY RHYMES .
She heav’d a sigh, and wip
’
d her eye,
And over the hillockswent stump-o ;And tried what she could, as a shepherdess should,To tack againeach to its rump-o.
XCIX.
JOHN Coox had a little grey mare ; he, haw, hum
H er back stood up, and her bones theywere bare ; he,haw, hum .
JohnCookwas riding up Shuter’
sbank he, haw,hum .
And there hisnag did kick and prank he, haw,hum .
JohnCook was riding up Shuter’
s hill ; he‘
haw,hum
H ismare felldown, andshemade herwill; he,haw,hum .
Thebridleandsaddlewere laid onthe shelf; he, ha,hum
If you want any more you may sing it yourself ; he ,haw, hum .
THERE was a mad manand he had a mad wife,
And they liv’d ina mad town
And they had childrenthree at a birth,And mad they were every one .
TALES . 77
The father was mad, the mother was mad,And the childrenmad beside ;
And they all got ona mad horse,And madly they did ride .
They rode by night and they rode by day ,Y et never a one of them fell ;
They rode so madly all the way ,
Till they came to the gates of hell.
Old N ick was glad to see them so mad,
And gladly let them in
But he soongrew sorry to see them so merry,And let them out again.
CI.
TH ERE was anold man, and he liv’
d inawood ;And his laz y sonJack would snooze tillnoon
N or followed his trade, although it was good,With a bill and stump for making of brooms, green
brooms ;With a bill and a stump for making of brooms.
One mornina passion,and sore with vexation,
H e swore he would fire the room,
If he did not get up and go to his work,And fall to the cutting of brooms, greenbrooms, 8tc.
78 NURSERY RHYMES .
arose and slipt onhis clothesL
And away to the woods very soon,Where he made up his pack, and put it on back,Crying, Maids, do you want any brooms ? green
80 NURSERY RHYMES .
Who pulled her out,Dog with long snout ;What a trick was that,To drownmy granny
’
s cat,
Who never did any harm ,
But catch the mice inthe barn.
CV.
DINGTY diddledy ,
My mammy’
s maid,She stole oranges,I am afraid ;
Some inher pocket,Some in‘
her sleeve
She stole oranges,I do believe .
CVI.
COCK a doodle doo,My dame has lost her shoe ;
And master’s lost his fiddlingAnd don’t knowwhat to do.
Cock a doodle doo,What is my dame to do ?
Tillmaster finds his fiddling stick
She’
ll dance without her shoe .
JINGLES . 81
Cock a doodle doo,My dame has found her shoe,And master’s found his fiddling stick,Sing doodle doodle doo.
Cock a doodle doo,My dame will dance with you,While master fiddles his fiddling stick,For dame and doodle doo.
CVII .
H EY ding a ding, what shall I sing ?
Howmany holes ina skimmer ?
Four-and-twenty,— my stomach is empty ;Pray, mamma, give me some dinner .
CVIII.
DEEDLE,deedle, dumpling, my sonJohn,
Went to the bed with his trousers on;One shoe off, the other shoe on,Deedle, deedle, dumpling, my sonJohn.
82 NURSERY RHYMES .
CIX .
FE EDUM , fiddledum fee,
The cat’
s got into the tree .
Pussy come down,Or I
’
ll crack your crown,And toss you into the sea.
YA NKEE Doodle came to town,Upona Kentish poney ;
H e stuck a feather inhis hat,And called him Macaroni.
COME dance a jigTo my Granny
’
s pig,
With a raudy, rowdy, dowdy
Come dance a jig,To my Granny
’s pig,
And Fussey cat shall crowdy [i. e . fiddle ]
84 NURSERY RHYMES .
CXV.
H EY, dorolot, dorolot !
Hey dorolay , dorolay !
H ey , my bonny boat, bonny boat,H ey, drag away, drag away !
CXVI.
SEEx a thing, give a thing,The old man’s gold ring ;Lie butt, lie ben,L ie among the dead men.
CXVII .
H IE ! diddle diddle,The cat and the fiddle,The cowjumped over the moon,The little dog laughed to see such sport,While the dish ranafter the spoon.
CXVIII.
CRIrrLE Dick upona stick,And Sandy ona sow,
Riding away to Galloway,To buy a pound o’ woo .
JINGLES . 85
CXIX.
FIDDLE -de-dee, fiddle-de-dee,
The fly shallmarry the bumble bee .
They went to the church, and married was
The fly has married the bumble bee.
CXX .
[M agot-p ie is the original name of the chattering and ominous
bird. See M acbeth, A ct iii. so. 4 , where the same word isused ]
ROUND about, round about,Maggotty pie,
My father lovesgood ale,And so do I .
cxxI.
DOODLEDY, doodledy, doodledy , dan,I’ll have a piper to be my good man;And if I get less meat, I shallget game,Doodledy, doodledy , doodledy, dan.
86 NURSERY RHYMES .
CXXII.
[From Shropshire ]
ONE , two, three,
I love coffee,And Billy loves tea.
Howgood you be,One, two, three,I love cofl
'
ee,
And Billy loves tea.
CXXIII .
DICK and Tom, Will and John,Brought me from N ottingham.
CXXIV.
ONE -ERY, two-ery ,
Ziccary z an;Hollow bone, crack a bone,N inery ten
Spittery spot,It must be done ;
Twiddleum twaddleum,
Twenty-one.
88 NURSERY RHYMES .
CXXVII .
[Water -skimming ]
A DUCK and a drake,A nice barley cake,
With a penny to pay the old baker
A hOp and a skotch,
Is another notch,Slitherum, slatherum, take her.
CXXVIII.
GILLY Silly Jarter,Who has lost a. garter ?
Ina shower of rain,
The miller found it,The miller ground it,And the miller gave it
CXXIX.
SEE , saw,Margery Daw,
Jackey shall have anewmaster ;
H e shall have only a penny a-day ,
Because he canwork no faster.
CXXX.
[See Jamieson’
s Glossary , voc. Zickety , and Blackwood’
s
E dinburgh M agaz ine , Aug. 1821, p.
ZICKETY , dickety , dock,The mouse ranup the nock ;The nock struck one,Downthe mouse run,Zickety , dickety , dock .
CXXXI.
SEE, Saw,Margery Daw,
Sold her bed and lay uponstraw
Wasnot she a dirty slut,
To sell her bed and lie upondirt ?
CXXXII .
DIN G,dong, darrow,
The cat and the sparrow;The little dog has burnt his tail,And he shall be hang
’
d tomorrow.
89
90 NURSERY RHYMES .
CXXXIII.
PUSSICA T , wussicat, with a white foot,Whenis your wedding, and I
’
ll come to’
t.
The beer’
s to brew, the bread’
s to bake,Pussy cat, pussy cat, don
’
t be too late !
CXXXIV.
RIDE to the market to buy a fat pig,
H ome again, home again, jiggety-
j lg ;
Ride to the market to buy a fat hog,
H ome again, home again, jiggety-jog.
CXXXV.
L E G over leg,A s the dog went to Dover ;
Whenhe came to a stile,
Jump he went over .
92 NURSERY RHYMES .
CXXXIX.
[A WE LL ]
A s round as anapple, as deep as a
And all the king’
s horses can’t pull
CX L.
[A N EGG .]
H UMPTY DUMPTY sate ona wall,Humpti dumpti had a great fall
Three score menand three score more,Cannot place H umpty dumpty as he was before.
CXL I.
GOO S Y goosy gander !
Where shall I wander ?
Up stairs and downstairs,
And inmy lady’s chamber ;
There I met anOld man,That would not say his prayers.
I took him by the left leg,And threw him downstairs.
RIDDLES . 93
CXLII.
[A RA INBOWJ
[The allusionto Oliver Cromwell satisfactorily fixes the date of
this riddle to belong to the seventeenth century .]
PURPLE , yellow,red and green,
The king cannot reach it nor the queen;N or canold N oll, whose power
’
s so great,
Tellme this riddle while I count eight .
CXLIII .
[A CA NDLE .]
L ITTLE N ancy E tticoat,Ina white petticoat ;The longer she stands,The shorter she grows.
CXLIV.
[PA IR or ToNos.]
Long legs, crooked thighs,Little head and no eyes.
94 NURSERY RHYMES .
CXLV.
LEG Is A LEG or MUTTON ; Two LEGS, A MA N ; TH RE E
LEG S, A STOOL ; FOUR LEG S, A DOG .]
Two legs sat Uponthree legs,With one leg inhis lap ;
Incomes four legs,And runs away with one leg.
Up jumps two legs,Catches up three legs,Throws it after four legs,And makes him bring back one leg.
CXLVI .
A s I was going to sell my eggs,
I met a manwith bandy legs,Bandy legs and crooked toes,I tripped up his heels and he fell nose .
CXLVII.
PEA SE -porridge hot, pease -porridge cold,
Pease-porridge inthe pot, nine days old.
Spell me that infour letters.
96 NURSERY RHYMES .
CLII .
SEE, see ! what shall I see ?
A horse’
s head where his tail should be.
CLIII .
I HAD a little castle uponthe sea-side,One halfwas water, the other was land ;I open
’
d my little castle door, and guesswhat I found ;I found a fair lady with a cup inher hand.
The cup was gold, filled with wine ;Drink fair lady, and thou shalt be mine .
CLIV.
WHE N I went up sandy-hill,I met a sandy boy ;I cut his throat, I sucked his blood,And left his skina hanging-o.
CLV.
[THE HOLLY TREE ]
H IGHTY , tighty , paradighty clothed ingreen,The king could not read it, no more could the queen
They sent for awise manout of the East,
Who said it had horns, but wasnot a beast
RIDDLES .
CLVI.
I H AD a little sister, they call’d her peep, peep,
She waded the waters deep, deep, deep,She climbed up the mountains high, high, high,Poor little creature she wanted aneye .
98 NURSERY RHYMES .
CLVII.
A SEMPSTREss that sews,And would make her work redde [i.e . scarce],
Must use a long needle,And a short thread.
CLVIII.
[The following old saw is generally believed to re fer to the
Teutonic method of numbering. See Brand’
s Popular
Antiquities, edited by Sir H . Ellis, vol. ii. p.
F IvE score of men, money, and pins,Six score Of all other things.
CLIX.
SEE a pinand pick it up,A ll the day you
’
ll have good luck
See a pinand let it lay ,
Bad luck you’
ll have all the day !
100 NURSERY RHYMES .
GLx'
m.
THE taylor of Bisiter,He has but one eye ;
He cannot cut a pair of greengalagaskins,If he were to try .
CLXIV.
N EEDLES and pins, needles and pins,Whenamanmarries his trouble begins.
RIDDLE me, riddle me, riddle me ree !
blind as those that won’t
CLXVI.
[ONE versionof the following song, which I believe to be the
genuineone, iswrittenonthe last leaf of MS. Harl. 6580, ina
hand of the end of the seventeenth century , but unfortunatelyit is scarcely adapted for the ears polite of moderndays.See also MS. Sloane, 406, where it is also quoted ]
A MA N of words and not of deeds
Is like a gardenfull of weeds ;
PROVERBS . 101
And whenthe weeds beginto grow,
It’s like a gardenfull of snow;
And whenthe snowbegins to fall,It
’s like a bird uponthe wall :
And whenthe bird away does fly,It
’s like aneagle inthe sky ;
And whenthe sky begins to roar,It
’s like a lionat the door ;
And whenthe door begins to crack,It
’s like a stick across your back ;
And whenyour back begins to smart,
It’s like a penknife inyour heart ;
And whenyour heart begins to bleed,You’
re dead, and dead, and dead, indeed.
102 NURSERY RHYMES .
S ixth fi aS§ .— l ullabies.
H USH a bye, baby, onthe tree top,Whenthe wind blows, the cradle will rock
Whenthe bough bends, the cradle will fall,Downwill come baby, bough, cradle, and all.
CLXVIII.
Bye, baby bunting,Daddy ’
s gone a hunting,To get a little hare
’
s skin,To wrap a baby bunting in.
CLXIX .
H USH Y baby, my doll, I pray you don’
t cry,
And I’llgive you some bread and some milk by and bye ;Or, perhaps you likecustard, or may -be a tart,
Thento either you’
rewelcome, with allmy whole heart .
104 NURSERY RHYMES .
é eteuth (Elam — (thaws.
CLXXV.
[The three following charms are for thehiccup, andeach onemustbe said thrice inone breath, to render the specific of service ]
WHE N a twister twisting would twist him a twist,For twisting a twist three twists he will twist ;But if one of the twists untwists from the twist,The twist untwisting untwists the twist.
CLXXVI.
ROBERT ROWLEY rolled a round roll round,A round roll Robert Rowley rolled round ;Where rolled the round rollRobertRowleyrolled round
CLXXVII.
PETER Piper picked a peek of pickled pepper ;A peck of pickled pepper Peter Piper picked ;
If Peter Piper picked a peek of pickled pepper,
Where is the peck ofpickled pepper Peter Piper picked
CHARMS . 105
CLXXVIH .
[A dy , inhis Candle inthe Dark,”4 to. Lond. 1655, p . 58, says
that this is a charm used for making butter come fromthe churn. It was to be said thrice ]
COME , butter, come,Come, butter, come !
Peter stands at the gate,Waiting for a butter
’
d cake ;Come, butter, come !
CLXXIX.
WENT to the toad that lies under the wall,charmed him out, and he came at my call ;
scratch’
d out the eyes of the owl before,tore the bat’swing, what would you have more ?
CLXXX.
[A charm somewhat similar to the following may be seenintheTownley M ysteries, p . 91. See a paper inthe A rchwologia,vol. xxvii. p . 253, by the Rev. Launcelot Sharpe, M .A .]
M A TTHEW, Mark, Luke, and John,Guard the bed that I lay on!
Four corners to my bed,Four angels round my head !
One to watch, oneto pray,And two to bear my soul away !
NURSERY RHYMES .
CLXXXI .
[THE present charm, which appears to be only another versionof the one just given, is preserved by Aubrey , inMS. Lansd .
231, fol. 114 . It may likewise be found inA dy’
s Candle inthe Dark, 4 to. Lond, 1655, p .
M A TTHEW, Mark, Luke, and John,Bless the bed that I lye on!
And blessed guardian-angel, keepMe safe from danger whilst I sleep !
CLXXXII .
[The following charm was learnt by the late Sir H umphreyDavy , whena boy , as a cure for the cramp ]
MA TTHEW, Mark, Luke, and John, ease us, I beg !
The devil has tied up a knot inmy leg.
Crosses three if if if we make to ease us ;
Two for the robbers, and one for Christ Jesus.
108 NURSERY RHYMLB .
H ere comes your daughter safe and sound,Every pocket with a thousand pound ;Every finger with a gay gold ring ;Please to take your daughter in.
CLXXXIV.
H ERE we come a piping,First inspring and theninMay ,
The queenshe sits uponthe sand,Fair as a lilly, white as a wand ;King Johnhas sent you letters three,And begs you
’
ll read them unto me ;We can’t read one, Without them all,
So pray Miss Bridget deliver the ball !
CLXXX V.
SIEVE my lady’
s oatmeal,Grind my lady
’
s flour ,Put it ina chesnut,Let it stand anhour
One may rush, two may rush,
Come, my girls, walk under the
GAMES . 109
CLXXXVI.
GIRL S and boys, come out to play,The moondoes shine as bright as day ;Leave your supper and leave your sleep,And come with your play-fellows into the street .
Come with a whistle, come with a call,
Come with a good will or not at all.
Up the ladder and downthe wall,A halfpenny rollwill serve us all.
You find milk, and I’
ll find flour,And we’
ll have a pudding inhalf anhour .
CLXXXVII .
I WON’
T be my father’
s Jack,I won’t be my mother
’
s Gill,I will be the fiddler’swife,
And have music whenI will.
T’
other little tune,
T’other little tune,Pr
’ythee, love, play me
T’
other little tune.
CLXXXVIII.
RIDE a cock horse,To Banbury Cross,
To see what Tommy canbuy
110 NURSERY RHYMES .
A penny white loaf,A pennv white cake,
And a two-penny apple pie .
CLXXXIX.
SEE saw, Jack ina hedge,Which is the way to Londonbridge
?
One foot up, and one foot down,That is the best way to Londontown.
CXC.
TH ERE were two black-birds,Sitting ona hill,
The one nam’
d Jack,The other nam’
d Jill ;
Fly away Jack !
Fly away Jill
Come againJack !
Come againJill !
CXCI .
TOM Brown’s two little Indian
One ranaway,The other wouldn’t stay,
Tom Brown’s two little Indian
114 NURSERY RHYMES .
CXCVII.
RIDE a cock-horse to Banbury-cross,To buy little Johnny a galloping-horse
It trots behind, and it ambles before,And JOhnny shall ride till he canride no more .
CXCVIII .
RIDE a cock-horse to Coventry cross
To see what Emma canbuy ;
A penny white cake I’ll buy for her
And a twopenny tart or a pie .
CXCIX.
RIDE a cock-horse to Banbury cross,To see anold lady uponawhite horse,Rings onher fingers, bells onher toes,She will have music wherever she goes.
CC.
To market ride the gentlemen,SO do we, so do we ;
Thencomes the country clown,H obblcdy gee, Hobbledy gee
GAMES . 115
001.
TH IS is the key of the kingdom.
Inthat kingdom there is a city.
Inthat city there is a town.
Inthat townthere is a street .
Inthat street there is a lane .
Inthat lane there is a yard.
Inthat yard there is a house .
Inthat house there is a room .
Inthat room there is a bed.
Onthat bed there is a basket.
Inthat basket there are some flowers.
Flowers inthe basket, basket inthe inthe
room,Sec. Sec.
0011.
[Song set to five toes ]
L ET us go to the wood, says this pig ;What to do there ? says that pig ;To look for my mother, says this pig ;What to do with her ? says that pig ;Kiss her to death, says thispig.
1l6 \T RSERY RHYMES .
CCIII .
EGG S, butter, cheese, bread .
Stick, stock, stone, dead,Stick him up, stick him down,Stick him inthe Old man’
s crown.
CCIV.
[I believe the following is only a portionOf a dialogue , but I
have not beenable to recover it ]
HE RE comes a poor womanfrom baby-land,W ith three small childreninher hand '
One canbrew, the other canbake,The other canmake a pretty round cake .
CCV .
[A string of childrem hand inhand, stand ina row. A child
(A ) stands infront of them, as leader : two other childr en(B andC ) form anarch, each holding both the hands of the other ]
A . DRAW a pail ofwater,
For my lady’s daughter ;
My father’s a king, and my mother
’
s a queen,My two little Sisters are dress
’
d ingreen,
Marigold leaves and daisie
118 NURSERY RHYMES .
Leave your supper, leave your sleep,Come out and play at hide -and-seek.
I’
ve a cherry , I’ve a chess,
I’ve a bony blue glass,I’ve a dog among the corn,Blow Willie Buckhorn.
Three score of H ighland kye,One booly-backed,One blind of aneye,An’ a’
the rest hawkit.
Laddie wi’ the Shelly-coat
H elp me owre the ferry-boat ;The ferry-boat is owre dear,Tenpounds every year .
The fiddler’
s inthe Canongate,The piper’s inthe Abbey,H uzza ! cocks and hens,Flee awa’
to your cavey .
CCVIII .
THERE were three jovialWelshmen,A s I have heard them say,
And they would go a-huntingUponSt . David’s day .
A ll the day they hunted,And nothing could they find,
But a ship a-sailing,A -sailing with the wind.
GAMES .
One said it was a ship,The other he said, nay ;
The third said it was a house,And the chimney blownaway.
And all the night they hunted,And nothing could they find,
But the moona-
gliding,A -
gliding with the wind.
One said it was the moon,The other he said, nay ;
The third said it was a cheese,And half O’t cut away.
CCIX.
[Song set to five fingers ]
TH IS little pig went to market ;This little pig staid at home ;
119
This little pig had a bit of bread and butter ;This little pig had none ;This little pig said, Wee, wee, wee !
I can’t find my way home .
120 NURSERY RHYMES.
[A game at ball ]
Cateb a bird, md give it to me ;
Let the tree be high or low,
I cu make diet bread,
Thick and thin;I canmfi e diet bmad,
Fit for the king.
[m m -fi g h m mng by ehfldru whm fl rfing for a
What is the time of day
Three O’
clock, four O’
clock,
122 NURSERY RHYMES .
COX V.
[Childrenhunting bate ]
BAT, bat (clap hands) ,Come under my hat,And I’ll give you a slice Of
And whenI bake,I’
ll give you a cake,
If I am not mistaken.
CCXVI.
[THIS is acted by two or more girls, who walk or dance up anddown, turning, when they say , turn, cheeses, turn.
”The
“
greencheeses,”as I am informed, are made with sage and po
tatoe-tops. Two girls are said to be “cheese and
GREE N cheeses, yellowlace
Up and downthe market-places,Turn, cheeses, turn!
CCXVII .
[Two of the strongest childrenare selected, A and B. A stands
A . Who is going round my sheepfold ?
B . Only poor old Jacky Lingo.
A . Don’t steal any of my black sheep.
GAMES . 123
B . No, no more I will, only by one,Up
, says Jacky L ingo. (Strikes one.)
[The child struck leaves the ring, and takes hold of B behind ;B inthe same manner takes the other children, one by one,
gradually increasing his tail oneach repetitionOf the verses,
until he has got the whole. A thentries to get them back ;
B runs away with them ; they try to shelter themselves behindB ; A drags them off, one by one, setting them against a wall,until he has recovered all. A regular tearing game, as childrensay .]
CCXVHI .
[CH ILDRE N stand round, and are counted one by one by meansof this rhyme, which I have already givenina different form at
p. 89. The child uponWhom the last number falls is out, for
Hide or Seek, or any other game where a victim is required.
A cock and bull story of this kind is related of the historianJosephus.]
H ICKORY (l), Dickory Dock
The mouse ranup the clock
The clock struck one
The mouse was gone
O U T spells OUT !
CCXIX.
[A number of boysand girls stand round one inthe middle, whorepeats the following lines, counting the childrenuntil one iscounted out by the end of the verses.]
RIN G me ring me ring me rary
A s I go round ring by ring
124 NURS ERY RHYME .
A virgin(6 ) goes a mayingH ere
’
s a flower and there ’
s a flower
Growing inmy lady’
s garden
If you set your foot awry (l l),Gentle Johnwillmake you cry
If you set your foot amiss
Gentle John(14 ) will give you a kiss.
[The child uponwhom (14 ) falls, is thentakenout and forced toselect one of the opposite sex. The middle child thenproceeds. )
This [lady or gentleman] isnone of ours,H asput [his or her] self in[the selected child
’
s] power ,So clap all hands, and ring all bells, and make the
wedding o’
er . [A ll clap ham . ]
[If the child taken by lot joins inthe clapping, the selected
child is rejected, and, I think, takes the middle placewise, I think, there is a salute ]
CCXX.
SEE -SAW , sacradown;
Which is the way to Londontown?
One foot up, and the other down,And that is the way to Londontown.
1,2, 3, 4 , 5,
I caught a bare alive ;
6 , 7, 8, 9, 10,
I let him go again.
126 NURSERY RHYME .
CCXXIV.
ONE old Oxford ox opening oysters ;Two tee totums totally tired of trying to trot to T ad
berry ;Three tall tigers tippling ten-penny tea ;Four fat friars fanning fainting flies ;Five frippy Frenchmenfoolishly fishing for flies ;Six sportsmenshooting snipes !
SevenSevernsalmons swallowing shrimps ;E ight Englishmeneagerly examining Europe ;N ine nimble noblemennibbling nonpareils ;Tentinkers tinklingupontentintinder-boxeswith ten
tenpenny tacks ;Elevenelephants elegantly equipt ;Twelve typographicaltopographers typically translating
types.
CCXXV.
[A stands with a row of girls (her daughters) behind her ;B, a suitor advances ]
B . TRIP trap over the grass ; If you please will y oulet one of your [eldest] daughters come,Come and dance with me ?
I willgive youpotsand pans, I will give you brass,I will give you anything for a pretty lass.
A says N o.
”
B . I will give you gold and silver, I will give y oupearl
,
I will give you anything for a pretty girl.
GAME . 127
Take one, take one, the fairest you may see.
B . The fairest one that I cansee
Is pretty N ancy, come to me.
[B carries one off, and says
You shall have a duck, my dear,And you shall have a drake,And you shall have a young manapprentice
your sake .
(Childrensay
If this young manshould happento die,And leave this poor womana Widow,
The bells shallall ring, and the birds shall all
And we’
ll all clap hands together .
[So it is repeated until the whole are taken.]
The verses of the Three Knights of Spainare played innearlythe same way .
CCXXVI.
THE first day of Christmas,
My mother sent to me,A partridge ina pear-tree.
The second day of Christmas,My mother sent to me,Two turtle doves and a partridge ina pear-tree .
The third, 8m.
ThreeFrench hens,twoturtle doves, and apartridge,
128 NURSERY RHYME .
The fourth,Four canary birds, three French hens two turtle,
The fifth,
Five gold rings,The sixth,Six geese a laying,The seventh,Sevenswans a swimming,
The eighth,Eight ladies dancing,The ninth,N ine lords a leaping,The tenth,Tenships a sailing,The eleventh,Elevenladies spinning,The twelfth,
Twelve bells ringing,
[Each child insuccessionrepeats the gifts of the day , andfeits for each mistake . This accumulative process is a favourite
with children; inearly writers, such as Homer, the repetitionof
messages, pleases onthe same principle ]
130 NURSERY RHYMES .
She went to the baker, to buy her some bread,And whenshe came home, her old husband was dead ;She went to the clerk to toll the bell,And whenshe came back her old husband was well.
CCXX X.
THE rule of the road is a paradox quite,And custom has prov
’
d it so longH e that goes to the left is sure to go right,
And he that goes right must go wrong.
CCXXXI.
[The following is quoted inParkins’
Reply to Dr. Stukeley’
s
secondnumber of Origines Roystoniame, 4 to. Lond. 174 8, p.
PETER White willne’er go right,And would you know the reasonwhy ?
H e follows hisnose where’
er he goes,And that stands all awry.
LITERAL . 131
fi end) Mafia— l iteral.
CCXXX II .
A, B, C,tumble downdee,
The cat’
s inthe cupboard, and can’t see me
CCXXXIII.
l, 2, 3, 4 , 5,
I caught a bare alive ;6, 7, 8, 9, 10,
I let her go again.
CCXXXIV.
GREA T A ,little a,
Bouncing B,
The cat’s inthe cupboard,
And she can’t see.
NURSERY RHYMES .
CCXXXV.
ONE , two,
Buckle my shoe
Three, four,Shut the door ;Five, six,Pick up sticks ;Seven, eight,Lay them straight ;
N ine, ten,A good fat hen
Eleven, twelve,Who will delve ?
Thirteen, fourteen,Maids a courting ;Fifteen, sixteen,Maids a kissing ;Seventeen, eighteen,Maids awaiting ;N ineteen, twenty,My stomach
’
s empty.
CCXXXVI.
PA T -a-cake, pat -a cake, baker’
s man
So I will master as fast as I can
Pat it, and prick it, and mark it with
Put inthe ovenfor Tommy and me.
134 NURSERY RHYME .
t mth dilate - S cholasfit .
CCXL .
A DILLER, a doller,A teu o’clock scholar,What makes you come so soon?
You us’
d to come at teno’clock,And nowyou come at noon.
CCXL I .
M ISTRE SS Mary, quite contrary,Howdoes your gardengrow?
With cockle shells, and silver bells,And cowslips all a row.
CCXL II .
Donkey walks onfour legs,And I walk ontwo ;
The last I saw,
Was very like you.
SCHOLASTIC . 135
CCXLIII .
L IAR, liar, lick spit,Turnabout the candlestick .
What’s good for liar ?
Brimstone and fire .
CCXL IV.
WHEN I was a little boy my mammy kept me in,But now I am a great boy I
’
m fit to serve the king ;I canhand a musket, and I cansmoke a pipe,And I cankiss a pretty girl at twelve o
’
clock at night .
CCXLV.
TEL L tale, tit !
Your tongue shall be slit,
And all the dogs inthe town
Shall have a little bit .
CCXLVI.
MULT IPLICA TION is vexation,Divisionis as bad ;
The rule of three does puz zle me,And practice drives me mad,
36 NURSERY RHYME .
Glitt eltth Maz e — Gliustoms.
“
CCXLVII.
[The following is sung at the Christmas mummings inSomersetshire.]
H ERE comes I,L iddle manJan,
Wi my 3word
Inmy han
If you don’t all do,
A s you be told by I,I’ll3end you all to York,Vor to make apple-
pie.
CCXLVIII.
DIBBITY, dibbity, dibbity, doe,
Give me a pan-cake
And I’ll go.
Dibbity, dibbity , dibbity, ditter,
Please to give me
A bit of a fritter .
This class might be extended to great length, but I shallcontent myself with giving a few, and referring to Sir H . E llis
’
s
editionof Brand s Popular Antiquities for more.
138 NURSERY RHYME .
CCL II.
H ERRINGS, herrings, white and red,
Tena penny, Lent’s dead.
Rise dame and give anegg,
Or else a piece of bacon.
One for Peter, two for Paul
Three for Jack a Lent’s all
Away, L ent, away.
CCLIII.
[The unmarried ladies inthe north address the newmooninthefollowing lines
A LL bail to the moon! all hail to thee !
I prithee, good moon, declare to me
Thisnight who my husband must be
SONGS .
ithirteeuth dilat e — 9mm.
CCL IV.
PA RSON Darby wore a black gown,And every buttoncost half a crown;From port to port, and toe to toe,Turnthe ship and away we go !
CCLV.
I HAD a little pony,Hisname was Dapple-grey,
I lent him to a lady,To ride amile away
She whipped him, she slashed him,
She rode him through the mire ;I would not lend my pony now
For all the lady’s hire.
CCLVI.
A s Tommy Snooks, and Bessy Brooks,Were walking out one Sunday,
Says Tommy Snooks to Bessy Brooks,Tomorrowwill be Monday.
”
139
140 NURSERY RHYMES .
CCLVII .
A north-countr sony g
SAYS t’auld mantit oak tree,
Young and lusty was I whenI kenn’d thee ;I was young and lusty, I was fair and clear,
Young and lusty was I mony a lang year,But sair fail
’
d am I, sair fail’
d now,Sair fail
’
d am I senI kenn’d thou.
CCLVIII.
[The following song is giveninWhiter’
s Sp ecimenof a Comm u
tary onShakesp eare, 8vo. Lond. 1794 , p . 19, as peculiar to
Cambridge and Norfolk.]
H E IGH , ho ! heigh, ho !
Dame what makes your ducks to die ?
W hat a pize ails ’em, what a piz e ails
’
em ?
H eigh, ho heigh, ho
Dame, what ails your ducks to die ?
Eating o’
polly wigs,eatingo’
polly wigs. [i. e. Tadpoles.]Heigh, ho ! heigh, ho !
144 NURSERY RHYME .
WE’
LL go a Shooting, says Robinto Bobbin;W e
’ll go a shooting, says Richard to Robin;
We’ll go a shooting, says Johnall alone ;
We’ll go a shooting, says every one.
What shallwe kill, says Robinto Bobbin;What shallwe kill, says Richard to Robin;What shallwe kill, says Johnall alone ;What shallwe kill, says every one .
W e’ll shoot at that wren, Says Robinto Bobbin;
We’ll shoot at that wren, says Richard to Robin;
We’
ll shoot at that wren, says Johnall alone ;We
’ll shoot at that wren, says every one.
She’
s down, she’
s down, says Robinto Bobbin;
She’
s down, she’s down, says Richard to Robin;
She’
s down, she’
s down, says Johnall alone ;
She’
s down, she’
s down, says every one .
Howshallwe get her home, says Robinto Bobbin
How shallwe get her home, says Richard to Robin
H OW Shallwe get her home, says Johnall alone ;
How shallwe get her home, says every one.
We’
ll hire a cart, says Robinto Bobbin;
We’
ll hire a cart, says Richard to Robin
We’
ll hire a cart, says Johnall alone ;
W e’
ll hire a cart, says every one .
SONGS . 145
Thenhoist, boys, hoist, says Robinto Bobbin
Thenhoist, boys, hoist, says Richard to Robin
Thenhoist, boys, hoist, says Johnall alone ;Thenhoist, boys, hoist, says every one .
So they brought her away, after each pluck’d a feather,
And whenthey got home, shar’d the booty together.
CCLXIX.
UP hill and downdale ;Butter ismade inevery vale ;
And if that N ancy Cock
Is a good girl,She shall have a spouse,And make butter anon,Before her old grandmother
Grows a young man.
CCLXX.
A s I was going up Pippen-hill
Pippen-hillwas dirty,There I met a pretty miss,And she dropt me a curtesy.
14 6 NURSERY RHYMES .
Little miss, pretty miss,Blessings light uponyou,
If I had half-a-crowna day ,
I’
d spend it all uponyou.
CCLXXI.
I AM a pretty wench,And I come a great way hence,
And sweethearts I canget none
But every dirty sow,
Canget sweethearts enow,
And I, pretty wench, canget never a one.
CCLXXII .
THERE was a little boy and a little girl
Liv’
d inanalley ;Says the little boy to the little girl,Shall I, Oh, shall I ?
Says the little girl to the little boy,What shallwe do
Says the little boy to the little girl,I will kiss you.
SONGS .
CCLXXIX.
THOMA S a Didymus, king of the Jews,Jumped into the fire and burned both his shoes.
CCLXXX.
WHA T care I how black I be,Twenty poundswill marry me ;If twenty won’t, forty shall,I am my mother
’
s bouncing girl.
CCLXXXI.
A LITTLE old manand I fell out ;H ow shallwe bring this matter about ?
Bring it about as well as you can,Get you gone, you little old man!
CCLXXXII.
BOBBY SHA FT is gone to sea,
With silver buckles at his knee ;Whenhe’ll come home he’llmarry me,
Pretty Bobby Shaft !
Bobby Shaft is fat and fair,Combing downhis yellow hair ;H e
’
s my love for evermore !
Pretty Bobby Shaft !
149
NURSERY RHYMES .
CCLXXXIII .
RIDE , baby, ride,Pretty baby shall ride,
And have little puppy-dog tied to her side,And little pussy-cat tied to the other,And away she shall ride to see her grandm other .
To see her grandmother,To see her grandmother .
CCLXXXIV.
THE rose is red, the violet’
s blue,The honey’
s sweet, and so are you.
Thou art my love, and I am thine ;I drew thee to my Valentine ;The lot was cast, and thenI drew,
And fortune said it should be you.
CCLXXXV.
ONE misty moisty morning,Whencloudy was the weather,There I met anold man
Clothed all inleather ;
Clothed all inleather,With cap under his chin.
How do you do, and howdo you
And howdo you do again?
flNUmMHNI RfiYMmS .
Bewouldnot oome tomy house l made alitfle féastI had but little, but ould give him some,
Up to the ceiling, downto the gronnd.
Wimme merry coral, ding, ding, ding.
CCXC.
IF all the seas were one sea,
What agreat seawould that be !
And if all the treeswere one tree,
What a great tree that would be !
SONGS .
And if all the axes were one axe,
What agreat axe that would be !
And if all the menwere one man,W hat a great manhe would be
And if the great mantook the great axe,And cut downthe great tree,And let it fall into the great sea,What a splish splash that would be !
CCXCI.
JOH N BA LL shot them all ;
JohnScott made the shot,But JohnBall shot them all.
JohnWyming made the priming,And JohnBrammer made the rammer,
And JohnScott made the shot,But JohnBall shot them all.
JohnBlock made the stock,And JohnBrammer made the rammer,And JohnWyming made the priming,And JohnScott made the shot,But JohnBall shot them all.
JohnCrowder made the powder,And JohnBlock made the stock,
154 NURSERY RHYMES .
And JohnWyming made the priming,And JohnBrammer made the rammer,
And JohnScott made the shot,But JohnBall shot them all.
JohnPuzzle made the muzzle,And JohnCrowder made the powder,And JohnBlock made the stock,And JohnWyming made the priming,And JohnBrammer made the rammer,
And JohnScott made the shot,
’But JohnBall shot them all.
JohnClint made the flint,And JohnPuzzle made the muzzle,And JohnCrowder made the powder,And JohnBlock made the stock,And JohnWyming made the priming,And JohnBrammer made the rammer,
And JohnScott made the shot,But JohnBall shot them all.
JohnPatch made the match,JohnClint made the flint,JohnPuzzle made the muzzle,JohnCrowder made the powder,JohnBlock made the stock,JohnWyming made the priming,JohnBrammer made the rammer,
JohnScott made the shot,But JohnBall shot them all.
156 NURSERY RHYME .
f ourteenth (Hate — f ragments.
CCXCIII .
L ITTLE boy, pretty boy, where was you born?
InLincolnshire, master : come blow the cow’
s born.
A half-penny pudding, a penny pie,A shoulder of mutton, and that love I .
CCXCIV.
WHEN I was a little boy, I had but little wit,It is some time ago and I’ve no more yet ;N or ever ever shall, until that I die,For the longer I live, the more fool am I .
CCXCV.
CROSS patch,Draw the latch,
Sit by the fire and spin
Take a cup,
And drink it up,And call your neighbours
FRAGMENTS . 157
CCXCVI
ROCK-A -BYE , baby, the cradle is green;
Father’s anobleman, mother’
s a queen;And Betty’
s a lady, and wears a gold ring ;
And Johnny’
s a drummer, and drums for the
CCXCVII .
SH AKE a leg, wag a leg, whenwill you gang ?
A t midsummer, mother, whenthe days are lang.
CCXCVIII.
H owmany miles is it to Babylon?
Threescore miles and ten.
CanI get there by candle-light ?
Y es, and back again,If your heels are nimble and light,You may get there by candle-light .
158 NURSERY RHYMES .
CCXCIX.
[The following stanz a is of very considerable antiquity , and iscommoninYorkshire. See Hunter’sHallamshire Glossary , p .
L ADY -COW,lady-cow, fly thy way home,
Thy house is onfire, thy childrenall gone,All but one that ligs under a stone,Ply thee home, lady-cow, ere it be gone.
SING j lgmlj ole, the pudding-bowl,The table and the frame ;
My master he did cudgelme,For kissing of my dame.
NOTES . 61
market and bought a pig but as she came home, the pig wouldnot go over the stile .
She went a little further, and she met a dog ; and she said
to the dog, Good dog ! bite pig : pig won’
t go ; and it’
s time that
I was at home anhour and a half ago. But the dogwould not.
(And soforth, as inthe other story , mutatis mutandis, to the Rat.)She went a little further, and she met a cat. So she said to
the cat, Good cat kill rat ; rat won’
t bite rope ; rope won’
t
hang butcher ; butcher won’
t kill ox ; ox won’
t drink water ;water won’t quench fire fire won’t burnstick ; stick won
’
t beat
pig ; pig won’
t go. And it’s time that I was at home anhourand a half ago.
The cat beganto kill the rat ; the rat began(and soforth,inthe other story the pig beganto go. And so the old woman
got home at last.”
It will be observed that these two versions, forwhich I am
indebted to M r. Black, are much more like the H ebrewtalc
thanThe H ouse that Jack built but as our collectionwould
scarcely be complete without this latter, I shall insert a copy
of it :
TH IS is the house that Jack built.
This is the malt,
That lay inthe house that Jack built.
3. This is the rat,
That ate the malt,
That lay inthe house that Jack built.
4 . This is the cat,
That kill’
d the rat,
That ate the malt,
That lay inthe house that Jack built.
This is the dog,
That worried the cat,
That kill’
d the rat,
That ate the malt,That lay inthe house that Jack built.
This is the cowwith the crammed horn,That tossed the dog,
I”
h and -l ib e l .
M ach -all.M ky h fi a h -nth sM I—
‘
k
m ath -a nal“
fl a k-li b “Thu rm an“
N h h fi é ha-o th l Jui bait .
Jaek h flt.
tho u-unpld ha ‘ .
m am ewywmw’d tnme mwak
’d the prielt d l shavm and shorn,
That ml z tlld the m m utter'
d md tom,
ThatM me mu'
denall forlorn,That milk
'
d the cowwith the crumpled horn,That tossed the dog,
That worried the cat,That killed the rat,
That ate the malt,
That lay inthe house that Jack built.
NOTES . 165
P . 19, 1. 8. Three children sliding on the ice. Sang to
the tune of Chevy Chace .
P. 19, S ome Christianpeople. Music inD’Urfey
’s
Pills to purge Melancholy .
”Alluded to inGay
’s Trivia.
P . There was anold woman. The first two linesare the same with those of a song inD
’Urfey
’
s“ Pills to
purge Melancholy.
”
P. 25, Kyloe. Query, Kerry .
P . 26 , M S . Lansd. The reference to this MS .
should be No. 762 . See Reliq. Antiq.
”vol. i. p . 288 . A
broadside of this states that it is sung to the tune of the
LondonPrentice.
”
P . Faustus. Perhaps Foster.
P . 36, l. 1. Lucy Locket. Lucy Locket and Kitty Fisher
were two celebrated courtezans of the time of Charles II .
P. 36 , l. 13. Bessy Bell and Mary Gray . These two
stanzas are founded onthe well-knownScotch story.
P . 13. The merriment of Jack H om er has, I be
lieve, long since departed from the modernseries, and I
therefore give the following copy of it from Douce’scollection:
The H istory of Jack H orner, containing the witty pranks
he play’d,from his youth to his riper years, being pleasant
forWinter Evenings.
I.
Of his birth and education.
JACK HORNER was a pretty lad,near Londonhe did dwell,
His father’
s heart he made full glad,hismother loved him well
166 NOTES .
She oftensat him onher lap,to turnhim dry beneath,
And fed him with sweet sugar-pap,because he had no teeth.
While little Jack was sweet and young,
if he by chance should cry ,
His mother pretty sonnets sung,with lulla-baby
-by .
A pretty boy , a curiouswit,all people spoke his praise ,
And inthe corner he would sit,
onChristmas holidays.
And said, Jaek Horner inthe corner,eats good Christmas pye
With his thumbs pulls out the plums,crying what a good boy was I .
These pretty verseswhich he made
uponhisChristmas cheer,Did gainhim love, as it is said,
of all both far and near ;
For lasses lov’
d his company ,each day above another ;
For why ? they knew that he would bea manbefore his mother.
He grew, I say , at any rate
both proper, straight, and trim,
So that young N ancy , Sue, and Kate,were all inlove with him.
Happy was she that could enjoyfrom him one kind embrace ;
Though once he was a little boy ,
yet nowhe grows apace .
So fewwere like him far andnear,and match for him was none
A s being thirteeninches high,a giant to Tom Thumb.
NOTES .
He wrapt it round him like a gownat twelve o
’
clock at night,And thenhe rambled thro
’
the town,this taylor to afi
'
right.
H e through awindowdid advance,near to the taylor
’
s bed
And round the room did skip and dancewith horns uponhis head.
H e growl’
d and grumbled like a bear,and did such anticks play
A s made the taylor thento stare,
and tremble where he lay .
Seeing the hornshang o’
er his head,
his body short and thick,The taylor said, speak who art thou
quoth Jack, thy friend old N ick
Thou hast obey’
d my order well
I find ineach degree
And therefore inmy gloomy cell,
I have a place for thee.
For you have beena friend indee d,I such a taylor lack
Therefore come away with speed,
I’
ll bear thee onmy back
Sweet Mr . Devil thenhe cry’
d,
O pardonme I pray ;I can’
t, I won’
t, he thenreply’
d,
make haste and come away .
The taylor naked to the skin,his bed he did refrain,
And downthe townthro’
thick and thin,he ranwith might and main.
NOTES . 169
H owhe served the cook-maid, who broke his head with a
for making a sap inthe drawing-pan.
A NOTHE R pleasant prank he play’
d,upona holiday ,
Unto hismaster’s servant maid,whichwas a bloody fray .
N owshe was lusty Jane by name,andwas their constant cook
And whenhe to the kitchencame,she would him overlook.
Upona certainday young Jack,a slice of bread did take,
And threwit inthe dripping-pan,that he a Sop might make.
So soonas she the same did see,
it put her ina rage,Andwith the basting ladle she
Jack Hom er did engage.
She gave him cracks uponthe crown,so hard and struck so fast,
That he at length did tumble down,and gasping at the last.
But though he did at first retreat,
he soonreturned again;For standing fast uponhis feet,he fought with might and main.
He was but thirteeninches high,and she full six timesmore,
Yet,'
by his ingenuity ,he brought her to the floor.
So cruel hard he made her roar,
she cry’d, Let me alone,
And I willne’er offend thee more,Jack, while my name is Joan.
170 NOTES .
Why , then, said Jack, if it be so,
that you’llnot me offend,
I will thisminute let you go,and so the fray did end.
IV.
hermit gives Jack aninvisible coat and a pair enchanted
p ipes, with which he plays many tricks.
UPON a pleasant holiday ,
Jack, going to a fair,
And as he pass’d along the way,
he sawawonder there ;
Anaged mansat ina cave,that couldnot stand nor go,
His headwore blossoms of the grave,And look’
d as white as snow;
H e call’
d to Jack, aud this did say,
come hither lad to me,
And if thou dost my will obey ,rewarded thou shalt be ;
Bring me a fairing from the town,at thy ownproper cost,
A jug ofnappy liquor brown,thy labour shan’
t be lost.
Jack made the hermit this reply,
who thensat inthe cell,
What’s your request I’
llnot deny ,and so old dad farewell.
A t night he being stout and strongthis lad he did not fail,
But at his back lugged alonga swinging jug Of ale :
172 NOTES.
Jack presently his 'coat put on,that screen’d him from their sight,
Saying I’
ll do the best I canto plague them all thisnight ;
His pipes he straight beganto play ,the crowders they did dance ;
The tradesmentoo, as fast as they ,did caper, skip and prance.
Still he play’
d up a merry strainonhis pipes loud and shrill
,
So they daue’
d and jump’
d amain,tho
’sore against their will.
Said they this is enchanted ground,for though no soulwe see,
Yet still the music’
s pleasant sound,makes us dance veh
’mently .
Jack Hom er daue’
d and piping went,straight downinto the hollow,
So all these dancers by consent,they after him did follow.
H e led them onthro’
bogs and sloughs,
nay , likewise ponds and ditches,And inthe thorny briary boughs,
poor rogues, they tore their breeches !
A t last it being somewhat late,Jack did his piping leave,
So ceas’
d, seeing their wretched state
which made them sigh and grieve.
Sure this same is old N ick I know,
the author of this evil
And others cry’
d if it be so,
he is a merry devil.
Jack Horner laugh’
d andwent away ,and left them indespair .
So ever since that very day ,no crowderswould come there .
NOTES .
VI.
his debts.
A N honest man, aninnkeepera friend to honest Jack,Whowas indebt alas ! so farthat he was like to crack ;
Nowthismanhad a handsome wife,sweet, fair, and beauteous too,
A Quaker lov’d her as his life,
And this Jack Hom er knew.
The Quaker was anesquire born,and did inwealth abound
Said he, I’
ll catch him inthe corn,and put him inthe pond.
First to the innkeeper I’
ll go,
and whenI do him find,He soonshallunderstand and knowthat I
’ll be true and kind.
He met him inanarrowlane,and said, my friend, good morrow
But the innkeeper reply’
d again,my heart is full of sorrow;
Two hundred pounds I am indebt,which I must pay next week,
It makesme sigh, lament, and fret,having the cointo seek.
Quoth Jack, if you’
ll be rul’d by me
I’
llput you inaway ,Howyou yourself from debtsmay freeand all the money pay .
Nay , this is joyfulnews he cry’
d,thou art a friend indeed,
Thy wit shall be my rule and guidefor never more wasneed.
173
Jack’
skindness to the innkeeper, who he puts ina way topay
174 NOTES .
Go tell thy loving wife said be,
thy joy and hearts’ delight,That thou must ride miles forty
-three
and shan’t come home to night.
Thenmind the counsel I shall give,and be no whit afraid ;
For I cantell you as I live
your debts will soonbe paid.
Mount thy bay nag, and take thy cloak,
likewise thy morning gown;And lodge withina hollowoak
a mile or two from town.
Thenyou may sleep insweet contentallnight and take your rest,
And leave it tomy management,thenSir, a pleasant jest
N ext morning there you shall behold
the like ne’
er seenbefore ;Which shall produce a sum of gold,
nay , likewise silver store.
Unto his house straightway he went,and told her he must go
A journey , saying be content,for why , it must be so.
She seemingly beganto weep,andwith sad sighs reply
’
d
You know, alas ! I cannot sleepwithout you by my side.
Criesbe, kind wife, do not repine,why should you sigh and grieve ?
I go out to a friend of minesome money to receive.
This said, with womanfond deceit,she straightway ceas
’
d to mourn,And gave him twenty kisses sweet,u ishing his safe return.
176 NOTES .
His lips did openlike two gates,his beard hung downlike wire,
His eyeswere like two pewter plates,he breathed smoke and fire.
’
Tis said that he destroy’d asmuch
as tenscore mencould eat ;
So that the people did him grudge
every bit of meat.
His messwas still continuallytwo bullocks ina dish ;
Thenhe would drink whole riversand thus he starv
’
d the fish
H e went to drink it seems one dayby a deep river side,
Whereat a lighter fall of strawdid thenat anchor ride ;
Besides another full of hay ;a third with block and billet ;
He cramm’
d all these into his maw,
and yet they didnot fill it.
H e did annoy the nations then,by night and eke by day
Whoever passed by his den,became his fatal pray .
Hard by these liv’
d anoble knight,who had one daughter dear ;
For youth and Splendid beauty bright
but fewcould her come near.
H e preferr’
d her to be the wife,of him that would destroy ,
The bruitish cruel giant’
s life,
who did them so annoy .
A t length Jack Horner being told,whoever did him slay ,
Might have gold and silver eke,
likewise a lady gay
NOTES .
Quoth Jack,nowlet me live or die,
I’
ll fight this swinging boar ;Though I
’m but thirteeninches high,
and he tenyards and more.
A sword he got five inches long,a little cap of steel.
A breast-plate too both stout and strong,quoth Jack, I’llmake him reel.
Upona badgers back he got,inorder to proceed ;
Thus being mounted cap a-pee,
away he rode full speed.
With double courage stout and bralle,he did his valour keep
Thencoming to the giant’s cave,
he found him fast asleep .
Hismouth it wasnot openwide,but stood it seems half-cock,
Jack downhis throat with speed did ride,he never stood to knock.
Jack cut and slash’
d hisswinging tripes,this griev
’
d the giant sore ;Thendid he play uponhis pipes,which made him dance and roar.
IIe cry’d, I dance, yet I
’m not well,there
’
sno manmindsmy moan:A t length he died and downhe fell,Thengave a hideous groan.
With that he soonwith speed did run,and did inbrief declare,What by his valour he had done,and gain
’
d the lady fair.
He marry’
d this fair beauty bright,
her charms he did admire
And since her father was a knight,
young Jack became a’
squire.
178 NOTES .
P. 39. l. 11. A couplet iswanting after this line.
P . 39, l. 19. She whipped them all, &c. Sometimes this
line is thus given
She borrow’
d a beetle, and.
she knock’
d’
em all 0’th
’head.
P. 40, Tafi'
y was a Welshman. Sung onthe fi rst
of March onthe Welsh borders,and other parts of England .
P. 4 1,1. 9. llIary had a p retty bird. This is probably
modern.
P . 43, l. 5. Three blind mice. The following version is
from Deuteromelia, or the second part ofMusicksM elodie,
1609, where the music is also given:
Three blinde mice, three blinde mice,Dame Julian, the miller, and hismerry Old wife,Shee scrapte her tripe, take thou the knife.
”
P . 4 6,1. 7. S ing a song of sixp ence. I t is probable that
Sir Toby alludes to this nursery song in“ Twelfth N ight ,
”
act ii. scene 3, whenhe says, Come on; there is Sixpencefor you let
’s have a song.
” The following additional stanzawas obtained from the Isle of Man
Jenny was so mad,She didn’
t knowwhat to do ;She put her finger inher ear,
And crackt it right intwo.
”
P . 1. Little Jenny l’Vren. This is part of the tale
givenat p . 57, and is takenfrom a farthing merriment .
rhyme. So in M idsummer N ight’
sDream,
”act ii. scene 1
And thenthe whole quire hold their hips, and loffe .
”
180 NOTES .
The miller, he stole corn;The weaver, he stole yarn;The little tailor stole broad-cloth,
To keep these three rogueswarm.
The miller was drown’d inhis dam ;
The weaver was hung inhis loom ;
And the devil ranaway with the little tailor ,With the broad-cloth under his arm.
”
P . 64,
There was a lady all skinand bone . The
following versionwas obtained from Yorkshire, where it is
used inanursery game
There was anold womanshe went to church to pray ;Andwhenshe got to the church-
yard stile,
She sat her downto think a little while ;And whenshe got to the church
-
yard door,
She sat her down, to think a little more
And whenshe got the church within,She knelt her downto pray for sin;She look
’
d above, she look’
d below,
She sawa dead manlying low;The worms crept in, and the worms crept outShe ask
’
d the parson, may I go out ?’
Yes, you may ,”&c.
P . 70, l. 7. There was a frog liu’
d ina well. The tune to
this is givenina scarce work, called The Merry Musician,
or a Cure for the Spleen,”l2mo.
,and also in AnAntidote
to Melancholy,”1719. The well-knownsong, A frog he
would awooing go, appearstohave beenborrowed from this.
See Denney’s Ancient Scottish Melodies
,
”
p . 53.
P . 72,l. 12 . There was anoldwoman. Sung to the air
of L iliburlero. See Musick’s H andmaid,
”1673,where the
air is called, Liliburlero, or OldWomanwhither so high.
Ding, dong, bell. The burdento a song in
the Tempest, act i. scene 2 ; and also to one inthe M er
ant ofVenice.
”
NOTES . 181
P . 80, La. Dog with long
'
snont. Sometimes,
Johnny Grout.
P . 84, Another versionruns thus
Give a thing,Take a thing,That
’
s the devil’
s goldenring.
P . 86,N O. 124 . A game .
P. 87, l. 9. Tommy Tibate. A game ona child’s toes.
P. 90,l. 5. Ride to the market. A game onthe nurse’
s
knee.
P . 100,l. 1. Bisiter . That is, Bicester, inOxfordshire.
P . 103, l. 19. Was. Probably wasn’t.”
P. 104 , l. 3. This is said to have beenwrittenby Dr.
Wallis.
P . 105, 1. 14 . The charm in the Townley Mysteries, to
which I refer, isas follows:
For ferde we be fryght a crosse let us kest,
Cryst crosse, benedyght, seat and west,For dreede.
Jesus 0’N az orus,
Crucyefixus,
Marcus, Andreas,God be our spode.
P. 106,l. 5. The two last lines of this charm are perhaps
imitated from the following inBishop Ken’s E vening H ymn
Le t my blest guardian, while I sleep,Hiswatchful stationnear me keep.
”
P . 107, l. 1. We are three brethren. Sometimes knights.
The versions of this game vary considerably from each other.
182 NOTES .
P. 109, Girls and boys. The tune to this may be
found inall the late editionsof Playford’s
“ Dancing M aster.
”
P 112, No. 194 . The following is a Scotch versionof this
game
But’f says Buff to all his men.
I say Buff to you again.
Methinks Buh'
smiles.
No, Buttnever smiles,But strokes his face
With a very good grace,
And passes the staff to another.
l’. 116 , l. l . A game ona slate.
P. 113,1. 17. QueenAnne. A different versionof N o.
184, p . 108 .
P 114 , l. 15. Then comes. Sometimes,“ Then comes
down.
P . 117, E levencomets inthe sky . This ought to be
said inone breath. The following is another versionof it
Eight ships onthe main,I wish them all safe back again;Seveneagles inthe air,I wonder howthey all came there
I don’t know,nor I don’t care.
Six spiders onthe wall,Close to anold woman’s apple-stallFive puppies inHighgate Hall,Who daily for their breakfast call;Four mares stuck ina hog ;Three monkies tied to a log ;
Two pudding-endswill choke a dog,With a gaping, wide-mouthed, waddling frog.
P. 133, 1. 5. The rule of the road. I am told that this is
a very moderncomposition.
184 NOTES .
carry it through the village, singing these lines. Anextract
from anIrishwork, from which it appears that this custom is
likewise prevalent inIreland, is giveninSir H enry Ellis’s
editionof Brand’s Popular Antiquities,”vol. ii. p . 516 z
The Druids represented this as the king of all birds. The
great respect shownto this bird gave great offence to the firstChristianmissionaries, and
,by their command, he is still
hunted and killed by the peasants onChristmas Day, and onthe following (St. Stephen
’s Day) he iscarried about hung by
the leg inthe centre of two hoops, crossing each other at
right angles, and a processionmade inevery village , of m en,
women, and children, importing him to be the king of birds.
”
I am glad to be able to give the genuine traditional song,recited inthe Isle of Man:
THE HUN T IN G OF THE WRA N .
We’ll hunt the wran, says Robinto Bobbin;
We’
ll hunt the wran, says Richard to Robin;We
’
ll hunt the wran, says Jack 0’
th’
land ;We
’
ll hunt the wran, says every one.
“Where shallwe find him ? saysRobinto Bobbin;Where shallwe find him ? saysRichard to Robin;Where shallwe find him? says Jack 0
’
th’land ;
Where shallwe find him ? says every one .
“ Inyou greenbush, says Robinto Bobbin;Inyou greenbush, says Richard to Robin;Inyongreenbush, says Jack 0
’th
’land ;
Inyou greenbush, says every one.
“Howshallwe kill him ? says Robinto Bobbin;H owshallwe kill him ? says Richard to Robin;How shallwe kill him ? says Jack 0
’
th’
land ;Howshallwe kill him ? says every one.
With sticks and stones, saysRobinto Bobbin;With sticks and stones, says Richard to Robin;With sticks and stones, says Jack 0
’
th’land ;
With sticks and stones, says every one.
NOTES . 185
Howshallwe get him home ? saysRobinto Bobbin;Howshallwe get him home ? saysRichard to Robin;Howshallwe get him home says Jack 0
’
th’
land ;Howshallwe get him home ? says every one.
We’ll borrowa cart, says Robinto Bobbin;
We’ll borrowa cart, saysRichard to Robin;
We’ll borrowa cart, says Jack 0
’th
’
land ;We
’ll borrowa cart, says every one.
Howshallwe boil him ? says Robinto Bobbin;Howshallwe boil him ? saysRichard to Robin;Howshallwe boilhim ? says Jack 0
’th
’land ;
Howshallwe boilhim ? says every one.
Inthe brewery pan, saysRobinto Bobbin;Inthe brewery pan, saysRichard to Robin;Inthe brewery pan, says Jack 0
’
th’
land ;Inthe brewery pan, says every one.
Inthe copy which was givento me, there were two ad
ditional stanzas, beginning respectively, H owshallwe eat
him3” and,
“With knivesand forks but these are probably
moderninterpolations.
P. 149,No. 297. There isanother couplet onthissovereign,which runs thus,
Tnomas aDidymus had a black beard,
Kiss’d Nancy
'
Fitchett, and made her afeard.
P. 149,No. 282 . Bobby Shaft. Thisought to be, Bobby
Shaftoe, amember of a celebrated family at the end of the
seventeenth century.
P . 151, l. 17. Of all the gag birds. These four lines are
part of anold song, the whole of which may be found in
Deuteromelia,”4 to. Lond. 1609, and it is singular that it
should have come downto us from oral tradition. Thisver
l‘i‘!
“ (N iame hirds th t a fl l wu
YW fll tbe dz v lving sht é s ia ah-em
Te whiauz vrhm r !
'
M vmg h weflmng l make yw a vw .
And he is a knave tha drinka h m .
And who gave you that jolly red nose
And that gave me my jolly red none f'
Dibbity , dibbity , dibbity , doe
Dick and Tom ,Will and John
Did younot hear of Betty Pringle’
s pigDing, dong, bellDing, dong, darrowDingle, dingle, dooseyDingty diddletyDr . Faustuswas a good manDonkey walks onfour legsDoodledy ,
doodledy , doodledy , danDrawa pail ofwaterDriddlety drum, driddlety drum
Eggs, butter, cheese, bread
Elevencomets lnthe skyEliz abeth, Elspeth, Betsy and BessFather, O father, I
'
m come to confessFeedum, fiddledum fee
Fiddle -de-dee , fiddle de -dee
Five score ofmen, money . and pinsFam ed long ago, yet made to dayFour -and-twenty tailors went to kill a snailFasouss '
r s
Gauss
Gay go up and gay go downGiles Collins he said to his old motherGilly Silly JarterGirls and boys, come out to playGood horses, bad horses
Good morning, father FrancisGoosy goosy ganderGreat A , little a
G reencheeses, yellowlacesH eigh, ho ! H eigh,
ho !
H ere am I, little jumping Joan
H ere comes a poor womanfrom baby-landH ere comes I
H ere we come a pipingH errings, herrings, white and redH ey ding a ding,what shall I singH ey dorolot, dorolot
H ickory , dickory , dock
H ie ! diddle diddle
H ighty cock 0
E ighty , tighty , paradighty clothed ingreenH rsroarcsnH owmany miles is it to Babylon?H ub a dub dub
H umpty Dumpty sat onawallH ush a bye a ba lamb
H ush a bye, baby , onthe tree topH ush thee, my babbyH ushy baby ,my doll, I pray you don
'
t cry
I am a pretty wench
I canmake diet breadI had a little castle uponthe sea-sideI had a little dog, and hisname was Blue BellI had a little hobby -horse and itwaswell shodI had a little husbandI had a little moppet
I had a little ponyI had a little sister, they call'd her peep , peepI
’
ll sing you a songI
’
ll tell you a storyI love sixperrce , pretty little Sixpence
I went to the toad that lies under the wallI won' t be my father
'
s JackIf all the seaswere one sea
'Jh and Georgewere two great lordsJm ews
JohnBall shot them all
JohnCook had a little grey mare
Lady -bird, lady bird, fly thy way homeLaz y dukes, that sit inyourneuksLeg over legLet us go to the wood, says this pigLiar, liar, lick spit
Lu ann.
Little Blue Betty lived ina denLittle Bo peep has lost her sheepLittle boy , pretty boy ,where was you born?Little GeneralMonkLittle Jack-a-dandyLittle Jack H om er sat inthe cornerLittle Jack JingleLittle Jenny Wrenfell sick upona timelittle JohnJiggy JagLittle Mary Ester sat upona testerLittle MissMopseyLittle Nancy EtticoatLittle Tommy Tacket
Little Tommy Trigger
Long legs, crooked thighsLucy Locket lost her pocket
Lvnu nrssMary had a pretty bird
Mina re two and three, couldnever agreeMistressMary quite contraryMultiplicationis venationMy father he died, but I can
’
t tell you howMy father he died, I cannot tellhowMy lady Wind,my lady WindN . for aword of deniance
Nancy Dawsonwas so fineNeedles and pins,needles and pins0 that I waswhere I would beOf all the gay birds that e
'
er I did
Old Dr. Foster went to GlosterOld King ColeOld mother H ubbard
old mother N iddity Nod swore by the pudding bagOnee ry , two-cryOne misty moisty morningOne old Oxford ox opening oystersOne 'snoneOne, two, buckle my shoe
One , two, threeOne, two, three, four, fiveOver the water, over the leePm noxssParsonDarby wore a black gownPat. s oske, pat a-cake, baker
'
s manPease ~porridge hot, pease-porridge cold
Peg, peg,with awoodenlegPeter Piper picked a peek of pickled pepper
Peter White willne '
er go right
Poor old RobinsonCrusoe !PnovnnasPurple, yellow, red and greenPussiest,wussiest, with awhite footPussy eat, pussy cat,where have you beenQueenAnne, queenAnne , you sit inthe sunRiddle me, riddle me, riddle me ree l
a a s
Ride a cock-horse
Ride a cock-horse to Banbury CrossRide a cock-horse to Coventry CrossRide, baby , ride
Ride to the market to buy a fat pigRing me, ring me, ringme raryRobert Rowley rolled a round roll roundRobinand RichardRobinH ood, RobinH ood
Robinthe Bobbin, the big-bellied BenRocks -bye, baby , the cradle is greenRound about, round aboutBowsty dowt, my fire
'
s all out
Saturday night my wife did dieSays AarontoMoses
Says Moses to AaronSays Robinto Jenny , if you
'
ll be mineSay s t
’
auld mantit oak treeSononssrrcSee a pinand pick it upSeek a thing, give a thingSee saw,
Jack a daw
192 INDEX.
Therewas anoldwoman, andwhat do you think?There was anoldwoman as I
’
ve heard tell
There was anold womanhad three sonsThere was anold womanof LeedsThere was anoldwomanof NorwichThere was anold womansat spinningThere was anold womantoss'd up ina blanketThere was anoldwomanwho liv‘
d ina shoeThere were three jovialWelchmenThere were two birds sat ona stoneThere were two blackbirdsThirty white horses ona red hillThis is the key of the kingdomThis little pigwent to marketThomas aDydymus, king of the JewsThree blind mice, three blind miceThree childrensliding onthe iceThree wise menof GothamTo make your candles last for ayeTo market ride the gentlemenTom Brown'
s two little IndianboysTom he was a piper
'
s sonTom married awife onSundayTommy Tibule, H arry Wibule
Tommy Trot, amanof lawTom,
Tom, the piper'
s sonTrip trap over the grass
Trip upontrenchors and dance upondishesTwo legs sat uponthree legsUp hill and downdaleWe are three brethrenout of SpainWe
’
ll go a shooting, says Robinto BobbinWe make no spare
We’
re all dry with drinking on'
t
What care I howblack I be ?What 1a the rhyme for porringer ?Whena twister twistingWhengood king A rthur ruled thislandI’VhenI was a bachelor , I lived by myselfWhenI was a little boy ,
I had but little wit
WhenI was a little boy , my mammy kept me inWhenI was a little girlWhenI went up sandy -hill
Who comes here ?
Who 13going round my sheepfold .9
William and Mary ,George and Anne
Yankee doodle came to townZickety , dickety , dock
