language. This seems to countenance the opinion of some antiquaries, that this great poet made considerable innovations in his mother tongue, and introduced many terms, and new modes of speech from other languages.

[When Henry III. died, highly laudatory songs were sung in honour of the new king, but when Edward I. died the people were too grieved at their loss to sing the praise of his successor. The present song is printed by Mr. Thomas Wright in his Political Songs of England (Camden Society, 1839, p. 246), where he also prints a French version, and points out that the one is clearly translated from the other, adding that the French song was probably the original. In verse 27, Percy printed hue (¿.e. she) with a capital H, under the impression that it was "the name of the person who was to preside over the business."]

LLE, that beoth of huerte trewe,1
A stounde herkneth' to my song
Of duel, that Deth hath diht* us newe,
That maketh me syke, ant sorewe among;

Of a knyht, that wes so strong,

Of wham God hath don ys wille;
Me-thuncheth3 that deth hath don us wrong,
That he so sone shall ligge stille."

Al Englond ahte' for te knowe

Of wham that song is, that y synge;

Of Edward kyng, that lith so lowe,

Yent al this world is nome con springe :10
Trewest mon of alle thinge,

11

Ant in werre war ant wys,'
For him we ahte oure honden wrynge,
Of Christendome he ber the prys.

are of true heart. 2 for a while hearken ye.

wrought.

8 lieth.

5 methinketh.

9 through.

11 in war wary and wise.

6 lie still.

5

ΤΟ

7 ought. 10 his name spread abroad. 12 hands wring.]

Byfore that oure kyng was ded,
He spek ase mon that wes in care,
“Clerkes, knyhtes, barons, he sayde,
"Y charge ou by oure sware2,
"That ye to Engelonde be trewe.

"Y deye, y ne may lyven na more;3
"Helpeth mi sone, ant crouneth him newe,
"For he is nest to buen y-core.*

"Ich biqueth myn herte aryht,5
"That hit be write at mi devys,
"Over the see that hue be diht,

"With fourscore knyhtes al of prys,
"In werre that buen war ant wys,

Ayein the hethene for te fyhte,
"To wynne the croizR that lowe lys,
"Myself y cholde yef that y myhte.”
Kyng of Fraunce, thou hevedest10'sinne,'

That thou the consail woldest fonde,1
To latte12 the wille of Edward kyng'

To wende to the holy londe:
That oure kyng hede take on honde
All Engelond to yeme ant wysse,13

To wenden in to the holy londe
To wynnen us heve[n]riche1 blisse.

The messager to the pope com,

And seyde that our kynge was ded:
Ys oune hond the lettre he nom,15
Ywis1 his herte was full gret :17

11

25

30

35

40

Ver. 33. sunne, MS. Ver. 35. kyng Edward, MS. Ver. 43. ys is probably a contraction of in hys or yn his.

[1as.

2 I charge you by your oath. live more. 4 next to be chosen.

7 she be sent (see Glossary).
10 hadst.
11 try.

5 rightly.

8

cross.

12 hinder.

13

14 heavenly. 15 took.

16 verily.

3 I die, I may not

6 devise.

9

" I would if.

govern and teach. 17 grieved.]

The Pope him self the lettre redde,

Ant spec1 a word of gret honour. "Alas! he seid, is Edward ded?

"Of Christendome he ber the flour."

The Pope to is chaumbre wende,

45

For dol2 ne mihte he speke na more;
Ant after cardinals he sende,

50

That muche couthen3 of Cristes lore,
Bothe the lasse, ant eke the more,

Bed hem bothe rede ant synge:

Gret deol me myhte se thore,

5

Mony mon is honde wrynge.

The Pope of Peyters stod at is masse.
With ful gret solempnetè,

Ther me con' the soule blesse :

Kyng Edward honoured thou be:

God lene thi sone come after the,

66

Bringe to ende that thou hast bygonne, "The holy crois y-mad of tre,'

"So fain thou woldest hit hav y-wonne.

"Jerusalem, thou hast i-lore10

"The flour of al chivalrie

"Now kyng Edward liveth na more:
"Alas! that he yet shulde deye!
"He wolde ha rered up ful heyyell

55

60

65

71

"Oure banners, that bueth broht12 to grounde; "Wel longe we mowe clepe13 and crie "Er we a such kyng han y-founde."

Ver. 55, 59. Me, i.e. Men, so in Robert of Gloucester, passim.

Noni Edvari ci Carava

King of Engeiond al zipitat
God lee fim der de vise mat

Then his fader ne lasse of my
To kolden is pore men to ris
And underit:ade good counse
Al Engelond for to wysse an de
Of gode knyttes dari tim nous fall
That' mi tonge were mad of stel,
Ant min herte y-yote of bras,
The godness mynt y never telle,
That with kyng Edward was:
Kyng, as thou art cleped conquerour,
In uch bataille thou hadest prys;
God bringe thi soule to the honour,
That ever wes, ant ever ys.

Here follow in the original three lines more, which, as seemingly redundant, we chuse to throw to the bottom of the page, viz.:

"That lasteth ay withouten ende,

Bidde we God, ant oure Ledy to thilke blisse
Jesus us sende. Amen."

III.

AN ORIGINAL BALLAD BY CHAUCER.

HIS little sonnet, which hath escaped all the editors of Chaucer's works, is now printed for the first time from an ancient MS. in the Pepysian Library, that contains many other poems of its venerable author. The versification is of that species, which the French call rondeau, very naturally Englished by our honest countrymen round O. Tho' so 4 though.

entirely.

Cast.

to govern and order. ⚫ called.

3 need.
7 each.]

early adopted by them, our ancestors had not the honour of inventing it: Chaucer picked it up, along with other better things, among the neighbouring nations. A fondness for laborious trifles hath always prevailed in the dark ages of literature. The Greek poets have had their wings and axes: the great father of English poesy may therefore be pardoned one poor solitary rondeau.Geofrey Chaucer died Oct. 25, 1400.

[These verses are printed in Morris's Aldine Edition of Chaucer (vol. vi. pp. 304-5), but there is no conclusive evidence that they are really by Chaucer. Mr. Furnivall writes (Trial Forewords, Chaucer Society, 1871, p. 32):-"With the Pity I should like much to class the Roundel.. as one of the poet's genuine works, though it is not assigned to him (so far as I know), by any MS. of authority. It exactly suits the Compleynte of Pite; there is nothing in it (so far as I can see), to make it not Chaucer's, and it is of the same form as his Roundel in the Parliament of Foules." Mr. Hales suggests to me that the poem may have been written by one of Chaucer's followers, and refers to verse 260 of the Knight's Tale:

"The freissche beauté sleeth me sodeynly,"

as having probably given the hint to the writer of this rondeau.]

I. I.

OURE two eyn will sle me sodenly,
I may the beaute of them not sustene,
So wendeth it thorowout my herte kene.

2.

And but your words will helen hastely
My hertis wound, while that it is grene,
Youre two eyn will sle me sodenly.

3.

Upon my trouth I sey yow feithfully,
That ye ben of my liffe and deth the quene;
For with my deth the trouth shal be sene.
Youre two eyn, &c.