"Fortune is stately, solemne, prowde, and hye: And rychesse geueth, to haue seruyce therefore. The nedy begger catcheth an half peny: Some manne a thousaude pounde, some lesse some more. But for all that she kepeth euer in store, From euery manne some parcell of his wyll, That he may pray therefore and serve her styll. Some manne hath good, but chyldren hath he none. Some manne hath both, but he can get none health. Some hath al thre, but vp to honours trone, Can he not crepe, by no maner of stelth. To some she sendeth chyldren, ryches, welthe, Honour, woorshyp, and reuerence all hys lyfe: But yet she pyncheth hym with a shrewde wife." SIR THOMAS MORE.
Example for the reign of Henry VII, who was crowned on Bosworth field, 1485, and who died in 1509.
"Wherefor and forasmoche as we haue sent for our derrest wif, and for our derrest moder, to come unto us, and that we wold have your advis and counsail also in soche matters as we haue to doo for the subduying of the rebelles, we praie you, that, yeving your due attendaunce vppon our said derrest wif and lady moder, ye come with thaym unto us; not failing herof as ye purpose to doo us plaisir. Yeven undre our signett, at our Castell of Kenelworth, the xiii daie of Maye."--HENRY VII: Letter to the Earl of Ormond: Bucke's Classical Gram., p. 147.
Example for the short reign of Richard III,--from 1485 to 1483.
"Right reverend fader in God, right trusty and right wel-beloved, we grete yow wele, and wol and charge you that under oure greate seale, being in your warde, ye do make in all haist our lettres of proclamation severally to be directed unto the shirrefs of everie countie within this oure royaume."--RICHARD III: Letter to his Chancellor.
Reign of Edward IV,--from 1483 to 1461.--Example written in 1463.
"Forasmoche as we by divers meanes bene credebly enformed and undarstand for certyne, that owr greate adversary Henry, naminge hym selfe kynge of England, by the maliceous counseyle and exitacion of Margaret his wife, namynge hir selfe queane of England, have conspired," &c.--EDWARD IV: Letter of Privy Seal.
Examples for the reign of Henry VI,--from 1461 back to 1422.
"When Nembroth [i.e. Nimrod] by Might, for his own Glorye, made and incorporate the first Realme, and subduyd it to hymself by Tyrannye, he would not have it governyd by any other Rule or Lawe, but by his own Will; by which and for th' accomplishment thereof he made it. And therefor, though he had thus made a Realme, holy Scripture denyd to cal hym a Kyng, Quia Rex dicitur a Regendo; Whych thyng he did not, but oppressyd the People by Myght."--SIR JOHN FORTESCUE.
Example from Lydgate, a poetical Monk, who died in 1440.
"Our life here short of wit the great dulnes The heuy soule troubled with trauayle, And of memorye the glasyng brotelnes, Drede and vncunning haue made a strong batail With werines my spirite to assayle, And with their subtil creping in most queint Hath made my spirit in makyng for to feint." JOHN LYDGATE: Fall of Princes, Book III, Prol.
Example for the reign of Henry V,--from 1422 back to 1413.
"I wolle that the Duc of Orliance be kept stille withyn the Castil of Pontefret, with owte goyng to Robertis place, or to any other disport, it is better he lak his disport then we were disceyved. Of all the remanant dothe as ye thenketh."--Letter of HENRY V.
Example for the reign of Henry IV,--from 1413 back to 1400.
"Right heigh and myghty Prynce, my goode and gracious Lorde,-- I recommaund me to you as lowly as I kan or may with all my pouer hert, desiryng to hier goode and gracious tydynges of your worshipful astate and welfare."--LORD GREY: Letter to the Prince of Wales: Bucke's Classical Gram., p. 145.
Reign of Richard II, 1400 back to 1377.--Example written in 1391. "Lytel Lowys my sonne, I perceve well by certaine evidences thyne abylyte to lerne scyences, touching nombres and proporcions, and also well consydre I thy besye prayer in especyal to lerne the tretyse of the astrolabye. Than for as moche as a philosopher saithe, he wrapeth hym in his frende, that condiscendeth to the ryghtfull prayers of his frende: therefore I have given the a sufficient astrolabye for oure orizont, compowned after the latitude of Oxenforde: vpon the whiche by meditacion of this lytell tretise, I purpose to teche the a certame nombre of conclusions, pertainynge to this same instrument."--GEOFFREY CHAUCER: Of the Astrolabe.
Example written about 1385--to be compared with that of 1555, on p. 87.
"And thus this companie of muses iblamed casten wrothly the chere dounward to the yerth, and shewing by rednesse their shame, thei passeden sorowfully the thresholde. And I of whom the sight plounged in teres was darked, so that I ne might not know what that woman was, of so Imperial aucthoritie, I woxe all abashed and stonied, and cast my sight doune to the yerth, and began still for to abide what she would doen afterward."--CHAUCER: Version from Boethius: Johnson's Hist. of E. L., p. 29.
Poetical Example--probably written before 1380.
"O Socrates, thou stedfast champion; She ne might nevir be thy turmentour, Thou nevir dreddist her oppression, Ne in her chere foundin thou no favour, Thou knewe wele the disceipt of her colour, And that her moste worship is for to lie, I knowe her eke a false dissimulour, For finally Fortune I doe defie."--CHAUCER.
Reign of Edward III, 1377 to 1327.--Example written about 1360.
"And eke full ofte a littell skare Vpon a banke, er men be ware, Let in the streme, whiche with gret peine, If any man it shall restreine. Where lawe failleth, errour groweth; He is not wise, who that ne troweth."--SIR
JOHN GOWER.
Example from Mandeville, the English traveller-written in 1356.
"And this sterre that is toward the Northe, that wee clepen the lode sterre, ne apperethe not to hem. For whiche cause, men may wel perceyve, that the lond and the see ben of rownde schapp and forme. For the partie of the firmament schewethe in o contree, that schewethe not in another contree. And men may well preven be experience and sotyle compassement of wytt, that zif a man fond passages be schippes, that wolde go to serchen the world, men mighte go be schippe all aboute the world, and aboven and benethen. The whiche thing I prove thus, aftre that I have seyn. * * * Be the whiche I seye zou certeynly, that men may envirowne alle the erthe of alle the world, as wel undre as aboven, and turnen azen to his contree, that hadde companye and schippynge and conduyt: and alle weyes he scholde fynde men, londes, and yles, als wel as in this contree."--SIR JOHN MANDEVILLE; Johnson's Hist. of E. L., p. 26.
Example from Rob. Langland's "Vision of Pierce Ploughman," 1350.
"In the somer season, When hot was the Sun, I shope me into shroubs, As I a shepe were; In habit as an harmet, Vnholy of werkes, Went wyde in this world Wonders to heare."
Description of a Ship-referred to the reign of Edward II: 1327-1307.
"Such ne saw they never none, For it was so gay begone, Every nayle with gold ygrave, Of pure gold was his sklave, Her mast was of ivory, Of samyte her sayle wytly, Her robes all of whyte sylk, As whyte as ever was ony mylke. The noble ship was without With clothes of gold spread about And her loft and her wyndlace All of gold depaynted was." ANONYMOUS: Bucke's Gram., p. 143.
From an Elegy on Edward I, who reigned till 1307 from 1272.
"Thah mi tonge were made of stel, Ant min herte yzote of bras, The goodness myht y never telle, That with kyng Edward was: Kyng, as thou art cleped conquerour, In uch battaille thou hadest prys; God bringe thi soule to the honour, That ever wes ant ever ys. Now is Edward of Carnavan Kyng of Engelond al aplyght; God lete him never be worse man Then his fader, ne lasse myht, To holden his pore men to ryht, Ant understonde good counsail, Al Engelond for to wysse and dyht; Of gode knyhtes darh him nout fail." ANON.: Percy's Reliques, Vol. ii, p. 10.
Reign of Henry III, 1272 to 1216.--Example from an old ballad entitled Richard of Almaigne; which Percy says was "made by one of the adherents of Simon de Montfort, earl of Leicester, soon after the battle of Lewes, which was fought, May 14, 1264."--Percy's Reliques, Vol. ii.
"Sitteth alle stille, and herkneth to me; The kyng of Almaigne, bi mi leaute, Thritti thousent pound askede he For te make the pees in the countre, Ant so he dude more. Richard, thah thou be ever trichard, Trichten shalt thou never more."
In the following examples, I substitute Roman letters for the Saxon. At this period, we find the characters mixed. The style here is that which Johnson calls "a kind of intermediate diction, neither Saxon nor English."
Of these historical rhymes, by Robert of Gloucester, the Doctor gives us more than two hundred lines; but he dates them no further than to say, that the author "is placed by the criticks in the thirteenth century."--Hist. of Eng. Lang., p. 24.
"Alfred thys noble man, as in the ger of grace he nom Eygte hondred and syxty and tuelue the kyndom. Arst he adde at Rome ybe, and, vor ys grete wysdom, The pope Leo hym blessede, tho he thuder com, And the kynges croune of hys lond, that in this lond gut ys: And he led hym to be kyng, ar he kyng were y wys. An he was kyng of Engelond, of alle that ther come, That vorst thus ylad was of the pope of Rome, An suththe other after hym of the erchebyssopes echon."
"Clere he was god ynou, and gut, as me telleth me, He was more than ten ger old, ar he couthe ys abece. Ac ys gode moder ofte smale gyftes hym tok, Vor to byleue other pie, and loky on ys boke. So that by por clergye ys rygt lawes he wonde, That neuere er nere y mad to gouerny ys lond." ROBERT OF GLOUCESTER: Johnson's Hist. of E. L., p. 25.
Reign of John, 1216 back to 1199.--Subject of Christ's Crucifixion.
"I syke when y singe for sorewe that y se When y with wypinge bihold upon the tre, Ant se Jhesu the suete ys hert blod for-lete For the love of me; Ys woundes waxen wete, thei wepen, still and mete, Marie reweth me." ANON.: Bucke's Gram., p. 142.
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