Of this bataille I wol namore endyte, But speke of Palamon and of Arcite.

1891

Swelleth the brest of Arcite, and the sore Encreesseth at his herte more and more. The clothered blood, for any lechecraft,1 Corrupteth, and is in his bouk 2 y-laft, That neither veyne-blood, ne ventusinge,4 Ne drinke of herbes may ben his helpinge. The vertu expulsif, or animal, Fro thilke vertu cleped natural 5 Ne may the venim voyden, ne expelle. The pypes of his longes gonne to swelle, And every lacerte 6 in his brest adoun Is shent with venim and corrupcioun. Him gayneth neither, for to gete his lyf, Vomyt upward, ne dounward laxatif; Al is to-brosten 9 thilke regioun, Nature hath now no dominacioun. And certeinly, ther nature wol nat wirche, Far-wel, phisyk! go ber the man to

chirche !

1900

This al and som, that Arcita mot dye,
For which he sendeth after Emelye,
And Palamon, that was his cosin dere;
Than seyde he thus, as ye shul after here.
Naught may the woful spirit in myn
herte

Declare o poynt of alle my sorwes smerte
To yow, my lady, that I love most;
But I biquethe the service of my gost 1910
To yow aboven every creature,
Sin that my lyf may no lenger dure.
Allas, the wo! allas, the peynes stronge,
That I for yow have suffred, and so longe!
Allas, the deeth! allas, myn Emelye!
Allas, departing of our companye!
Allas, myn hertes queue! allas, my wyf!
Myn hertes lady, endere of my lyf!
What is this world? what asketh men to
have?

Now with his love, now in his colde grave 1920
Allone, with-outen any companye.
Far-wel, my swete fo! myn Emelye!
And softe tak me in your armes tweye,
For love of God, and herkneth what I seye.
I have heer with my cosin Palamon
Had stryf and rancour, many a day a-gon,
For love of yow, and for my jelousye.
And Jupiter so wis my soule gye,10

1 clotted blood, in spite of all the art of physicians. 2 body, trunk. 3 blood-letting. 4 cupping. 5 Besides the animal and the natural virtues, there as a third, the vital, which is mentioned in 1. 1944. C muscle. 7 ruined. 8 It avails him.

1930

To speken of a servant 11 proprely,
With alle circumstaunces trewely,
That is to seyn, trouthe, honour, and
knighthede,

Wisdom, huu.blesse, estaat, and heigh kinrede,

Fredom, and al that longeth to that art,
So Jupiter have of my soule part,

As in this world right now ne knowe I non
So worthy to ben loved as Palamon,
That serveth yow, and wol don al his lyf.
And if that ever ye shul been a wyf,
Foryet nat Palamon, the gentil man.'
And with that word his speche faille gan, 1940
For from his feet up to his brest was come
The cold of deeth, that hadde him over-

come.

And yet more-over, in his armes two
The vital strengthe is lost, and al ago.
Only the intellect, with-outen more,
That dwelled in his herte syk and sore,
Gan faillen, when the herte felte deeth,
Dusked his eyen two, and failled breeth.
But on his lady yet caste he his yë;
His laste word was, 'Mercy, Emelye!' 1950
His spirit chaunged hous, and wente ther,
As I cam never, I can nat tellen wher.
Therfor I stinte, I nam no divinistre; 12
Of soules finde I nat in this registre,
Ne me ne list thilke opiniouns to telle
Of hem, though that they wryten wher they
dwelle.

Arcite is cold, ther Mars his soule gye; 13
Now wol I speken forth of Emelye.
Shrighte 14 Emelye, and howleth Pala-

1999

Duk Theseus, with al his bisy cure, Caste now wher that the sepulture 2 Of good Arcite may best y-maked be, And eek most honurable in his degree. And at the laste he took conclusioun, That ther as first Arcite and Palamoun Hadden for love the bataille hem bitwene, That in that selve grove, swote and grene, Ther as he hadde his amorous desires, His compleynt, and for love his hote fires, He wolde make a fyr, in which th❜office Funeral he mighte al accomplice;

And leet comaunde anon to hakke and hewe

2011

The okes olde, and leye hem on a rewe
In colpons wel arrayed for to brenne;
His officers with swifte feet they renue
And ryde anon at his comaundement.
And after this, Theseus hath y-sent
After a bere, and it al over-spradde
With cloth of gold, the richest that he
hadde.

And of the same suyte 5 he cladde Arcite;
Upon his hondes hadde he gloves whyte;
Eek on his heed a croune of laurer grene,
And in his hond a swerd ful bright and
kene.

He leyde him, bare the visage, on the bere,
Therwith he weep that pitee was to here.
And for the peple sholde seen him alle, 2021
Whan it was day, he broghte him to the
halle,

That roreth of the crying and the soun.
Tho cam this woful Theban Palamoun,
With flotery berd, and ruggy' asshy heres,
In clothes blake, y-dropped al with teres;
And, passing othere of weping, Emelye,
The rewfulleste of al the companye.
In as muche as the service sholde be
The more noble and riche in his degree,
Duk Theseus leet forth three stedes bringe,
That trapped were in steel al gliteringe,
And covered with the armes of daun Arcite.
Up-on thise stedes, that weren grete and
whyte,

2029

Ther seten folk, of which oon bar his sheeld,

Another his spere up in his hondes heeld; The thridde bar with him his bowe Turkeys,

Of brend gold was the cas, and eek the harneys;

And riden forth a pas with sorweful chere Toward the grove, as ye shul after here. 2040 The nobleste of the Grekes that ther were Upon hir shuldres carieden the bere,

With slakke pas, and eyen rede and wete,
Thurgh-out the citee, by the maister-strete,
That sprad was al with blak, and wonder
hye

Right of the same is al the strete y-wrye.8
Up-on the right hond wente old Egeus,
And on that other syde duk Theseus,
With vessels in hir hand of gold ful fyn,
Al ful of hony, milk, and blood, and wyn; 2050
Eek Palamon, with ful greet companye;
And after that cam woful Emelye,
With fyr in honde, as was that tyme the
gyse,

To do th'office of funeral servyse.

Heigh labour, and ful greet apparaillinge Was at the service and the fyr-makinge, That with his grene top the heven raughte,9 And twenty fadme of brede 10 the armes straughte;

11

This is to seyn, the bowes were so brode. Of stree 12 first ther was leyd ful many a lode.

2060

Ne how she swowned whan men made the fyr,

Ne what she spak, ne what was hir desyr; Ne what jeweles men in the fyr tho caste, Whan that the fyr was greet and brente faste;

Ne how som caste hir6 sheeld, and som hir spere,

And of hir vestiments, whiche that they were,

2090

And cuppes ful of wyn, and milk, and blood,

Into the fyr, that brente as it were wood;
Ne how the Grekes with an huge route
Thryës riden al the fyr aboute
Up-on the left hand, with a loud shoutinge,
And thryës with hir speres clateringe;
And thryës how the ladies gonne crye;
Ne how that lad was hom-ward Emelye;
Ne how Arcite is brent to asshen colde;
Ne how that liche-wake was y-holde
Al thilke night, ne how the Grekes pleye
The wake-pleyes, ne kepe I nat to seye;

2100

13 The passage is from various parts of the De Consolatione Philosophiae of Boethius.

2150

Wel may men knowe, but it be a fool,
That every part dery veth from his hool.
For nature hath nat take his beginning
Of no party ne cantel1 of a thing,
But of a thing that parfit is and stable,
Descending so, til it be corrumpable.
And therfore, of his wyse purvey aunce,
He hath so wel biset his ordinaunce,
That speces of thinges and progressiouns
Shullen enduren by successiouns,
And nat eterne be, with-oute lyë:
This maistow understonde and seen at yë.
'Lo the ook, that hath so long a noris-
shinge

2159

From tyme that it first biginneth springe, And hath so long a lyf, as we may see, Yet at the laste wasted is the tree. 'Considereth eek, how that the harde stoon

Under our feet, on which we trede and

goon,

Yit wasteth it, as it lyth by the weye.
The brode river somtyme wexeth dreye.
The grete tounes see we wane and wende.
Than may ye see that al this thing hath
ende.

'Of man and womman seen we wel also, That nedeth, in oon of thise termes two, This is to seyn, in youthe or elles age, 2171 He moot ben deed, the king as shal a page;

Som in his bed, som in the depe see,
Som in the large feeld, as men may se;
Ther helpeth noght, al goth that ilke weye.
Thanne may I seyn that al this thing moot
deye.

What maketh this but Jupiter the king?
The which is prince and cause of alle thing,
Converting al un-to his propre welle,
From which it is deryved, sooth to telle.
And here-agayns no creature on lyve
Of no degree availleth for to stryve.
'Thanne is it wisdom, as it thinketh me,
To maken vertu of necessitee,

2181

And take it wel, that we may nat eschue,
And namely that to us alle is due.
And who-so gruccheth 2 ought, he dooth
folye,

2190

And rebel is to him that al may gye.
And certeinly a man hath most honour
To dyen in his excellence and flour,
Whan he is siker of his gode name;
Than hath he doon his freend, ne him, no
shame.

Noght wiste he what this Latin was to seye,
For he so yong and tendre was of age;
But on a day his felaw gan he preye
T'expounden him this song in his langage,
Or telle him why this song was in usage; 40
This preyde he him to construe and declare
Ful ofte tyme upon his knowes9 bare.

His felaw, which that elder was than he, Answerde him thus: This song, I have herd seye,

Was maked of our blisful lady free,
Hir to salue,10 and eek hir for to preye
To been our help and socour whan we deye.
I can no more expounde in this matere;
I lerne song, I can but smal grammere.'

50

'And is this song maked in reverence
Of Cristes moder?' seyde this innocent;
'Now certes, I wol do my diligence
To conne it al, er Cristemasse is went;
Though that I for my prymer shal be
shent,11

And shal be beten thryës in an houre,
I wol it conne, our lady for to honoure.'

His felaw taughte him hom ward prively,
Fro day to day, til he coude it by rote,
And than he song it wel and boldely
Fro word to word, acording with the note;
Twyës a day it passed thurgh his throte, 61
To scoleward and hom ward whan he wente;
On Cristes moder set was his entente.