Political Songs - Forgotten Books

P O L ITICAL SONG S

OF ENGLAND,

I k c n : KING JO IIN To KING II.

5 — 4fi c‘ vfibliotb eca Guriosa. g

\PO L IT ICAL SONGS

O F ENGLAND,

FROM THE REIGN OF jOHN TO THAT OF

EDWARD I I.

TWITED AN D P?

THOMASERIGHT/MA &c.

Of Tr ini ty Callege . Cambri dge .

A330 RFVIS‘ED BY

EDMU N D G OLDSMID,

*/ o

(x'

t

PR IVATELY PRINTED, EDINBURGH .

This Edition is limited to seventy-five Lu gePape r copie s, and two hundred and seventy-fiveSmall Pape r copie s, issued only to Subscribe rs .

INTRODUCTION .

To re print so we ll-known a work as Mr . Wright’sPol itical Songs of England may str ike some

ofmy readers as a work of supe rerogation ; but thefact is , the book was so made up and inflatedthat none but students wou ld eve r ca re to lookinto it . The book, as printed by Mr . Wright ,purpo rts to be a collection of the politica l songs ofEngla nd from John to Edward I I . but Mr.

Wrigh t’s ide a of a song is, to say the least of it,peculiar . Fo r instance , who sang the Battle of

Lewes (se e vol. ii. a long Latin poem of nea rlylines Ce rtainly not the minstre ls, for they

knew no thing of Latin. The truth is that the sepoems we re wr itten in clo iste rs, and we re no moreintended to be sung than Pope ’s Essay on Man, orBu tler’ s Hudibras. A song, e spe cially a popu la rsong, must, above all things, be short and

no th ing but the de sire to produce a bulky volumecou ld have induced Mr . Wright to admit many of

the pieces which he has admitted . I have , the refo re , de te rmined to reprint both the text and the

translations of such productions as se em to me to

dese rve the title of songs. But I have not cut out

v INTRODUCTION .

the heavie r poems a ltoge the r . If they are not

songs they are at least intere sting, and I have so

far ventu red on a compromise as to give Mr.

Wright ’s translations without the origina l Latintext . The Norman-French and Old Englishpoems I have re tained entire , as likewise the

shorter La tin ones . I have omitted the gr e ate rpart of Mr. Wright ’s appendix, which consists of

extracts from Pe te r Langtoft’s Chronicle , wh ich,owing to the ir be ing me re extracts, are va lue lessto the stude nt, who can re fe r to it, if he wishe s, in

Hearne’s edition of 1725, reprinted by Bagste r,

1810. I have also made conside rable a lte ra tionsin Mr . Wright’s note s, without, howeve r, adding

mo re ofmy own than was absolute ly necessa ry forthe prope r unde rstanding of the text. By the seme ans I be lieve I have produced a volume whichwill prove inte re sting to the ordinary re ade r, and

of real va lue to the historica l student .

EDMUND Gom sum .

EDINBURGH ,

j anua ry 2 1 , 1884 .

EDITOR’

S PREFACE .

Few historica l documents are more inte re stingor important than the contemporary songs in

which the po litica l partizan satirised his opponentsand stirred up the cou rage of his fri ends, or in

which the people exu lted ove r victories ga inedabroad aga inst their enemies or at home againstthe ir Oppre ssors, o r lamented over evil counse lsand na tional ca lamities . Ye t, though a few

specimens have been published from time to timein co llections of misce llaneous poe try, such as

those of Pe rcy and Ritson, and have neve r failedto a ttract a ttention, no book specially devo ted to

ancient Politica l Songs has ye t appe ared.

“

The quantity of such productions has gene rallyvaried with the character of the age . They we refrequent from a ve ry early pe riod in othe rcountrie s of Europe , as we ll as England. It

would be e asy to produce proofs tha t in our is landthey we re ve ry nume rous in Saxon times,— a few

specimens, inde ed, have e scaped tha t destructionwhich visits the monuments o f popu lar and tem

pora ry fe e ling before all o the rs ; and for yearsafter the Norman conquest the oppre ssed pe oplecontinued to sing the songs of forme r days at the irrustic fe stivals or amid the ir eve ryday labours . As

the fe e lings which caused them to be remembe reddied away gradually be fo re the we ight of a new

politica l system, a new class of songs also arose .

This was written in 1838.

EDITOR'

S PREFACE .

l From the Conque st to the end of the tw e lfthcentury, the po litical songs of the Anglo -No rmans

we re in a grea t measure confined, as far as w e can

judge from the few Specimens tha t are left, to laudato rypoems in La tin o r to fune re al e legie s on pr ince sand gre a t people . Ye t we can ha rdly doubt tha t,with the turbulent barons of the se troublous time s,

the harp of the minstre l must have re sounde d ftcquently to subjects of gre ate r pre sent exciteme n t .‘With the beginning of the thirte enth ce n tu ry

opened a new scene of po litical contention . I t is

amid the civil commotions of the re ign of Johnthat our manuscr iptsfirst present trace s o f the

songs in which popular opinion sought and founda vent, a t the same time that the Commons of

England began to assume a more active par t onthe stage of history . The following re ign w as a

pe riod o fconstant excitement . The we ak gove rnme nt o f H e nry the Third pe rmitted eve ry par ty togive fre e utterance to the ir opinions and intentions,and the songs of this per iod are remarkably bo ldand pointed. These e ffusions are inte resting in

o the r po ints of view beside s the ir connection-w i thhistor ica l events ; they illustrate in a rema rkab lemanne r the history of ou r language they show us

how Latin, Anglo -Norman, and English w e re

succe ssive ly the favourite instruments by which thethoughts of our ance stors we re expressed ; and

co lla te rally they show us how the cle rk (orscho la r) w ith his Latin, the court ie r with h is

Bu t ha rdly in La tin !

EDI TOR’

S PREFACE .

Anglo-Norman, and the people with the ir good

old English, came forward in turns upon the

scene . In our songs, we se e that, during the

earlie r pa rt of the re ign of the third Henry, thesatirica l pie ce s which inve ighed against the cor

ruptiou s of the State and demanded so loudlythe ir amendment, are all in La tin, which is as

much as to say that the y came from the scho lasticpart of the pe ople , or those who had been bred inthe unive rsitie s , then no smal l or unimportant partof the community. They se em to have led the

way as bo ld re forme rs ; and the re fecto ry of the

monastery, not less than the baronial hall, rangfrequ ently with the ou tbursts of popu lar fee ling.

The remarkable and highly-inte re sting de clara tionof the objects and sentiments o f the Barons, whichwas published afte r the ba ttle ofw e s, is writtenin Latin .

’ Amid the Barons’wars was composed

thefirst po litica l song in English that has ye t beenfound . It is remarkable that all the songs of this

period which we know , whe the r in Latin, AngloNorman, or English, are on the popula r side of

the dispu te— all with one accord agre e in the irpra ise and support of the great Simon de Montfort.The circumstance of our finding no songs in

English of an earlie r date does not, howeve r, provetha t they did not exist . On the contrary, it isprobable tha t they were equally abundantw ith theothe rs ; bu t the Latin songs be longed to tha tparticu lar party who we re most in the habit ofThis , how eve r , was not a song , bu t a regu la r didactic poem.

ro ED ITOR'

S PREFACE .

committing the ir productions to writing, andwhosemanuscripts a lso we re longe st prese rved . It is

probable that a ve ry small portion of the earlierEnglish popular poe try was eve r ente red in books— it was pre se rved in people ’s memo ry until,gradually forgotten, it ceased entire ly to existexcept in a few instance s, whe re , ye ars a fte r thepe riod at which it wasfirst composed , it was committed to writing by those who heard it recited.

The English song on the battle of Lewes is foundin a manuscript wr itten in the re ign of Edward IIwhen, pe rhaps , the simila r chara cte r o f the timeled people to give re trospective looks to the doingsof Earl Simon and his confede ra te ba rons. They

we re some time s written on sma ll rolls ofpa rchment,for the convenience of the minstre l, who thus

carried them abou t with him from house to house,and chanted them at the will of his e nte rta iners .

From the se rolls and loose scraps the y wereoccasionally copied into books, long afte r theyhadceased to possess any popular inte rest, by some

cle rk who loved to co llect antiqu itie s for in

those days , too , the re we re antiqua rie s. One of

the Anglo -Norman songs printed in this collectionis taken from the original ro ll and the Latinsongs on the dea th ofPe te r de Gaveston we re foundin a manuscript wri tten in thefifte enth centu ry.The constant wars of the re ign of Edward I .

the pa triotic ha tred of Frenchman and Sco t, whichthen ran at the highe st furnished the groundwork

ofmany a nationa l song during the la tte r years of

EDI TOR’

S PREFACE . 1 1

the thirte e nth century and the first years of the

fou rte e n th. The English song be come s at thispe riod much mo re frequent, though many we restill wr itten in La tin. Papu lar discontent con

tinned to be expre ssed equa lly in Latin, AngloNorman (a language the influence of which was

now fast de clining), and English . In the Songaga ins t the King’s Taxes,”composed towards theend o f the thirte enth centu ry, we have thefirstspecime n of that kind o f song whe re in each linebegan in one language and e nded in anothe r and

which, ge ne rally written in hexame te rs, se ems

to have bee n extreme ly popu lar during the two

centur ie s fo llowing. One song, in the re ign of

Edwa rd IL , pre sents in alte rnate succession all

the thre e language s which we re then in use . The

po litica l songs during this las t-mentioned re ign

are no t ve ry numerous, but they are by no meansdevo id o f interest.It was the Editor

’s origina l intention to con

tinue the se ries of songs in the pre sent volume tothe de position of Richard II . But, havingadoptedthe suggestion of giving a transla tion, with the

h0pe of making them more popu lar, andfindingthat in conse quence the volume was like ly to extendto a much greate r length thanwas atfirst calcula tedupon, it has be en thought advisable to close the

present co llectionwith anothe r convenienthistoricalperiod , the de position ofhis grandfathe rEdwardII .The wa rs o f Edward I I I . produced many songs,

both in Latin and in English , as did also the

1 2 EDITOR'

S PREFA CE.

troubles which disturbed the re ignof his successor.With the end of the re ign ofEdward IL , however ,

we begin to lose sight of the Anglo Normanlanguage , which we shall not aga in me e t with inthese popu lar e ffusions.

\During the fifte enth

century political songs are less nume rous and alsole ss spiri ted. With it we are introduced to a darkpe ri od of lite rature and science . It was the ia

terval be twe en the breaking up of the o ld system,

and the formation of the new one which was to be

bu ilt upon its ru ins. When we come to th e wars

of the Roses, so fata l to the English nobili ty and

gentry, the page even of history become s lessinte re sting, because it is less intellectua l — the

great mental workings which had influenced so

much the politica l movements of the thirte enthand fourte enth centurie s , we re replaced by thereckless and short-sighted bitte rness of pe rsonalhatred, and the demoralising agency of me re

animal force . As i t had required a long age ofbarbarism and igno rance to swe ep away eve n thela test remnants of ancient pagan splendour, be forethe site wasfit to build up the beautifu l edifice of

Christian civilisation so it seemed as thoughanothe r , though a shorte r andcomparative ly le ssprofound, age ofba rbarism was required to turn men'

s

minds from the de fe ctive learning of the schoo ls,and the impe rfe ct lite ra ture to which they had be enhabituated, and to break down old prejudices and

privileges, which w e re but impediments in the wayofthe new system tha tcame inwith the Reforma tion.

EDITOR'

S PREFACE . 13

The nature of the following co llection of Songs

requires little explanation . They have be enbrought toge the r from scatte red sources. I t was

the Editor ’s de sire to make it as comple te as

possible ; but furthe r re se arches will probablybring to light othe r songs of no le ss inte rest, andthes e , if they become sufficiently nume rous, he

hopes will be collected toge the r as a supplementto the pre sent vo lume . H e has also omitted a

few Anglo-Irish songs, be cause he expects they

will, e re long , rece ive more justice than he is

capable of do ing them, at the hands ofMr. CroftonCroke r. I t is ho ped tha t the texts will be foundas correct as the manuscripts wou ld a llow. The

transla tion is offe red with difiidence , and requiresmany excuses the varie ty of languages and

dialects in which they are written, the ir dissimilarity in style of composition, the cramped con

structions which we re rende red necessary in the

Latin Songs to allow the multiplicity of rhymes,the allusionswhich cannot now be easily expla ined,and above all, the nume rous corruptions whichhave been introduced by the scribe s from whose

hands the difi'e rent manuscripts came (for the

greater part of these songs have been printed fromunique copies) , are the cause of so many di fficu ltie s,that in some instance s little more has be en donethan to guess at the write r's meaning.

‘ The translation is in gene ra l as lite ra l as possible— the

I have ventured to correct Mr . Wri ht ’s trans lationwhe re I thought it absolute ly wrong .

—E. G .

1 4 EDI TOR‘S PREFACE .

Anglo-Norman, French, and English So ngs a re

rende red line for line ; but the Editor is a lmostinclined to regre t that he did not give a fre e r

ve rsion .

’

I t only rema ins for the Editor to fu lfil the

agree able task o f expre ssing his gra titude fo r theassistance which, ia '

the course of the wo rk, hehas de rived from the kindness of his friends to

Mons. d’Avezac, of Paris, so we ll known by his

valuable contributions to geographica l scie nce , towhom he ha s had recourse in some of the gr e a te rdifliculties in the French and Anglo -No rman

songs, and who co llated with the origina ls thosewhich we re taken from fo re ign manuscripts b e fo rethey we re sent to pre ss to Sir Frede rick Madden,from whom he has de rived much assistance in the

English songs, and whose supe rior knowledge ineve rything connected w ith early lite ra ture and

manuscr ipts has be en of the gre a te st use to himto James O rchard Hal liwe ll, Esq. , for manyservice s, and for co lla ting with the or igina ls thesongs taken from Cambr idge Manuscripts and

to John Gough N icho ls, Esq. , for the grea t a tte ntion which he has pa id to the proofs, and for

various suggestions, which have freed this vo lumefrom ve ry many e rrors tha t wou ld othe rwise havebe en ove rlooked .

THOMASWRIGHT.

Some re ade rs will join Mr . Wright in this expre ssiono f regre t.

CONTENTS.

REIGN OF KING JOHN .

SONG ON THE SIEGE or THOUARS (French)

SIRVENTE ON KING JOHN (Provencal )SONG ON THE B ISHOPS (Lat in ) .

SONG ON THE Tru ss (Lat in)

REIGN OI"HENRY I II .

THETAKING o r LINCOLN (La tin )SONG ON THE CORRUPTIONS OF THE TIME

(La tin) 0 e o e o o o 0

SIRVENTEAG AINSTKINGANOTHER SIRVENTE (Provenca l)THESONG o r THE CHURCH (Anglo-Norman )

SONG AGAINST THE B ISHOPS (La tin)SONG ON THE TIMES (Lat in)

SONG UPON THE TAILORS (La tin and Anglo

Norman )

SONG or THEWELSH (Laa'

n)SONG or THE BARONS (Anglo-Norman)SONG OF THE PEACE WITH ENGLAND

(Fr anc/I )

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18 POL I TICAL SONGS.

Et li vie iliairs de Bouaing

I ave ra it grant honte ,C ’apres la mort a visconteMorra it a si maute.Savaris de Mal iéon,

Boens chive lie rs a cintainne ,Se vos fals a ces besons,Pe rdue avons nostre poinneEt vos, xanexals

Asi d’

Anjow e t dou Mainne ,Xanexal out an Torainue

Atre ke vos mist.

Et vos, sire xanexals,

Vos e t Dan Jehan dou Mainne ,Et Ugues, antre vos troisMande is a ro i d’Alemaigne ,

of Bouaing—would have there grea t shame , —tha t after the

dea th of the Viscou nt— he shou ld die in such evil case .Savary ofMau le ou ,

‘— a good knight a t the qu intaiuJ —‘ir

you fa il us in this ne ed,—we have lost our la bou r —andyou.

Senescha l,— both of Anjou and ofMainq — they have placeda se nescha l in Touraine— o the r than you .

And you , Sir Sene schal , -

you and Sir John of Maine,and Hugh, be twee n you thre e ,—send word to the King of

Savary de Mau léon, an English entleman who entered

the se rvice of St. Lou is , King of rance and one of the

Prove nca l poe ts . For an account of his Poems se e Htsto ire Litté ra ire de France ,

"vol. xviii. pp. 67 r— 682 .

f The qu inta in was a stu ffedfigu re , armed with a stick,and so

.

arranged tha t, on be ing unskilfu lly struck with alance , It turne d and gave the rider a sha rp blowback.

POL I TICAL SONGS. 1 9

Xc cist rois e t cil Franso isC

’ame ir ne nos d[a]ignent,Cant por .j. mule t d’Es

paigne

Laxa it Borde lois.

Et vos, signors bache le irs,Ki ame is lois e t pro eses,

Cant vos souliez garre irTouwairs ie rt vos forte resce .

JaDeus ne vos doust porte irNe ma inche ne trese s,

Se Touwa irt au te il tristesceLa ixie z oblie ir .

Almain,—tha t this king and him of France ,— de ign not to

love us,— whe n for a mu le ofSpa in— he le ft the Borde lo is .

‘

And you , Sir bache lors ,—who love pra ise and prowe ss ,when you we re wont to war—Thoua rs was you r fortress .

Now God hinde r you from be ar ing— slee ves or tre sse s ,— if

Thouars in such distress— you a llow to be forgotten.

John ’s own friends, disgusted with his weak

ness, began to dese rt him ; and the followingbitte r song was addressed by the younge r Be rtrand de Born‘

l'

to Savary de Mau le on, to pe r

suade him to follow the ir example .

Alphonso VI I I . , King of Castille , who had marriedEleonore , daughte r of Henry II . of Eng land, and in he rright cla ime d Gascony, la id s1e e to Bordeaux in ra06.

1' Be rt rand de Bo rn , son of t a t Be rtrand de Born whomDante me e ts in the

“Infe rno,

"be aring his bleeding he ad inhis hand , for having incited the sons of H en I I . of England to re vo lt against the ir fa the r . (Infe rno ,

‘

anto xxviii. )

90 POL ITICAL SONGS.

A SIRVENTE ON KING JOHN.

[Ra ynouard, Choir , tom. iv. p. aor.)

QUAN'

I‘vei lo temps renove llar,

E pare is la fucili’ e la dors,Mi dona ardimen amors

E co r e sabe r de chantarE dones, po is res no m’

en sofraing,

Farai un Sirvent e scozeu,Que trame trai lai par presen

A l re i Joan que 3 n’

a ve rgoing.

E dentia s’be

’n ve rgo ignar ,

Si 1’membres de 505 ancessors,

o

Com la issa sai Pe itieus e Tors

Al re i Fe lip ses demandarPe r que to ta Gu iana pla ingLo re i Richard, qu

’en defl

'

enden

En me s mant aur e mant arge nMas acest no m’

par’n aia soing.

TRANSLATION .-When I se e the fair we a the r re turn,

and leaf and flowe r appea r , love gives me hardies se—andheart and skill to sing

— then, since I do not want matter,— I will make a stinging sirvente ,—which I wil l send yondera t once ,

-to King John, to make him ashamed .And we ll he ought to be ashamed,— if he remember his

ance stors , how he ha s le ft he re Poitou and Touraine—to

King Philip, withou t asking for them.— Whe re fore all

Gu ienne laments— King Richa rd, who in its de fencewou ld have la id ou t much go ld and much silver but this

man does no t appe a r to me to care much for it.

POL ITI CAL SONGS. at

Mais ama l’ bordir e l’ cassar,E braes e lebrie rs e t austors,E sojorn pe r que ii faill honors,

E s’ la issa vius dese re tar ;

Mal sembla d’ardimen Ga lvaing,Que sai lo viram plus sovenE po is antre cosse il non pren,Lais sa te rra a i se ignor del G ro ign.

Mie ls saup Lozoics desliura rGuille lme , e l ’ fes ric secors

Ad Aurenga , quan I’AlmassorsA Tibaut l

’ac fa it asetjar

Pre tz ct honor ’n ac ab gaza ing

Jeu 0 die pe r chastiamen

A l re i Joan que pe rt sa gen,Que non lor secor pres u i loing.

He loves be tte r fishing and hunting,—po inters, grey.

bounds , and hawks,— and repose , whe refore he loses hishonour,— and hisfief escapes ou t of his hands - Galvaingseems ill-furnished with cou rage ,— ao tha t we beat him he remost freque ntly and since he takes no o ther counse l,— le thim leave his land to the lord of the Gro ing.

Lou is‘ knew be tter how to de live r—William, and give

him rich succou r— a t Orange , when the Almassor—hadcu rsedTie ba ld to be siege him —

glory and honour he hadwith profit — I say it fo r a le sson— to King John who loseshis people ,—be cause he succours them not near or far off.

Lou is ,William, Almassor , and Tie ba ld.

are suppose d byMr. Wright to be characte rs in the inedtted Romance ofGuillaume d'o range .

as POLITICAL SONGS.

Baron, sai vir mon chastiar

A vos, cui b lasme las fo llors

Que us ve i fa r, e pren m’

en dolors,Car m

’aven de vos a parlar ,

Que pre tz ave tz tombat e’ l ’ fa ing,

Et ave tz apre s un fo l sen,Que non doptas chastiamen,

Mas qu i us ditz ma l, aque l vos oing.

Domna , cu i dezir e tenc ca r

E dopt e blan pa rt la s me illors,Tant es ve ra vostra lauzors

Qu’

ien non la sa i dir ni comtar

C’a issi com aurs va l ma is d’ esta ing,Va le tz ma is pa rt las me illors cen,Et e z plus le ials vas joven

Non son a D ieu cill de Cado ing.

Ba rons , on this side my le sson of corre ction a ims—a t you,

whose de linqu e ncie s it blames— tha t I have se e n you do,

and I am grieve d the re a t ,— for it fa lls to me to spe ak o fyou ,— who have le t you r cre dit fa l l into the mud,

— and after

wa rds have a foo lish sentiment,-tha t you have no cor

re ction to fea r ,— bu t he who to ld you ill, it is he who

disgrace s you .

Lady, whom I de sire and ho ld de an—and fea r and flatterabove the be st,— so tru e is you r pra ise ,— tha t I know not

how to say it or to re la te it — tha t, as gold is mo re va luablethan t in,

—you a re worth more than the be st hundred,—and

you a re be tte r worth to a young man,— than a re the y (themonks) of Cado ing‘ to God.

Cadoing, ne a r Pe r igu e ux not Ca e n,.

a s Mr . Wr ight

transla te s it . The re wa s a n a bbe y a t Cadomg .

POL I TI CAL sozvcs . 23

Savarics, re is cui cors sofraing

G reu fara bon envasimen,

E po is a flac cor recreze n,

Jamais nu ls hom en e l non poing.

Savary, a king withou t a hea rt,— w ill ha rdly make a suc

cessful invasion,— and since he has a hea rt soft and

mwardly,— le t no man pu t his trust in him.

The dishonours which John su ffe red abroad,we re , howeve r , soon forgo tten in the trouble swhich broke ou t a t home . The fo llowing viru lentlibel on the thr e e Bishops of Norwich, Bath, andWinchester, who adhe red to the King in his

quarre l with the Pope about the prese ntation tothe see of Cante rbury, was no doubt the work of

one ofhis ecclesiastica l opponents . As the song (i )is in La tin only the transla tion is given.

SO N G O N TH E B I SH O PS.

[Flacciu s Illyr icu s, p.Complain, 0 England ! and suspend the me lody

of thine organ, and more e specially thou , Kent,for the de lay of thy Stephe n.

‘ But thou hastanothe r Thomas ; thou hast aga in a second

Stephen, who putting on a fo rtitude beyond tha tof man, pe rforms signs among the people . 0

me tropo lis who grie ve st ove r the plots which theSt he n Langton , appo inted by the Pope to the

Archb is opr ic of Ca nte rbu ry in opposrtiorf to the King,rao7 -29.

as POL ITICAL SONGS.

cunning people bring forth, bereaved of thine iahabitants , whom they trcache rously have ejected,thou givest vent to heavy groans, be ing u tte rly deprived of thy fa the r . But when thou shal t haveStephen, thou wilt take up the timbre l, and touchthe harp to me asure .

Whe re art thou , I ask, 0 Mose s throughwhom may the ruptu re cease ? Whe re Phineas,zea lous for the law, through whom the scourging

may have an end Who is the re to accuse the

son of David ? Who is the re that may se t the

sign of Thau on the thre shold and the doo r-posts,tha t thus, he r enemie s be ing confused, Israe l maybe libe ra ted Abraham, fathe r of many pe ople ,arise , lord, expe l the son of Agar,

“the wa iting

ma id of he r mistre ss Sarah for afte r she shall dece ive the o the r . Now the ga te s of Ta rta rus prevail aga inst the Church : now Isaac and Ismael

play at an unequal game .

Ba lthasar drinks aga in out of the ve sse ls o f theLord’s temple : the ve sse l of iniqui tie s ca rries

away the vesse ls dedica ted to God’s name . I

perce ive the handwriting,1' and involved in the

written le tters, Mane , Teche l, Phare s whatthis thing maymean, the event of the thing willprove . Now it appe ars in the court, bo th to the

low and the high, that at present the division and

A ma rgina l no te in Flaccius says, Joannem GrayeEpiscopum No rdovice nsem inte lligit.1‘ The Pope .


POL ITICAL SONGS.

Truth sa ith He who ente rs not in by the doo ris a thie f. Dost thou doubt of this ? A las !thou hast fa llen more heavily than once the thirdCato , since thy presumed e lection fa lls by justjudgment, having be en bought by the craft o f

Simon.

The arm-beare r o fWincheste r' preside s a t the

Excheque r, diligent in compu ting, sluggish at the

Gospe l, tu rning ove r the King’s ro ll ; thus lucr eove rcomes Luke ; he make s a mare we igh he avie rthan Mark, and subjects the Bible to the pounds.

These are they who fore -show Be lphegor ; theysubject the se a t to Baa l ; tha t they may profitbe tte r, they make Baa l the ir lord they embra ceblack for white , dung instead of saffron. The se

three are insatiable— ve ry like unto le eches the ycry, Give ! there is not enough l”The re are thre e Opposed to these , but ve ry unlike them, e ndowed with the dowe r of virtu e s ,noble in the vigour of good

-bre eding— Noah ,

David, and Danie l, whom Ezechie l paints. These

thirst afte r justice : for this they oppose th emse lve s as a wa ll fo r God’s house . John arises the

dean of England of our time , hoary in mindwith the might of oak , he proce eds on the way o f

justice he sings the proclama tions of praise s, who

Pe te r de s Roche s, Bishop of Winche ste r from 1 204 to

1 238 ; a native of Po it ie rs , and forme rly a knight . In 1 2 1 4he be came Chie f Justice of Eng land , and Pro tecto r du r ingthe minority o f H e nry I II . (Se e Godw in , dcPr esuh bu s . )

g

POL ! T! CAL SONGS. a7

r igh tly ta kes his name from the church of Mary,while h e unde rtakes this conflict in devotion to

the H o ly V irgin .

H e o f Ely“advance s he is given to this ba ttle ,

as h e is called the Sword of He ly , Spari ng few or

non e . H e lias , draw fo rth the sword, and bru isethe th r e e impiou s ones, and lay prostra te the princeo f Ba bylon, the participator in;this plo t, with a

single b low. Thou ,1'

who wa lkest in the placeof Wo lstan, art the third in the conflict : robustas thou art, press on sedulously, ce rta in of a truetr iumph . Thou art called the he ir ofWolstan if

tho u be truly so , thou a rt se en soone r resign the

staff, and the ephod, and the r ing, than be willingto bow to Baa l .I know no thing ill to say of the Bishop of

Roche sterj I lie , and cu t the matte r short ; heis he re , and he re by his side the poor man of

Sa l isbu ry a lso , § who sle eps till to -day ; he car

rie s abou t fire and wate r, nor ple ads for, nor

bewails , the desola ted vineyard. Go to Rome ,

little bo ok , nor de lay thy re turn sa lute them a ll

di ligen tly and ca rry a sa lutation to the Popete ll wha t I think of the thre e le t him give judgment , whe ther in his Opinion they be fre e fromvice and le t pardon be granted to me .

Eu s tace,Bishop of Ely, 1 1

— 1 21 4 .

f Ma u e n u s, Bi shop of orce ste r , 1 200 — 1 2 1 2 . St .Wo ls ta n d he ld this se e in the e leve nth ce ntu ry.1 G i lbe r t de G lanville , Bishop of Roche ste r , 1 1 85— 1 2 1 4 .

5 Robe r t , Bishop of Sa lisbu ry.

38 POLITICAL SONGS.

It was during these re ligious dissensions tha tarose up, or a t le ast became strong, tha t powe rfu lspirit of opposition to the papa l tyranny, whichproduced during the whole of this century so

much satirica l poe try ; much of it a ttribu te d, pe rhaps with little reason, to Wa lte r Mape s . The

fo llowing poem is supposed to have bee n writtenduring the interdict . In the fou rth line the lionis sa id to designate King John, and the asse s the

Bishops, and at the end the King is represe ntedby Jupite r, whilst the Pope rece ives the con

temptuous de signa tion of Plu to . This poem is

a lso in Latin .

SONG ON THE TIMES.

(MS. Har l. 978, fo l. 108, r°, Re ign of Hen. I I I . ]

I will use against vices rebe lling song ; o the rsput forward honey, while unde r the hone y the ylay on gall ; the iron heart is concealed under the

gilt skin, and asse s put on the lion’s spo il .— Therebe lling face dispu te s with the soul withi n ;honey flows from the mouth, the mind is full ofgall ; it is not all swe e t tha t looks like hone y ;the heart has a difl

'

e rent moulding to the

skim— While vice is in the work, virtu e is in the

face they cove r the pitchy blackness of the mindwith a white colour ; each of the membe rs sufl '

e rs

by the pa in o f the he ad, and the flavour of the

apple depends upon the roo t from whence it

POL I TI CAL SONGS. 29

Spr ings— Rome is the head of the world but it

rece ive s nothing clean all tha t depends from the

he ad is unclean ; for the first vice passes on intothe second, and tha t which is near the bottomsme lls of the bottom — Rome re ce ive s all, and

the goods of al l the court of the Romans is buta marke t. The re are offe red for sa le the rights ofthe sena tors, and abundance of money dissolvesa ll diffe rences of opinion.

— He re , in the con

sisto ry, if anybody plead a cause , be it his own

or anothe r’ s, le t himfirst read this , Unless hegive money, Rome denies eve rything ; he whogive s most money will come ofl

'

the best . —The

Romans have a chapte r in the decre tals, tha t theyshou ld listen to pe titions from those who come

with the ir hands fu ll thou sha lt give , or nothingsha ll be granted the e ; they ask because thouaske st ; by the same measure as you sow, you

sha ll re ap.— A bribe and a pe tition go side by

side , and it is with a bribe tha t you must work ifyou wish to succe ed then you ne ed have no fea r,

even of Tu lly, we re he ple ading against you for

money posse sse s a singular e loquence — The re is

nobody in this cou rt who doe s not look afte rmoney : the cross on the co in please s them ; the

roundness of it, and the whiteness the re of, please sthem and since eve ry part of it please s, and itis the Romans whom it ple ase s, whe re moneyspe aks , the re all law is silent.— If you only fe edthe hand we ll with some goodly bribe , it will be

30 POLITICAL SONGS.

in vain even to quo te Justinian aga inst you , o r thecanons of the sa ints, because they wou ld throwthem away as vanity and chafl

'

, and pocke t thegra in. Penurious Rome cla ims acqua intancewith no thing bu t avarice she spa re s to him who

brings gi fts, bu t she spare s not to him who is

penurious : money stands in the pla ce of G od,

and a marc for Mark , and the a ltar is le ss a t

tended than the cofl'

e r.— When you come to the

Pope , take it as a rule , tha t the re is no place forthe poor, he favours only the give r ; or if th e reis not a bribe of some valu e or anothe r fo rthcoming, he answe rs you , I am not able .

” The

Pope , if we came to the tru th of the ma tte r , hashis name from the fact, tha t, wha teve r o the rshave , he alone will suck the pap ; or if you liketo apocopate a French word,

“pay, pay,

”sa i th

the word, if you wish to obta in anything — The

Pope begs, the brie f begs, the bu ll begs, the ga tebegs, the ca rdinal begs, the cursor begs, —allbeg ! and if you have not whe rewith to bribethem a ll , your right is wrong, and the who lecause comes to nothing

— You give to the se , yougive to the othe rs, you add gifts to those a lre adygiven, and when you should have given e nough ,

they se ek as much more . 0, you fu ll purse s,come to Rome at Rome the re is choice medicinefo r costive pocke ts — They all prey upon the

purse by little and little ; gre a t, grea te r, or

greate st, gradually becomes a prey to them. Why

POL I TICAL SONGS. 31

shou ld I go through all the particulars I willpu t it in a few words ; they all choke the purse ,and it expires immediate ly.— Ye t the purse imitates the liver of Tityus ; the substance flies inorde r to re turn ; die s that it may be born : and

on this condition Rome preys upon the pocke t,tha t whe n it has given all, itmayall befilled again.

- They r e turn from the cou rt with mitred he adsJupite r is placed in the Infernal Regions, Plutoho lds H e aven, and dignity is given to a bruteanima l , as a jewe l to the dung and a picture tothe mud .

— The rich give to the rich, that theymay re ce ive aga in, and gifts mu tua lly me e t oneanothe r tha t law is most in use , which theyhave ca used to be written, I f you give to me , I

will give to you .

”

3a POL ITICAL SONGS.

KING HENRY 111 . 12 16— 1272 .

THE death of King John offe red an oppor tunityof putting an end to the distractions tha t hadbe come so unive rsal du ring the latte r ye ars o f his

re ign, which most o f the be llige rents we re glad toembrace . The following short, but h ighlyspirited poem, was probably wr itten immed ia te lyafte r the pacification which fo llowed the taking of

Lincoln, apparently by a Churchman, and ce rta inlya partizan ofKingH enry . Some ofthe expres s ionsin it, such as the iron-

girt be e s of war, and the

like , remind us of the lofty metaphors o f Saxon

ve rse .

THE TAKING OF LINCOLN .

[From MS. Cotton. Ve spas . B . xiii. fol . 130, V”

, in a ha ndof the be ginning of the 1 4 th ce nt . ]

A four-fo ld rage had crept upon the Eng lishnation . Conspiring aga inst its own G ove rnme nt,and thre atening rebe llion, the dege ne ra te na tion,— that itmay change fre edom for slave ry,— tha t itmay fall from its high position, from hea lth to

sickne ss, from sa fe ty to dange r ,— lays claim to

ancient laws unde r a hostile gove rnor not

gove rned by the balance of the law, no t by the lightofjustice , nor by thefire ofho ly counse l , nor ye t bythe file of reason, the will, in despite of reason ,

darts like lightning into wha t is forbidden . i fThe

first rage was conce ived by its own pride the

The insurrection of the Ba rons .


3, POLI TICAL SONGS.

of an avenging God allowed no longe r th e

furious King to re ign ; he fe ll, struck by h imwhose temples and house s he had burnt w i ththreateningfire . From this torch arises the to rchof fate , and the avenging feve r, while it raged

against the King, drove away the rage of the flame .

Tha t dea th was the highest honour, and was

accompanied with the highest glory, tha t he wasin no thing ove rcome by the enemy, amidst so

many enemies vanqu ished by the conque ro r whois above , and unconque red, he hit his own

e nemies e ven in his dea th. 1! Le t proud ange r

cease le t powe r le arn to se rve and to bow to

G od, in submitting the neck to whom she e le va te she rse lf in rising she falls : short is the powe r o f

man and le t it learn that the end approaches ina few days . 1 The widowed state had mournedthe death of John, and, fearing to how the ne ck toa dege ne ra te husband, the te ar ofthe English ca llsup the stre ngth o f England ; the heavie r the gri e f,the neare r is its cure .

‘IIMeanwhile had shone

forth the minu te spark of sma ll be auty, the roya loffspring, sole hope of the torn Kingdom, a s ta r,as it we re , lit by God, it had divested itse lf o f thecloud that obscured its fa the r, shining forth a new

l ight, and the candle of the child ca lled back thestarswhich had be en scared by the fathe r’s thunder .

1! O precious pie ty o f God which maste rs thingsthat are grea t, confounds those that are strong,raise s such as a re infirm, strikes fe rocity with


lightn ing, breaks the haughty, who himse lf havingcome a child out o f the Virgin

’s womb, thus

took a chi ld to nourish, gave it to the bosomof the Chu rch, which the gentle pa rent rece ive s ina mo the r ’s arms, rende red gentle by the obediencenow n ewly born, and about to place on its head a

tende r crown . It was a heavenly ordinance , tha tthe consonan t union o f ho ly counse l fe a red not to

obey a boy king, and fe ared mo re to se rve a tyrant.i i Sacre d union ma tures the new King to loftythings ; u tility, and pie ty, and fa ith, swear toge the rto concu r with the fate s, and to sign them a ll with

the se a l o f the Cross ; they had ra ised toge the r thestanda rd of the Cross and had ranged themse lvesround the new King, and the white cross decorat

ing the bea re rs of the Cross fixed the unstabletroops in the foundation o f faith. i i 0 famous

lega tion o f a man file of blessed council 1 starof right mirror of reason ! he lme t of the worshipofGod cres tedwi th the plume of care 1 Englandha th grasped he r conque ring swords by impulse ofGod he r castles pour forth for the common goodthe standa rd-be aring troops, fie rce in wa r, and

thre a tening the enemy. 11Wha t time the ea rthhad begun to bloomwith new fru itfu lness, and hadspread out he r fresh grass in locks, redo lent offlowe rs , had pa inted the young fle ece of thefie lds,and , whilst the new ve rdure cu rled the renascent

Gua lo the lega te .

36 POLITICAL SONGS.

woods, recalled innume rable tongues of birds tothe song ; then the Gallic fury had resolved to

join the English of the no rth,“the band having

conspired to pass through the midst of the English ,having issued from the ir London, the army o f

Lou is de se rted the long shade s, and the proud

e arls have the shame of going the way tha tis open to them, and the y carry fie rce a id to

Mountsorre l ;‘l' fo r as a grea te r victory attends it, sohas the ange r of God o rdained tha t it shou ld no t

unde rgo a grea te r ru in. But with mo re cau tionre tire s the nce the nobility of ear ls, the flowe r ofthe fa ith , the roya l strength, the shie ld ofCheste r ,1until with roaring tumult the rage of the o the rshad passed the famous castle on the he ights(No ttingham), and the bank of Trent, and the

pride of long war had flown to the be sieged citade l'

. f the noble ma tron 1! H ither , when the fa tes

Lo u is and his party we re at London, which the y u ittedin the Novembe r a fte r KingJ

ohn’

s dea th, in o e r to

ma rch towa rds the no rth. n De cembe r 6 they tookHe rtfo rd Cas tle ; and tha t of Be rkhampste ad on the ac th,and roce eded to St . Albans . A truce was then agree d to ,whic continued till afte r Easte r .1Whe n hostilitie s re comme nced, the Barons o f the King '

s

party la id sie ge to Mount Sorre l, in Linco lnshire , bu t we reobliged to re tre a t by the approach of a par t of the army ofhou rs , unde r the command of the Comte de Pe rche .

I Ranu lph de Blundeville , Ear l of Cheste r , one of themost powe r iu l Ba rons of the King

’s rty, who now com

manded the a rmy which had be sie edn

Mount Sorre l, and{ hichi soon afte rwards de fea ted t e Comte de Pe rche , a t

inco n.

N ichola , w idow of Ge rard de Can ville , who de fende dL inco ln Ca stle aga inst the Fre nch.

POLI TICAL SONGS. 37

have tu rned the fie rce troops with a murmuring

no ise , Fame flie s, and calls the e arls, and the Ce stre nsia n companions of the e arls, and the shie ldedha rves t of men increases. The royal standa rdsgli tte r , and the conspiring bands follow, when

cle a r fa ith a t last draws out the ir faces, the brightsigns of the Cross pa int the exce lling bre asts of theyou th , a common will strengthe ns the ir he arts ;the re was one so le hope of conque ring ; victorywas a lready stamped on all the ir faces ; and witha shou t ominous of good, they put forth the irassocia ted hands to the accordant battle . 1! The

Sabba th . was at hand in which the fe stival of thehigh God is pe rformed, and the eve celebra te s thetriune honour of the de ity ; the sun was touchingthe earth with his first light, when the trumpe twith its te rribl e song had given the flourish ; thelende rs move iron war ; many we re the standa rdsyou might see with tremu lous flight above the nodding he lms, many the shie lds changing the irensigns with various co lours . The beauty of thesun shone upon the armed troops ; the coward

became feverish ; the brave strengthened the irhe a rts . Whe n the constancy ofwar came to the

astonished town, the you th encircle the wa llswith a fea rful wreath, and see k new approachesno r do the leade rs immediate ly attack the city a

Sa turday, May 20, 1 2 1 7 . The next day was Tr initySunda y.

3s POLI TICAL SONGS.

lega tion is se nt in to summon the sacrilegious mento the leagu e o f peace . Ye t no peace sa tisfiedthese fie rce men, they utte r insults, despise themessenge rs, and add threa tening words. 1! Whenthe messenge rs bring back the angry message , theleade rs orde r the ir bo ld fo llowers to the a ttackthen the horro r ofwar roared, the trumpe ts thunde red, a fearful noise rose into the a ir , and in the

resounding tumu lt the clouds might wonde r atearthly thunde rs. They leap ove r the fosses,

mount ove r the wa lls , break the ga tes, force

the passages, and jo in battle . And they made

way with the ir swords ; a me rited con fusion

strike s the sacrilegious men the hives o f Christsend forth the iron-

girt be es of war, and withfearful stings they pene trate the hostile shi rts,and cut the scaly textures of iron, and draw Saulsto the chains o f Paul, and the holy conve rsion

turned hare s into lions. 1THe re stood Moses inthe Mount ; he re Josua hadfixed the station of

the sun the re the sling and stone of David ove r

come the grea t Go lias the honour of Linco lnse e s the venerable wonde r ; the rage of th e sea

see s the impe rial trophy of God ; the four -fo ldplague se es the standards rise aga in against it withconque ring pa lm. It saw, and was astonished ;and the pride of war fe lt tha t God fought fo r theboy ; nor was it quie t by its own will, but it burst,and re ce ived the fe e t of peace on its neck. 1 0

famous day, to be vene rated through our age ! in

POLITICAL SONGS 39

which the rage of war hid itself, - in which the

peace -bringing swo rd subdu ed our pe stife rousdivis ions ,— in which the grace of Christ washedout the d ishonou r that had be en brought forth , andwith the fon t of faith, cle ansed from the ave rtedbrow the disgrace which had be en inscribedon it .

All au tho ritie s agre e in describing the grea tpride , and a varice , and luxu ry of the nobles ingene ra l, bu t particu larly of the Romi,h pre late s,at the beginn ing of the thirte enth century. The

following poem is a fair Specimen of the un

sparing sa tire“which was unive rsa lly directedagainst th em by the ir contemporaries .

SONG ON THE CORRUPTIONS OF THE TIME.

lMS. Ha rl . No . 978, fol. 105 , v°, Re ign ofHen.

How wide and how long is the web of crimes

with which ou r bre asts , choked with vice s, are e uveloped, te ll, and reve al, O muse , with a mournfu lcountenance , if you care to touch the he art of the

spectator w ith you r lame nt .— The wre tched and

profane pe ople se em to form the ir wishes in con

sidera tion ,not of the price of virtue , bu t of flax or

wool : wha t is done in the evening is unwroughtin the mo rning . 0 ca re s ofmen 0 how much

emptiness the re is in things — Eve rv eye is blindSe rmons .

4 0 POL I TICAL SONGS.

to justice eve ry mind is large to injustice ; athousand hope s o fmen and the diffe ring aspects ofthings depend on the dice and use s of fortune .

When chaste ma idens” join in dance wi th the

strumpe t, when the Arabs ‘

I' play the paupe r

unde r the robe of a beggar, when Tydeu s denieshis faith to his Polynice s, then, if you are admi ttedto the spectacle , my friends, can you re stra in yourlaughter — Ifyou are anxious to know all men bythe ir severa l failings, who practise slo th, who a re

the plo tte rs of treason, who the se rvants of Marn

mon, who the despise rs of God, we must obse rvethe manne rs of eve ry age of life — The boy, as helearns the use of fe e t, ha te s the doors, flie s abroad ;he respects things and honours less than the leastange r and joy succe ed e ach o the r with short inte rvals, for his changes are sudden .

— The youth flie sfrom his tutor and confinement ; he de lights inhorse s, dogs, dice , and wine , a hunter of his ple asures, whose occupa tion is wi th women, a slowprovide r of use fu l things, prodigal of money.

When arrived at manhood, that he may ru le the

citizens and dictate to the pra tor, that he mayextend his possessions with a longe r cable , andfillhis bags with grea te r tre asure , he se eks riche s and

The La tin has Sabine , awhich wa s ofte n use d fo rmaide ns, just as Tha is was used fo r strumpe t. Se e thela tte r word in Ear ly Myste rie s, and othe r La tin Poems,

"no te , page 131 .

t

hArabia was suppose d to conta in inexhau stible stores o f

me e s .


4 a POL ] TICAL SONGS.

thing in any manne r wha teve r, and has not fo r

gotten the custom which she first le arnt , she

sme lls of the custom of the cask, which w ill keepve ry long the odou r with which it was once e nduedwhile fre sh .

— Before the cardinals and be fore thepatriarch, a pound ove rcomes the Bible , moneythe accused, and a ma re Marc, the law sparingto him who is not spa ring, give s only as much

grace as each has money in his purse — I f youse ek the ba lance of the judges, you shou ld se ek itwith coppe r, since the favour of the ba lance hangsfrom coppe r ; you should not ask respite , bu t askwhat they ask whe nce you obta in it nobody willinqu ire , but you ne eds must have it. - Whe n you

a re turned ove r to the notary pour ou tyou r bribes ;he will at once extr icate you from your cause ,

when, why, or whence it may a rise , and will subject the canons to the form tha t is round the

co in), whom prospe rity de lights not a little .

Rome teache s all tha t they should fly ove r to ex

pediency, that they shou ld offe r heart and hand toMammon ra the r than to God ; thus it happe nstha t the branches sme ll o f a bad roo t whe re the

head is infirm, the othe r membe rs are in pa in.

The archbishops tread unde r foot the necks o f thecle rgy, and extort te ars in orde r that they may b e

dried by gifts nor, if the poor wre tches bring few o r

not good ones, do they take them in good pa rt o racknowledge them with favour. If anyone begito complain o f an injury, they immedia te ly stre tch

POLITICAL SONGS. 4 3

the ir ea r to the cause , the ir hand to the gift ; ifthe y once re ce ive a thing of the plu ra l numbe r , tomo r row the same base ne sse s maybe done as ye ste rday.

-The bishop loves a che e rfu l give r , and darese ithe r r ight or wrong afte r the sme ll of a bribe ,una b le to re sume , afte r he has thrown shame aside ,

the blush once rejected from his worn brow.— Nor

is the re le ss base ne ss in the archdeacon ; whom hehas once taken up, whe the r in e arne st o r in joke ,he ho lds nor has he me rcy for the needy or the

naked the le e ch which will not le t go the skinti l l he isfilled w ith blood.

—The dean, born to

e ve rlas ting wile s, tha t he may explore the cre ed

(symbo lum ) and the things which succe ed, chang

ing the tune o f his tongu e and ye sterday’s garme nts, migrate s with humble spe ech to the obscuretave rns — The prie st, wha teve r e ithe r the deador thel iving give , carrie s all to his concubine ,“to whomhe gives himse lf and what he has he of the ho lyname and the equa l mind, who medita tes the law

I have re nde re d the wo rd Focaria by concubine ,and no tfire side -woman like Mr . Wr ight . I t was the name

give n to the concubine s of pr ie sts and cle rgy . It appe a rstn the De cre ta of Pope Alexande r , pr inted in the h istoryo f H e nry o f Huntin don : N e Cle r ici in sacr is ordinibus

co nstitu t i foca rias a beant .” Also in the Sta tu te s of

Ste phe n Archbishop of Cante rbu ry, MS. Co tton Ju liusD . r r , fo l. to7 ,

“De foaa riis amove ndis,”and just a fte r

“De pe ns e t sa t isfactione foca riarum l t is consta ntl use

by G ira ldu s Cambre nsis , E . G . Wha rton, Anglia a cr . ,

vo l. ii. p. 525 : More sace rdotum pa rochia liumAng lia fe recu ncto rum damnabili qu idem e t de te stabili, publicam se cumha be ta t comitem individuam e t in foco foca r iam e t in cubicu lo concubinarn .

”-E. G .


of the Lord by day and by night .— The laymen resting on the words of the cle rgy who depart fromthem, pay less attention to the words than to the

characte r of the teache r : nor can laws subdue the

senses ofmen by threats and torments, so much as

the example of the rule r .— The luxurious princes

stir kingdoms and state s, tha t they may leadarmie s, inflicting the punishment of a tax on the

rustic and the mise rable citizen ; for wheneve r thekings run wild the G re eks pay the pipe r .

- Theywho are occupiedwith the ca re s of the kingdom or

of the court, de tract while they smile , and when

they fla tte r they are plotting damage or disgrace

the re is ne ithe r faith no r hone sty in those who

fo llow camps. - If a citizen pe rce ive you, he

care sses tha t he may burn you if you lay down

ten, he puts the payment of his stake to anothe r

time he che ats you out of your own look to it,while it las ts he may pe rish behind the wine andthe dice , who leaves care till to -morrow.

— If any

one going to the house s of the lawye rs, ca rries hismoney openly, he a lso is a simple ton for whe n

he sleeps in his bed weary and full, people live byrapine , the guest is not safe from his host .— Thus

rapine , snare s, tre ache ry, and strife , lead pe opleinto e rror, mise ry, and fo lly ; thus ambition and

luxury, and the reve red possession of riche s, a llurethe foolish minds of all men.

— But wha t availe thluxury and powe r to those mise rab le pe ople who ,de spising virtue s, e ste em only things that produce

POL I TICAL SONGS. 4 s

evi l , such as gold, gems, and he aps of weal thWhen ou r labour is expended on what is injuriousto us, the mise ry ofmorta ls is on the incre ase .

Wha t ava ils it to talk of purple , gems, go ld, land?With riche s we have feuds, losses, pleas, fastings,fea rs, and justly sleepless care s come in a longtra in .

— The poor man reigns more safe ly than hetha t amasse s wealth, who , while the informe r deprive s the lord of his favou r , or the lurkingspo ile r Spo ils him who is laden, he , an en

i

pty

trave lle r , will sing be fore the thie f.— They who arede stitu te often live more pleasantly unde r a slighthut o f brick or mud, than those who are de licate lyclothed in the pa lace s of kings he will be eve r aslave who knows not how to use mode ration.

— But

if you se ek abundance of true prope rty, rejectsupe rfluity, seek what is enough, strip yourse lf ofriches and die naked de lay not this, for thosewho are prepared are eve r injured by de lay. - If

whil e you are on your road to wha t ismore usefu l,fear dissuade hope , or de lay endanger success

change no t your mind, nor slacken your re ins the

gra te fu l hour will arrive when least expected.

Treasure up that which you cannot abuse , havinga care of the ne edy, the blind, the lame , and the

dumb ; se rve your soul, and not your mind or yourskin you owe little to pleasure , but more to yoursalva tion .

— No one is safe on a king’s throne , orin a sanctuary, since it can be expressed ne ithe rby tongu e nor pen by how slende r a thread the


destinies ofmenhang unde r the imminent approachof dea th.

—While you navigate prospe rous ly thefa r side of the se a , we igh not the pre sent but thefu ture , and conside ring the poop more than the

prow or the oar , act as though you though t e ve ryday your last. ’

The fore ign po licy of Henry II I . was even lessmanly than that of his fa the r . Among the manysongs of the Normans and Po itevins, re cla imingthe assistance of the ir ancient sove re ign, we may

give as an example the Sirvente of Be rna rd de

Rovenac,1'

addressed to Henry and his contemporary Jame s L , King of Aragon, from whom LouisIX. had taken Languedoc to give it as a po rtionto his bro the r '

A lphonsus The re is inte rnalevide nce that it was written about 1229, the yearin which Henry III . made his ill-conducted ex

pedition into Brittany.A SIRVENTE AGAINST KING HENRY.

[Raynouard, Choix, tom. iv. p.JA no vue lh do ni e smenda

Ni grat re tene rDe ls ricxab lur falz saber ,

Qu’en cor ay que los reprenda

TRANSLATION .— I wish ne ithe r for the gifts and favours

nor to obta in the good-w ill— o f the r ich, w ith the ir falseWha t a song !

1 For an account of this poe t se e Histoire Littéraire deFrance ,

”vol. xviii . p. 667 .


De ls vils fatz mal yssemitzE no vu e lh sia grazitz

Mos sirventes entr’ e ls flacx nualhos ,

Paupres de cor e t d’

ave r pode ros .

ReyEngle s prec que entenda ,Quar fa dechazar

Son pa ucpre tz pe r trop teme r,Qua r no

’l play qu ’

e ls sieu s de fenda ,

Qu’ans e s tan flacx e marritz

Que pa r sia adurmitz,

Qu’e l reys frances li to lh e n plas perdos

Tors e t Angieus e Normans e Bre tos .

Rey d’Arago , ses contenda,

Deu be n nom ave r

Jacme , quar trop vol jaze rE qui que sa te rra s prenda ,

wisdom — bu t I have in my hea r t the inte ntion to reproachthem— with the ir vile de eds ill-conce ive d -and I don'

t w ishto be agre e able—my Sirvente s among the cowardly idle rs ,— poor in heart and heavy in riches .

The Eng lish King , I pray him to he a r it,— for he cause s

to fa ll— his little glory by too much timidity,— for it doe snot ple ase him to de fend his own pe ople ,— and thus he is socowa rdly and so vile ,— tha t he se ems to be asle ep

,—while

the Fre nch King take s from him wi th impunity—Tours,and Angie rs, and Normans and Bre tons .

The King of Aragon, withou t any doubt ,—o ught rea llyto have the name— of James for he is too will ing to lie

down —and whoeve r it be tha t takes his land,— he is

4 B POL I TI CAL SONGS.

El es tan flacx e cha us itz

Que so l res no y contraditz ;E car ven layals Sarn zis fe llos

L’

anta e’l dan que pren say vas Lymos.

Ja trd son payre ear vendaNo po t trop va le r,N i s eng qn

’

ieu li diga plaze r,Trd foc n

’

abraz e n’

essenda

E n’sian grans colps fe ritz

Pueys e r de bon pre tz complitz,S’al reyfrance s me rma sos tene zos,

Quar e l sieufie u vol he re ta r N Anfos.Coms de Toloza , la re nda

Que sole tz tene rDe Be lca ire us de u dolar,

S’

a l deman fa itz lonj atenda

so cowa rdly and e ai tifl'

,— tha t he doe s not eve n struggle

aga inst it — and he re venges on tha t side against the fe lonSa racens— the shame and damage which he rece ives on

this side towa rds Limoges .

Until he have revenged his fa the r ,— he cannot havemuch es te em,

— n0r le t him imagine tha t I will spe ak toplease him

,— unle ss he ravage and pu t in fl ame s, -and

unles s grea t blows be struck.— F0r the re will have be enaccomplishe d grea t honour ,— if he na rrows th e doma insOf the Fre nch King,— for Don A lfonse desires to inherit

hisfie f.Ea r l of Tou louse , the rent— which you use d to hold

from Be auca ire , you ought to regre t,— if he de lays long in

answe ring your demand,— you rs, and tha t King’s, be cause


so POL ITICAL SONGS.

Quar ja lauzor no y auria ben meza,Ni us aus blasmar, e val pauc sirventesQue lara quan blasmar deuria ;Pero si tot vos par fo llia ,

A me platz mais que us blasme dizen ver ,Que si menten vos dizia plazer.Amdos los reys an una cauz

’empressa,

Se lh d’Arago et aisse lh de ls Engles,

Qu e no sia per e lhs te rm defeza

Nifisson mal ad home qu’ e l lur fes,E fan me rces e cortezia ,

Quar al rey que conque r SuriaLaisson en pa tz lurfieus de l tot tenor ;Nostre Senhor lur en den grat sabe r.Ve rgonha m pren, quant una gens conqueza

Nos ten aissi totz vencutz e conque s,

wha t I sha ll say to you ,— f0r there will be litt le room

for pra ise —nor dare I blame you , and a sirve nte is worthlittle—which pra ise s when it ought to blame — bu t thoughit may se em a ll fo lly to you,

—ye t it ple ases me more to

blame you by te lling the tru th,- than if I spoke fa lsehoodto please you .

Bo th the Kings have reso lve d on one thing,— he of

Aragon a nd he of the English, -that by them the landsha ll not be de fended, -and tha t they will do ill to no one

who does ill to them — they are mercifu l and cou rte ous

for they le t the King who is conque ring Syria - re ta in the ir

fie fs a ltoge the r in peace ou r Lord ought to be ve ry thankful to them for it.Shame se ize s on me , when a vanqu ished people— ho lds

us thus all subdued and conque red,—and such shame

POL I TICAL SONGS. 5 :

E dagr’esse r aitals ve rgonha preaza,

Quota a me pren, al reyAragones

E al rey que pert Normandia.Mas prez an aital companhiaQue ia unib temps no fasson lur cleve r,Etanc non vitz autre tan ben tene t .

E pus no pren en la leuda torne zaQn

’a Monpes lie r li tollon siey bo rzes,

Ni no y s venja de l’anta que y a preza ,13no

’lh sia ma is re tragz Carcasse s,

Pos als sieus eys no 8 de fendria,

Assats fa so l qu ’en patz estia ;Patz non a ges senbe t ab gran pod

Quan sas antas torna a non chale t .

Gee tr0p lanza r , quan valors es mal meza ,Non apel pe tz, quar mala gue rra es

to se ize— the King ofAragon, as se ize s me ,— a nd the

Km! who lose s N ormandy,— bu t they take such company"all ! now the y neve r pe rform the ir duty,—and I never

5“ another ke ep so qu iet .And afterwards he does no t rece ive the tax,

— which a t

“ma nic. his bu rge sse s take from him,— ne ithe r does he

"Wage himse lf of the disgrace he re ce ived the re ,— now

a lu mnae may no more be recove re d by him for he

‘Wldnot defend his own eye s,— his only endeavour is tha the may be in pe ace —a noble lord with grea t powe r ha s no

he tu rns his ways to noncha lance .

Tom peop le too much, when va lou r is ill e steeme d,“0not call it peace , for it is bad war — nor sha ll it now

se POL I TICAL SONGS.

Ni ja per me non e r pe r pa ts enteza ,

Mie lhs de uria aver nom gauch de page s ,E de ls ricxque pe rdon tot diaPre tz, e ja fort greu no lur sia ,

Quar pauc perdon e pauc lur deu do ler ,Quar ges de pauc non pot horn trop move r .

Lo reys N Aulos a laissat cobezezaAls autres reys, qu ’a sos ops non vo l ge s ,

Et a sa part e lh a press largueza ,Mal a partit qu i reptar l’en volgue sE dic vos que m par vilaniaQui partis e qui ’ l mie lhs s’ a triaMas ge s pe rtant non a fag non deve r ,

Quar a pres so qu ’e lhs no vo lon ave r .

be unde rstoood by me for peace - it ought ra the r to ha ve

the name of page s' play,— and of the rich who lose eve ryday—honour, and ye t it grieves them not much, -for th e ylose little and ne ed not grieve much,— for we canno t be

move d much by a little thing .

‘

The king Don Alfonso ha s le ft cove tousness— to the o the rkings , be cause he will not make use of it ,— a nd he ha s

taken for his sha re large ss,—he has an ill sha re who wishe sto recove r this from him and I te ll you tha t it appea rs tome villany,—whe n one sha re s and takes the be s t to himse lf ; ye t no one ha s done othe rwise than r ight,— when hehas take n tha t which othe rs w ill no t have .

This ve rse se ems to have no meaning .

POL ITICAL SONGS. 53

R icxma lastrucx, s’ ieu vos sabia

Lauzor , vo lontie rs la us diria

Mas no us pesse tz menten mi alezer,

Qu e vo stre gra t no vue lh ui vostr’ave r .

Rich me n ill-advise d, if I knew any thing in you—worthyof pra ise , I wou ld willingly te ll you of it -bu t think not

to induce me to lie ,— for I de sire ne ithe r your thanks nor

Henry’s embarrassments at home we re now

becoming eve ry day more nume rous and more

complica ted . Sca rce ly any part of the nation,cle rgy, barons, or people , we re any longe r hisfriends. The fo llowing song (made in 1256) was

evidently wri tten by one be longing to the forme rof these classes, indignant at the taxes which theKing, with the consent of the Pope , had leviedon the cle rgy, in the vain hope of placing one of

his sons on the throne of Sicily, and afte rwardsto pay the debt which he had contracted towardsthe supreme pontiff The King of France ,

quoted as an example , was the saintly Louis IX.

THE SONG OF THE CHURCH .

(MS. Cotton. Ju l. D . vu . fol. 133, v", of 13th ce ntury. ]

1M ca rd ina l : factam fa it am wgratia m°

cc°

1w°

supr a desolatione E“la id: Anglicm .

OR est acumpli 5. men acient

La ple inte Je remie , ke o'

i avez suvent

Taansna r ton .—Now is accomplished as I conce ive

the plaint of Je remiah, which you have often hea rd,- who


ke dit cument se t su lecité ple ine de fu le

Plurant amerement,ore e st sans mat iage

e mis en tailage ,La dame de la gent,Cest est se int eglise trestut ape rtement,Kc est ia hunie e tut mis a ventE si est maumise , nus veum cument.

Ele gent e plure ,n’a ad nul ke sucure

De sun marement.

Ja fu cle regie

franche e a desus,Amee e che rie ,

nule reu pot plus.Ore est ense rvie ,

E trop envilie ,e abatu jus

Par iceus est hunie ,Dunt dut ave r aiejo n

’os dire plus .

te lls how this so le — city fu ll ofpeople— bewa thng bitter ly,is now withou t marriage - and pu t in contr ibution,

— the

Lady of the people —tha t i s holy church ve ry evidently,who is pow disgraced and all pu t to sale — and truly is shein ill ca se , we se e how .

—She laments and w e eps ,— there isnone who he lps he r— ou t ofhe r de so la tion .

Forme rly cle rgy was— fre e and uppe rmost ,— loved and

che rished,— nothing cou ld be more ao .— Now it is en

s laved,— and too much debase d,— and trodden down.—By


Li rois ne l’aposto ile ne pensent altrement,

Mes coment au clers tolent lur or e lur argent .Co est tu te la summe ,ke la pape de Rume

AI re i trop consent,pu t aide r sa curune

la dime de cle rs li dune ,De 90 en fe t sun tal ent.

Jo no quid pas ke li rois face sagement,

Ke il vit de robe rie ke il de la clergie prent .Jane fra bone prise ,pur robe r se inte eglise

I] la say ve rament .Ke vot ave r semblance ,regarde le rois de France

E sun achevement.

those is it disgraced,— from whom it ought to have he lpI dare not say more .

The King and the Pope think of nothing e lse ,— bu t howtheymay take from the cle rgy the ir gold and the ir silver .

This is the who le afl'

air , -tha t the Pope of Rome— yie ldstoomuch to the King,— to he lp his crown,- the tenth of theclergy’s goods he gives him,

—and with tha t he does hisI do no t think tha t the King acts wise ly,— for he lives of

robbe ry which he commits upon the clergy .-He will never

be a ga ine r,—by robbing holy church —he knows it truly.

He who se eks an example — le t him regard the King of

France—and his achievement .


The next Song, di rected against the avarice o f

the Bishops, appea rs to be of abou t the sam e

date . In the manuscript it is written, like th eforegoing, as prose .

A soNo AGAINST THE BISHOPS.

’

[From the same folio of the same MS. )

L lCE'

r aege r cum a grotisEt ignotuscum ignotis,Fungar tamen vice totis,Jus usurpans sace rdotis

fle te , Syonfiliae ,prte sides ecclesia:imitantur hodie

Christum a remo tis .

Jacet ordo d ericalis

In respectu laicalis,

TRANSLATION .—Although sick with those who sick,

and unknown with those who are unknown, ye t I willassume a ll cha racters in turn, usu rping the right of the

prie st : we ep, ye daughte rs of Sion, the bishops of the

Chu rch a t the present day are bu t remote imita tors of

Christ 1The cle rica l orde r is debase d in re spect of the la ity ; the

spouse of Christ is made ve na l,— she tha t is noble , common

This is evidently,one of the few La tin songs in the

volume . I have therefore pre se rve d the origina l text.


5. mu TICAL SONGS“.

Sed dum qua runt medium,

vertunt in contrarium,

fa llit enimvitiumSpecie virtutis.

Tu qui tenes hunc tenorem,

Frustra dicis te pastoremNcc te regis at rectorem,

Re rum me rsus in ardorem

Haze est a lia

quam venalis curia

Duxit in uxorem.

slee k skin. Bu t whi le they see k the mean, the y turn intothe contra ry extreme ; for vice dece ive s them in the guise of

virtue .

Thou who bo lde st this cou rse , va inly thou ca llest thyse lfa pastor ; ne ithe r dost thou gove rn thyse lf like a ru le r ,immer sed in the he at of tempora ry ad'

airs ; she is anothe rdaughte r of the lee ch, whom the venal court has taken to

The following is anothe r bitte r sa tire on the

vices of the grea t, during the re ign o f H enry III .\Vho we re the four brothe rs aga inst whom the

song is more pa rticularly directed, wou ld not be

easily asce rta ined withou t othe r particulars besidesthose he re furnished .


A SONG ON THE TIMES.

(MS. Har l . No . 978, fol. 1 23, v°, of the 1 4 th cent . ]

Eve rybody has a right to satirise the world’svices ; for now I se e many in the world e rr ,

de spise wha t is good, love what is bad, and mostfrequently turning off spontaneously to evil .Beca use the world is depraved, it knows how to

do injury it knows how to act ill, but not how

to repent ; the fle sh will do all it can to possesswhateve r it de sires, but is unable to fulfil God ’scommandments — Now nobody is este emed unle sshe knows how to litigate unle ss he can cavilcunningly in law-suits ; unle ss he can ove rre ach

the simple unle ss he know how to amass abundance ofmoney — The sta te of the world is at theprese nt day constantly changing ; it is a lwaysbecoming mise rably worse ; for he who spare snobody, and who is be nt most on gain, is mostbeloved and most commended.

— The King and

his noble s a re sufficiently bitte r ; almost all therich men are too avaricious the poo r man, whopossesse s little , must be robbed and spoiled of his

prope rty to enrich the wealthy. — The rich man is

blinded by supe rfluouswe alth his who le mind isoccupied with tempora l matte rs ; and, since he istoo much pleased w ith vanities, he puts off the

doing good, but avoids no t the evil . —Of the prelate s, the re are ve ry many who , having no fear o f

60 POLI TICAL SONGS.

pie ty, give us he re the inclination so to mourn for

our faults, and to be penitent spontaneously whi lewe are in health, tha t in the next world we maybe in joywith the saints l Amen.

A perpe tual subject of popular outcry againstthe grea t, during this and the fo llowing centu rie s,was afforded by the fore ign and extravagantfashions in dress, which we re prevalent. A gla nceat the illuminations in contempora ry manuscriptswill show us that the se complaints we re not

withou t foundation. We , even a t the prese nt day,can with difii '

culty conce ive the immense sums

which we re in forme r days expe nded on the

toile t. This profusionwas frequently and seve re lycommented upon in the prose writings of the

cle rgy, and was not uncommonly the subject ofpopular sa tire . The following poem upon the

tai lors is ve ry playfu l.SONG UPON THE TAILORS.

(MS. Harl. 978, fol. 99, v°, re ign of Hen. II I . )

I have said, ye are gods ; why shou ld I Omitthe se rvice which should be said on festival daysGods ce rtainly ye are , who can transform an o ld

garment into the shape of a new one . The cloth,while fresh and new,

is made e ithe r a cape or

mantle ; but, in orde r of time ,first it is a cape ,a fte r a little Space this is transformed into the

o the r ; thus ye change bodie s. ”—When it


becomes old , the co llar is cut off when deprivedof the colla r, it is made a mantle : thus, in the

manne r of Pro teus, are garments changed nor is

the law o f me tamorphosis a new discove ry . Withthe ir shape they change the ir sex the primates ofthe church priva te ly close up again what wasbe fore torn ; nor is it given, assuredly, till it hasfirst unde rgone the fortune of Tiresias. When,at length , winter re turns, many engraft imme

diate ly upon the cape a capuce ; then it is

squared afte r be ing squared it is rounded and

so it be comes an aumuce ? If there rema in

anymorse ls o f the clo th or skin which is cu t, itdoes no t want a use : of these a re made gloves ;a glove is called in G re ek the placing of the

hands .

” This is the gene ra l manne r they all makeone robe out of anothe r, English, G ermans,IFrench, and Normans,with scarce ly an exception.

Thus cap: is declined ; but mantle o therwiseIn the first year , while it is still fresh, the skinand the clo th be ing both new, it is laid up in a box

Latin mi n im”. The name a pne e was given some

times to a se pa ra te piece of appare l with which the he adwas covered, and a t o the rs to the uppe r part of the tunic ofthe monks which cove red the head . He re it must be takenin the former sense . For the diffe re nt senses of the wordse e Ducange .

1’ Latin a lmucr'

um . The a umuce was a sepa ra teart icle of clo thing which cove red both he ad and shou lde rs .

1 La tin Tyd s . This was a French or Anglo-Normanform of the La tin Tm tom

’

cus.


when, however , the fur begins to be worn 03, and

the thread of the se ams broken, the skin is cir

cumcised. Thus the mantle is made a Jew here

lays the cloth, the re the skin, afte r th e firstdivorce being separated from its forme r hu sband,

after separation it passes in repara tion to ma rriage

with a second husband . But what wi ll you say is

a greater crime ? this is clea rly aga inst righ t fo r

if she have married a second, the marr iage is

broken, when a new conjunction is made in sp ite

of the reclamations of the old pa rtne r . I t is

ne ithe r canonic nor wise to marry two clo ths toone fur , and so we judge it. Do the decre talspe rmit this No : on the contrary, eve ry ca nondeclare s, tha t it is no marriage . The clo th havingbe enfirst circumcised, then widowed and se parated from its skin, now having expe rie ncedjudaism, is cleansed by baptism, from eve ry stain

it is dyed). Be ing circumcised and cleaned ,and having obtained the testimony of bo th law s,

he whom baptism has cle ansed, contracts a new

marriage with a second skin. Be ing devo id of

hair, and worn by use , from Esau having become

Jacob, when the hair is fallen from it, the proce ssis inve rted, and again conve rse ly from Jacob it

becomes Esau . The hairy part is turned ou t, b u t

the old part, conce aled inwardly, is bare of ha irs.

Now the hypocritical mantle , in orde r tha t the remay be nothing lost, is given to the se rvant for hiswage s.

POLI TICAL sozvcs . 65

We a re now approaching the eventful period ofthe Ba rons

’

wars. The turbu lentWe lshmen we reever re ady to se ize an opportunity of invading theMarche s ; and the following song, whe the r it we recomposed by one of them, o r be the work of oneof the English who took the Opportunity of

satirising them, give s us a fair picture of the

Spirit in which they inte rfe red.

THE SONG OF THE WELSH .

[From the Public Library of Leyden, MS. Vossius , N0.

m 4 , fol. r 4 4 , r°, of the r3th ce nt . ]

The Cambrians , who are used to slay theSaxons, salute the ir re lations the Britons and

Comish-men : they require them to come withtheir sharp swords to conque r the ir Saxon ene

mies. Come now, vigorously, a rmed with coa tsofmail a grea t part of the Saxons are fallen inmutual slaughte r, the rema inde r sha ll be slain byus : now is the time for you to show of what

blood you are sprung.—The soo thsaye r Merlin

never said a thing tha t was vain he fore told tha tthe mad pe ople should be expe lled. And you do

not keep this wise counse l obse rve dece itfulpeople of whom the who le race is accursed.

— Ii

our valiant predecessor, King A rthur, had be ennow alive , I am sure not one of the Saxon wa llswould have resisted him ; he wou ld have be en

E

U POLITICAL SONGS.

hard to them, spite of the ir praye rs, as they havedese rved— May the Omnipo tent procure him a

successo r only similar to him, I would no t desire

a be tter, who may de live r the Britons from theirold gri evance , and restore to them the ir countryand the ir country’s glory.

— May it ple ase the

uncle of Arthur to obtain this fo r us, a certainve ry great saint, [to send] the Englishman over

the se a ; we know that his festival is approachingon the kalends of March (St. David

’

s day) ,mayhe make it his study to recal l the Britons to theirnative land — Sons imitate the ir virtuous fa the rs ,so le t the Britons take Arthur for the ir example invalour ; they show from wha t a good and braveman they are descended ; as Arthur was , so letthem be , conque rors l— The Roman powe r re ignedat Paris , the bold giant Frollo‘with the bea rishmind him Arthur slew : eve ry pe rson of good

faith be lieves it : witness the tent and the Parisianisland.

— He is a madman who kills the nobleBritons : it se ems tha t he holds them thu s hated ;for he invidiously proclaims them hate fu l alwaysand incessantly, who he bears are victori ous.

— Of

Fro l lo is a famous cha racter in the fabulous history ofArthu r , and is the re sa id to have been Kin of Paris underthe Romans. When ha rd pre ssed by Art ur afte r he hadconqu e red all France and all Ge rmany, he took re fuge inParts, and was there be sieged. The pe ople in the city,beginning to fe e l the e ffect of famine , pe rsuaded Fro llo to

e ngage Arthur in single comba t ; the ti ht took place inthe Insu la Parisiensrs , close to whe re otre Dame now

stands.



THE some o r r u n Ba aons.‘

roll of parchment, of the 13th cent. in a private library. )0 O O

Mes de Warenne‘l'

ly bon quens,

Que tant ad richesses e t biens,Si ad apris de gue re ,

En Norfolk en ce l penslis]Vint conque rrant se s cnemis,Mes ore ne ad que fe re .

TRANSLA‘n ort .— Bu t the good Ear l of Wa renne ,

—who

has so much riche s and property,— and has skill in war ,into Norfo lk in this thought came conquering his

enemie s,—bu t now he has nothing to do .

The transcript of this verycurious fra ent was com

munica ted to Mr. Wright by Si r Fre de r ick adden. Theori l is wr itten in a contempora ry hand on a roll 22inc e s long by 3inche s broad ; it was tu 1 838 in thesion of the Rev. Dr . R ichard Yerburgh , vica r of S]in Linco lnshire . Such ro lls ap r to be common. A ve rycu rious ve llum ro ll of the rst century, conta iningre li '

ous songs with the music, and, among the re st, a copyof t e we ll-known song on the ba ttle of A

cou rt , t inted

by Percy, is in the libra ry of Trinity Co l ege , Cam ridge .Anothe r of the 13th century, was found amongst the pape rsofSir Jo n Hanme r , conta ining anAnglo-Norman romance ,reviously unknown on the adventure s of Me lo rs , son of

Ki e lians of Cornwal . Among the Sloane MSS. in the

British Muse um is an e a r ly co y of the cu rious poem of

Wa lte r de Bible sworth, de signe for the instruction of children in the French language , written in a similar ma nnerupon a roll of parchme nt , evidently for the pu rpose of be ingmore ea sily u sed in a schoo l.1' John, Earl of Warenne , a supporte r of the Royalparty.


Sire Jon G ifi'ard de it bienQue n

’

out guere s un pemEn ce le chivauchée

E si fu touz jors a devant,Prus e sages e t pernant,

E de grant renomee .

Et Sire Jon D’Ayvile ,1

'

Que onque s ui aima treyson ne gile ,Fu en lur conpanie

Et sire Pe re s de Montfort,Si tint bien a lur acord,

Si out grant se ignurie .

Sir John G ifl'

ord ought we ll to be named, —whoscarce ly a — in this r iding-bou t —and he was a lwaysforward,— va liant and wise , and active —and of gre at

And Sir John Dayville ,— who neve r love d treason or

guile ,—was in the ir company — and Sir Pe te r de Montfort ,—he he ldfirm to the ir agre ement, —and had great se ignory.

Sir John Gifl'ard, of Brimsfie ld, in G louce ste rshire , afirmsupporte r of the Barons. Whe n Sir Roge r de Cliffordgave up G louce ste r to Prince Edward, G ifi’ard fortified hiscastle of Brimsfie ld

,and annoye d the Roya list ga rrison.

See Robe rt of G louce ste r ’s Chronicle pp. 538-9 .

1 Sir John D ’Ayvile headed the Barons who establishe d

themse lves a t Che ste rford , in the Peak, afte r the de a th of

Simon de Montford, a t Eves ham. H e a fte rwa rds he ld theIsle of Ely aga inst the King . Se e Robe rt of G louceste r,p. 564 .

7. p ou n cu . sorvos .

Et de Clifl'

ort ly bon Roger‘

Se contint cum noble ber ,Si fu de grant justice

Ne suh'

ri pas pe tit ne grant ,Ne arere ne par devant,

Fere nul mesprise .

Et Sire Roger de Leyburned'

Que sa e t la sovent se torne ,Mont ala conque rrant ;

Assez mist paine de gaine r,Pur se s pe rtes restore r,Que Sire Edward lefist avant .

Mont furent bons les barons ;Mes touz ne sai nome r lur nons,

Tant est grant In some

And the good Roger de Clifford— be have d like a

ba ron,— and exercised grea t justice — he sufi’e red ne itherlittle nor grea t,

—ne ithe r behind or be fore — to do any

And Sir Roge r de Leyburne ,- who often tu rns him on

this side and on tha t,— made grea t progre ss conque ringhe laboure d much to ga in,

— to re store his losses,—whichSir Edward had caused him be fore .

Right good men we re the ba rons bu t I cannot tell all

the ir name s,— the numbe r is so grea t

— the re fore I returnRoge r de Clifl

'

ord de live red G louceste r Castle to PrinceEdwa rd.1’ Sir Roge r Le yburn was a t first a pa rtisan of theBa rons, and was take n prisone r a t Roche ste r Castle ,whenhe

was probably visited Wi th the pe na ltie s a lluded to in thesong . He was a fte rwa rds seduce d by the Roya l party, andma de Wa rde n of the Cinqu e ports .

POL ITI CAL SONGS. 1 :

Fur cc revenk al quens Simon,Pur dire inte rpre tison,

Coment horn le nome .

Il est ape lé de Monfort,Il est e l mond e t si est fort,

Si ad grant cheva le rieCe voir, e t je m

’

acort,

Il e ime dreit, e t he t le tort,Si avera la mestrie .

El mond est ve réement

IA ou la comun a ly concent,De la te rre loes ;

C ’es t ly quens de Leycestre ,Que baut e t joins se pne t estre

De cele renomee .

to Karl Simon,—to give the interpre tation,—wha t is hisHe is ca lled de Montfort — he is in the wor ld (m ade) ,

and he is strong (for te) -and he has great chiva lry — this

is true, and I agre e to it,— he loves right and ha tes wrong,- and he sha ll have the ma ste ry.He is tru ly in the world,— the re whe re the commons are

inaccord with him— which a re praised of the land — it isthe Count of Le iceste r,— who may be glad and joyous— of

this renown .

7a POL I TICAL SONGS.

Ly eve ske de H ere iort'

Sout bien que ly quens fu fort,Kant il prist l’affere

Devant cc e ste itmu lt fe r,Les Engle is quida touz manger,

Me s ore ne se t que fe re .

Et ly pasto rs de Norw isfiQu i de vou re se s be rb is,

Assez sou t de cc conteMout en pe rdi de se s biens ,Mal e rt que ly le ssa riens,

Ke trop en save it de honte .

Et Sire Jon de Lange lé, ISoune chose fu ga iné,

Dehe ir cit que l’

en ple ine !The Bishop of He re ford— knew we ll tha t the Earl

strong ,— when he took the ma tter in hand -be fore that he

(the B ishop) was ve ryfie rce — he thought to ea t up all the

English — bu t now he does not know wha t to do .

And the pa stor of Norwich,— who devours his own sheep,knows enough of this story;— he lost much of his goods ;— it is pity they le ft him anything,— who was too muchacqua inte d with shame .

And Sir John de Langley,— his prope rty was gained,curse d be he who compla ins of it — a ll he had my lord

Pie rre D’

Aigleblanche , Bishop of He re ford, a staunchsuppor te r of the Kings . He was in 1 263 se ized by theBa rons

,and im r isoned.

2Simon de anton, Bishop of Norwich from 1 257 to

r e 5 .

I According to the Anna le s de Du nstaple , the esta tes ofG . de La ngley we re plunde re d soon afte r the a r re st of theBishop o f He re ford. (Vol. i . p. Pe rhaps this was thesame pe rson.

POL 1TICAL SONGS. 73

Tot le so en e nfist porterDe Clifi'ort mi Sire Roger,

Ne vont que rien reme ine .

Ne a Sire Mathi de Besile‘Ne lesse rent une bile ,

En champ u en vile .

Tot le soen in besilé ,

E cointement fu de trussé

Pa r nu trege t‘l'

sanz gile .

Mes mi Sire Jon de Gray:Vint h Lundres, si ne sa i quoi,Que must une destance

Roger de Clifi'ord— eaused to be ca rried away - he wouldlet uothing rema in.

Neither to Sir Ma tthew de Be silH id they leave one

farthing,—ia country or in tom — All his prope rty wasravaged,—and nea tly was he stripped— by a trea ty withou tguile.But Sir John de Gray—came to London, and some thing

Shou ld perhaps be Maca i ; Robert o f G louce ster andStowe call him Macy. H e was a Fre nch knight, and ma deSheriff of G louce s te r by the King ; the Ba rons came andturned him ou t, substitu ting a new sher ifl

'

Macy colle cteda body of men and tu rned hrs riva l ou t . Sir Roge r de Clifford and Sir John G ifi'ard be sieged him, and impr isoned himwith the Bishop of He re ford.tThe origina l trege t probably represents tm gellum,

a httle truce .

i Sir ohn Gray in 1 763was mobbed by the Londone rs,who rob him of thirty-two horse s. Se e Anna les de Dunsuple , vol. i. p . 357 .


Par entre Lundres e t ly,Que tot son hemois en perdi,

Cefir se meschance .

Et Sire Willem le La time r'Vint a Lundres pur juer ,

l G

or othe r—made a quarre l— be twe e n London and him—thathe lost all his harness — tha t was his mischance .And Sir William le Ia time r—came to London to play,

The following satirical song se ems to have beenwritten on the occasion of the inte rmedia tion of

Lou is IX. of France , be twe en the contendingparties in England, in the beginning o f the year1264 . Much of its point consists in a ra the r grossplay upon words ; it is written in a ve ry broaddialect ; and the nume rous instances of bad

French, which are obse rved in it, we re , no

doubt, committed intentionally, to increase the

hilarity of the listene rs , at the expense of the

English and the ir King.

Sir William le La time r appea rs to have afterwards ac.

companied Prince Edward to the Ho ly Land, and was a tthe siege of Cae rlave rock, in 1300. He died in 1305, a t anadvance d age . Knighton ca lls him mile s s tre nu issrmus.”



De ma ray d’Ingle te rs qui fu a bon naviaus,

Chivale r vae lant, hardouin, e t léaus,

Et d’Adouart $3. 612 quifiblont sa chaviaus,

Mai covint que je faites .j. dit trou te noviaus.

Et de cc rai de Frans, ce stui longue ba ron ,

Qui tenez Normandi a tort par mal cho isonLonc tens fout-il croupie r sor Parris son maison,

Qu’il one for por .i. gaire no chauca d

’aspe ron.

Ofmy King of England, who is in a good ship,— a va liantknight, hardy, and loya l,— and of Edwa rd his son , who ha thflaxen ha ir ,— it please s me to make a saying which is qu itenew.

And of tha t King o f France , tha t long baron,— who he ldNormandy wrongfu lly by ill event — long time did he

se ttle his house upon Paris , - tha t he never bu t for a war

a lone put on his spu r .

voudra a le r de mort a vie , ce stu i r iche homme Loys aPa rr is

,de vra donie r a d’

Adouart sa fils cest i chos me ism,

souz V i se qu itement , francement di-je , c'

avant c'

a rie r . C’es t

donqu e s a save r . i. poronsso res qu ant il voudra vau ch ie r

pa r son te rre a me te r soz son hou se s , por este r plu s mine tau ssinc comme a sa piere . Et por cc qu e je vécle qu e cc

chos fontfiens e n e stable , je vee le pe ndey ma sa ie le a cc

cu l pa r de rrie r , avoe cqu es la sa ie le a mi barons d ’

Ing le te r .

L’

an de l’

inca rnacion nostre s sinors Je soucrie t m ime s qu isoufi'r i mort a la cru cefimie por nou s, m. cc. lx. i. ij. e t i nj. ,a ce jodi a ssolie r , de rr iere ce ve ndredi, s orre qu e MamMasalaine cha ta cc honissement a honissie r les . v. pla isJe soucrie t nostre s inors mime s qu i sou ffra mo rt a lacroucefin po r nous , e t Ma rr i Mauva ise o a la ine po te z cc

honnisseme nt a la Sa int Supoucre ; e t Marri Mauva isea la ine vée z l’angie l , e t l'ang ie l pona : Marr i l Ma rr i !

que i qu ie ré vous que i ?’

Et Marri ona‘Je qu e res Jbe sum

qu i fou t a la crucefimie .

’ Et l ’ange pona aMarri Ma rr iMa r t i ! a lé ici, a lé ici : il ne fou t pas 91, ii fou t alé cestu i ma tina G a le rrie .

’


Sinor, tendez 3mai ne devez pas rie r

Ce nave l que je port doit tou t le mont crie r .L

’antr

’ie r je (i a Londre s nne grosse concie r

La ne movra baron la me illeur ne la pie r ,

Qu e tou t no font venez 5. cc grand pla idement.La arra fe t te l chos, je craie vraiement,

Qn’i farra rois Franco is . i . grant poentement

De cc te rre s qu ’il tient contre lo Glaise gent .

Sinor , lone tens font-ii que Me llins profitaQue Phi lippes de Frans, . i. sinor quifija,Conque rra tout cc te rs qnanqu ’

il font par deca,Mes tou te vois, dit ie qn

’encore G lai s l ’arra .

Or sont-i] vint le tans que G lais vonra vauchie r ;S’

il trove: la Francois qui la voura groncie r,

Lords , a ttend to me you must not laugh — all the wor ldought to cry this news which I bring — The othe r day the rewas at London a grea t assembly — the re no baron, from the

best to the worst, wou ld move ,Bu t they wou ld all come to this grea t deba ting .

— The rewould have been done such a thing, I be lieve tru ly,— tha t it

would have cause d the French King a grea t fr ight—con

cerning the lands which he holds aga inst the Eng lish pe ople .

Lords , it is a long time since Merlin prophesied— tha tPhilip of France , a lord who was forme r ly,— shou ld con

quer al l the land, such as it is , on this side — bu t, a t a llevents, I say it, the English will still have it.Now is come the time tha t the English wou ld make an

inroad,—if he shou ldfind the French inclined to grumble ,


Qui parra si froirrous d’espé on de levrie r,Qu

’il n’arra talant por goudre Gla is grondie r .

Le bon rai d’Ingle te r se traina a . i . part,

Li e t Trichart sa fre t irrous comme lipart .I l suspire dc cnl, si se claima a Part,Hni Diex ! com pnis-je voir de Normandi ma

pm79

Ne vous maie mi, dit la conte a Cloce stre ,‘Vons porra bien encors te l chos poistron biene stre ,

Se Diexsalva ma cnl, ma pie, ct ma poing destre ,Tn sarra sus Parris enco re trou te mestre .

”

who wou ld appear fr ighte ned by swords and by greyhounds — tha t he wou ld have no courage to grumbleagainst the English.The good King of England drew himse lf on one side ,

he and Richard his brothe r , as angry as leopards — Hesighs from his a— e , and so cries with a lacrity, O God !

how may I have my part ofNormandyDo not distu rb you rse lf a t a ll,

"sa id the Earl of G lou

oe ste r ,— “

yon may still do it such things may still easilybe ,— if God prese rve my backside , my foot , and my right

fist, —thon sha lt still be entire maste r over Paris .

G ilbe rt de Clare , who su cce e ded his fa the r in the

e ar ldoms of He re ford and G louce ste r in 1 262 . H e jo inedthe Barons, bu t le ft the ir party before the ba ttle of Evesham.


La cont Vincestre‘dit an bue r ra i d’Ingletie re ,Rai , rai , veus-tu sivie r Foster mouvoir ton

gue re ,

Et is te conduira tre s tont ton gent a fo ireTn porras Normandi a cc pointes conque rre .

Se je pois rai Francois a batail le contrie r,Etje porrai mon lance desus son cnl po ie r,

Je crai que je fe rra si dourrement chier

Qu’il se brisa son test, on ma cul fu rompie r.

Je prendrez bien droitur, se je puis, a Diexpoise ,Quant j ’arra en mon main Normandi ct PontoiseJe ferra soz Farri s achie r mon gent Gloise ,Pnis vendrai prende r Frans, maugré conte d’An

gorse .

The Ear l ofWincheste r said to the noble King of England, King , King, wilt then follow ! Se t age ing the

wan—and I will conduct all thy people in abundance —a t

this juncture thou wilt be able to conquer Normandy."I” can constra in the King of France to a ba ttle ,— and

I can strike his backside with my lance , -I think tha t Ishall make him fa ll so hard— tha t he wi ll break his head, ormy tail will be broken.

“I will take good right, if I can, with God’s will,— whenI shall have in my hand Normandy and Poitou,— I willmake my English people approach to Paris,—and then Iwill go to take France in spite of the Ear l ofAnjou.

de'

n Ea r l of Wincheste r , who died in1264 ,me by be came extinct.

lo POL I TICAL SONGS.

Par la .v. plais a Diex, Francois mauhali sontSi g

’i la pnis grapie r , ce rtes il chate ront.

Quant Inglais irront la, mult baho t i se rrontPar la mo rt Die u jc crai que tontes s’enfuiront.

Sir Symon a Montfort a tendi cc nave l ,Doncqnes sailli a piez il no font mic b el.

A dit ami Inglai s, Par lo co rs saint Ane l !Lessicz or cesti chos z— Francois n’

est mi ane l .

Se vous ale r scur lens , il se voudra dafandreTonte ta pave illons me tra fen a la cendre .

I1n’a si va e lant qui l

’osc mi atendre

Mult sarra mauha li qui 1c Francois pne t prendre .

Qoi di tes-vons, Symon ? pona Rogie r Bigo tBien tenez-vons la ra i por binart e t po r sot

By the five wounds of God l the French are in bad

case - if I can lay ho ld upon them, tru ly the y sha ll bepunished —When the English go the re , the re wi ll be a

grea t disturbance - God's dea th ! I think the y will allfly away.”Sir Simon de Montfort hea rd this spe e ch,— then he le aped

on his fe e t ; he did no t look ve ry handsome — Says he tothe English King, By the body of the ho ly Lamb H ow

le t this thing a lone ; the Frenchman is not a lamb.If you a tta ck them, they wi ll de fend themse lves — he

wi ll burn a ll thy tents to ashes — The re is no man so va liantwho dar e wa it for him ; they wil l be in ill case whom the

Frenchman can ca tch. ”Wha t is tha t you say, Simon ? re plied Roger B igot ;do you take the King for a simple ton and a foo l l— if

Roge r Bigod, Ear l of Norfo lk.


Font insi ba rdouin que vous sone plusmot,Ne te pot bes one r por vostre mileur cot 1”

Sir Rogie r, dit la rai, por Dieu , ne vous

chaele 1

Ne sai mi si irrens contre cc mardsele .

Je ne dout mi Francoys tout qui sont une me le

Je farra ma talent comment is chos ae le .

Je pandra bien Parris, je suis tou te ce rtaine ;Je houterra le fn en ce le eve qui [fu] SaineLa moulins arde rra ce 6 chos mult gravaineSe n

’i menja de pain de troute la semaine .

[P]ar la .v. plais a Diex, Parris font vil mult grantIl i a . i . chape l dont jeficoctant ;Je le fe rra portie r, a . i. charrie r toilant,ASaint Amcnt' a Londres toute droit en ot tant.

you are so bo ld as to say another word —you will not se rveyourselfwith you r best coat. ”“Sir Roge r ,

"sa id the King, for God's sake don’

t be in

a heat — I am not so angry aga inst this scamp.— I don’

t care

halfa farthing for a ll the French tha t are — I will do as

I like , le t the ma tte r go as it will.“I will easi ly take Paris , I am qu ite ce rta in -I will se tfire to the rive r which is ca lled Se ine — I will burn the millthiswill be a ve ry grievous thing ,— if they eat no bread a llthe week.By thefive wounds of God 1 Paris is a ve ry grea t city !

—'

I‘here is a chape l, of which I am de sirous — I will cause

it to be carried in a ro lling cen ,— stra ight to Saint Amont

in London, just as it stands.Perhaps St. Edmund.

l'

8: POL ITICAL SONGS.

Quant j ’arra sos Parris mené tout me navians ,Je fe rra le moustie r Sa int Dinis la ChanciansCorronie r d

’Adouart soc se blonde chavians .

La voudra vous toe r de vaches a po rcians .

Je crai que vous verra n endre t gros e fest,

Quant d’Adonart arm corroné France test .11Pa bien asse rvi. mafil ; il n’est pas best ;Il font buen chivale r, hardonin, e t honest.

Sir rat, cc dit Rogie r, por Dien 21mai enten tTu m’

as pe rcé la cnl, te l la pitié m’a prent.

Or do int Godelamit, par son cnlmandement,

Que tn fais cestui chos bien glorionsement

When I have led all my ships to Paris ,— I will causethe Chance llor in the monastery of St. Denis—to crown

Edward on hisfiancee ha ir .—The re I will ki ll for you cows

and pissI be lie ve tha t you will se e there a gm t feti sh— when

France sha ll have crowned Edward's head. He has we llde se rved it, my son ; he is no fool — he is a good knight,brave , and courte ous.

”

Sir King,"said Roge r , for God's sake listen to methou hast pie rced my be hind, so much has pity overcomeme —Now may God A lmighty orda in , by his command

ment,— tha t thou pe rform this thing ve ry g loriously lHm ends“the Peace with {h English

END OF VOL. I .

UNWIN BROTHERS, PRINTERS, LONDON AND CHM-WORTH .


B ibliotheca (Euriosa.

THE

POL ITICA L SONGS

OF ENG LAND,

FROM THE REIGN OF JOHN TO THAT OF

EDWARD II .

EDITED AND TRANSLATED BY

THOMASWRIGHT, M .A ., &c.

Of Tr ini ty Cal lege , Cambr idge .

AND REVISED BY

E D MUND G O LDSM ID .

VOL . I I .

PRIVA'

I'

ELY PRINTED , EDINBURGH .

188 4 .

PO L ITI CAL SONGS

OF ENGLAND ,

FROM KING JOHN TO KING EDW 'xRI) I I .

JB ii otbeca (Euriosa.

THE

P O L ITICAL SONGS

OF ENG LAND,


EDWARD II.

EDITED AND TRANSLATEI‘

THOMASWRIGHT, M .A ., &c.

AND REVISED UV

E DMUND G O LDSMID,

VOL . II .

V

PRIYA'

I LLY PRIN’

I’

ED, EDIh l

“. L

’

Ru I1

This Edition is limited to seventy-fivePape r copie s, and two hundred and seventy-fiveSmall Pape r copies, issued only to Subscribers.


POLITICAL SONGS.

mmREIGN o r KING HENRY 111. (continued )

THE decisive ba ttle of Lewe s, in 1264 , was the

subject of gre a t exultation amongst the adhe rentsof Simon de Montfort. The following song, in

English, is directed against the King’s bro the r,Richard, Ea rl of Cornwa ll , who had be come ve ryunpopu lar by his fore ign scheme s of ambition.

He took she lte r at a windmill, afte r he saw the

King’

s party de feated.

SONG AGAINST THE KING OF ALMAIGNE.

‘

(MS. Har l. No . 2253, fol. 58, v°, ofthe re ign of Edward I I. ]

Sitte th a lle stille ant he rkne th to me

The Kyn of Alema igne ,1'

bi mi leauté,Thritti thouse nt pound askede he IFor te make the pe e s in the countré,

ant so he dude more .

Richard, thah thou be eve r trichard,tr ichen shalt thou nevermore .

TRANSLAT ION .— Sit a ll still and listen to me — the King

of Almaigne , by my loya lty,— thirty thousand pound heasked— to make pea ce in the country, -and so he did more .—Richard, though thou art eve r a tra itor ,— thon sha lt nevermore be tra y.This son was first printed in Pe rcy’s “Re liques of

Ancient Eng tsh Poe try.

”

f This is , of course , Richard, Ea r l of Cornwa ll, theKin s brother .

t Bare ons had offere d him this sum to induce theKing to

e

make pea ce .

POL I TICAL SONGS.

Richard of Alema igne , whil tha t he we s kyng,He spende al is tre sour opon swyvyng

Have th he nou t ofVValingford o fe rlyng

Le t him habbe , ase he brew, ba le to dryng,maugre Wyndesore .?

Richard, thah thou be eve r, e tc.

The Kyng of Alema igne wende do ful we l,

H e saisede the mu lne for a caste lJ :With hare Sharpe swe rde s he grounde the ste l ,H e wende tha t the sayle s we re mangone l

to he lpe Wyndesore .

Richard, e tc.

The Kyng of Alemaigne gede rede ys host,Makede him a ca ste ] of a mulne post,

Richa rd of Alma igne , while he was king ,— he

“

spe nt all

his trea su re upon luxu ry — have he not ofWa llingfo rd onefur long - le t him have , as he brews , e vil to drink, in spiteofWindsor .

The King of Alma igne thought to do fu ll we ll ,— theyse ize d the mill for a castle -with the ir sharp swords theyground the ste e l,— they thought the sa ils had be e n mangone ls— to he lp Windsor .

The King of Alma igne ga the red his host,— he made hima ca stle of a mill-post ,— he went with his pride and his gr ea t

The honour of Wa llingford had be en confe rred on

Richard in 1 24 3.

1 Windsor was the strongho ld of the King’

s pa r ty .

t Afte r the ba ttle was lost . R icha rd, King o f the

Romans , took re fuge in a windmill , which he ba rricadoe d.and manta tned for some time aga inst the Ba rons, bu t in theeve ning was obliged to‘surre nde r .

”

(Pe rcy. )

POL I TICAL SONGS.

Wende with is prude ant is muche le bost ,Brohte from Alemayne mony so ri gost

to sto re Wynde sore .

Richard, e tc.

By God, tha t is aboven ons, he dude muche

synne ,That le tte pa ssen ove r se e the Erl ofWarynne

He ha th robbed Enge lond, the more s, ant th[e ]fenne ,

The gold ant the se lve r, ant y-boren henne ,for love ofWynde sore .

Richard, e tc.

Sire Simond de Mountfort hath swore bi ys chvn,Revede he non he re the E1 ] o fWaryn,

Shulde he neve r more come to is yn,

Ne with she ld, ne with spe re , ne with o the r gyn,to he lp ofWynde sore .

Richard, e tc.

bon g—brought from Alma igne many a wr e tched sou l— to

garri sonWindso r .

By God, tha t is above u s , he did gre a t sin,— who le t theEarl ofWarenne pass ove r se a — he ha th robbe d Englandboth the moo r and the fe n, -o f the gold and the silve r , andcarried them he nce , - for love ofWindsor .

Sir Simon de Montfort ha th sworn by his chin,— had henow here the Ear l ofWa renne ,— he shou ld neve r more come

to his lodging ,— ne ithe r with shie ld, nor with spear , norwith othe r contrivance ,

— to he lp Windso r .

The Ear l of War enne escaped from the ba ttle and fledto France .


Sire Simond de Montfort ha th snore hi ys cap ,

He vede he non he re Sire Hue de Bigo t.‘Al he Shulde qu ite he re twe lfmone th scot,Shulde he neve r mo re with his fot po t

to he lpe Wynde so re .

Richard, e tc.

Be the luef, be the loht, sire Edward,Thou sha lt ride spore less O thy lya rdAl the ryhte way to Dove re ward

Sha lt thou never mo re breke fore -ward,ant that rewe th sore

Edward, thou dudest ase a shreward,

forsoke thyn emes lore .

Richard, e tc.

Sir Simon de Montfort ha th sworn by his hea d,— had henow he re Sir Hugh de Bigot ,— he shou ld pay he re a twe lvemonth's Scot— he shou ld neve r more tramp on his fe e t ,— to

he lpWindso r.Be it agre eable to the e , or disagree able , Sir Edward,

thou sha lt ride spu r le ss on thy hack— a ll the stra ight roadtowards Dove r - thou sha lt neve r more break covenantand tha t sore ru e th the e ; Edward, thou dids t like a shrew,

forsookest thine uncle ’

s teaching .

Sir Hugh Bigod e scape d w ith the Ea r l of Warre nne toPevensey, and the nce to France . He was cou sin to the

Hu h Bigod who took part with the Ba rons and was killeda t WCS.


The following long but singu larly inte restingpoem may be considered as the popular declaration of the principle s with which the baronsentered into the war, and the objects which the yhad in view. I t bears inte rna l proofs of havingbe en written immedia te ly afte r the de cisive battleof Lewes ; and the moderate and dee ply moraland religious fe e ling which the re forming partyhere shows, even in the moment of triumph, isextreme ly remarkable , and is close ly connectedwith the complaints aga inst the licentiousness of

the othe r party in the satirica l songs which precede . We might almost suppose ourse lves transported to the days ofWicklifl'e or Cromwe ll .

THE BATTLE OF LEWES.

‘

[MS. Harl. 978, fol. 1 28, r°, of the middle of the 13th cent . ]

Write quickly, 0 pen of one who , writing such

things as fo llow, ble sse s and praise s with his

tongue thee , 0 right hand of God the Fathe r,

Lord of virtues, who givest prospe rity at thy nod

to thine own, whenever it is thy will le t all thosepeople now lea rn to put the ir trust in thee , whomthey, who a re now scatte red, wished to destroy

The ba ttle of Lewes was fought onThursday, May 1 4 ,1 4 .


they of whom the he ad is now taken , and the

membe rs are in captivity ; the proud pe o ple isfallen ; the faithfu l are filled with joy. N ow

England brea thes in the hope of libe rty to which

(England) may the grace of God give prospe r ityThe English we re de spised like dogs ; but now

the y have raised the ir head ove r the ir vanquishedenemies.

In the ye ar o fgrace one thousand two hundred

and sixty- four, and on the Wedne sday a fte r the

fe stiva l of St. Pancras, the a rmy o f the Eng lishbore the brunt of a grea t ba ttle at the castle of

Lewes : for reasoning yie lded to rage , and life to

the Sword. They me t on the fourte enth o f May,

and began the battle of this te rr ible Str ife which

was fought in the county of Sussex, and in the

bishopric of Chicheste r . The sword was powe rful ; many fe ll ; truth preva iled ; and the fa lse

men fl ed. Fo r the Lord o f valour resisted the

pe rjured men, and de fended those who we re pu rewith the Shie ld of truth . The sword withou t, andfear within, rou ted the forme r ; the favour o f

he aven comforted ve ry fu lly the latte r The

solemnitie s of the victo r , and the sacred crowns,

give te stimony on this conte st ; since the Churchhonoured the said pe rsons as sa ints, and victo rycrowned the true so ldie rs . The wisdom of G od,

which rule s the whole world, pe r formed miracles,and made a joyfu l war caused the strong to fly,and the valorous men to slrnt themse lve s up in a


u POLITICAL SONGS.

from the fury of the sword, unless they had givenfive hundred marks to the prince , which Edwardorde red to be rece ived, o r they had pe rished . By

these , and similar de eds, they me rited to give wayand succumb before their enemies . May the Lo rdbless Simon de Montfort and a lso his sons and

his army who , exposing themse lves magnanimously to death, fought valiantly, condoling the

lamentable lot of the English, who, trodden unde r

foo t in a manne r scarce ly to be de scr ibed, and

a lmost deprived of all the ir libe rtie s, nay, of the irlives, had languished unde r hard ru lers, like the

people of Israe l unde r Pha raoh, groaning unde r a

tyrannical devastation . But God, se e ing thissuffe ring of the pe ople , gives at last a new Ma tathias, and he , with his sons, zealous a lter the

zeal of the law , yie lds ne ither to the insu lts nor tothe fury of the king.

They call Simon a seductor and a tra itor but

his deeds lay him open, and prove him to b e a

true man. Traitors fa ll off in time of ne ed they

who do not fly dea th are those who stand for thetruth. But, says his insidious enemy now, whose

evil eye is the disturbe r of peace , If you pra isethe constancy and the fide lity which does not fly

the approach of de ath or punishment, they shal l

equa lly be ca lled constant who , in the same

manne r, go to the comba tfighting on the opposi teside , in the same manne r exposing themse lves to

the chance of war, and subjecting themse lves to a

POLITICAL SONGS. rs

hard appe llation . But in our war in which we

are now engaged, le t us se e what is the state of

the case .

The Earl had few men used to arms the roya lparty was numerous, having assembled the disciplined and grea te st warriors in England, such as

were ca lled the flowe r of the army of the kingdomthose who we re prepared with arms from amongthe Londoners we re thre e hundred, se t be foreseve ra l thousands ; whence they we re contemptibleto those , and we re de tested by those who we re

expe rienced. Much of the Earl’s army was rawfresh in arms, they knew little of war . The tenderyouth, only now girt with a sword, stands in the

morning in battle accustoming himse lf to arms

wha t wonde r if such an unpractised tyro fear, andand if the powe rless lamb dread the wolf ? Thus

those whofight for England are infe r ior inmilitarydiscipline , and they are much fewe r than the

strong men, who boas ted in the ir own valour,beca use they thought safe ly, andwithout danger, toswallow up, as it we re , all whom the Earl had to

he lp him. More over , of those whom the Earl hadbrought to the ba ttle , and from whom he hopedfor no little he lp, many soon wi thdrew from fear,

and took to flight as though they were amazed

and of thre e parts, one de se rted. The Earl, witha few faithful men, never yie lded . We may com

pare our battle with tha t of Gideon in bo th of

which we see a few of the fa ithful conque r a great

r6 POLITICAL SONGS.

numbe r who have no faith, and who trust in themse lve s like Lucifer did. God said, If I sho u ldgive the victory to the many, the foo ls will no tgive the glory to me , bu t to tools.

”So if G od

had made the strong to conque r, the commo n

people would have given the cred it of it to the

men, and not to God.

From the se conside rations it may be conclude dtha t the warlike men did not fe ar God, whe re fo re

they did nothing to prove the ir constancy o r

fide lity, but they showed, on the contrary, the irpride and cruelty ; and wishing to confound tho se

whom they desp'

sed, issuing forth bo ldly, the ype rished quickly. Exaltation of the hear t br ingson ruin, and humility me rits to rece ive the divine

grace ; for he who does not trust in God, God

ove rthrows his pride . We may bring forward as

examples Aman andMardocheus ; we read tha t theforme r was arrogant, the la tte r a true Israe lite ; thega llowswhich Aman had prepa red for Mardoche us,in the morning the wre tch bore it himse lf ino rder tobe hanged upon it. The Queen

’s banque t blinded

Aman, which he reputed as an extraordina ry privilege but his vain expectation is turned into con

fusion, when afte r the feast he is dragged to the

gallows . Thus sorrow fo llowed close upon joy,when it coupled death with the end of the feast.Ve ry diffe rently it happens to the Israe lite , whom,

by God’s w ill, the King honours . Golias is ove rthrown by the stroke of a little stone ; no thing


18 POLITICAL SONGS.

to have the victory ove r sinners. If the just manse ems some times to be vanqu ished by the impio usman, on the contrary he should be re puted the

conque ror ; for ne ithe r can the just man be van

qu ished, nor the unjust man conque r while he isthe enemy of the law.

Listen to the equ ity o f Earl Simon : when the

roya l party wou ld be satisfied only with his headand his life , nor would allow his head to b e

rede emed, but would have it cut off, by whoseconfusion they hoped the body of the pe opleshou ld b e confounded, and the greatest part o fthe state brought into dange r, so tha t the mostgrie vous ru in would immedia te ly fo llow —mayit be ve ry long be fore this happen — Stephen, bydivine grace , bishop of Chicheste r, ’ groaning

de eply for the imme nse evils which we re thenimpe nding, (withou t exagge ration, ) the two

partie s be ing pe rsuaded to trea t of a pe ace ,rece ived this answe r from the Earl Choosethe best men, who have a live ly faith, who have

re ad the decre ta ls, or who have taught , in a

becoming manne r, theology and sacred wisdom,

and who know how to rule the Christian fai th ,wha teve r they may resolve by sound doctrine ,o r wha teve r they may have the courage to decre e ,they shall find us re ady to agre e to wha t they

Ste phe n de Be rkste ad, bishop of Chiche ste r , was ex

communica ted for his adhe rence to Simon de Montfor t.

POLITICAL SONGS. 19

sha ll dicta te , in such a manne r as that we mayescape the stigma of perjury, and keep the leagueas children of God. Hence it may easily beunde rstood by those who swe ar, and show littlere luctance to de spise what they swe ar , receding

qu ickly from it a lthough they swear to wha t isright, and not rende ring whole what they havepromised to God, with how much care they oughtto ke ep the ir oath, when they se e a man ne ithe ravoiding torment nor dea th on account of his

oa th, which was made no t inconside ra te ly, butfo r the refo rmation of the fallen sta te of the

English nation, which the fraud of an inve te ra tee nemy had violated . Behold Simon, obedient,despise s the loss of property, submitting himse lfto punishment, ra the r than dese rt the truth, procla iming to all men openly by his deeds morethan by his words, that truth has nothing in com

mon with falsehood. Woe to the pe rjuredwre tche s who fea r not God de nying him for theprospect of an ea rthly reward, or for fear of im

prisonme nt or light punishment ; the new leaderof the journey te aches to bea r all tha t the worldmay inflict on account of truth, fo r it is this whichcan give pe rfect libe rty. For the Earl had firstpledged his oa th that wha teve r the zeal of thew ise had provided for the reformation of the

King’s honour, and for the repression o fwandering

e rror, at Oxford, he wou ld ste adfastly kee p it,and would no t change the law then ordained,

ao POLITICAL SONGS.

knowing tha t such canonica l consti tutions, and

such catholic ordinance s for the pacific conse r

va tion of the kingdom, on account of which he

had be fore sustained no slight pe rsecution, we r enot to be despised and because he had sworn to

hold themfirmly, unle ss the most pe rfect doctorsof the faith should say that the jura tors might b eabso lved, who had be fore taken such oa th, and

tha t no furthe r account was to be made of wha t

they had sworn. Which , when the sa id Bishop

re cited to the King, and pe rhaps the artifice r o f

fraud was standing by, the vo ice of the crowd of

arrogant courtiers was raised big Se e now the

soldie r is to give way to the sayings of cle rks !The military orde r subje cted to cle rks is de

based Thus the wisdom of the Earl wasdespised and Edward is said to have answe red

thus They sha ll have no peace unless they a llpu t ha lters about the ir ne cks, and de liver themse lves up to us to be hanged, or to be drawn.

”

What wonde r if the Earl’s heart was then moved,when nothing but the pain of the stake was prepared for him? He offe re d what he ought to do ,but he was not listened to ; the King rejectedmeasure , forge tting wha t was good for him. But,

as the event of the matte r next day taught him,

the measure which he then re fused, afte rwards was

not to be had. In the evening was derided the

Ea rl’s devotion, the shock of which, next day,was round to be victorious. This stone , long


as POLI TICAL SONGS.

principa l nobles ; and thus grows the confusion

of the native s, with indignation and bitte rne ss o fheart, when the chie f men o f the kingdom fee l

themse lves to be bea ten down by those who makethemse lves the ir equa ls, taking from them the

things which ought to appe rta in to them, growing

by the things by which they used to grow . The

King ought to honour with e sche a ts and wa rds

his own pe ople , who can he lp him in various

ways, who , by as much as they a re more powe rfu lby the ir own strength, are so much the mo re

secure in all ca ses. But those who have broughtnothing, if they are enriched by his goods, if theyare made grea t who we re of no account, such

men, when they begin to grow, a lways go on

climbing till they have supplanted the na tive s ;they study to ave rt the prince ’s he art from his

own people , that they may strip o f glory thosewhose ru in they a re se eking. And who could be a rsuch things patiently ? The re fore le t Englandle arn prudently to have a care , le st such a pe r

plexity should happen any more , lest such an

adve rsity should fa ll upon the English . The

Earl studied to obvia te this, beca use it had gainedtoo much he ad, like a gre a t se a , tha t cou ld no t bedried by a sma ll e ffort, but must be forded by agreat assistance from God . Le t strange rs come

to re tu rn qu ickly, like men of a moment, but not

to rema in . One o f the two hands a ids the o the r,ne ithe r of them be aring more re a lly the grace

POLITICAL sa ivas . 33

which be longs to both le t it he lp, and not injure ,by re taining its place . Each thing wou ld ava ilits own posse sso r if they come so ; the French

man by do ing good to the Englishman. and not

seducing by a flatte ring face , nor the one withdrawing the goods of the othe r ; but rathe r bysustaining his own po rtion of the burden. If his

own inte rest had moved the Earl, he wouldne ithe r have had any o the r zeal, nor wou ld he havesought with a ll his powe r for the reformation of

the kingdom, bu t he wou ld have a imed at powe r,he wou ld have soug ht his own promo tion only,and made his first object the prcmotion of his

fr iends, and wou ld have a imed at enriching his

childre n, and wou ld have neglected the weal ofthe community, and wou ld have cove red the

poison o f falsehood with a cloak of duplicity,and wou ld thus have dese rted the fa ith o f Christianity, and wou ld have subjected himse lf to theretribution of fe arful punishment, nor would hehave e scaped the we ight of the tempest. Andwhocan be l ieve tha t he wou ld give himse lf to death,tha t he wou ld sacrifice his friends , in orde r thathe might thus raise himse lf high If those who

hunt a lte r honour cove r the ir object cunninglyalways meditating at the same time how the ymay avoid death none love more the pre sentlife , none choose more eage rly a position devo idof dange r . They who thirst a fte r honours dissimu la te the ir aim, they make themse lve s cau

34 POLITICAL SONGS.

tiously the repu tation which they seek. Not so

the vene rable Simon de Montfort, who , likeChrist, ofl'e rs himse lf a sacr ifice for many ; Isaacdoes not die , a lthough he is ready for dea th it

is the ram which is given to death, and Isaac

rece ives honour. Ne ithe r fraud nor fa lsehood

promoted the Ea rl, but the Divine grace which

knew those whom it would he lp. If you conside r

the time and the place of the conflict, you wi llfind that they promised him a de fea t ra the r thanvictory ; bu t God provided tha t he shou ld no t

succumb. He does not take them on a sudden

by cre eping stea lthily by night ; but he fightsopenly when day is come . So also the place wasfavourable to his enemie s, tha t thus it mightappear plainly to all to be the gift of God, tha tvictory depa rted from him who put his trust inhimse lf. Hence le t the military orde r, which

praises the practice of the tournament, tha t so itmay be made expe rt a t fighting, learn how the

party of the strong and skilful was he re bru isedby the arms of those who we re fe eble and un

practised : tha t he may confound the strong, Godpromotes the weak , comforts the fe eble , laysprostra te thefirm. Thus le t no one now presumeto trust in himse lf ; but if he know how to placehis hope in God, he may take up arms with con

stancy, nothing doubting, since God is a he lp forthose who are on the side of justice . Thus it was

right that God should he lp the Earl, for without



at once commands, conque rs, re igns ! Christde livers his own, to whom he has given his

promise . We pray God to grant tha t the mindsof the conque rors may not attribu te their success

to themse lve s, and le t wha t Pau l says he observedby them, He who would be joyful, let him be

joyful in God.

”If any one of us indulge in vain

glory, may God be indulgent to him, and no t

angry ! and may he make our party cau tious infuture ; lest deeds be wanting, may they makethemse lves a wa ll ! May the powe r of the

Almighty pe rfect wha t it has begun, and restoreto its vigour the kingdom of the English pe oplethat glory may be to himse lf, and pe ace to his

e lect, until they be in the country whe re he

shall lead them. 0 Englishmen ! read this con

ce rning the battle of Lewes ! by the influence o f

which you are saved from destruction for if

victory had gone ove r to those who are now van

quished, the memory of the English wou ld have

lain in disgrace .

To whom shall the noble Edward be compared ?Perhaps he will be rightly called a leopa rd. Ifw e

divide the name , it become s a lion and a parda lion, for we have se en that he was not slow to

me e t the strongest ; fearing the attack of none ;

making s charge in the thick of the battle with themost unflinching bravery, and as though at his

will, and whe reve r he went, as if, like A lexande r,he would soon subdue the whole wor ld, if the

POLITICAL SONGS. 27

mutable whe e l of Fortune wou ld bu t stand stillin which, although he stand at the top, le t him

know tha t his fa ll is near at hand, and tha t hewho re igns like a lord wi ll not re ign long. Which,in fact, has happened to the noble Edward, whohas manife stly fa llen from his unstable position.

He is a lion by his pride and by his fe roci ty ; byhis inconstancy and changeablene ss he is a pard,not ho lding steadily his word or his promise , and

excusing himse lfwith fair words . When he is ina dificu lty, he promise s just wha t you will ; but assoon as he has e scaped the danger, he fo rge ts hispromise . Witness G louceste r,“whe re , as soon ashe was ou t of the difficulty, he revoked immediate ly wha t he had swom . The treache ry or

falseness by which he ga ins his ends he ca lls prudence the way by which he arrives at his object,be it eve r so crooked, is reputed to be straight ;when wrong se rve s his purpose , it is called righthe calls lawfu l whateve r he wills, and thinks himse lf abso lved from the law, a s though he we regreater than a king ; for eve ry king is ruled by thelaws which he enacts . King Saul was deposed,because he brake the laws and we read tha tDavid was punished, as soon as he did contrary tothe law hence , the refore , le t him who reads

know, that he cannot re ign who does not keep the

Alluding to the surrende r of G louceste r to Prince Edward, and his trea tment of the town.

28 POLITICAL SONGS.

law nor ought they , whose province it is to doso , to e lect such a man for the ir king. 0 Edwa rd !

thou desirest to be made a king withou t law theywould be truly mise rable who we re ru led by sucha king ! For what is more just than law , bywhich all things are ruled and wha t more truethan justice , by which all things are administeredIf thou wouldest have a kingdom, reve rence the

laws they a re but rough roads, which a re opposedto law, rough and crooked roads which w ill notlead thee to thy joumey

’s end ; but if thou ke epe st

the laws, they shine like a lamp. There fore avo id

and de test tre ache ry labour afte r tru th and ha te

falsehood. Al though treache ry may flourish, itcanno t bear fruit the Psalm may teach the e thisGod says to the faithful of the earth, They a re

my eyes, and it is my will tha t they sha ll sit withme at the end of time .

”Observe how little thou

hast gained by thy treachery at Northampton the

he at of dece i t does not warm likefire . If you willcompare treache ry tofire , fe ed studiously suchfirewith straw, which ce ases to glow as soon as it is

burnt up, and is consumed a lmos t as soon as

kindled. So passe th away vanity which ha th no

roo ts ; roo ted truth is not subje ct to vicissi tudesthe refore le t tha t alone be pe rmitted the e which islawfu l, and le t not wha t the double man sha ll sayplease thee . A prince shall project things whichare worthy of a prince the re fore take the law

unde r thy protection, which will make the e worthy


3° POLI TICAL SONGS.

For eve ry earl also is thus his own maste r , givingto eve ry one o f his own men bo th as much as he

will, and to whom he will ; he commits castles,lands, revenue s, to whom he will ; and a lthoughhe be a subject, the King pe rmits i t all . Which,ifhe do we ll, is profitable to the doe r if no t, he

must himse lf se e to it ; the King will not hinde rhim from injuring himse lf. Why is the princeworse in condition, when the affairs o f the ba ron,

the knight, and the fre eman, are thus managed ?The refore they a im at making the King a slave ,who wish to diminish his powe r, to take away hisdignity of prince they wish by sedition to reduce

captive into guardianship and subjection the roya lpowe r, and to disinhe rit the King, tha t he shall beunable to re ign so fu lly as hithe rto have done the

kings who preceded him, who we re in no re spectsubjected to the ir people , but administe red the irown affai rs at the ir wi ll, and confe rred wha t the yhad to confe r according to the ir own plea su re .

This is the King’s argument, which has an appea rance of fairne ss, and this is alleged in de fence o f

the right o f the kingdom.

Bu t now le t my pen tu rn to the o the r side — le t

me de scr ibe the obje ct atwhich the barons aim

and when both side s have be en he ard, le t the

a rgume nts be compared, and the n le t us come to

a fina l judgment, so tha t it may be clea r whichside is the t rue st . The pe ople is more prone to

ob ey the true r party. Le t the re fore the party o f

POLITICAL SONGS. 3x

the ba rons Spe ak for itse lf, and proclaim in orde r

by wha t ze a l it is led. Which party in the firstplace pro te sts openly, that it has no de signs aga instthe kingly honour ; nay, it se eks the contrary, andstudie s to re form and magni fy the kingly condi

tion ; just as if the kingdom we re ravaged byenemie s , the n it would not b e re formed withoutthe ba rons , who wou ld be the capable and prope rpe rsons fo r this purpose ; and should any one thenhang back, the law would punish him as one

guilty o f pe rjury, a traito r to the King, who owe s

to his lo rd, whe n he is in dange r, all the aid

he can give to suppo rt the King’s honour, whenthe kingdom is as it we re nigh its end by devastation .

The adve rsaries o f the King are enemie s who

make war upon him, and counse llors who flatte rthe King, who seduce the ir prince with dece itfulwords, and who lead him into e rror by the ir doubletongue s : these are adve rsaries wo rse than thosewho a re pe rverse it is these who pre tend to be

good whi lst they are seduce rs, and procure rs of

the ir own advancement ; they dece ive the incan

tious. whom they rende r less on the ir guard bymeans of things tha t ple ase them, whe reby theyare not provided against, but are conside red as

prudent advise rs. Such men can dece ive more

than those who act openly, as they are able tomake an outward appearance of be ing not hostile .

Wha t if such wre tches, and such liars, shou ld


haunt the prince , capable of a ll malice , of fraudof falsehood, excited by the spurs of envy,‘ shou ldseek to do tha t extreme wickedne ss, by whichthey should sacrifice the privileges of the kingdomto the ir own ostenta tion, that they shou ld con

trive all kinds of hard re asons, which by degre e sshould confound the commona lty, should bru iseand impove rish the mass of the people , and should

subve rt and infatuate the kingdom, so tha t no one

could obtain justice , exce pt he who wou ld en

courage the pride of such men as these by la rgesupplies of money ; who could submit to the

establishment o f such an injury ? And if such, bythe ir conduct, should change the state of the kingdom ; if they should banish justice to put injusticein its place ; if they should ca ll in strange rs and

trample upon the natives and if they shou ld su bdue the kingdom to fore igne rs if they shou ld no tcare for the magna tes and nobles of the land, andshould place contemptible pe rsons ove r them5 andif they should ove rthrow and humilia te the gre a tif they should pe rve rt and turn upside down th e

orde r of things ; if they shou ld leave the me asur e stha t are be st , to advance those which a re wo rstdo not those who act thus devasta te the kingdoma lthough they do not make war upon it with a rm s

from abroad, ye t theyfight with diabolical a rms ,

and they vio late , in a lamentable manne r, the constitution of the kingdom although not in the same

manner [as a fore ign enemy], ye t they do no le ss


34 POLITICAL SONGS.

upon God. Pha raoh, who so affl icted the peopleof God, that they could with difficulty repair tothe o racle which he had appointed to Mose s , was

afte rwards so punished, tha t he was obliged to

dismiss Israe l aga inst his will ; and when he

thought to catch them afte r they we re dismissed,he was drowned whilst he thought to run throughthe de ep . Solomon was unwill ing to bruise Israe l,nor would he reduce to se rvitude any one o f the

race be cause he knew tha t it was G od ’

s pe opleove r whom he re igned and he fea red to hu rt theimprint of God and he praises me rcy mo re thanjudgment, and the peace o f a true fathe rmo re thanexecution.

Since it is cle ar that the barons have a r ight ofdoing all this, it remai ns to answe r the King

’

s

arguments . The King wi she s to be fre e by theremova l of his guardians, and he will not b e sub

jce t to his infe rio rs, but be placed ove r them he

will command his subjects and not b e com

manded he will be humiliated ne ithe r to h imse lfnor to those who are h is o ffice rs . For the o ffice rsa re not se t ove r the King ; but on the contrarythey are ra the r the noble men who suppo rt thelaw. Othe rwise the re would not be one king o f

one state , bu t they would re ign equally toThe text has

Uniu s Rex a lite r unicus non e sse t,

Sed r e na re nt pa r ite r qu ibu s rex sube sse t .The meaning 0 the se line s is

,to say the least of it , extreme ly

obscu re .


whom the king was subject. Ye t this inconvenience a lso , though it se em so great, with the

assistance of God, is e asily so lved : for we be l ie vetha t G od wills tru th, through whom we dissolvethis doubt as fo llows. He is said to be , and is in

truth , one King alone , by whom the unive rse is

ru led in pure maje sty ; who ne ithe r wants he lpwhe reby he may re ign, nor even counse l, in as

much as he canno t e rr . The re fore , all-powerfu land a ll -knowing, he exce ls in infinite glory allthose to whom he has given to rule and, as it we re ,to re ign unde r him ove r his people , who may fail ,and who may e rr, and who canno t ava il by the irown independent strength, and vanqu ish the irenemi es by the ir own valour, nor gove rn kingdomsby the ir own wisdom, but in an evil manne rwande r in the track of e rror. They want he lpwhich should assist them, and counse l whichshou ld se t them right. Says the King, I agree

to thy re asoning ; but the choice of the se must bele ft to my option ; I will associate with myse lfwhom I will, by whose support I will gove rn all

things ; and ifmy ministe rs should be insuflicient,if they want sense or powe r, or if they ha rbourevil designs, or are not faithful , but are pe rhapstraitors, I desire tha t you will explain, why I

ought to be confined to ce rtain persons, when I

might succe ed in obta ining be tte r assistance ?The reason of this is quickly de clared, if it be conside red wha t the constraint of the King is all


constraint does not depr ive of libe rty, nor doe s

eve ry rest riction take away powe r . Prince s de sirefre e powe r those who re ign de cline mise rablese rvitude . To what will a free law bind kingsto preve nt them from be ing stained by an adulte rated law. And this constra int is not one o f

slave ry, but is ra the r an enlarging of the kinglyfaculty. Thus the king’ s child is kept from be inghurt ; ye t he is no t made a slave when he is thusrestricted. Nay, the ve ry ange ls are re stricted inthis manne r, who are confirmed from becomingaposta tes . For, tha t the Au thor o f a ll things cannot e rr, tha t He who is the beginning of all thingscanno t sin, is no t impo tence , but it is the highe s tdegre e o f powe r, the grea t glory o f God and his

grea t maje sty. Thus, he who may fall, if he bekept from fa lling, so tha t he may live free fromdange r, he reaps advantage from such ke e ping ,nor is such a suppo rt slave ry, but it is the safegua rd of virtue . The re fore tha t the re be pe r

mitted to a king all that is good, but tha t he dar eno t do evil, - this is G od’s gift . They who ke epthe king from sinning when he is tempted, theyse rve the king, to whom he shou ld be gratefu l ,that they de liver him from be ing made a slave ; sothat those by whom he is led do not ove rcom e

him. But he who should be in truth a king, he istruly fre e if he rule rightly himse lf and the kingdom le t him know tha t all things a re pe rmittedhim which are in ruling convenient to the king


3s POLITICAL SONGS.

re sist one who ruins us ; we natura lly applaud himwho favou rs us. It is not the part of a prince to

bruise , but to protect ; ne ithe r is it the part of a

prince to oppre ss, but ra the r to de se rve the favou rof his people by nume rous benefits confe rred upon

them, as Christ by his gra ce has de se rved the loveof all. I f a prince love his subje cts, he wi llnecessa rily be repaid with love ; if he re ign justly ,he will of a ne cessity be honoured ; if the princee rr, he ought to be re called by those whom his

unjust denia l may have grieved, unless he be willing to be corrected ; if he is willing to makeamends, he ought to be both raised up and aided

by the se same pe rsons. Le t a prince ma inta insuch a ru le of re igning, tha t it may neve r be

nece ssary for him to avoid depending on his own

people . The ignorant princes who confound the irsubjects, willfind tha t those who are unconque redwill not thus be tamed. If a prince shou ld th inkthat he a lone has more truth , more knowledge ,and more inte lligence than the who le people , tha the abounds more in grace and the gifts o f

God, if it be not pre sumption, but it be tru ly so ,then his instruction will visit the true he arts of hissubjects with light, and will instruct his pe oplewith mode ra tion.

We instance Mose s, David, Samu e l— e ach of

whom we know to have been a faithfu l pr incewho suffe red many things from the ir subje cts, andye t for the ir de se rts they did not cast them off,

POLITICAL SONGS.

not se t strangers over them, but governed bymeans of those who we re the ir own pe ople . I

wi ll place thee ove r a greate r people and I willslay this pe ople ,” sai th God. I had ra the r die ,than this people should perish, answe red kindMoses, who was worthy to gove rn. And thus a

wise prince will neve r reject his pe ople , but an

unwise one will distu rb the kingdom. Whe refore ,if a king is less wise than he ought to be , whatadvantage wil l the kingdom gain by his re ign ? Ishe to se ek by his own opinion on whom he shou ldde pend to have his failing supplied ? If he alonechoose , he will be e asily dece ived, who is not

capable of knowing who will be use ful. The re

fore le t the communi ty of the kingdom advise ;

and le t it be known what the gene ra lity thinks, towhom the ir own laws are best known. No r are

all those o f the country so uninstructed, as no t to

know be tte r than strange rs the customs of the irown kingdom, which have be e n bequea thed fromfathe r to son. They who are ruled by the laws ,know those laws best they who expe rience themare best acqua inted with them ; and since it is

the ir own affairs which are at stake , the y will takemore ca re , and will act with an eye to the ir own

peace . They who want expe rience can knowlittle they will profit little the kingdom who are

not stedfast. Hence it may be co llected , tha t itconce rns the community to see what sort of me nought justly to be chosen for the utility of the

4 ° POLITICAL SONGS.

kingdom they who are will ing and know how ,

and are able to profit it, such should be made th e

councillors and coadjutors of the king ; to whomare known the vari ous customs of the ir countrywho fee l that they suffe r themse lve s when th e

kingdom suffe rs ; and who guard the kingdom ,

lest, if hurt be done to the who le , the parts havereason to grieve while they suffe r a long with itwhich rejoice , whe n it has cause to rejoice , if the ylove it. Le t us ca ll a ttention to the noble judgment of King Solomon she who did no t fe e l

ho rro r at the crue lty of dividing the infant, beca us eshe did not fe e l for it, and wanted mate rnal love ,showed, as the King testified, that she was no t itsmo the r ; the re fore let a prince seek such [co un

cillo rs] as may condo le with the community, whohave a mothe rly fear lest the kingdom shou ldunde rgo any suffe rings. Bu t if anyone be no t

moved by the ruin of the many— if he alone obta inwhat pleas he will— he is not fitted to rule ove r

the many, since he is entire ly devoted to his ow n

inte re st, and to none o the r . A man who fee ls fo ro the rs, is agre eable to the community ; but a ma n

who does not fee l for othe rs, who possesse s a ha rdheart, care s no t if misfortune s fall upon the man y— such walls are no defence against misfortune s .

The refore , if the king has not wisdom to choose

by himse lf those who are capable of advising him ,

it is clear , from wha t has be en said, wha t oughtthen to be done . For it is a thingwhich conce rns


4 a POLI TICAL SONGS.

whole . Nor ought it prope rly to be named

libe rty, which pe rmits foo ls to gove rn unwise lybut libe rty is limited by the bounds o f the law ;

and when those bounds are de spised, it should b ereputed as e rror . O the rwise you will ca ll a raving

madman free , although he be at enmity with eve rything like prospe rity. The refore the king’s argument conce rning his subjects, who are ruled a t

the ir own cho ice by whom they will, is by th issufficiently answered and ove rthrown since eve ryone who is subje ct, is ruled by one who is gre ate r .

Because we say tha t no man is pe rmitted all thathe will, but tha t eve ryone has a lord who may

correct him when e rring, and aid him when doing

we ll, and some time s ra ise s him up when he is

fall ing. We give thefirst place to the community ;we say also that the law rules ove r the king’ sdignity ; for we be lieve that the law is the ligh t ,without which we conclude tha t he who rule s wi l lwande r from the right pa th . The law whe reby isruled the wo rld and the kingdoms of the world, isde scribed as be ing o f fire which contains a

myste ry o fde epmeaning it shine s, burns, warms ;shining, it hinde rs the wande re r from quitting hisright path ; it avails against the cold it purge sand burns to cinde rs some things ; it softens whatis ha rd, and what had be en raw thefire cooks it

L ice nce they mean whe n they cry Libe rty.MILTON .

POLI TICAL SONGS.

take s away numbness, and it doe s many o the rgood things. The sacred law is equally serviceable to the king. Solomon asked for thiswisdomits friendship he soughtwith all his might. If the

king want this law, he will wander from the right

track ; if he doe s not hold it, he will e rr fou lly ;its pre sence gives the powe r of re igning rightly,and its absence ove rturns the kingdom. This law

spe aks thus Kings re ign through me : throughme justice is shown to those who make laws.

”

No king sha ll al te r this firm law : but by it hesha ll make himse lf stable when he is variable . If

he conform to this law, he will stand and if he

disagre e with it he will wave r. I t is sa id com

mou ly, As the kingwills, so goes the law but

the truth is o therwise , for the law stands, but theking fa lls. Truth andcharity and the zea l of salva tion, this is the integrity of the law, the regimen

o f virtue ; truth is light, charity is warmth, zea lburns ; this varie ty of the law takes away al l

crime . Wha teve r the king may ordain, le t it be

consonant to these ; for if it be othe rwise , thecommonalty will be made sorrowful the peoplewill be confounded, if e ithe r the king’s eye wanttruth, or the prince ’s he art want charity, or he donot a lways moderate ly fulfil his zea l with seve ri ty.These three things be ing supposed, whateverpleases the king may be done ; but by the iropposites the king resists the law. Howeve r,

kicking against it doe s not hu rt the prick ; thus

4 4 POLITICAL SONGS.

the instruction which was sent from heaven to

Paul teaches us. Thus the king is deprived of no

inhe rited right, if the re be made a provision in

concordance with just law. For dissimu la tionshall no t change the law, whose stable reason will

stand withou t e nd . Whe re fore if anything tha t isuseful has been long pu t 06, it is no t to be repre

hended when adopted late . And le t the kingneve r se t his priva te inte rest be fore that of thecommunity ; as if the salvation of all yie lds to himalone . For he is not se t ove r them in orde r to

live for himse lf but that his pe ople who is sub

jce t to him may be in safe ty. You must knowtha t the name of king is re la tive ; you shou ldknow also tha t the name is protective ; whe re fo rehe cannot live for himse lf al one who ought by hislife to pro tect many. H e who will live fo r himse lf ought not to be se t ove r o the rs, but to livesepara te ly from them tha t he may be alone . I t is

the glory of a prince to save verymany to incon

venience himse lf in orde r to ra ise many up. L e t

him not the refore al lege his own profit, but haverega rd to his subjects by whom he is trusted .

If he work the salva tion of the kingdom, he actsthe part of a king whateve r he does contrary tothis, he fails in that point. The true province o f

a king is sufficiently clear from the se a rgumentstha t he is igno rant of the condition of a king whois occupied only with his own a ffa irs . For truechari ty is as it we re contrary to se lf-inte re st, and



the knowledge o f God, they wou ld exhibit the irjustice to a ll. Ignorant of the Lord, as thoughthey we re blind, they se ek the pra ises of me n ,

de l ighted only with vanity. He who does no t

know how to ru le himse lf, will be a bad rule r ove ro the rs ; if anyone will look at the Psa lms, he w il lread the same . Just as Joseph ought to teachprinces on which account the king wi lledtha t he should be se t ove r o the rs . And David in

the innocence of his he art and by his inte lligencefed Israe l . From all tha t has be en sa id, it may

appea r evident, tha t it become s a king to s e e

toge the r with his nobles wha t things a re con

venient for the gove rnment of the kingdom, and

what are expedient for the prese rva tion of peace

and tha t the King have natives for his companions ,not fore igne rs , nor favourite s, for his councillors o rfor the gre at nobles of the kingdom, who supplantothe rs and abo lish good customs . For such dis

cord is a ste p-mothe r to peace , and produce sba ttles, and plots treason. For as the envy of the

devil introduced death , so hatred separa te s thetroop. The King sha ll hold the na tive s in the irrank , and by this gove rnance he will have joy inre igning. But if he study to degrade his own

people , if he perve rt the ir rank, it is in va in for

h The text, which is u tte rly untrans la table as it stands,as

goseph u t se debu it principe s doce re

,ropte r quod rexvolu tt ipsum preeminere .


him to ask why thus de ranged they do not obeyhim ; in fact they would be fools if the y did.

The following poemwas writtenwhen jealousiesand dissensions we re rife among the barons, andsome of them began to de se rt the popu lar cause .

I t is prese rved by William de Rishange r,’

a

contempora ry, in his history of the barons’ wars .

The defection of the Earl of G louce ste r contributedno t a li ttle to the disastrous termination of the

care e r of Simon de Montfort at the battle of

Eve sham.

SONG UPON THE DIVISIONS AMONG THE

BARONS.

(MS. Cotton. Claudius D . vi. fol. ro r , v°, la tte r pa r t of

13th ce nt .]

Lament with we eping, 0 England, fu ll as thounow art with matter of grie f, in sadne ss thou beholde st so rrowful things, langu ishing in sorrow

unless Christ in his manne r have rega rd to thee ,thou wilt be but a vile song in the mouth of thinee nemies — Ve ry many have pledged themse lve s toprese rve the e in safe ty, but now they have toomuch neglected the ir promise ; for many dese rt,

He was a monk of St . Albans and historiographe r tothe King afte r the dea th of Ma tthew Paris. M own

opinion is tha t this poem shou ld have be en placed e fot e

the ba ttle of Lewe s .


who have it in the ir powe r to he lp ; and some

slink away ove r the sea .- Hence the rest begin to

quarre l, and to go ove r to difl'

e rent sides ; wh ilethings which disagree in this manne r will not bereconciled, and what has bee n begun is le ft un

finished — Thus the Sta te is mined, and the la ndis laid waste ; the strange r is strengthened and

raised up ; the na t ive is debased and trodde nunde r foo t while he sustains injuries, the re is noone who will spe ak out .— The knight as we ll asthe cle rgy are bo th become mu te the strange rsare be come talkative and cunning ; among a

hundred Englishmen the re are not two who ar e

safe ; the lot which they have obtained is lamentation and disgrace

— O Earl of G louce ste r ,‘com

ple te what thou hast commenced ; unless thou

endest as thou has t begun, thou hast de ce ivedmany. Act now courageously as thou hast

promised, che rish steadily the cause ofwhich thouwast the fountain — If, from which God prese rveus ! thou withdrawe st thy hand and suppo rt,acting treache rously towa rds the land, and inflicting a grea t injury upon it. May he be

cursed for eve r ! be it so ! be it so ! amen.— Earl

Simon de Montfort, a strong man and a bo ld,fight now for thy country, and be the leade r ofthe band ne ithe r le t thre ats scare the e , nor thefe ar of de ath ; de fend the state and thy own

Gilbe rt de Cla re .


so POLI TICAL SONGS.

honour, among which is the foliowing hymn (fo l .189, re ).

Salve , SymonMantis-Fords,Totius flos militia ,

Dura s pmnas pa ssus mortis,Protector ge ntis Angl ia .

Sunt de sanctis inaudita ,

Cunctis passis in hac vita ,Qu emquam pas sum ta lta

Marius. pede s ampu ta t i ,Capu t, corpus vu lne rari,

Abscidi vir ilia .

Sis pro nobis inte rce ssorApu d De um, qu i de fe nsor

In te r ris extite ras.

The was preceded by a life of Simon de

Montfort, occupying two page s of the manuscript,but which some hostile hand has care fully e rased .

The fo llowing song was e vidently written im

mediate ly afte r the ba ttle of Eve sham.

THE LAMENT o r SIMON nu MONTFORT.’

(MS. Harl. No . 2253, fol . 59, r'

, ear ly in 1 4 th century. )CHAUNTER m’

e stoit, mon cuer le voit , en un dure

In sure .

Tut en ploraunt fust fet le chaunt de nostre duz

baronage ,Tnansnar roN.

- l am drive n to sing , my hea rt will: it , insorrowfu l language — a ll with tears was made the song con

ce rning our ge ntle ba rons,— who for the peace so long afte r

This son

gwas printed priva te ly by Sir Francis

Pa lgrave in r 18Iin a co lle ction

.

now extreme ! rare ; itwas a lso inse rted tn the second edi tion of Ritson s Anci entSongs

POLI TICAL SONGS. 3!

Que pur la pees, si loyna apres se lesse rent de trere ,Lur cors trenche r, e demenbre r, pur salve r

Engle te rre .

Ore e st ocys la flur de pris, qe taunt savait dcgue re ,

Ly quens Montfort, sa dure mort molt enplorrala terre .

Si com je qu i, par nu mardi,firent la bataile ,Tot a cheval , fust le ma l, sauntz nu lle pedaileTresmalement y ferirent de le espie forbie ,Qe la part sire Edward conquist la mestrie .

Ore est acis, etc.

Mes par sa mort, le cuens Mountfort conquist lavictorie ,

Come lymartyr de Caunte rbyr ,finist sa vie

sud'

ered themse lve s to be destroyed,—the ir bodies to be cu tand dismembe red, to save England —Now is sla in the

precious flowe r , who knew so much of wa r, the EarlMontfort , his ha rd dea th the land wi ll de eply lament .As I be lieve , it was on a Tu e sday tha t they fought the

ba ttle ,— all on horse ,‘which was the misfortune , withou tany foot,

— ve ry ill they there struck with the burnishedsword,

— tha t the pa rty ofSir Edward ga ined the mastery.-Now is sla in, e tc.

But by his dea th the Ear lMontfort ga ined the victory,like the ma rtyr of Cante rbury he finishe d his life — the

The ba rons were surprised at Evesham withou t the irfoot so ldie rs.

ss POLITICAL SONGS.

Ne vo le it pas li bonThomas/qt: pe rist se inte Eglise ,Ly cucus auxi se combati, e mo rast sauntz feyntise .

Ore e st ocys, e tc.

Sire Hue le fe r , ly Despence r, tre snoble justice ,Ore e st a tort lyvré a mort, a trop male guise .

Sire H enri , pur ve ir le dy, fitz le caens de

Leycestre ,

Au tre s assez, come vus orre z, par le cucu s de

G louce stre .

Ore est ocis, e tc.

Qe vole int moryr , e me ntenir la pe es e la dreytu re ,Le se int martir lur fra joyr sa conscience pure ,Qe ve lt moryr e sustenir le s boume s de la te rre ,Son bon de sir acomplir , quar bien le quidom fe t e .

Ore e st, e tc.

good Thomas wou ld not su ffe r holy Church to pe rish,— the

Ear l fought in a simila r cause , and die d withou t fl inching .

— Now is sla in, e tc.

Sir Hugh the Bo ld, the De spence r , a ve ry noble justice ,— is now wrongfu lly de live red to dea th, in too shame fu l amanne r - Sir H enry, in tru th I say it , the son of the Ea r lof Le ice ste r ,— othe rs a lso , a s you will he a r , by the Ear l ofG louce ste r .

‘—Now is sla in, e tc.

Because the y we re willing to die , and to ma inta in peaceand r ight,— the holy ma rtyr will cause them to e njoy hispu re conscience ,— who is willing to die and to su sta in the

me n of the land,— to accomplish his good de sire , for wethink he doe s we ll.— Now is, e tc.

K'

. The Ear l of G louce ste r had dese rted the ba rons for themg .



Ne say trove r rien qu ’il firent bien, ne baroun n e

counte ,

Les chivale rs e e squie rs touz sunt mys a hounte ,Pu r lur lealté e verite, que tut e st anentie ;Le losenger purra re igne r, le fol pur sa fo lie .

Ore est ccis, & c.

Sire Simoun, ly prodhom, e 59. compagnie ,En joie vont en cie l amount, en pardurable vie .

Mes Jhcsu Crist, qe en croyz se mist, Dieupreage cure ,

Qe sunt remis, e detenuz en prisone dure .

Ore est ocys, e tc.

I cannot find any thing tha t they did we ll, ne ithe rba ron nor ear l,— the knights and the s qu ire s are a ll

disgraced, on account of the ir loya lty and tru th, which isentire ly annihila ted — the dece itfu l man may re ign, the

foo l by his fo lly. -Now is sla in, e tc.

Sir Simon, the worthy man, and his company. -are gone

in joy up to he aven, in eve r lasting life — But Jesus Christ,who placed himse lf on the cross, and God have care of

those ,—who are remitted, and de tained inNow is sla in, e tc.

POLITICAL SONGS. 55

Rams or EDWARD I . 1272— 1307.

HENRY outlived the de fea t of the barons but a

ve ry few years. H e died on the sixte enth of

Novembe r, 1272, while his son Edward was

occupied in warring against the infide ls in the

East. Edward was procla imed king, while absent.A new mona rch is gene ra lly welcomed with songs

o f pra ise ; and the fo llowing, evidently the wo rkof a ze a lous opponent o f the popula r party, seemsto have be en written before his arriva l inEngland.

THE PRAISE OF THE YOUNG EDWARD .

IMS. Cotton. Ve spas . B . xiii . fol. 130, v°, 13th cent .]

The flourishing deeds of Edward King of the

English oblige me to ta lk, fo r it is shameful to le tpass famous actions in sile nce . H e , while ye t in

his tende r youth, went throughmany conflicts witha manly heart. Warlike as a pard, fragrant withswe e tness like spikenard, whilst Edward is in hisvigour, behold he shine s like a new Richard.

Thus the Britons have a double claim to honour,

by the wars of Edward equally and by the valourof Richard. France praised the manne rs of the

warlike youth ; the ample hand of the give r

amassed me rited honours . The envious people

56 POLITICAL SGA'

GS.

de siring to extinguish his me rited pra ise , began towe ave new plo ts in the ir mind : the Englishnoble s, by inventing a new law, made a wre tchedland of a rich kingdom. The King, his fa the r ,and his uncle , with the ir two children, are

gove rned by the ir subjects, out of which manyevils fo llow. The degene ra te race of the English ,which used to se rve , inve rting the orde r of things ,ru led ove r the King and his childre n. The peopleconspire s, in orde r to e njoy a new law soon a fte r ,

the league be ing broken , ho rrid wars ar ise . Whilethe populace associated with itse lf the Earl o f

Le ice ste r, it accumulated fo r itse lf inte rna l ex

haustion. The impiou s people attacks its own

King, make s captive the son with his fathe r anduncle , next se izes upon the gove rnment ; the

victors rejo ice , the ir hearts swe ll. Edwa rd

e scape s, and immedia te ly new battle s follow . H e

ca lls toge the r assistance , league s are e stablishe d,the army of the leade r increased, the de ludedtr00p laments its crimes. The partie s me e t ;weapons are clashed thefie lds are mo istenedwithblood by the vigou r of the so ldie r Edward. The

Earl is slain by the sword the barons are put to

de ath with the we apon’s po int ; thus the van

qu ished conque r , and the conqu e rors a re ove r

come . A lthough by sedition’ almost robbed of

El. Alluding to the r isings in Che ste rfie ld and in the Isle o fy.



the who le army to the Ho ly Land ; the peoplewhich was signed with the cross lamented to se e

its object thus unpropitiously changed. Edward

follows in the be lief tha t the re will be powe rfu lfighting wi th the Saracens ; but the G entile Kingwise ly avoiding battle , paid whateve r he asked .

King Louis dies with his e lde st son ; France

laments ; King Charle s re turns, and brings backthe troops, the English with the Sicilians ; thean ions Britons wept. The King of Sici lywickedly broke his vow of crusading, and the

people , dece ived, lamented his changing. He

arrives at the port of Trapeni soon a whir lwindfrom the north strikes the fle e t ; multitudes of

people pe rish ; a ll the money is sunk ; but theEnglish flee t is providentially saved, withoutlosing the value of a farthing. The King re fuses

to proce ed, or to perform his vow. The piousleade r of the English and all his company alikeembark, pass the sea , and make for the placeswhich were besieged by the Gentiles, pre ssedunde r a long lasting storm. Acre takes brea th ,“rejo icing in such a soldie r, and r ise s as it we re

from the grave to sing new songs of pra ise . The

Soldan was enraged, and thought to slay the

noble leade r, whom be caused to be stabbed by ade testable butche r . This assassin brought pre

Acre was besieged by Bondoca r , Su ltan of Babylon,whowa s on the po int of taking the place by assa u lt whe nEdwa rd ra ise d the siege .


tended messages from the Old Man of the

Mountain,‘which we re bu t fa lse pre tences he

e nters the chambe r and shuts the door ; with a

knife he adds wound upon wound ; but Edward,on the o ther hand, resisted strenuously with hiss trength he laid prostra te the murde re r, whom

The Assassins we re a milita ry and re ligious orde rfo rme d in Pe rsia in the n th centu ry. i t was founded byone Abda llah. A lodge was esta blished a t Ca iro , and itsmembe rs sprea d ove r a grea t part of Asia . The ir objectw as to ma inta in the cla ims of the Fa timide Ca liphs as

opposed to the Ca liphs of Bagdad. One of the adepts,Hassan ben Sabah, thought of turning the se instruments tohis own advant e , and succe eded in obta ining posse ssiono f the hill fort Alamoot or Vu lture s ’ Nest, to the Northo f Ca svin, in Pe rs

'

and the re in 1 he established an iadepe nde nt orde r wit himse lf a t the end as She ik a i Ge be lo r

“She ik of the Mounta in.

”The rinci 1 class in the

orde r we re the Fedave es, who we re c o the in white anda rme d with sharp daggers . Marco Polo gives a curiousacco unt of the garde n a t Alamoot, where the Fedaveefound everything which cou ld excite and gra tify his sense s.

This he was made to be lieve was a fore taste of Paradise ,and thus did not fe ar to e ncounte r dea th even unde r themost appa lling form. Some write rs a re inclined to a t

tribu te the Visions in the ga rden to an opia te namedha shish. whence the word assassin is sa id to be de rived.H assan died in n u , and had seve ra l succe ssors , who a ll

adopte d the practice of secre t assassina tion, and manyprince s fe ll unde r the da

gge rs of the ir fo llowe rs, amongst

them Ra mond, Count Tripo li , in t rst . Hu lakoo ,bro the r 0 the grea t Mongu l conque ro r , Man

goo Khan, ex

te rminated the mu rde rous sect in 1 256. The yrian brancho f the Assassins, howeve r, continued to exist for some years ;Massyd, ne a r Beyrou t, was the ir strongho ld. The hi stoof thi s branch is most familia r to Europe ans, be ing mucinte rwoven with tha t of the Crusade s and of the Su ltanSa ladin. The mu rde red the Marquis de Montfe rra t, in

r age , Lou is 0 Bava r ia in r a r3, and the Khan of Tartaryin 1 254 . The y we re conque red by Bibars , the Mame lukeSu ltan of Egypt, in i s 0, but many esca and becamemixed with the Ye ze ed u rds , and some 0 the ir tene ts are

be li eved to linge r still amongst the la tte r .


he slew with a me rited de ath by his own weapo n.

And because Chri st knew tha t his se rvant wa s

worthy , he hea led his wounds with a sacred

medicine .

‘

Popu lar dissatisfaction may be traced throughout Edward

’

s reign, we may venture to say from

the day in which he mounted the throne . The

fo llowing song seems to have be en popular soonafte r his accession and it is written in La tin and

Anglo -Norman,in orde r that it might be sung

more gene rally. In the manuscript, e ach stanzaof the Latin is fo llowed by the corre spondingstanza in Anglo -Norman. Be twe en the Latinlines of thefirst stanza is left space apparently fo rmusic.

A SONG OF THE TIMES.

[FromMS. Har l. 7 4 6, fo l. ro v° , of the beginning ofre ign of d . I . )

VULNERATUR karitas , amor aegrota turRegnat e t pe rfidia , livor gene ra tur.

Amu r gist en maladie , charité e st naft e’

Ore regne tricher ie , hayne e st engendré.

TRANSLATION .— Char ity is wounde d, love is sick pe r

fldy re igns , and ma lice is e nge nde red . The fraud of the

This se ems to te ll aga inst the popu la r story of Edwa rd ’squ e e n sucking the po ison from his wound .


6: POLI TICAL SONGS.

Strata pace penitus, amor re frigescit ;Tota te llus Angliae man-

ore made scit,

Omnisque dilectio dulcis evane scitCuncti consolatium queerunt quo quiescit.

Patre carent parvuli pupilli plangentes,Atque matre orphani fame jam deflentes

Qui in primis penitus fu e runt po tente s,Nunc subcumbunt gladio , plorant ct parente s.

Ecce pravi pue ri paupe re s prwdantur ;Ecce donis divite s dolose ditantur

Pes est acravanté e amur refre idie ;

La terre e st de sconforte e de plur enmoistie ,Amur e t amisté tut est anentie

N’i ad nul ki no quert confort e t aye.

Ase z i ad de s orphanins grant doe l demenanz,Ke lur parenzsuntmisafins, dunt il en sunt do lenz,Cil ki en comencent furent mult pussanz,Sunt suzmis a le e speye , e plorent li parenz .

Li enfanz fe lons s’en yunt la pove re gent pree r ;

Li riches a tort enrichiz sunt de au tri ave r

Peace be ing a ltoge the r ove rthrown, love is coole d ; a llthe land ofEngland is mo ist with we eping, and a ll frie nd

ship and kindne ss has disappea red : a ll se ek conso la tionand qu ie t . -The little orphans lament the loss of the irfa the r, and, deprived of the ir mothe r , they sorrow in the

midst of hunge r ; the y who a t first we re ve ry powe rfu l,now fa ll by the sword, and the ir parents wee p.— Lo wickedchildren rob the poor : lo ! the wea lth of the rich '

is in.


Omnes pene proce res mala machinantur ;l nsani sa te llites livore laetantur.Ecce viri confluunt undique raptore sEcce pacis pe reunt legisque la to res ;Dogmata despiciunt truces hii tortores,Et prodess e nequeunt sancti confe ssores.H ii conve rti respuunt virtute se rmonum,

N eque cu ram capiunt de vi ta vironum 3

Omne s simul rapiunt, ut mos est praedonum.

H iis vindictam inge re , Deus u ltionum

A pe ine i ad haute home ki cesse mal penserD e hayne sunt haites li fe lons esquier .De tote pars venent li be rs ravisanz ;O re perissent de pes e de la ley li sustenanz

Ense ignement refusent ces crue ls tormentanz,Espleyt ne poent fe re cil ki vunt prechanz.

Si il se ne volent amende r purdit ne put fesance ,Mes pur tue r quant ont poe r ben ont la voillance

Trestnz en funt ravine ,de Denn’en ont dotance .

Ce ls mete z i declin, sire Den de ve njance l

crea sed by exacting gifts a lmost a ll the nobles spend the irtime in contriving evi l ; the mad e squ ires de light in ma lice .

— Lo l the rapacious men appea r on every side lo 1 the

supporte rs of peace and justice pe rish these crue l butchersde spise doctrine , and the holy preache rs have no e fl

'

ect .

These men will not be amended by the force of se rmons ;nor do they make any account of the live s ofme n they allplunde r toge ther, like robbers . Take vengeance upon them,

0 God of vengeance l

POL I TICAL SONGS.

One of the legacies which St. Lou is le ft toChristendom was the numbe r o f new orde rs o f

monks which had be en crea ted during his re ign

and by his encouragement. They soon spre ad

from France into England ; but they we re ve ryfar from be ing popular in e ithe r country, and we r ethe constant bu tt of the gibe s and joke s of th e

poe ts . The fo llowing is a bitte r satire uponthe diffe rent orde rs of monks in England in th e

re ign of Edward I . The idea of carica turing themby fe igning one orde r which should unite the

difl'

e rent characte ristic vices of all the o the rs, wasnot new.

THE ORDER OF FAIR-EASE.

(MS. Harl . No . 2253, fo l. t a r , r°,re ign of Edw. I I . )

QUI vodra a mo i entendre ,Cyr purra e aprendre

L’estoyre de un Ordre nove l ,Qe mout e st de l itous e be lJe le vus dirro i come l

’

ay apris

De s fre re s de mon pays .

L’Ordre est si foundé a droit,

Tnansas rmm—H e who will listen to me , may hm and

le a rn the his tory of a new Orde r , which is ve ry plea santand be autifu l : I will te ll it you as I have lea rnt it from th e

bre thren ofmy country. The Order is so cleve r ly founded ,


POL I TICAL SONGS.

N’

i ad plus de mesure en eux

Qe al le luop qe devoure a igneux.

De ce le gent le rro i ataunt,E de le O rdre dirro i avaunt.En ce l Ordre dount je vus dy,

Est prime s issi e stably,Que ceuxqe a l’Ordre serrount ,De Sympringham ave rount

Un point, qe bien pleysant se rra ,Come l’abbe ie de Sympringham a ,

Fre re s e sucres ensembleC ’e st bon O rdre , come me semble .

Més de taut e rt changié, pur veyr,

Q’aSympringham do it ave r

Entre les fre res e les sorours,Qe de splest a plusours,

is no more mode ra tion in them than in the wo lf whichdevours lambs . Of such pe ople I will say no more , bu t I

w ill go on to ta lk abou t the Orde r .

In this Orde r ofwhich I te ll you , it isfirst orda ine d thus,tha t those who sha l l be long to the Orde r , sha ll have one

point of Sempringham, which will be ve ry agre eable , as theAbbey of Sempr ingham has , bro the rs and siste rs toge the r ;it is a good Orde r , as it se ems to me . Bu t so far , in tru th,it is changed, tha t a t Sempringham‘ ther e must be be twe e nthe brothe rs and the sis te rs (a thing which displea se s ma ny) ,

The Orde r of Sempringham, commonly ca lled theG ilbe rt ine Canons , we re founded by Sir G ilbe rt de Sempringham, in thefirst ha lf of the 1 2th ce ntu ry. One of itspecu lia r itie s was the e stablishment of monks and nuns inthe same house , though the y we re ca re fu lly se pa ra te d anda ll inte rcou rse forbidde n. N ige llus Wire ke r spe aks of thisOrde r, and sa tirise s the nea r colloca tion of the monks andnuns .


Fossés e murs de haute teyseMes en ce t Ordre de Be l-ByseN e do it fossé ne mur ave r,N e nul autre destourber ,Qe les freres a lur pleysyrNe pussent s lor sucres venyr ,E qu ’il u ’

e it po int de chalaunge .

Jan’i ave ra ne lyn ne launge

Entre eux, e si le pe il y a,Ja pur cc ne reme indra .

De yleoque e st ensi purveu ,

Qe cil q’a l

’

Ordre se rrount rendu,

De l ’abbe deyve nt bien estre :E cc comaund nostre mestre ,Pur bien mange r e a ta lentTre is foiz le jour, e plus sovent .E s

’il le font pur compagnye ,

Le Ordre pur cc ne reme indra mie

De Beve rleye ont un point tre it,ditche s and wa lls of high me as u re ; bu t in this Orde r ofFa ir-Ease the re must be ne ithe r ditch nor wa ll, nor any

o the r impedime nt, to hinde r the bre thre n at the ir ple asu refrom visiting the siste rs, nor sha ll the re be any wa tch-word.

The ir intimacy sha ll ne ither be separa tedby linen nor woo l,or even by the ir ve ry skins. From the nce a lso it is provided, that the y who sha ll ente r the Orde r , must be we lle nte rta ined by the abbot : and this ou r maste r commands,to e a t we ll and ple ntifu lly thre e times a day, and ofte ne r .

And if they do it for company, the Orde r on that accountsha ll not be the worse .

Of Beve r le y they have taken a po int , which sha ll beThe monks of Beve r ley we re Franciscans

POL ITICAL SONGS.

Qe se rra tenu bien e dre it,

Pur beyvre bien a mangie r,E pus apres desqu ’a sope rE apres al co llacioun,De it che scun ave r un copoun

De chande lle long desqu ’al coute ,E tant come reme indra goute

De chande ille a arde rDe ivent les fre re s a beyvre ser.Un po int unt tre t de Hospitlers,

Que sunt mnlt corte is chevalers,E ount robes bien avenauntz,

Longes de squ’al pie traynantz,Soudie rs e chausés bien séants ,E gros pale fro is bien ambiantz

Si deyvent en nostre Ordre ave rLe s lre res e sue res, pur veyr .

kept we ll and accura te ly, to drink we ll at the ir mea t, andthen afte rwa rds until suppe r ; and afte rwards a t the collation, each must have a pi e ce of candle as long as the a rm

be low the e lbow , and as long as the re sha ll remain a morse lof the mndle to burn, the bre thr en must continue the irdrinking .

A point they have take n from the Hospita lie rs,“who are

ve ry courte ous knights , and have ve ry becoming robes , solong that they drag a t the ir fe e t shoe s and bre e che s whichfit e legantly, and grea t pa lfreys tha t amble we ll so in our

Orde r, in tru th, the bre thren and siste rs must have them.

The Knights Hospita lle rs, founded dur ing the firstCrusade s were introduce d into England abou t 1 100. Theywe re laymen, and became exceeding ly rich and proud.


POL I TICAL SONGS.

E sonnt cheschun jour yvre ,Quar ne sevent antre vivreM

‘

es ii le fount pur compagnie ,E ne mie pur glotonie .

Auxi est ii purveu

Que chescun fre re so it enbu,De jour en jour tot adesD evant mange r e aprés.

E si ii avenist ensi

Qe a fre re venist amy,Dount se deyvent ensorter

Pu r les fre res solace r,Qu i savers bien jue t le seyrCe vu s di -je de ve ir,Yl dormira grant matine'e ,Desque la ma le fuméeSe it de la teste issue ,Pur grant pe ril de la vewe .

Des Chanoygnes Se cule rs,

Qe dame s se rvent volente rs,they love drinking , forsooth , and are drunk eve ry day. fo r

the ydo no t know any o the r way of living . Bu t the y do itfor the sake of socie ty, and not a t a ll ou t of glu ttony. A lsoit is provide d, tha t each brothe r dr ink be fore dinne r a nd

afte r . And if it so ha ppen tha t a fr ie nd visit a brothe r (fo rsuch must be at hand to so lace the bre thren) who sha l lknow how to play in the evening this I te ll you for ce rta in ,

he sha ll sle ep la te in the morning, until the evil fumes a reissued from his head, for grea t dange r of the sight .Of the Secu lar Canons,‘who willingly se rve ladie s , ou rThe luxu ry of the Secu lar Canons is often a lluded to by

the early sa tinsts .

POL I TICAL SONGS. 7 !

Ont nos mestres un po int tre it,E vu e illent qe ce l point se itBie n tenuz e bien uséez

Quar c’

e st le po int, bien sachez,

Qu e pluz ad en l’

Ordre meste r,Pur les fre res so lacer .

Si e st, sur eschumygement,

Comaundé molt estroitementQue che scun fre re a sa sorour

De it fe re le giw d’amourDevant matines adescement,E apres matine s easementE s

’il le fe t avant son departyr

Troia foiz a soun pleysyr ,Ja le fre re blame ne ave ra ,Ne le Ordre enpeyré se rra .

G ris Moignes sunt dure gent,E de lur ordre nequedent

Vue illent nos me stres pur greve rmaste rs have taken a po int , and wi ll that this point be we llobse rved and we ll use d ; for know tha t this point is morene e dfu l than any in the Orde r , in orde r to so lace the

bre thren. And so it is commanded ve ry strictly, on pa in ofexcommunica tion, tha t the bre thre n play the game of lovewith the siste rs , bo th before ma tins and afte r, and if he doesit thre e t imes be fore leaving , for his pleasu re , the brothe rsha ll not be blamed , nor the Orde r rece ive discredit.The G rey Monks"a re a hard race ; ye t, neve rthe le ss,In a poem on the Gre Monks (MS. Co tton. Ve spas . A .

xiv. fol. 6, r? ) which wi l be found amongst the works ofWa lte r ape s , they are r idicu le d for the same a rrangeme ntof The Albi Mona chi a re simila rly sa tiri sed byN ige llus yreke r fo r going w ithou t bre eche s.

POLI TICAL SONGS.

L’Ordre un de s lur poyntz ave r ;E si n

’est gere s co rte is,

Quar sma tines vont sanz breys .

Auxi deyvent nos fre res fe re ,

Pnr estre prest a lu r afl'

e re .

E quant il fount nul oreysoun,Si deyvent estre s genulloun

Pur ave r gre indre devocioun

A fe re lur executioun.

E an un seyn sonnent santz plus,C’est lur ordre e lur usMés nos fre res pur double r,Ou de us seyna deyvent soner .

De taunt est nostre Ordre dyve rs,Qe no sucres deyvent e nve rs

Gysyr e ore r countre-mount,

Par grant devocioun le fount.Issi pe rnent en pacience ,

C ’e st po int de l’Ordre de Cilencefrom the ir order our masters will tha t the Orde r have one o f

the ir points for mortifica tion and in fact it is no t ove r

courteous,— fo r the y go to ma tins withou t bre eche s.‘ So

ought ou r bre thren to do , to be more a t the ir case . And

when the y make no praye r , they must be on the ir kne es, tohave grea te r and more e ffe ctua l devotion and they ringwith one be ll and no more , - ir is the ir orde r and u sage

bu t ou r bre thre n, to double it , must sound w ith two be lls .

Ou r Orde r has such diffe re nce , tha t ou r siste rs mu st lie downfla t and pray on the ir backs, they do it ou t of grea t de vo tion.

A lso they take it in pa tie nce , it is a po int from the Orde r OfIn a poem on the Gre y Monks (MS. Cotton . Ve spas . A .

xiv. fol. r which will be found amongst the works ofWa lte r Mape s, they ar e ridicu led for the same custom.


POL ITICAL SONGS.

Lur ordre e st fondé en pove rte ,Pur que i yl vout la voie apie rte ,

En cie l tot plene rement ;Si vus dirroi bien comentYl que re nt pove rte tot disQuaunt ii vont par le pays,Al chiefbaroun ou chiva le r

Se le rro unt ii he rbe rge r ,Cu a chie f persone ou pre stre ,La ou ii pu rrount acese estreMes par Se int Pie re de Koume ,N e se herb ige rount ou povre honme ,

Taunt come plus riche s se rrount.Ostie l plustost demande ronnt,Ne ne deyvent nos fre re s fe re

Ostici, na autre lyu que re .

Fors it on ii sevent plente',E la deyve nt en charitéChar mangie r e cc qu ’il onu t,Auxi come le s Menours fount .

pove rty, there fore they go the ope n way to hea ve n com

ple te ly and I will,te ll you exactly how they se e k pove r ty

a lways ;when the y trave l through the country, they take u p

the ir lodgingswith the chie fbaron or knight, or with the chie fpe rson or prie st, the re whe re they can be sa tia ted bu t, b y

St. Pe te r of Rome they w ill neve r lodge w ith a poor man ,

-ao long as the re a re r iche r me n to be found, they prefe rasking a lodging of them. In the same manne r our br e thre nmust not take up the ir lodging, nor se ek o the r pla ce , tha nwhe re theyknow the re is ple nty, and the re they ought incha rity to ea t fle sh and wha teve r they find , as the Fr ia r sMinors do .

POLITICAL SONGS. 7s

Pus qe avomz des Menou rs,

Auxi averoma des Prechours ;

Ne vont come les autre s nuyz pée zEynz vont precher tot chaucéez,E s

’il avient ascune fee z

Qu’il scient ma lades as pies,

Yl purrount, s’il ount ta lent,

Chevalche r tot plene rement

To te la jornée entiEre .

Mes tot en autre mane reDeyvent nos fre res fere ,

Quant ii prechent par la te rre ;Car ii deyvent tot ades

Tot dis chevalche r lo inz e présE quant il fount nul sermona ,Si deyvent estre dede nz mesoun.

E tote fo iz aprés mange rDeyvent il de dre it pre che r ;

Quar me int houme est de tie le mane re ,As we owe something to the Minors , we will borrow a lso

of the Preache rs they do not go ba re -foot like the othe rs,but they go preaching with shoe s on, and if it happen any

time tha t they have sore fe e t, they may, if they like , ride onhorse back a t the ir ease a ll the day long. Bu t qu ite in

anothe r manne r ought our bre thren to do when they preachthrough the land for they must ride thus a lways both farand ne ar : and when they make any se rmon, they must bewithin doors . And a lways after dinne r they ought rightlyto preach ; for many a man is of such a characte r, tha t his

The Preaching Friars we re the Dominicans , ca lled inFrance Jacobins. The orde r was introduce d into Englandin re a r .

,s POL I TICAL se rvos .

Qn’il ad le me r pluz dnr qe piere ,

l l és quant il a re ra ankes bu

De plus lege r se rro unt oyez,Qe h l

’

Onlre se rendronnt

Quant le sermon oy ave ront .

Ensi est nostre ordre foundé,

E si ount nos fre re s en pensée ,Qe chescun oounté doit ave rUn abbe', qe cit poe rA receyvre sucres e freres,

E fe re e tenyr ordres plene res ,

E qe les pointz scient te rmsQe nos mestres ount purveuz.

Un provyncial en la te rreDo it a le r e enque re ,Pur save r qy l

’

Ordre tendra .

E ce ly qe le enfre indra ,Se rra privément chastié ,

heart is harde r than stone bu t when he sha ll have once

drunk , then as soon as he has heard the Orde r , and the

hea rts sha ll be mo istene d, howe ve r little they might haveheard, the y will liste n to the Orde r, when they have h ea rdthe se rmon.

Thus is ou r Orde r founded, and ou r brothe rs have de emedright, tha t e ach countymust have an abbot, who ha s powe rto re ce ive sis te rs and brothe rs , and make and ho ld fu llo rde rs , and tha t the po ints sha ll be he ld which ou r mas te rshave provide d . A provincia l ought to go and inqu ire in the

land, to know who w ill ho ld the Orde r . And he who sha ll


POLI TICAL SONGS.

Edward endeavoured to (a ll of? the vigou r o f his

subjects from dome stic sedition to fo re ign wars .

But the expenses dependent upon the la tte r o nlyadded to the ma ny burdens unde r which the English peasantry laboured and it is now tha t webegin tofind the compla ints of the latter vented inthe shape of popular songs.

SONG or THE u usnannu an.‘

[MS. Harl. No . ” 53, fol. 64 , r°3re ign of Edw. I I . )

1011 he rde men upo mold make muche mon,Hou he be th i-tened of he re tilyynge ,

Gode gems and corn bothe be th a -

gon,

Ne kepe th he re no sawe ne no song syng.

Now we mo te wo rche , nis ther non other won,Mai ich no lengore lyve with my lesinge

se t the r is a bitte rore bid to the hon,For eve r the fu rthe peni mot to the kynge .

TRANSLATION — l hea rd men on the ea rth make muchlamentation,— how they a re injure d in the ir tillage ,— goo dyears and corn a re both gone , —they ke ep here no sayingand sing no song .

— Now we must work, the re is no othe r

custom— I can no longe r live withmy gleaning —ye t the r e

is a bitte re r asking for the boom— for eve r the fourth pennymus t [go] to the king.

Like seve ra l o the r songs printed from the same MS. ,

this is in many pa rts extreme ly difficu lt to transla te , fromthe nume rous words in it which do not occur e lsewhe re , aswe ll as from the abruptne ss of the phrase o logy.

POLITICAL sozvcs . 79

Th u s we carpe th for the kyng, and carieth ful

oolde ,A nd wene th for te kevere , and eve r buth a -cast

VVho se ha th eny god, hope th he nout to holde ,B ote eve r the love st we leose th a -last.

L u the r is to leosen the r ase lute l ys,And have th monie bynea tha t hopie th the rto ;

Th e haywa rd hete th us harm to habben of his

The ba ilif hockne th us bale and wene th we l doTh e wodeward waite th us wo tha t loke th unde r

17 3 ;

N e mai us ryse no rest ryche is ne ro .

Th us me pile th the pore that is of lute prisNede in swot and in swynlt swynde mot swe

N ede he mot swynde thah he hade swore ,

That nath nout en hod his hed for te hude .

Thus we complain for the king, and care fu ll coldly,—and

think to re cove r, and eve r are cast — he who ha th any

g oods, expects not to kee p them,— bu t eve r the deare st we

lose at last.I t is grievous to lose , whe re the re is little —and we have

many fe llows who expect it - the hayward commande th usha rm to have ofhis -the ha ilifi' ca use th u s to know evil,and thinks to do we ll —the woodward has woe in keepingfo r us , who looke th unde r branche s —the re may not arise

to u s or rema in with u s riches or repose .— Thus they rob the

poor man, who is of little va lue —he must nee ds in swea t

and in labour waste away so .

He must ne eds pine away, though he had swore —tha tha th not a hood to hide his head.—Thus will walks in the

POL I TICAL SONGS.

Thus wil wa lke th in londe , and lawe is for-lore ,And al is piked of the pore , the prikya re s prude .

Thus me pile th the pore and pyke th ful clene ,

The ryche rayme th wi thouten e ny ryht

Ar loudes and ar leode s ligge th fol lene ,Thoth b[i]ddyng of baylyfs such harm hem ha thhiht.

Meni of re ligioun me halt hem fu l hene ,Baroun and bonde , the cle rc and the knyht .

Thus wil walke th in load, and wondred ys wene ,Falsshipe fatte th and ma rre th wyth myht.

Stou t fulle ythe stude , and halt him fu l stame ,

That make th beggares go with bo rdon and

bagge s.

Thus we beth houted from ha le to hurne ;Tha t e r we rede robe s, nou we re th ragges.

land, and law is de stroyed , -and a ll the pride of the rider ispicked from the poor .

Thu s they rob the poor and pick him fu ll clean, —the richlord it withou t any right the ir lands and the ir pe ople layfu ll lean, - through asking of ba iliffs such ha rm ha s be fa lle nthem.

—Many of re ligion hold them fu ll abje ct ,— ha ron and

bond-man, the clerk and the knight.—Thus will wa lks in theland, and conste rna tion is freque nt,—fa lse hood fa ttens and

ma rs with might.H e stands fu ll in the place , and holds him fu ll ste rnly,

tha t makes beggars go with burde n and bags .—Thus we are

hunted from ha ll to corne r — they who once wore robes, nowwea r rags.


POL ITICAL SONGS.

Me rle y mot munteu a mark o the r more ,Thah ich at the se t day su lle mi mare .

The r the grene waxus greve th unde r gore ,

That me us honte th ase hound do th the ha re .

He us honte th ase hound hare doh on hulle 3Se ththe y tek to the loud such tene me we s taht.

Nabbe th ne r bude les boded ar su lle ,For he may scape ant we aren eve r caht.

Thus y kippe ant cacche cares ful colde ,

Se ththe y counte ant cot bade to kepe 3To seche se lve r to the kyng y mi seed so lde ,Forthi mi lond leye lith ant leorneth to sle pe .

Se ththe he mi fe ire feh fa tte y my folde ,When y thenk 0 mi weole we l neh y wepe 3

Thus brede th monie beggares bo lde ,Ant ure ruse ys roted ant ruls e r we repe .

ma rk o r mo re ,—though I se ll my mare at the dayfixe d .The re the gre en wax grieve th us unde r garment, -so tha tthey hunt us as a bound doth the ba re .

They hunt us as a hound doth a ba re on the hill 3—s ince Itook to the land such hurt was given me z—the he adlesshave neve r aske d the ir — for they may scape , and we

are a lways caught .Thus I take and ca tch care s fu ll co ld, —since I re ckoning

and cot had to ke ep -to se e k silve r for the king, I so ld myse e d ,— where fore my land lie s fa llow and le a rne th to s le ep .

-Since they fe tched my fa ir ca t tle in my fold,—when Ithink of my wea l I ve ry ne a rly weep —thus bre e d manybo ld beggars,—and our rye is rotted andre ap.


R u ls ys oure ruse ant roted in the stre ,For wickede wede re s by brok ant by brynke .

The r wake ne th in the world wondred ant we e ,

Ase god is swynden anon as so for te swynke .

is our rye and rotted '

m the straw ,— on account of

th e bad wea ther by brook and by brink.-The re wake s in

th e world conste rna tion and woe ,—as good is to pe rish a to nce as so to labou r.

END OF VOLUME II .

vmvm saor ne ns, ramr s as , LONDON AND cmtwoa '

rn .


THE

POL ITICAL SONGS

OF ENGLAND,

KING JOHN TO KING EDWARD I I .


This Edition is limited to seventy-five Large

Pape r copies, and two hundred and seventy-fiveSmall Pape r copies, issued only to Subscribe rs .

CONTENTS.

REIGN OF EDWARD I . (continu ed)

A G NSTfl

I

éuPR E

{ as TEE LADIES

SONG ON THE SCOTTISH WARS I 5

O N THE DEPOSITION OF BALIOL 28

SONG AGA INST THE KING ’

S TAXES 3o

SONG ON THE FLEMISH INSURRECTION 38

SONG ON THE TIMES 4 8

SONG AGAINST THE SCHOLASTIC STUDIES 6o

SONG OF NEGO . 63

\ SONG ON THE EXECUTION OF SIR SIMON

FRASER


POLI TI CAL SONGS

Non hath prude the pris in eve ruche plawe ;

By mony wymmon un -wis y sngge mi sawe ,For set a ledy lyne is le id afte r lawe ,Uch a strnmpe t that ther is such drahtes

dra in ;

in prudeUch a screv e wo l hire shrude

Thah he nabbe nont a smoke hire fou leto hude .

Pa rmes t in home were hoses y-broht,

Levedis to honoure ichot he we re wroht 3

Uch gige lo t wol loure , bote he hem habbesoht

Such shrewe fol some ant duere hit hath a -boht 3in he lle

With deve les he shul e due lle ,For the clogges tha t cleve th by he re che l le .

Non ne lacke th hem no lyn hose s in to be ren 3He Sitte th ase a slat swyn tha t honge th is e ren .

Now pride ba th the prize in eve ry play —o fmany unwisewomen I sa y my saw,

— for if a la dy’s linen Is la id after law,

-eve ry strumpe t tha t the re 13 such dra ughts will draw — ia

pride— eve ry shrew will clothe herse lf— though she havenot a smock to hide he r dirty ta il .First in bow e r we re bosses brought,— to honou r ladie s I

wot the y we re wrought — eve ry gig lot will lour , unle ss shehave them sought — such shrew fu ll sou r ly and dea r ly ha thbought it — in he ll— with devils the y sha ll dwe ll, -o u

account of the clogs which hang by the ir jowls ,Now they want no linen to be ar bosses in — they sit like

POL ITICAL SONGS.

Su ch a joustynde gyn uch wre cche wol we rcn,

Al h i t come th in declyn this gige lotes ge ren 3upo lofte

Th e deve l may sitte softe ,A n t ho lden his halymote s ofte .

;e f th e r lyth a loke t by er ou the r ege ,Th a t m ot with worse he we t for la t of o the r leye 3Th e b o u t and the barbe t wyth frounte l shall fe3e 3H a b b e he a faucefile t, he ha lt hire hed hese ,

to shewe

That heo be kud ant kueweFo r strompe t in rybaudes rewe .

a s l it sw ine which hangs its ears .—Such a justling contriv

a nce e ve ry wre tch will wear .— tha t the se gig lots ’ gear all

com e s to nothing —ou high— the devil may sit softly,a nd h o ld his sabba ths often.

I f th e r e lie s a locke t by ear or eye ,— tha t may with worsehe w e t for lack of othe r lye the bu t and the barbe l withfron t le t sha ll quarre l - if she have a fa lse fille t, she holdsh e r he a d high, —to show— tha t she is famous and we ll-knownfo r a strumpe t in the riba lds’ ranks .

A no the r song, written appare ntly about thesam e pe riod, is a sa tire upon the smalle r Ecclesiast ical Courts, and the vexa tion which they causedto the pe asantry.

Ha lymote s mea ns lite ra lly ho ly me e tings. It is transla t e d “Sabba th ,” in the sup os ition tha t the re is some a llus io n to the popu lar notion o the festive mee tings of devilsa nd witche s .

POL I TICAL SONGS.

A SATYRE ON THE CONSISTORY CO URTS.

[MS. Har l. No . 2253, fol. 10, of re ign of Edw . II . )

Ne mai no lewed lued libboa in londe ,Be he neve r in hyrt so have r of honde ,

SO le rede us bi -ledes 3se f ich on mo lde mo te with a ma i,

Y sha l fa lle hem byfo re ant lurnen hue re lay,Ant rewen alle hue re rede s.

Ah bote y be the furme day on fo lde hem by-fore,

Ne shal y nout so ske re scape n o f hue re sco re ;

So grimly he on me grodes,That y ne mot me lede the r with mi lawe ,On alle mane r o the s tha t heo me wulle th awe ,

Hoore boc ase un-bredes.

He o wende th bokes un-brad,Ant make th men a mone th a -mad 3

Of scathe y wol me skere ,Antfieo from my fe re 3Ne t ob te he whe t it we re ,

Bo ten he o hit had.

TRANSLATION .— NO unle arned (lay) pe rson may live in

the land,— be he in assembly neve r so ski lfu l Of ha nd,— the

learned (the cle rgy) so le ad u s abou t — if I chance to go on

the earth with a ma id ,— I sha ll fal l be fore them and learnthe ir lay, - and rue a ll the ir counse ls . But unle ss I be on

the foremost day in the land be fore them,— I sha ll not

e scape so cle a r of the ir score ,— they cry on me so gr imly,tha t I may no t le admyse lf the re with my law ,

—on a ll kindsof oa ths tha t they will give me ,— the ir books as .

— '

I bey

turn ove r books tha t a re not broad,— and make me n a month

mad — from hu rt I w ill save myse lf,— and fly from mycompanion - she re cked not wha t it we re , -bu t she had it.


I s POL I TICA L SONGS.

je t the r Sitte th some aours syexe othe r sevene ,Mys mo tinde men a lle by he re evene ,

Ant reche th forth heore rolle 3B yrd-men hem hatie th, ant uch mones hyne ,

Fo r eve ruche a paro sshe heo polke th in pyne ,Ant clastre th with heore co lle .

Non wol uch fol cle rc that is fayly,Wende to the bysshop ant bugge bayly

Nys no wyt in is no lle .

Come to countene court couren in a cope ,

Ant suggen he hath pr ivilegie proud of the pope ,Swart ant al to -swolle .

Aren heo to-swolle fo r swore

3c, the hatred of he lle be o heore IFor the r he o be ode th a boke ,To sugge ase y fo lht toke 3He o shulen in he lle on an hoke

Honge the re fore .

Ye t the re sit somnours six or seven,—misjudging me n a ll

a like , -and reach forth the ir ro ll — he rdsmen ha te them,

and e ach man’

s se rvant,— for eve ry parish the y pu t in pa in,

— and cla tte r with the ir co llar — Now wi ll e a ch foo lishcle rk tha t is . go to the bishop and buy ba ilyw icthere is no sense in his he ad .— He comes cre e ping to the

county court in a cope ,— and saying he ha th proud p ri vi legeof the Pope , —black and a ll swo llen .

— Are the y swo l le n forswea ring t— yea , the ha tred of he ll he the irs — fo r the rethe y offe r a book,— to say as I baptism took ; they sha ll inhe ll on a hook—hang for it .

POL I TICAL SONGS. I 3

The r stou t up a geo lumon, 3c3oth with a se rde ,An t hat out an heh that ai the hyrt he rde ,

Ant cleope th Magge ant Malle 3Ant he o come th by-mode red ase a mo r-hen,

A nt scrynke th for shome , ant Shome th for men,

Un-come ly unde r calle .

H e o b iginne th to shryke , ant screme th anon,

Ant sa ith, by my gabbyng ne sha l hit so gon,Ant that beo on ou alle 3

That thou Shalt me wedde ant we lde to wyf.Ah me we re leve re with lawe le ose my lyf,

Then so to fote hem falle .

Sha l y to fo te falle for mi fo i3c monie by-swyke th he o swo .

Of thralles y am that thra t,

Tha t Sitte th swart ant for-swat,The r y mot hente me en hat,

Er ich hom go .

The re stands up a ye llow-man, and jogs with a rod,— and

sho u ts ou t a loud tha t a ll the assembly hea rd,— and ca llsM a g andMe l — and she come s ‘be -mothe re d as a moor-hen,—and shr inks for shame , and is ashame d on account of the

m e n,— uncome ly unde r pe tticoa t.— She begins to scr e e ch ,

a nd screams anon,— and says, by my gabbing, it sha ll notg o so ,

— and tha t be on you a ll — tha t thou sha lt w ed mea nd have me to wife .

"— Bu t I wou ld ra the r with law losemy life ,— then so fa ll a t the ir fe e t .— Sha ll I fall a t the fe e to f my foe sT— Ye a , many she dece ive th so .

— I am the reth r ea tene d by thralls ,— who sit black and cove red withsw e a t ,

— the re I must take ’

, me a command,— be fore I goh ome .

I 4 POL ITICAL SO IVGS.

Such chafin y chepe a t the chapitre ,Tha t make th moni thryve-mon un- thenl

'

o l to b e ,

With thonkes fu l thunneAnt se ththe y go coure at constory,

Ant falle to fo te uch a fayly,

Heore is this worldes wynne ,Se ththen y ple ide at bisshopes ple e .

Ah ! me we re leve re be soaken y the se e ,In sor withou ten synne .

At chirche ant tbontb cheping ase dogge y am

drive ,

Tha t me we re leve re of lyve the n so fo r te lyve ,To m e of al my kynne .

Atte constorie heo kenne th us (a re ,

Antwhisshe th us eve le ant wo rse to fare 3A pruest proud ase a po ,

Se ththe wedde th us ho ,

Wyde heo worche th us wo ,For wymmene ware .

Such me rchandise I buy at the chapte r,— thatmakes manythrifty me n to be unthankfu l ,— w ith ve ry thin thanks, -and

since I go cre eping to the consistory,— and fa ll at the foot ofe ach — the irs is the wor ld's joy,— s ince I playedatthe bishop’s pleading — Bu t I had ra the r be drowned in thesea ,

— in sorrow withou t sin.— At chu rch and through the

ma rke t like a dog I am drive n,— tha t I wou ld rathe r be deadthan so to live , -to have ca re for a ll my kindred — At theconsistory they te ach us ca re ,— and wish u s evil and worseto fare — a pr ie st as proud as a pe acock— afte rwards weds usboth,— wide ly they work us woe ,— for women’s ware .

l


I 6 POL ITICAL SONGS.

to play ; I set fo rth a wonderfu l ma tte r con

ce rning the ma lice o f the world ; I will te llnothing tha t is noxious, but will re la te a his

torica l incident 3I write a new satire , ye t le t i t noton that account sow ange r .

— A.nge r m ove s the

minds of the so ldie rs of the present day, since the

weak de tract from the praise of the de eds o f the

strong ; ye t le t no t tee th o f the de tracto rs scar e

thee : ifyou live we ll, you need not care for what

evil men say.— If ange r last, it turns into ma lice :

malice if not restrained drives pe ople in to rage ;

rage shortens ou r days, by bringing us into an

guish 3ange r bre eds hatred, whilst conco rd nou

t isbes love .— The love which was in the wo rld is

gone , and poison has taken its place 3ou t O fha tredhas sprung no small plagu e ; the homicide ha s

raised his standard 3no thing is sharpe r than envy,

and no thing more wicked .-The re is no thingmo re

wicked than an envious man, as eve ry one knows 3for his unhappiness incre ases with the prospe rity of

his ne ighbour'

; he pine s away by the ve ry ca usewhich brings profi t to the just man. Unle ss the

ve sse l be clean, wha teve r you pour in b ecomes

soured .— In orde r, the refore , that the minds of the

wicked may be sca red, I will re la te wha t I havele arnt of the deeds Of the English. Hence forwa rd

I will not fear the words of the envious. I f you

live we ll, you ne ed not care for wha t evi l men say.

It is the prope rty of wicked me n a lways to say

evil , to de tract from the able , to re spect the vile .

POL I TICAL SONGS. I 7

I am unwilling that you shou ld be disturbed by thefe ar of such men 3 it is pra isewo rthy in the prudentto be abused by the wicked — For the wicked are

d ispleased by rectitude Of life : the law is injuredin them, and they e ste em strife as a joke . The

r e pose of riba lds is inquie tude ; to attempt to con

ve r t foo ls is , as it we re , to put cold iron on the

anvi l.— Eve ry one strikes co ld iron , who counse lsthe obstinate man to de se rt his sins ; for the wiseman says ve ry sensibly, “he sows words in the

w ind who preache s to a madman.-Every whe re

a re pre ached the fraudu lent actions of the faithle ssme n, who mo le st England by force of arms ; the

French, Sco tch , andWe lsh, whose powe r may theOmnipotent who ho lds the wo rld repre ss

— May

the Gove rnor of the unive rse whom we addre ss as

G od, who pro tected the H ebrew pe ople throughmany difficultie s, give the English victory ove r

th e ir enemies The bu tle r can fu rnish liquor to athousand men.

— As the bu tle r a twill gives drinkto many, so the Lord give s strength a t his will tothose whom he has cho sen Edward the nobleking knows this ; and he labours to devote himse lfe ntire ly to Christ.— Edwa rd our King is entire lyde voted to Christ he is quick to pardon, and slowto vengeance 3he puts to flight his adve rsarie s likea leopard ; the repu ta tion of the foo l stinks, thejust man sme lls swee t as spikenard.

— Like spikenard sme lls the fame of the King of the English ,who represse s the attempts of his enemie s ; him le t

B

s8 POL I TICAL SONGS.

all the enemies of the English fear : often th e mas

till' snatche s the she ep from the wo lves ’ jaw s .— I n

the wolves’ jaws the English have be e n o f la te 3

for , when all the turbu lent chie fs ofWale s w e r e

reduced, the Scotch ra ise the ir spe ars a rm e d i n

the ir rags a few years exhibit the wonde rfu l fo rtune Of John.

"—john be ing now King of Sco t land ,

clement and chaste , gove rning the kingdomthough he had be en bred a king, him at lengt h thepride of his na tion deposed. Thefirs t-create d wa san exile , driven from his pious se at .— He , how

e ve r, was deservedly exiled , fo r, as I have re a d , he

promised homage to the English King 3afte rw a rds

he declined the ve rbfrango (I break ) 3by bre aking allwhich I had promised , (said he , ) I pe rfo rmed

my agre ement.— The afore sa id prince broke hispromise , when he did not restra in the a ttempts ofthe wicked 3a vo ice was he ard in Rama , we e pingand lamentation 3 a remiss maste r make s lazyse rvants — By slack se rvants the King is dis

honoured 3holiness is ove rthrown, the law is made

of no avail 3 the re is frequent sedition, the pe aceis endange red. Cursed be the house whe re e ve ryde pendant is maste r l— When the dependant commands, and the prince is a se rvant, then the sta teis in dange r, and qu ie tne ss departs. 0 how manype ople impie ty, when unpunished, injure s ! Theimpious man unpunished a lways thinks that he

john Ba llio l .


POL! TICAL SONGS.

Scotland with a crowd of a ttendants. The E ng

lish fo rtify cas tle s, by the King’s command 3 fo r

that hurts le ss which we have provided aga ins t .

The wars are gove rned by the King’s provide nce 3

the Sco ttish nobles are subdued to the Eng l ish 3

judges are appo inted, the laws are revised 3 fo r th elaws themse lve s requ ire to be regu la ted arigh t .The King appo inted a worthy man to the gove rnment of the kingdom, John de Warenne ,

‘ wh om

he had o ften proved. H e to the utmost of h ispowe r obse rved the laws ; de stroying the proud , h e

placed the humble in peace .-The King, afte r th e s e

things had be en pe rformed, re turned in pe a ce ,preparing to a id gratu itously the Count of Fla nde rs ; he prepare s a gre at flee t as qu ickly as h e

can 3banish de lay, to those who are prepared i t isalways injurious to procrastina te .

— Nor was the r eany de lay, for the cunning Scots me e t toge the r 3with the ir hands on the Gospe ls, the y have sa id

that from the ir station in the sou th they wi ll no tpass the Trent :1‘ little is owing to pleasure , mo r eto safe ty.— The Scottish noble s a ll swe ar wi tha lacrity, and the ir boundarie s are limited to e ach

by the King ; see that they be not pe rjured, and

John de Wa re nne , Ea rl of Su rre He comma nde dthe English a t the ba ttle ofDunba r

,an a lso a t the ba tt le o f

Stir ling .

1‘ The King had ca rr ie d with h im to London the Scottishknights he most suspe cted, and be fore he we nt to Flande rsexacted from them so lemn oa ths tha t during his abse ncethey wou ld not re pass the Trent withou t his permission.

POLITICAL SONGS. a t

fa ll into the ne t ; fo r the po e ts sing wonderfu lthings that are not to be be lieved — Then the King,w o nde rfully credulous in them, passed the sea . and

powe rfully warred against the French in Flande rs 3u nmindfu l of old age , he was no t te rrified bynumbe rs . H e flourishe s by counse l , to whom

n ature has denied stre ngth — The Lo rd has not

d enied strength and vigour to the King, whom he

o rdai ned to be the flowe r of the wo rld ; who seacts excite e ve rybody’s wonde r ; fo r his mind iscapable of unde rgo ing eve ry labour .

-A new laboura rises ; Sa tan is raised up 3 thefide lity of the Sco tsd isappe ars entire ly 3the valour of the English isunde servedly se t at nought . What eve rybody says,doe s no t re st upon our opinion .

— The abandonedscofl

'

e rs hold mutua l conve rsa tions Lo trium

phant garlands are give n to the English. 0

William de Wa llace 1send us to them : arrows can

pe ne tra te the hard ma il .— Le t us ca ll toge the r allo ur arche rs ; le t us hasten toge ther against theG uardian of Sco tland. For it is right tha t weshou ldfight for our country we o ften se e the conque ror ove rcome by the vanqu ished.

”— Acco rd

ingly the Guardian of Sco tland is ve ry ha rdpre ssed ; and the people assemble at Stirling,‘proud in spirit ; tre ache ry de stroys the English,and they a re on the brink of ru in ; the end doe s

The battle of Stirling was fought on Thursday, u thSe ptembe r .

POL I TICAL SONGS.

no t co rres pond wi th the beginning.— The Ea rl,

who was leade r of the English, first passe d the

bridge, pene trat ing bo ldly into the Sco ttishco lumns ; but he was drive n back by tre a ch e ry,and no t by the fo rce of arms : fraud is ofte n the

cause o fmany evils — Fraud caused the Eng lish to

blush, whilst they saw on a ll sides the blo od of

the ir own people flowing ; Levenax‘and Richa rdLundi 1' are convicted of fraud. How short is the

joy, and how lasting the sorrow , o f the wo rld —0

pe rfidiousne ss o f the world who is not astonishe dby thee ? Treache ry lie s hid, concea led among

our househo ld 3the cunningman is a lways oppo sedto the pe aceful 3 the shephe rd leads his sheep w itha staff, the wo lf thre a tens them with his mou th .

What do e s the ba rbarous, bru tal, and foolish race

thre aten ? Will this pe rfidy remain unavenge d ?

The King of England will come with ope n fo rce ,inquiring much about Priam and much ab o u tH ector .— The proud people ra ise a heap o f e vilsfo r themse lves, provoking the English to the bi tte rconte st 3words will ce ase , when the blows come 3

though you think you havefinished entire ly, th e reis a snake concea led in the gra ss . The sun

,

”

they say, w ill not be concea led from u s with h is

light 3the t ime is come when the English will a ll

Ea rl of Le nnox.

t Fo r an account o f this reve rse , and the pa rt whichLe nnox and R icha rd Lundy acted, se e Knighton in Twisdane , Co ll . 25 16 e t seq .


POLITICAL SONGS.

Many ask e ach o the r how it happened tha t th eNe wminste r was not touched by the fire . Th e

monks promise gifts, bu t they do not fu lfil th e irpromise : as there was ne ed, so was the th ingcarried i nto e ffect — On this account they led a w ay

captive the prior o f the monaste ry, whom they th e nfound ; having carried away the goods, they le ftthe house s empty. Few are munificent, but th e reare many who se ek afte r gifts .

— Now the ma lignant people re turns to Sco tland and the hono ur

of knighthood is given to William ; from a rob be rhe becomes a knight, just as a swan is made o u t

of a raven 3an unworthy man take s the se at , wh ena worthy man is not by.

— At length a le tte rreaches the worthy prince , in which the who lecourse of events is to ld. Le t nobody be su rprisedif he was enraged at it : the se a cannot be qu ie twhen the storm rages . In his ange r he began thusto addre ss his knights Again you must prepa retofight for your country. I wou ld rathe r conqu e ronce , than he often tormented 3wars are be tte rthan be ing troubled with lasting strife .

” Do

not be troubled,” sa id they, “ if the Sco ttishthieves sharpen axes for the ir own heads ; one

Englishman will slay ve ry many Scots . I t is no t

the part of a man who has a beard to join mice to

a little cart. —Wallace , o r G ihnaurus, is scarce lybe tte r than a mouse , fo r whose victory the laure lwill neve r grow ; fo r they want strength and treasure : a bull who has lost his horns is the more

POLITICAL SONGS. 25

e age r for the wan— Ou St. Magda len’

s day’the

w re tche s fa ll in battle ; the King subdue s in thefie ld ne ar a hundred thousand ; the meadows are

c ove red with the ir carcase s . The wicked hate sin

f r om the fea r of punishme nt.— Sca red by the fea ro f punishment the tyrant turns his back, whom the

s ho r t jacke t once pleased 3faithle ss in the day of

b a tt le he flie s like a truant. 1‘ One day o ftengivesw ha t the who le ye ar denie s .

— In one day manyw re tche s we re slain ; and the English pu rsue theSco ts who had fl ed ; they are transfixed withspea rs, and robbed of the ir clo the s. The whitetho rns are cut down, while the black bilbe rrie s arega the red.

— Wa llace , thy repu ta tion as a so ldie r islo st 3since thou didst no t de fend thy pe ople w iththe swo rd, it is just thou shouldst now be deprivedo f thy dominion. But, in my view, thou wilta lways be the ass thou we rt forme rly. — Thou wiltpass into a lasting prove rb thy kingdom is

divided, and canno t stand thy pe ople now drinkof the cup which thou hast prepared — He who

tu rns o the rs into de r ision, will not e scape be ing

The battle of Fa lkirk, so fa ta l to the Scots, was foughtonSt . Ma ryMagda le n'

s day, the 22nd Ju l 1 298.

t The origina l ha s tr u ta nnu s , fromwhic ou r word truantis de rived . i ts prima rymea ning is no t clear , bu t it se ems toha ve be e n ge ne ra lly use d for a pe rson who wande red abou tand ga ined his living by fa lse re te nce s , or

passe d himse lf

u nde r a diffe rent cha racte r to t at which re a ly be longed toh im. It is applie d some time s to abbots o r pr iors who liveda broad and ne glecte d the ir mona ste rie s . G ira ldus Cambre nsis use s it for monks who had qu itted the ir houses .

POLITICAL SONGS .

de rided — O laughable thing, tha t ha s be e n mani

fested in our time ! Fortune wil l pla y in va r io us

ways . The pr ince has be e n turned into an out

cast, Judah into Jebus. The Divine pow e r playswith the pro spe cts ofmew— Things be ing broughtto this pass , the King searche s the co un try, and

hunts the thieve s ou t o f the ir hiding-

place s 3 eve ryone who is found is put to the swo rd : jus tice t e

qu ires this, tha t the punishment come a fte r thefau lt.— Next the King re tu rns , tha t he may ma rryQue enMargare t, the flowe r o f the French 3thro ughhe r the kingdoms rece ive a more comple te peace .

Ange r bege ts slaughte r, conco rd nourishe s love .

When love buds be twe en gre at prince s, it d rive saway bitte r sobs from the ir subje cts ; and now a

firm pe ace is negot iated by frequent me sse nge rsfo r by the se things grace make s pe ople frie nds — I t

is just tha t the Scots should have a sma ll po rtiono f grace , because the impious pe ople have ne ithe rpe ace nor qu ie t ofmind. Comyn, Carrick, Umfraville ’ ra ise the ir standards the re is nothing more

sharp than envy, nor more wicked — The na tion,voluntarily wicked, will not be obedie nt 3 it fo rcesthe illustrious King with his army to re turn 3 now

they fear who neglect to come to peace , le st theype rish langu ishingly by the swo rd o f dire dea th .

Thre e of the most act ive lea de rs of the Scots in the iroppo sit ion to Edward . The Ea r l of Carr ick wa s Ro be rtB ruce . G ilbe rt d'

Umfrt lle , Ear l of Ang us , had be e n one

of Edward ’s commissxone rs for manning and fortifying the

cas tles in Sco tland.


ON THE DEPOSITION OF BA L IOL .

[From MS. Co tton . Ju lius, A . v. fol. a , r'

,of be ginning

of 1 4 th cent . ]

Ecce dies veniunt Scoti sine principefiun tRegnum Balliolus pe rdit, transit ma re so lus.De fendi be llo Scotus mucrone nove lloSpe rans Gallorum, vi re s expecta t e orum.

De gwe rra tuti Gallorum viribus u ti

Congaudent Sco ti ; currunt ad prze lia mo ti .Ga llia de parvo Scoto pro fe cit in arvo .

Cur in confl ictu Sco tus te r corru it ictuConflictu quarto Scoti ponuntur in ar toQua les sunt e t crunt, carmina plura fe runt ,Carmina qui didicit Trojam pe r prte lia vicit,Ovidius docuit qua: sibi causa fu it.

Pe rcussis be llis , ste ri lisfit Troja pue llis 3Finitis mo tis, sicfie t Sco tia Scotis.

TRANSLA1‘IO N .— LO the time is come whe n the Sco ts

a re w ithou t a pr ince ; Ba liol lose s the kingdom, and pa sse s

the se a a lone The Scot , hoping to be de fe nded in ba t tleby the new spe a r of the Fre nch, is wa iting fo r the ir pow e r .

The Scots re joice tog e the r in the be lie f tha t the y wil l ha vethe be tte r in the wa r by the a id of the Fre nch 3 they re be l,and haste to fight . France will profit little the Scot in the

fie ld . Why has the Scot be e n be ate n in thre e ba tt le s By

the fou rth ba ttle the Scots a re r educe d to e xtremitie s su chas they a re and will e ve r be , ve ry many songs te ll . He who

le a rnt songs conque re d Troy in ba ttle ; Ovid has to ld uswha t was the ca use of it. Afte r the wa r ,

'

Imy wa s ba rrenof ma idens when the re be llion is ove r, so will Sco tland be

POLITICAL SONGS. 29

V a stantur gwe rra Trojani, de prope te rraCa strorum plena , cumfinibus e st a liena .

U rb ibus e t villis pro le s dominatur Achillis 3Pyr rhus vasta t e as , Priamum ploravi t lEneas .

M e rlinus scr ibit quod turba supe rba pe ribit 3L a trans exibit canis , e t bos pro fugu s ibit .Tune nemus Eu the rium penna ta fronde ca rebit 3

Et genus A lbane um sua regna pe rire videbit,Sco te mise r , plora , tibi flendi jam venit horaNam regnum patruum de sine t esse tuum.

Pr incipe privaris, campo sic subpeditaris,

Quod me ritis mise ris sempe r ase llus e ris .Voxde profundis Cambini te voca t undis,Torquendum clade , quam non novit genus Adae .

I lluc tende vias, e t dazmonis asse clafiasAmplius Andreas duce re ne scit e as .

o f Scots . Troy is ravaged by war , the land nea r abou tb e ing fu ll of camps, it is with its boundarie s becometh e prope rty of another . The son o fAchille s ru le s ove r thec itie s and towns ; Pyrrhus lays them was te , E ne as has

w e pt for Priam. Me r lin write s tha t the proud crowd sha llp e r ish ; the barking dog sha ll depart , and the ox sha ll gointo exi le . Then sha ll the Eu the ria n grove be s tr ipped ofi t s fea the re d branches ; and the Albanian ra ce will se e the irk ingdom per ish. Wre tched Scot, lament , thy hour of wee ping is now come for the kingdom of thy fore fa the rs ceasest o be thine . Thou a rt deprived of a pr ince , and art so

t rodde n down in thefie ld . tha t by thy ill me ri ts thou wilta lways be an ass. A vo ice from the bo ttom of the Cambinowa te rs ca lls the , to be punishe d with such slaughte r as the

race of Adam has no t ye t se e n. Haste n thithe r, and

become the companion of the devil lAndre w will no longe r bethe ir le ade r .

30 POLI TICAL s a ve s .

The genera l hatred of the Scots did not hinder

the pe ople from fe e ling grieved by the he avy taxeswhich we re ra ised to suppo rt the wa r , and more

particula rly the expedit ions into Flande rs (whichlatte r we re ill-managed, and produced no results),or from showing the ir dissatisfaction . Th e King’smeasu re s of ambition we re often thw a r te d by theste rn opposition of the ba rons and the commons.

The fo llowing song was directed mo re pa r ticu la rlyagainst the unconstitutional se izure o f w o o l , andgene rally against a ll the taxe s ra ised for the

Flemish war .

SONG AGA INST THE K ING'

S TAXES.

[MS. Harl . No . 2253, fol. r37 , v°

, writte n in r e ign of

Edward I I . ]

Dieu , roy de mage sté, ob pe rsonas trinas ,Nostre roy e sa meyné ne pe rire sinas 3G rantz ma ls lyfist ave r gravesque ru inas,Ce li qe lyfist passe r partes transmarinas .

Rexut salve tur, falsis maledictio de tu r

TRANSLAT ION .— 0 God King o fmaje sty, for the sa ke o f

the Trinity,— do not pe rmi t ou r King and his house ho ld to

pe r ish — gre a t hur t and grea t ru in he cause d h im to ha ve ,—who made himpass ove r the sea .

-In orde r tha t th e Kingmay prospe r , may his fa lse advise rs be accu rse d .


3. POLITICAL SONGS.

Le pueple doit le plus done r, e t sic siucopatur .

Nam que taxantur, regi non omnia dantur .

Unquore plus greve a simple gent collectinlanat um,

Que vendre fe t communeme nt divitias carum.

N e pne t e stre que tie l consail cons tat Deo ca rum,

Issi destrure le pove ra il pondus pe r amarum,

Non est lex sana , quod regi sit mea lana .

Unco. est plus outre pe is, ut te stantu r gentes,En le sac de us pe rs ou tre is pe r vim re tinente s .

A quy reme indra ce le leyne ? quidam re spondente s,Que ja n

’

ave ra roy ne reygne , sed tantumcolligente s .

Pondus lam arum tam fa lsum consta t ama rum .

it is given to him,— the peo ple is obliged to g ive the more ,

and thu s they ar e cut short .— For the taxes which a re ra is e dare not a ll give n to the King .

The co llecting of the woo l gr ieve s the common pe op le sti llmore , — which drives them commonly to se ll the ir prope rty .

Such counse l cannot be acce ptable to God ,— thu s to de

stroy the poor pe ople by a bitte r burthen .-It is no t sou nd

law which give s my woo l to the King .

Wha t is stil l more contrary to peace , as pe ople witne ss ,they re ta in two or thre e parts in the sack .

— To whom sha llrema in this woo l ? Some answe r ,— tha t ne ithe r King no r

Qu e e n sha ll have it, bu t only the co llectors .— Su eh a fa lse

we ight of woo l is manife stly a bitte r thing .

The oppre ssive du ty upon woo l, which was the sta ple o fEnglish comme rce a t tha t pe riod, was se ve re ly fe lt andcompla ine d of. In 1 296 the King se ized a ll the woo l in theme rchants ’ wa re house s , and so ld it for his own profit , payin for it as u sua l with ta llies and promise s to re pay them in

fu l . (Hemingford , p . r ro . )

POLITICAL SONGS. 33

Depus que le roy vode ra tam multum cepisse ,

Entre le s riche s si pu rra sa tis invenisse 3E plus , a ce que m'

est avys, e t me lius fecisseDe s grantz partie ave r pris, e t pa rvis pepe r

cisse .

Qu i capit argentum sine causa peccat egentum.

Honme ne do it a my re tte r talem pravitatem,

Mes a l mave is consile r pe r fe rocitatem .

Le roy e st je ovene bachile r, ne e habe t a tatem,

Nule malice compasse r, sed omnem probitatem.

Consilium tale dampnum confe rt gene ra le .

Rien greve le s grantz graunte r regi sic tributum ;Le s simples deyvent tot done r, contra De i nu tum .

Ce st consa il n'e st mye bien, sed vitiis pollutum

Since the King is de te rmined to take so much,— he mayfind enough among the rich —and he wou ld ge t more and

do be tte r, as it appe a rs to me ,— to have taken a pa rt from

the gre a t, and to have spa red the little— H e sins who take sthe mone y ofthe ne edywithout cause .

We ought not to lay such wicke dness to the charge of theKing ,— bu t to the bad counse llor , by his rapacity . The

King is a young bache lor, and is no t ofan age—to compass

any ma lice , bu t to do a ll probity.— Such counse l doesgene ra l harm.

I t is no trouble to the grea t thus to grant to the King a

tax the simple mu st pay it a ll, which is contra ry to God’sw ill .— '

l’

his counse l is not a t a ll good , bu t po llu te d withvice 3— it is ill orda ined , tha t those who grant shou ld pay

C

34 POLITICAL SONGS.

Ceux que grauntent ne paient ren , e st ma leconstitutum.

Nam concedentes nil dant regi, sed ege ntes .

Coment fra honme bon e sple it ex paupe rum

sudo re ,

Que le s riche s e sparnye r do it , dono ve l favore ?De s grantz um le dust leve r, De i pro timore ;Le pueple plus e spa rnye r , qui vivit in do lo re .

Qui satis e s dive s, non sic expaupe re vives .

Je voy en Ste e le qu’

o re court gente s supe rb ire ,B

’autt e biens te nir grant court, quod cito vulttransire .

Quant vendra le hau t juggement, magna die s

irze ,

S’il ne face nt amendement, tune debent pe r ire .

Rexdicit reprobis, “ite venite , probis .

no thing .— For those who make the grant give no thing to

the King , it is the ne e dy only who give .

How w ill the y pe rfo rm good de eds ou t o f the swe a t o f the

poo r ,—whom the rich ought to spa re , by gift o r fa vour

they ought to tax the gr ea t, for the fe ar ofGod -a nd spa re

more the pe ople , who live in pa in.-Thou who a r t r ich

e nough, live not thus upon the poor .

I se e a t the pre se nt day how pe ople are prou d,— w ith

othe r pe ople ’s goods they hold gre a t court , wh ich w illqu ickly pa ss .

— Whe n the high judgme nt come s , th e g r e a t

day of wra th ,- unle ss the y make a toneme nt , the y mu st

the n pe r ish . -The King says to the bad,“G o to the

good, Come .

"


POLITICAL SONGS.

To t eyt honme drap ou b lée , porcos ve l b identes,Rien leve r en ve rite, tam mu lti sunt egente s.Gens non est lacta , cum sit tam parca mone ta .

Si le roy freyt moun consail, tune ve llem laudare ,D

'

argent pe ndre le ve sse l, mone tamque parare ;Mieu valdre it de fust ma[n]ge r , pro victu nummos

dare ,

Qe d’arge nt le co rs se rvyr, e t lignum paca re .

Est vitii signum pro victu so lvere lignum .

Lur commissiouns sunt trochie rs qui sunt ultrama re ;

Ore lu r te rre s n’oua t pove rs e osdem sustentat e .

Je ne say coment purrount animas sa lva re ,

a lthough they may have cloth or corn, swine or she e p,make nothing of them, in tru th, the re are so many ne e dype ople .

—The pe ople is not joyfu l, whe n money is so sca rce .

If the king wou ld take my advice , I wou ld pra ise h im

the n,— to take the ve sse ls of silve r , and make mone y of

them — it wou ld be be tte r to ea t ou t of wood, and to give

mone y for victua ls -than to se rve the body with s ilve r , andpay with wood — It is a s ign of vice , to pay fo r victu a ls w ithwood .

‘

The commissions of those who a re employe d ove r se a a re

too dea r — now the poo r have not the ir lands to su s ta in

the same — I do not know how they can save the ir so u ls,

In Low La tin Fustum was a ge ne ric name for e ve rything made of wood . It wou ld be more rea sona ble

, sa ys

the wr ite r of the son if the court wou ld ea t 05 w o odenve sse ls, and payfo r t e ir provis ions with silve r

,tha n to live

sumptuou slyWi th pla te , and only pay the ir victua ls w ithwoode n ta l li e s .

POLITICAL SONGS. 37

Q ue d’autrui vivre vode rount, e t propria se rvare .

Non dubitant poanas cupientes res alienas .

Dieu pur soun se intime noun, confundat e rrores,

E ce ux que pensent fe re tre soun, e t pacis tur

bato te sE vengaunce en facez ad ta le s vexatoresE confe rmez e grantez inte r rege s amore sPe rdat solamen qu i pacem destru it AMEN .

who wou ld live upon other pe ople ’s goods, and save the irown .

— They cannot doubt bu t they wi ll be punished, whocove t the prope rty of othe rs .

May God, for the sake of his holy name , confound e rrors ,-and those who medita te treason, and the dis tu rbe rs of thepa ce — and take ve ngeance on such torme ntors l and con

firm and grant love be twe e n the kings l— May he lose con

so la tion who bre aks the pea ce 1 Ame n .

Although the English people we re grieved bythe king’s expensive and ill-conducted fore ign

wars, ye t they we re not wanting in commisera tionfor the Flemish burghe rs in the ir struggle againstFrance . The song which follows was composed

soon afte r the battle of Courtrai, in which the

Comte d’A rtois and his a rmy we re de fe ated and

destroyed by the Flemings in 1302 .


SONG on m a FLEMISH INSURRECTION .

‘

[MS. Harl. No . 2253, fo l. 73, v°

, of re ign ofEdw. IL ]

Lustne th, lordinge s, bothe gouge ant olde ,Of the Freynsshe

-men that we re so pro ude ant

bo lde ,Hou the Flemmysshe

-men bobten hem ant so ldeupon a Wednesday,

Be te te hem we re at home in hue re londe ,Then for te seche Flemmysshe by the se e stronde

Whare thourh moni Frenshe wyf wrynge th hire

honde ,

ant singe th, weylaway

The Kyng of Praunce made statuz newe

In the land of Flaundre s, among false ant trewe ,That the commun of Bruge s ful sore con a -r ewe ,

ant se iden amonges hem,

TRANSLATION .— Listen, Lordings, both you ng a nd o ld,

— o f the Frenchme n tha t we re so proud and bo ld, -h ow the

Flem ish me n bought and so ld them— upon a Wedn e sday.

Be tte r it had be en fo r them a t home in the ir cou ntry,than to se ek Flemings by the se a -strandr - through whichmany a French woman wrings he r hands— a nd s ings,

we laday l

The King of France made new statutes— ia the la nd of

Flande rs, among fa lse and true ,— tha t the commo ns of

Bruge s fu ll sore ly began to ru e ,-and sa id amongst them

This song was pr inted by Ritson, in his Ancie ntSongs .

”


40 POLI TICAL SONGS

Tho wolde the baylies , that were come from

Fraunce ,

Dryve the Flemisshe tha tmade the destaunceHue turnden hem aseynes wi th sne rd and wi th

launce ,

stronge men ant lyht .

Y te lle on for so the , for al huere bobaunce ,Ne for the avowe ri e‘of the Kyng of Fraunce ,

Tuenti score ant fyve haden the r meschaunceby day ant eke by nyht.

Sire Jake s de Se int Pou l y-he rde hou hit wasSixtene hundred o t

'

horsmen asemblede o the gras ;

H e wende toward Brugespar pa r par ,wi th swithe gre t mounde ,

The Flemmysshe y-he rden te lle the casA -

gynne th to clynken huere basyns o f bras,1'

The n wou ld the ba ilifl's tha t we re come from France

drive ou t the Fleming's who made the disturbance — bu t

they tu rne d aga inst them wi th sword and with la nce,

strong men and nimble .— I te ll you for tru th, in spite o f

the ir vaunting,— and in spite of the patronage o f the Kingof France ,

— fou r hundre d andfive had the re mischance. - byday and a lso by night .Sir jacqu es de St. Pau l hea rd how it was — he a ssemble d

sixte e n hundred knights on the grass - they we nt towa rdsBruges ste p by step,— with a ve ry.gre a t body of pe ople .

The Flemings heard te ll of the case ; the y be gin to clinicThis is the Low Latin Advocaria . Se e Dueange .

1“This circumstance occurre d on Ma rch ax, r302 . Thepe ople we re usua lly ca lle d to insu rrection by the sound ofthe chu rch be l l, bu t on this occasion the pe ople dared not

go to the ir bell on account of the ir Fre nch gove rnors, so

they bea t the i r brass basms.

POLITICAL SONGS. 4 x

A n t a l hem to -dryven ase ston do th the glas,ant fe llen hem to grounde .

Sixt e ne hundred of horseme n hede the r he re fynH u e leysen y the stre te s y-styked ase swyn ;

Th e r hu e loren hue re stedes, ant mony rouncyn,thou rh hue re oune prude .

Si r e Jakes ascapede by a coynte gyn,O u t a t one posteme the r me so lde wyn,O u t of the fyhte hom to ys yn ,

in we l muche le drede .

Tho the Kyng of Fraunce y-he rde this, anonA ss emblede he is dousse pe rs eve ruchon,Th e proude Eorl of Artoys ant othe r mony on,

to come to Paris.

The harouns of Praunce thide r conne gon,I n to the pale is tha t paved iswith ston,To jugge the Flemmisshe to he rnen ant to slon,

thourh the flour-de -lis.

th e ir basins of brass ,— and they break them a ll to pieces asa s tone doe s glass,— and fe ll them to the ground.Sixte en hundred knights had the re the ir e nd — they lay

in th e stre e ts stuck like swine —the re they lost the ir s te e ds,

a nd many a ho rse ,— through the ir own pride - Sir Jacque s

e sca pe d by a cunning contr ivance ,— ou t a t a poste rn whe re

the y so ld wine ,— ou t of thefight home to his lodging ,— in

ve ry grea t fea r .

When the King of France hea rd this, anon— he a ssem

ble d his dou ze pe e rs e ve ry one ,— the prou d ( .omte d’

Arto is

and othe rs many a one ,- to come to Pa r is .

— The ba rons of

France began to go thithe r.- into the palace tha t is pavedw ith stone ,— to judge the Flemings to be bu rnt and sla in,thro ugh the fle u r-de -lis .

4 a POLI TICAL SONGS.

Thenne se ide the Kyng Philip, Lustne th no n to

me ,

Myn e orle s ant myharouns gentil ant ftc,Goth. facche th me the traytours y

-bo unde to mykne ,

hastifl iche ant blyve .

Tho suor the Eorl of Se int Poul, Pa r 1a gou/e

D ! I

We shule facche the rybaus whe re thi w ille b e ,Ant drawen hem (with ) Wilde hors out o f the

countre,

by thousende s fyve .

Sire RaufDeve l,” sayth the Eorl of Bo lo yuc,Nu: rte ler r um en vie chanozm m: moy ne ,

Wende we for th anon ritht withou te e ny a ssoygne ,

ne no lyve s man.

We shule 60 the Conyng,‘

and make ro s te is

loyne ;

Then sa id King Philip, L iste n now to me ,— my e ar ls

and my barons ge ntle and fre e ,— go , fe tch me the t ra ito rs

in bonds to my kne e , - hastily and qu ickly.

"— The n sw o re

the Comte de Sa int Pau l, By the throa t of G od — w e

sha ll fe tch the riba lds whereve r it be thy w ill,— a nd drawthem with wild horse s ou t of the country— by five - tho usands .

”

Sir Ra lf De ve l,” says the Comte de Bo logne , w e

will not le ave a live e ithe r canon o r monk,— le t u s go fo rthanon withou t any e xcu se

,—no r no ma n a live — \Ve sha l l

flay the Conyng (rabbit), and cause his lo ins to be roa s te dThis word in English me ant a r abbi t, and is he re m a de

the subje ct of a pun . In Flemish it s ignifie d king .


4 4 POLI TICAL sa vor .

The Flemmisshe hem dabb eth o the he t ba re

Hue nolden take for huem raunso un ne w a re ;

Hue dodde th of hue re hevedes, fare so hi t fare ,

ant thare to have th hue uede .

Thenne sei th the Eorl of Arto is, Y se lde me to

the ,

Pe ter Conyag by thi nome , sef thou a rt he nde ant

free ,

That y ne have no shame ne no vylté,

that y ne be noud ded.

Thenne swor a boche r, Bymy le auté

Sha lt thou ner more the Kyng of Fraunce se ,

Ne in the toun of Bruges in prisone be ,

thou woldest spene bred.

The r hy we re knulled y the put-fa lle ,This eorles ant harouns ant hue re knyhte s a l le ;

with stee d .—The Flemings dab them on the bare head

— they will take for them ne ithe r ransom nor pa y ; the ydod off the ir heads, happen wha t may,—and the re to ha vethey ne e d .Then saith the Comte d’

Artois, I yie ld me to th e e ,

Pe te r Conyng by name , if thou art gentle and fre e , tha t I

may suffe r no shame nor disgrace ,— and tha t I may no t b e

sla in.

"Then swore a bu tche r , By my loya lty ! tho usha lt ne ve rmore se e the King of France ,— nor be in p r ison

in the town of Bruge s ,- thou wou lde st consume bre a d .

”

The re they we re he ape d into the pit-fu ll— the se co unts

and barons and a ll the ir knights - the ir ladie s may wa i t


H u e re ledie s huem mowe abide in boure ant

ha llewe l longe .

F o r hem mot hue re kyng othe r knyhtes calle ,O the r stedes taken out of hue re stalleT he r hi habbe th dronke bittre re the n the ga lle ,

upon the drue londe .

W hen the Kyng of Fraunce y-he rde thi s tydynge ,

H e smo t doun is heved, is honden gon he wrynge .

T hourhout al Fraunce the word bygon to springewo we s huem tho

Muche wes the so rewe ant the wepinge

Tha t,wes in al Fraunce among o lde ant synge

The meste part of the loud bygon for te syngea las ant weylawo

A wey thou sunge pope whe t shal the to rede ?

Thou hast lore thin ca rdina ls at thi meste nedefo r them in bowe r and in ha ll—ve ry long .

— In the ir placemu s t the ir King ca ll o the r knights , —and take o the r ste eds

o u t of the ir sta ble s — the re the y have drunk bitte rer thanga l l ,— upon the dry land .When the King o f France hea rd the se tidings ,— he castdown his he ad, his hands he be gan to wr ing .

-Throughou ta ll France the news began to spre ad — woe was to them a ll l— Much was the sorrow and the we e ping— tha t was in a ll

France among old and young ;The gre a te st pa rt of the landbe ga n to sing , A la s and we laway 1"Away, thou young pope wha t w ill be thy counse l

Thou ha st lost thy ca rdina ls a t thy gr ea te st ne e d : thouAn a l lu s ion to the disse nsions be twe e n Pope BonifaceV I I I . and the Co lonnas .


Ne keve rest thou hem neve re for nones kunnes

mede ,

for soths y the te l le .

Do the forth to Rome to ame nde thi misdede ;B ide gode ha lewen hue le te the be te te spe d e

Bote thou worobe wysloker, thou lo sest lont a ntlede ,

the comune we l the fe lle .

Alas ! thou se li Fn am e, for the may thunche

shome ,

That ane fewe fulla ris make th on so tomeSis ti thouse nt on a day hue maden fo t lome ,

with e orl ant knyht.He rof habbe th the Flemysshe snithe god game ,

And suere th bi Se int Ome r ant eke b i Se int Jame ,

se f hy the r more come th, h it falle th huem to

shame ,

with huem for to fyht.

wilt ne ve r re cove r them for any kind of reward ,— for tru th

I te ll the e .— Go forth to Rome to a tone for thy misde e ds

— pray to good sa ints tha t they le t the e spe e d be tte runle ss thou worke st more wise ly, thou loses t land and

pe ople ,— the crown w ill be dese rve dly lost by the e .

Ala s ! thou simple France , it may appe a r a shame fo r

the e ,— tha t a few fu lle rs make the e so tame ;— s ixty thou sa ndin a day they made foo t-lame ,— with count and knigh t.The reof ha ve the Flemings ve ry good game ,— and sw e a r

by St. Ome r and eke by St. Jame s, - if they come the re a ny

more , it will fa ll them to shame ,— with them tofight .


4 8 POL] TICAL SONGS.

a sons on THE TIMES.

‘

[MS. Harl. No . 913, fol . 4 4 , v°, wr itte n abou t A . D .

Whose thenchith up this carfu l l if,N iste and dai tha t we be th inne ,

So moch we se e th of sorrow and stri f,

And lite the r is ofworldis winne ,Hate and wre th the r is we l rive ,And trew love is ful thinneMen that be th in he iijist liveMest i -charged be th with sinne .

Fals and l ithe r is this land,As al dai we ma i‘i

-se

Therin is bo the ha te and onde ,Ic we ne tha t eve r so wol be .

Cove itise hath the law an honde ,

Tha t the trewthe he ne mai i-seNou is maiste r pride and onde

Alas Love rde , whi sufi'rith he ?TRANSLATION .

— Whoso re flecte th upon this life wh ich isfu ll of care ,— night and day tha t we are in, —ao much w e

se e of so rrow and str ife ,— and little there is of wo r ld ’ s joy.

Ha te and wra th the re is ve ry ri fe ,— and true love is ve ryrare — men who a re in the highe st sta tion of life ,— a re most

laden with sin.

Fa lse and wicked is this land,— as eve ry day we ma yse e - in it the re is bo th ha te and contention ,

— I think itw ill a lways be so .

— Cove tou snes s ha th the law in hand ,tha t he may not se e the tru th z— Now pride is mas te r , andcontention z— Alas Lord why sufi'e re th he ?The MS. from which this song is taken was wr itte n in

Ire land by an Eng lish monk. Se e Crofton Crocke r ’sPopu la r Songs of Ire land.


Wold holi che rch pilt is miste ,And law of lond pilt him to ;

Than scholde cove itise and nu -risteUte of lond ben y-do .

Ho li che rch sebold ho ld is ri3tFor no e ie no fo r no love

Tha t hi ne sebold schow ha r mi3t

Fo r lordingen boste tha t be th above .

To entredite and amonsi

A l thai . whate hi evir be ,That lafi'u l men doth robbi,Whate in lond what in se e

And thos hoblurs, ’ name lich ,

That husbond be nime th cri of grund

Men ne sebold ham b iri in non chireh,

Bo t cast ham ute as a hund .

I f ho ly church wou ld exe rt its might,— and the law of the

land exe rt it too ; then shou ld cove tou sness and injustice-ou t of the la nd be drive n. Ho ly chu rch shou ld withho ldits right— for no fea r nor for no love — tha t they shou ld notshow the ir might— for the boas t of lordlings tha t ar e above .

To inte rdict and admonish—al l those , wha te ve r they be ,who lawfu l me n do rob ,— whe the r on the land or on the se a ;— a nd those light -a rmed me rce na r ie s in pa rticu lar ,— tha ttake from the hu sbandman the tillage of the ground — me n

ought not to bu ry them in any chu rch — bu t to throw themou t like a dog .

From the La tin Hobe lla r ii .”

D


Thos kingis ministris be th i-sehend,To rist and law tha t ssold tak hede ,

And al the loud for t ’ amend,Of those thevis hi take th mede .

Be the la tful man to de th i-bro st ,And his ca te l awe i y-nom

Of his de th ne te llith hi nojt,Bo t of bar pre i hi hab som.

Hab hi the silve r, and the mede ,And the eate l unde r-fo ,

Of fe loni hi ne take th hede ,A l thilk trepas is a-

go .

Of thos a vorb isen ic he rd te lleThe Lion is king of all be e ste ,

And— he rknith al to mi spe lleIn his lond he did an be ste .

The Lyon le te cr i, as bit was do ,Fe r he hird lome to te lle

Those King’ 5 ministe rs are corrupted ,—tha t shou ld take

he e d to r ight and law,— and a ll the land for to ame nd,— o f

the se thieve s they take bribe .—If the man who acts lawfu lly

is brought to de a th,—a nd his prope r ty take n away — o f his

dea th theymake no account,— bu t of the ir prey the y have a

share .

I f they have the silve r and the bribe— and the prope r-tyre ce ived,— they take no hee d of fe lony,— e ve ry tre spass isa llowed to pa ss —Of the se a parable I heard te ll — theLion is king of a ll be asts ,— and (hea rken a ll to my ta le )— inhis land he made a command.The Lion cau se d to be procla imed , a s it was done ,—for he


52 POL ] T! CAL SONGS.

Tho hi to bar lord corn to tune ,He to ld to ham law and skille

Thos wikid be stis lu id a -dune ,

Lord, hi se iid, what is thi wille

Tho spek the Lion hem to ,

To the fox anone his wille ,Te l me , bo i, what hast i-do ?Men be th abou te the to spille .

Tho spek the foxfirst anone ,Lo rd King, nou thi wille

Thos men me wrenth of the tune ,And wold me gladlich for to Spille .

Ge e s no hen nad ic nost,Sire , for so th ic the sigge,

Bot as ic ham de re bost,And he re ham up myn owen rigge .

Godis grame most hi have ,Tha t in the curte the so pilt

any ha rm —Whe n they came in the pre se nce of the ir Lo r d ,

— he counted ou t to them law and r ea son — the se w icll e dbe asts la id themse lve s down [prostrate ] . Lo rd ,"sa id

the y, wha t is thy willThen spake the L ion to them.

- to the fox in the firs tplace [he de clare d] his will , Te ll me , fe llow , wha t ha s tthou done ? Men are abou t the e tom in.

” The n spa ke th efoxfirst,— Lord King , now thy wi ll — the se men accuse me

of the town,— and wou ld gladly ru in me .

G e e se nor he n had I no t,— Sire , fo r tru th I te ll the e ,bu t a s I bought them de ar lyr - and bore them upon my own

back .

"God's ange r may the y have , -tha t in the cou rt so

POLITICAL SONGS 53

Whan hit is so , ich vouchsave ,Ic fot3ive the this gilte .

”

The fa ls wolf stode behindH e was doggid and ek fe lleIc am i-com of gre te kind,Pe s thou graunt me , that mist fu l we lle .

Wha t hast i-do , be l amy,Tha t thou me so oxist pe s ?

Sire , he se id, I ne l nost lie ,If thou me woldist hire a re s.

For ic huntid up the doune ,

To loke , Sire , mi bise teThe r ic slow a mo tune ,

3c, Sir, and fewe ge te .

Ic am i-wre iid, Sire , to the ,

For tha t ilk giltSire , ichu l ske r me ,I ne 3ef ham dint no pilt.

place d the e ! Since it is so , I vouchsafe ,— I forgive theethis gu ilt .The fa lse wolf stood behind - he was dogged and eke

fe ll I am come of a grea t race , -

grant thou me pe ace ,who may fu ll we ll ." Wha t hast thou done , fa ir fr ie nd,tha t thou so a skest me pe ace ? Sire . he sa id, I willno t lie ,— if thou wou ldst hea r me a little while .

For I hunted up the downs , —to look. Sire , afte r my

ga in—The re I

_slew a mu tton,— yea , Sire , and a few goa ts .

I am accused, sire , to the e ,— for tha t same cr ime — Sire , I

sha ll cle ar myse lf,— I gave them ne ither blow nor hurt ."


For so th I sigge the , be l ami,H i nadde no gode munde ,

Thai that wre i id the to me i,Thou ne diddist nost bot thi kund.

Sci thou me , asse . wat hast i -doMe thenchith thou cannist no gode .

Whi nadistou, as othe r moThou come of lithe r stode .

Se rtis, Sire , no t ic nostIo e tc sage alnil gras,

More ha rm ne did ic nostThe rfor i-wre iid ic was.

Be l ami , tha t was mis -do ,

That was ase thi kund,For to e te such gras so

Hastilich 3c him bind ;

Al his bonis 3c to -draw,

Loke tha t se nost le te

For tru th I te ll thee , fa ir fr ie nd,— they had no good

mind,

-they who accu sed the e to me , - thou didst no thingbu t thy na ture . Te l l thou me , ass, wha t thou has t done 7Me thinks thou art capable of no good . Why ha dde st thounot [done ] as o the rs more — thou art come of wicke d pla ce .

"

Ce rtes, Sire , I know not I e a t sage and onlygra ss .

—more harm did I not — the re fore was I accu s e d .Fa ir fr iend, tha t was misdone ,— tha t wa s aga inst thy

na tu re , for to e a t su ch grass so — ha sti ly ye him bindDraw ye a ll his bones to pieces, -look tha t ye do not


56 POLITICAL SONGS.

Trewth is i-fa illid with fremid and sibbe ,And so wide as a l this lond

Ne mai no man the rin libbe ,Wha t thro; cove itise and thro; onde .

Tho; laffu l man wo ld ho ld is lifIn love , in charité, and in pe s,

Sone me ssu l compas is lif,And that in a litll re s.

Prude is ma iste r and cove itise ,

The thrid bro the r me n clippith

Ni3t and dai he fondith i-wisse

Lafl'

ul men, to hab har lond.

Whan e rth ha th e rthe i-ge tteAnd of e rth so hath i-nous,

\Vhen he is the rin i -stekke ,W0 is him that was in won;What is the gode that man ssa l hab ,

Ute o f this world whan he ssal go ?

u s ! Tru th is fa iled w ith strange r and re la t ionwide a s a ll this land— no man can live the re in ,

through cove tousne ss a nd through contention .

Though the man who acts according to law wou ld ho ldhis life — in love , in cha rity, and in pe ace .

— soon the y willcompa ss his life .

—and tha t in a little space of time . Prideis maste r and cove tousne ss the third brothe r is ca lle d conte ntion — night and day they labou r ce rta inly— lawfu lme n,to have the ir land .Whe n e a rth ha s obta ine d e a r th,— and thus of ea rth ha th

e nough,— when he is stuck the re in,— woe to him tha t wa s

in w icke dne s s l - Wha t is the good tha t man sha ll have ,

POLITICAL SONGS. 57

A so ri wed,— whi ssal ic gab

For he brost him no mo .

Rist as he com, he ssal wend,

In wo , in pine , in pove rté

Takith gode hede , me n, to sure end,Fo r as I sigge , so hit wol be .

Y no t wharo f be th men so pra teOf e rthe and axen, fe lle and bone ?

B e the soule enis u te ,

A vilir cara ing nis the r non.

The ca ra ing is so lolich to se e ,

Tha t unde r e rth men mot it hide

Bo the wif and child wol fram him He ,The r nis no frend tha t wo l him bide .

What wo l men for the sowle de l ?Come no me l, we l thou wost

Bo t we l se ld at the me leA rows bare trenchur , o the r a crust .

whe n he sha ll go ou t of this world — A sorry garment,why sha ll I joke - For he brought him no more .

Jus t as he came , he sha ll go, - in woe , in pa in , in

pove r ty -ta ke good he ed .men, to your e nd, -for as I say,so i t wi ll be .

— I know not of wha t men are so proud — of

ea rth , and ashe s, skin and bone — when the sou l is once

out,- the re is no vile r ca rcase .

The m rcase is so loa thsome to se e ,— tha t unde r e arth men

mu st i t hide both wife and child will fromhim fly,— the reis no fr ie nd tha t will stay with him.

— What will me n for thesou l g ive ‘

I— corn nor me a l, we ll thou knowe st — bu t ve ryse ldom a t the ir mea l,— a rough ba re trencher , or a crust.

so POLITICAL sozvcs .

The begger that the crust ssal hab ,We l hokcrlich he lokith theran :

Soth to sigge , and n03t to gabbe ,

Rist nost he is i-paiid a pan

Than sei ith the begge r in is mode ,The crust is bo the hard and tougth ,

The wreche was hard that ow the gode ,

Hard fo r hard is gode y-now3.

”

Moch misante r that for him biddePate r noste r o the r crede

Bo t le t him hab as he didde ,

For of the sift nath he no mede .

Io red up no man thou hab tr is te ,No uppon non o the r ;

Ok de l hit with 3ure owenfist,Trist to soste r no brothe r.

Anurith G od and ho li chireh,And 3ivcth the pouir tha t habbith nede

The beggar that the cru st sha ll have ,— right scornfu l ly helooks the re on — tru th to say, and not to joke ,— right no t a

pan he is pa id .—Then sai th the beggar in his mood , The

crust is both ha rd and tough,— the wre tch was ha rd tha t

posse ssed the goods — hard for hard is good enough.”May he have much misadventu re who for him sa ith

Pa te r-noste r or cre e d — bu t le t him have a s he did,— for of

the gift ha th he no rewa rd .— I counse l the e have trus t in

no man,— nor upon no othe r — bu t share it with yo ur own

fish— trust ne ithe r to s iste r no r brothe r .Honou r God and holy chu rch,— and g ive to the poor


SONG AG AINST THE SCHO LASTIC STUDIES.

[From MS. Cotton. Titus A . xx. fo l . 66,v°

,wri tten in re ign

o f Edw . I I . ; and MS. Bodl . Oxford . Raw l. B. 2 1 4 ,

fol . 168 , v’

, of rsth cent . ]

I t is my de sign to tu rn the ar ts of an nu

skilfu l race to the fru it of a be tte r life , and so

proce ed ye to each of the a rts in orde r : 0

you th who have bee n dece ived, come to my

lessons- Eve ry class o f the cle rgy is Opposedto the laws , of whom the condition tod ay is

worse than it was ye ste rday ; e ve ry prie st willhold his own rites envy de tracted from the tal e ntso f grea t Home r .

— When the sailor spreads hissa il aga inst the no rth w ind, and the ass thinks toconqu e r the came l in the race , the n the hand fearsno t to put the face towards he ave n I am wounded

and carry the We apon shu t up in my breast — Theshaggy she -

goa t wi she s to be pre fe rred to the

she e p, in he r fo lly no t conside ring with wha t sheis clothe d sofine a fle ece ha s not be en given tohe r : as the to rto ise once sa id to the w inged

birds — Although the logicians a re sa tisfied withnaked glo ry, and live unde r the ga rb o f the

ne edy, ’ neve rthe le ss they envy the rich . Envy

se eks the summit, the wind blows vehemently on

lo ftv place s .— l t is a lways the manne r o f e nvy,

The o rigina l Latin is by no means clea r .

POLITICAL SONGS. 6:

tha t the y a im from the bo ttom upwards, the lastSpe ak against the first : he who is e levated doesno t think it worth while to envy him who is most

low . The envious man be come s le an by regarding the fatne ss of ano the r .

— If you do no t de sire

to live poor and begga rly, a lways labouring liketh e se rvant Stichus,‘ afig-tre e w ithou t fru it worthyto b e cast in thefire ; love others so tha t thouma yes t be a dear friend to thyse lf.— It is good forpo o r men to adhe re to the law I have chosen to

labo ur much on the arts . I am ignorant the refo r e how I may be gu ided , who once composedve rse s, while my study nourished — If any one

w i l l expend his labou r upon logic, will it not

produce him thorns and brambles ? in too much

swe at he will ea t his bread ; and even tha t hista lkative tongue will hardly give him — The

logician in vain sows his se ed in the sand, for in

ha rve st time the re will be no frui t upon a barrenfig - tre e all labour is lost. Such as is the tre e ,such will be the fruit it bears — A lthough you hea r rived a t the summit o f the a rts, you will be in a

short time despised by the younge r aspirants ;the y will say of the e , "he doa ts, affected witho ld age . O ld age , why do you e ntu lous cease to

hasten the e nd ?—Thou sitte s t in the chair of a

true pestilence , who readest the tragedyofThebe s

t A common name for a se rvant in the Roman comicwrtte rs .

POLI TICAL SONGS.

or of Troy [whilst] the sea ts o f the legi s tsabound in riche s, and now he goes on ho rse b a ckwho used to go on foo t .— He who si ts up a t

night to study the arts is tru ly a fool why do yo u

yawn ove r the G eorgie ? thu s the fie ld may l ie

neglected and barren, while by chance yo u m ay

be desirous of unde rstanding the cu lture o f th e

earth.— It is right that we should labou r u pon th e

laws afie ld that produce s a hundred-fold is no t

to be se t aside . The book o f the poo r is to b e

re ad by the poor man this chiefly is the book to

be devo tedly cu ltiva ted by the e .— Why dost tho u

consume thy time upon dialectics, thou wh o

re ce ive st no income from othe r sou rces ? L e t him

cultiva te it who is born of high family in th e

country, rich in land and rich in money la id o u t

at inte rest .— Le t the rich man le arn to be strongin fa llacie s le t him learn to make a she -

go a t o fthe pe rson of chance . Le t him neve r de se rt thearts, be fore the hou r of his dea th . Satisfied withfame , le t Lucan lie hid in the ga rdens

— If im

bued in the arts he shou ld chance to fa il, he wi l lfly to the legists if he will be sa fe : be cause heknows no mo re how to defend himse lf than one

who is dumb, having pursued too much and too

often the study o f the G re eks — I se e the hallsof the noble s Open ; when the legist come s, the

Re fe rs to the“Theba id of Sta tius , and the De

Be llo Trojano o f Jose ph o f Exe te r .


64 POLITICAL SONGS.

For-sak and sav is the f in lore .

N eg» is pone r clark in store .

When menne horlith ham he re and

N ego savith ham fram ca re .

Awe i with ag o u te of place !Whose wol have Goddis graceWhoso wol ascus the devilfiste ,Ther ma i nego sit a -riste .

Ak loke tha t we neve r moreNegu se tte in trew lore .

For whoso can lite , hath sone i-do ,

Anone he drawith to u rge .

Now 0 clerk se iith mgrAnd tha t o the r dubitoSe iith ano the r concedeAnd anothe r obl igo,Vemmfa lmm se tte the rtoThan is a l the lore i-do .

Thus the fa ls cle rkes of ba r hevid,Makith men trewth of ham be revid .

save is a thie f in doctrine ,— nego is a poor cle rk in sto re .

When‘

men hu rl them he re and the re ,— ncgo save s themfrom ca re .

— Away with nego ou t of the place l— who e ve rw ill have God's grace ; he who will agains t the de vilfight,— the re may nego sit right ly.

— Bu t se e tha t we ne ve r

more— se t wage in tru e doctrine —Fo r he who knows litt lehas soon done , anon he draws to a g o

— Now one cle rksays nego — and the othe r dah '

ta ; sa ith anothe r . concede:— and ano the r oblz’gv, w ith new »:fil m»: se t to it — the nis a ll the ir le arning done .

—Thus the fa lse cle rks of the irhead — make men of tru th through them be be re aved .

POLI TICA L SONGS. 65

The Scottish wars occupied incessantly the tema ining years of Edward’s re ign . The followingsong w as composed probably in the Septembe r ofthe ye a r 1306, soon a fter the ba ttle of Kirkencliff,and on the immediate occasion of the execu tion of

Sir Simon Frase r, who was taken prisone r the re .

SONG ON THE EXECUTION or sra SIMONFRASER.

’

[MS. Har l . No . 2253, fo l. 59, v°, re ign of Edw. I I . )

Lystne th, lordyuges, a newe song ichulle bigynne ,Of the traytours o f Scotlond tha t take be th tvyth

gynne ;

Mon tha t love th falsnesse and nule neve r blynne ,Sore may him drede the lyf that he is ynne ,

ich unde rstonde

Se lde we s he gladTha t neve r nes a -sad

o f nythe ant of onde .

Tr ansmit-n om— Listen, lordlings, a new song I willhe gin,- of the traitors of Scotland who are taken with a

trap ; he who love s fa lseness , and will neve r leave it, -sore

may he dread the life tha t he is in,— I be lieve —se ldomwas

he glad— tha t neve r was sorrowfu l— for his wickedne ss andturbulence .

Printed by Ritson in his Ancient Songs .

2

POL I TICAL SONGS.

That y sugge by this Scottes that bue th nou to

drawe ,

The hevedes o Londone brugge whose con y

knswe

He wenden han buen kynges, ant se iden so in

Betere hem we re han y-be barouns ant libbe inGodes lawe ,

wyth love .

W'

hose hate th so th ant ryht,

Lute l he doute th Godes myb t,the heye kyng above .

To m y alle the gentilmen that bu e th in Sco tlonde ,

The Wale is wes to -drawe , se ththe he was an

honge ,

I say that of ths e Scots who are now drawn,— the ir

heads on London bridge anybody may re cognise — the ythought to have be e n kings , and sa id so in the ir ta lkbe tter was it fo r them to ha ve be en ba rons and live in Go d’slaw,

—with love .- He who ha te th tru th a nd r ight ,— litt le

he fears God ’s might ,— the high King above .

To be a warning to all the gentlemen who a re in Sco t

land,-the Wa llace was drawn afte r he was hange d,

Wa llace was take n prisone r a t the se cond ba tt le o fDunbar tn 1305, and wa s execu ted a t London, Augus t 24 ,1306. uarte rs we re sent to N ewcast le , Be rwick ,Perth, and A e cu.


POLI TICAL SONGS.

O thes hue him sworen in stude the r he we s,To buen him ho ld ant trewe fo r a lle s cunnes res,

thrye ,

That hue ne sha lden aseyn himgo ,

So hue were temed thoweht ha lt hit to lye

To the kyng Edwa rd hu fasten hue re fayFals we s he re foreward so forst is in May,

Tha t sonne from the sou thwa rd wype th awayMoni proud Scot the rofmene may

to ge re .

Ne s neve r Scotlond

With dunt of monnes honda llinge a -boht so due re

The Bisshop of G lascou ychot he was y- lab t

The Bisshop of Se ih t Andre bothe he be th y-caht

in the place whe re he wa s ,— to befirm and tru e to him in

all kinds of mome nts , - thrice — tha t they shou ld not

aga inst him g0,— so we re the y tamed then — wha t pro fits itto lie

To King Edward they plight the ir fa ith — fa lse was the ircove nant as frost is in May,

— which the sun from the sou thward wipe s away —many a proud Scot there ofmay lament— in yea r .

—Was neve r Scotland— by dint of man ’s hand

a ltoge the r bought so cle ar .The Bishop of G lasgow , I wo t he was take n — the Bishop

of St . Andrew,too ,

he is ca ught — the Abbot of Scone with

POLITICAL SONGS. 69

The A bbo t of Scon with the Kyng nis nou t sahtA l he re purpos y

-come hit ys to naht,thurb ryhte .

H i i we re unwis

When hi i thohte pr isaseyn hue re kyng to fyhte .

Thou rh consail of the s bisshopes y-nemned byl’

o re ,

Sire Robe rt the Bruytz fu rst kyng we s y-co re ,

H e ma i e ve ruche day ys fon him se byfore

3ci he e mowen him hente , ichot he bith forlore ,sauntz fayle .

Soht for te sugge ,

Du e re he sha l abuggethat he bigon batayle .

H ii tha t him crounede proude we re ant bolde ,Hu maden kyng o f some re ,

‘so h ii ne r ne sho lde ,

H ii se tten on ys heved a oronne o f rede golde ,Ant token him a kyne -se rde so me kyng sho lde ,the King is no t — a ll the ir pu rpose is come to

nothing , by right .— They we re unwise — whe n they thoughtit pra ise worthy— against the ir King tofight .Through counse l of these bishops named be fore ,— Sir

Robe rt the Brucefirst was chose n king ,— he may eve ry dayh is foe s se e be fo re him — if the y may catch him, I wot he

is u ndone ,— wi thou t fai l .— To say the tru th, -dea r ly hesha l l pay— for having begun ba ttle .

They that crowne d himwe re prou d and bo ld,— they madea k ing of summer as they neve r shou ld ,— they se t on his

he ad a crown of re d go ld,— and gave him a sce ptre as one

Ma tthew of We s tminst er says tha t Bruce '

s que e n hadtold him in den ston he was bu t a summe r king .

POLITICAL SONGS.

to deme .

Tho he we s se t in se e ,

Lute] god cou the hekyne -riche to seme .

Now Kyng Hobbe in the ma res songe th.

For te come to tonne nout him ne longe th ;The barouns of Enge lond, myhte hue him gripe ,He him wolde teche n on Englysshe to pype ,

thourh streynthe

N e be he ner so stou t,se t he bith y-soht out

o brede and o leynthe .

Sire Edward of Carnanran,’Jhesu him save an t

see

Sire Eme r de Valenced’

gentil knyht ant fre e ,Habbe th y-suore hu e re oht that ,pa r la grace Die !Hee wollith ous de lyvren of that false contree ,shou ld to a king,— to judge —When he was se t on a throne .

— little good knew he—a kingdom to ru le .Now King Kobbe gange th in the moors,— to come to

town he has no de sire — the barons of England if the ymight gripe him,

— theywou ld teach himto pipe in Eng lish,— through stre ngth -be he neve r so stou t,

—ye t he is

sought ou t—w ide and far .

Sir Edward of Ca e rna rvon (Je su s save him and have himin regard —and Sir Ayme r de Va lence , a gentle knightand libe ra l,— the y have sworn the ir oath tha t, by the g raceof God — they will de live r us from tha t fa lse country,— if"l he Prince ofWa le s.

a

t Aylme r de Va le nce , se cond Ear l of Pembroke ,inted by Edwa rd to be one of the guardian: of his son,

ward l l .



to adrenche .

Vl'

hi nolden hii be warThe r nis non aseyn stare

why nolden by hem by-the n ch e

This wes byfore Se ih t Bartho lomeus masse ,That Fryse l wes y-take , we re hit mo re other l a sseTo Sire Thomas of Multone ,

’gentil barou n a n t

ftc,

Ant to Sire Johan Jose , bytake tho wes he

to honde

He we s y-fe te red

_

we e l

Bo th w ith yrn ant wyth ste e l ,to b ringen of Scotlonde .

Sone the rafte r the tydynge to the kyng com

He him sende to Londone w ithmony armed gromHe com yn at N ewegate , y te lle yt ou aplyht,

A ge rland of leves on ys hed y-dyht

bes ide him— to drown .—Why wou ld the y not be ware

The re is none se en aga in-why wou ld not they re fle ct

It was be fore St . Bar tho lomew '

s mass, —tha t Frase r wastaken , we re it more or le ss z— To Sir Thoma s de Mu ltan

,a

ge ntle knight and libe ra l , —and to Sir John jose , he wasde live red the n— in hand — he wa s we ll fe tte re d— bo th withiron and with ste e l, - to bring ou t ofScotland .Soon a fte rwa rds the t idings came to the King ;— they se nt

him to London w ith ma ny an a rmed man - he came in a t

N ewga te , I te ll it you fa ithfu lly,— a ga r land of le ave s pla ced

Thoma s de Mu ltou , o fEgremond, in Cumbe r land .


of grene ;

For he Shulde ben y-knowe

Both of he se ant of lowefor treytour, y wene .

Y - fete red we re ys legges unde r his horse wombeB o th with ytu ant with ste l mankled we re yshonde ;A ge rland of pe ruenke se t on ys he ved

M uche wes the poe r that him wes byreved

in londeSo God me amende

Lute l he wende

so be broht in honde .

Sire He rbert o fNotham, feyr knyht ant bold,For the love of Fryse l ys lyf wes y

-so ldA wajou r he made , so hit wes y-told,Ys heved of to smhyte se fme him brohte in ho ld,

wa t so bytyde .

So ry wes he thenne ,Tho he myhte him kenne

thou rh the toun ryde .

on his hea d—o t' gre en —because he shou ld be known - bo thby high and by low— as a tra itor , I we e n.

Fe tte red we re his legs unde r his horse '

s be lly -both withiron and with stee l manacled we re his hands - a ga rland ofpe riwinkle se t on his head —much was the powe r tha t wastaken from him— in land —As may God amend me l— helittle supposed— so to be brought in hand.Sir He rbe r t of Norham, a fa ir knight and bo ld,— f0r thelove of Frase r his life was sold ; a wa ge r he made , so it wassa id,— to smi te o ff his he ad if they took him in hold, -wha te ve r be t ide .

—Sorry was he them— when he might knowhim- to ride through the town.


Thenne se ide ys scwye r a word anon ryht,

Sire , we be th dede , ne he lpe th hit no wybt,"(Thoma s de Boys the scwye r we s to nome )Non ychot oure wajou r tume th us to grome ,

so y-ba te .

”

Y do ou to wyte ,He re heved wes of smyte

byfore the Tour ga te .

This wes on oure Levedy even, fo r so the ych unde r

stonde ,

The justice s se ten for the knyhte s of Scotlonde ,Sire Thomas o fMultone , an hendy knyht ant wys,Ant Sire Rauf of Sondwyche

' tha t muche l is toldin pris,

ant Sire Johan Abe lMo y mihte te lle by tale ,Bothe of gre te ant o f sma le ,

3c knowen suythe we l .

Then said his squire a word anon r ight, Sir , we are

dead, the re is no crea ture to he lp us — (the squ ire wasname d Thomas de Bo is) now ] wot our wa ge r tu rns to

our sorrow,—ao be t , —I give you to know,

— the ir he adswe re smi tten off— be fore the gate of the Towe r .

It was on ou r Lady’s eve d‘ for tru th I unde rsta nd,— the

justices sa t for the knights ofScotland,— SirThoma s de Mu l

ton, a ge ntle knight andwise , -and Sir Ra lph de Sandwich ,who is much e ste emed in wor th,— and Sir John Abe l - mo re

I might te ll by re ckoning , -bo th of gre a t and of sma ll,— yeknow ve ry we ll.

”A

Ra lph de Sandw ich was Constable of the Towe r .

t The 7th Septembe r , 1306.


76 t om TICAL SONGS.

Fo r al is gre te poe r , se t he we s y-lab t ;Falsnesse ant swykedom, al hit ge th to nah tTho he wes in Sc0tlond, lute l we s ys thoht

Of the harde jugement that him wes bysoh t

He we s four-sithe fo r-sworeTo the kyng the r bifore ,

ant that him brohte to grounde .

With fe te res ant with gyves ichot he wes to

drowe ,

From the Tour o f Londone , tha t monie myhte

knowe ,In a cu rte l of bure l a se lke the wyse ,Ant a ge rland on ys heved of the newe guyse ,

thu rb Che epeMoni mon o f Enge lond

Fo r to se Symond

thideward con lepe .

For a ll his gre a t powe r , still he was take n -fa lse ne ss a ndt re ache ry a ll come to no thing — when he was in Sco tla nd,little wa s his thought— o f the ha rd judgme nt which wa sprepa red for him— in a shor t time — He was fou r time s pe r

ju re d— to the King the re be fore ,— and tha t bro ught him to

the ground.With fe tte rs and with gyve s I wo t he wa s dra wn ,

— from

the Towe r of London, tha t manymight know,— in a kir t le

o f sack-clo th in strange wise ,— and a gar land on his he ad o fthe new gu ise ,

— through Che ap . ;—many a man o f Eng land

—to se e Simon— thithe r began to leap.

POLITICAL SONGS. 77

Tho he com to galewe s, furst he wes an-honge ,

A l quie by-heveded, thah him thohte longe ,

Se ththe he we s y-opened, is bowe les y-brend,

The heved to Londone -brugge we s sendto shonde

So ich eve r mo te theSum while wende hethe r lute l to stonde .

He ride th thourh the site, as y te lle may,With gome n and wyth so las, tha t we s he reTo Londone -brugge he e nome the way,Moni we s the wyve s chil that the ron lake th

ant seide , a lasTha t he we s i-bore ,Ant so vi lliche for-lore ,

so fe ir mon ase he was .

Nou stou t the heved above the tu-brugge ,Faste bi Wa le is, so th for te sugge

When he came to the ga llows, first he was hanged,— behea ded all a live , though it se emed to him long,—a fte rwa rdshe was Ope ne d, his bowe ls bu rnt , -the head to LondonBr idge was se nt— for disgrace — As I may eve r thrive — a t

one time he thought— little the re to s ta nd .They ride through the city. as Imay te ll, —with game and

with solace , tha t was the ir play,— to London Bri dge theytook the ir way, —many was the woman'

s child tha t the re onlacks-a-day ,

— and sa id , a las l— tha t he was be rm— and so

vile ly undone ,— so fa ir a man as he was .

Now stands the he ad above the drawbridge ,— fas t byWa llace , to say the tru th — afte r succou r from Scot land


Afte r socour ofScotlond longe he mowe p ry e ,

Ant afte r help of Fraunce we t ha lt hit to ly e ,

ich we ne .

Be tere him we re in Scotlond

With is ax in ys handto pleyen o the gre ne .

Ant the body honge th at the ga lewes faste ,With yrnene claspe s louge to las teFor te wyte we l the body, ant Sco ttyshe to ga rs te ,

Foure ant twenti the r beo th to sothe ate laste

by nyhte .

se f eny were so ha rdi

The body to remuyal so to dyhte .

We re Sire Robe rt the Bruytz y-eome to this lond e ,Ant the Erl ofAsse lee,

‘ tha t ha rde is an honde ,A lle the othe r pouraille , for so the ich unde rstond e ,

Mihten be ful blythe ant thonke Gode s sonde ,long they may pray,—and afte r he lp from Fra nce wha t

profits it to wa it , - I we en.-I t we re be tte r fo r him in

Scotland— Wi th his axe in his hand— to pla y on the green.

And the body hangs fa st on the ga llows , —with iron Clasp slong to last - to guard we ll the body, and the Scotch todrive away — fou r -and-twenty the re are for soo th a t least— by night .— If anyone we re so hardy the body to remove— immedia te ly to a ttack them.

If Sir Robe rt the Bruce we re come to this land,— and the

Ea rl of Atho l tha t is ha rd in hand,— a ll the re st of the

common pe ople , for tru th I unde rstand,— might be fu llJohn de Stra thbogie , Ea rl of Atho l. H e wa s also

capture d and exe cu ted.


:B ibltotbeca Guriosa.

THE

PO L ITICAL SONGS

o p ENGLAND,

FROM THE REIGN or JOHN TO THAT o r

EDWARD 11.

I BM ! ) AND TM NSM TED 8 ?

THOMASWRIGHT, ll.l ., 8a .

AND REVISED BY

EDMUND GOLDSMID,

VOL . IV.

PRIVATELY PRINTED, EDINBURGH.

r884


JBibItotbeca (Buriosa. .2

THE

PO L ITICAL SONGS

OF ENGLAND,


EDWARD l l .

EDlTFD AND TRANSLATED Bfi

THOMASWRIGHT, M .A., &c.

0] Tri ni ty Colla r . Cambr idge .

AND RFV ISI D B\'

EDMUND GOLDSMID,

VOL . IV.

PRlVATELY PRINTED,EDINBURGH .

1 884 .

DEC1 5 1884

fig !

This Edition is limited to seventy-five L argePape r copie s, and two hundred and seventy-fiveSmall Paper Copie s, issued only to Subscribe rs .


POLITICAL SONGS.

REIGN OF EDWARD I .

The fo llowing song gives us a strong picture of

the extortions committed a t this pe riod of our

his to ry upon the weak and de fence less, by the

magistra te s and the office rs connected with the

SONG ON THE VENALITY OF THE JUDGES.

[From MS. Harl. No. fol. 59, r°

, of the beginning ofthe 1 4 th century. (This song is in the MS. written as

prose . ) Also MS. Reg. xii . c. xii . fol. x,

BLESSED are theywho hunge r and thirst, and dojustice , and ha te and avoid the wickedne ss of

injustice whom neithe r the abundance of goldnor the jewe ls of the rich draw from their inflexibility, o r from the cry of the poor ; they judgewha t is just, and do not fall off from the right forthe sake of the rich. But now the age dece ives

many in a wonde rful manne r, and draws them into

POL ITICAL SONGS.

danger, for the love of the world, that they maylick up honours . The cause of this is money, towhich almost every court has now wedded itself.

There are judges, whom par tia li ty and bribesseduce from justice ; these are they, I remembe rwe ll, that pay toll to the devil , and they serve himalone . For the law of nature commands , that ajudge in giving judgment should not be an acceptorof anybody e ither for prayer or money ; whattherefore , 0 good Jesus, will be done with the

judges, who for prayers or gilts recede from wha tis justPIn fact such judges have numerous messengers ;—listen for what purpose . If you wish to claimland, a messenge r will come to you, and speaks in

confidence , saying, Dear fri end, do you wish to

pleadP I am one who can he lp you in vari ous

ways with the judge ; if you wish to obta in any

thing by his aid, give me half and I will he lp you .

At his feet sit cle rks, who are like people ha lffamished, gaping for gifts ; and proclaiming it as

law, tha t those who give no thing, al though theycome early, will have to wait.But if some noble lady, fair and lovely, wi th

horns‘on he r head, and tha t encircled with go ld,come for judgment, such a one despa tche s he rbusiness withou t having to say a word.

If the woman be poor, and has no gifts , ne itherThe he ad-dress of ladie s of fashion was at this period

arranged in the form of hou rs.


so POL I TICAL SONGS.

Nor even yet are they paid, unless robes ofvarious

colours are transmitted to their wives. If these

are not sentprivate ly, then theyproceed as fo llows ;whatever cattle theyfind, are driven ofl

'

vio lentlyto the ir own m ums, and the owners themse lves

are put in confinement until theymake satisfaction,so that they give the double then at length they

I laugh at their clerks, whom I see atfirst indigent enough, and pos essing next to nothing, when

they receive a bailiwick which rece ived theynext

show themse lves proud, and the ir tee th grow, and

holding up the ir necks they begin ve ry hastily tobuy lands and house s, and agre eable rents ; and

m assing money themselves, they despise the poor,and make new laws, oppressing the ir ne ighbours ;and they become wise men. In this they dowickedness, and deceive the ir country, sparing noone .

The next song was doubtlessly conside red as

ve ry libe llous at the time when it was composed,

and professes to have been written in the wildwood ; the means of publica tion be ing to drop iton the high road, that it might fall into the handsof passenge rs. It is directed against one of the

king’s ordinances.

POLI TICAL SONGS. 1 :

TH E OUTLAW’

S SONG or TRAILLERASTON .

‘

[MS. Ha rl. No . 2253, fol. i r3, v°

, of the re ign ofEdw. II . ]

TALENTme prent de ryme r e de geste fe reD

’une purveaunce qe purveu est en la terre ;

Mie uxva lsit uncore que la chosefirst a fe reSi D ien ne preage garde, is quyque sourdra gue re .

Ce sunt les articles de TrayllebastounSa lve le roi meismes, de Dien cit maleysoun

Qe a de primes graunta tie l commissioun !Quar en ascuns des point: n’

est mie resoun.

Sire , si je voderoi mon garaoua chastierDe m e W e on de deus, pur ly amende r,

TRANSLATroN .—I am se izedwith the desire to rhyme and

to make a story,—of a purveyance which is provided in theland it would be much be tter if the thing we re still undone :—1

’

f God does not avert it, I think that the re will arise war .

It is the articles of Traille baston —except the king himse lf, may he have God's curse—whoeverfirst granted sucha commission l—For there is little reason in any of the

points of it .Sire , if I wished to chastise my lad—with a slap or two ,

to amend him,—he will ask a bill aga instme , and will cause

This song was printed by Sir Francis Pa lgrave . TheTraillebastons se em to have be en an associa tion bande dfie the r for the purpose of compe lling the sa le to them of

uable prope rty at a ridicu lously lowfigure . If one ofthemwas ofl

'

ended, the othe rmembe rs se t upon the offe nde rand bea t him unme rcifully . (Se e MS. Co tton. u lius A .

V . fol. 16a, The sta tute against the Tra il e bas tonscontinued in force through the re igns of Edward II . andEdward II I .

t s POLI TICAL SONGS.

Sur moi be te ra bille , e me frad atachie r ,

E avant qe isse de prisone raunsoun grant done r .

Quaraunte souz"pernent pur ma raunsoun,

E le viscounte vint a son gue rdoun,Qu

’il ne me me tte en parfounde prisoun.

Ore agardes, seigneurs, est-cc resoun

Pur cc me tendroi antre bo is sur le jolyf ambrayLa n’y a fauce té ne nu lle male layEn ls bois de Be lrega rd, Oil vole le jay,E chaunte russinole touz jours santz de la y .

Mes le male doseynes, donu t Dieu u ’e it ja pie te !Parmi lur fauce bouches me onu t enditéeDe ma le robbe rie s e autre mavestée ,Que je no

’s entre me s amis e stre receptée .

me to be arre sted,— and to give a gr ea t ransom be fore Ie scape from prison .

Forty shillings they take for my ransom,— and th e she ri ff

comes for his fee — tha t he may not put me in de e p pr ison— Now conside r , lords , is this right ?For this cause I wi ll ke e p myse lf among the woods, in

the be au tifu l shade —whe re there is no falsene ss and no bad

law — ia the wood of Be au regard, whe re the jay fl ie s ,— and

whe re the nightinga le sings a lways withou t ceas ing .

Bu t the bad idle rs, on whom may God have no pitywith the ir fa lse months have indited me -of ill ro bbe riesand other de linque ncy,— so tha t I dare not be re ce ive d

Sous in old Fre nch and Anglo-Norman re pre sented theLatin Solidcs.


M POL ITICAL SONGS.

Je lur apre[n]droy le giw de Traylebastoun,E lur bn seroy l

’eschyne e le cropoun,

Les brss e les jaunbes, ce serre it resoun,h laq e lnr tondroy e la bouche ensoun.

It jou de sa vie amende ne se rra ;

Je vus di pur veyr, trop graunt pecché en a,

Quar pur doute de prisons me int laroun se rra.

Yte l devendra lcres que ne fust unque mes,Que pur doute de prisone ne ose venir a pe s

Bien devo ientmarchaunz e moygnesdonerma licoun

I would teach them the game of Tra ilebaston, -and wouldthe ir legs, it wou ld be bu t right,

- I wou ld cut the ir tongues

He whofirst cnmmene ed the se things,—neve r in his life

will he be amended z— I te ll you for truth, b e hns committedthe re in too great a sin,- for out of the fe a r of pri son the rewill be many a robber made .

He will become a robbe r who was neve r so be fore , -who

for fear of prison dare uot come to peace ;— it is ne ce ssary to

We ll may merchants and monks bestow a curse — ou all

those who orda ined the Tra ile bn ton — the roya l protect ion

POL ITICAL SONGS. 1 5

N e In r vaudm un ayle le roial proteccioun,Q u e i l ne t endrount les deners sauntz regerdoun.

V u a qy estes endite, je lou, venez a moy,A l ve rt bois de Be lregard, li n’y a nu l ploy,F o rqu e beste savage e jolyf umbroyCa r trop est dotouse la commune loy.

Si tu sachet de le ttrure , e este s coroucé,D e vaunt le s justices se rrez appe llee ;Uncore poez estre a prisone re tornée ,En garde de le evesque , jesque se iez purgée ,E sofi'ryr messayse e trop dure penaunce ,E pa r cas n

’averez james delyveraunce .

Pu r cc valt plus ou moi a bo is demorer,Q

’

en prisone le evesque fyerge gyser.

Trop est la penaunce e dure a sofi're rQuy le mieuxpue t eslyre , fol est qe ne ve lt choyse r.

will no t be worth a garlic to them,- if they do not repay the

You who are indited. I advise you , come to me ,— to the

gre en wood of Beauregard, the re whe re the re '

is no plea,

except wildbe ast and beautiful shadq—for the m law

I! too “am .

If thou knowest le tters , and art enraged,—thou sha lt becalled before the justices —aga in you may be re turned toprim —ia ke eping of the bishop, until you be purged of

chance you will neve r have de live rance .The refore it is be tter to dwe ll with me in the wood,

than to he cas t in the bishop’

s prison —Too much is thew ane s, and hard to sufi’e r —he who has the opportunityto se le ct wha t is be tte r , is a fool if he doe s not make the

choice .

POLI TICAL SONGS.

Avant savoy poy dc bien, ore su-je me ins sageCe me fount les ma le le is par mou t grant ou trage ,

Qe n’os a la pes venyr e ntre mon lignage ;

Les riches sunt a raunsoun, povres a escolage .

‘

Fort se rro it engage r cc qe ne puat e stre aquytée ,C’est la vie de honme que taunt e st che r amee .

E je n’aymye le cha te l de estre recba tée ;

Mes si je fusse en lur baundoun a mort se rroi

lyverée

Uncore attendroy grace e orroi gent par le r,Tie ls me dient le mal que me ne osent aprochie r .E volenters ve rro ient mon corps ledenger ;Mes entre myl debles Dieu puet un honme sauve r .

Before I knew little wha t was good, now I am le es wise— the bad laws cause this by ve ry grea t outrage ,—so tha t I

dare not come to the pe ace among my kindred — the richa re pu t to ransom, the poor to prison.

It wou ld be reckle ss to engage what cannot be acqu itte d— tha t is the life of man which is so de ar ly loved — and Ihave not at a ll the goods whe rewith to be bought off — bu tif I we re in the ir powe r I shou ld be pu t to de a th.Ye t if I shou ld expect grace , and hea r pe ople ta lk,— those

wou ld say evi l of me w ho dare not approach me ,— and

wou ld willingly se e my body disgrace d.— Bu t God can save

man in the midst of a thousand devils.

This word probably answe rs to the Low La tin exce l/cctz

’

onem.


POL ] TICAL SONGS.

Unqe ne fu homicide , ce rtes a moun vo le r ,Ne mal robberes pur gent dm ager.

Cest rym fust fe t al bo is desouz un lore r,Lachanute merle , russinole , e cyre l’ e spe rve rEscrit estoit en parchemyn pur mout remenbre r,

E gitte en haut chemyn, qe um le dust trove r .

homicide , at least by de sigu ,—nor an ill robbe r to do pe opledan ce .

This rhyme was made in the wood beneath a bay tre e ,

the re sing the thru sh and the nightinga le , and the hawkwhir ls around — it was wr itten on pa rchment to be be tte rremembe red,- and east in the highway, tha t pe op le ma yfind it.‘

The following song is a satire upon the nume rousre tinues of the nobles and rich pe ople , whose idleattendants and servants pre yed upon the produceof the industrious pe asantry. It shows us how

glu t we re the pride and ostenta tion of the

courtie rs of the latte r years of Edward the First .

The transla tion of this son was so ve ry inaccura tetha t I have be e n compe lled to a te r Mr . Wright's ve rs ionconside rably.

POLI TICAL sozvcs . 19

A SO N G AGA INST r un s e rmons o r r un

GREAT pr on e .

“

[MS. H ar l. 2253, fol. 124 , v' ; of re ign of Edw. I I . ]O F ribaudz y rymeAnt rede 0 mi ro lle ,

O f gede lynges, gromes,

Of Golyn ant of Colle ,Kario te s, hors-knaves,Bi pate ant by polle

To deve l ich hem to-lvyre

And take to tolle

The gede lynges were gede red

Ofgonnylde gnoste ;

Pale fre iours ant pages,Ant boyes with boste

Alle we ren y-haht

Of an horse thosteThe deve l huem afre tye ,

Ran othe r a-roste

Taa u su t 'r ron .—Of riba lds I rhyme—and read in my

roll, - o f gadlings , grooms,—o fCo lin and of Co lle , hat-lots ,horse-boys,— by pa te and by po ll - to the devil I them de

live r— and give for toll.

The gad lings were ga thered—o f —pa lfr eyke epe rs and pages—and boys with boast —a ll w

—o f a ho rse — may the devi l devour them— raw

or roasted

This song conta ins nume rous popu lar words and

phrase s , the correct meaning of which i s unascerta inable .

so POL ITICAL SONGS.

The shuppa re that huem shupte ,

To shome he huem shadd e ,

Tofies ant to fleye ,To tyke ant to tadde

So scyth Romanus ,Whose ryht radde ,

Fleh com of flore ,

Ant lous com of ladde .

The ha rlote s bueth horlynges,Ant haunteth the plawe :

The gede lynges bue th glotouns,Ant drynketh e r hit dawe .

Sathanas hue re syreSeyde on is sawe ,

Gobe lyn made is geme r

Of gromene mawe .

The knave cromme th is crop,Er the cok crawe

He mome leth ant mocche th,

Ant marre th is mawe ;

The maker tha t made them,— he she d them to shame ,

to fleas and to fly,- to tyke and to toad —so sa ith Romans.— whoeve r read right— flycomes of flowe r, a nd louse comesof lad

The harlots are hote lings, -and hau nt the play — the

gadlings are glu ttons, —and drink be fore it dawns —Satanthe ir sire —sa id in his saying,—Goblin made his garne r—oithe grooms

'

maw .

The knave crams his crop—be fore the cock crows —he

mumble s and mocks, -and marrs his maw —when he is all


as POL I TICA L SONGS.

Whose rykeneth with knave sHue re coustage,

The luthemesse of the ladde ,The prude of the page ,

Thah he seve hem cattes -dryt

To hue re companage ,je t bym shulde a tewen

Of the arr-e rage .

Whil God wes on e rthe

And wondrede wyde ,Whe t wes the re sounWhy be no lde ryde

For he no lde no grom

To go by ys syde ,Ne grucchyng ofno gede lyng

To chaule ne to chyde .

Spedeth on to spewen,

Ase me doth to spe lleThe fend ou afre tie

With fle is ant with fe lleWhoever reckons with knave s the ir expe nse — the pe r !

ve rseness of the lad,— the pride of the page , - though he

give them ca ts' dirt— for the ir sustenance ,— ye t he sha llm e

- o f the arrea rs.

While God was on e arth— and wande re d wide , wha t

wa s the r eason—why he wou ld no t ride f— Be cause he wou ldnot have a groom— to go by his side ,— nor the gru dging of

any gadling— to jaw o r to chide .

Haste you to spew,— as me n do to spe l l (ta lk) —may thefiend devour you— with flesh and with skin l— Harken this


I-Ie rkne th hideward, horsmen,

A tidyng ich ou telle ,Tha t se shu len hongen ,

Ant herbarewen in he lle !

w a y, horsemen,— a tiding I te ll you,— that ye sha ll hang,

a nd be lodged in he ll .

REIGN OF EDWARD II . x3c7— t3a7.

Edward the First quitted the stage at a per iodwhen wars fromwithout and inte rnal trouble s we regathe ring fast ove r his country. H is son and

succe sso r, a weak and ill-advised prince , wa s littleca lcula ted to repe l the one or to ca lm the o the rand the fo llowing song shows us tha t, contrary tothe genera l rule in such cases, the people we remore sorrowful for the ir loss than pleased with

the nove lty of a new monarch .

LAMB-NT ON THE DEATH OF EDWARD I .

(MS. Bibl. Publ . Cantab Gg . i. r , fol. 4 89, of the re ign o f

Edw . I I . )SEIGNIURS, oies , pu r Die u le grant ,

Changone te de dure piré ,

De la mort un re i vaillaunt

Homme fu de grant bounté,E que par sa lea uté

Mut grant encuntre ad sustenue

Ceste chose est bien provéDe sa te rre n’

ad rien pe rdue .

Priom Dieu en devocioun

Que de se s pecchez le face pardoun

Taansu r ros .— Lords , listen, for the sake o f God the

grea t,— a little song of grie vous so rrow,

— fo r the dea th o f

a precious king — a man he was of grea t goodne ss ,- and

who by his loya lty— has su sta ine d many a gre a t e nco unte r ;-this thing is proved we ll — o f his land he lost none .

Le t u s pray God with devotion— tha t he pa rdon him his s ins.


a6 POL l r l CAL SONGS.

Rey Edward le vie l charm,

Qe taut ama ta se ignurie .

Ore est-ii mort ; jeo ne sai mie

Tonn haner qi le meintindra

Sun duz quor par grant druerieOutre la me re vous mande ra.

Ou jour avant que mort li prist,0d son barnage vole it parle r ;

Le s chivale rs devant li vist,Durement commenca de plure r .

“Jeo murrai,

”dist, pa r e stove r ,

Jeo ve i ma mort que me vent que reFe te s mon 61 rey corouner ,

Qe Dampnt-Dieu li don bien fe re

A Pe iters a l'

aposto ile

Une messager la mo rt li dist

King Edward the old and hoary,—who loved so much thy

lordship.—Now he is dead I know not a t all—who will

maintain thy banne r z—his gentle heart for great love—hewil l send you over the sea .

One day before dea th took him,— he wou ld talk with his

baronage —he saw the knights before him,—grievously he

began to we ep .— “ l sha ll die ,” he sa id, of necessity,— l

se e my death which comes to se ek me —cause my son to be

crowned king,—may the Lord G od give him grace to

do we ll 1”At Poitiers to the apostolic se e— a me ssenge r told hisPope Cleme nt V . , who was a lways at war with his

{falian subjects, re side d a gr ea t part of hrs Pontificate atortre rs .


E la Pape vesti l’estole ,A dure le rmes les le ttres prist .A las ! ” ceo dist, “comment ? morist

A qi Dieu donna tant honurA l’a lme en face Dieu me rcist

De se int eglise il fu la flour. ”

L’apostoile en sa chambre entra ,A pe in le poe it sustenir

E le s cardinals trestuz manda ,Durement commenca dc plurir .

Les cardinals li funt te isir,En hant commencent lur se rvise

Farmy la cité funt souir ,Et servir Dieu en se int eglise .

L’apostoile me imes vint a la messe ,Oue mult grant sollempnité ;

L’al rne pur sondre sovent se dresse ,

E dist par grant humili téde a th -and the pope put on the sto le ,—with bitte r tears hetook the le tters. Alas he sa id, how 1 is he dead— to

whom God gave so much honour‘l—May God grant mercy

to his sou l l— he was the flowe r of holy church."The pope ente red in his chamber,—he cou ld scarce ly sup

port it—and he sent for all the cardinals — gr ievously he

began to we ep.—The cardina ls made him desist, -a loud theybegin the ir se rvice — they cause the be lls to be rung

through the city,— and God’s se rvice to be pe rformed inholy church.The pope himse lf came to the mash—“with ve ry great

so lemnity — he often applie s himse lf to abso lve the sou l,and sa id in great humility May it please God in

28 POLITICAL SONGS.

Place a Dieu en Trinité,Qe vostre tiz en pust conque reJe rusalem la digne cite,

E passe r en la se inte tereLe je ofne Edward (PEnglete re

Dieu le doint te il conse il tre re ,Ki le pa is se it gouvernéE la coroune si garde r,

Qe la te re se it ente re ,E lui crestre en bounté ,

Car prodhome i fust son pe re .

Si Aristotle fuste en vie ,

E Virgile qe savo it l’art,Les valurs ne dirr[ai]ent mie

De l prodhome la disme part .Ore e st mo rt le re i Edward,

Pur qui mon quor est e n trafoun ;L’

alme Dieu la sa lve garde ,Pur sa se intime passioun AMEN .

Trinity,— tha t you r son may e fl'

e ct the conq ue st— o f Jeru°

salem the noble city, -and pa ss into the Holy LandThe youngEdward of England— is ano inte d and crownedking —may God grant tha t he fo llow such counse l,— thatthe country may be governed -and so to ke ep the crown,that the land may be entire , -a nd himse lf to incre ase in

goodness,— for his fa the r wa s a worthy man.

IfAristotle we re a live , -and Virgil who knew skill,— theywou ld not say the va lue— of the worthy man a te nthpart .Now is dea d King Edward,— for whommy he ar t is in desola tion — rnay God prese rve his sou l in safe ty — fo r the sakeof his ho ly passion Amen.


POL I TICAL SONGS.

Of Edward kyng tha t lith so lowe ,sent al this world is nome con springe .

Trewest mon of alle thinge ,Ant in we rre war ant wys,

For him we ahte oure h nden wrynge ,

Of Christendome he he r the prys.

Byfore that oure kyng was ded,He speke ase mon that we s in care ,

Cle rkes, knyhtes, ba rouns ,”he sayde ,

Y cha rge on by oure swa re ,

That ;e to Enge londe be trowe .

Y de se , y no may lyven na moreHe lpe th mi sone ant croune th him newe ,

For he is nest to buen y-core .

Ich bique the myn he rte aryht,That hit be write at mi devys,

Ove r the see tha t hue he diht,With fourscore knyhtes al of prys,

sing—ofEdward the king that lies so low,

— through al l this

world his name sprang .—Trewe st man of a ll things ,—and

in war wary and wise ,— for him we ought ou r hands to

wring , - of Christendom he ba re the prize .

Be fore tha t ou r king was de ad,— he spoke as one tha tmin care , Cle rgy , knights , ba rons ,"he sa id, I cha rge

you by your oa th,— tha t ye to England be tru e — I die , Imay not live any more - he lp my son, and crown him now ,

— for he is next to be chosen .

I bequ e a th my hea rt r ightly , that it be written a t mydevise — over the sea tha t it be sent— with fourscore knights

POL ITI CAL SONGS. 3:

In werre tha t buen war ant wys,A 3eyn the he thene for to fyhte ,

To wynne the croiz tha t lowe lysMyse lf ycholde 3e f that y myhte .

Kyng of Fraunce , thou hevede st sunne ,That thou the oounsa il woldest fonde ,

To latte the wille of kyng EdwardTo wende to the ho ly londe :That oure kyng hede take on honde

A l Enge lond to seme ant wysse ,

To wenden into the Holy Londe ,To wynnen us heve [n] riche blisse .

The message r to the Pope com,

And seyde tha t oure kynge wes dedYs oune hond the le ttre he nom,

Y-wis his herte wes ful gre tThe Pope himse lf the le ttre redde ,

And spec a word of gre t honour,

a ll of repute— in wa r tha t are wary and wise ,—against the

hea then for tofight,— to win the cross which lie s lowmyse lf I wou ld [go] if I could.King of France . thou hadst sin,— tha t thou shou ldest se ek

counse l,-to hinde r the wi ll of King Edward— to go to the

Ho ly Land —tha t our king had take n in hand— a ll Eng

land to ru le and teach,— to go into the Ho ly Land,— to win

us heaven'

s bliss .

The me sse nger to the pope came ,—and sa id tha t our kingwas dead —to his own hand the le tte r he took,— tru ly hisheart was ve ry fu ll —the pope himse lf the le tte r re ad ,— and


Alas he se ide , is Edward ded?

OfChristendome he he r the flour

The Pope to is chaumbre we nde ,For de l ne mihte he spe ke na more ;

And afte r cardina ls he sende ,That muche cou then of Cr istes lore ,

Bo the the lame ant eke the more ,Bed hem bothe re de ant syngeG re t deo l me myhte se thore ,Mony mon is honde wrynge .

The Pope of Peyte rs stod at is masse ,With fu l gre t solempne té ,

The r me con the soule blesseKyng Edward, honoured thou be !

God lene thi sone come afte r the

Bringe to ende tha t thou hast bygonne ;The holy crois y-mad of tre ,

So fain thou woldest hit han y-wonne !

spake a word of grea t honou r , Alas he sa id, is

Edward dead —of Christendom he ba re the flowe r !The pope to his chambe r went ,— he cou ld spea k no more

for grie f— and afte r the cardina ls he sent ,

— who knewmuchof Christ's doctrine ,— bo th the less and a lso the gre a te r ,hade them bo th read and s ing

-

grea t grie f might be se en

the re , -many a man to wring his ha nds .

The pope of Po itie rs stood a t his ma ss ,—w ith ve ry greatso lemnity, —the re they began to ble ss the sou l KingEdwa rd , honoured be thou — God g ive thy son , who comes

a fte r the e ,—to bring to end wha t thou hast be gun — the

ho ly cross made of wood , —so fa in thou wo uldst it ha ve won.


34 POLITICAL SONGS.

The godncsse myht y neve r te lleThat with Kyng Edward was :Kyng, as thou art cleped conque rour,

In uch bataille thou hadcst prisGod bringe thi soule to the honour

That eve r wes ant eve r ys,Tha t leste th nywithouten ende !

Bidde we God ant oure Ledy,To thi ike blisse Jesus us sende . AMEN.

produce d out of brass,— I cou ld neve r te ll the goodne sstha t was with King Edward z—King , as thou art called co nqueror ,

— ia each ba ttle thou baddest prize — God bring thysoul to the honou r— which eve r was and eve r is , -wh ich

lasts e ve r without end l— Pray we God and our Lady,— to

that bliss Je sus us send 1 AMEN .

The old cry against the Oppression of the poo rand honest by the rich, and the genera l co rruptionof the age , is repeated in the following piece . I t

probably de scribe s the state of fe e ling amongstmany in the earlie r years of Edward’s re ign.

SONG ON THE TIMES.

[MS. Reg . 1 2 , C. xn . fo l . 7 , r°

, o f re ign of Edw

QUANT honme de it parle ir, videa t quaeloquatur ;

Sen covent ave r , ne stultio r inveniatur .

TRANSLATION.—Whe n a man has to speak, le t him con

side r wha t words he u tters — he ought to pay a tte ntion to


Q uando quis loquitur, bote resoun reste the rynne ,

D e r isum patitur, ant lnte l so shal he wynne .

En seynt eglise sunt multi saspe priore sSumme be oth wyse , multi sunt infe rio res.Whe n mon mayme st do, tunc ve lle suum mani

festa t ,In donis also, si vu lt tibi przemia praestat.Ingrato bene fac, post base a peyne te ve rraPu r bon vin tibi lac non dat, nec rem tibi rendra .

Sensum custodi, quasi mie u valt sen qe ta me sounThah thou be mody, robur nichil e st sine resoun.

Lex lyth doun ove r a l, fa llax fraus fa llit ubiqueAnt love nys bote smal, quia gens se ge stat inique .

Wo wa lke th wyde , quoniammove t ira po tente '

s

Ryht con nou t ryde , qu ia vadit ad insipientes .

Dummodo fraus supe rest, lex nul nou t lonen ylonde ;

them, le st he appe ar a foo l .—Whe n any one speaks, unle ssre ason re st the re in,— he is laughed a t, and so he sha ll ga inlitt le .

— In ho ly church the re are ofte n many who hold advanced situations - some are wise , many are infe rior.

When a man may do most, then he exhibits his will,— ingifts a lso , if he will he gives the e pre sents.— Do a kindnessto an ungra te fu lman, and a fte rwards he will sca rce ly look atyou

—he will not even give you milk for good wine , norwillhe make you any re tu rn.

- Take care of thy inte lle ct, as ofa thing which is worth more than thy house - a lthoughthou be moody, strength is nothing withou t re ason.

— Law

lies down ove r a ll, fa lse fraud dece ive s eve rywhe re — and

the re is bu t little love , be cau se pe ople conduct themse lve swicke dly.—Woe walks wide , s ince ange r move s those whoare powe rful — r ight canno t r ide , because it goe s to the

ignorant .— Now tha t fraud is a live , law will not dwe ll in the

36 POLI TI CAL sozvcs .

Et quia sic re s e st, ryth may nout radlyche stonda

Pals mon freynt oovenaunt, quamvis tibi dicat,( 6 h“

Vixdabit un veu gaunt, lene les mon postea fle bis.Myn ant thyn duo sunt, qui frangunt plebis

amorem ;

Ce da is pur nus sunt facienda se pe dolorem.

Tresoun dampnificat, e t paucis est da ta re soun ;

Resoun oertificat, 00t e t omnia tre soun.

Pr e s may nout we l he , dum stat pe r nomina bins ;Lord Cr ist , tha t thou se , pe r te sit in hiis medicina

l

Infirmus mori tur , thah lechcraft ligge bysyde ;

Te ls plusou rs trovcrez, qui dc te plurima prendrount

Au dreyn bien ve rses , quod nullam rem tibi rendrount .

Esto pacificus, so myh thou welde thy wyll e ;land —a nd since the ma tter is in tha t position, right m y

though he say to the e , thou sha lt have it."

-He willscarcely give an o ld glove , thou shalt afterwardswe e p —Mine and thine are two , which bre ak the love ofthe people —the se two for us wi ll cause frequent grie f.Tre ason inju re s, and re ason is given to few

— re ason makes

sure , while tre ason confounds all things — Pe ace may not

we ll be , while it stands by two name s — Lo rd Christ, dothou look to it, thro ugh the e may the re be a medicine forthe se things — The sick man dies , a lthough the art ofme dicine lie by his side —the living man is dece ived, the re isnone who sha ll abide he re — You wi ll find ma ny such aswill take ve ry much from you

— ia the e nd you will see

we ll, tha t the y wrll re tu rn you nothing — Be pacific, so


38 POLI TICAL sozvcs .

It nis nouther we l ne fa ire ;Therforc Enge lond is shent.

Nostre prince de Engle te re ,Par le consa il de sa gent,

At Westminste r afte r the fe ire ’Made a gre t parlement .

La chartre fe t de cyrc,

Jeo l’enteink e t bie n le cre r ,

It was holde to ne ih thefire ,And is molten al awey.

Ore ne saymes que dire ,Tout i va a Tripolay,

Hundred, chapitle , cour t, and shire ,

A l hit goth a deve l way.

Des plusages de la te reOre escotez un sarmoun,

Of iiij. wise -men tha t the r we re .Whi Engle lond is brouht adoun.1

'

account of it Eng land is ru ine d.— Our prince of England,— by the counse l of his pe ople —a t We stminste r afte r the

fa ir— made a grea t pa rliament.— The charte r he made of

wax,—ao I unde rstand , and I re adily be lieve it,— it was

he ld too nea r the fire — and is a ll me lted away.— Now Iknow not wha t more to say,—a ll goe s to Tr ipo ly,- hundred,chapte r , court, and shire ,

—a ll it goe s the devil's way.—0f

the wise st men of the land— now listen to a discourse ,—offour wise men tha t the re we re ,— why England is broughtdown.

Probably the fair ofSt. Bartholomew .

f This story of the four wise men was ve ry pu lar, andfound its way into the “Ge sta Romanorum.

” ‘

he sentencsof the wise men we re po u la r prove rbs independe nt of theta le : they var ie d a t di e rcut pe riods. The re ade r is re


The ferste se ide , I understonde

N e may no king we l ben in londe ,Under God Almihte ,

But he cunne himse lf rede ,Hou he sha l in londe lede

Everi man wid rihte .

For might is riht,Liht is night,Andfiht isfiiht.

For miht is r iht, the loud is lawe le s

For niht is liht, the loud is lo re le s

Forfiht isfiibr, the load is name les.

”

Tha t o the r se ide a word ful god,Whoso rowcth asein the flod,

Off som e he shal drinke ;Also hit fa re th hi the unse le ,

The first said, “I unde rstand— no kingmay be prosperousin land— under God A lmighty,— unle ss he can counse l himse lf— how he sha ll in land lead—e ve ry man with r ight .For might is right,— light is darkne ss,—andfight is flight.—Be ca use might is r ight , the land is lawle ss — be ca usedarkne ss is light, the land is withou t doctrine - ! be ca usefight is flight, the land is withou t re puta tion.

"

The se cond sa id a ve ry good word, Whoeve r rows

aga inst the flood, —he sha ll drink of sorrow — thus it fare sby the unfortuna te —a man sha ll have little strength—tofe rre d to MS. Reg . 5A. vi. fol 83, r

°

, and to MS. Harl.No . 206, fo l. 38, v

'

. It will a lso be found in the “Ge staRomanorum edited , in Eng lish, by Sir Frede rick Madde n,for the Roxb he Club in 1 838, page 397 . In M

’

s. Cotton.

Vespas. E. xii. 01. t oo , r°

, is anothe r La tin ve rsron, whe rethe sce ne is la id a t Carthage , and the King is Hanntba l,whilst Virgi l take s the place of the four wise men .


A man shal have lite l he leThe r agcin to swinke .

Nu on is two ,

Ano the r is wo,And frend is fo .

For on is two , tha t loud is strcinthe les ;For we l is wo, the loud is reuthcles

For frend is fo , the loud is love lss .

That thridde se ide , It is no wonde r

Off thise eyres tha t goth unde r,Whan the ih oomen to londe

Proude and stoute , and ginne th se lpe ,

Ac of thing that sholde he lpeHave the ih noht on honde .

Nu lust have th leve ,The f is reve ,

And pride hath sieve .

For lust hath leve , the loud is thewe le sFor the f it reve , the load is pe nyle s ;

For pride hath sleve , the lond is almusle s .

labou r aga inst ir.—Now one is two,—anothe r is woe , —andfriend is foe — Because one is two, the land is wi thou tstre ngth g— be cause wea l is woe , the land is withou t ruth— because friend is foe , the land is withou t love .

The third sa id, It is no wonde r— o f the se he irs tha t gounde r, -when they come to land— proud and stou t, and

begin to ye lp,—bu t of anything that might he lp— the y havenought inhand. —Now lust ha th le ave — thief ismagis tra te ,— and pride ha th sleeve s.

— Because lust ha th le ave , the landis de stitu te of mora lity - because thie f is magistra te , theland is pe nnyle ss — be cause pr ide ha th sle eve s , the land iswithout a lms .

"


se POL ITICAL SONGS.

Riche and pore , honde and ftc,Tha t love is God, se ma i se ;Love clepe th ech man brothe r

For it that he to blame be ,Forsifhit himpa r Ma r

-il l ,

Al the ih he do o the r.

Love we God, and he us alle ,That was born in an oxe stal le ,

And for us don on rode .

His swe te he rte-blod he le tFor us, and us fa ire he t

That we sholde be gode .

Bu t we nu gode and stede fast,

So that we muwen at the lastHaven hevene blisse .

To God Almihti I pre ie

Lat us neve r in sinne de ic,

That joye for to misse .

Rich and poor, bond and free , —tha t love is good, ye mayse e - love ca lls everyman bro the r — for tha t for which hemay be to blame , forgive it him in charity,— a lthough hedo o the r .

Love we God, and may He love us all, —who was born inan ox

’

s stable , -and for us place d on the cross . His swee t

hea rt ’s blood He she d— for us , and bade us fair ly—that weshou ld be good .Be we now good and ste adfast , -so tha t we may at last

- have the bliss of heaven -To God Almighty I pray, - le t

us neve r die in siu ,— to miss that joy.


A c le ne u s alle so don he re ,A nd leve in love and god mane re ,

The deve l for to shendeTha t we mo ten alle i-fe reSe n him that us bouhte de re ,

In joye withoute ende . AMEN.

B u t grant us all so to do here ,—and live in love and goodman n e r , -the devil for to shame - tha t we may a ll in com

pa ny—se e him tha t bought us dea rly,— in joy eve rlasting .

A ssn".

Edward’

swre tched favo urite , Pe te r de Gave stonwa s beheaded by the Barons in the May o f 1312 .

The two fo llowing songs exhibit the gene ra l fe e ling of exultation which a ttended this exe cu tion .

I t is scarce ly nece ssa ry to say tha t they a re parodieon two hymns in the old church service .

SONGS ON THE DEATH OF PETER DE GAVESTON .

[MS. Trin. Co ll. Cambr . 0. 9 . 38. 1 sth cent . on pape r . ]

I .

De Petra dc Gaverstom .

VEXI LLA regni prodeunt,

fulge t come ta comitunt ,

Come s dico Lancastriaequ i domu it indomitum

Tas s su vr rom— l . The banne rs of the kingdom go forth,the come t of Ear ls shines , I mea n the Earl of Lancaste r ,who tame d him whom nobody e lse cou ld tame whe re by


Quo vulneratus pestife r

mucronibusWalensiutn,

Truncatns est atrocite r

Impleta sunt que censuit

auctoritas sublimium

Mors Pe tri se ro patuit,

regnavit diu nimium.

dunt co llo Pe trus ee diturSit benedicta frames.

qua: Pe trum sic aggreditu r

Beats manus jugulansbeatus jubens jugulum

Bea tum fe rrum fe rie nsquem fe rre nolle t saecu lum

O crux, quze pati pate rishanc mise rammise riam,

Tu nobis omnem subtrahe

mise riae mate riam

the pestife rous one be ing wounded by the blades of the

We lsh, was disgracefully behea ded in the sixth month.

What the authority of the powe rs above willed has be enfulfilled the dea th ofPe te r a t last has be en efi'ected,—here igned much too long . The bad tree is cu t down, whenPe te r is struck on the neck — Bla sed be the weapon whichthus approached Pe ter I Blesse d be the hand which exe

cuted him ! b lessed the man who ordered the execution !

not bear any longe r 0 Cross ,which al lowed to be snfi'eredthis wre tched mise ry, do thou take from us all the material


4 6 POL ITICA L SONGS.

Quando venit apta re i plenitudo temporis,

Est pne cisum caput ci de juncture corpo r is

Turbans turbas intra regnum nunc turba tur a foris.

Nulli vo lens comparari, summo fasta praeditus,Se no le nte subdit collum passioni deditus ;De condigna morte cujus e st hic hympnu s editas.Pe rdit capu t qu i se caput pa ribus praepo su it

Rite corpus pe rforatur cujus co r sic tumu itTe rra , pontus, astra , mundus, plaudant quod hic

corru it.

Trux, crude lis inte r omne s, nunc a pompis

abstine t

Jam non ultra sicut comes, ve l ut rex, se contine t ;

V ir indignus, morte dignus, mor tem dignam sus

tine t.Flexis ramis arbor illa ruit in prove rbia;

Nam rigor lentescit ille quem dedi t supe rbia

forth le t the good omen re joice our hea rts , for so rrow is

past .—Whe n the fu lness of time which was fit fo r the thingcame , his he ad is cut 03 from the junctu re of the body ; hewho ra ise d trouble s within the kingdom is now troubledfrom without .— He who wa s unwill ing to have an equa l,clothed in the extreme of pride , aga inst his will be nds hisne ck to the exe cu tione r ; of whose me rited de a th this hymnis se t forth .— He who placed himse lf as a he a d a bove hisequa ls, lose s his own head ; justly his body is pie rced.whose he a rt was so puffed up ; bo th land , se a , s ta rs, and

world, rejoice in h is fa ll .— Fe rocious and cru e l among all

me n, he ce ases now from his pomp ; now he no longe rbehave s himse lf like an e arl, or a king the unwo rthy man,worthy of de a th , unde rgoe s the de a th which he me rits .

This tre e with its branche s be nt fa lls into a prove rb for the

POL ITICAL SONGS. 4 7

Sic d e b e t humiliari qu i sapit sublimis .

Ai d e s Pe tr i qua tene tur non sit fulta roboreSit p r o ph anus a lter locus , s it e t in dedecore ,Q u e m fa d us cruo r fmdavit fusus Pe t ri corpore lG lo r i a s it creatori l gloria comitibus

Q u i fe c e runt Pe trum mori cum suis carminibus

A m o d o s it par e t plausus in Anglo rumfinibus lAMEN .

s tiffn e ss wh ich pride gave is'so ftened ; thus ought the

amb i t io u sa nd aspir ing man to be humble d .—May the houseof Pe t e r , in which he is he ld , not be supported in stre ngth ;ma y th e othe r place be profane , and may it be in disgrace ,wh ich the filthy gore spilled from Pe te r 's body has de fi le d l

- G lo ry be to the Crea tor ! Glory to the Ear ls who havema de Pe te r die with his charms l He nce forth may the re bepe ace a nd rejo icing throughou t England AMEN .

The e vents of the Scottish war during the re ign

of Edward I I . we re no t of a characte r to drawforth the songs of triumph which had a ttended thecampa igns of his fathe r . The loss of his fathe r ’sconquests, and the reve rse s o f his own arms, whilethe y produced unive rsa l dejection, only tended to

widen the bre ach which his own folly had madebe twe e n himse lf and his people . The fo llowingpoem was made in 1313, immediate ly afte r thedisastrous battle o f Bannockburn, whe re the Earlof G lo uce ste r was slain. The write r, while he

4 8 POL ITICAL SONGS.

laments the humiliation to which his country hadbeen reduced, glam from time to time at the

evil counse ls which had led to it.

r un BATTLE o r BANNOCKBURN .

’

[From“S. Cotton. Titus, A. xx. fol. 68, r°

, wri tten in the

re ign of Edw.

Pe n u xrrv of heart compe ls me,to te ll wou

de rful things, that England begins to be subjectedto Scotland : it is said tha t new prodigi es are nowperformed, when the daughte r take s u pon her tolord it over the mothe r . —England the matron of

many regions, to whom tributary gifts we re given,is now, alas ! constra ined too much to be pros

tra te to the daughter, bywhom the ma te rnal crownis injured.

— A gene ral proclamation went throughEngland, admonishing everybody to take up arms,that the a rmy might go to Scotland to vindicateour rights, or to be able to avenge our injury.— Towhich theme I ought to procrastina te very much ;the king began to ass emble his troops, nuadvisedly he we nt to make war on the Scots : hisange r volunta rily subsided, unwi lling longer tohold out.— The re we re in the army many nobles,knights who we re too showy and pompous ; whenso many impe tuous men came to the conflict, the

This poem is a ttribu ted to Robe rt Bastou , a Carme lite.who was take n prisone r by the Scots a t the battle . Thetext is extreme ly corrupt .


4 0 POLI TICAL SONGS.

A man shal have lite l he leThe r agcin to swinke .

Nu on is two,

Ano the r is wo ,And frend is fo .

Fo r on is two, that loud is stre inthe le sFor we l is wo, the loud is reuthcle s

For freud is fo, the loud is love le s .

Tha t thridde se ide , It is no wonde r

Off thise eyres tha t go th unde r,Whan the ih comen to londe

Proude and stoute , and ginne th se lpe ,Ac of thing that sholde he lpe

Have the ih noht on honde .

Nu lust have th leve ,The f is reve ,And pride hath sieve .

Fo r lust ha th leve , the loud is thewe le sFor the f it reve , the loud is pe nyle s ;

For pride hath sleve , the loud is almusle s .

labou r against it .—Now one is two ,—another is woe —a ndfr iend is foe — Because one is two, the land is withou tstre ngth — be cause wea l is woe , the land is withou t ruth— because frie nd is foe , the land is wi thou t love .

”

The third sa i It is no wonde r— o f the se he irs tha t gounder ,—when they come to land— proud and stout, and

begin to ye lp,— bu t of anything tha t might he lp— they havenought inhand —Now lust ha th leave — thief ismagistra te ,— and pride ha th sle eve s.—Because lust ha th leave , the landis de stitute of mora lity - because thie f is magist rate , theland is pe nnyle ss — because pr ide ha th sleeve s, the land iswithou t a lms .

”

POL ITI CAL SONGS. 4 ;

The fe r-the se ide , tha t he is wodTha t dwell e th to muche l in the and,

Fo r go ld or for auhte

Fo r go ld or silve r, or any we le ,Hunge r or thurst, he te or chele ,

A ll shal gon to nohte .

Nu wille is red,Wit is qued,And god is ded.

For wil le is red, the loud is wrecfulFo r wit is qued, the load is wrongfulFor God is ded, the load is sinful .

Wid wordes as we han ple id,Sum wisdom we han se id

Off olde men and sungeOffmany a thinge tha t is in londe ,Whoso coude it unde rstonde ,

So have I told wid tongue .

The fourth sa id, That he is mad- who dwe lls too muchin the dood,— for gold or for property — for gold or silve r , orany weal,

—hunge r or thirst, hea t or oold,—a ll sha ll go to

nothing.—Now will is counse l, -wit is wicked— and good

is dead—Because will is counse l, the land is fu ll o f revenge

—because wit is wicke d, the land is fu ll ofw ong

because God is de ad, the land is fu ll of sin.

With words as we have played,- some wisdom we have

said—of old men and young —of many a thing tha t is in

land,—whoever might unde rstand ir,— thus have I toldwithtongue .

sa POL ] T! CAL SONGS.

savour.— Ifyou knew, Glouce ste r, your fat’, you

wouldwe e p, because your he ir pe rishe s in Scotland;thy sons

-in-law will take the , from whom thouwilt sufl

'

e r disgrace ; lest they should make theethou will bruise the pre sent gove rnment.

Thou art made as a lady widowed ofhe r husband,

whose comfort is changed into we e ping ; thou art

a so litary city deprived of thy head ; may the

blessed Trinity amend thy fortune

The last piece in our collection is ra the r diffe rent in characte r from those which have precededit. One of the most unpopular acts of this we akreign was the execution of the Earl of Lancaste rin l322. The love which the people bore towa rdshim, led them to sanctify his memory. A martyrin what was loudly proclaimed to be the cause of

God, his countrymen be lieved that he te stified hisunshaken love for those in whose de fence he hadfallen by miracles pe rformed at his tomb, and a

regular form of se rvice was composed for his

worship .

The text has Ne te fa r . facient, pre se ns regnum


5, r au n en . SONGS.

memoriam devote vene rantur in te rris, przemia

condigna cum ipso consequi me reantur in cnellis,

p . du . ii .

H arm— SOSpitati dat z grotos precum Thoma

fusio

Comes pius mox languentum adest inprze s idio

Relevantur ab infirmis infirmi sufi'ragio.

SanctiThornae quodmonstra tur signorumindicio,

Vas regal e trucidatur regni pro remedio.

0 quam proba t sanctumducemmorborumcuratio

Ergo laudes Thomae sancto canamus cumgaudio

Nam devo te poscens illum, statim proculdubio sospes regreditur .

memory on ea rth, may merit to ob ta inworthy reward alongwith him in Heaven, through our Lord.Prosa .

— The pou ring ou t of prayers to Thomas restoresthe sick to he alth ; the pious Ear l come s immediate ly to thea id of those who are fee ble they are re lie ved fromtheir iafirmitie s by the suffrage of one who was infirm. So that it

is shown by the e vidence of the miracle s of St . Thomas, thatthe roya l vesse l is behea de d for the cu re of the kingdom.

0 how the cu re of diseases decla res the sa inted leader !The re fore with rejoicing le t us sing praise s to St. Thomas ;for he who asks him devou tly, imme dia te ly without doubthe will re turn he a led.

POLITICAL SONGS. 55

Se qu entia .—Summum regem honoremus,

dulcis pro memoriaMartyris, quem collaudemus

summa reve rentia .

Thomas comes appe llatur,stemmate egregio ;

Sine causa condempnatur,

na tus thoro regio .

Qui cum pichem ro tam ce rnit

labi sub naufragio,Non pro jure mori spernit,

lae tali commercio .

O flosmili tum rega lis,tuam hanc familiam

Semper conse rve s a ma lis,pe rducens ad gloriam AMEN.

Pange , lingua, glorios i comitis martyrium,

Sanguinisque pre ciosi Thoma fioris mil itum,

Ge rminisque generosi landis, lucis comitum.

Seq uence . Le t us honour the highe st King, for the

memory of the sweet martyr, whom we join in pra isingwiththe utmost reverence . He is called Ea r l Thomas, of anillu strious ra ce ; he is condemne d withou t cause , who wasborn of a roya l bed. Who when he pe rce ived tha t thewhole commons we re fa lling into wreck, did not shrink fromdying for the right, in the fa ta l comme rce . 0 roya l flowerof knights , preserve eve r from evils this thy family, bringingthem to glory ! AMEN.

De clare , my tongue , the mar tyrdom of the glorious Earl,and of the pre cious blood ofThomas the flowe r of knights,and of the praise of the noble sprout, the light of Earls.


De parentis utriusque regali prosapiaProdit Thomas, cujus pater pro les e rst regia,Matrem a tque sublimavit reginam Nav

'

arriaJ‘

Dux fide lis suum gregem dum dispersamconspicit,

E mulumque suum regem sibi motum meminit,Mcxcarnalem juxta legem in mirum contremuit.

Benedicti benedictus capitur vigilia ,IAgonistafit invictus statim die tertia,Dirac neci est addictus, ob quod luge t Anglia .

Proht dolor ! acephalatur plebis pro juvamine ,Suorumque desolatnr militam stipamine ,

Dum dolose desianda tur pe r sudam Hoylandize . §

Thomas sprang from a roya l ra ce by both his pare nts.whosefather was the son of a king , and whose mothe r Navarre

ra ised to be a que en —The faithfu l lea de r when he saw thathis flock was dispe rse d, and he ca lled to mind tha t his kingwas move d with jea lou sy towards him, soon according tothe law of the flesh he trembled wonderfully. The bless edman is taken on the vigi l ofSt. Bene t, on the third day heis suddenly made an unconquere d champion, he is de

live re d to dire dea th, on account of which Englandmourns — Alas ! he is be he aded for the aid of the commons,he is dese rted by the company of his knights , whilsthe is u'

eache rously deser ted by Robert de Hoyland

Thomas Plantagene t , Ear l of Lancaste r , was son of

Edmund, ounge r bro the r of Edward I .t Blanc e

,dau hte r of Robe rt , Ear l ofArtois , andw idow

of Henry, King 0 Navarre , was the se cond wife ofEdmundPlanta ene t .

t A te r the battle of Boroughbridge (March 1 5 , the

Earl of Lancaster took re fuge in a chape l, whe re he wastaken on the soth, brought to Ponte fract on the 2 1st, triedon the 22nd, and be he aded the same day. The 20thMarchwas the e ve of St. Be ne t .5 Robe rt de Hoyland (the fa the r of Thomas de Roland,


58 POLITICAL SONGS.

Ad cujus tumbem sospitasE gris da tar, ut ve ritas

cunctis nunc clarescit.

Copiose caritatis

Thoma pugil strenue ,Qui pro lege libertatis

nostn s patrem gloria ,

Ut ascribat cum bea tis

nos ce lestis curiae . AMEN .

FINIS.

his sanctity, da ily increase : at whose tomb hea lth isgiven to the sick. and the truth may now be cle a r to all.0 Thomas, strenuous champion of plentiful cha rity, whodidst comba t for the law of Eng land’s libe rty, inte rce de forour sins with the Fathe r of G lory, tha t He may give us a

place with the ble sse d in the he avenly court. Asi an.

THE END.

APPENDIX I .

ON THE WORD “RIBALDUS,

” “RIBAUD.

(Vol. ii. p .

T H IS is one of those curious words of which the

o r igin and primary signification are ve ry doubtful .I t was ce rtainly applied to a particular class of

p e ople , and a class which se ems to have be en dep endent on the household of the great . Giraldus

Cambrensis, when te lling his various troubles and

pe rse cutions (Wharton, Anglia Sacra , vol . ii i. p ,

spe aks thus of the witnesse s brought aga insth im by his enemie s Archidiaconus (ai a ,

G iraldus himse l!) au tem sta tim, productis te stibus

illis co ram audito ribus ad jurandum, proposu it ui

s ingulorum personas se dicturum in canonicos

Menevenses tanquam pe rjuros e t excommunica tos,in monachos tanquam trutannos e t domorum

snarum dese rtore s, in r ibaldos tanquam vilissimos

ct, sicut cae te ri cuncti, me rcede conductos.

”And

again, on the next page , Et testiummultitudinemde garcionibus e t ri ba ldis partis adve rsae, que

omnes jurare para ti fue rant e t te stificaretrutannus ille vilissimus id to tum faciebat qui e t

r iba ldos suor cunctos ad hoc probandum simul cumipso mittebat . Videns igitur archidiaconus

60 APPENDIX .

fik ldos 1710: ad nutumdominan t) : mam asquidlibe t

probare paratos. Sciens itaqu e si praéa t r’

o

W e preceden t .

e tc.

” They se em to have been the low est cla ss

of re tainers , pe rhsps men without any ce rtain ap

pointment, who had no other mode of living than

following the courts of the Barons, and who we re

employed on all kinds o f disgrace ful and wickedactions. One authority quo ted by Ducange couplesparasitos atque r iba ldor .

”A story quo ted from

a MS. at Be rne , by Sinner (Cata logus, tom. i .

p. shows us tha t a gvlia rd be longed to the

class ofrs’bald: now a goh'

a rd se ems to have be enonly another name for a jongleur (jocula tor) , or

one who attended the tables o f the rich to amuse

the guests by jokes, buffoonery, and mountebanktricks . An ecclesiastica l Statu te quo ted in Ducange(v. Goliardus) says, item praecipimus quod clerici

anothe r commands, quod clerici n '

baldz‘

, maxime

ve ro qui dicuntur de famih'

a gvh'

z , pe r episoopos

tonde re przecipiantur. Matthew Paris, suban. 1229, says, qu idam famuli , ve l mancipia ,ve l illi quos solemus gvlrhrdm er appe lla t e , versus

ridicu los componebant.” In this last passage we

find them classed with the fa fmd i , or householdre taine rs. This class appears, at least in France ,to have enjoyed ce rtain popular rights or privileges.

In a very curious cha rte r of the yea r 1380, printedin Ducauge , wefind one Antony de Sagiac “se


62 APPENDIX .

APPENDIX II .

r u n r a a r n a s a s r o xs.

The following commission is given in Ryme r

Rnx delectis e tfide libus su is,Wilie lmo Martyn,Henrico Spigume ll, Wilie lmo dc Knovill, Rogerode Be llafago , e t Thom de la Hyde , sa lu tem.

Quia quamplures male factores, e t pacis nostme

pe rturbatores, homicidia, depraedationes , incendia ,e t alia dampna quamplurima nocte dieque pe rpe

trautes, vagantur e t discur runt in boscis, in pare is,e t aliis locis dive rsis, tam infra libe rtates quamextra, in comitatibus Cornubiae, Devon ia , Sume r

se tize , Dorse tia , I-Ie refordia , Wygornize , Salopiat,

Stafl'

ordia , Wiltes’

, e t Suthamptoniae, e t ibidemreceptantur , in maximum pe ricu lum tamhominum

pe r partes illas transe untium, quam ibidemmorantium, e t nostri contemptum, ac pacis nostm

lsesionem manifestam,ut accepimus Per quorum

incursus poterunt pejora prioribus de facili evenire ,nisi remedium supe r hoc citius apponatur : Nos,

corum malitiae in hac parte obviare . e t hujusmodidampnis ct pe ricu lis pm cave re volentes, assig

navimus vosjusticiarios nostros Ad inquirendum,

pe r sacramentum tam militum quam aliorum pro

borum et legalium hominium de comitatibus prac

APPENDIX . 63

d ict is , tam infra libe rtate s quam extra, pe r quosr e i v e r itas me lius sciri pote rit , qu i sunt illi ma lefa ct o r e s, e t corum scienter re cepta tores, e t e is cons e n t i entes, vim e t auxilium pra bentes, sen dictast r a n sgressionesfie ri procurantes et praecipientes

E t e tiam ad inquirendum de illis, qui pro mune ri b u s su is pactum fece runt e t faciunt cum ma lefa c to ribus, e t pacis nostrae pe rturbatoribus, ct eos

co nduxerunt e t conducunt ad verbe randum, vul

n e randum, ma le tractandum e t inte rficiendump l u rss de regno nostro, in fe riis, me rcatis, ci aliis

lo cis, in dictis comitatibus, pro inimicitia , invidia ,

m al itia , e t etiam pro eo quod in assisis, juratis,re cognitionibus, e t inquisitionibus factis de fe loniis,positi fuerunt, e t veritatem dixe runt : nude per

conductionem hujusmodi male factorum, jura toresassisarum, juratorum recognitionum, e t inqu isitio

num illarum, prae timore dictorummalefactorum e t

horum minarum, saepiusve ritatemdicere sen dictos

malefactores indictare minime aussi fue runt, et

sunt : Et e tiam ad inquirendum de illis qu i hujusmodi munera dede runt e t dant : e t quantam e t

qu ibus : e t qui hujusmodi mune ra recepe runt et

recipiunt : et a qu ibus, e t qualite r, e t quo modo :ct qu i hujusmodimalefactores in sua malitia fovent,nutriunt, e t manutenent in comitatibus praedictis :

Et e tiam de illis, qui, ratione potestatis ct dominusu i, aliquos in corumprotectionem e t advocationem

pro suo dando susceperunt, e t adhuc suscipiunt :

Et de illis qui pecuniam ab aliquo, per graves

64 APPEND IX .

minas ci factus, malitiose extorse runt : Et ad

felonias et transgressions illas andiendas e t te r

minaudas secundum legem e t consue tudinem regni

nostri , e t juxta formam ordinationis pe r nos e t

consilium nostrum supe r hoc factae , e t vobis inpa rliameuto nostro libe rate Et e tiam ad omne s

fe lonias e t transgres sion s, dc quibus inqu isitione scoram dilectis e t fide libus nostris, Henrico de

Cobeham, Thoma Payne l, Ungone de Sancto

Phili be rto , e t Johanne Randolf, in praedictis comitatibusWiltes’ e t Suthamtou ia: factae sunt, e t pe r

vos, si nece sse fue rit, faciendse, audiendas e t te r

minaudas in forma pre dicts e tc.

APPENDIX I II .

The fo llowing curious Song is taken from a

MS. in the Unive rsity Library, Cambridge , Ee .

vi. 29, of the beginning of the fifte enth century,though most, if not all, the ar ticles it contains arecompositions of a much ea rlie r date .

Econ do le t Anglia luctibus imbutaGens tremit tristitia, sordibus pol lu ta ;Necat pestilentia viros atque bruta.

Cur ? quia flagitia regnant resoluta .

Heu jam totus ve rtiturmundus inma lignum.

Inter gentes quaeritur ubi cor benignum.

Christus non recolitur, mortuus pe r lignumErgo plebs pe rimitur in vindictze signum.


6 APPENDIX .

Ambita denaru subeunt laboresTa les ope rarii me rentur mosroresIsti pro ciliciis utuntur pe llura ;

Fa rcinnt de liciis ventres tota curaDunt post[ea] spurcitiis so sine measu r e .

Sufl'

ulti diviti is vivant contra jura .

Dum cape lla tegitur nobili vesturs ,Sponsa Christi rapitur nudata tecturaVine s destruitur porcorum ursura,

Et vitis eve llitur, carens jam cultura.

Sace rdotes Domini sunt incontine utes

Actus suo nomini non sunt re spondentesSacra dante s bomini forent sr docente s ;Suimore s ordini non sunt congruente s.lsta supe r aethe rs sanguine scribantur,

Ut patenti litters sa ca lis leganturIguibus cum ve te ra pe ccata purgantur,Sua ferant one ra jam qui dominantur .

En amor et caritas regais re frigescuntLivor e t severitas gentibus ardescuntCleri plebis veritas e t tides tepescunt

Femina: fragilitas omni care t lauds ;Mercautum subtilitas versatur in fraude ;

Et fta tram dolositas jungit capu t caudc .

Homo , si jam veritas te gubemat, gsude

0

UNwrN aao-r rtnas , prim-

ram, LONDON AND curtwoar n.

Documents

Political Songs - Forgotten Books