Chapter I: Preface (1)

For this Anthology I have tried to range over the whole field of English Verse from the beginning, or from the Thirteenth Century to this closing year of the Nineteenth, and to choose the best. Nor have I sought in these Islands only, but wheresoever the Muse has followed the tongue which among living tongues she most delights to honour. To bring home and render so great a spoil compendiously has been my capital difficulty. It is for the reader to judge if I have so managed it as to serve those who already love poetry and to implant that love in some young minds not yet initiated.

My scheme is simple. I have arranged the poets as nearly as possible in order of birth, with such groupings of anonymous pieces as seemed convenient. For convenience, too, as well as to avoid a dispute-royal, I have gathered the most of the Ballads into the middle of the Seventeenth Century; where they fill a languid interval between two winds of inspiration--the Italian dying down with Milton and the French following at the heels of the restored Royalists. For convenience, again, I have set myself certain rules of spelling. In the very earliest poems inflection and spelling are structural, and to modernize is to destroy. But as old inflections fade into modern the old spelling becomes less and less vital, and has been brought (not, I hope, too abruptly) into line with that sanctioned by use and familiar. To do this seemed wiser than to discourage many readers for the sake of diverting others by a scent of antiquity which--to be essential--should breathe of something rarer than an odd arrangement of type. But there are scholars whom I cannot expect to agree with me; and to conciliate them I have excepted Spenser and Milton from the rule.

Glosses of archaic and otherwise difficult words are given at the foot of the page: but the text has not been disfigured with reference-marks. And rather than make the book unwieldy I have eschewed notes--reluctantly when some obscure passage or allusion seemed to ask for a timely word; with more equanimity when the temptation was to criticize or ‘appreciate.’ For the function of the anthologist includes criticizing in silence.

Care has been taken with the texts. But I have sometimes thought it consistent with the aim of the book to prefer the more beautiful to the better attested reading. I have often excised weak or superfluous stanzas when sure that excision would improve; and have not hesitated to extract a few stanzas from a long poem when persuaded that they could stand alone as a lyric. The apology for such experiments can only lie in their success: but the risk is one which, in my judgement, the anthologist ought to take. A few small corrections have been made, but only when they were quite obvious.

The numbers chosen are either lyrical or epigrammatic. Indeed I am mistaken if a single epigram included fails to preserve at least some faint thrill of the emotion through which it had to pass before the Muse’s lips let it fall, with however exquisite deliberation. But the lyrical spirit is volatile and notoriously hard to bind with definitions; and seems to grow wilder with the years. With the anthologist--as with the fisherman who knows the fish at the end of his sea-line--the gift, if he have it, comes by sense, improved by practice. The definition, if he be clever enough to frame one, comes by after-thought. I don’t know that it helps, and am sure that it may easily mislead.

Having set my heart on choosing the best, I resolved not to be dissuaded by common objections against anthologies--that they repeat one another until the proverb δὶς ἢ τρὶς τὰ καλά loses all application--or perturbed if my judgement should often agree with that of good critics. The best is the best, though a hundred judges have declared it so; nor had it been any feat to search out and insert the second-rate merely because it happened to be recondite. To be sure, a man must come to such a task as mine haunted by his youth and the favourites he loved in days when he had much enthusiasm but little reading.

A deeper import
Lurks in the legend told my infant years
Than lies upon that truth we live to learn.

Few of my contemporaries can erase--or would wish to erase--the dye their minds took from the late Mr. Palgrave’s _Golden Treasury_: and he who has returned to it again and again with an affection born of companionship on many journeys must remember not only what the _Golden Treasury_ includes, but the moment when this or that poem appealed to him, and even how it lies on the page. To Mr. Bullen’s _Lyrics from the Elizabethan Song Books_ and his other treasuries I own a more advised debt. Nor am I free of obligation to anthologies even more recent--to Archbishop Trench’s _Household Book of Poetry_, Mr. Locker-Lampson’s _Lyra Elegantiarum_, Mr. Miles’ _Poets and Poetry of the Century_, Mr. Beeching’s _Paradise of English Poetry_, Mr. Henley’s _English Lyrics_, Mrs. Sharp’s _Lyra Celtica_, Mr. Yeats’ _Book of Irish Verse_, and Mr. Churton Collins’ _Treasury of Minor British Poetry_: though my rule has been to consult these after making my own choice. Yet I can claim that the help derived from them--though gratefully owned--bears but a trifling proportion to the labour, special and desultory, which has gone to the making of my book.

For the anthologist’s is not quite the _dilettante_ business for which it is too often and ignorantly derided. I say this, and immediately repent; since my wish is that the reader should in his own pleasure quite forget the editor’s labour, which too has been pleasant: that, standing aside, I may believe this book has made the Muses’ access easier when, in the right hour, they come to him to uplift or to console--

ἄκλητος μὲν ἔγωγε μὲνοιμί κεν ἐς δὲ καλεύντων
θαρσήσας Μοίσαισι σὺν ἁμετέραισιν ἱκοίμαν

My thanks are here tendered to those who have helped me with permission to include recent poems: to Mr. A. C. Benson, Mr. Laurence Binyon, Mr. Wilfrid Blunt, Mr. Robert Bridges, Mr. John Davidson, Mr. Austin Dobson, Mr. Aubrey de Vere, Mr. Edmund Gosse, Mr. Bret Harte, Mr. W. E. Henley, Mrs. Katharine Tynan Hinkson, Mr. W. D. Howells, Dr. Douglas Hyde, Mr. Rudyard Kipling, Mr. Andrew Lang, Mr. Richard Le Gallienne, Mr. George Meredith, Mrs. Meynell, Mr. T. Sturge Moore, Mr. Henry Newbolt, Mr. Gilbert Parker, Mr. T. W. Rolleston, Mr. George Russell (‘A. E.’), Mrs. Clement Shorter (Dora Sigerson), Mr. Swinburne, Mr. Francis Thompson, Dr. Todhunter, Mr. William Watson, Mr. Watts-Dunton, Mrs. Woods, and Mr. W. B. Yeats; to the Earl of Crewe for a poem by the late Lord Houghton; to Lady Ferguson, Mrs. Allingham, Mrs. A. H. Clough, Mrs. Locker-Lampson, Mrs. Coventry Patmore; to the Lady Betty Balfour and the Lady Victoria Buxton for poems by the late Earl of Lytton and the Hon. Roden Noel; to the executors of Messrs. Frederic Tennyson (Captain Tennyson and Mr. W. C. A. Ker), Charles Tennyson Turner (Sir Franklin Lushington), Edward FitzGerald (Mr. Aldis Wright), William Bell Scott (Mrs. Sydney Morse and Miss Boyd of Penkill Castle, who has added to her kindness by allowing me to include an unpublished ‘Sonet’ by her sixteenth-century ancestor, Mark Alexander Boyd), William Philpot (Mr. Hamlet S. Philpot), William Morris (Mr. S. C. Cockerell), William Barnes, and R. L. Stevenson; to the Rev. H. C. Beeching for two poems from his own works, and leave to use his redaction of _Quia Amore Langueo_; to Messrs. Macmillan for confirming permission for the extracts from FitzGerald, Christina Rossetti, and T. E. Brown, and particularly for allowing me to insert the latest emendations in Lord Tennyson’s non-copyright poems; to the proprietors of Mr. and Mrs. Browning’s copyrights and to Messrs. Smith, Elder & Co. for a similar favour, also for a copyright poem by Mrs. Browning; to Mr. George Allen for extracts from Ruskin and the author of _Ionica_; to Messrs. G. Bell & Sons for poems by Thomas Ashe; to Messrs. Chatto & Windus for poems by Arthur O’Shaughnessy and Dr. George MacDonald, and for confirming Mr. Bret Harte’s permission; to Mr. Elkin Mathews for a poem by Mr. Bliss Carman; to Mr. John Lane for two poems by William Brighty Rands; to the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge for two extracts from Christina Rossetti’s _Verses_; and to Mr. Bertram Dobell, who allows me not only to select from James Thomson but to use a poem of Traherne’s, a seventeenth-century singer rediscovered by him. To mention all who in other ways have furthered me is not possible in this short Preface; which, however, must not conclude without a word of special thanks to Dr. W. Robertson Nicoll for many suggestions and some pains kindly bestowed, and to Professor F. York Powell, whose help and wise counsel have been as generously given as they were eagerly sought, adding me to the number of those many who have found his learning to be his friends’ good fortune.

A.T.Q.C.

_October 1900_

CONTENTS

NUMBER PAGE

1-7. Anonymous. XIII-XIV Century.....1-10

8. Robert Mannyng of Brunne. b. 1260, d. 1340......10

9. John Barbour. d. 1395.....10-11

10-12. Geoffrey Chaucer. b. ? 1340, d. 1400.....11-14

13. Thomas Hoccleve. b. 1368-9, d. ? 1450.....14-15

14. John Lydgate. b. ? 1370, d. ? 1450.....15

15. King James I of Scotland. b. 1394, d. 1437.....15

16-17. Robert Henryson. b. 1425, d. ? 1500.....16-25

18-21. William Dunbar. b. 1465, d. ? 1520.....25-33

22-29. Anonymous. XV-XVI Century.....33-57

30-31. John Skelton. b. ? 1460, d. 1529.....57-59

32-33. Stephen Hawes. d. 1523.....59-60

34-38. Sir Thomas Wyatt. b. 1503, d. 1542.....60-65

39-41. Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey b. 1516, d. 1547.....65-68

42. Nicholas Grimald. b. 1519, d. 1562.....68-69

43-44. Alexander Scott. b. ? 1520, d. 158-.....69-71

45. Robert Wever. _c._ 1550.....72

46. Richard Edwardes. b. 1523, d. 1566.....72-73

47. George Gascoigne. b. 1523, d. 1566.....74-75

48. Alexander Mongtomerie. b. ? 1540, d. ? 1610.....75-77

49. William Stevenson. b. 1530, d. 1575.....77-78

50-72. Anonymous. XVI-XVII Century.....79-99

73-74. Nicholas Breton. b. 1542, d. 1626.....100-102

75-78. Sir Walter Raleigh. b. 1552, d. 1618.....102-104

79-84. Edmund Spenser. b. 1552, d. 1599.....104-129

85-86. John Lyly. b. 1533, d. 1606.....129-130

87. Anthony Munday. b. 1553, d. 1633.....130

88-95. Sir Philip Sidney. b. 1554, d. 1586.....131-136

96. Fulke Greville, Lord Brooke. b. 1554, d. 1628.....136-137

97-100. Thomas Lodge. b. ? 1556, d. 1625.....137-141

101-102. George Peele. b. ? 1558, d. 1597.....141-143

103-105. Robert Greene. b. ? 1560, d. 1592.....143-145

106. Alexander Hume. b. 1560, d. 1609.....146-150

107. George Chapman. b. 1560, d. 1634.....150

108-109. Robert Southwell. b. 1561, d. 1595.....151-153

110. Henry Constable. b. ? 1562, d. ? 1613.....153

111-113. Samuel Daniel. b. 1562, d. 1619.....153-159

114. Mark Alexander Boyd. b. 1563, d. 1601.....160

115. Joshua Sylvester, b. 1563, d. 1618......160-161

116-120. Michael Drayton. b. 1563, d. 1631.....161-173

121. Christopher Marlowe. b. 1564, d. 1593.....173-174

122. Sir Walter Raleigh. b. 1552, d. 1618.....174-175

123-164. William Shakespeare. b. 1564, d. 1616.....175-200

165. Richard Rowlands. b. 1565, d. ? 1630.....200-201

166-167. Thomas Nashe. b. 1567, d. 1601.....201-203

168-176. Thomas Campion. b. ? 1567, d. 1619.....203-209

177. John Reynolds. XVI Century.....209-210

178-180. Sir Henry Wotton. b. 1568, d. 1639.....210-212

181. Sir John Davies. b. 1569, d. 1626.....212-213

182-183. Sir Robert Ayton. b. 1570, d. 1638.....213-215

184-194. Ben Jonson. b. 1573, d. 1637.....215-225

195-202. John Donne. b. 1573, d. 1631.....225-231

203. Richard Barnefield. b. 1574, d. 1627.....232

204. Thomas Dekker. b. 1575, d. 1641.....233

205-206. Thomas Heywood. b. ? 157-, d. 1650.....233-235

207-217. John Fletcher. b. 1579, d. 1625.....235-241

218-220. John Webster. d. ? 1630.....242-243

221. William Alexander, Earl of Stirling. b. ? 1580, d. 1640.....243-244

222. Phineas Fletcher. b. 1580, d. 1650.....244

223. Sir John Beaumont. b. 1583, d. 1627.....245

224-232. William Drummond, of Hawthornden. b. 1585, d. 1649.....245-250

233. Giles Fletcher. b. 158-, d. 1623.....250-252

234. Francis Beaumont. b. 1586, d. 1616.....252

235. John Ford. b. 1586, d. 1639.....253

236-239. George Wither. b. 1588, d. 1667.....253-260

240-246. William Browne, of Tavistock. b. 1588, d. 1643.....260-264

247-275. Robert Herrick. b. 1591, d. 1674.....264-284

276-277. Francis Quarles. b. 1592, d. 1644.....285

278-280. Henry King, Bishop of Chichester. b. 1592, d. 1669.....286-290

281-286. George Herbert. b. 1593, d. 1632.....290-295

287-288. James Shirley. b. 1596, d. 1666.....295-296

289-295. Thomas Carew. b ? 1595, d. ? 1639.....297-301

296. Jasper Mayne. b. 1604, d. 1672.....301-302

297-298. William Habington. b. 1605, d. 1654.....302-304

299-300. Thomas Randolph. b. 1605, d. 1635.....305-308

301-303. Sir William Davenant. b. 1606, d. 1668.....308-309

304-306. Edmund Waller. b. 1606, d. 1687.....310-311

307-324. John Milton. b. 1608, d. 1674.....311-347

325-328. Sir John Suckling. b. 1609, d. 1642.....347-350

329. Sir Richard Fanshawe. b. 1608, d. 1666.....350

330-333. William Cartwright. b. 1611, d. 1643.....351-353

334. James Graham, Marquis of Montrose. b. 1612, d. 1650.....353-354

335. Thomas Jordan. b. ? 1612, d. 1685.....354-355

336-342. Richard Crashaw. b. ? 1613, d. 1649.....355-370

343-348. Richard Lovelace. b. 1618, d. 1658.....370-374

349-353. Abraham Cowley. b. 1618, d. 1667.....374-380

354. Alexander Brome. b. 1620, d. 1666.....381

355-361. Andrew Marvell. b. 1621, d. 1678.....382-394

362-365. Henry Vaughan. b. 1621, d. 1695.....395-399

366. John Bunyan. b. 1628, d. 1688.....399

367-392. Anonymous: Ballads.....400-459

393. William Strode. b. 1602, d. 1645.....459

394. Thomas Stanley. b. 1625, d. 1678.....460

395. Thomas D’Urfey. b. 1653, d. 1723.....460-461

396. Charles Cotton. b. 1630, d. 1687.....461

397. Katherine Philips (‘Orinda’). b. 1631, d. 1664.....462

398-402. John Dryden. b. 1631, d. 1700.....462-471

403. Charles Webbe. c. 1678.....472

404-405. Sir George Etherege. b. 1635, d. 1691.....472-473

406. Thomas Traherne. b. ? 1637, d. 1674.....473-475

407. Thomas Flatman. b. 1637, d. 1688.....475-476

408. Charles Sackville, Earl of Dorset. b. 1638, d. 1706.....476-478

409-410. Sir Charles Sedley. b. 1639, d. 1701.....479-480

411-412. Aphra Behn. b. 1640, d. 1689.....480-481

413-416. John Wilmot, Earl of Rochester. b. 1647, d. 1680.....481-484

417-418. John Sheffield, Duke of Buckinghamshire. b. 1649, d. 1720.....485-486

419. Thomas Otway. b. 1652, d. 1685.....486

420. John Oldham. b. 1653, d. 1683.....487

421. John Cutts, Lord Cutts. b. 1661, d. 1707.....487

422-428. Matthew Prior. b. 1664, d. 1721.....488-493

429. William Walsh. b. 1663, d. 1708.....493

430. Lady Grisel Baillie. b. 1665, d. 1746.....494-495

431-432. William Congreve. b. 1670, d. 1729.....495-496

433. Joseph Addison. b. 1672, d. 1719.....496-497

434-435. Isaac Watts. b. 1674, d. 1748.....497-500

436. Thomas Parnell. b. 1679, d. 1718.....501

437. Allan Ramsay. b. 1686, d. 1758.....501-502

438. William Oldys. b. 1687, d. 1761.....503

439. John Gay. b. 1688, d. 1732.....503

440-442. Alexander Pope. b. 1688, d. 1744.....504-507

443. George Bubb Dodington, Lord Melcombe. b. 1691, d. 1762.....508

444-445. Henry Carey. b. ? 1693, d. 1743.....509-511

446-447. William Broome. d. 1745.....511-512

448. James Thomson. b. 1700, d. 1748.....512

449. George Lyttelton, Lord Lyttelton. b. 1709, d. 1773.....512-513

450-451. Samuel Johnson. b. 1709, d. 1784.....513-516

452. Richard Jago. b. 1715, d. 1781.....516

453-456. Thomas Gray. b. 1716, d. 1771.....516-528

457-460. William Collins. b. 1721, d. 1759.....528-533

461-463. Mark Akenside. b. 1721, d. 1770.....534-537

464. Tobias George Smollett. b. 1721, d. 1771.....538

465. Christopher Smart. b. 1722, d. 1770.....538-542

466. Jane Elliot. b. 1727, d. 1805.....542-543

467-468. Oliver Goldsmith. b. 1728, d. 1774.....543-544

469. Robert Cunninghame-Graham of Gartmore. b. 1735, d. 1797.....544-545

470-471. William Cowper. b. 1731, d. 1800.....545-547

472. James Beattie. b. 1735, d. 1803.....548

473. Isobel Pagan. b. 1740, d. 1821.....548-549

474. Anna Lætitia Barbauld. b. 1743, d. 1825.....549-550

475. Fanny Greville. XVIII Century.....550-551

476. John Logan. b. 1748, d. 1788.....551-552

477. Lady Anne Lindsay. b. 1750, d. 1825.....552-553

478. Sir William Jones. b. 1746, d. 1794.....554

479. Thomas Chatterton. b. 1752, d. 1770.....554-556

480-482. George Crabbe. b. 1754, d. 1832.....556-557

483-492. William Blake. b. 1757, d. 1827.....558-566

493-506. Robert Burns. b. 1759, d. 1796.....566-577

507-508. Henry Rowe. b. 1750, d. 1819.....578-579

509. William Lisle Bowles. b. 1762, d. 1850.....579

510. Joanna Baillie. b. 1762, d. 1851.....580

511. Mary Lamb. b. 1765, d. 1847.....581

512. Carolina, Lady Nairne. b. 1766, d. 1845.....581-582

513-514. James Hogg. b. 1770, d. 1835.....582-594

515-541. William Wordsworth. b. 1770, d. 1850.....594-618

542-548. Sir Walter Scott. b. 1771, d. 1832.....619-628

549-555. Samuel Taylor Coleridge. b. 1772, d. 1834.....628-658

556. Robert Southey. b. 1774, d. 1843.....658-659

557-576. Walter Savage Landor. b. 1775, d. 1864.....659-667

577-579. Charles Lamb. b. 1775, d. 1834.....668-672

580-581. Thomas Campbell. b. 1777, d. 1844.....672-675

582-585. Thomas Moore. b. 1779, d. 1852.....675-678

586. Edward Thurlow, Lord Thurlow. b. 1781, d. 1829.....678-679

587-588. Ebenezer Elliott. b. 1781, d. 1849.....679-681

589-591. Allan Cunningham. b. 1784, d. 1842.....681-683

592. Leigh Hunt. b. 1784, d. 1859.....683

593-595. Thomas Love Peacock. b. 1785, d. 1866.....684-687

596. Caroline Southey. b. 1787, d. 1854.....687-688

597-601. George Gordon Byron, Lord Byron. b. 1788, d. 1824.....688-694

602. Sir Aubrey de Vere. b. 1788, d. 1846.....694-695

603-604. Charles Wolfe. b. 1791, d. 1823.....695-697

605-618. Percy Bysshe Shelley. b. 1792, d. 1822.....697-717

619. Hew Ainslie. b. 1792, d. 1878.....717

620. John Keble. b. 1792, d. 1866.....718-720

621. John Clare. b. 1793, d. 1864.....720

622. Felicia Dorothea Hemans. b. 1793, d. 1835.....721

623-637. John Keats. b. 1795, d. 1821.....721-744

638. Jeremiah Joseph Callanan. b. 1795, d. 1839.....745

639. William Sidney Walker. b. 1795, d. 1846.....746

640-642. George Darley. b. 1795, d. 1846.....746-749

643-646. Hartley Coleridge. b. 1796, d. 1849.....749-751

647-654. Thomas Hood. b. 1798, d. 1845.....752-762

655. William Thom. b. 1798, d. 1848.....762-764

656. Sir Henry Taylor. b. 1800, d. 1886.....764

657. Thomas Babington Macaulay, Lord Macaulay. b. 1800, d. 1859.....765

658-659. William Barnes. b. 1801, d. 1886.....765-767

660. Winthrop Mackworth Praed. b. 1802, d. 1839.....767-768

661-662. Sara Coleridge. b. 1802, d. 1850.....768-770

663. Gerald Griffin. b. 1803, d. 1840.....770-772

664-665. James Clarence Mangan. b. 1803. d. 1849.....772-776

666-668. Thomas Lovell Beddoes. b. 1803, d. 1849.....777-778

669-672. Ralph Waldo Emerson. b. 1803, d. 1882.....779-785

673. Richard Henry Horne. b. 1803, d. 1884.....785-786

674-675. Robert Stephen Hawker. b. 1804, d. 1875.....786-787

676. Thomas Wade. b. 1805, d. 1875.....787

677. Francis Mahony. b. 1805, d. 1866.....788-790

678-687. Elizabeth Barrett Browning. b. 1806, d. 1861.....790-800

688. Frederick Tennyson. b. 1807, d. 1898.....800

689. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. b. 1807, d. 1882.....801-803

690. John Greenleaf Whittier. b. 1807, d. 1892.....804

691. Helen Selina, Lady Dufferin. b. 1807, d. 1867.....805-807

692. Caroline Elizabeth Sarah Norton. b. 1808, d. 1876.....807-808

693. Charles Tennyson Turner. b. 1808, d. 1879.....808

694-696. Edgar Allan Poe. b. 1809, d. 1849.....809-814

697-698. Edward Fitzgerald. b. 1809, d. 1883.....814-818

699-709. Alfred Tennyson, Lord Tennyson. b. 1809, d. 1892.....819-847

710. Richard Monckton Milnes, Lord Houghton. b. 1809, d. 1885.....848

711. Henry Alford. b. 1810, d. 1871.....849

712-714. Sir Samuel Ferguson. b. 1810, d. 1886.....849-851

715-730. Robert Browning. b. 1812, d. 1889.....852-867

731. William Bell Scott. b. 1812, d. 1890.....867-872

732-733. Aubrey De Vere. b. 1814, d. 1902.....872-873

734. George Fox. b. 1815.....874

735-738. Emily Brontë. b. 1818, d. 1848.....875-879

739-740. Charles Kingsley. b. 1819, d. 1875.....879-880

741. Arthur Hugh Clough. b. 1819, d. 1861.....880-881

742-743. Walt Whitman. b. 1819, d. 1892.....881-882

744. John Ruskin. b. 1819, d. 1900.....882

745. Ebenezer Jones. b. 1820, d. 1860.....883

746. Frederick Locker-Lampson. b. 1821, d. 1895.....884

747-754. Matthew Arnold. b. 1822, d. 1888.....885-903

755-756. William Brighty Rands. b. 1823, d. 1880.....904-905

757. William Philpot. b. 1823, d. 1880.....906-907

758-759. William (Johnson) Cory. b. 1823, d. 1892.....907-908

760-764. Coventry Patmore. b. 1823, d. 1896.....908-913

765-768. Sydney Dobell. b. 1824, d. 1874.....913-921

769. William Allingham. b. 1824, d. 1889.....921-923

770. George MacDonald. b. 1824, d. 1905.....923

771. Dante Gabriel Rossetti. b. 1828, d. 1882.....923-928

772-776. George Meredith. b. 1828, d. 1909.....929-942

777-778. Alexander Smith. b. 1829, d. 1867.....942-945

779-789. Christina Georgina Rossetti. b. 1830, d. 1894.....946-954

790-793. Thomas Edward Brown. b. 1830, d. 1897.....955-956

794-795. Edward Robert Bulwer Lytton, Earl of Lytton. b. 1831, d. 1892.....957-962

796-799. James Thomson. b. 1834, d. 1882.....963-964

800-802. William Morris. b. 1834, d. 1896.....965-967

803-804. Roden Berkeley Wriothesley Noel. b. 1834, d. 1894.....967-969

805-806. Thomas Ashe. b. 1836, d. 1889.....969-970

807. Theodore Watts-Dunton. b. 1836, d. 1914.....970-972

808-811. Algernon Charles Swinburne. b. 1837, d. 1909.....972-991

812. William Dean Howells. b. 1837.....991

813. Bret Harte. b. 1839, d. 1902.....992

814-815. John Todhunter. b. 1839, d. 1916.....993-995

816-823. Wilfrid Scawen Blunt. b. 1840.....995-1002

824-826. Henry Austin Dobson. b. 1840.....1002-1004

827. Henry Clarence Kendall. b. 1841, d. 1882.....1004-1006

828-830. Arthur William Edgar O’Shaughnessy. b. 1844, d. 1881.....1006-1010

831. John Boyle O’Reilly. b. 1844, d. 1890.....1010

832-840. Robert Bridges. b. 1844.....1011-1018

841. Andrew Lang. b. 1844, d. 1912.....1018

842-844. William Ernest Henley. b. 1849, d. 1903.....1019-1022

845. Edmund Gosse. b. 1849.....1022-1023

846-848. Robert Louis Stevenson. b. 1850, d. 1894.....1023-1025

849. T. W. Rolleston. b. 1857.....1025-1026

850-851. John Davidson. b. 1857, d. 1909.....1026-1028

852-854. William Watson. b. 1858.....1028-1031

855-856. Henry Charles Beeching. b. 1859.....1031-1033

857. Bliss Carman. b. 1861.....1033-1034

858. Douglas Hyde. b. 1861.....1034-1035

859. Arthur Christopher Benson. b. 1862.....1035-1036

860. Henry Newbolt. b. 1862.....1036-1037

861. Gilbert Parker. b. 1862.....1038

862-864. William Butler Yeats. b. 1865.....1038-1039

865-867. Rudyard Kipling. b. 1865.....1040-1045

868-869. Richard Le Gallienne. b. 1866.....1045-1047

870-871. Laurence Binyon. b. 1869.....1047

872-873. ‘A. E.’ (George William Russell).....1048-1049

874. T. Sturge Moore. b. 1870.....1049

875. Francis Thompson, b. 1859, d. 1907.....1050-1052

876. Henry Cust. b. 1861, d. 1917.....1053

877. Katharine Tynan Hinkson. b. 1861.....1053-1054

878. Frances Bannerman.....1054-1055

879-880. Alice Meynell. b. 1850.....1055-1056

881. Dora Sigerson. d. 1918.....1056-1057

882. Margaret L. Woods. b. 1856.....1057

883. Anonymous.....1058

_1._ _Cuckoo Song_

c. 1250

Sumer is icumen in,
Lhude sing cuccu!
Groweth sed, and bloweth med,
And springth the wude nu--
Sing cuccu!

Awe bleteth after lomb,
Lhouth after calve cu;
Bulluc sterteth, bucke verteth,
Murie sing cuccu!

Cuccu, cuccu, well singes thu, cuccu:
Ne swike thu naver nu;
Sing cuccu, nu, sing cuccu,
Sing cuccu, sing cuccu, nu!

lhude] loud. awe] ewe. lhouth] loweth. sterteth] leaps. swike]
cease.

ANONYMOUS

_2._ _Alison_

c. 1300

Bytuene Mershe ant Averil
When spray biginneth to spring,
The lutel foul hath hire wyl
On hyre kid to synge:
Ich libbe in love-longinge
For semlokest of alle thynge,
He may me blisse bringe,
Icham in hire bandoun.
An hendy hap ichabbe y-hent,
Ichot from hevene it is me sent,
From alle wymmen my love is lent
Ant lyht on Alisoun.

On heu hire her is fayr ynoh,
Hire browe broune, hire eye blake;
With lossum chere he on me loh;
With middel smal ant wel y-make;
Bote he me wolle to hire take
For to buen hire owen make,
Long to lyven ichulle forsake
Ant feye fallen adoun.
An hendy hap, etc.

Nihtes when I wende and wake,
For-thi myn wonges waxeth won;

on hyre lud] in her language. ich libbe] I live. semlokest]
seemliest. he] she. bandoun] thraldom. hendy] gracious. y hent]
seized, enjoyed. ichot] I wot. lyht] alighted. hire her] her hair.
lossum] lovesome. loh] laughed. bote he] unless she. buen] be.
make] mate. feye] like to die. nihtes] at night. wende] turn.
for-thi] on that account. wonges waxeth won] cheeks grow wan.

Levedi, al for thine sake
Longinge is y-lent me on.
In world his non so wyter mon
That al hire bountè telle con;
Hire swyre is whittore than the swon,
Ant feyrest may in toune.
An hendy hap, etc.

Icham for wowyng al for-wake,
Wery so water in wore;
Lest eny reve me my make
Ichabbe y-yerned yore.
Betere is tholien whyle sore
Then mournen evermore.
Geynest under gore,
Herkne to my roun--
An hendy hap, etc.

_2._ levedi] lady. y-lent me on] arrived to me. so wyter mon] so
wise a man. swyre] neck. may] maid. for-wake] worn out with vigils.
so water in wore] as water in a weir. reve] rob. y-yerned yore]
long been distressed. tholien] to endure. geynest under gore]
comeliest under woman’s apparel. roun] tale, lay.

_3._ _Spring-tide_

c. 1300

Lenten ys come with love to toune,
With blosmen ant with briddes roune,
That al this blisse bryngeth;
Dayes-eyes in this dales,
Notes suete of nyhtegales,
Vch foul song singeth;

_3._ to toune] in its turn.

The threstlecoc him threteth oo,
Away is huere wynter wo,
When woderove springeth;
This foules singeth ferly fele,
Ant wlyteth on huere winter wele,
That al the wode ryngeth.

The rose rayleth hire rode,
The leves on the lyhte wode
Waxen al with wille;
The mone mandeth hire bleo,
The lilie is lossom to seo,
The fenyl ant the fille;
Wowes this wilde drakes,
Miles murgeth huere makes;
Ase strem that striketh stille,
Mody meneth; so doth mo
(Ichot ycham on of tho)
For loue that likes ille.

The mone mandeth hire lyht,
So doth the semly sonne bryht.
When briddes singeth breme;
Deowes donketh the dounes,
Deores with huere derne rounes
Domes forte deme;

him threteth oo] is aye chiding them. huere] their. woderove]
woodruff. ferly fele] marvellous many. wlyteth] whistle, or look.
rayleth hire rode] clothes herself in red. mandeth hire bleo] sends
forth her light. lossom to seo] lovesome to see. fille] thyme.
wowes] woo. miles] males. murgeth] make merry. makes] mates.
striketh] flows, trickles. mody meneth] the moody man makes moan.
so doth mo] so do many. on of tho] one of them. breme] lustily.
deowes] dews. donketh] make dank. deores] dears, lovers. huere
derne rounes] their secret tales. domes forte deme] for to give
(decide) their decisions.

Wormes woweth under cloude,
Wymmen waxeth wounder proude,
So wel hit wol hem seme,
Yef me shal wonte wille of on,
This wunne weole y wole forgon
Ant wyht in wode be fleme.

_3._ cloude] clod. wunne weole] wealth of joy. y wole forgon] I
will forgo. wyht] wight. fleme] banished.

_4._ _Blow, Northern Wind_

c. 1300

Ichot a burde in boure bryht,
That fully semly is on syht,
Menskful maiden of myht;
Feir ant fre to fonde;
In al this wurhliche won
A burde of blod ant of bon
Never yete y nuste non
Lussomore in londe.
Blou northerne wynd!
Send thou me my suetyng!
Blou northerne wynd! blou, blou, blou!

With lokkes lefliche ant longe,
With frount ant face feir to fonge,
With murthes monie mote heo monge,
That brid so breme in boure.

_4._ Ichot] I know. burde] maiden. menskful] worshipful. feir]
fair. fonde] take, prove. wurhliche] noble. won] multitude. y
nuste] I knew not. lussomore in londe] lovelier on earth. suetyng]
sweetheart. lefliche] lovely. fonge] take between hands. murthes]
mirths, joys. mote heo monge] may she mingle. brid] bird. breme]
full of life.

With lossom eye grete ant gode,
With browen blysfol under hode,
He that reste him on the Rode,
That leflych lyf honoure.
Blou northerne wynd, etc.

Hire lure lumes liht,
Ase a launterne a nyht,
Hire bleo blykyeth so bryht,
So feyr heo is ant fyn.
A suetly swyre heo hath to holde.
With armes shuldre ase mon wolde,
Ant fingres feyre forte folde,
God wolde hue were myn!
Blou northerne wynd, etc.

Heo is coral of godnesse,
Heo is rubie of ryhtfulnesse,
Heo is cristal of clannesse,
Ant baner of bealtè.
Heo is lilie of largesse,
Heo is parvenke of prouesse,
Heo is solsecle of suetnesse,
Ant lady of lealtè.

For hire love y carke ant care,
For hire love y droupne ant dare,
For hire love my blisse is bare
Ant al ich waxe won,

Rode] the Cross. lure] face. lumes] beams. bleo] colour. suetly
swyre] darling neck. forte] for to. hue, heo] she. clannesse]
cleanness, purity. parvenke] periwinkle. solsecle] sunflower. won]
wan.

For hire love in slep y slake,
For hire love al nyht ich wake,
For hire love mournynge y make
More then eny mon.
Blou northerne wynd!
Send thou me my suetyng!
Blou northerne wynd! blou, blou, blou!

_5._ _This World’s Joy_

c. 1300

Wynter wakeneth al my care,
Nou this leves waxeth bare;
Ofte I sike ant mourne sare
When hit cometh in my thoht
Of this worldes joie, hou hit goth al to noht.

Nou hit is, and nou hit nys,
Al so hit ner nere, ywys;
That moni mon seith, soth hit ys:
Al goth bote Godes wille:
Alle we shule deye, thah us like ylle.

Al that gren me graueth grene,
Nou hit faleweth albydene:
Jesu, help that hit be sene
Ant shild us from helle!
For y not whider y shal, ne hou longe her duelle.

_5._ this leves] these leaves. sike] sigh. nys] is not. also hit
ner nere] as though it had never been. soth] sooth. bote] but,
except. thah] though. faleweth] fadeth. albydene] altogether. y not
whider] I know not whither. her duelle] here dwell.

_6._ _A Hymn to the Virgin_

c. 1300

Of on that is so fayr and bright
_Velut maris stella_,
Brighter than the day is light,
_Parens et puella_:
Ic crie to the, thou see to me,
Levedy, preye thi Sone for me,
_Tam pia_,
That ic mote come to thee
_Maria_.

Al this world was for-lore
_Eva peccatrice_,
Tyl our Lord was y-bore
_De te genetrice_.
With _ave_ it went away
Thuster nyth and comz the day
_Salutis_;
The welle springeth ut of the,
_Virtutis_.

Levedy, flour of alle thing,
_Rosa sine spina_,
Thu bere Jhesu, hevene king,
_Gratia divina_:
Of alle thu ber’st the pris,
Levedy, quene of paradys
_Electa_:
Mayde milde, moder es
_Effecta_.

on] one. levedy] lady. thuster] dark. pris] prize.

_7._ _Of a rose, a lovely rose,_
_Of a rose is al myn song._

c. 1350

Lestenyt, lordynges, both elde and yinge,
How this rose began to sprynge;
Swych a rose to myn lykynge
In al this word ne knowe I non.

The Aungil came fro hevene tour,
To grete Marye with gret honour,
And seyde sche xuld bere the flour
That xulde breke the fyndes bond.

The flour sprong in heye Bedlem,
That is bothe bryht and schen:
The rose is Mary hevene qwyn,
Out of here bosum the blosme sprong.

The ferste braunche is ful of myht,
That sprang on Cyrstemesse nyht,
The sterre schon over Bedlem bryht
That is bothe brod and long.

The secunde braunche sprong to helle,
The fendys power doun to felle:
Therein myht non sowle dwelle;
Blyssid be the time the rose sprong!

The thredde braunche is good and swote,
It sprang to hevene crop and rote,
Therein to dwellyn and ben our bote;
Every day it schewit in prystes hond.

lestenyt] listen. word] world. xuld] should. schen] beautiful.
hevene qwyn] heaven’s queen. bote] salvation.

Prey we to here with gret honour,
Che that bar the blyssid flowr,
Che be our helpe and our socour
And schyd us fro the fyndes bond.

ROBERT MANNYNG OF BRUNNE

1260-1340

_8._ _Praise of Women_

No thyng ys to man so dere
As wommanys love in gode manere.
A gode womman is mannys blys,
There her love right and stedfast ys.
There ys no solas under hevene
Of alle that a man may nevene
That shulde a man so moche glew
As a gode womman that loveth true.
Ne derer is none in Goddis hurde
Than a chaste womman with lovely worde.

_8._ nevene] name. glew] gladden. hurde] flock.

JOHN BARBOUR

d. 1395

_9._ _Freedom_

A! Fredome is a noble thing!
Fredome mays man to haiff liking;
Fredome all solace to man giffis,
He levys at ese that frely levys!
A noble hart may haiff nane ese,
Na ellys nocht that may him plese,

_9._ liking] liberty. na ellys nocht] nor aught else.

Gyff fredome fail; for fre liking
Is yarnyt our all othir thing.
Na he that ay has levyt fre
May nocht knaw weill the propyrtè,
The angyr, na the wretchyt dome
That is couplyt to foule thyrldome.
Bot gyff he had assayit it,
Than all perquer he suld it wyt;
And suld think fredome mar to prise
Than all the gold in warld that is.
Thus contrar thingis evirmar
Discoweryngis off the tothir ar.

_9._ yarnyt] yearned for. perquer] thoroughly, by heart.

GEOFFREY CHAUCER

1340?-1400

_10._ _The Love Unfeigned_

O YONGE fresshe folkes, he or she,
In which that love up groweth with your age,
Repeyreth hoom from worldly vanitee,
And of your herte up-casteth the visage
To thilke god that after his image
Yow made, and thinketh al nis but a fayre
This world, that passeth sone as floures fayre.

And loveth him, the which that right for love
Upon a cros, our soules for to beye,
First starf, and roos, and sit in hevene a-bove;
For he nil falsen no wight, dar I seye,
That wol his herte al hoolly on him leye.
And sin he best to love is, and most meke,
What nedeth feyned loves for to seke?

_10._ repeyreth] repair ye. starf] died.

_11._ _Balade_

Hyd, Absolon, thy gilte tresses clere;
Ester, ley thou thy meknesse al a-doun;
Hyd, Jonathas, al thy frendly manere;
Penalopee, and Marcia Catoun,
Mak of your wyfhod no comparisoun;
Hyde ye your beautes, Isoude and Eleyne;
My lady cometh, that al this may disteyne.

Thy faire body, lat hit nat appere,
Lavyne; and thou, Lucresse of Rome toun,
And Polixene, that boghten love so dere,
And Cleopatre, with al thy passioun,
Hyde ye your trouthe of love and your renoun;
And thou, Tisbe, that hast of love swich peyne;
My lady cometh, that al this may disteyne.

Herro, Dido, Laudomia, alle y-fere,
And Phyllis, hanging for thy Demophoun,
And Canace, espyed by thy chere,
Ysiphile, betraysed with Jasoun,
Maketh of your trouthe neyther boost ne soun;
Nor Ypermistre or Adriane, ye tweyne;
My lady cometh, that al this may distevne.

_11._ disteyne] bedim. y-fere] together.

_12._ _Merciles Beaute_

A TRIPLE ROUNDEL

1. CAPTIVITY

Your eyen two wol slee me sodenly,
I may the beautè of hem not sustene,
So woundeth hit through-out my herte kene.

And but your word wol helen hastily
My hertes wounde, whyl that hit is grene,
Your eyen two wol slee me sodenly,
I may the beautè of hem not sustene.

Upon my trouthe I sey yow feithfully,
That ye ben of my lyf and deeth the quene;
For with my deeth the trouthe shal be sene.
Your eyen two wol slee me sodenly,
I may the beautè of hem not sustene,
So woundeth hit through-out my herte kene.

2. REJECTION

So hath your beautè fro your herte chaced
Pitee, that me ne availeth not to pleyne;
For Daunger halt your mercy in his cheyne.

Giltles my deeth thus han ye me purchaced;
I sey yow sooth, me nedeth not to feyne;
So hath your beautè fro your herte chaced
Pitee, that me ne availeth not to pleyne.

Allas! that nature hath in yow compassed
So greet beautè, that no man may atteyne
To mercy, though he sterve for the peyne.
So hath your beautè fro your herte chaced
Pitee, that me ne availeth not to pleyne;
For Daunger halt your mercy in his cheyne.

3. ESCAPE

Sin I fro Love escaped am so fat,
I never thenk to ben in his prison lene;
Sin I am free, I counte him not a bene.

halt] holdeth.

He may answere, and seye this or that;
I do no fors, I speke right as I mene.
Sin I fro Love escaped am so fat,
I never thenk to ben in his prison lene.

Love hath my name y-strike out of his sclat,
And he is strike out of my bokes clene
For ever-mo; ther is non other mene.
Sin I fro Love escaped am so fat,
I never thenk to ben in his prison lene;
Sin I am free, I counte him not a bene.

_12._ sclat] slate

THOMAS HOCCLEVE

1368-9?-1450?

_13._ _Lament for Chaucer_

Allas! my worthi maister honorable,
This landes verray tresor and richesse!
Deth by thy deth hath harme irreparable
Unto us doon: hir vengeable duresse
Despoiled hath this land of the swetnesse
Of rethorik; for unto Tullius
Was never man so lyk amonges us.

Also who was hier in philosophie
To Aristotle in our tonge but thou?
The steppes of Virgile in poesie
Thou folwedist eeke, men wot wel ynow.
That combre-worlde that the my maister slow--
Wolde I slayn were!--Deth, was to hastyf
To renne on thee and reve the thi lyf ...

_13._ hier] heir. combre-worlde] encumberer of earth. slow] slew.

She myghte han taried hir vengeance a while
Til that sum man had egal to the be;
Nay, lat be that! sche knew wel that this yle
May never man forth brynge lyk to the,
And hir office needes do mot she:
God bad hir so, I truste as for the beste;
O maister, maister, God thi soule reste!

JOHN LYDGATE

1370?-1450?

_14._ _Vox ultima Crucis_

Tarye no lenger; toward thyn heritage
Hast on thy weye, and be of ryght good chere.
Go eche day onward on thy pylgrymage;
Thynke howe short tyme thou hast abyden here.
Thy place is bygged above the sterres clere,
Noon erthly palys wrought in so statly wyse.
Come on, my frend, my brother most entere!
For the I offered my blood in sacryfice.

_14._ bygged] built. palys] palace.

KING JAMES I OF SCOTLAND

1394-1437

_15._ _Spring Song of the Birds_

Worschippe ye that loveris bene this May,
For of your blisse the Kalendis are begonne,
And sing with us, Away, Winter, away!
Cum, Somer, cum, the suete sesoùn and sonne!
Awake for schame! that have your hevynnis wonne,
And amorously lift up your hedis all,
Thank Lufe that list you to his merci call!

_15._ suete] sweet. Lufe] Love.

ROBERT HENRYSON

1425-1500

_16._ _Robin and Makyne_

Robin sat on gude green hill,
Kepand a flock of fe:
Mirry Makyne said him till
‘Robin, thou rew on me:
I haif thee luvit, loud and still,
Thir yeiris twa or thre;
My dule in dern bot gif thou dill,
Doutless but dreid I de.’

Robin answerit ‘By the Rude
Na thing of luve I knaw,
But keipis my scheip undir yon wud:
Lo, quhair they raik on raw.
Quhat has marrit thee in thy mude,
Makyne, to me thou shaw;
Or quhat is luve, or to be lude?
Fain wad I leir that law.’

‘At luvis lair gif thou will leir
Tak thair ane A B C;
Be heynd, courtass, and fair of feir,
Wyse, hardy, and free:
So that no danger do thee deir
Quhat dule in dern thou dre;
Preiss thee with pain at all poweir
Be patient and previe.’

kepand] keeping. fe] sheep, cattle. him till] to him. dule in dern]
sorrow in secret. dill] soothe. but dreid] without dread, i. e.
there is no fear or doubt. raik on raw] range in row. lude] loved.
leir] learn. lair] lore. heynd] gentle. feir] demeanour. deir]
daunt. dre] endure. preiss] endeavour.

Robin answerit hir agane,
‘I wat nocht quhat is lufe;
But I haif mervel in certaine
Quhat makis thee this wanrufe:
The weddir is fair, and I am fain;
My scheip gois haill aboif;
And we wald pley us in this plane,
They wald us baith reproif.’

‘Robin, tak tent unto my tale,
And wirk all as I reid,
And thou sall haif my heart all haill,
Eik and my maiden-heid:
Sen God sendis bute for baill,
And for murnyng remeid,
In dern with thee bot gif I daill
Dowtles I am bot deid.’

‘Makyne, to-morn this ilka tyde
And ye will meit me heir,
Peraventure my scheip may gang besyde,
Quhyle we haif liggit full neir;
But mawgre haif I, and I byde,
Fra they begin to steir;
Quhat lyis on heart I will nocht hyd;
Makyn, then mak gude cheir.’

‘Robin, thou reivis me roiff and rest;
I luve bot thee allane.’
‘Makyne, adieu! the sone gois west,
The day is neir-hand gane.’

wanrufe] unrest. haill] healthy, whole. aboif] above, up yonder.
and] if. tak tent] give heed. reid] advise. bute for baill] remedy
for hurt. bot gif] but if, unless. daill] deal. mawgre haif I] I am
uneasy. reivis] robbest. roiff] quiet.

‘Robin, in dule I am so drest
That luve will be my bane.’
‘Ga luve, Makyne, quhair-evir thow list,
For lemman I luve nane.’

‘Robin, I stand in sic a styll,
I sicht and that full sair.’
‘Makyne, I haif been here this quhyle;
At hame God gif I wair.’
‘My huny, Robin, talk ane quhyll,
Gif thow will do na mair.’
‘Makyn, sum uthir man begyle,
For hamewart I will fair.’

Robin on his wayis went
As light as leif of tre;
Makyne murnit in hir intent,
And trowd him nevir to se.
Robin brayd attour the bent:
Then Makyne cryit on hie,
‘Now may thow sing, for I am schent!
Quhat alis lufe at me?’

Makyne went hame withowttin fail,
Full wery eftir cowth weip;
Then Robin in a ful fair daill
Assemblit all his scheip.
Be that sum part of Makynis aill
Out-throw his hairt cowd creip;
He fallowit hir fast thair till assaill,
And till her tuke gude keip.

drest] beset. lemman] mistress. sicht] sigh. in hir intent] in her
inward thought. brayd] strode. bent] coarse grass. schent]
destroyed. alis] ails. be that] by the time that. till] to. tuke
keip] paid attention.

‘Abyd, abyd, thow fair Makyne,
A word for ony thing;
For all my luve, it sall be thyne,
Withowttin departing.
All haill thy hairt for till haif myne
Is all my cuvating;
My scheip to-morn, quhyle houris nyne,
Will neid of no keping.’

‘Robin, thow hes hard soung and say,
In gestis and storeis auld,
The man that will nocht quhen he may
Sall haif nocht quhen he wald.
I pray to Jesu every day,
Mot eik thair cairis cauld
That first preissis with thee to play
Be firth, forrest, or fauld.’

‘Makyne, the nicht is soft and dry,
The weddir is warme and fair,
And the grene woid rycht neir us by
To walk attour all quhair:
Thair ma na janglour us espy,
That is to lufe contrair;
Thairin, Makyne, baith ye and I,
Unsene we ma repair.’

‘Robin, that warld is all away,
And quyt brocht till ane end:
And nevir agane thereto, perfay,
Sall it be as thow wend;

hard] heard. gestis] romances. mot eik] may add to. be] by.
janglour] talebearer. wend] weened.

For of my pane thow maid it play;
And all in vane I spend:
As thow hes done, sa sall I say,
“Murne on, I think to mend.”’

‘Makyne, the howp of all my heill,
My hairt on thee is sett;
And evirmair to thee be leill
Quhill I may leif but lett;
Never to faill as utheris feill,
Quhat grace that evir I gett.’
‘Robin, with thee I will nocht deill;
Adieu! for thus we mett.’

Makyne went hame blyth anneuche
Attour the holttis hair;
Robin murnit, and Makyne leuche;
Scho sang, he sichit sair:
And so left him baith wo and wreuch,
In dolour and in cair,
Kepand his hird under a huche
Amangis the holttis hair.

_16._ howp] hope. but lett] without hindrance. anneuche] enough.
holttis hair] grey woodlands. leuche] laughed. wreuch] peevish.
huche] heuch, cliff.

_17._ _The Bludy Serk_

This hinder yeir I hard be tald
Thair was a worthy King;
Dukis, Erlis, and Barronis bald,
He had at his bidding.

_17._ hinder yeir] last year.

The Lord was ancean and ald,
And sexty yeiris cowth ring;
He had a dochter fair to fald,
A lusty Lady ying.

Off all fairheid scho bur the flour,
And eik hir faderis air;
Off lusty laitis and he honour,
Meik bot and debonair:
Scho wynnit in a bigly bour,
On fold wes nane so fair,
Princis luvit hir paramour
In cuntreis our allquhair.

Thair dwelt a lyt besyde the King
A foull Gyand of ane;
Stollin he has the Lady ying,
Away with hir is gane,
And kest her in his dungering
Quhair licht scho micht se nane;
Hungir and cauld and grit thristing
Scho fand into hir waine.

He wes the laithliest on to luk
That on the grund mycht gang:
His nailis wes lyk ane hellis cruk,
Thairwith fyve quarteris lang;

ring] reign. fald] enfold. ying] young. fairheid] beauty. air]
heir. laitis] manners. bot and] and also. scho wynnit] she dwelt.
bigly] well-built. fold] earth. paramour] lovingly. our allquhair]
all the world over. a lyt besyde] a little, (i. e. close) beside.
of ane] as any. kest] cast. dungering] dungeon. into hir waine] in
her lodging. hellis cruk] hell-claw.

Thair wes nane that he ourtuk,
In rycht or yit in wrang,
Bot all in schondir he thame schuk,
The Gyand wes so strang.

He held the Lady day and nycht
Within his deip dungeoun,
He wald nocht gif of hir a sicht
For gold nor yit ransoun--
Bot gif the King mycht get a knycht,
To fecht with his persoun,
To fecht with him beth day and nycht,
Quhill ane wer dungin doun.

The King gart seik baith fer and neir,
Beth be se and land,
Off ony knycht gif he mycht heir
Wald fecht with that Gyand:
A worthy Prince, that had no peir,
Hes tane the deid on hand
For the luve of the Lady cleir,
And held full trew cunnand.

That Prince come prowdly to the toun
Of that Gyand to heir,
And fawcht with him, his awin persoun,
And tuke him presoneir,
And kest him in his awin dungeoun
Allane withouten feir,
With hungir, cauld, and confusioun,
As full weill worthy weir.

quhill] until. dungin doun] beaten down. his awin persoun] himself.
withouten feir] without companion.

Syne brak the bour, had hame the bricht
Unto her fadir fre.
Sa evill wondit wes the Knycht
That he behuvit to de;
Unlusum was his likame dicht,
His sark was all bludy;
In all the world was thair a wicht
So peteouss for to se?

The Lady murnyt and maid grit mane,
With all her mekill mycht--
‘I luvit nevir lufe bot ane,
That dulfully now is dicht;
God sen my lyfe were fra me tane
Or I had seen yone sicht,
Or ellis in begging evir to gane
Furth with yone curtass knycht.’

He said ‘Fair lady, now mone I
De, trestly ye me trow;
Take ye my serk that is bludy,
And hing it forrow yow;
First think on it, and syne on me,
Quhen men cumis yow to wow.’
The Lady said ‘Be Mary fre,
Thairto I mak a vow.’

Quhen that scho lukit to the sark
Scho thocht on the persoun,
And prayit for him with all hir hart
That lowsit hir of bandoun,

the bricht] the fair one. likame] body. lowsit hir of. bandoun]
loosed her from thraldom.

Quhair scho was wont to sit full merk
Into that deip dungeoun;
And evir quhill scho wes in quert,
That was hir a lessoun.

Sa weill the Lady luvit the Knycht
That no man wald scho tak:
Sa suld we do our God of micht
That did all for us mak;
Quhilk fullily to deid was dicht,
For sinfull manis sak,
Sa suld we do beth day and nycht,
With prayaris to him mak.

This King is lyk the Trinitie,
Baith in hevin and heir;
The manis saule to the Lady,
The Gyand to Lucefeir,
The Knycht to Chryst, that deit on tre
And coft our synnis deir;
The pit to Hele with panis fell,
The Syn to the woweir.

The Lady was wowd, but scho said nay
With men that wald hir wed;
Sa suld we wryth all sin away
That in our breist is bred.
I pray to Jesu Chryst verray,
For ws his blud that bled,
To be our help on domisday
Quhair lawis ar straitly led.

quert] prison. coft] bought. straitly led] strictly carried out.

The saule is Godis dochtir deir,
And eik his handewerk,
That was betrayit with Lucefeir,
Quha sittis in hell full merk:
Borrowit with Chrystis angell cleir,
Hend men, will ye nocht herk?
And for his lufe that bocht us deir
Think on the BLUDY SERK!

_17._ hend] gentle.

WILLIAM DUNBAR

1465-1520?

_18._ _To a Lady_

Sweet rois of vertew and of gentilness,
Delytsum lily of everie lustynes,
Richest in bontie and in bewtie clear,
And everie vertew that is wenit dear,
Except onlie that ye are mercyless.

Into your garth this day I did persew;
There saw I flowris that fresche were of hew;
Baith quhyte and reid most lusty were to seyne,
And halesome herbis upon stalkis greene;
Yet leaf nor flowr find could I nane of rew.

I doubt that Merche, with his cauld blastis keyne,
Has slain this gentil herb, that I of mene;
Quhois piteous death dois to my heart sic paine
That I would make to plant his root againe,--
So confortand his levis unto me bene.

_18._ rois] rose. wenit] weened, esteemed. garth] garden-close. to
seyne] to see. that I of mene] that I complain of, mourn for.

_19._ _In Honour of the City of London_

London, thou art of townes _A per se_.
Soveraign of cities, seemliest in sight,
Of high renoun, riches and royaltie;
Of lordis, barons, and many a goodly knyght;
Of most delectable lusty ladies bright;
Of famous prelatis, in habitis clericall;
Of merchauntis full of substaunce and of myght:
London, thou art the flour of Cities all.

Gladdith anon, thou lusty Troynovaunt,
Citie that some tyme cleped was New Troy;
In all the erth, imperiall as thou stant,
Pryncesse of townes, of pleasure and of joy,
A richer restith under no Christen roy;
For manly power, with craftis naturall,
Fourmeth none fairer sith the flode of Noy:
London, thou art the flour of Cities all.

Gemme of all joy, jasper of jocunditie,
Most myghty carbuncle of vertue and valour;
Strong Troy in vigour and in strenuytie;
Of royall cities rose and geraflour;
Empress of townes, exalt in honour;
In beawtie beryng the crone imperiall;
Swete paradise precelling in pleasure;
London, thou art the flour of Cities all.

Above all ryvers thy Ryver hath renowne,
Whose beryall stremys, pleasaunt and preclare,
Under thy lusty wallys renneth down,
Where many a swan doth swymme with wyngis fair;

gladdith] rejoice. Troynovaunt] Troja nova or Trinovantum.
fourmeth] appeareth. geraflour] gillyflower.

Where many a barge doth saile and row with are;
Where many a ship doth rest with top-royall.
O, towne of townes! patrone and not compare,
London, thou art the flour of Cities all.

Upon thy lusty Brigge of pylers white
Been merchauntis full royall to behold;
Upon thy stretis goeth many a semely knyght
In velvet gownes and in cheynes of gold.
By Julyus Cesar thy Tour founded of old
May be the hous of Mars victoryall,
Whose artillary with tonge may not be told:
London, thou art the flour of Cities all.

Strong be thy wallis that about thee standis;
Wise be the people that within thee dwellis;
Fresh is thy ryver with his lusty strandis;
Blith be thy chirches, wele sownyng be thy bellis;
Rich be thy merchauntis in substaunce that excellis;
Fair be their wives, right lovesom, white and small;
Clere be thy virgyns, lusty under kellis:
London, thou art the flour of Cities all.

Thy famous Maire, by pryncely governaunce,
With sword of justice thee ruleth prudently.
No Lord of Parys, Venyce, or Floraunce
In dignitye or honour goeth to hym nigh.
He is exampler, loode-ster, and guye;
Principall patrone and rose orygynalle,
Above all Maires as maister most worthy:
London, thou art the flour of Cities all.

are] oar. small] slender. kellis] hoods, head-dresses. guye] guide.

_20._ _On the Nativity of Christ_

_Rorate coeli desuper_!
Hevins, distil your balmy schouris!
For now is risen the bricht day-ster,
Fro the rose Mary, flour of flouris:
The cleir Sone, quhom no cloud devouris,
Surmounting Phebus in the Est,
Is cumin of his hevinly touris:
_Et nobis Puer natus est_.

Archangellis, angellis, and dompnationis,
Tronis, potestatis, and marteiris seir,
And all ye hevinly operationis,
Ster, planeit, firmament, and spheir,
Fire, erd, air, and water cleir,
To Him gife loving, most and lest,
That come in to so meik maneir;
_Et nobis Puer natus est_.

Synnaris be glad, and penance do,
And thank your Maker hairtfully;
For he that ye micht nocht come to
To you is cumin full humbly
Your soulis with his blood to buy
And loose you of the fiendis arrest--
And only of his own mercy;
_Pro nobis Puer natus est_.

All clergy do to him inclyne,
And bow unto that bairn benyng,
And do your observance divyne
To him that is of kingis King:

schouris] showers. cumin] come, entered. seir] various. erd] earth.
lest] least. synnaris] sinners. benyng] benign.

Encense his altar, read and sing
In holy kirk, with mind degest,
Him honouring attour all thing
_Qui nobis Puer natus est_.

Celestial foulis in the air,
Sing with your nottis upon hicht,
In firthis and in forrestis fair
Be myrthful now at all your mycht;
For passit is your dully nicht,
Aurora has the cloudis perst,
The Sone is risen with glaidsum licht,
_Et nobis Puer natus est_.

Now spring up flouris fra the rute,
Revert you upward naturaly,
In honour of the blissit frute
That raiss up fro the rose Mary;
Lay out your levis lustily,
Fro deid take life now at the lest
In wirschip of that Prince worthy
_Qui nobis Puer natus est_.

Sing, hevin imperial, most of hicht!
Regions of air mak armony!
All fish in flud and fowl of flicht
Be mirthful and mak melody!
All Gloria in excelsis cry!
Heaven, erd, se, man, bird, and best,--
He that is crownit abone the sky
_Pro nobis Puer natus est_!

attour] over, above. perst] pierced. raiss] rose. best] beast.

_21._ _Lament for the Makers_

I that in heill was and gladnèss
Am trublit now with great sickness
And feblit with infirmitie:--
_Timor Mortis conturbat me_.

Our plesance here is all vain glory,
This fals world is but transitory,
The flesh is bruckle, the Feynd is slee:--
_Timor Mortis conturbat me_.

The state of man does change and vary,
Now sound, now sick, now blyth, now sary,
Now dansand mirry, now like to die:--
_Timor Mortis conturbat me_.

No state in Erd here standis sicker;
As with the wynd wavis the wicker
So wannis this world’s vanitie:--
_Timor Mortis conturbat me_.

Unto the Death gois all Estatis,
Princis, Prelatis, and Potestatis,
Baith rich and poor of all degree:--
_Timor Mortis conturbat me_.