Chapter 7

Filler.

NOTES AND GLOSSARY

Filler.

NOTES.

Line1. Bale, quoting the first two lines, translates themIn æstivo tempore, cum sol caleret. The printers of the early editions alteredsoftetoset.

4,5.shroudes ... sheep. The other text of this poem readsYshop into shrobbis | as y shepherde were. See the Introduction.

28. The text represented in Whitaker's edition here differs much from the other. Our dreamer is there introduced very unadvisedly telling us of this tower, 'truthe was therynne,' a piece of information which he only learns afterwards from dame 'Holy Churche:'

Ich was aferd of hure face,Thauh hue faire were,And saide, mercy, madame,Wat may this be to mene,The tour upon toft, quath hue,Treuthe ys therynne.(Passus Secundus, ed. Whit.)

Ich was aferd of hure face,

Thauh hue faire were,

And saide, mercy, madame,

Wat may this be to mene,

The tour upon toft, quath hue,

Treuthe ys therynne.

(Passus Secundus, ed. Whit.)

Where there is an evident reference to the "tour on a toft," which has been previously mentioned in the more correct text.

43,44. Dr. Whitaker, misunderstanding this passage, has printed 'ther' for 'that,' which is in all the MSS. In his gloss, he interprets 'wonnen' by 'to dwell;' and he paraphrases the sentence, 'some destroying themselves by gluttony and excess,' translating it, I suppose, "And there dwell wasters whom gluttony destroyeth." The meaning is, the ploughmen worked hard, "and obtained (wan) that which wasters destroy with their gluttony." The writer of the second Trin. Coll. MS. seems to have understood the meaning of the passage, but not the words, and has 'whom that thise wastours.'

68. I have here to preserve the alliteration, adopted 'giltles,' from the second Trin. Coll. MS., and one of the printed editions, in place of 'synneles,' which the other MS. has. Though we find instances of irregularity in the sub-letters (or alliterative letters in the first line) in Pierce Plowman, the chief letter is not so often neglected. In Whitaker's text the account of the minstrels is very confused. Here the minstrels get gold by their song without sin, but the japers and janglers are condemned as getting their living by what is afterwards called 'turpiloquium,' when they had ability to get it in an honester way.

88.Roberdes knaves.These are the same class of malefactors who are namedRoberdesmenin the Statutes, 5 Ed. III. c. 14. "Et diverses roberies, homicides, et felonies ont esté faitz eintz ces heures par gentz qui sont appellez Roberdesmen, Wastours, et Draghelatche, si est acordé et establi que si homme eit suspecion de mal de nuls tielx, soit-il de jour soit-il de nuyt, que meintenant soient arestus par les conestables des villes." This law was confirmed by 7 Ric. II. c. 5, where the word is again introduced. Whitaker supposes, without any reason, the 'Roberdes knaves' to be Robin Hood's men. The other Trin. Coll. MS. readsRobertis knaves.

93.Seint Jame.St. James of Compostello was a famous resort of pilgrims in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. An amusing song on the inconveniences which attended the voyage is printed in the Reliquiæ Antiquæ, vol. i, p. 2.

107.Walsyngham.The shrine of the Virgin Mary at Walsingham in Norfolk, also enjoyed an extraordinary celebrity, as a resort of English pilgrims. It appears that the first complaints of the Wicliffite reformers were strongly expressed against this pilgrimage. "Lolardi sequaces Johannis Wiclif ... prædicaverunt peregrinationes non debere fieri, et præcipue apud Walsingham," etc. Th. Walsingh. p. 340.

116. The four orders of friars were, of course, the Franciscans, Augustines, Dominicans, and Carmelites.

131. These four lines stand thus in Whitaker's text,Bote holy churche and charité | choppe a-doun swich shryvers, | the moste myschif of molde | mounteth up faste.Whitaker has translated it quite wrong, "May true charity and church discipline knock down these, the greatest pests on earth, who are rapidly increasing!" The simple meaning of the passage, as given by Whitaker, is, "Unless holy church and charity chop down such shrivers (confessors), the greatest mischief of the world is increasing fast." The present text affords a better and equally clear meaning, "Unless holy church and they hold better together, the greatest mischief in the world is increasing, or gaining ground very fast."

141.of falshede of fastynge, the comma has slipped in by accident. The meaning is "of breaking fast-days."

147.He bunchith hem, MS. Trin. 2.

168.the pestilence tyme.See further on, thenoteon l. 2497. The great plague of 1349 and 1350 had carried off so much people, that hands were wanting to cultivate the lands in many parishes, and the distress which followed, with the failure of tithes which naturally accompanied it, drove the parsons to plead poverty as an excuse for going to London and seeking other occupations.

192. Whitaker's text inserts the following passage between this line and the one following:—

Conscience cam and acusede hem,And the commune herde hit,And seide, "Ydolatrie ye soffrenIn sondrye places menye,And boxes ben y-set forthBounden with yren,To undertake the toolOf untrewe sacrifice,In menynge of miraclesMuche wex hongeth there,Al the worldle wot welHit myghte nat be trywe.Ac for it profitith yow to pors-warde,Ye prelates soffrenThat lewede men in mysbylyveLeven and deien.Ich lyve wel, by oure Lorde!For love of youre covetyse,That al the worlde be the wors;As holy wryght tellethWhat cheste and meschaunceTo children of IsraelFul on hem that free were,Thorwe two false preestes.For the synne of OphniAnd of Finees hus brother,Thei were disconfit in bataille,And lostenArcha Dei,And fore hure syre sauh hem syngen,And aoffred hem don ylle,And noght chasted hem therof,And wolde noght rebukie hem,Anon as it was y-told hymeThat the children of IsraelWeren disconfit in bataille,AndArcha Deiy-lore,And hus sones slayen,Anon he ful for sorweFro hus chaire thare he sat,And brak hus necke a-tweyne;And al was for venjaunceThat he but noght hus children.And for they were preestes,And men of holy churche,God was well wrother,And toke the rather venjaunce.For-thei ich seye, ye preestes,And men of holy churche,That soffren men do sacrificeAnd worsheppen mawmettes,And ye sholde be here fadres,And techen hem betere;God shal take venjaunceIn alle swiche preestesWel harder and grettere,On suche shrewede faderes,Than ever he dude on OphniAnd Finees, or in here fadere.For youre shrewede suffraunce,And youre owen synne,Youre masse and youre matynes,And meny of youre houres, etc.

Conscience cam and acusede hem,

And the commune herde hit,

And seide, "Ydolatrie ye soffren

In sondrye places menye,

And boxes ben y-set forth

Bounden with yren,

To undertake the tool

Of untrewe sacrifice,

In menynge of miracles

Muche wex hongeth there,

Al the worldle wot wel

Hit myghte nat be trywe.

Ac for it profitith yow to pors-warde,

Ye prelates soffren

That lewede men in mysbylyve

Leven and deien.

Ich lyve wel, by oure Lorde!

For love of youre covetyse,

That al the worlde be the wors;

As holy wryght telleth

What cheste and meschaunce

To children of Israel

Ful on hem that free were,

Thorwe two false preestes.

For the synne of Ophni

And of Finees hus brother,

Thei were disconfit in bataille,

And lostenArcha Dei,

And fore hure syre sauh hem syngen,

And aoffred hem don ylle,

And noght chasted hem therof,

And wolde noght rebukie hem,

Anon as it was y-told hyme

That the children of Israel

Weren disconfit in bataille,

AndArcha Deiy-lore,

And hus sones slayen,

Anon he ful for sorwe

Fro hus chaire thare he sat,

And brak hus necke a-tweyne;

And al was for venjaunce

That he but noght hus children.

And for they were preestes,

And men of holy churche,

God was well wrother,

And toke the rather venjaunce.

For-thei ich seye, ye preestes,

And men of holy churche,

That soffren men do sacrifice

And worsheppen mawmettes,

And ye sholde be here fadres,

And techen hem betere;

God shal take venjaunce

In alle swiche preestes

Wel harder and grettere,

On suche shrewede faderes,

Than ever he dude on Ophni

And Finees, or in here fadere.

For youre shrewede suffraunce,

And youre owen synne,

Youre masse and youre matynes,

And meny of youre houres, etc.

225. This is the constitutional principle which was universally acknowledged by our early political writers, and of which some strong declarations will be found in my "Political Songs" (published by the Camden Society). The doctrine of "right divine" was certainly not a prevalent one in the middle ages.

291. This fable appears to be of middle-age formation, for it is not found in any of the ancient collections. It does not occur in the fables of Marie. It is however found in the old collection, in French verse of the fourteenth century, entitled Ysopet; and M. Robert has also printed a Latin metrical version of the story from a MS. of the same century. La Fontaine has given it among his fables. It may be observed that the fable is nowhere so well told as in Piers Ploughman. (See Robert, Fables Inédites, des xiie, xiiie, et xivesiècles, i, pp. 98-101.) The readers of Scottish history will remember the application of this fable in 1481, by the earl of Angus (popularly named, from this circumstance, Archibald Bell-the-cat), in the conspiracy against the royal favourites, which forms an excellent illustration of our text.

381.Væ terræ, etc.Ecclesiastes, x, 16. "Væ tibi, terra, cujus rex puer est, et cujus principes mane comedunt."

423.and pointeth the lawe.MS. Trin. 2.

429. after this line the following are inserted in the second MS. of Trin. Coll.

I saugh bisshopis bolde,And bacheleris of devyn,Become clerkis of acountisThe king for to serve,Archideknes and denis,That dignités haven,To preche the pepleAnd pore men to fede,Ben y-lope to LundoneBe leve of hire bisshop,And ben clerkis of the kinges benchThe cuntré to shende.

I saugh bisshopis bolde,

And bacheleris of devyn,

Become clerkis of acountis

The king for to serve,

Archideknes and denis,

That dignités haven,

To preche the peple

And pore men to fede,

Ben y-lope to Lundone

Be leve of hire bisshop,

And ben clerkis of the kinges bench

The cuntré to shende.

438.Taillours, tanneris, | And tokkeris bothe.MS. Trin. 2.

453. The Cottonian MS. Vespas. B. xvi, from which Price has given a long extract in his edition of Warton, has here "With wyne of Oseye | and wyn of Gascoyne." Whitaker's reading is "Whit wyn of Oseye and of Gascoyne." Price observes, in a note, "good wyne of Gaskyne, and the wyne of Osee [is the reading of MS. Harl. No. 875].—The same hand already noticed has correctedwyntoweyte(wheat)of Gascoyne;—an obvious improvement." I by no means partake in this opinion:wineof Gascony, andnot wheatof Gascony, is perpetually alluded to in the literature of France and England from the twelfth to the sixteenth century. The reading of the text now printed is evidently the original one, which has been corrupted in the others: the wine more particularly known as Gascon, was a red wine. The writer of "La Desputoison du Vin et de l'Iaue," says of it—

Vin de Gascoigne, sa coulourN'est pas de petite valour;Les autres vins fet honnorer.Quant de soi les veult coulourer:Force donne, aide, et confort,Et d'un vin foible, fet. i. fort.Il a de vin plaine sustance;Il nourrist sans faire grevance:Aus testes est bons et au flanc.Et du rouge y a et du blanc.(Jubinal, Nouveau Recueil de Contes, &c., i. 399.)

Vin de Gascoigne, sa coulour

N'est pas de petite valour;

Les autres vins fet honnorer.

Quant de soi les veult coulourer:

Force donne, aide, et confort,

Et d'un vin foible, fet. i. fort.

Il a de vin plaine sustance;

Il nourrist sans faire grevance:

Aus testes est bons et au flanc.

Et du rouge y a et du blanc.

(Jubinal, Nouveau Recueil de Contes, &c., i. 399.)

The 'wyn of the Rochel' (vin de la Rochelle) was also a favourite wine.—

Rochelle, qui tant a de pris,Que l'en la va de partout querre;Chascun si l'enclot et l'enserre,Car il n'est pas à garçonner,N'en ne la doit q'aus bons donner;—Por les grans seignors l'en salache.(ib.p. 300).

Rochelle, qui tant a de pris,

Que l'en la va de partout querre;

Chascun si l'enclot et l'enserre,

Car il n'est pas à garçonner,

N'en ne la doit q'aus bons donner;—

Por les grans seignors l'en salache.

(ib.p. 300).

The "wyn of Oseye" (vin d'Osaie) was a foreign wine, very rare and dear, and sought up by 'gourmands:' it is mentioned with those of Malvoisia, Rosetta, and Muscadet. (Depping Réglemens sur les Arts et Métiers de Paris, p. lxiii.) It is unnecessary to explain what was 'wyn of the Ryn' (Rhine).

456.of the Reule | and of the Rochel.Whitaker.

458. These two lines, omitted in the MS. from which our text is printed, have been added from MS. Trin. 2.

489.fyve wittes.The five wits were equivalent to the fivesenses. One of the characters in the early interlude of The Four Elements, a production of the earlier part of the sixteenth century, says:—

I am callyd Sensuall Apetyte,All craturs in me delyte;I comforte thewyttys fyve,The tastyng, smellyng, and herynge,I refresh the syght and felynge,To all creaturs alyve.

I am callyd Sensuall Apetyte,

All craturs in me delyte;

I comforte thewyttys fyve,

The tastyng, smellyng, and herynge,

I refresh the syght and felynge,

To all creaturs alyve.

Stephen Hawes, in his Pastime of Pleasure (chap. xxiv), belonging to this same age, refines upon this notion, and talks of five "internall wittes," answering to the five external wits, or to those which were commonly understood by that name.

522. Genesis xix, 32. It is very singular that this story of Lot and his daughters was the favourite example of the medieval preachers against drunkenness.

563. Luke xx, 25.

595.on an eller.It was the prevailing belief during the middle ages, that the tree on which Judas hanged himself was an elder. Maundevile tells us that this tree was still in existence, when he visited Jerusalem. "Also streghte from Natatorie Siloe is an ymage of ston and of olde auncyen werk, that Absalon leet make; and because thereof, men clepen it the hond of Absalon. And faste by is yit thetree of eldrethat Judas henge himself upon for despeyr that he hadde, whan he solde and betrayed oure Lord." The same notion continued to exist in the age of Shakespeare, and is alluded to by Shakespeare himself, Ben Jonson, and others.

Hol.What mean you, sir?Boyet.To make Judas hang himself.Hol.Begin, sir; you aremy elder.Biron.Well followed:Judas was hang'd on an elder.Love's Labours Lost, v, 2.

Hol.What mean you, sir?

Boyet.To make Judas hang himself.

Hol.Begin, sir; you aremy elder.

Biron.Well followed:Judas was hang'd on an elder.

Love's Labours Lost, v, 2.

681.Lucifer with legions.The story of Lucifer's rebellion and fall was extremely popular in the middle ages, and particularly among the Anglo-Saxons, who, in the fine poem ascribed to Cædmon, had given it almost as much detail as Milton had done at a later date. This legend is related in prose in an Anglo-Saxon tract in MS. Cotton. Vespas. D. xiv, fol. 2.

682. The second Trin. Col. MS. has,Leride it in hevene, | and as the lovelokest | to loke on, aftir oure Lord.

697-704. Instead of these lines, we find the following in Whitaker's text:

Lord, why wolde he tho,Thulke wrechede Lucifer,Lepen on a-lofteIn the northe syde,To sitten in the sonne sideTher the day roweth,Ne were it for northerne men,Anon ich wolde telle:Ac ich wolle lacke no lyf,Quath that lady sotthly.'Hyt is sykerer by southe,Ther the sonne regneth,Than in the north, by meny notes,No man loyne other.For theder as the fend flegh,Hus fote for to sette,Ther he failede and fuel,And hus felawes alle.And helle is ther he is,And he ther y-bounde,Evene contrarie suteth Criste,Cierkus knowen the sothe,Dixit Dominus Domino meo, sede a dextrismeis.'Ac of this matereNo more mene ich nelle,He was in the halydayAfter heten wayten,They care noght thauh it be coldKnaves wen thei worchen.'

Lord, why wolde he tho,

Thulke wrechede Lucifer,

Lepen on a-lofte

In the northe syde,

To sitten in the sonne side

Ther the day roweth,

Ne were it for northerne men,

Anon ich wolde telle:

Ac ich wolle lacke no lyf,

Quath that lady sotthly.

'Hyt is sykerer by southe,

Ther the sonne regneth,

Than in the north, by meny notes,

No man loyne other.

For theder as the fend flegh,

Hus fote for to sette,

Ther he failede and fuel,

And hus felawes alle.

And helle is ther he is,

And he ther y-bounde,

Evene contrarie suteth Criste,

Cierkus knowen the sothe,

Dixit Dominus Domino meo, sede a dextris

meis.

'Ac of this matere

No more mene ich nelle,

He was in the halyday

After heten wayten,

They care noght thauh it be cold

Knaves wen thei worchen.'

Whitaker has translated the last four lines of the foregoing extract thus, "Excepting that hyndes on the holyday look out for warm places, but knaves (servants) when working hard, are indifferent to cold."

695. Isaiah xiv, 14. The citation varies a little from the text of the printed vulgate.

707.Somme in the eyr.The monks in the middle ages endeavoured to explain the existence of different classes of spirits and fairies, which the popular creed represented as harmless, or even beneficent creatures, by supposing that some of the angels who fell with Lucifer were less guilty than others, and were allowed to occupy the different elements on the earth instead of being condemned to "the pit." In "The Master of Oxford's Catechism," written early in the fifteenth century, and printed in the Reliquiæ Antiquæ, vol. i, p. 231, we have the following question and answer,—"C.Where be the anjelles that God put out of heven, and bycam devilles?M.Som into hell, and som reyned in the skye, and som in the erth, and som in waters and in wodys."

815. Mark iv, 24. In qua mensura mensi fueritis, remetietur vobis, et adjicietur vobis.

835. Epist. Jac. ii, 17. Sic et fides, si non habeat opera, mortua est in semetipsa.

862. Luke vi, 38.

901. The second Trin. Col. MS. has—

Frettid with rynges,Of the pureste perreigheThat prince werde evere,In red scarlet robidAnd ribande with gold.Ther nis no quen queyntereThat quyk is o-lyve,'What is this womman,' quod I.

Frettid with rynges,

Of the pureste perreighe

That prince werde evere,

In red scarlet robid

And ribande with gold.

Ther nis no quen queyntere

That quyk is o-lyve,

'What is this womman,' quod I.

934. Matth. vii, 17.bonus(forbona) is the reading of the MS. Perhaps it was thought allowable to use the masculine thus before a fem. noun beginning witha, for the sake of euphony, as the French still writemon amie, instead ofma amie, and the like. Whitaker's text has here—

Talis pater, talis filius.For shal never brere bereBeries as a vyne,No on crokyd kene thorneKynde fygys wexe.Bona arbor bonum fructum facit.

Talis pater, talis filius.

For shal never brere bere

Beries as a vyne,

No on crokyd kene thorne

Kynde fygys wexe.

Bona arbor bonum fructum facit.

The lines which follow differ considerably in the two texts.

958. Psalm xiv, 1.

991-994. Instead of these lines, the following are substituted in the second Trin. Coll. MS.:—

Sire Symonye is assentTo asele the chartres,That Fals and FavelBe any fyn halden,And feffe Mede therwithIn mariage for evere.Ther nas halle ne housTo herberwe the peple,That iche feld nas fulOf folk al aboute.In myddis a mounteyneAt myd-morewe tideWas pight up a pavylounProud for the nones,And ten thousand of tentisTeldit beside,Of knightes of cuntrés,Of comeres aboute,For sisours, for somonours, etc.

Sire Symonye is assent

To asele the chartres,

That Fals and Favel

Be any fyn halden,

And feffe Mede therwith

In mariage for evere.

Ther nas halle ne hous

To herberwe the peple,

That iche feld nas ful

Of folk al aboute.

In myddis a mounteyne

At myd-morewe tide

Was pight up a pavyloun

Proud for the nones,

And ten thousand of tentis

Teldit beside,

Of knightes of cuntrés,

Of comeres aboute,

For sisours, for somonours, etc.

And the rest, as far as line 1100, differs very much in the two MSS.

1103.of Banneburies sokne, | Reynald the reve, | and the redyngkynges menye, | Munde the mylnere.Whit.

1128. Luke x, 7.

1177.With florynsynowe.Edward III had issued, not very long before the date of this poem, the first extensive English gold coinage, to which he gave the Italian name of florins, derived originally from that of the city of Florence.

1204.to Westmynstre:i. e.to the courts of law which were held there.

1404.A moton of golde.A mutton (mouton) was a small French coin of gold, which bore the stamp of a lamb or sheep. See Ducange, v.Multo.

1501. Matth. vi, 3.

1523. Regrating, or the buying up of provisions and other things to make extravagant profits by retailing them, was one of the great sources of oppression of the poor by the rich in the middle ages, and was a constant subject of popular complaint.

1529. Whitaker's text adds here,—

Thei have no puteye of the pupleThat parcel-mele mote biggen,Thauh thei take hem untydy thyng,Thei hold it no treson;And thauh thei fulle nat ful,That for lawe y-seelde,He gripeth therfor as greteAs for the grete treuthe.Meny sondry sorwesIn cyté fallen ofte,Bothe thorw fyur and flod,And al for false puple,That bygylen good men,And greveth hem wrongliche,The wiche cryen on hure kneesThat Christ hem avengeHere on this erthe,Other elles on helle,That so bygyleth hem of here good,And God on hem sendethFeveres, other fouler hyveles,Other fur on here houses,Moreyne, other meschaunce.And menye tyme hit falleth,That innocence ys y-herdeIn hevene amonge seyntes,That louten for hem to oure Lorde,And to oure Lady bothe,To granten gylours on ertheGrace to amende,And have here penaunce on pure erthe,And noght in the pyne of helle.And thenne falleth the furOn false menne houses,And good men for here gultesGloweth on fuyr after.Al thys have we seyen,That some tyme thorw a brewereMany burgages y-brent,And bodyes therynne,And thorw a candel clomingIn a cursed place,Fel a-don and for-brendeForth al the rewe,For-thy mayres that maken free-men,Me thynken that thei ouhtenFor to spure and aspye,For eny speche of selver,What manere mesterOf merchaundise he usede,Er he were underfonge freeAnd felawe in youre rolles.Hit ys nought semly, for soth,In cyté ne in borw-ton,That usurers other regratoursFor eny kynne geftes,Be fraunchised for a free-man,And have fals name.

Thei have no puteye of the puple

That parcel-mele mote biggen,

Thauh thei take hem untydy thyng,

Thei hold it no treson;

And thauh thei fulle nat ful,

That for lawe y-seelde,

He gripeth therfor as grete

As for the grete treuthe.

Meny sondry sorwesIn cyté fallen ofte,Bothe thorw fyur and flod,And al for false puple,That bygylen good men,And greveth hem wrongliche,The wiche cryen on hure kneesThat Christ hem avengeHere on this erthe,Other elles on helle,That so bygyleth hem of here good,And God on hem sendethFeveres, other fouler hyveles,Other fur on here houses,Moreyne, other meschaunce.And menye tyme hit falleth,That innocence ys y-herdeIn hevene amonge seyntes,That louten for hem to oure Lorde,And to oure Lady bothe,To granten gylours on ertheGrace to amende,And have here penaunce on pure erthe,And noght in the pyne of helle.And thenne falleth the furOn false menne houses,And good men for here gultesGloweth on fuyr after.Al thys have we seyen,That some tyme thorw a brewereMany burgages y-brent,And bodyes therynne,And thorw a candel clomingIn a cursed place,Fel a-don and for-brendeForth al the rewe,For-thy mayres that maken free-men,Me thynken that thei ouhtenFor to spure and aspye,For eny speche of selver,What manere mesterOf merchaundise he usede,Er he were underfonge freeAnd felawe in youre rolles.Hit ys nought semly, for soth,In cyté ne in borw-ton,That usurers other regratoursFor eny kynne geftes,Be fraunchised for a free-man,And have fals name.

Meny sondry sorwes

In cyté fallen ofte,

Bothe thorw fyur and flod,

And al for false puple,

That bygylen good men,

And greveth hem wrongliche,

The wiche cryen on hure knees

That Christ hem avenge

Here on this erthe,

Other elles on helle,

That so bygyleth hem of here good,

And God on hem sendeth

Feveres, other fouler hyveles,

Other fur on here houses,

Moreyne, other meschaunce.

And menye tyme hit falleth,

That innocence ys y-herde

In hevene amonge seyntes,

That louten for hem to oure Lorde,

And to oure Lady bothe,

To granten gylours on erthe

Grace to amende,

And have here penaunce on pure erthe,

And noght in the pyne of helle.

And thenne falleth the fur

On false menne houses,

And good men for here gultes

Gloweth on fuyr after.

Al thys have we seyen,

That some tyme thorw a brewere

Many burgages y-brent,

And bodyes therynne,

And thorw a candel cloming

In a cursed place,

Fel a-don and for-brende

Forth al the rewe,

For-thy mayres that maken free-men,

Me thynken that thei ouhten

For to spure and aspye,

For eny speche of selver,

What manere mester

Of merchaundise he usede,

Er he were underfonge free

And felawe in youre rolles.

Hit ys nought semly, for soth,

In cyté ne in borw-ton,

That usurers other regratours

For eny kynne geftes,

Be fraunchised for a free-man,

And have fals name.

1548. Job, xv, 34.

1611.Youre fader she felled.An allusion to the deposition and death of Edward II.

1652. Provisors were people who obtained from the pope the reversion of ecclesiastical dignities, and several severe statutes were made against them, one well-known one by Edward III.

1674.Love-daies.See further on, thenoteon l. 5634.

1735.In Normandie.1750.To Caleis.Allusions, no doubt, to recent events in the wars of Edward III. See the Introduction.

1769.Caytiflyche thow, Conscience, | Consailedist the kyng leten | In hus enemys honde | Ys heritage of Fraunce.Whit.

1827. Psalm xiv, 1.

1835. Ps. xiv, 2.

1845. Ps. xiv, 5.

1862. Psalm xxv, 10.

1875. Matth. vi, 5.

1885.Regum.The reference is to 1 Sam. xv, which in the old Vulgate was calledprimus liber regum.

1985,2019. Isaiah ii, 4.

2043. Prov. xxii, 9. Victoriam et honorem acquiret qui dat munera; animam autem aufert accipientium.

2099.lernest.Whitaker's text hasledest.

2149. Psalm xiii, 3. The quotation which follows is from the same verse.

2171.his sone.The Black Prince, who was a great favourite with the people.

2175-2186. The variation in Whitaker's text deserves notice. This passage there stands as follows:—

Thenne cam Pees into parlement,And putte up a bylle.How that Wrong wilfullichHadde hus wif for-leyen;And how he ravysed Rose,The riche widewe, by nyghte;And Margarete of here maidenhod,As he met hure late.'Both my goos, and my grys,And my gras he taketh,Ich dar nouht for is felaweshepe,In faith!' Pees saide,'Bere sickerlich eny selverTo seint Gyles doune;He watteth ful wel,Wan ich sulfere taketh,Wat wey ich wende.Wel yerne he aspieth,To robbe me and to ryfle me,Yf ich ride softe.Yut he is bolde for to borwe,And baldelich he payeth:He borwede of me Bayarde,' etc.

Thenne cam Pees into parlement,

And putte up a bylle.

How that Wrong wilfullich

Hadde hus wif for-leyen;

And how he ravysed Rose,

The riche widewe, by nyghte;

And Margarete of here maidenhod,

As he met hure late.

'Both my goos, and my grys,

And my gras he taketh,

Ich dar nouht for is felaweshepe,

In faith!' Pees saide,

'Bere sickerlich eny selver

To seint Gyles doune;

He watteth ful wel,

Wan ich sulfere taketh,

Wat wey ich wende.

Wel yerne he aspieth,

To robbe me and to ryfle me,

Yf ich ride softe.

Yut he is bolde for to borwe,

And baldelich he payeth:

He borwede of me Bayarde,' etc.

2177.How Wrong ayeins his wille.What follows is a true picture of the oppressions to which the peasantry were frequently subjected by the king's purveyors, and by others in power. See the Political Songs, pp. 377, 378; and Hartshorne's Ancient Metrical Tales, pp. 41, 42.

2197.taillé, a tally. See the Political Songs, as above quoted. Whitaker translates this passage, which stands thus in his edition,

And taketh me bote a taileFor ten quarters other twelve,

And taketh me bote a taile

For ten quarters other twelve,

by, "and for ten or twelve quarters of it repaid me buta sheep's tail!"

2298.in my stokkes.In my prison. Prisons were usually furnished with stocks, in which, instead of fetters, prisoners were set.

2323.Beneyt.St. Benedict, the founder of the Benedictine order; St. Bernard, of the order of Cistercians; St. Francis, of the Franciscans.

2335.Galis.Compostello in Galicia.

2473.Passus Quintus.In Whitaker's text, this section, which is calledPassus Sextus, is prefaced by the following long exordium, intended as a satire against the mendicant friars:—

Thus ich awaked, God wot!Wanne ich wonede on Cornhulle,Kytte and ich in a cote,Clothede as a lollere:And a lytel ich let by,Leyve me, for sothe,Among lolleres of London,And lewede heremytes.For ich made of tho men,As Reson me tauhte.For as ich cam by Conscience,Wit Reson ich mette,In an hote hervest,Wenne ich hadde myn hele,And lymes to labore with,And lovede wel fare,And no dede to doBote drynke and to slepe,In hele and in unité,On me aposede,Romynge in remembraunce.Thus Reson me arated:'Canstow serven,' he seide,'Other syngen in a churche?Other loke for my cokers?Other to the carte picche?Mowe, other mowen,Other make bond to sheves?Repe, other be a repe-reyveAnd arise erliche?Other have an horne and be hay-warde,And liggen out a nyghtes,And kepe my corn in my croftFrom pykers and theeves?Other shap shoon other clothes?Other shep other kyne kepe?Eggen, other harwen,Other swyne other gees dryve?Other eny kyne craftThat to the comune nudeth,Hem that bed-reden beBylyve to fynde?''Certes,' ich seyde,'And so me God helpe!Ich am to waik to worcheWith sykel other with sythe;And to long, leyf me,Lowe for to stoupe,To worchen as workemanEny wyle to dure.''Then havest thow londes to lyve by,'Quath Reson, 'other lynage rycheThat fynden the thy fode?For an hydel man thow semest,A spendour that spende mot,Other a spille-tyme;Other beggest thy lyveAboute ate menne hatches;Other faitest upon FridaysOther feste dayes in churches;The wiche is lollerene lyf,That lytel is preysedTher ryghtfulnesse rewardethRyght as men deserveth.Reddit unicuique juxta opera sua.Ether thow ert broke, so may be,In body other in membre,Other y-maymed thorow som myshap.Werby thow myght be excusede.''Wanne ich yong was,' quath ich,'Many yer hennes,My fader and my frendesFounden me to scole,Tyl ich wiste wyterlicheWat holy wryt menede,And wat is best for the body,As the bok telleth,And sykerest for the soule,By so ich wolle continue.And yut fond ich never in faith,Sytthen my frendes deyden,Lyf that me lyked,Bote in thes long clothes.Hyf ich by laboure sholde lyf,And lyflode deserven,That labour that ich lerned bestTherwhit lyve ich sholde.In eadem vocatione qua vocati estis.And ich lyve in LondeneAnd on Londen bothe.The lomes that ich laboure withAnd lyflode deserve,Ys paternoster and my prymer,Placebo et dirige,And my sauter some tyme,And my sevene psalmes.Thus ich synge for hure soulesOf suche as me helpen.And tho that fynden me my fodeVochen saf, ich trowe,To be wolcome wan ich comeOther wyle in a monthe,Now with hym, and now with hure,And thus gate ich beggeWithoute bagge other botel,Bote my wombe one.And also, moreover,Me thynketh, syre Reson,Men sholde constreyneNo clerke to knavene werkes.For by law of Livitici,That oure Lord ordeynede,Clerkes that aren crownedOf kynde understondyng,Sholde nother swynke ne swete,Ne swere at enquestes,Ne fyghte in no vauntwarde,Ne hus fo greve.Nou reddas malum pro malo.For it ben aires of hevene,And alle that ben crounedeAnd in queer in churches,Cristes owene mynestres.Dominus pars hæreditatis meæEt alibi, Clementia non constringit.Hit bycometh for clerkusCrist for to serven;And knaves uncrounedeTo cart and to worche.For shold no clerk be crouned,Bote yf he y-come wereOf franklens and freemenAnd of folke y-weddede.Bondmen and bastardes,And beggers children,Thuse bylongeth to labour.And lordes children sholde serven,Bothe God and good men,As here degree asketh;Some to synge masses,Others sitten and wryte,Rede and receyveThat Reson oughte spende.And sith bondemenne barnesHan be made bisshopes,And barnes bastardesHan ben archidekenes;And sopers and here sonesFor selver han be knyghtes,And lordene sones here laboreres,And leid here rentes to weddenFor the ryght of the reame,Ryden ayens oure enemys,In consort of the comuneAnd the kynges worshep.And monkes and moniales.That mendinauns sholden fynde,Han mad here kyn knyghtes,And knyght fees purchase.Popes and patronesPovre gentil blod refuseth,And taken Symondes sonneSeyntewarie to kepe.Lyf-holynesse and loveHan ben longe hennes,And wole, til hit be wered out,Or otherwise y-chaunged.For-thy rebuke me ryht nouht,Reson, ich yow praye;For in my conscience ich knoweWhat Crist wolde that ich wroughte.Preyers of perfyt man,And penaunce discret,Is the levest labourThat oure Lord pleseth.Non de solo, ich seyde,For sothevivit homo,Nec in pane et pabulo,The paternoster witnesseth.Fiat voluntas tuaFynt ous alle thynges.'Quath Conscience, 'By Crist!Ich can nat see this lyeth.Ac it semeth nouht perfitnesseIn cyties for to begge,Bote he be obediencerTo pryour other to mynstre.''That ys soth,' ich seide,'And so ich by-knoweThat ich have tynt tyme,And tyme mys-spended.And yut ich hope, as heThat ofte haveth chaffarede,That ay hath lost and lost,And at the latest hym happethHe bouhte suche a bargaynHe was the bet evere,And sette hus lost at a lefAt the laste ende;Suche a wynnynge hym warthThorw wyrdes of his grace.Simile est regnum cœlorum thesauroabscondito in agro, etc.Mulier quæ inveniet dragmam, etc.So hope ich to have of hymThat his almyghtyA gobet of hus grace,And bygynne a tymeThat alle tymes of my tymeTo profit shal turne.''Ich rede the,' quath Reson tho,'Rathe the to bygynneThe lyf that ys lowableAnd leel to the soule.''Ye, and continue,' quath Conscience.And to the church ich wente.And to the church gan ich go,God to honourie,Byfor the crois on my kneesKnocked ich my brest,Sykinge for my sennes,Segginge my paternoster,Wepyng and wailinge,Tyl ich was a-slepeThenne mete me moche moreThan ich byfor tolde,Of the mater that ich mete fyrstOn Malverne hulles.Ich sawe the feld ful of folkFram ende to the other;And Reson revestedRyght as a pope,And Conscience his crocerByfore the kynge stande.Reson reverentlicheByfor all the reamePrechede and provedeThat thuse pestilencesWas for pure synne, etc.Seel.2497, of the present edition.

Thus ich awaked, God wot!

Wanne ich wonede on Cornhulle,

Kytte and ich in a cote,

Clothede as a lollere:

And a lytel ich let by,

Leyve me, for sothe,

Among lolleres of London,

And lewede heremytes.

For ich made of tho men,

As Reson me tauhte.

For as ich cam by Conscience,

Wit Reson ich mette,

In an hote hervest,

Wenne ich hadde myn hele,

And lymes to labore with,

And lovede wel fare,

And no dede to do

Bote drynke and to slepe,

In hele and in unité,

On me aposede,

Romynge in remembraunce.

Thus Reson me arated:

'Canstow serven,' he seide,

'Other syngen in a churche?

Other loke for my cokers?

Other to the carte picche?

Mowe, other mowen,

Other make bond to sheves?

Repe, other be a repe-reyve

And arise erliche?

Other have an horne and be hay-warde,

And liggen out a nyghtes,

And kepe my corn in my croft

From pykers and theeves?

Other shap shoon other clothes?

Other shep other kyne kepe?

Eggen, other harwen,

Other swyne other gees dryve?

Other eny kyne craft

That to the comune nudeth,

Hem that bed-reden be

Bylyve to fynde?'

'Certes,' ich seyde,

'And so me God helpe!

Ich am to waik to worche

With sykel other with sythe;

And to long, leyf me,

Lowe for to stoupe,

To worchen as workeman

Eny wyle to dure.'

'Then havest thow londes to lyve by,'

Quath Reson, 'other lynage ryche

That fynden the thy fode?

For an hydel man thow semest,

A spendour that spende mot,

Other a spille-tyme;

Other beggest thy lyve

Aboute ate menne hatches;

Other faitest upon Fridays

Other feste dayes in churches;

The wiche is lollerene lyf,

That lytel is preysed

Ther ryghtfulnesse rewardeth

Ryght as men deserveth.

Reddit unicuique juxta opera sua.

Ether thow ert broke, so may be,

In body other in membre,

Other y-maymed thorow som myshap.

Werby thow myght be excusede.'

'Wanne ich yong was,' quath ich,

'Many yer hennes,

My fader and my frendes

Founden me to scole,

Tyl ich wiste wyterliche

Wat holy wryt menede,

And wat is best for the body,

As the bok telleth,

And sykerest for the soule,

By so ich wolle continue.

And yut fond ich never in faith,

Sytthen my frendes deyden,

Lyf that me lyked,

Bote in thes long clothes.

Hyf ich by laboure sholde lyf,

And lyflode deserven,

That labour that ich lerned best

Therwhit lyve ich sholde.

In eadem vocatione qua vocati estis.

And ich lyve in Londene

And on Londen bothe.

The lomes that ich laboure with

And lyflode deserve,

Ys paternoster and my prymer,

Placebo et dirige,

And my sauter some tyme,

And my sevene psalmes.

Thus ich synge for hure soules

Of suche as me helpen.

And tho that fynden me my fode

Vochen saf, ich trowe,

To be wolcome wan ich come

Other wyle in a monthe,

Now with hym, and now with hure,

And thus gate ich begge

Withoute bagge other botel,

Bote my wombe one.

And also, moreover,

Me thynketh, syre Reson,

Men sholde constreyne

No clerke to knavene werkes.

For by law of Livitici,

That oure Lord ordeynede,

Clerkes that aren crowned

Of kynde understondyng,

Sholde nother swynke ne swete,

Ne swere at enquestes,

Ne fyghte in no vauntwarde,

Ne hus fo greve.

Nou reddas malum pro malo.

For it ben aires of hevene,

And alle that ben crounede

And in queer in churches,

Cristes owene mynestres.

Dominus pars hæreditatis meæ

Et alibi, Clementia non constringit.

Hit bycometh for clerkus

Crist for to serven;

And knaves uncrounede

To cart and to worche.

For shold no clerk be crouned,

Bote yf he y-come were

Of franklens and freemen

And of folke y-weddede.

Bondmen and bastardes,

And beggers children,

Thuse bylongeth to labour.

And lordes children sholde serven,

Bothe God and good men,

As here degree asketh;

Some to synge masses,

Others sitten and wryte,

Rede and receyve

That Reson oughte spende.

And sith bondemenne barnes

Han be made bisshopes,

And barnes bastardes

Han ben archidekenes;

And sopers and here sones

For selver han be knyghtes,

And lordene sones here laboreres,

And leid here rentes to wedden

For the ryght of the reame,

Ryden ayens oure enemys,

In consort of the comune

And the kynges worshep.

And monkes and moniales.

That mendinauns sholden fynde,

Han mad here kyn knyghtes,

And knyght fees purchase.

Popes and patrones

Povre gentil blod refuseth,

And taken Symondes sonne

Seyntewarie to kepe.

Lyf-holynesse and love

Han ben longe hennes,

And wole, til hit be wered out,

Or otherwise y-chaunged.

For-thy rebuke me ryht nouht,

Reson, ich yow praye;

For in my conscience ich knowe

What Crist wolde that ich wroughte.

Preyers of perfyt man,

And penaunce discret,

Is the levest labour

That oure Lord pleseth.

Non de solo, ich seyde,

For sothevivit homo,

Nec in pane et pabulo,

The paternoster witnesseth.

Fiat voluntas tua

Fynt ous alle thynges.'

Quath Conscience, 'By Crist!

Ich can nat see this lyeth.

Ac it semeth nouht perfitnesse

In cyties for to begge,

Bote he be obediencer

To pryour other to mynstre.'

'That ys soth,' ich seide,

'And so ich by-knowe

That ich have tynt tyme,

And tyme mys-spended.

And yut ich hope, as he

That ofte haveth chaffarede,

That ay hath lost and lost,

And at the latest hym happeth

He bouhte suche a bargayn

He was the bet evere,

And sette hus lost at a lef

At the laste ende;

Suche a wynnynge hym warth

Thorw wyrdes of his grace.

Simile est regnum cœlorum thesauro

abscondito in agro, etc.

Mulier quæ inveniet dragmam, etc.

So hope ich to have of hym

That his almyghty

A gobet of hus grace,

And bygynne a tyme

That alle tymes of my tyme

To profit shal turne.'

'Ich rede the,' quath Reson tho,

'Rathe the to bygynne

The lyf that ys lowable

And leel to the soule.'

'Ye, and continue,' quath Conscience.

And to the church ich wente.

And to the church gan ich go,

God to honourie,

Byfor the crois on my knees

Knocked ich my brest,

Sykinge for my sennes,

Segginge my paternoster,

Wepyng and wailinge,

Tyl ich was a-slepe

Thenne mete me moche more

Than ich byfor tolde,

Of the mater that ich mete fyrst

On Malverne hulles.

Ich sawe the feld ful of folk

Fram ende to the other;

And Reson revested

Ryght as a pope,

And Conscience his crocer

Byfore the kynge stande.

Reson reverentliche

Byfor all the reame

Prechede and provede

That thuse pestilences

Was for pure synne, etc.

Seel.2497, of the present edition.

2497.thise pestilences.—There were three great pestilences in the reign of Edward III, the terrible effects of which were long fresh in people's minds, and they were often taken as points from which to date common events. Two of them had passed at the period when the Visions of Piers Ploughman are believed to have been written, and are the ones here alluded to. Of the first, or great pestilence, which lasted from 31 May, 1348, to 29 Sept. 1349, the contemporary chroniclers give a fearful account. In a register of the Abbey of Gloucester (MS. Cotton. Domit. A. VIII, fol. 124), we have the following entry:—"Anno Domini mo.ccco.xlviijo. anno vero regni regis Edwardi III, post conquestum xxijo. incepit magna pestilentia in Anglia, ita quodvix tertia parshominum remansit." This pestilence, known as theblack plague, ravaged most parts of Europe, and is said to have carried off in general about two-thirds of the people. It was the pestilence which gave rise to the Decameron of Boccaccio. For an interesting account of it, see Michelet's Hist. de France, iii, 342-349. The second pestilence lasted from 15 Aug. 1361, to May 3, 1362, and was much less severe. The third pestilence raged from 2 July to 29 September, 1369.

2500.The south-westrene wynd | on Saterday at even.Tyrwhitt, in his Preface to Chaucer, first pointed out the identity of this wind with the one mentioned by the old chroniclers (Thorn, Decem. Script. col. 2122; Walsingham, p. 178; the continuator of Adam Murimuth, p. 115), as occurring on the evening of Jan. 15, 1362. The fifteenth of January in that year was a Saturday. The following is the account given by Walsingham: "Anno gratiæ millesimo trecentesimo sexagesimo secundo, qui est annus regni regis Edwardi a conquestu tertii tricesimus sextus, tenuit rex natale apud Wyndesor, et quinto decimo die sequente ventus vehemens, nothus auster affricus, tanta vi erupit, quod flatu suo domos altas, ædificia sublimia, turres, et campanilia, arbores, et alia quæque durabilia et fortia violenter prostravit pariter et impegit, in tantum quod residua quæ modo extant, sunt hactenus infirmiora." The continuator of Murimuth is more particular as to the time of the day, and in other respects more exact. "A.D. m. ccc. lxii, xv die Januarii,circa horam vesperarum, ventus vehemens notus australis affricus tanta rabie erupit," etc.

2529.And fecche Felis his wyf | Fro wyuene pyne.MS. Trin. Col. 2.

2547. This was a very old and very common proverb in England. Thus in the Proverbs of Hending (Reliquiæ Antiquæ, vol. i, p. 110):—

Ne bue thi child never so duere,Ant hit wolle unthewes lerne,Bet hit other whyle;Mote hit al habben is wille,Woltou nultou hit wolle spille,Ant bicome a fule.Luef child lore byhoveth;Quoth Hendyng.

Ne bue thi child never so duere,

Ant hit wolle unthewes lerne,

Bet hit other whyle;

Mote hit al habben is wille,

Woltou nultou hit wolle spille,

Ant bicome a fule.

Luef child lore byhoveth;

Quoth Hendyng.

The proverb is a little varied in another copy of these "Proverbs," p. 194 of the same work. There is a German proverb closely resembling it, "Je lieberes Kind, je schärfere Ruthe."

2551. Prov. xiii, 24.

2569. After this line Whitaker's text has inserted a passage, answering nearly word for word (except in the few first lines) to the passage in our text, ll. 6218-6274.

2573. In the same text, the following lines are here added:—

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