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Incipit Legenda Ypermistre.
IN Grece whylom weren brethren two, | |
| Of whiche that oon was called Danao, | |
| That many a sone hath of his body wonne, | |
| As swiche false lovers ofte conne. | |
| Among his sones alle ther was oon | 5 |
| That aldermost he lovede of everichoon. | |
| And whan this child was born, this Danao | |
| Shoop him a name, and called him Lino. | |
| That other brother called was Egiste, | |
| That was of love as fals as ever him liste, | 10 |
| And many a doghter gat he in his lyve; | |
| Of which he gat upon his righte wyve | |
| A doghter dere, and dide her for to calle | |
| Ypermistra, yongest of hem alle; | |
| The whiche child, of her nativitee, | 15 |
| To alle gode thewes born was she, | |
| As lyked to the goddes, or she was born, | |
| That of the shefe she sholde be the corn; | |
| The Wirdes, that we clepen Destinee, | |
| Hath shapen her that she mot nedes be | 20 |
| Pitouse, sadde, wyse, and trewe as steel; | |
| And to this woman hit accordeth weel. | |
| For, though that Venus yaf her greet beautee, | |
| With Iupiter compouned so was she | |
| That conscience, trouthe, and dreed of shame, | 25 |
| And of her wyfhood for to kepe her name, | |
| This, thoughte her, was felicitee as here. | |
| And rede Mars was, that tyme of the yere, | |
| So feble, that his malice is him raft, | |
| Repressed hath Venus his cruel craft; | 30 |
| What with Venus and other oppressioun | |
| Of houses, Mars his venim is adoun, | |
| That Ypermistra dar nat handle a knyf | |
| In malice, thogh she sholde lese her lyf. | |
| But natheles, as heven gan tho turne, | 35 |
| To badde aspectes hath she of Saturne, | |
| That made her for to deyen in prisoun, | |
| As I shal after make mencioun. | |
| To Danao and Egistes also— | |
| Al-thogh so be that they were brethren two, | 40 |
| For thilke tyme nas spared no linage— | |
| Hit lyked hem to maken mariage | |
| Betwix Ypermistra and him Lino, | |
| And casten swiche a day hit shal be so; | |
| And ful acorded was hit witterly; | 45 |
| The array is wroght, the tyme is faste by. | |
| And thus Lino hath of his fadres brother | |
| The doghter wedded, and eche of hem hath other. | |
| The torches brennen and the lampes brighte, | |
| The sacrifices been ful redy dighte; | 50 |
| Thencens out of the fyre reketh sote, | |
| The flour, the leef is rent up by the rote | |
| To maken garlands and corounes hye; | |
| Ful is the place of soun of minstralcye, | |
| Of songes amorous of mariage, | 55 |
| As thilke tyme was the pleyn usage. | |
| And this was in the paleys of Egiste, | |
| That in his hous was lord, right as him liste; | |
| And thus the day they dryven to an ende; | |
| The frendes taken leve, and hoom they wende. | 60 |
| The night is come, the bryd shal go to bedde; | |
| Egiste to his chambre faste him spedde, | |
| And privily he let his doghter calle. | |
| Whan that the hous was voided of hem alle, | |
| He loked on his doghter with glad chere, | 65 |
| And to her spak, as ye shul after here. | |
| ‘My righte doghter, tresor of myn herte! | |
| Sin first that day that shapen was my sherte, | |
| Or by the fatal sustren had my dom, | |
| So ny myn herte never thing me com | 70 |
| As thou, myn Ypermistra, doghter dere! | |
| Tak heed what I thy fader sey thee here, | |
| And werk after thy wyser ever-mo. | |
| For alderfirste, doghter, I love thee so | |
| That al the world to me nis half so leef; | 75 |
| Ne I nolde rede thee to thy mischeef | |
| For al the gode under the colde mone; | |
| And what I mene, hit shal be seid right sone, | |
| With protestacioun, as in this wyse, | |
| That, but thou do as I shal thee devyse, | 80 |
| Thou shalt be deed, by him that al hath wroght! | |
| At shorte wordes, thou nescapest noght | |
| Out of my paleys, or that thou be deed, | |
| But thou consente and werke after my reed; | |
| Tak this to thee for ful conclusioun.’ | 85 |
| This Ypermistra caste her eyen doun, | |
| And quook as dooth the leef of aspe grene; | |
| Deed wex her hewe, and lyk as ash to sene, | |
| And seyde, ‘lord and fader, al your wille, | |
| After my might, god wot, I shal fulfille, | 90 |
| So hit to me be no confusioun.’ | |
| ‘I nil,’ quod he, ‘have noon excepcioun;’ | |
| And out he caughte a knyf, as rasour kene; | |
| ‘Hyd this,’ quod he, ‘that hit be nat y-sene; | |
| And, whan thyn husbond is to bedde y-go, | 95 |
| Whyl that he slepeth, cut his throte a-two. | |
| For in my dremes hit is warned me | |
| How that my nevew shal my bane be, | |
| But whiche I noot, wherfor I wol be siker. | |
| Yif thou sey nay, we two shul have a biker | 100 |
| As I have seyd, by him that I have sworn.’ | |
| This Ypermistra hath ny her wit forlon; | |
| And, for to passen harmles of that place, | |
| She graunted him; ther was non other grace. | |
| And therwith-al a costrel taketh he, | 105 |
| And seyde, ‘herof a draught, or two or three, | |
| Yif him to drinke, whan he goth to reste, | |
| And he shal slepe as longe as ever thee leste, | |
| The narcotiks and opies been so stronge: | |
| And go thy wey, lest that him thinke longe.’ | 110 |
| Out comth the bryd, and with ful sober chere, | |
| As is of maidens ofte the manere, | |
| To chambre is broght with revel and with songe, | |
| And shortly, lest this tale be to longe, | |
| This Lino and she ben sone broght to bedde; | 115 |
| And every wight out at the dore him spedde. | |
| The night is wasted, and he fel a-slepe; | |
| Ful tenderly beginneth she to wepe. | |
| She rist her up, and dredfully she quaketh, | |
| As doth the braunche that Zephirus shaketh, | 120 |
| And husht were alle in Argon that citee. | |
| As cold as any frost now wexeth she; | |
| For pite by the herte her streyneth so, | |
| And dreed of death doth her so moche wo, | |
| That thryes doun she fil in swiche a were. | 125 |
| She rist her up, and stakereth heer and there, | |
| And on her handes faste loketh she. | |
| ‘Allas! and shul my handes blody be? | |
| I am a maid, and, as by my nature, | |
| And by my semblant and by my vesture, | 130 |
| Myn handes been nat shapen for a knyf, | |
| As for to reve no man fro his lyf. | |
| What devil have I with the knyf to do? | |
| And shal I have my throte corve a-two? | |
| Than shal I blede, allas! and me beshende; | 135 |
| And nedes cost this thing mot have an ende; | |
| Or he or I mot nedes lese our lyf. | |
| Now certes,’ quod she, ‘sin I am his wyf, | |
| And hath my feith, yit is it bet for me | |
| For to be deed in wyfly honestee | 140 |
| Than be a traitour living in my shame. | |
| Be as be may, for ernest or for game, | |
| He shal awake, and ryse and go his way | |
| Out at this goter, or that hit be day!’— | |
| And weep ful tenderly upon his face, | 145 |
| And in her armes gan him to embrace, | |
| And him she roggeth and awaketh softe; | |
| And at the window leep he fro the lofte | |
| Whan she hath warned him, and doon him bote. | |
| This Lino swifte was, and light of fote, | 150 |
| And from his wyf he ran a ful good pas. | |
| This sely woman is so wayk, allas! | |
| And helples so, that, or that she fer wente, | |
| Her cruel fader dide her for to hente. | |
| Allas! Lino! why art thou so unkinde? | 155 |
| Why ne haddest thou remembred in thy minde | |
| To taken her, and lad her forth with thee? | |
| For, whan she saw that goon awey was he, | |
| And that she mighte nat so faste go, | |
| Ne folwen him, she sette her doun right tho, | 160 |
| Til she was caught and fetered in prisoun. | |
This tale is seid for this conclusioun....
[Unfinished.] | |
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