Ladies, he sayde, I am muche unworthy
So to accept your great prayse and fame.
They prayed me to kepe them company:
I will, quod I, or elles I were to blame.
They prayed me to shewe them my name.
La Graunde Amoure it is, I sayde, in dede
And then sayde they, No wonder though ye spede.
No doubte it is but ye shall obtayne
La Bell Pucell so ryght fayre and clere;
We were with her exiled by Disdayne,
And then besyeged in this castell here,
With this great gyaunt, more then a whole yeare;
And you this nyght, if it do you please,
In this pore castell shall take your ease.
I thanked them, and so I rode anone
Into the castell of olde foundacion,
Walled about with the blacke touche stone.
I toke there then my recreacion,
Among these ladies with commendacion;
And when tyme came that they thought best,
To a royall bedde I was brought to rest.
After my wery and troublous travayle
I toke my ease tyll that it was day;
Then up arose without any fayle,
And made me ready for to ride my waye.
But then anone into the chamber gaye
The seven ladies came with Perceveraunce,
Saiyng they would geve me attendaunce,
And bryng me to La Bell Pucell,
Where that she is in her court royall;
And lykewyse as Phebus doth hye excell
In bryghtnes truely the fayre starres all,
So in beauty and vertue speciall
She doth excede any earthly creature,
That is nowe made by fayre dame Nature.
We brake our fast, and we made us ready
To La Bell Pucell on our way to ryde;
My stede was brought, I lept up shortly,
So did the ladies, they would nothyng abyde.
Thus forth we rode at the morowe tyde
Out of the castell with all joye and pleasure,
Forth on our way at all adventure.
HOW HE MADE OBLACYON TO THE GODES PALLAS, AND SAYLED OVER THE TEMPESTUOUS FLODE.
So long we rode over hill and valey,
Tyll that we came into a wyldernes,
On every syde there wylde beastes laye,
Ryght straunge and fierce in sundry likenes;
It was a place of dissolute darkenes.
The ladies and I were in feare and doubt,
Tyll at the last that we were gotten out
Of the great woode upon a craggy roche,
When cleare Dyana in the Scorpion
Agaynst fayre Phebus began to approche,
For to be at her whole opposition,
We sawe from farre a goodly region,
Where stode a palayce hye and precious,
Beyonde an haven full tempestuous.
Then sayd Perceveraunce; Beholde ye
Yonder is the palays gay and glorious
Of La Bell Pucelles great humilitie;
A place of pleasure most solacious.
But then we spied a fende fallicious,
Beyond the haven at sure entres
Blowyng out fyre by marvelous wydnes.
The fyre was great, it made the ylande lyght,
He rored loude, it semeth lyke the thonder;
But, as me thought, he was of great myght,
To knowe his likenes we were farre asonder;
But of the fyre we did often wonder;
We asked Perceveraunce what that it myght be.
Alas! quod she, with fraude and subtiltie
Of dame Strangenes and of dame Disdayne
When La Bell Pucell did them so abjecte,
Because that they myght not revert agayne,
With mortall Envie they did then conjecte
To make a fende in lykewyse to directe
Syr Graunde Amoure, with the fervent fyre
Of evill treason to let his desyre.
For dame Disdayne, the crafty sorceres,
With arte magyke hath wrought full craftely
Of the vii. metalles a dragon doubtles,
And dame Strangenes, by her nygromancy,
Hath closed therin a fende ryght subtilly,
That the fyre encenseth by great outrage.
But Graunde Amoure shall it well asswage.
Benethe this roche there is well fortified
An olde temple, to the laude and glory
Of wyse dame Pallas it was so edified;
We will ryde unto it full lyghtly,
And do oblacion unto her truely;
She wyll us tell by good experience
Howe we may scape the brennynge vyolence.
So to the temple of dame Pallas
Anone we rode, and did lyght adowne.
Of depured cristall her whole ymage was,
The temple walles were ryght olde and browne;
And then ryght sone before her hyghe renowne
Prostrate we fell mekely to the grounde,
And sodaynly we were cast in a sounde.
Thus as we laye in a deadly chaunce,
We thought to her we made peticion,
And all in Englyshe with long circumstaunce
She shewed us all the whole condicion
Of the marveylous serpentes operacion,
And did shewe us a perfyte remedy
To withstande all the crafte of sorcery.
And in lykewyse as the maner foloweth,
In depured verses of crafty eloquence,
Every thyng unto us she sheweth;
And first of all with all our diligence
These verses we sayed unto her excellence,
But she with crafty verses eloquent
Gave us an auns were full expedient.
When golden Phebus in the first houre
Of his owne daye began to domine,
The sorceresse, the false roote of doloure,
All of golde that was so pure and fyne,
Of the best made the head serpentyne,
And eke therof she dyd make his face;
Full lyke a mayde it was, a wonders case!
And every houre, as the planettes raygned,
She made the serpent of the metalles seven;
Till she her purpose had fully attayned,
And when fyve bodies above on the heaven
Wente retrogarde, marveylously to neven,
With divers quartils and the more combust,
In the dragons tayle, to let a lovers lust.
These cursed witches. Disdayne and Straungenes,
Made the monster of a subtile kynde,
To let my purpose and all my gladnes,
But that dame Pallas of her gentle mynde
Of marveylous herbes a remedy did fynde;
And anone a boxe of marveylous oyntment
She toke to me to withstande the serpent.
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