fol. 156raIncipit altercatio inter filomenam et bubonem.explanatory note 1textual note 1
Ichtextual note 2 wes in one sumere daleexplanatory note 2
In one swithe dyele hale.
Iherde ich holde grete tale
An ule and one nyhtegaleexplanatory note 3
line5That playd wes stif and starc and strong,
Sumhwile softe, and lud among,textual note 3
And eyther ayeyn other swal
And let that uvele mod ut al,
And eyther seyde of othres custe
line10That alre-wrstetextual note 4 that hi ywuste,
And, hure and hure, of othres songe
Hi holde playding swithe stronge.
NightingaleThetextual note 5nihtegale bigon tho speke
In one hurne of one beche,explanatory note 4
line15And sat upone vayre bowe
That were abute blosme ynowe,
In ore vaste,explanatory note 5 thikke hegge
Imeynd myd spire and grene segge.
He wes the gladdurtextual note 6 vor the ryse,
line20And song a veole cunne wyse:explanatory note 6
Bet thuhte the drem that he were
Of harpe and pipe than he nere;
Bet thuhte that heo were ishote
Of harpe and pipe than of throte!
OwlThotextual note 7 stod on old stok thar byside
line26Thar the ule song hire tydeexplanatory note 7
And wes myd ivi al bigrowe.
Hit wes thare ule erdingstowe.
NightingaleThetextual note 8nihtegale hi iseyh,
line30And hi biholdtextual note 9 and overseyh,
And thuhte wel ful of thare ule,
For me hi halt lodlich and fule.
fol. 156rb“Unwyht,” heo seyde, “awey thu fleo!
Me is the wurs that ich the iseo.
line35Iwis, for thine wletextual note 10 leteexplanatory note 8
Wel ofte ich my song furlete;
Min heorte atflyhth and falt my tungeexplanatory note 9
Hwenne thu art to me ithrunge.explanatory note 10
Me luste bet speten thane singe
line40Of thine fule howelynge.”
OwlTheostextual note 11ule abod for hit wes eve —
Heo ne myhte no leng bileve,
Vor hire heorte wes so gret
That wel neyh hire fnast atsetexplanatory note 11 —
line45And warp a word tharafter longe:
“Hw thynk the nu bi mine songe?
Wenestu that ich ne kunne singe
The ich ne cunne of wrytelinge?explanatory note 12
Ilome thu dest me grome
line50And seist me bothe teone and schome.
If ich the heolde on myne vote —
So hit bitide that ich mote! —
And thu were ut of thine ryse,
Thu scholdest singe onother wise!”explanatory note 13
NightingaleThetextual note 12nihtegale yaf onsware:
line56“If ich me loki with the bare
And me schilde wittextual note 13 the blete,explanatory note 14textual note 14
Ne recche ich nouht of thine threte;
If ich me holde in myne hegge,
line60Ne recche ich never hwat thu segge.
Ich wot that thu art unmilde
With heom that ne muwe from the schilde,
And thu tukest wrothe and uvele
Hwar thu myht over smale vowele.
fol. 156vaVorthi thu art loth al fowel-cunne,
line66And alle heo the dryveth heonne,
And the biscrycheth and bigredeth,
And wel narewe the byledeth.explanatory note 15
And ek fortheexplanatory note 16 the sulve mose
line70Hire thonkes wolde the totose!
Thu art lodlich to biholde,
And thu art loth in monye volde:
Thi body is scort; thi swere is smal;
Gretture is thin heued netextual note 15 thu al;
line75Thin eyentextual note 16 beoth col-blake and brode
Ryht so hi weren ipeynt myd wodeexplanatory note 17 —
Thu starest so thu wille abyten
Al that thu myht myd clyvre smyten!
Thi bile is stif and sarp and hoked
line80Riht as on ewel that is croked —
Tharmyd thu clechest euer among,
And that is on of thine song!
Ac thu thretest to myne vleysse —
Mid thine clevres woldest me meysse!
line85The were icundere to one frogge,
That sit at mulne under cogge;explanatory note 18
Snayles, mus, and fule wihte
Beoth thine cunde and thine rihte.
Thu sittest a day and flyhst a niht,
line90Thu cuthest that thu art unwiht.
Thu art lodlich andtextual note 17 uncleneexplanatory note 19 —
Bi thine neste ich hit mene
And eke bi thine fule brode:textual note 18
Thu vedest ou heom a wel ful vode!
line95Wel wostu that hi doth tharynne —
Hi fuleth hit up to the chynne!
Heo sytteth thar so hi beo bysne.
Hwarbi men seggeth a vorbysne:
fol. 156vb‘Dehaet habbe that ilke best
line100That fuleth his owe nest.’explanatory note 20
That other yer a faukun bredde;
His nest nowiht wel he ne bihedde.
Tharto thu stele in o day
And leydest tharon thi fule ey.
line105Tho hit bycom that he hayhte
And of his eyre briddes wrauhte,
Heo brouhte his briddes mete,
Biheoldtextual note 19 his nest, iseyh hi ete.
He iseyh, bi one halve,
line110His nest ifuled in the ut halve.
The faukun wes wroth with his bridde,
And lude yal, and sturne chidde:
‘Seggeth me hwo haveth this ido!
Eu nas never icunde therto!
line115Hit wes idon eu a lothe custe!
Seggeth me if ye hit wiste!’
Tho queth that on, and queth that other:
‘Iwis, hit wes ure owe brother —
That yeonde that haveth that grete heued —
line120Way that he nys tharof byreved!
Werp hit ut myd the vyrsteexplanatory note 21
Thet his nekke him toberste!’
The faukun levede his ibridde
And nom that fule brid amydde,
line125And warp hym of than wilde bowe,
That pie and crowe hit todrowe.explanatory note 22
Therby men seggeth a byspel,
Theyh hit ne beo fulliche spel:
‘Al so hit is bi than ungode
line130That is icumen of fule brode
And is ymeynd with freomonne.explanatory note 23
Ever he cuth that he com thenne —
fol. 157raThat he com of than adel eye —
Theyh he a freo neste leye.
line135Theyh appel trendli from the treo
Thar he and other myde grewe,
Theyh he beo tharfrom bicume,
He cuth hwenene he is icume.’”explanatory note 24
Theostextual note 20 word ayaf the nihtegale,
line140And after thare longe tale
Heo song so lude and so scharpe
Ryht so me grulde schille harpe.
OwlTheos ule luste thiderward,
And heold hire eyen netherward,
line145And sat toswolle, and tobolewe,
So heo hedde one frogge iswolwe,textual note 21
For heo wel wiste and was iwar
Thar heo song hire a bysemar.textual note 22
And natheles heo yaf ondsware:
line150“Hwy neltu fleon into bare,textual note 23
And schewi hwether unker beo
Of brihturtextual note 24 hewe, of fayrur bleo?”explanatory note 25
Nightingale“No! Thu havest scharpe clawe!
Ne kepe ich noht that thu me clawe!
line155Thu havest clyvres swithe stronge;
Thu twengest tharmid so doth a tonge.
Thu thoutest — so doth thine ilyche —
Mid fayre worde me biswike.
Ich nolde don that thu me raddest;
line160Ich wiste wel that thu me misraddest.
Schomye the vor thine unrede!
Unwryen is thi swikehede!textual note 25
Schild thi swikedomtextual note 26 from the lyhte,
And hud that wowe among the ryhte.
line165Hwanne thu wilt thutextual note 27 unriht spene,
Loke that hit ne beo isene,
fol. 157rbVor swikedomtextual note 28 haveth schome and hettextual note 29
If hit is ope and underyete.
Ne spedestu nouht mid thin unwrenche,
line170For ich am war and can blenche.
Ne helpeth noht that thu bo to thriste:
Ich wolde vyhte bet myd liste
Than thu mid al thine strengthe.
Ich habbe, on brede and ek on lengthe,
line175Castel god on myne ryse.
‘Wel fyht that wel flyhth,’explanatory note 26 seyth the wise,
Ac lete wetextual note 30 awey theos cheste,
For suche wordes beoth unwreste,
And fo we on myd rihte dome,
line180Mid fayre worde and myd some.explanatory note 27
Theyh we ne beon at on acorde,
We mawe bet myd fayre worde,
Withute cheste and bute vyhte,
Playde mid sothe and mid ryhte,
line185And may ur eyther hwat he wile
Mid rihte segge and myd skile.”
OwlThotextual note 31 quath the ule, “Hwo schal us seme?explanatory note 28
That cunne and wille riht us deme?”
Nightingale“Ich wot wel,” quath the nyhtegale,
line190“Ne tharf therof beo no tale:
Mayster Nichol of Guldevorde.explanatory note 29
He is wis and war of worde;
He is of worde swythe gleu.
And him is loth evrich untheu.
line195He wot insyht in euche songe —
Hwo singeth wel, hwo singeth wronge —
And he con schede from the rihte
That wowe, that thuster from the lyhte.”
OwlThetextual note 32ule one hwile hi bihouhte,
line200And after than this word upbrouhte:
fol. 157va“Ich graunti wel that he us deme,
For theyh he were hwile breme,textual note 33
And leof hym wretextual note 34 nihtingale
And other wyhte gent and smale,explanatory note 30
line205Ich wot he is nuthetextual note 35 acoled.
Nis he vor the nouht afoled
That he, vor thine olde luve,
Me adun legge and the abuve.
Netextual note 36 schaltu never so him queme
line210That he vortextual note 37 the fals dom deme.
He is nu ripe and fast-rede;explanatory note 31
Ne luste hym nu to non unrede;
Nu him ne lust namore pleye;
He wile gon a rihte weye.”
NightingaleThetextual note 38nihtegale wes al ware —
line216Heo hedde ileorned wel ihware.
“Ule,” heo seyde, “seye me soth,
Hwi dostu that unwihtes doth?
Thu singest a nyht and nouht a day,
line220And al thi song is ‘waylaway’!
Thu miht mid thine songe afere
Alle that hereth thine ibere.
Thutextual note 39 scrichest and yollest to thine fere
That hit is gryslish to ihere.textual note 40
line225Hit thincheth bothe wise and snepeexplanatory note 32
Nouht that thu singe ac thattextual note 41 thu wepe!
Thu flyhst a nyht and noht a dayexplanatory note 33 —
Tharof ich wundri, and wel may,
For uychtextual note 42 thing that schonyeth riht
line230Hit luvyeth thuster and hateth lyht;explanatory note 34
And euych thing that luveth misdede
Hittextual note 43 luveth thuster to his dede.
A wis word, theyh hit beo unclene,
Is fele monne a muthe imene,textual note 44
fol. 157vbFor Alvred Kingexplanatory note 35 hit seyde and wrot:
line236‘He schuneth that hine ful wot.’explanatory note 36
Ich wene that thu dost also,
For thu flyhst nyhtes evermo.
Andtextual note 45 other thing me is a wene:textual note 46
line240Thu havest a nyht wel bryhte sene;explanatory note 37
Bi daye thu art stare-blynd
That thu ne syst bouh of lynd;
A day thu art blynd other bisne!
Tharby men seggeth a vorbisne:
line245‘Riht so hit farth bi than ungode
That nouht ne isyhth to none gode
And is so ful of uvele wrenche
That him ne may no mon aprenche,explanatory note 38
And con wel thene thustre way
line250And thane bryhte lat away.’explanatory note 39
So doth that beoth of thine cunde —
Of lihte nabbeth hi none imunde.”explanatory note 40
OwlTheostextual note 47ule luste swithe longe
And wes ofteoned swithe stronge.
line255Heo quath: “Thu hattest ‘nihtegale,’
Thu mihtest bet hote ‘galegale’explanatory note 41
Vor thu havest to monye tale!
Let thine tunge habbe spale!
Thu wenest that thes day beo thin owe!
line260Let me nu habbe myne throwe!
Beo nu stille and let me speke!
Ich wile beo of the awreke!
And lust hw ich con me bitelle
Mid rihte sothe withute spelle.
line265Thu seyst that ich me hude a day —
Tharto ne segge ich nyk no nay —
And lust ich telle hwervore
Al hwi hit is and hwarevore:
fol. 158raIch habbe bile stif and strong,textual note 48
line270And gode clevres, scharp and longe,
So hit bycumeth to hauekes cunne.
Hit is myn hyhte and my wunneexplanatory note 42textual note 49
That ich me drawe to mine cunde.
Ne may me no mon tharfor sende —
line275On me, hit is wel isene
For rihte cunde ich am so kene.
Vorthi ich am loth smale vowele
That fleoth bi grunde and bi thuvele;
Hi me bichirmeth and bigredeth,
line280And heore flockes to me ledeth.
Me is leof to habbe reste
And sitte stille in myne neste,
Vor nere ich never the betere
Theyh ich, mid changling and myd chatere,textual note 50
line285Heom schende and myd fule worde,
So herdes doth, other mid sit-worde.explanatory note 43
Ne lust me with the screwen chide,
Forthi ich wendetextual note 51 from heom wide.
Hit is a wise monne dome,
line290And hi hit seggeth wel ilome,textual note 52
That ‘me ne chide with the gidie
Ne with than ofne me ne yonie.’explanatory note 44
At sum sythe herde i telle
Hw Alvred seyde on his spelle:
line295‘Loke that thu ne beo thare
Thar changling beoth and cheste vare;
Let sottes chide, and forth thu go!’explanatory note 45
And ich am wis and do al so.
And yet Alvred seyde, another syde,
line300A word that is isprunge wide:
‘That with the fule haveth imene,textual note 53
Ne cumeth he never from him clene.’explanatory note 46
fol. 158rbWenestu that hauek beo the wrsetextual note 54
The crowe bigrede him bi the mersche
line305And goth to him, myd heore chyrme,
Riht so hi wille with him schirme?
The hauek foleweth gode rede;
He flyhth his wey and let hi grede.
Yet,explanatory note 47textual note 55 thu me seyst of other thinge,
line310And tellest that ich ne can nouht singe,
Ac al my reorde is wonyng,
And to iheretextual note 56 gryslych thing.
That nis nouht soth! Ich singe efne
Mid fulle dreme and lude stefne.
line315Thu wenest that eoch song beo grislich
That thine pipinge nis ilich.
Mi stefne is bold and nouht unorne,
Heo is ilich one grete horne,
And thin is iliche one pype
line320Of one smale weode, unripe.
Ich singetextual note 57 bet than thu dest —
Thu chaterest so doth on Yris prest!
Ich singe an efne a ryhte time,explanatory note 48
And seththe hwenne hit is bedtime,
line325The thridde sythe a middel-nyhte,
And so ich myne songe adihte.
Hwenne ich iseo arise veorre
Other day-rewe other day-steorre,
Ic do godtextual note 58 myd myne throte
line330And warny men, to heore note.
Ac thu singest alle longe nyht
From eve that hit is dayliht,
And ever lesteth thin o song
So longe so the nyht is long,
line335And ever croweth thi wrecche crey
That he ne swiketh, nyht ne day.
fol. 158vaMid thine pipinge thu adunestexplanatory note 49
Thas monnes eren thar thu wunest,
And makest thi song so unwiht
line340That me ne telleth of the nowiht.
Evrych murethe may so longe leste
That heo schal liki wel unwreste,
For harpe, and pipe, and foweles song
Misliketh if hit is to long.explanatory note 50
line345Ne beo the song ne so murie,
That he ne sal thinche unmurie
If he ilesteth over unwille.
So thu myht thi song aspille.
For hit is soth Alvred hit seyde,
line350And me hit may in boke rede:
‘Evrich thing may lesen his godhede
Mid unmethe and overdede.’explanatory note 51
Mid este thu the maist overquatie,explanatory note 52
And overfulle makieth wlatie,
line355And everich murethe may agon
If me hit halt ever in on,
Bute one, that is: Godes riche,
Thattextual note 59 ever is swete, and ever iliche.
Theyh thu nyme oftextual note 60 than lepe,
line360Hit is ever ful by hepe!
Wunder hit is of Godes ryche,
That ever spenth, and ever is iliche.explanatory note 53
Yet,textual note 61 thu me seyst another schome —
That ich amtextual note 62 on myne eye lome —
line365And seyst, for that ich fleo bi nyhte,
That ich ne may iseo bi lyhte.
Thu liest! On me, hit is isene
That ich habbe godetextual note 63 sene,explanatory note 54
Vor nys no so dym thesternesse
line370That ich ever iseo the lesse.
Thu wenest that ich ne mwetextual note 64 iseo
fol. 158vbVor ich bi daye nouht ne fleo.
The hare luteth al day,
Ac notheles iseo he may;
line375If hundes eorneth to himward,
He gencheth swithe aweyward,
And hoketh pathes swithe narewe,
And haveth mid him blenchesexplanatory note 55 yarewe,
He huphth and start swithe cove,
line380And secheth pathes to the grove.explanatory note 56
Ne scholde he, vor bo his eye,
So do if he the bet ne iseye!
Ich may iseo so wel so on hare
Theyh ich bi daye sytte a dare —
line385Thar auhteexplanatory note 57 men beoth in worre,
And fareth bothe neor and feorre,
And overvareth veole theode,
And doth bi nyhte gode neode,
Ich folewi thane ahte manne
line390And fleo bi nyhte in heore barme.”
NightingaleThetextual note 65nyhtegale in hire thouhte
Atheold al this and longe thouhte
Hwat heo tharafter myhte segge,
Vor heo ne myhte noht alegge
line395That the ule hedde hire iseyd,
Vor ho spak bothe riht and red;
And hire ofthuhte that heo hadde
The speche so feor uorth iladde,
And wes aferd that hire answare
line400Ne wrthetextual note 66 nouht ariht ivare.
Ac notheles heo spak boldeliche,
Vor heo is wis that hardeliche
With his fo berth grete ileteexplanatory note 58
Thattextual note 67 he for arehthe hit ne forlete,
line405Vor suych worth bold if thu flyhst
Thattextual note 68 wile fleo if thu netextual note 69 swykst —
fol. 159raIf he isihth that thu narttextual note 70 areh,
He wile of bore wurche bareh!explanatory note 59
And forthi, they the nyhtegale
line410Were aferd, heo spak bolde tale.
“Hule,”textual note 71 heo seyde, “hwi dostu so?
Thu singest a wynter ‘wo-la-wo.’
Thu singest so doth hen a snowe —
Al that heo singeth hit is for wowe!
line415A wintre thu singest wrothe and yomere,explanatory note 60
And ever thu art dumb a sumere!
Hit is for thine fule nythe,
That thu ne myht myd us be blithe,
Vor thu forbernest neyh for onde!
line420Hwenne ure blisse cumeth to londe,
Thu farest so doth the ille:
Everich blisse him is unwille;
Grucching and luryng him beoth rade;
If he iseoth that men beoth glade,
line425He wolde that he iseye
Terestextual note 72 in everiche monnes eye.
Ne rouhte hetextual note 73 theyh flockes were
Imeynd bi toppes and bi here.explanatory note 61
Al so thu dost, on thire syde,
line430For hwanne snouh lith thikke and wide
And alle wihtes habbeth sorewe,
Thu singest from eve to amorewe.
Ac ich mid me alle blisse bringe;
Ech wiht is glad for myne thinge
line435And blesseth hit hwenne ich cume,
And hihteth ayeyn myne cume.
The blostme gynneth springe and sprede
Bothe in treo and ek in mede.explanatory note 62
The lilie myd hire fayre wlitetextual note 74
line440Welcometh me, theyh thu hit wite,
Bid me myd hire fayre bleo
fol. 159rbThat ich schulle to hire fleo.
The rose, also, myd hire rude,
That cumeth of the thorne wode,
line445Bit me that ich schulle singe
For hire luve one skentynge.
And ich so do, thureh nyht and day —
The more ich singe, the more ich may! —
And skente hi myd myne songe,explanatory note 63
line450Ac notheles nouht overlonge.
Hwenne ich iseo that men beoth glade,
Ich nelle that hi beon to sade —
Hwenne is ido for hwan ich com,
Ich vare ayeyn and do wisdom;
line455Hwanne mon howieth of his sheve,
And falewi cumeth of grene leve,
Ich fare hom and nyme leve.
Ne recche ich nouht of wyntrestextual note 75 teone!
Hwanne ich iseo that cumeth that harde,
line460Ich fare hom to myn erde
And habbe bothe luve and thonk
That ich her com and hider swonk.
Hwanne myn erende is ido,
Scholde ich bileve? Nay! Hwarto?
line465Vor he nys nother yep ne wis
That longe abid thar him no neod is.”
OwlTheostextual note 76ule luste and leyde an hord
Al this mot, word after word,
And after thouhte hw heo myhte
line470Onswere vynde best myd rihte,
Vor he mot ful wel him bithenche
That is aferd of playtes wrenche.
“Thutextual note 77 ayssest me,” the ule seyde,
“Hwi ich a wyntertextual note 78 singe and grede.
line475Hit is gode monne ywune,
And was from the worlde frume,
fol. 159vaThat ech god mon his frend iknowetextual note 79
And blissitextual note 80 myd heom sume throwetextual note 81
In his huse at his borde
line480Mid fayre speche and fayre worde,
And hure and hure to ,
Hwenne riche and poure, more and lasse,
Singeth cundutexplanatory note 64 nyht and day,
Ich heom helpe hwat ich may!
line485And ek ich thenche of other thinge
Thane to pleye other to singe —
Ich habbe herto god onsware,
Anon iredi and al ware!
Vor sumerestyde is al wlonk,
line490And doth mysreken monnes thonk
Vor he ne rekth noht of clennesse,
Al his thouht is of golnesse,
Vor none dor no leng nabideth,
Ac everich up other rideth.
line495The sulve stottes yne the stode
Beth bothe wilde and mare-wode,
And thu sulf art tharamong
Vor of golnysse is al thi song,
And, ayeyn thet thu wilt teme,textual note 82
line500Thu art wel modi and wel breme.
Sone so thu havest itrede,
Ne myht thu leng a word iquethe
Ac pipest al so doth a mose,
Mid cokeringeexplanatory note 65 mid stefne hose,
line505Yet thu singest wrsetextual note 83 than the hey-suggetextual note 84
That flyhth bi grunde among the stubbe.
Hwenne thi lust is ago,
Thenne is thi song ago al so.
A sumere chorles aweydeth
line510And vorcrempeth and vorbredeth —
fol. 159vbHit nys for luve, notheles,
Ac is theos cherles wode res,explanatory note 66
Vortextual note 85 hwanne he haveth ido his dede,
Ifalle is al his boldhede;explanatory note 67
line515Habbe he istunge under gore,explanatory note 68
Ne last his luve no leng more.
Al so hit is on thine mode:
So sone so thu sittest abrode,textual note 86
Thu forleost al thine wise.explanatory note 69
line520Al so thu varest on thine ryse:
Hwenne thu havest ido thi gome,
Thi stefne goth anon to schome!explanatory note 70
Ac hwenne nyhtes cumeth longe
And bryngeth forstes starke and stronge,
line525Thanne erest hit is isene
Hwar is the snelle, hwar the kene;
At than harde, me may avynde
Hwo goth forth, hwo lyth bihynde.explanatory note 71
Me may iseon at thare neode,
line530Hwan me schal harde wikeexplanatory note 72 beode,
Thanne ich am snel and pleye and singe,
And hyhte me myd my skentinge.
Of none wyntre ich ne recche
Vortextual note 87 ich nam non aswunde wrecche!
line535And ek, ich froueri fele wihte
That myd heom nabbeth non mihte;
Hi beoth houhful and wel arme,
And secheth yorne to then warme.
Ofte ich singe for hem the more
line540For lutlyexplanatory note 73 sum of heore sore.
Hw thinkth the? Artu inume?textual note 88
Artu myd rihte overcume?”
Nightingale“Nay!textual note 89 Nay!” seyde the nihtegale,
“Thu schalt ihere onother tale!
fol. 160raYet nis theos speche ibroht to dome,
line546Ac be stille and lust nu totextual note 90 me!
Ich schal, mid one bare worde,
Do that thi speche wrthtextual note 91 forwurthe!”
Owl“Thattextual note 92 nere noht riht!” the ule seyde.
line550“Thu havest bicleped al so thu bede,
And ich the habbe iyivetextual note 93 onswere!
Ac are we to unker dome fare,
Ich wile speke toward the
Al so thu speketextual note 94 toward me,
line555And thu me onswere if thu myht.
Sey me nu, thu wrecche wiht,
Is in the eny other noteexplanatory note 74
Bute thu havest schille throte?
Thu nart nouht to non other thinge
line560Bute thu canst of chateringe,
Vor thu art lutel and unstrong,
And nys thi ryel nowiht long.explanatory note 75
Hwat dostu godes among monne?
Namo thene doth a wrecche wrenne!
line565Of the ne cumeth non other god
Bute thu gredest swich thu be wod,
And beo thi piping overgo,
Ne beoth on the craftes namo.
Alvred seyde, that wes wis
line570(He myhte wel, for soth hit is):
‘Nis no mon for his bare songe
Leof ne wrthtextual note 95 noht swithe longe,
Vor that is o furwrthetextual note 96 man
That bute singe naht ne can.’explanatory note 76
line575Thu nart bute o furwrthetextual note 97 thing;
On the nys bute chateryng;
Thu art dym and of fule heowe,
And thinchest a lytel, soty clewe.
fol. 160rbThu nart fayr; ne thu nart strong;
line580Ne thu nart thikke; ne thu nart long;
Thu havest ymyst of fayrhede,
And lutel is thi godhede.
Another thing of the ich mene:
Thu narttextual note 98 feyr ne thu nart clene
line585Hwanne thu cumest to monne hawe,
Thar thornes beoth and ris idrawe
Bi hegge and bi thikke weode,
Thar men goth to heore neode.
Tharto thu draust, thartotextual note 99 thu wunst,textual note 100
line590And other clene stude thu schunest.
Hwanne ich fleo nyhtes after muse,
Ich may the vinde at the run-huseexplanatory note 77textual note 101
Among the wede, among the netle.
Thu syttest and singst bihinde seotle!textual note 102
line595Thar me the may, ilomest, fynde
Thar men worpeth heore byhinde.
Yet, thu atwitest me myne mete,
And seyst that ich fule wyhtes ete,
Ac hwat etestu — that thu ne lye! —
line600Bute attercoppe and fule ulye
And wurmes — if thu myht fynde
Among the volde of harde rynde?
Yet, ich can do wel gode wike,explanatory note 78
For ich can loki monne wike,explanatory note 79
line605And mine wike beoth wel gode
For ich helpe to monne vode:
Ich can nyme mus at berne
And ek at chireche in the derne,
For me is leof, to Cristes huse,
line610To clansi hit with fule muse —
Ne schal thar never cume to
Ful wiht, if ich hit may ivo!
fol. 160vaAnd if me lust, on my skenting,
To wernen othertextual note 103 wunying,
line615Ich habbe at wode treon grete
Mid thikke bowe, nothing blete,explanatory note 80
Mid ivi grene al bigrowe
That ever stont iliche iblowe,
And his heou never ne vorleost
line620Hwanne hit snywe ne frost.textual note 104
Tharinne ic habbe god ihold —
A wintre warm, a sumere cold.
Thane myn hus stont briht and grene,
Of thine nys nowiht isene.
line625Yet, thu me telst of other thinge:
Of myne briddes seyst gabbinge
That heore nesttextual note 105 nys nouht clene;
Hit is fale other wihte imene,
Vor hors a stable and oxe a stalle
line630Doth al that heom wile thar valle;
And lutle childre in the cradele —
Bothe cheorles and ek athele —
Doth al that in heore youhthe.
That hi vorleteth in heore duhthe.explanatory note 81
line635Hwat can that yongling hit bihede?
Yf hit mysketh,explanatory note 82textual note 106 hit mot nede.
A vorbisne is of olde iwurne:explanatory note 83
‘That neode maketh old wif eorne.’explanatory note 84
And yet, ic habbe another onswere:
line640Wiltu to myne neste vare
And loki hw hit is idiht?
If thu art wis, leorny thu miht:textual note 107
Mi nest is holeuh and rum amidde,
So hit is softest myne bridde;
line645Hit is ibroyde al abute,
Vrom the neste veor withute.
Tharto hi goth to heore neode,
fol. 160vbActextual note 108 thu menest ich heom forbode.
Wetextual note 109 yeme nymeth of manne bure,
line650And after than we makieth ure.
Men habbeth, among othre iyende,textual note 110
A run-hustextual note 111 at heore bures endeexplanatory note 85
Vor that hi nelleth to veor go,
And myne briddes doth al so.
line655Syte nu stille, chaterestre!explanatory note 86
Nere thu never ibunde vastre —
Herto, ne vyndestu never answere.
Hong up thin ax!explanatory note 87 Nu thu miht fare!”
NightingaleThetextual note 112nihtegale, at thisse worde,
line660Was wel neyh ut of rede iworthe
And thouhte yorne on hire mode
Yf heo ouht elles understode—
Yf heo cuthe ouht bute singe—
That myhte helpe to other thinge.
line665Herto heo moste answere vynde,
Other mid alle beon bihinde,
And hit is strongtextual note 113 to vyhte
Ayeyn sothe and ayeyn rihte.
He mot gon to al mid gynne
line670Hwan the horte beoth on winne,textual note 114
And the man mot other segge —
He mot bihemmeexplanatory note 88 and bilegge —
If muth withute may biwreo
That me the horte nouht niseo.explanatory note 89
line675And sone may a word mysreke
Thar muth schal ayeyn horte speke;
And sone may a word myssturte
Thar muth shal speke ayeyn horte.
Ac notheles, hyettextual note 115 upe thon,explanatory note 90
line680Her is to red, hwo hyne con:
Vor never nys wit so kene
So hwanne red him is a wene;textual note 116
fol. 161raThanne erest cumeth his yephedeexplanatory note 91
Hwenne hit is alremest on drede.
line685For Alvred seyde of olde quide
And hyet hit nis of horte islide:
‘Hwenne the bale is alre-hekst,
Thenne is the bote alre-nest.’explanatory note 92
Vor wit westtextual note 117 among his sore
line690And for his sore hit is the more.
Vorthi nis never mon redles
Ar his horte beo witles.
Ac if he furleost his wit,
Thenne is his red-pursexplanatory note 93 al toslyt —
line695If he ne con his wit atholde,
Ne vynttextual note 118 he red in none volde!
Vor Alvred seyde that wel cuthe,
Ever he spak mid sothe muthe:
‘Hwenne the bale is alre-hekst,
line700Thenne is the bote alre-nexst.’explanatory note 94
Thetextual note 119nihtegale al hire howetextual note 120
Mid rede hadde wel bitowe;
Among the harde, among the towehte,textual note 121
Ful wel myd rede hire bithouhte,
line705And hedde onswere god ifunde
Among alle hire harde stunde.
“Ule,textual note 122 thu axest me,” heo seyde,
“Iftextual note 123 ich con eny other dede
Bute syngen in sumeretydeexplanatory note 95textual note 124
line710And bringe blisse veor and wyde.
Hwy axestu of craftes myne?
Beter is myn on than alle thine!
Beter is o song of myne muthe
Than al thattextual note 125 thi kun kuthe!
line715And, lust, ich telle the hwarvore:
Wostu to hwan mon wes ibore?
To thare blisse of heveryche,
fol. 161rbThar ever is song and murehthe ilyche.
Thider fundeth everich man,
line720That enything of gode can.explanatory note 96
Forthi me syngth in Holytextual note 126 Chireche,
And clerekes gynneth songes wrche:textual note 127
That mon ythenche, bi the songe,
Hwider he shal and thar ben longe;
line725That he the murehthe ne voryete,
Ac tharof thenche and bigete,textual note 128
And nyme yeme of chirche-stefne
Hw murie is the blisse of hevene!
Clerekes, munekes, and canunesexplanatory note 97textual note 129
line730Thar beoth thos gode wike-tunesexplanatory note 98
Ariseth up to middel-nyhte
And singeth of thon hevene lyhte,explanatory note 99
And preostes upe londeexplanatory note 100 singeth
Hwenne the liht of day springeth;textual note 130
line735And ich heom helpe hwat ic may!
Ich singe myd hem nyht and day,
And heo beoth alle, for me, the gladdere
And to the songe beoth the raddure.
Ich warny men to heore gode
line740That hi beon blythe on heore mode,
And bidden that hi moten iseche
That ilche song that ever is eche.
Nu thu myht, ule, sitte and clynge!
Her among nys no chateringe —
line745Ich graunti that thu go to dome
Tovore the sulve Pope of Rome!explanatory note 101textual note 131
Ac abid yete, notheles —
Thu schalt abyde onother bles:explanatory note 102textual note 132
Ne schaltu, vor Engelonde,
line750At thisse worde me atstonde.
Hwy atwitestu me myne unstrengthe,
And myne ungrete and myn unlengthe,
And sayst that ich am nouht strong
fol. 161vaVor ic nam nother gret ne long?
line755Ac thu nost never hwat thu menest,
Bute lese wordes thu me lenest,
For ic kan craft and ic kan lyste,
And tharfore ic am thus thriste!
Ich kan wit and song mony eine,
line760Ne triste ic to non other mayne,
Vor soth hit is that seyde Alvred:
‘Ne may no strengthe ayeyn red.’explanatory note 103
Oft spet wel a lute lyste
Thar muche strengthe solde myste.
line765Mid lutle strengthe, thureh ginne
Castel and bureh me may winne;
Mid liste, me may walles felle,
And werpe of horse knyhtestextual note 133 snelle.
Uvel strengthe is lutel wrth,textual note 134
line770Ac wisdom ne wrthtextual note 135 never unwrth.textual note 136
Thu myht iseo thurh alle thing
That wisdom naveth non evening:explanatory note 104
An hors is strenger than a mon,
Ac for hit non iwit ne kon,
line775Hit berth on rugge grete semes,
And drahth bi sweore grete temes,
And tholeth bothe yerd and spure,
And stont iteyed at mulne-dure,
And hit doth that mon hit hot;
line780And forthan that hit no wit not,
Ne may his strengthe hit ischilde
That hittextual note 137 nabuhth the lutle childe.
Mon doth, mid strengthe and mid witte,
That other thing nys non his fitte.
line785They alle strengthe at one were,textual note 138
Monnes wit yet more were,
Vor the mon myd his crafte
fol. 161vbOvercumeth al eorthliche shafte.
Al so, ic do, myd myne one songe,
line790Bet than thu alle yer longe.
Vor myne crafte, men me luvyeth;
Vor thine strengthe, men the schunyeth.
Telstu bi me the wrstextual note 139 forthan
That ic bute enne craft ne kan?
line795If twey men goth to wrastlinge,
And eyther other vaste thringe,
And the on can swenges swithe fele
And kan his wrenches wel forhele,
And the other ne can sweng bute annetextual note 140
line800And the is god with eche manne,
And myd than one leyth to grunde
Anne after othertextual note 141 a lutle stunde,
Hwat tharf he recche of a mo swenge
Hwenne the on him is so genge?explanatory note 105
line805Thutextual note 142 seyst that thu canst fele wike,explanatory note 106
Ac ever ich am thin unyliche.
Do thine craftes alle togadere,
Yet is myn on heorte betere.
Ofte, hwan hundes foxes driveth,
line810The kat ful wel him sulve liveth,
Theh he ne cunne wreynch bute anne.
The foxtextual note 143 so godne ne can nanne,
They he cunne so vele wrenche
That he weneth eche hunde atprenche.
line815Vor he can pathes rihte and wowe,
And he can hongi bi the boweexplanatory note 107
And so vorlest the hund his fore
And turnth eft ayeyn to the more.
The fox can crepe by the heye,
line820And turne ut from his forme weye,
And eftsone cume tharto;
fol. 162raThenne is thes hundes smel fordo,
He not thurh the meynde smak
Hwether he schal vorth the abak.explanatory note 108textual note 144
line825If the vox miste of al this dwele,
At than ende he creophthtextual note 145 to hole.
Ac natheles, myd al his wrenche,
Ne can he hine so bithenche —
They he beo yep and swithe snel —
line830That he ne leost his rede vel.
The kat ne can wrench bute anne,
Nother bi dune ne bi venne:
Bute he can clymbe swithe welexplanatory note 109 —
Tharmyd he wereth his greye vel!
line835Al so ich segge bi my seolve:
Beter is myn on than thine twelve.”explanatory note 110explanatory note 111
Owl“Abid!textual note 146 Abid!” the ule seyde,
“Thu gest al to mid swikelhede.
Alle thine wordes thu bileyst
line840That hit thinkth soth that thu seyst!
Alle thine wordes beoth isliked,
And so bisemedtextual note 147 and bilikedtextual note 148
That alle heo that hi avoth
Hi weneth that thu segge soth!
line845Abid! Abid! Me schal the yene!
Nu hit schal wrthetextual note 149 wel isene
That thu havest muchel ilowe
Hwenne thi lesing beoth unwrowe!
Thu seist that thu singest moncunne
line850And techest heom that hi fundeth heonne
Up to the songe that ever ilast.
Ac hit is alre wndretextual note 150 mest
That thutextual note 151 darst lye so opeliche.
Wenestu hi bringe so lyhtliche
line855To Godes riche, al singinde?
fol. 162rbNay! Nay! Hi schule wel avynde
That hi myd longe wope mote
Of heore sunnen bidde bote
Ar hi mote ever cume thare.
line860Ich rede thi that men beo ware
And more wepe than singe,
That fundeth to than hevene Kynge.
For nys no mon withuten sunne,
Forthi he mot, ar he wende heonne,
line865Mid teres and myd wope bete,
That him beo sur that er was swete.
Tharto ich helpe, God hit wot!
Ne singe ich heom no foliotexplanatory note 112
Vor al my song is of longinge
line870And ymeynd sumdel myd woninge,
That mon, bi me, hine bithenche
That he grony for his unwrenche;
Mid myne songe ich hine pultetextual note 152
That he grony for his gulte.
line875If thu gest herof to disputinge,
Ich wepe bet than thu singe!
If riht goth forth and abak wrong,
Betere is my wop than thi song.explanatory note 113
Theyh summe men beon thurhut gode,
line880And thurhut clene on heore mode,
Heom longeth heonne notheles;
That beoth her wo is hom thes,explanatory note 114
Vor theyh hi beo heomselve iborewe,
Hi ne seoth her nowiht bute serewe.
line885Vor other men hi wepeth sore,
And for heom biddeth Cristes ore.explanatory note 115
Ich helpe monne on eyther halve;
Mi muth haveth tweire kunne salve:
Than gode ich fulste to longinge,
fol. 162vaVor hwenne him longeth, ic him singe;
line891And than sunfulle ic helpe also,
Vor ic him teche hwar is wo.
Yet, ic the yene onother wise,
Vor hwenne thu sittest on thine rise,
line895Thu drahst men to fleyses luste
That wilethtextual note 153 thine songes luste.
Al thu vorleost the murehthe of hevene,textual note 154
For, tharto, navestu none stevene;
Al that thu singest is of golnesse,
line900For nys on the non holynesse!
Ne weneth no mon for thi pipinge
That eny preost in chirche singe.
Yet, ic the wile onother segge
If thu hit const ariht bilegge:explanatory note 116
line905Hwi nultu singe onothertextual note 155 theode,
Thartextual note 156 hit is muchele more neode?
Thu never ne singest in Irlonde,
Ne thu ne cumest in Scotlonde.
Hwi nultu vare to Norweye,
line910And singen men of Galeweye?explanatory note 117explanatory note 118
Thar beoth men that litel kunne
Of songe that is under sunne.
Hwi nultu thare preoste singe
And teche of thire writelingeexplanatory note 119
line915And wisi heom myd thire stefne
Hw engles singeth in the hevene?
Thu farest so doth on ydeltextual note 157 wel
That springeth bi burne that is snel,
And let fordruye the dune,
line920And flohth an ydel thar adune.
Ac ich fare north and south;
In everich londe ich am cuth:
East and west, south and north.textual note 158
fol. 162vbI do wel fayre my mester,
line925And warny men mid myne bere,textual note 159
That thi dwele-song heo ne forlere.explanatory note 120textual note 160
Ich wisse men myd myne songe
That hi ne sunegi nowiht longe;
Ich bidde heom that heo iswike
line930That heomseolve ne biswike,
For betere is that heo wepe here
Than elleshwar beo deoveletextual note 161 yvere.”
NightingaleThetextual note 162nihtegale wes agromed
And ek sumdel ofschomed
line935For the ule hire atwiten hedde
In hwiche stude ho sat and gradde:
Bihinde the bure, among the wed,
Thar men gon to heore ned;explanatory note 121
And sat sumdel and ho bithouhte,
line940And wiste wel on hire thouhte
The wraththe binymeth monnes red,explanatory note 122
For hit seyde the King Alvred:
“Selde endeth wel the lothe,textual note 163
And selde playdeth wel the wrothe”explanatory note 123 —
line945For wraththe meynthtextual note 164 the heorte blod
That hit floweth so wilde flod
And al the heorte overgeth,
That heo naveth na thing bute breth,explanatory note 124
And so vorleost al his lyht,
line950That ho ne syhth soth ne riht.
The nyhtegale hi understod,
And avergantextual note 165 lette hire mod;
He myhte bet speken isele
Than myd wraththe wordes dele.
line955“Ule,” heotextual note 166 seyde, “lust nu hider:
Thu schalt falle; thi wey is slider.
Thu seyst ich fleo bihinde bure;
fol. 163raHit is riht, the bur is ure.
Thar louerd liggeth and levedy,
line960Ich schal heom synge and sitte bi.
Wenestu that wise men forlete
Vor fule venne the rihte strete?
Ne sunne the later schyne,
Theyh hit beo ful in neste thine?explanatory note 125
line965Schold ich, for one hole brede,explanatory note 126
Furlete myne rihte stede
That ich ne singe bi the bedde,
Thar louerd haveth his lavedi bedde?
Hit is my rihte, hit is my lawe,
line970That to the hexste ich me drawe.
Ac if thu yelpst of thine songe —
That thu kanst yolle urothe and stronge —
And seyst thu wisest monkunne
That hi biwepen heore sunne,
line975Solde everuych mon wony and grede
Riht such hi weren unlede?
Scholde hi yollen al so thu dest,
Hi myhten afere heore preost.
Mon schal beo stille and noht grede;
line980He mot biwepe his mysdede.
Ac thartextual note 167 is Cristes heriynge
Thar me grede and lude singe;
Nis nothertextual note 168 to lude ne to long,
At rihte tyme chirche song.
line985Thu yollest and wonest, and ic singe;
Thi stefne is wop, and myn skentinge.
Ever mote thu yolle and wepen
That thu thi lif mote forleten,
And yolle mote thu so heye,
line990That ut tobersten bo thin eye!
Hwether is betere of tweyre twom:
fol. 163rbThat mon beo blithe other grom?
So beo hit ever, in unker sithe,
That thu beo sori and ich blithe.
line995Yet, thu ayschest hwi ic ne vare
Into other londe and singe thare.
No! Hwat schold ich among heom do
Thar never blisse ne com to?
That lond nys god ne hit nys este,textual note 169
line1000Ac wildernesse hit is and weste,textual note 170
Knarres and cludes hovenetinge.
Snou and hawel hom is genge;
That lond is grislich and unvele!
The men beoth wilde and unsele;
line1005Hi nabbeth nother grith ne sibbe.
Hi ne reccheth hw hi libbe:
Hi eteth fys and fleys unsode,
Suych wolves hit hadde tobroude.
Hi drinketh mylk and hwey tharto —
line1010Hi nuteth elles hwet hi do —
Hi nabbeth noht wyn ne beor,
Ac libbeth al so wilde deor,
Hi goth bytuht myd rowe felle,
Riht suych hi come ut of helle.explanatory note 127
line1015They eny god man to heom come
(So hwile dude sum from Rome)explanatory note 128
For heom to lere gode thewes
And for to lete heore unthewes,
He myhte bettextual note 171 sytte stille,textual note 172
line1020Vor al his hwile he scolde spille!
He myhte bet teche ane beore
To bere scheld and spere,explanatory note 129
Thane that wilde volk ibringe
That hi me wolde ihere singe.
line1025Hwat schold ich thar mid myne songe?textual note 173
fol. 163vaNe singe ic heom never so longe,
Mi song were ispild uych del:
For heom ne may halter ne bridel
Bringe from here wode wyse,
line1030Ne mon mid stele ne mid ise.explanatory note 130textual note 174
Ac thar lond is este and god,
And thar men habbeth mylde mod,
Ic notye myd heom mine throte,
For ic may do thar gode note,
line1035And bringe heom leve tydinge,explanatory note 131
For ic of chirche songe singe.
Hit wes isayd in olde lawe,
That yet ilast thilke soth-sawe,
That ‘Mon schal eryen and sowe
line1040Thar he weneth after god mowe,
For he is wod that soweth his sed
Thar never gras ne springth ne bled.’”explanatory note 132
OwlThetextual note 175ule wes wroth, to cheste rad;
Mid thisse worde, hire eyen abraid:
line1045“Thu seyst thu witest monne bures,
Thar leves beoth and fayre flures,
Thar two yleove in one bedde
Liggeth iclupt, and wel bihedde.
Enes thu sunge ic wot wel hware
line1050Bi one bure and woldest lere
The levedi to an uvel luve,textual note 176
And sungetextual note 177 bothe lowe and buve,explanatory note 133
And leredest hi to don schome
And unriht of hire lichome.
line1055The louerd that sone underyat;
Lym, and grune, and wel ihwat
Sette and leyde the for to lacche.
Thu come sone to than hacche:
Thu were ynume in one grune —
fol. 163vbAl hit abouhte thine schine!
line1061Thu neddest non other dom ne lawe
Bute myd wilde hors were todrawe!explanatory note 134textual note 178
Vonde if thu myht eft mysrede
Hwether thu wilt, wif the meyde —
line1065Thi song mai beo so longe genge
That thu schalt hwippen on a sprenge!”explanatory note 135
NightingaleThetextual note 179nihtegale, at thisse worde,
Mid swerde and myd speres orde,
If heo mon were, wolde vyhte
line1070Ac tho heo bet do ne mihte,
Heo vauht myd hire wise tunge.
“Wel viht that wel spekth,”explanatory note 136 seyth in the songe.
Of hire tunge heo nom red.
“Wel viht that wel spekth,” seyde Alvred.
line1075“Hwat?textual note 180 Seystu this for myne schome?
The louerd hadde herof grome.
He wes so gelus of his wyve
That he ne myhte, vo his lyve,
Iseo that mon with hire speke
line1080That his heorte noldetextual note 181 breke.
He hire bilek in one bureexplanatory note 137
That hire was stronge and sure.
Ic hadde of hire milce and ore,
And sori was for hire sore,
line1085And skente hi mid myne songe
Al that ic mihte, rathe and longe.
Vorthan, the knyht wes with me wroth,
Vor rihte nythe ic wes him loth.
He dude me his owe schome,
line1090Ac al hit turnde him eft to grome.
That underyat the Kyng Henri.explanatory note 138
(Jhesutextual note 182 his soule do mercy!)
He let forbonneexplanatory note 139 thene knyht
fol. 164raThat hadde ido suich unriht
line1095In so gode kynges londe,
For rihte nythe and ful onde,
Let thane lytel fowel nyme
And him fordeme lif and lyme.
Hit wes wrthsipetextual note 183 al myne kunne!
line1100Forthon, the knyht furles his wnne,textual note 184
And yaf for me an hundred punde,
And myne briddes seten ysunde,
And hedde seththe blisse and hihte,
And were blithe, and wel myhte,
line1105Vorthan ic wes so wel awreke.
Ever eft, ich dar the bet speke
For hit bitydde ene so.
Ich am the blithure evermo!
Nu ic may singe hwar ic wile,
line1110Ne dar me never eft mon agrulle.explanatory note 140
Ac thu ermyng,explanatory note 141 thu wrecche gost,
Thu ne canst fynde ne thu nost
An holeh stoc hwar thu the mihttextual note 185 hude,
That me ne twenge thine hude,
line1115Vor children, gromes, heme, and hine,
Hi thencheth alle of thine pine.
If hi mowe iseo the sitte,
Stones hi doth in heore slytte,
And the totorveth and toheneth,explanatory note 142
line1120And thine fule bon toscheneth.
If thu art iworpe other iscote,
Thenne thu myht erest to note,
Vor me the hoth in one rodde,
And thu, myd thine fule coddeexplanatory note 143
line1125And myd thine ateliche sweore,
Biwerest monne corn from deore.
Nis nouther nouht thi lif ne blod,
fol. 164rbAc thu art sheules swithe god
Thar newe sedes beoth isowe.
line1130Pynnue, goldfynch, rok, ne crowe
Ne dar never cumen ihende
If thi buk hongeth at than ende.
Thar treon schulleth a yer blowe,
And yonge sedes springe and growe,
line1135Ne dar no fuoel tharto fonge
If thu are tharover ihonge.
Thi lif is ever luther and qued;
Thu nart nouht bute ded!
Nu thu myht wite, sikerliche,
line1140That thine leches beoth grisliche
The hwile thu art on lyf-daye,
Vor hwenne thu hongest, islawe,
Yet hi beoth of the atdradde,
The foweles that the er bigradde.
line1145Mid rihte men beoth with the wrothe
For thu singest of heore lothe;
Al that thu singest, rathe other late,
Hit is ever of mannes unhwate.explanatory note 144
Hwanne thu havest a nyht igrad,
line1150Men beoth of the wel sore aferd.
Thu singst thar sum man sal beo ded.
Ever thu bodest sumne qued:
Thu singst ayeyn ayhte lure,
Other of summe urendes rure;
line1155Other thu bodest huses brune,
Other ferde of manne, other theves rune;explanatory note 145textual note 186
Other thu bodest qualm of orve,
Other that lond-folc wrthtextual note 187 idorve,
Other that wif leost hire make;
line1160Other thu bodest cheste and sake.
Ever thu singest of manne harme!
fol. 164vaThurh the, hi beoth sorie and arme.
Thu ne singest never one sythe
That hit nys for summe unsythe.
line1165Hervore hit is that me the suneth,
And the totorvethexplanatory note 146 and tobuneth
Mid stave and stone, and turf and clute,
That thu ne myht noware atrute.
Dahet ever budel in tune
line1170That bedeth unwreste rune
And ever bringeth uvele tydinge
And that speketh of uvele thinge!
God Almyhti wrthetextual note 188 him wroth
And al that wereth lynnene cloth!”explanatory note 147
OwlThetextual note 189ule nabod noht swithe longe
line1176Ac yef answere stark and stronge:
“Hwat?” queth heo. “Ertu ihoded,textual note 190
Other thu cursest unihoded?explanatory note 148
For prestes wike ic wot thu dest.
line1180Ich not if thu were preost;explanatory note 149
Ich not if thu canst masse singe —
Inouh thu canst of mansynge!explanatory note 150
Ac hit is for thine olde nythe,
That thu me acursedest other sithe!
line1185Ac tharto is lihtlych answere:
‘Drah to the!’explanatory note 151 queth the kartere.
Hwi atwitestu me myne insihte,
And min iwit, and myne myhte?
For ich am witi,textual note 191 ful iwis,
line1190And wottextual note 192 al that to comen is:
Ich wot of hunger, of heregonge;
Ich wot if men sulle libbe longe;
Ic wot if wif lust hire make;
Ic wot hwar sal beo nith and wrake;
line1195Ic wot hwo sal beo anhonge,
Other elles fulne deth avonge;
If men habbeth batayle inume,
Ic wottextual note 193 hwather sal beo overcume;
fol. 164vbIc wot if qualm sal cumen on orve,
line1200And if deor schulle ligge astorve;
Ic wot if tren schulle blowe;
Ic wot if corn schulle growe;
Ic wot if huses schulle berne;
Ic wot if men sulle eorne other erne;
line1205Ic wot if sea sal schipestextual note 194 drenche;
Ic wot if smithes sale uvele clenche.explanatory note 152
And ic con muchele more:
Ic con ynouh in bokes lore,textual note 195
And ek ic can of the godspelle
line1210More than ic wile the telle,
Vor ic at chireche cume ilometextual note 196
And muchel leorny of wisdome.
Ic wot al of the toknynge,explanatory note 153
And of other vale thinge.
line1215If eny mon schal remexplanatory note 154 abide,
Al ic hit wot ar hit ityde.
Ofte, vor myne muchele witte,
Wel sori-mod and wroth i sytte;
Hwanne ic iseo ther sum wrecchede
line1220Is cumynde neyh, inoh ic grede.
Ic bidde ther men beon warre
And habbe gode redes yare,
Vor Alvred seyde a wis word
(Uych mon hit scholde legge on hord):
line1225‘If thu isyst her heo beo icume,
His strengthe is him wel neyh binume.’explanatory note 155
And grete duntes beoth the lasse
If me ikepeth myd iwarnesse,
And fleotextual note 197 schal toward misyenge
line1230If thu isihst hw fleo of strenge,
For thu myht blenche and fleo
If thu isihst heo to the teo.
Thauh eny mon beo falle in edwite,
Hwi schal he metextual note 198 his sor atwite?
line1235Thauh ic iseo his harm bivore,
fol. 165raNe cumeth hit nouht of me tharfore.
Thah thu iseo that sum blynd mon
That nanne rihtne wey ne con
To thare diche his dwele voleweth,
line1240And falleth and tharonne sulieth,
Wenestu, thah ic al iseo,
That hit for me the rather beo?
Al so hit fareth bi mine witte:
Hwannetextual note 199 ic on myne bowe sitte,
line1245Ic wot and iseo swithe brihte
That summe men cumeth harm thar-rihte.textual note 200
Sal he, thar he nowiht not,
Hit wite me vor ic hit wot?
Sal he his myshap wyten me
line1250Vor ic am wisure than he?
Hwanne ic iseo that sum wrechede
Is manne neyh, inouh ic grede
And bidde inouh that hi heom schilde
Vor toward heom is harm unmylde;
line1255Ac thah ic grede, lude and stille,
Al iwurth Godes wille.
Hwi wulleth men of me mene
Thah ic mid sothe heo awene?explanatory note 156
Thah ic hi warny al that yer,
line1260Nis heom tharvore haremtextual note 201 the ner.explanatory note 157
Ac ich singe vor ich wolde
Ther hi wel understonde scholde
That sum unsel heom is ihende.
Hwen ic myn huyngexplanatory note 158 to heom sende,
line1265Naveth mon no sikerhede
That he ne may wene and adrede
That sum unhapexplanatory note 159 neih him beo,
Thah he ne cunne hit iseo.
Forthi seyde Alvred swithe wel
line1270(And his word wes godspel)
That ‘everich mon the bet him beo,textual note 202
Ever the bet he him biseo.’explanatory note 160
fol. 165rbNe triste no mon to his wele
To swithe, thahtextual note 203 he habbe vele.
line1275Nis noht so hot that hit nacoleth,
Ne noht so hwit that hit ne soleth,
Ne nohttextual note 204 so leof that hit nalotheth,
Ne noht so glad that hit nawretheth;
Ac everich thing that eche nys
line1280Agon schal and al this worldes blis.
Nu thu miht witen redeliche
That ever thu spekest gidiliche,
For al thu me seyst vor schame
Ever the-solvetextual note 205 hit turneth to grome.explanatory note 161
line1285Go so hit go, at eche fenge
Thu vallest myd thin owe swenge!explanatory note 162
Al that thu sayst for me to schende
Hit ys my wrthsipetextual note 206 at than ende.
Bute thu wille bet agynne,
line1290Ne schaltu bute schame iwynne.”
NightingaleThetextual note 207nyhtegale sat and syhte,
And hauhful was and wel myhte,
For the ule so ispeke hadde
And hire speche so iladde
line1295Heo wes houhful and erede
Hwat heo tharafter hire seyde,
Ac notheles heo hire understod.explanatory note 163
“Hwat?” heo seyde. “Ule, artu wod?
Thu yelpest of selliche wisdome;
line1300Thu nustest hwenne hit the come
Bute hit of wicchecrafte were.
Tharof, thu wrecche, most the skere
If thu wilt among manne beo,
Other thu most of londe fleo
line1305Vor alle theo that therof cuthe,
Heo weren ifurn, of prestes muthe,
Amansed, such thutextual note 208 art yette —
The wicchecrafte never ne lete!textual note 209
Ic the seyde nu lutel ere,
line1310And thu askedest if ich were
fol. 165vaA bysemare to preoste ihoded,textual note 210
Ac the mansyng is so ibroded
Thauh no preost a londe nere
A wrecche natheles thu were,explanatory note 164
line1315For everich childtextual note 211 the clepede ‘fule,’
And everiche man ‘a wrecche ule.’
Ic habbe iherd, and soth hit is,
The mon mot beo wel sturre-wis
And wite inoh of hwiche thinge cume,
line1320So thu seyst that is iwune.
Hwat constu, wrecchetextual note 212 thing, of storre,textual note 213
Bute that thu bihaitesttextual note 214 hi ferre,
Al so doth mony deor and man
Theo of suyche nowiht ne can?
line1325On ape may on bok biholde,
And leves wende, and eft folde,
Ac he ne con the bet tharvore
Of clerkes lore, top ne more.explanatory note 165
They thu iseo the steorre, al so,
line1330Nertu thetextual note 215 wisere never the mo.
Ac yet, thu fule thing, me chist
And wel grimlyche me atwist
That ic singe bi manne huse,
And theche wyve breke spuse.
line1335Thu lyest iwis, thu fule thing!
Thurh me, nes never isend spusing,
Ac soth hit is ich singe and grede
Thar levedis beoth and feyre meide,
And soth hit is of luve ic singe,
line1340For god wif may in spusinge
Bet luvyen hire owe weretextual note 216
Than onother, hire copinere.explanatory note 166
And mayde may luve cheose
That hire treuschipe ne forleose,
line1345And luvye mid rihte luve
Thane that schal hire beo bove.explanatory note 167
Suyche luve ic theche and lere;
fol. 165vbTharof beoth al myne ilere.
Thauh sum wif beo of neysse mode —
line1350Vor wymmen beoth of softe blode —
That heo, vor summe sottes lore
The yorne bit and syketh sore,
Misnyme and misdo sume stunde,
Schal ic tharvore beo ibunde?
line1355Yef wymmen luvyeth for unrede,
Witestu me heore mysdede?
If wymmon thencheth luvye derne,explanatory note 168
Ne maytextual note 217 ic myne songes werne.
Wymmon may pleye under clothe
line1360Hwether heo wile wel the wrothe;explanatory note 169
And heo may do bi myne songe
Hwether heo wile wel the wronge,
Vor nys a worlde thing so god
That ne may do sum ungod
line1365If me hit wile turne amys.
Vor gold and seolver god hit is,
And natheles tharmyd thu myht
Spus-bruche bugge and unryht.
Wepne beoth godetextual note 218 grith to holde,
line1370And, natheles, tharmyd beoth men aquoldetextual note 219
Ayeynes riht of alle londe
Thar theoves hi bereth an honde.
Al so hit is bi myne songe:
Thah heo beo god, me hine may mysfongetextual note 220
line1375And drawe hine to sothede
And to othre uvele dede.
Ah schaltu, wrecche, luve tele?
Beo hwich heo beo, uich luve is fele,
Bitwene the mon and wymmone;
line1380Ah if heo is atbroyde,textual note 221 theonne
He is unveletextual note 222 and forbroyde!explanatory note 170
Wroth wurthe him the Holy Rode
The rihte icunde so forbreydeth!
Wunder hit istextual note 223 that heo ne awedeth,
fol. 166raAnd so heo doth, vor heo beoth wode
line1386That bute neste goth to brode!
Wymmon is of neysse fleysse,
And fleysses lustestextual note 224 is strong to queysse;
Nis wunder non thah he abide,
line1390Vor fleysses lustes hi maketh slide.
Ne beoth heo nouht alle forlore
That stumpeth at the fleysses more,explanatory note 171
Vor mony wymmon haveth mysdo
That aryst up of the slo.
line1395Ne beoth noht ones alle sunne,
Vorthan hi beoth tweire ikunne:
Sum arist of fleysses luste,
And sum of the gostes custe.
Thar fleys drahth nu men to drunkenesse,
line1400And to wlonkhedeexplanatory note 172textual note 225 and to golnesse,
The gost mysdoth thurh nyth and onde,
And seththe myd murehthe of monne shonde,textual note 226
And wunneth after more and more,
And lutel rekth of milce and ore,
line1405And styhth on heyh thurtextual note 227 modynesse,
And overhoweth thane lasse.
Sey me soth, if thu hit wost:
Hwether doth wurse, fleys the gost?explanatory note 173
Thu myht segge, if thu wult,
line1410That lasse is thes fleyestextual note 228 gult:
Mony mon is of his fleysse clene
That is myd mode Deovel imene.
Ne schal no mon wymman bigrede
And fleysses lustes hire upbreyde;
line1415Such heo mahte beo of golnesse
That sunegeth wurse in modinesse.
Hwet, if ic schulde a luve bringe
Wif other mayde, hwanne ic singe,
Ic wolde with the mayde holde.
line1420If thu const aryht atholde,
Lust nu, ic segge the hwarvore
fol. 166rbUp to the toppe from the more:
If mayde luveth derneliche,
Heo stumpeth and falth icundeliche,
line1425Vor thaih heo sumwhile pleye,
Heo nys noht feor ut of the weye;
Heo may hire guld atwende
A rihte weye, thurh chirche-bende,explanatory note 174
And may eft habbe to make
line1430Hire leofmon withute sake,
And gon to him bi dayes lyhte
That er bistal on theoster nyhte.
That yongling not hwat such thing is;
His yonge blod hit drahth amys,
line1435And sum sot man hit tyhth tharto
Mid alle than that he may do.
He cumeth and fareth and beod abid,
And he bistarte another sid,
And bisekth ilome and longe.
line1440Hwat may that child thah hit misfonge?textual note 229
Hit nuste never hwat hittextual note 230 was!
Vorthi, hit thouhte fondi thas,
And wyte iwis hwich beo the gome
That of the wilde maketh tome.
line1445Ne may ic, vor reuthe, lete —
Hwanne ic iseo the tohte ileteexplanatory note 175
The luve bring on the yunglingetextual note 231 —
That ic of murehthe him ne singe.
Ic theche heom bi myne songe
line1450That suych luve ne last noht longe,
For my song lutletextual note 232 wile ileste,
And luve ne doth noht bute reste
On such childre and sone ageth,
And falth adun the hote breth.explanatory note 176textual note 233
line1455I singe myd heom one throwe;
Biginne an heyh and endi lowe,
And lete mine songes falle
A lutle wiletextual note 234 adun myd alle.explanatory note 177explanatory note 178
fol. 166vaThat mayde wot hwenne i swiketextual note 235
line1460Thattextual note 236 luve is myne songes iliche,textual note 237
Vor hit nys bute a lutel breth,explanatory note 179
That sone cumeth and sone geth.
That child bi me hit understond,
And his unred to rede iwend,
line1465And syhth wel bi myne songe
That dusy luve ne last noht longe.
Ac wel ic wile that thu hit wite:
Loth me beoth wifes utschute,explanatory note 180
Ac wif may of me nyme yeme
line1470Ic ne singe noht hwen ic teme.
And wif auh lete sottes lore,
Thauh spusyng bendes byndeth sore.
Wunder me thinkth stark and sor
Hw eny mon so haveth for
line1475That his heorte myhte dryve
To do hit to othres mannes wyve,
Vor other hit is of twam thinge,
Ne may the thridde notextual note 238 mon bringe:
Other the louerd is wel auht,
line1480Other aswunde and nys nouht.
If he is wrthfultextual note 239 and auht mon,
Nele no mon that wisdom can,
Hureexplanatory note 181 of his wive, do him schome,
Vor he may him adrede grame,
line1485And that he forleose that ther hongeth
That him eft tharto noht ne longeth.explanatory note 182
And thah he that nouht ne adredeth,
Hit is unriht and gret sothede
To mysdo one gode manne,
line1490And his ibedde from him spanne.explanatory note 183
If hire louerd is forwurthe,
And unorne at bedde and at borde,
Hw myhte thar beo eny luve
Hwenne a cherles buk hire lay buve?textual note 240
line1495Hw may ther eny luve beo
fol. 166vbHwar such mon gropeth hire theo?
Herbi, thu miht wel understonde
That on is a reu,textual note 241 othres schonde,
To stele to othres mannes bedde,
line1500Vor if auht man is hire ibedde,
Thu myht wene that the mystide
Hwanne thu lyst bi hire side,
And if the louerd is a wrecche,
Hwych este myhtestu thar vecche?
line1505If thu bithenchest hwo hire ofligge,
Thu myht myd wlate the este bugge!
Ich not hw may eny freomonexplanatory note 184
Vor hire sechen after than;
If he bithenkth bi hwam he lay,
line1510Al may the luve gon away.”
OwlThetextual note 242ule wes glad of suche tale.
Heo thouhte that the nyhtegale,
Thah heo wel speke at the frume,
Hadde at than ende mysnume,
line1515And seyde, “Nu ich habbe ifunde
That maydenes beoth of thine imunde:explanatory note 185
Mid heom thu holdest and heom biwerest,
And overswithe thu hi herest.
The lavedies beoth to me iwend
line1520To me hire mone heo send,
For hit ityd ofte and ilome
That wif and were beoth unisome,explanatory note 186
And therfore that were gulte:
That leof is other wymmon to pulte,
line1525And speneth on thare al that he haveth,
And syweth thare that noht naveth,
And haveth at om his richeexplanatory note 187 spuse,
Wowes west, and lere huse,
Wel thunne isrud and ived wrothe,
line1530And let heo bute mete and clothe.
Hwenne he cumeth hom eft to his wyve,
Ne dar he noht a word ischire.
fol. 167raHe chid and gred such he beo wod,
And ne bringth hom non other god.
line1535Al that heo doth him is unwille,
Al that heo speketh hit is him ille,
And ofte hwenne heo noht ne mysdeth,
Heo haveth the fust in the theth.explanatory note 188
Nis no mon that ne may ibrynge
line1540His wif amys myd suche thinge;
Me hire may so ofte mysbeode
That heo do wile hire owe neode.
La, God hit wot, heo nah iwelde
Thah heo hine make cukeweld!
line1545For hit ityt ilome and ofte
That his wif is neysse and softe,
Of fayre bleo and wel idiht,
Thitextual note 243 hit is the more unryht
That he his luvetextual note 244 spene on thare
line1550That nis wurth on of hire heare!
And suche men beoth wel manyfolde,
That wif ne cunne ariht holde:
Ne mot no mon with hire speke;
He weneth heo wile anon to breke
line1555Hire spusyng if heo loketh
Other with monnetextual note 245 veyre speketh.
He hire bilukth myd keye and loke.
Tharthurh, is spusing ofte ibroke
Vor if heo is tharto ibrouht
line1560He deth that heo nedde ear ithouht.
Dehaet that to swithe hit bispeke
Thah suche wives heom awreke!
Herof to me the levedies heom meneth
And wel sore me ahweneth;explanatory note 189
line1565Wel neyh myn heorte wile tochine
Hwenne ic biholde heore pine.textual note 246
Mid heom ic wepe swithe sore,
And for heom bidde Cristes ore —
That the levedi sone aredde
fol. 167rbAnd hire sende betere ibedde.
line1571Another thing ic may the telle,
And thu ne schalt, for thine felle,
Onswere non tharto fynde —
Al this sputingexplanatory note 190 schal aswinde!
line1575Mony chapmon and mony knyht
Luveth and halt his wif ariht,
And so doth mony bondeman.
That gode wif doth after than,
And sarveth him to bedde and to borde
line1580Mid fayre dede and fayre worde,
And yorne vondeth hw heo mowe
Do thing that him beo iduwe.explanatory note 191
The louerd into thare theode
Vareth ut on thare beyre neode,
line1585And is that gode wif unblithe
Vor hire louerdes houth-sythe,explanatory note 192textual note 247
And sit and sykth, wel sore oflonged,
And hire sore an heorte ongreth,
Al vor hire louerdes sake.
line1590Haveth dayes kare, and nihtes wake,
And swithe longe hire is the hwile,
And uych stape hire thinkth a mile.explanatory note 193
Hwenne othre slepeth hire abute,
Ich one lust thar wyththute,
line1595And wot of hire sore mode,
And singe a nyht for hire gode;
And myn gode song, for hire thinge,
Ic turne sumdel to murnynge.
Of hure seorwe, ic bere sume,
line1600Vorthan ic am hire wel welcume.
Ic hire helpe hwat ich may
For ho gethtextual note 248 hane rihte way.
And thu me havest sore igremed
That myn heorte is neyh alemed,explanatory note 194
line1605That ic may unnethe speke!
Ac yet, ic wile forthurre reke.
fol. 167vaThu seyst that ictextual note 249 am monne loth,
And vich mon is with me wroth,
And me myd stone and lugge threteth,
line1610And me tobursteth and tobeteth,textual note 250
And hwanne hi habbeth me ofslawe,
Heo anhoth me in heore hawe
Thar ich ascheuleexplanatory note 195 pie and crowe
From than that ther is isowe.
line1615Thah hit beo soth, ic do heom god,
And for heom ic schedde my blod.
Ic do heom god myd myne dethe.
Tharfore, the is wel unmetheexplanatory note 196
For thahtextual note 251 thu ligge ded and clinge,
line1620Thi deth nys nouht to none thinge.
Ic not never to hwan thu myht,
For thu nart bute a wreche wiht!
Ah thah my lif me beo atschote,explanatory note 197
The yet ic may do gode note.
line1625Me may, uppe smale sticke,
Me sette a wude ine the thikke,
And so may mon tolli him to
Lutle briddes and ivo,
And so me may myd me byete
line1630Wel gode brede to his mete.
Ah thu never mon to gode,
Lyves ne dethes, stal ne stode.explanatory note 198
Ic not to hwan thu breist thi brod:textual note 252
Lyves ne dethes, ne doth hit god.”
NightingaleThetextual note 253nightegale iherde this
line1636And hupte uppe on blowe ris,
And herre sat thane heo dude er.
“Ule,” heotextual note 254 seyde, “beo nu wer!textual note 255
fol. 167vbNule ic with the playdi namore,
line1640Vor her thutextual note 256 myst thi ryhte lore.
Thutextual note 257 yelpest that thu art monne loth,
And everuich wiht is with the wroth;
And myd yollinge and myd igrede,
Thu thinchst wel that thu art unlede.
line1645Thu seyst that gromes the ivoth
And heye on rode the anhoth,
And the totwiccheth and toschaketh,
And summe of the scheules maketh.
Me thinkth that thu forlest that game —
line1650Thu yelpest of thire owe schome!
Me thinkth that thu me gest an hondeexplanatory note 199 —
Thu yelpest of thine owe schonde!”
Tho heo hadde theos word icwede,textual note 258
Heo sat in one fayre stude,
line1655And tharafter hire stefne dihte
And song so schille and so brihte
That fur and neor me hit iherde.
Tharvore, anon to hire cherde
Thruysse and throstle and wodewale,
line1660And foweles bothe grete and smale,explanatory note 200
Vorthan that heom thuhte that heo hadde
The ule overcome, forthantextual note 259 heo gradde
And sungen al so vale wise,explanatory note 201
That blisse wes among the ryse,
line1665Riht so me gred the monne a schame
That tavelethexplanatory note 202 and forleost that gome.
OwlTheostextual note 260ule, tho heo this iherde,
“Havestu,” heo seyde, “ibanned ferde?
And wiltu, wrecche, with me vyhte?
line1670Na! Nay! Navestu none mihte!
fol. 168raHwat gredeth, heo that hider come?
Me thinkth thu ledest ferde to me.
Ye schulle wite ar ye fleo heonne
Hwuch is the strengthe of myne kunne,
line1675Vor theo that haveth bile ihoked
And clyvres scharpe and wel icroked
Alle heo beoth of myne kunrede,
And wolde cumen if ich bede!
The seolve cok that wel can vihte,
line1680He mot myd me holde with rihte,
Vor bothetextual note 261 we habbe stefne brihte
And sitteth under welkne bi nyhte.explanatory note 203
Schulle ic up eu on utest grede,explanatory note 204
Ich schal so stronge verde lede
line1685Thattextual note 262 oure prude schal avalle —
A tord ne yeve ic for eu alle!
Ne schal, ar hit beo fullich eve,
A wrecche vethere on eu bileve!
Ah hit wes unker vorewardexplanatory note 205
line1690Tho we comen hyderward
That we tharto holden scholde,
Thar riht dom us yeve wolde.
Wultu nu breke foreward?
Ic wene dom the thinkth to hard.
line1695Vor thu ne darst domes abyde,
Thu wilt nu, wrecche, fihte and chide.
Yet, ich eu wolde alle rede,
Ar ich uthest up eu grede,
That eur fihtlaktextual note 263 leteth beo
line1700And gynneth rathe ayeyn fleo,
Vor, bi the clyvres that ic bere,
If ye abideth myne here,
Ye schulleth another wiseexplanatory note 206 singe
And cursy alle fihtinge,
line1705Vor nys of ou nontextual note 264 sotextual note 265 kene
That durre abide myn onsene.”
Theos ule spak wel baldelyche;
Vor thah heo nadde so hwatliche
Ivare after hire here,
fol. 168rbHeo wolde natheles yeve answere
line1711Thetextual note 266nihtegaleexplanatory note 207 myd sweche worde,
For mony mon myd speres orde
Haveth lutle strengthe and mid his schelde,
Ah, natheles, in one felde,
line1715Thurh belde worde and myd ilete,
Deth his ivo for arehthe swete.explanatory note 208
WrenThetextual note 267wrenne,explanatory note 209 for heo cuthe singe,
Thar com in thare moreweninge
To helpe thare nyhtegale.
line1720Vor theihtextual note 268 heo hadde stefne smale,
Heo hadde gode throte and schille,
And fale monne song a wille.
The wrenne wes wel wis iholde,
Vor theih heo nere ibred a wolde,
line1725Heo wes itowen among mankunne,explanatory note 210
And hire wisdom brouhte thenne.
Heo myhte speke hwar heo wolde,
Tofore the kinge thah heo scholde.explanatory note 211
“Lusteth!” heo queth. “Leteth me speke!
line1730Hwat? Wille ye this paysexplanatory note 212 tobreke
And do thanne kingetextual note 269 such schome?
Yet nys heo nouther ded ne lome.
Hunkeexplanatory note 213 schal ityde harm and schonde
If yetextual note 270 doth grythbruche on his londe.
line1735Leteth beo, and beoth isome,
And fareth riht to eure dome,
And leteth dom this playd tobreke
Al so hit wes erure bispeke.”
Nightingale“Ichtextual note 271 unne wel,” queth the nihtegale,
line1740“Ah, wrenne, nouht for thine tale,
Ac do fortextual note 272 myre lauhfulnesse;
Ic nolde that unrihtfulnesse
Me at then endetextual note 273 overcome.
Ic nam ofdred of none dome.
line1745Bihote ic habbe, soth hit is,
That Mayster Nichole that is wis
Bitwihen ustextual note 274 deme schulle,
And yet ic wene that he wulle.
fol. 168vaAh wartextual note 275 myhte we hine fynde?”
WrenThe wrenne sat in hore lynde.explanatory note 214
line1751“Hwat? Nuhte ye,”textual note 276 quath heo, “his hom?
Heo wuneth at Porteshom,
At one tune in Dorsete,
Bi thare seetextual note 277 in ore utlete.explanatory note 215
line1755Thar he demeth mony riht dom,
And diht and wryt mony wisdom,
And thurh his muthe and thurh his honde,
Hit is the betere into Scotlonde.
To seche hyne is lyhtlych thing;
line1760He naveth buten o wunyng.
That is biscopen muchel schame
And alle than that of his nome
Habbeth iherd and of his dede.
Hwi nulleth hi nymen heom to rede
line1765That he were myd heom ilometextual note 278
Vor teche heom of his wisdome,
And yeve him rente on vale studeexplanatory note 216
That he myhte ilome heom beo myde?”
Owl“Certes,”textual note 279 quath the ule, “that is soth.
line1770Theos riche men muchel mysdoth
That leteth thane gode man
That of so fele thinge can,
And yeveth rente wel mislyche
And of him leteth wel lyhtliche.
line1775With heore kunne, heo beoth mildre
And yeveth rente lutle childre!explanatory note 217
So heore wit hi demeth adwole
That ever abit Mayster Nichole.explanatory note 218
Ah ute we thah to hym fare,
line1780Vor thartextual note 280 is unker dom al yare.”
Nightingale“Dotextual note 281 we,” the nihtegale seyde,
“Ah hwo schal unker speche rede,
And telle tovore unker deme?”textual note 282
OwlTharof, ic schal the wel iqueme,”
line1785Queth the ule, “for, al ende of orde,
fol. 168vbTelle ic con word after worde;explanatory note 219
And if the thinkth that ic misrempe,explanatory note 220
Thu stond ayeyn and do me crempe.”explanatory note 221
Mid thisse worde, forth hi ferden,
line1790Al bute here and bute verde,
To Portesham ther hitextual note 283 bicome.
Ah hw heo spedde of heore dome
Ne can ic eu namore telle —
Her nys namore of thisse spelle!
fol. 156raHere begins the debate between the nightingale and the owl.
I was in a valley in summer
In a very secluded spot.
I heard an owl and a nightingale
Conduct a great disputation
line5Argued stiff and stark and strong,
At times soft, at times loud,
And each puffed against the other
And let out all that resentment,
And spoke of the other’s habits
line10In the worst ways they could imagine,
And, most of all, about the other’s song
They pressed very fierce arguments.
NightingaleThe nightingale began to speak
From inside a grove of beech trees,
line15Sitting on a lovely bough
Thickly adorned with blossoms,
In a dense, thick hedge,
Mixed with reeds and green sedge.
The branch made her all the more happy,
line20So she sang a range of tunes:
It seemed as if the melody was
A harp’s or pipe’s instead of hers;
It seemed as if it emerged from
A harp or pipe instead of a throat!
OwlNearby stood an old stump
line26Where the owl sang her hours
Amid ivy growing all around.
It was the owl’s dwelling place.
NightingaleThe nightingale saw her,
line30Examined and surveyed her,
And felt disdain for that owl,
For she’s considered ugly and foul.
fol. 156rb“Evildoer,” she said, “fly away!
I’m worse off for the sight of you.
line35Indeed, because of your awful face
I too often abandon my own song;
My heart jumps and my speech fails
When you press close to me.
I’d much prefer to spit than sing
line40Your wretched yowling.”
OwlThe owl held off till evening —
She mightn’t desist any longer,
For her heart was so swollen
She could barely breathe —
line45And she finally sputtered a speech:
“What do you think now of my song?
Do you assume I’m unable to sing
Because I’m unable to warble?
You always cause me harm
line50And both insult and shame me.
If I could just grab you by my foot —
Just let it happen that I could! —
And if only you were off your branch,
You’d sing another tune!”
NightingaleThe nightingale answered:
line56“So long as I’m alert in open country
And shield myself from exposure,
I could care less about your threats;
So long as I stay in my hedge,
line60I don’t ever care what you say.
I know full well you’re ungentle
Toward those unprotected from you,
And that you inflict violence and abuse
Wherever you can against small birds.
fol. 156vaThat’s why all birdfolk hate you,
line66And why they drive you away,
And screech and squawk about you,
And tightly throng around you.
And also that’s why even the titmouse
line70Is determined to tear you to pieces!
You’re hideous to look at,
And you’re loathly in many ways:
Your body’s short; your neck’s small;
Your head’s bigger than the rest of you;
line75Your eyes are coal-black and as big
As if they were painted with woad —
You stare as if you plan to bite
Whatever you can strike with talons!
Your beak’s stiff and sharp and curved
line80Just like a crooked fleshhook —
You clack with it incessantly,
And that is one of your songs!
And you threaten my very flesh —
With your claws you’d mash me!
line85A frog’d be more natural for you,
As it squats under a millwheel;
Snails, mice, and other vermin
Are more natural and proper for you.
You roost by day and fly by night,
line90Which shows how evil you are.
You’re loathsome and unclean —
Here I’m referring to your nest
And your filthy brood as well:
You raise them with dirty habits!
line95You know what they do in there —
They soil it right up to the chin!
They sit there as if they’re blind.
There’s a proverb about that:
fol. 156vb‘Shame on that creature
line100Who soils its own nest.’
One year a falcon was breeding;
She failed to guard her nest carefully.
You crept in there one day
And laid your filthy egg in it.
line105When the time came for hatching
And chicks emerged from their eggs,
She brought her chicks food,
Watched the nest, saw them eat.
She noticed that, to one side,
line110Her nest was soiled at the far edge.
The falcon was angry with her chicks,
Yelled loud, and sternly chided:
‘Tell me who’s done this!
You never used to do this!
line115A filthy habit’s been done to you!
Tell me what you know about it!’
Then said one, and said another:
‘Truly, it was our own brother —
The one there with the big head —
line120It’s a pity no one’s cut it off!
Throw him out immediately
So that his neck will break!’
The falcon believed her chicks
And took that ugly chick by the middle,
line125And threw it off that leafy branch,
And magpies and crows tore it apart.
There’s a fable told about this,
Though not a full-length story:
‘So will it go for the villain
line130Who comes from a rotten family
And mixes with worthy men.
He always shows where he came from —
fol. 157raThat he emerged from a rotten egg —
Even if he might lie in a worthy nest.
line135Even if an apple might roll from the tree
Where it grew up amid others,
In spite of being quite far from it,
It displays where it came from.’”
The nightingale spoke these words,
line140And after that long speech
She sang as loud and high-toned
As a resonant harp being strummed.
OwlThe owl listened to this,
And kept her eyes lowered,
line145And sat puffed up, swollen with rage,
As if she’d swallowed a frog,
Because she knew and recognized
That she sang at her with mockery,
Yet nonetheless she answered:
line150“Why don’t you fly out into the open,
And show which of us two is
Of brighter hue, of fairer color?”
Nightingale“No! You have sharp claws!
I’d rather not be clawed by you!
line155You’ve got really strong talons;
You use them like tongs to grip with.
You expect — as your kind does —
To trick me with flattery.
I won’t do what you tell me to do;
line160I’m well aware that you lie to me.
Shame on you for your bad advice!
Your deception is exposed!
Protect your evil from the light,
And hide that wickedness with good.
line165When you try to practice your villainy,
Be certain it’s not obvious,
fol. 157rbFor evil brings shame and hatred
Only if it’s open and observed.
You won’t win with your bad tricks,
line170For I’m alert and can dodge.
It doesn’t help to be too pushy:
I can fight better with cleverness
Than you can with all your strength.
I have, in width and also in length,
line175A good castle on my branch.
‘He fights well who flees well,’ say the wise,
But let’s cease this quarreling,
For such words are worthless,
And let’s take a sensible course,
line180With polite speech and civil concord.
Even if we’re not in agreement,
We’ll do better with polite speech,
With no quarreling or fighting,
Pleading truthfully and correctly,
line185And let each of us say what she likes
With good oral arguments and with skill.”
OwlThen the owl said: “Who will decide for us?
Who understands and will judge us fairly?”
Nightingale“I know who,” said the nightingale,
line190“There’s no need to debate that:
Master Nicholas of Guildford.
He’s wise and careful with words;
He’s extremely prudent of speech,
And he loaths every vice.
line195He possesses insight into every song —
Who sings well, who sings wrong —
And he can distinguish truth
From falsehood, darkness from light.”
OwlThe owl reflected awhile,
line200And eventually uttered this statement:
fol. 157va“I fully agree to his judging us,
For even though he was once impetuous
And beloved to him were nightingales
And other creatures delicate and small,
line205I know that he’s now cooled down.
He’s not so beguiled by you
That he, for an old affection held for you,
Would denigrate me and favor you.
You’ll never charm him so much
line210That he’d judge falsely in your favor.
He’s now mature and steady of purpose;
He now has no desire for indiscretion;
He’s no longer inclined to frivolity;
He will take the right path.”
NightingaleThe nightingale was fully prepared —
line216She possessed lore from everywhere.
“Owl,” she said, “tell me truly,
Why do you do what evil ones do?
You sing by night and not by day,
line220And your whole song’s ‘wailaway’!
By your song you’re bound to frighten
Everyone who hears your racket.
You screech and yell at your mate
In a manner grisly to hear.
line225It seems to both wisemen and fools
That you don’t sing but only weep!
You fly by night and not by day —
I wonder about that, and really have to,
For anything that shuns goodness
line230Loves darkness and hates light;
And anything that loves sin
Loves darkness for its actions.
There’s a wise proverb, though it’s filthy,
Spoken by a lot of people,
fol. 157vbFor King Alfred said and wrote it:
line236‘He who’s fouled himself stays away.’
I know that’s what you do as well,
For you always fly by night.
And something else occurs to me:
line240You have sharp eyesight by night;
By day you’re so utterly blind
That you can’t see a linden bough;
By day you’re blind and sightless!
There’s a proverb about that:
line245‘So does it fare for the villain
Who’s up to no good
And so full of evil malice
That no one can escape him;
He understands the dark path
line250And avoids the well-lit one.’
So it is with those of your ilk —
They care nothing at all for light.”
OwlThe owl listened a long while
And grew extremely angry.
line255She said: “You’re called ‘nightingale,’
But a better name is ‘gabblegale’
Because you talk too much!
Give your tongue a rest!
You think this day’s all your own!
line260Now let me have my turn!
Be still now and let me talk!
I’ll get my revenge on you!
Listen to how I defend myself
By true facts with no fiction.
line265You say I conceal myself by day —
That fact I don’t deny —
And listen while I explain
Why it is and for what cause:
fol. 157vbI have a stiff and strong beak,
line270And good talons, sharp and long,
As are proper for the hawk family.
It’s my great joy and pleasure
To take after my own species.
No one can blame me for it —
line275In my case, it’s obvious
That I’m fierce by my very nature.
That’s why I’m hated by small birds
Who flit by ground and in thickets;
They scream and squawk at me,
line280And gather in flocks around me.
I’d much rather remain at rest
And sit quietly in my nest,
For I’d never be any the better
Were I, by scolding and haranguing,
line285To insult them with bad words,
As herdsmen do, or with obscenities.
I don’t want to quarrel with the rogues,
So I give them a wide berth.
It’s the opinion of a wise man,
line290And so it’s often said,
That ‘one shouldn’t quarrel with fools
Nor yawn with an oven.’
I have heard how at one time
Alfred said in his proverbs:
line295‘Take care not to be where
There’s wrangling and arguing;
Let fools quarrel, and go your way!’
And I am wise and do just that.
And Alfred said elsewhere, in additon,
line300A saying that’s spread far and wide:
‘He who mingles with someone filthy
Never walks away from him clean.’
fol. 158rbDo you think the hawk is any the worse
If a crow might caw at him by the marsh
line305And swoop at him, screaming,
As if she means to attack him?
The hawk follows a sensible plan;
He flies on his way and lets her squawk.
What’s more, you accuse me of something else,
line310Saying that I cannot sing,
That my entire song’s a lament,
A dreary thing to listen to.
That is not true! I sing evenly
With full voice and loud sound.
line315You think every song is dreary
If it’s not just like your own piping.
My sound is bold and not weak,
It’s like a gigantic horn,
And yours is like a tweet
line320Made from a puny, half-grown reed.
I sing better than you do —
You chitter like an Irish priest!
In evening I sing at a proper time,
And later when it’s bedtime,
line325And a third time at midnight,
And so I regulate my song.
When I see coming from afar
The rays of dawn or the morning star,
I do good with my throat
line330And alert people, to their benefit.
But you sing all night long
From evening until dawn,
And your song always lasts
As long as the night,
line335And always your wretched throat crows
Without ceasing, night and day.
fol. 158vaWith your piping you fill with noise
Those human ears dwelling near you,
And make your song so grotesque
line340That they attach no value to it.
Every pleasure can last so long
That it comes to be disliked,
For harp, pipe, and birdsong
Grow tedious if they persist too long.
line345However merry a song may be,
It shall be thought unmerry
If it lasts longer than desired.
Thus may you ruin your song.
For truly did Alfred say,
line350And it can be read in books:
‘Everything can lose its goodness
By lack of measure and excess.’
You can be glutted with delicacies,
And overindulgence causes nausea,
line355And every enjoyment can diminish
If people pursue it constantly,
Except for one, that is: God’s kingdom,
Always pleasurable, always constant.
Even if you partake of that basket,
line360It’s always full to overflowing!
Wondrous is God’s kingdom,
Always abundant, always constant.
What’s more, you give me further insult —
That I am handicapped in eyesight —
line365And say, because I fly by night,
That I cannot see by daylight.
You lie! In my case, it’s obvious
I have a keen sense of sight,
For there’s no darkness so dim
line370That it makes me see less.
You think I’m unable to see
fol. 158vbBecause I don’t fly by day.
The hare lies low all day,
But he can see nonetheless;
line375If hounds run toward him,
He skirts away at top speed,
And swerves down narrow paths,
And keeps his tricks ready,
And hops and leaps swiftly,
line380And seeks paths to the woods.
As for both eyes, he’d not be able
To do this if he couldn’t see well!
I can see just as well as a hare
Even though I stay hidden all day —
line385Wherever brave men go to war,
And travel both far and wide,
And overrun many countries,
And do good service at night,
I follow those brave men
line390And fly by night in their company.”
NightingaleIn her mind the nightingale
Pondered all this and focused on
What she might say next,
Because she couldn’t rebut
line395What the owl had said to her,
For she’d spoken both truly and wisely;
And she regretted that she had
Let the argument progress so far,
And feared that her response
line400Wouldn’t be effectively argued.
But nevertheless she spoke boldly,
For he is wise who confidently
Bears a brave face before his foe
Instead of giving up out of fear,
line405For one who’d be belligerent if you run
Will run away if you hold firm —
fol. 159raWhen he sees you’re not afraid,
He’ll change from boar to gelded pig!
Therefore, even though the nightingale
line410Was frightened, she spoke confidently.
“Owl,” she said, “why be like this?
You sing in winter ‘woe-la-woe.’
You sing just like a hen in the snow —
All she can sing about is misery!
line415In winter you sing angrily and mournfully,
And in summer you’re mute!
With your wicked spitefulness,
You refuse to be joyful with us,
For you’re virtually burning with anger!
line420When our mirth arrives in the land,
You act like a mean-spirited guy:
Every pleasurable thing bothers him;
Grousing and scowling suit him;
If he sees people being joyful,
line425He’d prefer to see instead
Tears in every person’s eyes.
He’d not care at all if herds
Were mixed up by head and by hair.
You behave just like that, for your part,
line430Because when snow lies deep and wide
And every creature’s miserable,
You sing evening to morning.
But I bring abundant joy with me;
Everyone’s glad on my account
line435And rejoices when I arrive,
And looks forward to my coming.
The flowers start to grow and bloom
Both on trees and also in meadows.
The lily with her fair complexion
line440Welcomes me, as you know,
Bidding with her lovely face
fol. 159rbThat I fly to her.
The rose, too, with her complexion,
Opening on the thorny stem,
line445Requests that I sing
A joyous song for her love.
And so I do, all night and day —
The more I sing, the more I can! —
And amuse them with my singing,
line450But not for an excessively long time.
When I see that people are happy,
I don’t want them to feel too satisfied —
When what I came for is all done,
I return and do what’s sensible;
line455When men are intent on sheaves,
And green leaves start to fade,
I travel home and take my leave.
I don’t care at all for winter’s misery!
When I see harsh weather coming,
line460I return home to my own country
And receive both love and gratitude
For having come and performed here.
When my errand is completed,
Should I stay on? No! For what?
line465He is neither clever nor wise
Who overstays where he’s not needed.”
OwlThe owl listened and stored up
This argument, word for word,
And then considered how she might
line470Best find a defensible answer,
For whoever’s afraid of debating tricks
Must remain mentally alert.
“You ask me,” said the owl,
“Why I sing and call out in winter.
line475It’s the habit of good men,
And has been since the world began,
fol. 159vaThat each good man greet his friend
And entertain him for a time
In his house at his table
line480With pleasant talk and pleasant words,
And most of all at Christmastime,
When rich and poor, high and low,
Sing dancing songs night and day.
I help them out as much as I can!
line485And also I have different purpose
Beyond having fun or singing —
For this I have a good response,
All ready and waiting!
Because summertime is beautiful,
line490Causing a man’s thoughts to stray
So that he cares nothing about chastity,
His intent is wholly on lechery,
For no animal hesitates long,
But every one mounts the other.
line495The very stallions in the stable
Go wild and crazy for the mares,
And you yourself are among them
Because your song’s all about lechery,
And, pressing toward how you’ll breed,
line500You become quite bold and aggressive.
As soon as you have copulated,
You can no longer utter a word
But chirp instead like a titmouse,
Coughing in a hoarse voice,
line505Singing worse than a hedge sparrow
Flitting near the ground among the stubble.
When your passion is depleted,
Then is your voice depleted too.
In summer churls become mad fools
line510And get all twisted and perverse —
fol. 159vbIt’s not out of love, though,
But out of a churl’s mad frenzy,
For as soon as he’s done the deed,
All his passion collapses;
line515Once he’s stung under a skirt,
His love lasts no longer.
Your tendency is just like that:
Just as soon as you sit hatching,
You lose all your melodies.
line520You act just like that on your bough:
When you’ve finished your game,
Your voice is immediately ruined!
Yet when nights grow long
And bring frosts stark and cold,
line525Only then may it be seen
Where are the bold, where the fearless;
In tough times, it shall be discovered
Who goes forward, who lags behind.
It shall be seen in time of need,
line530When dutiful service is called for,
That then I’m bold and entertain and sing,
And rejoice to give my performance.
Winter doesn’t faze me at all
For I’m not a puny weakling!
line535Moreover, I comfort many creatures
Who’ve got no strength of their own;
They’re anxious and quite miserable,
And search desperately for warmth.
I sing often especially for them
line540So as to reduce some of their stress.
How about it? Are you beaten?
Are you overcome by truth?”
Nightingale“No! No!” said the nightingale,
“You’ll have to hear another side!
fol. 160raThis debate still hasn’t been judged,
line546So be quiet and now listen to me!
I will, with only a single argument,
Cause your speech to mean nothing!”
Owl“That’s not fair!” the owl said.
line550“You’ve argued as you’ve liked,
And I’ve given you an answer!
But before we go to our judgment,
I intend to argue against you
Just as you’ve argued against me,
line555And you may answer me if you can.
Tell me now, you wretched creature,
Do you have in you any use
Besides possessing a shrill voice?
You are good for nothing
line560Other than your chattering,
For you are little and weak,
And your coat’s not long at all.
What good do you do among men?
No more than does a paltry wren!
line565No other good comes out of you
Than making noise as if you’re mad,
And once your piping fades away,
You’ve got no other skills.
Alfred, who was wise, said
line570(Well he might, for it’s true):
‘Solely for singing is no one
Loved or valued for very long,
For that’s a worthless person
Who can do nothing but sing.’
line575You’re only a worthless creature;
You’re nothing but chattering;
You’re dark and dull in color,
And look like a little, sooty yarnball.
fol. 160rbYou’re not pretty; you’re not strong;
line580You’re not broad; you’re not tall;
You’ve missed out on good looks,
And small is your goodness.
Another thing I impute about you:
You’re neither pretty nor clean
line585When you visit men’s enclosed yards,
Where thorns exist and branches entwine
Amid hedges and thick weeds,
Where people go to relieve themselves.
You head off toward it, you dwell there,
line590And you avoid other clean spots.
When I fly after mice by night,
I might find you at the privy
Among weeds, among nettles.
You sit and sing behind the seat!
line595There, most often, they’ll find you
Where people thrust out their bums.
What’s more, you blame me for my diet,
And say I eat disgusting creatures,
But what do you eat — don’t deny it! —
line600Other than spiders and filthy flies
And worms — whatever you can find
In the crevices of rough bark?
What’s more, I can do useful service,
For I can guard men’s dwellings,
line605And my service is very useful
Because I help with men’s food:
I can catch mice in a barn
And also in a church in the dark,
For it pleases me to cleanse
line610Christ’s house of filthy mice —
Evil creatures won’t ever
Enter there, if I can catch them!
fol. 160vaAnd if, for my amusement, I choose
To reject other types of dwellings,
line615I have large trees in the woods
With thick boughs, not bare at all,
But overgrown with green ivy
That always stays leafy,
And never loses its color
line620When it snows or freezes.
In there I find good shelter —
Warm in winter, cool in summer.
While my house stays bright and green,
Yours is nowhere to be seen.
line625What’s more, you accuse me of other things:
You slander my chicks
By saying their nest is not clean;
That it’s shared among many creatures,
For a horse in a stable and an ox in a stall
line630Just do their business wherever it drops;
And little children in cradles —
Both churls and also nobles —
Do all that in their infancy.
They abandon that when they’re older.
line635How can a baby help it?
If it dirties, it’s by necessity.
There’s a proverb of great antiquity:
‘Need makes the old woman trot.’
And still, I have another answer:
line640Would you like to visit my nest
And see how it’s laid out?
If you’re wise, you might learn:
My nest’s hollow and roomy in the middle,
Making it as soft as possible for my chicks;
line645It’s latticed all around,
Far outside the nest itself.
This is where they go for their needs,
fol. 160vbBut I forbid them from what you claim.
We pay attention to human bowers,
line650And we construct ours accordingly.
Humans have, among other conveniences,
A privy at the far end of their bedchambers
Because they prefer not to wander far,
And my chicks do the same thing.
line655Sit still now, chattering girl!
You’ve never been tied up more tight —
To this, you’ll never find an answer.
Hang up your axe! Now be done!”
NightingaleUpon hearing this, the nightingale
line660Was just about out of ideas
And quickly pondered whether
There was something else she knew —
Anything beyond singing —
That might help in some way.
line665She needed to find a response for this,
Or else be completely behind,
And it’s hard to fight
Against truth and right.
One must turn to deception
line670When the heart’s in trouble,
And one must talk another way —
He must embroider and embellish —
If the outward mouth is to conceal
What can’t be seen in the heart.
line675An argument may suddenly go astray
When mouth speaks against heart;
An argument may suddenly go wrong
When mouth speaks against heart.
But nonetheless, even in spite of this,
line680Here’s some advice, whoever wants it:
Never is a mind so keen
As when the plan is in doubt;
fol. 161raMental acuity first arrives
When it’s the most frightened.
line685For Alfred said in an old proverb
That even now isn’t forgotten:
‘When disaster’s the highest,
Then remedy’s the nearest.’
The mind waxes in its troubles
line690And for its troubles is the greater.
Thus is one never defenseless
Unless his heart is witless.
Should he lose his wits,
His trick-bag’s slit right open —
line695If he can’t hang onto his wits,
He’ll find no trick in its folds!
For the very wise Alfred said,
Who always spoke truly:
‘When disaster’s the highest,
line700Then remedy’s the nearest.’
The nightingale had applied
All her thought to arrive at a plan;
Among hardships, among challenges,
She pondered hard to come up with a plan,
line705And had found a good answer
Among all her hard positions.
“Owl, you ask me,” she said,
“Whether I know how to do anything
Besides sing in summertime
line710And bring happiness far and wide.
Why do you ask about my skills?
My one skill is better than all yours!
One song from my mouth is better
Than all that your kin’s able to do!
line715And, listen, I’ll tell you why:
Do you know why mankind was born?
It was for the bliss of heaven’s realm,
fol. 161rbWhere always are song and mirth together.
Every person aspires to go there,
line720Who knows anything about good.
That’s why people sing in Holy Church,
And clerks compose songs:
So that people remember, by the song,
Where they’ll go and stay a long time;
line725So that they don’t forget the joy,
But think about it and obtain it,
And grasp from church-singing
How joyful is the bliss of heaven!
Clerks, monks, and canons
line730From good religious communities
Arise at midnight
And sing about heaven’s light,
And priests in the land sing
When the light of day dawns;
line735And I help them however I can!
I sing with them night and day,
And all of them, because of me, are happier
And more eager to sing the song.
I give people a beneficial taste
line740So that they’ll rejoice in spirit,
And encourage them to pursue
The true song that lasts forever.
Now may you, owl, sit and decay!
About this there’s no idle chatter —
line745I’d let you go for judgment
Before the Pope of Rome himself!
But hold on a bit, nevertheless —
You shall face another blast:
You shall not, for all of England,
line750Prevail against me in this point.
Why criticize me for my weakness,
My littleness and my shortness,
And allege that I’m not strong
fol. 161vaBecause I’m not large or tall?
line755You never know what you’re saying,
But just allege lies about me,
For I’m skilled and I’m shrewd,
And that’s why I’m so assertive!
I’m smart and know many a song,
line760And I don’t depend on other strengths,
For what Alfred said is true:
‘Strength cannot beat wisdom.’
Often a bit of shrewdness succeeds
Where great strength would fail.
line765With a bit of strength, by trickery
Castles and towns can be won;
By shrewdness, walls can be felled,
And brave knights thrown off horses.
Violent strength is worth little,
line770But wisdom never loses its value.
You can see by every example
That wisdom has no equal:
A horse is stronger than a man,
But because it has no intellect,
line775It carries on its back heavy loads,
And pulls by neck large plow reins,
And suffers both stick and spur,
And stands tethered at the mill door,
And does what men order it to do;
line780And because it has no wisdom,
Its strength cannot protect it
From having to submit to a little child.
Man sees to it, by strength and wisdom,
That no other thing is his equal.
line785Even if all strengths were combined,
Human wisdom would still be more,
Because the human with his skillfulness
fol. 161vbDominates all earthly creatures.
Likewise, with my single song, I do
line790More good than you do all year long.
For my skill, people love me;
For your strength, people shun you.
Do you thus tell me I am worse
Because I have just one skill?
line795If two men start to wrestle,
And each presses the other hard,
And one knows lots of throws
And can conceal his tactics well,
While the other knows a single throw
line800That’s effective against everybody,
And with that one brings down
One opponent after another with speed,
Why should he care about a better throw
When that one’s so effective for him?
line805You claim you can do many services,
But I am entirely your opposite.
Combine all your skills together,
And yet is my one skill truly better.
Often, when hounds chase foxes,
line810The cat survives on his own quite well,
Even though he knows just one trick.
The fox knows nothing that’s equally good,
Even though he knows so many tricks
That he thinks he’ll escape each hound.
line815For he knows paths straight and crooked,
And he can hang from a branch
So that the hound loses his track
And turns back to the moorland.
The fox can creep along the hedge,
line820And turn off from his earlier route,
And shortly afterwards come back to it;
fol. 162raThen the hound is thrown off the scent,
Not knowing from the mingled scents
Whether he should go forward or back.
line825If the fox exhausts all these ruses,
In the end he creeps into a hole.
But nonetheless, despite all his tricks,
He’s not able to plan so well —
Even though he’s clever and swift —
line830That he doesn’t lose his red fur coat.
The cat knows only a single trick,
By highland or by marshland:
He simply knows how to climb well —
Therefore he wears his grey fur coat!
line835Just so do I proclaim of myself:
Better is my one skill than your twelve.”
Owl“Hold on! Hold on!” the owl said,
“Your whole approach is dishonest.
You manipulate all your words
line840So that it seems what you’re saying is true!
All your words are smoothed over,
And made so plausible and charming
That everyone who hears them
Thinks you’re telling the truth!
line845Hold on! Hold on! You’ll be rebutted!
Now it’ll be made obvious
That you’ve lied enormously
When your lying is exposed!
You claim that you sing to humans
line850And teach them they’re headed hence
Up toward the song that lasts forever.
But what’s most remarkable is
That you dare to lie so openly.
Do you expect to bring them so easily
line855To God’s realm, all singing?
fol. 162rbNo! No! They’ll certainly find out
That they must copiously weep
And pray for release from their sins
Before they can ever arrive there.
line860So I advise folks to take heed
And weep more than sing,
In hope of reaching the King of heaven.
Because no one is without sin,
He must therefore, before going from here,
line865Repent with tears and weeping,
Making sour what was once sweet for him.
I help them do that, God knows!
I don’t sing to them to set a snare
Because my song’s all about longing
line870Mingled somewhat with mourning,
So that a man, by me, may realize
That he must bewail his bad deeds;
I pummel him with my song
So that he’ll bewail his guilt.
line875If you must go on disputing this point,
Then I weep better than you sing!
If right goes ahead and wrong behind,
My weeping is better than your song.
Even if some folks are utterly good,
line880And utterly pure in their hearts,
They long to leave here nonetheless;
They’re miserable that they’re here,
For despite being saved themselves,
They see nothing here but sorrow.
line885They weep bitterly for other people,
And on their behalf pray for Christ’s mercy.
I help people of both kinds;
My mouth offers two types of remedy:
I aid the good man in his longing,
fol. 162vaFor when he longs, I sing to him;
line891And I help the sinful man as well,
For I show him where misery lies.
What’s more, I counter you another way,
Because when you sit on your branch,
line895You entice into fleshly desire those folk
Who desire to hear your songs.
You entirely forfeit heaven’s bliss,
For, regarding it, you don’t give voice;
You sing only of lechery,
line900For there’s no holiness in you!
No one’s reminded by your piping
Of a priest singing in church.
What’s more, I pose another point for you
To see if you can explain it away:
line905Why won’t you sing in other lands,
Where there’s so much more need?
You never sing in Ireland,
Nor do you visit Scotland.
Why don’t you travel to Norway,
line910And sing to men of Galloway?
The people there know little
About any song under the sun.
Why won’t you sing to priests there
And teach them by your warbling
line915And show them by your voice
How angels sing in heaven?
You behave like a lazy spring
That wells up beside a swift stream,
And lets the slope dry out,
line920Flowing uselessly down it.
But I travel north and south;
In every land I’m well known:
East and west, south and north.
fol. 162vbI do my job very well,
line925And warn people with my cries,
So that your beguiling song not mislead them.
I guide people with my song
So that they won’t sin too long;
I advise them that they ought to quit
line930So that they not deceive themselves,
For it’s better that they weep here
Than have devils’ company somewhere else.”
NightingaleThe nightingale was furious
And also quite a bit embarrassed
line935Because the owl had criticized her
For the place she sat and sang in:
Behind the bedchamber, among the weeds,
Where people go to relieve themselves;
And she sat and thought for a time,
line940And knew well upon reflection
That wrath deprives a man of his wits,
For as King Alfred said:
“The hateful seldom end well,
And the wrathful seldom plead well” —
line945Because wrath stirs up the heart’s blood
Causing it to flow like a wild flood
And overwhelm the heart,
Until it has nothing but passion,
And so loses all its insight,
line950And can’t see what’s true or right.
The nightingale considered this,
And allowed her anger to subside;
She might better speak calmly
Than spew wrathful words.
line955“Owl,” she said, “now listen to this:
You’re going to fall; your way’s slippery.
You say I fly behind the bower;
fol. 163raIt’s true, the bower is ours.
Wherever lord and lady lie,
line960I’ll sing to them and perch nearby.
Do you think that wise men abandon
The right road just because of dirty mud?
Or that the sun shines any the later
Just because it’s dirty in your nest?
line965Should I, just because of a board’s hole,
Abandon my rightful place
And not sing alongside the bed
Where a lord sleeps with his lady?
It is my duty, it is my lawful rule,
line970To which I draw myself to the utmost.
Just because you boast of your own song —
That you’re able to yell angry and tough —
And argue that you advise mankind
To weep for their sins,
line975Should everyone wail and screech
As if they’re miserable?
If they were to yell the way you do,
They might frighten their priest.
A person should be still and not screech;
line980He must weep for his misdeeds.
But wherever Christ is praised
Is where they cry out and sing loudly;
Church song at the proper time
Is neither too loud nor too long.
line985You yell and wail, and I sing;
Your song is lament, and mine celebration.
May you forever yell and weep
Until your life is over,
And may you yell so loud
line990That both your eyes burst out!
Which is the better of two states:
fol. 163rbTo be happy or to be angry?
May it forever be so, in our case,
That you are sad and I am happy.
line995What’s more, you ask why I don’t travel
To another country and sing there.
No! What would I do among those
Who’ve never known happiness?
That country isn’t good or pleasant,
line1000But instead it’s wilderness and wasteland,
Crags and rocky hills reaching to the skies.
Snow and hail are what they’re used to;
That country is hideous and foul!
The people are savage and miserable;
line1005They don’t live in peace or harmony.
They don’t care how they live:
They eat raw fish and meat,
Ripping it apart like wolves.
They drink milk and whey with it —
line1010They don’t know what else to do —
They don’t have either wine or beer,
But live just like wild animals,
Going about clad in rough pelts,
As if they’ve come out of hell.
line1015If any good man visited them
(As someone from Rome once did)
To teach them to behave properly
And abandon their vices,
He’d be better off staying put,
line1020For his time would be wasted!
He’d do better to teach a bear
How to hold shield and spear
Than persuade that savage nation
That they’d want to hear me sing.
line1025What use would I be with my song?
fol. 163vaNo matter how long I sang to them,
My song would be entirely wasted:
Neither halter nor bridle could
Draw them from their savage ways,
line1030Nor could a man with steel or iron.
But where a country is pleasant and good,
And the people have gentle ways,
I put my throat to good use among them,
For I may give them good service,
line1035And bring them welcome tidings,
Because I sing songs of the church.
It was said in an old proverb,
And the same saying still holds true,
That ‘A man must harrow and sow
line1040Where he expects to reap some good,
For deluded is he who sows his seed
Where grass or leaf never grows.’”
OwlThe owl was angry, ready to fight;
When she heard this, her eyes bulged:
line1045 “You say that you watch over people’s bowers,
Where there are leaves and lovely flowers,
Where two lovers in one bed
Lie in embrace, well protected.
I know where you once sang
line1050Beside a bower and wished to urge
The lady into an illicit love affair,
And sang both low and high,
And taught her to do something shameful
And improper with her body.
line1055The lord soon discovered that;
Lime, snares, and all sorts of things
He set and laid out in order to catch you.
Soon you came to the window:
You were caught in a snare —
fol. 163vbYour legs paid the price for it!
line1061Your only judgment and sentence
Was to be torn apart by wild horses!
See if you can ever again misadvise
Whoever you please, wife or maiden —
line1065Your song will only succeed so far
Until you end up fluttering in a snare!”
NightingaleUpon hearing this, the nightingale,
If she’d been a man, would have attacked
With a sword and spear-point,
line1070But since she couldn’t do anything better,
She fought with her clever tongue.
“He fights well who speaks well,” says the song.
She took counsel of her tongue.
“He fights well who speaks well,” said Alfred.
line1075“What? Do you say this to insult me?
The lord got into trouble for this.
He was so jealous of his wife
That, for his life, he couldn’t
Tolerate any man speaking to her
line1080Without his heart breaking.
He locked her in a chamber
That kept her tight and secure.
I felt sympathy and compassion for her,
And pitied her unhappiness,
line1085And entertained her with my song
As much as I could, early and late.
For that, the knight was angry at me;
He hated me with sheer malice.
He inflicted on me his own shame,
line1090But it returned to him with trouble.
King Henry learned about that.
(Jesus have mercy on his soul!)
He banished the knight
fol. 164raWho’d done such a crime
line1095In the realm of so good a king,
Who, for sheer malice and foul envy,
Had planned the little bird’s capture
And condemned it to death.
It was an honor to all my species!
line1100As a result, the knight forfeited his riches,
And paid for me a hundred-pound fine,
And my chicks stayed safe and sound,
And had bliss and joy afterwards,
And were pleased, as well they might be,
line1105Because I was so well avenged.
Ever since, I’ve dared speak all the more
Because it concluded in this way.
I’ve been the happier ever since!
Now I can sing wherever I like,
line1110And no one dares annoy me again.
But you wretch, you miserable soul,
You’ve got no idea how to find
A hollow trunk where you might hide,
So that no one can pilch your hide,
line1115For children, servants, peasants, farmhands,
They all want to make you suffer.
If they happen to see you sit,
They fill their pockets with stones,
And violently pelt and injure you,
line1120And break your filthy bones to pieces.
Once you’ve been struck or shot,
Then for the first time you’re put to good use,
For they hang you on a stick,
And you, with your stinking paunch
line1125And with your ugly neck,
Guard people’s corn from animals.
Your life and blood are good for nothing,
fol. 164rbBut you make a fine scarecrow
Wherever seeds are sown.
line1130No sparrow, goldfinch, rook, or crow
Ever dares to venture close
If your carcass hangs at the boundary.
Wherever trees blossom each year,
And young seeds sprout and grow,
line1135No bird will dare to get at them
If you’re hung over them.
Your life’s always hateful and evil;
You’re worthless unless you’re dead!
Know now, for certain,
line1140That your looks are fearsome
During the time you’re alive,
For when you’ve been hung up, slain,
They’re still terrified of you,
The birds that formerly squawked at you.
line1145People justifiably feel hostile toward you
Because you sing about what they hate;
All that you sing, early or late,
Dwells incessantly on human calamity.
Whenever you screech at night,
line1150People are utterly terrified of you.
You sing where someone will die.
Always you foretell some disaster:
You sing during loss of property,
Or the ruin of some friend;
line1155Or you foretell a house’s burning,
Or an advancing army, or a thievish plot;
Or you foretell a plague among cattle,
Or that the populace will be harmed,
Or that a wife will lose her husband;
line1160Or you foretell quarrels and conflicts.
Always you sing of people’s suffering!
fol. 164vaBecause of you, they’re sad and wretched.
You don’t ever sing at any time
Unless it’s about some bad luck.
line1165That’s the reason why people shun you,
And violently pelt and clobber you
With stick and stone, turf and clod,
So that you cannot escape anywhere.
Cursed be always the town crier
line1170Who announces evil secrets
And always brings bad news
That speaks of calamitous things!
May he gain the wrath of God Almighty
And all who wear linen cloth!”
OwlThe owl did not pause for long
line1176But gave a bold and vigorous answer.
“What?” she said. “Are you ordained,
Or do you curse unordained?
I think you’re performing a priest’s job.
line1180I didn’t know you were a priest;
I didn’t know you could sing mass —
You know plenty about excommunicating!
On account of your ancient grudge,
You’ve cursed me once again!
line1185But there’s an easy retort for that:
‘Pull harder!’ said the carter.
Why criticize me for my insight,
My intelligence, and my power?
For I am clever, certainly,
line1190And know all that is here to come:
I know of famine, of invasion;
I know if people will live long;
I know if a wife will lose her mate;
I know where there’ll be war and ruin;
line1195I know who will be hanged,
Or else suffer horrible death;
If men have joined in battle,
I know which side will be beaten;
fol. 164vbI know if disease will infect cattle,
line1200And if animals will lie dead;
I know if trees will blossom;
I know if grain will grow;
I know if houses will burn;
I know if men will walk or ride;
line1205I know if the sea will drown ships;
I know if smiths will badly rivet.
And I know much more:
I know a good deal of book-learning,
And I also know about the gospel
line1210More than I’m willing to tell you,
For I frequently go to the church
And learn a great deal of wisdom.
I know all about prophecy,
And about many other things.
line1215If anyone should suffer a hue and cry,
I know all about it before it happens.
Often, because of my deep insight,
I sit vexed and sorrowful in heart;
Whenever I see that something bad
line1220Is about to happen, I call out loudly.
I advise people to be vigilant
And to have good plans ready,
For Alfred uttered a wise saying
(Everyone should memorize it):
line1225‘If you see beforehand that it’s coming,
Its strength is virtually robbed from it.’
So heavy blows are lessened
If one anticipates them with alertness,
And an arrow will go astray
line1230If you see how it flies from the string,
For you might be able to duck and run
When you see it coming toward you.
If someone falls into disgrace,
Why should he blame his shame on me?
line1235Even if I see his harm in advance,
fol. 165raIt doesn’t therefore come from me.
Even if you see some blind man
Incapable of taking a straight path
Heading roundabout toward a ditch,
line1240And falling in and getting muddy,
Do you think, even if I saw it all,
It happened any sooner because of me?
That’s how it is with my insight:
When I sit upon my branch,
line1245I know and see very clearly
That someone will come to harm sometime.
Should he, knowing nothing about it,
Blame me because I do know about it?
Should he blame me for his distress
line1250Because I am wiser than he is?
Whenever I see that some calamity
Draws toward humans, I call out plenty
And warn them enough to protect themselves
Because serious harm is headed toward them;
line1255But even if I call out, loud or quiet,
It all happens according to God’s will.
Why do men wish to complain about me
If I trouble them with what’s true?
Even if I warned them for an entire year,
line1260The harm’s not therefore any closer to them.
But I sing to them because I want
Them to understand clearly
That some misfortune is at hand.
When I direct my hooting at them,
line1265No person has any assurance
That he may not expect or fear
That some misfortune is nigh to him,
Even though he himself might not see it.
That’s why Alfred said very aptly
line1270(And his word was gospel)
That ‘the better off each man is,
The more ought he plan ahead.’
fol. 165rbNo one should trust in wealth
Too much, however much he has.
line1275Nothing’s so hot it doesn’t grow cold,
Nor so white it doesn’t grow dirty,
Nor so beloved it doesn’t grow odious,
Nor so pleasant it doesn’t grow irksome;
But everything that’s not everlasting
line1280Must pass away with all this world’s joy.
Now may you readily understand
That you always talk foolishly,
Because all you’ve said to insult me
Always rebounds to harm yourself.
line1285However it goes, with every bout
You fall down by your own swing!
Everything you say to revile me
Goes to my credit in the end.
Unless you go about it better,
line1290You won’t win anything but shame.”
NightingaleThe nightingale sat and sighed,
And was anxious with good reason,
For the owl had so well spoken
And so well laid out her case
line1295That she was anxious and unsure
About what she’d say to her next,
But nonetheless she gathered her thoughts.
“What?” she said. “Owl, are you crazy?
You boast of your wondrous wisdom;
line1300You don’t know how it comes to you
Unless it be by witchcraft.
Of that, you wretch, you’ll need exoneration
If you want to remain among humans,
Or else you’ll have to flee the country
line1305Because all who have knowledge of that
Were long ago, by priest’s edict,
Put under curse, as you are still —
Never have you given up witchcraft!
I explained this to you just a bit ago,
line1310When you mockingly asked me
fol. 165vaWhether I’m ordained as a priest,
But cursing is so widespread
That even with no priests in the land
You’d still be a miserable wretch,
line1315For every child calls you ‘filthy,’
And every man ‘a wretched owl.’
I have heard, and it’s true,
That one must be learned in astrology
To understand what might happen,
line1320Just as you say is customary with you.
What do you know, wretch, about stars
Apart from gazing at them in the distance,
Just as do many animals and humans
Who know nothing about such things?
line1325A monkey can look at a book,
Turn over the leaves, and shut it again,
But by no means does it thus make him
Knowledgeable of clerks’ lore, not at all.
Even if, likewise, you see the stars,
line1330You are none the wiser for it.
And still, you foul thing, you chide me
And upbraid me very sternly
For singing close to people’s houses
And teaching wives to commit adultery.
line1335You lie for sure, you filthy thing!
By my doing, wedlock’s never been wrecked,
But it’s true that I sing and call out
Where there are ladies and lovely girls,
And it’s true that I sing about love,
line1340Because in marriage a good wife
Does better to love her own husband
Instead of another, her lover.
And a girl may choose love
So as not to lose her honor,
line1345And love with a virtuous love
The man who will be her lord.
I teach and instruct such love;
fol. 165vbMy entire song is about it.
Even if a wife has a tender heart —
line1350For women are soft by nature —
So that she, by the teaching of some fool
Who earnestly begs and deeply sighs,
Goes astray and errs for a time,
Must I be held responsible for that?
line1355If women love ill-advisedly,
Do you blame me for their misdeeds?
If a woman considers a secret love,
I cannot withhold my songs.
A woman may play under bedsheets
line1360Whether her intentions are good or ill;
And she may make use of my song
Whether her intentions are right or wrong,
For there’s nothing so good in the world
That it might not perform some evil
line1365If someone wants to turn it awry.
For gold and silver are good,
Yet nonetheless by them you might
Purchase adultery and crime.
Weapons are good for keeping peace,
line1370Yet, despite that, men are killed by them
In violation of all countries’ laws
Whenever thieves bear them in hand.
It is just like this with my song:
Even though it’s good, one can misuse it
line1375And apply it to folly
And other wicked actions.
But, wretch, is it love you blame?
No matter what, every love is proper
Between a man and a woman;
line1380But if it’s forcibly diverted, then
It is wicked and corrupt!
May anyone perverting nature this way
Have the Holy Cross’s wrath!
It’s a wonder she doesn’t go insane,
fol. 166raAnd perhaps she does, for she’s crazy
line1386To start hatching outside the nest!
A woman is frail of flesh,
And fleshly desires are hard to suppress;
It’s no wonder if she carries on,
line1390For fleshly desires make her slip.
She might not be entirely lost
Who finds the flesh a stumbling-block,
For many a woman has misbehaved
And risen up from the mire.
line1395Not all sins are exactly alike,
For they consist of two types:
Some arise from the flesh’s desire,
And some from the spirit’s inclination.
While the flesh draws men to drunkenness,
line1400And to pomposity and to lechery,
The spirit sins through malice and envy,
And later by pleasure in men’s disgrace,
And hungers for more and more,
And cares little for pity and mercy,
line1405And rises high through arrogant pride,
And then lords it over lesser folk.
Tell me truly, if you know:
Which does worse, flesh or spirit?
You might say, if you like,
line1410That the flesh is less culpable:
Many a man is chaste in his flesh
Who in his spirit is the Devil’s friend.
No one ought to call out a woman
And upbraid her for fleshly desires,
line1415Such that she’d be blamed for lechery
By someone sinning worse in pride.
Still, when I sing, if I were to urge
A wife or a maiden toward love,
I would choose the maiden.
line1420If you can grasp it correctly,
Listen now, I’ll tell you why
fol. 166rbFrom beginning to end:
If a maiden falls in love secretly,
She stumbles and falls by way of nature,
line1425For although she may play for awhile,
She’s not gone far off the path;
She can free herself from her guilt
In a proper way, with a church-bond,
And afterwards have as her mate
line1430Her lover without being blamed,
And go by daylight to him whom
She’d crept to earlier in the dark of night.
That child doesn’t know what such a thing is;
Her young blood leads her astray,
line1435And some besotted man draws her into it
By every means in his power.
He comes and goes and persists,
And he sits close to her,
And beseeches often and long.
line1440What may the child do if she should err?
She never knew what it was!
For that reason, she set out to try it,
And find out the nature of the sport
That makes a wild man tame.
line1445Out of pity, I cannot refrain —
When I see the drawn expression
That love brings to a young girl —
From singing to them about joy.
By my song I teach them
line1450That such love doesn’t last long,
For my song lasts but a little while,
And love does nothing but alight
On such children and soon depart,
And its hot breath tapers down.
line1455I sing with them for a moment;
I start high and end low,
And let my songs taper down
A little while, fading altogether.
fol. 166vaThe maiden understands when I finish
line1460That love is just like my songs,
For it’s nothing but a little breath,
That soon comes and soon goes.
The child learns it from me,
And turns from folly to good sense,
line1465And sees clearly from my singing
That foolish love doesn’t last long.
But I very much want you to know this:
I hate a wife’s extramarital excess,
And a wife may take note of me
line1470That I do not sing when I’m breeding.
A wife ought to shun a fool’s speech,
Even if her marriage binds too severely.
It seems to me shocking and awful
That any man might go so far
line1475As to propose in his heart
To do it to another man’s wife,
For it leads to one of two things,
And no one can imagine a third:
Either her lord’s a very worthy man,
line1480Or else he’s inadequate and worthless.
If he’s an honorable, worthy man,
No sensible man will want to do
Him shame, least of all through his wife,
Because he’d be afraid of injury,
line1485Lest he lose what hangs there,
Causing him to never again desire that way.
And even if he’s not afraid of this,
It is wrong and very stupid
To do wrong to a good man,
line1490And seduce his wife away from him.
If her lord is inadequate,
And has little to offer in bed and at table,
How could there be any love
When a churl’s belly lies on top of her?
line1495How could there be any love
fol. 166vbWhere such a man gropes her thigh?
By this, you may well understand
By one path lies harm, by the other disgrace,
When stealing into another man’s bed,
line1500Because, if her husband’s a worthy man,
You can expect to come to grief
When you’re lying by her side,
And if her lord’s a wretch,
What pleasure might you gain from it?
line1505If you think about who sleeps with her,
You must buy pleasure with disgust!
I don’t know how any worthy man
Would want to pursue her after that;
If he thinks about by whom she lies,
line1510His love may suddenly go away.”
OwlThe owl was pleased by this speech.
She thought that the nightingale,
Even though she’d spoken well at first,
Had made an error at the end,
line1515And she said, “Now I’ve found out
That maidens are of interest to you:
You take their side and defend them,
And you praise them excessively.
But ladies turn toward me
line1520And direct their laments to me,
For it happens over and over
That a wife and husband are at odds,
And on that account guilty deeds occur:
The husband screws another woman,
line1525And spends on her all that he has,
And woos her when he has no right to,
And keeps his proper wife at home,
The walls bare, the house empty,
Poorly dressed and badly fed,
line1530And leaves her without food and clothing.
When he comes back home to his wife,
She doesn’t dare utter a word.
fol. 167raHe complains and shouts like a madman,
And brings home no other goods.
line1535Everything she does he dislikes,
Everything she says irritates him,
And often when she does nothing wrong,
She gets a fist in the teeth.
There’s no man who won’t lead
line1540His wife astray by such means;
She may so often be mistreated
That she’ll take care of her own needs.
Ah, God knows, she can’t help it
If she makes him a cuckold!
line1545For it happens over and over
That his wife is gentle and soft,
Of fair complexion and well dressed,
So it’s all the more wrong
That he spends his love on one
line1550Who’s not worth even one of her hairs!
And there are plenty of men like this,
Who cannot treat a wife properly:
No man’s allowed to talk to her;
He thinks she’ll suddenly break
line1555Wedlock if she should look at
Or speak politely to a man.
He keeps her under key and lock.
Consequently, wedlock’s often broken
Because she’s brought to that point where
line1560She does what she’d never thought of before.
A curse on anyone who grumbles a lot
When such wives take their revenge!
The ladies complain about it to me
And upset me painfully;
line1565My heart comes close to breaking
When I see their suffering.
I weep bitterly with them,
And pray for Christ’s mercy on them —
That he quickly rescue the lady
fol. 167rbAnd send her a better bedmate.
line1571And I’ll tell you another thing,
For which, to save your skin,
You won’t find an answer —
All your disputing will die off!
line1575Many merchants and many knights
Love and treat their wives properly,
And so do many peasants.
The good wife does so in return,
And serves him in bed and at table
line1580With loving acts and loving words,
And eagerly discovers how she might
Do whatever is profitable to him.
Into the country her lord
Travels out on their behalf,
line1585And the good wife is unhappy
About her lord’s distressing departure,
And sits and sighs, in deep longing,
And sorely anxious in her heart,
Entirely for her lord’s sake.
line1590She’s sad by day, awake by night,
And the wait seems very long to her,
And every step seems like a mile.
When others are asleep around her,
I alone listen there from outside,
line1595And know about her deep sorrow,
And sing at night for her good;
And my good song, for her sake,
I change somewhat into a lament.
Of her misery, I bear it somewhat,
line1600For which I’m very welcome to her.
I help her as much as I might
Because she follows the right path.
But you’ve so sorely insulted me
That my heart’s nearly paralyzed,
line1605And I can barely speak!
Even so, I will carry on.
fol. 167vaYou say that I am hated by humans,
And everyone is angry at me,
Threatening me with stones and sticks,
line1610And violently hitting and beating me,
And once they’ve killed me,
They hang me on their hedge
Where I scare away magpies and crows
From what’s sown there.
line1615Even if this is true, I do them good,
And for their sake I shed my blood.
I do them good by my death.
On this point, you’re in difficulty,
For when you lie dead and shrivel up,
line1620Your death isn’t anything to anyone.
I can’t even guess what use you might have,
For you’re merely a miserable creature!
But yet when my life’s passed out of me,
I’m still able to do good service.
line1625They can, upon a small stake,
Set me in the thick of the forest,
So they can lure toward them
Little birds and make a catch,
So they can obtain through me
line1630Fine roast meat for their meals.
But you never do any good for men,
Alive or dead, nor afford any help.
I don’t know why you raise your brood:
Alive or dead, it does no good.”
NightingaleThe nightingale heard this
line1636And hopped upon a flowering bough,
And sat higher than she did before.
“Owl,” she said, “be careful now!
fol. 167vbI won’t argue any more with you,
line1640For here you fail in your reasoning.
You boast that people hate you,
And every creature’s angry with you;
And with yelling and screeching,
You acknowledge you’re vile.
line1645You say that boys catch you
And hang you high on a pole,
And violently pluck and shake you,
And some make a scarecrow out of you.
It seems like you’re losing the game —
line1650You boast of your own humilation!
It seems like you’re handing me victory —
You boast of your own shame!”
After she’d said these words,
She perched within a lovely spot,
line1655And then readied her voice
And sang so clear and so bright
That it was heard far and wide.
In response, there immediately came to her
Thrushes, throstles, and woodpeckers,
line1660And birds both large and small,
For they believed that she had
Vanquished the owl, for which they chirped
And sang all sorts of melodies,
So that there was bliss among the boughs,
line1665Just as when people cry shame upon the one
Who plays at dice and loses the game.
OwlThis owl, when she heard this,
Said, “Have you mobilized an army?
And, wretch, do you plan to fight me?
line1670No! No! You don’t have the power!
fol. 168raWhat are they shouting, those who come here?
It appears you’re leading an army against me;
You’ll learn before you fly from here
How much is the strength of my kind,
line1675For those who have hooked beaks
And talons sharp and very curved
Are all of my kindred,
And would come if I call them!
Even the cock, who can fight very well,
line1680Could legitimately take my side,
For both of us have clear voices
And sit under the stars at night.
If I raise a hue and cry against you,
I’ll command such a strong army
line1685That your pride will collapse —
I don’t give a turd for the lot of you!
Before it’s all dark, there won’t be
A wretched feather left on any of you!
But it was our agreement
line1690When we came here
That we’d uphold the terms
As would give us a fair judgment.
Will you now break the contract?
I guess you think judgment’s too risky,
line1695For you don’t dare face a judgment,
Wretch, wanting now to fight and argue.
What’s more, I’d advise all of you,
Before I raise a hue and cry against you,
That you back off from our quarrel
line1700And speedily start to fly away,
For, by the talons I bear,
If you should battle my army,
You’ll sing a very different tune
And curse all fighting,
line1705Because not one of you is so brave
As to dare face my visible presence.”
The owl spoke very forcefully;
Even though she hadn’t as quickly
Fetched her own army,
fol. 168rbShe nonetheless wanted to respond
line1711To the nightingale with such words,
Because many a man with his spear-point
And his shield has little strength,
But, nevertheless, on a battlefield,
line1715By boasting words and brave countenance,
Makes his enemy sweat for cowardice.
WrenThe wren, because she could sing,
Arrived there in the morning
To support the nightingale.
line1720Even though she had a small voice,
She had a good, resonant throat,
And a song that many find delightful.
The wren was considered very wise,
For though she’d not been bred in the woods,
line1725She’d been educated among humans,
And brought her wisdom from there.
She could speak wherever she liked,
Even if she were in the king’s presence.
“Listen!” she said. “Allow me to speak!
line1730What? Do you wish to break this peace
And do such a dishonor to the king?
He’s not yet dead or crippled.
You two will suffer harm and disgrace
If you breach the peace in his country.
line1735Let it be, and call a truce,
And go directly to your judgment,
And let the judgment break this dispute
As was previously agreed to.”
Nightingale“I agree,” said the nightingale,
line1740“But, wren, not because of your speech,
But because of my respect for the law;
I wouldn’t want injustice
To defeat me in the end.
I’m not afraid of any judgment.
line1745I have sworn, it’s true,
That wise Master Nicholas
Shall judge between us,
And I still hope that he will.
fol. 168vaBut where might we find him?”
WrenThe wren sat in a linden tree.
line1751“What?” she said. “Don’t you know his home?
He lives at Portesham,
In a village in Dorset,
Near the sea on an inlet.
line1755There he delivers many sound judgments,
And composes and writes much that’s wise,
And by his words and his actions,
Things are better as far as Scotland.
It’s not hard to find him;
line1760He’s got only one place of residence.
That’s to the bishops’ great shame
And to all who’ve heard of
His name and achievements.
Why won’t they decide among themselves
line1765To have him often among them
To instruct them in his wisdom,
And give him revenues from many places
So he can often be among them?”
Owl“Indeed,” said the owl, “that’s true.
line1770These wealthy men are terribly wrong
To neglect such a good man
Who’s capable of so many things,
When they distribute revenues so unjustly
And give him so little consideration.
line1775To their own families, they’re more gentle
And give revenues to little children!
Thus do their own wits judge them to be wrong
In how Master Nicholas continues to wait.
But let’s nonetheless visit him,
line1780For that’s where our judgment’s at hand.”
Nightingale“Let’s go,” said the nightingale,
“But who will read our pleadings,
And speak before our judge?”
Owl“On that matter, I’ll please you well,”
line1785Said the owl, “for, from beginning to end,
fol. 168vbI can repeat it word for word;
And if you ever think I go astray,
You can object and make me stop.”
With these words, off they went,
line1790With neither host nor army,
Till they arrived in Portesham.
But of how they sped in their judgment
I can tell you nothing more —
There’s nothing more of this story!