ON KING RICHARDES MINISTERS

There is a busch that is forgrowe ; Crop hit welle, and hold hit lowe,

Or elles hit wolle be wilde.

The long grass that is so grene Hit most be mowe and rakcd clenc ;

Forgrowen hit hath the fellde.

The grete baççe, that is so mykille,

Jlit schal bc kettord (diminishcd) and makcd litcUc;

The bothom is ny ouzt.

Hit is so roton on yeh side, Ther nul no stych with odur abydc To set theron a clout.

Thorw the busch a swan * was sclayn ; Of that sclawtur fewe vere fayno ;

Alas ! that hit betydde 1 Hit was a eyrer good and able, To his lord ryzt profitable ;

Hit was a gentel bryde.

The grene gras that was so long, Hit bath sclayn a stede strong *, That worthy was and wyth.

Wat kyng had that stede on holde, To juste on hym he myht be bold, Als schulde he go to tyth.

A bereward ' fond a rag ; Of the rag be made a bag

Ile dude in good entent, Thorwe the bag the bereward is taken ; Aile his beres han hym forsaken,

Thus is the bereward schent.

The swan is ded ; his make is woo Her eldest bryd* is taken her flro,

Into an uneod place.

The stedes coït * is ronnon away An eron ® hath taken him to his praye,

Hit is a wondur casse.

A erou is up and toke his flyt ; In the noth contre he is lizt ; Thus hère ye aile men saye.

' Thomas ôf Woodstock duke de Gloucester.

^ A horse was the crest of the earl of Arundel, beheaded io the 21^* of Rie. IL

' The earl of Warwick banished to the isle of Man.

^ Humphrey, Gloucester^s only son, was after his father's death, car- I ied to Ireland and imprisoned in a castle.

^ Thomas, earl of Arundel, son of the earl aforesaid.

^ Henry duke of Lancaster.

90 ÉTUDE SUR LA LANCTUB ANGLAISIB AU XIV^ SISCI^R

The siQde coït wîth hym he bryo^ Thèse buth wonder and y thiqgeç To se hem thus tQ playe

The gees han mad a parlement, Toward the eron are they wcnt.

mo then I con telle.

The pecQkeis, th^t buth so £ayr in 9y¥iU

To hym ben comen with allô hur mysst

Th^y tbenk© with hym to dwelle.

Upon the busch the eron woUe reste, Of aile places it liketh hym beste,

To loke aftur his pray.

He wolle falle upon the grene ; There he falleth, hit wiile be sene,

They wllle not woU away.

The bag is fui of roton corne»

So long ykep, hit is forlome.

Hit will stonde no stalle.

The pecokes and the ges alleso.

And oder fowles mony on mo, Schuld be fed withalle.

The busch is bmre and waxen aère, Hit may no lengur levés bere ; Now stout hit in no styde

Ywis I con no nodur bote^ But hewe hit downe crop and rote, And to the toun hit lede*

The long gras that semeth grene, Hit is roton aile bydene, Hit is non best mete.

Till the roton be dynged ouzt, Our lene bestes sohul not rouzt Hur lyflode to gete.

ÉCRIVAINS A^ISTOGRATXQUPS m LANG^y^ VULGAIRE 91

The grctc bage is so ^j^ toron,

Ilit nyl holde ncyther mêle nor co]rne ;

Pong l^it up to drye.

Wen hit is drye, IbOA schalt UîQU se zyf hit wil amendçd be

A beger for to bye, etc.

En 139*7, la confession écrite du duc de Glocester nous oflfre un spécimen du langage le plu» éji^gant de cette époque :

I Thomas of Wpdestok, the viii day of 0eptembré the zeer of xny lord the kyng on and twenty, bi the vertue of a commission of my lord the kyng the same zeer directed to William Rykhill Justice, the which is comprehended more pleynly in the foreseid commission, knowleche, that I was on wyth steryng of othcr men to assente to the makyng of a commission ; in the which commission I amonges other restrcyned my lord of his freedom, and toke upon me amonge other, Power Reall, trewly naght knowyng ne wytyng that tyme that I dede azeyns his estate ne his realte, as I dede after and do now. And forasmuche as I knew afterward that I hadde do wrqnge, and takcn upon me more than me owyght to do, I submettede me to mylord, and cryed hym mercy and grâce, and «et do als lowlych and as mekely as any man may, and putte jne beygh and lowe in his mercy and in his grâce, as he that always hath beij fui of mercy and of grâce to'al other... etc *,

Nous mettrons en regard, comme terme de comparaison, une pétition adressée au roi par la compagnie des merciers de Londres. C'est le plus ancien document de cette espèce que l'histoire ait conservé. Il prouve que la bourgeoisie elle-même commençait à se former au beau style :

Tû t^e ^loost noble an4 worthiest Lordes, rnoost ryghtfal aod wysest conseille to owre lige Lorde the kynge, copapleynep, if it like to yow, the folk of the mercerye of London, as a membre of

* Plac, Pari., vol. III, p. 379.

92 ÉTUDB SUR LA LANGUE ANGLAISB AU XIV» SIÂGLB

the same citée, of many wronges subtiles, and also open oppression, ydo to hem by longe tyme her before passed — of which oon was, where the eleccion of mairaltie is to be to the tre men of the citée, bi gode and paisible avys of the wysest and trewest, at o day in theyere frelich, there noaghtwithstondyng the same fredam or fraunchise, Nichol Brembre wyth his npberers prposed hym the yere next after John Northampton mair of the same citée, with stronge honde as it is fui knowen, and thourgh debate and strengcr partye ageins the pees bifore purveyde was chosen mair in destruccion of many right. For in the came yere, the forsaid Nichol, withouten nede, ayein the pees, made dyvse enarmynges by day and eke by nyght and destruyd the kynges trewe lyges, som with open slaughtre, some bi false emprisonement and some fledde the citée for feere, as it is openlich knowen *.

Le roi Henri IV, dans sa proclamation au parlement, ne parle pas une langue sensiblement plus pure :

In the name of Fadir, son and Holy Ghost, I Henry of Lancastre, chalenge this rewme of Yngland, and the corone with aU the membres and the appurtenances, als I that am disendit be right lyne of the blode comyng fro the gude Lord kyng Henry therde, and thorghe , that ryght that god of his grâce hath sent me, with helpe of my kyn and of my frendes to recoverit : The which rewme was in poynt to be undone for défaut of govemance and undoyng of the gode lawes *.

Les différences qui existaient entre le langage de Taristocratie et celui du peuple ressortent clairement des exemples que nous venons de lire. Dans celui-ci, les termes français sont rares et maladroitement ajoutés au vocabulaire saxon ; dans l'autre, ils sont, au contraire, trop' visiblement préférés. L'ignorance, au moins autant que Torgueil, empoche encore, des deux côtés, cette fusion parfaite des deux éléments, dont nous allons trouver un premier exemple dans Tidiome façonné par Chaucer.

' Plac, Pari., vol. III, p. 225.

- Plac, Pari, vol. III, p. 422.