LIVRE SEPTIEME
BALLADE POPULAIRE, COMPOSEE AU XVIe SIÈCLE, SUR LE NAUFRAGE DES FILS DE HENRI I l.
After our royal king
Ha foil'd his foes in France, And spent the pleasant spring
His honour to advance :
Into fair England he return'd
With famé and victory ; That time the subjects of this land
Receiv'd him joyfully.
But at his home return
His Children lel't he still In France, for to sejourn
To purchase learned skill :
Duke William, with his brother dear,
Lord Ricbard was his name, Which was the earl of Chester then,
And thirsted after famé ;
1 Evans's old Ballads historical and narrative, vol. I, p. 48.
The King's fair dan gh ter eke The lady Mary bright,
With divers nobles peers, And many a hardy knight :
Ail thèse were left together there In pleasures and delight ,
Wen that our king to England came After the bloody flght.
But when fair Flora had Drawn forth her treasure dry,
That wmter cold and sad With hoary head drew nigh ;
Those princes ail , with one consent Prepared ail things meet,
To pass the seas for fair England, Whose sight to them was sweet.
To England let us hye Thus every one did say,
For Christmas draweth nigh ; No longer let us stay,
But spend the Ghristmas-time Within out father's court
Where lady Pleasure doth attend, With many a princely sport.
To sea those princes went, Fulfil'd with mirth and joy :
But this their merriment Did turn to dear annoy
The sailors and the shipmen ail, Through foui excess of wine,
Were so disguis'd that on the sea The show'd themselves like swine ;
The stern no man could guide, The master sleeping lay,
The sailors ail beside Went reeling every way,
So that the ship ai random rode
Qpon the foaming llood, Whereby in péril of tneii Uvas
The princes always stood:
Which made distilling tears
From their fair eyes to l'ail ; Their heaxta were fill'd with Csars,
No lu'lpthey had at ail :
They wisht themsclves upon thc land
A thousand times and more, And at the last they came in sight
Of England's pleasant shor<\
Then every one began
To turn their sighs to smiles ; Their colour pale and wan,
A chearful look exiles :
The princely lords most lovingly
Their ladies did embrace , For now in England shall we be
( Quoth they) in little space.
Take comfort then (they said)
Behold the land at last :
Then be no more dismay'd,
The worst is gone and past.
But while they did this joyful hope
With comfort entertain, The goodly shipupon a rock
In sunder burst in twain.
With that à grievous shriek
Among them there was made , And every one did seek
On something to be staid ;
But ail in vain such help they sought ;
The ship so soon did sink, That in the sea they were contrain'd
Totake their latest drink,
There migth you see the lords
And ladies for to lie Amisdt the sait sea foam,
With many agrievous cry;
Still labouring for life's defence With stretched arros abroad,
And lifting up their lilly hands, For help with one accord.
But as good fortune would, The sweet young duke did get
Into the cock-boat then Where safely he did sit :
But when he heard his sister cry, The king's fair daughter dear,
He turn'd his boat to take her in Whose death did draw so near :
But while he strove to take His sweet young sister in ,
The rest such shift did make In sea as they did swim ,
That to the boat a nuniber got, So many, as at the last
The boat, and ail that were therein, Were drown'd and over-cast;
Of lords and gentlemen
And ladies of face fair, Not one escaped then ,
Which was a heavy case.
Threescore and ten were drown'd in ail And none escaped death ,
But one pour butcher which had swom Himself quite out of breath.
This was most heavy news Unto our comely fcing ,
Who did ail mirth refuse, This word when they did bring :
For by this means no child he had
His kingdom to Bucceed .
Whereby bis Bister'fl son wafi king,
A- you shall plainly read.
CONVERSATION ENTRE HENRI I ET MABILE, FILLE DE ROBERT FILS d'aYMON ' .
Ther was tho in Entrelond a gret louerdyng , On of Ihe grestost that ther was , wythout Henry kyng, Syre Roberd lefyz Haym , lhat let vorst arere The abbey of Teukesbury, and monekes brogte there. He deyde aboute thulke tyme, and ybured was ywys In the abbey of Teukesbury, as hys body gut ys. Mabyle hys dogter was eyr of al hys londes, The kyng vor yre erytage hym gan understonde, To brynge Roberd hys sone a bast in hys waryson there Thoru spousyng of this mayde, that avanced were. He seyde, « that heo ssolde hys sone to hyre spouse auonge. » Thys mayde was there agen, and wyth seyde yt longe. The kyng of sogte hyre suythe ynou, so that atten ende Mabyle hym ansuerede, as gode mayde and hende, « Syre, « heo seyde, « wel ychot, that goure herte up me ys , « More vor myn erytage, than my fulue ywys. « So vayr erytage, as yeh abbe, yt were me gret ssame, « Yor to abbe an louerd , bote he adde an tuo name. « Syre Roberd le fyz Haym my fader name was, « And that ne mygte nogt be hys, that of his kunne nogt nas. « Thervore, syre, vor Gode's love, ne let me non man owe, « Bote he abbe an tuo name, war thoru he be yknowe. « Damaysele, » quath the kyng, « thou seyst wel in thys cas . « Syre Roberd le fyz Haym thy fadere's name was. « And as vayr name he ssall abbe, gyf me hym may byse, K Syre Roberd flz le Roy hys namessal be.
1 Robert of Gloucester'sChron., p. 431 et 432, t. II, éd. Heame.
« Syre, » quath thys mayde tho, « that ys vayr name,
« As wo seyth , al hys lyf , and of grete famé.
« Ac wat ssolde hys sone hôte thanne and other that of hym corne ?
« Sone mygte hii hôte nogt, therof nymeth gome. »
The kyng understod, that the mayde ne seyde non out rage,
And that Gloucestre was chef of hyre erytage.
« Damasele, •» he seyde tho, « thy louerd ssal abhe an name
<( Vor hym, and vor hys eyrs, vayr wyth out blâme.
« Vor Roberd erl of Gloucestre hys name ssal be, and ys.
« Vor he ssal be erl of Gloucestre and hys eyrs ywys.
« Syre, » quath the mayde tho, « wel lyketh me thys ,
« In thys fourme ycholle, that al my thyng b° hys. »
Thus was erl of Gloucestre vorst ymade there
As thys Roberd of ail thulke, that longe byvore were.
