The Legend of Good Women/The Legend of Philomela
Appearance
The Legend of Philomela
[edit]Deus dator formarum. | |
Thou yiver of the formes, that hast wroght | |
The faire world, and bare hit in thy thoght | |
2230 | Eternally, or thou thy werk began, |
Why madest thou, unto the slaundre of man, | |
Or -- al be that hit was not thy doing, | |
As for that fyn to make swiche a thing -- | |
Why suffrest thou that Tereus was bore, | |
That is in love so fals and so forswore, | |
That, fro this world up to the firste hevene, | |
Corrumpeth, whan that folk his name nevene? | |
And, as to me, so grisly was his dede, | |
That, whan that I his foule story rede, | |
2240 | Myn eyen wexen foule and sore also; |
Yit last the venim of so longe ago, | |
That hit enfecteth him that wol beholde | |
The story of Tereus, of which I tolde. | |
Of Trace was he lord, and kin to Marte, | |
The cruel god that stant with blody darte; | |
And wedded had he, with a blisful chere, | |
King Pandiones faire doghter dere, | |
That highte Progne, flour of her contree, | |
Thogh Iuno list nat at the feste be, | |
2250 | Ne Ymeneus, that god of wedding is; |
But at the feste redy been, y-wise, | |
The furies three, with alle hir mortel brond. | |
The owle al night aboute the balkes wond, | |
That prophet is of wo and of mischaunce. | |
This revel, ful of songe and ful of daunce, | |
Lasteth a fourtenight, or litel lasse. | |
But, shortly of this story for to passe, | |
For I am wery of him for to telle, | |
Five yeer his wyf and he togeder dwelle, | |
2260 | Til on a day she gan so sore longe |
To seen her suster, that she saw nat longe, | |
That for desyr she niste what to seye. | |
But to her husband gan she for to preye, | |
For goddes love, that she moste ones goon | |
Her suster for to seen, and come anoon, | |
Or elles, but she moste to her wende, | |
She preyde him, that he wolde after her sende; | |
And this was, day by day, al her prayere | |
With al humblesse of wyfhood, word, and chere. | |
2270 | This Theseus let make his shippes yare, |
And into Grece him-self is forth y-fare | |
Unto his fader in lawe, and gan him preye | |
To vouche-sauf that, for a month or tweye, | |
That Philomene, his wyves suster, mighte | |
On Progne his wyf but ones have a sighte -- | |
"And she shal come to yow again anoon. | |
Myself with her wol bothe come and goon, | |
And as myn hertes lyf I wol her kepe." | |
This olde Pandion, this king, gan wepe | |
2280 | For tendernesse of herte, for to leve |
His doghter goon, and for to yive her leve; | |
Of al this world he lovede no-thing so; | |
But at the laste leve hath she to go. | |
For Philomene, with salte teres eke, | |
Gan of her fader grace to beseke | |
To seen her suster, that her longeth so; | |
And him embraceth with her armes two. | |
And therwith-al so yon and fair was she | |
That, whan that Tereus saw her beautee, | |
2290 | And of array that ther was noon her liche, |
And yit of bountee was she two so riche, | |
He caste his fyry herte upon her so | |
That he wol have her, how so that hit go, | |
And with his wyles kneled and so preyde, | |
Til at the laste Pandion thus seyde: -- | |
"Now, sone," quod he, "that art to me so dere, | |
I thee betake my yonge doghter here, | |
That bereth the key of al my hertes lyf. | |
And grete wel my doghter and thy wyf, | |
2300 | And yive her leve somtyme for to pleye, |
That she may seen me ones er I deye." | |
And soothly, he hath mad him riche feste, | |
And to his folk, the moste and eek the leste, | |
That with him com; and yaf him yiftes grete, | |
And him conveyeth through the maister-strete | |
Of Athenes, and to the see him broghte, | |
And turneth hoom; no malice he ne thoghte. | |
The ores pulleth forth the vessel faste, | |
And into Thrace arriveth at the laste, | |
2310 | And up into a forest he her ledde, |
And to a cave privily him spedde; | |
And, in this derke cave yif her leste, | |
Or leste noghte, he bad her for to reste; | |
Of whiche her herte agroos, and seyde thus, | |
"Wher is my suster, brother Tereus?" | |
And therwith-al she wept tenderly, | |
And quook for fere, pale and pitously, | |
Right as the lamb that of the wolf is biten; | |
Or as the colver, that of the egle is smiten, | |
2320 | And is out of his clawes forth escaped, |
Yet hit is afered and awhaped | |
Lest hit be hent eft-sones, so sat she. | |
But utterly hti may non other be. | |
By force hath he, this traitour, doon that dede, | |
That he hath reft her of her maydenhede, | |
Maugree her heed, by strengthe and by his might. | |
Lo! here a dede of men, and that a right! | |
She cryeth "suster!" with ful londe stevene, | |
And "fader dere!" and "help me, god in hevene!" | |
2330 | Al helpeth nat; and yet this false theef |
Hath doon this lady yet a more mischeef, | |
For fere lest she sholde his shame crye, | |
And doon him openly a vilanye, | |
And with his swerd her tong of kerveth he, | |
And in a castel made her for to be | |
Ful privily in prison evermore, | |
And kepte her to his usage and his store, | |
So that she mighte him nevermore asterte. | |
O sely Philomene! wo is thyn herte; | |
2340 | God wreke thee, and sende thee thy bone! |
Now is hit tyme I make an ende sone. | |
This Tereus is to his wyf y-come, | |
And in his armes hath his wyf y-come, | |
And pitously he weep, and shook his heed, | |
And swor her that he fond her suster deed; | |
For which this sely Progne hath swich wo, | |
That ny her sorweful herte brak a-two; | |
And thus in teres lete I Progne dwelle, | |
And of her suster forth I wol yow telle. | |
2350 | This woful lady lerned had in youthe |
So that she werken and enbrouden couthe, | |
And weven in her stole the radevore | |
As hit of women hath be woned yore. | |
And, shortly for to seyn, she hath her fille | |
Of mete and drink, and clothing at her wille, | |
And coude eek rede, and wel y-nogh endyte, | |
But with a penne coude she nat wryte; | |
But lettres can she weven to and fro, | |
So that, by that the yeer was al a-go, | |
2360 | She had y-woven in a stamin large |
How she was broght from Athenes in a barge, | |
And in a cave how that she was broght; | |
And al the thing that Tereus hath wroght, | |
She waf hit wel, and wroot the story above, | |
How she was served for her suster love; | |
And to a knave a ring she yaf anoon, | |
And prayed him, by signes, for to goon | |
Unto the quene, and beren her that clooth, | |
And by signes swor him many an ooth, | |
2370 | She sholde him yeve what she geten mighte. |
This knave anoon unto the quene him dighte, | |
And took hit her, and al the maner tolde. | |
And, whan that Progne hath this thing beholde, | |
No work she spak, for sorwe and eek for rage; | |
But feyned her to goon on pilgrimage | |
To Bachus temple; and, in a litel stounde, | |
Her dombe suster sitting hath she founde, | |
Weping in the castel her aloon. | |
Allas! the wo, the compleint, and the moon | |
2380 | That Progne upon her dombe suster maketh! |
In armes everich of hem other taketh, | |
And thus I lete hem in hir sorwe dwelle. | |
The remenant is no charge for to telle, | |
For this is al and som, thus was she served, | |
That never harm a-gilte ne deserved | |
Unto this cruel man, that she of wiste. | |
Ye may be war of men, yif that yow liste. | |
For, al be that he wol nat, for his shame, | |
Doon so as Tereus, to lese his name, | |
2390 | Ne serve yow as a mordrour or a knave, |
Ful litel whyle shul ye trewe him have, | |
That wol I seyn, al were he now my brother, | |
But hit so be that he may have non other. | |
Explicit Legenda Philomene. |