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Incipit secunda pars.
Here begins the second part
Noght fer fro thilke paleys honurable | |
Ther as this markys shoop his mariage, | |
Ther stood a throop, of site delitable, | |
200 | In which that povre folk of that village |
Hadden hir beestes and hir herbergage, | |
And of hir lobour tooke hir sustenance, | |
After that the erthe yaf hem habundance. |
Amonges thise povre folk ther dwelte a man | |
205 | Which that was holden povrest of hem alle; |
But hye God somtyme senden kan | |
His grace into a litel oxes stalle | |
Janicula men of that throop hym calle. | |
A doghter hadde he, fair ynogh to sighte, | |
210 | And Grisildis this yonge mayden highte. |
But for to speke of vertuous beautee, | |
Thanne was she oon the faireste under sonne, | |
For povreliche yfostred up was she, | |
No likerous lust was thurgh hir herte yronne. | |
215 | Wel ofter of the welle than of the tonne |
She drank, and for she wolde vertu plese | |
She knew wel labour but noon ydel ese. |
But thogh this mayde tendre were of age, | |
Yet in the brest of hire virginitee | |
220 | Ther was enclosed rype and sad corage; |
And in greet reverence and charitee | |
Hir olde povre fader fostred shee. | |
A fewe sheepe, spynnynge on feeld she kepte, | |
She wolde noght been ydel, til she slepte. |
225 | And whan she homward cam, she wolde brynge |
Wortes, or othere herbes tymes ofte, | |
The whiche she shredde and seeth for hir lyvynge, | |
And made hir bed ful harde and no thyng softe; | |
And ay she kepte hir fadres lyf on lofte | |
230 | With everich obeisaunce and diligence |
That child may doon to fadres reverence. |
Upon Grisilde, this povre creature, | |
Ful ofte sithe this markys caste his ye, | |
As he on huntyng rood paraventure. | |
235 | And whan it fil that he myghte hire espye, |
He noght with wantowne lookyng of folye | |
His eyen caste on hir, but in sad wyse, | |
Upon hir chiere he wolde hym ofte avyse, |
Commendynge in his herte hir wommanhede | |
240 | And eek hir vertu, passynge any wight |
Of so yong age, as wel in chiere as dede. | |
For thogh the peple hadde no greet insight | |
In vertu, he considered ful right | |
Hir bountee, and disposed that he wolde | |
245 | Wedde hir oonly, if evere he wedde sholde. |
The day of weddyng cam, but no wight kan | |
Telle what womman that it sholde be, | |
For which merveille wondred many a man, | |
And seyden, whan that they were in privetee, | |
250 | "Wol nat oure lord yet leve his vanytee? |
Wol he nat wedde? Allas, allas, the while! | |
Why wole he thus hymself and us bigile?" |
But nathelees this markys hath doon make | |
O gemmes set in gold and in asure | |
255 | Brooches and rynges, for Grisildis sake, |
And of hir clothyng took he the mesure, | |
By a mayde lyk to hir stature, | |
And eek of othere aornementes alle | |
That unto swich a weddyng sholde falle. |
260 | The time of undren of the same day |
Approcheth, that this weddyng sholde be; | |
And al the paleys put was in array, | |
Bothe halle and chambres, ech in his degree; | |
Houses of office stuffed with plentee | |
265 | Ther maystow seen, of deyntevous vitaille, |
That may be founde as fer as last Ytaille. |
This roial markys, richely arrayed, | |
Lordes and ladyes in his compaignye, | |
The whiche that to the feeste weren yprayed, | |
270 | And of his retenue the bachelrye, |
With many a soun of sondry melodye | |
Unto the village, of the which I tolde, | |
In this array the righte wey han holde. |
Grisilde of this, God woot, ful innocent, | |
275 | That for hir shapen was al this array, |
To fecchen water at a welle is went, | |
And cometh hoom as soone as ever she may; | |
For wel she hadde herd seyd, that thilke day | |
The markys sholde wedde, and if she myghte, | |
280 | She wolde fayn han seyn som of that sighte. |
She thoghte, "I wole with othere maydens stonde, | |
That been my felawes, in oure dore, and se | |
The markysesse, and therfore wol I fonde | |
To doon at hoom as soone as it may be | |
285 | The labour, which that longeth unto me, |
And thanne I may at leyser hir biholde, | |
If she this wey unto the castel holde." |
And as she wolde over hir thresshfold gon | |
The markys cam and gan hire for to calle, | |
290 | And she set doun hir water pot anon |
Biside the thresshfold in an oxes stalle, | |
And doun up-on hir knes she gan to falle, | |
And with sad contenance kneleth stille, | |
Til she had herd what was the lordes wille. |
295 | This thoghtful markys spak unto this mayde |
Ful sobrely, and seyde in this manere, | |
"Where is youre fader, O Grisildis?" he sayde, | |
And she with reverence in humble cheere | |
Answerde, "Lord, he is al redy heere." | |
300 | And in she gooth, withouten lenger lette, |
And to the markys she hir fader fette. |
He by the hand thanne took this olde man, | |
And seyde thus, whan he hym hadde asyde, | |
"Janicula, I neither may ne kan | |
305 | Lenger the plesance of myn herte hyde; |
If that thou vouch sauf, what so bityde, | |
Thy doghter wol I take, er that I wende, | |
As for my wyf unto hir lyves ende. |
Thou lovest me, I woot it wel certeyn, | |
310 | And art my feithful lige man ybore, |
And all that liketh me, I dar wel seyn, | |
It liketh thee; and specially therfore | |
Tel me that poynt that I have seyd bifore, | |
If that thou wolt unto that purpos drawe, | |
315 | To take me as for thy sone-in-lawe." |
This sodeyn cas this man astonyed so, | |
That reed he wax; abayst and al quakyng | |
He stood, unnethes seyde he wordes mo, | |
But oonly thus, "Lord," quod he, "my willynge | |
320 | Is as ye wole, ne ayeyns youre likynge |
I wol no thyng, ye be my lord so deere; | |
Right as yow lust governeth this mateere." |
"Yet wol I," quod this markys softely, | |
"That in thy chambre I and thou and she | |
325 | Have a collacioun, and wostow why? |
For I wol axe, if it hir wille be | |
To be my wyf, and reule hir after me; | |
And al this shal be doon in thy presence, | |
I wol noght speke out of thyn audience." |
330 | And in the chambre whil they were aboute |
Hir tretys which as ye shal after heere, | |
The peple cam unto the hous withoute, | |
And wondred hem in how honeste manere | |
And tentifly she kepte hir fader deere. | |
335 | But outrely Grisildis wondre myghte |
For nevere erst ne saugh she swich a sighte. |
No wonder is thogh that she were astoned | |
To seen so greet a grest come in that place; | |
She nevere was to swiche gestes woned, | |
340 | For which she looked with ful pale face- |
But shortly forth this tale for to chace, | |
Thise arn the wordes that the markys sayde | |
To this benigne verray feithful mayde. |
"Grisilde," he seyde, "ye shal wel understonde | |
345 | It liketh to youre fader and to me |
That I yow wedde, and eek it may so stonde, | |
As, I suppose, ye wol that it so be. | |
But thise demandes axe I first," quod he, | |
"That sith it shal be doon in hastif wyse, | |
350 | Wol ye assente, or elles yow avyse? |
I seye this, be ye redy with good herte | |
To al my lust, and that I frely may, | |
As me best thynketh, do yow laughe or smerte, | |
And nevere ye to grucche it nyght ne day, | |
355 | And eek whan I sey ye, ne sey nat nay, |
Neither by word, ne frownyng contenance? | |
Swere this, and heere I swere yow alliance." |
Wondrynge upon this word, quakynge for drede, | |
She seyde, "Lord, undigne and unworthy | |
360 | Am I to thilke honour, that ye me beede, |
But as ye wole yourself, right so wol I. | |
And heere I swere, that nevere willyngly | |
In werk ne thoght I nyl yow disobeye, | |
For to be deed, though me were looth to deye." |
365 | "This is ynogh, Grisilde myn," quod he, |
And forth he gooth with a ful sobre cheere | |
Out at the dore, and after that cam she; | |
And to the peple he seyde in this manere, | |
"This is my wyf," quod he, "that standeth heere; | |
370 | Honoureth hir, and loveth hir, I preye, |
Whoso me loveth; ther is namoore to seye." |
And for that nothyng of hir olde geere | |
She sholde brynge into his hous, he bad | |
That wommen sholde dispoillen hir right theere;- | |
375 | Of which thise ladyes were nat right glad |
To handle hir clothes, wherinne she was clad. | |
But nathelees, this mayde bright of hewe | |
Fro foot to heed they clothed han al newe. |
Hir heris han they kembd, that lay untressed | |
380 | Ful rudely, and with hir fyngres smale |
A corone on hir heed they han ydressed, | |
And sette hir ful of nowches grete and smale. | |
Of hire array what sholde I make a tale? | |
Unnethe the peple hire knew for hir fairnesse | |
385 | Whan she translated was in swich richesse. |
This markys hath hir spoused with a ryng | |
Broght for the same cause, and thanne hir sette | |
Upon an hors, snow-whit and wel amblyng, | |
And to his paleys, er he lenger lette, | |
390 | With joyful peple that hir ladde and mette |
Conveyed hire; and thus the day they spende | |
In revel, til the sonne gan descende. |
And shortly forth this tale for to chace, | |
I seye, that to this newe markysesse | |
395 | God hath swich favour sent hir of his grace, |
That it ne semed nat by liklynesse | |
That she was born and fed in rudenesse | |
As in a cote or in an oxe-stalle, | |
But norissed in an emperoures halle. |
400 | To every wight she woxen is so deere |
And worshipful, that folk ther she was bore | |
And from hir birthe knewe hir yeer by yeere, | |
Unnethe trowed they, - but dorste han swore - | |
That she to Janicle, of which I spak bifore, | |
405 | She doghter nere, for as by conjecture, |
Hem thoughte she was another creature. |
For though that evere vertuous was she, | |
She was encressed in swich excellence, | |
Of thewes goode, yset in heigh bountee, | |
410 | And so discreet and fair of eloquence, |
So benigne, and so digne of reverence, | |
And koude so the peples herte embrace, | |
That ech hir lovede, that looked on hir face. |
Noght oonly of Saluces in the toun | |
415 | Publiced was the bountee of hir name, |
But eek biside in many a regioun, | |
If oon seide wel, another seyde the same; | |
So spradde of hir heighe bountee the fame | |
That men and wommen, as wel yonge as olde, | |
420 | Goon to Saluce upon hir to biholde. |
Thus Walter lowely, nay! but roially | |
Wedded with fortunat honestetee, | |
In Goddes pees lyveth ful esily | |
At hoom, and outward grace ynogh had he, | |
425 | And for he saugh that under low degree |
Was ofte vertu hid, the peple hym heelde | |
A prudent man, and that is seyn ful seelde. |
Nat oonly this Grisildis thurgh hir wit | |
Koude al the feet of wyfly humblenesse, | |
430 | But eek, whan that the cas required it, |
The commune profit koude she redresse. | |
Ther nas discord, rancour, ne hevynesse | |
In al that land, that she ne koude apese, | |
And wisely brynge hem alle in reste and ese. |
435 | Though that hir housbonde absent were anon |
If gentil men, or othere of hir contree | |
Were wrothe, she wolde bryngen hem aton. | |
So wise and rype wordes hadde she, | |
And juggementz of so greet equitee, | |
440 | That she from hevene sent was, as men wende, |
Peple to save and every wrong tamende. |
Nat longe tyme after that this Grisild | |
Was wedded, she a doghter hath ybore- | |
Al had hir levere have born a man child; | |
445 | Glad was this markys and the folk therfore, |
For though a mayde child coome al bifore, | |
She may unto a knave child atteyne | |
By liklihede, syn she nys nat bareyne. |
Explicit secunda pars (Here ends the second part)
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