The Book of the Knight of Latour-Landry
[Prologue: Love of Knight for his wife; how he came to write this book; method of compilation; why he chose to write in prose.]
The text is lightly glossed; see the glossary in the Riverside Chaucer for words not explained here.
| Page 1 In the yere of the incarnacion of oure lord M iijC lxxj, as I was in a garden, al hevy and full of thought, in the shadow, about the ende of the monthe of April, but a litell I rejoysed me of the melodye and song of the wilde birddes; they sang there in her langages, as the thrustil, the thrusshe, the nightinggale, and other briddes, the whiche were full of mirthe and joye; and thaire swete songe made my herte to lighten, and made me to thinke of the time that is passed of my youthe, how love in gret distresse had holde me, and how I was in her service many times full of sorugh and gladnesse, as many lovers ben. But my sorugh was heled, and my service wel ysette and quitte, for he gave me a fair wiff, and [one] that was bothe faire and good, whiche had knowleche of alle honoure, alle good, and faire mainteninge, and of all good she was bell and the floure; and I delited me so moche in her that I made for her love songges, balades, rondelles, viralles, and diverse newe thinges in the best wise that I couthe. But deth, that on all maketh werre, toke her from me, the whiche hathe made me have many a sorughfull Page 2 thought and gret hevinesse. Aud so it is more than.xx. yeere that I have been for her ful of gret sorugh. For a trewe loveres hert forgeteth never the woman that he hathe truly loved. And as I was in the saide garden, thinkinge of these thoughts, I sawe come towardes me my.iij. doughters, of the whiche I was joyfull, and had grete desire that they shuld turne to good and worshipe above all erthely thinges, for they were yonge, and had but tendir witte; and so atte the begynning a man ought to lerne his doughters with good ensaumples yevinge, as did the quene Proues of Hongrie, that faire and goodly chastised and taught her doughters, as it is contened in her boke. And whanne my doughters come towardes me, I bethought me of the time when that I yede and rode with my felawes in Paytov and other diverse places that I had ben in. And also I bethought and remembered me that my felawes comened with ladies and gentil-women, the whiche prayed hem of love, For there was none of them that might finde, lady or gentill-woman, but they wolde praye her; and yef that one wolde not entende to that, other wolde anone praye. And whethir they had good answere or evell, they raught never, for they had in hem no shame nor drede for the cause they were so used. And therto they had faire langage and wordes, for in every place they wolde have hadd her sportes and they might. And so they dide bothe deceive ladies and gentilwomen, and bere forthe diverse langages on hem, som trewe and som fals, of the whiche there come to diverse gret defames and sclaundres withoute cause and reason. And there is not this day no gretter treason thanne a gentill woman to yeve her selff to a traitour fals churle, blamed with vices, for there is many of hem deceived by the foule and grete fals othes that the fals men usen to swere to the women; for I have herd my felawes swere ofte diverse fals othes, and I asked hem why they forswore hem, saying that they loved everych woman best that - they spake to. For I saide unto hem, " Sires, ye shulde love, nor be aboute, to have but one." But what I saide unto hem, it was never the better. And therfor because I sawe atte Page 3 that time the governaunce of hem, the whiche I douted, that time yet regneth, And ther be suche felawes now or worse, And therfor I purposed to make a litell boke, in the whiche I wolde write the good condiciones and dedes of ladies and gentill-women, that for her goodnesse were worshipped, honoured, praysed, and renomed the time passed, and ever shall be, for her weldoinge and goodnes, to that entent that my doughtres shulde take ensaumple of faire continuaunce and good manere. And also I wol make write the manere contrary of goodnesse, the whiche is "called the boke of hurtinge of evell women, that her hathe used to do evell, and had blames," to that entent that so luste may kepe hem from harme ther they might erre, as they that yet be blamed, dishonoured, and shamed. & for these causes aforesaid, I thought to make this litell boke to my yong doughtres, wherupon they might rede and studie, to that entent that they might lerne and see bothe good and evell of the time passed, and for to kepe hem in good clennesse, and from all evell in time coming. For there be such men that lifeth and maketh good visage end countenaunce to women afore hem, that scorneth and mocketh hem in her absence. And therfor it is harde to knowe the worlde that is now; and ther, for the reasones that I have saide you, I parted and yede oute of the garden, and fonde in my way.ij. prestes and.ij. clerkes that I had. And I said to hem that I wolde make a boke of ensaumples, for to teche my doughires, that they might understond how they shulde governe hem, and know good from evell. And so I made hem extraie me ensaumples of the Bible and other bokes that I had, as the gestes of kingges, the cronicles of Fraunce, Grece, of Inglond, and of many other straunge londes. And I made hem rede me every boke; And ther that I fonde a good ensaumple, I made extraie it oute. And thanne I made this boke. But I wolde not sette it in ryme, but in prose, forto abregge it, and that it might be better and more pleinly to be understond. And I made this boke for the gret love that I had to my said doughtres, the whiche I loved as fader ought to love his child, having hertely joye to finde wayes Page 4 to stir and turne hem to goodnesse and worshippe, and to love and serve her creatoure, and to have love of her neighboures and of the world. And therfor all faders and moders after good nature ought to teche her children to leve all wrong and evell wayes, and shew hem the trewe right weye, as wele for the salvacion of the soule as for the worshipe of the worldely body. And therfor I have made .ij. bokes, one for my sones, an other for my doughtres, forto lerne hem to rede. And in reding, it may not be but that they shall kepe with hem som good ensaumple forto flee evell and withholde the good. For it shall not be posible but sumtime they shall have minde on sum good ensaumple, sum good doctrine of this boke, whanne they knowe or here speke here-after, as they fall in the rewe upon sum spekers of suche matiers. |
1371 her = their sorrow healed rewarded conduct flower virelays (poems) war sorrowful communed, conversed and = if what = whatever renowned perseverence (in virtue) departed extract extract along the way matters |
- From The Book of the Knight of La Tour-Landry, EETS o.s. 33, London, ed. Thomas Wright (from MS Harley 1764 and Caxton's Print) rev ed. 1903 [Widener 11472.33.3], corrected in few minor details and a very few glosses added.
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