King James I, The Kingis Quair

King James I of Scotland, The Kingis Quair

Quhen, as I lay in bed allone waking,
New partit out of slepe a lyte tofore,
Fell me to mynd of many diverse thing,
Of this and that, can I noght say quharfore,
Bot slepe for (by) craft (device) in erth myght I no more,
For quhich as tho coude I no better wyle (pass the time),
Bot toke a boke to rede apon a quhile, (8-14)


Of quhich the name is clepit properly
Boece, (Boethius) eftir him that was the compiloure, (15-16)


Upon the writing of this noble man,1
That in himself the full recover wan (gained)
Of his infortune, povert, and distresse,
And in tham set his verray sekernesse (security). (32-35)


Enditing (composing) in his fair Latyne tong,
So full of fruyte and rethorikly pykit (adorned),
Quhich to declare my scole (learning) is over yong. (44-46)


The long nyght beholding [the book], as I saide,
Myn eyne gan to smert for studying.
My buke I schet and at my hede it laide
And doun I lay but (w/out) ony tarying,
This mater new in my mynd rolling:
This is to seyne, how that eche estate,
As Fortune lykith, thame will translate. (50-56)


Forwakit and forwalowit, thus musing,
Wery forlyin (for lying), I lestnyt sodaynlye,
And sone I herd the bell to matyns ryng
And up I rase, no langer wald I lye.
Bot now (how trowe ye?) suich a fantasye
Fell me to mynd that ay me thoght the bell
Said to me, "Tell on, man, quhat thee befell." (71-77)


Wist (know) thou thy payne to cum and thy travaille,
For sorow and drede wele myght thou wepe and waille. (97-98)


In Ver (Spring), that full of vertu is and gude, (134)


That, for gladnesse and confort of the sight
And with the tiklyng of his hete and light,
The tender flouris opnyt thame and sprad
And in thair nature thankit him for glad. (144-147)


That maugré (in spite of), playnly, quhethir we wold or no,
With strong hand, by forse, schortly to say,
Of inymyis takin and led away
We weren all, and broght in thair contree:
Fortune it schupe (shaped) non othir wayis to be. (165-168)


"The bird, the beste, the fisch eke in the see,
They lyve in fredome, everich in his kynd;
And I a man, and lakkith libertee! (183-185)


The long dayes and the nyghtis eke
I wold bewaille my fortune in this wise,
For quhich, agane distresse confort to seke,
My custom was on mornis for to ryse
Airly as day - O happy exercise,
By thee come I to joye out of turment! (197-202)


And on the small grene twistis sat
The lytill suete nyghtingale and song
So loud and clere the ympnis (hymns) consecret
Of lufis use, now soft, now lowd among,
That all the gardyng and the wallis rong
Ryght of thair song and of the copill (couplet) next
Of thair suete armony; and lo the text: (225-231)


Quhen thai this song had song a lytill thrawe,
Thai stent a quhile and therwith unaffraid,
As I beheld and kest myn eyne a lawe (below),
From beugh (hopped) to beugh thay hippit and thai plaid,
And freschly in thair birdis kynd arraid
Thair fetheris new, and fret thame in the sonne,
And thankit Lufe that had thair makis (mates) wonne. (239-245)


And sawe hir walk, that verray womanly,
With no wight mo, bot onely wommen tueyne.
Than gan I studye in myself and seyne,
"A, suete, ar ye a warldly creature (290-293)


Quhen I with gude entent this orisoun (prayer)
Thus endit had, I stynt (was still) a lytill stound (while).
And eft myn eye full pitously adoun
I kest, behalding unto hir lytill hound
That with his bellis playit on the ground: (365-369)


"Lift up thyne hert and sing with gude entent,
And in thy notis suete the tresoun telle
That to thy sister trewe and innocent
Was kythit by hir husband false and fell; (386-389)



"Gyf thou suld sing wele ever in thy lyve,
Here is, in fay (faith), the tyme and eke the space. (407-408)


Over that, to, to see the suete sicht
Of hyr ymage, my spirit was so light
Me thoght I flawe for joye without arest,
So were my wittis boundin all to fest. (424-428)


And hastily by bothe the armes tueyne
I was araisit up into the air,
Clippit in a cloude of cristall clere and fair, (523-525)


"For though that thai were hardy at assay (when tested)
And did him service quhilum (sometimes) prively,
Yit to the warldis eye it semyt nay
So was thair service half cowardy,
And for thay first forsuke him opynly
And efter that therof had repenting,
For schame thair hudis (hoods) ovr thair eyne thay hyng. (617-23)


"And yit, considering the nakitnesse (inadequacy)
Bothe of thy wit, thy persone, and thy myght,
It is no mach of thyne unworthynesse
To hir hie birth, estate, and beautee bryght:
Als like ye bene as day is to the nyght,
Or sek (sack) cloth is unto fyne cremesye,
Or foule doken (dockweed) onto the fresche dayesye. (757-763)


And for thou sall se wele (clearly) that I entend
Unto thy help, thy welefare to preserve,
The streight weye thy spirit will I send
To the goddesse that clepit is Mynerve; (778-781)


How long think thay to stand in my disdeyne
That in my lawis bene so negligent
From day to day, and list tham noght repent
Bot breken louse (loose) and walken at thair large?
Is ther none that therof gevis charge (heed)? (801-805)


"Lo, my gude sone, this is als (as) mich (much) to seyne
As, gif thy lufe be sett (grounded) all uterly
Of nyce lust, thy travail is in veyne. (897-899)


"Bot there be mony of so brukill (frail) sort
That feynis treuth in lufe for a quhile,
And setten all thair wittis and disport
The sely (silly) innocent woman to begyle, (932-935)


"For as the fouler (fowler) quhistlith (whistles) in his throte
Diversely to counterfete the brid,
And feynis mony a suete and strange note,
That in the busk for his desate (deceit) is hid,
Till sche be fast lok in his net amyd,
Ryght so the fatour (deceiver), the false theif I say,
With suete tresoun oft wynnith thus his pray. (939-945)


"Now go thy way and have gude mynd upon
Quhat I have said in way of thy doctryne." (1051-1052)


Quhare, in a lusty plane, tuke I my way
Endlang (along) a ryver plesant to behold,
Enbroudin all with fresche flouris gay,
Quhare throu the gravel bryght as ony gold
The cristall water ran so clere and cold
That in myn ere maid contynualy
A maner soun, mellit (blended) with armony,
/
That full of lytill fischis by the brym
Now here, now there, with bakkis blewe as lede (lead),
Lap and playit, and in a rout (group) can (did) swym
So prattily (prettily) and dressit (took care) tham to sprede
Thair curall (coral) fynnis as the ruby rede
That in the sonne on thair scalis bryght
As gesserant ay glitterit in my sight. (1058-1071)


O besy goste ay flikering to and fro,
That never art in quiet nor in rest
Till thou cum to that place that thou cam fro,
Quhich is thy first and verray proper nest:
From day to day so sore here artow drest (oppressed)
That with thy flesche ay waking art in trouble,
And sleping eke; of pyne so has thou double. (1205-1211)


Unto the impnis (hymns) of my maisteris dere,
Gowere and Chaucere, that on the steppis satt
Of rethorike quhill thai were lyvand here,
Superlative as poetis laureate
In moralitee and eloquence ornate,
I recommend my buk in lynis sevin,
And eke thair saulis unto the blisse of Hevin. Amen. (1373-1378)