XXVIII.[1] The Knight in Exile and His Friend Whose Wife Played Him False
Svche a knyght of his cuntrey of many hasty enemyes convict of his prevy synnes iuged to the deth, but withe kynges saieng and of the people knowen soone from the people was he exiled. And forwhi he left to hym no friend owther in the cuntrey or in thendis of the cuntrey, fled fer of wher nat only the act of his wikkednes but moche wors it was to hem purposed an vnknowen name with a laudable novelte thold cruelte and mansuete and the vndouted intemperat strength to converte and turne. Applied hymsilf to suche a myghti man, to whom so prudently is infelawshipped, and as of the Subiectis of that lord he myght be leest anoied and to hymsilf most profite, while and whan thei promytted plentevously as moche feith and lasse noied than dide vnkynde cruelte, and while tho open signes bitokened moche more power than he myght do.
Forsoth he had in the same felawship a felawe of high vertu, a man the whiche with symilitude and liknes of vertu chosen, asked hym as in friendship thei myghten come. He nat denyed, an oth[2] halwed and rightfully to swere friendship and covenaunt affermed and stidefastly to be comuned[3] and commune to wynnyng and losse. [And he] bitooke and lad that exul his felaw in to his Citee. Forsoth willyng with hym to comune, his wif separat brought he[4] to host, nor[5] shewed hym his house.[6] Forsoth the same Citee hasted from thendis, but the vertu and strength of theym was but a fewe daies. That exul or exiled man shewid to his felaw triewly[7] of the eveen partis of al the lucre and wynnynges. Whan also that pees was made and don in the Citee, sumtyme he allone walkyng bi the stretis[8] biholdyng gold and silver made and hostriches and hors of bataile from anhigh, of the wif of his felaw was seen and most brennyngly of hir loved, and is required as that same nyght he come to hir bi the message of hir footemaide. He cam and went ageyn with grete weight of gold and many precious stones awey bare. Whan that this lucre he departed to his felawe, whor[9] that he had it shewed and told, advertisyng he and his wif to be corrupt and his money to be mynnised.[10]
To that he the lord of the house symuled and feyned hymsilf to go fer of, vnavisede to be. Vnder the barel in whiche the habergeoun[11] was wont to be torned happened thadvoutrer ther was hidde and (f. 136b) busily sought and nat founde. Whan the lord was wery, he and the wif laughed that he hield so long and knocked on the barel next whom he stoode; neither it perced[12] nor opened and the felaw a litel felt. After that the grutche ended and he gon, with more charge left the knyght the secunde tyme than at the first. The lucre eveene patid, [thei] arraied theym eftsones with sawtis and watches to go ageyn and hid was bihynde the chambre dore and nat founde. And so parted the lucre. The thridde tyme watches and sawtis arraied, he was cast in an huche ful of clothis chaungeable.[13] Whan that he wolde seeke with a constant chiere and a stidefast face to his entent, she consented. Saide only hymsilf that he wolde entre as to knowe to drawe, wrappe, and folde the clothis and also to shape and olde clothis and fumous[14] to breke and so by space of tyme covered, protect and defended the advoutrier. The whiche nat[15] founde sorowyng he departed. The knyght [is sent away and] for his infinite dreede rewarded with grete mede. Of whiche particioun made with his felaw he now hymsilf eftsoones no more swore.
Than he sorowful the hurt and damage of his possessioun and forsoth more sorowful the losse of his wif with the advowtrier[16] arraied to his felaw and felawesse as to the advowterer and advowteresse. [He] made forsoth an habundaunt and a plentivous felawship and feste, brought in and bad of his neighburghs and of his parentis and affinites, closed behynde the curteyn of the wif and his felaw replete and drunke, asked of hym if it pleased hym vnder guyle to Reherce and tel to the delectacioun of theym at the feste how moche money and in what maner he withdrow it from hir with whom he dide thadvowtry. Thadvowtrer deceived bi moche praier[17] and drynk reherced the thyng. And whan in thende of the Recreacioun of the mete the spirit of hym to moche bolned and stopped as often is don, as he drow the curteyn accised and bounden sigh and with turmentis; ther turned to hymsilf to thende of lesyng that sumwhat that he had told seemed to be of lesyng, saieng: "Whan and that other fested it was seen to me to stonde in thentre of a brage; and lo alsodainly the thunder seemed to be quasshed and broken, and whan I in al the violence with dreede fallyng of the horrible brak out of sleepe." And so of temporal thyng don turned the trowth in to fals fantasy and saved that he had almost lost. And vttirly[18] put his felawe in perdicioun and lost was wher that he covenaunted with an oth to depose al envie from his wif. With reconsiliacioun so made, she ordeyned newe guyles and wrenches of advowtrie. Whan he forsoth of that counsail the house fallen and broken of a poore man to his house a litel straite way she perced[19] under erth from that (f. 137) oon[20] house into that other[21] and had his free comyng and goyng whan that he wold. And whan this sufficed nat to theym, they toguyder saiden as to bien felawshipped in weddyng and Matremony and articulerly in thiese wordis:[22] "Mi lord is thi felaw; say thow to hym forwhi thow camst from thi cuntrey in wifes right and forwhi that it is yowr maner and Saracyns lawe nat as to take a wif[23] but of the yift of a lawful man. Wiltow have hir of hym and of his yift as that thow hast nonother friend in this cuntrey? Whiche whan he seeth me shal trowe to be his and shal doubte. Than if that he turne hom as to see whether it be I, I shal meete and abide hym in the chamber;[24] [he] shal arbiter hymsilf to [be] dis- ceived, than he turneth ageyn to the. And I eftsoones[25] shal come bifore hym, and so shal he yeve me to the to be seen of al theym that standen aboute; and so was it don."
- ↑ (The following three tales were printed by Hilka and Söderhjelm (op. cit. I. Anhang ii, pp. 68-73) with the corresponding Latin from Cambr. Univ. Libr. Ms. li. 6. 11 in parallel columns. The second one of the three (No. XXIX) was also printed by the present writer in vol. XXIV (Nov. 1909, pp. 218-22) of Mod. Lang Notes (A Middle English Addition to the Wager Cycle). The present text has been carefully, collated with the rotograph of the original Ms. The Hilka-Söderhjelm text is on the whole reliable, though it contains a considerable number of mistakes of minor importance. Each case in which my own transcript differs from their reprint I have settled by reference to the original.
- ↑ H. & S. read 'quoth'; but the Ms. has 'an oth', which suits the context, and the Latin agrees: Non abnegavit ille: sanctita est iureiurando amiscicia et. cet. I, 69, ll. 4-5.
- ↑ H. & S. incorrectly 'stedfast. . . .communed.'
- ↑ Ms. 'hym.'
- ↑ Ms. 'nat.'
- ↑ Lat. I, 69, ll. 7-8. Nolens ei communicare uxorem suam in separatum duxit hospicium, domo sua nequaquam ei ostensa.
- ↑ H. & S. 'traewly.'
- ↑ H. & S. 'strietis.'
- ↑ H. & S. 'whar,' Ms. clearly 'whor.' Lat. (I, 69, l. 21) unde haberet indicavit.
- ↑ Ms. might be 'mynused' or 'mynnised'. English omits Cumque nocte proxima ilium rediturum ex verbis illius percepisset, struit insidias.
- ↑ H. & S. 'habergeam.'
- ↑ Ms. abbreviated form should be read 'perced' not 'parted,' as H. & S.; Lat. ut eo perforato eciam socium parum sauciaret.
- ↑ H. & S. 'changeable.'
- ↑ H. & S. read 'furnons,' but the Ms. form looks more like 'fumous' or 'fumons;' the corresponding Ms. reading in the Latin (I, 69, l. 42) is uestita instita uestis frunona, amended by H. & S. to read, vestita astuta vestis furnonae.
- ↑ H. & S. 'not.'
- ↑ H. & S. 'advowterer.'
- ↑ H. & S. 'prier.' but the Ms. abbreviation would easily resolve into 'praier;' the Latin has Deceptus ille prece nima. This sentence inserted on lower margin of Ms.
- ↑ H. & S. 'vtterly.'
- ↑ H. & S. 'parted'; Lat. (I, 70, l, 35) perforat.
- ↑ Omitted by H. & S.
- ↑ The translator missed the meaning of this sentence entirely, Cum enim ille ex illius consilio domum emisset a paupere domui sui socii contiguam, subterraneam perforat ille viam de domo in aliam.
- ↑ H. & S. 'woordis.'
- ↑ H. & S. 'wit;' Lat. (I, 70, l. 42), coniugem.
- ↑ English omits first clause of next sentence, ubi cum invenerit me, when he has found me there.
- ↑ H. & S. 'eftscones.'