The Booke of Thenseygnementes and Techynge that the Knyght of the Towre made to his Doughters/Chapter 12
HOW THE DOUGHTERS OF THE KYNG OF DENMARKE LOST THEIR HUSBONDE BY CAUSE OF THEYR MANERS.
HENNE I wold wel that ye had vnderstonden thensample of the doughters of the kyng of denmarke, whiche j shall acompte to yow. Ther ben foure kynges on this side the see that auncyently maryed for honoure, withoute couetyse of lond, with doughters of kynges and hyghe prynces that were wel born and had good renomme, of good maners, of good mayntene, and stedfast and they shold be sene yf they were wel shapen, and lyke to bere children, and that they had suche thynges as wymmen ought to haue. And these ben the foure kynges; the kyng of Frauce, whiche is the moost grettest and noble; the next is the kyng of Englond; the thyrd is the kyng of spayne; and the fourth is the kyng of hongarye, whiche is by right Marchal of Cristen men in werres ageynst the hethen men and sarasyns. So it happed that the kyng of Englond was for to marye, and he herd saye that the kynge of denmarke had thre fayre doughters and moche wel born. And by cause this kyng was a moche wyse man, and the quene a blessid woman and of good lyf, he sente certayne knyghtes and ladyes of the mooste suffisaunt of his royamme for to see these doughters, and so passed the see and camen in to denmark. When the kyng & the quene saw the messagers they had grete ioye, & honoured & fested them foure dayes, & none knewe the trouthe, whiche of them shold be chosen. And they affayted & arayed the doughters the best wyse they myzt. And ther was in this companye a knyght and a lady right connyng and moche subtyl, whiche took good heede and set their ententes for to see the manere of these thre yong ladyes & their contenaunces, & otherwhyle spaken and had comynycacyon with hem. And them semed that the oldest was the fayrest, but she had not the mooste sure manere in her beholdyng, but ofte loked here and there, and torned ofte her heede on her sholders, & had her sight ventillous, lyke a vane. The second doughter had moche talkyng, and spacke ofte tofore she vnderstood that whiche was said to her. The third was not the fayrest of them, but she was moost agreable, & mayntened her manere more sure and sadly, & spak but litil, & that was wel demeurly, & her regard & sight was more ferme & huble than of that other two. And thembassatours took their aduys & couceil that they wold retorne vnto the kyng their lord, & saye to hym suche thyng as they had fouden, & thene he myst take her that plesid hym. Thenne they cam to the kyng & quene for to take their leue, & thanked them moche of their good cōpanye & of thonour that they had done to them, & that they wold wel reporte to their lorde suche thynges as they had sene of their dousters, vpon whiche he myght do his plaisir. The kyng thêne lycencyd them & gaf to them fair gyftes, & so they departed & cam in to englond, and recouted to their lord thonoure that the kyng & quene had done to them. & after they reported the beaultes of the doughters, their maners & mayntenes, & thus ther was ynough spoken of eche of them, & there were ynough that susteyned to take tholdest or the seconde for thonour, & that hit were best to take tholdest. & when all this mater had ben wel beten & discussed, the kyng, whiche was wyse of naturell wytte, spak of the yongest & said thus: "Myn auncetours maryed them but for worship, without couetyse, & for bounte of the woman, & not for plaisaunce. But I have herd ofter myshappe for to take a wyf for beaulte or for plaisauce, than to take her whiche is of stedfast manere, & that fair mayntene. And there is not in the world so grete ease as to haue a wyfe sure & stedfast, ne none so grete & fair noblesse. And therfor I chose the thyrd doughter, for I wylle haue none of the other." And thene he sent for to fetche her, wherof the two older doughters had grete despyte & grete desdayne. And thus she that hadde the better and the more sure manere was made quene of England; and tholdest was refused for her wylde lokynge, whiche was ouer ventyllous, and that other suster, by cause she spak ouermoche. Now, fayre doughters, take ye ensample by the doughters of the kyng of denmarke, and late not your eyen ben ouer ventyllous, ne tourne not youre hede hyder ne thyder; but when ye wille see ony thyng on ony syde, torne your vysage and youre body to geder. And be not ouer full of wordes; for who that speketh quermoche is not reputed for wyse. And ye ought wel at leyser vnderstande to fore that ye answere, and yf ye make a lytell pause bytwene, ye shall answere the better and the more wysely, for the prouerbe sayth that as moche auayleth to hym that hereth and no thyng vnderstondeth, as to hym that hunteth and no thyng taketh, as is sayd to fore. And yet, my fayre doughters, I shall saye to yow of a fayt that happed me of this mater. It happed me ones that I was spoken to of maryage for to marye with a noble woman whiche had fader and moder. And my lord my fader ladde me thyder for to see her. Whan we were there, there was made to vs grete chere & ioyous. And I beheld her of whome I was spoken to, and I set my self in comynycacyon with her of many thynges, for to know the better her mayntenyng & gouernaūce, & so we fill in spekyng of prysoners. And thenne I said to her, "Damoysell, i wold wel and had leuer be youre prysoner than ony others, & i thenke that youre pryson shold not be so hard ne cruell as is the pryson of englissh men." And she ansuerd me that she had late sene such one that she wold wel that he were her prysoner. And i demäded her, yf she wold yeue hym euyl pryson, & she answerd me Nay, but that she wold kepe hym as derworthely as her owne body. And j said to her that he, who someuer he was, he was wel happy & eurous for to haue so swete & noble a pryson. Shall I saye to yow she fouyd hym ynough, and had her eye quyck & lyght, & she was ful of wordes. & when we shold departe, she was aperte, for she praid me two or thre tymes that I shold not leue, but come see her how'sõeuer it went. But j helde me al styll, for i had neuer sene her to fore, & she wist wel that there was spoken of maryage of her and of me. And when we were departed, my lord my fader demaūded me what me semed of her that i had sene, & bad me to telle hym myn aduys. & I answerd to hym & said that she was good & faire, "but i shall neuer be more nerre her than jam, yf it please you," and told to hym how me semed of her and of her estate. And thenne he said that he wold not also that i shold haue her. & therfor the ouer grete malepertnes & the lyght manere that me semed to see in her, discouraged me so that i maryed not with her, wherof j haue thaked god'síth many tymes, for it was not after a yere & an half that she was blamed, but i wote neither it were with wrong or right, and soone after she deyde. & therfor, my fair dousters, al gentyl wymmen and noble maydens of good lygnage ought to be softe, humble, Rype, stedfast of estate and of manere, of lytel speche to answere curtoisly, and not to be ouer wyld to sprynge ne lepe, ne cast her syght ouer lyghtely, for in lytel doyng ne cometh but good. For many haue lost their maryage for to shewe them ouer moche and to make ouer grete semblaunce, wherof oftymes were supposed other thynges in them than euer were done or thought.