|
At Babiloine whylom fil it thus,
|
|
The whiche toun the queen Semiramus
|
|
Leet dichen al about, and walles make
|
|
Ful hye, of harde tyles wel y-bake.
|
710 |
Ther weren dwellinge in this noble toun
|
|
Two lordes, which that were of greet renoun,
|
|
And woneden so nigh, upon a grene,
|
|
That ther nas but a stoon-wal hem bitwene,
|
|
As ofte in grete tounes is the wone.
|
|
And sooth to seyn, that o man hadde a sone,
|
|
Of al that londe oon of the lustieste.
|
|
That other hadde a doghter, the faireste,
|
|
That estward in the world was tho dwellinge.
|
|
The name of everich gan to other springe
|
720 |
By wommen, that were neighebores aboute.
|
|
For in that contree yit, withouten doute,
|
|
Maidens been y-kept, for Ielosye,
|
|
Ful streite, lest they diden som folye.
|
|
|
This yonge man was cleped Piramus,
|
|
And Tisbe hight the maid, Naso seith thus;
|
|
And thus by report was hir name y-shove
|
|
That, as they wexe in age, wex hir love;
|
|
And certein, as by reson of hir age,
|
|
Ther mighte have been bitwix hem mariage,
|
730 |
But that hir fadres nolde hit nat assente;
|
|
And bothe in love y-lyke sore they brente,
|
|
That noon of alle hir frendes mighte hit lette
|
|
But prively somtyme yit they mette
|
|
By sleighte, and speken som of hir desyr;
|
|
As, wry the gleed, and hotter is the fyr;
|
|
Forbede a love, and it is ten so wood.
|
|
|
This wal, which that bitwix hem bothe stood,
|
|
Was cloven a-two, right fro the toppe adoun.
|
|
Of olde tyme of his fundacioun;
|
740 |
But yit this clifte was so narwe and lyte,
|
|
It as nat sene, dere y-nogh a myte.
|
|
But what is that, that love can nat espye?
|
|
Ye lovers two, if that I shal nat lye,
|
|
Ye founden first this litel narwe clifte;
|
|
And, with a soun as softe as any shrifte,
|
|
They lete hir wordes through the clifte pace,
|
|
And tolden, whyl that they stode in the place,
|
|
Al hir compleynt of love, and al hir wo,
|
|
At every tyme whan they dorste so.
|
|
750 |
Upon that o syde of the wal stood he,
|
|
And on that other syde stood Tisbe,
|
|
The swote soun of other receyve,
|
|
And thus hir wardeins wolde they deceyve.
|
|
And every day this wal they wolde threte,
|
|
And wisshe to god, that it were doun y-bete.
|
|
Thus wolde they seyn -- "allas! Thou wikked wal,
|
|
Through thyn envye thou us lettest al!
|
|
Why nilt thou cleve, or fallen al a-two?
|
|
Or, at the leste, but thou woldest so,
|
760 |
Yit woldestow but ones lete us mete,
|
|
Or ones that we mighte kissen swete,
|
|
Than were we covered of our cares colde.
|
|
But natheles, yit be we to thee holde
|
|
In as muche as thou suffrest for to goon
|
|
Our wordes through thy lyme and eek thy stoon.
|
|
Yit oghte we with thee ben wel apayd."
|
|
|
And whan thise ydel wordes weren sayd,
|
|
The colde wal they wolden kisse of stoon,
|
|
And take hir leve, and forth they wolden goon.
|
770 |
And this was gladly in the even-tyde
|
|
Or wonder erly, lest men hit espyde;
|
|
And longe tyme they wroghte in this manere
|
|
Til on a day, whan Phebus gan to clere,
|
|
Aurora with the stremes of hir hete
|
|
Had dryed up the dew of herbes were;
|
|
Unto this clifte, as it was wont to be,
|
|
Com Pyramus, and after com Tisbe,
|
|
And plighten trouthe fully in hir fey
|
|
That ilke same night to stele awey,
|
780 |
And to begyle hir wardiens everichoon,
|
|
And forth out of the citee for to goon;
|
|
And, for the feldes been so brode and wyde,
|
|
For to mete in o place at o tyde,
|
|
They sette mark hir meting sholde be
|
|
Ther king Ninus was graven, under a tree;
|
|
For olde payens that ydoles heried
|
|
Useden tho in feldes to ben beried.
|
|
And faste by this grave was a welle.
|
|
And, shortly of this tale for to telle,
|
790 |
This covenant was affermed wonder faste;
|
|
And longe hem thoughte that the sonne laste,
|
|
That hit nere goon under the see adoun.
|
|
|
This Tisbe hath so greet affeccioun
|
|
And so greet lyking Piramus to see,
|
|
That, whan she seigh her tyme mighte be,
|
|
At night she stal awey ful prively
|
|
With her face y-wimpled subtiny;
|
|
For alle her frendes -- for to save her trouthe --
|
|
She hath for-sake; allas! and that is routhe
|
800 |
That ever woman wolde be so trewe
|
|
To trusten man, but she the bet him knewe!
|
|
And to the tree she goth a ful good pas,
|
|
For love made her so hardy in this cas;
|
|
And by the welle adoun she gan her dresse.
|
|
Allas! than comth a wilde leonesse
|
|
Out of the wode, withouten more areste,
|
|
With blody mouthe, of strangling of a beste,
|
|
To drinken of the welle, ther as she sat;
|
|
And, whan that Tisbe had espyed that,
|
810 |
She rist her up, with a ful drery herte,
|
|
And in a cave with dredful foot she sterte,
|
|
For by the mone she seigh hit wel with-alle.
|
|
And, as she ran, her wimpel leet she falle,
|
|
And took noon heed, so sore she was a-whaped.
|
|
And eek so glad of that she was escaped;
|
|
And thus she sit, and darketh wonder stille.
|
|
Whan that this leonesse hath dronke her fille,
|
|
Aboute the welle gan she for to winde,
|
|
And right anoon the wimpel gan she finde,
|
820 |
And with her blody mouth hit al to-rente.
|
|
Whan this was doon, no lenger she ne stente,
|
|
But to the wode her wey than hath she nome.
|
|
|
And, at the laste, this Piramus is come,
|
|
But al to longe, allas! at hoom was he.
|
|
The mone shoon, men mighte wel y-see,
|
|
And in his weye, as that he com ful faste,
|
|
His eyen to the grounde adoun he caste,
|
|
And in the sonde, as he beheld adoun,
|
|
He seigh the steppes brode of a leoun,
|
830 |
And in his herte he sodeinly agroos,
|
|
And pale he wex, therwith his heer aroos,
|
|
And neer he com, and fond the wimpel torn.
|
|
"Allas!" quode he, "the day that I was born!
|
|
This o night wol us lovers bothe slee!
|
|
How sholde I axen mercy of Tisbe
|
|
Whan I am he that have yow slain, allas!
|
|
My bidding hath yow slain, as in this cas.
|
|
Allas! to bidde a woman goon by nighte
|
|
In place ther as peril fallen mighte,
|
840 |
And I so slow! allas, I ne hadde be
|
|
Here in this place a furlong-wey or ye!
|
|
Now what leoun that be in this foreste,
|
|
My body mote he renden, or what beste
|
|
That wilde is, gnawen mote he now myn herte!"
|
|
And with that worde he to the wimpel sterte,
|
|
And kiste hit ofte, and weep on hit ful sore,
|
|
And seide, "wimpel, allas! ther nis no more
|
|
But thou shalt fele as wel the blood of me
|
|
As thou hast felt the bleding of Tisbe!"
|
850 |
And with that worde he smoot him to the herte.
|
|
The blood out of the wounde as brode sterte
|
|
As water, whan the conduit broken is.
|
|
|
Now Tisbe, which that wiste nat of this,
|
|
But sitting in her drede, she thoghte thus,
|
|
"If hit so falle that my Piramus
|
|
Be comen hider, and may me nat y-finde,
|
|
He may me holden fals and eek unkinde."
|
|
And out she comth, and after him gan espyen
|
|
Bothe with her herte and with her yen,
|
860 |
And thoghte, "I wol him tellen of my drede
|
|
Bothe of the leonesse and al my dede."
|
|
And at the laste her love than hath she founde
|
|
Beting with his heles on the grounde,
|
|
Al blody, and therwith-al a-bak she sterte,
|
|
And lyke the wawes quappe gan her herte,
|
|
And pale as box she wex, and in a throwe
|
|
Avysed her, and gan him wel to knowe,
|
|
That hit was Piramus, her herte dere.
|
|
Who coude wryte whiche a deedly chere
|
870 |
Hath Tisbe now, and how her heer she rente,
|
|
And how she gan her-selve to turmente,
|
|
And how she lyth and swowneth on the grounde,
|
|
And how she weep of teres ful his wounde,
|
|
How medeleth she his blood with her compleynte,
|
|
And with his blood her-selven gan she peynte;
|
|
How clippeth she the dede cors, allas?
|
|
How doth this woful Tisbe in this cas!
|
|
How kisseth she his frosty mouth so cold!
|
|
"Who hath doon this, and who hath been so bold
|
880 |
To sleen my leef? O spek, my Piramus!
|
|
I am thy Tisbe, that thee calleth thus!"
|
|
And therwith-al she lifteth up his heed.
|
|
|
This woful man, that was nat fully deed,
|
|
Whan that he herde the name of Tisbe cryen,
|
|
On her he caste his hevy deedly yen
|
|
And doun again, and yeldeth up the gost.
|
|
|
Tisbe rist up, withouten noise or bost,
|
|
And seigh her wimpel and his empty shethe,
|
|
And eek his swerd, that him hath doon to dethe;
|
890 |
Than spak she thus: "my woful hand," quod she,
|
|
"Is strong y-nogh in swiche a werk to me;
|
|
For love shal yive me strengthe and hardinesse
|
|
To make my wounde large y-nogh, I gesse.
|
|
I wol thee folwen deed, and I wol be
|
|
Felawe and cause eek of thy deeth," quod she.
|
|
"And thogh that nothing save the deeth only
|
|
Mighte thee fro me departe trewely,
|
|
Thou shalt no more departe now fro me
|
|
Than fro the deeth, for I wol go with thee!
|
|
900 |
"And now, ye wrecched Ielous fadres oure,
|
|
We, that weren whylom children youre,
|
|
We prayen yow, withouten more envye,
|
|
That in o grave y-fere we moten lye,
|
|
Sin love hath brought us to this pitous ende!
|
|
And rightwis god to every lover sende,
|
|
That loveth trewely, more prosperitee
|
|
Than ever hadde Piramus and Tisbe!
|
|
And lat no gentil woman her assure
|
|
To putten her in swiche an aventure.
|
910 |
But god forbede but a woman can
|
|
Been as trewe and loving as a man!
|
|
And, for my part, I shal anoon it kythe!"
|
|
And, with that worde, his swerd she took as swythe,
|
|
That warm was of her loves blood and hoot,
|
|
And to the herte she her-selven smoot.
|
|
|
And thus ar Tisbe and Piramus ago.
|
|
Of trewe men I finde but fewe mo
|
|
In alle my bokes, save this Piramus,
|
|
And therfor have I spoken of him thus.
|
920 |
For hit is deyntee to us men to finde
|
|
A man that can in love be trewe and kinde.
|
|
Heer may ye seen, what lover so he be,
|
|
A woman dar and can as wel as he.
|
|
|
Explicit Legenda Tisbe.
|