Cartula stet precor hec uello temer and a petulco Hos rapiet Numeros non homo sz mala bos Ex parte Rem carte aduerte aperte pone musam are thusam hanc Where to shoulde I rehers The sentence of my vers In them be no scholes For braynsicke franticke foles Construas hoc domine dawcocke Ware the hawke Maister Sophista Ye simplex silogista The Deuelyshe dogmatista Your hawke on your fista To hawke when your lista In ecclesia ista domine cacapisti With thy hawke on thy fisty Nunquid sic dixisti Nunquid sic fecisti Sed vbi hoc legisti Aut vnde hoc doctor dawcocke Ware the hawke Doctor Dialetica Where finde you in Ipotetica Or in Cathagoria Latina siue dorica To vse your hawkes forica In propiciatorio tanquam diuersorio Unde hoc domine dawcocke Ware the Hawke Saye to me Iacke haris Quare accuparis Ad sacramentum altaris For no reuens thou spares To shake my pygeons federis Super arcam federis Unde hoc doctor dawcocke Ware the Hawke Sir dominus vobiscum Par aucupium Ye made your hawke to cum De super candelabrum Christi crucifixi To fede vpon your fistye Dic inimice crucis christi Ubi didicisti Facere hoc domine dawcocke Ware the Hawke Apostata Iulianus Nor yet Nestorianus Thou shalt no where rede That they dyd such a dede To let theyr hawkes fly Ad ostium tabernaculi In quo est corpus domini Caue hoc doctor dawcocke Ware the Hawke This doutlesse ye raued Dis churche ye thus depraued Wherfore as I be saued Ye are therefore be knaued Quare quia euangelia Concha et conchelia Ancipiter sonalia Cetera quoque talia Tibi sunt equalia Unde hoc domine dawcocke Ware the Hawke Et relis et ralis Et reliqualis From Granado to galis From winchelsee to wales Non est brainsicke tales Nec minus racionalis Nec magis bestis That singges with a chalis Construas hor doctor dawcocke Ware the Hawke Mased witles smery smyth Hampar with your hammer vpon thy styth And make here of a sickel or a saw For though ye liue a. c. yere ye shal dye a daw Uos valete doctor indiscrete SÌ„keltonis Apostrophat ad diuum Iohannem decollatum in cuius profesto ficbat hoc a ucupium O Memoranda dies qua decolare Iohannes AcupiuÌ„ facit hod quandam quod fecerit infra ecclesiam de dis uiolans sua sacra sacrorum rector de Whiphstocke doctor cognomine daucocke dominus Wodcocke probatis probat hic probat hec hoc Idem de liber a dicacitate poetica in cextolem da probitate et in per fricam da ignobilate LIbertas ueneran da piis concessa poetis discendi est quecunque placent querunque iuuabunte uell quecunque ualent iusâ—â—s defendere causas uell quecunque uolent stolidos mordere peculcos Ergo da biâ—ueniam Quod Skelton Laureat All noble men of this take hede And beleue it as your crede TO hastye of sentence To fearse for none offence To scarce of your expens To large in necligence To slacke in recompens To hawte in excellence To lighte intelligence And to lyghte of credence Where these kepe residence Reason is banyshed thence And also dame Prudence With sober pacience All noble men of this take hede And beleue it as your crede Then wythoute collusyon Marke well this conclusion Thorowe suche abusion And by suche Illusion Unto greate confusion A nobell man may fall And hys honoure appall That yf ye thinke this shall Not rub you on the gall Then the deuill take all All nobell men of this take hede c. Quod Skelton Laureate Ye may heare now in this Rhime How euery thing must haue a time TIme is a thing that no man may resist Time is transitory and Irreuocable Who saith the coÌ„trary time passeth as him Time must be taken in season couenable Take time when time is for time is ay mutable list All thing hath time who can for it prouide Bide for time who wil for time wil no maÌ„ abide Tyme to be sad and time to play and sporte Time to take rest by way of recreation Tyme to study and time to vse comfort Tyme of pleasure and time of consolation Thus time hath his time of diuers maner facioÌ„ Tyme for to eate and drynke for thy repast Tyme to be liberall and time to make no wast Tyme to trauel and time for to rest Time for to speake and time for to hold thi peace Time woulde be vsed when time is best Time to begin and time for to cease And when time is put thyself in prease And when time is to holde thyselfe a backe For time wel spent can neuer haue lacke The rotes take their sap in time of vere In time of sommer floures freshe and grene In time of haruest men their corne shere In time of winter the North wind waxeth kene So bitterly biting the floures be not sene The Ralendis of Ianus with his frostes hore That time is wheÌ„ people must liue vpoÌ„ the store Quod Skelton Laureat A prayer to the father of heauen O Radiant luminary of light interminable Celestiall father potenciall God of might Of heauen and earth O lorde incoÌ„perable Of al perfections the essenciall most perfighte O maker of mankind that formed day and night Whose power imperial coÌ„preheÌ„deth euery place Mine hart my mind my thought my hole delite Is after this lyfe to se thy glorious face Whose magnificence is incomprehensible Al argumentes of reason whiche far doth excede Whose deâ—te doutles is indiuisible From whoÌ„ al goodnes and vertue doth procede Of thy support al creatures haue nede Assist me good Lord and graunt me of thy grace To liue to thy pleasure in word thought dede And after this lyfe to see thy glorious face To the seconde Parsone OBenigne Iesu my souerain lorde and kynge The only sonne of God by filiacion The second parson without beginning Both god man our faith maketh plain relacioÌ„ Mary the mother by way of incarnacion Whose glorious passion our soules doth reuiue Again al bodely and ghostly tribulacion Defend me with thy piteous woundes fiue O pereles prynce paynted to the death Rufully rent thy body wan and blo For my redempcion gaue vp thy vytal breathe Was neuer sorow lyke to thy deadly wo Graunt me out of this world when I shal go Thine endles mercy for my preseruatiue Against the world the flesh the deuill also Defende me with thy piteous woundes fiue To the holy ghost OFiry sentence inflamed with all grace Enkyndeling hertes with brandes charitable The endlesse rewarde of pleasure and solace To the father and the son thou art coÌ„municable In vnitate which is inseperable O water of lyfe O wel of consolacion Against al suggestions deadly and dampnable Rescu me good Lorde by your preseruacion To whome is appropryed the holy ghost by name The third parson one
great pain With a pore knight What so euer he hight The chiefe of his own counsel They can not well tell Whan they with him should mel He is so fierce and fel He rayles and he rates He calleth them doddy pates He grinnes and he gapes As it were Iacke Napes Such a mad Bedlem For to rule this realm It is a wonderous case That the kinges grace Is toward him so minded And so farre blinded That he can not perceiue How he doth him disce yue I dought least by Sorsery Or such other loselry As witch craft or charming For he is the kinges derlyng And his sweete hart rote And is gouerned by this mad koote For what is a man the better For the kynges letter For he wil tere it a sunder Wherat much I wonder How such a hoddy poule So boldly dare controule And so malapertly withstand The kynges owne hand And settes not by it a mite He sayth the kyng doth wryte And wryteth he wot not what And yet for all that The kyng his clemency Despenseth with his demensy But what his grace doth thinke I haue no pen nor ynke That therwith can mel But wel I can tel How Fraunces Petrarke That much noble clerke Writeth how charlemaine Could not himself refrayne But was rauisht with a rage Of a lyke dotage But how that came aboute Rede ye the story out And ye shal finde surely It was by nicromansy By carectes and coniuracion Under a certayne constellacion And a certayne fumigacion Under a stone on a gold ryng Wrought to Charlemain y t kyng Whiche constrayned him forcebly For to loue a certaine body Aboue all other inordinatlye This is no fable nor no lie At Acon it was brought to pas As by mine auctor tried it was But let my masters mathematical Tel you the rest for me they shall They haue the ful intelligence And dare vse the experience In there obsolute conscience To practique such abolete science For I abhor to smatter Of one so deuillyshe a matter But I wil make further relacion Of this Isagogicall colation How master Gaguine the crownicler Of the feates of war That were done in Fraunce Maketh remembraunce How kyng Lewes of Late Made vp a great estate Of a pore wretched man Wherof much care began Iohannes Balua was his name Mine auctor writeth the same Promoted was he To a Cardinals dignitie By Lewes the kynge aforesayd With him so wel apayd That he made him hys chaunceler To make all or to mar And to rule as him liste Tyl he checked at the fiste And agayne all reason Committed open treason And against his lord souerain Wherfore he suffred pain Was heded drawen and quarterd And dyed stinkyngly martred Loe yet for all that He ware a cardinals hat In him was small fayth As mine auctor sayth Not for that I meane Suche a casuelty should be seene Or suche chaunce should fal Unto oure Cardinal Almightye God I trust Hath for him discuste That of force he muste Be faythfull true and iuste To oure moste royal kynge Chief rote of his makyng Yet it is a wilye mouse That caÌ„ bylde his dwelling house Within the cattes eares Withouten drede or feare It is a nice reconing To put al the gouernyng All the rule of this land Into one mans hand One wise mans head May stand somwhat in stede But the wittes of many wyse Much better can deuise By their circumspection And their sad direction To cause the commune weale Longe to endure in heale Christ kepe king Henry the eyght From trechery and disceipt And graunt him grace to know The Faucon from the Crow The wolfe from the Lambe From whens that maistife came Let him neuer confounde The gentil greyhound Of this matter the ground Is easy to expound And sone may be perceyued How the world is conueyd But harke my frend one worde In earnest or in borde Tel me now in this stede Is maister Mewtas dead The kinges french secretary And his vntrue aduersary For he sent in writing To fraunces the french kynge of our masters couÌ„sel in eueri thiÌ„g That was a perillous rekenyng Nay nay he is not dead But he was so payned in the head That he shall neuer eat more bred Now he is gone to another stede With a Bul vnder lead By way of commission To a straunge iurisdiction Called Diminges Dale Farre beyonde portyngale And hath his pasporte to pas Ultra sauro matas To the deuil syr Sathanas To Pluto and syr Bellyal The deuils vicare generall And to his colledge conuentuall As wel calodemonial As to cacademoniall To purney for our Cardinall A palace pontificall To kepe his court prouinciall Upon articles iudiciall To contend and to striue For his prerogatiue Within that consistory To make sommons peremptorye Before some prothonoâ—ory Imperial or papal Upon this matter misticall I haue told you part but not all Here after perchaunce I shall Make a large memoriall And a further rehersall And more paper I thinke to blot To the court why I came not Desiring you aboue all thing To kepe you from laughyng Whan ye fall to redyng Of this wanton scrowle And pray for Mewtas soule For he is wel past and gone That wold god euery chone Of his affinitie Were gone as wel as he Amen amen say ye Of your inward charitie Amen Of your inward charitie IT were greate ruthe For writinge of truthe Anye manne shoulde be In perplexitie Of displeasure For I make you sure Where trouth is abhord It is a playne recorde That there wantes grace In whose place Dothe occupye Full vngraciously Fals flattery Fals trechery Fals bryberye Subtyle Sym Sly Wyth mad folye For who can best lye He is best set by Than farewell to thee Welthfull felicitee For prosperitie Awaye than wyll flee Than muste we agree With pouertye For misery With penurye Miserably And wretchedly Hathe made Askry And oute crye Folowynge the chase To dryue away grace Yet sayest thou percase We can lacke no grace For my Lordes grace And my Ladyes grace With trey deuse ase And ase in the face Some haute and some bace Some daunce the trace Euer in one case Marke me that chase In the Tennis play For sinke quater trey Is a tal man He rod but we ran Hay the gye and the gan The graye goose is no swan The waters waxe wan And beggers they ban And they cursed datan De tribu dan That this worke began Palam et clam With Balak and Balam The golden ram Of flemmyng dam Sem Iapheth or cam But how come to pas Your cupboorde that was Is turned to glasse From siluer to brasse From golde to pewter Or els to a newter To copper to tyn To leade or Alcumin A goldsmyth your Mayre But the chefe of your fayre Might stand now by potters And suche as sel trotters Pytchars potshordes This shrewdly accordes To be a cupborde for Lordes My lord now and sir knyghte Good euen and good nyghte For now
els to say yll Now haue I shewyd you part of your proud mīd Take this in worth the best is behynde Wryten at Croydon by Crowland in the Clay On Candelmas euyn the Kalendas of May. FINIS Contra alium Cantitatem Organisantem Asinum qui impugnabat Skeltonida Pierium Sarcasmos PRponenda meis non sunt tua plectra camenis Necquantum nostra fistula clara tua est Sepelicet liricos modularis arundine psalmos Et tremulos calamis concinis ipse modos Quamuis mille tuus digitus dat carmine plausus Nam tua quam tua uox est mage docta manus Quamuis cuncta facis tumida sub mente superbus Gratior est Phaebo fistula nostra tamen Ergo tuum stude as animo deponere fastum Et uiolare sacrum desine Stulte uirum Skelton Laureat vppon a deedmans hed that was sent to hym from an honorable Ientil woman for a token Deuysyd this gostly meditacion in Englysh Couenable in sentence Comendable Lamentable Lacrimable Profitable for the soule Youre vgly tokyn My mynd hath brokyn From worldly lust For I haue dyscust We are but dust And dy we must It is generall To be mortall I haue well espyde No man may hym hyde From deth holow eyed With sinnews wyderyd With bonys shyderyd With hys worme etyn maw And his gastly Iaw Gaspyng asyde Nakyd of hyde Neyther flesh not fell Then by my councell Loke that ye spel Well thys gospell For wher so we dwell Deth wil vs qwell And with vs mell For all our pamperde paūchis Ther may no fraunchys Nor worldly blys Redeme vs from this Oure days be datyd To be chek matyd With drawttys of deth Stoppyng oure breth Oure eyen synkyng Oure bodys stynkyng Oure gummys grynnyng Oure soulys brynnyng To whom then shall we sew For to haue reskew But to swete Iesu On vs then for to rew O goodly child Of Mary mylde Then be oure shylde That we be not exyld To the dyne dale Of botemles bale Nor to the lake Of fendys blake But graunt vs grace To se thy face And to purchace Thyne heuenly place And thy palace Full of solace Aboue the sky That is so hy Eternally To beholde and se The Trynyte Amen Mirres vous y. VUomanhod wanton ye want Your medeling mastres is manerles Plenty of yll of goodnes skant Ye rayll at ryot recheles To prayse youre porte it is nedeles For all your draffe yet and youre dreggys As well borne as ye full oft tyme beggys Why so koy and full of skorne Myne horse is sold I wene you say My new furryd gowne when it is worne Put vp youre purs ye shall non pay By Crede I trust to se the day As proud a pohen as ye sprede Of me and other ye may haue nede Though angelyk be youre smylyng Yet is youre tong an adders tayle Full lyke a Scorpyon styngyng All those by whom ye haue auayle Good mastres Anne there ye do shayle What prate ye praty pyggys ny I truste to quyte you or I dy Youre key is mete for euery lok Youre key is commen and hangyth owte Youre key is redy we nede not knok Nor stand long wrestyng there aboute Of youre doregate ye haue no doute But one thyng is that ye be lewde Holde youre tong now all be shrewde To mastres Anne that farly swete That wonnes at the key intemmys strete The boke of three fooles M. Skelton poete Laureate Gaue to my Lord Cardynall The fyrst foole The man that doth wed a wyfe For her goodes and her rychesse And not for lygnage femynatyfe Procureth doloure and dystresse With infynyte payne and heuynesse For she wyll do hym moche sorowe Bothe at euyn and at morowe The seconde foole The dartes ryght cursed of enuye Hath rayned sythe the worlde began Whiche bryngeth man euydently In to the bondes of Sathan Wherfore he is a dyscrete man That can eschewe that euyll synne Where body and soule is lost in The thyrd foole Dyuers by voluptuousnes Of women the which be present Be brought in to full great dystres Forgettyng vertues excellent Of god the whych is permanent And suffreth themselfe to be bounde In cordes as it were a hounde COme hyther take this Boke rede therein for your lernyng with clere iyeu and loke in this boke y t sheweth you folysh Fooles w tout wyt or vnderstanding Pecunyous Fooles that bee auaryce and for to haue good tyme and to lyue meryly weddeth these olde wyddred women whych hath sackes full of nobles claryfye here your syghte ye shal know what goodnes cōmeth therby and what Ioye and gladnes Some there be y t habandoneth themselfe for to gather togyther the donge that yssuethoute of theyr asses arse for to fynde euermore grese it is grete foly trulye but yet the yonge man is more folyssher the whiche weddeth an olde wyfe for to haue her golde syluer I say that he is a great Foole that taketh anne olde wyfe for her goodes and is much to blame They the whiche do so procureth all trybulations For with her he shall neither haue ioy recreacion nor rest He noryssheth stryfes and greate debates thoughte payne anguyshe melancoly And yf he wolde accomplysshe the workes of maryage hee may not for shee is so debylyte colde vnpropyce vnnaturall and vndyscur rente for the coldenes that is in her The husbande of this olde wyfe hath none esperaunce to haue lygnage by her for he neuer loued her The man is a verye Foole to make his demoraunce vpon such an olde wife whan he thinketh somtime vpon such thynges he leseth his naturall wit in cursynge hymselfe more then a. M. tymes with the golde and the syluer the cursed hasarde of Fortune And when he seeth his poore lyfe in suche dystresse his hert is all oppressed with melancoly and dolour but whan the vnhappye man seeth that it is force and that hee is constrayneth to haue pacience he puttteth his cure to draw to hym the money of the olde wyddred woman in makyng to her glade chere And whan hee hath the money and the bagge w t nobles God knoweeth what chere he maketh wythoute thynkinge on them that gathereth it And when he hath spente al he is more vnhappyer then hee was before yf that the foole be vnhappye it is well ryghte for hee hath wedded auaryce mother of all euylles yf hee had taken a wyfe that had ben fayre and yonge after his complection he had not fallen into so great an inconuenience It is wryten in auncient bokes that hee whiche weddeth a wyfe by auaryce and not for to haue lygnage hath no cure of the honestie of matrymonye and thynketh full euyll on his conscience The Unyon of maryage in decayed for vnder the coloure of good and loyall maryage is wedded auaryce as we secuery day by experience through the world And one wil haue a wife and that hee marke his to be demaunded in maryage they will enquyre of his ryches and