halfe his garde she and her husband refte And scarce alowde the other halfe they lefte Eke as in Scotlande thus he lay lamenting fates When as his daughter so sought all his vtter spoyle The meaner vpstarte gentiles thought thē selues his 〈◊〉 And betters eke see here an aged prince his foyle Then was he saine for succoure his to toyle With all his knightes to Cornewall there to lye In greatest nede his Raganes loue to trye And when he came to Cornwall Ragan them with foye Receiued him and eke bit husbande did the lyke There he abode a yeare and liude without a noy But then they tooke all his retinue from him quite Saue only ten and shewde 〈◊〉 dayly spite Which he bewailde 〈◊〉 durst not striue Though in disoayne they laste alowde but fiue On this he deemde him selfe was far that tyine vnwyse When from his doughter Gonerell to Ragan hee Departed erste yet eache did him poore king despise Wherefore to Scotlande once againe with bit to bee And bide be went but beastly cruell shee Bereaude him of his seruauntes all saue one Bad him content him self with that or none Eke at what time he askte of eache to haue his garde To garoe his grace where so he walkte or wente They calde him doting foole and all his hestes debarde Demaunded if with life he could not be contente 〈◊〉 he to late his rigour did repente Gainst me and sayde Cordila now 〈◊〉 I finde the 〈◊〉 thou 〈◊〉 mee to to true And to be short to Fraunce he came alone to mee And tolde me how my sisters him our father vsde Then I besought my king with teares vpō my knee That he would aide my father thus by them misusde Who nought at all my humble beste refusde But sent to euery coste of Fraunce for ayde Wherwith my father home might be conueide The soldiers gathered from eche quarter of the land Came at the length to know the king his mind will Who did commit them to my fathers aged hand And I likewise of loue and reuerent mere goodwill Desirde my king he would not take it ill If I departed for a space withall To take a parte or ease my fathers thrall This had I partid with my father from my fere We came to Britayne with our royall cāpe to fight And manly fought so lōg our enmies bāquisht were By martiall feates and force by subiectes sword and might The Britishe kinges were fayne to yelde our right And so my father well this realme did guide Three yeares in peace and after that he dide Then I at Leircester in Ianus temple made His tombe and buried there his kingly regall corse As sondry tymes in life before he often bade For of our fathers will we then did greatly force We had of conscience eke so much remorce That we supposde those childrens liues to ill Which brake their fathers testament and will. And I was queene the kingdome after still to holde Till fiue yeares paste I did this Iland guyde I had the Britaynes at what becke bay I wolde Till that my louing king myne Aganippus dyde But then my seate it faltered on eache side Two churlishe Impes began with me to Farre And for my crowne wadgde with me mortal warre The one hight Morgan th' elder sonne of Gonerell My sister and that other Conidagus hight My sister Ragans sonne that loude me neuer well Both nephewes mine yet wolde against me Cordel fight Because I loude always that semed right Therfore they hated me and did pursue Their aunte and queene as she had bene a Iewe. This Morgane was that time the prince of Albany And Comdagus king of Cornewale and of VVales Both which at once prousded their artillery To worke me wofull wo mine adherentes bales What nede I fill thyne eares with longer tales ' They did preuaile by might and powre so faste That I was taken prisoner at laste In spitefull sorte they vsed then my captiue corse No fauoure shewde to me ertincte was mine estate Of kinred princesse bloud or pere was no remorce But as an abiecte vile and worse they did me hate To lie in darksome dongeon was my fate As t were a thiefe mine aunswers to abyde Gainst right and iustice vnder Iaylours guyde For libertie at lengthe I suid to subiectes were But they kepte me in pryson close deuoyde of truste If I might once escape they were in dreade and feare Their fawning frendes with me would proue vntrue and 〈◊〉 They tolde me take it paciently I muste And be contented that I had my life Sithe with their mothers I began the strife Whereby I sawe might nothing me preuayle to pray Or pleade or proue defende excuse or pardon craue They herde me not despisde my plaintes sought my decay I might no lawe nor loue nor right nor iustice haue No frendes no faith nor pitie could me saue But I was from all hope of licence barde Condemde my cause like neuer to be herde Was euer lady in such wofull wreckfull wo Depriude of princely powre berefte of libertie Depriud in all these worldly pompes hit pleasures fro And brought from welthe to nede distresse and misery From palace proude in prison poore to lye From kingdomes twayne to dungion one no more From Ladies wayting vnto vermine store From light to darke from holsom ayre to lothsam smell From odewr swete to sweate from ease to grieuous payne From sight of princely wights to place where theues do dwel From deinty beddes of downe to be of strawe full fayne From dowes of beauenly hewe to dennes of dayne From greatest haps that worldly wightes atchieue To more distresse then any wretche aliue When firste I lefte the crowne of Fraunce tid me eralte And eke my noble king myne Aganippus true And came to Englande for their beynous factes and faulte Which from his right and kingdom quite our-father threw To take this realme to raigne and treason knew I thinke of all misfortunes was the worste Or else I deeme was some of vs accurste For marke my haplesse fall that drawes at length to ende As in this pryson vile on lyue I lingering laye When I had mourned long but founde no faithfull frende That could me helpe or ayde or comforte any way Was serude at meate as those their kinges betraye With fare God wot was simple bare and thinne Could not sustayne the corys it entred in And when the sighes teares plaintes nigh burst my hart And place and stenche and fare night poysond euery pore For lacke of frendes to tell my seas of giltlesse smarte And that mine eyes had sworne to take swete stepe no more I was content siche cares oppreste me sore To leaue my foode take mourning plaintes and crie And lay me downe let griefe and nature trie Thus as I pyning lay my carkas on couch of strawe And felte that payne erste neuer creature earthly knewe Me thought by night a gryzely ghost in darkes I same Eke nerer
thriue He plagues the prowde preserues the good aliue FINIS The Authoure THen vanishte Humber and no sooner gon VVas he but straight in place before me came A princely wight had complet harnes on Though not so complet as they now do frame He seemde sometime t' aue bene of worthy fame In breste a shafte with bleeding wounde he bare And thus he tolde the cause of all his care Locrinus the eldest sonne of Brutus declareth his slaughter to haue happened for his euill life He died the yeare before Christe 1064. YF euer any noble prince might rewe His factes are paste long since the same may I That would to God it were not farre to true Or that I iustly could my faultes denye The truthe of thinges the ende or tyme doth trie As well by me is seen my haplesse fall Declares whence came my greate misfortunes all I am Locrinus seconde Britayne king The 〈◊〉 sonne of him that founde this lande Whose death to me my mischiefes all did bring And causde why first I tooke my death in bande He chiefly wylde me when he gaue this lande I should be rulde by all his counsayles will And vse their iudgmentes in my dealings still But what do I accuse my fathers heste What meane I here th'unfauty for to blame All he commaunded euen was for the beste Though in effecte of beste the worste became So thinges ofte times well mente vnfitly frame So often times the counsayle of your frende Apparent good fawles faulty in the eude For as he wisht I vsde his counsayles ayde In eache thing that I deemde was good for mee I neuer ought that they desirde denayde But did to all their mindes and hestes agree And Corinaeus sawe my harte so free By diuers meanes he sought this match to make That to my wife I might his daughter take But I that wiste not then what mariage ment Did straight agree his Guendoline to haue Yet afterwarde suspecting his intent My frendes to me this pointe of counsaile gaue That who so doth of Prince aliaunce craue He meanes thereby to worke some point of ill Or else to frame the prince vnto his will. It may well be he mente no euill at all But wise men alwayes vse to dreade the-worste And sithe it was the fountaine of my fall From whence the springe of all my sorowes burste I may well thinke was some of vs accurste For why the ende doth alwayes proue the facte By ende weiudge the meaning of the acte I made no haste to wed my spoused wyfe I wiste I could as yet without hir byde I had not tasted toyes of trayned life I dcemde them fooles by Cupides darte that dide I Venus vise and all hir force defide And liude at reste and rulde my land so well That men delighted of my factes to tell My brethren eke long weldid well their partes We feard no foes we thought our state would stand We gaue our selues to learned skilfull artes Wherin we other fruite or pleasur fand And we enioyde so fine a fruitfull land That fewe in earth might with our states compare We lyude so voyde of noysome carke and care But see the chaunce when least we thought of ill When we esteamde our state to be moste sure Than came a flawe to bridle all our will For straungers far gan vs to warre procure And euen when first they put their pranke in vre On Albane shores my brother there they slewe Whose death we after made the Hunnes to rue When he was dead they hopte to winne the reste And ouer Abi streame with haste did hie But I and eke my brother Camber dreste Our armies straight and came their force to trie We brake their rayes and forste their king to flie Into the arme of Sea they ouer came Where Humber brounde that waters tooke his name We ether slewe or tooke them captiues all Emongst the which O mischiefe great to tell The Gods to worke mine ouerthrow and fall Sent ladies three whose beauties did excell Of which because I liked one so well I tooke hir straight nor she did ought denie But eche thing graunted so she might not dye Thus Humber we this hatefull hungery king In Humber drenshte and him depriude of pride And of his loftie ladies he did bring He loste the praye and all his men beside And we the spoiles of all his hoaste deuide But I that thought I had the greatest share Had caught the cause of all my wofull care They calde this lady Elstride whome I tooke Whose bewty braue did so my wittes confounde That for hir sake my promise I for sooke Wherby I was to Gwendoline first bounde Me thought no lady went on earthely grounde That might alure me euer chaunge my minde So was I caught by snares of Cupide blynde Was neuer none before so likte mine eye 〈◊〉 hir more then I coulde loue my life Hir absence still me thought did cause me die I surely mente to take hir to my wife But see howe beauty breadeth deadly strife Lo here began my whole confusion here Sprang out the shaft frō which this wounde I beare For Corinaeus had no soner hearde That I did meane his daughter to forsake But straight as one that did nought else regarde In haste his voyage towardes me did take And come declarde what promise I did make From whiche he saide if once I sought to slioe It should by dinte of sworde and bloud be tride But if I would hir take as erste I sayde And not this straunger choose against his minde His helpe he promiste at eache time and ayde To be so redy as I wishte to finde He furder sayde my contrey did me bynde To take such one as all my subiectes knewe Sithe straungers to their foes are neuer true I wayde his wordes and thought he wishte me wel But yet because his stocke should gaine therby I reckte them lesse and yet the truthe to tell I durste not dare my promise made denye For well I wiste if once it came to trye It would both weaken all this noble lande And doubtfull be who should ha th'upper hande Thus nedes perforce I must his daughter take And must leaue of to loue where I delighte I was constrainde contentio to forsake The forme that moste did captiuate my sighte What lucke had I on such a lote to lighte What ment you Goddes that me such fortune gane To caste my minde on hir I might not haue To shorte my tale his Guendoline I tooke I was contente against my will what then Nore quite for this myne Elstride I forsoke For why I wrought by skill of cunning men A vaulte along vnder the grounde a denne Hir companie wherin I vsed still There we acco mplishte our vnhappy will. There I begat my Sabrine sely childe That virgine sinall myne Elstride bare to mee Thus I my wife full often did beguilde Which after warde did beare a sonne to mee Namde Madan yet we neuer could agree And he
wisedome rather then to winne to saue For ofce who trustes to get a prince his trayne Would at the lengthe of beggers life be fayne This might the Hunne erste Humber well haue sayde And this my mother Elstride proufde to true When as his life by striuing streames was stayde And when the tyrauntes hir in waters threwe What I may saye my selfe reportes to you Which had more terrour shewde then twyce such twayne Blue care and iudge if I abode no payne First when my fathers corps-was stroken downe With deadly shafte I came to mourne and see And as he laye with bleding breste in sowne He caste asyde his watring eyes on mee Flye flye he said thy stepdame seekes for thee My wofull childe what flight maiste thou to take My Sabrine poore I must the nedes forsake See here 〈◊〉 ende beholde thy fathers fall Flye flye thy gelous stepdame seekes thy lyfe Thy mother eke or this is wrapte in thrall Farewell in woe you cannot scape hir knyfe Farewell my childe mine Elstride and my Wyfe Adew ê™ he I may no longer hyde And euen with that he gaspid thrise and dyede What birde can flye and sore if formes do rage What ship can sayle if once the myndes resiste What wight is that can force of warres aswage Or else what warre can bridle Fortunes liste What man is he that dare an hoaste resiste What woman only dare withstande a fielde If not what childe but must to enemies yelde My fathers souldiers 〈◊〉 away for feare As soone as once their Captaines death they seande The Queene proclaimde a pardon euery where To those would yelde and craue it at hir hande Excepting such as did her ay withstande For so the course alwayes of pardons goes As saues the souldiers and entrapps the foes Then wiste I flight could nothing me preuaile I feard her pardon would not saue my lyfe The storme was such I durst not beare a saile I durst not go t'lntreate my fathers wyfe Althoughe I neuer was the cause of strife For gelozye deuoyde of reasons raine With frensies fume enragde her restles braine But see the chaunce thus compast rounde with feare In broyles of bloud as in the field I stande I wishte to God my corps were any where As out of life or of this hatefull lande No sooner wisht but there was euen at hande A person vile in hast quoth he come on Queene Elstride wil before thou come be gon The rascall rude the rooge the clubfist gripe My litle arme and plucte me on in haste And with my robes the bloudy ground he sweept As I drue backe he halde me on full fast Under his arme my sclender corps he cast Sith that quoth he thou putst me to this paine Thou shalt thereby at length but litle gaine Thus through the 〈◊〉 he bare me to my bane And shewde the souldiers what a spoile he had Loke here quoth he the litle Princes tane And laught and ran as brutish butcher mad But my lamenting made the souldiers sad Yet nought preuailde the caytife as his pray Without all pity bare me still away Till at the length we came where we descride A nomber huge of folkes about the Queene As when you see some wonder great beside Or els the place wher some strauÌ„g sight hath beene So might you there the people standing seene And gazed all when as they see mee brought Then sure I demde I was not come for nought And in the 〈◊〉 some praisde my coinlye face Some said to Elstride she resembleth right Some said I loked like my fathers grace Some other said it was a piteous sight I should so dye the Queene mee pardon might Some said the thiefe mee 〈◊〉 did mee abuse And not so rudely ought a Princes vse But what did this redresse my wofull care You wot the Commons vse such prouerbs still And yet the captiues poore no better are It rather helpes their pained harts to kill To pity one in griefe doth worke him ill Bemone his woe and cannot ease his thrall It kills his hart but comforts nought at all Thus past me throw the prease at length we came Into the presence of the gelous Queene Who nought at all the rascall rudc did blame That bare me so but askte if I had seene My father slame that cause thereof had beene O Queene quoth I God knowes nice innocent To worke my fathers death I neuer ment With that I sawe the people looke asyde To 〈◊〉 a mourning voyce I heard thereby It was my wofull mother by that cryde Lo Sabrine hounde at brinke of death I lye What pen or tongue or teares with weeping eye Could tell my woes that sawe my mother bounde On waters shore wherein she should be drounde With that I fell before the Queene and praide For mercy but 〈◊〉 fiery 〈◊〉 she bent Hir browes on mee out vastar de bile she sain Thou worst not yet wherefore for thee I sent O Queene quoth I haue pity be content And if thou minde of mercy ought to show 〈◊〉 mee and let my mother harmelesse go For why she was a Prince his daughter borne In Germany and thence was brought away Perforce by Humber who by mattes forlorne Thy king as captiue toke hir for his pray Thou maiste full well her case with reason weye What coulde she do what more then she or I Thy 〈◊〉 now thine owne to line or dye Take pity then on Princely race O Queene Take pity if remorce may ought require Take pity on a captiue thrice hath beene Let pity pearce the rage of all thine ire But if thy breast burne with reuenging fire Then let my death quenche oute that fuming flame Sith of thy husbands bloud and hirs I came Much more I saide while teares out streaming went But nought of ease at all thereby I gainde My mother eke did as she lay lamente Where with my hart a Thousand folde she painde And though the Queene my plaints to fauour fainde Yet at the last she bade she should prepare Her selfe to dye and ende her course of care Than all her frends my mother Elstride namde And pleasures paste and bade them all adue Eke as she thus her last farewell had framde With losse of him from whom her sorowes grue At length to mee which made my hart to rue She said farewell my childe I feare thy fall Ten thousand times adewe my Sabrine small And as the cruel 〈◊〉 came to take 〈◊〉 vp to caste and drowne her in the sloud I fast mine armes about her clipt did make And cryde O Queene let mercy meeke thy moode Do rather reaue my hart of vitail bloude Then thus I liue with that they slachte my holde And 〈◊〉 my mother in the waters colde For loue to ayde her venter in would I That sawe my mother striue aloft for winde To lande she lookte and saide farewell Idye O let me go quoth I like fate to finde Said Guendoline come on likewise and binde This Sabrine