Here beginneth a treatise of a galaunt  

Right as small floods increase to waters fell  
So that narrow furrous may not sustain  
Right so pride unclosed may not counsel  
This new wretchedness that causeth us complain  
How woe hath wrapped us in a cruel chain  
Our pride showeth it well both far and near  
England may wail that ever it came here   

The sin that now reigneth to behold is ruth  
Of fraud and deceit great abomination  
But need constraineth us now to say the truth  
Of pride and deceit this new dissimulation  
That blindeth and consumeth our english nation  
Lucyfers progeny among us doth appear  
England may wail that ever it came here   

Right late stood our land in such prosperity  
Of chivalry/ manhood/ and rich merchandise  
through all christian realms sprang our felicity  
Of great wealth and prowess in sundry wise  
Our sadness is changed for the new guise  
we have exiled our wealth I note where  
England may wail that ever it came here   

Pride hath found way to exclude man fro bliss  
In disfiguring nature by this new array  
Both men and women can say what it is  
For both need and poverty goeth now right gay  
But alas our sorrow increaseth every day  
And if ye live long ye shall both see and here  
That England shall wail that ever it came here   

For pride hath our plenty turned to evil fare  
And feedeth us as beasts that draweth in the plough  
Many a worthy man bringeth he to sorrow and care  
where fortune sometime freshly on him loughe  
examine the living that this world useth enough  
How need with sin groweth every where  
England may wail that ever it came here   

For many a veugeaunce as scripture maketh mention  
Path fallen to kyngomes in sundry wise  
And finally put the people in destruction  
For their obstinacy/ a new fangle guise  
Alas England that sometime was so wise  
Other nations refuse/ hast bought so dear  
That thou may wail that ever it came here   

Sometime we had France in great derision  
For their hateful pride and loathsome uncleanness  
Use we not now/ the same in our region  
And have permuted our wealth for their gladness  
Lechery of our people is become a master  
Our gentleness/ for galantyse have we left there  
England may wail that ever it came here   

if ye behold the galantes progeny vyperius  
That out of France be fled for their intoxication  
Hath now vengeance consumed/ that realm glorious  
For their pride and sinful abomination  
That all the world may wail their desolation  
O France why ne had these gallants biden there  
England may wail that ever it came here   

For in this name galaunt ye may express  
Seven letters for some cause in especial  
That figureth the vij deadly sins & their wretchedness  
By whom man is made to the devil thrall  
was not pride cause of Lucyfers fall  
Pride is in hell/ and gallants nigheth them near  
England may wail that ever it came here   

O thou gay galant by thine unthrifty name  
with gabbing and glozing getteest that thou hast  
Gyle was thy father and jealousy thy dame  
In getting/ in jangling thy days been past  
For all thy glorious going/ age gnaweth fast  
Thy glazed life and gluttony/ be glued so in fere  
That england may wail that ever it came here   

appetites of avarice/ be to them so amorous  
Ambusyon and arrogance been of one affynyte  
Adventure and anger been aye so debatous  
Feigning estate of counterfeit authority  
adulation of adventure/ mayst thou not avaunt the  
As a liar in goodness in thine array dost appear  
England may wail that ever it came here   

For all thy loud lechery/ thou lepest so fast about  
That good love and law been almost lorue  
Of lust and liking leadest thou such a rout  
That laches and lechery have cleanness to torn  
Thou laboureth to lose/ that thy friends gate toforn  
For lewdness and lechery been so led in fere  
Englonge may wail that ever it came here   

Abominable accydyo accuseth all our nation  
Our aungelyke abstinence is now refused  
furthermore of antichrist this new dissimulation  
Alas that such sorrow among us is used  
Our avarice and hatred have us so accused  
That diverse adversities sueth us year by year  
England may wail that ever it came here   

For our wasting wretchedness that hath waded so deep  
In our wanton wearing of clothes to torn  
To wildness and wrath the world taketh most keep  
For in wasting & vanity/ men reckon not what is lost  
For wife and for women/ for ware the horn  
That virtuous virginity is deed and laid on bear  
England may wail that ever it came here   

The noble course of nature nicety hath devoured  
For need/ needeth be so it causeth our desolation  
So hath these new fangles our wealth obscured  
That negligence nourisheth necessity to our confusion  
This causeth our gallants by their nation  
Neverthryfte and trifles/ noye ever us so near  
England may wail that ever it came here   

For trygetours and tryflours that taverns haunt  
Have troth and temporance trodden under foot  
Talewes and talking and drinking ataunte  
As tyrants and tractours/ toyllous in moot  
Till they be tried out is there no boot  
And trysed to baratrum/ tossed in fere  
Englonge shall wail that ever it came here   

O galant upon galaunt/ and o thou galant gay  
And thou ruskyn galant that poverty doth menace  
For all thy warrocked hood and thy proud array  
And thy parrocked pouch that thou so fast dost brace  
Thou busiest the to counterfeit Lucyfets trace  
Think not to long or thou dwell with him there   

Our men with clouts at their breast like a pie  
Our women have debated with shamefastness  
And our men with uncleanness if I shall not lie  
O England thou mayst weep with Jeremy  
saying the people thus led by the ere  
England may wail that ever it came here   

Our women in their part labour as they may  
In their array with cheer and countenance  
Our men on their side make them fresh and gay  
And labour to purchase women's pleasance  
Thus between both groweth moche mischance  
Each seeketh sin as it doth appear  
England may wail that ever it came here   

Our galamntes live in lusts as beasts  
maintainers of quarrels and unthriftiness  
Our shameless women with their high creestes  
exposition/ robbery/ and our ungentleness  
Prelate's negligence/ lords ravayn/ merchants deceits  
These asketh vengeance/ this lesson must ye lere  
else shall ye wail that ever it came here   

Behold these days the people of our nation  
Are charged with sin/ and governed by folly  
How need will compel us by transmigration  
with very woe drive us in to Babylonye  
O England where is now thy glory  
That sometime shone through the world so clear  
well mayst thou wail that ever this sorrow came here   

All people labour of this new disguising  
In forging their fantasies to maintain pride  
He is now wisest that can most of devising  
For the cursed ensample that thou showest here   

So many barefoot people/ and so few good livers  
Hath no man seen sith the world began  
So many styropes and so few good chyvallers  
And so many brainless that little good can  
Men arrayed as women and women as man  
This causeth death/ that all thing is so dear  
England may wail that ever it came here   

So moche richesse in array and so much need  
So many beads borne and so little devotion  
So moche fasting for hungres and so little meed  
So moche painted worship/ and so little reason  
I trow no man hath seen in this little region  
Our sin asketh vengeance/ I am in great fere  
In short time we shall wail that ever it came here   

How many points were they now a days  
And yet a good point among them were to sinned  
Daggers of vengeance ready to make affrays  
with long taters down to the arse behind  
tripping with small shanks as light as lief on lined  
To make it tough and fresh as it were the new year  
England may wail that ever it came here   

So many purfled garments furred with no sequitur  
with so many penylesse purses hath no man saw  
Small girding in the waist with all their other  
That we go all back ward from high to the law  
the florysshing meed of our wealth we have begun to maw  
But we beseech god amend us an other year  
Or else we shall wail that ever it came here   

Our women are despoiled & give them to wantonness  
Good making of man is now laid on side  
This new array is brought up in this land so wide  
And yet for all that it may not last a year  
England may wail that ever it came here   

Behold the rolled hoods stuffed with flocks  
The new broached doublets open at the breasts  
Stuffed with pectoll of their loves smocks  
Their gowns and their coats shred all in lists  
So many capes as now be/ and so few good priests  
I can not reckon half the rout of their marred gear  
England may wail that ever it came here   

These gallants use also full abominable  
Their typpettes be writhen like to a chain  
And they go haltered in them as horse in the stable  
It is a perilous Prognostication certain  
For sinful souls shall be bound in pain  
Hand and foot in perpetual sire  
They shall curse the time that ever it came here   

All these new bulwarks they were at their knees  
They labour sore in their wits fantasies to find  
No man holdeth him content with his degrees  
Pride goeth before and shame cometh behind  
Alas that english men should be so blind  
So moche sorrow among us and so little fere  
we may wail the time that ever it came here   

forget not lightly how many strangers  
Have entered this kingdom and kept the possession  
five times as writeth old cronyclers  
And changed our tongues in sundry division  
O clergy pray for our english nation  
That god for his mercy of this sin make us clear  
else shall we wail that ever it came here   

Effectually pray god for his reformation  
Of welte/ manhood/ and of merchandise  
And tresory of peace/ that christ in his passion  
Left between god and man when he should die  
The commonalty in love/ conserve perseverauntlye  
with tharyte both high and low to join in fere  
In boyding of sin that tormenteth us here   

O england remember thine old sadness  
That thou may resort again to thy gladness  
Exile pride relieve to thy goodness  
Sin hath consumed this worlds humanity  
Pray god thou may rejoice thine old felicity  
And his blessed mother/ as this land is her dower  
we have no cause to wail that ever it came here   
¶ Finis.   

¶ Here endeth this treatise made of a galaunt. imprinted at London in the Flete street at the sign of the son/ by winkin de word.  

wynkyn·de·worde.  
W C