SIX BALLADS. SIX BALLADS, WITH BURDENS- FROM MS. No. CLXVJII. IN THE LIBRARY OF CORPUS CHRISTI COLLEGE, CAMBRIDGE. EDITED BY JAMES GOODWIN, B.D. FELLOW AND TUTOR OF CORPUS CHRISTI COLLEGE, CAMBRIDGE. LONDON. PRINTED FOR THE PERCY SOCIETY, BY T. RICHARDS, 100, ST. MARTIN’S LANE. M.DCCC.XLIV. COUNCIL OF €\)t ^errp ^>octetp. President. The Rt. Hon. LORD BRAYBROOKE, F.S.A. THOMAS AMYOT, Esq. F.R.S. Treas. S.A. WILLIAM HENRY BLACK, Esq. WILLIAM CHAPPELL, Esq. F.S.A. J. PAYNE COLLIER, Esq. F.S.A. C. PURTON COOPER, Esq. Q.C., F.R.S., F S.A. PETER CUNNINGHAM, Esq. J. H. DIXON, Esq. WILLIAM JERDAN, Esq. F.S.A., M.R.S L. CAPTAIN JOHNS, R.M. T. J. PETTIGREW, Esq. F.R.S., F.S.A. LEWIS POCOCK, Esq. F.S.A. SIR CUTHBERT SHARP. WILLIAM SANDYS, Esq. F.S.A. WILLIAM J. THOMS, Esq. F.S.A. THOMAS WRIGHT, Esq. M.A., F.S.A., Secretary and Treasurer. PREFACE. The six very curious ballads which follow, each of which is distinguished by its own appropriate bur- den, are extracted from MS. No. CLXViii. in the Library of Corpus Christi College, Cambridge, on the first page of which are written these words : — u This booke, conteyninge some fragmentes of that excellent man Rich. Cox, Bisshoppe of Elie, Roger Cox, sonne to the bishop, gaue to me, J : Jegon.”* * The J. Jegon referred to in this notice is, doubtless, Dr. John Jegon, subsequently dean and bishop of Norwich, who was chosen master of Corpus Christi College on the tenth day of August 1590, and having so continued for the space of twelve years, was succeeded by his brother, Dr. Thomas Jegon, on the fourth day of February 1602. Through him the MS. containing the ballads came into the possession of Cor- pus Christi College, in whose valuable MS. library it has con- tinued ever since. He was the last of the Elizabethan bishops, (the queen, who had nominated him, dying before his conse- Vlll The learned prelate here spoken of was born in the year of our Lord 1499, in the fifteenth year of King Henry VII, and died in 1581, in the twenty-fourth year of Queen Elizabeth. He con- sequently lived throughout the whole of that remarkable period, when not only the theology of the Anglican Church, but, together w 7 ith it, every species of science and literature, appear simulta- j neously to have been roused from their death-like le thargy, and to have recovered their hitherto almost suspended powers. At the same most interesting and stirring epoch, the genius of English poetry appears to have been roused also. In the reign of King Henry VII, there was scarcely, it is said, more than one writer at all deserving the name of a poet, although it seems that obscure versifiers abounded in considerable numbers. In the follow- 1 ing reigns, however, poetical compositions of a better sort were more frequent, increasing both in quantity and quality. As soon as the re-introduc- tion into England of the study of the languages cration), and the strict disciplinarian master of Corpus Christi College, who was made the subject of the following pasquinade : Doctor John Jegon, Bene’t College Master, Broke the scholars heads, gave the walls a plaister. To which the Master replied, — Knew I but the wag, that writ this in his braverj , I’d praise him for his wit, but flog him for his knavery. IX of classical antiquity had elicited and refined the taste of men for classical elegances, we discover the most distinguished characters, commoners and nobles, statesmen and lawyers, prelates and princes, not excepting majesty itself, ascending the hill of Parnassus, or quenching their thirst at the waters of Helicon. For instance, the poems of the Earl of Surrey, and of Sir Thomas W yatt the elder, testify that the character of literary men was no longer con- fined to hard students, and strictly professional scholars,* but that it was likewise coveted and assumed by men of noble birth. Not even the severe professional and political employments of that great restorer of literature in England, Sir Thomas More, could restrain him from paying his occasional devotion to the English muse. King Henry VIII, it is also said, indulged occasionally in the writing of a sonnet ; and many others, during his turbulent reign, in various degrees, and with various success, contributed their aid to the revival and progress of native poetry in England. But the mania for versification did not terminate with the reign of Henry, although the subjects became somewhat changed. In the reign of Ed- ward VI, religious subjects naturally became more general ; and metrical versions, or adaptations of * See Warton’s History of English Poetry. X divers parts of Scripture, were continually being produced. Thus, the version of the Psalms by Thomas Sternhold, &c. was made during this reign ; and the “ cacoethes” versificandi soon afterwards seized learned divines as well as others. The translation of the Psalms into English metre was the simple employment of Dr. Matthew Parker, during his solitary retirement, or hiding, in the days of the Marian persecution. It is said of him by Strype, that he so employed himself for his own comfort, and for the comfort of his friends in those melancholy times. This translation he afterwards printed, when he became Archbishop of Canterbury, but did not publish,* in consequence, probably, of his foreseeing the bad effects which the growing custom of metrical psalm-singing, imported from abroad, was likely to produce, and did produce in a very short time. Hence the book is very scarce, t A copy of it, however, is preserved in the Parker Library of printed books belonging to Corpus Christi Col- lege. In like manner, Parker’s contemporary, and subsequently brother bishop, Cox, appears to have had a taste for versification. Of him it is said, that, “ he was reputed one of the greatest scholars * See Warton’s History of English Poetry, f See Strype’s Life of Archbishop Parker. XI of his day, and that his poetical compositions were in great esteem among the best judges.” It is well known that he turned into metre certain of those psalms and hymns, which are usually known as the Version of Thomas Stern- hold, John Hopkins, and others. The MS. volume above referred to, contains a great num- ber of specimens of his Latin verse, besides the Form and Order of the Psalms in metre,* as they used to be sung in his house at Ely, and, likewise, the very curious ballads here printed. It is doubt- ful, however, whether all the contents of the MS. can rightly be attributed to Dr. Richard Cox as the genuine author, notwithstanding the note on its first page, appended to it by his son Roger Cox, for we find in it two other specimens of English verse, which are certainly not his, being inserted among the published poems of Sir Thomas Wyatt. The former of them is his elegant ode, supposed to be written by a prisoner, and beginning with these words, — “ Like as the byrde in the cage enclosed,” &c. The latter is his second satire on the Courtier’s * This Form and Order of the Psalms, &c., is not a new version, but merely a selection from the psalms of Thomas Sternhold, occasionally altered from him, and arranged for every morning and evening of the week. Xll life, and in praise of retirement, addressed to his friend John Poyntz, and beginning thus : — “ My own Jhon Poyntz, since ye delite to know The causes, why that homeward I me draw, And flee the prease of courtes,” &c. These verses of Sir Thomas Wyatt are in the Corpus MS., subscribed with the respective initials C. and C. W., which marks distinguish them from the rest of the contents of the MS. The Ballads are without any signature what- ever ; and, although we are not able to trace them to any particular author, still, appearing, as they do, in a MS. which certainly belonged to, and pro- fesses to contain certain “ fragmentes” of the writings of Richard Cox, Bishop of Ely, they are by no means uninteresting specimens of the popular ballad poetry of an age remarkable, beyond all other, for the hasty progress which it made in every kind of learning, in science, and in art, as well as for the number of distinguished men which it produced. BALLADS. ON THE GOVERNMENT OF THE TONGUE. This is a moral and didactic piece, describing the ill effects of talkativeness, and the wisdom of bridling the tongue. Some of the ideas expressed in it appear to have been taken from the Ship of Fools, Titulus xix. “ De garrulitate linguarum.” It gives many sound and judicious maxims concerning the right use of the gift of speech, and is, upon the whole, an amusing, if not a very instructive specimen of ancient English moral poetry. Holde backe thy tonge at meat and meale, Speake but few wordes, bestow them well. By wordes a wy se man thou shalt spy e ; By wordes a foie thou shalt owt trye ; A wyse man can his tonge make ceasse ;* A foole can neuer holde his peace, f Hold backe, &c. * “ Vis sapiens dici ? digito compesce labellum “ Ship of Fools,” p. xxi. Titulus xix. t “ Sed fera lingua, velut caprificus, clausa teneri Ore nequit fatui dentibus atque labris.” — Ibid, B 2 BALLADS. Who loueth rest, of wordes be ware ; Who loueth wordes is sure of care ; For wordes men haue oftymes ben spent ; For silence kept fewe them repent.* Holde backe, &c. Two eares, one tonge for that thou haste, Moo thyngs to heare, then wordes to wast. A foie in no wyse can forbeare, He hath twoo tonges, and but one eare. Holde backe, &c. Wordes wyselye sett are worth muche gold, Of rasshenes the price is sone told ; Yff tyme requyer wordes to be hadde, Then not to speake I counte the madde. Holde backe, &c. Speake when tyme ys, els hold the sty 11, Wordes owte off tyme muche thynge dothe spyll. Thryse happye is he, whiche hath the grace To spye for wordes dewe tyme and place. Holde backe, &c. At meate and meale especiall, See that thy wytts thou to the call. Be sure to kepe a stedfast brayne, Lest that thy worde put the to payne. Holde backe, &c. * “ Nam nulli tacuisse nocet: nocet esse locutum.” — Ibid. BALLADS. 3 Talke onlye off nedefull verites ; Striae not for tryfiyng fantasyes ; With sobernes truethe bo wit owte, Affirme nothyng wheryn is clowte. Hold backe, &c. Who to my sayeng wyll take hede, Wyll spend no mo woordes then shall nede ; Thowgh he be a foie, and hath no wytt, He shall throwgh this great wysdome gytt. Hold backe thy tonge at meat and meale, So shalt thow lyve, and doo ryght weale. teXoq. THE BLACK SHEEP. This curious satirical ballad is probably levelled against the orders of Friars Mendicants, the number of whom had increased to so enormous an extent, that England may be said to have been almost overrun by them, before their power and influence was checked by the dissolution of monasteries. Indeed, we may say, with a trifling alteration of the words of Shakespear, that “ black friars and white, red friars and grey, mingled” in almost every place, availing themselves of every possible contrivance to indulge their extraordinary rapacity, and enrich their convents. They consequently became universally odious ; and this dislike of them appears to have been gradually on the increase, even before the year 1540, (according to the authority of Bale, who was himself a Carmelite Friar), otherwise we cannot conceive how the downfall of no fewer than 376 religious houses “ at one fell swoop,” in 1536, should have been so quietly submitted to. B 2 4 BALLADS. By the Black Sheep , therefore, in this present ballad, an allusion is doubtless made to the members of these religious orders, it being customary at the time when the verses were probably written, to designate them by such titles. The burden of this ballad is likewise very curious, it being the Latin version of a very popular one, and very well known too; namely, the cele- brated burden, “Which nobody can deny.” The blacke shepe is a perylous beast ; Cuius contrarium falsum est. The leon of lyme ys large and long ; The beare to fyght is stowte and strong ; But off all beastes that go or crepe, The myghtiest ys the horned shepe. The blacke shepe, &c. The shepe ys off a monstruous myght, What thyng soeuer his hornes on lyght, He bearyth downe bothe castell and towre, None is him licke in marciall powre. The blacke shepe, &c. Syx hundreth howsys with cart and plowgh I haue earst knowen, where nowght ys now But grene moll-hilles,* they are layde playne ; * By the “moll-hilles” are probably meant the religious houses. Whoever has investigated the fortress, or habitation of the mole, the various galleries and excavations of which it con- BALLADS. 5 This cruell beast ouer all dothe raygne.* * The blacke shepe, &e. This shepe he is a wycked wyght, Man, woman, and chylde he deuowreth quite, No hold, no howse can him wythstande : He swaloweth up both see and lande. The blacke shepe, &c. Men were wont ones off shepe to fede, Shepe now eate men on dowtfull dede. This wollwysshe shepe, this rampyng beast, Consumeth all thorow west and est. The blacke shepe, &c. sists, and which that secret-working and undermining animal is continually extending in search of food, or whoever, as we all have, has seen a fruitful field destroyed by a number of their encampments, will see the fitness of the application of this term to the numberless conventual establishments from which the friars used to issue forth in search of plunder, to the scandal and disgrace of the church. * “-The friars,” says Warton in his History of English Poetry, “ disregarded their monastic character and profession, and were employed not only in spiritual matters, but in temporal matters of the greatest consequence ; in composing the differences of princes, concluding treaties of peace, and concerting alliances: they presided in cabinet councils, levied national subsidies, influ- enced courts, and managed the machines of every important operation and event, both in the religious and political world.” Warton , Hist. Eng. Poetry , vol. i. p. 294. 6 BALLADS. Halfe Englande ys nowght now but shepe, In euerye corner they playe boe pepe ; Lorde, them confownde by twenty e and ten, And fyll their places with Cristen men. The blacke shepe, &c. SAY-WELL and DO-WELL. This is a piece of allegorical satire, in which the moralities are personified. The characters Say- well and Do-well are intro- duced in Piers Plowman’s Vision, together with sundry others of a similar kind, as Sir Say -well, Sir See-well, and Sir Hear-well, Sir Do-well, Sir Do-better, Sir Do-best. The object of the writer of the present verses appears to be to inculcate the pre- cept, that good deeds, rather than good words, are the marks of a godly man, and that both united are essential to the character of a perfect and upright one. Say -well, and do- well, they are things twayne* Thryse happye is he in whom bothe raygne. Say- well ys truly a worthy thyng, Off Say-well greate goodnes noth furth spryng. Say-well from do-well differtlie a letter ; Say-well is good, but do-well is better. Say-well, & c. BALLADS. Say- well is ruled by man som deale ; Do-well doth wholly to God apeale. Say- well sayth goodly, and doth many please ; Do-well lyveth godly, and doth the worlde ease. Say-well, &c. Say- well makes many to Goddes worde cleave ; But for lacke off do-well they quickly leaue. If say-well and do- well were joyned in a frame, All were wone, all were done, gott were the game. Say- well, &c. Say-well in dawnger off deathe is colde ; Do -well ys earnest and wonderous bolde. When say- well for feare shall tremble and quake ; Do-well shalbe iocunde and ioly there make. Say-well &c. Say-well is shlipper, and wynckyth wyles ; Do-well is symple, and withowte gyles. Where say-well for shame shall hyde his face, Do-well shall tryumphe in euerye place. Say well, &c. Say-well to sylence ys oftentymes bounde ; Do -well ys free in euery stounde. Say-well hathe frendes but here and there ; Do-well ys welcome euerye where. Say well, &c. 8 BALLADS. Say well in hands dothe manye thynges take, Do-well an end off them doth make. Wher say- well with monye is quite downe cast, Do -well is trusty e, and wyll stande fast. Say-well, &c. Say-well hym selfe wyll ofte advaunee ; Do-well dothe nother jett, nother praunce. Yett do- well the worlde dothe profett more, Then say-well and his hundred store. Say- well, &c. Say- well in wordes is proper and trycke,* Do-well in dedes ys nymble and quycke. Lorde, trycke and quicke together knytt, So shall the pype a merye fytt. Say-well, &c. * By “ trycke in wordes” is meant set off, decorated, elegantly adorned with good words . BALLADS. 9 MY DERLYNG DERE. These verses have, probably, an allusion to the civil or religious history of the period when they were written ; but the meaning of them is not very clear. They have nothing else besides par- ticularly to recommend them. My derlyng dere long haue I sowght ; Lost is my labour, she ys clere nowght. My dere ys curteys as ony hynde, Yet better that hyr lost than fynde. My derelyng dere deere ys to me ; Christ graunt yet neuer I hyr more se. My derlyng, & c. My dere to me hearth a trew hart, Yet Crist hyr geue bothe sorow and smart. Great goodes with other I mowght haue noone ; My derlyng dere hath me ondone. My derlyng, &c. My dere she puttethe me to great charge. She must haue maners and parkes at large* Wold Christe I had her neuer knowne, My dere beloued hath me downe throwne. My derlyng, &c. 10 BALLADS. My goodes, my woodes, my landes, my rent, My dere to please all haue I spent. Yet is she enemye ener to me ; 0 derlyng dere, what ayleth the ? My derlyng, &c. My dere is off a skyttyshe brayne ; Nowght can her hold, nor rowgh, nor playne. 1 me repent that euer I came Into thy company, o deere dame. My derlyng, &c. Dame, the to please nowght was to good, Downe for thy sake went corne and wood. Thou haddest the beast off wather and grasse, O derlynge dere, o costlye lasse. My derlyng, &c. Dame, damage great thou hast me wrowght : My dere, thow art to derelye bowght. Nowght hast thou dere, but thy dere skynne, Dere fayre withowt, dere fowle withynne. My derlyng, &c. Adew, the deerest off damselles all ; All England shall lawgh at thy fall. Adew, sweteharte, Christ geue the care, Adew to the dewll, away the mare. My derlyng, &e. FFINIS. BALLADS. 11 LORDE, WOUNDE MY ELEASSHE, &c. These verses are of a strictly religious character, and the bur- den of them is taken, probably, from the 120th verse of the hundred and nineteenth psalm. “ My flesh trembleth for fear of thee ; And I am afraid of thy judgments." Ps. cxix. 120. Bib. Trans. There is somewhat of merit and beauty in the composition of these verses ; and they are not an unpleasing specimen of the religious poetry of the age. Lorde, wounde my fleasshe with thy feare, For I feare thy iudgementes. Withowte thy feare at large I runne, No fylthye thowght nor deede I sliunne ; Withowte thy feare all foule desyer My hart dothe styrre and sett on fyer. Lorde, wounde my flesshe, &c. Whoso with synne wylbe at stryfe, And stay him selfe in honest lyfe, He must, (as Salomon dothe recorde), Begyn with the feare off the Lorde. Lorde, wounde my flesshe, &c. BALLADS. This feare off God holy it is, And bryngeth euerlastyng blysse ; It purgeth harts, and maketh them pure, To godlynes it dothe allure. Lorde, wounde my flesshe, &c. This holye feare dothe wounde the harte, And calleth vnto penance smarte, Suche as in Crystes bloude be bathed, Throrogh Godds mercye to be saued. Lorde, wounde my flesshe. When that this feare the harte dothe pricke, It wayleth, it wepeth with teares full thycke ; It dothe detest his synfull race, It ceasseth not to caule for grace. Lorde, wounde my flesshe, &c. Blessed, blessed, blessed be they, Whose harts this feare dothe wounde allway ; Blessed be they that feare the Lorde, And worthely walke in his worde. Lorde, wounde my flesshe, &c. FINIS. Lorde, wounde my fleasshe with thy feare. For I feare thy iudgementes. BALLADS. 13 WILL AND WIT. This is an amusing dialogue between the Will and the Wit, both of which are here personified. The burden of the verse is, in this case, somewhat varied in the several stanzas; and, in the last of them, it is doubled by the writer, in order to present his reader with a wholesome moral conclusion. I wyll, said Wyll, folow my wyll: Not so, said Wytt, better be still. I wyll, said Wyll, if I list, spill ; Therto, said Wytte, consent I wyll. For be that by wyll dotbe rule his witte. Dothe oftymes loose, when he shulde knitte. I will, said Wyll, not leese my right ; Sumtyme, said Witte, for all thy myght. I wyll, said Wyll, worke them dispite : Well than, said Witte, they will the quyte. For he that by wyll doth rule his witte, Must oftymes loose, when he shulde knytte. I will, said Wyll, avenged be : Not so, said Witte, be ruled by me. I wyll, said Wyll, their hurte ones see ; Myght chaunce, said Witte, they myght hurte the. For he that by wyll dothe rule his witte, Doth oftymes loose, when he shulde knytte. 14 BALLADS. I wyll, said Wyll, talke wordes at large: Well than, said Wytte, I take no charge. I wyll, said Will, rowe in euerye barge : Thyn oore, said Wytte, ys muche to large. For he that by wyll doth rule his wytte, Dothe oftymes lose, whan he shulde knytte. I wyll, said Wyll, haue suerly bownde : Thy knotte, said Wytte, is full onsownde. I wyll, said Wyll, all things confownd : Thy works, said Witte, haue slypper grownd. For he that by will dothe rule his witte, Dothe oftymes loose, when he shulde knytte. I wyll, said W yll, clyme hye alought : Suche folke, said Wytte, fall muche onsought. I wyll, said Wyll, noowyse be towght: Well than, said Witte, all will be nowght. For he that by wyll dothe rule his witte, Doth oftymes loose, whan he shuld knytte. This wyllfull Wyll Wytte dothe leade, Thorough folysshe fansyes in the headde. But if Witte were ones in Wylies steade, Than Wyll by Witte myght well be leade. For wheras witte dothe lead the wyll, The knot half knitte is fasten styll. BALLADS. 15 If wylfull Wyll wold ruled be After Witts counsell, folye to flee; Gods commaundements kepe shuld we, And obey our kynge in eche degree. For wheras witte dothe rule the wyll, The knot half knytt is fasten styll ; And wheras wyll dothe rule the witte, Oftymes dothe loose, when he shuld knytte. FINIS.