Royal MS 19 A III

FRENCH POEMS, viz.:-

1. La Belle Dame sans Merci, by Alain Chartier (d. circ. 1430-1440). Without title or author's name. Printed in his collected works (ed. Duchesne, 1617, p. 502). Twelve stanzas (ll. 129-176, 657-704) are missing by the loss of a pair of leaves after f. 3 and f. 13. f. 1.

Begins:-

'Nagueres cheuauchant pensoye Comme homme triste et doloreux.'

On the last folio of the gathering containing art. 1 is added in another band an English envoy consisting of two stanzas of rhyme royal, beg. 'O bewtie pereles and right so womanhod', and two short stanzas at the end,

'For he is true } and will pursue } in her seruice. attendaunce due } Let (?) him not rue} his scruice true, } (erased)'. do that exchue }

2. 'Les accusacions contre la belle dame sans mercy (so colophon): the poem by Baudet Herenc (76 x 8 lines, but the first six stanzas are here wanting) printed in Le Jardin de Plaisance, Paris, Vérard, s. a., fol. cxxxix, and as Le Parlement d'Amour in Duchesne's ed. of A. Chartier, p. 695. The former omits stanzas 39-44, 57, the latter transposes stanzas 49-54 and 55-60. For a list of MSS. see A. Piaget in Romania, xxx, 1901, p. 317. f. 17. Begins (seventh stanza):-

'Du vergier mapprouchay si pres Que je vy toutes les beaultez.'

Art, 3 seems to be an insertion, on different paper and in another hand.

3. 'Le debat du cueur et de loeil' (so colophon): poem (102 x 8 lines, rhymes ababbcbc). Attributed by a late hand in a Paris MS.. Bibl. Nat. anc. fonds français 924, to Alain Chartier (see Paulin Paris, Les MSS. Francois, vii, p. 251, cf. Piaget in Romania, xxxv, p. 512), but probably not his and not in his collected works. It is printed (one stanza more) in Le Jardin de Plaisance (see above), fol. lv, and by T. Wright, Poems attrib. to Walter Map, 1841, p. 210, and is perhaps by Michault Taillevent (see Piaget in Romania, xviii, p. 446). f. 29. Begins:-

'En may la premiere sepmaine Que les bois sont parez de vert.'

4. Le Breviaire des Nobles: poem by Alain Chartier (cf. 14 E. II,. art. 3, 15 E. VI, art. 13, 17 E. IV, art, 4). Without title or author's name. A leaf is missing at the end. f. 42. Begins:-

'[J]e, noblesse, dame de bon voulir. '

Ends:-

'Ou quy a toy sasseure ou determine.'

5. 'Le congie damours': anonymous poem (36 x 8 lines, rhymes ababbcbc), of which another copy (66 stanzas ?) is in a Paris MS., Arsenal 3523, pp. 321-337. It is, as Piaget points out in Romania, xviii, p. 448, different from the poem of the same title by Michault Taillevent in Arsenal MS. 3521. f. 51. Begins:-

'En ce temps de joieux este Que Phebus est en sa haultesse.'

Ends:-

'Et selon le mien appetit Appele le congie damours. Explicit.'

6. 'Le pris donneur' (so colophon): poem (73 x 8 lines, rhymes as in the last). f. 57. Begins:-

'Au moys que len nomme septembre Ou fleurs es bois se vont retraire.'

Ends:-

'Compose de droicte mesure Au trespas gamy de doulceur.'

Art. 7 is in another hand, but on similar paper to art. 6.

7. 'Cy commance le seruiteur sans guerdon': anonymous poem (57 stanzas of various length, rhymes chiefly abaabbcc or aabaab, in the latter case continuing bbcbbc, &c.). f. 69.

Begins:-

'Souspirs tires par desconfort De labisme de mes pensees.'

Ends:-

'Cest bien droit que chacun mapelle Le seruiteur sans guerdon.'

Art. 8 differs in paper and writing from all that precedes.

8. 'Cy commencent les traitz et esbatementz dantre lomme et la femme': dialogue in alternate couplets (226 ll., perhaps imperf. at the end). f. 77.

Begins:-

'Nault vouloir tout vostre engin sapplicque Quar dieu vous sur la forme angelicque' (sic). Ends:-

'Beaucoup de gens hont heu sur vous enuie Depuis vng an et haient vostre vie.'

Paper and (ff. 1, 16, outer leaves of first quire) vellum ; ff. 83. Folio. 111/4 in. x 81/4 in. Second half of XV cent. Gatherings, i¹⁶ (originally 18, art. 1), ii¹² (originally 14, art. 2), iii¹³ (art. 3), iv⁹ (art. 4), VII (art. 5), vi¹² (art. 6), vii⁸ (art. 7), viii⁷ (art. 8). Sec. fol. 'Desormais'. Belonged to John Theyer (monogram, f. 1). Theyer salecat. no. 60 ?; CMA. 6661 ?