IX.

HOW KING EDWARD AND HIS MENZE

MET WITH THE SPANIARDES IN THE SEE.

I WALD noght spare for to speke,

Wist i to spede,

Of wight men with wapin,

And worthly in wede,

That now er driven to dale,

And ded all thaire dede,
Thai sail in the see-gronde
Fissches to fede;

Fele fissches thai fede,

For all thaire grete fare:

It was in the waniand

That thai come thare.

Thai sailed furth in the Swin,

In a somers tyde,
With trompes and taburns,

And mekill other pride;

The word of tho weremen

Walked full wide;

The gudes that thai robbed

In holl gan thai hide; In holl than thai hided

Grete welthes, als i wene,

Of gold and of silver,

Of skarlet and grene.

When thai sailed westward,
Tho wight men in were,
Thaire hurdis thaire ankers

Hanged thai on here;
Wight men of the west

Neghed tham nerr,

And gert tham snaper in the snare,

Might thai no ferr;

Fer might thai noght flit,

Bot thare most thai fine,

And that thai bifore reved
Than most thai tyne.

Boy with thi blac berd,
I rede that thou blin,
And sone set the to schrive,

With sorow of thi syn;

If thou were on Ingland,

Noght saltou win,

Cum thou more on that coste

Thi bale sall bigin: Thare kindels thi care,

Kene men sall the kepe, And do the dye on a day, And domp in the depe.

Ze broght out of Bretayne
Zowre custom with care,
Ze met with the marchandes

And made tham ful bare;
It es gude reson and right
That ze evill misfare,
When ze wald in Ingland
Lere of a new lare:

New lare sall ze lere,

Sir Edward to lout

For when ze stode in zowre strenkith

Ze war all to stout.

X.

HOW GENTILL SIR EDWARD, WITH HIS

GRETE ENGINES,

WAN WITH HIS WIGHT MEN THE CAS

TELL OF GYNES.

WAR this winter oway,

Wele wald i wene

That somer suld schew him

In schawes ful schene;
Both the lely and the lipard

Suld geder on a grene.
Mari, have minde of thi man,
Thou whote wham i mene;

Lady, think what i mene,

I mak thee my mone;
Thou wreke gude king Edward
On wikked syr John.

Of Gynes ful gladly

Now will i bigin,

We wote wele that woning

Was wikked for to win:

Crist, that swelt on the rode,
For sake of mans syn,
Hald tham in gude hele

That now er tharein!

Inglis-men er tharein,

The kastell to kepe;

And John of France es so wroth For wo will he wepe.

Gentill John of Doncaster
Did a ful balde dede,
When he come toward Gines

To ken tham thaire crede;
He stirt unto the castell

Withowten any stede,

Of folk that he fand thare

Haved he no drede;

Dred in hert had he none

Of all he fand thare;

Faine war thai to fle,

For all thaire grete fare.