Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, POEM: 3, by LAURENCE MINOT


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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

POEM: 3, by                    
First Line: God pat schope both se and sand
Last Line: And blis it with his haly hand. Amen.
Subject(s): Courts & Courtiers; England; God; Ships & Shipping; War; English


GOD þat schoþe both se and sand
Saue Edward king of Ingland,
Both body, saul and life,
And grante him ioy withowten strif:
For mani men to him er wroth
In Fraunce and in Flandres both:
For he defendes fast his right,
And parto Ihesu grante him might,
And so to do both night and day,
þat yt may be to Goddes pay.
Oure king was cumen, trewly to tell,
Into Brabant for to dwell.
þe kayser Lowis of Bauere,
þat in þat land þan had no þere,
He and als his sons two
And oþer princes many mo,
Bisschopþes and prelates war pare fele
þat had ful mekill werldly wele,
Princes and pople, ald and zong
Al þat spac with Duche tung,
All þai come with grete honowre
Sir Edward to saue and socoure,
And proferd him, with all payre rede,
For to hald þe kinges stede.
þe duke of Braband, first of all,
Swore, for thing þat might bifall,
þat he suld, both day and night,
Help sir Edward in his right,
In toun, in feld, in frith and fen;
þis swore þe duke and all his men
And al þe lordes þat with him lend
And parto held þai vp þaire hend.
þan king Edward toke his rest
At Andwerp, whare him liked best;
And pare he made his mone playne
þat no man suld say pare ogayne;
His mone þat was gude and lele,
Left in Braband ful mekill dele;
And all þat land vntill þis day
Fars þe better for þat iornay.
When Philip þe Valas herd of þis,
Parat he was ful wroth, i-wis;
He gert assemble his barounes
Princes and lordes of many tounes.
At Pariss toke þai þaire counsaile
Whilk pointes might pam moste availe;
And in all wise þai pam bithoght
To stroy Ingland and bring to noght.
Schipmen sone war efter sent
To here þe kinges cumandment;
And þe galaies men also
þat wist both of wele and wo.
He cumand þan þat men suld fare
Till Ingland, and for no thing spare
Bot brin and sla both man and wife
And childe, þat none suld pas with life:
þe galay men held vp þaire handes
And thanked God of pir tipandes.
At Hamton, als I vnderstand,
Come þe gaylayes vnto land,
And ful fast þai slogh and brend,
Bot noght so mekill als sum men wend;
For, or þai wened, war þai mett
With men þat sone þaire laykes lett.
Sum was knokked on þe heuyd
þat þe body pare bileuid;
Sum lay stareand on þe sternes,
And sum lay knoked out þaire hernes:
þan with pam was none oþer gle,
Bot ful fain war þai þat might fle.
þe galay men, þe suth to say,
Most nedes turn anoþer way;
þai soght þe stremis fer and wide
In Flandres and in Seland syde.Þan saw þai whare Cristofer stode
At Armouth, opon þe flude;
þan went þai þeder all bidene
þe galayes men with hertes kene,
Viij. and xl. galays and mo,
And with pam als war tarettes two,
And oþer many of galiotes,
With grete noumber of smale botes;
All þai houed on þe flode
To stele sir Edward mens gode.
Edward oure king þan was noght þere,
Bot sone when it come to his ere,
He sembled all his men full still
And said to pam what was his will.
Ilk man made him redy þen,
So went þe king and all his men
Vnto þaire schipþes ful hastily
Als men þat war in dede doghty.
þai fand þe galay men grete wane
A hundereth euer ogaynes ane;
þe Inglis men put pam to were
Ful baldly, with bow and sþere;
þai slogh pare of þe galaies men
Euer sexty ogaynes ten,
þat sum ligges pit in þat mire
All heuidles, with owten hire,
þe Inglis men war armed wele
Both in yren and in stele;
þai faght ful fast both day and night
Als lang als pam lasted might;
Bot galay men war so many
þat Inglis men wex all wery:
Help þai soght, bot pare come nane;
þan vnto God þai made þaire mane.
Bot, sen þe time þat God was born
Ne a hundreth gere biforn
War neuer men better in fight
þan Ingliss men, whils þai had myght.
Bot sone all maistri gan þai mis.
God bring þaire saules vntill his blis,
And God assoyl pam of þaire sin
For þe gude will þat þai war in. Amen.

Listens now, and leues me,
Who so lifes þai sall se
þat it mun be ful dere boght
þat pir galay men haue wroght.
þai houed still opon þe flode
And reued pouer men þaire gude:
þai robbed and did mekill schame,
And ay bare Inglis men þe blame.
Now Ihesus saue all Ingland
And blis it with his haly hand. Amen.





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