Yet I knelidT on my kneis / and cried hir of grace

Saying mercie madame / for maries loue of heauen

That bare that blisfull barne / þat bought vs on the Rood

Teache my / m[e] by sum crafte / to knowe the False

Loke vpon thi lefthande / left hande / and lo where he standithe

Both false and Favell / and their feris many

I lokid on my lefthand / left hand / as the ladie me taught

And was ware of a woman / worthelie clothed

Purfelid with pelure / the Fynest vpon earthe

And crouned with a crowne / the king hath no better

Featlie hir fyngers / were frettid with golde ringes

And therin red rubies / as red as any glede

And dyamundes of derest price / & double manere Saphires

Orientals and Ewages / enemiesLX to distroie

Hir robe was full rich / of red skarlet ingrayned

With ribandes of red golde / & of riche stones

Hyr araie me rauished / such riches sawe I neuer

I wonderid what she was / & whose wife she were

What is this woman quod I / so worthelie atyred

That is Mede the maide quod she / þat hath noyed me full ofte

And lacked my leman / that Leautie is callid

And geuin hir to lordes / that lawes haue to kepe

In the Popes paleys / she is priuie as my-self

But sothenesse wolde not so / for she is a bastard

For false was hir father / that hath a fickill tong

And neuer sothe said / sins he cam to earthe

And Mede is manerid after him / euen as kynd askethe

Qualis pater talis filius / Bonus fructus ex arbore bona

I ought to be higher then she / I cam of a better stocke

My father the great god is / and grounde of all graces

One god without begynning / and I his good doughter

And hathe geuen me mercie / to marrie with my-self

And what man be mercifull / and trulie me louithe

Shalbe my lorde & I his leef / in the highe heauen

And what man takith Mede / my Life dare I laie

That he shall lose for his loue / a lippeT of Caritatis

How construeth Dauid the king / of men that take mede

And men of this worlde / that mainteine truthe

And how ye shulde saue your-self / the psalter bearithe witnesse

Domine quis habitabit in tabernaculo tuo &c

And now were this Mede maried / vnto a madLX shrewe

To won false fickill tung / a fendes birde of helleT

Favell through his feire speche / hathe these folke enchauntid

And all is Liers leding / þat she is thus weddid

Tomorowe shalbe / shall be made / that maydens bridall

And there maist thou wite if þou wilt / which thei bene all

That long to that lordship / the Lesse and the more

Knowe them there if þou canst / & kepe thou thi tong

C And lettLX them not but lat them worke / till Leautie be iustice

And haue poure to punishe them / than put furthe thi reason

Now I betake the to Christ quod she / and to his clene mother

And lat no conscience combre the / for couetise of mede

Thus left me that Ladie / Lying aslepe

And howe Mede was maried / in dreames me thought

That all the rich retynue / þat reigneth with the false

Were bidden to the bridale / on bothe ij / two sydes

Of all manere of men / the meane & the riche

To marrie this maid / was many man assembled

As of knightes and of clerkes / & other common people

As Sysors and Sommenors / Shreuis and their clerkes

Beddels and Bailiffes / and Brocars of wares

Foregoers and vitelors / aduocates of th'arches

I cannot reken the rout / þat ranne about mede /

AsT Symonie and Ciuile / and Sysors of courtes

Were most priuie with Mede / of any men methought

And favell was the first / þat fet hir out of boure

And as a Brokour brought hir / to be with fals enioyned

When Simonie and Cyuile / se hir both willingT

Thei assentid for siluer / to seie as both wolde

Then lept furth Lyer / and said lo here a charter

That Gyle with his great othes / gaf them togethers

Praying Cyvill to se / & Symonie to rede it

Then Symonye and Civile / thrust forthe bothe

And vnfoldedLG þe feffment / that fals had made

And thus beginneth these felowes / to lokeLX full hie

Sciant presentes et futuri &c

Wite ye and witnesse / þat dwell vpon this erth

That Mede is maried / more for his goodes

Than for anie vertue , fairenes / or any fre kinde

Fas / Fa[l]s is full feyne of hir / for that she is riche

And favell with his fickell speche / feffeth by this charter

To be princes in pride / and pouertie to dispise

To bacbite and bost / and to beare fals witnesse

To scorne and to skolde / & schaunder / sc[l]aunder to make

Vnbuxome and bolde / to breake the . X . / tean comaundementes

And the Erledome of envie / And warre togethers

With rebuking chastitieLX / and chatering out of reason

The Countie of Couetise / and all the costes aboute

That is vsurie and Avarice / all I them graunte

In bargaines & in brocages / with all the borowe of theft

And all the lordship of Lecherie / in Length and in brede

As in workes and wordes / and in waitinges with eyis

And in wedes and wisshinges / & with{out} ydill thoughtes

There as will wolde / and workemanship failith

Glotonie he gaf him eke / & great othes togither

And all daie to drinke / at diuerse tauernes

And there to Iangle & iape / and Iudge their euencristen

And in Fasting daies to frett / ere full time were

And then to sytt and suppe / till slepe them assaile

And breden furth as borough swine / and bed them easelie

Till sleuthe and slepe / sliken their sydes

And then wanhope to wake them so / with no will to amend

For they beleue to be lostT / evin at their last end

And they to haue and to holde / & their heires after

A dwelling with the deuill / and damned be for euer

with all the appurtenaunces of purgatorie / in-to the peynes of hell

TIn witnesse of which thing wrong was the first

And piers the palmerT pardoner of paulines doctrine

Bete the beddell . of Bokyngham-shire

Reynalde the reue / of rutlonde Sokene

Maude the myller / and many moo other

In the date of þe deuill / this dede I enseale

By sight of syr Simonie / And Cyuils leue

Then angrie was Theologie / when he this tale herd

And said to Ciuile / now sorow mut youLG haue

Such weddinges to worke / AgainstP the truthe

And ere this wedding be wrought wo the betide

For Mede is a mulier / of A-mendes engendrid

Wherfor god grauntethe to giue / Mede to truthe

And thou hast giuen hir to a gilour / god giue the sorowe

Thi text telleth the not so / truthe wot the sothe

For dignus est operarius / his hire to haue

And thou hast fastenedLG hir to fals / fy on thi Lawe

By Lesinges thou leuist / & lecherous workes

Symonie and thi-self / distroye holie churche

The notaries & ye / noyethe the people

Ye shall abie hit bothe / by god that me made

Well may you knowe / But if your wit faile

That fals is feithles / & fickell in his workes

And a bastard borne / of Belsabubbes kynne

C And Mede is a {muber} mulier / a maiden of good

And might kisse the king / for Coson if she shold

Therfor worke by wisdome / and by my wit also

And Ledith hir to london / there to be shewid

if any Lawe will loke / þat they Ly to-githers

And though Iustices iudge hir / to be ioyned to fals

Yet beware of wedding / for wittie is truthe

And Consciens is of his counsell / & knoweth you echeone

And if he fynde you in faute / And with fals hold

It shall much hurt your soules / full soure at þe Last

Herto assentid Cyvile / but Symonie wold not

Till he had siluer for his seruice / and also the notaries

Than fett Favell furth / Florins ynowe

And bad Gyle to giue / gold alaboute / all aboute

And namelie to the notaries / that thei faile notT

And feffe fals witnesses / with Floryns ynowe

For they may Mede AvaunceLX / and worke at will

ThenLG this gold was gevin / great was the thanking

To fals and to favell / for their fair giftes

And came to comfort / from care the Fals

Seying sertes syr / cesse shall we neuer

Till Mede be thi weddid wife / through þe wittes of vs all

For we haue Mede maistred / with oure merie speche

That she grauntith to go / with a good will

To london to loke / if the Lawe wolde

IoyneLX you ioyntlie / in Ioye for ever

Then was Fals fayne / & favell as blithe

And let sommon all people / in shires aboute

Commaunding all to be redie / beggers and other

To wende with them to westmynster / to witnes þis dede

Then carid they for horses / to carye them thither

And Favell fett furth then / horses ynowe

And set Mede vpon a Shreve / shoid all newe

And Fals vpon a Sysour / þat subtillie trottid

And favell on a Flatterer / Featlie attyrid

Then had Notaries non / Anoyed they were

for Symonie and Ciuill / shuld on fote go

Then swore Simony / & Ciuill bothe

That Somners shuld be sadelid / & serue them echeone

And Apparailed provisors / in palfreyis wise

Sir Symonie him-self / shall sitt on their backes

C Deanes and subdeanes / Drawe you togethers

Archedecons & officials / & also your Regesters

Lat sadle them with SiluerP / oure synne to suffre

As avoutrie & diuorses / and derne vsurie

To beare Bisshops aboute / abrode in visiting

Paulynes pryues / For pleintes in Consistorie

Shall serue my-self / that Civill ame named

And cartsadle the Commissarie / our cart shall he lede

And fech vs victualls / at Fornicatores /

And make of Liar a longcart / to lede all these other

As fryers and Faytors / that on their fete renne

And thus fals and favell / went furth togethers

And Mede in the myddest / & all these men after

I haue no time to telle / the taile that hir foloweth

Gyle was foregoer / and guided them all

Sothnesse se him well / and seid but Litill

But pricked his palfrey / and passed them all

And came to the kynges court / And Conscience it told

And Conscience to the king / carped it after

Nowe by Christ quod the king / if I cache myght

Fals or favell / or any of his felowes

I wolde be wroken of theirLX {workes} wrechis / þat worke so yll

And hang them by the hals / & all that them mainteyne

Shall neuer man of this moulde / maynprise the Least

But right as þe Law will / shall fall on them all

And commanded a constable / that cam at þe First

To atache the Tyrauntes / for anything I saie

And fettre fast falsnesse / for any maner giftes

And Smight of Gyles head / & let him go no farther

And if ye cach Liar / Lat him not escape

Ere he be put on the pillarie / for any prayer I saie

And bringe Mede to me / in spight of them all

Drede at the dore stode / & all the matter herde

And howe the king commandid / Constables & Sergeauntes

Falsenes & his felowship / to fettre and to bynde

Drede then went wightlie / & warned False

And bad him fle for feare / & his felowes all

Falsnes for fere then / Fled to the Friers

And gyle did him to go / aferde for to die

And Marchantes met with him / & made him abide

And shett him in their shoppes / to shewe their ware

Apparailing him as a prentice / the people to serue

Lightlie Lier / lept awaie then

Lurking through lanes / Lugged of many

He was nowher welcome / for his many tales

But ouer all huntidLX / awaie for to trudgeLX

Till pardonars had pitie / & pullid him in-to house

They wasshed him and wiped him / & wounde him in cloutes

And sent him with Seales / on Sondais to churches

And he gaf pardon for pens / poundemeale about

Then lowrid Leches / & letters they sent

That he shulde dwelle with them waters to loke

Spicers spoke with him / to spie their ware

For he coude of their craft / and knewe many gommes

Also Mynstrels and Messengers / met with him ones

And held him won halfyere / and elleuen daies

Friers with faire speche / Fett him thens

And for knowing of commers / copid him as a Frier

And he had leue to lepe out / as oft as he Likid

And is welcome when he will / & dwelle with them oft

All fled for feare / and flewe in-to corners

Saue Mede the maid / nomore / no more durst abide

And trulie to telle / she trembled for drede

And eke wept and wrong / when she was atached