And cam vp kneling / to kisse his bulles

he bunched them with his breuet / & blerid their eyis

and raught with his ragman / both ringes & broches

Thus they giue their golde / glotons for to kepe

And lendith hit such loselles / as lecherie haunte

Were the bisshope blissed / and worth bothe his eyis

His seale shulde not be sent / to deceiue the people

And hit is not by the bisshop wonlie / þat the boye preachethe

For the parish preist and the pardoner part the siluer

That the pore of the parishe / shulde haue if they ne were

C Parsons and parishe preistes / pleyne them to the bisshops

That their parisshes were pore / sith the pestilence tyme

To haue a licence and l{i}eueP / at London to dwell

To syng there for Symony / for siluer is swete

Bisshops and bachelers / bothe maisters & doctors

That haue cure vnder Chryst / and crowning in tokin

And signe that they shulde / shriue their parisshens

Preach and prey for them / and the poore fede

LyingT at london / in lenton and ellis

Some serue the king / and his siluer telle

In Cheker and in Chauncerie / chalenge his dettes

Of wardes and wardemotes / of weifes and strais

And some serue as seruauntes / lordes and ladies

And in stead of stiwardes / they sitt and deme

Their mateyns and masses / & many of their houres

Are done vndevoutly / drede is at the last

Lest Chryst in Consistorie / Acurse full many

I perceyuid of the poure / that Peter had to kepe

To bynde & vnbynde / as the booke tellithe

how he left hit with loue / as oure lord hight

Among foure vertues / the best of all vertues

That Cardinals bene callid / and closing gates

There Chryst is in kingdome / to close and to shett

And to open to them / and hevins blisse shewe

And of the Cardynals at court / that caught of þat name

And poure presumed in them / A Pope to make

To haue theT poure that Peter had / inpungne I nyll

For in loue and letter / the eleccion belongithe

Therfor I can & cannot / of Court speake more

Than came there a king / knyghthode him ledd

Myght of the commons / made him to reigne

Then cam kynde witt / and clerkes he made

To counsell the king / and the commons to saue

The king and knighthode / and Clergie bothe

Did cast that the Commons shulde them-self fynde

The Comons contrivid / of kinde witt craftes

And for profit of all the people / Plowmen ordeyned

To tille and to travaile / as true life askethe

The king and the Comons / & kyndwitt the thirde

Shope lawe and leautie / eueryman / euery man to knowe his oune

Then lokid vp a Lunatike / a leane thing withall

C And kneling to the kyng / Clerkelie he said

Chryst kepe the syr king / and thi kingdome

And lende the to lede thy lande so /T leautie the louith

And for thy rightfull ruling / be rewardid in heaven

and sithens in the Eyre onhighe / on highe / an angell of heauen

Loude spokeLX in Latine / for lewde men ne coulde

Iangle nor Iudge / that iustifie them shulde

But serue and suffre / therfor said th'aungell

Sum rex sum princeps , neutrum fortasse deinceps .

O qui iura regis , xpĩcristi spetialia regis .

Hoc quod agas melius , iustus es , esto pius .

Nudum ius a te , vestiri vult pietate .

Qualia vis metere , talia grana sere .

Si ius nudatur , nudo de iure metatur .

Si seritur pietas , de pietate metas .

C Then grevid him a goliarde / a gloton of wordis

And to th'aungell onhighe / on highe / answerid after , thus

Dum Rex a regere , dicatur nomen habere

Nomen habet sine reC , nisi studet iura tenere

Then beganne all the comons , crie in aT verse of Latyne

To the kinges counsell / construe who-so wolde

Precepta Regis , sunt nobis vincula legis

With that ranne there a rout / of Ratons atones / at ones

And smale mies with them / more then a thousande

And came to a counsell / for the common profyt

For a Catt of the Countrie / cam when he Liked

And ouerlepe them lightlie / & lestLX them at his will

And pleyid with them perilouslie / and possid about

for dout of diuerse dredes / we darenot / dare not well loke

And if we gruche at his game / he will greue vs all

Crache vs and clawe vs / & in his clowches holde

That we lothe the lyfe / ere he lattith vs passe

Might we with any wit / his will withstande

We myght be lordes alofte / & liue at oure ease

A Ratton of renounne / most renable of tung

Seyd for a souereyne helpe to him-self

I haue sene segges quod he / in the Citie of London

Bere byes full bright / about their neckis

And some Colers of craftie worke / vncoupled they went

Both in wareyne and in wast / where them-self likid

And other while they are ellis where / as I here tell

C Were there a belle on their byesLX / by IhuIesu as me thinkes

Men myght wot where they went and awaie renne

And right so quod that Ratton / reason me shewithe

To bie a belle of brasse / o{f}r of bright syluer

And knyt yt on his collere / for oure commone profyt

Whether he ryde or rest / or elles rennyth to playe

Yf him lust for to lake / then loke we maye

And pere in his presence / while him pley liketh

And if he wrathe beware / & his waie shoneye

All the rout of ratons / to this reason they assentid

And thenLG the belle was brought / & on the byes hangid

There was no ratt in all þe rout / for all the realme of fraunce

That durst haue bounde the belle / about the cattes necke

Ne hang it about the Cattes halse / all Englande to wynne

But helde them vnhardie / and their counsell feble

And lett ther labour lost / and all their long studie

A mouse that muche good coulde as me thought

Stert furthe sternelie / & stode before them all

And to the rout of Ratons / rehercid these wordes

Though we kille this Catte / yet sholde there come another

To cach vs and all oure kynde / though we crept vnder benches

Therfor I counsell all you ComonsT / to lat the cat alone

And be not we so bolde / the belle him for to shewe

for I harde my syre saye / full seven yere ypassed

There the Catte is a kytton / the court is full hevie

That witnesseth holie writ / who-so will it rede

Ve terre vbi puer rex est

For maye noman / no man his rest haue / for Ratons by nyght

The while he cachith conyes / he covetith not oure careyne

But fedith him allT with venison / defame we him neuer

Far better is a litill losse / then a long sorowe

The maze among vs all / though we misse a shrewe /

For many a mannesT malt / we mies wolde distroye

And the rout of ratons / rende mennis clothes

Were not the Catte of theT court / that can vs ouerlepe

for had ye rattes your will / you coulde not rule your-seluis

I saie for me quod the mouse / I se so muche after

Shall neuer the Catte nor kitton / by my counsell be greved

Ne carping of this Coller / that neuer cost me ought

And though hit had cost me catell / beknoune hit I nolde

But suffre as him-self wolde / to do as him liketh

Coupled and vncoupled / to cache what they maye

Therfor ech wise wight I warne / wite well his oune

What this dreame menethe / ye men that be merye

Devine ye for I dare not / by dere god in heaven

Yet houid there an hundred / in hoodes of silke

Sergeantes hit besemed / that serue at the barre

Pleading for pens / and poundes the lawe

And not for loue of the lorde / vnlosen their lippes ones

Thou myghtest better mete /T the mist on Maluerne hillis

Then get a Mumme of their mouth / till money be shewid

Barons and burgeises / and bond-men also

I se in this assemblie / as ye shall here after

Bacsters and brewsters / and bochers manie

wollen websters / and weavers of lynnen

Tailors and tynkers / and tollers in markettes

Masons and Mynors / & many other craftes

Of all kynd libbing Laborers / Lept furth some

As dykers and deluers / that do their dedes yll

And dryue furthe the long daie with | dieux saue dame Emme

Cookes and their knauis / Cryid hote pies hote

Good goos and grice / go we dyne go we /

Tauerners vnto them / tolde the same

Whight wine of Ozeye / & red wine of Gascoigne

of the ryn and of the Rochell / the roste to defie

All this se I sleping / and vij / seuen tymes more /