The Devonshire Manuscript, O marble herte and yet more harde perde

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The Devonshire Manuscript facsimile 90r (Image: DMSEG, CC BY-SA 3.0) |

f. [90r]

1    O marble herte and yet more ^harde perde
2    wych mercy may not perce for no labor
3    more stronge to bowe than ys a myghty tree
4    what avanay avayleth yow to shewe so great rygor
5    pleasyth ^ yt yow more to se me dye thys hour
6    before yowr yowr eyen for yowr dysporte and play
7    than for to shewe some comforte and socour
8    to respyte death / wych chaseth me alway

Commentary

Transcribed by TH2, this entry is an excerpt (lines 717-24) from Richard Roos’ adaptation of La Belle Dame Sans Merci by Alain Chartier. The speaker in this excerpt rebukes the lady for her callousness and cruel delight at his pain. TH2 enters another excerpt from the same poem below this selection ("Alas what shuld yt be to yow preiudyce" (90r(3)); TH2 most likely copied both passages from Thynne’s edition of Chaucer (c. 1532).

Other medieval and Chaucerian excerpts in the manuscript, possibly copied from Thynne's edition, include selections from Hoccleve ("Womans harte vnto no creweltye" 89v(1) and "ys thys afayre avaunte / ys thys honor" (89v(2)), verses from Troilus and Criseyde (see: "And now my pen alas wyth wyche I wryte" (29v(1)), "O very lord / o loue / o god alas" (29v(1)), "O ye louers that hygh vpon the whele" (30r), "for thylke grownde that bearyth the wedes wycke" (59v), "yff yt be so that ye so creuel be" (91r(2)), "Wo worthe the fayre gemme vertulesse" (91v(1)), "for loue ys yet the moste stormy lyfe" (91v(2)), "Also wyckyd tonges byn so prest" (91v(3)), "And who that sayth for to love ys vyce" (92r), and "but now helpe god to quenche all thys sorow" (93r)); the Chaucerian "Remedy of Love" first printed in Thynne's edition ("yff all the erthe were parchment scrybable" (90r)), and Chaucer's Anelida and Arcite ("for thowgh I had yow to morow to agayne" (91r)).

TH2 separates the passages on the page with flourishes.

Textual Notes

Texts Collated

T5068.13

Collation

1 herte and] herte/and T5068.13 perde] parde T5068.13
2 wych] Whiche T5068.13 labor] labour T5068.13
3 more] More T5068.13 stronge] strange T5068.13 than] thna T5068.13 ys] is T5068.13 tree] tre T5068.13
4 what] What T5068.13 avayleth] auayleth T5068.13 yow] you T5068.13 rygor] rigour T5068.13
5 pleasyth] Pleaseth T5068.13 yt yow] it you T5068.13 thys] this T5068.13
6 before] Before T5068.13 yowr] your T5068.13 eyen for] eyen/for T5068.13 yowr] your T5068.13 dysporte] disporte T5068.13
7 than] Than T5068.13
8 to] To T5068.13 death / wych] dethe/whiche T5068.13

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