Opening the book…
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Introduction | Contributors | Textual Introduction |
| ←What deth ys worse then thys / | I se the change ffrom that that was→ |
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f. [40r]
1 thy [s]promese was to loue me best
2 and that thy hart with{w+t+} myn shold rest
3 and nat to brek thys thy behest
4 thy promese ^1was thy promese was
5 thy promese was nat to aquyt
6 my ffathffulnes with{w+t+} sech destyt
7 but recompenset yf thow myght
8 thy promese was thy promese was
9 thy promese was I tel the pleyn
10 my ffayth shold nat be spent in wene
11 but to hawe mor shold be my gayne
12 thy promese was thy promese was
13 thy promese was to hawe obsarwed
14 my ffayth lyke as yt hath deserwed
15 and nat casles thys to asward have sweared
16 thy promese was thy promese was
17 thy promese was I dar a woe
18 but yt ys changyt I wot well how2
19 tho then wer then and now ys now
20 thy promese was thy promese was
21 but sens to change tho doos delyt
22 and that thy ffatyh hath tayn hes fflythe
23 as thow desarwest I shall the quyt
24 I promese the I promese the
ffynys
Notes & Glosses
1. Caret is downwards.
2. Consider early modern pronunciation in the rhyme of "woe" and "now."
Commentary
Attributed to Sir Thomas Wyatt,[1] this poem was entered by Margaret Douglas. She uses ruled lines, few capital letters, and smudges the page, which might indicate that she is left-handed. The page shows evidence of careful copying, with many insertions and deletions. Although the sentiment of this poem is difficult to relate to the known biographical details of the Douglas’s life, this song could possibly have been copied for entertainment purposes.
Works Cited
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