What thyng shold cawse me to be sad

The Devonshire Manuscript · Wikibooks

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    Introduction  |  Contributors  |  Textual Introduction
    The Devonshire Manuscript
    Bibliography A-M  |  Bibliography N-Z  |  Encoded Materials

    ←Wyth sorowful syghes and wondes smart Alas that men be so vngent→
    Illustration
    The Devonshire Manuscript facsimile 27r

     f. [27r] 

    1    What thyng shold cawse me to be sad
    2    as longe ye reyoyce wyth hart
    3    my part yt ys for to be glad
    4    syns yow haue takyn me to yowr part
    5    ye do relese my pene and smart
    6    wych wold me uery sore Insue
    7    but that for yow my trust so trew

    8    yff I shuld wryte and make report
    9    what faythfulnes in yow I fynd
    10    the terme of lyfe yt were to short
    11    wyth penne yn letters yt to bynd
    12    wherefor wher as as ye be so kynd
    13    as for my part yt ys but dewe
    14    lyke case to yow to be as true

    15    My loue truly shall not decay
    16    for thretnyng nor for punysment
    17    for let them thynke and let them say
    18    toward yow alone I am full bent
    19    therfore I wyl be dylygent
    20    owr faythful loue for to renew
    21    and styll to kepe me trusty & trw

    22    Thus fare ye well my worldly tresor
    23    desyryng god that off hys grace
    24    to send no tyme hys wyll and plesor
    25    and shortly to get hus owt off thys place
    26    then shal I be yn as good case
    27    as a hawke that getes{es} owt off hys mue
    28    and strayt doth seke hys trust so trwe

    fynis

    Commentary

    Attributed to Lord Thomas Howard,[1] this poem was entered into the manuscript by TH2. In the poem, the speaker professes his steadfastness in love despite the possibility of experiencing pain and punishment. Typical of courtly love poetry in the early Tudor court, this sentiment also appears elsewhere in the Devonshire Manuscript, such as in “Alas that men be so vngent” (27v) and “Who hath more cawse for to complayne” (28r).

    Works Cited

    1. ↑ William A. Ringler, Jr., Michael Rudick, and Susan J. Rigler, Bibliography and Index of English Verse in Manuscript, 1501-1558 (London: Manswell, 1992), 242.