Classic Poem

To-morowe ye shall on hunting fare,
And ride, my doughter, in a chare;
It shall be covered with velvet red,
And clothes of fine gold al about your hed,
With damask white and asure-blewe,
Wel diapred with lillies newe;
Your pomelles shall be ended with gold,
Your chaines enameled many a fold;
Your mantèl of riche degree,
Purpil palle and ermine free;
Jennettes of Spaine, that been so wight,
Trapped to the ground with velvet bright.
Ye shall have harpe, sautry, and song,
And other mirthes you among.
Ye shall have rumney and malmesine,
Both ypocrasse and vernage wine,
Mountrose and wine of Greke,
Both algarde and respice eke,
Antioche and bastarde,
Piment also and garnarde,
Wine of Greke and muscadell,
Both claré, piment, and rochell;
The red your stomake to defy,
And pottes of osey set you by.
You shall have venison y-bake,
The best wilde fowle that may be take;
A lese of grehound with you to strike,
And hert and hinde and other like.
Ye shall be set at such a trist
That hert and hinde shall come to your fist;
Your disease to drive you fro
To here the bugles there y-blow,
With their bugles in that place,
And sevenscore raches at his rechase.
Homeward thus shall ye ride,
On hauking by the rivers side,
With goshauk and with gentil fawcon,
With egle-horne and merlyon.
‘When you come home your men among
Ye shall have revell, daunces and song:
Litle children, great and smale,
Shall sing as doth the nightingale.
Then shall ye go to your evensong,
With tenòurs and trebles among;
Threescore of copes of damask bright,
Full of perles they shall be pight;
Your aulter-clothes of taffata,
And your sicles all of taffetra.
Your sensòurs shall be of gold,
Endent with asure many a fold.
Your quere non organ-song shall want
With countre-note and discànt;
The other half on orgains playing,
With yonge children full faire singing.
‘Then shall ye go to your suppère,
And sitte in tentes in grene arbère,
With clothes of Aras pight to the ground,
With saphires set and diamound.
A cloth of gold about your head,
With popinjayes pight, with pery red;
And officers all at your will
All maner delightes to bring you till.
The nightingale sitting on a thorn
Shall singe you notes both even and morn.
An hundreth knightes truly tolde
Shall play with bowles in alayes colde;
Your disease to drive awaye
To see the fishes in pooles playe,
And then walke in arbere up and down
To see the flowres of great renown.
‘To a draw-bridge then shall ye,
The one half of stone, the other of tree;
A barge shall mete you full right
With twenty-four ores full bright,
With trompettes and with clariown,
The freshe water to rowe up and down.
Then shall ye go to the salte fome
Your maner to see, or ye come home,
With eighty shippes of large tour,
With dromedaryes of great honòur,
And carackes with sailes two—
The swiftest that on water may go—
With galyes good upon the haven
With eighty ores at the fore-staven.
Your mariners shall singe a-rowe
“Hey, how, and tumbylowe”.
Then shall ye, doughter, aske the wine,
With spices that be good and fine,
Gentil pottes with ginger grene,
With dates and deinties you betwene;
Forty torches breninge bright
At your bridges to bringe you light.
‘Into your chambre they shall you bring
With muche mirthe and more liking.
Your costerdes covered with white and blewe
And diapred with lilies newe;
Your curtaines of camaca all in fold,
Your filioles all of gold;
Your tester-pery at your head,
Curtaines with popinjayes white and red;
Your hillinges with furres of ermìne,
Powdred with golde of hew full fine.
Your blankettes shall be of fustiayne,
Your shetes shall be of cloth of Rayne.
Your head-shete shall be of pery pight
With diamondes set and rubyes bright.
When you are laid in bedde so softe,
A cage of gold shall hange alofte,
With longe peper faire burning
And cloves that be swete smelling,
Frankensence and olibanum,
That when ye slepe the taste may come.
And if ye no rest may take,
All night minstrelles for you shall wake.’
‘Gramercy, father, so mote I thee,
For all these thinges liketh not me.’