Classic Poem

Of the — commoditees of Irelonde, and poliege and kepynge thereof, and conquerynge of
wylde Iryshe, wyth an incident of Walys. The ix. chapitle.

I caste to speke of Irelonde but a lytelle,
Commoditees yit I woll entitelle,
Hydes, and fish, samon, hake, herynge,
Irish wollen, lynyn cloth, faldynge,
And marternus gode, bene here marchaundyse,
Hertys hydes, and other of venerye,
Skynnes of otere, squerel, and Irysh are,
Of shepe, lambe, and fox, is here chaffare,
Ffelles of kydde and conyes grete plente.
So that yf Irelond halpe us to kepe the see,
Because the kynge clepid is rex Angliae ,
And is dominus also Hiberniae ,
Old possessyd by progenitours,
The Yriche men have cause lyke to oures
Oure londe and herres togedre defende,
That none enmye shulde hurte ne offende
Yrelonde ne us, but as one comonte
Shulde helpe to kepe welle aboute the see.
Ffor they have havenesse grete and godely bayes,
Sure, wyde, and depe, of gode assayes,
Att Waterforde and coostis monye one,
And as men seyn in England, be there none
Better havenesse shyppes in to ryde,
Ne more sure for enmyes to abyde.
Why speke I thus so muche of Yrelonde?
Ffor also muche as I can understonde
It is fertyle for thynge that there do growe
And multiplyen, loke who so lust to knowe;
So large, so gode, and so comodyouse,
That to declare is straunge and merveylouse.
Ffor of sylvere and golde there is the oore
Amonge the wylde Yrishe, though they be pore;
Ffor they ar rude, and can thereone no skylle;
So that if we had there pese and gode wylle,
To myne and fyne, and metalle for to pure,
In wylde Yrishe myght we fynde the cure.
As in Londone seyth a juellere,
Whych brought from thens gold oore to us here,
Whereof was fyned metalle gode and clene,
As the touche, no bettere coude be sene.
Nowe here be ware and hertly take entente,
As ye wolle answere at the laste jugemente,
That for sloughe and for racheshede
Ye remembere, wyth alle youre myghte take hede
To kepe Yrelond, that it be not loste;
Ffor it is a boterasse and a poste
Undre England, and Wales another.
God forbede but eche were othere brothere,
Of one ligeaunce dewe unto the kynge.
But I have pite, in gode feythe, of thys thynge,
That I shalle saye, wythe avysemente,
I ham aferde that Yrelonde wol be shente;
It muste awey, it wolle be loste frome us,
But if thow helpe, thow Jhesu graciouse,
And yeve us grace alle sloughte to leve bysyde.
Ffor myche thynge in my harte is hyde,
Whyche in anothere tretyse I caste to wrytte,
Made alle onelye for that soyle and sitee
Of fertile Yerelonde, whiche mythe not be forborne,
But if England were nyghe as gode as gone.
God forbede that a wylde Yrishe wyrlynge
Shulde be chosene for to be there kynge,
Aftere here conqueste for oure laste puisshaunce,
And hyndere us by other londes allyaunce.
Wyse mene seyne, whyche folyn not ne dotyn,
That wylde Yrishe so muche of grounde have gotyne
There upon us, as lykelynesse may be,
Lyke as England to sherish two or thre
Of thys oure londe is made comparable,
So wylde Yrishe have wonne unto us unable
Yit to defende, and of no powere
That oure grounde there is a lytelle cornere,
To alle Yrelonde in trewe comparisone.
It nedeth no more this mater to expone,
Which if it be loste, as Criste Jhesu forbede,
Ffarewelle Wales, than Englond cometh to drede
Ffor alliaunce of Scotelonde and of Spayne,
And other moo, as the Pety Bretayne,
And so have enmyes environ rounde aboute.
I beseche God that some prayers devoute
Mutt lett the seyde apparaunce probable
Thys disposed wythought feyned fable;
But alle onely for perelle that I see
Thus ymynent as lykely for to be.
And welle I wote that frome hens to Rome,
And, as men sey, in alle Cristendome,
Ys no grounde ne lond to Yreland lyche,
So large, so gode, so plenteouse, so riche,
That to this worde dominus dothe longe.
Than me semyth that ryght were, and not wronge,
To gete that lond, and it were piteouse
To us to lese thys hyghe name dominus .
And alle this worde dominus of name
Shulde have the grounde obeisaunte, wylde and tame.
That name and peple togedere myght accorde,
Alle the grounde subjecte to the lorde;
And that it is possible to be subjecte
Unto the kynge, well shall it be detecte
In the lytelle boke that I of spake;
I trowe reson alle this wolle undertake.
And I knowe welle with Irland howe it stant;
Allas! fortune begynneth so to stant,
Or ellis grace, that dede is governaunce.
Ffor so mynusshyth partyes of oure puissaunce
In that land, that we lesse every yere
More grounde and more, as welle as ye may here.
I herde a man speke to me fulle late,
Whyche was a lorde of ful grete astate,
That expensis of one yere don in Fraunce
Werred on men welle wylled of puissaunce,
Thys seyd grounde of Yrelonde to conquere,
And yit because Englonde myght not forbere
These seyde expensis gedred in one yere,
But in iij. yere or iiij. gadred up here,
Myght wynne Yrelonde to a fynalle conquest
In one soole yere, to sett us alle in reste.
And how sone wolde thys be payde ageyne,
What were it worthe yerely, yf wee not feyne,
I wylle declare, who so luste to looke,
I trowe ful pleynly in my lytele boke.
But covetyse and singularite
Of one profite, envye, cruelte,
Hathe done us harme, and doo us every daye,
And mustres made that shame it is to saye,
Oure money spente alle to lytelle avayle;
And oure enmyes so gretely done prevayle,
That what harme may falle and overthwarte,
I may unneth wrytte more for sore of herte.