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II.: THE LEGEND OF THISBE OF BABYLON. - Geoffrey Chaucer, The Complete Works of Geoffrey Chaucer, vol. 3 (House of Fame, Legend of Good Women, Treatise on Astrolabe, Sources of Canterbury Tales) [1899]

Edition used:

The Complete Works of Geoffrey Chaucer, edited from numerous manuscripts by the Rev. Walter W. Skeat (2nd ed.) (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1899). 7 vols.

Part of: The Complete Works of Geoffrey Chaucer, 7 vols.

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II.

THE LEGEND OF THISBE OF BABYLON.

Incipit Legenda Tesbe Babilonie, Martiris.

    • At Babiloine whylom fil it thus,
    • The whiche toun the queen Semiramus
    • Leet dichen al about, and walles make
    • Ful hye, of harde tyles wel y-bake.
    • Ther weren dwellinge in this noble toun710
    • Two lordes, which that were of greet renoun,
    • And woneden so nigh , upon a grene,
    • That ther nas but a stoon-wal hem bitwene,
    • As ofte in grete tounes is the wone.
    • And sooth to seyn, that o man hadde a sone,715
    • Of al that londe oon of the lustieste.(11)
    • That other hadde a doghter , the faireste,
    • That estward in the world was tho dwellinge.[ ]
    • The name of everich gan to other springe
    • By wommen, that were neighebores aboute.720
    • For in that contree yit, withouten doute,
    • Maidens been y-kept, for Ielosye,[ ]
    • Ful streite, lest they diden som folye.
    • This yonge man was cleped Piramus,
    • And Tisbe hight the maid , Naso seith thus;725
    • And thus by report was hir name y-shove[ ](21)
    • That, as they wexe in age, wex hir love;[ ]
    • And certein, as by reson of hir age,
    • Ther mighte have been bitwix hem mariage,
    • But that hir fadres nolde hit nat assente;730[ ]
    • And bothe in love y-lyke sore they brente,
    • That noon of alle hir frendes mighte hit lette
    • But prively somtyme yit they mette
    • By sleighte , and speken som of hir desyr;
    • As, wry the gleed , and hotter is the fyr ;735[ ]
    • Forbede a love, and it is ten so wood .(31)
    • This wal, which that bitwix hem bothe stood ,
    • Was cloven a-two , right fro the toppe adoun .
    • Of olde tyme of his fundacioun;
    • But yit this clifte was so narwe and lyte,740
    • It as nat sene, dere y-nogh a myte.[ ]
    • But what is that, that love can nat espye?[ ]
    • Ye lovers two , if that I shal nat lye,
    • Ye founden first this litel narwe clifte;
    • And, with a soun as softe as any shrifte,[ ]745
    • They lete hir wordes through the clifte pace,(41)
    • And tolden, whyl that they stode in the place,
    • Al hir compleynt of love, and al hir wo ,
    • At every tyme whan they dorste so .
    • Upon that o syde of the wal stood he,750
    • And on that other syde stood Tisbe ,
    • The swote soun of other to receyve,
    • And thus hir wardeins wolde they deceyve.
    • And every day this wal they wolde threte ,
    • And wisshe to god, that it were doun y-bete.755
    • Thus wolde they seyn—‘allas! thou wikked wal ,[ ](51)
    • Through thyn envye thou us lettest al !
    • Why nilt thou cleve, or fallen al a-two?
    • Or, at the leste , but thou woldest so,
    • Yit woldestow but ones lete us mete ,760
    • Or ones that we mighte kissen swete ,
    • Than were we covered of our cares colde.
    • But natheles, yit be we to theeholde
    • In as muche as thou suffrest for to goon
    • Our wordes through thy lyme and eek thy stoon.765
    • Yit oghte we with thee ben wel apayd .’(61)
    • And whan thise ydel wordes weren sayd ,
    • The colde wal they wolden kisse of stoon,
    • And take hir leve, and forth they wolden goon.
    • And this was gladly in the even-tyde770
    • Or wonder erly, lest men hit espyde ;
    • And longe tyme they wroghte in this manere
    • Til on a day, whan Phebus gan to clere,[ ]
    • Aurora with the stremes of hir hete
    • Had dryed up the dew of herbes wete;775
    • Unto this clifte, as it was wont to be,(71)
    • Com Pyramus, and after com Tisbe ,
    • And plighten trouthe fully in hir fey
    • That ilke same night to stele awey ,
    • And to begyle hir wardeins everichoon ,780
    • And forth out of the citee for to goon ;
    • And, for the feldes been so brode and wyde,
    • For to mete in o place at o tyde,
    • They sette mark hir meting sholde be[ ]
    • Ther king Ninus was graven, under a tree;785
    • For olde payens that ydoles heried[ ](81)
    • Useden tho in feldes to ben beried
    • And faste by this grave was a welle.
    • And, shortly of this tale for to telle,
    • This covenant was affermed wonder faste;790
    • And longe hem thoughte that the sonne laste,
    • That hit nere goon under the see adoun.
    • This Tisbe hath so greet affeccioun
    • And so greet lyking Piramus to see,
    • That, whan she seigh her tyme mighte be,795
    • At night she stal awey ful prively(91)
    • With her face y-wimpled subtiny;
    • For alle her frendes—for to save her trouthe—[ ]
    • She hath for-sake; allas! and that is routhe
    • That ever woman wolde be so trewe800
    • To trusten man, but she the bet him knewe!
    • And to the tree she goth a ful good pas ,
    • For love made her so hardy in this cas ;[ ]
    • And by the welle adounshe gan her dresse .
    • Allas! than comth a wilde leonesse805
    • Out of the wode , withouten more areste,(101)
    • With blody mouthe, of strangling of a beste,
    • To drinken of the welle, ther as she sat;
    • And, whan that Tisbe had espyed that,
    • She rist her up, with a ful drery herte,810
    • And in a cave with dredful foot she sterte,
    • For by the mone she seigh hit wel with-alle.
    • And, as she ran , her wimpel leet she falle,[ ]
    • And took noon heed , so sore she was a-whaped.[ ]
    • And eek so glad of that she was escaped;815
    • And thus she sit , and darketh wonder stille.(111)
    • Whan that this leonesse hath dronke her fille,
    • Aboute the welle gan she for to winde,
    • And right anoon the wimpel gan she finde,
    • And with her blody mouth hit al to-rente.820
    • Whan this was doon , no lenger she ne stente,
    • But to the wode her wey than hath she nome.
    • And, at the laste, this Piramus is come,[ ]
    • But al to longe, allas! at hoom was he.
    • The mone shoon , men mighte wel y-see,825
    • And in his weye , as that he com ful faste,(121)
    • His eyen to the grounde adoun he caste,
    • And in the sonde, as he beheld adoun ,
    • He seigh the steppes brode of a leoun ,
    • And in his herte he sodeinly agroos ,830
    • And pale he wex, therwith his heer aroos,
    • And neer he com , and fond the wimpel torn .
    • ‘Allas!’ quod he, ‘the day that I was born !
    • This o night wol us lovers bothe slee![ ]
    • How sholde I axen mercy of Tisbe[ ]835
    • Whan I am he that have yow slain , allas!(131)
    • My bidding hath yow slain, as in this cas.
    • Allas! to bidde a woman goon by nighte
    • In place ther as peril fallen mighte,
    • And I so slow ! allas, I ne hadde be840
    • Here in this place a furlong-wey or ye !
    • Now what leoun that be in this foreste,
    • My body mote he renden , or what beste
    • That wilde is, gnawen mote he now myn herte!’
    • And with that worde he to the wimpel sterte,845
    • And kiste hit ofte, and weep on hit ful sore,(141)
    • And seide, ‘wimpel, allas! ther nis no more[ ]
    • But thou shalt fele as wel the blood of me
    • As thou hast felt the bleding of Tisbe !’
    • And with that worde he smoot him to the herte.850
    • The blood out of the wounde as brode sterte[ ]
    • As water, whan the conduit broken is.
    • Now Tisbe, which that wiste nat of this ,[ ]
    • But sitting in her drede, she thoghte thus,
    • ‘If hit so falle that my Piramus855
    • Be comen hider, and may me nat y-finde ,(151)
    • He may me holden fals and eek unkinde.’
    • And out she comth , and after him gan espyen
    • Bothe with her herte and with her yën,[ ]
    • And thoghte, ‘I wol him tellen of my drede860
    • Bothe of the leonesse and al my dede.’
    • And at the laste her love than hath she founde[ ]
    • Beting with his heles on the grounde,
    • Al blody, and therwith-al a-bak she sterte,
    • And lyke the wawes quappe gan her herte,865
    • And pale as box she wex, and in a throwe(161)
    • Avysed her, and gan him wel to knowe,
    • That hit was Piramus, her herte dere.
    • Who coude wryte whiche a deedly chere[ ]
    • Hath Tisbe now, and how her heer she rente,870
    • And how she gan her-selve to turmente,
    • And how she lyth and swowneth on the grounde,
    • And how she weep of teres ful his wounde,
    • How medeleth she his blood with her compleynte,
    • And with his blood her-selven gan she peynte;875
    • How clippeth she the dede cors , allas?(171)
    • How doth this woful Tisbe in this cas!
    • How kisseth she his frosty mouth so cold!
    • ‘Who hath doon this, and who hath been so bold
    • To sleen my leef ? O spek , my Piramus!880
    • I am thy Tisbe , that thee calleth thus!’
    • And therwith-al she lifteth up his heed.
    • This woful man, that was nat fully deed,
    • Whan that he herde the name of Tisbe cryen,
    • On her he caste his hevy deedly yën885
    • And doun again, and yeldeth up the gost .(181)
    • Tisbe rist up, withouten noise or bost ,[ ]
    • And seigh her wimpel and his empty shethe,
    • And eek his swerd , that him hath doon to dethe;
    • Than spak she thus: ‘My woful hand ,’ quod she,890
    • ‘Is strong y-nogh in swiche a werk to me;
    • For love shal yive me strengthe and hardinesse
    • To make my wounde large y-nogh, I gesse.
    • I wol thee folwen deed , and I wol be[ ]
    • Felawe and cause eek of thy deeth,’ quod she.895
    • ‘And thogh that nothing save the deeth only(191)
    • Mighte thee fro me departe trewely ,
    • Thou shalt no more departe now fro me
    • Than fro the deeth , for I wol go with thee!
    • ‘And now, ye wrecched Ielous fadres oure,900
    • We, that weren whylom children youre,
    • We prayen yow, withouten more envye,
    • That in o grave y-fere we moten lye,
    • Sin love hath brought us to this pitous ende!
    • And rightwis god to every lover sende,[ ]905
    • That loveth trewely, more prosperitee(201)
    • Than ever hadde Piramus and Tisbe!
    • And lat no gentil woman her assure
    • To putten her in swiche an aventure.
    • But god forbede but a woman can910
    • Been as trewe and loving as a man!
    • And, for my part , I shal anoon it kythe!’
    • And, with that worde; his swerd she took as swythe,[ ]
    • That warm was of her loves blood and hoot ,
    • And to the herte she her-selven smoot .915
    • And thus ar Tisbe and Piramus ago .[ ](211)
    • Of trewe men I finde but fewe mo
    • In alle my bokes , save this Piramus,
    • And therfor have I spoken of him thus.
    • For hit is deyntee to us men to finde920
    • A man that can in love be trewe and kinde.
    • Heer may ye seen, what lover so he be,
    • A woman dar and can as wel as he.

Explicit legenda Tesbe.

[707. ]tovne; queene.

[710. ]tovne.

[711. ]grete.

[712. ]C. nygh; F. neigh.

[714. ]grette.

[715. ]C. hadde; F. had (so in l. 717).

[716. ]C. Tn. Th. of; rest om.

[717. ]Tn. doghter; F. doghtre.

[718. ]esteward; worlde.

[719. ]eueryche.

[722. ]C. been; F. ben.

[723. ]Tn. som; C. sum; F. somme.

[724. ]C. Tn. yonge; F. yong.

[725. ]All but C. om. And. Tn. A. Tisbe; C. Th. Tysbe; F. B. Tesbe; T. Thesbe. maide.

[726. ]C. report; F. reporte.

[727. ]C. wex, wex; F. T. wex, wax; Tn. wox, wax; B. wox, wox.

[729. ]C. Tn. bitwixe; F. betwex.

[730. ]nold.

[731. ]booth; soore.

[733. ]Tn. priuely; F. preuely.

[734. ]C. sleyghte; F. sleight. A. speken; Tn. T. Th. spaken; F. C. spoken. Tn. som; F. somme. C. desyr; F. desire.

[735. ]C. wry; F. Tn. wre. glede. C. fyr; F. fire.

[736. ]woode.

[737. ]bitwixe; stoode.

[738. ]a-twoo; adovne.

[740. ]C. clyfte; F. clyft.

[741. ]C. A. nas; rest was. C. sene; F. seene. deere.

[743. ]twoo.

[745. ]C. soun; F. sovne.

[746. ]leete.

[747. ]while. C. stode; F. stoden.

[748. ]woo.

[749. ]soo.

[750. ]F. the; rest that. wale.

[751. ]Tesbe.

[752. ]swoote sovne.

[754. ]C. wal; F. walle. threete.

[755. ]dovne. C. Tn. I-bete; F. y-bette.

[756. ]C. Tn. wal; F. walle.

[757. ]Thurgh. C. Tn. al; F. alle.

[758. ]C. nylt thou; F. nyltow.

[759. ]A. Th. B. leste; C. laste; F. leest.

[760. ]let; meete.

[761. ]oones; myght; sweete.

[762. ]oure.

[763. ]the.

[765. ]Tn. Our; F. Or (!). thurgh; ek.

[766. ]C. oughte; F. oght. the; apayede.

[767. ]sayde.

[768. ]walle. C. kysse; F. kyssen.

[769. ]foorth.

[770. ]F. Alle; rest And. T. A. euyn-tyde; Th. euentyde; C. F. Tn. B. euetyde.

[771. ]espyede.

[772. ]C. wroughte; F. wrought.

[775. ]dewe.

[777. ]F. Come; Tn. Com (twice). Tesbe.

[778. ]C. fey; F. faye.

[779. ]steele awaye (C. awey).

[780. ]euerychone.

[781. ]gone.

[782. ]feeldes; broode.

[783. ]meete.

[786. ]C. Idolys; F. ydoyles. F. heriode (!)

[787. ]thoo; feeldes; beriede.

[788. ]C. Tn. faste; F. fast.

[790. ]couenaunt.

[792. ]F. (only) om. goon.

[793. ]F. Tn. B. om. hath; greete.

[794. ]F. Had (!); rest And. grete lykynge.

[795. ]C. myghte; F. myght.

[796. ]stale. A. priuely; F. prevely.

[802. ]gooth; goode paas.

[803. ]caas.

[804. ]a-downe.

[805. ]Tn. comth; F. comith.

[806. ]woode.

[807. ]strangelynge.

[812. ]moone; saugh.

[813. ]ranne.

[814. ]tooke; hede; soore.

[815. ]eke. T. of; rest om.

[816. ]C. sit; F. sytte.

[817. ]T. leones; F. lyonesse.

[821. ]don.

[822. ]woode.

[824. ]home.

[825. ]moone shoone; well.

[826. ]C. weye; F. wey. C. com; F. come.

[827. ]Hise eighen; adovne.

[828. ]behelde a-dovne.

[829. ]broode. T. leoun; F. lyoune.

[832. ]Tn. neer; C. ner; F. nere. C. Tn. com; F. come. C. fond; F. founde. C. torn; F. torne.

[833. ]C. born; F. borne.

[834. ]oo; wole; boothe.

[836. ]slayne.

[837. ]C. as; rest om.

[839. ]F. a; rest as.

[840. ]slowe.

[841. ]yee.

[843. ]F. T. B. om. he. All renten (rente, rent) urongly; read renden.

[846. ]From C. (which has wep for weep); F. om. this line.

[848. ]feele; blode.

[849. ]bledynge; Tesbe.

[852. ]Tn. Th. conduyt; F. conduyte; C. A. condit.

[853. ]C. wiste nat of this; F. wyst nat this.

[854. ]C. thoughte; F. thought.

[855. ]F. B. om. hit.

[856. ]C. I-fynde; F. fynde.

[857. ]ek.

[858. ]comith.

[859. ]hert; eighen.

[861. ]Booth. Tn. leonesse; F. lyonesse.

[863. ]Tn. Betyng; F. Betynge. helis.

[866. ]F. Th. boxe; rest box. T. wexed (for wex); A. wox; Th. B. woxe; C. F. Tn. P. was (error for wax). F. B. om. and.

[868. ]C. herte; F. hert.

[869. ]dedely.

[870. ]Tesbe; heere.

[873. ]Tn. weep; C. wep; F. wepe.

[876. ]C. Tn. cors; F. corps.

[877. ]dooth; Tesbe.

[878. ]mouthe; colde.

[879. ]ben; bolde.

[880. ]leefe. C. Tn. spek; rest speke (wrongly). F. Tn. Th. B. om. my.

[881. ]Tesbe.

[884. ]C. Th. herde; rest herd. Tesbe.

[885. ]dedely. Tn. B. P. yen; F. eyn; rest eyen.

[886. ]dovne; gooste.

[887. ]vpp; booste.

[888. ]saugh.

[889. ]eke; swerde.

[890. ]C. spak; F. spake. C. myn (for my); rest thy (!). hande.

[891. ]werke.

[892. ]F. (only) puts me before give.

[894. ]wole; folowen deede.

[895. ]eke.

[897. ]the; trewly.

[898. ]F. shal; C. schat (!); rest shalt. C. A. Th. departe now; Tn. departe trewlie; F. T. B. now departe.

[899. ]deth; goo.

[900. ]F. Ielouse; C. gelos.

[901. ]whilome.

[903. ]oo. T. I fere; which the rest omit (!).

[904. ]C. T. A. brought vs to; F. vs broght (!). pitouse.

[906. ]moore.

[907. ]C. euere Ȝit hade; T. cuer had yet; rest omit Ȝit (yet).

[908. ]noo gentile.

[909. ]puten.

[911. ]Ben.

[912. ]parte.

[913. ]swerde.

[914. ]warme; hoote.

[915. ]smoote (!).

[916. ]Tn. T. ar; F. are; C. A. is. C. I-go; rest a-goo (a-go).

[917. ]moo.

[918. ]bookes.

[919. ]therfore.

[718.]Estward; evidently from Ovid’s ‘Oriens’; see above.

[722.]The first foot consists of the single syllable Mai-.

[725.]Naso, i. e. Ovid; really named Publius Ouidius Naso.

[726.]Réport; accented on the e. Y-shove, pushed (into notice); cf. l. 1381.

[727.]‘Tempore creuit amor’; Met. iv. 60.

[730.]‘Sed uetuere patres’; id. 61.

[735.]‘As (to quote the proverb) cover up the glowing coal, and the hotter the fire becomes.’ Ovid has—‘Quoque magis tegitur, tanto magis aestuat ignis’; 64. Wry is in the imperative mood, singular. Cf. Troilus, ii. 538-9.

[741.]Sene, visible; see note to l. 694. Dere y-nogh a myte, even in a slight degree; lit. ‘(to an extent) dear enough at a mite.’ A singular use of the phrase. Cf. ‘dere ynogh a leek’; Can. Yem. Ta., G 795; ‘not worth a myte’; id., G 633.

[742.]‘Quid non sentit amor?’ Met. iv. 68.

[745.]‘In a tone as low as if uttering a confession.’ A curious medieval touch. Ovid says, ‘murmure . . minimo’; 70.

[756.]‘Inuide, dicebant, paries, quid amantibus obstas?’ 73.

[763.]Holde, beholden. ‘Nec sumus ingrati’; 76.

[773.]Chaucer practically transposes the offices of Phoebus and Aurora.

  • ‘Postera nocturnos Aurora remouerat ignes,
  • solque pruinosas radiis siccauerat herbas’; 82.

[782.]And for, and because, &c.

[783.]For stands alone in the first foot. Cf. l. 797.

[784.]‘Conueniant ad busta Nini, lateantque sub umbra Arboris’; 88. Ll. 786, 787 are explanatory, and added by Chaucer. Ninus, the supposed founder of Nineveh, was the husband of Semiramis. Cf. Shak. Mid. Nt. Dr. v. 1. 139.

[786.]Lounsbury (Studies in Chaucer, i. 403) says that the pt. t. of herien is heried-e, with final e. But the form is right; héried-e is hardly pronounceable, and the final e is naturally dropped when the accent is thrown so far back. The forms of the past tenses of weak verbs are variable; whether they take a final e or not often depends on the form of the stem. See Ten Brink, Chaucer’s Sprache, § 194.

[797.]Y-wimpled, covered with a wimple, or cloth covering the neck and fitting close round the face, chiefly worn by nuns. Another medieval touch. Ovid has ‘adopertaque uultum’; 94. See note to l. 813.

[798-801.]These four lines are mainly original, and quite in Chaucer’s own manner. Ovid has merely ‘fallitque sous.’

[803.]‘Audacem faciebat amor’; 96.

[804.]She gan her dresse, she settled herself, lit. directed herself. Lat. ‘sedit.’

[810.]Rist, riseth; pres. tense, as in l. 887. So arist, Man of Law’s Tale, B 265.

[811.]With dredful foot; so again in Kn. Ta., A 1479. ‘Timido pede fugit in antrum’; 100. See Dreadful in Trench, Select Glossary; and cf. ll. 109, 404 above.

[813.]‘Dumque fugit, tergo uelamina lapsa reliquit’; 101. ‘For fere, and let her wimple falle.’—Gower, Conf. Amant. i. 326.

[814-6.]These three lines are original. Sit, sitteth. Darketh, lies close. ‘The child than darked in his den’; Will. of Palerne, 17; ‘drawe [drew] him into his den, and darked ther stille’; id. 44. And again in the same poem, ll. 1834, 2851.

[823-31.]Considerably expanded from the Latin:—

  • ‘Serius egressus uestigia uidit in alto
  • puluere certa ferae, totoque expalluit ore
  • Pyramus’; 105.

[830.]Agroos, shuddered; and again in l. 2314; and in Troil. ii. 930. The infin. agryse is in the Man of Law’s Tale, B 614.

[834.]‘Una duos, inquit, nox perdet amantes’; 108.

[835.]This line is Chaucer’s own.

[842.]What, whatsoever; ‘quicunque . . . leones’; 114.

[847-9.]‘Accipe nunc, inquit, nostri quoque sanguinis haustus’; 118.

[851-2.]

  • ‘Cruor emicat alte
  • non aliter quam quum uitiato fistula plumbo
  • scinditur, et tenues stridente foramine longe
  • eiaculatur aquas, atque ictibus aera rumpit’; 121.

With much good taste, Chaucer omits the next three lines, just as he has omitted to tell us that the trysting-tree was ‘a faire high Mulberie with fruite as white as snow,’ as Golding says. The blood of Pyramus turned this fruit black, and so it remains to this day! Gower likewise suppresses the mulberry-tree, but Shakespeare mentions it; see Mid. Nt. Dr. v. 1. 149.

[853-61.]Admirably expanded out of three lines:—

  • ‘Ecce metu nondum posito, ne fallat amantem,
  • illa redit; iuuenemque oculis animoque requirit;
  • quantaque uitarit narrare pericula gestit’; 128.

[859.]The first syllable of Bothe forms a foot by itself. So also in ll. 863, 901, 911, &c.

[862-8.]

  • ‘Dum dubitat, tremebunda uidet pulsare cruentum
  • membra solum; retroque pedem tulit; oraque buxo
  • pallidiora gerens, exhorruit aequoris instar,
  • quod fremit, exigua quum summum stringitur aura’; 133.

[869-82.]Fourteen lines where Ovid has eight. Chaucer has greatly improved l. 882, where Ovid makes Thisbe ask Pyramus to lift up his head:—‘uultusque attolle iacentes’; 144.

[887.]This line is original. Bost, noise, outcry; such is the original sense of the word now spelt boast, which see in the New E. Dict. Cf. ‘Now ariseth cry and boost’; King Alisaunder, 5290; and see P. Plowman, C. xvii. 89. Whitaker, writing in 1813, remarks that boost, in the sense of noise, is ‘a provincial word still familiar in the Midland counties.’

[894.]

  • ‘Persequar extinctum; letique miserrima dicar
  • caussa comesque tui’; 151.

[905-12.]Admirably substituted for Thisbe’s address to the mulberry-tree, requesting it to keep its berries always black thenceforth.

[913, 14.]

  • ‘Dixit; et aptato pectus mucrone sub imum
  • incubuit ferro, quod adhuc a caede tepebat’; 162.

[916-23.]These lines are original. With l. 917 cf. Le Rom. de la Rose, 14345:—‘Mes moult est poi de tex amans.’