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A Mumming at Hertford:
British Library Additional 29729 Verses

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f.138 verso
Folio 136 VersoFolio 137 RectoFolio 137 VersoFolio 138 RectoFolio 138 VersoFolio 139 RectoFolio 139 VersoFolio 140 Recto

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Folio 138 Verso
Compare Witnesses: •
His name was cleped tybet tapister1 •
to brawle and broylle / she made ne maner fer •
to chakke his pilche / stoundemell now and thanne •
thikker than thome / koude clowten any panne •
ɲ
next Colle tyler / full heuy of his chere •
complayneth2 on phelyce3 his wyffe the wafurer •
all hys bred witħ suger nys not bake •
yit on his chekis / sometyme he hath a caake •
so hoot and newe or he can taken heed •
that his eares glowe verrye red •
ffor a medycyne whan the frost is cold •
makinge his teth to ratell that bene ould •
ɲ
this is the complaynte / that thos dastardes4 colde •
make on ther wyues that byne so stoute and bould •
thos holy / marturs preued full pacyente •
lowly besechynge / in all ther best entente •
vnto your nobell royall magesty •
to graunt them fraunchyse and also liberte •
sith they be fetered / and bounden in maryage •
a saffeconndyte to saufe them from domage •
eke vnder support / of your hygh renowme •
graunt them also / a proteccyon •
ɲ
conquest of wyues / is rone througħ this land •
cleyminge of ryght to haue þe higher hand •
but yff ye lust5 of your regollye •
the ould testament for to modefye •
ɲ
and that the list / asselen ther request •
that thes poure husbandes might liue in rest •
and that ther wyues / in ther fell might •
woll medle amonge mercy with ther ryght •
ffor it cam neuer of natur ne reson •
alyonesse to oppres þe lyon •
ɲ
nor a woulffe6 for all hur tyrany •
ouer the wouffe to haue the mastrye •
ther byn now wollffes / mo than two or thre •
the rokes record / whych þat younder be •
soth to this mater / of mercy and of grace •
and or thos dasters7 parte out of this place •
[vpon ther compleynte] •
[to shape remedye]8 •
or they be likely to stand in Iopardye •
It is no game with wyues for to playe •
but for foles / that giue no force to dye •
i distaues •
ɲ
take hede of the aunswer of the wyues •
Notes
  1. Bracketed on both sides. ↩
  2. There is a line over the text beginning with the "a" in "complayneth" and carrying over the "on" following. This appears to be an otiose mark, which I've treated it as, but it could also be a long bar through the "h" concluding the word. ↩
  3. Bracketed on both sides. ↩
  4. Trinity R.3.20 and the EETS edition both have "dotardes" here. Replacing it with "dastardes" shifts the perception of the men from simple rustics, in keeping with the various uses of "cely," to a more firmly adversarial relationship where the men are not simply the wronged party. ↩
  5. Trinity R.3.20 has "list" here. ↩
  6. Trinity R.3.20 specifically genders the wolf metaphor by using the word "wolfesse." This makes sense considering the comparison made in the next line. ↩
  7. Here again we get "dasters" rather than Trinity R.3.20's "dotardes," indicating that the scribe, if not the exemplar, believes fully that the husbands are not without blame. ↩
  8. Line seven has been inserted in the right hand margin, with a line indicating its placement after the previous line. This is different structurally from the marginal "directions" that occur throughout, and so has been added to the TEI here rather than in the marginal section following. ↩

The work on this manuscript witness was generously supported by a ZKS-Lendrum Fellowship in the Scientific Study of Manuscripts and Inscriptions at the Institute for Medieval and Early Modern Studies at Durham University. The transcription of this work is owned by the editor and licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. The images are (c) British Library Board (British Library Additional MS 29729) and rights are reserved.