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And loveth him, the which that right for love

Upon a cros, our soules for to beye,

First starf, and roos, and sit in hevene a-bove;

For he nil falsen no wight, dar I seye, 1845

That wol his herte al hoolly on him leye.

And sin he best to love is, and most meke,

What nedeth feyned loves for to seke?

Lo here, of Payens corsed olde rytes,

Lo here, what alle hir goddes may availle; 1850

Lo here, these wrecched worldes appetytes;

Lo here, the fyn and guerdon for travaille

Of Iove, Appollo, of Mars, of swich rascaille!

Lo here, the forme of olde clerkes speche

In poetrye, if ye hir bokes seche. — 1855

O moral Gower, this book I directe

To thee, and to the philosophical Strode,

To vouchen sauf, ther nede is, to corecte,

Of your benignitees and zeles gode.

And to that sothfast Crist, that starf on rode, 1860

With al myn herte of mercy ever I preye;

And to the lord right thus I speke and seye:

Thou oon, and two, and three, eterne on-lyve,

That regnest ay in three and two and oon,

Uncircumscript, and al mayst circumscryve, 1865

Us from visible and invisible foon

Defende; and to thy mercy, everichoon,

So make us, Iesus, for thy grace digne,

For love of mayde and moder thyn benigne! Amen.

Explicit Liber Troili et Criseydis.

ALL'S WELL THAT ENDS WELL - William Painter's Palace of Pleasure

THE STORY OF GILETTA OF NARBONA (1566)

Giletta a phisician's daughter of Narbon, healed the Frenche Kyng of a fistula, for reward wherof she demaunded Beltramo counte of Rossiglione to husbande. The ccmnte beyng maried againste his will, for despite fled to Florence and loved an other. Giletta his wife, by pollicie founde meanes to lye with her husbande, in place of his lover, and was begotten with child of two soonnes : whiche knowen to her husbande, he received her againet and afterwardes he lived in greate honor and felicitie.

In Fraunce there was a gentleman called Isnardo, the counte of Rossiglione, who bicause he was sickly and dis­eased, kepte alwaies in his house a phisicion, named maister Gerardo of Narbona. This counte had one onely sonne called Beltramo, a verie yonge childe, pleasaunt and faire. With whom there was nourished and broughte up, many other children of his age: emonges whom one of the doughters of the said phisicion, named Giletta, who ferventlie fill in love with Beltramo, more then was meete for a maiden of her age. This Beltramo, when his father Was dedde, and left under the roial custodie of the kyng, was sente to Paris, for whose departure the maiden was verie pensife. A little while after, her father beyng likewise dedde, she was desirous to goe to Paris, onely to see the younge counte, if for that purpose she could gette any good occasion; But beyng diligently looked unto by her kinsfolke (bicause she was riche and fatherlesse) she could see no convenient® waie for her intended journey: and being now mariageable, the love she bare to the counte was never out of her remembraunce, and refused many hus- bandes with whom her kinsfolke would have placed her, with­out making them privie to the occasion of her refusall. Now it chaunced that she burned more in love with Beltramo than ever she did before, bicause she heard tell that hee was growen to the state of a goodly yonge gentlemanne. She heard by reporte, that the Frenche kyng had a swellyng upon his breast, whiche by reason of ill cure was growen to a fistula, and did putte him to merveilous paine and grief, and that there was no phisicion to be founde (although many were proved) that could heale it, but rather did impaire the grief and made it worsse and worsse. Wherfore the kyng, like one that was in dispaire, would take no more counsaill or helpe. Wherof the yonge maiden was wonderfull glad, and thought to have by this meanes, not onelie a lawfull occasion to goe to Paris, but if the disease were suche (as she supposed,) easely to bryng to passe that she might have the counte Beltramo to her husbande. Whereupon with suche knowledge as she had learned at her fathers handes before time, shee made a pouder of certain