The Devonshire Manuscript/Who hath more cawse for to complayne

f. [28r]

1    Who hath more cawse for to complayne 2    or to lament hys sorow and payne 3    Then I wych louys and louyd agayne 4    yet can not optayne

5    I can not optayne that {{th}+t+} ys my none 6    Wych cawsyth me styll to make great mone 7    To se thus ryght with {w+t+} wronge ouerthrowne 8    as not vnknowne

9    It ys not vnknowen how wrongfully 10    The wyll me hyr for to deny 11    whom I wyll loue moste hartely 12    vntyll I dye

13    vntyll I dye I wyll not lett 14    To ss 1 seke her owt in cold and het 15    wych hath my hart as fermly set 16    as tonge or pen {_e} ne can yt repet

finis

Notes & Glosses
1.   The crossout is indistinct.

Commentary
Attributed to Lord Thomas Howard, this poem was entered into the Devonshire Manuscript by TH2. Lines 8-9 allude to the injustice of the speaker’s situation and his entourage's knowledge of his plight. The phrase “my none” resonates with “my none swete wyfe” in the preceding poem, “Alas that men be so vngent” (27v).