The Devonshire Manuscript/Yff reason govern fantasye

f. [45r]

1    Yff reason govern fantasye 2    Soo that my fansy gug jugge a right 3    of all pleasurs to man erthlye 4    The cheist pleasur {{s}8} of delyght 5    ys only this that I resight 6    ffor frenshipe shoid to fynd at end 7    the frendshyp of a faythfull frend

8    Yff this be trewe trew ys this too 9    In all this pleasant enenes 10    the most displeasur {{s}8} chaunce may doo 11    ys onkendnes shoyd for kendnes 12    ffor frendly frendshyp frowernes 13    lykk as theon case plesant ys 14    lykwise A paynfull case ys this

15    Thes too Aprovyde aprove the thurde 16    That ys to say my self to be 17    In wofull caes for at A worde 18    Wher I sho frendshype &amp; wold See 19    ffore frendshyp : frendshyp shoyd to me1 20    Ther fynd I frendship So fare fayntyd 21    That I ska skantly may Seme aquantyde

f. [45v]

22    By this word frendsh p p now here sayde {d,} 23    my menyng to declare trewlye 24    I mene no whyt / the bornyng brayde {d,} 25    of ragyng love most Amoroslye 26    but onnest frendly com {_o} pany 27    And other love than this I knowe 28    here self nor yett no nother can show

29    And Sens here self no farder knowit 30    nor I my self but As I tell / 31    thowght fals report doth grass as growith2 32    that I loue here excedynde well 33    And that I love she takythe my love as yell 34    Sens I in ded mene no Such thyng 35    What hurt cold honest frendshyp bryng

36    Noo staryng eye nor herkenyng ere 37    cane hurt in this except that she 38    haue other frendes {es} that may not bare 39    In here preasens : preasens of me 40    And that for that here pleasur {{s}8} be 41    To sho vnkyndnes for non nother 42    But banyshe me to bryng in other

f. [46r]

43    But sens that fancy /3ledes {es} here soo 44    And ledes {es} my frendshyp from the lyght 45    and walkyth me darlyng to and froo 46    wyell other frendes {es} may walk in Sight 47    I pray for paciens in that spyt 48    And this fullfyllyd here apetyd 49    I shall example be I trowe 50    or frendes {es} sho frendshypp frendes {es} to knowe

finis T. H.

Notes & Glosses
1.   This may be the only instance of the use of a colon-type mark within the manuscript.

2.   This phrase is resonant.

3.   The virgule is a vertical bar.

Commentary
Entered by TH1, the initials "T H" and "T. How" on 46r attribute the composition to Thomas Howard. The speaker describes the comfort of honest friendship, the disapproval of this friendship by others, and the quick growth of “fals report” by the lady’s “frendes” who cannot bear his presence by her. The grafted and rotten bough image is a common image in courtly lyrics. For other examples of this image in the manuscript, see "This rotyd greff will not but growe" (47v), “Nowe fare well love and theye lawes forever” (75r), and "Tanglid I was yn loves snare" (79v-80r).

TH1 makes later corrections in a different ink. Small flourishes shaped like the number two with a long tail appear at the end of almost every line.