The Devonshire Manuscript/howe shulde I

f. [77r]

1    howe shulde I 2    be so plesunte 3    in mye semblaunt 4    as my fellowes bee

5    not long agoo 6    it chaunsed soo 7    as I ded walke alone 8    I harde aman 9    that nowe and than {_a} n 10    himsilf ded thus bemone

11    Alas he saide 12    I am betraide 13    and vttrelye ondone 14    whoom {_o} I dede trust 15    and think so iuste 16    {_a} {_o} another mann hath wonne

17    mye ser {{s}8} vise due 18    and herte so true 19    on her I ded bestowe 20    I never ment 21    for to repente 22    yn welthe nor yet in woo.

23    The westorne winde 24    hathe turnid his minde 25    and blowen it clene awaye 26    therebye my helthe my mirthe / welthe 27    my h mirthe &amp; helthe 28    are dryvon to grete dekaye

29    ffortune ded smyle 30    a right shorte while 31    and never saide me naye 32    with {w+t+} plesaunte plais 33    and Ioyfull dayes 34    my tyme to passe awaye /

35    Alas ahlas 36    the tyme so was 37    so never shall it be 38    sins she is gone 39    and I alone [] 40    armeles as ye maye see/

f. [77v]

41    Where is the othe 42    where is the trothe 43    that she to me ded gyve 44    such fayned wordes {es} 45    with silie boordes {es} 46    lett no t wise man {_a} n beleve

47    ffor even as I 48    thus wofullye 49    vnto my silf 1com {_o} plaine 50    yf ye then truste 51    nedes {es} lerne ye muste 52    to sing my song in vayne / 53    how shulde I &amp;c /

fs

Notes & Glosses
1.   The word "silf" demonstrates the similarity between the scribe's renderings of e and i.

Commentary
Attributed to Sir Thomas Wyatt, this poem was entered by H8. The speaker recounts how he met a lamenting lover. In the end, the lover hopes the speaker will be more wary in his trust or else he will sing the same song. Rebholz notes that the poem belongs to the medieval French genre chanson à personnages (dramatic song) wherein the poet listens to a young woman's complaint.