CHAUCER’S WORDS TO HIS SCRIVENER.
ADAM Scrivener, if ever it thee befall
Boece or Troilus for to write anew,
Under thy long locks thou may’st have the scall* *scab
But *after my making* thou write more true! *according to my
So oft a day I must thy work renew, composing*
It to correct, and eke to rub and scrape;
And all is through thy negligence and rape.* *haste
CHAUCER’S PROPHECY. <1>
WHEN priestes *failen in their saws,* *come short of their
And lordes turne Godde’s laws profession*
Against the right;
And lechery is holden as *privy solace,* *secret delight*
And robbery as free purchase,
Beware then of ill!
Then shall the Land of Albion
Turne to confusion,
As sometime it befell.
Ora pro Anglia Sancta Maria, quod Thomas Cantuaria. <2>
Sweet Jesus, heaven’s King,
Fair and best of all thing,
You bring us out of this mourning,
To come to thee at our ending!
Notes to Chaucer’s Prophecy.
1. (Transcriber’s note: Modern scholars believe that Chaucer was not the author of this poem)