Harolde the English King, to thee William, Duke of Normandie.
Harold the English king, thee William Duke doth greete:
Thy letter being read, I haue not thought it meete,
Without a parliament to do so great a thing,
As of a forrayne duke, to make an Englishe kyng:
But if my three estates will follow mine[1255] aduise,
Thou shalt receiue the crowne, and beare away the price:
Therfore delay a time, thou shortly shalt receiue
With full consent the thing, which now thou seek’st to haue.
Harolde.
8.
Then I in hast my power did prepare,[1256]
For why, I hearde my brother Tostoe’s[1257] trayne,
Two of my earles by north he had destroyd,[1258]
And manye a thousand men he there had layne:
But when we met, his triumphe was in vayne:
For I and myne the Norway king there kilte,
And I my selfe my brother’s blood there spilte.
9.
Now when the duke my friendly lines had read,
And heard how I my men did muster newe,
“There lies a snake within this greene grasse bed,”
Quoth he, “therefore come forth my warrelike crewe,
We will not staye to see what shall insue:
By long delayes, from forrain coastes he may
Procure an ayde, to scourge vs with decay.”
10.
But when he heard with whom I had to deale:
“Well done,” quoth he, “let hym go beate the bushe,
I and my men to the lurche line will steale,
And plucke the net euen at the present push,
And one of them we with decaye will crushe:
For he who doth the victor there remaine,
Shall neuer rest, till he hath dealt with twaine.”
11.
So I in vaine who had the victorie,
Within fewe dayes was forst againe to fight,
My strength halfe spoylde, the rest wounded and wearie,[1259]
His campe was comne vnwares within my sight,
There was no hope to flee by day nor night:
I Harold then, a haraude sent in haste,
To know whither the duke his campe[1260] had plaste.
12.
He sent me woord, my yfs and ands were vaine,
And that he knewe the driftes of my delay,
For which he sayde he woulde yet once agayne
Make trial, who shoulde beare the crowne away:
If I would yeelde, he sayd his men should stay,
If not, he then was present presently,
To trye the cause by Mars his crueltie.
13.
Which when I hearde, and sawe him march amayne,
His trumpets did defy me to my face,
In hast I did appoynt my very trayne,
And souldier-like I al my men did place,
I neuer sude, nor prayde, nor gapte for grace:
For hauing plaste my men in battayle ray,
[Myne ancient bearer did my armes display.[1261]
14.
The battayle, vanard, and the rerewarde,
Were plaste in frunte, that men might fyght at wyll,
The forelorne hope of bowmen I preparde,
In skirmishing who had the perfect skil:
With archers eke I did the winges fulfyl,
To rescue them my men at armes were prest,
Then thus my speech amongst them I exprest.]
15.
“My mates, in armes see here the last assault,
Winne now the fielde, and be you euer blest:
This bastarde base borne duke, shal be exalt
Himselfe so high? giue eare vnto my hest,
This day no doubt we shall haue quiet rest:
For good successe shal set vs free from feare,
Or hateful happe shal bring vs to our beare.
16.
“Euen here at hand his power doth appeare,
March forth my men, we must no longer stay,
Let euery man abandon faynting feare,
And I as guyde wyl lead you on your way:
Euen I my selfe the formost in the fray,
Wyl teach you how you shal abate his pride:
Fight, fight my men, Sainct George[1262] shal be your guide.”
17.
His cros-bowe men my archers did assayle
With three to one, yet were they al to weake:
And when his forlorne hope could not preuayle,
Them to assist his horsemen out did breake,
Three troopes I sent on them the wrath to wreake,
And by and by the battayles both did ioyne,
With many a thrust, and many a bloudie foyne.
18.
Of three mayne battayles he his armie made,
I had but one, and one did deale with three:
Of which the first by me were quite dismayde,
The other two they did discomfort me,
Not yeelding, but in yeelding blowes we bee
(With losse of life) constrayn’d at last to yeelde
The crowne, the kingdome, and the foughten feelde.
19.
Note now the lot which on my limmes did lyght,
Nine monthes no more, I wore the Englishe crowne,
In euery month I in the feelde did fight,
In euery fyght, I wonne a freshe renowne,
Yet at the last my strength was beaten downe:
And here before you, now I do protest,
I neuer had one day of quiet rest.
20.
For fyrst with warre I wonne the princely seate,
With ciuil strife I dayly was distrest,
My brother twise indeuorde to defeate
Me of my throne, the Norway king was prest,
The dreadful Danes they dayly mee distrest:
At last, this duke did make me strike my sayle,
When winde, nor tide, nor oares, myght[1263] preuayle.
21.
My kingdome then was proude his lawful price,
With conquest he recouered his right,
And as you see of conquering the guise,
The Englishmen they were defaced quite;
Then of his trayne he did prepare[1264] ech wyght:
And this was that which onely brought me blesse,
I did not liue to see this wretchednesse.
22.
But woe to me which caused al this coyle,
I was an earle my father being dead:
Why did my brest with scalding malice boyle,
To kepe the crowne from the right heyre’s head?
O fancye fonde, thy fuminges hath mee fed,
The stinking stinch of thyne inclined hest,
Hath poysoned al the vertues in my brest.
23.
The ruthful roodes[1265] of proued euil[1266] successe,
Who hath sustaynde that passing pinching[1267] payne,
That woful wight al wrapt in wrecthednesse,
Can well report man’s fancye is but vayne:
That man doth know, by proofe he findes it playne,
That he who stoopes to fancie’s fond desires,
Doth grope for grapes amidst the bramble briers.
24.
Let no man thinke by fetches finely filde,
By double drifts conuayed cunningly,
To get or gayne by any craft or guile,
A good estate with long prosperitie:
His lust obtaynde, he liues in miserie,
His guiltie ghost dooth see his plague appeare,
Who goeth straight he needeth not to feare.
FINIS.
Goe straight and feare not.
END OF PART II.
VOLUME THE FIRST.
T. Bensley, Printer,
Bolt Court, Fleet Street, London.