(2) Sitteth alle stille, ant herkneth to me:
The kyn of Alemaigne,[8] bi mi leaute[9]
Thritti thousent pound askede he
For te make the pees[10] in the countre
Ant so he dude more.
Richard, thah thou be euer trichard,[11]
Trichten shalt thou neuer more.
(b) The Lyric. The most delightful feature of the period is the appearance of the lyric. There can be little doubt that from Old English times popular songs were common, but it is not till the thirteenth century that they receive a permanent place in the manuscripts. We then obtain several specimens that for sweetness and lyrical power are most satisfying.
Apart from its native element, the lyric of the time drew its main inspiration from the songs of the French jongleurs and the magnificent, rhymed Latin hymns (such as Dies Iræ and Stabat Mater) of the Church. These hymns, nobly phrased and rhymed, were splendid models to follow. Many of the early English lyrics were devoutly religious in theme, especially those addressed to the Virgin Mary; a large number, such as the charming Alysoun, are love-lyrics; and many more, such as the cuckoo song quoted below (one of the oldest of all), are nature-lyrics. In the song below note the regularity of the meter:
| Sumer is i-cumen in, | Summer is coming, |
| Lhude sing cuccu: | Loud sing cuckoo: |
| Groweth sed, and bloweth med, | Groweth seed and bloweth mead, |
| And springth the wde nu. | And springeth the wood now. |
| Sing cuccu, cuccu. | Sing cuckoo, cuckoo. |
| Awe bleteth after lombe, | Ewe bleateth after lamb, |
| Lhouth after calue cu; | Loweth after calf the cow; |
| Bulluc sterteth, bucke verteth; | Bullock starteth, buck verteth[12] |
| Murie sing cuccu, | Merry sing cuckoo: |
| Cuccu, cuccu. | Cuckoo, cuckoo. |
| Wel singes thu, cuccu; | Well sing’st thou, cuckoo; |
| Ne swik thu nauer nu. | Nor cease thou ever now. |
| Sing cuccu nu, | Sing cuckoo now, |
| Sing, cuccu. | Sing, cuckoo. |