not speden in hire viage. And manye dyeden for weryness of rowynge agenst tho stronge wawes. And many of hem becamen blynde and many deve for the noyse of the water. And summe weren perisscht and loste withinne the wawes. So that no mortell man may approche to that place withouten specyall grace of God, so that of that place I can sey you nomore. The Voiage and Travaile of Sir John Maundeville 9 ALSO Of the Centre of the Earth LSO yee have herd me seye that JERUSALEM is in the myddes of the world; and that may men preven and schewen, there be a spere that is right into the erthe upon the hour of mydday whan it is EQUENOXIUM, that scheweth no schadwe on no syde. And that it scholde ben in the myddes of the world, David wytnesseth it in the psauter where he seyth: DEUS OPERATUS EST SALUTEM IN MEDIO TERRE. Thanne thei that parten fro tho parties of the west for to go toward JERUSALEM, als many jorneyes as thei gon upward for to go thider, in als many journeyes may thei gon fro JERUSALEM unto other confynyes of the superficialtee of the erthe beyonde. And whan men gon beyonde tho journeys toward YNDE and to the foreyn yles, all is envyronynge the roundnesse of the erthe and of the see under oure contrees on this half. And therfore hath it befallen many tymes of o thing that I have herd cownted whan I was yong, how a worthi man departed somtyme from oure contrees for to go serche the world. And so he passed YNDE and the yles beyonde YNDE where ben mo than .v. M'. yles. And so 1 viage) journey 3 deve) deaf 28 .v.Ml.) 5000 longe he wente be see and lond, and so enviround the world be many seisons, that he fond an yle where he herde speke his owne langage, callynge on oxen in the plowgh suche wordes as men speken to bestes in his owne contree. Whereof he hadde gret mervayle, for he knew not how it myghte be. ΙΟ ANDIS The Voiage and Travaile of Sir John Maundeville The Lady of the Land D somme men seyn that in the Ile of LANGO is yit the doughter of Ypocras in forme and lykness of a gret dragoun, that is an hundred fadme of lengthe as men seyn, for I have not seen hire. And thei of the Iles callen hire lady of the lond. And sche lyeth in an olde castell in a cave, and scheweth twyes or thryes in the yeer, and sche doth non harm to no man but yif men don hire harm. And sche was thus chaunged and transformed from a fair damysele into lykness of a dragoun be a Goddess that was clept Deane. And men seyn that sche schal so endure in that forme of a dragoun unto tyme that a knyght come that is so hardy that dar come to hire and kisse hire on the mouth, and than schall sche turne agen to hire owne kynde and ben a womman agen, but after that sche schall not lyven longe... And it is not longe sithen that a yonge man, that wiste not of the dragoun, wente out of a schipp, and wente thorgh the Ile til that he come to the castell, and cam into the cave and wente so longe til that he fond a chambre, and there he saugh a damysele that kembed hire hede and lokede in a myrour. And sche hadde meche tresoure abouten 9 fadme) fathom 27 kembed) combed hire and he trowede that sche hadde ben a comoun womman that dwelled there to resceyve men to folye. And he abode till the damysele saugh the schadewe of him in the myrour. And sche turned hire toward him and asked hym what he wolde. And he seyde he wolde ben hire lemman or paramour, and sche asked him yif that he were a knyght, and he seyde nay. And than sche seyde that he myghte not ben hire lemman. But sche bad him gon agen unto his felowes and let make him knyght, and come agen upon the morwe, and sche scholde come out of the cave before him, and thanne come and kysse hire on the mowth. 'And have no drede, for I schall do the no maner harm, all be it that thou see me in lykeness of a dragoun.' For though thou se me hidouse and horrible to loken onne, I do the to wytene that it is made be enchauntement. For withouten doute I am non other than thou seest now, a womman, and therfore drede the nought. And yif thou kisse me thou schalt have all this tresoure, and be my lord and lord also of all that Ile. And he departed fro hire, and wente to his felowes to schippe, and leet make him knyght, and cam agen upon the morwe for to kysse this damysele. And whan he saugh hire comen out of the cave in forme of a dragoun so hidouse and so horrible, he hadde so gret drede that he fleygh agen to the schipp, and sche folewed him. And whan sche saw that he turned not agen, sche began to crye as a thing that hadde meche sorwe. And thanne sche turned agen into hire cave. And anon the knyght dyede, and sithen hiderwardes myghte no knyght se hire but that he dyede anon. But whan a knyght cometh that is so hardy to kisse hire, he schall not dye, but he schall turne the damysele into hire 16 I do the to wytene) I tell thee 30 sithen hiderwardes) till now right forme and kyndely schapp, and he schal be lord of all the contreyes and Iles aboveseyd. II The Voiage and Travaile of Sir John Maundeville Noes Schipp RA that cytee of ARTYROUN go men to an hill that is clept SABISSOCOLLE; and there besyde is another hill that men clepen ARARATH, but the Jewes clepen it TANEEZ, where Noes schipp rested and yit is upon that montayne. And men may seen it aferr in cleer weder. And that montayne is wel a vij. myle high. And sum men seyn that thei han seen and touched the schipp, and put here fyngres in the parties where the feend went out whan that Noe seyde Benedicite. But thei that seyn suche woordes seyn here wille. For a man may not gon up the montayne for gret plentee of snow that is allweys on that montayne, nouther somer ne wynter, so that noman may gon up there, ne neuere man dide, sithe the tyme of Noe, saf a monk that be the grace of God broughte one of the plankes doun, that yit is in the mynstre at the foot of the montayne. The Voiage and Travaile of Sir John Maundeville THE LADY JULIAN OF NORWICH 12 The Courtesy of our Lord 1373 Flot Weston and we shall be made clene; cleeve LE we to our Lord and we shall be comforted; to him and we shall be sekir and safe fro al maner of peril. For our curtes Lord will that we ben as homley 1 kyndely schapp) natural shape 11 the feend) the Devil secure 23 curtes) courteous 22 sekir) with him as herte may thinke or soule may desiren. But beware that we taken not so reklesly this homleyhede that we levyn curtesy. For our Lord himselfe is sovereyn homleyhede; and as homley as he is, as curtes he is, for he is very curtes. And the blissid creatures that shall ben in hevyn with him without end, he will have them like to himselfe in all things. And to be like our Lord perfectly it is our very salvation and our full bliss. And if we wott not how we shall don all this, desire we of our Lord and he shal lerne us. For it is his owne likeing and his worship: blissid mot he be. 13 I XVI Revelations of Divine Love ANONYMOUS The Magpie and the Eel c. 1400 WOLL tell you an ensaumple of a woman that ete the good morsell in the absence of her husbonde. Ther was a woman that had a pie in a cage, that spake and wolde tell talys that she saw do. And so it happed that her husbonde made kepe a gret ele in a litell ponde in his gardin, to that entent to yeue it sum of his frendes that wolde come to see hym; but the wyff, whanne her husbond was oute, saide to her maide, 'late us ete the gret ele, and y will saie to my husbond that the otour hathe eten hym;' and so it was done. And whan the good man was come, the pye began to tell hym how her maistresse had eten. the ele. And he yode to the ponde, and fonde not the ele. And he asked his wiff wher the ele was 2 homleyhede) (homeliness) intimacy 3 levyn) leave 22 otour) 25 yode) went otter |