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Befell so in the comessing of May, When mirry and hot is the day (And) oway beth winter shours And every feld is full of flours And blosme breme on evry bough Overall wexeth mirry anough, This ich quene Dame Heurodis Took two maidens of pris And went in an undrentide To play by an orchard side, To see the floures sprede and spring (And) to here the fowles sing. They set hem down all three Under a faire impe-tree, And wel sone this faire quene Fell on slepe opon the grene. The maidens durst hir nought awake Bot lete hir ligge and rest take. (So) she slepe till after none, That undrentide was all ydone (That undrentide was all ydone) Ac as sone (as) she gan awake She cried and lothly bere gan make; She froted hir honden and hir feet And cracched hir visage, it blede weet; Hir riche robe hie all to-rett And was reveyd out of hir wit. The two maidens hir beside No durst with hir no leng abide, Bot urn to the palais full right And tolde bothe squier and knight That her quene awede wold, And bad hem go and hir athold. Knightes urn and levedis also, Damisels sexty and mo. In they orchard to the quene hie come And hir up in her armes nome And brought hir to bed atte last And held hir there fine fast Ac ever she held in o cry And wolde up and owy. |
It happened like this in early May, When balmy and temperate is the day, And winter showers have gone away, And every field is full of flowers, And every branch is bright with blossom, And everything is growing merrily, This same queen, Dame Heurodis Took two virgins - highly prized - And all went together in the noontide To play and sport by an orchard. s side; To see the flowers unfurl, and spring Forth from the earth, and to hear the birds sing. They sat them down, all three, Under a grafted fairy-tree, And soon the lovely Queen Fell asleep upon the green. To wake her up, the maidens dared not do. They let her lie and take her rest And so she slept til noontide passed - Until that midday was over at last. Until that midday was over at last. But as soon as she started awake She cried aloud with a hateful wailing Wringing her hands, and her feet And clawing her face until it was wet with blood; She tore her rich robe into shreds And was driven out of her mind in grieving. Her two attendant virgins Dared not stay longer at her side, But they raced to the palace And told the knights and squires That the Queen was on the brink of madness, And told them to go and restrain her. The knights, and the ladies too, And the damsels (sixty or more) ran to the Queen. They reached her, at the orchard, And took her up in their arms. They bore her to her bed And bound her tightly there - But she kept on crying out the same thing, That she wanted to be up and away. |
