Anonymous British

Richard of Almaigne

A ballad made by one of the adherents to Simon de Montfort, Earl of Leicester, soon after the battle of Lewes, which was fought May 14, 1264. Sitteth alle stille, ant herkneth to me; The Kyng of Alemaigne, bi mi leaute, Thritti thousent pound askede he For te make the pees in the countre, Ant so he dude more. Richard, thah thou he ever trichard, Trichthen shalt thou never more. Richard of Alemaigne, whil that he wes kying, He spende al is tresour opon swyvyng, Haveth he nout of Walingford oferlyng, Let him habbe, ase he brew, bale to dryng, Maugre Windesore, Richard, thah thou he ever trichard, Trichthen shalt thou never more. The Kyng of Alemaigne wende do ful wel, He saisede the mulne for a castel, With hare sharpe swerdes he grounde the stel, He wende that the sayles were mangonel To helpe Wyndesore. Richard, thah thou he ever trichard, Trichthen shalt thou never more. The Kyng of Alemaigne gederede ys host, Makede him a castel of a mulne post, Wende with is prude, ant is muchele bost, Brohte from Alemayne mony sori gost To store Wyndesore. Richard, thah thou he ever trichard, Trichthen shalt thou never more. By God, that is aboven ous, he dude muche synne, That lette passen over see the Erl of Warynne: He hath robbed Engelond, the mores, ant th fenne, The gold, ant the selver, and y-boren henne, For love of Wyndesore. Richard, thah thou he ever trichard, Trichthen shalt thou never more. Sire Simond de Mountfort hath suore bi ys chyn, Hevede he nou here the Erl of Waryn, Shuld he never more come to is yn, Ne with held, ne with spere, ne with other gyn, To help of Wyndesore. Richard, thah thou he ever trichard, Trichthen shalt thou never more. Sire Simond de Monfort hath suore bi ys cop, Hevede he nou here Sire Hue de Bigot: Al he shulde grante here twelfmoneth scot Shulde he never more with his sot pot To help Wyndesore. Richard, thah thou he ever trichard, Trichthen shalt thou never more. Be the luef, be the loht, Sire Edward, Thou shalt ride sporeles o thy lyard Al the ryhte way to Dovere-ward, Shalt thou never more breke foreward; Ant that reweth sore Edward, thou dudest as a shreward, Foreoke thyn emes lore. Richard, thah thou he ever trichard, Trichthen shalt thou never more. Quoted from Percy's Reliques, 'To render this antique libel intelligible, the reader is to understand that just before the battle of Lewes, which proved so fatal to the interests of Henry III. , the barons had offered his brother Richard, King of the Romans, 30,000 l. to procure a peace upon such terms as would have divested Henry of all his regal power, and therefore the treaty proved abortive. The consequences of that battle are well known: the king, Prince Edward his son, his brother Richard, and many of his friends, fell into the hands of their enemies; while two great barons of the king's party, John, Earl of Warren, and Hugh Bigot, the king's Judiciary, had been glad to escape into France. . . . In the 5th stanza, the writer regrets the escape of the Earl of Warren; and in the 6th and 7th stanzas, insinuates that, if he and Sir Hugh Bigot once fell into the hands of their adversaries, they should never more return home: a circumstance which fixes the date of this ballad; for, in the year 1265, both these nobleman landed in South Wales, and the royal party soon after gained the ascendant. . . . This MS. is judged, from the peculiarities of the writing, to be not later than the time of Richard II. ; th being everywhere expressed by the character p ; the y is pointed, after the Saxon manner, and the i hath an oblique stroke over it. ' etc. bi mi leaute: by my loyalty, honesty. dude: did. trichard: treacherous. trickthen: trick, deceive. swyvyng: whoring. nout: nought, nothing, not. oferlyng: superior. habbe, ase he brew: have as he brews. bale to dryng: hurt, or, mischief to drink. saisede: seized. mulne: mill. mangonel: engine used for discharging great stones, arrows, etc. gederede ys host: gathered his host. prude: proud. here: their. nou: now. suore bi ys chyn: swore by his chin. gyn: engine. suore bi ys cop: swore by his head. sot pot: a drunkard's tankard (? ) luef: love. shreward: a male shrew. emes lore: kinsman (or uncle) lost.