Art. 20, Quant voy la revenue d’yver

by: Susanna Greer Fein (Editor)

from: The Complete Harley 2253 Manuscript, Volume 2  2014

55ra] 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 70 75 80 55rb]    85 90 95 100 105 110 115 120 125 130 135 140 145 150 155 160

Quant voy la revenue D’yver qe si me argue Qe ly temps se remue, Lors aym buche fendue, Charboun clykant, Tysoun flambaunt; Feu de souche meisné De joie chaunt; Quar je l’eym tant, Tot le cors me tressue. Quaunt vient acochier, Certes molt me agree Fagot en fournil, Secche sauntz fumee, Qe tost esprent E brese rent. E je me degrat molt sovent (Le pys e l’eschyne!), Quar la char bien pue, E de draps mal vestue. Ayme molt la jorné, Quar quaunt, pur chalour se sue Taunt, qe fors soit issue La freydour e alee. Ceo est moun delit: De aver beau lit De dras blaunchys Fleyre la buee. La tenue coverture C’est ma desconfiture, Lange sauntz foreure — De celi n’ai je cure Quar il n’est preuz. Mieux aym les feus: Quant je voy la refroidure, A ly m’en vou; Mieux aym son jou Qe dous dees detorsure! Quaunt l’yver s’esteynt Par la matynee, Certes, molt me grevee La noyf e la gelee, Mes en verglaz Atourner faz, Menues hastes en bruaz. De pourcel madle ostee Pris en bone pasture, La loygne sauntz arsure, En la broche botee — Quar c’est ma noreture! Tout ay ma tenure En bon morsel donee En bon claré, En fort raspee — Q’eym mieux d’assez Que cervoyse enfumee! ¶ Taverne ay molt amee (N’est pas droit qe la hee!); Tout ay m’amour donee En savour destempré En gavigaut, En cetewaut, Mys en chaudee peveré — Ne fet pas mal Entour Noal, Mostarde ove char salee. ¶ Oues e madlarz, Plongons e blaryes, Chapouns chanevaus, Gelynes rosties, Cygnes, pouns, Grues, heyrouns, Cerceles, jauntes, E morillons. E purcel enfarcie, La loygne entrelardé — De cele ay molt amee! Venesoun ne haz mie, Ne char de cerf venee, Ne deym, ne porcke, velee Une pome flestrye; ¶ Jamboun De fresche salesoun Mi ad ren|du la vie! Quaunt je su leez la tonne, E yl ploit e yl tonne, Tout adees ma fosoyne: Vyn de haute persone, Levre encine, conin lardee; Molt est fous qe saonne Formage rees Quaunt rostie ay E je le faz corouné E pui grosoiller. Nuilles e oblees, Royssolees e guaffres, E tostiz doreez. Perdryz, plovers, Coloms croysers. Le wydecoks est bon mangiers!      E andoilles lardés — Je tienk pur fol qe doune Son aver enprisonee Pur tripes enfumés. Quar quant revient a noune, My hoste m’a resoune: Si dit qu’il ad trovee, Countre la nuyt, Un chaudon quit A chasteyne paree. ¶ En quaresme a Lentre, Lors eym perche paree, La tenche enversee E en souz botee, Harang, plays, E peschoun freshe, E alosee en pastee, Gastieu rostiz, Menu brayz, E flamiche salee. ¶ Dars ne heez je mie, Fenduz de quonie, Anguille de gors, De sa pieu veudie, Conger, estorgoun, Luz, salmoun, Vendoise, breme, ne gerdon, Ne morue ov l’aille, Ne crevice pelle, Ne roches, ne lampré, Ne ray refreidé, Ly makerel Freshe e novel, E tot cist autre bon morsel Mout al bourse veydee. ¶ Quant la Pasche repoire, Je m’y last tayre; Tart e flaon faz fere Pur la sesoun retrere. Molt aym motoun A gras reynoun, E l’aignel faz fors trere De pelicoun, M’entencioun Met au poyvre defere. ¶ Droyz est qe l’en eyt motoun En porree, pucynz, En verynz, Oue en franke gardé (Atant novel Jus de tuel!), La teste en rost, aprés l’owel, E gras cheveryl lardé Ne me doit pas desployré, Pur le manger retrere, Pee de porcke en socié (A froit celer E haut soler), Herbe mugier Menuement poudré — E je m’envoys donks dormyr!

When I see the return Of winter that so afflicts me As the weather changes, Then I love a split log, The crackling coal, The blazing brands; The big-logged hearth fire Sings with joy; Indeed I love it so much, My whole body sweats. When bedtime comes, What surely pleases me Is a faggot in the hearth, Dry without smoke, Which burns entirely And turns to embers. I quite often scratch myself (The worst is the spine!), For the flesh stinks a lot, And is ill-dressed in clothes. I love greatly the daytime, For then, by means of heat Chasing it so, the cold Is sent outside and is gone. This is my delight: To have a good bed Of white cloth With a fresh smell. A thin blanket Makes me miserable, Wool not fur-lined — I don’t care for that For it’s of no use. I like the fires better: When I see the cold, I go to the fire; I like its play better Than two weighted dice! When the winter extends Through the morning, Indeed, I’m sorely grieved By the snow and frost, As into slick ice It is transformed, Little slivers in the fog. Some roasted boar From good pasturage, The loin unburnt, Thrust on a skewer — That’s to my taste! I’ve given all my holdings For one good morsel With a good claret, With a strong table wine — I much prefer that To smoky beer! ¶ I’ve much loved the tavern (There’s no reason to hate it!); I’ve given all my love To a flavored brew With galingale, With zedoary, Mixed with hot pepper — It’s not bad Around Christmas, Mustard with salted meat. ¶ Geese and mallards, Coots and moorhens, Capons on canvas, Roasted hens, Swans, peacocks, Cranes, herons, Teals, wild geese, And tufted ducks. And stuffed pig, The interlarded loin — I’ve much loved that! I don’t hate venison at all, Nor flesh from hunted deer, Nor buck, nor boar, veal With dried apple; ¶ Ham Freshly salted Has re|stored me to life! When I’m beside the tun, And it rains and thunders, There’s always plenty for me: Wine of the best quality, Stewed hare, larded rabbit; He’s crazy who’d refuse A bit of soft cheese When I’ve toasted it And crowned it With gooseberries. Cookies and cakes, Rissoles and waffles, Toasted golden brown. Partridges, plovers, Doves from dovecote. Woodcock is good to eat! And larded chitterlings — I take for a fool any who puts His goods in hock For smoked tripe. For when I revive around noon, My innkeeper has a word with me:      He says he recommends, At bedtime, A hot pot Of peeled chestnuts. ¶ During the forty days of Lent, Then I love scaled perch, Tench turned over And immersed in broth, Herring, plaice, And fresh fish, And shad in pastry, Baked breads, Lightly grilled, And salted custard tart. ¶ Dace I don’t at all hate, Split elegantly, Freshwater eel, Its skin removed, Conger eel, sturgeon, Pike, salmon, Gudgeons, bream, nor gurnard, Nor cod with garlic, Nor shelled crayfish, Nor roach, nor lamprey, Nor cold skate, Mackerel Fresh and newly caught, And all other good morsels That have emptied many a purse. ¶ When Easter returns, I quit being quiet; I have tarts and flan made To close up the season. I dearly like mutton With fat kidneys, So I have a lamb skinned Out of its fleece, Intending to Spice it with crushed pepper. ¶ It’s good to have mutton With leek potage, chicken, On weekdays, Goose fattened in a pen (Then new Stains on tablecloth!), A roast head, after cooked goose, And a fat kid in lard Wouldn’t displease me, To close up the meal, Pigs’ feet in sauce (From the cold storeroom And the upper sunroom), With spicy nutmeg Sprinkled on lightly — And then I send myself to sleep!

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Go To Art. 21, Alle herkneth to me nou, introduction
Go To Art. 21, Alle herkneth to me nou, text

Footnotes

ART. 20, QUANT VOY LA REVENUE D’YVER: EXPLANATORY NOTES

ABBREVIATIONS: AND: Anglo-Norman Dictionary; ANL: Anglo-Norman Literature: A Guide to Texts and Manuscripts (R. Dean and Boulton); BL: British Library (London); Bodl.: Bodleian Library (Oxford); CCC: Corpus Christi College (Cambridge); CUL: Cambridge University Library (Cambridge); IMEV: The Index of Middle English Verse (Brown and Robbins); IMEV Suppl.: Supplement to the Index of Middle English Verse (Robbins and Cutler); MED: Middle English Dictionary; MWME: A Manual of the Writings in Middle English, 1050–1500 (Severs et al.); NIMEV: A New Index of Middle English Verse (Boffey and Edwards); NLS: National Library of Scotland (Edinburgh).

7 Feu de souche meisné. Literally “Household fire of large logs.” Revard reads the last word as meisue and translates it “mossy” (2005b, p. 859). This reading helps the rhyme but does not resemble the word for “moss” (see AND, mos), nor does it seem likely. The word is more probably meisné, “household,” which, compounded with feu, seems to mean “hearth fire.” For souche, see the French-based words in the MED, zouche (n.), “large log,” and souche (n.), “?a chimney-shaft.”

57–66 These lines seem to preserve the original meter: 6aaaa 4bb 6a 4cc 6a.

61 gavigaut. The spice galingale. As Revard explains, this spelling in MS Harley 2253 is an odd error for what should be garingal (as in the Bern manuscript), a standard spelling for the spice galingale (2005b, p. 861).

62 cetewaut. The spice zedoary. See AND, cedewale, and MED, setewale (n.).

69 chanevaus. "On canvas [i.e., strained]." Canvas, a thick cloth, was used to strain boiled or braised foods. See MED, canevas (n.), sense 2(a), and examples given there from recipes. This meaning is, however, uncertain. The canvasback duck is not meant: this bird is only found in North America. If the word is a mistake for chanetans, then "ducklings" (French canetons) was intended. On this crux, see also Revard 2005b, p. 862.

105–10 These lines are hard to follow, but they may mean that the speaker habitually sleeps late after his feasting and drinking, and the innkeeper (his landlord?) recommends chestnuts as a nighttime remedy for his hangover.

139 la sesoun retrere. Winter and the privations of Lent draw to a close, and the speaker grows less quiet, that is, more active.

148 En verynz. “On weekdays, feria”; see MED, feria (n.), and AND, ferial (adj.). The word is another indication of the calendar day, with v substituted for f. Uncertain of the meaning of verynz, Revard tentatively proposes “[in a glass dish??]” (2005b, p. 866).

ART. 20, QUANT VOY LA REVENUE D’YVER: TEXTUAL NOTES

ABBREVIATIONS: As: Aspin; Bö: Böddeker; Bos: Bossy; Br: Brook; BS: Bennett and Smithers; BZ: Brandl and Zippel; B13: Brown 1932; B14: Brown 1952; DB: Dunn and Byrnes; Deg: Degginger; Do: Dove 1969; Gr: Greene 1977; Ha: Halliwell; Hal: Hall; Hol: Holthausen; Hor¹: Horstmann 1878; Hor²: Horstmann 1896; Hu: Hulme; JL: Jeffrey and Levy; Ju: Jubinal; Kel: Keller; Ken: Kennedy; Le: Lerer 2008; Mc: McKnight; Mi: Millett; MR: Michelant and Raynaud; Mo: Morris and Skeat; MS: MS Harley 2253; Mu: H. M. R. Murray; Pa: Patterson; Pr: Pringle 2009; Rei: Reichl 1973; Rev¹: Revard 2004; Rev²: Revard 2005b; Ri¹: Ritson 1877; Ri²: Ritson 1885; Ro: Robbins 1959; Sa: Saupe; Si: Silverstein; St: Stemmler 1970; Tr: Treharne; Tu: Turville-Petre 1989; Ul: Ulrich; W¹: Wright 1839; W²: Wright 1841; W³: Wright 1842; W⁴: Wright 1844; WH: Wright and Halliwell.

7 meisné. So MS. W³: meis ne. Rev²: meisue.

27 blaunchys. So MS, Rev². W³: braunchys.

36 vou. So MS, Rev². W³: von.

38 Qe. So MS, Rev². W³: que.
dees. So MS, W³. Rev²: deez.

50 noreture. So MS, Rev². W³: norture.

58 qe. So MS. W³, Rev²: que.

61 gavigaut. So MS, Rev². W³: ganigant.

62 cetewaut. So MS, Rev². W³: cetewant.

63 chaudee peveré. So MS, Rev². W³: chandee peneré.

64 fet. So MS, Rev². W³: fit.

67 Oues. So MS, Rev². W³: Ques.

69 chanevaus. So MS, Rev². W³: chavenans.

71 pouns. So MS, W³. Rev²: poons.

72 Grues. So MS, Rev². W³: Groues.
heyrouns. So MS, W³. Rev²: heirouns.

73 Cerceles. So MS, Rev². W³: Terceles.

76 entrelardé. So MS, W³. Rev²: entrelardee.

77 cele. So MS, W³. Rev²: cerf.

80 deym. So MS, W³. Rev²: daym.
velee. So MS, Rev². W³: ne lée.

85 tonne. So MS, Rev². W³: toune.

87 fosoyne. So MS, Rev². W³: foysoyne.

89 encine. So MS, Rev². W³: en cive.

94 pui. So Rev². MS, W³: pur.

97 doreez. So Rev². MS, W³: dorrez.

98 Perdryz. So MS, W³. Rev²: perdriz.

105 quant. So MS. W³: grant. Rev²: quaunt
noune. So MS, W³. Rev²: noun.

111 Lentre. So MS. Rev², W³: l’entre.

113 enversee. So MS, Rev². W³: enversé.

120 flamiche. So MS, Rev². W³: flaunche.

124 veudie. So MS, Rev². W³: vendie.

129 crevice. So Rev². MS, W³: creinte.

135 Mout. So MS, W³. Rev²: m’ont.

136 repoire. So MS, Rev². W³: repeire.

139 sesoun. So MS, W³. Rev²: saison.

147 pucynz. So MS, W³. Rev²: pucyns.

154 desployré. So MS, Rev². W³: despleyre.

161 m’envoys. So MS, Rev². W³: m’ennoys.