From Chaucer’s The Legend of Good Women
IV. The Legend of Hypsipyle and Medea
Incipit Legenda Ysiphie et Medea, martirum.
Thow rote of false lovers, Duc Jasoun,
Thow sly devourere and confusioun
1370 Of gentil wemen, tendre creatures,
Thow madest thy recleymyng and thy lures
To ladyes of thy statly aparaunce,
And of thy wordes farced with plesaunce,
And of thy feyned trouthe and thy manere,
1375 With thyn obesaunce and humble cheere,
And with thy contrefeted peyne and wo.
There othere falsen oon, thow falsest two!
O, often swore thow that thow woldest dye
For love, whan thow ne feltest maladye
1380 Save foul delyt, which that thow callest love!
Yif that I live, thy name shal be shove
In English that thy sekte shal be knowe!
Have at thee, Jason! Now thyn horn is blowe!
But certes, it is bothe routhe and wo
1385 That love with false loveres werketh so;
For they shal have wel betere love and chere
Than he that hath abought his love ful dere,
Or hadde in armes many a blody box.
For evere as tendre a capoun et the fox,
1390 Thow he be fals and hath the foul betrayed,
As shal the good-man that therfore hath payed.
Al have he to the capoun skille and ryght,
The false fox wol have his part at nyght.
On Jason this ensaumple is wel ysene
1395 By Isiphile and Medea the queene.
In Tessalie, as Guido tellith us,
There was a kyng that highte Pelleus,
That hadde a brother which that highte Eson;
And whan for age he myghte unnethes gon,
1400 He yaf to Pelleus the governyng
Of al his regne and made hym lord and kyng.
Of which Eson this Jason geten was,
That in his tyme in al that land there nas
Nat swich a famous knyght of gentilesse,
1405 Of fredom, and of strengthe and lustynesse.
After his fadres deth he bar hym so
That there nas non that liste ben his fo,
But dide hym al honour and companye.
Of which this Pelleus hadde gret envye,
1410 Imagynynge that Jason myghte be
Enhaunsed so and put in swich degre
With love of lordes of his regioun,
That from his regne he may ben put adoun.
And in his wit a-nyght compassed he
1415 How Jason myghte best distroyed be
Withoute sclaunder of his compassement,
And at the last he tok avysement
To senden hym into som fer contre,
There as this Jason may destroyed be.
1420 This was his wit, al made he to Jasoun
Gret chere of love and of affeccioun,
For drede lest his lordes it espide.
So fyl it, so as fame renneth wide,
There was swich tydyng overal and swich loos,
1425 That in an yle that called was Colcos,
Beyonde Troye, estward in the se,
That therin was a ram that men mighte se
That hadde a fles of gold that shon so bryghte
That nowher was ther swich anothir syghte;
1430 But it was kept alwey with a dragoun,
And many other merveyles, up and doun,
And with two boles maked al of bras,
That spitten fyr, and moche thyng there was.
But this was ek the tale, natheles,
1435 That whoso wolde wynne thylke fles,
He moste bothe, or he it wynne myghte,
With the boles and the dragoun fyghte.
And kyng Oetes lord was of that yle.
This Pelleus bethoughte upon this wile,
1440 That he his neveu Jason wolde enhorte
To saylen to that lond, hym to disporte,
And seyde, "Nevew, if it myghte be
That swich a worshipe myghte fallen the,
That thow this famous tresor myghtest wynne,
1445 And bryngen it my regioun withinne,
It were to me gret plesaunce and honour.
Thanne were I holde to quyte thy labour;
And al the cost I wol myselven make.
And chees what folk that thow wilt with the take;
1450 Lat sen now, darst thow take this viage?"
Jason was yong, and lusty of corage,
And undertok to don this ilke empryse.
Anon Argus his shipes gan devyse;
With Jason wente the stronge Ercules,
1455 And many another that he with hym ches.
But whoso axeth who is with hym gon,
Lat hym go rede Argonautycon,
For he wole telle a tale long ynogh.
Philotetes anon the sayl up drogh,
1460 Whan that the wynd was good, and gan hym hye
Out of his contre called Thessalye.
So longe he seyled in the salte se,
Til in the yle of Lemnon aryvede he --
Al be this nat rehersed of Guido,
1465 Yit seyth Ovyde in his Epistels so --
And of this ile lady was and quene
The fayre yonge Ysiphele, the shene,
That whylom Thoas doughter was, the kyng.
Isiphile was gon in hire pleying,
1470 And, romynge on the clyves by the se,
Under a banke anon aspied she
Where that the ship of Jason gan aryve.
Of hire goodnesse adoun she sendeth blyve
To witen if that any straunge wight
1475 With tempest thider were yblowe a-nyght,
To don him socour, as was hire usaunce
To fortheren every wight, and don plesaunce
Of verrey bounte and of curteysye.
This messangeer adoun hym gan to hye,
1480 And fond Jason and Ercules also,
That in a cog to londe were ygo,
Hem to refreshen and to take the eyr.
The morwenynge attempre was and fayr,
And in his weye this messanger hem mette.
1485 Ful cunnyngly these lordes two he grette,
And dide his message, axinge hem anon
If they were broken, or ought wo begon,
Or hadden nede of lodman or vitayle;
For of socour they sholde nothyng fayle,
1490 For it was outrely the quenes wille.
Jason answerde mekely and stylle:
"My lady," quod he, "thanke I hertely
Of hire goodnesse; us nedeth, trewely,
Nothyng as now, but that we wery be,
1495 And come for to pleye out of the se
Tyl that the wynd be better in oure weye."
This lady rometh by the clyf to pleye,
With hire meyne, endelong the stronde,
And fynt this Jason and this other stonde
1500 In spekynge of this thyng, as I yow tolde.
This Ercules and Jason gan beholde
How that the queen it was, and fayre hire grette
Anon-ryght as they with this lady mette;
And she tok hed, and knew by hyre manere,
1505 By hire aray, by wordes, and by chere,
That it were gentil-men of gret degre,
And to the castel with hire ledeth she
These straunge folk and doth hem gret honour,
And axeth hem of travayle and labour
1510 That they han suffered in the salte se;
So that, withinne a day, or two, or thre,
She knew, by folk that in his shipes be,
That it was Jason, ful of renone,
And Ercules, that hadde the grete los,
1515 That soughten the aventures of Colcos;
And dide hem honour more than before,
And with hem deled evere lenger the more,
For they ben worthy folk, withouten les.
And namely, most she spak with Ercules;
1520 To hym hire herte bar, he shulde be
Sad, wys, and trewe, of wordes avyse,
Withouten any other affeccioun
Of love, or evyl ymagynacyoun.
This Ercules hath so this Jason preysed
1525 That to the sonne he hath hym up areysed,
That half so trewe a man there nas of love
Under the cope of heven that is above;
And he was wis, hardy, secre, and ryche.
Of these thre poyntes there nas non hym liche:
1530 Of fredom passede he, and lustyhede,
Alle tho that lyven or been dede;
Therto so gret a gentilman was he,
And of Thessalye likly kyng to be.
There nas no lak, but that he was agast
1535 To love, and for to speke shamefast.
He hadde lever hymself to morder, and dye,
Than that men shulde a lovere hym espye.
"As wolde God that I hadde yive
My blod and flesh, so that I myghte live,
1540 With the nones that he hadde owher a wif
For hys estat; for swich a lusty lyf
She shulde lede with this lusty knyght!"
And al this was compassed on the nyght
Bytwixe hym Jason and this Ercules.
1545 Of these two here was a shrewed lees,
To come to hous upon an innocent!
For to bedote this queen was here assent.
And Jason is as coy as is a mayde;
He loketh pitously, but nought he sayde,
1550 But frely yaf he to hire conseyleres
Yiftes grete, and to hire officeres.
As wolde God I leyser hadde and tyme
By proces al his wowyng for to ryme!
But in this hous if any fals lovere be,
1555 Ryght as hymself now doth, ryght so dide he,
With feynynge, and with every subtil dede.
Ye gete namore of me, but ye wole rede
Th' origynal, that telleth al the cas.
The somme is this: that Jason wedded was
1560 Unto this queen and tok of hir substaunce
What so hym leste unto his purveyaunce;
And upon hire begat he children two,
And drogh his sayl and saw hir nevere mo.
A letter sente she to hym, certeyn,
1565 Which were to longe to wryten and to sen,
And hym reprevith of his grete untrouthe,
And preyeth him on hire to have som routhe.
And of his children two she seyde hym this:
That they ben lyk of alle thyng, ywis,
1570 To Jason, save they coude nat begile;
And preyede God, or it were longe while,
That she that hadde his herte yraft hire fro
Moste fynden hym untrewe to hir also,
And that she moste bothe hire chyldren spylle,
1575 And alle tho that sufferede hym his wille.
And trewe to Jason was she al hire lyf,
And evere kepte hire chast, as for his wif;
Ne nevere hadde she joye at hire herte,
But deyede for his love, of sorwes smerte.
1580 To Colcos comen is this duc Jasoun,
That is of love devourer and dragoun.
As mater apetiteth forme alwey
And from forme into forme it passen may,
Or as a welle that were botomles,
1585 Ryght so can false Jason have no pes.
For to desyren thourgh his apetit
To don with gentil women his delyt,
This is his lust and his felicite.
Jason is romed forth to the cyte
1590 That whilom cleped was Jaconitos,
That was the mayster-toun of al Colcos,
And hath ytold the cause of his comyng
Unto Oetes, of that contre kyng,
Preyinge hym that he moste don his assay
1595 To gete the fles of gold if that he may;
Of which the kyng assenteth to his bone,
And doth hym honour, as it was to done,
So fer forth that his doughter and his eyr,
Medea, which that was so wis and fayr
1600 That fayrer say there nevere man with ye,
He made hire don to Jason companye
At mete, and sitte by hym in the halle.
Now was Jason a semely man withalle,
And lyk a lord, and hadde a gret renoun,
1605 And of his lok as real as a leoun,
And goodly of his speche, and familer,
And coude of love al craft and art pleyner
Withoute bok, with everych observaunce.
And, as Fortune hire oughte a foul myschaunce,
1610 She wex enamoured upon this man.
"Jason," quod she, "for ought I se or can,
As of this thyng the whiche ye ben aboute,
Ye han youreself yput in moche doute.
For whoso wol this aventure acheve,
1615 He may nat wel asterten, as I leve,
Withouten deth, but I his helpe be.
But natheles, it is my wylle," quod she,
"To fortheren yow so that ye shal nat die,
But turnen sound hom to youre Tessalye."
1620 "My ryghte lady," quod this Jason tho,
"That ye han of my deth or of my wo
Any reward, and don me this honour,
I wot wel that my myght ne my labour
May nat disserve it in my lyves day.
1625 God thanke yow there I ne can ne may!
Youre man I am, and lowely yow beseche
To ben my helpe, withoute more speche;
But, certes, for my deth shal I nat spare."
Tho gan this Medea to hym declare
1630 The peril of this cas from poynt to poynt,
And of his batayle, and in what disjoynt
He mote stonde, of which no creature
Save only she ne myghte his lyf assure.
And shortly to the poynt ryght for to go,
1635 They been acorded ful bytwixe hem two
That Jason shal hire wedde, as trewe knyght;
And terme set to come sone at nyght
Unto hire chamber and make there his oth
Upon the goddes, that he for lef or loth
1640 Ne sholde nevere hire false, nyght ne day,
To ben hire husbonde whil he lyve may,
As she that from his deth hym saved here.
And hereupon at nyght they mette in-feere,
And doth his oth, and goth with hire to bedde;
1645 And on the morwe upward he hym spedde,
For she hath taught hym how he shal nat fayle
The fles to wynne and stynten his batayle;
And saved hym his lyf and his honour;
And gat hym a name ryght as a conquerour,
1650 Ryght thourgh the sleyghte of hire enchauntement.
Now hath Jason the fles, and hom is went
With Medea, and tresor ful gret won;
But unwist of hire fader is she gon
To Tessaly with Duk Jason hire lef,
1655 That afterward hath brought hire to myschef.
For as a traytour he is from hire go,
And with hire lafte his yonge children two,
And falsly hath betraysed hire, allas,
As evere in love a chef traytour he was;
1660 And wedded yit the thridde wif anon,
That was the doughter of the kyng Creon.
This is the mede of lovynge and guerdoun
That Medea receyved of Jasoun
Ryght for hire trouthe and for hire kyndenesse,
1665 That lovede hym beter than hireself, I gesse,
And lafte hire fader and hire herytage.
And of Jason this is the vassellage,
That in his dayes nas ther non yfounde
So fals a lovere goinge on the grounde.
1670 And therfore in hire letter thus she seyde
Fyrst, whan she of his falsnesse hym upbreyde:
"Whi lykede me thy yelwe her to se
More than the boundes of myn honeste?
Why lykede me thy youthe and thy fayrnesse,
1675 And of thy tonge, the infynyt graciousnesse?
O, haddest thow in thy conquest ded ybe,
Ful mikel untrouthe hadde ther deyd with the!"
Wel can Ovyde hire letter in vers endyte,
Which were as now to long for me to wryte.
Explicit Legenda Ysiphie et Medea, martirum.
