The Devonshire Manuscript/Dyvers dothe vse as I have hard & kno

←Gyve place all ye that dothe reioise

the losse is small to lose suche on→

The Devonshire Manuscript facsimile 77v

f. [77v]

1    Dyve^rs dothe vse as I have hard & kno
2    {es}{{th}'} {_u} {{th}+t+} {_a} whanthat to chaunge¹ their lades do beginne
3    to mo^rne & waile & neuer{u'} for to lynne²
4    hoping there{{th}'} bye to pease their{{th}'}  painefull woo.
5    {_a}{{th}+t+} {{th}'} {_i} And soimm there be that whan it chansithe soo
6    {_a}{{th}+t+} that woman change & hate where love hath bene
7    {es}{w+t+} {_e} thei call them fals & think with wo^rdesto wynne
8    {w+c+}{_e} {es} the hartes of themwhich other where dothe gro.
9    {_a}{{th}+t+} But as for me though that by channse in dede
10    {{th}+t+}{{th}+e+} change hathe out wo^rne the favo^rthat I had
11    I will not wayle / lamen{_e}t noyr yet be sad
12    {{th}+t+} nor call her fals that falsley ded me fede
13    but let it passe & thin{_i}k it is of kinde
14    {_i}{_a} {_u} {_e} that oftenn³ chaunnge doth plese a womans⁴ minde

fs

Notes & Glosses

     1. See Petti. A macron shaped with a curve and a dot beneath is an older form still in use in the 15th century.
     2. The meaning of "to lynne" is "to cease."
     3. The word "oftenn" is an example of a seemingly unnecessary indication of a supplied nasal.
     4. See Petti. A macron shaped as an ascending hook or curl is an ornamental form used in the 15th century.

Commentary

Attributed to Sir Thomas Wyatt, this poem was entered by H8. In contrast to the common courtly love trope, the speaker refuses to complain about the fickleness of the lady, and justifies his refusal by remarking that womens' fickleness represents a part of "kinde" -- that is, a natural attribute of a woman's temperament. For another example describing this perspective concerning womens' fickleness, see the poem “Spight hathe no powre to make me sadde” (78r). Petrarch also touched on this theme of fickleness; in Rime 183, for instance, he writes: "Woman is by nature a changeable thing; whence I know well that a loving condition in the heart of woman lasts a very short time" (II, 12-14).

This poem has the largest number of abbreviations in the entire manuscript.