The Devonshire Manuscript/O cruell causer of vndeserrved chaynge

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←Take hede be tyme leste ye be spyede

My harte I gave the not to do it paine→

f. [2v]

O
1    O cruell causer of vndeserrved chaynge
2    by great desire vnconstanntlye to rain range
3    ys thes yowr way for proife of stedfastenes
4    perde I knowe the thying was not so strange
5    by former profe to moche my fayth fullnes
6    what nedethe then suche colouredd doublenes

7    I haue wailed thus weping in nyghtly pain
8    in sobbis and sighes alas and all in vain
9    in inward plaintte ande harts wofull tormentte
10    and yet alas loo crueltye and disdain
11    haue sett at nowght a faithfull true ententte
12    and price hathe priuelege troughe to presentt

13    But thoughe I serve and to my dethe still morn
14    and pece meale in peaces {es} thowghe I be terne
15    and thoughe I dye yelding my weried goost
16    shall neuer thing againe make me reeterne
17    I quite thenterprice the enterprise of that that I have lost
18    To whome soever liste for to proffer moost

Commentary

This excerpt from Sir Thomas Wyatt's poem “Alas the greffe and dedly wofull smert” was entered by H1.^[1] The ode references aspects of the medieval courtly love ethos; while this excerpt omits the first two stanzas, which reference Chaucer's The Knight's Tale, the latter three stanzas (copied here) recount the lover's pain at the loss of a lady's affections. Similar to Chaucer's Palamon and Arcite, who waste away as they pine for the lady Emily, the poet recites his anguish at the lady's change of heart and thus decides to "quite thenterprice" (17) in order to reclaim himself.

Thomas Howard inserts “that I have lost” as an emendation of the poem.^[2]

Works Cited

Textual Notes

Texts Collated

LEge01, DBLa14

Collation

0.5     ] Alas the greeffe , and dedly wofull smart: LEge01
1 cruell] crewell DBla14     causer] causere DBla14     vndeserrved] vndeseruyd DBla14 vndeserued LEge01     chaynge] chaunce DBla14 chaunge: LEge01
2     by] By DBla14     desire] desyer DBla14     vnconstanntlye] inconstantlye DBla14 vnconstantly LEge01     rainrange] raygne DBla14 raunge: LEge01
3     ys] is LEge01     thes] this DBla14 LEge01     yowr] your DBla14 LEge01     way] waye, LEge01     for] ffor DBla14     proife] proffe DBla14 proofe LEge01     stedfastenes] stedffastnes DBla14
4     perde I knowe] (perdye you knowe: LEge01     I] ye DBla14     thying] thynge DBla14 thing LEge01     strange] straung DBla14 straunge LEge01
5     former] fformer DBla14     profe] proff DBla14 prouff) LEge01     moche] myche DBla14 muche LEge01     fayth fullnes] ffaythffuln DBla14 faithfulnes LEge01
6     nedethe] nedythe DBla14 nedeth, LEge01     then suche] then, suche LEge01     colouredd] coloured LEge01     colouredd doublenes] colleryd dobbylnes DBla14     doublenes] dowblenes. LEge01
7     haue] have LEge01     wailed] waylid DBla14 wailed, LEge01     thus] thus, LEge01     weping] wepping DBla14     pain] payne DBla14 payn: LEge01
8     sobbis and sighes alas and] sobbis, & sighes : Alas : & LEge01     sighes] syghis DBla14     vain] vayne DBla14 vayn: LEge01
9     plaintte] playnt DBla14 plaint : LEge01     ande] and DBla14     ande harts] & hertes LEge01     harts] hartes DBla14     wofull] woffull DBla14     tormentte] torment DBla14 torment. LEge01
10     and] & DBla14     yet] yet, LEge01     alas] Alas, LEge01     loo] lo DBla14     loo crueltye and] lo, crueltie, & LEge01     crueltye] creweltye DBla14     disdain] disdayne DBla14 disdayn LEge01
11     haue] have, LEge01     sett] set DBla14 LEge01     nowght] nought DBla14 noght LEge01     faithfull] ffaythfull DBla14     true ententte] trewe intent DBla14     ententte] intent: LEge01
12     price] pryce DBla14     hathe] hath LEge01     priuelege] priuilege LEge01     priuelege troughe] pryvylege truthe DBla14     troughe] thouth LEge01     presentt] present DBla14 prevent. LEge01
13    But] But, LEge01     thoughe] though LEge01     serve] serue DBla14 sterve : LEge01     and] & DBla14 & LEge01     dethe] deth LEge01     still] styll DBla14     morn] morne DBla14 morne: LEge01
14     pece meale in peaces thowghe] pen me in pecys though DBla14     meale] mele LEge01     peaces] peces LEge01     thowghe] though LEge01     terne] torne DBla14 torn: LEge01
15     and] & DBla14     thoughe] though DBla14 LEge01     dye] dye, LEge01     yelding] yeldyng DBla14     weried] weryed DBla14     goost] gost DBla14 gooste: LEge01
16     neuer] never LEge01     thing] thyng DBla14     againe] agayne DBla14 again LEge01     make] mak DBla14     reeterne] to torne DBla14 retorn LEge01
17     quite] qwite LEge01     quite thenterprice] quyt the interpryse DBla14     thenterprice] thenterprise LEge01     that] that, LEge01     have] haue DBla14
18     To] to DBla14 too LEge01     whome] whom DBla14     soever] so euer DBla14 so ever LEge01     liste] lyst DBla14 lust LEge01     for] ffor DBla14     to] too LEge01     proffer] proffere DBla14     moost] most DBla14 moost. LEge01

[1] R.A. Rebholz, ed., Sir Thomas Wyatt: The Complete Poems (London: Penguin, 1978), 263.

[2] Ray Siemens et al., "Drawing Networks in the Devonshire Manuscript (BL Add 17492): Toward Visualizing a Writing Community's Shared Apprenticeship, Social Valuation, and Self-Validation," Digital Studies 1.1 (2009): n.p.

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