The Devonshire Manuscript/Who hathe harde of such tyrannye before

←She sat and sewid that hathe done me the wronge

Ye know my herte my ladye dere→

The Devonshire Manuscript facsimile 73r

f. [73r]

1    Who hathe harde of such crultye^tyrannye before
2    that whan my plainte remem{_e}bre her my woo.
3    that causid yt : she crule more and more
4    wisshid eche stiche as she ded sit and soo
5    had prickid my herte for tencrese to encrese  my sore
6    and as I think she thought yt had bene soo.
7    for as she thought this is his harte in dede
8    she prickid her and made her selfe to blede /

fs s

Commentary

Attributed to Sir Thomas Wyatt, this poem was entered by H8. R. A. Rebholz indexes the poem under the title under the title “Who hath harde of such crueltye before.” H8 enters this poem as a companion piece for the poem “She sat and sewid that hathe done me the wronge” (73r), which appears directly above this one on the page and expresses similar content and sentiment. Rebholz notes that John Skelton's poem Philip Sparrow may have inspired Wyatt's epigrams. In Skelton's poem the lady stitches an image of sparrow. The sparrow calls out when she stitches his head, causing her to prick her finger. The poem also appears in Tottel's Miscellany under the title “Of the same” (item 68), which is a reference to item 67, “Of his loue that pricked her finger with a nedle.”

H8 entered this poem after "She sat and sewid that hathe done me the wronge" because it overwrites the “finis” mark of its companion. In the Egerton manuscript (LEge) f.29v, the scribe crossed out the word “tyranny” and changed it to “cruelty.” Here, H8 replaces the crossed-out word “crueltye” with a supralinear “tyrannye,” which exhibits the process of composition.

Textual Notes

Texts Collated

AAH21, LEge47, STC13860_35

Collation

1 Who] Whoe AAH21 WHat man STC_13860_35 hathe] hath AAH21 LEge47 STC_13860_35 harde] heard AAH21 herd LEge47 hard STC_13860_35 of] STC_13860_35 such] suche AAH21 LEge47 crultyetyrannye] crueltie AAH21 tyrannycrueltye LEge47 cruelty STC_13860_35 before] before? STC_13860_35
2 that] That, STC_13860_35 whan] when AAH21 LEge47 STC_13860_35 plainte] playnt AAH21 plaint LEge47 STC_13860_35 remembre] remembred AAH21 LEge47 STC_13860_35 woo.] woe AAH21 woo LEge47 wo, STC_13860_35
3 that] That STC_13860_35 causid] caused LEge47 STC_13860_35 causid yt:] cawsed it AAH21 yt] it STC_13860_35 yt:] it / LEge47 crule] cruell AAH21 LEge47 STC_13860_35 more] more, STC_13860_35 and] & LEge47 more] more, STC_13860_35
4 wisshid] wisshed AAH21 LEge47 Wished STC_13860_35 eche] eache AAH21 stiche] stitche LEge47 stitche, STC_13860_35 ded] did AAH21 LEge47 STC_13860_35 sit] sitt AAH21 sit, STC_13860_35 and] & LEge47 soo] sow AAH21 sow, STC_13860_35
5 had] Had AAH21 STC_13860_35 prickid] pricked AAH21 prickedprykt LEge47 prickt STC_13860_35 my] myn LEge47 herte] hart AAH21 hert / LEge47 hart, STC_13860_35 tencrese] to encreace AAH21 to encrese LEge47 to encrease STC_13860_35 sore] sore. STC_13860_35
6 and] And, STC_13860_35 think] thinck AAH21 thinck / LEge47 think, STC_13860_35 thought] thought, STC_13860_35 yt] it AAH21 LEge47 STC_13860_35 bene] ben LEge47 soo.] so AAH21 LEge47 so. STC_13860_35
7 for] ffor AAH21 For STC_13860_35 thought] thought, STC_13860_35 harte] hart AAH21 STC_13860_35 hert LEge47 dede] deede AAH21 dede: STC_13860_35
8 she] She AAH21 STC_13860_35 prickid] prycked AAH21 pricked LEge47 STC_13860_35 her] hard AAH21 herd / LEge47 hard: STC_13860_35 and] & LEge47 selfe] self AAH21 LEge47 STC_13860_35 blede /] bleede AAH21 blede LEge47 blede. STC_13860_35