The Devonshire Manuscript/as ffor my part I know no thyng

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The Devonshire Manuscript
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ther ys no cure ffor care off miyd to my meshap alas I ffynd
The Devonshire Manuscript facsimile 41r
The Devonshire Manuscript facsimile 41v

f. [41r]

1    as ffor my part I know no thyng
2    wether that ye be bond or ffre
3    but yet off lat a bvrd ded syng
4    that ye had lost your leberty

f. [41v1]

5    yff yt be tru take hed be tym2
6    and yff thow mast onestly ffly
7    leve off and slake thys ffowlese crym
8    that towcht moch thyn onesty

9    I spek not thys to know your mynd
10    nor off your coun{_u}sell ffor to be
11    but yff I wer thow shold me ffynd
12    thy ffaythffull ffrend asesuredly

Notes & Glosses edit

     1. The top inch of the page has been cut and repaired.
     2. For this wording, see Wyatt's poem "Take hede be tyme lest ye be spyde" (2r).

Commentary edit

Written in Margaret Douglas's hand, this poem remains unattributed and is unique to this manuscript. The speaker offers to be available for “counseling” a lover in need. Douglas's writing for the first stanza on "ther ys no cure ffor care off miyd" (41r) appears so faintly on the page that it becomes almost unreadable.