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

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     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

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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.