Excerpt
ENGLISH AND NORMAN SONGS OF THE FOURTEENTH CENTURY.
In a vellum book, known as The Red Book of Ossory, and preserved in the archives of that see, is contained a collection of Latin religious poetry, written in a good bold hand of the 14th century; prefixed to several of the hymns, in a contemporary and identical hand, are sometimes one sometimes more lines of a song in old English or Norman French, which as they occur I here give:
"Alas hou shold y syng, yloren is my playnge
Hou sholdy wiz zat olde man}
} swettist of al zinge."
To leven and let my leman }
"Harrow ieo su thy: p fol amor de mal amy."
"Have mrcie on me frere: Barfote zat ygo."
"Do Do. nightyngale syng ful myrie
Shal y nevre for zyn love lengre karie."
"Have God day me lemon," &c.
"Gaveth me no garlond of greene,
Bot hit ben of Wythones yuroght."
"Do Do nyztyngale syng wel miry
Shal y nevre for zyn love lengre kary."
"Hew alas p amor
Oy moy myst en tant dolour."
"Hey how ze chevaldoures woke al nyght."
It is quite evident that these lines were thus prefixed (as is still the custom), to indicate the air to which the Latin hymns were to be sung. This is also set forth in a memorandum at the commencement, which states that these songs, Cantilene, were composed by the Bishop of Ossory for the vicars of his cathedral church, and for his priests and clerks,
"ne guttura eorum et ora deo sanctificata polluantur cantilenis teatralibus turpibus et secularibus: et cum sint cantatores, provideant sibi notis convenientibus, secundum quod dictamina requirunt."—Lib. Rub. Ossor. fol. 70.
We may, I think, safely conclude that the lines above given were the commencement of the cantilene teatrales turpes et seculares, which the good bishop wished to deprive his clergy of all excuse for singing, by providing them with pious hymns to the same airs; thinking, I suppose, like John Wesley in after years, it was a pity the devil should monopolise all the good tunes. I shall merely add that the author of the Latin poetry seems to have been Richard de Ledrede, who filled the see of Ossory from 1318 to 1360, and was rendered famous by his proceedings against Dame Alice Kyteller for heresy and witchcraft. (See a contemporary account of the "proceedings" published by the Camden Society in 1843; a most valuable contribution to Irish history, and well deserving of still more editorial labour than has been bestowed on it.) I have copied the old English and Norman-French word for word, preserving the contractions wherever they occurred.
I shall conclude this "note" by proposing two "Queries:" to such of your contributors as are learned in old English and French song-lore, viz.,
1. Are the entire songs, of which the above lines form the commencements, known or recoverable?
2. If so, is the music to which they were sung handed down?
I shall feel much obliged by answers to both or either of the above Queries, and
"Bis dat, qui cito dat."
Kilkenny, Nov. 1. 1850.
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