36 The Complaint of Chancer to his Empty Purse 



Or voi je bien qu'il m'estuet comparer 

 Toz les deduis qu'ai eiis en ma vie, 

 Deus ne m'i volt en pardon rien doner; 

 Angois criem molt, cist loiers ne m'ocie. 

 Mcrci, amors," que Deus hait vilenie, 

 Que vilain font bone amor dessevrer, 

 Et je ne puis mon cuer de li oster, 

 Si me covient que je ma dame lais. 



Or seront lie li fals losengeor 



Qu'avoient duel des biens qu'avoir soloie, 



Ja pelerins ne serai a nul jor 



Por ce qu'a els en bone pais resoie. 



Por tant puis bien perdre tote ma voie, 



Et sachent bien li felon menteor, 



Se Deus voloit qu'il reiissent m'amor 



Ne me porroit chargier plus pcsant fais." 



Je m'en vois, dame, a Deu le creator, 

 Qui soit o vos en quel liu que je soie. 

 Et sachiez bien, niant iert del retor, 

 Aventure est que jamais vos revoie, 

 Por Deu vos pri qu'en quel liu que je soie, 

 Que mes covens tiegniez, viegne ou demor ; 

 Et je pri Deu qu'ensi me doinst honor, 

 Com je vos ai este amis verais. 



The romance in question was written about 1280 (Gaston Paris) or 

 between 1282 and 1288 (G. Raynaud, in Romania 21. 153). It is referred 

 to by Froissart, Paradys d'Amour 992, and Prison Amouretise 219, as 

 well as by Deschamps 2. 182; cf. also pp. 26, 27, above. Chaucer would 

 therefore have known of the romance, and, if he read it, as he doubtless 

 did, would have had his attention attracted by this stanza, and by the 

 fact that it was assigned by the author to the 'chastelains de Couci' 

 (1. 292). Four ivory caskets, besides the fragment of another (Bargello, 

 Florence), representing scenes from La Chastclainc dc Vcrgi, and all 

 belonging to the first quarter of the fourteenth century, are still pre- 

 served; these are in the British Museum (reproduced as the frontispiece 

 of Brandin's edition), the Louvre, and the Pierpont Morgan collection 

 (two). Others are to be found at Milan, Vienna, and Lyons (R. S. 

 Loomis, in Romanic Review 8. 197, supplemented by information in a 

 letter of Dec. 18, 1917). 



^^ Four MSS., including Brit. Mus. Egerton 274. 13 (13th century), have 

 Merci li cri. 



^* 'Pesant fais' occurs in an anonymous poem of the thirteenth century 

 (Chansons du Chatclain dc Coney, ed. Michel, p. loi ; cf. Gaston Paris, 

 in Romania 8. 354). 



