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Pla ce bo,1 Who is there, who? Di le xi,,2 Dame Margery; Fa, re, my, my.3 Wherfore and why, why? For the sowle of Philip Sparowe, That was late slayn at Carowe, Among the Nones Blake, For that swete soules sake, And for all sparowes soules Set in our bede rolles, Pater noster qui, With an Ave Mari, And with the corner of a Crede, The more shal be your mede. Whan I remembre agayn How mi Philyp was slayn, Never halfe the payne Was betwene you twayne, Pyramus and Thesbe,4 As than befell to me: I wept and I wayled, The tearys downe hayled; But nothynge it avayled To call Phylyp agayne, Whom Gyb our cat hath slayne. Gyb, I saye, our cat, Worrowyd her on that Which I loved best: It can not be exprest My sorowfull hevynesse, But all without redresse; For within that stounde, Halfe slumbrynge, in a sounde I fell downe to the grounde. Unneth I kest myne eyes Towarde the cloudy skyes; But whan I dyd beholde My sparow dead and colde, No creatuer but that wolde Have rewed upon me, To behold and se What hevynesse dyd me pange: Wherewith my handes I wrange That my senaws cracked As though I had ben racked, So payned and so strayned That no lyfe well nye remayned. I syghed and I sobbed, For that I was robbed Of my sparowes lyfe. O mayden, wydow, and wyfe, Of what estate ye be, Of hye or lowe degre, Great sorowe than ye myght se, And lerne to wepe at me! Such paynes dyd me frete, That myne hert dyd bete, My vysage pale and dead, Wanne, and blewe as lead: The panges of hatefull death Well nye had stopped my breath. Heu, heu, me,5 That I am wo for the! Ad Dominum, cum tribularer, clamavi.6 Of God nothynge els crave I But Phyllypes soule to kepe From the marees deepe Of Acherontes7 well, That is a flode of hell; And from the great Pluto,8 The prynce of endles wo; And from foule Alecto,9 With vysage blacke and blo; And from Medusa,10 that mare, That lyke a fende doth stare; And from Megeras11 edders, For rufflynge of Phillips fethers, And from her fyry sparklynges, For burnynge of his wynges; And from the smokes sowre Of Proserpinas12 bowre; And from the dennes darke, Wher Cerberus13 doth barke, Whom Theseus14 dyd afraye, Whom Hercules15 dyd outraye, As famous poetes say; From that hell-hounde, That lyeth in cheynes bounde, With gastly hedes thre; To Jupyter16 pray we That Phyllyp preserved may be! Amen, say ye with me! Do mi nus,17 Helpe nowe, swete Jesus! Levavi oculos meos in montes: 18 Wolde God I had Zenophontes,19 Or Socrates the wyse, To shew me their devyse Moderatly to take This sorow that I make For Phyllip Sparowes sake! So fervently I shake, I fele my body quake, So urgently I am brought Into carefull thought. Like Andromach20, Hectors wyfe, Was wery of her lyfe, Whan she had lost her joye, Noble Hector of Troye; In lyke maner also Encreaseth my dedly wo, For my sparowe is go. It was so prety a fole, It wold syt on a stole, And lerned after my scole For to kepe his cut, With, "Phyllyp, kepe your cut!" It had a velvet cap, And wold syt upon my lap, And seke after small wormes, And somtyme white bred crommes; And many tymes and ofte Betwene my brestes softe It wolde lye and rest; It was propre and prest. Somtyme he wolde gaspe Whan he sawe a waspe; A fly, or a gnat, He wolde flye at that; And prytely he wold pant Whan he saw an ant; Lord, how he wolde pry After the butterfly! Lorde, how he wolde hop After the gressop! And whan I sayd, "Phyp, Phyp," Than he wold lepe and skyp, And take me by the lyp. Alas, it wyll me slo, That Phillyp is gone me fro! Si in i qui ta tes21 Alas, I was evyll at ease! De pro fun dis cla ma vi,22 When I sawe my sparowe dye! |
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Pla ce bo: Ps. II4: 9 (Vulgate), the opening antiphon of the Vespers of the Office for the Dead. Back. Di le xi: Ps II4: I (Vulgate), the opening psalm of the Vespers of the Office for the Dead. Back. Fa, re, my, my: the musical terminatio for the Placebo.Back. Pyramus and Thesbe: next-door neighbors and lovers whose parents were opposed. They spoke through cracks in the housewall agreeing to meet in the woods. There Pyramus, finding a bloody veil and thinking Thisbe slain, killed himself. Thisbe, seeing his body, killed herself. Back. Heu, heu, me: second antiphon of the Vespers, Ps. II9: 5. Back. Ad Dominum, cum tribularer, clamavi: second psalm of the Vespers, Ps. II9: I. Back. Acherontes: one of the rivers of Hades. Back. Pluto: Identical with Hades and Dis. Ruler of the infernal regions. Back. Alecto: Literally, she who rests not. One of the Furies. She was sent by Juno to stir up discord among the Trojans. Back. Medusa: One of the Gorgons. Once a beautiful maiden, a goddess punished her by changing her hair into serpents and herself into a frightful monster the sight of which turned all living things into stone. Back. Megeras edders: Megæra, one of the Furies. The Furies' heads were wreathed with serpents (edders=adders). Back. Proserpine: (Gr. Persephone) One of the greater goddesses; daughter of Ceres and wife of Pluto. Queen of the infernal regions. Back. Cerberus: watch dog at the entrance to Hades; generally represented with three heads, a mane of serpents' heads and a serpent's tail. Back. Theseus: The chief hero of Attica; tried to carry off Proserpine from Hades. Back. Hercules: a mighty Greek hero, son of Jupiter, who won immortality by accomplishing twelve feats known as the Labors of Hercules. One of the Labors was bringing Cerberus from the lower world. Back. Jupiter: Also called Jove and, in Greek Zeus. The supreme deity of classical antiquity. Back. Do mi nus: the third antiphon of the Vespers, Ps. I20: 5 and 7. Back. Levavi oculos meos in montes: the appropriate psalm, Ps. I20: I. Back. Zenophontes: i.e. Xenophon. Andomache, wife of Hector, son of Priam, the noblest chieftain of Troy. Hector was slain by Achilles who dragged the dead body thrice around the walls of Troy. Andromache would have thrown herself from the walls of Troy had she not fainted. Recovering, she bewailed her fate, the fate of Troy and of her son. Back. The fourth antiphon, Ps. I29: 3 Ps. I29: I | |
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Created by Anniina Jokinen on April 6, 1997. Last updated March 14, 2007.