This piece was written by an anonymous author and published in London by I. Wright in 1630. The poem begins like a fairy tale ending and tells the story of Constance of Cleveland, a lady who married a glamorous knight but then confronted the knowledge that her knight was sleeping with a harlot. After walking in on her husband and his mistress, Constance’s knight takes away all of the expensive jewelries he gave her and gives them to the harlot. As the harlot corrupts him further by leading him away from his wife, she murders a boy to steal his gold and lets the knight be accused. When the knight is imprisoned, his faithful Constance pleas with the King in order let her husband’s life be spared and as a result, the harlot is hanged.
When translating this poem, the spellings of some words were modernized while others were left as they were originally written depending on the ease with which the word was decipherable. In an attempt to keep the piece as closely written as the original, no words were changed beyond spelling. A few words were assumed or context clues were used to distinguish illegible or hidden words within the text, but when words were inserted, there was a great attempt to keep the meter and be as accurate as possible. Mostly what occurred when translating this poem were the replacements of u’s and v’s, s’s, and the long s’s that look like f’s. These spellings were altered in this translation because it was felt that keeping the original spellings took away from the reading and prevented readers from focusing on the story opposed to the writing.
This translation primarily used the Oxford English Dictionary as a primary source for definitions and translations. A second translation of this text was used for reference of the second page of the poem to determine the words cut off by the binding of the book. This source was located at the English Broadside Ballad Archive website:
http://ebba.english.ucsb.edu/search_combined/?ss=constance+of+cleveland.
Constance of Cleveland.[1]
A very excellent Sonnet of the most faire Lady Constance of Cleveland, and her disloyall Knight.
To the Tune of, Crimson Velvet.
1 It was a youthful Knight.
lov’d° a gallant Lady, loved
Fair she was and bright,
and of vertues° rare: virtues
Her self she did behave
so courteously as may be,
Wedded they were brave,
joy without compare.
Here began the grief,
10 Pain without relief,
her husband soon her love forsook°, abandoned
To women lewd° of mind vulgar
Being bad inclin’d, inclined
he onely° lent a pleasant look: singularly
The Lady she sat weeping,
While that he was keeping
company with others moe°, more
Her words my Love believe not,
Come to me and grieve not,
20 wantons will thee overthrow.
His fair Ladies Words
nothing he regarded,
Wantonness affords
such delightful sport:
While they dance and sing,
with great mirth° prepared, pleasure
She her hands did wring
in most grievous sort[1].
Oh what hap had I,[2]
unrespected° every day: disrespected
Living in disdain,
While that others gain
all the right I should enjoy?
I am left forsaken,
Others they are taken,
ah my Love why dost thou so?
Her flatteries believe not.
40 The Knight with his fair piece,
at length his Lady spied,
Who did him daily fleece[4]
of his wealth and store.
Secretly she stood,
while she her fashions tried,
With a patient mind,
while deep the Strumpet swore.
O sir Knight, quoth she, said
So dearly I love thee,
50 my life doth rest at thy dispose°, disposal
By day and eke° by night, between, also
For thy sweet delight,
thou shalt me in thy arms inclose°. enclose
I am thine alone for ever,
Still I will preserver
true to thee where ere° I go. ever
Her flatteries believe not,
The virtuous Lady mild
enters then among them,
as ever she might be,
With distilling tears
she looked then upon them,
Filled full of fears,
thus replyed° she: replied
Ah my Love and Dear,
Wherefore[6] stay you here,
refusing me your loving Wife,
For a Harlots[7] sake,
70 Which each one will take,
whose vile deeds provoke much strife° trouble
Many can accuse her,
O my love refuse her,
with thy Lady home returns:
Her flatteries believe not,
Come to me and grieve not,
All in a fury then
the angry Knight up started,
Very furious, when
80 he heard his Ladies speech:
With many bitter terms
his Wife he over thwarted°, defeated
Using hard extremes,
while she did him beseech°. search for
From her neck so white,
He took away in spight°, spite
her curious chain of finest gold,
Her Jewels and her Rings,
And all such costly things,
90 as he about her did behold,
The Harlot in her presence,
He did gentle reverence°, greetings
and to her he gave them all.
He sent away his Lady,
Full of woe° as may be, lamentation, despair
who in a swound° with grief did fall. fainting
The Second part, To the same tune.
At the Ladies wrong
the Harlot fleer’d[8] and laughed,
Enticements are so strong,
100 they over-come the wise:
The Knight nothing regarded,
to see the Lady scoffed[9],
Thus was she regarded,
for her enterprize°. enterprise
The Harlot all this space,
Did him oft imbrace°, embrace
she flatters him, and thus doth say,
For thee Ile° Die and live, I will
For thee my faith Ile give,
110 no woe shall work my Loves Decay.
Thou shalt be my treasure,
Thou shalt be my pleasure,
thou shalt be my hearts delight:
I will be thy darling,
I will be thy Worldling[10],
in despight° of fortunes spight°. despite / spite
Thus he did remain
Till it bred his pain,
120 and consum’d° him quite: consumed
When his Lands were spent,
troubled in his senses[13],
Then[14] did he repent
of his late lewd Delight:
For relief he hies[15],
For relief he flies,
to them on whom he spent his gold,
They do him deny,
They do him defie°, defy
130 they will not once his face behold,
Being thus distressed,
Being thus oppressed,
in the fields that night he lay,
Which the Harlot knowing,
Through her malice growing,
sought to take his life away.
A young and proper Lad,
they had slain in secret,
For the gold he had:
140 whom they did convey,
By a Ruffian° lewn°, violent criminal / clamored
to that place directly,
Where the youthful Knight
fast a sleeping lay:
The bloody dagger than,
Where with they kill’d the man,
hard by the Knight he likewise laid,
Sprinkling him with blood,
As he thought it good,
150 and then no longer there he staid.
The Knight being so abused,
Was forthwith accused
for this murder which was done,
And he was condemned,
That had not offended,
shameful death he might not shun.
When the Lady bright
understood the matter,
That her wedded Knight,
160 was condemn’d° to die, condemned
To the King she went
with all the speed that might be,
Where she did lament
her hard destiny:
Noble King, quoth° she, said
Pitty° take on me, pity
and pardon my poor husbands life,
Else I am undone,
With my little son,
170 let mercy mitigate this grief.
Lady fair content thee,
Soon thou woudst repent thee[16],
if he should be saved so:
Sore he hath abus’d thee,[17]
Sore he hath misus’d thee,[18]
therefore Lady let him go.
O my Liege, quoth° she, said
grant your gracious favor,
Dear he is to me,
180 though he did me wrong:
The King repli’d° again, replied
with a stern behavior°, strict temper
A Subject he hath slain,
die he shall ere° long, ever
Except thou canst find
Any one so kind,
that will die and set him free,
Noble King, she said,
Glad am I apaid[19],
190 that same person will I be.
I will suffer duly[20],
I will suffer truly[21],
for my Love and husbands sake.
The King therefroze[22] amazed,
Though he her Duty praised,
he had that thence he should her take.
It was the Kings command,
on the morrow after,
She should out of hand,
200 to the Scaffold go:
Her husband pointed was,
to bare the sword before her,
He must eke° alas, in addition
give the Deadly blow:
He refus’d° the Deed, refused
She bade him proceed[23],
with a thousand kisses sweet.
In this woeful case,
They did both imbrace°, embrace
210 which mov’d° the Ruffian in that place moved
Straight for to Discover
This concealed murder,
in whereby the Lady saved was,
The Harlot then was hanged,
As she well deserved
this did vertue° bring to pass. Virtue
FINIS.
Printed at London for I. Wright. 1630.
[1] Original text is illegible, but the UCSB Archive edition finishes this line with the word ‘sort’
[2] Oh what hap had I I.e. Oh what a chance I had
[3] Original text is illegible, but the UCSB Archive edition finishes this line with the word ‘cry’
[4] The act of spinning fleece represents clothing or working for
[5] Pregnant
[6] Wherefore: for what reason? OED.
[7] Most commonly referring to prostitutes, but also includes rogues, beggars, knaves, etc.
[8] Unknown meaning. Fleer’d appears once in Shakespeare’s “Love’s Labours Lost” possibly as a term for exclaiming
[9] scoffed: Spoken derisively, mocking, jeering.
[10] Worldling: one who is devoted to the interests and pleasures of the world. OED.
[11] Originally ‘wastful’
[12] Originally ‘excpences’
[13] Originally ‘sences’
[14] The original text cut off the first word of each line beginning in line 123 and ending with line 134. The words chosen for each line were influenced by the UCSB edition of the text.
[15] hies: a rising or an upwards motion. OED.
[16] Soon thou woudst repent thee I.e. Soon you will regret me
[17] Sore he hath abus’d thee I.e. painfully he has abused you
[18] Sore he hath misus’d thee I.e. painfully he has misused you
[19] apaid: satisfied, contented, or pleased. OED.
[20] originally spelled, ‘duely’
[21] originally spelled, ‘truely'
[22] therefroze: stunned or surprised, speechless.
[23] She bade him proceed I.e. she asked him to continue.
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