A

THE POETICAL WORKS

OF

JOHN SKELTON.

SPEKE, PARROT.1

THE BOKE COMPILED BY MAISTER SKELTON, POET LAUREAT,
CALLED SPEAKE, PARROT.

[Lectoribus auctor recipit3 opusculi hujus auxesim.
Crescet in immensum me vivo pagina præsens ;
Hinc mea dicetur Skeltonidis aurea fama.

Parot.]

My name is Parrot, a byrd of paradyse,
By nature deuysed of a wonderous1 kynde,
Dyentely dyeted with dyuers dylycate spyce,

Tyl Euphrates, that flode, dryueth me into Inde;
Where men of that countrey by fortune me fynd,

1 Speke, Parrot] From the ed. by Lant of Certayne bokes compyled by mayster Skelton, &c., n. d., collated with the same work ed. Kynge and Marche, n. d., and ed. Day, n. d.; with Marshe's ed. of Skelton's Workes, 1568; and with a MS. in the Harleian Collection, 2252. fol. 133, which has supplied much not given in the printed copies, and placed between brackets in the present edition. The marginal notes are found only in MS.

2 The boke, &c. ... Speake, Parrot] So Marshe's ed. Not in other eds. 3 recipit] MS. "recepit." The next two lines are given very inaccurately here in MS., but are repeated (with a slight variation) more correctly at the end of the poem. The Latin portions of the MS. are generally of ludicrous incorrectness, the transcriber evidently not having understood that language.

1 wonderous] So other eds. Lant's ed. "wonderuos."

5 Lucanus] See Phar. iii. 256. Consol. Phil. lib. v. met. 1.

VOL. II.

But the line here quoted is from Boethii

B

Lucanus. Ti

gris et Euphrates uno se fonte resolvunt.

And send me to greate ladyes1 of estate:
Then Parot must haue an almon or a date;

A cage curyously caruen, with syluer pyn,
Properly paynted, to be my couertowre;
A myrrour of glasse, that I may toote therin;

110

These maidens ful mekely with many a diuers 2 flowre
Freshly they dresse, and make swete my bowre,
With, Speke, Parrot, I pray you, full curtesly they say;
Parrot is a goodly byrd, a3 prety popagey:

4

With my becke bent, my lyttyl wanton eye,
My fedders freshe as is the emrawde grene,
About my neck a cyrculet lyke the ryche rubye,
My lyttyll leggys, my feet both fete and clene,
I am a mynyon to wayt vppon
My proper Parrot, my lyttyl prety foole;
With ladyes I lerne, and go with them to scole.

a 5

quene;

Hagh, ha, ha, Parrot, ye can laugh pretyly!
Parrot hath not dyned of al this long day:
Lyke your pus cate, Parrot can mute and cry
In Lattyn, in Ebrew, Araby, and Caldey;&
In Greke tong Parrot can bothe speke and say,
As Percyus, that poet, doth reporte of me,

Quis expedivit psittaco suum chaire?

1 to greate ladyes] MS. "to grece to lordes."

8

20

30

2 ful mekely with many a diuers] MS. "full meryly with many dyuors.”

3 a] MS." and a."

5 a] So MS. Eds. "the."

6 this] Ed. of Kynge and Marche, "thie."

4 my] MS." and my.”

7 your] MS. "ower."-In this line a friend would read "muie;" but MS. has "mewte."

8 Ebrew, Araby, and Caldey] MS. "Ebrue and in Caldee."

9 dicere] MS. (which alone has these marginal notes) "dictorem:" the

whole runs in Martial thus:

"Psittacus a vobis aliorum nomina discam :

Hoc didici per me dicere, Cæsar, ave."

xiv. 73.

Dowse French of Parryse Parrot can lerne,
Pronounsynge my purpose after my properte,
With, Perliez byen, Parrot, ou perlez rien;

With Douch, with Spanysh, my tong can agre;
In Englysh to God Parrot can supple,2
Cryst saue Kyng Henry3 the viii., our royall kyng,
The red rose in honour to florysh and sprynge!

Docibilem se pandit in omni idiomate.

Polichronitudo
Basileos.

Katerina universalis vitii

With Kateryne incomparable, our ryall quene also,
That pereles pomegarnet, Chryst saue her noble ruina, Græcum

grace!

Parrot, saves habler Castiliano,

With fidasso de cosso in Turkey and in Trace;

Vis consilii expers,7 as techith me Horace, Mole ruit sua, whose dictes ar8 pregnaunte, Souentez foys,9 Parrot, en souenaunte.

My lady maystres, 10 dame Philology,

Gaue me a gyfte in my nest whan I11 laye, To lerne all language, and it to spake aptely:

1 Dowse] Other eds. "Howse." MS. "Dowche."

4 ryall] Other eds. and MS. (with various spelling) "roial.”

est. Fidasso de cosso, i. habeto 40 fidem in temet

5 saves] So MS. Eds. "sauies:"—" habler" ought to be "hablar;" but throughout this work I have not altered the spelling of quotations in modern languages, because probably Skelton wrote them inaccurately.

6 fidasso de cosso] So MS. Eds. of Lant, and of Kynge and Marche, "sidasso de cosso." Eds. of Day, and of Marshe, “sidasso de costo." See notes.

7 expers] Not in MS.

8 dictes ar] Other eds. "dices at."

9 Souentez foys, &c.] This line found only in Lant's ed. and MS.

latter has "Souentem," (or " Sonentem,") &c.

10 maystres] Other eds. "maysters" and "maisters."

"I] MS. "he."

The

12 pronuntio] Probably not the right reading. The MS. seems to have either "po sio" or pō fio."

66

ipso. Auctoritate[m] inconsultam taxat hic. Lege Flaccum, et observa plantatum diabolum.

Sæpenumero hæc pensitans psittacus ego pronuntio.12