The Devonshire Manuscript/Ye know my herte my ladye dere

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The Devonshire Manuscript facsimile 73v

 f. [73v] 

1    Ye know my herte my ladye dere
2    that sins the{{th}+e+} tyme I was yo^r thrall
3    I have bene yo^rs bothe hole and clere
4    tho my rewarde hathe bene but small
5    so am I yet and more then all
6    And ye kno well how I haue ser{{s}8}ued
7    as yf ye prove it shall apere
8    howe well / how longe
9    how faithefulye
10    and soffred wrong
11    how patientlye
12    then sins that I have neuer{u'} swarfde /
13    let not my paines be ondeser{{s}8}ude

14    Ye kno also though ye saye naye
15    that you alone are my desire
16    and you alone yt is that{{th}+t+} maye
17    {_i}{_e} asswage my fervent flaming fire
18    Socco^r me then I you require /
19    Ye kno yt ware a Iust request
20    sins ye do cause my heat I saye
21    yf that{{th}+t+} I bourne
22    that{{th}+t+} ye will warme
23    and not to tourne
24    all to my harme
25    sending soch flame from{_o} frossen brest
26    againste nature for my vnreste

27    And I kno well how sco^rnefullye
28    ye have mistane my true entente
29    and hidreto how wrongfullye
30    I have founde cause for to repente /
31    but if yo^r herte doth not relente /¹
32    sins I do kno that this ye kno
33    ye shall fle me all wilfullye
34    for me and myne
35    and all I have
36    ye maye assine
37    to spill or save
38    whye are ye then so cruell foo
39    vnto yo^r owne that lovis you so.

fs

Notes & Glosses

     1. Unlike in stanzas one and two, the scribe does not follow the practice of leaving a space at this point in the stanza.

Commentary

Attributed to Sir Thomas Wyatt, this poem was entered by H8. This poem might have a connection to Anne Boleyn since line 34, “for me and mine,” was Boleyn’s motto. The poem “Grudge on who liste this ys my lott” (78v) contains an earlier motto of Boleyn’s from her time at the Burgundian court. “Am el mem” (67v) also indicates Anne Boleyn’s association with the manuscript and might suggest allegiances between various members of the manuscript’s coterie and those on the periphery.

H8 indicates a break between stanzas one and two after line 5 with a flourish, but he or she does not follow this practice in the rest of the poem. The scribe uses thirty-six graphical lines to record thirty-nine poetic lines, writing lines 21-22, 34-35, and 36-37 on one line each.

Textual Notes

Texts Collated

LEge48

Collation

1 Ye know my herte my ladye dere] LEge48
2 that sins the tyme I was yor thrall] LEge48
3 I have bene yors bothe hole and clere] LEge48
4 tho my rewarde hathe bene but small] LEge48
5 so am I yet and more then all] LEge48
6 And ye kno well how I haue serued] LEge48
7 as yf ye prove it shall apere] LEge48
8 howe well / how longe] LEge48
9 how faithefulye] LEge48
10 and soffred wrong] LEge48
11 how patientlye] LEge48
12 then sins that I have neuer swarfde /] LEge48
13 let not my paines be ondeserude] LEge48
14 Ye kno also though ye saye naye] LEge48
15 that you alone are my desire] LEge48
16 and you alone yt is that maye] LEge48
17 asswage my fervent flaming fire] LEge48
18 Soccor me then I you require /] LEge48
19 Ye kno yt ware a Iust request] LEge48
20 sins ye do cause my heat I saye] LEge48
21 yf that I bourne] LEge48
22 that ye will warme] LEge48
23 and not to tourne] LEge48
25 soch] suche LEge48 frossen] frosen LEge48
26 againste] against LEge48 nature] all right LEge48 vnreste] vnrest LEge48
27 kno] knowe LEge48 scornefullye] frowerdly LEge48
28 mistane] mystaken LEge48 entente] Intent LEge48
29 hidreto] hetherto LEge48 wrongfullye] wrongfully LEge48
30 repente /] repent LEge48
31 if yor herte doth not relente /] deth shall ryd me redely LEge48
32 sins I do kno that this ye kno] yf that your hert do not relent LEge48
33 ye shall fle me all wilfullye] and I knowe well all this ye knowe LEge48
34 for me] That I LEge48
36 maye] may LEge48 assure] assigne LEge48
38 whye] Why LEge48 foo] ffoo LEge48
39 yor] your LEge48 lovis] loveth LEge48 so.] so LEge48