The Booke of Thenseygnementes and Techynge that the Knyght of the Towre made to his Doughters/Chapter 30
OF A YONG AMOROUSE LADY, AND OF AN ESQUYER.
SHALLE telle to yow an Ensample of a yong lady
whiche had sette her hert on the world. And vnto her repayred a squyer, whiche was joly and amourous on her. And she ne hated hym not. And more fore to haue ease and delyte for to speke and bourde to geder, she made her lord and husbond to bileue that she had
auowed to go a fylgremage. And her husbond, whiche was a
good man, suffred her by cause he wold not displease her. And
so it happed on a tyine that she and this squyer went a pylegremage
vnto a monastery of oure lady, and they were in grete plaisire on
the way for to speke to geder. For they entended wel other thynges
than to saye theyr matyns. And they had grete playsyre and
delyte on the wey; whereof it happed that when they were comen
in to the chirche and were in the myddel of the masse, the fowle
fende, whiche is alwey in a wayte tenflamme & tempte man and
woman, helde them so subget in this temptacion and fowle plaisire,
that they had theyr eyen and plesaunces more to beholde eche
other, and to make smale signes and tokenes of loue, than they
had in the dyuyne seruyse, or for to saye deuoutely theyr prayers.
And soo it happed by open myracle, that soo grete a maladye tooke
the said lady, that sodenly she swouned, and they knewe not
whether she was dede or a lyue. And so she was born thennes
in mennes armes in to the towne as a dede body. And her hus.
bonde and frendes were sente fore, whiche were moche sorowfull
of this aduenture. And they beheld hyr, and wist not whether she
wold dye or lyue. Thenne it happed that the lady, whiche was
in grete payne, sawe a merueylous aduysyon. For her semed that
she sawe her fader and moder, whiche had ben dede long to fore.
Her moder shewed to her her brest, sayeng, "Fayre doughter, loo, here thy noreture. Loue and honour thy husbond and lord, as thou dydest this brest that gaf the to sowke, sythe that the Chirche hath gyuen hym to the." And after her fader sayd to her, "Fair doughter, why hast thou more plesaunce and gretter loue to other than to thyn owne lord and husbond? Beholde this pytte that is beside the, and know thou for certayn, yf thou falle in this fire of euyll hete, that thou shalt abyde therin." And thenne she loked and sawe a pytte ful of fyre so nyghe to her, that almoost she had fallen therin. And she was thenne all effrayed. And after this her fader and moder shewed to her wel an honderd preestes reuested al in whyte, and the fader and moder said to her, "Fair doughter, we thanke the, by cause that thou hast reuested this folke here." And after that her semed that she sawe thymage of oure lady holdyng a Cote and a sherte, and sayd to her, "This Cote and this sherte kepe the fro fallyng in this pytte. Thou hast defowled my hows and mocked it." And in this effraye, she awoke, and gaf a grete syghe. And thenne had her lorde and her frendes grete ioye, and sawe well that she was not deed. And this lady felt her self al wery and feble of the aduysyon, & drede of the fyre, and of the flamme of the pytte in whiche she was almoost falle. And she demaunded to haue a preest. And anon was sette to her an hooly man, a relygyous whiche was a grete Clerke, and wayre the hayre and lyued an hooly lyf, and to hym she confessid her, and tolde to hym all her aduysyons and the grete drede that she had to falle in to the pyt. And there she tolde to hym all her synnes, & her yong wantoun lyf, and the holy man declared to her hir aduysyon, & said to her in this wyse,—