And as I did awake of my sweving{1}, The ioyfull birdis merily did syng For myrth of Phebus tendir bem{e}s schene{2}; Swete war the vapouris, soft the morowing{3}, Halesum the vale, depaynt wyth flouris ying{4}; The air attemperit, sobir, and amene{5}; In quhite and rede was all the feld besene{6} Throu Naturis nobil fresch anamalyng{7}, In mirthfull May, of eviry moneth Quene. O reverend Chaucere, rose of rethoris{8} all, As in oure tong ane flour{9} imperiall, That raise{10} in Britane evir, quho redis rycht, Thou beris of makaris{11} the try{'u}mph riall; Thy fresch anamalit term{e}s celicall{12} This mater coud illumynit have full brycht; Was thou noucht of oure Inglisch all the lycht, Surmounting eviry tong terrestriall Als fer as Mayis morow dois mydnycht? O morall Gower, and Ludgate laureate, Your sugurit lippis and tongis aureate{13} Bene to oure eris cause of grete delyte; Your angel mouthis most mellifluate{14} Oure rude langage has clere illumynate, And faire our-gilt{15} oure speche, that imperf{'y}te Stude, or{16} your goldyn pennis schupe{17} to wryte; This ile before was bare, and desolate Of rethorike, or lusty{18} fresch endyte{19}. {Footnotes: 1: _dream_ 2: _bright_ 3: _morn_ 4: _young_ 5: _pleasant_ 6: _arrayed_ 7: _enamelling_ 8: _orators_ 9: _flower_ 10: _didst rise_ 11: _poets_ 12: _heavenly_ 13: _golden_ 14: _honeyed_ 15: _overgilt_ 16: _ere_ 17: _undertook_ 18: _pleasant_ 19: _composition_} CHAPTER VI THE SOUTHERN DIALECT We have seen that the earliest dialect to assume literary supremacy was the Northern, and that at a very early date, namely, in the seventh, eighth, and ninth centuries; but its early documents have nearly all perished. If, with the exception of one short fragment, any of C{ae}dmon's poems have survived, they only exist in Southern versions of a much later date.