The complete works of John Gower, volume 2 : $b The English works

Name: The complete works of John Gower, volume 2 : $b The English works
Author: Gower, John

Gower, John

Poetry

Of holy cherche in his defence.
  And Charles for the reverence
  Of god the cause hath undertake,
  And with his host the weie take[172]
  Over the Montz of Lombardie;
  Of Rome and al the tirandie
  With blodi swerd he overcom,
  And the Cite with strengthe nom;
  In such a wise and there he wroghte,
  That holy cherche ayein he broghte                                 760
  Into franchise, and doth restore
  The Popes lost, and yaf him more:
  And thus whan he his god hath served,
  He tok, as he wel hath deserved,[173]
  The Diademe and was coroned.
  Of Rome and thus was abandoned
  Thempire, which cam nevere ayein
  Into the hond of no Romein;[174]
  Bot a long time it stod so stille
  Under the Frensche kynges wille,                                   770
  Til that fortune hir whiel so ladde,
  That afterward Lombardz it hadde,
  Noght be the swerd, bot be soffrance
  Of him that tho was kyng of France,
                                                  [Sidenote: =P. i. 30=]
  Which Karle Calvus cleped was;
  And he resigneth in this cas
  Thempire of Rome unto Lowis
  His Cousin, which a Lombard is.
        [Sidenote: De seculo nouissimis iam temporibus ad
        similitudinem pedum in discordiam lapso et diuiso, quod
        post decessum ipsius Karoli, cum imperium Romanorum in
        manus Longobardorum peruenerat,[175] tempore Alberti et
        Berengarii incepit: nam ob eorum diuisionem contigit,
        vt Almanni imperatoriam adepti sunt maiestatem. In
        cuius solium quendam principem theotonicum Othonera
        nomine sublimari primitus constituerunt. Et ab illo
        regno incipiente diuisio per vniuersum orbem in posteros
        concreuit, vnde nos ad alterutrum diuisi huius seculi
        consummacionem iam vltimi expectamus.]
  And so hit laste into the yeer
  Of Albert and of Berenger;                                         780
  Bot thanne upon dissencioun
  Thei felle, and in divisioun
  Among hemself that were grete,
  So that thei loste the beyete
  Of worschipe and of worldes pes.
  Bot in proverbe natheles
  Men sein, ful selden is that welthe
  Can soffre his oghne astat in helthe;
  And that was on the Lombardz sene,
  Such comun strif was hem betwene                                   790
  Thurgh coveitise and thurgh Envie,
  That every man drowh his partie,
  Which myhte leden eny route,
  Withinne Burgh and ek withoute:
  The comun ryht hath no felawe,
  So that the governance of lawe
  Was lost, and for necessite,
  Of that thei stode in such degre
  Al only thurgh divisioun,
  Hem nedeth in conclusioun                                          800
  Of strange londes help beside.
    And thus for thei hemself divide
  And stonden out of reule unevene,
  Of Alemaine Princes sevene[176]
                                                  [Sidenote: =P. i. 31=]
  Thei chose in this condicioun,
  That upon here eleccioun
  Thempire of Rome scholde stonde.
  And thus thei lefte it out of honde

Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.

Opening the text

The complete works of John Gower, volume 2 : $b The English worksGower, John

General

The complete works of John Gower, volume 2 : $b The English works

Gower, John

Poetry

Of holy cherche in his defence.
  And Charles for the reverence
  Of god the cause hath undertake,
  And with his host the weie take[172]
  Over the Montz of Lombardie;
  Of Rome and al the tirandie
  With blodi swerd he overcom,
  And the Cite with strengthe nom;
  In such a wise and there he wroghte,
  That holy cherche ayein he broghte                                 760
  Into franchise, and doth restore
  The Popes lost, and yaf him more:
  And thus whan he his god hath served,
  He tok, as he wel hath deserved,[173]
  The Diademe and was coroned.
  Of Rome and thus was abandoned
  Thempire, which cam nevere ayein
  Into the hond of no Romein;[174]
  Bot a long time it stod so stille
  Under the Frensche kynges wille,                                   770
  Til that fortune hir whiel so ladde,
  That afterward Lombardz it hadde,
  Noght be the swerd, bot be soffrance
  Of him that tho was kyng of France,
                                                  [Sidenote: =P. i. 30=]
  Which Karle Calvus cleped was;
  And he resigneth in this cas
  Thempire of Rome unto Lowis
  His Cousin, which a Lombard is.
        [Sidenote: De seculo nouissimis iam temporibus ad
        similitudinem pedum in discordiam lapso et diuiso, quod
        post decessum ipsius Karoli, cum imperium Romanorum in
        manus Longobardorum peruenerat,[175] tempore Alberti et
        Berengarii incepit: nam ob eorum diuisionem contigit,
        vt Almanni imperatoriam adepti sunt maiestatem. In
        cuius solium quendam principem theotonicum Othonera
        nomine sublimari primitus constituerunt. Et ab illo
        regno incipiente diuisio per vniuersum orbem in posteros
        concreuit, vnde nos ad alterutrum diuisi huius seculi
        consummacionem iam vltimi expectamus.]
  And so hit laste into the yeer
  Of Albert and of Berenger;                                         780
  Bot thanne upon dissencioun
  Thei felle, and in divisioun
  Among hemself that were grete,
  So that thei loste the beyete
  Of worschipe and of worldes pes.
  Bot in proverbe natheles
  Men sein, ful selden is that welthe
  Can soffre his oghne astat in helthe;
  And that was on the Lombardz sene,
  Such comun strif was hem betwene                                   790
  Thurgh coveitise and thurgh Envie,
  That every man drowh his partie,
  Which myhte leden eny route,
  Withinne Burgh and ek withoute:
  The comun ryht hath no felawe,
  So that the governance of lawe
  Was lost, and for necessite,
  Of that thei stode in such degre
  Al only thurgh divisioun,
  Hem nedeth in conclusioun                                          800
  Of strange londes help beside.
    And thus for thei hemself divide
  And stonden out of reule unevene,
  Of Alemaine Princes sevene[176]
                                                  [Sidenote: =P. i. 31=]
  Thei chose in this condicioun,
  That upon here eleccioun
  Thempire of Rome scholde stonde.
  And thus thei lefte it out of honde

Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.

The complete works of John Gower, volume 2 : $b The English works

The complete works of John Gower, volume 2 : $b The English works

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