Anonymous. XIII-XIV Century

1   Cuckoo Song

c. 1226

SUMER is icumen in,
   Lhude¹ sing cuccu!
Groweth sed, and bloweth med,
   And springeth the wude nu—
                              Sing cuccu!

Awe² bleteth after lomb,
   Lhouth³ after calve cu;
Bulluc sterteth,⁴ bucke verteth,
   Murie sing cuccu!

Cuccu, cuccu, well singes thu, cuccu:
   Ne swike⁵ thu naver nu;
Sing cuccu, nu, sing cuccu,
   Sing cuccu, sing cuccu, nu!

2   The Irish Dancer

c. 1300

ICH am of Irlaunde,
Ant of the holy londe
      Of Irlande.
Gode sire, pray ich the,
For of saynte charité,
Come ant daunce wyth me
      In Irlaunde.

3                      Alison

c. 1300

BYTUENE Mershe and Averil
   When spray biginneth to springe,
The lutel foul hath hire wyl
   On hyre lud¹ to synge:
Ich libbe² in love-longinge
For semlokest³ of alle thynge,
He⁴ may me blisse bringe,
   Ich am in hire baundoun⁵.
An hendy⁶ hap ichabbe y-hent,⁷
Ichot⁸ from hevene it is me sent,
From alle wymmen my love is lent
   And lyht⁹ on Alysoun.

On heu hire her¹⁰ is fayr ynoh,
   Hire browe broune, hire eye blake;
With lossum chere¹¹ he on me loh;¹²
   With middel smal and wel y-make;
Bote he¹³ me wolle to hire take
For to buen¹⁴ hire owen make,¹⁵
Long to lyven ichulle forsake
   And feye¹⁶ fallen adoun.
An hendy hap, etc.

Nihtes¹⁷ when I wende¹⁸ and wake,
   For-thi¹⁹ myn wonges waxeth won,²⁰
Levedi,²¹ al for thine sake
   Longinge is y-lent me on.²²
In world nis non so wyter²³ mon
That al hire bount é telle con;
Hire swyre²⁴ is whittore than the swon,
   And feyrest may²⁵ in toune.
An hendy hap, etc.

Ich am for wowyng al for-wake,²⁶
   Wery so water in wore;²⁷
Lest eny reve²⁸ me my make
   Ichabbe y-yerned yore.²⁹
Betere is tholien³⁰ whyle sore
Then mournen evermore.
Geynest under gore,³¹
   Herkne to my roun.³²
An hendy hap, etc.

4   Spring-tide

c. 1300

LENTEN ys come with love to toune,¹
With blosmen and with briddes roune,
   That al this blisse bryngeth;
Dayes-eyes in this dales,
Notes suete of nyhtegales,
   Uch foul song singeth;

The threstelcoc him threteth oo,²
Away is huere³ wynter wo,
   When woderove⁴ springeth;
Thise foules singeth ferly⁵ fele,
Ant wlyteth⁶ on huere wunne wele,
   That al the wode ryngeth.

The rose rayleth hire rode,⁷
The leves on the lyhte wode
   Waxen al with wille;
The mone mandeth hire bleo,⁸
The lilie is lossom to seo,⁹
   The fenyl and the fille;¹⁰
Wowes¹¹ thise wilde drakes,
Miles murgeth¹² huere makes¹³
   Ase strem that striketh¹⁴ stille.
Mody meneth;¹⁵ so doth mo¹⁶
(Ichot ych am on of tho¹⁷)
   For loue that likes ille.