Come forthe maister / that loken vp so ferre
With instrumentis / of astronomy
To take the grees / & hight of eueri sterre
What mai a-vaile / al ȝowre astrologie
Sith [of] Adam / alle the genelegye
Made firste of god / to walke vp-on the grounde
Dethe dothe a-reste / thus seieth theologie
And al schal dye / for an appil rounde.
ferre: far
grees: degrees, sterre: star a-vaile: avail, ȝowre: your sith: since
seieth: says appil rounde: round apple(1)
The Astronomere answereth
For al my crafte / cunnynge or science
I can not fynde / no provisioun
Ne yn the sterres / serche owte no defence
Be domefyinge / nor calculacioun
Saue finyalli / in conclusioun
For to discryue / owre cunnynge euery dele
Ther is no more / be sentence of resoun
Who lyueth a-right / mote nedes dye wele.
Be domefyinge: By astrology(2)
discryue: describe
who lives right must die well
Dethe to the Burgeys
Sire Burgeys / what do ȝe lenger tarie
For al ȝowre aver / & ȝowre grete richesse
Thowgh ȝe be straunge / deynous & contrarie
To this daunce / ȝe mote ȝow nedes dresse
For ȝowre tresoure / plente & largesse
From other hit came / & shal vn-to straungeres
He is a fole / that yn soche besynesse
Wote not for hom / he stuffeth his garneres.
aver: possessions deynous: disdainful
mote: must
hit: it fole: fool, besynesse: business
doesn't know for whom he fills his storehouse
The Burgeys answereth
Certes to me / hit is grete displesauns
To leue al this / & mai hit not assure
Howses rentes / tresoure & substauns
Dethe al fordothe / suche is his nature
There-fore / wise is no creature
That sette [h]is herte / on gode that mote disseuere
The worlde hit lente / & he wille hit recure
And w[h]o moste hathe / [l]othest dieth euer.
fordothe: destroys
mote disseuere: must depart from recure: recover
Footnotes:
(1)(2)
All shall die for a round apple . . .: See the page about the original sin.
domefying . . .: Astrology - the art of dividing the heavens into 12 "houses" (Latin: domus).
Medieval dances of death
St. Paul's, London