Cap. XXXIII. How Graunde Amoure Dyscomfyted the Giaunte with Thre Hedes, and Was Received of Thre Fayre Ladies

Whan golden Phebus in the Capricorne Gan to ascend fast unto Aquary, And Janus Bifrus the crowne had wone With his frosty berd in January; Whan clere Diana joyned with Mercury, The cristall ayre and assured firmanent Were all depured without encumbrement.

Forth than I rode, at myne owne adventure, Over the mountaynes and the craggy roche; To beholde the countrees I had great pleasure, Where corall growed by right hye flackes; And the popyngayes in the tre toppes; Than as I rode I sawe me beforne Besyde a welle hange both a shelde and horne.

Whan I came there, adowne my stede I lyght, And the fayre bugle I right well behelde; Blasynge the armes as well as I myghte That was so graven upon the goodly shelde; Fyrst all of sylver dyd appere the felde, With a rampynge lyon of fyne golde so pure, And under the shelde there was this scrypture:

Yf ony knyght that is adventurous Of his great pride dare the bugle blowe, There is a gyaunte bothe fyerce and rygorous That wyth his might shall hym soune overthrowe. This is the waye as ye shall nowe knowe To La Belle Pucell, but withouten fayle The sturdy gyaunte wyll geve you batayle.

Whan I the scripture ones or twyes hadde redde, And knewe therof all the hole effecte, I blewe the horne without any drede, And toke good herte all fare to abjecte, Makynge me redy, for I dyde suspecte That the great gyaunte unto me wolde hast Whan he had herde me blowe so loude a blast.

I alyght anone upon my gentyll stede, Aboute the well then I rode to and fro, And thought ryght well upon the joyfull mede That I shoulde have after my payne and wo; And on my lady I dyd thynke also: Tyll at the last my varlet dyd me tell, Take hede, quod he, here is a fende of hell!

My greyhoundes leped and my stede did sterte, My spere I toke and did loke aboute; Wyth hardy courage I did arme me herte; At last I saw a sturdy giaunt stoute, Twelve fote of length to fere a great route, Thre hedes he had, and he armed was Both hedes and body all about with bras.

Upon his first head in his helmet crest There stode a fane of the silke so fyne, Where was wrytten, with letters of the best, My name is Falshed, I shall cause enclyne My neyghbours goods for to make them myne: Alway I get theyr lande or substaunce, With subtyll fraude, deceyte, or variaunce.

And whan a knyght with noble chyvalry Of La Bell Pucell should attayne the grace, Wyth my great falshed I werke so subtylly That in her herte he hath no place: Thus of his purpose I do let the cace. This is I my power and my condicion, Love to remove by great illusion.

And of the second head, in a silken tassell, There I saw wrytten: Ymaginacion; My crafty wytte is withouten fayle Love for to bring in perturbacion; Where La Bell Pucell wold have affeccion To Graund Amour, I shall a tale devyse To make her hate him and him to dispyse.

By my false wytte so muche imaginative The trouth full ofte I bring in disease; Whereas was peace I cause to be stryfe; I wyll suffer no man for to lyve in ease; For if by fortune he wyll be displease, I shall of him ymagin such a tale, That out of joy it shall turne into bale.

And on the thirde hede, in a stremer grene, There was written: My name is Perjury; In many a towne I am knowen as I wene, Where as I lyst I do great injury, And do forswere my selfe full wrongfully: Of all thinges I do hate conscience. But I love lucre with all diligence.

Betwene two lovers I do make debate; I will so swere, that they thinke I am true; For ever falshed with his owne estate To a lady cometh, and sayeth to eschew An inconvenience that ye do not rue; Your love is nought ymaginacion knoweth; I swere in lykewise and anon she troweth.

That we have sayd is of very trouth, Her love she casteth right clene out of minde; That with her love she is wonderly wroth; With fayned kindnes we do her so blynde, Than to her lover she is full unkinde. Thus our thre powers were joyned in one, In this mighty giaunt many dayes agone.

And whan that I had sene every thinge, My spere I charged that was very great, And to this giaunt so fyersly coming I toke my course, that I with him mette, Broking my spere upon his first helmet. And right anone adowne my stede I lyght, Drawing my swerde that was fayre and bryght,

Iclyped Clara Prudence, that was fayre and sure. At the giaunt I stroke with all my vyolence, But he my strokes might right well endure He was so great and huge of puysaunce; His glave he did agaynst me advaunce, Whiche was foure fote and more of cuttyng; And as he was his stroke dischargyng,

Because his stroke wys hevy to beare I lept asyde from hym full quickly, And to him I ran without any feare. Whan he had discharged agayne full lightly, He rored loude, and sware I should abye, But what for that? I stroke at him fast, And he at me, but I was not agast.

But as he faught he had a vauntage, He was right hye and I under him low; Tyll at the last, with lusty courage Upon the side I gave him such a blow That I right nere did him overthrow, But right anone he did his might enlarge, That upon me he did such a stroke discharge,

That unneth I might make resistaunce Agayng his power, for he was so stronge. I dyd defend me agaynst his vyolence, And thus the battayll dured right longe; Yet evermore I did thinke amonge Of La Belle Pucell, whom I shold attayne After my battayles, to release my payne.

And as I loked I saw than overale Fayre golden Phebus with his beames read, Than up my courage I began to hale, Which nigh before was agone and dead. My swerde so entred that the giaunt blede, And with my strokes I cut of anone One of his legges amiddes the thye bone.

Than to the ground he adowne did fall, And upon me he gan to loure and glum, Enforcing him so for to ryse withall, But that I shortly unto hem did cum, With his thre hedes he spytte all his venum, And I with my swerde, as fast a coude be, With all my force cut of his hedes thre.

Whan I had so obteyned the victory, Unto me than my verlet well sayd: You have demaunded well and worthely: My greyhoundes lepte and my stede than brayde, And than from ferre I saw, well arayed, To me come ryding thre ladyes swete; Forth than I rode and did wyth them mete.

The fyrst of them was called Veryte, And the second Good Operacion, The thirde and cleped Fydelyte: All they at ones wyth good opinion Did geve to me great laudacion, And me beseched with her hert entere Wyth them to rest and to make good chere.

I graunted them, and than backeward we rode The mighty giaunt to se and behold, Whose huge body was more than five carte lode, Which lay there bleding that was almost colde; They for his death did thanke me many a fold, For he to them was enmy mortall, Wherfore his thre hedes they toke in special.

And than Verite, on the first fane, Did sette aloft of Falshoed the hede, And Good Operacion in lykewise had tane Of Ymaginacion that full sore than bledde His hede alofte upon his baner rede. And in likewise Fydelite had served Perjuries hede, as he had well deserved.

And with swete songes and swete armony Before me they rode to their fayre castell; So forth I rode, with great joy and glory, Unto the place where these ladies did dwell, Sette on a rocke beside a spryng or a well, And fayre Observaunce, the goodly portres, Did us receyve with solempe gladnes.

Than to the chambre, that was very bryght, They did me lede for to take myne ease, After my trouble and my great sturdy fight; But thre woundes I had, causing my disease: My pane and wo they did sone appease, And heled my woundes with salves aromatyke, Telling me of a great giaunt lunatyke,

Whose name truely was called Variaunce, Whome I should mete after my departyng. These ladies unto me did great pleasaunce; And in meane while as we were talking For me my suppour was in ordeyning; Thus whan by Temperaunce it was prepared, And than to it we went and right well fared.

Tell me, quod Veritie, if you be content, What is your name so hye adventurous, And who that you into this cost hath sent? Madame, I sayd, I was so amarous Of La Belle Pucell so fayre and beauteous, La Graunde Amoure truely is my name, Which seke adventures to attayne the same.

A, ha! quod she, I thought as much before, That you were he, for your great hardines. La Bell Pucell must love you evermore, Which for her sake, in your hye nobles, Doth such actes by chyvalrous exces: Her gentyl hert may nothing deny To rewarde your mede with love full fervently.

Thus did we passe time in all maner of joye, I lacketh nothyng that might make me solace, But evermore, as noble Troyelus of Troy, Full ofte I thought on my fayre ladyes face, And her to se a muche longer space. When time was come, to rest I was brought, All to me longyng there lacked right nought.

What should I wade by perambulucion? My tyme is shorte and I have farre to sayle Unto the lande of my conclusion. The wynde is east, ryght slowe without fayle, To blowe my shyppe of diligent travayle To the last ende of my matter troublous, With waves enclosed so tempestuous.

Ryght in the morowe, when Aurora clere Her radiaunt beames began for to spreade, And splendent Phebus, in his golden spere, The cristalle ayr did make fayre and redde, Darke Dyane declining pale as any ledde, When the lytle byrdes swetely dyd syng Laudes to their maker early in the mornyng.