Poem by George Ashby

Complaint of a Prisoner in the Fleet 1463

1.
At the ende of somere, when wynter began,
	And trees, herbes, and flowres dyd fade,
Blosteryng and blowyng, the gret wyndes than
	Threw doune the frutes with whyche they were lade,
	Levyng theym sone bare of that whyche they hade,
Afore Myghelmas, that tyme of season,
I was commyttyd geynst ryght and reason,

2.
Into a pryson, whos name the Flete hight,
	By a gret commaundment of a lord
To whom I must obey for hys gret myght
	Though I cannat therto sadly acord;
	Yet I must hyt for a lesson record,
Theryn abydyng without help singlere
Sauf of God and Hys blessyd modyr there.

3.
But oth or other declaracion
	Coude at no season be herd ne takyn,
By no prayer ne exhortacion,
	But of all pité and grace forsakyn,
	Myne enemyes on me awakyn,
Takyng awey hors, money, and goodes,
Pullyng myn houses downe and gret woodes.

4.
Because of my draught and my bryngyng up
	I have suffryd thys and other spoylyng,
Nat levyng me worth a dyssh neyther cup
	Of as moche as myght com to theyre handlyng,
	Puttyng on me many fals lesyng
Whyche I must suffyr and bere on my ruge
Tyll the trouth discussyd hath God or the juge.

5.
George Asshby ys my name, that ys greved
	By emprysonment a hoole yere and more,
Knowyng no meane there to be releved,
	Whyche grevyth myn hert hevyly and sore,
	Takyng hyt for my chastysement and lore,
Besechyng God I may take my disease
In dew pacience oure lord God to please.

6.
Oon thyng among other greveth me sore,
	That myn old acqueintaunce disdeyned me
To vysyte – though I have doon to theym more
	Kyndnes – forgetyng me, and let me be,
	Ne yevyng me comfort, ne wold me se,
Ne the werkes of mercy remembryng,
Ne my kyndnes to theym before shewyng 

7.
The grettest peyne that I suffyr of all
	Ys that I am put to unpayable det,
Lykly to be therfore a wrechyd thrall
	For the enprisonment that I am in set
	Without Goddes grace, woll hyt sonner let!
Whereopon to God I clepe, call, and cry
To help me out of det or I dy.

8.
What may I do? To whom shall I compleyn
	Or shew my trouble or myne hevynes,
Beyng in pryson wrongfully, certeyn?
	But with dylygence and gret besynes
	I beseche God of Hys gret worthynes
Me to guyde and rewle to Hys most plesaunce
And of my wrong to have humble suffraunce.

9.
I gan remembre and revolve in mynde
	My bryngyng up from chyldhod hedyrto
In the hyghest court that I coude fynd
	With the kyng, quene, and theyre uncle also,
	The duk of Gloucetre, God hem rest do!
With whom I have be cherysshed ryght well
In all that was to me nedefull every dell,

10.
Wrytyng to theyre sygnet full fourty yere
	As well beyond the see as on thys syde,
Doyng my servyce as well there as here,
	Nat sparyng for to go ne for to ryde,
	Havyng pen and inke evyr at my syde,
As truly as I coude to theyre entent
Redy to acomplysshe theyre commandment.

11.
And in theyr servyce I spendyd all my youth,
	And now in pryson throwen in myn age
Havyng of me no pyté ne routh,
	Revylyng me with unfyttyng langage
	As thaugh I were neyther wytty ne sage
Whyche grevyd me sore and was gretly sad
To be in povert and of goodes bad

12.
That before was well in goodes and rest
	And no man was ayenst me dysplesyd,
And all my dayes was among the best.
	And so no creature me dyseasyd
	But at all tymes with me were pleasyd,
Thaugh Fortune lyst make me ryght sory,
Shewyng that thys welth ys transytory.

13.
Yef I had in youth suffred any payne
	By lake of goodes or takyng hardnes,
I myght the better from tene me refreyne
	And take my fall the better in swetnes.
	God for Hys hyghe grace and gret worthynes
Counseyll me in my trobyll for the best,
That I may leve hens in quyet and rest.

14.
Now me thynketh well, yef I had ben evyr
	n prosperyté and in worldly joy
And theryn to have abydyn levyr
	Then to have tastyd of thys peynfull noy –
	I cast me nat to be neyther styll ne coy,
But say as me thynketh in verray soth –
To have chaungyd my lyf I had be loth,

15.
And my wrechydnes nat to know evyn
	So well as by Goddes grace I shall,
And the best lyfe take and the wors levyn
	In consyderall that I am mortall,
	And so to obey Hym that ys eternall
And to chaung my lyf to God greable
Both in pacyence and in feyth stable.

16.
Knowyng in serteyn that my punysshyng
	Ys other whyle for my soule profytable,
For a soth in Goddes vengeance ceasyng
	Unto Goddes plesure ryght acceptable,
	By meke pacyence to vertu able,
Wherfore punysshment ys other whyle good
As well to low degré as to hygh blode.

17.
I thynke to wryte of trouble rehersall,
	How hyt may be takyn in pacyence,
Procedyng theryn for myn acquytall,
	Though I have no termes of eloquence
	With that I may conclude perfyte sentence,
Wherfore I counseyll aftyrwordes thyse
Every man to be lernyd on thys wyse:

18.
O thow creature, of nature ryght noght,
	Remembre thysylf, thy lyf, thy demert,
Yef thow to pryson or trouble be broght,
	Haply by gret wrong, and nat of desert, 
	Suffryng injury and ryght peynfull smert.
Kepe pacience and wyte hyt thyne offence
Nat for that sylf thyng but of just sentence. 

19.
Or peraventure thow mayst ryghtfully
	Come to trouble or tribulacion;
Yet I counseyll thee suffyr hyt wylfully,
	Without fenyng or simulacion,
	Nat thee exaltyng by elacion.
And thus pacience may thee well preserve
From gostly sorow, yef thow thys observe.

20.
And so, by proces of suffraunce long,
	Thow mayst atteyne to verrey knowlege
Of thy demeryt, and vengeance prolong
	By thy lamentyng and prayer mekeleche,
	And so at last comfort have trewleche
As well here as hense, by Goddes hyghe grace,
And peraventure within lytyll space.

21.
And as precyous gold ys thorough puryd
	By foull metall, led, and claryfyed,
Ryght so ys the sowle by trowbyll curyd
	And by humble prose hygh gloryfyed,
	As in the scrypture ys specyfyed.
So for soules helth hyt ys a gret grace
To have here trouble rather then solace.

22.
What ys trouble or trybulacyon,
	Vexed wrongfully, or worldly disease,
Lyvyng here without consolacion,
	But callyng of God hymself for to please?
	Wherfore hyt ys best, for thy soules ease,
Rather of trouble be mery and glad
Than therof be grogyng, hevy, and sad.

23.
Who may have more hevynes and sorow
	Then to be welthy and aftyr nedefull?
Furst to be ryche, aftyr redy to borow?
	Furst prosperous and aftyr carefull?
	Who ys more comfortable and joyfull?
Then take the world in pacyence and worth,
Suffryng hit to com and goo playnly forth.

24.
Set thee nevyr thy full wyll here
	In worldly joy and in felycyté,
For all dayes, thow mayst both see and here
	In all thy lyfe there ys contraryté:
	Yef thow be ryche, thow hast adversyté.
Yef thow have a feyre wyfe and gret plenté,
Moche sorow peraventure ys sent thee.

25.
Yef thow lak a wyfe, to thy freelté
	Ryght thoutfull thow art, carfull and pensyf.
Yef thow lyve aftyr censualyté,
	That ys acursyd and unthryfty lyf.
	Yef thow be weddyd without any stryf,
Thow lakkest chyldren to be thyne heyres,
Lesyng thy name in market and feyres.

26.
Yef thow have chyldren ryght plenteuously,
	Haply suche may be theyre governaunce
That they woll dysplese ryght grevously.
	Yef thow be set in holy observaunce,
	Peraventure thow hast no temperaunce.
Yef thow be set in temporalyté,
Thy lust ys in spyrytualyté.

27.
Yef thow be wele, haply thow lackest good.
	Yef thow have good, thow suffrest gret sekenes.
Thus welth ebbeth and floweth as the flood:
	Never welthy but som maner dystres,
	Nevyr so mery but som hevynes.
Oon thyng lakkyng aftyr thyne apetyte,
Nat all thynges beyng in plesaunt plite.

28.
Yef thow be forth at large out of pryson,
	Thow mayst have sorow ynowgh and gret wrong.
Yef thow be ryght welthy for the seson,
	Many pluckers – at thow mayst have and strong.
	Prosperyté here shall never endure long;
So evyr whyle thow art on erth lyvyng,
Som maner thyng lakketh to thy plesyng.

29.
Wenest thow to have here perfeccion
	Of worldly joy, comfort, and delyces?
Nay, bettyr ys sharp persecucion
	For thy synnes, offenses, and vyces,
	Kepyng pacience without malyces,
Puttyng thy wyll to Goddes volunté,
So thy spyryt may best in quyet be.

30.
Thynke that thy lyfe here ys but pilgremage
	Towardes the Hygh Place celestiall;
Wherfore for any trouble or damage
	Preve nat thysylf lewde and eke bestiall,
	Syth thow mayst be in Hevyn menyall
Servaunt thorough thy tryumphall victory
By mekenes and werkes merytory.

31.
Thow canst nat be so pryvé ne secret
	But God ys there present and knoweth all thyng;
Therfore be evyr wytty and dyscret,
	Nat for to do ne say Hym dysplesyng,
	But as thow woldest before Hym beyng. 
So by mekenes take all thyng for the best
What that God sendeth, trouble or unrest.

32.
Thynke that worldes welth and felycyté
	Ys nat evermore in oon abydyng,
But transitory ys prosperyté,
	And no certeynté whyle thow art lyvyng,
	But evyr as a whele turnyng and mevyng,
Knowyng for certayn that thow art mortall
And never in thys world verray rest have shall.

33.
Wytnes of oure Lord all-myghty Jhesu,
	Suffryng reproves and vexacion
Thowgh He were clennest in lyf and vertu,
	Yet no man suffred suche trybulacion;
	And all was for oure alther salvacion,
Yevyng us example for to take trouble
In worth, syth He hath suffred the double.

34.
What suffred Mary, the quene of Hevyn,
	Most pure, most clennyst, without any syn,
Claryfyed from the synnys sevyn?
	Ever to plese Jhesu she wold nat blyn,
	How be hyt that feare and tene she was in,
Mornyng, sorowyng, evyr in drede
To opteyne the love of Jhesu and hyr mede.

35.
What sey ye of Seynt John the Evangelist,
	Of many martyrs and eke confessours,
Of holy vyrgyns and Seynt John Baptist,
	That here in thys lyfe suffred many shours,
	Nat desyryng therof worldly succours,
Refusyng all worldly joy and plesaunce,
And all trowble for God take in sufferaunce?

36.
Of Job to suffyr take thow example,
	Whyche pacyently suffred hys gret smert.
Who had in thys world of losse more ample?
	Yet for Goddes sake he plesyd in hert
	With hys trowbelous hurt, put out in desert
As fowle, vyle, abhomynable, and wreche,
Takyng hyt in gre, and therof nold reche.

37.
And so to procede in the pacience
	Of seyntes and make therof rehersall,
That suffred trowbyll without resystence,
	They be infynyte to be wretyn all:
	Hyt suffyseth to touche the principall
To thy lernyng and informacion
To be of pacyent condicion.

38.
Ryght so kyng, quene, duke, prynce, and emperoures,
	Erle, baron, lord, knyght, and many squyers
Bysshop, abbot, pryour, and conquerours,
	And many gret estates and rewlours,
	Clerkes, marchauntes, and eke counseylours
Have be put in trouble and gret grevaunce
For theyre soules helth by humble sufferaunce.

39.
Was there ever lord so gret and so sure,
	Or any gret clerk lernyd in the law
That may nat fall in the snare and in the lure
	Of trouble, maugré hys hed and hys maw?
	Wherfore hyt may be a lawdabyll saw,
Every man worshyp God in hys season,
Accordyng to hys law, trouth, and reason.

40.
Every man may take example and hede
	By suche men of good disposicion,
And by lernyd men that can teche and rede,
	To conforme hym to lyk affeccion,
	To have of pacience perfeccion,
To take trouble in worth and in gre
As other men have do in liberté.

41.
In conclusion, of the verrey trouth,
	Every man other favoure and socoure
And of hys trouble have pyté and routh,
	And the blessyd men helpe and eke honoure,
	Doyng youre dylygence and peynfull laboure
The vertuous pepyll for to cherysshe,
Suffryng the wykkyd rather to perysshe.

42.
That all pacience, riches, and science
	Com oonly of God and noon othere 
Hyt may be provyd by experience,
	As oon ryche, another pore hys brothere:
	The ryche slepeth, the pore laboreth undere,
So that ryches cometh nat by labour
Oonly, but to hym that God lyst shew favour.

43.
And syth all thynges com of Jhesu
	And nothyng without Hym may avayle,
I beseche Hym, so full of vertu,
	To guyde me, rule me, and counsayle,
	That by pacience I may wyn batayle
Of my troubles and have the vyctory,
Thorough my symple werkes merytory.

44.
And with humylyté and soburnes,
	With fervent love and feythfull reverence,
I beseche Thee God, of Thy worthynes,
	Yeve me grace, comfort, and assistence,
	Good wyll, good werkes, good thought, and eloquence,
With love, charyté, and feyth, Thee to please,
That I may dwell in Hevyn at myn ease. Amen.

45.
Goo forth, lytyll boke, mekely, without rous,
	To folk troubelyd and vexed grevously,
Steryng theym by thy counseil vertuous
	To kepe pacience thereyn joyously,
	Redyng thys tretyse forth seryously,
By the whyche they shall fynde grace as I suppose
To comfortable entent and purpose.

46.
Besechyng all folk, though I am no clerk,
	For to undyrstand that I nat presume
To take opon me labour of thys werk
	For worldly glory and thank to assume,
	But vertu to encrese and lewdnes consume,
And namely to take trowble in suffraunce,
Paciently for deservyd penaunce.

47.
Also undyr protestacion
	That I wyll nat kepe presumptuosly
Any erroure or feynyd opinion,
	But me to theym conforme graciously
	That of hygh connyng have plenteuously,
Besechyng theym my defaut to correct
Yef any be, and nat to me hyt to arect.

48.
But my dylygence and good wyll to accept
	Into theyre favour, support, and goodnesse,
And in no maner me therof except,
	Though I have offendyd in my lewdnesse,
	Unadvised and nat of wylfulnesse,
Kepyng evermore vertuous entent
With discrecion that God hath me sent.

49.
Wretyn in pryson in oure Lordes date
	A thowsand, foure hundryd, syxty and thre,
Thus occupying me thys was my fate,
	Besechyng Thee, oure Lord God in Trynyté,
	To take my makyng in plesure and gre,
And therto have mannys benyvolence
To Thyne owne preysyng, laude, and reverence. Amen.

50.
Pryson propurly ys a sepulture
	Of lyvyng men with strong lokkes thereon,
Fortyfyed without any rupture,
	Of synners a gret castigacion,
	Of feythfull frendes a probacion,
Of fre liberté a sharp abstinence,
Lackyng volunté for theyre dew penaunce.

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