An excerpt from Thomas Hoccleve’s poem The Regiment of Princes, a tribute to Chaucer

Original text:

Alas my worthy mayster honorable

Thys landes verray tresouur and rychesse

Deth by thy deth hath harme irreparable

Vnto vs don; hir vengeable duresse

Despoyled hath this land of the swetnesse

Of rethorik, for vnto Tullius

Was nere man so lyk amonges vs.

Also, who was hier in philosophy

To Aristotle in our tongue but thou?

The steppes of Virgile in poesie

Thow filwedist eek, men wot wel enow…

.

(Original text extracted from page 242 from Freeborn, Dennis. From Old English to Standard English. 3rd edition, New York, Palgrave MacMillan,2006)

.

Our Modern translation:

Alas my worthy and honorable master,

true treasure and wealth of this land,

Death has done irreparable harm

To us by your death; her vengeful hardness
Has despoiled this land of the sweetness

Of rhetoric, for since Tullius
There was no man like this among us.

Also, who was heir in philosophy
to Aristotle in our tongue but you?

The steps of Virgil in poetry

you followed too, it is known well enough...