Than seyd thei all at a word, That cokwoldes schuld begynne the bord, 200 And sytt hyest in the halle. "Go we, lordyngs, all [and] same, And dance to make vs gle and game, Ffor cokwolds have no galle."
And after that sone anon, 205 The kyng causyd the cokwolds ychon To wesch withouten les; Ffor ought that euer may betyde, He sett them by hys awne syde, Vp at the hy[z]e dese. 210
The kyng hymselff a gurlond fette; Uppon hys hede he it sette, Ffor it myght be non other, And seyd, "Lordyngs, sykerly, We be all off a freyry; 215 I ame [z]our awne brother.
"Be Jhesu Cryst that is aboffe, That man aught me gode loffe That ley by my quene: I wer worthy hym to honour, 220 Both in castell and in towre, With rede, skerlet and grene.
"Ffor him he helpyd, when I was forth, To cher my wyfe and make her myrth; Ffor women louys wele pley; 225 And therfor, serys, have [z]e no dowte Bot many schall dance in the cokwoldes rowte, Both by nyght and dey.
"And therefor, lordyngs, take no care; Make we mery; for nothing spare; 230 All brether in one rowte." Than the cokwoldes wer full blythe, And thankyd God a hundred syth, Ffor soth withouten dowte.
Every cokwold seyd to other, 235 "Kyng Arthour is our awne brother, Therfor we may be blyth:" The erle off Glowsytur verament, Toke hys leve, and home he wente, And thankyd the kyng fele sythe. 240
Kyng Arthour lived at Karlyon[L241], With hys cokwolds euerychon, And made both gam and gle: * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *[L243]
A knyght ther was withouten les, That seruyd at the kyngs des, 245 Syr Corneus hyght he; He made this gest in hys gam, And named it after hys awne name, In herpyng or other gle.
And after, nobull kyng Arthour 250 Lyued and dyed with honour, As many hath don senne, Both cokwoldes and other mo: God gyff vs grace that we may go To heuyn! Amen, Amen.
This is one of the few ballads contained in the Percy MS., which we have the pleasure of possessing as it is there written. Having first submitted an improved copy, "with large conjectural supplements and corrections," Percy added this old fragment at the end of the volume: "literally and exactly printed, with all its defects, inaccuracies, and errata," in order, as he triumphantly remarks, "that such austere antiquaries as complain that the ancient copies have not been always rigidly adhered to, may see how unfit for publication many of the pieces would have been, if all the blunders, corruptions, and nonsense of illiterate reciters and transcribers had been superstitiously retained, without some attempt to correct and amend them."