# The Poems of William Dunbar/Volume 1/The Thrissill and the Rois

Scots poem composed by William Dunbar to mark the wedding, in August 1503, of King James IV of Scotland to Princess Margaret Tudor of England. It is written as an allegorical dream vision.
Layout 2
POEMS
BY
WILLIAM DUNBAR.
THE THRISSILL AND THE ROIS.
Quhen Merch wes with variand windis past, And Appryll had, with hir silver schouris, Tane leif at Nature with ane orient blast, And lusty May, that muddir is of flouris, Had maid the birdis to begyn thair houris 5 Amang the tendir odouris reid and quhyt, Quhois armony to heir it wes delyt:
In bed at morrow, sleiping as I lay, Me thocht Aurora, with hir cristall ene. In at the window lukit by the day, 10 And halsit me, with visage paill and grene; On quhois hand a lark sang fro the splene, Awalk, luvaris, out of your slomering, Sé how the lusty morrow dois up spring.
Me thocht fresche May befoir my bed up stude, 15 In weid depaynt of mony diverss hew, Sobir, benyng, and full of mansuetude, In brycht atteir of flouris forgit new, Hevinly of color, quhyt, reid, broun, and blew, Balmit in dew, and gilt with Phebus bemys; 20 Quhyll all the house illumynit of hir lemys. ​Slugird, scho said, awalk annone for schame, And in my honour sum thing thow go wryt; The lark hes done the mirry day proclame, To raise up luvaris with confort and delyt; 25 Yit nocht incressis thy curage to indyt, Quhois hairt sum tyme hes glaid and blisfull bene, Sangis to mak undir the levis grene.
Quhairto, quoth I, sall I up ryse at morrow, For in this May few birdis herd I sing; 30 Thai haif moir cause to weip and plane thair sorrow, Thy air it is nocht holsum nor benyng; Lord Eolus dois in thy sessone ring: So busteous are the blastis of his horne, Amang thy bewis to walk I haif forborne. 35
With that this Lady sobirly did smyle. And said, Upryse, and do thy observance; Thow did promyt, in Mayis lusty quhyle, For to discryve the Rois of most plesance. Go sé the birdis how thay sing and dance, 40 Illumynit oure with orient skyis brycht, Annamyllit richely with new asure lycht.
Quhen this wes said, departit scho, this Quene, And enterit in a lusty gairding gent; And than me thocht, full hestely besene, 45 In serk and mantill [eftir hir] I went In to this garth, most dulce and redolent, ​Off herb and flour, and tendir plantis sueit, And grene levis doing of dew doun fleit.
The purpour sone, with tendir bemys reid, 50 In orient bricht as angell did appeir, Throw goldin skyis putting up his heid, Quhois gilt tressis schone so wondir cleir, That all the world tuke confort, fer and neir, To luke upone his fresche and blisfull face, 55 Doing all sable fro the hevynnis chace.
And as the blisfull soune of cherarchy The fowlis song throw confort of the licht; The birdis did with oppin vocis cry, O luvaris so, away thow dully nycht, 60 And welcum day that confortis every wicht; Haill May, haill Flora, haill Aurora schene, Haill princes Nature, haill Venus luvis queue.
Dame Nature gaif ane inhibitioun thair To ferss Neptunus, and Eolus the bawld, 65 Nocht to perturb the wattir nor the air, And that no schouris [snell] nor blastis cawld Effray suld flouris nor fowlis on the fold: Scho bad eik Juno, goddes of the sky, That scho the hevin suld keip amene and dry. 70
Scho ordand eik that every bird and beist Befoir hir Hienes suld annone compeir, ​And every flour of vertew, most and leist, And every herb be seild fer and neir, As thay had wont in May, fro yeir to yeir, 75 To hir thair makar to mak obediens, Full law inclynnand with all dew reverens.
With that annone scho send the suiyft Ro To bring in beistis of all conditioun; The restles Suallow commandit scho also 80 To feche all foull of small and greit renown; And to gar flouris compeir of all fassoun, Full craftely conjurit scho the Yarrow, Quhilk did furth swirk als swift as ony arrow.
All present wer in twynkling of ane é, 85 Baith beist, and bird, and flour, befoir the Quene; And first the Lyone, gretast of degré, Was callit thair, and he, most fair to sene, With a full hardy contenance and kene, Befoir dame Nature come, and did inclyne, 90 With visage bawld, and corage leonyne.
This awfull beist full terrible wes of cheir, Persing of luke, and stout of countenance, Rycht strong of corpis, of fassoun fair, but feir, Lusty of schaip, lycht of deliverance, 95 Reid of his cullour, as is the ruby glance; On feild of gold he stude full mychtely, With flour-de-lycis sirculit lustely. ​This Lady liftit up his cluvis cleir, And leit him listly lene upone hir kné, 100 And crownit him with dyademe full deir, Off radyous stonis, most ryall for to sé; Saying, The King of Beistis mak I thé, And the cheif protector in woddis and schawis; Onto thy leigis go furth, and keip the lawis. 105
Exerce justice with mercy and conscience, And lat no small beist suffir skaith na scornis, Of greit beistis that bene of moir piscence; Do law elyk to aipis and unicornis, And lat no bowgle with his busteous hornis 110 The meik pluch-ox oppress, for all his pryd, Bot in the yok go peciable him besyd.
Quhen this was said, with noyis and soun of joy, All kynd of beistis in to thair degré, Atonis cryit, lawd, Vive le Roy, 115 And till his feit fell with humilité; And all thay maid him homege and fewté; And he did thame ressaif with princely laitis, Quhois noble yre is parcere prostratis.
Syne crownit scho the Egle King of Fowlis, 120 And as steill dertis scherpit scho his pennis, And bawd him be als just to awppis and owlis, As unto pacokkis, papingais, or crennis, And mak á law for wycht fowlis and for wrennis; ​And lat no fowll of ravyne do efferay, 125 Nor devoir birdis bot his awin pray.
Than callit scho all flouris that grew on feild, Discirnyng all thair fassionis and effeiris: Upone the awfull Thrissil scho beheld. And saw him kepit with a busche of speiris; 130 Considering him so able for the weiris, A radius croun of rubeis scho him gaif, And said, In feild go furth, and fend the laif:
And sen thow art a King, thow be discreit; Herb without vertew thow hald nocht of sic pryce As herb of vertew, and of odour sueit; And lat no nettill vyle, and full of vyce, Hir fallow to the gudly flour-de-lyce; Nor latt no wyld weid, full of churlicheness, Compair hir till the lilleis nobilness: 140
Nor hald non udir flour in sic denty As the fresche Rois, of cullour reid and quhyt: For gife thow dois, hurt is thyne honesty; Considdering that no flour is so perfyt, So full of vertew, plesans, and delyt, 145 So full of blisful angeilik bewty, Iraperiall birth, honour and dignité.
Than to the Rois scho turnit hir visage, And said, O lusty dochtir most benyng, ​Aboif the lilly, illustare of lynnage, 150 Fro the stok ryell rysing fresche and ying, Bot ony spot or macull doing spring: Come blowme of joy with jemis to be cround, For oure the laif thy bewty is renownd.
A coistly croun, with clarefeid stonis brycht, 15 This cumly Quene did on hir heid inclois Quhyll all the land illumynit of the licht; Quhairfoir me thocht the flouris did rejois, Crying, attonis, Haill be thow richest Rois! Haill hairbis Empryce, haill freschest Quene of Flouris, To thé be glory and honour at all houris.
Thane all the birdis song with voce on hicht, Quhois mirthfull soun wes mervelus to heir; The mavyis sang, Haill Rois most riche and richt, That dois up flureiss undir Phebus speir; 165 Haill plant of yowth, haill Princes dochtir deir, Haill blosome breking out of the blud royall, Quhois pretius vertew is imperiall:
The merle scho sang, Haill Rois of most delyt, Haill of all flouris quene and soverane: 170 The lark scho sang, Haill Rois both reid and quhyt, Most plesand flour, of michty cullouris twane: The nychtingaill sang, Haill Naturis suffragane, In bewty, nurtour, and every nobiluess, In riche array, renown, and gentilness. 175 ​The commoun voce up raise of birdis small, Apon this wyis, O blissit be the hour That thow wes chosin to be our principall; Welcome to be our Princés of honour, Our perle, our plesans, and our paramour, 180 Our peax, our play, our plane felicité; Chryst thé conserf frome all adversité.
Than all the birdis song with sic a schout. That I annone awoilk quhair that I lay, And with a braid I turnyt me about 185 To sé this court; bot all wer went away: Then up I lenyt, halflingis in affray, And thus I wret as ye haif hard to-sorrow. Off lusty May upone the nynt morrow.