William Dunbar: A Ballat of the Abbot of Tungland 

Pages	Line number	Line
56	1	As #ung Awrora with cristall haile 
	2	In orient schew hir visage paile,
	3	A swewyng swyth did me assaile
	4	Off sonis of Sathanis seid.
	5	Me thocht a Turk of Tartary 
	6	Come throw the boundis of Barbary
	7	And lay forloppin in Lumbardy
	8	Full lang in waithman weid.
	9	Fra baptising for to eschew,
	10	Thair a religious man he slew
	11	And cled him in his abeit new,
	12	For he cowth wryte and reid. 
	13	Quhen kend was his dissimvlance
	14	And all his cursit govirnance, 
	15	For feir he fled and come in France,
	16	With litill of Lumbard leid.
	17	To be a leiche he fenyt him thair,
	18	Quhilk mony a man micht rew evirmair,
	19	For he left nowthir seik nor sair
	20	Vnslane, or he hyne #eid.
	21	V ane organis he full clenely carvit.
	22	Quhen of his straik so mony starvit,
	23	Dreid he had gottin that he desarvit
	24	He fled away gud speid.
	25	In Scotland than the narrest way
	26	He come his cunnyng till assay.
57	27	To sum man thair it was no play,
	28	The preving of his sciens.
	29	In pottingry he wrocht grit pyne,
	30	He murdreist in to medecyne.
	31	The Iow was of grit engyne,
	32	And generit was of gyans.
	33	In leichecraft he was homecyd.
	34	He wald haif, for a nycht to byd,
	35	A haiknay and the hurt manis hyd,
	36	So meikle he was of myance.
	37	His yrnis was rude as ony rawchtir.
	38	Quhair he leit blude, it was no lawchtir.
	39	Full mony instrument for slawchtir
	40	Was in his gardevyance.
	41	He cowth gif cure for laxatyve,
	42	To gar a wicht hors want his lyve.
	43	Quha evir assay wald, man or wyve,
	44	Thair hippis #eid hiddy giddy.
	45	His practikis nevir war put to preif,
	46	Bot suddane deid or grit mischeif.
	47	He had pugatioun to mak a theif
	48	To dee withowt a widdy.
	49	Vnto no mes pressit this prelat,
	50	For sund of sacring bell nor skellat.
	51	As blaksmyth bruikit was his pallatt,
	52	For battering at the study.
	53	Thocht he come hame a new maid channoun,
	54	He had dispensit with matynnis channoun.
	55	On him come nowther stole nor fannoun,
	56	For smowking of the smydy.
	57	Me thocht seir fassonis he assailyeit 
	58	To mak the quintessance and fail#eit,
	59	And quhen he saw that nocht avail#eit
	60	A fedrem on he tuke,
58	61	And schupe in Turky for to fle.
	62	And quhen that he did mont on he,
	63	All fowill ferleit quhat he sowld be,
	64	That evir did on him like.
	65	Sum held he had bene Dedalus,
	66	Sum the Menatair marvelus,
	67	Sum Martis blaksmyth, Wlcanus,
	68	And sum Saturnus kuke.
	69	And evir the tuschettis at him tuggit,
	70	The rukis him rent, the ravynis him druggit,
	71	The hudit crawis his hair furth ruggit,
	72	The hevin he micht not bruke.
	73	The myttane and Sanct Martynis fowle
	74	Wend he had bene the hornit howle,
	75	Thay set avpone him with a #owle,
	76	And gaif him dynt for dynt.
	77	The golk, the gormaw and the gled
	78	Beft him with buffetis quhill he bled,
	79	The sparhalk to the spring him sped,
	80	Als fers as fyre of flynt.
	81	The tarsall gaif him tug for tug,
	82	A stanchell hang in ilka lug,
	83	The pyot furth his pennis did rug,
	84	The stork straik ay but stynt.
	85	The bissart, bissy but rebuik,
	86	Scho was so cleverus of hir clvik
	87	His bawis he micht not langer bruik
	88	Scho held thame at ane hint.
	89	Thik was the clud of kayis and crawis,
	90	Of marle#onis, mittanis and of mawis,
	91	That bikkrit at his berd with blawis,
	92	In battell him abowt.
	93	Thay nybbillit him with noyis and cry,
	94	The rerd of thame rais to the sky,
59	95	And evir he cryit on Fortoun, ‘Fy!’
	96	His lyfe was in to dowt.
	97	The ia him skrippit with a skryke
	98	And skornit him, as it was lyk.
	99	The egill strong at him did stryke
	100	And rawcht him mony a rowt.
	101	For feir vncunnandly he cawkit,
	102	Quhill all his pennis war drownd and drawkit.
	103	He maid a hundreth nolt all hawkit
	104	Beneth him with a spowt.
	105	He schewre his feddreme, that was schene,
	106	And slippit owt of it full clene,
	107	And in a myre vp to the ene
	108	Amang the glar did glyd.
	109	The fowlis all at the fedrem dang,
	110	As at a monster thame amang,
	111	Quhill all the pennis of it owtsprang
	112	In till the air full wyde.
	113	And he lay at the plunge evirmair,
	114	Sa lang as any ravin did rair.
	115	The crawis him socht with cryis of cair
	116	In every schaw besyde.
	117	Had he reveild bene to the rwikis,
	118	Thay had him revin all with thair clwikis.
	119	Thre dayis in dub amang the dukis
	120	He did with dirt him hyde.
	121	The air was dirkit with the fowlis,
	122	That come with #awmeris and with #owlis,
	123	With skryking, skrymming and with scowlis,
	124	To tak him in the tyde.
	125	I walknit with the noyis and schowte,
	126	So hiddowis beir was me abowte.
	127	Sensyne I curs that cankerit rowte,
	128	Quhair evir I go ir ryde.


