John Skelton (ca. 1460-1529)
The Tunning of Elenor Rumming
2If that ye wyll
3A whyle be styll,
5That dwelt on a hyll:
7For she is somwhat sage
8And well worne in age;
9For her vysage
10It would aswage
11A mannes courage.
13Is nothynge clere,
14But ugly of chere,
15Droupy and drowsy,
16Scurvy and lowsy;
18Comely crynkled,
19Woundersly wrynkled,
20Lyke a rost pygges eare,
22Her lewde lyppes twayne,
23They slaver, men sayne,
24Lyke a ropy rayne,
26She is ugly fayre;
27Her nose somdele hoked,
29Never stoppynge,
30But ever droppynge;
31Her skynne lose and slacke,
32Grained lyke a sacke;
33With a croked backe.
36For they are blered;
37And she gray hered;
38Jawed lyke a jetty;
39A man would have pytty
40To se how she is gumbed,
41Fyngered and thumbed,
42Gently joynted,
43Gresed and annoynted
44Up to the knockles;
45The bones of her huckels
46Lyke as they were with buckels
47Togyther made fast:
48Her youth is farre past:
50Legged lyke a crane;
54And gray russet rocket,
55With symper the cocket.
56Her huke of Lyncole grene,
57It had ben hers, I wene,
58More then fourty yere;
59And so doth it apere,
60For the grene bare thredes
61Loke lyke sere wedes,
62Wyddered lyke hay,
63The woll worne away;
64And yet I dare saye
65She thynketh herselfe gaye
66Upon the holy daye,
67Whan she doth her aray,
68And gyrdeth in her gytes
69Stytched and pranked with pletes;
70Her kyrtel Brystow red,
71With clothes upon her hed
72That wey a sowe of led,
73Wrythen in wonder wyse,
74After the Sarasyns gyse
77Upon her brayne pan,
79Capped about:
80When she goeth out
81Herselfe for to shewe,
82She dryveth downe the dewe
83Wyth a payre of heles
84As brode as two wheles;
86With her blanket hose
87Over the falowe;
88Her shone smered wyth talowe,
89Gresed upon dyrt
90That baudeth her skyrt.
Primus passus
91And this comely dame,
92I understande, her name
93Is Elynour Rummynge,
94At home in her wonnynge;
95And as men say
100The devyll and she be syb.
101But to make up my tale,
102She breweth noppy ale,
103And maketh therof port sale
104To travellars, to tynkers,
105To sweters, to swynkers,
106And all good ale drynkers,
107That wyll nothynge spare,
108But drynke tyll they stare
109And brynge themselfe bare,
110With, "Now away the mare,
111And let us sley care,
112As wyse as an hare!"
113Come who so wyll
114To Elynour on the hyll,
115Wyth, "Fyll the cup, fyll,"
116And syt there by styll,
117Erly and late:
118Thyther cometh Kate,
119Cysly, and Sare,
120With theyr legges bare,
121And also theyr fete,
122Hardely, full unswete;
123Wyth theyr heles dagged,
124Theyr kyrtelles all to-jagged,
125Theyr smockes all to-ragged,
126Wyth titters and tatters,
127Brynge dysshes and platters,
128Wyth all theyr myght runnynge
129To Elynour Rummynge,
130To have of her tunnynge:
131She leneth them on the same.
132And thus begynneth the game.
...
Tertius passus
244Instede of coyne and monny,
245Some brynge her a conny,
246And some a pot with honny,
247Some a salt, and some a spone,
248Some theyr hose, some theyr shone;
249Some ran a good trot
250With a skellet or a pot;
251Some fyll theyr pot full
253An huswyfe of trust,
255Suche a webbe can spyn,
256Her thryft is full thyn.
257Some go streyght thyder,
258Be it slaty or slyder;
259They holde the hye waye,
260They care not what men say,
261Be that as be maye;
262Some, lothe to be espyde,
263Start in at the backe syde,
264Over the hedge and pale,
265And all for the good ale.
266Some renne tyll they swete,
267Brynge wyth them malte or whete,
268And dame Elynour entrete
269To byrle them of the best.
270Than cometh an other gest;
271She swered by the rode of rest,
272Her lyppes are so drye,
273Without drynke she must dye;
274Therefore fyll it by and by,
275And have here a pecke of ry.
276Anone cometh another,
277As drye as the other,
278And wyth her doth brynge
279Mele, salte, or other thynge,
280Her harvest gyrdle, her weddyng rynge,
282As cometh to her lot.
283Som bryngeth her husbandes hood,
284Because the ale is good;
285Another brought her his cap
286To offer to the ale-tap,
287Wyth flaxe and wyth towe;
288And some brought sowre dowe;
289Wyth, "Hey, and wyth, Howe,
290Syt we downe a-rowe,
291And drynke tyll we blowe,
292And pype tyrly tyrlowe!"
293Some layde to pledge
294Theyr hatchet and theyr wedge,
295Theyr hekell and theyr rele,
296Theyr rocke, theyr spynnyng whele;
297And some went so narrowe,
298They layde to pledge theyr wharrowe,
299Theyr rybskyn and theyr spyndell,
300Theyr nedell and theyr thymbell:
301Here was scant thryft
302Whan they made suche shyft
303Theyr thrust was so great,
304They asked never for mete,
305But drynke, styll drynke,
306"And let the cat wynke,
307Let us washe our gommes
308From the drye crommes!"
...
Septimus passus
...
607But some than sat ryght sad
608That nothynge had
609There of theyre awne,
610Neyther gelt nor pawne;
611Suche were there menny
612That had not a penny,
613But, whan they should walke,
614Were fayne wyth a chalke
615To score on the balke,
616Or score on the tayle:
617God gyve it yll hayle!
618For my fyngers ytche;
619I have wrytten to mytche
621Of Elynour Rummynge:
623Of this worthy fest!
624Quod Skelton, Laureat.
Notes
1] No early MSS. are known. The earliest printed copy seems to be in an incomplete collection of Skelton's poems printed for Thomas Lant, which has been dated 1547. The poem must have been written before 1523, for it is mentioned by Skelton in a list of his works in his poem The Garland of Laurell, printed in that year. The Tunnyngconsists of a prologue and seven passus or cantos in which are described with coarse vigour the keeper of an ale house and her customers.
I chyll. For ich wyll (Southern dialect).
4] gyll. Wench.
6] gryll. Harsh, bad-tempered.
12] lere. Face.
17] bowsy. Boozy.
21] here. Hair.
25] glayre. Viscidity.
28] camously croked. Flat and turned-up; snub. (French camus).
34] gowndy. Gummy.
35] unsowndy. Unsound.
40-41] To see what gums, fingers, and thumbs she has.
45] huckels. Hips.
49] Flat-footed.
51] jet. Strut.
52] jollyvet. Pretty young thing. Hughes' emendation of Dyce's reading, jolly fet, which has not been explained (Poems of Skelton, ed. Hughes).
53] flocket. Cloak.
54] rocket. Mantle.
55] With simper the cocket. Like a simpering coquette.
56] huke. Cape.
68] gytes. Dresses.
72] some of led. Mass of lead weighing about 300 pounds.
73] Wrythen. Twisted.
75] whym wham. Fantastic trifle.
76] trym tram. Trim ornament.
78] Egyptian. Gypsy.
85] gose. Goose.
90] baudeth. Soils.
94] wonnynge. Dwelling.
96] Sothray. Surrey.
97] stede. Place.
98] Lederhede. Leatherhead (20 miles from London).
99] tonnysh. Shaped like a tun or cask; or possibly drunken.
gyb. Cat.
100] syb. Related.
102] noppy. Nappy, foaming.
103] port sale. Public sale.
105] To sweaters, to toilers.
116] And sit beside it constantly.
122] Hardely. Certainly.
123] dagged. Be-mired.
124] to-jagged. The to is intensive.
131] leneth them on. Giveth them of.
245] conny. Cony, rabbit.
252] Lemster. Leominster.
254] athrust. Athirst.
258] Miry or slippery.
266] swete. Sweat.
269] byrle. Pour out.
270] gest. Guest.
271] rode of rest. Rood of rest, meaning the cross.
280] harvest gyrdle. Girdle used at the harvest feast.
281] scot. Fee.
288] sowre dowe. Sour dough for raising bread.
295] hekell. Hackle, flax-comb.
296] rocke. Distaff.
298] wharrowe. Part of a spindle.
299] rybskyn. Leather apron.
610] Neither money nor pledge.
614-16] They were glad to mark their indebtedness on a beam with chalk or cut it on a tally.
617] yll hayle. Bad luck.
619] mytche. Much.
620] mummynge. A disguising. Hence any boisterous revelry.
622] gest. Story.
624] Quod. Quoth.
Online text copyright © 2012, Ian Lancashire (the Department of English) and the University of Toronto.
Published by the Web Development Group, Information Technology Services, University of Toronto Libraries.
Original text: John Skelton, Certayne bokes ... by mayster Skelton (London: R. Lant for H. Tab, [1545?]). STC 22598
First publication date:
1547
RPO poem editor: N. J. Endicott
RP edition: 2RP.1.61; RPO 1996-2000.
Recent editing: 2:2002/3/20
Composition date:
1523
Form: couplets
Other poems by John Skelton
