The Lyrics of Henry VIII/Iay pryse amours (Unattributed, Incipit)

[ff. 41^v-42^r]

Iay pryse amours

Textual Commentary

“Iay pryse amours” appears as an incipit in H in all three voices. The first two voices have a small illuminated capital that are single space in height (with the second seeing some erasure), while the third voice has been given a large initial block, spanning the space used by both the musical rule and the space below (as in most block capitals in the manuscript). Little room has been left among the musical notation for text. “Iay pryse amours” is listed in the manuscript’s table of contents as the thirty-second work.

“Iay pryse amours” appears also in B78.B.17 (f. 160^r; text only), BQ16 (ff. 138^v–139^r), Di517 (f. 2^r), FlP27 (f. 41^v), Li529 (f. 1^r, f. 5^r), LLa380 (f. 242^v), P2973 (ff. 23^v–24^r), P15123 (ff. 21^v–22^r), PBCan (ff. 89^v–90^r), PBJard (f. 71^v; text only), PBS07 (I #12, II #8), Pe431 (ff. 75^v–76^r), Ps1144 (61–5), RG27 (ff. 59^v–60^r), S/P (h8^v-h9^r; o1^v-o2^r), SAM (f. 118^v), W287 (ff. 37^v–38^r), WLab (h31^v–32^r), and elsewhere (see Fallows, Catalogue). Full texts appear in B78.B.17, LLa380, P2973, PBJard, S/P, W287, and Wlab. Incipits and partial texts appear in BQ16, Di517, FlP27, Li529, P15123, PBCan, PBS07, Pe431, Ps1144, and SAM.

The text of LLa380 is transcribed below:

Iay pris amours a ma deuyse,
Pour conquer Ioyeusete
Heureux seray en cest este
Se puis venir amon empirnse,

Sil est aucun qui men desprise                                      5
Il me doit estre pardonne,
Iay pris,

Il me semble que cest languise,
Qui na Riens Il est deboute
Et nest de personne honnore                                       10
Nesse point le droit quant gy vise,
Iay pris,

This piece is reprinted in Stevens (MCH8 31), Atlas (ed.), and elsewhere. It is indexed in Fallows (Catalogue 195–8), and others.