Tretis of the tua mariit wemen and the wedo

History

The poem dates to the late fifteenth or early sixteenth centuries and is written in the archaic form of alliterative verse rather than the rhyming verse more typical of Scots poetry of the time.

It survives in The Chepman and Myllar Prints of 1508, held in the National Library of Scotland and, as a fragment, in the Maitland Manuscripts, held in the Pepys Library. It is also now available online archive of medieval texts in an annotated version (see External Links below).

The poem describes an unnamed narrator's overhearing of a discussion between three women in a garden. The women speak frankly and at length of marriage and their experiences with their husbands. The discussion of sexuality is often in language which is earthy and uninhibited.

The work ends with the narrator asking the reader,

Quhilk wald ye waill to your wif, gif ye suld wed one?

or, in English,

Which would you choose for your wife, if you were to marry one?

Synopsis

The Introduction

The narrator is walking alone in the country on a Midsummer night admiring the beauty of nature,

Apon the Midsummer evin, mirriest of nichtis,

I muvit furth allane in meid as midnicht wes past,

Besyd ane gudlie grein garth, full of gay flouris,

Hegeit of ane huge hicht with hawthorne treis,

Quhairon ane bird on ane bransche so birst out hir notis,

That never ane blythfullar bird was on the beuche hard.

In a hedged garden he notices three women,

I saw thre gay ladeis sit in ane grein arbeir,

All grathit into garlandis of fresche gudlie flouris.

So glitterit as the gold wer thair glorius gilt tressis,

Quhill all the gressis did gleme of the glaid hewis,

Kemmit war thair cleir hair and curiouslie sched,

Attour thair schulderis doun schyre schyning full bricht,

With curches cassin thair abone of kirsp cleir and thin.

He eavesdrops on their conversation, hoping for amusement.

One of the women, a widow, asks her two younger, married companions about their opinion of marriage,

The First Wife's speech

The first wife responds by telling the others about her unhappy marriage to an older, unattractive man.

I have ane wallidrag, ane worme, ane auld wobat carle,

A waistit wolroun, na worth bot wourdis to clatter,

Ane bumbart, ane dron bee, and bag full of flewme,

Ane skabbit skarth, ane scorpioun, ane scutarde behind,

To see him scart his awin skyn grit scunner I think,

Quhen kissis me that carybald, than kyndillis all my sorow.

She adds that while he is a poor lover, he is also wealthy and generous.

And thoght his pené purly me payis in bed,

His purse pays richely in recompense efter,

For, or he clym on my corse, that carybald forlane,

I have conditioun of a curche of kersp allther fynest,

A goun of engranyt claith, right gaily furrit,

A ring with a ryall stane, or other riche jowell.

The Second Wife's speech

The second wife speaks next and tells the others that her husband is young but also lacking as a lover due to a lecherous past.

He is a young man ryght yaip, bot nought in youthis flouris,

For he is fadit full far and feblit of strenth.

He wes as flurising fresche within this few yeris,

Bot he is falyeid full far and fulyeid in labour,

He has bene lychour so lang quhill lost is his natur,

His lume is waxit larbar and lyis into swonne.

He is vain and boasting.

He has a luke without lust and lif without curage,

He has a borme without force and fessous but vertu,

And fair wordis but effect, all fruster of dedis.

She adds that she would like a new lover,

Ye speik of berdis on bewch, of blise may thai sing,

That, on Sanct Valentynis day, ar vacandis ilk yer,

Hed I that plesand prevelege to part quhen me likit,

To change, and ay to cheise agane, than, chastité, adew!,

Than suld I haif a fresch feir to fang in myn armes,

The Widow's Speech

The widow speaks next. She begins by advising her friends to emulate her behaviour of adopting a gentle persona while remaining secretly ruthless.

I schaw yow, sisteris in schrift, I wes a schrew evir,

Bot I wes schene in my schrowd, and schew me innocent,

And thought I dour wes and dane, dispitous, and bald,

I wes dissymblit suttelly in a sanctis liknes,

I semyt sober, and sueit, and sempill without fraud,

Bot I couth sexty dissaif that suttilar wer haldin.

She summarises this approach as,

Be dragonis baith and dowis, ay in double forme,

And quhen it nedis yow, onone, note baith ther strenthis,

Be amyable with humble face, as angellis apperand,

And with a terrebill tail be stangand as edderis.

She reveals that she has been married twice. Her first husband, like that of the first wife, was an older man.

ane hair hogeart, that hostit out flewme,

I hatit him like a hund, thought I it hid prevé.

She meanwhile had a younger lover,

I had a lufsummar leid my lust for to slokyn,

The Conclusion

The discussion ends with the married women acclaiming the widow as a good example for them:

Quhen endit had her ornat speche, this eloquent wedow,

Lowd thai lewch all the laif, and loffit hir mekle,

And said thai suld exampill tak of her soverane teching,

And wirk efter hir wordis, that woman wes so prudent.

The narrator departs for his home and ends the poem with the question,

Of thir thre wantoun wiffis, that I haif writtin heir,

Quhilk wald ye waill to your wif, gif ye suld wed one?