The Devonshire Manuscript/now that ye be assemblled heer

←My mothers maides . when they dyd sow or spin || width="200" align="right" | Womans harte vnto no creweltye→ The Devonshire Manuscript facsimile 88r|thumb|389px f. [88r] 1    now that ye be assemblled heer2    all ye my ffrynds at my request3    specyally you my ffather Dere4    that off my blud ar the nerest5    thys vnto you ys my request6    that ye woll pacyenlly hyre7    by thys my last words exprest8    my testement Intyer9    and thynk nat to Interrupte me10    ffor syche wyse provyded hawe I11    that thoght ye welldyt woll nat be12    thys touer ys hy ye se ys strong and hye 13    [] and the dooris fast barred hawe I14    that no wyhght my purpose [ne] let shold15    for to be quen off all Italy16    nat on day lengere leve I wold17    wherffor swet father I I you pray Pray18    ber thys my deth with{w+t+} pacyence19    and tourment nat your herys gray20    but frely pardonn myn offence21    sythe yt presedeth off lowers ffervence22    and off my harts constancy23    let me nat ffrom the sweat presence24    off hym that I haw case yt to dy __NOTOC__ Commentary Written in Margaret Douglas's hand and possibly her own composition, this poem is a direct address -- and plea -- by Douglas to her uncle and ward, Henry VIII whom she addresses as “ffather Dere / that off my blud ar the nerest” (3-4). She most likely asks pardon for her relationship with Thomas Howard, which she considers a grievous "offence." Henry Howard, The Earl of Surrey, expressed a similar sentiment when he renounced all his affection for the Fair Geraldine: specifically, Surrey refers to Thomas Howard's fate as: "Sith that for love one of the race did end his life in woe, / In tow'r both strong and high, for his assured truth, / Wheras in tears he spent his breath, alas! the more the ruth. / This gentle beast so died, whom nothing could remove, / But willingly to seek his death, for loss of his true love." (ll.36-40).George Frederick Nott, ed. The Works of Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey, and of Sir Thomas Wyatt the Elder, 1815-16. Volume I. London: T. Bensley, 1815. 27. Similar to other transcriptions entered by Margaret Douglas in the manuscript, this page appears stained with quite a few inkblots. Margaret Douglas also emphasizes her entry through her lettering and crossouts. Works Cited