DIMEV 5289
IMEV 3354.5
NIMEV TP 1730
The fruitful sentence and the noble works
Stephen Hawes,
The Conuersion of Swerers — forty-six stanzas rhyme
royal (including
6776 and a concluding
envoy) and short-line emblem verses (‘See / Me / be kynde’).
Note: Cf.
6776; also
Church (1946)
XChurch, Margaret.
“The First English Pattern Poems.”
PMLA
6 (1946): 636-50
, 636-50;
Berdan (1920)
XBerdan, John M.
Early Tudor Poetry, 1485-1547.
New York: Macmillan, 1920
, 90.
Author(s): Stephen Hawes
Title(s):
The Conuersion of Swerers
Subjects: advice, to princes; envoys
Versification: —
seven-line —
ababbcc
Print Witnesses:
1.Source: STC 12943.
Hawes, Stephen,
The conuersyon of swerers, [London]: Enprynted at London, in
Fletestrete, at the sygne of the Sonne, by Wynken de Worde…, MCCCCCIX [1509]
First Lines:The fruytfull sentence & the noble werkes
To our doctryne wryten
in olde antyquyte…
Last Lines:…And be[se]che his grace to pardon thy rudenes
Whiche of late
was made to eschewe ydylnes
Editions:
Laing, David.
The Conversyon of Swerers: a Joyfull Medytacyon….
Abbotsford Club.
Edinburgh, 1865; anonymous.
Gluck, Florence, and Alice B. Morga.
The Minor Poems of Stephen Hawes.
EETS
o.s. 271 (1974): 73-84.
2.Source: STC 12943.5.
Hawes, Stephen,
The conuersyon of swerers, [London]: Enprynted at London, in
Fletestrete, at the sygne of the Sonne, by Wynken de Worde…, MCCCCCIX [1509] , sigs. a.ii-a.viii
First Lines:Amonge all thynges no thynge so prouffytable
As is science with the
sentencyous scrypture…
Last Lines:…And beseche hys grace to pardon thy rudnesse
Whych of late was
made to eschewe ydlenesse
Note: Huntington Library R.B. 61309.
Attributed Title: The conuersyon of swerers (sig. a.i); Thus endeth the conuersyon of swerers
made and compyled by Stephen Hawys groome of the chambre of our souerigne lorde
Kyng Henry the seuenth Enprynted at London in Fletestrete at the sygne of the
Sonne by Wynkyn de Worde, Prynter vnto the moost excellent prynses my lady the
kynges graundame the yere of our Lord a M CCCC IX the first yere of the reigne
of our souerayne lord lyng Henry the VIII (a.viii)
3.Source: STC 12944.
Hawes, Stephen,
The conuercyon of swerers, [Imprynted at London: In Fletestrete at
the sygne of saynt Iohan eua[n]gelyste, by me (J. Skot for) Iohan Butler, (1531?)] , sigs. a.i
v-b.iv
First Lines:THe frutefull sentence & the noble werkes
To our doctryne wryten
in olde antyquyte…
Last Lines:…And beseche his grace to pardon thy rudenes
Whiche of late was
made to eschewe ydelnes
Note: Huntington Library R.B. 61308, written in rhyme royal stanzas (not
eight-line stanzas).
Attributed Title: The Conuersyon of swerers (sig. a.i); Thus endeth the conuersyon of swerers
made & compyled by Stephen Hawys grome of þe chambre of our souerayne
lorde kynge Henry the seuenth Imprynted at London in Fletestrete at the sygne of
saynt Johan euangelyste by me Johan Butler
4.Source: STC 12944.5.
Hawes, Stephen,
The conuersyon of swerers, Inprynted at London: by Wyllyam Copland,
for Robert Toye, In the yere of our lorde. M.D.LI. [1551]