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The Three Dead Kings: Part 1

On a birch-clad bank, beneath bright boughs, I see a bristling boar brought to bay: Hounds harry it with hungry howls, Priming their hackles, hunting their prey, Never resting. I hear, and am roused by the sound. Besieged in the sallows, the boar faces the fray, The squealing and howling a meaningless row: Its night but a blink from the dawning of day. It has barely seen life But is writhing and dying, And the greenwood is rife With the hallooing strife: All that hooting and crying.

That hue and cry is harsh to the ear, As dogs in the greenwood bring him to ground. Barons bring bloodhounds, baying and fierce, And blow on their bugles, a barrage of sound, And truly I tell, three kings trotting near Are chatting of trifles, all armoured and crowned. Each rules his lands through riches and fear: They own every wood, and the regions all round. On the woods and the waste They are working their worst – But hear now, how fate Ignores men of state, And crass rulers are cursed.

Fifteenth century Middle English alliterative poem ‘De Tribus Regibus Mortuis’, attributed to John Audelay, translated by Giles Watson. Already in the first two stanzas of the poem, its didactic tone has been established. The boar’s life is over seemingly before it has started, just as the kings’ lives will be forfeit before their souls are ready for it. Whilst the poet clearly conveys the excitement of the hunt, it is clear that he thinks kings and barons ought to have better things to do with their time. The references to the three kings’ abuse of power may help to enhance the poem’s relevance to modern concerns. The picture shows a misericord depicting a boar-hunt, from St. Mary's Church, Beverley, and was taken by my great uncle, W.A. Watson.

A reading is available here:

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