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  • Title: Friar Bacon and Friar Bungay (Quarto)
  • Editors: Christopher Hicklin, Christopher Matusiak

  • Copyright Queen's Men Editions. This text may be freely used for educational, non-profit purposes; for all other uses contact the Editor.
    Author: Robert Greene
    Editors: Christopher Hicklin, Christopher Matusiak
    Peer Reviewed

    Friar Bacon and Friar Bungay (Quarto)

    The honourable historie of Frier Bacon.
    And yesterday I brought for Margret,
    1105A lustie bottle of neat clarret wine,
    Thus can we feast and entertaine your grace.
    Edward. Tis cheere lord Lacie for an Emperour,
    If he respect the person and the place:
    Come let vs in, for I will all this night,
    1110Ride post vntill I come to Bacons cell.
    Exeunt.

    Enter Henrie, Emperour, Castile, Ellinor, Van-
    dermast, Bungay.

    Emperour. Trust me Plantagenet these Oxford schooles
    1115Are richly seated neere the riuer side:
    The mountaines full of fat and fallow deere,
    The batling pastures laid with kine and flocks,
    The towne gorgeous with high built colledges,
    And schollers seemely in their graue attire.
    1120Learned in searching principles of art,
    What is thy iudgement, Iaquis Vandermast.
    Vandermast. That lordly are the buildings of the towne,
    Spatious the romes and full of pleasant walkes:
    But for the doctors how that they be learned,
    1125It may be meanly, for ought I can heere.
    Bungay. I tell thee Germane, Haspurge holds none such,
    None red so deepe as Oxenford containes,
    There are within our accademicke state,
    Men that may lecture it in Germanie,
    1130To all the doctors of your Belgicke schools.
    Henrie. Stand to him Bungay, charme this Vandermast,
    And I will vse thee as a royall king.
    Vandermast. Wherein darest thou dispute with me.
    Bungay. In what a Doctor and a Frier can.
    1135Vandermast. Before rich Europes worthies put thou forth
    The doubtfull question vnto Vandermast.
    Bungay. Let it be this, whether the spirites of piromancie
    or
    E3