Dame Sirith is one of the rare fabliaux in Middle English literature which have come down to us. The text was written c.1272-83 and is preserved MS. Digby 86. The short poem of 450 lines tells the story of Wilekin, the rich aristocratic clerk, Margery, the merchant's wife, and Dame Sirith, the match-maker. For a long time, the clerk has unsuccessfully tried to seduce Margery. One day, when her husband is absent, he asks Dame Sirith to help him. She makes her dog weep by giving him hot spices and takes it to Margery. The merchant's wife can be persuaded that the weeping dog is her daughter transformed by the clerk whose love she refused. There is only one remedy for the weeping dog/daughter: Margery has to yield herself to the clerk during her husband's absence.

The plot shows typical traits of the fabliau form: middle-class setting, stereotype characters, illicit love, trickery, broad humour and directness. The major part of the poem is presented as a dialogue which some scholars think to be an indication for a dramatic performance by one or more actors.

 

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Dame Sirith
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