Transcription of Poem on Map

Diplomatic Transcription

N EW Troy my name: when firſt my fame begun
By Trajon Brute: who then me placed here:
On fruitfull ſoyle, where pleaſant Thames doth run
Sith Lud my Lord, my King and Lover dear,
Encreaſt my bounds: and London (far that rings
Through Regions large) he called then my name
How famous ſince (I ſtately ſeat of Kings)
Have flouriſh’d aye: let others that proclaim.
And let me joy thus happy ſtill to ſee
This vertuous Peer my Soveraign King to be.

Modernized Text

New Troy1 my name, when first my fame begun,
By Trojan Brute,2 who then me placèd3 here,
On fruitful soil, where pleasant Thames doth run.
Sith4 Lud, my Lord, my King, and lover dear,
Increased my bounds, and London (far that5 rings
Through regions large) he called then my name.
How famous since, I (stately seat of kings)6
Have flourished aye,7 let others that proclaim.8
And let me joy thus happy still to see
This virtuous peer9 my soveraign king to be.

Notes

  1. It was common to think of London as a second Troy. (JJ)
  2. Early modern Londoners knew well the legend that Brute (or Brut), the great-grandson of Aeneas, founded London in the Trojan diaspora after the Trojan war. (JJ)
  3. The metre of the line demands that this word be pronounced with two syllables. (JJ)
  4. Archaic term meaning afterwards, subsequently (OED sith, adv.1.a.). (JJ)
  5. I.e., the sound of the word London. (JJ)
  6. London was and still is the traditional seat of the English monarch. (JJ)
  7. Archaic term meaning ever, always, continually (OED ay, adv.1.a.). (JJ)
  8. I.e., let others proclaim how famous London has been since Lud enlarged the city and changed its name to London. (JJ)
  9. James I. This reference in the poem is one of several pieces of evidence that the three extant copies of the Agas map date from 1603 or later. (JJ)

Cite this page

MLA citation

Anonymous. Transcription of Poem on the Agas Map. The Map of Early Modern London, Edition 7.0, edited by Janelle Jenstad, U of Victoria, 05 May 2022, mapoflondon.uvic.ca/edition/7.0/TRAN2.htm.

Chicago citation

Anonymous. Transcription of Poem on the Agas Map. The Map of Early Modern London, Edition 7.0. Ed. Janelle Jenstad. Victoria: University of Victoria. Accessed May 05, 2022. mapoflondon.uvic.ca/edition/7.0/TRAN2.htm.

APA citation

Anonymous. 2022. Transcription of Poem on the Agas Map. In J. Jenstad (Ed), The Map of Early Modern London (Edition 7.0). Victoria: University of Victoria. Retrieved from https://mapoflondon.uvic.ca/editions/7.0/TRAN2.htm.

RIS file (for RefMan, RefWorks, EndNote etc.)

Provider: University of Victoria
Database: The Map of Early Modern London
Content: text/plain; charset="utf-8"

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DA  - 2022/05/05
CY  - Victoria
PB  - University of Victoria
LA  - English
UR  - https://mapoflondon.uvic.ca/edition/7.0/TRAN2.htm
UR  - https://mapoflondon.uvic.ca/edition/7.0/xml/standalone/TRAN2.xml
ER  - 

TEI citation

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