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EDITED FROM MSS. IN THE BRITISH MUSEUM AND BODLEIAN LIBRARIES; WITH INTRODUCTION, TRANSLATIONS, AND GLOSSARIAL INDEX, BY RICHARD MORRIS, LL.D., Editor of Hampole's 'Pricke of Conscience,' 'The Ayenbite of Inwyt,' 'Early English Homilies,' etc. etc.; Member of the Council of the Philological and Early English Text Societies.
LONDON: PUBLISHED FOR THE EARLY ENGLISH TEXT SOCIETY, BY N. TRÜBNER & CO., 60, PATERNOSTER ROW. MDCCCLXXI.
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OXFORD: BY T. COMBE, M.A., E. B. GARDNER, AND E. PICKARD HALL, PRINTERS TO THE UNIVERSITY.
THe holy Crosse was founden two hondred yere after the resurrexcion of our lord· It is redde in the gospell of nychodemus/that whan Adam wexed seek: Seth his sone wente to the yate of paradyse terrestre for to gete the oyle of mercy for to enoynte wyth alle his faders body: Thenne ap|pyered to hym saint mychell thaungell and said to hym/traueyle not the in vayne/for this oyle. for thou mayst not haue it tyll fiue thousand and fyue hondred yere ben passed/how be it that fro Adam vnto the passyon of our lord were but fyue M and e water of that pyscyne had not this vertue onely of the aungel: but of the tree / Wyth this tree wherof þe crosse was made there was a tree that wente ouerthwarte· on whyche the armes of our lord weree sokette or morteys was maade that the body of the crosse stood in: Soo that there were foure manere of trees That is of palme of cypres / of cedre and of olyue / Soo eche of thyse foure pyeces was of one of these trees: This blyssyd crosse was put in the erthe and hid by the space of an C yere and more· But the moder of themperour whiche was named helayne founde it in this manere / For constantyn came wyth a grete multytude of barbaryns nyghe vnto the ryuer of the
e thirde daye and his discyples seeyng he ascended in to heuen / Thenne by cause that stephen thy broder bylyued in hym the Iewes stoned hym to deth / Thenne whan Iudas had sayde thyse wordes to hys felawes / they answerd we neuer herde of suche thynges· Neuerthelesse kepe the wel yf the quene demaunde the therof· þat thou saye nothyng to hyr / whan þe quene had called them / and demaunded theym the place where our lord Ihesu cryst had be crucefyed / they wold neuer telle ne ensygne hyr: Thenne commaunded she to brenne them alle / but thenne they doubted and e temple / Thenne Iudas made hym redy and began to dygge / And whan he came to xx paas depe / he founde thre crosses and brought them to the quene / And by cause he knewe not whiche was the crosse of our lord he leyed them in the mydle of þe cyté: and abode the demonstraunce of god: and aboute the houre of none / there was the corps of a yonge man brought to be bue byere and layed vpon it one of the crosses / and after the second. and whan he layed on it the thyrde / anone the body that was deed came agayn to lyf / Thenne cryed the deuyll in the eyre. Iudas what hast thou don: thou hast doon the contrarye that thother Iudas dyd / For by hym I haue wonne many sowles / and by the I shall lose many by hym I reyned on the people / and by the I haue loste my royame / Neuerthelesse I shall yelde to the this bountee For I shal sende one that shal punysshe the / and that was accomplysshed by Iulyan the appostata: whiche tour|mentyd hym afterwardafterwrad.e bysshop quyryache that he sholde go to the place and seeke the nayles / Thenne he dyde dygge in therthe so long that he founde them shynyng as golde. thenne bare he them to the quene / and anone as she sawe them she worshypped them wyth grete reuerence· Thenne gaf saint helayn a parte of the crosse to her sone: And that other parte she lefte in Iherusalem closyd in gold: syluer· and precyous stones / And hyr sone bare the nayles to the emperour: And the Emperour dyde doo sette them in hys brydel [and] in his helme whan he wente to batayle: This reherceth Eusebe whiche was bisshop of Cezar / how be it that other saye otherwyse: Now it happed that Iulyan the appostata dyde doo slee quyryache þat was bysshop of Iherusalem: by cause he had founden the crosse / For he
The vertu of the crosse is declared to vs by many myracles / For it happed on a tyme that one enchauntour hadde dysceiued a notarye: and broughte hym e grete multytude of deuylles vanyshed awaye /
¶ It happed that this notari after this on a tyme entred wyth his lorde in to the chirche of saint sophye / and kneled downe on his knees tofore thimage of the crucifyxe: the whiche cruci|fyxe as it semed loked moche openly and sharply vpon him· Thenne his lorde made him to goo aparte on a nother side: and alway the crucifyxe torned his eyen towarde hym. Thenne he made him goo on the lefte syde / and yet the crucifyxe loked on hym Thenne was the lorde moche amerueylled / and charged hym and commaunded him that he sholde telle him wherof he had soo deserued that the crucifixe soo behelde and loked on him / Thenne sayd the notarye that he cowde not remembre hym of noo good thynge that he had done / sauf that on a tyme he wolde not renye ne forsake the crucifyxe tofore the deuyll / Thenne lete vs so blysse vs wyth the sygne of the blessid crosse that we may therby be kepte fro the power of our goostly and dedely enmye the deuyll / And by the merites of the gloryous passion that our sauyoure
e holy crosse and fayth were gretly enhaunced / and it is to be vnderstonde that tofore the passion of our lorde Ihesu crist. þe tree of the crosse waswan.e crosses were made of vile trees: and of trees without fruyt: for all that was planted on the mount of caluarie bare no frute It was a fowl place / for it was the place of þe torment of theuis: It was derk for it was in a derke place and wythout bewté / It was the tree of deth / for men weren e woundes shall be more shinyng than the raies of the sonne at the iugement: his deth is conuerted in to perdurabilyté of lyf / wherof it is sayd in the preface: that frowhens þat the deth grew / frothens the lyf resourded / and
And thenne he wolde be worshypped of al the peple as a god. And dyde doo make a tour of golde and syluer / wherein precyous stones shone· And made there in the ymages of the sonne. and of the mone: and of the sterres And made that by subtyll conduytes water to be hydde. And to come downe in maner of Rayne.
And atte the laste stage. he made horses to drawe charyottes rounde e sone / and a cocke on his lyfte side in stede of the holy goost / and commaunded that he sholde be called fader / And thenne heracle the emperour assembled a grete oost / and came for to fyghte wyth the sone of cosdroe by the ryuer of danubye / And thenne it pleysed to eyther prynce: that eche of theym sholde fyghte one agaynst that other vpon the brydge / and he that sholde be vaynquysh and ouercome: his aduersarye sholde be prynce of thempyre wythout hurtyng eyther of bothe oostes / and soo it was ordeinyd and sworn· And who someuer sholde helpe his prynce. sholde haue forthwyth his legges and armes cut of: and to be plonged. and cast in to the ryuer: And thenne heracle commaunded him all to god / and to the
e bataylle / For he was adoured and worshyped of all the peple as a god / soo that no man durst not saye nay to him And thenne heracle came to him / and fonde him sittyng in his siege of golde / And sayd to hym / For as moche as after the manere thou hast honoured the tree of the crosse / Yf thou wylt receyue baptim / and the fayth of Ihesu cryste / I shall gete it to the crone.trure.the signe of.
And tooktoook.
And anone the hardenesse of the stones felte the celestyall commaundement / andand And.here.e pytte / And there drewe out that hooly ymage· And yet is sene on this daye the wounde in the throte of thymage / And anon the Iewe bycame a good crysten man and was baptysed. In syrye in the Cyté of baruth
hadde.
And thenne all the Iewes halowed theyr synagogues in to the chyrches and therof cometh the custome that Chyrches ben halowed: For to-fore that tyme the aultres were but halowed only / and for this myracle the chyrche hath ordeyned / that the fyfte kalendas of decembre / Or asat in orig.e ryght grete vertu of the crosse vnto the paynems and to the mysbyleued men in all thynges / And saint gregory recordeth in the thyrde booke of his dyalogues: that whan andrewe bisshop of the Cyté of fundane suffred an hooly nonne to dwelledwedlle in orig.e crosse: thenne at mydnight whan he awoke / he sawe a companye of euyll spyrytes: whiche wente to-fore one Lyke as he hadde somme auctoryté of puyssaunce aboue thother by subiection / and thenne he sawe hym sytte in the middes a-monge the other: and began to enquyre the causes and dedes of eueryche of thyse euylle spyrytes: whiche obeyed hym / and he wold knowe what euylle eueryche hadde do / But gregory passyth the maner of this vysyon / By cause of shortnes· But we fynde semblable
e lyf of faders / That as a man entryd in a Temple of thydollis / he sawe the deuill syttyng / and all his meyny aboute hym And one of thyse wycke spyrytes came and odoured hym / and he demaunded of hym / Fro whens comest thou and he sayde / I haue ben in suche a prouynce / and haue moeued grete warres: and made many trybulacyons and haue shedde moche blood· and am comecame in orig.e husbond: and am come to telle the / and sathan axed / in what tyme hast thou done this: and he sayd in x dayes / and he sayd hast thou done nomore in that tyme / And commaunded them that were aboute hym to bete hym also: Thenne came the fourth and sayd / I haue ben in the wyldernes xl yere: and haue laboured aboute a monke and vnnethe at the last I haue throwen and made hym to synne of the flessh / and whan sathan herde that / he aroos fro his sete / and kyssed hym. and toke his crowne of his hede / and set it on his hede / and made hym to sytte wyth hym. and sayd thou hast done a grete thynge / and hast laboured more than all thother / and this maye be the maner of the vysyon: that saint gregory leueth: whan eche had sayd / one sterte vp in the mydle of them all / and sayd he had meuyd Andrewe agaynst the namenonne.virtory.
MS. 11,748 adds two lines:—
Then follows at once:—
¶ Deo nostro iocunda sit laudacio.
Patris sapiencia ueritas diuina deus [&c.]Versiculus. Adoramus te criste [&c.]
DOmine ihesu criste filii dei uini pone passionem
Ad primam horam. [&c.]
Ad terciam horam. amen
Sicut oculi ancille in manibus domine sue [&c.]
DEus in adiutorium [&c.] Hora nona dominus ihesus expirauit [&c.] Adoramus. Domine ihesu criste filij.
Deus in adiutorium [&c.]. De cruce deponitur hora uespertina fortitudo [&c.]
COnuerte nos deus salutaris noster. [&c.]
DOmine ne in furore tuo [&c.].