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EDITED BY FREDERICK J. FURNIVALL, M.A. CAMB., HON. PH.D. BERLIN; HON. D. LITT. OXFORD; HON. FELLOW OF TRIN. HALL, CAMB.; MEMBER OF THE BRITISH ACADEMY.
LONDON: PUBLISHED FOR THE EARLY ENGLISH TEXT SOCIETY BY KEGAN PAUL, TRENCH, TRÜBNER & CO., LIMITED, DRYDEN HOUSE, 43, GERRARD STREET, SOHO, W. 1866. Re-edited 1903.
R. CLAY & SONS, LIMITED, LONDON & BUNGAY.
P. 123. Falmouth, which the MS. puts in Dorsetshire, is of course in Cornwall. Tho' this information is not needed by Englishmen, I ought to have given it for strangers.—F.
Hodson MS. 39, on leaf 3 (A.D. 1483).
(10 stanzas of 7 lines each, ababbcc.) [There is a Religious Poem of 6 stanzas next it in the MS., but as this would make a break in the Political Poems if put after Edward IV. here, it is printed on p. 289, below.]
(Ab. 1465.) [Lambeth MS. No. 306, fol. 134.]
The Bere is bound that was so wild Ffor he hath lost his ragged staffe.
[Lambeth MS. 306, leaf 136.]
[MS. Lambeth 306, fol. 132. The heavy letters mark the red of the MS.]
First atte the comyng ynne atte temple gate there stode Wylliam conquerour with iij lordis, and these were his wordis
Over the same gate stondyng a greet Gyaunt delyueryng the keyes.
¶ The Receyuyng atte temple Crosse next folowyng.
There was seynt George on horsbakke vppone a tent fyghtyng with a dragone, And þe kyng & þe quene on hyghe in a castelle, And his doughter benethe with a lambe. And atte the sleyng of the dragone ther was a greet melody of aungellys.Follows: A medycyne for the pestylence.]
(A.D. 1450.) [MS. Lambeth 306, fol. 51, in John Stowe's hand.]
¶ Iohn Say redethe, "Manus tue fecerunt me." "Libera me," syngethe Trevilian | warre the rere, That thei do no more so. Requiescant in pace: Thus prayes alle Englond | ferre & nerre. ¶ Where is Somerset | whi aperes he not here to synge | Dies ire & miserie? God graunte Englond | alle in fere, for thes traitours | to synge Placebo & Dirige. ¶ Meny mo þer be behynde | þe sothe for to telle, þat shall messes | oppon thes do synge. I pray som man | do rynge the belle, þat þese forsaiden | may come to þe sacrynge. ¶ And þat in brief tyme | without more tarienge, þat þis messe may be ended | in suyche degre, And þat alle Englond | ioyfulle may synge þe commendacioun, with Placebo & Dirige.
(MS. Cott. Vespas. B. XVI. Fol. 5.)
To alle you, I sende gretynge. Wot ye þat I am kyng of alle kynges, Lord of alle lordes, Souden of alle Surry, Emperour of Babilon, Steward of Helle, Porter of Paradise, Constable of Ierusalem, Lord of Certoffis, þat is to say, lord of þe parties of þe world, Cosyn to youre crist þat was nailed on þe rode. And if ye wol witen whi þat I am kynge of alle kynges, I lete you wite þat I haue vnder my lordship, of youre cristen kynges, xxxvij kynges crowned. And whi þat I am lord of alle lordes,—semyng to me, þer is none so worthi as I am. And whi I am Emperour of Babilon: I lete you wite þat I wedded þe Emperourys doughtter, which was Erle of Surry: Her fader died; wherfor I am Erle by her. And whi þat I am Stiward of Helle: I lete you wite I haue alle gouernaunce of wicked mawmentries & wicked spirites. And whi I am Porter of Paradis: I lete you wite I am keper of þe Stremes of Paradis, whiche may no man come to but he haue my lordship, & gef me a gret tribut. And whi þat I am Constable of Ierusalem: I lete you wite. þer may no man come to Port Iaffe but he gef me a gret tribut. And whi þat I am floure of alle þe worle: I may wel sai I haue þat cristen men prayn fore, þat is, þe holi cros þat your lord my cosyn died on, which ye may not haue without me. And þat I am cristes cosyn: I let you wite, I was cristen made, in Englond born, & for certeyn poyntes of lollerdy I [ne] myȝt abide þer, & so I wende to Rome, & after to Rodes; & þer I was with Sarasens, & turne to her lawe or be
before the conquest of the Eastern Empire in 1453.Haydn's Dict. of Dates.
[Written after A. D. 1421: see note to l. 234, p. 25.] (92 stanzas; 77 in sevens, ababbcc; and 15 in eights, abab,bcbc; with an Envoy "Don't despise your Neighbour.") From the Lansdowne MS. 699, in the British Museum, collated with the Harley MS. 2251 (leaf 277, &c.) and the Roxburghe Club reprint of the black-letter copy of the poem.
A Disputation between a horse, a Sheepe and a Goose, for superioritie (in a later hand).
[MS. Rawl. C. 228, fol. 113, fly-leaf. The writing on this page is very illegible.]
[Fol. 203, col. 1, MS. Lambeth 306.]
Who-so wylle be ware of purchassyng, Consydre theese poyntes folowyng:—
[Harl. MS. 2255, leaf 137 and last.]
[Harleian Catalog ii. 594, on MS. 2255, art. 45. The conclu|sion of some Ditty (not now easily to be found out) in three Stanzas . . . These Stanzas plainly set forth the Punishment inflicted upon thievish Millers and Bakers, by putting them not only into the Tumbrell, as of old, but into Wooden Bastile, as Hudibras says, by which, in this place is not to be under|stood the Stocks, but a Superior and more Conspicuous Machine, called the Pillory.]
[Lambeth MS. 306, fol. 64;? ab. 1530 A.D.]
[Lambeth MS. 306, fol. 203, col. 2.]
[MS. Lambeth, 306, fol. 65, col. 2.]
Memorandum, the firste sonday of Advent in the yere of our lorde Ml fyue hundreth & xxxith, these Bokes folowyng were opynly, at poules crosse, by the autorite of my lorde of london vnder his Autentycal seale, by the doctor that that day prechide, prohibite, and straytely commaunded of no maner of man to be vsed, bought, nor solde, nor to be red, vnder payne of suspencioun, and a greter payne, as more large apperyth in for-sayde autoryte.
The first boke ys this,
[Egerton MS. 1995.]
[Lambeth MS. 306, leaf 65, back, col. 2.]
Take iij Chekyns or .iiij. as ye lyke, & put them in a coope to feede, as I shall teche you. Fyrste take a quantyte of whete, & put yt in clene watyr, & then gadyr a good quantyte of Snayles that beer howses on them, & put them therto as they be, shelles & all; and yf ye canne fynde no soche snayles, thanne take blak snayles, and so thanne boyle all these to-gyder, the whete & the snayles in water, with the shelles of them that haue shelles; & for lakke of them that haue shelles, boyle the blakke snayles. And whan it is well boylid to-gedyr, then take oute the whete by hym|selfe, & the watyr by hym-selfe, & caste awey the shelles & the corruptyon of the snaylles; And with that whete fede the checons, and with brede a-monge, And let them drynke of the watyr, & of none other watyr. And when ye be dysposyd, ete a Chekyn, one day rostyd, And ij dayes after, a-nother, & so contynue as ye fynde yt doth you good.
[Ibid.]
Take wylde tansey, and grynde yt, and make yt neshe, & ley it therto, and it wyl bryng yt owght.
[Lambeth MS. 306, fol. 118, at foot.]
The bones in a man ben in nombre .ij C. xvij. The veynes ben .iij. C. lxv. The tethe in perfyte Age .xxxij. The mynde is in the Brayne. The vndyr|stondyng in the fronte. The Ire in the gawle. Auaryce in the kydney. Loue in the harte. Brethyng in the lownges. Gladnes in the splene. Thought in the harte. Blode in the body. Hope in the sowle. The mynde in the spyrit. The harte in the mynde. The Feyth in the harte. And cryst in the feyth. And whylth it noryssh the body, it is cawlyd Anima, the sowle. This worde Anima hath many significacions, for when it is in con|templacyon, it is sayde a spyrit, Spiritus. And when it savyrth, it is saide Reson or wytte, Animus. And when it felith, it is sayde felyng, sensus. And when it vnderstondyth, it is callyd mynde, Mens. And when it demyth, it is called Reson, Racio. And when it consentyth, it is callyd wylle, Voluntas. And when it recordyth, it is sayde mynde, Memoria.
[Lambeth MS. 306, leaf 136, back.]
[Lambeth MS. 306, leaf 137.]
[Lambeth MS. 306, leaf 138.]
[Lambeth MS. 306, leaf 137, back.]
(9 stanzas of eights, abab, bcbc.) [MS. Univ. Lib. Camb. Hh. 4. 12, leaf 84 a, collated with Harleian 2255, leaf 6.]
[MS. Univ. Lib. Camb. Ff. 1. 6, leaf 51. Handwriting of the 15th century.]
[MS. Ff. 1. 6, University Library, Cambridge (U), leaf 117.] [Collated with MS. R. 3. 19, Trin. Coll., Camb. (T), and Harleian 372, leaf 61 (H).] Prologe [by Sir R. Ros, in 4 stanzas of Sevens, ababbcc.]
N'agueres cheuauchant pensoye, Comme homme triste & douloreux, Au dueil où il faut que je soye Le plus dolant des amoureux; Puis que, par son dart rigoureux, La mort me tolli ma Maistresse, Et me laisse seul langoureux En la conduiste de tristesse.
En la dance ne failloit riens Ne plus auent ne plus arriere
—Skeat, vii. 519.'Et celuy pert le ien d'attente Qui ne scet faire son point double.'
[Lambeth MS. 306, leaf 177, back.]
[Brit. Mus. MS. Cott. Calig., A ii., leaf 86, back, col. 2, and MS. Lambeth 306, leaf 110.] [The B. Mus. text is rather earlier than the Lambeth, and is therefore printed here, the chief variations of the Lambeth MS. being put in the notes. See an earlier version in Minor Poems of the Vernon MS., E. E. T. Soc.]
A Writt men ffynt, A fayre storye, The Pope hit wrote, Seint gregorye
TwyesAlle folke were fayne of hire name, So holy she was holdene, and of gode fame.
Hir sonne was Gregory the pope; Men helden hir holy with alle her hope.
So shame maketh men to hide ther shryffte, And lese the grace of god alle-myght, And sethen to lyve synfully, And fallen to dethe sodeynly.
Stonyed he was of a stynche fulle stronge. Ther-of so gresely he was a-gaste That in swonyng he was alle-moste.
Wheþer fastynge or pennaunce may þee alegge, Bedis or masses thi peynes to brygge, With cost, and crafte, and other thinge To the be helpe of Any savynge.
Trewly with-owtene ony were Euery day thorowe-oute the yere; Do hem it to saye euery daye, Or he that dothe thes masses to saye, Whoso wille knowe this orisoun clene, Hit is in Englisshe this myche to mene: Oracio, 'Deus qui es nostra Redempcio' "God, that arte oure verray Redempcioun, To owre Sowlis sothefast saluacioun: That chesest, alle oþer londis be-forne, The lond of hest, in to be borne, And thi dethe suffrest in that same, Delyuere the Soules from helle blame! Brynge hem oute of the fendis bonde, And that londe out of hethen men honde! And that pepille that levith not on the, Throwe thi vertue a-mendide may be, And alle that trustyn on thi merce, Lord, save hem alle for thi pite!"
When she hadde this saide A-none, The Angelle to hevyn with her con gone; To that place god vs sende That wonneth in blysse with-owten ende! Now haue we herd fayre and wele The vertus (of Seint Gregories trentalle)
And with gode Devocion seith þem to the ende, Then may the soules to hevyn wende; Therfore this Salme haue ye in thought; The xv Salmes for-yete ye nought; The letany also ye haue in mynde, Loke thou leve hit not be-hynde.
(A STORY OF TOO SKWYRYS THAT WERE BRETHERN, THE WYCHE DWELLYD HERE YN YNGLOND, YN THE TOUNE OF FAL|MOWTHT, YN DORSETSCHERE; THE TONE WAS DAMPNYD FOR BREKYNG OF HYS WEDLOK, THE TOTHER WAS SAUYD.—Lambeth MS. 306, leaf 110: in a 16th century hand.)
From MS. Ashmole 61, fol. 136.
(From MS. Lambeth 306, fol. 107-110 (sign l. 3-6, which has no Prologue).
[Trin. Coll. Cambridge, B. 10, 12, leaf 53. Date of MS. about 1450.] [22 stanzas of eights, abab, cdcd.]
[Trin. Coll. Cambridge, B. 10. 12, leaf 55. Date of MS. about 1450.] [5 stanzas of eights, abab, abab.]
[5 stanzas of eights, abab, bcbc.]
[MS. Univ. Libr. Camb., Hh. iv. 12. leaf 85 a; handwriting of the 15th century. In every case a stroke is drawn over the final on. Sometimes the preceding i is omitted, in which case it is here inserted in italics.]
In cruce sum pro te, qui peccas; desine, pro me, Desine; do veniam; dic culpam, retraho penam.
[Cott. Calig. A. ii. leaf 83, and Lambeth 306, leaf 152, back. The text, to line 553, is that of the Cotton MS.: the readings of the Lambeth MS. are in the notes.]
and the next eight lines are omitted.Pope Alysaundur grauntythe all and some to all theyme that thyddur come;
þe secunde is symonde & Iude, þou myght haue, there of seynt gregorye there he is grave. the iiij teof oure ladye I-wys,of whome the covent syngithe messe; the fyvithe of seynt Andrewe is.
See 171/841.Seynt Iohn and seynt Boneface, Proscesse and Martyn in that place.
Nowe passe we forthe in oure waye that we mowe the sothe saye
thowe hatt pardone all and some as thowe to seynt Iamis had gon & comyn.
to alle thoo that ar Redye In alle þe festis of oure ladye, of pere, powle, and seynt Iohn, Evangelystis baptysyde, & many one, of mary mawdelyn, and kateryne, Seynt Marget, Annes þe holy vyrgyne thre thowesande and fyffty yere of penaunce ben for-yevyn there; Syluestre and gregory and odur moo, pope Nicholas confermethe thoo.
the seconde chapelle, I telle the, In the name of her þer þou myght see
forty and viij popys grauntythe than that lyethe at seynt Bastyan; pope syluestre, Orban, and benett, seynt leo, and clement, confermythe hit.
A downe she come in to þat place, to a frere, by goddis grace.
In tyme of glasius the pope, with-owten dowte this is hepe, and than with grete devosyon they were broughte to Rome towne, And worshupped with gret solempnyte.
Of odyr popes I telle the, And so forthe of odyr three, pope Gelasius as hit is see.
thy soule may nought lyve But thowe of dedly synne be shryue
But þou must haue candyllyghte Or ellis þou goest as derke as nyghte.
that stoone is vndyr An Awter Palysyd with Iren and stele,— that is for drede of stelynge, that no man shoulde hit A-way bryng;— As offt as thowe comyst thare, xl thowesande yere þou hast thare. At seynt Iohn porte latyne Soulys þou myghte brynge owte of pyne In the daye of the feste of hym, As þou shalt fynde hit wryttyn, In honowre of . . . . .
Pope gregore, Alysaundyr, & Vrban, Alle thre grauntede than the pardon that is so grete, the 'stacyons' men clepe hit.
for meselle he was, as I seyde ere, And afftyr, fayre man and clere
the pardone of Sylvester, Euery dele the poope gregorye confermythe wele, Boneface the pope seyde this tale; yff men wyst grete and [s]male the pardon that is at Rome, they wold sey in theyre doome hit were no neede for the
A nodyr chappelle is in house, there-in been Relykis precyouse:
Above An Auter made of tree lyche A tabylle, I telle thee; vndyr the Awter, An Arche of stoone, with holy Relykys many one.
And fyve lovys and ij ffyshys with whiche cryste ffed v thowesande men, xij baskettis fulle of Releeffe lefft then; Ho-so is there, the sothe may see.
A-boute the hyghe Auter stande; they been styffe and stronge
of A curtylle of Seynt Iohn that iij men frome þe dethe a-Ryse be-goone
And of the clothe that cryste wypyd on foote & hande On schroffethursday his Dissypyls to foonde
§ of bloode and watyr also there is ‡ that owte of crystis syyde gon goo I-wys; *And the shyrte that our ladye made† for hyr swete sonnys saake; ‖ of Ihesu cryste the Syrcumsyse; of the cloþe of seynt Iohn bapetyse, and odyr Relykys many oone
On the mynyster ende iij durrys there bee— Whan thowe art there, þou mayst see;— As offt as thy be opynnyd to thee, And þan passithe thorowe ony of hem thre, pleyne Remyssyon þou myght have of alle thy Synnys, yf þou wolte hit crave.
As offte as þou passyste one of hem And entyrst by A-nodyr A-yeen, And passythe euery of the three,
Nowe pase wee to sancta sanctorum swythe, that mannys hart makythe blythe.
the hedys of petyr & poule beþe there, wele I-closyd vndyr An Awter; And odyr Relykys many one been closed in Iren and in stoone. who-so is poope of Roome, the keyys þer-of with hym dothe nome that no man may hem see But he hym selffe in presence bee. In that chapelle, yf þou wolte crave, vii M lyere þou myghtest have,And so many lenttis more yff thowe be screffe, 7þou mayste have soo;[shriven, A.S. bescrifen, con|fessed, Som.]And yett theere is grauntyd therto the thyrde parte of pennaunce vndo. *the pardone of holy Roode chyrche,whiche is the name of þe seyde kyrke,— †Ierusalem, men clepe hit sertayne, ‡Saynt Elyn hit made with noble mayne, §And put there-in Relekys fele, As I can shewen swythe wele; hit was her house and her socoure god to serve withe honowre. for eche day in that mynystre, of pardoune is xxviij yere; Also as many lenttis moo Certenly is grauntyd þerto, At the hye Awter shalt þou have Also fourty yere, and lenttis moo, for Anastace, cesar the martyr, Bothe were buryede there.
An hundyrde yere myght þou have of pardone yff þou wylt hit crave
that is there for sothe to telle Whan . . . profyrde to drynk thoo
And yeet moore I wole the telle: there is A coorde In one chapelle,— Ane highe in the Roofe hit is doo, for no man shoulde come þer-too.— that ylke coorde, they sey hit is, with whiche cryste was led to þe crosse I-wys; ‖ And A nayle that smyte cryst Ihesus whane he Suffyrde Dethe for us; And the hede of seynt vynsent; the clothe of bapetyse whan he was brent.
And odyr Relykys many oone, I cannat telle hem everychone.
In tyme off the Emperoure kynge constantyne of grete honoure
A-bowte the Awter þou shalt goone; At every ende þou shalt fynde— knele there-to yf þou be hende,— A swete smelle, thoowe hit be derke, (thorowe grace of crystis owne werke,) of bodyes that there beryed be
Who-so wole dwelle in halle, And go eche Daye to seynt lawrence mynstyr, he may there delyuer with orysone A sowle owte of purgatory presone.
Whane he was dede, þer was he grave; Cryste his soule kepe and save! A stoone doþe stande in þe weye By-twyx the chyrche and martyrs twey, Seynt Iulyan and seynt vrban, there was men and women, In that stoone wryttyn is grete pardoone, soothe I-wys, Euery daye in the yere vij thowesande yere þou myght have there.
And there-to goddis benysone lastynge for euer-more to alle men that been there.
(Lambeth MS. 306, leaf 133.)
[Lambeth MS. 306, leaf 132, back.] [The thick letters mark the red ones of the MS.]
In ista antiphona alleluya accipitur iiijor diuersis modis. Primum alleluia. lauda deum creatura. Secun|dum. salus. vita. lux. Tercium. saluum me fac deus. Quartum idem est. quod pater, et filius, et spiritus sanctus.
[Lambeth MS. 853, ab. 1430 A.D., page 4.] [8 stanzas in eights, abab bcbc, except st. 1, abab bcbd.]
[16 stanzas of eights, abab bcbc.]
[Follows the last poem, seemingly as a continuation.]
[16 stanzas of eights, abab bcbc.]
[Lambeth MS. 853, ab. 1430 A.D., page 81, written without breaks.]
[Lambeth MS. 853, ab. 1430 A.D., page 74, written without breaks.] [12 stanzas of 12 lines each, abab abab bcbc.]
[Harl. MS. 3954, ab. 1420 A.D.; leaf 90 a.] [12 stanzas of 12 lines each, abab abab bcbc.]
IN the 1866 issue of the stereotyped edition of Mr. Craik's Compendious History of the English Language, v. 1, p. 193, is the following passage quoted from Sir Frederic Madden's Preface to Havelok: "Between the years 1244 and 1258, we know, was written the versification of part of a meditation of St. Augustine, as proved by the age of the prior who gave the MS. to the Durham Library, MS. Eccl. Dun. A. iii. 12, and Bodl. 42." On my applying to the Librarian at Durham for further information about this piece of verse, the Rev. W. Greenwell answered, "It is upon a small piece of vellum, inserted, and forms no part of the original volume. I send you a correct copy." The Rev. H. O. Coxe, Bodleian Librarian, has also kindly sent me a copy of the Bodleian version, which I print side by side with the Durham one. Mr. Coxe dates the Oxford copy at from 1300 to 1320 A.D.
[MS. Univ. Lib. Camb. Ff. 1. 6. fol. 56 b. Handwriting of the 15th century. Every ll has a stroke through it, and most of the final n's have a stroke over them as here indicated.]
FROM MS. HARL. 7322 (FIRST TREATISE, OF THE END OF THE 14TH CENTURY, WHICH HAS ENGLISH VERSES MIXED IN THE LATIN PROSE). [The full stops are mostly those of the MS.]
[See p. 253.]
[See p. 253.]
¶ Nupcie moriar, quia nubere dulce est.
For hit is mury to beon a wife.
Anglice sic:
ich wolle leose my life.
[Written as prose.]
[Printed in Rel. Ant., v. 1, p. 64.]
[See Wright's Political Songs (Camden Soc., 1839), p. 386-7.]
¶ primus dixit Mithȝ is Rithȝ;
¶ secundus dixit On is two; frend is foo; wil is wo.
¶ tercius dixit lust hath leue; ȝist is Reue; prude hath sleue.
¶ quartus dixit wil is Red wit is qued God is ded
nota de mirabilibus mundi.
Narrat solinus de mirabilibus mundi de quadamm diucius de sero. Et per primum exit de mane, & per secundum intrat sero. Spiritualiter auis iste est quili|bet fidelis qui sibi facit duo foramina in nido, 1. in corde suo, & in prima porta orientali, per quam ingre|ditur mundum, inuenient tres 'welcomeres' horribiles, videlicet.
Welcomers: nuditas; Fletus; debilitas;
Anglice: nakednesse; Reminge; feblesse;
Vel aliter sic quilibet intrat per portas, scilicet, nasty; sory; vnmiȝty; Et certe clamat .A. quod est primum nominis Ade; in qua litera sunt Anguli ad designandum tria incomoda, que quilibet nostrum incurrit quando noscitur; vnde quilibet nostrum quando flet & clamat, .A. quasi dolens, diceret in Anglico sic, videlicet,
Vt pro isto dici potest istud psalmi: "In peccatis concepit me mater mea." iob., etc.
[Printed in Rel. Ant., v. 1, p. 64-5. See p. 249-50 of this Text.]
Et Regina mater sua nichil habuit vnde posset eum induere; ideo dixit sibi:—
. . & facit quatuor mala vbi regnant secundum quod
Anglice:
Hey Priuetȝ gritliche;
Hey Robbetȝ holliche:
Hey Endetȝ shameliche:
Hey Draweþ dredfulliche.
Ideo ista humilitas dici potest 'clauis Dauid,' de quo habetur Apocalypsi 3, que claudit, & nemo aperit.
De isto malo dicit Angustinus, quod est aliene
quia hit Roteþ and brenneþ, Hit freteþ and twynneþ.
& ideo est sicut anglice dicitur, videlicet:
Ase:
þe worm on þe treo,
and þe hul on þe see,
and roust on þe knife,
and ase deþ to þe life.
Set heu . . . raro inuenitur amor siue caritas! ideo
Cupiditas.:
hit falseþ
hit reymeþ
hit falleþ
hit shendeþ
Frendsship þat is worsshipful
serte þat is blisful
wonyinge þat is ioyeful
Alius rex si dedit coronam auream memoratiuam in qua sic sculpebatur:
Propugnator dedit anulum in quo sic scribebatur per girum.
Sicut te dilexi disce me diligere / nam in toto corpore poteris illud cernere.
Anulum in quo sic insertum erat:
Mediator dedit ei tercium anulum in quo sic scribe|batur:
Germanus proprius sibi dedit quartum anulum in quo sic erat scriptum:
A sponso proprio dabatur sibi sigillum vnum per quod hereditas sibi assecurabatur in quo sic:
Nam quatuor sunt signa fidelis Amoris, que ostenditChristus, in quibus nobis exemplum reliquit, videlicet,
Bene debent ista exempla nos mouere ad opera
Nota. non habuit ubi capud potuit reclinare, Mori|endo
hit resteþ and hit quemeþ
hit richeþ and hit demeþ
Luxuria facit hec primo:
hit wasteþ
hit Fileþ.
hit wraþþeþ
hit bigileþ.
Castitas est:
A tresour of gret Richesse.
A vertue of douthtynesse,
And is a worsshipful Cloþinge
And an help of gret wynn[i]nge.
(y and þ are the same.)
Fulgencius in gestis romanorum: quidam rex duos habuit filios, quorum senior cum patre in pallacio fuit; Iunior vero in castro pernoctauit periculoso. cui pater litteras 5. transcripsit. prima erat ista, sic:
2a fuit ista, sic:
3a erat ista, sic:
4ta erat ista sic:
vel sic:
5ta erat ista.
Vita hominis decurrit in:
10. horis; 10 dictis; 10 radiis
In:
ten times of þe day
ten stappes of oure way
ten spokes þat tornen ay
[Q]Vatuor monent ad penitentiam. videlicet:
benignitas diuina, Christi doctrina, horrendum dei iudi|cium, in impeniten|tibus inferendum, & premium eternum, vere penitentibus re|promissum.
anglice:
Godes hore,
And the blisse þat ner nis don.
expectat pacienter, parcit faciliter, suscipit liberaliter, & obliuiscitur totali|ter.
anglice:
he abit þolemodliche,
he fur-geft litliche,
he vnder-fenget freliche,
and he fur-þet holliche.
Written at the foot of the page in pale ink.
Inuitant igitur fides, pietas & beneuolencia;
Recipiunt spes, humilitas & continencia;
Recumbunt pauperes cari|tate & paciencia;
Ministrant sanctitas, zelus & modestia.
vs preyen, bileue, god wille,
vs kepen, god hope, Meke|nes & kastite;
vus sit by, pouert, wisdom, & god leuy[n]g;
vus seruen clannesse, rych & feyr bery[n]g.
promissio fallax.; promocio mendax.; prolacio Mordax.
anglice:
A fals by-hety[n]g.
A lyeres auansyng.
A bitynde fondi[n]g.
[Harl. MS. 3954, leaf 87. The A B C, etc., are not rubri|cated in the MS., but are made black here to catch the eye. The initial þ and y are the same.]
[Additional MS., No. 10,036, Brit. Mus., leaf 96, bk.abab abab.)
Verses written as a Preface to an English Treatise on Medicine. (From Dr. J. F. Payne's vellum MS. of the first half of the 15th century.)
(The verses in the Payne MS. are written in double columns, and the order of the first eight verses is a little confused; so I have corrected it.)
The above agrees very nearly with a poem printed by the Rev. G. Henslow, in his Medical Works of the 14th Century, p. 125 (1899), from Sloane MS. 2584; with variants from Sloane MS. 1314.
At the end are the following verses, which I have not seen elsewhere:—
By HENRY BARADOUN, ab. 1483. Hodson MS. 39, leaf 4; 2nd flyleaf. (Mr. Hodson's 3rd MS. of Chaucer's Canterbury Tales.)
BY WILLIAM HUCHEN.
[MS. no. cccxx. in the Library of New College, Oxford.]
THE MS., written about 1460, contains the Psalter in the later Wyclif version (Purvey), and prose translations of various canticles. The hymn, which is on the last page, appears to be in the same handwriting as the rest. Each of the seven stanzas (in "rime royal") is an acrostic on the name Stanlei. The person meant may possibly be Sir Thomas Stanley, who was created Baron Stanley in 1456, and died in 1459.—HENRY BRADLEY.