The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Vision and Creed of Piers Ploughman,
Volume II of II, by William Langland
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Title: The Vision and Creed of Piers Ploughman, Volume II of II
Author: William Langland
Editor: Thomas Wright
Release Date: September 7, 2013 [EBook #43661]
Language: English
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* * * * *
Library of Old Authors.
THE VISION AND CREED
OF
PIERS PLOUGHMAN.
EDITED,
FROM A CONTEMPORARY MANUSCRIPT,
WITH A HISTORICAL INTRODUCTION,
NOTES, AND A GLOSSARY,
BY THOMAS WRIGHT, M.A. F.S.A. &c.
Corresponding Member of the Imperial Institute of France,
Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres.
IN TWO VOLUMES.
VOL. II.
_SECOND AND REVISED EDITION._
LONDON:
REEVES AND TURNER, 196 STRAND.
1887.
* * * * *
{273}
_Passus Decimus Quartus, etc._
"Ihave but oon hool hater," quod Haukyn; 8900
"I am the lasse to blame,
Though it be soiled and selde clene:
I slepe therinne o nyghtes.
And also I have an houswif,
Hewen and children,--
_Uxorem duxi, et ideo non possum venire._--
That wollen by-molen it many tyme,
Maugree my chekes.
It hath be laved in Lente
And out of Lente bothe, 8910
With the sope of siknesse,
That seketh wonder depe,
And with the losse of catel,
Looth for to a-gulte
God of any good man,
By aught that I wiste;
And was shryven of the preest
That gaf me for my synnes
To penaunce pacience
And povere men to fede, 8920
Al for coveitise of my cristendom
In clennesse to kepen it.
{274}
And kouthe I nevere, by Crist!
Kepen it clene an houre,
That I ne soiled it with sighte
Or som ydel speche,
Or thorugh werk, or thorugh word,
Or wille of myn herte,
That I ne flobre it foule
Fro morwe til even." 8930
"And I shal kenne thee," quod Conscience,
"Of contricion to make
That shal clawe thi cote
Of alle kynnes filthe.
_Cordis contritio, etc._
Do-wel shal wasshen and wryngen it
Thorugh a wis confessour.
_Oris confessio, etc._
Do-bet shal beten it and bouken it
As bright as any scarlet, 8940
And engreyven it with good wille
And Goddes grace to amende the,
And sithen sende thee to satisfaccion
For to sowen it after.
_Satisfactio Do-best._
"Shal nevere cheeste by-molen it,
Ne mothe after biten it,
Ne fend ne fals man
Defoulen it in thi lyve.
Shal noon heraud ne harpour 8950
Have a fairer garnement
Than Haukyn the actif man,
And thow do by my techyng;
Ne no mynstrall be moore worth
Amonges povere and riche,
Than Haukyns wif the wafrer,
{275}
With his _activa vita_."
"And I shal purveie thee paast," quod Pacience,
"Though no plough erye,
And flour to fede folk with 8960
As best be for the soule,
Though nevere greyn growed,
Ne grape upon vyne.
To alle that lyveth and loketh
Liflode wolde I fynde,
And that y-nogh shal noon faille
Of thyng that hem nedeth,
We sholde noght be to bisy
Abouten oure liflode,"
_Ne solliciti sitis, etc. Volucres coeli 8970
Deus pascit, etc. Patientes
vincunt._
Thanne laughed Haukyn a litel,
And lightly gan swerye,
"Who so leveth yow, by oure Lord!
I leve noght he be blessed."
"No," quod Pacience paciently;
And out of his poke hente
Vitailles of grete vertues
For alle manere beestes, 8980
And seide, "Lo here liflode y-nogh!
If oure bileve be trewe.
For lent nevere was lif,
But liflode were shapen,
Wher-of or wher-fore
Or wher-by to libbe.
"First the wilde worm
Under weet erthe,
Fissh to lyve in the flood,
{276}
And in the fir the criket, 8990
The corlew by kynde of the eyr
Moost clennest flessh of briddes,
And bestes by gras and by greyn
And by grene rootes,
In menynge that alle men
Myghte the same
Lyve thorugh leel bileve
And love, as God witnesseth."
_Quodcunque petieritis a patre in
nomine meo, etc. Et alibi: 9000
Non in solo pane vivit homo,
sed in omni verbo quod procedit
de ore Dei._
But I lokede what liflode it was
That Pacience so preisede;
And thanne was it a pece of the pater-noster,
_Fiat voluntas tua._
"Have, Haukyn," quod Pacience,
"And et this whan the hungreth,
Or whan thow clomsest for cold, 9010
Or clyngest for drye;
Shul nevere gyves thee greve,
Ne gret lordes wrathe,
Prison ne peyne;
For _patientes vincunt_.
By so that thow be sobre
Of sighte and of tonge,
In etynge and in handlynge,
And in alle thi fyve wittes,
Darstow nevere care for corn, 9020
Ne lynnen cloth ne wollen,
Ne for drynke, ne deeth drede,
But deye as God liketh,
{277}
Or thorugh hunger or thorugh hete,
At his wille be it.
For if thow lyve after his loore,
The shorter lif the bettre.
_Si quis amat Christum,
Mundum non diliget istum._
"For thorugh his breeth beestes woxen 9030
And a-brood yeden.
_Dixit et facta sunt, etc._
_Ergo_ thorugh his breeth mowen
Men and beestes lyven,
As holy writ witnesseth,
Whan men seye hir graces.
_Aperis tu manum tuam, et imples
omne animal benedictione._
"It is founden that fourty wynter
Folk lyvede withouten tulying; 9040
And out of the flynt sprong the flood
That folk and beestes dronken;
And in Elyes tyme
Hevene was y-closed,
That no reyn ne roon;
Thus rede men in bokes 9046
That many wyntres men lyveden,
And no mete ne tulieden.
"Sevene slepe, as seith the book,
Sevene hundred wynter,
And lyveden withouten liflode,
And at the laste thei woken.
And if men lyvede as mesure wolde,
Sholde nevere moore be defaute
Amonges cristene creatures,
If Cristes wordes ben trewe.
"Ac unkyndenesse _caristiam_ maketh 9056
{278}
Amonges cristen peple;
And over plentee maketh pryde
Amonges poore and riche.
Therfore mesure is muche worth, 9060
It may noght be to deere;
For the meschief and the meschaunce
Amonges men of Sodome,
Weex thorugh plentee of payn,
And of pure sleuthe.
_Otiositas et abundantia panis peccatum
turpissimum nutrivit._
For thei mesured noght hemself
Of that thei ete and dronke,
Thei diden dedly synne 9070
That the devel liked,
So vengeaunce fil upon hem
For hir vile synnes;
Thei sonken into helle,
The citees echone.
"For-thi mesure we us wel,
And make oure feith oure sheltrom;
And thorugh feith cometh contricion,
Conscience woot wel,
Which dryveth awey dedly synne, 9080
And dooth it to be venial.
And though a man myghte noght speke,
Contricion myghte hym save,
And brynge his soule to blisse;
For so that feith bere witnesse,
That whiles he lyvede, he bilevede
In the loore of the holy chirche.
_Ergo_ contricion, feith, and conscience
Is kyndeliche Do-wel,
{279}
And surgiens for dedly synnes 9090
Whan shrift of mouthe failleth.
Ac shrift of mouth moore worthi is,
If man be y-liche contrit;
For shrift of mouthe sleeth synne,
Be it never so dedly.
_Per confessionem_ to a preest
_Peccata occiduntur._
"Ther contricion dooth but dryveth it down
Into a venial synne,
As David seith in the Sauter, 9100
_Et quorum tecta sunt peccata_;
Ac satisfaccion seketh out the roote,
And bothe sleeth and voideth,
An as it nevere hadde y-be
To noghte bryngeth dedly synne,
That it nevere eft is sene ne soor,
But semeth a wounde y-heeled."
"Where wonyeth Charité?" quod Haukyn,
"I wiste nevere in my lyve
Man that with hym spak, 9110
As wide as I have passed."
"Ther parfit truthe and poore herte is,
And pacience of tonge,
Ther is Charité the chief chaumbrere
For God hymselve."
"Wheither paciente poverte," quod Haukyn,
"Be moore plesaunt to our Drighte
Than richesse rightfulliche wonne,
And resonably despended?"
"Ye, _quis est ille_?" quod Pacience; 9120
"Quik _laudabimus eum_.
{280}
Though men rede of richesse
Right to the worldes ende,
I wiste nevere renk that riche was,
That whan he rekene sholde,
Whan he drogh to his deeth day,
That he ne dredde hym soore,
And that at the rekenyng in arrerage fel
Rather than out of dette.
Ther the poore dar plede, 9130
And preve by pure reson,
To have allowance of his lord,
By the lawe he it cleymeth;
Joye, that nevere joye hadde,
Of rightful jugge he asketh,
And seith 'Lo! briddes and beestes
That no blisse ne knoweth,
And wilde wormes in wodes,
Thorugh wyntres thow hem grevest;
And makest hem wel neigh meke, 9140
And mylde for defaute;
And after thow sendest hem somer,
That is hir sovereyn joye,
And blisse to alle that ben,
Bothe wilde and tame.'
"Thanne may beggeris as beestes
After boote waiten,
That al hir lif han lyved
In langour and in defaute,
But God sente hem som tyme 9150
Som manere joye
Outher here or ellis where,
Kynde wolde it nevere;
For to wrotherhele was he wroght
That nevere was joye shapen.
{281}
Aungeles that in helle now ben
Hadden joye som tyme;
And Dives in the deyntees lyvede,
And in _douce vie_.
Right so reson sheweth 9160
That the men that were riche,
And hir makes also,
Lyvede hir lif in murthe.
"Ac God is of wonder wille,
By that kynde wit sheweth,
To gyve many man his mede
Er he it have deserved.
Right so fareth God by some riche,
Ruthe me it thynketh;
For thei han hir hire heer, 9170
And hevene, as it were,
And greet likynge to lyve
Withouten labour of bodye:
And whan he dyeth, ben disalowed,
As David seith in the Sauter:
_Dormierunt, et nihil invenerunt._
And in another stede also:
_Velut somnium surgentium, Domine,
in civitate tua, et ad nihilum
rediges, etc._ 9180
"Allas! that richesse shal reve
And robbe mannes soule
From the love of oure Lord,
At his laste ende.
"Hewen, that han hir hire afore,
Arn evere moore nedy;
And selden deyeth he out of dette,
That dyneth er he deserve it,
And til he have doon his devoir
{282}
And his dayes journée. 9190
For whan a werkman hath wroght,
Than many men se the sothe
What he were worthi for his werk,
And what he hath deserved;
And noght to fonge bifore,
For drede of disalowyng.
"So I seye by yow riche,
It semeth noght that ye shulle
Have hevene in youre here dwellyng,
And hevene also therafter; 9200
Right so as a servaunt taketh his salarie bifore,
And siththe wolde clayme moore,
As he that noon hadde,
And hath hire at the laste.
It may noght be, ye riche men,
Or Mathew on God lyeth:
_Væ! deliciis ad delicias difficile est
transire._
"Ac if ye riche have ruthe,
And rewarde wel the poore, 9210
And lyven as lawe techeth,
And doon leauté to hem alle,
Crist of his curteisie
Shal conforte yow at the laste,
And rewarden alle double richesse
That rewful hertes habbeth.
And as an hyne that hadde
His hire er he bigonne,
And whan he hath doon his devoir wel
Men dooth hym oother bountee, 9220
Gyveth hym a cote above his covenaunt,
{283}
Right so Crist gyveth hevene
Bothe to riche and to noght riche
That rewfulliche libbeth;
And alle that doon hir devoir wel
Han double hire for hir travaille,
Here forgifnesse of hir synnes,
And hevene blisse after.
"Ac it is but selde y-seien,
As by holy seintes bokes, 9230
That God rewarded double reste
To any riche wye.
For muche murthe is amonges riche,
As in mete and clothyng;
And muche murthe in May is
Amonges wilde beestes,
And so forth while somer lasteth
Hir solace dureth.
"Ac beggeris aboute Midsomer
Bred-lees thei slepe.
And yet is wynter for hem worse,
For weet shoed thei gone,
A-furst soore and a-fyngred,
And foule y-rebuked, 9244
And a-rated of riche men
That ruthe is to here.
Now, Lord, sende hem somer,
And som maner joye,
Hevene after hir hennes goyng,
That here han swich defaute,
For alle myghtestow have maad
Noon mener than oother,
And y-liche witty and wise,
If thee wel hadde liked.
But, Lord, have ruthe on thise riche men, 9254
{284}
That rewarde noght thi prisoners.
Of the good that thow hem gyvest
_Ingrati_ ben manye;
Ac, God, of thi goodnesse
Gyve hem grace to amende.
For may no derthe be hem deere, 9260
Droghte ne weet hem greve,
Ne neither hete ne hayll;
Have thei hir heele,
Of that thei wilne and wolde
Wanteth hem noght here.
"Ac poore peple thi prisoners,
Lord, in the put of meschief,
Conforte tho creatures,
That muche care suffren
Thorugh derthe, thorugh droghte, 9270
Alle hir dayes here,
Wo in wynter tymes
For wantynge of clothes,
And in somer tyme selde
Soupen to the fulle.
Conforte thi carefulle,
Crist, in thi richesse;
For how thow confortest alle creatures,
Clerkes bereth witnesse:
_Convertimini ad me, et salvi eritis_. 9280
"Thus _in genere_ of gentries
Jhesu Crist seide,
To robberis and to reveris,
To riche and to poore,
Thou taughtest hem in the Trinité
To taken bapteme,
And to be clene through that cristnyng
Of alle kynnes synne;
{285}
And if us fille thorugh folie
To falle in synne after, 9290
Confession and knowlichynge
In cravynge thi mercy,
Shulde amenden us as manye sithes
As man wolde desire.
And if the pope wolde plede ayein,
And punysshe us in conscience,
He sholde take the acquitaunce as quyk,
And to the queed shewen it.
_Pateat, etc. per passionem Domini._
And putten of so the pouke, 9300
And preven us under borwe.
Ac the parchemyn of this patente
Of poverte be moste,
And of pure pacience,
And parfit bileve.
"Of pompe and of pride
The parchemym decourreth,
And principalliche of al the peple,
But thei be poore of herte;
Ellis is al on ydel, 9310
Al that evere writen
Pater-nostres and penaunce,
And pilgrymages to Rome;
But oure spences and spendynge
Sprynge of a trewe wille,
Ellis is al our labour lost,
Lo! how men writeth
In fenestres at the freres,
If fals be the foundement.
For-thi cristene sholde be in commune riche, 9320
Noon coveitous for hymselve.
{286}
"For sevene synnes ther ben,
That assaillen us evere;
The fend folweth hem alle,
And fondeth hem to helpe.
Ac with richesse that ribaud
He rathest men bigileth.
For ther that richesse regneth,
Reverence folweth;
And that is plesaunt to pride, 9330
In poore and in riche.
And the riche is reverenced
By reson of his richesse,
Ther the poore is put bihynde,
And peraventure kan moore
Of wit and of wisdom,
That fer awey is bettre
Than richesse or reautee,
And rather y-herd in hevene.
For the riche hath muche to rekene; 9340
And many tyme hym that walketh
The heighe wey to hevene-ward,
Richesse hym letteth,--
_Ita inpossibile diviti, etc._--
Ther the poore preesseth bifore the riche,
With a pak at his rugge,--
_Opera enim illorum sequuntur illos_.--
Batauntliche, as beggeris doon,
And boldeliche he craveth,
For his poverte and his pacience, 9350
A perpetuel blisse.
_Beati pauperes, quoniam ipsorum
est regnum cælorum._
"And pride in richesse regneth
Rather than in poverte;
{287}
Arst in the master than in the man
Som mansion he haveth.
Ac in poverte, ther pacience is,
Pride hath no myghte,
Ne none of the sevene synnes 9360
Sitten ne mowe ther longe,
Ne have power in poverte,
If pacience folwe.
For the poore is ay prest
To plese the riche,
And buxom at hise biddynges,
For his broke loves;
And boxomnesse and boost
Arn evere moore at werre,
And either hateth oother 9370
In alle maner werkes.
"If wrathe wrastle with the poore,
He hath the worse ende;
And if thei bothe pleyne,
The poore is but feble;
And if he chide or chatre,
Hym cheveth the worse.
"And if coveitise cacche the poore,
Thei may noght come togideres;
And by the nekke namely 9380
Hir noon may hente oother.
For men knowen wel that coveitise
Is of kene wille,
And hath hondes and armes
Of ful greet lengthe;
And poverte nys but a petit thyng,
Apereth noght to his navele;
And lovely layk was it nevere
Bitwene the longe and the shorte.
{288}
"And though avarice wolde angre the poore, 9390
He hath but litel myghte;
For poverte hath but pokes
To putten in hise goodes,
Ther avarice hath almaries,
And yren bounden cofres.
And wheither be lighter to breke,
And lasse boost maketh,
A beggeris bagge
Than an yren bounde cofre?
"Lecherie loveth hym noght, 9400
For he gyveth but litel silver,
Ne dooth hym noght dyne delicatly,
Ne drynke wyn ofte.
A straw for the stuwes!
Thei stoode noght, I trowe,
Hadde thei no thyng but of poore men,
Hir houses stoode untyled.
"And though sleuthe suwe poverte,
And serve noght God to paie,
Meschief is his maister, 9410
And maketh hym to thynke
That God is his grettest help,
And no gome ellis;
And he is servaunt, as he seith,
And of his sute bothe;
And wheither he be or be noght,
He bereth the signe of poverte,
And in that secte oure Saveour
Saved al mankynde.
For-thi every poore that pacient is, 9420
May cleymen and asken
After hir endynge here
{289}
Hevene riche blisse,
"Muche hardier may he asken,
That here myghte have his wille
In lond and in lordshipe,
And likynge of bodie,
And for Goddes love leveth al,
Any lyveth as a beggere;
And as a mayde for mannes love 9430
Hire moder forsaketh,
Hir fader and alle hire frendes,
And folweth hir make.
Muche moore is to love
Of hym that swich oon taketh,
Than is that maiden
That is maried thorugh brocage,
As by assent of sondry parties,
And silver to boote,
Moore for coveitise of good 9440
Than kynde love of bothe.
So it fareth by ech a persone
That possession forsaketh,
And put hym to be pacient.
And poverte weddeth,
The which is sib to God hymself,
And so to hise seintes."
"Have God my trouthe!" quod Haukyn,
"Ye preise faste poverte,
What is poverte with pacience," quod he; 9450
"Proprely to mene?"
"_Paupertas_," quod Pacience, "_est
odibile bonum, remotio curarum,
possessio sine calumnia,
donum Dei, sanitatis mater,
{290}
absque sollicitudine semita,
sapientiæ temperatrix, negotium
sine damno, incerta fortuna,
absque sollicitudine
felicitas._" 9460
"I kan noght construe al this," quod Haukyn,
"Ye moste kenne me this on Englissh."
"In Englissh," quod Pacience,
"It is wel hard wel to expounen;
Ac som deel I shal seyen it,
By so thow understonde:
Poverte is the firste point
That pride moost hateth;
Thanne is it good by good skile,
Al that agasteth pride. 9470
Right as contricion is confortable thyng,
Conscience woot wel,
And a sorwe of hymself,
And a solace to the soule,
So poverte propreliche,
Penaunce and joye,
Is to the body
Pure spiritual helthe.
_Ergo paupertas est odibile bonum._
And contricion confort, 9480
And _cura animarum_.
"Selde sit poverte,
The sothe to declare;
For as justice to jugge men,
Enjoyned is no poore,
Ne to be mair above men
Ne mynystre under kynges;
Selde is any poore y-put
{291}
To punysshen any peple.
_Remotio curarum._ 9490
_Ergo_ poverte and poore men
Perfournen the comaundement,
_Nolite judicare
Quemquam_ the thridde,"
"Selde is any poore riche,
But of rightful heritage;
Wynneth he noght with wightes false,
Ne with unseled mesures,
Ne borweth of hise neighebores,
But that he may wel paie. 9500
_Possessio sine calumnia._
"The ferthe is a fortune
That florissheth the soule,
With sobretee fram alle synne,
And also yit moore
It afaiteth the flessh
Fram folies ful manye,
A collateral confort,
Cristes owene gifte.
_Donum Dei._ 9510
"The fifte is moder of helthe,
A frend in alle fondynges,
And for the land evere a leche,
A lemman of alle clennesse.
_Sanitatis mater._
"The sixte is a path of pees,
Ye, thorugh the paas of Aultone
Poverte myghte passe
Withouten peril of robbyng.
For ther that poverte passeth, 9520
Pees folweth after;
And ever the lasse that he bereth,
{292}
The hardier he is of herte.
For-thi seith Seneca,
_Paupertas est absque sollicitudine semita_ =
And an hardy man of herte,
Among an heep of theves.
_Cantabit paupertas coram latrone
viatore._ 9530
"The seventhe is welle of wisedom,
And fewe wordes sheweth;
Therfore lordes alloweth hym litel,
Or listneth to his reson,
For he tempreth the tonge to trutheward,
And no tresor coveiteth
_Sapientiæ temperatrix._
"The eightethe is a lele labour,
And looth to take moore
Than he may wel deserve, 9540
In somer or in wynter.
And if he chaffareth, he chargeth no losse,
Mowe he charité wynne.
_Negotium sine damno._
"The nynthe is swete to the soule,
No sugre is swetter.
For pacience is payn
For poverte hymselve,
And sobretee swete drynke
And good leche in siknesse. 9550
Thus lered me a lettred man,
For oure Lordes love of hevene;
Seint Austyn a blessed lif
Withouten bisynesse ladde
For body and for soule,
_Absque sollicitudine felicitas_.
{293}
Now God, that alle good gyveth,
Graunte his soule reste
That this first wroot to wissen men
What poverte was to mene!" 9560
"Allas!" quod Haukyn the actif man tho,
"That after my cristendom
I ne hadde be deed and dolven
For Do-welis sake!
So hard it is," quod Haukyn,
"To lyve and to do no synne.
Synne seweth us evere," quod he,
And sory gan wexe,
And wepte water with hise eighen,
And weyled the tyme 9570
That he evere dide dede
That deere God displesed;
Swound and sobbed
And siked ful ofte,
That evere he hadde lond outher lordshipe,
Lasse other moore,
Or maistrie over any man
Mo than of hymselve.
"I were noght worthi, woot God!" quod Haukyn,
"To werien any clothes, 9580
Ne neither sherte ne shoon,
Save for shame one
To covere my careyne," quod he;
And cride mercy faste,
And wepte and wailede;
And therwith I awakede. 9586
* * * * *
{294}
_Passus Decimus Quintus, etc. finit Do-wel, et incipit Do-bet._
Ac after my wakynge, 9587
It was wonder longe
Er I koude kyndely
Knowe what was Do-wel.
And so my wit weex and wanyed,
Til I a fool weere;
And some lakkede my lif,
Allowed it fewe,
And lete me for a lorel,
And looth to reverencen
Lordes or ladies,
Or any lif ellis;
As persons in pelure,
With pendauntz of silver; 9600
To sergeauntz ne to swiche
Seide I noght ones,
"God loke yow, lordes!"
Ne loutede faire;
That folk helden me a fool,
And in that folie I raved.
Til reson hadde ruthe on me,
And rokked me a-slepe,
Til I seigh, as it sorcerie were,
A sotil thyng withalle; 9610
{295}
Oon withouten tonge and teeth
Tolde me whider I sholde,
And wherof I cam, and of what kynde;
I conjured hym at the laste,
If he were Cristes creature
Anoon me to tellen.
"I am Cristes creature," quod he,
"And cristene in many a place,
In Cristes court y-knowe wel,
And of his kyn a party. 9620
Is neither Peter the porter,
Nor Poul with his fauchon,
That wole defende me the dore,
Dynge I never so late;
At mydnyght, at mydday,
My vois so is knowe,
That ech a creature of his court
Welcometh me faire."
"What are ye called," quod I, "in that court,
Among Cristes peple?" 9630
"The whiles I quikne the cors," quod he,
"Called am I _Anima_;
And whan I wilne and wolde,
_Animus_ ich hatte;
And for that I kan knowe,
Called am I _Mens_;
And whan I make mone to God,
_Memoria_ is my name;
And whan I deme domes,
And do as truthe techeth, 9640
Thanne is _Ratio_ my righte name,
Reson on Englisshe;
{296}
And whan I feele that folk telleth,
My firste name is _Sensus_,
And that is wit and wisdom,
The welle of alle craftes.
And whan I chalange or chalange noght,
Chepe or refuse,
Thanne am I _Conscience_ y-called,
Goddes clerk and his notarie; 9650
And whan I love leelly
Oure Lord and alle othere,
Thanne is lele Love my name,
And in Latyn _Amor_;
And whan I flee fro the flesshe,
And forsake the careyne,
Thanne am I a spirit specheless,
_Spiritus_ thanne iche hatte.
Austyn and Ysodorus,
Either of hem bothe, 9660
Nempnede me thus to name,
And now thow myght chese
How thow coveitest to calle me,
For now thow knowest my names."
_Anima pro diversis actionibus diversa
nomina sortitur; dum
vivificat corpus, anima est;
dum vult, animus est; dum
scit, mens est; dum recolit,
memoria est; dum judicat, 9670
ratio est; dum sentit, sensus
est; dum amat, amor est;
dum negat vel consentit, conscientia
est; dum spirat, spiritus
est._
"Ye ben as a bisshope," quod I,
{297}
Al bourdynge that tyme;
"For bisshopes y-blessed,
Thei bereth manye names,
_Præsul_ and _pontifex_, 9680
And _metropolitanus_,
And othere names an heep,
_Episcopus_ and _pastor_."
"That is sooth," seide he;
"Now I se thi wille;
Thow woldest knowe and konne
The cause of alle my names,
And of me, if thow myghtest,
Me thynketh by thi speche."
"Ye, sire," I seide, 9690
"By so no man were greved,
Alle the sciences under sonne,
And alle the sotile craftes,
I wolde I knewe and kouthe
Kyndely in myn herte."
"Thanne artow inparfit," quod he,
"And oon of Prides knyghtes;
For swich a lust and likyng
Lucifer fel from hevene."
_Ponam pedem meum in aquilone, et 9700
similis ero altissimo._
"It were ayeins kynde," quod he,
"And alle kynnes reson,
That any creature sholde konne al,
Except Crist oone:
Ayein swiche Salomon speketh,
And despiseth hir wittes,
And seith, _Sicut qui mel comedit
multum, non est ei bonum; sic
qui scrutator est majestatis, 9710
opprimitur a gloria_.
{298}
"To Englisshe men this is to mene,
That mowen speke and here,
The man that muche hony eteth,
His mawe it engleymeth;
And the moore that a man
Of good matere hereth,
But he do therafter,
It dooth hym double scathe.
_Beatus est_, seith seint Bernard, 9720
_Qui scripturas legit,
Et verba vertit in opera_
Fulliche to his power.
Coveitise to konne
And to knowe sciences,
Putte out of Paradis
Adam and Eve.
_Scientiæ appetitus hominem inmortalitatis
gloria spoliavit._
"And right as hony is yvel to defie, 9730
And engleymeth the mawe;
Right so he that thorugh reson
Wolde the roote knowe
Of God and of hise grete myghtes,
Hise graces it letteth.
For in the likynge lith a pride,
And licames coveitise,
Ayein Cristes counseil
And alle clerkes techynge;
That is _Non plus sapere quam oportet sapere_ =
"Freres and fele othere maistres, 9742
That to lewed men prechen,
Ye moeven materes unmesurable
{299}
To tellen of the Trinité,
That ofte tymes the lewed peple
Of hir bileve doute.
Bettre it were to manye doctours
To leven swich techyng,
And tellen men of the ten comaundmentz, 9750
And touchen the sevene synnes,
And of the braunches that burjoneth of hem,
And bryngen men to helle,
And how that folk in folies
Misspenden hir fyve wittes,
As wel freres as oother folk
Foliliche spenden
In housynge, in haterynge,
And in to heigh clergie shewynge,
Moore for pompe than for pure charité, 9760
The peple woot the sothe,
That I lye noght, loo!
For lordes ye plesen,
And reverencen the riche
The rather for hir silver
_Confundantur omnes qui adorant
sculptilia. Et alibi: Ut quid
diligitis vanitatem, et quæritis
mendacium._
"Gooth to the glose of thise vers, 9770
Ye grete clerkes;
If I lye on yow to my lewed wit,
Ledeth me to brennyng.
For as it semeth, ye forsaketh
No mannes almesse
Of usurers, of hoores,
{300}
Of avarouse chapmen;
And louten to thise lordes
That mowen lene yow nobles,
Ayein youre rule and religion, 9780
I take record at Jhesus,
That seide to hise disciples,
_Ne sitis personarum acceptores_.
Of this matere I myghte
Make a long bible!
Ac of curatours of cristen peple,
As clerkes bereth witnesse,
I shal tellen it, for truthes sake,
Take hede who so liketh.
"As holynesse and honesté 9790
Out of holy chirche spredeth
Thorugh lele libbynge men
That Goddes lawe techen;
Right so out of holi chirche
Alle yveles spryngeth,
There inparfit preesthode is,
Prechours and techeris.
I se it by ensaunple
In somer tyme on trowes:
Ther some bowes ben leved, 9800
And some bereth none,
Ther is a meschief in the morre
Of swiche manere bowes.
"Rightso bi persons and preestes,
And prechours of holi chirche,
That aren roote of the right feith
To rule the peple.
And ther the roote is roten,
Reson woot the sothe,
Shal nevere flour ne fruyt 9810
{301}
Ne fair leef be greene.
For-thi wolde ye, lettrede, leve
The lecherie of clothyng;
And be kynde, as bifel for clerkes,
And curteise of Cristes goodes,
Trewe of youre tonge,
And of youre tail bothe,
And hatien to here harlotrie;
And noght to underfonge
Tithes, but of trewe thyng, 9820
Y-tilied or chaffared;
Lothe were lewed men,
But thei youre loore folwede,
And amendeden hem that mysdoon
Moore for youre ensaumples,
Than for to prechen and preven it noght,
Ypocrisie it semeth;
The which in Latyn
Is likned to a dongehill
That were bi-snewed with snow, 9830
And snakes withinne;
Or to a wal that were whit-lymed,
And were foul withinne;
"Right so manye preestes,
Prechours and prelates,
Ye aren enblaunched with _bele paroles_,
And with clothes also;
Ac youre werkes and youre wordes ther under,
Aren ful unloveliche.
Johannes Crisostomus 9840
Of clerkes speketh and preestes;
_Sicut de templo omne bonum progreditur,
sic de templo omne
malum procedit. Si sacerdotium
{302}
integrum fuerit, tota floret
ecclesia: si autem corruptum
fuerit, omnis fides marcida
est. Si sacerdotium fuerit
in peccatis, totus populus
convertitur ad peccandum. Sicut 9850
cum videris arborem pallidam
et marcidam, intelligis
quod vitium habet in radice.
Ita cum videris populum indisciplinatum
et irreligiosum, sine
dubio sacerdotium ejus non est
sanum._
"If lewed men wiste
What this Latyn meneth,
And who was myn auctour, 9860
Muche wonder me thinketh,
But if many a preest beere,
For hir baselardes and hir broches,
A peire of bedes in hir hand,
And a book under hir arme.
Sire Johan and sire Geffrey
Hath a girdel of silver.
A baselard or a ballok-knyf,
With botons over gilte;
Ac a porthors that sholde be his plow 9870
_Placebo_ to sigge,
Hadde he nevere service to save silver therto.
Seith it with ydel wille.
"Allas! ye lewed men,
Muche lese ye on preestes.
Ac thing that wikkedly is wonne,
And with false sleightes,
Wolde nevere the wit of witty God
{303}
But wikkede men it hadde,
The whiche arn preestes inparfite, 9880
And prechours after silver,
Executours and sodenes,
Somonours and hir lemmannes;
That that with gile was geten,
Ungraciousliche is despended;
So harlotes and hores
Arn holpe with swiche goodes,
And Goddes folk, for defaute therof,
For-faren and spillen.
"Curatours of holy kirke, 9890
As clerkes that ben avarouse,
Lightliche that thei leven,
Losels it habbeth,
Or deieth intestate,
And thanne the bisshope entreth
And maketh murthe thermyd,
And hise men bothe,
And seyen he was a nygard
That no good myghte aspare
To frend ne to fremmed, 9900
The fend have his soule!
For a wrecchede hous held he
Al his lif tyme;
And that he spared and bisperede,
Dispende we in murthe;
By lered, by lewed,
That looth is to despende.
Thus goon hire goodes.
Be the goost faren.
Ac for goode men, God woot! 9910
Greet doel men maken,
And bymeneth goode mete gyveres,
{304}
And in mynde haveth,
In preieres and in penaunces,
And in parfit charité."
"What is charité?" quod I tho.
"A childisshe thyng," he seide.
"_Nisi efficiamini parvuli, non intrabitis
in regnum cælorum._
Withouten fauntelté or folie, 9920
A fre liberal wille."
"Where sholde men fynde swich a frend,
With so fre an herte?"
"I have lyved in londe," quod he,
"My name is Longe-wille;
And fond I nevere ful charité
Byfore ne bihynde.
Men beth merciable
To mendinauntz and to poore,
And wollen lene ther thei leve 9930
Lelly to ben paied.
Ac charité that Poul preiseth best,
And moost plesaunt to oure Lord,
Is _Non inflatur, non est ambitiosa, non
quærit quæ sua sunt, etc_.
"I seigh nevere swich a man,
So me God helpe!
That he ne wolde aske after his,
And outher while coveite
Thyng that neded hym noght, 9940
And nyme it, if he myghte.
"Clerkes kenne me
That Crist is in alle places;
Ac I seigh hym nevere soothly,
But as myself in a mirour:
_In ænigmate tunc facie ad faciem._
{305}
And so I trowe trewely,
By that men telleth of charité,
It is noght chaumpions fight,
Ne chaffare, as I trowe, 9950
"Charité," quod he, "ne chaffareth noght,
Ne chalangeth, ne craveth;
As proud of a peny,
As of a pound of golde;
And is as glad of a gowne
Of a gray russet,
As of a tunycle of Tarse,
Or of trie scarlet.
He is glad with alle glade,
And good til alle wikkede, 9960
And leveth and loveth alle
That oure Lord made.
Corseth he no creature,
Ne he kan bere no wrathe,
Ne no likynge hath to lye,
Ne laughe men to scorne;
Al that men seyn, he leet it sooth,
And in solace taketh,
And alle manere meschiefs
In myldenesse he suffreth. 9970
Coveiteth he noon erthely good,
But hevene riche blisse,
Hath he anye rentes or richesse,
Or anye riche frendes.
"Of rentes nor of richesse
Ne rekketh he nevere;
For a frend that fyndeth hym,
Failed hym nevere at neede.
_Fiat voluntas tua_
Fynt hym evere moore; 9980
{306}
And if he soupeth, eteth but a sop
Of _spera in Deo_.
He kan portreye wel the paternoster,
And peynte it with aves;
And outher while he is woned
To wenden on pilgrymages,
Ther poore men and prisons liggeth,
Hir pardon to have.
Though he bere hem no breed,
He bereth hem swetter liflode, 9990
Loveth hem as oure Lord biddeth,
And loketh how thei fare.
"And whan he is wery of that werk,
Than wole he som tyme
Labouren in lavendrye
Wel the lengthe of a mile,
And yerne into youthe,
And yepeliche speke
Pride with al the appurtenaunces,
And pakken hem togideres, 10000
And bouken hem at his brest,
And beten hem clene,
And leggen on longe,
With _laboravi in gemitu meo_;
And with warm water at hise eighen
Wasshen hem after.
And thanne he syngeth whan he doth so,
And som tyme seith wepynge,
_Cor contritum et humiliatum, Deus,
non despicies_." 10010
"By Crist! I wolde that I knewe hym," quod I,
"No creature levere!"
"Withouten help of Piers Plowman," quod he,
{307}
"His persone sestow nevere."
"Wheither clerkes knowen hym," quod I,
"That kepen holi kirke?"
"Clerkes have no knowyng," quod he,
"But by werkes and by wordes.
Ac Piers the Plowman
Parceyveth moore depper 10020
What is the wille and wherfore
That many wight suffreth.
_Et vidit Deus cogitationes eorum._
For ther are ful proude herted men,
Pacient of tonge,
And buxome as of berynge
To burgeises and to lordes,
And to poore peple
Han pepir in the nose,
And as a lyoun he loketh, 10030
Ther men lakken hise werkes.
"For ther are beggeris and bidderis,
Bedemen as it were,
Loken as lambren,
And semen ful holy;
Ac it is moore to have hir mete
With swich an esy manere,
Than for penaunce and perfitnesse,
The poverte that swiche taketh.
"Therfore by colour ne by clergie 10040
Knowe shaltow nevere,
Neither thorugh wordes ne werkes,
But thorugh wil oone.
And that knoweth no clerk,
Ne creature on erthe,
But Piers the Plowman
{308}
_Petrus, i. Christus._
For he nys noght in lolleris,
Ne in lond leperis heremytes,
Ne at ancres there a box hangeth, 10050
Alle swiche thei faiten.
Fy on faitours,
And _in fautores suos_!
For charité is Goddes champion,
And as a good child hende,
And the murieste of mouth
At mete where he sitteth.
The love that lith in his herte
Maketh hym light of speche,
And is compaignable and confortatif, 10060
As Crist bit hymselve.
_Nolite fieri sicut hypocritæ tristes, etc._
For I have seyen hym in silk,
And som tyme in russet,
Bothe in grey and in grys,
And in gilt harneis;
And as gladliche he it gaf
To gomes that it neded.
"Edmond and Edward
Bothe were kynges, 10070
And seintes y-set,
For charité hem folwede.
"I have y-seyen charité also
Syngen and reden,
Riden and rennen
In raggede wedes;
Ac biddynge as beggeris
Biheld I hym nevere.
Ac in riche robes
Rathest he walketh, 10080
{309}
Y-called and y-crymyled,
And his crowne y-shave;
And in a freres frokke
He was y-founden ones,
Ac it is fern ago,
In seint Fraunceis tyme:
In that secte siththe
To selde hath he ben founde.
"Riche men he recomendeth,
And of hir robes taketh, 10090
That withouten wiles
Ledeth hir lyves.
_Beatus est dives qui, etc._
"In kynges court he cometh ofte,
Ther the counseil is trewe;
Ac if coveitise be of the counseil,
He wolnoght come therinne,
"In court amonges japeris
He cometh noght but selde,
For braulynge and bakbitynge, 10100
And berynge of fals witnesse.
"In the consistorie bifore the commissarie
He cometh noght but ofte;
For hir lawe dureth over longe,
But if thei lacchen silver,
And matrimoyne for moneie
Maken and unmaken;
And that conscience and Crist
Hath y-knyt faste,
Thei undoon it unworthily, 10110
Tho doctours of lawe.
"Ac I ne lakke no lif,
But, Lord, amende us alle,
{310}
And gyve us grace, good God,
Charité to folwe.
For who so myghte meete myd hym,
Swiche maneres hym eileth,
Neither he blameth ne banneth,
Bosteth ne preiseth,
Lakketh ne loseth, 10120
Ne loketh up sterne,
Craveth ne coveiteth,
Ne crieth after moore.
_In pace in idipsum dormiam, etc._
"The mooste liflode that he lyveth by,
Is love in Goddes passion;
Neither he biddeth ne beggeth,
Ne borweth to yelde,
Misdooth he no man,
Ne with his mouth greveth. 10130
"Amonges cristene men
This myldenesse sholde laste.
In alle manere angres
Have this at herte,
That theigh thei suffrede al this,
God suffrede for us moore,
In ensample we sholde do so,
And take no vengeaunce
Of oure foes that dooth us falsnesse,
That is oure fadres wille. 10140
"For wel may every man wite,
If God hadde wold hymselve,
Sholde nevere Judas ne Jew
Have Jhesu doon on roode,
Ne han martired Peter ne Poul,
Ne in prison holden.
Ac he suffrede in ensample
{311}
That we sholde suffren also,
And seide to swiche that suffre wolde,
That _patientes vincunt_. 10150
"_Verbi gratia_," quod he,
"And verray ensamples manye,
In _Legenda Sanctorum_,
The lif of holy seintes,
What penaunce and poverte
And passion thei suffrede,
In hunger, in hete,
In alle manere angres.
"Antony and Egidie,
And othere holy fadres, 10160
Woneden in wildernesse
Among wilde beestes;
Monkes and mendinauntz,
Men by hemselve,
In spekes and in spelonkes,
Selde speken togideres.
"Ac neither Antony ne Egidie,
Ne heremyte that tyme,
Of leons ne of leopardes
No liflode ne toke; 10170
But of foweles that fleeth,
Thus fyndeth men in bokes.
Except that Egidie
After an hynde cride,
And thorugh the mylk of that mylde beest
The man was sustened;
And day bi day hadde he hire noght
His hunger for to slake,
But selden and sondry tymes,
As seith the book and techeth. 10180
"Antony a dayes,
{312}
Aboute noon tyme,
Hadde a brid that broughte hym breed,
That he by lyvede;
And though the gome hadde a gest,
God fond hem bothe.
"Poul _primus heremita_
Hadde parroked hymselve,
That no man myghte hym se
For mosse and for leves; 10190
Foweles hym fedde
Fele wyntres withalle,
Til he foundede freres
Of Austynes ordre.
Poul, after his prechyng,
Paniers he made,
And wan with hise hondes
That his wombe neded.
"Peter fisshed for his foode,
And his felawe Andrew; 10200
Som thei solde and som thei soden,
And so thei lyved bothe.
"And also Marie Maudeleyne
By mores lyvede and dewes
Ac moost thorugh devocion
And mynde of God almyghty.
I sholde noght thise seven daies
Siggen hem alle,
That lyveden thus for oure Lordes love
Many longe yeres. 10210
"Ac ther ne was leon ne leopard
That on laundes wenten,
Neither bere ne boor,
Ne oother beest wilde,
That ne fil to hir feet,
{313}
And fawned with the taillies;
And if thei kouthe han y-carped,
By Crist! as I trowe,
Thei wolde have y-fed that folk
Bifore wild foweles. 10220
Ac God sente hem foode by foweles,
And by no fierse beestes,
In menynge that meke thyng
Mylde thyng sholde fede.
"Ac who seith religiouses
Rightfulle men sholde fede,
And lawefulle men to lif-holy men
Liflode sholde brynge;
And thanne wolde lordes and ladies
Be looth to agulte, 10230
And to taken of hir tenauntz
Moore than trouthe wolde,
Foulde thei that freres
Wolde forsake hir almesses,
And bidden hem bere it
There it was y-borwed.
For we ben Goddes foweles,
And abiden alwey
Til briddes brynge us
That we sholde lyve by. 10240
For hadde ye potage and payn y-nogh,
And peny ale to drynke,
And a mees thermyd
Of o maner kynde,
Ye hadde right y-nogh, ye religiouse,
And so youre rule me tolde.
_Nunquam, dicit Job, rugit onager
cum herbam habuerit, aut mugiet
bos cum ante plenum præsepe
{314}
steterit. Brutorum animalium 10250
natura te condemnat,
quia cum eis pabulum commune
sufficiat, ex adipe prodiit iniquitas tua._
"If lewed men knewe this Latyn,
Thei wolde loke whom thei yeve,
And avisen hem bifore
A fyve dayes or sixe,
Er thei amortisede to monkes
Or chanons hir rente.
Allas! lordes and ladies, 10260
Lewed counseil have ye,
To gyve from youre heires
That youre aiels yow lefte,
And gyveth it to bidde for yow
Fo swiche that ben riche,
And ben founded and feffed ek
To bidde for othere.
"Who perfourneth this prophecie
Of the peple that now libbeth?
_Dispersit, dedit pauperibus._ 10270
"If any peple perfourne that text,
It are thise poore freres;
For that thei beggen aboute,
In buyldynge thei spende it,
And on hemself som,
And swiche as ben hir laborers;
And of hem that habbeth thei taken,
And gyveth hem that habbeth.
"Ac clerkes and knyghtes,
And communers that ben riche, 10280
Fele of yow fareth
As if I a forest hadde
{315}
That were ful of faire trees,
And I fondede and caste
How I myghte mo therinne
Amonges hem sette.
"Right so, ye riche,
Ye robeth that ben riche,
And helpeth hem that helpeth yow,
And gyveth ther no nede is. 10290
As who so filled a toune
Of a fressh ryver,
And wente forth with that water
To woke with Temese;
Right so, ye riche,
Ye robeth and fedeth
Hem that han as ye han,
Hem ye make at ese.
"Ac religiouse that riche ben,
Sholde rather feeste beggeris 10300
Than burgeises that riche ben,
As the book techeth.
_Quia sacrilegium est res pauperum
non pauperibus dare. Item:
Peccatoribus dare, est dæmonibus
immolare. Item: Monache,
si indiges et accipis, potius
das quam accipis; si autem
non eges et accipis, rapis.
Porro non indiget monachus, si 10310
habeat quod naturæ sufficit._
"For-thi I counseille alle cristene
To conformen hem to charité,
For charité withouten chalangynge
Unchargeth the soule,
And many a prison fram purgatorie
{316}
Thorugh his preieres he delivereth.
Ac ther is a defaute in the folk
That the feith kepeth;
Wherfore folk is the febler, 10320
And noght ferm of bileve,
As in lussheburwes is a luther alay,
And yet loketh he lik a sterlyng;
The merk of that monee is good,
Ac the metal is feble.
"And so it fareth by som folk now,
Thei han a fair speche,
Crowne and cristendom,
The kynges mark of hevene;
Ac the metal, that is mannes soule, 10330
With synne is foule alayed.
Bothe lettred and lewed
Beth alayed now with synne,
That no lif loveth oother,
Ne oure Lord, as it semeth.
For thorugh werre and wikkede werkes,
And wederes unresonable,
Weder-wise shipmen,
And witty clerkes also,
Han no bileve to the lifte, 10340
Ne to the loore of philosofres.
"Astronomiens al day
In hir art faillen,
That whilom warned bifore
What sholde falle after.
"Shipmen and shepherdes,
That with ship and sheep wenten,
Wisten by the walkne
What sholde bitide,
As of wedres and wyndes 10350
{317}
Thei warned men ofte.
"Tilieris, that tiled the erthe,
Tolden hir maistres,
By the seed that thei sewe,
What thei selle myghte,
And what to lene, and what to lyve by,
The lond was so trewe.
"Now faileth the folk of the flood,
And of the lond bothe,
Shepherdes and shipmen, 10360
And so do thise tilieris,
Neither thei konneth ne knoweth
Oon cours bifore another.
"Astronomyens also
Aren at hir wittes ende,
Of that was calculed of the element
The contrarie thei fynde;
Grammer, the ground of al,
Bigileth now children,
For is noon of this newe clerkes, 10370
Who so nymeth hede,
Naught oon among an hundred
That an auctour kan construwe,
Ne rede a lettre in any langage
But in Latyn or in Englissh.
"Go now to any degree,
And but if gile be maister,
And flaterere his felawe
Under hym to fourmen,
Muche wonder me thynketh 10380
Amonges us alle,
Doctours of decrees
And of divinité maistres,
That sholde konne and knowe
{318}
Alle kynnes clergie,
And answere to argumentz,
And also to a _quodlibet_;
I dar noght siggen it for shame,
If swiche were apposed,
Thei sholde faillen of her philosophie, 10390
And in phisik bothe.
"Wherfore I am a-fered
Of folk of holy kirke,
Lest thei overhuppen, as oothere doon,
In office and in houres;
And if they overhuppe, as I hope noght,
Oure bileve suffiseth;
As clerkes in Corpus Christi feeste
Syngen and reden,
That _sola fides sufficit_ 10400
To save with lewed peple;
And so may Sarzens be saved,
Scribes, and Jewes.
"Allas, thanne! but our looresmen
Lyve as thei leren us,
And for hir lyvynge that lewed men
Be the lother God agulten.
For Sarzens han somwhat
Semynge to oure bileve;
For thei love and bileve 10410
In o persone almyghty,
And we, lered and lewed,
In oon God almyghty;
And oon Makometh, a man,
In mysbileve broughte
Sarzens of Surree,
And see in what manere.
"This Makometh was a cristene
{319}
And for he moste noght ben a pope
Into Surrie he soughte, 10420
And thorugh hise sotile wittes
He daunted a dowve,
And day and nyght hire fedde,
The corn that she croppede
He caste it in his ere;
And if he among the peple preched,
Or in places come,
Thanne wolde the colvere come
To the clerkes ere
Menynge as after mete,-- 10430
Thus Makometh hire enchauntede;
And dide folk thanne falle on knees,
For he swoor in his prechyng
That the colvere that com so,
Com from God of hevene,
As messager to Makometh,
Men for to teche.
And thus thorugh wiles of his wit,
And a whit dowve,
Makometh in mysbileve 10440
Men and wommen broughte;
That lyved tho there and lyve yit
Leeven on hise lawes.
"And siththe oure Saveour suffred,
The Sarzens so bigiled
Thorugh a cristene clerk,
Acorsed in his soule!
For drede of the deeth
I dare noght telle truthe,
How Englisshe clerkes a colvere fede 10450
That coveitise highte,
And ben manered after Makometh,
{320}
That no man useth trouthe.
"Ancres and heremytes,
And monkes and freres,
Peeren to the apostles
Thorugh hire parfit lyvynge;
Wolde nevere the feithful fader
That hise ministres sholde
Of tirauntz that teneth trewe men 10460
Taken any almesse,
But doon as Antony dide,
Dominyk and Fraunceys,
Beneit and Bernard
The whiche hem first taughte
To lyve by litel, and in lowe houses,
By lele mennes almesse.
Grace sholde growe and be grene
Thorugh hir goode lyvynge;
And folkes sholden fare, 10470
That ben in diverse siknesse,
The bettre for hir biddynges
In body and in soule.
Hir preieres and hir penaunces
To pees sholde brynge
Alle that ben at debaat,
And bedemen were trewe.
_Petite et accipietis, etc._
Salt saveth the catel,
Siggen thise wives. 10480
_Vos estis sal terræ, etc._
The hevedes of holy chirche,
And thei holy were,
Crist calleth hem salt
For cristene soules.
_Et si sal evanuerit in quo salietur, etc._
{321}
"For fressh flessh outher fissh,
Whan it salt failleth,
It is unsavory for sothe,
Y-soden or y-bake; 10490
So is mannes soule, soothly,
That seeth no goode ensamples
Of hem of holi chirche,
That the heighe wey sholde teche,
And be gide, and go bifore,
As a good banyer;
And hardie hem that bihynde ben,
And gyve hem good evidence.
"Ellevene holy men
Al the world tornede 10500
Into lele bileve;
The lightloker me thinketh
Sholde all maner men,
We han so manye maistres,
Preestes and prechours,
And a pope above,
That Goddes salt sholde be
To save mannes soule.
"Al was hethynesse som tyme
Engelond and Walis, 10510
Til Gregory garte clerkes
To go here and preche;
Austyn at Caunterbury
Cristnede the kyng,
And thorugh miracles, as men now rede,
Al that marche he tornede
To Crist and to cristendom,
And cros to honoure;
And follede folk faste,
And the feith taughte, 10520
{322}
Moore thorugh miracles
Than thorugh muche prechyng,
As wel thorugh hise werkes
As with hise holy wordes,
And seide hem what fullynge
And feith was to mene.
"Clooth that cometh fro the wevyng
Is noght comly to were,
Til it be fulled under foot
Or in fullyng stokkes, 10530
Wasshen wel with water,
And with taseles cracched,
Y-touked and y-teynted,
And under taillours hande;
Right so it fareth by a barn,
That born is of a wombe,
Til it be cristned in Cristes name,
And confermed of the bisshope,
It is hethene as to hevene-ward.
And help-lees to the soule. 10540
Hethen is to mene after heeth
And untiled erthe,
As in wilde wildernesse
Wexeth wilde beestes,
Rude and unresonable,
Rennynge withouten cropiers.
"Ye mynnen wel how Mathew seith,
How a man made a feste;
He fedde him with no venyson,
Ne fesauntz y-bake, 10550
But with foweles that fram hym nolde,
But folwede his whistlyng.
_Ecce altilia mea, et omnia parata sunt._ =
And with calves flessh he fedde
{323}
The folk that he lovede.
"The calf bitokneth clennesse
In hem that kepeth lawes.
For as the cow thorugh kynde mylk
The calf norisseth til an oxe; 10560
So love and leauté
Lele men susteneth,
And maidenes and mylde men
Mercy desiren,
Right as the cow calf
Coveiteth melk swete,
So doon rightfulle men
Mercy and truthe.
"Ac who beth that excuseth hem
That ben persons and preestes, 10570
That hevedes of holy chirche ben,
That han hir wil here
Withouten travaille the tithe deel
That trewe men biswynken;
Thei wol be wrooth for I write thus,
Ac to witnesse I take
Bothe Mathew and Marc,
And _Memento Domine David_.
"What pope or prelat now
Perfourneth that Crist highte. 10580
_Ite in universum mundum et prædicate, etc._ =
"Allas! that men so longe
On Makometh sholde bileve,
So manye prelates to preche
As the pope maketh,
Of Nazareth, of Nynyve,
Of Neptalym and Damaske,
That thei ne wente as Crist wisseth,
Sithen thei wille have name 10590
{324}
To be pastours and preche
To lyve and to dye.
_Bonus pastor animam suam ponit, etc._ =
And seide it in salvacion
Of Sarzens and othere,
For cristene and uncristene
Crist seide to prechours:
_Ite vos in vineam meam, etc._
"And sith that thise Sarzens, 10600
Scribes, and Jewes,
Han a lippe of our bileve,
The lightlier me thynketh
Thei sholde turne, who so travailed
To teche hem of the Trinité.
_Quærite et invenietis, etc._
"It is ruthe to rede
How rightwise men lyvede,
How thei defouled hir flessh,
Forsoke hir owene wille, 10610
Fer fro kyth and fro kyn
Yvele y-clothed yeden,
Baddely y-bedded,
No book but conscience,
Ne no richesse but the roode
To rejoisse hem inne.
_Absit nobis gloriari nisi in cruce
Domini nostri, etc._
"And tho was plentee and pees
Amonges poore and riche, 10620
And now is routhe to rede
How the rede noble
Is reverenced er the roode,
And receyved for worthier
Than Cristes cros, that overcam
{325}
Deeth and dedly synne.
And now is werre and wo;
And who so why asketh,
For coveitise after cros
The croune stant in golde. 10630
Bothe riche and religious
That roode thei honoure
That in grotes is y-grave
And in gold nobles.
For coveitise of that cros,
Men of holy kirke
Shul torne as templers dide,
The tyme approcheth faste.
"Wite ye noght, ye wise men,
How tho men honoured 10640
Moore tresor than trouthe,
I dar noght telle the sothe,
Reson and rightful doom
The religiouse demede.
"Right so, ye clerkes,
For youre coveitise, er longe,
Shal thei demen _dos ecclesiæ_,
And youre pride depose,
_Deposuit potentes de sede, etc._
"If knyghthod and kynde wit 10650
And the commune by conscience
Togideres love leelly,
Leveth it wel, ye bisshopes,
The lordshipe of youre londes
For evere shul ye lese,
And lyven as _levitici_,
As oure Lord techeth.
_Per primitias et decimas, etc._
"Whan Costantyn of curteisie
Holy kirke dowed 10660
{326}
With londes and ledes,
Lordshipes and rentes,
An aungel men herden
An heigh at Rome crye,
_Dos ecclesiæ_ this day
Hath y-dronke venym,
And tho that han Petres power
Arn apoisoned alle.
"A medicyne moot therto,
That may amende prelates, 10670
That sholden preie for the pees,
Possession hem letteth;
Taketh hire landes, ye lordes,
And leteth hem lyve by dymes.
"If possession be poison,
And inparfite hem make,
Good were to deschargen hem,
For holy chirches sake,
And purgen hem of poison,
Er moore peril falle. 10680
"If preesthode were parfit,
The peple sholde amende
That contrarien Cristes lawe,
And cristendom dispise.
For alle paynymes preieth,
And parfitly bileveth
In the holy grete God,
And his grace thei asken,
And make hir mone to Makometh
Hir message to shewe. 10690
Thus in a feith leve that folk,
And in a fals mene;
And that is routhe for rightful men
That in the reawme wonyen,
{327}
And a peril to the pope,
And prelates that he maketh,
That bere bisshopes names
Of Bethleem and Babiloigne,
That huppe aboute in Engelond
To halwe mennes auteres, 10700
And crepe amonges curatours,
And confessen ageyn the lawe.
_Nolite mittere falcem in messem alienam, etc._
"Many man for Cristes love
Was martired in Romayne,
Er any cristendom was knowe there,
Or any cros honoured.
"Every bisshop that bereth cros,
By that he is holden
Thorugh his province to passe, 10710
And to his peple to shewe hym,
Tellen hem and techen hem
On the Trinité to bileve,
And feden hem with goostly foode,
And gyve there it nedeth.
_In domo mea non est panis neque
vestimentum, et ideo nolite constituere
me regem._
"Ozias seith for swiche
That sike ben and feble, 10720
_Inferte omnes decimas in horreum
meum, ut sit cibus in domo mea._
"Ac we cristene creatures
That on the cros bileven,
Arn ferme as in the feith,
Goddes forbode ellis!
And han clerkes to kepen us therinne,
{328}
And hem that shul come after us.
"And Jewes lyven in lele lawe,
Oure Lord wroot it hymselve 10730
In stoon, for it stedefast was,
And stonde sholde evere.
_Dilige Deum et proximum_,
Is parfit Jewen lawe;
And took it Moyses to teche men
Til Messie coome;
And on that lawe thei lyve yit,
And leten it the beste,
And yit knewe thei Crist
That cristendom taughte 10740
For a parfit prophete
That muche peple savede
Of selkouthe sores,
Thei seighen it ofte,
Bothe of miracles and merveilles,
And how he men festede,
With two fisshes and fyve loves,
Fyve thousand peple;
And by that mangerie men myghte wel se
That Messie he semede, 10750
And whan he lifte up Lazar,
That leid was in grave,
And under stoon deed and stank,
With stif vois hym callede:
_Lazare, veni foras._
Dide hym rise and rome,
Right bifore the Jewes.
"Ac thei seiden and sworen
With sorcerie he wroughte,
And studieden to struyen hym, 10760
And struyden hemselve;
{329}
And thorugh his pacience, hir power
To pure noght he broughte.
_Patientes vincunt._
"Daniel of hire undoynge
Devyned and seide,
_Cum sanctus sanctorum veniat, cessabit
unctio vestra._
And wenen tho wrecches
That he were _pseudo-propheta_, 10770
And that his loore be lesynges,
And lakken it alle,
And hopen that he be to come
That shal hem releve,
Moyses eft or Messie
Hir maistres yit devyneth.
"Ac Pharisees and Sarzens,
Scribes and Jewes,
Arn folk of oon feith,
The fader God thei honouren. 10780
And sithen that the Sarzens,
And also the Jewes,
Konne the firste clause of oure bileve,
_Credo in Deum patrem omnipotentem_,
Prelates of cristene provinces
Sholde preve, if thei myghte,
To lere hem litlum and litlum
_Et in Jesum Christum filium_,
Til thei kouthe speke and spelle
_Et in Spiritum sanctum_,
And reden it and recorden it
With _remissionem peccatorum,
Carnis resurrectionem, et vitam æternam. Amen._" 10793
* * * * *
{330}
_Passus Decimus Sextus, etc. et Primus de Do-bet._
"Now faire falle yow," quod I tho, 10794
"For youre faire shewyng;
For Haukyns love, the actif man,
Evere I shal yow lovye!
Ac yit I am in a weer
What charité is to mene."
"It is a ful trie tree," quod he, 10800
"Trewely to telle;
Mercy is the more therof,
The myddul stok is ruthe;
The leves ben lele wordes,
The lawe of holy chirche;
The blosmes beth buxom speche,
And benigne lokynge;
Pacience hatte the pure tree,
And pure symple of herte;
And so, thorugh God and thorugh goode men, 10810
Groweth the fruyt charité."
"I wolde travaille," quod I, "this tree to se,
Twenty hundred myle;
And for to have my fulle of that fruyt,
{331}
Forsake alle othere saulees.
Lord!" quod I, "if any wight wite
Whider out it groweth."
"It groweth in a gardyn," quod he,
"That God made hymselve,
Amyddes mannes body, 10820
The more is of that stokke,
Herte highte the herber
That it inne groweth.
And _liberum arbitrium_
Hath the lond the ferme
Under Piers the Plowman,
To piken it and to weden it."
"Piers the Plowman!" quod I tho,
And al for pure joye
That I herde nempne his name, 10830
Anoon I swowned after,
And lay longe in a lone dreem;
And at the laste, me thoughte
That Piers the Plowman
Al the place me shewed,
And bad me to toten on the tree,
On top and on roote;
With thre piles was it under-pight,
I perceyved it soone.
"Piers," quod I, "I preie thee, 10840
Whi stonde thise piles here?"
"For wyndes, wiltow wite," quod he,
To witen it fro fallyng.
_Cum ceciderit justus, non collidetur,
quia Dominus supponit manum
suam._
And in blowyng tyme, abite the flowres,
But if thise piles helpe,
{332}
"The world is a wikked wynd
To hem that willen truthe; 10850
Coveitise comth of that wynd,
And crepeth among the leves,
And for-freteth neigh the fruyt
Thorugh manye faire sightes;
Thanne with the firste pil I palle hym down,
That is _Potentia Dei_.
"The flessh is a fel wynd,
And in flouryng tyme
Thorugh likynge and lustes
So loude he gynneth blowe, 10860
That it norisseth nyce sightes,
And som tyme wordes,
And wikkede werkes therof,
Wormes of synne,
And for-biteth the blosmes
Right to the bare leves.
"Than sette I to the secounde pil
_Sapientia Dei patris_;
That is the passion and the power
Of oure prince Jhesu. 10870
Thorugh preieres and thorugh penaunces,
And Goddes passion in mynde,
I save it til I se it ripen
And som del y-fruyted.
"And thanne fondeth the fend
My fruyt to destruye,
With alle the wiles that he kan;
And waggeth the roote,
And casteth up to the crop
Unkynde neighebores; 10880
Bakbiteris breke the cheste,
Brawleris and chideris,
{333}
And leith a laddre therto,
Of lesynges are the ronges,
And feccheth awey my floures som tyme
Afore bothe myne eighen.
Ac _liberum arbitrium_
Letteth hym som tyme,
That is lieutenaunt to loken it wel,
Bi leve of myselve. 10890
_Videatis qui peccat in spiritum
sanctum nunquam remittetur,
etc. Hoc est idem, qui peccat
per liberum arbitrium non
repurgatur._
"Ac whan the fend and the flessh
Forth with the world
Manacen bihynde me
My fruyt for to fecche,
Thanne _liberum arbitrium_ 10900
Laccheth the firste plante,
And palleth adoun the pouke,
Pureliche thorugh grace
And help of the Holy Goost,
And thus have I the maistrie."
"Now faire falle yow! Piers," quod I,
"So faire ye discryven
The power of thise postes,
And hire propre myghtes.
Ac I have thoughtes a threve 10910
Of thise thre piles,
In what wode thei woxen,
And where that thei growed;
For alle are thei aliche longe,
Noon lasse than oother,
And to my mynde, as me thinketh,
{334}
On o more thei growed,
And of o greetnesse,
And grene of greyn thei semen."
"That is sooth," quod Piers, 10920
"So it may bifalle;
I shal telle thee as tid
What this tree highte.
The ground there it groweth,
Goodnesse it hatte;
And I have told thee what highte the tree,
The Trinité it meneth."
And egreliche he loked on me;
And therfore I spared
To asken hym any moore therof, 10930
And bad hym ful faire
To discryve the fruyt
That so faire hangeth.
"Heer no bynethe," quod he tho,
"If I nede hadde,
Matrimoyne I may nyme,
A moiste fruyt withalle;
Thanne continence is neer the crop,
As kaylewey bastard,
Thanne bereth the crop kynde fruyt, 10940
And clennest of alle,
Maidenhode aungeles peeris
And rathest wole be ripe,
And swete withouten swellyng,
Sour worth it nevere."
I preide Piers tho to pulle a-doun
An appul, and he wolde,
And suffre me to assaien
What savour it hadde.
And Piers caste to the crop, 10950
{335}
And thanne comsed it to crye,
And waggede widwehode,
And it wepte after;
And whan it meved matrimoyne,
It made a foul noise.
And I hadde ruthe whan Piers rogged,
It gradde so rufulliche;
For evere as thei dropped a-doun,
The devel was redy
And gadrede hem alle togideres, 10960
Bothe grete and smale,
Adam and Abraham,
And Ysaye the prophete,
Sampson and Samuel,
And seint Johan the Baptist,
Bar hem forth bodily,
No body hym letted,
And made of holy men his hoord
_In limbo inferni_,
There is derknesse and drede, 10970
And the devel maister.
And Piers, for pure tene,
Of that a pil he raughte;
He hitte after hym,
Hitte how it myghte,
_Filius_ by the fader wille,
And frenesse of _Spiritus sancti_,
To go robbe that rageman,
And reve the fruyt fro hym.
And thanne spak _Spiritus sanctus_ 10980
In Gabrielis mouthe,
To a maide that highte Marie,
A meke thyng withalle,
That oon Jhesus a justices sone
{336}
Moste jouke in hir chambre,
Til _plenitudo temporis_
Fully comen were,
That Piers fruyt floured,
And felle to be rype,
And thanne sholde Jhesus juste therfore, 10990
By juggement of armes,
Wheither sholde fonge the fruyt,
The fend or hymselve.
The maide myldeliche tho
The messager graunted,
And seide hendeliche to hym,
"Lo me his hand-maiden
For to werchen his wille,
Withouten any synne."
_Ecce ancilla Domini, fiat mihi, etc._ 11000
And in the wombe of that wenche
Was he fourty woukes,
Til he weex a faunt thorugh hir flessh,
And of fightyng kouthe,
To have y-foughte with the fend
Er ful tyme come.
And Piers the Plowman
Perceyved plener tyme,
And lered hym lechecraft
His lif for to save, 11010
That though he were wounded with his enemy,
To warisshen hymselve,
And dide hym assaie his surgenrie
On hem that sike were,
Til he was perfit praktisour,
If any peril fille;
And soughte out the sike
And synfulle bothe,
{337}
And salvede sike and synfulle,
Bothe blynde and crokede, 11020
And commune wommen convertede,
And to goode turnede.
_Non est sanis opus medicinæ, sed in, etc._
Bothe meseles and mute,
And in the menyson blody,
Ofte heeled swiche,
He ne held it for no maistrie,
Save tho he leched Lazar
That hadde y-leye in grave,
_Quatriduanus_ quelt, 11030
Quyk dide hym walke.
Ac as he made the maistrie,
_Moestus coepit esse_,
And wepte water with hise eighen,
Ther seighen it manye.
Some that the sighte seighen,
Seiden that tyme
That he was leche of lif,
And lord of heigh hevene.
Jewes jangled ther ayein, 11040
And juggede lawes
And seide he wroghte thorugh wichecraft,
And with the develes myghte.
_Dæmonium habet, etc._
Thanne, "are ye cherles," quod ich,
"And youre children bothe,
And Sathan youre saveour,
Ye self now ye witnessen."
"For I have saved yow self," seith Crist,
"And youre sones after, 11050
Youre bodies, youre beestes,
{338}
And blynde men holpen
And fed yow with two fisshes
And with fyve loves,
And lefte baskettesful of broke mete,
Bere awey who so wolde."
And mys-seide the Jewes manliche
And manaced hem to bete,
And knokked on hem with a corde,
And caste a-doun hir stalles 11060
That in chirche chaffareden,
Or chaungeden any moneie,
And seide it in sighte of hem alle,
So that alle herden:--
"I shal overturne this temple,
And a-doun throwe it,
And in thre daies after
Edifie it new,
And maken it as muche outher moore
In alle manere poyntes 11070
As evere it was, and as wid;
Wherfore I hote yow,
Of preieres and of perfitnesse
This place that ye callen."
_Domus mea domus orationis vocabitur._ =
Envye and yvel wil
Was in the Jewes;
Thei casten and contreveden
To kulle hym whan thei myghte, 11080
Eche day after oother
Hir tyme thei awaiteden;
Til it bifel on a Friday
A litel bifore Pasqe,
The Thursday bifore
{339}
There he made his maundee,
Sittynge at the soper
He seide thise wordes,
"I am sold thorugh oon of yow,
He shal the tyme rewe, 11090
That evere he his Saveour solde,
For silver or ellis."
Judas jangled ther ayein;
Ac Jhesus hym tolde,
It was hymself soothly,
And seide _tu dicis_.
Thanne wente forth that wikked man,
And with the Jewes mette,
And tolde hem a tokne
How to knowe with Jhesus, 11100
And which tokne to this day
To muche is y-used,
That is kissynge and fair countenaunce,
And unkynde wille.
And so was with Judas tho,
That Jhesus bitrayed:
"_Ave, raby_," quod that ribaud,
And right to hym he yede,
And kiste hym, to be caught therby,
And kulled of the Jewes. 11110
Thanne Jhesus to Judas
And to the Jewes seide,
"Falsnesse I fynde
In thi faire speche,
And gile in thi glad chere,
And galle is in thi laughyng;
Thow shalt be myrour
To many men to deceyve,
Ac the worse and the wikkednesse
{340}
Shal worthe upon thiselve. 11120
_Necesse est ut veniant scandala:
Væ homini illi per quem scandalum
venit!_
"Though I bi treson be take
At youre owene wille,
Suffreth myne apostles in pees
And in pays gange."
On a Thursday in thesternesse
Thus was he taken,
Thorugh Judas and Jewes, 11130
Jhesus was his name,
That on the Friday folwynge
For mankyndes sake
Justed in Jherusalem,
A joye to us alle.
On cros upon Calvarie
Crist took the bataille
Ayeins deeth and the devel,
Destruyed hir botheres myghtes,
Deide and deed for-dide, 11140
And day of nyght made.
And I awaked therwith,
And wiped myne eighen,
And after Piers the Plowman
Pried and stared
Est-ward and west-ward,
I waited after faste,
And yede forth as an ydiot
In contree to aspie,
After Piers the Plowman 11150
Many a place I soughte.
And thanne mette I with a man,
A myd-lenten Sonday,
{341}
As hoor as an hawethorn,
And Abraham he highte.
I frayned hym first
Fram whennes he come,
And of whennes he were,
And whider that he soughte.
"Iam Feith," quod that freke, 11160
"It falleth noght to lye,
And of Abrahames hous
An heraud of armes,
And seke after a segge
That I seigh ones,
A ful bold bacheler,
I knew hym by his blasen."
"What berth that buyrn?" quod I tho,
"So blisse thee bitide!"
"Thre leodes in oon lyth, 11170
Noon lenger than oother,
Of oon muchel and myght
In mesure and in lengthe;
That oon dooth, alle dooth,
And ech dooth bi his one.
"The firste hath myght and majestee,
Makere of alle thynges,
_Pater_ is his propre name,
A persone by hymselve.
"The secounde of tha sire is 11180
Sothfastnesse _filius_,
Wardeyn of that wit hath
Was evere withouten gynnyng.
"The thridde highte the Holi Goost,
A persone by hymselve,
The light of al that lif hath
{342}
A-londe and a-watre,
Confortour of creatures,
Of hym cometh alle blisse.
"So thre bilongeth for a lord 11190
That lordshipe cleymeth,
Might and mene
To knowe his owene myghte,
Of hym and of his servaunt,
And what thei suffre bothe.
"So God that gynnyng hadde nevere,
But tho hym good thoughte,
Sente forth his sone,
As for servaunt that tyme,
To ocupie hym here, 11200
Til issue were spronge,
That is, children of charité,
And holi chirche the moder;
Patriarkes and prophetes
And apostles were the children,
And Crist and cristendom,
And cristene holy chirche,
In menynge that man moste
On o God bileve.
And there hym likede and lovede, 11210
In thre persones hym shewede,
And that it may be so and sooth,
Manhode it sheweth,
Wedlok and widwehode,
With virginité y-nempned,
In tokenynge of the Trinité
Was out of man taken.
"Adam was oure aller fader,
And Eve was of hymselve,
{343}
And the issue that thei hadde 11220
It was of hem bothe,
And either is otheres joie
In thre sondry persones,
And in hevene and here
Oon singuler name;
And thus is mankynde and manhede
Of matrimoyne y-spronge,
And bitokneth the Trinité
And trewe bileve.
"Mighty is matrimoyne, 11230
That multiplieth the erthe,
And bitokneth trewely,
Telle if I dorste,
Hym that first formed al,
The fader of hevene.
"The sone, if I it dorste seye,
Resembleth wel the widewe.
_Deus meus, Deus meus, ut quid dereliquisti me!_ =
"That is, creatour weex creature 11240
To knowe what was bothe.
As widewe withouten wedlok
Was nevere yit y-seighe;
Na-moore myghte God be man,
But if he moder hadde.
So widewe withouten wedlok
May noght wel stande,
Ne matrimoyne withouten muliere
Is noght muche to preise.
_Maledictus homo qui non reliquit 11250
semen in Israel! etc._
"Thus in thre persones
Is perfitliche manhede;
{344}
That is man and his make
And mulliere children.
And is noght but gendre of a generacion
Bifore Jhesu Crist in hevene;
So is the fader forth with the sone,
And fre wille of bothe.
_Spiritus procedens a patre et filio, etc._ =
Which is the Holy Goost of alle, 11262
And alle is but o God.
"Thus in a somer I hym seigh
As I sat in my porche.
I roos up and reverenced hym,
And right faire hym grette,
Thre men to my sighte
I made wel at ese,
Wessh her feet and wiped hem, 11270
And afterward thei eten
Calves flessh and cake-breed,
And knewe what I thoughte!
Ful trewe toknes bitwene us is,
To telle whan me liketh.
"First he fonded me
If I lovede bettre
Hym or Ysaak myn heir,
The which he highte me kulle.
He wiste my wille bi hym, 11280
He wol me it allowe;
I am ful siker in soule therof,
And my sone bothe.
I circumscised my sone
Sithen for his sake,
Myself and my meynee,
And alle that male weere,
{345}
Bledden blood for that Lordes love,
And hope to blisse the tyme.
Myn affiaunce and my feith 11290
Is ferme in his bileve;
For himself bihighte to me,
And to myn issue bothe,
Lond and lordshipe,
And lif withouten ende;
To me and to myn issue
Moore yet he grauntede,
Mercy for oure mys-dedes,
As many tyme as we asken.
_Quam olim Abrahæ promisisti et 11300
semini ejus._
"And siththe he sente me to seye
I sholde do sacrifise,
And doon hym worship with breed
And with wyn bothe;
And called me the foot of his feith,
His folk for to save,
And defende hem fro the fend,
Folk that on me leveden.
"Thus have I ben his heraud 11310
Here and in helle,
And conforted many a careful
That after his comynge waiteden.
And thus I seke hym," he seide,
"For I herde seyn late
Of a barn that baptysed hym,
Johan Baptist was his name,
That to patriarkes and to prophetes,
And to oother peple in derknesse,
Seide that he seigh here 11320
That sholde save us alle."
{346}
_Ecce agnus Dei! etc._
I hadde wonder of hise wordes,
And of hise wide clothes;
For in his bosom he bar a thyng
That he blissed evere.
And I loked in his lappe,
A lazar lay therinne
Amonges patriarkes and prophetes
Pleyinge togideres. 11330
"What awaitestow?" quod he,
"And what woldestow have?"
"I wolde wite," quod I tho,
"What is in youre lappe."
"Loo!" quod he; and leet me see.
"Lord, mercy!" I seide;
"This is a present of muche pris,
What prynce shal it have?"
"It is a precious present," quod he;
"Ac the pouke it hath attached, 11340
And me thermyde," quod that man,
"May no wed us quyte,
Ne no buyrn be oure borgh,
Ne brynge us fram his daunger;
Out of the poukes pondfold
No maynprise may us feeche,
Til he come that I carpe of,
Crist is his name.
That shal delivere us som day
Out of the develes power, 11350
And bettre wed for us legge
Than we ben alle worthi,
That is lif for lif,
Or ligge thus evere
Lollynge in my lappe,
{347}
Til swich a lord us fecche."
"Allas!" I seide, "that synne
So longe shal lette
The myght of Goddes mercy,
That myghte us alle amende." 11360
I wepte for hise wordes.
With that saugh I another
Rapeliche renne forth,
The righte wey he wente.
I affrayned hym first
Fram whennes he come,
And what he highte, and whider he wolde;
And wightly he tolde. 11368
* * * * *
{348}
_Passus Decimus Septimus, etc. et Secundus de Do-bet._
"Iam _Spes_," quod he, "aspie 11369
And spire after a knyght,
That took me a maundement
Upon the mount of Synay,
To rule alle reames with,
I bere the writ here."
"Is it enseled?" I seide,
"May men see thi lettres?"
"Nay," he seide, "seke hym
That hath the seel to kepe;
And that is cros and cristendom,
And Crist theron to honge. 11380
And whan it is enseled so,
I woot wel the sothe,
That Luciferis lordshipe
Laste shal no lenger."
"Lat se thi lettres," quod I,
"We myghte the lawe knowe."
Thanne plukkede he forth a patente,
A pece of an hard roche,
Wheron were writen two wordes
On this wise y-glosed. 11390
_Dilige Deum et proximum tuum._
This was the tixte trewely,
{349}
I took ful good yeme;
The glose was gloriously writen,
With a gilt penne.
_In his duobus mandatis tota lex
pendet et prophetia._
"Ben here alle thi lordes lawes?" quod I.
"Ye, leve me wel," he seide;
And who so wercheth after this writ, 11400
I wol undertaken
Shal nevere devel hym dere,
Ne deeth in soule greve.
For, though I seye it myself,
I have saved with this charme,
Of men and of wommen
Many score thousand.
"Ye seien sooth," seide this heraud;
"I have y-founde it ofte.
Lo! here in my lappe 11410
That leeved on that charme,
Josue and Judith,
And Judas Macabeus,
Ye, and sixti thousand biside forth,
That ben noght seyen here."
"Youre wordes arn wonderfulle," quod I tho,
"Which of yow is trewest,
And lelest to leve so,
For lif, and for soule?
Abraham seith 11420
That he seigh hoolly the Trinité,
Thre persones in parcelles
Departable fro oother,
And alle thre but o god;
{350}
Thus Abraham me taughte,
And hath saved that bileved so,
And sory for hir synnes.
He kan noght siggen the somme,
And some arn in his lappe.
What neded it thanne 11430
A newe lawe to bigynne,
Sith the firste suffiseth
To savacion and to blisse?
And now cometh _Spes_ and speketh,
That aspied the lawe;
And telleth noght of the Trinité
That took hym hise lettres,
To bileeve and lovye
In o lord almyghty,
And siththe right as myself 11440
So lovye alle peple.
"The gome that gooth with o staf,
He semeth in gretter heele
Than he that gooth with two staves,
To sighte of us alle.
"And right so, bi the roode!
Reson me sheweth
That it is lighter to lewed men
O lesson to knowe,
Than for to techen hem two, 11450
And to hard to lerne to the leeste
It is ful hard for any man
On Abraham bileve;
And wel awey worse yit
For to love a sherewe.
It is lighter to leeve
In thre lovely persones,
Than for to lovye and leve
{351}
As wel lorels as lele."
"Go thi gate!" quod I to _Spes_, 11460
"So me God helpe!
Tho that lernen thi lawe,
Wol litel while usen it."
And as we wenten thus in the wey
Wordynge togideres,
Thanne seighe we a Samaritan
Sittynge on a mule,
Ridynge ful rapely
The righte wey we yeden,
Comynge from a contree 11470
That men called Jerico,
To a justes in Jerusalem
He chaced awey faste.
Bothe the heraud and Hope
And he mette at ones
Where a man was wounded,
And with theves taken;
He myghte neither steppe ne stande,
Ne stere foot ne handes,
Ne helpe hymself soothly, 11480
For semy-vif he semed,
And as naked as a nedle,
And noon help aboute hym.
Feith hadde first sighte of hym;
Ac he fleigh aside,
And nolde noght neghen hym
By nyne londes lengthe.
Hope cam hippynge after,
That hadde so y-bosted
How he with Moyses maundement 11490
Hadde many men y-holpe;
Ac whan he hadde sighte of that segge
{352}
Aside he gan hym drawe
Dredfully bi this day,
As doke dooth fram the faucon.
Ac so soone so the Samaritan
Hadde sighte of this leode,
He lighte a-down of lyard,
And ladde hym in his hande,
And to the wye he wente 11500
Hise woundes to biholde;
And perceyved bi his pous
He was in peril to dye,
And but he hadde recoverer the rapelier,
That rise sholde he nevere.
With wyn and with oille
Hise woundes he wasshed,
Enbawmed hym and bond his heed,
And in his lappe hym leide,
And ladde hym so forth on lyard 11510
Te _lex Christi_, a graunge
Wel sixe mile or sevene
Biside the newe market;
Herberwed hym at an hostrie,
And to the hostiler called,
And seide, "Have kepe this man
Til I come fro the justes;
And lo! here silver," he seide,
"For salve to hise woundes."
And he took hym two pens, 11520
To liflod, as it weere;
And seide, "What he spendeth moore,
I make thee good herafter;
For I may noght lette," quod that leode;
And lyard he bistrideth,
And raped hym to Jerusalem-ward
{353}
The righte wey to ryde.
Feith folwede after faste,
And fondede to mete hym;
And _Spes_ spakliche hym spedde, 11530
Spede if he myghte
To overtaken hym and talke to hym,
Er thei to towne coome.
And whan I seigh this, I sojourned noght,
But shoop me to renne,
And suwed that Samaritan
That was so ful of pité,
And graunted hym to ben his groom.
"Graunt mercy!" he seide;
"Ac thi frend and thi felawe," quod he, 11540
"Thow fyndest me at nede."
And I thanked hym tho,
And siththe I hym tolde
How that Feith fleigh awey,
And _Spes_ his felawe bothe,
For sighte of that sorweful man
That robbed was with theves.
"Have hem excused," quod he,
"Hir help may litel availle;
May no medicyne on molde 11550
The man to heele brynge,
Neither feith ne fyn hope,
So festred be hise woundes,
Withouten the blood of a barn
Born of a mayde.
And he be bathed in that blood,
Baptised as it were,
And thanne plastred with penaunce
And passion of that baby,
{354}
He sholde stonde and steppe. 11560
Ac stalworthe worth he nevere.
Til he have eten al the barn,
And his blood y-dronke.
For wente nevere wye in this world
Thorugh that wildernesse,
That he ne was robbed or rifled,
Rood he there or yede,
Save Feith and his felawe,
_Spes_, and myselve,
And thiself now, 11570
And swiche as suwen oure werkes.
"For outlawes in the wode
And under bank lotieth,
And mowen ech man see,
And good mark take
Who is bihynde and who bifore,
And who ben on horse
For he halt hym hardier on horse
Than he that is foote.
For he seigh me that am Samaritan 11580
Suwen Feith and his felawe
On my capul that highte _caro_,
Of mankynde I took it;
He was unhardy that harlot,
And hidde hym _in Inferno_.
Ac er this day thre daies,
I dar undertaken,
That he worth fettred, that feloun,
Faste with cheynes,
And nevere eft greve gome 11590
That gooth this ilke gate.
"And thanne shal Feith be forster here,
{355}
And in this fryth walke,
And kennen out comune men
That knowen noght the contree
Which is the wey that I wente,
And wher forth to Jerusalem.
And Hope the hostilers man shal be,
Ther the man lith an helyng;
And alle that feble and feynte be, 11600
That Feith may noght teche,
Hope shal lede hem forth with love,
As his lettre telleth,
And hostele hem and heele
Thorugh holy chirche bileve,
Til I have salve for alle sike;
And thanne shal I turne,
And come ayein bi this contree,
And conforten alle sike
That craveth it and coveiteth it, 11610
Or crieth therafter.
For the barn was born in Bethleem,
That with his blood shal save
Alle that lyven in feith
And folwen his felawes techynge."
"A! swete sire," I seide tho,
"Wher I shal bileve,
As Feith and his felawe
Enformed me bothe,
In thre persones departable, 11620
That perpetuele were evere,
And alle thre but o God,
Thus Abraham me taughte.
"And Hope afterward
He bad me to lovye
O God with al my good,
{356}
And alle gomes after,
Lovye hem lik myselve,
Ac oure Lord aboven alle.
"After Abraham," quod he, 11630
"That heraud of armes,
Sette fully thi feith
And ferme bileve;
And as Hope highte thee,
I hote that thow lovye
Thyn evene cristene evere moore
Evene forth with thiselve.
And if Conscience carpe ther ayein,
Or kynde wit eyther,
Or eretikes with argumentz 11640
Thyn hond thow hem shewe;
For God is after an hand,
Y-heer now and knowe it.
"The fader was first as a fust,
With o fynger foldynge;
Til hym lovede and liste
To unlosen his fynger,
And profre it forth as with a pawme
To what place it sholde,
"The pawme is purely the hand, 11650
And profreth forth the fyngres,
To ministren and to make
That myght of hand knoweth;
And bitokneth trewely,
Telle who so liketh,
The Holy Goost of hevene
He is as the pawme.
"The fyngres that fre ben
To folde and to serve,
Bitoknen soothly the Sone 11660
{357}
That sent was til erthe,
That touched and tastede
At techynge of the pawme
Seinte Marie a mayde,
And mankynde laughte.
_Qui conceptus est de Spiritu sancto, etc._ =
"The Fader is pawme as a fust,
With fynger to touche,--
_Quia omnia traham ad meipsum, etc._ =
Al that the pawme perceyveth 11672
Profitable to feele.
"Thus are thei alle but oon,
As it an hand weere,
And thre sondry sightes
In oon shewynge,
The pawme for it putteth forth fyngres,
And the fust bothe;
Right so redily, 11680
Reson it sheweth
How he that is Holy Goost
Sire and Son preveth.
"And as the hand halt harde,
And alle thyng faste,
Thorugh foure fyngres and a thombe
Forth with the pawme;
Right so the Fader and the Sone,
And Seint Spirit the thridde,
Al the wide world 11690
Withinne hem thre holden,
Bothe wolkne and the wynd,
Water and erthe,
Hevene and helle,
{358}
And al that is therinne.
"Thus it is, nedeth no man
Trowe noon oother,
That thre thynges bilongeth
In oure Lord of Hevene;
And aren serelopes by hemself, 11700
A-sondry were thei nevere,
Na-moore than myn hand may
Meve withoute my fyngres.
"And as my fust is ful hand
Y-holden togideres;
So is the Fader a ful God,
Formour and shappere.
_Tu fabricator omnium, etc._
And al the myght myd hym is
In makynge of thynges. 11710
The fyngres formen a ful hand
To portreye or peynten,
Kervynge and compasynge,
As craft of the fyngres.
"Right so is the Sone
The science of the Fader,
And ful God as is the Fader,
No febler ne no bettre.
"The pawme is pureliche the hand,
And hath power by hymselve, 11720
Other wise than the writhen fust,
Or werkmanshipe of fyngres.
For he hath power
To putte out alle the joyntes,
And to unfolde the folden fust,
At the fyngres wille.
"So is the Holy Goost God,
Neither gretter ne lasse.
{359}
Than is the Sire and the Sone,
And in the same myghte. 11730
And alle are thei but o God;
As is myn hand and my fyngres,
Unfolden or folden,
My fust and my pawne,
Al is but an hand;
Evene in the myddes,
He may receyve right noght,
Reson it sheweth,
For the fyngres that folde sholde
And the fust make, 11740
For peyne of the pawme,
Power hem failleth
To clucche or to clawe,
To clippe or to holde.
"Were the myddel of myn hand
Y-maymed or y-perissed,
I sholde receyve right noght
Of that I reche myghte.
"Ac though my thombe and my fyngres
Bothe were to-shullen, 11750
And the myddel of myn hand
Withoute _male-ese_,
In many kynnes maneres
I myghte myself helpe,
Bothe mene and amende,
Though alle my fyngres oke.
"By this skile, me thynketh,
I se an evidence
That who so synneth in the Seint Spirit,
Assoilled worth he nevere, 11760
Neither here ne ellis where,
As I herde telle.
{360}
_Qui peccat in Spiritu sancto, etc._
For he priketh God as in the pawme,
That _peccat in Spiritu sancto_.
For God the fader is as a fust,
The Sone is as a fynger,
The Holy Goost of hevene
Is as it were the pawme;
So who so synneth in the Seint Spirit, 11770
It semeth that he greveth
God, that he grypeth with,
And wolde his grace quenche.
"And to a torche or a tapur
The Trinité is likned;
As wex and a weke
Were twyned togideres,
And thanne a fir flawmynge
Forth out of bothe;
And as wex and weke 11780
And hoot fir togideres
Fostren forth a flawmbe
And a fair leye,
So dooth the Sire and the Sone
And also _Spiritus sanctus_,
That alle kynne cristene
Clenseth of synnes
And as thow seest som tyme
Sodeynliche a torche,
The blase therof y-blowe out, 11790
Yet brenneth the weke
Withouten leye or light
That the macche brenneth;
So is the Holy Goost God,
And grace withoute mercy
To alle unkynde creatures,
{361}
That coveite to destruye
Lele love or lif
That oure Lord shapte.
"And as glowynge gledes 11800
Gladeth noght thise werkmen,
That werchen and waken
In wyntres nyghtes,
As dooth a kex or a candle
That caught hath fir and blaseth;
Na-moore dooth Sire ne Sone
Ne Seint Spirit togidres
Graunte no grace
Ne forgifnesse of synnes,
Til the Holy Goost gynne 11810
To glowe and to blase.
So that the Holy Goost
Gloweth but as a glade,
Til that lele love
Ligge on hym and blowe,
And thanne flawmeth he as fir
On Fader and on _Filius_,
And melteth hire myght into mercy;
As men may se in wyntre
Ysekeles and evesynges 11820
Thorugh hete of the sonne
Melte in a minut while
To myst and to watre.
"So grace of the Holy Goost
The greet myght of the Trinité
Melteth to mercy,
To merciable and to othere;
And as wex withouten moore
On a warm glede
Wol brennen and blasen, 11830
{362}
Be thei togideres,
And solacen hem that mowe se,
That sitten in derknesse.
"So wol the Fader forgyve
Folk of mylde hertes,
That rufully repenten,
And restitucion make,
In as muche as thei mowen
Amenden and paien;
And if it suffise noght for assetz, 11840
That in swich a wille deyeth,
Mercy for his mekenesse
Wol maken good the remenaunt.
And as the weke and fir
Wol maken a warm flaumbe,
For to murthen men myd
That in the derke sitten;
So wole Crist of his curteisie,
And men crye hym mercy,
Bothe forgyve and foryete, 11850
And yit bidde for us
To the Fader of hevene
Forgifnesse to have.
"Ac hewe fir at a flynt
Foure hundred wynter,
But thow have tow to take it with,
Tonder or broches,
Al thi labour is lost,
And al thi long travaille;
For may no fir flaumbe make, 11860
Faille it is kynde.
"So is the Holi Goost God,
And grace withouten mercy
To alle unkynde creatures,
{363}
Crist hymself witnesseth.
_Amen dico vobis, nescio vos, etc._
"Be unkynde to thyn evene cristene,
And al that thow kanst bidde,
Delen and do penaunce
Day and nyght evere, 11870
And purchace al the pardon
Of Pampilon and Rome,
And indulgences y-nowe,
And be _ingratus_ to thi kynde,
The Holy Goost hereth thee noght,
Ne helpe may thee by reson;
For unkyndenesse quencheth hym,
That he kan noght shyne,
Ne brenne ne blase clere
For blowynge of unkyndenesse. 11880
Poul the apostel
Preveth wheither I lye.
_Si linguis hominum loquar, etc._
"For-thi beth war, ye wise men,
That with the world deleth,
That riche ben and reson knoweth,
Ruleth wel youre soule,
Beth noght unkynde, I conseille yow,
To youre evene cristene,
For manye of yow riche men, 11890
By my soule! men telleth,
Ye brenne, but ye blase noght,
That is a blynd bekene.
_Non omnis qui dicit Domine! Domine!
intrabit, etc._
"Dives deyde dampned,
For his unkyndenesse
{364}
Of his mete and of his moneie
To men that it nedede.
Ech a riche I rede 11900
Reward at hym take,
And gyveth youre good to that God
That grace of ariseth;
For thei that ben unkynde to hise,
Hope I noon oother,
But thei dwelle ther Dives is
Dayes withouten ende.
"Thus is unkyndenesse the contrarie,
That quencheth, as it were,
The grace of the Holy Goost, 11910
Goddes owene kynde.
For that kynde dooth, unkynde for-dooth;
As thise corsede theves
Unkynde cristene men,
For coveitise and envye,
Sleeth a man for hise moebles
With mouth or with handes.
For that the Holy Goost hath to kepe,
The harlotes destruyeth,
The which is lif and love, 11920
The leye of mannes body.
For every manere good man
May be likned to a torche,
Or ellis to a tapur,
To reverence the Trinité;
And who morthereth a good man,
Me thynketh by myn inwit,
He for-dooth the levest light
That oure Lord lovyeth.
"And yet in manye mo maneres 11930
Men offenden the Holy Goost.
Ac this is the worste wise
{365}
That any wight myghte
Synnen ayein the Seint Spirit,
Assenten to destruye
For coveitise of any kynnes thyng
That Crist deere boughte,
That wikkedliche and wilfulliche
Wolde mercy aniente.
"Innocence is next God, 11940
And nyght and day it crieth,
'Vengeaunce! vengeaunce!
Forgyve be it nevere
That shente us and shedde oure blood,
For-shapte us, as it were!'
_Vindica sanguinem justorum._
"Thus 'Vengeaunce! vengeaunce!'
Verrey Charité asketh.
And sith holy chirche and Charité
Chargeth this so soore, 11950
Leve I nevere that oure Lord
Wol love that charité lakketh,
Ne have pité for any preiere
Ther that he pleyneth."
"I pose I hadde synned so,
And sholde now deye;
And now I am sory that I so
The Seint Spirit a-gulte,
Confesse me and crye his grace,
God that al made, 11960
And myldeliche his mercy aske,
Myghte I noght be saved?"
"Yis," seide the Samaritan,
"So wel thow myght repente,
That rightwisnesse thorugh repentaunce,
To ruthe myghte turne.
Ac it is but selden y-seighe
{366}
Ther soothnesse bereth witnesse,
Any creature that is coupable
Afore a kynges justice, 11970
Be raunsoned for his repentaunce,
Ther alle reson hym dampneth.
For ther that partie pursueth,
The peple is so huge,
That the kyng may do no mercy
Til bothe men acorde,
And eyther have equité,
As holy writ telleth.
_Nunquam dimittitur peccatum, etc._
"Thus it fareth by swich folk 11980
That falsly al hire lyves
Yvele lyven, and leten noght
Til lif hem forsake.
Good hope, that helpe sholde,
To wanhope torneth,
Noght of the noun power of God,
That he ne is myghtful
To amende al that amys is,
And his mercy gretter
Than alle oure wikkede werkes, 11990
As holy writ telleth.
_Misericordia ejus super omnia opera ejus._ =
Ac er his rightwisnesse to ruthe torne,
Som restitucion bihoveth.
His sorwe is satisfaccion,
For hym that may noght paie.
"Thre thynges ther ben
That doon a man by strengthe
For to fleen his owene, 12000
As holy writ sheweth.
"That oon is a wikkede wif,
{367}
That wol noght be chastised;
Hir feere fleeth fro hire,
For feere of hir tonge.
"And if his hous be un-hiled,
And reyne on his bedde,
He seketh and seketh
Til he slepe drye.
"And whan smoke and smolder 12010
Smyt in his sighte,
It dooth hym worse than his wif
Or wete to slepe.
For smoke and smolder
Smyteth in hise eighen,
Til he be bler-eighed, or blynd,
And hoors in the throte,
Cogheth, and curseth
That Crist gyve hem sorwe
That sholde brynge in bettre wode, 12020
Or blowe it til it brende.
"Thise thre that I telle of
Ben thus to understonde;
The wif is oure wikked flessh,
That wol noght be chastised;
For kynde clyveth on hym evere
To contrarie the soule.
And though it falle, it fynt skiles
That freleté it made,
And that is lightly forgyven 12030
And forgeten bothe,
To man that mercy asketh,
And amende thenketh.
"The reyn that reyneth
Ther we reste sholde,
Ben siknesse and sorwes
That we suffren ofte;
{368}
As Poul the apostle
To the people taughte.
_Virtus infirmitate perficitur, etc._ 12040
"And though that men make
Muche doel in hir angre,
And ben inpacient in hir penaunce,
Pure reson knoweth
That thei han cause to contrarie
By kynde of hir siknesse;
And lightliche oure Lord
At hir lyves ende
Hath mercy on swiche men,
That so yvele may suffre. 12050
"Ac the smoke and the smolder
That smyt in oure eighen,
That is coveitise and unkyndenesse,
That quencheth Goddes mercy.
For unkyndenesse is the contrarie
Of alle kynnes reson.
For ther nys sik ne sory,
Ne noon so muche wrecche,
That he ne may lovye, and hym like,
And lene of his herte 12060
Good wille and good word,
And wisshen and willen
Alle manere men
Mercy and forgifnesse,
And lovye hem lik hymself,
And his lif amende.
"I may no lenger lette," quod he;
And lyard he prikede,
And went awey as wynd;
And therwith I awakede. 12070
* * * * *
{369}
_Passus Decimus Octavus, etc. et Tertius de Do-bet._
Wolleward and weet-shoed =
Wente I forth after, 12073
As a recchelees renk
That of no wo roughte,
And yede forth lik a lorel
Al my lif tyme,
Til I weex wery of the world,
And wilned eft to slepe,
And lened me to a lenten, 12080
And longe tyme I slepte;
And of Cristes passion and penaunce,
The peple that of raughte,
Reste me there, and rutte faste
Til _ramis palmarum_.
Of gerlis and of _gloria laus_
Gretly me dremed,
And how _hosanna_ by organye
Olde folk songen.
Oon semblable to the Samaritan, 12090
And som deel to Piers the Plowman,
Bare-foot on an asse bak
Boot-les cam prikye,
{370}
Withouten spores other spere,
Spakliche he lokede,
As is the kynde of a knyght
That cometh to be dubbed,
To geten hym gilte spores,
Or galoches y-couped.
Thanne was Feith in a fenestre, 12100
And cryde a _fili David_,
As dooth an heraud of armes,
Whan aventrous cometh to justes.
Old Jewes of Jerusalem
For joye thei songen,
_Benedictus qui venit in nomine Domini._ =
Thanne I frayned at Feith,
What al that fare by-mente,
And who sholde juste in Jerusalem. 12110
"Jhesus," he seide,
"And fecche that the fend claymeth,
Piers fruyt the Plowman."
"Is Piers in this place?" quod I.
And he preynte on me:
"This Jhesus of his gentries
Wol juste in Piers armes,
In his helm and in his haubergeon,
_Humana natura_;
That Crist be noght bi-knowe here 12120
For _consummatus Deus_.
In Piers paltok the Plowman
This prikiere shal ryde.
For no dynt shal hym dere,
As _in deitate Patris_."
"Who shal juste with Jhesus?" quod I,
{371}
"Jewes or scrybes?"
"Nay," quod he; "The foule fend,
And fals doom and deeth.
Deeth seith he shal for-do 12130
And a-doun brynge
Al that lyveth and loketh
In londe and in watre.
"Lif seith that he lieth,
And leieth his lif to wedde,
That for al that deeth kan do
Withinne thre daies
To walke and fecche fro the fend
Piers fruyt the Plowman,
And legge it ther hym liketh, 12140
And Lucifer bynde,
And for-bete and a-doun brynge
Bale deeth for evere."
_O mors, ero mors tua._
Thanne cam Pilatus with muche peple,
_Sedens pro tribunali_,
To se how doghtiliche Deeth sholde do,
And deme hir botheres right.
The Jewes and the justice
Ayeins Jhesu thei weere, 12150
And al the court on hym cryde
_Crucifige_ sharpe.
Tho putte hym forth a pilour
Bifore Pilat, and seide,
"This Jhesus of oure Jewes temple
Hath japed and despised,
To for-doon it on o day,
And in thre dayes after
Edifie it eft newe;
{372}
Here he stant that seide it; 12160
And yit maken it as muche
In alle manere poyntes,
Bothe as long and as large,
Bi lofte and by grounde."
"_Crucifige!_" quod a cachepol;
"I warrante hym a wicche."
"_Tolle! tolle!_" quod another,
And took of kene thornes,
And bigan of kene thorn
A garland to make, 12170
And sette it sore on his heed,
And seide in envye,
"Ave, Raby," quod that rybaud,
And threw reedes at hym,
Nailed hym with thre nailes
Naked on the roode,
And poison on a poole
Thei putte up to hise lippes,
And beden hym drynken his deeth yvel,
Hise daies were y-done, 12180
"And if that thow sotil be,
Help now thiselve;
If thow be Crist and kynges sone,
Com down of the roode;
Thanne shul we leve that lif thee loveth,
And wol noght lete thee deye."
"_Consummatum est_," quod Crist,
And comsede for to swoune
Pitousliche and pale,
As a prison that deieth. 12190
The lord of lif and of light
Tho leide hise eighen togideres.
{373}
The day for drede withdrough,
And derk bicam the sonne;
The wal waggede and cleef,
And al the world quaved;
Dede men for that dene
Come out of depe graves,
And tolde why that tempeste
So longe tyme durede; 12200
"For a bitter bataille,"
The dede body seide,
"Lif and deeth in this derknesse
Hir oon for-dooth hir oother.
Shal no wight wite witterly
Who shal have the maistrie
Er Sonday aboute sonne risyng;"
And sank with that til erthe.
Some seide that he was Goddes sone
That so faire deide. 12210
_Vere filius Dei erat iste._
And some seide he was a wicche,
"Good is that we assaye
Wher he be deed or noght deed,
Doun er he be taken."
Two theves also
Tholed deeth that tyme,
Upon a croos besides Crist,
So was the comune lawe.
A cachepol cam forth 12220
And craked bothe hire legges,
And the armes after
Of either of tho theves.
Ac was no body so boold
Goddes body to touche;
For he was knyght and kynges sone,
{374}
Kynde for-yaf that tyme,
That noon harlot were so hardy
To leyen hond upon hym.
Ac ther cam forth a knyght, 12230
With a kene spere y-grounde,
Highte Longeus, as the lettre telleth,
And longe hadde lore his sighte.
Bifore Pilat and oother peple
In the place he hoved;
Maugree his manye teeth,
He was maad that tyme
To take the spere in his hond,
And justen with Jhesus.
For alle thei were unhardy, 12240
That hoved on horse or stode,
To touchen hym or to tasten hym,
Or taken doun of roode.
But this blynde bacheler
Baar hym thorugh the herte;
The blood sprong doun by the spere,
And unspered the knyghtes eighen.
Thanne fil the knyght upon knees,
And cryde hym mercy;
"Ayein my wille it was, Lord, 12250
To wownde yow so soore."
He sighed and seide,
"Soore it me a-thynketh,
For the dede that I have doon
I do me in youre grace.
Have on me ruthe! rightful Jhesu!"
And right with that he wepte.
Thanne gan Feith felly
The false Jewes despise,
{375}
Callede hem caytyves 12260
Acorsed for evere;
"For this foule vileynye
Vengeaunce to yow falle!
To do the blynde bete hym y-bounde,
It was a boyes counseille.
Cursede caytif!
Knyghthood was it nevere
To mys-do a deed body
By daye or by nyghte.
The gree yit hath he geten, 12270
For al his grete wounde.
"For youre champion chivaler,
Chief knyght of yow alle,
Yilt hym recreaunt rennyng
Right at Jhesus wille.
For be this derknesse y-do,
His deeth worth avenged;
And ye, lurdaynes, han y-lost,
For lif shal have the maistrye;
And youre fraunchise, that fre was, 12280
Fallen is in thraldom,
And ye, cherles, and youre children
Cheve shulle nevere
To have lordshipe in londe,
Ne no lond tilye,
But al barayne be,
And usurie usen,
Which is lif that oure Lord
In alle lawes acurseth.
Now youre goode dayes arn doon, 12290
As Daniel prophecied,
Whan Crist cam, of hir kyngdom
The crowne sholde cesse."
{376}
_Cum veniat sanctus sanctorum, cessabit
unctio vestra._
What for feere of this ferly,
And of the false Jewes,
I drow me in that derknesse
To _descendit ad inferna_;
And there I saugh soothly 12300
_Secundum Scripturas_
Out of the west coste
A wenche, as me thoughte,
Cam walkynge in the wey,
To helle-ward she loked.
Mercy highte that mayde,
A meke thyng withalle,
A ful benigne burde,
And buxom of speche.
Hir suster, as it semed, 12310
Cam soothly walkynge.
Evene out of the est,
And west-ward she lokede,
A ful comely creature,
Truthe she highte,
For the vertue that hire folwede
A-fered was she nevere.
Whan thise maydenes mette,
Mercy and Truthe,
Either asked oother 12320
Of this grete wonder,
Of the dyn and of the derknesse,
And how the day rowed,
And which a light and a leme
Lay bifore helle.
"Ich have ferly of this fare,
In feith!" seide Truthe,
{377}
"And am wendynge to wite
What this wonder meneth."
"Have no merveille," quod Mercy, 12330
"Murth it bitokneth.
A maiden that highte Marie,
And moder withouten felyng
Of any kynnes creature,
Conceyved thorugh speche
And grace of the Holy Goost,
Weex greet with childe,
Withouten wem
Into this world she broghte hym;
And that my tale be trewe, 12340
I take God to witnesse.
"Sith this barn was y-bore
Ben .xxx.^{ti} wynter passed,
Which deide and deeth tholed
This day aboute myd-day,
And that is cause of this clips
That closeth now the sonne,
In menynge that man shal
Fro merknesse be drawe,
The while this light and this leme 12350
Shal Lucifer a-blende.
For patriarkes and prophetes
Han preched herof ofte:
That man shal man save
Thorugh a maydenes helpe;
And that was tynt thorugh tree,
Tree shal it wynne;
And that deeth a-down broughte,
Deeth shal releve."
"That thow tellest," quod Truthe, 12360
"Is but a tale of Waltrot.
{378}
For Adam and Eve,
And Abraham, with othere,
Patriarkes and prophetes,
That in peyne liggen,
Leve thow nevere that yon light
Hem a-lofte brynge,
Ne have hem out of helle.
Hold thi tonge, Mercy!
It is but a trufle that thow tellest; 12370
I, Truthe, woot the sothe.
For he that is ones in helle,
Out cometh he nevere.
Job the prophete patriark
Repreveth thi sawes."
_Quia in inferno nulla est redemptio._
Thanne Mercy ful myldely
Mouthed thise wordes,
"Thorugh experience," quod she,
"I hope thei shul be saved. 12380
For venym for-dooth venym;
And that preve I by reson.
For of alle venymes
Foulest is the scorpion,
May no medicyne helpe
The place ther he styngeth,
Til he be deed, and do therto,
The yvel he destruyeth,
The firste venymousté
Thorugh venym of hymselve. 12390
"So shal this deeth for-do,
I dar my lif legge,
Al that deeth for-dide first
Thorugh the develes entisyng;
And right as thorugh gile
{379}
Man was bi-giled,
So shal grace that bi-gan
Make a good sleighte."
_Ars ut artem falleret._
"Now suffre we," seide Truthe; 12400
"I se, as me thynketh,
Out of the nyppe of the north
Noght ful her hennes
Rightwisnesse come rennynge.
Reste we the while;
For he woot moore than we,
He was er we bothe."
"That is sooth," seide Mercy;
"And I se here by sowthe
Where Pees cometh pleyinge, 12410
In pacience y-clothed.
Love hath coveited hire longe,
Leve I noon oother,
But he sente hire som lettre,
What this light by-meneth
That over-hoveth helle thus,
She us shal telle."
When Pees in pacience y-clothed
Approched ner hem tweyne,
Rightwisnesse hire reverenced, 12420
By hir riche clothyng,
And preide Pees to telle hire
To what place she wolde,
And in hire gaye garnementz
Whom she grete thoughte.
"My wil is to wende," quod she,
"And welcome hem alle
That many day myghte I noght se
For merknesse of synne,
{380}
Adam and Eve, 12430
And othere mo in helle;
Moyses and many mo
Mercy shul have,
And I shal daunce therto,
Do thow so, suster,
For Jhesus justede wel,
Joy bigynneth dawe.
_Ad vesperum demorabitur fletus, et
ad matutinum lætitia._
"Love, that is my lemman, 12440
Swiche lettres me sente,
That Mercy, my suster, and I
Mankynde sholde save,
And that God hath for-gyven
And graunted me pees and mercy,
To be mannes meynpernour
For evere moore after.
Lo here the patente!" quod Pees,
"_In pace in idipsum._
And that this dede shal dure, 12450
_Dormiam et requiescam_."
"What! ravestow?" quod Rightwisnesse,
"Or thow art right dronke?
Levestow that yond light
Unlouke myghte helle,
And save mannes soule?
Suster, wene it nevere.
For God the bigynnere
Gaf the doom hymselve,
That Adam and Eve, 12460
And alle that hem suwede,
Sholden deye down righte,
{381}
And dwelle in pyne after,
If that thei touchede a tree,
And the fruyt eten.
"Adam afterward
Ayeins his defence
Freet of that fruyt,
And forsook, as it weere,
The love of oure Lord 12470
And his loore bothe,
And folwede that the fend taughte,
And his felawes wille,
Ayeins reson and rightwisnesse,
Recorde thus with truthe,
That hir peyne be perpetuel,
And no preiere hem helpe.
For-thi lat hem chewe as thei chosen,
And chide we noght, sustres;
For it is bote-lees bale, 12480
The byte that thei eten."
"And I shal preve," quod Pees,
"Hir peyne moot have ende,
And from wo into wele
Mowe wenden at the laste.
For hadde thei wist of no wo,
Wele hadde the noght knowen.
For no wight woot what wele is,
That nevere wo suffrede;
Ne what is hoot hunger, 12490
That hadde nevere defaute.
"If no nyght ne weere,
No man, as I leeve,
Sholde nevere wite witterly
What day is to meene.
Sholde nevere right riche man,
{382}
That lyveth in reste and ese,
Wite what wo is,
Ne were the deeth of kynde.
"So God, that bigan al 12500
Of his goode wille,
Bicam man of a mayde
Mankynde to save;
And suffrede to be sold,
To se the sorwe of deying,
The which unknytteth alle care,
And comsynge is of reste.
For til _modicum_ mete with us,
I may it wel avowe,
Woot no wight, as I wene, 12510
What y-nogh is to mene.
"For-thi God of his goodnesse
The firste gome Adam
Sette hym in solace,
And in sovereyn murthe;
And siththe he suffred hym synne,
Sorwe to feele,
To wite what wele was
Kyndeliche and knowe it.
And after God auntrede hymself, 12520
And took Adames kynde,
To wite what he hath suffred
In thre sondry places,
Bothe in hevene and in erthe,
And now til helle he thenketh
To wite what alle wo is,
And what is alle joye.
"So it shal fare by this folk,
Hir folie and hir synne
Shal lere hem what langour is 12530
{383}
And lisse withouten ende.
Woot no wight what werre is
Ther that pees regneth,
Ne what is witterly wele
Til weylawey! hym teche."
Thanne was ther a wight
With two brode eighen,
Book highte that beau-peere,
A bold man of speche;
"By Goddes body!" quod this Book, 12540
"I wol bere witnesse
That tho this barn was y-bore,
Ther blased a sterre
That alle the wise of this world
In o wit acorden,
That swich a barn was y-bore
In Bethleem the citee,
That mannes soule sholde save,
And synne destroye.
And alle the elementz," quod the Book, 12550
"Herof beren witnesse,
That he was God that al wroghte,
The wolkne first shewed.
"Tho that weren in hevene
Token _stella cometa_,
And tendeden it as a torche
To reverencen his burthe;
The light folwede the Lord
Into the lowe erthe.
"The water witnessed that he was God, 12560
For he wente on it.
Peter the apostel
Parceyved his gate,
And as he wente on the water,
{384}
Wel hym knew, and seide,
_Jube me venire ad te super aquas._
"And lo! how the sonne gan louke
Hire light in hirselve,
Whan she seigh hym suffre,
That sonne and see made. 12570
"The erthe for hevynesse
That he wolde suffre,
Quaked as quyk thyng,
And al biquasshed the roche.
"Lo! helle myghte nat holde,
But opnede tho God tholede,
And leet out Symondes sone
To seen hym hange on roode.
And now shal Lucifer leve it,
Though hym looth thynke; 12580
For _Gigas_ the geaunt
With a gyn hath engyned
To breke and to bete a-doun
That ben ayeins Jhesus.
And I, Book, wole be brent,
But Jhesus rise to lyve
In alle myghtes of man,
And his moder gladie,
And conforte al his kyn
And out of care brynge, 12590
And al the Jewene joye
Unjoynen and unlouken,
And but thei reversen his roode,
And his resurexion,
And bileve on a newe lawe,
Be lost lif and soule."
"Suffre we," seide Truthe;
"I here and see bothe
{385}
How a spirit speketh to helle,
And biddeth unspere the yates." 12600
_Attolite portas, etc._
A vois loude in that light
To Lucifer crieth,
"Prynces of this place,
Unpynneth and unlouketh!
For here cometh with crowne
That kyng is of glorie."
Thanne sikede Sathan,
And seide to hem alle,
"Swich a light ayeins oure leve 12610
Lazar out fette;
Care and encombraunce
Is comen to us alle!
If this kyng come in,
Mankynde wole he fecche,
And lede it ther hym liketh,
And lightliche me bynde.
Patriarkes and Prophetes
Han parled herof longe,
That swich a lord and light 12620
Sholde lede hem alle hennes."
"Listneth," quod Lucifer,
"For I this lord knowe.
Bothe this lord and this light,
Is longe a-go I knew hym.
May no deeth hym dere,
Ne no develes queyntise;
And where he wole is his wey,
Ac ware hym of the perils.
If he reveth me my right, 12630
He robbeth me by maistrie;
For by right and by reson
{386}
The renkes that ben here
Body and soule beth myne,
Bothe goode and ille.
For hymself seide,
That sire is of hevene,
If Adam ete the appul,
Alle sholde deye
And dwelle with us develes; 12640
This thretynge he made.
And he that soothnesse is,
Seide thise wordes.
And sithen I seised
Sevene hundred wynter,
I leeve that lawe nyl noght
Lete hym the leeste."
"That is sooth," seide Sathan;
"But I me soore drede.
For thow gete hem with gile, 12650
And his gardyn breke,
And in semblaunce of a serpent
Sete upon the appul-tree,
And eggedest hem to ete,
Eve by hirselve;
And toldest hire a tale,
Of treson were the wordes;
And so thow haddest hem out,
And hider at the laste.
It is noght graithly geten, 12660
Ther gile is the roote.
For God wol noght be bi-giled,"
Quod Gobelyn, "ne by-japed;
We have no trewe title to hem,
For thorugh treson were thei dampned." =
{387}
"Certes, I drede me," quod the devel,
"Lest Truthe wol hem fecche;
Thise thritty wynter, as I wene,
Hath he gon and preched. 12670
I have assailled hym with synne,
And som tyme y-asked
Wheither he were God or Goddes sone;
He yaf me short answere.
And thus hath he trolled forth
Thise two and thritty wynter.
And whan I seigh it was so,
Lepynge I wente
To warne Pilates wif
What done man was Jhesus. 12680
For Jewes hateden hym,
And han doon hym to dethe.
I wolde have lengthed his lif;
For I leved if he deide,
That his soule wolde suffre
No synne in his sighte.
For the body, while it on bones yede,
Aboute was evere
To save men from synne,
If hemself wolde. 12690
And now I se wher a soule
Cometh hiderward seillynge,
With glorie and with gret light,--
God it is, I woot wel.
I rede that we fle," quod he,
"Faste alle hennes;
For us were bettre noght be,
Than biden his sighte.
For thi lesynges, Lucifer,
{388}
Lost is al oure praye. 12700
"First thorugh the we fellen
Fro hevene so heighe,
For we leved on thi lesynges;
Y-lorn we have Adam,
And al oure lordshipe, I leve,
A-londe and a-watre."
_Nunc princeps hujus mundi ejicietur foras_.
Eft the light bad unlouke;
And Lucifer answerede,
"What lord artow?" quod Lucifer. 12710
_Quis est iste?_
"_Rex Gloriæ_,"
The light soone seide,
"And lord of myght and of man,
And alle manere vertues.
_Dominus virtutum_.
Dukes of this dymme place,
Anoon undo thise yates,
That Crist may come in,
The kynges sone of hevene!" 12720
And with that breeth helle brak,
With Belialles barres,
For any wye or warde,
Wide opned the yates.
Patriarkes and prophetes,
_Populus in tenebris_,
Songen seint Johanes song,
_Ecce agnus Dei._
Lucifer loke ne myghte,
So light hym a-blente. 12730
And tho that oure Lord lovede
Into his light he laughte;
And seide to Sathan,
{389}
"Lo! here my soule to amendes
For alle synfulle soules,
To save tho that ben worthi.
Myne thei ben and of me,
I may the bet hem cleyme.
And though Reson recorde
And Right, of myselve, 12740
That if he ete the appul
Alle sholde deye;
I bi-highte hem noght here
Helle for evere.
For the dede that thei dide,
Thi deceite it made;
With gile thow hem gete,
Ageyn alle reson.
For in my paleis Paradis,
In persone of an addre, 12750
Falsliche thow fettest
Thyng that I lovede.
"Thus y-lik a lusard,
With a lady visage,
Thefliche thow me robbedest;
And the olde lawe graunteth
That gilours be bigiled,
And that is good reson.
_Dentem pro dente et oculum pro oculo._ =
_Ergo_ soule shal soule quyte, 12761
And synne to synne wende,
And al that man hath mys-do
I, man, wole amende;
Membre for membre
By the olde lawe was amendes,
And lif for lif also,
{390}
And by that lawe I clayme it,
Adam and al his issue
At my wille herafter, 12770
And that deeth in hem for-dide
My deeth shal releve,
And bothe quykne and quyte
That queynt was thorugh synne.
And that grace gile destruye,
Good feith it asketh.
So leve I noght, Lucifer,
Ayein the lawe I fecche hem;
But by right and by reson
Raunsone here my liges. 12780
_Non veni solvere legem, sed adimplere._ =
"Thow fettest myne in my place
Ayeins alle reson,
Falsliche and felonliche;
Good feith me it taughte,
To recovere hem thorugh raunson,
And by no reson ellis.
So that thorugh gile thow gete,
Thorugh grace it is y-wonne. 12790
Thow Lucifer in liknesse
Of a luther addere
Getest bi gile
Tho that God lovede.
"And I in liknesse of a leode,
That lord am of hevene,
Graciousliche thi gile have quyt;
Go gile ayein gile.
And as Adam and alle
Thorugh a tree deyden; 12800
Adam and alle thorugh a tree
{391}
Shul turne ayein to lyve;
And gile is bi-giled,
And in his gile fallen.
_Et cecidit in foveam quam fecit._
"Now bi-gynneth thi gile
Ageyn thee to turne,
And my grace to growe
Ay gretter and widder;
That art doctour of deeth, 12810
Drynk that thow madest.
"For I that am lord of lif,
Love is my drynke;
And for that drynke to-day
I deide upon erthe.
I faught so, me thursteth yit,
For mannes soule sake;
May no drynke me moiste,
Ne my thurst slake,
Til the vendage falle 12820
In the vale of Josaphat,
That I drynke right ripe must,
_Resurrectio mortuorum_;
And thanne shal I come as a kyng,
Crouned with aungeles,
And have out of helle
Alle mennes soules.
"Fendes and fyndekynes
Bifore me shul stande,
And be at my biddyng 12830
Wher so evere me liketh;
And to be merciable to man
Thanne my kynde asketh.
For we beth bretheren of blood,
But noght in baptisme alle.
{392}
Ac alle that beth myne hole bretheren
In blood and in baptisme.
Shul noght be dampned to the deeth
That is withouten ende.
_Tibi soli peccavi, etc._ 12840
"It is noght used in erthe,
To hangen a feloun
Ofter than ones,
Though he were a tretour.
And if the kyng of that kyngdom
Come in that tyme
There feloun thole sholde
Deeth or oother juwise,
Lawe wolde he yeve hym lif,
If he loked on hym. 12850
And I, that am kyng of kynges,
Shal come swich a tyme
Ther doom to the deeth
Dampneth alle the wikked;
And if lawe wole I loke on hem,
It lith in my grace
Wheither thei deye or deye noght
For that thei diden ille;
Be it any thyng a-bought
The boldnesse of hir synnes, 12860
I do mercy thorugh rightwisnesse,
And alle my wordes trewe;
And though holy writ wole that I be wroke
Of hem that diden ille,--
_Nullum malum impunitum, etc._--
Thei shul be clensed clerliche,
And wasshen of hir synnes,
In my prisone Purgatorie,
{393}
Til _parce_ it hote,
And my mercy shal be shewed 12870
To manye of my bretheren.
For blood may suffre blood,
Bothe hungry and a-cale;
Ac blood may noght se blood
Blede, but hym rewe.
_Audivi arcana verba quæ non licet
homini loqui._
"Ac my rightwisnesse and right
Shul rulen al helle,
And mercy al mankynde 12880
Bifore me in hevene.
For I were an unkynde kyng,
But I my kynde helpe,
And nameliche at swich a nede.
Ther nedes help bihoveth.
_Non intres in judicium cum servo tuo._ =
"Thus by lawe," quod oure Lord,
"Lede I wole fro hennes
Tho that me lovede 12890
And leved in my comynge.
And for thi lesynge, Lucifer,
That thow leighe til Eve,
Thow shalt abyen it bittre;"--
And bond hym with cheynes.
Astroth and al the route
Hidden hem in hernes;
They dorste noght loke on oure Lord,
The boldeste of hem alle,
But leten hym lede forth whom hym liked, 12900
And lete whom hym liste.
{394}
Manye hundred of aungeles
Harpeden and songen,
_Culpat caro, purgat caro,
Regnat Deus Dei caro._
Thanne pipede Pees
Of Poesie a note,
_Clarior est solito post maxima nebula Phoebus, =
Post inimicitias, etc._ 12910
"After sharpe shoures," quod Pees,
"Moost shene is the sonne;
Is no weder warmer
Than after watry cloudes;
Ne no love levere,
Ne lever frendes,
Than after werre and wo,
Whan Love and Pees ben maistres.
Was nevere werre in this world,
Ne wikkednesse so kene, 12920
That ne Love, and hym liste,
To laughynge ne broughte,
And pees thorugh pacience
Alle perils stoppeth."
"Trewes," quod Truthe;
"Thow tellest us sooth, by Jhesus!
Clippe we in covenaunt,
And ech of us clippe oother."
"And leteth no peple," quod Pees,
"Perceyve that we chidde. 12930
For inpossible is no thyng
To hym that is almyghty."
"Thow seist sooth," quod Rightwisnesse;
And reverentliche hire kiste.
{395}
"Pees and pees here!
_Per sæcula sæculorum._"
_Misericordia et veritas obviaverunt
sibi, justitia et pax osculatæ sunt._
Truthe trumpede tho,
And song _Te Deum laudamus_; 12940
And thanne lutede,
In a loud note,
_Ecce quam bonum et quam jocundum, etc._
Til the day dawed
Thise damyseles dauncede,
That men rongen to the resurexion.
And right with that I wakede,
And callede Kytte my wif,
And Calote my doghter;
And bad hem rise and reverence 12950
Goddes resurexion;
And crepe to the cros on knees,
And kisse it for a juwel,
For Goddes blissede body
It bar for oure boote;
And it a-fereth the fend,
For swich is the myghte,
May no grisly goost
Glide there it walketh. 12959
* * * * *
{396}
_Passus Decimus Nonus, explicit Do-bet, et incipit Do-best._
Thus I awaked and wroot 12960
What I hadde y-dremed;
And dighte me derely,
And dide me to chirche,
To here holly the masse,
And to be housled after.
In myddes of the masse,
Tho men yede to offryng,
I fel eft-soones a-slepe;
And sodeynly me mette
That Piers the Plowman 12970
Was peynted al blody,
And com in with a cros
Bifore the comune peple,
And right lik in alle thynges
To oure Lord Jhesus.
And thanne called I Conscience,
To kenne me the sothe;
"Is this Jhesus the justere," quod I,
"That Jewes dide to dethe?
Or it is Piers the Plowman. 12980
Who peynted hym so rede?"
Quod Conscience, and kneled tho,
"Thise arn Piers armes,
{397}
Hise colours and his cote armure;
Ac he that cometh so blody
Is Crist with his cros,
Conquerour of cristene."
"Why calle hym Crist," quod I,
"Sithen Jewes calle hym Jhesus?
Patriarkes and prophetes 12990
Prophecied bifore
That alle kynne creatures
Sholden knelen and bowen,
Anoon as men nempned
The name of God Jhesu.
_Ergo_ is no name
To the name of Jhesus;
Ne noon so nedeful to nempne
By nyghte ne by daye.
For alle derke develes 13000
Arn a-drad to heren it;
And synfulle aren solaced
And saved by that name.
And ye callen hym Crist;
For what cause telleth me?
Is Crist moore of myght,
And moore worthi name,
Than Jhesu or Jhesus,
That al oure joye com of?"
"Thow knowest wel," quod Conscience, 13010
"And thow konne reson,
That knyght, kyng, conquerour,
May be o persone.
To be called a knyght is fair,
For men shul knele to hym;
To be called a kyng is fairer,
{398}
For he may knyghtes make;
Ac to be conquerour called,
That cometh of special grace,
And of hardynesse of herte, 13020
And of hendenesse,
To make lordes of laddes
Of lond that he wynneth,
And fre men foule thralles
That folwen noght hise lawes.
"The Jewes that were gentil men,
Jhesus thei despised,
Bothe his loore and his lawe;
Now are thei lowe cherles.
As wide as the world is, 13030
Noon of hem ther wonyeth
But under tribut and taillage,
As tikes and cherles;
And tho that bicome cristene
Bi counseil of the baptisme,
Aren frankeleyns, free men,
Thorugh fullynge that thei toke,
And gentil men with Jhesu;
For Jhesu was y-fulled,
And upon Calvarie on cros 13040
Y-crouned kyng of Jewes.
"It bicometh to a kyng
To kepe and to defende;
And conquerour of conquest
Hise lawes and his large.
And so dide Jhesus the Jewes,
He justified and taughte hem
The lawe of lif,
That laste shal evere;
And defended from foule yveles, 13050
{399}
Feveres and fluxes,
And from fendes that in hem were,
And false bileve.
Tho was he Jhesus of Jewes called,
Gentile prophete,
And kyng of hir kyngdom,
And croune bar of thornes.
"And tho conquered he on cros,
As conquerour noble.
Mighte no deeth hym for-do, 13060
Ne a-doun brynge,
That he naroos and regnede,
And ravysshed helle:
And tho was he conquerour called
Of quyke and of dede.
For he yaf Adam and Eve
And othere mo blisse,
That longe hadde y-leyen bifore
As Luciferis cherles.
"And sith he yaf largely 13070
Alle hise lele liges
Places in Paradis,
At hir partynge hennes;
He may wel be called conquerour,
And that is Crist to mene.
"Ac the cause that he cometh thus
With cros of his passion,
Is to wissen us therwith
That whan that we ben tempted,
Therwith to fighte and defenden us 13080
Fro fallynge to synne.
And so bi his sorwe,
That who so loveth joye
To penaunce and to poverte
{400}
He moste puten hymselven,
And muche wo in this world
To willen and suffren.
"Ac to carpe moore of Crist,
And how he com to that name,
Faithly for to speke, 13090
His firste name was Jhesus;
Tho he was born in Bethleem,
As the book telleth,
And cam to take mankynde,
Kynges and aungeles
Reverenced hym faire
With richesses of erthe,
Aungeles out of hevene
Come knelynge and songe,
_Gloria in excelsis Deo, etc._ 13100
"Kynges that come after
Knelede, and offrede
Mirre and muche gold,
Withouten mercy askynge
Or any kynnes catel,
But knowelichynge hym sovereyn
Bothe of lond, sonne, and see,
And sithenes thei wente
Into hir kyngene kith,
By counseil of aungeles. 13110
And there was that word fulfilled
The which thow of speke.
_Omnia cælestia terrestria flectantur
in hoc nomine Jhesu._
"For alle the aungeles of hevene
At his burthe knelede,
And al the wit of the world
Was in tho thre kynges,
{401}
Reson and rightwisnesse
And ruthe thei offrede; 13120
Wherfore and why
Wise men that tyme,
Maistres and lettred men,
_Magi_ hem callede.
"That o kyng cam with reson,
Covered under sense.
"The seconde kyng siththe
Soothliche offrede
Rightwisnesse under reed gold,
Resones felawe. 13130
For gold is likned to leautee
That laste shal evere.
"The thridde kyng tho kam
Knelynge to Jhesu,
And presented hym with pitee,
Apperynge by mirre.
For mirre is mercy to mene
And mylde speche of tonge.
"Thre y-liche honeste thynges
Were offred thus at ones, 13140
Thorugh thre kynne kynges
Knelynge to Jhesu,
"Ac for alle thise preciouse presentz,
Oure Lord kyng Jhesus
Was neither kyng ne conquerour,
Til he gan to wexe
In the manere of a man,
And that by muchel sleighte,
As it bi-cometh a conquerour
To konne manye sleightes, 13150
And manye wiles and wit,
That wole ben a ledere.
{402}
And so dide Jhesu in hise dayes,
Who so hadde tyme to telle it.
"Som tyme he suffrede,
And som tyme he hidde hym;
And some tyme he faught faste,
And fleigh outher while;
And som tyme he gaf good,
And grauntede heele bothe, 13160
Lif and lyme,
As hym liste he wroghte.
As kynde is of a conquerour,
So comsede Jhesu,
Til he hadde alle hem
That he for bledde.
"In his juventee this Jhesus
At Jewene feeste
Water into wyn turnede,
As holy writ telleth. 13170
And there bigan God
Of his grace to do-wel.
For wyn is likned to lawe
And lif-holynesse,
And lawe lakkede tho,
For men lovede noght hir enemys.
And Crist counseileth thus,
And comaundeth bothe,
To lered and to lewede
To lovyen oure enemys. 13180
So at the feeste first,
As I bifore tolde,
Bigan God of his grace
And goodnesse to do-wel.
And thanne was he called
Noght holy Crist, but Jhesu,
{403}
A faunt fyn ful of wit,
_Filius Mariæ._
For bifore his moder Marie
Made he that wonder; 13190
That she first and formest
Ferme sholde bileve
That he thorugh grace was gete,
And of no gome ellis.
He wroghte that by no wit,
But thorugh word one;
After the kynde that he cam of,
There comsede he do-wel.
"And whan he woxen was moore,
In his moder absence, 13200
He made lame to lepe,
And yaf light to blynde,
And fedde with two fisshes,
And with fyve loves,
Sore a fyngred folk
Mo than fyve thousand.
"Thus he confortede carefulle
And caughte a gretter name,
The which was Do-bet,
Where that he wente, 13210
For deve thorugh hise doynges to here
And dombe speke he made,
And alle he heeled and halp
That hym of grace askede.
And tho was he called in contré
Of the comune peple,
For the dedes that he dide,
_Fili David, Jhesus._
For David was doghtiest
Of dedes in his tyme. 13220
{404}
The burdes tho songe,
_Saul interfecit mille, et David decem millia._ =
"For-thi the contree ther Jhesu cam
Called hym _fili David_,
And nempned hym of Nazareth,
And no man so worthi
To be kaiser or kyng
Of the kyngdom of Juda,
Ne over Jewes justice, 13230
As Jhesus was, hem thoughte.
"Wherof Cayphas hadde envye,
And othere of the Jewes;
And for to doon hym to dethe
Day and nyght thei casten,
Killeden hym on cros wise
At Calvarie on Friday,
And sithen buriede his body,
And beden that men sholde,
Kepen it fro nyght comeris 13240
With knyghtes y-armed,
For no frendes sholde hym fecche.
For prophetes hem tolde
That that blissede body
Of burieles risen sholde,
And goon into Galilee,
And gladen hise apostles,
And his moder Marie;
Thus men bifore demede.
"The knyghtes that kepten it 13250
Bi-knewe it hemselven,
That aungeles and archaungeles
Er the day spronge
Come knelynge to the corps,
{405}
And songen _Christus resurgens_,
Verray men bifore hem alle,
And forth with hem he yede.
"The Jewes preide hem be pees,
And bi-soughte the knyghtes
Telle the comune that ther cam 13260
A compaignie of hise apostles,
And bi-wicched hem as thei woke,
And awey stolen it.
"Ac Marie Maudeleyne
Mette hym by the weye,
Goynge toward Galilee
In godhede and manhede,
And lyves and lokynge,
And she a-loud cride
In ech a compaignie ther she cam, 13270
_Christus resurgens_.
"Thus cam it out that Crist over-coom,
Recoverede and lyvede
_Sic oportet Christum pati et intrare, etc._ =
For that that wommen witeth,
May noght wel be counseille.
"Peter parceyved al this,
And pursued after,
Bothe James and Johan, 13280
Jhesu for to seke,
Thaddee and ten mo,
With Thomas of Inde.
And as alle thise wise wyes
Weren togideres,
In an hous al bi-shet,
And hir dore y-barred,
Crist cam in, and al closed
{406}
Bothe dore and yates,
To Peter and to thise apostles, 13290
And seide _pax vobis!_
And took Thomas by the hand,
And taughte hym to grope,
And feele with hise fyngres
His flesshliche herte.
"Thomas touched it,
And with his tonge seide,
'_Deus meus et Dominus meus_--
Thow art my lord, I bi-leve,
My God, lord Jhesu; 13300
Thow deidest and deeth tholedest,
And deme shalt us alle,
And now art lyvynge and lokynge,
And laste shalt evere.'
"Crist carpede thanne,
And curteisliche seide,
'Thomas, for thow trowest this,
And treweliche bi-levest it,
Blessed mote thow be,
And be shalt for evere; 13310
And blessed mote thei alle be
In body and in soule
That nevere shul se me in sighte,
As thow doost nowthe,
And lelliche bi-leve al this,
I love hem and blesse hem.'
_Beati qui non viderunt, etc._
"And whan this dede was doon,
Do-best he taughte,
And yaf Piers power, 13320
And pardon he grauntede,
To alle maner men
{407}
Mercy and forgifnesse,
Hym myght to assoille
Of alle manere synne,
In covenaunt that thei come
And kneweliched to paie
To Piers pardon the Plowman,
_Redde quod debes._
"Thus hath Piers power, 13330
By his pardon paied,
To bynde and unbynde,
Bothe here and ellis where;
And assoille men of alle synnes,
Save of dette one.
"Anoon after an heigh
Up into hevene
He wente, and wonyeth there,
And wol come at the laste,
And rewarde hym right wel 13340
That _reddit quod debet_,
Paieth parfitly,
As pure truthe wolde;
And what persone paieth it nought,
Punysshen he thenketh,
And demen hem at domes day
Bothe quyke and dede.
The goode to the godhede
And to greet joye,
And wikkede to wonye 13350
In wo withouten ende."
Thus Conscience of Crist
And of the cros carpede,
And counseiled me to knele therto.
And thanne cam, me thoughte,
Oon _spiritus paraclitus_
{408}
To Piers and to hise felawes
In liknesse of a lightnynge
He lighte on hem alle,
And made hem konne and knowe 13360
Alle kynne langages.
I wondred what that was,
And waggede Conscience,
And was a-fered of the light,
For in fires lightnesse
_Spiritus paraclitus_
Over-spradde hem alle.
Quod Conscience, and knelede,
"This is Cristes messager,
And cometh fro the grete God, 13370
And Grace is his name.
Knele now," quod Conscience,
"And if thow kanst synge,
Welcome hym and worshipe hym
With _Veni creator spiritus_."
Thanne song I that song,
So dide manye hundred,
And cride with Conscience,
"Help us, God of Grace!"
And thanne bigan Grace 13380
To go with Piers Plowman,
And counseillede hym and Conscience
The comune to sompne;
"For I wole dele to-day
And gyve divine grace
To alle kynne creatures
That han hir fyve wittes,
Tresour to lyve by
To hir lyves ende,
And wepne to fighte with 13390
{409}
That wole nevere faille.
For Antecrist and hise
Al the world shul greve,
And acombre thee, Conscience,
But if Crist thee helpe.
"And false prophetes fele,
Flatereris and gloseris,
Shullen come and be curatours
Over kynges and erles,
And Pride shal be pope, 13400
Prynce of holy chirche,
Coveitise and unkyndenesse
Cardinals hym to lede;
For-thi," quod Grace, "er I go,
I wol gyve yow tresor,
And wepne to fighte with
Whan Antecrist yow assaileth."
And gaf ech man a grace
To gide with hymselven,
That ydelnesse encombre hym noght, 13410
Envye ne pride.
_Divisiones gratiarum sunt, etc._
Some he yaf wit
With wordes to shewe,
Wit to wynne hir liflode with,
As the world asketh,
As prechours and preestes,
And prentices of lawe,
They lelly to lyve
By labour of tonge, 13420
And by wit to wissen othere
As grace hem wolde teche.
And some he kennede craft
And konnynge of sighte,
{410}
With sellynge and buggynge
Hir bilyve to wynne.
And some he lered to laboure,
A lele lif and a trewe;
And some he taughte to tilie,
To dyche and to thecche, 13430
To wynne with her liflode
Bi loore of his techynge.
And some to devyne and divide,
Noumbres to kenne;
And some to compace craftily,
And colours to make;
And some to se and to seye
What sholde bi-falle,
Bothe of wele and of wo,
Telle it er it felle, 13440
As astronomyens thorugh astronomye,
And philosofres wise.
And some to ryde, and to recovere
That wrongfully was wonne;
He wissed hem to wynne it ayein
Thorugh wightnesse of handes,
And fecchen it fro false men
With folvyles lawes.
And some he lered to lyve
In longynge to ben hennes, 13450
In poverte and in penaunce,
To preie for alle cristene.
And alle he lered to be lele,
And ech a craft love oother;
And forbad hem alle debat,
That noon were among hem.
"Though some be clenner than some,
Ye se wel," quod Grace,
{411}
"That he that useth the faireste craft,
To the fouleste I kouthe have put hym. 13460
Thynketh alle," quod Grace,
"That grace cometh of my gifte;
Loketh that no man lakke oother,
But loveth alle as bretheren.
"And who that moost maistries kan
Be myldest of berynge;
And crouneth Conscience kyng,
And maketh Craft youre stiward,
And after Craftes conseil
Clotheth yow and fede. 13470
For I make Piers the Plowman
My procuratour and my reve,
And registrer to receyve,
_Redde quod debes._
My prowor and my plowman
Piers shal ben on erthe,
And for to tilie truthe
A teeme shal he have."
Grace gaf Piers a teeme
Of foure grete oxen. 13480
That oon was Luk, a large beest,
And a lowe chered;
And Mark, and Mathew the thridde,
Myghty beestes bothe;
And joyned to hem oon Johan,
Moost gentil of alle,
The pris neet of Piers Plow,
Passynge all othere.
And Grace gaf Piers
Of his goodnesse foure stottes; 13490
Al that hise oxen eriede,
{412}
Thei to harewen after.
Oon highte Austyn,
And Ambrose another,
Gregori the grete clerk,
And Jerom the goode.
Thise foure the feith to teche
Folweth Piers teme,
And harewede in an hand while
Al holy Scripture, 13500
With two harewes that thei hadde,
An oold and a newe.
_Id est, vetus testamentum et novum._
And Grace gaf greynes,
The cardynal vertues,
And sew hem in mannes soule,
And sithen he tolde hir names.
_Spiritus prudentiæ._
The firste seed highte;
And who so ete that, 13510
Ymagynen he sholde
Er he deide any deeth,
Devyse wel the ende;
And lerned men a ladel bugge
With a long stele,
And caste for to kepe a crokke
To save the fatte above.
The seconde seed highte
_Spiritus temperantiæ._
He that ete of that seed 13520
Hadde swich a kynde,
Sholde nevere mete ne muchel drynke
Make hym to swelle,
Ne no scornere ne scolde
Out of skile hym bringe,
{413}
Ne wynnynge ne wele
Of worldliche richesse,
Waste word of ydelnesse
Ne wikked speche moeve;
Sholde no curious clooth 13530
Comen on his rugge,
Ne no mete in his mouth
That maister Johan spicede.
The thridde seed that Piers sew
Was _spiritus fortitudinis_.
And who ete that seed,
Hardy was he evere
To suffren al that God sente,
Siknesse and angres;
Mighte no lesynges ne lyere, 13540
Ne los of worldly catel,
Maken hym for any mournynge
That he nas murie in soule,
And bold and abidynge
Bismares to suffre;
And pleieth al with pacience
And _parce mihi domine_;
And covered hym under conseille
Of Caton the wise:
_Esto forti animo, cum sis dampnatus inique._ =
The ferthe seed that Piers sew 13552
Was _spiritus justitiæ_.
And he that ete of that seed,
Sholde be evere trewe,
With God, and naught a-gast,
But of gile one;
For gile gooth so pryvely,
That good feith outher while
{414}
Maye nought ben espied, 13560
For _spiritus justitiæ_.
_Spiritus justitiæ._
Spareth noght to spille
Hem that ben gilty,
And for to correcte
The kyng, if he falle
In gilt or in trespas.
For counteth he no kynges wrathe,
Whan he in court sitteth
To demen as a domesman, 13570
A-drad was he nevere
Neither of duc ne of deeth,
That he ne dide lawe,
For present or for preiere,
Or any prynces lettres;
He dide equité to alle
Evene forth his power.
Thise foure sedes Piers sew;
And siththe he dide hem harewe
With olde lawe and newe lawe, 13580
That love myghte wexe
Among tho foure vertues,
And vices destruye.
For comunliche in contrees
Cammokes and wedes
Foulen the fruyt in the feld,
Ther thei growen togideres;
And so doon vices
Vertues worthi.
Quod Piers, "Hareweth alle that konneth kynde wit,
By conseil of thise doctours; 13591
And tilieth after hir techynge
{415}
The cardynale vertues."
"Ayeins thei greynes," quod Grace,
"Bi-gynneth for to ripe,
Ordeigne thee an hous, Piers,
To herberwe inne thi cornes."
"By God! Grace," quod Piers,
"Ye moten gyve tymber,
And ordeyne that hous, 13600
Er ye hennes wende."
And Grace gaf hym the cros,
With the croune of thornes,
That Crist upon Calvarie
For mankynde on pyned,
And of his baptisme and blood
That he bledde on roode
He made a manere morter,
And mercy it highte.
And therwith Grace bi-gan 13610
To make a good foundement,
And watlede it and walled it
With his peyne and his passion,
And of al holy writ
He made a roof after,
And called that hous _Unitee_,
Holy chirche on Englisshe.
And whan this dede was doon,
Grace devysede
A cart highte cristendom 13620
To carie Piers sheves;
And gaf hym caples to his carte,
Contricion and confession;
And made preesthod hayward,
The while hymself wente
As wide as the world is
{416}
With Piers to tilie truthe.
Now is Piers to the plow;
And Pride it aspide,
And gadered hym a greet oost, 13630
For to greven he thynketh
Conscience and alle cristene
And cardinale vertues,
Blowe hem doun and breke hem,
And bite a-two the mores;
And sente forth Surquidous,
His sergeaunt of armes,
And his spye Spille-love,
Oon Spek-yvel bihynde.
Thise two coome to Conscience, 13640
And to cristen peple,
And tolde hem tidynges,
That tyne thei sholde the sedes
That Piers there hadde y-sowen,
The cardynale vertues;
"And Piers bern worth y-broke,
And thei that ben in _Unitee_
Shulle come out, and Conscience
And youre two caples,
Confession and Contricion; 13650
And youre carte the bileeve
Shal be coloured so queyntely,
And covered under sophistrie,
That Conscience shal noght
Knowe by Contricion
Ne by Confession
Who is cristene or hethene;
Ne no manere marchaunt
That with moneie deleth,
Wheither he wynne with right, 13660
{417}
With wrong, or with usure.
"With swiche colours and queyntise
Cometh Pride y-armed,
With the lord that lyveth after
The lust of his body,
To wasten on welfare,
And in wikked lyvynge,
Al the world in a while
Thorugh oure wit," quod Pryde.
Quod Conscience to alle cristene tho, 13670
"My counseil is to wende
Hastiliche into Unitee,
And holde we us there;
And praye we that a pees weere
In Piers berne the Plowman.
For witterly I woot wel,
We beth noght of strengthe
To goon agayn Pride,
But Grace weere with us."
And thanne kam Kynde Wit 13680
Conscience to teche,
And cryde and comaundede
Alle cristene peple
For to delven a dych
Depe aboute Unitee,
That holy chirche stode in Unitee,
As it a pyl weere.
Conscience comaundede tho
Alle cristene to delve,
And make a muche moot, 13690
That myghte ben a strengthe
To helpe holy chirche
And hem that it kepeth.
Thanne alle kynne cristene,
{418}
Save comune wommen,
Repenteden and refused synne,
Save thei one,
And false men, flatereris,
Usurers, and theves,
Lyeris, and queste-mongeres 13700
That were for-sworen ofte,
Witynge and wilfully
With the false helden,
And for silver were for-swore,
Soothly they wiste it.
Ther nas no cristene creature
That kynde wit hadde,
Save sherewes one
Swiche as I spak of,
That he ne halp a quantité 13710
Holynesse to wexe,
Some thorugh bedes biddynge,
And some thorugh pilgrymages
And othere pryvé penaunces,
And somme thorugh penyes delynge.
And thanne wellede water
For wikkede werkes,
Egreliche ernynge
Out of mennes eighen,
Clennesse out of comune, 13720
And clerkes clene lyvynge,
Made Unitee holy chirche
In holynesse to stonde.
"I care noght," quod Conscience,
"Though Pride come nouthe.
The lord of lust shal be letted
Al this lente, I hope.
Cometh," quod Conscience,
{419}
"Ye cristene, and dyneth,
That han laboured lelly 13730
Al this lenten tyme.
Here is breed y-blessed,
And Goddes body therunder:
Grace, thorugh Goddes word,
Yaf Piers power
And myghtes to maken it,
And men to ete it after
In helpe of hir heele
Ones in a monthe,
Or as ofte as thei hadde nede, 13740
Tho that hadde y-paied
To Piers pardon the Plowman.
_Redde quod debes._"
"How?" quod al the comune,
"Thow conseillest us to yelde
Al that we owen any wight,
Er we go to housel?"
"That is my conseil," quod Conscience,
"And cardinale vertues,
That ech man for-gyve oother, 13750
And that wol the pater-noster.
_Et dimitte nobis debita nostra, etc._
And so to ben assoilled,
And siththen ben houseled."
"Ye, baw!" quod a brewere,
"I wol noght be ruled,
By Jhesu! for al youre janglynge
With _spiritus justitiæ_,
Ne after Conscience, by Crist!
While I kan selle 13760
Bothe dregges and draf,
And drawe it out at oon hole
{420}
Thikke ale and thynne ale,
For that is my kynde,
And noght hakke after holynesse.
Hold thi tonge, Conscience!
Of _spiritus justitiæ_,
Thow spekest muche on ydel."
"Caytif!" quod Conscience,
"Cursede wrecche! 13770
Un-blessed artow, brewere,
But if thee God helpe.
But thow lyve by loore
Of _spiritus justitiæ_,
The chief seed that Piers sew,
Y-saved worstow nevere.
But Conscience the comune fede,
And cardinale vertues,
Leve it wel, thei ben lost,
Bothe lif and soule." 13780
"Thanne is many a man lost,"
Quod a lewed vicory.--
"I am a curatour of holy kirke,
And cam nevere in my tyme
Man to me, that me kouthe telle
Of cardinale vertues,
Or that acountede Conscience
At a cokkes fethere or an hennes.
I knew nevere cardynal,
That he ne cam fro the pope; 13790
And we clerkes, whan thei come,
For hir comunes paieth,
For hir pelure and hir palfreyes mete,
And pilours that hem folweth.
"The comune _clamat cotidie_
Ech a man til oother,
{421}
The contree is the corseder
That cardinals comme inne;
And ther thei ligge and lenge moost,
Lecherie there regneth. 13800
"For-thi," quod this vicory,
"By verray God! I wolde
That no cardynal coome
Among the comune peple;
But in hir holynesse
Helden hem stille
At Avynone among the Jewes,--
_Cum sancto sanctus eris, etc._--
Or in Rome, as hir rule wole,
The relikes to kepe; 13810
And thow, Conscience, in kynges court,
And sholdest nevere come thennes;
And Grace, that thow graddest so of,
Gyour of alle clerkes;
And Piers with his newe plow,
And ek with his olde,
Emperour of al the world,
That alle men were cristene.
"Inparfit is that pope
That al the world sholde helpe, 13820
And sendeth swiche that sleeth hem
That he sholde save.
"And wel worthe Piers the Plowman,
That pursueth God in doynge,
_Qui pluit super justos
Et injustos_ at ones,
And sent the sonne to save
A cursed mannes tilthe,
As brighte as to the beste man,
Or to the beste womman. 13830
{422}
"Right so Piers the Plowman
Peyneth hym to tilye
As wel for a wastour
And wenches of the stewes,
As for hymself and his servauntz,
Save he is first y-served;
And travailleth and tilieth
For a tretour also soore
As for a trewe tidy man,
Alle tymes y-like. 13840
And worshiped be he that wroghte al,
Bothe good and wikke,
And suffreth that synfulle be,
[Tyl som tyme that thei repenten].
And God amende the pope!
That pileth holy kirke,
And cleymeth bifore the kyng
To be kepere over cristene;
And counteth noght though cristene ben
Killed and robbed; 13850
And fynt folk to fighte,
And cristen blood to spille,
Ayein the olde lawe and newe lawe,
As Luc therof witnesseth.
_Non occides, mihi vindictam, etc._
"It semeth, bi so
Hymself hadde his wille,
That he reccheth right noght
Of al the remenaunt.
And Crist of his curteisie 13860
The cardinals save,
And torne hir wit to wisdom,
And to welthe of soule!
For the comune," quod this curatour,
{423}
"Counten ful litel
The counseil of Conscience,
Or cardinale vertues.
But if thei seighe, as by sighte,
Som what to wynnyng,
Of gile ne of gabbyng 13870
Gyve thei nevere tale.
For _spiritus prudentiæ_
Among the peple is gyle;
And alle tho faire vertues
As vices thei semeth.
Ech man subtileth a sleighte
Synne for to hide,
And coloureth it for a konnynge,
And a clene lyvynge."
Thanne lough ther a lord, 13880
And "By this light!" seide,
"I holde it right and reson
Of my reve to take
Al that myn auditour,
Or ellis my styward,
Counseilleth me bi hir acounte
And my clerkes writyng.
With _spiritus intellectus_
Thei seke the reves rolles;
And with _spiritus fortitudinis_ 13890
Fecche it I wole after."
And thanne cam ther a kyng,
And, by his croune! seide,
"I am kyng with croune
The comune to rule,
And holy kirke and clergie
From cursed men to fende;
And if me lakketh to lyve by,
{424}
The lawe wole I take it
Ther I may hastilokest it have. 13900
For I am heed of lawe;
And ye ben but membres,
And I above alle.
And sith I am youre aller heed,
I am youre aller heele,
And holy chirches chief help,
And chieftayn of the comune;
And what I take of yow two,
I take it at the techynge
Of _spiritus justitiæ_, 13910
For I jugge yow alle.
So I may boldely be housled,
For I borwe nevere,
Ne crave of my comune,
But as my kynde asketh."
"In condicion," quod Conscience,
"That thow konne defende
And rule thi reaume in reson,
Right wel and in truthe,
Take thow mayst in reson 13920
As thi lawe asketh.
_Omnia tua sunt ad defendendum,
sed non ad deprædandum._"
The viker hadde fer hoom,
And faire took his leeve;
And I awakned therwith,
And wroot as me mette. 13927
* * * * *
{425}
_Passus Vicesimus de Visione, et Primus de Do-best._
Thanne as I wente by the wey, 13928
Whan I was thus awaked,
Hevy-chered I yede,
And elenge in herte;
I ne wiste wher to ete,
Ne at what place,
And it neghed neigh the noon,
And with Nede I mette
That afrounted me foule,
And faitour me called:
"Kanstow noght excuse thee,
As dide the kyng and othere,
That thow toke to thy bilyve, 13940
To clothes and to sustenaunce;
And by techynge and by tellynge
Of _spiritus temperantiæ_,
And thow nome na-moore
Than nede thee taughte,
And nede he hath no lawe,
Ne nevere shal falle in dette;
For thre thynges he taketh,
His lif for to save.
"That is mete, whan men hym werneth 13950
{426}
And he no moneye weldeth,
Ne wight noon wol ben his borugh,
Ne wed hath noon to legge;
And he caughte in that caas,
And come therto by sleighte,
He synneth noght, soothliche,
That so wynneth his foode.
"And though he come so to a clooth,
And kan no bettre chevyssaunce,
Nede anoon righte 13960
Nymeth hym under maynprise.
"And if hym list for to lape,
The lawe of kynde wolde
That he dronke at ech dych,
Er he for thurst deide.
So Nede al gret nede
May nymen, as for his owene,
Withouten counseil of Conscience
Or cardynale vertues,
So that he sewe and save 13970
_Spiritus temperantiæ_.
"For is no vertue bi fer
To _spiritus temperantiæ_;
Ne _spiritus justitiæ_
Ne _spiritus fortitudinis_.
For _spiritus fortitudinis_
Forfeteth ful ofte.
He shal do moore than mesure
Many tyme and ofte,
And bete men over bittre, 13980
And some of hem to litel,
And greve men gretter
Than good feith it wolde
{427}
"And _spiritus justitiæ_
Shal juggen, wol he nele he,
After the kynges counseil,
And the comune like.
And _spiritus prudentiæ_
In many a point shal faille
Of that he weneth wolde falle, 13990
If his wit ne weere.
Wenynge is no wysdom,
Ne wys ymaginacion,
_Homo proponit, et Deus disponit_,
And governeth alle goode vertues;
Ac Nede is next hym,
For anoon he meketh,
And as lowe as a lomb,
For lakkyng of that hym nedeth.
Wise men forsoke wele, 14000
For thei wolde be nedy,
And woneden in wildernesse,
And wolde noght he riche.
"And God al his grete joye
Goostliche he lefte,
And cam and took mankynde,
And bi-cam nedy.
So nedy he was, as seith the book,
In manye sondry places,
That he seide in his sorwe 14010
On the selve roode,
Bothe fox and fowel
May fle to hole and crepe,
And the fissh hath fyn
To flete with to reste,
Ther Nede hath y-nome me
That I moot nede abide
{428}
And suffre sorwes ful soure
That shal to joye torne,
For-thi be noght abasshed 14020
To bide and to be nedy;
Sith he that wroghte al the world
Was wilfulliche nedy,
Ne nevere noon so nedy
Ne poverer deide."
Whan Nede hath under-nome me thus,
Anoon I fil a-slepe;
And mette ful merveillously,
That in mannes forme
Antecrist cam thanne, 14030
And al the crop of Truthe
Torned it up-so-doun,
And over-tilte the roote;
And fals sprynge and sprede,
And spede mennes nedes,
In ech a contree ther he cam
He kutte awey truthe,
And gerte gile growe there,
As he a Good weere.
Freres folwede that fend, 14040
For he gaf hem copes;
And religiouse reverenced hym,
And rongen hir belles,
And al the covent forth cam
To welcome that tyraunt,
And alle hise as wel as hym,
Save oonly fooles.
Whiche foolis were wel levere
To deye than to lyve
{429}
Lenger, sith Lenten 14050
Was so rebuked.
And as a fals fend, Antecrist
Over alle folk regnede,
Save that were mylde men and holye,
That no meschief dradden,
Defyed alle falsnesse
And folk that it usede;
And what kyng that hem conforted,
Knowynge hem any while,
They cursed and hir conseil, 14060
Were it clerk or lewed.
Antecrist hadde thus soone
Hundredes at his baner,
And Pride it bar
Boldely aboute,
With a lord that lyveth
After likyng of body,
That kam ayein Conscience,
That kepere was and gyour
Over kynde cristene 14070
And cardynale vertues.
"I conseille," quod Conscience tho,
"Cometh with me, ye fooles,
Into Unité holy chirche,
And holde we us there;
And crye we to kynde
That he come and defende us,
Fooles, fro thise fendes lymes,
For Piers love the Plowman;
And crye we to al the comune, 14080
That thei come to Unitee,
And there abide and bikere
Ayeins Beliales children."
{430}
Kynde Conscience tho herde,
And cam out of the planetes,
And sente forth his forreyours,
Feveres and fluxes,
Coughes and cardiacles,
Crampes and tooth-aches,
Rewmes and radegundes, 14090
And roynous scabbes,
Biles and bocches,
And brennynge agues,
Frenesies and foule yveles,
Forageres of kynde,
Hadde y-priked and prayed
Polles of peple,
That largeliche a legion
Loste hir lif soone.
There was, "Harrow and help! 14100
Here cometh Kynde,
With Deeth that is dredful
To undo us alle!"
The lord that lyved after lust
Tho aloud cryde
After Confort, a knyght,
To come and bere his baner;
"_A l'arme! à l'arme!_" quod that lord,
"Ech lif kepe his owene!"
And thanne mette thise men, 14110
Er mynstrals myghte pipe,
And er heraudes of armes
Hadden discryved lordes,
Elde the hoore
That was in the vaunt-warde.
And bar the baner bifore Deeth,
Bi right he it cleymede.
{431}
Kynde cam after,
With many kene soores,
As pokkes and pestilences, 14120
And muche peple shente;
So Kynde thorugh corrupcions
Kilde ful manye.
Deeth cam dryvynge after,
And al to duste passhed
Kynges and knyghtes,
Kaysers and popes,
Lered and lewed,
He leet no man stonde
That he hitte evene, 14130
That evere stired after.
Manye a lovely lady,
And lemmans of knyghtes,
Swowned and swelted
For sorwe of hise dyntes.
Conscience of his curteisie
To Kynde he bi-soughte
To cesse and suffre,
And see wher thei wolde
Leve Pride pryvely, 14140
And be parfite cristene.
And Kynde cessede tho
To se the peple amende.
Fortune gan flatere thanne
Tho fewe that were alyve,
And bi-highte hem long lif,
And Lecherie he sente
Amonges alle manere men,
Wedded and unwedded,
And gaderede a greet hoost 14150
Al agayn Conscience.
{432}
This Lecherie leide on
With a janglynge chiere,
And with pryvee speche
And peyntede wordes;
And armede hym in ydelnesse,
And in heigh berynge.
He bar a bowe in his hand,
And manye brode arewes,
Weren fethered with fair bi-heste 14160
And many a fals truthe.
With hise un-tidy tales
He tened ful ofte.
Conscience and his compaignye,
Of holy chirche the techeris.
Thanne cam Coveitise,
And caste how he myghte
Overcome Conscience
And cardinale vertues,
And armed hym in avarice, 14170
And hungriliche lyvede.
His wepne was al wiles
To wynnen and to hiden;
With glosynges and with gabbynges
He giled the peple.
Symonye hym sente
To assaille Conscience,
And preched to the peple;
And prelates thei hem maden
To holden with Antecrist, 14180
His temporaltees to save;
And cam to the kynges counseille
As a kene baroun,
And kneled to Conscience
In court afore hem alle,
{433}
And garte good feith flee,
And fals to abide;
And boldeliche bar a-doun,
With many a bright noble,
Muche of the wit and wisdom 14190
Of Westmynstre Halle.
He jogged to a justice,
And justed in his eere,
And over-tilte al his truthe
With "Tak this up amendement."
And to the Arches in haste
He yede anoon after,
And tornede cyvyle into symonye,
And siththe he took the official
For a mantel of menever, 14200
And made lele matrymoyne
Departen er deeth cam,
And devors shapte.
"Allas!" quod Conscience, and cryde tho,
"Wolde Crist of his grace
That coveitise were cristene!
That is so kene a fightere,
And boold and bidynge
While his bagge lasteth."
And thanne lough Lyf, 14210
And leet daggen hise clothes,
And armed hym an haste
With harlotes wordes;
And heeld holynesse a jape,
And hendenesse a wastour;
And leet leautee a cherl,
And lyere a fre man;
Conscience and his counseil
He counted at a flye
{434}
Thus relyede Lif, 14220
For a litel fortune;
And priketh forth with Pride,
Preiseth he no vertue,
Ne careth noght how Kynde slow,
And shal come at the laste,
And kille alle erthely creatures,
Save Conscience oone.
Lyf lepte aside,
And laughte hym a lemman;
"Heele and I," quod he, 14230
"And heighnesse of herte,
Shal do thee noght drede
Neither deeth ne elde,
And to forgyte sorwe,
And gyve noght of synne."
This likede Lif,
And his lemman Fortune;
And geten in hir glorie
A gadelyng at the laste,
Oon that muche wo wroghte, 14240
Sleuthe was his name.
Sleuthe wax wonder yerne,
And soone was of age,
And wedded oon Wanhope,
A wenche of the stuwes.
Hir sire was a sysour
That nevere swoor truthe,
Oon Tomme Two-tonge,
Atteynt at ech enqueste.
This Sleuthe was war of werre, 14250
And a slynge made,
And threw drede of dispair
A dozeyne myle aboute.
{435}
For care Conscience tho
Cryde upon Elde,
And bad hym fonde to fighte,
And a-fere Wanhope.
And Elde hente good hope,
And hastiliche he shifte hym,
And wayved awey Wanhope, 14260
And with Lif he fighteth.
And Lif fleigh for feere
To phisik after helpe,
And bi-soughte hym of socour,
And of his salve he hadde.
He gaf hym gold good woon,
That gladede his herte;
And thei gyven hym ageyn
A glazene howve.
Lyf leeved that lechecraft 14270
Lette sholde elde,
And dryven awey deeth
With dyas and drogges.
And Elde auntred hym on lyf,
And at the laste he hitte
A phisicien with a furred hood,
That he fel in a palsie,
And there dyed that doctour
Er thre dayes after.
"Now I se," seide Lif, 14280
"That surgerie ne phisik
May noght a myte availle
To mede ayein Elde."
And in hope of his heele
Good herte he hente,
And rood forth to a revel,
A ryche place and a murye;
{436}
The compaignye of confort
Men cleped it som tyme.
And Elde anoon after me 14290
And over myn heed yede;
And made me balled bifore,
And bare on the crowne.
So harde he yede over myn heed,
It wole be sene evere.
"Sire yvele y-taught, Elde!" quod I,
"Unhende go with the!
Sith whanne was the wey
Over mennes heddes?
Haddestow be hende," quod I, 14300
"Thow woldest have asked leeve."
"Ye, leve lurdeyn!" quod he;
And leyde on me with age,
And hitte me under the ere,
Unnethe myghte ich here.
He buffetted me so aboute the mouth,
That out my teeth he bette;
And gyved me in goutes,
I may noght goon at large.
And of the wo that I was inne 14310
My wif hadde ruthe,
And wisshed ful witterly
That I were in hevene;
For the lyme that she loved me fore,
And leef was to feele,--
On nyghtes, namely,
Whan we naked weere,--
I ne myghte in no manere
Maken it at hir wille;
So Elde and she, soothly, 14320
Hadden it for-beten.
{437}
And as I seet in this sorwe,
I saugh how Kynde passede;
And Deeth drogh neigh me.
For drede gan I quake,
And cryde to Kynde,
"Out of care me brynge!
Lo! Elde the hoore
Hath me bi-seye.
Awreke me! if youre wille be, 14330
For I wolde ben hennes."
"If thow wolt be wroken,
Wend into Unitee,
And hold thee there evere,
Til I sende for thee;
And loke thow konne som craft,
Er thow come thennes."
"Counseille me, Kynde," quod I,
"What craft is best to lerne."
"Lerne to love," quod Kynde, 14340
"And leef of alle othere."
"How shal I come to catel so,
To clothe me and to feede?"
"And thow love lelly," quod he,
"Lakke shal thee nevere
Mete ne worldly weede,
While thi lif lasteth."
And there by conseil of Kynde
I comsed to rome
Thorugh Contricion and Confession, 14350
Til I cam to Unitee.
And there was Conscience conestable
Cristene to save,
And bisegede soothly
With sevene grete geauntz
{438}
That with Antechrist helden
Harde ayein Conscience.
Sleuthe with his slynge
An hard assaut he made.
Proude preestes coome with hym 14360
Mo than a thousand,
In paltokes and pyked shoes,
And pisseris longe knyves,
Coomen ayein Conscience,
With Coveitise thei helden.
"By Marie!" quod a mansed preest
Of the Marche of Walys,
"I counte na-moore Conscience,
By so I cacche silver,
Than I do to drynke 14370
A draughte of good ale."
And so seiden sixty
Of the same contree;
And shotten ayein with shot
Many a sheef of othes,
And brode hoked arwes,
Goddes herte and hise nayles;
And hadden almoost Unitee,
And holynesse a-down.
Conscience cryede, "Helpe, Clergie! 14380
Or ellis I falle,
Thorugh inparfite preestes
And prelates of holy chirche."
Freres herden hym crye,
And comen hym to helpe;
Ac for thei kouthe noght wel hir craft,
Conscience forsook hem.
Nede neghede tho neer,
And Conscience he tolde
{439}
That thei come for coveitise 14390
To have cure of soules;
"And for thei are povere, peraventure,
For patrymoyne thei faille,
They wol flatere and fare wel
With folk that ben riche.
And sithen thei chosen chele
And cheitiftee poverte,
Lat hem chewe as thei chose,
And charge hem with no cure.
For lomere he lyeth, 14400
That liflode moot begge,
Than he that laboureth for liflode,
And leneth it beggeris.
And sithen freres forsoke
The felicité of erthe,
Lat hem be as beggeris,
Or lyve by aungeles foode."
Conscience of this counseil tho
Comsede for to laughe,
And curteisliche conforted hem, 14410
And called in alle freres,
And seide, "Sires, soothly
Welcome be ye alle
To Unitee and holy chirche;
Ac o thyng I yow preye,
Holdeth yow in Unitee,
And haveth noon envye
To lered ne to lewed,
But lyveth after youre reule,
And I wol be youre borugh 14420
Ye shal have breed and clothes
And othere necessaries y-nowe,
Yow shal no thyng faille,
{440}
With that ye leve logik,
And lerneth for to lovye.
For love lafte thei lordshipe,
Bothe lond and scole,
Frere Fraunceys and Domynyk,
For love to be holye.
"And if ye coveite cure, 14430
Kynde wol yow teche
That in mesure God made
Alle manere thynges,
And sette hem at a certein
And a siker nombre,
And nempnede names newe,
And noumbrede the sterres.
_Qui numerat multitudinem stellarum,
et omnibus eis, etc._
"Kynges and knyghtes 14440
That kepen and defenden,
Han officers under hem,
And ech of hem a certein.
And if thei wage men to werre,
Thei write hem in noumbre;
Alle othere in bataille
Ben y-holde brybours,
Pylours and pyke-harneys,
In ech a place y-cursed,
Wol no man tresore hem paie, 14450
Travaille thei never so soore.
"Monkes and moniales,
And alle men of religion,
Hir ordre and hir reule wole
To han a certein noumbre,
Of lewed and of lered,
The lawe wole and asketh
{441}
A certein for a certein,
Save oonliche of freres.
"For thi," quod conscience, "by Crist! 14460
Kynde wit me telleth
It is wikked to wage yow,
Ye wexen out of noumbre;
Hevene hath evene noumbre,
And helle is withoute noumbre.
For-thi I wolde witterly
That ye were in the registre,
And youre noumbre under notaries signe,
And neither mo ne lasse."
Envye herde this, 14470
And heet freres to go to scole
And lerne logyk and lawe,
And ek contemplacion,
And preche men of Plato,
And preve it by Seneca,
That alle thynges under hevene
Oughte to ben in comune.
And yet he lyeth, as I leve,
That to the lewed so precheth;
For God made to men a lawe, 14480
And Moyses it taughte.
_Non concupisces rem proximi tui._
And yvele in this y-holde
In parisshes of Engelonde;
For persons and parissh-preestes
That sholde the peple shryve,
Ben curatours called,
To knowe and to hele
Alle that ben hir parisshens,
Penaunce to enjoigne; 14490
And sholden be ashamed in his shrift;
{442}
Ac shame maketh hem wende
And fleen to the freres,
As fals folk to Westmynstre,
That borweth, and bereth it thider,
And thanne biddeth frendes
Yerne of forgifnesse,
Or lenger yeres loone.
Ac while he is in Westmynstre,
He wol be bifore, 14500
And maken hym murie
With oother mennes goodes.
And so it fareth with muche folk
That to the freres hem shryveth,
As sisours and executours,
Thei wol gyve the freres
A parcel to preye for hem,
And make hemself murye
With the residue and the remenaunt
That othere men bi-swonke, 14510
And suffre the dede in dette
To the day of doome.
Envye herfore
Hatede Conscience;
And freres to philosophie
He fond thanne to scole,
The while Coveitise and Unkyndenesse,
Conscience assaillede.
In Unitee holy chirche
Conscience held hym, 14520
And made Pees porter
To pynne the yates,
Of alle tale-telleris
And titeleris in ydel
{443}
Ypocrisie and he
An hard assaut thei made,
And woundede wel wikkedly
Many a wis techere
That with Conscience acordede
And cardynale vertues. 14530
Conscience called a leche,
That koude wel shryve,
To go salve tho that sike ben
And thorugh synne y-wounded
Shrift shoop sharpe salve,
And made men do penaunce
For hir mys-dedes
That thei wroght hadde,
And that Piers were y-payed:
_Redde quod debes._ 14540
Some liked noght this leche,
And lettres thei sente,
If any surgien were the segge
That softer koude plastre.
Sire Leef-to-lyve-in-lecherie
Lay there and gronede,
For fastynge of a Frydaye
He ferde as he wolde deye.
"Ther is a surgien in this sege
That softe kan handle, 14550
And moore of phisik bi fer
And fairer he plastreth,
Oon frere Flaterere,
Is phisicien and surgien."
Quod Contricion to Conscience,
"Do hym come to Unitee;
For here is many a man
{444}
Hurt thorugh Ypocrisye."
"We han no nede," quod Conscience,
"I woot no bettre leche 14560
Than person or parisshe-preest,
Penitauncer or bisshope,
Save Piers the Plowman,
That hath power over hem alle,
And indulgence may do,
But if dette lette it."
"I may wel suffre," seide Conscience,
"Syn ye desiren
That frere Flaterere be fet
And phisike yow sike." 14570
The frere herof herde
And hiede faste
To a lord for a lettre,
Leve to have to curen,
As a curatour he were;
And cam with hise lettres
Boldely to the bisshope,
And his brief hadde,
In contrees ther he coome
Confessions to here, 14580
And cam there Conscience was,
And knokked at the yate.
Pees unpynned it,
Was porter of Unitee,
And in haste askede
What his wille were.
"In faith!" quod this frere,
"For profit and for helthe
Carpe I wolde with Contricion,
And therfore cam I hider." 14590
"He is sik," seide Pees,
{445}
"And so are manye othere.
Ypocrisie hath hurt hem,
Ful hard is if thei kevere."
"I am a surgien," seide the segge,
"And salves kan make.
Conscience knoweth me wel,
And what I kan do bothe."
"I praye thee," quod Pees tho,
"Er thow passe ferther, 14600
What hattestow? I praye thee;
Hele noght thi name."
"Certes," seide his felawe,
"Sire _Penetrans-domos_."
"Ye, go thi gate," quod Pees,
"By God! for al thi phisik,
But thow konne som oother craft,
Thow comest nought herinne.
I knew swich oon ones,
Noght eighte wynter hennes, 14610
Coom in thus y-coped
At a court there I dwelde,
And was my lordes leche,
And my ladies bothe.
And at the laste this lymytour,
Tho my lord was oute,
He salvede so oure wommen
Til some were with childe."
Hende-speche heet Pees
Open the yates, 14620
"Lat in the frere and his felawe,
And make hem fair cheere;
He may se and here,
So it may bifalle
That lif thorugh his loore
{446}
Shal leve Coveitise,
And be a-drad of Deeth,
And withdrawe hym fram Pryde,
And acorde with Conscience,
And kisse hir either oother." 14630
Thus thorugh Hende-speche
Entred the frere,
And cam in to Conscience,
And curteisly hym grette.
"Thou art welcome," quod Conscience,
"Kanstow heele the sike?
Here is Contricion," quod Conscience,
"My cosyn, y-wounded.
Conforte hym," quod Conscience,
"And tak kepe to hise soores. 14640
The plastres of the person
And poudres biten to soore;
He lat hem ligge over longe,
And looth is to chaunge hem;
Fro lenten to lenten
He lat hise plastres bite."
"That is over longe," quod this lymytour,
"I leve I shal amende it."
And gooth and gropeth Contricion,
And gaf hym a plastre 14650
Of 'a pryvee paiement,
And I shal praye for yow
For al that ye ben holden to,
Al my lif tyme,
And make yow, my lady,
In masse and in matyns
As frere of oure fraternytee
{447}
For a litel silver.'
Thus he gooth and gadereth,
And gloseth there he shryveth, 14660
Til Contricion hadde clene foryeten
To crye and to wepe;
And wake for hise wikked werkes,
As he was wont to doone,
For confort of his confessour
Contricion he lafte,
That is the soverayneste salve
For alle kynne synnes.
Sleuthe seigh that,
And so dide Pryde, 14670
And comen with a kene wille
Conscience to assaille.
Conscience cryed eft,
And bad Clergie helpe hym,
And also Contricion,
For to kepe the yate.
"He lyth and dremeth," seide Pees,
"And so do manye othere,
The frere with his phisyk
This folk hath enchaunted, 14680
And plastred hem so esily,
Thei drede no synne."
"By Crist!" quod Conscience tho,
"I wole bicome a pilgrym,
And walken as wide
As the world lasteth,
To seken Piers the Plowman,
That Pryde may destruye;
And that freres hadde a fyndyng,
That for nede flateren, 14690
And countrepledeth me, Conscience.
{448}
Now Kynde me avenge,
And sende me hap and heele,
Til I have Piers the Plowman."
And siththe he gradde after Grace,
Til I gan awake. 14696
_Explicit hic Dialogus Petri Plowman._
* * * * *
THE CREED OF PIERS PLOUGHMAN.
* * * * *
{451}
PIERS PLOUGHMAN'S CREED.
Cros and curteis Christ 1
This begynnyng spede,
For the faders frendshipe
That fourmed heaven,
And through the special spirit
That sprong of hem tweyne,
And al in one God-hed
Endles dwelleth.
A, and all myn a.b.c.
After have I lerned, 10
And patred in my pater-noster
Iche poynt after other;
And after al, myne Ave-marie
Almost to the end;
But al my care is to comen,
For I can nought my Crede.
Whan I shall shewen my shrift,
Shent mote I worthen;
The preeste wil me punyche,
And penaunce enjoyne; 20
The lengthe of a lenton
Flesh moot I leve,
After that Estur is y-come,
And that is hard fare;
{452}
And Wedenesday iche wyke
Withouten flesh-mete.
And also Jesu hymselfe
To the Jewes he saide,
"He that leeveth nought on me,
He leseth the blisse." 30
Therfor lerne the byleve
Levest me were,
Gif any worldly wight
Wil me [it] couthe;
Other lewed or lered,
That lyveth thereafter
And fulliche folweth the feith,
And feyneth non other;
That no worldeliche wele
Wilneth no tyme, 40
But liveth in lovyng of God,
And his lawe holdeth;
And for no gettyng of good
Never his God greveth,
But folweth hym the full way,
As he the folke taughte.
But to many maner of men
This matter is asked,
Both to lered and to lewed,
That seyn that they liveden 50
Hollich on the grete God,
And holden al his hestes.
But by a fraynyng for than
Faileth ther manye.
For first I frayned the freres,
And they me fulle tolden,
That al the fruyt of the fayth
Was in her foure orders;
{453}
And the cofres of Christendom,
And the keie bothen, 60
And the lock of byleve,
Lieth loken in her hondes,
Then wennede I to wytten,
And with a whight I mette,
A Minoure in a morwe-tide;
And to this man I saide,
"Sire, for greate Godes love!
The graith thou me tell,
Of what myddel-erde man
Myght I best lerne 70
My Crede? For I can it nought,
My kare is the more.
And therfore, for Christes love!
Thy counseyl I preie.
A Carm me hath y-covenant,
The nede me to teche;
But for thou knowest Carmes wel,
Thy counsail I aske."
This Minour loked on me,
And laughyng he sayde, 80
"Leve christen man,
I leve that thou [art] madde:
Whough shulde thei techen the god,
That con non hemselve?
They ben but jugulers,
And japers of kynde;
Lorels and lechures,
And lemans holden,
Neyther in order ne out,
But unneth lybbeth, 90
And by-japeth the folk
With gestes of Rome.
{454}
It is but a faynt folke,
Y-founded upon japes.
They maketh hem Maries men,
And so thei men tellen;
And leieth on oure Lady
Many a long tale.
And that wicked folk
Wymmen betraieth, 100
And begileth hem her good
With glaverynge wordes,
And therwith holden her hous
In harlotes warkes.
And, so save me God!
I hold it greate synne
To gyven hem any good,
Swiche glotones to fynde,
To mayntaynen swiche maner men
That michel good destruieth. 110
Yet seyn they in her sutiltie
To sottes in townes,
Thei comen out of Carmeli
Christ for to folwen,
And feyneth hem with holynesse,
That yvele hem bisemeth.
Thei lyven more in lecherie,
And lyeth in her tales,
Than suen any good liif;
But lurken in her selles, 120
And wynnen werdliche good,
And wasten it in synne.
And ghif thei couthen her Crede,
Other on Christ leveden,
Thei weren nought so hardy
Swyche harlotri usen.
{455}
Sikerli I can nought fynden
Who hem first founded;
But the foles foundeden hemselfe
Freres of the Pye, 130
And maken hem mendynans,
And marre the puple.
But what glut of tho gomes
May any good kachen,
He wyl kepen it hemself,
And cofrene it faste;
And thoigh his felawes fayle good,
For hym he may sterven.
Her monei mai byquest,
And testament maken, 140
And none obedience bere,
But don as hym luste.
And ryght as Robartes men
Raken aboute
At feyres and at full ales,
And fyllen the cuppe;
And precheth al of pardon,
To plesen the puple.
Her pacience is al pased,
And put out to ferme; 150
And pride is in her povertie,
That litel is to preisen.
And at the lullyng of oure lady
The wymmen to lyken,
And miracles of mydwyves,
And maken wymmen to wenen
That the lace of oure Lady smok
Lighteth hem of children.
Thei ne prechen nought of Powel,
Ne penaunce for synne; 160
{456}
But al of merci and mensk,
That Marie may helpen.
With sterne staves and stronge
Thei over lond straketh,
Thider as here lemmans liggeth,
And lurketh in townes,
Grey grete-heded quenes
With gold by the eighen,
And seyne that her sustern thei ben,
That sojurneth aboute. 170
And thus abouten the gon,
And Godes folke betrayeth.
It is the puple that Powel
Preched of in his tyme;
He seyde of swich folke
That so aboute wente,
Wepyng, I warne you
Of walkers aboute,
It beth enemyes of the cros
That Christ upon tholede. 180
Swiche slomrers in slepe,
Slaughte in her ende,
And glotonye is her God,
With gloppynge of drynk,
And gladnesse in glees,
And grete joye y-maked.
In the shendyng of swiche
Shal mychel folk lawghe;
Therfore, frend, for thy feith
Fond to don beter; 190
Leve nought on tho losels,
Put let hem forth pasen,
For thei ben fals in her faith,
And feele mo other."
{457}
"Alas! frere," quath I tho,
"My purpos is y-failed;
Now is my comfort a-cast.
Canstou no bote,
Wher I myght meten with a man
That myghte me wyssen 200
For to conne my Crede,
Christ for to folwen?"
"Certeyn, felawe," quath the frere,
"Withouten any fayle,
Of al men upon mold,
We Minorities most sheweth
The pure aposteles liif,
With penance on erthe,
And suen hem in sanctité,
And sufferen wel harde. 210
We haunten no tavernes,
Ne hobelen abouten;
At marketes and miracles
We medeleth us never;
We hondlen no moneye,
But monelich faren,
And haven hunger at the mete,
At ich a mel ones.
We haven forsaken the world,
And in wo libbeth, 220
In penaunce and poverte,
And prechethe the puple
By ensample of oure liif
Soules to helpen;
And in poverte preien
For al oure parteneres,
That gyveth us any good
God to honouren,
{458}
Other bel other book,
Or bred to our foode, 230
Other catel, other cloth
To coveren with oure bones.
For we buldeth a burwgh,
A brod and a large,
A chirch and a chapitle,
With chaumbers a-lofte;
With wide wyndowes y-wrought,
And walles wel heye,
That mote ben portreid and paint,
And pulched ful clene, 240
With gay glitering glas
Glowyng as the sunne.
And mightestou amenden us
With moneye of thyn owen,
Thou shouldest knely bifore Christ
In compas of gold,
In the wyde window west-ward
Wel neigh in the myddel,
And saint Fraunceis hymselfe
Shal folden the in his cope, 250
And present the to the Trinité,
And praye for thy synnes.
Thy name shal noblich ben wryten
And wrought for the nones,
And in remembraunce of the
Y-rad there for evere.
And, brother, be thou nought a-ferd;
Bythenk in thyne herte,
Though thou conne nought thy Crede,
Care thou no-more! 260
I shal asoilen the, syr,
And setten it on my soule;
{459}
And thou may maken this good,
Thenk thou non other."
"Sir," I sayde, "in certaine
I shal gon and asaye."
And he set on me his hond,
And asoiled me clene,
And there I parted him fro
Wythouten and peyne; 270
In covenaunt that I come agayne,
Christ he me be-taught.
Then saide I to myself,
"Here semeth litel treuthe!
First to blame his brother,
And bakbyten hym foule,
There as curteis Christ
Clerliche saide,
Whow myght thou in thy brothers eighe
A bare mote loken, 280
And in thyn owen eighe
Nought a beme toten?
See fyrst on thyself,
And sithen on another,
And clense clene thy syght,
And kepe wel thyne eighe,
And for another mannes eighe
Ordeyne after.
And also I see coveitise
Catel to fongen, 290
That Christ hath clerliche forboden,
And clenliche destrueden;
And sayde to his sueres
For sothe on this wyse,
'Nought thy neighbors good
Coveyte in no tyme.'
{460}
But charité and chastité
Ben chased out clene.
But Christ seide by her fruit
Men shal hem ful knowen." 300
Thanne saide I, "certeine, syr,
Thou demest ful trewe."
Than thought I to frayne the first
Of this foure ordres;
And presed to the Prechoures,
To proven hir wille.
Ich highed to her house,
To herken of more;
And when I came to that court,
I gaped aboute, 310
Swich a bild bold
Y-buld upon erthe heighte
Say I nought in certeyn
Syththe a long tyme.
I semed opon that hous,
And yerne theron loked,
Whow the pileres weren y-paint,
And pulched ful clene,
And queyntly y-corven
With curious knottes; 320
With wyndowes wel y-wrought,
Wyde up a-lofte,
And thanne I entred in,
And even forth wente;
And al was walled that wone,
Though it wiid were,
With posternes in privité
To pasen when hem liste;
Orcheyardes and erberes
Evesed wel clene, 330
{461}
And a curious cros
Craftly entayled,
With tabernacles y-tight
To toten al abouten.
The pris of a plough-lond
Of penies so rounde
To aparaile that pyler
Were pure litel.
Than I munte me forth
The mynstre to knowen, 340
And awaytede a woon
Wonderly wel y-bild,
With arches on everiche half,
And bellyche y-corven,
With crochetes on corneres,
With knottes of gold,
Wyde wyndowes y-wrought,
Y-wryten ful thikke,
Shynen with shapen sheldes,
To shewen aboute, 350
With merkes of merchauntes
Y-medeled betwene,
Mo than twentie and two
Twyse y-noumbbred.
Ther is non heraud that hath
Half swich a rolle,
Right as a rageman
Hath rekned hem newe.
Tombes upon tabernacles
Tylde opon lofte, 360
Housed in hornes,
Harde set abouten,
Of armede alabaustre
Clad for the nones,
{462}
Maad opon marbel
In many manner wyse,
Knyghtes in ther conisante
Clad for the nones;
Alle it semed seyntes
Y-sacred opon erthe; 370
And lovely ladies y-wrought
Leyen by her sydes
In manye gay garnemens,
That weren gold beten.
Though the tax of ten yere
Were trewely y-gadered,
Nolde it nought maken that hous
Half, as I trowe.
Than cam I to that cloystre,
And gaped abouten, 380
Whough it was pilered and peynt,
And portreyed wel clene,
Al y-hyled with leed
Lowe to the stones,
And y-paved with poynttyl
Ich point after other;
With cundites of clene tyn
Closed al aboute,
With lavoures of latun
Loveliche y-greithed. 390
I trowe the gaynage of the ground
In a gret shyre
Nold aparaile that place
Oo poynt tyl other ende.
Thanne was that chapitre house
Wrought as a greet chirche,
Corven and covered;
And queyntelyche entayled,
{463}
With semliche selure
Y-seet on lofte, 400
As a parlement-hous
Y-peynted aboute.
Thanne ferd I into fraytoure,
And fond there another,
An halle for an hygh kynge
An houshold to holden,
With brode bordes abouten
Y-benched wel clene,
With wyndowes of glaas
Wrought as a chirche 410
Than walkede I ferrer,
And went al abouten,
And seigh halles full heygh,
And houses ful noble,
Chambres with chymeneys,
And chapeles gaye,
And kychenes for an high kynge
In casteles to holden;
And her dortoure y-dight
With dores ful stronge; 420
Fermerye and fraitur,
With fele mo houses,
And al strong ston wal
Sterne upon heithe,
With gaye garites and grete,
And iche hole y-glased,
And other houses y-nowe
To herberwe the queene.
And yet thise bilderes wiln beggen
A bagge ful of whete 430
Of a pure pore man,
That may onethe paye
{464}
Half his rent in a yere,
And half ben byhynde.
Than turned I ayen,
Whan I hadde all y-toted,
And fond in a freitoure
A frere on a benche,
A greet chorl and a grym,
Growen as a tonne, 440
With a face so fat
As a ful bleddere
Blowen bretful of breth,
And as a bagge honged
On bothen his chekes, and his chyn
With a chol lollede
So greet as a gos ey,
Growen al of grece;
That al wagged his fleish
As a quick myre. 450
His cope, that bi-clypped hym,
Wel clene was it folden,
Of double worstede y-dyght
Doun to the hele.
His kyrtel of clene whiit,
Clenlyche y-sewed,
Hit was good y-now of ground
Greyn for to beren.
I haylsede that hirdman,
And hendlich I sayde, 460
"Gode sire, for Godes love!
Canstou me graith tellen
To any worthely wiight
That wissen me couthe,
Whow I shulde conne my Crede,
Christ for to folwe,
{465}
That levede lelliche hymselfe
And lyvede therafter,
That feynede no falshede,
But fully Chrise suwede? 470
For sich a certeyn man
Syker wold I trosten,
That he wolde telle me the trewthe,
And turne to non other.
And an Austyn this ender day
Egged me faste,
That he wolde techen me wel,
He plyght me his treuthe,
And seyde me "certeyn,
Syghthen Christ deyed 480
Oure ordre was euelles
And erst y-founde."
"First, felawe," quath he,
"Fy on his pilche!
He is but abortiif,
Eked with cloutes,
He holdeth his ordynaunce
With hores and theves,
And purchaseth hem pryvyleges
With penyes so rounde. 490
It is a pur pardoners craft,
Prove and asay;
For have they thy money,
A moneth therafter
Certes, theigh thou come agen,
He wil the nought knowen.
But, felawe, oure foundement
Was first of the othere,
And we ben founded fulliche
Withouten fayntise, 500
{466}
And we ben clerkes y-cnowen,
Cunnyng in schole,
Proved in processyon
By processe of lawe.
Of oure order ther beth
Bichopes wel manye,
Seyntes on sundri stedes
That suffreden harde;
And we ben proved the priis
Of popes at Rome, 510
And of grettest degré,
As godspelles telleth."
"A! syre," quath I thanne,
"Thou seyst a grete wonder;
Sithen Christ sayd hymselfe
To alle his diciples,
'Which of you that is most,
Most shal he werche;
And who is goere byforne,
First shal he serven.' 520
And seyde he saugh Satan
Sytten ful heyghe,
And ful low ben y-leid.
In lyknesse he tolde,
That in povernesse of spyrit
Is spedfullest hele;
And hertes of heyne
Harmeth the soule.
And therefore, frere, farewel;
Here fynd I but pride. 530
I preise nought thy prechyns,
But as a pur myte."
And angerich I wandrede
The Austyns to prove,
{467}
And mette with a maistre of tho men,
And meklich I seyde,
"Maistre, for the moder love
That Marie men calleth!
Knowest thou ought there thou comest
A creature on erthe 540
That coude me my Crede teche,
And trewelich enfourme,
Withouten flateryng fare,
And nothing feyne,
That folweth fulliche the feith,
And non other fables,
Withouten gabinge of glose,
As the godspelles telleth?
A Minoure hath me holly behyght
To helen my soule, 550
For he seith that her secte
Is sykerest on erthe,
And ben kepers of the keye
That Chrystendom helpeth,
And puriche in poverte
The apostles they suweth."
"Allaas!" quath the frere,
"Almost I madde in mynde,
To sen hough this Minoures
Many men bygyleth. 560
Sothly somme of tho gomes
Hath more good hymselve
Than ten knyghtes that I knowe,
Of catel in cofres.
In fraytoure they faren best
Of al the foure ordres,
And usun ypocricie
In al that thei werchen,
{468}
And prechen al of perfitnesse;
But loke now, I the prey, 570
Nought but profre hem in privité
A peny for a masse,
And, but his name be prest,
Put out myn eighe,
Though he had more money hid
Than marchauntes of wolle.
Loke hough this loresmen
Lordes betrayen,
Seyn that they folwen
Fully Fraunceyses rewle, 580
That in cotinge of his cope
Is more cloth y-folden
Than was in Fraunceis froc
Whan he hem first made.
And yet under that cope
A cote hathe he furred
With foyns, or with fichewes,
Other fyn bevere,
And that is cutted to the kne,
And queyntly y-botend, 590
Lest any spiritual man
Aspie that gyle.
Fraunceys bad his brethern
Bar-fot to wenden;
Now han they buclede shone,
For blenyng of her heles,
And hosen in harde weder
Y-hamled by the ancle,
And spicerie sprad in her purs
To parten where hem luste. 600
Lordes loveth hem wel,
For they so lowe crouchen;
{469}
But knowen men her cautel
And her queynte wordes,
Thei wolde worshypen hem
Nought but a litle,
The ymage of ypocricie
Ymped upon fendes.
But, sone, gif thou wilt ben seker,
Seche thou no ferther, 610
We freres beth the firste,
And founded upon treuthe;
Paule _primus heremita_
Put us hymselve
Away into wildernesse,
The world to despisen,
And there we lengeden ful long,
And leveden ful harde;
For to alle this freren folke
Weren founden in tounes, 620
And taughten untrewely,
And that we wel aspiede.
And for chef charyté,
We chargeden us selven
In amendyng of this men,
We maden oure celles
To ben in cytés y-set,
To styghtle the puple,
Prechyng and prayeng
As profetes shoulden. 630
And so we holden us the hetheved
Of al holy chirche.
We han power of the Pope
Purliche assoylen
Al that helpen oure hous
In helpe of her soules;
{470}
To dispensen hem with
In dedes of synne,
Al that amendeth oure hous
In money other elles, 640
With corne other catel,
Or clothes to beddes,
Other bedys or broche,
Or breed for our fode.
And gif thou hast any good,
And wilt thyself helpen,
Help us hertelich therwith,
And here I undertake
Thou shalt ben brother of oure hous,
And a book habben 650
At the nexte chapitre
Clerliche enseled.
And than oure provincial
Hath power to assoylen
Alle sustren and bretheren
That beth of oure ordre.
And though thou conne nought the Crede,
Knele down here,
My soule I sette for thyn,
To asoile the clene, 660
In covenaunt that thou come ageyne,
And katel us brynge."
And thanne loutede I adoun,
Add he me leve grauntede;
And so I parted hym fro,
And the frere lefte.
Than seide I to myself,
"Here is no bote;
Here pride is the pater-noster
In preying of synne; 670
{471}
Her Crede is coveytise:--
Now can I no ferthere.
Yet wil I fonden forth,
And fraynen the Carmes."
Than toted I into a taverne,
And there I aspyede
Two frere Carmes
With a ful coppe.
There I auntrede me in,
And aisliche I seyde, 680
"Leve sire, for the Lordes love
That thou on levest!
Lere me to som man
My Crede for to lerne,
That lyveth in lel liif,
And loveth no synne,
And gloseth nought the godspel,
But halt Godes hetes,
And neyther money ne mede
Ne may hym nought letten, 690
But werchen after Godes word,
Withouten any faile.
A Prechoure y-professed
Hath plight me his trewthe
To techen me trewely;
But wouldest thou me tellen,
For they ben certeyne men,
And syker on to trosten,
I would quiten the thy mede
As my myght were." 700
"A trefle," quath he, "trewely!
His treweth is ful litel;
He dynede nought with Dominic,
Sithe Christ deide.
{472}
For with the prynces of pryde
The Prechours dwellen;
They ben so digne as the devel
That droppeth fro heven,
With hartes of heynesse,
Whough halwen the cherches, 710
And deleth in devynyté
As dogges doth bones.
Thei medeleth with mesages
And mariages of grete;
Thei leeven with lordes
With lesynges y-nowe;
Thei biggeth hem bichopriches
With bagges of gold;
Thei wilneth worchipes:--
But waite on her dedes. 720
Harkne at Herdforthe
How that they werchen,
And loke when that they lyven
And leeve as thou fyndest.
They ben counseylours of kynges,
Christ wot the sothe,
Whou thei curreth kynges
And her bak claweth.
God leve hem laden wel
In lyvynge of hevene, 730
And glose hem nought for her good
To greven her soules.
I pray the, where ben they pryvé
With any pore whightes
That may nought amenden her hous,
Ne amenden hemselven?
They prechen in proud herte,
And preyseth her ordre,
{473}
And werdlich worchype
Wilneth in erthe. 740
Leeve it wel, lef man,
And men right lokede,
There is more pryvé pryde
In Prechoures hertes,
Than there lefte in Lucifere,
Or he were lowe fallen.
They bene dygne as dich-watere,
That dogges in bayteth.
Lok a ribaut of hem
That can nought wel reden 750
His Rewel ne his Respondes,
But be pure rote;
Als as he were a connyng clerk,
He casteth the lawes
Nought lowly, but lordly,
And lesynges lyeth.
For right as Minoures
Most hypocrice useth,
Ryght so ben Prechoures proude
Purlyche in herte. 760
"But, chrysten creatoure,
We Carmes firste comen,
Even in Elyes tyme,
First of hem alle;
And lyven by oure Lady,
And lelly her serven,
In clene commun liif
Kepen us out of synne;
Nowt proude as Prechoures beth,
But preyen ful stylle. 770
We couuen on no quentyse,
Christ wot the southe!
{474}
But bisyeth us in oure bedes,
As us best holdeth.
And, therfore, leeve leelman,
Leeve that iche sigge,
A masse of us meene men
Is of more mede,
And passeth alle prayers
Of this proude freres.-- 780
And thou wilt ghyven us any good,
I wolde ye here graunten
To taken al thy penaunce
In peril of my soule;
And tho thou conne nought thy Crede,
Clene the assoyle,
So that thou mowe amenden oure house
With money other elles,
With som catel, other corn,
Or cuppes of sylvere." 790
"Trewely, frere," quath I tho,
"To tellen the the sothe,
There is no peny in my pakke
To payen for my mete.
I have no good, ne no golde,
But go thus abouten,
And travaile ful trewely
To wynnen with my fode.
But woldest thou for Godes love
Lerne me my Crede, 800
I shulde don for the wil,
Whan I wele hadde."
"Trewely," quath the frere,
"A fole I the holde:--
Thou woldest nought wetten thy fote,
And woldest fich kachen.
{475}
Oure pardon and oure preieres
So beth they nought parten,
Oure power lasteth nought so feer,
But we som peny fongen. 810
"Fare wel," quath the frere,
"For I mot hethen fonden,
And hyen to an house-wiif
That hath us byquethen
Ten pound in hir testament.
To tellen the sothe,
Ho draweth to the deth-ward;
But yet I am in drede
Leste ho turne hire testament,
And therfore I hyghe 820
To haven hire to oure hous,
And henten, gif I mighte,
An anuel for myne owen use,
To helpen to clothe."
"Godys forbode!" quath his felawe,
"But ho forth passe
Whil ho is in purpos
With us to departen!
God let hir no lengere lyven!
For letteres ben manye." 830
Thanne turnede I me forth,
And talked to myselfe
Of the falshede of this folke,
Whow feythles thei weren.
And as I wente by the way
Wepynge for sorowe,
I seigh a sely man me by,
Opon the plough hongen.
His cote was of a cloute
That cary was y-called; 840
{476}
His hod was ful of holes,
And his heare oute;
With his knoppede shon
Clouted ful thykke;
His ton toteden out,
As he the lond tredede;
His hosen over-hongen his hok-shynes
On everich a syde,
Al beslomered in fen,
As he the plow folwede. 850
Tweye myteynes as meter
Maad al of cloutes,
The fyngres weren for-werd,
And ful of fen honged.
This whit waselede in the feen
Almost to the ancle;
Foure rotheren hym byforne,
That feble were worthi;
Men myghte reknen ich a ryb,
So rentful they weren. 860
His wiif walked hym with,
With a long gode,
In a cuttede cote,
Cutted ful heyghe,
Wrapped in a wynwe shete
To weren hire fro wederes,
Bar-fot on the bare iis,
That the blod folwede.
And at the londes ende lath
A little crom-bolle, 870
And theron lay a lytel chylde
Lapped in cloutes,
And tweyne of tweie yeres olde
Opon another syde.
{477}
And al they songen o songe,
That sorwe was to heren;
They crieden alle o cry,
A kareful note.
The sely man sighed sore,
And seyde, "Children, beth stille!" 880
This man lokede opon me,
And leet the plough stonden;
And seyde, "Sely man,
Whi syghest thou so harde?
Gif the lakke liiflode,
Lene the ich wille
Swich good as God hath sent;
Go we, leeve brother."
I sayde thanne, "Nay, syre,
My sorowe is wel more. 890
For I can nought my Crede,
I care wel harde;
For I can fynden no man
That fulli byleveth,
To techen me the heyghe weie,
And therfore I wepe.
For I have fonded the freres
Of the foure ordres;
For there I wende have wist,
But now my wit lakketh; 900
And al myn hope was on hem,
And myn herte also,
But thei ben fulli faithles,
And the fend sueth."
"A! brother," quath he tho,
"Be ware of tho foles;
For Christ seyde hymself,
'Of swiche I you warne,'
{478}
And false profetes in the feith
He fulliche hem calde, 910
_In vestimentis ovium_,
But only withinne
They ben wilde werwolves
That wiln the folke robben.
The fen[d] founded hem first,
The feyth to distrie;
And by his craft thei comen in,
To combren the chirche,
By the covetise of his craft
The curates to helpen. 920
But nowe they haven an hold,
They harmen ful manye;
They don nought after Dominik,
But dreccheth the puple.
He folwen nought Fraunceis,
But falsliche lybben;
And Austynes rewle
They rekeneth but a fable;
And purchaseth hem privilege
Of popes at Rome. 930
They coveten confessiones,
To kachen some hyre;
And sepulturus also,
Somme wayten to lacchen;
But other cures of Christen
They coveten nought to have,
But there as wynnynge liith,
He loketh non other."
"Whough shal I nemne thy name,
That neyghbores the calleth?" 940
"Peres," quath he, "the pore man,
The Ploughman I hatte."
{479}
"A! Peres!" quath I tho,
"I pray the thou me telle
More of thise tryflers,
Hou trechurly they libbeth;
For ichon of hem hath tolde me
A tale of that other,
Of her wikked liif,
In werld that he libbeth. 950
I trowe that some wicked wight
Wroughte this ordres.
Trow ye that gleym of that gest
That Golias is y-cald,
Other els Satan hymself,
Sente hem fro helle,
To combren men with her crafte,
Christendome to shenden."
"Dere brother," quath Peres,
"The devel is ful queynte, 960
To encombren holy chirche
He casteth ful harde,
And fluricheth his falsnesse
Opon fele wise,
And fer he casteth to-forn
The folk to dystroye.
"Of the kynrede of Caym
He cast the freres,
And founded hem on Sarysenes,
Feyned for God. 970
But they with her falshe faith
Mychel folk shendeth.
Christ calde hem hymself
Kynd ipocrites;
How often he cursed hem,
Wel can I tellen.
{480}
He seide ons hymself
To that sory puple:
'Who worthe you, wyghtes,
Wel lerned of the lawe!' 980
Eft he seyde to hem selfe,
'Wo mote you worthen
That the toumbes of profetes
Bildeth up heighe!
Your faderes for-deden hem,
And to the deth hem broughte.'
Here I touche this two,
Twynnen hem I thenke.
Who wilneth be wiser of lawe
Than lewede freres, 990
And in multitude of men
But maistres y-called,
And wilneth worship of the werld,
And sytten with heye,
And leveth lovyng of God
And lownesse byhynde,
And in beldyng of toumbes
Thei traveileth grete,
To chargen her chirche flore,
And chaungen it ofte. 1000
And the fader of the freres
Defouled her soules,
That was the dyggyng devel,
That dreccheth men ofte.
The devel by his dotage
Dissaveth the chirche,
And put in the Prechours,
Y-paynted withouten,
And by his queyntise they comen in
The curates to helpen; 1010
{481}
But that harmed hem harde,
And halp hem ful littel.
But Austynes ordinaunce
Was on a good treuthe;
And also Dominikes dedes
Weren dernelich y-used;
And Fraunceis founded his folke
Fulliche on treuthe,
Pure parfit prestes
In penaunce to libben, 1020
In love and in lownesse
And lettynge of pryde,
Grounded on the Godspel,
As God baad hymselve.
But now the glose is so greet
In gladdyng tales,
That turneth up two-fold
Un-teyned upon treuthe,
That they ben cursed of Christ,
I can hem wel prove 1030
Withouten his blissyng,
Bare beth thei in her werkes.
For Christ seyde hymselfe
To swiche as him folwede:
'Y-blissed mot they ben
That mene ben in soule;'
And alle power in gost
God hymself blisseth.
Whou fele freres fareth so,
Fayne wolde I knowe, 1040
Prove hem in proces,
And pynch at her ordre,
And deme hem after that the don,
And dredles, Y leve,
{482}
Thei wiln wexon pure wroth
Wonderliche sone,
And shewen the a sharp wil
In a short tyme
To wiln wilfully wrathe,
And werche therafter. 1050
Wytnes on Wyclif,
That warned hem with trewthe.
For he in goodnesse of gost
Graythliche hem warned
To wayven her wikednesse
And werkes of synne.
Whou sone this sorimen
Seweden hys soule,
And overal lolled hym
With heritikes werkes! 1060
And so of the blissyng of God
Thei bereth little mede.
"Afterward another,
Onliche he blissede
The meke of the myddel-erde
Through myght of his fader.
Fynd foure freres in a flok
That folweth that rewle,
Than have I tynt al my tast,
Touche and assaye. 1070
Lakke hem a littel wight,
And her liif blamen;
But he lepe up on heigh
In hardenesse of herte,
And nemne the anon nought,
And thy name lakke,
With proude wordes apert
That passeth his rewle,
{483}
Bothe with 'thou leyst,' and 'thou lext,'
In heynesse of soule, 1080
And turnnen as a tyraunt
That turmenteth hymselve.
A lord were lother
For to leyne a knave,
Thanne swich a begger,
The best in a toun.
Loke now, leve man,
Beth nought thise y-lyke
Fully to the Pharisens,
In fele of these poyntes. 1090
Al her brad beldyng
Ben belded with synne,
And in worshipe of the world
Here wynnyng they holden;
They shapen her chapolories,
And strecchet hem brode,
And launceth heighe her hemmes
With babelyng in stretes.
They ben y-sewed with whight silke,
And semes ful queynte, 1100
Y-stongen with stiches
That stareth as sylver.
And but freres ben fyrst y-set
At sopers and at festes,
They wiln ben wonderly wroth
Y-wis, as I trowe;
But they ben at the lordes borde,
Louren they willeth.
He mot bygynne that bord,
A beggere with sorowe; 1110
And first sitten in se
In her synagoges,
{484}
That beth her heigh helle hous,
Of Caymes kynd.
For though a man in her mynstre
A masse wolde heren,
His sight shal so by set
On sondrye werkes,
The penonnes and the pomels
And poyntes of sheldes 1120
Withdrawen his devocion,
And dusken his herte.
I likene it to a lim-yerde
To drawen men to helle,
And to worchipe of the fend,
To wraththen the soules.
And also Christ himself seide
To swich ypocrites,
He loveth in marketes ben met
With gretynges of povere, 1130
And lowynge of lewed men
In Lentenes tyme;
For thei han of bichopes y-bought
With her propre silver
And purchased of penaunce
The puple to asoyle.
But money may maken
Mesure of the peyne;
After that his power is to payen,
His penaunce shal fayle. 1140
God leve it be a good help
For hele of the soules!
And also this myster men
Ben maysters i-called,
That the gentill Jesus
Generalliche blamed,
{485}
And that poynt to his apostles
Purly defended.
But freres haven forgeten this,
And the fend suweth, 1150
He that maystri loved,
Lucifer the olde.
Where Fraunceys or Dominik,
Other Austyn ordeynde,
And of this dotardes
Doctur to worthe,
Maysters of divinité
Her matynes to leve,
And cherlich as a cheveteyn
Hys chaumbre to holden, 1160
With chymené, and chaple,
And chosen whan hem lyste,
And served as a sovereyn,
And as a lord sytten.
Swich a gome Godes wordes
Grysliche gloseth;
I trowe he toucheth nought the text,
But taketh it for a tale.
God forbad to his folk,
And fullyche defendede, 1170
They shoulden nought stodyen biforne
Ne sturren her wyttes,
But sodenly the same word
With here mouth shewe,
That weren given hem of God,
Thorugh gost of hemselve.
Now mot a frere studyen
And stumlen in tales,
And leven his matynes,
And no masse syngen, 1180
{486}
And loken hem lesynges
That liketh the puple,
To purchasen hym his purs ful,
To paye for the drynke.
And, brother, when bernes ben ful,
And holy tyme passed,
Thanne comen cursed freres,
And croucheth ful lowe,
A losel, a lymytoure,
Over al the lond lepeth. 1190
And loke that he leve non hous,
That somwhat he ne laiche;
And there thei gylen hemself,
And Godes word turneth,
Bagges and beggyng
He bad his folke leven,
And only serven hymself,
And his ruwel sechen,
And al that nedly nedeth,
That shulden hem nought lakken. 1200
Wherto beggen thise men,
And ben nought so feble?
Hem fayleth no furryng,
Ne clothes atte fulle,
But for a lustful liif
In lustes to dwellen;
Withouten any travail
Untrulych libbeth;
Thei beth nought maymed men,
Ne no mete lakketh; 1210
Thei [ben] clothed in curious cloth,
And clenliche arayed.
It is a lawles liif,
As lordynges usen,
{487}
Nether ordeyned in ordre,
But onethe libbeth.
"Christ bad blissen
Bodies on erthe
That wepen for wikkednesse
That he byforn wroughte. 1220
That ben few of tho freres,
For thei ben nere dede,
And put al in pur clath,
With pottes on her hedes;
Thanne he warieth, and wepeth,
And wicheth after heven,
And fyeth on her falshedes
That thei before deden.
And therfore of that blissyng,
Trewely, as I trowe, 1230
Thei may trussen her part
In a terre powghe.
"Alle tho blissed beth
That bodyliche hongreth;
That ben the pore penyles,
That han over-passed
The poynt of her pris liif,
In penaunce of werkes,
And mown nought swynken ne sweten,
But ben swith feble, 1240
Other mayned at meschef,
Or meseles lyke,
And her god is a-gon,
And greveth hem to beggen.
Ther is no frere, in feith,
That fareth in this wyse,
That he may beggen his bred,
His bed is y-greithed
{488}
Under a pot he shall be put
In a pryvye chaumbre, 1250
That he shal lyven ne last
But lytel whyle after.
Almyghti God and man,
The merciable blessed,
That han mercy on men
That mis-don hem here.
But who so for-gabbed a frere
Y-founden at the stues,
And brought blod of his bodi,
On back or on syde, 1260
Hym were as good greven
A grete lord of rentes;
He shoulde sonnere ben shryven,
Shortly to tellen,
Though he kilde a comly knyght,
And compasd his mother,
Then a buffet to beden
A beggere frere.
"The clene hertes Christ
He curteyliche blissed 1270
That coveten no catel
But Christes fulle blysse,
That leveth fulliche on God,
And lelliche thenketh
On his lore and his lawe,
And lyveth opon trewthe.
Freres han forgetten this,
And folweth another,
That they may henten they holden,
By-hirneth it sone; 1280
Here hertes ben clen y-hid
In her heighe cloystre,
{489}
As curres from careyne
That is cast in diches.
"And parfiit Christ
The pesible blissede,
That ben suffrant and sobre,
And susteyne anger.
Asay of her sobernesse,
And thou might y-knowen 1290
Ther ne is no waspe in this world
That wil folloke styngen,
For stappyng on a too
Of a styncand frere.
For neyther soveren ne seget
Thei ne suffereth never.
Al thei blessyng of God
Beouten thei walken,
For of her suffraunce, for sothe,
Men say but lytel. 1300
"Alle that persecution
In pure liif suffren,
They han the beneson of God,
Blissed in erthe.
I pray, parceyve now
The pursut of a frere,
In what mesure of a mekenesse
Thise men deleth.
Byhold upon Water Brut
Whou bisiliche thei pursueden, 1310
For he seid hem the sothe.
And yet, syre, ferther
Hy may no more marren hem,
But men telleth
That he is an heretik,
And yvele beleveth.
{490}
And precheth it in pulpit
To blenden the puple.
They wolden awyrien that wight
For his wel dedes, 1320
And so they chewen charité,
As chewen shaf houndes.
And thei pursueth the povere,
And passeth pursutes,
Bothe they wyln and thei wolden
Y-worthen so grete,
To passen any manes myght,
To mortheren the soules;
First to brenne the body
In a bale of fiir, 1330
And sythen the sely soule slen,
And senden hyre to helle.
And Christ clerly forbad
His christene, and defended,
They shoulden nought after the face
Never the folke demen."
"Sire," I seide myself,
"Thou semest to blamen.
Why dispisest thou thus
Thise sely pore freres, 1340
None other men so mychel,
Monkes ne prestes,
Chanons ne charthous
That in chirche serveth?
It semeth that thise sely men
Han somewhat the greved,
Other with word, or with werk,
And therfore thou wilnest
To shenden other shamen hem
With the sharp speche, 1350
{491}
And bannen holliche,
And her hous greven."
"I prey the," quath Peres,
"Put that out of thy mynde;
Certeyn for soule hele
I say the this wordes.
I preise nought pocessioneres
But pur lytel;
For falshed of freres
Hath fulliche encombred 1360
Manye of this maner men,
And maad hem to leven
Her charité and chasteté,
And shosen hem to lustes,
And waxen to werly,
And wayven the trewethe,
And leven the love of her God,
And the werld serven.
But for falshed of freres
I fele in my soule, 1370
Seyng the synful liif,
That sorweth myn herte,
Hou they ben clothed in cloth
That clennest sheweth,
For angeles and archangeles
Alle they whiit useth,
And al aldremen
That ben _ante thronum_.
Thise toknes haven freres taken;
But I trowe that a fewe 1380
Folwen fully that cloth,
But falslyche that useth.
For whiit, in trowthe, bytokeneth
Clennes in soule:--
{492}
Gif he have undernethen whiit,
Thanne he above wereth
Black, that betokeneth
Bale for oure synne,
And mournyng for mis-dede
Of hem that this useth, 1390
And sorwe for synful liif,
So that cloth asketh.
I trowe there ben nought ten freres
That for synne wepen.
For that liif is her lust,
And therby thei libben,
In fraytour and in fermori
Her fostryng is synne;
It is her mete at ich a mel,
Her most sustinaunce. 1400
Herkne opon Hildegare
Hou homlich he telleth
How her sustinaunce is synne;
And syker, as I trowe,
Weren her confessiones
Clenly destrued,
Hy shoulde nought beren hem so brag,
Ne belden so heyghe.
For the fallyng of synne
Socoreth the foles, 1410
And begileth the grete
With glaverynge wordes;
With glosyng of godspels
Thei Godes word turneth,
And passen al the pryvylege
That Peter after used.
The power of the apostles
Thie pasen in speche,
{493}
For to sellen the synnes
For selver other mede. 1420
And purliche _a poena_
The puple asoyleth,
And _a culpa_ also,
That they may kachen
Money other money-worth,
And mede to fonge;
And ben at lone and at bode,
As burgeises useth.
Thus they serven Sathanas,
And soules bygyleth, 1430
Marchaunes of malisones,
Mansede wrecches.
Thei usen russet also
Some of this freres,
That bitokeneth travaile
And treuth upon erthe,
But loke whou this lorels
Laboren the erthe.
But freten the fruyt that the folke
Ful lellich beswynketh; 1440
With travail of trewe men
Thei tymbren her houses,
And of the curiouse cloth
Her copes they beggen;
And als his gettyng is grete
He shal ben good holden.
And right as dranes doth nought
But drynketh up the huny,
Whan been with her busynes
Han brought it to hepe, 1450
Right so fareth freres
With folk opon erthe;
{494}
They freten up the firste froyt,
And falsliche lybbeth.
But alle freres eten nought
Y-liche good mete,
But after that his wynnyng is
Is his wel-fare,
And after that he bringeth hom
His bed shal ben graythed, 1460
And after that his richesse is raught
He shal ben redy served.
But se thiself in thi sight
Whou somme of hem walketh
With clouted shon,
And clothes ful feble,
Wel neigh for-werd,
And the wlon offe;
And his felawe in a frok
Worth swhich fiftene, 1470
Arayd in rede stone,
And elles were reuthe:
And sexe copes or seven
In his celle hongeth;
Though for fayling of good
His felawe shulde sterve,
He wolde nought lenen hym a peny
His liif for to holden.
I myght tymen tho troiflardes
To toylen with the erthe, 1480
Tylyen, and trewlich lyven,
And her flesh tempren.
Now mot ich soutere hys sone
Seten to schole,
And ich a beggeres brol
On the book lerne.
{495}
And worth to a writere
And with a lorde dwelle;
Other falsly to a frere
The fend for to serven; 1490
So of that beggares brol
An abbot shal worthen,
Among the peres of the lond
Prese to sytten,
And lordes sones lowly
To tho losels aloute,
Knyghtes crouketh hem to
And cruccheth ful lowe;
And his syre a soutere
Y-suled in grees, 1500
His teeth with toylyng of lether
Tatered as a sawe.
Alaas! that lordes of the londe
Leveth swiche wrechen,
And leveth swych lorels
For her lowe wordes.
They shulden maken abbots
Her owen bretheren childre,
Other of som gentil blod,
And so yt best semed, 1510
And fostre none forytoures,
Ne swich false freres,
To maken fat and fulle
And her flesh combren.
For her kynde were more
To y-clense diches,
Than ben to sopers y-set first,
And served with sylver.
A grete bolle-ful of benen
Were beter in hys wombe, 1520
{496}
And with the bandes of bakun
His baly for to fillen,
Then pertryches, or plovers,
Or pecokes y-rosted,
And comeren her stomakes
With curiuse drynkes,
That maketh swyche harlotes
Hordom usen,
And with her wikked word
Wymmen bitrayeth. 1530
God wold her wonyynge
Were in wildernesse,
And fals freres forboden
The fayre ladis chaumbres.
For knewe lordes her craft,
Treuly I trowe,
They shulden nought haunten her house
So holy on nyghtes,
Ne bedden swich brothels
In so brode shetes; 1540
But sheten her heved in the stre,
To sharpen her wittes;
Ne ben kynges confessours of custom,
Ne the counsel of the rewme knowe.
For Fraunceis founded hem nought
To faren on that wise,
Ne Domynyk dued hem nevere
Swyche drynkers to worthe,
Ne Helye ne Austyn
Swyche liif never used, 1550
But in povert of spirit
Spended her tyme.
We have seyn ourself
In a short tyme
{497}
Whou freres wolden no flesh
Among the folk usen;
But now the harlotes
Han hyd thilke reule,
And for the love of oure Lord
Han leyd hire in water. 1560
Wenest thou ther wolde so fele
Swich warlawes worthen?
Ne were werliche wele
And her welfare,
Thei shulden delven and dyken,
And dongen the erthe,
And menemong corn breed
To her mete fongen,
And wortes fleshles wrought,
And water to drynken, 1570
And werchen and wolward gon,
As we wrecches usen.
An aunter gif ther wolde on,
Among an hol hundred,
Lyven so for Godes love
In tyme of a wyntere."
"Leve Peres," quath I tho,
"I pray that thou me telle
Whou I may conne my Crede
In Christen byleve." 1580
"Leve brother," quath he,
"Hold that I segge,
I wil techen the the trouthe,
And tellen the the sothe.-- 1584
THE CREDE.
"Leve thou in oure Loverd God 1585
That al the werld wrought,
{498}
Holy heven eke on hey
Holliche he fourmede,
And is almyghti hymself
Over alle his werkes. 1590
And wrought as his wil was
The werld and the heven;
And on gentil Jesu Christ,
Engendred of hymselven,
His owen onlyche sone,
Lord over all y-knowen,
That was clenlich conceived
Clerli in trewthe
Of the heye Holy Gost,
This is the holy beleve. 1600
And of the maiden Marye
Man was he born,
Withouten synful seed,
This is fully the byleve.
With thorn y-crouned, crucified,
And on the cros dyede,
And sythen his blessed body
Was in a stone byried,
And descended a-doun
To the derk helle, 1610
And fet out our formfaderes,
And hy ful fayn weren.
The thyrd day redeliche
Hymself ros fram deeth,
And, on a ston there he stod,
He steigh up to hevene,
And on his fader ryght hand
Redelich he sitteth,
That almyghti God,
Over alle other whyghtes; 1620
{499}
And is herafter to commen,
Christ all himselven,
To demen the quyke and the dede,
Withouten any doute.
And in the heighe Holy Gost
Holly I beleve;
And generall holy chirche also,
Hold this in the minde;
The communion of sayntes,
For soth I to the sayn; 1630
And for our great sinnes
Forgivenes for to getten,
And only by Christ
Clenlich to be clensed;
Our bodies again to risen
Right as we been here;
And the liif everlasting
Leve ich to habben. Amen.
"Although this flatterynge freres
Wyln, for her pryde, 1640
Disputen of Godes deyté,
As dotardes shulden,
The more the matere is moved
The masedere hi worthen.
Lat the loseles alone,
And leve thou the trewthe;
For these maystres of dyvynité
Many, als I trowe,
Folwen nought fully the feith,
As fele of the lewede. 1650
Whough may mannes wiit,
Through werk of himselve,
Knowen Christes privité,
{500}
That alle kynde passeth?
It mot ben a man
Of also mek an herte,
That myght with his good liif
The Holy Gost fongen;
And thanne nedeth him nought
Nevere for to studyen; 1660
He myght no maistre ben cald,
For Christ that defended,
Ne puten no pylion
On his pild pate,
But prechen in parfit liif,
And no pryde usen.
But al that ever I have seyd,
Soth it me semeth;
And al that evere I have wryten
Is soth, as I trowe; 1670
And for amendyng of thise men
Is most that I write.
God wolde hy wolden ben war,
And werchen the betere!
But for I am a lewed man,
Paraunter I myghte
Passen par adventure,
And in some poynt erren,
I wil nought this matere
Maistrely avowen. 1680
But gif ich have mys-said,
Mercy ich aske,
And pray al mannere men
This matere amende,
Ich a word by hymself,
And al, gif it nedeth.
God of his grete myght,
{501}
And his good grace,
Save alle freres
That feithfulli lybben! 1690
And alle tho that ben fals,
Fayre hem amende,
And gyve hem wiit and good wil
Swiche dedes to werch,
That thei may wynnen the liif
That evere shal lesten."
_Amen._
* * * * *
NOTES AND GLOSSARY
* * * * *
NOTES.
Line 1. Bale, quoting the first two lines, translates them _In æstivo
tempore, cum sol caleret_. The printers of the early editions altered
_softe_ to _set_.
4, 5. _shroudes ... sheep_. The other text of this poem reads _Yshop into
shrobbis | as y shepherde were_. See the Introduction.
28. The text represented in Whitaker's edition here differs much from the
other. Our dreamer is there introduced very unadvisedly telling us of this
tower, 'truthe was therynne,' a piece of information which he only learns
afterwards from dame 'Holy Churche:'
Ich was aferd of hure face,
Thauh hue faire were,
And saide, mercy, madame,
Wat may this be to mene,
_The tour upon toft_, quath hue,
Treuthe ys therynne.
(Passus Secundus, ed. Whit.)
Where there is an evident reference to the "tour on a toft," which has been
previously mentioned in the more correct text.
43, 44. Dr. Whitaker, misunderstanding this passage, has printed 'ther' for
'that,' which is in all the MSS. In his gloss, he interprets 'wonnen' by
'to dwell;' and he paraphrases the sentence, 'some destroying themselves by
gluttony and excess,' translating it, I suppose, "And there dwell wasters
whom gluttony destroyeth." The meaning is, the ploughmen worked hard, "and
obtained (wan) that which wasters destroy with their gluttony." The writer
of the second Trin. Coll. MS. seems to have understood the meaning of the
passage, but not the words, and has 'whom that thise wastours.'
68. I have here to preserve the alliteration, adopted 'giltles,' from the
second Trin. Coll. MS., and one of the printed editions, in place of
'synneles,' which the other MS. has. Though we find instances of
irregularity in the sub-letters (or alliterative letters in the first line)
in Pierce Plowman, the chief letter is not so often neglected. In
Whitaker's text the account of the minstrels is very confused. Here the
minstrels get gold by their song without sin, but the japers and janglers
are condemned as getting their living by what is afterwards called
'turpiloquium,' when they had ability to get it in an honester way.
88. _Roberdes knaves._ These are the same class of malefactors who are
named _Roberdesmen_ in the Statutes, 5 Ed. III. c. 14. "Et diverses
roberies, homicides, et felonies ont esté faitz eintz ces heures par gentz
qui sont appellez Roberdesmen, Wastours, et Draghelatche, si est acordé et
establi que si homme eit suspecion de mal de nuls tielx, soit-il de jour
soit-il de nuyt, que meintenant soient arestus par les conestables des
villes." This law was confirmed by 7 Ric. II. c. 5, where the word is again
introduced. Whitaker supposes, without any reason, the 'Roberdes knaves' to
be Robin Hood's men. The other Trin. Coll. MS. reads _Robertis knaves_.
93. _Seint Jame._ St. James of Compostello was a famous resort of pilgrims
in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. An amusing song on the
inconveniences which attended the voyage is printed in the Reliquiæ
Antiquæ, vol. i, p. 2.
107. _Walsyngham._ The shrine of the Virgin Mary at Walsingham in Norfolk,
also enjoyed an extraordinary celebrity, as a resort of English pilgrims.
It appears that the first complaints of the Wicliffite reformers were
strongly expressed against this pilgrimage. "Lolardi sequaces Johannis
Wiclif ... prædicaverunt peregrinationes non debere fieri, et præcipue apud
Walsingham," etc. Th. Walsingh. p. 340.
116. The four orders of friars were, of course, the Franciscans,
Augustines, Dominicans, and Carmelites.
131. These four lines stand thus in Whitaker's text, _Bote holy churche and
charité | choppe a-doun swich shryvers, | the moste myschif of molde |
mounteth up faste._ Whitaker has translated it quite wrong, "May true
charity and church discipline knock down these, the greatest pests on
earth, who are rapidly increasing!" The simple meaning of the passage, as
given by Whitaker, is, "Unless holy church and charity chop down such
shrivers (confessors), the greatest mischief of the world is increasing
fast." The present text affords a better and equally clear meaning, "Unless
holy church and they hold better together, the greatest mischief in the
world is increasing, or gaining ground very fast."
141. _of falshede of fastynge_, the comma has slipped in by accident. The
meaning is "of breaking fast-days."
147. _He bunchith hem_, MS. Trin. 2.
168. _the pestilence tyme._ See further on, the note on l. 2497. The great
plague of 1349 and 1350 had carried off so much people, that hands were
wanting to cultivate the lands in many parishes, and the distress which
followed, with the failure of tithes which naturally accompanied it, drove
the parsons to plead poverty as an excuse for going to London and seeking
other occupations.
192. Whitaker's text inserts the following passage between this line and
the one following:--
Conscience cam and acusede hem,
And the commune herde hit,
And seide, "Ydolatrie ye soffren
In sondrye places menye,
And boxes ben y-set forth
Bounden with yren,
To undertake the tool
Of untrewe sacrifice,
In menynge of miracles
Muche wex hongeth there,
Al the worldle wot wel
Hit myghte nat be trywe.
Ac for it profitith yow to pors-warde,
Ye prelates soffren
That lewede men in mysbylyve
Leven and deien.
Ich lyve wel, by oure Lorde!
For love of youre covetyse,
That al the worlde be the wors;
As holy wryght telleth
What cheste and meschaunce
To children of Israel
Ful on hem that free were,
Thorwe two false preestes.
For the synne of Ophni
And of Finees hus brother,
Thei were disconfit in bataille,
And losten _Archa Dei_,
And fore hure syre sauh hem syngen,
And aoffred hem don ylle,
And noght chasted hem therof,
And wolde noght rebukie hem,
Anon as it was y-told hyme
That the children of Israel
Weren disconfit in bataille,
And _Archa Dei_ y-lore,
And hus sones slayen,
Anon he ful for sorwe
Fro hus chaire thare he sat,
And brak hus necke a-tweyne;
And al was for venjaunce
That he but noght hus children.
And for they were preestes,
And men of holy churche,
God was well wrother,
And toke the rather venjaunce.
For-thei ich seye, ye preestes,
And men of holy churche,
That soffren men do sacrifice
And worsheppen mawmettes,
And ye sholde be here fadres,
And techen hem betere;
God shal take venjaunce
In alle swiche preestes
Wel harder and grettere,
On suche shrewede faderes,
Than ever he dude on Ophni
And Finees, or in here fadere.
For youre shrewede suffraunce,
And youre owen synne,
Youre masse and youre matynes,
And meny of youre houres, etc.
225. This is the constitutional principle which was universally
acknowledged by our early political writers, and of which some strong
declarations will be found in my "Political Songs" (published by the Camden
Society). The doctrine of "right divine" was certainly not a prevalent one
in the middle ages.
291. This fable appears to be of middle-age formation, for it is not found
in any of the ancient collections. It does not occur in the fables of
Marie. It is however found in the old collection, in French verse of the
fourteenth century, entitled Ysopet; and M. Robert has also printed a Latin
metrical version of the story from a MS. of the same century. La Fontaine
has given it among his fables. It may be observed that the fable is nowhere
so well told as in Piers Ploughman. (See Robert, Fables Inédites, des
xii^e, xiii^e, et xiv^e siècles, i, pp. 98-101.) The readers of Scottish
history will remember the application of this fable in 1481, by the earl of
Angus (popularly named, from this circumstance, Archibald Bell-the-cat), in
the conspiracy against the royal favourites, which forms an excellent
illustration of our text.
381. _Væ terræ, etc._ Ecclesiastes, x, 16. "Væ tibi, terra, cujus rex puer
est, et cujus principes mane comedunt."
423. _and pointeth the lawe._ MS. Trin. 2.
429. after this line the following are inserted in the second MS. of Trin.
Coll.
I saugh bisshopis bolde,
And bacheleris of devyn,
Become clerkis of acountis
The king for to serve,
Archideknes and denis,
That dignités haven,
To preche the peple
And pore men to fede,
Ben y-lope to Lundone
Be leve of hire bisshop,
And ben clerkis of the kinges bench
The cuntré to shende.
438. _Taillours, tanneris, | And tokkeris bothe._ MS. Trin. 2.
453. The Cottonian MS. Vespas. B. xvi, from which Price has given a long
extract in his edition of Warton, has here "With wyne of Oseye | and wyn of
Gascoyne." Whitaker's reading is "Whit wyn of Oseye and of Gascoyne." Price
observes, in a note, "good wyne of Gaskyne, and the wyne of Osee [is the
reading of MS. Harl. No. 875].--The same hand already noticed has corrected
_wyn_ to _weyte_ (wheat) _of Gascoyne_;--an obvious improvement." I by no
means partake in this opinion: _wine_ of Gascony, and _not wheat_ of
Gascony, is perpetually alluded to in the literature of France and England
from the twelfth to the sixteenth century. The reading of the text now
printed is evidently the original one, which has been corrupted in the
others: the wine more particularly known as Gascon, was a red wine. The
writer of "La Desputoison du Vin et de l'Iaue," says of it--
Vin de Gascoigne, sa coulour
N'est pas de petite valour;
Les autres vins fet honnorer.
Quant de soi les veult coulourer:
Force donne, aide, et confort,
Et d'un vin foible, fet. i. fort.
Il a de vin plaine sustance;
Il nourrist sans faire grevance:
Aus testes est bons et au flanc.
Et du rouge y a et du blanc.
(_Jubinal, Nouveau Recueil de Contes, &c._, i. 399.)
The 'wyn of the Rochel' (vin de la Rochelle) was also a favourite wine.--
Rochelle, qui tant a de pris,
Que l'en la va de partout querre;
Chascun si l'enclot et l'enserre,
Car il n'est pas à garçonner,
N'en ne la doit q'aus bons donner;--
Por les grans seignors l'en salache.
(_ib._ p. 300).
The "wyn of Oseye" (vin d'Osaie) was a foreign wine, very rare and dear,
and sought up by 'gourmands:' it is mentioned with those of Malvoisia,
Rosetta, and Muscadet. (Depping Réglemens sur les Arts et Métiers de Paris,
p. lxiii.) It is unnecessary to explain what was 'wyn of the Ryn' (Rhine).
456. _of the Reule | and of the Rochel._ Whitaker.
458. These two lines, omitted in the MS. from which our text is printed,
have been added from MS. Trin. 2.
489. _fyve wittes._ The five wits were equivalent to the five _senses_. One
of the characters in the early interlude of The Four Elements, a production
of the earlier part of the sixteenth century, says:--
I am callyd Sensuall Apetyte,
All craturs in me delyte;
I comforte the _wyttys fyve_,
The tastyng, smellyng, and herynge,
I refresh the syght and felynge,
To all creaturs alyve.
Stephen Hawes, in his Pastime of Pleasure (chap. xxiv), belonging to this
same age, refines upon this notion, and talks of five "internall wittes,"
answering to the five external wits, or to those which were commonly
understood by that name.
522. Genesis xix, 32. It is very singular that this story of Lot and his
daughters was the favourite example of the medieval preachers against
drunkenness.
563. Luke xx, 25.
595. _on an eller._ It was the prevailing belief during the middle ages,
that the tree on which Judas hanged himself was an elder. Maundevile tells
us that this tree was still in existence, when he visited Jerusalem. "Also
streghte from Natatorie Siloe is an ymage of ston and of olde auncyen werk,
that Absalon leet make; and because thereof, men clepen it the hond of
Absalon. And faste by is yit the _tree of eldre_ that Judas henge himself
upon for despeyr that he hadde, whan he solde and betrayed oure Lord." The
same notion continued to exist in the age of Shakespeare, and is alluded to
by Shakespeare himself, Ben Jonson, and others.
_Hol._ What mean you, sir?
_Boyet._ To make Judas hang himself.
_Hol._ Begin, sir; you are _my elder_.
_Biron._ Well followed: _Judas was hang'd on an elder._
_Love's Labours Lost_, v, 2.
681. _Lucifer with legions._ The story of Lucifer's rebellion and fall was
extremely popular in the middle ages, and particularly among the
Anglo-Saxons, who, in the fine poem ascribed to Cædmon, had given it almost
as much detail as Milton had done at a later date. This legend is related
in prose in an Anglo-Saxon tract in MS. Cotton. Vespas. D. xiv, fol. 2.
682. The second Trin. Col. MS. has, _Leride it in hevene, | and as the
lovelokest | to loke on, aftir oure Lord_.
697-704. Instead of these lines, we find the following in Whitaker's text:
Lord, why wolde he tho,
Thulke wrechede Lucifer,
Lepen on a-lofte
In the northe syde,
To sitten in the sonne side
Ther the day roweth,
Ne were it for northerne men,
Anon ich wolde telle:
Ac ich wolle lacke no lyf,
Quath that lady sotthly.
'Hyt is sykerer by southe,
Ther the sonne regneth,
Than in the north, by meny notes,
No man loyne other.
For theder as the fend flegh,
Hus fote for to sette,
Ther he failede and fuel,
And hus felawes alle.
And helle is ther he is,
And he ther y-bounde,
Evene contrarie suteth Criste,
Cierkus knowen the sothe,
_Dixit Dominus Domino meo, sede a dextris
meis._
'Ac of this matere
No more mene ich nelle,
He was in the halyday
After heten wayten,
They care noght thauh it be cold
Knaves wen thei worchen.'
Whitaker has translated the last four lines of the foregoing extract thus,
"Excepting that hyndes on the holyday look out for warm places, but knaves
(servants) when working hard, are indifferent to cold."
695. Isaiah xiv, 14. The citation varies a little from the text of the
printed vulgate.
707. _Somme in the eyr._ The monks in the middle ages endeavoured to
explain the existence of different classes of spirits and fairies, which
the popular creed represented as harmless, or even beneficent creatures, by
supposing that some of the angels who fell with Lucifer were less guilty
than others, and were allowed to occupy the different elements on the earth
instead of being condemned to "the pit." In "The Master of Oxford's
Catechism," written early in the fifteenth century, and printed in the
Reliquiæ Antiquæ, vol. i, p. 231, we have the following question and
answer,--"_C._ Where be the anjelles that God put out of heven, and bycam
devilles? _M._ Som into hell, and som reyned in the skye, and som in the
erth, and som in waters and in wodys."
815. Mark iv, 24. In qua mensura mensi fueritis, remetietur vobis, et
adjicietur vobis.
835. Epist. Jac. ii, 17. Sic et fides, si non habeat opera, mortua est in
semetipsa.
862. Luke vi, 38.
901. The second Trin. Col. MS. has--
Frettid with rynges,
Of the pureste perreighe
That prince werde evere,
In red scarlet robid
And ribande with gold.
Ther nis no quen queyntere
That quyk is o-lyve,
'What is this womman,' quod I.
934. Matth. vii, 17. _bonus_ (for _bona_) is the reading of the MS. Perhaps
it was thought allowable to use the masculine thus before a fem. noun
beginning with _a_, for the sake of euphony, as the French still write _mon
amie_, instead of _ma amie_, and the like. Whitaker's text has here--
_Talis pater, talis filius._
For shal never brere bere
Beries as a vyne,
No on crokyd kene thorne
Kynde fygys wexe.
_Bona arbor bonum fructum facit._
The lines which follow differ considerably in the two texts.
958. Psalm xiv, 1.
991-994. Instead of these lines, the following are substituted in the
second Trin. Coll. MS.:--
Sire Symonye is assent
To asele the chartres,
That Fals and Favel
Be any fyn halden,
And feffe Mede therwith
In mariage for evere.
Ther nas halle ne hous
To herberwe the peple,
That iche feld nas ful
Of folk al aboute.
In myddis a mounteyne
At myd-morewe tide
Was pight up a pavyloun
Proud for the nones,
And ten thousand of tentis
Teldit beside,
Of knightes of cuntrés,
Of comeres aboute,
For sisours, for somonours, etc.
And the rest, as far as line 1100, differs very much in the two MSS.
1103. _of Banneburies sokne, | Reynald the reve, | and the redyngkynges
menye, | Munde the mylnere._ Whit.
1128. Luke x, 7.
1177. _With floryns ynowe._ Edward III had issued, not very long before the
date of this poem, the first extensive English gold coinage, to which he
gave the Italian name of florins, derived originally from that of the city
of Florence.
1204. _to Westmynstre_: _i. e._ to the courts of law which were held there.
1404. _A moton of golde._ A mutton (mouton) was a small French coin of
gold, which bore the stamp of a lamb or sheep. See Ducange, v. _Multo_.
1501. Matth. vi, 3.
1523. Regrating, or the buying up of provisions and other things to make
extravagant profits by retailing them, was one of the great sources of
oppression of the poor by the rich in the middle ages, and was a constant
subject of popular complaint.
1529. Whitaker's text adds here,--
Thei have no puteye of the puple
That parcel-mele mote biggen,
Thauh thei take hem untydy thyng,
Thei hold it no treson;
And thauh thei fulle nat ful,
That for lawe y-seelde,
He gripeth therfor as grete
As for the grete treuthe.
Meny sondry sorwes
In cyté fallen ofte,
Bothe thorw fyur and flod,
And al for false puple,
That bygylen good men,
And greveth hem wrongliche,
The wiche cryen on hure knees
That Christ hem avenge
Here on this erthe,
Other elles on helle,
That so bygyleth hem of here good,
And God on hem sendeth
Feveres, other fouler hyveles,
Other fur on here houses,
Moreyne, other meschaunce.
And menye tyme hit falleth,
That innocence ys y-herde
In hevene amonge seyntes,
That louten for hem to oure Lorde,
And to oure Lady bothe,
To granten gylours on erthe
Grace to amende,
And have here penaunce on pure erthe,
And noght in the pyne of helle.
And thenne falleth the fur
On false menne houses,
And good men for here gultes
Gloweth on fuyr after.
Al thys have we seyen,
That some tyme thorw a brewere
Many burgages y-brent,
And bodyes therynne,
And thorw a candel cloming
In a cursed place,
Fel a-don and for-brende
Forth al the rewe,
For-thy mayres that maken free-men,
Me thynken that thei ouhten
For to spure and aspye,
For eny speche of selver,
What manere mester
Of merchaundise he usede,
Er he were underfonge free
And felawe in youre rolles.
Hit ys nought semly, for soth,
In cyté ne in borw-ton,
That usurers other regratours
For eny kynne geftes,
Be fraunchised for a free-man,
And have fals name.
1548. Job, xv, 34.
1611. _Youre fader she felled._ An allusion to the deposition and death of
Edward II.
1652. Provisors were people who obtained from the pope the reversion of
ecclesiastical dignities, and several severe statutes were made against
them, one well-known one by Edward III.
1674. _Love-daies._ See further on, the note on l. 5634.
1735. _In Normandie._ 1750. _To Caleis._ Allusions, no doubt, to recent
events in the wars of Edward III. See the Introduction.
1769. _Caytiflyche thow, Conscience, | Consailedist the kyng leten | In hus
enemys honde | Ys heritage of Fraunce._ Whit.
1827. Psalm xiv, 1.
1835. Ps. xiv, 2.
1845. Ps. xiv, 5.
1862. Psalm xxv, 10.
1875. Matth. vi, 5.
1885. _Regum._ The reference is to 1 Sam. xv, which in the old Vulgate was
called _primus liber regum_.
1985, 2019. Isaiah ii, 4.
2043. Prov. xxii, 9. Victoriam et honorem acquiret qui dat munera; animam
autem aufert accipientium.
2099. _lernest._ Whitaker's text has _ledest_.
2149. Psalm xiii, 3. The quotation which follows is from the same verse.
2171. _his sone._ The Black Prince, who was a great favourite with the
people.
2175-2186. The variation in Whitaker's text deserves notice. This passage
there stands as follows:--
Thenne cam Pees into parlement,
And putte up a bylle.
How that Wrong wilfullich
Hadde hus wif for-leyen;
And how he ravysed Rose,
The riche widewe, by nyghte;
And Margarete of here maidenhod,
As he met hure late.
'Both my goos, and my grys,
And my gras he taketh,
Ich dar nouht for is felaweshepe,
In faith!' Pees saide,
'Bere sickerlich eny selver
To seint Gyles doune;
He watteth ful wel,
Wan ich sulfere taketh,
Wat wey ich wende.
Wel yerne he aspieth,
To robbe me and to ryfle me,
Yf ich ride softe.
Yut he is bolde for to borwe,
And baldelich he payeth:
He borwede of me Bayarde,' etc.
2177. _How Wrong ayeins his wille._ What follows is a true picture of the
oppressions to which the peasantry were frequently subjected by the king's
purveyors, and by others in power. See the Political Songs, pp. 377, 378;
and Hartshorne's Ancient Metrical Tales, pp. 41, 42.
2197. _taillé_, a tally. See the Political Songs, as above quoted. Whitaker
translates this passage, which stands thus in his edition,
And taketh me bote a taile
For ten quarters other twelve,
by, "and for ten or twelve quarters of it repaid me but _a sheep's tail_!"
2298. _in my stokkes._ In my prison. Prisons were usually furnished with
stocks, in which, instead of fetters, prisoners were set.
2323. _Beneyt._ St. Benedict, the founder of the Benedictine order; St.
Bernard, of the order of Cistercians; St. Francis, of the Franciscans.
2335. _Galis._ Compostello in Galicia.
2473. _Passus Quintus._ In Whitaker's text, this section, which is called
_Passus Sextus_, is prefaced by the following long exordium, intended as a
satire against the mendicant friars:--
Thus ich awaked, God wot!
Wanne ich wonede on Cornhulle,
Kytte and ich in a cote,
Clothede as a lollere:
And a lytel ich let by,
Leyve me, for sothe,
Among lolleres of London,
And lewede heremytes.
For ich made of tho men,
As Reson me tauhte.
For as ich cam by Conscience,
Wit Reson ich mette,
In an hote hervest,
Wenne ich hadde myn hele,
And lymes to labore with,
And lovede wel fare,
And no dede to do
Bote drynke and to slepe,
In hele and in unité,
On me aposede,
Romynge in remembraunce.
Thus Reson me arated:
'Canstow serven,' he seide,
'Other syngen in a churche?
Other loke for my cokers?
Other to the carte picche?
Mowe, other mowen,
Other make bond to sheves?
Repe, other be a repe-reyve
And arise erliche?
Other have an horne and be hay-warde,
And liggen out a nyghtes,
And kepe my corn in my croft
From pykers and theeves?
Other shap shoon other clothes?
Other shep other kyne kepe?
Eggen, other harwen,
Other swyne other gees dryve?
Other eny kyne craft
That to the comune nudeth,
Hem that bed-reden be
Bylyve to fynde?'
'Certes,' ich seyde,
'And so me God helpe!
Ich am to waik to worche
With sykel other with sythe;
And to long, leyf me,
Lowe for to stoupe,
To worchen as workeman
Eny wyle to dure.'
'Then havest thow londes to lyve by,'
Quath Reson, 'other lynage ryche
That fynden the thy fode?
For an hydel man thow semest,
A spendour that spende mot,
Other a spille-tyme;
Other beggest thy lyve
Aboute ate menne hatches;
Other faitest upon Fridays
Other feste dayes in churches;
The wiche is lollerene lyf,
That lytel is preysed
Ther ryghtfulnesse rewardeth
Ryght as men deserveth.
_Reddit unicuique juxta opera sua._
Ether thow ert broke, so may be,
In body other in membre,
Other y-maymed thorow som myshap.
Werby thow myght be excusede.'
'Wanne ich yong was,' quath ich,
'Many yer hennes,
My fader and my frendes
Founden me to scole,
Tyl ich wiste wyterliche
Wat holy wryt menede,
And wat is best for the body,
As the bok telleth,
And sykerest for the soule,
By so ich wolle continue.
And yut fond ich never in faith,
Sytthen my frendes deyden,
Lyf that me lyked,
Bote in thes long clothes.
Hyf ich by laboure sholde lyf,
And lyflode deserven,
That labour that ich lerned best
Therwhit lyve ich sholde.
_In eadem vocatione qua vocati estis._
And ich lyve in Londene
And on Londen bothe.
The lomes that ich laboure with
And lyflode deserve,
Ys paternoster and my prymer,
_Placebo et dirige_,
And my sauter some tyme,
And my sevene psalmes.
Thus ich synge for hure soules
Of suche as me helpen.
And tho that fynden me my fode
Vochen saf, ich trowe,
To be wolcome wan ich come
Other wyle in a monthe,
Now with hym, and now with hure,
And thus gate ich begge
Withoute bagge other botel,
Bote my wombe one.
And also, moreover,
Me thynketh, syre Reson,
Men sholde constreyne
No clerke to knavene werkes.
For by law of Livitici,
That oure Lord ordeynede,
Clerkes that aren crowned
Of kynde understondyng,
Sholde nother swynke ne swete,
Ne swere at enquestes,
Ne fyghte in no vauntwarde,
Ne hus fo greve.
_Nou reddas malum pro malo._
For it ben aires of hevene,
And alle that ben crounede
And in queer in churches,
Cristes owene mynestres.
_Dominus pars hæreditatis meæ
Et alibi, Clementia non constringit._
Hit bycometh for clerkus
Crist for to serven;
And knaves uncrounede
To cart and to worche.
For shold no clerk be crouned,
Bote yf he y-come were
Of franklens and freemen
And of folke y-weddede.
Bondmen and bastardes,
And beggers children,
Thuse bylongeth to labour.
And lordes children sholde serven,
Bothe God and good men,
As here degree asketh;
Some to synge masses,
Others sitten and wryte,
Rede and receyve
That Reson oughte spende.
And sith bondemenne barnes
Han be made bisshopes,
And barnes bastardes
Han ben archidekenes;
And sopers and here sones
For selver han be knyghtes,
And lordene sones here laboreres,
And leid here rentes to wedden
For the ryght of the reame,
Ryden ayens oure enemys,
In consort of the comune
And the kynges worshep.
And monkes and moniales.
That mendinauns sholden fynde,
Han mad here kyn knyghtes,
And knyght fees purchase.
Popes and patrones
Povre gentil blod refuseth,
And taken Symondes sonne
Seyntewarie to kepe.
Lyf-holynesse and love
Han ben longe hennes,
And wole, til hit be wered out,
Or otherwise y-chaunged.
For-thy rebuke me ryht nouht,
Reson, ich yow praye;
For in my conscience ich knowe
What Crist wolde that ich wroughte.
Preyers of perfyt man,
And penaunce discret,
Is the levest labour
That oure Lord pleseth.
_Non de solo_, ich seyde,
For sothe _vivit homo,
Nec in pane et pabulo_,
The paternoster witnesseth.
_Fiat voluntas tua_
Fynt ous alle thynges.'
Quath Conscience, 'By Crist!
Ich can nat see this lyeth.
Ac it semeth nouht perfitnesse
In cyties for to begge,
Bote he be obediencer
To pryour other to mynstre.'
'That ys soth,' ich seide,
'And so ich by-knowe
That ich have tynt tyme,
And tyme mys-spended.
And yut ich hope, as he
That ofte haveth chaffarede,
That ay hath lost and lost,
And at the latest hym happeth
He bouhte suche a bargayn
He was the bet evere,
And sette hus lost at a lef
At the laste ende;
Suche a wynnynge hym warth
Thorw wyrdes of his grace.
_Simile est regnum coelorum thesauro
abscondito in agro, etc._
_Mulier quæ inveniet dragmam, etc._
So hope ich to have of hym
That his almyghty
A gobet of hus grace,
And bygynne a tyme
That alle tymes of my tyme
To profit shal turne.'
'Ich rede the,' quath Reson tho,
'Rathe the to bygynne
The lyf that ys lowable
And leel to the soule.'
'Ye, and continue,' quath Conscience.
And to the church ich wente.
And to the church gan ich go,
God to honourie,
Byfor the crois on my knees
Knocked ich my brest,
Sykinge for my sennes,
Segginge my paternoster,
Wepyng and wailinge,
Tyl ich was a-slepe
Thenne mete me moche more
Than ich byfor tolde,
Of the mater that ich mete fyrst
On Malverne hulles.
Ich sawe the feld ful of folk
Fram ende to the other;
And Reson revested
Ryght as a pope,
And Conscience his crocer
Byfore the kynge stande.
Reson reverentliche
Byfor all the reame
Prechede and provede
That thuse pestilences
Was for pure synne, etc.
_See_ l. 2497, of the present edition.
2497. _thise pestilences._--There were three great pestilences in the reign
of Edward III, the terrible effects of which were long fresh in people's
minds, and they were often taken as points from which to date common
events. Two of them had passed at the period when the Visions of Piers
Ploughman are believed to have been written, and are the ones here alluded
to. Of the first, or great pestilence, which lasted from 31 May, 1348, to
29 Sept. 1349, the contemporary chroniclers give a fearful account. In a
register of the Abbey of Gloucester (MS. Cotton. Domit. A. VIII, fol. 124),
we have the following entry:--"Anno Domini m^o.ccc^o.xlviij^o. anno vero
regni regis Edwardi III, post conquestum xxij^o. incepit magna pestilentia
in Anglia, ita quod _vix tertia pars_ hominum remansit." This pestilence,
known as the _black plague_, ravaged most parts of Europe, and is said to
have carried off in general about two-thirds of the people. It was the
pestilence which gave rise to the Decameron of Boccaccio. For an
interesting account of it, see Michelet's Hist. de France, iii, 342-349.
The second pestilence lasted from 15 Aug. 1361, to May 3, 1362, and was
much less severe. The third pestilence raged from 2 July to 29 September,
1369.
2500. _The south-westrene wynd | on Saterday at even._ Tyrwhitt, in his
Preface to Chaucer, first pointed out the identity of this wind with the
one mentioned by the old chroniclers (Thorn, Decem. Script. col. 2122;
Walsingham, p. 178; the continuator of Adam Murimuth, p. 115), as occurring
on the evening of Jan. 15, 1362. The fifteenth of January in that year was
a Saturday. The following is the account given by Walsingham: "Anno gratiæ
millesimo trecentesimo sexagesimo secundo, qui est annus regni regis
Edwardi a conquestu tertii tricesimus sextus, tenuit rex natale apud
Wyndesor, et quinto decimo die sequente ventus vehemens, nothus auster
affricus, tanta vi erupit, quod flatu suo domos altas, ædificia sublimia,
turres, et campanilia, arbores, et alia quæque durabilia et fortia
violenter prostravit pariter et impegit, in tantum quod residua quæ modo
extant, sunt hactenus infirmiora." The continuator of Murimuth is more
particular as to the time of the day, and in other respects more exact.
"A.D. m. ccc. lxii, xv die Januarii, _circa horam vesperarum_, ventus
vehemens notus australis affricus tanta rabie erupit," etc.
2529. _And fecche Felis his wyf | Fro wyuene pyne._ MS. Trin. Col. 2.
2547. This was a very old and very common proverb in England. Thus in the
Proverbs of Hending (Reliquiæ Antiquæ, vol. i, p. 110):--
Ne bue thi child never so duere,
Ant hit wolle unthewes lerne,
Bet hit other whyle;
Mote hit al habben is wille,
Woltou nultou hit wolle spille,
Ant bicome a fule.
_Luef child lore byhoveth_;
Quoth Hendyng.
The proverb is a little varied in another copy of these "Proverbs," p. 194
of the same work. There is a German proverb closely resembling it, "Je
lieberes Kind, je schärfere Ruthe."
2551. Prov. xiii, 24.
2569. After this line Whitaker's text has inserted a passage, answering
nearly word for word (except in the few first lines) to the passage in our
text, ll. 6218-6274.
2573. In the same text, the following lines are here added:--
'And also,' quath Reson,
'Ich rede yow, riche
And comuners, to acorden
In alle kynne treuthe.
Let no kynne consail
Ne covetyze yow departe,
That on wit and on wil
Alle youre wardes kepe.
Lo! in hevene on hy
Was an holy comune,
Til Lucifer the lyere
Leyved that hymselve
Were wittyour and worthiour
Than he that was hus maister.
Hold yow in unité.
And ye that hother wolde
Is cause of alle combraunce
To confounde a reame.
2586. Matt. xxv, 12.
2594. Whitaker's _Passus Sextus_ ends with this line.
2625. Before Envy's confession, and in the place of Lechery, Whitaker's
text introduces the confession of Pride--
Ich, Pruyde, patientliche
Penaunce ich aske;
For ich formest and ferst
To fader and to moder
Have y-be unboxome,
Ich beseche God of mercy;
And unboxome y-be,
Nouht abaissed to agulte
God and alle good men,
So gret was myn herte;
Inobedient to holy churche,
And to hem that ther serven,
Demed for hure yvel vices,
And excited othere
Thorw my word and al my wit
Hure yvel workes to shewe;
And scorned hem and othere,
Yf a skyle founde,
Lauhynge al aloude,
For lewede men sholde
Wene that ich were witty
And wyser than anothere;
Scorner and unskilful to hem
That skil shewede,
In all manere manners
My name to be y-knowe,
Semeng a sovereyn on,
Wer so me byfulle
To telle eny tale.
Ich trowede me wiser
To carpen other to counsaile
Than eny, lered other lewede.
Proud of aparail
In porte amonge the puple,
Otherwise than ich have,
Withynne other withoute,
Me wilnede that men wende
Ich were in aveyr
Riche and resonable,
And ryghtful of lyvynge;
Bostynge and braggynge
Wyt meny bolde othes;
Avauntyng upon my veine glorie
For eny undernemynge;
And yut so syngeler by myself
Ne non so pomp holy,
Som tyme on a secte,
Sam tyme on another;
In all kynne covetyse
Contrevede how ich myghte
Be holde for holy,
And hondred sithe by that encheison;
Wilnede that men wende
My werkes were the beste
And konnygest of my craft,
Clerkes other othere,
And strengest upon my stede,
And styvest under gurdell,
And lovelokest to loken on,
And lykyngest a-bedde;
And lykynge of such a lif
That no lawe preyseth;
Proud of my faire fetours;
And for ich songe shrille;
And what ich gaf for Godes love,
To godsybbes ich tolde,
Ther to wene that ich were
Wel holy and wel almesful.
And non so bold begger
To bydden an[d] crave,
Tales to telle
In tavernes and in stretes,
Thyng that nevere was thouhte,
And yut ich swor ich sauh hit,
And lyed on my lykame
And on my lyf bothe.
Of werkes that ich wel dude
Witnesse ich take,
And syggen to such
That sytten me bysyde,
'Lo! yf ye leyve me nouht,
Other that ye wene ich lye,
Ask of hym other of hure,
And thei conne yow telle
What ich soffrede an[d] seih,
And som tyme hadde,
And what ich knew and couthe,
Of wat kyn ich kam of;
Al ich wolde that men wuste,
When it to pruyde sonede,
As to preised among the puple,
Thauh ich povre semede.'
_Si hominibus placerem, Christi servus
non essem. Nemo potest duobus
dominis servire._
'Now God, of hus goodnesse,
Geve the grace to amende!'
Quath Repentaunce ryght with that;
And thenne roos Envye.
The description of Envy, which follows, is shorter in Whitaker's text, and
differs much from our text.
2819-2822. The discipline here described seems to have been peculiar to the
chapter-house of the monasteries. Matth. Paris, p. 848, has an anecdote
which illustrates curiously this passage of Piers Ploughman. In speaking of
the turbulent Falcasius de Breuté, who had been warned in a vision to offer
himself to suffer penance in the monastery of St. Albans, in the reign of
Henry III, he says, "Vestibus igitur spoliatus cum suis militibus,
similiter indumentis spoliatis, ferens in manu virgam quam vulgariter
_baleis_ appellamus, et confitens culpam suam, ... a singulis fratribus
disciplinas nuda carne suscepit."
2846. In the text which Whitaker has printed, the confession of Wrath was
followed by that of Luxury or Lechery. It stands as follows in the copy of
the same text in MS. Cotton. Vespas. B. xvi. (_See_ l. 8713, of our present
text.)
Thanne seide Lecherie, Alas!
And to oure Ladi criede,
'Ladi, for thi leve sone,
Loute for me nouthe,
That he have pité on me, putour,
For his pure merci.'
'With that I schal,' quod that schrewe,
'Saterdaies, for thi love,
Drynke with the doke,
And dine but ones.'
I, gulti in gost,
To God I me schrive,
As in likyng of lecherige
My licames gultes,
In wordes, in wedes,
In waityng of eyen,
To eche maide that I mette
I made here a sigge,
Semyng to synne-ward,
And summe can I taste
Aboute the mouth, and binethe
Bigon I to grope,
Til bothe oure wil was on,
To werke we yeden,
As wel fastyng daies,
And hi festes eves,
And wel in Lente as out of Lente,
Al tymes i-liche;
Swiche werkes with us
Weren nevere out of seson,
Til we mighten ne more,
Tho hadde we muri tales
Of putrige and of paramours,
And provede thorw speche,
Handelyng, and halsyng,
And also thorw cussyng,
Excityng heither other
To oure elde synne;
Sotilde songes,
And sente out elde baudes
For te wynne to my wil
Wemmen with gile;
Bi sorcerie sum time,
And sum time be maistrie,
I lai bi the lovelokest,
And lovede hem nevere aftur.
Whan I was eld and hor,
And hadde i-lorn that kynde,
I hadde likyng to lige
Of lecherous tales.
Now, lord, for thi lewté,
On lecheres have merci.
2850. _Sire Hervy._ Whitaker and Price (in Warton) suppose that there is
here a personal allusion, which at the time had become proverbial.
2874. _Symme at the Style._ Whit.
2881. _To Wy and to Wynchestre | I wente to the feyre._ Warton (Hist. of
Eng. p. ii, 55, edit. 1840) supposes Wy to be Weyhill, in Hampshire, "where
a famous fair still subsists." In fact it is one of the greatest fairs in
England, lasting ten days. For anecdotes of the celebrity of the great fair
at Winchester in former times, and for some interesting observations on
fairs in general, _see_ Warton, loc. cit.
2933. _The Roode of Bromholm._ At the Priory of Bromholm, in Norfolk, there
was a celebrated cross, said to be made of fragments of the real cross, and
much resorted to by pilgrims. It was brought from Constantinople to England
in 1223. The history of this cross, and the miracles said to have been
performed by it at Bromholm, are told by Matthew Paris (p. 268). In the MS.
Chronicle of Barthol. de Cotton, it is recorded at the date 1223, "Eo
tempore Peregrinatio de Bromholm incepit."
2949. _Frensshe ... of Northfolk._ Norfolk, it would appear by this, was
one of the least refined parts of the island.
3030. In this part of the poem, the smaller variations between the present
text and Whitaker's are very numerous. After this line, the following
passage is inserted:--
With false wordes and writes
Ich have wonne my goodes,
And with gyle and glosynge
Gadered that ich have;
Meddled my merchaundise,
And mad a good moustre,
The werst lay withynne,
A gret wit ich let hit.
And yf my neyhgebore had an hyne,
Other eny best ellys,
More profitable than myn,
Ich made meny wentes,
How ich myght have hit
Al my wit ich caste;
And bote ich hadde hit by othes away,
At last ich stal hit,
Other pryvyliche hus pors shok,
Unpiked his lokes.
And yf ich yede to the plouh,
Ich pynchede on hus half acre,
That a fot londe other a forwe
Fetchen ich wolde
Of my neyhgeboris next,
Nymen of hus erthe,
And yf y repe, over reche,
Other gaf hem red that repen
To sese to me with here sykel,
That ich sewe nevere.
In haly dayes at holy churche
Wenne ich hurde messe,
Ich hadde nevere witerlich
To byseche mercy
For my mysdedes,
That ich ne mornede ofter
For lost of good, leyve me,
Then for lycames gultes.
Thauh ich dedliche synne dude,
Ich dradde hit nat so sore
As wenne ich lenede and leyvede hit lost,
Other longe er hit were paied.
And yf [ich] sente over see
My servaunt to Brugges,
Other into Prus my prentys,
My profit to awaite,
To marchaunde with monye
And maken here eshaunge,
Myght nevere man comforty me
In the meyn time,
Neither matyns ne masse,
Ne othere manere syghtes,
And nevere penaunce performede,
Ne paternoster seyde.
That my mynde ne was
More in my goodes,
Than in Godes grace,
And hus grete myghte.
_Ubi thesaurus tuus, ibi cor tuum._
_See_ ll. 8751-8827.
3039. Psa. l, 8.
3083. The confessions of the robber and the glutton are reversed in
Whitaker's text, and present many variations. The robber's confession is
there preceded by the following curious lines:--
Then was ther a Walishman
That was wonderlich sory,
He hight Yyvan Yeld ageyn;
'If ich so moche have,
Al that ich wickedlich wan
Setthen ich hit hadde;
And thauh my liflode lache
Leten ich nelle
That ech man shal have hus,
Er ich hennes wende.
For me ys levere in this lif
As a lorel beggen,
Than in lysse to lyve,
And lese lyf and soule.'
3162. Between this line and the next, MS. Trin. Col. 2, inserts _Bargoynes
and beverechis | Begonne for to arise._
3277, 3278. _rymes of Robyn Hood | and Randolf erl of Chestre._ This seems
to be the earliest mention of the ballads of Robin Hood which can now be
found. Ritson was quite mistaken (Robin Hood, Introd. p. xlix) in the
supposed mention of him by the prior of Alnwick, the title of the Latin
song being modern. The passage of Fordun, in which Robin Hood is spoken of,
is probably an interpolation.
I am not sure that Ritson is right in taking the _Randolf erl of Chester_
of Piers Ploughman, to be Ranulf de Blundevile: it is quite as probable
that he was the Ranulf of Chester of the days of Stephen, whose turbulent
deeds may have been the subject of popular ballads. Warton (H. E. P. ii,
373), quoting the passage of Piers Ploughman with the word _erl_ omitted,
conceives it to mean Ralph Higden, and imagines the _rymes_ to be the
Chester Mysteries, of which he conjectured that Ralph Higden was the
author.
3311. _Ite missa est._ The concluding sentence of the service of the Mass.
3408. _the Rode of Chestre._ There was a celebrated cross or rood at
Chester, which was long an object of great veneration, and even of
pilgrimage, among our Roman Catholic forefathers. "I do not recollect any
thing remarkable (says Mr. Pennant, speaking of Chester) on the outside of
the walls which has been unnoticed, unless it be the Rood-eye, and the
adjacent places."--"The name of this spot is taken from _eye_, its watery
situation, and rood, the cross which stood there, whose base is still to be
seen." Pennant's Tour in Wales, edit. 1778, p. 191. According to Gough's
Camden, the base was still remaining in 1789.
3410. _Roberd the robbere._ This name is rather curious in conjunction with
the term _Roberdesmen_ mentioned in the note on l. 88. It was no uncommon
practice to give punning names in this way to people or classes of people.
In a Latin song of the reign of Henry III (Political Songs, p. 49), we have
a very curious instance of it, one of the names being, as here, _Robert_:--
Competentur per _Robert_, _robbur_ designatur; Robertus excoriat,
extorquet, et minatur.-- Vir quicunque rabidus consors est Roberto.
Still earlier (12th cent.) a scribe says of one of his brothers, "Secundus
dicebatur _Robertus_, quia a re nomen habuit, _spoliator_ enim diu fuit et
_prædo_." (Polit. Songs, p. 354.)
3419. _Dysmas._ In middle-age legends, Dismas and Gestas were the names of
the two thieves who were crucified with Christ. The former was the one who
believed in the Saviour, and received a promise of paradise.
3443. Before this line, Whitaker's text has the following passage:--
Ac whiche be the braunches
That bryngeth me to sleuthe,
Ys wanne a man mourneth nat
For hus mysdedes;
The penaunce that the prest enjoyneth
Parfourmeth uvele;
Doth non almys-dedes,
And drat nat of synne:
Lyveth ayens the byleyve,
And no lawe kepeth;
And hath no lykynge to lerne,
Ne of houre Lord hure,
Bote harlotrie other horedom,
Other elles of som wynnyng.
Wan men carpen of Crist
Other of clennesse of soule,
He wext wroth, and wol not huyre
Bote wordes of murthe,
Penaunce and povre men,
The passion of seyntes,
He hateth to huyre therof
And alle that therof carpen.
Thuse beth the braunches, be war,
That bryngeth man to wanhope.
Ye lordes and ladyes,
And legates of holy churche,
That feden fool sages,
Flaterers and lyers,
And han lykynge to lythen hem,
In hope to do yow lawe--
_Væ! vobis qui ridetis, etc._
And geveth suche mede an mete,
And povre men refusen;
In youre deth deynge,
Ich drede me sore
Lest tho maner men
To moche sorwe yow brynge.
_Consensientes et agentes pari pæna punientur._
Patriarkes and prophetes,
Prechours of Godes wordes,
Saven thorgh here sermons
Mannes soule fro helle:
Ryght so flaterers and foles
Aren the fendes procuratores,
Entysen men thorgh here tales
To synne and to harlotrie.
Clerkus that knowen this,
Sholde kennen lordes
What David seide of suche men,
As the Sauter telleth:
_Non habitabit in medio domus meæ qui
facit superbiam, qui loquitur
iniquum._
Sholde non harlot have audience
In halle ne in chaumbre,
Ther that wys men were.
Whitnesse of Godes wordes;
Nother a mys-prout man
Among lordes alouwed.
Clerkus and knyghtes
Wolcometh kynges mynstrales,
For love of here lordes
Lithen hem at festes:
Muche more, me thenketh,
Riche men auhte
Have beggers byfore hem,
Wiche beth Godes mynstreles,
As he seith hymself,
Seynt Johan berith whittnesse:
_Qui vos spernit, me etiam spernit._
Therfor ich rede yow, riche,
Reveles when ye maken,
For to solace youre soules,
Suche mynstrales to have,
The povre for a foul sage
Syttynge at thy table,
Whith a lered man to lere the
What oure Lord suffrede,
For to savy thy saule
Fram Satan thyn enemye,
And fitayle the withoute flateryng
Of Good Friday the feste:
And a blynde man for a bordiour,
Other a bed-reden womman
To crye a largesse byfor oure Lord,
Youre good loos to shewe.
Thuse thre manere mynstrales
Maken a man to lauhe;
In hus deth deyng
Thei don hym gret comfort,
That by hus lyfe loveth hem,
And loveth hem to huyre.
Thuse solaceth the soule,
Til hymself be falle
In a wele good hope, for he wroghte so,
Among worthy seyntes,
Ther flaterers and foles
Whith here foule wordes
Leden tho that lithen hem
To Luciferes feste,
With _Turpiloquio_, a lay of sorwe,
And Lucifers fitele,
To perpetual peyne
Other purgatorye as wykke,
For he litheth and loveth
That Godes lawe despiteth.
_Qui histrionibus dat, dæmonibus sacrificat._
3466. _qui manet, &c._ Epist. Joan. iv, 16.
3477. Epist. Paul, ad Ephes. iv, 8.
3484. Isai. ix, 2.
3496. Matt. ix, 13.
3502. John i, 14.
3520. Psalm xxxv, 8.
3545. _Signes of Synay, | and shelles of Galice ... keyes of Rome._ It is
perhaps hardly necessary to remark that the articles mentioned here were
borne by the pilgrim to indicate the particular holy sites which he had
visited. The reader will readily call to mind the lines of a modern poet:--
The summon'd Palmer came in place,
His sable cowl o'erhung his face;
In his black mantle was he clad,
With _Peter's keys_ in cloth of red
On his broad shoulders wrought;
The _scallop shell_ his cap did deck;
The crucifix around his neck
Was from Loretto brought.
3622. _Seint Thomas shryne._ St. Thomas of Canterbury. It may not perhaps
be generally known that an interesting description of this shrine, when in
its glory, is given by Erasmus, Colloq. _Peregrinatio Religionis ergo._
3713. _eten apples un-rosted._ One of the many specimens of the burlesque
manner in which scripture was frequently quoted in these times. A very
singular passage (but in a tract professedly burlesque) occurs in the
Reliquiæ Antiquæ, vol. i, p. 83:--"Peter askud Adam a full greyt dowtfull
question, and seyd, 'Adam, Adam, why ete thu the appull unpard?' 'For
sothe,' quod he, 'for y had no wardyns fryde.'"
3826. _leven_, should be _lenen_.
3890. Luke xiv, 10.
3944, 3948. Psalm lxviii, 29.
3997. _the rode of Lukes._ The second Trin. Col. MS. has _be the rode of
Chestre._ There was a famous cross at Lucca, but whether a part of the real
cross, I have not ascertained. Calvin, in his most able and entertaining
_Admonitio de Reliquiis_, declines undertaking a list of all the places
where pieces of the real cross were shown. "Denique si congesta in acervum
essent omnia quæ reperiri possent, integrum navis onus efficerent: cum
tamen evangelium testificetur ab unico homine ferri potuisse. Quantæ igitur
audaciæ fuit, ligneis frustis sic totum implere orbem, quibus ferendis ne
trecenti quidem homines sufficiant?" _Calvini_, _Opusc._ p. 277. There was
also at Lucca one of the impressions of our Saviour's face on the
handkerchief of Veronica. The peculiar oath of William Rufus was by the
holy face at Lucca.
4027. _with hey trolly lolly._ MS. Trin. Col. 2.
4154. In the second Trin. Col. MS. the passage stands as follows:--
Ne hadde Peris but a pese lof,
Thei preyede hym beleve,
And with a bene batte
He hadde betwene,
And hitte hunger therwith
Amydde hise lippes,
And blodde in it the bodyward
A bolle ful of growel,
Ne hadde the fisician ferst
Defendite him watir,
To abate the barly bred,
And the benis y-grounde,
Thei hadde be ded be this day,
And dolven al warm.
Faitours for fer, etc.
4194. _Thei corven here coppes, | and courtepies made._ Whitaker, who
translates it, "They _carved wooden cups_, and made themselves short
cloaks." It ought to be, "They cut their copes to make courtpies (a kind of
short cloaks) of them."
4242. Paul Epist. ad Galat. vi, 2.
4251. Scimus enim qui dixit, mihi vindicta, et ego retribuam. Paul. ad Heb.
x, 30; conf. Paul. ad Rom. xii, 19.
4256. Luke xvi, 9.
4272. Propter frigus piger arare noluit. Prov. xx, 4.
4306. Labores manuum tuarum quia manducabis, beatus es et bene tibi erit.
Psal. cxxvii, 2.
4336. _His mawe is alongid._ MS. Trin. Coll. 2.
4336. Whitaker's text inserts here the following passage, which is curious
as containing the same word, _latchdrawers_, that occurs in Edward's
statute, quoted before in the note to l. 88:--
Thenk that Dives for hus delicat lyf
To the devel wente,
And Lazar the lene beggere
That longed after cromes,
And yut had he hem nat,
For ich Hunger culde hym,
And suthe ich sauh hym sute,
As he a syre were,
At alle manere ese
In Abrahame lappe.
An yf you be of power,
Peers, ich the rede,
Alle that greden at thy gate
For Godes love after fede,
Parte wit hem of thy payn,
Of potage and of souel,
Lene hem som of thy loof,
Thauh thu the lesse chewe.
And thauh lyers and latchedrawers,
And lolleres knocke,
Let hem abyde tyl the bord be drawe,
Ac bere hem none cromes,
Tyl al thyn nedy neihebores
Have none y-maked.
4339. _Phisik ... hise furred hodes ... his cloke of Calabre._ Whitaker
cites, in illustration of the dress of the physician, the costume still
worn by the Doctors of Medicine in the universities. Chaucer gives the
following description of the dress of the "Doctour of Phisike":--
In sangwin and in pers he clad was al,
Lyned with taffata, and with sendal.
(Cant. T. Prolog. 441.)
_Calabre_ appears to have been a kind of fur: a document in Rymer, quoted
by Ducange, speaks of an _indumentum foderatum cum Calabre_.
4390. _ripe chiries manye._ This passage, joined with the mention of
cherry-time in l. 2794, shows that cherries were a common fruit in the
fourteenth century. "Mr. Gough, in his British Topography, says that
cherries were first brought in by the Romans, but were afterwards lost and
brought in again in the time of Henry VIII, by Richard Harris, the king's
fruiterer; but this is certainly a mistake. When in the New Forest in
Hampshire in the summer of 1808, I saw a great many cherry-trees,
apparently, of much more considerable age than the time of Henry VIII. The
_very old_ trees were universally of the kind called _merries_." H. E.
4431. Cato, Distich. i, 21:--
Infantem nudum quum te natura crearit,
Paupertatis onus patienter ferre memento.
4453. _so seide Saturne._ See the Introduction, p. xii.
4490. Whitaker's text reads after this line:--
Leel and ful of love,
And no lord dreden,
Merciable to meek,
And mylde to the goode,
And bytynge on badde men
Bote yf thei wolde amende,
And dredeth nat for no deth
To distruye by here powere
Lecherie among lordes,
And hure luther custymes,
And sithen lyve as thei lereth men,
Oure lorde Treuthe hem graunteth,
To be peeres to Apostles, &c.
4525. _sette scolers to scole._ It was common in the _scholastic_ ages for
scholars to wander about gathering money to support them at the
universities. In a poem in MS. Lansdowne, No. 762, the husbandman,
complaining of the many burdens he supports in taxes to the court, payments
to the church, and charitable contributions of different kinds, enumerates
among the latter the alms to scholars:--
Than cometh clerkys of Oxford, and mak their mone,
To her scole-hire they most have money.
4547. Psa. xiv, 5. Qui pecuniam suam non dedit ad usuram, et munera super
innocentem non accepit.
4571. Psa. xiv, 1.
4593. Matt. vii, 12. Luke vi, 31.
4618. _the clerc of stories._ Called, elsewhere, _maister of stories_.
These names were given popularly to Peter Comestor, author of the famous
Historia Scolastica, a paraphrase of the Bible history, with abundance of
legendary matter added to it. The title given him by the author of Piers
Ploughman is not uncommon in English treatises of the fourteenth and
fifteenth centuries. Lydgate, Minor Poems, p. 102 (Ed. Halliwell), speaks
of Comestor thus:--
_Maister of storyes_, this doctour ful notable,
Holding a chalice here in a sonne cliere.
4619. _Catons techyng._ "Cui des videto," is the twenty-third of the
"Distichorum Lemmata" of Dionysius Cato.
4621. Instead of ll. 4621-4658, the following long and curious passage is
substituted in the text adopted by Mr. Whitaker:--
Wot no man, as ich wene,
Who is worthy to have.
The most needy aren oure neighebores,
And we nyme good hede;
As prisoners in puttes,
And poore folke in cotes
Charged with children
And chef lordes rente,
That thei spynnynge may spare,
Spynen hit in hous hyre,
Bothe in mylk and in mele.
To maken with papelotes
To aglotye with here gurles
That greden after fode.
Al so hemselve
Suffren muche hunger,
And wo in winter tyme;
With wakyng a-nyghtes
To ryse to the ruel,
To rocke the cradel,
Bothe to karde and to kembe,
To clouten and to wasche,
To rubbe and to rely,
Russhes to pilie,
That reuthe is to rede
Othere in ryme shewe
The wo that theese women
That wonyeth in cotes,
And of meny other men
That muche wo suffren,
Bothe a-fyngrede and a-furst,
To turne the fayre outwarde;
And beth abasshed for to begge,
And wolle nat be y-knowe
What hem needeth att here neihebores
At non and at even.
This Wit wot witerly,
As the world techeth,
What other byhoveth
That hath meny children.
And hath no catel bote hus crafte
To clothy hem and to fede,
And fele to fonge therto,
And fewe pans taketh.
Ther is payn and peny ale,
As for a pytaunce y-take;
Cold flesch and cold fyssh,
For veneson y-bake.
Frydays and fastyng-dayes
Ferthyng worth of muscles
Were a feste for suche a folke,
Other so fele cockes.
Theese were almes to helpe
That han suche charges,
And to comforte suche cotyers,
And crokede men and blynde.
Ac beggers with bagges, the wiche
Brewhouses ben here churches,
Bote thei be blynde other broke,
Other elles syke,
Thauh he falle for defaute,
That faiteth for hus lyflode,
Reicheth nevere, ye ryche,
Thauh suche lorelles sterven;
For all that han here hele
And here eyen syghte,
And lymes to laborye with,
And lolleres lyf usen,
Lyven ayens Godes lawe,
And love of holy churche.
And yut arn ther other beggers,
In hele, as it semeth;
Ac hem wanteth here witt,
Men and women bothe,
The wiche aren lunatik lollers
And leperes aboute,
And mad, as the mone sitt,
More other lasse:
Thei caren for no cold,
Ne counteth of no hete,
And are mevenge after the mone,
Moneyles thei walke,
With a good wil wit-lees,
Meny wyde contreys,
Ryght as Peter dude and Paul,
Save that thei preche nat,
Ne myracles maken;
Ac meny tymes hem happeth
To prophetien of the puple,
Pleyninge, as hit were,
And to oure sight, as hit semeth,
Suththe God hath the myghte
To yeven eche a whit wit,
Welthe, and his hele,
And suffreth suche so gon,
Hit semeth to myn inwitt,
Hit arn as hus aposteles suche puple,
Other as his prevye disciples;
For he sente hem forth selverles,
In a somer garnement,
Withoute bred and bagge,
As the Bok telleth.
_Quando misi vos sine pane et pera._
Bar fot and bred-les,
Beggeth thei of no man;
And thauh he mete with the meyere
In mydest the strete,
He reverenceth hym ryght nouht
No rather than another.
_Neminem salutaveris per viam_,
Suche manere of men,
Matheu ous techeth,
We sholde have hem to house,
And help hem when thei come.
_Et egenos vagosque induc in domum tuam._
For hit aren murye mouthede men,
Mynstrales of hevene
And Godes boyes bordiours,
As the Bok telleth.
_Si quis videtur sapiens, fiet stultus ut
sit sapiens._
And alle manere mynstrales,
Men wot wel the sothe,
To underfonge hem faire
Byfalle for the ryche;
For the lordes love and ladies
That thei with lengen,
Men suffren al that suche seyn,
And in solas taken;
And yut more to suche men
Doth, er thei passe,
Gyven hem gyftes and gold,
For grete lordes sake.
Ryght so, ye riche,
Rather ye sholde, for sothe,
Wolcomen and worsshepen
And with youre goode helpen
Godes mynstrales, and hus messagers,
And hus murye burdiers,
The wiche are lunatik lollares
And leperes aboute.
For under Godes secré seel
Here synnes ben y-keverede.
For thei bereth no bagges,
Ne non botels under clokes,
The wiche is lollaren lyf
And lewede eremytes,
That loken ful louheliche
To lacchen mennes almesse,
In hope to suten at even
By the hote coles,
Unlouke hus legges abrod,
Other lygge at hus ese,
Reste hym and roste hym,
And his ryg turne,
Drynke drue and deepe,
And drawe hym thanne to bedde,
And when hym lyketh and lust
Hus leve ys is to aryse;
When he rysen, rometh out,
And ryght wel aspieth
War he may rathest have a repast,
Other a rounde of bacon,
Sulver other fode-mete
And some tyme bothe,
A loof other alf a loof,
Other a lompe of chese,
And carieth it hom to hus cote,
And cast hym to lyve
In ydelnesse and in ese,
And by others travayle.
And wat frek of thys tolde
Fisketh thus aboute
With a bagge at hus bak,
Abegeneldes wyse,
And can som manere craft,
In cas he wolde hit use.
Thorgh wiche craft he couthe come
To bred and to ale,
And ovar more to an hater
To helye with hus bones,
And lyveth like a lollere,
Godes lawe him dampneth.
Lolleres lyvinge in sleuthe,
And overe lond stryken,
Beeth nat in thys bulle, quath Peers,
Til thei ben amended.
Nother beggars that beggen,
Bote yf thei have neede.
The Bok blameth alle beggerye,
And banneth in this manere: etc.
4645. Luke xix, 23.
4659. Ps. xxxvi, 25. Junior fui, etenim senui: et non vidi justum
derelictum, nec semen ejus quærens panem.
4695. Here again, after many verbal variations from our text, Whitaker's
text adds the following long passage, which is very curious, and well
worthy to be preserved. Whitaker calls it "one of the finest passages in
the whole poem."
Ac eremites that enhabiten hem
By the heye weyes,
And in borwes among brewesters,
And beggen in churches
Al that holy eremytes
Hateden and despisede,
As rychesses and reverences
And ryche mennes almesse.
These lolleres, latche-draweres,
Lewede eremytes,
Coveyten the contrarie,
As cotyers thei lybben,
For hit beth bote boyes,
Lolleres atten ale,
Of linguage of lettrure
Ne lyf-holy as eremytes
That wonnede wyle in wodes
With beres and lyones.
Some had lyflode of here lynage,
And of no lyf elles;
And some lyvede by here lettrure
And labour of here hondes;
Some had foreynes to frendes,
That hem fode sente;
And bryddes brouhten to some bred,
Werby thei lyveden.
Alle thuse holy eremytes
Were of hye kynne,
Forsoke londe and lordshep
And lykynges of the body;
Ac thuse eremytes, that edefyen
Thus by the hye weyes,
Wylen were workmen,
Webbes and taillours,
And carters knaves
And clerkus without grace,
Heelden hungry hous,
And had much defaute,
Long labour and lyte wynnynge,
And atte laste aspiden
That faitours in frere clothynge
Had fatte chekus;
For-thi lefte thei here laboure,
Theese lewede knaves,
And clothed hem in copes,
Clerkus as hit were.
Other on of som ordre,
Othere elles prophite,
Ayens the lawe he lyveth,
Yf Latyn be trywe:
_Non licet nobis legem voluntate, sed voluntatem
conjungere legi._
Now kyndeliche, by Crist!
Beth suche callyd lolleres,
As by Englisch of oure eldres,
Of olde menne techynge,
He that lolleth his lame,
Other his leg out of the joynte,
Other meymed in som membre,
For to meschief hit souneth;
And ryght so sothlyche
Suche manere eremytes
Lollen ayen the bylyeve
And lawe of holy churche.
For holy churche hoteth
Alle manere puple
Under obedience to bee,
And buxum to the lawe,
Furst religious of religion
Here ruele to holde,
And under obedience to be
By dayes and by nyghtes,
Lewede men to laborie,
Lordes to honte
In frythes and in forestes
For fox and other bestes
That in wilde wodes ben,
And in wast places,
As wolves that wyrhyeth men,
Wommen, and children,
And upon Sonedayes to cesse,
Godes service to huyre,
Bothe matyns and messe,
And after mete in churches
To huyre here eve song
Every man ouhte.
Thus it bylongeth for lorde,
For lered and lewede,
Eche halyday to huyre
Hollyche the service,
Vigiles and fastyng dayes
Forthere to knowe,
And fulfille tho fastynges
Bote infirmité hit made,
Poverte othere penaunces,
As pilgrymages and travayles.
Under this obedience
Arn we echone.
Who so brekyeth this, be wel war,
Bot yf he repente,
Amenden hym and mercy aske,
And meekliche hym shryve,
Ich drede me, and he deye,
Hit worth for dedlich synne
Acounted byfore Crist,
Bote Conscience excuse hym.
Loke now were theese lolleres
And lewede eremytes,
Yf thei breke thys obedience
That ben so fro churche,
Wher see we hem on Sonedays
The servise to huyre?
As matyns by the morwe
Tyl masse bygynne,
Other Sonedays at eve songe,
See we wol fewe;
Othere labory for our lyflode
As the lawe wolde
Ac at mydday meel tyme
Ich mete with hem ofte,
Conynge in a cope
As he a clerke were,
A bachelor other a beaupere
Best hym bysemeth,
And for the cloth that kevereth hem
Cald his here a frere,
Whassheth and wypeth,
And with the furste suteth.
Ac while he wrought in thys worlde,
And wan hus mete with Treuthe,
He sat atte syd benche
And secounde table,
Com no wyn in hus wombe
Thorw the weke longe,
Nother blankett in hus bed,
Ne white bred byfore hym.
The cause of al thys caitifté
Cometh of meny bisshepes,
That suffren suche sottes
And othere synnes regne.
Certes ho so thurste hit segge,
_Symon quasi dormit._
_Vigilate_ were fairour,
For thow hast gret charge:
For meny waker wolves
Ben broke into foldes.
Thyne berkeres ben al blynde,
That bryngeth forth thy lambren;
_Disperguntur oves_, thi dogge
Dar nat beerke.
The tarre is untydy
That to thyne sheep bylongeth;
Hure salve ys of _supersedeas_
In someneres boxes,
Thyne sheep are ner al shabbyd,
The wolf sheteth woolle.
_Sub molli pastore lupus lanam cacat, et
grex incustoditus dilaceratur eo._
Hoow hurde wher is thyn hounde,
And thyn hardy herte,
For to wyne the wolf
That thy woolle fouleth.
Ich leyve for thy lacchesse
Thow leest meny wederes,
And ful meny fayre flus
Falsliche wasshe.
When thy lord loketh to have
Alowance for hus bestes,
And of the monye thow haddist thermyd,
Hus meable to save,
And the woolle worth weye,
Woo ys the thenne!
_Redde rationem villicationis tuæ_,
Other arerage, ffalle.
Then hyre hurde, as ich hope,
Hath nouht to quyty thy dette,
Ther as mede ne mercy
May nat a myte avayle,
Bote have this for that,
Tho that thow toke
Mercy for mede,
And my lawe breke;
Loke now for thi lacchesse
Whether lawe wol the graunt
Purgatorie for thy paye,
Other perpetuel helle.
For shal no pardone praye for yowe ther,
Nother princes letteres.
4708. Matth. xxv, 46. Et ibunt hi in supplicium æternum; justi autem in
vitam æternam.
4721. Psal. xxii, 4.
4739. Psal. xli, 4.
4745. Luke xii, 22. Conf. Matth. vi, 25.
4764. "Dixit insipiens in corde suo, non est Deus," is the commencement of
Psalms xiii. and lii.
4769. Prov. xxii, 10. Ejice derisorem, et exibit cum eo jurgium,
cessabuntque causæ et contumeliæ.
4771. _Perkyn_, the diminutive of Peter, or Piers. Formerly the diminutives
of people's names were constantly used as marks of familiarity or
endearment, as Hawkyn or Halkyn for Henry, Tymkyn for Tim or Timothy,
Dawkyn for David, Tomkyn for Thomas, &c.
4796. Cato, Distich. ii, 31.
Somnia ne cures, nam mens humana quod optans,
Dum vigilat, sperat, per somnum cernit id ipsum.
4847. Matth. xvi, 19.
4941. Prov. xxiv, 16. Septies enim cadet justus, _et resurget_; impii autem
corruent in malum.
4963. _To falle and to stonde._ I by no means agree with Price's
interpretation of this phrase, or in his preference of the reading _to
falle if he stonde_. (Note on Warton ii, 67.) The motion of the boat causes
the firm man alternately to fall and stand; be he ever so stable, he
stumbles now and then, but his strength is shown in his being able to
recover himself. Such are the moral slips which even the just man cannot
avoid. But if the man in the boat be too weak to arise again and place
himself at the helm, his boat and himself will be lost for want of strength
and guidance. So it is with the wicked man. The completion of the phrase
quoted from Proverbs, as given in the preceding note, shows the justice of
this explanation.
5014. _if I may lyve and loke._ Price (in Warton) first pointed out the
identity between this expression and the one so common in Homer: it is "one
of those primitive figures which are common to the poetry of every
country."
[Greek: Outis, emeu zôntos kai epi chthoni derkomenoio,]
[Greek: Soi koilêis para nêusi bareias cheiras epoisei.]
Il. i, 88.
Whitaker's interpretation is nonsense, "If I have space to live and look in
the book." Other instances of this phrase occur in ll. 12132, 13268, and
13303 of Piers Ploughman.
5082. 2 Corinth. xi, 19.
5157. _of four kynnes thynges._ The medieval notion of the manner in which
the elements were mixed together in the formation of the human body, here
alluded to, appears to partake more of Western legend than of Eastern
tradition. In the English verses on Popular Science (given in my "Popular
Treatises of Science written during the Middle Ages," p. 138), we have the
following curious account of the four things forming the body, and the
influence of each:--
Man hath of urthe al his bodi, of water he haveth wete,
Of eyr he haveth wynd, of fur he haveth hete.
Ech quic thing of alle this foure, of some hath more other lasse;
Ho so haveth of urthe most, he is slou as an asse;
Of vad colour, of hard hide, boustes forme, and ded strong,
Of moche thoght, of lute speche, of stille grounynge, and wraththe long,
A slough wrecche and ferblet, fast and loth to geve his god,
Sone old, and noght wilful, stable and stedefast of mode.
And so on with the other elements. This doctrine of the composition of man
from the four elements became a very popular one in the sixteenth century,
when the poets frequently allude to it, as may be seen in the examples
given by Nares (_v._ ELEMENTS). In the _Mirror for Magistrates_ (_King
Forrex_, page 76), it is said:--
If we behold the substance of a man,
How he is made of _elements_ by kind,
Of earth, of water, aire, and fire, than
We would full often call unto our mind,
That all our earthly joys we leave behind.
Massinger (_Renegado_ iii, 2) says:--
----I've heard
Schoolmen affirm, man's body is compos'd
Of _the four elements_.
In Shakespeare (_Twel. N._ ii, 3), Sir Toby Belch inquires, "Does not our
life consist of _the four elements_?" and Brutus is commended for
possessing these elements properly blended, in which the perfection of a
man's nature was supposed to consist:--
His life was gentle; and the _elements_
So mix'd in him, that Nature might stand up
And say to all the world, This _was a man_.
_Jul. Cæs._ v, 5.
On the other hand, the ill mixing of these elements was supposed to be
accompanied with a corresponding derangement of the intellectual faculties.
Thus, in one of the plays of Beaumont and Fletcher, a madman is
addressed:--
I prithee, thou _four elements_ ill brew'd
Torment none but thyself: Away, I say,
Thou beast of passion.
_B. and Fl. Nice Valour_, act i, p. 312.
The more mythic form of this legend gives _eight things_ to the formation
of the body, instead of four. Our earliest notice of this legend in England
occurs in the prose Anglo-Saxon Dialogue between Saturn and Solomon
(Thorpe's Analecta, p. 95):--"Saga me þæt andworc þe Adám wæs of-ge-worht
se ærusta man? Ic þe secge of viii punda ge-wihte. Saga me hwæt hatton
þage? Ic þe secge þæt æroste wæs fóldan pund, of ðam him wæs flesc
ge-worht; oðer wæs fyres pund, þanon him wæs þæt blód reád and hát; þridde
wæs windes pund, þanon him wæs seo æðung ge-seald; feorðe wæs wolcnes pund,
þanon him wæs his módes unstaðelfæstnes ge-seald; fifte wæs gyfe pund,
þanon him wæs ge-seald se fat and geðang; syxste wæs blostnena pund, þanon
him wæs eagena myssenlicnys ge-seald; seofoðe wæs deawes pund, þanon him
becom swat; eahtothe wæs sealtes pund, þanon him wæron þa tearas
sealte."--_Tell me the matter of which Adam the first man was made? I tell
thee, of eight pound-weights. Tell me their names? I tell thee, the first
was a pound of earth, of which his flesh was made; the second was a pound
of fire, from which his blood was red and hot; the third was a pound of
wind, of which breath was given him; the fourth was a pound of cloud,
whereof was given him his instability of mood; the fifth was a pound of
..., whereof was given him fat and sinew; the sixth was a pound of flowers,
whereof was given him diversity of eyes; the seventh was a pound of dew,
whereof he had sweat; the eighth was a pound of salt, whereof he had salt
tears._ This legend was still prevalent in England as late as the fifteenth
century, when we find it among the curious collection of questions (closely
resembling those of Saturn and Solomon just quoted) entitled "Questions
bitwene the Maister of Oxinford and his Scoler" (Reliquiæ Antiquæ, vol. i,
p. 230),--"_C._ Whereof was Adam made? _M._ Of viij. thingis: the first of
erthe, the second of fire, the iij^{de} of wynde, the iiij^{th} of clowdys,
the v^{th} of aire wherethorough he speketh and thinketh, the vj^{th} of
dewe wherby he sweteth, the vij^{th} of flowres, wherof Adam hath his ien,
the viij^{th} is salte wherof Adam hath salt teres." A similar account is
given in an extract from an old Friesic manuscript communicated to the
Zeitschrift für Deutsches Alterthum, by Dr. James Grimm,--"God scôp thene
êresta meneska, thet was Adam, fon achta wendem; that bênete fon tha stêne,
thet flâsk fon there erthe, thet blôd fon tha wetere, tha herta fon tha
winde, thene togta (l. thochta) fon tha wolken, the(ne) suêt fon tha dawe,
tha lokkar fon tha gerse, tha âgene fon there sunna, and tha blêrem on
thene helga ôm."--_God created the first man, who was Adam, of eight
elements: the bone from the stone, the flesh from the earth, the blood from
the water, the heart from the wind, the thought from the cloud, the sweat
from the dew, the hair from the grass, the eyes from the sun._
5169. _a proud prikere of Fraunce._ A proud rider of France. Until the
fifteenth century there appears to have been a strong prejudice among the
lower orders against horsemen: their name was connected with oppressors and
foreigners. Horses appear to have been comparatively little used for riding
among the Anglo-Saxons until they were introduced by the Norman favourites
of Edward the Confessor, in whose reign we read that the Anglo-Saxon
soldiers in Herefordshire were defeated by the Welsh owing to their
awkwardness on horseback, having been unadvisedly mounted by their Norman
commander. The Anglo-Norman barons of the three following centuries, with
their numerous household of knights and attendants who plundered and
oppressed the peasantry and middle classes of society, kept alive the
prejudice alluded to, and we trace it in several popular songs. In a song
of the reign of Edward I (Political Songs, p. 240), we find the following
lines:--
Whil God wes on erthe
And wondrede wyde,
Whet wes the resoun
Why he nolde ryde?
For he nolde no grom
To go by ys syde,
Ne grucchyng of no gedelyng
To chaule ne to chyde.
Spedeth ou to spewen,
Ase me doth to spelle;
The fend ou afretie
With fleis ant with felle!
Herkneth hideward, horsmen,
A tidyng ich ou telle,
That ye shulen hongen,
Ant herbarewen in helle!
5276. Epist. ad. Philippens. iii, 19.
5283. Epist. Joan. iv, 16.
5289. Matth. xxv, 12; Psal. lxxx, 13. Et dimisi eos secundum desideria
cordis eorum, ibunt in adventionibus suis.
5305. _the four doctours._ The four doctors _par excellence_ of the western
church were, I believe, Gregory, Ambrose, Augustine, and Jerome.
5354. Ecclesiast. i, 16.
5363. Epist. Jacob. ii, 10. Quicunque autem totam legem servaverit,
offendat autem in uno, factus est omnium reus.
5412. _as Caym was on Eve._ See further on l. 5549. According to a very
curious legend, which was popular in the middle ages, Cain was born during
the period of penitence and fasting to which our first parents were
condemned for their breach of obedience.
5415. Psa. vii, 15. Concepit dolorem et peperit iniquitatem.
5417. Whitaker's text inserts before this line--
Caym, the cursed creature,
Conceyved was in synne;
After that Adam and Eve
Hadden y-synged,
Withoute repentaunce
Of here rechelessnesse,
A rybaud thei engendrede,
And a gome unryghtful;
As an hywe that ereth nat
Auntreth hym to sowe
On a leye lond,
Ayens hus lordes wille,
So was Caym conceyved,
And so ben cursed wrettches
That lycame han ayen the lawe
That oure Lord ordeynede.
5433. Gen. vi, 7. pænitet enim me fecisse eos.
5464. Ezech. xviii, 20.
5470. Whitaker's text adds here:--
Westminster lawe, ich wot,
Worcheth the contrarie;
For thauh the fader be a frankelayne,
And for a felon be hanged,
The heritage that the air sholde have
Ys at the kynges wille.
5479. Matt. vii, 16.
5497. John xiv, 6.
5507. _many a peire, sithen the pestilence._ The continuator of William de
Nangis, who gives a detailed account of the effects of the great pestilence
on the Continent, mentions the hasty marriages which followed it, but he
gives quite a different account of their fruitfulness. "Cessante autem
dicta epidimia, pestilentia, et mortalitate, nupserunt viri qui remanserunt
et mulieres ad invicem, conceperunt uxores residuæ per mundum ultra modum,
nulla sterilis efficiebatur, sed prægnantes hinc inde videbantur, et plures
geminos pariebant, et aliquæ tres infantes insimul vivos emittebant." The
writer goes on to observe, "Sed proh dolor! ex hujus renovatione sæculi non
est mundus propter hoc in melius commutatus. Nam homines fuerunt postea
magis avari et tenaces, cum multo plura bona quam antea possiderent; magis
etiam cupidi et per lites, brigas, et rixas, atque per placita, seipsos
conturbantes.... Charitas etiam ab illo tempore refrigescere cæpit valde,
et iniquitas abundavit cum ignorantiis et peccatis; nam pauci inveniebantur
qui scirent aut vellent in domibus, villis, et castris informare pueros in
grammaticalibus rudimentis."--_Contin. G. de Nangis, in Dacherii Spicileg._
iii, 110 (_ed._ 1723).
5515. _do hem to Dunmowe._ This is, I believe, the earliest allusion at
present known to the custom of the flitch of bacon at Dunmow, which was
evidently, at that time, a matter of general celebrity. In Chaucer, about
half a century later, the Wife of Bath says of her two old husbands, and of
the way in which she tyrannized over them,--
The bacoun was nought fet for hem, I trowe,
That som men fecche in Essex at Donmowe.--_Cant. T._ 5799.
In a curious religious poem preserved in a manuscript in the Bodleian
Library at Oxford, written about the year 1460, from which some extracts
are printed in the "Reliquiæ Antiquæ," ii, 27-29, we have the following
satirical allusion to this custom:--
I can fynde no man now that wille enquere
The parfyte wais unto Dunmow;
For they repent hem within a yere,
And many within a weke, and sonner, men trow;
That cawsith the weis to be rowgh and over-grow,
That no man may fynd path or gap,
The world is turnyd to another shap.
Befe and moton wylle serve wele enow;
And for to seche so ferre a lytill bakon flyk,
Which hath long hanggid resty and tow
And the wey, I telle you, is comborous and thyk,
And thou might stomble, and take the cryk;
Therfor bide at home, what so ever hap
Tylle the world be turnyd into another shap.
One or two other allusions to this custom have been found in manuscripts of
the fifteenth century, and in the sixteenth century these allusions become
more numerous.
5563. 1 Corinth. vii, 1.
5613. _Margery perles._ A margarite pearl, _perle marguerite_. The Latin
name for a pearl (_margarita_) seems to be the origin of this expression.
5634. _a love day | to lette with truthe._ Love days (_Dies amoris_) were
days fixed for settling differences by umpire, without having recourse to
law or to violence. The ecclesiastics seem generally to have had the
principal share in the management of these transactions, which throughout
the Visions of Piers Ploughman appear to be censured as the means of
hindering justice and of enriching the clergy. A little further on,
Religion is blamed for being "a ledere of love-dayes." (l. 6219.) In
Chaucer, it is said of the friar:--
And over'al, ther eny profyt schulde arise,
Curteys he was, and lowe of servyse.
. . . . . .
And rage he couthe and pleye as a whelpe,
In love-dayes, ther couthe he mochil helpe.
For ther was he not like a cloysterer
With a thredbare cope, as a pore scoler,
But he was like a maister or a pope.--_Cant. T._ 249, 259.
5646. The quotation is made up from Job xxi, 7; and Jerem. xii, 2.
5651. Psal. lxxii, 12.
5659. Psal. x, 4. Quoniam quæ perfecisti, destruxerunt: justus autem quid
fecit?
5739. Psal. cxxxi, 6.
5769. Isai. lviii, 7.
5778. Tob. iv, 9. Si multum tibi fuerit, abundanter tribue; si exiguum tibi
fuerit, etiam exiguum libenter impertiri stude.
In what follows, Whitaker's text is in parts much more brief than the one
now printed; there are also many transpositions, and other variations,
which are not of sufficient importance to be pointed out more particularly.
5801. _in a pryvee parlour._ 5803. _in a chambre with a chymenee._ This is
a curious illustration of contemporary manners. The hall was the apartment
in which originally the lord of the household and the male portion of the
family passed nearly all their time when at home, and where they lived in a
manner in public. The chambers were only used for sleeping, and as places
of retirement for the ladies, and had, at first, no fire-places
(_chymenees_), which were added, in course of time, for their comfort. The
parlour was an apartment introduced also at a comparatively late period,
and was, as its name indicates, a place for private conferences or
conversation. As society advanced in refinement, people sought to live less
and less in public, and the heads of the household gradually deserted the
hall, except on special occasions, and lived more in the parlour and in the
"chambre with a chymenee." With the absence of the lord from the hall, its
festive character and indiscriminate hospitality began to diminish; and the
popular agitators declaimed against this as an unmistakeable sign of the
debasement of the times.
5829. Ezech. xviii, 19.
5835. Galat. vi, 5.
5844. Pauli Epist. ad Rom. xii, 3.
5911. _seven artz._ In the scholastic system of the middle ages, the whole
course of learning was divided into seven arts, which were, grammar,
dialectics, rhetoric, music, arithmetic, geometry, astronomy. They were
included in the following memorial distich:--
Gram. loquitur, Dia. vera docet, Rhet. verba colorat,
Mus. canit, Ar. numerat, Geo. ponderat, As. colit astra.
5963. _a baleys._ See before, the note on l. 2819.
5990. _Caton._ Distich. lib. i, 26.
6009. Galat. vi, 10.
6022. Epist. ad Rom. xii, 19.
6037. The second Trin. Coll. MS. reads here--
Experimentis of Alkenemye
Of Albertis makyng,
Nigromancie and permansie
The pouke to reisen,
Gif thou thenke, etc.
6146. Matth. vii, 3.
6179. Matth. xv, 14; Luke vi, 39; Mark (?)
6186. _mausede._ An error of the press for _mansede_. See the Glossary.
6191. _Offyn and Fynes_. Ophni and Phinees. See 1 Samuel iv. (in the
Vulgate called 1 Kings).
6199. Psal. xlix, 21.
6207. Isai. lvi, 10.
6217. The text of the Trin. Coll. MS. 2, differs very much from ours in
this part of the poem. Instead of 6217-6277, we have the following lines:--
Ac now is Religioun a ridere
And a rennere aboute,
A ledere of ladies,
And a lond biggere;
Poperith on a palfrey
To toune and to toune;
A bidowe or a biselard
He berith be his side;
Godis flessh and his fet
And hise fyve woundis
Arn more in his mynde
Than the memorie of his foundours.
This is the lif of this lordis
That lyven shulde with Do-bet,
And wel awey wers,
And I shulde al telle.
I wende that kinghed and knighthed,
And caiseris with erlis,
Wern Do-wel and Do-bet
And Do-best-of-hem-alle.
For I have seighe it myself,
And siththen red it aftir,
How Crist counseilleth the comune,
And kenneth hem this tale,
_Super cathedram Moisi sederunt principes_
For-thi I wende that tho wyes
Wern Do-best-of-alle.
I nile not scorne, etc.
6223. _an heepe of houndes._ "Walter de Suffield, bishop of Norwich,
bequeathed by will his pack of hounds to the king, in 1256. Blomefield's
Norf. ii, 347. See Chaucer's Monke, Prol. v, 165. This was a common topic
of satire. It occurs again fol. xxvii, a [l. 3321, of the present Edition].
See Chaucer's Testament of Love, page 492, col. ii, Urr. The Archdeacon of
Richmond, on his visitation, comes to the priory of Bridlington in
Yorkshire, in 1216, with ninety-seven horses, twenty dogs, and three hawks.
Dugd. Mon. ii, 65." WARTON.
6251. Psal. xix, 8.
6259. _the abbot of Abyngdone._ There was a very ancient and famous abbey
at Abingdon in Berkshire. Geoffrey of Monmouth was abbot there. It was the
house into which the monks, strictly so called, were first introduced in
England, and is, therefore, very properly introduced as the representative
of English monachism.
6266. Isai. xiv, 4, 5.
6289. Ecclesiasticus x, 10.
6291. Catonis Distich. iv, 4.
Dilige denari, sed parce dilige, formam;
Quem nemo sanctus nec honestus captat ab ære.
6327. Colos. iii, 1.
6353. _moechaberis._ A mistake in the original MS. for _necaberis_, as it
is rightly printed in Crowley's edition.
6372. John iii, 13.
6414. Matth. xxiii, 2. Super cathedram Moysi sederunt Scribæ et Pharisæi.
6440. Psal. xxxv, 8.
6476. Ecclesiastes ix, 1.
6504. Matth. x, 18. The quotation is not quite literal.
6528. For _idiotæ irapiunt_, read _idiotæ vi rapiunt_: the error was caused
accidentally in the printing, and has escaped in the present edition.
6571. Matth. xx, 4.
6741. John iii, 3.
6755. Matth. vii, 1.
6764. Psal. l, 21.
6815. Isai. lv, 1.
6825. Mark xvi, 16.
6831. _may no cherl chartre make._ Such was the law of _vileinage_, then in
existence. There is a curious story illustrative of the condition of the
_cherl_ or peasant, in the Descriptio Norfolciensium, in my Early Mysteries
and other Latin Poems of the Twelfth and Thirteenth Centuries, p. 94. The
'cherl,' vilein, or bondman, could not even be put apprentice without the
licence of the lord of the soil. In the curious poem on the Constitution of
Masonry (14th cent.) published by Mr. Halliwell, the master is particularly
cautioned on this point:--
The fowrthe artycul thys moste be,
That the mayster hym wel be-se
That he no bondemon prentys make,
Ny for no covetyse do hym take;
For the lord that he ys bonde to,
May fache the prentes whersever he go.
_Early History of Freemasonry in England_, p. 14.
6859. _Trojanus._ 6869. _Gregorie._ The legend here alluded to is given
briefly as follows, in the life of St. Gregory in the Golden Legend, fol.
lxxxxvii,--
"In the tyme that Trayan themperour regned, and on a tyme as he wente
toward a batayll out of Rome, it happed that in hys waye as he shold ryde a
woman a wydowe came to hym wepyng and sayd: I praye thee, syre, that thou
avenge the deth of one my sone, whyche innocently and wythout cause hath
ben slayn. Themperour answerd: yf I come agayn fro the batayll hool and
sounde, thenne I shall do justyce for the deth of thy sone. Thenne sayd the
wydowe: Syre, and yf thou deye in the bataylle, who shall thenne avenge hys
deth for me? And the wydowe sayd, is it not better that thou do to me
justice, and have the meryte thereof of God, than another have it for thee?
Then had Trayan pyté, and descended fro his horse, and dyde justyce in
avengynge the deth of her sone. On a tyme saynt Gregory went by the marked
of Rome whyche is called the marked of Trayan. And thenne he remembred of
the justyce and other good dedes of Trayan, and how he had ben pyteous and
debonayr, and was moche sorowfull that he had ben a paynem; and he tourned
to the chyrche of saynt Peter waylyng for thorrour of the mescreaunce of
Trayan. Thenne answerd a voys fro God, sayng: I have now herd thy prayer,
and have spared Trayan fro the payne perpetuelly. By thys thus, as somme
saye, the payne perpetuell due to Trayan as a mescreaunt was somme dele
take awaye, but for all that was he not quyte fro the pryson of helle; for
the sowle may well be in helle, and fele ther no payne, by the mercy of
God."
6907. 1 John iii, 15.
6938. Luke xiv, 12.
6964. John viii, 34.
6981. Galat. vi, 2.
7015. Matth. vii, 3.
7063. Luke x, 40.
7072. Luke x, 42.
7113. Although our writer quotes the circumstance from Luke xviii, the
words he gives are from Matth. xix, 21.
7113. In Whitaker's text the following passage is here inserted:--
Thus consaileth Crist
In comun ous alle,
'Ho so coveyteth to come
To my kynriche,
He mot forsake hymself,
Hus suster, and hus brother,
And al that the worlde wolde,
And my wil folwen.'
_Nisi renunciaveritis omnia quæ possidetis,
etc._
Meny proverbis ich myghte have
Of meny holy seyntes,
To testifie for treuthe
The tale that ich shewe,
And poetes to preoven hit,
Porfirie and Plato,
Aristotle, Ovidius,
And ellevene hundred,
Tullius, Tholomeus,
Ich can nat telle here names,
Preoven pacient poverte
Pryns of alle vertues.
And by greyn that groweth,
God ous alle techeth.
_Nisi granum frumenti cadens in terra,
et mortuum fuit, ipsum solum manet._
Bot yf that sed that sowen is,
In the sloh sterve,
Shal nevere spir springen up,
Ne spik on strawe curne;
Sholde nevere wete wexe,
Bote wete fyrste deyde;
And other sedes also
In the same wyse,
That ben leide on louh eerthe,
Y-lore as hit were,
And thorw the grete grace of God,
Of greyn ded in erthe
Atte the laste launceth up
Werby lyven alle.
Ac sedes that ben sowen
And mowe suffre wyntres,
Aren tydyor and tower
To mannes by-hofte,
Than seedes that sowen beeth
And mowe nouht with forste,
With wyndes, ne with wederes,
As in wynter tyme,
As lynne-seed, and lik-seed,
And Lente-seedes alle,
Aren nouht so worthy as whete,
Ne so wel mowen
In the feld with the forst,
And hit freese longe.
Ryght so, for sothe,
That suffre may penaunces
Worth alowed of oure Lorde
At here laste ende,
And for here penaunce be preysed,
As for puyre martir,
Other for a confessour y-kud,
That counteth nat a ruysshe
Fere ne famyne,
Ne false menne tonges;
Bote as an hosebonde hopeth
After an hard wynter,
Yf God gyveth hym the lif
To have a good hervest,
So preoveth thees prophetes
That pacientliche suffreth
Myschiefs and myshappes,
And menye tribulacions,
Bytokneth ful triweliche
In tyme comynge after
Murthe for hus mornynge,
And that muche plenté.
For Crist seide to hus seyntes
That for hus sake tholeden
Poverte, penaunces,
Persecution of body,
Angeles in here angre
On this wise hem grate,
_Tristitia vestra vertetur in gaudium._
Youre sorwe into solas
Shal turne atte laste,
And out of wo into wele
Youre wyrdes shul chaunge.
Ac so redeth of riche,
The revers he may fynde,
How God, as the Godspel telleth,
Geveth hem foul towname,
And that hus gost shal go,
And hus good byleve,
And asketh hym after
Ho shal hit have,
The catel that he kepeth so
In coffres and in hernes,
And ert so loth to lene
Thet leve shalt needes.
_O stulte, ista nocte anima tua egrediatur,
thesauriza et ignorat._
An unredy reve
Thi residue shal spene,
That menye moththe was ynne
In a mynte while;
Upholderes on the hul
Shullen have hit to selle.
Lo! lo! lordes, lo!
And ladies taketh hede,
Hit lasteth nat longe
That is lycour swete,
Ac pees-coddes and pere-ronettes,
Plomes and chiries,
That lyghtliche launceth up,
Litel wile dureth,
And that that rathest rypeth,
Roteth most sannest.
On fat londe and ful of donge
Foulest wedes groweth,
Right so, for sothe,
Suche that ben bysshopes,
Erles and archdekenes,
And other ryche clerkes.
That chaffaren as chapmen,
And chiden bote thei wynne,
And haven the worlde at here wil
Other wyse to lyve;
Right as weodes wexen
In wose and in dunge,
So of rychesse upon richesse
Arist al vices.
Lo! lond overe-layde
With marle and with donge,
Whete that wexeth theron
Worth lygge ar hit repe;
Right so, for sothe,
For to sigge treuthe,
Over plenté pryde norssheth
Ther poverte destrueth hit.
For how hit evere be y-wonne,
Bote hit be wel dispended,
Worliche wele is wuked thynge
To hym that hit kupeth.
For yf he be feer therfro,
Ful ofte hath he drede
That fals folke fetche away
Felonliche hus godes.
And yut more hit maketh men
Meny time and ofte
To synegen, and to souchen
Soteltees of gyle,
For covetyze of that catel
To culle hem that hit kepeth;
And so is meny men y-morthred
For hus money and goodes;
And tho that duden the dede
Y-dampned therfore after,
And he, for hus harde heldynge,
In helle paraunter;
So covetise of catel
Was combraunce to hem alle.
Lo! how pans purchasede
Faire places, and drede,
That rote is robbers
The richesse withynne.
[_Passus quartus de Dowel._]
Ac wel worth Poverte,
For he may walke unrobbede,
Among pilours in pees,
Yf pacience hym folwe,
Oure prynce Jhesu poverte chees,
And hus aposteles alle,
And ay the lenger thei lyveden
The lasse good thei hadde.
_Tanquam nihil habentes, et omnia
possidentes._
Yut men that of Abraam
And Job were wonder ryche,
And out of numbre tho men
Menye meobles hadden.
Abraam, for al hus good,
Hadde muche teene,
In gret poverte was y-put,
A pryns as hit were
Bynom hym ys housewif
And heeld here hymself,
And Abraam nat hardy
Ones to letten hym,
Ne for brightnesse of here beauté
Here spouse to be byknowe.
And for he suffrede and seide nouht,
Oure Lord sente tokne,
That the kynge cride
To Abraam mercy,
And deliverede hym hus wif,
With muche welthe after.
And also Job the gentel
What joye hadde he on erthe,
How bittere he hit bouhte!
As the book telleth.
And for he songe in hus sorwe,
_Si bona accipimus a Domino_,
Dereworthe dere God,
Do we so _mala_;
Al hus sorwe to solas
Thorgh that songe turnede,
And Job bycam a jolif man,
And al hus joye newe.
Lo how patience in here poverte
Thees patriarkes relevede,
And brouhte hem al above
That in bale rotede,
As greyn that lyth in the greot
And thorgh grace atte laste
Spryngeth up and spredeth,
So spedde the fader Abraam,
And also the gentel Job,
Here joie hath non ende.
Ac leveth nouht, ye lewede men,
That ich lacke richesse,
Thauh ich preise poverte thus,
And preove hit by ensamples,
Worthiour as by holy writ,
And wise philosophers,
Bothe two but goode,
Be ye ful certayn,
And lyves that our Lorde loveth,
And large weyes to hevene.
Ac the povre pacient
Purgatorye passeth
Rathere than the ryche,
Thauh thei renne at ones.
For yf a marchaunt and a messager
Metten to-gederes,
For the parcels of hus paper
And other pryvey dettes,
Wol lette hym as ich leyve
The lengthe of a myle;
The messager doth namore
Bote hus mouth telleth,
Hus lettere and hus ernde sheweth,
And is anon delyvered;
And thauh thei wende by the wey
Tho two to-gederes.
Thauh the messager made hus wey
Amyde the whete,
Wole no wys man wroth be,
Ne hus wed take,
Ys non haiwarde y-hote
Hus wed for to take.
_Necessitas non habet legem._
Ac yf the marchaunt make hus way
Overe menne cornne,
And the haywarde happe
With hym for to mete,
Other hus hatt, other hus hed,
Other elles hus gloves,
The merchaunt mot for-go,
Other moneys of huse porse,
And yut be lett, as ich leyve,
For the lawe asketh
Marchauns for here merchandise
In meny place to tullen.
Yut thauh thei wenden on wey
As to Wynchestre fayre,
The marchaunt with hus marchaundise
May nat go so swythe
As the messager may,
Ne with so mochel ese.
For that on bereth bote a boxe,
A brevet therynne,
Ther the marchaunt ledeth a male
With meny kynne thynges;
And dredeth to be ded therefore,
And he in derke mete
With robbours and with revers
That riche men despoilen,
Ther the messager is ay murye,
Hus mouthe ful of songes,
And leyveth for hus letters
That no wight wol hym greve.
Ac yut myghte the marchaunt
Thorgh monye and other yeftes
Have hors and hardy men,
Thauh he mette theoves,
Wolde non suche asailen hym
For hem that hym folweth,
As safliche passe as the messager,
And as sone at hus hostel.
Ye, wyten wel, ye wyse men,
What this is to mene.
The marchaunt is no more to mene
Bote men that ben ryche
Aren acountable to Crist
And to the kyng of hevene,
That holden mote the heye weye,
Evene ten hestes,
Bothe lovye and lene,
The leele and the unleele,
And have reuthe, and releve
With hus grete richesse
By hus power alle manere men
In meschief y-falle,
Fynde beggars bred,
Backes for the colde,
Tythen here goodes tryweliche,
A tol as hit semeth
That oure Lord loketh after
Of eche a lyf that wyneth,
Withoute wyles other wrong,
Other wommen atte stuwes,
And yut more, to make pees,
And quyte menne dettes,
Bothe spele and spare
To spene upon the needful,
As Crist self comandeth
To alle Cristene puple.
_Alter alterius onera porta._
The messager aren the mendinans
That lyveth by menne almesse,
Beth nat y-bounde, as beeth the riche,
To bothe the two lawes,
To lene and to lere,
Ne lentenes to faste,
And other pryvey penaunces
The wiche the preest wol wel,
That the law yeveth leve
Suche lowe folke to be excused,
As none tythes to tythen,
Ne clothe the nakede,
Ne in enquestes to come,
Ne contumax thauh he worthe
Halyday other holy eve
Hus mete to deserve;
For yf he loveth and byleyveth
As the lawe techeth,
_Qui crediderit et baptizatus fuerit, etc._
Telleth the lord a tale,
As a triwe messager,
And sheweth by seel and suthe by lettere
With wat lord he dwelleth,
Kneweleche hym crystene
And of holy churche byleyve,
Ther is no lawe, as ich leyve,
Wol let hym the gate,
Ther God is gatwarde hymself
And eche a gome knoweth.
The porter of pure reuthe
May parforme the lawe
In that he wilneth and wolde
Ech wight as hemself;
For the wil is as muche worth
Of a wretche beggere
As al that the ryche may reyme
And ryght fulliche dele,
And as much mede
For a myte that he offreth,
As the riche man for al is moneye,
And more, as by the Godspel:
_Amen dico vobis quia hæc vidua paupercula,
etc._
So that povre pacient
Is parfitest lif of alle,
And alle parfit preestes
To poverte sholde drawe.
7128. Matth. xvii, 20.
7131. Psal. xxxiii, 11.
7141. Psal. xlii, 1.
7191. James ii, 10.
7194. _over-skipperis._ Those who skipped over words in reading or chanting
the service of the church. The following distich points out the classes of
defaulters in this respect:--
Ecclesiæ tres sunt qui servitium maie fallunt;
Momylers, for-scyppers, ovre-lepers, non bene psallunt.
_Reliq. Antiq._ p. 90. _Poems of Walter Mapes_, p. 148.
A still more numerous list of such offenders is given in the following
lines from MS. Lansdowne, 762, fol. 101, v^o:--
Hii sunt qui Psalmos corrumpunt nequitur almos:
Jangler cum jasper, lepar, galper quoque, draggar,
Momeler, for-skypper, for-reynner, sic et over-leper,
Fragmina verborum Tutivillus colligit horum.
Tutivillus was the popular name of one of the fiends (see Towneley
Mysteries, pp. 310, 319; Reliq. Antiq. p. 257). According to an old legend,
a hermit walking out met one of the devils bearing a large sack, very full,
under the load of which he seemed to labour. The hermit asked him what he
carried in his sack. He answered that it was filled with the fragments of
words which the clerks had skipped over or mutilated in the performance of
the service, and that he was carrying them to hell to be deposited among
the stores there.
7195. Psal. xlvi, 7, 8.
7264. _Briddes I biheld._ A similar sentiment is expressed in the following
parallel passage of a modern poet:--
But most of all it wins my admiration
To view the structure of this little work--
A bird's nest. Mark it well, within, without,
No tool had he that wrought, no knife to cut,
No nail to fix, no bodkin to insert,
No glue to join; his little beak was all:
And yet how neatly finished! What nice hand,
With every implement and means of art,
And twenty years' apprenticeship to boot,
Could make me such another? Fondly then
We boast of excellence, where noblest skill
Instinctive genius foils.--_Hurdis._
7342. Ecclesiasticus xi, 9.
7344. Instead of ll. 7344-7363, Whitaker's text has the following
passage:--
'Ho suffreth more than God?' quath he,
'No gome, as ich leyve.
He myght amende in a mynt while
Al that amys stondes.
Ac he suffreth, in ensaumple
That we sholde all suffren.
Ys no vertue so feyr
Of value ne of profit,
As ys suffraunce, soveraynliche,
So hit be for Godes love,
And so wittnesseth the wyse,
And wysseth the Frenshe,
_Bele vertue est suffraunce,
Mal dire est petite venjaunce;
Bien dire e bien suffrer
Fait ly suffrable à bien vener._
For-thi.' quath Reson, 'Ich rede the,
Rewele thi tonge evere;
And er thow lacke eny lyf,
Loke ho is to preise.
For is no creature under Cryst,
That can hymselve make;
And yf cristene creatures
Couthen make hemselve,
Eche lede wolde be lacles,
Leyf thow non othere.
Man was mad of suche matere,
He may nat wel asterte,
That som tymes hym tit
To folwen hus kynde.
Caton acordeth herwith:
_Nemo sine crimine vivit._
7347. Genes. i, 31.
7363. Cato, Distich. i, 5.
Si vitam inspicias hominum, si denique mores,
Quum culpent alios, nemo sine crimine vivit.
It may be observed here, that Whitaker, in his note on this passage, has
very much misunderstood Tyrwhitt (in Chaucer, Cant. T. 3227), in making him
the authority for calling the author of the _Disticha de Moribus_ an
obscure French writer. Tyrwhitt says that the mode in which Chaucer spells
his name (Caton) seems to show that the French translation was more read
than the Latin original. The same observation would apply to the present
poem: but I am very doubtful how far it is correct. The Distiches of Cato
were translated into English, French, German, &c., and were extremely
popular. The author of these Distiches, Dionysius Cato, is supposed to have
lived under the Antonines, and has certainly no claim to the title of _an
obscure French writer_.
7441-7642. Instead of these lines, Whitaker has the following:--
And wissede the ful ofte
What Dowel was to mene,
And counsailede the, for Cristes sake,
No creature to bygyle,
Nother to lye nor to lacke,
Ne lere that is defendid,
Ne to spille speche,
As to speke an ydel;
And no tyme to tene,
Ne trywe thyng to teenen;
Lowe the to lyve forth
In the lawe of holy churche,
Thenne dost thow wel, withoute drede,
Ho can do bet no forse.
Clerkes that connen al, ich hope,
Thei con do bettere;
Ac hit suffuseth to be saved,
And to be suche as ich tauhte:
Ac for to lovye and lene,
And lyve wel and byleyve,
Ys y-calid _Caritas_,
Kynde-love in English,
And that is Dobet, yf eny suche be,
A blessed man that helpeth,
And pees be and pacience,
And povre withoute defaute.
_Beatius est dare quam petere._
As catel and kynde witt
Encombre ful menye,
Woo is hym that hem weldeth,
Bote he hym wel dispeyne.
_Scientes et non facientes variis flagellis
vapulabunt._
Ac comunliche connynge
And unkynde rychesse,
As lorels to be lordes,
And lewede men techeres,
And holy churche horen help,
Averous and coveytous,
Droweth up Dowel,
And destruyeth Dobest.
Ac grace is a gras therfore
To don hem eft growe;
Ac grace groweth nat,
Til God wil gynne reyne,
And wokie thorwe goode werkes
Wikkede hertes;
Ac er suche a wil wol wexe,
God hymself worcheth,
And send forth seint espirit
To don love sprynge.
_Spiritus ubi vult spirat, etc._
So grace withoute grace
Of God and of good werkes,
May nat bee, bee thow siker,
Thauh we bid evere.
Cleregie cometh bote of siht,
And kynd witt of sterres,
As to be bore other bygete
In suche constellacion
That wit wexeth therof,
And othere wordes bothe.
_Vultus hujus sæculi sunt subjecti vultibus
coelestibus._
So grace is a gyfte of God,
And kynde witt a chaunce,
And cleregie and connyng of kynde
Wittes techynge;
And yut is cleregie to comende
Fore Cristes love more,
Than eny connynge of kynde witt,
Bote cleregie hit rewele.
For Moyses wutnesseth that God wrot
In stoon with hus fynger,
Lawe of love owre Lorde wrot,
Long ere Crist were;
And Crist cam and confermede,
And holy-churche made,
And in sond a sygne wrot,
And seide to the Jewes,
'That seeth hym synneles,
Cesse nat, ich hote,
To stryke with stoon other with staf
This strompett to dethe.'
_Qui vestrum sine peccato est, etc._
For-thi ich consaily alle Cristene
Cleregie to honoure, etc.
7453. Luke xii, 38.
7461. Heb. xii, 6.
7464. Psalm xxii, 4.
7470. _makynges._ 7483. _make._--There is a curious analogy between the
Greek and the Teutonic languages in the name given to the poet--the Greek
[Greek: poiêtês] (from [Greek: poiein]), the Anglo-Saxon _scóp_ (from
_sceopan_, to make or create), and the Middle-English _maker_, preserved in
the later Scottish _makkar_ (also applied to a poet), have all the same
signification. In the Neo-Latin tongues a different, though somewhat
analogous, word was used: the French and Anglo-Norman _trouvère_, and the
Provençal _trobador_, signify a finder or inventor.
7484. Catonis Distich. iii, 5.
7500. 1 Cor. xiii, 13. Nunc autem manent fides, spes, charitas, tria hæc:
major autem horum est charitas.
7528, &c. _Aristotle_, _Ypocras_, and _Virgile_.--These three names were
the great representatives of ancient science and literature in the middle
ages. Aristotle represented philosophy, in its most general sense; Virgil
represented literature in general, and more particularly the ancient
writers who formed the _grammar_ course of scholastic learning, whether
verse or prose; Ypocras, or Hippocrates, represented medicine. They are
here introduced to illustrate the fact that men of science and learning, as
well as warriors and rich men, experience the vicissitudes of fortune.
7534. _Felice._ Perhaps this name is only introduced for the sake of
alliteration.
7536. _Rosamounde._ I suppose the reference is to "fair Rosamond."
7554. Luc. vi, 38.
7567. John iii, 8.
7572. John iii, 11.
7582. John iii, 8.
7600. _thorugh caractes._ It was the popular belief in the middle ages,
that while the Jews were accusing the woman taken in adultery, Christ wrote
with his staff on the ground the sins of the accusers, and that when they
perceived this they dropped their accusation in confusion at finding that
their own guilt was known. See this point curiously illustrated in Mr.
Halliwell's Coventry Mysteries, pp. 220, 221. These are the _characters_
alluded to in Piers Ploughman.
7624. Luke vi, 37.
7701. 1 Cor. iii, 19.
7709. Luke ii, 15.
7714. Matth. ii, 1.
7721. Luke ii, 7.
7779. Psalm xxxi, 1.
7795. Luke vi, 39. The ignorance and inefficiency of the parish priests
appear to have become proverbial in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries.
In the latter century a canon of Lilleshul in Shropshire, named John Myrk,
or Myrkes, composed an English poem, or rather metrical treatise, on their
duties, which he commences by applying to them this same aphorism of our
Saviour:--
God seyth hymself, as wryten we fynde,
That whenne the blynde ledeth the blynde,
Into the dyche they fallen boo,
For they ne sen whare by to go.
So faren prestes now by dawe,
They beth blynde in Goddes lawe, etc.
_MS. Cotton. Claud._ A. II.
It had previously been applied in the same manner to the parish priests by
the author of a long French poem (apparently written in England in the
fourteenth century) entitled _Le Miroir de l'Ome_ (Speculum Hominis), as
follows:--
Dieus dist, et c'est tout verité,
Qe si l'un voegle soit mené
D'un autre voegle, tresbucher
Falt ambedeux en la fossée.
C'est un essample comparé
As fols curetz, qui sanz curer
Ne voient pas le droit sentier,
Dont font les autres forsvoier,
Qui sont après leur trace alé.
Car fol errant ne puet quider,
Ne cil comment nous puet saner,
Qui mesmes est au mort naufré.
_MS. in the possession of Mr. J. Russell Smith._
The following picture of the corrupt manners of the parish priests at this
time is extracted from a much longer and more minute censure in the same
poem:--
Des fols curetz auci y a,
Qui sur sa cure demourra
Non pour curer, mais q'il sa vie
Endroit le corps plus easera.
Car lors ou il bargaignera
Du seculiere marchandie,
Dont sa richesce multeplie;
Ou il se donne à leccherie,
Du quoy son corps delitera;
Ou il se prent à venerie,
Qant duist chanter sa letanie,
Au bois le goupil huera.
7802. Psal. xv, 5. We might be led to suppose that this was the "neck
verse" in the time of Piers Ploughman. In later times the text which was
given to read to those who claimed the benefit of clergy is said to have
been the beginning of Psal. lv, _Miserere mei, &c._
7840. Eccl. v, 5.
7846. _Trojanus._ See the note on line 6859.
7854. Matth. xvi, 27. Filius enim hominis venturus est in gloria Patris sui
cum angelis suis: et tunc reddet unicuique secundum opera ejus.
7915. _his flessh is foul flessh._ Yet in spite of the "foulness" of its
flesh, the peacock was a very celebrated dish at table. For an account of
the use made of the peacock in feasts, see Le Grand d'Aussy, Histoire de la
Vie privée des Français, tom. i, pp. 299-301, and 361. In the Romance of
Mahomet, 13th century, it is said of Dives--
Et dou Riche qui _tant poon
Englouti_ et tant bon poisson,
Tante piéche de venison,
Et but bon vin par grant delit, &c.
_Roman de Mahommet_, l. 301.
7944. _Avynet._ In the 14th and 15th centuries, as any grammar was called a
_Donet_, because the treatise of Donatus was the main foundation of them
all, so, from Esop and Avienus from whom the materials were taken, any
collection of fables was called an _Avionet_ or an _Esopet_. The title of
one of these collections in a MS. of the Bibl. du Roi at Paris is,
_Compilacio Ysopi alata cum Avionetto, cum quibusdam addicionibus et
moralitatibus_. (_Robert, Fabl. Inéd. Essay_, p. clxv.) Perhaps the
reference in the present case is to the fable of the Peacock who complained
of his voice, the 39th in the collection which M. Robert calls _Ysopet_, in
the morality to which are the following lines:--
Les riches conteront
Des biens qu'il aront
En ce siecle conquis.
Cil qui petit ara,
De petit contera
Au Roy de paradis.
Qui vit en povreté,
Sans point d'iniquité,
Moult ara grant richesse
Es cieux, en paradis,
O dieux et ses amis
Seront joyeux et aise.
7961. Whitaker's text reads here:--
Thus Porfirie and Plato,
And poetes menye,
Lykneth in here logyk
The leeste fowel oute;
And whether hii be saf other nat saf
The sothe wot not clergie,
Ne of Sortes ne of Salamon
No scripture can telle,
Wether thei be in helle other in hevene,
Other Aristotle the wise.
7961. _Aristotle, the grete clerk._ From the eleventh to the sixteenth
centuries the influence of Aristotle's writings in the schools was
all-powerful. It was considered almost an impiety to go against his
authority. He was indeed "the great clerk."
7967. _Sortes._ I suppose this is an abbreviated form of the name Socrates.
It occurs again in one of the poems printed among the Latin Poetry
attributed to Walter Mapes (Camden Society's Publication), which has the
following lines:--
Adest ei bajulus cui nomen Gnato,
Præcedebat logicum gressu fatigato,
Dorso ferens sarcinam ventre tensus lato,
Plenam vestro dogmate, o _Sortes et Plato_.
7987. 1 Peter iv, 18.
8015. Psalm xxii, 4.
8073. _a maister._ This word was generally used in the scholastic ages in a
restricted sense, to signify one who had taken his degrees in the
schools--a master of arts.
8103. Luke x, 7.
8133-8137. These are the indications of different Psalms. Psalm li begins
with the words, _Miserere mei, Deus_, secundum magnam misericordiam tuam.
The thirty-first Psalm commences with the words, _Beati quorum_ remissæ
sunt iniquitates, _et quorum tecta sunt peccata_. _Beatus vir_, is the
beginning of Psalm i. The fifth verse of Psalm xxxi contains the words
_Dixi: Confitebor_ adversum me injustitiam meam Domino.
8141. Psalm xxxi, 6.
8145. Psalm l, 19.
8153. Isaiah v, 22.
8155. Whitaker's text has--
And ete meny sondry metes,
Mortrews and poddynges,
Braun and blod of the goos,
Bacon and colhopes.
The second Trin. Coll. MS. has--
And sette many sundry metis,
Mortreux and puddynges,
Braun and blood of gees,
Bacoun and colopis.
8167. 2 Corinth. xi, 24, 25, 27.
8173, 8180. 2 Cor. xi, 26.
8202. _Mahoun._ Mahoun was the middle-age name of Mohammed, and in the
popular writers was often taken in the mere sense of an idol or pagan
deity.
8204. _justly wombe._ MS. Trin. Coll. 2.
8225. _in a frayel._ Whitaker's text has _in a forel_, which he explains by
"a wicker basket." The second Trin. Coll. MS. has also _in a forell_.
_Forel_ is the Low-Latin _forellus_, a bag, sack, or purse: a _frayel_
(_fraellum_) was a little wicker basket, such as were used for carrying
figs or grapes.
8273. Matth. v, 19.
8292. Psalm xiv, 1.
8368. 1 John iv, 18.
8416. Luke xix, 8.
8418. Luke xxi, 1-4.
8444. _Surré._ Syria.
8474. _a mynstrall._ The description of the minstrel given here is very
curious. For a sketch of the character of this profession see Mr. Shaw's
"Dresses and Decorations of the Middle Ages;" and for more enlarged details
of the history of the craft the reader may consult the Introduction to
Percy's Reliques, and Chappell's History of National Airs.
8518. _a pardon with a peis of leed._ The papal bulls, &c., had seals of
lead, instead of wax.
8526. Marc. xvi, 17, 18.
8541. Acts iii, 6.
8554. Whitaker's text omits all that follows here to l. 8958 of our text,
entering very abruptly upon the subject there treated. Some of the
intervening matter had already been inserted in other places in Whitaker's
text. See our notes on ll. 2846 and 3030.
8567. _cart ... with breed fro Stratforde._ Stratford-at-Bow is said to
have been famous in old times for its numerous bakers, who supplied a great
part of the metropolis. Stowe, in his Survey of London, p. 159 (who appears
to have altered the text of Piers Ploughman to suit his own calculation,
for all the manuscripts and printed editions I have collated give "twice
_twenty_ and ten"), observes, "And because I have here before spoken of the
bread carts comming from Stratford at the Bow, ye shall understand that of
olde time the bakers of breade at Stratford were allowed to bring dayly
(except the Sabbaoth and principall feast) diverse long cartes laden with
bread, the same being two ounces in the pennie wheate loafe heavier than
the penny wheate loafe baked in the citie, the same to be solde in Cheape,
three or foure carts standing there, betweene Gutherans lane and Fausters
lane ende, one cart on Cornehill, by the conduit, and one other in Grasse
streete. And I have reade that in the fourth yere of Edward the second,
Richard Reffeham being maior, a baker named John of Stratforde, for making
bread lesser than the assise, was with a fooles whoode on his head, and
loaves of bread about his necke, drawne on a hurdle through the streets of
this citie. Moreover in the 44. of Edward the third, John Chichester being
maior of London, I read in the visions of Pierce Plowman, a booke so
called, as followeth. _There was a careful commune when no cart came to
towne with baked bread from Stratford: tho gan beggers weepe, and workemen
were agast, a little this will be thought long in the date of our Dirte, in
a drie Averell a thousand and three hundred, twise thirtie and ten, &c._ I
reade also in the 20. of Henrie the eight, Sir James Spencer being maior,
six bakers of Stratford were merced in the Guildhall of London, for baking
under the size appoynted. These bakers of Stratford left serving of this
citie, I know not uppon what occasion, about 30 yeares since."
8572. _a drye Aprill._ This is without doubt the dry season placed by
Fabyan in the year 1351, which, as he describes it, began with the month of
April. The difference of the date arises probably from a different system
of computation. Fabian says, "In the sommer of this xxvii yeare, it was so
drie that it was many yeres after called the drie sommer. For from the
latter ende of March, till the latter ende of Julye, fell lytle rayne or
none, by reason whereof manye inconveniences ensued."
8576. _Whan Chichestre was maire._ According to Fabyan, John Chichester was
mayor only once, in 1368, 1369, which was the period of the "thirde
mortalytie." The other authorities seem to agree in giving this as the year
of Chichester's mayoralty. He may perhaps have been mayor more than once.
See INTRODUCTION.
8645. Galat. i, 10.
8685. Psalm x, 7.
8707, 8708. The two persons mentioned here (the shoemaker of Southwark and
dame Emma of Shoreditch) were probably eminent sorcerers and
fortune-tellers of the time.
8769-8778. To understand fully this passage, it must be borne in mind that
the corn lands were not so universally hedged as at present, and that the
portions belonging to different persons were separated only by a narrow
furrow, as is still the case in some of the uninclosed lands in
Cambridgeshire.
8812. _Brugges._ Bruges was the great mart of continental commerce during
the thirteenth, fourteenth, and fifteenth centuries.
8813. _Pruce-lond_--Prussia, which was then the farthest country in the
interior of Europe with which a regular trade was carried on by the English
merchants.
8827. Matth. vi, 21.
8858. Luke vi, 25.
8879. Psalm ci, 7.
8891. _a lady of sorwe._ The old printed edition has a _laye of sorow_.
8900. Whitaker has no division here, but continues the previous _passus_,
and omits many lines and has many variations in what follows.
8903. _I slepe therinne o nyghtes._ This passage is curious, because at the
time the poem was written, it was the custom for all classes of society to
go to bed quite naked, a practice which is said to have been not entirely
laid aside in the sixteenth century. We see constant proofs of this
practice in the illuminations of old manuscripts. The following memorial
lines are written in the margin of a MS. of the thirteenth century:--
Ne be thi winpil nevere so jelu ne so stroutende,
Ne thi faire tail so long ne so trailende,
That tu ne schalt at evin al kuttid bilevin,
And tou schalt to bedde gon so nakid as tou were [borin].
_MS. Cotton. Cleop. C._ VI, fol. 22, r^o.
In the Roman de la Violette, the old nurse expresses her astonishment that
her young mistress should retain her chemise when she goes to bed:--
Et quant elle son lit fait a,
Sa dame apiele, si se couche
Nue en chemise en la couche;
C'onques en trestoute sa vie
La biele, blonde, l'escavie,
Ne volt demostrer sa char nue.
La vielle en est au lit venue,
Puis li a dit: 'Dame, j'esgart
Une chose, se Dex me gart,
Dont je sui molt esmervillie
C'onques ne vous vi despoillie,
Et si vous ai vij. ans gardée;
Molt vous ai souvent esgardée
Que vo chemise ne sachiés!'
_Rom. de la Viol._ l. 577.
The lady explains her conduct by stating that she has a mark on the breast
which she had promised that no one should ever see.
8906. Luke xiv, 20.
8950. _noon heraud ne harpour._ Robes and other garments were among the
most usual gifts bestowed upon minstrels and heralds by the princes and
great barons. See before, ll. 8480, 8481.
8970. Matth. vi, 25, 26.
8999. John xiv, 13; xv, 16. Matth. iv, 4.
9037. Psalm cxliv, 16.
9039. _fourty wynter._ During the forty years that the children of Israel
wandered in the wilderness, they did not apply themselves to agriculture.
9049. _Sevene slepe._ The legend of the seven sleepers was remarkably
popular during the middle ages.
9101. Psalm xxxi. 1.
9176. Psalm lxxv, 6.
9178. Psalm lxxii, 20. Whitaker's _Passus sextus de Dowel_ ends with this
quotation.
9317. Both in the Vision of Piers Ploughman, and in the Creed, there are
frequent expressions of indignation at the extravagant expenditure in
painting the windows of the abbeys and churches. It must not be forgotten
that a little later the same feeling as that exhibited in these satires led
to the destruction of many of the noblest monuments of medieval art.
9344. Mat. xix, 23, 24.
9347. Apocal. xiv, 13.
9352. Matth. v, 3.
9452. Compare the defence of poverty in Chaucer (Cant. T. 6774):--
Juvenal saith of poverte merily:
The poore man, whan he goth by the way,
Beforn the theves he may sing and play.
_Poverte is hateful good_; and, as I gesse,
A ful gret _bringer out of besinesse_;
A _gret amender_ eke _of sapience_,
To him that taketh it in patience.
Poverte is this although it seme elenge,
_Possession that no wight wol challenge._
Poverte ful often, whan a man is low,
Maketh his God and eke himself to know:
Poverte a spectakel is, as thinketh me,
Thurgh which he may his veray frendes see.
And therfore, sire, sin that I you not greve,
Of my poverte no more me repreve.
The definition given in Piers Ploughman is taken from the Dialogues of
Secundus, where it is thus expressed:--"Quid est paupertas? Odibile bonum,
sanitatis mater, curarum remotio, absque sollicitudine semita, sapientiæ
reparatrix, negotium sine damno, intractabilis substantia, possessio absque
calumnia, incerta fortuna, sine sollicitudine felicitas." (MS. Reg. 9 A
xiv, fol. 140 v^o.) See also Roger de Hoveden, p. 816, and Vincent de
Beauvais, Spec. Hist. lib. x, c. 71.
9517. _the paas of Aultone._ Whitaker has _Haultoun_, and says that this
pass is Halton "in Cheshire, formerly infamous to a proverb as a haunt of
robbers."
9529. _Cantabit, etc._ The author has modified, or the scribes have
corrupted, the well-known line of Juvenal,
Cantabit vacuus coram latrone viator.
9665. These definitions will be found in Isidore, Etymol. lib. xl, c. 1,
and Different, lib. ii, c. 29. They are repeated by Alcuin, De Anim. Rat.
N. x, p. 149, _Anima_ est, dum vivificat; dum contemplatur, _spiritus_ est;
dum sentit, _sensus_ est; dum sapit, _animus_ est; dum intelligit, _mens_
est; dum discernit, _ratio_ est; dum consentit, _voluntas_ est; dum
recordatur, _memoria_ est.
9708. Prov. xxv, 27.
9740. Epist. ad Rom. xii, 3.
9751. _the seven synnes._ The seven deadly sins were--pride, anger, envy,
sloth, covetousness, gluttony, and lechery. "Now ben they cleped
chiefetaines, for as moche as they be chiefe, and of hem springen alle
other sinnes. The rote of thise sinnes than is pride, the general rote of
alle harmes. For of this rote springen certain braunches: as, ire, envie,
accidie or slouthe, avarice or coveitise, (to commun understonding)
glotonie, and lecherie: and eche of thise chief sinnes hath his braunches
and his twigges." Chaucer, Persones Tale, p. 40.
9766. Psal. xcvi, 7; iv, 3.
9828. _in Latyn._ The monks had collections of comparisons, similitudes,
proverbs, &c., to be introduced in their sermons, and even when preaching
in English they generally quoted them in Latin. This I suppose to be the
meaning of the expression here.
9918. Matth. xviii, 3.
9934. 1 Corinth. xiii, 4.
9946. 1 Corinth, xiii, 12.
9957. _a tunicle of Tarse._ Tarse was the name given to a kind of silk,
said to have been brought from a country of that name on the borders of
Cathai, or China. Chaucer (Cant. T. l. 2162), describing "the king of
Inde," says--
His coote armour was of a cloth of Tars,
Cowched of perlys whyte, round and grete.
Ducange (v. _Tarsicus_) quotes a visitation of the treasury of St. Paul's,
London, in 1295, where there is mention of Tunica et dalmatica de _panno
Indico Tarsico_ Besantato de auro, and of a Casula de _panno Tarsico_.
10004. Psal. vi, 7.
10009. Psal. l, 19.
10062. Matth. vi, 16.
10069. _Edmond and Edward._ St. Edmund the martyr, king of East Anglia, and
king Edward the Confessor.
10124. Psal. iv, 9.
10159. _Antony and Egidie._ Whitaker has _Antonie and Ersenie_. St. Antony
is well known as the father and patron of monks, and for the persecutions
he underwent from the devil. St. Giles, or Egidius, is said to have been a
Greek, who came to France about the end of the seventh century, and
established himself in a hermitage near the mouth of the Rhone, and
afterwards in the neighbourhood of Nismes. Arsenius was a noble Roman who,
at the end of the fourth century, retired to Egypt to live the life of an
anchoret in the desert.
10174. _after an hynde cride._ The monkish biographer of St. Giles relates,
that he was for some time nourished with the milk of a hind in the forest,
and that a certain prince discovered his retreat while hunting in his
woods, by pursuing the hind till it took shelter in St. Giles's hermitage.
10183. _Hadde a bird._ This incident is not found in the common lives of
St. Antony.
10187. _Poul._ Paul was a Grecian hermit, who lived in the tenth century in
the wilderness of Mount Latrus, and became the founder of one of the
monastic establishments there. He was famous for the rigorous severity of
his life.
10203. _Marie Maudeleyne._ By Mary Magdalen here is meant probably St. Mary
the Egyptian, who lived in the fifth century, and who, according to the
legend, after having spent her youth in unbridled debauchery, repented in
her twenty-ninth year, and lived during the remainder of her life
(forty-seven years) in the wilderness beyond the Jordan, without seeing one
human being during that time, and sustained only by the precarious food
which she found in the desert.
10239. Whitaker's text here adds a passage relating to Tobias:--
Marie Magdalene
By mores levede and dewes;
Love and leel byleyve
Heeld lyf and soule togedere.
Maria Egyptiaca
Eet in thyrty wynter
Bote thre lytel loves,
And love was her souel.
Ich can nat rekene hem ryght now,
Ne reherce here names,
That lyveden thus for oure Lordes love
Meny longe yeres,
Whitoute borwyng other beggyng,
Other the boke lyeth;
And woneden in wildernesse
Among wilde bestes;
Ac dorst no beste byten hem
By daye ne by nyghte,
Bote myldeliche whan thei metten
Maden louh chere,
And feyre byfore tho men
Fauhnede whith the tayles.
Ac bestes brouhte hem no mete,
Bote onliche the fouweles;
In tokenynge that trywe man
Alle tymes sholde
Fynde honeste men in holy men
And other ryghtful peuple.
For wolde never feithful goud
That freres and monkes token
Lyflode of luther wynnynges
In al here lyf tyme;
As wytnesseth holy writt
Whot Thobie deyde
To is wif, whan he was blynde,
Herde a lambe blete,--
'A! wyf, be war,' quath he,
'What ye have here ynne.
Lord leyve,' quath the lede,
'No stole thyng be here!'
_Videte ne furtum sit. Et alibi, Melius
est mori quam male vivere._
This is no more to mene,
Bote men of holy churche
Sholde receyve ryght nauth
Bot that ryght wolde,
And refuse reverences
And raveneres offrynges;
Thenne wolde lordes and ladies
Be loth to agulte,
And to take of here tenaunts
More than treuthe wolde;
And marchauns merciable wolde be,
And men of lawe bothe.
Wold religeouse refuse
Raveneres almesse,
Then Grace sholde growe yut
And grene-leved wexe,
And Charité, that child is now,
Sholde chaufen of hem self,
And comfortye all crystene,
Wold holy churche amende.
Job the parfit patriarch
This proverbe wrot and tauhte,
To makye a man lovye mesure,
That monkes beeth and freeres.
_Nunquam dicit Job, rugiet onager, etc._
Throughout this part of the poem, Whitaker's text differs very much in
words and phraseology from the one now printed, but it would take up too
much space to point out all these variations.
10247. Job vi, 5.
10270. 2 Corinth, ix, 9.
10303. These sentences appear to be quotations from the fathers of the
Latin Church.
10322. _lussheburwes._ A foreign coin, much adulterated, common in England
in the middle of the fourteenth century. Chaucer (C. T. 15445) uses the
word in a very expressive passage:--
This maketh that oure wyfes wol assaye
Religious folk, for thay may bettre paye
Of Venus payementes than may we:
God woot! no _lusscheburghes_ paye ye.
Among the foreign money, mostly of a base quality, which came into this
country in the fourteenth century, the coinage of the counts of Luxemburg,
or, as it was then called, Lusenburg (hence called _lussheburwes_ and
_lusscheburghes_), seems to have been the most abundant, and to have given
most trouble. These coins were the subject of legislation in 1346, 1347,
1348, and 1351; so that the grievance must have been at its greatest height
at the period to which the poem of Piers Ploughman especially belongs. Many
of these coins are preserved, and found in the cabinets of collectors; they
are in general very much like the contemporary English coinage, and might
easily be taken for it, but the metal is very base.
10368. _Grammer, the ground of al._ In the scholastic learning of the
middle ages, grammar was considered as the first of the seven sciences, and
the foundation-stone of all the rest. See my Essay on Anglo-Saxon
Literature, introductory to vol. i. of the _Biographia Britannica
Literaria_, p. 72. The importance of grammar is thus stated in the _Image
du Monde_ of Gautier de Metz (thirteenth century):--
Li primeraine des vij. ars,
Dont or n'est pas seus li quars,
A ichest tans, chou est gramaire,
Sans laquele nus ne vaut gaire
Qui à clergie veut aprendre:
Car petit puet sans li entendre.
Gramaires si est fondemens
De clergie et coumenchemens;
Cou est li porte de science,
Par cui on vient à sapience.
De lettres en gramaire escole
Qui ensegne et forme parole,
Soit en Latin ou en Roumans,
Ou en tous langages palans;
Qui bien saroit toute gramaire,
Toute parole saroit faire.
Par parole fist Dius le monde,
Et sentence est parole monde.
10398. _Corpus Christi feeste._ Corpus Christi day was a high festival of
the Church of Rome, held annually on the Thursday after Trinity Sunday, in
memory, as was said, of the miraculous confirmation of transubstantiation
under pope Urban IV.
10418. _This Makometh._ This account of Mohammed was the one most popularly
current in the middle ages. According to Hildebert, who wrote a life of the
pseudo-prophet in Latin verse in the twelfth century, Mohammed was a
Christian, skilled in magical arts, who, on the death of the patriarch of
Jerusalem, aspired to succeed him:--
Nam male devotus quidam baptismate lotus,
Plenus perfidia vixit in ecclesia.
. . . . . .
Nam cum transisset Pater illius urbis, et isset
In coelum subito corpore disposito,
Tunc exaltari magus hic et pontificari
Affectans avide; se tamen hæc pavide
Dixit facturum, nisi sciret non nociturum
Si præsul fiat, cum Deus hoc cupiat.
His intrigues being discovered, the emperor drives him away, and in revenge
he goes and founds a new sect. The story of the pigeon (which is not in
Hildebert) is found in Vincent of Beauvais, Spec. Hist. lib. xxiii, c. 40.
This story is said to be founded in truth. Neither of them are found in the
Roman de Mahomet (by Alexander du Pont), written in the thirteenth century,
and edited by MM. Reinaud and Michel, Paris, 1831, 8vo, a work which
contains much information concerning the Christian notions relative to
Mohammed in the middle ages.
10478. John xvi, 24.
10481, 10486. Matth. v, 13.
10499. _Ellevene holy men._ The eleven apostles who remained after the
apostasy of Judas and the crucifixion of their Lord.
10550. _Ne fesauntz y-bake._ The pheasant was formerly held in the same
honour as the peacock (see before the note on l. 7915), and was served at
table in the same manner. It was considered one of the most precious
dishes. See Le Grand d'Aussy, Hist. de la Vie privée des François, ii, 19.
The Miroir de l'Ome (MS. in the possession of Mr. Russell Smith) says
(punning) of the luxurious prelates of the fourteenth century,--
Pour le phesant et le bon vin
Le bien-faisant et le divin
L'evesque laist à nonchalure;
Si quiert la coupe et crusequin,
Ainz que la culpe du cristin
Pour corriger et mettre en cure.
10553. Matth. xxii, 4.
10581. Mark xvi, 15.
10585. _So manye prelates._ 10699. _that huppe aboute in Engelond._ The
pope appointed many titular bishops of foreign sees in which, from the
nature of circumstances, they could not possibly reside, and who therefore
were a burthen upon the church. Some of these prelates appear to have
resorted to England, and to have exercised the episcopal functions,
consecrating churches, &c. The church of Elsfield, in Oxfordshire, was
consecrated by a foreign bishop. (See Kennett's Parochial Antiquities.)
10593. John x, 11.
10599. Matth. xx, 4, 7.
10606. Matth. vii, 7.
10617. Galat. vi, 14.
10632. _That roode thei honoure._ A cross was the common mark on the
reverse of our English money at this period, and for a long time previous
to it. The point of satirical wit in this passage of Piers Ploughman
appears to be taken from the old Latin rhymes of the beginning of the
thirteenth century. See the curious poem _De Cruce Denarii_, in Walter
Mapes, p. 223. Another poem in the same volume (p. 38) speaks thus of the
court of Rome:--
Nummis in hac curia non est qui non vacet;
_Crux_ placet, rotunditas, et albedo placet.
10637. _Shul torne as templers dide._ The suppression of the order of the
Templars was at this time fresh in people's memories. It was the general
belief, and not without some foundation, that the Templars had entirely
degenerated from their original sanctity and faithfulness, and that before
the dissolution of the order they were addicted to degrading vices and
superstitions; and they were accused of sacrificing everything else to
their grasping covetousness.
10659. _Whan Constantyn._ The Christian church began first to be endowed
with wealth and power under the emperor Constantine the Great.
10649. Luke i, 52.
10695-10699. Instead of these lines, Whitaker's text has the following:--
And bereth name of Neptalym,
Of Nynyve and Damaske.
For when the holy kynge of hevene
Sende hus sone to eerthe,
Meny myracles he wroughte,
Man for to turne,
In ensample that men sholde
See by sad reyson
That men myghte nat be savede
Bote thorw mercy and grace,
And thorw penaunce and passioun,
And parfyght byleyve;
And bycam a man of a mayde,
And _metropolitanus_
And baptisede an busshoppede
Whit the blode of hus herte,
Alle that wilnede other wolde
Whit inwhight byleyve hit.
Meny seint sitthe
Suffrede deth alsoo,
For to enferme the faithe
Ful wyde where deyden,
In Inde and in Alisaundrie,
In Ermanye, in Spayne;
An fro mysbyleve
Meny man turnede.
In savacion of mannys saule
Seynt Thomas of Cauntelbury
Among unkynde Cristene
In holy churche was sleye,
And alle holy churche
Honourede for that deyinge:
He is a forbusur to alle busshopes,
And a bryghthe myrour,
And sovereynliche to alle suche
That of Surrye bereth name,
And nat in Engelounde to huppe aboute,
And halewen men auters.
In the remainder of this passus, Whitaker's text differs much from the one
I have printed, but in such a manner that to give here the variations it
would be necessary to reprint the whole. In the remainder of the poem, the
variations are not great or important, being only such as we always find in
different copies of poems which enjoyed considerable popularity.
10716. Isai. iii, 7.
10721. Malach. iii, 10.
10733. Luke x, 27. Diliges Dominum Deum tuum ex toto corde tuo, et ex tota
anima tua, et ex omni mente tua, et proximum tuum sicut teipsum.
10755. John xi, 43.
10787. _litlum and litlum_, by little and little, gradually. It is the pure
Anglo-Saxon phrase. In the Anglo-Saxon version of Genesis xl, 10, the Latin
_paulatim_ is rendered by _lytlum and lytlum_.
10844. Psal. xxxvi, 24.
10891. Matth. xii, 32.
11000. Luke i, 38.
11023. Matth. ix, 12. Mark ii, 17. Luke v, 31.
11033. Matth. xxvi, 37.
11044. Matth. xi, 18.
11075. Matth. xxi, 13.
11121. Matth. xviii, 7.
11238. Matth. xxvii, 46, and Mark xv, 34.
11300. Rom. iv, 13.
11322. John i, 29 and 36.
11396. Matth. xx, 40.
11518, 11520. _lo! here silver ... two pens._ It must be remembered that at
this period the mass of the coinage, including pence, halfpence, and
farthings, was of silver; copper came into use for the smaller coinage at a
later period. Two pence of Edward III would be worth about two shillings of
our modern money.
11670. John xii, 32.
11708. _tu fabricator omnium._ This was one of the hymns of the catholic
church.
11866. Luke xiii, 27.
11883. 1 Corinth. xiii, 1.
11894. Matth. vii, 21.
11998. _Thre thynges._ This proverb is frequently quoted by the satirical
and facetious writers of the middle ages. Thus in Chaucer (C. T. 5860):--
Thou saist, that droppyng houses, and eek smoke,
And chydyng wyves, maken men to fle
Out of here oughne hous.
In the poem entitled Golias de Conjuge non ducenda, in Walter Mapes, p. 83,
the proverb is alluded to in the following words:--
Fumus, et mulier, et stillicidia,
Expellunt hominem a domo propria.
There was an old French proverbial distich to the same effect,--
Fumée, pluye, et femme sans raison,
Chassent l'homme de sa maison.
12040. 2 Corinth. xii, 9.
12097. _to be dubbed._ These and the following lines contain a continued
allusion to the ceremonies of knighthood and tournaments.
12106. Psal. cxvii, 26.
12211. Matth. xxvii, 54.
12232, 12244. _Longeus ... this blynde bacheler._ This alludes to one of
the many legends which the monks engrafted upon the scripture history.
Longeus is said to have been the name of the soldier who pierced the side
of Christ with his spear; and it is pretended that he was previously blind
from his birth, but that the blood of the Saviour ran down his spear, and a
drop of it touching his eye, he was instantly restored to sight, by which
miracle he was converted. See, in illustration of this subject, Halliwell's
Coventry Mysteries, p. 334; The Towneley Mysteries, p. 321; Jubinal,
Mystères inédits du quinzième Siècle, tom. ii, pp. 254-257; &c.
12319, 12418, 12420. _Mercy and Truthe, ... Pees ... Rightwisnesse._
Lydgate seems to have had this passage in his mind, when he described the
four sisters in the following lines at the commencement of one of his poems
(MS. Harl. 2255, fol. 21):--
Mercy and Trouthe mette on an hih mounteyn
Briht as the sonne with his beemys cleer,
Pees and Justicia walkyng on the pleyn,
And with foure sustryn, moost goodly of ther cheer,
List nat departe nor severe in no maneer,
Of oon accoord by vertuous encrees,
Joyned in charité, pryncessis moost enteer,
Mercy and Trouthe, Rihtwisnesse and Pees.
12361. _a tale of Waltrot._ This name, like Wade in Chaucer, appears to
have been that of a hero of romances and tales, or a personage belonging to
the popular superstitions. Perhaps it may be connected with the old German
_Waltschrat_ (_satyrus_, _pilosus_). See Grimm, Deutsche Mythologie, p.
270.
12438. Psal. xxix, 6.
12566. Matth. xiv, 28.
12599. _a spirit speketh to helle._ The picture of the "Harrowing of Hell,"
which here fol, bears a striking resemblance to the analogous scene in the
old Mysteries, particularly in that edited by Mr. Halliwell under this
title, 8vo, 1840. Compare the play on the same subject in the Towneley
Mysteries, p. 244.
12601. Psal. xxiii, 7, 9.
12645, 12669, 12676. _sevene hundred wynter ... thritty wynter ... two and
thritty wynter._ Our Anglo-Saxon forefathers always counted duration of
time by _winters_ and _nights_; for so many years, they said so many
winters, and so many nights for so many days. This form continued long in
popular usage, and still remains in our words _fortnight_ and _se'nnight_.
12663. _Gobelyn._ Goblin is a name still applied to a devil. It belongs
properly to a being of the old Teutonic popular mythology, a hob-goblin,
the "lubber-fiend" of the poet, and seems to be identical with the German
_kobold_. (See Grimm, Deutsche Mythologie, p. 286.) _Gobelin_ occurs as the
name of one of the shepherds in the Mystery of the Nativity, printed by M.
Jubinal in his Mystères inédits, vol. ii, p. 71. It occurs as the name of a
devil in a song of the commencement of the fourteenth century, Political
Songs, p. 238:--
Sathanas huere syre
Seyde on is sawe,
Gobelyn made is gerner
Of gromene mawe.
12679. _to warne Pilates wif._ This is an allusion to a popular legend
prevalent at this time that the devil wished to hinder Christ's
crucifixion, and that he appeared to Pilate's wife in a dream, and caused
her to beseech her husband not to condemn the Saviour. It was founded on
the passage in Matthew xxvii, 19. Sedente autem illo pro tribunali, misit
ad eum uxor ejus, dicens: Nihil tibi et justo illi: multa enim passa sum
hodie per visum propter eum. The most complete illustration of the passage
of Piers Ploughman will be found in Halliwell's Coventry Mysteries, p. 308,
"Pilate's Wife's Dream."
12691. _And now I se wher a soule | Cometh hiderward seillynge, | With
glorie, &c._ With this beautiful passage may be compared a very similar one
in the Samson Agonistes of Milton:--
But who is this, what thing of sea or land?
Female of sex it seems,
That so bedeck'd, ornate and gay,
_Comes this way sailing_
Like a stately ship
Of Tarsus, bound for th' isles
Of Javan or Gadire,
With all her bravery on, and tackle trim.
12753. _y-lik a lusard._ In the illuminations of manuscripts representing
the scene of the temptation, the serpent is often figured with legs like a
lizard or crocodile, and a human face.
12759. Matth. v, 38.
12781. Matth. v, 17.
12801. _thorugh a tree._ Some of the medieval legends go still farther, and
pretended that the tree from which the wood of the cross was made was
descended directly from a plant from the tree in Paradise of which Adam and
Eve were tempted to eat the fruit.
12805. Psal. vii, 16.
12840. Psal. l, 6.
12876. 2 Corinth. xii, 4.
12886. Psal. cxlii, 2.
12896. _Astroth._ This name, as given to one of the devils, occurs in a
curious list of actors in the Miracle Play of St. Martin, given by M.
Jubinal, in the preface to his Mystères inédits, vol. ii, p. ix. It is
similarly used in the Miracle Play of the Martyrdom of St. Peter and St.
Paul, Jubinal, ib. vol. i, p. 69. In one of the Towneley Mysteries (p.
246), this name is likewise given to one of the devils:--
Calle up _Astarot_ and Anaballe,
To gyf us counselle in this case.
12937. Psal. lxxxiv, 11.
12943. Psal. cxxxii, 1.
13222. 1 Sam. xviii, 7.
13274. Luke xxiv, 46.
13317. John xx, 29.
13375. _Veni creator spiritus._ The first line of the hymn at vespers, on
the feast of Pentecost.
13412. 1 Corinth. xii, 4.
13550. Cato, Distich. 14, lib. ii:--
Esto forti animo cum sis damnatus inique;
Nemo diu gaudet qui judice vincit iniquo.
13789. _I knew nevere cardynal._ The contributions levied upon the clergy
for the support of the pope's messengers and agents was a frequent subject
of complaint in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries.
13807. _At Avynone among the Jewes._ In the middle ages there was a large
congregation of Jews at Avignon, as in most of the principal cities in the
south of France. In the civil dissensions which disturbed Italy during this
century, the pope was frequently obliged to take shelter at Avignon and
other places within the French territory.
13825. Matth. v, 45.
13855. Rom. xii, 19; Hebr. x, 30.
14142. _Kynde cessede._ The lines which follow contain an allusion to the
dissipation of manners which followed the pestilence.
14191, 14196. _Westmynstre Halle ... the Arches._ The law courts have been
held at Westminster from the earliest Anglo-Norman times, it being the
king's chief palace. The court of the arches was a very ancient consistory
court of the archbishop of Canterbury, held at Bow church in London, which
was called St. Mary de Arcubus or St. Mary le Bow, from the circumstance of
its having been built on arches.
14211. _leet daggen hise clothes._ An account of the mode in which the rich
fashionable robes of the dandies of the fourteenth century were dagged, or
cut in slits at the edges and borders, will be found in any work on
costume: it is frequently represented in the contemporary illuminations in
manuscripts. Chaucer, in the "Persones Tale," when treating of pride and of
the "superfluitee of clothing," speaks of "the costlewe furring in hir
gounes, so moche pounsoning of chesel to maken holes, so moche _dagging of
sheres_," &c. And again, "if so be that they wolden yeve swiche pounsoned
and _dagged_ clothing to the povre peple, it is not convenient to were for
hir estate," &c. In the Alliterative Poem on the Deposition of Richard II
(printed for the Camden Society), p. 21, the clergy is blamed for not
preaching against the new fashions in dress:--
For wolde they blame the burnes
That broughte newe gysis,
And dryve out _the dagges_
And alle the Duche cotis.
Whitaker gives the following singular explanation of this passage:--"_Let
dagge hus clothes_, probably, let them fall to the ground, or divested
himself of them; for warriors are 'succinct' for battle as well as 'for
speed!'"
14269. _A glazene howve._ I suppose this means that, in return for his
gold, Physic gave him a hood of glass, _i. e._ a very frail protection for
his person.
14367. _of the Marche of Walys._ Whitaker's text reads, _of the Marche of
Yrelonde_. The clergy of the Welsh border appear, from allusions in other
works, to have been proverbial for their ignorance and irregularity of
life.
14438. Psal. cxlvi, 4.
14444. _wage menne to werre._ This is a curious account of the composition
of an army in the fourteenth century.
14482. Exod. xx, 17.
14511. _suffre the dede in dette_, _i. e._, The friars persuade people to
leave to them, under pretence of saving their souls, the property which was
due to their creditors, and thus, after their death, their debts remain
unpaid.
14615, 14617. _this lymytour ... he salvede so oure wommen._ The whole of
this passage, taken with what precedes, is an amusing satire upon the
limitour. Compare the description of the limitour given by Chaucer in the
Canterbury Tales, ll. 208-271, who alludes to his kindness for the women.
The limitour was a friar licensed to visit and beg within certain limits.
His pertinacity and inquisitiveness in visiting, alluded to in the name
given him in Piers Ploughman (Sir Penetrans-domos), is admirably satirized
by Chaucer, in the opening of the "Wif of Bathes Tale:"--
In olde dayes of the kyng Arthour,
Of which that Britouns speken gret honour,
Al was this lond fulfilled of fayrie;
The elf-queen, with hir joly compaignye,
Daunced ful oft in many a grene mede.
This was the old oppynyoun, as I rede
I speke of many hundrid yer ago;
But now can no man see noon elves mo.
For now the grete charité and prayeres
Of lymytours and other holy freres,
That sechen every lond and every streem,
As thik as motis in the sonne-beem,
Blesynge halles, chambres, kichenes, and boures,
Citees and burghes, castels hihe, and toures,
Thropes and bernes, shepnes and dayeries,
This makith that ther ben no fayeries:
For ther as wont was to walken an elf,
Ther walkith noon but the lymytour himself,
In undermeles and in morwenynges,
And saith his matyns and his holy thinges,
As he goth in his lymytacioun.
------
NOTES TO THE CREED.
65. _a Minoure._ These were the Gray or Franciscan Friars, founded at the
beginning of the thirteenth century by St. Francis of Assise. They are
supposed to have come to England in 1224, when they settled, first at
Canterbury, and afterwards at London.
75. _a Carm._ 95. _Maries men._ The Carmelites, or White Friars, pretended
to be of great antiquity, and were originally established at Mount Carmel,
from whence they were driven by the Saracens about the year 1238. They were
brought into England in 1244, and settled first at Alnwick in
Northumberland, and at Ailesford in Kent.
About the date (or a little before) of our poem, the Carmelites appear to
have been very active in asserting in a boasting manner the superiority of
their order over the others. An anecdote told by Fuller (History of
Cambridge, p. 113), under the year 1371, affords a curious illustration.
"John Stokes, a Dominican, born at Sudbury, in Suffolk, but studying in
Cambridge, as champion of his order, fell foul on the Carmelites, chiefly
for calling themselves 'The brothers of the Blessed Virgin,' and then by
consequence all knew whose uncle they pretend themselves. He put them to
prove their pedigree by Scripture, how the kindred came in. In brief, Bale
saith, 'he left red notes in the white coats of the Carmelites,' he so
belaboured them with his lashing language. But John Hornby a Carmelite
(born at Boston in Lincolnshire) undertook him, called by Bale Cornutus, by
others Hornet-bee, so stinging his stile. He proved the brothership of his
order to the Virgin Mary by visions, allowed true by the infallible popes,
so that no good Christian durst deny it."
130. _Freres of the Pye._ The Fratres de Pica, or Friars of the Pye, are
said to have received their name from the circumstance of their wearing
their outer garment black and white like a magpie. Very little is known of
their history. They are said to have had but one house in England.
143. _Robartes men._ See before the notes on the Vision, ll. 88 and ll.
3410.
155. _miracles of mydwyves._ The monks had many relics and superstitious
practices to preserve and aid women in childbirth. One of the commissioners
for the suppression of the monasteries mentions among the relics of a house
he had visited, "Mare Magdalens girdell, and yt is wrappyde and coveride
with white, sent also with gret reverence to women traveling:" he had
previously spoken of "oure Lades gyrdell of Bruton, rede silke, wiche is a
solemne reliquie sent to women travelyng wiche shall not miscarie _in
partu_." (MS. Cotton. Cleop. E. iv, fol. 249.) See the account of a gem,
which had a similar virtue, in Matthew Paris's History of the Abbots of St.
Albans.
305. _the Prechoures._ The Black Friars, or Dominicans, were founded by St.
Dominic, a Spanish monk of the end of the eleventh century. They were
called Friars Preachers, because their chief duty was to preach and convert
heretics. They came into England in 1221, and had their first houses in
Oxford.
327. _posternes in privité._ These private posterns are frequently alluded
to in the reports of the Commissioners for the Dissolution of the
Monasteries in the reign of Henry VIII. One of them, speaking of the abbey
of Langden, says, "Wheras immediatly descendying fro my horse, I sent
Bartlett your servant, with all my servantes to circumcept the abbay and
surely to kepe _all bake dorres and startyng hoilles_, and I myself went
alone to the abbottes logeying joyning upon the feldes and wode, _evyn lyke
a cony clapper full of startyng hoilles_." (MS. Cotton. Cleop. E. iv, fol.
127.) Another commissioner (MS. Cotton. Cleop. E. iv, fol. 35), in a letter
concerning the monks of the Charter-house in London, says, "These
charterhowse monkes wolde be callyde solytary, but to the cloyster dore
ther be above xxiiij. keys in the handes of xxiiij. persons, and hit is
lyke my letters, unprofytable tayles and tydinges and sumtyme perverse
concell commythe and goythe by reason therof. Allso to the buttrey dore
ther be xij. sundrye keys in xij. [mens] handes wherin symythe to be small
husbandrye."
351. _merkes of merchauntes._ Their ciphers or badges painted in the
windows. For examples, see the note in Warton's History of English Poetry,
vol. ii, p. 98, last edition.
481. _euelles._ Perhaps for _evel-les_, _i. e._ without evil.
534. _the Austyns._ The Austin Friars, or Friars Eremites of the order of
St. Augustine, came into England about the year 1250. Before the end of the
fourteenth century they possessed a great number of houses in this island.
566. _the foure ordres._ The four principal orders of Mendicant Friars. See
note on the Vision, l. 116.
721. _harkne at Herdforthe._ This appears to be an allusion to some event
which had recently occurred among the Franciscans at Hertford, or at
Hereford: if the latter, perhaps they had been active in the persecution of
Walter Brut. See below, l. 1309.
745. _than ther lefte in Lucifere._ Than there existed in Lucifer, before
his fall. See before, the note on l. 681 of the Vision.
771. _couuen_. Probably an error of the old printed edition for _connen_.
869. _lath._ Perhaps an error of the printer of the first edition for
_lay_.
911. Matth. vii, 15.
913. _werwolves._ People who had the power of turning themselves into, or
were turned into, wolves. This fearful superstition, which is very ancient,
was extremely prevalent in the middle ages. In French they were called
_Loup-garous_. The history of a personage of this kind forms the subject of
the Lai de Bisclaveret, by Marie de France. Sir Frederick Madden has
published a very remarkable Early-English metrical romance on the subject
of "William and the Werwolf." See on this superstition Grimm's Deutsche
Mythologie, pp. 620-622.
954. _Golias._ There is perhaps here an allusion to the famous satire on
the Monkish orders entitled Apocalypsis Goliæ, printed among the poems of
Walter Mapes.
967. _the kynrede of Caym._ In the popular belief of the middle ages,
hob-goblins and evil spirits (which haunted the wilds and the waters)
literally, and bad men figuratively, were represented as being descended
from the first murderer, Cain. In Old-English poetry, _Caymes kyn_ is a
common epithet for very wicked people. In the Anglo-Saxon romance of
Beowulf, the Grendel is said to be of "Cain's kin."
1051. _wytnes on Wyclif._ In the persecutions to which Wycliffe was
subjected for his opinions in 1382, his most violent opponents were the
Mendicants. He died in 1384, quietly at his living of Lutterworth.
1189. _a lymytoure._ See before, the note on l. 14615 of the Vision.
1178. _stumlen in tales._ An allusion to the idle and superstitious tales
with which the monks filled their sermons, in place of simple and sound
doctrine.
1309. _Water Brut._ Walter Brut (or Bright) was a native of Herefordshire,
and was prosecuted by the Bishop of Hereford for heresy in 1393. A long
account of his defence will be found in Foxe's Acts and Monuments.
1401. _Hildegare._ I suppose this refers to St. Hildegardis, a nun who
flourished in the middle of the twelfth century, and who was celebrated
among the Roman Catholics as a prophetess. Her prophecies are not uncommon
in manuscripts, and they have been printed. Those which relate to the
future corruptions in the monkish orders are given in Foxe's Acts and
Monuments, book vi, and in other works.
* * * * *
GLOSSARY.
[The figures in the following Glossary refer to the _page_ of the text.
Words preceded by a +, occur only in the CREED. A.S. and A.N.
distinguish the two different languages of which our own is composed,
Anglo-Saxon and Anglo-Norman.]
A.
a, prefixed to verbs of Anglo-Saxon origin, has sometimes a negative,
sometimes an intensative power: before nouns and adjectives it represents
_on_ and _at_, as, a-brood, a-fore (æt-foran), a-rowe (i. e. _on a row_),
a-loft (i. e. _on high_), &c. In words of Anglo-Norman origin, it answers
to the prepositions, _a_, _ab_, _ad_, of the original Latin words
a (A.N.) 355, _ah!_ (an interjection)
abidynge (A.S.) 413, _patient_
abiggen (A.S.) 35, 127, abien, 58, abugge, 122, abye, 164, abyen, 393, _to
make amends for_, _to atone for_. _pret. s._ aboughte, 168, 190, 231, 268.
_part. past_, abought, 392
abite (A.S.) 331, _to bite, nip_
a-blende (A.S.) 377, a-blynden, _to blinde, dazzle_. _pret. s._ a-blente,
388
abosten (A.N.) 126, _to assault_
abouten, aboute (A.S.) _about_
a-brood (A.S.) _abroad_
ac (A.S.) _but, and_
a-cale (A.S.) 393, _cold_. It occurs in the Romance of the Seven Sages
(Weber, p. 59):
That night he sat wel sore _a-kale_,
And his wif lai warme a-bedde.
accidie (A.N.) 99, _sloth, a fit of slothfulness_
acombren (A.N.) _to embarrass, bring into trouble_
acorden (A.N.) _to agree, accord_
acorse, acursen (A.S.) 375, _to curse._ acorsed, 375, _accursed_
acoupen (A.N.) 272, _to blame, accuse._ (for acoulpen)
a-drad (A.S.) 397, _afraid_
a-drenchen (A.S.) 198, _to drown_
afaiten, 291, affaiten 81, 119, (A.N.) _to tame_
a-feren (A.S.) 395, 435, _to frighten_, _drive away_. a-fered, 376,
_afraid_, _terrified_
affraynen (A.S.) 347, _to ask_, _question_, _interrogate_
afore (A.S.) _before_
aforthe (A.S.) 129, _to afford_
afrounte (A.N.) _to encounter_, _attack_, _accost rudely_. _pret. s._
afrounted, 425
a-fyngred (A.S.) 133, 176, 283, 403, _a-hungered_, _hungry_
a-furst (A.S.) 176, 283, _a-thirst_, _thirsty_. The two forms, _a-fyngred_
and _a-furst_, appear to be characteristic of the dialect of the counties
which lay on the Welsh border. They occur once or twice in MS. Harl. 2253,
which, in my Specimens of Lyric Poetry, I have shown to have been written
in Herefordshire. They also occur in several other manuscripts which may
probably be traced to that part of England. In the Romance of Horn, in the
MS. just mentioned, we have the lines:--
Horn set at grounde,
Him thohte he wes y-bounde,
He seide, Quene, so hende,
To me hydeward thou wende.
Thou shench us with the vurste,
The beggares bueth _a-furste_.
i. e. the beggars are thirsty. Whitaker gives a very remarkable translation
of _a-furst and a-fyngred_, i. e. _frost-bitten, and with aching fingers_.
Ritson has no less inaccurately explained _a-furste_ in the Romance of
Horn, by _at first_: the Cambridge MS. of this Romance, earlier and better
than the MS. Harl., reads:--
Thu gef us with the furste,
The beggeres beoth _of thurste_.
ayein (A.S.) _again_, _in return for_. ayeins, _against_, _towards_
a-gulte (A.S.) 273, 313, 318, 365, _to fail in duty towards any one_,
_offend_, _sin against_
aiels (A.N.) 314, _forefathers_
+aisliche (A.S.) 471, _fearfully_. The Anglo-Saxon _egeslice_
aken (A.S.) _to ache_. _pret. pl._ oke, 359
al (A.S.) _all_. _pl._ alle, _gen. pl._ alre, aller. oure aller fader, 342,
_the father of us all_. your aller heed, 424, _head of you all_
a-leggen (A.N.) 207, _to allege_
a-liry (A.S.) 124, _across_, _cross-legged_
alkenamye (A.N.) 186, _alchemy_
allowen (A.N.) 294, _to allow_, _approve_
a-loft (A.S.) 378, _on high_
almarie (A.N.) 288, _a cupboard_
almesse (A.S.) _alms_
a-lough, a-logh (A.S.) 241, 242, _below_
+aloute (A.S.) 495, _to salute_
als (A.S.) _also_
a-maistren, a-maistryen (A.N.) _to overcome_, _be master of_
amenden (A.N.) _to make amends for_
amercy (A.N.) _to amerce_
amortisen (A.N.) 314, _to amortize_, _to give property in mortmain_
ampulle (A.N.) 109, _a small vessel containing holy water or oil_
an (A.S.) 2, _on_
ancres (A.S.) 3, 308, _anachorites, monks who live in solitude_. It is
applied to nuns, in the early English Rule of Nuns. See Reliquiæ Antiquæ,
vol. ii, p. 1
and (A.S.) the conjunction, is frequently used in the sense of _if_. and
men crye, 362, _if men cry_
aniente (A.N.) 365, _to destroy, annihilate, reduce to nothing_
anoon (A.S.) _anon_
anoy (A.N.) _annoyance_
+anuel (A.N.) 475, _an annuity_: a yearly salary paid to a priest for
keeping an anniversary
apayen (A.N.) 123, _to satisfy, to please_
apeiren (A.N.) 80, 111, 125, 127, 141, _to lessen, diminish, impair_
apertli (A.N.) _openly_
appenden, apenden (A.N.) 17, _to belong, appertain to_
apposen (A.N.) 18, 43, 252, 318, _to raise questions, to object_
arate (A.S.) 208, 283, _to rate, scold, correct_ (the A.S. aretan?)
arayen (A.N.) _to array_
arere (A.N.) _backwards, back_
arwe, _pl._ arewes (A.S.) 438, _an arrow_
arst (A.S.) 287, _first, erst_
ascapen (A.N.) _to escape_
askes (A.S.) _ashes_
asondry (A.S.) 358, _separated_
aspare (A.N.) 303, _to spare_
aspien (A.N.) to _espy_. _part. s._ aspied, 350
assaien, assaie (A.N.) 334, 336, _to assay, try_
assetz (A.N.) 362, _assets sufficient to pay the debts or legacies of a
testator_. A law term
assoille (A.N.) 57, 188, 407, 419, _to assoil, absolve, to explain or
solve_
astronomien (Lat.) _an astronomer_
a-thynken (A.S.) 374, _to repent_
attachen (A.N.) 40, _to attach, indict_
atte (A.S.) _at the_. atte nale, 124, _at the ale_, a corruption of the
Saxon, æt þan ale
attre (A.S.) 243, _poison, venom_
a-tweyne (A.S.) _in two_
aught (A.S.) _something, anything, everything_
auncer (A.N.) 90, _a small vessel or cup_. In Low-Latin it is called
_anceria_. See Ducange, s. v., who quotes from a charter of the date of
1320 the words, Una cum cuppis, _anceriis_, tonis, et aliis utensilibus
auntren (A.N.) _to venture, adventure_, _pret. s._ auntrede, 382, auntred,
435
auter, _pl._ auteres (A.N.) _altar_
avarouser (A.N.) _more avaricious_
aventrous (A.N.) 370, _adventurers, adventurous persons_
aventure (A.N.) _an adventure, an accident_. an aventure, 47, _by
adventure, by chance_
avoutrye (A.N.) _adultery_
avowen (A.N.) _to make a vow_
avowes (A.N.) _vows, promises_
awaiten (A.N.) 346, _to watch, wait_. a-wayte, 193, _to see or discover by
watching_
awaken (A.S.) _to awake_. _pret. s._ awaked, 396, awakned, 424, a-wook,
147, _part. past_, awaked, 425
awreken (A.S.) _to avenge, revenge_. _part. pas._ a-wroke, 129
+awyrien (A.S.) 490, _to curse, execrate_
axen (A.S.) 71, _to ask_. _pret. s._ asked, 81
ay (A.S.) _ever, always_
B.
bakstere (A.S.) 14, 47, _a woman who bakes_
bale (A.S.) 70, 209, 381, 371 (?), evil, mischief, punishment
+bale (A.S.) 490, _a bon-fire_ (_rogus_)
baleis (A.N.) 184, 229, _a rod_
baleisen (A.N.) 87, _to beat with a rod_
balled (A.S.) 436, _bald_. _balled reson_, 176, _a bald reason, a bare
argument_
ballok-knyf (A.S.) 302, _a knife hung from the girdle_
bannen, banne (A.N.) 18, 143, 167, 310, _to ban, curse, banish_. _pret. s._
banned, 173
banyer (A.N.) 321, _a banner-bearer, standard-bearer_
barn (A.S.) 353, _a child_
baselarde (A.N.) 61, 302, _a kind of large dagger, carried in the girdle_
batauntliche (A.N.) 286, _hastily_. Cotgrave gives the Fr. phrase, il
arriva tout batant, _he came very hastily_
baude (A.S.) _a bawd_
baudy (A.N.) 88, _dirty_, applied to garments. Thus in Chaucer, Cant. T. l
16102:--
His overest sloppe it is not worth a mite
As in effect to him, so mote I go.
It is al _baudy_ and to-tore also.
baw (A.S.) 210, 419, _an interjection of contempt_. Whitaker says that the
word is still used in Lancashire, and that "the verb means _alvum levare_"
bayard (A.N.) 72, a term for a horse. It means properly a _bay horse_
beau-peere (A.N.) 383, _a common title for a monk_. "Beau-pere, titre que
l'on donnoit aux religieux." _Roquef._
beche (A.S.) _a beech-tree_
bede, _pl._ bedes (A.S.) prayer. Our modern word _beads_ is derived from
this word, because it was by such articles, hung on a cord, that our
forefathers reckoned the number of their prayers
bedeman (A.S.) 45, _a person who prays for another_
+been (A.S.) 493, _bees_
beigh (A.S.) _pl._ beighes, _rings, bracelets, collars_
bekene (A.S.) 363, _a beacon_
+beldyng (A.S.) 483, _building_. belded, 483, _built_
+bellyche (A.N.) 461, _fairly_
bel-sire (A.N.) 168, _grandfather_, or rather, _an ancestor_
belwe (A.S.) 222, _to bellow_
ben (A.S.) _to be_. _pres. pl._ arn, aren _or_ ben, we beth, 391, ye aren,
301, they arn, 375. _subj. sing._ weere, 15, 19, 417, _pl._ were. what she
were, 19
bene (A.S.) _a bean_, +_pl._ benen (A.S.) 495, _beans_
+beneson (A.N.) 489, _blessing_
+beouten (A.S.) 489, _without_
beren, bere (A.S.) _to bear_. _pr. s._ he berth, 341. _pret. s._ bere, 54,
bar, 28, 109, _pl._ baren, 98. _part. pas._ born, y-bore, 377
bergh (A.S.) 112, _a hill, mount_
bern (A.S.) 416, _a barn_
best, beest, _pl._ beestes (A.N.) _a beast, animal_
bet (A.S.) 389, _better_
bete (A.S.) 375, _to beat_. _pret. s._ bette, 184, 436. _part. pas._ y-bet
bete (A.S.) 131, _to amend, heal, abate_. that myghtt not bete my bale (Sir
Amadas, l. 46), _that might not amend my misfortune_. bete his nede (Rom.
of Alexand. l. 5065, in Weber), _to satisfy his need_
bettre (A.S.) _better_
bi- _or_ be- is a very common prefix to words in our language derived from
the Anglo-Saxon, and has chiefly an intensative power, although it modifies
the meaning in various degrees. Many verbs are no longer known, except in
this compound form. Thus we have:--
bi-dravelen (A.S.) 88, _to slobber or slaver on anything_
bi-fallen (A.S.) _to befal, happen_. _pr. sing._ bifel
bi-yete (A.S.) _begetting, offspring_
bi-ginnen (A.S.) _to begin_. _pret. s._ bi-gonne, 106
bi-heste (A.S.) 50, _a behest, command_
bi-hest (A.S.) 432, _a promise_
bi-holden (A.S.) _to behold_. _pr. sing._ biheeld
+bi-hirnen (A.S.) 488 (?)
bi-hoten (A.S.) _to promise_. _pres. s._ bi-hote, 104. _pret. s._
bi-highte, 81, 345, 389. bi-hote God, 133, _an exclamation_
by-japen (A.S.) 386, 453, _to mock_
bi-kennen (A.S.) 31, 154, _to commit to_
bi-knowen (A.S.) 13, 45, _to know, recognize, acknowledge_. _pret. s._
bi-knewe, 404, _part. past_, bi-knowe, 370
bi-lien (A.S.) 174, bi-lye, 101, _to calumniate_. _part. past_,
bi-lowen, 29
bi-love (A.S.) 184, _false love_ (?)
bi-loven (A.S.) 130, _to make friends_ (?)
by-menen (A.S.) _to signify_. _pret. s._ by-mente, 370
by-molen (A.S.) 273, 274, _to spot, stain_
by-nymen (A.S.) _to take from_. _part. past_, by-nomen, 62
bi-quasshen (A.S.) 384, _to crush to pieces_
bi-reve (A.S.) 132, _to take from, bereave_
bi-rewe (A.S.) 242, _to rue_
bi-seken, bi-sechen, 18 (A.S.) _to beseech_. _pret._ bi-soughte. _part.
pas._ bi-sought
bi-semen (A.S.) _to appear_
bi-setten (A.S.) 93, 95, _to place, set_
bi-seggen (A.S.) _to reproach, insult_. _part. past_, bi-seye, 437
bi-sherewen (A.S.) 75, _to curse_
bi-shetten (A.S.) 40, _to shut up_. _part. past_, bi-shet, 405
bi-sitten (A.S.) 36, 195, _to beset_
+be-slomered, 476, _bedaubed_
bi-snewed (A.S.) 301, _snowed over, covered with snow_
bi-speren (A.S.) 303, _to lock up_
bi-swynken (A.S.) 323, _to labour hard_. _pret. pl._ bi-swonke, 442
bi-tiden (A.S.) _to happen to, betide_
bi-wicchen (A.S.) 405, _to bewitch_
bicche (A.N.) 98, _a bitch_
bidden, bidde (A.S.) _to pray, to ask, beg, to require, to order_. _pres.
s._ he bit, 308, 188. _pret. s._ bidde, bad, _pl._ beden, 372, 404. _part.
act._ biddynge. (if he) bede, 157
bidder (A.S.) _pl._ bidderes, _an asker, petitioner_
biden (A.S.) 387, 428, _to bide, wait_. _part. past_, boden
bienfait (A.N.) _a benefit_
bi-girdle (A.S.) 156, _a bag to hang at the girdle, a purse_
bi-hynde (A.S.) _behind_
bikere (A.S.) 429, _to skirmish, fight_
+bild (A.S.) 460, _a building_
bile (A.S.) _a bill_
bilyve (A.S.) 410, 425, _food_
bynden (A.S.) _to bind_. _pret. s._ bond, 352. _part. pas._ bounden
bisie (A.S.) _busy_
bismere, bismare (A.S.) 82, 413, _infamy, reproach, disgrace_
biten, bite (A.S.) 446, _to bite, urge_. _pres. s._ bitit, 225. _pret. s._
boot, 82
byte (A.S.) 381, _a morsel_, _bit_
bi-time (A.S.) _betimes_
bittre (A.S.) 393, _bitterly_
bi-yonde (A.S.) _beyond_: when used indefinitely it signifies _beyond sea_,
_ultra mare_
blancmanger (A.N.) 252, _a made dish for the table_. Receipts for cooking
it are given in most of the early tracts on cookery
bleden (A.S.) _to bleed_. _pret. s._ bledde, 402, 415
blenche (A.S.) 112, _to draw back_
blende (A.S.) 181, _to blind_. blent, _blinded_
+blenying (A.S.) 468, _blistering_
bleren (A.S.) _to blear, to make a person's sight dim, impose upon him_.
bler-eighed, 367, _blear-eyed_
blisse (A.S.) _joy, happiness_
blisful (A.S.) _joyful, full of happiness, blessed_
blody (A.S.) 129, 213, _by blood, of or in blood_
bloo (A.S.) _blue_
blosmen (A.S.) _to blossom_. _pret._ blosmede
blowen (A.S.) _to blow_. _pret. s._ blewe, _blew_. _part. past_, y-blowe,
360
blustren (A.N. ?) 108, _to wander or stray along without any particular
aim_
bochier (A.N.) _a butcher_
+bode ( ) 493 (?)
bolden (A.S.) _to encourage, embolden_
bole (A.S.) _a bull_
bolk (A.S.) 100, _a belching_
bolle (A.S.) 83, 99, _a bowl_
bollen, bolne (A.S.) _to swell_. _pres. s._ bolneth, 84
book, _pl._ bokes (A.S.) _a book_
boold (A.S.) 373, _bold_
boon (A.S.) _a bone_
boor (A.S.) _a boar_
boot (A.S.) _a boat_
boote (A.S.) 70, 139, 189, 209, 233, 266, _help, reparation, amendment,
restoration, remedy_
bootne (A.S.) _to restore, remedy_. _part. pas._ bootned, 128
boot-les (A.S.) 369, _without boots_
borde (A.S.) _table_. Hence the modern use of the word _board_ when we
speak of "_board and lodging_"
bord-lees (A.S.) 239, _without table_
borgh, 70, 143, 181, 346. borugh, 426, 439, _pl._ borwes, 19 (A.S.) _a
pledge, surety_. _s. in obj. case_, borwe, 285
borwen (A.S.) 71, _to give security, or a pledge to release a person or
thing, to bail, to borrow_. _pret. s._ borwed
bosarde (A.N.) 189, _a worthless or useless fellow_. It is properly the
name of a worthless species of hawk, which is unfit for sporting; and is
thus used in Chaucer's version of the Romance of the Rose, l. 4033:--
This have I herde ofte in saying,
That man ne maie for no daunting
Make a sperhawke of _a bosarde_.
The original is,--
Ce oï dire en reprovier,
Que l'en ne puet fere espervier
En nule guise _d'ung busart_.
bosten (A.S.) _to boast_. _part. past_, y-bosted, 351
bote-lees (A.S.) 381, _without remedy_
botenen (A.N.) _to button_. +_part. past_, y-botend, 468, _buttoned_
bothe (A.S.) _both_. The genitive, botheres, _of both_, occurs. hir
botheres myghtes, 340, _the might of both of them_. hir botheres right,
371, _the right of each of them_.
botrasen (A.N.) 113, _to make buttresses to a building_
bouchen (A.N.) 5, _to stop people's mouths (?)_
bouken (A.S.) 274, 306, _to buck (clothes)_
bour (A.S.) _a bower, chamber_
bourde (A.S.) _a game, joke_
bourdynge (A.N.) 297, _jesting_
bourn, _g._ bournes (A.S.) _a stream or river_
bowe (A.S.) 112, _a bough, branch_
bown (A.S.) 37, _ready_
boy (A.S.) 6 (?)
boye (A.S.) 214, _a lad servant_
breden (A.S.) _to breed_. _pret. pl._ bredden
brede (A.S.) _breadth_
breed (A.S.) _bread_
breeth (A.S.) 388, _breath_
breken (A.S.) _to break, tear_. _pret. s._ brak, 388. _part. pas._
y-broken, broke, y-broke, 416
breme (A.S.) 241, _vigorous, fierce, furious_. Chaucer, C. T. l. 1701,
speaking of Arcite and Palamon, says they--"foughten breme, as it were
bolles two," _fought as fiercely as two bulls_. In the Romance of Sir
Amadas (Weber, p. 250) a person is described as coming "lyke a breme bare,"
_like a fierce boar_. It appears to be most commonly applied to animals. In
the Towneley Mysteries, p. 197, Anna says to Cayphas, "Be not to breme,"
_be not too fierce_
brennen, brenne (A.S.) 360, _to burn_. _pret. s._ brende, 367. _part. pas._
brent
bresten (A.S.) _to burst_, _pret. s._ brast, 127
brevet (A.N.) 5, _a little brief or letter_
brewestere (A.S.) 14, 47, _a woman who brews_
brid, _pl._ briddes (A.S.) _a bird_
bringen (A.S.) _to bring_. _pret. s._ broughte, broghte. _part. past_,
y-brought, broght, 235
brocage (A.N.) 33, 289, _a treaty by a broker or agent_. It is particularly
applied to treaties of marriage, brought about in this way. In Chaucer's
Romance of the Rose, l. 6971, Fals Semblant says,--
I entremete me of _brocages_.
I maken pece, and mariages.
So in the Miller's Tale (C.T. 3375), it is said of Absolon,
He woweth hire by mene and by _brocage_,
And swor he wolde ben hir owne page.
That is, he wooed her by the agency of another person, whom he employed to
persuade her to agree to his wishes.
broches (A.N.) _brooches, jewels_.
broches, 362, _matches_ (?)
brocour (A.N.) 31, 32, 45, 84, _a seller, broker, maker of bargains_
broke (A.S.) _a brook_
brok, _pl._ brokkes (A.S.) 119, _an animal of the badger kind_
brol (A.S.) 55, 494, 495, _a child, brat_. Reliquiæ Antiquæ, ii, 177:--
Whan hi commith to the world, hi doth ham silf sum gode,
Al bot the wrech _brol_ that is of Adamis blode.
brood (A.S.) _broad_
brotel (A.S.) 153, _weak, brittle, unsteady_
+brothels (A.S.) 496, _wretches, men of bad life_. In the Coventry
Mysteries (Ed. Halliwell, p. 308), the term is applied to the damned who
suffer punishment in hell:--
In bras and in bronston the _brethellys_ be brent,
That wene in this werd my wyl for to werke.
In another play in the same collection, p. 217, it is applied to the woman
taken in adultery:--
Com forthe, thou bysmare and _brothel_ bolde.
brouke (A.S.) 209, _to enjoy, use, to brook_
brugg, _pl._ brugges (A.S.) _a bridge_
bruneste (A.S.) _brownest_
buggen, bugge (A.S.) 412, _to buy_. _pres. pl._ biggen. _pret._ boughte.
_part. act._ buggynge, 410
bummen (A.S. ?) 90, _to taste_ (?)
burde (A.S.) 44, 404, _a maiden, damsel, lady_
burdoun (A.N.) 108, _a staff_
burel (A.N.) _a kind of coarse brown woollen cloth_. burel clerkes, 191.
Tyrwhit (Glos. to Chaucer) thinks this means _lay clerks_. In the
Canterbury Tales, l. 7453, the friar says:--
And more we se of Goddis secré thinges,
Than _borel folk_, although that thay ben kinges,
We lyve in povert and in abstinence,
And _borel folk_ in riches and dispence.
The hoste says (l. 15440)--
Religioun hath take up al the corn
Of tredyng, and we _burel men_ ben schrympes.
_Borel folk_ and _borel men_ evidently mean _laymen_
burgage (A.N.) 48, _lands or tenements in towns, held by a particular
tenure_
burgeise (A.S.) _burgess, inhabitant of a borough_
burghe (A.S.) 135, _burgh, town_
burghe (A.S.) _castrated_, applied to a hog. burghe swyn, 34, _a barrow
hog_
burjonen (A.N.) 299, _to bud, or spring_
burn (A.S.) _pl._ burnes, _a man_. buyrn, 341, 346
+burwgh (A.S.) 458, _a castle, palace, or large edifice_
busk, _pl._ buskes (A.S.) 223, _a bush_
busken (A.S.) 44, 167, _to busk, go, to array, prepare_
buxom (A.S.) _obedient_. buxomnesse, _obedience_
C. K.
caas (A.N.) _case_
cacchen (A.S.) 236, _to catch, take_. _part. past_, caught, 361
cachepol (A.S.) 372, 373, _a catchpole_
kaiser, kayser (A.S.) 404, _an emperor_
cammoke (A.S.) 414, a weed more commonly known by the name of _rest-harrow
(anonis)_
kan (A.S.) _can_
capul, caple (A.N.) 354, _pl._ caples, 415, 416, _a horse_ (said to be
derived from the Low-Latin _caballus_)
caractes (A.N.) 233, _characters_
cardiacle (Gr.) 266, 430, _a disease affecting the heart_
careful (A.S.) _pl._ carefulle, 403, _full of care_
carien (A.S.) _to carry_
caroyne, careyne (A.N.) _carrion, flesh, a corpse_
carpen (A.N.) 356, 400, _to talk, chat, tell_. _part. pas._ y-carped, 313
+cary (A.N. ?) 475, _a kind of coarse cloth_
casten (A.S.) _to cast_
catel (A.N.) 70, 78, 175, 437, _goods, property, treasure, possessions_
cauken (A.S. ?) 223, 241, a technical term, applied to birds at their time
of breeding. It is found in the St. Albans Book of Hawking, 1496, sign. A.
i.; "And in the tyme of their (the hawks') love, they calle, and not
_cauke_."
kaurymaury, 81, _care, trouble_?
+cautel (A.N.) 469, _a cunning trick_
kaylewey ( .) 334 (?)
kemben (A.S.) 174, _to comb_
kene (A.S.) _sharp, earnest_
kennen, kenne (A.S.) 355, 396, 410, _to teach_, _pres pl._ konne, 3.
_imperat._ kenne (_teach_), 20. _pret._ kenned, 67, 241, kennede, 409
kepen, kepe (A.S.) _to keep, to abstain_, 60. _pret. pl._ kepten, 235, 404.
have kepe this man, 352, _have this man to keep_
kernelen (A.N.) 113, _to embattle a building, build the battlements_
kerse (A.S.) 174, _cress_
kerven (A.S.) _to carve_. +_part. past_, y-corven, 460
kerver, 184, _a sculptor_
cesse (A.N.) 375, _to end, cease_
kevere (A.N.) 445, _to recover_
kex (A.S.) 361, _the dried stalk of hemlock_
chace (A.N.) 351, _to race, to go fast_
chaffare (A.S.) 131, 292, 301, 305, 338, _to deal, traffic, trade_
chaffare (A.S.) 3, 31, 85, 268, 305, _merchandise_
chalangen (A.N.) _to challenge, claim_. chalangynge, 82. chalanged, 87
chapitle (A.N.) _a chapter_
+chaple (A.N.) 485, _a chapel_
chapman (A.S.) _a merchant, buyer_
+chapolories (A.N.) 483, _chapelaries_
+charthous (A.N.) 490, _Carthusians_
chastilet (A.N.) _a little castle_
chatre (A.N.) 287, _to chatter_
chauncelrie (A.N.) _chancery_
cheke (A.S.) 68, _the cheek_, maugree hire chekes, 68. We have in Chaucer,
_maugré thin eyen_, _maugré hire hed_, &c. See Tyrwhit's Gloss, v.
_Maugre_. One of these instances is exactly analogous to the passage of
Piers Ploughman (C. T. l. 6467):--
And happed, al alone as sche was born,
He saugh a mayde walkyng him by-forn,
Of which mayden anoon _maugré hir heed_,
By verray fors byraft hir maydenhed.
cheker (A.N.) _the exchequer_
chele (A.S.) 176, 439, _cold_
chepen (A.S.) 296, _to buy_
chepyng (A.S.) 68, 135, _market, sale_
cherl (A.S.) 210, _pl._ cherles, 337, 375, _a serf, peasant, churl_
+cherlich (A.N.) 485, _richly, sumptuously_
chervelle (A.S.) 134, _chervil, a plant which was eaten as a pot-herb
(cerefolium)_
chese (A.S.) 296, _to choose_
cheeste, cheste (A.S.) 33, 169, 253, _dissension, strife, debate_
cheve (A.N.) 375, _to compass a thing, to succeed, or bring to an end, to
obtain, adopt_. _pres. s._ cheveth, 287. _pret. pl._ cheveden, 3, chewe,
381, 439. lat hem chewe as thei chosen, _let them take as they choose_
chewen (A.N.) 26, 490, _to eschewe_
chibolle (A.N.) 134, _a kind of leek_, called in French _ciboule_
chicke, _pl._ chicknes, 67 (A.S.) _a chicken_
chevysaunce (A.N.) 92, 426, _an agreement for borrowing money_
chiden (A.S.) _to chide_
child (A.S.) _a child_. _gen. pl._ childrene, 72
chymenee (A.N.) 179, _a fire-place_
chirie-tyme, 86, _cherry-time_
chyvelen (A.S. ?) 88, _to become shrivelled_
+chol (A.S.) 464, _the jowl_
kidde, _see_ couthen
kirk (A.S.) _a church_
kirtel (A.S.) _a kirtle, frock_
kissen (A.S.) 395, _to kiss_. _pret. s._ kiste, 394
kith, kyth (A.S.) 55, 324, 400, _relationship, family connection_. to kith
and to kyn, 268, _to family connection and kindred_
kitone (A.N.) _kitten, young cat_
clawe (A.S.) 274, _to brush, to stroke_
clene (A.S.) _pure, clean_. clenner, 410, purer. clennesse, _purity,
cleanness_
clepen, clepe (A.S.) _to call_. _pret._ cleped, 436. _part. pas._ cleped,
174
clergie (A.N.) _science, clergy_
clerk (A.N.) _pl._ clerkes, _gen. pl._ clerkene, 72, _a scholar_
cler-matyn (A.N.) 135, _a kind of fine bread_
cleven (A.S.) _to split, cleave_ (intransitive). _pret. s._ cleef, 373
cleymen (A.N.) 389, _to claim_. _pret. s._ cleymede, 430
cliket (A.N.) 114, _a kind of latch key_. cliketten, 114, _to fasten with a
cliket_. Tyrwhit explains the word simply as meaning a key--but in Piers
Ploughman it is put so in immediate apposition with the word key, that it
must have differed from it. In Chaucer, C. T. 9990, et seq. it appears to
be the key of a garden gate:--
This freissche May, that I spake of so yore,
In warm wex hath emprynted the _cliket_
That January bar of the smale wiket,
By which into his gardyn ofte he went;
And Damyan, that knew al hir entent,
The _cliket_ counterfeted prively.
In a document of the date 1416, quoted by Ducange, v. _Cliquetus_, it is
ordered that, Refectorarius semper teneat hostium refectorii clausum _cum
cliqueto_
clyngen (A.S.) 276, _to shrink, wither, pine_. Reliq. Antiquæ, vol. ii, p.
210:--
When eld me wol aweld, mi wele is awai;
Eld wol keld, and _cling_ so the clai.
clippe (A.S.) 359, 394, _to embrace, enfold_
clips (A.N. ?) 377, _an eclipse_
clyven (A.S.) 367, _to cleave, stick to_
clokken (A.N.) 45, _to limp or hobble, to walk lamely_
clomsen (A.N.) 276, _to shrink or contract_. A verb used often in the
Wycliffite Bible. In Prompt. Parv. aclomsid.
clooth (A.S.) _cloth_
clouch (A.S.) _pl._ clouches, _a clutch_
clouten (A.S.) _to patch, mend_. _part. past_, y-clouted, 120
clucche (A.S.) 359, _to clutch, hold_
knappe (A.S.) 133, _a knop, a button_
knave (A.S.) 14, 66, _a servant lad_
+knoppede (A.S.) 476, _full of knobs_
knowelichen (A.S.) _to acknowledge_. _pret. s._ kneweliched, 239, 407.
_part. act._ knowelichynge, 400
knowes (A.S.) 98, _knees_
knowen, knowe (A.S.) 408, _to know_, _pres. pl._ knowen. _pret. s._ knew,
232. _pl._ knewen, 237. _part. pas._ knowen, knowe
coffe (A.S. ?) 120, _a cuff_
+cofrene (A.N.) 455, _to put in a coffer_
coghen (A.S.) 367, _to cough_
coke (A.S.) _a cook_
cokeney (A.N.) 134, _some kind of meager food, probably a young or small
cock, which had little flesh on its bones_. This meaning of the word (which
has been misunderstood) may be gathered from a comparison of the passage in
Piers Ploughman with one in the "Turnament of Tottenham," where the writer
intended to satirize the poorness of the fare:--
At that fest were thei servyd in a rich aray,
Every fyve and fyve had _a cokeney_.
Heywood, in his Proverbs, part i, chap. xi, gives a proverb in which the
word is evidently used in the same sense, and appears to be intentionally
contrasted with a _fat hen_:--
--Men say,
He that comth every daie shall have _a cocknaie_,
He that comth now and then, shall have a fat hen;
But I gat not so muche in comyng seelde when,
As a goode hens fether or a poore egshell.
I think that _cokenay_ in Chaucer is the same word, used metaphorically to
signify a person without worth or courage (C. T. 4205):--
And when this jape is tald another day,
I sal be hald a daf, _a cokenay_.
coker (A.S.) 120, _a short stocking, or glove, a sheath_
coket (A.N.) 135, _a kind of fine bread_
cokewold (A.N.) 75, _a cuckold_
cole (A.N.) 134, _cabbage_
coler (A.N.) _a collar_
collen (A.N.) 203, _to embrace, put one's arms round a person's neck_, in
French, _accoller_
colomy (A. .) 267 (?)
colvere (A.S.) 319, _a dove, pigeon_
come (A.S.) 416, _to come_. _pres. s._ he comth, 18, 332. _pret. s._ cam,
kam, coom, 168, com, 400. _pl._ comen, 438, come, 235, 237, 430, coome,
416, coomen, 438. _subj._, til he coome, 328, er thei coome, 353
comsen (A.N.) 23, 24, 49, 77, 81, 119, 136, 152, 244, 372, _to begin,
commence, to endeavour_. _pret. s._ comsede, 402, 403. comsynge, 382
comunes (A.N.) 80, 420, _commons, allowance of provision_
confus (A.N.) _confused_
congeyen, congeien (A.N.) 258, _to give leave, dismiss_
congie (A.N.) 258, _leave_
konne (A.S.) 401, 408, 437, _to learn, know_. _pres. s._ kan. _pret._
kouthe, 411, koude. _subj._ in case that thow konne, 424, and thou konne,
397, _if thou know_. _pret. act._ konnyng, 206, _knowing_
konnynge (A.S.) 409, _knowledge, science, cunning_
contenaunce (A.N.) 2, 203, _appearance, gesture, carriage_
contrarien (A.N.) 367, _to go against, vex, oppose_
contree (A.N.) _a country_
contreve (A.N.) _to contrive_. contreved, _contrived_
conying (A.N. ?) _a rabbit_
copen (A.N.) 51, _to cover with a cope, like a friar_
coppe (A.N.) 44, 191, _a cup, basin_
coroune (A.N.) _a crown_
corounen (A.N.) _to crown_. _part. p._ y-corouned
cors (A.N.) 295, _the body_
corsaint (A.N.) 109, _a relique, the body of a saint_
corsen (A.S.) 305, _to curse_
corsede (A.S.) _cursed_. corseder, 421, _more cursed, worse_
cost (A.N.) 33, 151, 376, _a side, region_
costen (A.N.) _to cost_. _pret. s._ costed, 13. _part. pas._ costned, 13
cote (A.S.) 152, _a cottage, cot_
coten (A.N.) 51, _to dress in a coat_
+cotinge (A.S.) 468, _cutting_
coupable (A.N.) 366, _guilty, culpable_
coupe (A.N.) 44, 95, _a cup_
coupen (A.N.) _to cut out, fashion_ (?) _part. past_, y-couped, 370
courben (A.N.) 19, 28, _to bend, stoop_
courtepy (A.N.) 82, 128, _a short cloak of coarse cloth_
couthen (A.S.) 87, _to make known, discover, publish_. _pret._ kidde, 103,
269
+couuen (A.S.) 473, perhaps an error in the old printed text for _connen_
coveiten (A.N.) _to covet_
covent (A.N.) 428, _a convent_
coveren (A.N.) 238, _to recover_
cracchen (A.S.) 211, 322, _to scratch_
crafte (A.S.) _craft, art_. crafty-men, 121, _artisans_
creaunt (A.N.) 239, _believing_
crepen (A.S.) _to creep_. _pret. s._ crope, _pl._ cropen
cryen (A.N.) _to cry_. _pret. s._ cried, cryde, 374, _pl._ cryden, cride
croft (A.S.) _a small inclosed field, a croft_
crokke (A.S.) 412, _a pot, pitcher, vessel of earthenware_
+crom-bolle (A.S.) 476, _a crum-bowl_
crop (A.S.) 332, 334, _the head or top of a tree or plant_; hence the
expression "root and crop," still in use
cropiers (A.N.) _the housings on the horse's back_
croppen (A.S.) 319, _to eat (said of a bird), to put into its crop or craw_
crouche (A.N.) 109, _a cross_. Hence is derived the name of _the Crutched
Friars_
+crouken (A.S.) 495, _to bend_
+crucchen (A.S.) 495, _to crouch_
cruddes (A.S.) _curds_
cruwel (A.N.) 269, _cruel_
ku, _pl._ kyen (A.S.) 125, _a cow_
kulle (A.S.) 344, kille, 434, _to kill_. _pret. s._ kilde, 431. _part.
past_, kulled, 339. to kulle, 338
culorum (_Lat._) 60, 198, _the conclusion or moral of a tale_
cultour (A.S.) 123, kultour, 61, _a culter, blade_
cuppe-mele (A.S.) 90, _cup by cup_
kutte, 79 (A.S.) _to cut_. _imperat._ kut, 75. _pret. pl._ kitten, 128
kynde (A.S.) _nature, race, kind_
kynde (A.S.) _natural_. kyndeliche, 382, _naturally_
kyng (A.S.) _pl._ kynges. _gen. pl._ kyngene, 21, 400, _a king_
kyng-ryche (A.S.) _a kingdom_
kyn, _gen. s._ kynnes (A.S.) 40, _kin, kind_. This word is used in the
genitive case in such phrases as the following: of foure kynnes thynges,
151, _of four kinds of things_. othere kynnes men, 177, _other kinds of
men_. none kynnes riche, 213, _no kind of rich men, or rich men of no
kind_. many kynnes maneres, 359, _many sorts of manners_. any kynnes catel,
400, _any kind of property_
D.
daffe (A.S.) _a fool_
daggen (A.S.) 433, _to dag, to cut the edges of the garment in jagged
ornaments, as was the custom at this period_
daren (A.S.) _to dare_. _pres. pl._ dar, 10, 280. _pret. s._ and _pl._
dorste, 11, 42, 253, 393
dawe (A.S.) 380, _dawn_. _pret. s._ dawed, 395
dawnten (A.N.) 319, _to tame_,--also, _to daunt, to fear_
decourren (A.N.) 285, _to discover, lay open, narrate_
dedeynous (A.N.) 156, _disdainful_
deed (A.S.) _dead_
deen (A.N.) _a dean_
dees (A.N.) _dice_
deef (A.S.) _pl._ deve, 403, _deaf_
defende (A.N.) 47, 485, _to forbid, prohibit_
defien, defyen, defie (A.N. ?) 84, 100, 141, 298, _to digest_
defyen (A.N.) _to defy_. _pret. s._ defyed, 429
degised (A.N.) 2, _disguised_
deyen (A.S.) _to die_. _pret. s._ deide, 214. to dye, 352
deyntee (A.N.) 205, _dainty, niceness, preciousness_
deys, dees (A.N.) 139, 250, _the dais, or high table in the hall_
deitee (A.N.) _deity, godhead_
del, deel (A.S.) _part, portion_. tithe deel, 323, _tenth part_
delen, dele, deelen (A.S.) 47, 175, 218, _share, distribute, give, deal_.
_pres._ ye deele, 144
deliten (A.N.) _to delight, take pleasure_
delitable (A.N.) _delightful, pleasant_
delven (A.S.) 417, _to dig, bury_. _pret. pl._ dolven, 128. _part. pas._
dolven, 128, 293
delvere (A.S.) _a digger, delver_
demen (A.S.) _to judge_. _pret._ demede
dene (A.S.) 373, _din, noise_
dene (A.N.) _a dean_
departable (A.N.) 355, _divisible_
depper (A.S.) 307, _deeper_
dere (A.S.) 140, 349, 370, _to injure, hurt_
derely (A.S.) 396, _expensively, richly_
dereworthe (A.S.) _precious, honourable_
derk (A.S.) _dark_
derne (A.S.) 38, 249, _secret_
destruyen, destruye (A.N.) 361, _to destroy_. _pret. s._ destruyed, 340
dette (A.N.) _pl._ dettes, _a debt_
devoir (A.N.) _duty_
devors (A.N.) 433, _divorce_
dya (A.N.) 435, _dyachylon_
diapenidion, 84, _an electuary_
dido (A. .) 256, _a trifle, a trick_
dighte (A.S.) 134, _to fit out, make, dispose, dress_. _pret. s._ dighte,
396
+digne (A.N.) 472, _worthy_
digneliche (A.N.) _worthily, deservedly_
dyk, 417 (A.S.) _dych, a ditch_
dikere, dykere (A.S.) 96, _a ditch or foss digger, ditcher_
dymes (A.N.) 326, _tithes_
dymme (A.S.) 388, _dark_. _adv._ dymme, 184, _darkly_
dymmen (A.S.) 98, _to become dim or dark_
dyngen (A.S.) 62, 125, 193, 295, _to strike, ding, knock_
dynt (A.S.) 370, _a blow, knock_
disalowed (A.N.) 281, _disallowed, disapproved. disalowyng_, 282,
_disapproving_
discryven (A.N.) _to describe_
disour (A.N.) _a player at dice_
disour (A.N.) 120, _a teller of tales_
dyssheres (A.S.) 96, _a female who makes dishes_
+distrie (A.N.) 478, _to destroy_
doel (A.N.) 100, 124, 368, _grief, lamentation_
doughtier (A.S.) 83, _more doughty, more to be feared_. doghtiest, 403,
_bravest_. doghtiliche, 371, _doughtily, bravely_
doke (A.S.) 81, 352, _a duck_
dole (A.S.) 47, _a share, portion_. Another form of _del_.
donet (A.N.) 89, _grammar, elements, first principles_, from Donatus. See
note on l. 7944
domesman (A.S.) 414, _a judge_
dongeon (A.N.) _a fort, the chief tower of a castle_
doom, dome (A.S.) _pl._ domes, _judgment_
doon (A.S.) _to do_. _pres. sing._ dooth, _pl._ doon, don. _pret. s._ dide,
_pl._ diden, 278, 392, dide, 389. _part. pas._ doon, do. _imperat. pl._
dooth, 152. to doone, 226, 263
dore-tree (A.S.) _a door post_
+dortour (A.N.) 463, _a dormitory_
doted (A.S.) _foolish, simple_
doughtres (A.S.) _daughters_
doute (A.N.) _fear, doubt_
dowen (A.N.) _to endow_. _pret._ dowed, 325, _endowed_
dowve (A.S.) 319, _a dove_
draf (A.S.) 173, 419, _dregs, dirt_. Things thrown away as unfit for man's
food, particularly the dust and husks of corn after it has been threshed.
Chaucer's Parson (C. T. l. 17329) says:--
Why schuld I sowen _draf_ out of my fest,
Whan I may sowe whete, if that me lest?
+drane (A.S.) 493, _a drone_
drawen (A.S.) _to draw_. _pret. s._ drough, 89, 98. drogh, 280, 437. drow,
376, _pl._ drowen, 222. _part. pas._ drawe, 175
+drecchen (A.S.) 478, 480, _to vex, grieve, oppress_
drede (A.S.) 434, _to dread, fear_. _pres. s._ he drat, 165. _pret. s._
dredde, 280. _pl._ dradden, 429. _imperat._ dred, 17
dredfully (A.S.) 352, _fearfully, terrified_
dregges (A.S.) 419, _dregs_
dremels (A.S.) 148, 247, _a dream_
drenchen, drenche (A.S.) 154, 237, _to drown_. _pret. pl._ a-dreynten, 198
drevelen (A.S.) 175, _to drivel_
drye (A.S.) 276, _thirst_
drien (A.S.) 16, _to be dry, thirsty_
drihte (A.S.) 262, _lord_. drighte, 279
drinken (A.S.) _to drink_. _pret. s._ drank, _pl._ dronken, 277, dronke,
278. _part. pas._ dronken, y-dronke, 354
dryven (A.S.) _to drive_
droghte (A.S.) 134, _a drought, deficiency of wet_
dronklewe (A.S.) 156, _drunken, given to drink_. The word occurs in
Chaucer, C. T. l. 7625:--
Irous Cambises was eek _dronkelewe_,
And ay delited him to ben a schrewe.
Again (C. T. l. 12426):--
Seneca saith a good word douteles:
He saith he can no difference find,
Betwix a man that is out of his mind,
And a man whiche that is _dronkelew_.
The word used by Seneca is _ebrius_
drury (A.N.) 20, _courtship, gallantry_
duc (A.N.) 414, _a duke_. _pl._ dukes, 388
+duen (A.N.) 496, _to endue, or endow_
E.
ech (A.S.) _each_. echone (i. e. _each one_) _every one, each_
edifie (A.N.) 371, _to build_
edwyte (A.S.) 99, _to reproach, blame, upbraid_
eest (A.S.) _east_
eft (A.S.) 354, 371, _again_
eggen (A.S.) 19, 386, _to egg on, urge, incite_
egreliche (A.N.) 334, 418, _sourly, bitterly_
+ey (A.S.) 464, _an egg_
eighe (A.S.) 180, 190, 306, _pl._ eighen, 5, 80, 127, eighes, 33, _the eye_
eylen (A.S.) _to ail_
eyr (A.N.) _air_
elde (A.S.) _old age_
elenge (A.S.) 12, 179, 425, _mournful, sorrowful_. elengliche, 231,
_sorrowfully, in trouble_
eller (A.S.) 19, ellere, 168, _an elder tree_
ellis (A.S.) 6, _else, otherwise, at other times_
enbawmen (A.N.) _to embalm_. _pret. s._ enbawmed, 352
enblaunchen (A.N.) 301, _to whiten over_
engyne (A.N.) 384, _to contrive, lay a plan, catch_
engleymen (A.N.) 298, _to beslime_
engreyned (A.N.) 29, _powdered_
enselen (A.N.) _to put a seal to_
+entayled (A.N.) 462, _carved_
entre-metten (A.N.) 226, 263, _to intermeddle_
envenyme (A.N.) _venom, poison_
er (A.S.) _before, formerly_
erchdekenes (A.N.) _archdeacons_
ere (A.S.) _pl. eris, the ear_
erien, erie, erye (A.S.) 117, 138, _to plough_. _pret. pl._ eriede, 411.
_part. past_, eryed, 117
eerl. _pl._ erles (A.S.) _an earl_
ernynge (A.S.) 418, _running_. _see_ yerne
ers (A.S.) 87, 180, 191, _the fundament, podex_
erst (A.S.) _first, most before_, _superl. of_ er
eschaunge (A.N.) _exchange_
eschetes (A.N.) 75, _escheats_
ese (A.N.) _ease_
eten, ete (A.S.) 386, _to eat_. _pret. s._ eet, 100, 135, 146, 241, &c.
_pl._ eten, 114, 248, ete, 278. _part. pas._ eten, 354.
+evelles (A.S.) 465, _without evil_
even (A.S.) _equal_. even-cristen, _equal christian, or equal by baptism_;
_fellow-christian_, evene, 76, _evenly, equally_. evene forth, 356,
_equally_
+evesed (A.S.) 460, _furnished with eaves_
evesynge (A.S.) 361, _the ice which hangs on the eaves of houses_
ewage (A.N.) 29, _a kind of precious stone_
expounen (A.N.) 290, _to expound, explain_
F.
fader (A.S.) 361, _a father_
fayn (A.S.) _fain, glad_
faiten (A.N.) 144, 308, _to beg, idle, to flatter_. _pret. pl._ faiteden,
3. faityng, 175, _deceiving_
faiterie (A.N.) 207, _flattery, deception_
faitour (A.N.) _a deceiver, an idle lazy fellow, a flatterer_
faithly (A.N.) 400, _truly, properly_
fallen (A.S.) _to fall_. _pres. s._ he falleth. _pret. s._ fel, 280, 297,
fil, 278, 312, 374, fille, 285, 336, _pl._ fellen, felle, 336, 388. _part.
pas._ fallen, 375
fals (A.N.) _false, falseness_. falshede, _falsehood_. falsliche, 390,
_falsely_
fangen (A.S.) 111, fonge, 282, 336, _to take, take hold of_. _pret. s._
_under_-feng, 19, _under_-fonged, 209. _part. past_, _under_-fongen, 115,
211
faren, fare (A.S.) 197, _to go, fare_. _pret. s._ ferde, 443, _pl._ ferden,
168 _part. past_, faren 77, 123, 228
fare (A.S.) 376, _proceeding, manner of going on, fare_
fasten (A.S.) _to fast_
fauchon (A.N.) 295, _a sword, falchion_
faunt (A.N.) 134, 144, 336, 403, _a child, infant_
fauntekyn (A.N.) 259, _a young child_
faunteltee, fauntelté (A.N.) 204, 304, _childishness_
faute, _pl._ fautes (A.N.) 179, _a fault_
fauten (A.N.) _to want_. _pret._ fauted, 163
favel (A.N.) 28, 30, _deception by flattery, cajolery_
feble (A.N.) 355, _feeble, weak_
fecchen (A.S.) 39, 385, 410, _to fetch_. _pres. s._ I fecche, thow fettest,
390. _pret. s._ fet, fette, 36, 104, 202, 385. _pl._ fetten, 134. _part.
pas._ fet, 444, fette water at hise eighen, _threw water at his eyes_; to
fetch a thing at another, for, to throw, is an expression still in use
feden (A.S.) _to feed_
fee (A.S.) _property, money, fee_
feere (A.S.) 367, _pl._ feeres, feeris, _companion_
feere (A.S.) 256, 367, 376, _fear_
feet (A.N.) 26, _a deed, fact_
feffement (A.N.) 32, _enfeofment_
feffen (A.N.) 33, 37, _to infeof, to fee, present_
feynen (A.N.) _to feign, dissemble_
feyntise (A.S.) 77, _faintness, weakness_
feire (A.N.) _a fair_
fel (A.S.) _the skin_
fele (A.S.) _many_. fele fold, _manyfold_
fellen (A.S.) _to fell, kill_
felonliche (A.N.) 390, _like a felon, in manner of a felon_
+fen (A.S.) 476, _mud, mire_
fend (A.S.) _pl._ fendes, _a fiend, devil_. fyndekynes, 391, _little
fiends_
fennel-seed (A.S.) 95, _the seed of sweet-fennel was formerly used as a
spice_
fenestre (A.N.) 285, 370, _a window_
fer (A.S.) _far_
fere (A.S.) 140, _to frighten_
ferly (A.S.) _pl._ ferlies, _a wonder_, 196, 253, 376
ferie (A.N.) 270, _a week-day_
ferme (A.N.) 403, _adv._ _firmly_
fermed (A.N.) 177, _strengthened_
fernyere (A.S.) 103, 228, _in former times_
fernmerye (A.N.) 253, _the infirmary_
+ferrer (A.S.) 463, _further_
ferthe (A.S.) 413, _fourth_
festnen (A.S.) _to fasten_. _part. pas._ fest, 35
festynge (A.N.) _feasting_
festu (A.N.) 190, _a mote in the eye_. (festuca, _Lat._)
fetisliche, 28, fetisly, 38 (A.N.) _elegantly, neatly, featously_
fibicches (A.N. ?) 186 (?)
+fichewes (A.S.) 468, _a kind of weasel_, called a _fitchet_ in Shropshire
+fyen (A.N.) 487, _to say, fy!_ The exclamation, _fy!_ was originally one
of disgust, occasioned by anything that stunk, according to the old distich
(MS. Cotton, Cleop. B. ix, fol. 11, v^o. of the thirteenth cent.):--
_Phi_, nota _foetoris_, lippus gravis omnibus horis,
Sit _phi_, sit lippus semper procul, ergo Philippus!
fiers (A.N.) _proud, fierce_
fighten (A.S.) _to fight_. _pret. s._ faught, 391, 402. _pl._ foughten.
_part. pas._ y-foughte, 126, 336
fyle (A.N.) 86, _a daughter, girl_, apparently used here in the sense of a
_common woman_; as they say now in French, _elle n'est qu'une fille_, she
is no better than a strumpet
fyn (A.N.) 403, _fine, clever_
fynden (A.S.) _to find, to furnish_. _pres. s._ he fynt, 73, 146, 305, 367.
_pret. s._ fond, foond, 219, 304, 312
fir (A.S.) 360, _fire_. fuyr, _fire_
fithele (A.N.) 272, _to fiddle_. fithele, 165, _a fiddle_
flappen (A.S.) _to strike with a flail or with any flat loose weapon_.
_pret. pl._ flapten, 128
flatten (A.N.) _to slap_. _pret. s._ flatte, 104
flawmbe, flaumbe (A.N.) 360, 362, _a flame_
flawme (A.S.) 243, _to emit a fetid exhalation_ (?)
flawmen (A.N.) 361, _to flame_. flawmynge, 360, _flaming_
fle, 40, fleen, 168, 366 (A.S.) _to fly_. _pret. s._ fleigh, 40, 351, 353,
402, 435. _pl._ flowen, 42, 128. fledden, 42
fleckede (A.S.) 222, _spotted_
flesshe (A.S.) _flesh_
fleten (A.S.) 237, _to float, swim involuntarily_
flittynge (A.S.) 206, _disputing, flyting_
flobre (A.S. ?) 274, _to slobber_ (?)
florisshe (A.N.) 291, _to adorn_
floryn (A.N.) 74, _a florin_ (a gold coin)
+flurichen (A.N.) 479, _to flourish_
fode (A.S.) _food_
+foynes (A.N.) 468, _a kind of marten, of which the fur was used for
dresses_
fold, foold (A.S.) 24, 141, 243, _the world, the earth_
fole (A.S.) _a foal_
follede, 321, _baptized_. see _fullen_
+folloke (A.S.) 489 (?)
folvyle (A.N.) 410 (?)
folwe, folwen (A.S.) 355, _to follow_. _pres. pl._ folwen. _pret. s._
folwed, folwede, 353. _pl._ folwede, 301. _part. past_, folwed
folwere (A.S.) _a follower_
fonden (A.S.) 238, _to try, tempt, inquire_. _pret. s._ fonded, fondede,
315, 344, 353
fondynge (A.S.) 291, _a temptation, undertaking_
fongen, _see_ fangen
foot (A.S.) _a foot_. foote, 354, _on foot_
for (A.S.) _for, for that, because_; for-thi, _because, therefore_
for-, in composition in verbs derived from the Anglo-Saxon, conveys the
idea of privation or deterioration, and answers to the modern German ver-.
It is preserved in a few words in our language, such as _forbid_,
_forbear_, _forlorn_, &c. The following instances occur in Piers
Ploughman:--
for-bete (A.S.) _to beat down, beat to pieces, or to death, beat entirely_.
_part. past_, for-beten, 436
for-bode (A.S.) _denial, forbidding_
for-biten (A.S.) 332, _to bite to pieces_
for-doon, for-do (A.S.) 78, 163, 371, _to undo, ruin_. _pret. s._ for-dide,
340, 390. _part. past_, for-do, 262, for-doon, 371
for-faren (A.S.) 303, _to go to ruin, perish, to fare ill_
for-freten (A.S.) 332, _to eat to pieces_
+for-gabben (A.N.) 488, _to mock_
for-yeten (A.S.) 362, _to forget_. _pret. s._ for-yat, 205
for-gyven (A.S.) _to forgive_. _pret. s._ 374. _part. pas._ for-gyve, 365
for-glutten (A.S.) 178, _to devour, swallow up_
for-pynede (A.S.) 126, _pined or starved to death, wasted away, niggardly_.
Chaucer, C. T. l. 1453:--
In derknes and orrible and strong prisoun
This seven yeer hath seten Palamon,
_For-pyned_, what for woo and for destresse.
And C. T. l. 205:--
He was not pale as a _for-pyned_ goost.
In this latter place Tyrwhit seems to interpret it as meaning _tormented_
for-shapen (A.S.) _to unmake_. _pret. s._ for-shapte, 365
for-sleuthen (A.S.) 103, _to be spoilt from lying idle_
for-stallen (A.S.) 68, _to hinder, forestall, stop_
for-sweren (A.S.) 170, _to perjure, swear falsely_. _part. pas._
for-sworen, 418, forsworn
for-thynken (A.S.) 167, _to repent, beg pardon_
for-wandred (A.S.) 1, _worn out with wandering about_
for-wanye (A.S.) 79, _to spoil_
+for-werd (A.S.) 476, 494, _worn out_
for-yelden (A.S.) 133, 257, _to make a return for a thing, repay_
forbisne (A.S.) 152, _an example, similitude, parable_
forceres (A.N.) 186, _coffers_
fore-ward, for-ward, for-warde (A.S.) 65, 119, 206, _a bargain, promise_
for-goer (A.S.) 39, _a goer before_
for-goers (A.S.) 31, _people whose business it was to go before the great
lords in their progresses, and buy up provisions for them_
formest (A.S.) 186, 403, _first, foremost_
+formfaderes (A.S.) 498, _first fathers_
formour (A.N.) 160, 358, _a creator, maker_
forreyour (A.N.) 430, _a scout, forager_
forster (A.N.) 354, _a forester_
+forytoures, 465, perhaps an error of the press in the old edition for
_fautoures_
forwit (A.S.) 87, _prescience, forethought, anticipation_
fostren (A.S.) 360, _to foster_
foulen (A.S.) 414, _to defoul_
fowel (A.S.) _a fowl, bird_
fraynen (A.S.) _to ask, inquire, question_. _pret. s._ frayned, 18, 109,
151, 341, 370
+fraynyng (A.S.) 452, _questioning_
frankeleyn (A.N.) 398, _a large freeholder_, in rank in society classed
with, but after, the _miles_ and _armiger_. See Tyrwhit's note on the
Canterbury Tales, l. 333
frayel (A.N.) 252, _a wicker basket_. See note. In the romance of Richard
Coeur de Lion, l. 1547, King Richard says:--
Richard aunsweryth, with herte free,
Off froyt there is gret plenté;
Fyggys, raysyns, in _frayel_,
And notes may serve us fol wel.
fraytour (A.N.) 192, 463, _a refectory_
freke (A.S.) 74, 87, 130, 132, 188, 203, 246, 250, 341, _man, fellow_
frele (A.N.) _frail_
freletee (A.N.) 46, frelete, 367, _frailty_
fremmed (A.S.) 303, _strange_
frere (A.N.) _a friar, brother_
frete (A.S.) 265, _to fret_
frete, freten (A.S.) 33, _to eat, devour_. _pret. s._ freet, 381
fretien (A.S.) _to adorn_. _part. p._ fretted
fryth (A.S.) 224, 241, 355, _an inclosed wood_
frythed (A.S.) 112, _wooded_
frounces (A.N.) 265, _wrinkles_
fullen (A.S.) 322, _to full cloth_
fullen (A.S.) 176, _to become full_
fullen (A.S.) _to baptize_. _pret. s._ follede, 321. _part. past_,
y-fulled, 398
fullynge (A.S.) 244, 322, 398, _baptizing, baptism_
furwe (A.S.) _a furrow_
fust (A.S.) 356, _the fist_
G. Y.
gabben (A.N.) 53, _to joke, trifle, tell tales_. gabbyng (A.N.) 423,
_joking, idle talk_
gadelyng (A.S.) 434, gedelyng, 165. _pl._ gedelynges, 171, gadelynges, 68,
_a vagabond_. In Anglo-Saxon the word _gædeling_ means a companion or
associate, apparently without any bad sense. Thus the romance of Beowulf
speaks of the armour of one of the heroes:--
þæt Onela for-geaf,
his gædelinges
guð-ge-wædu.
_which Onela had given him,
the war-weeds of his comrade,
the ready implements of war._
This, and most of the other similar Anglo-Saxon words, applied to their
heroes and warriors, became degraded under the Anglo-Normans. We may
mention as other examples the words, _fellow_, _renk_, _grom_, _wye_, &c.
+gaynage (A.N.) 462, _profit_
gaynesse (A.N.) 178, _gaiety_
galoche (A.N.) 370, _a shoe_. The word occurs in Chaucer
galpen (A.S.) 252, _to belch_
gamen (A.S.) _play_
gangen, gange (A.S.) _to go_
+garites (A.S.) 463, _garrets_
garnementz (A.N.) 379, _garments, ornaments_
gare (A.S.) _to make or cause to do a thing_. _pret. s._ garte, 22, 80,
135, 321, gart, 84, gerte, 428
gate (A.S.) 67, 171, 383, _way, going_. go thi gate, 351, 445, _go thy
way_. this ilke gate, 354, _this same way_
yate (A.S.) 385, 406, _a gate_
geaunt (A.N.) 384, _a giant_
gentile (A.N.) 26, 174, 175, _gentle, genteel_
gentilliche (A.N.) 44, _beautifully, finely, genteelly_
gentrie (A.N.) 370, _gentility_
gerl (A.S.) _pl._ gerles, girles, gerlis, 17, 184, 369, _youth of either
sex_. In the Coventry Mystery of the Slaughter of the Innocents (p. 181)
one of the knights engaged in the massacre says:--
I xall sle scharlys,
And qwenys with therlys,
Here _knave gerlys_
I xal steke.
Forthe wyl I spede,
To don hem blede,
Thow _gerlys_ grede,
We xul be wreke.
gerner (A.N.) _a garner_
gesene (A.S. ?) 262, _rare, scarce_
gesse (A.S.) _a guess_. up gesse, 102, _upon guess, by guess_
gest, _pl_. gestes (A.N.) _a deed, history, tale_
gest (A.S.) 312, _a guest_
geten, gete (A.S.) _to get_. _pres. pl._ geten. _pret. s._ gat, thow gete,
386, 389, 390, getest, 390, _part. past_, geten, 375, gete, 403
yiftes (A.S.) 49, _gifts_
gyle (A.S.) _guile, deceit_
gilour (A.S.) _a deceiver_
gyn (A.N.) 384, _a trap, machine, contrivance_
gynful (A.N.) 186, _full of tricks or contrivances_
gynnen (A.S.) _to begin_. _pret. sing._ gan, 2. _pl._ gonne, 158, gonnen,
262. gynnyng, _beginning_. The preterite is frequently used as an auxiliary
verb to form with others a kind of imperfect or preterite, as, gan drawe,
352, _drew_; gan despise, 374, _despised_
gyen (A.N.) 39, _to rule_
gyour (A.N.) 421, 429, _a ruler, leader_
girden (A.S.) 40, _to cast, strike_. _pret. s._ girte, 99. In the second
Towneley Mystery of the Shepherds, p. 115, Mak says, "If I trespas eft,
_gyrd_ of my heede."
gyterne (A.N.) 260, a _gittern_, a musical instrument, resembling, or
identical with, the modern guitar
gyven (A.S.) _to give_. _pres. pl._ gyven. _pret. sing._ gaf, yaf, 387.
_part. past_, yeven, y-gyve, 37
gyven (A.S.) 436, _to fetter, bind in gyves_
+gladdyng (A.S.) 481, _merry_ (?)
gladen, 404, gladie, 384 (A.S.) _to gladden, cause joy to_. _pret. s._
gladede, 435
+glaverynge (A.N.) 454, 492, _smooth, slippery, flattering_
glazene (A.S.) 435, _made of glass_ (?) See note
glee (A.S.) _the performance of the minstrel or jongleur_
gle-man (A.S.) 98, 165, _a minstrel_
glede, glade (A.S.) 94, 361, _a spark, glowing ember_
+gleym ( ) 479 (?)
+gloppynge (A.S.) 456, _sucking in_
glosen (A.N.) _to gloss, paraphrase, comment_
gloton (A.N.) _a glutton_
glotonye (A.N.) _gluttony_
glubben (A.S.) _to suck in, gobble up_. _part. pas._ y-glubbed, 97, _sucked
in_. glubbere, 162, _a glutton_
gnawen (A.S.) _to gnaw_
+gode (A.S.) 476, _a goad_
goky (A.S.) 220, _a gawky, clown_
goliardeis (A.N.) 9, _one who gains his living by following rich men's
tables, and telling tales and making sport for the guests_. See on this
word the Introduction to the Poems of Walter Mapes. It occurs in Chaucer,
C. T. l. 562
He was a jangler and _a golyardeys_,
And that was most of synne and harlotries.
gome (A.S.) 257, 263, 267, 288, 308, 312, 350, 354, 382, 403, _a man_
gomme (A.N.) _gum_
goon (A.S.) 37, _to go_. _pres. s._ he gooth, 354. _pl._ gon, goon, 303.
_pret. sing._ wente. _pl._ wenten, 233, 351
goost (A.S.) _spirit, ghost_
goostliche (A.S.) 427, _spiritually_
gorge (A.N.) 176, 177, _the throat, mouth_
gos (A.S.) _pl._ gees, _a goose_
gothelen (A.S.) 97, 252, _to grumble_ (as is said of the belly)
gowe (A.S.) 14, _a phrase of invitation, i. e. go we, let us go_
graffen (A.N.) 85, _to graft_
+graith (A.S.) 453, 464, _the truth_ (?)
graithe (A.S.) 27, _ready, prepared_
graithen (A.S.) _to prepare, make ready_. +_part. pas._ y-greithed, 462,
487. graythed, 494
graithly (A.S.) 386. graythliche, 482, _readily, speedily_
graunt (A.N.) 353, _great_
graven (A.N.) _to engrave_. _part. pas._ grave, 73, _engraved_
gravynge (A.N.) _engraving, sculpturing_
graven (A.N.) 206, _to put in grave_
greden (A.S.) 32, 47, _to cry out, shout, make a noise_. _pret. s._ thow
graddest, 421, he gradde, 335, 448
gree (A.N.) 375, _pleasure, will_
greete (A.S.) 100, _to lament_
greyne (A.N.) 412, 415, _a grain, seed_
greten (A.S.) 97, 379, _to greet_. _pret. s._ grette, 186, 344, 446
gretter (A.S.) _greater_
greven (A.N.) 354, _to grieve_
grys (A.S.) 14, 68, 134, _pigs_. See the story of Will _Gris_ in the
Lanercost Chronicle
grys (A.N.) 308, _a kind of fur_
+grysliche (A.S.) 485, _fearfully_
grom (A.S.) 99, _a man_: hence the modern groom
grote (A.N.) 51, _a groat, a coin of the value of four pennies_
grucchen, grucche (A.S.) _to grudge_
H.
hailsen (A.S.) _to salute_. _pres. s._ hailse, 83. _pret._ hailsed, 148,
151
hayward (A.N.) 415, _a man employed to watch and guard the inclosed fields,
or hays_. An illustration of this word will be found in the passage from
Whitaker's text given in the note on l. 2473
hakke (A.S.) 420, _to follow, run after, cut along after_
half (A.S.) _half, side_
halie (A.S.) 156, _to hawl_
hals (A.S.) _the neck_
halwe (A.S.) 327, _to hallow, consecrate, make holy_
hamlen (A.S.) +_part. pas._ y-hamled, 468, _to tie or attach_ (?)
handy dandy (A.S.) 69, the expression still used in Shropshire and
Herefordshire
hange, honge (A.S.) 348, 384, _to hang_ (intransitive). _pret. s._ hanged,
19
hange, hangen (A.S.) 39, 392, _to hang_ (transitive). _pret. pl._ hengen,
25
hanylons (A.N.) 181, _the wiles of a fox_. See Sir Frederick Madden's
Glossary to Gawawyn (v. _hamlounez_), who quotes the following lines from
the Boke of St. Albans:--
And yf your houndes at a chace renne there ye hunte,
And the beest begyn to renne, as hartes ben wonte,
Or for to _hanylon_, as dooth the foxe wyth his gyle,
Or for to crosse, as the roo doth otherwhyle.
hanselle (A.S.) 96, _gift, reward, bribe_. It is used in the alliterative
poem on the Deposition of Richard II, p. 30:--
Some parled as perte
As provyd well after,
And clappid more for the coyne
That the kyng owed hem,
Thanne ffor comfforte of the comyne
That her cost paied,
And were behote _hansell_,
If they helpe wolde.
hardy (A.N.) 413, _bold, hardy, courageous_. hardier, 354, _more bold_
hardie (A.N.) 321, _to encourage, embolden_
harewe (A.S.) 412, _a harrow_
harewen, harewe (A.S.) 412, 414, _to harrow_. _pret._ harewede, _ib._
harlot (A.N.) 175, 270, 271, 303, 354, _a blackguard, person of infamous
life_. The word was used in both genders. It appears to have answered
exactly to the French _ribaud_, as Chaucer in the Romance of the Rose
translates _roy des ribaulx_, by _king of harlots_. Chaucer says of the
Sompnour (C. T. l. 649):--
He was a _gentil harlot_ and a kynde
A bettre felaw schulde men nowher fynde.
He wolde suffre for a quart of wyn,
A good felawe to ban his concubyn,
A twelve moneth, and excuse him atte fulle.
This passage gives us a remarkable trait of the character of the ribald, or
harlot, who formed a peculiar class of middle-age society. Among some old
glosses in the Reliquiæ Antiquæ (vol. i, p. 7), we find "_scurra_, a
harlotte." In the Coventry Mystery of the Woman taken in Adultery (p. 217),
it is the young man who is caught with the woman, and not the woman
herself, who is stigmatised as a _harlot_.
harpen (A.S.) _to harp_. _pret. pl._ harpeden, 394
harrow (A.N.) 430, an exclamation, or rather a cry, said to have been
peculiar to the Normans, the origin and derivation of which have been the
subject of much discussion among antiquaries. It was the cry which every
one was bound to raise and repeat, when any murder, theft, robbery, or
other violent crime, was attempted or perpetrated, in order that the
offenders might be hindered or secured. It was afterwards used in any great
tumult or disorder, and became a general exclamation of persons wanting
help. (See Ducange, in v. _Haro_.) In the Towneley Mysteries (p. 14), when
Cain finds that his offering will not burn, he cries:--
We! out! haro! help to blaw!
It wille not bren for me, I traw.
haspen (A.S.) _to clasp_. y-hasped, 26
hastilokest (A.N.) 424, _most quickly, speedily, hastily_
haten (A.S.) _to call, order_. _pres. s._ I hote. _pret. s._ highte, heet,
445. _part. pas._ y-hote, hoten, hote, _called, ordered_
haten (A.S.) _to be called or named_. _pres. s._ hatte, _is called_, I
hatie, 260, _am called_. _pret. s._ highte, _was called_
hater (A.S.) 273, _dress_
haterynge (A.S.) 299, _dressing, attire_
hatien (A.S.) 179, _to hate_
haven, have, han (A.S.) _to have_. _pres. pl._ han. _pret. s._ hadde, _pl._
hadden, hadde
haver (A.S.) _oats_, 134, an haver cake, _an oat-cake_
heed (A.S.) _the head_. _See_ heved
heele (A.S.) _health_
heep (A.S.) _a heap_
heeth (A.S.) 322, _heath_
hegge (A.S.) _pl._ hegges, _a hedge_
heigh (A.S.) _high_
+heyne (A.N.) 466, _hatred_ (?)
heyre (A.S.) _hair_. _gen._ heris, 193, _hair's_
hele, heele (A.S.) _health_
hele (A.S.) 150, _a heel_
helen, (A.S.) 87, 445. helien, 241, _to conceal, hide_
helen, heele, 355 (A.S.) _to heal_. _pret. s._ heeled, 337. an helyng, 355,
_in healing, in the course of recovering his health_
helpen, helpe (A.S.) _to help_. _pret. s._ halp, 403, 418, _pl._ holpen,
123. _part. pas._ holpen, 75, 303, 338, holpe, 115
hem (A.S.) _them_
hemselve (A.S.) _themselves_
hende (A.S.) 308, _gentle, polite_. hendenesse, 398, _gentleness,
worthiness_. hendely, hendiliche, 44, _politely, gently_
hennes (A.S.) _hence, from this time_
henten, hente (A.S.) _to take, seize_. _pret. s._ hente, hent, 435
heraud (A.N.) _a herald_
herberwe (A.S.) _a harbour_
herberwen (A.S.) _to harbour, shelter_. _pret. s._ herberwed, 352
heremite (A.N.) _a hermit_
heren, here (A.S.) _to hear_. _pret. s._ herde. _imperat._ y-heer, 356
herne (A.S.) 42, 393, _a corner_
herte (A.S.) _the heart_
heste (A.S.) _a commandment_
+hethen (A.S.) 475, _hence_
+hetheved (A.S.) 469, _head_
hethynesse (A.S.) 321, _heathenness, paganism, idolatry_
heved (A.S.) _a head_. heed, 352
hewe (A.S.) 110, _pl._ hewen, 71, 273, 281, _a husbandman, a workman_
hewe, _pl._ hewes (A.S.) 224, _hue, colour_
hiden (A.S.) _to hide_. _pret. s._ hidde, 354. _part. pas._ y-hudde, 199
+hyen (A.S.) 475, _to hie, go_. _pret. s._ hiede, 444
hyere (A.S.) _higher_
hii (A.S.) _they_
hil (A.S.) _pl._ hulles, _a hill_
hilen (A.S.) 113, _to cover over_. _pret. s._ hiled, 241, _pl._ hileden,
223
hynde (A.S.) 311, _a doe, female deer_
hyne (A.S.) _a servant, serf, rustic, labourer_
hyne, 72, 268, _a hen_ (?)
hippynge (A.S.) 351, _hopping_
hire (A.S.) _their_
hir (A.S.) _of them_. _gen. pl._ of he. hir neither, 67, _neither of them_.
hir eyther, 212, 446, _either of them_. hir noon, 237, _none of them_. hir
oon fordooth hir oother, 373, _one of them destroys the other of them_
his (A.S.) _pl._ hise, _his_
hitten (A.S.) _to hit_. _pret. s._ hite, 86, hitte, 96
+hod (A.S.) 476, _a hood_
+hok-shynes (A.S.) 476, _crooked shins_. hok seems almost superfluous: the
shin towards the _hock_ or ancle?
holden (A.S.) _to hold_. _pres. s._ he halt, 354, 357, _pl._ holde, 15,
holden, 18. _pret. s._ heeld, 156, 206, _pl._ helden, 294, 418, 438. _part.
pas._ y-holden, 358, holden, y-holde, 440, 441
hool (A.S.) _pl._ hole, 392, _whole, entire_. hooly, _wholly_. holly, 396,
_wholly_. +hollich, 452, _wholly_
homliche (A.S.) 179, _from house to house_
hoom (A.S.) _home_. the viker hadde fer hoom, 424, _the vicar had far to go
home_
hoor (A.S.) _pl._ hore, 144, _hoary_. as hoor as an hawethorn, 341
hoord (A.S.) _a hoard_
hoors (A.S.) 367, _hoarse_
hoot (A.S.) 360, _hot_
hopen (A.S.) 329, _to expect, hope_
hoper (A.S.) 120, _the hopper of a mill_
hore (A.S.) 75, _pl._ hoores, 299, hores, 303, _a whore_
+hornes (A.S.) 461, _corners_
hostele (A.N.) 355, _to give lodging, to receive into an inn_
hostiler (A.N.) 352, 355, _the keeper of a hostelry or inn_
hostrie (A.N.) 352, _a hostelry, inn_
houpen (A.S.) 127, _to hoop, shout_
houres (A.N. heures, _Lat._ horæ) _the Romish service_
housel (A.S.) 419, _the sacrament of the Eucharist_
houselen (A.S.) _to receive the Eucharist_. _part. past_, housled, 396,
424, houseled, 419
hoven (A.S.) 13, _to tarry, hover, dwell_. _pret. s._ hoved, 374
howve (A.S.) _pl._ howves, 13, 60, 435, _a cap or hood_
hucche (A.S.) 72, _a hutch, chest_
huge (A.S.) 216, _great_
hukkerye (A.S.) 90, _huckstry_
hunten (A.S.) _to hunt_. _part. pas._ y-honted, 41
huppe (A.S.) 327, _to hop_
huyre (A.S.) 111, _hire, wages_
I. Y.
ic, ich, ik (A.S.) _I_
+ich (A.S.) _each_. +ichon, 479, _each one_. _See_ ech
ydel (A.S.) _idleness, vanity_. on ydel, _in vain_
+iis (A.S.) 476, _ice_
ilke (A.S.) _same_
impe (A.N.) 85, _a sprig, twig growing from the root of a tree_
impen, ympen (A.N.) 85, _to graft_. +_part. past_, ymped, 469, _grafted_
in-going (A.S.) 115, _entrance_
inne (A.S.) the adverbial form of _in_
inne (A.S.) _a lodging_, hence our _inn_
inwit (A.S.) 160, 162, 364, _conscience, interior understanding_. with
inwit and outwit, 263
yren (A.S.) 288, _iron_
ysekeles (A.S.) 361, _icicles_
J.
jangeleres, jangleris (A.N.) 3, 175, _praters_
jangle (A.N.) 9, 33, 74, 136, 164, 251, 337, 339, _to jangle, to talk
emptily, to prate_
janglynge (A.N.) 169, 419, _jangling, empty talking, nonsense_
jape (A.S.) 433, _a jest_
japen (A.S.) 19, 33, 260, _to jest, mock, cajole_. _part. past_, japed, 371
japer (A.S.) _pl._ japeres, japeris, 3, 164, 175, _a jester, mocker_
Jewe, _gen. pl._ Jewen, 19, Jewene, 384, 402, _a Jew_
jogele (A.N.) 260, _to play the minstrel, or jongleur_
jogelour (A.N.) 121, 175, _a minstrel, jongleur, one who played mountebank
tricks_
jouke (A.S.) 336, _to rest, dwell_
joute (A.N.) 86, _a battle, combat_
jugge (A.N.) _a judge_
juggen (A.N.) 290, 427, _to judge_
jurdan (A.N.) 251, _a pot_. At a later period the word was only applied to
a chamber-pot, as in Shakespeare
juste (A.N.) 251, justes, 351, 352, 370, _a joust, battle, tournament_
justen, juste (A.N.) 336, 370, 374, _to joust, tilt (in a tournament)_.
_pret. s._ justed, 340, justede, 380
justere (A.N.) 396, _one who goes to jousts, engages in tournaments_
justice (A.N.) 404, _to judge_
juttes (A.N. ?) 201, _low persons_
juventee (A.N.) 402, _youth_
juwise (A.N.) 392, _judgment_, from _judicium_
K. _See under_ C.
L.
lachesse (A.N.) 153, _negligence_
ladde (A.S.) _pl._ laddes, 398, _a low common person_
+laiche (A.S.) 486, _to catch, obtain_. _see_ lakke
layk (A.S.) 287, _play_
laiken (A.S.) 11, _to play_. The writer of the romance of Kyng Alisaunder,
in describing a battle (Weber, p. 159), says,--
There was _sweord lakkyng_,
_i.e. there was playing with the sword_. Weber, in his Glossary, has very
wrongly explained it by _licking_. It is the Anglo-Saxon poetic phrase,
sweorda ge-lác, _the play of swords_
lakke (A.S.) 189, _a fault, a lack, or something deficient or wanting_
lakken, lacche (A.S.) 31, 40, 130, 220, 262, 309, 333, _to obtain, catch,
take_. _pret. s._ laughte, 357, 388, 434. _part. act._ lacchynge, 21
lakken (A.S.) 85, 130, 185, 189, 208, 214, 234, 263, 307, 309, 329, 411,
_to mock, to blame, or reproach_. _pret. pl._ lakkede, 294. _part. pas._
y-lakked, 29
lakken (A.S.) 46, 218, 219, 262, 310, 365, 423, _to lack, to be wanting_.
_pret. s._ lakkede, 402, _was wanting_
lambren (A.S.) 307, _lambs_. So Lydgate (Minor Poems, ed. Halliwell), p.
169,--
Takith to his larder at what price he wold,
Of gretter _lambren_, j., ij., or thre,
In wynter nyghtis frostis bien so colde,
The sheppard slepithe, God lete hym never the!
lang (A.S.) _long_
lape (A.S.) 426, _to lap, as a dog_
large (A.N.) 398, _largess_ (?)
lasse (A.S.) _less_
late, lete (A.S.) 76, 386, _to let_. _pres. s._ leet, 305, 384. _pret. s._
leet, 25, 74, 127, 209, 346, _pl._ leten, lete, 294, 393. _subj. s._ late
+lath ( .) 476. Perhaps an error of the old edition for _lay_?
+latun (A.N.) 462, _a mixed metal of the colour of brass_
laughen (A.S.) 439, _to laugh_. _pret. s._ lough, 423. _part. pas._ lowen,
82.
launde (A.N.) 155, 183, 312, _a plain, a level space clear of trees in the
midst of a forest, a lawn_
lave (A.N.) 273, _to wash_
lavendrye (A.N.) 306, _washing_
+lavoures (A.N.) 462, _lavers, ewers, basins to receive water_
leauté (A.N.) _loyalty_
leche (A.S.) 443, _a physician_
lechecraft (A.S.) 336, 435, _the art of healing, medicine_
lechen (A.S.) 261, _to cure_. _pret. s._ leched, 337
leden, lede (A.S.) 355, 393, _to lead_. pret. s. ladde, 352. _part. act._
ledynge. _part. pas._ lad, 160, 246
ledene (A.S.) 242, 243, _speech, language_. This is applied, as here, to
birds, by Chaucer, C. T. 10749:--
This faire kynges doughter, Canace,
That on hir fynger bar the queynte ryng,
Thurgh which sche understood wel every thing
That eny foul may _in his lydne_ sayn,
And couthe answer him in _his lydne_ agayn.
ledes (A.S.) 326, _people attached to the land, peasants_
leef (A.S.) _dear, love_. his leef, _his dear_
leef (A.S.) 301, _pl._ leves, _a leaf_
leelly (A.N.) 19, lelly, 45, 146, _loyally, faithfully_. leele, lele,
_loyal_. lelest, 349, _most loyal_
leere, lere (A.S.) 15, 173, _countenance, mien, complexion_
leggen (A.S.) 30, 133, 235, 306, 426, leyen, 374, _to lay, to bet (to lay
down a wager)_. _pret. s._ leide, 352, 372, 432, leyde, 98, 436
legistre (A.N.) 139, _a legist, one skilled in the law._
ley, _pl._ leyes (A.S.) 138, _a lea_ (Lat. _saltus_)
leye (A.S.) 360, 364, _flame_
leme (A.S.) 376, 377, _brightness_
lemman (A.S.) _pl._ lemmannes, 303, _a sweetheart, a mistress_
lene (A.S.) _lean_
lenen, lene (A.S.) _to give_; hence our _lend_. _pret._ lened, 269. _part.
past_, lent, 275
lenen (A.S.) _to lean_. _pret. s._ lened, 369
lenge (A.S.) 27, 421, _to rest, remain, reside long in a place_. _pret. s._
lenged, 151, +_pret. pl._ lengeden, 469, _dwelt, remained_
Lenten (A.S.) _Lent_
lenten (A.S.) 369, _a linden tree_
leode (A.S.) 352, _people, a person_, whence our _lad_
lepen (A.S.) 41, 236, _to leap_. _pret. s._ leep, 10, 41, lope, 71, lepe,
107, lepte, 434. _pl._ lopen, 14, 22, 86, lope, 74. _part. pas._ lopen, 88
leperis (A.S.) _leapers_. lond leperis heremytes, _hermits who leap or
wander over different lands_
lered (A.S.) 45, _learned, educated, clergy_
leren (A.S.) 146, _to teach_. _pres._ he lereth. _pret._ lerned, 146, 412,
lered, 292, 336, 410
lerne (A.S.) 350, 351, 437, 441, _to learn_. _part. pas._ y-lerned, 141
lesen (A.S.) _to lose_. _pres. s._ lese, lees, 107, 148. _part. act._
lesynge. _part. pas._ lost, lore, 374, y-lorn, 388
lese (A.S.) 121, _to glean_. The word is still used in Shropshire and
Herefordshire.
lesynge (A.S.) 66, 387, 388, _a lie, fable, falsehood_
lethi (A.S.) 184, _hateful_
letten, leten, lette (A.S.) 352, 435, _to hinder, to tarry_, _pret. s._
lette, 368, letted, 335. _part. past_, letted, 418. lettere, 19, _a
hinderer_. lettyng, _a hindrance_
lettrede (A.N.) 49, _lettered, learned_. y-lettrede, _learned, instructed_
lettrure (A.N.) _learning, scripture, literature_
leve (A.S.) 385, _leave, permission_
leve (A.S.) _pl._ leeve, _dear, precious_. levere, _dearer, rather_.
leveste, levest, 364, _dearest_
leved (A.S.) 300, _leaved, covered with leaves_
leven (A.S.) 299, 301, _to leave_. _part. s._ lafte, 447
leven (A.S.) _to dwell, remain_. _pret._ lafte, 440. +_pret. s._ lefte,
473, _dwelt, remained_.
leven, leeve (A.S.) _to believe_, 304, 319. _pret. s._ leeved, 435. leved,
393. _pl._ leveden
lewed (A.S.) 26, 420, _lay, ignorant, untaught, useless_. lewed of that
labour, 237, _ignorant of_, or _unskilful in, that labour_. lewednesse, 45,
_ignorance, rusticity_
lewté (A.N.) _loyalty_
lyard (A.N.) 352, 368, a common name for _a horse_, but signifying
originally _a horse of a grey colour_
libben, libbe (A.S.) 275, _to live_. _part. act._ libbynge
lyen (A.S.) _to lie_. _pres. s. 2 pers._ thow lixt, 86. _pret._ thow
leighe, 393, _thou didst lie_
liere (A.S.) _a liar_
lif (A.S.) _pl._ lives, _life_
liflode (A.S.) _living, state of life_
lift (A.S.) 316, _air, sky_
lige (A.N.) 76, 390, _liege_
liggen, ligge (A.S.) 361, _to lie down_. _pres. s._ I ligge, he lith, lyth,
355, thei ligge, 421. _pret. sing._ lay. _part. act._ liggynge. _part.
pas._ leyen, 45, y-leye, 82, y-leyen, 198, 399
lighten (A.S.) _to alight, descend, or dismount from_. _pret. s._ lighte,
352
lightloker (A.S.) 112, 237, 321, _more lightly, more easily_
lik, lich, y-lik (A.S.) 389, _like, resembling_. liknesse, _likeness_,
y-liche, 401
liche (A.S.) 173, _the body_. Chaucer, C.T. l. 2960, speaks of the
_liche-wake_, or ceremonies of waking and watching the corpse, still
preserved in Ireland:--
Ne how the _liche-wake_ was y-holde
Al thilke night, ne how the Grekes pleye.
In the romance of Alexander (Weber, p. 145), the word is applied to a
living body (as in Piers Ploughman):--
The armure he dude on his liche--
_he put the armour on his body_
likame, lycame (A.S.) _the body_
liken (A.S.) 455, _to please, to like_ (i. e. _be pleased with_). liketh,
17, 262. _pret. s._ liked
likynge (A.S.) 203, _pleasure, love, liking_
likerous (A.N.) 133, _nice, voluptuous, lecherous_
likne (A.S.) 175, 190, _to imitate, to mimic, to make a simile_
lyme (A.S.) 436, _limb_
lyme-yerd (A.S.) 170, _limed twig_
lymitour (A.N.) 85, 445, _a limitour, a begging friar_
lynde (A.S.) 24, 155, _the linden tree_
lippe (A.S.) 324, _a slip, portion_
liser (A.N.) 89, _list of cloth_ (?)
lisse (A.S.) 160, 383, _joy, happiness, bliss_
liste (A.S.) _to please, list_. _pret._ list, 356, _it pleased_
listre (A.S.) 85, _a deceiver_
lite (A.S.) 262, _little_
litel (A.S.) _little_. litlum and litlum, 329, _by little and little_, the
uncorrupted Anglo-Saxon phrase. _See_ note
lyth (A.S.) 341, _a body_
lythe, lithen (A.S.) 155, 270, _to listen to_
lyven, lyve (A.S.) _to live_. _pr. pl._ lyveden, 2. _part. act._ lybbynge.
_See_ libben
lyves (A.S.) _alive_. lyves and lokynge, 405, _alive and looking_. _See_
note on l. 5014
lyveris (A.S.) 235, _livers, people who live_
lobies (A.S.) 4, _loobies, clowns_
loft (A.S.) _high, height_. bi lofte and by grounde, 372, _in height and in
ground-plan_. o-lofte, _aloft, on high_
lok (A.S.) 27, _a lock_
loken (A.S.) 388, _to look, to over-see_, 148. _pret. s._ lokede, 276
lollen (A.S.) 240, _to loll_. _part. pas._ lolled, 239. _part. act._
lollynge, 346
lolleris (A.S.) 308, _lollards_. The origin of this word is doubtful, but
it seems to mean generally people who go about from place to place with a
hypocritical show of praying and devotion. It was certainly in use long
before the time of the Wycliffites, in Germany as well as in England.
Johannes Hocsemius (quoted by Ducange, v. _Lollardi_) says, in his
chronicle on the year 1309, "Eodem anno quidam hypocritæ gyrovagi, qui
_Lollardisive Deum laudantes_ vocabantur, per Hannoniam et Brabantiam
quasdam mulieres nobiles deceperunt," &c. The term, used in the time of
Piers Ploughman as one of reproach, was afterwards contemptuously given to
the church reformers. The writer of the Ploughman's Tale, printed in
Chaucer, Speght, fol. 86, appears to apply it to wandering friars:--
i-cleped _lollers_ and londlese.
lomere (A.S.) 439, _more frequently_
lond-buggere (A.S.) 191, _a buyer of land_
+lone (A.S.) 493, _a loan_ (?)
longen (A.S.) _to belong_
loof (A.S.) _a loaf_
loone (A.S.) 442, _a loan_. lenger yeres loone, _a loan of a year longer, a
year's extension or renewal of the loan_
loore (A.S.) 79, 244, _teaching, lore, doctrine, science_
loores-man, lores-man (A.S.) 164, 318, _a teacher_
loos (A.S.) 219, _honour, praise_
lorel (A.N.) 147, 294, 351, 369, _a bad man, a good-for-nothing fellow_.
Chaucer, in his translation of Boethius, uses it to represent the Latin
_perditissimus_. Compare the description of the _lorel_ in the Ploughman's
Tale (Speght's Chaucer) fol. 91:--
For thou canst no cattell gete,
But livest in lond as a _lorell_,
With glosing gettest thou thy mete.
losel (A.N.) 5, 124, 176, 303, _a wretch, good-for-nothing fellow_. It
appears to be a different form of the preceding word. loselly, 240, _in a
disgraceful, good-for-nothing manner_
losengerie (A.N.) 125, 176, _flattery, lying_
lothen (A.S.) _to loath_
looth (A.S.) _loath, hateful_. lother, 318, _more loath_. lothliche,
_hateful_
lotebies (A.S. ?) 52, _private companions, bed-fellows_. In the romance of
the Seven Sages (Weber, p. 57) it is said of a woman unfaithful to her
husband:--
Sche stal a-wai, mididone,
And wente to here _lotebi_.
Chaucer uses the word (in the romance of the Rose, l. 6339), in a passage
rather similar to this of Piers Ploughman:--
Now am I yong and stout and bolde,
Now am I Robert, now Robin,
Now frere Minor now Jacobin,
And _with me followeth my loteby_,
To don me solace and company.
In the original the word is _compaigne_
lotien (A.S.) 354, _to lurk, lie in ambush_
louke (A.S.) 384, _to lock_
louren (A.S.) _to lower_
lous, lys (A.S.) _pl._ _a louse_
louten (A.S.) 50, 181, 182, 300, _to make a salutation, reverence_. _pret.
s._ louted, 294, 470
lovyen, lovye, lovien (A.S.) _to love_. hym lovede, 356, _it pleased him_
lowen (A.S.) _to condescend_ (?) _pret._ lowed, 8
luft (A.S.) 69, _fellow, person_
+lullyng (A.S.) 455, _lolling_ (?)
lurdayne (A.S.) 375, 436, _a clown, rustic, ill-bred person_
lusard (A.N.) 389, _a lizard, crocodile_
lussheburwes (A.N.) 316, _base or adulterated coins_; which took their name
and were imported from Luxemberg. See note on l. 10322
luten (A.N.) _to play on the lute_. _pret. s._ lutede, 395
luther (A.S.) 316, 390, _bad, wicked_
M.
macche (A.S.) 248, 249, _companion, match-fellow_
macche (A.S.) 360, _a match_
macer (A.N.) 47, _one who carries a mace_
mayen (A.S.) _to be able_ (it is seldom or never used in the infinitive
mood). _pres. s._ may, _pl._ mowen, mowe. _pret. s._ myghte, _pl._ mighte
y-maymed (A.S.) 359, _maimed_
mayn-pernour, (A.N.) 71, 380. _See_ the next word
mayn-prise (A.N.) 70, 346, _a kind of bail_, a law term. "It signifieth in
our Common Law the taking or receiving a man in friendly custodie, that
otherwise is or might be committed to prison, and so upon securitie given
for his forth coming at a day assigned: and they that doe thus undertake
for any, are called _mainpernours_, because they do receive him into their
hands." MINSHEU. The persons thus received were allowed to go at large
mayn-prise (A.N.) 75, 426, meynprise, 39, _to bail in the manner described
under the foregoing word_
mair (A.N.) 290, _pl._ meires, 150, _a mayor_
maistrie (A.N.) 66, _a mastery, a feat of science_
make (A.S.) 50, 222, 230, _a companion, consort_
maken, make (A.S.) _to make_. _pret. s._ made. _part. pas._ y-maked, 2.
maad, 71, 248
make (A.S.) 229, _to compose poetry_. _See_ note
makynge (A.S.) 229, _writing poetry_
male (A.N.) 91, _a box, pack_
+malisones (A.N.) 493, _curses_
mamelen (A.S.) 78, 226, _to chatter, mumble_
menacen (A.N.) _to menace, threaten_
manere (A.N.) _manner_
mange (A.N.) 132, _to eat_
mangerie (A.N.) 209, 328, _an eating, a feast_
manlich (A.S.) 92. _humane_. manliche, _manfully, humanely_
mansed (A.N.) 30, 74, 190, 233, 438, _cursed, excommunicated_
marc (A.N.) 161, _a mark (a coin)_
marche (A.S.) 159, 321, _a border_. The word is preserved in the term
"Marches of Wales," "Marches of Scotland"
marchen (A.N.) _to march, go_
mareys (A.N.) _a marsh_
+masedere (A.N.) 499, _more amazed_
maugree (A.N.) 131, _ill thanks, in spite of_
maundee (A.S.) 339, _maunday_
maundement (A.N.) 348, _a commandment_
mawe (A.S.) 298, _mouth, maw_
maze (A.N.) 12, _doubt, amazement, a labyrinth_
meden (A.S.) 56, _to reward, bribe_
mede (A.S.) _meed, reward_
medlen (A.N.) _to mix with_
meel (A.S.) _meal_
meene (A.N.) _poor, moderate, middle_
mees (A.S.) 249, 313, _a mess_ or _portion of meat_
megre (A.N.) _meagre, thin_
meynee (A.N.) 178, _household, household retinue_
meken (A.S.) _to make meek, humiliate_
mele (A.S.) 262, _meal, flour_
mendinaunt, _pl._ mendinauntz (A.N.) _a beggar; friars of the begging
orders_
mene, meene (A.N.) _mean, middle_
mene (A.N.) 326, _a mean_
menen (A.S.) _to mean_. to meene, 15, 18. that is Crist to mene, 399, _that
means Christ_
menen (A.S.) _to moan, lament_. _pret._ mened
+menemong (A.S.) 497, _of an ordinary quality_
menever (A.N.) 433, _a kind of fur; the fur of the ermine and small weasel
mixed_
mengen (A.S.) _to mix, meddle_
menyson (A.N.) 337, _a flux, dysentery_
menour (A.N.) _a Minorite_
menske (A.S.) 54, 455, _decency, honour, manliness_
mercien (A.N.) _to thank_
mercy (A.N.) 17, 353, _thanks_
mercy (A.N.) 360, 361, _mercy_
mercyment (A.N.) _amercement_
merk (A.S.) 316, _a mark_
merke (A.S.) 15, _dark_. merknesse (A.S.) 377, 379, _darkness_
merveillous (A.N.) _marvellous, wonderful_
meschief (A.N.) 197, _mishap, evil, mischief_
mesel (A.S.) _pl._ meseles, 51, 144, 337, _a leper_
meson-Dieux (A.N.) 139, _hospitals_
messe (A.S.) _mass, the Romish ceremony_
mestier (A.N.) 138, _occupation_
mesurable (A.N.) _moderate_
met (A.S.) 267, _measure_
mete (A.S.) _meat_. mete-less, (A.S.) _without meat_
metels (A.S.) 13, 31, 147, 149, 155, 202, 207, _a dream_
meten, meete (A.S.) 310, _to meet_. _pret. s._ mette, 351. _part. pas._
met, 216
meten (A.S.) _to dream_. _pret. s._ mette, 148, 155, 396. _part. s._
metynge, 221
metyng (A.S.) 246, _a dream_
+meter (A.S.) 476, _fitter_ (?)
meve (A.N.) 153, 228, _to move_. _pres. pl._ ye moeven, 298
myd (A.S.) _with_
myddel-erthe (A.S.) 221, _the world_
middes (A.S.) _middle, midst_
mynistren (A.N.) 231, _to administer_
mynnen (A.S.) 322, _to mind, to recollect_
mynours (A.N.) _miners, diggers of mines_
mys-beden (A.S.) 119, _to injure_
mysese (A.N.) 16, _ill ease_
mys-eise (A.N.) 139, _ill at ease_
mysfeet (A.N.) 224, _ill deed, wrong_
+myster (A.N.) 484, _kind species_
mystier (A.S.) _more misty, more dark_
+myteynes (A.N.) 476, _mittens, gloves_
mnam, 131, _a Hebrew coin_
mo (A.S.) _more_
mody (A.S.) _moody_. modiliche, _moodily_
moeble, meble (A.N.) 364, _goods_
molde, moolde (A.S.) _earth, mould_
moled (A.N.) 262, 264, _spotted, stained_
mom (A.S.) 13, _a mum, sound_
mone (A.S.) 295, _lamentation_
+monelich (A.N.) 457, _meanly_
monials (A.N.) 192, _nuns_ (_Lat._ moniales)
moore (A.S.) 403, _greater_
moost (A.S.) _greatest_
moot (A.N.) 113, 417, _a moat_
moot-halle (A.S.) 73, 74, _hall of meeting, of justice_
more (A.S.) 300, 330, 331, 334, _pl._ mores, 416, _a root_
mornen (A.S.) _to mourn_. _pret. s._ mornede
mortrews (A.N.) 248, 250, 252, _a kind of soup_
morwe (A.S.) _morning, morrow_
morwenynge (A.S.) _morning_
mote (A.S.) 25, _to hold courts of justice_
motyng (A.S.) 141, _judging, meeting for justice_
moton (A.N.) 44, _the name of a coin_. _See_ note on l. 1404
mous (A.S.) _pl._ mees, _a mouse_
mouster (A.N.) 267, _muster, arrangement_
muche (A.S.) 155, 417, _great_
muchel (A.S.) 401, _great, much_
muliere, mulliere (A.N.) 343, 344, _a wife, woman_
murie (A.S.) _pleasant, merry, joyful_. murye, 1, _pleasantly_, murier,
_more pleasant_
murthe (A.S.) 382, _pleasure, joy, mirth_
murthen (A.S.) 362, _to make merry or joyful_
muson (A.N.) 183, _measures_ (?)
must (A.S.) 391, _a liquor made of honey_
N.
nale (A.S.) 124, _the ale_. _see_ atte
namoore (A.S.) _no more_
naught (A.S.) _not, nought_
ne (A.S.) _not_. The negative _ne_ is combined with the verb _to will, to
be_, &c.; as _nelle_, for _ne wille_, _nel, nyl_, for _ne wil_, _nere_, for
_ne were_, _nolde_, for _ne wolde_, _nyste_, for _ne wiste_. It is
sometimes combined with other verbs, as _naroos_, 399, for _ne aroos_. So
we have such expressions as, wol he nele he, 427, i. e. _whether he will or
he will not_
nede (A.S.) _need_
neddre (A.S.) 82, _an adder, venomous serpent_
nedlere (A.S.) 96, _maker of, or dealer in, needles_
neet (A.S.) 411, _cattle_. Farmers still talk of _neat cattle_
neghen (A.S.) _to approach, to near_. _pret. s._ neghed, 425, neghede, 438
neigh (A.S.) _near, nigh_
nempne (A.S.) 397, _to name, call_. _pret. s._ nempned, 397, 404. _part.
pas._ y-nempned, nempned
nevelynge (A.S.) 85, _sniveling_
nygard (A.S.) _niggard_
nymen, nyme (A.S.) 268, 304 426, _to take_. _part. pas._ y-nome, 427
nyppe (A.S.) 379, _a point_ (?)
noble (A.N.) 191, _a gold coin of the value of six shillings and
eightpence_
noght (A.S.) _nought, nothing_
noyen (A.N.) _to injure, annoy, plague_
nones (A.N.) 125, _the hour of two or three in the afternoon_
nonne (A.S.) 86, _a nun_
noon (A.S.) _none_
nounpere (A.N.) 97, _an umpire, an arbitrator_
noughty (A.S.) 130, _possessed of nothing_
noun (A.N.) 366, _no_
nouthe (A.S.) _now_
O.
o (A.S.) 349, _one_
of-gon (A.S.) 166, _to derive_ (?)
of-walked (A.S.) 258, _fatigued with walking_
o-lofte (A.S.) _aloft, on high_
one, oone (A.S.) _singly, alone, only_. myn one, 154, _myself singly_
+onethe (A.S.) _scarcely_. _See_ unnethe
oon (A.S.) _one_
oost (A.N.) 416, _a host, army_
openen, opene (A.S.) _to open_. _pret. pl._ opned, 388
ordeigne, ordeyne (A.N.) 415, _to ordain_
organye (A.N.) 369, _a musical instrument_. by organye, _as an
accompaniment to music_
ote (A.S.) _an oat_
oughen (A.S.) _to own, possess, owe_. _pret. s._ oughte, 47
outher (A.S.) _other, either, or_
over-come (A.S.) _to overcome_. _pret. s._ over-coom, 405
over-hoven (A.S.) 55, 379, _to hover or dwell over, hang over_
over-hippen (A.S.) _to hop over, skip over_. _pret. pl._ thei over-huppen,
250, 318
over-leden (A.S.) 62, _to overlead, tyrannize over_
over-spreden (A.S.) _to spread over_. _pret. s._ over-spradde, 408
over-tilten (A.S.) _to tilt or throw over_. _pret. s._ over-tilte, 428,
433, _threw over, dug up_
owene (A.S.) 366, _own_
P.
paast (A.N.) 275, _paste, dough_
payn (A.N.) _bread_
paynym (A.N.) 108, 326, _a pagan_
pays (A.N.) 340, _country_
pallen (A.S.) 333, _to knock_. _pret. s._ I palle, 332
palmere (A.N.) 83, _a palmer, pilgrim to distant lands_
paltok (A.N.) 370, 438, _a cloak_
panne (A.S.) 69, _the scull, head_
pardoner (A.N.) _a dealer in pardons_
parentrelynarie (A.N.) 220, _between the lines, interlineal_
parfiter (A.N.) 229, _more perfectly_
parfitly (A.N.) _perfectly_
parfourne (A.N.) _to perform_
parisshen (A.N.) 206, 441, _a parishioner_
parle (A.N.) _to talk_. _part. past_, parled, 385
parroken (A.N.) 312, _to park or inclose_
parten (A.N.) _to share, to part_. +_part. pas._ parten, 475
Pasqe (A.N.) 338, _Easter_
passhen (A.S.) 431, _to crush_
pawme (A.N.) 356, _the palm of the hand_
pece (A.N.) 276, _a piece_
peeren (A.N.) 320, _make themselves equal_
peeren (A.N.) 11, _to appear_
pees (A.N.) _peace_. preide hem be pees, 405, _prayed them to be quiet_
peire (A.N.) _a pair_
peiren (A.N.) 50, _to diminish, injure_. _see_ apeiren
peis (A.N.) 91, _weight_
peisen (A.N.) 90, _to weigh_
pelure (A.N.) 420, _fur_
pens (A.S.) _pence_
peraunter (A.N.) 202, _peradventure, by chance_
percell, _pl._ parcelles (A.N.) 177, 220, 349, _a parcel, part_
percel-mele (A.N.) 48, _piecemeal_
percile (A.N.) 134, _parsley_
pere (A.N.) 139, _a peer, an equal_
perfourne (A.N.) 251, _to finish, complete, to furnish_
perillousli (A.N.) _dangerously, rudely_
y-perissed (A.N.) 359, _perished, destroyed_
perree (A.N.) 173, _precious stones, jewellery_
persaunt (A.N.) 24, _piercing_
person (A.N.) 441, _a parson_. personage, _a parsonage_
pertliche (A.N.) 78, _openly_
pese (A.N.) _pease_
petit (A.N.) _little_
picche (A.S.) 123, _to pick_
pie (A.N.) 150, _a magpie_
pik (A.S.) _a pike_
pikstaf (A.S.) 123, _a pike-staff_
piken (A.S.) _to pick_
pyke-harneys (A.N.) 440, _plunderers_
pykoise (A.N.) 61, _a hoe_
pil, pyl, _pl._ piles (A.S.) 331, 332, 417, _a pile_
+pilche (A.S.) 465, _a coat of hair or some rude material_. We find the
word used by Lydgate, ed. Halliwell, p. 154:--
Houndys for favour wyl nat spare,
To pynche his _pylche_ with greet noyse and soun.
And in Caxton's Reynard the Foxe, cap. v, Reynard having turned hermit,
bare "his slayvne and _pylche_, and an heren sherte therunder."
+pild (A.N.) 500, _bald_
pilen (A.N.) 422, _to rob_
pilour (A.N.) 371, 420, _a thief_
+pylion (A.S. ?) 500, _a kind of cap_
pyne (A.N.) peyne, _pl._ peynes, _pain, punishment_
pyne, 78. _See_ wynen
pynynge-stoole (A.S.) 47, literally, _a stool of punishment, a
cucking-stool_
pynne (A.S.) 442, _to bolt_
piones (A.N.) 95, _the seed of the piony_, which was used as a spice. In
the Coventry Mysteries (ed. Halliwell, p. 22) we find the word joined, as
here, with pepper:--
Here is pepyr, _pyan_, and swete lycorys,
Take hem alle at thi lykying
pyries (A.N.) 78, _pear-trees_
pisseris (A.N.) 438 (?)
pistle (A.N.) _an epistle_
pitously (A.N.) _piteously, for the sake of pity_
pleyen (A.S.) _to play_. _pret. s._ pleide, _pl._ pleiden
pleyn (A.N.) _full_
pleyne (A.N.) 53, _to commiserate, to complain, make a complaint_
plener (A.N.) 209, 336, _full, fully_
pleten (A.N.) _to plead_. _pret. pl._ pleteden, 140
platten (A.N.) _to fall or throw down flat_. _pret. s._ platte, 81
plot (A.N.) 263, _pl._ plottes, 265, _a patch_
plow-foot (A.S.) 123, _a part of a plough_
po (A.S.) 243, _a peacock_
+poynttyl (A.N.) 462, the signification of this word appears to be the
_square tiles_ used for paving floors. See Warton's Hist. of Engl. Poetry,
ii, 99
poke (A.S.) 150, 259, 275, 288, _a sack_
poken (A.N.) _to urge, push forwards, poke, thrust_
pol, 205, polle (A.S.) 261, 430, _a head, poll_
polshen (A.N.) 105, _to polish_
pondfold (A.S.) 346, _the pinfold or pound_
poraille (A.N.) _the poor people_
poret (A.N.) _pl._ porettes, 134, 135, _a kind of leek_
porthors (A.N.) 302, _a breviary_, (_portiforium_, Lat.)
pose (A.N.) 365, _to place, put as a supposition_
possen (A.N.) _to push_
potente (A.N.) 156, _a club, staff_
pouke (A.S.) 256, 285, 333, 346, _the devil_
Poul (A.N.) _St. Paul_
pounde-mele (A.S.) 41, _by the pound_
pous (A.N.) 352, _the pulse_
poustee (A.N.) 79, 228, _power, strength_
povere (A.N.) _poor_
+povert (A.N.) 496, _poverty_
+powghe, terre powghe, 487, _a torn sack or poke_ (?) The imperfect
glossary appended to the old printed edition of the "Creed" explains it by
_tar box_
prayen (A.N.) 430, _to make prey of, plunder_
preessen (A.N.) 286, _to hasten, crowd_
preyen, preye (A.N.) _to pray_. _pret. s._ preide, preyde
preiere (A.N.) _prayer_
preynte (A.N. ?) 253 (?)
preise (A.N.) 97, _to appraise, value_
+prese (A.N.) 495, _to hasten_. _pret. s._ presed, 460
prest (A.N.) 287, _ready_. prester, 191, _more ready_. presteste, 110,
_readiest, quickest_. prestly, _readily_
preven, preve (A.N.) _to prove_
prikye (A.S.) 369, _to ride over, ride, spur_. _pret. s._ prikede, 368,
_part. past_, y-priked, 430
prikere (A.S.) 159, 191, prikiere, 370, _a rider_
pris (A.N.) 411, _prize, value_
prison (A.N.) 140, 315, 372, _a prisoner_
pryvee (A.N.) _private, intimate, confidential_
provisour (A.N.) 38, 73, _a purveyor, provider_
prowor (A.N.) 411, _a priest_
puffed (A.S.) 78, _blown_
+pulchen (A.N.) _to polish_. _part. past_, pulched, 458, pulchud, 460,
_polished_
pulette (A.N.) _a chicken_
punysshen (A.N.) 407, _to punish_
pure (A.N.) _pure, simple, unmixed_. pure (_adv._) 213, _purely, simply_.
purely for-do, 262, _altogether destroyed or undone_. +puriche (A.N.) 467,
_purely_: perhaps it should be _purliche_
purfill, purfil (A.N.) 72, 78, _embroidery, tinsel_
purfilen (A.N.) 28, _to embroider_
put (A.S.) 195, 284, _pl._ puttes, _a pit, cave_
putten, puten (A.S.) 400, _to put, place_. _pres. s._ putte, _pl._ putten.
_pres. s._ and _pl._ putte, 68, 110, 372. _part. past_, y-put, 290
Q.
quatron (A.N.) 90, _a quartern_
quave (A.N.) _to shake, tremble_. _pret. s._ quaved, 373
queed (A.S.) 285, _the evil one, the devil_
queste-mongere (A.N. and A.S.) _one who made a business of conducting
inquests_
queynt (A.S.) 390, _quenched, destroyed_
queyntely (A.N.) 416, _quaintly, cunningly_
queyntise (A.N.) 385, 417, _cunning_
quellen (A.S.) _to kill_. _part. past_, quelt, 337, _killed_
+quenes (A.S.) 456, _women_. The word is used in the modern sense of the
word _wench_
quyk (A.S.) 384, 399, _live, alive_
quykne (A.S.) 390, _to give life to, bring to life_. _pret. s._ I quikne
quite, quyte (A.N.) 389, 390, _to quit, pay off_. _part. past_, quit, 390
quod (A.S.) _quoth, says_
R.
radegunde (A.S. ?) 430, _a disease, apparently a sort of boil_
rageman (A.N.) 5, 335, _a catalogue, list_
ray (A.N.) 89, _a ray, streak_
+raken (A.S.) 455, _to go raking about_
rakiere (A.S.) 96, _one who goes raking about_
rape (A.S.) 97, _haste_
rapen (A.S.) 65, 101, 124, _to prepare_. _pret. s._ raped, 352
rapeliche (A.S.) 347, rapely, 351, _readily, quickly_. rapelier, 352, _more
quickly_
rappen (A.S.) 20, _to strike, rap_
rather, 155, _earlier_
rathe (A.S.) _early_. rathest, _earliest, first, soonest, most readily_
raton (A.N.) _a rat_
ratoner (A.N.) 96, _a rat-catcher_
raunsone (A.N.) 390, _ransom_
rave (A.S.) 380, _to rave_. ravestow, 380, _dost thou rave_
ravysshen (A.N.) 399, _to ravage, rob, plunder, ravish_
raxen (A.S.) 100, _to hawk, spit_
reaume, reme (A.N.) _pl._ remes, reames, _a realm_
recche (A.S.) 67, 204, _to reck, care for_. _pret. s._ roughte, 369
recchelees (A.S.) 369, _reckless_
rechen (A.S.) 359, _to reach_. _pret. s._ raughte, 5, 76, 153, 335, 369
recoverer (A.N.) 352, _a remedy_ (?)
recrayed (A.N.) 58, _recreant_ (?)
rede (A.S.) _red_
rede (A.S.) _to read_
reden (A.S.) _to advise, counsel_. _pret. s._ redde, 106, _pl._ radde, 71,
84. _imperat._ reed, 72
redel (A.S.) 257, _a riddle_
+redelich (A.S.) 498, _readily, promptly_
redyng-kyng, 96, _a class of feudal retainers_. _See_ Spelman's Gloss. in
v. _rodknightes_
reed (A.S.) _counsel, advice_
regne (A.N.) _to reign_. _pret. s._ regnede, 399, _reigned_
regratier, regrater (A.N.) 48, 90, _a retailer of wares and victuals_
regratrie (A.N.) 48, _retailing, selling by retail_
reyn (A.S.) _rain_
reckenen (A.S.) _to reckon, count_
relessen (A.N.) 46, _to forgive_
releve (A.N.) 377, _to raise again, restore, rally_
religious (A.N.) _pl._ religiouses 192, _a monk_
renable (A.N.) 10, _reasonable_
renden (A.S.) 13, _to rend, tear_. _imperat._ rende, 76
reneye (A.N.) 210, _to deny, be a renegade to_. _part. pas._ reneyed, 210,
_renegade_
renk (A.S.) 12, 101, 149, 231, 238, 280, 369, 385, _a man_
rennen, renne (A.S.) 353, _to run_. _imperative_, ren thow, 230. _pret. s._
ran, roon, 277, yarn, 205 (? y-arn). _part. past_, ronne, 156
renner (A.S.) 72, _a runner_
renten (A.N.) 140, _to give rents to_
+rentful (A.S.) 476, _meagre, miserable_ (?)
repen (A.S.) _to reap_. _pret. pl._ ropen, 268
repreven (A.N.) 236, _to reprove, blame_
rerages (A.N.) 91, _arrears_
retenaunce (A.N.) 31, _a retinue_
reve (A.S.) 34, 102, 411, 423, _an overseer, a reeve, steward, or bailiff_
reve (A.S.) 335, 385, _to take from_
revere, _pl._ reveris (A.S.) _reavers, people who deprive by force_
reward (A.N.) 364, _attention, warning_
+rewel (A.S.) 473, _rule_
rewen (A.S.) _to rue, to have mercy_
rewme (A.N.) 430, _a rheumatism, cold_
ribaud (A.N.) 108, 286, 339, 372, _a profligate low man_. The word belonged
properly to a particular class in society. See a detailed account of its
derivation and signification in a note in my Political Songs, p. 369
ribaudie (A.N.) _low profligate talk_
ribaudour (A.N.) 121, _a teller of low tales_
ribibour (A.N.) 96, _a player on_ _the ribibe_ (a musical instrument)
riche, ryche (A.S.) _a kingdom_. hevene riche blisse, _the joy of the
kingdom of heaven_
richen (A.N.) _to become rich_
riden, ryde (A.S.) _to ride_. _pres. s._ ryt, _pl._ riden. _pret. s._ rood,
354
rightwisnesse (A.S.) 393, _righteousness_
ringen (A.S.) _to ring_. _pret. pl._ rongen, 395, 428
ripe (A.S.) 415, _to ripen_
ripe (A.S.) 100, _ready_
rise, ryse (A.S.) 352, _to rise_. _pret. s._ roos, 91, 344
risshe (A.S.) 75, _a rush_ (_juncus_)
rody (A.S.) _ruddy, red_
roggen (A.S.) _to shake_ (explained in the Prompt. Parv. by _agito_.)
_pret. s._ rogged, 335
roynous (A.N.) 430, _scabby, rough_
rolle (A.N.) 93, _to enrol_
rome (A.S.) 209, 210, 328, _to roam_
romere (A.S.) _pl._ romeris, _a person who wanders or roams about_
ronges (A.S.) 333, _the steps of a ladder_
roost (A.N.) 14, _roast_
+rote (A.N.) _practice_. by rote, _by heart_. be pure rote, 473, _merely by
rote_
roten (A.S.) _to rot_
rotey tyme (A.N.) 222, _the time of rut_
+rotheren (A.S.) 476, _oxen_
rounen, rownen (A.S.) 66, 97, _to whisper, talk privately_
routhe (A.S.) _ruth, compassion_
rowen (A.S.) _to become red, as the dawn of day_ (?). _pret. s._ rowed, 376
rufulliche (A.S.) _ruefully_
rugge (A.S.) 286, 413, _the back_. rugge-bone (A.S.) 98, _the back-bone_
rulen (A.N.) 393, _to rule, govern_
rusty (A.S.) 121, _filthy_ (?). In the Coventry Mysteries, p. 47, Ham's
wife says, "rustynes of synne is cawse of these wawys;" i. e. _filthiness
of sin is the cause of these waves_
ruthe (A.S.) _compassion_
rutten (A.S. ?) 100, _to snore_. _pret. s._ rutte, 369
ruwet (A.S. ?) 98, _a small trumpet_
S.
saaf (A.N.) _safe_
sadde (A.S.) 188, _to make serious, steady_
sadde (A.S.) 152, _serious, grave, steady_
sadder (A.S.) 77, _sounder_
safly (A.N.) _safely_
saille (A.N.) 260, _to leap_
salve (A.N.) 337, _to apply salves_
samplarie (A.N.) 234, _type, first copy_
saufté (A.N.) _safety_
saughtne (A.S.) 65, _to be pacified, reconciled_
saulee (A.N.) 331 (?)
saunz (A.N.) _without_
saute (A.N.) 260, _to jump_
sauter (A.N.) _the Psalter_
savoren (A.N.) 157, _to savour_
savour (A.N.) 147, _knowledge_
sawe (A.S.) 147, 165, 378, _pl._ sawes, 174, _a saying, legend, proverb_
scathe (A.S.) 46, 70, 71, 298, _injury, hurt_
scryveynes (A.N.) 193, _writers_
+se (A.N.) 483, _seat_
secte (A.N.) 106, 107, 216, _a suit_
see (A.S.) _the sea_
seel (A.S.) 348, _pl._ seles, _a seal_
seem (A.S.) 45, 67, _a seam_ (of wheat), a measure of eight bushels,
originally as much as a horse could carry
sege (A.N.) 443, _siege_
+seget (A.N.) 489, _subject_
segge (A.S.) 46, 78, 84, 100, 216, 341, 443, 445, _a man_
seyen, 290, seye, seyn, seggen, 53, 264, sigge, 208, 302, siggen, 264, 312,
318, 350 (A.S.) _to say_. _pres. s._ I seye, he seith, thei siggen, 320.
_pret. s._ seide, _pl._ seiden
seillynge (A.S.) 387, _sailing_
seynen (A.N.) _to sign_. _pret. s._ seyned, 104
seint (A.N.) _a saint_
seken, seche (A.S.) _to seek_; 273, _to penetrate_. _pret. s. & pl._
soughte. _part. pas._ y-sought
selde (A.S.) _seldom_. selden, 365
selen (A.S.) _to seal_
self (A.S.) _objec. s._ selve, _pl._ selves _self-same_. on the selve
roode, 427, _on the cross itself_
+sely (A.S.) 477, _simple, poor_
selkouth (A.S.) _pl._ selkouthe _wonderful, strange_
selles (A.N.) _cells_
semen (A.S.) 328, _to seem, appear, resemble_. +I semed, 460, _I looked_
semynge (A.S.) 318, _resembling_
semy-vif (A.N.) 351, _half alive_, i. e. _half dead_
sen, 25, see, 32 (A.S.) _to see_. _pres. sing._ thow sest, 15. he seeth,
_pl._ we seen. _pret. sing._ seigh, 77, 147, 200, 247, seyghe, 82, saugh,
29, 77, 347, 376, 437, _pl._ seighe. _part. pas._ y-seyen, seyen, 216, 308,
349, seene, y-seighen, 77, seighen, 177, y-seighe, 365
senden (A.S.) _to send_. _pret. s._ sent, 421, _pl._ senten
serelopes (A.S.) 358, _severally, by themselves_
serk (A.S.) 81, _a shift, shirt_
serven (A.N.) _to serve_
setten (A.S.) _to set_. _pret. s. & pl._ sette. _part. past_, seten, 248
sewen (A.S.) _to follow_. _see_ suwen
shaar (A.S.) 61, _the blade or share of a plough_
+shaf (A.S.) 490, _chaff_
shaft (A.S.) 161, 225, _make, creation_
shaken (A.S.) _to shake_. _pret. s._ shook, 268
shallen (A.S.) _the auxiliary verb. sing._ I shal, 15. thow shalt, _pl._ ye
shul, 14, shulle, 25, thei shulle, 22--sholde, sholdest, _pl._ sholden,
sholde
shapen, shape (A.S.) _to make, create, shape_. _pret. s._ shoop, 1, 163,
197, 225, 443, shapte, 361, 433, for-shapte, 365. _pl._ shopen. _part.
past_, mys-shapen, 144, shapen, 280
shappere (A.S.) 358, _a maker, creator_
sharpe (A.S.) 443, _pungent_
sheep (A.S.) 1, _a sheep, or a shepherd_
sheltrom (A.S.) 278, _a host, troop of soldiers_
shenden (A.S.) _to ruin, destroy_. _pret. s._ shente, 365. _part. pas._
shent
shene (A.S.) 394, _bright_
shenfulliche (A.S.) 59, _shamefully, disastrously_
shepstere (A.S.) 265, _a sheep-shearer_ (?)
shere (A.S.) _a shear_
sherreve (A.S.) 31, 51, _a shire-reeve_, or _sheriff_
sherewe, shrewe (A.S.) _a shrew; a cursed one_
shrewednesse (A.S.) _cursedness_
sheten (A.S.) _to shoot_. _pret. pl._ shotten, 438
shetten, shette (A.S.) _to shut_. _pret. s._ shette
shide (A.S.) 167, 197, _a thin board, a billet of wood_
shiften (A.S.) _to move away_. _pret. s._ shifte 435
shyngled (A.S.) 168, _made of planks or boards_
shonyen (A.S.) 87, _to shun_
+shosen ( ) 491 qu. for chosen, i. e. _dispose, incline to_
shrape (A.S.) 84, _to scrape_
shryve (A.S.) 441, _to shrive, make confession_. _pret. s._ shrof, 45, 198.
_part. pas._ y-shryve, 82, shryven, 273
shrift (A.S.) _confession_
shroudes (A.S.) _clothes_
sib, sibbe (A.S.) _relation, companion_. Gossip is God-sib, _companion or
fellow in God_, and was originally applied to the attendants at a
christening
sidder (A.S.) 88, _wider_
sike (A.S.) 355, _sick_
siken (A.S.) _to sigh_. _pret. s._ siked, 293, sikede, 385
siker, syker (A.S.) _sure, secure_. sikerer, 237, _more secure, more sure_
syn (A.S.) 444, _since_
syngen, synge (A.S.) 408, _to sing_. _pret. s._ songe, I song, 408. _pl._
songen, 369, 388, 405
sinken (A.S.) _to sink_. _pret. s._ sank, 373. _pl._ sonken, 278
sisour (A.N.) 31, 32, 38, 51, 75, 434, _a person deputed to hold assizes_.
_See_ Ducange in v. _assisarii_
sith (A.S.) _since_. sithen, _since, afterwards_. sithenes, 121,
_afterwards_. siththe (_adv._) _since afterwards_
sithe (A.S.) 102, _time_
sitten, sitte (A.S.) _to sit_. _pret. s._ thow sete, 386. I seet, 437. sat,
_pl._ seten, 109
skile (A.S.) 202, 240, 290, 359, 367, 412, _reason, argument_
+slaughte ( ) 456 (?)
sleighte (A.S.) 379, 401, _a trick, slight_
sleen (A.S.) _to slay_. _pres._ sleeth. 364, 421. _pret. s._ slow, 434
slepen (A.S.) _to sleep_. _pret. s._ sleep, 99, 100, I slepte, 247. _pl._
slepe, 277
slepying (A.S.) _asleep_
sleple (A.S.) 155, _to sleep gently_
sleuthe (A.S.) _sloth, idleness_
sliken (A.S.) 34, _to make sleek, smooth_
slombren (A.S.) _to slumber_. _pret. s._ slombred, 1
smal (A.S.) _pl._ smale, _small_
smecen (A.S.) _to taste, smack_. _pret. pl._ smaughte, 98
smythyen (A.S.) 61, 62, _to do the work of a smith, to forge_
so (A.S.) _so, as_. so soone so, 352, _as soon as_
soden (A.S.) 312, _to boil_. _part. pas._ y-soden, 321
sodenes (A.N.) 303, _sub-deans_
softe (A.S.) 1, _warm_ (like the Fr. _doux_)
sokene (A.S.) 34, _a district held by tenure of socage_
solas (A.N.) _comfort, solace_
soleyn (A.N.) 240, _one left alone_
solne (A.N.) 102, _to sing by note_
som (A.S.) _pl._ somme, _some_
somone (A.N.) 37, sompne, 62, 209, 408, _to summon_
somonour (A.N.) 31, 51, 75, _a somner_, an officer employed to summon
delinquents to appear in ecclesiastical courts, now called _an apparitor_
sonde (A.S.) _mission, sending_
sone (A.S.) _a son_
songewarie (A.N.) 147, 148, _the interpreting of dreams_
sonne (A.S.) _the sun_
sooth (A.S.) _truth_
soothnesse, sothnesse (A.S.) _truth_
sope (A.S.) 254, _a sop_
sope (A.S.) 273, _soap_
soper (A.N.) _supper_
sorwe (A.S.) _sorrow_
sorweful (A.S.) 353, _sorrowful_
soth (A.S.) _true_
sothe (A.S.) _truth_
sotile (A.N.) 184, 186, _to apply one's cunning or penetration_
sotil (A.N.) _pl._ sotile, 294, 297, 319, 372, _clever, cunning, subtile,
difficult to conceive or understand_
sotte (A.N.) _a fool_
souke (A.N.) 209, _to suck_
souter (A.S.) 101, 201, _a shoemaker_. +soutere, 494
souteresse (A.S.) 96, _a female shoemaker_
southdene (A.N.) _a subdean_
sowen (A.S.) 274, _to sow_. _pret. s._ sew, 268, 412, _pl._ sewe, 317.
_part. pas._ y-sowen, 416
spakliche (A.S.) 353, _hastily_ (?)
spede (A.S.) 353, _to haste, to speed_. _pret. s._ spedde, 353
speken, speke (A.S.) _to speak_. _pret. s._ spak
spelonke (LAT.) 311, _a cavern_
spences (A.N.) 285, _expense_
spillen (A.S.) (trans.) _to mix, spill, spoil, waste_, 414 (_intransitive_)
_to perish_, 303. _part. pas._ y-spilt
spire (A.S.) 348, _to look closely into, to inquire_
spores (A.S.) 370, _spurs_
spring (A.S.) 79, _a sprig, rod_
springen (A.S.) _to spring_. _pret. s._ sprong, 277, spronge, 404
stablisse (A.N.) 22, _to establish_
+stappyng (A.S.) 489, _stepping_
stede (A.S.) _pl._ stedes, _a place_
steere (A.S.) 153, _the helm of a ship_
steyen (A.S.) _to arise, mount_. +_pret. s._ steigh, 498, _arose_
stekie (A.S.) 22, _to stick fast_
stele (A.S.), 412, _a handle_
stelen (A.S.) _to steal_. _pret. s._ stale, 268. _pl._ stolen, 405
sterre, _pl._ sterne, 310 (A.S.) _a star_
+styghtle (A.S.) 469, _to establish, confirm_. Explained in the glossary
appended to the old edition by _to stay_
+stylle (A.S.) 473, _quietly, with a low voice_
+y-stongen (A.S.) 483, _stabbed, pierced_
stinken (A.S.) _to stink_. _pret. s._ stank, 328. +styncand, 489,
_stinking_
stynten (A.S.) 22, 186, _to stop_
stonden, stonde, stande, 354 (A.S.) _to stand_. he stondeth, it stant, 325,
he stant, 372, thei stonden. _pret. s._ stood, 204, 247
stoon (A.S.) 328, _a stone_
stotte (A.S.) 411, _an ox of three years old_
stounde (A.S.) 155, _a short space of time_
stoupe (A.S.) 204, _to bend, stoop_. Chaucer, in the first line of the
Nonne Preestes Tale, speaks of,--"A pore wydow somdel _stoupe_ in age."
+straken (A.S.) 456, _to proceed directly_
+stre (A.S.) 496, _straw_
streyte (A.S.) _straitly, narrowly_
streyves (A.N.) 6, _estreys, beasts which have strayed_, a law-term
striken (A.S.) _to strike_. _pret. s._ strook
struyen (A.N.) 328, _to destroy_. _pret._ struyede
stuwe (A.N.) 121, _a house of ill fame, a stew_. +stues, 488, _stews,
brothels_
+sueres (A.S.) 459, _followers_
suffren (A.N.) _to suffer_
sulen (A.N.) _to soil_. +_part. pas._ y-suled, 495, _soiled_
suren (A.N.) _to assure_
surgenrie (A.N.) 336, _surgery_
surquidous (A.N.) 416, _overbearing, arrogant, conceited_
suster (A.S.) _pl._ sustren, _a sister_
suwen, sewe (A.S.) 203, 454 _to follow_. _pret. s. and pl._ suwed, 353,
suwede, 380. _part. p._ suwed, 110, sued, 155
swelte (A.S.) 86, _to die, to perish_. _pret. s._ swelted, 431
swerd (A.S.) _a sword_
sweren, swerye, 275 (A.S.) _to swear_. _pret. s._ swoor, 434, swor, 269.
_part. pas._ sworen, 328, swore
swetter (A.S.) _sweeter_
swevene (A.S.) _a dream_
sweyen (A.S.) _to sound_. _pret. s._ sweyed, 1
swich (A.S.) 385, _pl._ swiche, _such_
swynken (A.S.) _to labour_. _pret. pl._ swonken, 2.
swynk (A.S.) _labour, work_
swithe (A.S.) _very, immediately, quickly_
swowe (A.S.) 86, _to faint, to swoon_
T.
tabard (A.N.) 88, _a short coat or mantle_. "Tabbard, _collobium_." Promp.
Parv. One of the stage directions in the Coventry Mysteries (p. 244) is:--
Here xal Annas shewyn hymself in his stage, be seyn after a busshop of
the hoold lawe, in a skarlet gowne, and over that _a blew tabbard_
furryd with whyte.
tacches (A.N.) 168, _stains, blemishes_
taillé (A.N.) 68, _a tally, notched stick; an account scored on a piece of
wood_. _See_ note
tailen (A.N.) _to keep an account by notches on a stick, to give a tally
for a thing_. _part. a._ tailende, 156. _part. pas._ y-tailed, 102
taken (A.S.) _to take_. _pres. s._ took, _pl._ token, toke, 398. _part.
pas._ taken
taken, take (A.S.) _to give_. _pret. s._ took, 328, _pl._ toke, token, 383
tale (A.S.) _an account, reckoning_
tale-wis (A.S.) 51, _wise in tales_
tasele (A.S.) 322, _a teasel_. The burs of this plant are used in the
manufacture of cloth
tasten (A.N.) 266, 374, _to feel_. _pret. s._ tastede, 357
techen (A.S.) _to teach_. _pret. s._ taughte, 19, taghte, 135. _part. pas._
taught, 186, y-taught, 436
tellen, telle (A.S.) _to count, tell_, 405. _pret. s._ tolde. _pl._ tolden
teme, teeme (A.S.) 118, 125, 138, 411, 412, _a team of horses_
teme (A.N.) 48, 80, 147, 209, _a theme_
tenten (A.N.) _to offer, present, to hold out, stretch forth_. _pret. pl._
tendeden, 383
tenen, tene (A.S.) 256, 320, _to injure_. _pret. s._ tened, 432
tene (A.S.) 124, 125, 145, 209, 335, _anger, hurt_
teneful (A.S.) _injurious_
termes (A.N.) 242, _terms, times for their work_
teynten (A.N.) _to die, tint_. _part. past_, y-teynted, 322
y-termyned (A.N.) 20, _judged, determined_
thanne (A.S.) _then_
thecche (A.S.) 410, _to thatch_
theen (A.S.) _to thrive, be prosperous_. so thee ik! 90, _as I may
prosper!_
thef, theef (A.S.) _pl._ theves, 239, 353, 373, _a thief_. thefliche, 389,
_thievishly_
theigh (A.S.) _though_
thenke, thynke (A.S.) 211, 228, _to think_. _pres. s._ he thenketh, 407
ther (A.S.) _there, where_. therafter, 90, _in proportion to it_. thermyd,
_herewith_
thesternesse (A.S.) 340, _darkness_
thynke (A.S.) 384, _to seem_. _pres. sing._ I thynke, me thynketh (_it
seems to me_). _pret. s._ thoghte, 1, 205, thoughte, 404
thirlen (A.S.) _to pierce, bore through_
thise (A.S.) _these_
tho (A.S.) _those, the_
tho (A.S.) _then, when_
tholien (A.S.) 70, thole, 392, _to bear, support, suffer_. _pret. s._
tholede, 251, 384, tholed, 377. _pl._ tholed, 373
thonkyng (A.S.) _thanking, thanks_
thorugh (A.S.) _through_
thow (A.S.) The second personal pronoun is in interrogative clauses
generally combined with its verb, as sestow, _seest thou_; slepestow,
_sleepest thou_, &c.
thral (A.S.) _pl._ thralles, 398, _a bond-man_
threve (A.S.) 333, _a bundle_
thridde (A.S.) 413, _third_
thringen (A.S.) _to crowd, to throng, to press forward_. _pret. pl._
thrungen, 108
tyd, tid (A.S.) 265, 334, _quickly, promptly, readily_
tidy (A.S.) 422, _clever, ready, neat_
tyen (A.S.) _to tie_
+y-tight, 461, _furnished, provided_
tikes (A.S.) 398, _low people_; literally, _dogs_. The word is still used
in Yorkshire
til (A.S.) 305, _to_
tilien, tilie, tilye (A.S.) 131, 138, 375, 410, _to till the earth_.
+_part. pas._ tylde, 461
tilthe (A.S.) 421, _tilth, the result or produce of tilling or ploughing_
tymbre (A.S.) 223, _to build_. _pret._ tymbred, 48
+tymen (A.S.) 494, _to compel_ (?) It appears to be the same word which
occurs in the alliterative poem on the Deposition of Richard II, p. 17:--
Thus lafte they the leder
That hem wrong ladde,
And _tymed_ no twynte,
But tolled her cornes,
And gaderid the grotus
With gyle, as I trowe.
tynen, tyne (A.S.) 416, _to lose_. _part. pas._ tynt, 377
titeleris (A.S. ?) 442, _tattlers_
tithe (A.S.) _tenth, tithe_
tixte (A.N.) 348, _text_
to (A.S.) _too_
to-, prefixed in composition to verbs of Anglo-Saxon origin, has the same
force as the German _zu-_, giving to the word the idea of destruction or
deterioration:--
to-bollen (A.S.) 82, _to overswell_
to-breken (A.S.) 156, _to break to pieces, break down_. _part. pas._
to-broke, 139
to-cleve (A.S.) 236, _to cleave in pieces, cut open_
to-drawen (A.S.) _to draw to pieces_, or _to destruction_. _pret._
to-drowe, 175
to-luggen (A.S.) 41, _to lug about, tear_
to-rende (A.S.) 180, _to be torn or burst to pieces_
to-shullen (A.S.) _to cut off, destroy_. _part. pas._ to-shullen, 359
toft (A.S.) _an open exposed place, a hill_
to-fore (A.S.) _before_. to-forn 235, _before_
to-gidere, to-gidres, to-gideres (A.S.) _together_
+toylyng (A.S.) 495, _tugging_
tollen (A.S.) 89, _to measure out, count_
tollers (A.S.) _toll-gatherers_
tome (A.S.) 39, _leisure, time_. This form of the word seems to have been
in use in the fourteenth century. It occurs at the commencement of the
Seven Sages:--
I sal yow tel, if I have _tome_,
Of the seven ages of Rome.
Its occurrence in Piers Ploughman shows that Weber was not right in
supposing it a mere alteration of the word _time_ for the sake of rhyme.
See also Sir F. Madden's Glossary to Gawayne
tonder (A.S.) 362, _tinder_
+too (A.S.) _pl._ ton, 476, 489, _a toe_
torne (A.N.) 428, _to turn_. _pret. s._ tornede, 321, torned, 265, _turned_
torne, 325, turne, 324 (A.S.) _to turn_ (intransitive)
toten (A.S.) 331, 459, 461, _to look, observe, to peep_. _pret. s._ toted,
471. _pl._ toteden, 476. _part. past_, y-toted, 464
touken (A.S.) _to dye_. _part. pas._ y-touked, 322
toune, 315, _a tun_. Perhaps it should be printed _tonne_.
tour (A.N.) _a tower_
travaille (A.N.) _to labour_
traversen (A.N.) 245, _to transgress_
treden (A.S.) _to tread_. _pret. pl._ troden, 223. +_pret. s._ tredede,
476, _trod_
tree, 330 (A.S.) _pl._ trowes, 300, _a tree_
tresor (A.N.) _a treasure_
triacle, tryacle (A.N.) _a remedy, a cure_
tricherie (A.N.) _treachery, cunning, trickery_
trie (A.N.) 305, 330, _choice, select_. trieste, 23, _most choice_,
trieliche, _choicely_
+tryfler (A.S.) 479, _a trifler, a deceiver, a good-for-nothing_
+troiflardes (A.S.) 494, _triflers, idlers_
trollen (A.S.) 387, _to draw, to drag_
tronen (A.N.) _to throne_
trowe (A.S.) 358, _to believe, think, suppose_. trowestow, 237, _thinkest
thou_
trufle (A.S.) 236, 378, trefle, 471, _a silly tale, trifle,
good-for-nothing thing_ or _person_
trumpen (A.N.) _to sound a trumpet_. _pret. s._ trumpede, 395
tulien (A.S.) _to labour, to till_. _pret. pl._ tulieden, 277. _part. act._
tulying, 277
tweye (A.S.) _two_
twies (A.S.) _twice_
+twynnen (A.S.) 480, _to couple together_
U.
umwhile (A.S.) 97, _once, on a time_
unbuxome (A.S.) _disobedient, inobedient_
underfongen (A.S.) 301, _to undertake, accept, receive_. _pret. s._
underfonged, 209
undernymen (A.S.) 214, _to undertake, take possession of_. _pres. s._
undernymeth, 84. _part. past_, under-nome, 263, 428
under-pight (A.S.) 331, _propped up_
unhardy (A.N.) 254, 354, _not bold_
un-hiled (A.S.) 367, _uncovered, unroofed_
unjoynen (A.N.) 384, _to disjoin, separate_
unkynde (A.S.) _unnatural_
unkouthe (A.S.) 148, _unknown, strange, foreign_
unlosen (A.S.) 356, _to unloose_
unlouken (A.S.) 380, 384, 385, 388, _to unlock_
unnethe (A.S.) _scarcely_
unpynne (A.S.) 385, _to unbolt_
unsperen (A.S.) 374, 385, _to open, undo, unbolt_
+un-teyned (A.S.) 481, _unfastened (?)_
unthende (A.S.) 87, _unserved, without sauce_
untidy (A.S.) 432, _slovenly, not clever_
until (A.S.) _to_
unwittily (A.S.) 49, _unwisely, unreasonably_
up (A.S.) _upon_. up so doun, 428, _upside down_
usen (A.S.) _to use_
V.
vaunt-warde (A.N.) 430, _the avant-guard, the van_
veille (A.N.) 104, _an old woman_
vendage (A.N.) 391, _vintage, harvest_
venymousté (A.N.) 378, _the property of being poisonous or venomous_
venym (A.N.) 326, _poison_
vernycle (A.N.) 109, "diminutive of _Veronike_. A copy in miniature of the
picture of Christ, which is supposed to have been miraculously imprinted
upon a handkerchief, preserved in the church of St. Peter at Rome. Du
Cange, in v. _Veronica_. Madox, Form. Angl. p. 428. Testam. Joh. de Nevill,
an. 1386. Item Domino archiepiscopo Ebor. fratri meo. i. vestimentum rubeum
de velvet cum _le Veronike_ in granis rosarum desuper broudata. It was
usual for persons returning from pilgrimages to bring with them certain
tokens of the several places which they had visited; and therefore the
Pardoner [in Chaucer], who is just arrived from Rome, is represented with
_a vernicle sewed upon his cappe_."--TYRWHITT.
verrey (A.N.) 365, verrey, 405, _true_
verset (A.N.) 239, _a little verse_
viker (A.N.) 424, _a vicar_
vicory (A.N.) 420, _a vicar_
W.
waast (A.N.) 10, _a waste, wilderness_
wafrestere (A.S.) 115, _a maker of wafers for the priests, to be
consecrated and administered at the sacrament_
wage, wagen (A.N.) 440, _to hire, to wage, pay wages, remunerate_
wage (A.N.) 71, _to be pledge for, to warrant_
waggen (A.S.) 332, _to shake_. _pret. s._ waggede, 335, 373, 408
wayte, waiten (A.S.) 89, 147, 157, 260, 269, _to watch, look about, wait_.
_pret. s._ waitede, 266. _pl._ waiteden, 345
waitynges (A.S.) 33, _watchings, lookings_
walkne (A.S.) 316, _air, sky, welkin_. wolkne, 357, 383
walnote (A.S.) _a wallnut_
wayven (A.N.) 113, 435, 482, 491, _to waive_
waken (A.S.) _to awake_. _pret. pl._ woken, 277, woke, 405, _awoke_
wanhope (A.S.) 34, 94, 140, 238, 366, _despair, hopelessness_
wanye (A.S.) 141, 153, _to fade, wane_. _pret. s._ wanyed, 294
war (A.S.) _ware, aware_. y-war, 17
warde (A.N.) 388, _a keeper_
wardemotes (A.N.) 6, _meetings of the ward_
wareyne (A.N.) 10, _a warren_
warisshen (A.N.) 336, _to cure_
warlawes (A.S.) 497, _wizards, sorcerers, warlocks_. See Jamieson, on this
latter word
warner (A.N.) 96, _a warrener, keeper of a warren_
warpen (A.S.) _to utter, cast_. _pret. s._ warpe, 82, 99
warroken (A.S.) 66, _to girt_
waselen (A.S.) _to become dirty, dirty one's self_. +_pret. s._ waselede,
476
wasshe (A.S.) 248, _to wash_. _pret. s._ I wessh, 344, wasshed, 352, _pl._
wesshen, 247. _part. pas._ y-wasshen, 167, whasshen, 272, wasshen, 392
wastel (A.N.) 94, _a cake, fine bread_
watlen (A.S.) _to cover with hurdles, to wattle_. _pret. s._ watlede, 415
wawe (A.S.) 153, _a wave_
webbe (A.S.) 89, _a weaver_
webbestere (A.S.) _a weaver_. wollen webbesters, 14, _woollen weavers_
wed (A.S.) 91, 346, _a pledge_
wedden (A.S.) 73, _to lay a wager_
weder (A.S.) _weather_. weder-wise, _weather-wise_
wedes (A.S.) _dress, clothes, apparel_
weer (A.S.) 209, 330, _a doubt, perplexity_
weet (A.S.) _wet_. weet-shoed, 369, _wet-shoed_
weg (A.S.) 426, _a pledge_
wey (A.S.) _a way_
weye (A.S.) 82, _a wey of cheese_
weyen (A.S.) _to weigh_. _part. past_, weyen, 25
weylaway (A.S.) 383, _an exclamation of lamenting under suffering_
weyves (A.S.) 6 (a law term), _animals lost or strayed_
weke (A.S.) 360, 362, _the wick of a candle_
welden (A.S.) 174, 175, 206, _to possess_. _pres. s._ he welt, 178, when he
weldeth, 426
wele (A.S.) 381, _weal, happiness, good fortune_
wellen (A.S.) _to boil, to gush out as water from a spring_. _pret. s._
wellede, 418
welle (A.S.) 296, _a spring_
welthe (A.S.) 88, _a welt_
wem (A.S.) 377, _a flaw, stain_
wenden (A.S.) 306, _to go, to wend_. _pres. pl._ wenden. _imperat._ weend,
59
wenen (A.S.) 264, 380, _to suppose, imagine, think, believe_. _pret. pl._
wende, 263, _supposed_
wepen (A.S.) _to weep_. _pret. s._ wepte, 374, _pl._ wepten
wepene (A.S.) 170, _membrum virile_
wepne (A.S.) _a weapon_
+werdliche (A.S.) 454, 473, _worldly_
were (A.S.) 322, _to wear_
werken, werche (A.S.) _to work_. _pres. pl._ werchen. _pret. s._ wroghte.
_pl._ wroughte, wroghten. _part. act._ werchynge. _part. pas._ wroughte,
wroght, y-wroght
+werly (A.S.) 491, _worldly_
wernard, wernarde (A.N.) 35, 53, _persons who lay information against
others_ (?)
wernen (A.S.) _to refuse, deny_. _pres. s._ werneth, 425, _refuses_
werre (A.N.) _war_
wers (A.S.) _worse_
+werwolves (A.S.) 478, _people turned into wolves by sorcery_. An ancient
superstition. _See_ note
wesshen (A.S.) _to wash_
weven (A.S.) _to weave_
wex (A.S.) 360, 361, wax
wexen, wexe (A.S.) 141, 209, 293, 401, _to wax, grow_. _pret. s._ weex, 63,
94, 202, 278, 294, 336, 369. _pl._ woxen, 161, 277, 333. _part. pas._
woxen, 177, 403
wexed (A.S.) 98, _washed_ (?)
what! (A.S.) 146, an interjection, _lo!_
whiche (A.S.) which a light, 376, _what light_
+whit (A.S.) 476, _a wight, creature_
whiten (A.S.) _to make white_
+whough (A.S.) 453, _how_. whou, 481
wicche (A.S.) 372, 373, _a witch_
wye (A.S.) 109, 223, 245, 248, 283, 352, 354, 388, 405, _a man_. It is the
Saxon _wig_, and was originally applied to a warrior or hero. I am inclined
to think this may be the origin of our present slang term, _a guy_
wif (A.S.) _in the objective_, wyve, _pl._ wyves, _a woman, wife_
wight (A.S.) 160, _active, brave_. wightly, _actively, bravely, well_.
wyghtliche, 40, _actively_. wightnesse, 410, _activity, cleverness_
wight (A.S.) _a creature, being_
wike (A.S.) _a week_. _pl._ woukes, 336
wikkedlokest (A.S.) 199, _most wickedly_
willen (A.S.) 400, _to will_. _pres. s._ wol, wole, _pl._ wol. _pret. s._
wolde, _pl._ wolde. thow willest, 241
wilne (A.S.) 49, _to will_. _pr. s._ wilneth, 20. _pl._ wilne, 15. _pret.
s._ wilned, 211, 369
wyn (A.S.) 402, _wine_
wynen pyne (A.S.) 78, _the wine pin, or place where wine was sold_ (?)
wynkyng (A.S.) 77, 99, _dozing, slumbering_
wynnen, wynne (A.S.) _to win, gain_. _pret. s._ wan, 123, 231, _pl._
wonnen, 2. _part. pas._ y-wonne, 82, 213, wonne, 410
+wynwe (A.S.) 476, _winnowing_
wis, _pl._ wise (A.S.) _wise_
wisloker (A.S.) 266, _more certainly_
wissen, wisse (A.S.) 399, _to teach_. _pres. sing._ I wisse. _pret. sing._
wissed, 19. _part. act._ wissynge, 205, _teaching_
wissen (A.S.) _to know_. _pret. sing._ wiste, 151, 211, _knew_ _part.
past_, wist, 381
wit (A.S.) _mind, wit, intelligence_
witen, wite (A.S.) 373, 377, _to know_. _pres. s._ he woot, 105, 199.
_pret. s._ woot, 3, 32, 35, 67. to witene, 152, _to know_. witynge, 418,
_knowingly_
witen (A.S.) 140, 331, _to hinder, keep_
witen (A.S.) _to blame_. _pret. s._ witte, 17
withdrawen (A.S.) _to withdraw_. _pret. s._ withdrough, 373
withholden (A.S.) _to withold, retain_. _pres. s._ he withhalt, 110
withwynde (A.S.) 108, _crosswise_ (?) as if bound with a withy
witterly (A.S.) _truly_
witty (A.S.) 196, _knowing, wise_
+wlon (A.S.) 494, _the nap of cloth_ (?)
wo (A.S.) _woe_
wodewe (A.S.) 169, _pl._ widwes, _a widow_
woke (A.S.) 315, _to moisten_ (?)
wolleward (A.S.) 369, wolward, 497, _miserable, plagued_
wolves-kynnes (A.S.) 126, _of the nature of wolves_
wombe (A.S.) _the belly_
wombe-cloutes (A.S.) 250, _tripes_
womman, _pl._ wommen (A.S.) _a woman_
wone (A.S.) _a dwelling-place, residence_
woned (A.S.) 306, _accustomed, wont_
wonyen (A.S.) _to dwell_. _pres. s._ wonyeth, 18. _pret. pl._ woneden, 311
woon (A.S.) 435, _plenty, abundance_
+woon (A.S.) _a dwelling_
worden (A.S.) _to discourse, have words together_. _pret. pl._ wordeden,
68. wordynge, 351, _talking, using words, conversing_
worm (A.S.) 222, _a serpent_
worstow, 420, _shalt thou be_. _See_ worthe
wort (A.S.) 135, _a plant, vegetable_
worthe, y-worthe (A.S.) _to be, become_. to late the cat worthe, 12, _to
let the cat be_. worth, 26, 244, 359, _shall be_
wowen (A.S.) 69, _to woo, court_
wower, _pl._ woweris (A.S.) 206, _a wooer_
wowes (A.S.) 46, _walls_
wrathen (A.S.) _to be or become angry, wroth_
wreken (A.S.) _to avenge_. _part. past_, wroken, 39, 437, wroke, 392
wrighte (A.S.) 197, _a workman, artist, maker_
wringen (A.S.) _to wring_. _pret. s._ wrong, 42, 127
writen (A.S.) _to write_. _pret. s._ wroot, 183, 225, 233, 293, 328, 396.
_part. past_, writen, 349
writhen (A.S.) 358, _twisted, clenched_
wrooth (A.S.) _wroth_
wrotherhele (A.S.) 280, _ill fate, ill condition_
Y.
As a consonant; for other words beginning with _y_, see under _g_ and _i_
yarken (A.S.) 143, _to make ready, prepare_
ye (A.S.) _yea, yes_
yeden (A.S.) _to go_. _pret. s._ yede. _pl._ yeden, 324, 351, 354
yeepe (A.S.) 203, _active, alert, prompt_
yelde (A.S.) 419, _to yield, pay, give_. _pres. s._ he yelt, 375. _pret.
s._ yald, 239, 240. yeldynge
yeme (A.S.) 349, _heed, attention_
yemen (A.S.) 154, 171, 185, _to rule, guide, govern--to heed, take care of_
yepeliche (A.S.) 306, _promptly_
yerde (A.S.) _a rod, a yard_
yere (A.S.) _pl._ yeer, _a year_. yeres-gyve, 154. yeres-yeves, 49, _a
year's gift_
yerne (A.S.) _to yearn, desire eagerly_
yerne (A.S.) (_adverb_) _eagerly, earnestly, readily_
yerne (A.S.) 306, _to run_. _pret. s._ yarn, 205. _part. act._ ernynge,
418. _See_ rennen
yis (A.S.) _yes_
yit (A.S.) _yet_
ynowe (A.S.) _enough_. ynogh, 382
yvel (A.S.) _evil, wicked_. yvele, 87, _evilly, wickedly_.
_FINIS._
* * * * *
PRINTED BY BALLANTYNE, HANSON AND CO. EDINBURGH AND LONDON.
* * * * *
Corrections made to printed text
Lines 9010, 9011. "for cold", "for drye" corrected from "for-cold",
"for-drye"
Line 9056 et seq.: Original line numbering preserved, appears to be 1 too
low.
Line 9254 et seq.: Original line numbering preserved, appears to be a
further 2 too low.
Line 10204: printed "10240"
Line 10260 et seq.: Original line numbering preserved, appears to be a
further 1 too low.
Line 13205 "a-fyngred" corrected from "a fyngred".
Line 14038: printed "14083"
Line 14311 "hadde" corrected from "hande".
Creed, line 1238: "In penaunce" corrected from "Ia penaunce".
Notes generally: the abbreviations for Eccliastes and Eccliasticus are
confusing - they are retained as printed. References to Psalms sometimes
use the numbering of the Vulgate, sometimes the Hebrew/Protestant numbering
- these are also retained as printed.
Corrections to the line numbers for the notes: 1735 (corrected from 1734);
2497 (2499); 2881 (2882); 3408 (3407); 4618 (4620); 5433 (5423); 8167
(8164), 8173 (8170), 8180 (8177); 9176 (9177: the next line had incorrect
printed line number 9178), 9178 (9179); 9517 (9510); 10183 (10182); 10322
(10332); 10553 (10523); 11075 (11074); 11300 (11299); 10322 (10332); 10553
(10523); 11075 (11074); 11300 (11299); 12669 (12668); 12943 (12942); 14269
(14265); Creed 913 (911).
Note 1177. "ynowe" corrected from "ynome".
Note 3944 & 3948. "Psalm lxviii, 29" corrected from "Psalm xlviii, 29".
Note 4618. "popularly" corrected from "pupularly".
Note 6022. "Epist. ad Rom. xii, 19.", the only good match and confirmed by
Skeat. The original has "Galat. vi, 2.", which belongs to the note to line
6981.
Note 8418. "Luke xxi, 1-4." corrected from "Luke xx, 1-4.".
Note "8572", corrected from "8573".
Note 9766. "Psal. xcvi" corrected from "Psal. cxvi".
Note 10183. "Hadde" from "Hudde".
Note 10404. "looresmen" from "loorsemen" (cf. glossary).
Note 11396. "Matth. xx, 40" corrected from "Matth. v, 40".
Note 11670. "John xii, 32" corrected from "Cant. xii, 32".
Note 12040. "2 Corinth. xii, 9" corrected from "2 Corinth. xii, 19".
Corrected page references in the Glossary: affaiten (deleted 9); apeiren 80
(corrected from 8); arwe 438 (432); brok 119 (199); brotel 153 (133);
cacchen 236 (238); chaffare (merchandise) 85 (84); come: com 400 (401);
comsen: comsynge 382 (384); coveren 238 (228); daggen 433 (483); devors 433
(438); drawen: drogh 437 (487), drow 376 (375); dredfully 352 (252); duc
388 (188); eten 386 (385); fighten: y-foughte 336 (386); foote 354 (314);
for-yelden 133 (184); formest 403 (409); frete (deleted 4); goon: wenten
351 (321); graithen: graythed 494 (491); hastilokest 424 (434); hewen 273
(173); kennen: kenne 20 (621, which is the line number instead of the
page); kyn 359 (659); lakken 262 (260); leet 25 (27); leven (to believe):
leved 393 (392); manlich 92 (62); mees 249 (242); metels 207 (206); meve
228 (288); pil 331 (330); pulchen 460 (46); quellen 537 (337); quyk 384
(334); segge 216 (210); sleen: slow 434 (433); sleep 99 (96); spede: spedde
353 (352); torne: torned 265 (266); treden: tredede 476 (475); undernymen
214 (9); vaunt-warde 430 (409); wage (deleted 171); webbe (deleted 267);
witty 196 (96); writen 349 (249); yvele 87 (7).
Gloss "aspien", corrected from "aspein".
Gloss "avowen". "to make a vow" corrected from "... row".
Gloss "biten". "bitit" corrected from "betit".
Gloss "deitee". "daity" corrected from "deity".
Gloss "fondynge", corrected from "fongynge".
Gloss "liggen". "leyen" corrected from "leven".
Gloss "lomere". "frequently" corrected from "ferquently".
Gloss "sitten". "I seet" corrected from "I sete".
Gloss "speken", corrected from "peken".
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