MS. FRAGMENTS OF OLD POETRY.
I have before me a sheet of vellum, part of old tale or tales in verse, which has been used as the cover of a manuscript book. I conceive it to be about the time of Henry VI. Can any of your correspondents, from the following extracts, give me any information as to the author, or the work of which it is a part? There would appear to be parts of two tales, at least.
G. H. D.
"Thanne seide the Prest, i will the telle,
For alle my good i wele the selle,
For alle the synnes that thou hast don,
I graunte the hem alle sone anon.
Alle gode dedes and eke preiere.
That Marchaunt the Prest wel understod,
That the Prestes chaffare was to hym good,
Gif that it mythe awelde;
And seide, as i am a trewe man,
In alle the wittis that i can,
Covenaunt i wele the helden.
Gif thou wilt me with herte and thouth (thought),
Give me alle thi gode dedes that thou hast wrouth,
As covenaunt was before;
Loke, he seide, to the Prest anon,
That thou telle hem everecheon,
That thou be nouth forswore.
And i schal telle the anon,
Alle the ... de dedes that I haue don,
Alle with outen ende;
The Prest began anon to telle,
Of hese goodnesse anon snelle,
No lengere he wolde hym wende.
The Prest seide, while i was yonge,
And coude gon and speke with tunge,
I was sette to lore;
Pore men i loved wel,
Of that i hadde i zaf hem su ... el,
Bothe lesse and more.
And quanne i my primer cou[the],
I seide it eche day with my mouthe,
And forgat ... uth on;
To God i made my preiere,
And eche dai seide oure ladies [sa]utere,
To God I made my mone.
Evereche day to chirche i went,
And seide my psauter with sex [en?]tente
Both be dai and be nyth;
Quanne i to bedde schulde go,
Mi clothes i kest me fro,
To serue God ful of myth.
Certes oftyn i gan take,
An usage on nyth moche to wake,
And prei to hevene kyng;
That i moste comen to this ... religion,
To my soule Savacioun,
To joye with outen endyng.
And quanne i was made a prest here,
God thewes i wolde lere,
As I haue the told;
Now thou woste with outen strife,
How I haue led in lif,
And all my goodnesse I haue thee solde,
Thanne seide the Prest to the Marchaunt,
Hold thou me my covenaunt,
That I of haue of the bouth;
Thou woste wel al untold,
But gif a man wolde truthe hold,
Marchaundize is rith nouth,
With tretchere thou myth me katche,
And do me bie the cat in a Satche,[1]
Thyng that I may nouth se;
All thi synnes thou me telle,
And thou schalt be saued fro the payne of helle,
Gif thou ne levest nouth me.
The Marchaunt seide, geve me myn,
And thou schalt have chaffare thin,
Gif thou wilt understonde;
This seide the Prest, be my leute,
Alle thi synnes telle thou me,
For no thyng that thou ne wende.
The Marchaunt seide, wil I was yong,
And coude gon and spake with tung,
I was jolif and wilde;
Be myn own sister I lay,
Many a nyth and many a day,
And gret sche was with childe.
With childe she was, tho sothe to telle,
And I gaf reed my fader to quelle,
So God me bryng out of care;
Now God Fader in Trinite,
Have merci on here and on me,
Of blisse I am all bare.
And after that with outen othe,
Oure fader and oure moder bothe,
Whanne that it was eve;
And thei bothe aslepe were,
We wenten to hem bothe in fere,
And slowe hem with outen weve (?).
And quanne this dede was i-do,
We wenten away both to,
Mi sister wente behynde;
As gret with childe as sche was,
I lep to here a woligret pas,
And dede here heved of wynde.
Sche that was me lef and dere,
I smot here heved of be the swere,
Now lord, merci I crie;
Fader, God omnipotent,
Ne lete our soules never be schent,
For the love of oure lefdie.
Maries sone that sitteth in trone,
Lade to the i make my mone,
That we mote be present,
At the day of jujement,
And seen thin holi face."
..............................
"Thanne he sei a leoun come,
And taken awei hese yonge sone,
On hym he gaped wide.
The Lyoun bar that child with hym,
Awei rennynge wroth and grym,
The knyth was ney aswoune;
There he was in the water deep,
It was no wonder thow he wep,
Of Care hadde [he] inow.
Sore he gan to sihhe and grone,
Thei he ne seide wordes none,
To loude he moste tee;
A wonder thyng he sey thar,
A wolf hese other child away bar,
He fel doun on swoune on kne.
Tho that he aswouning ros,
He loked abouten and hym agros,
Hese wit was ney forlore;
But yet he thouthe on Ihū Crist,
On his deth and on hese uprist,
That for us was i-bore.
Lord God Almythti, thou it wost,
Fadir sone and holi gost,
To thee i menene my mone;
For my spouse that was so trewe,
Fadir hende brith of newe,
Wol wo is me alone.
For my sones that ben forlorn,
That wilde bestes hath awei born,
I not nouth where to wone;
To wheche lond mai i fle,
How longe schal i on lyve be,
Sorewes comen gret wone.
Of Job i well bethenke me,
That long in welthe hadde be,
And fel sone in care;
Ihū Crist for love of The,
To carful well i nevere be,
How so it ever fare.
I have wepte al my fille,
I nele no more, i well be stille,
Goddes helpe is us ney;
Thanne come an aungel from hevene,
And spake to hym with mylde Stevene,
Of God that woneth on hey.
Be bold blithe, he seide, Eustace,
For in hevene is maad thi place,
There thou schalt myrie be;
Thi children and thi wif,
Schal have longe lyf,
And al that blisse i-se.
Thus long he wente forth his wai,
Biddynge his bedes on hase lai,
Til beter tyme come;
To Swynke and swate he most,
For hese spendying was ney go,
—— it under no ——
With bowe and arwe and horn,
For to kepe a lordis corn,
Be day and eke be nyth;
..............................
knythes from fer i fare
For to seeke here and thare
After on manne
The emperoures counceyler
We han forth far and ner
There can no man hym kenne:
The wisest knyth of hese coort he was,
He was i hoten Sire Placidas,
On huntynge out he ferde;
And never after come he hom,
Ne no tidyng of him com.
..............................
On the mouthe is a wounde."
[1] Proverb.
[The first of these fragments is obviously a portion of a religious tale (similar to the French Contes Dévots, from one of which it is probably borrowed).
The second is a portion of the Legend of St. Eustace, otherwise named Placidas, which occurs in an earlier metrical English form among the Collections of Lives of Saints in MS. Laud. 108. art. 59.; MS. Digby 86.; MS. Bodl. 779. art. 64.; MS. Vernon, fol. 170; MS. Ashm. 43. art. 73.; and MS. Cott. Cal. A. II. It occurs as prose in the Golden Legend.]