The Middle English Poem, Erthe Upon Erthe

by Unknown

It will thus be seen that the popular traditional version of the poem tended to become modified, and even corrupt, already in the fifteenth century, and that such modifications are usually more apparent in the later texts. It is also evident that individual transcribers felt themselves at liberty to expand the traditional version, and that many tried their hand at such variations on the original theme, but the striking absence of proof of relationship outside the seven stanzas of the normal version, as well as the frequent unimportant variations found in the common stanzas, seems to point clearly to the conclusion that the original was a popular poem of seven, or possibly only five, stanzas, widely known over England, and that the more simple and naïve of the seventeen texts extant are also more genuine, and nearer to the original.

Many of the texts are accompanied by a short prefatory or concluding verse in English or Latin. The English verse—

When lyffe is most loued, and deth is moste hated,

Then dethe draweth his drawght and makyth man full naked

occurs as a preface in MSS. Harl. 4486 and 1671, Lambeth, Laud, Rawl. P., and Egerton, and as a conclusion in Billyng’s text. The Latin Memento homo quod cinis es et in cinerem reverteris occurs, in full or in part, in MSS. Harl. 4486, Egerton, Rawl. C., Lambeth, and Billyng, and De terra plasmasti me in MSS. Harl. 1671, Lambeth, and Rawl. P. The two stanzas in rime royal on the Procese of Dethe which immediately precede Erthe upon Erthe in the Porkington MS. are transcribed as a separate poem, and if not separate, would rather belong to the preceding text, a translation of the Latin Visio Philiberti in rime royal, than to Erthe upon Erthe. The latter poem often accompanies either a Dance of Death or one of the numerous Soul and Body dialogues, no doubt because of the similarity of the theme, but it is not necessary to regard these kindred poems as forming an essential part of each other. So in the Balliol MS., Erthe upon Erthe is preceded by an eight-lined Latin stanza on the theme vado mori, which is probably part of a Dance of Death. Here again no basis for a grouping of the MSS. can be found.

The two late texts—MSS. Maitland and Reidpeth—represent a Lowland Scots version of the poem, and are obviously copies of the same original. Probably the Reidpeth text is a transcription of the Maitland, but it contains some obvious misreadings of it, as in verse 3, line 3, bowris (Maitl.), towris (Reidpeth) repeating the rime-word; 5, l. 20, within (Maitl.), with (Reidpeth). The Maitland MS., compiled c. 1555-1585, adds the colophon quod Marsar. The later Reidpeth MS., 1622-1623, concludes with the words quod Dumbar. Mersar, or Marsar, is mentioned in Dunbar’s Lament for the Makaris, and is usually identified with a William Mersar of the household of James IV, mentioned 1500 to 1503. In any case, if he were a contemporary of Dunbar, he could scarcely be assigned to a sufficiently early date to account for the widespread popularity of Erthe upon Erthe all over England in 1450, and the fact that the two MSS. assign the poem to different authors, of whom Dunbar is manifestly impossible, and Mersar at least improbable, may be explained as an instance of that readiness of posterity to attach a known name to a work of unknown origin, of which other examples are not wanting. It is, however, of interest to find that the poem had made its way to Scotland by 1550 or thereabouts.

As regards dialect, the majority of the MSS. of the B version show traces of Northern dialect, most of them preserving the Nth. plural in -is in the rimes touris, schowrys, &c. In verse 3 also the majority of the texts have the Nth. bigged or biggid, but six (MSS. Billyng, Egerton, Rawl. P., Porkington, Balliol, and the Stratford text) use the Midl. or Sth. bilded or billed. In verse 4 the rime requires the form wold rather than the common Nth. wald, and even the Maitland MS. retains wold for the sake of the rime, whereas MS. Reidpeth substitutes wald, sacrificing the rime. MSS. Thornton and Rawl. C. show distinct Nth. features, such as the verb-endings -is (pres. ind. 3 sg.), -and (pres. part.), -id, -it, -in (past part.), and MS. Rawl. C. has the Nth. whate gates at þu gase riming with fase (foes). But few of the MSS. represent pure dialect-forms, and an investigation of the dialect of the texts is of little assistance towards determining that of the original poem. Such evidence as exists points, on the whole, to the North Midland district, and a widespread popularity in the North, which led to the later knowledge of the poem across the Border, but the popularity was evidently not confined to the North, and Southern as well as Northern forms may be traced in both early and late transcripts.

[ The Cambridge Text.]

The Cambridge MS., as has been already stated, combines portions of both the A and the B version with several independent stanzas. At first sight it might appear to represent a transitional stage in the development of the B from the A type, but closer examination shows that this is not the case, and that the text is merely a later compilation from the two. The writer must have had some knowledge both of the longer A version represented by MS. Harl. 913, and of the common seven-stanza B type, and seems to have tried to combine his recollections in one poem, halting between the four-lined and six-lined stanza, repeating himself here and there, and adding certain new verses of his own. There is no grouping into stanzas in the MS., but a division is easily made by the rimes, and these give mono-rimed stanzas of four lines chiefly, with one of six lines, and some fragmentary ones of two or three. In one case a stanza has been broken up and the two couplets inserted at different points (ll. 9-10, 27-28). As has been shown in the table of MSS. of the B version, six verses of the B type may be traced, while four verses show distinct correspondence with A, and eleven are independent of either. A comparison of the similar lines follows:—

(MS. Cambr. Ii. 4. 9) ll. 1-4.	(MS. Harl. 4486.) B Version.
Erthe vpon erthe is waxin & wrought, Erthe takys on erthe a nobylay of nought; Now erthe vpon erthe layes all his þought How erthe vpon erthe sattys all at noght.	1	Erthe owte of erthe is wonderly wrowghte, Erthe of the erthe hathe gete an abbey[12] ofnawte, Erthe apon erthe hath sette al his thowghte How erthe apon erthe may be hye browte.
ll. 9-10, 27-28.
Erthe vpon erth wolde be a kyng, But howe erth xal to erth thynkyth he no thyng. When erthe says to erth: ‘My rent þou me bryng,’ Then has erth fro erthe a dolfull partyng.	2	Erthe apon erthe be he a kynge, Butt how erth schalle to erthe thynkethe henothynge. When erthe byddeth erthe his rent home brynge, Then schalle erthe owte of erthe haue a pyteous[13] partynge.
ll. 5-8.
Erthe vpon erth has hallys & towris; Erthe says to erth: ‘This is alle owris.’ But quan erth vpon erth has byggyd hisbowris Than xal erth for the erth haue scharpe schowris.	3	Erthe apon erthe wynneth castelles & towres. Then seythe erthe to erthe: ‘These bythe alleowres.’ When erthe apon erthe hath byggede vp his bowres Then schalle erthe for the erthe suffre scharpe schowres.
Cf. l. 66.
If erth haue mys don, he getyth scharpe shours.
ll. 33-35.
Erthe wrotys in erth as molys don in molde, Erthe vpon erth glydys as golde, As erthe leve in erthe euer more schulde.	4	Erthe gothe apon erthe as molde apon molde. So goeth erthe apon erthe alle gleterynge in golde, Lyke as erthe into erthe neuer go scholde, And ȝet schalle erthe into erthe rather then be wolde.
ll. 29-32.
How erthe louys erth wondyr me thynke, How erthe for erth wyll swete and swynke. When erth is in erthe broght with-in thebrynke What as herth than of erthe but a fowle stynke.	5	Why erthe louethe erthe wonder me thynke, Or why that erthe for erthe swete wylle or swynke, Ffor whan erthe apon erthe is browte withyn þebrynke, Then schalle erthe of the erthe haue a fowle stynke.
ll. 36-37.
Erthe vpon erth mynd euer more þou make How erthe xal to erth when deth wyll hym take.	6	Loo erthe apon erthe consydere thow may How erthe commyth to erthe naked all way.
	(MS. Harl. 913) A Version.
ll. 19-22.	v. 5, ll. 1, 2, 5, 6.
Erth vpon erthe gos in the weye, Prykys and prankys on a palfreye; When erth has gotyn erth alle that he maye, He schal haue but seven fote at his last daye.		Erþ is a palfrei to king and to quene, Erþ is ar lang wei, þouw we lutil wene. Whan erþ haþ erþ wiþ streinþ þus geten, Alast he haþ is leinþ miseislich i-meten.
ll. 41-46, 23-26.	v. 2.
Ffor erth gos in erth walkand in vede, And erthe rydys on erth on a fayr stede, When he was gotyn in erth erth to his mede, Than is erth layde in erthe wormys to fede. Whylke are the wormys the flesch brede? God wote the wormys for to ryght rede. Than xal not be lykyng vnto hym Bu[t] an olde sely cloth to wynde erthe in, When erthe is in erth for wormys wyn, The rof of his hows xal ly on his chyn.		Erþ geþ on erþ wrikkend in weden, Erþ toward erþ wormes to feden; Erþ berriþ to erþ al is lif deden; When erþ is in erþe, heo muntid þi meden. When erþ is in erþe, þe rof is on þe chynne; Þan schullen an hundred wormes wroten on þe skin.
ll. 63-64.	v. 6, ll. 5-6.
Erthe bygyth hallys & erth bygith towres, When erth is layd in erth, blayke is his bours;		Erþ bilt castles, and erþe bilt toures; Whan erþ is on erþe, blak beþ þe boures.
l. 38.	v. 6, l. 3.
Be ware, erth, for erthe, for sake of thi sowle.		Erþ uppon erþ be þi soule hold.