Sammlung altenglischer legenden, grösstentheils zum ersten male hrsg. von C. Horstmann.

About this Item

Title

Author

Horstmann, Carl, b. 1851.

Publication

Heilbronn,: Gebr. Henninger,

1878.

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Subject terms

Legends

English poetry

Saints

Link to this Item

http://name.umdl.umich.edu/AJD8171.0001.001

Cite this Item

"Sammlung altenglischer legenden, grösstentheils zum ersten male hrsg. von C. Horstmann." In the digital collection Corpus of Middle English Prose and Verse. https://name.umdl.umich.edu/AJD8171.0001.001. University of Michigan Library Digital Collections. Accessed June 16, 2025.

Pages

a) aus Ms. Harl. 2382.

                    Alle cristen peple, listeneth ye & here
                  
                    Of an holi bisshop and a martere,
                  
                    Whos name is cleped seynt Erasmus,
                  
                    As þe boke seith & trew men telle vs.
                  
                    Of an holy man here may men rede,
                    Line 5 
                  
                    What merite thei may haue & what mede
                  
                    That wolle worshipe god & hym deuotely
                  
                    Euery day, with thre thynges pryncipally.
                  
                    Which bene thes, as ye may here:
                  
                    With deuote pater noster or other prayere,
                    Line 10 
                  
                    And with an almesdede, lasse other more,
                  
                    Of mete or of money yeven to þe pore,
                  
                    Or els candel-light more or lasse
                  
                    Brennyng at evesong, matynes, or masse.
                  
                    Who thes thynges doth for þis martires sake,
                    Line 15 
                  
                    Thes rewardes folwyng truly shal he take:
                  
                    One is: that he shal haue to his levyng
                  
                    Resonable substance to his endyng;
                  
                    Another is this: that any of his foone
                  
                    Hyndryng or harme shal thei do hym none,
                    Line 20 
                  
                    Yf his cause be trew — this is certan, —
                  
                    Thurgh the prayere of this holy mane,
                  
                    And what he wol axe resonably,
                  
                    That wolle god hym graunte of his mercy;
                  
                    Another is this — that hym shalle plese:
                    Line 25 
                  
                    He shalle be delyuered of al his disese;
                  
                    Another is this, as the boke seith:
                  
                    He shalle dye in rightfulle byleve & feithe,
                  
                    And sothely, or þe soule fro þe body twyne,
                  
                    He shalle haue contricion & shrift of his syn,
                    Line 30 
                  
                    And he shalle receyue, or he be ded,
                  
                    Cristes owne body in forme of bred,
                  
                    And he shalle haue afore his endyng
                  
                    The holy sacrament of anoyntyng.
                  
                    And he shalle come to thilke ioy & blisse
                    Line 35 
                  
                    In the which truly this holy martir ys,
                  
                    The verry blisse of heuen þat neuer shal haue ende —
                  
                    God yeue vs alle grace theder for to wende.
                  AMEN.

                  
                    SIres, ye shul vnderstond, as we writene fynde,
                  
                    That this holi man was punyshed & pynde
                    Line 40 
                  
                    In þe contre of Champayn, as þe boke tellis
                  
                    And as men reporte þat in that place dwellys.
                  
                    Whos day falleth in somer on the thirde day
                  
                    Of Juyne, the next moneth after May.
                  
                    And vpon þe sonday he had most woo —
                    Line 45 
                  
                    Of hem y shal tells somwhat, or y go, —
                  
                    Vnder two fals tirantes ful vntrewly,
                  
                    That were fals traytoures to god almyghty:
                  
                    The name of þe firste was Dioclician,
                  
                    And the secunde was Maximyane.
                    Line 50 
                  
                    Tofore Dioclician this man was broght.
                  
                    He spett on hym & sett hym al at noght,
                  
                    And put hym in prisone & dede hym mykel dere
                  
                    And layd on hym yre, as moche as he myght bere.

Page 199

                  
                    And after þat this tray (tur) dud take hym oute, [Ms. tray st. traytur? oder þat ist zu tilgen.] 
                    Line 55 
                  
                    And his body naked & bare al aboute
                  
                    Vnto a strong piler he dud hym fast bynde
                  
                    And bete hym al aboute before & eke be|hynde,
                  
                    And of his bare body, þat was faire & freshe,
                  
                    With pynchons & pynsons thei rent away þe fleshe,
                    Line 60 
                  
                    And buffeted hym, as thei were mad & wode,
                  
                    That alle his faire body ran alle of blode.
                  
                    But in þe mene tyme, as trew men telle,
                  
                    Dyoclician deyde, that was fals & felle.
                  
                    And after shrewe anone cam anothe(r),
                    Line 65 
                  
                    Maximian, in malice which was his bro|ther;
                  
                    He was a fals shrewe, this Maxymyan,
                  
                    Vnto this holy bisshop: he was his bane.
                  
                    For he lete ordeyne an hidous gret fornace
                  
                    With pych & hote leed & brynston in brace
                    Line 70 
                  
                    And vndernethe a fire brennynge fast,
                  
                    And theron þis holy man anone he dede cast;
                  
                    And al his bare body ther in dud bathe,
                  
                    But, blessid be god! he had no maner scathe.
                  
                    And than þis fals tyrant, ful of vnsele,
                    Line 75 
                  
                    Toke an hevy haberioune of yre & of stele
                  
                    And leyd it in the fire, til it was glowyng,
                  
                    And put it on þis seynt al naked stondyng;
                  
                    But thurgh goddes grace he felt no more smert
                  
                    Than doth any man þat wereth a softe shert.
                    Line 80 
                  
                    Than was this tyrant as wode as an hare,
                  
                    For he coude no craft to bryng þis seynt to care.
                  
                    And this tirante a newe iette dud aray:
                  
                    Apone two trestellis a long bord dud he lay
                  
                    And this holi man he lete bynde to that borde,
                    Line 85 
                  
                    And to his felle turmentoures this was his worde:
                  
                    "Kyt ye with a knyf his body round aboute,
                  
                    That his guttes & entrailes may comen oute,
                  
                    And wynde hem vp after þat apon a long spete:
                  
                    And lete hym than after þat do alle his profete".
                    Line 90 
                  
                    And as this tirant bade, anone it was done,
                  
                    And his kene tormentours redely & sone.
                  
                    And there this holy man withyn short space
                  
                    He yeaue vp the gost, as goddes wille was.
                  
                    Fro þe woo of this world thus dud he wende
                    Line 95 
                  
                    To ioy & to blisse that neuer shal haue ende.
                  
                    God of his goodnes & of his gret grace
                  
                    Thurgh help of þis seynt bryng vs to þat place!

Oratio ad Erasmum.

                  
                    Seynt Erasmus, thu holi bisshopp
                  
                    And goddes owne martir, as we tristly hopp:
                    Line 100 
                  
                    As thu on þe sonday offred vp thi good
                  
                    For þe loue of oure lord þat dyed on þe rood,
                  
                    And as þu on þe sonday suffrest þi disese
                  
                    For oure lordes loue, whom þu woldest plese:
                  
                    Thu receyue oure prayer and oure offryng
                    Line 105 
                  
                    To the worship of god & his plesyng,
                  
                    And saue vs alle from al maner payne,
                  
                    Yf it be goddes wille and also thyne,
                  
                    And saue vs alle fro hem þat ben oure foone,
                  
                    Both bodely and gostly þat vs disese none,
                    Line 110 
                  
                    And thurgh þe mercy of god & also þi mede
                  
                    Graunte vs repentance for oure mysdede,

Page 200

                    
                    And houslyf to our gostly helthe, or we hens wende,
                  
                    And þe sacrament of anoyntyng at our last ende!
                  
                    When we be ded & in peyn for synne,
                    Line 115 
                  
                    In þe fire of purgatorie, when we be there ynne:
                  
                    Help vs in that woo, be it more or lesse,
                  
                    þat we may come to ioye aboue þer al|way is blisse!
                  
                    ALmyghti god in Trinite,
                  
                    One in godhed & persones thre,
                    Line 120 
                  
                    Fader and sone and holy gost,
                  
                    That art lord of myghtes most:
                  
                    We pray the, lord, that thu here vs
                  
                    For þe loue of synt Erasmus!
                  
                    Whos good werkes & good lyvyng
                    Line 125 
                  
                    Vnto the, lord, was ful plesyng:
                  
                    Worshipp to the he dede alway,
                  
                    But pryncipally on the sonday,
                  
                    With mattynes, masse and orisone
                  
                    And other workes of deuocione.
                    Line 130 
                  
                    On þe sonday euermore thus wold he wirke:
                  
                    He taught the peple, prechyng in the kyrke,
                  
                    And on the sonday he yeaue his good
                  
                    To the pore peple for here bodely food —
                  
                    Thus he fed hem with goddis worde,
                    Line 135 
                  
                    (&)settyng hym honestly at his owne borde; [& fehlt. hym = hem.] 
                  
                    And in the sonday he fond gret light
                  
                    Brennyng in þe churche faire & bright
                  
                    In worship & honour of god in Trinite
                  
                    And of the seyntes that in heuen be.
                    Line 140 
                  
                    And on the sonday, lord, for thi loue
                  
                    He suffred shame and gret reproue
                  
                    For many yeris, as many men say;
                  
                    He had gret turmentry on the sonday:
                  
                    On the sonday ful evel he was arayd
                    Line 145 
                  
                    Thurgh II tyrantes, aforne as y sayd,
                  
                    And thus on the sonday ful paciently
                  
                    He suffred most part of his turmentry,
                  
                    And on the sonday forsoth he was slayne
                  
                    For the loue of god, this is certayne,
                    Line 150 
                  
                    And on the sonday he went to blisse —
                  
                    God bryng vs theder, whan his wille ys.
                  
                    GOd, þat of thi goodnes & of þi gret grace
                  
                    Yeaue to this holiman wil, tyme and space
                  
                    To suffre gret peyne, his pacience to prove,
                    Line 155 
                  
                    Lord, to thi plesaunce & to his behove,
                  
                    Thurgh thyn ordynance dedest make his ende,
                  
                    Fro this worldes woo to blisse þu dedest hym wende:
                  
                    Thus, goodnes of god, graunte vs kepe oure wayes
                  
                    To worshipe god euer kepyng his holy dayes,
                    Line 160 
                  
                    And namely þe sonday to halwe so holy
                  
                    As dud this holyman lyvyng here bodely:
                  
                    To folwe his techyng & prechyng in good wise,
                  
                    With deuote prayers heryng dew seruise,
                  
                    And other good dedes as dud this holi man,
                    Line 165 
                  
                    Euery man in his degre as he may & can;
                  
                    To worshipe þe, god, as this goodman dede,
                  
                    With loue & parfite charite, as oure bokes bidde,
                  
                    And so to suffre here both wele & woo
                  
                    In this wrecched world, or we hens go:
                    Line 170 
                  
                    To which ioy and blisse, good god, bryng vs
                  
                    Thurgh help of þis holy man seynt Eras|mus!
                  AMEN!

Non noceat facinus: mihi, me iuuet almus Erasmus. O sacer Erasme,: meritis precibusque re|gas me!

Explicit.

Sammlung altenglischer legenden, grösstentheils zum ersten male hrsg. von C. Horstmann.

About this Item

Pages

a) aus Ms. Harl. 2382.

description Page 199

description Page 200

Page 199

Page 200