English metrical homilies from manuscripts of the fourteenth century : with an introduction and notes / by John Small.

Dominica infra Octauam Epiphanie, secundum Lucam.

Cum factus esset Ihesus annorum xii., Ascendentibus pa∣rentibus ejus in Ierusalem, secundum consuetudinem diei festi, consummatisque diebus, cum redirent, remansit puer Ihesus in Ierusalem, et non cognouerunt parentes. et cetera.

THE Jowes woned in ser contre, And a cuntre hit Galile, And burwis tounes war tharinne, Thar Jowes wodes with welth and winne. And Mari ledd hir lif with methe, In a toun that hiht Nazarethe, For thar als hoswif held scho house, Wit Josep, hir lele spouse, And wit our Lauerd Crist hir son. Bot quen tim com, that thai war won In to Jerusalem to fare, For to mac thair offerand thare, Thider thai yod imang thair kithe, And led child Jesus thaim withe,

Quen he wasse tuelf yer ald, Als we find in our godspel tald. Sain Loc sais in our godspelle, That quen thai hauid don that felle Til Moyses lauh, ham gan thai ga, And child Jesus willed them fra. Quen thai him missed, thai him soht Imang thair kith, and fand him noht, And forthi Josep, and Mari War for him sorful and sari. Thai turned in to the cite, And soht ful gern quar he moht be, And in the tempil fand thai Child Jesus, on the thrid dai, Imang maisteres of the Jowes law, That thoht ferlic of Cristes saw. For al thoht thaim of him selcouthe, For wisdom that com of his mouthe. And til hir sun said our Leuedy, Sun, qui haues tou mad us sari, Ic and thi fader haues the soht Karful, bot we no fand the noht. And Crist ansuerd and said, quye Haf ye soht me sa ithenly, Wist ye noht me bihoued in deedes Be bisi in mi fader nedes.

And thai wist neuer quat he ment, Bot til his word Mari toc tent, And Crist ham wit his frendes went Til Nazaret, quarof I ment, And underlout til thaim was he, Als god child au til elderes be. And bath til Godd and man he thraf Wit witte and graz, that Godd him gaf. This es the strenthe of our godspelle, Als man on Ingelis tung may telle. On this godspel scheues sain Bede Cristes godhed, and his manhede. His resoun and his wise thewes, That he was Godd, ful graitheli schewes. For wise men, als are said I, Of his wisdom thot gret ferlye; And bi his meknes mai man se, That man in felle and flesche was he. For he that alle wisdom couthe, Herd wisdom mekli of thair mouthe, That lesse god couthe than he, Forthi bird yong men mek be. For Crist was of tuelf winter elde, Quen al wisdom was in his weld, And thohquether herd he mekeli Wisdom of thaim that sat him bi.

Forthi bird yong men prid forsake, And of child Jesus bisen take; For mekeli suld thai wisdom here, Ar thai suld other men lere. Bot nou er yong man sa bald, That thai wil lere bathe yong and ald, For ar thai kann thaim seluen ken, Wil thai wisdom lere other men. Fair eld schew thai in thair youthe, Wit modi wordes of thair mouthe, At Cristes lar wil thai noht lete, That sat mekeli at maisters fete, And herd mekeli, als I said are, Al thair wisdom, that thai spac thare. Crist askid wisdom first at wise, Ar he wald sai thaim his auise, And sua kend he us first to her, And sithen other men to lere. Bot thar Josep, and Mari fand Crist imang wise men sitand, Thar mai we graithe ensampel take, Unwise felawschip to forsake, And hald us imang wise men, That kan us wisdom lere and ken. For riueli se we him that drawes Til recolage of ille felawes,

Falle als fol in fele folies, Be he neuer sa quaint and wise. For he mai nangat be lot lese Of thair sin, and thair wiknese. For qua sa nehe wit hend or slefes Hate molten pic, on thaim it cleuis: Pik that cleues quen it is tan, Bisens deling wit wik man, For his sin clefes on god men, And mas thaim fouler thanne the Fen: And forthi red I that man drawe Til hali man, and god felawe, That mai amend him of his sake, And chasti him, ef he mistake. Als did sain Jon the godspeller, That for efter a fol ful fer, And did awai his dedes dim, And mad an hali man of him. For thoru il felawes was he Mad als ille man als he moht be. Bot sain Jon turned him fra sin, And gert him hali lif begin, Forthi es god that I you telle, Hou it of that man liuelad felle, For bi him we mai bisen betac Ille felawschip for to sorsak.

Quen hali kirc bigan newli, [Narracio.] Sain Jon was sisel, and bisi, In ordaining of priestes, and clerkes, And in casting kirc werkes. And mani bischopes ordainte he, Abowen the lawed folc to be. And als he com a kirc to se, A selcouthe fair child thar saw he, Bot noht forthi, that ilke childe Was sa unthewed and sa wilde, That alle the schathe that he moht do, He did quen he bigan to thro. And sain Jon hafd gret pite, That slic a child suld dampned be. Sayn Jon bitaht this ilke childe, Til a bischop to mak him mild, And said, bischop, I comand the, That this tresor wel yemed be; Yem this child, for I biteche Him to the, als til god leche; Lat thou noht this child miscarye, For yef he do, til the tac I. This bischop tok this child him to, And baptized it, and gert him do The thing that fel til crestendom. Bot ille felawes til him com,

And droh him first til dronkennes, And sithen til lust of his fleys, And sithen til thift and robberie, And mad his maister ful sarie, For that bischop kal Ic his maister, Til quaim sain Jon thot him to faister. For ille felawes hafd sli maistri To tille this yong man to foli, That the bischop moht noht him halde, Bot leet him gang quar he walde. Thir theues war of him ful fain, For til thair wille wex he ful bain. Sa stithe and stalward man wex he, That thai gert him thair maister be, And lang he welc wit his felawes, And reft lele men in wode schawes. And sain Jon com another time, And asked his maister efter hime, And said, quar es mi tresore, Thou ger him swithe com me bifor. This bischop stod als he war schent, For he wist noht quat sain Jon ment. He wend he asked siluer or gold, Or uestement of riche fold. And forthi til sain Jon said he, I wat neuer quat ye ask me.

And sain Jon said, quare es he, That child that I bitaht to the. Quen this bifchop his asking herd, He gret ful sare, and thus ansuerd, Allas, that Ic him euer sau, For he es bycomen an outelau. And sain Jon gret, and said him tille, Allas, qui yemed thou him sa ille. Til him hauis thou ille yemer ben, For that es on him nou wel sen. An hors, he said, ye sadel me, For I wille sehe him quar he be. And sain Jon fore thar he was, And fand him sitand in a pas. And quen his felawes sain Jon saw, Til him gan thai alle drawe, Bot thair maister knew his face, And fled ful swithe out of that place. Sa mikel scham of him, him thoht, That loc on sain Jon moht he noht, Bot fled fra him ful fast runnande, And sain Jon folued fast calland, And said, lef sun, I prai the, Thou cum igain, and spec wit me. Qui flees thou thi fader qui, Al thi sinne on me tak I.

And at the last, this outlaw stode, And loked doun wit dreri mode, And sain Jon fel him son to fete, And sar bifor him gan he grete. And said, son, at mi lare thou lete, God forgifnes I the bihete, Thi sinnes tak I al on me, And I sal prai Godd for the, And sikerlic I her the hyte God forgifnes of al thi plihte. This man fel to sain Jones fete, And sar bigan he for to gret, And said, I grant wel mi foly, Of me fader thou haf mercye. He foloued sain Jon to the kirc, And hiht him al his wille to werc, And was sa god man fra that time, That al the folc hafd joy of hime. Her mai ye se a tal that schewes, That mikel schathe dos il felawes, For il felawes oft drawes God men til iuel plawes. Forthi es god we draw thaim tille, That gastly wirkes Goddes wille, For Crist in our godspel us schawes Ensampel to drau to god felawes.

For our godspel sais quar and quen, Crist was funden imang wis men, And noht imang fol felawes, That tilles man til plihtful plawes. To tel you yet haf I thoht, Of tha thre dayes that Crist was soht, For gladli wald I it war sen, Quat thir thre dayes wald men. I tald hou Josep and Marye Soht Crist thre daies ythenlye. The first dai that thai soht him, Bitakes that ilke ald tim, That was fra Adam, to that law That Godd wald to Moyses schaw, In a felle, that than was kald Sinay, als in boc es tald. For patriarkes in that tim Soht Crist, bot thai no fand noht him. The tother dai quen Crist was soht, Bitakens tim quen lau inbroht Knawing of sin, that es at sai, Quen lau did unknawing awai. For thoru wissing of Goddes law, Biganne man sin for to knaw: Bifor was thar na pain laid, On thaim that mis did, or mis said,

Bot son quen law til Moyses com, It schewed ilke man his dom. This tim lasted fra Moyses Til Crist, that kend us rihtwisnes. And in this tim, was Crist soht Wit prophetis gern, bot fand thai noht. Bot on the thrid dai was he Funden, for nou him find we. This tim es nou, and lastes ay, Fra Cristes birth to domesday. Quen this tim bigan, was Crist funden Liggand, in pouer cloutes bunden. This thrid tim bisend isse Bi that thrid dai, I wisse, That Josep and Mari mild Fand in the tempel Crist thair child. Yet mai we other thinges se Riht gastli, bi thir dayes thre, That Crist was soht, and on the thrid Was he funden, thar he was hid. Reuthe of hert for plihtful plai, Es bisned bi the first dai. And bi the tother, open schrift, That geres man his hert uplift. And worthi penanz bi the thrid, That geres man for Godd be red.

Yef we seke Jesus wit thir thre, In his tempil him find sal we. His tempil cal Ic heuin ryke, That mai til tempil be mad like, For tempil is mikel, lang, and wide, And mikel thing man mai thar hide. And sua sal be in heuen blis God cristen sawles, I wisse, Fra Satenas, and al his miht, That her was won with him to fiht. In that tempil es Jesus king, For his merci he thider us bring.

Amen.