And þus he said thurgh prophecy:—
Line 780
"Þe kinges tre, I rede, ȝe take,
Þe whilk ȝe laid ouer þe lake
To make a cros both large and lang
Þe kyng of iews þar-on to hang."
Line 784
To þis þai all assented þan,
And rathly out of þe toune þai ran;
Þai toke þe tre þan þare it lay,
Þe thrid part þai hewed oway,
Line 788
And of þe rembnand haue þai made
A large cros, bath lang and brade;
Viij cubites þai made it lang
With-outen þat in þe erth suld gang,
Line 792
And aþer side of cubites thre
Þat abouen þe heuid suld be;
When it [was] made þus at þaire will,
Þe ceté sone þai broght it till,
Line 796
To pilate went þai ful gude spede,
He held him wele paid of þaire dede.
De fabrice clauorum.
E cros es made, als it sall be,
Bot þan þam nedes nayles thre;
Line 800
Þe iews war ful redy boune
And ran for na[i]les in-to þe toune;
Vnto a smith þai come ful sone
And bad, "belamy, biliue haue done,
Line 804
Make thre nayles stif and gude
At naile þe prophet on þe rode";
When þe smith herd þaire entent,
How þat ihesu suld be schent,
Line 808
In hert he had ful mekyll wa
Obout þe nayles forto ga,
For of ihesu he vnder-stode
Þat [he] was prophet trew and gude;
Line 812
Þarfore wele in his hert he thoght
Þat for him suld no nayles be wroght;
