Legends of the holy rood; Symbols of the passion and cross poems. In Old English of the eleventh, fourteenth, and fifteenth centuries. Edited from Mss. in the British Museum and Bodleian Libraries, with introduction, translations, and glossarial index, by Richard Morris.

                                
                                  Saint simyon sun for suth was he,
                                
                                  And Simyon was sun of ȝaché.
                                
                                  Þis Iudas said, "sumdele I mene
                                
                                  Of thinges þat here bifore has bene;
                                  Line 176 
                                
                                  Simyon, my fader, als ȝe sall here,
                                
                                  Told vnto me on þis manere:—
                                
                                  When he wist wele sune forto dy
                                
                                  'Sun,' he said, 'herkin me in hy,
                                  Line 180 
                                
                                  A counsail sall I tel to þe,
                                
                                  Þe whilk I will you hald priué;
                                
                                  If it bifall, sun, in þi liue [folio 150b:2] 
                                
                                  Þat any spir, oþir man or wiue,
                                  Line 184 
                                
                                  Or efter þe cros will þe ass,
                                
                                  Þat ihesu crist on hanged was,
                                
                                  Or þai þarfore do þe to dede,
                                
                                  Tell þam vnto swilk a stede,
                                  Line 188 
                                
                                  Þat now es waste and al vnkid,
                                
                                  For þore I wote wele was it hid;
                                
                                  And if þou may þi ded escheu,
                                
                                  Þan wald I þat no man it kneu.'
                                  Line 192 
                                
                                  Þus tald he to me in what stede
                                
                                  Þai groue þe rode bi comun rede,
                                
                                  Bot if we any oþer wise mai do,
                                
                                  I rede we tel noman þarto."
                                  Line 196 
                                
                                  Þan had þai meruail in þaire mode
                                
                                  For þai herd neuer are of þe rode;
                                
                                  Þan come þai furth, ilkone bidene,
                                
                                  In comun hall bifor þe quene.
                                  Line 200 
                                
                                  Sone on þis wise scho said þam to—
                                
                                  "Dose swith and chese one of þir two,
                                
                                  Whethir ȝow es leuir to suffer dede,
                                
                                  Or els to tel me in þis stede
                                  Line 204 
                                
                                  Whore cristes cros in erth es hid,
                                
                                  And bot ȝe do, als I ȝow bid,
                                
                                  Ilkone ȝe sall be brint þis day."
                                
                                  And sone a fire scho did puruay,

                                  Line 208

About this Item

Title: Legends of the holy rood; Symbols of the passion and cross poems. In Old English of the eleventh, fourteenth, and fifteenth centuries. Edited from Mss. in the British Museum and Bodleian Libraries, with introduction, translations, and glossarial index, by Richard Morris.
Author: Morris, Richard, ed. 1833-1894,
Canvas: Page 92
Publication: London,: Pub. for the Early English text society, by N. Trübner & co.,; 1871.
Subject terms: Crosses -- Legends.

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Collection: Corpus of Middle English Prose and Verse
Link to this Item: https://name.umdl.umich.edu/aha2702.0001.001
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Full citation: "Legends of the holy rood; Symbols of the passion and cross poems. In Old English of the eleventh, fourteenth, and fifteenth centuries. Edited from Mss. in the British Museum and Bodleian Libraries, with introduction, translations, and glossarial index, by Richard Morris." In the digital collection Corpus of Middle English Prose and Verse. https://name.umdl.umich.edu/aha2702.0001.001. University of Michigan Library Digital Collections. Accessed June 8, 2025.

Legends of the holy rood; Symbols of the passion and cross poems. In Old English of the eleventh, fourteenth, and fifteenth centuries. Edited from Mss. in the British Museum and Bodleian Libraries, with introduction, translations, and glossarial index, by Richard Morris.

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