before the Cotton and Brome type was written. On the general history of the legend, besides the article and references in Engl. Stud. i. pp. 57-98 (see St. Patrick's Purgatory, by Thomas Wright, 1844, and Le Voyage du puys S. Patrix, réimpression textuelle augmentée d'une notice bibliographique, par Philomneste, junior, Genève, 1867, under which nom de plume M. P. G. Brunet has given a valuable sketch of the development of the legend and its bibliography.
Jesu þat ys moste of myth, [folio 28a]
And of wronge makyth ryth,
Sendyth wyssemen vs to wysche
The ryth weye to heuyn blysche.
[Fyrste his prophetys, þat wer bold,
Line 5
Off þat was comyng, þey us told;
But þe folke þat were yn londe
Ne myght hem not unþurstonde.]
To teche hem more redely,
Cryste com hym celfe woll preuely,
Line 10
And all moste 111 and XXXti ȝere,
A stedfaste man that dwellyd here.
Bothe in word and tokynys felle
He tawte men ther sowll helle,
Aftyr warde for manys good,
Line 15
He dede hym selfe vp-on þe rode,
And bowth vs with hys blody syde,
Fro hym that was [Cotton has, "All hem pat were."] lorn for pryde.
Line 18
And or than he to heuyn wente, [Brome gives l. 18a instead of Cott. l. 20, "pat pey shulde pe folke amende."] a
Hys Apostollys forth he sente,
Line 20
To telle men of heuyn reche,
ȝonge and olde, all a-leche.
ȝet we and boschepys al soo, [Cott. l. 23, "He hadde bysshoppus gode also."]
And holy precherys many moo,
