It is a full tried tree , quod he truly to tell

Mercy is þe moore therof , the middle stocke is ruth

The leaues ben lelly words , the law of holy kyrke

The blossomes ben buxome speach , & benygn loking

Patience hight the pure tre , & pure simple of herte

And so through god & good men , growth þe frut chariti

I wold trauel quod I , thys tre to se , twenty .C. / hundred myle

And for to haue mi fil of þat frut , forsake al other salue

Lord quod I if any wight wyt , whither out it groweth

It groweth in a garden quod he , that god made him-self

Amiddes mans bodi , the moore is of that stock

Hert hight the herbor , that it in groweth

And Liberum arbitrium , hath the lande to farme

Under Pierce the ploughman , to pyke it & to wede it

Pierce the Plowman quod I tho , & al for pure ioye

That I hard nempe his name , anone I swoned after

And lay longe in a lone / lo[u]e dreame , & at laste me thought

That Pierce the Plowman , all the place me shewed

And bade me to totre on þe tree , one crop & one rote

With .iii. / three piles was it vnderpight , I perceiuid it sone

Pierce quod I , I praye the , why stond these pyles here ?

For windes wylt þou wyt quod he , to wyten it from fallinge .

Cum ceciderit iustus non collidetur , quia dominus supponit

In blowing time byte þe flours , but if thes piles help

The world is a wicked wind , to hem that wyl trouth

Couetise comith of þat wind , & crepith among the leaues

And forfretith nigh þe fruit , through mani faire sights

Than with þe first pile , I pale him down , þat is Potentia Dei Patris

The flesh is a fel wynde , & in flouryng tyme

Through liking and lustes , so loud gynneth to blow

That it nourisheth nye sightes , & sometime words

And wycked workes thereof , wormes of synne

And forbyteth the blosomes , euen to the bare leaues

Than set I to the seconde pyle , Sapientia dei Patris

That is the passion and the power of our prince Iesu

Through prayers & throughe penaunce , & gods passion in mynde

I saue it til I se it ripen , & some-dele fruted

And than fondeth the fend , my frute to destroye

Wyth all the wyles that he can , & waggeth the rote

And casteth vp the crompe vnkynde neyghbours

Backbyters breake the chest , brawlers & chiders

And leyeth a ladder therto , of lesynges are þe roundes

And fetcheth a-way mi flours , somtime afore both mine eies

And Liberum arbitrium , letteth hym sometyme ,

That is leuetenaunt to loken it well , bileue of mi-selfe

Uideatis qui peccat in spiritum sanctum numquam remittetur

And whan the find & the flesh forth with the worlde

Manacen behinde me my frute for to fetche ,

Than liberum arbitrium latcheth the first polante ,

And palleth a doune the pouke purely through grace

And helpe of the holyghost , & thus haue I þe mastrie .

Now fayre fall you piers quod I , so fayre ye driscriuen ,

The power of these postes and their propre mighte ,

And I haue thought a threwe of these thre pyles

In what wood thei wopen , & where that they growed

For all ar they a-lyke long , no lesse than other

And to mi mind as me thinketh on a more they growed

And of greatnes and grene of greyne thei semen

That is soth quod pyers so it may befall

I shall tell the as tite what this tree hyght ,

The ground there it groweth , goodnes it hight

And I haue told þe what hight þe tre , þe trinitie it meaneth

And egerly he loked on me , & therfore I spared

To aske him any more therfore & bad him full fayre ,

To descryue the frute that so fayre hangeth ,

Here now beneth quod he tho , if I nede had

Matrimony I may name , a moist frute with-all ,

Than continence is nere the crop as cayleway bastard

Than beareth the crop kinde frute and clenest of all ,

Maidenhod angelles pere , and rathest wilbe ripe

And swete without swelling , soure worth it neuer ,

I prayed pyers to pull downe an appull and he wold

And suffre me to assaye what sauour it had

And piers cast to the crop and than comsed it to crye ,

And waged widowhead , and it wept after ,

And whan it meued matrimony it made a full noyse ,

I had ruth whan Piers ragged , it grad so ruthfully

For euer as they dropped downe , þe deuel was ready

And gathered them altogether both great & smalle ,

Adam and Abraham and Esay the prophete

Sampson Samuell and saynct Iohn the Baptist

Bare hem forth boldly , no body him let

And made of holy men his horde , In limbo inferni .

There is darckenes and drede and the deuell mayster

And pyers of pure tene of that apple he caught

He hit oft at him , hit if it might ,

Filius , by the faders wil and frenes of , Spiritus sancti ,

To go rob that rageman and reue the frute from him ,

Andspeke , Spiritus sanctus , in gabriels mouth ,

To a mayde that hight marie a meke thinge withall

That one Iesus a Iustice sonne must ionken / io[u]ke in hir wombe

Till Plenitudo temporis , fully commen were

That pyers frute flored and fyll to rype ,

And shuld Iesus iust therfore by iudgment of armes

Whether shuld song the fruet the fend or him-selfe .

The mayd mildly tho the messenger grated ,

And sayd hendly to him , lo me his handmaden ,

For to worke his will without any sinne .

Ecce ancilla domini , fiat mihi . &cetera .

And in the wombe of þat wenche was he forty wekes ,

Till he wexe a fainct through hir flesh & of fyghtinge coud

To haue fought with þe fend er ful time come

And pyers the plowman perceiued plener time ,

And learned him lechecraft his life for to saue ,

That woundid with his enmy , he might warish him-selfe

And did him assay his surgery on them that seke were

Till he was perfit practiser if any perill fell ,

And sought out the seke and sinfull both ,

And salued seke and sinful both blind and croked ,

And common women conuerted and to good turned .

Non est sanis opus medico sed . &cetera .

Both messels and mute and in the menison bloudye

Oft he heled such , he ne held it for no masterie ,

Saue tho he heled Lazar that had ley in graue ,

Quatridianus / Quatrid[u]anus , Quelt quicke . did him wake .

And as he made the mastiriee Mestus cepit esse

And wept water with his eien there seighen it manie

Some that he sight , sighen ayde that tyme ,

That he was leche of lyfe , and lorde of heigh heauen ,

Iewes iangle there agayne , and iudged lawes

And sayd he wrought through wychcraft , & with the deuils might

Demonium habes .

Than are ye cherls quod I , and your children both

And Satan your sauiour , your-selfe now ye wytnes

For I haue saued your-selfe saith Christ , & your sons after

Your bodyes your beastes , & blynd men holpen

And fedde you with two fishes , & wyth fyue loues

And left baskets ful of broken meat , bear awai þat wold

And missayd the Iewes manly , & manaced hem to bete

And knocked on hem with a corde , & cast down her stals

That in church chafferden , or chaungeden any money

And sayd it in sight of hem all , so that al hearden

I shal ouerturne thys temple , and adowne throwe

And in three dayes after edifie it newe

And make it as muche or more , in al maner poyntes

As euer it was and as wyde , & therfore I hote you

Of prayers and of perfitnes , thys place that ye cal

Domus mea domus orationis vocabitur .

Enuye and euyl wyll was in the Iewes

They casten & contriueden to kil him whan they might

Eche day after other , her tyme they awayted

Tyll it befell on a fryday , a little before paske

The thursday before there he made hys maundy .

Sitting at the supper he sayd these wordes

I am sold through one of you he shall the time rue ,

That euer he his sauiour sold for siluer or elles

Iudas iangled there agayn , and Iesus him tolde ,

It was him-selfe sothly and sayde Tu dicis ,

Than went furth that wicked man & with þe Iewes met

And told them a token how to know Iesus ,

And which token to this day to much is vsed ,

That is kissing and fayre contenance & vnkind will ,

And so was wyth Iudas tho , that Iesus betrayed ,

Aue rabi quod that ribaud and right to hym he yede ,

And kist him to be caught therby & killed of þe Iewes

Than Iesus to Iudas and to the Iewes sayde

Falsenes I finde in thy fayre speche

And gyle in the glade chere and gal in the laughinge

Thou shalt be mirrour to many men to deceyue ,

And þe work & thy wickednes shal worth vpon thi-self

Necesse est vt veniant scandala , ve homini illi per quem scada /

Though I by treason be take at your owne will

Suffre mine apostles in pease and in paise gange ,

On a thursday in the sterns thus was he take

Through Iudas and Iewes Iesus was his name ,

That on the fryday following for mankind sake

In stede in Ierusalem a ioy to vs all

On crosse vpon Caluerie Christ toke the battell

Against death & the deuel destroyed both her mights

Died and death fordid , and day of night made ,

And I awaked therwith & wiped mine eyne

And after pyers the plowman pried and stared ,

Estward and westward , I wated after fast

And yede furth as an Idiote in contry to espye ,

After Pierce the Plowman , many a place I sought

And than met I wyth a man , a midlenten sonday

As hore as a Hathorne , and Abraham he hyght

I frayned him firste from whence he came

And from whence he were , & whether that he thought .

I am faith quod that freke , it falleth not to lie

And of Abrahams house an heraude of armes

I seke after a segge that I se once

A full bolde bachiler , I knewe him by hys blasen

What bereth that burne quod I tho , so blisse the betide

Thre leodes in one lyth , none lenger than other

Of one Michel and might , in mesure and in length

That one doth al doth , and ech doth bi his owne

The first hath might and maiestie , maker of al things

Pater is hys propre name , a person by him-selfe

The seconde of that sire is sothfastenes Filius ,

Warden of that wit hath , was euer without ginning

The thirde hight the holy goste , a person by him-selfe

The light of all that life hath , a lond and a water

Confortour of creatures , of him commeth all blysse

So thre belongeth to a lord that lordeshyp claymeth

Might and a meane to know his might

Of him and of his seruant , & what they suffer both

So god that ginning haddeneuer / hadde neuer , but tho him good thought

Sent forth his sonne as for seruaunt þat time

To occupy him here , till issue were spronge

That is children of charity , and holy kirke the mother

Patriarkes and prophetes & apostles were þe children

And Christ and christendome , and christen holy kirke

In mening that man must in one god beleue

And there him liked & loued , in one person him shewed

And that it may be so and soth , manhode it sheweth

Wedlocke and wydowhead , with virginitie nempned

In tokeninge of trinitie , was out of man taken

Adam our olde father , Eue was of him-selfe

And thissue that they had , it was of hem both

And either is others ioye , in thre sondrye persons

And in heauen and in earth , one singuler name

And thus is mankind or manhode , of matrimony sprong

And betokeneth the trinitie , and true beleue

Mighty is matrymonye , and multyplieth the earth

And betokeneth truly , tell if I durste

Hym that firste formed al , the father of heauen

The sonne if I durst saye , resembleth wel the wydow .

Deus meus deus meus , vt quid dereliquisti me .

That is creator was creature , to know what was both

As wydow without wedlocke was neuer yet se

No more might god be man , but if he mother had

So widowe without wedlocke , may not wel stonde

Ne matrimony without mulier is not much to praise

Maledictus homo qui non reliquit semen in Israel .

Thus in thre persons is perfitly manhode

That is man and his make , and mulier children

And is not but gender of generation , bifore Iesu Christ

So is the father forthwith the sonne , & frewil / fre wil of hem both

Spiritus procedens a patre et filio .

Whiche is the holy goste of all , and is but one god

Thus in a somer I him se , as I sate in my perche

I rose vp and reuerenced him , & right faire him grete

Thre men at my sight , I made well at ease

Washe her fete and wiped hem , & after they eaten ,

Calues fleshe & cakebread , & knewe what I thought

Ful true tokens betwene vs ben , to tell whan me liketh

Fyrst he fonded me , whether I loued better

Him or Isaac myne heire , which he high me to kill

He wyst my wyll by hym , he woll me it alowe

I am full syker in soule therof , and my sonne boeth

I circumcised my sonne sithen , for hys sake

My-selfe and my meyny , and all that male were

Bled bloud for þat lordes loue , & hope to blysse þe tyme

Mine affiance and my fayth is firme in thys beleue

For him-selfe behyght to me , & to myne issue both

Londe and lordeshyppe , and life wythout ende

To me and to myne issue , more yet he me graunted

Mercy of our misdedes , as many tymes as we aske .

Quam olim Abrahe promisisti et semini eius .

And syth he sent me to see , I shoulde do sacrifice

And done him worship with bread & with wine both

And called me fote of hys faith , his folke for to saue

And defend him from the fend , folke that on me leueden

Thus haue I ben his Heraude , here and in hell

And conforted many a careful , þat after his comming waiten

And thus I seke him he said , for I heard say late

Of a barn þat baptised him , I. / IohnN Baptist was his name

That to patriarkes & to prophetes , & to other people in darknes

Said that he se here , þat should saue vs al .

Ecce agnus dei . &cetera .

I had wonder of his wordes , and of his wyde clothes

For in his bosome he bare a thing , þat he blessed euer

And I loked in hys lappe , a Lazare lay therin

Among patriarkes and prophetes , pleying togyders

What awaytest thou quod he , & what wouldest þou haue

I would wit quod I tho , what is in your lappe

Lo quod he and let me se , lord mercy I said

This is a present of mich price , what prince shal it haue

It is a precious present quod he , & þe pouk hath it atachid

And me thermid quod þat man , ther may no wed me quite

Ne no barne be our borow , ne bring vs from his danger

Out of þe powkes pinfold , no mainprice may vs fetch

Tyl he come that I carpe of , Christ is hys name

That shal deliuer vs some dai , out of þe deuils powr

And better wede for vs ligge than we be all worthy

That is life for life , or lygge thus euer

Lollinge in my lappe , til such a lorde vs fetche .

Alas I said that sinne so longe shall lette

The myght of gods mercy , that might vs wel amend

I wept for his wordes , with that I saw an other

Rapelych renne forth , the ryght way he went

I frained hym firste , from whence he came

And what he hyghte , & whether he wold , & wighly / wigh[t]ly he tolde