R.15 – PPEA

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fol. 71v (cont.)

Passus xiiijus / x[v]us / quartus decimus / [quintus] decimus de visione vt supra .

cC after my walkyngeT  it was wonder longe .

Ar I coude kendely  knowe what was dowel .

And so my wit wexe and wanyed  til I a foel were .

And somme lakked my lif  alowed it fewe .

And leten me for a lorel  and lothe to reuerencen .

Lordes or ladyes  or any lif elles 

As persones in pelure  with pendauntes of suluer .

To seriauntz andT to suche  and seideT nauȝt ones .

God loke ȝow lordes  ne louted faire .

Þat folke helden me a foel  and in þat folye I raued .

Til reson hadde reuthe on me  and rokked me a slepe .

Til I seyȝ as it ofT sorserie were  a sotil thynge with-alle .

One with-oute tonge and teth  tolde me wonder I schulde .

And where-of I cam and whider I schuldeT 

I coniured hym at þe laste 

If he were cristes creature  for cristes loue me to tellen :

¶ I am cristes creature quod he  and cristene in many place .

In cristes court I-knowe wel  and of his kynne a party .

Is noyther peter þe porter  ne powel with þeT fauchon .

Þat wole defende me þe dore  dynge ych neuer so late .

At mydnyȝte at mydday  my voys is so I-knowe .

Þat Ich a creature of his courte  welcometh me faire .

¶ What ar ȝe cald quod I  in þat courte  amonge cristes poeple .

¶ Þe whiles I quikye þe corps  quod he  I-cald am I anima .

And whan I wilne and wolde  animus Ich hate .

And for þat I can and knowe  cald am I mens . thouȝteT .

fol. 72r

And whanne I make mone to god  memoria is my name .

And whanne I deme domes  and do as treuthe techeth .

Þanne is racio my riȝte name  resoun an englisch .

And whanne I fele þat folke telleth  my furst name is sensus .

And þat is wit and wisdome  þe welle of alle craftes .

And whanne I chalenge or chalenge nauȝte  chepe or refuse .

Þanne am I consience I-called  godes clerk and his notarie .

And whanne I loue lelly  oure lorde and alle other .

Þanne is lele loue my name  and in latyn amor .

And whanne I fle fro þe flesche  and forsake þe caroyne .

Þanne am I spirit speche-les  andT spiritus þanne Ich hatte .

Austyn and Isodorus  ayther of hem bothe 

Nempned me þus to name  now þow miȝt chese .

How þow coueytest to calle me  now þow knowest alle my names .

Anima pro diuersis accionibus diuersa nomina sortitur .

Dum viuificat corpus anima est .

Dum wltLX animus est 

Dum sit / s[c]it mens est .

Dum recolit memoria est .

Dum iudicat racio est .

Dum sentit sensus est

Dum amat amor est .

Dum negat vel consentit consiencia est .C

Dum spirat spiritus est .

¶ Ȝe ben as a bischope quod I  alle bourdynge þat tyme .

For bischopes I-blessed  þei bereth many names .

Presul and pontifex  and metropolanus .T

And other names an hepe  episcopus and pastor .

¶ Þat is soth seyde he  now I se þi wille .

Þow woldest knowe and kunne  þe cause of alle here names .

And of myne if þow miȝtest  me thenketh by þi speche .

¶ Ȝe sire I seyde  by so no man were greued .

Alle þe science vnder sonne  and alle þe sotil craftes .

I wolde IchLX knewe and coude  kendelyche in myn herte .

fol. 72v

¶ Þanne art þow inparfit quod he  and on of pruydes kniȝtes .

For suche a luste and likynge  lucifer fel fram heuene .

Ponam pedem meum in aquilone  et similis ero altissimo .

¶ It were aȝeynes kende quod he  and alle kyne resoun .

Þat any creature schuld kenne al  excepte criste .T

Aȝeynes suche salomon speketh  and despiseth here wittes .

And seith sicut qui mel comedit P multum non est ei bonum .

Sic qui scrutator est maiestatis opprimaturT a gloria .

To englisch men þis is to mene  þat mowen speke and here .

Þe man þat muche hony eetT  his mawe is englaymed .

And þe more þat a man  of gode matere hereth .

But he do þere-after  it doth hym double skathe .

Beatus est seith seint bernarde  qui scripturas legit .

Et vertit verba in opera  follich to his powere .

Coueytyse to kunne  and to knowe science .

Pulte oute of paradys  adam and eue .

SciencieP appetitus hominem immortalitatis gloriam spoliauit .

And ȝetT as hony is euel to defie  and engleymeth þe mawe .

Riȝt so þat thurȝ resoun  wolde þe rote knowe 

Of god and of his grete miȝtes  his graces it letteth .

For in þe likynge lith a pruide  and a lycames coueytise .

A-ȝeynes cristes conselle  and alle clerkes techynge .

Þat is non plus sapere quam oportet sapere .

¶ Freres and otherT maistres  þat to þe lewed men prechen .

Ȝe meuen materes vnmesurables  to tellen of þe trinite .T

Betere by-leue by moneLX  doctoures techynge .T

And telle menT þe ten comaundementz  & touchen þe seuen synnes .

And of þe braunches þat bourgelethT  of hem  and bringeth men to helle .

And how þat folke in folies  myspenden here fyue wittes .

As wel freres as other folke  folilich spenen .

In housynge in haterynge  in-toT hey clergie schewynge .

More for pompe þanne for puire charite  þe pople wote þe sotheC

Þat I lye nauȝt loo  for lordes ȝe plesen .

And reuerencen þe riche  ratherT for here suluer .

Confundantur omnes qui adorant sculptilia . et alibi .

fol. 73r

Vt quid diligitis vanitatem et queritisT &cetera .

Go to þe glose of þe vers  ȝe grete clerkes .

If I lye on ȝowe to my lewed wit  ledeth me to brennynge .

For as it semeth ȝe forsaketh  no mannes almesse .

Of vsureres of hores  andT auerous chapmen .

And louten to þis lordes  þat mowen lene ȝow nobles

Aȝeyne ȝoure reule & ȝoureT religioun  I take recorde at Ihesus .

Þat seyde to his disciples  ne sitis acceptores personarum .T

¶ Of þis matere I miȝte  make a greteT bible .

Ac of curatoures ouerT cristene poeple  as clerkes bereth witnesse .

I schal tellen it for treuthe sake  take hede ho-so lyketh .

¶ As holynesse and honeste  oute of holy cherche spredeth .C

Þoruȝ lele lybbynge men  þat godes lawes techeth .

Riȝt so oute of holy cherche  alle eueles spredeth .

Þere inparfit presthode is  andT prechoures and techoures .C

And se it by ensaumple  in somer tyme on trewes .

Þere somme bowes ben leued  and somme bereth none .

Þere is a meschief in þe more  of suche maner bowes .

Riȝt so persones and prestes  and prechoures of holy cherchesT

Is þeT rote of þe riȝt faith  to reule þe poeple 

Ac þere þe rote is roten  reson wote þe sothe .

Schal neuere floure ne fruit  ne faire lefe be grene .

¶ For-thi walde þe lettred  leue þe lecherie of clothynge .

And be kynde as byfel for clerkes  and curteys of cristes godes .

Trewe of ȝoure tonge  and of ȝoure taile bothe .

And hatyen to here herlotrie  and auȝtT to vnderfonge .

Tythes of treweT thynge  I-tyled or I-chafared .

¶ Lothe were lewed men  but þei ȝoure lore folwede .

And amenden hem þat þeiT mysdon  more for ȝoure ensaumples .

Þan for to prechen and preue it nauȝt  ypocrisie it semeth .C

For ypocrisie in latyn  is likkned to a dongounT

Þat were bi-snewed with snowe  and snakes with-Inne .

Or to a wal þat were white-lymed  and were foule with-Inne .

fol. 73v

Riȝt so many prestes  prechoures and prelates .

Ȝe ar enblaunched with bele paroles . and with clothes .T

And ȝoure werkes and ȝoure wordes  þere-vnder aren ful wlueliche .T LX

¶ Iohannes criostomus / cri[s]ostomus  of clerkes speketh and prestes .

Sicut de templo omne bonum proceditT 

Sic de templo omne malum procedit .

Si sacerdocium integrum fuerit  tota floret ecclesia .

Si autem coruptaT fuerit  omnium fides marcida est .

Si sacerdosT fuerit in peccatis  totus populus conuertitur ad peccatum .T

Sicut cum videris arborem pallidam & marcidam .

In tellis / Intelli[gi]s quod vicium habet in radice .

Ita cum videris populum indisciplinatum & irreligiosum .

Sine dubio sacerdocium eius non est sanum .

¶ If lewed men wiste  what þis latyn meneth .C

And who was myn auctour  muche wonder me thenketh .

But if many preste bere  for here broches and for here baselardes .T

A peyre bedes in here honde  orT a boke vnder here arme .

Sire iohan and sire gefferey  hath a gurdel of suluer .

A baselard or a ballok-knyf  with botones ouergilte .

Ac a portos þat schulde be his plow  placebo to segge .

Hadde he neuere seruise to haueT siluer þere-to  seith it with euelT wille .

Allas ȝe lewed men muche lese ȝe on prestes .

Ac þinge þat wikkedliche is wonne and with fals sleȝtes .

Walde neuere wit of witty god  but wikked men it maked .T

Þe whiche aren prestes in-parfit  and prechoures after siluer .

Seketoures and sodenes  somnoures and here lemmanes .

Þis þat with gile was gete  vngraciousliche is spened .T

So harlotes and hores  aren hulpen with suche godeth / gode[s] .

Ac godes folke for defaute þere-of  forfaren and spillen . .

¶ Curatoures of holy cherche  and clerkes þat ben auerous .

Liȝteliche þat þei leuen  loseles it habbeth 

Or deyeth intestate  and þanne þe bischope entreth .

And maketh murthe þere-with  and his men bothe .

And seggen he was a nygarde  þat no gode miȝt aspare .

fol. 74r

To frende ne to fremede . þe fende haue his soule .

For a wreched hous he helde  al his lyf-tyme .

And þat he spared and bi-sperred  spene we in murthe .

¶ By lered by lewed  þat lothe is to spene .T

Þus goen here godes  be þe goste faren .

Ac for gode men god wote  grete doel men maketh .

And bymeneth gode meteȝiueres  and in mynde hem haueth .

In preyeres and in penaunces  and in parfite charite .

¶ What is charite quod I þo  a childisch þinge he seyde .

Nisi efficiamini sicut paruuli  non intrabitis in regnum celorum .

Withoute fauntelte or folye  a fre liberal wille .

Where schuld men fynde suche a frende  with so fre an herte .

¶ Ich haue lyued in londe quod I  my name is longe wille .

And fonde I neuere ful charite  by-fore ne byhynde :

Men beth merciable to mendinaunsT to pore .

And wole lene þere þei leue  leleliche to ben apayed .

Ac charite þat powel preyseth best  and moste plesaunt to god .T

As non inflatur non est ambiciosa non querit que sua sunt .

I seiȝ neuere suche a man  so me god helpe .

Þat he ne wolde aske after his  and other-while coueyte .

Þinge þat hym nededT nauȝt  and nyme it if he miȝte .

¶ Clerkes kennethT me þat criste  is in alle places .

Ac I seyȝ hym neuere sothly  but as my-sulue in myroure .

Hic in enigmate tunc facie ad faciem :

And so I trowe trewely  by þat men telleth of charite .

It is nouȝt championes fiȝt  ne chaffare as I trowe .

¶ Charite quod he ne chaffareth nouȝte  noþerT chalengeth ne craueth .

As proude of a peny as of a pounde of golde .

And is as glad of a gowne  of a grayre / graye russet .

As of a tunicle of tars  or of trie skarlet .

He is gladde with alle glade  and gode til alle wikked .

He leuethT and loueth alle  þat oure lorde made .

fol. 74v

Curseth he no creature  ne he can bere no wrathe

Ne no likynge haueT lye  ne lawhe meT to scorne .

Alle þat men seith  he let it sothe  and in solace taketh .

And alle maner meschiefes  in myldenesse he suffreth .

Coueyteth he non erthely godesT  but heuene-riche blisse .

¶ Hath he any rentes or richesse  or any riche frendes .

¶ Of rentes ne of richesse  ne recheth he neuere .

For a frende þat fyntT hym  failed hy / hy[m] neuere at nede .

Fiat voluntas tua  fynt hym euer-more .

And if he soupeth eet but a soppe  of spera in deo .

He can portreye wel þe paternoster  and peynten it with aue .T

And other-while is woneT to wende o pilgrimage .

Þere pore men and prisones liggeth  here pardoun to haue .

Þouȝ he bere hem no brede  he bereth hem swettere liflode .

Loueth hem as oure lorde bit  and loketh how þei fare .

¶ And whan he is weri of þat werke  þan wole he sum-tyme .

Labory in a lauandrie  wel þe lengthe of a myle .

And ȝerne in-to ȝouthe  and ȝepliche secheT .

Pruide with alle þe purtenaunce  and pakken hem to-gyderes .

And bouken hem at his breste  and beten hem clene .

And leggen on longe  with laboraui in gemitu meo .

And with warme water at his eyȝes  waschen hem after

ÞanneT he sengeth whan he doth so  and sumtyme seith wepinge .

Cor contritum & humiliatum deus non despicies 

¶ By crist I wold þat I knewe hym quod I  no creature leuere .

¶ With-outen helpe of peres þe plowman quod he .T

His persone seest þow neuere 

¶ Where clerkes knowen hym quod I  þa / þa[t] kepen holy cherche .

¶ Clerkes han no knowlechyngeT quod he  but by werkes & by wordes .

Ac peres þe plowman  parseyueth more deppere .

fol. 75r

Þat is wilT and wherefore  þat mony witLX suffreth .

AndT vidit deus cogitaciones eorum .

For þere are ful proude herteT men  pacient of tonge .

And buxum as of berynge  to bu{g}rgeysP and to lordes .

And to pore peple  han peper in þe nose .

And as a leon he loketh  þere men lakketh his werkes .

¶ For þere aren beggeres and bydderes  bedmen as it were .

Loketh as {a} lambroun  and semedT lif-holy .

Ac it is more to haue here mete  on suche an esye manere

Þanne for penaunce & parfitnesse  þe pouerte þat such taketh .

¶ Þere-for by coloure ne by clergie  knowe schal þow hym neuere .

Noyther þoruȝ wordes ne werkes  but þoruȝ wil one .

And þat knoweth no clerke  ne creature an erthe .

But peres þe plow-man  petrus id est christus .

For he nis nauȝt in lolleres  ne in lande-leperes eremites .

Ne at ancres þere a box hangeth  alle suche þei fayten .

Fy on faitoures  and in fautores suos .

¶ For charite is godes chaumpion  & as a gode childe hende .

And þe muriest of muthe  at mete where he sitteth .

ToT loue þat lyth in his herte  maketh hym liȝt of speche .

And is companable and confortatif  as crist bit hym-selue .

Nolite tristes fieri sicut yporcrite / ypocrite .T

¶ For I haue seyne hym in silke  & sum-tyme in russet .

Bothe in gray and in gris  and in gulte herneys .

And as gladliche he it gaf  to gomes þat it neded .

¶ Emund and edwarde  eyther were kynges .

And seyntes I-sette  soT charite hem folwede .

¶ Ich haue I-seyn charite al-so  syngen and reden .

Riden and rennen  in ragged wedes .

Ac biddynge as beggeres  byhelde I hym neuere .

Ac in riche robes  rathest he walketh .

fol. 75v

I-called and I-crymeled  and his croune yschaue .

And in a frereT frocke  he was Ifounde ones .

Ac it is ferre agoo  in seynt fraunceys tyme .

In þat secte sitthe  to selde hath he be knowe .

¶ Riche men he recomendeth  and of here robes taketh .

Þat with-oute wiles  leden here lyues .

Beatus est diues qui &cetera .

¶ In kynges court he cometh ofte þere þe conseil is trewe .

Ac if coueytise be of þe conseil  he wol nauȝt come þer-inne .

In court amonges iaperes  he cometh but selde .

For braulynge and bagbytynge  and berynge of fals witnesse .

¶ In þe constorie byfore þe comissarie  he cometh nauȝt ful ofte .

For here lawe dureth ouer-longe  but if þei lacchen suluer

And matrimonye for mone  maken and vn-maken .

And þat consience and criste  hath yknyt faste .

Þei vndon it vnworthiliche  þo doctoures of lawe .

¶ Amonges erchebischopes and oþer bischopesT

And prelates of holy cherche 

Forto wonye with hem  his wone was sum-tyme .

And cristes patrimonye to þe pore  parcel-mel dele .

Ac auerice hath þe keyes now  and kepeth for his kynnesmen .

And for his seketoures & his seruantz  & somme for here childrun .

Ac I ne lak no lif  but lord amende vs alle .

And gif vs grace gode god  charite to folwe .

For ho-so miȝt mete with hym  suche maneres hym aileth .

Noyther he blameth ne banneth  bosteth ne preyseth .

Lakketh ne loseth  ne loketh vp sterne .

Craueth ne coueyteth  ne crieth after more .T

Þe moste lyflode þat he lyuethT  is loue in godes passioun .

Neyther he neT byddethC ne beggeth  ne borweth to ȝelde .

Misdoth he no man  ne with his mouth greueth .

¶ Amonges cristene men  þis myldnesse schuld laste .

fol. 76r

In alle maner angres  haue þis atte herte .

Þat þouȝ þei suffred alle þis  go / go[d] suffred for vs more .

In ensaumple we schulde do so  and take / take [no] veniaunce .T

Of oure foes þat doth vs falsenesse  þat is oure faderes wille .

For euery man may welT wite  if godT wolde hym-sulue .

Schulde nereT iudas þeT Iewe  haue ihesu done on rode .

Ne haue martyred peter ne powel  ne in prisone holde .

Ac he suffrede in ensaumple  þat we schuld suffre also .

And seide to suche þat suffre wolde  þat pacientes vincunt .

¶ Verbi gracia quod he  and verrey ensaumples manye .

In legenda sanctorum  þe lif of holy seyntes .

What penaunce and pouerte  and passion þei suffred .

In hunger in hete  in alle maner angres .

Antonye and egidie  and oþer holy faderes .

Woneden in wildernessesT  amonges wilde bestes .

Monkkes and mendynans  men by hem-selue .

In spekes and spelonkes  selde speken to-gyderes .

Ac noyther antonye ne egydie  ne eremite þat tyme .

Of lyons ne of leopartz  no lyflode neC toke .

But of þeT foules þat fleeth  þus fynt men in bokes .

Excepte þat egide  after an hynde criede .

And þoruȝ þe melke of þat mekeT beste  þe man was ysusteyned .

AcT day by day hadde he hire nauȝt  his honger forto slake .

But selden and sundry tymeT  as seith þe boke and techeth .

¶ Antonye on a day  aboute none-tyme 

Hadde a bridde þat brouȝte hym  hisT brede þat he by lyuede .

And þouȝ þe gome hadde a geste  god feddeT hem bothe .

¶ Powel primus heremita  hadde parroked inT hym-selue .

Þat no man miȝt hym se  for mosse and for leues .

Foules hym feddeC  fele wyntres with-alle .

Til he founded freres  of austynes ordre .

Powel after his prechynge  payneres he made .

And wan withT hondes  þat his wombe nedede .

Peter fischede for his fode  and his felawe andrewe .

fol. 76v

Somme þei solde and somme þei eetenT  & so þei lyued bothe .

And also marie maudeleyne  by mores and byT dewes .

Ac moste thoruȝ deuocion  and mynde of god almiȝty .

I schulde nouȝt þis seuen dayes  seggen hem alle .

Þat lyueden þus for oure lordes loue  amonges wilde bestes .T

Ac þere ne was lyon ne leopartzT  þat on laundes wente .

Noyther bere ne bore  ne other best wilde .

Þat ne fel to hire fete  and fauned with þe taile .

And ȝif þei couthe haue I-carped  by crist as I trowe .

Þei wolde haue I-fedde þat folke  by-fore wilde foules .

For alle þe curteisie þat bestes kunneT  þei kidde þatT folke ofte .

In likkyng and in lowynge  þere þei on laundes ȝede .T

Ac god sent hem fode by foules  and by no ferce bestes .

In menynge þat meke thynge  mylde þinge schulde fede .

As ho seith religiouse  riȝtful men schulde fynde .

And lawful men to lif-holy men  liflode brynge .

And þanne wolde lordes and ladyes  byLX lothe to agulte .

And to take of here tenauntz  more þan treuthe wolde .

Fonde þei þat freres  wolde forsake here almesse .

And bidden hem beren it  þere it was borwed .

For we beth goddes foules  and abyden alwey .

Til briddes bringen vs  þat we schulde leueLX by .

For hadde ȝe potage and payne I-now  and peniale to drinke .

And onT messe þere-myde of on manere kende .

Ȝe hadde riȝt I-now ȝe religious  & so ȝoure ordreT me tolde .

Numquam dicit Iob rugietT onager cum habuerit herbam .T

Aut mugiet bos cum ante plenum presepe steterit .T

Ex adipe prodijt iniquitas tua 

¶ If lewed men knewe þis latyn  þei wold loke wham þei ȝeue .

And auise hem byfore  T fyue dayes or sixe .

Ar þei amortised to monkes  or chanounes here rentes .

Allas lordes and ladyes  lewed conseil haue ȝe .

To ȝyue fram ȝoure heyres  þat ȝoure ayeles ȝow lefte .

And ȝiueth to bydde for ȝow  to suche as ben riche .

And ben I-founded and feffed eke  to bydden for other .C

¶ Ho parfourneth þis prophecie  of þe peple þat now libbeth 

fol. 77r

Dispersit dedit pauperibus &cetera .

Ȝif any poeple parforne þat tixte  it are þis pore freres

For þat þei beggen aboute  in buyldynge þei spende .

And on hem-selue sum  and suchT ben here laboreres .

And of hem þat habbeth þei taketh  and ȝiueth hem þat ne habbeth .

¶ Ac clerkes and kniȝtes  and comuneres þat ben riche .

Fele of ȝow fareth  as if I a forest hadde .

Þat were ful of feire tres  and I founded and caste .

How I miȝte mo þere-inne  amonges hem sette .

Riȝt so ȝe riche  ȝe robbethLX þat bethT riche .

And helpeth hem þat helpeth ȝow  & ȝyueth þere no nede is .

As ho-so fulled a tonne ful  of a fulT ryuere .

And wente forth with þat water  to woke with temese .

Riȝt so ȝe riche ȝe robbethLX and fedeth 

Hem þat han as ȝe han  hem ȝe make at ese .

Ac religious þat rich ben  schulde rather fedeT beggeres .

Þan burgeys þat riche ben  as þe boek techeth .

Quia sacrilegium est res pauperum non pauperibus dare .

Item idem peccatoribus dare est demonibus immolare .T

Porro non indiget monachus si habeat quod nature sufficit .

For-thi I conseille alle cristene  to conformen hem to charite .

FoLX charite with-oute chalengynge . vnchargeth .T

And many a prison fram purgatorie  þoruȝ his preyeres is deliuered .T

¶ Ac þere is a defaute  in þe folke þat þe feith kepeth .

WhereT folke is þe feblere  and nouȝt ferme of byleue .

As in lossheborues is a lither alay  & ȝut loketh he like a sterlynge .

Þe merke of þat mone is gode  ac þe metal is feble .

And so it fareth by sum folke nowe  þei han a faire speche .

Croune and cristendom  þe kynges merke of heuene .

Ac þe metal þat is mannes soule  with synne is foule alayed .

Bothe lettred and lewed beth  alayed now with synne .

Þat no lyf loueth other ne oure lorde as it semeth .

For what þoruȝ werre and wikked werkes  & wederes vnresonable .

Wederwise schipmen  and witty clerkes al-so .

Han no byleue to þe lift  ne to þe lore of filisofres .

fol. 77v

¶ Astrimyanes al-day  in her art failen .

Þat whilum warned bifore  what schuld byfalleT after .

Schipmen and schepherdes  þat with schipe and scheppe wenten .

Wisten by þe wakkne / wa[l]kne  what schuld by-tyde .

As of wederes and of wyndes  þei warned men ofte .

¶ Tilieres þat tiled þe erthe  tolden here meystres .

By þe seed þat þei sewe  what þei selle miȝte .

And what to leue and to leueLX by  þe londe was so trewe .

Now faileth þe folke of þe floed  and of þe londe bothe .

Scheperdes and schipmen  and so doen þis tilieres .C

Nother þei kunneth ne knoweth  on cours by-for an-other .

Astrimyanes also  are att here wittes ende .

Of þat was calkuled of clementT  þe contrarie þei fynde .

Gramere þe grounde of alle  bygileth now childurne .

For is non of þis new clerkeT  ho-so nymeth hede .

Þat can versifie faire  ne formeliche endenten / end[i]ten .

Ne nauȝt on amonges an hundreth  þat an autour can construe .

Ne rede a lettre in any langage  but in latyn or in englische .

Go now to any degre  and but if gyle be maister .

And flatreT his felawe  vnder hym to fourmen .

AndT muche wonder me thenketh  amonges vs alle .

Doctoures of decres  and of diuinite maystres .

Þat schulde kunne and knowe  alkynne clergie .

And answere to argumentz  and also to a quod-libet .

I dar nouȝt seggen it for schame  if suche weren apposed .

Þei schulde faile in here filosophie  & in fisike bothe .

Wherefore Ich am afered  of folk of holy cherche .

Lest þei ouer-hippen as other don  in offices and in houres

Ac þouȝT þei oue / oue[r]-hippe as I hope nauȝt  oure bileue sufficit .T

As clerkes in corpus christi fest  syngen and reden .

Þat sola fides sufficit  to saue with lewed peple .

¶ And so may sarasynes be saued  scribes and Iewes .

Allas then but oure lores-men  lyuen as þei leren vs .

And for here liuynge þat lewed men be  þe lother god agulten .P

For sarasynes han sumwhat  semynge to oure bileue .

fol. 78r

For þei loue and bileue  in on persone almiȝty 

And we lered and lewed  in on god by-leueth .

Cristene and vncristene  on one god bileueth .T

Ac oen machometh  a man in mysbileue .

Brouȝt sarasenes of surrie  and se in what manere .

Þis macumeth was cristene man  and for he most nauȝt be a pope .

in-to surrie he souȝte  and thoruȝ his sotil wittes .

Daunted a dowue  and day and niȝt hire fedde .

Þe corne þat sche cropped  he caste hit in his here .T

Menynge as after mete  þus macumeth hire chaunted .T

And dede folke þanne falle on knes  for he swore in his prechinge .

Þat þe culuer þat come so  cam fram god of heuene .

And messagerT to macumeth  men for to teche .

And þus þoruȝ wiles of his wit  and a white dowue .

Macumeth in misbileue  men and wymmen brouȝte .

Þat lered there and lewed  ȝut leuen on his lawes .

¶ And sitthe oure saueoure suffred  þe sarasynes so bygiled .

Þoruȝ a cristene clerke  acursed in his soule .

Ac for drede of þe deth  I dar nauȝt telle treuthe 

How englische clerkes a culuere feden  þat coueytise hatte .

And ben manered after macumeth  þat no man vseth treuthe .

¶ Ancres and heremites  and monekes and freres .

PeresT to apostles  thoruȝ here parfit lyuynge .

Wolde nere þe faithful fader  þat his minstres schulde .

Of tyrauntes þat teneth trewe men  taken any almesse .

But doen as antonye dede  dominik orT fraunceys .

Benet orT bernarde  þe which hem furste tauȝte .

To lyue by litel and in lowe houseT  by lele mennes fyndynge .

Grasse schulde growe and be grene  þoruȝ here leleT lyuynge .

And folke schulde fynde  þat ben in diuers syknesse .

Þe bettere for here biddynges  in body and in soule .

Here preyeres and here penaunces  to pees schuld hemT bringe .

Alle þat ben at debate  and bede-men were trewe .

Petite et accipietis &cetera .C

¶ Salt saueth catel  seggeth þis wyues 

fol. 78v

Vos estis sal terre &cetera .T

Þe heuedes of holy cherche  and þei holy were .

Crist calledT hem salt  for cristene soules 

Et si sal euanuerit in quo salietur .

Ac fresche flesch orther / other fische  whan it salt faileth .

It is vnsauori for-sothe  s{e}othen or baken .

So is mannes soule sothly  þat seth non gode saumple .

Of hem of holy cherche  þat þe heye wey schulde teche .

And be gyde and go before  asT goed baneoure .

And hardy hem þat byhynde ben  and ȝif hem gode euydence .

¶ Elleuene holy men  al the worlde torned .

in-to lele byleue  þe liȝtloker me thenketh .

Schulde al manere men  we han so many maystres .

Prestes and prechoures  and a pope aboue .

Þat godes salt schulde be  to saue mannes soule .

¶ Al was hethenesse sum-tyme  england and wales .

Til gregori and greteT clerkes  to go and to preche .

Austyn at canterbirie  cristened þe kynge þere .T

And þoruȝ miracles as men may rede  al þat marche he turned .

To crist and to cristendom  and cros to honoure .

And fulled folkeT  and þe faith tauȝte .

More þoruȝ miracles  þan þoruȝ muche prechynge .

As wel þoruȝ his werkes  as with his holy wordes .

And seide hem what fullynge  and feith was to mene .

¶ Clothe þat cometh fro þe weuynge  is nauȝt comely to werie

Til it is fulled vnder fote  or in fullynge stokkes .

I-waschen wel with water  and with taseles cracched .

I-touked and tentted  and vnder tailoures handes .

And so it fareth by a barne  þat boren is of wombe .

Til it be cristened in cristes name  & confermed of þe bischoppe .

It is hethen as to heuene-warde  and helples to þe soule .

¶ Hethene is to mene after heth  and vntiled erthe .

As in wild wildernesse  wexeth wilde bestes .

fol. 79r

Rude and vnresonable  rennynge with-oute keperesT .

¶ Ȝe take wel hedeT whateT mathew sayth  how a man made a fest .

He fedde hem with no venison  ne fesauntes Ibake .

But with foules þat fram hym nolde  but folwed his whistlynge .

Ecce altilia mea et omnia parata sunt &cetera .

And with calues flesch he fedde  þe folke þat he louede .

Þe calf bitokneth clennesse  in hem þat kepeth lawes .

For as þe cow thoruȝ kende melke  þe calf norischeth til an oxe .

So doth loue & lewte  and leleT men susteyneth .

And maydenes and mylde men  mercy desiren .

Riȝt as þe cow calf  coueyteth swete melke .

So doth riȝtful men  mercy and treuthe .

And by þe hande fedde foules  hisLX T folk vnderstonde .

Þat loth ben to louye  with-outen lernynge of ensaumples .

Riȝt as capones in a court  cometh to mennes whistlynge .

In menynge after mete  folweth men þat whistlen .

Riȝt so rude men  þat litel reson cunneth 

Louen and byleuen  by lettred mennes doynges .

And by here wordes and werkes  wenen and trowen .

And as tho foules to fynde  fode after whistlynge .

So hope þei to haue  heuene þoruȝ her whistlynge .

And by þe man þat made þe feste  þe mageste bymeneth .

Þat is god of his grace  gyueth al men blisse .

With wederes and with wondres  he warneth vs with a whistlere .

Where þat his wille is  to worschipen vs alle .

And feden vs and festen vs  for euere-more at ones .

¶ Ac who beth þat excuseth hem  T aren persones and prestes .

Þat heuedes of holy cherches  ben þat han here wille here .

With-oute trauaile þe tithe del  þat trewe men by-swynken .

Þei wole be wroth for I write þus  ac to witnesse I take .

Bothe mathew and marke  and memento domine dauid .

Ecce audiuimus eum in effrata  &cetera .T

What pope or prelate nowe  perforneth þat criste hiȝte .

Ite in vniuersum mundum . et predicate . &cetera .C

¶ Alls / All[a]sT þat men so longe  on macumeth schullenT byleue .

fol. 79v

So many prelates to preche  as þe pope maketh .

Of nazareth of nynyue  of neptalym and damaske .

Þat þei ne wenten as criste wisseth  sithen þei wilneLX a name .

To be pastores and preche  þe passion of ihesus .

And as hym-sulue saide  so to lyue and deye .

Bonus pastor animam suam ponit &cetera .

And seyde it in sauacion  of sarasynes and other .

ToT cristene and to vncristene  criste seyde to prechoures .

Ite vos in vineam meam 

And sitthen þat þis sarasines  scribes and iewes .

Han a lippe of oure byleue  þe liȝtloker it semethT .

Þei schulde turne ho-so trauaile wolde  & techenT hem of þe trinite .

Querite et inuenietis &cetera .

For al paynymes preyeth  to on persone to helpe .T

On o god þei greden  and his grace asken .T

And maken here mone to macumeth  here message to schewe .

Þus in a feith lyueth þat folk  and in a fals mene .

And þat is reuth for þeT riȝtfulmen / riȝtful men  þat in þe reume wonyen .

And a peril to þe pope  and toT prelates þat he maketh .

Þat bereth bischopes names  of bethleem and of babyloyne .

¶ Whan þe heye kynge of heuene  sent his sone to erthe .T

Many miracles he wrouȝte  man for to turne .

In ensaumple þat men schulde se  þat by sadde resoun .

Men miȝt nouȝt be saued  but þoruȝ mercy and grace .

And thoruȝ penaunce and passion  and parfit byle / byle[ue] 

And by-cam man of a mayde  and metropolitanus .

And baptised and bischined  with þe blode of his herte .

Alle þat wilned and woled  with inne-wit byleue it .

Many a seint sytthen  hath soffred to deye .

Al for to enforme þe faith  in fele contreyes deyeden .

In ynde and in alisaundre  in ermonye and in spayne .

In delfol deth deyeden  for there faith sake .

In sauacioun of þe fayth  seynt t{....}[homa]sT was ymartired.

Amonges vnkende cristene  for cristes loue he deyede .

And for þe riȝt of al þis reume  and al reumes cristene

Holy cherche is honoured  heyȝliche þoruȝ his deynge .

fol. 80r

He is a forbysene to alle bishopes  and a briȝt myroure .

And souereyneliche to suche  þat of surrye bereth þe name .

And nauȝt to huppe aboute here in englande  forto halwe autres .T

And crepe in amonges curatoures  and confesse menT aȝeyne þe lawe .

Nolite mittere falsem in messemT &cetera .

¶ Many a man for cristes loue  was martired amongesT romaynesT .

Ar cristendom were knowe þere  or any cros þereT honoured .T

¶ Euery bischope þat bereth cros  by þatT is holde .

Þoruȝ his prouince to passe  and to his peple to schewe hym .

Tellen hem and schewenT hem  on þe trinite to byleue .

And feden hem with gostly fode  and nedy folke to fynden .T

AcT ysaie of ȝow spekethT  and osyas bothe .C

Þat no man schuld be bischope  but if he hadde bothe .

Bodily fode and gostly fodeT  to gyue þere it nededeT .

In domo mea non est panis  neque vestimentum .

Et ideo nolite constituere me regem  y 3 .T

Ozias seith for suche  þat syke ben and feble .

Inferte omnes decimas in oreum meum  vt cibus in domo mea &cetera .

Ac we cristene creatures  þat on þe cros byleuen .

Aren for me / [forme]T as in þe faith  godes forbode elles .

And han clerkes to kepen vs þere-inne  & hem þat schal come after vs .

¶ And Iewes lyuen in lele lawe  oure lorde wrote it hym-selue .

In stone for it stedfast was  and stonde schulde euere .

Dilige deum et proximum  is parfit iewen lawe .

And toke it moyses to techen it hemT  til messye come .

And on þat lawe þei leue  and leten it þe best .

And ȝut knewe þei criste  þat cristendom tauȝte .

AndT for a parfit prophete  þat muche poeple saued .

Of selcuth sores  þei seyen it ofte .

Bothe of miracles and meruayles  and howT men festede .

With to fisches and fyue loues  fyue thousend poeple .

And by þat mangerie þei miȝt wel se  þat messye he semed .

And whan he lufte vp lazar  þat leyde was in graue .

And vnder stone stanke and dedeT  with stif voys hym calde .

fol. 80v

Lazar veni foras 

Dede hym rise and rome  riȝt byfore þe iewes 

Ac þei seyde and sworen  with sorcerie he wrouȝte .

And studieden to struyen hym  and struyeden hem-sulue .

And þoruȝ his pacience here poere  to puir nauȝt he brouȝte .

Pacientes vincunt  .

¶ Daniel of here vndoynge  dyuined and seide .

Cum veniat sanctus sanctorum &cetera .T

And ȝet wenen þo wrecches  þat he were seudo-propheta .

And þat his lore be lesynges  and lakken it alle .

And hopen þat he be to come  þat schal hem releue .

Moyses eft or messye  ȝet here maystriesT dyuineth .

¶ Ac farisewes and sarasines  scribes and grekes .

Aren folke of o faith  þe fader god þei honouren 

And sithe þat þe sarasynes  and also þe iewes .

Kunnen þe furst clause  of oure byleue T

Credo in deum patrem omnipotentem &cetera .

Prelates of cristene prouinceT  schulde proue if þei miȝte .

Lere hem litlum and litlum  & in ihesum christum filium .

Til þei coude speke and spelle  andT in spiritum sanctum .

And reden it and recorden it  with remissionem peccatorum .

Carnis resurrexionem  et vitam eternam amen .

◂

passus xiiijus .

▸

And whanne I make mone to god .

☜

Ipocrysye

l ijus

Longe WylleC

l iijus

l iiij

he is a for-bysene

m [j]us

R.15.1: Inside the triangle formed by the top of the ornamental capital, the rubricator has drawn a nun's face.↩

R.15.1: R shares this error (walkynge for Bx's wakyng ) with Bm and Bo alone.↩

R.15.8: R's and is an alpha variant; cf. beta's ne.↩

R.15.8: R's phrase, suche and seide, is unique; beta omits and, while F reads swiche men seyde.↩

R.15.12: R's line closely parallels that of beta, but R's of is unattested in any beta witness. F includes of, but does so in a totally revised version of this a-verse.↩

R.15.14: R's b-verse is seriously corrupt, deploying the final phrase from the previous archetypal line (whider I schulde)—a phrase which he had miscopied in its proper place; by contrast, F has kendely here and beta manuscripts read what kynde. Moreover, R uniquely divides this botched passage so as to cause the final phrase of the Bx line to be displayed as a separate, following line, R15.15.↩

R.15.19: R's þe is unique; the other B manuscripts have his. Among the C copies, the X family agrees with R while the P family agrees with the others.↩

R.15.26: R's thouȝte is a unique reading among the B copies and has the appearance of a scribal gloss erroneously incorporated into the text. F's line terminal ofte then would represent a fairly typical example of that tradition's tendency toward "smoothing" earlier mistakes. However that may be, thouȝte also appears at this point in a large number of C manuscripts of both major families, including XYcP2TH2Ch (of the X group) and PEcQZWaGcNcFcCa (of the P group); so if it is an error, its source is a manuscript prior to Bx in the line of transmission. ↩

R.15.37: RF are joined by L alone among the beta copies in adding the conjunction here. However, Cx clearly agrees with this LRF reading.↩

R.15.43: R's wlt is a common English scribal spelling for Latin vult; it appears to have resulted from an association between the customary phonetic value assigned to Latin initial <v> (= /w/) and a popular sense of the origin of the <w> graph itself as a "double v." Because many other European languages, as well as Latin, had no <w> graph, and foundries therefore omitted the form from standard typographic templates, English printers often resorted to using the digraph <vv> to represent English <w> till the end of the seventeenth century.↩

In the right margin, just inside the vertical boundary of the page ruling, someone has inscribed, in drypoint, a figure resembling a backwards Roman capital <N>; opposite line 51, in the same vertical column, a figure resembling a properly faced capital <N> has been inscribed; still lower, and slightly closer to the text, in the margin opposite line 53, another reversed <N> appears to have been entered in drypoint. ↩

R.15.53: The term metropolanus (= metropolitanus in beta, seems to be an alpha error. However, this spelling is also found in about half of the C witnesses, including manuscript X.↩

R.15.60: R's Ich is unique, but only in form; the other B manuscripts have I or y, as does Cx.↩

R.15.65: R here shows a unique omission; Bx reads cryste one. Cx agrees with the B archetype.↩

R.15.67: The scribe has included midline punctuation here, but he has partially obscured it by overwriting it with the first stroke of the following <m>.↩

R.15.68: Cf. F's opprimetur and beta's opprimitur. Cx agrees with R on this inflectional form.↩

R.15.70: This is an alpha variant; cf. beta's eteth. Most C copies agree with alpha, but some with beta.↩

R.15.77: There is an otiose curl on the tail of the first <e> of Sciencie; it is not altogether different from a flourish that is part of the scribe's normal repertoire, but from its slightly altered position, it looks as though he was planning to bar the <e> to represent the following <n> but then changed his mind.↩

R.15.78: R's ȝet is unique; Bx and Cx = riȝte. ↩

R.15.84: After and beta supplies fele, a modifier omitted by G as well as alpha.↩

R.15.85: Hereafter RF omit a line found in beta:
Þat ofte tymes þe lewed peple of her bileue douten.↩

R.15.86: Mone, "many."↩

R.15.86: The Bx version of this line seems much in doubt; there are complex textual variations among all the manuscripts. Likeliest to represent the beta version is L, whose rendering closely parallels that of Cr: Bettere byleue were mony doctoures such techyng. F has Bettre it were to be-leve on / as doctouris vs techeþ.↩

R.15.87: Here R is joined only by G in omitting of after men; F omits men.↩

R.15.88: R's bourgeleth is unique. F reads burgoneþ and beta manuscripts show spelling variations of the same, e.g., burgeouneth.↩

R.15.91: Beta's phrase is and into.↩

R.15.92: There is an ink smudge in the left margin at this point, apparently the result of blotting contact with the note in the right margin at R15.125 on the recto page.↩

R.15.94: R uniquely omits þe before rather. Cx agrees with the other B manuscripts on this.↩

R.15.96: R uniquely omits mendacium after queritis.↩

R.15.100: R's and is unique; F reads & of while beta has of. ↩

R.15.102: Here R uniquely adds a second ȝoure to the line.↩

R.15.103: Beta transposes the RF phrase to personarum acceptores.↩

R.15.104: In place of R's grete, F reads mychil and beta shows longe.↩

R.15.105: R's ouer is unique; the other manuscripts read of.↩

These lines are marked by a brace in the right margin, as well as a pointing hand. There is a brown ink stain immediately above the end of line 107.↩

R.15.110: The beta manuscripts omit this conjunction.↩

Beginning just below the pointing hand referred to at R15.107, there is an erased note in the right margin, written horizontally in some 16 short lines that extend down the page to a point approximately 2.2 cm. below the last line of scribal text. The hand appears to be the same as that discernible in the extensive erased note on fol. 94r.↩

R.15.114: R uniquely deploys the plural; the other manuscripts read cherche. Cx agrees with them against R.↩

R.15.115: Where R reads Is þe, beta has Þat aren and F shows Þey sholde been. A majority of C manuscripts agrees with R.↩

R.15.121: R uniquely reads auȝt; F reads looþ wrong; a majority of the beta copies show nouȝt.↩

R.15.122: RF are in agreement on trewe (supported by CrWG), but most beta manuscripts read vntrewe.↩

R.15.124: R's þei is unique; all the other manuscripts omit it.↩

R.15.125: A sixteenth-century reader has inscribed in the right margin opposite this line Ipocrysye.↩

R.15.126: Beta reads dongehul where RF have dongoun. In a substantially revised version of this line, the C version attests donghep, suggesting that beta's reading was original.↩

R.15.130: F's final phrase is completely unique (blewe burnet cloþis), but beta differs here from R only by adding also at the end of the line. The C version attests with bele clothes.↩

R.15.131: For R's wlueliche, F shows foxly and beta reads vnlouelich.↩

R.15.131: The spelling wlueliche is probably not erroneous. Cf. R.15.43:, and the note on wlt.↩

R.15.133: The form procedit is from alpha. Beta witnesses read progreditur, the same verb form found at this point in the C version.↩

R.15.136: Beta reads coruptum. Both inflectional forms are found in C witnesses, but distribution and numbers suggest that the alpha reading was archetypal in C.↩

R.15.137: Beta reads sacerdocium. Both inflectional forms are found in C witnesses, but the beta reading is archetypal in C.↩

R.15.137: Beta reads peccandum. Both readings are found in C witnesses, but the beta reading is archetypal in C.↩

In the left margin, a black brace extends the entire length of this verse paragraph.↩

R.15.144: Most beta witnesses have But if many a prest bere for here baselardes and here broches, where the alliterative pattern suggests that Bx was already corrupt. R reads the nouns of beta's final phrase in transposed order. The R scribe's placement of a punctus elevatus after bere probably indicates that he did not take and for here baselardes to have constituted the b-verse by itself. F's line (But euery prest sholde bere / for here broode baselardis) is unique, revised in the light of a seemingly confused exemplar.↩

R.15.145: R's or is an alpha reading; beta has and.↩

R.15.149: For R's to haue, F reads ne; the other manuscripts read to saue.↩

R.15.149: Most beta manuscripts have ydel; but L (= yvel) joins alpha in reading euel.↩

R.15.152: R's maked is an alpha reading (cf. F's made). Beta reads hadde. Cx agrees with beta.↩

R.15.155: R's spened is unique; F and most beta copies have spended, from the R verb's etymological parent—though W reads despended. The P family of C agrees with W (and by implication beta and F), but the majority of the X family supports R (reading yspened).↩

R.15.166: R's spene is unique; F and most beta copies have spende, from the R verb's etymological parent—though W reads despende. Cf. R.15.155: above.↩

R.15.175: This decorative, rubricated marginal, very unusual in the typical pattern of Piers Plowman glosses, may offer evidence for how early in the transmission chain MS R stands: MSS L and M both have sixteenth-century glosses taking note of Longe Wylle (M repeating the actual textual phrase, as in R); but among beta copies, only MS O (which Ralph Hanna dates to the first quarter of the fifteenth century) shows this gloss in a hand contemporary to its main scribal hand. Another alpha/beta shared gloss, involving MSS R and L, occurs somewhat later in this passus with the unexpected and atypical Isa. 3 note at R15.582, attested solely by MSS L, R and F. ↩

R.15.177: R uniquely reads to; cf. beta's & to and F's ne to.↩

R.15.179: F reads the end of this line as god in heuene while beta reads owre saueoure.↩

R.15.183: R's hym neded is an alpha reading transposed in beta to neded hym. The beta order is also that found in Cx.↩

R.15.184: R uniquely reads kenneth; All other manuscripts have kenne(n).↩

R.15.189: R uniquely reads noþer at the head of the b-verse; the other copies have ne.↩

R.15.194: R's He is an alpha lection; beta has And; R's leueth is matched only in Cr; F reads beleviþ while beta manuscripts are ambiguous. Kane and Donaldson read them as leneth, but Skeat construed L's reading as leueth.↩

R.15.196: R's haue is unique; beta reads hath to; F transposes the opening of the a-verse as Ne he haþ lykynge to. Cx supports beta here.↩

R.15.196: R's me is unique; cf. beta's men and F's non. Cx supports beta here also.↩

R.15.199: Alpha shows the plural; beta reads the singular, good.↩

R.15.202: R's fynt is a unique form of the verb; most of the other manuscripts, including F, read fyndeth. The Cx reading is uncertain: most P family copies support the F/beta reading, but most X family witnesses agree with R.↩

R.15.205: Alpha shows the singular; beta reads the plural, aues (as does the C version).↩

R.15.206: R uniquely omits a pronoun reference from is wone. Most beta manuscripts read he is wone; others (LMHm) read is his wone; F has he is wont. Cx attests his wone is.↩

R.15.212: R's seche is unique; cf. beta's speke and F's þere seken. Cx's reading (secheth) supports R here.↩

R.15.217: Beta's opening phrase reads And þanne. In a slightly revised line, Cx supports alpha, omitting And.↩

R.15.220: R uniquely divides a Bx line in half here, rendering it as two.↩

R.15.223: R's knowlechynge is unique; the other manuscripts read knowyng.↩

R.15.225: After is alpha omits þe, which is present in beta.↩

R.15.225: R's wit is unique in form but probably represents the same word as beta's wyȝte and F's whyȝt. Both MED and OED2 document this spelling s. v. wight.↩

R.15.226: R's And is unique; the other manuscripts read Et. Cx supports the majority here.↩

R.15.227: R's herte is unique. Other B manuscripts read herted.↩

R.15.228: The <r> of burgeys appears to have been written over another character.↩

R.15.232: R's semed is unique; cf. beta's semen and F's seme of.↩

R.15.244: R's To is unique error; all the other manuscripts read Þe.↩

R.15.246: Kane-Donaldson note R's unique phrasal variation for this Latin line (the other manuscripts have Nolite fieri sicut ypocrite tristes &c), but they overlook the erroneous spelling, yporcrite. Cx supports R's phrasing of this tagline.↩

R.15.251: For RF's so, beta reads tyl or for.↩

R.15.257: R's frere (an unmarked genitive) is unique; all the other manuscripts read freres however, the preponderance of C evidence (most of the X family and some of the P family) supports R's reading.↩

These lines are unique to alpha and there are line-division problems. Moreover, there are sufficient differences between R and F in these lines to justify reproducing the latter's lines verbatim (cf. Appendix 1, R15.272-77, for details and any cross-references to the C version):
¶ With Bisshopis & abbotys / & prelatis of holy chirche.
For to wone with hem / hys wone was sum-tyme.
& cristis parsymonye to þe pore / parcel-mel þey deltyn.
But Auerise hathorn; þe keyȝes /& kepithorn; for hise kenysmen.
& for hise seketouris & seruauntis /& summe for hise chirdryn.↩

R.15.283: Immediately after this line, alpha omits a Latin line found in beta:
In pace in idipsum dormiam &c. OC2 have this line in the margin, suggestive of how it might have been overlooked in alpha if this were its location in Bx.↩

R.15.284: After lyueth R uniquely omits by.↩

R.15.285: R's first ne in this line is unique; all the other B manuscripts omit it. However, among the C manuscripts, most of the X family agrees with R, while the others agree with beta.↩

R.15.285: There is a discoloration in the parchment (resembling a large punctus) immediately after byddeth, but it has no significance.↩

R.15.290: R inadvertently (and uniquely) omits no before veniaunce, causing the statement to express a very uncharitable outlook.↩

R.15.292: Beta transposes the opening phrase of this line as For wel may euery man.↩

R.15.292: With the exception of G, which here joins alpha, the beta manuscripts read god hadde wolde here.↩

R.15.293: R's nere is unique; the other manuscripts read neuere.↩

R.15.293: R's þe is shared only with BmBoCot; F reads hise and beta reads ne. Beta's reading is unquestionably the original.↩

R.15.302: R's wildernesses is unique; the other manuscripts read wildernesse.↩

R.15.306: A brown stain makes ne almost illegible.↩

R.15.307: Beta here omits þe.↩

R.15.309: F shows no adjective (= þe beeste), while R's meke is replaced in beta with mylde.↩

R.15.310: R's Ac is unique; beta reads And while F shows an omission.↩

R.15.311: Where alpha has the unmarked plural tyme, beta has tymes.↩

R.15.313: R's hym his is unique; beta reads hym and F has hym to.↩

R.15.314: Cf. beta's fonde.↩

R.15.315: Beta omits alpha's in. The C version agrees with beta's omission.↩

R.15.317: An ink blot covers the -ed of fedde.↩

R.15.320: Virtually all beta manuscripts (and F) add his before hondes.↩

R.15.322: Alpha's eeten is an easier replacement for the correctly alliterating sothe(n) found in the best beta manuscripts. Cf. R.15.468:. The C version incorporates this same line, but the lemma in question shows a wide range of attested readings among C witnesses.↩

R.15.323: Alpha omits lyued after mores; beta omits the second by from this b-verse, as witnessed by alpha. On both of these issues, Cx agrees with beta.↩

R.15.326: For alpha's amonges wilde bestes, beta (and the C version) read manye longe ȝeres.↩

R.15.327: R uniquely shows the plural; F and beta read the singular, leopart.↩

R.15.332: R's curteisie þat bestes kunne is unique; F reads kyȝndenesse þat þey cowde and beta omits the entire line.↩

R.15.332: R's second þat is unique; F reads to. Beta omits this entire line as well as the next one.↩

R.15.333: R's in lowynge is unique; F reads lovynge. R's ȝede is unique; F reads wentyn. Beta omits the entire line.↩

R.15.338: R's by is unique here; based on the scribe's uniform spelling of the linking verb elsewhere (= be), this occurrence may be an error, but it cannot be so designated conclusively. It may represent another example of R's many relict forms. MED, s. v. ben, attests to the viability of by in this sense with citations from both the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, including one from the Ayenbite of Inwyt (He haþ niede, by hit to þe bodie, by hit to þe zaule—BL Arundel 57) and The Seven Sages (He schal dwelle on lyue tyl to morwe day, And by than as hit may—Cam. Dd.1.17). Moreover, at R16.166, the scribe demonstrates his comfort with the inverse situation, signifying ModE "by" with be, a form that OED2, s. v. by (prep., adv.), attests as viable for this period.↩

R.15.343: R's leue is unique among the B manuscripts (cf. R15.400), but OED2 attests it as a recognized form for liue. (See Trevisa, 1387, s. v. live (v. 1).↩

R.15.345: In place of alpha's on or oo (= F), beta here shows a.↩

R.15.346: Alpha here substitutes non-alliterating ordre for Bx's reule (attested in beta).↩

R.15.347: Beta reads rugit, but Cx agrees with alpha's verb form.↩

R.15.347: Beta transposes this phrase as herbam habuerit, but Cx agrees with alpha's phrasing.↩

R.15.348: Here alpha drops a long passage from the Latin citation as witnessed by both beta and the C version: brutorum animalium natura te condempnat quia cum eis pabulum comune sufficiat.↩

R.15.351: The beta phrasing is a fyue dayes.↩

R.15.356: The scribe fails here to skip a line between strophes, as is his custom, presumably because the next line is the last ruled one for this side.↩

R.15.361: R's such is followed by a unique omission; most beta copies follow such with as and BF read þat.↩

R.15.367: In this case (cf. R15.371), RF share with some beta copies a root form, Robbe, classified by OED2 as a sixteenth-century variant spelling for robe, v. (= ModE "clothe"); it is traceable to OF robbe (= ModE "robe"), derived from the same root as OF rob since the original meaning of "robe" was "booty, spoils."↩

R.15.367: R's beth is unique; all other witnesses read be(n).↩

R.15.369: R's second ful is unique; beta reads fressh and F has an omission.↩

R.15.371: See note at R.15.367:.↩

R.15.373: In place of alpha's fede, beta has feste.↩

R.15.376: Here alpha drops a long passage from the Latin citation as witnessed in beta: Item monache si indiges et accipis pocius das quam accipis Si autem non eges & accipis rapis.↩

R.15.379: Neither MED nor OED2, s. v. for, cites an example of fo as viable for the preposition signified here, but it occurs in R in four widely separated contexts (cf. R2.64, R14.60, and R20.224) and probably represents an instance of idiolect apocope. Cf. R's common use of fro (= ModE "from") and mo (= ModE "more").↩

R.15.379: R uniquely omits the end of Bx's b-verse: þe soule.↩

R.15.380: For R's is deliuered, F reads ben dylyuered; beta reads (he) delyureth.↩

R.15.382: R is almost unique (cf. Cot) in this reading; F and the other beta copies read Wherfore.↩

R.15.394: R's byfalle is unique; all the other manuscripts read falle(n). However, most of the C manuscripts agree with R.↩

R.15.400: Cx agrees here with R's unique form, against lyue found in most B witnesses. See note at R.15.343:.↩

R.15.402: An early reader has inserted a red star or cross in the right margin at this point.↩

R.15.405: For alpha's of clement, beta reads of þe element(s). Alpha's reference is opaque; but at least, unlike beta's, it alliterates. Schmidt conjectures clemat, based on the unquestioned reading of the C version at this point, clymat.↩

R.15.407: R's apparent singular, clerke, is unique; the other copies have the explicit plural required by immediate context, clerkes.↩

R.15.412: For R's flatre, "flatterer, one who flatters" from OF flatour, Bx reads flaterere, the same form found in Cx.↩

R.15.413: And is alpha's erroneous addition to the text of Bx.↩

R.15.421: R's þouȝ is unique; beta reads if and F shows an omission.↩

R.15.421: For alpha's Latin, beta provides an English equivalent: suffiseth.↩

R.15.426: There is a superfluous tilde over the -en of agulten.↩

R.15.430: Beta omits this line.↩

R.15.436: Hereafter alpha omits two lines found in beta, presumably on account of eyeskip (the second of the omitted lines ends with ere):
And if he amonge þe poeple preched or in places come
Þanne wolde þe coluer come to þe clerkes ere.↩

R.15.437: Beta reads enchaunted, while F shows a present-tense form of alpha's apheretic verb: chawnteþ. Cx agrees with beta.↩

R.15.440: Where alpha has And messager, beta reads As messager.↩

R.15.450: Cf. alpha's noun form, Peres, to beta's verb form, Peren.↩

R.15.453: For alpha's or, beta reads and.↩

R.15.454: For alpha's or, beta reads &.↩

R.15.455: R uniquely shows the singular; the other manuscripts read houses.↩

R.15.456: For alpha's lele, cf. beta's correctly alliterating good.↩

R.15.459: Beta omits hem.↩

R.15.461: The R scribe here deviates from his usual practice of inserting a blank line between strophes, presumably because the next line is the last one ruled for this side.↩

F omits these 68 lines (= KD15.429α-92), reflecting the contents either of a single leaf or (more likely) an opening from his exemplar. E. Talbot Donaldson noted this fact in "MSS R and F in the B-Tradition of Piers Plowman," Transactions of the Connecticut Academy of Arts and Sciences (1955): 185 n. 19, rightly attributing the error to a copyist between F and alpha. More recently Sean Taylor, "The F Scribe and the R Manuscript of Piers Plowman B," English Studies 77 (1996): 530-48, has pointed out that this lacuna coincides with the opening of fols. 78v-79r in R; he argues, we think unconvincingly, that this coincidence supports the proposition that F was copied directly from R.↩

R.15.465: Beta here shows the present-tense form, calleth. F omits the line.↩

R.15.471: The beta version of the phrase shows a determiner: as a good baneoure. F omits the line.↩

R.15.479: Only B supports R's inferior reading (and grete); the other beta manuscripts read garte or gerte. F omits the line.↩

R.15.480: R's kynge þere is unique; the beta copies have kynge while F omits the line.↩

R.15.483: After folke, beta adds faste. F omits the line.↩

R.15.496: R's keperes is unique; beta's variants seem nonsensical: LYOGC2 have crep(e)res while WHmCrCBM show crop(i)ers. F omits the line.↩

R.15.497: In place of R's non-alliterating take wel hede, beta reads menen wel. F omits the line.↩

R.15.497: Here only G joins R in reading what; the other beta manuscripts show how.↩

R.15.504: In the a-verse, doth is a unique addition to the text of this line as witnessed by beta; in the b-verse, the same is true of and (before lele). F omits the line.↩

R.15.508: His, "is."↩

These lines are omitted by all beta manuscripts and survive in R alone.↩

R.15.522: Here the beta copies add þat.↩

R.15.527: Beta omits this Latin citation and F has omitted at least a folio of surrounding material, including this phrase.↩

R.15.529: Here the R scribe omits his usual line break before a new strophe, presumably because the next line is the last one ruled for this side.↩

R.15.530: R's Alls is undocumented in MED or OED2 s. v. alas and is, presumably, a unique spelling error; F omits this line, beta has Allas, the same form that occurs in Cx.↩

R.15.530: R's schullen is unique; most beta copies read schulde(n) or sholde.↩

R.15.533: Alpha's wilne derives from a different verb stem than beta's wil, but it is doubtful that Langland saw these forms as distinct since they share virtually identical semantics. The C manuscripts, in a revised b-verse, split on these two verb forms (the majority agreeing with alpha), thus confirming their status as twins in early fifteenth-century usage.↩

R.15.538: Beta reads For in place of alpha's To. Beta omits the second to in this a-verse.↩

R.15.541: For alpha's it semeth, beta and the C version read me thynketh.↩

R.15.542: R's & techen is unique; all other B copies read to teche.↩

R.15.544: In place of R's softened b-verse (which F varies from with of helpe), beta copies read and parfitly bileueth. Cx agrees with beta.↩

R.15.545: R's b-verse is virtually identical to beta's (which reads and his grace þei asken), but the a-verse in the two subarchtypes is radically different. Beta's version of the latter reads In þe holy grete god.↩

R.15.548: In place of R's for þe), most beta copies and F read for while Cr has of. The reading of Cx is uncertain here, the P family agreeing with R while the X family reads for tho.↩

R.15.549: R uniquely attests this preposition; F omits the line.↩

Beta omits these lines. The differences between F's version of these lines and that attested in R are sufficiently numerous to make full citation of F's passage here advisable (cf. Appendix 1, R15.551-68, for details and any cross-references to the C version):
Whan þe hyȝe kyng of heuene / sente his sone to erþe.
Manye myraclis he wroghte / man for to turne.
In ensaumple þat sholde seen / þat by sad resoun.
Men myghte not ben savid / but þorghȝ mercy & grace.
& þorghȝ penaunce & passioun / & parfyȝt beleve.
& by-cam of a mayde / & metropolitanus after.
& was baptyzed & y-sygned / with þe blood of his herte.
Alle þat wilned & wolde / with wit be-leve it.
Manye a seynt sytthen / haven suffred to dyȝen.
Al for to ferme þe fayȝþ / in fele contrees dyȝen.
In yȝnde in Alysaundre / in Armonye in spayne.
& in doolful deþ þey dyeden / for þeyre feyþis sake.
In savacioun of þe fayþ / seynt Thomas was y-martred.
And a-mong vnkyȝnde cristene / for cristis he dyȝede.
& for þe ryght of al þis rewme / & alle rewmes cristene.
Holy chirche ys honoured / hyȝlyche þorghȝ his dyȝenge.
He is be-leve to alle bisschopis / & a bryght merrour.
& souereynly to swiche / þat of surrye beren þe name.↩

R.15.563: The erasure is not original; the first and last letters of the deleted name appear to have been <t> and <s> respectively. The name is obvious both historically and textually.↩

R.15.569: Although it begins in harmony with R, F's version of this line is unique in several ways (& nowht to hoppe here & þeere / for halwen awteris). Beta differs from R in three respects: (1) where R's opening reads And nauȝt to, beta has Þat; (2) beta omits R's here later in the a-verse but (3) adds mennes after halwe in the b-verse.↩

R.15.570: R's confesse men is unique; F and most beta copies read confesse(n), while GC2B read confessyon. Cx agrees with the majority F/beta reading.↩

R.15.571: R's omission of text after messem is unique; all the other manuscripts of B read alienam after messem. Cx agrees with the Bmajority.↩

R.15.572: R's amonges is unique; all the other manuscripts of B read in. However, Cx agrees with R.↩

R.15.572: R's romaynes is unique; most beta copies read Romayne; CrCot have Rome, while F shows grete roome. However, Cx agrees with R.↩

R.15.573: R's cros þere is unique; all the other manuscripts of B read cros. Cx agrees with the majority against R.↩

R.15.573: Immediately hereafter, the beta manuscripts witness to some 35 lines of text not present in alpha but clearly attested in the C version. The entire question of the order of these complementary omissions (with alpha witnessing uniquely to KD15.511-28 and beta now uniquely attesting KD15.533-69—and short neighboring passages seemingly out of their logical order as well) is discussed by Kane-Donaldson on pp. 176-79. Cf. section II.2.5, esp. paragraphs 5 and 6, of our Introduction for a different assessment of the cause of this dislocation (but complete agreement with Kane-Donaldson on the proper ordering of the text). The lines here omitted by alpha read as follows in beta:
It is reuth to rede how riȝtwis men lyued
How þei defouled her flessh forsoke her owne wille
Fer fro kitth and fro kynne yuel yclothed ȝeden
Badly ybedded no boke but conscience
Ne no richchesse but þe Rode to reioyse hem Inne
Absit nobis gloriari nisi in cruce domini nostri &c
And þo was plente & pees amonges pore & riche
And now is routhe to rede how þe red noble
Is reuerenced or þe Rode receyued for þe worthier
Þan crystes crosse þat ouercam deþ and dedly synne
And now is werre and wo and whoso why axeth
For coueityse after crosse þe croune stant in golde
Bothe riche and religious þat Rode þei honoure
Þat in grotes is ygraue and in golde nobles
For coueityse of þat crosse men of holykirke
Shul tourne as templeres did þe tyme approcheth faste
Wyte ȝe nouȝt wyse men how þo men honoured
More tresore þan treuthe I dar nouȝt telle þe sothe
Resoun & riȝtful dome þo Religious demed
Riȝt so ȝe clerkes for ȝowre coueityse ar longe
Shal þei demen dos ecclesie and ȝowre pryde depose
Deposuit potentes de sede &c.
Ȝif knyȝthod & kynde wytte and comune conscience
Togideres loue lelly leueth it wel ȝe bisshopes
Þe lordeship of londes for euere shal ȝe lese
And lyuen as leuitici as owre lorde ȝow techeth
Per primicias & decimas
Whan costantyn of curteysye holykirke dowed
With londes and ledes lordeshipes and rentes
An Angel men herde an heigh at Rome crye
Dos ecclesie þis day hath ydronke venym
And þo þat han petres powere arn apoysoned alle
A medecyne mote þer-to þat may amende prelates
Þat sholden preye for þe pees possessioun hem letteth
Take her landes ȝe lordes and let hem lyue by dymes
If possessioun be poysoun & inparfit hem make
Good were to dischargen hem for holicherche sake
And purgen hem of poysoun or more perile falle
Ȝif presthod were parfit þe peple sholde amende
Þat contrarien crystes lawe and crystendome dispise.↩

R.15.574: Before is, R uniquely omits he.↩

R.15.576: R's schewen is an inferior alpha reading; cf. beta's properly alliterating techen.↩

Beta omits these lines.↩

R.15.578: R's Ac is unique; beta omits the entire line while F reads But.↩

R.15.578: R's of ȝow speketh is unique; beta omits the entire line while F reads how þou spekist.↩

R.15.578: Beginning here, there is another long, erased note in the right margin, most of it in the same hand as the example on fol. 94r. The hand appears to be nearly contemporary to that of the main scribe. However, the first three lines of the erased note appear to be in a secretary hand. Total length of the note is some 23 short, horizontally arranged lines, extending to a point approximately 3.5 cm. below the last ruled text line.↩

R.15.580: R's fode is unique; beta omits the a-verse while F omits the word.↩

R.15.580: R's nedede is unique; the other manuscripts all read nedeth.↩

R.15.582: R's y 3 is an abbreviated reference for the biblical citation immediately preceding (from Isa. 3). Such references are rare in the B manuscripts; this one clearly derives from alpha, at least, since a very similar reference occurs in F here, but what is especially noteworthy is that an absolutely identical citation occurs at this point in L, one of the oldest beta manuscripts.↩

R.15.586: R's for me probably is a misreading of forme in alpha. F tried to rationalize this variant as formed. Beta reads ferme.↩

R.15.591: For alpha's defective it hem, beta correctly reads men.↩

R.15.594: Alpha's And is omitted by beta but included in Cx.↩

R.15.596: Before men, R uniquely omits he.↩

R.15.600: Beta merely transposes R's phrase to ded & stanke, but F is unique: he stank ded.↩

R.15.608: Beta's version of this citation is fuller than alpha's, and the opening is transposed: Cum sanctus sanctorum veniat cessabit vnxio vestra.↩

R.15.612: Beta transposes this phrase to here maisteres ȝet.↩

Beta presents these two alpha lines as a single line.↩

R.15.618: R's singular form is unique; the other manuscripts read prouynces.↩

R.15.620: R's and is unique; beta shows et while F reads Credo. Although a few C manuscripts (PVcAcZ) agree with R, Cx clearly agrees with beta on this lection.↩