R.18 – PPEA

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fol. 89v (cont.)

Passus xvjjus / xv[ii]jus / septimus decimus / [octauus] decimus de visione vt supra . — — C

olward and wete-schode  wente I forth after .

As a reccheles renke  þat of no wo recchetth

And ȝede forth like a lorel  al my Iif-tyme .

Til I wex weri of þe worlde  and wilned efte slepeT .

And lened me to a lentene  and longe tyme I sclepte .

And of cristes passioun and penaunce  þe poeple þat of-rauȝte .

Rested me þere and rutte faste  til ramis palmarum .

Of gurles and of gloria laus  gretliche me dremed .

And how osanna by orgene  olde folke songen .

¶ On semblable to þe samaritan  & sumdel to peres þe plowman .

Barefoet on an asse bake  boteles cam prikyngeT .

With-oute spores other spere  spraclicheT he lokede .

As is þe kende of a kniȝt  þat cometh to be dubbed .

fol. 90r

To geten hym gulte spores  or galoches ycouped .C

¶ Þanne was feith in a fenestre  and criede a fili dauid .

As doth an heraude of armes  whan auntrous cometh to iustes .

Olde Iewes of iherusalem  for ioye þei songe .

Benedictus qui venit in nomine domini .

¶ Þanne I frayned at feith  what alle þat fare bemente .

And ho iusteT in iherusalem  ihesus he seyde .

And fecchethT þat þe fende claymeth  peres fruit þe plowman .

Is peres in þis place quod I  and he prent on me .

Þis ihesus of his gentrie  wol iuste in peres armes .

In his helme and in his haubergoun  humana natura .

Þat criste be nauȝt beknowe here  for consummatus deus .

In peres paltok þe plowman  þis prikiare schal ride .

For no dint schal hym dere  as in deitate patris .

¶ Ho schal iuste with ihesus quod I  Iewes or scribes .

¶ Nay quod faith but þeT fende  and fals dom to deye .T

Deth seyth he schal fordo  and adoune bringe .

Alle þat lyueth andT loketh  in londe or in water .

Lif seith þat he likthLX  and leith his lif to wedde .

Þat for al þat deth can do  with-inne thre dayes .C

To walke and fecche fro þe fende  peres fruit þe plowman .

And legge it þere hym liketh  and lucifer bynde .

And forbiteT and doun bringe  bale deth for euere .

O mors mors tua ero . — T

¶ Þanne cam pilatus with muche poeple  sedens pro tribunali .

To se how douȝtiliche deth schulde do  & deme here beitherLX riȝte .

Þe iewes and þe iustice  aȝeine ihesu þei were .

And al hereT court on ihesuT criede  crucifige scharpe .

¶ Þo put hym forth a piloure  bi-for pilat and seide .

Þis ihesus of oureT temple  iapede and despisede .

To fordoun it inT a day  and in thre dayes after .

Edifien it eft newe  here he stant þat seyde it .

fol. 90v

And ȝut maken it as muche  in al manere poyntes .

Bothe as longe and as large  a-lofteT and bi grounde .

¶ Crucifige quod a cacchepole  I warante hym a wicche .

Tolle tolle quod an-other  and toke of kene thornes .

And bygan of kene thorne  a gerland to make .

And sette it sore on his heued  & seyde in enuye .

Aue rabi quod þeT ribaudes  and threwe redes at hym .

Nayled hym with threT nailes  naked vp-onT þe rode .

And poyson on a pole  þei putteT to his lippes .

And bede hym drinke his deth euel  hys dayes were I-done .

And ȝif þat þow sotyl be  helpe now þi-seluen .

Ȝif þow be criste and kynges sone  comme doune of þe rode .

Þan schul we leue þat lif þe loueth  & wil nauȝt lete þe deye .

¶ Consummatum est quod criste  and comsed for to swowne .

Pitousliche and pale  as a prison þat deyeth 

Til loreT of lif and of liȝt  þo leyde his eyȝes to-gidres .

¶ Þe day for drede with-drow  and derk bicam þe sonne .

Þe wal waged and clef  and al þe worlde quauede .

Dede men for þat dene  come oute of hereT graues .

And tolde whi þat tempest  so longe tyme dured .

For a bitter bataile  þe dede body seyde .

Lif and deth in þis derkenesse  her on fordoth her other .

Schal no wiȝte witte witterly  ho schal haue þe maystirie .

Er soneday aboute sonne risynge  and sanke with þat til erthe .

Summe seyde þat he was godes sone  þat so faire deyede .

Vere filius dei erat iste 

And somme seyde he was a wicche  gode is assayeT .

Where he be dede ar nauȝte dede  doun er he be takne .

¶ To theues also  tholed dede þat tyme .

Vpon a cros bisides crist  so was þe comune lawe .

AcT a cacchepol cam forth  and craked bothe her legges .

And her armes after  of eyther of þo theues .

Ac was no boy so bolde  godes body to touche .

fol. 91r

For he was kniȝt and kynges sone  kynde forȝaf þat throwe .T

Þat non harlot were so hardy  to leyn an handT vppon hym .

¶ Ac þere cam forth a kniȝt  with a kene spere I-grounde .

Hiȝt longeus as þe lettre telleth  and longe had lore his siȝte .

Bi-fore pilat and other poeple  in þe place he houed .

Maugre his many teth  he was made þat tyme .

To take þe spere in his honde  and iuste with ihesus .

For alle þei were vnhardi  þat houed on hors or stede .T

To toucheT or to taste hym  or take hym doun of rode .

But þis blinde bachelere  þatT bare hym thoruȝ þe herte .

Þe blode sprange doune be þe spere  & opned T þe kniȝtes eyȝes .

Þan fel þe kniȝte vpon knes  and criede ihesuT mercy .

Aȝeine my wille it was lorde  to wounde ȝow so sore .

He siȝede and seyde  sore it me athenketh .

For þe dede þat I haue do  I do me in ȝoure grace .

Haue on me reuthe riȝtful ihesu  and riȝt with þat he wepte .

¶ Þanne gan feith felli  þe fals iewes despise .

Called hem caytyues  acorsed hemT for euere .

For þis foule vilenye  veniaunce to ȝow alle .

To do þe blinde bete hym I-bounde  it was a boies conseile .

Cursed caityues  knyȝthod was it neuere .

To mys-do a dede body  bi day or bi niȝte .

Þe gre ȝut hath he geten  for alle his grete wounde .

¶ For ȝoure champion chiualere  chef kniȝt of ȝow alle .

Ȝelt hym recreaunt rennynge  riȝt at ihesus wille .

For be this derkenesse I-do  deth worth I-venkesched .T

And ȝe lordeynes han I-loste  for lif schal haue þe maistri .

And ȝoure fraunchise þat fre was  fallen is in thraldam .

And ȝe cherles and ȝoure children  cheue schal ȝe neuere .

Ne haue lordeschippe in londe  ne none lond tulye .

But alle barayne be  and vsurie vsen 

Whiche is lif þat oure lorde  in alle lawes acorseth .

Now ȝoure gode dayes be do  as daniel prophecide .

Whan crist cam þe kyngdomT  þe crounne schulde lese .

fol. 91v

Cum veniat sanctus sanctorumT .

¶ What for fere of þis ferly  and of þoT fals iewes .

I drouȝ me in þat derknesse  to descendit ad inferna .

And þere I seiȝ sothly  secundum scripturas .

Out of þe west cost  a wenche as me thouȝte .

Cam walkynge in þatT weye  to helwarde sche lokede .

Mercy hiȝt þat mayde  a meke thynge with-alle .

A ful benygne burde  and buxum of speche .

Hire suster as it semede  cam sofly walkynge .

Euene out of þe est  and westwarde sche lokede .

A ful commely creature  treuthe sche hiȝte .

For þe vertue þat hire folwed  aferde was sche neuere .

And whanT þis maydenes mette  mercy and treuthe .

Eyther asked other  of þis grete wonder .

Of þe dene and of þe derkenesse  & how þe day rowede .

And swichT a liȝte and a lem  lay byfor helle .

Ich haue ferly of þis fare  in feith seide treuthe .

And am wendynge to witte  what þis wonde / wonde[r] meneth .

¶ Haue no meruayle quod mercy  murthe it betokneth .

A mayde þat hat marie  and moder with-oute felynge .

Of any kendeT creature  conseyued thoruȝ speche .

And grace of þe holy gost  wex grete with childe .

With-outen wem  in-to þis worlde sche brouȝte hym .

And þat my tale be trewe  I take god to witnesse .

Sith þis barne was bore  ben thretty wynter passed .

Wich deyede and deth tholede  þis day aboute mydday .

And þat is cause of þis clipps  þat closeth now þe sonne

In menynge þat man schal  fro merkenesse be drawe .

Þe while þis liȝte and þis lem  schal lucyfer ablende .

For patriarkes and prophetes  han preched here-of often .

Þat man schal man saue  thoruȝ a maydenes helpe .

And þat was tynt þoruȝ tre  tre schal it wynne .

And þat deth doun brouȝt  deth schal releue .

¶ Þat þow tellest quod treuthe  is but a tale of waltrott

fol. 92r

For adam & eue  and abraham with other .

Patriarkes and prophetes  þat in peyne lygen .

Leue þow neuere þat ȝone liȝte  hem on lofteT brynge .

Ne haue hem oute of helle  halde þi tonge mercy .

It is but trufle þat þow telleste  T treuthe wote þe sothe .

For þat is ones in helle  out cometh it neuere .

Iob þe prophete patriarche  repreueth þi sawes .

Quia in inferno nulla est redempcio .

¶ Þanne mercy ful myldly  mouthed þes wordes .

Þoruȝ experience quod he I hope þow schaltT be saued .

For venym fordoth venym  and þat I proue be resoun .

For of alle venymes  foulest is þe scorpioun .

May no medicyne helpe  þe place þere he stengeth .

Til he be dede and do þere-to  þe euel he destruyeth .

Þe furst venymouste  þoruȝ vertueT of hym-sulue .

So schal þis deth doT  I dar my lif legge .

Alle þat deth dede furste  þoruȝ þe deueles entysynge .

And riȝt as þoruȝ gile  man was bigyled .

So schal grace þat bigan  make a gode sleyȝte .

Ars vt artem fallereth / falleret T

¶ Now suffre we seyde treuthe  I se as me thenketh .

Oute of þe nippe of þe north  nauȝt ful fer hennes .

Riȝtwisnesse come rennynge  rest we þe while 

For heLX wote more þan we  heLX was er we bothe .

Þat is soth seide mercy  & I se here bi southe .

Where cometh pesT pleyinge  in pacience I-clothed .

Loue hath coueyted hire longe  leue I non other

But he sent hir somme lettre  what þis liȝt bimeneth .

Þat ouerhoueth helle þus  heLX T vs schal telle .

¶ Whan pes in pacience clothed  aproched nere hem tweyne .

Riȝtwisnesse hire reuerenced  for hire riche clothynge .

And preied pes to tel hire  to what place heT wolde .

And in hire gay garmentz  wham heLX T grete thouȝte .C

¶ Mi wille is to wende quod heLX T  and welcome hem alle .

fol. 92v

Þat many day miȝte I nouȝte se  for merknesse of synne .

Adam and eue and other mo in helle .

Moyses and many mo  mercy schal haue .T

For ihesus iusted wel  ioye bigynneth dawe .

Ad vesperum demorabitur fletus & ad matutinum leticia .

Loue þat is my lemman  suche lettres heT me sent .

Þat mercyT and I  mankende schulde saue .

And þat god hath forgyue  & graunted me pes & mercy .

To be mannes meynpernoure  for euere-more after .

Lo here þe patent quod pees  In pace in idipsum .

And þat þis dede schal dure  dormiam & requiescam .

¶ What rauestow quod riȝtwisnesse  or þow art riȝt dronke .

Leuestow þat ȝonde liȝte  vnlouke miȝte helle .

And saue mannes soule  suster wene þowT it neuere .

At þe bigynnynge god  gaf þe dome hym-sulue .

Þat adam and eue  and alle þat hem sued .

Schulde deye doun-riȝt  and dwelle in peyne after .

Ȝif þat þei touched a tre  and þe fruit eten .

Adam afterwarde  aȝenes his defence .

Frette of þat fruit and forsoke as it were .

Þe loue of oure lorde and his lore bothe .

And folwed þat þe fende tauȝte  & his felawes wille .T

Þat here peyne be perpetuel  & no preyere hem helpe .

For-thi late hem chewe as þei chose  & chide we nauȝte sustres .

For it is botles bale  þe bitte þat þei eten .

¶ AndT schal preieT quod pees  here peyne mote haue ende .

And wo into wel  mowe wende at þe laste .

For þei wisteT of no wo  wele hadde þei nauȝte knowe .

For no wiȝt wote what wele is  þat neuere wo suffrede .

Ne what is hote hungere  þat hadde neuere defaute .

¶ If no niȝt ne were  no man as I leue .

Schuld witte witterly  what day is to mene .

Schuld neuere riȝt riche man  þat lyueth in reste and ese .

Wite what wo is  ne were þe deth of kende .

fol. 93r

So god þat bigan alle  of his gode wille .

Bycam man of a mayde  mankende to saue .

And suffreT to be solde  andT se þe sorwe of deyinge .

Þe whiche vnknitteth alle care  and comsynge is of rest .

For til modicum mette with vs  I may it wel auowe .

Wote no wiȝte as I wene  what is nouȝteT to mene .

Forthi god of his godenesse  þe furste gome adam .

Sette hym in solace  and in souereyne ioye .T

And sitthen he suffred hym synegeLX  sorwe to fele .

To wite what wele isT  kendeliche to knowe it .

And after god auntred hym-selue  & toke adames kende .

To wite what he hath sufred in thre sundri places .

Bothe in heuene and in herthe  and nowe til helle he thenketh .

To wite what alle wo is  þat wote of alle ioye .

¶ So it schal fare be þis folke  here foly and here synne .

Schal lere hem what langoure is  and blisseT with-outen ende .

Wote no wiȝte what werre is  þere þat pees regneth .

Ne what is witterly wele  til weyleweye hym teche .

¶ Þanne was þere a wiȝte  with to brode eyȝes .

Boek hiȝte þat bewpere  a bolde man of speche .

By godes body quod þis boke  I wil bere witnesse .

Þat þo þis barne was I-bore  þere blased a sterre .

Þat alle þe menT in þis worlde  in o witt acordeden .

Þat swilk a barn was yborn  in bethlem þeT cite

Þat mannes soule schulde saue  and synne destuye / dest[r]uye .

And alle þe elementz quod þe boke  here-of bereth witnesse .

Þat he was god þat alle wrouȝte  þe walkne furste schewede .

Þo þat weren in heuene  token stella comata .

And tendeden here as a torche  to reuerencen his burthe .

Þe liȝte folwed þe lorde  in-to þe lowe erthe

Þe water witnesseth þat he was god  for he wente on it .

Peter þe apostle parceyued his gate .

And as he wente on þatT water  wel hym knewe and seyde .

Iube me venire ad te super aquas .

And lo how þe sonne gan loke  hire liȝte in hire-selue .

fol. 93v

Whan sche sey hym suffre  þat sonne and moneT made .

Þe erthe for heuynesse  þat he wolde suffre .

Quakede as quikke thynge  & al biquascheT þe roche .

Lo helle miȝte nouȝte holde  but opnede þo god tholed .

And lete oute symondes sones  to sen hym hange on rode .

And now schal lucifer it / lucifer [lese] itT  þow hym lothe thenke .T

And I boek wil be brente  but ihesus rise to lyue .

In alle miȝtes of a manT  and his moder gladie .

And conforte al his kyn  and oute of care brynge .

And alle þe iewene ioye  vnioynen and vnlouken .

And but þei reuerencen  his rode & his resurreccioun .

And bileue on a newe lawe  be lost lif and soule .

¶ Suffre we seide treuthe  I here and se bothe .

AT spiriȝt speketh to helle  and bitt vnsperre þe ȝates .

Attollite portas  a uoys loude in þat liȝt  to lucifer crieth .T

Princes of þis place  vnpinneth & vnlouketh .

For here cometh with croune  þat kynge is of glorie .

¶ Þanne siȝedeT sathan  and seide to helle .

Swiche a liȝte aȝeynes oure leue  lazar it fette .

Kare and combraunce  is come to vs alle .

If þis kynge come in  mankende wil he fecche .

And lede hemT þere lazar is  and liȝtliche me bynde .

Patriarkes and prophetes  han parled here-of longe .

Þat swhich a lorde and a liȝte  schalT lede hem alle hennes .

¶ Listeneth quod lucifer  for I þis lorde knowe .

Bothe þis lorde and þis liȝte  is longe ago I knewe hym .

May no deth þis lordeT dere  ne no deueles queyntise .

And where he wil is weyeT  ac ware hym of þe perils .

If he reue me ofT my riȝte  & robbeT me be maistrie .

For be riȝt and be resoun  þe renkes þat ben here .

Body and soule be myne  bothe gode and ille .

For hym-self seide  þat sire is of heuene .

ÞatT ȝif adam eteT  alle schulde deye 

And dwelle with vs deueles  þis thretynge he made .

fol. 94r

AndT þat sothenesse is  seide þese wordes .

And I sitthen I-sessedT  þise seue hundreth wynter .

I leue þat lawe nil nauȝte  late hym þe leste .

¶ Þat is soth seide sathan  but I me sore drede .

For þow gete hem with gile  and his gardyn breke .

And in semblaunce of a serpent  sete on þe appeltre .

And eggedest hem to ete  eue be hire-sulue .

And toldest hire a tale  of tresoun were þe wordes .

And al-soT þow haddest hem oute  and hider atte laste .

It is nouȝt greythely gete  þere gile is þe rote .

For god wil nouȝt be bigiled  quod gobelyn ne be-iapede .

We han no trewe tilyle / ti[t]yle to hem  for þoruȝ tresoun were þei dampned .

Sertes I drede me quod þe deuel  lest treuthe wil hem fecche .

¶ Þis thretty winter as I wene  he wente abouteT & prechede .

Ich haue assailed hym with synne  and someT I asked .T

Where he were god or godes sone  he gaf me schorte answere .C

And þus he hathT trolled forth  þis to and thretty wynter

And whan I seyȝ it was so  slepynge I wente .

To warne pilates wif  what done man was ihesus .

For iewes hateden hym  and han don hym to deth

AndT I wolde haue lengthed his lif  for I leueT ȝif he deyede .

Þat his soule walde nauȝtT suffre  no synne in his siȝte .

For þe body while it on bones ȝede  aboute was euere .

To saue men fram synne  ȝif hem-self wolde .

And now I se where a soule  cometh hyderward sailynge .

With glorie andT grete liȝte  god it is I wote wel .

I rede we fle quod he  fast alle hennes .

For vs were better nauȝt be  þan biden his siȝte .

For thi lesinges lucifere  lost is alle oure preye .

¶ Furst þoruȝ þe we felle  fram heuene so hiȝe .

For we leuede þi lesynges  we loupen oute alle with þe .T

And now for thi last lesynge  I-lore haue we adam .

And al oure lordschippe I leue  a londe and a water .

Nunc princeps mundi huiusT eicitur foras .C

fol. 94v

¶ Efte þe liȝt bad vnlouke  and lucifer answered .

What lorde art þow quod lucifer  quis est iste .

Rex glorie þe liȝte seide  þe lord of miȝt & of man & alle maner vertues .T

Dominus virtutum . DukT of þis dym place  anone vndo þis ȝates .

Þat crist may come in  kyngesT sone of heuene .

And with þat breth helle brasteT  with belialles barres .

For any wey or warde  wide opned þe ȝates .

¶ Patriarkes and prophetes  populus in tenebris .

Songen seint Iohanes songe  Ecce agnus dei .

Lucifer loke ne miȝte  so liȝt hym a-blente .

And þo þat oure lorde loued  in-to his liȝt he lauȝte .

And seide to sathan  lo here my soule to amendes .

For alle synful soules  to saue þo þat be worthi .

Myne þei ben and of me  I may þe bet hem cleyme .

Alle-þouȝ reson recorde  and riȝt of my-sulue .

Þat ȝif þei ete þe apple  alle schulde deye .

I be-hiȝt hem nouȝt here  helle for euere .

For þe dede þat þei dede  þi deseite it made .

With gile þow hem gete  ageynes alle resoun .

For in my paleis paradys  in persone of an addre .

Falsliche þow fecchest þere  þinge þat I louede .

¶ Þus I-like a lusarde  with a ladi visage .

Theueliche þow me robbedest  þe olde lawe graunteth .

Þat gilours be bigiled  and þat is gode resoun .

Dentem pro dente et oculum pro oculo .

Ergo soule schal soule quite  and synne to synne wende .

And al þat man hath mys-do  I man wol amende itT .

Membre for membre  be þe olde lawe was amendes .

And lif for lif al-so  and be þat lawe I clayme .

Adam and alle his issue  at my wille here-after .

And at / [þ]at deth in hem fordede  my deth schal releue .

And bothe quik and quite  þat quent was þoruȝ synne .

And þat grace gile destruyeth  gode feith it asketh .

So leue it neuereT lucifere  aȝeyne þe lawe I fecche hem .

But bi riȝt and resoun  raunsoun here my leges .

fol. 95r

Non veni soluere legem sed implereT 

Þow fetteste myne in my place  aȝeynes resounT .

Falsliche and felounliche  gode feith me it tauȝte .

To recouer hem thoruȝ raunsoun  and be non resoun elles .

So þat withT gile þow gete  þoruȝ grace it wasT I-wonne .

Þow lucifer in liknesse  of a lither addre .

Gete be gile  þingeT þat god louede .

¶ And I in liknesse of a lede  þat lorde am of heuene .

Graciousliche þi gile haue quit  go gile a-gayne gile .

And as adam and alle  thoruȝ a tre deyeden . .

Adam and alle þoruȝ a tre  schule turneT to lyue .

And gile is begiled  and in his gile fallen 

Et cecidit in foueam quam fecit .

Now begynneth þi gile  agayne þe to turnen .

And my grace to growen  ay grettere and grettere .T

Þe bitternesse þat þow hast browe  now brouke it þi-selue .

Þat art dottourLX of deth  drinke þat þow madeste .C

¶ For I þat am lord of lif  loue is my drinke .

And for þat drinke to-daye  I deyede vppon erthe .

I fauȝte so me thurstesT ȝut  for mannes soule sake .

May no drinke me moiste  ne my threst slake .

Til þe vendage falle  in þe vale of iosephath .

Þat I drinke riȝt ripe most  resurrexio mortuorum .

And þan schal I come as a kynge  crouned with angeles .

And han oute of helle  alle mennes soules .

¶ Fendes and fendekynnes  bifor me schul stonde .

And be at my bidynge  where-so-euere me liketh .

AcT merciableT to man   my kende þanne itT asketh .

For we beth bretheren of blode  but nouȝte in bapteme alle .

Ac alle þat beth myn hole bretheren  in blode and in bapteme .

Schal nouȝt be dampned to þe deth  þat is with-outen ende .

Tibi soli peccaui .

It is nouȝt vsed onT erthe  to hangen a feloun .

Ofter þen ones  þouȝ he were a tretour .

And if þe kynge of þat kyngedom  come in þat tyme .

fol. 95v

Þere þe felon thole shulde  deth or other-wise .

Lawe wolde he ȝaf hym lif  andT he loked on hym .

And I þat am kynge of kynges  schal come suche a tyme .

Þere dome to þe deth  dampneth alle wikked .

And ȝif lawe wil I loke on hem  it lyth in my grace .

Whether þei deye or deye nauȝte  for þat þei deden ille .

Be it any-thinge abouȝte  þe boldenesse of here synnes .

I mayT do mercy þoruȝ riȝtwisnesse  and alle my wordes trewe .

And þouȝ holy writ wil IT be wroke  of hem pat deden ille .

Nullum malum inpunitum .

Þei schul be clensed clereliche  & waschen of here synnes .

In my prisone purgatorie  til parce it hote .

And my mercy schal be schewed  to many of my bretheren .P

For blode may suffre blode  bothe hungri and akale .

Ac blode may nouȝte se hisT blode  blede but hym rewe .

Audiui archana verba  que non licet homini loqui .

Ac myC riȝtwisnesse and riȝte  schal reulen alle helle .

And mercy al mankende  by-for me in heuene .

For I were an vnkende kynge  but I my kynT holpe .

And namelich at swich a nede  þere nedes helpe bihoueth .

Non intres in iudicium cum seruo tuo .

Þus be lawe quod oure lorde  lede I wil fram hennes .

Þo þat IT louede  & leuede in my comynge .

And for þi lesinge lucifer  þat þow loweLX to eue .

Þow schalt a-bye it bittere  and bonde hym with cheynes .

Astarot and alle þe route  hudden hem in hurnes .

Þei durst nauȝt loke on oure lorde  þe boldest of hem alle .

But leten hym lede forth  what hym liked  & lete what hym lyste .

¶ Many hundreth of angeles  harpeden and songen .

Culpat caro purgat caro regnat deus dei caro .

¶ Þanne pipede pees  of poysye a note .

Clarior est solitusT  post maxima nebula phebus .C

Post inimicicias  clarior est et amor .

After scharpestT schoures  quod pes  moste schene is þe sonne .

Is no weder warmer  þan after wateri cloudes .

◂

passus xvjus

foure

☞

▸

n ii[ijus]C

desuntC

R.18.0: An early user has attempted to correct the scribal passus number (which is now undercounted by two) by adding a single brown <j> after the <vj> of the heading.↩

R.18.4: The other B witnesses read eft to for R's efte. Eight C manuscripts agree with R's omission of to but Cx presumably read as the B majority.↩

R.18.11: Only Cr agrees with R's form. Cf. beta's pryke. F reads springe, a variant that makes little sense. Presumably, in a copy between alpha and F someone had substituted the synonymous spurringe for alpha's prikynge, a mistake magnified by F's misreading. The reading of Cx here is uncertain, but a majority of the X family copies agree with R.↩

R.18.12: This is an alpha variant; beta reads spakliche. However, Cx almost certainly agrees here with alpha. Cf. note at R.17.72:↩

R.18.14: After this line, the R scribe failed to leave a blank line, his usual custom for dividing verse strophes. No reason beyond oversight is apparent.↩

R.18.20: After ho, R uniquely omits sholde. Cx confirms that this omission is an error.↩

R.18.21: Cf. F's fettyn and beta's fecche. Cx agrees with beta.↩

R.18.29: Where alpha reads faith but þe, beta has he þe foule. Cx agrees with alpha.↩

R.18.29: For alpha's to deye, beta reads & deth. Cx agrees with alpha.↩

R.18.31: For alpha's and, beta reads or. A majority of C witnesses agrees with beta, but the P family subarchetype may have read oþer.↩

R.18.32: Among the beta manuscripts, only L shares alpha's lykth, a variant of lieth. Russell-Kane do not record any C manuscripts with this spelling.↩

R.18.33: An early reader has marked this line in the right margin with a small red cross or star.↩

R.18.36: R's reading is unique; both F and beta show forbete; some beta copies have corrupted this to for to bete. In the C tradition, three X family manuscripts and most of the P family agree with R's reading.↩

R.18.37: R's phrasing here is unique; the rest of the B manuscripts read O mors ero mors tua; however, the majority of the X family of C reads the line as R does.↩

R.18.39: R's beither is a unique form; F has boþe; LWHm read botheres; M and Cr1 have boþes. There is a similarly wide variety of lections in the C manuscripts at this point, but none of them shows R's form. However, at C2.69 (Russell-Kane), manuscript F has beither.↩

R.18.41: Only L shares here with R; the other beta copies and F agree on þe. The C version agrees with the reading of F and the beta majority.↩

R.18.41: R's ihesu is unique; Bx has hym.↩

R.18.43: Here alpha omitted a stave word; cf. beta's iewes temple.↩

R.18.44: R's in is an alpha variant; beta has on. Though four C manuscripts agree with RF, it is clear that Cx agrees with beta.↩

R.18.47: Cf. F's on lofte and beta's bi loft. Cx agrees with R.↩

R.18.52: In this noun phrase, R's þe is unique; F has þo and beta has þat. Cx agrees with beta. As for the following noun, the plural is an alpha variant; beta shows rybaud and Cx concurs.↩

R.18.53: At this point, beta reads thre while F has fowre. Hand2 has written foure in the left margin and placed a caret before thre (the R scribe's choice). However, thre has not been struck through nor erased, and we see no evidence for Hand2's having had supervisory authority in the production of MS R. The marginal note engages a famous medieval controversy about the details of the Crucifixion. Skeat notes that a "long essay might be written on the wholly unimportant question whether three or four were used in the Crucifixion." The Vision of William concerning Piers the Plowman, in Three Parallel Texts (Oxford: Clarendon, 1886): 2.251. Because of the commonplace nature of the nail dispute, the reading of alpha itself must remain in doubt, but the usual patterns of copying in R and F suggest that alpha was much likelier to have read thre than foure. Kane-Donaldson certainly saw it that way: since R's original reading has not been subpuncted or struck out, they treat R's intended reading as thre, ignoring the marginal foure.↩

R.18.53: R's vp-on is unique; the other B witnesses show on. Nevertheless, vp-on may well represent Bx here since the X family of C manuscripts also attests this reading (the P family agrees with beta).↩

R.18.54: R reads this line in harmony with beta except that after putte, R uniquely omits vp from the beta phrase. It is true that F also omits this word, but that fact has no importance for assessing the archetypal reading since F completely transposes the entire Bx line. The X family of C agrees with beta on this lection, but the P family agrees with R in omitting vp.↩

R.18.61: F begins this line with Tyl þe lord; beta reads simply Þe lorde. For the spelling lore, see Richard Jordan, Handbook of Middle English Grammar: Phonology, translated and revised by Eugene Joseph Crook (The Hague: Mouton, 1974): §199, remark 3. Cf. R.5.409: and R.14.184:.↩

R.18.64: Alpha had lost the alliterating stave from the b-verse, substituting here for depe (the reading of beta and of Cx).↩

R.18.72: The beta b-verse (presumably = Bx) is good is þat we assaye. From this phrase, F omits þat and R leaves out þat we. Cx agrees with beta.↩

R.18.76: F begins the line with But a; beta omits both conjunctions and opens with A. The P family of C manuscripts reads Qikliche cam a, but the X family agrees with beta.↩

R.18.79: For alpha's throwe, beta has tyme. Although beta's reading seems clearly inferior, Cx agrees with it.↩

R.18.80: Here F reads the plural hondys while R's singular form agrees with beta. R's phrase, an hand, adds the determiner to Bx's text (which reads leyne hande); the addition of an is shared by convergence with Bo, whose corrector caught and deleted it. ↩

R.18.86: For alpha's redundant noun stede, beta attests the verb stode. Although the C line is revised, its sense and its final stave agree with beta's stode.↩

R.18.87: The beta phrase is To touche hym. Though this line is slightly revised in the C version, it is clear that Cx agrees with beta on this variant.↩

R.18.88: Some beta copies omit þat; others read þanne. Cx agrees here with alpha.↩

R.18.89: Alpha had lost the alliterating stave from the b-verse, substituting the common synonym opned for beta's vnspered. Cx reads as beta.↩

R.18.90: Cf. F's crist and beta's hym. Cx agrees with R.↩

R.18.96: Beta omits the second hem from this line. Cx agrees with beta.↩

R.18.104: In place of alpha's deth worth I-venkesched, beta's b-verse reads his deth worth avenged. Cx agrees with alpha.↩

R.18.112: R's þe kyngdom is unique; F shows to his kyngdom while beta reads her kyngdom (though the CrWHm subset attests of hir kyngdom).↩

R.18.112: A fragment of a signature remains at the bottom right margin of this leaf: n ii.↩

R.18.113: Alpha omits the rest of the verse, which beta completes by adding cessabit vnxio vestra. The beta version of this citation is also that of the P family of C manuscripts; the X family shows more internal variation, with some of the best witnesses ending the citation at cessat.↩

R.18.114: R's þo is unique; F and beta have þe. Some C manuscripts read thes, but Cx agrees with beta and F.↩

R.18.118: R's þat is unique; F and beta read þe. Cx agrees with the B majority.↩

R.18.125: Beta omits alpha's And. Cx agrees with beta.↩

R.18.128: For alpha's swich, beta reads which. Cx agrees with beta.↩

R.18.133: For alpha's kende, beta reads kynnes. Cx reads either kynde (X family) or kynde of (P family).↩

R.18.149: In place of alpha's on lofte, beta reads alofte. Cx agrees with beta.↩

R.18.151: Beta begins the b-verse with a reiterated pronoun reference: I treuth wote. Cx agrees with beta.↩

R.18.156: R's þow schalt is unique; F has y shal while beta reads þei shal. Cx agrees with beta.↩

R.18.161: For alpha's vertue, beta reads venym. Cx agrees with alpha.↩

R.18.162: Cf. beta's fordo. Cx agrees with beta.↩

R.18.166: This obvious Latin spelling mistake is probably attributable to the same general pattern of final <-t> being often equated to final <-th> in this tradition's English spellings (discussed in the Introduction III.2.2.10.↩

R.18.170: He, "she."↩

R.18.172: R's phrase is reversed in F and beta to pees cometh, but Cx agrees with R.↩

R.18.175: He, "she."↩

R.18.175: Where alpha and L read he (altered to she in L), the other beta copies read she. Cx agrees with alpha and L's original reading.↩

R.18.178: R's he is an alpha variant; beta has she, and Cx agrees with beta.↩

R.18.179: He, "she."↩

R.18.179: R's he is an alpha variant; beta has she, and Cx agrees with beta.↩

R.18.179: R omits his usual blank line between verse strophes after this line, presumably because the next line is the last ruled one on this side.↩

R.18.180: He, "she."↩

R.18.180: R's he is an alpha variant; beta has she.↩

R.18.183: Alpha omits the following line from Bx:
And I shal daunce þerto do þow so sustre. This beta-attested line also occurs in the C version.↩

R.18.186: R's he me is unique among the B copies, the others all omitting he. However, a majority of the X family of C reads this phrase in agreement with R. The other C manuscripts agree with beta.↩

R.18.187: Alpha has obviously dropped a stave. Beta manuscripts add my sustre after mercy. Cx agrees with beta.↩

R.18.194: Beta omits alpha's þow. Cx agrees with beta.↩

R.18.202: Hereafter, alpha omits a line preserved in beta and in most C version witnesses:
Aȝeines resoun I riȝtwisnesse recorde þus with treuth. A related problem is that the single best B witness, manuscript L, reads I rather than and in the middle of the line, a superior choice also attested by a select group of the C manuscripts (XYcI).↩

R.18.206: L and Y join R in merely implying, rather than stating, the pronoun subject here, but F agrees with the other beta copies in reading explicitly And I shal. Cx agrees with F and the beta majority.↩

R.18.206: R's preie is an alpha variant. Beta has preue. Cx agrees with alpha.↩

R.18.208: Beta reads had þei wist. Almost certainly alpha omitted had since the only evidence for it in that family is in the form of a supralinear correction in the scribal hand of F, which, as a result, reads þey hadde wiste. Cx agrees with beta.↩

R.18.217: R's error here (Bx = suffred) is almost unique, being shared only with Cr2-3. Cx agrees with the B majority.↩

R.18.217: For alpha's and, beta reads to. Cx agrees with beta.↩

R.18.220: R's is nouȝte is unique; F shows it is, while beta has is ynough. Cx agrees with beta, reading is ynow.↩

R.18.222: Beta has myrthe in place of alpha's ioye. Cx agrees with beta.↩

R.18.223: R's synege is a unique form here; cf. R.17.242:.↩

R.18.224: Beta has the past form, was. Cx agrees with beta.↩

R.18.230: R's blisse agrees only with G; F omits the word, merging this b-verse with the next line, while beta has lisse. Cx agrees with beta.↩

R.18.237: Alpha's men breaks the alliterative pattern of the a-verse; cf. beta's wyse. Cr may have consulted both alpha and beta copies and tried to split the difference with its wise men. Cx agrees with beta.↩

R.18.238: R's þe is supported only by W; all other B copies, including F, omit it. However, Cx agrees with RW on the presence of þe here.↩

R.18.247: R's þat is unique; the other B witnesses have þe. Cx agrees with the B majority.↩

R.18.250: Beta reads se in place of alpha's mone. Cx agrees with beta.↩

R.18.252: R's biquasche is an alpha variant; beta shows a preterite form, biquasht. Though many C manuscripts agree with beta on the tense of the verb (= toquasched), the best X family copies, as well as some in the P family, read toquasch, agreeing with alpha.↩

R.18.255: R uniquely omits an essential word at this point; the beta manuscripts read leue while F reads leese. Cx agrees with beta.↩

R.18.255: Immediately hereafter, alpha omitted the following lines from Bx:
For gygas þe geaunt with a gynne engyned
To breke & to bete dounn þat ben aȝeines ihesus. A revised version of these two lines appears in the C version.↩

R.18.257: Beta omits the determiner, reading simply of man.↩

R.18.263: Beta begins this line with How a; Cx agrees with alpha in omitting How.↩

R.18.264: Beta reads this passage as two lines, dividing alpha's line between the Latin and the English. Though most C manuscripts agree with the line division of beta, some of the best X family witnesses (XIP2K) agree with alpha.↩

R.18.267: Alpha's form (i.e., R's siȝede), though semantically identical to beta's syked, was sufficiently unfamiliar to the F scribe to cause him to flounder, producing seyde. However, Cx's syhed is clearly identical to alpha (phonologically) and distinct from beta.↩

R.18.271: Beta reads it in place of alpha's hem. Cx agrees with beta.↩

R.18.273: For alpha's schal, beta reads shulde. Although a few C manuscripts support beta, Cx agrees with alpha.↩

R.18.276: For alpha's phrase, þis lorde, beta reads hym. Cx agrees with alpha.↩

R.18.277: R uniquely omits a word here; all but one of the other B copies, including F, read is his waye; Bm transposes to his is. Cx agrees with the B majority.↩

R.18.278: Beta apparently omitted of. But Cr agrees with alpha on the presence of this preposition; Cx concurs.↩

R.18.278: For alpha's & robbe, beta reads he robbeth. Cx agrees with beta.↩

R.18.282: Beta omits Þat.↩

R.18.282: R uniquely omits þe apple from the end of this a-verse.↩

R.18.284: R uniquely omits he from the Bx phrase And he þat. Bx was already lacking an alliterating initial stave.↩

R.18.285: The readings of alpha and of Bx are doubtful here. Cf. F's Sytthe y was sesed. Beta reads And sitthen I seised.↩

R.18.292: R's al-so is the alpha reading; beta has so. The X family of C agrees with beta. The P family reads Thus at this point.↩

R.18.297: Cf. alpha's he wente aboute to beta's hath he gone. Beta's reading is obviously defective in alliteration. Cx agrees here with alpha.↩

R.18.298: In place of alpha's some, beta reads sometyme. Cx agrees with beta.↩

R.18.298: RF's basic agreement here attests that alpha read I asked (F reads the b-verse as summe y have hym asked). Cx agrees with R, reading ich askede. By contrast, beta (reflected by LMW) appears to have construed this form as a past-participle, yasked.↩

In the right margin opposite these lines, there is a partially erased and illegible (under ultraviolet light) note in a near-contemporary hand. It is ten lines long: 4 lines + a signature line and then the same pattern repeated with the same signature, which might be Robert Smith or Robin Swift.↩

R.18.300: Beta transposes this phrase as hath he. Cx agrees with beta.↩

R.18.304: Beta omits the conjunction And. Cx agrees with beta.↩

R.18.304: This is an alpha reading; beta shows the preterite, leued. Cx agrees with beta.↩

R.18.305: Beta omits nauȝt.↩

R.18.309: Beta reads & with. Cx agrees with beta.↩

These verses are attested only in alpha, beta having lost them by eyeskip. In addition, only R shows the final phrase of 314b, with þe. The C version attests the authenticity of alpha's phrases in a revised version, where the second of these half-lines is clearly derived from a source common with alpha (cf. Russell-Kane 20.348: And now for a later lesynge).↩

R.18.317: R here shows a unique transposition of the Bx phrasing, huius mundi. Cx agrees with B majority on the order of this phrase.↩

R.18.317: In the left margin, beginning at this point, the leaf was torn on an inward and downward diagonal for a space of some 5.5 cm.; it was long ago repaired by stitching. No text is affected.↩

Alpha obviously had a different arrangement of text here from the beta witnesses, which read:
Rex glorie þe liȝte sone seide
And lorde of myȝte & of mayne & al manere vertues.
Dominus virtutum
Dukes of þis dym place anon vndo þis ȝates.
By contrast, R makes two lines of the passage, omits beta's sone before seide (as does F) and, with W, reads ma(n) for beta's mayne (F here reads man(er)e). F deviates from the line division found in R (which presumably reflects alpha) and abbreviates the passage, omitting Dominus virtutum.↩

R.18.321: The singular is an alpha variant; beta has Dukes. Among the C manuscripts, the P family agrees with alpha while the X family agrees with beta.↩

R.18.322: Here R shows a unique omission; the other B witnesses have þe kynges sone. Cx agrees with the B majority.↩

R.18.323: The beta variant here is brake, which agrees with the reading of Cx.↩

R.18.344: R's it is unique in line-terminal position and is entirely omitted by beta. Nevertheless, while R's phrasing here differs from F's, their common witness to the presence of the pronoun indicates that alpha's b-verse, unlike that of beta, attested it. Cx, which is revised here, also shows the pronoun in line-terminal position, reading to amenden it.↩

R.18.351: For alpha's neuere, beta reads nouȝte. Cx agrees with beta.↩

R.18.353: R's verb here is unique; the other B manuscripts read adimplere. Cx also reads adimplere.↩

R.18.354: In place of R's resoun, the beta phrase reads al resoun while F shows ryght & resoun.↩

R.18.357: For L's and alpha's with, most beta witnesses have þorw. Among the C copies, the P family agrees with the beta error while most of the X family agrees with L and alpha.↩

R.18.357: Beta reads is. Cx agrees with beta.↩

R.18.359: For alpha's þinge, beta reads þo.↩

R.18.363: Beta reads torne aȝeine; Cx agrees with alpha.↩

R.18.367: Rather than repeat grettere as alpha does, beta reads wyder. Cx agrees with beta.↩

R.18.369: This form is unusual but not unparalleled; cf. R.13.117:↩

R.18.369: After this line, the R scribe failed to leave a blank line, his usual custom for dividing verse strophes. No reason beyond oversight is apparent.↩

R.18.372: The verb form is that of alpha, but it also occurs in L; cf. the majority beta form þursteþ. The inflectional ending of Cx (= fursteth) agrees with the prevalent beta form.↩

R.18.380: R's Ac is unique among the B witnesses; F has But while beta reads And. However, Ac is also the reading of Cx.↩

R.18.380: R's reading is unique, presumably because alpha here suffered a loss of text; cf. beta's to be merciable." F weakly attempts a repair with not so merciable. Cx agrees with beta.↩

R.18.380: Beta shows a transposed form of R's phrase: þanne my kynde. F rephrases the entire b-verse as my keende may not aske. Cx agrees with beta.↩

R.18.385: R's preposition is unique; the other B witnesses show in. Nevertheless, though a few C manuscripts support the B majority reading, Cx agrees here with R.↩

R.18.389: In place of alpha's and, beta reads if. Cx agrees with alpha.↩

R.18.395: L here uniquely joins the alpha reading (the other beta copies omit may). Cx agrees with alpha and L.↩

R.18.396: In place of R's wil I, beta reads wil þat I. Cx agrees with beta.↩

R.18.400: There is a long, superfluous bar extending from above the <-en> of bretheren far into the right margin beyond the vertical ruling.↩

R.18.402: Beta omits his. Cx agrees with beta.↩

At the beginning of these two lines there is a slight ink stain from offset of the Bodleian ownership stamp in the margin of 96r.↩

R.18.406: Beta reads kynde. Cx agrees with beta.↩

R.18.410: For alpha's I, beta reads me. Cx agrees with alpha.↩

R.18.411: This form, found in alpha and L, is an obsolete past tense and past participle of LIE (= "to tell an untruth"); the majority beta reading, leighe, is substantively the same. Cx's form for this verb is the same as in alpha and L.↩

R.18.419: R's uninflected form of this word is unique; the other B copies read solito. Cx agrees with the B majority.↩

R.18.419: In the left margin opposite this line, there is a pointing hand, drawn in black ink.↩

R.18.421: Beta reads sharpe. Though a few C manuscripts concur with beta's reading, Cx agrees with alpha's scharpest.↩

R.18.422: In the bottom right margin of this page, there is a symbol resembling a modern script capital H, beneath which is written the word desunt in what appears to be an early-modern italic hand. The note was clearly intended to draw attention to the textual gap that occurs here. Leaves including the last twenty-three lines of Passus 18, all of Passus 19, and the first twenty-six lines of Passus 20 were detached from R and lost long ago.↩