Piers Plowman Electronic Archive, Vol. <!--Volume number to be assigned JEE-->: Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library, New Haven, Takamiya MS 23 (S) Langland, William Edited by Ian Cornelius and James Eric Ensley Transcription and Editing Assistance James Knowles, Chelsea Skalak, Timothy Stinson Creation of machine-readable version Computer Consultants and Programmers SEENET 2017 Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library, New Haven, Takamiya MS 23

mid-16th Century Source copy consulted: Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library, New Haven, Takamiya MS 23

Attribute Values textura underlined

English French Latin [no heading] Andom. cam vp kneling / to kisse his bulles he bunched them with his breuet / & blerid their eyis and raught with his ragman / bothom. ringes & broches Thus they giue their golde / glotons forom. to kepe And lendith hit such loselles / asthat lecherie haunte Were the bisshope blissed / and worth bothe his eyiseris His seale shulde not be sent / to deceiue the people And hit is not by the bisshop wonlieom. / þat the boye preachethe For the parish preist and the pardoner part the siluer That the poreporaillepouerty of the parishe / shulde haue if they ne were S.P.11: An a-shaped paraph sign is entered in the left margin in ink lighter than the text. Two horizontal lines, entered in the same lighter ink, run from the text block into the left and right margins, dividing this text line from the previous one. The same or similar markup occurs below at S.P.52, S.P.67, S.P.93, S.1.15, S.1.55, S.1.96, S.1.137, S.1.177, S.2.49, S.2.131, and S.2.172. With the exception of the present line and S.P.67, which are marked by paraphs in W, the lines marked in S do not correspond to text divisions in other copies. With the exception again of S.P.67, which differs also in execution, S's markings occur at intervals of 40 or 41 lines, sometimes doubling to 80 or 82 lines. (The double interval occurs at passus boundaries.) This markup extends over the first seven surviving folios, or two quires. It does not appear thereafter (but compare S.5.306n). Parsons and parishe preistes / pleyne them to the bisshopsBisshop That their parisshes were pore / sith the pestilence tyme To haue a licence and lieueleue: Corrected from liue by entering a horned upper stroke of an e above the first of the minims. / at London to dwell ToAnd syng there for Symony / for siluer is swete Bisshops and bachelers / bothe maisters & doctors That haue cure vnder Chryst / and crowning in tokin And signe that they shulde / shriue their parisshens Preach and prey for them / and the poore fede LyingLiggenrewrittenLying: The first of the S translator's intruded present participles, here displacing the finite verb liggen, the subject of which is Bisshopes ... and doctours, four lines above. The translator lost grip of syntax and sense. Compare S.2.68, S.2.87. at london / in lenton and ellis Some serue the king / and his siluer telle In Cheker and in Chauncerie / chalenge his dettes Of wardes and wardemotes / ofom. weifes and strais And some serue as seruauntes / lordes and ladies And in stead of stiwardes / theyom. sitt and deme Their mateyns and massesmasses and her mattensmesse & hire matyns / & many of their houres Are done vndevoutly / drede is at the last Lest Chryst in Consistorie / Acurse full many I perceyuid of the poure / that Peter had to kepe To bynde & vnbynde / as the booke tellithe how he left hittransp. with loue / as oure lord hight Among foure vertues / the best of all vertues That Cardinals bene callid / and closing gates There Chryst is in kingdome / to close and to shett And to openopene it to them / and hevins blisse shewe And of the Cardynals at court / that caught of þat name And poure presumed in them / A Pope to make To haue theþatthe: S independently restores the presumed reading of Bx. See BTP note ad loc. Other beta2 copies have þat. poure that Peter had / inpungne I nyll For in loue and letter / the eleccion belongithe Therfor I can & cannot / of Court speake more Than came there a king / knyghthode him ledd A2 Myght of the commons / made him to reigne ThenAnd þanne cam kynde witt / and clerkes he made ToFor to counsell the king / and the commonscommune toom. saue The king and knighthode / and Clergie bothe Did castCasten that the Commonscommouscommune shulde them-self fynde The Comonscommune contrivid / of kinde witt craftes And for profit of all the people / Plowmen ordeyned To tille and to travaile / as true life askethe The king and the Comonscommune / & kyndwitt the thirde Shope lawe and leautie / euerymaneuery manech man to knowe his oune Then lokid vp a Lunatike / a leane thing withall S.P.52: An a-shaped paraph and a pair of inked horizontal lines divide this text line from the previous one. See S.P.11n. And kneling to the kyng / Clerkelieclergially he said Chryst kepe the syr king / and thi kingdomekyngryche And lende the toom. lede thy lande so /S's line division is shared by corrected M. Other copies divide before so, correctly. leautie the louithlouye And for thy rightfull ruling / be rewardid in heaven and sithens in the Eyre onhigheon highe / an angell of heauen Loude spokeLowed to spekeLoude spoke: Apparently 'spoke loudly', rendering Lowed to speke 'descended to speak'. in Latine / for lewde men ne coulde Iangle nor Iudge / that iustifie them shulde But serue and suffretransp. / therfor said th'aungell Sum rex sum princeps , neutrum fortasse deinceps . O qui iura regis , xpĩcristi spetialia regis . Hoc quod agas melius , iustus es , esto pius . Nudum ius a te , vestiri vult pietate . Qualia vis metere , talia grana sere . Si ius nudatur , nudo de iure metatur . Si seritur pietas , de pietate metas . S.P.67: An inked line in the right margin divides this text line from the Latin verses that precede. Then grevid him a goliarde / a gloton of wordis And to th'aungell onhigheon highe / answerid after , thusom. Dum Rex a regere , dicatur nomen habere Nomen habet sine resine re: The scribe or a later annotator has entered a diastole separating these words. The mark is longer and more upright than the scribe's virgule. , nisi studet iura tenere Then begannegan all the comonscommune , crie in aom.a: S independently restores the presumed reading of Bx. Other beta2 copies omit this word. See BTP note ad loc. verse of Latyne To the kinges counsell / construe who-so wolde Precepta Regis , sunt nobis vincula legis With that ranne there a rout / of Ratons atonesat ones And smale mies with them / more then a thousande And came to a counsell / for the common profyt For a Catt of thea Countrie / cam when hehym Liked And ouerlepe them lightlie / & lestlauȝtecaughtlest: Rendering lauȝte, a word evidently not understood in this instance. Possibly the scribe intended left, omitting the cross-stroke of f by oversight. Subsequent instances of this verb are transmitted intact or translated felicitously. See the Glossary. them at his will And pleyid with them perilouslie / and possid about for dout of diuerse dredes / we darenotdare not well loke And if we gruche atof his game / he will greue vs all Crache vs andor clawe vs / & in his clowches holde That we lothevs loþeþ the lyfe / ere he lattith vs passe Might we with any wit / his will withstande We myght be lordes alofte / & liue at oure ease A Ratton of renounne / most renable of tung Seyd for a souereyne helpe to him-self I haue sene segges quod he / in the Citie of London Bere byes full bright / about their neckis And some Colers of craftie worke / vncoupled they went Both in wareyne and in wast / where them-self likidlyketh And other while they are ellis where / as I here tell S.P.93: A pair of inked horizontal lines divide this text line from the previous one. See S.P.11n. Were there a belle on their byesbeiȝebightbyes: Rendering beiȝe 'collar, gorget', perhaps not so understood. The translator's intentions are unclear. See also S.P.103. / by IhuIesu as me thinkes Men myght wot where they went and awaie renne And right so quod that Ratton / reason me shewithe To bie a belle of brasse / ofr of bright syluer And knyt yt on hisa collere / for oure commone profyt Whether he ryde or rest / or ellesom. rennyth to playe YfAnd if him lustlistlyke for to lake / then loke we maye And pere in his presence / whileþe whiletherwhile him pley liketh And if hehym wrathe beware / & his waie shoneye All theþis rout of ratons / to this reason they assentid And thenþothen: S misread þo (conj.) as the adverb. Compare S.2.148 and see linguistic description. the belle was brought / & on the byesbeiȝebight hangid There was none wasnas no rattRatonratten in all þe rout / for all the realme of fraunce That durst haue bounde the belle / about the cattes necke Ne hang it about the Cattes halse / all Englande to wynne ButandAlle helde them vnhardie / and their counsell feble And lett ther labour lost / and all their long studie A mouse that muche good coulde as me thought StertStrook furthe sternelie / & stode before them all And to the rout of Ratons / rehercid these wordes Though we kille thisþe Catte / yet sholde there come another To cach vs and all oure kynde / though we crept vnder benches Therfor I counsell all youþe Comonscommuneyou Comons: Rendering þe commune. S turns third-person reference into direct address. / to lat the cat alonewurcheworþe And be not wewe neuere so bolde / the belle him forom. to shewe for I harde my syre saye / fullom.isit is seven yere ypassed There the Catte is a kytton / the court is full hevieelenge That witnesseth holie writ / who-so will it rede Ve terre vbi puer rex esttransp. For maye nomanno manno renkno thyng hisþerom. rest haue / for Ratons by nyght The while he cachith conyes / he covetith not oure careyne But fedith him allom.all: Agreement of S and W indicates that beta2 retained Bx's adverbial al, dropped in HmCr and several other copies, including M. with venison / defame we him neuer FarForbut better is a litill losse / then a long sorowe The maze among vs all / though we misse a shrewe / A3 For many a mannesmennesmannusa mannes: S's gen. sg. rejoins Bx; other beta2 copies have the plural. See BTP note ad loc. The indefinite article is unique to S. malt / we mies wolde distroye And thealso thealso ye rout of ratons / rende mennis clothes Were notNere the Catte of theþatthe: So also Hm; WCr þat probably represents beta2. Certainty is not possible: see BTP ad loc. court / that can vsyow ouerlepe for had ye rattes your will / you coulde not rule your-seluisyow-selue I saie for me quod the mouse / I se so muche after Shall neuer the Catte norne þene kitton / by my counsell be greved Ne carping of this Coller / that neuer cost me oughtcosted me neuere And though hit had cost me catell / beknoune hit I nolde But suffre as him-self wolde / to do as him liketh Coupled and vncoupled / to cache what they maye Therfor echech a wise wight I warne / wite well his oune What this dreame menethemetels bymeneþ / ye men that be merye Devine ye for I dare not / by dere god in heaven Yet houid there an hundred / in hoodeshowueshowneshures of silke Sergeantes hit besemed / that serueserueden at the barre PleadingPletenPleteden for pens / and poundes the lawe And not for loue of theoure lorde / vnlosen their lippes ones Thou myghtest better mete /S's punctuation is unique among beta2 copies. Most mss divide after mist, correctly. the mist on Maluerne hillis Then get a Mumme of their mouth / till money be shewid Barons and burgeises / and bond-men also I se in this assemblie / as ye shall here after Bacsters and brewsters / and bochers manie wollen websters / and weavers of lynnen Tailors and tynkers / and tollers in markettes Masons and Mynors / & many other craftes Of all kyndkynne libbing Laborers / Lept furth some As dykers and deluers / that do their dedes yll And dryue furthe the long daie with | dieux sauevous dame Emme Cookes and their knauis / Cryid hote pies hote Good goosgees and grice / go we dyne go we / Tauerners vntovntil them / tolde the same Whightwyth wine of Ozeye / & red wine of Gascoigne of the ryn and of the Rochell / the roste to defie All this se I sleping / and vijseuen tymessythesline om. more / Passus primus de visione What this Mounteyne / menithbymeneþ and this darkemerkemenith ... darke: S joins F, illustrating convergence towards easier readings. dale And the feilde full of folke / I shall you feyr shewe A louelie Ladie of lere / in lynen clothed Cam doune from a castell / and callid me faire SeyingAnd seide sonne slepist thou / seist thou this people How busie they bene all /S's midline punctuation agrees with Hm; W assigns all to the b-verse, while most copies outside the beta2 group omit this word. aboute the maze The moremooste partpartie of peopleþis peple / that passethe this waieon þis erþe Haue they worshipe in this worlde / they willwilne no better Of other heauen then here / holde they no tale I was aferde of hir face / though she fair were And said mercie madame / what is this to mene The tour vponvpon the tofte quod she truthe is therin And wolde that ye wrought / as the his worde teachethe For he is father of feithe / thatandom. formid you all S.1.15: A pair of inked horizontal lines divide this text line from the previous one. See S.P.11n. Bothe with felle and facewith face / & gaue you fiue wittes for to worship him therwith theom.yeathe: S retains the reading of the archetype; other beta2 copies diverge. WHm omit the article, but Cr1 has yea, probably misreading ms þe. The article is restored in Cr2,3, as noted by Carter Hailey in YLS 21 (2007): 165. whilewhile þat ye be here And therfor he haue madehiȝtehaue made: Rendering hiȝte 'commanded'. This verb is almost always translated out, usually showing comprehension. th'erthe / to helpe you echone WithOf wollen andof lynnen / & withand ofof liuelode at nede In measurable mannere / to make you at ease And commaundid of his curtesie / in commune iijthre thinges Arne non nedefull but those / and namenamednempne them I thinke And reken them by reason / Reherce yeþowom. them after TheThat won is vesture / from coldechele the to saue And meat att meall / for diseasemysese of thy-self drinkeAnd drynke when thou art driedriest / and do nought ofout of reason That thou wereworthwurche the worse / when thou shuldest worketransp. For loth in his lyfedaies / for liking of drinke did withby his doughters / that the devill liked Delighted him in drinke / as the deuill wolde And lecherie him laught / and lay by them bothe And all he wyte it the wine / that wikid dede Inebriamus eum vino , dormiamusque cum eo vt seruare Possimus de patre nostro semen .The scribe has drawn a nearly complete box around this two-line quotation. Through wyne and wemmenþoruȝ wommen / there was loth accombred And there gat in glotonie / girles that were churles Therfor drede delectable drinke / & thou shalt do the better Measure is medicine / though thou ernesternest: Probably OED earn v.2, a variant of OED yearn v.1 lacking the initial palatal. muchemuchel yerne All is notIt is nouȝt alAll is not: The S reading is unique among B-version copies, yet agrees with the corresponding line in the A and C versions; it is the reading printed by KD. See KD p.78n. good forto the ghost / that the gutte askethe Two lines (=Bx.1.39-40) were fused at their caesuras in several early beta copies, including the beta2 group ancestor. See BTP ad loc. Likame, the word that induced eyeskip, undergoes substitution in S. See our next note. Nor liuelode to thy likinglikameline om.liking: 'enjoyment', a homoeographic guess, rendering likame 'body'. Subsequent instances of this word are translated accurately. See Glossary. / for a liere him teacheth That is the wrechid worlde / wolde the betraie for the feinde and theþi fleshe / folowe the together This and that seithe thy soule / and seythe it in thi hart A4 And for thou sholdest beware / I tellewisse the the best Madame mercie quod I / me likethe well youre wordes And the money of this worldemolde / that men so fast holdethe Telle me to whome madame / that treasure belongethappendeþ Go to the gospell quod she / that god said him-self WhereTho the people him apposed / with a penie in the temple Whether they shulde therwithe / worship the king Cesar And god asked atofom. them / of whome spake the letter And th'ymage likey-lykwas likis ylik / that therin standithe CesarisCesaresCesaris: S restored, or possibly retained, Bx's Latin genitive (quoting Matt 22:21). Other beta2 copies and M have the English possessive ending -es. See BTP ad loc. The direction of variation is reversed in the next line below, where S uniquely replaces the Latin dative with to Cesar. they said / we se himither well echone Reddite Cesari quod Christegod / that to CesarCesari belongethebifalleþ Et que sunt dei deo / or ellis ye do evillille for rightfull reason / shulde rule you all S.1.55: A pair of inked horizontal lines divide this text line from the previous one. See S.P.11n. And kinde wit be wardeine / your welthe to kepe And tutor of your treasour / and taketake it you at nede For husbondrie and hehijhe: S's singular pronoun is the reading adopted by KD; most mss have the plural. The referent is kinde wit. / holden to-gethers Then I freynid hir faire / for him that me made That doungeon in the dale / that dreadfull is of sight What maie it be to mene / Madame I you beseche That is the castill of care / who-so commethe therin Maie banne that he was bornetransp. / to bodie or to soule Therein wonneth a wight / that wrong is ycallidyhote Father of falshede / and founded hit himself Adam and Eue / he eggid to euillille Counsellid Cayme / to kille his naturallom.line om. brother Iudas he iaped / withe IewesIewenline om. siluer And sithen on an EldertreEllerline om. hangid him after he is letter of loue / and deceyuithlieþline om. them all That trust on his treasure / betrayeth he sonest Then had I wonder in my witt / what womman it wasweere That such wise wordes / of holie writ shewid And asked hir on the high name / ere she thens wentyede What she were truliewitterlywysely / that instructwissed me so faire Holie churche I am quod she / thou oughtest me to knowe I first receyuid thevnderfeng þee first / and the feithe taught Thouand thuAnd broughtest me borrowes / my biddingesbiddyng to fulfill And to loue me trulieleelly / whileþe while thy lyfe dureth Then I knelidcourbedcowrydknelid: This reading is found only in S and H in the B tradition, but it is archetypal at this location in the A and C versions and it is the reading printed by KD. In H, an A/B splice, knelid may derive from the scribe's A copy. It's appearance in S may be attributed to independent modernization. See S.2.1n. on my kneis / and cried hir of grace And preid hir pitiouslie / toom.to: Omitted in all copies except SHmRF, but probably present in Bx. See BTP ad loc. The pattern of distribution suggests independent restoration by the scribes of S and Hm. S elsewhere supplies infinitival to: see linguistic description, section ???. pray for my synnes And also kenne me kyndlie / on Christ to beleue / That I might worke his will / Þat wrought me to man Teache me to no tresure / but tell me this sameilke howe I maie saue my soule / that saynt art holden When all treasures are tried quod she / truthe is the best I do it on Deus caritas / to deme the sothe hit is as dereworthie a thingdrurything: A dummy translation of drury (the sole instance of this word in PP-B). Compare S.3.32. Alternatively, drury was recognized (OED records sixteenth-century instances) and its erotic associations judged inappropriate to context. / as dere god himself Who-so is true of his tong / and tellithe non other And dothe the workes therwith / and willethewilneþ nomanno man yll He is a god by the gospell / agrounde and alofteA later hand has added a scribble at the end of this line, possibly the initials GH (=George Hewlet?), yet the forms of these letters -- if we construe them correctly -- do not resemble the forms of g and h in George Hewlet's signatures later in the manuscript. See the general discussion at Introduction I.8. And like to oure lorde / by seynt Lukes wordes The clerkes that knowe this / shulde tellekennen it about for cristen and vncristen / cleymeth it echeone Kinges and knightes / shulde kepe it by reason Ride and rapdounerap doune / in Realmes aboute S.1.96: A pair of inked horizontal lines divide this text line from the previous one. See S.P.11n. And take Transgressors / and tye them fast Till truthe had determidy-termyned / their trespasse to th'ende And that is the profession apertlie / Þat longithapendeþ to knightes And not to fast oneao fridaie / in fyue score wnterw[i]nter But holde with him and with hir / that wolde all truthe And neuer leue them for loue / nor for laching of siluer For dauid in his daies / dubbed knightes And did them swere on their sworde / to serue truthe euer And who-so passed that poynt / was apostata in the order But Christ the noyntid kingkyngene kyngkyng of kyngisthe noyntid king: Rendering kyngene kyng. Archaic genitive plurals are always revised out. Compare S.4.121, S.5.29, S.19.76, and see Introduction, III.2. / knighthede tene Cherubin and Seraphin / suche sevin and other And gaf them might / in his maiestie / the merier them thought And over his mene meynie / made them Archaungelles Taught them by the trinitie / truth to knowe To be buxome at his bidding / he bad them nought ellis Lucifer with legions / lerned hit in heauen But for he brake buxumnesse / his blisse didgancan he losetyne And fell from that felowship / in a fendes likenesse In-to a derk depetransp. hell / to dwelle there for euer And mo thousandes with him / than man coude nombre Lept out with Lucifer / in Lothelie forme for they beleuidleueden vpon him / that lyed in this manere Ponam pedem in aquilone , et similis ero altissimo . And all that hopid it might be so / nonoon heauen might them holde But felle out in fendes likenesse / nyne daies together Till god of his goodnes / begangan toom. stable and stint And causedgarte þe heuin to shettstekie / and stand in quiet When these wicked went out / in wonder wise they felle Some in th'ayreeyr some in th'ertheerþe / & some in helle depe b1 And Lucifer lowest lythe /S's midline punctuation agrees with W. Most copies omit yet and divide before the verb. yetom.there of them all for pride that he put out / his peyne hath non ende And all that worke with wrong / wende they shall After their deathdaie / and dwelle with that shrewe And they that worke wele / as holie write telleth And ende as I haveer saide / in truthe that is bestþe beste Maie be suresiker that their soules / shall gowende to heauen There truthe is in trinitie / and tronethe them all WherforFor-þi I saie as I saideseyde er / by sight of these textes When all treasures are tried / truthe is the best LerneLereþ on theseon thisit þiseon these: SCrHm respond variously to a Bx error transmitted intact in W; see BTP ad loc. laielewed men / for letterid men it knoweth That truthe is tresure / the triest on theom. erthe S.1.137: A pair of inked horizontal lines divide this text line from the previous one. See S.P.11n. Yet haue I no kynde knowlegeknowyng quod hequod Iom. / yet mot yeye moteȝytyet mot ye: Alone among beta2 copies, S retains the reading of the archetype. WCr vary to ye mote; Hm has ȝyt. M is corrected to the archetypal reading. kenne me better By what crafte in my corps / it beginnethcomseþ and where Thou dotid daffe quod she / dull are thy wittes TolitillTo litill latine thou lernedist / lewdeleodelewde: Rendering leode, a word initially opaque to the translator. He eventually inferred its meaning: see the Glossary. in thi youthe Heu michi quiaquodqui sterilem duxi vitam iuuenilem . hit is a kind knowlegeknowyng quod hehe: 'she', a legitimate form of the feminine pronoun in the language of Bx, retained in SCr here and at S.5.314, and by all beta2 copies at S.18.169. / to knoweþat kenneþto knowe: Rendering þat kenneþ 'that teaches/proclaims' with changed sense. in thine hart For to loue thi lorde / leuer then thi-self No deadlie synne to do / die though thou shuldest This I trowe be truthe / who can teache the better Loke thou suffre him to saie / & thensiþen lernelere it after for truthe tellith that loue / is triacle of heauen Maie no synne be on him sene / that vseth that spice And all his workes he wrought / with loue as him list And learnidlered hit Moyses for the lefest thing / & most like to heauen And also the plentie of peace / most preciouse of vertues For heauen might not holde it / hit was so heauy of him-self Till it had of the erthe / eaten his Fill And when it had of this folde / fleshe and blood taken Was neuer leaf vpon lynde / lyghter therafter PortatiueAnd portatif and persingpersauntpeysand / as the poynt of a nedill Non armoure mightThat myȝte noon Armurethat myȝt no armure it let / nor non highe walles Therfore is loue leder / of the lordes folke of heauen And a mene as the Maire is / betwene þe king & the commonscommune Right so is loue a leder / and the lawe shapithe Vpon man for his misdedes / the mercement he taxethe And for to knowe it rightliekyndely / it beginnethcomseþcommeth by myght And in the hart isþere is the head / and the high welle for ofin right knowlegekynde knowynge in hart / there a myght beginneth And fallethþat falleþ to the father / that formed vs all Heom. lokid on vs with loue / and lete his son die Mekelie for oure misdedes / to amende vs all And yet wolde he them no woe / þat wrought him þat peyne But mekelie with mouthe / mercie he besought To have pitie on that people / þat peynid him to deathe Here might thou se ensamples / in hinselfhi[m]self one That he was mightfull & meke / thatand mercie gan graunte To them þat hangid him higheonheiȝ / and his hart thirled Therfor I rede you riche / haue ruthe on the pouer Thoughe ye be mightiemightti to motmyȝtful to motemightie: Rendering myȝtful to mote. See S.3.161n. / be meke in your workes for thatþe same measure that ye meate / amisse or ellis S.1.177: Two pairs of poorly inked horizontal lines divide this text line from the previous one and the following. See S.P.11n. ye shall receyue the likeben weyen þer-wiþ / when ye wende hens Eadem mensura qua mensi fueritis , remetietur vobis . For youþouȝ ye be true of your tung / and trulie winne And as chast as a childe / that in church wepith But if ye loue trulieleelly / and lende the pouer Such good as god you sent / goodlie partingparteþpartedepartethparting: Rendering parteþ, pr.t.sg. (so Kane) or perhaps an imperative plural. The syntax of the received text is difficult and rather loose. S's present participle simplifies by making the present line dependent on the previous one: "But if ye loue trulie ... parting Such good as god you sent..." Ye haue nomoreno more merite / in masse nor in houres Then Malkin of hir maidinhede / that nomanno man desyreth For Iames the gentill / Iudged in his bookes That feith without the factfeetwerkfact: Rendering feet 'deed'. / is nothingriȝt no-þyng worthe And as dead as a dorenailedore-tree / but if the dedes folowe Fides sine operibus mortua est . ForFor-þi chastitie without charitie / isworþworthi cheyned is in helle It is as lewde as a lampe / þat no light is in Many chapleynes are chast / but charitie is awaie No men more covetouseAre no men Auarouser þan hij / Whan they be avauncid Vnkinde to their kynne / and to all cristen ShewingChewenschewen suchhire charitieShewing such charitie: Sx read Chewen hire charite, a figurative expression that the redactor failed to understand. Hm schewen presumably shows convergent variation towards a homoeograph. / and chide after more Such Chastitie without Charitie / isworþworthie cheyned in helle Many Curatescuratours kepe them clene of their bodiebodies AndThei be accombrid with Couetise / they maiekonne not do it from them So harde hath | Avarice / hasped them togethers WhichAnd þat is no truthe of þe | Trinite / but trecherie of helle And lerning to laiemenlewed men / the worselatter for to dele Therfor theise wordes / be writen in the gospell Date et dabitur vobis / for I deale you all thingom. And that is the locke of loue / þatand lettith out my grace To confort the carefull / Accombred with synne Loue is leche of lyfe / and next oure lorde himselfselue b2 And also the right waiegraiþe gategrete gate / that ledithegoþ into heauen Therfor I saie as I said ere / by the trueom. textes When all treasures bene tried / truthe is the best Now haue I tolde the what truth is / þat no treasure is better I maye no longar lodgelengeleue the with / now kepeloke the oure lord Passus secundus Yet I knelidcourbedknelid: Rendering courbed, as also at S.1.79. The S reading is unique among B-version copies, yet agrees with the corresponding line in the A and C versions. See KD p.78n. on my kneis / and cried hir of grace SayingAnd seide mercie madame / for maries loue of heauen That bare that blisfull barne / þat bought vs on the Rood TeacheKenne mym[e] by sum crafte / to knowe the False Loke vpon thi lefthandeleft handeleft half / and lo where he standithe Both false and Favell / and their feris many I lokid on my lefthandleft handleft half / as the ladie me taught And was ware of a woman / worthelie clothed Purfelid with pelure / the Fynest vpon earthe Andom. crouned with a crowne / the king hath nonoon better FeatlieFetisliche hir fyngers / were frettid with golde ringeswyr And therinþer-on red rubies / as red as any glede And dyamundes of derest price / & double manere Saphires Orientals and Ewages / enemiesenuenymesvenemisenemies: Rendering enuenymes (the word occurs in PP-B only here). F has the same homoeographic substitution. Cr's venemis is a felicitous modernization, already adopted in M. to distroie Hir robe was full rich / of red skarlet ingrayned With ribandes of red golde / & of riche stones Hyr araie me rauished / such richesrichesse sawe I neuer I wonderidhadde wonder what she was / & whose wife she were What is this woman quod I / so worthelie atyred That is Mede the maide quod she / þatom. hath noyed me full ofte And lacked my leman / that Leautie is callidhoten And geuinbilowen hir to lordes / that lawes haue to kepe In the Popes paleys / she is priuie as my-self But sothenesse wolde not so / for she is a bastard For false was hir father / that hath a fickill tong And neuer sothe said / sinssiþen he cam to earthe And Mede is manerid after him / euenriȝt as kynd askethe Qualis pater talis filius / Bonus fructus ex arbore bonaarbor bonum fructum facit I ought to beben higher then she / I cam of a better stockeom. My father the great god is / and grounde of all graces One god without begynninggynnyng / and I his good doughter And hathe geuen me mercie / to marrie with my-self And what man be mercifull / and trulieleelly me louithe Shalbe my lorde & I his leef / in the highe heauen And what man takith Mede / my Lifeheed dare I laie That he shall loselese for hishire loue / a lippelappelippe: "A mouthfull; a little bit", recorded by MED (s.v. lippe n.2) only from PP and recessive throughout the textual tradition, but accepted by the S translator (see also S.5.250 and S.15.496). S here agrees with CrY and with the X group of C; other copies have lappe. BTP attribute Cr's reading to Crowley's C-version manuscript, but SCr agreement implies that the reading originated in their common ancestor. Compare S.5.477n. of Caritatis How construeth Dauid the king / of men that take mede And men of this worldemoolde / that mainteine truthe And how ye shuldeshul saue your-self / the psalter bearithe witnesse Domine quis habitabit in tabernaculo tuo &c And now wereworþ this Mede maried / vnto a madmansedmad: Rendering mansed 'cursed', as also in several later instances: see Glossary. shrewe To won false fickill tung / a fendes birde of hellebiyetefendes birde of helle: Rendering fendes biyete. The operative sense of birde is 'child, son' (OED bird n., sense 1c). MED records the phrase "deuelys byrde" from before 1500 (s.v. brid n., sense 3b). Favell through his feire speche / hathe these folke enchauntid And all is Liers leding / þat she is thus weddid Tomorowe shalbeshall beworþwas made / thatþe maydens bridall And there maistmyȝt thou wite if þou wilt / which thei bene all That long to that lordship / the Lesse and the more Knowe them there if þou canst / & kepe thou thi tong S.2.49: A pair of inked horizontal lines divide this text line from the previous one. See S.P.11n. And lettlakkelett: 'hinder, obstruct' (OED let v.2), rendering lakke 'criticize', a word more often transmitted intact, especially in early passus. See Glossary. them not but lat them workeworþe / till Leautie be iustice And haue poure to punishe them / than put furthe thi reason Now I betakebikenne the toom. Christ quod she / and toom. his clene mother And lat no conscience combre the / for couetise of mede Thus left me that Ladie / Lying aslepe And howe Mede was maried / in dreamesMetels me thought That all the rich retynueretenaunce / þat reigneth with the false Were biddenbodenbounden to the bridale / on bothe ijtwo sydes Of all manere of men / the meane & the riche To marrie this maidmaiden / was many man assembled As of knightes and of clerkes / & other common people As Sysors and Sommenors / Shreuis and their clerkes Beddels and Bailiffes / and Brocars of wareschaffare Foregoers and vitelors / aduocatesand Aduokettesand voketys of th'arches I cannot reken the rout / þat ranne about mede / AsAcAndAs: An error for Ac, elsewhere rendered in S as but or and. Symonie and Ciuile / and Sysors of courtes Were most priuie with Mede / of any men methought And favell was the first / þat fet hir out of boure And as a Brokour brought hir / to be with fals enioyned When Simonie and Cyuile / se hir bothboþerbeire willingwillese hir both willing: Possibly "saw her desiring both (i.e., Favell and Fals)", but the product of compounded error. Bx read seiȝ here beire wille, i.e., "saw the will of both of them". W's boþer (gen. of boþe, whereas Bx has the gen. of the synonymous bo) perhaps represents beta2, subsequently corrupted to bothe in SCrHm. Compare S.16.173 and S.18.38, where WHm have an inflected genitive of boþe, while SCrM have a periphrastic modernization. The 3pl. det. hir is elsewhere always modernized in S; survival of the form with initial h- in this instance perhaps indicates that the redactor read it as 3sg. fem. acc., but the intended sense is unclear. Thei assentid for siluer / to seie as both wolde Then lept furth Lyertransp. / and said lo here a charter That Gyle with his great othes / gaf them togethers PrayingAnd preide Cyvill to se / & Symonie to rede it Then Symonye and Civile / thruststonden forthe bothe And vnfoldedvnfoldeþvnfolded: Our apparatus construes Cr's vnfolde as present tense. Bx shifts between present and past in the encompassing passage. SHm harmonize around the past. þe feffment / that fals hadhath made b 3 And thus beginneth these felowesgomes / to lokegredenloke: Rendering greden 'cry out', a word that the translator probably never understood. See Glossary. full hie Sciant presentes et futuri &c Wite yeom. and witnesse / þat dwellwonieþ vpon this erth That Mede is maried / more for hishire goodes Than for anie vertue , fairenesor fairnesseof fayrnesse / or any fre kinde FasFa[l]sFalsnesse is fullom. feyne of hir / for that she ishe woot hire riche And favell with his fickell speche / feffeth by this charter To be princes in pride / and pouertie to dispise To bacbite andand to bost / and toom. beare fals witnesse To scorne and to skolde / & schaundersc[l]aunder to make Vnbuxome and bolde / to breake the . X .tean comaundementeshestes And the Erledome of envie / And warrewraþe togethers With rebuking chastitieþe Chastilet of chesterebuking chastitie: The S redactor was here defeated by his exemplar, which read þe Chastilet of cheste 'the little castle of strife'. Alliteration on ch- prompts chastitie. S introduces a present participle elsewhere at similar points of desperation: for instance, S.1.38 and S.2.68. Chastilet appears in PP-B only here. For cheste see the Glossary. / and chatering out of reason The Countiecontrycomyte of Couetise / and all the costes aboute That is vsurie and Avarice / all I them graunte In bargaines & in brocages / with all the borowe of theft And all the lordship of Lecherie / in Length and in brede As in workes andand in wordes / and in waitinges with eyis And in wedes andand in wisshinges / & without ydill thoughtes There as will wolde / and workemanship failith Glotonie he gaf him eke / & great othes togither And all daie to drinke / at diuerse tauernes And there to Iangle && to iape / and Iudge their euencristen And in Fasting daies to frett / ere full time were And then to sytt and suppe / till slepe them assaile And breden furthom. as borough swine / and bed them easelie Till sleuthe and slepe / sliken theirhise sydes And then wanhope to wakeawaken them so / with no will to amend For they beleue to be lostthei leuen to be lostehe leueþ be lostthey liuen by lustethey beleue to be lost: Intersecting variants unduly complicate our apparatus. Bx shifts between singular and plural pronouns in the encompassing passage. W retains the archetypal singular in the present line, as also two lines above, while other beta2 copies harmonize around the plural. If Cr's they liuen by luste arose by visual error, as seems likely, the anterior reading must have been approximately they leuen be loste, without infinitival to, which was then introduced independently in SHm. / evin atþis isthat is their last end And they to haue and to holde / & their heires after A dwelling with the deuill / and damned be for euer with all the appurtenauncespurtenauncespurtynaunce of purgatorie / in-to the peynespainepynepyt of hell S uniquely omits KD.2.105-7 (=Bx.2.107-9).In witnesse of which thing wrong was the first And piers the palmerom.palmer: This intruded word breaks syntax. Perhaps it was intended by the S-redactor to replace pardoner, not join it. pardoner of paulines doctrine Bete the beddell . of Bokyngham-shire Reynalde the reue / of rutlonde Sokene Maudemunde the myller / and many moo other In the date of þe deuill / this dede I enseale By sight of syr Simonie / And Cyuils leue Then angrie wastened hym Theologie / when he this tale herd And said to Ciuile / now sorow mut youþowyou: Most other copies read þow; Cr agrees with S. <þ> and <y> are not distinguished in the S scribe's hand, but the reading is secure, for the old 2 sg. nominative pronoun is always written with initial th-, or else with thorn and superscripted u, never as unabbreviated þou. See Introduction, sections ??? and notes at S.5.182, S.5.304, S.5.586, S.5.647, S.6.147, and S.6.223. The line perhaps means "may sorrow have you," with Aux-S-V-O order, transposing the grammatical subject and object of the received text. Alternatively the SCr reading illustrates the extension of you to the nominative singular. haue Such weddinges to worke / AgainstThe scribe has added an erroneous dot over the third minim in the sequence -in-. theto wratthe withline om. truthe A series of what may be four connected minims appear at the top center of the folio in a lighter ink than that of the body of the text. And ere this wedding be wrought wo the betide For Mede is aom. mulier / of A-mendes engendrid WherforAnd god grauntethe to giue / Mede to truthe And thou hast giuen hir to a gilour / godnow godrewritten giue the sorowe Thi text telleth the not so / truthe wot the sothe For dignus est operarius / his hire to haue And thou hast fastenedfestfastened: S joins CrHm; W and most other B-version copies have fest, the contracted pa.ptc. of MED fasten v.1, a synonymous and related verb. Kane and Wittig treat these as forms of a single verb, s.v. festne, v. hir to fals / fy on thi Lawe ByFor al bi Lesinges thou leuist / & lecherous workes Symonie and thi-self / distroyeshenden holie churche The notaries & ye / noyethe the people Ye shall abie hit bothe / by god that me made Well may you knoweye witen wernardes / But if your wit faile That fals is feithles / & fickell in his workes AndAnd was a bastard borne / of Belsabubbes kynne S.2.131: A pair of inked horizontal lines divide this text line from the previous one. See S.P.11n. And Mede is aom. muber mulier / a maiden of good And might kisse the king / for Coson ifandyf that she sholdwolde Therfor worke by wisdome / and by myom. wit also And Ledith hir to london / there to beit is shewid if any Lawe will loke / þatom. they Ly to-githers And though Iustices iudge hir / to be ioyned to fals Yet beware of wedding / for wittie is truthe And Consciens is of his counsell / & knoweth you echeone And if he fynde you in fautedefaute / And with falsþe false hold It shall much hurtbisitte your soules / full soure at þe Last Herto assentidassenteþ Cyvile / but Symonie wold not Till he had siluer for his seruice / and also the notaries Than fett Favell furth / Florins ynowe And bad Gyle to giue / gold alabouteall aboute A series of what may be four connected minims appear in the right margin of the folio in a lighter ink than that of the body of the text. And namelie to the notaries / that thei faile nothem noon ne faillehem none faylethei nouȝt faylethei faile not: Probably rendering hem noon ne faille, the archetypal reading, with changed sense. Hm varies in parallel with S, differing only in word order. And feffe fals witnesseswytnes / with Floryns ynowe For they may Mede AvaunceamaistryemaystrenAvaunce: Rendering amaistrye 'get control over' or perhaps the aphetic form of this verb, transmitted in HmCr here and by S itself in two later instances, including S.2.153 below. / and worke atmaken at mymaken at her will ThenThothen: S misread þo (conj.) as the adverb. Compare S.P.103 and see linguistic description. this gold was gevin / great was the thanking To fals and to favell / for their fair giftes And came to comfort / from care the Fals SeyingAnd seidenAnd sythen sertes syr / cesse shall we neuer Till Mede be thi weddid wife / through þeom. wittes of vs all For we haue Mede maistredamaistriedy-maystryed / with oure merie speche That she grauntith to go / with a good will To london to loke / if the Lawe wolde IoyneIuggenIoyne: Rendering Iuggen, but probably a mechanical error, by anticipation of subsequent copy. Elsewhere S always transmits this verb intact. you ioyntlie / in Ioye for ever Then was FalsFalsnesse fayne / & favell as blithe And let sommon all peoplesegges / in shires aboute b4 CommaundingAnd bad hem all toom. be rediebown / beggers and other To wende with them to westmynster / to witnes þis dede ThenAc þanneand than carid they for horsescaples / to carye them thither And Favell fett furth then / horsesfoles ynowe And set Mede vpon a Shreve / shoid all newe And Fals vponsat on a Sysour / þat subtilliesofteli trottid And favell on a Flatterer / Featliefetisly attyrid Then had Notaries non / Anoyed they were for Symonie and Ciuill / shuld on fotehire feet gogange ThenAc þanneand than swore Simony / & Ciuill bothe That Somners shuld be sadelid / & serue them echeone And Apparailedlate apparaille provisorsþise prouisours / in palfreyis wise Sir Symonie him-self / shall sitt onvp-on their backes S.2.172: A pair of inked horizontal lines divide this text line from the previous one. See S.P.11n. Deanes and subdeanes / Drawe you togethers Archedecons & officials / & alsoalle your Regesters Lat sadle them with SiluerSiluer: The S is of irregular shape, with interference from the lines above and below. / oure synne to suffre As avoutrie & diuorses / and derne vsurie To beare Bisshops aboute / abrode in visiting Paulynes pryues / For pleintes in Consistorie Shall serue my-self / that Civill ame namedis namedis nempned And cartsadle the Commissarie / our cart shall he lede And fech vs victualls / at Fornicatores / And make of Liar a longcart / to lede all these other As fryers and Faytors / that on their fete renne And thus fals and favell / wentfareþ furth togethers And Mede in the myddest / & all these men after I haue no timetome to telle / the taile that hirhem foloweth GyleAc GyleAnd Gyle was foregoer / and guidedgyedgylyd them all Sothnesse se himhem well / and seid but Litilla lytyl ButAnd pricked his palfrey / and passed them all And came to the kynges court / And Conscience it told And Conscience to the king / carped it after Nowe by Christ quod the king / ifand I cache myght Fals or favell / or any of his felowesfeeris I wolde be wroken of theirþotheir: Rendering demonstrative þo 'those'. Subsequent instances are usually rendered with better understanding. See S.2.198 and the Linguistic Description. workes wrechis / þat worke so yll And hang themdoon hem hange by the hals / & all that them mainteyne Shall neuer man of thisom. moulde / maynprise the Least But right as þe Law willwol loke / shalllat fall on them all And commanded a constable / that cam at þe First To atache theþo Tyrauntes / for anything I saiehote And fettre fast falsnesse / for any manerkynneskyn giftes And Smightgirdeþ of Gyles head / & let him go no farther And if ye cachlacche Liar / Lat him not escape Ere he be put on the pillarie / for any prayer I saiehote And bringe Mede to me / in spight ofmaugreein mauger them all Drede at the dore stode / & all the matterþe doom herde Andom. howe the king commandid / Constables & Sergeauntes Falsenes & his felowship / to fettre and to bynde Drede thentransp. went wightlie / & warned Falseþe False And bad him fle for feare / & his felowes all Falsnes for fere then / Fled to the Friers And gyle diddooþ him to go / aferdeagast for to die And Marchantes met with him / & made him abide And shettbishetten him in their shoppes / to shewe their ware ApparailingApparailed him as a prenticeApprentice / the people to serue Lightlie Lier / lept awaie then Lurking through lanes / Luggedtoluggedto be lodged of many He was nowher welcome / for his many tales Butom. ouer all huntidhuntid: Probably 'put to flight; driven away'. See OED hunt v., sense 4a, quoting the 1535 Coverdale translation of Psalm 139 (140): "A malicious and wicked person shal be hunted awaye and destroyed." On variation in this line see BTP ad loc. and Carter Hailey in YLS 21 (2007): 152-54. / awaie for to trudgeand yhote trussetrudge: Rendering trusse 'pack up and go'. The earliest instances of trudge recorded in the OED are from c. 1550, hence contemporary with S. Till pardonars had pitie / & pullid him in-to house They wasshed him and wiped him / & wounde him in cloutes And sent him with Seales / on Sondais to churches And heom. gaf pardon for pens / poundemeale about Then lowrid Leches / & letters they sent That he shulde dwellewonye with them waters to loke Spicers spoke with him / to spie their ware For he coude of their craft / and knewe many gommes AlsoAcAnd Mynstrels and Messengers / met with him ones And held him wonanrewritten halfyere / and elleuen daies Friers with faire speche / Fett him thens And for knowing of commers / copid him as a Frier And he hadhaþ leue to lepe out / as oft as he Likidhym likeþ And is welcome when he will / & dwellewoneþ with them oft All fled for feare / and flewe in-to cornershernes Saue Mede the maid / nomoreno more durst abide And trulie to telle / she trembled for drede And eke wept and wrong / when she was atached Passus tertius de visione Nowe is Mede the maide / & nomono mo of them all With Bedells andand with Bailiffes / brought before the king The king callid a clerke / Butom. I cannotkan I noȝtne can y nougth his name To take Mede the maide / and make hir at ease I shall assaie hir my-self / and sothelie appose What man of this worldemooldeworlde: S independently restores the presumed reading of Bx. The agreement should be attributed to convergent variation, as shown by S's treatment of molde elsewhere in the poem. See Glossary. / that she wolde faynest hauehire were leuest And if she worke by witt / and my will folowe I will forgiue hir this gilt / so me godde helpe Curteislie the clerke then / as the king baddhiȝte Toke Mede by the myddell / & brought hir into aom. chaumbre WhereAnd þer was myrth & Minstralsie . mede to please Thei that dwellwonyeþ in westmynstre / worshipped hir all Gentillie with ioye / the Iustices some Busked them to the boure / there the birde dwellid To confort hir kindelie / by clergies leue And said mourne not mede / nor makemake þowmake ye no sorowe For we will intreatwisse the king / & thi waie makeshape To be weddid at thi will / & where the bestleef likith for all Conscience cast / or craft as I trowe Myldelie Mede then / thankidmerciede them all Of their great goodnesse / & gaf them echeone Cuppes of clene golde / & cuppis of syluer Ringes with rubies / & richesses manie The worstleeste man of their meanie / a pecemoton of golde Then tokelauȝtelafte they leue / thise lordes at Mede / With that cam clerkes / to confort hir likewiseþe samesone And badbedenbydden hir be blythe / for we be thine owne for to worke thi will / whillþe while their lyfesþow myȝtwe mounethy lyfe lastwhill their lyfes last: Bx read þe while þow myȝte laste. The variants are peculiar in distribution, as BTP note, but predictable responses to the archetype. GentillieHendiliche she then / behight them the same Andom. to loue them trulielelly / and lordes themom. to make And inin þe Consistorie at court / do call their names Shall no lewdnesse lett / the thingleodeclerkething: Rendering leode, the reading of the beta family. This word initially baffled the translator. Compare S.1.140 and, for analogous use of thing as a dummy translation, S.1.87. Leode is translated felicitously at S.3.98 and in subsequent passus. See Glossary. that I loue But he shalbeshall beThat he ne worþ first avauncid / for I am beknoune Ther konnyng clerkes / shall clocke behinde Than cam there a Confessor / Coped as a frier To mede the maide / he saidmelludmened these wordes And said full softelie / in shrifte as hit were Though lernid men & lewdelewed men and lered menlewed men and lered / had lyne be the bothe And falsnes had folowid the / all this fiftie winter I shall assoile the my-self / for a seame of whete And also be thi beadman / & beare well thy message Among knightes and clerkes / Conscience to turne Then Mede for hir misdedes / to that man knelid / And shroue hir of hir shrewdnes / Shameles I trowe Sheom. tolde him a tale / and toke him a noble For to be hir beadman / and hir brocar also Then he assoiled hir sone / and thensiþen he said We haue a windowe in working / will costsitten vs mucheful hyehigh Woldest þou glase the sameþat gablethe same: Rendering þat gable, a word the translator should have known. Compare S.3.359, where same again appears as a dummy translation. / & graue therin thi name SureSykerful syker shulde thi soule be / heaven to haue Wist I that quod theþat woman / I wolde not spare for to be youre freind frier / and faile you neuer While you loue lordes / that lecherie haunte And lacke not Ladies / that loue well the same Hit is butaom. frailtie of fleshe / ye finde hit in bookes And a course of kynde / whereof we come all Who maie skape thethatom. sclaunder / the scathe is sone amendid It is synne of the seven / Sonest releasid haue mercie quod mede / of men that it haunte And I shall cover your chirche / and do make your Cloisteryoure cloistre do makenȝoure cloyster make Theom.and ȝoure wallesWowes do whight / And windowes glase Do peynt and portraie / & paie for the making That euery mansegge shall saie / I am Sister of your house But god to all good folke / Such grauing defendith To wright in windowes / of their goodwel dedes LestOn auentureyn aduenture pride be peyntid there / and pompe of the worlde For Christ knoweth thi conscience / & thy kynd will And the cost ofþi cost andthe cost of: Other copies read þi cost and, requiring the sense of OED cost n.2, 'character', a hapax legomenon in PP-B; OED3 records few instances later than 1450. Revisions to phrasal grammar show that the translator read OED cost n.3, 'expense'. thy couetise / and who the catell ought Therfor I warnelerelerne you lordes / leue such workes To write in windowes / of your goodwel dedes Or to rennegredenrenne: Rendering greden 'cry out'. See S.2.75n and Glossary. after goddismen / when ye dele doles LestOn auentureyn aduenture you haue your rewardehire here / & your heauen also Nesciat sinistra quid faciat dextra . Let not thy left handhalf / late nor rathe Wit what thou workist / with thi right handesyde for soþus biddeth the gospell / good men to dodoon their almesse Maires and MastersMaceresmercersMasters: S joins Cr2,3 and OC2. / that meanis be betwene The king and the commonscomune / to kepe the lawes To punysh on pillaries / and pynyng stooles BrewersBrewesters and BakersBakstersBrewers and Bakers: Other copies read Brewesters and Baksters. The S reading, a predictable modernization, is unique within the B tradition, yet agrees with the corresponding line in the A and C versions. See KD p.78n. / Bochers and Cookes For these are men ofon this worldemolde / that most harme worke To the pouer people / that dailyparcelmele beggithbuggendaily beggith: Other copies read parcelmele buggen, referring to those who purchase food a meal at a time, for immediate consumption. The pres. pl., pres. subj., and infinitive of BUY were spelled with double g in Sx and often misconstrued by the translator. See S.5.430n and the Glossary. for they poison þe people / priuilie and oft The richThe rich: Rendering Thei richen, 'they get rich'. The verb occurs only here in PP-B. S restructures this line as a single clause. byThei richen þoruȝline om. regratrie / and rentes them buyldebiggenline om.buylde: Sx probably read biggen, a form that may represent either MED bien v. 'buy' (so Kane Gloss.) or MED biggen v. 'build' (cf. OED, s.v. big v.1, sense 4). The S redactor read the latter. With that the pore people / shulde put in their wombeswombe For toke they allon trulie / they timbred not so highe C 2 Nor bought nonone burgages / by thebe yebe theyby the: A visual error for be ye. full certeyne And Mede the maide / the Mayr hath besought Of all such sellers / Siluer forom. to take Or presentes without pens / as pieces of siluer Ringes or other richesrichesse / þe Regratours to maynteyne for my loue quod that ladie / loue them echeone And suffre them to selle / somedeall against reason Salomon the sage / A sermon he made For to amende Mayers / and men that kepe lawes And tolde them this teme / þat I telle thinke Ignis deuorabit tabernacula eorum qui libenter accipiunt muneraThe scribe ran out of space; the last word is entered in the right margin of the line above and partially boxed. Among letterde menþise lettrede leodes / this Latine is to mene That fire shall fall & brenne / all to ashesbloo askesashes: S omits the adjective bloo 'dark, blue-black', which perhaps was not recognized. The word appears in PP-B only here. TheirThe houses and homes / of them that desyre Giftes andor rewardesyeresyeuesȝeres-ȝyftys / bicause of their offices The king from the counsell cam / & callid after Mede And sent forofsente hir shortlieas swiþea swithalso blythe / bywiþ sergeantes manye That brought hir to boure / with blisse and with ioye Curteislie the king than / begannecomsed to telle To mede the maide / he saidmellethhe meneþand meneth these wordes VnwiselieVnwittily woman / hast thou wroughtwroȝt hastow oft And worsse wroughtest þou neuer / then whenþo thou fals toke But I forgiue the that gilt / & graunte the my grace Hens to thi death daie / do so nomoreno more I haue a knight Conscience / cam late from beyonde Yf he willithewilneþ the to wife / woldist thouwiltow him haue Yea lorde quod that ladie / godlord forbidforbede it ellis But I be hollie at your willheste / Lat hang me sone And then was Conscience callid / to come and appere Before the king & his counsell / as clerkes and other kneling thenom. Conscience / to the king Lowtid To witt what his will were / & what he do sholde Wilt thou wed this woman / quod the king /S's double punctuation is unique among beta2 copies but shared by O. if I wole assent SheFor she is faine of thi feloship / for to be thy make Quod Conscience to the king / Christ hit me forbidd Ere I wed such a wife / wo me betide for she is freile ofof hire feith / fickell of hir speche And make men do amissemysdo / many skore tymes Trust of hir treasure / betraiethtrayeþ full manie Wyues and widowes / wantonesse she teachethe And lernelereþ them Lecherie / that loue hir giftes Your Father fshe felled / through fals promisebiheste And hath poysonedapoysoundeenpoisoned Popes / and appeyridpeiredappeyrid: S and Hm restore the presumed reading of Bx. Most beta copies have the aphetic form, peired. See BTP ad loc. holie church There is noIs noȝt a better bawde / by him that me made Betwene heauen and helle / in earthe thoughe men sought For she is tickill ofof hire taile / andom. talkatifetalewis ofof hire tongof tong: S independently restores the presumed reading of Bx; other beta copies read of hire tonge. Compare of taile earlier in this line and of feith in 3.123 above. In each case S deletes the determiner. As commone as a Cartewaie / to eueryech aeche knaue that walkith To Monkes andom. to Mynstrals / to mesils in hedgis Sysours and Sommenours / such men hir preyse Shrives of shires were shent / if she were not for she doth men lose their londe / and their life bothe She lettith passe prysoners / & payeth for them oft And geue the Gailers gold / and grotes togethers To vnfetter the fals / flee where themhym Likith And take the true by the top / and teyith themhym fast And hangeth themhym for hatred / that harme did neuer To be cursed in Consistorie / she countith not a beane For she clothecopeþ the Comissarie / & coteth his clerkes She is assoiled as sone / as hir-self Liketh And may asneiȝ asalmost also muche do / in won monethea Monþe onea moneth ones As maieom. your secret seale / in Six score dayes For she is pryuie with the pope / prouisors hit knoweth for syr Symonie And hir-self / sealeth thehire bulles She blisseth thise Bisshops / though thei be lewde She FeditheProuendreþFedithe: Rendering Prouendreþ, a verb recorded by MED only here. Kane, in agreement with MED, glosses as 'obtains prebendaries for'. The S reading instead reflects the sense 'To provide (horses, etc.) with provender; to feed, fodder', first recorded for this verb in the sixteenth century (OED s.v. provender v., sense 2). Yet 'food allowance' was the original sense of the etymon, MED provendre n. Langland puns on the various senses of this noun ('animal fodder' and 'prebend, ecceliastical stipend') at KD.13.243-5, a passage transmitted faithfully by S. (For the pun see Lawler, Penn Comm., p. 69.) Given these considerations, Kane and the lexicographers probably define Langland's hapax verb too narrowly: the less dignified senses of the associated noun evoke the bestial allegory of S.2.161-65 (=KD.2.162-66). S amplifies that reminiscence and flattens Langland's polyvalence into reformist polemic, a move consistent with alterations in the next two lines. parsons / and preistes maynteynemaynteyne: Parallel with Fedithe, hence 3sg. present indicative, yet without inflection. Compare S.7.87 and S.7.88 bring. To haue lemans and hooreslotebieshoores: Rendering lotebies. Langland reserves the word hore for moments of exceptional stridency and bitterness. S sharpens the pejorative force of Conscience's accusations. / all their Lyfe daies And bring furthe bastardesbarnesbastardes: Rendering barnes; S varies towards greater explicitness. Elsewhere the S redactor retains the word barn (14x) or translates it as childe (3x) or babe (1x). / againe forbode lawes There she is well with the king / wo is the realme For she is favorable to fals / & fouleth truth oft By IhusIesus with hir Iewelles / your iustices she shendith And Lyeth againe the lawe / & lettith him the waiegate That feith maynotmay not haue his coursehaue his forþbe of force / hir florens go so thicke She ledith the lawe as shehire lustlist / and louedaies maketh And makedoþ men loselese through hir loue / that Lawe might winne The maze for a meane man / though he trustmotetrust: Rendering mote 'litigate'. The word occurred in Sx only here and at KD.1.176 (=S.1.175), where the S redactor omitted it. hir euer Lawe is so lordlie / and lothe to make ende Without presentz or pens / she pleaseth fullwel fewe Barons and burgeises / she bringethe in sorowe And all the commonscomune in care / that couete toom.rewritten liue in truthe For Couetise and Clergietransp.clergyse and couetyse / she coupleth togethers This is the life of that ladie / thenowom. lorde giue hir sorowe And all that mainteyne hir men / mischaunce them betide for pouer men maie haue no poure / to pleyne them thoughwhentyl they sma[rte]The end of this line is lost to cropping. Such a maistressemaistermaistresse: Other copies read maister. S establishes grammatical concord of gender; compare S.6.96-98. is mede / Among men of good Then mourned mede / & turnedmenedmeuedturned: Rendering mened 'appealed plaintively' or meued 'addressed (herself) to' (MED meven v., sense 6a). The graphic form would be ambiguous in scribal hands that do not distinguish u and n. In early copies the ambiguous minim sequence should be construed as an n, for mened serves better than meued to govern the infinitive phrase To haue space to speke. Yet mened is the harder word: it appears in KD only here and at 6.2 (see n), and it was evidently unavailable to sixteenth-century readers. Crowley printed meued; in G the ambiguous letter is corrected to v; and S's turned shows that the redactor likewise read meued. Uniquely among these copies, S registers dissatisfaction with the perceived sense 'addressed/turned herself ... to have leave to speak', as shown by revision at the head of the next line. hir to the king DesyringTo haue space to speake / spede if she might The king grauntid hir grace / with a good will / C 3 Excuse the if thou canst I can nomoreno more saie for Conscience accuseth the / to be banishtcongeien þee for euer Naie lorde quod that lady / beleueleueþ him the worse When ye knowe certeinliewiten witterly / where the wrong lieth There asþatthe mischef is great / mede may helpe mucheom. And thou knowest Conscience / I cam not to chide Nor toom. depraue thi persone / with a proude hart Well wottest thoutransp. wrechewernard / but if thou wilt liegabbe Thou hangedhast hanged on my half / elleuen tymes And also griped my golde / giuynggyue hit where the liked And why thou art nowe displeasedwraþest þee now / wonder me thinketh Yet I may as I might / helpemenske the with giftes And mainteyne thi manhode / more then thou knowest And þou hast famid me foule / before the king here For killid I neuer no king / nor counsellid therafter Nor did as thou demist / I do it toon the king In normandie was he not / noyed for my sake And thou thi-self shamedist oft trulie himsooþly . shamedest hym ofte Crope into a cabone / for colde of thi nailes Thou thoughtestWendest that winter / wolde haue lastid euer And dreddest to be dead / for a dymme cloude And hyedst theom. homewarde / for hunger of thi wombe Without pitie pillour / pouer peoplemenpeople: Other copies read men. S augments the alliteration. diddist thou robbeþow robbedest And beare their brasse at thi backe / to caleis to selle There [I] lefte with my lorde / his life for to saue I made his men merie / And mourning le.uelette I batterid them on the backe / & boldid their hartes And madedide them hoppe for hope / to haue me at will Had I bene marshall of his men / by Marie of heauen I durst haue leid my Life / and nolesseno lesse wedd he shulde haue bene lorde of that lond / in length &and inand a breade And also king of that peoplekiþ / his kinne for to helpe The worstleeste brolworst: Rendering leeste brol. The omitted word occurs only here in PP-B. of his blood / A Barons pere Cowardlie thou Conscience / counseldist him thence To leaue his lordship / for a litill syluer That is the richest Realme / þat reyne on reynethouer-houeþrewritten And it is mete forIt bicomeþ to a king / that kepeth a Realme KD.3.210 and 211 (Bx.3.211 and 212) are fused by eyeskip on pre-caesural men. The error was probably present already in Sx, for the unique S variant & has the appearance of secondary smoothing.To giue Mede to men / &om. to honour them with giftes Mede maketh him belouid / and for a man holden Emperoures & Erles / and all manere lordes for giftes haue yong men to renne & to ride The Pope and all thehisom. prelates / presentes will takevnderfongen And giue giftesmedeþ men them-self / to maynteyne their Lawes Sergeauntes for their seruice / we se well the sothe Take Mede of their maisters / as they can agreemowe acorde Beggers for their prayingbiddynge / askebidden men mede Mynstrellis for their myrth / mede they aske The king hath mede of his men / to make peace in lond Men that teache childern / craue afterof hem mede Preistes that preach the people / dothe allto goodeof goddothe all: S rewrites. Other copies have to goode, glossed by BTP as "to (adopt) good behaviour", modifying preach, a sense and syntax secure for the A-version line, which places the line-break after this phrase, but doubtful in the Bx lineation, where to goode should modify asken mede. The wording was accepted by most beta-family scribes: see BTP n. ad loc. S's auxiliary do perhaps adds emphasis: see Linguistic description. aske mede BotheAnd massepens andand hire meat / at the meall tymes All manerekynne craftescrafty men / craue Mede for their prentices Marchauntes and mede / must nedesnede go togethers No wight as I wene / without mede may liue Quod the king to Conscience / by Christ as me thinketh Mede is well worthie / the maistrie to haue Naie quod Conscience to the king / and knelid onto the erthe There are ijtwo manere of medis / my lorde with your leue TheThat won god of his grace / graunteth in his blisse To them that well worke / while they bene here The prophet speakethprecheþ therof / And put it in the psalter Domine quis habitabit in tabernaculo tuo &c Lorde who shall dwellewonye in thi housewones / & with þi holie sainctes Or rest in thi holie hillhilles / this asketh Dauid And heDauid assoileth it him-self / as the psalter tellith Qui ingreditur sine macula et operatur iusticiam .The mark that we transcribe as a punctus has a long tail extending to the right. Compare the flourished punctus at S.5.58. They that entre of one colour / and of won will And haue wrought workes / with right andand wiþ reason And he that vseth not / the life of vsurie And helpethenformeþ truepoueretrue: Rendering pouere; compare Ps. 14:5 innocentem, quoted in the next line. The S redactor declines to follow Langland in deriving, from this Psalm's references to money and gifts, the implication that holiness entails special consideration for those whose poverty inhibits them from buying favor. men / pursuetheand pursueþ truthe Qui pecuniam suam non dedit ad vsuramvsuram: The scribe switches out of engrossing script after this word, presumably to save space. et munera super innocentem non acc[epit]The end of this line is lost to cropping. And all that h helpe þe innocent / and holde with the rightriȝtfulle Without mede doth them good / and the truth helpe Such manere men my lorde / shall haue this first mede Of God at theira great nede / when they go hence There is a nother Mede mesureles / þat maisters desyre To mainteyne misdoers / mede they take And therof saith the psalter / in a psalmes ende In quorum manibus iniquitates sunt . dextera eorum dextra iniquitates et dextera eorumom. repleta est muneribusThe scribe has completely garbled this quotation, Ps. 25:10. And he that gripeth hir gold / so me god helpe Shall abie hit bitter / or the booke lyeth Preistes and parsones / that pleasingesplesynge desyre That take mede and money / for masses þat they sing Theyom. take their mede here / as Mathue vs teacheth C 4 Amen Amen Recipiebant mercedem suam That laborars and lowe folke / take of their maisters It [is] no manere ofom. mede / but a mesureable hire In marchandise is no mede / I maie it well avowe Hit is but pleine permutaciona permutacion apertly / a penyworth for a pennyanoþer And reddist thou neuer Regum / thou recrayid maideMedemaide: Rendering Mede, perhaps by visual error. Whi the vengeaunce fell on Saul /S's line division is shared by Hm and O. Most copies divide after fell, correctly. & on his childerne God sent to Saul / by Samuel the prophete That Agag of Amalech / and all his peoplepeple after Shulde die for a dede / that their elders had donedoon hadde hire eldres Therfor said Samuel to Saul / god himself commandethhoteþ The toom. be buxome at his bidding / his will to fulfille GoWeend to Amalech with thine hoste / & what þou fyndest there sle it FoulesBurnes andburwes and beastes and menom.Foules beastes and men: Rendering Burnes and beestes. S's foules is difficult to explain. It does not derive from the biblical text (1 Samuel 15:3). Possibly burnes was misread as briddes 'birds'. If so, then men supplies an omission in the received text, as the translator read it. Yet burn itself is translated as man in two later instances: see Glossary. / dobrendo: Rendering bren, which may have seemed an overspecific departure from the biblical text (1 Samuel 15: 3, 8-9), though the redactor let Brenne stand at 3.274, three lines below. them to death Widowes and wives / women & childerne MovablesMouableMoebles and vnmovablesvnmouablevnmoebles / and all that þou maiemyȝt fynde Brenne hit beare it not awaie / be it neuer so riche For Mede ornenor for money / loke thou distroie it Spille it and spare it not / thou shalt spede the better And bicausefor he couetid their catell / and the king sparid ForberingForbar him and his beastesbeestes boþe / as the bible witnesseth Otherwise then he was warned of the prophet God said to Samuell that Saul shulde die And all his sede for that synne / shamefullieshenfulliche ende Such a mischefe Mede made / Saul the king to haue That god hatid him for euer / & all his heyres after The conclusionculorumcolour of this matercas / I myndene kepe Ikepe I not to tell LestOn auentureyn aduenture it anoyednoyed men / non ende will I make for so is this worlde nowwentwontnow: Replacing went, pp. / with them that haue poure That who-so tellithe truthesayeth sotheseyth hem sothesseiþ hem soþestseye hym here sothestellithe truthe: Sx probably read sayeth sothe, as Cr, though WHm show that beta2 retained Bx's plural noun sothes, for which see BTP ad loc. S substituted one alliterating phrase for another. Compare S.4.63. / sonest istransp. blamed I Conscience knowe this / for kinde wit it metransp. taught That Reason shall reygne / And realmes gouerne And right as Agag had happe / soom.so: Other copies omit this word and divide before happe. shall some Samuel Shall slea him / and Saul shalbeshall be blamed And Dauid shalbeshall be diademid / and tamedaunten them all And wone xpcristen king / kepe them echeonealle Thenom. shall no more mede be Maister / as she is nowenouþe But loue and lownesse / and leautie togithers ShalbeShall beThise shul ben maisters of the worldeon moolde / truthe to saue And whowho-so trespaseth against truthe / or takethe againe his will Leautie shall do him lawe / and no manlif elles Thenom. shall no Sergeaunt for hishere seruice / weare a silk howe Nor no pelure in his cloke / for pleading at the barre / Mede of misdoers / maketh manie lordes And ouer lordes lawes / rulethe the Realmes But kinde loue shall come yet / And consciens togithers And make of Lawe a laborer / such loue shall arise And such a peace among peopleþe peple / & perfitea parfit truthe That Iewes shall merveilewene in hire wit / And wex wonderwondersom. glad That Moises or Messie / be come into this worldeerþe HauingAnd haue wonder in their harthertes / that men be so true All that bere Baselarde / brodesworde or launce Ax or ellisouþeror yet hachet / or anie wepon ellis ShalbeShall be demed to the death / but if he doth it smythie Into aom. sickle oror toor into sythe / to share oror to cultor Conflabunt gladios suos in vomeres &c EueryEch man to pleye with a plough / pickeaxe or spade Spinne or sprede dong / or spill them-self with sleuth Preistes and parsons with Placebo to hunte And diggdyngendigg: Rendering dyngen 'strike, beat with a flail'. See Glossary. vpon Dauid / eueryeche aeche daie till nighteue Hunting or hauking / if anie of them vse His booste of his benefice / shalbeshall be take from himworþ bynomen hym afterwoll be bynomyn hym aftyr Thenom. shall neither king nor knight / Constable nor Maire OppresseOuerlede the Comonscommune / nor to the court sommone Nor put them in panell / to tdo them plight their truthe But after the dede isþat is done / won dome shall rewarde Mercie or no mercie / as truthe will accorde Kinges court and commone court / consistorie and chapitle All shalbeshall be but won court / And won barone bebyom. Iustice Then shallworþ true tong beom. a tydie man / þat angridtened me neuer Batailles shall non be / nor nomanno man bere wepon And what Smithe þat any makethsmyþeþsmythiesmithed / shalbeshall be sleyne with the samebe smyte þerwiþ to deþe Non leuabit gens contra gentem gladium &c / And ere this fortune fall / men shall fyndefynde men shul the worst / By six Sonnes and a ship / & half a shefe of arowes And the middell of a mone / shall make the Iewes to turne And Sarazens for that sight / shall sing Gloria in excelsis For Makometh and Mede / Mishappe shall that tyme for Melius est bonum nomen , quam diuicie multe Thenom. as wrothe as the wynde / waxt mede in a while I can no Latine quod she / Clerkes wot the sothe D 1 Se what Salomon saith / in Sapience bookebokes That thei that giue giftes / the Victorie wynne And most worship hauehadde therwith / as holie wr. writ telleth Honorem acquiret , qui dat munera &c I beleueleue well ladie quod Conscience / that thi latine isbe true But thou art like a ladie / that rede a lesson ones Whichom.Which: S clarifies syntax. Compare 3.349 and 3.356, below. was Omnia probate / and that pleased hir hart for that line was no lenger / at the leauis ende Had she lokid on theþat other sidehalf / and the leaf turned She shulde haue founde morefele wordes / folowing afterþer-after As thusom. Quod bonum est tenete / truth that text made And so youferde ye madame / ye coulde no more fynde WhenTho ye lokid on Sapience / sitting in your studie This text that ye haue tolde / were good for lordes But yeyow wantidfailed a conning clerke / to turne you the leafþat kouþe þe leef han tornedþat could þe lefe haue turned And if ye lokeseche Sapience againeeftoft / ye shall findefynde shul yefynde ȝe schall that foloweth A full displeasauntteneful text / to them that take mede And that is thisom. Animam autem aufert accipientium . &c And that is the taile of the text / the whichof þat þatof that yesheye: Other beta2 copies have the third-person pronoun she and M was corrected to that reading. S independently restores the presumed reading of Bx; compare S.2.77 and S.6.222, where S likewise adopts the pronoun ye at variance with all other beta2 copies. shewid forThat though we winne worship / & with mede haue victorie The soule that the samesoudesondesame: Rendering soude 'wage', the sole instance of this word in PP-B. The word evidently was not recognized by Crowley: Cr1 sonde remained uncorrected in Cr2,3. For S's dummy translation same compare S.3.49. taketh / By somucheso muche is bounde Passus quartus de visione / The first three lines are set back as if for an enlarged initial, probably in imitation of the exemplar. Compare 5.1n.Cease saith the king , I willom. suffre you no lenger Ye shall suffresauȝtlesangtlesauȝtnesuffre: Probably rendering sauȝtle 'be reconciled', as in Hm, supported by Cr's nonsense reading sangtle. MSS vary between this word and WBx sauȝtne, a related synonym. This is the sole instance of either word in PP-B. Both words were obsolete by the sixteenth century. See OED s.vv. saughtel v. and saughten v. forsothe / and serue me bothe kisse hir quod the king / Licence me for euer Conscience he saideI hote Naie by Christ quod Conscience / LicencecongeyeLicence: 'dismiss' (OED license v., sense 2), rendering congeye. me for euer But ifom. reason rede me therto / rather will I die IAnd I commande the quod the king / to Conscience than HastRape the to ride / and reason thou feche Commande him þat he come / my counsell to here For he shall rule my realme / & rede me the best And rekenacounte with the Conscience / so me Christ helpe How though[thou] learnest the people / the lernedlered & the laielewed I am glad of the samefayn of þat forewardthe same: Rendering þat foreward. Perhaps a dummy translation, but the word is retained at S.6.36 and rendered as covenaunt at S.11.65. / said Conscienceþe frekeConscience: Rendering þe freke. Compare S.4.158 and S.8.7, where the redactor similarly replaces an archaic word meaning "man" with the proper name of the actant referenced. then And right riddtransp.line om. to reason / and rownedrouneþroundethline om. in his eare And said as the king bad / and sithens toke his leue I shall araie me to ride quod reason / rest þe a while And callid Caton his knaue / Curteise of speche And also Tomme true tong / telle me no talis Nor leasing to laugh atof / for I louid them neuer And set my sadill onvp-on my horseSuffreSuffre: S initially treats the received reading Suffre as if archaic, replacing it with contextually appropriate my horse. (Compare S.2.161, where horses renders Sx caples). The scribe then reverted to Suffre, presumably having recognized that it is part of an allegorical name for a horse, not an archaic word meaning "horse." Correction demonstrates the scribe's continued access to the original, unredacted reading of this line. / till I se my time And let girdewarroke him well / with wittie wordes gerthes And hang on him the heavie bridill / to holde his head lowe For he will make wehee / twise ere he comebe there Then Conscience vpon his capull / carieth furth fast And reason with him ride / rowning togethers WhatWhiche maistries mede maketh inon this worldeerþe On warewarynware: Presumably OED ware adj. Other copies read waryn, the given name. wisdome / and wittie his fere Folowid him fast / for they had to do In Th'escheker & in the Chancerie / to be dischargid of thinges And rid fast for Reason sholde / counsell him forrede hem the best for to saue them fromf[or]f[or]: S's from is a mechanical error, induced by attraction to subsequent copy. siluer / from shame & from harmes And Conscience knewe them well / they louid Couetise And bad reason ride fast / & reche of their neither There are wyles in their wordes / And with mede they dwelle There as wrath and wrangling is / there winne they siluer And where is loue and leautie / thei wilnotwill not come there Contricio et infelicitas in vijs eorum & c They careth not forne yeueþ noȝt of god / won goose wing Non est timor dei ante oculos eorum & c For god wottransp. they willwolde do more / for wona doson ofom. chekens Or as manie Capons / or afor a Seme of Otes Then for theom. loue of oure lorde / or all his lefe Sayntes Therfor Reason lat himhem ride / thoseþothe rich by them-self For Conscience knowethe them not / nor Christ as I trowe ThenAnd þanne Reason rode fast / the right heigh waiegate Asand conscience him taughtkennedkenneth / till they cam to the king Curteislie the king then came against Reason And betwene him-self & his sonne / set him on theom. benche And comonidwordeden welwoordedyn ful wiselie / a great while togethers And then cam Peace / in-to parlament /S's double punctuation is unique among beta2 copies, though shared by R. & put vpforþ a bill How wrong Against his will / had his wife taken And howe he rauished Rose / Reynoldes loue And Marget of hir maidenhede / maugre hir willchekes Both my gees and my grice / his gadlinges fechith I darenotdare not for feare of themhim / fight nor chide He borowed of me Bayarde / heand brought him home neuertransp.neuere aȝen Nor no farthing for himþer-fore / for ought I coulde plede He mainteynethe his men / to murther my seruaunteshewenewne Heom. forstallethe my fayers / & fighteth in my cheping D 2 And breke opeope: "up." The spelling is recorded in MED and OED but occurs in S only here. It has no parallel in the spellings of other beta2 copies at this location. my berne doresbernes dorebarne doore / and bearith awaie my wheate And take me but a taill / for xtean quarters ofom.of: Most B-version copies omit this word. The reading of Bx is uncertain: see BTP ad loc. otes yetAnd yet he beates me therto / and lythe by my maide I am not hardie for him / scarcelie dare Ivnneþe tovnnethe forto looke The king knewe he said truesooþ / for Conscience him told That wrong was a wicked wightluftluskewight: Most other copies read luft 'evil person', a rare substantive use of MED lift adj., sense 3b; Cr has luske, a homoegraphic guess. The S reading probably originated in the translator's medieval exemplar, induced by alliteration on /w/, for luft was vulnerable to scribal substitution (see BTP ad loc; F likewise reads wight) and wight seems not to have been part of the translator's active repertoire. S elsewhere lets wight stand on a few occasions but usually translates as man: see Glossary. / & wrought much sorowe Wrong was afraid then / and wisdome he sought To make Peace with his pence / and profrid him moneymanyemoney: Perhaps a visual error. Sx read manye SayingAnd seide had I loue of my lorde the king / litill wolde I recke Though Peace and his poure / playned him euer Then went wisdome / and syr waryn the wittie / For that wrong had wrought / So wicked a dede And warned wrong then / with such a wise tale Who-so worke by will / wrath maketh ofte I saie hit by my-self / þou shalt it well fynde But if Mede it make / thi mischef is vp For both thi life and thi londe / Lyth in his grace Then wowed wrong / wisdome full fastyerne To make his peace with his pens / handy dandy paide Wisdome and witt /S's line division is shared by M. Other copies punctuate after then, correctly. then went togithers TakingAnd token Mede withmyd them / mercie to wynne Peace put furth his head / and his panne bluddie Without gilt god it wot / gat I this skathe Conscience And the Commonscommune / knowe the truthesoþe But wisdame & wit / were about fast To ouercome the king / with catell if thei might The king swore by Christ / & by his croune bothe That wrong for his workes / shulde suffre woewo þoliewoo thorowly And commaundid a Constable / to cast him in yrens And let him not this sevin yeresyer / se his fete ones God wot quod wisdome / þat were not the best And he amendes maie make / Lat Maynprise him haue And be borow for his bale / And begg him boote And so amende that is misdone / And euermore the better Wit Accordid to the sameþer-wiþ / and said Likewiseþe same Better is that boote / Bale adoune bring Then bale be bet / And boote neuer the better ThenAnd þanne MovidMovid: Sx perhaps read meuen, as Cr. Alternatively, SCr coincide in their handling of mengen 'get involved', the reading of most beta copies. hir Medegan Mede to mengen hirecame Mede to meuen hirgan Mede to meken here / And mercie she besought And profrid peace a present / all of pure golde / Haue this man of me quod she / to amende thi scathe For I woll wage for wrong / he will do so nomoreno more Piteouslie Peace then / praide forto the king To haue mercie on that man / that misdid him so ofte For he hath wagid me well / as wisdome him taught And I forgiue him that gilt / with a good will So that the king assent / I can saie no better For Mede hathe me amendes made / I maie no more aske Naye quod the king then / so me Christ helpe Wrong wendith not so awaie / firsterst I willtransp. knowewite more For skapelope he so lightlie / thenom. laughe he wold And aftereft be the bolderþe boldere bebaldere be / to beat my menhewen But ifom. reason hathehaue ruthe on him / he shall rest inin my stockes And that as long as he leuith / But lowlinesselowenesse him borrowe Some men counsellidradde Reason / thentho: Rendering þo, as often. S's punctuation is unique and incorrect; other copies divide after the adverb. to haue ruthe on þat shrewe And for to counsell the king / and Conscience After That Mede mightmoste be Mainprisourmaynpernour / thei Reasontransp. besought CounsellReed me not quod Reason / ruthe forno ruþe to haue Till lordes and ladies / loue all truthe And hate all harlotrie / to here or to speakemouþen it Till pernelys purfill / be put in hir huche And childerne cherisshing / be chasting with roddesyerdes And harlottes holinesse / be holden for an hyne AndTil clerkesclerkes: Rendering clerkene, an archaic gen. pl. See Introduction, III.2, and compare S.1.105n and instances listed there. couetisecoueitise be / to clothe the pouer and fede And religiouse romers / Recordare in their cloisters As Saynt Benet them bad / Bernard & Fraunceis And till preachers preachingesprechynge / be prouid on them-self Till the kinges Counsell / be the Comonscommune profyte Till Bishops Bayardes / be beggers chambres Their haukes and their howndes / helpe to pouer Religiouse And till saint Iames be sought / there I shall assigne That nomanno man go to Galice / But if he go for euer And all Rome ronners / for robbers beyonde Bere no siluer ouer theom. see / þat signe of theom. king shewith Neither grauen nor vngrauen / gold norneiþer siluer Vpon forfeyture of that fee / who-so fynd it at Douer But if hit be merchant or his man / or Messenger with letters D 3 Prouysoure or preist / or penitentpenaunt for his synnes And yet quod Reason by the rood / I shall no ruthe haue While mede hathe the maistrie / in this mootehall And I maie shewe ensamples / as I se other while I saie it by my-self quod he / And it so were That I were king with croune / to kepe thea realme Shulde neuer wrong in this worlde / þat I might knowewite myȝtemygth wyte Be vnpunished in my poure / for perill of my soule Nor get my grace for giftes / so me god saue Nor for medeno Mede haue Mercie / But ifom. mekenes made ittransp.it make For Nullum malum the man / met with impunitum . And bad Nullum bonum / be Irremuneratum . Lat your Confessour syr king / Construe this vnglosed And if ye worke it [in] dedewerk / I dare laiewedde myn eris That lawe shalbeshall be a laborer / And lede dung to the feildeafeld donge And loue shall lede thi lond / as the bestleef likethe Clerkes that were confessors / coupled them together All to construe this clause / And for the kinges profit But not for confort of the commonscommune / nor for the kinges soule For I se Mede in the motehall / on men of lawe winke And thei laughing lept to hir / And lefte Reason many WareWaryn Wisdome lookid on mede / and winked alsowynked vp-on Medelookid ... winked also: Other copies read wynked vp-on Mede and divide before the verb. S expands and re-divides a short line, first replacing Sx wynked with lookid, then employing the rejected word in a feble new b-verse. SayingAnd seide madame I am your man / whatsoeuerwhat so my mouth Ianglith I wantfailefalle inwant: Rendering faile, the reading of Cr, and corrected HmM. For harder falle in, the reading of W, Hm before correction, and most other copies, see Galloway 2006: 413-14. goldefloryns quod that wisdomefrekethat wisdome: Rendering þat freke. Compare S.4.12. / & faile speche ofte All rightfull bare witnesserecordederecorden / þat Reason truthe tolde And wit accordid therwith / & commendid his wordes And the most people in the hall / & many of the great And heldeleten Mekenesse a maister / & Mede a madmansed shrewe Loue lete of hir smallliȝt / & leautie yet lasse set by herom. And spakeseiden it so lowdeheiȝe / that all the hall herdeit herde Who-so willithwilneþ hir to wyfe / for welth of hisr goodes But he be knoune for a Cokeolde / Cut of my nose Mede Mourned then / and made heuie chere For the most comone of theþat court / callid hir an whore But a Sisour and a Somener / sauidsuedsauid: Rendering sued, 'accompanied', perhaps as a homoeographic guess, yet subsequent instances are rendered with understanding or transmitted intact. See Glossary. hir Fast And a Shrives clerke / beshrewid all the route For oft haue I quod he / holpen you at the barre And yet gaf ye me neuer / the worthe of a rishe The king callid Conscience / & after thatafterward Reason And recordid that Reason / had rightfullie saideshewed And modelie vpon Mede , with might the king looked And waxedgan wexe wrothe with Lawe / for Mede almost had shent himitrewrittenrewritten And said through Laweȝoure lawe I beleueas I leueom. / I loseleselost meny escheates Mede ouermaistreth lawe / And much truthe lettithe But Reason shall Reken with you / if I reigne anye while And Iudgedeme you by this daie / as you haue deseruid Mede shallnotshall not maynprise you / by the Marie of heuen I woll haue leautie in lawe / & let be all your iangling And as most folke witnessethwitnesseþ wel / wrong shalbeshall be demid Quod Conscience to the king / But the commonscommune will assent It is full hard by myn head / herto /S's double punctuation is shared by W. Most other copies punctuate only before herto, correctly. to bring it All your liege peopleleodes / to lede thus even By him that diedrauȝtereste on the Rood / quod Reason to the king But if I rule thisþus your realme / rende out my guttes If ye bid buxomenesse / be of myn assent IAnd I assent saithequod the king / by sweteswete: The w is malformed and doubtful. Compare the formation of the sw- ligature (3x) in S.5.122 (fol. 16v). See also the next note. saint MarieSeinte Marie my ladyswete saint Marie: Rendering Seinte Marie my lady. The expression occurs in PP only here; compare S.18.142, where the translator suppresses a reference to Mary. By my counsell comone / of Clerkes & of Erles But ridlieridlie: rendering redily and probably a spelling of that word (forms with -i- in the root syllable are recorded by OED s.v. readily adv. and MED s.v. redili adv.2), but compare OED redly adv.1. S.5.125 and S.17.155 (ridely in the latter instance) show that the spelling here is not an isolated aberration. Reason / thou shaltnotshalt not ride fro me For as long as I liue / depart fromleauelete the I wilnotwill not I am all rediearedyredy quod Reason / to rest with you euer So Conscience be of our counsell / I kepe no better IAnd Iline om. graunte quod the king / god forbiddegoddes forbodeline om. it faileellisline om.it faile: SCr retain the beta reading. See BTP note ad loc. As long as our lyueslyf stillom. last / liue we together / Passus Quintus de visione thethe: The first letter is entered as a guide letter in a space four lines tall, probably in imitation of the exemplar. The openings of passus 7-10 receive the same treatment. Compare the opening of passus 4. king and his knightes / to the chirchkirke went To here matins of the daie / & the masse after Then wakid I of my winking / & I was woewo was withall That I had not slept longersadderlonger: Rendering sadder, 'more soundly' (Kane). / and sene more But ere I had gonefaren a furlong / Feyntnesse me hent That I might not won foot fartherferþer a foot / for defaute of slepeslepynge IAndand y set mesat softlie douneadoun / and said my beleue / And so I babled on my beades / tillom. thei brought me aslepe ThenAnd þanne sawe I muche more / then I before ofom. told IFor I se the feild full of folke / that I before of seide And howe didReson ganReason candid: Read Reason did. S omits the subject noun. Copying errors are unusually frequent at the beginning of this passus. araie him / all the realme to preache And with a Crosse beforeafore the king / begancomsede thus to teache He prouid that . thise pestilences / were for pure sinne And the Southwesterne wynde / on Saterdaie at even Was plainlypertliche for pure pride / And for nothingno point elles Piryis and plometreis / were puffed to th'erthe In exempleensample of you peopleȝe segges · ȝethe segges yeþat ye seggesyou people: The site of much variation in other copies and some indecision in S, where you is entered above the line, over canceled of. The archetypal reading ȝe segges · ȝe survives in no beta2 copy but plausibly accounts for the variation among them and probably stood in the group ancestor. Cr1 the segges ye (revised to tho segges ye in Cr2,3) is the product of dissimilation, rejecting Bx's anaphora. WHm þat ye segges is independent smoothing, parallel to S's abandoned effort to make the syntax of exemplification overt. / shulde do the better Beeches and brokdebrode: The initial reading broke was generated by anticipation of subsequent copy. Okes / were blowen to the grounde The rootes turned vpwardeTurned vpward hire tailes / in tokenyng of drede That deadlie synne /Other copies punctuate only after domes daie. or domes daie / shall fordone them all Of this matere I might / momblemamelenmomble: Rendering synonymous mamelen, a rare word, recorded only from the Proverbs of Alfred, PP, and John Mirk's Festial. Yet the word is transmitted intact at S.11.412, the one later instance where it is likely to have appeared in the translator's exemplar. full long But I shall say as [I] se / so me god helpe howe opinliepertly afore the people / Reason beganne to preache He bad Wastour /Other copies punctuate only after worke, correctly. go worke / what he best coulde And wynne his wasting / with some manere crafte In the outer margin there is a pen trial in a later hand. Below this, again in a hand not that of the main scribe, are the words ye you. Heand praide Pernelle / hir purplepurfilpurple: Rendering purfil, 'fur trimming', in agreement with Cr1. The word was retained at S.4.118, probably its only other appearance in the translator's exemplar. to laie oflete And kepe it in hir Cofre / for catell at hir nede Tomme StouneStowueStoune: Alternatively, read Stone or Stoue with an otiose flourish. Cr gives the name as Stowne, other copies probably as stowue (u/n is ambiguous, as usual). he taught / to take ijtwo staues And feche Felice home / Fro the wiuewyuenwyuenewynen pynwiue pyn: The archetypal reading was wyvene pyne "cucking-stool" (lit. "punishment of wives"), for which see Hanna, Penn Comm., pp. 54-56. The archaic gen. pl. (> OE -ena) was reduced to -en in the beta hypearchetype, as BTP observe, and further corrupted in S. Compare the translator's handling of this grammatical form at S.1.105 and lines cited there. He warned wat / his wife was to blame That hir head was worth half aom. marc / & his hood not worthe a grote& his hood...a grote: The second half of this line is the site of variation elsewhere in the textual tradition (see BTP ad loc.). Agreement of SCrW establishes beta2.The scribe ran out of space; the last word is entered in the right margin of the line below and partially boxed. And bad BettesBette cutt a bough or tweyne And beat Beton therwith / but if she wold worke And then he Chargid chapmen / to chasten their childerne Lat no winnyng them spillforwanyespill: Rendering forwanye 'pamper, spoil with indulgence' (Kane), a dis legomenon in ME, recorded only here and in Richard the Redeles. / while they be yong Nor for no pourepousteeponstepoure: 'power' (the usual spelling of this word in S), rendering poustee, a word used especially of spiritual or divine power. Compare S.12.12n. of pestilence / please them not withoutout of reason My syre saidseide so to me / and so did my dame That the dearerleuere childe / the more teachingloore hbehouith And Salomon said the same / that Sapience made Qui parcit virge , odit filium The english of this latinelatyn is / who-so will knoweit knowe WhoWho-so spareth the roddspryng / hatithspilleþ his childechildrenWho spareth...his childe: Rendering Who-so spareþ þe spryng . spilleþ hise children (spelling of W). The vocabulary of the received text is not archaic: spryng is well attested in sixteenth-century sources (OED s.v. sprig n.2), while S.5.35, above, confirms that spill was part of the S-translator's active vocabulary. The S-translator's evident motivation was instead to harmonize with the rendering of Prov. 13:24 in contemporary English Bibles. The Great Bible of 1540 reads "He that spareth the rodde, hateth hys sonne" (retaining the phrasing of Coverdale 1535). See also S.6.247n. And thensiþen he prayed Prelates / & preistes alsotogiderestogydre That ye preache to the people / proue it on yourself And do it in dede / it shall drawe you to good Yf ye liue as as[+] ye learneleren vs / we shall beleueleue you the better And thensiþen he counsellidradde reli..gion / hir rule to holde Lest the king & his counsell / your Commons appeyre And be Stywardes of your stedes / till ye be rulid better And thensiþen he counseiled the king / his commonscommune to loue It is thi treasure if treason were not / & triacle at thi nede And thensiþen he prayd the Pope / haue pitie on holie churche And ere he giue any grace / gouerne first him-self And ye that vse the lawehan lawes to kepe / lat truthe be your desirecoueitisedesire: Rendering coueitise and perhaps motivated to avoid the negative sense of that word. More then golde or giftes / if ye will god please For who-so contrarieth Truthe he tellith in the gospell That god knoweth him not / nor no saynt inof heauen Amen dico vobis nescio vos .The punctus is flourished; compare S.3.239. And ye that seke Saynt Iames / And Seyntes ofat Rome Seke Saynt Truthe / for he may saue you all Qui cum deoom. patre et filio / that fair him befall That folowetheseweþ my sermon / And thus said Reason Than ranne Repentance / and rehercid his teme And GreatgartemadeGreat: Rendering garte 'caused' by homoeography. The error yields broken syntax. Other instances of this verb are translated accurately. See Glossary. will to wepe / water with his eyne Pernelle prowdhart / fell vpon the groundeplatte hire to þe erþe And laie long or she looked / & lorde mercie cried And behight to him / that vs all made She shulde put ofvnsowen hir smockeserkscherte / & put vpon ansette þere anset theron heyre SCr1 uniquely omit KD.5.66.Shall neuer highe hart me hent / But holde me lowe And suffre to be missaide / and so did I neuer But now will I meke me / & mercie beseche For all this I haue / hated in myn hart Then Lechorielechour said alas / & on oure Ladie he cried SCr1 uniquely omit the preceding line, KD.5.72 (Bx.5.75). The S variant at the head of the present line has the appearance of secondary smoothing.AndWiþ that he shulde the saterdaie / seuen yerisyer afterþer-after Drinke but withmydwith: SHm revert to the presumed reading of Bx. Most other beta copies read myd. See BTP ad loc. the ducke / and dine but ones Enuie with heauie hart / asked after Shrifte And carefullie Mea culpa / he begancomsed to shewe He was as pale as a pellet / in the palsey he semed And clothed in a Cawrymawrie / I coulde it not discriue In kyrtill and Courtepie / and a knife by his side Of a friers frocke / were the forsleuis And as a leke that had lyne long in the sonne So looked he with lene chekes / lowring foule His bodie bolnewas to-bollenwas bownewas alto bolne for wrathe / that he bit his lippis And wringing he wenthe yedeom.wringing he went: Rendering wryngynge he yede, the beta reading, for Bx wryngyed. See BTP ad loc. Cr dropped he yede. with hisþe fist / to wreke himself he thought With workes or with wordes / when he se his tyme EueryEch aEch worde he spakeþat he warp / was of an edders tung Of chiding & of chalenging / was his chefe liuelod With backbiting & busynessebismerebismebusynesse: Rendering bismere 'scorn'. See S.19.295, where the plural is rendered as troubles. / & bearing of fals witnesse This was all his curtesie / whersoeuerwher þat euerwhere-soline om. he becameschewed hymline om. I wold be shreven quod this shrewe / & I for shame durst I wolde be gladder by god / that Gibbe had mischaunce Then ifþouȝ I had this weike wonne / a weye of Essex chese I haue a neighbore nere me / I haue anoyid him ofte And compleynidlowen on him to lordes / to do him lose his siluer And made his freindes his foesfrendes be his foonfrend be his foefrend his foo / through my false tong His grace & his good happes / greuidgreuen me full sore Betwene man & manmanye and manyemeyne and meyneman & man: S, in agreement with Hm, improves the feble beta reading manye and manye. See BTP ad loc. The SHm reading is perhaps prompted by 5.96, above. / I make debate ofte That bothe Life and lymme / is lost through my speche And when I mete him / in market / that I most hate / E 1 A hand with distinctive crossed ascenders has entered pen trials in the outer margin. We distinguish the words "he", "ther" (?), and "the" and the letters h, k, and b. I hailehailse him gentilliehendely / as I his frende welwe[re] For he is hardierdouȝtier then I [I] dare do non other But had I maistrie and might / god knowethwoot my will And I at kirk when I comewhan I come to þe kirkwhan y come to chercheI at kirk when I come: S is confused and deficient in sense. Compare writing errors in previous lines. Other copies read whan I come to þe kirk. / and shulde knele to the roode And prey for the people / as the preist teacheth For pilgrymes and for palmers / &om. for all otherþe peple afterpeple after Then I crie on my kneis / þat Christ giue them sorowe That bare awaie my bolle / & my broke shete / Awaie from the alter / thenthen: Other copies divide after this word, correctly. turne I myn eyis And beholde how Eleyne / hathe a newe cote I wishe thatþanne it were myne / & all the webbe after And atof mennis losselesynge I laugh / that liketh myn hart And for their wynnyng I wepe / & waile the tyme And Iudge them to do euilldeme þat þei doon ille / there I do muchwel wors Who-so tellithvndernymeþ me herof / I hate him deadlie after I wishe that euery manwolde þat ech a wight / were my knaue for who-so hathe more then I / that angrith me sore / And thus I liue louelesse / Like a lither dogg That all my body bolneth / for bitter of my gall I might not eat many yeris / as a man ought For Envie and euill will / is euill to digestdefie NoMay no suger nor swete thing mayom. / asswage my swelling Nor no diapenidion / driue hit fro my hart Nor neither shrifte nor shame / but who-so shrape my mawe Yes ridlie quod Repentance / & counseldradde him to the best Sorowe forof synnes / saluacion istransp. of soules I am sorie quod that mansegge / I am but seld other And that maketh me so leneþus megre / for thatforþat I maynotmay not me avengevenge Amonges Burgeises haue I bene / dwelling at London And causidgartdude Bacbyting be a Brokour / to blame mennis ware When he solde & not Itransp. then was I redie To lie and to loure on my neighbour / & to lacke his chaffare I will amende þis if I may / through þeom. might of god allmightie Now awaketh Wrathe / with ijtwo whight eyen And sneuelingneuelyngemuelynge inwiþ the nose / And his necke hanging I am wrath quod he / I was sometime a Frier And the Coventes Gardeyner / For to graffe ympes On lymitors and Listers / Lyes therelesynges I ymped Till they bare leaues of lowe speche / lordes to please And sithen they blossomed abrode / in boure to here shriftes And now is fallen therof a fruyt / that folke hadhan muchewel leuer Shewe their shriftes to them / þatþanþat: Read than. Hm has the same error, perhaps inherited from beta2. W and Cr made the obvious correction. shriue them to their parsons And now parsons haue perceyuid / that Friers parte with them Thise possessourspossessioners preache / and depraue Friers And friers fynd them in fautedefaute / as folke beare witnesse That whatwhan they preache the people / in many places about I wrathe walke with them / And lernewisse them of my bookes Thus they speake of my spiritualtie / þat either dispise other Till thei be bothe beggers / And byby my Spiritualtie liue Or ellis ride about / all richeal riche . and ryden aboute I wrathe rest neuer / but Iþat I nerewritten must folowe Thise wicked folke / for such is my grace I haue an Aunnte Ato Nonne / And an abbesse bothe She hadHir haddeHere wereShe had: Probably rendering Hir had, an error transmitted in WCr, for Bx Hir were, and induced by forms of haue in surrounding copy. S and Hm make divergent corrections; Hm rejoins Bx. leuer swounne or swelte / then suffre any peyne I haue be Cooke in hir kechin / & the Covent seruid Many monethes with them / & with Monkes bothe I was the Prioresse Potager / and other pouer ladies AndAnd maad hemand madeAnd: Other copies read And maad hem. A verb is necessary. Iowtes of Iangling / that dame Ione was a bastarde And dame Clarice a knightes doughter / butacom. a Cokeold was hir syre And dame Pernell a preistes file / Prioresse wasworþline om. she neuer For she had childe in Cheritime / all our chaptire it wist Of wicked wordes / I wratheS's line division is shared by W. The best mss divide after I wrathe, correctly. See BTP ad loc. there wortes made Till thou liest & þou liest / lepid out at ones And either hitt other / vnder the cheke Had they had knyues by Christ / eitherhir eiþer had killed other Seynt Gregorie was a good Pope / & had a good forewitt That no prioresse were preist / for that he ordeyned They had then bene / Infames / the first daie / thei can so euill kepehelerewritten counseill Among Monkes I might be / but manie tyme I escheweschonyeshonye itshamen For there be many fell frekes / my featesfeeris to espie AndBoþe Priour and Subpriour / And oure Pater abbas And if I telle any talis / thei take them togithers And do me fast Fridaies / to bread & to water And am Chalengid in the Chaptirhouse / as I a childe were And beatebaleised on the bare arse / & no breche betwene Therfor haue I no liking / with themþo leodes to dwellewonye I ete there illvnþendevnhende fish / & feble ale drinke But otherwhile when wyne come / Iwhan Iþanne Iand y drinke wyne at even I haue a flux of a foule mowthe / well fiue daies after All the wickednesse that I wot / by any of myoure bretherne I knowethtellecouþetelle: The canceled reading knoweth misconstrues Sx couþe as a form of MED connen. The operative verb is MED kithen, as the scribe subsequently recognized. Compare S.5.529. it in oure Cloister / that all our Couent wot it . E 2 Nowe repent þe quod Repentaunce / & reherce youþowrepent þe...reherce you: Rendering repente þe...reherce þow. As elsewhere, S mixes forms of the 2nd-pers. pronoun. The form you is secure, for the unabbreviated spelling þou does not appear in the manuscript. See S.2.115n, lines cited there, and Introduction, section ???. Cr here reads repent you...reherce you. S and Cr retain the old 2sg. nominative thou in the next line. neuer Counseile that thou knowist / by countinaunce nor bi right And drinke not ouer delicatelie / nor to depe neither That thi will because therof / to wrath might turne Esto Sobrius he saide / and assoiled himme after And bad himme willwilne to wepe / hismy wickednesse to amend And then cam Couetise / can I not himtransp. discriue So hungerlie and holowe / Syr heruy him loked He was bitilbrowed / and blaberlippidbaberlipped also With ijtwo bleared eyen / as a blynde hagg And as a letherleþeren purs / lolled his chekes SydderWel sidder then his chinne / they chiverid for ageeldeolde And as a bondman of his bacon / his beard allwas bedreueled With an hood on his head / &om. a lowsie hat aboue And in a tawnie taberd / of xijtwelue winter age All to torne and bawdie / & full of lyce creping But if that a louce coulde / haue lepid the better She had notsholde noȝt hanhad not: So SCr. WHm sholde noȝt han is the beta reading. walkid on that clotheon þat welþeon þat welchethereclothe: Rendering welþe, a beta2 error for welche, "Welsh flannel". / so was it thredebare I haue bene Couetouse quod this Caitif / I knowlegebiknoweam a-knowe it here For sometime I seruid / Symme at Stile And was his prentice plight / his profit to wait First I learned to lye / A leafe or tweyne Andom. wickedlie to weye / was my first lesson To wye And to winchester / I went to feyreþe Feyre With many mannere marchandise / as my master me hight Had not the grace of Gyle gone / Among my chaffare It had be vnsold this seuen yere / so me god helpe Then drewe I me among drapiers / my donet to learne To drawe the listliserlist: 'strip of cloth' (OED list n.3), rendering synonymous liser. S agrees with many A mss and with G and F of B. See KD, pp. 153-4. along / the lenger it semed Among the riche raies / I rendrid a lesson To broche them with a packenedill / & pliteplite: MED pleiten v., 'join, fasten'. The spelling is inherited from beta2 (W re-spells as playte) and represents either an infinitive or past tense with assimilated dental suffix. them togithers And put them in a presse / & pynned them therin Till xtean yerdes or xijtwelue / had tolled out thirtene My wife was a webberwebbewebster / & wollen cloth made She spake to spynnersSpynnesteres / to spynne it out But the pounde that she paid by / weyidpeisedpoised a quarterquartronquarter: Rendering quartron, the beta reading. S independently restores the presumed reading of Bx. See BTP note ad loc. more Then myne oune Auncer / who-so weied truth I bought hir Barlie Malt / she brewid it to selle Pennyale & Puddingale / she poured togithers For Laborars & pouerfolkefor lowe folklowe folke / that lay by ithym-self The best ale laie in my boure / or in my chambrebedchambre And who-so bummed therof / bought it therafter A galon for a grote / god wott no lasse And yet it came in cupmeale / this craft my wife vsed Rose the regrater / was hir right name She hath bene an hucsterholden hukkeryeholden hukkerthholden hukstrybene an hucster: Rendering holden hukkerye, as in W. Cr1 hukkerth presumably arose through y/þ confusion (Cr2 has the W reading). Hm varies independently, as often. / all hir life-time But I swere now so the ik / that synne I leuewol I letewolde I let And neuer wickedlie weye / nor wickedwikke chaffare vse But gowenden to Walsingham / And my wife also And bidde the Rood of Bromeholme / bring me out of dett Repentidst thou euer quod Repentance / or restitucion madist Yes ones was Itransp. harborowed / quod he with an hepe of chapmen I rose when thei were at restaresteyn reste / and rifled their males That was nonotnone restitucion quod Repentance / but aom. robbers thefte Thou haddist bene well worthierbettre worþi / toom. be hangid therfore Then for all that / that þou haesthaest: 'hast'; the spelling occurs in S only here and at 17.244. here shewed I wende Rifling had benewererewritten restitucion quod he / Ifor I neuer lernidtransp.rewritten toom.rewritten rede on booke And infeithin feith I can no frencheI kan no frenssh in feiþ / but of the farthest parteendeom. of Northfolke Vsedist thou euer vsurie quod Repentaunce / in all thi life-tyme NoNay sothely he saide / Saue in my youthe I learned among Lumbardes / & Iewes a lesson To weye pens with a peise / and pare the heuiest And lene it for loue of the Crosse / to leye a gagewed & loselese it WhechSwiche dedes I did wright / if he his daie broke I haue mo maneris throughbyof Rereages / than through Miseretur & com[odat]The end of this line is lost to cropping. I haue lent lordes & ladies /S's punctuation is shared by Hm. Other copies punctuate before & ladies, correctly. my chaffare And be their brocour after / and bought it my-self Eschaunges & Cheuisaunces . with such chaffre I Dele And lend folke that loselese will / a lippe at euery noble And with Lumbardes letters / I ledd golde to Rome And toke it by tale here / & told them there lesse Lentist thou euer lordes / for loue of their maintenaunce Yea I haue lent lordes / thatom. louid me neuer after And haue made many a knight / bothe Mercer & Draper That paide neuer for his prentishode / not aonea pair ofom. glouis hast thou pitie on pouer men / that must nedes borowe AsI haue as much pitie ofon pouer men / as pedlers hauepedlere haþpeddere of Cattes That wolde kill them if theihe cach themcacche hem myȝtecan hem catchhem cacche mygthe / euin forfor coueitise offor couet of their skinnes Art thou manlie among thi neighbors / of thi meat & drinke I am callidholden quod he as kindehende / as a dogg on his bonehound is in kicheneis hound in kitchinas kinde as a dogg on his bone: Rendering as hende as hound is in kichene. Langland's proverb is Whiting H558; for S's revision compare Whiting H596, "While the Hound gnaws bone yfere wills he none." Among my Neighbors namelie / such a name I haue Now god lene the neuer quod Repentaunce / but thou repent þe rather E 3 GraceThe grace on this grounde / thi goodes wellgood welgood wyl to besett Nor thine heires after the / haue Ioye of that þou wynnest Nor thine executours well besett / þe siluer þat þou them leuist And that was wonne with wrong / with wicked men be dispended For were I Frier of þat house / there good feithe and charite is I wolde not cope vs with thi goodescatel / nor our church amende Nor haue wona penny to my pitaunce / so god my soule helpe For þe best book in theoure house / though brent golde were the leauis YfAnd I wist vereliewitterly / thou were such as thou tellest Servus es alterius , cum fercula pinguia queris Pane tuo pocius , vescere liber eris Thou art an vnkinde creature / I can þe not assoile Till þou make restitucion / and reken with them all And sithen þat reason rolle it / in þe Registre of heauen That þou hast made echeman good / I maie the not assoile Non dimittitur peccatum / donec restituatur ablatum For all that haue of thi good / haue god my trouthe Be holden at the high dome / to helpe þe to restorerestituerewritten And whowho-sohe þat beleuithleueþ not this toom. be truesooþ / Loke in the psalter glose In Miserere mei deus / whether I mene truthe Ecce enim veritatem dilexisti &c Shall neuer workman in this worlde / thriue with þat þou wynnest Cum sancto sanctus eris / construe me þat inþat onþis on englishe Then waxt that shrewe in wanhope / & wold haue hangid himself Had not repentaunce the rather / reconfortid him in þis manere haue mercie in thi mynde / and with thi mouth askbisechebeseh it For goddes mercie is more / then all his other workes And all the wickednesse in this worlde / þat man myghtmay work or // thinkeThe scribe ran out of space; the last word is entered in the right margin of the line above and partially boxed. ys nomoreno more to þe mercie of god / than in the sea a glede Omnis iniquitas quantum ad dei misericordiamtransp. est quasi sintilla in medio maris / Therfore haue mercie in thi mynde / & merchandise leue it For þou hast no good grounde / to get the with a wastell But if it were with thi tong orellesor elles with þi ijtwo handes for þe good þat thou hast goten / beganne all with falsehode And as long as þou liuest þerwith / þou yeldest nought but borrowest AndAnd if þou wotnotwot notwite neuere to whomewhiche ne whomwhiche ne to whom / thou shuldest make restitucionto restitueto restorerestytewe Beare hit to the Bishop / & bidd him of his grace BestoweBisette hit himself / as best is for thi soule For he shall answere for the / at þe high dome For the and for many mo / þat man shall giue a rekening What he learned you in lent / beleueleue youþowȝeyou: WLRF (hence Bx) have þow, in agreement with singular address in preceding lines. HmMO have ye, in agreement with plural address earlier in the present line (continued in the next line below). SCr modernize to you, here nom./voc. Compare S.2.115n and lines cited there. Though executed inconsistently in the best manuscripts, the shift to plural address is apt: it gives generalizing force to the conclusion of Repentance's dialogue with Covetise. non other And what he lent you of theoure lordes good / to let you from synne S.5.306: A short inked line in the outer margin divides the present text-line from the previous one. Compare S.P.11n and see the next note. NoweNowe: This word is written in a script slightly larger and more formal than the scribe's usual text-script, evidently in recognition of the new narrative segment that begins here. W also has an enlarged N at this location. Compare S.7.158n and S.8.62n, where S's presentation is again paralleled in W. begoynneth Gloton / For to go to Shrifte And CariethCarieth: A beta2 substitution, for Bx kaires. him to kirkewarde / his cuppe to shewe But Beton the Brewster / Bad him good morowe And askid of himhym wiþ þat / whetherwhetherwardewhiderwardwhether: OED whither adv. and n.2. See the delta forms. he wolde To holie churche quod he / For to here masse And thensiþen I wilbewill be shreuin / and synne nomoreno more I haue good Ale Gossip / quod she / Gloton wilt þou saieassayesaie: OED say v.2, 'test'. Elsewhere this spelling is the verb SAY 'speak'. Hast þou ought in thi purs / any hoott spices I haue Peper and Pionies quod hequod sheom.he: See S.1.142n. / & a pounde of garleck Andom. a farding worthe of Fenell sede / for fasting daies Than goith Gloton in / & great othes after Cesse the Sowtresse / Sat on the Benche Wat the Warner / & his wife bothe Tymme the tynker / & tweyne of his prenticis Hicke the hakeneyman / and Hugh the Nedler Clarice of Cockeslane / & þe clerke of the church DavieDawe the dyker / and a doson other Syr piers of Prydye / & pernell of Flaunders A Ribiboure / a Ratoner / a Raker of Cheape A Rooper / a Readingking / & Rose the dishers Godfrey of Garlickhithe / & Griffin the welchmanwalshe And vpholstersvpholderesvpholdesters an heape / erlie by the morowe Gaf Gloton with glad chere / good ale forto hansell Clement the Cobler / cast of his cloke And at the newfeire / he offridnempnednepnyd hit to sell Hicke the hakeneyman / hurldhitte his hood after And bad bet the bochier / be ofon his side There were chapmen chosen / this chaffare to prisepreiseprise: S's spelling perhaps shows the lexical differentiation recorded in OED s.vv. prize v.1 'assess value of' and praise v. 'commend, laud' (see the etymological notes). Yet the form in -i- occurs in S only here. The scribe elsewhere transmits a form in -ei- or an equivalent combination of vowels, regardless of sense. For instances that require the sense 'assess value of', see S.5.336 immediately below, S.11.322, and perhaps S.15.256. Who-so hauehathhaddehaue: Subjunctive; most copies have pres. indic. the hood / shulde haue a-mendes of the Cloke Two rise vp in hastRape / & rowned togithers And preised these penyworthes / a-part by themthehym-selfthem-self: Cr1 the selfe, a misprint, supports the SW reading for beta2. Cr2,3 supply the missing macron. Hm has the singular. They coulde not by their conscience / accorde in truthe Till Robyn the Roper / arose by the southe And namednempnednemp him for an vnpere / þat no debate were Hicke the hostlier / had the cloke In couenant that Clement / shulde the cup fill And haue Hickes hoodhood hostilerhood the ostlere / & holde him seruid And who-so repentrepented firstraþest / shuld arise after And grete syr Gloton / with a galon ofom. Ale / E 4 There was laughing & Lowring / & Lat go the cup And theyom. sate so till euinsong / & sung sumwhilevmwhile Till glutton had glubbedygolpedglobred / a galon & a gill His guttes begangonne to romblegoþelen / as ijtwo gredie Sowes He pissed a pottell / in a pater noster while And blewe his Rounde Rewet / at his ridgebones ende That all that herd þat horne / held ther noses after And wisshed it had be waxed / with a wispe of fyrres He might neither steppe nor stond / tiller he had a staffa staffe hadhis staf hadde And then he begangan he to go / Like a glewmannes bich Sometime aside / & sometime Arere As who-so leieth Lynes / for to cachelacche foules And when he drew to þe dore / then dymmed his eyen He stumbled vponon the threshold / and fellþrew to the erth Clement the Cobler / caught him by the middill For to lift him vpolofteon lofte / and leid him on his kneis But Gloton was a great chorle / & a grimme in þe lifting And kouȝedkouȝed: A rare instance of the graph <ȝ>. The S spelling agrees with W against other beta2 copies, as also at S.11.380 noȝt. See Introduction, section ???. vp a cawdell / in Clementes Lapp So hungrie a hounde is notIs noon so hungry houndThere is none so hongry houndethere nas none hungry hound in hertforth shire Dorst lappe of thoþeþat leuinges / so vnlouelie they smeltsmauȝtesmakkyd With all þe wo of this world / his wife & his wench Bare him home to his bed / & brought him therin And after thisal þis excesse / he had an Accidie That he slept Saterdaie & Sondaie / till þeom. sonne wentyede to rest Then wakid he of his winking / & wypid his eyen The fyrst word that he spakewarp / was where is the boll His wifewyt began to chidegan edwyte him then / how wickedlie he liuid And Repentaunce right so / rebukid him that time As þou with wordes & workes / hast wrought euill in þi Lyf Shriue the & be ashamed therof / & shew it with þi mouth I Gloton saidquod the grome / giltie me Imetransp. yeld That I haue trespassed with my tong / I cannot telle howofthow oft Sworne goddes soule / & so god help megod me helpeme god helpegod help me: Transposed from god me helpe, the beta reading. See BTP ad loc. at holi domeand halydome& þe holidomeatte þe holy domeom. There no nede was / nyne hundreth tymes And ouersetouerseyenouerset: 'sat or tarried too long', rendering ouerseyen, here 'forgot (myself)' (MED oversen v., sense 4). me at my Supper / & sometime at nones That I gloton girt it vp / ere I had gone a myle And spilt that might haue benebe sparid / and spendid on some / hungrieThe scribe ran out of space; the last word is entered in the right margin of the line above and partially boxed. Ouer delicatlie on fasting daies / dronke & eate bothe And sate sometime so longlonge þere / þat I slept & ete allom.boþe at ones For loue of tales / in Tauernes / to drinke þe more I dyned And hied to the meat or noone / vpon fasting daieswhan fastyng-dayes were This shewing shrifte quod Repentaunce / shalbeshall be merit to the And then gan Gloton wepegredgreeteto gretewepe: Rendering grede 'cry out', the reading of Cr and corrected M (hence beta6), and a verb that elsewhere provoked wild guesswork in S (see Glossary). In this instance the translator hit upon the correct semantics, for grede, the presumed reading of Sx, is a homoeographic departure from original greete 'weep'. / & make great dolegret doel to makegret doel made For his lither lyfe / that he had leddlyued hadde And avowed to fast / for hunger or for thurst Shall neuer Fish on fridaie / digestdefyen in my wombe Till abstinence myn Aunte / haue geuen me leue And yet haue I hated hir / all my life-time Then cam Sleuth / all bislaberid with ijtwo slymie eyis I must sitt ye people quod heseide þe seggequod the segge / or ellis shulde I nappe I maie not stond nor stowpe / nor without amiom. stole knele Were I brought a-bed / But if my taile end it causedmademake Sholde no Ringing do me rise / tiller I lustwere ripe to dine He began Benedicite with a bolke / & his brest knocked And raskeledraxed & rored / Ant rutt at the last What awakeawake renkwake reukawake: Other copies read awake renk. The omitted word is elsewhere usually translated as man. See Glossary. quod Repentaunce / And hierape the to shrift Yf I shulde die by this daie / me lustlist not to loke I cannot perfitelie my Pater noster / as the preist it singeth But I can rymes of Robynhoode / & Randolf Erle of Chestre But neither of our lorde / norne of oureor our Ladie / the least þat euer was made I haue made avowesvowes fourtie / & forgoton them on the morowe I performed neuer penaunce / as the preist me hight Nor right sorie for my synnes / yet was I neuer And if I bidd any beades / but if it be in wrathe That I telle with my tong / is ijtwo myle fro my hart I am occupied eueryecheecha daie / holidaieholidaie: There is an extra looped ascender in this word, probably the beginning of a mis-placed d, written by anticipation of -daie. and other With ydell tales at the ale / & otherwhilesouþer-while in theom. Church Goddes peyne and his passion / full seld think I onther-onneon iton: S agrees with OC2C and M before correction, for Bx þere-on. W on it is an awkward repair, adopted also in M. Original M and the beta4 copies OC2C indicate that the deficient reading preserved in S may go back to beta itself, in which case LCrHmGYB make the obvious correction. I neuer visited neuer Feble men / nor fetterid folke in prisonputtes I hadhauehad: Other beta copies have the present tense. S independently restores the presumed reading of Bx. See BTP note ad loc. leuer here an harlotrie / or a somergame of Sowters Or leasinges to laugh at / & belie my neyghbors Than all that euer Marc made / Mathue Iohan orand Luke And vigils and fastingdaies / all these let I passe And ly in bedabedde in Lent / & my leman in myn Armes Till matins and Masse be done / & then go to the friers Come I to Ite missa est / I hold me well contentyserued I am not shreuen some time / but if sikenesse it make Not twies in ijtwo yere / & then vponvp gesse I shriue me I haue bene b preist and parson / more thenpassynge thirtie winter Yet can I neither Solf nor Sing / nor Seyntes lifelyues rede But I can fynde an hare in a feilde or furlongin a feld or in a furlang an hare Better then in Beatus vir / or in Beati omnes / f 1 Construe won clause well / And teachekenne it to my parisshens I can holde Louedaies / And here a Reves Rekennyng But in Canon or in decretals / I cannot rede a lyne If I biggbigg: 'buy', a relict form. S elsewhere re-spells as bie or bye or misconstrues the word as another verb, usually BEG. See Glossary. and borowe ought / But if [it] be tailled I forgett it by & byas yernealso ȝerne / & if men me it aske Six tymessiþes or seven / I forswereforsakeforswere: 'deny, repudiate' (OED s.v., sense 2), accurately rendering forsake (MED s.v., sense 1). it with othes Thus do I angreAnd þus tene I trew men / tean hundred tymes And my seruauntes Sometime / their Salarie is behinde Ruthe itom. is to here the Rekennyng / when we redeshul redeshal makeschull ȝelde acomptes So with wicked will and wrathe / my workemen I paie Yf anymanany man dothe me a benefite / or helpeth me at nede I am vnkinde against his curtesie / & cannot vnderstond it For I haue & haue had / somedele haukes maners I amam noȝt lured with loue / But alwaie for Avauntageþer ligge auȝt vnder þe þombeought be vnder þe thombeougth lygge vndyr the thombeBut alwaie for Avauntage: A prosaic rewrite of but þer ligge auȝt vnder þe þombe, abandoning the analogy to hawking. The kyndnes that myne even cristen / hath shewid me of latekidde me fernyerekyd me ferther Syxtiesixe tymessiþes I Slouth / haue forgote it synssiþþe In speche & in sparing of speche / yspilt many a time Bothe flesh & Fish / and manie other victuales Bothe bread and ale / Butter Milke and Chese ForsleuidForsleuþedForsleuid: Probably miswriting of Forsleuþed, the reading of other copies. in my seruice / till it might serue nomanno man I ranne about in youthe / & gaf me not to learne And euer sithe haue be begger / for my foule slouth Heu mihi quia sterilem duxi vitam Iuuenilem Repentidist thou not quod Repentance / & euenriȝtom. with þatwithþerwyþ he swowned Till Vigilate the veille / fet water at his eyen And flatt it on his face / & fast on him cried And seid ware the offrofor wanhope / heom. wolde þe betraye I am sorie for my synnes / Seye to thi-self And beat thi-self on the breast / & byd godhym of grace for here is no giltis no gilt here so great / butbut þatþat his goodnes is more Then sate sleuthe vp / And remembridseynedfayned him-selfhym swiþeremembrid him-self: Rendering seyned hym swiþe, 'quickly crossed himself'. The verb (MED signen) occurs in PP-B only here. Swiþe is plausibly rendered as shortlie at S.3.103 and S.9.143, showing the translator's awareness of a meaning appropriate to the present line. And made avowe tofore god / for his foule Slouth Shall no Sondaie be this seuen yere / but sikenes it let That I shalnotshall not ere it be daie / get me to þeI ne shal do me er day · to þe deerey schal done me er day · to the dere church And heare Matyns & Masse / as I were a Monkea monk were Shall non ale after meate / Hold me fromom. thence Till I haue herd euinsongtransp. / I promisebihote to the Rood And yet will I yeld againe / if I somuchso much haue All that I wickedlie wanne / sithens I had witttransp.lyf hadde And though my lifelode lacke / let will I notI nelle ButThat eche man shallne shal haue his / ere I hens wende And with the restresidue andand þe remenaunt / by the Rood of Chestre I shall seke truthe erst / ere I se Rome Robert the robber / on Reddite lookid And for thatom. there was not wherof / he wept rightswiþe sore But yet the synfull shrewe / Seid to himself Christ that on Caluarie / vpon the Crosse dyedst ToThoTo: An error for Tho (conj.), elsewhere translated as when. dismas my brother / .obesought theyowthe: S replaces polite you with intimate the. See S.18.90, again in address to Christ on the cross. of grace And haddist mercie on that man / fofo[r] Memento sake So rewe on this Robber / that Reddere haue not Nor neuer thinkewene to hauewynne / by any meanewiþ craft þat I tknoweowevseknowe: Corrected from tnowe. The scribe's final intention is questionable, but compare the forms of <k> in, for instance, S.6.28 kirk. W owe is the beta reading, against knowe in alpha, Ax, and Cx, joined by Cr. BTP attribute Cr knowe to Crowley's C manuscript; SCr agreement would imply that the reading originated in the common ancestor of these two copies, perhaps through alliterative attraction to archetypal craft earlier in this verse (subsequently translated out in S). Hm and G show that the beta reading provoked variation. ForBut for thy greatmuchelmuche mercie yetom. / mitigacon I beseche AndNe damme me not at domesdaie / for þat I haue donedide so ill What befell onof this felon / I cannot truliefaire shewe Well I wot he wept fast / water withwiþ boþe his eyen And knowlegid his synnegilt / to Christ yet eftsones That penitencia his pyk he shulde polish newe And lepe with him ouer lond / all his life-tyme For he had lyne by Latro Luciferis Aunte And then had Repentaunce ruthe / & willidredde them all to knele For I shall praybiseche for all synfull / to theoure Saviour of grace T'amende vs of oure mysdedis / & shewedoom. mercie to vs all Now god quod he that of þi goodnes / gannecoudbigonne the worlde make And of nought madest ought / & man most likelik to þi-self And sithen suffredst him tofor tofortohim to: W for to is the beta reading, from which each of the remaining beta2 copies diverge. S independently restores the presumed reading of Bx. synne / a siknesse to vs all And all for the best as I beleue / what-euer the book tellith O felix culpa . O necessarium peccatum Ade &c ForFor þoruȝ that synne thi son / was senttransp. intoto theþis erthe And became man of a maid / mankinde to saue And madist thi-self with þi son / & vs synfull likeyliche Faciamus hominem ad ymaginem et similitudinem nostram Et alibi Qui manet in caritate in deo manet &c And sithens with thi self sonne / in oure sute diedst On Goodfridaie for manissakemanis sakemanis sake: Written as one word. The s in manis is the long form, elsewhere reserved for non-final position. / at full tyme of the daie There thi-self nor thi sonne / no sorow in death felid But in orure sect was the sorowe / And thy sonne it ladd Captiuam duxit captiuitatem The Sonne for sorowe therof / lostlees lightsyȝte for a tyme About middaie when most light is / & meletime of Sayntes Thouom. feddest with þi fresh blood / our forefathers in darknesse f 2 Populus qui ambulabat in tenebris vidit lucem magnam And through the light þat lept out of the Lucifer .was blent And blewe all thi blessed / into the blisse of Paradise The thirde daie after / thou wenstyedestyeldest in oure sute A synfull Marie the se / ere Saint Marie thi dame And all to solace theom. synfull / thou woldestsuffredest it so to bewererewritten Non veni vocare iustos / sed peccatores ad penitentiam And all that Marc madehaþ ymaad / Mathue Luke or IohanIohan and LucasLuke or Iohan: Transposed in other copies. S imposes the canonical order. / Of thi doutie dedes / were done in oure armes Verbum caro factum est , et habitauit in nobis And by somuchso much me thinksemeþ / the sikerer we maie PraieBidde and beseche / if it be thi will That art oure Father and oure brother / be mercifullmerciable to vs And haue ruthe on thise Ribawdes þat repent them hereom. sore That euer thei offendidwraþedwarped the in this worlde / in word thought or dede Than hent hope an horne / of deus tu conuersus &c And blewe it with Beati quorum remisse sunt iniquitates That all Seyntes in heuen song atonesat ones Homines et Iumenta saluabissaluabis: S truncates this quotation. A thowsande of men then throng /S's line division is unique among beta2 copies. Other copies divide before throng, correctly. togethers CryingCride vpwarde to Christ / and to his clene mother To haue grace to go with them / truthe to seke But there was no wightwiȝt noonnone so wise / the waie thether knewekouþe But blusterid furthe as beastes / ouer bankes & hilles Till long was and latelate was and longe / that they met a mana leode mettea lade mette Apparailed as a Pilgr PaynymPaynym: Before this word the scribe wrote Pilgr, subsequently canceled by strikethrough. The error was induced by attraction to subsequent copy. The canceled P lacks a descender: compare forms of this letter in S.10.273 and the heading to passus 12. in pilgrymes wise He bare a bourden bounde / with a brode list In a withwyndes wise / boundywounden about A bolle and a bagg / he bare by his side An hundred of Ampulles / on his headhat sett Sygnes of Synay / & Shellis of Galice And many a crossecrouch on his cloke / & Keyis of Rome And the Vernycle before / for men shulde knowe And se by his signes / whom he had soughttransp. This folke freyned him first / fro whens he came From Synay he said / & from oure lordes Sepulchre / In Bethleme and in Balbylone / I haue bene in bothe In Armenye &in Alisaundre / & ininand many other places You be my Signes seYe may se by my signes / that bebe setsitten on my hatt That I haue walkid wideful wide / &[in] wete and in drie And sought good Seyntes / for my soules helthe KnowestKnowestow aught a Corsseynt / þat men call truthe Couldest thou ought tellwissen us the waie / where that manwyewight dwellith Naie so me god helpe / said thatþe pilgrime againegome þanne I neuer setransp. palmer / with picke nor with Scrippe / Aske after him erster / till nowe in this place Peter quod a plowman / & put furth his head I knowe him aswellas wellas kyndely / as aom. clerk doth his bookes Conscience and Kyndwitt / taughtkenned me to his place And did me sure themhymthem: S's plural harmonizes with the previous line and agrees with alpha. Other copies have the singular. See BTP ad loc. sikerlie / to serue him for euer Bothe to sowe andand to sett / the while I might Labourswynke myȝte I haue bene his folower / all this fifftie winter Bothe sowen his sede / and seruidsuwed his beastes Within and without / waited his profite I dike and I delue / andI todo that Truthe grantithhoteþand to that Truthe grantith: Other copies read I do þat truþe hoteþ. S's rewrite is ungrammatical, lacking an object complement to grantith. Probably to is an error for do. Sometime I sowe / and sometime I threshe In tailours crafte & Tinkers crafte / what truthe can deuise I weaue and I wynde / and do what Truthe willithhoteþ For though I saie it my-self / I serue him to paie Ich haue myne Hire well / & other-whiles more He is the bestpresteste paier / that pouer men maye knoweknoweþ He witholdwithold: The sense requires a 3 sg. verb, presumably pa. withhalt as in CrWHm. This line underwent extensive surgery. frome none wiþhalt noon seruaunthewehelkhyneseruaunt: Probably rendering hewe, the archetypal reading. Though retained in W only among beta2 copies, hewe is supported also by Cr helk, which probably originated by misreading anglicana w as -lk-. his hyre / that he hathne haþ it not at nighteuen He is as lowlielowe as a lambe / & louely of Speche And if ye willwilneþ to wite / where that he dwellith I shall shewwisse you plainliewitterly / þe wey to his place Yea lefe piers quod thise pilgrymes / & proferid him hire For to gowende with them / to Truthes dwelling place Naie by my soules helth quod piers / & begangan tofor to swere I willnotwill notnolde takefange a ferthing / for Saynt Thomas shryne Truthe wolde loue me the lesse / a long tyme þerafter But if ye willwilneþ to wend well / þis is the waie thether Ye must go through Mekenesse / Both men and wyues Till ye come into Conscience / þat Christ wite the sothe That ye loue our lorde god / bestleuest of all thing And then your neighbourureneighbo[ur]eneighbo[ur]e: Our emendation for ms neighbourure. The scribe entered a ur abbreviation followed by -ure. next / in nowiseno wisenone wise appeire Otherwise then thou woldest / thatom. he didwrouȝtedid: Replacing wrouȝte, perhaps to harmonize with Matt. 7:12. to theþi selue And so bowe furth by a brook / be buxome of speche Till ye fynde a foorde / your Fathers honoure Honora patrem et matrem &c Wade in that water / & washe yeyowye: Presumably nom./voc., but rendering Sx yow, the reflexive object of the verb. Compare S.2.115n and lines cited there, and see Introduction, section ???. well there And ye shall leape the lighterliȝtloker / all your life aftertyme f 3 A collection of pen trials, possibly in the later hand associated with marks in the margin of 16v, are written in the top margin of the folio. Most have been cropped, though the word "the" is still legible. And so shalt thou se Swere not / but if it be for nede And namelie inon ydilnesseydel / the name of god allmightie Then shalt þou come by a crofte / but come þou not therin That Croft hight Covet not / mennis catell nor their wives Nor non of their seruauntes / that noye them might Loke ye breake no bowes there / but if hit be your oune Two stockes there stande / but stint ye not there They hight Steale not / nor slea not / gostrik furth by bothe And leaue them on thi left handhalf / & loke not therafter And holde well þi Holidaie / heigh till even Then shalt þou blench at a BredgeBerghberchBredge: Rendering bergh 'hill', the sole instance of this word in PP-B. / Bere no fals witnesse he is frythid withIn wiþin Floryns / and other foesfees many Loke þou plucke no plant there / for perill of þi soule Then shall ye se Say sothe / so it be to do In no casemanere ellis not / for nomannesno mannes bidding Than shalt þou come to a Court / as clere as the Sonne The mote is of mercie / the manere about And all the walles be of witt / to hold will out And kernelid with Christendome / mankyde to saue Buttrased with beleue so / or þou beist not saved And all the houses / be hillid / hallis & Chambers With no lead butbut wiþ loue / & lowe spech as bretherne The Bridge is of bidd well / the better may þou spede EueryEch piller is of Penance / of & ofofand Holie preyerspreieres to Seyntespraiers of sayntsHolie preyers: Other copies read preieres to Seyntes. S suppresses reference to intercessory prayer. Of almesededes ar the hokes / that the gates hang on Grace hight the Portargateward / a good man forsothe His man hight Amend you / for many men him knoweth Tell him this Token / that Truthe wite the sothe I performed the penaunce / thatom. the preist me inioyned And am full sorie for my synnes / & so shall Itransp. euer When I think theron / though I were a pope Bid amend you meke him / till his Maister ones To wayue vp the wickett / that the woman shett WhenThoto Adam & Eue / ete Appuls vnrostid Per Evam cunctis clausa est / et per MariamMariam virginemvirginem Mariam patefacta est For he hath the kye ofand the Clicket / though the king slepe And if grace graunt toom. the / to go in this wise Thou shalt se in þi-self / Truthe in þi hart In a cheyne of charitie / as thou a childe were To suffre him & saie nought / Agayne þi syres will But beware then of Wrathwraþe þee / That ys a wickyd shrewe He hath Envie to him / that in thine hart sitteth And provokithpokeþ forþpoketh for pride / to preise thi-self The boldnesse of thi good dedisbienfetesbenefites / maketh the blynde then And then art thouworstowwast þouart thou: Probably rendering contracted worstow, as in W (=worthest thou). This verb is always revised out in S, often rendered with a form of TO BE, as here. driven out as dew / & the dore closed Keyid & clicketted / to kepe the without Happely an hundred wynter / ere þou mighteft entre Thus mightest þou Loselesen his loue / to set muchlete wel by þi-self And neuer perfortunehappily aftereft entre / but grace þou haue But there are seven sisters / þat serue Truthe euer And are porters of the posternes / þat to þe place longeth TheThat one hight Abstinence / & humilite another Charitie and Chastitie / be hirhisethe chefe maidens Pacience & Peace / much people they helpe Largenesse the Ladie / she lettith in full many She hath holpen a thowsand /S's punctuation agrees with OF. Other copies divide after out. See YLS 32 (2018): 399 n.5. out of the deuils pinfold And who is Sib to thise viiseuen / so me god helpe He is wonderlie welcome / and gentilliefaire receyuidvnderfongen And onlessebut ifbut ye be Sibbe / to soommesome of thise seuen It is full hardhard by myn heed quod piers / for any of yeye: A clear instance of this form in oblique usage. Compare S.2.115n and lines cited there. all To get inyngangeingoing at any gategate þere / but grace be the more Now by Christ quod a Cutpurs / I haue no kyn there Nor I quod an Apewarde / by aught that I can knowe Wite god quod a Wafrerwafrestere / wist I this forsothe Shold I neuer farther a foot / for no Friers preching Yes quod piers the Plowman / & provokidpoked him all to good Mercie is a maidmaiden there / &om. hath might ouer them all And she is Sibbe / to all synfull / & hir son also And through the help of them ijtwo / hope þou non other Thou might get grace there / incasein caseþere · by sootherby , soþere . so þou go by-time By saynt Poule quod a pardoner / I fere I amparauenture I beon a-venture I be not knowne there I will go fech my box / with my brevettes / & a bull with bishops lettr[es]lettres: The end of this word is lost to cropping. By Christ quod a Comon woman / thi companie will I folowe Thou shalt saie I am thi suster / I wotnotwot not where they become Passus Sextus de Visione This were a wicked wey / but who-so had a gyde That wold folow vs eche a fote / thus thise folke comonedhem menedrewrittencomoned: 'talked, conversed' (OED common v., sense 6)', rendering hem mened. Compare S.3.171n and S.4.48. Quod perkin the ploughman / by Seynt peter of Rome I haue an half acre to erye / by the high waie f 4 Had I eried that Half Acre / & sowen it after I wold gowende with you / And the waie youom. teache This were a long letting / quod a Ladie in A Scleyre What shulde we women / worke the whilethe whilesin the meane whylethe while: Hm the whiles perhaps represents the beta2 group ancestor. Bx þere-whiles was displaced already in beta1. Cr revises independently. See BTP ad loc. Some shall sowe the sack quod piers / for sheding of þe wheat And ye louely ladies with your long fingers That ye haue Silk & Sendall / to sowe when ye Lusttyme is Chesibles for chapleynes / chirches to honor Wyues and wedowes / wolle and flex shall spinnespynneþ Make clothe I counsell you / & teachkenneþ so your doughters The nedy and the nakid / takenymeþ hede how they Ly And cast them clothes / for so commandeth truthe For I shall lende them lifelode / onlessebut if þe lond faile Flesh and bread both / to rich and to pouer As long as I liue / for the lordes loue of heuen And all manere of men / þat through meat & drink liue Helpe him to worke wightlie / that wynneth your food By Christ quod a knight then / He tellethkenneþ vs the best But on the teme trulie / taught was I neuer But tellkenne me quod the knight / & by Crist I will assaye By Saynt Paule quod Perkin / ye proffre you so faire That I shall swynk and sweate / & sowe for vs bothe And other Labors do for þi loue / all my Life-tyme In Couenaunt that þou kepe / holie kirk & my-self From Wastors &and fro wickedmen / þat this world distroystroyen And go Hunt herdelie / bothto hares &and to Foxes Bores andTo bores and to brockes / that breake douneadown my hedgis And go affaite theþi Fawkons / wild foules to kyll For such come to my Crofte / & croppe my whete Curteislie the knight then / begancomsed these wordes By my Power Piers quod he / I plight þe my trouth To fulfill this forward / though I fight shulde As long as I Liue / I shall the mainteyne Yea butand yet a poynt quod Piers / I pray you of more Loke ye trobleteneteme no tenant / But truthe will assent And though ye may Amercie them / Let mercie be taxour And mekenesse þi master / Maugre Medis chekes And though pouer men proffre you / presentes & giftes TakeNyme it not lest perfortunean auenture / ye maie it not deserue For thou shallt yeld it againe / &[at] wone yeris ende In a full perilouse place / Purgatorie it hight And misusemysbede not thi bondmen / the better shalltmaymigh þou spede Though he be thi vnderling here / well may heom.rewritten happehe happe: S supplies a personal subject pronoun. For the construction see OED, s.v. hap v.1, sense 1. See also the next note. in heauen And be moreThat he worþThat he wererewrittenAnd be more: Other copies have That he worþ, the opening of a subordinate clause dependent on happe (see prev. note and OED, s.v. hap v.1, sense 2a). In S's reworked syntax be ... set is grammatically parallel with, and functions as epexigesis of, happe. S rejects the verb worþ, as usual. (See Glossary.) worthier sett / & with more blisse Amice ascende superius For in theom.a Charnell at church / churles be euill to knowe Or a knight from a knaueknaue þere / knowe this in thine hart And that þou be true of thi tong / and hate all talestales þat þow hatie OnlesseBut if they be of wisdomewisdom or of wit / thy workmen to chasten Holde with non Harlottes / nor here not their tales And namelie at meate / such men eschewe For theiit be the deuylls disours / I do the to vnderstande I Assent by Seynt Iame / seid the knight than For to worke by thi wordes / the while my Life durethe And I shall aparaile me quod Perkyn / in pilgrymes wise And I will go with youwende wiþ yow I wile / till we fynde Truthe And cast on my clothes / clouted and hole My cockers and my Cuffes / for colde of my nayles And hang myn hophoper at my halse / in stead of a Scrippe A busshell of breadcorne / bring me therin For I woll sowe it my-self / And thensiþenessythsutthyn will I wende To pilgrimage as palmers do / pardon for to haue But who-so helpe me to erie / or sowe here or I goowende Shall haue leue by our lorde / to gleanelese here in harvest And make them cheremurie therwithþer-mydther / in spight of who say naiemaugree who-so bigruccheþ it And alkynd craftie men / that can Liue in truthe I shall fynde them food / that feithfullie Labourlibbeþ Saue Iacke the Iogler / and Ienet of the Stewes And Danyell the Dyce pleyer / & benetDenotebenet: SCr3, for Denote in other copies. Compare changes to the form of proper names at S.5.322, S.6.337. the Bawde And Frere Faitourþe faitour / and folke of his order And Robin the Rybawder / for his rustie wordes Truth told me ones / and bad me telle it after Deleantur de libro viuencium / I sholde not dele with them For holie church is commandidhote / of them no tythe to take Quia cum iustis non scribantur / They be escaped good aventure / god them amende Dame worke when tyme is / Piers wife hight His Doughter hight do right so / or þi dame shall the beate His son hight suffre þi Souereynes / to haue their will Deme them not for if thou doist / thou shalt it dere abie Lat god workeyworþe withall / for so his worde teacheth For now am Itransp. olde & hoore / and haue of myn owne g 1 A later hand has written a collection of pen trials in the top margin. The word "the" also appears here. Some letters have been cropped. To penaunce and to pilgrimage / I will passe with thise other Therfore I will or I gowende / wrightdo writewright: Rendering do wryte. S implies that Piers will take up the pen himself. my testamentbiqueste In dei nomine amen I make it my-self He shall haue my soule / that best hath deseruid it And fro the feind it defende / For so I beleue Till I comecome to his acomptes / as my Credo me tellith To haue a releas & remissiona remission / on þat rentall I beleueleue The kirk shall haue my Carkascaroyne / and kepe my bones For of my corne and catell / shehe claymedcraued the tythe I paid it hirhimfulhir: S extends the allegory. Other copies have a masculine pronoun here and in subsequent lines. prestlie / for perill of my soule Therfor is sheheom. holden I hope / to haue mynde onto haueto mind me in the Masse And mynde memengen in hirhis memorie / Among all cristen My wife shall haue of that I wan / with truthe & nomoreno more And deale among my doughters / & my dere childerne For though I die this daieto-day / my dettes are quyte I bare homoehome: The scribe corrects o to e by adding an exaggerated cross stroke currente calamo. that I borowed / ere I to bed wentyede And with the restresidue andand þe remenaunt / by the Rood of Lukes I will worchip truthe / duringþer-wiþ . truþe by my Life And be his Pilgryme at the plough / for pore mennis sakes My plowgh fote shalbeshall be my pickt staf / & pich a ijtwo þe rotes And helpe my Coulter to kerue / & clense þe forowes Now is Perkin and his pilgrimes / to the plowgh gonefaren To erie hisþis half Acre / holpe him manye Dykers and deluers / digged vp the balkes Therwith was perkyn apaide / & preised them fast Other workemen there were / that wrought full yerne EueryEch man in his manere / made himself to do And some to please Perkyn / picked vp the wedes AndA[t] high Pryme piers / Let the plough stand To ouerse them himself / And who-so best wrought He shulde be hyred therafter / when hervest time came And then sate some / & song at the ale And holpe toom. erie his half Acre / with heyhow troly lolie Now by the perill of my Soule quod piers / all in Angrepure tene OnlesseBut ye arise the rather / And hastrape you to worke Shall no greyne that growith / glad you at nede And though you die for dowell sorowedoelsorowe: Before this word the scribe has written dowell, underlined for emphasis and subsequently lined through. WHmCr here read doel (dole Cr), a word rendered by S as sorowe on two later occasions and thus surely the word understood and rendered in S's corrected reading at this location. Yet the spelling of the canceled reading is peculiar. It perhaps transmits a unique Sx error, showing interference from the character/concept Dowell, so spelled at S.7.183 and following. Since this error anticipates subsequent action, it could only be made by someone familiar with the poem and its language, and is more likely to have originated in a medieval copy than in S itself. A similar error occurs in Cr1 at Bx.15.151 (in Cr2 the spelling is corrected to dole). At S.9.12, where contextual attraction is a factor, the S scribe miswrote Dowell for Dobet, subsequently corrected. / þe deuill take himhauehym haue þat recke Then were Faytours aferde / and Feyned them blynde Some Laid their legges awriealiry / as such Losels can And made their mone to Piers / & praied him of grace WeFor we haue no Lymmes to Labour with / Lorde gracid be ye But we pray for you Piers / and for your plough bothe That God of his grace / your grayne multiplie And yeld you for your Almusse / þat ye giue vs here For we may neithernoȝt swink nor sweate / such sikenes we hauevs eyleþ Yf hit be truesooþ quod Piers that ye saie / I shall it sone espie Ye be wastours I wot well / & truth wot the samesoþetruth wot the same: Rendering truþe woot þe soþe. Phrasal context deflects the translator from his preferred rendering of soþe, as truth. Compare S.3.359, where same likewise serves as a dummy translation. And I am his olde hyne / and hight him to warne Which they bewere in this worlde / that hindre his workemenhise werkmen apeired Ye wast that men wynne / with travaile and with tene But Truth shall teach you / yhis teame to driue Or ye shall eate barlie bread / & of the brook drinke But if he be blynde or brokeleggid / or bolted with yrons He shall eate wheat bread / & drink with my-self Till god of his goodnesse / Amendement him sende But ye shuldmyȝte travaile as Truth wold / & take meat & hire To kepe keen in the feild / the corne from the beastes Dike andor delue / or diggdyngendigg: Rendering dyngen 'strike, beat with a flail'. See Glossary. vpon sheues Or helpe toom. make morter / or bear dungMuk to the feilda-feld In Lecherie and in LoselrielosengerieLoselrie: abstract derivative of losel (transmitted above, S.6.125), rendering synonymous losengerie. / ye liue and in sleuth And all is through suffraunce / that vengeaunce yeyowye: Other copies have yow. S's nominative pronoun destroys the force of Piers's warning. Compare S.2.115 and references there. ne take But Ancres & heremytes / that eat notom. but at nones And no more or morowe / myn Almusse shall they haue And of Catell to kepe them with / þat haue Cloisters & Churches But Robert Rennabout / shall not haue of myne Nor Apostels but ifom. they can preachetransp. / And haue pour of þe Bisshop They shall haue breadpayn & potage / & make them-self at ease For it is vnreasonablean vnresonablerewritten Religion / that ofhaþ riȝtof: Read haþ riȝt, as in other copies. S's ungrammatical of is probably a mechanical error induced by attraction to subsequent copy. nought of certeyne And than began a wastour be angrieto wraþen hym / & wold haue fought And to Piers þe Plowman / he profred his gloue A Bretoner A Bragger / Bostedabosteda bostedBosted: Probably rendering abosted (so all B copies except SCrCGOF), an otherwise unparalleled verbal form generated by misdivision of Bx a [=he] bosted and corrected independently at several points in subsequent transmission, especially in late and revising copies. See BTP ad loc. Piers also And bad him go pisse with his plough / forpyned shrewe Wilt thou or nylt þou / we will haue oure will Of thi flour and of thi flesh / fech when we Likevs likeþ And make vs mery therwithþer-myde / in spight of þi tethemaugree þi chekes Then Piers the ploughman / pleyned him to þe knight To kepe him as Couenant was / from cursed shrewes And fro thise wastours inom. woluis skynneswolueskynnesin woluis skynnes: Rendering wolueskynnes, 'wolf-like'. S joins M (woluesskynnes, without word division, but adjoining s's are allographs) and some beta4 copies. The preposition in is secondary smoothing unique to S. / þat make þe world dere For they wast and winne nought / And that ilk while MaynotMay not plentie beWorþ neuere plentee among þe people / whillesþe whileþer-while themy plough Lythe Curteislie the knight then / as his kynde wolde Warned wastour / And counseiledwissed him better Or thou shalt abie by the Lawe / by th'order þat I bere g 2 Cropped and illegible marginalia run along the top margin of the folio. I was not wont to worke quod Wastour / & now will I not begynne And set Light byleet liȝt ofleet lygthly of the Lawe / & Lasse byof the knight And set Piers at a pese / and his plough bothe And thretindmanaced Piers and his men / if they met eftsone Now by the perile of my soule quod piers / I shall apeire you all And whoupedwhouped: Cr likewise spells this word with initial w. Other copies have houped. after hunger / that herd him at þe first Awreke me of thise wastours quod he / þat this world shendith Hunger in hast then / hent wastour by the mawe And wrong him so by the wombe / that hisboþe hisehis: SCr; WHm boþe hise is the beta reading. eyen waterid He buffetid the brytoner / about the Chekes That he lokid Like a Lanterne / all his Life after He beat them so both / he brast welnerewell nerener their guttes Had notNe hadde Piers with a pese loof / preid hunger to cease Thei had died euin streitbe doluen / deme thou non other Suffre them Liue he said / & Lat them eate with hogges OrellesOr elles beanes and bren / Bakid togithers OrellesOr elles mylke and meane ale / thus preid piers for them Faitors for feare herof / Flewe into Bernes And Laidflaptenflappenflattynlaid: probably rendering flapten, the archetypal reading, retained in W. S retains the past tense, against Cr's present flappen. on with Fleyles / fro morowe till nighteuen That Hunger was not so hardie / on them for to loke For a pott full of peases / þat Piers had made An heap of Heremites / gethenten them spadis And kitt their Copes / and CourterscourtepiesCourters: Rendering courtpies 'short coats', a word previously transmitted intact (S.5.80, the only other occurrence). S's intended meaning is unclear, for we do not find a clothing-term with this spelling in OED. them made And went as workemen / with spades & with shouelis And deluid & diggeddikedendiggen / to driue awaie hunger Blynde and bedrenbedren: presumably OED bedridden adj., as in other copies, with reduced second element. Compare the doubtful spellings recorded for MED bed-rede(n. adj. and n. The S spelling is unparalleled at this location in other B copies. / were holpenbootned a thowsand That sate and beggidto begge syluer / sone were they healid For that was bake for bayarde / was bote for many hungrie And many a begger for beanes / rediebuxumline om. was to swynke And echeech a poremanpore man well apaide / to haue f pesen for his hyre And thatwhat Piers prayed them to do / as prest as a Sperhawke And therof was Piers proude / & put them to worke And gaf them meat as he mightmyȝte aforþemight ford / & measurable hyre Then had Piers pitie / And preid hunger to gowende Home vntoin-toyn-tyl his oune houseyerd and hold him there For I am well awroke / of wastours through þi might But I praye the ere thou passe / quod pers to hunger Of Beggers and of bidders / what best isberewritten to do for I wot well be ye goneþow went / they will worke full Ill For mischefe it maketh / they be so meke nowe And for defaute of their food / thise folke beis at my will They are my blodie brethernebreþeren quod Piers / for god bought vs all Truthe taughte me ones to Loue them echone And to helpe them of all thing / aye as they nede And now wold I wite of the / what were the best And how I might maisteramaistren them / & make them to worke Here now quod hunger / and holde it for a wisdome Bolde beggers and bigg / Bread able to gettþat mowe hir breed biswynkethat may her bread swinke With houndes bread / and horsbread / hold vp their hartes Abate them with beanes / for bolling of their wombe And incasein caseif theyþe gomesher gommes grudgegrucche / bid them go Labourswynke And he shall haue Bettersoupe swetter / when he haue earnid itit haþ deserued And if yeþow fynde any freke / that fortune hath apeyrid Or any manere false men / shewid youfonde þowshewid you: Rendering fonde þow, an imperative. S's grammar and sense are opaque. Treatment of fonden elsewhere in the text shows that the translator guessed the meaning of this word from context: see Glossary. The reading you is secure despite the scribe's use of a single graph for þ/y. See S.2.115n and references there. such to knowe Confort him with thi catell / for Christes loue of heauen Loue them and lende them / so theom. Lawe of god teacheth Alter alterius onera portate And all manere of men / that þou maymyȝt aspye That nedie be and noughtie / helpe them with þi goodes Loue them and Lacke them not / Lat god take the vengeance Though they do euill / Lat god worke Michi vindictam et ego retribuam And if if thou wilt be graciouse to goodegoddo goodgoode: Probably the reading of the common ancestor of SCr. Cr smooths to do good. WHm retain god, the reading of Bx. / do as the gospell bidtecheþ And biloue þe among pouermenpouer menlow menlewed men / so shalt þou gettlacche grace Facite vobis amicos de Mammona iniquitatis I wold not greue god quod Piers / for all the good on grounde Might I without synnesynnelees do as þou saist / said Piers then Ye I promisebihote the quod hunger / orellesor elles the Bible Lieth Go to genesis the giaunt / th'engenderour of vs all In Sudore and laboreswynk / thou shalt þi meat wynnetilie And Labour for þi Lifelode / soand so our lorde badhiȝte And Sapience seith the same / I se it in the Bible Piger pro frigore / no feild wollnoldewolde tille And therfor he shall beggbegge and biddebegge in somer / & nomanno man bete his hunger With the mannes face MathueMathew wiþ mannes face / saidmouþed these wordes That Servus nequam / had a Mnam / & for he wold not chaff[are]The end of this line is lost to cropping. He had maugrie of his maister / euermorefor euermore& euer-more after And toke awaiebynam hym his MnamMnam: Above this word the main scribe enters the gloss "id est talentum." The gloss ".id est. A besaunt" appears at approximately this location (KD.6.239) in several good beta copies (WHmML) and presumably stood in S's exemplar. Besaunt is well attested as a word for biblical coins in Middle English (see MED, s.v.), and is the word used in the Parable of the Talents (Matt. 25: 14-30) in most copies of the Wycliffite Bible. S's talentum brings the gloss into lexical conformity with the text of this parable in the Great Bible. See also S.5.42n. / bicausefor he woldnotwold not work And gaf that Mnam to him / that had teanten Mnames hadde And thenwiþ þat He said / that holie church it herde He that hath shall haue / and helpe there it nedethe And he þat nought hauehaþhaue: Subjunctive, or else a mechanical error induced by surrounding copy. The corresponding verb in Matt. 25:29 is indicative. / shallnotshall not haue / & nomanno man him helpe And that he wenith well to haue / I will it him bireue Kynde wit wold / that euery manech a wiȝteche wygth wrought g 3 OutherOr in dyking oror in deluyng / or travailetrauaillyngeyn trauayle in prayers Contemplatiue Life or Actiue Life / Christ wolde they wrought The Psalter seith in psalmeþe psalmepsalms of Beati omnes The manfreke that fedith himself / with his feithfull Labour He is blessed by the book / in bodie and in Soule Labores manuum tuarum &c Yet I pray you quod Piers / forparom.pur charitie and ye can Any Leaf of Lechecrafte / Lernelere it me my dere For some of my seruauntes / and my-self alsoboþe Of all a wike worke not / So oure wombe aketh I wot well quod Hunger / what disease þou Hastesiknesse yow eyleþ Ye haue eatenmanged ouermuch / & that make you grone But I warnehote the quod Hunger / as þou thine Helth wilt hauehele wilnest That þou drink no daie / ere thou eatedyne somewhat Andom. eate not I warnehote the / ere Hunger the take And send the of his sawce / to savour with thi Lippes And kepe some to soupertil soper tyme / and sitt not to long But rise with an Appetite / & ere he be fillidAnd rys vp er Appetit . haue eten his filleBut rise...be fillid: Rendering And rys vp er Appetit . haue eten his fille. S rewrites the entire line, apparently to de-personify Appetit. The pronoun he apparently refers to Hunger (S.6.268 above), or else represents incomplete or unsuccessful revision. Lat not sir Surfet / sit at þi Boorde TrustLeue him not hefor he is Lecherouse / & Likerouse of tong And after many sundriemanermaner of meates / his mawe is ahungredafyngred And if ye diet youþow diete þee thus / I dare Laie myne earis That Phisike shall his Furred hoodis / for his food selle And his Cloke of Calaber / with all the knappes of gold And be fayne by my faith / his Phisike to Leueletesulle And Lerne to Labour with lond / for Lifelode is swete For many Leches are Murtherersmurþereris are manye leches / theom. Lorde them amende They causedo men die through their drinkes / ere their tyme comedestynee it wolde By saint Paule quod piers / thise are profitable wordes GoWend now hunger when þou wilt / &þat well be thou euer For this is a louelie Lesson / theom. Lorde it the foryeld By god yetBihote godBy god yet: Rendering Bihote god. The verb bihoten is elsewhere usually retained but oaths are a frequent target of revision. quod hunger / Hens will I not goone wole I wende Till I haue well dyneddyned bi þis day / and dronke bothe I haue no peny quod piers / polettes for tofor to: S agrees with Cr and most other B-version copies. WHm to is an independent variant, though shared by M and G. bye Nor neither gosegees nor piggrys / but ijtwo grene cheses A fewe cruddes and creme / and an hauercake And ijtwo louis of beanes and bran / bake for my menfauntesfolkemen: Probably rendering fauntes, though Cr folke could be the Sx reading. Two later instances of faunt are transmitted intact, as are the vast majority of instances of folk. See Glossary. And yet I saie by my soule / I haue no salt bacon Nor non Eggesno cokeneynone kokeneys by Christ / collopes for to make But I haue perslie & porettes / & many Cooll plantes And eke a Cowe and a calf / and a cart mare To drawe afeild my dong / whileþe while the drowt Lastith And by this Lifelode Iwe must Liue / till Lamesse tyme And by thenþat I hope to haue / Hervest in my Crofte And then maie I dight thi dyner / as me bestdeere Liketh All the pouer people then / Peskoddes theyom. Fet Benes and Baken apples / they brought in their Lappes Chibolles and ChervellCheruellesChervell: S's singular agrees with CrHm and corrected M, against the plural in other copies, including W. / and ripe cheris manie And profred Piers this present / to please with hunger All hunger ete in hast / & askid after more Then pouer folk for fear / Fed hunger Fastyerne With grene porett and pesen / to poyson him they thought By that it dreweneȝed nere Heruest / new corne came to cheping Than was folke fayne / and fedd hunger with the best With good ale as Gloton taught / & madegarte hunger togoa slepe And then wolde wastour not worke / But wandridwandren about Nor no Begger eat bread / that beanes were intransp. But of Coket andor Clermatyn / or ellis of clene wheat Nor non halfpenyale / in nowiseno wisenone wise drynke But of the best andand of þe brownest / that in theom. borough is to sell Laborers that haue no Lande / to liue on but their handes DisdaynedDeyned noȝt to dyne a daie / withom. nyghtolde wortes May no penyale them pleasepaie / nor no piece of Bakon But evenif it be fresh flesh / orouþer fishe /Double punctuation in this line and in S.6.319 has no parallel in other B mss to which we have access. The correct division is after fishe and hierd, respectively. fryed orouþer bake And that chaud andor plus chaud / for chilling of their mawe And onlessebut ifbut he be highlie / hierd / elles will he chide And that he was a workmanwerkman wroȝt / waile the tyme Against Catons counsell / begancomseþ he to Iangle Paupertatis onus pacienter ferre memento He greuith him against god / & grudgeth against reason And then Curseth he the king / & all his Counseile after Such Lawes to makeloke / Laborers to greue But whillistwhilesWhile hunger was hishirrewritten Maister / there wolde non of them chide Nor striue against þehis statute / so sternly he lokid But I warne you workemen / wynne whill ye maye For hunger hitherwarde / hast him fast He shall awake with water / wastours to chaste Ere fyue be fulfilled / such Famyn shall arise Through floodes and foule wethers / frutes shall faile And so seid Saturne / & sent you warnyngto warne When ye se the Sonne amisse / & ijtwo Monkis heades And a maid haue the maistrie / & multiplie by eight Then shall death withdrawe / and derth be iustice And DauieDaweDauie: Rendering Dawe, the form transmitted throughout the B and C traditions. S's Dauie joins Cr3, the Dauy Dycars Dreame pamphlets (1547-1552; see Wendy Scase in YLS 21 (2007): 171-198) and several reworked sixteenth-century extracts of this passage (for which see Eric Weiskott in ANQ 30.3 (2017): 133-136 and references there), probably by independent modernization. Compare S.5.322, where S similarly gives Davie for Sx Dawe. The S redactor does not share his contemporaries' interest in prophecy. the Dyker / shall diedeyetransp. for hunger g 4 A later hand has written the name george hewlet and several pen trials, including apparently a second iteration of george, in vertical orientation in the outer margin of fol. 27v. But if god of his goodnesse / graunte vs a trewe Passus Septimus de Visione tReuthtReuth: The first letter is entered as a guide letter in a space four lines tall. See 5.1n. harde telle herof / and to Piers senthe sente To maketakyn his teme / and tille hisþe grounde And purchased him a pardon a pena et& a culpa / For him and for his heyers / for euermore after / And bad him hold him at home / & erie his Laies And alle that helpe him to erye / to set or to sowe Or any other myster / that myght Piers availe Pardon with Piers plowman / Truth hath grauntid Kynges and knightes / that keptkepen holie churche And rightfullie in realmes / rule the people Haue Pardon through Purgatorie / to passe full Lightly With patriarkes and Profettes / in Paradyse to be felawe Bysshops blessed / if they be as they sholde Legisters of bothe Lawes / þe Lewde þerwith to preche And in-asmuch as they maie / Amende all Synfull Are peres with th'apostils / this Pardon piers shewith And at the daie of dome / at the high dese to sytt Marchauntz in the mergine / had manye yeris But non a pena et a culpa / the pope wolde them graunte For they kepeholde not thehir holidayes / as Holy church teachith And for they swere by their soule / & so god mot them helpe Clene againsttransp. Conscience / their warescatel to selle But vnder his secret seale / Truth sent them a letter That they shuld bye boldly / that them best Liked And sosiþenessytthen sell it againe / and saue the wynnyng And Amende Masondieux / therwithþer-mydher medetherwith: Rendering þer-myd, the beta reading. S rejoins (the presumptive reading of) Bx by convergent variation. & diseasedmyseise folke helpe And wicked weyes / Lightliewightly amende And do bote to bridges / that broke benetobroke were Marry maidens / or make them Nonnes Pouer people and Prisons / fynde them their fode And set scolers to scole / or to some other craftes Releue Religion / and rent them better And I shall sende you my-self / Saynt Mychaell myn Archangell That no deuill shall dere youtransp. / nor feare you in your dying But kepewiten you from dispairewanhope / if ye will thus worke And send your soules in safetie / to my saintes in Ioye Then were Marchauntes merie / many wept for gladnesseioyegladnesse: Rendering ioye, perhaps to avoid repetition of this word at the end of two consecutive lines. And preysid Piers the plowman / þat purchasid this bull Men of Lawe Least Pardon had / that pleade for mede For the psalter sauith them not / such as take gyftes And namely of Innocentes / þat non euill knowene konneþkunnyn Super innocentem munera non accipietaccipies / Pleaders shuld peyne them / to pleade for such anan: Probably 'and', as in other copies. The reduced form is shared by L (=beta?) and perhaps stands behind Cr's feeble rewrite, in helth. helpe Princes and prelates / shulde paye for their peynestrauaille A Regibus et principibus erit merces eorum But many a iustice and Iurour / wolde for Iohan do more Than pro dei pietate / Beleueleue þowleue you non other But he that spendith his speche / & speakith for þe pouer That is innocent and nedie / And nomanno man Appaireth Comfort him in that case / without couetise of giftes And speakithsheweþ Lawe for theoure lordes loue / As he it hath lernid Shall no deuill at his deth daie / dere him A myte But bodie and soule to be faf[s]afThat he ne worþ saaf and his soule / þe psalter beareth witnesse Domine quis habitabit in tabernaculo tuo But to begg water , wynde , witne wynd . ne wit , nor fyre the fereferþe Thise foure the Father of heauen / made to beþis foold in commone Thise be Truthes treasores / true folk to helpe That neuer shall wax nor wantwanye / without god himself When thethe[y] drawe vnto deathon to deyeone to die / And Indulgences wold haue Their Pardon is full smallpetit / at their parting hens That any mede of meane men / for their moting take Ye Legisters and Lawers / takeholdeþ this for truthe For if thatThat if þatThat if I Lye / Mathue is to blame HeFor he bad me tellemake you this / & this prouerbe heom. me tolde Quodcumque vultis vt faciant vobis homines , facite eis All Lyuyng Laborers / that Liue by their handes That trulie take / and trulie wynne / And liue in loue andand in lawe / for their lowe hartes Haue the same absolucion / þat sent was to piers Beggers andne Bidders / Be not in the bull But if the Suggestion be truesooþ / þat makethshapeþ them to begg For he þat begg or bid / onlessebut if he haue nede He is fals with the feinde / & defraudeth þe nedy And alsoalso he begyleth the gyuer / Against his will h 1 For yf he wist he had no nedewere noȝt nedy / he wold giue it toþatþat to another That had more nedewere moore nedy then he / so the nediest shulde be holpe Cato kennithe me thus / and the Clerke of stories Cui des videto / thisom. is Catons teaching And in the Stories he teacheth / to bestowe thine Almesse Sit elemosina tua in manu tua donec studes cui des But Gregori was a good man / & bad vs gyue all That askeaskeþ for his loue / that all to vs gyuethvs al leneþvs all leueth Non eligas cui miserearis , neforte pretereas illum qui meretur accipere .The scribe ran out of space; the last word is entered in the right margin of the line above and partially boxed. Quia incertum est pro quo deo magis placeas . for though you knowe notwite ye neuereye wit not who is worthie / godac god& god knowthwoot who haue nede In him þat taketh is the the[+] trechery / if any treason bewalke For he that geuith yeldith / and bring himselfyarkeþ hym to rest And he that takethbiddeþ boroweth / & bring himself in dett BeggersFor beggeres borowe euermore / and their suertieborgh is god allmyghtie To repaieyelden them þat geuith them / & yet muchevsuremuche: Other copies have vsure 'usury'. S shrinks from the provocative allusion to the parable of the talents (Luke 19.23), quoted immediately below. more Quare non dedisti pecuniam meam ad mensam , vtego veniam cum vsuris exigere . Therfor beggbiddeþ not ye beggers / onlessebut if ye haue great nede For who-so hath to begg him bread / þe booke berith witnesse He hath ynough þat hath bread ynough / though he haue not elles Satis diues est qui non indiget pane . Lat vsage be your solas / of Sainctes Lyves reding The book banneth beggery / & blameth them in þis manere Iunior fui etenim senui , et non vidi iustum derelictumnec semen eius querens panem . For ye liue in no loue / nor no Lawe holde Many of you wedde not / þe women that ye dele withtransp. But as wylde beastes with wehee / windeworþen vp and work And bryng furth barnes / þat Bastardes men call Or the Back or some boon / he brekith in his youth And sithen go faiten with your fauntes / for euermore after There is more misshapt people / Among thise beggers Then of all manere men / þat inon þis worldmoolde walke And they that lede suchlyue þus hir Lyfe / may lothe the tyme ThatThat euere they were men wrought / when they shall hens fare But oldemen and hore / þat helples be of Strength And wemmen with childe / that maye not workewerche ne moweworke ne maye Blynde and bedrede / and their membres brokebroken hire membres That take theirþisethe mischefes mekelie / as mesels and other haue as pleyne pardon / as the plowman himself For loue of their lowe hartes / our Lorde hath them gramtidgra[un]tid Their Penaunce & their purgatorie / here on this erthe Piers quod a preist then / thi pardon must I rede For I will construe eche clause / & tellkenne it þe inon englishe And Piers at his prayer / the pardon vnfolded And I behynde them bothe / beheld all the bull All in ijtwo Lynes it laie / & not a leaf more And was writen evenriȝt thus / in witnesse of Truthe Et qui bona egerunt ibunt in vitam eternam Qui vero mala , in ignem eternum / Peter quod the preestpreest þoo / I can no pardon Fynde But do well & haue well / and god shall haue thi soule ButAnd do euill and euill hauetransp.haue yll / hope þou non other But after þi death daie / the deuill shall haue þi soule And piers for pure tene / pullid it in tweyneatweynea-twynne And said Si ambulauero in medio vmbre mortis , nontimebo mala quoniam tu mecum es / I shall cesse of my Sowing quod Piers / & swynk not so harde Nor about my bely ioye / Be nomoreno more so busieso bisy be namoore Of preyers and of penaunce / my plough shalbeshall be hereafter And wepe when I shulde slepe / though whete bread me faile The prophete his breadpayn ete / in penaunce andand in sorrowe By that the psalter saith / so did other manye That loue god trulielelly / his Lifelode is full easye Fuerunt michi lacrime mee panes die ac nocte / And onlessebut if Luke lie / he teachethlereþ vs by foules We shulde not bebe to busie / about the worldis blisse Ne soliciti sitis he saith in the gospell And shewith vs by ensamples / our-selfvs-selue to techewisse The foules in the feilde / who fynde them meat inat wynter They hauetransp. no garner to go to / But god fynde them all What quod the preist to perkyn / Peter as me thinke Thou art Letterd a litill / who lerned the on book Abstinence þe Abbesse quod Piers / myne . A . B . C . me taught And Conscience came afterafterward / & taughtkenned me muche more Were þou a Preest Piers quod he / þou myghtest preache where þou shuldest h 2 As dyuyner in diuinyte with dixit insipiens to thi teme Lewde lorell quod piers / litill lokist þou on the Bible On Salomons sawes / selden thou beholdest Ecce derisores et iurgia cum eis & cne crescant & ceteranon crescant & cetera The preist & Perkyn / opposed echeeiþer other And I through their wordes / awooke & waited about And se the sonne in the south / sitt that tyme Meatlesse and monylesse / on Maluerne hilles Musing on this drememetels / myand my waie I wentyede Many tymeMany tyme: These words are written in the scribe's engrossing script, marking an important juncture in the narrative. The special treatment probably derives via Sx from beta2; in W the line has a two-line colored initial. Compare S.8.62n and see Introduction, sections I.6 "Mise-en-page" and II.3 "Sx". this dreamemetels / hath made tome to studie Of that I se sleping / if it so be myght And also for Piers the plowman / full pensyf in hart And whatwhiche a pardon piers had all þe people to confort And howe the preist inpugned it / with ijtwo proper wordes But I haue no trustsauoursauery in dreamesSongewarie / for I se themit oft faile Caton & Canonistes / conseyle vs to Leaue To giue trust to dreamessette sadnesse in Songewarie / for Somnia ne cures . YetAcAnd for thatom. the bible booktransp.book of the byble / bearith witnesse How Danyell diuyned / the dreames of a kyng That was Nabuchadnasar / Namednempned of clerkes Daniell said syr king / thy dreames betoken That Straungersvnkouþe knyȝtes shall come / þi kyngdome to clayme Among Lower Lordes / thi lond shalbeshall be departid And as daniell divined / in dede so hit came to passeit fel aftercame to passe: A biblicism established in literary English by Tyndale and here rendering fel after. See OED, s.v. pass n.3, and S.10.416. The king lord lostlees his Lordeship / & meanerlower men it had And Ioseph dreamidmette mervelouslie / howe þe mone & þe sonne And the elleuen sterres / honouredhailsedworschipede him all Then Iacob Iudgid / IosehphesThe scribe corrects h to p currente calamo. dreamesweuene Beau fitȝ quod his father / for defaute we shall I my-self and my sonnesones / seke the for nede It befelle as his father said / in Pharaoes tyme That Ioseph was iustice / Egipt to ruleloke It befell as his father tolde / his freindes there him sought And all this mouemakeþ me / on thise dremesþis metels to think And howe the preest / approuidpreued no pardon to dowell And demed þat dowell / allom. Indulgences passed Byennals and tryennals / and Bisshops Letters And how dowell at the daie of dome / is doutelie takendigneliche vnderfongen And passeth all the Pardon / of Seynt Peters chirche Now hath the Pope poure / Pardon to graunte the people Without anie penaunce / to passe in-to heauen This is oure Beleue / as Learnedlettred men vs teache Quodcunque ligaueris super terram &cerit ligatum & in celis &c And so I beleue trulieleue leelly / Lordes forbode ellis That pardon and penaunce / And preyers do saue Soules that haue synned / seuen tymessiþes deadlie But to trust to thise tryennals / trulie me thinke Is not so suresiker for the soulessoulesoules: The plural, supported also by CrHm, is probably a beta2 error. Hm smooths by dropping the definite article; W reverts to the archetype's singular. / certes as is dowell Therfor I rede you allrenkesreuks / that riche be in this worldon þis erþe Vpon trust of your treasure / trentalstriennals to haue Be ye neuer the bolder / to breake goddes commandementesþe .x. hestes And namely ye maisters / Mayers and Iudges That haue the welth of this worlde / & for wise men be holden To purchase you pardon / and þe Popes bulles At the dreadfull dome / when theom. dead shall arise And come all beforetoforebefore: Rendering tofore, the beta2 reading. S rejoins Bx by convergent variation. Christ / Acomptes to yelde Howe thou haist ledþow laddestþou leadestȝe ladde þi Lifelif herelyfe there / & his Lawes keptkeptestkepest And how þou diddist daie by daie / the dome will reherce A poke full of Pardon /thereS's cancelled punctuation agrees with Hm, which likewise punctates before and after there. / nor provincials lettres Though theyye be founde / in þe fraternyte of allalle þe iiijfoure orders SCr1 here omit KD.7.199.I sett your patentes &and youre Pardons / at the value of one peaseone pies hele Therfor I counseile all cristene / to crie god mercie And Marie His mother / be oure meane betwene That god giue vs grace here / ere we go hens Such workes to worke / while we be here That After our deathe daie / dowell mayom. reherce At the daie of dome / we did as he commandidhiȝte / Passus Octauus de visione / Et hic incipit prima Inquisicio de dowell thusthus: The first letter is entered as a guide letter in a space four lines tall. See 5.1n. Roobid in russet / I romed aboute All a somer season / for to seke dowell And Freyned full oft / of folke þat I met Yf any wight wist / where dowell was at Inne And what man he might be / of many man I asked Was neuer wight as I went / that me tell coulde / h 3 Where this dowell lodgid / lasse nor more Till it befelle on a Fridaie / two friers I mett Maisters of þe Mynors / men of great witte I hailed them hendelye / as I had lerned And preid them for charitie / ere they passed ferther Yf they knewe in anie countrie / or costes as they went Wheras dowell dwellithe / do me to knowe For they be men þat in this worlde / most wide walke And knowe Countries & courtes / and many sondrie places Bothe prynces paleises / and pouer mennes Cottes And dowell & do euill / where thei dwelle bothe Among vs quod the Friers / that man is dwelling And euer hath as I hope / and euer shall hereafter Contra quod I as a clerk / & began to dispute And told him pleynlie / Sepcies in die cadit iustus Seuen tymessiþes saith the book / synneth þe rightfull And who synneth I said / dothe euill as me thinketh And dowell & do euill / maye not dwelle together Ergo / he is not alwaies / among you Friers He is sometime elliswhere / to teche the people / I shall say the my sonne / said the Frier then Howe seuen times the iust man / on a daie synneth By a famyliarforbisnefamyliar: Rendering forbisne 'example', apparently with the sense 'homely/homemade (example)' (cf. OED senses II.5.a,b), perhaps influenced by the friars' assertion that Dowell dwells 'Among vs', i.e., as a familiar or member of the household (OED, sense 1). quod the Frier / I shall the fair shewe Set a man in a bote / amiddes the brode streame The wynde , the water / and þe boat wagging Make a man many a tyme / to falle & to stande For stande he neuer so stif / he stombleth if he moue But yet is he safe & sounde / & so him behouithe For if he arise not þe rather / and reche to the stere The wynde wolde with þe water / þe Boat oerthrowe And then were his life lost / through slouth of hym-self And thus it is quod þe frier / by folke here on erthe The water is Likened to the world / þat wasteth and waxeth The goodes of this grounde / are Likened to þe great waves That as wyndes and wethers / walke aboute The Boat is Likened to our bodie / þat brittyll is of kynde And through þe feinde & the flesh / & the fraile world Synneth the iust man / seuen tymes on the daie / But deadlie synne dothe he not / for dowell him kepithe And þat is Charitie þe champion / chief helpe against Synne for he strengthen man to stande / and stireth mannes soule And though the bodie bowe / as Boat do in the water Yet is the soule saf / but if þou wilt þi-self Do a deadlie synne / and drench so thi soule God will suffre well thy slouth / if þi-self will For he gaf the for a defence / to rule well þi-self That is Witt and Free will / to euery man a porcion To fleyng foules / to fisshes and to beastes But man hathe most þerof / and most is to blame Onlesse he worke well þerwith / as dowell him teacheth I haue no right knowlegekynde knowyng quod I / to conceyue all your wordes But if I may Liue and loke / I shall go learne better I betake þe now to Christ / þat on the Crosse died And I said the same saue you from mischaunce And giue you grace in this world / good men to be AndAnd: This word is written in the scribe's engrossing script; in W the corresponding line has a two-line colored initial. Compare S.7.158n and see Introduction, sections I.6 "Mise-en-page" and II.3 "Sx". thus I went wide where / walking alone By a wyld wildernesse / and by a wood syde Noise of the birdes / brought me aslepe And vnder a lynde vpon a launde / lened I a stounde To Lythe the layes / tho louelie foules made Myrthe of theyr mowthes / made me there to slepe The meruelousest dremes / dreamid I then That euer dreamed man / in þis world as I wene A bigg man as me thought / & like to my-self Came and callid me / by my right name What art þou quod I then / that þou my name knowest That thou wotst well quod he / & nomanno man better Wot I what þou arte ?S's punctuation is paralleled in L, Cr and F; it must go back to Bx. See BTP ad loc. and compare S.10.255n and S.17.299n. Thought said he then I haue folowed the this vijseuen yeres / seist þou me no rather Art thou Thought quod I then / þou canst me telle Where that Dowell dwellith / do me that to knowe Dowell & dobet / & dobest the thirde quod he Are three fair vertues / And benotbe not far to fynd Who-so is true of his tong / and of his ijtwo handes And through his Labour & his lond / his Lifelode wynneth And is trustie of his taile ende / taketh but his oune h 4 And is no dronkerd nor disdeynous / dowell him foloweth Dobett doth euen thus / And he dothe muche more He is as lowlie as a lambe / and louelie of speche And helpeth all men / as they nede The bagges and the bougettesbigirdlesbougettes: 'pouches, wallets' (OED budget n., sense 1a), accurately rendering bigirdles (the sole instance in PP-B). / he hath broken all That the Erle Auarice / heild and his heyers And thus with Mammons money / he hathe made him freindes And is renne to Religion / and hath rendrid the Bible And preacheth to the people / Saint Paules wordes Libenter suffertis insipientes , cum sitis ipsi sapientes And suffreth the vnwise / with you for to liue And with glad will do them good / for so god willeth / Dobest is aboue bothe / & bearith a bisshops crosse Ys hookid on the one ende / to plucke men from helle A pyke on that other ende / to put doune the wicked That waite any wickednesse / Dowell to angre And dowell & dobett / Amonges them haue ordeyned To crowne one to be kyng / to rule them bothe That if dowell or dobetter / Did against dobest Than shall the king come / and cast them in yrons And onlesse Dobest intreat for them / they to be there foreuer Thus dowell & dobet / and dobest the thirde Crowned one to be king / to kepe them all And to rule the Realme / by theyr three wittes And non otherwise / but as they thre assentid I thankid thought then / þat he me thus taught But yet I savoursauoreþ mefauoreth me not thy sayinges / I covet moreom. to lerne How dowell dobet & dobest / do among the people Wit can tell þe quod thought / where they iijthre dwelle Ellis knowe I non þat can / þat nowe is aliue Thought And I thus / thre daies we went Disputing vpon Dowell / daie after daie And ere we were ware / with witte did we mete He was Long and Lene / Like to non other Was no Pryde in his aparaile / nor pouertie neither Sad of his semblaunt / and of softe chere I durst moue no mater / to make him Iangle But as I bad Thought then / be meane betwene And put forth some purpose / to proue his wittes What was dowell from dobet / & dobest from them bothe Than Thought at þat tyme / said thise wordes Whether dowell dobet / and dobest be in londe Here is Will wolde wite / if Witt coulde telle him And whether he be man or woman / this man fayne wold knowe And worke as they three will / this is his entent Passus Nonus de Visione . et primus de dowelldowell: The scribe enters a large flourished tittle above -ll. SyreSyre: The first letter is entered as a guide letter in a space four lines tall. See 5.1n. dowell dwellith quod witt / not a daie hens In a Castell þat Kynde made / of foure sondrie thinges Of erthe and Eyre / it is made medelid togethers With Wynde and with water / wittely enioyned Kynde hath closed therin / craftely withe all A Lemman that he louith / Like to himself Anima she hight / But Envie hir hateth A proude pricker of Fraunce / Princeps huius mundi And wolde wynne hir awaie / with wiles if he myght But Kynde knoweth this well / & kepith hir the better And dothe hir with syr dowell / duke of thise Marches DowellbetDobet: A correction for original Dowell, which is clumsily overwritten and in part lined through. Compare 6.123n. is hir Damosell / syr dowellis doughter To serue this Ladie trulie / bothe Late and rathe Dobest is abouen bothe / A Bisshopes peere That he bid must be done / he ruleth them all Anima that ladie is led /Other copies punctuate after ladie, correctly. by his lernyng But the Constable of þat castell / þat kepith all þe wache Ys a wise knyght withall / Syr Inwit he hight And hath fyue faire sonnes / by his fyrst wyfe Syr sewell & saywell / and here well the hende Syr workewell with thyne handes / a wight man of strength And syr Godfrey Gowell / great lordes for sothe Thise fyue be set / to saue this Ladie Anima Till Kynde come or sende / to saue hir for euer What thing is Kynde quod I / canst þou me telle Kynde quod witt is Creatour / of all manere thinges Father and fourmer / of all þat euer was made And that is the great god / þat begynnyng had neuer Lorde of Lyfe and Light / of blisselisseblisse: Bx has the alliterating synonym lisse, but S's easier reading is shared by Cr and corrected M, among other copies, and perhaps already stood in Sx. See BTP ad loc. and of peyne Aungellis and all thinges / are at his will I 1 But man is most like him / of marke and of shape For through the worde that he spake / wexed furth beastes Dixit et facta sunt And made man / Likest vnto himself And Eue of his rybbone / without any meane For he was synguler himself / and seid Faciamus And as who seith more must herto / than my worde alone My might must helpe / now with my speche Right as a lorde shulde make lettres / and lackid paper Though he could wright neuer so well / if he had no penne The letter for all the lordship / I think were neuer made And so it semeth by him / as the Bible tellith There he said / dixit et facta sunt / he must worke with his worde / and his wit shewe And in this manere was Man made / through goddes myght With his worde and workmanship / & with Life to Last And thus god gaue him a spyrite / of þe godhede of heauen And of his great grace / grauntid him blisse That is Life euerlasting / to all our linage after And that is the Castell that Kynde made Caro it hight And is asmuchas much to mene / as Man with a soule And that he wrought with worke / & with worde bothe Through myght of his magestie / man was made Inwitt and all wittes be closed therin For loue of þat Ladie anima / that Life is callid Ouerall in mannes bodie / she walketh and wandereth But in the hart is hir home / & hyr most rest / And inwitte is in the head / and to the hart he lokith What anima is leef or lothe / he ledith hir at his will For After the grace of god / the greatest is Inwitte Muche wo is that man / þat mysrulelethmysruleth his Inwitte And that be glotonouse glubbers / whosehir god is theyr wombe Quorum deus venter est / For they serue Sathan / theyr soules shall he haue That Synfullie Lyue here / theyr soule is Like þe deuill And all that liue godlye / are Like to god allmightie Qui manet in caritate in deo manet et deus in illo Alas that drinke shulde lose / þat god dere bought And do god forsake them / þat he made to his Likenesse Amen dico vobis nescio vos / Et alibi Et dimisi eos secundum desideria eorum / Foles that want Inwitte / I Fynde that holie chirche Shuld fynde them that they Lack / and fatherlesse childerne And widowes þat haue not wherwith / to get them theyr Food Madde men and maydens / that helplesse be All thise Lack Inwitte / And Learning behouithe Of this matere I might / make a long tale And fynde many witnesses / Among the olde doctors And that I lye not in that .I Learne þe / Luke beareth witnes Godfathers and godmothers / that se theyr godchilderne At misease and mischefe / and may them amende Shall haue Penaunce in Purgatorie / but they them helpe For more belongeth to the Litill childe / ere he the Lawe knowe Then to be named with a name / and he neuer the wiser Sholde no cristen creature / crie at the gate Nor faile bread or potage / And prelates did as they shold A Iewe wold not se a Iewe / go Iangling for defaute For all the Mouables on this molde / if he amende it might Alasse that a xpcristen creature / shuld be vnkynde till another Sithen Iewes that we iudge / Iudas felawes Eche of them helpe other / of that they nede Why then wilnotwill not we xpcristen / of Christes good be as kynde As Iewes that be our Lores men / shame to vs all The Commons for their vnkyndnesse / I drede me shall abie Bisshopes shalbeshall be blamed / for beggers sakes He is worse then Iudas / that giueth a Iaper syluer And biddeth the begger go / for his broken clothes Proditor est prelatus cum Iuda qui patrimoniumxpĩcristi male distribuit . Et alibi . Perniciosus estDispensator qui res pauperum xpĩcristi invtiliter consumit / He d.oth not well that dothe thus / nor drede not god allmyghtie He louith not Salomons Sawes / þat sapience taught Inicium sapiencie timor domini / Heom. that dreadeth god dothehe dooþ well / &þat dreade him for loue And not for drede of vengeaunce / doth þerfor the better He doith best þat withdraweth him / by daie & by night from spilling of speche / or anie space of tyme Qui offendit in vno , in omnibus est reus / Losyng of tyme / Truthe wottithe the sothe Ys most hatid vpon Erthe / of them þat be in heauen I 2 A later hand has written "will" and "william" lengthwise in a lighter ink in the left margin of the folio. Smudging obscures a word following "william." And Sithen that speche / is inspirid of grace / And goddes gleman / and a game of heauen Wold neuer the feithfull father / this Fiddill were vntemperid Nor his gleeman a gadling / a goar to Tauernes To all true tidie men / that travaile desyre Our Lorde loue them & lende them / lowde or stille Grace to go to them and ofgoneofgone: 'earn' (OED ofgo v.), a word already obsolescent in the fourteenth century. S agrees in form with WCr (ofgon, W), transmitting an etymologically correct spelling that should be attributed to the beta2 scribe. Manuscripts outside the beta2 group have the spelling agon, to Hm reverts. See BTP ad loc. their Liuelode Inquirentes autem bonum non minuentur omni bono Trewe Weddid Laboring folke / in þis world is dowell For they must worke and wynne / and þe world susteyne for of thirthir: Probably a correction from hir, the presumptive form of the 3 pl. possessive pronoun in Sx. The spelling thir occurs in S only here and at 12.117-18. Kynde they come / þat Confessours be callid Kynges and Knightes / Keysers and Kerles Maidyns and Martirs / out of wone man came The wyfe was made þe weyeweye: 'man, husband', though probably understood by S as 'way' and so spelled in Cr. Where spelled wye in related copies (and hence presumably in Sx), S translates as man. See Glossary. S's spelling here agrees with W and derives via beta2 from Bx. See BTP ad loc. and Bx.13.378n. / for to helpe worke And thus was wedlok wrought / with a meane persone Fyrst by the fathers will / and the Freindes counseile And Sithen by assent of them bothe / as they ijtwo might agree And thus was wedlock wrought / & god himself it made In erthe and in Heauenthe heuene ys / himself was the witnesse But false folke feithlesse / theues and Lyers Wastors and wreches / out of wedlocke I trowe Conceyuid be in euill tyme / as Cayme was on Eue Of such synfull shrewes / the Psalter maketh mencion Concepit in dolore et peperit iniquitatem / And all þat came of that Cayme / came to euill ende For God sent to Sem / and said by an Aungell Thine yssue in thine issue / I will that they be wedded And not thi kynde with Caymes kynde / coupled nor espowsed Yet Semsome against the sond / of our Sauiour of heauen Caymes kynde and his / coupled togethers Till god was Angrie / for theyr workes / And then said That euerom. I made man / now I do repentit me forþynkeþ Penitet me fecisse hominem / And came to Noe anon / and bad him not faile But shortlie shape him a ship / of shydes & boordes Thy self and þi sonnes iijthre / and also your wyues Busk you to þat Boat / and bide you therin Till fourtie dayis be fynished / þat flood haue wasshed Clene awaie þe cursed blood / that Caym hath made Beastis that now be shall banne the tyme That euer þat cursyd Cayme / came on this earthe All shall die for his dedes / by dales and by downes And the foules þat flie / forth with other beastes Eccept onlie of euery Kynde / a couple That in thi shinglid ship / shalbeshall be savid Here abought the barne / the belsyres giltes And all for theyr forefathers farid the worse The gospell is against this / in one degree / Filius non portabit iniquitatem patris &c But I fynde if the father / be fals and a shrewe That somedele the son / shall haue the syres condicions Ympe on an Ellerne / And if thyne Appull be swete Much merueile I haue / & more of a shrewe That bringeth forth any barne / but if it be the same And haue a savour after the syre / seld seist þou other Numquam colligitur de spinis vua / nec de tribulis ficus And thus through cursed Cayme / came care vpon erthe And for they wrought wedlockes / against goddes will Therfor haue they no ioy of theyr mariages / þat marrie so þer childerne For as I se now / sothe for to telle for Couetyse of goodes / Vnkyndelie be weddid As carefull concepcion / commeth of such mariages As befelle of the folke that I before of told For good shuld wed good / though they no goodes had I am Via et veritas seyth Christ / I may avaunce all It is an vncomelie couple / by Christ as me think To giue a yong wenche / to an olde Feble man Or wedde any widowe / for welth of hir goodes That neuer shall barne beare / But if it be in hyr armes Many a couple sithe the Pestilence / haue plight them togithers The fruyte þat they bring forth / are foule wordes In Ielousye ioylesse / and iangle abedd They haue no childerne bubu[t] cheestecheeste: The corrected spelling, with double -e-, agrees with WM against other copies and perhaps shows literatim copying of a word not understood. See S.2.87 and S.13.117, where Sx cheste prompts chastitie, a desperate homoeographic guess. / and clapping them betwene And though they go to Dunnemowe / but if the deuill helpe To feche the fliche / get they it neuer For but they bothe be forsworne / þat Bacon they lose / . k 1 A later hand has written a group of letters lengthwise in the margin. The possible pen trial contains the letter "I" repeated along with some indistinct minims. Therfore I counseile all xpcristen / Couete not to be weddid For couetise of goodes / nor of kynrede riche But maidyns & maidyns / mach you togithers Widowes & widewers / do you the same For no londes but for loue / Loke ye be weddid And then shall ye haue the grace of god / & good ynough to liue with And euery manner man / that maynotmay not contynue Wiselie go wedde / And ware him frome synne For Lecherie in Licking / ys a Lymetwigg of hell Whilles þou art yong / and þi weapyn kene Wreke the with wyving / yf þou wilt be excused Dum sis vir fortis , ne des tua robora scortis Scribitur in portis , meretrix est ianua mortis When ye haue wyvid beware / & worke in tyme Not as Adam and Eue / when Cayme was begotten For in vntyme trulie / betwene man and woman Ne shuld no bourde in bed be / But if they were bothe clene Bothe of Life and soule / and in perfect cheritie That ilk derne dede / do nomanno man shulde And ifif þeiif: Read if they, as in other copies. lede thus their lyfe / it liketh god allmightie For he made wedloke Fyrst / and himself it seyde Bonum est vt vnusquisque vxorem suam habeat &c And they that otherwise / be begotton / for gedlinges them hold As false folke fondelinges / faitors and Lyars Vngraciouse to get goode / or loue of the people Wandre and wast / what they may cache Against dowell they do euill and the deuill serue And after their deathe daye / shall dwell with the same But if god giue them grace here / them-self t'amende Dowell my frende is / to do as Lawes teache To loue thy freinde and thi foo / beleue me is dobet To giue and to lende / Bothe to yong and old To heale and to helpe / is Dobest of all And dowell is to drede god / & dobet to suffre And so commeth Dobest of bothe / & bringeth doune the modie And that is wicked will / þat many thinges shendith And dryueth awaie dowell / through deadlie synnes / ExpicitExp[l]icit passus nonus Passus Duodecimus There appears to be a small pen trial in the upper right corner of the page. thanthan: The first letter is entered as a guide letter in a space four lines tall. See 5.1n. had wit a wife / callid Dame Studie That lene was of lere / and of liche bothe She was wonderlie wrothe / þat wit me thus taught And all staring dame Studie / sternlie saide Well art þou wise quod she to witt / Any wisdomes to telle To Flaterers or to Fooles / that frentike be of witt Blamyng him & Bannyng him / and Bad hym be stille With such wise wordes / to instruct anye stottesMiswriting by attraction to "stille" on the line above. Sottes And said Noli Mittere man / Margarite perles Amonges Hogges that haue / Hawes at will They do but dreuill on them / draf were them Leuer Then all the precious stones / þat in Paradise wexeth I speke it by such quod she / þat sheweth by their workes That them were leuer londe / & lordship in erthe Or riches and rentes / and rest and their will Then all the true sayinges / þat Salomon said euer Wisdome and wit nowe / is not worth a might Onlesse hit be cardid with couetise / as clothers kembe theyr wolle Who-so can contryue deceptes / and conspire wronges And Lede forth a louedaie / to Let with truthe He þat such craftes can / is oft callid to counseile They lede Lordes with Lesynges / and belye Truthe Iob the gentill in his gestes /S's line division is unique among beta2 copies. Other copies divide after gentill, correctly. witnesseth That wicked men rule / the welth of this world And þat they be Lordes of eche londe / þat out of lawe Liuethe Quare impij viuunt bene &c The psalter seith the same / by such as done yll Ecce ipsi peccatores habundantes in seculo obtinuerutobtinueru[n]tThe scribe has omitted a nasal abbreviation. diuicias Lo seyth holy scripturelettrurelecture / which be thise shrewes TheyThilke that geuegod gyueþgeue: Haplographic error. Other copies have god gyueþ. most / least good they .dele And most vnkynde beom. to the comonscommune / that most goodes possessethcatel weldeþ Que perfecisti destruxerunt , iustus autem , &c Harlottes for theyr halotrie / may haue of theyr goodes And Iapers and Ioglors / and Ianglers of iestes But that hath scripture / allwaie in his mouthe And can telle of Tobie / & of the xijtwelue apostels Or preche of the penaunce / that Pylate falslie wrought k 2 To IhesuIesu the gentill / whome the Iewes crucified Litell is he belouid / that such a lesson shewithe Or dauntid or drawnfourthdrawn fourth / I do it on god himself But they that feyne them fooles / & with faiting Liueth Against the Lawe of the lorde / And lie of on them-self Spett and spewe / and speake foule wordes Drinke and dreuill / and do men to gape Licke men and Lye on them / that giue them no giftes They can nomoreno more mynstralcie / nor musike men to glad Than Munde the Myller / of Multa fecit deus / WerenotWere not their harlotrie / haue god my truthe Shuld neuer Kyng nor Knight / Nor Canon of . S . Paules Gyue them in rewarde / the value of one grote But myrth and mynstralcie / Among men is nowe Lecherye Losencherie / and losellis tales Glotonye and great othes / is the myrth they loue And if they carpe of Christ / thise clerkes & thise Lewde At meat in theyr myrth / when mynstrallis be stille Then telle they of the Trynitie / a tale or tweyne And bring furth a bald reason / taking Barnard to witnesse And put furth a presumption / to proue the sothe Thus they dreuill at theyr deace / þe deitie to knowe Angd gnawe god with a gorge / when their guttes be full but the carefull may crie / and carpe at the gate Bothe hungrie and thurstie / quaking for colde Thereom. is non to takenyme him inIn norneertake him in: Rendering nyme hym neer, an archetypal error retained in other beta2 copies but corrected to nymen him In nor in M, probably by independent conjecture. See BTP ad loc. / his miserienoyȝeanoy t'amende But hunt him as an hounde / & bidhoten him go thence Litill louith he þat lorde / þat lent him all his goodes That thus partith with the pouer / a parcell when he nedeth Were no mercie in meane men / more then in rich Pouer beggers meatlesse / myght go to bedd God in gorge is muche / of thise great maisters But among meane men / his mercie & his workes And so seith the psalter / I haue sene it oft Ecce audiuimus eam in Effrata , invenimus eam in campis / / silueThe scribe ran out of space; the last word is entered in the right margin of the line above and partially boxed. Clerkes and other men / carpe of god fast And haue him much in theyr mouthes / but mene men in theyr / / hertesThe scribe ran out of space; the last word is entered in the right margin of the line above and preceded by a vertical line. Friers and faitors / haue founde such questions To please with proude men / sithe the pestilence tyme And preach at Paules / for pure envie of clerkes That folke beis noȝt fyrmefermed in þe feithe / nor free of there goodes Nor sorye for theyr synnes / so is Pride waxen In Religion and in all the realme / among rich and pouer That preyers haue no pour / the pestilence to lett And yet the wreches of this worlde / is non ware by other Nor for drede of dethe / withdrawe not their pryde / Nor be plentuouse to the pouer / as pure charitie wolde But in gaynesse and glotonie / forglut theyr goodes themself And breake not to the begger / as the book teachith / Frange esurienti panem tuum &c And the more he wynneth / welthe and riches And lordeth in londes / the lesse good he dealeth Tobye told you not so / take hede you riche Howe the Byble booke / of hym beareth witnesse Si tibi sit copia , habundanter tribue / Si autem exiguum illud impertire stude libenter Who-so hath muche spende manlie / so meneth Tobie And who-so hath lesselitel weldeþ / rule him therafter For we haue no letter of our Life / howlonghow long it shall endure Such Lessons Lordes / shulde loue to here / And howe he might most meanyemeanye: i.e., meyne, 'household, company'. / manlie fynde Not to fare as a fideler / or a frere / to seke feastes Homely at other mennes houses / and hate his owne / EmptieElengeEmptie: Rendering Elenge, elsewhere translated with greater accuracy as hevie (S.P.117) and sorowfull (S.20.2). is their hall / euery daie in the wyke / There the lorde nor the Ladie / Liketh not to sytt Now haue euery riche a rule / to eate by themself In a privie parlour / for pouer mennes sake Or in a chambre with a chymney / and leaue the chief hall That was made for meales / men to siteten in / And all to spare to spende / that spille shall another . / I haue herde highe men / eating at their table OCarpeThe scribe has changed O to C by addition of a vertical stroke. as they clerkes were / of Christ & his might And laid fautes vpon the father / that formid vs all k 3 And carpid agaynst Clerkes / crabbed wordes Why our Saviour wolde suffre / such a worme in his blisse That bigyled the woman / and the man after Through which wyles and wordes / they went to helle And all theyr sede for their synne / the same death suffred Here Lythe our Loore / thise Lordes begynne to dispute Of that Clerkes do teach vs / of Christ by the gospell Filius non portabit iniquitatem patris / Why shulde we that now be / for the workes of Adam Roten / and to-rende / Reason wold it not Vnusquisque portabit onus suum / Such motyues they moue / thise maisters in their glorie And bring men in misbeleue / þat muse much on their wordes Ymaginatyf hereafter / shall answere to your purpose Augustine to such Argueris / he telleth this teme aule /The main scribe identifies the biblical quotation. An initial "P" or "S" has been lost to cropping. Non plus sapere quam oportet Willith neuer to wite / why that god wolde Suffre Sathan his sede to begile But beleue trulie / in the Lawe of holie churche And pray him of pardon / and Penance in þi Lyfe And for his great mercie / to amende you here Who-so will knowe / the waies of god allmightie I wolde his eye were in his arse / & his fynger after That euer will to wite / why that god wolde Suffre Sathan / his sede to begile Or Iudas to the iewes / IhuIesu betraye All was as þou woldest / Lord worshippid be thou And all is at thy will / what so euer we dispute And they that vse those hauylones / to blynde mennes wittes What is dowell from dobet / and deaf mut he be / Sith he will to wite / which they bene bothe But if he Liueth in þe Life / þat longeth to dowell For I dare be his borrough / that dobet will he neuer Though dobest drawe on him / day after other And .When witt was ware / þat dame Studie told he became so confuse / he couldnotcould not Looke And as dombe as death / and drewe him asyde And for no carping I coulde after / nor kneling to th'erthe I myght get no greyne / of his great wittes But all laughing he lowtid / & lokid vpon Studie In signe that I shuld / beseche hir of grace And when I was ware of his will / to his wyfe did loutegan I louteI loutid Saying mercie madame / your man shall I be As long as I liue / both Late and rathe To worke your will / while my Life endureth So that ye teche me trulye / to knowe what is dowell For thy mekenesse man quod she / & for thy mylde speche / I shall sendkenne the to my cosyn / that Clergie hight He had weddid a wife / within thise sex monethes Which is syb to the seaven Artes / Scripture is hir name They ijtwo as I hope / after my teaching Shall tell the to dowell / I dare it vndertake Then was heIhe: A beta2 error (for I), corrected in Cr. as fayne / as foule of faire morowe And gladder then the Gleman / þat gold hath to gift And asked hyr the high weye / where þat clergie dwelt And telle me soke some token quod I / for tyme is that I wende Aske the high waie quod she / Hence to suffre Both well and woo / if that þou wilt learne And ride furth by richesse / but rest þou not therin For if þou couplest the therwith / to clergie commest þou neuer And also the Licorouse Lande / þat Lecherie hight Leaue it on thy Lefte half / a large myle and more Till þou come to a Court / Kepe well thy tong From Leasynges and Lyther spech / & Likerouse drinkes Then shalt þou se Sobrietie / and Simplicitie of speche That eche wight be in will / his wit tohe to shewe And thus shalt þou come to Clergie / þat can many thinges Telle him this token / I set him to scole And grete well his wife / for I wrot hir many bookes And sett hir to Sapience / & to the psalter glose Logik I Learned hir / and many other Lawes And all the Musons of Musike / I made hir to knowe Plato the poete / I put him first to booke k 4 Aristotle and other moo / to Argue I taught Gramer for girles / I causid first to be wreten And bete them with a balleis / onlesse they wold lerne Of all manere craftes / I contryuid tooles Of carpenters and Kervers / and compased Masons And learnid them Levell & lyne / though I looke dymme But Theologie hath Angrid me / tean score tymes The more I muse therin / the mystier hit semeth And the depper I deuyne / the derker me think it SCr uniquely omit KD.10.188 (= Bx.10.194).A full Lethy thing it were / if loue were not But for it lekeleteþleet best by loue / I loue it the better For where loue is leder / Lackith neuer grace Loke þou loue trulie / if þou Likest dowell For dobet and dobest / bene of louis kyn In other science it seith / I se it in Caton Qui similat verbis velnec innec corde , est fidus amicus Tu quoque fac simile , sic ars deluditur arte / Who-so gloseth as gylours do / go me to the same And so shalt þou false folke / and feithelesse begyle This is þe Catons saying / to clerkis þat it Lerneth But Theologie teacheth not so / who-so taketh hede He tell vs the contrarie / against Catons wordes He biddeth vs be as bretherne / and praie for our enemyes And loue them that lye on vs / & lende them when they nede And do good against euill / god him-self commandeth Dum tempus habemus , operemur bonum ad omnesmaxime autem ad domesticos fidei / Paule preached the people / þat perfitnesse louid To good for goddes loue / & gyue men that asked And namelie to such / asthat be ofsuwen oure beleue And all that offend vs / the lorde willeth us to loue And to greue them þat greve vs / god him-self forbad it Mihi vindictam et ego retribuam / Therfore loke þou louist / as long as þou lyuestdurest for þer is no science vnder sonne / so souereigne for the soule But astronomye is an harde thing / & euill for to knowe Geometrie & Geomesie / so synfull of speche Who-so worketh with those ijtwo / thryueth full late Cropped marginalia exists at the top center of the page. The letters are illegible. For Sorcerie is the souereyne booke / þat to those sciences longeth Ȝit are there Fybicches in forceris / of diuerse mennes making / Experymentes Alkenamye / the people to deceyue Yf thou think dowell / dele therwith neuer All thise Sciences I my-self / sotilled & ordeyned And founded them formest / folke to deceyue Tell Clergie this token / And Scripture after To counseile the right / to know what is dowell I said graunt mercie madame / and mekelie hir grete And went wightlie awaie / without more letting And till I came to clergie / I coulde neuer stynt And gret the goodman / As studie me thought taught And afterward the wyfe / & worshiped them bothe And told them the tokens / þat me taught were Was neuer man on erth / sithe god it made Fairer interteynedvnderfongeninterteyned: Rendering vnderfongen, a word always revised out in S but rendered as interteyned only here. See Glossary. For the sense required, compare the quotation from Caxton at OED s.v. entertain v., sense III.8. Compare S.13.286, where interteyned renders undernimen. / nor frendlier at ease Than my-self sothlie / sone so he wist That I was of wittes house / and with his wyfe dame Studie I said to them soothelie / that sent was I thether Dowell and dobet / and dobest to learne It is commone Life quod ClerlgieClergie / on holie church to bileue With all the Articles of þe feithe / that fallethe to be knoune And that is to be trulie / both lernid and lewde On the great god / that begynnyng had non And on the sothefast son / that saued mankynde Frome the deadlie death / and the deuillis powre Through helpe of the holie ghost / the which is of bothe Thre parsons / but nott in plurell nombre For all is but one god / & eche is god himself Deus pater deus filius deus spiritus sanctus God the father god the son / god theom. holie ghoste / of bothe Maker of mankynde / and of beastes bothe Augustine the olde / hereof made bookes And himself ordeyned / t'esthablishsaddesaue vs in beleue Who was his author ?S's punctuation is without parallel in early copies, but Cr likewise has a question mark. Compare S.8.74n. and S.17.299n. / all the foure Evangelistes And Christ clepid himself so / the Evangelistes bere witnesse All þe Clerkes vnder Christ / could not this assoile / L 1 But thus it behouithbilongeþ to beleue / to lewde that will dowell For neuer had man fyne witt / the feith to dispute Nor man hathhadde no merite / maye reason appro proue itmyȝte it ben ypreued Fides not habet meritum vbi humana ratio prebet experimentum Than is dobet .toThe t is written over and cancels another stroke, perhaps the beginnings of a long s, induced by attraction to subsequent copy. suffre / for the soules helth All þat the book bid / by holie chirchis teaching And that is man by thy might / for mercies sake Loke þou worke in thyit in worke / that þi worde sheweth Such as þou semest in sight / be in assaye founde Appare quod es Vel esto quod appares / And lat no manbody be / by thy bearing begyld But be such in thy soule / as þou semest without Than is dobest to be bolde / to blame the gilty Sithens þou seest þi-self / as in soule clene But blame thou neuer bodie / ifand þou be blame worthie Si culpare velis , culpabilisThe scribe omits the descender of "p". The form is distinct from v: see "velis" earlier in this line. esse cauebis Dogma tuum sordet , cum te tua culpa remordet / God in the gospell / grevouslie reprouithe All that lack any Life / and in fautes them-self Quid consideras festucam in oculo fratris tuiet trabem in oculo tuo non con . &c How art thou offendid / withWhy meuestow þi mood for a mote in thy brothers eye HauingSiþen a beame in thine oune / to blemish þi sightablyndeþ þi-selueblyndeth thy-selfeall blyndeth thy-sylue EcceEice primo trabem in oculo tuo &c Which letteth the to loke / lesse or more I rede suchech a blynde bosarde / do bote to himself For Abbottes & for Priours / & for all manere prelates As parsons and parish preestes / that preache shulde and teache All manere men / to amende their Lyues This text was tolde you to beware or ye taught That ye were such as ye said / to salue with other for goddes worde wold not be lost / for þat workith euer Yf it availed not the commons / it might availe your-self But it semith nowe soothelie / to the worldes sight That goddes worde workethnotworketh not / on Lerned nor Lewde But in such manere / as Marc meneth in the gospell Dum cecus cecum ducit ambo in foueam cadunt / Leawde men may liken you thus / þat the beame lieth in your eye And the motefestu is fallen / throughfor your defautesdefaute In-toIn all mennes eyismaner men / byþoruȝ noughtiemansedemauzed preistes The Byble beareth witnesse / that all the people of ysraell Bitterlie were punisshed / for ijtwo euill preistes fautes Of offyn and Phynes / for their couetise Archa dei mishappid / and Ely brake his necke Therfor you Correctors clawe hereon / & corect first your-self And then may ye safely saie / as Dauid þat made the psalter Existimasti inique quod ero tui similis , arguam te , etstatuam contra faciem tuam / And then shall burell clerkes be abasshed / to blame or to greue you And carpe not as they carpe nowe / and call you dumbe houndes Canes non valentes latrare &c And drede to angre you in any worde / your workmanship to lett And be prester at your preyer / than for a pounde of nobles And all for your holinesse / haue ye this in hart In Scole there is skorne / but if a clerk will lerne And great loue and Liking / for eche of them louith other But now is Religion a ryder a Romer by strete A leder of louedaies / and a lowd buggar A pricker on a palfrey / fro manner to manner An heape of houndes at his arse / as he a lorde were And onlesse his knaue knele / þat shall his cuppe bring He lowreth on him & Asketh him / who taught him curtesie Litill had lordes to do / to gyue londes from their heyres To religiouse þat haue no ruthe / though it reyneth on their alters In many places there they parsons be / themselfes be at ease But of the pouer people they haue no pitie / & þat is their charitie But they beare them as lordes / their londes Lythe so brode But there shall come a king / & confesse you ReligiousReligiouses And beat you as the Byble tellith / for breakyng of your rule And Amende Monyales / Monkes & Chanons And put them to their penaunce / Ad pristinum statum ire . And Barons with Erles bete them / through / beatus virres techi[ng]The end of this line is lost to cropping. That theyr Barnes clayme / and blame you foule hij in curribus et hij in equis ipsi obligati sunt &c / And then friers inin hir Freytour / shall fynde a keye Of Constantynes cofres / in which is the tresurecatel / A later hand has written the letter "t" followed by three minims in the bottom right margin of the folio. L 2 Thett God That Gregories godchildren haue euill dispendid And than shall the Abbot of Abyngdon / & all his issue for euer haue a knock of a king / and the wounde incurabletransp.incurable ys the wounde WhetherThat this beworþbe: Rendering worþ, a verb always revised out and sometimes rendered elsewhere with shalbe (see Glossary). S places the truth of the prophecy in the present. truesooþ / Lokeseke you that ofte ouerse the byble Quomodo cessauit exactor / quieuit tributum / contriuit dominusbaculum impiorum / et virgam dominantium cedentium plaga insanabili But ere that king come / Caym shall awake But Dowell shall diggdyngendigg: Rendering dyngen 'strike'. For the S reading see OED, s.v. dig v., phrasal verbs: to dig down, sense 1. him doune / & distroye his might Than is dowell and dobet quod I dominus and knighthode I will not skorne quod Scripture / but if Scryueners lie Kynghode nor knighthode / by aught I can espie Helpe not to heauenwarde / one heris ende Nor Richesse right nought / nor royaltie of lordes Paule prouith it inpossible / riche men to haue heauenThe final stroke of "n" extends into a knotted tail, evidently taking advantage of unusually abundant space at line end. Simpler flourishes are not infrequent, as may be seen later on this page. Salomon saith also / that syluer is worst to loue Nichil iniquius quam amare pecuniam And Cato tellethkenneþ vs not to couete itto coueiten it . nauȝt but for nede onlieas nede techeþ Dilige denarium sed parce dilige formam / And patriarches and prophetes / & Poetes also Writt to teche vs / to wille no richesse And preised Pouertie with pacience / þe apostels berith witnesse That they haue heritage /inS's cancelled punctuation, preceding this word, is unique among beta2 copies. heauen / & by true right There rich men no right may clayme / but of ruthe & grace Contra quod I by Christ / that can I reproue And proue by Peter / and by Paule bothe That who is baptysed is safe / be he rich or pouer That is in extremis quod Scripture / among Sarazens & Iewes They may be sauid so / and that is oure beleue That an vnxrenvncristen in þat cace / may cristen an hethen And for his true beleue / when he this Life Loseth haue the heritage of heauen / as any cristian may But xpcristen men without more / maynotmay not come to heauen For that Christ for xpcristen men dyid / & confirmed þe Lawe That who-so wolde and will with Crist to arise Si cum xpõcristo surrexistis &c / he shuld trulie loue / and the Lawe fullfill That is loue thy lorde god / Lefest aboue all And then all xpcristen creatures / for Cristes sake And this belongeth to loue / to them þat beleue to be sauid And but we do thus in dede / ere the daie of dome It shall besitt vs full soure / the siluer þat we kepe And our clothes that be motheten / & se beggers go nakid Or delite in wyne or wyldefoule / and wot any in defaute For euery cristen creature / shold be kynde to other And than helpe the hethen / in hope of Amendement God commandeth both high and lowe / that nomanno man hurt other And seith slea not þat semblable is / to myn oune Likenes Onlesse I send þe some token / and saith Non necabismecaberisnecabis: Correction (for Bx mecaberis) perhaps derives from the unique common ancestor of SCr1. Slea not but suffre / and all for the best For I shall punishe them in purgatorie / or in the pitt of helle Euery man for his misdedes / but if mercie let it This is a long lesson quod I / and I Litill the wyser Where Dowell is or dobet / derkelie ye shewe / Many telles tales ye telle / that Theologie Lerneth And that I was made man / & my name entred In the Legende of Life / Long ere I was borne Or elles vnwritten for some wickednesse as holie writ wytnesseth Nemo ascendit in celum , nisi qui de celo descendit I beleue it well quod I by our lorde / & on no lettre better For Salomon the sage / that sapience taught God gaf him grace of witt / and all hise goodes after He demed wiselie / as holie writt telleth Aristotle and he / who counseiled men better Maisters þat of mercie / teach men and preache Of their wordes they tell vs / for wysest as in their tyme And all holie church / holdeth them bothe damned And if I shulde worke by their workes / to wymewy[nn]e me heuen That for his workes and wit / dwelleth in peyne Then wrought I vnwiselie / what-so-euer ye preache But of many wittie in feyth / Litell meruell I haue Though their goost be vngracious / god for to please For many men in this world / more set their hartes In goodes then in god / therfore grace them faile At their most nede / when they shall hens passe As Salomon did and such other / þat shewid great wittes But theyr workes as holie writ saith / were euer contrarie Therfore wise wittid men / & well Learned clerkes L 3 As they say themself / seld do they therafter Super cathedram moysi &c But I wene it be with many / as was in Noes tyme When he made the ship / of shydes and boordes There was not a write sauid that wrought theron / nor other workman / ellisThe scribe ran out of space; the last word is entered in the right margin of the line above. But byrdes and beastes / and the blissed Noe / And his wife with his sonnes / and also their wyves Of wightes þat wrought it was neuer won saued God grauntleue it come not so to passefare noȝt socome not so to passe: A biblicism, rendering fare noȝt so. See S.7.172. / by themfolk þatþat: Punctuation precedes this word in other copies. S repunctuates to fit the reworked line. See previous note. the feith teache Of holie chirch that harborowe is / & goddes house to saue And sheld vs frome shame þerin / as Noes ship did beastes When they þat made it / in the flood were drowned The conclusion of this clause / of Curators is to mene That be Carpenters holy chirch to make / for Christes oune beastes Homines et iumenta saluabis domine &c / On good fridaie I fynde / a felon was saued That had Liued all his Lyfe / in falsede & theft And for he bekened to the crosse / & to Christ confessid him he was soner saued / then S Iohan the Baptist And ere Adam or ysaye / or any of the prophettes That had leyne with Lucifer / many long yeris A robber was ransomed / rather then they all Without any penaunce of purgatorie / to perpetuall blisse Than Marie magdalene / what woman did worse Or who wors then Dauid / þat Vries death conspired Or Paule th'apostle / that no pitie had To kille vnto death / many Christen men And now be thise as souereynes / with Sayntes in heauen They that wrought most wickedlie / in erth when they were And they that spoke most wiselie / and writ many bookes Of wit & of wisdome / with damned soules dwelle That Salomon saith I trowe be true / & certeyn of vs all Siue iusti atque sapientes , & opera eorum in manu dei sunt There are wittie and well Living / but their workes be hid In the handes of almightie god / & he knoweth the truthe Wherfore a man is alowed here / and his true workes Or ellis for his euill will / and envie of hert And be alowed as he liued so / for by euill , men know good for wherby wist men which is whight / if all thinges were black And who were a good man / onlesse there were some shrewe Therfor liue we furth with other men / I think fewe be good For Qant oportet vient en place / il ny ad que pati / And he that may all amende / haue mercie on vs all For the truest worde / þat euer god seid / was when he said Nemo bonus The edge of a cropped letter is visible at the margin, perhaps the remnants of & c. Clergie then of Christes mouthe / commendid was full Litell For he said to Saint Peter / & to suche as he loued Cum steteritis ante reges et presides &c / Though ye come before kinges / & clerkes of the Lawe Be not Abasshed / for I shalbeshall be in your mouthes And giue you wit & will / and connyng to conclude Them all þat against you / of Christendome dispute Dauid makes mencion / he spake among kynges And nokingno king ouercome him / as by connyng speche But wit & wisdome / wan neuer the maistrie Whan man was at mischef / without þe more grace The doutiest doctour / and diuinour of þe Trynitie Was Augustine the olde / and highest of the foure Said thus in a sermon / I se it writen ones Ecce ipsi ydioti rapiunt celum , vbi nos sapientes in inferno mergimur / Which is thusmuchethus muche in english / and no more nor Lesse / None aretransp. rather rauished / from the right beleue Then are thise connyng clerkes / þat can many bookes NorNe none soner saued / nor sadder of beleue Then plowmen and sheperdespastours / & pouer comone Laborers Sowters / and sadelersshepherdes / andom. such Lewde Iuttes Perce with a pater noster / the palais of heauen And passe Purgatorie penaunceles / at their hens parting In-to the ioyesblisse of Paradise / for thyr pure beleue That inperfitely here / Knewe and eke Liued Yea men knowe clerkes / þat haue cursed the tyme That euer they couldkouþe or knewecowde knowe more / then Credo in deum patrem / And principallie their / pater noster / many a manpersone hath wisshed I se ensamples my-self / & so may many otheranother That seruauntes that serue lordes / Selden rennefallen in rerage But they that kepe hisþe lordesmy lordes treasurecatel / clerkes and StywardesReues Right so Layelewed men / & of smalllitel Knowlegeknowyng Selden fallfalle þeifall: For falle þei, the beta reading. S rejoins Bx. so foule / & so far in synne As clerkes of holie church / that kepe Christes treasure L 4 The which is mannes soulesoule to saue / as Christgod saithe in the gospell Ite vos in vineam meam Passus Vndecimus de visione Then Scripture skorned me / and a skill told And Lackid me in Latyn / & lite by me she set And said Multi multa sciunt et seipsos nesciunt / Then wept I for wo / & wrathe of hir speche And in a winking wrath / fell I a-slepe A meruelouse dreme / then dremed I That I was rauished euen there / and fortune me fett And into the Lond of longing / alone she me brought And in a Myrour þat hight myddillerth / she made to behold Then she said to me / here mightst þou se wonders And knowe that þou covettist / & come therto paraduenture Then had Fortune folowing hir / ijtwo faire damoselles Concupiscentia carnis / men callid the elder maide And Concupiscentia oculorum / callid was th'other Pryde of perfect Liuyng / pursued them bothe And bad me for my countynaunce / acounte clergie light / Concupiscentia carnis / collid me about the neck And said þou art yong & lustie / and haste yeris ynowe for to Liue long / and Ladies to loue And in this myrrour þou maist se / Lordinges full many That Lede their Life in Liking / all their hole tyme The seconde said the same / I shall folowe thy will Till þou be a lorde and haue londe / forsake þe I willnotwill not But I will folowe þi felawship / if fortune it Like he shall fynde me his frende / quod fortune then he that fowloweth my mynde / failith neuer blisse Then was there one þat hight Age / þat heuye was of chere Man quod he if I mete with the / By Marie of heauen Thou shalt fynd fortune to fayle the / at thy most nede And concupiscentia carnis / clene the forsake Bitterlie shalt þou then banne / both dayes and nyghtes Couetise of eyes / that euer þou hir knewe And pride of perfite Living / to much perill the bring Yea care thou not quod Rechelesse stood forth in raggid clothes Folowe furthe that Fortune will / þou haste yet long till Age A man may stoupe sone ynough / whan he shall lose the croune Homo proponit quod A poete / And Plato he hight And deus disponit quod he / Lat god do his will Yf Truthe will witnesse it be well done / Fortune to Folowe Concupiscentia carnis ne Couetise of eyis Shall not greue the greatlie / onlesse þou wilt begile thi-self Yea farwell Phippe quod Fantasie / and forth did me drawe Till Concupiscentia carnis / Accordid all my workes Alasse þat eye quod Age / and Holinesse bothe Shuld turne wit to wrechidnesse / for will to haue his Liking Couetise of eyes / conforted me anon after And folowed me / fourtie winter / and a fyfte more That of dowell nor dobet / nor deintie me thought I had no Liking beleue me / of them ought to knowe Couetise of eyes / cam AOfter in mynde Then dowell or dobet / among my dedes all Couetise of Eyes conforted me ofte Saying haue thou no conscience / how þou come to good Go confesse the to some Frier / & shew him thy synnes For while Fortune is thy frende / Friers will the loue And feche the to ther fraternitie / and for the praye To their Priour provinciall / A pardon to haue And prey for the poll by poll / if þou be Pecuniosus Sed pena pecuniaria non sufficit pro spiritualibus delictis By the counsell of this wenche / I wrought hyr wordes were so swete Till I forgat youth / and fell into Age And then was Fortune my Foo / for all hir fair promise And Pouertie pursued me / And put me lowe And then founde I the Frier afreid / & flitting bothe Against our first covenaunt / for I said I wold not Be buried at their house / but at my parish churche For I herde ones / how Conscience it tolde That there A man were Cristened / of right he shuld be buried Or where as he were Parishen / euen there to be buried And forthatfor that I seid thus to Friers / A Foole they me held And loued me the lesse / For my true speche But yet I cried on my confessour / þat held him-self so connyng By my feith quod I Frier / ye fare Like thise woars That wedde no widowes / but wonlie for their goodes Right so by the rood / rought ye neuer Where my bodie were buried / so that ye had my siluer I haue muche merueile of you / & so hath many other Why your Convent covetith / to confesse and to burie Rather then to Baptise Barnes / þat be C.atecumelynges Baptyzing and burieng / both be full nedefull But muche more meritorius / me think to Baptise For a man Baptised may / as thise maisters telle Through Contricion come / to the highe heauen But Barne without Baptime / maynotmay not be saued Nisi quis renatus fuerit &c /S uniquely omits KD.11.83. The omitted material was probably run together with KD.11.82α in Sx, though it occupies a separate line in Hm. See BTP note ad loc. Omission could have been induced by repetition of loke/loked and alliteration on /l/. And Leautie Lokid on me / and I loured After Wherfor Lowrest þou quod Leautie / & lokid on me harde Yf I durst quod I Among men / this dreame avowe Yes by Peter & Paule quod he / & toke them bothe to witnesse Non oderis fratres in corde tuo secrete , sed publice argue illos They will allege also quod I / and by the gospell proue Nolite iudicare quemquam / And wherfor seruith Lawe quod leautie / if nomanno man vndertoke it Falsnesse nor Faiterie / for somewhat þe Apostole seide Non oderis fratrem / & in the psalter also seith Dauid þe prophete Existimasti inique quod ero tui similis &c / It is Licitum for Laye men / to saie the soothe Yf them Lust & Like / euery lawe it grauntethe Except parsons and preistes / & prelates of holy kirk It fallethe not for them / no tales to telle Though the tale be true / if it towcheth Synne A thing that all þe world wot / wherfor shuldest þou spare And rede it in Rethorike / to rebuke deadlie synne But be neuer the First / a faute to blame Though þou se euill saie it not first / but be sorie for it Nothing þat is privie / Publice þou at any time Nor for Lawe loue lawde it / nor lack it not for envie Parum lauda vitupera parcius / He seith truthe quod Scripture then / & skipt vp and preched But the matere that she moued / if lay men it knewe The lesse I beleue / loue it they wolde / This was hir teme & text / I toke full goode hede Multi to a mangerie / and to the meate were Sommoned And the people all come / the portar vnpynned the gate And plucked in Pauci priuelie / & lete the rest go roome And for Angre of hir text / trembled myn hert And in a studie I felle / & began with my-self dispute Whether I were chosen or not / on holie churche I thought That cristened me at the font / for one of goddes childerne For Christ callid vs all / come if we wolde Sarasens & Scismatikes / & so he did the Iewes O vos omnes scicientes venite And bad them sucke for for[+] synne / safelie at his brest And drinke boote for bale / brouke it who so myght Then may all xpcristen come quod I / and clayme there entree By the blood þat he bought vs with / & through baptisme after Qui crediderit et baptisatus fuerit &c / For though a cristen man wold / his Christendome renye Righfullie to renye / no reason it wolde For no Cherle may Charter make / nor his Catell selle Without leue of his lorde / no lawe will it graunte But he may renne in rerage / & so roome from home And as renyed Caitif / recheleslie renne about And Reason shall reken with him / & cast him in rereage And put him in prison / in Purgatorie to brenne For his arerages rewarde him there / till þe daie of dome But if Contricion will come / and crie by his Lyfe Mercie for his misdedis / with mouth or with harte That is true said Scripture / may no synne let Mercie all to Amende / and mekenesse hir folowe For they be as our bookes tell / aboue goddis workes Misericordia eius super omnia opera eius / Yea bawe for bookes quod won / was broken out of helle hight Troianus had bene a true knight / toke witnesse at a Pope howe he was dead and damned / to dwelle in peyne for an vnxpenvncristen creature / Clerkes knowe the truthe That all þe clergie vnder Christ / ne might me cache from helle But wonlie loue and Leautie / and my Laufull domes Gregorie wist this well / and willed to my soule Saluacion for sothenesse / that he se in my workes And after that he wept / & willed me were grauntid Grace without prayer / and his boone was graunted And I saued as you se / without synging of masses By loue and by Learnyng / of my Liuyng in truthe Brought me fro bitter peynes / there no prayer myght Lo ye lordes what Leautie did / by an Emporour of Rome That was an vnxpenvncristen creature / as clerkes fynde in bookes Not through preyer of A Pope / but for his pure truthe Was that Sarazen saued / as S Gregorie beareth witnesse Well ought ye lordes that Lawe kepe / this Lesson to haue in mynde And on Troianus truthe to thinke / & do trulie to the people Lawe without loue quod Troianus / Ley there a beane Or anie sciens vnder sonne / the vijseuen Artes and all Onlesse they be lerned for the lordes loue / lost is all the time For no cause to cache siluer / nor to be callid maister But all for loue of the lorde / and the better to loue the people For S Iohan said it / and true are hise wordes Qui non diligit manet in morte Who-so louithe not beleue me / he liuith in death dying And that all manere men / enemyes & freindes Loue eche one other / and beleue them as them-self Who-so beleuith not he louith not / god wot the soth And comandethe euery man / to conforme him to loue And chefelie the pouer people / and their enymies after For them that hate vs / is our merite to loue And pouer people to please / their prayers may vs helpe And our Ioie and our helth / IhuIesu Christ of heauen In a pouer mannes apparaile / pursued vs euer And Loketh on vs in their Likenesse / & þat with louelie chere To knowe vs by our kynde hart / & casting of our eyen Whether we loue the Lordes here / before the lorde of blisse And excite vs by th'evangelie / þat when we make feastes We shuld not call our kyn therto / nor no riche man / Cum facitis conviuia , nolite invitare amicos / But call the carefull therto / the crokid and the blynde For your freendes will fede you / and requite you agayne Your Feasting & your fair gifte / eche frende so quiteth other But for the pouer I shall paye / & well quite their cost That giueth them meate /orS's cancelled punctuation, preceding this word, is unique among beta2 copies. money / & loue them for my sake For the best , some be rich and some beggers and pouer All Are Christes creatures / and of his cofres riche And bretherne as of won blood / as well beggers as Erles For on Caluarie of Christis blood / xpcristendome did spring And bloodie bretherne we became there / of won bodie wonne As quasi modo geniti , and gentillmen alle No begger nor boye among vs / but if synne it made Qui facit peccatum , seruus est peccati / In th'olde Lawe / as holie letter tellethe Mennes sonnes / men call vs eueryone Of Adames issue and Eue / euer till , God man , died And After his Resurreccion Redemptor was his name And we his bretherne by him bought / bothe riche and pouer Therfor loue we as bretherne / & eche man merie with other And all that euery man may spare / giue where nede is And euery man helpe other / for hens shall we all Alter alterius onera portate / And be we not vnkynde of our goodes / nor orf our konnyng For no man knoweth how sone / to depart from bothe Therfor no man dispise other / though he more Latyn knowe Nor vngentellie rebuke / for nomanno man is without Faute For what so euer clerkes carpe / of xpcristendome or ellis Christ to a commone woman said / in commone at the feast That fides sua shulde saue hir / & Salue hir of hir synnes Than is beleue a true helpe / aboue Logike or Lawe Of Logike or of lawe / in Legenda Sanctorum / Is Litell allowaunce made / onlesse beleue them helpe For it is ouerlong ere Logike / any Lesson Assoile And Lawe is Loth to loue / onlesse he Lacheth Siluer Bothe Logike and Lawe / who louith not to Lye I conseile euery cristen / clive not þerto to sore For some wordes I fynd written / were of Faithes teaching That sauid synfull men / as S . Iohan beareth witnesse Eadem mensura qua mensi fueritis remetietur vobis Therfor learne we the Lawe of loue / as our lorde taught And as S . Gregorie said / for mannes soule helthe Melius est scrutari scelera nostra , quam naturas rerum Why I meue this matere / is most for the pouer For in their likenesse oure lorde hath bene ofte knoune Witnesse in the Pask wyke / when we wentyede to Emaus Cleophas knew him not / that he Christ was For his pouer Apparaile / and pilgrymes wede Till he blessed and brake / the bread that they ete So by his workes they wist / that he was IhusIesus But by clothing they knewe him not / nor by carping of tong And all was for exemple / to vs synnefull here That we shulde be lowe / and gentill of speche And apparaile vs not ouer prowdlie / for pilgrymes are we all And in Apparaile of a pouer man / & pilgrymes Likenesse Many tymes god hath bene met / Among nedie people There neuer man him se / clothid Like the Riche S . Iohan and other Sayntes / were sene in pouer clothing And as pouer Pilgrymes / Asked mennes goodes IhusIesus Christ on a Iewes doughter light / gentilwoman though she were She was a pure pouer maide / & to a pouermanpouer man weddid Martha on Marie Magdalene / a great compleynt made And to our Sauiour himself / said thise wordes Domine non est tibi cure quod soror mea reliquit me solam ministrare And Hastelie god Answerid / and bothe their willes folowid Both Marthaes and Maries / as Mathue witnessethe But pouertie god put before / and preised that as best Maria optimam partem elegit que non auferetur ab ea And all the wise that euer were / by aught þat I can spie Preise pouertie for best life / if Pacience folowe And bothe better and blissedder / by many fold then richesse And though it be sowre to suffre / therafter commeth swete As on a walnot without / is a bitter barke But within the same / she the shelle being awaie Ys a kernell of conforte / kynde to restore / So is after pouertie or penaunce / pacientlie taken for hit maketh A man to haue mynde of god / & A great will To wepe and to pray / wherof cometh mercie Of which Christ is a Kernell / to confort the soule And more quietlie slepith / the man þat is pouer And Lesse he dredeth death / and in the derk to be robbid Then he that is riche / Reason beareth witnesse Pauper ego ludo , dum tu diues meditaris / Although Salomon seyd / as folke seeth in the Bible Diuicias / nec paupertempauper[ta]tem &c / Wyser then Salomon was / bereth witnes and taught That perfite pouertie was / no possessions to haue And Life most Liking to god / as Luke witnesseth Si vis perfectus esse , vade et vende &c / Which is to mene to men Living in this world Who-so wilbewill be purely perfite / must forsake possessions Or selle it as the book seith / and the siluer dele To beggers that begg / and aske it for goddes loue For neuer failed man meate / þat allmightie god serued As Dauid saith in the psalter / to such as be in will To serue god trulie / ne greveth them no penaunce / Nichil impossibile volenti / Nor Lackethe neuer Lifelode / Lynnen nor wollen Inquirentes autem dominum / non minuentur omni bono / Yff preistes were perfite / they wold no siluer take For masses nor Mateyns / not their meate of vsureres Nor neither kirtell nor Cote / though they for cold shuld die Yf they their deuoir did / as dauid saith in the psalter Iudica me deus et discerne causam meam / Spera in deo , spekith of preistes / þat haue no spending siluer That if they travaile trulie / & trust in god Allmighty They shall Lacke no Lifelode / neither wollen nor Lynen And the Title they toke orders by / telleth they be Avaunced Then nede not you to take syluer / for masses that you syng For he that toke you your title / shuld take you your wages Or the Bisshope that blissed you / if þat ye be worthie For neuer king made knight / but he had Living to spende M 4 As befelle for A knight / or fond him for his strengthe It is a carefull knight / and of a caitif kinges making That hathe no londeslond nor living / nor good loos of his handes The same I saye forsothe / by all suche preistes That haue neither connyng nor kyn / but only a croune And a Title a tale of nought / to his Lifelode at nede He hathe more beleue I think / to get through his Crowne Cure ,Cure: Syntactic punctuation is shared by W and derives ultimately from Bx. See Introduction, ??? and BTP ad loc. then through connyng / or knowlege of clene Living I haue wonder why / and wherfor the Bisshope Make such preistes / that betraie Laye men A Chartre is chalengeable / before a chief Iustice Yf false Latyn be in it / the lawe it impugneth Or peyntid parenterlynarye / or parcellis ouerskipped The man þat so gloseth charters / for a goky is holden So it is a goky by god / þat in his gospell fayleth Or in masse or mateyns / maketh any defaute Qui offendit in vno , in omnibus est reus / Also in the Psalter / saith Dauid to ouerskyppers Psallite deo nostro psallite quoniam rex terre deus psallite sapienter The bisshop shalbeshall be blamed / before god as I beleue That Crowneth suche goddes knightes / þat knoweth nocannotSx read "konneþ noȝt"; the S redactor evidently construed the verb in the sense "to know or be familiar with (sth.), to know (sth.) by heart" (MED connen v., senses 5a,b), or else "to possess knowledge or understanding" (sense 4b), and translated accordingly. The S scribe's correction recognizes that the syntactic construction runs into the next line where konneþ must govern an infinitive (sense 1a). Sapienter Syng nor psalmes rede / nor saie masse of the daie But neither is blamelesse / the bisshop nor the chapelyne For they bothe be indyted / and þat is ignorantia nonOther copies uniformly break before 'non' and present the Latin as two lines. S evidently treats KD.11.316, 317 as a single run-on unit. excusat episcopos nec ydiotes preistis This Loking on leaude preistes / hath done me lept from pouertie Which I prayse there pacience is / more perfite then richesse But much more in dremyng / þus with me did one dispute And sleping I se all this / and then came Kynde And callid me by my name / & bad me take hede And through the wonders of this worlde / wit for to take And on a Mounteyne þat Middillerthe hight as me thought I was fet furthe / by ensamples to knowe Through euery creature & kynde / my Creatour to loue I sawe the sonne and the Sea / & also the sand after And wheras birdes and beastes / with their makes went Wyld wormes in woodes / & wonderfull foules With flecked fethers / and of many colours / Man And his make / I might bothe beholde Pouertie and plentie / both peace and warre Blisse and bale bothe / I se all atonesat ones And how men toke mede / and mercie refused I se Reason sothelie / ensue all beastes In eating and drinkyng / & in engendring of kynde And after course of conception / non toke kepe of other As when they had riden in Rott tyme / Anone therafter Males drewe to males / Amornynges by them-self And in Euenynges also / þe males fro the females There was neither Cowe nor Cowkynde / þat had conceyuid That wold belowe after bulles / nor boor after sowe Both horse an houndes / and all other beastes Medelid not with their makes / that with fole were Birdes I beheld / that in busshes made nestes Had neuer man witt / to worke the Least I had wonder at whome / and where the Pye Learned To lay the stickes / in which she laieth and bredethe There is no wright as I wene / shulde worke hir nest to paie Yf any Mason made a moulde therto / much wonder it were / But yet I merveiled more / how many other birdes Hidd and helled their / Egges full preuylie II[n] marresse and moores / that men shulde them not Fynde And hide ther egges / when they went from them For Feare of other foules / and wild beastes And some trode their makes / and on trees brede And brought furth birdes so / all aboue the grounde And some birddes at the bill / through breathing conceyued And some cauked I toke kepe / how pecockes bredd Much merveiled me / what maister they had And who taught them on treis / to tymbre so highe There neither burn nor beast / may their birdes reche And sithen I Lokid vpon the sea / & so furth vpon the sterres Many wonders I se / not to be spoken nowe I sawe floures in the frith / and their faire colours And how Among the grene grasse / grew so many hewes Some sour and some swete / very straunge me thought Of their kyndes and colours / to carpe it were to long But that most moved me / and my mode chaungid That Reason rewardyd / and ruled all Beastes N 1 Saue man and his make / many time and ofte / No reason them folowid / And than I rebuked Reason / And euen to himself I said I haue wonder of the quod I / þat wittie art holden Why thou ensuest not man and his make / þat no misfeat them folowe And Reason Rebuked me / Sayeng care thou not Why I suffre or not suffre / þou hast noȝtnoȝt: For this spelling see S.5.362n. to doo Amend thou it if thou maye / for my tyme is to abide Suffraunce is a souereyne vertue / and a swifte vengeaunce Who suffreth more then god / no man as I beleue he might Amend in a Mynute / all þat is Amisse But he suffreth for some mannes good / and so is oure better The wise and the wittie / wrot thus in the Byble De re que te non molestat , noli certare / For be a man fair or foule / it falleth for to Lacke / The shape and forme / that god shoupe himself For all that he did was well done / as holie writ witnessethe Et vidit deus cuncta que fecerat , et erant valde bone And bad euery creature / in his kynde encresce All to confort man / that most wo sufferith In fonding of the fleshe / and of the fende bothe for man was made of such matere / he maynotmay not well astert That ne sometyme him betidde / to folowe his kynde Cato Accordeth therwith / Nemo sine crimine viuit / Then caught I colour anone / And began to be Ashamed And awakid þerwith / woo was me thannethanne: The sole spelling of THEN with final -e, a relict of S's medieval exemplar. That I in dreames myght not / more haue knoune And then said I to my-self / and chidde that tyme Now I wot what Dowell is quod I / by god as me thinke And as I cast vp myn eyen / won Lokid on me & Asked Of me what isi[t] was / Iwisse syr I seyd To se much and suffre more / certes quod I is Dowell Haddest þou suffred he said / sh sleping when þou were Thou shuldest haue knoune þat clerkes can / & conceyuid more by Reason For Reason wold haue rehercid the / even as clergie said For But for thyn entermedling / here art þou forsake Philosophus esses , si tacuisses / Adam whiles he spake not / had paradise at will And when he mamled about meate / & entermetid to knowe The wisdome and þe wit of god / he was put from blisse And even so farid Reason by the / þou with thy rude speche Thou Lackedst and lostlost: Rendering losedest 'praised'. thing / that ought not to be done Then had he no Liking / for to Lerne the more Pride now and presumption / paraduenture woll the Appeale That Clergie thy companye / will not ensue Shall neuer chalenginge nor chyding / chaste a man so sone As shall shame / & shend him / and shape him t'amende For Lat a Dronken Daf / in a Dike fall Lat him ly lokenotloke not on him / till he list to rise For though Reason rebukid him than / it were but pure synne But when nede taketh him vp / for doubte lest he sterue And shame shaketh his clothes / and his shynnes wassheth Than wot the Dronken Daff / wherfore he is to blame Ye saie sothe quod I / I haue sene it ofte / There smyght nothing so smert / nor smelleth so soure As shame there he shewith him / for eueryman it shonneth Why ye tell me this quod I / was for I rebukid reason Certesse quod he þat is true / and shope him forth to walke And I Arosse vp with that / and folowed him after And preid him of his curtesie / to telle me his name PassusThe majuscule P lacks its descender. Cf. S.5.532n and S.10.273n. duodecimus de visione / I am ymaginatyf quod he / ydell was I neuer Though I sit by my-self / in sikenesse or in helth I haue folowed the in feith / thise fyue and fourtie wynters And many tymes I haue moved the / to think on thy ende And howe many chaunces haue chauncidmany chaunces haue chauncid: Rendering fele fernyeres are faren. An instance of updated idiom. / and so fewe to come And of thy wylde wantonesse / when thou yong were To Amend in thy myddillage / lest myght the failed In thine old age / that euill can suffre Pouertie , or penaunce / or preyer bidde Si non in prima vigilia , nec in secunda / Amende þoueThis error may have been induced by the form "þou" in subsequent copy; similarly, the g in "thoug" could have been induced by a spelling such as M's "might" in Sx (the word rendered as "maye" in S). (I do not find another line with three instances of corrected miswriting.) while thoug maye / thoue hast be warned ofte With inpostumesinpostumes: 'abscesses', rendering poustees, for which see S.5.36n. and pestilences / with pouertie and angre And with thise bittre baleises / god beateth his dere childerne Quem diligo castigo / And dauid in the psalter spekith / of such as loueth IhusIesus Virga tua et baculus tuus ipsa me consolata sunt Although thou strike me with thy staf / with stick or with þ rodd It is but myrth for me / to amende my soule / N 2 And thou medelist with makyng / and myghtest go saie thy psalter And praye for them þat gyue the bread / for there are bookes Inowe To telle men what dowell is / Dobet and Dobest also And preachers to proue what it is / of many a peyre Friers I se that he said truthe / and somewhat me to excuse Said Cato conforted me / that clerke though he were To solace him sometyme as I do / when I make Interpone tuis interdum gaudia curis / And of holy men I haue herde quod I / howe they other while Plaide the perfiter to be in many placis / But if there were any wight / that wold me telle What were Dowell and Dobet / and Dobest at the Laste Wold I neuer do worke / but go to holie churche And there saie my prayers / but when I ete or slepe Paule in his pistle quod he / proveth what is Dowell Fides spes caritas , et maior horum &c Feith hope and charitie / and all bene good / And saue men sondrie tymes / but non so sone as charitie For he doeth well without doute / that doth as Leautie teacheth That is if thou be maried man / Loue thy wyfe And Liue as Lawe will / while ye Lyue bothe Even so if thou be religiouse / renne thou neuer farther To Rome nor to Rochemador / but as thy rule teacheth And holde the vnder obedience / þat high waie is to heauen And if thou be maid vnmaried / and maist so well contynue Seke neuer Saynt ferther / for no soules helthe For what made Lucifere / to lose the Highe Heauen Or Salomon his sapience / or Sampson his strengh Iob the Iewe his ioye / dere he it bought Aristotle and other mo / Hypocras and Virgile Alisandre that all wan / elengelych ended Catell and kynde wit / was combraunce to them all Felice hir fairnesse / Fell hir all to sclaunder And Rosamounde right so / rufullie to beleue The beautie of hir bodie / in badnesse she dispended Of many such I may rede / bothe men and women That wise wordes wolde shewe / and worke the contrarie Sunt homines nequam , bene de virtute loquentes / And riche men also / gather and spare And they þat they most hate / mynestre it at Laste And for they suffre and se / so many nedy folkes And loue them not as oure lorde bid / Lose their soules Date at dabitur vobis &c And richesse right so / but if the roote be true But grace is a grasse therof / tho grevaunces to abate But grace growe not / but among Lowlie Pacience and pouertie / the place is where it groweth And in true Lyving men / and in Lyfe holie And through the gift of the holie goste / as the gospell telleth Spiritus vbi vult spirat &c Clergie and Kynde wit / commeth of sight and teaching As the booke bearethe witnesse / to men that can rede Quod scimus loquimur , quod vidimus testamur Of quod scimus commeth Clergie / & connyng of heauen And of quod vidimus , commeth kyndwit , by sight of diuerse people But grace is a gifte of god / and of great loue springethe No clerk knowith how it commethe furth / nor kyndwit the weye Nescit aliquis vnde venit , aut quo uadit But yet is Clergie to be preised / and kyndwit also And namelie Clergie for Christes loue , that of clergie is roote For Moses witnesseth þat god wrot / for to teache the people In the olde Lawe as the lettre tellethe / þat was the lawe of Iewes That what woman were in adultrie taken / were she riche or pouer With stones men shulde hir strike / and stone hir to deathe A woman as we rede / was giltie of that dede But Christ of his curtesie / through clergie hir saued And through Caractes that Christ wrot / the iewes knewe themself Giltier as afore god / And greater in synne Then the woman that there was / and went awaie for shame The clergie þat ther was / conforted the woman Holy church knowethe this / þat Christes wrighting saued hir So Clergie is confort / to creatures that repent them And to Mad or folishMad or folish: Rendering mansede 'cursed'. A rare instance of doublet translation in S. men / mischefe at their ende For goddes bodie might not be of bread / without clergie The which bodie is bothe boote / to the rightfull And deathe and damnacion / to them þat dyethe evell As Christes Caract conforted / and also culpable shewed The woman that the iewes brought / þat IhusIesus thought to saue Nolite iudicare , non iudicabimini Even so goddes bodie bretherne / onlesse it be worthely take N 3 Damneth vs at the daye of dome / as the Caractes did the Iewes Therfor I conseile the for Christes sake / Clergie that þou Loue For kynde wit is of his kyn / and nighe cosyns bothe To oure lorde beleue me / therfor loue them I rede For bothe be as Myrrours / t'amende oure fautes / And Lederis for Lay men / and Learned bothe Therfor Lacke thou neuer Logike / Lawe nor his customes Nor counterplede Clerkes / I counseyle the for euer For as man may may[+]not se / that mysse his eyes No more can no clerk / onlesse he gat it first through bookes Although men made bookes / god was the maister And Saynt Spirit the samplarie / & told what men shulde wright / Euen so Ledeth Learneng / Lewde men to reason / And as a blynde man in bataile / beareth weapen to fight And Hathe non Happe with his Axe / his enemye to hitte NomoreNo more can a kynde witted man / onlesse clerkes him teache Come for all his kynde witte / to xpcristendome & be saued Which is the Cofre of Christes treasure / and Clerkes kepe þe keyes To vnlocke it at thir pleasure / and to the lewde people Gyue mercie for thir misdedes / if men will it aske / Buxomly and benignely / and aske it for charitie Archa dei in the olde lawe / the Leuites it kept Had neuer lewde man leue / to lay Hande of that Chest But he were preest or preistes son / Patriarke or prophete For Clergie is keper / Vnder Christe of heauen Was there neuer no knight / but Clergie him made But kynde wit commeth / of all manere sightes Of birdes and beastes / of tastes of truthe and deceyte Lyuers before vs / vsed to marke Straunge thinges that they se / their childern to teache And helde it an highe science / their wittes to knowe But through their Science trulie / was neuer soule saued Nor brought by their bookes / to blisse nor to ioye For all their kynde knowlege commeth but by diuerse sightes Patriarches and prophetes / reproued their Science / Saying their wordes and wisdome / was but Folye As to the clergy of Christ / counted it but a trifle Sapiencia huius mundi , stulticia est apud deum / For the heigh Holy ghost / Heauen shall to cleue And loue shall leape out after / in-to this lowe erthe And clennesse shall cache it / and clerkes shall it Fynde Pastores loquebantur ad inuicem / He speaketh there of rich men right nought / nor of right wittie Nor of Lordes that were lewde men / but of the highest lerned Ibant magi ab oriente Yf Any friere were founde there / I will gyue the fyve shillinges Nor in no beggers cote / was that barne borne But in a burgese place / of Betheleme the best Sed non erat locus in diuersorio &c / To pastors and to poetes / Appered the Aungell And bad them go to Bethlem / goddes birth to honour And song A song of Solas / Gloria in excelsis deo Clerkes knewe it well / And came with their presentes Doing their homage honorablie / to him that was almyghtie Why I haue tolde all this / I toke full good hede How thou diddest contrarie clergie / with crabbed wordes How that lewde men Lightlier / then Lerned were saued Then clerkes or kynde witted men / of xpcristian people And thou saidest true of some / but se in what manere Take ijtwo strong men / and in-to the Temmes cast them And bothe naked as a nedle / non surer then other The won hath connyng and can / bothe swymme and dive The other is Lewde of that Labour / & neuer Lerned to Swymme Which thinkest þou of them ijtwo / in the Temmes is most in ieopardie he that neuer dived / norand nought can of Swymmyng Or he that swymmeth in safetie / if that he will There his felawe flete furthe / as the flood drivethe And is in drede to drenche / that neuer did Swymme He that cannot swymme quod I / it semeth to my wittes Even so quod the man / Reason it shewethe That he that knoweth clergie / can soner Arise Out of Synne and be saf / though he synne ofte Yf him Like and Lust / than any lewde man For if the clerke be connyng / he knoweth what is Synne And howe contricion without Confession / conforteth the soule As thou seist in the psalter / in psalmes one or tweyne how contricion is commended / for it putteth awaie synne Beati quorum remisse sunt iniquitates , et quorum tecta sunt &c And this conforteth euery clerk / & couereth him from wanhope N 4 A later hand has written a number of letterforms and possible words lengthwise in the margin of the folio. Letters include I and t among others. The word "the" (?) appears at the top of the page. Smudging obscures a group of letters nearer the top of the folio. In Whiche flood the feend / holdeth a man hardest There the lewde Lyith still / and lokethe for Lent And hathe no contricion ere he come to shifte / and then can he notlittell tell And as his lores man Learne him / he beleueth and troweth And that is after Parson or parish preist / and paraduenture Vnconnyng to lerne lewde men / as Luke beareth witnes Dum cecus cecum ducit &c / Wo was he marked þat wade must with the Lewde Well may the childe blisse / that him to booke sett That Lyving after Lernyng / saueth bothe Life and soule Dominus pars hereditatis mee / is a mery verse That hathe taken from Tyborne / xxtitwenti strong theues Where Lewde theues be lolled vp / Loke how they be saued The thefe þat had grace of god / vpon the good fridaie Was for he knew him-self fautie to Christ & knowleged his gilt Asking mercie of god / and he is euer redie That Lowly aske it / And in will t'amende them But though that thefe had heauen / he had no high blisse As Saynt Iohan and other Sayntes / þat had deserued better Even as some men gyue me meat / & set me Amiddes the flore I haue meat more then ynough / but not somuchso much worshippe As they þat sit at the side table / or with the souereynes of the hall But sitt as begger bordelesse / by my-self on the grounde So it fareth by that felon / þat on good friday was saued He sitt neither with S Iohan / Symond nor Iude Nor with maydes nor Martyrs / Confessours nor widewes But by him-self as a soleyn / & serued on erthe For he that is ones a thefe / is euermore in daunger And as Lawe Liketh to Lyue or to dye De peccato propiciato , noli esse sine metu / And for to serue a Saynt / and suche a thefe togithers It were neither reason nor right / to rewarde them alike And right as Troianus þe true knight / dwelt not depe in helle That oure lorde ne had him Lightlie out / so beleue I þe thefe be in heven For he is in the Lowest heaven / if our beleue be true And well loseslly he lolleth there / by the Lawe of holy churche Qui reddit vnicuique iuxta opera sua / And why that one thefe / on the crosse / creaunt did him yelde Rather then the other / though þou woldest oppose All the clerkes vnder Christ / could not the same assoile Quare placuit quia voluit And so I saie by the / that sekest after the whyes And Arguest with Reason / A rebuking as it were And of the floures in the frithe / And of their faire hewes Wherof they cache their coloures / so clere and so bright And willest of birdes and beastes / & of their breding to knowe Why some be belowe and some alofte / thy Liking it were And of the stones & of the sterres / thou studiest I belieue Howe euery beast and birde / hathe so good wittes Clergie nor kynde wytt / knowe neither the cause But kynde knoweth himself / no creature elles He is the Pyes patrone / and putteth it in hir eare That there the thorne is thickest / to buylde and brede And kynde taught the pecocke / to cawke in such a kynde And taught Adam to knowe / his privie membres And taught him and Eue / to couer them with leues Lewde men many tymes / Maisters they oppose Why Adam hilled not first / his mouth þat ete the Apple Rather then his bodie benethe / Lewde thus aske clerkes Kynde knoweth why he did so / but no clerke ellis But of byrdes andand of beastes / men by olde tyme Ensamples toke and termes / as telle the poettes And that the fayrest foule / foulest engendrethe And feblest foule of flight / that fleith or swymmethe And that the pecok and the pehenne / proude rich men betoken For the Pecock if men pursue him / maynotmay not flie highe For the traling of his taile / ouertaken is he sone And his sleshe[f]leshe is fouleThe scribe begins to write the loop of an l after f, by attraction to surrounding copy. fleshe / and his fete also And vnlouely of Ledene / And Layth for to here Right so the riche / isf he his richesse kepe And deleth it not till his deathdaye / the taile of all sorowe Even as the pennes of the pecocke / peyneth him in his flight So is possession peyne / of pens and of nobles To all them that kepe it / till their taile be plucked And thoughe the rich repent then / and Lament the tyme That euer he gathered so greatmuch / and gaf therof so Littill Though he crieth to Christ then / with kene will I beleue his Leden be in our lordes eare / Like a pies chatering .O.1. A later hand has written a near-complete alphabet lengthwise along the left margin of the folio. Each letterform is represented between two and four times in order. H, k, l, and t are notable for sharing the eccentric crossed ascenders of the letters found in the margin of 16v and elsewhere in the manuscript. And when his Corps shall come / in graue to be buried I beleue it flaume full foule / the folde all aboute And all the other there it Lythe / invenomed through his Attre By the Pofeet is vnderstande / as I haue lerned Executors false frendes / that fulfille not his will That was written and they witnesse / to worke euen as it wold Thus the Poete proueth þat the pecock / for his fethers is reuerenced Even so is the riche / by reason of his goodes The Larke that is a Lesse foule / is more louely of LedeneThe main scribe has interlinneated ".i. note" above "Ledene". There is a gloss of the same form at S.6.247. And well awaie of wyng / swifter then the pecock And of fleshe by many folde / fatter and sweter To pouer Laboring men / the Larke is resembled Aristotle the great clerk / such tales tellethe Thus he Likeneth in his Logik / the Least foule out And whether he be saf or no / the sothe wot no clerkes Nor of Sortes nor Salomon / no scripture can telle But god is so good I hope / that sith he gaue them wittes To counseile vs withall / and telle vs to be saued And the better for their bookes / to pray we be bounde That god for his grace / giue their soules rest for Lerned men were yet Lewde men / were not their bookes All these clerkes quod I then / that on Christ beleue Say in their sermons / that neyther Sarazene nor Iewe Nor no creature elles / without cristendome is saued Contra quod ymaginatife then / And began to loure And said / saluabitur vix iustus / in die iudicij Ergo saluabitur quod he / and spake nomoreno more Latyn Troianus was a true knight / and toke neuer xpcristendome And is saf saith the book / & his soule in heauen For there is Cristening in font / & cristenyng in bloodshedyng And through fyre is cristening / this is fyrme beleue Aduenit ignis diuinus non comburens , sed illiminansill[u]minans But truthe that trespassed neuer / nor did against his Lawe But Lyueth as his Lawe teacheth / & beleue there is no better And if there were he wold amende / & in such will dieth Wold neuer the true god / but truthe were allowed And whether it be or not / the beleue is great of truthe And an hope hanging therin / to haue a mede for his truthe for Deus dicitur quasi dans vitam eternam suis hoc est fidelibus Et alibi , Si ambulauero in medio vmbre mortis / The glose graunteth vpon þat vers / A great mede to truthe / And wit and wisdome quod he / was sometyme treasure To kepe with A commones / no richesse holde better And much myrthe and manhode / & with that he vanished Passus xiijustredecimus de visione And I waked therwith / witlesse nerehande And as A freke that fre were / furth gan I walke In manere of A begger / many a yere after And of this dreame many tyme / much thought I hadd Fyrst how fortune me failed / at my most nede And howe þat Age threatened me / if euer we mett And howe that Friers folowed / folke þat were riche And those that were pouer / at Litill price they sett And no Corps in their Kyrkyerd / nor in their kirk was buried Onlesse he bequethed ought / or shulde helpe pay their dettes And howe that Couetise ouercame / Clerkes and preistes And howe that lewde men be led / but our Lorde them helpe Through vnconnyng creatures / to incurable peynes And howe that ymaginatyf / in dreames me told Of Kynde & of of his connyng / & howe curteis he is to beastes And howe Loving he is to beastes / bothe on lond & water He leneth no Lyfe / Lesse nor more The creatures that crepe / of Kynde they be engendred And then howe ymaginatyf seyd // Vix saluabitur iustus And when he had said so / how sodenly he passed I Laye doune long in this thought / And at the Last I slept And as Christ wold there cam conscience / to confort me þat tyme And bad me come to his courte / with clergie shulde I dyne And for Conscience of Clergy spake / I came somucheso muche the rather And there I se a maister / what man he was I wist not That Lowe he lowted / and louely to scripture Conscience knewe hym well / And welcommed him fair They wasshed And wyped / And went to their dynner But pacience in the palais stood / in pilgrymes clothes And asked mete for charitie / for A pouer heremyte Conscience called him in / And curteislie said Welcome , go and washe / thou shalt sytt sone / .O.2. This maister was made sytte / As for the most worthie And then Clergie and Conscience / & pacience cam After Pacience And I were / put to be maches And sett by our-self / at the syde boorde Conscience called after meate / And than cam Scripture And serued them thus sone / of sundrie meates manye Of Augustine of Ambrose / And of the foure Evangelistes Edentes et bibentes que apud eos sunt / But this maister nor his man / no manere fleshe ete But they ete meate of more cost / Mortreux and potages Of that men ofte want / they made them well at ease But their sauce was very soure / & vnsavourly grounde InaIn a morter Post mortem / of many a bitter peyne But if they sing for tho soules / And wepe salt teares Vos qui peccata hominum comeditis , nisi pro eis lacrimas et oraciones /effunderitis ea que in delicijs comeditis in tormentis euometis Conscience full curteisly then / commanded Scripture Before Pacience bread to bring / and me þat was his mache He sett a sour lofe before vs / and said Agite penitenciam And then he brought vs drynke / Diaperseuerans As long quod I as I Lyue / And this body may endure Here is proper seruice quod pacience / there fareth no prynce better And then he brought furth A mese of other meat / of Miserere mei deus And he brought vs of beati quorum of Beatus virres making Et quorum tecta sunt peccata / in a dishe Of derne Christe / Dixi / and Confitebor tibi / Bryng Pacience a pitaunce / priuyly quod Conscience And than had Pacience / A pitaunce by and by Pro hac orabit ad te omnis sanctus / in tempore oportuno And Conscience conforted vs / & told vs mery tales Cor contritum et humiliatum , deus non despicies Pacience was proude / of that proper seruice And made him mery with his meate / but I mourned euer For the Doctour At the high dease / Drank wyne so faste / Ve vobis qui potentes estis ad bibendum vinum He ete many sundrie meates / Mortruex & puddynges Wombe cloutes and wyld brawne / & egges fryed with grece Then said I to my-self so / pacience it herde It is not foure Daies þat this freke / before the dean of paules Preached of penaunce / that paule th'apostle suffred In fame et frigore / and flappes of skourges Ter cesus sum et a iudeis quinquies quadragenas &c But one worde they ouerhippe / at eche tyme that they preache That Paule in his Epistle / to all the people tolde Periculum est Falsis fratribus Holy writ bid men beware / I wilnotwill not write it here In englishe lest it shulde be reherced to ofte And greue therwith good men / But gramariens shall rede Vnusquisque a fratre se custiatcust[od]iat , quia vt dicitur periculum est in falsis fratrib But I wist neuer fryer yet / before men in englishe Take it for his teme / and telle it without glosyng They preache that penaunce is / profitable to the soule And what mischef and misease / Christ for man suffred But this goddes glutton quod I / with his great chekes hath no pitie on vs pouer / he performeth euell That he prechethe he proue not / to pacience I told And wished ernestly / with will full egre That disshes and doblers / before the same doctour Were molten in his mawe / And Mahounne amyddes I shall Iangle to this Iourdan / with his iust wombe To telle me what penaunce is / of which he preached Late Pacience perceyued what I ment / & winked on me to be stille And said thou shalt se sone / whan he may nomoreno more He shall haue a penaunce in his paunche / & puf &[at] euery worde And then shall his guttes gulle / & he shall galpe After for now hath he dronken so depe / he will devyne sone And proue it by their Pocalyps / And passion of S . Avarice That neither Bacon nor Brawne / Blank manger nor mortreux Is neither fishe nor fleshe / But food for A penitent Then shall he testifie of þe Trinytie / & take his felawe to witnesse What he founde in A frayA / After a friers Lyuyng And but he first lyue by leasinges / beleue me neuer after / And than is tyme to take / And oppose this doctour And dowell and dobet / And if dobest be any penaunce And I sate still as pacience bad / And then sone this doctour As rody as A rose / rubbed his chekes Coughed and carped / and Conscience him herde And told him of A Trinite / & towarde vs he Lokid What is dowell syr doctour quod I / is dowell any penaunce Dowell quod this doctour / And toke the cuppe and drancke .O.3. Ys do non euill to thine even cristen / not by thy poure By this daye syr doctor quod I / than be ye not in dowell For you haue harmed vs ijtwo / in that ye ete the puddyng Mortruex and other meate / & we no morsell hadd And if ye fare so in your fermerye / ferly me thinketh But ChastiteChastite: Rendering cheeste, 'strife'. Compare S.2.87n. be there Charitie shuld be / & yong childerne durst complayne I wold permute my penaunce with your / for I am in poynt to dowell Then Conscience curteislie / a countynaunce he made And winked vpon Pacience / to pray me to be stille And said himself syr doctour / And it be your wille What is dowell and dobett / ye devynours knowe Dowell quod this doctour / do as clerkes teache And dobet is he that teacheth / & travaileth to teache other And dobest dothe him-self so / as he saieth & preachethe Qui facit et docuerit , magnus vocabitur in regno celorum Now you Clergie quod Conscience / carpe what is dowell I haue vijseuen sonnes he said / seruauntes in a Castell There the lorde of Lyfe dwellethe / to lerne what is dowell Till I se tho seaven / And my-self Accorde I am vnhardy quod he / to any man to proue it For won Piers the plowman / hath inpugned vs all And set all sciences atThe scribe's cancelled writing here shows that his exemplar retained the original reading of this line, "at a sop". See Introduction, section II.4. Light / saue loue wonly And no text he taketh / to maynteyne his cause But Dilige deum and Domine quis habitabit / And saith that dowell and dobet / Are two infynites Which infinites with a feithe / Fynde out Dobest Which shall saue mannes soule / thus saith piers plowman I knowe not this quod Conscience / But I knowe well Piers he willnotwill not against holy writ speake / I dare well vndertake Then passe we ouer till piers come / & proue this indede Pacience hathe bene in many a place / & paraduenture mouthed That no clerk can / as Christ beareth witnesse Pacientes vincunt &c But your prayer quod pacience then / so nomanno man displease him Disce quod he Doce / and Dilige inimicos Disce and dowell Doce and Dobet Dilige and Dobest / thus taught me onesThe scribe ran out of space; the last word is entered in the right margin of the line below and partially boxed. A Lemman that I loued / Loue was hir name With wordes and with workes quod she / and will of thine harte Thoue loue truly thy soule / all thy Lyfe tyme / And so thou lerne the to loue / for the lordes loue of heauen Thyne Enemy in Any wise / euen as thy-self Cast coles on his head / of all kynde speche Bothe with wordes and workes / entende his loue to wynne And ley on him thus with loue / till he Lawghe on the And onlesse bhe bowe with this beating blynde mut he be But for to fare thus with thy freind / folie it were For he that loueth the trulie / Litill of thyne covetethe Kynde loue coueteth not / catell but speche With Half a Lampe in Latine / Ex vi transicionis I beare therin aboute / Fast bounde Dowell In A signe of the Saterdaie / that set first the Kalender And all the witt on the wednesday / of þe next wike after The middell of the mone / as the night of bothe And therwith am I welcome / there I haue it with me Vndo it Lat this doctour deme / if dowell be therin For by him that me made / might neuer pouerte Misease or mischef / nor man with his tong Colde nor care / nor company of theues Nor neither hete nor haile / nor non helle powke Nor neither fier nor flood / nor feare of thine enemye TeneTene: Usually rendered as angre, but retained again at S.20.116. See Glossary. the Any time / And thou take it with the Caritas nichil timet / It is but a dido quod this Doctour / A disoures tale All the wit of this worlde / and wight mennes strengthe Cannot conforme a peace . betwene the pope and his enemyes Nor betwene ijtwo Cristene kynges / can no man peace make Profitable to either people / and put the table from him And toke Clergie and Conscience / to counseile as it were That pacience thoutho maistmost passe / for pilgrymes can well Lye But Conscience carped lowde / & curteislie saide Frendes fare ye well / And fair spake to Clergie For I will go with this man / if god will giue me grace And be pilgryme with Pacience / till I haue proued more What quod Clergie to Conscience / Are ye couetouse nowe After rewardes and giftes / or redy to rede redels I shall bring you A byble / A booke of the olde Lawe And lerne you yf you Like / the Least poynt to knowe That Pacience the pilgryme / perfitely knewe neuer Nay quod Conscience to Clergie / god that forbidd O 4 For all that Pacience me profereth / prowde am I litill But the will of the man / And the will of the folke here Hath moved my mood / to mourne for my synnes The good will of A wight / was neuer bought to the full For there is no tresure / to A true will Had not Maudelyn more for A box of salue Then Zacheus for all he said / Dimidium bonorum meorum do pauperibus And the pouer widewe / for A peyr of mytes Than all they that offred / in-to Gazophilacium Thus curteisly conscience / congeied first the frier And then softlie he said / in Clergies eare Me were Lefer by the Lorde / and I Lyue shuld haue Pacience perfitely / then half thy pack of bookes Clergie of Conscience / no congie wold take But said full soberlie / thou shalt se the tyme Whan thou Art wery of walkyng / will me to counsaile That is sothe said Conscience / so me god helpe Yf Pacience be our partingfelawe / & privie with vs bothe There is no wo in this world / that we shulde not amende And conforme kynges to peace / & all manere Londes SazrazensThe scribe lined through the tail of the first z, turning it into an r. And Surreans / and so forthe all the Iewes Turne into the true feythe / and into one beleue That is true quod Clergie / I se what þou menest I shall dwelle as I do / my devoire to shewe And conferme Fauntekyns / And other folke Lerned Till pacience haue proued the / & perfite the made Conscience then with pacience passed / pilgrymes as they were Thatn had pacience as pilgrymes haue / in his poke vitalles Sobrietie and Symple speche / and stedfast bebyu beleue To confort him and conscience / if they came in place There vnkyndnes and Couetise is / hungry countreis bothe And as they went by the way / of dowell they carped They met with A mynstrall / as me then thought Pacience opposed him fyrst / & preyd him to tell To Conscience what crafte he coulde / & whether he wolde I am A mynstrall quod that man / my name is Actiua vita All ydell I hate / for of Actif is my name A wafrer will ye wete / And serue many Lordes And fewe clothes I gett / cotes or furred gownes Could I Lye to do men laf / then gett I shulde Outher mantell or money / Among Lordes or Mynstras But for I can neither tabour nor trompe / nor telle no gestes Fart nor fithell / at feastes nor harpe Iape nor Iogle / nor gentillie pype Nor neither saile nor saute / nor sing with the giterne I haue no good giftes / of thise great lordes for no bread that I bring forthe / saue A benyson on the sondaie Whan the preist preyeth the people thisr pater noster to bydd For Piers the plowman / & they that him loue And that am I Actyf / that ydilnesse hate For all true travailours / and tyllers of the erthe Fro Mighelmas to Mighellmasse / I Fynde them with myom. wafres Beggers and bidders / of my bread craue Faiters and friers / and folke with brode crownes I Fynde bread for the pope / and prouender for his palfrey And I had neuer of him / haue god my truthe Neither provendre nor parsonage / Ȝet of the Popes gyfte Saue A pardon with a piece of lead / & ijtwo polles Amyddes Had I a clerke that coulde wright / I wolde cast him a byble That he sent me vnder his seale / A salue for the pestilence And that his blissing and his bulles / boches myght distroye In nomine meo demonia eijcient / et super egros manus imponent &c And then wolde I be presst to the people / past for to make Bothe buxome and busye / About bread and drinke For him and for all his / found I that his pardon Might leche A man / as I beleue it shulde For sithe he hathe the pouer / that peter himself had He hathe the pott with the salue / truly as me thinkes Argentum et aurum non est michi / quod autem habeo tibi doIn nomine domini surge et ambula / But if might of myracle him faile / it is for that men be not worthy To haue the grace of god / and no faute in the Pope For no blissing may do us good / But if we will Amend Nor mannes masse make peace / Among xpcristian people Till pride be purely fordone / And þat throughe defaute of bread For ere I haue bread of meale / ofte must I sweate And ere the commons haue corne ynough / many a cold nornyng So ere my wafers be wrought / much woe I suffre All london I beleue / Like well my wafres And loure when they Lacke them / it is not long yet paste .P.1. There was A carefull commons / when no cart came to toune With bread from Stratforde / then beggars began to wepe And workemen were agast / this wilbewill be thought on long In date of our drowt / in A drie Apryll A thousand and thre hunderd / twies twentie and tean My wafres then there were geason / when Chichester was Mayr I toke good kepe by Christ / And Conscience bothe Of Haukyn the Actyue man / and howe he was clothed He had A Cote of xpcristendome / as holie chirche beleuethe But it was moulded in many places / with many sondrie spottes Of pride here a plot and there a plott / of vnbuxome speche Of skornyng & scoffyng / and of vnskilfull beryng As in Apparaile and port / proude Among the people Otherwise then he hathe / with hart or sight shewing Hym willing that all men wende / he were that he is not For why he bosteth and braggethe / with many bolde othes And is vnobedient to be interteyned / of any man Lyuyng And non so syngler by himself / nor so pompe holie habited as an heremyte / an order by himself Religion sauns rule / & reosonableresonable obedience Dyspreysing lerned men / and lewde men bothe In Lyknyng of true Lyfe / and a Lyar in soule With inwit and outwytt / ymagine & studie As best for his body be / to haue a badd name And meddell with all thinges / there he hathe not to do Willing that men wende / his wytt were best And if he gif out to pouer men / telle what he delethe Pouer iof possession in purs / and in cofre bothe And as A leon to Loke on / And lordly of speche Boldest of beggars / A bostour that nought hathe In toune and in tauernes / tales for to telle And say thing that he neuer se / And for truthe swere it Of dedes that he neuer did / deme and boste And of thinges that he well did / witnesse and saye Lo if ye beleue me not / or wene that I Lye Aske at him or at him / and he can you telle What I suffred and se / And sumtymes had And what I coulde and knewe / & what I kyn I come of All he wold that men wist / of workes and wordes Which might please the people / And preyse themself Si hominibus placerem xpĩcristi seruus non essem / Et alibi / nemo potest duobus dominis seruire / By Christ quod Conscience then / thy best cote Haukyn Hath many moles and spottes / it must nedes be wasshed Yea who-so toke Hede quod Haukyn / behynde and before On back and body half / and on bothe sydes Men shulde fynde many frounces / & many foule plottes And he turned him quickly / and then toke I hede It was fouler by many folde / then it first semed It was be-dropped with wrath / and wicked will With envie and euilspecheeuil speche / entysing to fight Lying and Laughing / and lef tong to chide All euill that he wist / by Any man tell it And blame men behynde their backes / and wishe them mischaunce And that he wiste by wille / tell it watt And that wat wist / will wist it After And made of frendes foes / through A false tong Or with might of mouthe / or through mannes strentgthe Avenge me many tymes / or frette my-self Within As A shepesteres shere / I shrewed men & cursed Cuius malediccione os plenum est et amaritudine subLingua eius labor et dolor / et alibi / Filij hominumDentes eorum Arma et sagitte et lingua eorum gladius acutusL, M, W, and some beta4 copies divide this Latin as two lines, but Cr and Hm treat it as one run-on, much like S. Alpha copies omit the second quotation, from Ps. 56.5. There is nomanno man that me louethe / Lasting any while For tales that I telle / nomanno man trust to me And when I maynotmay not haue the maistrie / such malancoly I take That I cach the crompe / the cardiacle sumtyme Or an Ague in such an angre / & sometyme A feuer That holdethe me all a twelue moneth / till þat I dispise Lechecrafte of the lorde / and trust to A wiche And saie that no clerk can / nor Christe as I beleue To the Sowter of Sothwerke / or of Shordich dame Emme And say that goddes worde / gaf me neuer bote But through A charme had I chaunce / & my chief helth I waited wisloker / and then was it soyled With Licking and Lechery / as by loking of the eye For eche maide that he met / he made hir a sygne .P.2. Semyng to synnwarde / and sumtyme he wolde taste Aboute the mouthe or benethe begynne to grope Till eythers will waxethe kene / and to the worke yede As well on fasting daies as Frydaies / & forbodon nyghtes And as well in Lent as out of it / all tymes alike Suche workes with them / were neuer out of season Till they might nomoreno more / And then mery tales And howe that Lecherous loue / Laugh and iape And of their harl harlotrie /&S's cancelled punctuation, preceding this word, is unique among beta2 copies. horedome / in their age tell Than pacience perceyued / of poyntes of this cote Was comely through Couetise / and vnkynde desyre More to good then to god / the man his loue cast And ymagined howe / he might it haue With false mesure and met / & with false weight He Lent for loue of the gage / and lothe to do truthe And awaiteawaited by whatbi whychþoruȝ whichyn whiche waieby what waie: W þoruȝ which wey is the beta reading, a corruption of Bx þorwgh whittes · weyes (see BTP). Though retained in W (=beta2), the beta reading is deficient in sense and provoked efforts at repair. The variants shared by SCr, joined later in this line by corrected M, perhaps originated in their common ancestor, beta6. / he mightto begyle And menged his marchaundise / to make a good mustre The worst was within / A great witt I hold it And if my neighbour / had any kynde of beast More profitable then myne / many sleightes I founde howe I might haue it / all my wytt I cast And onlesse I might get it otherwise / at Last I stale it Or priuylie his purse shoke / and picked his Lockes By night or by day / about it was I euer Through gyle to gather / the good that I had Yf I went to the plough / I pynched so narowe That a fote londe or a furowe / feche I wolde Of my next neighbour / take of his grounde And if I repe ouerreche / or gaf them counsaile that reaped And sese to me with their sikell / that I sewe neuer And who-so borowed of me / abought the tyme With presentz privilie / or paid sum certeyne So wolde he or not / wynne I wolde / And bothe to kythe and kyn / vnkynde of þat I had And who-so cheped my wares / chide I wolde But if he profred to paye / A penny or tweyne More then it was worthe / And yet wold I swere / That yt cost me muche more / swore many othes On holidaies at churche / when I herde messe had I neuer will god wot / ernestlie to beseche Mercie for my misdedes / but I euer mourned more For losse of worldly goodes / then for my bodies fautes As if I had done deadly synne / I dred not that so sore As when I lent and thought it lost / or long ere it were paide So if I knew any kyndenes / myn even cristen to helpe Vpon A cruell Couetise / myn hart did hang And if I sent ouer sea / my seruauntes to Brudges Or into prucelonde my prentys / my profite to seke To marchande with money / & make there exchaunge Might neuer me confort / in the meane while Neither Matyns nor Masse / nor no manner sightes Nor neuer penaunce perfourmed / nor Pater noster said That my mynde was not more / on my good in doubte Then in the grace of god / and his great helpe Vbi thesaurus tuus , ibi et cor tuum Which be the braunches / that bring a man to sleuthe He that mournethe not for his misdedes / nor make no sorowe S uniquely omits KD.13.411 (= Bx.13.430).And dothe non Almusdede / drede him of no synne Lyuethe Against the beleue / And no Lawe holdethe Eche daye is halidaie with him or An highe ferie And if he ought will here / it is an harlottes tong When men speke of Christ / or of clennesse of soules He wexeth angry and willnotwill not here / but wordes of myrthe Penaunce and pouer men / and the passion of Saintes He hateth to here therof / and all that telle it Thise be the braunches beware / þat bring a man to dispeyr Ye lordes and Ladies / and Legates of holy churche That fede fooles sages / Flatereris & Lyers And hathe pleasure to here them / to do you to Laughe Ve vobis qui ridetis &c And giue them meat & mede / and pouermenpouer men refuse In your deathe dying / I drede me full sore Lest then thre manere of men / to much sorowe you bring Consencientes et Agentes / pari pena punientur Patriarches and profetes / and preachours of goddes worde .P.3. Saue through their sermons / mannes soule frome helle Euen so flaterers and fooles / are the Fyndes disciples To entyce men through their tales / to synne and to harlotry But clerkes that knowe holy writ / shuld teache lordes What dauid saithe of such men / as the psalter tellethe Non habitabit in medio domus mee , qui facit superbiam et qui loquitur iniqua Shold non harlot haue Audience / in halle nor in chambre There wise men were / witnesse goddes worde Nor no mysproude man / Among lordes be allowed But flaterers and fooles / through their foule wordes Lede them that loue them / to Lucifers feaste With Turpiloquio A lay of sorowe / & lucifers fiddill Thus haukyn the Actiue man / had soiled his cote Till Conscience rebuked him / in a curteis manere Why he hadnothad not washed it / or wyped it with a brusshe Passus xiijus xiiijus I Haue but one hole hatter quod haukyn / I am the lesse to blame Though it be soyled & seld clene / I slepe therin on nightes And also I haue an houswife / seruauntes and childerne Vxorem duxi et ideo non possum venire That wollen bymolen / yt many tymes / maugre my chekes It hathe bene wasshed in lent / & out of lent bothe With the sope of sikenes / that seketh wonder depe And with the losse of goodes / f lothe for to offende God or any good man / by aught that I might And was shreuen of the preist / þat gaf me for my synnes To penaunce pacience / and poore men to fede All for couetise of my xpcristendome / in clennesse to kepe it And coulde I neuer by Christe / kepe it clene an houre That I ne soiled it with sight / or some ydell speche Or through worde or worke / or will of myn hart That I ne flobre it foule / from morowe tyll even And I shall telle the quod Conscience / of contricion to make That shall skore thy cote / from all manere fylthe Cordis contricio &c Dowell shall washe and wring it / through a wyse confessor Oris confessio &c Dobet shall bowke and beat yt / as bright as skarlet And engreyne it with good will / & goddes grace t'amende the And sithen send the to Satisfaccion / for to sowe it after Satisfactio dobest / Shall neuer chist bemowle it / nor mothe After bight it Neither fende nor false man / defoule it in thy Lyfe Shall no herawde nor Harper / haue A fayerer garment Then Haukyn the Actiue man / if þou do by my teaching Nor no mynstrall be more worthe / Among poore and riche Then Haukyns wyfe the wafrer / with his Actiua Vita / And I shall purveye the paast quod pacience / though no plough erye And floure to fede folk with / as best be for the soule Though neuer grayne growed / nor grape vpon vyne All that Liue and loke / liflode wolde I Fynde And þat ynough that non faile / of any thing that they nede We sholde not be to busye / aboute our Lyfelode Ne soliciti sitis &c volucres celi deus pascit &c pacientes vincunt Then lawghed haukyn A litill / and lightlie gan swere Who-so trust you by our lorde / I beleue not he be blessed No quod Pacience paciently / and out of his poke pulled Vitailes of great vertues / for all manere beastes Saying Lo here Lyfelode ynoughe / if our beleue be true For neuer Lent was Lyfe / but Lyfelode were shapen Wherof , wherfor / or wherby to Lyue Fyrst the wilde worme / Vnder wete erthe Fishe to lyue in flood / and in the fier the cryket The curlewe by kynde of the eyr / most clennest flesh of byrdes Beastes by grasse and grayne / and by grene rootes In menyng that all men / might the same Lyue through true beleue / and loue as god witnessethe Quodcumque petieritis a patre in nomine meo &c Et alibi Non in solo pane viuit homo , sed in omni verbo quod procedit de ore d[ei] And I loked what Lyfelode it was / þat paciense so preysed And then was it A piece of the pater noster Fiat voluntas tua &[c] Haue haukyn quod pacience / & eate this when thou art hungrye Or when thou Art acolde / or clyngest for drie Shuld neuer gyues the greue / nor great Lordes wrath Prison nor peyne for Pacientes vincunt for IncaseIn case thou be sobre / of sight and of tong In eating and handlyng / and in all thy fyve wittes Nedest thou neuer care for corne / nor clothe Lynen or wollen .P.4. Nor for drinke no deathe drede / but die as god Likethe Or through Hungar or hete / at his will be it For if thou lyuest After his lawes / the shorter Lyfe the better Si quis amat xpmcristum , mundum non diligit istum / For through his breath bestes grewe and went abrode Dixit et facta sunt &c Ergo through his breathe / may man and beaste Lyue As holy writt witnesseth / when men saye their graces Aperis tu manum , et imples omne animal benedictione A small pen stroke in the shape of a looped cross has been entered in the left margin.It is founde that fourtie winter / folk Lyued without tilling And out of the flynt sprang the flood / þat men & beastes dronke And in Elies tyme / Heauen was vp closed That no rayn did reyne / thus men rede in bookes That many wynters men Lyved / and no mete tilled Seven slept saith the booke / seaven hundred yeres And Lived without Lyuelode / ata[nd] at the last Awaked And if men Lived as mesure wolde / shulde neuer be defaute Among xpcristian men / if Christes worde be true But vnkyndnes maketh Caristiam / Among xpcristen people And ouerplenty maketh pride / Among poore and riche Therfor measure is so much worthe / it cannot be to dere For the mischef and the mischaunce / Among men of Sodome Grewe through plentie of food / and of pure slouthe Ociositas et habundantia panis , peccatum turpissimum nutriuit for they measured not themself / of þat they ete and dronke They did deadlie synne / that the divell Liked So Vengeaunce fell vpon them / for their vile synnes They sonke into helle / the Cities eueryone Therfor measure we vs well / & make our feyth our Sheltrom And through feythe commeth contricion / Conscience wot well Which dryueth awaie deadlie synne / & causeth it to be veniall And though A man might not speake / Contricion may him saue And bring his soule to blisse / incasein case that feyth be witnesse That whille he Lyved he beleuid / in the lore of holy churche Ergo Contricion , feythe and conscience , is kyndly dowell And Surgions for deadlie synnes / when shrift of mouth faileth But shrifte of mouthe more worth is / if man be alike contrite For shrifte of mouthe sleith synne / be it neuer so deadly Per confessionem to A preist / peccata occiduntur There Contricion dothe but dryue them doune / into veniall synne As dauid saithe in the psalter Et quorum tecta sunt peccata But satisfaccion sekethe out the rote / And bothe sleith and voydethe And as it had neuer be / it bringeth deadly synne to nought That it neuer efte is sene nor sore / but semeth a wounde healed Where dwelleth Charitie quod Haukyn / I wist neuer in my Lyfe Man that with him spake / as wide as I haue walked That perfite truthe and poore hart is / And pacience of tung There is Charitie the chief chamberer / for god himself Whether pacient pouertie quod Haukyn / be more pleasant to our dright Then Richesse rightfully wonne / And resonablie dispended Yea quis est ille quod pacience / quicke laudabimus eum Though men rede of riches / euen to the worldes ende I wist neuer man being riche / þat when he reken sholde When he drewe to his death daie / that he ne dred him sore And þat at the rekennyng / in Arrerage felle / rather then out of dett There the poore dare plede / And proue by pure reason To haue allowaunce of his lorde / by the lawe he claymeth it Ioye that neuer ioye had / of rightfull Iudge he aske it And saith Lo byrdes and beastes / that no blisse knowe And wylde wormes in woodes / through wynters þou them grevest And makist them well ny meke / and myld for defaute And after thou sendest them sommer / Which is their souereyne Ioye And blisse to all that bene / Bothe wylde and tame Then may Beggers as Beastes / after boote wayte uel That all their Lyfe haue Lyued / in Langour and defaute But god sent them sumtyme / some manere ioye Eyther here or elliswhere / Kynde wolde it neuer For euill chaunce was he wrought / that neuer was in Ioye Aungelles that in Helle nowe be / had Ioye sometyme And diues in deyntes Lyued / and in douce vie Right so reason swet shewethe / that the men that were riche And their makes also / Lyued their Lyfe in myrthe But god is of A wonder will / By that kynde wit shewethe To gyue many man his mercymony / ere he it hath deserued Euen so deleth god with some riche / ruthe me it thinkethe For they haue their hyre here / And heauen as it were And great Liking to Lyue / without Labour of bodie And when he dyethe be disalowed / as dauid saith in the psalter Dormierunt et nichil invenerunt / .q.1. And in another place also / Velud somnum surgentium dominein ciuitate tua , et ad michilum[n]ichilum rediges / Allas that richesse shall reaue / and robbe mannes soule From the loue of the lorde / at his laste ende Servauntes that haue their hyre afore / Are euermore nedye And selden diethe he out of dett / þat dyneth or he deserue it And till he haue done his devoyr / And his daies iourney For whan A workeman hathe wrought / then men may se þe sothe What he is worthy for his worke / and what he hathe deserued And not to take before / for feare of disalowing So I saie by you riche / it semeth not þat ye shulde Haue heauen in this Lyfe / and heauen herafter Like as seruaunt taketh his salarie before / & then wolde cleyme more after As he that non hadd / But onely at the laste Yt maynotmay not be ye riche men / onlesse Mathue on god Lyethe De delicijs ad delicias , difficile est transire / But ye riche haue ruthe / And rewarde well the poore And Lyue as Lawe teacheth / Do rightly to them all Christ then of his curtesy shall confort you at the last And rewarde you with double richesse / þat rufull hartes haue And as a seruaunt that had / his hire ere he beganne And when he hath done his devoir / well / his Maister doth him oþer bountie And gyue him A cote aboue his couenaunt / euen so Christ geuith heauen Bothe to riche and pouer / that rufullie dothe And all þat do their devoir well / haue double hire for theyr travaile Forgyuenesse here of synnes / and heauesne blisse After But is it is but selden sene / as by Holie Sayntes bookes That god rewarded double rest / to Any riche man For much myrth is Among riche / as in meat and clothes And much myrthe in May is / Among wylde beastes And so forthe while Sommer Last / their solace endurethe But beggers aboute mydsomer / breadlesse they suppe And yet is wynter for them worse / for wetshode they go Sore Ahungred and Athurst / and foule rebuked And Arated of riche men / that ruthe is to here Nowe lorde send them Sommer / and some maner ioye Heauen at ther hence going / that here haue such defaute For all myghtest þou haue made / non poorer then other And like wittie and wise / if the well had liked And haue ruthe of thise riche men / þat rewarde not thy prisoners Of the good that thou them gyuest / ingrati be many But god of thy goodnesse / gyue them grace t'amende For may no derth be them dere / drought nor wete them greue Nor neither hete nor haile / haue they their helthe Of that which they desyre / want they not here But pouer people thy prisoners / Lorde in the put of mischef Confort those creatures / that much care suffre Through derthe through drought / all their daies here Wo in Wynter tymes / for wanting of clothes And in Somer tyme selde / suppe to the full Confort thy carefull / Christ in thy richesse For how þou confortest all creatures / Clerkes bere witnes Conuertimini ad me et salui eritis / Thus in genereThe scribal markup here recorded by us as boxing consists of underlinking joined to vertical strokes at left and right edges: three quarters of a box. of gentries / IhuIesu Christe saide To robbers and reveris / to riche and to poore Thou taughtest them in the Trinitie / to take Baptyme And be clene through þat cristenyng / of all manere synnes And if we fylle through folie / to any synne After Confession and knowleging / and craving thy mercy Shuld Amende vs as ofte / as man wolde desyre But if the Pope wolde plede / here agayne and punyshe vs in concie[nce] He shulde take the Acquitance as quick / & do the queed shewe it Pateat &c per passionem domini / And put of so the powke / and proue vs vnder borowe But the parchemyn of the patent / must be of pouertie And of pure pacience / and perfite beleue Of pompe and of pryde / the parchemyn decourrethe And principally of all people / but they be pouer of hart Ellis is all in veyne / all that euer we wright Pater nosters and penaunce / and pilgrymage to Rome But our spenses and spending / spring of a true will Elles is all our Labour lost / Lo how men wright I fenestres at the friers / if false be the grounde Therfor xpcristen shulde be in commone riche / non couetouse by him-self For seven synnes that therbethere be / assaile vs euer The feind folowe them all / and fondeth them to helpe But with richesse þat Ribawd / he rathest men begyle .q.2. For there as richesse regneth / reuerence folowethe And that is pleasant to pride / in pouer and in riche And the riche is reuerenced / by reason of his richesse And the pore is put behynde / and parauenture can more Of wit and of wisdome / that farre awaie is better Then riches or roialtie / and rather herde in heauen For the riche hathe muche to reken / and ofte him that walk The hyghe way to heauen / richesse dothe lett Ita impossibile diuiti &c There the pouer preasseth before the riche / with a pack at his back Opera enim illorum sequuntur illos Batauntly as beggers do / and boldlie he crauethe For his pouertie and pacience / A perpetuall blisse Beati pauperes spiritu , quoniam ipsorum est regnum celorum And pride in richesse regneth / rather then in pouertie Erst in the maister then the man / some mansion he hathe But in pouertie there pacience is / pride hathe no might Nor non of the vijseuen synnes / sytt there may long Nor haue pourepoure: The abbreviated spelling is used elsewhere only for POOR. Context requires POWER, elsewhere written out in full. in pouertie / if pacience it folowe For the poore is aye prest / to please the riche And buxome at his bydding / for his broke loues And buxomnesse and boost / are euermore at warre And either hateth other / in all manere workes Yf wrathe wrestle with the pouer / he hathe the worst ende And if they bothe pleyne / the pouer is but feble And if he chide or chatter / he spedeth the worse And if Couetise cach the pouer / they may not come togithers And by the necke namely / non may take other For men knowe well / that couetise is of kene will And hathe handes and Armes / of a long length And pouertie is but a petit thing / and commeth not to his nauyll And gentill play was it neuer / betwene the long & the short And though Auarice wold angre þe pouer / he hathe but Litill myght For pouertie hathe but pookes / to put in his goodes There Auarice hathe Almaries / & yren bounde coffres And whether be lighter to breake / and least boostand lasse boostlasse bost it maketh A beggers bagg / or An yren bounde Cofre Lechery loueth him not / for he geuith but Litill syluer Nor dothe him not dyne delicately / nor drinke wyne ofte A strawe for the stewes / it stode not I trowe Had they nothing but of pouer men / their houses stode vntyled And though Sleuthe sewe pouertie / and serue not god to paye Myschief is his maister / and maketh him to thinke That god is his greatest helpe / And nomanno man ellis And he his seruaunte as he seith / and of his sute bothe And whether he be or be not / he beareth the signe of pouertie And in that sect our saviour / saued all mankynde Therfor all pouer þat pacient be / may clayme and aske After their endyng here / heauens riche blisse Much Hardier may he aske it / then he þat here had his will In lond and in lordshippe / and Liking of bodie And for goddes loue leaue all / and Lyue as a begger And as A maide for mannes loue / hir mother forsakethe hir father and all hir frendes / and folowe hir make Much more is to loue / of him that such one taketh Then A mayde is / that is maried through brocage As by assent of sundrie persones / and syluer to boote More for couetise of goodes / then kynde loue of bothe So it fareth by euery persone / that possession forsakethe And put him to be pacient / and pouertie weddeth The which is kyn to god himself / and so to his sayntes Haue god my trouth quod Haukyn / ye preyse fast pouertie What is pouertie with pacience / quod he properlie to mene Paupertas / quod pacience / est odibile bonum / Remotio curarum / possessio sine calumpnia / donum dei Sanitas mater absque solicitudine semita / Sapientie temperatrix Negocium sine dampno / incerta fortuna / absque solicitudine felici[tas] I cannot construe all this quod Haukin / ye must telle it in englishe In englysh quod Pacience / it is very harde to expounne S uniquely omits KD.14.279 (Bx.14.299).Pouertie is the fyrst poynt / that Pride most hatethe Then is it good by right / all that contrarieth pride Even as Contricion is A confortable thing / Conscience wot well And A sorowe of him-self / & A solace to the soule So pouertie properlie / penaunce and Ioye Ys to the bodie / pure spirituall helthe Ergo paupertas est odibile bonum q 3 And Contricion confort / and Cura animarum Selde sytt pouertie / the truthe to declare S fuses KD.14.289 and 290 (Bx.14.309 and 310) by eyeskip on pre-caesural men.ForOrrewritten AassA: Corrected from As, the reading of other copies. BTP remark that the syntax of this line gave scribes trouble. Iustice to iudge men / nor mynister vnder kynges Selden is any pouertie put / to punyshe any people Remocio curarum Ergo pouertie and pouer men / performeth the commandementes Nolite iudicare quemquam the thyrde / Selde is any pouer made riche / but of rightfull heritage He wynneth not with false weightes / nor with vnsealed measures Nor boroweth of his neighboures / but that he entendeth to paye Possessio sine calumpnia / The fourth is a fortune / that florisheth the soule With sobyrnesse from all synne / and also yet more It affaiteth the fleshe / from folies full many A collaterall confort / Christes oune gifte Donum dei / The fyfte is mother of helthe / A frende at all assayes And for the Londe euer A leche / A lemman of all clennesse Sanitatis mater / The sext is A path of peace / yea through the Paas of Aultoun Pouertie might passe / without perill of robbyng For wheras pouertie passethe / peace foloweth after And euer the lesse that he beareth / the hardyer he is of hart Therfor saith Seneca Paupertas est absque solicitudine semita And an hardie man of hart / Among an heape of theues Cantabit paupertas coram latrone viatore The seventh is well of wisdome / and fewe wordes sheweth Therfor Lordes allowe him Litill / nor Listeneth to his reason For he tempereth his tong to truthewarde / & no treasure couetethe Sapientie temperatrix / The eight is a true Labour / and lothe to take more Then he may well deserue / in Somer or in wynter And if he bye and selle / he putteth non to losse / if he charitie may wynne Negocium sine dampno The nynthe is swete to the soule / no sugar sweter For pacience is sustinaunce / for pouertie himself And sobrenesse swete drinke / and good Leche in siknesse Thus Learned me A letterd man / for our Lordes loue of heauen Saynt Augustine A blissed Lyfe / without busynesse leddom. For body and for soule / absque sollicitudine felicitas / Now god that all good gyueth / graunte his soule rest That this first wrot to teche men / what pouertie was to mene Allas quod Haukyn the Actyue man /thenS's cancelled punctuation, preceding this word, is unique among beta2 copies. / that after my xpcristendome I ne had be dead and buried / for dowels sake So hard it is quod Haukyn / to lyue and to do synne Synne suethe vs euer quod he / and sory gan wexe And wept water with his eyes / & wailed the tyme That euer he did dede / that dere god displeased S uniquely omits KD.14.329-30 (Bx.14.356-357), presumably by eyeskip on line-initial That.Or maistrie ouer any man / more then of himself I were not worthy knoweth god quod Haukyn / to were any clothes Nor neither shert nor shoes / saue for shame only To couer my bodie quod he / and cried mercy fast And wept and wailed / and therwith I awaked Passus XVus But After my waking / it was wonder long Ere I coulde kyndlie / knowe what was dowell And so my wyt went and came / till I A foole was And some Lackid my Lyfe / but fewe allowed it And held me for a Lorell / and loth to reuerence Lordes or Ladies / or Any many ellis As persons in their furres / with pendauntes of syluer To sergeauntes orne to suche / said I not ones God saue you Lordes / ne lowted faire That folke held me a foole / and in that folie I raved Till reason had ruthe on me / and rocked me aslepe Tyll I se as it sorcery were / A subtile thing withall One without tong and tethe / tolde me whether I shuld And wherof he came and of what kynde / I coniured him at Last Yf he were Christes creature / Anone me to tell I am Christes creature quod he / and cristen in many a place In Christes court I-knoweI knowe: Past participle with archaic detached prefix. A rare relict form, perhaps misconstrued as the 1st pers. pronoun and finite verb. well / and of his kyn apartya party Ys neither Peter the porter / nor paule with his fawchon That will defende me the dore / dyng I neuer so Late At mydnyght & at myddaye / my voice so it knoune That eche a creature of his court / welcommeth me fayre What Are ye called quod I / in that court / Among Christes people q 4 A later hand has entered pen trials in the upper and outer margins. These include the word When, written in imitation of the page-opening word. A second imitative W is cropped. When I quycken the corps / callid am I Anima And when I will and wolde / Animus I hight And for that I can and knowe / callid am I mens / And when I make mone to god / memoria is my name And when I deme domes / and do as trouth teacheth Then is Racio my right name / Reason in englishe And when I feele that folk telleth / my first name is Sensus And that is wit and wisdome / the welle of all craftes And when I chalaunge or chalaunge not / chepe or refuse Than am I Conscience called / goddes clerke & his Notarye And when I loue truly / our lorde and all other Then is true loue my name / And in latyn Amor And when I flee from the fleshe / and forsake the body Then am I spirit spirite spechelesse / Spiritus then I hight Augustyne And ysodorus / either of them bothe Named me this name / now thou mayst chuse How thou wilt call me / now þou knowest all my names Anima pro diuersis accionibus diuersa nomina sortitur / Dum viuificat corpus , anima est , dum vult animus est Dum scit mens est , Dum recolit memoria est , Dum negat Vel consentit , conscientia est . Dum spirat spiritus est / Ye be as A bishope quod I / all bourding that tyme For byshops blissed / they haue many names As Presul and pontifex / and Metropolitanus And other names an heape / Episcopus and Pastor That is sothe said he / now I se thy will Thou woldest gladly knowe / the cause of their names And of myne if thou mightest / me thinke by thy speche Yea syr I said / so nomanno man were greved All the sciences vnder sonne / and all the subtile craftes I wolde I knewe and coulde / kyndly in myn hart Then art þou inperfite quod he / and one of prides knyghtes For such a lust and likyng / Lucifer fell from heauen Ponam pedem meum in aquilone et similis ero Altissimo Yt were Against kynde quod he / & all manere reason That any creature shulde knowe all / except Christe onlie Against such Salomon speaketh / and dispiseth their wittes And sayth Sicut qui mel comedit multum non est ei bonum Sic qui scrutaturorscrutator: The scribe entered an erroneous -ur abbreviation by anticipation of the passive verb in following copy. est maiestatis dei , opprimitur a gloria / To engysh men this is to mene / that may speake and here The man that much hony eateth / his mawe it engleymethe And the more that A man / of good matere heareth Onlesse he dothe therafter / it dothe him double skathe Beatus est saythe Seynt bernarde qui scriptura legit Et verba vertit in opera / fully to his poure Couetise to konne / and to knowe science Put Adam out of paradise / and also Eue / Scientie appetitus hominem inmortalitatis gloria spoliauit And euen as hony is euill to digest / & engleymeth the mawe Right so he þat through reason / wolde the roote knowe Of god and his great myghtes / his graces it letteth For in the lyking lythe a pride / and bodely couetise Against Christes counsell / and all clerkes teachinges That is Non plus sapere quam sapere oportet / Friers and many other maisters / þat to the lewde men preache Moue maters inmesurable / to telle of the Trynytie That ofte tymes the lewde people / of their beleue doubt Better werebeleue wereit were to many doctors / to leaueleueom.were ... to leaue: S agrees closely with W and with corrected M, probably through independent variation towards an easier reading. For the syntax and punning sense of the archetypal reading, retained in HmCr, see BTP ad loc. such preaching And telle men the . x .tean commaundementes / & of the seauen synnes And the braunches springing of them / & bringing men to helle And how that folke in folies / mysspende their fyue wittes As well preistes as others / Folishly speake In housyng in hatering / and in-to high clergie shewing More for pompe then pure Charitie / the people wot the sothe That I lie not lo / For lordes they please And reuerence them riche / the rather for theyr syluer Confundantur omnes qui adorant sculptilia / Et alibi , Vt quid diligitis vanitatem et queritis mendacium Go tho the glose of the verse / ye great clerkes Yf I lye on you to my lewde wit / lede me to brennyng For as it semeth ye forsake / nomannesno mannes Allmes Of vsurers of whoores / of couetouse chapmen And lowt to thise lordes / that may giue you nobles Against your rule and religion / I take recorde at IhusIesus That said to his discyples / Ne sitis personarum acceptores Of this matere I might make a long byble But of Curatours of xpcristen people / as clerkes beare witnesse I shall telle it for truthes sake / take hede who-so likethe / .r 1. Ihesus crist As holynesse and honestie / of out of the chirche springeth Through true lyuyng men / that goddes lawe teche Euen so out of the churche / all euill spredethe There inperfite preesthode is / preachours and teachours I se it by exemple / in somer tyme on treis There some bowes bene leaued / and some beareth none There is A mischef in the grounde / of such manere trees Right so of parsons & preestes / & preachers of the church That are roote of the right feythe / to rule the people And there the roote is rotten / Reason knoweth the truthe Shall neuer flour nor frute / nor fair leaf be grene Therfor wolde ye learned leaue / the lechery of clothing And be kynde as clerkes shulde be / & curtise of Christes goodes True of your tong / and of your tayle bothe And hate to here harlotrie / and not to receyue Tythes but of true thinges / tilled , bought , or solde Lothe were lewde men / but they your teaching folowed And Amende them that mysdoe / more for your exemples Than for to preache and do it not / ypocrisy it semeth For hypocrisye in latyne / is likened to A dounghill That is all whight with snow without / And full of snakes within SHmGCB omit KD.15.113 (=Bx.15.119) by eyeskip on line-ending wyth-inne.Euen so many preestes / preachours and prelates Ye are garneshed without with fair speche / with clo clothes also But your workes and your wordes / inwardly are nought Saynt Iohan Crisostome / of clerkes speaketh and preestes Sicut de templo omne bonum progreditur , sic de templo omne malum procedit / . Si sacerdocium integrum fuerit , tota floret ecclesia / . Si autem corruptum fuerit in peccatis , totus populus conuertitur ad peccandum / . Et si autem sacerdocium corruptum fuerit , omnium fides mercida est . Sicut cum videris arborem pallidam et marcidam , intelligis quod vicium habet in radice , Ita cum videris indisciplinatum et irreligiosum populum sine dubio sacerdocium eius non est sanum / Yf lewd men wist / what this Latyn meneth And who is the Author / much wonder me thinketh But if many A preest beare / for their baselardes & broches A pair beades in their handes / & a book vnder their Arme Syr Iohan and syr Geffrey / hath A gyrdill of Syluer / A baselarde or balocknyfe / with botons ouergilt But A portas that shulde be his plough / placebo to saye Hadd he neuer seruice to saue syluer /therto / saieth it with ill will Allas ye lewd men / much lose ye on preestes But the thing þat wickedly is wonne / and with false sleightes Wold neuer wit of witty god / but wicked men it had The which Are preestes inperfite / and preachours after syluer Excecutors and Sodones / Somenours & their Lemmans That which with gyle was gotton / vngraciously is spended So harlottes and whoores / Are holpen with such goodes And goddes folk for defaute therof / Forfare and spille Curatoures of holy church / as clerkes þat be couetouse Lightly that they leaue / losells it haue Or he dieth intestate / and the bisshope entrethe And make mery therwith / and his men bothe / And say he was A niggard / þat no good myght spare To freend nor to fremd / the feende haue his soule For A wrechid house he kept / all his lyfe tyme And that which whe spared / spende we in myrthe By lerned and lewde / that lothe is to spende Thus gothe theyr goodes / be they ones gone But for good men god wot / great sorowe men make And pray for good housekepers / and haue them in mynde In prayers and penaunce / and in perfite charytie What is charitie quod I then / A chyldish thing he said Nisi efficiamini sicut paruuli , non intrabitis in regnum celorum Without any folie / A free liberall will Where shulde men fynde such a freende / with so free an hart I haue lyued in lond quod he / my name is long wille Yet founde I neuer full charitie / before nor behinde Men be merciable / to beggers and to poore And will gyuelende where they thinke / truly to be prayed for payd agaynlende ... payd agayn: The reading after correction agrees with the sense of Sx, which presumably read as W: "And wollen lene þer þei leue . lelly to ben paied". Yet the scribe first wrote "And will gyue where they thinke / truly to be prayed for". The innovative readings gyue and prayed for are lined through; replacement text, reverting to the sense of Sx, is entered supralinearly and at the right edge of the line, in the main hand and ink. But that charite that paule prayseth / most plesant to our Sauyou[r] Ys non inflatur , non ambiciosa , non querit que sua sunt I se neuer such a man / so me god helpe That wolde not require his oune / and sometyme coueyt The thing that he nedid not / and haue it if he might Clerkes knowe well / that Christ is in all places / .r 2. But I se him neuer sothelie / but as my-self in A myrrour Nunc per speculum in enigmate , tunc facie ad faciem And so I trowe I truly / by that men tell of charitie It is not Champions fyght / nor chaffare as I trowe Charitie quod he chaffareth not / neither chalengeth nor craueth As proude of A penny / as of a pounde of golde And is as glad of A gowne / of A gray russett As of A tunycle of tars / or of trie scarlet He is glad with all glad / and good to all wicked And trusteth and louethe all / that our lorde made Cursethe he no creature / nor he can beare no wrathe Nor no liking hathe to lye / nor laugh men to skorne All that men saye he hold it true / and in solace taketh it And manere myschef / myldlie he suffreth He couetith non erthly good / but heuen riche blisse Hathe he any rentes or n richesse / or any riche freendes Of rentes or of richesse / recketh he neuer For A freende that fynde hym / faylled him neuer at nede Fiat voluntas tua / fyndeth hym euer-more And if he suppe ete but A soppe / of Spera in deo / He can purtrey well the pater noster / and peynt it with Aves And sometyme is he wont / to go on pilgrimage There poor men ly in presons / their pardon to haue Though he beareth them no bread / he gyueth them sweter confort And louethe them as the lord biddeth / and looketh howe they fare And when he is wery of that worke / then will he somtyme Labour in lauendry / well the length of A myle And go vnto youth / them to enstruct / Pride with his Apurtenaunces / he packeth togithers And bowke them at his breast / and beat them clene And lay on long / with Laboraui in gemitu meo And with warme water at his eyen / wash them after And he syngeth when he dothe so / and somtyme saith weping Cor concritum et humiliatum deus non despicies / By Christ I wold I knewe him quod I / no creature leuer Without helpe of piers plowman quod he / his persone seest thou neuer Do clerkes know him quod I / that kepe holy kyrk Clerkes haue no knowing quod he / but by workes and by wordes But pers the plowman / perceyueth more depper / What is the will and wherfor / that many man suffreth Et vidit deus cogitaciones eorum / For there are there Are[+] full proude harted men / pacient of tong And buxome of bearing / to burgeis and to lordes But to pouer people / haue peper in the nose And as a leon he looketh / there men lacke his workes For there Are beggers and bidders / bedemen as it were Which looke euen as lambes / And seme lyfe-holy But it is more to haue their meate / with such an easy manere Then for penaunce ofandor perfitenes / the peynespouertepenaunce þat such take Therfor by coloure nor by clergie / knowe shalt þou neuer Neither through wordes nor workes / but through will only And that knoweth no clerke / nor creature in erthe But piers the plowman / Petrus id est Christus For he is not in lollers / nor in londlepers heremytes Nor at Ancres there A box hangeth / all such they faiten Fy on Faitours / and in Fautores suos / For charitie is goddes champion / and as a good childe hende And the meriest of mouthe / at meate where he sittethe The loue that lythe in his hart / maketh him light of speche And is compaignable and confortatyf as Christ bid himself Nolite fieri sicut hypocrite tristes &c / For I haue sene him in sylke / and sometyme in Russet Bothe in gray and grys / and in gilt harneys And as gladly he it gaf / to them that neded Edmonde and edwarde / either were kynges And Sayntes sett / for charitie them folowed I haue sene charitie also / both syng and rede Ryde and renne / in ragged clothes But begging as beggers / behelde I him neuer But in riche robes / rathest he walketh Callid and crymyled / and his croune shauen And in a fryers frocke / he was founde ones But it is long agone / in S . Fraunces tyme In that sect sithens / to seld hath He be knoune Richmen he recommendeth / and of their robes taketh That without wyles / lede their lyues Beatus est diues qui &c / .r 3. In kynges court he commeth ofte / there the counsell is true But if couetise be of the counseill / he willnotwill not come there In court Among Iapers / he commeth not but selden For braulyng and backbyting / & bearing of false witnesse In the Consistorie before the Comissarie / he commeth not full ofte / For their lawe dureth ouer long / onlesse they cache siluer And Matrimony for money / theyom. make and vnmake And that Christ and Conscience haue knyt fast They vndoe it vworthelyv[n]worthely / those doctours of lawe But I despraise nomanno man / but the lorde amende vs all And gyue vs grace good god / charitie to folowe For who-so might mete with him / such maners he hathe Neither he blameth nor banneth / bosteth nor preyseth S omits KD.15.253 (Bx.15.263). The omission was probably induced by iterated syntax.Neither craueth he nor coueteth / nor crieth after more In pace inidipsum , dormiam et requiescam The greatest tresure that he setteth by / is loue in Christes passion Neither he biddeth nor beggeth / nor boroweth to yelde Misdothe he nomanno man / nor with his tong greueth Among Christen men / this myldenesse shuld last In all manere Angres / haue this at hart That though they suffred all this / god suffred for vs more In exemple we shuld do so / and take no vengeaunce Of our foes that do vs harme / that is our faders will for well may euery man wite / if god had wold himself Shuld neuer Iudas nor Iewe / haue done IhuIesu on the rood Nor haue martyred peter or paule / nor in prison hold But he suffred in exemple / that we suffre also And said to such as suffre wolde / þat Pacientes vincunt Verbi gracia quod he / and very many ensamples In legenda Sanctorum / the lyfe of holy sayntes What penaunce and pouertie / and passion they suffred In hunger in hete / & in all manere Angres Antony and Egidie / and other holy fathers That dwelt in wildernesse / Among wyld beastes Monkes and fryers / men by them-self In spekes and spelunkes / seld speake togiders But neither Antony nor Egidie / nor heremyte þat tyme Of Leons nor Leopardes / no lyuelode toke But of foules that fleith / thus fynde men in bookes Except that Egidie / After an hynde cried And through the mylk of that mylde beast / þe man was susteined And day by daye he had hir not / his Hunger for to slake But selden and sundrie tymes / as sayth the book and techeth Antonye a daies / aboute noone tyme had a byrd that brought him bread / that he by lyued And thoughe he had a gest / god founde them bothe Paule primus heremita / had pro parroked himself That nomanno man might Him se / for mosse and for leaues Foules hym fedd / many wynters withall Till he founded friers / of Augustines ordre Paule after his preaching / panyers he made And wanne with his handes / that his body neded Peter fisshed for his food / and his felawe Andrue Some they sold and some they sode / and so they lyued bothe And also Mary magdalene / by mores lyued and dewes But most through devocion / and mynde of god almyghtie I shulde not thise seven daies / recken them all That thus lyued for the lordes loue / many long yeres But there was neither leon nor leoparde / þat on lond went Neither bere nor bore / nor other wylde beast But felle to their feet / and fawned with their tailes And if they coulde haue spoken / by Christ as I thinke They wold haue fed that folke / before wilde foules But god sent them food by foules / and by no ferse beastes In menyng that meke thing / mylde thing shuld fede As who saith religious / righfull men shuld fynde And lawfull men to lyfeholymenlyfeholy men / lyfelode bring And then wold lordes and ladies / be lothe to A offendeoffende: Before this word the scribe has written and cancelled an A, perhaps to be construed as the initial letter of a rejected Sx reading agulte. And to take of theyr tenauntz / more then truthe wold Founde they that friers / wold forsake theyr Allmusses And byd them beare it / there it was borowed For we be goddes foules / and Abyde allwaye Till byrdes bring vs / that we shuld lyue by For had ye potage and bread ynough / and pennyale to drynk And A mease therwith / of one manere kynde meat Ye had euen ynoughe you religiouse / & so your R rule me told r 4 Nunquam dicit Iob rugit onager cum herbam habuerit Aut mugiet bos cum ante plenum presepe steterit / Brutorum animalium natura te condemnat , quia cum eis pabulum commune sufficiat ex adipe prodijt iniquitas tua / Yf lewde men knewe this latyn / they wold looke whome they gyf And avise them before / A fyue daies or syx Ere they mortised to monkes / or Chanons their rentes Allas lordes and ladies / leawde counseile haue ye To gyue from your Heyres / þat your parentes you lefte And gif to pray for you / to such as be riche And be founded and feffed eke / to pray for other Who performeth this prophecie / of the people þat nowe lyueth Dispersit dedit pauperibus &c / Yf any people performe that text / it is thise pouer friers For þat they begg about / in buylding they spend it And of them-self some / and such as be their laborers And of them that haue / they take / and giueth them that haue not But Clerkes and knightes / & Commoners that be riche Many of you fare / as if I a forest had That were full of faire trees / and I fonded & cast how I might more therin / Among them sett Right so ye riche / ye robbe that be pourerichepoure: Other copies read riche. S misread robeþ 'clothe' and revised accordingly. And helpe them that helpe you / & gif þer no nede is As who-so filled a tonne / of A fresh ryuer And went forth with þat water / to eke with the Temmese Euen so ye riche / ye robbe and fede Them that haue as ye haue / them ye make at ease But religiouse þat riche bene / shuld rather feast beggers Than burgeises that be riche / as the booke teacheth Q. Quia sacrilegium est res pauperum non pauperibus dare Item peccatoribus dare , est demonibus immolare Item monache si indiges et accipis pocius das quam accipis Si autem non indiges et accipis , rapis Porro non indiget monachus , si habeat quod nature sufficit Therfor I counsaile all xpcristen / to conforme them to charitie For Charitie without chalaunging / vnchargethe the soule And many prisonera prisona prisoner from peynepurgatoriepeyne: Cr has the same lexical substitution within the context of larger changes to idiom and word order. Despite the prima facie appearance of doctrinal motivation, the purgatorie] peyne variant may originate with the unique common ancestor of these two copies. S retains nine earlier instances of purgatorie. Compare S.18.403. / through his prayers he delyuereth But there ys a faute in the folke / that the feyth kepe Wherfor the people is the febler / and not fyrme of beleue And euen as in lussheburghes is a luther alay / yet lokith he like a sterling The marke of the money is good / but the metall is Feble And so it fareth by some folke nowe / they haue A fair speche Croune And xpcristendome / the kynges marke of heauen But the metall that is mannes soule / with synne is foule alayd Bothe letterd and lewde / be alayed now with synne That nomanno man loueth other / nor our lorde as it semeth For through werre and wicked workes / and wederes vnreasonable Wederwise shipmen / and wittie clerckes also Haue no beleue to the listlist: Rendering lift, 'sky'. Possibly the intended sense is 'boundary, limit (of a voyage)' (OED n.2, sense II.8), but the reading originated by s/f confusion. / nor to the lore of Philosophers Astronomyers alday / in their art faile That sometyme warned before / what shuld fall After Shipmen and shepeherdes / þat with ship and shepe went Wist with by the elementes what shuld betide And of wethers and wyndes / they warned men ofte Tillers that tilled the erthe / told their maisters By the sede that they sewe / what they sell might And what to leue and to lyue by / the lond was to trewe Now faile the folke / and of the londe bothe Shepeherdes and shipmen / also thise lond tillers Neither they can nor knowe / won course before another Astronomyens also / Are at their wittes ende Of that was Calculed of the element / the contrary they fynde Grammer the grounde of all / begyleth nowe the childerne There is non of thise newe clerkes / who-so takethe hede Not won Among an hundred / that an autor can construe Nor rede a letter in Any langage / but in latyn or englishe Go now to any degree / and but if gyle be maister And flaterer his felawe / vnder him to fourme Much wonder me thinketh / Among vs all Doctors of decrees / and of diuinytie maisters That shuld konne and knowe / all manere clergie And Answere to argumentes / & also to Quodlibet I dare not say it for shame / if such were opposed They shuld faile of ther philosophie / and in phisick bothe Wherfor I am afraid / of folke of holy kyrke / s 1. A later hand has written a note lengthwise in the left margin of the folio. Much of the first line is cropped. It perhaps reads (parentheses enclose reconstructions): "Mr Thomas hewlet oow this bo(ke and he that p... it) bring (it again .. yor p... haue) / well for his labor this george hewlet write." Below this: "gor' H" (?), perhaps another signature. Lest they ouerhippe as other do / in offices and houres But if they do as I hope not / our beleue suffiseth As clerkes in Corpus xicristi feast / Sing and rede That Sola fides sufficit / to saue lewd people And so may Sarazens be saued / Scribes and Iewes Allas then but our loresmen / lyue as they lerne vs And by their lyueng that lewd men be / the lother to offend god For Sarazens haue somewhat / semyng to our beleue For they loue and beleue / in one god allmighty And we lerned and lewde / in won god beleue And won Makometh a man / in misbeleue brought Sarazens of Surrey / and se in what manere This Makometh was a xpcristian / & for he might not be Pope Into Surrey he sought / and through his subtill wittes he tamed a dowe / and daie and night hir fedd The corne that she ete / he put into his ere And if he Among the people preched / or in places came Then wold the culuer come / to this clerkes ere Wonly for meat / thus Makometh hir enchaunted And did folke then fall on knees / for he swore in his preching That the Culuer that came so / cam from the god of heauen As A messenger to Makometh / men for to teache And thus through wiles of his wit / and A whight dowe Makometh in misbeleue / men and women brought That then lyued there / andlyued þo þere and lyuelered þere and lewedlewyd þere and lered yet they beleueleeuenleuing on his lawes And sith Oure Sauiour suffred / the Sarazens so begyld Through A xpcristen clerk / cursed in his soule For drede of the death / I dare not telle truthe how english clerkes a culuer fed / that couetise hight And be manered after Mahometh / þat nomanno man vseth truthe Ancres And heremytes / Monkes and friers Pere to Apostles / through their perfite lyuyng Wold neuer the feythfull father / that his mynister shuld Of tyrauntes þat troble true men / take any Allmusse But do as Antony did / Domynick and Fraunces Benet and barnarde / which first them taught To lyue by littill and in lowe houses / by true mennes Almesse Grace shuld growe and be grene / through their good lyuyng And folke shulde fynde that be in diuerse siknesse The better for their prayers / in body and soule Their prayers and theyr penaunces / to peace shuld bring All that be at debate / and bedemen were good Petite et accipietis &c Salt saueth the catell / say these wyues Vos estis sal terre &c These heades of holy church / if they holie were Christ calleth them salt / for xpcristen soules Et si sal euanuerit in quo salietur For fresh fleshe or fyshe / whatwha[n] it salt faileth It is vnsavery for sothe / either soden or bake / So is mannes soule truly / that seeth no good ensample Of them of holie churche / that the high waye shuld teache And be guydes and go before / as a good baner And make hardie that come After / and gyue them good euydence Ellevene holy men / all the worlde turned Into true beleue / the lightlier me thinketh Shold all manere men / we haue so many maisters Preestes and preachours / And A pope aboue all That goddes salt shuld be / to saue mannes soule All was Hethenesse sometyme / England and wales / popery Till Gregory caused clerkes / to cum here and preche Augustine At Cantorburie / Cristened the king And through myracles as men may rede / all þat march he turned To Christ and to xpcristendome / And Crosse to honour And baptysed fast / And the feyth taught More through Myracles / then much preaching As well with workes / and with holie wordes And told them that what cristenyng / and feyth was to mene Cloth that commeth from the weaving / is not comly to were Till it be fulled vnderfote / or in fulling stockes Well washed with water / & with tasells crached Toucked and teynted / and vnder tailours hande And it fareth by A childe / that borne is of A woman Till it be cristened in Christes name / and confermed of the bisshop Yt is hethen as to heauenwarde / and helples to the soule hethen is to mene hethe / and vntilled grounde s 2 A later hand has inscribed the name M(aste)r Thomas Hewlet three times (once without surname) in the outer margin. The surname is written Hew let, as two words. As in wilde wildernesse / wexeth wylde beastes Rude and vnreasonable / rennyng without cropers Ye wot well how Mathue saith / that a man made A feaste He fedd them with no venyson / nor fesauntes bake But with foules that wold not from him / but folowed his whistelyng Ecce altilia mea et omnia parata sunt / And with calues fleshe he fedd / the folke þat he loued The calf betokeneth clennesse / in them þat kepe lawes for as the Cowe through kynde mylke / the calf norisheth to an Oxe So loue and leautie / true men do susteyne And maidens and mylde men / mercie desyre Right as the Cowcalf / coueteth swete mylke So do rightous men / mercie and truthe But who be they þat excuseth them / þat are parsons and preestes That heades of holy church bene / that haue theyr will here Without trauaile the tythes / that true men sore laboreth for They wilbewill be .wrothe that I wright thus / but to witnesse I take Bothe Mathewe and Marc / And Memento domine dauid / What Pope or prelate nowe / performeth that Christe commaunded Ite in vniuersum mundum et predicate &c Allas that men so long / on Makometh shulde beleue So many prelates to preche / as the Pope makethe Of Nazareth of Nynyve / of Neptalym and Damask That theygothey go not as Christe badd / Sithen they will haue name To be pastours and preache / The passion of IhusIesus And as himself said / so to lyue and die S uniquely omits KD.15.497α-499 (Bx.15.520-522), probably skipping from one Latin line to the next.Ite vos in vineam meam &c And sithens thise Sarazens / Scribes and Iewes Haue A lippe of our beleue / the lightlyer me thinketh They shulde turne who-so trauailed / to teache them of the Trinyte Querite et invenietis &c Yt is ruthe to rede / how rightouse men lyued How they defouled theyr fleshe / forsoke ther oune will Fer from kyth andand froand fer fro kyn / euell clothed they went Badlie beddid / no booke but Conscience Nor no richesse but the Roode / to reioyce them in Absit mihi gloriari nisi in Cruce domini nostri IhuIesu xpĩcristi And than was plentie and peace / Among poore and riche And now is ruthe to rede / howe the redd noble Ys reuerenced ere the roode / and receyued for the worthier Than Christes cros that ouercame death and deadlie synne And nowe is warre and woe / and who-so why axethe For Couetise after crosse / the croune stand in gold Bothe riche and religiouse / that roode they honoure That in grotes is grauen / and in golde nobles For couetise of that crosse / men of holy churche Shall turne as templars did / the tyme approcheth fast Wot ye not ye wisemen / howe those men honored More treasure then truthe / I dare not telle the sothe Reason and rightfull dome / the Religiouse demed Euen so ye clerkes / for your couetise or long Shall they deme dos ecclesie and your pride depose Deposuit potentes de sede &c / Yf knighthode and kyndwit / and theom. Commonscommune byom. Conscience Togithers loue trulie / beleue it well ye Bisshops The lordshippes of londes / for euer shall ye lose And lyue as Leuitici / as our lorde you techethe Per primicias et decimas &c When Constantyne of curtesy / the churche of Romeholy kirkeholycherchethe churche of Rome: an anti-Catholic revision. Other copies read holy kirke. endueddowed With londes and leades / lordshippes and rentes An Aungell men herde / an highe at Rome crie Dos ecclesie this daie hathe dronke poyson And they that haue peters powre / are poysoned all A medicyne must therto / that may Amende prelates That shuld pray for the peace / possessions them lett Take their londes ye lordes / and let them lyue by dymes Yf possession be poyson / and inperfite them make Good were to discharge them / for holy churches sake And purge them of poison / ere more perill fall Yf preesthode were perfite / the people shuld Amende That contrarie Crystes lawe / and xpcristendome dispise for all paynyms pray / and perfitelie beleue In the holy great god / and his grace they aske s 3 And make ther mone to Makomethe / their message to shewe Thus in a feith lyue that folke / and in a false mene And that is ruthe for rightouse men / that in the realme dwelle And A perill to the pope / and prelates that he maketh That beare bishopes names of bethelem and Babilone That hippe about in Englande / to halowe mennes Alters And crepe among curatours / confessing against the lawe Nolite mittere falcem in messem alienam / Many a man for Christes loue / was martyred in Romaigne Ere any xpcristendome was knoune there / or any crosse honoured Euery bisshop that beareth crosse / by that he is bounde Through his province to passe / and to his peoplepeople: Before this word the scribe has written an incomplete letter-form, probably the beginning of t, by attraction to surrounding copy. to shewe him To tell them and teche them / on the Trinitie to beleue And fede them with gostlie foode / and gyue there it nedeth In domo mea non est panis neque vestimentum , et ideo nolite constituere me regem / Ozias saith for such / as sike be and fieble Inferte omnes decimas in orreum meum vt cibus in domo mea But we xpcristen creatures / þat on Christ beleue Are fyrme as in the feythe / goddes forbode elles And haue clerkes to kepe vs therin / & them þat shall come after vs And Iewes lyuen in true lawe / our lorde writ it himself In stone for it steadfast was / and stonde shulde euer Dilige deum et proximum / is perfite Iewes lawe And toke it Moyses to teche men / tyll Messias came And on that lawe they beleue yet / and holde it the beste And yet knewe they Christe / þat xpcristendome taught For A perfite prophete / that much people saued Of sundrie and straunge diseases / they se it ofte Bothe of myracles and merveiles / and howe he fed men With too fishes and fyue looues / fyue thousand people And by that same men might se / that Messye he semed And when he raised Lazar / þat laid was in graue Vnder stone and stanke / with styff voice him called Lazare veni foras He did him rise and roome / euen before the Iewes But they said and swore / with Sorcery he wrought And studied to stroy him / and stroyed themself And through his pacience their poure to nought he brought Pacientes vincunt / Danyell of ther vndoing / divined and said Cum sanctus sanctorum veniat , cessabit vnctio vestra And wene tho wreches / that he were pseudopropheta And þat his lore be lesinges / and despise it all And hope that he be to come / that shall them releue Moyses , or Messye / their maisters yet dyvyne But pharisees and Sarazens / Scribes and Grekes Are folk of one feythe / God the father they honour And sithens that the Sarazens / and also the Iewes Knowe the fyrst clause of oure beleue / Credo in deum patrem Prelates of xpcristen provinces / Shulde proue if they might To lerne them by litill and litill / Et in Ihm xpmIesum cristum filium Till they coulde spelle and speake / Et in spiritum sanctum / And rede it and recorde it / with remissionem pecatorum / Carnis resurreccionem et vitam eternam Amen / Passus xviussedecimus Now faire fall you quod I then / for your faire shewing For Haukyns loue the Actif man / euer I shall you loue But yet I am in doubta weer what charitie is to mene It is a full trie tre quod he / trulie to telle Mercie is the groundemore therof / the myddill stocke is ruthe The leaues be truelele wordes / the lawe of holie churche The blossommes be buxome speche / and benigne goodnesselokynge Pacience hight the pure tre / And pure simple of hart And so through god andand þoruȝand pure good men / groweth the fruyt charitie I wold trauaile quod I this tre to se / twentie hundred myle And for to haue my fyllfyll: OED fill n.1 (> OE fyll), correctly transmitting the archetype. For the W form fulle, see the Introduction to the PPEA edition of that copy, section III.2.1.2.13 (reflexes of OE /y/) (pace Kane and Wittig, who treat the W reading as MED fulle n.1 [> ME ful adj.]). of þat frute / forsake all other salue Lord quod I if anymanany man knoweany wight . wite / where awaiewhider-outwhere it groweth Yt groweth in a gardeyn quod he / that god made himself Amyddes mannes bodie / the groundemore is of that stocke Hart hight the Herber / that it groweth intransp. And liberum arbitrium / hath the lond to ferme Vnder piers the plowman / to pike it and to wede it Piers the plowman quod I then / and all for pure ioye That I herde his name namednempne his name / anone I sowned after s 4 And Lay long in a loue dreme / and at last me thought That piers the plowman / all the place me shewed And bad me loketo totento totretotenloke: Probably rendering to toten, as in WHm. Cr1 to totre, a unique error, confirms that the beta2 group ancestor had infinitival to, omitted in S and most copies outside the beta2 group. on the tre / on toppe andand on roote With thre pyles was it vnderpight / I perceiued it sone Piers quod I I praye the / why stande thise piles here For wyndes wilt þou wite quod he / to kepewiten it from from falling Cum ceciderit iustus non collidetur , quia dominus supponit manum suam And in blowing tyme shake ofabitebyte þe flowers / onlessebut if thise piles help The world is a wicked wynde / to them þat louewillen truthe Couetise commeth of þat wynde / and crepe among the leues And forfretteth nygh the fruyt / through many fayr sightes Then with the first pile / I pull him doune / þat is Potencia dei patris The flesh is a fell wynde / and in flouring tyme Through liking and lustes / so lowd he begynnethgynneþ toom. blowe That it norisheth nyce sightes / and sometyme wordes And wicked workes therof / wormes of synne And forbyteth the blossomes / euenriȝt to the bare leues Then set I to the second pyle / Sapientia dei patris That is the passion andand þe poure / of our prynce IhuIesu Through prayers andand þoruȝ penauncepenaunces / and goddes passion in mynde I saue it till I se it riperipenripe: OED ripe v.1, synonymous with ripen, the reading of other copies. / and somedele fruted And then fondeth the feende / my fruyt to distroye With all the wyles þat he can / and waggeth the roote And casteth vp to the toppecropcrompe / vnkynde neighboures Backbyters breake the cheste / brawlers and chyders And leyth a ladder therto / of lyeslesynges are the stauesrongesroundes And feche awaie my floures / sometyme beforeafore boþe myn eyes But liberum arbitrium / letteth him sometyme That is leuetenaunt to kepeloken it well / by leue of my-self Videatis / quiaom. qui peccat in spiritum sanctum numquam remittetur &c Hoc est idem / qui peccat per liberum arbitrium non repugnatrepugnat: The scribe writes an upward flourish on the n, not part of his standard repertory of abbreviations. See S.16.115nn for some further irregular marks of abbreviation. &c But when the feende and the fleshe / forthwith the worlde ThreatenManacen behynde me / my fruyt awaie tofor to feche Then liberum arbitrium / cachethlaccheþ the fyrst plant And pullethpalleþfalleþ douneadoun the pouke / purelie through grace And helpe of the holy ghost / & thus haue I the maistrie Now faire fall you Piers quod I / so fair ye discryue The poure of thise postes / and their proper mightes But I haue many thoughtesþouȝtes a þreveþouhtes a þrowe / of thise iijthre pyles / In what wood they grewewoxenwopen / in what grounde alsoand where þat þei growed For they are allalle are þei Alike long / non lasse then other And to my mynde as me thinke / on one groundemoremanere they grewe And of one greatnesse / and grene of greyne they seme That is truesooþ quod piers / so it maye befall I shall telle shortlyþee as tid / what this tre hight The grounde there it growethe / goodnes it hight And I haue tolde the what hight the tre / the Trinitie it meneth And egrely he lokid on me / and therfor I spared To Aske him any more therof / and bad him full faire To discribe meom. the fruyt / that so fair hangeth HereHeer now benethe quod he then / if I had nedetransp. Matrimony I may takenyme / A moiste fruyt withall Then contynence is nere the toppecrop / as Calewaie Bastard Then beareth the toppecrop kynde fruyt / and clennest of all Maydenhede Aungelles perepeeris / and rathest wilbewill be rype And swete without swelling / soure isworþ it neuer I prayed Piers to pull douneadoun / an Appull ifand he wolde And suffre me to assaie / what savour it had And Piers kest to the toppecrop / and than begancomsed it to crie And wagged widowhode / and it wept after And when it moued Matrimony / it made a foule noyse IÞat IAnd I had ruthe when Piers rogged / it crakedgraddecraked: Rendering gradde 'cried out', a verb that persistently defeated the translator. See Glossary. Prompted by context the translator here selects a sound-verb appropriate to trees. so rufullie For euer as they droppid douneadoun / the deuill was redy And gatherid them all togithers / both great and small Adam and Abraham / and ysaye the prophete Sampson and Samuell / and S . Iohan the baptist Andom. bare them forthe boldely / no body him letted And made his hoorde of holy menof holy men his hoord / in limbo inferni There is derknesse and drede / and the deuell maister And Piers for pure tene / of that Applea pilo pile he laughte he smethitte after him / hit ifhitte howhappe how it might Filius by the fathers will / And freenesse of Spiritus sancti To go robbe that ragman / & takereue the frute from hym AndAnd þanne spake Spiritus sanctus / in Gabriels mouthe To A maide that hight Marie / A meke thing withall That one Iesus a Iustice son / must slepeIoukeionken in hir wombechambre Till plenitudo temporis / fully come were That Piers fruyte floured / and beganfelle to be ripe And then shulde IhsIesus iust therfor / by iudgement of armes WhichWheiþer shuld hauefongesongfondehaue: Rendering fonge, the reading of WHm, corrected M, and most other copies, for Bx fonde. the frute / the feend or hehym-selue The maid myldely then / the messenger grauntid And said hendlie to him / Lo me his hande maydhand-maiden For to worke his wille / without any synne / .t.1. Ecce ancilla domini fiat mihi secundum verbum tuumom. / And in the wombe of that wenche / was he fourty wekes Till he wext a faunt through hir sleshe[f]leshe / and of fyghting coulde To haue fought with the feende / ere full tyme come And Piers the plowman perceyued / plenare tyme And lernedlered him lechecrafte / his lyfe for to saue That though he were wounded with his enemy / to helpeto warisshenhe might warish himself And did him assay his surgerie / on them that were diseasedsike were Till he was perfite practisour / if any perill felle And sought out the sike / and synfull bothe And salued themsike and synfulle / bothe blynde and croked And commone women conuerted / and to good turned Non est sanis opus medic'medic': This word and habentibus are suspended with marks not from the scribe's standard repertory. The form of the abbreviation in medic' is a smooth curl that would be transcribed as -o if closed, and perhaps derives from a poorly executed or unrecognized superscripted mark of that type. CrM unambiguously have medico, the correct reading (for the construction, see Lewis and Short, s.v. opus, -eris, sense III.A). WHmL have a mark of abbreviation shaped very like that in c(etera) (as employed in truncation of Latin quotations). Editors of these manuscripts expand to medicus, an attested reading for the scriptural passage (Matt. 9.12). BTP, ad loc., speculate that Bx had an ambiguous abbrevation. See also the next note. sed male habentibusin &c&ceteramedic' sed male habentibus: S or its exemplar extends a scriptural quotation (Matt. 9.12) truncated after medic' in beta. See the previous note and BTP ad loc. The abbreviation employed in habent(ibus) is irregular and occurs in S only here. / Bothe lepers and dumbe menmeseles and mute / and in the bloodie fluxmenyson blody Oft he heled such / andhe nehe held it for no maistrie Saue whenþo he leched Lazar / þat was laidhadde yleye in graue Quatriduanus quelt / quicke he madedide him walke But as he made the maistrie / Mestus cepit esse / And wept water with his eyes / there se it many Some that se þat sightþe sighte seiȝenrewritten / said that tyme That he was leche of lyfe / and lorde of high heauen Iewes .iangled theragainst / and iuged lawes And said he wrough byþoruȝwyþ wichecrafte / & with the deuylles myght Demonium habes / Than Are ye chorles quod I / and your childerne bothe And Sat ehan your Saueour / youryeyow-self nowe ye witnesse For I haue saued youyow-selfyour-selfe saidseiþ Christ / and your sonnes after Your bodies your beastes / and blynde men holpen And fed you with ijtwo fishes / and with fyue looues And left baskettes full of broke meat / beare away whowho-soþat wold And missaid the iewes manlie / and thretnedmanaced them to beate And knocked on them with a corde / and cast douneadoun their stalles That in church chaffred / or chaunged any money And said it in sight of them all / so that all herde I shall ouertorne this temple / and douneadoun itom. throwe And in thre dayes after / reedifye the sameedifie it newe And make it asmucheas muche or more / in all manere poyntes As euer it was and as wide / and therforwher-fore I commandehote you Of prayers and of perfitenes / this place that ye call Domus mea domus oracionis vocabitur Enuye and euillwill / was in the Iewes TheThe[y] kest and counteredcontreueden / to kyll him when they myght EueryEche day after other / their tyme they awaited Tyll it befelle on a friday / a litill before theom. pasche The thursdaie therebifore þerethere: Other copies have bifore þere and divide the line after before. S's irregular line division is perhaps secondary smoothing, an indication that before was omitted already in Sx, perhaps by haplography (note before in the previous line). he made / his maundye Sitting at the supper / he said these wordes I am sold byþoruȝ one of you / he shall the tyme rue That euer he his Sauiour solde / for Syluer or elles Iudas iangled therat / But Iesus him told It was himself sothely / and said tu dicis Then went forth that wicked man / and with the Iewes mett And told them a token / Howe to knowe IhusIesus The which token to this day / ouermuch is vsed That is kissing and fair countynaunce / and vnkynde will And so was with Iudas then / that IhusIesus betraied Aue rabby quod that ribaude / and streight to him he yede And kissed him to be caught therby / and killed of the Iewes Than IhusIesus to Iudas / and to the Iewes said Falsnesse I fynde / in thy fair speche And gyle in thy chere / and gall is in thy laughing Thou shalt be myrrour / to many men to deceyue But the worst of thy wickednesse / shalbeshall be vpon thy-self Necesse est vt veniant scandala , sed ve homini illi per quem scandalum venit Though I by treson be take / at your oune will Suffre myn Apostles / in peace for to passe On A thursdaie in the night / thus was he take Through Iudas and Iewes / IhusIesus was his name That on the Friday folowing / for mankyndes sake Iusted in Iherusalem / A ioye to vs all On the crosse vpon Caluarie / Christ toke the bataile Against deathe and the deuill / & distroied bothe therhir boþeresbothe ther: modernization of hir boþeres agrees with CrM. Compare S.2.68n and S.18.38. mightes He died and deathe fordidde / and daye of night made AndAnd I awaked therwith / and wiped myn eyen And after Piers the plowman / pried and stared Eastward and westwarde / I waited after faste And went forth as an ydiot / in the countrie to espie After Piers the plowman / many A place I sought And then met I with a man / ona mydlent sondayeon mydlent sondaye: The archetypal reading, retained in beta2, is a mydlenten sondaye. The preposition in S, corrected M, and Cr23GYOC2F is the easier reading. It arose independently at several points in the textual tradition. As hore as an hawthorne / and Abraham he hight I freyned him fyrst / from whence he came And of whence he was / and whether that he thought I am feythe quod that freke / it falleth not to lye And of Abrahams house / an heraude of armes I seke after a man / that I se ones A full bolde bacheler / I knewe him by his armes .t 2. What beareth that man quod I then / so blisse the betyde Thre leodes in one lith / non lengar then other Of one much and might / and in measure and length That one dothe all do / and eche dothe by himself The first hathe might and maiestie / makere of all thinges Pater is his propre name / a persone by Himself STheThe: The scribe corrects an erroneous capital S by superimposing on it the head-stroke of a T. This letter is also deleted by strikethrough. The error was presumably induced by attraction to subsequent copy. seconde of that sire / is sothefastnesse Filius Wardeyn of that wit hathe / was euer without begynnyng The thirde hight the holie goost / A persone by himself The light of all that lyfe hathe / on londe and on water Conforter of creatures / of him commeth all blisse So thre belongeth to a lorde / that lordship claymeth Myght and a meane / to knowe his might Of him and of his seruaunt / and what they suffre bothe So god þat begynning had neuer / but when he good thought Sent forth his son / as a seruaunte that tyme To occupie him here / till issue were sprong That is childerne of charitie / and holie church the mother Patriarches and prophetes / and apostles were the childern And Christe and xpcristendome / and xpcristen holie churche In menyng that man muste / in one god beleue And there he liked & loued / in one persone him shewed And that it may be so and sothe / manhode it sheweth Wedloke and widohode / with virginitie named In tokenyng of the Trinitie / was out of man taken Adam oure first father / Eue was of hym And the issue that they had / was of them bothe And either is others ioye / in thre sondry persones And in heauen and in erthe / one syngular name And thus is mankynde / of matrimony sprong And betokeneth the Trinitie / and true beleue Might is matrimony / that multiplieth the erthe And betokeneth truly / telle if I durste Hym that fyrst fo.rmed all / the father of heauen The son if I durst say / resembleth well the widowe Deus meus deus meus vt quid dereliquisti me That is Creatour became creature / to knowe them bothe As widowe without wedlocke / was neuer yet sene NomoreNo more might god be man / but if he mother hadd So widowe without wedloke / maynotmay not well stand Nor matrimony sinewith-outen mulieresine muliere: Rendering withouten muliere. The sense of muliere is "legitimate offspring", recorded for this word in English (MED, s.v. mulier(e n. and adj., sense b) and French (Anglo-Norman Dictionary, s.v. muiller, sense 2) but apparently not in Latin (The Dictionary of Medieval Latin from British Sources, s.v.). S's Latin preposition is unique, but Hm likewise construes muliere as Latin, writing this word in display script. The spelling muliere, which induced linguistic misprision in SHm, is shared also by the remaining beta2 copies WCr (Cr without final -e). The usual spelling outside the beta2 group is moillerye. / is not muche to preyse Maledictus homo qui non reliquit semen in Israel Thus in thre persones / is perfitely manhode That is man and his make / and then his childern And is not but gendre of generacion / before IhuIesu Christ in heauen So is the father withforþ with the son / and fre will of themom.them: S agrees with Cr and original M; other copies lack the pronoun. This variant and the SCrM variants in S.16.239 and S.16.242 suggest that the M-scribe had switched to a beta2 exemplar by this point, as Kane and Donaldson's collations imply (B Version, p. 42). bothe Spiritus procedens a patre et filio & c / Which is the holy ghost /of all / and all is but one god Thus in A somer I him se / as I sat in my porche I rose vp and reuerenced him / and faire him grete Thre men to my sight / I made well at ease Washed ther fete and wiped them / and afterafterward they ete Calues flesh and cakebrede / and knewe what I thought Full true tokens betwene vs be / to tell when we like Fyrst he asked me / whetherif I loued better Hym or ysaac myn eheyre / which he bad me kyll He knewe my will by him / he will me it allowe I am full sure in soule therof / and my son bothe I circumcised my son / sithen for his sake My-self and my menye / and all that male were Bled bloude for that lordes sake / and hope to blisse the tyme Myn affiance and feithe / is firme in this beleue For himself behight to me / and to myn issue bothe Lond and lordeship / and lyfe without ende To me and myn issue / more yet he graunted Mercy for our misdedes / as many tymes as we aske Quam olim Abrahe promisisti et semini eius / And sithens he set me to saie / I shuld do sacrifice And do him worship with bread / and with wyne bothe And callid fote of his feithe / his folke fortofor to saue And defend them from the feende / that with me beleued Thus haue I bene his heraulde / here and in helle And conforted many a carefull / that after his commyng waited And thus I seke him I[he] said / for I herde himsay late Of A barne that baptyzed him / Iohan was his name That to patriarches and prophetes / and to other in derknesse Seid that he se here / that shuld saue vs all Ecce agnus dei qui tollit peccata mundi / I had wonder of his wordes / and of his wide clothes For in his bosome he bare a thing / that he blissed euer And I lokid in his lappe / A lazar lay therin Among patriarches and prophetes / pleyeng togithers What awaitest thou quod he / and what woldest þou haue I wold wite quod I then / what is in your lappe / .t 3. Lo quod he and lete me se / Lord mercie I said This is a present of much price / what prince shall it haue It is a preciouse present quod he / But the feend hathe it atached And me also quod that man / ther may nomanno man me quyte Nor yet be our borrowe / nor bring vs from his daunger out of the deuils pinfold / no mainprise may vs fech Till he come that I carpe of / Christ is his name That shall deliuer vs some daie / out of the deuyls poure And better wed for vs lay / than all we be worthie That is lyfe for lyfe / orellesor elles ly thus euer Lolling in my lappe / till suche a lorde vs feche Allas I said / that synne so long shall lett The might of goddes mercie / that might vs well amend I wept for his wordes / with that I sawe another Hastely renne forthe / the right waie he went I Asked him fyrst / from whence he come And what he hight / & whether he wold / and shortly he told Passus xvijusseptendecimus I am Spes quod he A spyequod þat spyequod hequod he A spye: SWHm retain the beta reading, against independent variation in M and Cr1. / and spyre after a knyght That toke me a commaundementmaundement / vpon the mowntmounte of Synay To rule all realmes with / I beare the writ here Ys it ensealedaseled quod II saide / may men se theþi letters Nay he said I seke him / that hathe the seale to kepe And that is crosse and xpcristendome / and Christ theron to hang And when it is enseledasseled so / I wot well the sothe That Luciferes lordship / last shall no lengar Lat se theþi letters quod I / we myght the lawe knowe Then pulledplukkud he forthe a patent / A pece of an hard roche S uniquely omits KD.17.12 (Bx.17.11).Dilige deum et proximum tuum & c This was the text trulie / I toke full good hedeyeme The glose was gloriouslie writen / with a gilt penne In hijs duobus mandatis , tota lex pendet et propheteprophetiaprophete: The majority reading, in agreement with Matt. 22.40, against prophetia in WHmLR (hence Bx). / Be here all thy lordes lawes quod I / yea beleueleue meme wellme: SCr rejoin the presumed reading of Bx, against beta's me wel. he said And who-so worketh after this writ / I will vndertake Shall neuer deuyll him dere / nor deathe in soule greue For though I say it myself / I haue saued with this charme Of men andand of women / many skore thousandes He saithe truthesoþ said this heraulde / I haue it foundetransp. ofte Lo here in my lappe / that trusted toleued on that charme Iosue and Iudithe / and Iudas Machabeus Yea and syxtie thousand morebiside forth / that be not sene here Your wordes are wonderfull quod II tho / which of you is truest And trustiest to trust tolelest to leue onlelest to leue solelest to lyue sotrustiest to trust to: Rendering lelest to leue on (MCr1), with immitative alliteration. S's usual rendering of leue is beleue. / for lyfe and for soule Abraham seyithseiþ þat he se / whoollie the Trinitie Thre persones in parcelles / echeom. departable from other And all thre but one god / thus Abraham me taught And hath saued that beleued so / and sory for their synnes He can not tell howe manysegge þe sommese the commune / yetand some are in his lappe What neded it then a newe lawe to begynne Sithe the first suffisedsuffiseþ / to saluacion andand to blisse And now cometh Spes and speaketh / þat hathe esspied the lawe And tellelthetellethe not of the Trinitie / that toke him his letters To beleue and loue / in one lorde allmyghtie And thensith euenriȝt as my-self / toso loue all theom. people The mangome that gothe with one staf / he semeth in bettergrettergreat helthhele Then he that gothe with ijtwo staues / to sight of vs all And euenriȝt so by the roode / Reason me shewethe It is lighter to lewde men / on lesson to knowe Then for to teache them ijtwo / and to hard to lerne the least It is full harde for any man / on Abraham toom. beleue And well awaie wors yet / for to loue a shrewe Yt is lyghter to beleueleue / in thre louely persones Then for to loue and beleueleneleuebeleue: Rendering lene 'give to', but the scribal form is a homoeograph with easier leue, whence the S reading. Compare S.17.349. / aswellas well foeslorellesloselles as freendeslelelellyfoes as freendes: Rendering lorelles as lele, with immitative alliteration. Compare S.17.25. Go thy gate quod I to Spes / forom. so me god helpe They þat lerne thy lawe / fullwelwol litill while do vsevsen it And as we went by the waie / thusþus in þe weyþus þe weyin þe way , thusby the waie / thus: Probably rendering þus in þe wey, the archetypal reading, retained in WHm and a plausible source for the divergent readings of SCr1M. wording togithers Than se we a Samaritan / sitting on A mule Ryding wellful hastelyraply / the right waye we wentyeden Commyng from A countrey / that men callethcalledcalleth: Most copies retain the archetype's past tense. S's present joins Cr1HmC2F. Ierico To A IusticeIustesIustice: Probably "legal proceeding, execution, gallows" (OED justice n., I.2 and I.3), for Iustes "tournament" in other copies, but compare the spellings justize and justisse, recorded by the MED, s.v. "justes n. plural" (citing late fifteenth-century sources). The S spelling is shared by Cr. in Iherusalem / he rodechacedchaseth awaie fast Bothe the Heraude and hope / And he met at ones Where a man was woundid / and with theues taken He might neyther steppe nor stande / nor stere foot nor handhandes Nor helpe himself truliesothly / for semyviue he semed And as naked as a nedle / and non helpe about him Feyth had fyrst sight of him / but he fled asyde And wold not come nereneighen him / by nyne londes length Hope came hipping after / that had so bosted Howe he with Moises commaundementmaundement / had many men holpen But when he Had sight himof þat segge / Aside he didgan him drawe Dredfully by this daye / as malarddoke doth fromfram þe fawcoun But so sone assoom. thisþe Samaritan / had sight of this manlede / He light adoune of Lyarde / and led him in his hand And to the manwye he went / his woundes to beholde And perceyued by his pulcse / he was in perill to die t 4 A later hand has entered two inscriptions in the outer margin, perhaps reading Iheu and Ih. And onlessebut ifbut he had Helperecouerierrecouered the rather / riseþat rise shulde he neuer With wyne and with oile / his woundes he wasshed Enbawmed Him and bounde his Head / & in his lappe him laid And lad Him so forthe on liarde / to l[.] lex xpĩcristi / a graunge Well six milesmyle or seuen / beside the newe merket Harborowed Him at an hostrie / and to the Hostiler called And said Haue kepe this man / till I come from the Iustes And lo here syluer he said / for salue to his woundes And He toke Him too pens / to liuelode as it were SayingAnd saide what-so hewhat hewho-sowhat-so he: SM, probably transmitting their common ancestor, from which Cr who-so derives as an isolated variant. Other copies, including WHm, retain the archetypal reading, what he. spendeth more / I make itþee good hereafter For I maynotmay not tarielette quod heþat leode / and lyard he bestriddbystrydeþ And Hastidraped him to Ierusalem-ward / the right waie to ride Feyth folowed after fast / entendingand fonded to mete him And Spes spedeliespaklichespeciallyspedelie: Rendering synonymous spakliche (MED spakli adv.), the beta reading. him hiedspedde / spede if he might To ouertake Him and talke withto Him / ere they to toune came I seing this taried not behindeAnd whanne I seiȝe þis I soiourned not / but preparedshoop me ronneto renne And sued that Samaritan that was so full of pitie And graunted Him to be His grome / grauntmercy he said But thy freend and thy felawefelawe quod he / þou fyndest me at nede IAnd I thankyd him then / and aftersith I him told How that feyth fled awaie / and Spes hisand his felawe bothe For sight of the sorowfull man / that robbed was with theues haue them excused quod he / their helpe may litill availe May no medicyne on moulde / the man to helthehele bring Neyther feyth nor fyne hope / so festred be his woundes Without the bloude of a barne / borne of a maide YfAnd he betransp.he be: SCrM join beta4, against be he in LWHm. See BTP ad loc. bathed in that bloude / baptyzed as it were And then plaistred with penaunce / and passion of that childbaby he shuld stande and steppe / but strong werestalworth worth he neuer Till he haue eaten all the barne / and his bloud drounke For neuer wenttransp. manwie in this world / through þat wildernesse But heThat he ne was robbed / or ryfled / whether he did go or ryderode he þere or yedewode he or yed Saue feythe and his felawe Spes and my-self And thy-self nowe / and such as folowesuwen our workes For outlawes in the wood / & vnder bankesbankebankes: S agrees with corrected M. Original M probably read banke, as Cr1 W Hm Bx. lurkethlotyeþloutith And may se euery manech man see / and good marke take Who is behynde and who before / and who be on horse For he holdeth him hardyer on horseback / thatn himhe þat is on fote For he se me that am Samaritan / folowesuwen feythe and his felawe On my Capull that hight Caro / of mankynde I toke it he was vnhardy that harlot / and hidd hym in Inferno / But ere this day thre dayes / I dare vndertake That felon shalbeshall be fettredhe worth fettred þat feloun / fast with cheynes And neuer aftereft greue mangome / that goth by this wayeþis ilke gateþulke gate And then shall feythe be fosterfoster: 'forester', a genuine spelling (see OED foster n.3) shared by Cr1. here / and in this Frith walke And knowekennen out comone men / that knowe not the countrie Which is the wey that I went / euen forthand wherforthand wherforeeuen forth: Rendering and wherforth, the archetypal reading, retained in MW. Kane glosses 'onward' (s.v. where conj.), Schmidt 'towards whichever direction' (s.v. wher(e) adv. and conj.); the phrasal compound is not recorded in MED. CrHm adopt the commonplace wherfore. to Ierusalem And hope the Hostileres man shalbeshall be / there the man lythe inanonat healyng And all that feble and feynt be / that feyth maynotmay not teache Hope shall lede them forforþ with loue / as his lorelettre telleth And Hostle and heale themhem and hele / through Holy churcheschurches: Most copies have an uninflected genitive. S's morphology agrees with Cr and corrected M. beleue Till I haue salue for all sike / and than shall I returne And come agayne by this countrie / and confort all sike That craueth it or coveteith it / and crie therafter For the barne was borne in bethleme / þat with His blood shuldshal saue All that lyue in feythe / and folowe his felawes teaching Ah swete syr said Itransp. then / whether shall Itransp. beleue And as feyth and his felowe / enformed me bothe In thre persones departable / þat perpetuall were euer And all thre but one god / thus Abraham me taught And Hope afterwarde / he badd me to loue One god with all my good / and all mengomes after Loue them like my-self / but our lorde aboue all After Abraham quod he / that heraude of armes Set fast thy feythe / and fyrme beleue And as hope willidhiȝte the / I also willhote þe þathote þat thou loue Thine euenchristen euermore / euen aseuen-forth with thy-self S uniquely omits KD.17.138 (Bx.17.138).Or heretikes with argumentes / thine hand thou themhymthem: S corrects the pronoun number, joining WHm (hem); other beta copies have the singular, him. shewe For god is asafter an hande / here nowe and knowe it The father was first as a fist / with one fynger folding Till hehym louid and listluste / to vnlose hise finger And profredprofreputprofred: Rendering infinitive profre, the beta reading. S rejoins Bx by convergent variation. it forth as with a pawme / to what place it shuld The pawme is properliepurely the Hande / and profreth forth the fyngerfyngres To mynistre and to make / that might of hande knoweth And betokeneth trulie / telle who-so liketh The holy ghoost of heauen / he is as the pawme The fyngers that be freetransp. / to folde and to serue Betokeneth sothely the son / that sent was totilto the erthe That towched and tasted / at teaching of the pawme Saynt Mary a mayd and mankynd laught Qui conceptus est de spiritu sancto &c The father is then as a fist / with fynger to towche Quia omnia traham ad meipsum &c .v.1. All that the pawme / perceyueth profytable to fele ThanThus are they all but one / as it an hand were And thre sondrie sightes / in one shewing The pawme for he putteth forth fyngers andand þe fist bothe Right so ridely / Reason it shewethe Heþat HeHow he thatHe that: S agrees with M before correction. Cr That he that probably represents the common ancestor of these three copies. S and the original M scribe omitted the first of two thats, subsequently restored in M by a corrector. The archetypal reading, retained in WHm, is How he þat. is holy ghoost / fathersire and son proveth And as the hand holde harde / and all thing fast Through foure fyngers / and a thombe / forth with the pawme Right so the father and the son / and saynt spyrit the third Within them thre / the wide world theyom. holdeWithin them...they holde: SCr and corrected M transmit a unique form of this line, transposing the a-verse and b-verse (for Bx Halt al þe wyde worlde · with-in hem thre). See the PPEA edition of M, note to M.17.162, and the Introduction to the same, section II.4. Bothe theyom.thethey: Read the as in CrHmGF. The definite article in these copies illustrates convergent variation towards easier syntax. If the S-redactor interlineated the into Sx, the S-scribe's miswriting may have been induced by attraction to surrounding copy: they in the preceding line (a unique S-reading) or else the <y>s in wynd or the rejected word welkyne (so spelled in M; see the next note). elementwelkyneelement: Rendering welkyne, as at S.15.369. Compare S.18.242. andand þe wynde / water and erthe Heauen and Helle / and all that therin isþere is Inneis þer-Innetherin is: SCrM retain the beta1 reading, for Bx þere is Inne. WHm vary independently. Thus hit is latnedeþ nomanno man / thynke the contrarytrowe noon other That thre thinges belongeth / toin oure lorde inof heauen And are serelepes by them-self / a-sondera-sundry were they neuer No more then my Hand maye / moue without my fyngers And as my fist is full hande / folden togithers So is the father a full god / fourmer and shaper Tu fabricator omnium &c And as that poure withal þat miȝt midal þe myȝt myd Him / is in making of thinges The fyngers forme a full Hand / to portrey and toor toor peynt Kerving and compassing / isas crafte of the fyngers EuenRight so is the son / the Science of the father And full god asas is the father / nouther lesse nor moreno febler ne non bettre The pawme thatom. is purely the hand / hathe powre by himself Otherwise then then wrethen fist / or workemanship of fyngers For the pawme hathe poure / to put out all the ioyntes And to vnfolde the folden fist / at the fyngers will So is the holie ghoost / god / neither moregretter nor lesse Then is the fathersire andand þe son / and ofinom. the same might And all they Aretransp. but one god / as is myn hand andand my fyngers Vnfolden andor folden / my fist and my pawme All is but one hande / how-sohowe-so-euerline om. I tvrne itAll beta copies except SCrL omit Bx.17.189b (KD.17.186b) and the following a-verse, by eyeskip on hande. In M the omitted half-lines are supplied by correction. See M.17.185n. But who-so is Hurt oninline om. the hande / euen in the myddes He may receyue right nought / reason it sheweth For the fyngers that folde shulde / and the fist make for peyne of the pawme / poure them failethe To crachecluchecrache: SCr for cluche in other copies. Crache is original to the poem and transmitted in this copy at S.P.82; at S.11.147, Sx cracche is rendered cache. or to clawe / to clippe , or to holde BeWere the myddell of themyn hand / maymed or perished I shulde receyue right nought / of that I reache myght But though my thombe andand my fingers / bothe were hurtto-shullento-swollen And the myddell of my hand / without any grefmalese In diuerse and sondriemany kynnesmany kynne maneres / I might my-self Helpe Bothe moue and amende / though all my fyngers did akeoke By this skill me thinke / I se an euidence That who-so synneth in the Holie goostseint spirit / assoiled isworth he neuer Neither Here nor elliswhere / as I hereherde telle / Qui peccat in Spiritum sanctumspiritu sanctoSpiritum sanctum: SCr, in agreement with the fuller quotation at Bx.16.49 (= S.16.49). Other B-Version copies give the less correct ablative. The passage is an inexact quotation of Matt 12:32; see Lawler, Penn Comm., pp. 312, 412. Cf. the S variant in the next line below. &c for he pricketh god as in the p.awme / peccatqui peccatþat peccatpeccat: A unique S error, perhaps transmitting the original reading of the common ancestor of SCrM. The Bx reading (retained in WHm) is þat peccat; MCr have qui peccat, supplying the Latin relative pronoun from the line above. Yet Cr also and uniquely supplies a relative pronoun in the a-verse, reading For he þat pricketh, and hence transmits two incompatible corrections to the deficient syntax transmitted in S. in spiritum sanctumspiritu sanctospispiritum sancto ForFor god the father isis as a fist / the son isis as a Fynger The Holie ghoost of Heauen / is as it were the pawme So who-so synneth in the Holy ghoostseint spirit / it semeth that he greueth God that He grypeth with / and wold His grace quenche And to a torche oror a tapre / the trinitie is likened As wex andand a weake / were twynned togithers S uniquely omits KD.17.208-209 (Bx.17.212--213), by eyeskip on line-ending togideres.And bringFostren forth a slamme[f]lamme / and a feyre leye So done the fathersire and the son / and also Spiritus sanctus / BringFostrenline om. forth Amongamongesline om. folke / loue and beleue AndThat all manerekynne xpcristian / clenseth of allom. synnes And as thou seest sometyme / sodeynly a torche The blaze therof blowen out / yet brenneth the weeke Without leye or light / þat the mach brenneth So is the Holie goost god / and grace without mercy To all vnkynde creatures / that covet to destroye TrueLeleLelly loue or lyfe / that our lord madeshapte And as glowing gleedes / gladeth not these workemen That wake and worketransp. / in wynter nyghtes As dothe A kix oror a candle / þat Hathe caughttransp. fyre and brenneblaseþ NomoreNo more doth fathersire nor son / nor the Holy goostseint spirit togithers Graunte no grace / nor forgyuenesse of synnes Till the Holy goost begynnegynne / to glowe and to blase So that the Holy ghoost / gloweth but as a glede Till that truelelelelly loue / lie on Him and blowe ThenAnd þanne flammeth he as fyre / on father and sonon filius And melteth their might into mercy / as men may se in wynter Isykles in eveseseveses: 'eaves'. The form is supported by CrM, but a light tittle, perhaps an abbreviation for a nasal, is entered over the last e. / through Heate of the sonne Melt in A mynute while / to mist and to water So grace of the Holy ghoost / the great might of the trinitie Melteth to mercie / to merciable andand to non other And as wax without more / on a warme coleglede Will brenne / and blase alltogithersbe þei togideres And solace them that may se / andþat sitt in derkenes So the father forgyuethwol þe fadur foryeue / folke of myld hertes That rufully repent / and restitucion make In-asmuch as they may / Amende and paye .v.2. In the outer margin a later hand has entered a series of inscriptions in vertical orientation. Ih and Ihe, apparently monograms for "Jesus", appear ten or eleven times beside the inscriptions gode of loue and lord. And if thatit suffiseth notnoȝt for assetznot: S drops for assetz 'for reparation'. The omitted noun (OED asseth(e n.) appears in PP-B only here; it is last recorded by OED2 before 1513. / yet Heom. that in suchsuche a will dieth Mercie for his mekenesse / will make good the restremenaunt And as the weke and fyre / will make a warme flamme For to confortmurthe men with / that in theom. derkemerke sitt So will Christ of his curtesie / ifand men crye Him mercie Bothe forgyue and forgett / and yet praybidde for vs To the father of Heauen / Forgyuenesse to haue But Hewe fyre at thea flynt / foure hundered wynter OnlesseBut thou Haesthaue toweheHaest towhe: These spellings are peculiar; for haest, see S.5.237n. The second word was spelled tow(e) in Sx. to take it with / tunder or broches All thy labour is lost / andand al thy long travaile For may no fyre flamme make / Failethefaille it thehisis kynde So is the Holy ghoost god / and grace without mercie To all vnkynde creatures / Christ Himself witnesseth Amen dico vobis nescio vos / Be vnkynde to thine euencristen / and all þat þou canst praybidde Dele and do penaunce / day and night euer And purchase all the pardon / of Pampilon and Rome And Indulgences ynowe / and be vnkyndeingratus to thy kynde The holy ghoost Hereth the not / nor may the Helpehelpe may þe by reason For vnkyndnesse quencheth Hym / that He cannot shine Nor borneborne: 'burn'; the Sx form was brenne. no blase clere / for burnyngblowyngeburnyng: The Sx form was brennyng. of vnkyndenes Paule the apostle / proueth whether I lye Si linguis hominum loquar &c BewareFor beþ warFor-þi beþ warWherfore beþ war ye wise men / that with the worlde dealeth That rich bene and reason knoweth / rule well your soule Be not vnkynde I counsaile you / to your euencristen For many of you riche men / by my soule men telleth Ye burne but ye blase not / that is a blynde beken Non omnis qui dicit domine domine intrabit &c Dives died dampned / for His vnkyndenes Of his meat andand of hisand his money / to men that it neded EueryEche a riche manom. I rede / regardereward at him take And gyue your goodesgood to yourþat good god / þat grace of Aryseth For theyom. þat be vnkynde to hise / I hopetransp. non other But they dwell with diuesþere Diues is / daydayes without ende Thus is vnkyndenes the contrarie / þat quencheth as it were The grace of the Holy ghoost / goddes oune kynde for that kynde doth vnkyndenesvnkynde fordoofordoþ / as doom. these cursed theues Vnkynde xpcristen men / for couetise and Envie Slea a man for his goodesmoebles / with mouthe or handwith handes For that þe Holie ghoost hathe to kepe / tho harlottes do destroydestuyeth The which is lyfe and loue / the leye of mannes bodie For euery manere good man / may be likened to a torche OrellesOr elles to A tapre / reuerenceto reuerence the Trinitie / And he thatwho þatwho-sowho murthereth a good man / me think by myn inwitt he fordothe the lefest light / that oure lorde loueth But yet in many more maners / men offende the Holie ghoost But this is the worst wise / that any man mayewiȝt miȝte Synne against the Holy ghoostseint spirit / toom. Assent to destroye For couetise of Anyany kynnesenykyn thing / that Christ dere bought How maymiȝteline om. he ask mercie / or any mercie Him helpe That wickedly and willfully / wold mercie refuseanynteanyentycerefuse: Rendering anynte 'annul', the sole instance of this word in PP-B. The word was always rare: see OED, s.v. "aniente (v.)" InnocencyInnocence is next god / and night and daye crietheit cryeth Vengeaunce vengeaunce / forgyuen be it neuer That shent vs and HadshaddeHad: An error, for shadde. our blood / forshapt vs as it were Vindica sanguinem iustorum Thus vengeaunce vengeaunce / very charitie asketh And sith Holy chirche and charitie / chargeth this so sore BeleueLeue I neuer that our lorde / will loue that charite lacketh Nor haue pitie for any prayere / there asþat he pleyneth SupposeI pose I Had synned so / And now shuldetransp.schulde nougth die And amAnd now amAnd now am INow am I sory that I so / the holy ghoostseint spirit haue offendidagulte ConfesseConfesse me and askecrye his grace / ofom. god that all made And mekelymyldliche His mercie ask / might I not be saued ?S's punctuation is paralleled in M and Hm. Compare S.8.74n and S.10.255n. Yes said thisþe Samaritan / so well thou maistmiȝt repent That righwisnes through repentaunce / to ruthe might turne But it is but se.lden sene / Sothenesseþere soþnesseher sothnes beareth witnes Any creature that is culpable / beforeafore A kynges Iustice Be quytraunsomed for his repentaunce / there Reasonalle resonReason: S personifies; other copies have alle reson, for which construction see OED s.v. all adj., pron., and n., sense A.1.c.(a). Him dampneth For there theþat partie pursueth / the pleapeplepele isis so Huge That the kyng may do no mercie / till bothe men accorde And eyther haue equytie / As sayth S Augustineas holy writ telleþS Augustine: The following dictum of canon law is attributed by Langland to holy writ. S corrects the attribution, accurately: see Alford, Guide, ad B.5.273a and Hanna, Penn Comm., pp. 124-25. See also the next note. NonNumquamNon: Other copies have Numquam. S brings this dictum into agreement with its standard form in canon law, transmitted above at Bx.5.281 (S.5.279). dinittiturdi[m]ittitur peccatum , donecom. &c Thus it fareth by such folke / that falslie all their lyues Euill lyue and beleue euillleten nouȝtlyuethbeleue euill: 'hold incorrect religious belief', rendering leten nouȝt 'do not desist (from sinful deeds)'. The redactor turns the focus from works to belief. / till lyfe them forsake Good Hope that Helpe shulde / to dispayrewanhope turnethe Not forof the nonpoure of god / that he is not mightfull To Amende all þat is amissetransp. / and His mercie greatter Then all oure wicked workes / as holy writ telleth Misericordia eius super omnia opera eius / But ere His rightousnesriȝtwysnesse to ruthe turne / some restitucion behoueth his sorowe is satisfaccion / for him that maynotmay not paye Thre thinges therbethere be / that do a man of forceby strengþe ToFor to flee his oune house / as holy writ sheweth TheThat one is a wicked wife / þat willnotwill not be chastised hir husbondfeere fliethfleethflieth: SCr, probably representing FLY, against fleeth (=FLEE) in other copies. Compare S.20.43. from her / for fere of hyr tong And if His house be vncoueredvnheledvntiled / and itom. reyne on his headbedde .v.3. He sekith and sekith / tyll he mayom. slepe drie And whan smoke and smolder / smyghtsmyght: The t is formed from the descender of the s in the line above. in his eyessiȝte It greuethdoþ Him worse then His wife / or wete to slepe For Smoke and smolder / smyteth in His eyen Till he be blereeyed or blynde / and hoorce in the throte Heom. cowgheth and curseth / that Christ himgyue hemyeue hym sorowe That shuld bring in better wood / or blowe it till it burnebrende Thise iijthre that I tell of / be thus to vnderstande The wyfe is oure wicked flesh / þat wilnotwill not be chastised For kynde clyveth on him euer / to contrarie the soule And though it fall it fynde skilles / þat frailtie it causedmade And that is lightly forgyuen / and forgoton bothe To man that asketh mercytransp. / And thinketh to amendeamende þenkeþ The reyne that reyneth / there we rest shulde Be sikenesses and sorowes / that we suffre oft As paule the Apostle / to the people taught Virtus in infirmitate perficitur &c And though that men make / moch sorowedoel in their Angre And be inpacient inin hire penaunce / pure reason knoweth That they haue cause to contrarie / by kynde of theyr sikenes And lightlie our lorde / at their lyves ende hathe mercy on such men / that so euill may suffre And the Smoke andand þe smolder / þat smight in our eyen That is couetise and vnkyndenesse / whichþat quencheth goddes mercie For vnkyndnes is the contrarie / of all manerealle kynnesalykn reason for there is neithernysnys neyþer sike nor sory / nor non somuchso much wrech But heÞat he nethat he may loue ifand hehym like / and beleueleneleuebeleue: See S.17.45n. withof His hart Good will and good worde / both wishe and will All manere ofmen mercie / and ofom. forgyuenesse And loue Himhem like him-self / and his lyfe amende I may no lenger let quod he / and lyard He pricked And went awaie as wynde / and þerwith I awakedwaked / Passus xviiiusduodevicesimus Wollwarde And weteshodd / went I forth after As A rechelesse felawerenkreuke / that of no wo recheth And yede forth like a lorell / all my lyfe-tyme Till I waxt wery of the worlde / and willedwylned streytefte to slepe And lened me to A lenten / and long tyme I slept And of Christes passionand penauncepassion: S omits and penaunce, perhaps objecting to the theological conflation of penaunce and atonement. No other instance of penaunce is deleted by the S-redactor. F has the same omission. / the people þat of-raught Rest me there and snoredrutte fast / till Ramis palmarum Of gerles and of Gloria laus / greatly Ime dremed And Howe Osanna by organy / olde folke song One sembledsemblable to the Samaritan / & somedelesomdel to Piers the Plowman Barefote on an asseback / botelesse cam prickyngprikye Without spere or sporestransp.spore or speare / valeantliespaklichspraklicheapertlyche he lokyd As is the kynde of a knight / that commeth to be dubbed To get hym gilt spores / andor galoches couped Then was feythe in a fenestre / and cried Oa fili dauid As dothe an heraude of armes / when aventerouresaunturousauntresaventeroures: Rendering the substantive adj. aunturous (MED aventurous adj., sense 3b). come to iustes Old Iewes of Ierusalem / for ioye they song Benedictus qui venit in nomine domini / Than I askedfrayned at feyth / what all that fare mentbymente And who woldshulde iuste in Ierusalem / IhusIesus He said And feche that the feend claymeth / piers frute the plowman S uniquely omits KD.18.21 (Bx.18.22).This IhusIesus of His gentriegentris will iust in piers Armour In his Helme and& in His habergeon / humana natura That Christ be not knoune Here / for Consummatus deus In piers paltock the plowman / this priker shall ride For no dynt shall Him dere / as in deitate patris Who shall iust with IhusIesus quod I / Iewes or scribes Nay quod he the foule feende / and false dome and deathe Death saith He shall fordoo / and adoune bring All that lyueth or loketh / onin lond oror inand in water Lyfe saith that He lyethe / and leyth His life to wedd That for all that deathe can do / within thre daies To walke and feche from the feende / piers frute the plowman And lay it there him liketh / and lucifere bynde And forbeat and doune bring / bale deathe for euer O mors ero mors tua / Then came pilatepilatus with much people / Sedens pro tribunali To se how doughtely death shuld do / and deme both theirhire boþeshir boþeresboth their: Sx probably read hire boþes, as MCr1. See S.2.68n, S.16.173n. rightesriȝte The Iewes andand þe Iustice / against IhuIesu they were And all the court outon hymvpon hymvp and cried / Crucifige eumsharpeful scharplyeum: S omits the English adverb sharpe given in other copies (an exceptional code-switch) and instead extends the biblical quotation (Jn 19:15; compare S.18.47-48 below). / Then put him forth a pilour / before pilate and said This IhusIesus of oure Iewes temple / iaped and dispised itom. To fordo onit onit in one daye / and in thre daies after ReedifyeEdifie it eftsoneeft newe / Here he stand that said it And yet make it asmucheas muche / in all manere poyntes Bothe as long asa[nd] as large / by loft and by grounde Crucifige quod A cachepoll / I warrant him a wiche Tolle tolle quod another / and toke of kene thrornes And began of sharpekene thorne / A garland forom. to make And set it sore on his head / and said in envie Aue raby quod that rybawd / and threwe reedes at hym / v 4 Nailed him with thre nailes / naked on the roode And poyson on a pole / they put vp to His lippes And bad Him drynke His deatheuell / hise daies were done And if that þou so konnyngsotil be / Helpe now thy-self Yf thou be Christ and kynges son / come doune of the rood Then shall we beleueleue that lyfe the loue / and wilnotwill not lat the dye Consummatum est quod Christ / and begancomsedcomseth tofor to swowne Pituously and pale / as A prisonerprisoun thatdoþ þat dieth The lorde of lyfe andand of light / then leyd his eyes togither The day for drede withdrewe / and derk became the sonne The wall wagged and cleef / and all the world quaued Dead men for that dein / came out of depe graves And told why that tempest / so long tyme dured For a bitter bataile / the dead body sayd Lyfe and deathe in this darknes / thehire one fordothe thehire other Shall no manwight knowewite perfitelywiturly / who shall haue the maistrie BeforeEr sonday about sonne ryserysynge / and sank with that till erthe Some said that he was goddes son / that so faire dyed Vere filius dei erat iste / And some said he was A wiche / good is that we assaie WhetherWher he be dead or notnouȝt ded / doune ere he be take Too theves also / suffredþoled deathe þat tyme Besydes Christ vpon a crossetransp. / so was the common lawe A cachepoll came forth / and cracked bothe hisherethe legges AndAnd hireAnd þe armes afhter / of either of theþotho two theves But nomanno man waswas no boywas no body so bold / Christesgodes body to touche for he was knight and kynges son / kynde forgaf þat tyme That non harlot were so hardy / to lay handeshond vpon hym But there came forth a knight / with a spear sharpekene spere grounde Hight LongesLongeusLonges: Rendering the Latin form Longeus; Cr1 also anglicizes, to Longis. as the letter telleth / þatand long had lostlore his sight Before Pilate and other people / in the place he houed Maugrie his many tethe / he was made that tyme To take the spear in his hande / and iusten with IhusIesus For they were allalle þai were vnhardy / on horsbacke and on foteþat houed on hors or stoode To towche him oror to tast him / or take doune of theom. roode But this blynde bacheler / bare him through the hart The blood sprang doune by the spear / and vnsperd the knightes eyes Then fell heþe kniȝt vpon hisom. knees / and cried him mercie Against my will it was lorde / to wounde theȝowthe: S replaces polite you with intimate the. See S.5.474. so sore he sighed and said / sore it me forthinketha-thynkeþ For the dededede þat I haue done / I do me toin thyyoure grace haue ruthe on metransp. rightfull IhuIesu / and euenriȝt with that he wept Than gan feyth felly / the false Iewes despise / CallingCalled them caytifes / Acursed for euer For this foule vilany / vengeaunce to you all To do the blynde beat him bounde / it was a boies counsaile Cursed Caitifes / knighthode was it neuer To misdoo a dead bodie / by day ornorne by night The gree yet haue he goten / for all his great wounde For your Champion chivallier / chief knight of you all Yelt him recreant rennyng / right asat IhusIesus will For be this derknesse done / His deathe isworth avenged And ye lurdeyns haue lost / for life shall haue the maistrie And your fraunchise that fre was / fallen is in thraldome And ye chorles and your childerne / cheve shall you neuer Nor haue lordship in lond / nor no lond tille But all barayne be / and vsurie vse Which is lyfe þat our lorde / in all lawes acurseth Now your good daies are done / as danyell prophecied When Christ come /Other copies divide after kingdome, correctly. LO have double punctuation, at this location and after kingdome. of theyr kingdome the croune shulde cesse Cum venureritveniat sanctus sanctorum , tuncom. cessabit vnctio vestra / What for fear of theþis ferlie / and of the false Iewes I drewe me in that derknesse / to descendit ad inferna And there I sawe sothely / Secundum scripturas Out of the west coost / a wenche as me thought Cam walking in the waie / to hellewarde she lokid Mercie hight that maide / A meke thing withall A full benygne birde / and gentillbuxom of speche Hir suster as it semed / came trulysoþlyworthely walkyng Euen out of the east / and westwarde she looked A full comelie creature / truth she hight For the vertue that hir folowed / aferd was she neuer When thise maidens met / mercie and truthe Either asked other / of this great mervailewondertruþe Of the dien andand of þe derknes / and howe the daye rowed And whatwhich a light andand a leame / Lay before helle I haue ferlie of this fare / in feythe said truthe And am goingwendynge to wite / what this wonder meaneth Haue no marveile quod mercie / myrthe it betokeneth A maidemayden that hight Marie / and mother without towchingfelynge AOf Any manerekynneskynkynde creature / conceyued through speche And grace of the holy ghost / wext great with childe Without weme into this worlde she brought hym And that my tale be true / I take god to witnesse Sithe this barne was borne / bene thirtie wynter passed Whiche died and deathe suffredþoled / this daie about myddaie And that is cause of this eclipse / that closethe nowe the sonne x 1. In menyng that man shall / frome mekenessemerkenesse be drawen The which this light and this leme / shall lucifere ablende For patriarches and prophetes / haue preached herof longoften That man shall man saue / through goddesa maidensa womansgoddes: Rendering a maidens. S suppresses Mary's role in salvation history. helpe And that was losttynt through tree / by a tre shalbeshall be wonnetree shal it wynnetre schall wynne And that deathe doune brought / death shall releue That thou tellest quod Truthe / is but a tale of waltrot for adam and Eue / Abrahamand Abraham and othersoþer patriarches and prophetes / that in peynespeyne lie Beleue thou t neuer that yonderyonyou light / bryng them may alofthem a-lofte bryngethem may aloft bring Nor haue them out of helle / hold thy tong mercie Yt is but a trifle þat thou tellest / I Truthe knowewot the sothe For that is ones in helle / out commeth itheit: S retains the archetypal reading, against Cr1WHmF he. WHmF (but not Cr1) make a corresponding revision at the head of this line. neuer Iob the prophete patriarche / reproueth thi sayingessaweslawes Quia in inferno nulla est redemptio / Then mercie full mekelymyldly / mowthed these wordes Through Experience quod she / I hope they shalbeshall be saued For venym fordoth venyme / and that I proue by reason For of all venymes foulest is the scorpion May no medicyn helpe / the place there he stingeth Till he be dead and done therto / the yuell he destroieth The first venymenessevenymoustee / thorough wenym of him-self So shall this fordoodeeþ fordo / my lyfe I dareI dar my lif laye All that death did fyrst / through the deuylles entysyng And likeriȝt as through gyle / man was begyled So shall grace that beganne / make a good sleight Ars vt artem falleret Nowe suffre we said truthe / I se as me thinketh Out of the nyppe of the Northe / not euenful fer hence Righousnes come ronnyng / rest we aþe while For he knowethwoot more then we / hehe ... he: "She," relicts of the language of Bx. See S.1.142n. was before vser we bothe That is truesoþ said mercie / and I se here be sowthe Where peace commeth playing / in pacience clothed Loue hathe coueted hir long / I thinkleue I non other But he sent hir some letter / what this light menethbymeneþ WhatThat ouerhoveth helle thus / she shall vstransp. telle When peace thus apparailedin pacience y-cloþudyn pacyence is cloþid / approched nere them tweyne Rightwisenesse hir reuerenced / for hir rich clothing And praid peace to telle hir / to what place she wold And in hyr gaye garmentes / whome she thought to greetgrete þouȝte My will is to gowende quod she / and welcome them all That many day might not se / for derkenessemerkenesse of synne Adam and Eue / and other moo in helle Moyses and many more / mercie shall haue And II shal daunce therto / do thou so suster For IhusIesus Iusted well / Ioy begynneth to springdawe Ad vesperum demorabitur fletus &c& ad matutinum leticia Loue that is my lemman / such letters me sent That mercie my suster and I / mankynde shuld saue And that god hathe forgyuen / & grauntidgraunted me peace and mercie And man to saueTo be mannes mainpernour / for euereuere-more after Lo here the patent quod peace / in pace in idipsum And thatþat þis dede shall enduredure / dormiam et requiescam / What ravest þou quod Rightousnes / or þou art right dronke ThinkestLeueste thou that yonderyondyon light / may vnlockevnlouke miȝte helle And saue mannes soule / suster thinkwene yt neuer At the begynnyng /S's punctuation agrees with M and probably derives from the unique common ancestor of SMCr1. LRF (=Bx) punctuate after god, correctly. god gaf the dome him-self That Adam and eue / and allalle þat them sued Shulde dye douneright / and dwelle in peyne euerafter Yf that they touched a tre / and the frute ete Adam after thatafur-ward / contrarie to the commandementaȝeins his defence EteFreet of that frute / and forsoke as it were The loue of theoure lorde / and his lore bothe And folowed that the feend taught / and his felawes will Against reason and righousnesse / record thus with truthe That their peynespayne be perpetuall / and no preyer them helpe Therfor lat them chewe as they chose / andand chide we not susters For it wasis bootelesse bale / the bitt that they ete And I shall proue quod peace / their peyne must haue ende And wo in-to wele / mustmowemust: The expected modernizing reflex of mot, the reading of corrected M. turneweende atat þe last For had they wist of no woo / welthewele had they not knoune for nomanno manno wiȝt wot what welthwele is / that neuer woo suffred Nor what is sharpehootsharpe: Rendering hoot 'hot'. hunger / that neuer had defaute Yf there were no nightno niȝt nere / nomanno man as I thinkeleue Shuld knowe perfitelywite witturly / what the daie isday is to mene Shuld neuer richeriȝt riche man / that lyueth in rest and ease knoweWyte what wo is / were not the deathe of kynde So god that began all / of his good will Became man of a maid / mankynde to saue And suffred to be solde / toto se the sorowe of deathdeynge WhichThe which vnknytteth all care / and begynnyngcomsynge is of rest For till Modicum / mete with vs / I may it well avowe Wot no wight as I wene / what is ynough to mene Therfor god of his goddnesse / the first mangome Adam Set him in solace / and in souereyne myrthe And sithenssith he suffred him synne / sorowe to fele To wite what welthwele was / kyndlie to knowe it And after god aventured Him-self / and toke adams kynde An illegible note, perhaps erased or washed out, runs in vertical orientation in the outer margin. To wite what he hadhaþ suffred / in thre sondrie places InBoþe in heuen andand in erthe / and tonow tonow til helle he thinketh To wite what all wo is / þat wot of all ioye So shall ittransp. fare by thise /folke / their folie and their synne Shall lernelere them what langor is / and peynelisselyfepeyne: Rendering lisse 'joy'. Compare S.9.29n. without ende Wot nomanno manno wiȝt what werre is / there asþat peace reygneth Nor what is perfitelywitterly welthewele / till wellawaie him teache Then was there A manwiȝt / with ijtwo brode eyes Book hight þat felawebeupere / a bolde man of speche By goddes bodie quod this book / I will beare witnesse That whenþo this babebarn was borne / thesre blased a sterre That all the wyse of this world / in one wit accorde That such a barne was borne / in Bethleem citie That mannes soule shulde saue / and synne destroye And all the elementes saithquod the book / herof beareth witnesse That he was god that all wrought / the Ayrewalkene first shewed Tho that were in heauen / tooke Stella comata And lightnedtendeden hiretendeden it as a torche / to reuerence his birthe The light folowed the lorde / in-to the lowe erthe The water witnessed that he was god / for he went on yt Peter th'apostle / perceyued his gate And as he went on the water / well him knewe and said Iube me domineom.domine: Added by S. The Vulgate reading is Domine si tu es iube me venire ad te super aquas (Matt. 14:28). venire ad te super aquas / And lo how the sonne / didgan loke hishire light in himselfhire-selue When heshe se Him suffre / that sonne and sea made The erthe for heuynesse / that he shuldwolde suffre Quakyd as quick thing / & all to-quashedby-quasshetto-quashed: 'crushed to pieces'. S joins Cr1 against synonymous by-quasshet in other copies, including M. OED records to-quash in sixteenth-century sources, whereas bequash is a hapax legomenon, recorded by OED and MED only from the present line. the roche Lo heauenhelleheauen: SCr1, for helle in other copies. might not hold / but opened whenþo god suffredþolede And let out Symondes sonnes / to se him hang on rood And now shall Lucifere beleueleue it / althoughþouȝ he be lothhym loth þinke For Gigas the giaunt / with a gyn engynned To breake and to beat dounea-doun / that bene against IhusIesus And I booke wilbewill be brent / but IhusIesus rise to lyue In all mightes of man / and his mother glade And confort all his kyn / and out of care bring And all the IewesIewes: SCr1, for archaic gen. pl. Iewen in other copies (W Iewene). Compare S.1.105n and S.19.106. ioye / vnioyne and losenvnlouken And but ifom. they reuerensereuerense: S's original reading reuerse is a beta2 error, transmitted in that form in WCr. M is corrected, probably from the same reading. his rood / and his resurreccion And beleue on a newe lawe / be lost lyfe and soule Suffre we said truthe / I here and se bothe How a spirit speketh to helle / and bidd vnspere the gates Attollite portas &c A voyce lowde in that light / to lucifere crieth Yeom. prynces of this place / vndo your gatesvnpynneþ and vnlouketh For here commeth with croune / that kis kyng is of glory Then sighedsiked Sathan / and said to them all Such a light against our leue / Lazar outitout: an easier reading, induced by semantic context in SCr1W, displacing archetypal it (subject of the verb, in apposition with Such a light). fet Care and combraunce / is come to vs all Yf this kyng come in / mankynde will he feche And lede himithim: Langland's devils use neuter it (the antecedant is mankynde). F makes the same change. there hehim liketh / and lightlie me bynde Patriarches and prophetes / haue spokenparled herof long That such a lorde and light / shuld lede them all hens Lysten quod Lucifer / for I this lorde knowe S uniquely omits KD.18.274 (Bx.18.280), perhaps by eyeskip on line-ending knowe/knewe.May no deathe him dere / nor no feendesdeueles craftesquentise And where he will is his weye / but ware Hym of the perils Yf he reaveth me my right / he robbeth me by maistrie For by right andand by reason / theyþo renkesþe renkesthe reukes that be here Bodie and soule be myne / both good and euyllille For himself said / that fathersire is of heauen Yf Adam ete the Apple / all shulde dye And with vs deuilles dwelletransp. / this threatning he made And he that sothenesse is / said these wordes And sithen I seised / seauen hundred winter I beleueleue that lawe will not / leuelete him the leest That is sothe quod Sathan / but I me sore drede For thou get him with gyle / and his garden breeke And in semblaunce of a serpent / set vpon anþe apletre And eggedest thiemthem: A correction. The scribe first wrote him, an erroneous reflex of 3 pl. hem, the reading of Sx. to ete / Eue by hir namehire-selue And toldest hyr a tale / of treason were the wordes And so thou gattest them out / and hither at the last Hit was not trulieis nouȝt graythely gotten / forþere gyle wasis the roote GodFor god willnotwill not be begyled / quod Goblyn nor beiaped We haue no true tytle to them / for through treson were they damp[ned] Certes I drede me quod the deuyll / lest truth will them feche Thise thirtie yereswynter as I thinkwene / he hathe gonehaþ he gonhe hathe gone: SCrM transpose the beta word order, retained in WHm haþ he gon. and preached I haue assailed him with synne / and somtyme asked YfWher he were god or goddes son / he gaf me short answere And thus hauehaþ hehe hath trolled forthe / this xxxijtitwo and thirti wynter And whan I se it was so / leaping I went To warne pilates wyfe / what maneredonemanere: Rendering done. See BTP n. ad loc. man was IhusIesus For Iewes hated hym / and haue done him to death I wold haue lengthed his lyfe / for I thoughtleued if he dyed That his soule wold suffre / no synne / in his sight for the bodie while it on bones wentyede / about was euer x 3 To saue men from synne / if themself wolde And now I se where a soule / commeth hitherward sailing With glorie andand with great light / god it is I wot well I rede we fle quod he / fast all hens for we we[+] were bettre not be / then abidebyden his sight For thy lesynges lucifer / lost is all oure praye First through the we felle / from heauen so highe for we trustidleuedbeleuedlyuyden thy leasinges / losty-lore haue we Adam And all our lordship I thinkleue / on londa-lond and watreon watrea-watre Nunc princeps huius mundi eijcietur foras / ThenEfte the light bad vndovnlouke / and Lucifer Answerd What lord art thou quod lucifer / quis est iste Rex glorie / said the light by and byþe liȝt soone saide And lord of might andand of mayne / and all maner vertues Dominus virtutum / Dukes of this dymme place / Anon vndo theþise gates That Christ may come in / the kinges son of heauen And with that wordbreþ /S's punctuation agrees with M. Other copies punctuate after brake, correctly. helle brake with belialles barres For Any manwye or warde / wide open the gates Patriarches and prophetes / Populus in tenebris / Song S . Iohanes song / Ecce agnus dei / Lucifer might not lookeloke ne miȝte / the light so did him blyndeso liȝt hym ablente And them that our lorde loued / in-to his light he raughtlauȝte Saying vntoAnd saide to Sathan / lo here my soule to Amendes For all synfull soules / to saue thatþo þat be worthy / Myne they be and of me / I may the bettrebet them clayme Although reason recorde / and right of my-self That if they ete the Apple / all shuld die I behight them not here / helle for euer For the dede that they did / thy deceyt it causedmadeA later hand has entered an illegible word in the right margin. With gyle þou them gett / Against all reason for in my palais paradise / in persone of an Edder Falsly thou fettest there / theom. thing þat I loued Thus like a lyzarde / with a ladies visage Thefelike þou diddest me robbeme robbedest / the old lawe graunteth That gylers be begylde / and that is good reason Dentem pro dente et oculum pro oculo / Ergo soule shall soule quyte / and synne to synne gowende And all that man hath mysdone / I man will Amende Membre for membre / inbe the old lawe was Amendes And lyfe for lyfe also / and by þat lawe I clayme it Adam and all his yssue / at my will hereafter And that death in them fordid / my death shall releue And both quicken and quyte / that lostqueynt was through synne / And that grace mayom. gyle destroie / good feythe it asketh So I thinkleue I nouȝtleue it nouȝteleue thow nouȝt Lucifer / agaynst the lawe I do notom. feche them But by right andand by reason / Iom. raunsone here my liges Non veni soluere legem , sed adimplere Tohou diddest fetfettest myne in my place / against all reason Falslie and felonlie / good feithe me it taught To recouer them byþoruȝ raunson / and by no reason elles So that whichom. through gyle þou gat / through nowegracenowe: Other copies read grace. The S reading is a manifest error, though difficult to explain. is ittransp.þey ben wonne Thou Lucifer in likenesse / of A lither Addre Gatest by gyle / them that god loued And I in likenes of a manleode / that lorde am of heauen Graciouslie thy gyle haue quyt / go gyle againest gyle And as Adam and all / through a tre dyed Adam and all through A tre / shall turne agayn to lyfe And gyle is begyled / and in his gyle fallen Et cecidit in foueam quam fecit Now begynneth thy gyle / against the to turne / And my grace toom. growe / ay greater and wyder The bitternesse þat thou hast brownebrowne: 'brewed'. / browke it thy-self That art doctour of death / drink þat þou madest For I amþat am lorde of lyfe / loue is my drink And for þat drink this daieto-day / I dyedeyed vpon erthe I faught so Ime thurst yet / for mannes soules sake May no drinke me moist / nor my thurst slake / Till the vendage fall / in the vale of Iosophat That I drink right rype must Resurreccio mortuorum And then shall I come as a king / crowned with Aungelles And haue out of helle / all mennes soules Feendes and feendkyns / before me shall staund And be at my bidding / whersoeuer me like And to be mercifullmerciable to man / than my kynd it asketh For we be bretherne of blood / but not ofin baptisme all But all þat be myn ounehole bretherne / in blood and in baptisme Shall not be dampned to the death / þat is without ende Tibi solisoli: An inkblot obscures the last letter in this word. peccaui &c / It is not vsed in erthe / to hang a felon Ofter then ones / though he were a traitour And if the king of that kingdome / came in þat tyme There the felon shuld suffrethole sholde / death or ellesoþer ellesor otherwyseor ooþer Iuwiseor elles: The S reading is the expected reflex of MCr1 oþer elles. S always reduces other, conj.: see linguistic description. This line is a textual crux in the B tradition: see BTP ad loc. Lawe wold he gaf him lyfe / if he lokid on him And I that am king of kinges / shall come such a tyme There dome to the death / dampneth all wicked And if Lawe I will þatom. I looke on them / it lythe in my grace x 4 Whether they die or notdeiȝye nouȝt / for þat they did euyllille Be it any thing aboutabouȝt the boldnesse of their synnes I do mercy through righousnes / and all my wordes true And though holy [writ]holy [writ]: The scribe omits writ, probably by mechanical error, induced by repetition of w-. Compare S.5.11. wyll me toþat I be wroken of them þat did yll Nullum malum inpunitum &c / They shalbeshall be clensed clerely / and washen of ther synnes In p my prison purg'purg': Other copies read purgatorie. S writes only the first four letters, then extends the head-stroke of g into a loop that crosses back as if a mark of deletion. Compare S.15.353n. / till Parce it hoote And my mercie shalbeshall be shewed / to many of my bretherne For bloude may suffre bloude / both hungrie and colda-cale But bloud maynotmay not se blood / blede but hehym rewe Audiui archana verba , que non licet homini loqui But my great rightousnesriȝtwisnesse and riȝt / shall rule all helle And mercie allmankyndeall mankynde / before me in heauen For I were an vnkynde kyng / but I my kynde holpe And namely at such a nede / there nedes helpe behoueth Non intres in iudicium cum seruo tuo domineom.domine: S again adds vocative domine. Compare S.18.249. &c Thus by lawe quod thisoure lorde / lede I will from hens Them þat me louyd / and beleuedleued in my commyng And for thy lye þoulesynge lucifer / that þou madeleigh totil Eue Thou shallt abie yt bitter / and bounde him with chaynes Astaroth and all the route / hidde them in cornershernes They durst not looke on our lorde / the boldest of them all But lete him lede forth whomewhat he woldehym liked / & leuelete whomwhat hehym list Many hundredhundred of aungelles / harped and song Culpat caro purgat caro , regnat deus dei caro / Then pyped peace / of poesy a note Clarior est solito post maxima nebula phebus . post inimicicias After sharpe showres quod peace / most shene is the sonne Ys no wether warmer / then after watry clowdes Nor no loue dererleuer / nor trustierleuere freendes Then after werre and woo / when loue and peace be maisters Was neuer werre in this world / nor wickednesse so kene That loue ifand he listhim lustehym liste / to laughing haue notneit brought And peace through pacience / all perils stopped Trewce quod truthe / thou tellest vs soth by IhusIesus Clippe we in covenaunt / and eche of vs kisse other And lat no people quod peace / perceyue that we chidd For impossible is nothing / to him that is allmighty Tho saist truesoth quod Rightousnesse / and reuerently hir kist Peace , and peace hir / per secula seculorum Misericordia et veritas obuiauerunt sibiIusticia et pax osculate sunt / Truthe tromped then / and song Te deum laudamus / And then luted loue / in a lowde note Ecce quam bonum et quam iocundum &c&c: Added in lighter ink. Till the daie dawed / these damoselles daunced That men rong to þe resurreccion / and euenriȝt with that I waked And callid kytt my wyfe / and Calote my doughter To Arise and reuerenceAriseþ and reuerenceþAnd bad hem rise and reuerenceTo Arise and reuerence: Rendering Ariseþ and reuerenceþ, the beta reading. The unmarked shift into direct speech (verbs are imperative) prompts syntactic smoothing in several copies, including M, where a later hand adds quod I. See BTP n. ad loc. / goddes resurreccion And crepe to the crosse /onS's cancelled punctuation, preceding this word, is unique among beta2 copies. knees / and kisse it for a Iewell For goddes blessyd body / it bare for our boote And it frayethafereþ the feende / for such is the might May no grisly ghoost / glyde there it shadoweth Passus xixusundeuicesimus Thus I walkedawaked and wrote / what I had dreamed And dight me derely / and hieddide me to churche To here hoolly the masse / and to be housled after In myddes of the masse / theþoom.whan men wentyede to offring Andom. I eftsones filltransp. aslepe / and sodeynly I dremedme mette That Piers the plowman / was peynted all bloody And cam in with a crosse / before the commone people And euenriȝt like in all lymmes / to oure lorde IhuIesu ThanAnd þanne callid I Conscience / to tellekenne me the truthesoþe Ys this IhusIesus the Iuster quod I / þat iewes did to death Or is it piers the Plowman / who peynted him so redd Quod Conscience and kneled then / thise are piers armes His coloures andand his cote armure / but he that commeth so bloodie Ys Christ with his crosse / Conqueroure of cristene Why call ye him Christ quod I / sith Iewes call him IhusIesus Patriarches and prophetes / prophecied before That all manerekynne creatures / shulde knele and bowe Anon as men namednompned / the hygh name ofname of god IhuIesu Ergo thereom. is no name / to the name of IhusIesus Nor non so nedefull to be namednamenempne / by night orne bynor byand by daye For all theom. derke deuylls / are adrad to here it And synfull are solaced / and saued by that name And ye call him Christ / for what cause tell me Ys Christ more of might / orand more worthy name Than IhuIesu or IhusIesus / that all oure Ioye came of Thou knowest well quod Conscience / ifand þou knowestkonne reason That knight , kyng , Conquerour , / may be one persone To be called a knight is fair / for men shuldshul reuerenceknele to him To be called a kyng is fayrer / for he may knightes make But to be called Conquerourtransp.a conquerour clepyd / that commeth of speciall grace And of hardynesse of hart / and alsoom. of gentillnessehiendenesse To make lordes of laddes / of lond that he wynneth And free men foule thralles / þat folow not his lawes The iewes that were gentilmen / IhuIesu they despised Y.1. Bothe his lore and his lawe / nowe are they lowe chorles As wide as the world is / dwellethwoneth non therinþer noonþere noon ther-Innerewritten / But vnder tribute and taillage / as tykes and chorles And they þat become xpcristen / by counseile of the baptysme Are Frankelinges fre men / through baptismefullynge þat they toke And gentillmen with IhuIesu / For IhusIesus was baptizedy-fulled And vpon Caluarie on crosse / crouned kyng of Iewes Yt becommeth well ato a king / to kepe and defend And Conquerour of conquest / his lawes and his large And so did IhusIesus to theom. Iewes / he iustified and taught them The lawe of Lyfe / that last shall euer And defended from foule euilles / feuers and fluxes And from feendes that in them were / and false beleue Then was he IhusIesus of Iewes called / gentyll prophete And king ofof hir kingdome / and croune bare of thornes And then conquered he on crosse / as conquerour noble Might no death him fordo / nor doune bring That he rose notnaroosne rosrose not: Rendering naroos (= ne aros). S modernizes verbal negation, as usual, but also adopts the prefixless verb. and regned / and rauyshed helle And then was he conqueroure called / of quick andand of dead for he gaf Adam and Eue / and othermore blisse That long had lyne beforne / as Lucifers cherles And sith he gaf largelie / all his truelele lieges Places in paradyse / at ther parting thenshennes He may well be called conquerour / and þat is Christ to mene But the cause that he commeth thus / with crosse of thehisom. passion Is to teachewissen vs therwith / that when we be tempted Therwith to fight and fende vs / from falling in-to synne And se by his sorowe / that who-so loueth ioye To penaunce and to pouertie / he must put himself And much wo in this world / will toand suffre But forom. to carpe more of Christ / and howe he came to þat name faithly for to speake his first name was IhusIesus WhenÞo he was borne in bedleme / as the book telleth And cam to take mankynde / kinges and Aungelles Reuerenced him fayr / with richesse of thisom. erthe Aungelles out of heauen canm / kneling theyand song Gloria inexcelsis deo &c Kynges came after / kneled and offred Myrhe and much golde / without medemercy asking Or any kyndkynnes of catell / but knowlegedknowelicheknowelichynge him souereyne Bothe of londsondlond: Agreement of SCr1WHm should establish beta2, but M retains the archetypal reading, sond. sonne and sea / and thensithenes they went Into their oune countreiskengene kithkingdome kyththeir oune countreis: Rendering hir kyngene kiþ, "their kingly realm" (spelling of W, for M kengene). The subjective genitive plural may have an adjectival character (see Mustanoja, Middle English Syntax, p. 37), accentuated in this instance by its use in combination with a pronominal possessive determiner. The construction is difficult and probably was not understood; scribal correction (oune is entered above the line in the original hand and ink) is perhaps an index of the translator's difficulties. Compare S.1.105, where an archaic gen. pl. similarly provokes paraphrase, and S.5.29, where the scribe transmits an ungrammatical corruption of the same form. / by counsell of aungelles And there was þat worde fulfilled / the which þou spakeof speke Omnia celestia etom. terrestria flectantur in hoc nomine IhesuIesu For all th'aungelles of heauen / at his byrth kneled And all the witt of the worlde / was in themþothem: Rendering demonstrative þo 'those', by confusion with the pronoun. Compare S.2.193. thre kinges Reason and Righousnes / and trutheruthe they offred Wherfore and why / wise men that tyme Maisters and lettred men / Magi them called TheThat one king cam with reason / couered vnder sence The second king sothely / sithentransp. heom. offred Rightousnes vnder red goold / Reasons felawe Gold is likened to leautie / that last shall euer And reason to rich gold / to right and to truthe The thirde king then cam / kneling to IhuIesu And presented him with pitie / appering to myrrhe For Myrre is mercie to mene / and myld speche of tong Thre like honest thinges / were offred thus atonesat ones Through thre sondrykynne kynges / kneling to IhusIesus But for all thise preciouse presentes / our lord prince IhusIesus Was neither king nor conquerour / till he begangan to wexe In the manere of a man / and þat by much sleight AsAs it becommeth a conquerour / to knowekunne many sleightes And many wiles and wit / that wilbewill be a leder And so did IhusIesus in his daies / who-so had tyme to tell it Sometyme he suffred / and sometyme he hid him And sometime he fought fast / and fled otherwhile And sometyme he gaf good / and graunted helthhele alsoboþe Botheom. life and lymme / as hehym list he wrought As kynde is of a conquerour / so begancomsed heIhesuihesus / Till he had all them / that he bledd fortransp. In his youtheIuuenteinuenteinnocence / this IhusIesus / at IewesIewes: Rendering gen. pl. Iewene. See S.1.105n. fest Water in-to wyne turned / as holy writ telleth And there began god / of his grace to Dowell For wyne is likened to lawe / and life of holinesse And lawe lacked then / for meme[n] loued not their enemyes And Christ counseileth thus and commandeth alsoboþe Bothe to lernedleered andand to lewde / to loue our enemyes So at the feast first / as I before saidtolde Began god of his grace / B and goodnes to dowell And then was he calledclepud and calledcalled: Rendering clepud and called (M). S elsewhere renders the omitted word as called, leaving little choice but omission in this instance. / not onelyholy Christ but IhuIesu A faunt fyn full of witt / Filius marie BeforeFor bifore his mother Marie / made he that wonder That she first and foremest / ferme shulde beleue That he through grace was gett / and of nomanno manno gome ellis He wrought þat by no witt / but byþoruȝ worde onely After the kynde that he came of / there begancomsed he toom. dowell And when he was wexen more / in his mothers absence He made theom. lame to lepe / and gaf sight to blynde And fed with too fishes / and with five loves Sore ahungredafyngredanhungryd folke / moremo then five thousand Thus he conforted theom. carefull / and caught a greater name The which was dobet / where that he went for deef through his doinges to here / and dombe toom. speak he made And all he healed and holpe / þat him of grace asked And then was he called in countrey / of the common people For the dedes that he did / IhusIesus filius dauidFili dauid Ihesus / for dauid was dowtiest / of dedes in his tyme The byrdes then song / Saul interfecit mille , et dauid decem miliaThe scribe ran out of space; the last word is entered in the right margin of the line below. Partial boxing around the overflow interferes with the line below. Therfor the countrie whereþer IhusIesus cam / callid him fili dauid And namednempned him of Nazareth / & nomanno man so worthy To be kayser or king / of the kingdome of IudaIuda: This word is partially boxed. Compare W, where the word is boxed in red, and see Introduction, sections ???. Nor ouer Iewes iustice / as IhsIesus was they thought Wherof Cayphas had envie / and other of the iewes And fortofor to do him to death / daie and night they kest Killed him on crosse wise / at Calvarie on aom.a: S joins CrHmF in support of the reading printed by BTP for Bx, but BTP's doubts (note ad loc.) are surely justified. The construction with a is easier than without, and found in late and revising copies. Convergent variation is likely. fridaye And sithen buried his bodye / and bad þat men shuld Kepe it from night commers / with armed knightestransp. ThatFor no freendes shulde him feche / for prophetes them told That ,S's punctuation is shared by Cr. þat blissed bodie / of buriels shuld arise And go into Galile / and glade his apostles And his mother Marie / thus men before demed The knightes þat kept it / knewbyknewe it themself That Aungells and Archaungelles / ere the day sprong Cam kneling to the Corps / and song xpscristus resurgens Veray man before them all / and forth with them he yede The Iewes preidprayeden hemprayeden hympreide hem bepreid: SCrM drop the pronominal object hem, transmitted in all other copies. peace / and besought the knightes Telle the commonscomune that there cam / a company of his apostles And wichedbiwiccheden them as they woke / and awaie stole himit But Marie Magdalene / met him by the waye Going toward Galile / in godhede and manhede And lyvishelyuesA-lyuelyvishe: OED livish, adj. 'living', a rare word cited by OED from a translation of Erasmus's Serm. Chylde Jesus (?1536) and two religious works of T. Becon, published 1542. Sx read lyues. and loking / and she alowd cried In eueryeche a company thatþer she cam / xpscristus resurgens Thus came it out that Christ ouercame / recouered & lyued Sic oportet xpmcristum pati et intrare &c For thatþat þat women wotwot: S regularizes from witeþ, the form transmitted by other copies in this instance, but rare elsewhere. / maynotmay not bewel be keptom. counseile Peter perceyued thisal þis / and pursued after Both Iames and Iohan / IhuIesu for to seche Thadee and tean moo / with Thomas of ynde And as all thise wise menwyes / were togithers In an house all closebishette / and thehire doresdore fastom. barred Christ came thenom. in / bothe dores and gates shetal closed . boþe dore & yates To peter and th'otherto hiseto þise apostles / sayingand seidesayd pax vobis And toke Thomas by the hand / and taught him to grope And fele with his fyngers / his fleshly hart Thomas touched it / and with his tong said / deus meus et dominus meus / Thou art my lorde I beleue / god lord IhuIesu Thou diedest and death suffredestþoledesttholest / and deme shalt vs all And now art lyving and loking / and last shalt þouom. euer Christ saidcarpede then / and curteisly spakesaide Thomas for that þou truly dost beleueþow trowest þis . and truwliche bileueste it Blessed mut thou be / and be shalt for euer And blissed mut they all be / in bodie andand in soule That neuer shalt se me in sight / as thou doest nowenowþe And yet trulylelliche beleue thisal þis / I loue them and blisse them Beati qui non viderunt et credideruntom. &c And when this dede was done / dobest he taught And gaf piers poure / and pardon he graunted To all manere of men / mercie and forgiuenesse Him might toHym myȝte men tohe mygth men Assoile / of all manere synnes In covenaunt that they come / and knowlege to paye To piers pardon the plowman / Redde quod debes Thus hathe piers poure / be his pardon paid To bynde and toom. vnbynde / bothe here and elliswhere And assoile men of all synnes / saue of dett onelyoone Anone after to goan heygh / vp into heauen He went and dwellethwoneþ there / & will come at last And rewarde him right well / þat reddit quod debet Paieth perfitely / as pure truth wolde And what person paiethpaiþ it not / punyshe he willþinkeþ And deme them at domesdaie / both quick and dead The good to the godhede / and to great ioye And theom. wicked do dwelleto wonye / in wo without ende Thus conscience of Christ / and of the crosse carped And counseiled me to knele therto / and then cam me thought One Spiritus paracletus / to piers andand to his felawes In likenesse of a lightnyng / he light vponon them all And made them for tokonne and knowe / all manerekynne langages I wondered what ytþat was / and wagged Conscience And was aferde of the light / for in likenesse of fyrefires likkenessefires lightnesse Spiritus paracletus / ouerspredd them all Quod Conscience and kneled / this is Christes menssenger And commeth from the great god / and grace is his name Knele nowe quod Conscience / and if thou canst syng Y.3. Welcome him and worshup him / with Veni creator spiritus Than sang I that song / and so did many aom. hundred And cried with Conscience / helpe vs god of grace And then began grace / to go with piers plowman And counseiled him and Conscience / the commonscomune to somone For I will dele this daieto-day / and divide grace To all manerekynne creatures / þat haue their fyve wittes Treasure to lyue by / to their lyues ende And wepen to fight with / that will neuer fayle For Antecryst and his / all the world shall greue And encombreacombre the Conscience / but if Christ helpeþee helpe And false prophetes manyfelefell / flaterers and glosers Shall come and be curatescuratours / ouer Kynges and erles And pride shalbeshall be pope / prynce of holie church Couetise and vnkyndnesse / Cardynalls him to lede Therfor quod Grace ere I go / I will giue you treasure And wepen to fight with / when Antechrist you assayle And gyueyaf eche man a grace / to ruleguyeguyde with himself That ydelnesse encombre him not / Envie nor pride / Diuisiones graciarum multeom. sunt&c / Toom. some he gaf wit / with wordes to shewe WittWitt: There is a stray loop of an ascender in this word. to get lyvingwynne hire liflodelyving: Rendering liflode, a word retained by S prior to passus 15. Treatment then varies until, in this line, the translator hits on lyving, the rendering given in all remaining instances. with / as the worlde asketh As prechours and preestes / and prentises of lawe They trulylelly to lyve / by labour of tong And by wit to lernewissen other / as grace them wold teache And some he taughtkenned craft / and konnyng of sight with bying and sellingtransp. / their lyvingliflodebilyue to gettwynne And some he lernedlered to labour / a goodlele life andand a true And some he taught to tille groundom. / to diche and to thatch To wynne ther livingwith hire liflode / by lore of his teaching SomeAnd some to divyne and divide / nombres to knowekenne SCr omit KD.19.241 (=Bx.19.247), probably by eyeskip on anaphoric And some in the anterior copy, though M has this line.And some to se andand to saye / what shuld befall Both of well andand of wo / tell it or it fell As Astronomiersastronomyens through Astronomye / & philosophers wise And some to ride and to recouer / that vnrightfully was gettwonnen He taughtwissed them to getwynnento wynne it agayn / through wightnesse of handes And fech it from false men / with foulesfolvilesfoule iuelsfoules: Rendering Folviles, for which see Barney, Penn Comm., p. 144. The reference also stumped Crowley. lawes And some lernedhe leredhe lerned to lyue / in longing to be hens In pouertie andand in penaunce / to pray for all xpcristen And all he lernedlered to be truelele / and euery manech a craft loue other And forbad them all debate / þat non were among them Though some be clenner then some / ye se well quod grace That he þat vse the fairest craft / to þe foulest I could haue put him Think all quod grace / that grace commeth of my gift Loke that non Lacke other / but loue all as bretherne And who þat most maistries can / be gentillestmyldest of bearing And croune Conscience king / and make connyngcraft your styward And after hiscraftes counseile / clothe you and fede youom. For I make piers the plowman / my proctourprocuratour and my Reve And Regester to receyue / Redde quod debes / My prowour and my plowman / Piers shalbeshall be on erthe And for to tylle truthe / A teame shall he haue Grace gaf piers a teame / foure great oxen TheThat one was Luke a large beast / and a lowe chered And Mark / and Mathue the third / mightie beastes bothe And Ioyned to them one Iohan / most gentill of all The price nete of piers plowgh / passing all other And Grace gaf piers / of his goodnesse four bullockesstottes All that his oxen eried / they to harowe it after / One hight Augustine / and Ambrose another Gregory the great clerk / and Ierome the good Thise foure the feith to teache / foloweth piers teame And harowed in an handwhile / all holie scripture With too harowes that they had / an old and a newe VetusId est vetus testamentum et Nouum / Grace alsoAnd grace gaf greynes / the CardinallesCardynal vertues And sewe it in mannes soule / and told thenand siþen he tooldeand syþþe tolde their names Spiritus prudencie / the first sede hight And who-so etethete that / ymagyn he shuld Ere he did any thingdededeeþ / devise well the ende And lerned men a ladell to byebiggebe / with a long steall That cast for to kepe a crocke / to saue the fat aboue The second sede hight / Spiritus temperantie He that ete of that sede / had such a kynde Shuld neuer meat nor much drink / make him to swelle Nor noshulde no skorner nor scolde / out of skille him bring Nor wynnyng nor welth / of worldely richesse Wast worde of ydelnesse / nor wicked speche moue Shuld no curious clothe / come on his backerugge Nor no meate in his mouthe / þat Maister Iohan spiced The third sede that piers sewe / was Spiritus fortitudinis And who-so ete of that sede / hardie was euer To suffre all þat god sent / sikenes orand Angres Myght no leasinges nor lyer / nor losse of catellworldly catel Make him for any mournyng / but to beþat he nas mery in soule And bold and abiding / all troublesbismersall troubles: Rendering bismares 'humiliations'. Compare S.5.89. to suffre Y 4 Pleying ayAnd pleieþ al with pacience / and Parce mihi domine And couerethcouered him vnder counseile / of Cato the wise Esto animo fortitransp. cum sis damnatus inique The fourth sede þat piers sewe / was Spiritus iusticie And he that ete of that sede / shuld be euer true / with god and not agast / but of gyle onelieoone For gyle gothe so privilie / that good feith otherwhilesoþur-while MaynotMay not be espied / for Spiritus iusticie / Spiritus Iusticie / Spareth not to spille Them that are giltie / and fortofor to correct The kyng if he fall / in gilt or in trespasse for counteth he no kinges wrathe / when he in court sitteth To deme as a domesman / aferda-dred was he neuer Neither of duke orne ofnor of death / that he ne did lawe For presentespresent oror forne for prayerspreiere / or any princes letters He dothdide equitie to all / euen foreuene-forth his poure Thise foure sedes Piers sewe / and sith he did them harowe With old and new lawe / that loue might waxe Among the foure vertues / and vices destroy For comonlie in countries / Cammokes and wedes Fowleth the fruyt in the feeld / there they growe togethers And so do vices / vertues worthy Harrowe all þat haue wit quod persQuod piers harweþ alle þat konneþ kynde wit / by counseile of graceþise doctoursþese fowr doctoursgrace: Rendering these doctours. S suppresses reference to the doctors of the Church. The singular pronoun in the next line, below, harmonizes with this change. And tille after hishire teaching / the cardinall vertues Agaynst thy graynes quod Grace / begynne tofor to ripe Ordeyne the an househous quod piershous Piershouse: S omits the inapt speech tag quod piers, transmitted at this location in CrML. BTP plausibly conjecture that the archetype read Piers, in direct address. The CrML reading probably arose in beta, by attraction to surrounding copy. WHm restored the archetypal reading; S, joining beta4, dropped the senseless phrase. / to layherberwe in thy cornecornes By god grace quod piers / you must gyue tymber And ordeyne that house / ere ye hens wende And grace gaf him the crosse / with þe croune of thorneþornes That Christ vpon Calvarie / for mankynd peynedon pyned And of his Baptisme and blood / þat he bled on theom. rood He made aa manere morter / and mercie it hight And therwith grace began / to make a foundaciongood foundement And strongly walledwalled it and wattledewatlede it and walled it / with his peynes andand his passion And of all holy writ / he made a roof after And callid þat house vnitie / holy church inon englishe And whan this dede was done / grace devised A Cart hight xpcristendome / to cary piers cornesheues And gaf him caples to his cart / Contricion & confession And made preesthood heyward / whillþe whileþerwhile himself went As wide as the world is / with piers to tille truthe Nowe is piers to the plowgh / and pride it espied And gathered him a great hoost / to hurt him soregreuen he thinkethgreue him he thinketh Conscience and all xpcristen / and allom. cardinall vertues Blowe them doune and breake them / and bight atoo the mores And sent forth Surquidous / his sergeant of Armes And his spie spill loue / one speke euill behinde These too cam to Conscience / and to xpcristen people And tolde him tydinges / þat they shuld losetyne þei shulde the sedes That piers there had sowne / the cardinall vertues And Piers berne wasworthwere broke / and they that be in vnytie Shall come out and Conscience / and your ijtwo caples Confession and Contricion / and your cart theybeleuethey beleueþe bileue ShalbeShall be coloured so queyntly / and couered vnder our Sophistrie That Conscience shall not knowe / by Contricion Nor by Confession / who is xpcristen orneor: S agrees with most copies except CrM, which read ne, a word always revised out in S. The usual reflex of ne (conj.) is nor, but compare S.3.275, where or corresponds to ne in other copies. hethen Nor no manere marchaunt / þat with money deleth Whether he wynne with right / with wrong or with vsurie With such coloures and couetisequeyntise / commeth pride armed With the lorde that liveth / after þe lust of his body To wast on welfare / and on wicked keping All the world in a while / through our wit andquod pride Quod Conscience to all xpcristen then / my conseile is to wende Hastely into vnitie / and hold we vs there And pray we that a peace were / in piers berne the plowman For surelywitturly I wot well / we be not of strength To go Against pride / but grace bewere with vs And than cam kynd wytt / Conscience to teache And cried and commanded / toom. all xpcristen people For to delue anda diche / depe about vnytie That the churchholychurche stode in vnytie / as it a pile were Conscience commanded then / xpcristenalle cristene to delue And make a greatmuche moot / that might be a strength To helpe holy church / and them that it kepe Than all manerealkynne xpcristen / saue commone women Repented and refused /Other copies punctuate after synne, correctly. synne saue they onelyoone And false men flaterers / vsurers and theves Lyers and questmongers / þat beweren forsworne ofte WitinglyWytynge and willfully / with the false that holdhelden And for siluer forswornewere forswore / sothely they knowingwiste it There was no xpcristen creature / þat kynd wit had Saue shrewes onlyone / such as I spake of but heThat he ne holpe somethinga quantitesomething: Rendering a quantite 'appreciably' (Kane). S's adverbial usage is recorded by OED in sixteenth-century sources. / holynesse to growewexe Some through prayingbedes biddyngepraying: Rendering bedes biddynge. S suppresses a reference to praying the rosary. / and some through pilgrimage And other privie peynespenaunces / and some through pens dealing And then welled water / for wicked workes Egrely rennyngernynge / out of mennes eyen Cylennesse of the commonscomune / and clerkes clene lyving Made vnytie holy church / in holynes to stond I carenotcare not quod Conscience / though pryde come nowenouþe z The Lorde of lust shalbeshall be letted / all this lent I hope Come quod Conscience / ye xpcristen and dyne That haue labored trulylelly / all this lent tyme Here is bread blissed / and goddes body vnderþere-vndur Grace through goddes worde / gaf piers powre And mightMightes to make it / and men to eat yt after In helpe of their helthehele / ones in a moneth Or as oftofte as they hauehadden nede / they that had paid To piers pardon the plowman / Redde quod debes WhowhowWhow: Probably the interjection (OED how int.1, recording sixteenth-century spellings in w-). The spelling occurs in S only here. How, the spelling of other copies, is treated by Kane as a special usage of the interrogative adv. / quod all the commonscomune / þou counseilest vs to yeld All that we owe anymanany manany wight / ere we go to howsell That is my counseile quod Conscience / and CardinallsCardinalecardial vertues That eueryecheech aeuery: Probably rendering ech, the reading of CrW and M before correction. Hm and corrected M have ech a, probably by convergent variation. (Hm similarly varies to eche a at KD.19.457 and KD.20.92 and in the opposite direction at KD.20.56.) Euery is S's usual reflex of both ech and eche a: compare the S variants at, for instance, S.17.103 and S.17.267. man forgyue other / and þat will pater nosterþe pater-noster Et dimitte nobis debita nostra &c And so to be assoiled / and thensithensiþþen ben howselld Yea baw quod a brewer / I wilnotwill not be ruled By IhusIesus for all your iangling / ofwiþ Spiritus iusticie Nor after Conscience by Christ / whill I can selle Bothe dregges and draff / and drawe it at one hoole Thick ale and thyne ale / for þat is my kynde And not hacke after holinesse / hold thy tong Conscience Of Spiritus iusticie / thou spekest much in veyneon ydelyn ydel Caytif quod Conscience / cursed wreche alsoom. Vnblessed art þou brewer / but if the god helpe for onlesseButBut if thou lyve by lore / of Spiritus iusticie The chief sede that piers sewe / saued shalt þou beworstow neuer But conscience the commonscomune fede / & cardinallscardinal vertues TrustLeue itLeue well they be lost / both lyfe and soule Than is many a man lost / quod a lewd vicarevicory ThatIAnd am a curatecuratour of holy churchholykyrke / & cam neuer in my tyme AnyManMen to me thatþat meom. coulde telle / of cardynallscardinal vertues Or þat acounted conscience / at a cockes fether oror an hennes I knewe neuer Cardinall / But þatþat he ne cam from the Pope And fewe vertues be there / or elles nonThis line is unique to S. WeAnd we clerkes when they come / for their commons paye For their furrespelurespelure andand hire palfreyes mete / and pillours þat them folowe The commonscomune Clamat cotidie / eueryech a man to other The countrey is the curseder / þat cardinalls come in And there they ly and bydelenge / most lecherie regnethþer regneth Therfor quod this vicarvicory / by veray god I wold That no Cardinall come / Among the common people But in ther holynesse / heldholden them stille At Auyon Among the Iewes / Cum sancto sanctus eris Or in Rome as theyr rule iswolewellwolde / þe reliques forom. to kepe And thou Conscience in kinges court / & neuer toshuldest neuere come thens And grace that thou speakestgredest so of / guydergyour of all clerkes And piers with his new plowe / and eke with his old Emperoure of all the world / þat all men were xpcristen Inperfite is that pope / þat all the woldewo[r]ldepeple shuld helpe And send them that fsleith such / as he shuld saue And well worth piers the plowman / þat pursueth god in doing Qui pluit super iustos et iniustos at ones And sent the sonne / to saue a cursed mannes tylth As bright as to the best man / orand to the best woman Right so piers the plowman / peyneth him to tylle As well for a wastour / and wenches of the stewes As for himself andand his seruauntes / saue he is first serued And travaileth and tilleth / for a traitour euen asalsoal so sore As for thea true tidie man / all tymes alike WorshippedAnd worsheped be he þat wrought all / both good and euyllwykke And suffreth theþat synfull lyuebe / till sometyme þat they repent And god Amende the pope / þat pilleth holie churchholy kyrke And claymeth before the king / to be keper ofouer xpcristen And passethcounteþpasseth: 'cares', a sense recorded by OED mostly from the middle and second half of the sixteenth century (s.v. pass (v.), sense XI.51). Sx read counteþ. not though xpcristen be / killed and robbed And fynd folk to fight / and xpcristen folkeblood to spille Against both oldþolde lawe and new lawe / as Luke witnessethþere-of wytnesseþ Non occides , michi vindictam et ego retribuam& cetera It semeth that incasein caseby so / himself had his will That he carethreccheþ right nought / of all the remenaunt And Christ of his curtesie / the Cardinalles saue And turne their wit to wisdome / and to welthwele of soule For the commonsComune quod this Curatecuratour / counte full litell The counseile of Conscience / or Cardinallescardinale vertues But if they perceyueseie as by sighte / to haue somesomwhat to vwynnyng Of gyle nor of lyenggabbynge / passe they not at allgif þey neuere talegiue thou neuer tale For Spiritus prudentie / Among the people is gyle And all theþo foule vices / as vertuesfaire vertues . as vices they semesemede Eche man soteleth a sleight / synne for to hyde And coloureth it for a connyng / and a clene lyving Then lough there a lorde / and by theþis light said I hold it right and reason / of my Reue to take All þat myn Auditor / orellesor elles my Stiward Counseileth me by their Acomptesacounteline om. / and my clerkes writing With Spiritus intellectus / they seke the Reves rolles And with Spiritus fortitudinis / fech it they willI woleI wole afterwholeline om. And then cam there a king / and by his croune said I am aom. king with croune / the commonsComune to rule And holy churchkyrke and clergie / from cursed men to defend And if me likelakkeþ to liue / by the lawe will I take itAnd if me like...will I take it: Rendering And if me lakkeþ to lyue by . þe lawe wole I take it, "And if I lack that by which to live, the law wills that I take it". S changes the syntax by moving punctuation, converting wole into an auxiliary. Note also the lexical substitution in the a-verse. / There I may easeliesthastlokestmoost hastely come by itit hauerewritten / for I am head of theom. lawe For you be But membres / and I aboue all And sithe I am youryoure aller head / I am your heale alsoaller hele And holy churches chief helpe / and cheftayne of the commonscomune And what I take of you two / I take it ofat the teaching Of Spiritus iusticie / for I iudge you all So may Itransp. boldelie be howsled / for I borowe neuer Nor craue of anymy commonsComune / But as my kynde asketh In condicion quod Conscience / þat þou can defende And rule thy realme byinand reason / as right willriȝt welyn rygth and truthe Take thou mightmaymight: SCrHm, replacing may, the beta reading. in reason / as thy lawe askethe Omnia tua sunt ad defendendum , sed non ad depredandum / The vicar had fer home / and faire heom. toke his leue And I wakedawaked therwith / and writ as I dremedme metteme thouȝte Passus xxusvicesimus et Vltimus Then Ias I went by the waie / when I was awakedþus awaked Heauy chered I wentyede / and sorowfullelenge in hart I ne wist where to eate / nor at what place / And it dreweneiȝed nereneiȝe þener þe none / and with nede I met That afrounted me foule / and faitour me called Canst thou not excuse the / as did the king and other That þou toke to thy beleuebiliuebeleue: S joins CrHm, probably by convergent variation. Context requires biliue 'subsistence', as in MW. The word was already obsolescent in the fourteenth century and probably appeared in Sx only here. An earlier instance (Bx.19.241 = S.19.236) suffered replacement by liflode in the common ancestor of SCrM. See BTP nn. to that line and this one. Other instances in the Athlone B Version are conjectural emendations. / to clothes andand to sustinance As by teching andand by telling / of Spiritus temperancie And thou tokestnome nomoreno more / than nede the taught And nede hathe no lawe / nor neuer shall fall in dett For theþrethe: An error for þre. thinges he take / his life tofor to saue That is meat when men forbidhym werneth / having no moneyand he no moneye weldeþ Nor nomanno manwight noonwight þat wilbewill be his suretieborwe / nor he hath no gagene wed haþ non to legge& hath no wed to ligge And he caught in that case / and get itcome þerto by sleightessleighte He synneth not sothelie / þat so wynneth his food And he commethþouȝ he comeþouȝ he cam so to a clothe / and knowethkanne no better waiecheuysauncewaie: Rendering cheuysaunce. Nede anon right / takethnymeþwinneth him vnder maynpryse And if he lusthim lyst forhym lust forrewritten to drinklapelaye / the lawe of kynd wold That he dronk at eueryecheech a diche / ere he died for the thurstfor thurst deyde So nede at great nede / may takenymen as for his oune Without counseile of Conscience / or Cardinallescardynale Vertues So that he sue and saue / Spiritus temperancie / For thereom. is no vertue likeby fer / to Spiritus temperancie Neither Spiritus fortitudinis / nor Spiritus iusticietransp. / For Spiritus fortitudinis / forfetteth full ofte He shall do more then measure / many tyme and oft And beat men ouersoreouer bittreouer bytterly / and some of them to littill And greueth men moregrettergretly · more / then good feithe it wolde And Spiritus iusticie / shall iuge will he or notnel he After the kinges counseile / and the commonsComune like And Spiritus prudencie / in many poyntesa point shall faile Of that he thinkes shuldweneþ wolde fall / if his wit were not Wenyng is no wisdome / nor wise ymaginacion Homo proponit etom. deus disponit / & gouerneth all good vertues But nede is next him / for anon he meketh himom. And as lowe as a lambe / for lacking of þat hehym nedeth Wise men forsoke welthwelewelth: Rendering wele, the beta reading. S independently restores the presumed reading of Bx. See BTP ad loc. / forthatfor thatfor they wolde be nedy And dweltwonedenweneden in wildernesse / and wolde not be riche And god all his great ioye / ghoostly he lefte And came and toke mankynde / and became nedie So nedy he was as saith the book / in many sondrie places That he said in his sorowe / euen vpon theon þe selue rood Both fox and foule / may flie /Double punctuation agrees with M. and to hooleto hole and crepe And the fish hath fynne / to swymmeflete with to rest There nede hath takeynomeinnomed me / þat I must nedesnede abide And suffre sorowes full soure / þat shall to ioy turne Therfor be not Abashed / to byde and beto be nedie SCr omit KD.20.49, probably by eyeskip on line-final nedie.ForNe neuer non so nedy / nor poorer dyed Whan nede had thus vndertake mevndurnome me þusvndurnome þusvndone me thus / streighta-noon I felle aslepe And dremedmette ful mervelouslie / that in aom. mannes forme Antechrist came then / and all the croppe of truthe TurnedTurned it vpside dounevpside doune: A modernization of form, for vpso-doun in fifteenth-century copies. See OED s.v. upside down, adv., n., and adj. and MED s.v. up-so-doun adverbial phr. / and ouertilt the rote And false spring and sprede / and spede mennes nedes In eueryech aeche countrey there he came / he cut awaie truthe And madegerte gyle growe there / as he goda godof God were Friers folowed þat feend / for he gaf them coopes And Religiouse reuerenced him / and rong their belles And all the Convent forth came / to welcome þat tyraunt And all his as well as him / saue onely fooles Which Fooles had muchwere wel lever / to die then to live Lenger , sithe leautelentonleaute: S joins Cr1 and corrected Hm, transmitting the presumed reading of Bx, while M and W transmit the beta reading lenton, a manifest error induced by u/n confusion. The distribution of readings is peculiar. Perhaps the common ancestor of SCr1M was corrected (to leute) after use as M's exemplar. Compare S.20.68n. S itself is corrected (the a is entered above the line), perhaps indicating an irregularity in Sx at this location. / was so rebuked And a false feend Antechrist / ouer all menfolk regned AndAnd þat wereSaue þat were mylde men and holie / þat no mischef drede Defyed all falsnesse / and themfolk þat it vsed And what king þat them conforted / knowing them Anywhile They cursed and their counsaile / were it clerk or otherlewede Antechrist had thus sone / hundredes at his banner And pride it bare boldly / about where y he wentwhere he yedeom.where he went: The expected reflex of Cr1 where he yede (see Glossary, s.v. yede v.), yet the SCr1 reading is a unique expansion of a line unusually short in its archetypal form. Several copies, including Hm, add padding earlier in the line. M and W transmit the archetypal text, And pride it bar . boldely aboute. The distribution of readings mirrors that in S.20.61, above, and would be explained if the SCr1 reading originated as a correction, entered into their common ancestor after this copy had been used as M's exemplar. With a lorde þat liveth / after theom. liking of his bodye / .z 3. A later hand has written an M and "M(aste)r Tomas" lengthwise in the left margin of the folio. Additionally, there is a smudged letter, possibly another M, to the left of the name, as well as a cropped letter above and to the right. That came Against Conscience / þat keper was and guyour Ouer the true xpcristianskynde Cristene / And Cardinall vertues I counseile quod ConscienceConscience þo / come with meme ye fooles Into vnytie holy churche / and hold we vs there And crie we to kynde / þat he come and defende vs Fooles from thise feendes lymmes / for Piers loue the plowman And crie we to all the commonscomune / that they come to vnytie And there abyde and bicker / against Belialles childerne Kynde then herd Conscienceconscience þo herde / and cam out of the planettes And sent forth his messengersForreours / Feuers and fluxes Coughes and cardiacles / Crampes and totheaches Reaumes and Radegondes / and roynouse scalles Byles and botches / and brennyng Agues Frenesies and foule euilles / foragers of kynde Had prickesdprickd: The unusual spelling results from scribal self-correction: the d was entered over an erroneous -es abbreviation. and preyed / polles of theom. people That largely a legion / lost their lyveslif sone There was harowe and helpe / here commeth kynde With death that is dreadfull / to vndo vs all The lorde þat lyued after lust / then alowd cried After confort a knight / to bearecome and bere his banner Alarum alarum quod theþat lorde / eche manlif kepe his oune And then met thise men / theiror mynstralles might pype And theyror heraudes atof armes / had discriued lordes AgeElde the hore / he was in the vauntwarde And bar the baner before death / by right he it claymed Kynde came After / with many kene sores As pockes and pestilences / and much people shent So kynde through corupcions / killed full manye Deathe cam driving after / and all to dust passhed Kynges and Kaisers / Knightestransp. and Popes lernedLered andne lewde / he let no man stonde That he hit righteuene / neuerhe neuerþat euererewritten stoodstired afterThat ... stood after: S simplifies syntax. In Bx this line consists of two subordinate clauses dependent on the line above: he left no man stonde / That he hitte euene · þat euere stired after, i.e., "Death left no man to stand (among those whom he hit squarely) who ever stirred afterwards." As rewritten in S (and, independently, in Cr) the syntactic linkage is severed and the lines are end-stopped. Right is S's usual rendering of adverbial euene. The reading stood derives from the common ancestor of SCrM, where miswriting was induced by attraction to previous copy (supplanting archetypal stired). Many a louelie ladie / and lemmans of knightes Swowned and swelt / for sorowe of dethes dyntes Conscience of his curtesie / kyndeto kynde he besought To cesse and suffre / and se ifwherewheþer they wold Leaue pride prively / and be perfite xpcristianscristene And kynde cessed then / to se the people amend Fortune gan flatter then / theþo fewe that Lyvedweren alyueweren on lyue And behight them long lyfe / and lechery shehe sent Among allalle manere men / wedded and othervnwedded S uniquely omits KD.20.113 (Bx.20.113).This Lecherie laid on / with a Laughing chere And with aom. privie speche / and peynted wordes And armed him in ydelnes / and in hygh bering He bare a bowe in his hand / and many bloody arrowes Were fethered with faire promisebiheste / and many a false truthe WithWiþ hisWith: Rendering Wiþ his. S independently restores the presumed reading of Bx. vntidie tales / he tened full ofte Conscience and his companye / of holie church þe teachers Than came Couetise / and kest how he might Ouercome Conscience / and Cardinall vertues And armed him in Avarice / and hungrely lyved His wepon was all wiles / to wynne & to hide With glosinges andand withand: S rejoins Bx by convergent variation. Other beta copies have and with. lyingesgabbyngesglabbinges / he begyledgiled the people Symony him sent / to assaile Conscience And preached to the people / and prelates theyþei hem made To hold with Antechrist / their temporalties to saue And came to the kinges counsell / as a kene baron And kneled to Conscience / in court amongafore them all And madegarte good faith flee / and false to abide And boldely bare douneadoun / with many a bright noble Much of the wit and wisdome / of westmynstre hall He iugged tilliustled tyllIogged toiuged toiugged till: S and M retain a difficult Bx reading, though W Iogged and Hm iuged are perhaps only spelling variants. The sense is uncertain: see BTP ad loc. a Iustice / and iusted in his ere And ouertild all his truthe / with take this vponvp a-mendement And to the ArchesseArchesse: 'Arches', though perhaps not so understood. The spelling in -esse is unique to S. in hast / he wentyede anon after And turned Civile into Symonye / & thensith he tooke þe officiall For A mantell of mynyver / he made truelelelelly Matrimony Depart ere deathe cam / and divorse shapt Allas quod Conscience thenþoand cryde þothen: The usual reflex of þo (adv.), the reading of CrM (tho, Cr). / wold Christ of his grace That Couetise were aom. xpcristian / þat is so kene a fyghter And bold and abydingbidyngeabyding: S joins Cr1 and Hm, restoring the presumed reading of Bx. Most beta copies have the aphetic form. / while his bagg lasteth And then loughe lyfe / and lete dagg his clothes And armed him in hast / in harlottes wordes And held holinesse a iape / and gentilnesseheendnesse a wastour And heldleet Leautie a chorle / and lyar a free man Conscience and counseile / he counted a folyit a folyeat folyat a flyea foly: Probably rendering it a folye, the reading of MHm and L. Bx probably lacked the indefinite article: see BTP ad loc. WCr show further variation. Thus relyed Lyfe / for a litill fortune And pricked forth with pride / praisedpreiseþ he no vertue heNeandhe: The beta reading, retained in SCrM. W's Ne restores the presumed reading of Bx; Hm varies independently. passedcareþ not how kynd slewe / and shall come at the last And kille all erthelie creatures / saue conscience onlyoone Lyfe lept aside / and caughtlauȝte him A lemman HelthHele and I quod he / and highnesse of hart Shall do the not drede / neither death nor ageelde And to forget deathesorwe / and passeyeue not of synne This liked lyfe / and his lemman fortune And gett in their glorie / A gadling atat þe last One that muche wo wrought / slouth was his name z 4 Sleuth waxt wonder fastyerne / and sone was of age And wedded won wanhope / a wench of the Stewes Hir fathersire was a Sisour / that neuer swore truthe One Tomme tootong / Atteynt ofat eueryech aech quest This Sleuth was ware of warre / and a slyng made And threwe drede of dispeyre / a doson myle about For care Conscience then / cried vpon ageelde / And bad him hastfonderewritten to fight / and frayafere wanhope And Ageelde hent good hope / and hastelie he shiftt him And wayued awaie wanhope / and with life he fighteth And lyfe fled for fear / to phisick foraftur helpe And besought him ofof hisof: CrM have of his. S reverts to the archetypal reading by convergent variation. succour / and of his salue had And gaf him golde plentiegood woon / &om. that gladed his hart And they gaf him agayne / A glasen howue Lyfe beleuidleued that lechecraft / shuld letttransp. Ageelde And drive awaie deathe / with dyasdyas: The scribe here uses B-shaped s, a form elsewhere restricted to his engrossing script. The initial d could be interpreted as majuscule, as often. / and druggesdraggesdrugges: Rendering dragges, "syrops" (MED draǧǧe n.2). W has the same substitution. And ageelde aventured him on life / and atat þe last he hitt A phisycion withwith a furred hood / that he fell in aþeom.a: S retains or rejoins the archetypal reading, against þe in Cr and corrected M. See BTP ad loc. palsey And there died þat doctor / ere thre daies after Now I se said life / þat Surgery nor phisike May not availe a miȝttransp. / to medle against Ageelde And in hope of his helthhele / good hert he hent And rode so to Revell / A rich place and a merie The company of þatom. confort / men calledcleped it sometyme And ageelde anon after me / and ouer my head hesheom. yede And made me balde before / and bare on the croune So hard went hehe ȝede ouer my head / it wilbewill be sene euer Sir euill taught ageElde quod I / vnhende go with the HowlongHow long hathe thy way beneSiþ whanne was þe wey / ouer mennes heades Haddest þou bene gentillhende quod I / þou woldest haue asked leue Ye leeue lordayn quod he / and laid on me with age And hit me vnder the ere / scacelyvnnethe may I here He buffeted me about the mouthe / and bete out my teth And gyved me in theom. gowtes / I may not go at large And of the wo that I was in / my wyfe had ruthe And wished full earnestlywyterly / that I were in heauen for the lymme that she loued me for / and leef was to fele On nightes namely / when we naked were I might in no manere / make it at hir will So ageElde and she sothely / had forbeaten ittransp.forbeaten it: The SCr order was probably shared by M before correction. WHm transmit the word order of the beta family. See BTP note ad loc. And as I sate in this sorowe / I sesauȝ how kynde passed And death drewe nere me / for drede didgan I quake And cried to kynde / out of care me toom. bring Lo AgeElde the hore / hathe me besettby-seyebyfeye A later hand has written "the" and "lord" nearly lengthwise in the right margin of the folio. Awreke me if your will be / for I wold be hens Yf thou wilt be wroken / wend into vnitie And hold the there euer / till I send for the And loke thou can some craft / ere þou come thens Counseile me Kynd quod I / what craft shall Iis best to lerne lerne to loue quod kynd / and leaueleue ofleaue: SCr revert to the presumed reading of Bx, against leue of in other beta copies. all other how shall I come to goodescatel so / to clothe me andand to fede yfAnd thou loue trulylelly quod he lack shalt þoushal þe neuer Meate nor worthyworldly wede / whill thy life lasteth And there by counsell of Kynde / I begancomsed to roome Through Contricion and Confession / till I came to vnytie And there was Conscience Constable / xpcristianscristene to saue And besyged sothely / with vijseuen great giantes That with Antechrist held / hard against conscience Sleuth waswiþ his slyng / andanand anand: See BTP ad loc. Bx's broken syntax was repaired in the common ancestor of SCrM by reading was in place of archetypal with. The corrected M reading demonstrates consultation of a copy bearing an alternative repair, reading an for Bx and. hard assault madehe made Proude preestes came with him / mo then a thousand In paltockes and picked shoes / and pisserspissers: The letters of this word are blotted; the scribe treats the word as if deleted, for he writes it again immediately after. pissers long knyues Came against Conscience / with Couetise they held By mary quod a madmansed preest / of the marche of yrelond I counte nomoreno more Conscience / so I mayby so I cach syluer Then I do to drink / a draught of good Ale And so said sixtie moreom. / of the same countrie And shet Agayne with shot / many a shef of Arowes othesothes: Before this word the scribe has written, then cancelled, Arowes. The miswriting was probably induced by commonplace collocation or subsequent copy. The correction is in the text ink. And brode hoked Arowes / ofom. goddes hart andand his nayles And had almost vnytie / and holynesse adoune Conscience cried helpe clergie / orellesor elles I fall Through inperfite preestes / and prelates of holy church Friers herd him crye / and cam him to helpe And for they coulde not well ther craft / Conscience forsoke them Nede cameneighed then nere / and conscience he told That they came for couetise / to haue cure of soulesoulessoule: SCr, against the plural in other copies. If SCr retain the reading of their common ancestor, M made the obvious correction. And for they are pouer paraduenture / for patrimony they failehem failithhem failled TheyThey wol flatter to farewell / folke that be riche ButAnd sith they chose chele / and cheitif pouertie Lat them chewe as they chose / and charge them with no cure For ofterlomerlymer he lyeth / that lyvingliflode must begg Thatn he that laboreth for lyvingliflode / and leneth toit beggers And sith friers forsoke / the felicitie of theom. erthe Lat them be as beggers / or lyue by aungelles food Conscience of this counsell then / begancomsed tofor to laugh And curteisly conforted themhimthem: The archetypal reading, retained also in MW; CrHm have the singular pronoun, apparently referring to Need. / and called in all friers SayingAnd saide sires sothely / welcome be ye all To vnitie and holy church / but one thing I you pray Hold you in vnytie / and haue non envie To lernedlered nor to lewde / but liue after your rule And I will be your borrough / you shall haue bread & clothes WithAnd other necessaries ynowe / yeyow shall nonno þing faile SoWith that ye leaue logick / and lerne tofor to loue For loue lefte they lordship / both lond and scole Frier Fraunces and Dominyke / for loue to be holy And if ye covete cure / Kynd will you teche That in measure god made / all manere thinges And set themit at a certeyn / and atom.at: The archetypal reading, retained also in MHm; CrW drop this word. a iustsiker nombre And namednempned names newe / and nombred the sterres Qui numerat multitudinem stellarum et omnibus eis nomina vocateis & cetera& cetera Kinges and knightes / that kepe and defend Haue officers vnder them / and eche of them aom. certeynea certeyne: S joins WHm and corrected M, probably through convergent variation. Cr and original M transmit the archetypal text, lacking the indefinite article. See BTP ad loc. And if they wage men to warre / they wright them in nombre Or theyom. will no treasure them pay / travaile they neuer so sore Forom. all other in bataile / be holden briboures Pillours and pikeharneys / in eueryech a place acursed Monkes and nonnesmonyales / and all men of religion Their ordre andand hire rule woldwole / to haue a certeyn noumbre Of lerned and lewdelered and of lewedlewed and of lered / the lawe will and axeth A certeyn for a certeyne / saue onely of friers Therfor quod Conscience by Christ / Kynd wit me telleth Yt is wicked to wage you / ye growewexe out of noumbre Haue Heauen hath euen nombre / and helle is without nombre Therfor I wold sureliewitterly / that ye were in the RegistersRegistre And your nombre vnder Notaries signe / & neither moremo nor lesse Envie herd this / and badheetom. friers go to scole And lerne logik and lawe / and eke contemplacion And preache men of plato / and proue it by Seneca That all thinges vnder heauen / ought to be in commone And yet he lyeth as I thinkleue / þat to the lewd so preacheth For god made mento men a lawe / and Moises it taught Non concupisces rem proximi tui / And euill is that keptþis y-holdehis holde / in parishes of England For parsons and parishe preestes / þat shuld þe people shryve Bene Curatescuratours called / to knowe and to heale Toom.To: SCr, yielding broken syntax (probably induced by attraction to previous copy). Other copies omit this word. If the SCr reading derives from their common ancestor, M repaired the error, rejoining Bx. all þat bene their parishenes / penaunce to enioyne And shuld be ashamed in their shrifte / but shame maketh them goowendeom.The scribe ran out of space; the last word is entered in the right margin of the line below and partially boxed. And flee to the friers / as folkfals folk to westmynstre That boroweth and bearebereþ it thither / and then bidd freendes ShortlyYerne of forgiuenesse / or lenger yeres lone But whill he is in westminstre / he wilbewill be before And make him merie / with other mennes goodes And so it fareth with manymuche folke / þat toto þeto: S and Cr1 restore the presumed reading of Bx. The beta reading is to þe, with definite article. fryers shryue As Sisours and executores / they will gyue the friers A parcell to pray for them / and make them-self mery With the residue andand þe remenaunt / that other men swet forbyswonkebyswonge And suffre the dead in dett / tillto the daie of dome / Envie herfore hated Conscience And friers to philosophie / he foundefond hemfond þanne to scole The while Couetise and vnkyndnesse / Conscience assailed In vnitie holy churche / Conscience keptheldhealed him And made peace portar / to pynne the gates Of all taletellers / and tutelerstitererstiteleris in vayneydel Ypocrisye and he / an hard assaut they made Ypocrisy at the gate / hard beganganline om. toom.line om. fight And wounded fullwel wickedly / many a wise teacherwise techeresa wise teacher: SCrW, restoring the presumed reading of Bx. Beta dropped the indefinite article; this provoked secondary smoothing in M, Hm, and several beta4 copies, each of which makes the noun phrase plural. That with Conscience Accordid / and Cardinall vertues Conscience called a leche / that coulde well shrive ToGoTo goTo: S and corrected M, in place of the archetype's harder imperative Go (an unmarked switch into direct discourse). W To go likewise turns speech into narration, assimilating this line to surrounding copy. salue them that sike benee / and through synne wounded Shrift madeshoop sharpe salue / and made menhem do penaunce For their misdedes / that they had wroughttransp. And that Piers were paid / Redde quod debes Some liked not this leche / and letters they sent Yf any Surgien were thereþe seggein the segethere: Probably a repair, for beta's unsatisfactory þe segge "the man". Bx in þe sege "among the besiegers" is supported among beta copies by Cr only, perhaps derived from Crowley's C-version manuscript. / that softer coulde plastre Sir lieflyflief: The beta reading, though Hm and Cr1 vary to lyf, the presumed reading of Bx. See BTP ad loc. to lyue in lecherie / lay there gronyngand groned For fasting of a fridaye / he ferd as he wold die There is a Surgen in this siege / that soft can handle And more of phisik he canbi fer / and fairer he plastereth One frier flatterer / is phisicion and Surgen Quod contricion to conscience / Do him come to Vnitie For here is many a man / hurt through ypocrisye We haue no nede quod Conscience / I knowewoot no bettre leche Then parson or parish preest / Penitencer or Bisshope Saue Piers the plowman / þat hathe poure ouer them all And indulgence may do / but if thatom. dett let it I may well suffre saidquod Conscience / sithenssynseingesiþ ye desyre That frier flatterer be fett / Aand phisike you sekesykeA phisike you seke: Apparently "You seek a medicine/physician" (with nom. you) for Bx and phisike ȝow syke ("and treat you sick ones"). The archetypal reading is retained in MW and original Hm. Hm seke (by correction) is probably only an orthographic variant, yet S always spells SICK with an <i> and Cr usually does so. If SCr A originated in their common ancestor, then M corrected the error while SCr adopt seke as a secondary accommodation. The frier herof herd / and hied fullom. fast To a lorde for a letter / leue to haue toom. cure As A curatecuratour he were / and came with his lettres Boldelie to the bisshop / and his brief had In countries there he camecom ynnecame: SW restore the presumed reading of Bx; other beta copies have came in. / Confessions to here And came there Conscience was / & knockid at the gate Peace vnpynned it / þatom. was porter of vnytie And in hast asked / what his will were II: "In"; the spelling is shared by Cr1 and M. feithe quod theþis frier / for profite and for helth SpeakeCarpe wold Itransp. with Contricion / and therfor I cametransp. hither He is sike said peace / and so isare many othera-noþeris many other: S perhaps transmits the reading of the common ancestor of SCrM, in place of archetypal ar many other. CrM regularize to is many an other. ypocrisy hath hurt him / full hard is if heþei skapecoeuereof couer I am a Surgen said the frierseggefrier: S restores the presumed reading of Bx. Other beta copies read segge. / and salues can make Conscience knoweth me well / and what I can do both I pray the quod peace then / ere thou passe further What is thy namehightest þowhattestow / I pray the say vnto mehele nouȝt þy name / & 2 A later hand has written variations of the name Thomas Hewlet lengthwise three times in the left margin of the folio. The first instance is cropped but reads "Tho[mas] hewlett"; the second reads "M(aste)r Tomas hewlet"; the final reads "M(aste)r Tomas". There is additional smudged and cropped writing in the same space. Certes said his felawe / Sire penetrans domos yea go thy gatesgate quod peace / by god for all thy phisike But thou can some craft / thou commest not here in / I knewe suche one ones / not eight yereswynter passed Came in thus Coped / at a court whereþere I dwellid And was my lordes leche / and my ladies bothe And atat þe last this lymytour / whenþo my lorde was out He salued so oure women / thattil some where with child Gentill peas hold thi tongHeende speche heet peesGentill...tong: Rendering Heende speche heet pees. S suppresses the personification Heende speche and recasts narration as direct discourse, spoken by the friar at the gate. See changes in subsequent lines. / andom.to open the gates Lat in meþe frere and myhis felawe / and make vshemhim fair chere YeHe may se and here so it may befall That Lyfe through myhis lore / shall leaue couetise And be aferdadradde of deth / and withdrawe him from pride And accorde with Conscience / and either kissekisse hire eitherkisse either other Thus through Hende specheHende speche: A personification in the received text. In S, a common noun phrase, referring to the speech in preceding lines. See S.20.346n. / entred the frier And came in to Conscience / and curteisly him grete Thou art welcome quod Conscience / canst þou heale the sike Here is my Coson Contricion / sorecontricioun quod conscience . my cosyn wounded Confort him quod Conscience / and take kepe to his sores The plastres of the parson / and powders bight s ouersoreto sooresore He let them Ly ouerlong / and loth is to chaunge them From lent to lent / he lat his plasters bight That is ouerlong quod this lymytour / I trustleue I shall amend it And goeth and gropeth contricion / & gaf him a plastre Of a privie payment / and I shall pray for you Andom. for all that ye be holden to / all my lyfe tyme And make you my lady / in massesmasse and matyns As friers of oure fraternyte / for a litill syluer Thus he goth and gathereth / and gloseth whereþere he shryvet[h] Till Contricion had clene forgotton / to crie andand to wepe And wake for his workeswikked werkes / as he was wont to do For confort of his confessour / Contricion he lostlafte That is the souereynest salue / for all manerkynne synnes Sleuth se that / and so did pride And came with a kene will / Conscience to Assaile Conscience cried outeft / and bad clergie helpehelpe hym And also Contricion / tofor to kepe the gate He lithe and dremeth said peace / and so do many other The frier with his phisik / these folk hath enchaunted And plastred them so easelie / they drede no synne By Christ quod Conscienceconscience þo / I wilbecomewill become a pilgryme And walk as wide / asas al the worlde lasteth To seke piers the plowman / þat pride may destroye And that friers had a fynding / þat for nede flatter And countreplede me Conscience / now kynde me avenge And send me hap and helthhele / till I haue piers þe plowma[n]S omits the last line of the poem, And siþþe he gradde after Grace . til I gan awake. The omission is difficult to explain but greden is a word the translator probably never understood. See Glossary.