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A Stanzaic Life of Christ

Compiled from Higden's Polychronicon and the Legenda Aurea

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De miraculo Christi & apostolorum vocacione.

After þat Crist thus fulghet was
þe eȝt Ide of Ianuer,
And fulfillid his fastyng has
ffourty dais, as I saide her,
The next pasches after þen suyng
to þe temple come he in hye,
And men þer sellyng & bying
putt hom out apertly,

180

And saide his fadir wonyng
shuld not be hous of marchandye.
the self ȝer, bout lesyng,
Crist cald to hym this company,
Peter & Andrewe eke also,
Philip & Natanaele,
that he ches with hym forto go
from worldes woo to saule hele.
The next ȝer after, as rede I,
Crist turnet water into wyne
the self day of epiphany,
As in his cronicles sais Martyn.
And after that sone, as I rede,
Crist & his chosen meigne
baptiseden, as witnesses Bede,
mich peple in Iudee.
The next pasch þen suyng
Ion þe baptist prisonet was
ffor his fulghing & preching,
And one ȝer ful was in þat plas.
And on that selue pasch day
And Iewes saboth sikerly,
helet Ihesu, soth to say,
A mon þat hade þe parlesy
Biside a fisch-pole, nys no nay,
As specifies þe euangely,
that aght & thritty ȝer so lay
In that seknes with gret any.
And after that þe selue ȝer,
Crist into a hulle he went,
And ther he ches men to hym der,
his twelue apostlis, & hom kent.

181

And Luk witnes bout wer
Bertilmewe & Thomas of Inde
wer that time chosen both in fer,
And to preche sent, as I fynde.
Then after þe thrid pasch day
Ion þe baptist hedet was,
after a fulle ȝer, in gode fay,
Þat he was prisonet in that plas.
In þe epiphany nex tho
God showide a miracle ful apert,
quen with fiue loues & fisches two
he fed fyue thousande in desert.
Quen þat ȝer fully was gone,
bifore þe ferth pasch day,
Crist suffrid deth for vs ichone
on rode tre, that nys no nay.