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The Life of St. George

By Alexander Barclay: Edited by William Nelson

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101

Howe almyghty god sende downe his aungellys to warne Saynt George of his deth / and to conforte hym agaynste the same. Capitulum. xxvi.

After that our lorde / perceyuyd that his knyght
Inough had suffred / of paynes and tourment
And longe ynough / contynued in fyght
By paynes to purchace / the pleasour permanent
As worthy the royalme / aboue the fyrmament
He sayde / goo aungels / goo mete ye hastely
With this holy soule: with ioy and melody
Shewe hym the conflyct / of his last batayle
Be ye as wytnes: of his last victory
Whan bodely deth / agayne hym shall preuayle
Conduct ye hys soule / vnto eternall glory
Reward for men leuynge / pleasours transytory
The heuynly aungelles / meke and obedyent
The wyll fulfullyd / of god omnypotent
Now was clere phebus / entred in the bull
And ver was entred / with his fresshe verdure
The ayre clere shyned / gone was the wynter dull
The medowys smyled / renewed was nature
Whan holy george / in fylth and vyle ordure
Lay in depe dongyon fast bound in chaynes stronge
For god he countyd / no payne / nor tyme to longe
Anon the aungels / apered to the knyght
The pryson brethyd / celestyall odour
At theyr fyrst comynge / the pryson shone more bryght
Than phebus beamys agaynst a gyltyd tour
No erthly splendour / no smell of erbe nor flour
Of bawme or spycys / or smell aromatyke
To this heuynly lyght / and plesant smell / was lyke

102

The knyght abasshed / at this bryghtnes sodayne
But sone the aungels / his fayntnesse dyd represse
And with these wordys / confortyd hym agayne
Sainge in this wyse / hayle floure of worthynes
Hayle floure of knyghthod / and manly doughtynes
The scourge of tyrantys / of ydollys conquerour
To all thy nacyon / perpetuall honour
God the sulutyth / so doth hys sayntys all
To morowe shall ende / thy paynes & tourment
To morowe shal thy sowle / in lyght celestyall
Haue heuynly ioy / aboue the firmament
Record and witnes / is god omnypotent
And record is all / the heuynly company
That vnto this tyme / thou hast done valyantly
Hytherto thou hast / behauyd the in fyght
Perseuerantly / without all fere and drede
Despysynge paynes / as goddys faythfull knyght
One day remayneth / for the to haue thy mede
Haue done take confort / ioy shall thy payne succede
Byde thys laste tourment / with pacyence boldly
On the last conflict / euer is the victory
All thynge is prouyd / and tryed at the last
Whan the ende is good / than all is fortunate
One hour makyth happy / all the labour past
Fere nat lyst stronge payne / thy strength myght fatigate
by vs shall thy tourment / be greatly breuyate
We shall the confort / thoughe greuous be thy payne
Abasshe nat / therby / thou blys shalt obtayne

103

No precyous iowell / is boght for thynge of nought
None for small valour / can bye great marchaundyse
By rest nor pleasour / no more can heuyn be bought
Thou shalt it purchace / thy blode shalbe the pryse
To strenght by confort / let now thy hart aryse
In peas and conflict / we shalbe by thy syde
And we at the last / to heuyn shall the gyde
With suche swete confort / indurynge all the nyght
The aungels strengthed / our lordys champyon
Tyll on the morowe / the son shone clere & bryght
The knyght was called / before the kyngys trone
Of mynde assured / for peryll drad he none
The Iuge and comons there standynge in presence
Agaynst saynt George / was gyuyn this sentence
Fyrst to be drawen / through stretys of the towne
With bullys sauage / enragynge furyously
Tyll his ioyntys / were: dyssoluyd and vndone
And after that / to be: behedyd fynally
The iugement was / fulfylled by and by
But whan he was com / vnto execucyon
Thus vnto our lord / he made his oryson
O god almyghty / chefe fountayne of goodnes
Grauut all thy seruauntys / greuyd in any payne
To fynde thy socoure / and helpe in theyr dystres
So that none may call / for helpe to me in vayne
God herd his prayer / A voyce than soundyd playne
Come holy george / for thy petycyon
Is herde of god / and grauntyd is thy bown