The Metrical Life of St. Robert of Knaresborough Together with the other middle English pieces in British Museum MS. Egerton 3143 |
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Tot capita tot sentencie.
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 | The Metrical Life of St. Robert of Knaresborough |  |
Tot capita tot sentencie.
Ilke hede has a sentence sereHow the Order of the Haly Trinite
First begane—here sall ȝe se;
Als I haue herd I vndirtoke,
Bott I haue seyn ytt in nay boke.
Off twa heremites haue I herd
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Off the Haly Gast þai wair inspired,
Bott anely Gode noght þai desyred.
A preciouse purpos ayther toke
And wysely wrayt ytt in a boke;
To the Pape þay putt þat blyssed byll
And he resaued ytt wyth gode wyll.
When he hade þair gud intentt
Wyth thar byll away he wentt,
Prayand God to schewe hym sone
By þat byll what suld be doyne,
And called hys counsayll in this case
To beseke God off hys grace.
Bott aftur what befell
Forre þair prayers sall I tell.
The Pape als he sang messe a-day
Specially for þis case to pray,
Appered ane aungell bryght of ble
And kest a clething att hys kne,
And badde hym take þat clething tyte
Þairin to cleth hym men perfyte.
The Pape doune falland wyth hys handes
Loued our Lord þat hys seruaundes
Sway saues and comforthes ay
And grauntes all þaim þat þai for pray.
He toke this clethinge cleyn and whyte
And þarein cledde þase heremytes tyte,
Badde þaime increse and multyply
Here to lyffe a halely.
Þan þai stepped ouer streme and strand
And releued in the Haly Land;
Cayteffes þat wer chached in care,
Pressed in prisouns, naked and bare,
Plonged in ploghe, in cartt drawand,
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Þan þus began þe ordre fre
That ys off the Haly Trinite.
Detbundon þis order ys to do
On this wise þase cayteffes to,
Thaim to raunsoune and to by
Wyth the third partt off thar tresory.
Nay mair att þis tym kan I say,
Bott wyth all my hertt I pray
To God þat he þaim saue & send
To myrth þat neuer mare sall haue end.
Explicit.
| The Metrical Life of St. Robert of Knaresborough | |