University of Virginia Library

[Scene, The road near Emmaus (Emax). Enter two travellers, who meet.]
i Pereg.
That lorde me lente þis liffe for to lede,
In my wayes þou me wisse þus will of wone,
Qwen othir men halfe moste mirthe to þer mede,
Þanne als a mornand manne make I my mone.
For douteles nowe may we drede vs,
Allas! þei haue refte vs oure rede,
With doole haue þei dight hym to dede,
Þat lorde þat was leeffe for to lede vs.

ii Pereg.
He ledde vs full lelly þat lorde, now allas,
Mi lorde for his lewte his liffe has he lorne.

i Pereg.
Saye, who comes þere claterand?

ii Pereg.
Sir, I, Cleophas.
Abide my leffe broþere, to bale am I borne.
But telle me whedir þou bounes?

i Pereg.
To Emax, þis castell beside vs,
Ther may we bothe herber and hyde vs,
Þerfore late vs tarie at no townes.

ii Pereg.
Atte townes for to tarie take we no tent,
But take vs tome at þis tyme to talke of sume tales,
And jangle of þe Jewes and of Jesu so gente,
Howe þei bette þat body was bote of all bales.
With buffetis þei bete hym full barely,
In Sir Cayphas hall garte þei hym call,
And hym be-fore sir Pilate in his hall,
On þe morne þan aftir, full arely.

i Pereg.
Full arely þe juggemen demed hym to dye,
Both prestis and prelatis to Pilate made preysing,
And alls cursid caytiffis and kene on criste gan þei crie,
And on þat lele lorde made many a lesyng.
Þei spitte in his face to dispise hym,
To spoile hym no thyng þei spared hym,
But natheles baynly þei bared hym,
With scourges smertly goyng þei smote hym.

ii Pereg.
Þei smotte hym full smertely þat þe bloode oute braste,
Þat all his hyde in hurth was hastely hidde,
A croune of thorne on his heede full thraly þei thraste,
Itt is grete dole for to deme þe dedis þei hym dide.
With byndyng vn-baynly and betyng,
Þane on his bakke bare he þame by,
A crosse vnto Caluery,
Þat swettyng was swemyed for swetyng.

i Pereg.
For all þe swette þat he swete with swyngis þei hym swang,
And raffe hym full rewfully with rapes on a rode,
Þan heuyd þei hym highly on hight for to hang,
With-outen misse of þis man, þus mensked þei his mode,
Þat euere has bene trewest in trastyng.
Me thynkith myn herte is boune for to breke
Of his pitefull paynes when we here speke,
So frendfull we fonde hym in fraistyng.

ii Pereg.
In frasting we fonde hym full faithfull and free,
And his mynde mente he neuere mysse to no man;
Itt was a sorowe, for-soth, in sight for to see
Whanne þat a spetyffull spere vn-to his harte ranne.
In baill þus his body was beltid,
In to his harte thraly þei thraste,
Whan his piteffull paynes were paste,
Þat swetthyng full swiftely he swelted.

i Pereg.
He sweltid full swithe in swonyng þat swette,
Allas! for þat luffely þat laide is so lowe,
With granyng full grissely on grounde may we grette,
For so comely a corse canne I none knowe.
With dole vnto dede þei did hym
For his wise werkis þat he wrought þame;
Þes false folke whan þei be-þoughte þame,
Þat grette vnkyndynesse þei kidde hym.

ii Pereg.
Vnkyndynesse þei kidde hym, þo caitiffis so kene,
And als vn-witty wightis, wrought þei hym wreke.

[Jesus approaches and joins them.
Jesus.
What are þes meruailes þat ȝe of mene,
And þus mekill mournyng in mynde þat ȝe make,
Walkyng þus wille by þes wayes?

ii Pereg.
Why arte þou a pilgryme, and haste bene
At Jerusalem, and haste þou noght sene
What dole has ben done in þes daies?

Jesus.
In ther daies, dere sir? what dole was þer done?
Of þat werke wolde I witte, and youre will were;
And therfore I pray you telle me now sone,
Was þer any hurlyng in hande? nowe late me here.

i Pereg.
Why herde þou no carpyng nor crying,
Att Jerusalem þer þou haste bene?
Whenne Jesu of Nazarene
Was doulfully dight to þe dying.

ii Pereg.
To þe dying þei dight hym, þat defte was & dere,
Thurgh prokering of princes þat were þer in prees,
For-thy as wightis þat are will þus walke we in were,
For pechyng als pilgrymes þat putte are to pees.
For mornyng of oure maistir þus morne wee,
As wightis þat are wilsome þus walke we,
Of Jesus in telling þus talke we,
Fro townes for takyng þus turne we.

i Pereg.
Þus turne we fro townes, but take we entent
How þei mourthered þat man þat we of mene,
Full rewfully with ropis on rode þei hym rente,
And takkid hym þer-till full tyte in a tene,
Vppe-rightis full rudely þei raised hym;
Þanne myghtely to noye hym withall,
In a mortaise faste lete hym fall,
To pynne hym þei putte hym and peysed hym.

ii Pereg.
Thei peysed hym to pynne hym, þat pereles of pese,
Þus on þat wight þat was wise wroȝt þei grete wondir,
Ȝitt with þat sorowe wolde þei noȝt sesse,
They schogged hym and schotte hym his lymes all in sondir.
His braynes þus brake þei and braste hym,
A blynde knyght, such was his happe,
Inne with a spere-poynte atte þe pappe
To þe harte full thraly he thraste hym.

i Pereg.
Thei thraste hym full thraly, þan was þer no threpyng,
Þus with dole was þat dere vn-to dede dight,
His bak and his body was bolned for betyng,
Itt was, I saie þe for soth, a sorowfull sight.
But oft sithes haue we herde saie,
And we trowe as we herde telle,
That he was to rawsonne I[s]raell;
But nowe is þis þe thirde daye.

ii Pereg.
Þes dayes newe owre wittis are waxen in were,
For some of oure women for certayne þei saide
That þai sawe in þer sightis solas full seere,
Howe all was lemand light wher he was laide.
Þei called vs, as euer myght þei thriffe,
For certayne þei saugh it in sight,
A visioune of aungellis bright,
And tolde þame þer lorde was a-lyue.

i Pereg.
On-lyue tolde þei þat lorde leued hir in lande,
Þer women come lightly to warne, I wene,
Some of oure folke hyed forthe and faste þei it fande,
Þat all was soth þat þei saide þat sight had þei sene.
For lely þei loked þer he laye,
Þei wende þer þat foode to haue fonne,
Þanne was his toumbe tome as a tonne,
Þanne wiste þei þat wight was away.

ii Pereg.
Awaye is þat wight þat wonte was vs for to wisse.

Jesus.

i Pereg.
A! more of þis talking we pray you to telle vs.

ii Pereg.
Ȝa, sir, be youre carping full kyndely we kenne,
Ȝe meene of oure maistir of whome þat we melle vs.

i Pereg.

Jesus.
Ȝis sir, me bus nede.

i Pereg.
Naye, sir, þe nyght is ovir nere.

Jesus.
And I haue ferre for to founde.

ii Pereg.
I hope wele þou has.

i Pereg.
We praye þe sir, hartely, all nyght holde þe here.

Jesus.
I thanke youe of þis kyndinesse ȝe kydde me.

i Pereg.
Go in, sir, sadly, and sone.

[They enter the castle.
ii Pereg.
Sir, daunger dowe noȝt, haue done.

Jesus.

i Pereg.
Lo her is a sege, goode sir, I saie ȝou.

ii Pereg.
With such goode as we haue, glad we oure geste.

i Pereg.
Sir, of þis poure pitaunce take parte now we pray yow.

Jesus.
Nowe blisse I þis brede þat brought is on þe borde,
Fraste þer-on faithfully, my frendis, you to feede.

[Jesus vanishes.
i Pereg.
[To feed þer-on] vnterly haue we tane entent,—
Ow! I trowe some torfoyr is be-tidde vs!
Saie! wher is þis man?

ii Pereg.
Away is he wente,
Right now satte he beside vs!

i Pereg.
Beside vs we both sawe him sitte!
And by no poynte couthe I parceyue hym passe.

ii Pereg.
Nay be þe werkis þat he wrought full wele myght we witte,
Itt was Jesus hym selffe, I wiste who it was.

i Pereg.
Itt was Jesus þus wisely þat wrought,
Þat raised was and rewfully rente on þe rode,
Of bale and of bittirnesse has he vs boght,
Boune was and betyn þat all braste on bloode.

ii Pereg.
All braste on bloode, so sore was he bette,
With þer wickid Jewes þat wrethfull was euere,
With scourges and scharpe thornes on his heede sette,
Suche torfoyr and torment of-telle herde I neuere.

i Pereg.
Of-telle herde I neuere of so pitefull peynes
As suffered oure souerayne, hyngand on highte,
Nowe is he resen with myght and with mayne,
I telle for sikir, we saugh hym in sight.

ii Pereg.
We saugh hym in sight, nowe take we entent,
Be þe brede þat he brake vs so baynly betwene,
Such wondirfull wais as we haue wente
Of Jesus þe gente was neuere none seene.

i Pereg.
Sene was þer neuere so wondirfull werkes,
Be see ne be sande, in þis worlde so wide,
Menskfully in mynde þes materes now merkis,
And preche we it prestly on euery ilke side.

ii Pereg.
On euery ilke side prestely prech it we,
Go we to Jerusaleme þes tydingis to telle,
Oure felawes fro fandyng nowe fraste we,
More of þis mater her may we not melle.

i Pereg.
Here may we notte melle [of] more at þis tyde,
For prossesse of plaies þat precis in plight,
He bringe to his blisse on euery ilke side,
Þat sofferayne lorde þat moste is of myght.