University of Virginia Library

---

290

I. Fer. IV Quat. temp. secundum Lucam. Missus est angelus Gabriel a deo etc.

Fra god was sent ane angel bright—
Gabriel for soth he hight—
To Nazareth a riche cite,
Was in þe land of Galile,
In message til a clene virgin
þat comen was of Dauid kin.
Spowsed was þat mayden bright
Vnto a man þat Joseph hight;
þe maiden name was cald Mary,
Omang all wemen most worthy.

---

291

þe angel come to hir fra heuyn
And said to hir with milde steuyn:
Hail be þou Mari, maiden fre,
Ful of grace, god es with þe!
þou ert blisced in wemen all,
All folk to þe sal socoure call,
And fruit þat of þi wambe sal wende
Sal be blisced withowten ende.
When Mari herd, how þat he saide,
Within hir hert scho wex afraide.
Sho had meruaile, what thing it ment
þat þe angel so to hir was sent,
And in hir hert scho had grete thoght,
Thurgh his wordes what suld be wroght.
þan said þe angel milde of mode
To þe mayden þat so stodiand stode:
Mari, he said, ne drede þe noght,
Of þis bodworde I haue þe broght.
Grace hastow funden in al thing
Onence my lorde of heuyn king.
þou sal consaiue and bere a childe,
And flessheli saltou noght be filde;
A sun þou sal consaiue and bere,
þi maidenhed it sal noght dere;
Jesus sal þou þi sun call,
And sal be sauioure of all;
Heghest goddes sun he sal be cald,
And mighti god sun men sal him hald.
Oure lorde god of graces grete
Thurgh mightes sal him gif þe sete
Of his fader, þe king Dauid,
To gouern his regne in pese and grith
And regne he sal, moste king to neuyn,
Wirshipt of all angels of heuyn;
In mekil might ay sal he lend
In Jacob house withowten end;
Regne he sal in rest and pese,
His regne sothli sal neuer sese,
þan saide Mari with milde mode
Vnto þe angel, þare he stode:

---

292

How suld be done to me þis thing,
Sen I of man had neuer knawing?
When þe angel þir wordes herd,
Vnto þe maiden þus he answerd:
Mari, of me þou haue no drede,
þou sal noght mis þi maidenhede,
þe haligaste of god of might,
Lady, in þe sal he light;
þe vertu of god moste to fele
Sall vmbilap þe ilkadele.
Als minister þus sent am I
Vnto þe fra god almighty,
þe same þat of þe sal be borne
þus has me sent to þe biforne.
etc.

Ecce ancilla domini fiat michi etc.

Lo here goddes handmaiden puruaid,
To me be done als þou has said,

---

293

þe will allane of my lorde dere
Be done to me on al manere!
And when þe aungel þus had done,
To heuyn ogayne he went ful sone,
And blisced Mari þe maiden chaste
Dwelt fulfild of þe hali gaste.

II. In die Epiphanie secundum Matheum Cum natus esset Jesus in Bethleem.

Vbi est qui natus est rex Judeorum? vidimus enim stellam eius etc.

Whare es he þat born es ȝing,
þat of al þe Jewri sal be king?
We saw a taken out of þe est,
He sall be lord of man and best,
For whi þat stern witht bemes brigh
Proues þat he es god of might,
þat es þe cause, whi we þus cum,
For he es born in þis kingdom;

---

294

Oure giftes als to him we bring
To honore him als for oure king;
We sal him gif of oure tresoure
Als till oure god and sauioure.
þus þai spird in þat cete,
In what stede god sun born sul be,
etc.

---

295

Tunc Herodes clam uocatis magis diligenter didicit ab eis tempus stelle.

When Herod by þaire wordes wist
þat þis thing was þus puplist,
His hert rase ful felunsly
Ogayns þe childe with grete enuy,
And in his hert ful fast he thoght,
How þis childe might to ded be broght,
And preuely how it might be
þat nane sold wit bot his menȝe.
Thurght hid malice þus wirk he wald,
þar fore þe kinges ful faire he cald,
Of þam he soght and spied ful ȝerne
þe tyme and þe state of þe sterne,
And preuely of þam he lered,
How þe sterne to þam appered.
And al þe soth when he it knew,
Thurgh karping of þir kinges trew,
Vnto Bedleem sone he þam sent
And said to þam þus, or þai went:
Wendes, he said, sirs, I ȝow pray
And enqueres bisily, if ȝe may,
Al þe condicyouns preuely
Of þe childe þat es so worthi.
For maisters vnto me has talde
þat he sall haue grete welth in walde;
þar fore, when ȝe haue fun þat fre,
Cumes heder ogayn and telles me,
In what stede þat ȝe him find,
þe childe þat so sal lese and bind,
For vnto him þan wend will I
And honore him, als es worthi;
Sen swilk a lord lendes in my land,
Vnto him will I bring offerand.
Bot falshede euer in his hert he thoght,
To sla þe childe, if þat he moght.
þus when þe kinges his wordes herd,
þai toke þaire leue and furth þai ferd.

---

296

þaire signe ful sone rase þam biforn,
þe sterne with light þat þai had lorn;
For fra þai vnto Herod thoght,
In þat sesoun þai saw it noght,
And seþin it rase ogain ful faire
And went byfor þam in þe aire.
With þat light þus war þai led,
Vntill þai come to þe same stede,
Whare childe was, and þan it stode
Obouen þat stede and no fer ȝode.
þe kinges þan war ferly faine,
For þaire light was cumen ogaine,
And mekill mirth in hert þai made,
When þai saw, whare þe stern abade.
þe hows entred þa kinges thre,
Whare simpill hostell was to se.
þai fand þe childe godsun almighty
With his moder milde Mari,
And sune þir kinges of fer cuntrese
Bifor þis childe kneled on þair knese,
With wirchip and deuocion,
þai honord him als goddes sun.
þai opind þaire tresore in þat stede,
And riche giftes to him þai bed,
In þaire offring þare þai did
Gold and ensens and mir þe thrid.
etc.

And when þai had þir dedes done;
þaire waies ogainward went þai sone;
And als þai slepid on þe first night,
To þam aperd ane angell bright.
And warned þam with wordes hende
þat þai suld noght by Herod wende,
Bot hamward tak anoþer strete
And with þat man namore to mete.
þus warned in þaire dreme
þat þai suld wend fro Bedleem,

---

297

And efter þir wordes when þai woke,
Anoþer way hamward þai toke.
So in þaire kingdoms er þai sett,
With Herod þe king namore þai mett.

III. Incipit hic secunda particula euangelii. Ostensio diuinitatis in Christo. In die natali domini euangelium secundum Johannem. In principio erat uerbum etc.

In þe bigining was þe sun,
Euyn with his fader alway to won.
þe sun was at þe bigining
With þe fader to wirk althing,
And mighty god alway was he
Wonand with his fader fre.
þe sun was at þe bigining,
God with þe fader ane in althing,
Thurgh him al thinges in werld er wroght,
And withouten him made es noght.
þe fader þat al may weld and right
With þe sun al ane in might
Made al maner of creatures,
Man and bestes, fowles and flowres;
Al creatures war made of him,
And of his making was no tyme,
And al þat war made with his might
Was in þe werld als verray right.
Al thinges war life thurght his wisdome
þat war ordand efter to com,
Thurght him þai war quik albidene,
Als þai suld efterward be sene.
Criste es life fulfild of might
And to lifand men uerray light;
Als light to þis werld born he es
þat schines ful bright omang mirknes.
Al erthly men mirknes er cald
þat in vnclennes þam wil had,

---

298

Als werldly men of werkes ill
þat lifes ay efter þaire awin will.
Omang slike men god sun decend,
Bot his might moght þai noght comprehend,
For men, þat here in lustes lifes
And to werkes of mirknes þam gifes,
In þam here may þai noght haue
Goddes sun þat cumes man saul to saue.

Fuit homo missus a deo

A man to erth fra god was sent,
Bifor god in his waies he went,
He had vnto name John Baptist,
God sun thurght him to be puplist.
Sent he was þe folk to teche
And Cristes cuming plainly to preche,
To waste in erth þe waies of sin,
Man saul thurgh grace to blis at wyn.
He come bifore forto witnes
þe come of Criste to more and les
And to al men with main and might
To bere witnes of werray light,
So þat all folk thurgh him warnist
Suld trewly trow in Jesu Criste.
John was noght þat light to taste
þat mirknes in þis werld might waste,
Bot he was sent to bere witnes
Of light þat al þis werld suld dress
And þat lightnes of mirknes makes
And lightnes of none oþer takes.
Verray light for suth he es,
þat lightes al men both more and les.
Al men he lightes thurght mightes sere
Born of mankind omang men here,
Noght by engenderure for to taste,
Bot anly of þe haly gaste.
Al thinges cumes of Criste god sun,
Withowten him es noght bigun,
In þis werld for soth was he
Done in mans sight forto se.

---

299

Al þis werld thurgh him was wroght
And fully fowrmid first of noght,
And þe werld þan knew him no thing,
For Jews had of him no knawing.
To his awin proper places he soght;
þai þat was his resayued him noght.
For fless and blude toke Criste mighty
Of þe Jewes progeniy,
Manhede he toke of þaire linage,
þam to bring out of seruage.
He welk and preched omang þe Jews
And schewed omang þam sere uertuse,
And þai wald noght ȝit in him trow
Ne knaw his cumyng for þaire prow.

Quot quot autem receperunt eum, dedit eis potestatem filios dei fieri.

Als many als in þis werld ware,
þat herd his wordes and trowed his lare
And resayued him and knew him euyn
Als god sun sent fro þe fader of heuyn,
Vnto þam gaf he playn powste,
Goddes suns of heuyn þat þai suld be.
þe suns of god so he þam mase
Noght thurgh þaire kind, bot thurght his grace;
Vnto all þa þat in him trowes
And baynly to his bidinges bowes.
Vnto þat grace may no man win
For þe corrupcioun of þaire sin,
Thurgh fless ne blude by day ne night,
Ne thurgh none erthly mans might,
Als men er born here to endure
Of fader and moder engenderure.
þai may noght win it bi slike will
Ne by no werldly werkes ill,
Bot born þai er thurgh cristendom
To mighty god gastly at come,
þat birth es of þe haligaste
Thurgh grace of god of mightes maste.

---

300

In fless and blude made es god sun
Omang vs here in werld to won,
Of him in manhede sight had we
þat in godhede we might noght se,
His ioy we saw ful verrayly
Als anly of god sun almighty,
We se him plainly in ilk place
Fulfild of gudenes and of grace.