 | The Wheatley Manuscript |  |
III
[HYMN TO ST. JOHN THE BAPTIST.]
1
Blissed be thow, Baptist, borne & forth broghtOf a byrde baran, bales to bete.
Gabriel ful godely to thi fader soght,
And seid to þat semely sawes ful swete.
“Þi wyf schal conceyue a child, doute þe nought,”
Thorgh þe grace of grete God þus he gan hym grete,
“His name schal be calde Ion, take it in thoght;
Many men in his birth with myrthe schul mete.”
With myrthe to mete,
To the soule sete,
Nedeful to neuen,
When we awey wende
Þ[er] we schal long lende,
He bring vs to heuen.
2
Blissed be þou, Baptist, most witty in wone.Was neuer wight in þis worlde more worthi in wede,
Ne neuer body better of blode ne of bone,
But Crist þat for vs his blode wolde blede;
Ne neuer non gretter on ground myght gone,
Ne no man markyd on molde more myghty in mede.
Þow art stalworth in stowre & stedfast als stone;
Stande stifly with vs and neghe vs at nede.
[Þow] neghe vs at nede,
And make vs at spede
16
He bring vs to þat blys
Þer myrthes non mys,
Before his owen face.
3
Blissed be þow, Baptist; whan þou were borne bareOf þat buxum body þat þow with-in bredde,
When þou were comen to þis world & combrid with care
For sorow and for synne þat men were in stede,
For [gamen] to-gedir þei busked hem ful ȝare,
Ful many [burnes] aboute þe þare þ[ei] w[ere] sprede,
Cosyns kyde of þi kyn, þat wist of þi fare,
As þe lawe was in land þider were þei lede.
As thei toke to rede
When þei gan hem lede,
Þai fraynd [a] no[m]e
[Þe] child for t[o] calle;
He wrote to þem alle,
“His name is callid Ioon.”
4
Blissed be þou, Baptist, roser of ryght.When þat me[ns]keful Mary with þi moder mett,
& sche had conceyued Crist þat [maste] is of myght,
Þat swete ful semely here sawes sche sett.
Sche kist here cosyn pertely a-plight,
& thorgh þe grace of here sone ful godely here grett.
Þere sche cawte in clothes þat ilk swete wight,
Þat loutid to Ihesu with-outen any lett.
With-outen any leet,
Men said, or thei mett,
[Þo] f[o]des [vn]-borne.
God kepe vs with wyn
And saue vs fro synne
Þat we be noght lorne.
17
5
Blissed be þou, Baptist, I grete þe with good,Al holy my hert þow hast in þi ho[l]de,
Þow forgoher of Crist þat restid on rood,
Bothe in wele and in wo þou wroght as he wolde.
Þat messager þat tolde Mary with ful mylde mode
Þat Goddes Sone wolde be bourn of þat body bolde,
Þ[at] aungel schewed þanne in þat stede þer þei bothe stode,
& broght worde of þat bright, & trewly þanne tolde.
Trewly he tolde
To þi fader many folde,
And neuend [a] no[m]e.
For he wolde þe aungel noght leue
Ful sore it gan hym greue,
He stode doumbe as ston.
6
Blissed be þou, Baptist, to many folk a frende,Oure iewel of ioy iugged be lawe,
Faythful in frestyng, oure foos fro vs fende,
Solace to the sory, s[e]kir in thy sawe;
S[aghtyng] to synful, socour þow sende
At þe dredeful day whenne bemes schul blowe,
Þou þat mylde Mary helde in hir h[e]nde
First whan þou were born, as clerkes wele knowe.
As clerkes wele knowe,
Þi fader in a throwe
[A poyntil] hade he hent;
Thorgh myracle of þi birthe,
In þat tyme of myrth
His speche was hym sent.
7
Blissed be thow, Baptist, so ware & so wys.In wode and in wildirnesse was þi wonyng;
18
But of camel skyn þow toke þi clothyng.
Hawes þow [hente] and rotes of þe ryse
With borion-and bere in the blomyng,
Hony comes [for] ryche mete,—wanted þe þis;
Folk louely þou lerned vn-to þi lykyng.
Vn-to þi lykyng,
Watir drynkyng,
[Þou] toke it in thoght;
Sydir ne wyne,
Were it neuer so fyne,
Þou neghed it noght.
8
Blissed be þow, Baptist, bothe fer and nere,Dwellyng in deserte with ful gode wille;
Þow baptist Ihesu with-outen any were
In þe flume Iordan, þe faith to fulfille.
F[ro] þe incarnacion the thre[ttethe] ȝere,
As fel on þe twelft day, he peryd [þe tille];
Þe Holy Gost of heuene he come to þe þere,
And as a dowfe on þe he satt þanne ful stille.
He sat on þe ful stille,
As it was his wille;
A voyce sayde in haast,
“Þis is my child
Bothe meke and mylde,
In whom me liketh moost.”
9
Blissed be þou, Baptist, for thi prechyng,Þow profet apertely þe poyntes of pees;
To Herode and Herodias his dere derlyng
Rosones and right þow rekynde on ryse.
Þou sayd ful scharply in þi saiyng,
And stode stedefastly & thoght not to sese,
19
For Philip his brothir wyf þat he to hym chese.
Þe wyf þat he chese,
Sittyng on deyse,
Gretly gan hy[r] greue.
Sche made hir doghter craue
Þi heued for to haue,
And Herod g[rau]nt hy[r] leue.
10
Blissed be þow, Baptist, þi name is ful worthy,It betokenith Goddes grace as clerkes vs [c]lere,
And o[n] many moo maners men may it discry,
Who so wil lufly listen and [l]ere.
Baptist for baptim, so saith þe story,
Of þat worthy wight þat hath no pere;
Prophet and aungel [þow] may be callyd holy,
And lantern of light þat scyneth ful clere.
Þow þat schinest so clere,
Goddes darlyng so dere,
As we in bokes rede,
Seint Ion þe Baptist,
Prey for vs to Crist
Þat heuen be oure mede.
| The Wheatley Manuscript | |