Chapter VIII: Part 8

15. _Belsabub._ Sir Sattanne, sen we here þe
saie
Þat þou and _þ_e Iewes wer same assente, 170
And wotte he wanne Laȝar awaye,
Þat tille vs was tane for to tente,
Trowe þou þat þou marre hym maye
To mustir myghtis, what he has mente?
If he nowe depriue vs of oure praye, 175
We will ȝe witte whanne þei are wente.
_Sattan._ I bidde ȝou be noȝt abasshed,
But boldely make youe boune
With toles þat ȝe on traste,
And dynge þat dastard doune. 180

16. _Iesus [Without]._ _Principes, portas
tollite_,
Vndo youre ȝatis, ȝe princis of pryde,
_Et introibit rex glorie_,
Þe kyng of blisse comes in þis tyde.
[_Enters the gates of Hell._
_Sattan._ Owte! harrowe <what harlot> is hee 185
Þat sais his kyngdome schall be cryed?
_Dauid [in Limbo]._ Þat may þou in my Sawter see
For þat poynte _I_ prophicie<d>.
I saide þat he schuld breke
Youre barres and bandis by name, 190
And on youre werkis take wreke;
Nowe schalle ȝe see þe same.

17. _Iesus._ Þis steede schall stonde no lenger
stoken;
Opynne vppe, and latte my pepul passe!
_Diabolus._ Owte! beholdes, oure baill is
brokynne, 195
And brosten are alle oure bandis of bras.
Telle Lucifer alle is vnlokynne.
_Belsabub._ What þanne, is Lymbus lorne? allas!
Garre Satan helpe þat we wer wroken;
Þis werke is werse þanne euere it was. 200
_Sattan._ I badde ȝe schulde be boune
If he made maistries more;
Do dynge þat dastard doune,
And sette hym sadde and sore.

18. _Belsabub._ Ȝa, sette hym sore, þat is
sone saide, 205
But come þiselffe and serue hym soo;
We may not bide his bittir braide,
He wille vs marre and we wer moo.
_Sattan._ What! faitours, wherfore are ȝe
ferde?
Haue ȝe no force to flitte hym froo? 210
Belyue loke þat my gere be grathed,
Miselffe schall to þat gedlyng goo.
[_To Iesus._] Howe! belamy, abide,
With al thy booste and bere,
And telle to me þis tyde, 215
What maistries makes þou here?

19. _Iesus._ I make no maistries but for myne,
Þame wolle I saue, I telle þe nowe;
Þou hadde no poure þame to pyne,
But as my prisoune for þer prowe 220
Here haue þei soiorned, noght as thyne,
But in thy warde, þou wote wele howe.
_Sattan._ And what deuel haste þou done ay syne,
Þat neuer wolde negh þame nere, or nowe?
_Iesus._ Nowe is þe tyme certayne 225
Mi Fadir ordand before
Þat they schulde passe fro payne,
And wonne in mirthe euer more.

20. _Sattan._ Thy fadir knewe I wele be sight,
He was a write his mette to wynne, 230
And Marie me menys þi modir hight,
Þe vttiremeste ende of all þi kynne.
Who made þe be so mekill of myght?
_Iesus._ Þou wikid feende, latte be thy dynne!
Mi Fadir wonnys in heuen on hight, 235
With blisse þat schall neuere blynne.
I am His awne sone,
His forward to fulfille;
And same ay schall we wonne,
And sundir whan we wolle. 240

21. _Sattan._ God<ys> sonne! þanne schulde þou
be ful gladde,
Aftir no catel neyd thowe craue!
But þou has leued ay like a ladde,
And in sorowe, as a symple knaue.
_Iesus._ Þat was for hartely loue I hadde 245
Vnto mannis soule, it for to saue;
And for to make þe mased and madde,
And by þat resoune þus dewly to haue
Mi godhede here, I hidde
In Marie modir myne, 250
For it schulde noȝt be kidde
To þe, nor to none of thyne.

22. _Sattan._ A! þis wolde I were tolde in ilke
a toune.
So, sen þou sais God is thy sire,
I schall þe proue, be right resoune, 255
Þou motes His men into þe myre.
To breke His bidding were þei boune,
And, for they did at my desire,
Fro Paradise He putte þame doune
In helle here to haue þer hyre. 260
And thyselfe, day and nyght,
Has taught al men emang
To do resoune and right,
And here werkis þou all wrang.

23. _Iesus._ I wirke noght wrang, þat schal
þow witte, 265
If I my men fro woo will wynne;
Mi prophetis playnly prechid it,
All þis note þat nowe begynne.
Þai saide þat I schulde be obitte,
To hell þat I schulde entre in, 270
And saue my seruauntis fro þat pitte,
Wher dampned saulis schall sitte for synne.
And ilke trewe prophettis tale
Muste be fulfillid in mee;
I haue þame boughte with bale, 275
And in blisse schal þei be.

24. _Sattan._ Nowe sen þe liste allegge þe lawes,
Þou schalte be atteynted, or we twynne,
For þo þat þou to wittenesse drawes
Full even agaynste þe will begynne. 280
Salamon saide in his sawes
Þat whoso enteres helle withynne
Shall neuer come oute, þus clerkis knawes,
And þerfore, felowe, leue þi dynne.
Iob, þi seruaunte, also 285
Þus in his tyme gune telle,
Þat nowthir frende nor foo
Shulde fynde reles in helle.

25. _Iesus._ He saide full soth, þat schall
þou see,
Þat in helle may be no reles, 290
But of þat place þan preched he
Where synffull care schall euere encrees.
And in þat bale ay schall þou be,
Whare sorowes sere schall neuer sesse,
And for my folke þerfro wer free, 295
Nowe schall þei passe to þe place of pees.
Þai were here with my wille,
And so schall þei fourthe wende,
And þiselue schall fulfille
Þer wooe withouten ende. 300

26. _Sattan._ O we! þanne se I howe þou menys
emang
Some mesure with malice to melle,
Sen þou sais all schall noȝt gang,
But some schalle alway with vs dwelle.
_Iesus._ Ȝaa, witte þou wele, ellis were it
wrang, 305
Als cursed Cayme þat slewe Abell,
And all þat hastis hemselue to hange,
Als Iudas and Archedefell,
Datan and Abiron,
And alle of þare assente; 310
Als tyrantis euerilkone
Þat me and myne turmente.

27. And all þat liste noght to lere my lawe,
Þat I haue lefte in lande nowe newe,
Þat is my comyng for to knawe, 315
And to my sacramente pursewe,
Mi dede, my rysing, rede be rawe,
Who will noght trowe, þei are noght trewe,
Vnto my dome I schall þame drawe,
And iuge þame worse þanne any Iewe. 320
And all þat likis to leere
My lawe, and leue þerbye,
Shall neuere haue harmes heere,
But welthe, as is worthy.

28. _Sattan._ Nowe here my hande, I halde me
paied; 325
Þis poynte is playnly for oure prowe;
If þis be soth þat þou hast saide,
We schall haue moo þanne we haue nowe.
Þis lawe þat þou nowe late has laide
I schall lere men noȝt to allowe. 330
Iff þei it take, þei be betraied,
For I schall turne þame tyte, I trowe.
I schall walke este and weste,
And garre þame werke wele werre.
_Iesus._ Naye, feende, þou schall be feste, 335
Þat þou schalte flitte not ferre.

29. _Sattan._ Feste! þat were a foule reasoune,
Nay, bellamy, þou bus be smytte.
_Iesus._ Mighill! myne aungell, make þe boune,
And feste yone fende, þat he noght flitte. 340
And Deuyll, I comaunde þe go doune
Into thy selle where þou schalte sitte.
[_Satan sinks._
_Sattan._ Owt, ay! herrowe! helpe Mahounde!
Nowe wex I woode oute of my witte.
_Belsabub._ Sattan, þis saide we are, 345
Nowe schall þou fele þi fitte.
_Sattan._ Allas! for dole and care,
I synke into helle pitte.
[_Falls into the pit._

30. _Adame._ A! Iesu Lorde, mekill is Þi myght,
That mekis Þiselffe in þis manere, 350
Vs for to helpe, as Þou has hight,
Whanne both forfette, I and my feere.
Here haue we leuyd withouten light
Foure thousand and six hundred ȝere;
Now se I be þis solempne sight 355
Howe Thy mercy hath made vs cle_r_e.
_Eue._ A! Lorde, we were worthy
Mo turmentis for to taste,
But mende vs with mercye,
Als Þou of myght is moste. 360

31. _Baptista._ A! Lorde, I loue Þe inwardly,
That me wolde make Þi messengere
Thy comyng in erth for to crye,
And teche Þi faith to folke in feere;
And sithen before Þe for to dye, 365
And bringe boodworde to þame here,
How þai schulde haue Thyne helpe in hye:
Nowe se I all Þi poyntis appere.
Als Dauid prophete trewe
Ofte tymes tolde vntill vs, 370
Of þis comyng he knewe,
And saide it schulde be þus.

32. _Dauid._ Als I haue saide, ȝitt saie I soo,
_Ne derelinquas, Domine,
Animam meam <in> inferno_, 375
Leffe noght my saule, Lorde, aftir Þe,
In depe helle where dampned schall goo,
Ne suffre neuere †saules fro Þe be†
The sorowe of þame þat wonnes in woo
Ay full of filthe, †þat may repleye†. 380
_Adame._ We thanke His grete goodnesse
He fette vs fro þis place,
Makes ioie nowe more and lesse;
_Omnis._ We laude God of His grace.

33. _Iesus._ Adame and my frendis in feere, 385
Fro all youre fooes come fourth with me,
Ȝe schalle be sette in solas seere,
Wher ȝe schall neuere of sorowes see.
And Mighill, myn aungell clere,
Ressayue þes saules all vnto þe, 390
And lede þame als I schall þe lere
To Paradise with playe and plenté.
[_They come out of Limbo._
Mi graue I woll go till,
Redy to rise vpperight,
And so I schall fulfille 395
That I before haue highte.

34. _Michill._ Lorde, wende we schall aftir Þi
sawe,
To solace sere þai schall be sende,
But þat þer deuelis no draught vs drawe,
Lorde, blisse vs with Þi holy hende. 400
_Iesus._ Mi blissing haue ȝe all on rawe,
I schall be with youe, wher ȝe wende,
And all þat lelly luffes my lawe,
Þai schall be blissid withowten ende.
_Adame._ To Þe, Lorde, be louyng, 405
Þat vs has wonne fro waa,
For solas will we syng,
_Laus Tibi cum gloria_.
[_Exeunt._

[Foot-note: 14 Fro] For _MS._]

[Foot-note: 40 in þis stedde] in darknes stad _Towneley_.]

[Foot-note: 49 Isaiah] Isaac _MS._]

[Foot-note: 170 þe] ȝe _MS._]

[Foot-note: 185 what harlot] _from Towneley MS.: om. MS._]

[Foot-note: 188 I] of _MS._]

[Foot-note: 242 neyd thowe craue] þus þe I telle _first hand_.]

[Foot-note: 244 as] _added later MS._]

[Foot-note: 244 knaue] braide _first hand_.]

[Foot-note: 347 dole] dolee _MS._]

[Foot-note: 356 clere] clene _MS._]

XVII

THE TOWNELEY PLAY OF NOAH

Towneley MS. (about 1475), ff. 76 ff.

The Towneley Miracles, so called because the manuscript belonged in recent times to the library of Towneley Hall in Lancashire, are edited by England and Pollard, E.E.T.S., 1897. The cycle is a composite one—for instance it includes a later form of the York play _Harrowing of Hell_ (No. XVI, above)—but it is distinguished by a group of plays and interpolated scenes which seem to have been specially composed for representation at Wakefield. Formally this group is marked by the use of a peculiar nine-lined stanza, riming a a a a b c c c b, with central rimes in the first four lines. The rough vigour of the comic scenes is still more distinctive, and there can be little doubt that all are the work of one man. The specimen of his style most often reprinted is _The Second Shepherd's Play_, which has an original and purely secular comic plot. The _Play of Noah_ is more typical of the English Miracle in its later development. This subject was always popular with early playwrights, for the Ark made a spectacle, and the traditional quarrels of Noah and his wife gave scope for contests in fisticuffs and rough raillery—the stuff of primitive comedy.

DRAMATIS PERSONAE.

NOE
DEUS
VXOR NOE

PRIMUS FILIUS
SECUNDUS FILIUS
TERCIUS FILIUS

PRIMA MULIER
SECUNDA MULIER
TERCIA MULIER

1. _Noe._ Myghtfull God veray, Maker of all that is,
Thre persons withoutten nay, oone God in endles blis,
Thou maide both nyght and day, beest, fowle, and fysh,
All creatures that lif may wroght Thou at Thi wish,
As Thou wel myght; 5
The son, the moyne, verament,
Thou maide, the firmament,
The sternes also full feruent
To shyne Thou maide ful bright.

2. Angels Thou maide ful euen, all orders that is, 10
To haue the blis in heuen; this did Thou, more and les,
Full mervelus to neuen; yit was ther vnkyndnes
More bi foldis seuen then I can well expres;
For whi?
Of all angels in brightnes 15
God gaf Lucifer most lightnes,
Yit prowdly he flyt his des,
And set hym euen Hym by.

3. He thoght hymself as worthi as Hym that hym made,
In brightnes, in bewty, therfor He hym degrade, 20
Put hym in a low degré soyn after, in a brade,
Hym and all his menye, wher he may be vnglad
For euer.
Shall thay neuer wyn away
Hence vnto Domysday, 25
Bot burne in bayle for ay;
Shall thay neuer dysseuer.

4. Soyne after, that gracyous Lord to his liknes maide man,
That place to be restord euen as He began,
Of the Trinité bi accord, Adam and Eue that woman, 30
To multiplie without discord, in Paradise put He thaym,
And sithen to both
Gaf in commaundement
On the Tre of Life to lay no hend.
Bot yit the fals feynd 35
Made Hym with man wroth,

5. Entysyd man to glotony, styrd him to syn in pride;
Bot in Paradise, securly, myght no syn abide,
And therfor man full hastely was put out in that tyde,
In wo and wandreth for to be, in paynes full vnrid 40
To knowe,
Fyrst in erth, _and_ sythen in hell
With feyndis for to dwell,
Bot He his mercy mell
To those that will Hym trawe. 45

6. Oyle of mercy He hus hight, as I haue hard red,
To euery lifyng wight that wold luf Hym and dred;
Bot now before His sight euery liffyng leyde,
Most party day and nyght, syn in word and dede
Full bold; 50
Som in pride, ire, and enuy,
Som in couet_ei_s and glotyny,
Som in sloth and lechery,
And other wise many fold.

7. Therfor I drede lest God on vs will take veniance, 55
For syn is now alod, without any repentance.
Sex hundreth yeris and od haue I, without distance,
In erth, as any sod, liffyd with grete grevance
Allway;
And now I wax old, 60
Seke, sory, and cold,
As muk apon mold
I widder away.

8. Bot yit will I cry for mercy and call:
Noe, Thi seruant, am I, Lord ouer all! 65
Therfor me, and my fry shal with me fall,
Saue from velany, and bryng to Thi hall
In heuen;
And kepe me from syn
This warld within; 70
Comly Kyng of mankyn,
I pray The, here my stevyn!

[_God appears above._]

9. _Deus._ Syn I haue maide all thyng that is liffand,
Duke, emperour, and kyng, with Myne awne hand,
For to haue thare likyng, bi see and bi sand, 75
Euery man to My bydyng shuld be bowand
Full feruent,
That maide man sich a creatoure,
Farest of favoure;
Man must luf Me paramoure 80
By reson, and repent.

10. Me thoght I shewed man luf when I made hym to be
All angels abuf, like to the Trynyté;
And now in grete reprufe full low ligis he,
In erth hymself to stuf with syn that displeas_es_ Me 85
Most of all.
Veniance will I take
In erth for syn sake;
My grame thus will I wake
Both of grete and small. 90

11. I repente full sore that euer maide I man;
Bi me he settis no store, and I am his soferan;
I will distroy therfor both beest, man and woman,
All shall perish, les and more; that bargan may thay ban
That ill has done. 95
In erth I se right noght
Bot syn that is vnsoght;
Of those that well has wroght
Fynd I bot a fone.

12. Therfor shall I fordo all this medill-erd 100
With floodis that shall flo and ryn with hidous rerd;
I haue good cause therto; for Me no man is ferd.
As I say shal I do—of veniance draw My swerd,
And make end
Of all that beris life, 105
Sayf Noe and his wife,
For thay wold neuer stryfe
With Me, then Me offend.

13. Hym to mekill wyn, hastly will I go
To Noe my seruand, or I blyn, to warn hym of his wo. 110
In erth I se bot syn reynand to and fro,
Emang both more and myn, ichon other fo
With all thare entent.
All shall I fordo
With floodis that shall floo; 115
Wirk shall I thaym wo
That will not repent.

[_God descends and addresses Noah._]

14. Noe, My freend, I thee commaund, from cares the to keyle,
A ship that thou ordand of nayle and bord ful wele.
Thou was alway well-wirkand, to Me trew as stele, 120
To My bydyng obediand: frendship shal thou fele
To mede.
Of lennthe thi ship be
Thre hundreth cubettis, warn I the,
Of heght euen thirté, 125
Of fyfty als in brede.

15. Anoynt thi ship with pik and tar, without and als within,
The water out to spar—this is a noble gyn;
Look no man the mar, thre che_s_e chambres begyn;
Thou must spend many a spar this wark or thou wyn 130
To end fully.
Make in thi ship also
Parloures oone or two,
And houses of offyce mo
For beestis that ther must be. 135

16. Oone cubite on hight a wyndo shal thou make;
On the syde a doore, with slyght, beneyth shal thou take;
With the shal no man fyght, nor do the no kyn wrake.
When all is doyne thus right, thi wife, that is thi make,
Take in to the; 140
Thi sonnes of good fame,
Sem, Iaphet, and Came,
Take in also <t>hame,
Thare wifis also thre.

17. For all shal be fordone that lif in land, bot ye, 145
With floodis that from abone shal fall, and that plenté;
It shall begyn full sone to rayn vncessantlé,
After dayes seuen be done, and induyr dayes fourty,
Withoutten fayll.
Take to thi ship also 150
Of ich kynd beestis two,
Mayll and femayll, bot no mo,
Or thou pull vp thi sayll,

18. For thay may the avayll when al this thyng is wroght.
Stuf thi ship with vitayll, for hungre that ye perish
noght.
Of beestis, foull, and catayll, for thaym haue thou in 155
thoght,
For thaym is My counsayll that som socour be soght
In hast.
Thay must haue corn and hay,
And oder mete alway. 160
Do now as I the say,
In the name of the Holy Gast.

19. _Noe._ A! _benedicite!_ what art thou that thus
Tellys afore that shall be? Thou art full mervelus!
Tell me, for charité, thi name so gracius. 165
_Deus._ My name is of dignyté, and also full glorius
To knowe.
I am God most myghty,
Oone God in Trynyty,
Made the and ich man to be; 170
To luf Me well thou awe.

20. _Noe._ I thank The, Lord so dere, that wold vowchsayf
Thus low to appere to a symple knafe.
Blis vs, Lord, here, for charité I hit crafe,
The better may we stere the ship that we shall hafe, 175
Certayn.
_Deus._ Noe, to the and to thi fry
My blyssyng graunt I;
Ye shall wax and multiply
And fill the erth agane, 180

21. When all thise floodis ar past, and fully gone away.
_Noe._ Lord, homward will I hast as fast as that I may;
My <wife> will I frast what she will say,
[_Exit_ Deus.]
And I am agast that we get som fray
Betwixt vs both; 185
For she is full tethee,
For litill oft angré;
If any thyng wrang be,
Soyne is she wroth.

_Tunc perget ad vxorem._

22. God spede, dere wife, how fayre ye? 190
_Vxor._ Now, as euer myght I thryfe, the wars I thee
see.
Do tell me belife where has thou thus long be?
To dede may we dryfe, or lif, for the,
For want.
When we swete or swynk, 195
Thou dos what thou thynk,
Yit of mete and of drynk
Haue we veray skant.

23. _Noe._ Wife, we ar hard sted with tythyngis new.
_Vxor._ Bot thou were worthi be cled in Stafford
blew; 200
For thou art alway adred, be it fals or trew,
Bot God knowes I am led, and that may I rew,
Full ill;
For I dar be thi borow,
From euen vnto morow 205
Thou spekis euer of sorow;
God send the onys thi fill!

24. We women may wary all ill husbandis;
I haue oone, bi Mary that lowsyd me of my bandis!
If he teyn, I must tary, how so euer it standis, 210
With seymland full sory, wryngand both my handis
For drede.
Bot yit other while,
What with gam and with gyle,
I shall smyte and smyle, 215
And qwite hym his mede.

25. _Noe._ We! hold thi tong, ram-skyt, or I shall the
still.
_Vxor._ By my thryft, if thou smyte, I shal turne the
vntill.
_Noe._ We shall assay as tyte. Haue at the, Gill!
Apon the bone shal it byte.
_Vxor._ A, so, Mary! thou smytis ill! 220
Bot I suppose
I shal not in thi det
Flyt of this flett!
Take the ther a langett
To tye vp thi hose! 225

26. _Noe._ A! wilt thou so? Mary! that is myne.
_Vxor._ Thou shal thre for two, I swere bi Godis pyne!
_Noe._ And I shall qwyte the tho, in fayth, or syne.
_Vxor._ Out apon the, ho!
_Noe._ Thou can both byte and whyne
With a rerd; 230
For all if she stryke,
Yit fast will she skryke;
In fayth, I hold none slyke
In all medill-erd.

27. Bot I will kepe charyté, for I haue at do. 235
_Vxor._ Here shal no man tary the, I pray the go to!
Full well may we mys the, as euer haue I ro;
To spyn will I dres me.
_Noe._ We! fare well, lo;
Bot wife,
Pray for me beselé 240
To eft I com vnto the.
_Vxor._ Euen as thou prays for me,
As euer myght I thrife.
[_Exit_ Vxor.]

28. _Noe._ I tary full lang fro my warke, I traw;
Now my gere will I fang, and thederward draw; 245
I may full ill gang, the soth for to knaw,
Bot if God help amang, I may sit downe daw
To ken;
Now assay will I
How I can of wrightry, 250
_In nomine patris, et filii,
Et spiritus sancti. Amen._

29. To begyn of this tree my bonys will I bend,
I traw from the Trynyté socoure will be send;
It fayres full fayre, thynk me, this wark to my hend; 255
Now blissid be He that this can amend.
Lo, here the lenght,
Thre hundreth cubettis euenly;
Of breed, lo, is it fyfty;
The heght is euen thyrty 260
Cubettis full strenght.

30. Now my gowne will I cast and wyrk in my cote,
Make will I the mast or I flyt oone foote;
A! my bak, I traw, will brast! This is a sory note!
Hit is wonder that I last, sich an old dote, 265
All dold,
To begyn sich a wark!
My bonys ar so stark,
No wonder if thay wark,
For I am full old. 270

31. The top and the sayll both will I make,
The helme and the castell also will I take,
To drife ich a nayll will I not forsake,
This gere may neuer fayll, that dar I vndertake
Onone. 275
This is a nobull gyn,
Thise nayles so thay ryn
Thoro more and myn
Thise bordis ichon.

32. Wyndow and doore, euen as He saide, 280
Thre ches chambre, thay ar well maide,
Pyk and tar full sure therapon laide;
This will euer endure, therof am I paide;
For why?
It is better wroght 285
Then I coude haif thoght.
Hym that maide all of noght
I thank oonly.

33. Now will I hy me, and no thyng be leder,
My wife and my meneye to bryng euen heder. 290
Tent hedir tydely, wife, and consider,
Hens must vs fle, all sam togeder,
In hast.
_Vxor._ Whi, syr, what alis you?
Who is that asalis you? 295
To fle it avalis you
And ye be agast.

34. _Noe._ Ther is garn on the reyll other, my dame.
_Vxor._ Tell me that ich a deyll, els get ye blame.
_Noe._ He that cares may keill—blissid be His
name!— 300
He has <het> for oure seyll to sheld vs fro shame,
And sayd
All this warld aboute
With floodis so stoute,
That shall ryn on a route, 305
Shall be ouerlaide.

35. He saide all shall be slayn, bot oonely we,
Oure barnes that ar bayn, and thare wifis thre.
A ship He bad me ordayn, to safe vs and oure fee;
Therfor with all oure mayn thank we that fre, 310
Beytter of bayll.
Hy vs fast, go we thedir.
_Vxor._ I wote neuer whedir,
I dase and I dedir
For ferd of that tayll. 315

36. _Noe._ Be not aferd, haue done, trus sam oure gere,
That we be ther or none, without more dere.
_Primus filius._ It shall be done full sone. Brether,
help to bere.
_Secundus filius._ Full long shall I not hoyne to do
my devere,
Brether sam. 320
_Tercius filius._ Without any yelp,
At my myght shall I help.
_Vxor._ Yit, for drede of a skelp,
Help well thi dam.

37. _Noe._ Now ar we there as we shuld be; 325
Do get in oure gere, oure catall and fe,
Into this vessell here, my chylder fre.
_Vxor._ I was neuer bard ere, as euer myght I the,
In sich an oostré as this.
In fath, I can not fynd 330
Which is before, which is behynd.
Bot shall we here be pynd,
Noe, as haue thou blis?

38. _Noe._ Dame, as it is skill, here must vs abide grace;
Therfor, wife, with good will, com into this place. 335
_Vxor._ Sir, for Iak nor for Gill will I turne my face,
Till I haue on this hill spon a space
On my rok.
Well were he myght get me!
Now will I downe set me; 340
Yit reede I no man let me,
For drede of a knok.

39. _Noe._ Behold to the heuen the cateractes all,
That are open full euen, grete and small,
And the planettis seuen left has thare stall. 345
Thise thoners and levyn downe gar fall
Full stout
Both halles and bowers,
Castels and towres.
Full sharp ar thise showers 350
That renys aboute.

40. Therfor, wife, haue done, com into ship fast.
_Vxor._ Yei, Noe, go cloute thi shone, the better will
thai last.
_Prima mulier._ Good moder, com in sone, for all is
ouercast
Both the son and the mone.
_Secunda mulier._ And many wynd blast 355
Full sharp.
Thise floodis so thay ryn,
Therfor, moder, come in.
_Vxor._ In fayth, yit will I spyn;
All in vayn ye carp. 360

41. _Tercia mulier._ If ye like ye may spyn, moder, in the
ship.
_Noe._ Now is this twyys com in, dame, on my frenship.
_Vxor._ Wheder I lose or I wyn, in fayth, thi felowship
Set I not at a pyn. This spyndill will I slip
Apon this hill, 365
Or I styr oone fote.
_Noe._ Peter! I traw we dote.
Without any more note
Come in if ye will.

42. _Vxor._ Yei, water nyghys so nere that I sit not dry, 370
Into ship with a byr therfor will I hy
For drede that I drone here.
_Noe._ Dame, securly,
It bees boght full dere ye abode so long by
Out of ship.
_Vxor._ I will not, for thi bydyng, 375
Go from doore to mydyng.
_Noe._ In fayth, and for youre long taryyng
Ye shal lik on the whyp.

43. _Vxor._ Spare me not, I pray the, bot euen as thou thynk,
Thise grete wordis shall not flay me.
_Noe._ Abide, dame, and drynk, 380
For betyn shall thou be with this staf to thou stynk;
Ar strokis good? say me.
_Vxor._ What say ye, Wat Wynk?
_Noe._ Speke!
Cry me mercy, I say!
_Vxor._ Therto say I nay. 385
_Noe._ Bot thou do, bi this day!
Thi hede shall I breke.

44. _Vxor._ Lord, I were at ese, and hertely full hoylle,
Might I onys haue a measse of wedows coyll;
For thi saull, without lese, shuld I dele penny doyll, 390
So wold mo, no frese, that I se on this sole
Of wifis that ar here,
For the life that thay leyd,
Wold thare husbandis were dede,
For, as euer ete I brede, 395
So wold I oure syre were.

45. _Noe._ Yee men that has wifis, whyls they ar yong,
If ye luf youre lifis, chastice thare tong:
Me thynk my hert ryfis, both levyr and long,
To se sich stryfis wedmen emong. 400
Bot I,
As haue I blys,
Shall chastyse this.
_Vxor._ Yit may ye mys,
Nicholl Nedy! 405

46. _Noe._ I shall make þe still as stone, begynnar of
blunder!
I shall bete the bak and bone, and breke all in sonder.
[_They fight._]
_Vxor._ Out, alas, I am gone! Oute apon the, mans
wonder!
_Noe._ Se how she can grone, and I lig vnder;
Bot, wife, 410
In this hast let vs ho,
For my bak is nere in two.
_Vxor._ And I am bet so blo
That I may not thryfe.

[_They enter the Ark._]

47. _Primus filius._ A! whi fare ye thus, fader and moder
both? 415
_Secundus filius._ Ye shuld not be so spitus, standyng
in sich a woth.
_Tercius filius._ Thise <floodis> ar so hidus, with
many a cold coth.
_Noe._ We will do as ye bid vs, we will no more be
wroth,
Dere barnes!
Now to the helme will I hent, 420
And to my ship tent.
_Vxor._ I se on the firmament,
Me thynk, the seven starnes.

48. _Noe._ This is a grete flood, wife, take hede.
_Vxor._ So me thoght, as I stode; we ar in grete
drede; 425
Thise wawghes ar so wode.
_Noe._ Help, God, in this nede!
As Thou art stereman good, and best, as I rede,
Of all;
Thou rewle vs in this rase,
As Thou me behete hase. 430
_Vxor._ This is a perlous case.
Help, God, when we call!

49. _Noe._ Wife, tent the stere-tre, and I shall asay
The depnes of the see that we bere, if I may.
_Vxor._ That shall I do ful wysely. Now go thi way, 435
For apon this flood haue we flett many day
With pyne.
_Noe._ Now the water will I sownd:
A! it is far to the grownd;
This trauell I expownd 440
Had I to tyne.

50. Aboue all hillys bedeyn the water is rysen late
Cubettis fyfteyn, bot in a higher state
It may not be, I weyn, for this well I wate:
This forty dayes has rayn beyn; it will therfor abate 445
Full lele.
This water in hast
Eft will I tast.
Now am I agast,
It is wanyd a grete dele. 450

51. Now are the weders cest, and cateractes knyt,
Both the most and the leest.
_Vxor._ Me thynk, bi my wit,
The son shynes in the eest. Lo, is not yond it?
We shuld haue a good feest, were thise floodis flyt
So spytus. 455
_Noe._ We haue been here, all we,
Thre hundreth dayes and fyfty.
_Vxor._ Yei, now wanys the see;
Lord, well is vs!

52. _Noe._ The thryd tyme will I prufe what depnes we
bere. 460
_Vxor._ _H_ow long shall thou hufe? Lay in thy lyne
there.
_Noe._ I may towch with my lufe the grownd evyn here.
_Vxor._ Then begynnys to grufe to vs mery chere;
Bot, husband,
What grownd may this be? 465
_Noe._ The hyllys of Armonye.
_Vxor._ Now blissid be He
That thus for vs can ordand!

53. _Noe._ I see toppys of hyllys he, many at a syght,
No thyng to let me, the wedir is so bright. 470
_Vxor._ Thise ar of mercy tokyns full right.
_Noe._ Dame, th_ou_ counsell me, what fowll best myght,
And cowth,
With flight of wyng
Bryng, without taryying, 475
Of mercy som tokynyng,
Ayther bi north or southe?

54. For this is the fyrst day of the tent moyne.
_Vxor._ The ravyn, durst I lay, will com agane sone;
As fast as thou may, cast hym furth, haue done; 480
He may happyn today com agane or none
With grath.
_Noe._ I will cast out also
Dowfys oone or two.
Go youre way, go, 485
God send you som wathe!

55. Now ar thise fowles flone into seyr countré;
Pray we fast ichon, kneland on our kne,
To Hym that is alone worthiest of degré,
That He wold send anone oure fowles som fee 490
To glad vs.
_Vxor._ Thai may not fayll of land,
The water is so wanand.
_Noe._ Thank we God Allweldand,
That Lord that made vs! 495

56. It is a wonder thyng, me thynk, sothlé,
Thai ar so long taryyng, the fowles that we
Cast out in the mornyng.
_Vxor._ Syr, it may be
Thai tary to thay bryng.
_Noe._ The ravyn is a-hungrye
All way; 500
He is without any reson;
And he fynd any caryon,
As peraventure may be fon,
He will not away.

57. The dowfe is more gentill, her trust I vntew, 505
Like vnto the turtill, for she is ay trew.
_Vxor._ Hence bot a litill she commys, lew, lew!
She bryngys in her bill som novels new;
Behald!
It is of an olif tre 510
A branch, thynkys me.
_Noe._ It is soth, perdé,
Right so is it cald.

58. Doufe, byrd full blist, fayre myght the befall!
Thou art trew for to trist, as ston in the wall; 515
Full well I it wist thou wold com to thi hall.
_Vxor._ A trew tokyn ist we shall be sauyd all:
For whi?
The water, syn she com,
Of depnes plom 520
Is fallen a fathom
And more, hardely.

59. _Primus filius._ Thise floodis ar gone, fader, behold.
_Secundus filius._ Ther is left right none, and that be
ye bold.
_Tercius filius._ As still as a stone oure ship is
stold. 525
_Noe._ Apon land here anone that we were, fayn I wold,
My childer dere,
Sem, Iaphet and Cam,
With gle and with gam,
Com go we all sam, 530
We will no longer abide here.

60. _Vxor._ Here haue we beyn, Noy, long enogh
With tray and with teyn, and dreed mekill wogh.
_Noe._ Behald on this greyn nowder cart ne plogh
Is left, as I weyn, nowder tre then bogh, 535
Ne other thyng;
Bot all is away;
Many castels, I say,
Grete townes of aray,
Flitt has this flowyng. 540

61. _Vxor._ Thise floodis not afright all this warld so wide
Has mevid with myght on se and bi side.
_Noe._ To dede ar thai dyght, prowdist of pryde,
Euerich a wyght that euer was spyde
With syn, 545
All ar thai slayn,
And put vnto payn.
_Vxor._ From thens agayn
May thai neuer wyn?

62. _Noe._ Wyn? No, iwis, bot He that myght hase 550
Wold myn of thare mys, and admytte thaym to grace;
As He in bayll is blis, I pray Hym in this space,
In heven hye with His to purvaye vs a place,
That we,
With His santis in sight, 555
And His angels bright,
May com to His light:
Amen, for charité.

_Explicit processus Noe._

[Foot-note: 129 chese] chefe _MS._]

NOTES

I

#Dialect#: North-East Midland of Lincolnshire.

#Inflexions#:—

VERB: pres. ind. 2 sg. _hast_ 131.
3 sg. _stondeþ_ 8.
3 pl. _calle_ 32, _seye_ 254; beside _dos_ 157
(see note).
imper. pl. _comeþ_ 80, _doþ_ 82.
pres. p. _karoland_ (in rime) 117, 150, 222.
strong pp. _wryte_ 37, _fal_ 195, _gone_ 161.
PRONOUN 3 PERS.: fem. nom. _she_ 48; pl. nom. _þey_ 32; poss.
_here_ 37; obj. _hem_ 39.

The inflexions are very much simplified as compared with those of the Kentish _Ayenbyte_ (III), but the verse shows that final unaccented _-e_ was better preserved in the original than in our late MS., e.g.

_And specyaly at hygh<ė> tymės_ 13.
_For to see þys hard<ė> dome_ 173.
_And at þe þre<ė> day<ė>s endė_ 198.
_Þat nonė myȝt<ė> leye yn grauė_ 217.

#Sounds#: _ǭ_ is regular for OE. _ā_: _lothe_ 9, _wroth_ 10, &c.; but the only decisive rime is _also_ (OE. _alswā_): _to_ (OE. _tō_) 35-6, where _ǭ_ after _(s)w_ has become close _ọ̄_; see Appendix § 8. ii, note.

#Syntax#: the loose constructions, e.g. ll. 15 ff. (note), 134-5, 138-9, 216-19, are characteristic of the period.

* * * * *

The history of this legend is traced by E. Schröder, _Zeitschrift für Kirchengeschichte_, vol. xvii, 1896, pp. 94 ff., and, more summarily, by Gaston Paris, _Les Danseurs maudits_, Paris 1900. The circumstances from which it sprang appear to belong to the year 1021. Kölbigk, in Anhalt, Saxony, was the scene of the dance. In 1074 it is referred to as 'famous' by a German chronicler, who records the healing of one of the dancers in 1038 through the miraculous powers of St. Wigbert.

Mendicants who suffered from or could simulate nervous diseases like St. Vitus's dance, were quick to realize their opportunity, and two letters telling the story were circulated as credentials by pretended survivors of the band. Both are influenced in form by a sermon of St. Augustine of Hippo which embodies a similar story (Migne, _Patrologia_, vol. xxxviii, col. 1443). The first (Letter of Otbert), which claims to be issued by Peregrinus bishop of Cologne, spread rapidly through Western Europe. This was the version that Mannyng found in William of Wadington. The second (Letter of Theodric) makes Bruno bishop of Toul, afterwards Pope Leo IX, vouch for the facts. It was incorporated in the account of the miraculous cure of Theodric at the shrine of St. Edith of Wilton, and is known only from English sources. This was the text that Mannyng used. A later English version, without merit, is found in the dreary fifteenth-century _Life of St. Editha_ (ed. Horstmann, ll. 4063 ff.).

* * * * *

1 ff. _games_: Dances and shows in the churchyard were constantly condemned by the Church in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries. In 1287 a synod at Exeter rules _ne quisquam luctas, choreas, vel alios ludos inhonestos in coemeteriis exercere praesumat, praecipue in vigiliis et festis sanctorum_. See Chambers, _The Mediaeval Stage_, vol. i, pp. 90 ff.

6. _or tabure bete_: Note the use of _bete_ infin. as a verbal noun = _betyng_; cp. XI _b_ 184-5.

10-12. 'And he (_sc._ a good priest) will become angered sooner than one who has no learning, and who does not understand Holy Writ.'

15 ff. _noght... none_: An accumulation of negatives in ME. makes the negation more emphatic. Here the writer wavers between two forms of expression: (1) 'do not sing carols in holy places', and (2) 'to sing carols in holy places is sacrilege'.

25-8. _yn þys londe_, &c. The cure of Theodric, not the dance, took place in England. Brightgiva is said to have been abbess of Wilton at the time (1065), and 'King Edward' is Edward the Confessor (1042-66).

34-5. The church of Kölbigk is dedicated to St. Magnus, of whom nothing certain is known. The memory of St. Bukcestre, if ever there was such a saint, appears to be preserved only in this story.

36. _þat þey come to_: Construe with _hyt_ in l. 35.

37 ff. _Here names of alle_: The twelve followers of Gerlew are named in the Latin text, but Mannyng gives only the principal actors. The inconsistency is still more marked in the Bodleian MS., which after l. 40 adds:—

_Þe ouþer twelue here names alle
Þus were þey wrete, as y can kalle._

Otherwise the Bodleian MS. is very closely related to the Harleian, sharing most of its errors and peculiarities.

44. _þe prestes doghtyr of þe tounne_, 'the priest of the town's daughter'. In early ME. the genitive inflexion is not, as in Modern English, added to the last of a group of words: cp. XIV _d_ 10 _Þe Kynges sone of heuene_ 'the King of Heaven's son'. The same construction occurs in VIII _a_ 19 _for þe Lordes loue of heuene_ = 'for the love of the Lord of Heaven', and in VIII _a_ 214; but in these passages the genitive is objective, and Modern English does not use the inflexion at all (note to I 83). The ME. and modern expressions have their point of agreement in the position of the genitive inflexion, which always precedes immediately the noun on which the genitive depends. Cp. notes to II 518, VI 23, and XIV _d_ 1.

46. _Aȝone_: _ȝ_ = _z_ here. The name is _Azo_ in the Latin.

55. _Beu<u>ne_: (derived from the accusative _Beuonem_) = _Beuo_ of l. 59 and _Beuolyne_ of l. 62. The form is properly _Bovo_ not _Bevo_. Considerable liberties were taken with proper names to adapt them to metre or rime: e.g. l. 52 _Merswynde_; l. 63 _Merswyne_; cp. note to l. 246. This habit, and frequent miscopying, make it difficult to rely on names in mediaeval stories.

65. _Grysly_: An error for _Gerlew_, Latin _Gerleuus_, from Low German _Gērlēf_ = OE. _Gārlāf_.

83. _for Crystys awe_: In Modern English a phrase like _Christ's awe_ could mean only 'the awe felt by Christ'. But in OE. _Cristes ege_, or _ege Cristes_, meant also 'the awe of Christ (which men feel)', the genitive being objective. In ME. the word order _eie Cristes_ is dropped, but _Cristes eie_ (or _awe_, the Norse form) is still regular for '(men's) fear of Christ'. Hence formal ambiguities like _þe Lordes loue of heuene_ VIII _a_ 19, which actually means '(men's) love of the Lord of Heaven', but grammatically might mean 'the Lord of Heaven's love (for men)'—see note to l. 44 above.

96-7. The Latin Letter of Theodric in fact has _ab isto officio ex Dei nutu amodo non cessetis_, but probably _amodo_ is miswritten for _anno_.

127. _a saue_: lit. 'have safe', i.e. 'rescue'. _Saue_ is here adj.

128-9. _ys_: _flessh_: The rime requires the alternative forms _es_ (as in l. 7) and _fles(s)_. Cp. note to VII 4.

132. _Ȝow þar nat aske_: 'There is no need for you to ask'; _ȝow_ is dative after the impersonal _þar_.

156-7. _werynes_: _dos_. The rime is false. Perhaps Mannyng wrote: _As many body for goyng es_ [sc. _wery_], and a copyist misplaced _es_, writing: _As many body es for goyng_. If _body es_ were read as _bodyes_, a new verb would then be added.

169. Note the irony of the refrain. The Letter of Otbert adds the picturesque detail that they gradually sank up to their waists in the ground through dancing on the same spot.

172. _Þe Emperoure Henry_: Probably Henry II of Germany, Emperor from 1014 to 1024. A certain vagueness in points of time and place would save the bearers of the letter from awkward questions.

188-9. _banned_: _woned_. The rime (OE. _bannan_ and _wunian_) is false, and the use of _woned_ 'remained' is suspicious. Mannyng perhaps wrote _bende_ 'put in bonds': _wende_ (= _ȝede_ l. 191) 'went'; or (if the form _band_ for _banned(e)_ could be evidenced so early) _band_ 'cursed': _wand_, pret. of _winden_, 'went'.

195. _fal yn a swone_: So MS., showing that by the second half of the fourteenth century the pp. adj. _aswon_ had been wrongly analysed into the indef. article _a_ and a noun _swon_. Mannyng may have written _fallen aswone_. See Glossary, _s.v._ _aswone_.

234. _Wyth sundyr lepys_: 'with separate leaps'; but _Wyth_ was probably added by a scribe who found in his original _sundyrlepys_, adv., meaning 'separately',—

_Kar suvent par les mains
Des malvais escrivains
Sunt livre corrumput._

240. _Seynt Edyght._ St. Edith (d. 984) was daughter of King Edgar, and abbess of Wilton. The rime is properly _Edit_: _Teodric_, for _t_ and _k_ are sufficiently like in sound to rime together in the best ME. verse; cp. note to XV _g_ 27.

246. _Brunyng... seynt Tolous_: Latin _Bruno Tullanus_. Robert probably did not hesitate to provide a rime by turning Toul into Toulouse. Bruno afterwards became Pope Leo IX (1049-54).

254-5. _trowed_: _God_. Read _trŏd_, a shortened form, revealed by rimes in North Midland texts. The identical rime occurs three times in Mannyng's _Chronicle_ (ed. Hearne, p. 339; ed. Furnivall, ll. 7357-8, 8111-12); and, again with substitution of _troud_ for _trod_, in _Havelok_, ll. 2338-9. Cp. note to XVII 56.

II

#Dialect#: South-Western, with some admixture of Northern forms due to a copyist.

#Inflexions#:—

VERB: pres. ind. 1 sg. _ichaue_, &c. (see note to l. 129).
2 sg. _makest_ 169, _worst_ 170.
3 sg. _geþ_ (in rime) 238; contracted _fint_ 239,
_last_ 335, _sitt_ 443, _stont_ 556.
2 pl. _ȝe beþ_ 582.
3 pl. _strikeþ_ 252 (proved by rime with 3 sg.
_likeþ_).
imper. pl. _make_ 216, _chese_ 217; beside _doþ_ 218.
pres. p. _berking_ 286 (in rime with verbal sb.);
_daunceing_ (in rime) 298. The forms _kneland_ 250,
_liggeand_ 388, are due to a Northern copyist.
strong pp. (various forms): _go_ (: _wo_) 196, _ygo_
(: _mo_) 349, _ydone_ (: _-none_) 76, _comen_ 29, _come_
181, _ycomen_ 203, _yborn_ 174, _bore_ 210.
infin. Note _aski_ (OE. _acsian_) 467 (App. § 13 vii).
PRONOUN 3 PERS.: fem. nom. _he_ 408, 446, _hye_ 337, beside _sche_
75, 77, &c.
pl. nom. _he_ (in rime) 185, _hye_ 91, beside _þai_ 32, 69,
&c.;
poss. _her_ 'their' 87, 413, 415; obj. _hem_ 69, &c.
NOUN: Note the plurals _honden_ 79, _berien_ 258.

The original text preserved final _-e_ better than the extant MSS., e.g.

_And seyd<ė> þus þe king<ė> to_ 119.
_Þat noþing help<ė> þe no schal_ 172.
_Al þe vt<ė>mast<ė> wal_ 357.
_So, sir, as ȝe seyd<ė> nouþė_ 466.

#Sounds#: _ǭ_ for OE. _ā_ is proved in rime: _biholde_ (OE. _beháldan_): _gold_ (OE. _góld_) 367-8 (cp. 467-8); and _yhote_ (OE. _gehāten_): _note_ (OFr. _note_) 601-2.

The rime _frut_: _lite_ 257-8 points to original _frut_: _lut_ (OE. _lȳt_), with Western _ǖ_, from OE. _ȳ_, riming with OFr. _ǖ_.

* * * * *

1-22. These lines, found also in _Lai le Freine_, would serve as preface to any of the Breton lays, with the couplet ll. 23-4 as the special connecting link. In the Auchinleck MS., _Orfeo_ begins on a fresh leaf at l. 25, without heading or capitals to indicate that it is a new poem. The leaf preceding has been lost. There is good reason to suppose that it contained the lines supplied in the text from the Harleian MS.

4. _frely_, 'goodly': _Lai le Freine_ has _ferly_ 'wondrous'.

12. MS. _moost to lowe_: means 'most (worthy) to be praised', and there are two or three recorded examples of _to lowe_ = _to alowe_ in this sense. But MS. Ashmole and the corresponding lines in _Lai le Freine_ point to _most o loue_ 'mostly of love' as the common reading. The typical 'lay' is a poem of moderate length, telling a story of love, usually with some supernatural element, in a refined and courtly style.

13. _Brytayn_, 'Brittany': so _Brytouns_ 16 = 'Bretons'. Cp. Chaucer, _Franklin's Tale, Prologue_, beginning

_Thise olde gentil Britons in hir dayes
Of diverse aventures maden layes
Rymeyed in hir firste Briton tonge,
Whiche layes with hir instrumentz they songe_, &c.

20. The curious use of _it_ after the plural _layes_ is perhaps not original. _Lai le Freine_ has: _And maked a lay and yaf it name_.

26. _In Inglond_: an alteration of the original text to give local colour. Cp. ll. 49-50 and l. 478.

29-30. _Pluto_: the King of Hades came to be regarded as the King of Fairyland; cp. Chaucer, _Merchant's Tale_, l. 983 _Pluto that is the kyng of fairye_. The blunder by which Juno is made a king is apparently peculiar to the Auchinleck copy.

33-46. These lines are not in the Auchinleck MS., but are probably authentic. Otherwise little prominence would be given to Orfeo's skill as a harper.

41 ff. A confused construction: _In þe world was neuer man born_ should be followed by _<þat> he <ne> schulde þinke_; but the writer goes on as if he had begun with 'every man in the world'. _And_ = 'if'.

46. _ioy and_ overload the verse, and are probably an unskilful addition to the text.

49-50. These lines are peculiar to the Auchinleck MS., and are clearly interpolated; cp. l. 26 and l. 478. Winchester was the old capital of England, and therefore the conventional seat of an English king.

57. _comessing_: The metre points to a disyllabic form _comsing_ here, and to _comsi_ in l. 247.

80. _it bled wete_: In early English the clause which is logically subordinate is sometimes made formally co-ordinate. More normal would be _þat (it) bled wete_ 'until (_or_ so that) it bled wet'; i.e. until it was wet with blood.

82. _reuey<se>d_ or some such form of _ravished_ is probably right. _reneyd_ 'apostate' is a possible reading of the MS., but does not fit the sense. _N. E. D._ suggests _remeued_.

102. _what is te?_: 'What ails you?; cp. l. 115. _Te_ for _þe_ after _s_ of _is_. Such modifications are due either to dissimilation of like sounds, as _þ_: _s_ which are difficult in juxtaposition; or to assimilation of unlike sounds, as _þatow_ 165, for _þat þow_.

115. 'What ails you, and how it came about?'; cp. l. 102.

129. _ichil_ = _ich wille_; and so _ichaue_ 209, _icham_ 382, _ichot_ XV _b_ 23. These forms, reduced to _chill_, _cham_, &c., were still characteristic of the Southern dialect in Shakespeare's time: cp. _King Lear_, IV. vi. 239 _Chill not let go, Zir_.

131. _þat nouȝt nis_: 'That cannot be'; cp. l. 457 _þat nouȝt nere_.

157-8. _palays_: _ways_. The original rime was perhaps _palys_: _wys_ 'wise'.

170. 'Wherever you may be, you shall be fetched.'

201-2. _barouns_: _renouns_. Forms like _renouns_ in rime are usually taken over from a French original.

215. The overloaded metre points to a shorter word like _wite_ for _vnderstond_.

216. _Make ȝou þan a parlement_: _ȝou_ is not nom., but dat. 'for yourselves'. Observe that Orfeo acts like a constitutional English king.

241. _þe fowe and griis_: A half translation of OFr. _vair et gris_. _Vair_ (Lat. _varius_) was fur made of alternate pieces of the grey back and white belly of the squirrel. Hence it is rendered by _fowe_, OE. _fāg_ 'varicolor'. _Griis_ is the grey back alone, and the French word is retained for the rime with _biis_, which was probably in the OFr. original.

258. _berien_: The MS. may be read _berren_, but as this form is incorrect it is better to assume that the _i_ has been carelessly shaped by the scribe.

289. _him se_, 'see (for himself), and similarly _slep þou þe_ XV _g_ 13. This reflexive use of the dative pronoun, which cannot be reproduced in a modern rendering, is common in OE. and ME., especially with verbs of motion; cp. note to XV _g_ 24. But distinguish _went him_ 475, 501, where _him_ is accusative, not dative (OE. _wente hine_), because the original sense of _went_ is 'turned', which naturally takes a reflexive object.

342. _me no reche_ = _I me no reche_. The alternative would be the impersonal _me no recheþ_.

343. _also spac_ = _also bliue_ 142 = _also swiþe_ 574: 'straightway', &c.

363. MS. _auowed_ (or _anowed_) is meaningless here. _Anow<rn>ed_, or the doubtful by-form _anow<r>ed_ 'adorned', is probably the true reading.

382. The line is too long—a fault not uncommon where direct speech is introduced, e.g. l. 419 and I 78. Usually a correct line can be obtained by dropping words like _quath he_, which are not as necessary in spoken verse as they are where writing alone conveys the sense. But sometimes the flaw may lie in the forms of address: l. 382 would be normal without _Parfay_; l. 419 may once have been:

_And seyd 'Lord, ȝif þi wille were'._

There is no task more slippery than the metrical reconstruction of ME. poems, particularly those of which the extant text derives from the original not simply through a line of copyists, but through a line of minstrels who passed on the verses from memory and by word of mouth.

388. The line seems to be corrupt, and, as usual, the Harleian and Ashmole MSS. give little help. _Ful_ can hardly be a sb. meaning 'multitude' from the adj. _full_. Some form of _fele_ (OE. _fela_) 'a great number' would give possible grammar and sense (cp. l. 401), but bad metre. Perhaps _ful_ should be deleted as a scribe's anticipation of _folk_ in the next line; for the construction _seiȝe... of folk_ cp. XVI 388; and _Hous of Fame_, Bk. iii, ll. 147 ff.

433. _Þei we nouȝt welcom no be_: Almost contemporary with _Sir Orfeo_ is the complaint of an English writer that the halls of the nobles stood open to a lawyer, but not to a poet:

_Exclusus ad ianuam poteris sedere
Ipse licet venias, Musis comitatus, Homere!_

'Though thou came thyself, Homer, with all the Muses, thou mightst sit at the door, shut out!', T. Wright, _Political Songs_ (1839), p. 209.

446. _hadde he_, 'had she'. For _he_ (OE. _hēo_) = 'she' cp. l. 408.