Chapter VII: Appendix: I

The three following _Erthe_ poems, in Latin, French, and English respectively, were discovered too late for inclusion in the text. They represent renderings of the same poem in the three languages, and are preserved on the back of a Roll[1] in the Public Record Office, containing a copy of the Ordinances of the fifth year of Edward II (of which other copies exist in the British Museum, the Record Office, and the Treasury at Canterbury). The poems in question are written on the back of the Roll, towards the end, the Latin and French in parallel columns, and the English below, five verses under the Latin, and four under the French. They are preceded by a number of Latin recipes in another hand, and a few in French follow. The handwriting of the poems is smaller and neater than that of the Ordinances, or the Latin recipes, but was ascribed by Hunter[2] to the time of Edward II, and may perhaps be assigned to the fourteenth century. The French is fourteenth-century Anglo-French, and the texts probably belong to that century, though this copy of them may not have been made until after 1400.

A nineteenth-century transcript of the poems exists in the British Museum, Addit. MS. 25478 (fol. 1-3), described in the Catalogue as containing 'Transcripts of miscellaneous English poetry, with a few Latin pieces, chiefly derived from MS. sources: xivth to xixth century'. The binding is marked 'Collectanea Hunteriana', and the MS. was acquired with various others of the Hunter collection in 1863. The handwriting varies, and these three poems are not in Hunter's own hand. The transcript is headed 'Copy of a Poem in Latin, French, and English, which is written in a hand of the reign of Edward II, on the dorse of a Roll which contains a copy of the ordinances of the fifth year of Edward II, which are printed in the Statutes of the Realm I. 157-168'. The text given below has been collated with this transcript, and variant readings in the latter given in the footnotes under the name Hunter (H.).

The British Museum transcript was discovered by Miss Helen Sandison of Bryn Mawr, U.S.A., who kindly acquainted me with her discovery, and was of great assistance in the search for the original Roll, which was eventually found in a bundle awaiting rearrangement at the Record Office. A large stain on the original text has rendered a considerable portion of the Latin and a few words in the French almost illegible, and Hunter's transcript has left blanks at these points. Mr. S. C. Ratcliff, of the Record Office, has given me much kind and courteous assistance in deciphering the missing words, thanks to which I have been able to fill up all the gaps, except that in verse 8, l. 3 of the Latin. Hunter's text at this point runs as follows:--

4. l. 4. Sic t'ra put^{e}dinis . . . t're venas.

6. l. 4. Terra t'rã faciat flere ieu . . . . .

7. De t'ra resurg'e t'ra deb . . . . . . . .
Et quod t'ra meruit . . . . . . . .
Hic dum terra vix'it . . . . . . .
Ut in t'ra valeat . . . . . dere

8. Adu'sus t'rigenas . . . . terra stabit
Et t'ra int'roga . . . . . . . . abit
Terra finem cap . . . . . . . gabit
Quod terra promiserat t'ra . . . urgabit.

and in the French:--

9. l. 2. Sayt cydaunt a la tere qe tere soit sauve
. . . . . . . eyne de tere ou tere est benure.

RECORD OFFICE ROLL (Ex^r. K. R. Parl. Proc., Bdle. 1).

[Transcriber's Note:
The following text was printed on two pairs of facing pages:

pg. 42 Latin Text | French Text pg. 43
stz. 1-5 | stz. 1-5
------------|------------
English Text| English Text
stz. 1-3.2 | stz. 3.3-5

pg. 44 Latin Text | French Text pg. 45
stz. 6-11 | stz. 6-10
------------|------------
English Text| English Text
stz. 6-7 | stz. 8-9

For this e-text, the three versions have been combined into complete
Latin, French and English poems. Parenthetical notations such as
(in left column) are in the original. Footnote numbering reflects
the original layout.]

LATIN TEXT (in left column).

[MS. Addit. 25478, fol. 2, r^o]
1 In terra cu{m} terra sit fraude p{er}quisita,
Terra t{er}re v{er}mib{us} sic put{r}essit trita,
Terra t{er}ra{m} deseret, erit et finita,
Terra tu{n}c a terren[i]s[3] mox erit oblita. 4

2 Terra p{er} sup{er}bia{m} terram cum ascendit,
Terra tu{n}c cupidine t{er}ram comp{re}hendit,
Terra morti p{ro}ximans t{er}ra{m} dat et vendit,
Ad t{er}ra{m} viuenciu{m} t{er}ra manus tendit. 8

3 Terra t{er}ra{m} speculans no{n} iustificari,
Et ad t{er}re t{er}minu{m} t{er}ra{m} inclinari.
Terra t{er}re s{er}uiens vult[4] refrigerari,
Et t{er}ra t{er}ribilis in terra locari. 12

4 In t{er}ra q{u}id possidet t{er}ra nisi penas
Q{u}ando t{er}ra respicit t{er}ra{m} lite plenas,
Et t{er}ra{m} defic{er}e tanq{uam} t{er}re tenas,
Sic t{er}ra put{r}edinis intrat[5] terre venas? 16

5 Terra no{n} co{n}siderat t{er}ra{m} firma mente,
Atq{ue} t{er}ra labit{ur} in t{er}ra{m} repente,
Terra{m} suo sang{u}ine t{er}ra redimente,
Terra{m} potens eruit de t{er}ra dolente. 20

6 Terra q{u}ando respicit t{e}rra{m} t{er}minare,
Terra t{er}ra{m} debuit sese castigare,
Terra t{er}ra{m} valeat vt humiliare,
Terra t{er}ra{m} faciat flere ieiunare[19]. 24

7 De t{er}ra resurg{er}e t{er}ra debet vere[19],
Et quod t{er}ra meruit t{er}ra[19] possidere[19],
Hic du{m} t{er}ra vix{er}it t{er}ra[19] valet[19] flere[19],
Ut in t{er}ra valeat t{er}ra[19] post[19] gaudere[19]. 28

[MS. Addit. 25478, fol. 2, v^o]
8 Adu{er}sus t{er}rigenas q{u}ando[19] terra stabit,
Et t{er}ra{m} int{er}rogans t{er}ra[19] tu{n}c[19] culpabit[19],
Terra fine{m} cap[ia]t t{er}ra{m}[19] . . . gabit[20],
Quod t{er}ra p{ro}mis{er}at t{er}ra tu{n}c[19] negabit[21]. 32

9 In t{er}ra q{u}i mortuus & in t{er}ra natus
Ffuit[22], t{er}ram p{ro}tegat sic & t{er}re[23] gratus,
Vt in t{er}ra quilibet de t{er}ra formatus,
Terre ponat t{er}minu{m} t{er}re comendatus. 36

10 In t{er}ra cu{m} Ang{e}li t{er}ra{m} suscitabunt,
In t{er}ra terribiles tube resonabunt,
De t{er}ra t{er}rigene corpora leuabunt,
Et ad t{er}re judice{m} terre tunc clamabunt. 40

11 O tu terre do{mi}ne! t{er}re miserere,
Et t{er}ra respiciens terenos tuere,
In t{er}ra deficim{us}, terra sumus vere,
Nos in t{er}ra gl{or}ie t{er}ram fac videre. 44

FRENCH TEXT (in right column).

[MS. Addit. 25478, fol. 1, r^o]
1 Q{u}ant t{er}re auera en[9] terre large terre gayne,
& t{er}re s{er}ra en terre a la mort liuere,
Puis ert tere en tere de v{er}myne mange,
Dounc vendra tere en tere & toust ert oblie. 4

2 Q{u}ant tere sour t{er}re de orgoyl descline,
& tere ils[10] [vers] tere par coueitise encline,
Dounc tere ils[10] [vers] tere se treit a Ruyne,
& tere a haute tere requeit medicine. 8

3 Q{u}ant tere ne peot de t{er}re la malueste sourueyndre,
Par force deit tere de t{er}re te{m}ptaciouns esteyndre,
Encontre la fiele tere sa tere deit refreyndre,
Q{u}ant tere leue en tere face sa tere moyndre. 12

4 Quey ad tere de tere forq{u}e dolour & peygne
Q{u}ant tere veyt en terre soun enemi demeygne,
& tere coust en tere a la mort c{er}teyne[11],
& tere pase en tere par frelete humeyne? 16

[MS. Addit. 25478, fol. 1, v^o]
5 O tu cheytiue tere de tere, remembrez
Vo{us} estes pris de tere & tere deuendrez,
Pensez[12] coment en tere & par tere pecchez,
& tere fiust en tere tant fortment[13] rechatez. 20

6 Quant tere veyt q{ue} tere se treit a la mort,
& tere nad en tere forq{ue} poure confort,
Q{u}ant tere moert[25] en tere ni ad nul resort,
Merueille est q{ue} tere de tere nad retort. 24

7 Q{u}ant tere[26] deit de tere leuer sodeynement,
Tere vendra en tere p{u}r oy{e}r jugement,
Dounc auera tere en tere dolour & t{u}rment,
Si tere neit fet en tere bon amendement. 28

8 Angel{e}s vendrount en tere la tere resusciter,
& dirrount a la tere de tere couent leuer,
Deuant le Roy de tere en tere deuez aller[27],
Q{u}e[28] soffri en tere p{u}r tere dolour amer. 32

9 Jesu, q{u}e p{u}r la tere en tere fiust ne,
Soyt eydaunt[29] a la tere q{u}e tere soit sauue,
& nos meyne[30] de tere ou tere est benure,
Kar si sumes en tere par tere t{u}rmente[31]. 36

10 Dolour est en tere par tere & par mer,
Ffaus est tere en tere & tere desir auer,
Pluis ne voil en tere ore[32] de tere chaunter.
Dieu deynt tere en tere de viuauns habiter. Amen. 40

ENGLISH TEXT (in left column, below Latin)

[MS. Addit. 25478, fol. 3, r^o]
1 Whanne eorthe hath eorthe wiþ wrong igete,
And eorthe in eorthe biginneþ to alete,
And eorthe i{n} eorthe wiþ wormes is afrete,
Thanne eorthe is on eorthe sone for[gh]ete. 4

2 Wanne eorthe ouer eorthe þorw p{r}ude styeþ,
And eorthe toward eorthe þorw coueytise wryeþ,
& eorthe into eorthe toward þe deþ hyeþ,
Þanne eorthe a[gh]eyn eorthe toward heuene c{r}ieþ.[6] 8

3 Whan eorthe juynt eorthe so luþ{er}[7] to awelden,
& eorthe on þ{a}t eorthe allewey[8] bi helden,
& eorthe on eorthe sone bigynneþ for to elden,
Hou may þat[14] eorthe on eorthe wo[14] belden? 12

4 What haueþ eorthe on eorthe bote pou[gh]t[15] and[15] wo,
Whan eorthe iseoþ[16] eorthe his dedliche fo,
& eorthe into eorthe so sone gynneþ guo,
& eorthe iworthe to eorthe alle we sullen so? 16

5 Alas why naþ eorthe[17] in eorthe is þou[gh]t,
Hou eorthe is on eorthe wiþ synnes of-sou[gh]t,
& eorthe was in eorthe so mychfulliche ibou[gh]t,
Þ{a}t eorthe þorw eorthe ne foelle[18] to nou[gh]t? 20

(in right column, below French)

6 Whan eorthe iseoþ eorthe to endinge drawe,
& eorthe on eorthe wiþ deþ is islawe,
& eorthe on eorthe wiþ wormes in ignawe,
Þanne eorthe may eorthe hi{m} seluen iknawe. 24

[MS. Addit. 25478, fol. 3, v^o]
7 Wan eorthe ssal of eorthe netfulliche aryse,
& eorthe on eorthe ihere þilke assise
Þer eorthe ne may eorthe noþer[24] lere ne wise,
Þanne eorthe sal on eorthe g{r}imliche agrise. 28

8 Þa{n}ne eorthe sal to eorthe holden gret cheste,
& eorthe asken eorthe were is hiere byheste
Þ{a}t eorthe byhet eorthe allewey to leste,
Wanne eorthe t{ur}neþ to eorthe toward Helle feste. 32

9 Houre Lou{er}d þ{a}t on eorthe for eorthe was iboren,
On eorthe of eorthe wiþ wounden to-toren,
Wyte eorthe fro{m} eorthe þ{a}t ne be furloren,
& b{r}inge eorthe to þ{a}t eorthe þer beþ his icoren. 36

Amen.

It will be seen that the Latin and French versions do not correspond exactly with the English text, the French in particular being a mere paraphrase of it, but this was, no doubt, largely due to the exigencies of the rime. The French text has ten stanzas as against nine in the English poem, and the Latin has eleven, the additional stanzas being an expansion of the theme after the manner of Anglo-Latin poems of the kind. It is evident both from the variant attempts at expansion of the text in the Latin and French, and from the greater freshness and more skilful use of the play on the word _erthe_ of the English text, that the latter is the original, and this supports the view already expressed (Introd. p. xxxiii) as to the relation of the English and Latin versions in MS. Harl. 913. It is improbable, at least, that the _Erthe upon Erthe_ poems should all be derived from two Latin poems, the differences between which are too great to admit of a common original, but which were both translated into English verse, and became, in course of time, modified and popularized. On the other hand, the fact that one fourteenth-century poem of the kind had been supplied with a Latin rendering might easily account for an attempt at Latin and French translations in the case of a second, and there seems to be reason for believing that the author of the latter text was acquainted with the poem in MS. Harl. 913. As has been already noted in the Introduction (p. xxxii), the first line of the English version corresponds in idea with that of the text in MS. Harl. 913:

Whan erþ haþ erþ iwanne wiþ wow.

and in actual wording with that of the _Song on the Times_:

When erthe hath erthe i-gette.

Otherwise no verbal connexion can be traced with any of the texts of _Erthe upon Erthe_, though the phrase _eorthe on eorthe_ recurs four times, and there is, of necessity, some similarity of treatment and idea. Thus the remainder of verse 1 contains a reference to the destruction by worms, mentioned in MS. Harl. 913, v. 2, and in the Cambridge text, vv. 7 and 13, as well as to the proverb that the dead are soon forgotten, cf. MS. Harl. 913, v. 4 (Introd. p. xxxi); verse 5 exhorts man to think of death, as does v. 6 of the B Version; and the poem ends with a prayer, as do MSS. Harl. 4486, Lambeth, Laud, Titus, and Rawl. P., as well as Rawl. C., and the Cambridge text. But the wording, and, in the two latter cases, the treatment, is different, and the general similarity is less than might he expected from the triteness of the theme. Both the A and the B Version lay stress on the contrast between man's present earthly glory and his future mingling with the dust, whereas the text in the Appendix dwells on the inevitableness of death, the pains of death, and the future judgement (only mentioned here and in MS. Harl. 913). The poem appears to represent an individual treatment of the subject, suggested perhaps by the text in MS. Harl. 913, with its Latin rendering, and possibly also influenced by the _Song on the Times_ in the same MS. It may be regarded as being ultimately based, like MS. Harl. 913, on the short stanzas current at the beginning of the fourteenth century, and as furnishing additional evidence of the early popularity of the theme, a popularity which gave rise at first to individual poems like this and MS. Harl. 913, and later to the repetition and expansion of one common type as in the B Version. But, unlike MS. Harl. 913, this text stands apart from the more popular types of the poem, and has no connexion with either the B Version or the Cambridge text. It must therefore have been written before the short normal type of the B Version became current, and probably before it took shape as a poem of several stanzas, that is before 1400. The want of close connexion between it and the more usual types of the poem given above, makes the omission of it from the text the less to be regretted, since it represents a side-issue rather than a link in the development of the poem as here treated.

[Footnote 1: Ex^r. K. R. Parl. Proceedings, Bdle. 1 (Old No.
645/21).]

[Footnote 2: Joseph Hunter, the antiquary (1783-1861),
Sub-Commissioner of the Public Records 1833, Assistant-Keeper of
the Records 1838.]

[Footnote 3: MS. _aterrens_ as one word.]

[Footnote 4: MS. _wlt_.]

[Footnote 5: this word is very obscure, and is omitted by Hunter;
portions of _nt_ and the second _t_ can be seen.]

[Footnote 6: H. _b^{i}reþ_.]

[Footnote 7: H. _luþ_.]

[Footnote 8: the MS. has a gap after _allewey_ with space for a
word of five or six letters, but there is no erasure nor trace of
any omission.]

[Footnote 9: inserted above the line.]

[Footnote 10: MS. has _ils_, surely a scribal error; the original
had probably _u{er}s_ = _vers 'towards'_, with the MS. compendium
for _er_, written over and confused with the second stroke of the
_u_ so as to look like _il_.]

[Footnote 11: H. _e'teyne_.]

[Footnote 12: H. _peisez_.]

[Footnote 13: H. _foilment_.]

[Footnotes 14, 15: _in fresher ink above the line._]

[Footnote 16: MS. _isoeþ_.]

[Footnote 17: above the line.]

[Footnote 18: MS. _foelle_; ? _falle_.]

[Footnote 19: All words marked [19] are omitted in H.'s transcript,
the MS. at this point being stained and obscure.]

[Footnote 20: Professor Robinson Ellis suggests _obiu{r}gabit_
here, which would fit the space: there is room for 2-3 letters,
and possibly a trace of an _r_ contraction.]

[Footnote 21: H. _urgabit_.]

[Footnote 22: obscure, H. _fuit_; MS. might be _ffinit_.]

[Footnote 23: H. _t'roe_.]

[Footnote 24: H. _neþer_.]

[Footnote 25: H. _mo ert_.]

[Footnote 26: inserted in margin; H. omits.]

[Footnote 27: H. _aler_.]

[Footnote 28: H. _le_.]

[Footnote 29: H. _sayt cydaunt_.]

[Footnote 30: H. _. . . . . . eyne_.]

[Footnote 31: H. _t^{r}menti_.]

[Footnote 32: H. _ou_.]