Ffor he lette the stronge bruge withoute the toune arere
And fond therto lym and ston and the workmen that ther were1.
From the LIFE of Saint Wolstan.

Seynt Wolston bysscop of Wirceter was then in Ingelonde,
Swithe holyman was all his lyf as ich onderstonde:

The while he was a yonge childe good lyf hi ladde ynow,
Whenne other children orne play toward cherche hi drow.
Seint Edward was tho vr kyng, that now in hevene is,
And the bisscoppe of Wircester Brytthege is hette I wis, &c.
Bisscop hym made the holi man seynt Edward vre kynge
And undirfonge his dignitie, and tok hym cros and ringe.
His bushopreke he wust wel, and eke his priorie,
And forcede him to serve wel god and Seinte Marie.
Ffour zer he hedde bisscop ibeo and not folliche fyve
Tho seynt Edward the holi kyng went out of this lyve.
To gret reuge to al Engelonde, so welaway the stounde,

Ffor strong men that come sithin and broughte Engelonde to grounde. Harald was sithen kynge with tresun, alas!

The crowne he bare of England which while hit was.

As William bastard that was tho duyk of Normaundye

Thouhte to winne Engelonde thorusg strength and felonye:

He lette hym greith foulke inouh and gret power with him nom,

With gret strengthe in the see he him dude and to Engelonde com: He lette ordayne his ost wel and his baner up arerede,

And destruyed all that he fond and that londe sore aferde.

Harald hereof tell kynge of Engelonde

He let garke fast his oste agen hym for to stonde:

His baronage of Engelonde redi was ful sone

The kyng to helpe and eke himself as riht was to done.
The warre was then in Engelonde dolefull and strong inouh
And heore either of othures man al to grounde slouh:
The Normans and this Englisch men deiy of batayle nom
There as the abbeye is of the batayle a day togedre com,
To grounde thei smiit and slowe also, as god yaf the cas,
William Bastard was above and Harald bi neothe was2.
From the LIFE of Saint Christopher.

Seynt Cristofre was a Sarazin in the londe of Canaan,
In no stud by him daye mi fond non so strong a man:

Ffour and twenti feete he was longe, and thikk and brod inouh,
Such a mon but he weore stronge methinketh hit weore wouh:
A la cuntre where he was for him wolde fleo,

Therfore hym ythoughte that no man ageynst him sculde beo.
He seide he wolde with no man beo but with on that were,
Hext lord of all men and undir hym non othir were.

Afterwards he is taken into the service of a king.
--Cristofre hym served longe;

The kynge loved melodye much of fithele1 and of songe:

So that his jogeler on a dai biforen him gon to pleye faste,

193. MS. Vernon. 2 MS. Venon. fol. 76. b. 3MSS. Harl. ut supr. fol. 101. b. 4 Fiddle.

Seint Cristofre was Sarazin in de lond of Canaan

In no stede bi his daye ne fond me so strong a man

Four and tuenti fet he was long and piche and brod y-noug, &c.

20

LIVES OF ST. PATRICK AND ST. THOMAS OF BECKET.

And in a tyme he nemped in his song the devil atte laste:
Anon so the kynge that I herde he blessed him anon, &c.1
From the LIFE of Saint Patrick.

Seyn Pateryk com thoru godes grace to preche in Irelonde,
To teche men ther ryt believe Jehu Cryste to understonde:
So ful of wormes that londe he founde that no man ni myghte gon,
In som stede for wormes that he nas wenemyd anon;

Seynt Pateryk bade our lorde Cryst that the londe delyvered were,
Of thilke foul wormis that none ne com there2.

From the LIFE of Saint Thomas of Becket.

Ther was Gilbert Thomas fadir name the trewe man and gode
He lyved God and holi cherche setthe he witte ondirstode3.
The cros to the holi cherche in his zouthe he nom,

myd on Rychard that was his mon to Jerlem com.
Ther hy dede here pylgrimage in holi stedes faste
So that among Sarazyns hy wer nom at laste, &c.4

This legend of St. Thomas of Becket is exactly in the style of all the others; and as Becket was martyred in the latter part of the reign of Henry II. from historical evidence, and as, from various internal marks, the language of these legends cannot be older than the twelfth century, I think we may fairly pronounce the LIVES OF THE SAINTS to have been written about the reign of Richard the first".

These metrical narratives of christian faith and perseverance seem to have been chiefly composed for the pious amusement, and perhaps edification, of the monks in their cloisters. The sumptuous volume of religious poems which I have mentioned above, was undoubtedly chained in the cloister, or church, of some capital monastery. It is not improbable that the novices were exercised in reciting portions from these pieces. In the British Museum', there is a set of legendary tales in rhyme, which appear to have been solemnly pronounced by the priest to the people on sundays and holidays. This sort of poetry8 1 MSS. Vernon, fol. 119. 3 MSS. Harl. fol. 195. b. Gilbert was Thomas fader name pat true was and god And lovede god and holi church sippe he wit understod.

Bodl. MSS. 779. fol. 41. b.

This Harleian MSS. is imperfect in many parts.

4 MSS. Bodl. 779. f. 41. b.

5 Who died 1199.

Brit.

In the Cotton library I find the lives of Saint Josaphas and the seven sleepers where the Norman seems to predominate, although Saxon letters are used. Mus. MSS. Cott. CALIG. A. ix. Cod. membran. 4to. ii. fol. 192.

Ici commence la vie de reme Ioraphaz,
Ri uout your a nul bien entendre
Per essample poet mlt apprendre.

E tur iurz eft certeine epure.

iii. fol. 213. be. Ici commence la vie de Seine Dormanz.

La vertu deu sur tut ur dure

Many legends and religious pieces in Norman rhyme were written about this time. See MSS. Harl. 2253. f. 1. membr. fol. supr. citat. p. 14. 7 MSS. Harl. 2391. 70. The dialect is perfectly northern.

6 Viz. MSS. Vernon.

8 That legends of saints were sung to the harp at feasts, appears from The Life of Saint Marine, MSS. Harl. 2253. fol. memb. f. 64. b.

Herketh hideward and beoth stille,
And ze shule here of one virgin,
And from various

Y praie ou zif hit be or wille, That was ycleped saint Maryne. other instances.

was also sung to the harp by the minstrels on sundays, instead of the romantic subjects usual at public entertainments1.

In that part of Vernon's MSS. intitled SOULEHELE, we have a translation of the Old and New Testament into verse; which I believe to have been made before the year 1200. The reader will observe the

fondness of our ancestors for the Alexandrine: at least, I find the lines arranged in that measure.

Oure ladi and hire suster stoden under the roode,

And seint John and Marie Magdaleyn with wel fori moode:

Vr ladi bi heold hire swete son i brouht in gret pyne,

Ffor monnes gultes nouthen her and nothing for myne.

Marie weop wel fore and bitter teres leet,

The teres fullen uppon the ston doun at hire feet.
Alas, my son, for serwe wel off seide heo

Nabbe iche bote the one that hongust on the treo;
So ful icham of serwe, as any wommon may beo,
That ischal my deore child in all this pyne iseo:

How schal I sone deore, how hast i yougt liven withouten the,
Nusti nevere of serwe nougt sone, what seyst you me?
Then spake Jhesus wordus gode to his modur dere,
Ther he heng uppon the roode here I the take a fere,
That trewliche schal serve ye, thin own cosin Jon,
The while that you alyve beo among all thi fon:
Ich the hote Jon, he seide, you wite hire both day and niht
That the Gywes hire fon ne don hire non un riht.
Seint John in the stude vr ladi in to the temple nom
God to serven he hire dude sone so he thider come,
Hole and seeke heo duden good that hes founden thore
Heo hire serveden to hond ane foot, the lass and eke the more.
The pore folke feire heo fedde there, heo sege that hit was neode
And the seke heo brougte to bedde and met and drinke gon heom beode.
Wy at heore mihte yong and olde hire loveden bothe syke and fer
As hit was riht for alle and summe to hire servise hedden mester.
Jon hire was a trew feer, and nolde nougt from hire go,

He lokid hire as his ladí deore and what heo wolde hit was i do.
Now blowith this newe fruyt that lat bi gon to springe,
That to his kuynd heritage monkunne schal bringe,
This new fruyt of whom I speke is vre cristendome,
That late was on erthe isow and latir furth hit com,

So hard and luthur was the lond of whom hit scholde springe

Some of these religious poems contain the usual address of the minstrel to the company. As in a poem of our Saviour's descent into hell, and his discourse there with Sathanas the porter. Adam, Eve, Abraham, &c. MSS. ibid. f. 57.

Alle herkennesh to me now,

Of Jhesu and of Sathan,

Other proofs will occur occasionally.

A strif wolle y tellen ou:

Tho Jhesu was to hell y-gan.

1 As 1 collect from the following poem, MS. Vernon, fol. 229.

The Visions of Seynt Poul won he was rapt into Paradys.

Lusteneth lordynges leof and dere, Że that wolen of the Sonday here;

The Sonday a day hit is

More in that ilke day

That angels and archangels joyn i wis,
Then any odure, &c.

22 POETICAL BIBLICAL HISTORY FROM GENESIS AND EXODUS.

That wel unnethe eny rote men mougte thereon bring,
God hi was the gardener,' &c.

In the archiepiscopal library at Lambeth, among other NormanSaxon homilies in prose, there is a homily or exhortation on the Lord's prayer in verse: which, as it was evidently transcribed rather before the reign of Richard the first, we may place with some degree of certainty before the year 1185.

Vre feder that in hevene is
Weo moten to theos weordes iseon
That weo beon swa
That he beo feder and we him icorene.

That is al sothfull I wis.

That to live and to saule gode beon.
his sunes iborene

That we don alle his ibeden
Lauerde God we biddeth thus
That vre soule beo to the icore
Dole us to biwepen vre sunne

And his wille for to reden, &c.
Mid edmode heorte gif hit us.
Noht for the flesce for lore.
That we ne sternen noht therunne

And gif us, lauerd, that ilke gifte

Thet we hes ibeten thurh holie scrifte.

AMEN.

In the valuable library of Corpus Christi college in Cambridge, is a sort of poetical biblical history, extracted from the books of Genesis and Exodus. It was probably composed about the reign of Henry II. or Richard I. But I am chiefly induced to cite this piece, as it proves the excessive attachment of our earliest poets to rhyme: they were fond of multiplying the same final sound to the most tedious monotony; and without producing any effect of elegance, strength, or harmony. It begins thus:

Man og to luuen that rimes ren.
Hu man may him wel loken
Luuen god and serven him ay
And to al cristenci men
Than sal him almighti luuven.

The wissed wel the loged men.
Tho he ne be lered on no boken.
For he it hem wel gelden may.
Boren pais and luue by twem.
Here by nethen and thund abuuven,

And given him blisse and soules reste.

That him sal cavermer lesten.

Ut of Latin this song is a dragon On Engleis speche on soche sagen, Cristene men ogen ben so lagen So facles are quan he it sen dagen. Than man hem tellod soche tale

Wid londes spoche and wordes smale

Of dissy dune, of serwes dale, Cubu Lucifer that devel dwale
And hold him samod in helles male
Di god Min read in mislicho

And uns rood at the fendes sped
Fadl be singen ron other led.
Fader gode of à tanga
The gave me teli timinge
The As gai to wantinge

We find this acca malation of stenvell rhymes in the Ranic odes.

Particularly in the ode of Egill cited above, entitled Egill's Ransom. In the Cotton library a poem is preserved of the same age, on the subjects of death, judgment, and hell torments, where the rhymes are singular, and deserve our attention.

Non mai longe lives wene

Ac ofte him lieth the wrench.
Feir weither turneth ofte into reine
And thunderliche hit maketh his blench,
Tharfore mon thu the biwenche

At schal falewi thi grene.

That ne schal drincke of deathes drench,

Mon er thu falle of thi bench

Weilawei! nis kin ne quene

Thine sunne thu aquench1.

To the same period of our poetry, I refer a version of St. Jerom's French psalter, which occurs in the library of Corpus Christi college at Cambridge. The hundredth psalm is thus translated.

Mirthes to god al erthe that es
In go yhe ai in his siht,

Serves to louerd in faines,
In gladnes that is so briht.
He us made and our self noht us,
In gos his yhates that are gode :
In ympnes to him yhe schrive.
Heryhes his name for louerde is hende,
In all his merci do in strende and strande2.

Whites that louerd god is he thus
His folk and shep of his fode :
In schrift his worches belive,

In the Bodleian library there is a translation of the psalms, which much resembles in style and measure this just mentioned. If not the same, it is of equal antiquity. The handwriting is of the age of Edward II. certainly not later than his successor. It also contains the Nicene creed3, and some church hymns, versified: but it is mutilated and imperfect. The nineteenth psalm runs thus.

Hevenes tellen godes blis
Dal to dai word rise riht,

And wolken shewes hond werk his
And wisdom shewes niht to niht,

Of whilke that noht is herde thar steven,

In al the world out yhode thar corde

And in ende of erthe of tham the worde.

... funne he sette his telde to stande

And b. bridegroome a. he als of his lourd commande.
He gladen als den to renne the wai

Ffrem heighist heven hei outcoming ai,

And his gairenning tilheht fete, Ne is qwilke mai him from his hete. Lagh of louerd unwenned isse,

Witness of lourd is ever true

Turnand saules in to blisse:
Wisdom servand to littell newe:

Lourd's rihtwisnesse riht hertes famand,
But of lourd is liht eghen sighand,

Drede of lourde hit heli es

Domes of love ful sori sothe are ai

Rihted in thamsalve are thai,

1 Bild. Cotton, MSS. CALIG. A. ix. --vi. f. 243. 20. 6. Cod. membr. 4to.

I

To whom, to avoid Thesaur, P. i. p. 2334 Sic.

3 Hickes has printed a metrical version of the creed of St. Athanasius. prefix and obsolete specimens already printed, I refer the reader. Selieve it to be of the age of Henry II.