with this man that he was distraughte oute of his mynde And anoon made the people to bynde him â–ª to a poste in a berne Soo whan the baylyf and his seruauntes hadde souped he hadde one of his seruauntes go loâ—e how that this man dyd And he wenâ—â— to this man and whanne he câ—me there he sawe thre grete blacke dogges pluckynge awaye this mannys flesshe fro the bones Thenne was this seruaunte soo aferde that vnneth he had his mynde but went to his bedde and laye seke there longe after And on the morowe whanne the people come thidre as this man was bounde they founde no more of this man but his bare bones and all his flesshe was clene awaye Thus ye may see he that contynually lyueth in synne may be full sure of a foull ende And though his ende seme fair in the sight of a man yet it is right foull in the sight of almyghty god and all his aungellys wherfore it is nedful to euery cristen man and woman to amende hym while he is here into this lyf and hath tyme and space to amendmente And he that doth soo shall come to sainte Poule and be there with hym in euirlasting blisse to the whiche god brynge vs that dyed for vs all mankynde Amen Sequitur de purificatione beate marie virginis GOode freundes suche a day ye shall haue candelmasse daye that daye maketh mynde and mencion of oure lady and of her sone and specially in thre thinges of our ladyes purification In simeones metynge And in candelles offring This day is called the Purification of our lady In englishe it is the clensynge of oure lady but for no nede that she hadde therto For she was enclensed with the wirkinge of the bodily gooste in conceyuyng of her sone But ther was in her noâ— maner spotte of fylthe But for the day was the xl daye from the byrthe of her sone and was called in the iewes law the day of the Purificacion nat only â–ª for oure lady but for all other wymâ—â— wherfore we call it the purification of oure lady The lawe of the iewes was suche that whaÌ„ne that a woman was delyuered of a man childe she was hâ—â—den vnclene vii daies after TheÌ„ne thâ— lawe gaue her leue to go to her husboÌ„de But yet she was vnclene xxxiii daies but tyll xliiii dayes were fulfilled she sholde holde her withoute the churche with her offrynge And the offrynge in those daies was of a riche man a laÌ„be and for a pore man was a paire of tuâ—tyll doues or elles other doues and soo offred oure lady with her son and if a woman be deliueryd of a mayden childe she sholde double all those same daies aforseyd that is for to saye the coÌ„myng to her husbonde and also the coÌ„mynge to the temple and so this is the reason therof For it is soo that all grete clerkes say that it is vii daies after whanne a woman hath conceyued a manchylde or that the same sede turn into bloode And it is also xxxiii dayes after or it turne to any shap of men And thenne god sendith lyf into it and if it be a mayden childe it doubleth all the daies bothe in tournynge into blode and also in shappe of body and this is the cause Eue that was the firste four myd woman that euir wrathed oure lorde more than the man Adam Therfore she is the lenger in fourmynge ¶ Thus for flesshely complexion of a man and woman she is vnclene in her selue Therfore this Purification is ordeyned But vnderstonde well that oure lady hadde noo nedde to this clensynge For â—he coÌ„ceyued nat with complexioÌ„ of man but only of the holy goste soo that she was clene of all maner of filthe touchynge consent of man But yet she wente to the temple as other wymeÌ„ dyd specially for foute causes The firste was to fulfyll scripture that sayeth thus Guanto maior es tanto te humiles The higher that thou arte in degre the mekar thou sholdest make the Thus dyd oure lady for she wyst well that she was modre to goddes sonne of heuyn and hadde so grete worship passinge all other wymen yet she made her as the pourest woman that was in the company The secounde cause was as she fulfylled the lawe of circumcision of her sone In the same wyse she fulfilled the Purification and in offriÌ„ge of her sone in the temple doynge for him as other pore wymen dyd for their children The thridde cause was for to stoppe the iewes mouthes lest they had saide that she hadde nat done the lawe and so cast a grete sclaunder ayenst her in tyme coÌ„ming The fourth cause was to gyue ensample to all other wymen that they sholde coÌ„me to churche after the birthe of their children and thanke god that he hadde sauyd theym from dethe in their trauaylinge for in the tym a woman is in grete peryll of deth for ther is no sekenesse in the worlde that gooth so nygh deth For thâ—se causes holy churche maketh mynde of oure ladyes purification It maketh mynde also of the coÌ„mynge of Symeon Anne Simeon ille senex dum vixerat etas comperatur anne This Symeon was a passing old maÌ„ but he hadde prayed to god besâ—ly all his lyf that he sholde neuir dye tyll â—e hadde seen criste bodily in this worlde â–ª and so he dyd and this anne prayed the same Also ye shall vnderstonde that this anne was nat oure ladies modre but a nother anne that hadde a husbond vii yeres and whan her husbonde was dede she wolde nat be weddyd noo more but lyued tyll she was lxxx yere old and seruyd god in the temple nyght daye and prayed that she myght se god or she dyed and oure lorde graunted her Thenne whan oure lady came into the temple with her sone the holy goste warned symeon and anne And 〈◊〉 they with moche ioye went ayenst him and brought him into the temple Et simeon accepit euÌ„ in vlnas suas et dixit And simeon toke him in his armes wythe all the reuerence that he coude and myghte and saide Nunc dimittis seruum tuuÌ„ domine secundum verbum tuum in pace â— et cetera O thou lorde nowe suffre thy seruauÌ„te after thy word in peas And so with al the worshippe and reuerence that he coude he louyd and thanked him that he wolde let him lyue so longe to see him bodilye with his eyen where in mynde of thys whanne a woman cometh to churche of a childe she abideth at the church dore tyll the preest coÌ„me caste holy water on her and taketh her in by the hond into the churche gyuyng her leue after to come to chirche to go to her husboÌ„d For and if they haue comenyd to gyddre bifore they muste bothe shryue hem therof and take their penaunce Also holy churche maketh mynde of candelles offrynge And as ye see it is a comen vse for all cristen people that be of
and after brengeth forth a whyte floure wythout crafte of man or ony peyryng to the stalke Ryght so our lady conceyued of the holy gooste and after brought her sone our lord Ihesu Cryste wythoute ony wemme of her body That is flour and cheef of alle wymmen Thenne said the iewe whaÌ„ I see a lylye sprynge oute of the dede stalke that standeth in this pot thenne wyl I byleue that thou sayst to be trewe And anon ther wyth sprange a whyte lyly oute of the dede stocke that stode in that same wyne pot And whaÌ„ the iewe sawe that anone he felle doune to the grounde vpon his knees and sayd thus Lady now I see well that thou conceyued wyth the holy gost our lord Ihesu criste goddis sone of heuen And thou were clene mayden both before the birth and so anone he was cristened so after he was a full holy man And this is the cause wherfore that the pot wyth the lily is set betwene our lady the angel For ryght as the iew disputed wyth the Cristen man of the maner of the Concepcion So our lady disputed wyth the angell of the maner how she shold conceyue be both moder mayde or she consented therto Thenne ye that wyl faste the v. euens of our lady in the worship of the v. ioyes that she had of her sone The first whan she conceyued of the holy gooste and knewe that she was moder to goddis sone of heuen The ii was on cristmasse daye whan she was delyuered of her sone wythoute ony peyne of her body For as she conceyued wythout lust of her body also she was deliuered wythout peyne of her body The iii. ioye was on ester daye whan her sone rose from deth to life and come to her kyssed her and made her more ioyefull of his vprysing than she was sory off his deth The iiii ioye whan he styed vp to heuâ—n on holy thursday in the same flesshe and blode that he toke in her body The v. ioye was in her assumpcioÌ„ whaÌ„ she sawe her sone come wyth grete multitude of angelis and saintes to fette her to heuen to crowne her quene of heuen and emperes of helle and lady of the world and so al that ben in heuen shall do her reuerence and worshyp And al that ben in erthe shal doo her seruyce Thyse ben the v. ioyes that our lady had of her sone and ye shall vnderstonde that he that wyl grete our lady with v. Aues shal neuer come in to the peynes of helle ¶ Narracio ¶ we fynde wreten of an holy maydeÌ„ that was denoute in our ladyes seruyce and euery daye greted her wyth v. ioyes Thenne it happed so on a daye that she fell seke felte her selfe well that she shold be dede and for fere she sighed wonder sore and made greate mone for by cause she wyft not wheder she shold goo after her deth Thenne come oure lady to her and said why arte thou so sory that hast made me so glad gretynge me wyth ioyes that I had of my sone therfor be not sory but knowe mell that thou shal go wyth me in to euerlastynge blysse and ioye wyth out ende Amen ¶ Narracio ¶ we fynde of saint Gylberte that on a tyme he was nye dede of the quynâ—â— and whan his throte was so grete and well nye dede that he myght not take breth our lady come to hym and sayd to hym Gylbert my seruaunt it were euyll do that thy throte shold suffre penaunce that hath soo oft tyme gladed me wyth ioyes and anone she toke her fayr pappe and mylked on his throte and wente her waye anone therwith he was hole and thanked our lady euer after De sancto Georgeo martire â—Ood frendes suche a daye ye shal haue saynt Georges daye The holy marter It is wreten in 〈◊〉 â—â—fe that there was an horryble dragon besyde a cyte that was called Câ—â—â—e of the whiche dragon men of the Cite were sore aferde in so moche that by counseyll of the kynge euery daye thei gaue hym a childe and a shepe to ete For fere lest he wolde haue come in to the Cyte Thenne whan all the chyldren and the shepe were nye ete for by cause that the kyng hym self gaue theÌ„ the counseyll they constreyned hym that he had but a doughter to gyue her to the dragon Thenne the kynge for fere of the people wyth wepyng and grete sorowe makynge delyuered hem his childe and sente her forth to the place â—â—ere as they were wont to set her own children and a shepe wyth her to abyde tyll the dragon come But than by the ordynaunce of god saynt George come tydyng that waye And whan he sawe this damoysell in her araye him thought she was a woman of greate byrth and asked her why she stode therre wyth the shepe in suche araye so mornynge Thenne answered she and said gentyll knyght well maye I morne make sorowe for I am a kynges doughter of this Cite and now I am sette here to be deuoured of a dragon that hath ete all the chyldren of this Cite be now dystroyed and nowe he muste haue me For my fader gaf hem counseyll therto and therfore gentyll knyght ryde hense faste and saue thy selfe leest the dragon sle bothe the and me Thenne sayd George damoysell that were grete shame and vylonye to me that am a knyghte well arayed And shold fle and thou a woman and sholdest abyde TheÌ„ne wyth that the dragon put oute his hede at an hole and spytted fyre proferd batayle to george he made a sygne of the crosse before hym and sett the spere in the reste and wyth grete myght bare downe the dragon to the grounde· And thenne he bad the damoysell bynde this dragon wyth her gyrdell about the necke And lede it wyth her in to the Cite and soo the dragon folowed after her as it hadde be a honde maide to bowe paciently· But whan the people of the Cyte sawe the dragon come they fledde for fere awaye Thenne George called the peple ayen and sayde to theym be not aferde For and ye wyll belyue in Criste and take cristeÌ„dom I wyll saue and sle this dragon and delyuer you of your enemye then were they so glad that anone xx thousand men wythoute wymen and children were cristened And the kynge the quene were first of all wyth al his housholde And thenne George slewe the dragon and bad the people tye oxen to hym and drawe it out of the Cite that the fauour of it dyde the peple no harme Thenne George bad the kynge edefye chirches in euery corner of his londe and be lusty to goddis seruyce and to honour and worship all the peple of holy chirche and euer haue coÌ„passyon and be sory for them that be pour or in ony dysease Thenne whan George had done thus and had torned al the londe to crysten feyth he herde of
anone he deyed and there deyed many sodeynly Thenne was there a pope that was called pellagius that comaunded all cristen people that whan he yaned euery man shold make a Crosse ouer his mouthe And whan ony man herd another fâ—ese he shold saye crist helpe the. and soo many were saned and there he made the people goo a procession so prayed to all the sayntes of heuen to praye to god for them and soo they dyde Thenne come after saynt gregori and made them doo the same on saynt markis day to halowe and fast goo in procession and canonysed it to be done for euer more Thenne come there a pope that was called Liberius in his tyme all maner frutes in tyme of the yere of grete tendernesse of it self toke grete harme soo what by thonder lightenyng and vnkynde hetes by stormes myldewes by wormes and by longe taylde flyes for greate vengeaunce that anone after ester daye the people iourned ayen to her olde synne hauyng no rewarde of the sacrament whiche they haue receyued thrfore god sente more vengeaunce this tyme thaÌ„ in ony other tyme of the yere wherfore this holy pope to put awaye all thyse thinges in especyall goddis wreche fro the people he commaunded to all cristen people to halowe and to fast and goo in procession and he that sayd that it is made by a constytucion is acursed tyll he come to amendement And therfore I charge you and counseyll you al that thynke to be saued kepe this daye after the rule of the holy chirche In die Philippi et Iacobi â—Ood frendes suche a daye ye shall haue the fest of Philip and Iacob the whiche were holy appostles ¶ But for this fâ—st cometh wythen the fest of ester ye shall not faste the 〈◊〉 But ye shall come to the chirche and worship god and the holy appostles Thenne ye shall knowe well that philippe was ordeyned by al other appostles to go in to the contrey that was called Sytha to preche to the vnbyleued people But whan he came theder and preched ayenste the maâ—â—mentes that they were fendes and noo goddis and soo they toke hym ladde hym to her temple wold haue coÌ„streyned him to do sacrefyce Thenne as they ¶ were besy to doo hym dysease sodeynly a grete dragon come oute of the erthe and slewe thre of thyse mysbyleued people and venemed the people soo wyth his brethyng that there felle on hem suche a sykenesse that the woo and the sorowe that they had they cryed after helpe TheÌ„ne said philipe to hem yf ye wold be holpen heled of your siknesse and also thyse men rered from deth to lyfe fyrste cast doune the mametes set in theyr stede crosses there as our lord deyed vpon And doo it worship thenne they dyde so for they were glad to be holpen off her sikenesse and assone as they hadde doo soo they were holpen And thenne philyppe prayed to god for thyse thre men to reyse from deth to lyf Tunc precepit philippus dracom vt in locum suum redescenderet ¶ Thenne phylyppe commaunded the dragon to goo downe to his place ayeÌ„ and neuer disease man more Thenne the cursed peple of the cyte sawe that phylyp wolde haue tourned all the people toke hym and dyde hym vpon a crosse And soo on a crosse he deyed wente to euerlastyng blisse ¶ Now shall ye here of Iacob that was called amonge the appostles Iacobus minor The lesse Iames. for to knewe from Iacobus maior Iames the more was saynt Iohan euangelist brother But whan Iacobus or Iames that is all one name This was called cristis owne brother for he was soo moche lyke to crist theÌ„ne whan the iewes wold haue take criste they coâ—de not knowe 〈…〉 nother But as iudas betrayed 〈◊〉 wyth kyssynge of him by the kyssynge Cryste was knowen and taken This Iames was so holy fro the tyme that he was borne that aslonge as he lyued he neuer dranke wyne ale ne syder nor noo maner of drynke that myght make a man dronke ne neuer ete flesshe ne his hede was neuer shauen ne vsed neuer to be baumed wyth oyle as the maner is of the countrey for hete of the sonne Nor he ware neuer lynen clothe And he lay vpon his knees prayeng for the people that his knees were soo thyk that they were bollen oute lyke a camell This was the first man that euer songe masse in vestymentis as prestes do now Thenne it felle soo that tyme in the Cite of Iherusalem by the dede off cristis dethe that it must nedis be distroyed wherfore this holy man Iames was made bysshop of the Cite of Iherusalem and there he was lefte to preche and to tourne the people to better liuynge but for they were soo combred wyth synne that they had none other grace of amendement but nedys for the prophecye of Crist must be fulfylled and the Cyte distroyed wherfore thyse men toke saynt Iames and sett hym to preche the feyth of Cryste For moche of the people were tourned to cryste And he stode vp and preched by good reyson how all that byleued not in criste shold be damned at the day off dome in to helle pytte Thenne the mayster of the 〈…〉 caste hym downe from the 〈…〉 that he stode in and wyth stones they bete hym doune tyll he was dede Then he â—nelyd on his knees prayenge to god to forgyue him his dethe and therwith a cursed man with a staff smote him on the hedâ— that the brayne fyll oute and soo in this wise he gaue vp the gooste Then after for vengeaunce of cristes deth for this holy mannys deth the cite of ierusalem that was that tyme the gretyst cyte of the worlde and neuir lyke for to haue be wonne sone after was distroyed vnto the vttermoost In somoche that the stones of all the walles of the cyte was turned vp side doune as our lord Iesu criste sayd xl wynter bifore that it shulde be soo and it was the iewes were dryuen oute into diuerse contrees In somoche that al the kingdomes were distroyed and yet been vndre othere kynges and euir shal be subgettes no possessioners ¶ yet ye shall here more of the distruction of this cyte of Ierusalem to shewe how vengeable god is to them that be gladde to shedde cristen mennys bloode as they were whanne god wolde haue take vengeance of the cytee It hapnyd so that a man of pylates the whiche dyd crist to deth came fro Ierusalem towarde Rome but the tempest in the see toke him droue him vpon a lande by a temple with gret teÌ„peste and there duelled a grete lorde that was called Vaspasian And for this cause he was called soo for he had a malady in his nose threlles there dropped oute of his nose wormes lyke waspes Then saide vaspasian to this man Fro what countrey coÌ„mest thou he aunswered him and saide fro Ierusalem and wolde
to a contree that was called pounce where the people of that contrey where so cursed that they slewe ony that come to bee thyr mayster ouer hem Soo whan this pylate come thyder he applied hym to her maners soo what wyth whyles and sotyltye he ouercome hem and had the maystrye gate his name and was called pylate of poâ—â—ceâ— and had grete domynacion and power Thenne the kynge of Iherusalem sent after him and made him lyeuftenaunt vnder hym of the londe of Iury. And for pylate lyked well â—â—office preuely he sente to themperour and had his offyce confermed of hym vnwetynge to the kynge herode Kynge that tyme. wherfore whan kynge herode herde what he hadde done he was soo wrothe that they were enmyes vnto the tyme that oure Lorde Ihesu crist was take and thenne they become frendis ayen and fylle bothe in to one aseÌ„t of Cristis deth Thenne it happed afterward that themperour fylle syke sent after criste for to hele hym For it was tolde hym that cryste heled all tho that euer wolde come to hym of all maner of sykenesse what soo euer sykenesse it had soo bee But thenne had pylate done hym to deth or the messager come Thenne whan themperoure vnderstode that he sent for pylate and made hym come to hym ¶ And whan pylate herde this he was sore aferd take on Cristis cote And soo whan he come to rome to themperour all those that were in preseÌ„ce made pilate good chere all the whyle that he had on cristis â—â—te And themperour swore byfore that he shold be ded Thenne toke of the cote and anone as the cote was off Themperour was sore wrothe wythe Pylate that he putte hym in to a prysoÌ„ tyll he had take counseyll what dethe he shold deye on Thenne as soone as pylate wist and vnderstod that he sholde be dede he toke his owne knyfe and slewe hym self wyth all And whan the Emperour herde therof and vnderstode that he had sleyn hym self And thenne anone he made to bynde a grete stone aboute pylats necke and to caste hym in a water that is called Tyber Thenne whan he was cast therin the fendes made suche a noyse there about that all the Cite of Rome was sore afreyd ¶ Thenne whan Emperour sawe this he made to take hym vp agayn and thenne was he caste in to a water that was betwyx two hie hilles and soo longe tyme after there was in the water many horryble syghtes seen aboute that cursed man Thus Oure Lorde Ihesu Cryste suffred passion and dethe for all mankynde and fyrst whan he was take they dyde buffete hym and stryped hym naked and bete hym wyth scourgis ¶ A vertice capitis vsque ad plantas pedumnon fuit in eo sanitas ¶ That from the hyest place of his hede to the sole of the fete was noo thynge lefte hole on hym but all raw And after made a crowne off thornes and set it on his hede and bete it doune wyth stauis of reede that it perisshed his brayne And whan they had peyned hym soo they lad hym foâ—h all blody Ad montem caluarie To the monte of caluary to th ende off dethe yet wymmen of the Cyte whan they see hym soo fowle fayre wyth all to lougged and all to drawe for very pyte they wepte vpon hym ¶ Thenne sayde our lord to hem Nolite flere super me sed super vos et filios vestros ¶ ye wymmen of Iherusalem wepe ye not for me but vpon you and your children· For there shall dayes come in the whiche ye shall blisse the wombes that were bareyne and the pappes that neuer gaue souke Thus oure Lord preched byfore the vengeaunce that fille after vpon Iherusalem The which prophecye Iheremye the prophete spak of that is redde in holy chirche thyse thre dayes at tenebras the which was soo horryble of many dyuerse myscheues and in especiall off hongre deyde in the stretes Thenne was there a woman was come of grete birthe Tthat for houngre toke her owne chyld that was fedde wyth her pappes and slewe it and parte it in two partyes and than rosted halfe And thother halfe she kepte tyll on the morowe ¶ Thenne as the people come by the strete they had sauour of the roste and anone they come in to haue hadde part therof and whan they sawe the moder roste her owne chylde and sone they were heuy and foule dissmayed and wold not ete therof But wente theyr waye forthe ayen Thenne toke the moder of that child and ete theroff and sayd in this maner wyse This is myn owne sone and myn owne chyld that I bare of my body and fedde it wyth my pappes but I wyll rather ete hit than deye for houngre Therfore I tell you this to shewe you somwhat of the vengeaunce that fyll on Iherusalem after the dethe of oure Lord Ihesu Criste ¶ Thenne they ladde hym to the mouÌ„te of Caluarye And there they streyned hym soo on the Crosse that euery bone of his body myght be knowen one from another And nayled hym honde and fote to the crosse and they lyfte vp the Crosse and the body to gyder And wyth a grete peyce they leâ—e the crosse and the body falle doune to gyder in to the mortesse that all the body dasshed and his bonys craked and his ioyntes brast and veynes and al wouÌ„des brake out of blode Sydes armes legges fete and hondes soo that there was no blode in hym yet they toke a clothe while the blod was hote wouÌ„de it a bout his body tyl the blode was cold theÌ„ne they drew away the cloth pulled away the flesshe fro the bonis this was a grete pyte And soo whan he shold deye he began as IohaÌ„ bellet sayth Deê° meê° respice in me And soo saide al the verses siâ—â—ng tyll he caÌ„me vnto the verse In te dneÌ„ spaui And soo atte this verse ¶ In manus tuas domine coÌ„mando spiritum meum redemisti me domine deê° veritatis· ¶ There he gaue vp the spirite This is a grete ensample that our lorde Ihesu Crist gaue to al cristen that euery maÌ„ shold haue in mynde thise verses And he that can hem say and yf he say hem euery daye he shall not deye no maner myscheuous nor vengeable deth TheÌ„ne after this passion we saye orysons and knelyng at euery oryson saue atte that oryson that is said for the Iewes at that oryson holy chirche kneleth not for by cause iewes in scorne knelynge thre tymes to crist whan they scourged hym Thenne thyse orysons holy chirche prayeth for all maner of people For Iewes sarasyns cysmatiâ—s heretykis But not for crysten people for whyle ony man or woman stondeth a cursed â—he is damned byfore god And dampned shall be at his deth But he repente hym and amende hym whyle he lyueth in this present world ¶ Si scirem pro certo quod pater meus esset iÌ„ inferno
ben cristen peple be well ware lest ye be disceyued by any false sorcery as by taking couÌ„ seyll of a man a fore a nother In byenge or sellinge or lenynge In the whyche haue some diuerse opyniones And if they be well shreuyn they be worthy for to haue grete penauÌ„ce for their mysbeleue for that coÌ„meth of the fende and nat of god This day is called the circumcision of oure lorde For as holy churche tellith this day he was circumcised and bledde his blode for our sake For whanne the flesshe was cutt he bledde faste and was full sore for he was but yong and tendre and but viii daies olde and therfore he bled the more Thenne ye shall vnderstond that he bledde v tymes for vs. Quinque enim vicibus sanguinem suum ê“ nobis effudit The first tyme that he shedde his blode was as this daye whanne he was circumcised A nother was for fere of his passion For right as a child wepyth for fere whanne he seeth the rodde hathe noo harme Soo the flesshe of our lord swete bloode for drede of astroÌ„ger passion that was coÌ„mynge The thryd tyme was in his flagellacion whanne he was beten with scourges â–ª soo that all his body ranne on rede blode The iiii tyme was whanne he was nayled hoÌ„de and fote on the crose The v. tyme was whanne that longius perryd his herte with a spere the water the blode come oute of his woundes and then they tooke vp the crosse with the bodye and lyfte it vp on hye and sodenly they lete the crosse fall downe in the morter se that all the senouse veynes and io 〈…〉 tes brake and blode and water come oute of euery wounde this he suffred for vs Thenne sithe criste was circumcised and shedde his bloode for vs that was withoute synne and circumcision is for synne remedye help why wold he be circumcysed that dyd no synne Sanctus augustinud dicit ê“pteer quatuor causas Saint Austyn sayth it was for foure causes The firste was for to make a sethe with the iewys For elles they wold and might haue saide that he had natt been of their lawe wherfore they wold nat resceyue him nor consente to his techinge this was to desceyue the fende For right as the fend disceyued Adam and eue so all mankynde was daÌ„pned so it fel to crist to desceyue the fend where through all mankynde mighte be sauyd Than whan the fende sawe that he was circuÌ„cised as an other childe child for yf he had knowe hym verely that he had come to haue boughte man kynde he wold neuer haue tysed the iewes to haue put hym to deth And this was the cause that our lady was wedded to Ioseph for to dysceyue the fende for the fende sholde wene that Ioseph had ben his fader and not conceyued of the holy goost The third cause why he was circumcysed that was in confermynge of the olde lawe in greate comforte to the olde faders that were of the olde testament For and yf he had be cristened and not circumcysed it had be a grete discomforte to al that were before thâ—â—carnaciouÌ„ of our lord Ihesu criste The fourth cause of his circumcysion was for our lorde wyste well that there wolde come heretykes after that wold haue sayd that Criste â—ad a body of the erthly fantasye and not of flesshe and blode as one of vs haue for a body of thayre may not blede And therfore to put awaye all suche errours Crist was circuncysed bled in his cuttynge of his flesshe the whiche flesshe was cut from his membre And an angell after broghte it to kyng Charles for the most precious relyke in the world And for the gretteste worshyp that he coude doo therto broughte it to rome to a chirche that is called Sancta sanctorum For thyse iiii causes Crist was cercuÌ„cysed This daye also it is called the vtas of the natiuyte that is the viii daye of our lordis birthe in grete tokenynge to all vs that be goddis seruauntes to thinke on thise viii dayes that foloweÌ„ the byrth The first day is to thynk inwardely on the sede that we were conceyued of that is fowle and abomynable in it self â–ª that a man or a woman be they neuer soo fayre that and they sawe the mater they wold be ashamed of hem self to thynke that euer he were conceyued of that sowle thynge The second daye is to thinke how greuous he peyneth his moder in his byrth in so moche that it is a grete miracle of god that she may haue her lyf The thirde day is to thynke how feble and how wretched he is borne for all the bestes of kynde some what they caÌ„ helpe them self saue oonly mankynde he nother maye ne can helpe hym self f in noo degree but deye anone But he had not helpe and socour of other The iiii day is to bâ—thynk howe moche parell and drede he lyueth here fore in euery place deth folowth hymand is euer redy to fall on him what tyme ne where noo man knoweth But oonly god hym self Incertus eÌ„ locê° in quo mors te expectat ¶ It is incerteyn the place there as deth abydeth the. ¶ The v daye is for to thynke howe horryble deth is whan he cometh for in shorte space tyme he maketh a man to stynke that all the best frendes that he hath ben auysed to put hym in erth And hyde hym there ¶ The vi daye is to thynke how rew full is the departyng of the body and the soule that may not be departed tyl the herte in the body breke for drede off the syghtes that the saule shal see that for greate fere the herte breketh O mors quam amara est memoria tua O thou deth howe byttre is it to thynke vpon whan thou arte coÌ„mynge to any man The vii is to thynke howe dredefull is the dome that he shall go to anoon and howe streight his iugemente shall be Thenne he that wyll thinke on these vii daies besily on the viii day I hope he shal be circumcised that is he shal be cutt away fro the lust of his flesshe and of synne and soo do depart from this worldis likynge And thus coÌ„meth the viii daye that is the vtas of cryste that is the ioye of blisse that neuir shal haue ende To the whiche god brynge vs all In die Epiphanie GOode frendes this daye is called the xii daye but it is xiii daye of cristes byrth the whiche day holy church calleth it Epiphania domini that is to saye the shewyng of our lord Iesu criste very god and man For this daye he was shewyd very god man by thre offringes by his cristnyng and also by tornynge of the water into wyne The xiii day of his birthe by offringe of the thre kinges that same daye xxx wynter and xiii daies after hys byrthe He was cristned in the water of flome Iordane And that same
whan saint wolstone visited his busshopriche the people brought a man bifore him that dyd his neyghboures moche disease wold neuyr be in peas praynge the busshop to chastice him whan the busshop hade prechyd to this man he was euir leâ—gre the worse Then the busshop and al the peple prayed to saint mathye to shewe some myracle by this maÌ„ what he was worthy to haue Then anoon in sighte of all the peple there came oute of the erthe ii fendes with brennynge hokes and plucked this quycke man doune to hell And whan he was gone the people were releuyd and had reste and peas euyr after Amen De annunciacione beate marie virginis gOode frendes suche a daye ye shall haue an highe and a solempne feste in holy churche thannuÌ„ciacion of oure lady he that hath auowed or ioyned in penaunce must faste the euyn ¶ ye shall vnderstonde that it is called thannuÌ„ciacion for this cause For the fad of heuyn sent his angel gabriel Missus est angelus gabriel a deo in ciuitateÌ„ cui nomen Nazaret In the cyte that was called Nazareth to oure lady that was newe weded by the byddynge of god and reuelacion of the holy ghooste to a man called Iosephe And as she was in her chambre in her praiers the angell gabriell come to her said Oure lorde is with the Then was she gretly astonyed of this gretynge For there was in the countre a man that coud moche wichcraft so with helpe of fendes he made hym self lyâ— an angel came to dyuerse maydens said he was sente from god to theym on his message so ofte tymes laye by hem dyde hem grete vylonye thenne whaÌ„ our lady herde telle of that man she was a drad lest it had be he For she had spoke wyth noo angell before nor ther were no suche wordes ne suche gretinges made neuer none to her before Thenne gabriell the angell comforted her and saide ¶ Ne timeas maria inuenisti graciam apud dnÌ„m Drede not mary forsoth thou hast fouÌ„de grace at our lord For amonge al the wymen our lord hath chosen the for to be moder of his sone And hym thou shal coÌ„ceyue by feyth by loue of the holy goost wythout ony dede of maÌ„ that shal shadow the. quenche al flesshely lust tende the lyght of goostely loue that thou shalt coÌ„ceyue the sone of the hyghe god And thus thou shal be moder mayde so was neuer none before Thenne anone our lady herde thise wordes and anone therwyth come a spirituel swetenesse ioye in her herte that anone or ony erthely man cowde telle it so wyth al the reuereÌ„ce of mekenesse that she cowde She answerde thus ayen and sayde Ecce ancilla domini fiat michi secundum verbum tuum Lo here goddis own mayd redy to goddis wyl prayng it may be to me ryght as thou sayst Thus that blissed body coÌ„ceyued our lord Ihesu cryst in euerlastyng ioye to al the world Thus I ma eye lykeÌ„ our lady to a precioê° stone called onyx it is as clere as ony cristall shal of kynde whan the sonne shyneth hote on hym he openeth and receyueth a droppe of the dewe of heuen in to hym and closed ayen tyl ix monethes after thenne it openeth and falleth out a stone of the same kinde and so closeth ayen as euer it was â–ª and neuer openeth after Thus our lady was as clene as ony cristal for the hote loue of the holy goost at the ix monethis ende she was delyuered of her sone our lord Ihesu criste and was after as clene mayden as she was to fore Thenne whan the angell had done hâ—s message he wente his waye to heuen â–ª And our lady wente to her cosyn elysabeth that was grete wyth châ—ld with Saynt Iohan baptist And when she come to Elysabeth she grete her mâ—kely And assone as our lady spake to Elysabeth the childe in elysabethis woÌ„be pleyde and made grete ioye For he sawe that our lord had take mankynde and was come to saue hem that was lorn Thenne our lady dwelled there wyth Elysabeth her cosyn tyll the tyme that saynt Iohan was borne and was mydwyfe to Elysabeth and toke saynt Iohan from therthe and ther she lerned all that her neded for to knowe ayenst the tyme that her sone shold be borne And was parfyte ynough therof Thenne mekely she toke her leue and wente home ayen to Nazareth Thenne thoughte Ioseph he wold go loke how his wyf dyde and wente towarde her And whan our Lady herde of his comynge she wente ayenst hym and grete hym full mekely But whaÌ„ Ioseph sawe her grete wyth childe he merueyled gretely how that myght be For well he wyste it was not his for he had neuer part of her body in that degree For he knewe well that she had made a vowe before that she wold neuer haue parte of mannys body And thought how that he was made to wedde her by the byddynge of the holy gooste and grete myracle shewynge thought right in his herte he was not worthy to dwelle in her companye thoughte in his herte to haue gone home ayen and to leue her there Thenne come an angell to hym and sayd be not aferde to take mary thy wyf to thy kepyng for it is of the holy gooste that is quycke in her body For thou shalt be kepar and norissher to her child whaÌ„ it is borne calle it Ihesus For he shall be sauyour to all the world Thenne ye shall vnderstonde that for iiii causes As saynt Ambrosius saith Oure lady was wedded to this olde man Ioseph The firste was yf she had conceyued wythout wedlocke the iewes wolde haue said that she had be an euyll woman of her body and soo haue stoned her to deth The second cause was for she was soo shame faste that and she had herde ony haue put ony defam to her she wold haue deyed for sorowe The thirde cause was for Ioseph sholde bere wytnesse of her maydenhode The fourth cause for Ioseph sholde helpe her at her byrthe and brynge her to Bethelem and after in to Egypte and so ayen in to her own countrey For thise four causes she was wedded to this olde man Ioseph and also to begyle the fende that he shold not knowe hym fro another childe Now haue ye herde of the AnnunciacioÌ„ There be some people that aske a question why there stondeth a wyne potte wyth lilyes betwene our Lady and gabriell the angell at her salutacion This is the cause For our Lady at her salutacion conceyued by feyth ¶ Narracio ¶ It befell thus vpon a cristmas day that a Cristen man and a Iewe satte to gyder and spake of the Concepcion of our lady and as they were there stode a wyne pot to fore them with a lilie therin Thenne sayde the cristen man we byleue that our lady conceyued lyke as this lylye conceyued coloure of grene
sacryfice in the aulter of the crosse And marke wrote moche of the resurreccion and therfore he is lykened to a lyon For as the bokes saye and tellen whan a lyon hath yonge welpes they shall lye as dede iii. dayes after they ben whelped Thenne cometh the lyon and seeth his whelpes dede Anone he maketh suche a â—â—â—yng and a cryenge that the dede whelpes wake therwyth â–ª and quyken and take lyf Soo whan criste had laye thre dayes in his tombe thenne the fader spake to hym badde hym ryse and soo rered hym from deth to lyf Also Iohn is lykened to the Egle. For by kynde â—e fleeth hyghest in to thayre and nexte to the sonneâ— so Iohn wrote most of the godhede and but lityll of the manhede thyse ben the causes that they be likened to foure deuerse beestes ¶ But now ye shall vnderstonde that luke was lykened to an oxe thâ—e maner of wyse that is in thoughte worde and dede he offred his thoughte to god For there as he was firste besy to gete goodes of the worlde wyth his crafte For as bokes telle he was first a leche and for couetyse of godde he slewe many a man bodely theÌ„ne had he offended god soo greuously that anone he offred his thought in sacrâ—fice For as boâ—es teche god is hyghly pleised wyth thought that is whan a man is sory for his synnes in his herte and thynketh verely to forsake theym and amende him Also he offred his worde to god in sacrifice for as he was wonte to spende his speche in many ydle wordes or he come to the appostle after he tourned his speche to the profyte of all crysten people wherfore he wente to our lady and she taughte hym the gospell that he wrote And for he was a clene mayden oure Lady cherysshed hym the more And so taught hym ful goodly how the angell come to her in message And what he sayd what answere she gaue ayen and soo all thynge that she dyde wyth her sonne And of all her doyng tyll oure lord was styed vp in to heuen And whan Luke had lerned this perfyghtly theÌ„ne he loked what Marke had wreten and mathewe and soo toke at theym ¶ And there as they wrote derkely he wrote openly all thyng Thus in prechyng techynge he offred his wordes to god in sacrefyce For he peyned his body wyth dyuerse penaunce of fastynge and of harde lyuynge in kepyng and praynge Also he wrote all the persecucion that the postles suffred of the iewes in Iherusalem whan they had grete pursute and tourmentes for goddis sake And he wrote all the perscucion of saynt Steuen how he was stoned to deth Thenne wente saynt Luke to saynt poule shewed him how many myscheues and diseases that he had And in grete drede and neuer depâ—rted from hym tyll poule was dede Thenne wente Luâ—â— to a contrey that was called betany and there he preched the worde of god And was there tyll he was lxi wynter of age thenne he deyed full fayre full of the holy gooste For he lyued in holy vertues And after his deth God shewed for hym many fayre myracles and soo ended in criste And wente to euerlastyng blysse To the whiche god brynge vs all ¶ De Simone et Iuda GOod frendis suche a daye ye shall haue the feste of SymoÌ„ Iude. And ye shall faste the euen on the morowe come to chirche and worship god and theis holy appostles ye shall vnderstonde that eyther of thyse hath two names that one was called Symon zelotes and that other Iudas Iacola and Iudas thadeus shewyng by thyse how the name that a man hath in this world deyeth and passeth oute of mynde whan he is dede ¶ wherfore euery Crysten man shold be besy to take hym a name that shold be wreten in the boke of lyff that shold laste euer And therfore thyse two appostles suffred grete penaunce traueyle trybulacion and dysease and at the last peyne of deth for crystis sake wyth hertes meke and clene consience Symon is as moche to say as obedieÌ„ce that maketh a man meke in herte Iudas is as moche to saye as confession that clenseth a mannis concience of all maner off synne And thus before or they deyed thei gaue to euery man ensample how they toke theyr deth mekely for crystis sake and deyed wyth clene concyence And thenne they shall be wreten in the boke of lyfe wyth grete worship in the fraternyte of heuen But they that grutchen in theyr hertes of disease and persecusion and euer pleynyngt they haue nede to praye to god to be heled off that sykenesse that they haue in her spirytis ¶ Narracio ¶ we fynde in the lyf of the appostle how a kynge that was called Abagarus· and was a leper and herde how that our lord Ihesu criste dyd many myracles and heled all that were syke TheÌ„ne he wrote a lettre in this wyse kynge Abagarus greteth Ihesus Sauyour well that precheth in the countre off Iherusalem And I haue herde of thy myracles that thou dost and soo thou helest all maner of sikenesse wythout ony herbes or salues blynde croked the lame And that is more merueyle that thou reysest dede bodyes to lyfe wherfore I thynke in my herte and in my byleue that thou art very goddis sone and come downe from heuen to erthe and lyueste here amonge the people as one of hem wherfore I wryte to the that thou wyll come to me and he le me of my leprehede that greueth me full sore And soo I vnderstande that the iewes haue ordeyned to doo the to deth And I haue a lytyll cyte that is good and honest and plentuous it is suffysaunt ynought for vs bothe to lyue by and there shall we bothe lyue in rest and peas thenne cryste wrote ayen and sayd thou art blyssed that byleueste on me and hast not seen me and for thou woldest that I shold come to the. I saye to the I must dâ—â— that I come fore and thenne 〈…〉 sende some of my disciples to 〈◊〉 that shall hele the of thy leprehede Thenne for this that cryste myghte not come to hym For grete desyre that he had to see hym He sente to hym a paynter that was a mayster of tâ—at crafte to paynte crystis vysage as he cowde but whan this paynter come to criste and loked on his vysage â–ª it 〈◊〉 soo bryght that he myght not loke tâ—â—â— on Thenne he made grete sorowe and mournynge that he was come soo fâ—â—re and myghte not spede of his purpose Thenne criste toke a clothe of the peynter and wyped his face therwyth and thenne was the fourme of his face theron and thenne the peynter bare it to the kynge Thenne was the kynge wonder glad and dyde it grete reuerence wyth all his herte Thenne after cristis ascension Thomas of ynde by the assente of the appostles was sente to this kynge Abagarus And whan he sawe
towarde Rome TheÌ„ saide Vaspasian I am gladde therof for I haue herd say that there be many grete leches in that countre wherfore I wolde well that thou coudest hele me and if thou doo nat hele me thou shall be dede Then aunsweryd he and said I am no leche my selue but he that he lyth all seke and reyseth the dede to lyue he may hele the and if it be his wyl who is that saide Vaspasian Sir said he iesu of Nazereth that the Iewes slewe And if thou wyl beleue in him thou shalte haue all that thou wyll desyre and be hole Then said vaspasian I beleue verily as thou saifte that he maye hele me that reyseth men from dethe to lyf and anon with that worde he was hole then was he gladde that he was hole Then anoon he sente a man to the Emperoure of Rome and gate licenâ—e and leue to distroye the cyte of Ierusalem And he gadred a grete multitude of people and Tytus that was his oune sone with him and wente to Ierusalem Thenne in the mene whyle that he besegyd the cyte the emperour dyed thenne he was chosen Emperoure and turned ayen to Rome and lefte Tytus his sone there to distroye the cyte Then tytus laye so sore to the cyte that he 〈◊〉 famysshed theym In somoche that they ete their shone and their botes and the fader tooke mete fro the sone and the sone from the fader and either toke it from others mouth the husbond fro the wyf the wyf fro the husbonde TheÌ„ emonge all other there was a woman of grete birthe and was come of gentyll bloodde and haddde a yonge childe and for hungre she sayd My dere child I haue suffred more peyne for the thaÌ„ than euyr thou dedyste for me wherfore it is more reason that I ease my hungre on the thanne though I dyed and thou also so toke her childe and slewe it and rosiyd halue of it and kepte half tyll on the morowe And so as the flesshe rosiyd the sauour went into the cytee â–ª And whanne the people felte the sauoure they wened there hadde be pleÌ„tye of mete and come to haue had part And theÌ„ne this woman wold haue hid it but they saide they wolde see whatt mete she hadde and thenne she brought it forthe and shewyd it and sayd Loo here I haue rosiyd myn owne childe here is the other half ayenst to morowe Thenne the people were agreuyd therof and all amased of that sight weÌ„t sorth leuynge the woman etyng of her child Thenne hungre encreased so gretely that there dyed within the cytee so thicke that they caste the bodies ouir the walles oute of the cyte into dyches and so fylled the dyches full of dede bodyes and the stynche smote forthe into the countre and enfectyd the people gretly ¶ Thenne so at the laste greate â—ede made theym to yelde vp the cytee Thenne Tytus went in with his oste and right as the iewes solde criste for xxx pens Soo in lyke wyse he solde xxx iewes for one peny and turned the cyte vp syde downe In somoche that they lefte nat a stone stondyng vpon an other But distroied it to the vttermost parte Lo thus may ye see thoughe god almyghtye abyde and suffre longe he smyteth sore at the last and taketh greate vengeaunce on theym that be lusty to shedde cristen mennes blode ¶ wherfore euery cristen man and woman amende him selue praynge to this holy appostyll to be mediatoure bitwene god and theym that they may haue veâ—y repentaunce in theire hertes here with shryfte of mouthe and satisfactyon in dede doyng that we may coÌ„me to the blisse that neuir shall haue ending Amen De inuencione sancte crucis gOode frendes suche a daye ye shall haue the Inuencion of the holy crosse But ye shall nat faste the euyn but coÌ„me to god and to holye churche as cristen people shulde doo in worshyp of him that dyed on the crosse Thenne ye shall vnderstond why it is called thus Inuencio sancte crucis The fyndyng of the holy crose the whiche was founde in this wyse as I shal tell you whan Adam oure firste fad was seke for age and wolde fayne haf be oute of this worlde Adam sent Seeth his sone to the aungell of paradise praynge the aungell to sende hym the oyll of mercy to anoynte his bodye therwith whan he were dede Thenne wente Seeth to paradise and saide his message to the aungell Then aunswered the aungell and saide that he myghte nat haue it tyll the yeres be fulfilled But haue this branche of the tree that thy fader synned in and sette it on his graue and whanne it berythe frute thenne shall he haue mercy and not erst Thenne toke sech this braunche and come home and founde his fader dede Thenne he sette this braunche on his faders graue as the aungell badde him doo the whiche branche growyd there tyll Salamon was kinge and he made to fel it downe for it was faire to the werke of the temple butt it wolde nat accorde with the werk of his temple Salamon made to caste it doune to the erthe And was hydde there Vnto the tyme. that the busshoppe of the temple lete make a wayre in the same place there as the tree laye to wasshe in shepe that were offred to the temple Then whanne this wayre was made they called it in their langage Probatica piscina To the water come an aungell certeyn tymes fro heuyn and dyd warshippe to the tree that laye in the grounde of the wayre and meuyd the water And what man or woman that com to the water next after the aungel was made hole of what sekenesse that euir they hadde by vertue of the tre and soo endured many wynters to the tym that criste was taken and sholde be done on the crosse Thenne this tree by the ordenance of god swaÌ„me vpon the water And whanne the iewes haddde none other tree redy to make the crosse of for greate haste that they hadde they toke the same tree and made therof a crose and so dyd oure lord theron And theÌ„ the tre bare the blessyd frute cristes body of the whiche welleth the oyll of mercy to Adam and eue all other of ther ofsprynge But whanne criste was dede and was take down of the crosse for eâ—â—ye that the iewes hadde to hym they tooke the crosse and two other croces yâ— the theuys were hanged in either syde of criste and buried theym depe in ther the. for cristen people shulde nat wytte where they were dâ—dâ— for to doo it worshippe And there â— laye a yere and more vnto the tyme that Elyn the Empâ—ce modre of Constantyne gadred grete people to fight with Maxencius â—â—te a greate water ouir the whiche water laye a greate bridge for desceyte of coÌ„stantyne Maxencius lete make a tray hopynge for to haue disceyued constantyne that he shulde haue fallen into the