The Words of the Host to the Prioress

435: Wel seyd, by corpus dominus, quod oure hoost, 
436: Now longe moote thou saille by the cost, 
437: Sire gentil maister, gentil maryneer! 
438: God yeve the monk a thousand last quade yeer! 
439: A ha! felawes! beth ware of swich a jape! 
440: The monk putte in the mannes hood an ape, 
441: And in his wyves eek, by seint austyn! 
442: Draweth no monkes moore unto youre in. 
443: But now passe over, and lat us seke aboute, 
444: Who shal now telle first of al this route 
445: Another tale; and with that word he sayde, 
446: As curteisly as it had been a mayde, 
447: My lady prioresse, by youre leve, 
448: So that I wiste I sholde yow nat greve, 
449: I wolde demen that ye tellen sholde 
450: A tale next, if so were that ye wolde. 
451: Now wol ye vouche sauf, my lady deere? 
452: Gladly, quod she, and seyde as ye shal heere. 

The Prioress' Prologue
453: O lord, oure lord, thy name how merveillous 
454: Is in this large world ysprad, quod she; 
455: For noght oonly thy laude precious 
456: Parfourned is by men of dignitee, 
457: But by the mouth of children thy bountee 
458: Parfourned is, for on the brest soukynge 
459: Somtyme shewen they thyn heriynge. 
460: Wherfore in laude, as I best kan or may, 
461: Of thee and of the white lyle flour 
462: Which that the bar, and is a mayde alway, 
463: To telle a storie I wol do my labour; 
464: Nat that I may encressen hir honour, 
465: For whe hirself is honour and the roote 
466: Of bountee, next hir sone, and soules boote. 
467: O mooder mayde! o mayde mooder free! 
468: O bussh unbrent, brennynge in moyses sighte, 
469: That ravyshedest doun fro the dietee, 
470: Thurgh thyn humbless, the goost that in th' alighte, 
471: Of whos vertu, whan he thyn herte lighte, 
472: Conceyved was the fadres sapience, 
473: Help me to telle it in thy reverence! 
474: Lady, thy bountee, thy magnificence, 
475: Thy vertu, and thy grete humylitee, 
476: Ther may no tonge expresse in no science; 
477: For somtyme, lady, er men praye to thee, 
478: Thou goost biforn of thy benyngnytee, 
479: And getest us the lyght, of thy preyere, 
480: To gyden us unto thy sone so deere. 
481: My konnyng is so wayk, o blisful queene, 
482: For to declare thy grete worthynesse 
483: That I ne may the weighte nat susteene; 
484: But as a child of twelf month oold, or lesse, 
485: That kan unnethes any word expresse, 
486: Right so fare I, and therfore I yow preye, 
487: Gydeth my song that I shal of yow seye.

The Prioress' Tale
488: Ther was in asye, in a greet citee, 
489: Amonges cristene folk, a jewerye, 
490: Sustened by a lord of that contree 
491: For foule usure and lucre of vileynye, 
492: Hateful to crist and to his compaignye; 
493: And thurgh the strete men myghte ride or wende, 
494: For it was free and open at eyther ende. 
495: A litel scole of cristen folk ther stood 
496: Doun at the ferther ende, in which ther were 
497: Children an heep, ycomen of cristen blood, 
498: That lerned in that scole yeer by yere 
499: Swich manere doctrine as men used there, 
500: This is to seyn, to syngen and to rede, 
501: As smale children doon in hire childhede. 
502: Among thise children was a wydwes sone, 
503: A litel clergeon, seven yeer of age, 
504: That day by day to scole was his wone, 
505: And eek also, where as he saugh th' ymage 
506: Of cristes mooder, hadde he in usage, 
507: As hym was taught, to knele adoun and seye 
508: His ave marie, as he goth by the weye. 
509: Thus hath this wydwe hir litel sone ytaught 
510: Oure blisful lady, cristes mooder deere, 
511: To worshipe ay, and he forgat it naught, 
512: For sely child wol alday soone leere. 
513: But ay, whan I remembre on this mateere, 
514: Seint nicholas stant evere in my presence, 
515: For he so yong to crist dide reverence. 
516: This litel child, his litel book lernynge, 
517: As he sat in the scole at his prymer, 
518: He alma redemptoris herde synge, 
519: As children lerned hire antiphoner; 
520: And as he dorste, he drough hym ner and ner, 
521: And herkned ay the wordes and the noote, 
522: Til he the firste vers koude al by rote. 
523: Noght wiste he what this latyn was to seye, 
524: For he so yong and tendre was of age. 
525: But on a day his felawe gan he preye 
526: T' expounden hym this song in his langage, 
527: Or telle hym why this song was in usage; 
528: This preyde he hym to construe and declare 
529: Ful often tyme upon his knowes bare. 
530: His felawe, which that elder was than he, 
531: Answerde hym thus: this song, I have herd seye, 
532: Was maked of our blisful lady free, 
533: Hire to salue, and eek hire for to preye 
534: Fo been oure help and socour whan we deye. 
535: I kan namoore expounde in this mateere; 
536: I lerne song, I kan but smal grammeere. 
537: And is this song maked in reverence 
538: Of cristes mooder? seyde this innocent. 
539: Now, certes, I wol do my diligence 
540: To konne it al er cristemasse be went. 
541: Though that I for my prymer shal be shent, 
542: And shall be beten thries in an houre, 
543: I wol it konne oure lady for to honoure! 
544: His felawe taughte hym homward prively, 
545: For day to day, til he koude it by rote, 
546: And thanne he song it wel and boldely, 
547: Fro word to word, acordynge with the note. 
548: Twies a day it passed thurgh his throte, 
549: To scoleward and homward whan he wente; 
550: On cristes mooder set was his entente. 
551: As I have seyd, thurghout the juerie, 
552: This litel child, as he cam to and fro, 
553: Ful murily than wolde he synge and crie 
554: O alma redemptoris everemo. 
555: The swetnesse hath his herte perced so 
556: Of cristes mooder that, to hire to preye, 
557: He kan nat stynte of syngyng by the weye. 
558: Oure firste foo, the serpent sathanas, 
559: That hath in jues herte his waspes nest, 
560: Up swal, and seide, o hebrayk peple, allas! 
561: Is this to yow a thyng that is honest, 
562: That swich a boy shal walken as hym lest 
563: In youre despit, and synge of swich sentence, 
564: Which is agayn youre lawes reverence? 
565: Fro thennes forth the jues han conspired 
566: This innocent out of this world to chace. 
567: And homycide therto han they hyred, 
568: That in an aleye hadde a privee place; 
569: And as the child gan forby for to pace, 
570: This cursed jew hym hente, and heeld hym faste, 
571: And kitte his throute, and in a pit hym caste. 
572: I seye that in a wardrobe they hym threwe 
573: Where as thise jewes purgen hire entraille. 
574: O cursed folk of herodes al newe, 
575: What may youre yvel entente yow availle? 
576: Mordre wol out, certeyn, it wol nat faille, 
577: And namely ther th' onour of God shal sprede; 
578: The blood out crieth on youre cursed dede. 
579: O martir, sowded to virginitee, 
580: Now maystow syngen, folwynge evere in oon 
581: The white lamb celestial -- quod she -- 
582: Of which the grete evaungelist, seint john, 
583: In pathmos wroot, which seith that they that goon 
584: Biforn this lamb, and synge a song al newe, 
585: That nevere, flesshly, wommen they ne knewe. 
586: This poure wydwe awaiteth al that nyght 
587: After hir litel child, but he cam noght; 
588: For which, as soone as it was dayes lyght, 
589: With face pale of drede and bisy thoght, 
590: She hath at scole and elleswhere hym soght, 
591: Til finally she gan so fer espie 
592: That he last seyn was in the juerie. 
593: With moodres pitee in hir brest enclosed, 
594: She gooth, as she were half out of hir mynde, 
595: To every place where she hath supposed 
596: By liklihede hir litel child to fynde; 
597: And evere on cristes mooder meeke and kynde 
598: She cride, and atte laste thus she wroghte: 
599: Among the cursed jues she hym soghte. 
600: She frayneth and she preyeth pitously 
601: To every jew that dwelte in thilke place, 
602: To telle hire if hir child wente oght forby. 
603: They seyde nay; but jhesu, of his grace, 
604: Yaf in hir thoght, inwith a litel space, 
605: That in that place after hir sone she cryde, 
606: Where he was casten in a pit bisyde. 
607: O grete god, that parfournest thy laude 
608: By mouth of innocentz, lo, heere thy myght! 
609: This gemme of chastite, this emeraude, 
610: And eek of martirdom the ruby bright, 
611: Ther he with throte ykorven lay upright, 
612: He alma redemptoris gan to synge 
613: So loude that al the place gan to rynge. 
614: The cristene folk that thurgh the strete wente 
615: In coomen for to wondre upon this thyng, 
616: And hastily they for the provost sente; 
617: He cam anon withouten tariyng, 
618: And herieth crist that is of hevene kyng, 
619: And eek his mooder, honour of mankynde, 
620: And after that the jewes leet he bynde. 
621: This child with pitous lamentacioun 
622: Up taken was, syngynge his song alway, 
623: And with honour of greet processioun 
624: They carien hym unto the nexte abbay. 
625: His mooder swownynge by the beere lay; 
626: Unnethe myghte the peple that was theere 
627: This newe rachel brynge fro his beere. 
628: With torment and with shameful deeth echon 
629: This provost dooth thise jewes for to sterve 
630: That of this mordre wiste, and that anon. 
631: He nolde no swich cursednesse observe. 
632: Yvele shal have that yvele wol deserve; 
633: Therfore with wilde hors he dide hem drawe, 
634: And after that he heng hem by the lawe. 
635: Upon this beere ay lith this innocent 
636: Biforn the chief auter, whil masse laste; 
637: And after that, the abbot with his covent 
638: Han sped hem for to burien hym ful faste; 
639: And whan they hooly water on hym caste, 
640: Yet spak this child, whan spreynd was hooly water, 
641: And song o alma redemptoris mater! 
642: This abbot, which that was an hooly man, 
643: As monkes been -- or elles oghte be -- 
644: This yonge child to conjure he bigan, 
645: And seyde, o deere child, I halse thee, 
646: In vertu of the hooly trinitee, 
647: Tel me what is thy cause for to synge, 
648: Sith that thy throte is kut to my semynge? 
649: My throte is kut unto my nekke boon, 
650: Seyde this child, and, as by wey of kynde, 
651: I sholde have dyed, ye, longe tyme agon. 
652: But jesu crist, as ye in bookes fynde, 
653: Wil that his glorie laste and be in mynde, 
654: And for the worship of his mooder deere 
655: Yet may I synge o alma loude and cleere. 
656: This welle of mercy, cristes mooder sweete, 
657: I loved alwey, as after my konnynge; 
658: And whan that I my lyf sholde forlete, 
659: To me she cam, and bad me for to synge 
660: This anthem verraily in my deyynge, 
661: As ye han herd, and whan that I hadde songe, 
662: Me thoughte she leyde a greyn upon my tonge. 
663: Wherfore I synge, and synge moot certeyn, 
664: In honour of that blisful mayden free, 
665: Til fro my tonge of taken is the greyn; 
666: And after that thus seyde she to me; 
667: -- My litel child, now wol I fecche thee, 
668: Whan that the greyn is fro thy tonge ytake. 
669: Be nat agast, I wol thee nat forsake. -- 
670: This hooly monk, this abbot, hym meene I, 
671: His tonge out caughte, and took awey the greyn, 
672: And he yaf up the goost ful softely. 
673: And whan this abbot hadde this wonder seyn, 
674: His salte teeris trikled doun as reyn, 
675: And gruf he fil al plat upon the grounde, 
676: And stille he lay as he had ben ybounde. 
677: The covent eek lay on the pavement 
678: Wepynge, and herying cristes mooder deere, 
679: And after that they ryse, and forth been went, 
680: And tooken awey this martir from his beere; 
681: And in a tombe of marbul stones cleere 
682: Enclosen they his litel body sweete. 
683: Ther he is now, God leve us for to meete! 
684: O yonge hugh of lyncoln, slayn also 
685: With cursed jewes, as it is notable, 
686: For it is but a litel while ago, 
687: Preye eek for us, we synful folk unstable, 
688: That, of his mercy, God so merciable 
689: On us his grete mercy multiplie, 
690: For reverence of his mooder marie. Amen

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