5 Unned. “Useless, idle, vain, worthless.” See MED, unnait(e) (adj.).↩back to note source

7 chilce. “childishness.” See MED, chilce (n.), where this line is listed as the only occurrence of the word.↩back to note source

14 The. “The one, he who, whoever.” This use of the indefinite article as a general, indefinite pronoun is very common in the Jesus 29 Poema Morale. It usually begins a full statement of moral injunction.↩back to note source

16 selhthe. “discretion.” See MED, selth(e) (n.), sense e.↩back to note source

1–19 Ich am eldre . . . ne for myste. The poem begins as if narrated by an old man filled with regret — a dramatic-monologue-as-prologue soon to be replaced by the voice of a moralizing preacher.↩back to note source

20 Erewe we beoth to donne god, uvel, al to thriste. “We’re slow to do good, but evil, all too rash.” See MED, argh (adj.), sense 1d, “slow, sluggish, lazy,” and thrist(e) (adj.), sense 1a, “courageous, bold; audacious, rash.”↩back to note source

23 Hwenne alle men repen schule that heo ear seowe. “When all men have to reap what they earlier sowed.” Compare The Owl and the Nightingale (art. 2), lines 1039–42; The Proverbs of Alfred (art. 24), lines 52–53, 59–60; and Whiting S542.↩back to note source

30–33 Ne beo the leovere . . . he beoth alyve. The moralist advises love of self over love of others, to keep one’s focus on salvation. Note the contradiction with line 304 on Jesus’s command to love one another.↩back to note source

37 Mony monnes sore iswynk ofte habbeth unholde. “Many a man’s hard exertions often earn hostility.” See MED, unhold(e) (adj.), sense 1b as noun: “unfriendly or hostile people”; and Morris-Specimens, p. 350n37: “a man often receives no return for his hard work.”↩back to note source

38 don a virst. “postpone, delay.” See MED, first (n.(1)), sense 2a.↩back to note source

46 yelde. “payments.” MED, yeld (n.), senses 1 and 3. In Poema Morale, ideas of reward or loss in the afterlife are frequently quantified in ways that reflect terms of material commerce.↩back to note source

48 ofte and ilome. An idiom; see MED, ilome (adv.), sense 1b. Punctuation shows that wel modifies the idiom: “very much over and over again.” Compare line 323; and When Holy Church Is Under Foot (art. 12), line 14.↩back to note source

62 te the leste. Literally “he who [does] the least.” Here, te means “he who,” in parallel with the word The that opens this line.↩back to note source

65 lean. “reward, payment.” See MED, lon(e) (n.(1)), sense 1c.↩back to note source

72 lok. “gift, present.” See MED, lok (n.(3)), sense 2a.↩back to note source

73 And lutel he let on muchel wowe ther the heorte is ille. “But he cares little about misery where the intent is foul.” On the phrase litel leten on, “care little about (something),” see MED, litel (n.), sense 1a(a), and leten (v.), sense 15d, where this line is cited.↩back to note source

76–78 Nis him forhole . . . alle quyke wyhte. A frightening, awesome aspect of God’s bright eyes is that they illuminate everything. The poet is much concerned with God’s surveillance, which melds with the power of one’s own conscience. Nothing can be hidden.↩back to note source

85 wende hwer thu wende. Compare Song of the Annunciation (art. 10), line 4.↩back to note source

105–06 Way, hwi were . . . and evermore forlorene? The poet poses here the key existential question for the medieval Christian who fervently believes in original sin. Why are humans born in the first place if only to be eternally damned?↩back to note source

114 For so seyth that unhol is himseolve hwat him smeorteth. “For whoever says he’s unwell knows himself what pains him.” Morris-Specimens comments: “This is evidently a proverb, like ours that every one knows best where the shoe pinches him” (p. 352n114).↩back to note source

143–44 Never ich in helle . . . ther wende to vecche. The poet has a tendency to utter unusual thoughts, here affirming he has never been to hell and would not go even if there he could fetch all the wealth in the world. Compare the inexpressibility topos in lines 271–88 (note); and in The Saws of Saint Bede (art. 4), line 38; Death (art. 14), lines 29–30; and The Eleven Pains of Hell (art. 28), lines 265–70.↩back to note source

165 lowen. “lie, falsify, speak untruthfully.” See MED, lien (v.(2)).↩back to note source

166 wrien. “cover, conceal, hide.” See MED, wrien (v.(1)), sense 2e.↩back to note source

195 Ure forme-faderes gult. This phrase refers to Adam’s original sin, which led to the fall of humankind. Compare A Little Sooth Sermon (art. 16), lines 9–16.↩back to note source

197 ache and. Morris-Specimens argues that this phrase is a mistake for and ache, “every,” based on what other manuscripts read (p. 353n197). The Jesus version makes good sense, however; see MED, ache (n.(1)), “pain, aching, suffering.”↩back to note source

207 ore bare sunne. “merely one sin.” For the translation, see Morris-Specimens, p. 353n207 (“for one single sin”); and Morris, p. 279 (glossary, s.v. On (adj.)).↩back to note source

212 Nis his mylce nowiht lasse ah al by one wyhte. “His mercy is never any bit less for only one creature.” Compare the translation given by Morris-Specimens: “‘His mercy is not less, but all according to one weight’ (measure or standard), i.e., his mercy is as weighty as his power” (p. 353n212).↩back to note source

213–14 More he one . . . he hit bigunne. The poet makes a quantifying point about God’s all-powerfulness that conveys a real degree of surprise and wonder: God’s mercy is so great he could redeem the Devil!↩back to note source

220 And on heore boke hit iwryten is, that me may hit reden. The author claims to rely on books and wise men for his knowledge of hell. Earlier, he notes that he has never seen hell himself (lines 143–44).↩back to note source

228–30 Ho vareth from . . . heo habbeth mysse. One of the pains of hell is to suffer sudden shifts of extreme heat and extreme cold. This form of infernal punishment is also recounted in The Saws of Saint Bede (art. 4), line 49, and suggested in The Eleven Pains of Hell (art. 28), lines 47, 149–50.↩back to note source

240 Nu were her, nu were ther — heo nuste hwat heo wolden. The indecisiveness of these sinners in life is reflected in their hot/cold punishment, which is extreme at either end. Their sin resembles that of the indecisive in Dante’s Inferno, Canto 3 (ed. and trans. Musa, 1:22–31).↩back to note source

244 Ne may hit quenche no saltwater, ne Avene strem ne Sture. “No saltwater may quench it, nor the river Avon or Stour.” This line has been used to help locate the author and place of composition. See Morris-Specimens: “This mention of the rivers Avon and Stour is interesting as affording a possible indication of the locality of the poem. There are several rivers of these names, but only in two cases are they found in conjunction. A Stour runs into an Avon near Stratford-on-Avon, Warwickshire; whilst another Avon and Stour join at Christchurch, Hampshire. The poem being in a Southern dialect, the latter is more probable; there was a monastery at Christchurch, at an early period, which was converted into a priory of St. Austin’s Canons in 1150. This locality would suit very well” (p. 354n244).↩back to note source

258 Ne his poure kunesmen at him ne myhte nouht spede. Based on comparison to other versions, Morris-Specimens believes that this line is an addition by the Jesus scribe (p. 354n258).↩back to note source

241–70 Ther is pych . . . lif to lede. The poet paints an indelible portrait of the many kinds of sinners in hell. The poetry is fresh and lively, almost seeming to relish the sight of such misery. The passage gives the audience a chilling treat. Comparisons of here and there are important (“here” is the touchstone for understanding “there”). For another work that vividly imagines hell, compare The Eleven Pains of Hell (art. 28).↩back to note source

280 bi sihtes. “with their eyes open, wittingly” (Morris-Specimens, p. 355n280). The definition does not appear in the MED. Compare MED, bi (prep.), sense 9a(a), “by appearance.”↩back to note source

223–88 Understondeth nu to me . . . habbe non ende. The description of hell in Poema Morale may be compared to those found in The Saws of Saint Bede (art. 4), lines 43–60, and in The Eleven Pains of Hell (art. 28).↩back to note source

271–88 Ther beoth neddren . . . habbe non ende. Here are the visual special effects of hell in full: snakes and frogs, demons and chains, smoke and so on. All of this is designed to accentuate the unimaginable pain, and the inexpressiblity of it, which is here being expressed and vividly imagined. On the inexpressibility topos, intended to heighten the horror, compare lines 143–44; The Saws of Saint Bede (art. 4), line 38; Death (art. 14), lines 29–30; and The Eleven Pains of Hell (art. 28), lines 265–70.↩back to note source

291 heorure. “companions.” This word, apparently from the verb heren, would literally mean “hearers, listeners”; see MED,herer(e) (n.). But it could be from the verb herien, “worshipers, supporters, followers”; see MED, herier(e) (n.). The word aligns the bad Christians in hell with the heathens consigned there.↩back to note source

293 anythe. “next to, nearby.” See MED, anigh (adv.).↩back to note source

304 Ure even Cristen as usseolf, for so us lerede Dryhte. This Christian sentiment to love one another contradicts the poet’s earlier command to set one’s salvation before love of others (lines 30–33). On Jesus’s command “Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself” (Mark 12:31), see also A Homily on Sooth Love (art. 26), line 25.↩back to note source

306 bi thisse twam worde. “to these two words,” that is, love God and love fellow Christians.↩back to note source

317 earmynges. “poor creatures, wretches.” See MED, erming (n.), sense 1. Derived from OE ierming, the word also appears in Laȝamon’s Brut, line 8329 (ed. and trans. Barron and Weinberg, p. 428), and The Owl and the Nightingale (art. 2), line 1111.↩back to note source

323 wel ofte and wel ilome. The idiom ofte and ilome intensified: “constantly and repeatedly, again and again.” Compare line 48.↩back to note source

329 Mest alle men, he yeveth drynke of one Deofles schenche. “To most every man, it offers a drink from the Devil’s draught.” Compare the imagery of drinking Death’s draught in Death’s Wither-Clench (art. 7), line 10.↩back to note source

342 schedeth. “shield, protect, keep.” See MED, sheden (v.), sense 2b.↩back to note source

343 cleo. “cliff.” On the appearance of this spelling elsewhere in Jesus 29, where cleo appears to mean “scythe,” see the note to Love Rune (art. 19), line 36.↩back to note source

351 wone. “want.” See MED, wane (n.(1)), sense 1a.↩back to note source

353–54 Summe habbeth lasse . . . heo swunken sore. Even though the joy of heaven is abundant and satisfying for all, it is distributed at different, quantifiable levels, according to the souls’ places there. This peculiar idea may be meant to match notions of contrapasso experienced in hell for different sins by different categories of sinners, as described in The Saws of Saint Bede (art. 4), lines 91–174 (see note), and The Eleven Pains of Hell (art. 28).↩back to note source

356 blisse, eche reste. See MED, eche (adj.), sense 1a, “eternal.” The Egerton and TCC versions have the word and between bliss and eche: blisse and eche reste.↩back to note source

357 Ther nys nouther fou ne grey. “variegated or gray fur.” The phrase fou and grey, common in thirteenth-century Middle English verse, appears elsewhere in Jesus 29 as a marker of wealth: The Passion of Jesus Christ (art. 1), line 66; Love Rune (art. 19), line 14; and Doomsday (art. 13), line 14. Dickins-Wilson explain that the first kind of fur comes “from the grey back and white belly of a sort of squirrel, the second from the grey back alone” (p. 197n116). See MED, fou (adj.), sense 2, and grei (n.(2)), sense 1a.↩back to note source

358 acquerne. “squirrel.” This word is not in the MED, but see Morris-Specimens, who compares the word to Old High German eic-horne (p. 368; glossary, s.v. Acquerne). Later, Morris defines acquerne as “dog-leather well dressed,” from OF ocaigne (p. 233; glossary, s.v. Acquerne). Depicting nobles who wore rich furs in life is a common setpiece of Middle English ubi sunt laments and moral denunciations of worldly wealth. Here the motif is altered into a reminder that heaven holds no worldly riches. Compare Death (art. 14), lines 49–56; On Serving Christ (art. 18), lines 69–72; and Love Rune (art. 19), lines 33–36. On the ubi sunt tradition, see Woolf, pp. 95–96.↩back to note source

sablyne. “the fur of a sable.” The word is rare, and Poema Morale is the first known instance. See MED, sabelin(e) (n.).↩back to note source

375–76 On him, heo schullen . . . heo her nusten. Compare the description of Christ as all-sufficient in Love Rune (art. 19), lines 45–48.↩back to note source

376 And on lyves bec iseon al that heo her nusten. “And see in life’s book all that here they didn’t know.” For bec, the MS reads bee, which both Morris (p. 71, line 376) and Morris-Specimens (p. 356n376) emend to bec (“book”), found in other versions of Poema Morale. On the phrase lyves bec, “future happy lives in heaven,” see MED, lif (n.), sense 4a.↩back to note source

361–78 Nis ther no murehthe . . . alle wordliche thinges. The sight of God provides a climax to Poema Morale’s visual imagery and sensory representations of sin and bliss.↩back to note source

389 Bidde we. In the Jesus sequence of poems, many closing stanzas open with this phrase, which signal a final prayer. Because the first letter B is always a red capital, these standard endings are quite noticeable to a reader of the manuscript. Compare The Passion of Jesus Christ (art. 1), line 547; The Saws of Saint Bede (art. 4), line 349; The Annunciation (art. 10), line 4; Doomsday (art. 13), line 41; and Fire and Ice (art. 21), line 2.↩back to note source

389–90 Bidde we nu, leove . . . beo ther atholde. The final couplet appears only in the Jesus 29 version of Poema Morale. It is a prayer for the author (or perhaps scribe), solicited from the audience. The effort of composing (or copying) the poem is offered as a good deed to be deposited in heaven in the writer’s favor. The personal prayer caps the penultimate prayer (lines 385–89) made on behalf of the audience. Compare the final prayers in The Passion of Jesus Christ (art. 1), lines 697–702; and The Eleven Pains of Hell (art. 28), lines 283–91.↩back to note source