3 Nis hit nouht of Karlemeyne ne of the duzeper. The poet establishes the work’s opposition to secular French chansons de geste (songs of adventure). The topos is common in Anglo-French devotional literature (VLT, pp. 238–41). For the author — and perhaps the scribe too, because the compilation begins here — the chief adventure for humankind is Jesus’s Passion. Compare the opening of Chardri’s Anglo-Norman Life of the Seven Sleepers (also in Jesus 29): “Gentlemen, I do not want to waste my efforts on the fables of Ovid, and I am certainly not going to say anything about Tristram nor Galeron; or waste any attention upon Renart or Hersent. I would rather talk about God and his power” (Chardri, The Works, trans. Cartlidge, p. 42). Compare also the English poem On Serving Christ (art. 18), which celebrates Saint Thomas in epic style; When Holy Church Is Under Foot (art. 12), which suggests a chivalric defense of Holy Church; and Love Rune (art. 19), which extols spiritual love in courtly terms.↩back to note source

5 Al volk wes todreved, so schep beoth in the wolde. Compare Matthew 26:31 and Mark 14:27. The line is repeated in its biblical context later; see lines 133–34.↩back to note source

17 Heo habbe scolde, and so we muwe, ne therfth ther non adrede. “He had, and thus we have, no need to be afraid.” On Jesus as an exemplum on the fear of death, compare lines 153–54 (note).↩back to note source

25–26 After that he was . . . that hatte Seynt Johan. On Jesus’s baptism by John the Baptist, compare Matthew 3:13, Mark 1:9, and John 1:29–31.↩back to note source

35 yssyng. “avarice.” See MED, yitsinge (ger.), sense c.↩back to note source

38 To hwan artu ycume? This question posed by Jesus to Satan is later posed by Jesus to Judas: “To hwan ertu ycume?” (line 193). The repetition serves to directly liken Judas to Satan. On the phrase to hwan, “why, to what purpose,” see MED, whan (pron.), sense 2b.↩back to note source

27–40 The Holy Gost hyne ledde . . . hym to servy. On Jesus’s temptation by Satan, compare Matthew 4:1–11, Mark 1:12–13, and Luke 4:1–13. See also the note to lines 681–85, below.↩back to note source

47–48 Seththe to luvye . . . treowe and holde. Compare the message on God’s love and commandments as found in A Homily on Sooth Love (art. 26), lines 1, 53–58.↩back to note source

49 for-hwon. “why.” See MED, for-whan (pronominal adv. and conj.), sense 1, and compare line 242.↩back to note source

59 smythes sune. “carpenter’s son.” See MED, smith (n.), sense 1b, where this line is cited.↩back to note source

62 His hwile he vorleost that doth for the quede. “He loses his labor who serves the wicked.” This saying is offered as a common proverb. See Whiting W219.↩back to note source

66 none robe of fowe ne of gray. “no robe of variegated or gray fur.” This phrase for a fur garment, derived from OF vair et gris and common in Middle English verse, appears elsewhere in Jesus 29: Poema Morale (art. 3), line 357; Doomsday (art. 13), line 14; and Love Rune (art. 19), 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. as n.), sense 2, and grei (n.(2)), sense a.↩back to note source

65–71 Tho he com . . . “mote he beo.” On Jesus’s entry into Jerusalem, compare Matthew 21:8–11, Mark 11:7–11, Luke 19:36–38, and John 12:12–15.↩back to note source

73–80 Tho he com . . . hit habbeth ymaked. On Jesus and the moneychangers in the temple, compare Matthew 21:12–13, Mark 11:15–17, Luke 19:45–46, and John 2:14–16.↩back to note source

85 neyhlechet. “approached, drew near.” See MED, neighlechen (v.), sense a, and compare The Woman of Samaria (art. 5), line 6.↩back to note source

108 And the Veond him on bicom myd therylke snode. This scene of Judas taking the bread from Jesus is treated with high drama in Herman de Valenciennes’s biblical paraphrase. See CHMS, 1:260–63 (lines 1028–45).↩back to note source

111 “Thu hit seyst,” queth ure Louerd, “and dest al thine mihte.” Jesus is ordering Judas to carry out his destined part in Jesus’s own execution.↩back to note source

119 irede. “ready, in order, taken care of.” See MED, irede (adj.), from OE geræde, with this occurence being the only example cited.↩back to note source

133–34 ‘Beo the seopheorde . . . alle beon todreved.’ Compare Matthew 26:31 and Mark 14:27. The poet cites this line in the Prologue (line 5).↩back to note source

153–54 Wel ouhte we . . . we beoth here! “Well ought we be afraid if we are wise, / And conquer our sins while we are here!” The poet offers a moralizing couplet, using Jesus’s momentary fear of death as an exemplum. Compare lines 17–18.↩back to note source

167 He wes on of the thre. Peter, James, and John, the three apostles who accompanied Jesus to Gethsemane, are named at line 151. See Matthew 26:37 and Mark 14:33.↩back to note source

188 veollen to the grunde. “fell to the ground.” The Jews appear to fall back slightly, making way for the interaction between Jesus and Judas. At line 195, the Jews spring up from the ground.↩back to note source

193 To hwan ertu ycume? This is the same question Jesus asked of Satan earlier. The repetition seems deliberate. See note to line 38, above.↩back to note source

198 Malkes. Malchus, whose ear was struck by Peter’s sword, was a servant of the Jewish high priest. See John 18:10, and compare Matthew 26:51–52, Mark 14:47, and Luke 22:50.↩back to note source

223 cendal. Sendal is a costly fabric, probably of silk or linen. See MED, cendal (n.), sense 1.↩back to note source

242 vor-hwon. See note to line 49, above.↩back to note source

244–46 the temple al tobreke . . . a new a areare. This reference to Christ’s breaking and rebuilding of Solomon’s temple in three days derives from the gospels; see Matthew 26:61, Mark 14:58, and John 2:19–20. On Solomon’s original temple (3 Kings 6–8), compare Love Rune (art. 19), line 57 (note), where its mention may allude to Henry III’s building of Westminster Abbey (1245–1269). Elsewhere in Jesus 29, King Solomon is known for his judicious sayings; see Death’s Wither-Clench (art. 7), lines 21–24, and The Proverbs of Alfred (art. 24), lines 217–18, 274.↩back to note source

269 therof thu nym gome. “pay attention to it.” See MED, gome (n.(4)), sense 1b, which cites this line.↩back to note source

272–74 Blyndfellede and spatten . . . Constu hit arede? This moment of Christ’s torture was often pictured by medieval writers and artists as a cruel game of blindman’s bluff. Compare enactments in medieval drama, for example, “The Buffeting,” in The Towneley Plays, lines 497–99 (ed. Epp, pp. 257, 477n498).↩back to note source

277–98 Peter stod bi the fur . . . He wes sori-mod. The scene of Peter’s denials of Christ is treated with intense theatrical drama in Herman de Valenciennes’s biblical paraphrase. See CHMS, 1:276–81 (lines 1346–1407).↩back to note source

89–299 At the Schere Thursday . . . and bigon to wepe. The paraphrased account of the Last Supper, Judas’s betrayal, the seizure of Jesus, and Peter’s denials are based on Matthew 26, Mark 14, Luke 22, John 13, and John 18:1–27.↩back to note source

364 And heo wel atholdeth, and leggeth ine hord. “And heed them well, and store them up.” See MED, at-holden (v.), sense 3, “(sth.) fix in mind, heed; to grasp, comprehend.” On the phrase leggeth ine hord, see MED, hord (n.(1)), sense 1b(a), “store or keep (words, etc.) for reference.”↩back to note source

372 al skere. “free, unhindered.” See MED, sker(e) (adj.), sense 1c, where this line is cited. The word also means “innocent, blameless” (sense 1a), a meaning also appropriate here.↩back to note source

379 knyhtes. The Roman soldiers are consistently called “knights,” which may reflect some attempt at creating a romance ambience. Muir comments that the poet, in noting that “this is not a tale of Charlemagne and his knights,” inserts some “qualities of a romance, as, for example, in the dramatic emphasis on action, the emotional telling of the betrayal and suffering, the participating Roman ‘knights,’ and the direct dialogue” (MWME, 2:393–94). In the French sermon of Thomas of Hales (author of Love Rune (art. 19)), Jesus is mocked by “les cheualers paens” (pagan knights) (Legge, ed., “The Anglo-Norman Sermon,” p. 216).↩back to note source

419 letest. “release, let go, spare (someone’s life).” See MED, leten (v.), sense 9a(a–b).↩back to note source

424 sixte tide. “sixth hour.” The time of day follows John 19:14. See also Matthew 27:45, Mark 15:33, and Luke 23:44. Another reference to time, at lines 477–78, is likewise biblical, but one at line 657 is not. There may be distant allusions to the canonical hours (matins, lauds, prime, tierce, sext, none, vespers, compline), which, in prayers and devotions found in books of hours, were frequently keyed to the events of the Passion. In a pious French text of this type found in MS Harley 2253, Seven Hours of the Passion of Jesus Christ (CHMS, 3:298–305, 363–64), the moment when Pilate relinquished Jesus to his Jewish accusers corresponds to tierce. Compare also The Owl and the Nightingale (art. 2), line 26 (note).↩back to note source

426 an hying. “at once, in haste, soon.” See MED, hiinge (ger.), sense 1a, which cites this line, and compare note to line 467, below.↩back to note source

434 bouhte us myd his blode. Medieval Christian doctrine held that God’s sacrifice of his incarnate son Jesus Christ, who died on the Cross, was an act of love that redeemed humankind from its sinful fallen state. Thereafter, human souls could repent, seek God’s grace, and hope to enter heaven. The bloody sacrifice is seen as a “buying” of human souls out of an otherwise certain fate in hell.↩back to note source

467 al on hying. “very quickly.” Compare note to line 426, above.↩back to note source

478 midden-herde. “earth, world,” literally “middle-earth,” the term for the whole world of people, as perceived to exist between heaven and hell. See MED, middel-erd (n.).↩back to note source

477–78 mydday . . . thet hit wes non. On darkness falling at the “ninth hour,” see Matthew 27:45, Mark 15:33, and Luke 23:44. Compare note to line 424, above.↩back to note source

513 hwelfde. “rolled,” a meaning attested only here. See MED, whelven (v.), sense 1b, “to move (a stone) by rolling it over and over,” and compare Mark 15:46.↩back to note source

300–531 Theyh he hedde . . . upe thene ston. The paraphrased account of Jesus on trial before Pilate and the Crucifixion are based on Matthew 27, Mark 15, Luke 23, John 18:28–40, and John 19. Compare also The Gospel of Nicodemus, in CHMS, 1:314–33.↩back to note source

536 Ne. “Immediately, now.” See MED, nou (adv.), sense 2, where the erroneous spelling ne is listed. The word cannot be the negative conjunction for there is no other negative word in the sentence. An interrupted syntax emphasizes the ironic, divine purpose in conjoined actions of creation and destruction: God created all things, and in this moment destroys hell’s door. The Jews, meanwhile, plot irrationally to overcome one who is all-powerful.↩back to note source

547 Bidde we. In the Jesus sequence of poems, many closing stanzas open with this phrase, which signals a final prayer. Because the first letter B is always a red capital, these worshipful endings are quite noticeable to a reader of the manuscript. Compare Poema Morale (art. 3), line 389; 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

547–52 Bidde we alle . . . of lykamlyche bende. This section ends with a prayer that reminds the audience to confess and thereby repel the Devil. Throughout the poems of Jesus 29, the sacrament of confession (scrift) is stressed as a crucial precondition for the soul’s salvation, in accord with dictates of the Fourth Lateran Council (1215) requiring, at minimum, annual confession of all Christians. This decree caused a great expansion in pastoral care to the laity. On the vital importance of confession for salvation, a preacherly imperative throughout the lyrics of Jesus 29, compare The Eleven Pains of Hell (art. 28), line 189; and see the headnotes to Poema Morale and A Homily on Sooth Love (arts. 3, 26).↩back to note source

576 leyhtunward. “gardener,” a meaning attested only here. See MED, leigh-toun (n.), sense 1b, and compare John 20:15.↩back to note source

586 heore. “what’s his.” The translation “his own” follows Morris, who reads heore as the genitive of he.↩back to note source

ever ilyche. “unceasingly, constantly, invariably.” For this phrase, see MED, iliche (adv.), sense 3, and ever (adv.), sense 9.↩back to note source

607 Hondleth. “Observe, consider.” See MED, hondlen (v.), sense 3c. The primary sense of hondlen is “touch, feel, grasp,” so it is possible that Jesus is inviting the disciples to touch him in this scene, which perhaps alludes to when Jesus allowed Thomas to touch his side-wound (John 20:27).↩back to note source

611 Yet heo hit ny levede, the more ne the lesse. “But they believed it not, neither more nor less (that is, not at all).” For this construction, the more ne the lesse, see MED, ne (conj.(1)), sense 2b(d), where this line is cited.↩back to note source

629–32 “Theo that ye . . . wyteth ye myd iwisse.” Jesus declares the doctrine of salvation: those who are released from their sins will go to heaven; those bound to their worldly sins will remain fettered in hell. The lines are based on John 20:21–23: “He said therefore to them again: Peace be to you. As the Father hath sent me, I also send you. When he said this, he breathed on them; and he said to them: Receive ye the Holy Ghost. Whose sins you shall forgive, they are forgiven them; and whose sins you shall retain, they are retained.”↩back to note source

553–642 Seoththe Crist from dethe aros . . . therafter ful sone. The paraphrased account of Mary Magdalene at Jesus’s tomb and the Resurrection is based largely on John 20; see also Matthew 28, Mark 16, Luke 24.↩back to note source

645–46 twei veyre men . . . myd hwite clothes. The two fair men in white are angels, as described in the Bible: “And she saw two angels in white, sitting, one at the head, and one at the feet, where the body of Jesus had been laid” (John 20:12). See also Luke 24:23.↩back to note source

657 Witsuneday. Whitsunday, based on the original Pentecost (depicted here, when the apostles received the Holy Ghost). In the church calendar it is celebrated the seventh Sunday after Easter.↩back to note source

668 Everuych ther understod his icunde speche. This detail from the pentecostal story seems relevant to the overall preaching in English verse found in Jesus 29. Note too the mention in the Antiphon of Saint Thomas the Martyr in English (art. 17) that this native saint is of special help to the English because he readily understands English prayers (lines 7–8).↩back to note source

657–72 At thon heye undarne . . . then heoveliche kyng. These lines paraphrase Acts 2:1–8. For the phrase heye undarne, see MED, undern (n.), “the third hour of the day, 9 a.m.; mid-morning,” with heigh undern defined as the hour between 9 and 10 a.m. No time of day is specified in the Bible. On the marking of time in The Passion of Jesus Christ, see note to line 424, above.↩back to note source

681–85 Thervore the Veond . . . myd his ycorene. The language applied here to Satan closely reflects that used for the Jews in the Passion narrative. The Jews had envy and always sought ways to bring Jesus to death; compare lines 57, 81–88, 392. The Passion poet frames the narrative of Christ’s Passion with mentions of the existential reality of Satan’s malice in the world: at the beginning, in Satan’s temptation of Christ (lines 27–40), and here in this prayer.↩back to note source

686 Nerun. Nero Claudius Caesar, Roman emperor (37–68), notorious for his tyranny, cruelty, extravagance, and persecution of Christians.↩back to note source

Dacyen. Probably Trajan Decius, Roman emperor (249–51), who reigned too late to have killed the apostles, but was a scourge to Christians. The miraculous sleep in Chardri’s Life of the Seven Sleepers (one of Jesus 29’s Anglo-French texts) begins in the time of Decius (Chardri, The Works, trans. Cartlidge, p. 42). In Jacobus de Voragine’s Golden Legend, the martyrdom of Saint Lawrence is ascribed to Decius Caesar (trans. Ryan, 2:67). Lawrence is commemorated elsewhere in Jesus 29: On Serving Christ (art. 18), lines 44–47.↩back to note source

690 That is heore mede vor heore prechinge. Friars modeled themselves on the apostolic mission of preaching, and this line seems to affirm the fraternal estate.↩back to note source

697–702 And he that . . . ut of lyve thisse. The poet asks God’s blessing for himself and his “ordre” (line 700). The lines strongly suggest that the author was a friar or canon, and that composition occurred “within some sort of religious order” (Cartlidge-Composition, p. 258). Compare prayers for the writer or scribe that close Poema Morale (art. 3), lines 389–90; and The Eleven Pains of Hell (art. 28), lines 283–91.↩back to note source