fol. 192rTractatus quidamtextual note 1
Louerdtextual note 2Crist, ich the grete;
Thu art so mylde and swete.textual note 3
From heovene, Louerd, thu hider come,
And of the swete maydeexplanatory note 1 thu fleys nome;textual note 4
line5And hw hit ferde, mon may esche:
Thi goddede wes ihud in fleysse;
Of the mayde thu were ibore
God and mon, so wel icore;textual note 5textual note 6
Tho thu hire to come,textual note 7 heo mayde wes,
line10And mayde heo wes after, wemmeles.
Jhesu, ich the grete,textual note 8 as ich er seyde.
Thu were ibore, Louerd, of the swete mayde;
Thu undervenge al ure wowetextual note 9
Withute sunne, that riht wule knowe.
line15As other childre, thu eodest and speke;
Hunger and thurst thu tholedest eke.
Buhsum and poure thu were, iwis;explanatory note 2
Forbysneexplanatory note 3 thu us yeve, and nouht amys.
Jhesu, ich the grete, Cryst Louerd min,
line20That for us tholedest so swithe muchel pyn.
Wunderliche, thurh wacche and fasttextual note 10
Thi swete lychome thu teonedesttextual note 11
fol. 192vGod to donnetextual note 12 and uvel to byleve;
Ful gode vorbysneexplanatory note 4 thu us yeve.
line25No more luve ne may mon cheosen
Thane deth to tholyen for other to alesen.
Jhesu, ich the grete, that were thar hardetextual note 13 ibunde —
With scurges thu tholedest mony blodi wunde;
Bivore the hethene men thu stode,
line30Naked and bylaved myd blode;
Buffetes thu tholedest inowe;
Bispat thu were, and al myd wowe;textual note 14
Mid on red mantel thu were byweved;explanatory note 5
Crune of thornes thu hevedest on heued.
line35Ne myhte the mixesexplanatory note 6 tho wurse the don
Bute, among theoves, on rode anhon.
Al thu tholdesttextual note 15 for ure sake —
Al the seorewe that heo the myhte make!
Jhesu Crist, that so luvedest mon,
line40Ich the grete al so ich best con,
That tholedest that thi swete lich
Of hethene todreved wes sullych:explanatory note 7
Ithurled weren myd nayles threo
Honden and fet, faste to the treo;
line45That cold irenexplanatory note 8 thu tholedest in thi syde,
Of the spere kene to thin heorte glyde.
As thu tholedest theos fyf wunde,
Of seorewe and sunne wite us myd isunde.
Jhesu, ich the grete, and that is wel ryht,
line50And tharto to don bothe mayn and myht
For the muchel tholeburnesseexplanatory note 9textual note 16
Thattextual note 17 thu schawedest monkunne tho thu tholedest deth,
After alle the pyne, that the runnen a blode,
Tholedest, Louerd Crist, that me the dude on rode.
fol. 193rHwoso hit ileveth myd gode wille,
line56Ne may nouht the Feond his saule aspille.
Jhesu, ich the gretetextual note 18 so wysslych
As thu deth tholedest myldelich.explanatory note 10
Ich the bidde, Louerd, thurh the ilke rode
line60Thar thu myd blodie wunde stode,
On thine werkes, so my lif leade,
And so do by thine rede,textual note 19
That my saule habbe lysse,
That myn ende come to eche blysse. Amen.
fol. 192rAnother treatise
Lord Christ, I greet you;
You are so mild and sweet.
From heaven, Lord, you’ve come here,
And of the blessed maid you took flesh;
line5And how it went, men may witness:
Your godhead was concealed in flesh;
Of the maid you were born
God and man, so well chosen;
When you entered her, she was a maid,
line10And a maid she was after, unstained.
Jesus, I greet you, as I said before.
You were born, Lord, of the blessed maid;
You took on all our woe
Without sin, as is truly affirmed.
line15Like other children, you walked and spoke;
Hunger and thirst you also suffered.
Humble and poor you were, indeed;
An example you gave to us, nothing amiss.
Jesus, I greet you, Christ my Lord,
line20Who for us suffered such intense pain.
Incredibly, by staying awake and fasting
You mortified your precious body
fol. 192vTo perform good and forsake evil;
A fine example you gave to us.
line25No greater love may one choose
Than to suffer death to redeem another.
Jesus, I greet you, who were tightly bound —
With scourges you suffered many bloody wounds;
Before heathen men you stood,
line30Naked and washed with streams of blood;
You suffered buffets to an extreme;
You were spat upon, surrounded in misery;
In a red mantle you were clothed;
A crown of thorns you had on head.
line35The filthy scum couldn’t treat you any worse
Than hang you, among thieves, on a cross.
You suffered everything for our sake —
Every sorrow they could inflict on you!
Jesus Christ, who so loved mankind,
line40You I greet as best I can,
Who suffered such that your precious body
Was tormented horrifically by heathens:
Pierced through with three nails
Were hands and feet, fastened to the tree;
line45That cold iron stabbed you in your side,
From the sharp spear entering your heart.
Just as you suffered these five wounds,
Keep us bodily whole against sorrow and sin.
Jesus, I greet you, as is very fitting,
line50And to that end exert both strength and might
Because of the profound submissiveness
That you showed mankind when suffering death,
After all the pain, streaking you with blood,
That you suffered, Lord Christ, when they crucified you.
fol. 193rWhoever sincerely believes it,
line56The Fiend may not destroy his soul.
Jesus, I greet you as certainly
As you suffered death mildly.
I pray to you, Lord, by the very cross
line60That you endured with bloody wounds,
By your works, so lead my life,
And do so by your counsel,
That my soul may have comfort,
That my end may achieve every bliss. Amen.