5Sone-nyhte. The night before Sunday, that is, Saturday night. This colloquial compound is not listed in the MED, but compare fri-night (n.), sense 1a; Sater-night (n.), Tiues-night (n.), and Wednes-night (n.).back to note source
5–12That fur schal . . . God were iqueme. For an analogous account of the Signs of Doom, see the Harley Debate between the Body and the Soul, lines 53–86 (CHMS, 2:82–83), which represents the same version appearing in Digby 86 (to which the Digby Doomsday is appended) and in TCC, MS B.14.39. For the Digby Debate, see Stengel, ed., Codicem manu scriptum Digby 86, pp. 93–96. Louis presents an overview of the Signs of Doom topos in Middle English verse (MWME, 9:3047–48).back to note source
14Monye of thisse riche that werede fouh and grey. This line introduces the idea of how vain and useless are rich clothes, a theme receiving emphasis in Death (art. 14), the companion-piece of Doomsday. The phrase fouh and grey, derived from OF vair et gris (“variegated and gray fur”) and common in thirteenth-century Middle English verse, appears elsewhere in Jesus 29: The Passion of Jesus Christ (art. 1), line 66; Poema Morale (art. 3), line 357; 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.), sense 2, and grei (n.(2)), sense 1a.back to note source
21ofkende. “gave birth, bore.” This verb is attested only in Doomsday. See MED, ofkennen (v.(2)).back to note source
24Qued. “the Devil, the Evil One.” See MED, qued(e) (n.(1)), sense 2c. Compare Death (art. 14), lines 113, 123, where the usage is identical.back to note source
39skere. “deprived (of possessions), bereft.” See MED, sker(e) (adj.), sense 1e.back to note source
40oure. “your.” See the glossary, s.v. Ower (adj.), in Morris, p. 280.back to note source
33–40Wyth the rihtwise . . . thisse worlde bere. God speaks to each side, the righteous and the sinful, in turn. Compare The Saws of Saint Bede (art. 4), lines 271–318, where God questions the souls on Doomsday about the Seven Works of Mercy.back to note source
41Bidde 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 standard endings are quite noticeable to a reader of the manuscript. Compare The Passion of Jesus Christ (art. 1), line 547; Poema Morale (art. 3), line 389; The Saws of Saint Bede (art. 4), line 349; The Annunciation (art. 10), line 4; and Fire and Ice (art. 21), line 2.back to note source