5 Ye that sytteth ischrud myd skarlet and myd palle. “Palle” means either a fine cloth or a cloak made of such cloth; see MED, pal (n.), senses 1 and 2. Fine clothes of rich hues vivify the trope of deriding the vanity of fancy clothes. Compare Doomsday (art. 13), line 14; and On Serving Christ (art. 18), line 69.↩back to note source

17 Thenche we on the laste day, that we schulle heonne fare. This is the opening line of the shorter versions found in MS Digby 86 and TCC, MS B.14.39. Because of the short-version opening, Brown gives this poem the title The Latemest Day (p. 46).↩back to note source

13–20 Hwenne that chyld . . . sunnen yeven onsware. For a variation of this oft-repeated truism — naked do we enter the world and naked do we depart — compare The Saws of Saint Bede (art. 4), lines 211–16.↩back to note source

25–28 Thenne the latemeste . . . iturnd to nouht. On imagining the ways Death enters the body, compare Death’s Wither-Clench and Signs of Death (arts. 7, 22). On the tradition, see Woolf, pp. 81–83.↩back to note source

29–30 Ne myhte no tunge . . . he hedde iswore. The impossibility of describing hell comes up often in Jesus 29 poems that do just that. See also lines 123–24, and compare Poema Morale (art. 3), lines 143–44, 271–88; The Saws of Saint Bede (art. 4), line 38; and The Eleven Pains of Hell (art. 28), lines 265–70.↩back to note source

52 Nolden heo non herestonkes nu the imete. “They’d not willingly want to meet now with you.” See MED, thank (n.), sense 5a: herestonkes, “willingly,” perhaps with a wordplay on stonkes, “stink, stench” — they would not want to be met with the stench of a rotting corpse.↩back to note source

49–56 Hwer beoth alle . . . myd the Wonde. On the ubi sunt topos evoked here, compare Poema Morale (art. 3), line 358 (note); On Serving Christ (art. 18), lines 69–72; and Love Rune (art. 19), lines 33–36. On the tradition, see Woolf, pp. 95–96.↩back to note source

78 virste. “ceiling,” an Old English word. See MED, first (n.(2)), sense 1a.↩back to note source

86 mawe. “stomach.” See MED, maue (n.), sense 1a, which cites this line from the Cotton manuscript.↩back to note source

85–87 Nu schal forrotyen . . . thu mide sunge. Compare Signs of Death (art. 22), lines 1–4.↩back to note source

91 Beo thu in the putte wrmes ifere. Compare Signs of Death (art. 22), line 11.↩back to note source

107 rake. “jaws.” See MED, rake (n.(2)), sense 1a, which cites this line from the TCC manuscript.↩back to note source

113 Qued. “The Devil, the Evil One.” See MED, qued(e) (n.(1)), sense 2c. Compare line 123, and Doomsday (art. 13), line 24, where the usage is identical.↩back to note source

117 He yoneth myd his muthe. “He gapes with his mouth.” The Devil’s yawning mouth denotes the entrance to fiery hell, as is often depicted in medieval art and drama. Compare the proverb about a yawning oven provided in The Owl and the Nightingale (art. 2), lines 291–92: “me ne chide with the gidie / Ne with than ofne me ne yonie” (one shouldn’t quarrel with fools / Nor yawn with an oven) (see note).↩back to note source

123–24 Ne may no tunge . . . mihte beo ded! This statement holds an absurd sort of irony when uttered by an already-dead soul, who cannot die “for kare.” The poet had explained earlier, at lines 29–32, that until Christ released souls from hell, there was never any way to know about the pains of hell. On the inexpressibility topos, see note to lines 29–30, above. On Qued, see the note to line 113, above.↩back to note source

131 wouh. “wrong.” See MED, wo (n.), sense 4a.↩back to note source