AT CUMPLIN TYME.
Man, at complyn behald þat hevinly king,
Apoun his bak he did ly on suppyne;
Off his marcy beseik him to bring
Out of þis warld prolixit þat in pyne,
Eternaly to ring in glor divyne
With him thy Lord, quhilk with þe bocht þat blis
With cruell ded, ȝe thoch he did no myss.
Thir twa knychtis with ded and deligence
Thair kingis corps spicit richely;
In syndoun claith him wand with reuerence,
And as þe vse of þat into Jowry,
The gret lordis and men of dignite
Off precius spice to mak a conspectioun
Flesche of ded men to keip fra corrupcioun.
Besid þe place, quh[ai]r he wes crucifyit,
In till ane ȝard, þair wes ane sepilltur,
Out of ane crag carwit rycht perfitly,
Now vnwsit with ony creatour.
That hevinly hurd þair but delay þai bure,
For skant of tyme þai mycht nocht mak duelling,
Half as þai wald, for to beheld þair king.
That hevinly hurd, of God þe tabernakill,
As mortall man to bery þai þame boun,
Vnder þe cure of dedis dirk vmbrakill
To duell a quhille richt law is now laid doun.
This nobill Prince, of all our glore þe croun,
Quhilk be justice suld sit in trone to rigne,
Now vnder fute into ane coif þai thring.
Into þe coife quhen þis ded knycht [þai] brocht
To berry it, befor him þai murnit all;
Thocht he wes ded, ȝit sum confort þai thocht
With e to se þat corps defit all,
Bot his moder, Virgin Angelicall,
That þat parting of ded bure neir þe braid,
Quhen scho þe graif saw with a stane cloiss laid.
Off his keiping Joseph had gret cure,
Thairfor ane stane, þat wes baith gret and lang,
Fra best and man to cloiss þe sepultur,
With richt gret force befor þe graif þai thrang.
At his moder syne askit leif to gang
Till herbry, for him nerit þe nycht,
Thus fra his King partit þis cristin knycht.
Sanct Johnne, quhilk cure had tane of þis virgin,
He estounit with gret proplexite.
The sepultur gart till his hert propyne,
Heirfor full meik he said: O sueit Lady,
Ceiss for to sich, now ȝour regrait lat be,
And mak ȝow bown, or þat þe nycht draw neir,
For till vmbeschew þe Jowis gret dangeir.
It hevyit hir of þat departing,
Bot nocht obstant scho wes obedient;
Scho braist þe graif and salust hir sueit thing,
Syne but delay scho to þe ciete went.
In hir allane remanit þe foundament
Off cristin faith, for [he] schew verralye
Him Goddis sone predestinat to de.
In hi[r] closit scho brassit with bandis twa,
Thai[r] dais thre scho maid hir inhabitance.
A band wes dule of hir sonis wa,
Quhilk nycht and day scho had in remembrance:
The tothir wes profound confidance,
That inmortall he suld rais in haist.
Thus betuix pyne and faith hir hert is braist.
The Magdalyn besid þe sepultur
With vthir ma throw hir deuocioun
Baid for to spy, how scho oure saluiour
Mycht se cum out withouttin suspecioun.
Scho passit and maid raddy hir vnccioun,
Bot þe ladyis hir causit mak resisting,
Quhill þe thrid day, þat scho þe day saw spring.
On setterday þe preistis of þe law
To Pilat come and said, þai had in mynd,
That Crist [himself] suld to þe pepill schaw,
On þe thrid day þat he suld riss fra pyne.
Thairfor þai said: Send [knichtis] sone of þin,
Quhilk nycht and day haue of þe croce sic cure,
That ay ane walk and keipe þe sepulture.
For and his folk out of þe graif him ta,
Thai will proclame þat he is Crist our king,
To quhome þe ded may nocht resistance ma;
Sa be sic meyne þai may in errour bring
All þe pepill, quhilk bow suld of our ring.
Sa þis last errour may ws mair confound,
Than did þe first withoutin comparisound.
Pilat said: Tak of myn awtorite
Men of armes, of his corps to haue cure.
Thai maid na baid, bot [with] hillarite
With þai knichtis towart þe graif þ[a]i fure.
For sickar armes þai soucht in þe sepulture;
Syne him to keip left knychtis deligent,
So left þe graif and to þe ciete went.
Within a crage now closit is etern
Off all þe warld þe generall Saluitour;
Throw dispen[s]acioun [of] þe God superne
Vnfaithfull men his corps now hes in cure.
The body lyis in þe sepulture.
Into þe lymbe þe saulis giffis conf[orting],
Till þe gude theif, þat knew him Crist our King.
Thoucht cruell ded had with his bludy dart
Off saule and body lowsit þe vnioun,
He had no pith his Godhed forto part,
Fra ane of þaim be ded in his passioun.
For [Godis] sone wes wont till a persoun
[Haue] saule and body to Diuinite.
Fra þame þe Godheid brak neuer vnite.
Thus in þe graif lyis þis woundit knycht
Vndir þe cure of dedis dirk vmbrakill.
Into þe lymbe þe saulis giffis licht
To þe fadderis, quhilk had þe habitakill
1
Thairfor þe knychtis but dreid sleippit sone,
For his body sall riss in na corrupcioun.
And to my Will ansuerit Wit and Ressoun:
Moir sueit to speik of my Saluiour:
Thow mycht me argo of a poynt of tressoun,
Thy hurde to hid to skaill I tuke na cure.
Bot sen þou wait, my wit is febill and pure,
Thy cruell ded with piete to recorde;
Gude will for ded ressaue, sueit Jhesu, my Lord.
Man, at complyn behald þat hevinly king,
Apoun his bak he did ly on suppyne;
Off his marcy beseik him to bring
Out of þis warld prolixit þat in pyne,
Eternaly to ring in glor divyne
With him thy Lord, quhilk with þe bocht þat blis
With cruell ded, ȝe thoch he did no myss.
Thir twa knychtis with ded and deligence
Thair kingis corps spicit richely;
In syndoun claith him wand with reuerence,
And as þe vse of þat into Jowry,
The gret lordis and men of dignite
Off precius spice to mak a conspectioun
Flesche of ded men to keip fra corrupcioun.
Besid þe place, quh[ai]r he wes crucifyit,
In till ane ȝard, þair wes ane sepilltur,
Out of ane crag carwit rycht perfitly,
Now vnwsit with ony creatour.
That hevinly hurd þair but delay þai bure,
For skant of tyme þai mycht nocht mak duelling,
Half as þai wald, for to beheld þair king.
That hevinly hurd, of God þe tabernakill,
As mortall man to bery þai þame boun,
Vnder þe cure of dedis dirk vmbrakill
To duell a quhille richt law is now laid doun.
This nobill Prince, of all our glore þe croun,
Quhilk be justice suld sit in trone to rigne,
Now vnder fute into ane coif þai thring.
Into þe coife quhen þis ded knycht [þai] brocht
To berry it, befor him þai murnit all;
Thocht he wes ded, ȝit sum confort þai thocht
With e to se þat corps defit all,
Bot his moder, Virgin Angelicall,
That þat parting of ded bure neir þe braid,
Quhen scho þe graif saw with a stane cloiss laid.
Off his keiping Joseph had gret cure,
Thairfor ane stane, þat wes baith gret and lang,
Fra best and man to cloiss þe sepultur,
With richt gret force befor þe graif þai thrang.
At his moder syne askit leif to gang
Till herbry, for him nerit þe nycht,
Thus fra his King partit þis cristin knycht.
Sanct Johnne, quhilk cure had tane of þis virgin,
He estounit with gret proplexite.
The sepultur gart till his hert propyne,
Heirfor full meik he said: O sueit Lady,
Ceiss for to sich, now ȝour regrait lat be,
And mak ȝow bown, or þat þe nycht draw neir,
For till vmbeschew þe Jowis gret dangeir.
It hevyit hir of þat departing,
Bot nocht obstant scho wes obedient;
Scho braist þe graif and salust hir sueit thing,
Syne but delay scho to þe ciete went.
In hir allane remanit þe foundament
Off cristin faith, for [he] schew verralye
Him Goddis sone predestinat to de.
In hi[r] closit scho brassit with bandis twa,
Thai[r] dais thre scho maid hir inhabitance.
A band wes dule of hir sonis wa,
Quhilk nycht and day scho had in remembrance:
The tothir wes profound confidance,
That inmortall he suld rais in haist.
Thus betuix pyne and faith hir hert is braist.
The Magdalyn besid þe sepultur
With vthir ma throw hir deuocioun
Baid for to spy, how scho oure saluiour
Mycht se cum out withouttin suspecioun.
Scho passit and maid raddy hir vnccioun,
Bot þe ladyis hir causit mak resisting,
Quhill þe thrid day, þat scho þe day saw spring.
On setterday þe preistis of þe law
To Pilat come and said, þai had in mynd,
That Crist [himself] suld to þe pepill schaw,
On þe thrid day þat he suld riss fra pyne.
Thairfor þai said: Send [knichtis] sone of þin,
Quhilk nycht and day haue of þe croce sic cure,
That ay ane walk and keipe þe sepulture.
For and his folk out of þe graif him ta,
Thai will proclame þat he is Crist our king,
To quhome þe ded may nocht resistance ma;
Sa be sic meyne þai may in errour bring
All þe pepill, quhilk bow suld of our ring.
Sa þis last errour may ws mair confound,
Than did þe first withoutin comparisound.
Pilat said: Tak of myn awtorite
Men of armes, of his corps to haue cure.
Thai maid na baid, bot [with] hillarite
With þai knichtis towart þe graif þ[a]i fure.
For sickar armes þai soucht in þe sepulture;
Syne him to keip left knychtis deligent,
So left þe graif and to þe ciete went.
Within a crage now closit is etern
Off all þe warld þe generall Saluitour;
Throw dispen[s]acioun [of] þe God superne
Vnfaithfull men his corps now hes in cure.
The body lyis in þe sepulture.
Into þe lymbe þe saulis giffis conf[orting],
Till þe gude theif, þat knew him Crist our King.
Thoucht cruell ded had with his bludy dart
Off saule and body lowsit þe vnioun,
He had no pith his Godhed forto part,
Fra ane of þaim be ded in his passioun.
For [Godis] sone wes wont till a persoun
[Haue] saule and body to Diuinite.
Fra þame þe Godheid brak neuer vnite.
Thus in þe graif lyis þis woundit knycht
Vndir þe cure of dedis dirk vmbrakill.
Into þe lymbe þe saulis giffis licht
To þe fadderis, quhilk had þe habitakill
1
Thairfor þe knychtis but dreid sleippit sone,
For his body sall riss in na corrupcioun.
And to my Will ansuerit Wit and Ressoun:
Moir sueit to speik of my Saluiour:
Thow mycht me argo of a poynt of tressoun,
Thy hurde to hid to skaill I tuke na cure.
Bot sen þou wait, my wit is febill and pure,
Thy cruell ded with piete to recorde;
Gude will for ded ressaue, sueit Jhesu, my Lord.
