Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, ORMULUM: DEDICATION, by ANONYMOUS


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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

ORMULUM: DEDICATION, by                    
First Line: "now, brother walter, brother mine"
Last Line: To heavenly bliss be brought!' amen
Subject(s): Religion; Theology


Now, Brother Walter, brother mine
After the flesh, in sooth,
And brother mine in Christendom
Thro' Baptism, and thro' truth,
And Brother mine in God's own House
In the third wise thou art,
Since in the self-same rule of life
We two have sworn our part --
And that we do as Canons live
Saint Austin's rule fulfil --
After thy bidding have I done,
And have performed thy will,
And turned into the English tongue
The Gospel's holy lore,
After such little wit as God
Hath given me in store.
For that thou thoughtest it might well
To mickle profit turn,
If English folk, for love of Christ,
Were fain the same to learn.
And follow it, its hest fulfil,
In word, and deed, and thought,
And therefore didst thou much desire
This work by me be wrought.
And now, behold, 't is done for thee
As Christ His Help did lend,
'T were fitting that we both thank Christ
That now 't is brought to end.
In sooth, well nigh the Gospels all
In book I've gathered here
That in the Mass-book may be found
For Mass, throughout the year;
And after every Gospel text
Its meaning may ye read,
That one may to the folk make clear
That which their soul doth need;
And yet, beside this, more enow
I've added thereunto
Of that which all Christ's Holy Folk
Shall both believe and do --
And I have set here, in this book,
Amid the Gospels still,
All of myself, full many a word,
The rhythm and rhyme to fill.
But thou shalt find that these, my words,
Where'er they added be,
Shall help the man who readeth it
To understand, and see
In better wise how he, in sooth,
The Gospel Words should hear --
Therefore I trow thou should'st permit
The words I've written here,
Where'er such words, in Gospel lore,
May not by thee be found --
For whoso must, to simple folk,
The Gospel lore expound,
His words, to words of Holy Writ,
Full oft he addeth still,
And I might not, with Gospel Words,
My verses fitly fill;
And therefore doth it chance that I
Should find the need, oft-time,
To add unto the Gospel Words
To fill my verse and rhyme.
To thee I now entrust this book
As charge and duty high,
That thou right well thro' it should'st look,
The verses search and try,
That ne'er in all this book shall be
A word 'gainst Christ's Own Lore,
A word the folk may not believe
And practise evermore.
They shall be trodden underfoot,
And cast out utterly, --
(This is the doom of that foul flock
Who blind thro' malice be, --)
Who blame the thing that they should praise
Thro' pride and envy drear;
Methinks, they shall judge scornfully
Our labour, Brother dear!
For all such folk the work shall hold
Useless and idle all,
And this not thro' their skill, thro' pride
And envy shall befall.
Here it behoves us pray to God
That He forgive their sin,
And that we love Him well, for Whom
We did this work begin.
And give Him thanks that it be brought
By this His aid, to end,
For it may help all, who thereto
A willing ear shall lend,
And love its lore, and follow it
In thought and word, and deed --
And when, hereafter, any man
To write this book doth need,
I bid him to set down aright
Whate'er the book doth hold,
And follow closely all that I,
In this first copy, told.
With all such rhyme as here is set,
The words in number right,
And that he look right well that he
The letters double write;
For everywhere throughout this book
He'll find 't is written so --
Let him mark well that so he write,
For naught else may he do
In English, would he write it right,
That shall he soothly know!
And if a man should ask me why
I thought this deed to do,
I did it for this cause, because
Man's bliss for evermore
Doth hang upon this thing, that he
The Gospel's Holy Lore
With all his might should follow right
In thought, and word, and deed,
For all on earth to follow this,
The Christian's Faith, have need,
As they be taught, in deed and truth,
Of Holy Gospel Lore --
And therefore whoso learneth it,
And doth it, evermore,
He at his end shall worthy be
To God's salvation reach --
And therefore have I turned it
Into the English speech,
For that I would, right joyfully,
That English people all
Who with their ears shall hearken it,
In heart believe it all,
They, with their tongue, should tell it forth,
After its precepts do,
So that their soul, thro' Christian Faith,
Come God's Salvation to.
For if they thus its teaching hear,
And walk its ways within,
I shall have helped them, by Christ's Grace,
Eternal Bliss to win.
And I shall have, for this my toil,
A good reward, I wis,
In that I here, for love of God,
And hope of Heavenly Bliss,
Have done this into English speech,
Men's souls to profit win --
And if they now reject my work
'T is counted them for sin.
But I, I shall have earned thereby
The Grace of Christ indeed,
In that I wrought for them this book
To help their soul's true need;
Altho' they may, thro' sinful pride,
Refuse my words to read!

Now Gospel is in English writ
Good Word, or Tidings Good,
Good Errand, insomuch as it
Thro' Holy Writers stood,
All wrought and written in a Book
Of how Christ came to earth,
And how, for Mankind's need, True God
As Man had here His Birth.
Of how Mankind, thro' this, His Death,
Was freed from bonds of Hell,
How He assuredly rose from Death
The Third Day -- doth it tell.
How he thereafter did ascend
Surely to Heaven high,
And shall hereafter come again
All folk to judge and try,
And payment mete to every man
Fair, after his own deed --
That which of such good bringeth word
Good Tidings are indeed.
Therefore, I trow, the Gospel we
Good Message well may call,
And men may in the Gospel books
Right good deeds find withal;
Kindness, that Our Lord Jesus Christ
Hath done for us on earth,
When that He came to Man, for us
As Man had here His Birth.

For this good deed for us He did
The Lord Christ, here below,
In that He did True Man become
To free Mankind from woe --
Another kindness hath He done
Lord Christ, for this our good,
In that He was, for all men's need,
Baptized in Jordan's flood;
Since He would water, for our use
In Baptism, sanctify,
Therefore was He Himself baptized
In water, verily.
A Third good hath He done for us,
The Lord Christ, in that He
Hath yielded up His Life for us
Of right good will, and free,
To suffer Death upon the Cross,
Guiltless, and without stain,
To free Mankind, by this, His Death,
From out the Devil's chain.
The Fourth good that He did for us,
The Lord Christ, will I tell,
'T was thro' His Holy Soul's descent
From Cross to Shades of Hell;
To draw out from the pains of Hell
The good souls, every one,
Who in this life had pleased Him well,
And righteously had done.
The Fifth good He hath done for us,
The Lord Christ, will I say,
'T was in that, for our good, He rose
From Death, on that Third Day,
And let th' Apostles see Him well
In human Flesh, and kind,
For that He would the Truth implant
And fasten in their mind,
That He, in very Truth and Deed,
Did from the Dead arise
In that same Flesh, which to the Cross
Was nailed before their eyes.
Since He would fasten and implant
That Truth within their heart,
His Presence to th' Apostles He
On earth did oft impart
Within the space of forty days
Since that He rose, I wis --
The Sixth good He hath done for us,
The Lord Christ, it is this --
That He ascended, for our good,
Again to Heaven's Bliss,
Thereafter sent the Holy Ghost
To His Disciple's band
To comfort, and embolden them
The Devil to withstand;
To give them Wisdom, that aright
His Holy Lore they know,
And good desire, and fitting might,
Patient to suffer woe,
All for the Love of God, and ne'er
To win them earthly gain --
A Seventh good, I trow, Our Lord
To do for us is fain,
In that, on Doomsday, He to us
Heaven's Bliss shall open throw,
If it so chance we worthy be
God's Mercy for to know.

And thus to us hath Our Lord Christ
A Sevenfold goodness shown
In that He unto us hath come,
As Man on Earth was known.
Now, in that Holy Book that as
Apocalypse we know,
Thro' teaching of the Holy Ghost,
Saint John to us doth show
That up in Heaven he saw a Book,
With Seven Seals beset,
And so fast closed that never one
Was found to ope it yet,
Save but the Holy Lamb of God,
Whom he saw there, in Heaven, --
And this, I trow, the token of
Those Seals, in number Seven --
The Sevenfold favours, that, for us,
Christ thro' His Coming won,
That never by no man, I trow,
Those Seals should be undone
Save by God's Lamb, Who came to us --
And thereby are we shown
Angel nor man there ne'er shall be
Nor any creature known,
Who of Himself could ever show
Such goodness sevenfold
To Man, that he might loose Mankind
From out of Hell's dark hold
Nor give him might, that Heaven's Bliss
Shall to his share be told!

But even as the Lamb of God
By this, His Might alone,
With little toil hath light, I trow,
Those Seven Seals undone,
Thus, even so, did Our Lord Christ,
By this, His Might alone, --
(With Father and with Holy Ghost
As One God only known --)
Even so did He right easily,
By this, His Might and Power,
Upon Mankind, Himself alone,
A Sevenfold goodness shower.
So that He lightly might Mankind
From bonds of Hell set free
And give Mankind Desire and Love,
Power, Wisdom, Will, that we
May persevere in serving God,
And Heaven's Bliss may win;
And therefore is that goodness shown
The Gospel Book within,
This Sevenfold kindness that Our Lord
Hath shown us evermore --
Thus it behoves all Christian Folk
To follow Gospel Lore,
And therefore have I rendered it
In English, as 't is spoke,
For that I would, right joyfully,
That all our English folk
With ear should hearken to its rede,
In heart believe it aye,
And with their tongue should tell it forth,
By deeds their Faith display;
And thus their souls, thro' Christian Faith,
With Heaven's Bliss fulfil --
Now God Almighty give us Power,
Desire, and Wit, and Will,
To follow from this English Book
All holy lore, I wis,
That so at last we worthy be
To taste of Heaven's Bliss!
Amen, Amen, Amen.
And I, who did this English write
For English men withal,
I, men, when they did christen me,
As Orm, they did me call;
And here I, Orm, right earnestly,
With mouth and heart, would pray
That Christian men, who hear this book,
Or read its words always,
I would beseech them, one and all,
This prayer for me to pray --
"The Brother who, in English tongue,
First hath this writing wrought,
May he, for this his work's reward,
To Heavenly Bliss be brought!"





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