Fifteenth Century Prose and Verse Part 17

I thee ensure, Within a little s.p.a.ce Thou shalt conceive, And Him receive That shall bring great solace."

_Noel!_

Then bespake the Virgin again, And answered womanly, "Whatsoever my Lord commandeth me I will obey truly!

Ecce, sum humillima Ancilla domini, Secundum verb.u.m tuum fiat mihi!

_Noel!_

_Man, move thy mind and joy this feast, Veritas de terra orta est!_

As I came by the way I saw a sight seemly to see, Three shepherds ranging in a kay, Upon the field keeping their fee.

A star, they said, they did espy, Casting the beams out of the east, And angels making melody _Veritas de terra orta est!_

Upon that sight they were aghast, Saying these words, as I say thee: "To Bethlehem shortly let us haste, And there we shall the truthe see!"

The angel said unto them all three, To their comfort or ever be ceased, "_Consolamini and merry be, Veritas de terra orta est!_"

From heaven, out of the highest see, Righteousness hath taken the way, With mercy meddled plenteously, And so conceived in a may, Miranda res this is in fay!

So saith the prophet in his gest; Now is He born, scripture doth say: _Veritas de terra orta est!_

Then pa.s.sed the shepherds from that place, And followed by the starres beam, That was so bright afore their face, It brought them straight unto Bethlem.

So bright it shone, on all the realm Till they came there they would not rest, To Jewry and Jerusalem!

_Veritas de terra orta est!_

_All this time this song is best: Verb.u.m caro factum est!_

This night there is a child born That sprang out of Jesse's thorn; We must sing and say thereforn _Verb.u.m caro factum est!_

Jesus is the child's name, And Mary mild is his dame; All our sorrow shall turn to game, _Verb.u.m caro factum est!_

It fell upon high midnight, The stars shone both fair and bright, The angels sang with all their might _Verb.u.m caro factum est!_

Now kneel we down on our knee, And pray we to the Trinity, Our help, our succour for to be!

_Verb.u.m caro factum est!_

_Now sing we, sing we, Gloria tibi domine!_

Christ keep us all, as he well can, A solis ortus cardine!

For He is both G.o.d and man, Qui natus est de virgine!

_Sing we, etc._

As He is Lord both day and night, Venter puellae baiulat, So is Mary mother of might, Secreta quae non noverat.

_Sing we, etc_.

The holy breast of chast.i.ty, verbo concepit filium, So brought before the Trinity, Ut cast.i.tatis lilium!

_Sing we, etc_.

Between an ox and an a.s.s enixa est puerpera; In poor clothing clothed He was [Qui] regnat super aethera!

_Sing we, etc_.

EXPLICIT.

+The Examination of Master William Thorpe, priest, of heresy, before Thomas Arundell, Archbishop of Canterbury, the year of our Lord, M.CCCC. and seven.+

+-- The Examination of the honourable Knight, Sir John Oldcastle, Lord Cobham, burnt by the said Archbishop,[26] in the first year of King Henry the Fifth.+

+-- Be no more ashamed to hear it, than ye were and be, to do it.+

Footnotes:

[26] This is incorrect, Archbishop ARUNDELL condemned Sir JOHN OLDCASTLE on September 25th, 1413, who was then sent to the Tower, see _pp._ 125, 132: from which he escaped; and being recaptured in Wales in 1417, was burnt on the 14th December of that year. But in the meantime, Archbishop ARUNDELL had died on the 14th February, 1414; and HENRY CHICHELEY had become Archbishop.

=W. Tindale. 1530.=

+-- Unto the Christian Reader.+

_Grace and peace in our Lord JESUS CHRIST. Read here with judgement, good Reader! the Examination of the blessed Man of G.o.d, and there thou shalt easily perceive wherefore our Holy Church (as the most unholy sort of all the people will be called) make all their examinations in darkness; all the lay people clean excluded from their counsels._

_For if their lies had been openly confuted, and also that the Accused of Heresy might as well have been admitted to reason their_ Articles _with Counsel, whether they were heresy or no[t], as the Accused of Treason against the King is admitted to his Council to confute his cause and_ Articles, _whether they be treason or not, they should never have murdered nor prisoned so many good Christian men as they have done._

_For their cloaked lies could never have continued so long in the light, as they have done in corners. They, good men! when they come in the pulpit, and preach against the Truth, cry, "If their learning_ [_i.e._, of the Protestants] _were good and true, they would never go in corners; but speak it openly!"_

_Whereunto I answer, that besides that CHRIST and his Apostles were compelled (for because of the furiousness of their fathers, the Bishops and Priests, which only, that time also, would be called Holy Church) oftentimes for to walk secretly, and absent themselves, and give place to their malice. Yet we have daily examples, of more than one or two, that have not spared nor feared for to speak, and also_ [_to_] _preach openly the Truth; which have been taken of them, prisoned, and brent: besides others that for fear of death, have abjured and carried f.a.ggots.

Of whose_ Articles _and Examination there is no layman that can shew a word._

=DEATHS OF SEVEN AT COVENTRY, &c.=

_Who can tell wherefore, not many years past, there were Seven burnt in Coventry on one day? Who can tell wherefore that good priest and holy martyr, Sir_ [the reverend] _THOMAs. .h.i.tTON was brent, now this year, at Maidstone in Kent? I am sure, no man! For this is their cast_ [contrivance] _ever when they have put to death or punished any man: after their secret Examinations, to slander him of such things as he never thought; as they may do well enough, seeing there is no man to contrary them._

_Wherefore I exhort thee, good brother! whosoever thou be that readest this treatise, mark it well, and consider it seriously! and there thou shalt find, not only what the Church is, their doctrine of the Sacrament, the Wors.h.i.+pping of Images, Pilgrimage, Confession, Swearing, and Paying of t.i.thes: but also thou mayest see what strong and substantial arguments of Scripture and Doctors, and what clerkly reasons my Lord the head and Primate of the Holy Church in England (as he will be taken) bringeth against this poor, foolish, simple, and mad losell, knave, and heretic, as he calleth him. And also the very cause wherefore all their Examinations are made in darkness._

_And the Lord of all Light shall lighten thee with the candle of His grace, for to see the Truth! Amen._

-- _This I have corrected and put forth in the English that now is used in England, for our Southern men; nothing thereto adding, ne yet therefrom minis.h.i.+ng. And I intend hereafter, with the help of G.o.d to put it forth in his own old English, which shall well serve, I doubt not, both for the Northern men and the faithful brethren of Scot- land._