Early English Alliterative Poems: in the West-Midland Dialect of the Fourteenth Century
Religion
Early English Alliterative Poems: in the West-Midland Dialect of the Fourteenth Century
English poetry -- Middle English, 1100-1500
[Sidenote: Each man calls upon his god.]
Bot vchon glewed on his god þat gayned hy{m} beste; 164
[Sidenote: Some called upon Vernagu, Diana, and Neptune, to the
sun and to the moon.]
Summe to vernagu þ{er} vouched a-vowes solemne,
Summe to diana deuout, & derf nepturne,
To mahou{n} & to mergot, þe mone & þe su{n}ne,
& vche lede as he loued & layde had his hert. 168
[Sidenote: Then said one of the sailors: “Some lawless wretch,
that has grieved his God, is in the ship.]
Þe{n}ne bispeke þe spakest dispayred wel nere:
I leue here be su{m} losynger, su{m} lawles wrech,
Þat hatȝ greued his god & gotȝ here amonge v{us};
Lo al synkes i{n} his sy{n}ne & for his sake marres! 172
[Sidenote: I advise that we lay lots upon each man.]
I lovne þat we lay lotes on ledes vchone,
& who-so ly{m}pes þe losse, lay hy{m} þ{er}-oute;
[Sidenote: [Fol. 85b.]]
[Sidenote: When the guilty is gone the tempest may cease.”]
& quen þe gulty is gon what may gome trawe,
Bot he þat rules þe rak may rwe on þose oþ{er}? 176
[Sidenote: This is agreed to.]
Þis watȝ sette i{n} asent, & sembled þay were,
[Sidenote: All are assembled, from all corners of the ship, save
Jonah the Jew, who had fled into the bottom of the boat.]
Herȝed out of vche hyrne to hent þat falles.
A lodes-mon lyȝtly lep vnder hachches,
For to layte mo ledes & hem to lote bry{n}g, 180
Bot hy{m} fayled no freke þat he fynde myȝt,
Saf Ionas þe Iwe þat Iowked i{n} derne.
He watȝ flowen for ferde of þe flode lotes
I{n}-to þe boþem of þe bot, & on a brede lyggede, 184
On helde by þe hurrok, for þe heuen wrache,
[Sidenote: There he falls asleep.]
Slypped vpon a slou{m}be, selepe, & sloberande he routes.
[Sidenote: Soon he is aroused, and brought on board.]
Þe freke hy{m} fru{n}t w{i}t{h} his fot & bede hy{m} ferk vp,
Þer ragnel i{n} his rakentes hy{m} rere of his dremes; 188
Bi þe haspede he hentes hy{m} þe{n}ne,
& broȝt hy{m} vp by þe brest & vpon borde sette,
[Sidenote: Full roughly is he questioned.]
Arayned hy{m} ful runyschly what raysou{n} he hade
I{n} such slaȝtes of sorȝe to slepe so faste; 192
Sone haf þay her sortes sette & serelych deled,
[Headnote: JONAH IS CONDEMNED TO DEATH, AND IS CAST OVERBOARD.]
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