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
III.
The high Prince of all is displeased with those who work wickedly.
For the first fault the devil committed, he felt God’s vengeance.
He, the fairest of all angels, forsook his sovereign, and boasted that
his throne should be as high as God’s.
For these words he was cast down to hell.
The fiends fell from heaven, like the thick snow, for forty days.
From heaven to hell the shower lasted.
The devil would not make peace with God.
Affliction makes him none the better.
For the fault of one, vengeance alighted upon all men.
Adam was ordained to live in bliss.
Through Eve he ate an apple.
Thus all his descendants became poisoned.
A maiden brought a remedy for mankind.
IV.
Malice was merciless.
A race of men came into the world, the fairest, the merriest, and the
strongest that ever were created.
They were sons of Adam.
No law was laid upon them.
Nevertheless they acted unnaturally.
The “_fiends_” beheld how fair were the daughters of these mighty men,
and made fellowship with them and begat a race of giants.
The greatest fighter was reckoned the most famous.
The Creater of all becomes exceedingly wroth.
Fell anger touches His heart.
It repents Him that He has made man.
He declares that all flesh shall be destroyed, both man and beast.
There was at this time living on the earth a very righteous man: Noah
was his name.
Three bold sons he had.
God in great anger speaks to Noah.
Declares that He will destroy all “that life has.”
Commands him to make “a mansion” with dwellings for wild and tame.
To let the ark be three hundred cubits in length, and fifty in breadth,
and thirty in height, and a window in it a cubit square.
Also a good shutting door in the side, together with halls, recesses,
bushes, and bowers, and well-formed pens.
For all flesh shall be destroyed, except Noah and his family.
Noah is told to take into the ark seven pairs of every clean beast, and
one of unclean kind, and to furnish the ark with proper food.
Noah fills the ark.
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