_Jhesus._ Amen! amen! thou art ful wyse! That thou hast askyd I grawnt the! This same day in paradyse With me thi God thou xalt ther be! _Maria._ O my sone! my sone! my derlyng dere! What have I defendyd the? Thou hast spoke to alle tho that ben here, And not o word thou spekyst to me! To the Jewys thou art ful kende, Thou hast forgeve al here mysdede; And the thef thou hast in mende, For onys haskyng mercy hefne is his mede. A! my sovereyn Lord, why whylt thou not speke To me that am thi modyr in peyn for thi wrong? A! hert! hert! why whylt thou not breke? That I were out of this sorwe so stronge! _Jhesus._ A! woman, woman, behold ther thi sone! And thou Jon take her for thi modyr! I charge the to kepe her as besyly as thou kone, Thou a clene mayde xal kepe another! And, woman, thou knowyst that my fadyr of hefne me sent To take this manhod of the, Adamys rawnsom to pay; ffor this is the wyl and to my ffaderys intent, That I xal thus deye to delyvere man fro the develys pray! Now syn it is the wyl of my fadyr it xuld thus be, Why xuld it dysplese the, modyr, now my deth so sore? And for to suffre al this for man I was born of the, To the blys that man had lost man aȝen to restore. _Here owe Lady xal ryse and renne and halse the crosse._ _Maria Magdalen._ A! good lady, why do ȝe thus? ȝour dolful cher now chevit us sore. And for the peyne of my swete Lord Jhesus, That he seyth in ȝou, it peyneth hym more. _Maria virgo._ I pray yow alle lete me ben here, And hang me up here on this tre, Be my frend and sone that me is so dere; ffor ther he is, ther wold I be. _Johannes._ Jentyl lady, now leve ȝour mornyng, And go with us, now we ȝou pray! And comfort oure Lord at hese departyng, ffor he is almost redy to go his way. _Here thei xal take oure lady from the crosse, and here xal Pylat come down from his shaffald with Cayphas and Annas, and alle here mené; and xul come and lokyn on Cryst, and Annas and Cayphas xul skornfully seyn_, _Cayphas._ Lo! seres, lo! beholdyth and se, Here hangyth he that halpe many a man; And now yf he Goddys sone be, Helpe now hymself yf that he kan. _Annas._ ȝa! and yf thou kyng of Israel be, Come down of the cros among us alle! And lete thi God now delyvere the, And than oure kyng we wole the calle! _Here xal Pylat askyn penne and inke and a tabyl, xal betake hym wretyn afore, “Hic est Jhesus Nazarenus rex Judæorum.” And he xal make hym to wryte, and than gon upon a leddere, and settyn the tabyl abovyn Crystes hed; and then Cayphas xal makyn hym to redyn, and seyng_, _Cayphas._ Sere Pylat, we merveylyth of this, That ȝe wryte hym to be kyng of Jewys. Therfore we wolde that ȝe xuld wryte thus, That he namyd hymself Kyng of Jewus. _Pylat._ That I have wretyn, wretyn it is, And so it xal be for me i-wys.