The Departing Soul's Address to the Body: A Fragment of a Semi-Saxon Poem: Discovered Among the Archives of Worcester Cathedral
Religion
The Departing Soul's Address to the Body: A Fragment of a Semi-Saxon Poem: Discovered Among the Archives of Worcester Cathedral
Poetry
stand with thy feet,
on nenne goldfohne bowe. on no gold-glittering saddle;
for thu _scal_t faren alto howe. for thou shalt journey all to woe,
and thu scalt nu ruglunge. 190 and thou shalt now backwards
ridæn to thære eorthe. ride to the earth;
ut _sceo_t æt thære dure. shut out at the door,
ne thearft thu næffre onȝean. nor canst thou ever again
cumæn reowliche riden. come fiercely riding.
_nu alle_ beræfed. 195 Now all bereaved,
ac thene eorthliche weole. eke the earthly wealth,
the thu iwold ohtest. that thou possessed power _over_.
nu mon mæi _seg_gen bi the. Now they may say of thee,
thes mon is iwiten. this man is departed,
nu her weila. 200 Alas! now here,
and his weolæn beoth her belæfed. and his wealth is here left behind.
_nol_de he nefre thær of don. he would never do therewith
his drihtenes wille. his Lord's will.
ac æfre thu gæderest. But ever thou didst gather
gær_sumen_ thine feonde. 205 riches of thine enemies.
nulleth heo nimen gete. Yet will they not take
hwo hit biȝete. who procured it?
nafst thu bute _we_lawei. nor hast thou but well away!
that thu weole heuedest. that thou hadst wealth.
al is reowliche thin sith. 210 All ruefull is thy lot,
efter thin wrecche lif. after thy wicked life.
theo men beoth the blithre. Those men are the blither
the arisen ær with the. that formerly jangled with thee,
that thin muth is betuned. that thy mouth is closed,
_the_ theo teone ut lettest. 215 with which thou reproach uttered,
the he heom sore grulde. which sorely provoked them;
thet ham gros the aȝan. that they raged against thee;
_dæ_th hine haveth bituned. death hath closed it,
and thene teone aleid. and the anger taken away.
Soth is iseid. 220 Truly it is said
on then salme _be_c. in the Psalm book,
_Os tuum habundavit malitia_, _os tuum habundavit malitia_,
was on thine muthe. wickedness ripe
luthernesse ripe. was in thy mouth.
_no_ldest thu on thine huse. 225 Thou wouldst not in thy house
herborwen theo wrecchen. shelter the poor,
ne mihten heo under _thine_ roue. nor might they under thy roof
none reste finden. find any rest;
noldest thu næfre helpen. nor wouldst thou ever help
tham orlease w_recche_n. 230 the unhappy wretches;
ac thu sete on thine benche. but thou sate on thy bench,
underleid mid thine bolstre. underlaid with thy bolster,
thu wurpe _cn_eow ofer cneow.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account