Revival: Mirk's Festival: A Collection of Homilies (1905)

John Mirk

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2018
• ISBN:
  9781351338370
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Literature
• Subtopic: Literary Criticism
• Index: Literature

This first part contains only the text and a glossary. In the second part, with Introduction concerning the MSS. and the arrangement of the texts, &c. I may therefore, here confine myself to a very few remarks.

In addition to the ordinary contraction signs the scribe of the Gough MS. frequently make a stroke over or otherwise adds a a stroke to the last letter of the words.

FESTIAL

BY IOHANNES MIRKUS

(MS. Gough Eccl. Top. 4, Bodl.)

GOD, maker of all þyng, be at our begynnyng, and 3if vs all fol. 1 a his blessyng, and bryng vs all to a good endyng. Amen.

Hic incipit liber, qui vocatur festiualis¹

1.

ADVENT SONDAY.

Good men and woymen, þys day, as 3e knowen well, ys cleped 4 Sonenday yn þe Aduent; þat ys, þe Sonenday of Cristys comyng. Wherfor þys day holy chyrch makyth mencyon of two comyngys of Crist, Godys sonne, ynto þys world, forto by mankind out 8 of þe deueles bondage, and to bryng hym and weldoers to þe blys þat euer schall last. And his oþer comyng, þat schall be at þe day of dome, forto deme all wikytdoers ynto þe pyt of hell for euermor. But þe for[m]e comyng of Cryst ynto þys world 12 broght ioy and blysse wyth hym; þerfor holy chyrch vsyth summe songes of melody, as Alleluja, and oþer. And for þe comyng of Cryst to þe dome schall be so jrus and so cruell, þat no tong may tell, þerfor holy chirch layth downe sum songes 16 of melody as: ‘Te Deum laudamus,’ ‘Gloria in excelsis,’ and ‘Weddyng.’ For aftyr þat day schall weddyng neuer be. Þus holy chirche layþe downe songys of melody befor, yn tokenyng of vengans þat woll come aftyr. 20

Then of þe fyrst comyng of Cryst into þys world, þus sayth Seynt Austyne: ‘Þer ben þre þyngys þat ben ryuet yn þys world: burth, trauell, and deþe.’ Þys ys þe testament þat Adam, our formast fadyr, made to all his ospryng aftyr hym, þat 24 ys: forto be borne yn sekenes, forto lyuen yn trauayle, and forto dye yn drede. But Crist—blessyt most he be !—he come forto be executure of þys testament: and was borne, and trauayld, and dyet. He was borne to bryng man out of sekenes ynto 28 euerlastyng hele; he trauaylde forto bryng man ynto euer-lastyng reste; he was ded forto || bryng man ynto þe lyfe þat l b neuer schall haue ende. Þys was þe cause of Crystys fyrst comyng ynto þys world. Wherfor he þat wyll scape þe dome þat he 4 wyll come to at þe second comyng, he most lay downe all maner of pride and heynes of hert, and know hymselfe þat he ys not but a wryche and slyme of erth, and soo hold mekenes yn his hert. He most trauayl his body yn good werkes, and gete his 8 lyfe wyth swynke, and put away all ydylnes and slewth. For he þat wyll not trauayle here¹ wyth men, as Seynt Barnard sayth, he schall trauayle ay wyth þe fendes of hell. And for dred of deth he mot make hym redy to his God, when he woll 12 send aftyr hym, þat ys: schryuen of his synnys, and allway kepe his concyens clene not forto abyde from lenton to lenton, but as sone as he feleþe þat he hath synnet, anoon goo schryue hym, and mekly take þe dome of his schryft-fadyr: þen schall 16 he haue yn þe day of dome gret remedy and worschip. For ryght as a knyght scheweth þe wondys þat he haþe yn batayle, yn moche comendyng to hym; ryght so all þe synnys þat a man hath schryuen hym of², and taken hys penans for, schull 20 be þer yschewet yn moch honowre to hym, and moche confucyon to þe fende. And þose þat haue not schryuen hom, hit schall be schowet to all þe world yn gret confusyon and schenschyp. Þys ys sayde for þe fyrst commyng of Cryst ynto þys world.

24 The secunde comyng of hym to þe dome schall so cruell be, and ferdfull, and horrybull, þat þer schal com befor xv dayes of gret drede; so by þe drede of þes dayes þat comen befor, a man may know aparty the horobylyte þat schall be yn þe dome, þat 28 comyth aftyr.

The fyrst day, as Saynt Jerom sayth, þe see schall aryse vp yn hyr styd, soo þat þe watyr schall be hear || then ayny hyll, 2 a by xl^ti cubytys, stondyng styll yn her styd, as hit wer a wall.

32 The ij. day hit schall fall downe, so þat vnneþe hit schall be yseyne.

The iij. day þe seeswyne and þe cloppys of þe see schull

[G. = MS.Gough Eccl. Top. 4. D. = MS. Douce 108. d. = MS. Douce 60. C. = MS. Claudius A. II.]

stond on þe see and make roryng noyse so hyddous, þat no man can tell hit but¹ God hymselfe.

The iiij. day þe see and all watyrs schull bren.

The v. day treus and herbys schull swete blode, and all 4 fowles schull come togedyr and noþer ete ne drynke for ferd of þe dome comyng.

The vj. day all byldyngys and castelles² schull fall adowne to þe grownde, and an horrybull fyre schall aryse at þe sonne goyng 8 downe, and þen a3eyne at þe vprysyng of hym.

The vij. day all stons and rockes schull vche all tobeton oþer wyth a hydwes noyse, whech noyse God hymselfe schall know and vndyrstond. 12

The viij. day þe erþe schall quake so horribuly, þat no best schall stond on hit, but all schall fal to þe grownd.

The ix. day all hyllys and mowntaynys schull turne ynto powdyr, and þe erþe schall be made playne and euen. 16

The x. day men schull goo out of hur dennys þer þay daret for drede so amated for fer, þat non schall speke to oþer.

The xj. day all þe bones of þe ded men schull ryse and stond vp on hor graues, and þat day all graues schull opyn. 20

The xij. day sterres schull fall from heuen and spred out of hom brennyng lemes.

The xiij. day all men schull be redy to aryse þat haue ben ded befor. 24

The xiiij. day heuen and erþe schull bren so horrybly, þat no man may tell hit.

2 b The xv. day || heuen and erþ schull be made newe, and all men and woymen and childyrne schull aryse vp yn þe age of xxx^ti 28 3ere and come to þe dome.

Then schal Ihesu Crist, veray God and man³, come to þe dome, and al seyntys wyth hym, and schow all his wondys all fresch, and newe, and bledyng, as þat day þat he deyet on þe 32 crosse. And þer þe crosse schall be schewet all blody, and all oþer ynstrumentys of his passyon. Then sory may þay be þat haue ben wont to swer by his hert, by sydes, by blod and bones of hym; þat schall be to hym a hygh fure and a hygh confusyon, 36 but þay wer sory þerof befor.

Then schall Cryst heghly þonke hom, and prayse hom þat han don mercy to hor euen-cristyn, and schall say þus to hom: ‘My fadyrs blessyd chyldyrne comeþe ynto þe joy þat euer schall last. 4 For when I was hongry, 3e fedden me; when I was thursty, 3e gaf me dryngke; when I was naket, 3e cloþet me; when I was herberles, 3e herbert me; when I was seke, 3e vyset me, 3evyng me þat þat was nedfull to me; when I was yn pryson, 3e come to 8 me and confortet me.¹ For when 3e dyddyn þus for my loue, 3e dydden hyt to me and as moche þonke I kan you for þat 3e dydden to þe lest of myn, as 3e hadden don hit to myn owne selfe; wherfor goo 3e now ynto þat ioye þat euer schall last¹.’

12 Then schall he horrubly rebuken ryche men þat han don no mercy, and say to hom spytwysly þus: ‘Goo 3e curset lystes ynto þe payne of helle, for 3e hadden ynogh wherof to haue fed me and my seruantys, and 3eue me dryngke, ycloþet me, and 16 herbert me, and holpen me yn my sekenes, and vyset me yn my dyses, and 3e wold not, but louet your good and not me. Wherfor goo 3e now ynto þe fyre of helle þat ys ordeynt to þe fendys of hell wythout any mercy; for 3e wold do no mercy, and þerfor 3e 20 schull haue no mercy.’

Then woo schall be to hom þat schall here þys rebuke yn þat day; þer schall² no pleder helpe, ne gold, ne syluyr, ne othyr|| yftes; but as a man hath don, he schall haue. He schall haue 3 a 24 accusars aboue hym, wythyn hym, on aythyr syde hym, and vndyr hym, þat he schall no way scape. Aboue hym schall be Crist his domes-man so wroþe, þat no tong con tell, for he dyt no mercy; wythyn hym his on concyens accusyng hym of þe lest þoght þat 28 euer he dyd amys; hys angyll on þat on syde tellyng hym redely wher and how oft he haþe don amys; on þat oþer syde fendes cbalenchyng hym horres as by ryght; vndyr hym helle 3eonyng, and galpyng, and spyttyng fyre and stench redy forto swolon hym 32 ynto þe payne þat neuer schall haue ende.

Thys, good men, 3e schull know well þat yn þe day of dome pore men schull be domes-men wyth Cryst, and dome þe ryche. For all þe woo þat pore men hauen, hit ys by þe ryche men; and þogh þay haue moche wrong, þay may not gete amendes, tyll þay come to þat dome; and þer þay schall haue all hor one lust of hom. For when þay haue wrong, and mow gete non amendys, þen þay pray ful hertely to God forto qwyt hom yn 4 þe day of dome; and woll he truly. For þus he sayth by his profyt: ‘Kepytt your veniauns to me, and I wyll qwyt you.’ Wherfor, syrs, for Goddys loue, whyll 3e byn here, makyth amendes for your mys-dedys, and makyþe hom your frendes 8 þat schall be our domes-men, and tryst 3e not to hom þat schall com aftyr you, lest 3e ben deseyuet, and dredyth þe payne of hell þat schall last wythouten any ende.

Seynt Bede telleþe þat þer was a husbond-man here yn Engl...