Transcription exercise

Who kan remembre / the myracles merueilous [W]hich crist Ih[es]u / list for his seyntes shewe Or who kan write / the tryumphes gloryous Of his martirs / in nou[m]bre nat a fewe And I am ferful / a boue myn hed to hewe Lyst froward chippis / of presumpcion Sholde blynde myn eyen / in ther fallyng don

Yt is nat holsom / to looke ageyn the sonne For dirked eyen / dulled of ther syht Men symply lettryd / that but litil konne Sholde feerful been / in herte / of verray ryht To entermete / of thilke eternal lyht Which bryhtest phebus / in ordre sette him selue Myd his crowne / of the heuenly stones twelue

The charboncle / of his nature red And cerawmis lyk the fyry leuene Wolde oppresse / and dirke / a dullyd hed Forto beholde ther bemys sent from heuene The cours celestiall / of the sterrys seuene To comprehende / ther dyurnal meuyng To bareyn wittis / is a ful strange thyng

The noble story / to putte in remembrance Of saynt Edmund / martir maide & kyng With his support / my stile I wil avance First to compile / aftir my kunyng[?] His glorious lif / his birthe and his gynnyng And be discent / how that he that was so good Was in saxonie born / of the roial blood

[Arms of England in the opening initial T] [Miniature with a monk presenting a book to the enthroned king, surrounded by other monks and nobles].

ornate margin

In Saxonie whilom ther was a kyng Callid Alkmond / of excellent noblesse A manli prince / vertuous of levyng And ful habounde / of tresour and richesse Notable in armys / ful renomed of prowesse A semly persone / hardi and corageous Mercurie in wisdam / lik Mars victorious

Eyed as Argus / be vertuous providence And circumspect / as famous Scipion In kyngli honour / of most excellence Holde in his tyme / thoruh many a region But nat withstandyng / his famous hih renon He so demened / his hih noblesse in deede Above al tresour / to love god and dreede

In wordli honour / thouh he were fortunat Set in a chaier / of kyngli dignite He koude knowe / in his roial estat Above alle kyngis / god hath the sovereynte And advertisid / in his most mageste That sceptre or crowne / may litil availe / or nouht To hem that love not god / in herte and thouht

Thus first the tyrant gan his malis shewe By cruel vengance / the cite despoilyng He spared no sect / sauf he kepte a fewe Of folkes olde / unweeldy and hastyng Upon ther deth / for febilnesse languysshyng Such as he dempte / platly forto seye That were not worthy / on his swerd to deye

This tirant Hyngwar / by feer gan them compelle Voidyng delaies forto teche hem where Or in what castel Kyng Edmund dide duelle And of his puissance thei gan also enquere And that thei shulde / conveie him and lere Toward the place / or geten him a guyde Where his houshold / that tyme dide a bide

For verray dreed / these folkes feeble and olde Of ther lyues / stondyng in jupartye Unto Hyngwar / the place anoon thei tolde And with his host / thei lad him that partye Wher as kyng Edmond / with his chevalrye Withynne castre / a place delectable His houshold heeld / ful roial and notable

[At top of page, priest pictured kneeling in prayer]

[ornate blue /red motif, gold cap letter] O precious charboncle of martirs alle O hevenly gemme / saphir of stabylnesse Thy hevenly dewh of grace let don falle In to my penne / Enclosyd with rudnesse And blyssed martir / my style do so dresse Undir thy wynges / of proteccion That I nat Erre / in my translacyon

O rychest rubye / rubyfyed with blood In thy passyon / be ful meke suffrance bonndyn to a tree / lowly whan thou stood Of arwes sharpe / Suffryng ful greet penance Stable as a wal / of herte in thy Constaunce Directe my style / which I haue undirtake In thy worshepe / thy legende for to make

In Saxonye / whylom ther was a kyng callyd Alkemou[n]d / of excellent noblesse a manly prynce / vertuous of lyvyng and ful habounde / of tresour & rychesse notable in armys / ful renomyd of prowesse a semly persone / hardy and coragious mercurye in wysdam lyk mars victoryous

Eyed as Argus / be vertuous providence And circumspect / as Famous scipyon In kyngly honour / of moost excellence Holde in his tyme / thorugh many region But nat with standyng / his famous hih renon He so demenyd / his hih noblesse in dede a bove al tresour / to love god and drede

In worldly honour / though he wer fortunat Set in a chayeer / of kyngly dignite he cowde knowe / in his royal Estat A bove alle kynges / god hath the sov[er]eynte and advertysed / in his moost mageste That sceptre and crowne may lyte a vaylle or nought To them that love nat god / in herte and thought

The kyng of ryght was movyd to doo lawe To pnnyshe [punish ?] this dede hatful and cruylle [cruel ?] Beun [or ‘Bern’?] was a restyd [arrested ?] which myght hym not with drawe And aftur conduct by toknys ful credyble [?] dempt [?] and for juged [?] that in al haste possyble for to be lad unto the same sownde wheer first the barge of lothbrook [ie Ragnar Lodbrok] cam to londe

[A highly coloured illustration set in a rectangular frame (landscape proportions) intersects the text at this point. It appears to depict: (left) the king addressing people who appear to be petitioning him; (centre) a stone archway with crenellations; (right) a man with a polearm standing at the coast (or on a riverbank) with a ship or boat in the water nearby, in which a man sits. NB: the man in the boat closely resembles one of the men with whom the king is speaking. The implication of the text seems to be that this man is ‘Beun’ (or ‘Bern’).]

In [illuminated capital ‘I’] to that vessel the stoory is wel knowe which nonthrn [?] hadde none [?] sayl nor mast to folwe the cours [?] what coost the wynd lyst blowe this sayde Beun by jugement was cast when wynd and wave [?] his barge al moost wast for dryve [?] by Rokkys [‘rocks’ ?] and many hydons wothe [?] tyl toward denmark his vessel gan a prooche

Illustration / battle scene

[cap. letter, gold] But whan kyng Edmund knewh of his comy[n]g and of the paynymys? / the man herd seyn Ful lyk a knyght he made no tarying But with his poweer .....? wel be seyn be syde Thetforde he mette hym On a playn Thar wardys set and shaftwonds in bataylle .....? gan othir ful mortally assaylle

With wepyng teerys /and voys moost lamentable So as they soughte walkyng here and there Wheer artow lord our kyng moost agreable wheer artow Edmund/ shew [us] thyn hevenly cherd? The had answeryd thryes heer heer heere and nevir cesyd/ of al the long day So for to crye/ tyl they cam wheer he lay

illustration

This hevenly noyse gan ther hertys lyght and them releve/ of al ther hevynesse namly whan they hadde of the hed a syght kept by a woulff/ for yetyng his woodnesse al this consydred they mekly gan hem dresse To thanke our lord knelyn on the pleyn ffor the greet myracle which that they have seyn

foot note added - partly legible

(165)

¶ Off hevenly colour was his coote armvre The ffeeld azour of gold crownys thre In tookne he was by Recoord of scrypture kyng and martir his legende whoo lyst se The thrydde crowne tokne of virginite he with a spere sharp and kene grou[n]de Gaff the tyrau[n]t his last fatal wou[n]de

¶Geyn goddys wyl may be no Reffure Thus vnto hym Edmund gan speceffye Haue thyn axing haue here thy trybute Guerdou[n] covenable a geyns fals tyrannye Sweyn affrayed lowde gan to crye yale vp his goost I not what weye he took ut with the noyse al the castel wook