Yates_Thompson_47

[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

[on the left a widow sees a sun shining from the king's chest; on the right the king kneels before the Veronica and the pope]

¶ Ful fortunat he was / in his passage Relyques in Rome / devoutly vesytyng And with a wydwe he took his herbergage A parfight woman / ful hooly of levyng which sawh by myracle out of his breest shynyng A ful cleer sonne / with a ful hevenly lyght Which to foure partyes shad his beemys bryght

[possible signature lower right page]

[lower left: fortunate written twice, a later addition/ spelling query in different hand and finer pen strokes]

[Image: King praying before a tomb set before an altar]

[Gold cap. letter] But / whan he hadde / co[m]plysshed his journe at Crystes sepulcre / doon his devocions and certeyn dayes / abyde in that cuntre In his prayers and hooly orysons Fulfylled his vowes / made his Oblacions Glad in his herte / that he that place hath seyn his vessel redy / gan shape hym hoom ageyn /

[Image: king in bed giving or receiving a ring]

Hath / beryth my nevew / this tokne and ryng Afftir the promys / made whan that I went In al haste possyble / that he be crownyd kyng Besechyng yow / in al my best entent With oute dellay / this massage ye p[re]sent Afftir my deth / and looke ye nat varye To my desyr / for to been contrarye /