Erthe Upon Erthe Part 18

6 Terra q{u}ando respicit t{e}rra{m} t{er}minare, Terra t{er}ra{m} debuit sese castigare, Terra t{er}ra{m} valeat vt humiliare, Terra t{er}ra{m} faciat flere ieiunare[19]. 24

7 De t{er}ra resurg{er}e t{er}ra debet vere[19], Et quod t{er}ra meruit t{er}ra[19] possidere[19], Hic du{m} t{er}ra vix{er}it t{er}ra[19] valet[19] flere[19], Ut in t{er}ra valeat t{er}ra[19] post[19] gaudere[19]. 28

[MS. Addit. 25478, fol. 2, v^o]

8 Adu{er}sus t{er}rigenas q{u}ando[19] terra stabit, Et t{er}ra{m} int{er}rogans t{er}ra[19] tu{n}c[19] culpabit[19], Terra fine{m} cap[ia]t t{er}ra{m}[19] . . . gabit[20], Quod t{er}ra p{ro}mis{er}at t{er}ra tu{n}c[19] negabit[21]. 32

9 In t{er}ra q{u}i mortuus & in t{er}ra natus Ffuit[22], t{er}ram p{ro}tegat sic & t{er}re[23] gratus, Vt in t{er}ra quilibet de t{er}ra formatus, Terre ponat t{er}minu{m} t{er}re comendatus. 36

10 In t{er}ra cu{m} Ang{e}li t{er}ra{m} suscitabunt, In t{er}ra terribiles tube resonabunt, De t{er}ra t{er}rigene corpora leuabunt, Et ad t{er}re judice{m} terre tunc clamabunt. 40

11 O tu terre do{mi}ne! t{er}re miserere, Et t{er}ra respiciens terenos tuere, In t{er}ra deficim{us}, terra sumus vere, Nos in t{er}ra gl{or}ie t{er}ram fac videre. 44

FRENCH TEXT (in right column).

[MS. Addit. 25478, fol. 1, r^o]

1 Q{u}ant t{er}re auera en[9] terre large terre gayne, & t{er}re s{er}ra en terre a la mort liuere, Puis ert tere en tere de v{er}myne mange, Dounc vendra tere en tere & toust ert oblie. 4

2 Q{u}ant tere sour t{er}re de orgoyl descline, & tere ils[10] [vers] tere par coueitise encline, Dounc tere ils[10] [vers] tere se treit a Ruyne, & tere a haute tere requeit medicine. 8

3 Q{u}ant tere ne peot de t{er}re la malueste sourueyndre, Par force deit tere de t{er}re te{m}ptaciouns esteyndre, Encontre la fiele tere sa tere deit refreyndre, Q{u}ant tere leue en tere face sa tere moyndre. 12

4 Quey ad tere de tere forq{u}e dolour & peygne Q{u}ant tere veyt en terre soun enemi demeygne, & tere coust en tere a la mort c{er}teyne[11], & tere pase en tere par frelete humeyne? 16

[MS. Addit. 25478, fol. 1, v^o]

5 O tu cheytiue tere de tere, remembrez Vo{us} estes pris de tere & tere deuendrez, Pensez[12] coment en tere & par tere pecchez, & tere fiust en tere tant fortment[13] rechatez. 20

6 Quant tere veyt q{ue} tere se treit a la mort, & tere nad en tere forq{ue} poure confort, Q{u}ant tere moert[25] en tere ni ad nul resort, Merueille est q{ue} tere de tere nad retort. 24

7 Q{u}ant tere[26] deit de tere leuer sodeynement, Tere vendra en tere p{u}r oy{e}r jugement, Dounc auera tere en tere dolour & t{u}rment, Si tere neit fet en tere bon amendement. 28

8 Angel{e}s vendrount en tere la tere resusciter, & dirrount a la tere de tere couent leuer, Deuant le Roy de tere en tere deuez aller[27], Q{u}e[28] soffri en tere p{u}r tere dolour amer. 32

9 Jesu, q{u}e p{u}r la tere en tere fiust ne, Soyt eydaunt[29] a la tere q{u}e tere soit sauue, & nos meyne[30] de tere ou tere est benure, Kar si sumes en tere par tere t{u}rmente[31]. 36

10 Dolour est en tere par tere & par mer, Ffaus est tere en tere & tere desir auer, Pluis ne voil en tere ore[32] de tere chaunter.

Dieu deynt tere en tere de viuauns habiter. Amen. 40

ENGLISH TEXT (in left column, below Latin)

[MS. Addit. 25478, fol. 3, r^o]

1 Whanne eorthe hath eorthe wi wrong igete, And eorthe in eorthe biginne to alete, And eorthe i{n} eorthe wi wormes is afrete, Thanne eorthe is on eorthe sone for?ete. 4

2 Wanne eorthe ouer eorthe orw p{r}ude stye, And eorthe toward eorthe orw coueytise wrye, & eorthe into eorthe toward e de hye, anne eorthe a?eyn eorthe toward heuene c{r}ie.[6] 8

3 Whan eorthe juynt eorthe so lu{er}[7] to awelden, & eorthe on {a}t eorthe allewey[8] bi helden, & eorthe on eorthe sone bigynne for to elden, Hou may at[14] eorthe on eorthe wo[14] belden? 12

4 What haue eorthe on eorthe bote pou?t[15] and[15] wo, Whan eorthe iseo[16] eorthe his dedliche fo, & eorthe into eorthe so sone gynne guo, & eorthe iworthe to eorthe alle we sullen so? 16

5 Alas why na eorthe[17] in eorthe is ou?t, Hou eorthe is on eorthe wi synnes of-sou?t, & eorthe was in eorthe so mychfulliche ibou?t, {a}t eorthe orw eorthe ne foelle[18] to nou?t? 20

(in right column, below French)

6 Whan eorthe iseo eorthe to endinge drawe, & eorthe on eorthe wi de is islawe, & eorthe on eorthe wi wormes in ignawe, anne eorthe may eorthe hi{m} seluen iknawe. 24

[MS. Addit. 25478, fol. 3, v^o]

7 Wan eorthe ssal of eorthe netfulliche aryse, & eorthe on eorthe ihere ilke a.s.sise er eorthe ne may eorthe noer[24] lere ne wise, anne eorthe sal on eorthe g{r}imliche agrise. 28

8 a{n}ne eorthe sal to eorthe holden gret cheste, & eorthe asken eorthe were is hiere byheste {a}t eorthe byhet eorthe allewey to leste, Wanne eorthe t{ur}ne to eorthe toward h.e.l.le feste. 32

9 Houre Lou{er}d {a}t on eorthe for eorthe was iboren, On eorthe of eorthe wi wounden to-toren, Wyte eorthe fro{m} eorthe {a}t ne be furloren, & b{r}inge eorthe to {a}t eorthe er be his icoren. 36

Amen.

It will be seen that the Latin and French versions do not correspond exactly with the English text, the French in particular being a mere paraphrase of it, but this was, no doubt, largely due to the exigencies of the rime. The French text has ten stanzas as against nine in the English poem, and the Latin has eleven, the additional stanzas being an expansion of the theme after the manner of Anglo-Latin poems of the kind. It is evident both from the variant attempts at expansion of the text in the Latin and French, and from the greater freshness and more skilful use of the play on the word _erthe_ of the English text, that the latter is the original, and this supports the view already expressed (Introd. p. x.x.xiii) as to the relation of the English and Latin versions in MS. Harl. 913. It is improbable, at least, that the _Erthe upon Erthe_ poems should all be derived from two Latin poems, the differences between which are too great to admit of a common original, but which were both translated into English verse, and became, in course of time, modified and popularized. On the other hand, the fact that one fourteenth-century poem of the kind had been supplied with a Latin rendering might easily account for an attempt at Latin and French translations in the case of a second, and there seems to be reason for believing that the author of the latter text was acquainted with the poem in MS. Harl. 913. As has been already noted in the Introduction (p. x.x.xii), the first line of the English version corresponds in idea with that of the text in MS. Harl. 913:

Whan er ha er iwanne wi wow.

and in actual wording with that of the _Song on the Times_:

When erthe hath erthe i-gette.

Otherwise no verbal connexion can be traced with any of the texts of _Erthe upon Erthe_, though the phrase _eorthe on eorthe_ recurs four times, and there is, of necessity, some similarity of treatment and idea. Thus the remainder of verse 1 contains a reference to the destruction by worms, mentioned in MS. Harl. 913, v. 2, and in the Cambridge text, vv. 7 and 13, as well as to the proverb that the dead are soon forgotten, cf. MS. Harl. 913, v. 4 (Introd. p. x.x.xi); verse 5 exhorts man to think of death, as does v. 6 of the B Version; and the poem ends with a prayer, as do MSS. Harl. 4486, Lambeth, Laud, t.i.tus, and Rawl. P., as well as Rawl. C., and the Cambridge text. But the wording, and, in the two latter cases, the treatment, is different, and the general similarity is less than might he expected from the triteness of the theme. Both the A and the B Version lay stress on the contrast between man's present earthly glory and his future mingling with the dust, whereas the text in the Appendix dwells on the inevitableness of death, the pains of death, and the future judgement (only mentioned here and in MS. Harl. 913). The poem appears to represent an individual treatment of the subject, suggested perhaps by the text in MS. Harl.

913, with its Latin rendering, and possibly also influenced by the _Song on the Times_ in the same MS. It may be regarded as being ultimately based, like MS. Harl. 913, on the short stanzas current at the beginning of the fourteenth century, and as furnishing additional evidence of the early popularity of the theme, a popularity which gave rise at first to individual poems like this and MS. Harl. 913, and later to the repet.i.tion and expansion of one common type as in the B Version. But, unlike MS. Harl. 913, this text stands apart from the more popular types of the poem, and has no connexion with either the B Version or the Cambridge text. It must therefore have been written before the short normal type of the B Version became current, and probably before it took shape as a poem of several stanzas, that is before 1400. The want of close connexion between it and the more usual types of the poem given above, makes the omission of it from the text the less to be regretted, since it represents a side-issue rather than a link in the development of the poem as here treated.

[Footnote 1: Ex^r. K. R. Parl. Proceedings, Bdle. 1 (Old No.

645/21).]

[Footnote 2: Joseph Hunter, the antiquary (1783-1861), Sub-Commissioner of the Public Records 1833, a.s.sistant-Keeper of the Records 1838.]

[Footnote 3: MS. _aterrens_ as one word.]

[Footnote 4: MS. _wlt_.]

[Footnote 5: this word is very obscure, and is omitted by Hunter; portions of _nt_ and the second _t_ can be seen.]

[Footnote 6: H. _b^{i}re_.]

[Footnote 7: H. _lu_.]

[Footnote 8: the MS. has a gap after _allewey_ with s.p.a.ce for a word of five or six letters, but there is no erasure nor trace of any omission.]

[Footnote 9: inserted above the line.]

[Footnote 10: MS. has _ils_, surely a scribal error; the original had probably _u{er}s_ = _vers 'towards'_, with the MS. compendium for _er_, written over and confused with the second stroke of the _u_ so as to look like _il_.]

[Footnote 11: H. _e'teyne_.]

[Footnote 12: H. _peisez_.]