Ho herde hym chyde to be chambre þat watz þe

chef quene.

When ho watz wytered bi wyzes what watz þe cause,
Suche a chaungande chaunce in þe chef halle,

1588

Þe lady to lauce þat los þat þe lorde hade,
Glydes doun by þe grece and gos to þe kyng;

Ho kneles on þe colde erpe, and carpes to hymselven
Wordes of worchyp wyth a wys speche.

1592

'Kene kyng,' quod þe quene, ‘kayser of urþe, Ever laste by lyf in lenpe of dayes!

Why hatz pou rended by robe, forredles hereinne,
Þaz pose ledes ben lewed lettres to rede,

1596

And hatz a hapel in by holde, as I haf herde ofte,
Þat hatz be gostes of God þat gyes alle sopes?
His sawle is ful of syence, sazes to schawe,
To open uch a hide þyng of aunteres uncowpe.
Þat is he þat ful ofte hatz hevened by fader
Of mony anger ful hote wyth his holy speche.
When Nabugodenozar watz nyed in stoundes,
He devysed his dremes to pe dere trawpe,

1600

1604

He kevered hym wyth his counsayl of caytyf wyrdes;
Alle þat he spured hym in space he expowned clene,
Þurz þe sped of þe spyryt þat sprad hym wythinne
Of be godelest goddez þat gaynes aywhere.
For his depe divinite and his dere sawes,
Þy bolde fader Baltazar bede by his name,
Þat now is demed Danyel of derne coninges,

1608

Þat cazt watz in þe captyvide in cuntre of Jues;
Nabuzardan hym nome, and now is he here,

1612

A prophete of þat province and pryce of þe worlde.
Sende into pe cete to seche hym bylyve,

And wynne hym wyth be worchyp to wayne pe bote; 1616

1589 M. lauce; M. note lance(?); Fi. suggests layte(!).— 1595 MS. for redles; M.1 for-redles; M.2 for redles. 1610 MS., M. by; M. note be(?).

And þaz þe mater be merk þat merked is gender,
He schal declar hit also as hit on clay stande.'

[83b]

Þat gode counseyl at þe quene watz cached as swyþe; Þe burne byfore Baltazar watz brozt in a whyle. When he com bifore be kyng and clanly had halsed, 1621 Baltazar umbebrayde hym, and 'Leve sir,' he sayde,

1624

'Hit is tolde me bi tulkes þat þou trwe were
Profete of þat provynce þat prayed my fader,
Ande þat þou hatz in þy hert holy connyng,
Of sapyence þi sawle ful, sopes to schawe;
Goddes gost is þe geven þat gyes alle þynges,
And pou unhyles uch hidde þat Hevenkyng myntes; 1628
And here is a ferly byfallen, and I fayn wolde
Wyt þe wytte of þe wryt þat on þe wowe clyves,
For alle Calde clerkes han cowwardely fayled.

If þou wyth quayntyse conquere hit, I quyte þe þy mede:

1632

For if pou redes hit by ryzt, and hit to resoun brynges,
Fyrst telle me be tyxte of þe tede lettres,

And syben þe mater of þe mode mene me perafter,
And I schal halde be pe hest þat I be hy3t have,

1636

Apyke þe in porpre cloþe, palle alþerfynest,
And þe byge of brygt golde abowte þyn nekke,

And þe þryd þryvenest þat þrynges me after

Þou schal be baroun upon benche, bede I þe no lasse.' 1640

XIII. DANIEL'S PROPHECY

Derfly þenne Danyel deles þyse wordes:

'Ryche kyng of þis rengne, rede þe oure Lorde!

Hit is surely soth, þe Soverayn of heven

Fylsened ever þy fader and upon folde cheryched,

1644

Gart hym grattest to be of governores alle,

And alle þe worlde in his wylle welde as hym lykes.

1618 MS., M. stande; Fi. standez. — 1619 MS., M.1 as as; M.2 as.

— 1634 MS., M. tede; M. Glossary, error for tene (= ten?), accepted by Fi. 1646 MS., M. lykes, E. suggests lyked.

Who so wolde wel do, wel hym bityde,
And quos deth so he dezyre, he dreped als fast;
Who so hym lyked to lyft, on lofte watz he sone,
And quo so hym lyked to lay, watz lozed bylyve.
So watz noted be note of Nabugodenozar,
Styfly stabled be rengne bi be stronge Dryztyn,
For of þe Hygest he hade a hope in his hert,
Þat uche pouer past out of þat Prynce even;
And whyle þat watz clezt clos in his hert,

1648

1652

Þere watz no mon upon molde of my3t as hymselven; 1656 Til hit bitide on a tyme, towched hym pryde

For his lordeschyp so large and his lyf ryche;

He hade so huge an insygt to his aune dedes,

[84a]

Þat þe power of þe hyze Prynce he purely forzetes. 1660 Þenne blynnes he not of blasfemy on to blame þe

Dryztyn,

His my3t mete to Goddes he made wyth his wordes:

"I am God of be grounde, to gye as me lykes,

As he þat hyze is in heven his aungeles þat weldes. 1664 If he hatz formed be folde and folk þerupone,

I haf bigged Babiloyne, burz alþerrychest,

Stabled perinne uche a ston in strenkpe of myn armes ;
Mozt never my3t bot myn make such anoper."

'Watz not pis ilke worde wonnen of his mowþe,

Er þenne þe soverayn saze souned in his eres: "Now Nabugodenozar innoze hatz spoken, Now is alle by pryncipalte past at ones,

1668

1672

1654 M.1 þat; M.2

1648 MS., M. dezyre, E. suggests desyred. [b]at, but þ, though very faint is still clear in MS. — 1655 Bülbring (Sch., p. 184) suggests connynge or counseyl after þat. — 1661 MS. blasfemyon; M.1 blasfemy on; M.2 blasfemyon.— 1664 þt weldes is written by second hand, and part of the original handwriting is still visible under the small t of þt. — 1669 M. mowþe one, but one in MS. is written at the end of the line in a smaller and different hand; Fi. (p. 48) perhaps [ber] watz not his ilke worde wonnen of his mowpe. - 1672 MS., M. past; Fi. passed.

And pou, remued fro monnes sunes, on mor most

abide,

And in wasturne walk, and wyth þe wylde dowelle,

As best, byte on be bent of braken and erbes,

Wyth wrope wolfes to won and wyth wylde asses." 1676 Inmydde pe poynt of his pryde departed he þere

Fro be soly of his solempnete; his solace he leves,

And carfully is outkast to contre unknawen,

Fer into a fyr fryth þere frekes never comen.

1680

His hert heldet unhole, he hoped non oper

Bot a best þat he be, a bol oþer an oxe.

He fares forth on alle faure, fogge watz his mete,
And ete ay as a horce when erbes were fallen;
Þus he countes hym a kow þat watz a kyng ryche,
Quyle seven syþez were overseyed someres, I trawe.
'By þat, mony þik thyze þrygt umbe his lyre,
Þat alle watz dubbed and dyzt in þe dew of heven;
Faxe fyltered, and felt flosed hym umbe,
Þat schad fro his schulderes to his sch[e]re-wykes,
And twentyfolde twynande hit to his tos ragt;
Þer mony clyvy, as clyde hit cly3t togeder.
His berde ibrad alle his brest to be bare urbe,
His browes bresed as breres about his brode

1684

1688

1692

chekes;

[84b]

Holze were his ygen and under campe hores,

And al watz gray as þe glede, wyth ful grymme clawres

1696

Þat were croked and kene as þe kyte paune;

Erne-hwed he watz, and al overbrawden;

Til he wyst ful wel who wrozt alle my3tes,

And cowpe uche kyndam tokerve and kever when hym lyked.

1700

-

1674 M.1 expands wasterne; M.2 wasturne, latter probably correct. 1690 MS., M. schyre wykes. 1696 MS., M. clawres; Fi. clawes.-1697 MS. paune or panne; M. paune; M. note panne(?); Fi. pawe; B. paume; G. reads MS. paune.

Þenne he wayned hym his wyt, þat hade wo soffered,
Þat he com to knawlach and kenned hymselven ;
Þenne he 1[o]ved þat Lorde and leved in trawbe
Hit watz non oþer þen he þat hade al in honde.
Þenne sone watz he sende agayn, his sete restored,
His barounes bozed hym to, blype of his come,
Hazerly in his aune hwe his heved watz covered,
And so geply watz 3arked and golden his state.
'Bot pou, Baltazar, his barne and his bolde ayre,

1704

1708

Sez þese syngnes wyth sy3t, and set hem at lyttel,

Bot ay hatz hofen þy hert agaynes þe hyze Dryзt[y]n,

Wyth bobaunce and wyth blasfayme bost at hym kest, 1712
And now his vessayles avyled in vanyte unclene,
Þat in his hows hym to honor were hevened of fyrst;
Bifore be barounz hatz hom bro3t, and byrled perinne
Wale wyne to by wenches in waryed stoundes.
Bifore by borde hatz bou brozt beverage in pede
Þat blypely were fyrst blest wyth bischopes hondes,
Lovande peron lese goddez þat lyf haden never,
Made of stokkes and stonez þat never styry mozt.
And for þat froþande fylþe, þe Fader of heven
Hatz sende into pis sale pise syztes uncowþe,
Þe fyste wyth be fyngeres þat flayed þi hert,
Þat rasped renyschly be woze wyth þe roz penne.
'Pise ar be wordes here wryten, wythoute werk

1716

1720

1724

more,

By uch fygure, as I fynde, as oure Fader lykes:
Mane, Techal, Phares, merked in þrynne;
Þat pretes be of þyn unþryfte upon pre wyse.

1728

Now expowne pe pis speche spedly I þenk:

Mane menes als much as, maynful Gode
Hatz counted by kyndam bi a clene noumbre,

[85a]

1703 MS., M. laued; M. note loued (?); K. (p. 26) loued. — 1711 MS. dryztn; M. dry3t[y]n.— 1715 M. reads hom, but MS. possibly intended for hem. — 1722 MS., M.1 hatz sende hatz sende; M.2 hatz sende.