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at on rode was don.
He vnneiled his honden two,
And seide, 'wi? ? e kni? th he wolde go': 96
"Maiden, & moder, & mylde quene,
Ich mote my kni? th to-day sene.
Leue moder, ? iue me leue,
ffor ich ne may no lenger bileue; 100
Ich mote conueye ? at ilk kni? th,
? at vs ha? serued day and ni? th:
In pilerinage he wil gon,
To bien awreke of oure fon. " 104
"Leue son, ? oure wille, so mote it be,
for ? e kni? th bo? e day & ni? th ha? serued me,
Bo? e at oure wille wel faire I-wys,
? erfore he ha? serued heuene-riche blis. " 108
God ? at is in heuene so bri? th,
Be wi? oure kyng bo? e day & ni? th!
Amen, Amen, so mote it be!
? erto bidde? a pater noster & an Aue. 112
? Adam, ? e marchal, of stretford-atte-bowe--
Wel swi? e wide his name is yknowe,--
He hym-self mette ? is metyng--
To witnesse he take? Iesu heuene kyng,-- 116
On Wedenysday in clene leinte
A voice me bede I ne shulde nou? th feinte;
Of ? e sweuenes ? at her ben write,
I shulde swi? e don my lorde kyng to wite.
Page 15
120
Ich ansuerde, '? at I ne mi? th for derk gon. '
? e vois me bad goo, for li? th ne shuld ich faile non,
And ? at I ne shulde lette for no? ing,
? at ich shulde shewe ? e kyng my metyng. 124
ffor? ich went swi? e onon,
Estward as me ? ou? th ich mi? th gon:
? e li? th of heuene me com to,
As ich in my waye shulde go. 128
"Lorde, my body ich ? elde ? ee to,
What ? oure wille is wi? me to do.
Ich take to witnesse god of heuene,
? at so? lich ich mette ? is ilche sweuene*. ["The Lady protests too much, methinks. "--Hamlet, III. ii. 240. ]! 132
I ne reiche what ? ee myd my body do,
Als wisselich Iesus of heuene my soule vndergo. "
? E ? ursday next ? e beryng of oure lefdy*. [Nativity of the Virgin Mary, Sept. 8. --Nicolas. ],
Me ? ou? th an Aungel com sir Edward by: 136
? e Aungel bitook sir Edward on honde;
Al bledyng ? e foure for? er clawes so were of ? e lombe.
At Caunterbiry, bifore ? e hei? e autere, ? e kyng stood,
yclo? ed al in rede: murre he was of ? at blee red as blood.
God, ? at was on gode-friday don on ? e rode, 141
So turne my sweuene ni? th & day to mychel gode!
Tweye poynt? ? ere ben ? at ben vnshewed, [folio 27b]
ffor me ne wor? e to clerk ne lewed; 144
Bot to sir Edward oure kyng,
hym wil ich shewe ? ilk metyng.
? Ich telle ? ou forso? e wi? outen les,
Als god of heuene maide marie to moder ches, 148
? e Aungel com to me, Adam Dauy, & sede,
"Bot ? ou, Adam, shewe ? is, ? ee wor? e wel yuel mede! "
? erfore, my lorde sir Edward ? e kyng,
I shewe ? ou ? is ilk metyng, 152
As ? e Aungel it shewed me in a visioun.
Page 16
Bot ? is tokenyng bifalle, so doo? me in-to prisoun!
Lorde, my body is to ? oure wille*. [MS. willelle. ];
? ei? ? ee wille? me ? erfore spille, 156
Ich it wil take in ? olemodenesse,
Als god graunte vs heuene blisse;
And lete vs neuere ? erof mysse,
? at we ne moten ? ider wende in clennesse! 160
Amen, amen, so mote it be,
And lete vs neuere to o? ere waye tee!
Who so wil speke myd me, Adam ? e marchal,
In stretfor? e-bowe he is yknowe, & ouere al. 164
Ich ne shewe nou? th ? is forto haue mede,
Bot for god almi? tties drede;
? ffor it is soo? . *. [[Follows, The Jest of Alisaunder, printed in Weber's Romances, vol. i.
"DIuers is ? is myddellerede
To lewed Men & to lerede;
Bysynesse / care & sorou?
Is myd Man vche morow? e. " (&c. )]
]
Page 17
The Legend or Life of St. Alexius,
IN FOUR VERSIONS, FROM SIX MANUSCRIPTS.

1.
The longest version, in 12-line stanzas, from Laud MS. 622, in the Bodleian.
2.
The shortest version, in couplets, from the Cotton MS. , Titus A xxvi, in the British Museum.
3.
The shorter 6-line-stanza version, from the grand Vernon MS. (ab. 1400 A. D. ) and Laud 108, both in the Bodleian.
4.
The longer 6-line-stanza version, from Laud MS. 463 in the Bodleian, and Trin. Coll. MS. Oxford 57 [81].
Page 18
[THE first following version of the Life of St Alexius, from Laud 622, is the longest--and latest, no doubt*. [There is a MS. of the Life in the Durham Cathedral Library, but my enquiries about it have not yet elicited any answer. ],--of the English forms of the story. It was unknown to Dr Horstmann when he edited his Altenglische Legenden; and he having calld my attention to the other three versions of the Alexius legend, I have, for completeness' sake, added them here. I have also printed the Laud 108 opposite the Vernon text, from which it differs slightly sometimes in words, and in more distinctly Midland forms (waster, was there, l. 10; hauest tou, l. 490; and tou, l. 496; and te, l. 547; some a forms, like gan, l. 168), for convenience of comparison of two later repre|sentatives of one unknown original. I should perhaps apologize for wasting so much space on a mere legend of a so-calld saint's life. But the present story is the same pathetic one as Guy of Warwick's; it is prettily versified; and the comparing of the four ways in which the same incidents are told, has a certain interest: one likes to see how the religious-story writers of old spun out or shortend their material*. [Note how the shorter versions lengthen the end of the story. ]: and the oddness of their notions as to the line of his images' life that pleasd the God and Father of men, is always in|structive, specially when set beside many of the popular ideas on this and like subjects now. If folk would but stop attributing to God, motives, opinions, arrangements and likings, which they'd con|sider an insult to set down to any wise and good friend of their own, how much useless bother would come to an end!

Dr Horstmann,--who edited the Laud 108 Life in Herrig's Archiv, vol. iii. p. 102-10, 1873*. [I believe that he has since edited the Vernon, Trinity and Laud-463 texts.
]--says that the sources of the Alexius legend are the 'Vita metrica, auctore Marbodo, primum archidiacono Andegavensi, deinde Redonensi episcopo (? 1123)', printed in the Acta Sanctorum, Boll. 17. Juli, p. 254-256; and another 'Vita, auctore anonymo', ib. p. 251-254. To the last, the Laud 108 version is nearly related, often even in words. Eight Middle High German versions of this Legend were edited by Mass|mann, Quedlinburg, 1843. The following Early English lives do not belong to the great Collection of long-line "Saints' Lives" in the Harleian, Vernon, and other MSS, from which I printed a selec|tion*. [And mistakingly printed 'ic' as Midland or Northern 'ic', instead of the Southern 'ich'. ] for the Philological Society in 1863 for its Transactions, of 1858. This Collection will be edited in a separate volume some day for the E. E. Text Society, by Dr Horstmann, after he has edited for us all the Extra Legends not in the Collection or in the Vernon Gospel-stories. ]

Page 19
THE LEGEND OR LIFE OF ST. ALEXIUS.
FROM SIX MANUSCRIPTS.

[Laud MS. 622, leaf 21, back. ]
(1)
ALle ? at willen here in ryme
Hou gode Men in olde tyme
Loueden god almi? th, 3
? at weren riche of grete valoure,
Kynges sones and Emperoure,
Of bodies stronge & li? th: 6
? ee habbe? yherd ofte in geste
Of holy men maken feste
Bo? e daye & ni? th, 9
fforto haue ? e ioye in heuene
wi? Aungels song & mery steuene,
? ere blis is brode & bri? th. 12
(2)
? To ? ou alle, hei? e & lowe,
? e ri? th so? e to biknowe
? oure soules forto saue, 15
? e self waye ? at god ? ede
To folowe hym I wolde ? ou rede,
heuene forto craue; 18
And so duden ? apostles alle,
? at to Iesu wolden calle,
ffor nou? th ? ai nolde bilaue, 21
And to penaunce ? ai hem took,
werldes wele ? ai al forsook
Oure lordes loue to haue 24
(3)
? ? ise o? ere holy seintz & gode,
Martirs, virgines mylde of mode,
And ? ise confessoures, 27
Religious ? at her lijf willen di? th,
fforto seruen god almi? th
By tides & by houres; 30
? ee haue yherd saide wel ofte
Man may nou? th lede lijf to softe,
And wonen in heuene boures. 33
? e godspel sei? we moten lete
werldes lijf, ? at ? inke? vs swete,
And suffren hard shoures, 36
(4)
? ffader & moder & werldes goode,
And folowe hym ? at dyed on rode
ffor oure synnes sake; 39
And ? an shullen we haue his loue,
And ioye & blis wi? hym a-boue
? at he for vs gan make. 42
I shal ? ou now telle wi? mou? e
Of on ? at is name cou? e
? at suffred woo & wrake. 45
his holy lijf & his godenesse
I may tellen more & lesse,
In woo hou he gan wake.
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48
(5)
? he forsook confort of al his kynde,
Richesse he lete al bihynde,
To god al he hym took: 51
Alexius is his name in storie,
writen of whom is made memorie
In many holy book. 54
In Rome, ? at was noble Cite,
woned a Man of grete pouste,
? at mychel mir? e a*. [[MS. of a]] wook; 57
his lijf he lad worschiplich,
honoured he was of pouere & riche
? at on hym gan look. 60
(6)
? Eufeniens was his name;
Of godenesse was his fame
In ? e Cite of Rome. 63
? erfore ? e riche Emperoure
Of ? e Cite made hym Cenatoure.
ffor loos of his wisdome.
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66
Riche he was of grete honoures,
Of londes, Castels, & of toures;
Men speken of hym ylome 69
In alle ? inges wi? outen strijf;
Vche man he tau? tte holy lijf
To his court ? at come. 72
(7)
? Stronge he was in armes & li? th,
A? eins Erle, baroun, & kni? th,
his lordes ri? th to defende; 75
? erfore hym loued ? e Emperoure,
And made hym maister & gouern|oure
Of his tresore to spende.
To his somouns in armes clers
Two ? ousandes he had of bachelers,
? at curteis weren & hende, 81
And alle yshred in clo? es of golde,
None fairer mi? tten ben on molde,
In ? e werldes ende.
Page 22
84
(8)
? Men ? at ? eden in pilerinage
And Men of ordre*. [[MS. oydre]], was his vsage
Often forto fede. [folio 22a] 87
Dame Agloes hi? th his spouse,
Her dedes weren wel preciouse
Holy lijf to lede. 90
She was fair honeste & wijs,
Louelich, & of gret prijs,
Ycome of gode kynrede; 93
A? eins no Man she mystook,
wi? contenaunce ne wi? look,
Noi? er in word ne dede. 96
(9)
? Barayne was ? at gode wijf,
In sorou? she ledde her lijf,
ffor she no childe hadde. 99
hir lorde for ? at ilk ? inge
Ofte his honden gan to wrynge,
And sorou? ful lijf he ladde;
Page 23
102
ffor he wende ? at god almi? th
had ben wroo? wi? hym apli? th,
? ereof sore hym dradde. 105
Ofte he bisou? th god in heuene
Sende hem a childe, wi? mylde steuene,
To maken hem bli? e & gladde, 108
(10)
? Conforte of hym forto haue,
her godes after hem to saue,
her londes & her ledes; 111
her eyre of hym forto make,
And her richesse hym bitake,
Palfreies & her stedes. 114
Ofte ? ai maden ? us her bone,
And god sent hem grace sone,
? at fulfilde were ? oo dedes: 117
A son conceyued ? at gode wijf;
Tyme com in her olde lijf
ybore it most be nedes
Page 24
120
(11)
? ? ai ? ankeden god, & glade were,
And avoweden in ? is manere
Chastite bo? e to take, 123
And to lyuen in clene lijf,
Eufeniens & his gode wijf,
And synne to forsake. 126
? e childe was mery in al manere,
As ? ai maden her praiere,
Ani? th as ? ai gan wake. 129
Alexius ? ai gonnen hym calle;
yloued he was amonges hem alle
? at to hym gonnen take.
Page 25
132
(12)
? Alexius was sett to boke,
To gode maistres ? ai hym toke,
And wise of clergie. 135
? e more he wex in elde & leng? e,
To seruen god he dude his streng? e
And his moder Marie. 138
To ? e Emperour whan he was brou? th
? ere dedes of Armes weren ywrou? th
To lernen chiualrye; 141
? ere mi? th he sen in tour[na]ment
what kni? th was dou? ttiest of dent
And man of most maistrie.
Page 26
144
(13)
? His fader was bo? e wijs & ware,
ffor ? at his son so wel hym bare,
he loued hym al his lijf. 147
he ? ou? th to don swiche puruyaunce,
whar-wi? he mi? th hym avaunce
And wynne hym a wijf. 150
To a riche prince his son he sent,
And afterward to hym he went,
Stille wi? outen strijf: 153
A dou? tter he had, bri? th & shene,
? e heritage shulde hires bene
Of Castel & londes rijf. 156
(14)
? whan ay? er herd o? eres wille,
And speken ? erof to-gedre stille
To make ?