fol. 77v

The Articles of the feyth

I beleve in God the fader allmyghty ,
Maker of hevene and all erthely thyng ;
And in Jhesu Crist hys sone lyke wyghty ,
Conceyved thurgh the holy gostys wirkyng ,
Born of Marye , virgyn everlastyng .
Deed under Pylate to helle he went ,
The thrydde day aroos fro the monument ,
He styed to hevene , the fadres ryȝt syde ,
Fro thens to deeme alle quyke and dede .
And in the holy gost that ys oure gyde
I beleve fully wyth love and drede ,
And in holy chirche that ys oure hede ,
In communyng of seyntes and forgevenysse ,
The flesh agaynrysyng and everlastyng blysse . Amen .

The x . Commaundementys

I worschepe the .o. God in persons thre ,
Not forto take thy name in vayn .
To kepe thyn holyday , lord , graunt me ,
My fader and moder to wirschippe soverayne .
Suffre thow no man of me be slayne .
Kepe me fro synne of unclennesse ,
And als fro theft and fals wyttenesse ,
Desire I `optaine´ noon others housband or wyff ,
Or any other thyng of my neyghbourys .

` V. wyttes´

Kepe wel my sight , the gate of my lyyf ,
And also my huryng from ydell rumourys .
Governe my smellyng fro synfull savouris .
Temper my tonge wyth leeffull tastyng ,
And kepe myn handes from yvell touchyng .
fol. 78r

The Sevene deedly Synnes

Lord , aȝeyns Pryde graunt humilitee
And aȝeyns Wrath ȝeve me pacyence .
Lord , aȝeyns Envye sende me Charitee
And aȝeyns Covetyse mesurable sustinence .
Lord , aȝeyns Glotenye graunt me abstinence ,
Aȝeyns Slewthe ȝeve me fructuous bysynesse ,
And aȝeyn lecherye Chastite and clennesse .

The vii . werkes of mercy bodyly

God , graunt me grace the hungry to fede
And to ȝeve drynke to the thirstye ,
To the needy gest herbour to bede ,
And the poore naked forto clothye ,
To helpe the prysoner out for to bye ,
Wyth trewe compassion to vysite þe seke ,
And when he dyeth to byry hym eke .

The vij . gostly

Graunt me to teche , lord , that ben unwyse ,
And to Counseyll well ham that han nede ,
Synfull mysgovernaunce forto chastyse ,
To counfort the sory for the better spede ,
To forgeve myn enemy for the more mede ,
Alle tribulacions to suffre esely ,
And for alle Crysten to pray bysyly .

The vij . Peticions to the fader

  • Fader in hevene , halwed be thy name , 1.
  • Thy kyngdom til us come now and ay , 2.
  • In erthe thi wille as þer be doon the same , 3.
  • Oure everydayes breed ȝeve us today , 4.
  • Oure dettys forȝeve us as we doon alway , 5.
  • And into temptacion thow not us lede , 6
  • fol. 78v Bot delyver us from yvel thought , word , and dede . Amen . 7.

The vij . Sacramentys to the sone

Jhesu , aftur oure Baptym ever thow us kepe ,
Teche us to fight by that Confirmacion ,
And for alle oure synnes wyth Penaunce to wepe ,
And the to receyve unto our salvacion .
Graunt us ben Enuntted last for our purgacion ,
And to kepe oure Ordre ever under thyn hond ,
Whether hyt be in Chirche or Matrimony bond . Amen .

The vij . ȝeftys to the holy Gost

O thow holy Gost , ȝeve us good drede
And worthely thy Pyte for to undirfong ,
Wyth trewthe and kunnyng our lyyf forto lede ,
And agayn oure Enemy make us be Strong .
Ȝeve us thy Counseyll , lord , ever among ,
And trewe understandyng of thyn holy wylle ,
And wyth clere wysdom hyt to fulfylle . Amen .

The vij . vertues to the Trinitee

Graunt us Feyth , myghtyfull fader , ferst in Trinitee .
Goddes sone mercyfull , wyth hope thow us blesse .
Holy gost pitefull , counfort us wyth Charitee .
O thow God so ryghtfull , ȝeve us Ryghtwesnesse ,
And kepe us wyth Prudence from all maner excesse ,
Graunt us Strength gostly in all our adversitee ,
And also ȝeve vs Temperaunce in all our prosperitee .

The .v. joyes to oure lady

Now oure lady Marye , for thy joyes fyve ,
Ferst for that Angell Gabriel Salutacion
Gete oure sawles grace wel forto thryve ,
Wyth thy Sones Burth for oure salvacioun
And lady for thy joye of his Resurreccioun ,
fol. 79r Wyth hys Ascensyon to heven wyth oure kynde ,
For thyn holy Assumpcion on us have þow mynde .

To alle the Seyntes

O ȝe holy Angeles in ȝour Ordres nyne ,
Patriarkes , Prophetes and Apostoles alle ,
Kepeth us fro synne , sorowe , kar , and pyne ,
Wyth the holy marters to whom I crye and calle .
To God and to ȝow on my knees I falle ,
Confessoures and Virgines , putteth to ȝour hande ,
Helpeth alle cristen , in speciall Ingeland .

For alle quyke and dede

Helpeth all holy Chirche þis Counseil generall ,
The holy Pope , and byschopes wyt [ h ] all þe Clergye .
Defendeth all Religion , I pray in speciall ,
Wyth Emperour an d kyngges and all har Chyvalrye ,
Alle the comen peple wel to lyve and dye .
Prayeth for the sawles Godes mercy abydyng ,
and brynggeth us alle to ȝour blysse everlastyng . Amen .

Explicit

About this text

Title: Didactic material in a Carthusian Manuscript.
Edition: Taylor edition
Series: Taylor Editions: Ex Scriptore
Editor: Transcribed by Anne Mouron, Regent’s Park College, Oxford.

Identification

Oxford, Bodleian Library, MS Bodley 549 - Part 2

Contents

MS Bodley 549 is a composite MS of the 14th and 15th centuries containing Latin texts, a number of which is concerned with the Carthusian Order. The Latin texts are in the hand of the Carthusian scribe Stephen Dodesham. This Middle English text is in a different hand and is the only piece in the vernacular (with some marginal notes in Latin). This basic didactic material is quite common but not usually presented in rhyme royal (for the latter see: See J. Dean, ‘Gower, Chaucer, and Rhyme Royal’, Studies in Philology, 88. 3 (1991), 251-275).

  1. Treatises on the Carthusian order Language(s): Latin
  2. Johannes de Toleto , De conseruanda sanitate Language(s): Latin
  3. John Barton , Symbolum contra Lollardos Language(s): Latin
  4. Richard Rolle , Commentary on the Lord's Prayer Language(s): Latin
  5. Richard Rolle , Commentary on the Apostles' Creed Language(s): Latin
  6. Ps.-Augustine , Manuale Language(s): Latin
  7. John Mirk , Manuale sacerdotis Language(s): Latin
  8. Prayers and meditations Language(s): Latin
  9. Ps.-Bernard of Clairvaux , Formula honestae uitae Language(s): Latin

Physical description

Materials: Parchment

Object

History

Origin

England, 15th century, early ; English

Error reporting

If you notice an error in the transcription, or an alternative reading, please email the ex scriptore team.

About this edition

This is a facsimile and transcription of Didactic material in a Carthusian Manuscript. It is held by the Bodleian Library (shelf mark MS Bodley 549).

The transcription was encoded in TEI P5 XML by Jens Müller, Universität Bonn.

The images were scanned by Special Collections staff at the Bodleian during Lockdown 2020.

Availability

Publication: Taylor Institution Library, one of the Bodleian Libraries of the University of Oxford, 2019. XML files are available for download under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License . Images are available for download under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License .

Source edition

Didactic material in a Carthusian Manuscript. England, ca. 14th-15th century.

Editorial principles

Created by encoding transcription from manuscript.

Manuscript rubrication and underlining have been respected and so is the majority of the capitalisation of initials.