| Ther was in Asye, in a greet citee, |
| Amonges Cristene folk a Jewerye, |
| 490 | Sustened by a lord of that contree |
| For foule usure and lucre of vileynye, |
| Hateful to Crist and to his compaignye; |
| And thurgh the strete men myghte ride or wende, |
| For it was free and open at eyther ende. |
| 495 | A litel scole of Cristen folk ther stood |
| Doun at the ferther ende, in which ther were |
| Children an heep, ycomen of Cristen blood, |
| That lerned in that scole yeer by yere |
| Swich manere doctrine as men used there, |
| 500 | This is to seyn, to syngen and to rede, |
| As smale children doon in hire childhede. |
| Among thise children was a wydwes sone, |
| A litel clergeon, seven yeer of age, |
| That day by day to scole was his wone, |
| 505 | And eek also, where as he saugh th' ymage |
| Of Cristes mooder, hadde he in usage, |
| As hym was taught, to knele adoun and seye |
| His Ave Marie, as he goth by the weye. |
| Thus hath this wydwe hir litel sone ytaught |
| 510 | Oure blisful Lady, Cristes mooder deere, |
| To worshipe ay, and he forgat it naught, |
| For sely child wol alday soone leere. |
| But ay, whan I remembre on this mateere, |
| Seint Nicholas stant evere in my presence, |
| 515 | For he so yong to Crist dide reverence. |
| This litel child, his litel book lernynge, |
| As he sat in the scole at his prymer, |
| He Alma redemptoris herde synge, |
| As children lerned hire antiphoner; |
| 520 | And as he dorste, he drough hym ner and ner, |
| And herkned ay the wordes and the noote, |
| Til he the firste vers koude al by rote. |
| Noght wiste he what this Latyn was to seye, |
| For he so yong and tendre was of age. |
| 525 | But on a day his felawe gan he preye |
| T' expounden hym this song in his langage, |
| Or telle hym why this song was in usage; |
| This preyde he hym to construe and declare |
| Ful often tyme upon his knowes bare. |
| 530 | His felawe, which that elder was than he, |
| Answerde hym thus: "This song, I have herd seye, |
| Was maked of our blisful Lady free, |
| Hire to salue, and eek hire for to preye |
| To been oure help and socour whan we deye. |
| 535 | I kan namoore expounde in this mateere. |
| I lerne song; I kan but smal grammeere." |
| "And is this song maked in reverence |
| Of Cristes mooder?" seyde this innocent. |
| "Now, certes, I wol do my diligence |
| 540 | To konne it al er Cristemasse be went. |
| Though that I for my prymer shal be shent |
| And shal be beten thries in an houre, |
| I wol it konne Oure Lady for to honoure!" |
| His felawe taughte hym homward prively, |
| 545 | Fro day to day, til he koude it by rote, |
| And thanne he song it wel and boldely, |
| Fro word to word, acordynge with the note. |
| Twies a day it passed thurgh his throte, |
| To scoleward and homward whan he wente; |
| 550 | On Cristes mooder set was his entente. |
| As I have seyd, thurghout the Juerie |
| This litel child, as he cam to and fro, |
| Ful murily than wolde he synge and crie |
| O Alma redemptoris everemo. |
| 555 | The swetnesse his herte perced so |
| Of Cristes mooder that, to hire to preye, |
| He kan nat stynte of syngyng by the weye. |
| Oure firste foo, the serpent Sathanas, |
| That hath in Jues herte his waspes nest, |
| 560 | Up swal, and seide, "O Hebrayk peple, allas! |
| Is this to yow a thyng that is honest, |
| That swich a boy shal walken as hym lest |
| In youre despit, and synge of swich sentence, |
| Which is agayn youre lawes reverence?" |
| 565 | Fro thennes forth the Jues han conspired |
| This innocent out of this world to chace. |
| An homycide therto han they hyred, |
| That in an aleye hadde a privee place; |
| And as the child gan forby for to pace, |
| 570 | This cursed Jew hym hente, and heeld hym faste, |
| And kitte his throte, and in a pit hym caste. |
| I seye that in a wardrobe they hym threwe |
| Where as thise Jewes purgen hire entraille. |
| O cursed folk of Herodes al newe, |
| 575 | What may youre yvel entente yow availle? |
| Mordre wol out, certeyn, it wol nat faille, |
| And namely ther th' onour of God shal sprede; |
| The blood out crieth on youre cursed dede. |
| O martir, sowded to virginitee, |
| 580 | Now maystow syngen, folwynge evere in oon |
| The white Lamb celestial -- quod she -- |
| Of which the grete evaungelist, Seint John, |
| In Pathmos wroot, which seith that they that goon |
| Biforn this Lamb and synge a song al newe, |
| 585 | That nevere, flesshly, wommen they ne knewe. |
| This poure wydwe awaiteth al that nyght |
| After hir litel child, but he cam noght; |
| For which, as soone as it was dayes lyght, |
| With face pale of drede and bisy thoght, |
| 590 | She hath at scole and elleswhere hym soght, |
| Til finally she gan so fer espie |
| That he last seyn was in the Juerie. |
| With moodres pitee in hir brest enclosed, |
| She gooth, as she were half out of hir mynde, |
| 595 | To every place where she hath supposed |
| By liklihede hir litel child to fynde; |
| And evere on Cristes mooder meeke and kynde |
| She cride, and atte laste thus she wroghte: |
| Among the cursed Jues she hym soghte. |
| 600 | She frayneth and she preyeth pitously |
| To every Jew that dwelte in thilke place, |
| To telle hire if hir child wente oght forby. |
| They seyde "nay"; but Jhesu of his grace |
| Yaf in hir thoght inwith a litel space |
| 605 | That in that place after hir sone she cryde, |
| Where he was casten in a pit bisyde. |
| O grete God, that parfournest thy laude |
| By mouth of innocentz, lo, heere thy myght! |
| This gemme of chastite, this emeraude, |
| 610 | And eek of martirdom the ruby bright, |
| Ther he with throte ykorven lay upright, |
| He Alma redemptoris gan to synge |
| So loude that al the place gan to rynge. |
| The Cristene folk that thurgh the strete wente |
| 615 | In coomen for to wondre upon this thyng, |
| And hastily they for the provost sente; |
| He cam anon withouten tariyng, |
| And herieth Crist that is of hevene kyng, |
| And eek his mooder, honour of mankynde, |
| 620 | And after that the Jewes leet he bynde. |
| This child with pitous lamentacioun |
| Up taken was, syngynge his song alway, |
| And with honour of greet processioun |
| They carien hym unto the nexte abbay. |
| 625 | His mooder swownynge by his beere lay; |
| Unnethe myghte the peple that was theere |
| This newe Rachel brynge fro his beere. |
| With torment and with shameful deeth echon, |
| This provost dooth thise Jewes for to sterve |
| 630 | That of this mordre wiste, and that anon. |
| He nolde no swich cursednesse observe. |
| "Yvele shal have that yvele wol deserve"; |
| Therfore with wilde hors he dide hem drawe, |
| And after that he heng hem by the lawe. |
| 635 | Upon this beere ay lith this innocent |
| Biforn the chief auter, whil the masse laste; |
| And after that, the abbot with his covent |
| Han sped hem for to burien hym ful faste; |
| And whan they hooly water on hym caste, |
| 640 | Yet spak this child, whan spreynd was hooly water, |
| And song O Alma redemptoris mater! |
| This abbot, which that was an hooly man, |
| As monkes been -- or elles oghte be -- |
| This yonge child to conjure he bigan, |
| 645 | And seyde, "O deere child, I halse thee, |
| In vertu of the hooly Trinitee, |
| Tel me what is thy cause for to synge, |
| Sith that thy throte is kut to my semynge?" |
| "My throte is kut unto my nekke boon," |
| 650 | Seyde this child, "and as by wey of kynde |
| I sholde have dyed, ye, longe tyme agon. |
| But Jesu Crist, as ye in bookes fynde, |
| Wil that his glorie laste and be in mynde, |
| And for the worship of his Mooder deere |
| 655 | Yet may I synge O Alma loude and cleere. |
| "This welle of mercy, Cristes mooder sweete, |
| I loved alwey, as after my konnynge; |
| And whan that I my lyf sholde forlete, |
| To me she cam, and bad me for to synge |
| 660 | This anthem verraily in my deyynge, |
| As ye han herd, and whan that I hadde songe, |
| Me thoughte she leyde a greyn upon my tonge. |
| "Wherfore I synge, and synge moot certeyn, |
| In honour of that blisful Mayden free |
| 665 | Til fro my tonge of taken is the greyn; |
| And after that thus seyde she to me: |
| `My litel child, now wol I fecche thee, |
| Whan that the greyn is fro thy tonge ytake. |
| Be nat agast; I wol thee nat forsake.'" |
| 670 | This hooly monk, this abbot, hym meene I, |
| His tonge out caughte, and took awey the greyn, |
| And he yaf up the goost ful softely. |
| And whan this abbot hadde this wonder seyn, |
| His salte teeris trikled doun as reyn, |
| 675 | And gruf he fil al plat upon the grounde, |
| And stille he lay as he had ben ybounde. |
| The covent eek lay on the pavement |
| Wepynge, and herying Cristes mooder deere, |
| And after that they ryse, and forth been went, |
| 680 | And tooken awey this martir from his beere; |
| And in a tombe of marbul stones cleere |
| Enclosen they his litel body sweete. |
| Ther he is now, God leve us for to meete! |
| O yonge Hugh of Lyncoln, slayn also |
| 685 | With cursed Jewes, as it is notable, |
| For it is but a litel while ago, |
| Preye eek for us, we synful folk unstable, |
| That of his mercy God so merciable |
| On us his grete mercy multiplie, |
| 690 | For reverence of his mooder Marie. Amen. |