Corpus of Electronic Texts Edition
Anglo-Irish poems of the Middle Ages: The Kildare Poems (Author: [unknown])

Poem 8

Ten Commandments

{MS fol 31v}

    1. 1] Nou, Jesus, for thi derworth blode
      That thou schaddist for mankyn,
      Yif vs grace to wirch workis gode,
      To heuen that we mot entir inn.
    2. 5] Man and womman, Ich red, be-ware,
      Yure gret othis that ye be-leue,
      And bot ye nul, God nel you spare.
      Bothe lif and catel He wol you reue.
    3. 9] Hit nis no wonder for-soth, i-wisse,
      That gret wreche ne fallith ther-fore,
      For we ne leuith of al is limmes
      That we ne habbith ham for-swore.
    4. 13] Man is wors than eni hunde,
      Other he is to wild and wode,
      That we ssold edwite is worthi wound
      That He tholid for vre gode.
    5. 17] Be aware, whose euer wol!
      Al quelme and sorow that euir is,
      At then end so find we sulle
      That for man is sin it is.
    6. 21] Ich rede that euch be-ware, i-wis,
      In as moch as the is man;
      Whan ye swerith gret othis
      In rode thou piltist Him apan.
    7. 25] God commandid to Ysay
      That he ssold wend and prech—
      That was in the hil of Syna—
      Hou he ssold the folk tech,
    8. 29] And to ssow ham God is defens,
      Both to yung and to olde,
      Of the ten commandemens.
      Whos wold be sauid, ham ssold hold.
    9. 33] The first comondement is this:
      O God we ssul honuri,
      The heigh king of heuen blis,
      His name with wirssip to worthi.
    10. 37] Loue thou Him as He doth the,
      With al thi might and thi thoght;
      We aught ful wel, for hit was He
      That vs wrecchis so dere boght.
    11. 41] More harm is, we doth noght so.
      We louid the ful dritte of grund.
      Alas! wrecchis, whi do we so?
      Hit mai noght hold vre lif a stunde.
    12. 45] Ye, beth hi the deuil be-taught
      That liuith op goddis mo than one,
      And makith goddis throgh wichcraft.
      Thai ssul al to the deuil gone.
    13. 49] The secunde so is this:
      Sundai wel that ye holde
      To serve God thilk dai wis,
      Bothe yung and ek olde.
    14. 53] And now the Sundai opunlich
      Men holt al har cheping.
      Wonder that Gode ne sent wreech
      Al an erthe vp mankyn.
    15. 57] The thrid is: fader, moder to honuri
      For euch man aght ful wel.
      Moch ten suffrid hi,
      Her hi might bring the wrecche to wel.
    16. {MS fol 32r}
    17. 61] Hit fallith bi children that beth quede
      As farith bi been in hiue:
      Whan fader yiuef ham londe and leed
      The yung wol the old ut driue.
    18. 65] The verth: loue thi neighbore as thine owe bodi
      Non other thou him wil.
      The fift: wit the fram lecheri.
      The sixt is: no gode of man thou ne stel.
    19. 69] The sefthe: manslaght thou ne be,
      Ne coueit noght neuer a del,
      Thogh thou be stuter than is he,
      No is wif no is catel.
    20. 73] Fals witnes thou ne ber,
      Forto deserti pouer no riche
      Sore and bitter the soule sal der,
      For hit benimeth heuen riche.
    21. 77] Besech we Him mild of mode,
      That sok the milk of Maid is brest,
      That boght vs with is der blod,
      Yiue vs euer in heuen rest. Amen.