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The Testament of John Lydgate:
British Library Harley 218 Verses

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f.52 verso
Folio 52 VersoFolio 53 RectoFolio 53 VersoFolio 54 RectoFolio 54 VersoFolio 55 RectoFolio 55 VersoFolio 56 RectoFolio 56 VersoFolio 57 RectoFolio 57 VersoFolio 58 RectoFolio 58 VersoFolio 59 RectoFolio 59 VersoFolio 60 RectoFolio 60 VersoFolio 61 RectoFolio 61 VersoFolio 62 RectoFolio 62 VersoFolio 63 RectoFolio 63 VersoFolio 64 RectoFolio 64 VersoFolio 65 RectoFolio 65 VersoFolio 66 RectoFolio 66 VersoFolio 67 RectoFolio 67 VersoFolio 68 RectoFolio 68 VersoFolio 69 RectoFolio 69 VersoFolio 70 RectoFolio 70 VersoFolio 71 RectoFolio 71 VersoFolio 72 Recto

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Folio 52 Verso
Compare Witnesses: •
Here be gynneth the prologe of damp Iohnn Lidgates1 •
testament Monk of Bury •
O howe holsom and glad / is the memorie •
Of cryst ihesu / surmountyng ałł swetnesse •
Name of conquest / of triumphe and victorie •
Tassaut of sathan / to venquysshe and oppresse •
To whiche name / seynt poule bereth wytnesse •
Of heuene and erthe / and infernal pouste •
Alle creatures of rygħt / and dewe humblesse •
And of hole herte / bowe shałł ther knee •
No song so sote / vnto the audience •
As is Ihesus nor so fułł / of2 plesaunce •
Ageyn ałł enemyes / sheld paveys and defence •
To heuy hertes / chief comfort in sobstaunce3 •
Of gostly gladnesse / most souereyne suffisaunce •
Chief directorie / to hevene ward the cite •
Gladdest resorte / of spirituałł remembraunce •
To whome ałłe gretnes / bowe shal ther kne •
To alle folkes / þat stonde in repentaunce •
With herte contrite / made ther confessioun4 •
Of wille and thougħt / accomplysshed ther penaunce •
And to ther power / done satisfaccioun •
That cleyme by mene of Crystes passioun5 •
Marked with tav. .Τ. for more suerte •
To them Ihesu / shałł graunte fułł pardoun •
To aske hym mercy / whann •
Notes
  1. This is bracketed in red on both sides. Additionally, unlike with the initial letters of each line the capital letters of Lydgate's name are not touched as well as capitalized. ↩
  2. The terminating otiose mark on the "f" is touched ↩
  3. The EETS edition does a silent correction to "substaunce" here, but the second glyph is similar to the "o" in "comfort" and "To" in the same line and is markedly difference than the "u" elsewhere in this word. ↩
  4. MacCraken consistently renders this suspension as "un", but the shape of some of the other glyphs suggests that this is meant to be a suspended "u" rather than "n." ↩
  5. The scribe has a suspension mark over the final two glyphs, but has rendered the "un" ending already. ↩

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