Art. 50, Suete Jesu, king of blysse

by: Susanna Greer Fein (Editor)

from: The Complete Harley 2253 Manuscript, Volume 2  2014

75rb]    5 10 15 20 75va] 26 30 35 40 45 50 55 60

¶ Suete Jesu, king of blysse, Myn huerte love, min huerte lisse, Thou art suete, myd ywisse; Wo is him that the shal misse. Suete Jesu, min huerte lyht, Thou art day withoute nyht; Thou yeve me streinthe ant eke myht Forte lovien the aryht. Suete Jesu, min huerte bote, In myn huerte thou sete a rote Of thi love, that is so swote, Ant leve that hit springe mote. Suete Jesu, myn huerte gleem, Bryhtore then the sonnebeem, Ybore thou were in Bedleheem; Thou make me here thi suete dreem. Suete Jesu, thi love is suete; Wo is him that the shal lete. Tharefore me shulden ofte the grete With salte teres ant eye wete. Suete Jesu, kyng of londe, Thou make me fer understonde That min herte mote fonde Hou suete bueth thi love-bonde. Swete Jesu, Louerd myn, My lyf, myn huerte al is thin; Undo myn herte ant liht theryn, Ant wite me from Fendes engyn. Suete Jesu, my soule fode, Thin werkes bueth bo suete ant gode; Thou bohtest me upon the rode; For me, thou sheddest thi blode. Suete Jesu, me reoweth sore Gultes that Y ha wrotht yore; Tharefore Y bidde thin mylse ant ore: “Merci, Lord, Y nul na more!” Suete Jesu, Louerd God, Thou me bohtest with thi blod; Out of thin huerte orn the flod; Thi moder hit seh, that the by stod. Suete Jesu, bryht ant shene, Y preye the, thou here my bene, Thourh erndyng of the hevene quene,      That my bone be nou sene. Suete Jesu, berne best, With the Ich hope habbe rest; Whether Y be south other west, The help of the be me nest. Suete Jesu, wel may him be, That the may in blisse se; After mi soule let aungles te, For me ne gladieth gome ne gle. Suete Jesu, hevene kyng, Feir ant best of alle thyng, Thou bring me of this longing, Ant come to the at myn endyng. Suete Jesu, al folkes reed, Graunte ous, er we buen ded, The underfonge in fourme of bred, Ant seththe to heovene thou us led.

¶ Sweet Jesus, king of bliss, My heart’s love, my heart’s joy, You are sweet, most certainly; Woe to him who may lack you. Sweet Jesus, my heart’s light, You are day without night; You give me strength and also might So to love you truly. Sweet Jesus, my heart’s remedy, In my heart may you plant a root Of your love, which is so sweet, And grant that it must grow. Sweet Jesus, my heart’s gleam, Brighter than the sunbeam, You were born in Bethlehem; You make me hear your sweet song. Sweet Jesus, your love is sweet; Woe to him who forsakes you. Therefore I should often greet you With salty tears and wet eyes. Sweet Jesus, king of earth, You cause me to understand well That my heart must experience How sweet is your love-bond. Sweet Jesus, my Lord, My life, my heart is all yours; Open my heart and dwell therein, And shield me from the Devil’s snare. Sweet Jesus, my soul’s food, Your works are both sweet and good; You bought me upon the cross; For me, you shed your blood. Sweet Jesus, I regret deeply Sins I’ve committed in the past; Therefore I pray your mercy and pardon:      “Mercy, Lord, I’ll do it no more!” Sweet Jesus, Lord God, You bought me with your blood; Out of your heart flowed the flood; Your mother saw it, who by you stood. Sweet Jesus, bright and shimmering, I pray you, hear my prayer, Through intercession of heaven’s queen, That my request now be seen. Sweet Jesus, best man, With you I hope to have rest; Whether I be south or west, May your help be next to me. Sweet Jesus, well may he be Who you may see in paradise; Let angels come for my soul, For pleasures do not comfort me. Sweet Jesus, heaven’s king, Fair and best of everything, May you deliver me from this sadness, That I may come to you at my death. Sweet Jesus, all folks' wisdom, Grant us, before we are dead, To receive you in form of bread, And lead us afterward to heaven.

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Go To Art. 51, Jesu Crist, heovene kyng, introduction
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Footnotes

ART.50, SUETE JESU, KING OF BLYSSE: EXPLANATORY NOTES

ABBREVIATIONS: AND: Anglo-Norman Dictionary; ANL: Anglo-Norman Literature: A Guide to Texts and Manuscripts (R. Dean and Boulton); BL: British Library (London); Bodl.: Bodleian Library (Oxford); CCC: Corpus Christi College (Cambridge); CUL: Cambridge University Library (Cambridge); IMEV: The Index of Middle English Verse (Brown and Robbins); IMEV Suppl.: Supplement to the Index of Middle English Verse (Robbins and Cutler); MED: Middle English Dictionary; MWME: A Manual of the Writings in Middle English, 1050–1500 (Severs et al.); NIMEV: A New Index of Middle English Verse (Boffey and Edwards); NLS: National Library of Scotland (Edinburgh).

16 dreem. “Singing, song”; see MED, drem (n.(1)), sense c.

35 mylse ant ore. “Mercy and pardon.” These synonyms are often said together; see MED, milce (n.) and ore (n.(2)).

43 erndyng. “Intercession”; see MED, erendinge (n.), sense (a).

51 For this idiom, see MED, ten (v.(1)), sense (d), ~ after min soule, “come for my soul.”

55 longing. For the negative senses of this word, see MED, longinge (ger.(1)), sense (e), “sorrow, sadness, distress, anxiety.”

ART. 50, SUETE JESU, KING OF BLYSSE: TEXTUAL NOTES

ABBREVIATIONS: As: Aspin; Bö: Böddeker; Bos: Bossy; Br: Brook; BS: Bennett and Smithers; BZ: Brandl and Zippel; B13: Brown 1932; B14: Brown 1952; DB: Dunn and Byrnes; Deg: Degginger; Do: Dove 1969; Gr: Greene 1977; Ha: Halliwell; Hal: Hall; Hol: Holthausen; Hor¹: Horstmann 1878; Hor²: Horstmann 1896; Hu: Hulme; JL: Jeffrey and Levy; Ju: Jubinal; Kel: Keller; Ken: Kennedy; Le: Lerer 2008; Mc: McKnight; Mi: Millett; MR: Michelant and Raynaud; Mo: Morris and Skeat; MS: MS Harley 2253; Mu: H. M. R. Murray; Pa: Patterson; Pr: Pringle 2009; Rei: Reichl 1973; Rev¹: Revard 2004; Rev²: Revard 2005b; Ri¹: Ritson 1877; Ri²: Ritson 1885; Ro: Robbins 1959; Sa: Saupe; Si: Silverstein; St: Stemmler 1970; Tr: Treharne; Tu: Turville-Petre 1989; Ul: Ulrich; W¹: Wright 1839; W²: Wright 1841; W³: Wright 1842; W⁴: Wright 1844; WH: Wright and Halliwell.

12 leve. So MS, B14, Br. W³, Bö, Hor2: lene.

19 me. So MS, W³, B14, Br. Hor², Bö: we.

20 wete. So Bö, Hor², B14, Br. MS, W³: wepe.

22 fer. So MS, W³, B14, Br. Bö: for. Hor²: for to.

34 wrotht. So MS (wro3t), W³. Bö, Hor², B14, Br: wroht.

46 the. So Hor², B14, Br. MS, W³, Bö: omitted.