Go To Homily 3, Third Sunday in Advent

HOMILY 2, SECOND SUNDAY IN ADVENT: FOOTNOTES

1 The Second Sunday of the Advent of the Lord, according to Luke

2 Latin rubric (Luke 21:25–33): Jesus said to his disciples, And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, by reason of the confusion of the roaring of the sea and of the waves; Men withering away for fear, and expectation of what shall come upon the whole world. [For the powers of heaven shall be moved; And then they shall see the Son of man coming in a cloud, with great power and majesty. But when these things begin to come to pass, look up, and lift up your heads, because your redemption is at hand. And he spoke to them a similitude. See the fig tree, and all the trees: When they now shoot forth their fruit, you know that summer is nigh; So you also, when you shall see these things come to pass, know that the kingdom of God is at hand. Amen, I say to you, this generation shall not pass away, till all things be fulfilled. heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.]

3 [Here] begins the explanation of that same Evangelist according to the Latin

4 Lines 147–80: By fifteen signs the end of the world’s motion reveals itself / To the last, known only to the Lord alone. / In the first sign the sea will rise, standing as if a wall / Were to rise, bound to return to its own coastline after a few (days?), / And also will be seen to surmount the mountains by forty cubits, / And few springs will flow into the rivers. / In the second sign a wave of the sea will hide itself in such a way / That it will scarcely take a sight: monsters of different sorts / From the depths will be revealed after this above the waves where they were born / And their roars will heave the heavenly hosts with horror. / In the fourth the waves of the sea will burn together with the rivers, / There will not be a place from which the waters may pour forth from springs. / In the fifth dread will draw down bloody dew from grass / And trees, horror soaked with bitter tears. / After this towers and houses will fall, since the sixth day will wreck / The buildings, and every lofty seat will fall crashing to the ground. / A clashing together of stones will increase fear in the world, / And the cruel collision will give a fearful uproar. / After this a widespread earthquake will shake the land to its foundations, / Throwing all things into confusion, frightful, and death-dealing. / Once everything has been made flat, the earth will lie in an even plain, / The surface, laid low, will have no unevenness at all. / Hence men will go out like madmen lying hidden before / In their lairs and being able to say nothing. / After this the rising dryness will stand above the tombs. / And again the bones will join themselves to their own flesh, / The falling of stars signaling the end with their separation / Will not know how to bring down their bright end any further. / Those living in their bodies at the same time and without delay will die, / Just as equally all men will be called by the resounding horn. / After this the best condition will renew heaven and earth, / Under an everlasting light, which (condition) no day will change, / Just as when the rousing trumpet will immediately call together all men, / The whole common people rising up will come before the feet of the Judge.

5 These verses may be omitted by the reader when he reads in English before the laity.

6 Lines 212–13: A thing that all men may see cannot be gainsaid

7 Lines 216–17: I have heard tell of one such token / That is most appropriate to our Gospel

8 Lines 224–25: For commonly faith and friendship draw good fellows together

9 Lines 304–07: For, indeed, everyone will be tormented / There, who makes a mistake here / In [even] the least idle thought; / For there there is no forgiveness

HOMILY 2, SECOND SUNDAY IN ADVENT: EXPLANATORY NOTES

Abbreviations: Abbreviations: MED: Middle English Dictionary; NEHC: Gerould, North English Homily Collection; NHC: Northern Homily Cycle; NIMEV: The New Index of Middle English Verse, ed. Boffey and Edwards; ON: Old Norse; Tubach: Index Exemplorum, ed. Tubach; For manuscript abbreviations (ED, A, D, G, L, V), see the Introduction.

Unlike the text for the First Sunday in Advent, this apocalyptic Lucan text was found in virtually all of the liturgical Gospel texts ued in the Middle Ages. The grimly detailed and very popular account of the fifteen days preceding the end of the world was traditionally ascribed to Saint Jerome, though nowhere traceable to him. As noted earlier, despite the joyful anticipation of the Advent season, reminders of the need for repentance were also an important aspect of this time; hearing about the cataclysmic events in which the sea will burn, trees will sweat blood, bones will rise up from the graves in which dead men lie, and the stars will fall, must have strongly encour­aged a mood of penitence. In reminding his audience of the wars to come in these last days, the poet also makes a point to which he will return many times, and about which he seems to care deeply: war and suffering always affect the poor more than the rich, who can protect themselves behind the high walls of their castles, and who never lack for food or drink. The exemplum, building on the theme of the homily, underscores the need for confession and penance through its tale of a monk who was thought by his fellows to be a most holy man but who returns after his death to report to his friend on how narrowly he had escaped hell.

NIMEV 3790, 26. Manuscripts: ED: fols. 18v–20v; A: fols. 7r–10v; G: fols. 11v–15r; D: fols. 42v–45v; L: fols. 3r–4v.

1 Today Sain Louk telles us. Unlike the First Sunday in Advent, Gregory, Robert of Gretham, and NHC all use the same Gospel pericope as the basis for the homily that follows. There is a slight similarity between Gregory and Robert insofar as both remain close to the Gospel text itself, emphasizing the ever worsening state of the world and the need to focus on the life to come. The NHC-poet, however, after reflecting briefly on this theme, moves into a detailed and completely inde­pendent representation of the Fifteen Signs, first in English and then in Latin (see the Introduction for a discussion of the general relationship between these three texts).

8 wandreth. Small notes the derivation from ON vandraedi, “sorrow” (p. 176).

10 baret. Small notes derivation from ON baratta, “fighting” (p. 176).

51 bernes. This word can mean either “children” or “men” when spelled with an e. When spelled with an a, it can only mean “children.” Since A and G both have barnes I have opted for “children” as the most likely meaning.

56 derf. Small notes derivation from ON diarfr, “strongly” (p. 177).

60 bers. Northern form, from bire(n). See textual note.

63 This baret prinnes pouer pride. This is a difficult line to construe; see textual note.

66 stures. Small traces this word to ON styr, “tumult” (p. 177).

78 Joel. An allusion to Joel 2:31: “The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood: before the great and dreadful day of the Lord doth come.”

103 As early as the tenth century Jerome was credited with discovery of a short eschatological work entitled “The Fifteen Signs before Doomsday.” This medieval leg­end, which was certainly not by Jerome but which took its inspiration from the New Testament Apocalypse, was extremely popular in its many versions in both Latin (including the Legenda Aurea) and the vernaculars (Rice, Saint Jerome, p. 161).

141 at a schift. This uncommon expression is cited by MED, with the meaning derived from the context of the NHC passage. A substitutes a different rhyming couplet, perhaps owing to unfamiliarity with the expression: þe fourtend daie sall vraymente / All þe erd brenne & þe firmamente.

180a Isti versus. Neither the Latin verses of “Jerome” nor the comment following are to be found in any other manuscript of NHC. This is a most valuable indication of the author’s intention that the text was to be read aloud in church, though it cannot be taken as proof that the intention was carried out.

218 A blak munk of an abbaye. Tubach 3373: Monk, black, saved by Virgin. There are multiple versions of this tale, none of which accords exactly with the NHC narrative. Gerould speculates that the NHC-poet probably took his version from a collection of Mary legends and adapted it to suit his needs (NEHC, pp. 30–31). Representatives of the general tale type are found in Vincent of Beauvais’ Speculum Historiale, Nicolas Bozon’s Contes Moralisés, and Cesarius von Heisterbach’s Dialogus Miraculorum, among others (Gerould, NEHC, pp. 27–31). Small notes further a version by Roger of Wendover, very similar to those of Vincent and Bozon, but earlier than either (p. 180). Roger’s narrative includes a humorous expression of gratitude by Satan to the “whole assembly of the priests, because they not only would not give up their own pleasures, but also, by their neglect of preaching, they permitted such a great number of souls committed to their charge to descend to hell as had never been seen in times past” (Roger of Wendover, Flowers of History, p. 341). Gerould also fails to note the Dicta Anselmi, which is earlier than any of the analogues named by him and whose Marian legends formed the basis for most later collections in England. The Dicta contains an exemplum about two brothers with some similarity to our story, as well as the much more famous “Pilgrim to Saint James” (see line 253n).
blak munk. A name given in medieval England to the Benedictine monks, as they were distinguished by wearing black habits.

219 enfermer. In a monastery or religious house, the person in charge of the sick-quarters.

253 Thoru the help of our Lefdi. The increasing emphasis during the High Middle Ages on the humanity of Christ was accompanied by a similar emphasis and greatly increased popularity of his mother, the Virgin Mary, as an object of devotion and source of help. Accounts of her many miracles and apparitions are found in collections in Latin and the vernaculars beginning in the eleventh century. Accord­ing to Southern, the first such collection assembled in England, probably in the early twelfth century, was the work of Anselm, the nephew of Archbishop Anselm (“English Origins,” p. 199). The NHC selections found in this edition in­clude four additional exempla in which Mary makes a miraculous appearance: “The Pilgrim to Saint James,” (4.159–274), “The Widow’s Candle,” “The Abbess Miracu­lously Delivered” (13.173–248), and “The Knight Saved by Mary” (19.171–286).

272 Reuel of Sain Benet. The Benedictine Rule for monks was compiled at Monte Casino by Saint Benedict in the second quarter of the sixth century, and by the ninth century had become the model for western monasticism. The chief task of the community, according to this rule, is the performance of the Divine Office, accompanied by prayer, spiritual reading, and work.

290 purgatorie. The place or state intermediate between heaven and hell where after death and prior to final judgment certain souls are purged of their remaining sins through penal suffering and so attain salvation. Although elements have been taken from earlier Jewish and Christian apocalyptic literature, the idea of Purgatory in its full and characteristic form first appears as part of the formal doctrine of the western Catholic Church in 1274.

308 Than sal we bye the sines dere. Mary does not appear in all versions of this story, and the clerk/monk is not always saved. That the NHC-poet has opted for a “happy ending” is less important than the emphasis placed at the end, for the benefit of the general audience, on the need to make a full confession during this life, in order to avoid the pains of hell after death. The cloister monk was thought by himself and his fellows to have led a good life, yet when the time came for him to make a reckoning, it appeared that he had failed on many counts. So it is likely to be with us, suggests the poet, for God, who sees everything, will tally against us even those least “idle thoughts” of which we may be unaware.

314 schrift of mouthe. The requirement established at the Fourth Lateran Council in 1215, that all Christians confess their sins to a parish priest at least once a year, led to a greatly increased emphasis on the devotional practice of private confession. The importance of this practice is a theme to which the NHC-poet frequently alludes.

HOMILY 2, SECOND SUNDAY IN ADVENT: TEXTUAL NOTES

Abbreviations: MED: Middle English Dictionary; Nevanlinna: Nevanlinna, The Northern Homily Cycle; NHC: Northern Homily Cycle; Small: English Metrical Homiles, ed. Small. for manuscript abbreviations (ED, A, D, G, L, V), see the Introduction.

9 duin. Later scribes have replaced duin with a more readily recognizable word. A: ffor folk sall fall for dynne of þe se. Nevanlinna (p. 159) replaces duin with dy, “die.” Small notes the connection with Old English dwinan, “to pine or waste away” (p. 176). The modern English cognate is “dwindle.”

21 byinge. So A. MS: bing.

22 was. So G. MS: wa. A’s version is slightly different here.

29 takeninges. MS: takeniges.

57 sal. MS: sa.

58 schouand. MS: schouad. Compare A: sowande.

60 bers. A has burd, G replaces with the more familiar aght. See explanatory note.

63 This baret prinnes pouer pride. The MS reading prinnes is potentially supported by L, which reads: Þis baret prines prud pride. The intended sense seems to be that strife humbles pride, but why pride is described as “poor” is not entirely obvious, which may be why L reads prud instead. Small reads pinnes which is also possible; the stroke above the letter p could be an abbreviation either for i or ri. I give the full line readings for the various manuscripts below:

G: Þis berret makys pore pryde
D: This baret bringiþ in pore pride
A: Þis barette pynes pure pride
L: Þis baret prines prud pride [prines: pierces, humbles]
Nevanlinna: Swilk baret makes oft pouer pride

79 takeninges. MS: takeniges.

95 ful. MS: fur.

97 se. So A. MS omits.

99 takeninge. MS: takenige.

102 takeninges. MS: takeniges.

114 and. MS: ad.

159 herbis. MS: istis. Small’s emendation.

161 quia. MS: que. Small’s emendation.

172 Ossa iterumque etc. MS: line omitted. Small has followed the suggestion of the Rev. Mr. Power in adding this line “as suitable for the purpose” (p. 180).

193 takeninge. MS: takenige.

197 To bind thaim sal be ful snelle. MS: þe added before þaim.

200 welle. Small, p. 180: AS weallan, “to boil” or “rage.”

201 And endeles etc. A and D both omit this line, presumably because it makes for an un­even number of lines (7), ending with the rhyme -elle.

215 taking. So G. MS: taing.

227 him. So A. MS: thim.

243 bon. Small, p. 180: Old Norse bôn, “prayer.”

246 slapand: Small emends to slepand but slapand is an attested Northern form.

250 tald. MS: tand, canceled before.

262 thou. MS: Inserted at end of line with caret following Quen.

279 meld. Small, p. 180: meld, “to betray”; Old English meldian, Danish melde.

283 was. MS wae.

301 and. MS ad.

304 rounge. Small, p. 180: Anglo-Norman “to gnaw.” The MED lists the following meanings for this word: “to consume by gnawing; to inflict torment.” The line from the NHC is cited with a question mark before the meaning “to be tormented.” The passive construction is admittedly odd, but it must mean something along these lines.