prologue

The prologe of the translatour of this lytell treatyse in the seconde boke.

stanza 1

1Now whan we consyder / with mynde dylygent
The merueylous maners / & synguler condycion
Of the comyn people ¹ / symple and neclygent,
Whiche without lytterature / and good informacyon
Ben lyke to Brute beestes / as in comparyson,
Rude / wylde / and boystous / by a prouerbe, certan,
'Good maners and conynge / maken a man'. ²

stanza 2

8 Saynt Paule sayth / shewynge to the Romans ³
How all thynge wryten / in holy scrypture
Is wryten for our doctryne / and ghostly ordynans , ⁴
For our great conforte / and endeles pleasure.
All thynge is knowen playnly / by lytterature,
Morall vertues / be noted by it full playne
From vyce and neclygence / to abstayne, certayne.

stanza 3

15 What were mankynde / without lytterature? ⁵
Full lytel worthy / blynded by ignoraunce.
The way to heuen it declareth ryght sure
Thrugh perfyte lyuynge / and good perseueraunce;
By it we may be taught / for to do penaunce
Whan we transgresse / our lordes commaundyment;
It is a swete cordyall / for mannes entent.

stanza 4

22How shulde the seuen / scyences lyberall ⁶
Haue ben preserued / vnto this day,
The wysdome / of the phylosophers all,
But alone by lernynge / it is no nay.
The notable actes / of our fathers, I say,
(yf litterature were nat) myght nat nowe be tolde,
Nor auncient histories and cronycles olde.

stanza 5

29 The lawe of ciuile / and of holy canon ⁷
By study be preferred with moche honour
To execute iustice / and for due reformacion;
The most blessed doctrine of our sauiour,
The actis of the apostoles / with the doctours four ,
Be preserued by wrytyng / and put in memorie,
With the lyues of saintes many a noble storie.

stanza 6

36Of whiche histories ⁸ we purpose speciall
To speke of saint Werburge / vnder your protection, ⁹
Declaryng the ende of her lyfe historiall
As we haue begon / and made playne mencion
In the fyrst volume by breue compliacion, ¹⁰
There playnly descriuyng her liniall discens
Of .iiii. myghty kyngdomes by true experience; ¹¹

stanza 7

43Also we haue shewed in the sayd littell boke
Her goodly maners / and vertuous disposicion
Of her yonge age / who-so lyst theron to loke;
And howe her bretherne suffred martyrdome; ¹²
Of her fathers realme a litell discripcion:
Howe she was professed in the place of Ely; ¹³
Of her conuersacion within the sayd monastery;

stanza 8

50After for her vertue / howe she was made abbasse
Of diuers monasteries, ¹⁴ flouryng in vertue;
And of the great miracles whiche there done was
For her great charite / by the grace of Iesu;
Howe diuers of her kynrede dyd clerely exchewe
All wordly pleasures and honours transetory,
Professyng obedience at the place of Ely;