1 MS.'At.'

MS. 'more.'

145

2 At the end of the line is written the word 'ine'

For 'pat' we perhaps ought to read 'but.'

5 worchep' is written at the side in the MS.

NII

CURSOR MUNDI, OR CURSUR O WERLD.

ABOUT A.D. 1320.

THE Cursor Mundi' is a metrical version of Old and New Testament history, interspersed with numerous mediæval legends. It is of great length, and has never yet been printed. It seems to have been a very popular book with our forefathers, and one MS. has the following rubric:

This is the best book of all,

The Course of the World men do it call.'

There are several MSS. of this work, but the Cottonian MS. Vespasian A. iii., in the Northumbrian dialect, has furnished the following extract.

The Visit of the Wise Men, and the Flight into Egypt.

FRA he (Christ) was born pe dai thritteind, 13
Pai offerd him, þaa kinges heind, customs
Wit riche giftes þat þai broght.

Pat1 he was born bot þat yeire noght,

And sum sais bot þe nest yeire

Foluand, and sum wit resun serem.

Sais, [tua] yere efter þai com.

Iohn Gilden-moth sais wit pis dome,

Pat he fand in an ald bok,

pis kinges thre par wai þai tok

1 We should perhaps read 'Yet.'

приши

5

ΤΟ

12 moul

A tuelmo[n]th ar þe natiuité, For elles moght not kinges thre Haf raght to ride sa ferr ewai, And com to Crist þat ilk dai. He sais pat in þe bok he fand Of a prophet of Estrinland, Called Hight Balaam, crafti and bald, And mikel of a stern he tald,

и

A sterne to cum þat suld be sene,
Was neuer nan suilk be-for sua scene.
Vs telles alsua Iohn Gildenmoth
Of a folk ferr and first vncuth,
Wonnand be pe est occean,
Þat bi-yond þam ar wonnand nan.
Amang squilk was broght a writte,
O Seth þe name was laid on it;
O suilk a stern þe writt it spak,
And of þir offerands to mak.
pis writte was gett fra kin to kin,
Pat best it cuth to haf in min,

Pat at þe last þai ordeind tuelue, 2

Pe thoghtfulest amang þam selue,

And did þam in a montain dern, re
[Biseli] to wait þe stern.

Quen ani deid o þat dozein,

His sun for him was sett again,
Or his neist þat was fere. Sound in
Sua þat euer þan ilk yere

Quen þair corns war in don,

pai went in-to þat montaine son,

40

Þar þai offerd, praid, and suank,\, { ̧‚‚¦

Thre dais noper ete ne dranc;

Pus thoru ilk oxspring þai did,