Ubi sunt qui ante nos fuerunt?

Ubi sunt qui ante nos fuerunt?

Original Text
The Minor Poems of the Vernon MS., ed. F. J. Furnivall, Early English Text Society, OS 117 (1901): 761-63. PR 1119 A2 no. 117.
1Were beth they biforen us weren,
2Hound{.e}s ladden and havek{.e}s beren,
3    And hadden feld and wod{.e}?
4        The rich{.e} levedies in hoer{.e} bour,
5        That wereden gold in hoer{.e} tressour,
6    With hoer{.e} brightt{.e} rod{.e};
7Eten and drounken, and maden hem glad;
8Hoere lif was al with gamen i-lad,
9    Men kneleden hem biforen;
10        They beren hem wel swith{.e} hey{.e};
11        And in a twincling of an ey{.e}
12    Hoere soul{.e}s weren forloren.
13Were is that lawhing and that song,
14That trayling and that proud{.e} gong,
15    Tho havek{.e}s and tho hound{.e}s?
16        Al that joye is went away,
17        That wele is comen to weylaway,
18    To manie hard{.e} stound{.e}s.
19Hoere paradis they nomen her{.e},
20And nou they lien in helle i-fer{.e};
21    The fuir hit brenn{.e}s hever{.e}:
22        Long is ay, and long is o,
23        Long is wy, and long is wo;
24    Thenn{.e}s ne cometh they never{.e}.
25Dreghy here man, thenn{.e}, if thou wilt,
26A luitel pine that me the bit;
27    Withdrau thine eys{.e}s ofte;
28        They thi pine be oun-rede,
29        And thou thenk{.e} on thi mede,
30    Hit sal the thinken softe.
31If that fend, that foul{.e} thing,
32Thorou wikk{.e} roun, thorou fals egging,
33    There ne there the haveth I-cast,
34        Oup, and be god chaunpioun!
35        Stond, ne fal namore adoun
36    For a luytel blast!
37Thou take the rode to thi staf,
38And thenk on him that thereoune yaf
39    His lif that wes so lef:
40        He hit yaf for the; thou yelde hit him;
41        Agein his fo, that staf thou nim,
42    And wrek him of that thef!
43Of rightte bileve thou nim that sheld,
44The wil{.e}s that thou best in that feld,
45    Thin hond to strenkthen fonde,
46        And kep thy fo with stav{.e}s ord,
47        And do that traytre scien that word;
48    Biget that murie londe.
49There-inne is day with-outen night,
50With-outen end{.e}, strenkthe and might,
51    And wreche of everich fo;
52        Mid god him-selwen ech{.e} lif,
53        And pes and rest without{.e} strif,
54    Wel{.e} with-outen wo.
55Mayden moder, heven{.e} quene,
56Thou might and const, and owest to bene
57    Oure sheld agein the fende:
58        Help ous sunn{.e} for to flen,
59        That we moten thi sone I-seen,
60    In joy{.e} with-outen hende. Amen!

Notes

1] The poem's first line roughly translates the Latin title (which is in the original manuscript). The last six additional stanzas, not in the printed Representative Poetry, were added in version 2.08. Spelling is normalized somewhat -- thorn/th, u/v, u/w -- and {.e} marks what is thought to be a sounded syllable. For a translation, see Medieval English Verse, translated by Brian Stone (Penguin, 1964): 67-68.
The theme of this poem occurs in Boethius, Consolation of Philosophy, II, metre 7, and frequently in medieval poetry. The most famous example is Villon's Ballade des dames du temps jadis.
were: where. Back to Line
2] ladden: led.
havekes: hawks.
beren: bore. Back to Line
4] levedies: ladies.
hoere: their. Back to Line
5] tressour: tresses or headdress. Back to Line
6] rode: redness, i.e., colour, complexion. Back to Line
8] with gamen i-lad: led in sport. Back to Line
10] They bore themselves very exceedingly high. Back to Line
12] forloren: lost. Back to Line
13] lawhing: laughing. Back to Line
14] trayling: leisurely progress.
proude gong: stately walking. Back to Line
16] went: gone. Back to Line
17] That happiness has come to pass. Back to Line
18] stoundes: spaces of time, moments. Back to Line
19] nomen: took. Back to Line
20] i-fere: in company. Back to Line
21] fuir: fire.
brennes: burns. Back to Line
22] o: always, ever. Back to Line
23] Long is their alas and their woe. Back to Line
25] Dreghy: suffer. Back to Line
26] pine: pain.
that me the bit: that I offer you. Back to Line
28] possibly, "they [your eyes] are evil counsel ("un-rede") [to] your pain." Back to Line
29] And: if.
mede: reward. Back to Line
30] your pain will seem an easy thing. Back to Line
31] fend: fiend, the devil. Back to Line
32] roun: mysterious word, "rune."
egging: incitement. Back to Line
33] I-cast: thrown down. Back to Line
34] Oup: get up. Back to Line
37] Take the cross as thy staff. Back to Line
39] lef: beloved. Back to Line
40] He gave his life for you; you surrender your life to him. Back to Line
41] nim: take. Back to Line
42] wrek: avenge.
thef: thief. Back to Line
43] rightte bileve: true faith, the creed. Back to Line
44] wiles: treacheries, deceits, wiles.
best: fight against. Back to Line
45] fonde: try. Back to Line
46] stav{.e}s ord: the staff's shield. Back to Line
48] Win that happy land (heaven). Back to Line
54] Wel{.e}: happiness. Back to Line
56] const: can. Back to Line
58] sunn{.e}: sin. Back to Line
60] hende: end. Back to Line
Publication Start Year
1275
Publication Notes
In Bodley MS. Digby 86, fols. 126v-27r. Facsimile of Oxford, Bodleian Library, MS Digby 86, intro. Judith Tschann and M. B. Parkes (Oxford University Press for the Early English Text Society, 1996).
RPO poem Editors
N. J. Endicott
RPO Edition
2RP.1.3; completed in RPO 2.08.
Rhyme
aabccb