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| (empty) Roman sarcophagi in the Multiangular Tower, York |
To mark Halloween - or, in its older form, All Hallow's Eve - I found for your delight this cheery little medieval poem. Written in the dialect of north Yorkshire, it is a funeral dirge, thought to have been sung or chanted while keeping watch (wake) at the side of a corpse (lyke; this old word for corpse survives today in lychgate, the covered gateway into church grounds, where the bier would await the arrival of the priest conducting the funeral). The poem displays the typical medieval preoccupation both with Purgartory and with the Corporal Works of Mercy - well, three of them at least: to clothe the naked ("If ever thou gavest hosen and shoon"), to feed the hungry, and to give drink to the thirsty ("If ever thou gav'st meat or drink"). This leads into the pious hope that a life well lived will result in "Christ receiv[ing] thy saule."
This ae nighte, this ae nighte,
Every nighte and alle,
Fire and fleet and candle-lighte,
And Christe receive thy saule.
When thou from hence away art past,
Every nighte and alle,
To Whinny-muir thou com'st at last;
And Christe receive thy saule.
If ever thou gavest hosen and shoon,
Every nighte and alle,
Sit thee down and put them on;
And Christe receive thy saule.
If hosen and shoon thou ne'er gav'st nane
Every nighte and alle,
The whinnes sall prick thee to the bare bane;
And Christe receive thy saule.
From Whinny-muir whence thou may'st pass,
Every nighte and alle,
To Brig o' Dread whence thou may'st pass,
And Christe receive thy saule.
From Brig o' Dread whence thou may'st pass,
Every nighte and alle,
To Purgatory fire thou com'st at last;
And Christe receive thy saule.
If ever thou gav'st meat or drink,
Every nighte and alle,
The fire sall never make thee shrink;
And Christe receive thy saule.
If meat or drink thou ne'er gav'st nane,
Every nighte and alle,
The fire will burn thee to the bare bane;
And Christe receive thy saule.
This ae nighte, this ae nighte,
Every nighte and alle,
Fire and fleet and candle-lighte,
And Christe receive thy saule.
I do think middle English literature is much more fun read in the original, so I am not going to translate the poem. In any case, the language of this version isn't hard, especially when you simply drop the final e from many words. A few tricky words I have glossed below:
fleet ~ some say this should be sleet, as in frozen rain. Others say it should be slate, as in the roofing material. However, fleet appears to be an old word for home, or house. I prefer this, as it alliterates with fire.
saule ~ soul
hosen ~ clothes
shoon ~ shoes
whinnnes, Whinny-muir ~ whin = thorn and muir = moor
bane ~ bone
Brig ~ not a sailing ship; a bridge
The song has been set to music by Benjamin Britten. The band Pentangle (medieval buffs will know that the name comes from the five-pointed star emblazoned on Gawain's shield in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight) also released their own version, which you can listen to here:
