EVERYMAN

¶What desireth God of me ¶To gyve a reckoning longer layser I crave This blind mater trubleth my wit ¶Full vneedy I am such reckoning to gyve I know the not what messenger art thou ¶Oh death thou cum ̄ mest what I had y e leeft in mind In thy power it lies me to save yet of my good will I gyve the if you will be kind you a thousand pound shalt thou have And dyfferre this mater till another day ¶Alas shall I have no longer respite I may say death giveth no warning To think on the it makes my Heart secke For all unready is my book of reckoning But .xii. year and I might have a biding My counting book I would make so clear That my reckoning I should not need to fere Wherefore death I pray the for gods mercy Spare me till I be provided of remedy ¶I had wend so verily ¶Do / wretched caytyfe whither shall I flee That I might escape this endless sorrow Now gentle death spare me till to morrow That I may amend me With good aduysemente. ¶Alas I may well weep with sighs deep Now have I no manner of company To help me in my journey / & me to keep And also my writing is full unready Now shall I do now / for to excuse me I would to God I had never be get To my soul a great profit it had be For now I fere pains huge and great The time passes / lord help that all wrought For though I mourn it availeth nought The day passes / and is almost ago I wot not well what to do To whom were I best my complante to make What and I to fellowship thereof spoke And showed him of this sudden chance For in him is all mine affyaunce We have in the world so many a day Be good friends in sport and play I see him yonder cartaynely I trust that he will bear me company Therefore to him will I speak to ease my sorrow Well met God fellowship and good morrow. ¶you good fellowship you I am in great ieoparde ¶That is well spoken and lovingly ¶Verily fellowship gramercy ¶if I my Heart should to you break And than you to turn your mind from me And would not me continued ̄ fort / when you here me speak Than should I ten times soryer be ¶Than be you a good friend at need I have found you true here before ¶you speak like a good friend / I believe you well I shall deserve it and I may ¶I shall show you how it is Commanded I am to go a iournaye A long way / herd and dangerous And gyve a strait count without delay Before the hie Judge adonay Wherefore I pray you / bear me company As you have promised in this iournaye ¶Why / you said if I had need you would me never forsake / quick ne deed Though it were to hell truly ¶Nay / nyuer again / till the day of dome ¶In deed death was with me here ¶you promised me other wise parde ¶you thereto you would be ready To go to mirth / solace / and play your mind to folly will sooner aply Than to bete me company in my long journey ¶Oh that is a simple advise in deed Gentle fellow help me in my necessytye We have loved long and now I need And now gentle fellowship remember me ¶yet I pray the take the labour & do so Much for me To bring me forward for Saint charity And comfort me till I come without the town ¶Farewell good fellowship for the my Heart is soar ¶In faith everyman farewell now at the end For you I will remember y to parting is mourny ̄ ge A lack shall we thus depart in deed Oh lady help without any more comfort Lo fellowship forsaketh me in my most need For help in this world whither shall I resort Fellowship here before with me would merry make And now little sorrow for me doth he take It is said in prosperity men friends may find Which in aduersytye be full kind Now whither for succour shall I flee Sith that fellowship hath forsaken me To my kinsmen I will truly Praying them to help me in my necessytye I believe that they will do So For kind will creep where it may not go I will go say / for yender I see them go Where be you now my friends and kinsmen ¶Geamercy my friends & kinsmen kind Now shall I show you the grief of my mind I was commanded by a messenger That is and hie kings chief Officer He had me go a pilgrimage to my pain But I know well I shall never cume again Also I must gyve reckoning strait For I have a great enemy / that hath me in wait Which intends me for to hinder ¶Of all my works I must show How I have lived / and my days spent Also of ill deeds / that I have used In my time / sith life was me lent And of all virtues / that I have refused Therefore I pray you / go thither with me To help to make mine account / for Saint charity ¶Alas that ever I was born For now shall I never be merry if that you forsake me ¶My cousin / will you not with me go ¶Nuum show me the very effect of your mind Will you go with me / or abide behind ¶A Jesus is all cume hereto Loo / fair words makes fools fain They promise / & nothing will do certain My kinsmen promised me faithfully For to abide with me steadfastly And now fast away do they flee Even so fellowship promised me What friend were best me of to provide I loose my time here longer to abide yet in my mind a thing there is All my life I have loved riches If that my good now help me / might It would make my Heart full light I will speak to him / in this distress Where art thou my goods and riches. ¶Cume hither good / in all the hast thou may For of council I must desire the ¶It is a neither disease that greuyth me In this world it is not / I tell So I am send for another way to go To gyne a strait account general Before the highest Iupyter of all And all my life / I have had joy & pleasure in the Therefore I pray the go with me For peradventure thou mayest before God almighty My reckoning help to clean and puryfye For it is said ever among That money makes all right / that is wrong ¶That would grieve me full soar When I should cum to that fearful answer Up let us go thither to together ¶Lo now / I was deceived or I was beware And all I may wit my spending of time ¶I had went so ¶I had wend otherwise ¶Oh false good cursed thou be Thou traitor to God / thou hast deceived me And caught me in thy snare ¶A good thou hast had my heartily love I gave the that which should be the lords above But Wilt thou not go with me in deed I pray the truth to say ¶Oh to whom shall I make my moan For to go with me / in that heavy iournaye First fellowship / he said he would with me go His words were very Pleasant and gay But afterward he left me alone Than spoke I to my kynnysmen all in despair And also they gave me words fair They lacked no fair speaking But all forsake me in the ending Than went I to my goods that I loved best In hope to have comforte / but there had I least For my goods sharply did me tell That he bringeth many in hell Than of my self I was a shamed And so I am worthy told blamed Thus may I well my self hate Of whom shall I now council take I think that I shall never speed Till that I go to my good deed But able she is so week That she can no there go nor speak yet will her now My good deeds where be you ¶Oh / good deeds I stand in fear I must you pray of council For help now should cum right well ¶Therefore I cum to you my moan to make I pray the to go with me ¶Why is there any thing on your ¶Our lord Jesus help me For one letter herein can I not see ¶Good deeds I pray you help me in this need Or else I am for ever damned in deed Therefore help me to make my reckoning Before the redeemer of all thing That King is and was and ever shall ¶Good deeds your council I pray you gyve me ¶In good condition I am now in every thing And am holy content with this good thing Thanked be God my creature ¶My good deeds I thank the hartfully I am well content certainly With your words sweet ¶For joy I weep I would we were there But I pray you to instruct me by intellection Where dwellyth that holy virtue confession ¶Oh glorious fou ̄ tayne y to all uncle ̄ nes does clarify Wash from me the spots of vices unclean That on me no sin may be seen I cum with knowledge for my redemption Redempe with Heart and full of contrition For I am commanded a pilgrimage to take And great accounts before God to make Now I pray you shrift mother of salvation Help my good deeds / for my petyous exclamation ¶Thanked be God for his gracious work For now I will my penance Begin This hath rejoiced and lighted my Heart Though the knots be painful & harden within ¶Oh eternal God / oh heavenly figure Oh way of ryghtwysenes / oh goodly vision Which descended down in a virgin pure Because he would everyman to redeem Which Adam forfeited by his dysobedyens Oh blessed godhead elect and hie divine Forgive me my grievous offence Here I cry the mercy in this presence Oh ghostly treasure / oh ransomer & redeemer Of all the world / hope and conductor Mirror of joy / and founder of mercy Which enlumyneth heaven and earth thereby Here my clamorous complain / though it late be Receive my prayers of thy benygnytye Though I be a sinner most abominable yet let my name be written in moses table Oh marry pray to the maker of all thing Me for to help at my ending And save me from the power of my enemy For death assaileth me strongly And lady that I may by mean of thy prayer Of thy sons glory to be part taker By the mean of his passion I it crave I beseech you help my soul to save Knowledge gyve me the scourge of penance My flesh therewith shall gyve a quytaunce I will now Begin if God gyve me grace ¶In the name of the holy trinity My body soar punished shall be Take this body for the sin of the flesh Also thou delytest to go gay and Fresh And in way of damnation y u did me bring Therefore suffer now strokes and punysshenge Now of penance I will wade the water clear To save me from hell and from the fire ¶My Heart is light and shall be evermore Now will I smite faster than I did before ¶Welcume my good deeds now I here thy voice I weep for very sweetness of love ¶Gentle knowledge / what do you it call ¶Now blessed be Jesu Mary's son For now have I on true contrition And let us go now / without tarrying Good deeds / have we clear our reckoning ¶Than I trust we need not fere Now friends let us not part in twain ¶Who should they be ¶How shall I get them hither ¶My friends cume hither and be present Dyscressyon / strength / my five wits & beauty ¶Almighty God / loved may thou be I gyve the laud / that I have hither brought Strength / dyscressyo ̄ / beauty / & five wits lac I nought And my good deeds / with knowledge clear All be in company at my will here I desire no more to my business ¶My friends Harken what I will tell I pray God reward you / in his heavenly spear Now Harken all that be here For I will make my testament Here before you all present In alms half my good I will gyve w to my hands twain In the way of charytye with good intent And the other half Still shall remane In Quiet to be returned there it ought to be This I do in despite of the fend of hell To go quite out of his parell Ever after and this day. ¶Fain would I receive that holy body And meekly to my ghostly father I will go ¶Now Jesu Christ be your alder speed I have received the sacrament for my redempcyo ̄ And thou mine extreme unction Blessed be all they that counceyled me to take it And now friends let us go without longer respite I thank God that you have tarried so long Now set eke of you on this rod your hand And shortly folwe me I go before there I would be / God be our guide ¶Alas I am so faint I may not stand My limbs under me do fold Friends let us not turn again to this land Not for all the world's gold For into this cave must I creep And turn to the earth & there to sleep ¶you there shall you consume more & less ¶you be my faith and never more appear In this world live no more we shall But in heaven before the highest lord of all ¶What beauty whither will you. ¶Alas whereto may I trust Beauty goes fast away and from me She promised with me to live and die ¶Why / than you will for sake me all Sweet strength tarry a little space ¶you would ever bide by me you said ¶Strength you to displease I am to blame Will you break promise / that is debt ¶I had wend surer I should you have found He that trusteth in his strength She him deceiveth at the length Both strength and beauty forsaketh me yet they promised me fair and lovingly ¶Why descressyon will you forsake me ¶yet I pray the for the love of the trynytye Look in my graven ones piteously ¶Oh all thing faileth save God alone Beauty / strength / and descressyon For when death blows his blast They all run from me full fast ¶Alas than may I wail and weep For I took you for my best friend ¶Oh Jesu help all hath forsaken me ¶Gramercy good dead now may I true friends see They have forsaken me everyone I loved them better then my good deeds alone Knowledge will you forsake me also ¶Gramercy knowledge with all my Heart ¶Me thinketh alas that I must be gone To make may reckoning and my debts pay For I see my time is nigh spent away Take example all you that this do here or see How they that I loved best do forsake me Except my good deeds that bideth truly ¶Have mercy on me God Most mighty And stand by me thou mother & maid holy Marry ¶Here I cry God mercy ¶In to thy hands lord my soul I commend Receive it lord that it be nat lost As thou me boughtest so me defend And save me from the fends boost That I may appear with that blessed hooft That shall be saved at the dome (In manus tuas) of mighties Most For ever (commendo spiritum meum) ¶What / send to me ¶Death if I should this pilgrimage take And my reckoning surely make Show me for Saint charity Should I not come again shortly ¶gracious God in hie sete celestial Have mercy on me in this Most need Shall I have no company from this vale terestyall ¶How should I be merry or glad For fair promises / men to me do make But when I have most need / they me forsake I am deceived that makes me sad ¶Alas I have the loved & had great pleasure All my life days on good and treasure ¶Whither away fellowship / Wilt y u forsake me ¶Why askest thou Wouldst thou were