Digital Index of Middle English Verse: No. 4880

DIMEV 4880

IMEV 3122

NIMEV 3122

Sith all that in this world hath been in rerum natura

‘Esto memor mortis’ — eighty-four macaronic lines in 12-line stanzas (ababababcdcd)

Note: English and Latin alternate lines; for another version of a portion of this, see 6469; see Walther (1963)

XWalther, Hans. Proverbia sententiaque latinitatis medii aevi. 6 vols. Göttingen, 1963-69

, no. 8036.

Title(s): ‘Esto memor mortis’

Subjects: death

Versification: — twelve-line — ababababcdcd

Macaronic: Latin

Manuscript Witnesses:

1.Source: Oxford, Bodleian Library Douce 126 (SC 21700), f. 91vb

First Lines:

Al þat haþ ben or ys in rerum natura
Or in þis world haþ ben sen in hamana cura…

Last Lines:

…Te ponet in tumilum tyl domys day to dwelle
Hoc relinquis seculum þer ys nat ellys to telle

Note: 18 lines, ends imperfectly.

2.Source: Cambridge UK, Cambridge University Library Ee.6.29, ff. 21-22

First Lines:

Syth alle þat in þys wordle haþ been
in rerum natura
Or in þys wyde wordle was seen
in humana cura…

Last Lines:

…Be redy þere for y warne þe
De te peccata fugando

Attributed Title: Esto memor mortis iam porta sit amnibus ortis / Sepe sibi iuuenes accipit ante sones (f. 21)

Editions:

Wright, Thomas, and James Orchard Halliwell-Phillipps, eds. Reliquiae Antiquae. 2 vols. London: Smith, 1845: 1.138-9.

Brown, Carleton Fairchild, ed. Religious Lyrics of the XIV Century. Oxford: Clarendon, 1924. 2nd ed., rev.: G. V. Smithers, Oxford, 1952: 239-40.

Stevick, Robert D., ed. One Hundred Middle English Lyrics. Indianapolis: Bobbs-Merrill, 1964: 81-3.

3.Source: Cambridge UK, Trinity College B.15.30 (365), ff. 195v-196

First Lines:

Sen al þat is or was
In rerum natura
Or in þis wilde warlde was seyn
In humana cura
All sall wende wit owtyn wene
via mortis dura
God leue þat man sall be dene
penas non passura…

Last Lines:

…Dulful dede drede we
w vemet quia nescio quod
Be redy to dede I rede
Peccata fugando

Attributed Title: Esto memor mortis nam porta sit omnibus ortis / Sepe sibi Iuuenes mors rapit autem senes (f. 195v); Explicit memoraccio bona (f. 196)

4.Source: London, British Library Addit. 60577 [Winchester Anthology], ff. 52-52v

First Lines:

When thou leste wenythe
veniet mors te superare
Thus thy grave grenethe
Ergo mortis memorare…

Last Lines:

…Doolefull deed drede I
veniet mors nescio quando
Therefore be redye rede I
de te peccata fugando

Note: Missing first four lines and Latin epigraph; written with Latin and English together on each line (i.e., one line in MS for two lines as written here); these first lines same as 6469.

Editions:

Wilson, Edward. “Introduction.” The Winchester Anthology. A Facsimile of British Library Additional Manuscript 60577. With an account of the music by Iain Fenlon. Cambridge: D. S. Brewer, 1981.

5.Source: London, British Library Cotton Cleopatra D.VI, f. 4v

Transcription:

Sithen all that is and hathe bene in rerum natura
All shall wynde withoutyn wene via mortis dura
God leaue manne folle be cleane penas non passura

6.Source: London, British Library Harley 3362, f. 36

7.Source: London, British Library Sloane 1609, f. 56