Chapter 7: Middle English – Inner History

Video Lecture

Figure 7.1 Feudal Society in Europe

Source: World History

Attribution: Simeon Netchev

License: CC BY-NC-SA

Link: here

Connections to PDE

As with the description of the inner history of OE in Chapter 5, it is difficult to write an exhaustive list of language features of ME. Like OE, ME had numerous dialects. And during the traditional the period of ME (1066 - 1500), numerous changes would have taken place in the grammar and lexicon of the language. Nonetheless, a general description of ME is useful, and this description helps us to see connections to PDE. I will describe several aspects of the language: the sound system, the grammatical system, the lexicon, and silent letters. The last item in this list will show direct connections to PDE because many silent letters in the PDE writing system trace their roots to ME. In addition, the Bubonic Plague had a dramatic influence on ME even though it occurred toward the end of the ME period. In addition, keep in mind that the feudal system, depicted in Figure 7.1, played a major role in ME because as the feudal system broke down, there was more mingling of dialects throughout England. Both the Bubonic Plague and the breakdown of the feudal system would help to reestablish English (instead of French) in England as the primary language, though the influence of French, particularly on the lexicon, would remain strong.

Just to understand how ME has diverged from OE but is starting to resemble PDE English, here is the Our Father prayer in ME. It is very different from the version in OE which was highlighted in Chapter 5, and it is increasingly recognizable to speakers of PDE.

The Sound System of ME

Consonants

The sound system of ME is very similar to PDE. Figure 7.2 shows the ME consonants.

Figure 7.2 Consonants of ME

It only lacks the phonemic /ŋ/ and /ž/ to be identical to PDE. The shaded area in the figure shows that the only phonemic additions were the voiced fricatives. ME added the voiced fricatives as phonemes for a number of reasons. The influx of French loan words after the Battle of Hastings triggered a need for these additions. French already had a phonemic distinction between /f/ and /v/. When loan words such as few/view and file/vile entered the language, there was a need to distinguish these words. Languages can only handle a small number of homophones before communication is affected (Millward and Hayes, 2012).

In addition, during the ME period dialects were mixing more. And some dialects (particularly in the south) had already begun using voiced fricatives in word-initial position. Another reason for the introduction of phonemic fricatives is that ME began losing more of its inflections at the end of words. Voiceless fricatives had been voiced when between vowels. For example, the ME word husian (‘to house’) had a voiced fricative [z] because it occurred between two vowels. But when the -ian ending was lost, the /s/ was in final position. However, it retained its voicing. This became the origin of PDE house (no voicing) and to house (voiced). Finally, function words with voiceless fricatives converted to voiced fricatives: is, of, the, then, that. The usual explanation is that such voicing required less energy. And while these voiced fricatives were added, the /f/, /ð/, and /v/ remain much more restricted even in PDE.

One other interesting note concerning consonants is the loss of the initial /h/ sound. It was typically lost in clusters such as /hl/, /hn/, and /hr/. In some dialects /h/ was also lost before /w/, but in some dialects, it was retained. In PDE, some dialects retain the /h/ sound in words such as what, what, and whimper. Though there was an obvious spelling change.

Another change in ME was the loss of simplification of certain some consonant clusters. But PDE spelling often retains the lost consonant. Two examples are the loss of /w/ after /s/ and /t/ are the words sword and two.

A second example is the loss of /b/ after /m/ in certain words, but, again, it was retained in spelling: lamb, comb, and climb. This intrusive /b/ after /m/ was retained in some words: OE brēmel ‘bramble’, nǣmel ‘nimble’, ǣmerge ‘ember’ became bramble, nimble, and nimble in ME. But it was lost in lamb, comb, and climb.

Vowels

The vowels system in English has always been less stable than its consonants regarding language change. It has been the vowels that have changed more than the consonants throughout the history of English. However, since the English writing system has always lacked enough symbols for all the vowels, it is difficult to ascertain the exact vowel phonological system from written records during ME. It is some guess work as to what the vowels sounded like. Nonetheless, Figure 7.3 shows a rough approximation of the vowel system in ME.

Figure 7.3 Vowels of ME

Here are few comments about the changes occurred from OE to ME as the vowel system became more similar to that of PDE. (This list is taken from Millward and Hayes, 2012)

• OE had a rounded front vowel [y] similar to that of modern-day French. However, this became unrounded in ME and became [ɪ].
• During ME, the reduced vowels /a/, /ɜ/, /ɔ/, and /ʊ/ became /ə/ in unstressed syllables. This, in part, was responsible for the loss of most English inflections during ME.
• During ME, vowel length ceased to be phonemic.
• Many ME long vowels were reduced in a stressed closed syllable. A closed syllable is one ending in one or more consonants. However, this shortening did not occur before the combination of -st. But it did occur if two or more syllables followed the stressed syllable. The explains the ME pronunciation of Christ/Christmas. (ME Chrɪ̄st/Christesmesse).

The Grammatical System of ME

Loss of inflections

The major change from OE to ME was the loss of the inflectional system. ME became more analytic (dependent on word order to convey grammatical information) and less synthetic (dependent on inflections to convey grammatical information). This change was gradual. But by 1500, most inflections as well as grammatical gender were lost.

It is not clear what caused this loss of inflections in ME. But its importance cannot be understated. As Millward and Hayes (2012) note, the loss of the inflections during the ME period was “cataclysmic.” Despite not having clear reasons, there are several possible explanations. One reason could be that the introduction of other inflections from French and Scandinavian languages resulted in some linguistic confusion among speakers, and there was an unconscious elimination of all endings over time. In addition, the reduction of all unstressed final vowels to /ə/ contributed to the loss of distinctions between inflection endings. This contributed heavily to the loss of inflections and increased dependency on word order.

Some scholars note that these reasons are insufficient to completely explain the loss of inflections, in part because the breakdown of the inflectional system had started before the Norman conquest, and the Scandinavian influence was only heavy in the north. Despite the exact reasons being somewhat mysterious, the result was the same: ME lost inflectional endings.

As an example, note in Figure 7.4 and Figure 7.5 that more inflections existed in OE than in ME in the word hund (‘dog’) (Millward and Hayes, 2012, p. 167­). While there were still some inflections in ME, the inflections began to coalesce. And it becomes obvious that the plural ending became settled on /s/ during ME.

Declension of hund (singular)

Figure 7.4

Declension of hund (singular)

Figure 7.5

Pronouns

The pronoun system in ME saw the development of the third-person feminine. Ironically, while the rest of ME was dropping gender, the pronoun system developed and retained the third-person singular. The origins of the third-person feminine pronoun remain mysterious and there were competing forms: heo, shce, ho. But eventually she became the accepted version.

At one point, thou and thee were the subject and object form for second person singular pronoun. But overtime, ye and you (which were originally plural) became to be used for polite or respectful forms in addressing only one person.

Another interesting note about pronouns involves the neuter, third person. The form was originally hit, but during ME, the initial /h/ was lost and the result was the form it. However, hit remains even today in some dialects of Appalachia in American English.

Syntax

As inflections were lost, word order became more rigid in ME. A few additional notable characteristics of ME syntax are the following:

• Articles became more prevalent: an and the.
• Adjectives were increasingly placed before their noun. OE often had adjectives following their nouns.
• The perfect tense became common in ME.
• Modal verbs became more common in ME: shall, will, may, might.
• The use of do became much more commonly used. In particular, do came to be used for negative statements and interrogative clauses.

The Lexicon

The lexicon during ME underwent major changes. Scholars have commented that “two very salient features of PDE are its highly analytic grammar and its immense lexicon” (Millward and Hayes, 2012, p. 191). Both of these characteristics are a result of the ME period. During the ME period, there was an enormous amount of borrowing from other languages. And a large percentage of these came from the Normans. The loss of inflections (as noted above) increased the analytic nature of English, and it also facilitated the easier incorporation of loan words into ME because speakers did not have worry about what inflectional classes the word words belonged to – whether they were weak or strong, masculine or feminine, or what declension the new words belong to.

The Normans bequeathed over 10,000 words to English (about three-quarters of which are still in use today), including a huge number of abstract nouns ending in the suffixes -age, -ance/-ence, -ant/-ent, -ment, -ity, and -tion, or starting with the prefixes con-, de-, ex-, trans-, and pre-. Perhaps predictably, many of them related to matters of crown and nobility (e.g., crown, castle, prince, count, duke, viscount, baron, noble, sovereign, heraldry); of government and administration (e.g., parliament, government, governor, city); of court and law (e.g., court, judge, justice, accuse, arrest, sentence, appeal, condemn, plaintiff, bailiff, jury, felony, verdict, traitor, contract, damage, prison); of war and combat (e.g., army, armour, archer, battle, soldier, guard, courage, peace, enemy, destroy); of authority and control (e.g., authority, obedience, servant, peasant, vassal, serf, labourer, charity); of fashion and high living (e.g., mansion, money, gown, boot, beauty, mirror, jewel, appetite, banquet, herb, spice, sauce, roast, biscuit); and of art and literature (e.g. art, colour, language, literature, poet, chapter, question). Curiously, though, the Anglo-Saxon words cyning (‘king’), cwene (‘queen’), erl (‘earl’), cniht (‘knight’), ladi (‘lady’) and lord persisted.

While humble trades retained their Anglo-Saxon names (e.g. baker, miller, shoemaker), the more skilled trades adopted French names (e.g. mason, painter, tailor, merchant). While the animals in the field generally kept their English names (e.g., sheep, cow, ox, calf, swine, deer), once cooked and served their names often became French (e.g., beef, mutton, pork, bacon, veal, venison). Figure 7.6 shows an image of farmers. Rural work often retained the OE word while the French words were more “sophisticated.”

Figure 7.6 From the Luttrell Psalter (rural work in ME times)

Source: British Library

License: Public Domain

Link: here

Sometimes a French word completely replaced an OE word (e.g., crime replaced firen, place replaced stow, people replaced leod, beautiful replaced wlitig, uncle replaced eam). Sometimes French and OE components combined to form a new word, such as the French gentle and the Germanic man combined to form gentleman. Sometimes, both English and French words survived, but with significantly different senses (e.g., the Old English doom and French judgement, Old English hearty and French cordial, Old English house and French mansion).

But, often, different words with roughly the same meaning survived, and a whole host of new, French-based synonyms entered the English language (e.g., the French maternity in addition to the Old English motherhood, infant to child, amity to friendship, battle to fight, liberty to freedom, labor to work, desire to wish, commence to start, conceal to hide, divide to cleave, close to shut, demand to ask, chamber to room, forest to wood, power to might, annual to yearly, odor to smell, pardon to forgive, aid to help). Over time, many near synonyms acquired subtle differences in meaning (with the French alternative often suggesting a higher level of refinement than the Old English), adding to the precision and flexibility of the English language. Even today, phrases combining Anglo-Saxon and Norman French doublets are still in common use (e.g., law and order, lord and master, love and cherish, ways and means). Bilingual word lists were being compiled as early as the 13th Century.

The addition of nearly synonymous words meant that semantic narrowing occurred. This is logical because when two different words mean the same thing, there is a tendency to narrow one of the words to a more specific meaning (See Chapter 1 concerning narrowing). For example, OE had the word feðer meaning ‘feather’ or ‘wing’ (if used in the plural). When ME borrowed wing from Scandinavia languages, feðer narrowed to refer to the plumage of birds. Thus, ME and PDE came to have a large lexicon capable of subtle distinctions often absent in languages that lacked sustained contact with another language or languages through their history.

But French was not the only language to contribute words to ME. Many more Latin-derived words came into use (sometimes through the French, but often directly) during this period, largely connected with religion, law, medicine and literature, including scripture, collect, meditation, immortal, oriental, client, adjacent, combine, expedition, moderate, nervous, private, popular, picture, legal, legitimate, testimony, prosecute, pauper, contradiction, history, library, comet, solar, recipe, scribe, scripture, tolerance, imaginary, infinite, index, intellect, magnify and genius. But French words continued to stream into English at an increasing pace, with even more French additions recorded after the 13th Century than before, peaking in the second half of the 14th Century, words like abbey, alliance, attire, defend, navy, march, dine, marriage, figure, plea, sacrifice, scarlet, spy, stable, virtue, marshal, esquire, retreat, park, reign, beauty, clergy, cloak, country, fool, coast, and magic.

In addition to Norman French and Latin, Scandinavian languages contributed words. Here are some examples of Scandinavian words that became English words: anger, awe, awkward, birth, cake, call, die, egg, ransack, sky, snub, thrive, wassail, and weak. Interestingly enough, Scandinavian words often replaced OE words rather than be incorporated along side them as many Norman French words did. For instance, Norse call replaced OE hātan, both replaced OE bā, and take replaced OE fōn. Sometimes the Norse word took over part of the meaning of the OE word so that PDE now has two words for related but distinct meaning. Norse sky was added for the upper atmosphere and OE heofon (‘heaven’) was retained but its meaning became exclusive for the dwelling of God.

In summary, the ME period saw an enormous influx of lexicon from French, Latin, and Scandinavian languages. As David Crystal notes:

The real importance of the Middle English period was the way in which this additional vocabulary became the primary means of introducing new concepts and new domains of discourse into the language, as well as giving novel ways of expression to familiar concepts within old domains of discourse. The period was offering people a much greater linguistic choice. In 1200, people could only ask; by 1500 they could question (from French) and interrogate (from Latin) as well. At one extreme there was a learned, literary style, typically formal and elaborate, characterized by a lexicon of French and Latin origin, and employed by the aristocratic and well-educated. At the other, there was an everyday, popular style, typically informal and casual, full of words with Germanic roots, and used by ordinary folk. The stage was set for the 16th-century literary exploitation of these resources, notably in the poems and plays of Shakespeare.

It is estimated that up to 85% of Anglo-Saxon words were lost as a result of the Viking and particularly the Norman invasions, and at one point the very existence of the English lexicon looked to be in dire peril. But as the ME period progressed, English reasserted itself to be the dominate language of England.

Where Did all the Silent Letters Come From?

Middle English changes also helped usher in silent letters in the spelling system. Let’s explore these. The English spelling system is famous for not making sense. The phonetic ideal of having each letter represent exactly one sound and each sound represented by exactly one letter is impossible when English has about forty-five phonemes and only twenty-six letters to represent them. But more than that, any language that's been written for a long enough time will have spellings that haven't caught up with modern pronunciations because pronunciations change.

English has been written for about 1300 years, which is plenty of time for these mismatches to accumulate. One of the more frustrating signs of these spelling mismatches is

English's abundance of silent letters. With a conservative definition of silent letter, more than half of the letters the PDE alphabet are silent in at least some words. In alphabetical order, they are “b, d, e, g, h, k, l, m, n, o, p, r, s, t, w, x, z.” Let’s explore some of the reasons for these silent letters. I will mostly discuss silent consonant letters, but we can't talk about silent letters without acknowledging the most famous silent letter in English: silent "e."

Some silent letters appear in just a few words, but silent "e" appears so regularly that there's even a spelling rule about it. A silent "e" at the end of a word makes the preceding vowel long. A long vowel sounds like its name, like the "a" in the word name, and a short vowel sounds weaker, like the "a" in the word car,

According to The Cambridge Encyclopedia of the English Language by David Crystal (2003), this rule has its origins in the early part of the ME period. In other words, in the 11th century. As we’ve seen, OE used suffixes much more than PDE does to show if a word was singular or plural or if it was being used as the subject of a sentence or an object. For example, hus just meant ‘house.’ But huse meant ‘to a house.’ However, in the ME period, that final /ə/ sound on huse got dropped completely, so whether the word was spelled "h-u-s" or "h-u-s-e", it was pronounced [hūs]. Still, that didn't stop people from writing that final "e". As Crystal (2003) writes, "Although the final [ə] sound disappeared, the "e" spelling remained, and it gradually came to be used to show that the preceding vowel was long." This is the origin of the modern spelling rule about silent "e” in such words such as “name” and “rose” (p. 42).

Figure 7.8 serves as a reminder that most of the ME period had scribes who handwrote texts. There was not printing press until the later stages of ME. Scribes often introduced spelling innovations.

Figure 7.8 Medieval Scribe

Source: History has a Face

License: Public Domain

Link: here

Many silent consonant letters represent consonants that were actually pronounced at one time but fell victim to changing phonotactic rules. What's a phonotactic rule? It's a rule that describes the way sounds can be arranged in the words of a language. Let me elaborate a little bit more. Phonotactic rules are the rules in our head that tell us which combination of sounds are legal, "legal" in the language. Here is a quick example. We cannot start a word in PDE with the /ŋ/. We can end words with that sound, but we can't start words. That's one sample example, every speaker of PDE knows this rule, even if on an unconscious level. That's a phonotactic rule.

There's other combination of sounds that are, again, "illegal.”

Here is another example. In PDE, you don't have a [u] sound before the [ŋ] sound. So although ring, rang, and rung are all good English words, [ruŋ] is not only not an English word, it's not even a possible English word. One phonotactic rule that changed has to do with where you can have an [h] sound. Say the word hug. It begins with the [h] sound. Now say the word huge. What sound does it begin with? [h] again? Well, yes and no. It's true that we hear it as an [h], but it is not the same kind of [h] that we have in hug. That [h] is made by just letting air flow past your vocal chords down in your neck.

However, the [h] in huge is made by raising the body of your tongue up close to your palate and forcing air through that constriction. Say them again: hug and huge. Notice how your mouth is formed and where the air goes. In PDE, we only pronounce [h] at the beginnings of words, but in Old English, the [h] pronounced with your tongue close to your palate could also appear in the middle of a word or at the end. It was spelled as an "h" in Old English and as "gh" in Middle English. And even after English speakers stop pronouncing the palatal [h], the spelling remained. We know it today as the silent "gh" in words such as thought, knight, and through.

Phonotactic rules also deal with consonant clusters, and in English, these rules are pretty picky. With twenty-three consonant sounds, more than five hundred consonant clusters are possible, but English uses only about forty. And some of those appear only in proper nouns such as Gwen or in borrowed words such as schlep. But in Old English and early Middle English, English used to have quite a few more consonant clusters than it does now. One cluster that has disappeared is "kn," which gives us the silent "k" in words such as knife, knee, and knowledge. Knife, for example, used to be pronounced [knɪ:f].

Another long-lost cluster is [wr], which has given way to the silent "w" in words such as wrong, wreaths, and wrestle. Yet another consonant cluster that PDE doesn't have any more is [gn], which is the source of the silent "g" in words such as gnaw, gnat, and gnarly.

All the clusters we've talked about so far come at the beginning of a word, but there are also phonotactic rules about clusters coming at the end of a word. The word hymn has a silent "n" at the end of it, it gets revealed in the right phonetic environment. In this case, when it's followed by a vowel in the word hymnal.

Latin provides a few of these "now you hear them, now you don't" ends too, in words such as condemn and condemnation. In the original Latin and Greek, these words had suffixes following those consonant letters, but those suffixes got deleted when the words entered English,

leaving a phonotactically unacceptable cluster at the ends of the words, thus giving us the silent "n" and at the end.

Some letters are silent in English words because we borrow the words from another language and they're silent in that language too, such as French. Rendezvous and coup d'état are two examples. Why does French have so many silent final consonant letters? Just as an English, the spellings have been fixed for a long time and haven't changed with the language's pronunciation. The name for the deletion of sounds from the end is known as apocope.

The last group of silent letters we'll talk about came from some misguided spelling reforms. We've been talking about how silent letters can result from not removing a letter that represents a sound that isn't pronounced. However, in some cases, a silent letter has come from putting in a letter for a sound that isn't pronounced. Now, why would anyone do such a thing?

As is often the case, someone had good intentions. In his book The Fight for English from 2006, David Crystal explains that, during the Renaissance, some spelling reformers thought it would be

a good idea to insert letters to make a word's origin clear. This is where the silent "b" in debt comes from. At the time, the word was spelled without a "b,” but reformers began to insert it to show its relation to the Latin source debitum. Crystal writes that this tinkering also resulted in the silent "s" in island, because the reformers were sure that this word came from the Latin word for

island insula. But in reality, the origin was different. In short, many silent letters in PDE come from ME.

The Great Vowel Shift

To conclude this look at Middle English, I would like to discuss the Great Vowel Shift (GVS). This famous change began at the end of the Middle English Period. and it was extremely important in the history of the English language.

The GVS was a massive change in the vowel system of ME. It occurred during the later part of the ME period and extended into the Early Modern English period. Its effect on English was profound. Otto Jespersen, a Danish linguist, discovered the GVS, and he coined the term.

Figure 7.5: Otto Jespersen

Source: Wikipedia

License: Public Domain

Link: here

Here is a quick overview of the GVS. Millward and Hayes (2012) define it this way: (the GVS was) “the sound change of the fifteenth through the eighteenth centuries under which all the ME long vowels qualitatively changed by moving upward in their articulation” (p. 445). Let’s unpack that definition a bit.

First, it is important to understand that the GVS shift was not a quick event. It happened over several centuries. During the gradual change, the entire vowels system in ME was restructured. However, after it started, the changes gained momentum. As we’ve seen, innovations often come from younger generations. And with each successive generation, the vowel changes became more widespread and entrenched.

In a nutshell, here is what historical linguists say about the GVS. During this period (1400-1700), long vowels rose in the mouth. This means that the vowels that were elongated a bit rose in the mouth to the next position. And the highest vowels (/i/ and /u/) became diphthongs (/aɪ/ and /aʊ/). Figures 7.6, 7.7, and 7.8 give illustrations of the changes.

Figure 7.6 demonstrates that the mid-vowels /e:/ and /o:/ began to rise. And the high vowels /i:/ and /u:/ became diphthongs during the 1500s, but they were not quite the diphthongs of PDE.

Figure 7.6: First Phase of the Great Vowel Shift

The second phase of the GVS affected the ME vowels /a:/, /ɛ:/, and /ɔ:/. Figure 7.6 shows how these vowels ultimately rose as well.

Figure 7.7: First Phase of the Great Vowel Shift

I included two separate tables to give a sense of the GVS shift occurred in stages. Figure 7.8 is more visual representation of the GVS. It illustrates that the GVS shift was a chain reaction. As a vowel moved up, it displaced or “crowded” the vowel above it out of the way.

Figure 7.8: Visual Representation of the GVS

Source: Wikimedia Commons

License: Goran tek-en

Link: here

The causes of the GVS shift are not fully understood. However, scholars speculate that the infusion French loan words during ME contributed to the GVS. Equally plausible is that the Bubonic Plague and its affect on migration patterns contributed as well.

Everyman

Figure 7.9: Frontispience from Everyman

Source: Wikimedia Commons

License: Public Doman

Link: here

I pray you all give your audience,

And hear this matter with reverence,

In form a moral play.

The Summoning of Everyman it is called so,

That of our lives and ending maketh show

How transitory we be every day.

This matter is wondrous precious,

But the meaning of it is more gracious

And sweet to bear away.

The story saith: Man, in the beginning

Watch well, and take good heed of the ending.

Be you never so gay!

Ye think sin in the beginning full sweet,

Which, in the end, causeth the soul to weep,

When the body lieth in clay.

Here shall you see how Fellowship and Jollity,

Both Strength, Pleasure, and Beauty,

Will fade from thee as flower in May,

For ye shall hear how our Heaven’s King

Calleth Everyman to a general reckoning.

Give audience and hear what he doth say.

[The Messenger goes.]

GOD SPEAKETH:

I perceive, here in my majesty.

How that all creatures be to me unkind,

Living, without fear, in worldly prosperity.

In spiritual vision the people be so blind,

Drowned in sin, they know me not for their God;

In worldly riches is all their mind.

They fear not my righteousness, the sharp rod.

My law that I disclosed, when I for them died,

They clean forget, and shedding of my blood red.

I hung between two it cannot be denied,

To get them life I suffered to be dead,

I healed their feet, with thorns was hurt my head.

I could do no more than I did truly.

And now I see the people do clean forsake me;

They use the seven deadly sins damnable

In such wise that pride, covetousness, wrath, and lechery.

Now in this world be made commendable.

And thus they leave of angels the heavenly company.

Every man liveth so after his own pleasure,

And yet of their lives they be nothing sure.

The more I them forbear, I see

The worse from year to year they be;

All that live grow more evil apace;

Therefore I will, in briefest space,

From every man in person have a reckoning shown.

For, if I leave the people thus alone

In their way of life and wicked passions to he,

They will become much worse than beasts, verily.

Now for envy would one eat up another, and tarry not,

Charity is by all clean forgot.

I hoped well that every man

In my glory should make his mansion,

And thereto I made them all elect.

But now I see, like traitors abject,

They thank me not for the pleasure that I for them meant.

Nor yet for their being that I them have lent.

I proffered the people great multitude of mercy.

And few there be that ask it heartily.

They be so cumbered with worldly riches, thereto

I must needs upon them justice do, —

On every man living without fear.

Where art thou, Death, thou mighty messenger?

[Death enters.]

DEATH.

Almighty God, I am here at your will,

Your commandment to fulfil.

GOD.

Go thou to Everyman,

And show him in my name

A pilgrimage he must on him take,

Which he in no wise may escape.

And that he bring with him a sure reckoning

Without delay or any tarrying.

DEATH.

Lord, I will in the world go run over all.

And cruelly search out both great and small.

Every man will I beset that liveth beastly

Out of God’s law, and doth not dread folly.

He that loveth riches I will strike with my dart

His sight to blind and him from heaven to part —

Except if Alms be his good friend —

In hell for to dwell, world without end.

Lo, yonder I see Everyman walking.

Full little he thinketh on my coming!

His mind is on fleshly lusts and his treasure.

And great pain it shall cause him to endure

Before the Lord, of Heaven the King.

Everyman, stand still ! Whither art thou going

Thus gayly? Hast thou thy Maker forgot?

[Everyman enters.]

EVERYMAN.

Why askest thou?

Wouldest thou know? For what?

DEATH.

Yea, sir, I will show you now.

In great haste I am sent to thee

From God, out of his majesty.

EVERYMAN.

What, sent to me!

DEATH.

Yea, certainly.

Though thou hast forgot him here.

He thinketh on thee in the heavenly sphere,

As, ere we part, thou shalt know.

EVERYMAN.

What desireth God of me?

DEATH.

That shall I show thee.

A reckoning he will needs have

Without any longer respite

EVERYMAN.

To give a reckoning longer leisure I crave.

This blind matter troubleth my wit.

DEATH.

Upon thee thou must take a long journey,

Therefore, do thou thine accounting-book with thee bring.

For turn again thou canst not by no way,

And look thou be sure in thy reckoning.

For before God thou shalt answer, and show true

Thy many bad deeds and good but a few,

How thou hast spent thy life and in what wise

Before the Chief Lord of Paradise.

Get thee prepared that we may be upon that journey,

For well thou knowest thou shalt make none for thee attorney.

EVERYMAN.

Full unready I am such reckoning to give.

I know thee not. What messenger art thou?

DEATH.

I am Death that no man fear,

For every man I arrest and no man spare,

For it is God’s commandment

That all to me should be obedient.

EVERYMAN.

O Death, thou comest when I had thee least in mind!

In thy power it lieth to save me yet; —

Thereto of my goods will I give thee, if thou wilt be kind, —

Yea, a thousand pounds shalt thou get! —

And defer this matter till another day.

DEATH.

Everyman, it may not be in any way.

I set no store by gold, silver, riches, or such gear,

Nor by pope, emperor, king, prince, or peer.

For, if I would receive gifts great.

All the world I might get,

But my custom is clean the contrary way.

I give thee no respite. Come hence, nor delay!

EVERYMAN.

Alas, shall I have no longer respite!

I may say Death giveth no warning!

To think on thee, it maketh my heart sick,

For all unready is my book of reckoning.

But if I might have twelve years of waiting,

My accounting-book I would make so clear

That my reckoning I should not need to fear.

Wherefore, Death, I pray thee, for God’s mercy.

Spare me till I be provided with a remedy!

DEATH.

It availeth thee not to cry, weep, and pray,

But haste thee lightly, that thou mayest be on thy journey.

And make proof of thy friends, if thou can,

For, know thou well, time waiteth for no man,

And in the world each living creature

Because of Adam’s sin must die by nature.

EVERYMAN.

Death, if I should this pilgrimage take,

And my reckoning duly make.

Show me, for Saint Charity,

Should I not come again shortly?

DEATH.

No, Everyman, if once thou art there,

Thou mayest nevermore come here,

Trust me, verily.

EVERYMAN.

O gracious God, in the high seat celestial,

Have mercy on me in this utmost need!

Shall I no company have from this vale terrestrial

Of mine acquaintance that way me to lead?

DEATH.

Yea, if any he so hardy

As to go with thee and bear thee company.

Haste thee that thou mayest be gone to God’s magnificence,

Thy reckoning to give before his presence,

What, thinkest thou thy life is given thee,

And thy worldly goods also?

EVERYMAN.

I had thought so, verily.

DEATH.

Nay, nay, it was but lent to thee,

For, as soon as thou dost go,

Another awhile shall have it and then even so.

Go therefore as thou hast done.

Everyman, thou art mad! Thou hast thy wits five,

And here on earth will not amend thy life,

For suddenly I do come!

EVERYMAN.

O wretched caitiff, whither shall I flee

That I may escape this endless sorrow!

Nay, gentle Death, spare me until to-morrow

That I may amend me

With good avisement!

DEATH.

Nay, thereto I will not consent,

Nor no man respite, if I might,

But to the heart suddenly I shall smite

Without any “advisement.”

And now out of thy sight I will me hie,

See that thou make thee ready speedily,

For thou mayest say this is the day

Wherefrom no man living may escape away.

EVERYMAN.

Alas, I may well weep with sighs deep!

Now have I no manner of company

To help me on my journey and me to keep,

And also my writing is all unready.

What can I do that may excuse me!

I would to God I had never been begot!

To my soul a full great profit it would be,

For now I fear pains huge and great, God wot!

The time passeth — help, Lord, that all things wrought!

For, though I mourn, yet it availeth naught.

The day passeth and is almost through,

1 wot not well of aught that I may do.

To whom were it best that I my plaint should make?

What if to Fellowship I thereof spake,

And what this sudden chance should mean disclosed?

For surely in him is all my trust reposed —

We have in the world so many a day

Been good friends in sport and play.

I see him yonder certainly —

I trust that he will bear me company;

Therefore to him will I speak to ease my sorrow.

Well met, good Fellowship, and a good morrow!

[Enter Fellowship]

FELLOWSHIP SPEAKETH:

I wish thee good morrow, Everyman, by this day!

Sir, why lookest thou so piteously?

If anything be amiss, prithee to me it say

That I may help in remedy.

EVERYMAN.

Yea, good Fellowship, yea,

I am in great jeopardy!

FELLOWSHIP.

My true friend, show to me your mind.

I will not forsake thee to my live’s end,

In the way of good company.

EVERYMAN.

That was well spoken and lovingly.

FELLOWSHIP.

Sir, I must needs know your heaviness.

I have pity to see you in any distress.

If any have wronged you, revenged ye shall be.

Though I upon the ground be slain for thee,

Even should I know before that I should die.

EVERYMAN.

Verily, Fellowship, gramercy!

FELLOWSHIP.

Tush! By thy thanks I set not a straw.

Show me your grief and say no more.

EVERYMAN.

If I my heart should to you unfold,

And you then were to turn your heart from me,

And no comfort would give when I had told,

Then should I ten times sorrier be.

FELLOWSHIP.

Sir, I say as I will do indeed!

EVERYMAN.

Then you be a good friend at need.

I have found you true heretofore.

FELLOWSHIP.

And so ye shall evermore,

For, in faith, if thou goest to hell,

I will not forsake thee by the way.

EVERYMAN.

Ye speak like a good friend — I believe you well.

I shall deserve it, if so I may!

FELLOWSHIP.

I speak of no deserving, by this day,

For he that will say, and nothing do.

Is not worthy with good company to go.

Therefore show me the grief of your mind,

As to your friend most loving and kind.

EVERYMAN.

I shall show you how it is:

Commanded I am to go a journey,

A long way hard and dangerous.

And give a strict account without delay

Before the High Judge, Adonai.

Wherefore, I pray you, bear me company,

As ye have promised, on this journey.

FELLOWSHIP.

That is matter, indeed! Promise is duty —

But if I should take such a voyage on me,

I know well it should be to my pain;

Afeard also it maketh me, for certain.

But let us take counsel here as well as we can,

For your words would dismay a strong man.

EVERYMAN.

Why, if I had need, ye said

Ye would never forsake me, quick nor dead,

Though it were to hell truly!

FELLOWSHIP.

So I said certainly,

But such pleasant things be set aside, the truth to say;

And also, if we took such a journey,

When should we come again?

EVERYMAN.

Nay, never again till the day of doom.

FELLOWSHIP.

In faith, then, will I not come there.

Who hath you these tidings brought?

EVERYMAN.

Indeed, Death was with me here.

FELLOWSHIP.

Now, by God that all hath bought,

If Death were the messenger,

For no man living here below

I will not that loathly journey go —

Not for the father that begat me!

EVERYMAN.

Ye promised otherwise, pardy!

FELLOWSHIP.

I know well I do say so, truly,

And still, if thou wilt eat and drink and make good cheer.

Or haunt of women the merry company,

I would not forsake you while the day is clear,

Trust me, verily.

EVERYMAN.

Yea, thereto ye would be ready!

To go to mirth, solace, and play.

Your mind would sooner persuaded be

Than to bear me company on my long journey.

FELLOWSHIP.

Now, in good sooth, I have no will that way —

But if thou would’st murder, or any man kill,

In that I will help thee with a good will.

EVERYMAN.

Oh, that is simple advice, indeed!

Gentle Fellowship, help me in my necessity!

We have loved long, and now I am in need!

And now, gentle Fellowship, remember me!

FELLOWSHIP.

Whether ye have loved me or no.

By Saint John, I will not with thee go!

EVERYMAN.

Yea, I pray thee, take this task on thee and do so

much for me.

As to bring me forward on my way for Saint

Charity,

And comfort me till I come without the town.

FELLOWSHIP.

Nay, if thou wouldest give me a new gown,

I will not a foot with thee go.

But, if thou hadst tarried, I would not have left thee so.

And so now, God speed thee on thy journey,

For from thee I will depart as fast as I may!

EVERYMAN.

Whither away, Fellowship? Will you forsake me?

FELLOWSHIP.

Yea, by my faith! I pray God take thee.

EVERYMAN.

Farewell, good Fellowship, — for thee my heart is sore.

Adieu forever, I shall see thee no more!

FELLOWSHIP.

In faith, Everyman, farewell now at the ending.

For you I will remember that parting is grieving.

[Fellowship goes.]

EVERYMAN.

Alack! Shall we thus part indeed?

Ah, Lady, help! Lo, vouchsafing no more comfort,

Fellowship thus forsaketh me in my utmost need.

For help in this world whither shall I resort?

Fellowship heretofore with me would merry make,

And now little heed of my sorrow doth he take.

It is said in prosperity men friends may find

Which in adversity be full unkind.

Now whither for succor shall I flee.

Since that Fellowship hath forsaken me?

To my kinsmen will I truly.

Praying them to help me in my necessity.

I believe that they will do so

For “Nature will creep where it may not go.”

[Kindred and Cousin enter.]

I will go try, for yonder I see them go.

Where be ye now, my friends and kinsmen, lo?

KINDRED.

Here we be now at your commandment.

Cousin, I pray you show us your intent

In any wise and do not spare.

COUSIN.

Yea, Everyman, and to us declare

If ye be disposed to go any whither,

For, wit you well, we will live and die together I

KINDRED.

In wealth and woe we will with you hold,

For “with his own kin a man may be bold.”

EVERYMAN.

Gramercy, my friends and kinsmen kind!

Now shall I show you the grief of my mind.

I was commanded by a messenger

That is a High King’s chief officer.

He bade me go a pilgrimage to my pain,

And I know well I shall never come again;

And I must give a reckoning strait,

For I have a great enemy that lieth for me in wait,

Who intendeth me to hinder.

KINDRED.

What account is that which you must render? —

That would I know.

EVERYMAN.

Of all my works I must show

How I have lived and my days have spent,

Also of evil deeds to which I have been used

In my time, since life was to me lent.

And of all virtues that I have refused.

Therefore, I pray you, go thither with me

To help to make my account, for Saint Charity!

COUSIN.

What, to go thither? Is that the matter?

Nay, Everyman, I had liefer fast on bread and water

All this five year and more!

EVERYMAN.

Alas, that ever my mother me bore!

For now shall I never merry be,

If that you forsake me!

KINDRED.

Ah, sir, come! Ye be a merry man!

Pluck up heart and make no moan,

But one tiling I warn you, by Saint Anne,

As for me, ye shall go alone!

EVERYMAN.

My cousin, will you not with me go?

COUSIN.

No, by our Lady! I have the cramp in my toe.

Trust not to me, for, so God me speed,

I will deceive you in your utmost need.

KINDRED.

It availeth not us to coax and court.

Ye shall have my maid, with all my heart.

She loveth to go to feasts, there to make foolish sport

And to dance, and in antics to take part.

To help you on that journey I will give her leave willingly,

If so be that you and she may agree.

EVERYMAN.

Now show me the very truth within your mind —

Will you go with me or abide behind?

KINDRED.

Abide behind? Yea, that I will, if I may —

Therefore farewell till another day!

EVERYMAN.

How shall I be merry or glad? —

For fair promises men to me make,

But, when I have most need, they me forsake!

I am deceived — that maketh me sad!

COUSIN.

Cousin Everyman, farewell now, lo!

For, verily, I will not with thee go.

Also of mine own an unready reckoning,

I have to give account of, therefore I make tarrying.

Now God keep thee, for now I go!

[Kindred and Cousin go.]

EVERYMAN.

Ah, Jesus, is all to this come so?

Lo, “fair words make fools fain,”

They promise, and from deeds refrain.

My kinsmen promised me faithfully

For to abide by me stedfastly.

And now fast away do they flee.

Even so Fellowship promised me.

What friend were it best for me to provide?

I am losing my time longer here to abide.

Yet still in my mind a thing there is.

All my life I have loved riches.

If that my Goods now help me might,

He would make my heart full light.

To him will I speak in my sorrow this day.

My Goods and Riches, where art thou, pray?

[Goods is disclosed hemmed in by chests and bags.]

GOODS.

Who calleth me? Everyman? Why this haste thou hast?

I lie here in corners trussed and piled so high.

And in chests I am locked so fast,

Also sacked in bags, thou mayest see with thine eye,

I cannot stir; in packs, full low I lie.

What ye would have, lightly to me say.

EVERYMAN.

Come hither. Goods, with all the haste thou may.

For counsel straightway I must ask of thee.

GOODS.

Sir, if ye in this world have sorrow or adversity,

That can I help you to remedy shortly.

EVERYMAN.

It is another disease that grieveth me;

In this world it is not, I tell thee so,

I am sent for another way to go,

To give a strict account general

Before the highest Jupiter of all.

And all my life I have had joy and pleasure in thee,

Therefore 1 pray thee go with me,

For, peradventure, thou mayest before God Almighty on high

My reckoning help to clean and purify,

For one may hear ever and anon

“That money maketh all right that is wrong.”

GOODS.

Nay, Everyman, I sing another song —

I follow no mail on such voyages,

For, if I went with thee,

Thou shouldest fare much the worse for me.

For, because on me thou didst set thy mind.

Thy reckoning I have made blotted and blind.

So that thine account thou canst not make truly —

And that hast thou for the love of me.

EVERYMAN.

That would be to me grief full sore and sorrowing,

When I should come that fearful answering.

Up, let us go thither together!

GOODS.

Nay, not so! I am too brittle, I may not endure,

I will follow no man one foot, be ye sure.

EVERYMAN.

Alas! I have thee loved, and had great pleasure

All the days of my life in goods and treasure.

GOODS.

That is to thy damnation, I tell thee a true thing,

For love of me is to the love everlasting contrary.

But if thou hadst the while loved me moderately,

In such wise as to give the poor a part of me,

Then would’st thou not in this dolor be.

Nor in this great sorrow and care.

EVERYMAN.

Lo, now was I deceived ere I was ware,

And all I may blame to misspending of time.

GOODS.

What, thinkest thou I am thine?

EVERYMAN.

I had thought so.

GOODS.

Nay, Everyman, I say no.

Just for a while I was lent to thee,

A season thou hast had me in prosperity.

My nature it is man’s soul to kill,

If I save one, a thousand I do spill.

Thinkest thou that I will follow thee?

Nay, from this world not, verily!

EVERYMAN.

I had thought otherwise.

GOODS.

So it is to thy soul Goods is a thief.

For when thou art dead I straightway devise

Another to deceive in the same wise

As I have done thee, and all to his soul’s grief.

EVERYMAN.

O false Goods, cursed may thou be!

Thou traitor to God that hast deceived me,

And caught me in thy snare.

GOODS.

Marry, thou broughtest thyself to this care, —

Whereof I am glad!

I must needs laugh, I cannot be sad!

EVERYMAN.

Ah, Goods, thou hast had long my hearty love.

I gave thee that which should be the Lord’s above.

But wilt thou not go with me, indeed? —

I pray thee truth to say!

GOODS.

No, so God me speed!

Therefore farewell, and have good-day.

[Goods is hidden from view.]

EVERYMAN.

Oh, to whom shall I make my moan

For to go with me on that heavy journey!

First Fellowship, so he said, would have with me

gone,

His words were very pleasant and gay,

But afterwards he left me alone;

Then spake I to my kinsmen, all in despair,

And they also gave me words fair.

They lacked not fair speeches to spend,

But all forsook me in the end;

Then went I to my Goods that I loved best.

In hope to have comfort, but there had I least,

For my Goods sharply did me tell

That he bringeth many into hell.

Then of myself I was ashamed.

And so I am worthy to be blamed.

Thus may I well myself hate.

Of whom shall I now counsel take?

I think that I shall never speed

TILL I GO TO MY GOOD DEEDS.

But, alas! she is so weak,

That she can neither move nor speak.

Yet will I venture on her now.

My Good Deeds, where be you ? [Good Deeds is shown]

GOOD DEEDS.

Here I lie, cold in the ground.

Thy sins surely have me bound

That I cannot stir.

EVERYMAN.

Good Deeds, I stand in fear!

1 must pray you for counsel,

For help now would come right well!

GOOD DEEDS.

Everyman, I have understanding

That ye be summoned your account to make

Before Messias, of Jerusalem King.

If you do my counsel, that journey with you will I take.

EVERYMAN.

For that I come to you my moan to make.

I pray you that ye will go with me.

GOOD DEEDS.

I would full fain, but I cannot stand, verily.

EVERYMAN.

Why, is there something amiss that did you befall?

GOOD DEEDS.

Yea, Sir, I may thank you for all.

If in every wise ye had encouraged me.

Your book of account full ready would be.

Behold the books of your works and your deeds thereby.

Ah, see, how under foot they lie

Unto your soul’s deep heaviness.

EVERYMAN.

Our Lord Jesus his help vouchsafe to me,

For one letter here I cannot see.

GOOD DEEDS.

There is a blind reckoning in time of distress!

EVERYMAN.

Good Deeds, I pray you help me in this need,

Or else I am forever damned indeed.

Therefore help me to make reckoning

Before him, that Redeemer is of everything,

That is, and was, and shall ever be. King of All.

GOOD DEEDS.

Everyman, I am sorry for your fall.

And fain would I help you, if I were able.

EVERYMAN.

Good Deeds, your counsel, I pray you, give me.

GOOD DEEDS.

That will I do, verily.

Though on my feet I may not go,

I have a sister that shall with you be, also.

Called Knowledge, who shall with you abide,

To help you to make that dire reckoning.

[Knowledge enters.]

KNOWLEDGE.

Everyman, I will go with thee and be thy guide,

In thy utmost need to go by thy side.

EVERYMAN.

In good condition I am now in everything.

And am wholly content with this good thing,

Thanks be to God, my creator!

GOOD DEEDS.

And when he hath brought thee there.

Where thou shalt heal thee of thy smart,

Then go with thy reckoning and thy good deeds together,

For to make thee joyful at heart

Before the Holy Trinity.

EVERYMAN.

My Good Deeds, gramercy!

I am well content, certainly,

With your words sweet.

KNOWLEDGE.

Now go we together lovingly

To Confession, that cleansing river fair.

EVERYMAN.

For joy I weep — I would we were there!

But, I pray you, give me cognition,

Where dwelleth that holy man, Confession?

KNOWLEDGE.

In the House of Salvation,

We shall find him in that place,

That shall us comfort by God’s grace.

[Confession enters.]

Lo, this is Confession. Kneel down, and ask mercy,

For he is in good favor with God Almighty.

EVERYMAN.

O glorious fountain that all uncleanness doth clarify,

Wash from me the spots of vice unclean.

That on me no sin be seen!

I come with Knowledge for my redemption.

Redeemed with heartfelt and full 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 because of my piteous exclamation!

CONFESSION.

I know your sorrow well, Everyman,

Because with Knowledge ye come to me.

I will you comfort as well as I can,

And a precious stone will I give thee.

Called penance, wise voider of adversity.

Therewith shall your body chastened be

Through abstinence and perseverance in God’s service.

Here shall you receive that scourge of me

That is penance stronge, that ye must endure.

To remember thy Saviour was scourged for thee

With sharp scourges, and suffered it patiently —

So must thou ere thou escape from that painful pilgrimage.

Knowledge, do thou sustain him on this voyage.

And by that time Good Deeds will be with thee.

But in any case be sure of mercy.

For your time draweth on fast, if ye will saved be.

Ask God mercy, and he will grant it truly.

When with the scourge of penance man doth him bind,

The oil of forgiveness then shall he find.

[Confession goes.]

EVERYMAN.

Thanked be God for his gracious work,

For now will I my penance begin.

This hath rejoiced and lightened my heart,

Though the knots be painful and hard within.

KNOWLEDGE.

Everyman, see that ye your penance fulfil.

Whatever the pains ye abide full dear.

And Knowledge shall give you counsel at will.

How your account ye shall make full clear.

EVERYMAN.

O eternal God, O heavenly being,

O way of righteousness, O goodly vision,

Which descended down into a virgin pure

Because he would for every man redeem

That which Adam forfeited by his disobedience —

O blessed God, elect and exalted in thy divinity,

Forgive thou my grievous offence!

Here I cry thee mercy in this presence.

O spiritual treasure, O ransomer and redeemer,

Of all the world the hope and the governor,

Mirror of joy, founder of mercy.

Who illumineth heaven and earth thereby.

Hear my clamorous complaint, though late it be,

Receive my prayers, unworthy in this heavy life!

Though I be a sinner most abominable,

Yet let my name be written in Moses’ table.

Mary, pray to the Maker of everything

To vouchsafe me help at my ending.

And save me from the power of my enemy,

For Death assaileth me strongly! —

And, Lady, that I may, by means of thy prayer,

In your Son’s glory as partner share.

Through the mediation of his passion I it crave.

1 beseech you, help my soul to save!

Knowledge, give me the scourge of penance;

My flesh therewith shall give acquittance.

I will now begin, if God give me grace.

KNOWLEDGE.

Everyman, God give you time and space!

Thus I bequeath you into the hands of our Saviour,

Now may you make your reckoning sure.

EVERYMAN.

In the name of the Holy Trinity,

My body sorely punished shall be.

Take this, body, for the sin of the flesh.

As thou delightest to go gay and fresh.

And in the way of damnation thou didst me bring,

Therefore suffer now the strokes of punishing.

Now of penance to wade the water clear I desire.

To save me from purgatory, that sharp fire.

GOOD DEEDS.

I thank God now I can walk and go.

And am delivered of my sickness and woe!

Therefore with Everyman I will go and not spare;

His good works I will help him to declare.

KNOWLEDGE.

Now, Everyman, be merry and glad.

Your Good Deeds comet h now, ye may not be sad.

Now is your Good Deeds whole and sound,

Going upright upon the ground.

[Good Deeds rises and walks to them,]

EVERYMAN.

My heart is light and shall be evermore.

Now will I smite faster than I did before.

GOOD DEEDS.

Everyman, pilgrim, my special friend.

Blessed be thou without end!

For thee is prepared the eternal glory.

Now thou hast made me whole and sound this tide,

In every hour I will by thee abide.

EVERYMAN.

Welcome, my Good Deeds! Now I hear thy voice,

I weep for sweetness of love.

KNOWLEDGE.

Be no more sad, but ever rejoice!

God seeth thy manner of life on his throne above.

Put on this garment to thy behoof,

Which wet with the tears of your weeping is,

Or else in God’s presence you may it miss,

When ye to your journey’s end come shall.

EVERYMAN.

Gentle Knowledge, what do you it call?

KNOWLEDGE.

A garment of sorrow it is by name,

From pain it will you reclaim.

Contrition it is,

That getteth forgiveness,

Passing well it doth God please.

GOOD DEEDS.

Everyman, will you wear it for your soul’s ease?

[Everyman puts on the robe of contrition.]

EVERYMAN.

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 all clear our reckoning?

GOOD DEEDS.

Yea, indeed, I have them here.

EVERYMAN.

Then I trust we need not fear.

Now, friends, let us not part in twain!

KNOWLEDGE.

Nay, Everyman, that will we not, for certain.

GOOD DEEDS.

Yet must thou lead with thee

EVERYMAN.

Who should they be?

GOOD DEEDS.

Discretion and Strength they hight.

And thy Beauty may not abide behind.

KNOWLEDGE.

Also ye must call to mind

Your Five Wits as your counsellors beside.

GOOD DEEDS.

You must have them ready at every tide.

EVERYMAN.

How shall I get them hither?

KNOWLEDGE.

You must call them all together,

And they will hear you immediately.

EVERYMAN.

My friends, come hither and present be.

Discretion, Strength, my Five Wits, and Beauty.

[They enter.]

BEAUTY.

Here at your will be we all ready.

What will ye that we should do?

GOOD DEEDS.

That ye should with Everyman go,

And help him in his pilgrimage.

Advise you — will you with him or not, on that voyage?

STRENGTH.

We will all bring him thither,

To help him and comfort, believe ye me

DISCRETION.

So will we go with him all together.

EVERYMAN.

Almighty God, beloved mayest thou be!

I give thee praise that I have hither brought

Strength, Discretion, Beauty, Five Wits — lack I

nought —

And my Good Deeds, with Knowledge clear,

All be in my company at my will here.

I desire no more in this my anxiousness.

STRENGTH.

And I, Strength, will stand by you in your distress,

Though thou wouldest in battle fight on the ground.

FIVE WITS.

And though it were through the world round,

We will not leave you for sweet or sour.

BEAUTY.

No more will I unto Death’s hour,

Whatsoever thereof befall.

DISCRETION.

Everyman, advise you first of all.

Go with a good advisement and deliberation.

We all give you virtuous monition

That all shall be well.

EVERYMAN.

My friends, hearken what I will tell.

I pray God reward you in his heavenly sphere.

Now hearken all that be here.

For I will make my testament

Here before you all present.

In alms, half my goods will I give with my hands

twain.

In the way of charity with good intent,

And the other half still shall remain

In bequest to return where it ought to be.

This I do in despite of the fiend of hell,

Out of his peril to quit me well

For ever after and this day.

KNOWLEDGE.

Everyman, hearken what I say.

Go to Priesthood, I, you advise,

And receive of him in any wise

The Holy Sacrament and Unction together,

Then see ye speedily turn again hither.

We will all await you here, verily.

FIVE WITS.

Yea, Everyman, haste thee that ye may ready be.

There is no emperor, king, duke, nor baron bold,

That from God such commission doth hold

As he doth to the least priest in this world consign,

For of the Blessed Sacraments, pure and benign,

He beareth the keys, and thereof hath the cure

For man’s redemption, it is ever sure.

Which God as medicine for our souls’ gain

Gave us out of his heart with great pain,

Here in this transitory life for thee and me.

Of the Blessed Sacraments seven there be.

Baptism, Confirmation, with Priesthood good.

And the Sacrament of God’s precious Flesh and Blood,

Marriage, the Holy Extreme Unction, and Penance.

These seven are good to have in remembrance,

Gracious Sacraments of high divinity.

EVERYMAN.

Fain would I receive that holy body.

And meekly to my spiritual father will I go.

FIVE WITS.

Everyman, that is best that ye can do.

God will you to salvation bring,

For Priesthood exceedeth every other thing.

To us Holy Scripture they do teach,

And convert men from sin, heaven to reach.

God hath to them more power given

Than to any angel that is in heaven.

With five words he may consecrate

God’s body in flesh and blood to make,

And handleth his Maker between his hands.

The priest bindeth and unbindeth all bands

Both in earth and heaven. —

Thou dost administer all the Sacraments seven.

Though we should kiss thy feet, yet thereof thou worthy wert.

Thou art the surgeon that doth cure of mortal sin the hurt.

Remedy under God we find none

Except in Priesthood alone. —

Everyman, God gave priests that dignity,

And setteth them in his stead among us to be,

Thus be they above angels in degree.

KNOWLEDGE.

If priests be good, it is so surely;

But when Jesus hung on the cross with grievous smart,

There he gave out of his blessed heart

That same Sacrament in grievous torment. —

He sold them not to us, that Lord omnipotent.

Therefore Saint Peter the apostle doth say

That Jesus’ curse have all they

Which God their Saviour do buy or sell.

Or if they for any money do “take or tell.”

Sinful priests give sinners bad example in deed and word,

Their children sit by other men’s fires, I have heard,

And some haunt of women the company,

With life unclean as through lustful acts of lechery—.

These be with sin made blind.

FIVE WITS.

I trust to God no such may we find.

Therefore let us do Priesthood honor,

And follow their doctrines for our souls’ succor.

We be their sheep, and they shepherds be,

By whom we all are kept in security.

Peace! for yonder I see Everyman come.

Who unto God hath made true satisfaction.

GOOD DEEDS.

Methinketh it is he indeed.

EVERYMAN.

Now may Jesus all of you comfort and speed!

I have received the Sacrament for my redemption,

And also mine extreme unction.

Blessed be all they that counselled me to take it!

And now, friends, let us go without longer respite.

I thank God ye would so long waiting stand.

Now set each of you on this rood your hand,

And shortly follow me.

I go before where I would be.

God be our guide!

STRENGTH.

Everyman, we will not from you go,

Till ye have gone this voyage long.

DISCRETION.

I, Discretion, will abide by you also.

KNOWLEDGE.

And though of this pilgrimage the hardships be

never so strong,

No turning backward in me shall you know.

Everyman, I will be as sure by thee,

As ever I was by Judas Maccabee.

EVERYMAN.

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, and there sleep.

BEAUTY.

What — into this grave! Alas! Woe is me!

EVERYMAN.

Yea, there shall ye consume utterly.

BEAUTY.

And what, — must I smother here?

EVERYMAN.

Yea, by my faith, and never more appear!

In this world we shall live no more at all,

But in heaven before the highest lord of all.

BEAUTY.

I cross out all this! Adieu, by Saint John I

I take “my cap in my lap” and am gone.

EVERYMAN.

What, Beauty! — whither go ye ?

BEAUTY.

Peace! I am deaf, I look not behind me.

Not if thou wouldest give me all the gold in thy chest.

[Beauty goes, followed by the others, as they speak in turn.]

EVERYMAN.

Alas! in whom may I trust?

Beauty fast away from me doth hie.

She promised with me to live and die.

STRENGTH.

Everyman, I will thee also forsake and deny,

Thy game liketh me not at all!

EVERYMAN.

Why, then ye will forsake me all!

Sweet Strength, tarry a little space.

STRENGTH.

Nay, Sir, by the rood of grace,

I haste me fast my way from thee to take,

Though thou weep till thy heart do break.

EVERYMAN.

Ye would ever abide by me, ye said.

STRENGTH.

Yea, I have you far enough conveyed.

Ye be old enough, I understand,

Your pilgrimage to take in hand.

I repent me that I thither came.

EVERYMAN.

Strength, for displeasing you I am to blame.

Will ye break “promise that is debt”?

STRENGTH.

In faith, I care not!

Thou art but a fool to complain.

You spend your speech and waste your brain.

Go, thrust thyself into the ground!

EVERYMAN.

I had thought more sure I should you have found,

But I see well, who trusteth in his Strength,

She him deceiveth at length.

Both Strength and Beauty have forsaken me,

Yet they promised me fair and lovingly.

DISCRETION.

Everyman, I will after Strength be gone —

As for me, I will leave you alone.

EVERYMAN.

Why, Discretion, will ye forsake me!

DISCRETION.

Yea, in faith, I will go from thee,

For when Strength goeth before

I follow after, evermore.

EVERYMAN.

Yet, I pray thee, for love of the Trinity

Look in my grave once in pity of me.

DISCRETION.

Nay, so nigh will I not come, trust me well!

Now I bid you each farewell.

EVERYMAN.

Oh, all things fail save God alone —

Beauty, Strength, and Discretion!

For when Death bloweth his blast,

They all run from me full fast.

FIVE WITS.

Everyman, my leave now of thee I take.

I will follow the others, for here I thee forsake.

EVERYMAN.

Alas! then may I wail and weep,

For I took you for my best friend.

FIVE WITS.

I will thee no longer keep.

Now farewell, and here’s an end!

EVERYMAN.

Jesu, help! All have forsaken me.

GOOD DEEDS.

Nay, Everyman, I will abide by thee,

I will not forsake thee indeed!

Thou wilt find me a good friend at need.

EVERYMAN.

Gramercy, Good Deeds, now may I true friends see.

They have forsaken me everyone,

I loved them better than my Good Deeds alone.

Knowledge, will ye forsake me also?

KNOWLEDGE.

Yea, Everyman, when ye to death shall go,

But not yet, for no manner of danger.

EVERYMAN.

Gramercy, Knowledge, with all my heart!

KNOWLEDGE.

Nay, yet will I not from hence depart.

Till whereunto ye shall come, I shall see and know.

EVERYMAN.

Methinketh, alas! that I must now go

To make my reckoning, and my debts pay,

For I see my time is nigh spent away.

Take example, all ye that this do hear or see,

How they that I love best do forsake me,

Except my Good Deeds that abideth faithfully.

GOOD DEEDS.

All earthly things are but vanity.

Beauty, Strength and Discretion do man forsake,

Foolish friends and kinsmen that fair spake.

All flee away save Good Deeds, and that am I!

EVERYMAN.

Have mercy on me, God most mighty,

And stand by me, thou Mother and Maid, holy Mary!

GOOD DEEDS.

Fear not, I will speak for thee.

EVERYMAN.

Here I cry God mercy!

GOOD DEEDS.

Shorten our end and minish our pain,

Let us go and never come again.

EVERYMAN.

Into thy hands, Lord, my soul I commend —

Receive it, Lord, that it be not lost!

As thou didst me buy, so do thou me defend,

And save me from the fiend’s boast

That I may appear with that blessed host

That shall be saved at the day of doom.

In manus tuas, of mights the most,

Forever commendo spiritum meum.

[Everyman goes into the grave.]

KNOWLEDGE.

Now that he hath suffered that we all shall endure,

The Good Deeds shall make all sure;

Now that he hath made ending,

Methinketh that I hear angels sing.

And make great joy and melody,

Where Everyman’s soul shall received be!

[The Angel appears.]

THE ANGEL.

Come, excellent elect spouse to Jesu!

Here above shalt thou go.

Because of thy singular virtue.

Now thy soul from thy body is taken, lo!

Thy reckoning is crystal clear.

Now shalt thou into the heavenly sphere,

Unto which ye all shall come

That live well before the day of doom.

[The Angel goes and the Doctor enters.]

DOCTOR.

This moral men may have in mind, —

Ye hearers, take it as of worth, both young and old,

And forsake Pride, for he deceiveth you in the end, as ye will find,

And remember Beauty, Five Wits, Strength, and Discretion, all told.

They all at the last do Everyman forsake

Save that his Good Deeds there doth he take.

But beware, if they be small,

Before God he hath no help at all,

None excuse for Everyman may there then be there.

Alas, how shall he then do and fare!

For after death amends may no man make.

For then Mercy and Pity do him forsake.

If his reckoning be not clear when he doth come,

God will say, Ite, maledicti, in ignem ceternum.

And he that hath his account whole and sound,

High in heaven he shall be crowned.

Unto which place God bring us all thither

That we may live, body and soul, together!

Thereto their aid vouchsafe the Trinity —

Amen, say ye, for holy Charity!

FINIS.

Thus endeth this moral play of Everyman.

Key Concepts from Chapter 7:

• After 1066, French’s influence on English’s grammar, phonology, and particularly lexicon was profound.
• The loss of the feudal system and the bubonic plagued contributed to English’s reemergence and French’s decline as the language of England.
• ME developed voiced phonemic fricative consonants.
• The vowels system introduced more sound changes than the consonant system during the ME period. Notably was the introduction of /ə/ in unstressed syllables and new diphthongs.
• The most significant grammatical change in ME was the loss of most inflection from OE. ME became a much more analytic language.
• The ME pronoun system added she and it.
• ME syntax had the following changes: addition of an/the, addition of perfect tense, increased use of modals, use of do for negative statements and interrogative clauses.
• The Norman invasion brough thousands of French words into ME.
• Silent letters in PDE result from pronunciations changing but spelling remaining the same.

Key Terms from Chapter 7:

• feudal system
• analytic vs. synthetic grammar
• apocope
• Great Vowel Shift
• phonotactic rule
• synthetic grammar
• modal auxiliaries

Materials for Chapter 7 adapted from the following:

Mastin, Luke. The History of English. (Material was used and adapted with permission.)

Middle English Phonology (Wikipedia contributors, 2022)

Whitman, N. (2015). Why English has words with silent letters. Podcast on Quick and Dirty Tips: Grammar Girl (Used with permission).

Works Cited for Chapter 7:

Crystal, D. (2003). Encyclopedia of the English language (Second Edition). Cambridge University Press.

Crystal, D. (2018). Middle English. British Library Website.

Crystal, D. (2007). The fight for English: How language pundits ate, shot, and left. Oxford University Press.

Milllward, C. & Hayes, M. (2012). A Biography of the English language. Wadsworth.