Marke this ~onge for it is trewe

A caroll of the Innocentes.

For The Innocents

Marke this ~onge for it is trewe

For it is trewe as clerkes tell.

In olde tyme ~traung thyngs cam to pas

Grete wonder & grete meruayll was

In Israell.

There was one Octauyan

Octauyan of Rome Emperour.

As bokes olde doth ~pecyfye

Of all the wyde worlde trulye.

He was lorde and gouernour.

The Jewes that tyme lackyd a kyng

They lackyd a kyng to gyde them well

The Emperour of power and myght

Cho~e one Herode agayn~t all ryght

In Israell.

This Herode than was kyng of Jewys

Was kynge of Jewys & he no Jewe

For ~o the he was a panym borne

Wherfore on fayth it may be ~worne

He reygned kynge vntrewe.

By prophe~ye one I~ay

One I~ay, at le~t dyd tell

A chylde ~holde come wonderous newys

[^ ~hold be borne trewe kyng of Jewys

In Israell.

This Herode knew one borne ~hold be

One borne ~holde be of trewe lenage

That ~holde be ryght herytour

For he but by the Emperour

Was made by v~urpage

Wherfore of throught this kynge Herode

This kynge Herode in grete fere fell

For all the days mo~t in his myrth

Euer he fered Chry~tes byrth

In Israell.

The tyme came it plea~ed god

It plea~ed god ~o come to pas

For mannes ~oule in dede

His bly~~ed ~one was borne wyth ~pede

As his wyll was

Tydynges came to kynke Herode

To kynge Herode, and dyd hym tell

That one borne for~oth is he

Which lorde and kynge of all ~hall be

In Israell.

Herode than raged as he were woode

As he were wode of this tydynge

And ~ent for all his ~crybes ~ure

Yet wolde he not tru~t the ~crypture

Nor of theyr councellynge.

Than this was the conclu~yon

The conclu~yon of his councell

To ~ende vnto his knyghtes anone

To ~le the chylderne euerychone

In Israell.

This cruell kynge this tyranny

This tyranny dyd put in vre

Bytwene a day and yeres too

All men chylderne he dyd ~loo

Of Cry~t for to be ~ure.

Yet Herode my~~ed his cruell pray

His cruell pray as was goddes wyll

Jo~eph with Mary than dyd fle

With Chry~t to Egypt gone was ~he

In Israell.

All this whyle this tyrantes

This tyrantes wolde not conuert

But innocentes yonge

That lay ~okynge

They thry~t to the herte.

This Herode ~ought the chyldren

This chyldren yonge, with corage fell

But in doynge thys vengeaunce

His owne ~one was ~layne by chaunce

In Israell.

Alas I thynke the moders were wo

The moders were wo it was grete ~kyl

What motherly payne

To ~e them ~layne

In cradels lyeng ~tyll:

But god hymn ~elfe hath theym electe

Hath theym electe, in heuyn to dwell.

For they were bathed in theyr blode

For theyr baptym for~oth it ~tode

In Israell.

Alas agayne what hartes had they

What hart~ had they tho~e babes kyll

With ~werdes whan they hym caught

In cradels they lay and laught

And neuer thought yll.

                    Finis.