[1] The lily is the fairest flower,
she shall be decorated with five leaves.
It is very memorable that she bears five leaves,
for that is her proper nature.

[5] The first signifies charity:
to love your Lord more than yourself
with reverence, with heart, with all your might—
for that, true love is risen.

After this leaf there is another;
[10] thus, love well thy brother
and thy fellow Christian as thyself.
For so did the twelve apostles—
so it is written in the gospels,
my dear friend, just as I tell you:
[15] “You shall love the Lord your God etc.” ^[1]

The third one signifies righteousness:
that you shall hear matins and mass,
forsake grimacing and sin,
and to Jesus you shall be taken.
[20] All this worldly wealth—
sheep and land and goods—
“those of you who do not give up everything you have etc.” ^[2]

From the fourth you should learn
to serve Christ with feet and hands,
[25] to forsake trickery,
pride, and malice, and lechery.
No person should speak evil of another.
He thus said as follows:
“Whoever will have called his brother, ‘foolish,’ etc.” ^[3]

[30] The fifth leaf of these five
signifies that you should never in your life
live with Satan’s kin through your sin,
[35] nor be driven to hell, where it is dark.
Man, have remorse—
for your life is singular

When you sin you must have fear
that you will eventually feed worms with your flesh.
[40] And, man, think of heaven’s bliss
that ever shall last, without end.
“What you etc.”

There is bliss without end^[4]
Jesus Christ, send us there.

Leiden University
Middle English Literature Seminar
2017

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Notes

¹ Deut. 6:5 [Back]

² Luke 14:33 [Back]

³ Matt. 5:22 [Back]

⁴ These two lines are written below the rest. [Back]