Alleluia! Christ is risen! Glorify Him!
From the late mediæval Scottish poet William Dunbar (reading aloud may help to puzzle out the words so spelled):
Done is a battell on the dragon blak,Our campioun Chryst confountet hes his force;The yettis* of hell ar brokin with a crak,The signe triumphall rasit is of the croce,The divillis trymmillis† with hiddous voce,The saulis ar borrowit and to the blis can go,Chryst with his blud our ransonis dois indoce‡:Surrexit Dominus de sepulchro.[*gates; †tremble; ‡doth endorse]Dungin* is the deidly dragon Lucifer,The crewall serpent with the mortall stang;The auld kene tegir with his teith on char†,Quhilk in a wait‡ hes lyne for us so lang,Thinking to grip us in his clows strang;The mercifull Lord wald nocht that it wer so,He maid him for to felye of that fang§:Surrexit Dominus de sepulchro.[*Beaten; †ajar; ‡Which in wait; §prize]He for our saik that sufferit to be slane,And lyk a lamb in sacrifice wes dight*,Is lyk a lyone rissin up agane,And as gyane raxit† him on hicht;Sprungin is Aurora radius and bricht,On loft‡ is gone the glorius Appollo,The blisfull day depairtit fro the nycht:Surrexit Dominus de sepulchro.[*treated; †stretched; ‡Aloft]The grit victour agane is rissin on hicht,That for our querrell to the deth wes woundit;The sone that wox all paill now schynis bricht,And dirknes clerit, our fayth is now refoundit;The knell of mercy fra the hevin is soundit,The Cristin ar deliverit of thair wo,The Jowis and thair errour ar confoundit:Surrexit Dominus de sepulchro.The fo is chaisit, the battell is done ceis,The presone brokin, the jevellouris fleit and flemit*;The weir is gon, confermit is the peis,The fetteris lowsit and the dungeoun temit†,The ransoun maid, the presoneris redemit;The feild is win, ourcumin is the fo,Dispulit of the tresur that he yemit‡:Surrexit Dominus de sepulchro.[*fled and banished; †emptied; ‡kept]
[For any who wish, I will supply a modernized version...]
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