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A poor help▪  
☜ ⸫ ☞  
¶ The buklar and defence  
Of mother holy kirk,  
And weapon to drive hence  
All that against her wircke  
❧ ❧    

Will none in all this land  
Step forth and take in hand  
These fellows to withstance  
In nombrelyke the sand  
That with the Gospel melles  
And will do nothing else  
But trattling tales telies  
Against our holy prelacy  
And holy church's dignity  
saying it is but papistry  
Yea feigned and Hypocrisy  
Erroneous and heresy  
And taketh their authority  
Out of the holy evangely  
All customs ceremonial  
And rites ecclesiastical  
Not grounded on scripture  
No longer to endure  
And thus ye may be sure  
The people they allure  
And draw them from your lore  
The which will grieve you sore  
Take heed I say therefore  
Your need was never more  
But sens ye be so slack  
It grieveth me a lack  
To hear behind your back  
How they will carp and crack  
And none of you that dare  
Which one of them compare  
Yet some there be that are  
So bold to show their ware  
And is no priest nor deacon  
And yet will fire his becone  
Against such fellows frail  
Make out with tooth and nail  
And hoist up main sail  
And manfully to fight  
In holy prelate's right  
With pen and ink and paper  
And like no trifling japer  
To touch these fellows in deed  
With all expedient speed  
And not before it need  
And I in deed am he  
That waiteth for to see  
Who dare so hardy be  
To encounter here with me  
I stand here in defence  
Of some that be far hence  
And can both bliss and sense  
And also undertake  
Right holy things to make  
Yea God within a cake  
And who so that forsake  
His bread shall be dow bake  
I openly profess  
The holy blessed mass  
Of strength to be no less  
Than it was at the first  
But I would see who durst  
Set that among the worst  
For he should be accursed  
With book, bell and candle  
And so I would him handle  
That he should right well know  
How to escape I trow  
So hardy on his head  
Deprave our holy bread  
Or else to prate or patter  
Against our holy water  
This is a plain matter  
It needeth not to flatter  
They be such holy things  
As hath been used with kings  
And yet these lewd losels  
That brag upon their Gospels  
At ceremonies swells  
And at our christined bells  
And at our long gowns  
And at your shaven crowns  
And at your typttes fine  
The javelles will repyve  
They say ye lead evil lives  
With other men's wives  
And will none of your own  
And so your seed is sown  
In other men's ground  
True wedlock to confound  
Thus do they rail and rave  
Calling every priest knave  
That loveth mess to say  
And after idle all day  
They would not have you play  
To drive the time away  
But brabble on the Bible  
Which is but unpossible  
To be learned in all your life  
Yet therein be they rife  
Which maketh all this strife  
And also the Paraphrasies'  
Moche differing from your portaises  
They would have daily used  
And portaise clean refused  
But they shall be accused  
That have so far abused  
Their tongues against such holiness  
And holy church's business  
Made hundred years a go  
Great clerk affirmeth so  
And other many more  
That searched to and fro.  
In scripture for to find  
What they might leave behind  
For to be kept in mind  
Among the people blind  
As wavering as the wind  
And wrote thereof such books  
That who so on them looks  
Shall find them to be clerks  
As proveth by their work  
And yet there be that bark  
And say they be but dark  
But hark ye loulars hark  
So well we shall you mark  
That if the world shall turn  
A sort of you shall burn  
Ye durst as well I say  
Within this two years day  
As soon to run away  
As such parts to play  
When some did rule and reign  
And ancient things maintain  
Which now be counted hayne  
And brought into disdain  
Such men I say they were  
As loved not this gear  
And kept you still in fear  
To burn ●r faggots here  
Then durst ye not be bold  
(Against our learnings old  
Or images of gold  
Which now be bought and sold  
And were the lay man's book  
Whereon they ought to look)  
One word to speak a miss  
Can ye say nay to this?  
No no ye fools I wis  
A thing to plain it is.  
Then did these clerks diuyne  
Daily themselves incline  
To prove and to defyve  
That Christ's body above  
Which suffered for our love  
And died for our behove  
Is in the sacrament  
Flesh blood and 'bove present  
And bread and wine away  
Assoon as they shall say  
The words of consecration  
In time of celebration  
So must it be in deed  
Though it be not in the crede  
And yet these fellows new  
Will say it is not true  
Christ's body for to view  
With any bodily eye  
That do they plain deny  
And stiffly stand thereby  
And enterprise to write  
And also to endyght  
Books both great and small  
Against these father's all  
And heresy it call  
That any man should teach  
Or to the people preach  
Such things without their reach  
And some there be that say  
That Christ cannot all day  
Be kept within a box  
Nor yet set in the stocks  
Nor hidden like a fox  
Nor prisoner underlockes  
Nor clothed with powdered armyne  
Nor breedeth stinking vermin  
Nor dweleth in an house  
Nor earyn of a mouse  
Nor rotten is nor rusty  
Nor moth eaten nor musty  
Nor light as is a feather  
Nor blown away with wether  
Nor mould or he be spent  
Nor yet with sire be brent  
Nor can no more be slain  
Nor offered up again  
Blessed sacrament for thy passion  
Here and see our exclamation  
Against these men of new fashion  
That strive against the holy nation  
And jest of them in plays  
In taverns and buy ways  
And their good ac●es dispraise  
And martyrs would them make  
That brent were at a stake  
And sing pipe merry annot  
And play of will not cannot  
And as for cannot and will not  
Though they speak not of it it skill not  
For a noble clerk of late  
And worthy in estate  
Hath played with them chekmate  
Their courage to abate  
Mark well his text  
He hath been curstly vexed  
I tear me he waxed  
A popistant flower  
Surely all the rout  
That heres him shall doubt  
He will be in and out  
Prowling round about  
To get forth the suout  
If prayer may do good  
All the whole brood  
scurvy, shabed, and scald  
shaven shorn, and bald  
Poor priests of Baule  
We pray for him all  
Unto the God of bread  
For it he be dead  
We may go to bed  
Blyndefylde and be led  
Without rag or shred  
But I am sore dreaded  
I see him lake so red  
Yet I durst lay my head  
As doctor friar said  
He hath some what in store  
Well you shall knew more  
hearken well therefore  
Some shall pay the shore  
He hath been a pardoner  
And also a garddener  
He hath been a vytailer  
A lordly hospytelar  
A noble teacher  
And so so a preacher  
Though Germyn his man  
Were hanged what than?  
say worse and you can  
Best let him alone  
For Peter james and john  
And Apostles every one  
I give you plain warning  
Had never such learning  
As hath this famous clerk  
He is learned be beyond the mark  
And also master huggarde  
Doth show himself no sluggard  
Nor yet no drunken druggarde  
But sharpeth up his wit  
And frameth it so fit  
These younkers for to it  
And will not them permit  
In error shall to sit  
As it may weliapeare  
By his clerkly answer  
The which entitled is  
Against what meaneth this  
A man of old sort  
And writeth not in sport  
But answereth earnestly  
Concluding heresy  
And yet as I trow  
Some bluster and blow  
And crack (as they crow)  
But nets will we lay  
To cache them if we may  
For if I begin  
I will bring them in  
And fetch in my cousins  
By the whole dosens  
And call them coram nobis  
And teach them do minus vobis  
With his et cum spiritu tuo  
That holy be both dao  
When they be said and song  
In holy latin tongue  
And solemn bells be rung  
But these babes be to young  
Perking upon their patins  
And fain would have the matins  
And evening song also  
In English to be do  
With marriage and baptysinge  
burials and other thing  
In vulgar tongue to say and sing  
And so they do it newly  
In diverse places truly  
saying they do but duly  
maintaining it in any wise  
So should they do their service  
Alas who would not moon  
Or rather grunt or grove  
To see such service gone  
Which saved many one  
From deadly sin and shame  
And many a spot of blame  
From purgatory pain  
And many shower of rain  
Well yet I say again  
Some honest men remain  
And keep their customs still  
And ever more will  
Wherefore in deed my read is  
To take you to your beads  
All men and women I say  
That useth so to pray.  
That such good priests may  
Continue so alway  
or else none otherlike  
But all lieth in the dyke  
And look ye do not faint  
But pray to some good saint  
That he may make restraint  
Of all these strange farions  
And great abomynations,  
Because I may nor tarry  
I pray to sweet sir Harry  
A man that will not vary  
And one that is no sculker  
But can▪ knight of the Sepulchre  
That he may stand fast  
And be not over cast  
Or else to be the last  
Of all them that do yield  
In city town or field  
For if he stick therein  
No doubt he shall not blyn  
Till he come to eternytie  
With all his whole fraternity  
Amen therefore say ye  
That his partakers be  
Ye get no more of me.  
Finis.