Of the World's Corruption and Noah's Flood

He wrot a boc dat manige witen,

524

Manige tiding ðor-on iſ writen;
ðor iſ writen quat agte awold,
dat ðiſ werld waſ water wold.
Fif hundred ger of ðat ðuſent

528

ðat mankin was on werlde ſent,
[Fol. 11.]
He wrote a book, well known to many.

Caymes ſunes wrogten vn-lage,
Wið breðere wifes hore-plage;
And on ðe ſexte hundred ger
Cain's kind wrought against law.

532

Wimmen welten wereſ meſter,
And ſwilc woded wenten on,
Golhed hunkinde he gunnen don;
And ðe fifte hundred ger,
Women waxed evil, unchaste, and unnatural.

536

wapmen bi-gunnen quad meſter,
bi-twen hem-ſeluen hun-wreſte plage,
A ðefis kinde, a-genes lage.
Two hundred ger after ðo wunes,
Men began to addict themselves to wretched practices.

540

Mis-wiuen hem gunnen ſeðes ſunes,
Agenes ðat adam for-bead,
And leten godeſ frigti-hed;
Seth's sons made marriages contrary to Adam's commands.

He choſen hem wiwes of caym,

544

And mengten wið waried kin;
Of hem woren ðe getenes boren,
They chose wives of Cain's seed, and mixed with the accursed kind.

Migti men, and figti, [and] for-loren;
He wrogten manige [sinne] and bale,

548

Of ðat migt [nu] is litel tale;
Of them were giants born who wrought many evils.

for ðat he god ne luueden nogt,
ðat migt iſ al to ſorge brogt;
[Fol. 11b.]

for ſwilc ſinful dedes ſake,

552

ſo cam on werlde wreche and wrake
for to bliſſen ſwilc ſinnes ſame,
ðat it ne wexe at more hun-frame.
For their great sin there came wrath and vengeance upon the world.

Ðo wex a flod ðis werlde wid-hin,

556

and [o]uer-flowged men & deres kin,
A flood drowned man and beast.

wið-vten noe and hise ðre ſunen,
Sem, Cam, Iaphet, if we rigt munen,
Noah and his family were saved in an ark.

read ðat

wentem MS.