The Menologium

Christ the glory of kings,
The illustrious Lord,
The eternal Almighty,
Was born
At mid-winter;
And on the eighth day
Was named Jesus,
Guardian of Heaven's kingdom.
Then at the same time,
Numerous crowds,
Many people,
Have the first keeping of the year:
Because the honoured
Calends come,
On that same day,
To us.
This is the first month,
Which the great people
In their calendar
Call January.
And it is from thence after five nights
That the baptismal time
Of the eternal Lord
Comes to us;
Which the renowned,
And eminent men,
In this land, here
In Britain, call
Twelfth-day.
So it is after four weeks,
With the exception of two nights,
That the Sol-month,
Wild February
Approaches,
As wise associates,
Elders skilled in laws,
Formerly computed it.
And it is one night from thence,
That we the feast
Of Mary keep,
The mother of the king:
For she on that day
Brought Christ,
The child of the Lord,
To the Temple.
Then it is after five nights,
That winter is
Affrighted from our streets.
And also in seventeen
Nights by computation,
After spring
Has come
To men in dwellings,
The illustrious Matthias,
The soldier and
Servant of the Saviour,
Suffered martyrdom,
As I have understood.
Moreover, also, is widely known
To people everywhere,
To churls and earls,
That after three and two nights,
(Unless the bissextile
Is appointed,
Being the fourth year,
Then they come later
By one night
To us:)
Fierce March,
Adorned with rime,
Furious with hail storms,
Is loud sounding
Through the middle earth,
The calends of his arrival.
Then after eleven nights
The holy,
Noble,
Gregory shone,
Celebrated in Britain,
In God's army.
Also after nine nights
Benedict
Sought the Saviour;
The firm and intrepid
Servant of the Lord,
Whom wise men,
Bound by the rules of their order,
Celebrate in writings.
Then also those skilful in computation,
At the same time,
Observe the Equinox.
Because the Lord God
Made at the beginning,
On that same day,
The sun and moon.
But after four nights
From the time that earls celebrate
The Equinox,
The Father sent
His Arch-Angel.
The mighty hero
Announced to Mary,
That she should bring forth
God, the best of kings,
As it was declared
Through the middle earth;
And it was a great event,
Known to nations.
Then it is after four
And three nights by computation,
That the Saviour sends
The month of April,
In which most frequently comes
The celebrated time
Of consolation to men,
The resurrection of the Lord:
Then rejoicing is suitable,
Widely, everywhere:
So the Prophet sung,
This is the day
Which the most wise Lord
Made for us,
The generation of men;
For joy to all
The blessed inhabitants of earth.
We may not that time
Keep by reckoning
Of the number of the days;
Nor the Lord's ascension
Up to the heavens:
For they always return
According to the predictions of the wise.
But the old in years
Shall by circle-craft
Find out the holy days.
We must still further
The memory of martyrs
Recount; whether
Relate by words
Or make known by singing,
That after nineteen nights
From the time that this Easter month
Comes to us,
Man begins
To elevate relicks,
Holy, ornamented.
This is a high day,
A celebrated time for supplication.
Then quickly comes to revolve
May,
As a guest,
Elegant and beautiful,
With her vesture-clad trees & plants:
And magnificently
Bringeth abundance great
To the multitudes everywhere.
The same day
The noble companions,
Philip and James,
Magnanimous fellow servants,
Gave their lives
For the love of God.
And then after two nights it is,
That God revealed
To the blessed Helen,
The noblest of beams,
On which suffered
The King of angels,
For love to man:
The creator on the cross,
By permission of the Father.
Thence it is after the space of a week,
With the exception of one night,
That summer brings
To men,
Days bright like gems,
And warm seasons.
Then the fields spontaneously
Blow with flowers,
So that the joy
Of many kinds
Of living creatures
Ascends throughout the middle earth,
Gives praise to the king,
Manifoldly celebrates
The glorious
Almighty.
Then it is after the number
Of eight days and nine,
That the Lord took
Into other light
Augustine;
Happy in heart,
Because he here in Britain
Made earls
Obedient to him
For the will of God,
As the wise Gregory
Commanded him.
I have not heard before
Any other man,
Or more illustrious bishop,
Ever bring
Over the briny sea
Better lore;
He now in Britain rests,
Among the men of Kent,
In the chief city,
Near the celebrated minster.
Then the month brings
After two and three
Long days,
The former Litha
To us,
June,
In which the gem,
The brightest of heavenly lights,
Rises in the heavens,
Highest in the year,
And descending from its station,
Declines towards its setting.
The fairest of lights,
Of worldly creatures,
Will afterwards longer
Behold the ground,
And go later
Over the fields.
Then after thirteen
Nights and also ten,
In days of yore,
John, the minister of glory,
The darling of his Lord,
Was born.
We that time observe
At midsummer;
Much among nations,
And widely is it celebrated;
As is well becoming
The times of the saints,
Among the children of men.
But the apostles
Peter and Paul,
Much celebrated,
Faithful to the Lord,
Five nights
After midsummer,
Suffered at Rome
Grievous torment from the people,
Glorious martyrdom.
These chief apostles
Had formerly
Wrought many miracles
Among nations;
So they afterwards
Performed innumerable,
Manifest and visible,
Through the Son of the Creator.
Then after two nights
Immediately comes,
Seasonably to us,
The month of July;
In which James,
The son of Zebedee,
After four nights
And twenty,
Gave his life,
Firm in heart,
Wise and bold,
Teacher of the people.
And then always
After seven nights thence,
Lucid summer
Leads the Weodmonth;
But August
Brings
To poor nations
Lammas day.
So then harvest comes,
After other seven nights,
Except one wanting,
Beautiful, laden with fruits;
Wealth is produced,
Fair in the land.
Then after three nights
Have been further passed,
The illustrious deacon
Lawrence died
By martyrdom;
Faithful to his Lord,
With whom he now has life,
With the Father of glory;
The reward of his works.
Then after five nights,
The fairest of virgins,
The glory of women,
Sought the God of hosts,
For the relationship of her son:
The victorious habitation,
Paradise.
Then the Saviour had
The fair reward of fostering
Repaid the virgin,
In eternal life.
Then is altogether,
After ten nights from hence,
The time honoured,
Of Bartholomew,
In Britain here,
Deservedly eminent.
Then also is widely
Known to earls,
After four nights,
The death of the illustrious man,
Who formerly gently
Sprinkled with water,
The royal Child of Glory;
Illustrious soldier,
Of whom the Lord said,
That no greater man,
Throughout the middle earth
Between woman and man
Was begotten.
Then it is after three nights,
Among many nations,
That the holy month,
Celebrated by men,
Comes to the people,
As foreknowing
Ancient philosophers
Formerly discovered it,—
Fierce September.
And then on the seventh day,
It was that the
Best of queens was born,
The mother of the Lord.
Then after a number of days,
About thirteen,
The blameless minister,
Skilful in the gospel,
Matthew, his
Spirit gave up,
To the creator,
In eternal joy.
Then altogether comes,
After three nights thence,
Widely to nations,
The day of equinox,
To the children of men.
But we celebrate
Widely through the earth,
The feast of the archangel
Michael,
In harvest,
As the multitude knows,
Five nights after
That the day of equinox
Is made known
To people, to earls.
And then after two nights it is
That the tenth month,
October,
Wise in counsel,
Brings to us
People abundance:
Winter-filleth,
As widely call it
The island-dwelling
Angles and Saxons,
Men with women.
So then after
Twenty and five nights,
We keep the feast
Of two soldiers,
At the same time together,
On one day.
We long ago heard
That these nobles,
They, the celebrated
Simon and Jude,
Were always
To the Lord dear.
Wherefore they were allotted
A happy doom above.
Then quickly,
After four nights,
November,
Called Blotmonth,
Rich to people,
Brings good cheer to men;
Blessedness
To the children of mortals,
As no other month
Does more,
By the mercy of the Lord.
And on that same day
We keep the feast of
All the saints,
Who late, or formerly,
Wrought in the world
The Lord's will.
Then the day of winter
Goes widely
In six nights,
And takes away
The gem-bright harvest,
With the ravaging
Of rime and snow;
Fettered with frost,
By the Lord's command;
That to us might not remain
Green fields,
The ornaments of the earth.
Then it is after four nights,
That the illustrious Martin,
Spotless man, departed;
Upwards sought the Lord,
The guardian of angels.
Then after eight nights
And four, it was
That Clement
Was taken,
And sunk to the bottom of the sea.
Victorious man
Over the hoary ocean;
Whom formerly men invoked
For benefit of the fields.
And then after seven nights' fall,
The noble Andrew,
A glory to his Lord,
To the heavens
Gave up his soul;
In God's promise
Prompt to depart.
Then the morning brings
To people, to men,
The month
December,
To the children of the people,
The former Iule.
Then after eight and twelve
Nights of computation it is,
That the Saviour himself,
To the unbelieving
Thomas, gave,
With difficulty,
The eternal kingdom;
To the daring man,
His blessing.
Then it is after four nights,
That the Father of angels
Sent his Son
Into this wide world,
For comfort to the people.
Now may ye find
The times of the saints
That men should observe,
As the command goeth
Through Britain
Of the king of the Saxons,
At this same time.