''The Talents'' or ''Processus Talentorum'', is a play from the
Middle English
Middle English (abbreviated to ME) is a form of the English language that was spoken after the Norman conquest of 1066, until the late 15th century. The English language underwent distinct variations and developments following the Old Englis ...
recitals ''
The Towneley Plays'' (ca. 1460).
[The ]Oxford Text Archive
Oxford Text Archive (OTA) is an archive of electronic texts and other literary and language resources which have been created, collected and distributed for the purpose of research into literary and linguistic topics at the University of Oxford, E ...
, ''The Towneley plays''. Item 1397.
This play contains an early example of
macaronic
Macaronic language uses a mixture of languages, particularly bilingual puns or situations in which the languages are otherwise used in the same context (rather than simply discrete segments of a text being in different languages). Hybrid words ...
English-Latin verse, spoken by the character
Pontius Pilate
Pontius Pilate (; grc-gre, Πόντιος Πιλᾶτος, ) was the fifth governor of the Roman province of Judaea, serving under Emperor Tiberius from 26/27 to 36/37 AD. He is best known for being the official who presided over the trial of ...
:
:...
:Stynt, I say! gyf men place
:''quia sum dominus dominorum!''
:he that agans me says
:''rapietur lux oculorum;''
:Therfor gyf ye me space
:''ne tendam vim brachiorum,''
:And then get ye no grace
:''contestor Iura polorum,''
:''Caueatis;'' Rewle I the ''Iure,''
:''Maxime pure,''
:Towne ''quoque rure,''
:''Me paueatis.''
:''Stemate regali''
:kyng ''atus'' gate me of ''pila'';
:''Tramite legali''
:Am I ordand to reyn upon Iuda,
:''Nomine wlgari''
:pownce pilate, that may ye well say,
:''Qui bene wlt fari''
:shuld call me fownder of all lay.
:...
References
English plays
{{15thC-play-stub