# Verses on a book donated by King Athelstan to Christ Church

Rex pius Æðelstan, patulo famosus in orbe,
     cuius ubique uiget gloria lausque manet,
quem Deus Angligenis solii fundamine nixum
     constituit regem terrigenisque ducem,
scilicet ut ualeat reges rex ipse feroces
     uincere bellipotens, colla superba terens.
quisquis amore fluens rutilans hoc luce uolumen
     perspicis, eximia dogmata sacra lege –
quod rex aureolis sacro spiramine fusus
     ornauit titulis gemmigerisque locis,
quodque libens Christi ecclesiae de more dicauit
     atque agiae sophiae nobilitauit ouans.
hoc quoque scematicis ornarier ora lapillis
     auxit ubique micans floribus ut uariis.
quisque sitit ueniat cupiens haurire fluenta:
     dulcia mella gerens inueniat latices.
ergo greges pastorque sacrae Dorobernicus aulae
     se caueant, ne quid fraus inimica gerat:
hunc quisquis textum diuino fonta refertum
     tollere praesumat, finetenus pereat!
[‘Holy king Athelstan, renowned through the wide world, / whose esteem flourishes, and whose honour endures everywhere, / whom God set as king over the English, sustained by the foundation / of the throne, and as leader of [His] earthly forces, / plainly so that this king himself, mighty in war, might be able / to conquer other fierce kings, treading down their proud necks. / Whosoever you are who look into this book abounding in [divine] / love, shining with light, read its excellent divine doctrines – / [this book] which the king, filled with the holy spirit, / adorned with golden heading and places set with jewels, / and which, in his manner, he gladly dedicated to Christ Church / and joyously made it accessible to sacred learning. / He also embellished it by having its covers adorned with patterned jewels, / [so that it would be] resplendent as if with various flowers. / Whosoever thirsts, desiring to drink from streams [of learning], let him come: / let him, bearing sweet honey, discover [these] waters. / Therefore let the flock and pastor of the whole court of Canterbury / be on their guard, lest envious deceit perpetrate something [untoward]: / whosoever dare to take away this book, filled from the sacred fount, / may he parish utterly!’ Lapidge, pp. 95-6]