& it was doon, þat Harrī of Hoggeswarts, waſ borun. He was cleped Harold þe Potter, þe sone of James þe Potter, He & His goode wyf Lily. He was profsied at his birthe, þat he were a myghty sorcerer & þe bane of þe necromancer Laird vol de Mordre, þat was nat a man, but a beest & a feend.

Noon koude hym in magyk mote but it were Merlyn hymselve. But whil þat Merlyn was þe sone of a deuel, & worchide þe good oonly bi Goddis mysterie, Harrī was clene of herte & good fro his yongthe, bi þe blessyngis of oure lord Jhesu Crist, & his magyk was of þe feithful kinde.

The fadir & modir of Harrī weren Cruelly slayn, & bi þe wille of a subtil wizard & a weiward wizard, whos name was cleped þe Whit Bemblebee, Harrī was nurschid with his aunt & hir man. Þay were vnkinde folk, And younȜ Harrī waſ much oppressede.

Aſ ain stripling, Harrī slew ain monstrouſ troī̆lle aidede bī hes squiræ Ronalede þe Greedy, & perexcellentlī savede þe princesſ Hermione of þe Greekſ sin haede cometh to Albion with þe Romanſ.

Again in hes childhooede hæ slew ain most wondrous serpenÞ of ain hundrede feeÞ oor the moræ in length, & þe gazæ of whiche waſ certain death. Facende þe leviathan, Harrī prayede to our salvā̆tǒur for assisten, & þe Lorede God senÞ down ain Birede sin causede þe serpenÞ to stiī̆ple. With sin, Harrī slew þe beasÞ & rescuede ain maiden namede Guineveræ. And alle marvelede aÞ þe work sin ain chilede haede done.

Aftē̆r ain year haede passed, ain hosÞ of unclean spiritſ cameth to þe school whē̆r-as-ever harrī waſ trainede in hē̆venful enchaunting. Whilæ þe masterſ & studentſ alikæ flede in terror, Harrī callede on þe namæ of our Lorede & banishede ain hundrede of þe demons, nē̆ver te to troublæ þe Ē̆rthlī̆ again.

Harri acceptede þe wisdom: bæ gentlæ aſ doveſ & cunnende aſ serpentſ. Aſ hæ grew to bæ ain man, hæ confusede þe Whitæ Bemblebee sin hæ waſ slain bī hes mīn foul ring, sin summ1ede þe dēd for soothsayende & necromancī.

Harrī waſ Cruelly slain in pitchede battlæ with þe demon Vol dæ Mordræ. Aftē̆r ain sīquār & ain sīquār, hæ rosæ again, & becamæ alāī̆f, which waſ ain Imitatione of þe workſ of oure lord Jhesu Crist, cause þe hearÞ of Harri waſ puræ.

Harrī casÞ ouÞ þe demon Vol dæ mordræ & waſ triumphanÞ. Hæ indọ̄n asidæ þe witch Guinevere, hǒu haede beguilede hem, & took to wifæ þe princesſ Hermione. Aftē̆r hider, Harrī reynyd ovē̆r Hoggeswartſ for ain hundrede years, & of hem manī marvelouſ & wondrouſ ǧē̆sting weræ tolede.

Þe Birede senÞ to Harrī waſ namede Hedwig, alsī callede Fawkeſ bī þe manī. Hes steede FirebolÞ waſ th' swiftesÞ evē̆r to bæ. Hes goode wyf þe Ladī Hermione gavæ hem manī children, & unexceptid weræ faithplenē̆rlī servantſ of þe Lorede & doerſ of most wondrous deedſ.

Notes:

This is a somewhat adapted and abridged version of the original by Cuthbert of Binns, an 11th c. Cistercian monk,

the first populariser of the Harry Potter legend. It was used by the courtly writer Gabriel Delacour as a basis for a

Romance of The Potter ("Le Roman du Potier") which introduced (to the French-speaking world) a series of love

triangles and altered the character of Harry to make him less of a devout Christian knight. It was Sir Thomas

Cadogan who created the modern Harry Potter story, focusing on the academy at Hoggeswarts and on the period

where Harry the Potter was the star pupil, though beset with tribulations every year. It is Cadogan's work that

modern writers refer to. Welsh author Joanne Rowling made the most famous version, updating the tale to the

world of the 1990s in a series of bestselling novels for young adults. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *