The Conuercyon of swerers: (The Conversion of Swearers)

In Short

The Conversion of Swerers is a fifteenth-century rhyming verse treatise that acts as a direct, impassioned plea from Jesus Christ to humanity, begging rulers and common folk alike to cease their habitual and violent swearing. Christ details how every profane oath tears at his flesh, opens his sacred wounds, and aligns the speaker with the devil. Despite his sorrow and the threats of divine justice, Christ continually offers boundless mercy, urging sinners to repent, abandon worldly vanities, and embrace spiritual grace before it is too late.

The Story

The text begins with a reverent prologue praising historical chroniclers, poets, and notable masters like Lydgate who preserve worthy deeds and moral lessons in writing. The narrator, identifying as relatively inexperienced in poetry yet driven by a desire to conquer idleness and fear, introduces a lamentable treatise addressing the cruel habits of habitual swearers.

At this point, the voice shifts directly to Christ, who addresses the kings and rulers of Christian realms. He reminds them of his supreme sacrifice, his birth into humanity, and his crucifixion. Christ laments that despite his redemptive suffering, subjects and leaders alike continuously torture him anew through reckless, profane oaths. Every casual curse is described as physically tearing his head, arms, face, and heart. He urges earthly monarchs to reform the courts and severely punish blasphemy, warning that his patience has limits and justice will eventually demand retribution against unrepentant lands.

Weaving between prose warnings, biblical references, and evocative lyrical refrains—such as direct instructions to behold his bleeding wounds—Christ outlines the cosmic folly of preferring brief worldly pleasures over eternal salvation. He explicitly references the commandment against taking the name of God in vain, contrasting the fearful obedience mortals show to earthly kings with their casual disrespect toward the King of Heaven.

The text builds toward a dramatic, cascading series of denunciations using the refrain "Wo worthe," cursing pride, envy, gluttony, lechery, and above all, unmitigated swearing and hard-heartedness. This dark catalogue is balanced by an equally rich list of beatitudes, praising humility, patience, and purity. Christ reiterates that the wound of sin weighs heavier on his spirit than the physical puncture of his side. The poem concludes with a final plea for rulers to command their servants to cease their oaths and seek divine grace, followed by a humble envoi where the author, Stephen Hawes, timidly submits his modest treatise to the royal court of King Henry VIII under the protection of divine mercy.

How It Unfolds

• The poetic duty — The author praises past historians and poets for recording virtue, acknowledging his own modest skills and his urgent desire to write against the sin of blasphemy.
• The divine appeal — Christ steps forward to address earthly monarchs and commoners, detailing how their casual oaths continuously tear his tender, bleeding body on the cross.
• The call for reform — Christ commands rulers to use their authority to punish and banish profane swearing from their courts, warning that his long-suffering patience will eventually give way to justice.
• The lyrical refrain — A sequence of stark, direct appeals invites the reader to look upon Christ's open wounds, offering immediate mercy to anyone willing to repent and abandon their trespasses.
• The weight of sin — Backed by scriptural and patristic citations, Christ warns that unrepentant swearers will face inevitable plagues and eternal fires, declaring that the spiritual wound of sin hurts him more than physical crucifixion.
• The inventory of woe — A relentless series of denunciations condemns pride, wrath, gluttony, and false swearing, contrasting them sharply with a lengthy litany of blessings for the humble and faithful.
• The final surrender — The author releases his trembling little treatise to seek the sovereign protection of Christ's mercy, concluding a work printed in Fleet Street in the early sixteenth century.

The People

• Jesus Christ — The central divine speaker who wants humanity to recognize the physical and emotional agony caused by casual blasphemy. He stands in the way of eternal damnation with open arms, offering boundless mercy, and ultimately transforms from a sorrowful victim into a patient savior promising grace to the repentant.
• Christian Kings and Rulers — Figures of earthly power and jurisdiction who possess the authority to govern their dominions. Their worldly pride and neglect stand in the way of societal reform, and they are urged to change by ending the abusive oaths permitted within their royal courts.
• The Habitual Swearers — Ordinary subjects and common folk whose hardened hearts and casual blasphemies tear at Christ's wounds. They are blinded by worldly vanity and the snares of the devil, but remain capable of conversion if they choose to embrace penance.
• The Author (Stephen Hawes) — A self-described novice in poetry who serves as the humble compiler of the treatise. He wants to avoid the sin of idleness and fears his own lack of eloquence, ultimately submitting his finished work to divine judgment.

In Its Own Voice

Leuynge our synne and mortall wrechednes

The author sets the moral foundation of the work by urging readers to abandon their destructive mortal flaws.

Beholde your seruauntes how they do tere me / By cruell othes now vpon euery syde

Christ directly confronts worldly rulers with the painful reality of how their subjects' profane speech mutilates his body.

Wo worthe your swerynge whiche dothe not aslake / Wo worthe you whiche wyll nothynge amende

A sharp, rhythmic condemnation falls upon those who persist in their stubborn habits without seeking redemption.

What It's Really About

The work explores the heavy spiritual cost of casual language, treating everyday speech not as trivial or weightless, but as an active moral battlefield. It investigates the theological paradox of divine mercy versus strict justice, arguing that human beings show misplaced reverence to earthly kings while casually insulting the creator of the universe. Beneath the visceral imagery of physical mutilation lies an urgent homiletic argument: that language bridges the gap between the soul and the divine, and that profanity is a willful betrayal of the grace that redeemed humanity from the devil's chain.

Why Read It Today

Readers interested in early Tudor literature, religious history, or the evolution of English verse will find this a fascinating window into late-medieval devotion. Reading it feels like stepping inside a dimly lit stone cathedral to listen to a harrowing, intensely visual sermon delivered directly by a suffering savior. Modern readers must be prepared for the dense, archaic spelling, the heavy cataloging of sins, and the unsparing period attitudes toward divine retribution. Yet, beneath the linguistic barrier lies a surprisingly raw psychological exploration of human habit, guilt, and the desperate yearning for forgiveness that remains deeply resonant.

What aspect of late-medieval religious verse or its unique focus on speech and blasphemy interests you the most?