And as for 3ourself here, thus xal 3e begynne,—
3e must serve and wurchep God here dayly;
for what pray3er with grace and mercy,
Sethe have a resonable tyme to fede,
Thanne to have a labour bodyly, -
That therin be gostly and bodely mede.
3our abydynge xal be with 30ur maydenys fryve,
Whyche tyme as 3e wole have consolacion.
Maria. This lyff me lyketh as my lyve :
Of her namys I beseche 3ow to have informacion.
Episcopus. There is the fyrst Meditacion,
Contryssyon, Compassyon, and Clennes,
And that holy mayde Fruyssyon:
With these blyssyd maydenes xal be 3our besynes.
Maria. Here is an holy felachepp, I fele
I am not wurthy amonge hem to be :
Swete systeres, to 3ow alle I knele,
To receyve, I beseche, 3our charytó.
Episcopus. They xal, dowtere, and on the tothere syde se,
Ther ben sefne prestys indede,
To schryve, to teche, and to mynystryn to the,
To lerne the Goddys lawys and Scrypture to rede.
Maria. ffadyr, knew I here namys, wele were I.
Episcopus. Ther is Dyscressyon, Devocion, Dylexcion,
and Deliberacion,-
They xal tende upon 3ow besyly;
With Declaracion, Determynacion, Dyvynacion;
Now go 3e, maydenys, to 3our occupacion,
And loke 3e tende this childe tendyrly;
And 3e, serys, knelyth, and Ixal gyve 3ow Goddys benyson,
In nomine Patris et Filii et Spiritus Sanctil
Et recedent cum ministris suis omnes virgines, dicentes “Amen.”
To jow, fadyr and modyr, I me comende,
Blyssyd be the tyme 3e me hedyr brought.
Joachym. Dowtere, the fadere of oure feyth the mot defende,
As he of his myght made alle thynge of nowth.
Anne. Mary, to the sowle solas he sende,
In whos wysdam alle this werd was wrought !
Go we now hens, husbonde so hende,
For owth of care now are we brought.
Hic Joachim et Anna recedent domum.
Maria. Be the Holy Gost at hom be 3e brought,
Systeres (ad virgines) 3e may go do what 3e xalle,
To serve God fyrst here is al my thought,
Beform this holy awtere on my knes I falle !
Lord, sefne petycions I beseche 3ow of here,
ffyrst that I may kepe thi love and thi lawe;
The secunde to lovyn myn evyn Crystyn as myself dere;
The thrydde from alle that thou hatyst me to withdrawe;
The fourte alle vertuys to thi plesauns knawe;
The fyfte to obey the ordenaryes of the temple echeon;
The sexte, and that alle pepyl may serve the with awe,
That in this holy tempyl fawte be non.
The sefnte, Lord, I haske with grett frere,
That I may se onys in my lyve,
That lady that xal Goddys sone bere,
That I may serve here with my wyttes fyve.
If it plese 3ow, and ellys it is not therwith to stryve,
With prayers prostrat for these gracys I wepe:
O, my God l devocion depe in me dryve,
That my hert may wake in the, thow my body slepe.
Here the aungel bryngyth manna in a coupe of gold lyke to confeccions, the hefne syngynge, the aungelseyth,
Merveyle not, mekest maydone, of my mynystracion,
I am a good aungel sent of God alle-myght,
With aungelys mete for 3our sustentacion,
3e to receyve it for natural myght;
We aungellys xul serve 3ow day and nyght :
Now fede 3ow therwith in Goddys name.
We xal lerne 3ow the lyberary of oure Lordys lawe lyght,
for my sawys in 3ow shewyth sygnes of shame.
Maria. To thank oure soveryen Lord not sufficyth my mende,
I xal fede me of this fode my Lord hath me sent ;
Alle maner of savowres in this mete I fynde,
I felt nevyrnon so swete ner so redolent.
Angelus. Eche day therwith 3e xal be content;
Aunge alle howrys xal to 3ow apere.
Maria. Mercy, my makere, how may this be ment P
I am the sympelest creature that is levynge here.
Angelus. In 3our name Maria fryve letterys we han,—
M. Mayde most mercyfulle and mekest in mende ;
A. Averte of the anguysche that Adam began;
R. Regina of regyon reyneng withowtyn ende;
I. Innocent be influens of Jesses kende;
A. Advocat most autentyk 3our autecer Anna,
Hefne and helle here kneys down bende,
Whan this holy name of 30w is seyd, MARIA.
Maria. I quake grettly for dred to here this comendacion 1
Good swete aungel, why wole 3e sey thus?
Aungelle. for 3e xal hereaftere have a salutacion,
That xal this excede, it is seyd amonge us;
The Deyté that dede xal determyn and dyscus,
3e xal nevyr, lady, be lefte here alone.
Maria. I crye the mercy, Lorde, and thin erthe cus,
Recomendyng me to that Godhyd that is tryne in trone.
Hic osculet terram. Here wal comyn alwey an aungel with dyvers presentes, goynge and comynge, and in the tyme thei ral synge in hefne this hympne. “Jhesu corona virginum.” And after ther comyth a minister fro the buschop with a present and seyth, Minister. Prynce of oure prestes, Ysakare be name, He hath sent 3ow hymself his servyce in dede ;
And bad 3e xulde fede 3ow spare for no shame,
In this tyme of mete no lenger 3e rede.
Maria. Recomende me to my fadyr, sere, and God do hym
mede,
These vesselys agen sone I xal hym sende ;
Ixal bere it my systeres, I trowe thei have more nede,
Goddys foyson is evyr to his servauntes hendyr than we
wende.
Systeres, oure holy fadyr Isakare
Hath sent us hese servyce here ryght now ;
ffede 3ow therof hertyly, I pray 30w nat spare,
And if owght beleve, specyaly I pray 30w,
That the pore men the relevys ther of have now ;
fayn and I myth I wolde do the dedys of mercy;
Pore ffolk faryn God knowyth how,
On hem evyr I have grett pety.
Contemplacio. Lo! sofreynes here 3e have seyn,
In the temple of oure ladyes presentacion,
She was nevyr occapyed in thynges veyn,
But evyr besy in holy ocupacyon ;
And we beseche 3ow of 30ure pacyens,
That we pace these materes so lythly away,
If thei xulde be do with good prevydens,
Eche on wolde suffyce for an hoole day.
Now xal we procede to here dissponsacion,
Whiche aftere this was xiiij. 3ere,
Tyme sufficyth not to make pawsacion,
Hath pacyens with us, we beseche 3ow here,
And in short spas,
The parlement of hefne sone xal 3e se,
And how Goddys sone come man xal he,
And how the salutacion aftere xal be,
Be Goddys holy gras.
Tunc venit ab Ysakar espiscopus.
Lystenyth lordynges, both hye and lowe,
And tendyrly takyth heyd onto my sawe,
Beth buxom and benygne 3our busshopp to knowe,
for I am that lord that made this lawe.
With hertys so hende herkyn nowe,
3oure damyselys to weddying 3a loke that 3e drawe,
That passyn xiiij. 3ere, for what that 3e owe,
The lawe of God byddyth this sawe,
That at xiiij. 3ere of age
Every damesel, what so sche be,
To the encrese of more plenté,
Xulde be browght in good degré,
Onto here spowsage.
Joachym. Herke now, Anne, my jentyl spowse,
How that the buschop his lawe hath tolde,
That what man hath a dowtyr in his house,
That passyth xiiij. 3eres olde,
He muste here brynge, I herde hym kowse,
Into the tempyl a spowse to wedde,
Wherfore oure dowtyr ryth good and dowse,
Into the tempyl sche must be ledde,
And that anoon ryght sone.
Anne. Sere, I grawnt that it be so,
A3en the lawe may we not do,
With here togedyr lete us now go,
I hold it ryght weyl done.
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