On May 28, 1445, Henry VI’s new wife, Margaret of Anjou, entered London in preparation for her coronation at Westminster two days later. As she made her way through the city from Southwark, she was greeted by eight pageants that emphasized peace and the hope that the Anglo-French conflict would soon end. The verses for the pageants, which are no longer attributed to Lydgate, were probably the work of someone hired by Mayor John Chichele and London’s city council. Kipling (“London Pageants for Margaret of Anjou,” p. 6) believes that Lydgate’s way of describing the scriptures for the 1432 entry, which recast written texts as spoken, may have given the devisers of the 1445 entry the idea to use actual speech for the first recorded time in English entries. MacCracken omitted the 1445 entry from his edition of Lydgate’s minor poems on the grounds that it was not by Lydgate, who in 1445 was apparently in retirement in Bury. Griffiths (Reign of King Henry VI, pp. 487–89) discusses the Entry as well as the wedding ceremonies. An imperfect version of the verses has been printed by Brown, and in even less complete form in Withington, “Lydgate’s Verses.” Kipling (“London Pageants for Margaret of Anjou”) has reconstructed the verses from a manuscript (Harley 3869) of Gower’s Confessio Amantis, where they were copied onto some blank leaves at the front of the manuscript, and presents a strong argument against Lydgate’s authorship of them. The verses, following Kipling’s reconstruction and checked against the manuscript, are as follows.

 

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[Atte the Brigge foot in Suthwerke              [Pees and Plenté Moost Cristen Princesse, by influence of Grace1 Doughter of Jherusalem, oure plesaunce And joie, welcome as evere princesse was, With hert entier and hool affiaunce, Causer of welth, joie, and abundaunce, Youre cite, youre poeple, youre subgites alle, With herte, with worde, with dede at youre entraunce, “Welcome, welcome, welcome” unto you calle!              [Pees So trusteth youre poeple, with affiaunce, Through youre grace and highe benignité, Twixt the reawmes two, Englande and Fraunce, Pees shal approche, rest and unité, Mars sette aside, with alle hys cruelté, Whiche to longe hath troubled the reawmes tweyne, Bydynge youre coumfort in this adversité, Moost Cristen Princesse, oure lady sovereyne.              [At Noes Shippe upon the [Draught] Brigge [Expositor:] Moost Cristen Princesse, oure lady sovereyne, Right as whilom, by Goddes myght and Grace, Noe this Arke didde forge and ordeyne, Wherein he and hys myght escape and passe The flood of vengeaunce caused by trespasse, Conveied aboute, as God liste hym to gye,2 By moiean of mercy founde a restyng place After the Flood uppon this Armonie. Unto the Dove that brought the braunche of pees Resemblynge youre symplenesse columbyne, Tokyn and signe the Flood shulde cesse; Conducte by Grace and Pure Divine, Sonne of comfort gynneth faire to shyne By youre presence, wherto we synge and seyne, Welcome of joie, right extendet lyne, Moost Cristen Princesses, oure lady sovereyne.              [At Leden Halle [Madame Grace, Chauncelere de Dieu Oure benigne Princesse and lady sovereyne, Grace conveie you forthe and be youre gide In good life longe, prosperously to reyne. Trouth and Mercy togedre ben allied,3 Justice and Pees; these sustres schal provide Twixt reawmes tweyn stedfast love to sette. God and Grace the parties han applied. Now the sustres have hem kiste and mette. Prenostike of pees, ferme and infenite, Dame Grace, Goddes Vicarie Generalle, Foure patentes, faire, fressh, and legible, Conteynyng iiii preceptes imperialle, Sealles impressed for memorialle, To these sustres foure thus be directe, Whiche as mynystres further proclamen shalle, T’encresen pees, werres to correcte. Clergie, Knyghthode, the Lawes commendable Assentyng all this matere to ratefie, Conseile of Grace, haldyng ferme and stable; George and Dionise for here poeple crie Uppon the Lorde that alle schall justefie This tyme of Grace. Thus wolde the storie seyne, Trustynge that pees schall floure and fructifie By you, Pryncesse and lady sovereyne.              [At the Tonne in Cornehille [Expositor:] “Aungeles of pees shall have dominacioun,” Sentence yeven from the hevenes highe, Siewed by Grace and good mediacioun, Pees graunted to growe and multeplie, Exiled th’angeles of wrecched tirannye, Werre proscribed, pees shal have hys place; Blesside be Margarete makyng this purchace. Conveie of Grace, Virgyne most benigne, Oo blessid Martir, holy Margarete, Maugre the myght of spirites maligne To God above hire praier pure and swete Maketh now for rest, pees, and quiete, Shewed here pleynly in this storie, Oure Queene Margarete to signifie. God in hevene comaundynge abstinence, Noo wicked aungel schall do more grevaunce; Erthe, see, and trees shal ben in existence Obeisant to mannes wille and plesaunce, Desired pees bitwixt Englande and Fraunce, This tyme of Grace by mene of Margarete, We triste to God to lyven in quiete.              [At the Grete Conduite in Chepe [Expositor:] Grace in this lyf and aftirwarde Glorie,4 David in the psalme he saith thus expresse, “How plesaunt be thy tabernacles highe, Lorde,” he saith; this psalme by short processe Of oure Lorde concludeth high goodnesse: Noo man to lacke reward when he goth hens That lyveth here in parfite innocens. Ensaumpled pleynly by faire parable:5 Ten virgynes ayens the Spouse they yede, Fyve necligent refused, founde unable; And of the Spouse five prudent had mede For contynence in thoght, worde, and dede. Noo mannes laude sechyng in thaire entent To serve the Spouse hire hertes onely brent. The Spouse is sought; Sponsus with hire is mette. After laboure He wille she take hire rest,6 So moche He hath Hys herte uppon hire sette. Now hath the turtle founde a plesaunt nest. “Come on,” she saith, “I wil yeve thee my brest.7 Who seketh rest with feithfull, trewe corage Shalle dwelle atte last in Goddes heritage. Sponsus Pees the Kynge will make hys feste; Alle thing is redy; plentie and suffisaunce. Praied for to come, gestes moost and leste, Unto the Spouses, full of hevenly purveaunce. Milke and honye flowyng in habundaunce Aboute the londe whither He hath us brought; Right ferre and wide gestes clept and sought. “Eteth and dryncketh, my frendes, of the beste, Moost chered frendes, dryncketh inwardly; After the feste take ye youre reste,” Thus seith the Spouse, Hys feste to magnifie. This joious Canticle dothe signifie A pees shall be where as now trouble is, After this lyfe, endely in blys.              [At the Crosse in Chepe [The angels sing:] Sacris solempniis iuncta sunt gaudia, etc. [Expositor:] Oo blissful psalme and song celestialle, “Letatus sum;” for thynges that I here,8 Noon erthely joie compared nor egalle May ben here to this blys, may not dispeire, But schyneth amydde the hevenly spere, Th’orient Sonne, that noon eclipse may fade; To Goddes house now schall we goo right glade. Many mansioun bilt in that paleis Of that Cité, thynges right gloriouse Been saide. O Lorde, who can Thy paleis preise So is it faire and inly speciouse. All holynesse besemeth the Lordes house; Sanctus is songe in every Ierarchie, Praisyng the Lorde of eternall Glorie. Oo declared Pryncesse, unto youre noble Grace, How God hath made this conducte and conveye Thus throgh youre Cité from place to place, More hertly welcom then youre folk can seie, Enioieng entierly youre highe nobleye, This pagent wold mene, youre Excellence, That ther is ioie in verrey existence. Where is rejoiced all felicité Withouten ende eternally t’endure, Contemplacioun of the Deité, Which noon erthely langage may discure, God behalden of hys creature, Whiche aperteneth to gostly suffisaunce, Whan from the worlde is made disseveraunce. From vertu to vertu men shall up ascende; Than shall God be seyn in the Mount Sion.9 Thus you gide unto youre lyves ende, We praie the Lorde that gideth al alloon, So that with yow we may atteigne ecchon To the faire Cite of Iherusalem, Bisette aboute with many a precious gemme.              [At Seynt Michaeles in Querne [Expositor:] Assumpt above the hevely Ierarchie, Cristes Modre, Virgyn immaculate, God Hys tabernacle to sanctifie Of sterres xii the croune hath preparate,10 Emprise, Queene, and Lady Laureate. Praie for oure Queene that Crist will here governe Long here on lyve in hire noble astate, Aftirward crowne here in blisse eterne. This storie to your Highnes wolde expresse The grete Resureccioun generall, Wherof oure feith bereth pleyn witnesse: The ferefull sowne of Trumpe Judiciall Uppon the poeple yt sodeynly shall calle, Eche man to make acompte and rekenynge Right as hys consciencie bewreien shalle, All be it Pope, Emperour, or Kynge. Who hath wel doon, to lyf predestinate: What joie, what blis, how greet felicité Unto the saved of God is ordinate, Noo tunge can telle, noon erthly igh may see. Joie, laude, rest, pees, and parfite unité, Triumphes of eternalle victorie, With fruicioun of the Trynite, By contemplacioun of Hys Glorie. [Deos Gracias Amen.