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MARIA But husbond, of oo thyng I pray yow most mekely: I have knowyng that oure cosyn Elyzabeth with childe is. That it plese yow to go to her hastyly, If owught we myth comforte her, it wore to me blys. JOSEPH A, Godys sake! Is she with childe, sche? Than wole her husbond Zakarye be mery! In montana they dwelle, fer hens, so mot Y thee, In the cety of Juda, I knowe it veryly. It is hens, I trowe, myles two and fyfty. We are lyke to be wery, or we come at that same. I wole with a good wyl, blyssyd wyff Mary. Now go we forthe, than, in Goddys name. MARIA Goth, husbond, thow it be to yow peyne. This jurny I pray yow, lete us go fast, For I am schamfast of the pepyl to be seyne And namely of men, therof I am agast. Pylgrymagys and helpyngys wolde be go in hast. The more the body is peynyd, the more is the mede. Say ye youre devocyonys, and I shal myn, I cast. Now, in this jurny, God mote us spede. JOSEPH Amen, amen, and evyrmore. Lo, wyff, lo, how starkly I go before. [Et sic transient circa placeam. CONTEMPLACIO Sovereynes, undyrstondyth that Kynge Davyd here Ordeyned foure and twenty prestys of grett devocyon In the temple of God aftere here let apere. Thei weryn clepyd summi sacerdotes, for here mynistracyon.1 And on was prynce of prestys, havynge dominacyon Amonge which was an old prest clepyd Zakarye, And he had an old woman to his wyff of holy conversacyon Whiche hyth Elizabeth, that nevyr had childe, verylye. In hese mynistracyon, the howre of incense, The aungel Gabryel apperyd hym to That hese wyff shulde conseyve: he gaff hym intelligence. He, seinge hese unwurthynes and age, not belevyd so; The plage of dompnesse hise lippis lappyd, lo. Thei wenten hom, and his wyff was conseyvenge. This concepcyon Gabryel tolde oure Lady to, And, in soth, sone aftere, that sage sche was sekynge, And of here tweyners metyng Here gynnyth the proces. Now God, be oure begynnynge, And of my tonge, I wole ses. JOSEPH A, a, wyff, in feyth, I am wery! Therfore, I wole sytt downe and rest me ryght here. Lo, wyff, here is the hous of Zakary! Wole ye, I clepe Elyzabeth to yow to apere. MARIA Nay, husbond, and it plese yow, I shal go ner. Now, the blyssyd Trynité be in this hous! A, cosyn Elizabeth, swete modyr, what cher? Ye grow grett! A, my God, how ye be gracyous! ELIZABETH Anon as I herd of yow, this holy gretynge, Mekest mayden and the Modyr of God, Mary, Be youre breth, the Holy Gost us was inspyrynge. That the childe in my body enjoyd gretly, And turnyd down on his knes to oure God reverently! Whom ye bere in youre body, this veryly I ken. Fulfyllyd with the Holy Gost, thus lowde I cry: Blyssyd be thu amonge all women! And blyssyd be the frute of thi wombe, also. Thu wurthyest virgyne and wyff that evyr was wrought, How is it that the Modyr of God me shulde come to, That wrecche of all wrecchis, a whyght wers than nought? And thu art blyssyd that belevyd veryly in thi thought, That the wurde of God shulde profyte in thee. But how this blyssydnes abought was brought, I cannot thynk nyn say how it myght be. MARIA To the preysynge of God, cosyn, this seyd mut be. Whan I sat in my lytyl hous, onto God praynge, Gabryel come and seyde to me, “Ave!” Ther I conceyvyd God at my consentynge — Parfyte God and parfyte man, at onys beynge. Than the aungel seyd onto me That it was sex monethys syn youre conseyvynge. This cawsyth my comynge, cosyn, yow to comforte and se. ELIZABETH Blyssyd be ye, cosyn, for youre hedyrcomynge. How I conseyvyd, I shal to yow say: The aungel apperyd the howre of incensynge Seynge I shulde conseyve, and hym thought nay. Sethe, for his mystrost, he hath be dowm alway. And thus of my concepcyon, I have tolde yow sum. MARIA For this holy psalme, I begynne here this day: Magnificat anima mea Dominum Et exultavit spiritus meus in Deo salutari meo.2 ELIZABETH Be the Holy Gost, with joye, Goddys Son is in thee cum That thi spyryte so injouyid the helth of thi God so. MARIA Quia respexit humilitatem ancille sue, Ecce enim ex hoc beatam me dicent omnes generaciones.3 ELIZABETH For he beheld the lownes of hese handmayde, ye, So ferforthe for that, all generacyonys blysse yow in pes. MARIA Quia fecit mihi magna qui potens est, Et sanctum nomen eius.4 ELIZABETH For grett thyngys he made and also myghtyest And ryght holy is the name of hym in us. MARIA Et misericordia eius a progenie in progenies Timentibus eum.5 ELIZABETH Ya, the mercy of hym fro that kynde into the kynde of pes,6 For all that hym drede, now is he cum. MARIA Fecit potenciam in brachio suo, Disspersit superbos mente cordis sui. 7 ELIZABETH The pore in his ryght arme, he hath mad so The prowde to dyspeyre, in the thought of here hertys only.8 MARIA Deposuit potentes de sede, Et exaltauit humiles.9 ELIZABETH The prowde men fro hey setys put he, And the lowly upon heyth in the sete of pes. MARIA Esurientes implevit bonis, Et diuites dimisit inanes.10 ELIZABETH Alle the pore and the nedy he fulfyllyth with his goodys, And the ryche, he fellyth to voydnes. MARIA Suscepit Israel puerum suum Recordatus est misericordie sue.11 ELIZABETH Israel, for his childe, uptoke he to cum On his mercy to thynk, for hese that be. MARIA Sicut locutus est ad patres nostros, Abraham et semini eius in secula.12 ELIZABETH As he spak here to oure forfaderys in clos, Abraham and to all hese sed of hym in this werd, sa. MARIA Gloria Patri et Filio Et Spiritui Sancto. ELIZABETH Preysyng be to the Fadyr in Hevyn, lo; The same to the Son, here be so; The Holy Gost, also to ken. MARIA Sicut erat in principio et nunc et semper, Et in secula seculorum, amen. ELIZABETH As it was in the begynnynge, and now is, and shal be forevyr, And in this werd, in all good werkys to abydyn then. MARIA This psalme of prophesye seyd betwen us tweyn. In hefne, it is wretyn with aungellys hond Evyr to be songe and also to be seyn Everyday amonge us at oure evesong. But, cosyn Elyzabeth, I shal yow here kepe And this thre monethis abyde here now Tyl ye han childe to wasche, skore, and swepe, And in all that, I may to comforte yow. ELIZABETH A, ye Modyr of God, ye shewe us here how We shulde be meke, that wrecchis here be. All hefne and herthe wurchepp yow mow That are trone and tabernakyl of the hygh Trinité! JOSEPH A, how do ye? How do ye, fadyr Zacharye? We falle fast in age, withowte oth! Why shake ye so your hed? Have ye the palsye? Why speke ye not, sere? I trowe ye are not wroth. ELIZABETH Nay, wys fadyr Joseph, therto he were ful loth. It is the vesytacyon of God: he may not speke veryly. Lete us thank God, therffor, both He shal remedy it whan it plesyth his mercy. Come, I pray yow specialy. Iwys, ye are welcome, Mary. For this comfortabelest comynge, good God, gramercy. CONTEMPLACIO Lystenyth, sovereynys, here is conclusyon: How the Ave was made, here is lernyd us. The aungel seyd: “Ave, gratia plena! Dominus tecum. Benedicta tu in mulieribus.” Elizabeth seyd: “Et benedictus Fructus uentris tui.” Thus the chirch addyd “Maria” and “Jhesus” here.13 Who seyth oure Ladyes Sawtere dayly for a yer thus, He hath pardon, ten thousand and eyte hundryd yer. Than ferther to oure matere for to procede, Mary, with Elizabeth abod ther stylle Thre monthys fully, as we rede, Thankynge God with hertly wylle. A, Lord God, what hous was this on That these childeryn and here moderys to As Mary and Elizabeth, Jhesus and John, And Joseph and Zakarye, also! And evyr oure Lady abod stylle thus Tyl Johan was of his modyr born. And than Zakarye spak, iwus, That had be dowm, and his spech lorn. He and Elizabeth prophesyed as thus: They mad Benedictus them beforn And so Magnificat and Benedictus Fyrst in that place ther made worn. Whan all was don, oure Lady fre Toke her leve than aftere this, At Elizabeth and at Zakarie And kyssyd Johan and gan hym blys. Now, most mekely, we thank you of youre pacyens And beseke you of youre good supportacyon. If here hath be seyd ore don any inconvenyens, We asygne it to youre good deliberacyon. Besekynge to Crystys precious Passyon, Conserve and rewarde youre hedyrcomynge. With Ave we begunne, and Ave is oure conclusyon: “Ave regina celorum” to Oure Lady we synge.

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