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DOCTOUR Lord God, grete mervell es to mene
Howe man was made withouten mysse
And sette whare he sulde ever have bene
Withouten bale, bidand in blisse,
And howe he lost that comforth clene
And was putte oute fro paradys,
And sithen what sorouse sor warr sene
Sente unto hym and to al his;
And howe they lay lange space
In helle, lokyn fro lyght,
Tille God graunted tham grace
Of helpe, als he hadde hyght.
Than is it nedfull for to neven
How prophettis all Goddis counsailes kende,
Als prophet Amos in his steven
Lered whils he in his liffe gun lende:
Deus pater disposuit salutem fieri in medio terre, etc.1
He sais thus, God the Fadir in heven
Ordand in erthe mankynde to mende,
And to grayth it with Godhede even,
His Sone he saide that he suld sende
To take kynde of mankyn
In a mayden full mylde.
So was many saved of syn
And the foule fende begyled.
And for the feende sulde so be fedd
Be tyne, and to no treuth take tentt,
God made that mayden to be wedded
Or he his Sone unto hir sentte.
So was the Godhede closed and cledde
In wede of weddyng whare thy wente,
And that oure blisse sulde so be bredde
Ful many materes may be mente:
Quoniam in semine tuo benedicentur omnes gentes, etc.2
God hymself sayde this thynge
To Abraham als hym liste:
Of thy sede sall uppe sprynge
Wharein folke sall be bliste.
To prove thes prophetts ordande er,
Als Isay, unto olde and yenge,
He moved oure myscheves for to merr,
For thus he prayed God for this thynge,
Rorate celi desuper,
Lord, late thou doune at thy likyng
The dewe to fall fro heven so ferre,
For than the erthe sall sprede and sprynge
A seede that us sall save,
That nowe in blisse are bente.
Of clerkis whoso will crave,
Thus may ther gatis be mente.
The dewe to the gode Haly Gaste
May be remened in mannes mynde,
The erthe unto the mayden chaste,
Bycause sho comes of erthely kynde.
Thir wise wordis ware noght wroght in waste
To waffe and wende away als wynde,
For this same prophett sone in haste
Saide forthermore, als folkes may fynde,
Propter hoc dabit dominus ipse vobis signum, etc.3
Loo, he sais thus, God sall gyffe
Hereof a syngne to see
Tille all that lely lyffe
And this thare sygne sal be,
Ecce virgo concipiett, and pariet filium, etc.4
Loo, he sais a mayden mon
Here on this molde mankynde omell,
Ful clere consayve and bere a Sonne
And neven his name Emanuell.
His kyngdom that evere is begonne,
Sall never sese, but dure and dwell.
On David sege thore sall he wonne,
His domes to deme and trueth to telle:
Zelus domini faciet hoc, etc.
He says, luffe of oure Lorde,
All this sall ordan thanne
That mennes pees and accorde
To make with erthely manne.
More of this maiden meves me.
This prophett sais for oure socoure,
Egredietur virga de Jesse,
A wande sall brede of Jesse boure.
And of this same also, sais hee,
Upponne that wande sall springe a floure
Wheron the Haly Gast sall be
To governe it with grete honnoure.
That wande meynes untill us
This mayden, even and morne,
And the floure is Jesus,
That of that blyst bees borne.
The prophet Johell, a gentill Jewe,
Somtyme has saide of the same thyng:
He likenes Criste even als he knewe
Like to the dewe in doune-commyng:
Ero quasi ros, et virgo Israell germinabit sicut lilium.5
The maiden of Israell al newe,
He sais, sall bere one and forthe brynge
Als the lelly floure, full faire of hewe,
This meynes sa to olde and yenge
That the hegh Haly Gaste
Come oure myscheffe to mende
In Marie mayden chaste,
When God his Sone walde sende.
This lady is to the lilly lyke,
That is bycause of hir clene liffe,
For in this worlde was never slyke
One to be mayden, modir, and wyffe:
And hir Sonne, kyng in heven ryke,
Als oft es red be reasoune ryfe,
And hir husband bath maistir and meke,
In charité to stynte all striffe.
This passed all worldly witte,
How God had ordand thaim thanne
In hir one to be knytte:
Godhed, maydenhed, and manne.
Bot of this werke grete witnes was
With formefaders, all folke may tell.
Whan Jacob blyst his sone Judas,
He tolde the tale thaim two emell:
Non auferetur septrum de Juda,
donec veniat qui mittendus est.6
He sais the septer sall noght passe
Fra Juda lande of Israell,
Or he comme that God ordand has
To be sente feendis force to fell:
Et ipse erit expectacio gencium.
Hym sall alle folke abyde
And stande unto his steven,
Ther sawes wer signified
To Crist, Goddis Sone in heven.
For howe he was sente, se we more,
And howe God wolde his place purvay,
He saide, Sonne, I sall sende byfore
Myne aungell to rede thee thy way:
Ecce mitto angelum meum ante faciem
tuam qui preparabit viam tuam ante te.7
Of John Baptist he menyd thore,
For in erthe he was ordand ay
To warne the folke that wilsom wore
Of Cristis comyng, and thus gon say:
Ego quidem baptizo in aqua vos, autem
baptizabimini spiritu sancto.8
Eftir me sall come nowe
A man of myghtis mast,
And sall baptis yowe
In the high Holy Gast.
Thus of Cristis commyng may we see
How Sainte Luke spekis in his gospell,
Fro God in heven es sent, sais he,
An aungell is named Gabriell
To Nazareth in Galale,
Where than a mayden mylde gon dwell,
That with Joseph suld wedded be;
Hir name is Marie, thus gan he telle.
How God his grace than grayd
To man in this manere,
And how the aungell saide,
Takes hede, all that will here.
Tunc cantat angelus
ANGELUS Hayle, Marie, full of grace and blysse,
Oure Lord God is with thee
And has chosen thee for his.
Of all women blist mot thou be.
MARIA What maner of halsyng is this
Thus prevely comes to me?
For in myn herte a thoght it is,
The tokenyng that I here see.
Tunc cantat angelus, Ne timeas, Maria.
ANGELUS Ne drede thee noght, thou mylde Marie,
For nothyng that may befalle,
For thou has fun soveranly
At God a grace over othir all.
In chastité of thy bodye
Consayve and bere a childe thou sall.
This bodword brynge I thee, forthy
His name Jesu sall thou calle.
Mekill of myght than sall he bee;
He sall be God and called God Sonn.
David sege, his fadir free,
Sall God hym giffe to sytte uppon,
Als kyng forever regne sall hee,
In Jacob house ay for to wonne.
Of his kyngdome and dignité
Shall noo man erthly knaw ne con.
MARIA Thou Goddis aungell, meke and mylde,
Howe sulde it be, I thee praye,
That I sulde consayve a childe
Of any man by nyght or daye?
I knawe no man that shulde have fyled
My maydenhode, the sothe to saye.
Withouten will of werkis wilde
In chastité I have ben ay.
ANGELUS The Holy Gast in thee sall lighte,
Hegh vertue sall to thee holde,
The holy birthe of thee so bright,
God Sonne he sall be calde.
Loo, Elyzabeth, thi cosyne, ne myght
In elde consayve a childe for alde;
This is the sexte moneth full ryght
To hir that baran has ben talde.
MARIA Thou aungell, blissid messanger,
Of Goddis will I holde me payde:
I love my Lorde with herte clere,
The grace that he has for me layde.
Goddis handmayden, lo, me here
To his wille all redy grayd,
Be done to me of all manere
Thurgh thy worde als thou hast saide.
Now God, that all oure hope is in,
Thur the myght of the Haly Gaste,
Save thee, dame, fro sak of synne
And wisse thee fro all werkis wast.
Elyzabeth, myn awne cosyne,
Methoght I coveyte alway mast
To speke with thee of all my kynne;
Therfore I comme thus in this hast.
ELIZABETH A, welcome, mylde Marie,
Myne aughen cosyne so dere,
Joifull woman am I
That I nowe see thee here.
Blissid be thou anely
Of all women in feere,
And the frute of thy body
Be blissid ferre and nere.
This is joyfull tydyng
That I may nowe here see
The modyr of my Lord Kyng,
Thusgate come to me.
Sone als the voyce of thine haylsing
Moght myn neres entreand be
The childe in my wombe so yenge
Makes grete myrthe unto thee.
MARIA Nowe, Lorde, blist be thou ay
For the grace thou has me lente;
Lorde, I lofe thee, God verray,
The sande thou hast me sente.
I thanke thee nyght and day
And prayes with goode entente
Thou make me to thy paye,
To thee my wille is wentte.
ELIZABETH Blissed be thou grathely grayed
To God thurgh chastité,
Thou trowed and helde thee payed
Atte his wille for to bee.
All that to thee is saide
Fro my Lorde so free,
Swilke grace is for thee layde
Sall be fulfilled in thee.
MARIA To his grace I will me ta,
With chastité to dele,
That made me thus to ga
Omange his maidens feele.
My saule sall lovyng ma
Unto that Lorde so lele,
And my gast make joye alswa
In God that es my hele.
Tunc cantat Magnificat.
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is to tell; (t-note)
sin
sorrow, abiding
then; sorrows sore were; (t-note)
a long time
locked (shut off)
promised
tell
revealed
bidding (voice); (see note)
Taught while he was alive
(t-note)
Ordained
cause it to be
the nature
sin
beguiled; (see note)
should; (see note)
anger; (i.e., be self-deceived)
Before
clad
wedding garment
brought about
(see note); (t-note)
seed
blessed
ordained before; (t-note)
Isaiah; young; (t-note)
spoke of; impair
Drop down, dew, from heaven; (see note)
let; descend
inclined toward bliss
ask
(i.e., matters bespoken of)
compared
were; formed in vain
soon
(see note)
give
sign
loyally live
sign
(see note)
may
earth; among
Without guilt conceive
endure
David’s throne there; (see note)
judgments to pronounce
The zeal of the Lord will perform this, etc.; (see note)
love
ordain; (see note)
intends
I [will] speak about; (t-note)
And there will come forth a rod of [the root of] Jesse; (see note)
rod; grow from Jesse’s bower (lineage)
flower
signifies for us
evening
(t-note)
blessed [maiden] is
Joel
descending
(see note); (t-note)
lily flower; hue; (see note)
means so; young
high; (see note)
[Will] come
would
comparable to
(see note)
[anyone] like [her]
virgin, mother
kingdom
is advised by; abundant
both; companion
to end
knowing
joined as one
(see note)
patriarchs
blessed; Judah
narrative; among
(see note)
(t-note)
Judah
Before he comes
the fiend’s
And he will be the expectation of the nations; (see note)
await
be obedient to; voice
sayings; predicted
provide
prepare
(see note)
spake there
were in error
(see note)
After
great power; (t-note)
Galilee
then; did
should
began; to tell
prepared; (t-note)
hear; (see note)
Then the angel shall sing; (t-note)
(see note)
blessed may
greeting
privately
sign; (see note)
Then the angel shall sing, “Do not fear, Mary”; (t-note)
been found surpassingly
By God; (t-note)
message; (see note)
then
throne; gracious forefather
give
dwell
can; (t-note)
defiled
truth
uncontrolled behavior
(see note)
High
because of old age
barren; counted
(see note)
rewarded
established
prepared
(see note)
Through
guide; away from; impure
most
own
(see note)
company
mother
In this way
greeting
Might; ears entering
young
(t-note)
(t-note)
praise
message
praise
liking
appropriately ready
trusted
From
stored up
take
(i.e., maintain)
go
Among; many
praise
true
spirit; joy always
health
Then she sings “[My soul] doth magnify [the Lord]”; (see note); (t-note)
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