JOHN MIRK, SERMON ON ST. MARY MAGDALEN, FOOTNOTES
1 suche a day, on such and such a day [to be inserted by the speaker].
3 comyn, come.
4 dud, did.
5 be, by.
6 that scheo hadde . . . flesse, what she had lost by (following) the desire(s) of the flesh; The wyche, who (that is, she).
7 alle synful, all sinful [people]; schewon, show; levon, desist from.
8 done, do.
9 An, And; and how ye schul here, and you shall hear how (all this came about).
10-11 comyn of, descended from.
11-12 the wyche . . . dying, which he gave at his death.
16 sewond, follow.
17 maydenhed, virginity; dud, did; Herfore, For this reason; gaf hyr al, gave herself entirely.
18 namely, especially.
19 kallyd, called; gresteyste, greatest.
20 seygh, saw.
22 atte . . . houce that, at dinner in the house of a man who.
23 Pharasen, Pharisee; boyste wyth oynement, jar of ointment; os, as.
24 usenden, used; for1, because of; yode, went.
25 durste note, dared not.
26 fette, feet.
27 terus, tears; heyen, eyes; woschon, washed.
28 fax, hair; wypud, dried.
29 cussyd, kissed; box, jar [of ointment].
30 heghly, earnestly.
32 an, and; fendes, devils (fiends).
33 herryng, the hearing.
33-34 there weron, were present.
35 delyverhud, delivered.
36 fayne, eager.
37 sewon, follow; ay forth, from then on.
38 flowen, fled.
39 othyr, others.
40 durste, dared; for, for fear of; kep, guarded.
41 spared, held back; dawyng, dawn.
42 bawmus, balms; yod, went; bawmet, embalmed.
43 levyng, living.
44 yytte in Hys lyve, while He was still alive; helyd, healed.
45 rede flux, flow of blood; payned, afflicted; reysyd, raised.
47 rosse, arose; bodyly, in the flesh.
48 suffred, allowed; an cussyn, and kiss.
49 schewod, showed; synus, signs/proofs.
50 steyed up, ascended.
52 dyden hem, put them.
53 to a drowned, to have drowned; ordeneth, ordains; aftur, according to.
54 lust, pleasure; holle, whole.
55 bonke, bank; see, saw.
55-56 grete pepul, a great crowd.
57 mawmentis, idols.
58 ageyne hom, against them (the idols).
59 sethe, saw (lit., sees); gentryes, nobility; luste, pleasure.
61 grete of mythe, powerful.
62 leven, believe.
64 schappode, planned.
65 whether . . . othour no, whether what Magdalen preached was true or not.
66 vytaylyd, provisioned [with food].
67 moste wende, be allowed to go.
68 schylde, child; graunte, permission.
69 bothe assente, mutual agreement; betokyn, entrusted; godys, possessions.
70 eyther, each; schyldyr, shoulders.
71 ryved, journeyed.
73 wendon . . . spylled, all expected to be killed.
74 began to travayle, went into labor; knave schylde, baby boy.
75 dyod, died.
77 modur pappes, mother's breasts; wrynggyd, wrung.
78 on uche syde, on both accounts; mythe done, could do; Wondyr, Terribly.
79 nedys . . . dyen, he must inevitably see his child die.
80 wommanus sokur, woman's assistance.
81 duste thou thus harde, do you deal so cruelly.
82 behettyst, promised.
82-83 moste nedys dyen, must inevitably die.
84 namely, especially.
85 wolde han caste, wanted to throw.
86 cors, corpse.
87 helte, confidently.
88 schare for of myne cost, projecting rock before us, at my expense; gravyn, bury.
90 for ther was none erthe, since there was no dirt.
91 hongyng skare, overhanging cliff; the schylde wyth, the child with [it]; hylled, covered.
95 discounforded, thof, discouraged, although.
96 os, as; so lad, so [Peter] led.
99 formyd hym in the feyth, instructed and strengthened him in the faith; too, two.
101 grete, greet; ferus, companions.
102 skyrre there he lafte, projecting rock where he had left.
104 bot, unless.
105 setton, steer.
106 see-sonde, sea shore; as schyldron wyllon, as children like to do.
107 sued, followed.
108 fond, found.
109 sokyng the modur pappes, sucking the mother's breasts.
110 mythe, strength (might).
111 fede, fed; of, from; too, two.
112 nogh, now.
113 were I bondon, I would be obliged (bound); wyl, will [be].
115 mote, may; bythe-tyme, delivery; norised, fed (nourished).
118 Ye, syr, I lyf, Yes, sir, I am alive.
120 gate, way.
120-21 fayled in no poynte, recounted it all accurately.
121 heven, raise(d).
123 prechyng, preaching [to].
124 mythe, strength (might).
125 schulde done, ought to do [from then on].
126 tempulles, [pagan] temples.
127 schyrches, churches; reron fontes that, build baptismal fonts so that.
129 wolde gef hyr alle, wanted to devote herself completely.
131 sythes, times.
132 fullud, filled.
132-33 that hur . . . fode, so that she needed no other bodily nourishment.
134 sene, see.
134-35 for to wytton the sothe, in order to know the truth [about].
135 halsodde, called out [in greeting].
138 whesse, washed; badde hym gone, asked him to go.
139 Astur morowon, Easter morning.
140 meton, meet.
142 too cubitus, two cubits (about 3 feet).
143 agaste, afraid; to hyr, to [approach] her; gone, to go.
144 ben uselled, be houseled (receive the Eucharist).
147 makyd . . . lyf of hur, had it carved on all sides with [scenes from] her life.
148 that dud so goddely be hur, who had dealt so graciously with her; alse, also; heygh, great.
JOHN MIRK, SERMON ON ST. MARY MAGDALEN, EXPLANATORY NOTES
Abbreviations: C = British Library MS Cotton Claudius A.ii, fols. 91v-93v [base text]; D = Durham University Library MS Cosin V.III.5, fols. 118r-121v; Dd = Cambridge University Library MS Dd.X.50, fols. 126r-129v; G = Bodleian Library MS Gough Eccl. Top. 4 (SC 17680), fols. 116r-119r; H 2403 = British Library MS Harley 2403, fols. 130r-133v; H 2417 = British Library MS Harley 2417, fols. 53v-56v; U = University College, Oxford MS 102, pp. 195-200 (on deposit in the Bodleian Library, Oxford).
1 Gode men. This opening does not imply a single-sex audience. Other manuscripts make that explicit, beginning with such terms of address as Dere frendes (Dd), Gode men and women (H 2403 and H 2417), and Crystyn men and woymen (G).
suche a day [N]. Evidently Mirk expected sermons for saints' days to be given on the preceding Sunday, rather than on the actual day of the saint's feast. A number of the manuscripts insert the abbreviation "N" to remind the preacher where to insert the name of the appropriate weekday.
4 in tyme of grace. That is, Mary is the first repentant sinner mentioned in the New Testament. The era of the law was understood to have given way to the era of grace with the birth of Jesus.
10-15 For the properties left to Mary and her siblings, see explanatory notes to lines 17 and 47-48 of the early SEL version.
15-17 This traditional explanation of Mary's fall is explicitly rejected by the Legenda aurea (Jacobus de Voragine, trans. Ryan, 1.382), partly on the grounds that Albert the Great supplied a different identity for John's intended bride.
22-34 For the Biblical sources of this scene, see the note to lines 79-136 of the early SEL version. Notice that Mirk retells only the narrative of Mary's repentance and forgiveness, omitting both the issue of her extravagance, raised by the apostles, and the issue of her daring to touch Jesus (and His tolerating her ministrations) when she is so flagrant a sinner.
32 clensed hur of seven fendes. By incorporating the exorcism from seven devils into the scene in which Jesus declares Mary forgiven, Mirk suggests a figurative reading of those seven devils as sins.
35-43 Mirk says more about Mary's courage and faithfulness at the time of the Crucifixion than either the early SEL or the Speculum Sacerdotale. This theme, suggested more strongly in John 20:1-2, 11-18 than in the other Gospels, was extensively developed in the larger medieval tradition surrounding Mary Magdalen, including sermons and commentaries; see Caxton A Critical Edition, ed. Mycoff, pp. 164-65, 168-70.
44-45 On the healing of Martha, see explanatory note to lines 141-46 of the early SEL version.
45-46 The resurrection of Lazarus is recounted in John 11:1-44. Although the story in John suggests a good deal about the relationship between Jesus and Mary Magdalen, the prose retellings of her legend in this collection mention it only in passing, and the early SEL omits it entirely.
47 He aperud to hur bodyly furste of alle othyr. The Gospels do not suggest any kind of post-Resurrection appearance by Jesus before he greeted Mary in the garden, but there is at least one MS of Mirk's sermon (H 2417) which inserts "after His moder" after "first" - thus explaining the qualification bodyly by reminding us that there was a medieval tradition which claimed that the Virgin Mary saw her resurrected Son in a vision even before Mary Magdalen encountered him in the flesh.
51 Maximius. That is, Maximinus. On the various forms of his name, see explanatory note to line 169 of the early SEL version.
57 mawmentis. As the OED explains, the terms "maumet" or "mawment" ("idol") and "maumetrie" or "mawmentry" ("idolatry") were derived from the name "Mahomet," due to the erroneous belief among medieval Christians that the followers of Mohammed worshiped him as a god.
58-63 Notice that Mirk omits all the dramatic appearances of Mary Magdalen at the prince's bedside (lines 239-72 in the early SEL version). In this account the poverty of the apostles is not mentioned and the prince's conversion sounds easy and almost instantaneous.
70 scheo sette on eyther of hyr schyldyr a crosse. See explanatory note to lines 334-36 of the early SEL version.
85-86 On the shipmen's superstitious fear, see explanatory note to line 368 of the early SEL version.
87 helte. This adverb, meaning "confidently," is surprising in this context, and some of the MSS replace it with alternatives that suggest the prince is speaking heedlessly or by chance: lyghtly (H 2403), happis (D), or happely (U).
150 etc. In C the sermon ends here. Other MSS continue: and pray to God as he foryaf Mary Maudelen hur synnys, soo he forgeve you your synnys, and grawnt you the blys that he boght you to. Amen (quoted from G [EETS]. H 2403, H 2417, and Dd all have the first two clauses of the same closing formula, ending with "your synnys.").
JOHN MIRK, SERMON ON ST. MARY MAGDALEN, TEXTUAL NOTES
Abbreviations: see explanatory notes.
12 Betanye. C: Betayn(e).
15 as many bokys. Emended from C: as many as bokys.
17 and so he dud. C: omits the he found in most MSS.
20 wherfore. C: whefore.
27 the terus. Emended from C, which has combined the two words into therus.
52 an old schyppe. This is the reading in most MSS. C: a holde schyppe.
54 Marcile. "Marseilles." C: Martile.
55 nygh a tempul. This is the reading in most MSS. C: nyght for nygh.
69 hor godys. This is the reading in most MSS. C: his godys.
85 the dede body. This is the reading in most MSS. C: omits body.
88 for of myne cost. This is the reading in some MSS, including G [EETS]. C: omits cost. Other MSS substitute a much easier interjection, I praie thee (D) or I pray yow (Dd).
97 Crystes. C: crytes.
108 lyft. C: lyf.
111 too yere. Most MSS have the too (or two) omitted by C.
113 were. C: where.