MARY MEDIATRIX: FOOTNOTES
1 Lines 3-4: Receive (accept) your Godric, shield him, help him,/Received, bring him solemnly with you into God's kingdom
2 Wherever I am on earth, that he never fail me
3 Unless I shall have help from you, I have no other
4 That I never for fiend's sake forgo your true light
5 Lines 21-24: Bright and radiant queen of heaven, I bid your mercy [for my] sins. / The sins that I have known, I regret them sorely; / I have often forsaken you; I will never do so again, / Lady, for your sake, true fiends forsake
6 Lines 27-28: Wherever on earth I may be before I go on / That I might dwell eternally in Paradise
7 Lines 31-32: That I have no fiend to fear at my ending-day. / Jesus, with your sweet blood you bought me full dearly
8 Lines 33-36: Jesus, Saint Mary's son, you hear your mother's prayer. / I dare not call on you; to her I make my plea; / For her sake, make me so pure / So that I am not exiled from your sight at Judgment Day
9 Bright and shining star clear, illuminate and teach me
10 All are sinful who are made of flesh and skin
MARY MEDIATRIX: NOTES
§54
I pray thee, lady, the moder of Crist. Index no. 1340. MS: Bodl. 11755 (Rawlinson B.408), fol. 6a (c. 1450). Editions: Andrew Clark, The English Register of Godstow Nunnery, EETS o.s. 129 (London: Kegan Paul, 1905), p. 11; Patterson, no. 19; B15, no. 43.
3 John Baptist. John the Baptist, a cousin of Jesus (see Luke 1:39-56), is the prophet who foretells Christ's coming (Matthew 3:11-12; Luke 3:15-18; Mark 1:7-8).
6 participacioun. Augustine argued that while humankind does not have the capacity to know God, in grace and moments of faith, or what he termed "divine illumination," they can participate in God's presence. On this process, see Boethius' Consolation of Philosophy, Book III.
§55
Sancta Maria, ora pro nobis / O moder mylde, mayde undefylde. By James Ryman. Index no. 2527, O moder mylde mayde undefylde. MS: Cambridge University Ee.1.12, fol. 5a (1492). Editions: Zupitza, Archiv 89 (1892), 327, notes Archiv 97(1896), 143-44; EEC, no. 220; Stevick, no. 90.
This piece appears with six others (see next item) employing the Ora pro nobis refrain; Ryman's experiments with the form involve repetition and variation of the phrases in this one.
4 hys. Those Christ has chosen - the elect.
7 trace. A theological term indicative of the idea of the creator marked in the effects of his creation. St. Bonaventure, for example, in the second chapter of The Mind's Road to God, explores "the reflection of God in His traces in the sensible world." God is contemplated in the "mirror of sensible things . . . not only through them, as by His traces, but also in them, in so far as He is in them by essence, potency, and presence" (trans. George Boas [Indianapolis: The Liberal Arts Library Press, 1953], pp. 14-21).
§56
Sancta Maria, ora pro nobis / O tryclyn of the Trinité. By James Ryman. Index no. 2575. MS: Cambridge University Ee.1.12, fol. 6a (c. 1492). Editions: Zupitza, Archiv 89 (1892), 329-30, notes Archiv 97 (1896), 145; EEC, no. 224.
2 tryclyn. According to the OED, a triclinium is "a dining-room with three couches" or "a couch, running round three sides of a table, on which to recline at meals; a table-couch." The image, then, is an elaboration on the image of Mary as "chamber of the Trinity."
10 emperesse of helle. An epithet from the Office of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the Prymer: "Marie queene of hevene; lady of the word: empresse of helle" (Maskell, 2:78). The implication is that Mary is beyond the power of Satan and his hordes. Her dominion exceeds theirs, which makes her intercession all the more potent. Compare §43, line 294; §69, line 2, and §85, line 20.
15 chast bowre. Mary's womb. Compare §11, lines 5 and 53; §13, line 10; and §49, line 2.
§57
Sainte Marie, virgine. Attributed to St. Godric. Index no. 2988. MS: BL Royal 5.F.7, fol. 85a (with music) (=A; early fourteenth century). The poem is found in several other MSS: Bodl. 970 (Laud Misc. 413), fol. 39b (=B; first stanza only, early thirteenth century); BL Harley 153, fol. 26a (=C; late sixteenth century); Cambridge University Mm.4.28, fol. 149a (=D; c. 1200); BL Harley 322, fol. 74b (=E); Bodl. 21781 (Douce 207), fol. 125b (=F; c. 1300); BL Cotton Otho B.5, Part 2, fol. 32b (=G; mid-fourteenth century); Corpus Christi College Cambridge 26, p. 259 (=H; thirteenth century); BL Cotton Nero D.5, fol. 150b (=I; thirteenth century); BL Harley 1620, fol. 172a (=J); Lambeth 51, cap. cliiii (=K; early thirteenth century); and Bodl. 3886 (Fairfax 6), fol. 185 (=L; fourteenth century); Paris Bibliothèque Mazarine 1716, fol. 207b (=M, late thirteenth century). Editions: MSS A-L and composite text: Zupitza, "Cantus Beati Godrici," Englische Studien 11 (1888), 415-21. Editions of Royal 5.F.7: Joseph Ritson, Bibliographia Poetica (London: C. Roworth for G. W. Nicol, 1802), pp. 1-4; J. W. Rankin, "The Hymns of St. Godric," PMLA 38 (1923), 700; Joseph Hall, Selections from Early Middle English Literature, 1130-1250 (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1920), 1:5. Editions of Harley 322: Ritson, pp. 1-4. Editions of Bodl. 21781: Joseph Stevenson, Libellus de Vita et Miraculis S. Godrici, Heremitae de Finchale, Surtees Society 20 (London: J. B. Nichols, 1847), 119; R. M. Wilson, The Lost Literature of Medieval England, second ed. (London: Methuen, 1970), pp. 159-60; Henry G. Hewlett, The Flowers of History, by Roger of Wendover, vol. 1, Rolls Series 84 (London: Longman, 1886), 73. Edition of Corpus Christi 26: Davies, no. 1. Edition of Cotton Otho: Hewlett, p. 73. Edition of Cambridge 4.28: Brown, Register 1:199. Composite text: Patterson, no. 58. Edition of Paris: Alexandra Barratt, "The Lyrics of St Godric: A New Manuscript," Notes and Queries 32 (1985), 439-45.
On the textual history of the piece, particularly the garbled transmission of texts through linguistic and orthographical confusion, see Barratt's article, cited above.
1 virgine. F, H, I, J: clane virgine. G: clene virgine.
2 Jhesu. F: Crist.
3 Onfo. C: un fo. E: on fong. M: on sang. Barratt suggests that M has been garbled by "at least one scribe, and possibly also a translator, to whom Middle English was a foreign language" (p. 443).
schild. C: child. F: sciso.
help. Omitted in H, I, J.
Godric. According to the history by Reginald of Durham in which this poem appears, Godric, a hermit who died in 1170, learned this song from the Virgin Mary herself when she appeared to him in a vision. She promised that she would come to him whenever he sang it.
4 heghilich. B: eghhtlech. F, G: heali. H: hoeali. I: hali. J: halili.
with. MS: thith. F, H, I, J: widh. G: thidh. M: piz.
5 Cristes bur. The allusion is to Mary's womb, Christ's dwelling place, his home on earth. M: tristes bur.
5-8 Omitted in B, C, D, E.
6 clenhad. J: cleuad.
7 Dilie. F: Delivere. Rankin bases his gloss, "destroy," on the Latin texts of the poem. The OED gives "blot out, erase." But the MED gives dilie as a form of delen, to separate or divide. Perhaps the sense is "remove"; Godric wants to be emptied of sin, filled with Mary's goodness, so that he might, like her, be a "bower" or vessel for Christ.
rix. F: regne.
8 winne. G: wunne. H, I, J: thinine. F: blisse. Winne is a particularly evocative term since it connotes the heavenly bliss that Godric yearns for, but might also hint at the struggle (OE winn, labor, struggle, contention).
with the selfd God. Literally, "with the very God." G, H, I, J: widh self god. F: wit thiself god. Self(d) is used here as an intensifying pronoun; see MED self, 1.b.
§58
Ave maris stella. Index no. 454. MS: BL Sloane 2593, fol. 27a (c. 1450). Editions: Wright, Songs (Warton Club), pp. 77-78; Fehr, Archiv 109 (1902), 66; CS p. 209; B15, no. 18; Rickert p. 8.
This prayer is inspired by the Latin hymn Ave maris stella (see note to §9), the source of the four titles with which the poet here addresses Mary.
5 Gabriel. See Luke 1:26-38.
5-6 In the MS, these lines precede lines 3-4; the two couplets are marked for transposition.
9 withoutyn dedly synne. See §75, note to line 4.
10 Forty dayis of pardoun. A reference to the Church's practice of granting partial indulgences (remission of sins) for prescribed acts of penance.
§59
Marie moder, wel thee be. Index no. 2119. MS: Bodl. 15834 (Rawlinson liturg. g.2), fols. 4b-6a (late fourteenth century). Editions: B14, no. 122; Stevick, no. 46. The verses occur in the Speculum Christiani (a late-fourteenth-century instructional work, probably by an English Franciscan), which survives in more than thirty MSS, as well as separately in more than fifteen MSS (see Index and Supplement for complete listing). Editions of BL Harley 6580, fol. 35b, Lansdowne 344, fol. 36b, and Lambeth 559, fol. 19a: Gustaf Holmstedt, Speculum Christiani, EETS o.s. 182 (London: Oxford University Press, 1933; rpt. Kraus, 1971), pp. 160-69. Edition of St. Cuthbert's College 28: T. E. Bridgett, Our Lady's Dowry (third ed., London, 1890), p. 34. Edition of Bodl. 6922 (Ashmole 61), fol. 22b (late fifteenth century): Rossell Hope Robbins, "Private Prayers in Middle English Verse," Studies in Philology 36 (1939), 468-69. Edition of Cambridge University Ff.5.48, fols. 74b-75b (a late variant): Wright and Halliwell, 2:212-13. Editions of BL Harley 2382, fol. 86b; Thomas Warton, History of English Poetry, 4 vols. (1774-81; rpt. New York: Johnson Reprint Corp., 1968), 3.153; Patterson, no. 60. Edition of BL Addit. 39574, fol. 58a: Mabel Day, The Wheatley Manuscript, EETS o.s. 155 (London: Oxford University Press, 1921), pp. 74-75. Edition of Chetham Library 8009, fol. 121a: Max Förster, "Kleinere Mittelenglische Texte," Anglia 42 (1918), 172-75.
Patterson comments: "This prayer to Mary shows no influence of the chanson d'amour, but seems rather to belong to the more commonplace poetry that succeeded the chansons in the fifteenth century in France. The stylistic trick of Anaphora [the repetition of initial words], so prominent in this poem, was very popular in French poetry of the time. Though this poem in its general origin owes much to late French poetry, there can be little doubt that in this instance the anaphora has been ultimately influenced chiefly by the Litany, and this fact in turn suggests that perhaps the constant use of the Litany in the Middle Ages has much to do with the widespread popularity of this mannerism" (p. 193).
8 out of dette, for charité. See note to §31, line 20.
31 wrathe. One of the seven deadly sins; or, perhaps, God's wrath. In either case, the speaker is praying for the souls of enemies as well as friends.
46 Schrift and hosel at myn endyng day. I.e., the last rites administered to the dying. Confession and absolution are required before partaking of Holy Communion.
§60
Thou wommon boute vere. Possibly by William Herebert. Index no. 3700. MS: BL Addit. 46919, fols. 206b-07a (early fourteenth century, Southwest Midlands). Editions: Wright and Halliwell, 2:227-28; B14, no. 16; Kaiser, p. 287; LH, no. 184; Davies, no. 28; Helen Gardner, ed., The Faber Book of Religious Verse (London: Faber, 1972), pp. 34-35; Reimer pp. 118-19.
Friar William Herebert's name appears in the margin of this text, and Reimer speculates that the piece may be an original composition. The MS contains many emendations that appear to be authorial. Brown compares the opening stanzas to the hymn Virgo gaude speciosa, for which he prints partial lyrics (B14, p. 248).
7 suster and moder. MS: suster and my moder, with my marked for deletion. The prominent back vowels (sunne for sin, monne for man) are characteristic of the southern dialect.
7-12 These lines appear in the bottom margin, with a line indicating their insertion after line 6.
8 thy sone my brother. MS: thy sone is my brother, with is marked for deletion.
10 Whoso. MS: Who so, with so possibly marked for deletion (one dot under the word; usually there are two).
12 vor to. For to commonly functions as the stem in fourteenth-century infinitive constructions.
18 My robe he haveth opon. Christ's taking of human form makes him representative of and sympathetic to the human condition. Compare Piers Plowman B.18.22-23, in which Christ jousts in Piers' armor: "This Iesus of his gentries wol Iust in Piers armes, / In his helm and in his haubergeon, humana natura" (ed. George Kane and E. Talbot Donaldson [London: Athlone Press, 1975]). Davies, p. 319, notes additional biblical and medieval references to Christ's robe.
23 love the chartre wrot. On the metaphor of Christ's crucified body as a legal charter of salvation, see Mary Carol Spalding, The Middle English Charters of Christ (Bryn Mawr: Bryn Mawr College, 1914). Compare §43, lines 187-99.
24 MS: And the enke orn with And marked for deletion.
32 help at the noede. MS: help me at the noede, with me marked for deletion.
42 In the MS, the word Amen appears at the end of this line; lines 43-48 appear in the bottom margin, marked for insertion.
46 Suster, boe ther. Reimer interprets marks in the MS to indicate a transposition: Ther, Suster, boe.
Suster. The r is written above the line.
§61
Marie, yow quen. Index no. 2125. MS: BL Harley 2316, fol. 26a (late fourteenth century). Editions: Halliwell and Wright, Reliquiae Antiquae, 2:120; Patterson, no. 59.
Patterson notes: "These ejaculatory verses to Mary seem to have been well known. A variant is found as an inlaid stanza to Mary in the Vernon MS. of the long poem on the passion of Jesus, beginning, Swete Jhesu, now wol I synge." Those lines read:
Marie ladi, Mooder briht, —
Thou darst, thou wolt, thou art of miht, —
Myn herte love, my lyf, my liht,
Thou prey for me bothe day & niht.
(Furnivall, EETS o.s. 117, p. 454)
§62
Levedie, ic thonke thee. Index no. 1836. MS: Trinity College Cambridge 323 (B.14.39), fol. 42b (thirteenth century). Editions: B13, no. 27; LH, no. 183; Sisam, Oxford, no. 29; Davies, no. 11.
11 herdie. Sisam emends to erndie, from ME ernden, "to intercede."
16 deyen. MS: dethen. Brown's emendation to suit the rhyme.
§63
Blessed beo thu, lavedi, ful of hovene blisse. Index no. 1407. MS: BL Egerton 613, fol. 2a-b (thirteenth century). Also in BL Harley 2253 (see §64). Editions: Mätzner, p. 54; Böddekker, 457-59; Wright and Halliwell, 1:102-03; Morris, EETS o.s. 49, pp. 195-96; Patterson, no. 65; B13, no. 55.
This follows §83, "Of on that is so fayr," in the same hand.
21 hore. Morris identifies this as a form of or(e) (MED n.2), which means "mercy," "pardon," "forgiveness," "compassion," "pity," "favor," "grace."
27 wende. MS: thende. So emended by all editors.
§64
Blessed be thou, levedy, ful of heovene blisse. Index no. 1407. MS: BL Harley 2253, fol. 81a-b (early fourteenth century). Also in BL Egerton 613 (see §63). Editions: Böddekker, pp. 216-17; Wright, Specimens, pp. 93-94; Brook, no. 26; LH, no. 189.
3 Preyghe. MS: prereyghe. Brook's emendation.
29 of mylse thou art well. Written over erasure.
30 fleysh ant fell. "Flesh and skin." A common phrase in Middle English, meaning "the whole substance of the body" (see OED flesh, sb.I.1.c; and OED fell, sb.1.2: "said of the human skin, rarely of the skin covering an organ of the body").
36 worldes. The first letter is written over erased oþ.
§65
Mary, modur of grace, we cry to thee. Index no. 2114. MS: Gonville and Caius College Cambridge 71/38, fol. 17b (c. 1400). A translation of a prayer which appears in Anselm's Admonitio morienti (PL 158, col. 687), this poem appears in the Fasciculus morum I, ix, "Quibus est humiliandum," in ten MSS. Edition of Caius 71: Rossell Hope Robbins, "Popular Prayers in Middle English Verse," Modern Philology 36 (1939), 345. Edition of Bodl. 12514 (Rawlinson C.670), fol. 15b: Silverstein, no. 52. Edition of Rawlinson C.670: Woolf, p. 120. Edition of Canterbury Cathedral Lit. D.14: Fasciculus morum, pp. 72-73.
3 Put. Wyte in Rawlinson.
7-8 The lines are transposed in Rawlinson.
10 The omission of the subject (here "I") is common in Middle English syntax.