PENITENTIAL POEMS: FOOTNOTES

1 Be our advocate before we die

PENITENTIAL POEMS: NOTES

          §66

Hayl Mari, / Hic am sori. Index no. 1066. MS: Bodl. 1603 (Digby 2), fol. 6b (late thirteenth century). Editions: F. J. Furnivall, Archiv 97 (1896), 311; F. J. Furnivall, Minor Poems, p. 755; Patterson, no. 29; B13, no. 65; Sisam, Oxford, no. 19.

9 In worde, in worke, in thoith foli. Compare the lines of confession from the Ordinary of the Mass: "I have sinned exceedingly in thought, word, and deed" (Warren, Sarum Missal, Part 1, p. 21).

10-11 her mi bon. / Mi bon thu her. Each stanza of this poem is linked to the next with a repeated phrase (concatenation), a technique common to French secular lyrics, particularly the chanson d'aventure. The speaker's plea for the lady's pity also echoes secular conventions.

14 her. MS: her lefdi der, with lefdi der marked for deletion.

15 fer. Sisam glosses as "in health." It could also mean "fearful."

17 Ne let me noth ler that thu ber. Sisam's gloss is "Do not deny me the countenance you bear."

20 Forto. MS: fort. Furnivall's emendation.

36 Trinité. The idea of God as three persons in one being - Father, Son, and Holy Spirit - is central to Christian theology. The Athanasian Creed elaborates on the doctrine.

44 drupe and dar. MED daren, v.2.c.113, cites the Promptorium parvulorum: "Darynn or drowpyn or prively to be hydde," which suggests a common alliterative phrase meaning "to slink or hide or remain motionless." Thus, in lines 46-48, the speaker compares himself at Judgment Day to a hare freezing motionless as the hounds close in. Though he cries out to Mary now in his terror (line 15), at Judgment he would be silent as Christ enduring the fiend's blows.

49 Furnivall emends to read haf ned[e şan &] şare.

50 The MS line concludes with &c, suggesting that the text may be incomplete.


          §67

On hire is al mi lif ilong. Index no. 2687. MS: BL Cotton Caligula A.9, fol. 246b (thirteenth century). Also in Jesus College Oxford 29, Part 2, fol. 180b (lines 1-31, thirteenth century); Trinity College Cambridge 323 (B.14.39), fol. 81b, incomplete due to misbinding (thirteenth century); and BL Royal 2.F.8, fol. 1b (late thirteenth century). Editions of Cotton Caligula: Morris, EETS o.s. 49, pp. 158-62; Wright, Religious Songs, Percy Society 11 (London: T. Richards, 1844), pp. 65-66; B13, no. 32B; Patterson, no. 31. Edition of Trinity: CS, p. 94; B13 no. 32A; Stevick, no. 12. Edition of Jesus College: Morris, EETS o.s. 49, p. 159-63. Edition of Royal: B13, no. 32C.

3 ther among. Singling out Mary as the one most praiseworthy among women is commonplace. She is one among ten thousand; compare Chaucer's use of the Marian epithet in praise of the good fair White in The Book of the Duchess, lines 972 and 818-19.

4 Heo. Trinity: Thad. Royal: That.

6 Heo. Trinity, Royal: Ant.

8 Ich . . . mi. Trinity: We . . . ur.

10 Thah we. MS: thah the. Brown's emendation. Trinity: Than we. Royal: Then we. It is conceivable that Thah the is the right reading, however, and the subject (we) understood: "though we have done wrong to you (Mary)." The shift to second person (the) would thus anticipate the next stanza.

11 Thu art. Trinity: Ho is. Trinity gives Ho for Thu at lines 13 and 14 as well. The Trinity scribe evidently wished to maintain an objective tone by employing third person until midway in the stanza, where Mary is juxtaposed with Eve.
11-20 Here the tone shifts to a more personal level as the speaker begins to address Mary directly. The Trinity scribe maintains use of the third person until midway through the stanza. (In Trinity this stanza occurs after line 40 in the present text.)

14 geve. Royal: broht.

weole. The word suggests "satisfaction," "opulence," "worthiness," "status," or "opportunities."
and. Omitted in Royal.

wunne. MS: thunne. Brown's emendation.

16 woht. Jesus College: wo.

18 Bisih to me. Trinity: Thu do us merci.

19 ich. Trinity: we.

21-30 In Royal and Trinity, this stanza follows the first.

22 Omitted in Jesus College.

23 lif we schule forgo. Trinity: blisse ic mot forgon. Royal gives blisse for lif.

we. MS: the. Brown's emendation.

24 Ne of thunche hit us so sore. Trinity: Nofthingit me so sore.

25 This world nis butent ure ifo. Trinity: This worldis blis nis wrd a slo. Royal: Thes worldes blysse nys wrt a slo.

26 thenche hirne at go. Trinity: wille henne gon.

hirne. Jesus College: hire.

26-28 These lines are omitted in Trinity.

27 do bi. Trinity: lernin.

28 This lives blisse nis wurth a slo. See note to line 25. Royal: Thes world nys bote hure yfoh.

lives. Trinity: worldis.

slo. The sloe is the small, sour fruit of a blackthorn tree.

29 Ich bidde, God, thin ore. Royal: Levedy, thyn horee.

34 prude and feire wede. Trinity: hevir [ever] fayre wedin. Royal: Heyte and fayre ywede.

35 dweole. Trinity: nout. The MED provides several applicable meanings for dwele: "a wandering course," "trickery," "false belief; heresy," or "delusion."

36 ich thenche sunne fleo. Trinity: we sulin [should] ur sunnis flen. Royal: yg wlle hem flee.

37 And alle mine sot dede. Trinity: And ure sothede. Royal: And lete my sothede.

38 Ich bidde hire to me biseo. Trinity: We biddirt hire us to seo. Royal: Hy bydde hyre thet ys so fre.

39 And helpe me and rede. Trinity: Thad con wissin and redin. Royal: Helpen hus and rede.

40 That is so freo. Royal: Wel hit may be.

43 Awrec thee nu on me, levedi. Trinity: Thu do me merci, lavedi brit. Royal: Bysy to me, suete levedy. The literal sense in Cotton Caligula is "avenge yourself now on me, lady."

44 fecche. Trinity: wecche. Royal: dregche.

45-46 Do nim thee wreche . . . / Other let me. Trinity: Yif me thi love . . . / Let me. Royal: To nyme bote . . . / And let me.

47 That no feond me ne drecche. Trinity: Thad fendes me ne letten (release). Royal: Here deed me hynne veyge.
49 Of this world. Trinity: Of my lif. Royal: That lyves.


          §68

Worsshipful maiden to the world, Marie. By Thomas Hoccleve. Index no. 4233. MS: Hunting-ton HM 744, fol. 33b (1422-26). Edition: Frederick J. Furnivall and I. Gollancz, eds., Hoccleve's Works: The Minor Poems, EETS e.s. 61 and 73 (1892 and 1925; rpt. as one volume, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1970), pp. 283-85.

26 Thou sparyng and thow preyynge. In the MS, "s. deus" appears above sparyng; "s. domina" appears above preyynge. The s is an abbreviation for scilicet, "that is to say."

35 Satisfaccioun is the reward of penance; see Chaucer's The Parson's Tale with its progress from "Contricioun of herte" to "Confession of Mouthe" to "Satisfaccioun" (CT X[I]107), or the fruit of the tree of charity being defined as satisfaction (CT X[I]113). But humankind's lot is often said to be a state of perpetual anxiety, and here the speaker worries that his penance has been inadequate. See Boethius' Consolation of Philosophy and such lyrics as "In the vale of resteles mynde" (Index no. 1463; Stevick, no. 50).


          §69

Hayl, oure patron and lady of erthe. Index no. 1073. MS: BL Addit. 37049, fols. 29b-30a (fifteenth century). Editions: Karl Brunner, "Kirchenlieder aus dem 15.Jahrhundert," Anglia 61 (1937), 140; B15, no. 26; LH, no. 182. MS facsimile: James Hogg, ed. An Illustrated Yorkshire Carthusian Religious Miscellany, British Library London Additional MS. 37049, Vol. 3: The Illustrations, Analecta Cartusiana 95 (Salzburg: Universität Salzburg, 1981), pp. 38-39.

In the MS, the poem is preceded by a picture in which Mary sits holding the infant Christ. She holds a scepter; Jesus holds an orb in one hand and raises the other hand in a gesture of benediction. A monk kneels before them, saying, "O suete lady, mayden mylde, pray for me to Jesu thi childe." Mary says, "I am redy for all to pray, that my son wil luf god verray."

The poem is an expanded translation of the antiphon Salve Regina (Connelly, no. 33; Julian, 2:991). In the MS, the abbreviated Latin words appear in red to the left of the English text.
1 Salve. The Latin words correspond to the first words of each English line.

2 emprys of helle. See note to §56, line 10.

3 ferth. The word may be a derivation of the Scottish firth, estuary, suggesting Mary's function as contributor to mercy; or it may be a form of the Northern frith, preserve, wood, or hunting-ground, presenting an image of Mary as a "place" where mercy may be found.

4 secunde welle. The first is the well of Jacob, where Jesus meets the woman of Samaria and tells her about the "living water" of everlasting life (John 4:1-30).

7 et spes nostra. The MS reads mea, but the English text translates the Latin nostra from the hymn.

16 for. Added above the line.

17 payne. The word rayne is blotted out before payne.

25 Illos tuos misericordes oculos: abbreviated in MS.

34 luf. Brown reads lust.

39 joyful. In margin, to replace canceled gentyl.


          §70

Mayden moder milde. Index no. 2039. MS: BL Harley 2253, fol. 83a (West Midlands, early fourteenth century). Editions: Wright, Specimens, pp. 97-98; Böddekker, pp. 220-22; Wülcker, 1:49-50; CS, no. 49; B13, no. 87; Brook, no. 28; LH, no. 191; Silverstein, no. 28.

1-8 Brook calls attention to the similarity of the short prayer which concludes Dan Michel's version of the Ayenbite of Inwit (MS Arundel 57, fol. 96b): "Mayde and moder mylde, uor loue of şine childe, şet is god an man, Me şet am zuo wylde uram zenne şou me ssylde ase ich şe bydde can. Amen."

12 Ly soverein creatour. One of the mysteries of Mary is that she gave birth to her creator, the author of the universe. But creatour might also be translated as "creature" or "created thing," which sometimes is spelled creatur as well as creature in Old French.

25 stou. Possibly ston, as Brown reads; Brook also admits ston (stony ground) as a possible reading.

31 ferede. Brook argues that "the syntax of the line demands the transitive sense 'to cause fear to': 'He caused fear in every living creature.'"