JOHN AUDELAY, CAROL SEQUENCE: FOOTNOTES

1 Here begin the Ten Commandments in the form of a song. Compare Exodus 20:1–17, Matthew 19:18–19. Audelay adds injunctions to avoid backbiting and love one’s neighbor, and omits the last two com­mandments against covetousness.

2 Concerning the Seven Works of Mercy. The subject derives from Matthew 25:31–46, and Audelay treats it elsewhere: True Living, lines 173–85 and 238–63, and God’s Address to Sinful Men, lines 164–71 and 197–220.

3 On the day of Saint Stephen (December 26). Compare Acts 7:55–59.

4 On the day of Saint John, apostle and evangelist (December 27)

5 Concerning Saint Thomas, archbishop of Canterbury (December 29)

6 In grace her shelter there he found for her, with a punning floral sense: In meadows her garden then he found in her. See explanatory note.

7 When, fairest of shape (i.e., Christ), he swooned away from you

8 The fear of death troubles me. The phrase is liturgical (see explanatory note).

9 Passion of Christ, fortify me. This is the fifth line of the famous prayer Anima Christi sanctifica me, found earlier in MS Douce 302 (fol. 9r). It also appears in Pope John’s Passion of Our Lord, line 9.

10 Into thy hands, Lord. Luke 23:46. Compare Seven Words of Christ on the Cross, lines 74–75.

JOHN AUDELAY, CAROL SEQUENCE: EXPLANATORY NOTES

Abbreviations: CT: Chaucer, Canterbury Tales; NHC: Northern Homily Cycle; NIMEV: The New Index of Middle English Verse, ed. Boffey and Edwards; For manuscript abbreviations (ED, A, D, G, L, V), see the Introduction.



XXXV. CAROL SEQUENCE          [W28–W52]

Audelay’s carol sequence possesses an apparent order by number (twenty-five) and arrangement by topic: the articles of faith; the feasts of the Church; support of king (Henry VI) and the social order; veneration of the Holy Family (Anne, Mary, Christ, all of whom branch from the Tree of Jesse); and then a celebration of virginity, chastity, and love of God; a holy fear of death; and, lastly, honor to Saint Francis, the promoter of vernacular Christian song. Although the manuscript does not contain music, the carols were likely meant to be sung, with the possible exception of the longer ones, such as King Henry VI and Saint Francis (Copley, "John Audelay’s Carols and Music," pp. 211–12). The sequence has received recent critical treatment by Boffey, "Audelay’s Carol Collection," and Reichl, "Middle English Carol," pp. 152–56, both of whom compare it to other collections in manuscripts. Audelay’s is the earliest such collection. The carol sequence may be a principal reason that the manuscript migrated into the hands of a minstrel (Taylor, "Myth of the Minstrel Manuscript," pp. 65–66).

INSTRUCTIONS FOR READING 3          [unnumbered in W]

[Fol. 27vb, upper margin. Not in IMEV, NIMEV. Hand: Scribe B, poem in red. Meter: One tetrameter couplet. Editions: Coxe, p. 51; E. Whiting, p. 180.]

CAROL 1. TEN COMMANDMENTS          [W28]

It is noteworthy that Carols 1–5 form a group centered on basic articles of faith (Ten Commandments, Seven Deadly Sins, Seven Works of Mercy, Five Wits, and Seven Gifts of the Holy Ghost). These carols are all composed in a 7-line stanza, and they are similar in length: Carols 1–4 have five stanzas, and Carol 5 has six.
On Audelay’s treatment of the Ten Commandments, Greene, Early English Carols, p. 428, was first to note that the chaplain "takes some liberties with the Commandments as they were prescribed to be taught by the Synod of Lambeth (1281). . . . He introduces Christ’s injunction from Matthew xix.19. . . . He also omits the Ninth and Tenth Com­mandments against covetousness and adds one of his own against backbiting." Audelay repeats this for­mulation in True Living, lines 143–54, which is probably the earlier work, especially as its verses also were also reused in Carols 3, 5, 13, and 22. On this subject of the command­ments, compare, too, Virtues of the Mass, lines 138–43. An unrelated Middle English lyric on the Ten Commandments appears in the Vernon Manuscript; it has thirteen 8-line stanzas and the refrain "And kepe wel Cristes Comaundement" (Brown, Religious Lyrics of the XIVth Century, pp. 148–51 [no. 102], 278).

[Fol. 27vb. IMEV, NIMEV 304. MWME 6:1994 [327]. Hands: Scribe A, carol and burden in black; Scribe B, incipit in red. Initial: Medium A in blue with red filigree (2 lines high). Meter: Five 7-line stanzas, abab₄C₂CC₄, with 2-line tetrameter burden, introduced by tag-refrain "Leve ye me." Editions: Chambers and Sidgwick 1910, p. 479; E. Whiting, pp. 181, 249; Greene, Early English Carols, pp. 197–98, 428–29 (no. 324).]

burden The saying is proverbial and homiletic. Compare Chaucer’s Physician’s Tale ("Forsaketh synne, er synne yow forsake" [CT VI(C) 286]) and Parson’s Tale ("And therfore repentant folk, that stynte for to synne and forlete synne er that synne forlete hem, hooly chirche holdeth hem siker of hire savacioun" [CT X(I) 93]). For the proverb, see B. Whiting and Whiting, Proverbs, pp. 520–21 [S335].

1 And. This word, connected syntactically to the burden, tells us that the burden was sung first.
1–4 These lines are taken from True Living, lines 143–46.

2 Compare Matthew 19:19, where Jesus adds: "Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself." The Vernon lyric "Keep Well Christ’s Commandments" also instructs: "And let þi neiõhebor, frend and fo, / Riht frely of þi frendshupe fele" (Brown, Religious Lyrics of the XIVth Century, p. 149, lines 17–18).

8–10 These lines are taken from True Living, lines 147–49.

10 Bacbyte. The injunction against slander is added by Audelay. Bennett, "John Audelay: Life Records," p. 41, suggests that it comes in part from Audelay’s personal experience, including his part in Lord LeStrange’s public scandal. Backbiting is also added to the commandments in True Living, lines 149–50.

15–18 These lines are taken from True Living, lines 151–54.

22 A parallel to this line exists in a carol from MS Sloane 2593. See Greene, Early English Carols, p. 213 (no. 356, stanza 1, line 2).

29–32 Variants of these lines also occur in On the World’s Folly, lines 25–27, and Audelay’s Epilogue to The Counsel of Conscience, lines 110–12.

CAROL 2. SEVEN DEADLY SINS          [W29]

On Audelay’s treatment elsewhere of the theme of the seven deadly sins, see Seven Bleedings of Christ, lines 19–60 (explanatory note); Seven Words of Christ on the Cross, lines 5–12; Prayer of General Confession, lines 5–8; and Childhood, lines 1–15. This carol is part of an internal series (Carols 1–5) on articles of the faith.

[Fols. 27vb–28ra. IMEV, NIMEV 858. MWME 6:1994 [328]. Hands: Scribe A, carol and burden in black; Scribe B, incipit in red. Initial: Large I in blue with red filigree (eight lines high, in margin). Meter: Five 7-line stanzas, abab₄C₂CC₄, with 2-line tetrameter burden, introduced by tag-refrain "I say thee so." (NIMEV mistakenly lists the meter as "five 4-line st. and 2-line burden.") Other MS: Aberystwyth, NLW 334A, endleaf. Editions: Chambers and Sidgwick 1910, p. 480; E. Whiting, pp. 182, 249; Greene, Early English Carols, pp. 198, 429 (no. 325).]

burden In wele beware ore thou be woo. This proverb is also found in Audelay’s Marcolf and Solomon, lines 42–43 (with an echo of it also at line 949), and in Audelay’s Epilogue to The Counsel of Conscience, line 218. A Middle English lyric in fourteen 8-line stanzas uses this proverb as its refrain ("Eche man be war, er hym be wo"). It appears in Oxford, Bodl. Lib. MS Digby 102, fols. 113r–114r (Kail, Twenty-Six Political and Other Poems, pp. 60–64). See Greene, Early English Carols, p. 429, for other literary occurrences of the proverb.



CAROL 3. SEVEN WORKS OF MERCY          [W30]

Seven Works of Mercy reveals Audelay’s method of recasting earlier compositions in different meters and for different contexts. Nearly the entire carol is crafted from True Living, lines 173–85, 238–63, and (less directly) God’s Address to Sinful Men, lines 164–71, 197–220. Audelay also mined material from True Living when he composed Carols 1, 5, 13, and 22. On the poet’s treatment of the seven works of mercy, Greene, Early English Carols, p. 429, comments: "Audelay is again somewhat original . . . and deviates slightly from the list formulated by the Synod of Lambeth. He seems to have in mind the seven ‘corporal’ works, but of these he omits to mention the ransoming of the captive and the visiting of the sick. The injunction to ‘teach the unwise’ he takes over from the list of ‘spiritual’ works."

Scribe B seems to have wanted to delete the tag-refrain line 5 of each stanza, but he missed line 26. With the fifth line retained (as here), the meter conforms to that found in many Audelay carols, and it matches, in particular, the others on the articles of belief (Carols 1–5). If the fifth line were deleted, the stanza would be unique among Audelay’s carols.

On the importance of the seven works of mercy as a codified teaching for pious behavior in late medieval England, see Goldberg, Medieval England, pp. 230–31. Poems on the seven works of mercy have been printed from MS Lambeth 491 (Bülbring, pp. 388–89) and the Vernon Manuscript (Horstman, Minor Poems of the Vernon MS, pp. 34–35). Many more lyrics on the topic survive in manuscripts and remain unprinted (IMEV, p. 767, s.v. "Mercy, works of").

[Fol. 28ra. IMEV, NIMEV 792. MWME 6:1994 [329]. Hands: Scribe A, carol and burden in black; Scribe B, incipit in red. Initial: Medium W in red (two lines high). Meter: Five 7-line stanzas, abab4C2CC4, with 2-line tetrameter burden, introduced by tag-refrain "I cownsel thee." Editions: Chambers and Sidgwick 1910, pp. 480–81; E. Whiting, pp. 183, 249; Greene, Early English Carols, pp. 198, 429 (no. 326).]

1–4 These lines appear in True Living, lines 173–76, and God’s Address to Sinful Men, lines 164–66, 169–70.

8–11 A version of these lines appears in True Living, lines 177–79, and God’s Address to Sinful Men, lines 167, 171, 173–74. The parallel for line 11 is found only in God’s Address to Sinful Men.

15–18 See True Living, lines 238–41, and God’s Address to Sinful Men, lines 197–200.

22–25 See True Living, lines 251–54, and God’s Address to Sinful Men, lines 213–16.

24 Let se. The MS is difficult to read due to rubbing and fading. The reading here is supported by Audelay’s identical lines at True Living, line 253, and God’s Address to Sinful Men, line 215. Other editors’ variants are therefore probably incorrect: Loke (Chambers and Sidgwick 1910, followed by Whiting) and Loo, se (Greene, Early English Carols).

29–32 See True Living, lines 255–58, and God’s Address to Sinful Men, lines 217–20.
29 wellay. Greene’s well ay gives a different interpretation of the same MS reading, but it is not supported by the parallel reading weleway in True Living, line 255; compare God’s Address to Sinful Men, line 217.

31 This line voices the complaint of the poor against the rich, as will be uttered on Doomsday. Greene, Early English Carols, punctuates line 29 as the beginning of the quote, but he neglects to punctuate the end of the quote. Whiting does not indicate a speech here by means of quotation marks.



CAROL 4. FIVE WITS          [W31]

This subject is addressed elsewhere in MS Douce 302 at Prayer of General Confession, lines 10–16 (note). A poem on the five wits appears in MS Lambeth 491 (Bülbring, "Handscrift Nr. 491," p. 388) and also speaks in the imperative, but it bears no further likeness to Audelay’s carol (Greene, Early English Carols, p. 429). Another lyric survives in the Vernon Manuscript (Horstmann, Minor Poems of the Vernon MS, p. 35). For a few others that remain unprinted, see IMEV, p. 784, s.v. "Wits, five bodily."

[Fol. 28ra–b. IMEV, NIMEV 3346. MWME 6:1995 [331]. Hands: Scribe A, carol and burden in black; Scribe B, incipit in red. Initial: Medium T in red (two lines high). Meter: Five 7-line stanzas, abab₄C₂CC₄, with 2-line tetrameter burden, introduced by tag-refrain "Lest thou be chent." Editions: Chambers and Sidgwick 1910, pp. 481–82; E. Whiting, pp. 184, 249; Greene, Early English Carols, pp. 199, 429–30 (no. 328).]

9 fre choys and fre wil. On the topic of free will in Audelay’s works, see the expla­natory note to True Living, lines 203–07.

32 This line is a proverb; see B. Whiting and Whiting, Proverbs, pp. 395–96 [M454]; and Greene, Early English Carols, pp. 429–30.



CAROL 5. SEVEN GIFTS OF THE HOLY GHOST          [W32]

Three stanzas of this carol are borrowed directly from Audelay’s True Living, a poem in 13-line stanzas. The chaplain also mined material from this apparently earlier work for Carols 1, 3, 13, and 22. Greene, Early English Carols, p. 429, comments: "Audelay’s formula­tion of the Seven Gifts differs from that of other literature on the subject. The traditional gifts are those enumerated in Isaiah xi. 2, 3. . . . Audelay’s ‘mind’ can be identified with ‘intellectus’ and ‘resun’ with ‘consilium’, but the others he has taken from the Cardinal Virtues. . . . He has certainly confused his theology." A poem on the same subject appears in the Vernon Manuscript (Horstmann, Minor Poems of the Vernon MS, p. 34; Patterson, Middle English Penitential Lyrics, p. 128 [no. 51]).

[Fol. 28rb. IMEV, NIMEV 2173. MWME 6:1995 [330]. Hands: Scribe A, carol and burden in black; Scribe B, incipit in red. Initial: Medium G in red (two lines high). Meter: Six 7-line stanzas, abab₄C₂CC₄, with 2-line tetrameter burden, introduced by tag-refrain "Ellis were we lost." Editions: Chambers and Sidgwick 1910, pp. 482–83; E. Whiting, pp. 185–86, 249–50; Greene, Early English Carols, pp. 198–99, 429 (no. 327).]

burden Compare the opening of the Vernon lyric, "God þat art of mihtes most, / Þe seuen ₃iftus of the holigost / I preye þat þou ₃iue me" (Horstmann, Minor Poems of the Vernon MS, p. 34, lines 1–3).

11 grownder. Compare Salutation to Saint Winifred, line 56, and the explanatory note to that line.

22–25 These lines derive from True Living, lines 212–15.

29–32 These lines derive from True Living, lines 225–28.

30 Soule. The emendation of MS oule to Soule is based on True Living, line 226. Previous editors read onle.

36–38 These lines derive from True Living, lines 229–31.

38 On Audelay’s frequent citation of the Golden Rule, see the explanatory note to True Living, line 231.



CAROL 6. DAY OF THE NATIVITY          [W33]

This carol of convivial Yuletide joy and welcome begins a new internal group of five carols (Carols 6–10) that follows the Church calendar of observance for December 25 to December 29. The same sequence occurs for sermons in Mirk’s Festial (ed. Erbe, pp. 21–44) and Speculum sacerdotale (ed. Weatherly, pp. 5–18), where the next topics are Circumcision and Epiphany (compare Carols 11 and 15). The existence of a closely related carol in Sloane 2593 causes Greene, Early English Carols, p. 344, to posit a prototype carol behind both and to deduce that "Audelay’s original authorship of the carol is doubtful." Carols 6–10 are all written in 6-line stanzas. Of these, only this one (probably known from a familiar model) has a refrain at the fourth line.

[Fol. 28rb–va. IMEV, Suppl., NIMEV 3877. MWME 6:1945-46 [6]. Hands: Scribe A, carol and burden in black; Scribe B, incipit in red. Initial: Medium W in red (2 lines high). Meter: Five 6-line stanzas, aaaBBB₄, with 2-line tetrameter burden and introductory refrain line "Welcum, Yole, forever and ay." Other MS: London, BL MS Sloane 2593, fol. 32r (15th cent.): five 6-line stanzas, aaa₄B₂BB₄ (Greene, Early English Carols, pp. 4, 343–44 [no. 7B]). Editions: Sandys, Christmastide, pp. 218–19; Chambers and Sidgwick 1910, p. 483; E. Whiting, pp. 186–87, 250; Greene, Selection of English Carols, pp. 55–56, 187 (no. 2); Greene, Early English Carols, pp. 3–4, 343–44 (no. 7A).]

7–9 These lines are not present in the Sloane carol.

13–15 By naming these saints, Audelay invokes the sequence of feast days that immediately follow Christmas Day: Saint Stephen’s Day (December 26); Saint John’s Day (December 27); Holy Innocents Day (December 28) and Saint Thomas of Canterbury’s Day (December 29). This sequence also marks the subject matter of Carols 6–10. Compare the second stanza of the related carol in MS Sloane 2593.

20 Greene provides a useful note on the "alternative ways of regarding the Christmas season" embodied in this carol and the one in MS Sloane 2593 (Early English Carols, p. 344). Audelay’s poem celebrates the twelve days to Epiphany (January 6; see Carol 15), while the Sloane poem celebrates the forty days to the Purification, extending the welcome to Candlemas.



CAROL 7. DAY OF SAINT STEPHEN          [W34]

In the sequence of Carols 6–10, this one celebrates the Day of Saint Stephen, December 26. The grouping of the martyrdoms of Stephen, John the Evangelist, and the Holy Innocents follows Church tradition. In The Golden Legend, it is explained that these three exemplify "all the different classes of martyrs, associating them closely with the birth of Christ, which was the cause of their martyrdom. For there are three kinds of martyrdom: the first is willed and endured, the second willed but not endured, the third endured without being willed. Saint Stephen is an example of the first, Saint John of the second, the Holy Innocents of the third" (Jacobus de Voragine, trans. Ryan, 1:49–50).

[Fol. 28va. IMEV, NIMEV 3057. MWME 6:1959 [95]. Hands: Scribe A, carol and burden in black; Scribe B, incipit in red. Initial: Medium I in red (two lines high). Meter: Five 6-line stanzas, aaabBB₄, with 2-line tetrameter burden. Editions: Chambers and Sidgwick 1910, pp. 483–84; E. Whiting, pp. 187, 250; Greene, Early English Carols, pp. 52, 364 (no. 97).]

1–21 The events follow the biblical account in Acts of Apostles 7:55–60. The story of Saint Stephen’s martyrdom is also recounted by Jacobus de Voragine in The Golden Legend (trans. Ryan, 1:45–50), along with further legends about finding Stephen’s relics and the miracles that attended that event (trans. Ryan, 2:40–44). Caxton’s English Golden Legend contains these accounts as well (ed. Ellis, 2:152–61, 4:165–72).



CAROL 8. DAY OF SAINT JOHN THE EVANGELIST          [W35]

Saint John the Evangelist was the patron saint of Haughmond Abbey. His statue appears among others in the columns outside the chapter house, where he is depicted holding a palm branch and scroll and standing upon an eagle (his emblem). In the sequence of Carols 6–10, this one celebrates the Day of Saint John the Evangelist, December 27. Greene, Early English Carols, prints other carols dedicated to Saint John (nos. 103–06).

[Fol. 28va–b. IMEV, NIMEV 2929. MWME 6:1960 [100]. Hands: Scribe A, carol and burden in black; Scribe B, incipit in red. Initial: Large I in red (five lines high, in margin). Meter: Ten 6-line stanzas, aaabBB₄, with 2-line tetrameter burden. Editions: Chambers and Sidgwick 1910, pp. 484–85; E. Whiting, pp. 188–89, 250; Greene, Early English Carols, pp. 55, 365 (no. 102)]

1–4 From the account of the Last Supper, John 13:23: "Now there was leaning on Jesus’s bosom one of his disciples, whom Jesus loved." On John as Jesus’ most beloved disciple, see too Jacobus de Voragine, The Golden Legend (trans. Ryan, 1.50–55, especially p. 50; for Caxton’s version, see Ellis, 2:161–76). On the martyrological significance of John the Evangelist, see the explanatory note to Carol 7.

7 dere derling. Compare Seven Words of Christ on the Cross, line 45.
7–16 These stanzas allude to and imaginatively expand on John 19:26–27, a passage frequently cited in Middle English narratives of the Passion; compare Seven Words of Christ on the Cross, lines 40–42, and Seven Hours of the Cross, lines 42–44.

46 The logic of human redemption gained through Christ’s suffering — and enacted painfully and emotionally in Mary as well — is a feature of many dialogic lyrics between Mary and Christ, framed usually as lullabies or planctus Mariae. See, e.g., "Dialogue between Our Lady and Jesus on the Cross" (Brown, English Lyrics of the XIIIth Century, pp. 87–88 [no. 49]; and my discussion in MWME 11:4192–93 [20]).



CAROL 9. DAY OF THE HOLY INNOCENTS          [W36]

In the sequence of Carols 6–10, this one celebrates the Day of the Holy Innocents, December 28. Greene, Selection of English Carols, prints three other carols on this theme (nos. 109–12). On the martyrological grouping of Carols 7–9, see the explanatory note to Day of Saint Stephen. The legend of the Holy Innocents is recounted in Jacobus de Voragine, The Golden Legend (trans. Ryan, 1:56–59; for Caxton’s version, see Ellis, 2:176–82). On the literary and visual tradition of the Massacre of the Innocents, see Oosterwijk, "Long lullynge haue I lorn!" especially p. 3.

[Fols. 28vb–29ra. IMEV, Suppl., NIMEV 601 (mistakenly called "nativity carol"). MWME 6:1961 [106]. Hands: Scribe A, carol and burden in black; Scribe B, incipit in red. Initial: Medium W in red (two lines high). Meter: Six 6-line stanzas, aaabBB₄, with 2-line tetrameter burden. Editions: Chambers and Sidgwick 1910, pp. 485–86; E. Whiting, pp. 189–90, 250; Greene, Selection of English Carols, pp. 79–80, 200 (no. 22); Greene, Early English Carols, pp. 58, 367–68 (no. 108).

1–2 These lines appear in a carol fragment from Cambridge, Gonville and Caius College MS 383 (fifteenth century), printed by Greene, Early English Carols, p. 292 (App., no. ii); variants appear in another carol (Greene, p. 73 [no. 125A, stanza 16]).

7 This passage is based on Matthew 2:16. According to Greene, Early English Carols, p. 367, "The tradition was that Herod was called to Rome directly after his interview with the Magi and was a year on the road each way. Hence, when he returned, he ordered the killing of all male children of two years and under." Compare Mirk’s Festial (ed. Erbe, p. 36).

13 "Audelay’s figure of 140,000 as the number slain is not quite the customary one. The number was generally put in the Middle Ages at 144,000, in defiance of all historical possibility, by identifying the Innocents with the white-clad host of Revelation [Apocalypse] xiv. 3" (Greene, Early English Carols, pp. 367–68). Compare, too, the numbers of pains in hell in Audelay’s The Vision of Saint Paul, line 317 (explanatory note).

34 Compare Apocalypse 14:4, of the redeemed on the Day of Judgment: "These are they who were not defiled with women: for they are virgins. These follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth. These were purchased from among men, the first fruits to God and to the Lamb."



CAROL 10. SAINT THOMAS ARCHBISHOP OF CANTERBURY          [W37]

An effigy of Saint Thomas of Canterbury, with mitre and archbishop’s cross-staff, stands between the arches of the chapter house in the remains of Haughmond Abbey. In the sequence of Carols 6–10, this one celebrates Saint Thomas’s Day, December 29. For other carols on this theme, see Greene, Early English Carols, nos. 114, 115, 115.1, 116. Of Audelay’s carol, he comments: "Audelay, as is natural for one so solicitous for the rights of the clerical orders, exaggerates somewhat the services of Thomas to the Church, and his exposition of the points at issue is hardly the historical one" (p. 369). Jacobus de Voragine’s Golden Legend also places Thomas in liturgical sequence after Stephen, John the Evangelist, and the Holy Innocents (trans. Ryan, 1.59–62; for Caxton, see Ellis, Golden Legend, 2:182–97). For the liturgical office of Saint Thomas, see Reames, "Liturgical Offices." For mentions of Saint Thomas elsewhere in MS Douce 302, see Marcolf and Solomon, line 342 (explanatory note), and Day of the Nativity, line 15.

[Fol. 29ra. IMEV, NIMEV 838. MWME 6:1961–62 [110]. Hands: Scribe A, carol and burden in black; Scribe B, incipit in red. Initial: Large I in red (eight lines high, in margin). Meter: Five 6-line stanzas, aaabBB₄, with 2-line tetrameter burden. Editions: Chambers and Sidgwick 1910, pp. 486–87; E. Whiting, pp. 190–91, 251; Greene, Early English Carols, pp. 60, 368–69 (no. 113).]

burden The MS reading sers is emended to seris, Audelay’s usual two-syllable form, to maintain tetrameter.

1–3 The opening of this carol commemorates a blessed birth and martyrdom, connecting it to the openings of the preceding and succeeding carols, Day of the Holy Innocents and Day of the Lord’s Circumcision. For the traditional significance of Tuesdays in Saint Thomas’s life, see Greene, Early English Carols, pp. 368–69; and Reames, "Liturgical Offices," p. 592n34. In line 2 Audelay goes beyond tradition and fact: Thomas was ordained on a Saturday.

13–22 For historical background, see Greene, Early English Carols, p. 369.

26 fyfté poyntis. Though the number varies in the records, the received tradition on Thomas Becket was that he suffered martyrdom because he disputed numerous points decreed in a royal charter. Greene, Early English Carols, pp. 369–70, provides a full and helpful explanation of this crux (note to no. 114, stanza 9).

28 Compare a carol on Thomas found in Oxford, Bodl. Lib. MS. Eng. poet. e.1 (fifteenth century): "Hys moder be blyssyd that hym bar, / And also hys fader that hym begat" (Greene, Early English Carols, p. 61 [no. 115, stanza 2]).



CAROL 11. DAY OF THE LORD'S CIRCUMCISION          [W38]

This carol honors the Day of the Circumcision, January 1, so it carries forward the chronology of an internal group (Carols 6–10) that mark holy days December 25 to 29. One may compare the exposition of the Lord’s Circumcision in The Golden Legend (trans. Ryan, 1:71–78), Mirk’s Festial (ed. Erbe, pp. 44–47), and Speculum sacerdotale (ed. Weatherly, pp. 16–18). Audelay’s carol is the longest of the three versions of it that survive; the others possess musical settings and four stanzas, each in different arrangements. The fifth stanza is unique to MS Douce 302.

This lovely, innovative carol embeds the burden at lines 5–6 and then repeats it at lines 9–10. The repetitions at lines 5–6 are indicated by the words ut supra, or the first words of the burden, or both (see textual notes). Three stanzas (2, 4, 5) vary the burden wording in the fifth line, "Seche wonder tythyngis ye may here." E. Whiting prints the manuscript version diplomatically and thus shows how the five stanzas there are uneven in length (8, 7, 8, 7, 8 lines) and vary in providing indications of where and how to repeat the burden. Greene, Early English Carols, deduces a 9-line stanza, but to create this he must omit Scribe A’s line 6 (see also Copley, "Popular Fifteenth-Century Carol," pp. 387–89). Following the indi­cations of Scribes A and B, I am led to believe that the carol has 10-line stanzas (fifty lines in total). It is evident that Scribe A’s copy was defective, particularly for the third stanza, and that Scribe B has made extensive correction. In this regard, one may compare the shared scribal labor evident in Gabriel’s Salutation to the Virgin and Chastity for Mary’s Love.

Extrapolating from the musical settings in the other manuscripts, it seems probable that stanzas were sung by a soloist, burden-refrains by a chorus, so that a joyous dialogue emerged be­tween a company and a "messenger"; see Greene’s interesting note on the question of per­formance (Early English Carols, p. 372), and see also Copley, "John Audelay’s Carols and Music," p. 209. Although Audelay’s version is the most fully preserved text, Greene doubts (perhaps unfairly) that Audelay composed this carol: "The spirited rhythm is so much superior to Audelay’s usual metres that his original authorship must be regarded as doubtful" (Early English Carols, p. 372). This carol under the title "What Tidings?" — with lyrics ascribed to Audelay — has been adapted for modern choral performance and recordings.

[Fol. 29ra–b. IMEV, Suppl., NIMEV 21 ("New Year carol"). MWME 3:843-44 [10], 6:1962 [115]. Hands: Scribe A, carol and burden in black; Scribe B, incipit in red. The carol has been heavily corrected by Scribe B. Initial: Medium W in red (two lines high). Meter: Five 10-line stanzas, ababCDcdCD₄. (NIMEV mistakenly lists the meter as "four 7-line st. and 2-line burden.") Other MSS: Cambridge, TCC MS O.3.58, recto (fifteenth century): burden and stanzas 1, 3, 2, 4 (Greene, Early English Carols, p. 63 [no. 117b]); Oxford, Bodl. Lib. MS Arch. Selden B.26, fols. 15v–16r (fifteenth century): burden and stanzas 1, 2, 4, 3 (Dearmer et al., Oxford Book of Carols, pp. 78–79 [no. 40]; Greene, Early English Carols, p. 63 [no. 117c]). Modern Choral Adaptations: Stevens,"What Tidings Bringest Thou?" Mediaeval Carols, pp. 8–9 (no. 11), 20 (no. 27); Hoddinott, "What Tidings?" Sound Recordings: The Elizabethan Singers 1966; New York Pro Musica Antiqua 1978; Oxford Camerata 1993. Editions: Chambers and Sidgwick 1910, pp. 487–88; E. Whiting, pp. 191–93, 251; Greene, Selection of English Carols, pp. 83–84, 204–05 (no. 25); Greene, Early English Carols, pp. 62–63, 372 (no. 117a). Modernized Edition: Sisam and Sisam, Oxford Book of Medieval English Verse, pp. 386–87 (no. 117a).]

6 Sense, meter, and the wording of other stanzas indicate that the original line at this point may have been "Of Cristis borth this New Eris Day." Greene, Early English Carols, omits this line (and lines 16, 26, 36, 46) to achieve a uniform 9-line meter of ababCcdCD₄.

8 This line appears to signify that the Devil may now attempt only to prey on sinning humans, but not assume they are damned. With the coming of Christ, mankind is now redeemable.



CAROL 12. KING HENRY VI          [W39]

This carol comes twelfth of twenty-five, a position treated as the center of the sequence. A prominent and distinctive leaf-point in the foliage of the ornamental initial A seems designed to highlight the carol and signify Henry’s sovereignty as important to Audelay’s carol collection. Henry V died in France on August 31, 1422, when his son was yet an infant (born on December 6, 1421). Henry VI was crowned king of England at Westminster on November 6, 1429 (at age eight), and king of France in Paris, on December 16, 1431 (at age ten). Greene, Early English Carols, p. 475, suggests that "this circumstance excuses Audelay’s devoting most of the carol to the exploits of the new king’s father rather than to the virtues of the boy himself." Audelay’s patriotic loyalty to the monarch emerges elsewhere, most notably in Salutation to Saint Bridget. In the Chastity of Wives carol, he laments a decline in England’s noble bloodlines caused by female inconstancy. Useful discussion of this carol, with comparison to The Agincourt Carol (Robbins, Historical Poems, pp. 91–92 [no. 32]) and a Lydgate poem, appears in the essay by Hirsh, "Wo and werres"; see, too, McKenna, "Henry VI," pp. 154–55. On celebrations of Henry V’s monarchy in fifteenth-century literature, see Dockray, Henry V, pp. 13–32, and Allmand, Henry V, especially p. 427. For accounts of Henry VI’s years of minority (1422–37), see Pollard, Late Medieval England, pp. 92–115, and Wolffe, Henry VI, pp. 25–47. Griffiths, "Sense of Dynasty," details the vigorous sense of dynasty motivating regnal ambitions during this era.

[Fol. 29rb–va. IMEV, Suppl., NIMEV 822. MWME 6:2011 [437]. Hands: Scribe A, carol and burden in black; Scribe B, incipit in red. Initial: Medium A in red (two lines high), with trailing foliage that curves into a leaf pointing back at lines 1–4 of the poem. Meter: Sixteen 6-line stanzas, aaabBB₄, with 2-line tetrameter burden. Editions: Halliwell, pp. viii–x; Chambers and Sidgwick 1910, pp. 488–90; E. Whiting, pp. 193–95, 251–52; Robbins, Historical Poems, pp. 108–10 (no. 41); Greene, Early English Carols, pp. 258–59, 475–76 (no. 428); Hirsh, Medieval Lyric, pp. 195–99 (no. B9).]

13–15 Audelay’s sequence of events is inaccurate. Henry V’s marriage to Catherine of Valois (on June 2, 1420) was not an issue before his defeat of the French in 1419. The tennis ball incident occurred in 1415. See E. Whiting, p. 252, and Greene, Early English Carols, p. 476.

15 hee. As E. Whiting notes, p. 251, there is no antecedent for this pronoun, but it must be the Dauphin: "The Dauphin said that Henry’s love for Katharine should not be."

19–22 Greene, Early English Carols, p. 476, comments: "The tennis-ball incident and its sequel of ‘teaching the French the game’ caught Audelay’s imagination as it later did Shakespeare’s." See also Dockray, Henry V, p. 53, and Allmand, Henry V, p. 427.

25 Harflete. The reference is to the town of Harfleur, taken by siege September 22, 1415, upon Henry V’s landing in France in the summer. Compare The Agincourt Carol: "He sette a sege, þe sothe for to say, / To harflu tovne with ryal a-ray; / Þat tovne he wan & made a-fray" (Robbins, Historical Poems, p. 91).

33 Agyncowrt. I.e., the battle of Agincourt, on October 25, 1415 (on which, see Curry, Agincourt). Robbins, Historical Poems, provides a succinct summary of the events leading to this victory for the English (pp. 285–86) as well as a descrip­tion of the elaborate pageants that followed Henry V’s triumphant return to London (pp. 296–97).

63–64 McKenna, "Henry VI," pp. 154–55, cites these lines as an instance of "congrat­ulatory stanzas" evocative of domestic propaganda in celebration of Henry VI’s dual coronation as king of England and of France. If this is so, it would date Audelay’s carol sequence and the MS to after 1431. Robbins, Historical Poems, p. 108, dates Audelay’s King Henry VI "1429."

73–76 Greene, Early English Carols, p. 476, comments: "Audelay’s prophecy is given a tragic irony by the events of Henry VI’s reign. The last stanza, however, shows that the poet recognized the possibilities of disaster facing the new sovereign."



CAROL 13. FOUR ESTATES          [W40]

The opening stanza of this carol borrows directly from Audelay’s True Living, a poem in 13-line stanzas. Audelay also mined material from this apparently earlier work for Carols 1, 3, 5, and 22.

[Fol. 29va–b. IMEV, Suppl., NIMEV 1588. MWME 6:1997 [350]. Hands: Scribe A, carol and burden in black; Scribe B, incipit in red. Initial: Medium H in red (two lines high). Meter: Eight 7-line stanzas, abab4C2CC4, with 2-line tetrameter burden, introduced by tag-refrain "I say, algate." Editions: Chambers and Sidgwick 1911, pp. 68–69; E. Whiting, pp. 195–97; Kaiser, Medieval English, p. 295; Greene, Early English Carols, pp. 209–10, 435–36 (no. 347). Modernized Edition: Davies, Medieval English Lyrics, pp. 171–73.]

1–4 On Audelay’s staunch attitude on upholding one’s station, see True Living, lines 130–33 (and explanatory note).



CAROL 14. CHILDHOOD          [W41]

Salter, Fourteenth-Century English Poetry, p. 17, praises this carol for its "warmth of feeling for the innocence of a child — an emotion more unusual in [Audelay’s] age than we might think possible," and she astutely notes how that emotion is not "indulged," but rather "turned to useful account in his numerous Nativity lyrics" (compare Jesus Flower of Jesse’s Tree, lines 42–44). Greene’s praise is more muted: "The attitude of reverence for childhood expressed by Audelay in this carol is unusual . . . and has been deservedly praised. Nevertheless, the expression of it is rather stiff and conventional with its systematic introduction of the Deadly Sins and is more probably inspired by the words of Jesus . . . than by sympathetic association with real children" (Early English Carols, p. 459). The biblical passages referenced by Greene are Matthew 18:3 ("Amen I say to you, unless you be con­verted, and become as little children, you shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven") and Mark 10:15, Luke 18:17 ("Amen, I say to you: Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a child, shall not enter into it").

[Fols 29vb, 31ra. IMEV, NIMEV 840. MWME 6:2007 [417]. Hands: Scribe A, carol and burden in black; Scribe B, incipit in red. Initial: Medium A in red (two lines high). Meter: Eight 6-line stanzas, aaabBB₄, with 2-line tetrameter burden. Editions: Chambers and Sidgwick 1911, pp. 69–70; E. Whiting, pp. 197–98; Greene, Early English Carols, pp. 245, 459 (no. 412).]

1–15 On Audelay’s treatment of the seven deadly sins, see explanatory note to Seven Bleedings of Christ, lines 19–60.
1–6 For a psychoanalytical reading of these lines, see Citrome, Surgeon, pp. 103–05, who comments that "metaphors [of childhood] act in concert with . . . supremely ambivalent experiences of parental power to strengthen the authority of the clergy" (p. 104).

10 cheré stons. Playing with cherry stones is here a sign of childish innocence, but John Lydgate’s Testament portrays the same activity as a youthful waste of time and a turning from God: "My wyttes fyve in wast I did alle vse, / Redier cheristones for to telle / Than gon to chirche, or here the sacryng belle" (MacCracken, Minor Poems of John Lydgate, p. 353, lines 646–48). Greene, Early English Carols, p. 459, calls Audelay’s detail "a pleasant touch."

16 mystere. "Necessity." See MED mister, n.5(a).

43–46 Citrome reads this passage as another instance of Audelay viewing his afflic­tions as an early purgatory (The Surgeon, p. 103); compare the explanatory note to Audelay’s Epilogue to The Counsel of Conscience, lines 14–26.



CAROL 15. DAY OF EPIPHANY          [W42]

With a burden of "Nowel!" and evocations of the Christmas season, this lovely carol is composed for the Day of Epiphany, January 6. There survive two variant versions of Audelay’s carol, both much shorter and possessing different 2-line burdens. In Audelay’s poem the fourth line of each stanza is the opening of a different Latin hymn; several of these hymns are specific to Epiphany (lines 24, 29, 44) or to Christmas (lines 14, 49). These Latin lines are tabulated with their hymnal uses and their other carol occurrences by Greene, Early English Carols, pp. lxxxvi–lxxxviii. Appropriately, Audelay’s version develops the story of the Three Magi; compare Jacobus de Voragine, The Golden Legend (trans. Ryan, 1:78–84) and Speculum Sacerdotale (ed. Weatherly, pp. 18–21). The Sloane version treats the Magi story in only one stanza, and the even shorter Balliol version omits it.

[Fol. 31ra–b. IMEV, Suppl., NIMEV 3526 (compare IMEV, NIMEV 20). MWME 6:1963 [120]. Hands: Scribe A, carol and burden in black; Scribe B, incipit in red. Initial: Medium N in red (two lines high). Meter: Eleven 5-line macaronic stanzas, abab₄C₃, with a nonrhyming 1-line burden (a form unique among Audelay’s carols). Variants: five stanzas, London, BL MS Sloane 2593, fol. 27v–28r (fifteenth century; Greene, Early English Carols, pp. 67–68 [no. 122B]); four stanzas, Balliol College Oxford MS 354, fol. 221v (sixteenth century; Greene, Early English Carols, p. 68 [no. 122C]). Editions: Chambers and Sidgwick 1911, pp. 70–71; E. Whiting, pp. 198–200, 252–53; Kaiser, Medieval English, p. 295 (stanzas 6, 10 omitted); Greene, Early English Carols, pp. 67, 376 (no. 122A).]

4 Vene, Creatore Spiritus. Hymn used for Whitsunday, Terce, and also the first words of the ordinary of the mass (Greene, Early English Carols, p. lxxxviii). For editions and commentary, see Daniel, Thesaurus Hymnologicus, 1:213–15; Dreves and Blume, Analecta Hymnica Medii Aevi, 2:93; Mone, Lateinische Hymnen, 1:241–42; Trench, Sacred Latin Poetry, pp. 186–88; and Walpole, Early Latin Hymns, pp. 373–76.

9 Tu Trinetatis Unitas. Hymn used for the Friday after Octave of Epiphany, Matins (Greene, Early English Carols, p. lxxxviii). For editions and commentary, see Daniel, Thesaurus Hymnologicus, 1:35–36; Dreves and Blume, Analecta Hymnica Medii Aevi, 2:33; Mone, Lateinische Hymnen, 1:379–80; and Walpole, Early Latin Hymns, pp. 272–73.

14 Glorea in exelsis Deo. This line derives from the biblical Nativity story (Luke 2:14) and is omitted from Greene’s chart; see Daniel, Thesaurus Hymnologicus, 2:267–75. Vulgate Luke 2:14 reads gloria in altissimis Deo; exelsis precedes the Vulgate in Greek liturgical forms of the Gloria. In music, it is the preferred form because of its rhythmical scansion.

19 Iam lucis ortus sidere. Hymn used for Advent, First Sunday, Prime (Greene, Early English Carols, p. lxxxvii). See Daniel, Thesaurus Hymnologicus, 1:56–57; Dreves and Blume, Analecta Hymnica Medii Aevi, 4:238; Mone, Lateinische Hymnen, 1:177–78; and Walpole, Early Latin Hymns, pp. 293–94.

24 Hostes Herodes impii. Hymn used for Vigil of Epiphany, Vespers (Greene, Early English Carols, p. lxxxvii). See Daniel, Thesaurus Hymnologicus, 1:147–49.

29 Deus Creator omnium. Hymn used for First Sunday after Octave of Epiphany, I Vespers (Greene, Early English Carols, p. lxxxvi). See Daniel, Thesaurus Hymnologicus, 1:17–18; Mone, Lateinische Hymnen, 1:381–82; and Walpole, Early Latin Hymns, pp. 44–49. For the hymn translated to English, see Van Buren, Latin Hymns in English Verse, pp. 28–31.

34 Jhesu Salvotor seculi. Hymn used for (a) First Sunday after Easter, Compline, and (b) All Saints, I Vespers (Greene, Early English Carols, p. lxxxvii). See Daniel, Thesaurus Hymnologicus, 1:297–98, and compare Mone, Lateinische Hymnen, 1:399–400, "Jesu redemptor saeculi."

39 Jhesu nostra Redempcio. Hymn used for Vigil of Ascension, Compline (Greene, Early English Carols, p. lxxxvii). See Daniel, Thesaurus Hymnologicus, 1:63–64; Dreves and Blume, Analecta Hymnica Medii Aevi, 2:49; Mone, Lateinische Hymnen, 1:230–31; and Walpole, Early Latin Hymns, pp. 364–65.

42 Prest. On this liturgical interpretation of the incense, and the word prest applied to Christ, see an analogous carol cited by Greene, Early English Carols, p. 354 (no. 47), and his note on its fifth stanza: "The doctrine of Christ’s priesthood concerns itself with the sacrificial aspect of His life and death and would be a natural reference for a writer who wished to emphasize . . . the human qualities of the Saviour."

44 Magne Deus potencie. Hymn used for Thursday after Octave of Epiphany, Vespers (Greene, Early English Carols, p. lxxxvii). See Daniel, Thesaurus Hymnologicus, 1:61, and Dreves and Blume, Analecta Hymnica Medii Aevi, 2:32.

49 Christe Redemptore omnium. Hymn used for Christmas, Matins (Greene, Early English Carols, p. lxxxvi). See Dreves and Blume, Thesaurus Hymnologicus, 51:49, and Walpole, Early Latin Hymns, pp. 306–08. Compare Mone, Lateinische Hymnen, 3:27, 3:496, and Daniel, Thesaurus Hymnologicus, 1:78–79, "Iesu redemptor omnium."

54 Salvator mundy Domine. Hymn used for Advent, First Sunday (Greene, Early English Carols, p. lxxxviii). See Daniel, Thesaurus Hymnologicus, 4:209, and Mone, Lateinische Hymnen, 1:47–48.



CAROL 16. SAINT ANNE MOTHER OF MARY          [W43]

This carol may have been intended for singing on the day of Saint Anne (July 26) or at Christmas. Audelay also composed a gaude poem to Anne, copied in the salutations section of MS Douce 302. Woolf, English Religious Lyric, p. 297, praises this carol as "a Marian variation of the Tree of Jesse," noting that "though the reference of the imagery is doctrinal, it retains in Audelay’s style some of the associations of natural imagery, the beauty of flowers and perhaps even of the joy in their growth." She finds "a sense of delight in the poem" that "the more formal and ornate style of Lydgate" lacks. In their shared Tree of Jesse theme, this carol and the next are explicitly paired. Warren, Spiritual Economies, pp. 111–33 (especially pp. 123–24), details the use of this image in nationalist discourse, called upon to serve Henry V’s "incarnational politics" (p. 123).

On Saint Anne in general, Greene, Early English Carols, p. 418, comments: "The fashion of devotion to St. Anne and the formation of guilds in her honour was growing rapidly in England at the time this carol was written down, her day having been made a feast of obligation in 1382. The diocese of Hereford, which included southern Shropshire, though not Haughmond itself, was particularly zealous in this devotion." For references to other Middle English treatments of Saint Anne, see Parker, Middle English Stanzaic Versions, pp. x–xi. On the legend of Saint Anne, see Jacobus de Voragine, The Golden Legend (trans. Ryan, 2:149–58). Useful modern studies of the cult of Saint Anne include Ronan, S. Anne (listing sites of devotion in Hereford); Ashley and Sheingorn, Interpreting Cultural Symbols; and Nixon, Mary’s Mother.

[Fol. 31rb–va. IMEV, NIMEV 3244. MWME 6:1991 [313]. Hands: Scribe A, carol and burden in black; Scribe B, incipit in red. Initial: Medium T in red (two lines high). Meter: Nine 7-line stanzas, abab4C2CC4, with 2-line tetrameter burden, introduced by tag-refrain "Herefore we/I say." Editions: Chambers and Sidgwick 1911, pp. 71–73; E. Whiting, pp. 200–01, 253; Greene, Early English Carols, pp. 189–90, 418 (no. 311).]

3 oure soulis leche. According to Citrome, an intensely personalized petition develops in Audelay’s sequencing of material, which culminates in this plea to Mary’s mother: "we can glimpse Audelay’s despair at the unraveling of his illness narrative — his failure to find relief from his afflictions through either the healing properties of confession or the intercessory powers of Mary — in the pattern of spiraling pleas for mediation that have occurred throughout the anthology. Indeed, he has prayed for Christ to intercede with God, Mary to intercede with Christ, and then . . . for St. Anne to intercede with Mary" (Surgeon, p. 110).

15–18 On Saint Anne’s long period of barrenness, compare Salutation to Saint Anne lines 13–16. The narrative of Mary’s conception is "coloured by echoes of the Annunciation" (Woolf, English Religious Lyric, p. 297). Sautman describes the folk tradition of Saint Anne: "ancient figure of motherhood, . . . first mother in the family of Christ, protector of women in childbed, the sterile tree who bore fruit in the autumn of her age" ("Saint Anne in Folk Tradition," p. 85).

24 For this wording, compare Chastity of Wives, line 22.v

30–31 Compare Jesus Flower of Jesse’s Tree, lines 7–8.

36–38 Compare Jesus Flower of Jesse’s Tree, lines 3–4. The development of Mary as a branch of Jesse links this carol to the next one (as do lines 30–31). On Anne’s iconographical place in this tradition, see Sheingorn, "Appropriating the Holy Kinship," pp. 170–71; and on the Tree of Jesse tradition in general, see Watson, Early Iconography of the Tree of Jesse. The dual exposition on Christ’s human lineage and birth underscores what must be an intentional grouping of these carols. Compare also Salutation to Saint Anne, lines 5–8.

43–46 Analogous lines appear in an Annunciation poem: "Call him Jesu of Nazareth, / God and mon in on degree. / Right as mon schall suffur dethe / And regne in David dignite" (Chambers and Sidgwick, Early English Lyrics, p. 113, lines 33–36; see also Breul, "Zwei Mittelenglische Christmas Carols," pp. 401–02).

58 Compare Gabriel’s Salutation to the Virgin, line 60: "Afftur thys owtlary." Greene, Early English Carols, p. 418, notes that this stanza translates, in part, the Latin burden of a carol found in MS Balliol 354: "Mater, ora Filium / Vt post hoc exilium / Nobis donet gaudium / Beatorum omnium" (no. 178 in his edition; and compare the burden of no. 195).



CAROL 17. JESUS FLOWER OF JESSE'S TREE          [W44]

Despite the incipit, the central focus of this carol is Jesus, Mary’s fruit. On Audelay’s tendency to blend Marian and Christ-Child piety, compare Salutation to Jesus for Mary’s Love, the first piece in the salutation section, which is also labeled (by Scribe B) a poem to the Virgin, but it addresses the Virgin and her joys in order to access Jesus. In both these poems one approaches Christ devotionally via his natural kinship to Mary. The Tree of Jesse motif describes Mary’s conception in the preceding Saint Anne Mother of Mary, and now the image is in full bloom: the branch is Mary, the flower Christ. Woolf, English Religious Lyric, p. 287, cites this carol as a "charming" elaboration of "the standard tradition." Of the two surviving versions, Greene, Early English Carols, p. 394, comments that Audelay’s is "better" and "seems to be the earlier." On the Tree of Jesse tradition in general, see Watson, Early Iconography of the Tree of Jesse. On its political use for the making of Lancastrian dynastic claims, see McKenna, "Henry VI," pp. 160–61, and Warren, Spiritual Economies, pp. 123–24. On the unknown musical setting of this carol, see Copley, "John Audelay’s Carols and Music," pp. 210–11.

Of special note is Haberly’s 1926 edition, a hand-produced art-volume limited to 450 copies and illustrated with seventeen woodcuts executed by Haberly in the style of William Morris. Haberly’s art develops a visual theme of Mary and Jesus as the conjoined flower of salvation progressively unfurled in Christian narrative. The edition casts Audelay’s carol as a devotional poem rather than a song.

[Fol. 31va–b. IMEV, Suppl., NIMEV 3603 (mistakenly called "carol to the Virgin Mary"). MWME 6:1974 [172]. Hands: Scribe A, carol and burden in black; Scribe B, incipit in red. Initial: Medium T in red (two lines high). Meter: Seven 10-line stanzas, aaaa₄b₂bCC₄ D₂ D₄. Other MS: Balliol College, Oxford MS 354, fol. 220v (sixteenth century; Dyboski, Songs, Carols, p. 6; Flügel, "Liedersammlungen des XVI. Jahrhunderts," pp. 230–31; Greene, Early English Carols, pp. 115 [no. 172b]). Editions: Chambers and Sidgwick 1911, pp. 73–74; E. Whiting, pp. 202–03, 253; Greene, Early English Carols, pp. 115, 394 (no. 172a). Modernized Editions: Chambers and Sidgwick 1907, pp. 110–11, 350 (no. LVII); Rickert, Ancient English Christmas Carols, pp. 160–61; Haberly, Alia Cantalena de Sancta Maria by John Awdlay, pp. 3–17; Sitwell, Atlantic Book of British and American Poetry, pp. 8–9; Sisam and Sisam, Oxford Book of Medieval English Verse, pp. 388–89 (no. 158).]

burden Compare Saint Anne Mother of Mary, lines 30–31.

3–4 Compare Saint Anne Mother of Mary, lines 36–38.

14 medis. Whiting’s gloss of medis as "midst" is unlikely to be correct. From evidence in the MED, the word is probably mede, n.(4)2(b), "gift, reward," or, in this context, "in grace," with a light pun, suited to the carol’s floral trope, on mede, n.(2)(a), i.e., "in Bethlehem meadows."

33 sede appears in the manuscript and corrects the reading lede given by all previous editors. See MED sed, n.3(b), "a race, line, stock; species, kind."

42–44 Salter, Fourteenth-Century English Poetry, p. 17, cites these lines to illustrate how Audelay’s feelings for a child’s innocence, which he expresses in Childhood, are "not indulged" but rather are "turned to useful account in his numerous Nativity lyrics."

46 golde. The word means "cold," although E. Whiting translates it "gold." The reference is to Christ’s birth in winter, deploying the vegetative metaphor.



CAROL 18. JOYS OF MARY          [W45]

This carol can be compared to Audelay’s treatment of the five joys of Mary in Salutation to Jesus for Mary’s Love, lines 81–88, 91, and Prayer on the Joys of the Virgin. Woolf, English Religious Lyric, p. 297, asserts that "Audelay is the only fifteenth-century writer on the five joys, who, encouraged by the theme, is able to break through ornateness and formality" such as one finds in Lydgate, to reach true "affective meditation." Although Greene, Early English Carols, p. 403, considers original authorship by Audelay to be "doubtful," noting how the meter is unique among his carols, Woolf praises this carol for its "sweetness and gentle feeling typical of Audelay’s poetry" and declares it the only "poetically pleasing" carol on the five joys theme (English Religious Lyric, p. 297). Numerous Middle English carols addressed to Mary are conveniently gathered in Greene’s 1977 edition, with three others there that enumerate Mary’s five joys (nos. 231, 232, 233). There is also a fine Harley lyric on the subject (Brook, Harley Lyrics, pp. 65–66; MWME 11.4200 [27]).

[Fols 31vb, 30ra. IMEV, NIMEV 895 (mistakenly listed as six stanzas). MWME 6:1981-82 [232]. Hands: Scribe A, carol and burden in black; Scribe B, incipit in red. Initial: Medium A in red (two lines high). Meter: Five 10-line macaronic stanzas, ababbcbcCC₄. Each stanza opens with the anaphora "Gaude Maria"; each has a Latin eighth line, drawn from a single Marian hymn (see explanatory note to line 8). Other MS: Balliol College, Oxford MS 354, fol. 219a (sixteenth century; Greene, Early English Carols, pp. 144–45, 403 [no. 230]). Editions: Chambers and Sidgwick 1911, pp. 74–75; E. Whiting, pp. 203–04, 253–54.]

2 moder of thyn Emne. The curiosity of Mary’s kinship to God is the focus here. Mary is mother of her own Father, Husband, and Brother; compare Salutation to Mary, line 80: "Haile, thi Breder thou hast eborene." The manuscript word emne is strange, however, and editors have found it hard to construe. E. Whiting, p. 254, glosses emne as "equal," but the sense is poor, and the word even is not a noun, according to the MED. Greene, Early English Carols, p. 403, thinks that the word is "probably a scribal blunder which escaped the corrector’s eye"; the rhyme calls for the word to end in -ene, and the parallel line in Balliol reads "Mary myld, of the I mene," a phrase that Greene adopts. The manuscript reading might be an error for emane / emene, from OE gemana; see MED imone, n.(1)(c), "a com­panion, mate." The word is not, however, recorded later than the fourteenth century.

8 E. Whiting, p. 254, first detected the hymnal source for the Latin eighth line of each stanza (Dreves and Blume, Analecta Hymnica Medii Aevi, 31:176; Mone, Lateinische Hymnen, 2:172). The English lines do not, however, translate this hymn on the five joys (Greene, Early English Carols, p. 403).

11–18 Woolf, English Religious Lyric, p. 297, cites this stanza and freely emends it, as follows: "Gaude Maria, yglent with grace, / Whan Jhesus thi Son on the was bore, / Full nygh thy brest thou gan him brace; / He sowked, he sighhed, he wepte full sore. / Thou fedest the flowr that never shall fade / With maydons mylke and songe therto, / ‘Lulley, my swet, I bare the, babe, / Cum pudoris lilio.’"

45 The translation follows E. Whiting, p. 254.



CAROL 19. MARY FLOWER OF WOMEN          [W46]

Many epithets for Mary in this carol may also be found in Audelay’s Salutation to Mary, which has the refrain "Hail, Blessed Fruit! Hail, Sweet Flower!"

[Fol. 30ra. IMEV, NIMEV 536 ("carol of the Virgin Mary"). MWME 6:1975-76 [177]. Hands: Scribe A, carol and burden in black; Scribe B, incipit in red. Initial: Medium H in red (two lines high). Meter: Five 6-line stanzas, aaabBB₄, with 2-line tetrameter burden. Editions: Chambers and Sidgwick 1911, pp. 75–76; E. Whiting, pp. 205, 254; Greene, Early English Carols, pp. 118, 395 (no. 177).]

13 Compare Audelay’s Gabriel’s Salutation to the Virgin, lines 4–36, dramatizing how the event of God’s Incarnation and birth moves rapidly to an offensive strike against the Devil.

22 treu as ston. Audelay uses this proverbial simile in Marcolf and Solomon, line 59.

28 hal. MS: bal. I agree with Greene that the emendation is needed; he argues that E. Whiting’s gloss of bal, "world, sphere," is not an attested medieval term for heaven (p. 395), and the evidence in the MED supports this position.



CAROL 20. CHASTITY FOR MARY'S LOVE          [W47]

It is evident that a compiler (presumably Audelay) wanted this carol to appear at this point in the manuscript, but he did not immediately have it at hand or in memory. Scribe A inserted a portion of it (omitting the burden), and left lines blank (more than needed) to accommodate the rest of its verses. Scribe B completed the job and inserted corrections (see textual notes). A similar division of labor in the body of a text occurs in Gabriel’s Salutation to the Virgin and Day of the Lord’s Circumcision. The carol is composed in Audelay’s standard 6-line carol stanza. Despite the category assigned it by NIMEV, "carol of women," the chastity celebrated in the poem could be that of male religious — secular clergy and/or cloistered monks. The female martyr saints named in line 19 were venerated at Haughmond (see explanatory note), and line 27 seems more a generalization about female virgins than an injunction pointed towards real women.

[Fol. 30ra–b. IMEV, Suppl., NIMEV 535 ("carol of women"). MWME 6:2004 [401]. Hands: Scribe A, parts of the carol in black; Scribe B, incipit in red, burden and much of the carol in black. Initial: Medium B in red (two lines high), marking the first line instead of the burden. Meter: Six 6-line stanzas, aaabBB₄, with 2-line tetrameter burden. Editions: Chambers and Sidgwick, pp. 76–77; E. Whiting, pp. 206–07, 254; Greene, Early English Carols, pp. 234, 450–51 (no. 397).]

7 On "word, will, deed, and thought," see the explanatory note to Audelay’s Epilogue to The Counsel of Conscience, line 115.

19 Kateryn and Marget and Wynfred. These female martyrs were all beheaded upon refusal to give up their virginity. They are honored in the architecture of Haughmond Abbey: their effigies stand among those still surviving between the outside archways to the chapter house. Catherine holds a wheel and sword, standing on the crown of the head of the Emperor Maxentius, who had her martyred; Margaret of Antioch stands on a dragon and pierces it with her cross; and Winifred (a local saint) stands on the head of her would-be murderer Caradoc. On the lives of Saints Katherine and Margaret, see Jacobus de Voragine, The Golden Legend (trans. Ryan, 2:334–41 and 2:232–33). Audelay honors Winifred in the salutations section of the manuscript, where she receives a vita in carol stanzas and a salutation-poem (Saint Winifred Carol and Salutation to Saint Winifred).

28 Compare this line to Four Estates, line 1, "In wat order or what degré," and see the explanatory note to True Living, lines 130–33.



CAROL 21. VIRGINITY OF MAIDS          [W48]

Unlike the last carol, which treats the virtue of chastity in saintly and vocational terms, this carol points its message directly at secular unmarried women, preaching that they have a moral duty to preserve virginity before marriage. As Greene, Early English Carols, p. 451, comments of the pragmatic message in the last stanza: "Audelay’s praise of the worldly value of chastity is consonant with his prudential attitude throughout." The carol belongs to a tradition of clerical counsel to women to maintain their virginity; see, e.g., Thomas of Hales’s Love Rune (Fein, Moral Love Songs, pp. 11–56, with a bibliography of Middle English works on pp. 27–28).

[Fol. 30rb–va. IMEV, Suppl., NIMEV 1595 ("carol of women"). MWME 6:2004 [402]. Hands: Scribe A, carol and burden in black; Scribe B, incipit in red. Initial: Large I in red (seven lines high, in margin). Meter: Eight 6-line stanzas, aaabBB₄, with 2-line tetrameter burden. Editions: Chambers and Sidgwick 1911, pp. 77–78; E. Whiting, pp. 207–08, 254; Greene, Early English Carols, pp. 235, 451 (no. 398).]

burden On Audelay’s conservative attitude on upholding one’s station, see the explanatory note to True Living, lines 130–33.

1 On "word, will, deed, and thought," see the explanatory note to Audelay’s Epilogue to The Counsel of Conscience, line 115.



CAROL 22. CHASTITY OF WIVES          [W49]

Greene, Early English Carols, entitles this carol On the Decadence of Marriage, noting how it and the preceding carol demonstrate Audelay’s adherence to social rank and class-based mores. The sixth stanza expresses disgust for ladies who "wil take a page" for fleshly lust and courtly fashion, and the seventh sees England in decline as a result. For Audelay, such behavior by gentlewomen disgraces the upper classes and creates unlawful heirs, causing English nobility to waste away. Six of the seven stanzas of this carol borrow directly from two consecutive stanzas of Audelay’s True Living. Audelay also revised material from this earlier work for Carols 1, 3, 5, and 13.

[Fol. 30va. IMEV, Suppl., NIMEV 1630 ("carol of marriage"). MWME 6:2007 [416]. Hands: Scribe A, carol and burden in black; Scribe B, incipit in red. Initial: Medium A in red (two lines high, with tail trailing down margin). Meter: Seven 7-line stanzas, abab₄C₂CC₄, with 2-line tetrameter burden, introduced by tag-refrain "All day thou seest." Editions: Chambers and Sidgwick 1911, pp. 78–79; E. Whiting, pp. 208–09, 254; Greene, Early English Carols, pp. 244–45, 459 (no. 411).]

burden The phrase is proverbial. See Greene, Early English Carols, p. 459; E. Whiting, p. 254; Chambers and Sidgwick, 1911, p. 84; and MED had-I-wist(e, n.: "Regret for something done in heedlessness or ignorance; vain regret."

1–4 Stanza 1 is the only stanza of this carol not also found in True Living.

8–11 Stanza 2; compare True Living, lines 78–81.

15–18 Stanza 3; compare True Living, lines 82–85.

22–25 Stanza 4; compare True Living, lines 87–90. For line 25, Audelay has filled out a short line in a different meter by simply adding the word unlaufully.

29–32 Stanza 5; compare True Living, lines 91–94.

30 Compare True Living, line 92, and textual note.

31 Compare True Living, line 93, and textual note.

36–39 Stanza 6; compare True Living, lines 95–98.

43–46 Stanza 7; compare True Living, lines 99–103. The reference to "Englond" is an addition.



CAROL 23. LOVE OF GOD          [W50]

In this carol Audelay displays something fairly rare in his verse, that is, a capacity for compressed wordplay of the type best known in the gnomic Earth upon Earth and its variants (MWME 11:4172 [1]). Here, the term love suffuses every line, where its meanings — religious and profane — are devotionally intertwined and meditated upon, to create, in the words of Hirsh, Medieval Lyric, p. 193, a "gentle reflection . . . upon what [Audelay] and many of his contemporaries would have regarded as the greatest of medieval themes, the love which exists between God and all of humankind." Salter, Fourteenth-Century English Poetry, p. 17, calls this carol "reminiscent of Herbert in balanced moods of reconciliation and praise," and uses it to note Audelay’s finest trait: "The stability of his best verse, perfectly shaping emotion to the celebrative language of the Church, is, in its modest way, impressive." This carol about the love of God forms the logical culmination of an internal group of carols on chastity, virginity, and marriage (Carols 20–23).

[Fol. 30va–b. IMEV, NIMEV 831. MWME 6:1987 [272]. Hands: Scribe A, carol and burden in black; Scribe B, incipit in red. Initial: Large I in red (eight lines high, in margin). Meter: Five 7-line stanzas, abab₄C₂CC₄, with 2-line tetrameter burden, introduced by tag-refrain "I say, herefore." Editions: Chambers and Sidgwick 1911, p. 79; E. Whiting, p. 210; Greene, Early English Carols, pp. 170–71, 412 (no. 272); Hirsh, Medieval Lyric, pp. 193–94 (no. B8). Modernized Edition: Sisam and Sisam, Oxford Book of Medieval English Verse, pp. 390–91 (no. 159).]

CAROL 24. DREAD OF DEATH          [W51]

Dread of Death is the best-known carol of Audelay’s collection — and the most praised. Greene, Early English Carols, p. 442, rates it "one of the most personal of all the carols [in Middle English]," with "its directness and apparent sincerity, as well as its tale of personal affliction," which sets "it apart from the more conventional laments on the ‘Timor mortis’ theme." Salter, Fourteenth-Century English Poetry, p. 17, lauds its fusion of personal and communal experience: "[Audelay’s] personal situation — he was blind, deaf and ailing — is put at the service of the community: ‘timor mortis’ is, for him, a pressing theme . . . [b]ut it is made to yield consolation." Woolf ranks it with George Herbert’s verse (English Religious Lyric, p. 7), naming it "[o]f the many Timor mortis poems by far the most moving. . . . In this, for perhaps the first time in an English lyric poem, the poet truly speaks in his own voice" (English Religious Lyric, p. 335; see also pp. 387–88). Comparing this carol to Lydgate’s "A Prayer in Old Age" (MacCracken, Minor Poems of John Lydgate, pp. 20–21), Tristram, Figures of Life and Death, p. 222n12, finds both poets capable of a rare meditative tone of "present and personal experience." This carol belongs with Audelay’s Epilogue to The Counsel of Conscience and Audelay’s Conclusion as important clues in our understanding of Audelay’s individuality and personality, as committed to verse. It contains lines shared with Audelay’s Epilogue to The Counsel of Conscience, and like Saint Francis, it bears Audelay’s name.

[Fols 30vb, 32ra. IMEV, Suppl., NIMEV 693. MWME 6:2000 [372]. Hands: Scribe A, carol and burden in black; Scribe B, incipit in red. Initials: Medium L in red (two lines high). On fol. 32ra (the last full column of the carols section), the first letter of every line is marked in red; in this carol the marked initials occur in lines 40, 43-46, 49-52, 55-58, 61-64. Audelay Signature: Line 43 (Scribe A). Meter: Eleven 6-line macaronic stanzas, aaaBBB₄, with 2-line tetrameter burden and introductory Latin refrain "Passio Christi conforta me." Editions: Chambers and Sidgwick 1911, pp. 80–81; E. Whiting, pp. 211–12, 255; Silverstein, English Lyrics, pp. 105-06 (no. 84); Greene, Early English Carols, pp. 219–20, 442 (no. 369). Modernized Editions: Sisam and Sisam, Oxford Book of Medieval English Verse, pp. 391–93 (no. 160); Davies, Medieval English Lyrics, pp. 170–71, 339 (no. 81).]

burden Timor mortis conturbat me. The source of this line is liturgical. Compare the seventh leccio in the Office of the Dead (Job 17:1–3, 11–15), as found in The Prymer or Lay Folks’ Prayer Book: "Þe drede of deeþ trubliþ me euery dai, þe while y synne & repente me not, for in helle is no redempcion" (Littlehales, Prymer or Lay Folks’ Prayer Book, p. 68). On the Middle English Timor mortis tradition, see Patterson, Middle English Penitential Lyric, pp. 100–08, 180–84 (nos. 34–39), and compare the fifteenth-century paraphrase of the Office of the Dead in Pety Job (Fein, Moral Love Songs, pp. 289–359, especially pp. 324–27). Gillespie, "Moral and Penitential Lyrics," pp. 80–85, discusses how feelingly some penitential lyrics express the personal anguish of inward suffering.

4 Passio Christi conforta me. Audelay draws this line from the prayer Anima Christi sanctifica me, copied earlier in MS Douce 302, and he also uses it in Pope John’s Passion of Our Lord, line 9.

25–38 Citrome notes how, with its "excremental rhetoric" of pastoral literature, this passage offers "a startling admission of penitential self-loathing," and also how Audelay’s continuous "illness narrative" in Douce 302 returns here to the restorative medicine of Christ’s five wounds (Surgeon, pp. 109–10).

32 On "deed, will, and thought," see the explanatory note to Audelay’s Epilogue to The Counsel of Conscience, line 115.

43–45 Compare Audelay’s Epilogue to The Counsel of Conscience, lines 482–84.

50 Compare Seven Words of Christ on the Cross, lines 74–75.

56 On Audelay’s reverence for the five joys of the Virgin, see Salutation to Jesus for Mary’s Love, Prayer on the Joys of the Virgin, and Joys of Mary.

62 This is a proverbial phrase. See Greene, Early English Carols, p. 442.



CAROL 25. SAINT FRANCIS          [W52]

Audelay’s motive for composing a carol in honor of Saint Francis cannot be known. Given that Haughmond Abbey was Augustinian, E. Whiting, p. 255, finds it "unusual that Audelay should glorify St. Francis, the founder of one of the rival orders." But Greene, Early English Carols, p. 418, points out how, in Marcolf and Solomon, Audelay shows himself to be "no enemy of the friars as such, but only of those who gave way to avarice or other sins," and that Audelay expresses there his admiration for the founders of the orders (Marcolf and Solomon, lines 430–31). Melissa Jones, "Swete May, Soulis Leche," p. 2, suggests that the reason for Audelay’s giving honor and place of prominence to Saint Francis is both religious and literary: "The final carol is dedicated to St Francis of Assisi, creator of the vernacular Christian song, in whom the carol-composing Audelay must have held particular esteem." That Audelay signed the carol suggests that he held Saint Francis in special reverence (the signature in the preceding carol seems to signify such a personal meaning), but it may also indicate, more simply, that Audelay wanted his name noted at the end of the carol sequence, where it was to be "read."

[Fol. 32ra–b. IMEV, Suppl., NIMEV 44. MWME 6:1991 [312]. Hands: Scribe A, carol and burden in black; Scribe B, incipit in red. Initial: Medium S in red (two lines high). On fol. 32ra (the last full column of the carols section), the first letter of every line is marked in red; in this carol the marked initials occur in the burden and in lines 1-4, 7-10, 13-16, 19-22, 25-28, 31-34, 37-40. Audelay Signature: Line 55 (Scribe A). Meter: Thirteen 6-line stanzas, aaabBB₄, with 2-line tetrameter burden. Editions: Chambers and Sidgwick 1911, pp. 81–82; E. Whiting, pp. 212–14, 255; Greene, Selection of English Carols, pp. 122–23 (no. 61); Greene, Early English Carols, pp. 188–89, 417–18 (no. 310).]

burden breder. According to Greene, Early English Carols, p. 418, the term is "probably meant to designate not only the friars of Francis’s own order but his ‘brothers’ in the wider sense of all Christians."

3–4 "St. Francis had a particular devotion to the Passion of Christ" (Greene, Early English Carols, p. 417).

5 Where the burden has the word say, this line substitutes the word pray.

9 preynt. For the story, see Jacobus de Voragine, The Golden Legend (trans. Ryan, 2.220–30; for Caxton’s version, see Ellis, Golden Legend, 5:215–34).

14 thre. Greene, Early English Carols, p. 417, notes that the actual number of years during which Francis bore the stigmata was two and not three.

21 Greene, Early English Carols, p. 417, understands this line as meaning that out of piety Francis would divide his food in five parts in memory of Christ’s wounds, but the source is obscure. Similar practices are well attested in the fifteenth century. See, e.g., Pantin, "Instruction for a Devout and Literate Layman," pp. 398–422.

31 thongis. "thankedst." E. Whiting notes that this verb is a present tense used for the preterite; compare Salutation to Saint Winifred, line 30.
31–34 Greene, Early English Carols, p. 418: "St. Francis set out in 1212 on a mission to the heathen in Palestine, but his ship was wrecked, and he was forced to return. In 1219 he actually went to the Near East and attempted the conversion of some Mohammedans, but soon returned to Italy."

39 testament. That is, "the Testament of St. Francis containing his last instructions to his brethren, dictated by him shortly before his death" (Greene, Early English Carols, p. 418).

40, 43–46 These lines are Christ’s words to Saint Francis.

49–52 Greene, Early English Carols, p. 418: "The first Rule was given out by St. Francis and orally approved by Pope Innocent III in 1210, not, as the carol implies, later than the Testament. The latter enjoins obedience to the Rule as it had been revised in the saint’s lifetime."

67–72 This stanza is adapted and repeated in Saint Winifred Carol, lines 169–74.

73–78 These lines, especially 73–74, formally close the carol sequence, joining with the opening couplet to frame the collection. While the opening couplet — "I pray you, syrus, boothe moore and las, / Syng these caroles in Cristemas" (written by Scribe B) — references the carols as songs, these closing lines refer to reading. Overall, the frame signals an intent already evident in the work of Scribe A to present the carols as a series. On the reference to reading rather than singing this carol, compare Saint Winifred Carol, lines 175–80, and see Copley, "John Audelay’s Carols and Music," pp. 211–12.

JOHN AUDELAY, CAROL SEQUENCE: TEXTUAL NOTES

The following notes record readings of the manuscript at those points where other editors have made different assessments of the textual evidence, as well as at points of important physical detail.

In general, Scribe A copied texts, and Scribe B later added incipits and explicits and acted as proofreader. Wherever Scribe B played a significant, uncharacteristic role in the textual copying, the affected lines are noted. Not noted, however, are the many correcting marks made by the scribes. Wherever final readings are determinate, those readings are adopted without comment. On how the scribes divided their work on particular items, see the explanatory notes.

Modernized editions with altered spellings and wordings (Chambers and Sidgwick 1907, Davies, Haberly, Sisam and Sisam, and Sitwell) are not recorded in the textual notes. Hands that date later than those of the two scribes are also not recorded. In MS Douce 302 there are two significant early hands, both probably medieval:

(1) An inexperienced writer who copies stray phrases in the margin (fols. 16rb, 16va, 29ra, 34rb, and 35ra).

(2) A doodler, whose simple drawings and occasional crosses appear most frequently on upper recto pages, b-column, perhaps to record his reading progress (fols. 3rb, 5rb, 6rb, 7rb, 9rb [two marks], 10rb, 11rb, 13rb, 18rb [the climax of The Vision of Saint Paul], 27vb, and 28va). The involvement of this reader is evident in his drawing of a sleeved hand pointing to the word "assencion" in Salutation to Christ’s Body, line 26 (fol. 10rb), a line that marks the raising of the host in the Levation.

There are also two modern readers whose hands appear on the pages of MS Douce 302:

(1) A reader who notes the correspondence of True Living, line 78, and Chastity of Wives, line 8, by inserting in fine-line black ink the cross-reference in the margins of fols. 1rb and 30va. This may be the same hand that numbers the folios in the upper right-hand corners. It may also be the hand that "corrects" the reading Hontis in Three Dead Kings, line 11.

(2) A reader who marks texts in pencil, using left-hand marginal crosses and long vertical squiggles to highlight passages of interest. This reader was perhaps an early cataloguer. He is especially interested in political comments and in Audelay’s self-identifications in signatures and autobiographical moments. His hand pervades the book, appearing beside the texts of True Living, Marcolf and Solomon, Visiting the Sick and Consoling the Needy, Instructions for Reading 2, Audelay’s Prayer Explicit to Pope John’s Passion, Our Lord’s Epistle on Sunday, The Vision of Saint Paul, Audelay’s Epilogue to The Counsel of Conscience, Song of the Magnificat, Salutation to Saint Bridget, Saint Winifred Carol, King Henry VI, Joys of Mary, Virginity of Maids, Chastity of Wives, Dread of Death, Saint Francis, Over-Hippers and Skippers, An Honest Bed, Paternoster, Three Dead Kings, and Audelay’s Conclusion.

In addition to these extraneous hands, the book contains a few marks of early ownership. Erased notes on fol. 35rb (visible by ultraviolet light) record that a Coventry minstrel named William Wyatt once possessed the book, and that he passed it on to an Augustinian canon named John Barker in Launde, Leicestershire. These transactions likely took place in the fifteenth century. On fol. 35v, which looks like an original outside cover of the book, the name "John" appears many times amid doodles and verse jottings unrelated to the contents of MS Douce 302. A much later owner was late eighteenth-century bibliophile Richard Farmer, master of Emmanuel College, Cambridge, whose handwritten sheet catalogue was bound with the book in 1803 by Francis Douce, its next owner. Douce contributed the woodcut pasted into the back inside cover of the bound book, which makes reference to Three Dead Kings (Fein, "Life and Death," pp. 90–91; Fein, "John Audelay and His Book," pp. 5, 24n13). Later, in 1834, Douce’s vast collection of manuscripts, charters, books, and antiquarian holdings transferred to the Bodleian Library, Oxford. A detailed history of ownership and printed descriptions of MS Douce 302 is provided in Fein, "John Audelay and His Book," pp. 4–15.

Abbreviations: C: Cumming; CS¹: Chambers and Sidgwick 1910; CS²: Chambers and Sidgwick 1911; Di: Dickins (lexical comments); Do: Doyle; F¹: Fein 1985; F²: Fein 1994; G¹: Greene 1962; G²: Greene 1977; Ha: Halliwell; Hi: Hirsh 2005; K: Kaiser; M: McIntosh (lexical comments); Mo: R. Morris 1872; MS: Douce 302; P: Priebsch; Pu: Putter; R: Robbins 1959; S: Sandys; Sa: Saupe; Si: Silverstein 1971; SJ: Storck and Jordan; St: Stanley 2009 (lexical comments); T: Turville-Petre 1989; W: Whiting.


CAROL 1. TEN COMMANDMENTS          [W28]

9 Scle. So MS (letter c interlined), G². CS¹, W: Sle.

17 Lechoré. So MS, W, G². CS¹: lechere.

24 tult. So MS, W, G². CS¹: cust.

31 geton hom. So MS, W, G². CS¹: geten hem.

32 holdyn. So MS, W, G². CS¹: heldyn.


CAROL 2. SEVEN DEADLY SINS          [W29]

22 Glotoré. So MS, W, G². CS¹: glotory.

24 Slouthe. So MS, W, G². CS¹: slouth.


CAROL 3. SEVEN WORKS OF MERCY          [W30]

2 Clothe. So MS, W, G². CS¹: Cloþ.

3 presun. So MS (re abbreviated), W. CS¹, G²: prisun.

5 Line erased by Scribe B; faintly visible.

12 Line erased by Scribe B; faintly visible.

16 part. So MS (ar abbreviated), CS¹, W. G²: pert.

19 Line erased by Scribe B; faintly visible.

23 Opon. So MS, W. CS¹: Vpon. G²: Apon.

24 Let se. MS reading uncertain. CS¹, W: Loke. G²: Loo, se. See explanatory note.
onsware. So MS, G². CS¹, W: onswere.

29 wellay. So MS, W, CS¹. G²: well ay. See explanatory note.

33 Line erased by Scribe B; faintly visible.


CAROL 4. FIVE WITS          [W31]

burden wele. So MS, G². CS¹, W: wel.

4 laus. So MS, followed by W, G². CS¹: love.

10 wordlé. So MS, W, G². CS¹: wonder.

25 sorfet. So CS¹, W, G². MS: forfet.

32 mary. So MS, CS¹, G². W: mery.

33 Line omitted in MS, CS¹, W. G² prints the line.


CAROL 5. SEVEN GIFTS OF THE HOLY GHOST          [W32]

8 makis. So MS, W, G². CS¹: make.

9 werkis. So MS, W, G². CS¹: workis.

11 grownder. So MS (er abbreviated). CS¹, G², W: grownde.

15 dothe. So MS, W, G². CS¹: doþ.

18 hom. So MS, W, G². CS¹: hem.

30 Soule. MS: oule. CS¹, W, G²: Onle. See explanatory note.


CAROL 6. DAY OF THE NATIVITY          [W33]

burden Welcum. So W, G¹, G². MS, S, CS¹: Wwelcum.
good. So MS (first o interlined), S, W. CS¹: glad. G¹, G²: glod.
aray. So MS, W, G¹, G². S, CS¹: array.
holeday. So MS, W, G¹, G². S, CS¹: holiday.

2 ibore. So MS, W, G¹, G². S: þu born. CS¹: bore.

9 us. So MS, CS¹, W, G¹, G². S: as.

10 foreever. So MS, CS¹, W, G². S, G¹: for ever.

14 childern. So MS, CS¹, W, G¹, G². S: childrn.

15 alle on. So MS, CS¹, W. S: all on. G¹, G²: allon.


CAROL 7. DAY OF SAINT STEPHEN          [W34]

2 He. So CS¹, W, G². MS: Hit (H with interlined t).

13 heven. So MS, W, G². CS¹: hoven.

27 When. So MS, W. CS¹, G²: Whan.

28 grawnt us. So MS (us abbreviated), G². CS¹, W: grawntus.


CAROL 8. DAY OF SAINT JOHN THE EVANGELIST          [W35]

burden breder. So MS, W, G². CS¹: broder.

14 pouere. So MS, W, G². CS¹: powere.

15 part. So MS (ar abbreviated), CS¹, W. G²: pert.

21 kynes. So MS, CS¹. W: kneys. G²: knyes.

31 wynd. So MS (away deleted after wynd), CS¹, W. G²: wynd away.

39 departyng. So MS (ar abbreviated), CS¹, W. G²: depertyng.

49 Chelde. So MS. CS¹: chylde. W, G²: childe.


CAROL 9. DAY OF THE HOLY INNOCENTS          [W36]

burden reverens. So CS¹, W, G¹, G². MS: reuers.

2 Isral. So G¹, G². MS, CS¹, W: Iral.

15 eor. So MS, CS¹, G¹, G². W: hor.

16 vergyns. So MS (er abbreviated), W, G¹, G². CS¹: virgyns.

26 Abyd. So W. MS, G¹, G²: Abyds. CS¹: Abyde.


CAROL 10. SAINT THOMAS ARCHBISHOP OF CANTERBURY          [W37]

burden pra. So MS, CS¹, G². W: pray.
seris. MS, CS¹, W, G²: sers. See explanatory note.
this. So MS, W, G². CS¹: þe.

7 ale. So MS. CS¹, W, G²: al.

16 seche. So MS. CS¹, W, G²: soche.
fal. So MS, W. CS¹, G²: fel.

19 Then. So CS¹, W, G². MS: The.

21 Ne. So MS (capital N is formed as in Childhood, line 3), CS¹, W, G² (who all read MS þe).


CAROL 11. DAY OF THE LORD’S CIRCUMCISION          [W38]

incipit circumcicionis. So CS¹, W, G². MS: circucicionis. G¹: omitted.

burden What. So CS¹, W, G¹, G². MS: Hwhat (Scribe B’s ornamental initial in red is H, Scribe A’s what).

1 of hye natewre. Written by Scribe B.

3 the. Interlined by Scribe B.

4 Hys. So MS, W, G¹, G². CS¹: His.

12 Barne. So MS (written by Scribe B), W, G¹, G². CS¹: berne.

15 Line written by Scribe B.

16 Line omitted in MS. In the next stanza Scribe B writes ut supra at this stanza point (line 26), and Scribe A writes ut supra at later places where the burden is to be repeated (lines 29, 35, 45, 49).

17–18 Lines written by Scribe B. The next four lines (at the base of fol. 29ra) are erased and left blank.
17 yfere. So MS, W, G¹, G². CS¹: yn fere.

23 ale. So MS (e abbreviated). CS¹, W, G¹, G²: al.

25 Whatt. So MS (Scribe B), G¹, G². CS¹, W: What.
bryngis. So CS¹, W. MS: bryngi... (last letter cut off). G¹, G²: bryngu[st]. This line, with ut supra, is written in the right margin by Scribe B.

31 Thise. So CS¹, W. MS: iese. G¹, G²: These.
con grete here Chylde. Written by Scribe B.
here. So MS, CS¹. W, G¹, G²: her.

34 haylsyng. So MS, W, G¹, G². CS¹: haylsing.

35 wonder. So CS¹, W, G¹, G². MS: woder.

37 so he. So MS, G¹, G². CS¹, W: soche.

44 From. So MS, W, G¹, G². CS¹: fro.


CAROL 12. KING HENRY VI          [W39]

burden The initial A is decorated with foliage pointing to the opening lines. It is drawn over a small a written by Scribe A.
Pryns. So Ha, CS¹, W, R, G², Hi. MS: Peryns (er abbreviated).

4 prince. Word interlined by Scribe B.

8 moder. So R, G². MS, Ha, CS¹, W, Hi: moderis.

9 worthear. So MS (a interlined), CS¹, W, R, G², Ha. Hi: worthier.

19 withalle. So MS (e abbreviated), Ha, CS¹, W, Hi. R, G²: withall.

20 balle. So MS (e abbreviated), CS¹, W, Hi. Ha, R, G²: ball.

21 halle. So MS (e abbreviated), Ha, CS¹, W, Hi. R, G²: hall.

22 thi. So MS, CS¹, W. Ha, R, G²: thei. Hi: thai.

33 Agyncowrt. So MS, CS¹, W, R, G², Hi. Ha: Agyncourt.
patayle. So MS, CS¹, W, R, G². Ha, Hi: batayle.

37 Frawns. So MS, CS¹, W, R, G², Hi. Ha: Frawnce.

43 sese. So MS, Ha, CS¹, W, G², Hi. R: ses.

57 beforne. So Ha, CS¹, W, R, Hi. MS, G²: before.

67 On. So MS, Ha, CS¹, W, R, G². Hi: Of.

70 halud. So MS, W, R, Hi. Ha, CS¹, G²: habud. The MS reading is ambiguous; see W’s note (p. 252).

74 alle reams. So Ha, W, Hi. MS, CS¹: alle al reams. R, G²: all reams.

75 hethynes. So MS, CS¹, W, R, G², Hi. Ha: hevyness.

79 alle. So MS (e abbreviated), Ha, CS¹, W, Hi. R, G²: all.

81 falle. So MS (e abbreviated), Ha, CS¹, W, R. G², Hi: fall.

91 schul. So MS, Ha, CS¹, W, G², Hi. R: schuld.

94 Thus. So MS, Ha, CS¹, W, G², Hi. R: This.


CAROL 13. FOUR ESTATES          [W40]

burden oun estate. So MS. CS², W, K, G²: oune state.

5 allegate. So MS. CS², W, K, G²: allgate. Scribe A writes ut supra after the fifth line of every stanza.

15 obisions. So MS, K, G². CS², W: abusions.

30 poverté. So CS², W, K, G². MS: pouert.

36 chast. So MS, W, K, G². CS²: chaste.

52 alegate. So MS. CS², W, K, G²: algate.

53 Wosever. So MS, CS². W, K, G²: Wosoever.
chomys. So MS, W, K, G². CS²: chamys.


CAROL 14. CHILDHOOD          [W41]

1 alle one. So MS (e in alle abbreviated), CS². W: all one. G²: allone.

12 After this line at the bottom of fol. 29v, one must turn to fol. 31r, because fols. 30 and 31 are interposed.

22 synus. So MS, G². CS², W: synns.

31 myrth. So MS, W, G². CS²: myry.

38 synus. So MS (us abbreviated), W, G². CS²: synes.


CAROL 15. DAY OF EPIPHANY          [W42]

9 Trinetatis. So MS, W, K, G². CS²: trinitatis.

11 chepardis. So MS (ar abbreviated), CS², W, K. G²: cheperdis.

14 exelsis. So MS, CS², K, G². W: excelsis.

16 chepardis. So MS (ar abbreviated), CS², W, K. G²: cheperdis.

17 heredon. So MS, W, K, G². CS²: hered on.

18 merth. So MS, W, K, G². CS²: mery.

26 bad. So CS², W. G²: bed. This line is repeated in the manuscript, occurring at the base of a column and the head of the next. G² selects bed from the line at the base of fol. 31ra.

36 reverens. So CS², W, K, G². MS: reueres.

38 ale. So MS (e abbreviated), W, G². CS², K: al.

46 wernyd. So MS, W. CS², G²: warnyd.

53 begonon. So MS, W, K, G². CS²: be gonen.


CAROL 16. SAINT ANNE MOTHER OF MARY          [W43]

1 Anne. So G². MS, CS², W: Tanne.

8 alle. So MS (e abbreviated), CS², W. G²: all.

10 blisful. So MS, CS², W. G²: blissful.

29 hem. So CS², W, G². MS: he.

46 rynyd. So MS, CS², G². W: reynyd.


CAROL 17. JESUS FLOWER OF JESSE’S TREE          [W44]

burden sprung. So CS², W, G². MS: sprng.
called. So MS, CS², G². W: callid.

14 In medis. So CS², W, G². MS: word In is obscure.

21 Gabrael. So MS, CS², W. G²: Gabreel.

25 Hent. So MS, W, G². CS²: houe.

31 sprede. So MS (e abbreviation), CS², W. G²: spred.

32 his. So W, G². MS, CS²: his his.

33 sede. So MS. CS², W, G²: lede.

35 Til. So MS (word is barely legible), G². CS², W: And.
kyngys. So W, G². MS: kyngnys. CS²: kyngnge.

51 lillé. So CS², W, G². MS: letter i is rubbed out.

54 Thet. MS, CS², W: õet. G²: That.
prys. So CS², W, G². MS: preys (re abbreviated).

67 There is a Floure. The scribe copies this portion of the burden here.


CAROL 18. JOYS OF MARY          [W45]

2 of thyn Emne. So MS, CS², W. The parallel line in Balliol reads: "Mary myld, of the I mene."

8–9 These lines are reversed in the manuscript (Ave maria ut supra / Gabrielis nuncio). CS² and W arrange them as here.

26 wo. So CS², W. MS: w.

27 lyve. So MS, W. CS²: liue.

33 This line occurs at the top of fol. 30ra.

37 styud. So MS, W. CS²: stynd.

45 Love al. So MS, W. CS²: soueal.


CAROL 19. MARY FLOWER OF WOMEN          [W46]

burden alle. So MS (e abbreviated), CS², W. G²: all.
calle. So MS (e abbreviated), CS², W. G²: call.

4 falle. So MS (e abbreviated), CS², W. G²: fall.

7 alle. So MS (e abbreviated), CS², W. G²: all.
berdis. So MS (the e is legible), G², W. CS²: lordis.

14 consayved. So MS (e interlined), CS², W. G²: consauyd.

16 thralle. So MS (e abbreviated), CS², W. G²: thrall.

19 chosun. So MS, W, G². CS²: chosen.

28 hal. So G². MS, CS², W: bal.


CAROL 20. CHASTITY FOR MARY’S LOVE          [W47]

incipit virginitate. So CS², W, G². MS: virgintate.

burden Written by Scribe B on one manuscript line.

1 Blessid. So W, G². MS, CS²: BBlessid (first B is the ornamental initial).
be. So MS (he deleted before be), W, G². CS²: he be.
oure. Written by Scribe B.

2 vergyn. So MS, W, G². CS²: virgyn.
sheo was ful cleene. Written by Scribe B.

3 Soche. Written by Scribe B.
yer sene. Written by Scribe B.

4 here. So MS, CS², W. G²: her. This line, except for the first two words (That so), is written by Scribe B.

7–10 These lines, except for the first two words (In word), are written by Scribe B.

8 sheo. So MS, W, G². CS²: shee.

13 This line is written by Scribe B, followed by two blank lines.

16 Ever. So MS (written by Scribe B in the margin), G². CS²: &. W: Euen.

19 Seynt. So MS, G². CS², W: Saynt. Written by Scribe B in the margin.

21 The. So MS, CS², W. G²: Thei.

22 defouled wold. So MS, W, G². CS²: defouled isold. The word defouled is written by Scribe B. A blank line follows this line.

26 ever ther ys. Written by Scribe B.

28 worder and. So MS, W, G². CS²: wordes in. Lines 27–28 are written by Scribe B.


CAROL 21. VIRGINITY OF MAIDS          [W48]

burden I. So W. MS, CS²: II (the first I is the ornamental initial).

14 layne. So CS², W, G². MS: lay.

15 payne. So CS², W, G². MS: pay.

21 Oft. So G². MS, CS², W: Of.

25 ewroght. So MS, W, G². CS²: iwroõt.

39 lene. So MS, W, G². CS²: loue.


CAROL 22. CHASTITY OF WIVES          [W49]

15 thus. So CS², W. G². MS: þaus.

17 com. So MS, CS², W. G²: come.

18 metlé. So MS, W, G². CS²: mecle.

19 Ale. So MS (e abbreviated), W, G². CS²: Al.
seest. So CS², W. MS, G²: sees.

25 unlaufully. So MS, W, G². CS²: unlawfully.

26 Al. So MS, CS², W. G²: All.

30 doth. So W, G². MS, CS²: omitted.

31 chesyn. So W, G. MS: þesyn. CS²: þe syn.

32 treu. So MS, CS², W. G: triu.

33 Alle. So MS (e abbreviated), W. CS², G²: All.

38 disparage. So MS (ar abbreviated), CS², W. G²: disperage.

40 day. So MS (a deleted before day), W, G². CS²: a day.

43 lorchip. So MS, W, G². CS²: lordchip.


CAROL 23. LOVE OF GOD          [W50]

burden Written by Scribe A on one manuscript line.
foreevermore. So MS (er abbreviated, final e visible under red ink of a paraph), CS², W, Hi. G²: fore euermor.

10 elore. So MS, W, G², Hi. CS²: a lore.

16 Withot. So MS, CS². W, G², Hi: Without.

17 blyn. So CS², W, G², Hi. MS: bly.

24 rew. So MS, W, G², Hi. CS²: new.

31 lovyd. So CS², W, G², Hi. MS: lovy.

32 Without. So CS², W, G², Hi. MS: With (abbreviated w^t).
is. So MS, CS², G². W, Hi: his.


CAROL 24. DREAD OF DEATH          [W51]

4 conforta. So W, G². MS, CS²: confarte.

21 both. So MS, W, G². CS²: beth.

44 and teere of ye. Written by Scribe B.

57 To. So MS (written over an erasure), G². CS², W: Of.


CAROL 25. SAINT FRANCIS          [W52]

incipit Fransisco. So MS, G². CS²: francisco. G¹: omitted.

5 pray. So MS, CS², W. G¹, G²: line omitted. Although the burden has say, this line (written by Scribe A) substitutes pray.

9 preynt. So MS (re abbreviated), G¹, G². CS², W: prynt.

14 yere. So CS², W, G¹, G². MS: ye.

21 partys. So MS (ar abbreviated), CS², W. G¹, G²: pertys.
partyng. So MS (ar abbreviated), CS², W. G¹, G²: pertyng.

28 ly in. So MS. CS², W, G¹, G²: lyin.

40 ens. So MS, W, G¹, G². CS²: ever.

45 perpetualé. So W, G¹, G². MS: perpetual. CS²: perpetually.

63 Gracious. So CS², W, G¹, G². MS: Grcious.

73 pur. So MS (ur abbreviated), W, G¹, G². CS²: par.