Art. 104, Gloriouse Dame

by: Susanna Greer Fein (Editor)

from: The Complete Harley 2253 Manuscript, Volume 3  2015

134v]    2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 135r] 17 18

T    N N T

¶ Icest oreysoun enveia Nostre Dame seinte Marie a seint Moris evesque de Parys e ly comanda qu’il le aprist al pueple, e qui chescun jour ov bon devocion le dirra hounte en le siecle ne avera, ne de l’Enymy engyné serra, ne passioun en terre soffrera, ne femme d’enfant periera, ne mesaventure ne avendra, ne desconfés murra: ¶ Gloriouse Dame, que le Fitz Dieu portastes, E a ta benuré porture, sanz conysaunce de honme, conçustes, Sauntz dolour, e sauve ta virgineté, le Fitz Dieu enfauntastes, E de virginal let virginalment le letastes, Dame, si veroiement come c’est voirs, e je fermement le croy, Eyez en garde l’alme e le cors de moy. E pur celes noundisables joyes que le Fitz Dieu e le vostre vous fist quant il releva de mort e vewablement a vous apparust, e que avyez quant il mounta en ciel veaunt      vos eux, e que avyez quant vynt tot festinauntz countre vous ov la court tote celestre, si vous assist al destre de ly, e vous corona reigne de cel e de terre, pur | iceles seintisme joyes, je vous cry merci, e requer qu’en totes mes bosoignes me vueillez counsiller e ayder, moy e tous iceux pur queux prier vous doy, ma tresdouce Dame Virge Marie. Amen.

¶ This prayer Our Lady Saint Mary sent to Saint Maurice Bishop of Paris and commanded him that he teach it to the people, and he who says it each day with good devotion will never know shame in this world, nor encounter snares of the Enemy, nor feel suffering on earth, nor his wife perish in childbirth, nor come upon misfortune, nor die unshriven: ¶ Glorious Lady, who bore the Son of God, And in your blessed pregnancy, without knowing man, conceived, Without pain, and your virginity intact, the Son of God birthed, And with virginal milk as a virgin him suckled, Lady, thus truly as it is true, and I steadfastly believe it, Take me body and soul into your care. And for those ineffable joys that God’s Son and yours made for you when he rose from the dead and appeared visibly to you, and that you had when he ascended to heaven before your eyes, and that you had when he came all festively before you with the entire celestial court, and seated you at his right side, and crowned you queen of heaven and earth, for | those most holy joys, I beg your mercy, and ask that you advise and help me in all my needs, for myself and all those for whom it is my duty to pray to you, my most sweet Lady Virgin Mary. Amen.

Go To Art. 105, Rex seculorum et Domine dominator, introduction
Go To Art. 105, Rex seculorum et Domine dominator, text

Footnotes

ART. 104, GLORIOUSE DAME: EXPLANATORY NOTES

Abbreviations: AND: Anglo-Norman Dictionary; ANL: Anglo-Norman Literature: A Guide to Texts and Manuscripts (R. Dean and Boulton); BL: British Library (London); Bodl.: Bodleian Library (Oxford); CT: Chaucer, Canterbury Tales; CUL: Cambridge University Library (Cambridge); DOML: Dumbarton Oaks Medieval Library; FDT: French Devotional Texts of the Middle Ages (Sinclair 1979); FDT-1: French Devotional Texts of the Middle Ages, . . . First Supplement (Sinclair 1982); IMEV: The Index of Middle English Verse (Brown and Robbins); MED: Middle English Dictionary; MWME: A Manual of the Writings in Middle English, 1050–1500 (Severs et al.); NIMEV: A New Index of Middle English Verse (Boffey and Edwards); NLS: National Library of Scotland (Edinburgh).

7–8 These verses allude to the first two of Mary’s Five Joys: Annunciation and Nativity.

12–18 This prose passage completes the enumeration of the Five Joys begun in the poem by adding references to the Resurrection of Christ, the Assumption of Mary, and the Virgin’s Coronation in heaven.

ART. 104, GLORIOUSE DAME: TEXTUAL NOTES

ABBREVIATIONS: As: Aspin; Bö: Böddeker; Br: Brook; BS: Bennett and Smithers; BZ: Brandl and Zippel; B13: Brown 1937; Dea: J. M. Dean; Do: Dove 1969; Fl: Flood; Fö: Förster; Fu: Furnivall; HB: Hunt and Bliss; Kem: Kemble; Ken: Kennedy; Mi: Millett; Mo: Morris and Skeat; MS: MS Harley 2253; Mu¹: H. J. R. Murray; Mu²: J. A. H. Murray; NB: Noomen and van den Boogard; Pa: Patterson; Rev: Revard 2005a; Ri: Ritson 1877; Ro: Robbins 1959; SP: Short and Pearcy; Si: Silverstein; St: Stemmler 1970; Tu: Turville-Petre 1989; Ul: Ulrich; W¹: Wright 1839; W²: Wright 1841; W³: Wright 1842; WH: Wright and Halliwell.

2 ov. So MS. HB: en.

18 tresdouce. So MS. HB: tredouce.