Homily 15, Sexagesima Sunday

by: Anne B. Thompson (Editor)

from: The Northern Homily Cycle  2008

Dominica in sexagesima. Evangelium secundum Lucam. In illo tempore:1; (see note) Cum turba plurima convenirent. Et cetera.2 ; (t-note)
5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65 70 75 80 85 90 95 100 105 110 115 120 125 130 135 140 145 150 155 160 165 170 175 180 185 190 195 200 205 210 215 220 225 230 235 240 245 250 255 260 265 270 275 280 285 290 295 300 305 310 315 320 325 330 335 340 345 350 355 360 365 370 375 380 385	In oure gospell Saynte Luke saise us, That mani folk come to Jesus Of citees and of other townes; To here his sawes and his resounes. Thai stode aboute him thik falde And a parabile he thaim talde: He sayse, “A man on felde yede To sawe apon his land his sede; And som fell besyde the strete, And foules sone it uppe ete. And som fell apon the stane, And forworthid sone onane; For it had nowther erde ne wete It dryed and witid awaie full skete. And some sede fell ymange the thornes Als oft sithes on felde duse cornes, And forworthid, for thorne and wede Grewe it aboute and it ovreyede. And som fell in gude erde and yalde Gode fruyte and croppe a hondrethe falde.” This saide Criste and sithen he badde That all suld here that eres hadde. Than his dissiples sayde him to That he suld this ensawmpil undo; And Criste saide, “Grace es given to yow To witte on what manere and how Man aght to ga the right waie Unto the joye that lastis aie. Bot other men behoves be kende With ensawmpils to hevene at wende That seand men be noght seande, And undirstand and noght undirstand.” This ensawmpil that I sayde here Sall be undone on this manere: The sede betaknes Goddis worde That prechurs bringes of his horde. This sede fallis in mannes hertes, For synnefull manne to gode it ertes. Bot it falles oft besyde the waie And foules beres it awaie. Foules betaknes Sathanas That oute of thaire hertes Goddes worde tase. For bathe gode men and ylle Heres sermounes with gode will; Bot ylle men therof na hede takes For fendes out of thaire hertes it schakes, And fruyte therfore forthe bringe thai nane For fell fendes it oute hase tane. This sede fallis als in thornes and breres When ryche men with will it heres Bot thaire hertis ovregrowen es With covetyse and besynes Of werldes catell, so that thaie Na gude fruyte forthe bringe maye. The sede yitte falles apon the stane, Bot rote tharein may it gete nane, When hard men of hert it heres That trowes that the prechoure leres; Bot if fandinge fall in thair thoght Of Goddes worde gife thai right noght. In thaire hert es na wete of grace, Forthi tharein na rote it tase. Bot Criste betaknes in oure Gospell Be that sede that in gode erde fell Goddes worde that gode men heres And kythis it with gode maneres. Thai bringe forthe fruite of gode sede In tholemodenes in worde and dede This es the strenghe of oure Gospell Als man in Ynglihsse tonge may tell.    This spell has Criste himself undone, Forthi thare me noght speke thareone. Bot of a worde that tharein es, That es to saye of tholemodenes Will I speke, for it is a thinge That geres men gasteli fruyte forthe bringe — Als Criste schewid in oure Gospell, Thare he saide sede in gode erde fell And in hervestes gode fruyte yalde Of ilk a corne hondrethe falde. For right gude erde that gode fruyte gives Menes Cristen menne that wele lyves And bringes forthe fruyte in tholemudnes That es moder of all godenes. For nanekyn man may be right gude Bot he in angere be tholemode. Tholemode es he that can have methe In werldes wa and in wandrethe, And forgives thaim that duse thaim scathe, And prayes that God schelde thaim fra lathe, Als Criste did when he hange on rode And kende us thare to be tholemode. Bot now es many foles iwisse, That sone when any hase done thaim misse, Gode rest ne roo may thai have nane, Bot thai be vengid of that mane. In thaim es na tholemodenes Bot felonye and bittirnes. Thai may wele bere gode fruyte in dede, Bot thaire fruyte getes thaim na mede; For right als fruyte that suld springe, Es slane with thondir and levenynge, Swa geres wrethe and wickid will Gode fruyte of the werkes wysen and spill, For fruyte wisynes of worthi dede, When he that duse it tynes his mede, And ilk a man may sikir be, That mede of gode dede tynis he, If he in wrethe and yre lyve And nanegates will misdede forgive. Bot he that haldes him fra wreth When his faas steres him to brethe And duse thaim gode agaynes the hill May noght the fruyte of his dede spill. For suffraunce yemes it fra wynde Of wrethe, forthi sall he it fynde Rype before God on the Daye of Dome That geres oure fruyte here sproute and blome. Than sall that fruyte that he here wroght In tholemodenes gere him be broght To take with myrthe his mede in blisse That to tholemode men graunted is. Forthi I rede we be tholemode And think on him that dyed on rode, And askid of his faas na wrake Bot tholid it mekeli for mannes sake. He grucchid noght when men him sloghe, Ne when thai him to hethinge droghe; Bot askid to thaim forgivenes To give ensawmpile of tholemodenes. Forthi I rede we ensawmpile take Of Criste for to forgive all wrake Till oure enemyes for than live we In bowsomnes and charité. Of tholemudenes will I yow tell A tale, if ye will here my spell.    A ryche man be alde daies Thoght for to leeve this werldes plaies And torne into religyoune, And tharto he made him redy boune. A doghtir he had that he betaght To his frendis with all his aght, And bad thaim take on hir gode tent. And sithen to ane abbaye he went, And tharein was schaven monk full yare, And swa bowsome lyved he thare, That his abote lufid him mare Than any other for all thaire fare. He lived thus lange in that abbaie, And servid God bathe night and daie Bot radde was he that God suld tyne His doghtir that hight Mawryne, And oft for hir his herte was sare, For in some ordire he wald scho ware. His abote sawe him be sarye, And askid him wharefore and whi. He made ylle chere, and he him talde That he a sohne had that was callde Mawryne, and saide full fayne he walde That he ware broght to Goddis falde. This abote saide, “I will him have If that he be a gude knave.” And bad him ga eftir him swithe — Bot here ye maye grete ferly lithe: This monk eftir his doghtir yede And cledde hir all in careman wede, And techid hir how scho sul live And all hir hert to Jhesu give; And bad that scho suld nevermore Late man witte that scho wommane wore. When he had kend hir hir lessoune, He broght hir to religyoune, And sone monk was scho schaven thare, And monk abyte thare scho bare. And Frere Mawrine was scho callde, And did full wele in Goddes falde; For scho was gode and serviseabile And in hir ordire full devotabile. Hir wommanhede so wele scho hidde That mannes maners wele scho kidde. Scho wonid in hir fadir cell, And he hir kend that to hir fell: How scho suld bathe night and daie Hir Sawter and hir Servyse saie. And when dede had hir fadir tane, Scho wonid in his celle be hir ane In harde penaunce and gude prayere That made hir to Criste full dere. Fell awntir that hir brether yede In labore for to do thaire dede, That was on barowes stane beringe To the werk of thair bigginge. And for Mawryne was wyse and warre Scho was sette to lede a carre. Fer fra thaire abbaie was thaire quarrere, And thare was wonand a brewstere, And thare laye Mawryne oute all night, For scho might noght come hame be light. And fell awntir that a yonge swayne Had the brewster doghtir oft forlayne; And sone when childe in wambe was sene Hir frendes att hir ware ful tene, And askid wha had bi hir lyne. And scho talde tham that monke Mawryne Had forsid hir, and thai ware wrathe, And till hir abote it talde rathe, That Mawryne had that mayden forlayne. Bot the abote saide thare agayne, For wende he noght it sothe might be, Swa wele monk Mawryne trowid he. He callid the whether Mawryne sone And spirid if scho that synne had done; And Mawryne stude and hir bethoght How sakles Criste on rode hir boght, And tharefore to hir walde scho take Sakles schame for Goddes sake. And saide, “Leve fadir, praye for me That my synne may forgiven be. I may noght saye agayne this chaunce For I am worthi to do penaunce.” And when the abote herd this, He was full wrathe with hir iwisse, And sayde, “Mawryne, allas, allase, That thou in this house schaven wase. Thi fadir was a haly mane And thorghe him was thou hyder tane. Allas that ever thou come herein For thou has schent this house with syn; And for thou hase this abbaie schent I do thee here oute of the covent. For thou hase wretthid swete Jhesus, Thou sall noght dwell ymange us.” Than was scho done to the gate And sare began scho for to grate, And prayed eftir tholemodenes, For scho wist wele scho was sakles. And hard penaunce scho toke hir one Right als scho had that ylk synne done. On werk dayes when the covente Forthe atte gate to laboure wente, Thai sawe Mawryne than sitte thare schent. And som of thaim full sare hir ment, And som spittid on hir thare Als scho Jewe or Sarzyne ware. Brede and watir hir broght thai, And tharewith lived scho many a daie. This brewstare doghtir of whaim I ment, That had Mawryne thusgate schent, Had a knave chylde in hir tyme; And sone when scho had spanid hyme, Scho it betaght to monke Mawryne. And saide, “Monk, loo, this es thine, I have wele fedde it hidir till: Fede thow it now, if that thou will.” And tharewith Mawryne the childe left scho, And Mawryne toke the chylde hir to And gladli gave scho it atte ete Of swilk almos als scho might gete. And thus twa wyntir scho fedd it thare, Right als it hir awne childe ware. When Mawryne had ledde thus hir lyve In strange penaunce yeres fyve, The covent had of hir pité, And prayede thaire abote par charité, He suld late Mawryne come thaim ymange; And saide, “His penaunce es to strange, For att the gate es he to lange; And us think that men duse him wrange. Before us all his synne he talde, And hase lyen atte gate full calde, And theine wald he never ga, Bot dwellis still in all his wa. We praye yowe that he moght come in, For God forgiven hase all his synne.” And atte last with grete barete Att the abote leve gone thai gete That Mawryne moght come fra the gate, And thus thai gert hir have inlate; For thai praied for hir swa fast, That scho was focchid in atte last. When scho before the abote come, The abote talde hir hir dome, And saide, “To penaunce give I thee That thou to us a drivel be, The covente schone for to smere And watir to thair forayne bere. For thou a mayden hase forlayne, Thou sall clens oure forayne; And oure kicchine sall tow make clene And wesshe oure vessel all bedene; And eftir I se thi tholemudenes Thi travaile sall be lesse and lesse.” Monk Mawryne into kicchin went And fullfillid his commaundment. Withouten grucchinge wele did scho All that hir abote bad hir do. Bot sone eftir did God his will Of hir, and toke hir saule him till. And hir abote when scho was dede Toke with all his covente rede Oute of the kirkgarthe hir to delve In a stede all be hirselve. Till his monkes he saide, “In hye Gase and wehssis yone bodie, And sithen delve it on the felde That Sathanas the sawle ne welde. The mare schame the bodie dryes The tittir fra payne the sawle flyes.” To the fermerye the monkes went To do the abotes comaundment, Bot when thai sawe scho was wommane Thai fell cryand to the erde ylkane, And saide, “Ladye, allas, oghane! Agaynes thee we have missetane In dede and wordes many ane, And now to thee we make oure mane. Praie for us that God us mende For we se othir than we wende: We wend that thou had careman bene Bot now forsothe es othir sene. Forthi to thee now may we mene That ever we did thee traye or tene, For openlye may all men se That Goddis werkis er here privé For will he nouthir cry ne yelpe Thare he with his grace will helpe.” Thir monkes to thaire abote ran And saide, “Frere Mawryne was wommane!” Ferli him thoght of this tithand And to the corse he come rynnand; And sone when he the sothe sawe with eye He fell and sayde, cryand full hye: “Leve Mawryne, for Jesus sake, Late God na vengeaunce on me take; For unwittand did I thee misse Als man that oft dissaivid is. Forthi I praye thee forgive me The mikil schame that I did thee.” When he had saide this and mare, With gretinge and with hert sare He gert schroude that corse right thare With bawdekynes and with riche fare; And sithen bare it worthilie With joyefull sange in the kirk to lye; Thare the cors was layde in toumbe And gives hele bathe to deeve and doumbe. The brewstare doghtir wexe wode, And come cryand with gryseli mode; And talde the folk als wodewise wylde Wha gatte on hir this forsaide chylde. Hir frendes sawe that for hir synne The fende was commen hir within, And harde with rapes thai hir band And ledde hir sithen sare greteand To Mawryne toumbe, and woke hir thare, And God hir sente helpe full yare. This lange tale I have yow talde To ger you in youre hertes halde That ilka man full blissid es That lyves here aie in tholemodenes, And grucchis noght agayne missawe. For thof men do him wrange a thrawe, He may be siker of gode mede, If he thole mekeli thaire missdede. For aye the mare wrangewisnes That godemen here tholes sakles, Aye the mare sall thair mede be Before Criste that dyed on tre; For he taght us tholemodenes When he swelt for oure wickidnes. Forthy Jesus lene us grace To folowe in tholemudenes thi trace, And come tharewith into thi blisse, That to tholemude men grauntid is. Thare we may fynd Saynte Mawryne, That here tholid bathe schame and pyne. Scho folowide Criste in tholemudenes That best of all vertues es, For it ovrecomes the warlawe And geres man himselven knawe, And gives his hert all to mekenes That wones aye with tholemodenes; For wha swa haldes wele this twa; To hevene maye he lightly ga. Oure Lorde Jhesus Criste us spede To be tholemode and thidir us lede. Amen.	sayings a great number parable went sow way birds perished at once Because; water withered away quickly times; grain overcame yielded ears ought forever must be taught; (see note) to come to heaven through examples So that seeing, men may nonetheless not perceive (see note) signifies store (t-note) urges birds; (t-note) takes; (t-note) wicked sinful (t-note) evil (t-note) preoccupation with worldly goods root believe; teaches temptation They care nothing for God’s word particle root; takes make it known patience narrative; explicated I have no need to one; (see note) patience makes; spiritual yielded grain hundredfold Means no restraint misery; wretchedness cause them injury harm taught fools wrong peace reward lightning causes anger wither and spoil loses his reward certain reward; loses anger in no way But he who holds back from anger enemies stir; anger in return for ill; (t-note) work destroy patient endurance protects it from the force Ripe (ready); (t-note) produced advise enemies no vengeance complained; slew held him up to scorn hostility humility words old; (see note) pleasures prepared entrusted possessions pay good attention to her then tonsured; readily obediently abbot behavior afraid; damn was called sore showed an unhappy countenance son gladly keeping lad quickly hear a great marvel went; (see note) dressed; man’s clothing know; was taught into the religious life tonsured as a monk habit; wore Brother devout; (see note) (see note) showed dwelled And he taught her everything she needed to know both Psalter; Divine Office death; taken by herself It happened that her brother monks went As laborers carrying stones in barrows building careful appointed; wagon quarry brewer before night man lain by; (t-note) womb with her; angry (t-note) forced quickly denied [the charge] thought; true trusted nevertheless asked reflected; (see note) guiltless Sinless Dear deny this happening brought ruin on Because; shamed expel angered weep as if; very ruined pitied Saracen to whom I referred harmed weaned behold up until now she fed it With such alms (see note) own for the love of God too severe thence after much argument They obtained permission from the abbot entrance so earnestly fetched abbot judgment drudge shoes; polish privy Because; seduced indeed; (t-note) patience labor grumbling ordered soul decision Outside; churchyard; bury; (see note) place Quickly wash bury So that; would not have power over suffers quicker infirmary every one alas, woe [is me]; (see note) transgressed plea amend thought man make moan attack; harm hidden speak aloud Those whom A marvel; news body at once Dear unwittingly; mistake deceived great weeping had shrouded; (see note) oriental silk cloth woven with gold/silver gives healing both to deaf and dumb brewer’s; went mad wild creature begat ropes; bound watched over her soon cause you always; patience grumbles; misrepresentations although; for a time certain; reward Suffers meekly wrong suffer guiltless Always the cross died Therefore; grant path devil (warlock); (see note) dwells whoever holds well to these two help

Go To Homily 16, Quinquagesima Sunday

Footnotes

HOMILY 15, SEXAGESIMA SUNDAY: FOOTNOTES

1 Sexagesima Sunday. The Gospel according to Luke. In that time

2 Latin rubric (Luke 8:4–15): And when a very great multitude was gathered together, [and hastened out of the cities unto him, he spoke by a similitude. The sower went out to sow his seed. And as he sowed, some fell by the way side, and it was trodden down, and the fowls of the air devoured it. And other some fell upon a rock: and as soon as it was sprung up, it withered away, because it had no moisture. And other some fell among thorns, and the thorns growing up with it, choked it. / And other some fell upon good ground; and being sprung up, yielded fruit a hundredfold. Saying these things, he cried out: He that hath ears to hear, let him hear. And his disciples asked him what this parable might be. To whom he said: To you it is given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God; but to the rest in parables, that seeing they may not see, and hearing may not understand. Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God. And they by the wayside are they that hear; then the devil cometh and taketh the word out of their heart, lest believing they should be saved. Now they upon the rock, are they who when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no roots; for they believe for a while and in time of temptation, they fall away. And that which fell among thorns, are they who have heard, and going their way, are choked with the cares and riches and pleasures of this life, and yield no fruit. But that on the good ground, are they who in a good and perfect heart, hearing the word, keep it, and bring forth fruit in patience.]

HOMILY 15, SEXAGESIMA SUNDAY: EXPLANATORY NOTES

Abbreviations: CA: Catena Aurea, ed. Newman; McIntosh: McIntosh, “Some Words in the Northern Homily Collection”; MED: Middle English Dictionary; NEHC: Gerould, North English Homily Collection; NHC: Northern Homily Cycle; NIMEV: The New Index of Middle English Verse, ed. Boffey and Edwards; OE: Old English; OED: Oxford English Dic­tionary; OF: Old French; PL: Patrologia Latina, ed. Migne; Tubach: Index Exemplorum, ed. Tubach. For manuscript abbreviations (ED, A, D, G, L, V), see the Introduction.

The text for this Sunday, which occurs sixty days (more or less) before Easter, is the well known Parable of the Sower (Luke 8:4–8). Because Jesus himself explicates the parable, the NHC-poet, rather than repeating Jesus’ interpretation, takes the opportunity to expand on the theme of “tholemodenes” or “patience.” This allows him to introduce the tale of Marina, whose life exemplifies the virtue of patience, but whose tale also belongs to a large and highly popular group of stories of cross-dressing female saints.

NIMEV 1519, 89. Manuscripts: A: fols. 54r–59r; G: fols. 55r–59r; D: fols. 83r–87r (fol. 86 lost); L: fols. 21r–22r.

Before 1 In illo tempore. This is the usual form of the rubric in A which, as seen by the addition of these words, differs slightly from that of the Edinburgh manuscript.

29–30 Bot other men behoves be kende / With ensawmpils to hevene at wende. These lines offer what most would consider to be a generous interpretation of their biblical equi­valent (Luke 8:4–15; see the Latin rubric, p. 93; compare Mark 4:11–12). Mo­dern commentators acknowledge the difficulty of the passage in Luke, but the meaning is generally thought to be something along the following lines: Jesus speaks in parables in order that the truth be veiled from outsiders — the secrets of the kingdom should be given only to those who have already committed them­selves to him (International Bible Commentary, ed. Farmer, p. 1395; C. Evans, Saint Luke, pp. 368, 374). The CA notes Bede’s Commentary on Luke, which sup­ports this typical reading: “Rightly then do they hear in parables, who having closed the sense of their heart, care not to know the truth” (3.269; compare CA 2.75–78, on Mark 4:11–12). The NHC-poet indicates instead that through parables those without faith will be brought to understand. Whether he has misunderstood the text or deliberately changed its meaning, his own inter­pretation is consistent with the urgent and positive desire to bring his audience into the community of the faithful as expressed throughout NHC.

33 This ensawmpil that I sayde here. In distinction to the Lucan text, I have not included lines 34–62 as part of Jesus’ speech. In this passage the NHC-poet seamlessly interweaves a representation of Jesus’ words with his own homiletic expansion of them. The poet is clearly speaking at line 63, when he says that “Bot Criste betaknes in oure Gospell,” but there is no obvious break between this line and the one that precedes it, and I have therefore chosen to attribute the passage as a whole to the poet, whose voice is more akin to the commentaries than to Luke.

73–74 Bot of a worde that tharein es, / That es to saye of tholemodenes. Gregory’s Homily 12 also deals with this text and also speaks about patience, but much more briefly; his exemplum is different, though it also illustrates patience. There is otherwise little similarity between the two.

137 A ryche man be alde daies. Tubach 3380: Monk, girl disguised as. The source for the NHC version, as Gerould notes (NEHC, p. 45), is probably the Vitae Patrum (PL 73.691). The legend of Saint Marina is one of numerous tales of holy women (other examples include Theodora, Euphrosne, and Pelagia) who disguised them­selves as men. These tales were very popular in the Middle Ages, as can be seen by the more than thirty women who figure in them. Generally speaking there is little evi­dence to prove the historicity of these legends and their form certainly approxi­mates more closely to romance than to history (Hotchkiss, Clothes, pp. 13–15). The earliest versions are set in the eastern Mediterranean; lives written originally in Greek were translated into Latin in the early Middle Ages, enjoying wide circulation in such works as Vincent of Beauvais’ Speculum Historiale and the Legenda Aurea of Jacobus de Voragine (chapter 84, vol. 1, pp. 324–25).

165–66 This monk eftir his doghtir yede / And cledde hir all in careman wede. The prohibition in Deuteronomy 22:5 against cross-dressing (“A woman shall not be clothed with man’s apparel, neither shall a man use woman’s apparel: for he that doeth these things is abominable before God”) was repeated in church canons throughout the Middle Ages. Since, however, according to most medieval theologians, women were not created equal to men, female cross-dressing was tolerated, because of the assumption that such women were striving to become more male-like, and hence better persons (Bullough, “Cross-Dressing,” p. 225).

178 devotabile. The meaning is apparent, as cognate with ME devout (from OF devo[u]t, Latin devotus), but as McIntosh notes this form does not appear either in MED or OED (p. 198).

179–80 Hir wommanhede so wele scho hidde / That mannes maners wele scho kidde. Although Marina’s successful assumption of a male disguise appears complete here, the events that subsequently unfold bear out Hotchkiss’ claim that the transvestite saints rarely embody masculine qualities; more often “they retain stereotypical feminine characteristics, including sexual vulnerability and sinfulness, maternal instincts, and concerns for family” (Clothes, p. 30).

213 And Mawryne stude and hir bethoght. Hotchkiss groups Marina with two other cross-dressing saints, Margareta and Theodora, whose disguises emerge as signs of humility, since they reflect voluntary disregard for self in favor of serving God. Their willingness to suffer for the sins of others “evokes the figure of Christ” (Hotchkiss, Clothes, p. 25). Marina’s conscious approximation of her “sinless suffering” to that of Christ is original to NHC. In the Vitae Patrum, and the Legenda Aurea, for example, she simply responds to the accusation by saying that she has sinned.

259–60 And thus twa wyntir scho fedd it thare, / Right als it hir awne childe ware. As Hotchkiss points out, the child is left with its putative “father,” but Marina’s role is more like that of an unwed mother (Clothes, p. 26). When she is finally readmitted to the convent she must perform menial housekeeping tasks. In other words, though she is punished for her transgression as a man, she nonetheless conforms to the model of a female sinner.

301 Oute of the kirkgarthe hir to delve. Exceptions to the expectation that a Christian would be buried in the churchyard were very unusual, according to Daniell (Death and Burial, pp. 95–105). Some indication of those who might be so excluded can be found in the First Statutes of Salisbury (c. 1217–1219), which listed usurers, named excommunicates, and strangers to the parish. The Statutes of London (1245–1259) excluded those who married without banns. Less formal, but closer to the abbot’s decision with regard to Marina, based on her supposed sinfulness, is John Mirk’s list, which included, among others, women who died in childbirth, lechers, and those who died suddenly.

313 oghane. MED: Gaelic, compare Middle Irish ochan, “woe!”

341 He gert schroude that corse right thare. Once Marina’s true (and sinless) identity has been discovered, the monks deal with her body in a manner that follows closely the practice of the community at Cluny. There the body was washed, clothed in a hair-shirt and hooded habit, and placed on a bier. It then lay in the church, where the recitation of psalmody continued until the time of burial. At the grave the body was censed by a priest, sprinkled with holy water, and buried with earth cast upon it. The procession of monks then returned to the abbey to the tolling of bells (Daniell, Death and Burial, p. 31).

379 warlawe. From OE waerloga, a “traitor” or “oath-breaker,” but the special appli­cation to the devil was, according to OED, already its principal sense in OE.

HOMILY 15, SEXAGESIMA SUNDAY: TEXTUAL NOTES

Abbreviations: MED: Middle English Dictionary; Nevanlinna: Nevanlinna, The Northern Homily Cycle; NHC: Northern Homily Cycle; Small: English Metrical Homiles, ed. Small. for manuscript abbreviations (ED, A, D, G, L, V), see the Introduction.

Before 1 Cum turba . . . Et cetera. The scribe seems to have skipped over this line, only to insert it in the right margin.

37 mannes. MS: mann, followed by erasure, then es.

40 foules. MS: foules &, with ampersand canceled.

42 That oute. MS: A crease hides part of this line, partially obscuring the first and second words. The first is almost certainly Þat, identifiable by the blurred but just visible Þ followed by a small t written above the line. The ou and the e of the second word can be made out, and by analogy with G and D, which both have oute, the third letter, which is hidden by the crease must be a t.

46 schakes. MS: tak schakes. The scribe evidently began to write takes, the rhyme word from the previous line, and then realized his mistake, though the letters have not been canceled.

50 ryche. So G. MS: wricchid.

113 hill. The MED lists this as an alternate spelling for ill. G, D have ill/ille respec­tively.

117 God. MS: gon god,with gon canceled.

200 oft. So G. MS omits.

203–04 And askid wha had bi hir lyne / And scho talde tham that monk Mawryne. These lines, the last two on fol. 56v have been recopied at the top of fol. 57r.

290 wesshe. MS: wehsse.