Thursday, May 8, 2014

Mediæval Poetry in Praise of the Blessed Virgin (Part Seven) - Marye, Mayde Mylde and Fre


MEDIAEVAL POETRY IN PRAISE OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN (PART SEVEN) 
MARYE, MAYDE MYLDE AND FRE

Scriptural imagery abounds in Marye, mayde mylde and fre, ascribed to William Shoreham, one of the very few named authors to have written lyrics before 1350.

MARYE, MAYDE MYLDE AND FRE

Marye, mayde mylde and free            . . . gracious; noble
Chambre of þe trynyte                              Trinity

One wyle lest to me                                   A while; listen
Ase ich þe grete wyþ songe:                     As I greet thee in sons
Þaᵹ my fet on-clene be                              Though; container; dirty
My mes þou onder-fonge.                         Receive thou my portion


Þou art quene of paradys
Of heuene, of erthe, of alþat hys               that is (exists)

Þou bere þane kynge of blis                      bore the King

Wyþ-oute senne and sore               10       without sin or pain
Þou hast y-ryt þat was amys                    hast set wrongs aright

Y-wonne þat was ylore.                              won; lost


Þou ert þe coluere of noe                          
dove of Noah
Þat broute þe braunche of olye tre            brought; branch; olive
In tokne þat pays scholde be                      token; peace; should
By-tuexte god and manne                           between
Suete leuedy, help þou me                          sweet lady
Wanne ich schal wende hanne.                   when I shall go hence


Þou art  þe bosche of synay                       bush of Sinai
Þou art  þe rytte sarray                    20      legitimate Sarah
Þou has ybrouᵹt ous out of cry                   brought us out of range
Of calenge of Þe fende                               challenge; fiend/devil
Þou art crystes oᵹene drury                       Christ's own beloved
And of dauyes kende.                                  David's kin

Þou art þe slinge, þe sone þe ston             the sling; son; stone

Þat dauy slange golye op-on                       David slung on Goliath
Þou ert þe ᵹerd al of aaron                         all the rod of Aaron
Me dreye iseᵹ spryngynde                         blooming when dry
Wyt-nesse at ham euerechon                     take all as witness
Þat wyste of þyne chyldynge.           30      knew; childbearing

Þou ert  þe temple salomon                        Solomon's temple
In þe wondrede gedeon                              Gideon wandered
Þou hast ygladed symeon                           gladdened Simeon
Wyþ þyne swete offrynge                           sweet offering

In þe temple atte auter-ston                       at the altar stone

Wyþ ihesus heuene kynge.                         with Jesus, heaven's




Þou ert Iudith,  þat fayre wyfe                    Judith; that fair lady
Þou hast abated al þat stryf                        diminished all strife
Olofernes wyþ hys knyf                              with his knife
Hys heuede þou hym by-nome          40      head; bereft
Þou hest ysaued here lef                             saved their lives
Þat to þe wylle come.                                   who wish to come

Þou ert hester, þate swete þinge                 Esther; sweet creature
Ande asseuer þe ryche kynge                      Assuerus
Þe(y) heþ ychose to hys weddynge              thee he chose to wed
And quene he heþ a-uonge                           when he captured

For mordocheus, þy derlynge                       thy beloved Mordecai
Syre aman was y-honge.                               Lord Haman was hanged

Þe prophete ezechyel                                    The prophet Ezekiel
In hys boke hyt wytnesseþ wel          50       it is well witnessed
Þou ert þe gate so stronge so stel                as strong as steel
Ac euere y-schet fram manne                       but ever shut to man;

Þou erte þe ryᵹte uayre rachel                     the truly fair
Fayrest of all wymman.                                 women

By ryᵹte toknynge þou ert þe hel                 true symbol; the hill
Of wah spellede danyel;                                of which Daniel spoke

Þou ert  emaus,  þe ryche castel
Þar resteþ alle werye                                    where all the weary rest
Ine þe restede emanuel                                 in thee rested Emanuel
of wan y-spekeþ ysaye.                    60         of whom Isaiah spoke

In þe hys god by-come a chyld                     In thee has God become
In þe hys wreche by-come myld                    vengeance; mild
Þat vnicorn þat was so wyld                          the unicorn
Aleyd hys of a cheaste                                  was subdued by a virgin
Þou hast y-tamed and i-styld                         tamed; quietened (it)
Wyþ melke of þy breste                                with milk; breast

Ine þe apocalyps sent Iohn                           Apocalypse; St John
Iseᵹ any wymman wyᵹ sonne by-gon            saw; woman sun-clothed

Þane mone al onder hyre ton                        the moon under her feet
I-crouned wyþ tuel sterre                 70         crowned; twelve stars
Swyl a leuedy nas neuere non                       Such; as never was
Wyþ þane fend to werre                                to make war on the Fiend

Ase þe sonne takeþ hyre pas                       As the sun penetrates
Wyþ-oute breche þorᵹ-out þat glas             without breaking; glass
Þy maydenhod on-wemmed hyt was             virginity; undefiled
For bere of  þyne chylde                                by bearing; thy child

Nou, swete leuedy of solas                            sweet lady of solace
To ous senfolle be þou mylde                        us; the sinful; merciful

Haue, leuedy, þys lytel songe                       accept; this little song
Þat out of senfol herte spronge         80        sprung; sinful heart
Aᵹens þe feend þou make me stronge          against; fiend; strengthen
And ᵹyf me þy wyssynge;                              grant me thy guidance
And þaz ich habbe y-do þe wrange                though I; wronged thee
Þou graunte me amendynge.                          grant; amendment

The Scriptural imagery, varied only once by a reference to the unicorn (63), the legendary quadruped which could be quietened only by a virgin, covers mainly the Old Testament, though the reference to Emmaus (57) clearly refers to Christ's supper with the disciples at Emmaus after His Resurrection. Referring to the final couplet of the first stanza: Þaᵹ my fet on-clene be/My mes þou onder-fonge (5-6), Brown (1924:256) writes that this is "an obvious allusion to the story of 'Dainties in a foul dish' which is of frequent occurrence in the collections of Miracles of Our Lady."

The imagery conjured up is fast-moving and kaleidoscopic; in one of the more original and effective metaphors contained in the corpus of Marian poetry, the Blessed Virgin is described as David's sling and the Christ-Child as the stone which was shot from it (24-26). By equating Mary, who bore Christ, with characters such as Iudith (37), hester (43) and Rachel (53), fauna such þe coloure of noe (13) and flora such as the bosche of synay (19), William of Shoreham emphasises the belief that the Old Testament was fulfilled by the arrival of the Redeemer and that Mary's womb provided the bridge between the two eras. The unremitting production of Biblical metaphors brings the poem to a climax in which Mary is presented as the virgin who tamed the unicorn (63-64) before being depicted as the woman clothed with the sun, standing on the moon and crowned with twelve stars (68-70). The poem's conclusion culminates in prayer to the blessed Virgin to strengthen the poet against the devil; a prayerful end to a brilliantly conceived and executed panegyric. 



Dr Luky Whittle

William of Shoreham ab 1320 Vicar of Charl-Sutton  https://archive.org/details/poemswilliamsho00konrgoog

The Poems of William of Shoreham http://books.google.ie/books?id=MRNISXqCD-0C&redir_esc=y 

With thanks to Archive.org Poemswilliam and Google
 













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