As we have seen, the Blessed Virgin's five joys have given rise to a number of mediæval Marian poems. Chistians who, even today, recite what is known as the five joyful mysteries of the Rosary meditate respectively on the Angel Gabriels' annunciation, Mary's visit to her cousin Elizabeth, the birth of the Lord Jesus Christ, the presentation of the Child Jesus in the Temple and the finding of Jesus in the Temple.
In the mediæval Five Joys poems, however, we find several different "joys" described.
The main joys generally include events such as the Annunciation, the birth of Christ, His Resurrection from the dead and the Blessed Virgin's own assumption into heaven, interspersed with other noteworthy events in the lives of Jesus and Mary.
So, for example, in A Song of the Five Joys (Ase y me rod þis ender day), the five joys are described as comprising the Annunciation, the birth of the Lord Jesus Christ, the Epiphany, the Resurrection and the Blessed Virgin's Assumption into heaven.
In Oracio de sancta Maria: Heyle be þou, ladye so bryʒt, instead of the Epiphany, the poet names Christ's Ascension into heaven; wan þou (Mary) seie [saw] ihesu crist, flour of all mankinne/steye vp [ascend] to heuene (34-35).
Likewise in Oracio de sancta Maria (Heyle be þou, ladye so bryʒt) the poet describes the holy þursdaye (27) [Ascension Thursday] when Mary saw her Son vp-styʒe/hoom in-to heuen so hyʒe (28-29) [ascend home into heaven so high].
In the example given here, likewise titled A Song of the Five Joys, the poet names for his second joy the fact that the Blessed Virgin was left wemles [spotless] and ai sal be [will remain so forever] (23-24).
A SONG OF THE FIVE JOYS
Haile be þu, mari maiden bright! Hail to thee
þu teche me pe wais right: teach; right ways
I am a sorful dreri wight sad, dreary creature
als þu mai se
Quer i sal in þe hard pine of hel be when; grievous pain
(M)i sinful saule sighes sare; soul; sorely
Liued i haue in sin and care I have lived
Leve i wil and do na mare believe; more
mi leud(i) fre
Saul and bodi, lijf and dede, soul; life; death
bi-teche i þe 10 I commit to thee
þar þu lay in þi bright boure when; bower
Leuedi, quite als leli floure white; lily flower
An angel com fra heue (ne toure) from heaven's tower
sant gabriel
And said, 'leuedi, ful of blis blissful lady, ai worth þe wel!' stay well forever!
Stil þu stod, ne stint þu noght stood; not refuse
þu said til him þe bodword brough(t) messenger
'Al his wil it sal be wroght done
in his ancele'. to his handmaid.
Leuedi, bi-for þi suete sun to thy sweet Son
mak vs lele. 20 faithful
(þ)e toþer ioy i wate it was other joy; know
Als sun schines thoru þe glas as; through
Sua ert þu, leued(i) welmes so art; spotless
and ai sal be. forever will be.
Leued(i), for þat suete ioy for that sweet joy
þu reu on me. pity thou me
(þ)e third ioy i vnderstand third
Thre kinges com of thrin land came; three
To fal þi suete sun til hand to fall before; son
and gaf him gift gave; gifts
Mir, reclis and gold red, als myrrh; frankincense
it was right. 30 was fitting.
þe kin was riche-þe gold was rede
þe reclis rel til his goddhed
Mir to man þat sal be ded myrrh; about to die
for vr sake
Leuedi to þi suete sun at ane unite us
vs make
þe feird, it is al thoru his grace fourth; through
Quen he fra ded to lijf ras when; dead; rose
Quen he sua hard suongen was swung so cruelly
on rode tre
Leuedi, of vr sinnes al þu from all our sins
make us fre 40
þe fijft, þu was til heuen broght fifth; brought to
þe iuus þe soght and fand þe noght Jews sought; found;
Als þi suete sun it wroght as; wrought
almighti king
Leuedi mari, be vr helpe at
vr ending
Leuedi, for þi ioies fiue thy five joys
þu kid þi might and help vs suith show; swiftly
Leuedi mari, moder o liue, wid flur mother; the living
wid flur and fruit with flower
Rose and leli þu sprede ay wide lily; spread out
and helpe þi suite 50 followers
Leuedi mari, wele þu wast well thou knowest
þe feindes fraistes me ful fast assail me sorely
wele i hope i sal þaim cast sincerely; cast out
thoru might of þe; through thy power
Quen i neuen þi suete name i When; call on; I
ger þaim fle cause them to flee
þir iois er said als i can sai these joys
Mi site, mi soru, i cast away position; sorrow
Nu help me leuedi, wele þu may now; well
and be mi spere my spear
Fra þe har pain of hell þu me 60 protect me
were
Al þat singes þis sang All who sing; song
And all þat ligges in paines strang lie; severe pains
pu lede þaim right þar þai ga wrang where they err
and haue merci
On all þat trous þat good was believe
born of þe, fait leuedi.
Here, as seen in other mediæval poeme cited in this study such as Marye, Mayde mylde and fre, the devil is often described as the fiend [Middle English: feind, plural: feindes] (52) with the same connotation of hostility as the Dutch word vijand (enemy).
To the mediæval poet, the devil was the enemy because he could only harm, not benefit, his victims.
Bodword [message] (17) is reminiscent of the Dutch boodschap or bode's woord, the word of the messenger; viz Gabriel.
In Dutch, were(n) (6) means avert, defend, rather than the translation !"protect" as given.
A closer translation, therefore, might be: "from the terrible pain of hell, defend thou me".
A sense of deep confidence is clear when the poet begs Mary: þu sprede ay wide (5) [ever spread (thine arms out) wide], manifesting a total sense of easse.
He wants to hide in her arms, to shelter at her breast from þe feindes (52), so that when God in His Divine Justice seeks to punish him on account of his sinful saule (6), Mary will keep him from his just deserts, since he clearly believes that Christ, Mary's suete sun (28) (and) almighti king (44) is powerless to withstand his mother's pleadings.
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