Ludus Coventriæ

by Unknown

XIII. THE VISIT TO ELIZABETH.

Maria. Butt, husbond, of oo thynge I pray ȝow most mekely,

I have knowyng that oure cosyn Elyȝabeth with childe is;

That it plese ȝow to go to here hastyly,

If owught we myth comforte here, it were to me blys.

Joseph. A! Godys sake is she with childe, sche?

Than wole here husbond ȝakarye be mery.

In Montana they dwelle fer hens, so mot y the,

In the cety of Juda, I knowe it veryly;

It is hens, I trowe, myles two and ffyfty,

We are like to be wery or we come at that same;

I wole with a good wyl, blyssyd wyff Mary,—

Now go we forthe than in Goddys name.

Maria. Goth husbond, thow it be to ȝow peyne,

This jurny I pray ȝow lete us go fast,

ffor I am schamfast of the pepyl to be seyne,

And namely of men, therof I am agast.

Pylgrymages and helpynges wolde be go in hast,

The more the body is peynyd, the more is the mede;

Say ȝe ȝour devocionys, and I xal myn reast(?),

Now in this jurny God mote us spede!

Joseph. Amen! Amen! and evyr more;

Lo! wyff, lo! how starkly I go before.

Et sic transient circa placeam.

Contemplacio. Sovereynes, undyrstondyth that kynge Davyd here

Ordeyned ffoure and twenty prestys of grett devocion,

In the temple of God after here let apere,

Thei weryd clepyd summi sacerdotes ffor her mynistracion.

And on was prynce of prestys havynge domynacyon,

Amonge whiche was an old prest clepyd ȝakarye,

And he had an old woman to his wyff of holy conversacion,

Whiche hyth Eliȝabeth, that nevyr had childe verylye.

In hese mynistracion the howre of incense,

The aungel Gabryel apperyd hym to,

That hese wyff xulde conseyve he ȝaff hym intelligence,

Hes juge, hes unwurthynes, and age not belevyd so.

The plage of dompnesse his lippis lappyd, lo!

Thei wenten hom and his wyff was conseyvenge;

This concepcion Gabryel tolde oure lady to,

And in soth sone aftere that sage sche was sekynge.

And of her tweyners metyng

Here gynnyth the proces,

Now God be oure begynnynge,

And of my tonge I wole ses.

Joseph. A! A! wyff, in feyth I am wery,

Therfore I wole sytt downe and rest me ryght here.

Lo! wyff, here is the house of ȝakary,

Wole ȝe I clepe Elyȝabeth to ȝow to apere.

Maria. Nay, husbond, and it plese ȝow I xal go ner,

Now the blyssyd Trynité be in this hous!

A! cosyn Eliȝabeth, swete modyr, what cher?

ȝe grow grett, a! my God! how ȝe be gracyous.

Eliȝabethe. Anon as I herd of ȝow this holy gretynge,

Mekest mayden and the modyr of God, Mary,

Be ȝour breth the Holy Gost us was inspyrynge,

That the childe in my body enjoyd gretly,

And turnyd downe on his knes to oure God reverently,

Whom ȝe bere in your body this veryly I ken,

ffulfyllyd with the Holy Gost thus lowde I cry,

Blyssyd be thou amonge alle women.

And blyssyd be the frute of thi wombe also,

Thou wurthyest virgyne and wyff that ever was wrought!

How is it that the modyr of God me xulde come to?

That wrecche of alle wrecchis, a whyght wers than nought!

And thou art blyssyd, that belevyd veryly in thi thought,

That the wurde of God xulde profyte in the,

But how this blyssydnes abought was brought,

I cannot thynk nyn say how it myght be.

Maria. To the preysyng of God, cosyn, this seyd mut be,

Whan I sat in my lytyl hous onto God praynge,

Gabryel come and seyde to me, Ave!

Ther I conceyved God at my consentynge,

Parfyte God and parfyte man at onys beynge;

Than the aungel seyd onto me,

That it was sex monethys syn ȝour conseyvynge,

This cawsyth my comynge, cosyn, ȝow to comfort and se.

Eliȝabeth. Blyssyd be ȝe, cosyn, ffor ȝour hedyr comynge,

How I conseyvyd I xal to ȝow say;

The aungel apperyd the howre of incensynge,

Seynge I xulde conseyve, and hym thought nay.

Sethe ffor his mystrost he hath be dowme alway,

And thus of my concepcion I have ȝow sum.

Maria. ffor this holy psalme I begynne here this day,

Magnificat anima mea Dominum,

Et exultavit spiritus meus in Deo salutari meo.

Eliȝabeth. Be the Holy Gost with joye Goddys son is in the cum,

That thi spyryte so injonyid the helth of thi God so.

Maria. Quia respexit humilitatem ancillæ suæ,

Ecce enim ex hoc beatam me dicent omnes generationes.

Eliȝabeth. ffor he beheld the lownes of hese hand maydeȝe,

So ferforthe ffor that alle generacionys blysse ȝow in pes.

Maria. Quia fecit mihi magna qui potens est,

Et sanctum nomen ejus.

Eliȝabeth. ffor grett thynges he made and also myghtyest,

And ryght holy is the name of hym in us.

Maria. Et misericordia ejus a progenie in progenies,

Timentibus eum.

Eliȝabeth. ȝa, the mercy of hym fro that kynde into the kynde of pes,

ffor alle that hym drede now is he cum.

Maria. Fecit potenciam in brachio suo,

Disspersit superbos mente cordis sui.

Eliȝabeth. The pore in his ryght arme he hath mad so,

The prowde to dyspeyre and the thought of here hertys only.

Maria. Deposuit potentes de sede,

Et exaltavit humiles.

Eliȝabeth. The prowde men fro hey setys put he,

And the lowly upon heyth in the sete of pes.

Maria. Esurientes implevit bonis,

Et divites dimisit inanes.

Eliȝabeth. Alle the pore and the nedy he fulfyllyth with his goodys,

And the ryche he fellyth to voydnes.

Maria. Suscepit Israel puerum suum,

Recordatus est misericordiæ suæ.

Eliȝabeth. Israel for his childe up toke he to cum,

On his mercy to thynk ffor hese that be.

Maria. Sicut locutus est ad patres nostros,

Abraham et semini ejus in secula.

Eliȝabeth. As he spak here to oure forfaderys in clos,

Abraham and to alle hese sede of hym in this werd sa.

Maria. Gloria Patri et Filio

Et Spiritui Sancto.

Eliȝabeth. Presyng be to the Fadyr in hevyn lo!

The same to the Son here be so,

The Holy Gost also to ken!

Maria. Sicut erat in principio, et nunc, et semper,

Et in secula seculorum! Amen.

Eliȝabeth. As it was in the begynnynge and now is and xal be for evyr,

And in this werd in alle good werkys to abydyn then.

Maria. This psalme of proyhesye seyd betwen us tweyn,

In hefne it is wretyn with aungellys hond,

Evyr to be songe and also to be seyn,

Every day amonge us at oure evesong.

But, cosyn Elyȝabeth, I xal ȝow here kepe,

And this thre monethis abide here now,

Tyl ȝe han childe, to wasche, skore, and swepe,

And in alle that I may to comforte ȝow.

Eliȝabeth. A! ȝe modyr of God, ȝe shewe us here how

We xulde be meke that wrecchis here be;

Alle hefne and herthe wurchepp ȝow mow,

That are trone and tabernakyl of the hyȝ Trinité.

Joseph. A! how do ȝe, how do ȝe, ffadyr ȝacharye?

We ffalle ffast in age withowte othe;

Why shake ȝe so ȝour hed? have ȝe the palsye?

Why speke ȝe not, sere? I trowe ȝe are not wroth.

Eliȝabeth. Nay, wys ffadyr Joseph, therto he were ful loth,

It is the vesytation of God he may not speke veryly;

Lete us thank God therffor bothe,

He xal remedy it whan it plesyth his mercy.

Come and pray ȝow specialy;

I-wys ȝe are welcome, Mary;

ffor this comfortabelest comynge, good God, gramercy!

Joseph. Of ȝour dissese thynkys no greff,

Thank God of al adversyté,

ffor he wyl chastyse and repreff

Tho that he lovyth most hertylé.

Mary, I hold best that we go hens,

We have fer hom withowt fayl.

Maria. Al redy husbond without defens,

I wyl werke be ȝour counsayl.

Cosyn, be ȝour leve and ȝour lycens,

For homward now us must travayl.

Of this refreschynge in ȝour presens,

God ȝeld ȝow that most may avayl.

Elizabeth. Now, cosynes bothe, Gow ȝow spede,

And wete ȝow wele withowtyn mo,

ȝour presens comfortyth me indede;

And therfore now am I ryght wo,

That ȝe, my ffrendys and my kynrede,

Thus sone now xul parte me fro:

But I pray God he mote ȝow lede,

In every place wher so ȝe go.

Here Mary and Eliȝabet partyn, and Eliȝabeth goth to Zakarie, and seyth,

Good husbond, ryse up, I beseke ȝow,

And go we to the temple now fast

To wurchep God with that we mow,

And thank hym bothe, this is my cast

Of the tyme that is comynge now;

ffor now is cum mercy, and venjauns is past:

God wyl be born for mannys prow,

To brynge us to blysse, that ever xal last.

Contemplacio. Lystenyth, sovereynys, here is a conclusyon,

How the Ave was mad here is lernyd us;

The aungel seyd “Ave, gratia plena, Dominus tecum,

Benedicta tu in mulieribus.”

Elyȝabeth seyd, “Et benedictus fructus ventris tui.”

Thus the chirche addyd Maria and Jhesus her:

Who seyth oure ladyes sawtere dayly for a ȝer thus,

He hath pardon ten thowsand and eyte hundryd ȝer.

Than ferther to oure matere to precede,

Mary with Eliȝabeth abod ther stylle

iij. monthys fully, as we rede,

Thankynge God with hertly wylle.

A! Lord God, what hous was this on?

That these childeryn and here moderes to,

As Mary and Eliȝabeth, Jhesus and John,

And Joseph and Zakarye also.

And evyr oure lady abod stylle thus,

Tyl John was of his modyr born,

And than ȝakarye spak i-wus,

That had be dowm and his speche lorn.

He and Eliȝabeth prophesyed as thus,

They mad Benedictus them beforn;

And so Magnificat, and Benedictus,

ffyrst in that place ther made worn.

Whan alle was don, oure Lady fre

Toke here leve; than aftere this,

At Eliȝabeth and at ȝakarie,

And kyssyd John and gan hym blys.

Now most mekely we thank ȝow of ȝour pacyens,

And beseke ȝou of ȝour good supportacion,

If here hathe be seyd or don any inconvenyens,

We asygne it to ȝour good deliberacion;

Besekynge to Crystes precious passyon,

Conserve and rewarde ȝour hedyr comynge!

With Ave we begunne, and Ave is oure conclusyon,

Ave regina cœlorum to oure Lady we synge.