|b{Marienlegenden,_in
|b{Prosalegenden,_ed._C._Horstmann}
|b{MS._Lamb._432,_fol._95.}



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|r{II._Marienlegenden.}


     1. |r<b> A curatt hadde in his parishe a paryshene rebell, vnbuxum and
     malicious, that did till him many Iniurijes and harmys: whom the
     curat blamyd him ofte and wold haue amendid him. But ffor-thy
     that he was hardennyd and evill incorigeble, he cursid him. Sone
 |r5 after that the curatt died. Whane he was dede , the cursid man
     repentid him, dreding dampnacion, and habuntdantly weping and
     sorowing come to the preest and tolde him all the sothe. The
     preest sent him to the byshop, the bvshope sent him to the pope.
     He went fforthe, sorowing and weping. But ffor he herd tell of an
|r10 holy hermyte in Egipte, he went to be consaylid of hyme. When
     he had told the hermyte his counseile, the hermyte said: `iff thou
     do after my bidding, thou shalt goo to the ffole in Alesaundre: and
     he shall say the what thou shalt do'. The curssid man than be_ganne
     to wepe bitterly and said: `allas that euer y was borne,
|r15 senne that y may ffynde no remedye for my synne'. `The hermyte
     said: `sonne, wepe nott! he is no ffole, as men wenyth, but he is



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     an holy mane and a grete clerke; and for the love of god and the
     kingdome of heuen he ffaynyth hyme a ffole, that he be dispisid in
     this world and aftir this regne in the tother with Crist; and he
     louyth mykkell the blessid virgyne seint Marye, and he is mekill
 |r5 louyd of herre. I shall write to him for the'. He toke a lettir of
     the hermyte and come to Alexaundre. And ther he sawe the ffole
     cum in to the cite, and many ran after him, casting stonys at hyme
     and many Iniurijs doing to hyme. At evyne he went ffrome the
     citee and come to an old chapell. And the cursid mane come to
|r10 hyme, weping and sobbyng, and ffell to his ffeet and gaffe him the
     letter. Whan he had sene the letter and wist the cause of his
     comyng, he ffell downe on the erthe in prayers. And he lying
     long praying, at the last com goddis moder in to the chapell, and
     with her many gloriouse virginis, angelis and archangelis, and a
|r15 multitude of e courte of heuen, and the chapell shone as the sonne_beme,
     and the cursid hidde him in a herne of the chapell for fferd_nesse.
     The ffole roese and toke (t)his cursid man by the hand
     and said: `drede the nought!' And he led hyme to seint Marye
     and ffell downe byffore her and prayed her to haue mercy on that
|r20 synffull mane, telling her sothe. Than said she: `knowist ou him at
     ou cursiddist, yf thou saw him?' He said: `ye, my lady'. Than
     she said: `go seke him, yf ou may fynd hyme in this Couent!' He
     sought bim and found hyme and brought hyme to goddis moder.
     Than comaundid she hyme to assoyle the cursid mane. And whan
|r25 that was done, the visione passid away, and he, assoylid, went
     home with. Joye.

     2. |r<b> A man was ravishid in his dome, that was opressid with many
     synnys. And the devill accusid hyme that he had lyvid all his
     lyff-tyme iu synne, that all the goed dedis that he had done, his
|r30 euyll dedis were many-ffold more. God commaundid to way his
     evill dedis and the goed. Than the sinfull mane in all his hert
     incallid the blessid lady, Goddis moder and moder of mercy, seint
     Mary: and she layd her hond on the weght-scale where the ffewe
     goed dedis ware. The devill in all his myght druhe out the other
|r35 syde. / But the moder of mercy deliuerid the synfull man.

     3. |r<b> Hit is red in Vitas patrum of a sinfull man, that all the goed
     dedis he dide, all-yf thay were ffewe, he did them in the honoure
     of seint Marye. He was taken in siknesse, and his soule brought
     to the dome, and, his conscience witnessing, he wist him dampnable.
|r40 His dedis were weyene, but his evill dedis were ffull mykell
     hevyer. The blissid virgyne prayed her sonne ffor that soule. Her
     sonne said: `moder, thou wotest well, by rightwisnesse and dome
     he is worthi dampnacion'. His moder said: `iff rightwysnesse aske
     that, y aske thy mercy, that thou yeff me a drope of thy blode'.
|r45 Here sonne said: `swettest moder, that y ought to do to the ffor



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     manhode I hadde of thee'. // She laid the droppe of blode on the
     parte of the goed dedis: and hit weyid more than the evill dedis,
     as hitt were a grete mountayngne.

     4. |r<b> A yong (wo)mane, devoute in the service of oure lady, was
 |r5 wedded, and dwellid with hirre brother. And, by intysing of the
     devill, her brother begatt on her a child; and e secund tyme, and
     the thirde tyme he did so. She beholding the gretnesse of her
     synne, byganne to dispayre and thonght for to sle her selffe: and
     toke a grete spider and swellowid hit in. When the woman was
|r10 scalid in all her bodye and she bolnyd and drewe to the dede,
     in grete sorow and turment she incallid the moder of mercy, saying:
     `goed lady, haue mynde of the dayes in whicche y seruyd the, and
     haue mercy on me in this grete article of my nede!' And at that
     voyse the moder of god stode byffore her, and ffirst blamid hir of
|r15 her synne, and sithyne confortid hir benyngly and made her in
     goed hope, and with her virgyne hond stroke her body, that was
     dyyng, ffro the heed to the ffete and drove away all the swelling
     and the venyme, and made her all hole. Then the woman lefte all
     the world and inclosid here and ffro that forthe lyvid in sharpe
|r20 penaunce.

     5. |r<b> IN the yere of oure lord a thousand thre hundyrd and ffifty
     in the bishoprich of Norwiche too ffrerus prechours excitid and
     stirid a mane languyssing, to shryve him preuely of all his synnys.
     He behight that he wold, but he defferrid for to do hitt. In the
|r25 nyght ffolowing the syke mane thought that a man sbewid him a
     boke, in the whiche he sawe written these wordis: `luff god and
     pray the blissid virgyn Marye, and she shall deliuer the frome
     parell'. After that vicione he thought besely howe be myght best
     shewe his synnys. Thus thinking; sodenly he ffell on slepe: and a
|r30 hande sodeynly stoppid his mouthe and his nosethrillis, that he
     myght not brethe, but he thought that he shuld fast dye;
     than a voyce sounde in his ere, saying: `wrecche, trowist thou
     now to be verray repentaunt and with a ffeyning contricion do
     away all thy synnys? loo, thy sleuthe of thy necligence hathe
|r35 brought vengeance to the, forthi that thi mynde is hardennyd in
     evill and wold not confesse the in tyme'. Than he thought on
     the tother vision, and swithely he incallid the blissid maydene for
     socoure, saying in his thoughte: `blessid moder of god, quene of
     heuen, do that thou hight, and deliuer me of this parell! that thy
|r40 blessid name Maria be hallowid in me'. Vnnethis had he prayed
     thus in his thought, and loo, the moder of mercy apperid and put
     the hande ffrome his mouthe and delyuerid him frome oppressione
     of the devill. He shroffe hyme and shewid the myracle.

     6. |r<b> Att Westmynster be-syde Lundone, in the ffeest of Petir and
|r45 Paule, com a pore wommane with her sonne blynde fro his byrthe



|p323


     and deuoutly prayd byfore the: auter of oure lady, goddis, moder.
     and made the pament wete with teris. She rose and said to a
     monke, keper of that awtere and of the ymage: `the Quene of
     heuen apperid to me and monyshing the by me that thou shalt
 |r5 weshe the ffeet and bathe the ymages of seint Marie and her son in
     her kne, and with that water so halowid washe the yen of this
     blind childe with thy ffyngers! ' // Whane he cast water in the yhen
     of this blinde child, a foule blode passid frome theme, and all the
     blyndnesse vanyshid away. And the childe wonderd in beholding
|r10 of (the) fayrnesse of the too ymages.

     7. |r<b> A man, for his sonne langwisshing to the dethe drery and so_rowffull,
     made an ymage of wax of the weghte of his sonne, for to
     send to saynt Marye of Rochemoder. And thus the child was laid
     in one scale, and the wex in a nother. And sone the childe, semyd
|r15 to yelde up the goest, gaff a laghter, and by the meritis of sent
     Marie the child was made all hole.

     8. |r<b> Hit was a knyght that drowhe to age, and his wiff with the
     assent of her husbond avowid chastite. After that a ffewe yeris,
     be entising of the devill, he knewe his wif, ageynis her will, and
|r20 sho gaff to the devill what-sum-evir hit was that was gettyne. She
     consayvid and bare a sunne. Whan he was of twelffe yere old, the
     devill apperid to his modir and said: yeld that thou behight me!'
     Than the moder, as often as she lokid apon her sonne, she wept
     bitterly. Her sonne askid why she wepte, when she byhield hyme.
|r25 She said: for-thy that she gaff him to the devill, and told hyme
     all. / Than her sonne went to the pope, to aske counsaill. The pope
     sent him with letteris to the byshop of Jherusalem. And the
     byshop sent him to an hermyte, to whome angellis mynysterid at
     masse and that brought him brede white as snow. The hermyte,
|r30 whane he knewe the cause of commyng, said: `hit is nedfull to the
     to aske helpe of the blissid maid and moder Marye'. Whene the
     day was comyme in the whicche the devill monyshid to reyve hyme,
     the hermyte held him all that tyme besyde him. / And when he sang
     his masse, he sett him bytwixe bim and the awtere, praying the
|r35 blissid mayden for hyme. Aboute the pater noster the devill reft
     him and bare him to hell. But the blissid maydene by the prayere
     of her seruand deliuerid hyme. And when the hermyte said Pax
     dom(ini), the yong mane answerid: Et cum spiritu tuo. The her_myte
     gaff him his blessing and sent him to comfforte his ffreendis.

|r40 9. |r<b> IN Ynglond at Licheffield was a clerke devoute to seint Anne
     of custome: whan he said the Aue Blana gratia plena, dominus te_cum,
     benedicta tu in mulieribus et benedictus fructus ventris tui Jhesus,
     // (he joinid) Et benedicta, sit sancta tua mater Anna ex (qua) sine macula
     processit tua scissima caro virgenia. / Eftir this clerke was ffull seke



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     and lost his speche. His ffellawis and ffrendis were come for to
     visitt him. And as they satt speking of diuerse thinges, the sike
     man had his tong, and said: `be ye still, be ye still! loo my lady
     seint Anne, with her oure all day |r[!] her blessid doughter, seint
 |r5 Marye'. And thus seying .... |r[unvollendet].
     
     10. |r<b> A conuerse suffred many temptacionis of the devill, / wherefore
     he was pynyd. He sought remedy of mony, but he ffound none.
     At the last he was taught of (a) religeous mane for to say ageynyst
     the devill Aue Maria. When he had so done, the devill passid
|r10 away as a whirlewynde, crying and saying: `the devill strike out his
     tethe that taught the thatte' e. cet.
     
     11. |r<b> A noble knyght and a riche fforsoke e world and enterid the
     ordire of Cisternence. And for he couthe no letter, hym was gevyne
     a master forto teche him. But whan he hadde be long with his
|r15 master, he myght not lerne, but these two wordis: Aue Maria. But
     theyme he had euer in mynde and seid theme with-outen seassing,
     whedder-so-euer he went or what-sumeuer he did. Whane he was
     dede and buried, on his grave sprang a lilly, and euery leeff had
     written Aue Maria with golden letteris: the rote therof sprang out
|r20 of the dede mannys mouthe.

     12. |r<b> A womman taught a child for to say the Ave Maria oft sithe
     to oure lady, and moest when he was dreding ffor any thing. When
     the child with other childre was gone to play him on the see-sand,
     the flode come and vmbilapped theme. The childe, dreding, said
|r25 deuoutly the heylsing of the angell. Whane other children were
     drownyd, a ffayre woman come and in her bosumme led him to e
     land harmless.
     
     13. |r<b> A nonne enformyd a wenche, her coyne, ffor to say oft the
     Aue Maria kneling in the chirche, numering the Juncturis of hir
|r30 handdys. After this she dyed. Therefore her masters was sorou_full,
     and after sorowing and weping she ffell aslepe. To whome
     the blissid maydene apperid, leding with herre the forsaid wenche,
     asking hirre whi she sorowid so. // She answerid: `lady, ffor the
     wenche is dede that was in my keping, whome y taught to haylse
|r35 the by the Juncturis of her hondis'. To whome oure laydy said:
     `loo here the wenche, se the Juncturis of hir hondis!' When she
     bihielde the wenche, she sawe precyouse stonys in the Junctures
     of her hondis, that made heme all shynyng.

     14. |r<b> Abbot Johne de Bellavilla, when he lay in his last day: long
     come ageyne and was askid what he sawe, he sayd this: `a thing y
     say you, that hit suffice to you: he that wilbe saf, haylse he often



|p325


     the blissid maydene'. And so sayeng, he yelde up the goest. Full
     devoutly he servid the blessid virgyne and ofte sithis heylsid hir.
     Hit was said of this Abbott that oft sithe when he song masse and
     bowing his body in reuerence, he sawe the likenesse of the gloriouse
 |r5 virgyne straynyng her son in her armys.

     15. |r<b> A devoute womman in a day as she stode byfore the ymage
     of oure lady Marye, haylsyng, hirre said Aue Maria, with grete
     deuocione. She hard a voyse of the ymagis mouthe, saying to hir:
     `what doest thou?' The wommane mekely answerid: `lady, do y
|r10 nought wele?' The voys said: `yis; but thou may do bettir.' She
     said: `goed lady, what shall I do or say?' The voyse said: `wote
     thou not that all the honoure and goednesse that y haue, I haue
     hit of my sonne? and ther-ffore haylse hyme ffyrst, and then me'.
     She said: `lady, what shall y say?' The voyse said: `halse my
|r15 sonne saying Aue benigne Jhesu'.
