|b{Marienlegenden,_in |b{Prosalegenden,_ed._C._Horstmann} |b{MS._Lamb._432,_fol._95.} |p320 |r{II._Marienlegenden.} 1. |r 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 |p321 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 če 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 čou him čat čou cursiddist, yf thou saw him?' He said: `ye, my lady'. Than she said: `go seke him, yf čou 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 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 dru¨he out the other |r35 syde. / But the moder of mercy deliuerid the synfull man. 3. |r 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 |p322 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 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 če 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 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 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 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 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 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 |p324 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 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 A noble knyght and a riche fforsoke če 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 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 če land harmless. 13. |r A nonne enformyd a wenche, her co¨yne, 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 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 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'.