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' ''lit'

ASSUMPTION OF THE

. ...GIN • A MIRACLE PLAY

FROM THE N-TOWN CYCLE
Edited by W. W. GREG, Litt.D.

Prirefiur shUhp <ifii sixpence net

OXFORD

AT THE CLARENDON PRESS

1915

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in 2007 with funding from

IVIicrosoft Corporation

http://www.archive.org/details/assumptionofvirgOOgregrich

THE ASSUMPTION OF THE
VIRGIN • A MIRACLE PLAY
FROM THE N-TOWN CYCLE
Edited by W. W. GREG, Litt.D.

OXFORD
AT THE CLARENDON PRESS

1915

OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS

LONDON EDINBURGH GLASGOW NEW YORK
TORONTO MELBOURNE BOMBAY

HUMPHREY MILFORD M.A.

PUBLISHER TO THE UNIVSRSITT

CONTENTS

PAGE

Introduction 5

1. The Scribe 6

2. Dialect 9

Rime-index 23

3. Metre a6

Rime-scheme 34

4. Authorship 36

5. Source 39

Legenda Aurea, Cap. CXIIII 40

Text . . . . .45

Notes 6^

Glossarial Index 74

*5i«* The Facsimiles are inserted between pages 44 and 45.

347t»02

Maculcy moder, was neuere in thee,
Filia SyoHj thou art the flour ;
Full sweteli schalt thou sitte bi me
And bere a crowne with me in tour,
And alle my seintis to thin honour
Schal honoure thee, moder, in my blis,
That blessid bodi that bare me in bowur,
Vent^ coronaberis*

Lambeth MS. 853.

INTRODUCTION

In the Cottonian Manuscript, Vespasian D. viii, containing the
N-town cycle of miracle plays, commonly but incorrectly known
as the Ludus Coventriae^ there is one play, that numbered
forty-one, treating of the Death and Assumption of the Virgin,
which stands markedly apart from the rest. It is written in
a hand which appears nowhere else in the volume, and this hand
presents certain peculiarities differentiating it sharply from that
in which, with few exceptions, the whole of the rest of the cycle
is written. The paper of the play likewise is quite distinct from
any used in other parts of the volume ; it forms a single quire
inserted in the middle of one of the other quires of the manu-
script, and could be removed without in any way interfering with
the remaining leaves. These facts necessarily raise a question as
to how far this particular play forms an integral part of the cycle
in which it appears, or at least as to whether it may not have an
origin essentially different from the rest. It is noteworthy that
the play in question is not recorded in the very explicit catalogue
which serves as a prologue to the cycle, but the same is true of
other plays which do not differ in handwriting from their com-
panions. To enter fully into this question would be to raise the
whole intricate problem of the origin and history of the N-town
cycle, which it is not my purpose to do on the present occasion.
My immediate and more modest intention is to inquire whether
any marked difference in dialect or style of composition exists
between the Assumption play and the bulk of the cycle, such as
could be adduced in support of the bibliographical evidence for
an independent origin. This limited inquiry would hardly of
itself have necessitated, or perhaps even justified, reprinting the
text in question, since the whole cycle is already accessible in
J. O. Halliwell's edition, issued by the Shakespeare Society in
1 841 under the title of Ludus Coventriae, I have, however,

been impelled to' the more ambitious course by two other con-
'sitteratiortg. •'^Jie ;fi,rGt of these is that one of the most remark-
able characteristics of the play is its metrical structure, and that
this, though perfectly clear in the manuscript, is very effectively
concealed in the printed edition. The other is the opportunity
which a reprint affords of bringing the English text into close
relation with its source in the narrative of the Legenda Aurea^
and thus of drawing attention to the importance of Jacobus de
Voragine's work for the study of the religious drama. For this
purpose I have reprinted at the end of this Introduction those
portions of the legend of the Assumption upon which our present
play is based.

I owe a debt of gratitude to Dr. Henry Bradley, to whose
expert assistance is due whatever may be found of value in my
Notes, and to Mr. C. E. Stuart for help with the Latin both of
the manuscript and of the Legenda,

I. The Scribe.

The bulk of the N-town cycle is written in a clear, rather
commonplace hand of the later fifteenth century. At the end
of one of the plays is the date 1468, and there does not appear
to be any reason to suppose that this is not the date of writing.
The scribe makes free use oiy {p) for ih^ though the latter also
appears, and likewise of the letter ^, though more often for y
than {or gh. He also has the well-recognized East Anglian, or
at least East Midland, peculiarity of writing x in place of sch in
such words as shall^ &c. The ink used is generally some shade
of brown.

Of the play of the Assumption Halliwell remarks (p. 417):
' The whole of this pageant is written in a more recent hand, of
the time, I should think, of Henry VHL' I do not know upon
what ground he based this opinion, possibly upon the fact that
the special letters, or uses of letters, just mentioned as occurring
in the rest of the manuscript, are all but entirely absent from the
play in question. But whatever may have suggested Halliwell's
opinion, that opinion is wrong. There is nothing whatever in
the character of the hand, as may be seen by consulting the
accompanying facsimiles, to suggest that it is not contemporary

with that of the main scribe, and it is easy to prove that it is
so. For the whole manuscript, including our play, has been
rubricated at one time and in one manner, obviously by one
person, and a careful examination of his work throughout the
volume will show that that person was none other than the main
scribe. Moreover, at line 2,61 of our particular play, some words
that had been added in the margin and subsequently mutilated
have been written over again by a different hand, and this hand
is that of the main scribe. It follows, therefore, that the
Assumption play was written at any rate not long after the rest
of the manuscript and may even have been written before it.
The ink is black.

The main scribe we know belonged, as already said, to the
East Midlands, probably to the more restricted area to which the
term East Anglia may be applied. Is there any indication as to
the locality in which our play was written down? In it the
letter J does not appear,/ is used only twice, and j for tk is so
rare as to suggest mere accident. Nor does x replace sc/i. This
obvious criterion of East Anglian writing is therefore absent.
But another recognized test exists in the dropping of the
guttural. The peculiarity is properly a scribal, not a dialectal,
one, for the sound probably went out of pronunciation in the
midlands early in the fifteenth century, but except in the extreme
eastern district it continued as a rule to be written. We start in
OE with final -A or -A^; in ME these are represented by -j, -j/
or -g/iy -ght. With the loss of the guttural -}, -gh disappear
altogether, -}t gives -/, and -ght may give -ht. In the last case,
the h having no phonetic value, the termination comes to be
written indifferently -ht or -M, and this leads to the substitution
of -th for -/ even where there was no original guttural. The
question has been discussed at some length by Furnivall in his
'Afterwords' to the EETS edition of the Macro Plays (1904,
p. xxxv). He there cites many such forms as fite (fight). Hie
(light), rith (right), sith (sight), deth (dead), kyth (cut), from
Norfolk manuscripts. Now this peculiarity, though observable
in the main body of the cycle (p. 58, syte ; p. 87, nowth ; p. 147,
sowth ; p. 186, rowthte, rout), is not very prominent ; we usually
find the more customary spellings. But in the Assumption play
the case is altered. Spellings with gh seem to be as completely

absent as those with j. A final guttural usually disappears, as in
Aye for high (1. 33), but we once find n}f/tj^n (1. 194). Before /,
however, the scribe does not affect mere omission. The ending
'gAt becomes regularly -t/t or -/^/ or, less frequently, -^/ (1. 5,
tauAty 1. 146, myhtis^ 1. 199, myhtys).

The only other orthographic peculiarity that seems worth
mentioning is the use of qw for wh, which occurs more than once
in our play, though by no means regularly (11. 137, 269, qwyche).
This is peculiarly though not exclusively northern ; Furnivall in
the above-mentioned * Afterwords ' cites instances from the East
Midland play of Mankind, Anyhow it occurs in other parts of
the cycle (see Halliwell's glossary), and is, therefore, not distinc-
tive of the present piece.

There is one striking piece of evidence that the scribe had
northern leanings, to say the least of it. In line 238, namely, we
find the form skele for skill. Now this form is characteristically
northern, or even Scotch, but it will be observed that it is due to
the scribe, not the author, for the rime requires skilL Curiously
enough there is just such another isolated piece of evidence that
the main scribe of the other portions of the cycle had the same
northern tendency. We once (p. 404) find the very distinctively
northern spelling ssalte^ in place of what would be the regular
xalte, shalt.

Consequently, I do not think that there is any reason to suppose
that the play of the Assumption was written down in a different
locality from the rest of the manuscript in which it is found.

A word may be added on the use of contractions by the scribe.
In the English text these are as a rule perfectly normal and
present no difficulty. It will be sufficient to remark that the
contraction for ser consists of a long / with a mark like a 7
through it. This I have represented by *f3' (11. 194, 209, 210),
which must be regarded as a single symbol. Whether the cross
stroke of tt and ft was intended by the scribe to have any par-
ticular meaning it is difficult to say, but the fact that he avoids
adding a final e to these letters seems to indicate that the marks
were not wholly devoid of significance. As is so often the case,
difficulty is caused by the final curl over a letter which may be
either « or «. I have printed n wherever possible. But now and
then the temptation to print u has been great : for instance in

adon and mon, 11. 620, 62a. But it must be observed that in the
same rime-series we have demon which requires no u, and town
where the insertion would be preposterous. I think, therefore,
that the curls are best regarded as throughout insignificant.

In the Latin portions the contractions are much more frequent
and less usual, the scribe apparently considering that a curl
might be expected to do duty for any termination, or indeed for
any part of a word which he felt disinclined to write in full.
In certain cases his forms are, to say the least, misleading. For
specific instances the notes may be consulted. I have there con-
sidered such diflficulties as arise, and have also indicated the
meaning of certain normally contracted forms which may never-
theless be unfamiliar to modern readers.

%. Dialect.

The problem of determining whether the dialect of the
Assumption play differs from that of the rest of the N-town
cycle is rendered the more difficult by the fact that even apart
from this play the collection is manifestly of very complex
origin and may well include portions originally composed in
widely different localities. In what follows it must, therefore,,
be borne in mind that if we succeed in showing that the one play
under review possesses dialectal peculiarities not shared by any
of its companions, we shall, of course, have satisfactorily estab.
lished its independent origin, but that if, on the other hand, we
fail to do so, it does not in the least follow that the dialect of the
whole cycle is homogeneous, nor even, strictly speaking, that the
dialect of our particular play is identical with that of any other
single member of the collection.

The language of the N-town cycle was investigated by Dr. Max
Kramer as long ago as 189a in his dissertation on Sprache and
Heimat des sogen, Ludus Coventriae, His object was to com-
pare the dialect of the plays with that of the Coventry records,
and his result that the former, so far from being identical with
the latter, belonged in its present form rather to the northern
border of the East Midland district. He treated the dialect of
the cycle as a whole, and though recording certain anomalous
forms, made no attempt at a more individual treatment of the

ISSS Q £

separate pageants. I propose, nevertheless, to take his investi-
gation as a basis, and to examine how far, in the extensive
collections of variant forms his work contains, those from the
Assumption play can be regarded as forming a class by them-
selves. The only statement regarding the dialect of this particular
play with which I am acquainted is one by Mrs. M. H. Dodds
in the Modern Language Review for January 19 14 (vol. ix, p. 90).
Speaking of the N-town cycle she says : ' All the plays are in
the dialect of the East Midlands except the addition of ** The
Death, Funeral, Assumption and Coronation of the Virgin '\
which bears some traces of the northern dialect *. No evidence,
however, is adduced in support of this opinion.

In the following survey I shall adopt the order of Dr. Kramer's
paragraphs. OY. a gives in ME ^ (sometimes d in open syllables),
but this in turn gives ^ in NE, and it may be asked whether
this process had already begun at the time when the N-town
cycle was written. That it had seems proved by rimes with
words of which the vowel is derived from OE e or ^. But it
should be observed that the evidence for this seems stronger
in the case of the Assumption play (A) than in that of the
rest of the cycle (LC). Thus we find, A 575, save (OF salver)^
have (OE habban)i riming with belave (OE belxfajt)^ and, A 310,
declare (OF declarer), fare (OE faran)^ care (OE cearu) : lare
(OE l^ran). Elsewhere we do indeed find rimes of care^fare^
spare (OE spartan), with ware^ were (OE wseron), but the latter
is open to the suspicion of having been influenced by ON wdru
(LC 47^^ 73^^ 183^^ : the large figures indicate the pages, the
superior figures the lines, of Halliweirs edition). One clear case,
however, is quoted, LC 30^^, qweke (OE cwacian) : freke (OE
freed), breke (OE brecan). Possibly the same sharpening of the
sound may be observed in rimes with OF ai^ particularly the
word sertayn, of which there are several instances, LC 43^, 2«7^^.
One case occurs in A 30, name (OE nama), same (ON samr),
defame (L defamare) : attayne (OF attaindre), but here the text
is very likely corrupt. As a rule before m, n the a seems to
remain pure or to become o. An exception is, according to
Kramer, A 45, on (OE an) : won (OE wunian). But here it
must be observed that on being emphatic has been assimilated to
the <^«-rimes, and that won is rather from ME wdtiien, OE

waniafty or else perhaps from OE wandian. However, these words
undoubtedly show the Anglian change of a>o before a nasal.

The ME vowel derived from OE se, or by shortening from *^,
rimes both with a and e. No instances from our play are quoted,
and very few appear to exist. In the rime, A 269, dad : sad, the
vowel in either case goes back to OE x, and nothing can there-
fore be inferred. There is one instance of an ^-rime, A 314,
fneni (OE mxned) : sent (OE sended), but this belongs to a group
which regularly has e in ME. Once we have, A ^"l^^ grave (OE
graef) : cave (OF cave)^ have (OE habban), but these vowels,
as we saw above, must have been sharpened, for the rime
series likewise includes lare (OE l^ran). The paucity of
examples of rime words with these vowels in our play is unfor-»
tunate, for the cycle as a whole shows a marked tendency to
make these rime on e, indeed whole classes, such as the preterites
and participles which in OE end in -^darty -^patiy do so ex-
clusively. The tendency points to the southern and south-eastern
district.

The ME representative of OE « is found riming with the
vowels derived from OE d (OF o\ from OE d, and once from
OE « (e?) before ng. Only the second of these is illustrated by
Kramer from our play, and this in the word won^ A 45, which
he takes to represent OE wuniaUy whereas we have already
seen that it represents either OE wanian or else OE wandian.

The weakening of OE i to e does not seem to be illustrated in
our play ; on the other hand, the parallel weakening of OE y to
e is common, as throughout the cycle. Rimes with short e are
A i^^ytnende {O'E gemynd)ykyndey kende (OE cynd) : kende (OE
gehende)y pretende (0¥ pretendre) ; A 660, mend, kend ; ende (OE
ende)y wend (OE wendan) ; A $^6Jelthe (Ol^fylp}) : kelihe (OE
h3eip)y welthe (ME weUy OE weld), the vowel in each case being
probably shortened ; A 614, herne (OE hyrne)ybrenne (ON brenna).
Rimes with i are only found in the case of the word meche (OE
myceJ), as in A '^%6y where it rimes with speche (OE sp^c)^ tecke
(OE txcan)y preche (OF precher). It may be remarked that
of course the representative of OE y also rimes with i, as in
A 232, hyllys (OE hyll) : wyll is (OE gewilt), though indeed both
may have become dulled.

That OE a had in the great majority of cases developed into

d is shown by the frequent rimes with OF o and the representa-
tive of OE d. Instances from our play are, for the former, A 333,
gon (OE gdn) : iron (OF trone) ; A 430, alon (OE dn) : iron ; for
the latter, A 250, sone (OE sdna)^ done (OE ddti) : one^ none (OE
dn), gone\{0^ gdn) ; for both, A 608, do (OE ddn) : go (OE gdn) :
harro (OF haro). But in a certain number of cases the northern
tendency to retain d manifests itself, as appears from rimes
between the representative of OE d and OF, ON, or OE a.
Examples from the cycle are, LC 5^, more (OE mdra), sore (OE
sdr) : war (OE waer, ON var), Abyacar ; LC 43^, gan (OE gdn) :
man (OE mann, monn), tan (ON takd), certayn (OF certain) ;
from our play, A 310, ever mare (OE mdra) -.fare (OE far an) y
care (OE carian), declare (OF declarer) : lare (OE Ixran). It
will be observed that not only does the Assumption agree with
the rest of the cycle in sometimes retaining OE d, but likewise in
indicating a certain sharpening of this sound as shown by the
rimes with certayn and lare respectively.

As one would expect, the open and closed values of 6 rime
freely together throughout the cycle, though their different
development in NE (to 6 and ^ respectively) shows that they can
never have been identical. It is also to be observed that our
play agrees with the rest in riming the representative of OE dw
with that of OE, ON ag\ for instance, LC 87^^ knawe (OE
gecndwan) : lawe (OE lagu), withdrawe (OE dragan), awe (ON
agi) ; A 44, knawe y blawe (OE blawan) : lawe^ awe.

The OE ^ gave in ME both open and closed ^ according as it
was derived from Germanic ai or not. In Chaucer the two
values are distinguished : not so in any part of the N-town cycle.
We may instance, LC 40^^, sprede (OE sprMan, Gm. ^spraid-
jan) : indede (OE dsed, Gm. ^^dMiz) ; LC 91^^, lede (OE l^dan,
Gm. ^laidjan) : sede (OE s^d, Gm. ^s^dom) ; and, A 389, sprede :
sede. In the same way ME / (open) from OE *^ from Gm. ai
rimes with the closed i from OE # ; and ME ^ (closed) from OE
^ not from Gm. ai rimes with open e from OE ea. Examples of
the former are, LC 132^^, arere (OE dr^ran, Gm. "^raizjan) :
here (OE hir) ; LC 28520, lere (OE l^ran, Gm. "^laizjan) : here,
fere (OE geferci) ; and A 54a, lere : bere (OE b^r, Gm. ^bSrd),
here ; for the latter, LC a;^, reed (OE r^d, Gm. ^r^doz), dred
(OE andr^ddn, Gm. *dr£dan) : ^^^ (OE ^^^, sted (OE j/^d?^) ;

LC 15721, methe (OE m^p, Gm. '^mxpiz), brethe (OE brxp, Gm.
"^brxpoz) : dethe (OE diaP) ; and A 492, red (OE r^atiy Gm.
^r^dan), blede (OE ^/^^^«) : ^^d?.

We have already, in considering OE dy found an instance in
our play of the representative of OE ^ riming with ^, namely,
A 310, tare (OE Ixran^ Gm. ^laizjan) : evermare, fare^ care^
declare. A similar instance is, A 575, belave (OE bel^fan^ Gm.
*bilaibjan) : grave, cave, save, have. No such rimes are quoted by
Kramer from the rest of the cycle. They are, however, to be ex-
plained less as broadening of the ^than as sharpening of the^, «,and
of this, as we have seen, there is evidence elsewhere in the cycle.

Beside the common forms there, were (from be) the N-town
cycle also presents instances in which both the vowels a and o
appear: LC 731°, thare, ware : are (OE Merc, earun^ North.
aroti), bare (OE bxr) ; LC 47^2, were : care (OE ceartt),fare (OE
far an), bare \ LC iii^*, thore : bore (OE boren), beffore (OE
fore), restore (OF restorer) ; LC 146^*, wore : bore, beffore. In
the Assumption the form there only occurs once in a rime,
A 543, there : bere (OE b^r), here (OE hir), fere (OE fxr), lere
(OE l^ran), while the form thore occurs twice, A 164, thore-.
evermore (OE mdra), lore (OE Idr), before ; A 2,66^ thore : more,
bore. Neither thare nor any of the forms of were appears
in a rime. Kramer derives the forms thore, wore from ON
pdr, wdru (vdru). In the case of the latter this is no doubt
correct, but as regards there the ON form is fiar not pdr. This,
however, raises no difficulty, for in OE the forms pdr, pdra are
well-established variants oi p3er. As regards the forms thare,
ware Kramer points out that the vowels may be instances of the
retention of d, a tendency we have already observed, or that they
may really represent ^-sounds riming with a sharpened a, and he
decides for the latter alternative on the ground that the forms
also appear in texts which show no other evidence of the reten-
tion of original OE, ON d. This, then, affords further evidence
of the sharpening of the <a:-sound outside the Assumption play.
Kramer further remarks that in some cases OE m^nan has given
the form mone in the N-town cycle, and he quotes LC 98'', 3461*.
But in both these cases mone is the substantive, moan, which
must go back, not to OE mxnan, but to the unrecorded OE
*mdn from the same prehistoric stem ^main-. The word does not

occur in the rimes of the Assumption unless, A 319, ment is an
instance.

In a few cases, according to Kramer, the representative of OE t
rimes with ^-sounds from OE i, ^, io^ OF e. He quotes LC 349",
lyff (OE Itf) : greff (OF gref\ theff (OE piof) ; and A 243,
teme (OE ttmd) : sweme (OE aswxman), queme (OE cweman),
seme (OE sentan). The first of these appears to be correct, the
second is not. The word ieme is not OE ttmuy time, but OF
interne) tesme^ theme. Similar to the ^: t rimes are those of ^ : /2.
Of these may be quoted, LC 190^2, book (OE boc) : sowke (OE
silcan) ; LC 146^3^ boun (ON ^<^«) : downe (OE ^z^w^) ; LC 315",
don (OE </^«) : mon (OE mugon). In our play we find the
strange assortment of rimes, A 615, preso{u)n (OF prison, prisun) :
demon (OF demon, med.L demon) : so{u)n (AF j'f?««, OF j^«;
OE j^« from L j^^^wj probably did not survive) : ado{ti)n (OE ^
^^«^) : mo(u)n (OE mugon) : /^?ze/« (OE /^;2), but it may be ques-
tioned whether any of these were strictly ^-sounds.

The Assumption play agrees with the rest of the cycle in
riming the word here, hear, with i only: LC 79^, here : appere
(OF stem aper-^apareir) ; LC 114^^^^^ \fere {^i^ gefer), perse-
vere {F persMrer), dere (OE diore) ; and A 3, here : /ere (OE
Ixran), clere (OF cler),yere (OE gSar). This shows derivation
from the Anglian hiran and not WS hyran.

Throughout the cycle the v^ordsfrende dindfende {OY. freond,
feond) are found among the ordinary rimes in -end, and no indica-
tion appears of any such difference of quantity as appeared later
and lead to different developments in NE. Thus, LC 1362^*,
frende : wende (OE wendan) ; A 660, frend(e) : ende (OE ende),
mend (OE gemynd), kend (OE cynd), wend', and LC 276^
ffende : mende\ A i^^,fende : mende,kynde, hende (OE gehende),
pretende {0¥ pretendre), assende (L ascendere\

Discussing the diphthong ay with its variants, the representative
of OE deg, eg both long and short, Kramer attempts to show
that the word again rimes in the N-town cycle with the repre-
sentative of OE i, io. We have, LC 168*, a)en : qwen (OE
cwen) ; LC i6()^^,ageyne : quene ; LC 177^®, a^en : ben (OE beon) ;
LC 379*, ageyn, serteyn (OF certain) : seyn (OE sion). He also
quotes, A 659, ageyn : greyn. He does not say what origin he
proposes for the latter word, but his quoting it in this connexion

implies that he takes it as OE grene^ green. It is, however,
certainly OF grain in the sense of dye, stain. The word again
occurs three times in our play, but always riming with true diph-
thongs. Moreover, it does not appear to be correct to say that
the instances quoted above show the English diphthong riming
with the simple vowel. For in OE the form ongin is found
beside the earlier ongegn at a time before the diphthongization
took place, and ongin developed regularly into ME a^en with a
pure vowel correctly riming with quitty hin^ sen ; the form ongegn
giving ME a^ein^ while the North, again goes back to the
variant form OE ongdegn, perhaps influenced by ON gagn-
(adverbial prefix).

We now come to consider the consonants. Starting with the
labials Kramer has a curious blunder in connexion with p. He
remarks on the noteworthy phenomenon *that OE final / is
occasionally found riming with /*, and quotes, LC 36^^, she;Q
(OE seep) : lef, repreff\ LC 3621, sheff : greff. But, of course,
sheff is not OE sc^p^ sheep, but OE sciaf, sheaf. Cain offered
* de fructibus terrae ' not * de primogenitis gregis ' like his brother.
In no part of the cycle, therefore, is there evidence of what
Kramer calls ' the inclination of final / to aspiration *.

The retention of w before r seems indicated by alliteration,
LC 5^2, wrought, wyU wourthy ; LC 94^^, wrake, wurde^ werkyn^
withowtyn ; LC 1 20^^, wronge^ I-wys^ '^yff* To these may be added,
A 315, wrechidy world) A 533, wrouth, wyndand, wod, wo. There
is, indeed, nothing to show that in these cases wr was meant
to alliterate, for alliteration in this cycle is purely sporadic, but
according to Sweet {History of English Sounds, § 919) the w
continued to be sounded well on into the NE period.

Intrusive fl? has established itself in several instances in the cycle,
though in some it is only the rime that shows it, as in, LC 14^^,
swowne for swownde (OE swognian) : stownde (OE stund). In the
word sound (OF son) the d is not yet fixed, A 615, so(u)n : town
(OE /^«), &c. ; A 466, sound ; ground (OE grund). The only
instances of the word recorded are from the Assumption.

An alleged peculiarity of our play is the riming of nd : nt, the
instance quoted being, A i^6,pretende (0¥ pretendre) : assende
(OF assentir). Kramer proceeds : * Consequently we cannot
conclude from the rime sende (past part.) : keftde (OE cennan)

that in the former word the change oi d to / after voiceless n
(which belongs to a much earlier date) has not taken place.*
But in the above-cited instance, as also in A 126, assende is
clearly not from OF assentir but from L ascender e. The rime
of sende : kende must therefore be considered on its own merits.
Kramer gives no reference for it; it is not in our play. In
favour of the retention of the d is the fact that this spelling
persisted even into the xvi cent. (e. g. Everyman, Huth text,
11. 90, 92, not in rime). In support of an assimilation of the / and
^-sounds (or more probably simply for the resort to impure rime)
may be quoted, LC \6^,glete (O^ gliden) : zr^/^,/^/^, supposing
always that Kramer's derivation is here correct. The question
does not affect our play.

As regards r a number of cases can be cited from the cycle
in which it is simply neglected in the rime. Among others we
find, LC ^6^, wers : gesse ; LC I05^^ erthe ; nede ; LC 274^^,
beforn, therupon. From the Assumption we have, A 614, heme :
brenne^ renne, denne. In the instance, LC 72"^, grythe : myrihey
byrthe, we should perhaps assume the North, form gyrthe.

If we may trust the alliteration k retains its sound before «.
Out of several instances we may quote, LC 8^^, knytes^ cruel,
unkende\ A 41, knave , knad, craggy d, kylle (cf. also A 51).
According to Sweet {History of English Sounds, § 924) the k
did not wholly disappear till well on in the NE period.

The development of OE c between vowels and also finally
was twofold, giving in the N-town cycle both the guttural and
palatal sounds, represented by k and ch respectively. For the
former we have the evidence of the rime in, LC 284*, seke (OE
sican) : meke (ON mi{lkr)\ LC 189^^, lyke (OE geltc) \phesyk.
Our play affords no instance of rimes in -eke, but the spelling
beseke (OE besecan) occurs repeatedly, A 147, 174, 187, 309, 349.
The palatal value is shown by the rimes, LC 273^°, tec he (OE
t^can) : preche (OF precher) ; LC i6i\ lyche (O^ geltc) : ryche
(OE rtce, but the ME form rike was early lost under influence
of OE riche) ; A 326, speche (OE spxc), teche, meche (OE mycel):
preche. In LC 167*^, seche, beseche : leche (OE Isece), the pro-
nunciation is strictly only evidenced by the spelling, but as
a matter of fact no such form as leke is recorded.

As regards the representative of OE hw it has already been

observed, when discussing the scribe's pecuh'arities, that the
Assumption play agrees with the rest of the cycle in occasionally
having qu^ qw in place of the more usual wh, Kramer remarks
that no evidence is forthcoming of any pronunciation other than
«/, since we find w and the representative of OE hw freely
alliterating together. There do not, however, appear to be any
instances of this in the few w-alliterations of our play. Accord-
ing to Sweet [History of English Sounds ^ § 725) the voiceless
w persisted throughout ME.

Unetymological h is prefixed to words in not a few instances ;
thus,LC 160^^, hendynge\ LC 201^, hende\ LC 222^^ haske. From
our play we may quote, A 49, houre, and probably, A 307, halle.

We have now to consider the inflections. An examination of
ablaut formations yields little result ; terminations seem rather
more hopeful. The cycle shows an even balance between -th
and 'S as the ending of the third person singular in the present
indicative. Seven instances of each, witnessed by the rime, are
quoted. Of these only two come from the Assumption, and
both these show -si A 507, lonris \ prechours, &c. ; A 641,
hythtis : rythtis, &c. The -th ending is not evidenced in this
play by the rime, but we do find, A %o6, pshabnodyetk^ magnefyeth^
sertefyeth : replyeth (plural imperative) where there is no reason
to suspect that the endings are not original. We also have the
spelling, A 3, liketh, and A 68, halt^ probably for haldeth. All
three persons of the plural are in the vast majority of cases
without ending, but there are a few instances of the first ending
in -«, the second in -n or -s, the third in -n or -th. Only one
such instance occurs in the Assumption play, namely, A 75, they
seyn (OE secgan) : agayn^ &c.

As a rule the plural imperative is without ending. Occasion-
ally, however, forms appear with the regular -th^ or even with
an anomalous -n. Thus LC 341^^, Knyghtes now goht : wrothe,
clothe) LC 180^, To have hym }e gon : bon\ LC 307'', thus ^e
hym seyn \peyn. Our play affords one riming instance, A 2X2,
(yow) replyeth : [he) sertefyeth^ and the spelling wachith in the
next line. How the forms in -« are to be explained is not clear,
but it is worth while calling attention to the strange form, A 615,
fettyn. As it stands the line can only be construed by taking
this as a plural imperative addressed to Belsabub, Belyal, and

1332 17 Q

Sathan of the line before. If an imperative is out of the question
emendation becomes necessary.

As in the cycle in general, so too in our particular play,
certain infinitives in -n occur. There are in all, according to
Kramer, forty-three instances, of which thirty-four occur in the
descendants of OE bion^gAn^ ddn^ seon, and secgan. In our play
we have only, A 250, done ^ gone : one, 8ic, ; A 333, gon : lo/tn, &c.
(but see A 615, note).

The occurrence of present participles in -ende and -ande,
beside the later and more southern -ing (-ynge), is established
by the rimes, LC 74^^, knelende : amende ; LC 243^^, applyande,
declinande : hande^plesande. The forms also occur in our play,
but are not vouched for by the rime : A 25, prey and, seyand^
pleyand\ A 1^0, desyr and, requyrand, telland, expirand, seyand,
presentand. We also find, A 42, kneland and, A ^'>f'>>i Wyndand,
The only rimes in -ing in our play are, A 58, kyng, rysyng, endyng,
gynnyng ; A 349, metyng^ curyng, coniyng, werkyng, and of these
curyng alone is a participle. Indeed I fancy that present par-
ticiples in -ing are much less common in rimes than seems to be
implied by Kramer's statement that * The present participle and
the verbal substantive both end in -ynge in the great majority of
cases*. It will be observed that there are twelve instances of
participles in -ande, -ende at the end of lines, though only three
of these are actually certified by the rime. Now rimes in -ing
(-ynge) are very common at any rate in certain portions of the
N-town cycle, but a good many of these are words such as
bring, pnge^ &c., and of the rest the vast majority are verbal
substantives. Apart from the one case in the Assumption play
mentioned above, the following are the only instances of riming
participles in -ing that I have been able to find : LC 7^^, lestyng,
31*, brennyng, 96^^, syttynge, 125^^, conseyvenge, 12 ^'^^, sekynge,
125^'', inspyrynge, 126^°, praynge, 126^^, beynge, 286*, abydyng.
There are then ten instances, all confirmed by the rime. But it
will be noticed that exactly half of these come out of one short
passage from the Visit to Elizabeth, and this there are independent
grounds for believing to be late revisional work. The certified
majority in favour of the southern -ing over the northern -and
is then not so overpowering after all. If we eliminate the
Visit to Elizabeth and the Assumption the proportion of northern

to southern forms actually established by rime is three to
four.

As regards past participles it is to be noticed that OE boren^
'lor en, from the verbs beran, -leosatty give in the N-town cycle the
double forms borUy bore, lorn^ lore. Of these bore alone is found
in the rimes of the Assumption, A 164, 270. It is indeed charac-
teristic of the cycle that participles in -n seldom appear, some
whole ablaut-classes not producing them at all. This tendency
is if anything even more marked in our play than elsewhere.

The so-called substantive verb presents in the present indica-
tive a variety of forms. For all persons of the plural we usually
find be, occasionally bene for the third. Our play has, A 312,
ye are : lare^ &c. This does not seem to be used elsewhere, but
we find one instance of, LC 174^^, (they) are ifare.

Certain points connected with plural nouns may last be noticed.
The strong plural ending is still syllabic, at least for the purposes
of rime (see, however, the note to line 351). Instances are
particularly numerous in the Assumption owing to the writer's
fondness for dissyllabic rimes: thus, A 85, ententis, dentis:
schent is', A 146, myhtis : dith is (see also A 213, 372, 446, 641);
A 234, hyllys : wyll is ; A 279, fistis : liste is. Examples from
other parts of the cycle are, LC 127^^ goody s : bonis; LC 146^^^
wtirdys : blys ; LC '>,^^^,awntys -.graunt us. The instances Kramer
quotes from A 211, 213 are due to his having misunderstood the
rime-scheme. On the other hand, the ending is not syllabic
in, LC 294^^, thretty pens \ presens. Weak plurals in -n are still
found in the case of certain words which no longer form them :
the only one in our play is, A 49, fon (OE gefdn, NE foes) :
alon, &c. This occurs four times in the rest of the cycle, also
ton, toes, schon, shoes, eyn, eyes. Certain original strong neuters,
which in NE are usually assimilated to the strong masculines,
still show uninflected plurals in the N-town cycle. The com-
monest of these, and the only one in our play, is OE gear, A 9,
thretty yere : here, &c. ; A 486, thre skore yer : er, fer. This
indeed can hardly be said to be obsolete even now. The others
found in the cycle are londe and thynge. There are further
certain anomalous cases of uninflected plurals in the cycle, but
none occur in the Assumption.

I have followed Dr. Kramer in his arrangement of the evidence,

and I have for the sake of argument accepted his interpretation
of it It is not necessary to inquire exactly how far that inter-
pretation is correct. I think it is easy to push arguments of the
sort too far. Suppose, for instance, that one writer rimes
together two sounds of diverse origin, whereas another writer
does not. To argue that in the pronunciation of the former the
sounds approximated closer than in that of the latter seems to
imply a knowledge of the metrical scrupulousness of the two
writers which must be somewhat difficult to attain. Such
inquiries are, however, irrelevant to our immediate purpose.
This is merely to inquire whether as a matter of fact we can
detect a difference of riming habit between the Assumption play
and the rest of the N-town cycle. If we can, it may then be
necessary to inquire whether this arises from a difference of
dialect or merely a difference of poetic temperament; if we
cannot, cadit quaestio.

Now, when we take into consideration the very narrow limits
of the Assumption play compared with the whole cycle, some-
thing less than a twentieth, and remember that we must conse-
quently expect to find some peculiarities in the whole, of which
no examples happen to occur in the part, I think that we shall
be struck by the great similarity of riming characteristics that
can be traced throughout the whole cycle. Our investigation
has yielded us practically no criterion by which to distinguish
the language of our play from that of its companions.

The rime of <a: : ^ is better evidenced in the Assumption than
elsewhere, and that o( d : ^ is confined to it. Both peculiarities,
however, seem best explained by a sharpening of the a, /i-sound
for which other evidence can be adduced from other parts of the
cycle. This, therefore, will not serve to distinguish our play.
Nor will the practical absence o( e:f and o : ^ rimes, for these
are anyhow of rare occurrence. The southern tendency for OE
se to become ME ^ which is marked in the cycle cannot be
traced in the Assumption, though neither can it exactly be
denied. On the other hand, the other notably southern tendency
observable in the cycle, namely the dropping of -n in the past
participle of strong verbs, is if anything more marked in our
play than elsewhere. That, I think, is the total result of our
inquiry.

In the notes to the Assumption play certain peculiarities of
form or spelling have been noted as northern or Scotch. They
are, A 68, halt^ holdeth, northern but also Anglian ; A 70, relefe^
relieve, northern, witnessed by the rime; A 238, skele^ skill,
Scotch, but the rime requires skill \ A 58a, synge^ sign, Scotch ;
A 660, dowe, dove, Scotch. Our investigation into the dialect has
shown plenty of instances of a northern tendency in the cycle as
a whole. Here it will be sufficient to add, for the dialect, the
distinctively northern /^/?, taken (past participle of OE tacan from
ON taka\ LC 15^*, tan : than, LC iJ27^\ tan : man, can, sertan,
and for the writing, as already mentioned in the former section,
LC 40432, ssalte, shalt.

In respect to the N-town cycle as a whole the outcome of
Dr. Kramer's inquiry was to the effect that, whereas there could
be no doubt of the East Midlands as the general home of the
work, the deeper lying peculiarities pointed towards a southern,
the more superficial towards a northern connexion. From this
he inferred that the cycle must have had its origin on the borders
between the eastern and southern districts, possibly in Wiltshire,
but that it had been worked over on the northern border of the
East Midlands. Whether these conclusions are in themselves sound
I am not sufficient of a philologist to pronounce: I can only
suggest that the writer has perhaps not taken sufficiently into
consideration the possibility of a fundamentally complex origin
for the cycle. What does appear to me abundantly clear is
that, whatever conclusions the phonetic evidence may justify
as to the cycle as a whole, will be equally valid for the Assump-
tion play in particular.

The above inquiry of course necessitated making a rime-index
to the Assumption play. This I print here in case any reader
should wish to carry the investigation further. In the headings
final -E is not syllabic unless accented (-:^). The line number is
added to the first word of each rime-group. The words are
given in the exact form in which they occur in the text. Bad
rimes (other than repeated) and rime-words mis-written by the
scribe are marked by asterisks. Words in brackets are either
erased or cut away in the original.

Rime-Index.

ACION

at!

302

AWE

saluacyofi

schati

♦lave

gratulacyofi

haUe

knawe

desideracyofi

falle

awe

excitacyoft

AME

blawe

domynacyofi

name

formacyofi

same

lawe

*attayne

drawe

congregacyofi

289

defame

relacyofi

AND

pray

*c6gregacyfi

desyrand

150

fay

*psecucyofi

requyrand
telland

nay
pray

saluacyofi

555

expirand

savacyofi

seyand

say

nacyofi

presentand

pray

facyofi

ARE

may

bad

269

lare

310

AYAND

preyand

sad
AiN see EYN
AKE

die

declare
fare

seyand
pleyand

AYD

betake
make

301

care

eu'mare

sayde
payed

sake

ARY

arayed

make

mary
dyswary
dar I

AY NOW (?)
*say yow

take

574

aray now

sake

make

lake

tary

ATE

501

nay [now
aray [now

ALL

alt

gate

degre

thratt

AUNCE

fair

attendauce

443

fle

catf

varyauce

wythatt

affyauce

kne

schatt

obeschauce

AVE

perpetuatt

240

g^ue

575

specyatt

cave

lure

eternatt

saue

caif

haue

terestyatf

belave

g^ue

606

454

589

102

491

333

7,2

ded

108

bench

Trynyte

bed

END

assende

sprede

389

dyssende

358

sede

extende

nede

pretende

pete

rede

deite

mende

sent me

ded

492

*kynde

tent me

hed

fende

hed

hende

ble

420

blede

hende

ded

kende

solepnite

red

pretende

adu'cyte

EFE

reprefe

assende

mene

525

relefe

assende

poste

myschefe

defende

fle

defende

repref

606

gref

frende

632

lef

ende.

deyte

thef

mend X

vnyte

ELL

kend

melode

spelle
telle

272

wend
frend

670

felle

ENDIST

quelle

sendyst

felle

p'tedist

duelle

ascedist

trinyte

678

ELTH

ENS

helthe

596

hens

ECHE

welthe

p'sens

speche

326

felthe

vyolens

teche

belthe

recistens

preche

EME

ENT

meche

sweme

243

sent

ECHERE (?)

teme

glent

*peter

568

queme

present

teche her

seme

repent

speche her

Absent

EDE

*herne

614

detent

spoused

brenne

godhed

renne

sent

falshed

denne

p'sent

manhed

ENCH

ment

rede

wenche

absent

hede

clenche

ENTIS

stench

ententis

126

[84

427

660

262

188

253

314

schent is

ageyne

crye

dentis

ERE {see echere)

ageyn

659

glory

here

reyn

mercy

lere

greyn

cry

clere

peyn

melody

yere

IDE

wysely

tide

bere

463

trewely

bid[e]

fere

hide

here

marye

wyde

lerarchye

devyde

yer

485

specyfye

tyde

lETH

fer

afFye

121

pshalmod

alye

magnefye

bere

54a

bodye

f^tefyeth

here

replyeth

there

225

ILLIE

fere

redy

*stille I

lere

*spilly I

bere

kylle I

Marie

336

ILLIS

dere

640

companye

wylt is

clere

treulye

hyllys

here

glorye

tytf [is]

ampere

*skele [is]

ESTIAL

redy

386

ING

celestyait

631

cry

kyng

terestyall

rysyng

EST NOW

m'cy

endyng

prest now

653

redy

gynnyng

fest now

best now

body

455

metyng

ETE

treuly

curyng

pphete

181

celestly

comyng

mete

dewly

werkyng

EYAND see AYAND

EYN

melodye

477

blis

gayn

signefye

seyn

crye

I wys

steyn

spye

this

atteyn

reyn

536

blysse

peyn

body

wysse

manly

gysse

peyne

541

this

tweyne

hye

625

seyne

lye

mys

679

23a

349

155

205

346

I wys

myhtis

fon

blis

dith is

grone

I wys

won

this

rythis

197

oft

myhtys

this

476

sithis

sone

250

I wys

done

nythis

213

none

mys

mythis

one

ISE

lythis

gone

avyse

dith [is]
ryth [is]

ryse

eu'ychoft

333

fise

lohn

devise

lithtis

372

gon

ISTIS

dith is

non

liste is

277

myth is

tron

fistis

rithis

tryst is

sythtis

alon

430

*wyst this

lithtis

tron

ITE

ONIS

deyte

112

sith is

444

onys

518

humanite

mythtis

bonys

benygnyte

brith is

stonys

vnyte

flithtis

ORE

*me

127

rythtis

641

bore
eu'more

164

eternyte

myth is

lore

pplexite

hythtis

thore

diu'cyte

lyth is

before

v»ginite

ryth is

before

c5sorcyte

mythtis

Infyrmyte

595

0
lo

297

more
thore

266

t>nyte

eu'mo

bore

vnyte
*pete

syth

169

slo

617

o(u)n
presofi
demon

615

rith

608

adofi

myth

mofi

lyth

"harro

towfi
soft

ONE

myth
ryth

231

syoa
on

OUND

groud

466

syth

lordofi

sound

brith

alon

OURIS

13TIS

prechours

507

bryth [is]

141

anon

louris

lyth [is]

alon

schouris

«5

touris

OUT

owte
dowte

OU^T

nouth
yowth
brouth
wrouth
routh
nouth
ow {see AY now)
now
yow

pray now
say yow

483

526

288

URE

reddure

scripture

purpure

nature
dure
pure
sure

pure

140

pure

mure

cure

seu'

sepulture

nortur

severe

socoure

216

honure

doloure

seuere

honure

pure

toure

cure

[honure ?]

indure

savyoure

mure

377

419

657

3. Metre.
The stanzaic arrangement of the Assumption play presents at
first sight a curious confusion. Indeed, so long as I studied
the piece in Halliwell's edition only, I was quite unable to
discover, in most of it, any regular arrangement at all. A
glance at the manuscript, however, showed that not only had the
rubricator understood it, but that he had been at considerable
pains to make it clear to the reader. For it became evident
that, whereas in other portions of the cycle he had distinguished
the beginning of each stanza by a similar mark, he had here
used two different marks, a larger and a smaller paragraph, and
a little consideration showed that, if the lines following the
smaller paragraphs were in each case omitted, there resulted
a perfectly normal, though not perfectly regular, sequence of
stanzas. The stanzas had namely been bound together, or
separated, as we please to regard it, by a series of intercalary
lines and couplets which broke the regular stanzaic sequence,
and if not somehow distinguished from the stanzas themselves,
had the effect of reducing the whole scheme to apparent chaos.
For it is not as though these lines were obvious intruders bearing
on the face of them evidence of their independence of the stanzaic
structure of the play. They are, in the majority of cases,
intimately connected with the rime-scheme of one of the neigh-
bouring stanzas. To the manner of their connexion I shall
return later on.

When these intercalary lines have been eliminated the play is
seen to consist for the most part of a mixture of stanzas of
thirteen and of eight lines respectively. As far as line 134 and
from line 476 to the end the former prevail ; in the intervening
portion, with few exceptions, the latter. Each has its peculi-
arities.

The thirteen-line stanza is in essence one which is found in
various other parts of the N-town cycle and is probably that
in which its oldest and most original portions were composed.
The same stanza is also found in a considerable body of work of
northern origin, to which the term * alliterative ' is usually applied.
But in the present case it shows a curious variation from type.
The usual rime-scheme is ababababcdddc. As if this
were not already a sufficiently severe test of the writer's ingenuity,
he has here adopted the form ababababbcccb. It is, indeed,
open to question whether we are right in regarding the ninth and
thirteenth lines as deliberately intended to continue the b-rimes,
or whether it would not be better to regard them rather as
possessing fresh rimes more or less accidentally attracted to the
b-form in obedience to the love of continuous jingle so character-
istic of medieval times. This is not, as might be thought,
a distinction without a difference. If the b-rime persists through-
out the stanza, then we have a right to expect good rimes every-
where. If, on the other hand, the ninth and thirteenth lines
really possess distinct rimes, then they may without offence
repeat words already used in the b-rimes. It should be observed
that the author does not always use the variant form. In four
instances he uses the normal stanza, though it is true that in one
of these, the first stanza of the play, the intention is not quite as
clear as it might be. Further, in one instance the ninth and
thirteenth lines have been assimilated, not to the b-rimes, but to
the a-rimes, giving the rime-scheme ababababaccca. All
this points rather to attraction than to intentional modification
of type.

Before considering the question of the repetition of rimes in
this connexion I must make a short digression on the subject
of repeated rimes in general. It must of course be borne in
mind that words the same in form but different in sense are
to be regarded as perfect rimes. This makes the rime-scheme

dependent upon the interpretation of the text, which is unfortunate,
for it renders our criticism a little uncertain. All cases, however,
of repeated rime will be found discussed in the notes, as well as
recorded in the metrical synopsis at the end of the present section,
and few remain in any way doubtful as regards sense. It will be
sufficient if I summarize here. There are 506 lines of verse in
the play. Of these fifty-five end with the same word as one of
the other lines with which they are supposed to rime : there are
twenty-six pairs and a triplet. For the latter there is no excuse.
Of the pairs five are perfectly good rimes. Twelve are wholly
without justification. There remain nine which must be classed
as more or less doubtful. They are probably all bad rimes, but
in each case something may be pleaded in extenuation.

I return to the consideration of the thirteen-line stanza. There
are in all twenty-two such stanzas in the play; seventeen in
which the b-rime is carried through. In these there are eight
instances of the ninth or thirteenth line containing a repeated
rime. Twice it is the ninth line which repeats from the second,
the first time making a thoroughly bad rime, the second time
a perfectly good one. Once the thirteenth line makes a perfectly
good rime by repeating the fourth. In the remaining five cases
it is the thirteenth line which repeats the second, that is, the last
b-rime of the stanza repeats the first. This is a very remarkable
fact, which I cannot regard as accidental, even though it be true
that one of these rimes is good whereas all the others are bad.
The author must, I imagine, hStve regarded such a doubling back
of the rime-sequence to form a closed series as an embellishment,
and have adopted it intentionally. This would imply that he did
regard the sequence as an integral whole. And since apart from
these apparently intentional instances of repetition the ninth and
thirteenth lines only show a single instance of a bad repeated
rime, I assume that such is indeed the fact. The three different
types of the stanza might be represented graphically thus :

normal type : abababab cdddc

variant type : abababab bcccb
attracted type : abababab c^dddc

;•)

body tail

Passing to the eight-line stanza we find a somewhat similar

departure from normal usage. Stanzas of eight lines are among the
commonest in fifteenth-century verse, but as a rule the rime-
scheme isababbcbc, whereas we here find the more rigorous
form abababab. The latter is, of course, also well recognized
in Middle English, though it is far from common. What it
is important to observe here is that the octave is identical with
the first part of the thirteen-line stanza already discussed, and
the question forces itself upon us whether after all these octaves
are anything more than disiecta membra of original stanzas of the
longer type. Into this question, however, I do not now propose
to enter as I see no means of arriving for the moment at any
positive answer. It should be mentioned that there are nineteen
stanzas with the scheme abababab, and one with ababbaba,
besides six plain quatrains with alternate rime.

I have observed above that the intercalary lines are usually
associated in rime with one of the neighbouring stanzas. In only
two cases is an independent couplet introduced. In three cases
a couplet continues the last rime of the previous stanza, and it
may be noteworthy that in only one of these three cases are the
lines distinguished by the customary paragraph. There remain
in all twenty-six lines, eight couplets and ten single lines, which
anticipate the first rime of Ihe following stanza. Now it may be
worth while to inquire how far these lines are to be regarded as
actually absorbed into the metrical schemes of the stanzas in
question, and how far as independent units merely attracted into
the same rime-jingle. The distinction is the same as that observed
above in connexion with the ninth and last lines of the thirteen-
line stanza, the position namely of repeated rimes. Of the
thirty-two lines which are associated with the rimes of a neigh-
bouring stanza four repeat a rime in that stanza. That is to say,
one intercalary line in eight has a repeated rime, and with one
doubtful exception all these repeated rimes are bad. As we have
already seen, of the 506 lines of the play, fifty-five end with a re-
peated rime. Excluding intercalary lines altogether there are in
470 lines of text forty-eight which end with the same word as one
of the other lines with which they are intended to rime. This is
slightly over one in ten. But then of these forty-eight instances
five pairs are really perfectly good rimes and nine pairs must be
classed as doubtful. If we deduct the pairs forming good rimes

»9

we are left with one bad or doubtful repetition in about twelve and
a half lines, whereas we found in the intercalary lines one in
eight. The proportion in the latter is therefore distinctly higher,
but I cannot persuade myself that it is high enough to make us
suppose that in these lines the author regarded himself as at
liberty to repeat what rimes he pleased.

What then is the meaning, and what is the origin, of these
intercalary lines ? Three possibilities, I think, suggest themselves.
It is conceivable, in the first place, that some reviser, either the
original author going over his work, or some other, may have
inserted the lines to remedy what seemed too abrupt transitions
in the original text. In favour of this is the fact that they can as
a rule be excised without serious injury to the text. But if the
lines are insertions it is at least remarkable that they should
appear nowhere but between stanzas, while in some instances
they appear almost too closely interwoven with the structure of
the speeches to make the theory of interpolation possible. Or
again we might suppose that the whole piece was originally com-
posed in thirteen-line stanzas, and that the intercalary lines are
the remains of, or substitutions for, the tails that were excised in
the process of reducing a large part of the text to octaves. This
explanation is suggested by the remarkable fact that these inter-
calary lines are almost confined to the octave portion of the text,
and it is in itself certainly attractive. There are, however, it
seems to me, two objections to it, which, together at any rate,
must be fatal. One is that there is no sufficient reason for the
excision of the tails, since, if lines had to be substituted, the
saving in length would be insignificant compared with the expendi-
ture of labour involved. The other is that a reviser making such
a change in stanzas of the modified type (ababababbcccb),
such as we should suppose these to have been, if ever they
were thirteen-line stanzas at all, would almost certainly have
retained for his intercalated lines the two existent b-rimes of the
tail, rather than invent for them fresh a-rimes of the following
rime-scheme.

We are therefore driven, so it appears, to the conclusion that
the intercalary lines formed part of the play as originally written.
This, if correct, supplies an answer to the question previously
raised as to whether the play may not have been originally com-

posed throughout in thirteen-Hne stanzas, a view which is now seen
to be untenable, or at least highly improbable. In the central
portion, where the shorter stanzas are used, the writer appears to
have constantly found that he had exhausted his eight lines
before having expressed what he wished to say, and to have
disliked beginning a new stanza at the fag end of a speech. He
seems to have hit on the device, which would commend itself to
one with the love of continuous jingle he had shown in his treat-
ment of the thirteen-line stanza, of finishing off the speech or
discussion in one or two lines on a fresh rime and then of using
this new rime as the starting-point for his scheme in the next
stanza. It is noticeable that in general the intercalary lines
belong in sense to the preceding, though in rime to the following,
stanza. I do not think that the use of extra-stanzaic lines was
due to mere incompetence on the writer's part, for the device
laid on him fresh burdens of rime which he sustained with some
success, but in some measure, at least, to a desire for greater
richness of sound. At the same time it was unfortunate that he
should have done anything to add to the difficulties of a form
of composition which already taxed to the utmost his not very
remarkable powers of intelligible expression.

As might be expected from the choice of such an intricate
rime-scheme by an inferior writer, the rimes themselves are often
of very doubtful purity. Without troubling to enter into phonetic
subtleties we may at once point to various licences that would
have been avoided by a more careful poet. Accent is, of course,
commonly neglected. * Mary ' rimes both as a trochee and as an
iamb within a single stanza, the first. * Peter ' is made to rime
with * teche her ' and ' speche her ', ' wyst this * with * fistis \ and
many other doubtful rimes might be quoted. Words ending in
the same syllable are freely used as rimes, and have to be accepted
as current : * spoused ' ' godhed ' * falshed * ' manhed ' ; * rysyng *
* endyng ' ' gynnyng ' ; ' humanite ' * benygnyte ' * vnyte \ and so
forth. Of repeated rimes I have already spoken. The justifica-
tion of individual instances, or the reverse, will be found discussed
in the notes.

But in connexion with repeated rimes there is one very
remarkable feature to which attention should be directed. Many
of them are entirely indefensible, and all but a very few are

open to grave objection. This the author seems to have recog-
nized, and unless I am mistaken he endeavoured to remedy
matters in a somewhat peculiar fashion. The a-rimes of the
stanza beginning at line 36a are as follow : pete^ deiie^ sent me^
tent me. Now me is, of course, a perfectly good rime, but me^
me is a helpless repetition. As it appears the stanza has not four
a-rimes at all : the formula should be written ababcbcb.
But is this what the author intended ? Turn to the stanza be-
ginning at line 288. Here we have the a-rimes : now ^yow^ pray
noWy say yow. In this case we are debarred from the expedient
of importing a c-rime, because, unlike sent me^ tent me^ the words
pray now, say yow are incapable of forming a new dissyllabic
rime. The writer finds himself forced to use over again the rime-
words now and yow which have already done duty in the first
half of the stanza ; to mitigate the licence he resorts to the device
of making the penultimate words of the lines rime as well. In
the absence of any clear idea of the relation of rime and accent
he is able to regard pray now and say yow^ not in their relation
as wholes (which will afford no rime), but as riming pray : say
and now : yow. And this throws an entirely new light upon the
case we considered above. To the writer that was not a rime of
sent me : tent me as wholes, but of sent : tent and of either me
with pete, deite. And I suspect that we find another, though
more obscure, case of the same thing later on. In the stanza
beginning at line 491 the a-rimes are : say yow, aray now, nay
[ ^aray [ ]. The two erasures are presumably of the word
now. But to this series there is a double objection. For one thing
say yow does not rime with any of the other lines : for another
aray : aray cannot be regarded as a good rime even though we have
in one case the substantive, in the other the verb. Now I dare to
conjecture that in line 498 what the original author wrote was
not faste yow aray now but faste now aray yow. According to
his ideas the rimes would then resolve themselves into the series
say : aray : nay : aray, supported, as was desirable in view of the
repetition of aray, by the subordinate series yow : now : now :yow.
Perhaps even it was this same theory of rime that gave us the
strange sequence Peter : teche her : speche her mentioned above.
These considerations have led me to write the formula for the
stanza beginning at line 362, not ababcbcb, but abababab.

3»

I fancy that these duplicate rimes are as original a device of our
author as are the extra-stanzaic couplets.

Although from his ingenious use of paragraphs it may be
inferred that the rubricator thoroughly understood the stanzaic
structure of the play, it is questionable whether the same can be
said of the scribe. For after writing the text he appears to
have made a number of alterations and erasures with a view to
removing certain very awkward dissyllabic rimes. Sometimes
he merely deleted an unemphatic 'now*, for instance, at the
end of the lines, leaving them to rime monosyllabically on the
preceding words ; sometimes he removed a final * is ' and inserted
it earlier in the line. In one or two cases he was able to carry
out this process throughout the stanza, leaving it perfectly
regular, but generally he was only able to do so in one half,
and he does not appear to have observed that in these cases his
alterations rendered the metrical structure anomalous. These
alterations were evidently made after the rime-lines had been
drawn, but in some instances these have been subsequently con-
tinued over the erasures. The rime-lines ought to tell us a good
deal as to the scribe's comprehension of the stanzaic structure.
Unfortunately they are inserted very mechanically, and illustrate
it by no means adequately. Even in other portions of the cycle,
where the scribe, the rubricator of our play, undoubtedly under-
stood the metre perfectly, the rime-lines show no clear evidence
of the fact. The point may be clearly seen in the accompanying
facsimiles.

I append a rime-scheme for the whole play. The numbers
on the left are those of the first lines of the various stanzas.
The large paragraphs of the manuscript are represented by ^f,
the small by *. Intercalary lines, whether designated by
a paragraph or inferred by analogy, are shown in italic type.
The letters xx indicate a riming couplet not associated with the
scheme of any stanza. The numerals in square brackets are the
line numbers of Latin passages which stand outside the stanzaic
arrangement. A letter enclosed in square brackets indicates
a conjectural restoration of a defect in the manuscript. Letters
in parentheses indicate lines which as originally written certainly
or presumably rimed correctly, but which have ceased to do so
owing to subsequent alterations by the scribe as explained

mi 33 E

above. A point under a letter indicates a bad rime. Diacritical
marks over or through letters indicate repeated rimes whether
permissible or not. Their quality is indicated by the words in
the right margin. Of these good and bad speak for themselves :
doubt\ful\ indicates that the two words though identical are yet
distinguished by some difference of meaning or use, or that some
doubt exists as to the interpretation of the passage, while
dupl\icated\, means that the repeated rime is supported by sub-
sidiary riming words after the manner already explained. A few
notes are added at the end.

Rime-Scheme.
3 II a b a b a b a b c d d d c

i6 Uababababbcccb

30 Hababababbcccb

44 Uababababbcccb

58 Uababababbcccb

74 Uababababbcccb

93 fababababbcccB*;r:v good

108 Uababababbcccb

126 U a b a bUa b a b^ ^

140 U a(b)a(b)a b a b

1 50 *afl1Iabababab

164 *aa1Iabababab dmhU

177 *tfa1Tabab

i84lla5Uabdbdb2baccca douht^ good

205 Uabababab

213 * a U a b a b(a)b(a)b[b]c c c b
231 U a b a b a(b)a(b)

240 *fl1Iabababab
250 *a1Iab abababbcccb
266 * fl U a b a b

272 *flfl1Iabababab good

288 Uabababdb dupl.hadjupl

297 ♦ATATlIabababab doubt., doubt.

310 *aa1Tabababab

323 *5Uabababab bad

333 *fl1Iabababab

346 fl U a b a b a b a b bad

358 *<zaUabababab dupl.

37a*aa1Iabababab bad

386 * fl IT a b a b U a b a b [b' 401-16] bad

419 ITabababab

427 a a b a b [b' 434-9] had

443 Uabababab

454 Uababbaba bad

463 *a1Tabab[b' 471-4]

476 Hababababcdddc

491 U a b a b (a) t) (a)b b c c c b bad^ dupl,^ bad

506 Uababababcdddc

525 Uababababbcccb bad

541 Uababababbcccb bad

555 Uababababbcccb doubt,

574 U a b a b [U 580-1] a [583] babbcccb bad

595 Uababababcdddc

614 Uababababbcccb

631 1Iabab*33

640 Uababababbcccb good, good

659 Uababababbcccb [U 676] bad

678 abab^d

3. In the first stanza it is possible that c may be intended to continue b^
but it does not in fact do so, being if anything a monosyllabic and not
a dissyllabic rime. It has indeed really been attracted to d,

93. The intercalary couplet does not belong to the rime-scheme of either
stanza. It is best taken with the preceding, as a break in the action follows.

177. The order of the lines is corrected.

184. This is a quite anomalous stanza, a being carried through the tail in
place of^.

213. One rime is missing owing to the cropping of the manuscript. It was
not improbably a repeated rime.

250. The order of the lines is corrected.

288. A curiously irregular stanza.

297. Another instance of a wholly independent couplet. It is possible that
the repeated rimes in this stanza may be good.

454, This stanza is anomalous in that it reverses the rimes in the second
half.

491. Another very irregular stanza. The duplication in the second repeated
rime is conjectural, it may be merely doubtful or bad. If it is duplicated,
then the first line of the stanza is involved in the duplication, and is not
merely incorrect.

555. There may possibly be repetition and duplication in c.

631. This is the only instance in which intercalary lines, so marked in
the manuscript, rime with the preceding stanza.

4. Authorship.

It is time to review the evidence which we have collected.
We may be said to have failed completely in our search for any
dialectal differences between the language of the Assumption
play and that of the N-town cycle as a whole. It is true that
the evidence upon which we had to rely is to some extent
unsatisfactory in quantity and quality alike, and did we propose
to base on it any positive argument that the play in question
was written either by the same author as its companions, or by
a different author from them, it would be sadly deficient for our
purpose. But it will suffice for the moment if we draw the
purely negative inference that there is nothing in the dialect
of our play to necessitate our supposing a difference of authorship,
or even to suggest that any such difference exists.

There are, however, two other considerations which may, and
in point of fact pretty clearly do, point in that direction, namely
metre and style. Oif the latter I do not propose to speak in this
place, since it must always remain largely a subjective matter,
upon which each reader had best be left to form his own opinion.
I will only record here my personal view that several different
styles may be traced in the cycle as a whole, and that while
it would hardly be possible to differentiate that of our play from
every one of these, it is quite certainly not that of any prominent
section of the cycle elsewhere.

The question of metre, or rather of stanzaic structure, we
have already examined at length. The stanzas employed are,
with certain modifications, those in which considerable portions
of the rest of the cycle are written. What chiefly characterizes
this play, and differentiates it from all its companions, is the fact
that the stanzas are connected by an elaborate system of inter-
stanzaic lines. I may be merely exposing my ignorance, but
I do not remember to have met with anything at all similar
elsewhere in Middle English literature. It is a highly original
device, and I am not sure that, if used with greater skill and
discretion, it might not prove highly effective. Moreover, the
stanzas themselves, though ostensibly of rather common types,
have minor peculiarities that give them a character of their own.

3<5

In the thirteen-line stanza the b-rime is usually carried through
the tail in a manner practically, if not entirely, unknown else-
where. The octave has throughout two rime-sounds only in
place of the usual three. Another metrical peculiarity of the
Assumption play is the prevalence of dissyllabic rimes. Ot
course there are plenty of these elsewhere in the cycle, but
nowhere do they abound as they do here. In particular, what
is fairly common in this particular play, and, I believe, very rare
in all the rest, is the use of two words to make up the double
rime. It will have been noticed that in collecting above the
evidence for the syllabic value of the plural ending -is, eight
quotations were given from our play, all double rimes, while from
the whole of the rest of the cycle only two could be gathered
and of these one was monosyllabic. Lastly we must remember
the very peculiar device by which the writer has endeavoured
to support bad repeated rimes by a subsidiary rime-sequence.
This, taken in conjunction with the intercalary lines and the
modification of the thirteen-line stanza, I think shows the writer
to have been, if not himself a skilful versifier, at any rate pro-
foundly interested in metrical experiment. If any other verse
exists showing the same peculiarities it ought to be identified
and closely studied for its prosodic interest. Personally, how-
over, I know of none.

There seems, therefore, ample evidence of a metrical character
for saying that the Assumption play does stand apart from the
rest of the cycle, not in handwriting only, but in composition
likewise. That it is by a different author from any other part of
the cycle, I am not prepared to assert ; but it does seem to me that
if the same writer's work appears anywhere else it can only be
in incidental passages. There is no such marked individuality
of style as to render this unlikely, while the writer's metrical
experiments would naturally be confined to the one play which
was entirely, or at any rate substantially, his own composition.

Whether or not the play is entirely the original composition
of the writer whose characteristics it manifestly bears, is a difficult
point to decide. I do not think that the differences of stanza
observable are due to composite origin. The close and
continuous dependence of the text upon its source renders any
theory of amalgamation highly improbable. Some of the

thirteen-line stanzas, notably those beginning at lines 476, S'^^,
541, consist of lines far shorter and less rambling, or shambling,
than the average, and in this resemble some of the plays near
the beginning of the cycle for instance. But it will be noticed
that two out of these three stanzas are of the peculiar rime-
structure only found in the present play, and we are, therefore,
driven to the conclusion that the difference of rhythm they
exhibit was deliberate on the author's part. The occurrence of
the rare word celestly in our play (1. 459) suggests some
connexion with Mary's praise of the psalter in the Betrothal
play, which is the only other recorded passage in which the word
is found. The suggestion that that passage was likewise written
by our author must at once be rejected on the ground of style.
Nor do I think it likely that we have in the Assumption a revision
of earlier work by the author of the Betrothal, for there is good
reason to believe that the passage concerning the psalter is itself
late revisional work. Most likely the author of the Assumption
had seen the Betrothal play in its present form and borrowed
from it the word in question. A similar borrowing, probably,
is the word lake in the sense of grave, which occurs in line 585
of our play and also in the account of the Resurrection (p. 350).

We have not come to any definite conclusion as to the signifi-
cance of the change of handwriting which marks the Assumption
play. It is to be observed that the play is not autograph, for
it contains errors, such as the alterations of the rimes, of which
the author himself could hardly have been guilty. Apparently
the copy from which our text was transcribed made use of
a ^-shaped p. If the difference in handwriting means that the
copy was commissioned at a distance (though from an original
produced in the same district) with a view to its incorporation in
the cycle, it is unlikely that any work of the same author appears
elsewhere in the cycle. If, on the other hand, the difference of
scribe is accidental (and the apparent acquaintance of the author
with other parts of the cycle in a late form would lead us to
suppose so), the inference does not follow.

The general result, then, at which we have arrived is that the
Assumption play is probably an original work of a single author,
who, if responsible for anything else in the cycle, is responsible
for revisional work only, though the dialect in which he wrote is

not distinguishable from that of the rest of the collection, and
further that his play was copied by a scribe who, though different
from the one who wrote the bulk of the volume, belonged to the
same district and had some of the same peculiarities.

5. Source.

I print below the story of the Assumption contained in Jacobus
de Voragine's Legenda Aurea in so far as it was used by the
author of the play in the N-town cycle. The natural course would
have been to reprint the fragment as given in the edition by
T. Graesse published in 1846 (ch.CXix, p. 504), but on examina-
tion this proved to offer so unsatisfactory a text that I have
preferred to resort to a copy of the Strassburg edition of 148 ij in
my possession. This I have reproduced, only normalizing the
spelling, adding such punctuation as seemed necessary, and
correcting a few slips of the compositor (viz. printing p. 41, 1. 8
in matrem for matrem, p. 43, 1. 8 leciulo for lemulo and manibus
for recanibus^ 1. 25 pones for ponens). I have not made any
minute inquiry into Graesse's edition, and cannot say what use he
has made of the manuscripts and early prints of the work. So
far as the legend of the Assumption is concerned, his text does
not differ in any fundamental way from that of 1482, but it is
characterized by very queer spelling, awkward punctuation, and
a heavy sprinkling of bad misprints. Thus, compared with
the present reprint he has: p. 40, 1. la Probabiliter for Proba-
biliuSy p. 41, 1. 2^6 die for de^ p. 42, 1. 24 quae for quia^ 1. %"] portasti
{or potasHy 1. 31 corporis for corpus ^ 1. ^^ suum for sum. He also
has, p. 41, 1. 37 Tunc cantor omnibus intonavit dicens exceltentius^
which is certainly wrong; and further p. 41, 1. a8 thronum for
torum^ 1. 31 te in for in te^ and p. 43, 1. %^ ponas for pones
(where 148a \i2,s ponens\ which are probably so. Otherwise the
most important variant is perhaps the repetition of the words de
Libano before coronaberis, p. 41, 1. 39. In the Vulgate the passage
reads. Cant. Sal. iv. 8 : * Veni de Libano, sponsa mea, veni de
Libano, veni : coronaberis de capite Amana,' &c. The version
of Graesse is supported by Caxton's translation, that of 148a by
our play. We also find, p. 43, 1. ^'^ corpus lesu for corpusculum^
which I fancy is wrong (cf. 1. 39), and 1. 34 archangelus for
angeluSi which may be right.

Legenda Aurea, Cap. cxiiii
De Assumptione Beatae Mariae Virginis.
Assumptio beatae Mariae uirginis qualiter facta sit ex quodam libello
apocrypho, qui lohanni euangelistae ascribitur, edocetur. Apostolis nam-
que ob praedicationis gratiam diuersas mundi subeuntibus regiones uirgo
beata in domo iuxta montem Sion posita dicitur remansisse. Omniaque
loca filii sui, scilicet locum baptismi, ieiunii, orationis, passionis, sepul-
turae, resurrectionis et ascensionis, quoad uixit deuotione sedula uisitauit.
Et secundum quod ait Epiphanius uiginti quatuor annis post ascen-
sionem filii sui superuixit. Refert ergo quod beata uirgo quando Christum
concepit erat annorum quatuordecim et in quinto decimo ipsum peperit
et uixit cum eo annis triginta tribus, et post mortem Christi superuixit lo
uiginti quatuor annis. Et secundum hoc quando obiit erat annorum
septuaginta duorum. Probabilius tamen uidetur quod alibi legitur, ut
duodecim annis filio superuixerit, et sic sexagenaria sit assumpta, cum •
apostoli totidem annis predicauerint in ludaea et circa partes illas, sicut
ecclesiastica tradit historia. Die igitur quadam dum in filii desiderium cor
uirginis uehementer accenditur aestuans animus commouetur et in ex-
teriorem lacrimarum abundantiam excitatur, cumque ad tempus subtract!
filii aequanimiter non ferret subtracta solacia, ecce angelus cum multo
lumine eidem astitit et reuerenter utpote sui domini matrem salutauit.
* Aue', inquit, *benedicta Maria suscipiens benedictionem illius qui mandauit ^°
salutem lacob. Ecce autem ramum palmae de paradiso ad te dominam
attuli quem ante feretrum portare iubeas cum die tertia de corpore
assumeris, nam filius tuus te matrem reuerendam exspectat/ Cui Maria
respondit, * Si inueni gratiam in oculis tuis obsecro ut nomen tuum mihi
reuelare digneris. Sed hoc peto instantius ut filii et fratres mei apostoli
ad me pariter congregentur, ut eos antequam moriar corporalibus oculis
uideam, et ab eis sepeliri ualeam, et ipsis praesentibus spiritum deo reddam.
Hoc itenim peto et obsecro ut anima mea de corpore exiens nullum
spiritum teterrimum uideat, nuUaque mihi Sathanae potestas occurrat/
Cui angelus, * Cur scire desideras, domina, nomen meum quod admirabile 3®
est et magnum ? Ecce autem omnes ad te hodie congregabuntur apostoli
qui nobiles tibi exhibebunt exsequias funeris,et in eorum conspectu spiritum
exhalabis. Nam qui olim prophetam de ludaea in Babylonem in crine
attulit subito,ipse procul dubio ad te apostolos adducere poterit in momento.
Malignum autem spiritum uidere cur metuis cum caput eius omnino
contriueris et spoliaueris ipsum suae potestatis imperio ? Fiat tamen
uoluntas tua ut ipsos non uideas/ His dictis angelus cum multo lumine

caelos ascendit. Palma autem ilia nimia claritate splendebat, et erat
quidem uirgae uiriditate consimilis, sed folia ipsius ut Stella matutina
fiilgebant. Factum est autem, dum lohannes in Epheso predicaret, caelum
repente intonuit et nubes Candida ipsum sustulit ac raptum ante Mariae
ianuam collocauit. Percutiensque ostium interius introiuit et reuerenter
uirgo uirginem salutauit. Quem felix Maria conspiciens uehementer
obstupuit et prae gaudio lacrimas continere nequiuit. Dixitque, *Fili
lohannes, memor esto uerborum magistri tui quibus me tibi in matrem et te
mihi in filium commendauit. Ecce a domino euocata debitum humanae
conditionis exsoluo, ac corpus meum tibi cura sollicita recommend©. lo
Audiui enim ludaeos iniisse consilium, dicentes, " Exspectemus, viri fratres,
quoadusque ilia quae lesum portauit subeat mortem et corpus eius
continuo rapiemus ac iniectum ignibus comburemus." Tu igitur banc
palmam deferri facies ante feretrum cum corpus meum duxeritis ad
sepulcrum/ Dixitque lohannes, * O utinam hie essent omnes apostoli fratres
mei ut decenter tibi parare possemus exsequias ac exsoluere laudes dignas.'
Haec illo dicente omnes apostoli de locis in quibus praedicabant a nubibus
rapiuntur et ante Mariae ostium collocantur. Qui uidentes se ibidem
insimul congregatos mirabantur, dicentes, ' Quaenam causa est propter
quam nos hie dominus insimul congregauit ? ' lohannes igitur ad eos ao
exiit et dominam de corpore recessuram praedixit. Et addidit dicens,
* Videte, fratres, ne cum obierit aliquis eam defleat, ne hoc uidens populus
conturbetur et dicat, " Ecce quomodo isti timent mortem qui tamen aliis
predicant resurrectionem !'"... Cum autem beata Maria omnes apostolos
uidisset congregatos, dominum benedbtit et in medio eorum ardentibus
lampadibus et lucernis consedit. Circa uero horam noctis tertiam lesus
aduenit cum angelorum ordinibus, patriarcharum coetibus, martyrum ^^'\^.,
agminibus, confessorum acie, uirginumque choris, et ante torum uirginis
acies ordinantur et dulcia cantica frequentantur. Quales autem exsequiae
ibidem celebratae sint ex praedicto libello qui lohanni ascribitur edocetur. 30
Nam prior ipse lesus incohauit et dixit, * Veni, electa mea, et ponam in te
thronum meum, quia concupiui speciem tuam.' Et ilia, 'Palatum cor
meum, domine, paratum cor meum/ Tunc omnes qui cum lesu
uenerant dulciter intonauerunt, dicentes, * Haec est quae nesciuit torum
in delictis, habebit fructum in refectione animarum sanctarum/ Ipsa
autem de semetipsa cecinit dicens, * Beatam me dicent omnes generationes
quia fecit mihi magna qui potens est et sanctum nomen eius/ Tunc
cantor cantorum omnibus intonauit excellentius, ' Veni de Libano, sponsa,
veni, coronaberis/ Et ilia, * Ecce uenio quia in capite libri scriptum est de
me ut facerem uoluntatem tuam, deus, quia exultauit spiritus mens in te 40
salutari meo/ Sicque Mariae anima de corpore egreditur et in ulnas filii

1332 41 y

aduolauit. Fuitque tam a dolore carnis extranea quam a corruptione
exstiterat aliena. Dixitque apostolis dominus, ' Corpus uirginis matris in
vallem losaphat deferte et in monumento nouo quod ibidem inuenietis
illud recondite, et me ibidem triduo donee ad uos redeam exspectate.'
Statimque circumdederunt eam flores rosarum scilicet coetus martyrum et
lilia conuallium agmina scilicet angelorum confessorum et uirginum. Post
eam apostoli clamitant dicentes, * Virgo prudentissima, quo progrederis ?
Esto nostri memor, o domina/ Tunc ad concentum ascendentium coetus
qui remanserant admirati concite obuiam processerunt. Videntesque
regem suum feminae animam in ulnis propriis baiulantem, illamque lo
super ilium innixam, obstupefacti clamare coeperunt, dicentes, * Quae est
ista quae ascendit de deserto deliciis affluens innixa super dilectum suum ?'
Quibus concomitantes dixerunt, ' Ista est speciosa inter filias Hierusalem
sicut uidistis eam plenam caritate et dilectione.* Sicque in caelum
gaudens suscipitur et a dextris filii in throno gloriae collocatur. Apostoli
autem uiderunt eius animam tanti esse candoris ut nulla mortalium lingua
possit effari. Tres autem uirgines quae ibidem erant cum corpus eius
lauandi gratia exspoliassent tanta statim corpus claritate resplenduit, ut
tangi quidem ad lauandum posset, uideri autem non posset. Tamdiu
autem lux ilia ibidem resplenduit donee corpus a uirginibus lotum fuit. ao
Apostoli autem corpus eius reuerenter ceperunt et super feretrum posue-
runt. Dixitque lohannes Petro, 'Hanc palmam ante feretrum, Petre,
portabis, quia dominus nobis te praetulit et suarum ouium pastorem et
principem ordinauit/ Cui Petrus, ' Hanc potius portare te conuenit, quia
uirgo a domino es electus et dignum est ut palmam uirginis uirgo ferat.
Tu super pectus domini recumbere meruisti et exinde sapientiae ac
gratiae plus ceteris fluenta potasti, et iustum uidetur ut qui a filio
recepisti plus muneris impendas uirgini plus honoris. Tu igitur portare
debes hanc palmam luminis ad exsequias sanctitatis qui potatus es poculo
lucis de fonte perpetuae claritatis. Ego autem portabo cum feretro 30
sanctum corpus. Ceteri autem apostoli fratres nostri circumdantes
feretrum referant laudes dec' Paulus autem dixit ei, * Et ego qui mini-
mus omnium uestrum sum portabo tecum.' Eleuantes itaque Petrus
et Paulus feretrum, Petrus incipit cantare ac dicere, *Exiit Israel de
Aegypto, alleluia.' Ceteri autem apostoli cantum dulciter prose-
quuntur. Dominus autem feretrum et apostolos nube protexit, ita quod
ipsi non uidebantur sed tamen eorum uox audiebatur. AfFuerunt et
angeli cum ipsis concinentes et totam terram sonitu mirae suauitatis
replentes. Excitati omnes ad tam dulcem sonum et melodiam de ciui-
tate uelocius exeunt, et quidnam hoc sit diligenter sciscitantur. Tunc 40
exstitit qui diceret, ' Mariam illam discipuli lesu efiferunt mortuam, circa

illam banc quam auditis concinunt melodiam/ Tunc ad arma omnes
concurrenint, et se mutuo hortabantur, dicentes, * Venite omnes discipulos
occidamus ac corpus illud quod seductorem ilium portauit ignibus com-
buramus/ Princeps autem sacerdotum hoc uidens obstupuit et ira repletus
ait, *Ecce tabernaculum illius qui nos et genus nostrum conturbauit,
qualem gloriam nunc accipit/ Et hoc dicens manus ad feretrum misit
uolens illud euertere ac ad terram deducere. Tunc manus eius subito
ambae aruerunt et lectulo adhaeserunt, ita ut ad lectulum manibus penderet
et nimio cruciatu uexatus lamentabiliter eiularet. Reliquus autem populus
ab angelis qui erant in nubibus caecitate percussus est. Princeps autem lo
sacerdotum clamabat, dicens, ' Sancte Petre, in hac tribulatione me non
despicias sed pro me obsecro ad dominum preces fundas. Memor enim
debes esse qualiter aliquando tibi astiti et qualiter te accusante ancilla
ostiaria excusaui/ Cui Petrus, *In obsequiis dominae nostrae impediti
sumus et curationi tuae intendere non ualemus. Verum tamen si in
dominum nostrum lesum et in banc quae ipsum genuit et portauit
credideris spero quod continuo sanitatis beneficio potieris/ Qui respon-
dit, * Credo dominum lesum Christum uerum esse filium dei et banc
sacratissimam matrem eius.' Statimque a feretro manus eius solutae
sunt sed tamen in brachiis adhuc ariditas remansit et dolore uehemens ao
non recesserat. Dixit ei Petrus, *Osculare feretrum et die, "Credo in
deum lesum Christum quem ista in utero portauit et post partum uirgo
permansit." ' Quod cum fecisset continuo pristinae est redditus sanitati.
Dixitque ei Petrus, * Accipe banc palmam de manu fratris nostri lohannis
et pones eam super populum excaecatum, et quicumque credere uoluerit
recipiet uisum, qui autem credere noluerit uidere non poterit in aeternum.'
Mariam autem portantes apostoli in monumento posuerunt et iuxta illud ut
dominus iusserat consederunt. Tertia autem die ueniens lesus cum multi-
tudine angelorum ipsos salutauit, dicens, * Pax nobis.' Qui responderunt,
' Gloria tibi, deus, qui facis mirabilia magna solus.' Et dixit apostolis 30
dominus, ' Quid gratiae et honoris nobis uidetur ut meae nunc conferam
genetrici ? ' Et illi, * lustum uidetur, domine, seruis tuis ut sicut tu deuicta
morte regnas in saecula, sic tuae resuscites matris corpusculum et a dextris
tuis coUoces in aeternum.' Quo annuente Michael angelus continuo affuit
et Mariae animam coram domino praesentauit. Tunc saluator locutus est,
dicens, 'Surge, proxima mea, columba mea,'tabernaculum gloriae, uasculum
uitae, templum caeleste, ut sicut per coitum labem non sensisti criminis, sic
in sepulcro solutionem corporis minime patiaris.* Statimque anima ad
Mariae accessit corpusculum et de tumulo prodiit gloriosum. Sicque
ad aetherium assumitur thalamum comitante secum multitudine ange- 40
lorum . . .

FACSIMILES.

I. Folio 202 recto, beginning of the Emmaus pageant, in the hand of
the main scribe of the cycle.

II. Folio 218 verso (lines 333-79 of the present text), showing the
hand of the scribe who wrote the Assumption play.

In each case the facsimile is three-quarters the size of the original.

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THE ASSUMPTION OF
THE VIRGIN

NOTE.

The following text aims at reproducing the manuscript as exactly as
possible. All contractions are retained ; and no readings have been
intentionally altered, however strong the presumption of scribal error
appeared. Square brackets indicate deletions of all kinds, their precise
nature being indicated at the foot of the page. Pointed brackets indicate
the edge of the leaf where it is probable or possible that a portion of the text
has been cut away. The footnotes are confined to information concerning
peculiarities of the text : insertions, deletions, alterations, doubtful readings,
and the like. No attempt at emendation is made ; all matters of interpreta-
tion being reserved for the critical notes at the end.

The manuscript has been rubricated by a hand which is not that of the
scribe, but is that of the corrector in 11. 261-2. Certain words and passages
have been underlined in red : these are here printed in italics. The rubri-
cator also added the paragraphs, both large and small, which mark the
stanzaic arrangement, and the signs (b'= versus) which distinguish certain
Latin versicles, and placed the number of the play, 41, in large arabic
numerals in the right margin opposite 11. 11-14. He further crossed out
a number of words and letters which the scribe had merely expunged.

The original is contained in a quire of ten leaves inserted in a volume of
which it was originally independent. The first leaf is blank. The numbers
of the remaining leaves, 2-10, are here placed in the margin opposite the
top line of each recto and verso. The leaves of the inserted quire correspond
to fols. 313-22 of the complete manuscript.

Ad mea facta pater assit deus & sua mat' foi. 2'

R Doctor

ytit worchepful Souere3mes • liketh yow to here
of the assupcion of the gloryous moder mary
that seynt Ihoii the eu^ngelist • wrot and tauht as I lere
In a book clepid Apocriphu • wythoutyn dyswary
At fourten yer sche conseyved cryste in hire matere dere
and in the fiftene yer sche childyd • this avowe dar I
here lyvyng wyth that swete sone • thre and thretty yere
And after his deth in erthe • xij yer dede sche tary iq

Now acounte me thise yeris wysely
and I sey the age was of this maide marye
when sche assupte above the lerarchye
thre score yer • as scripture dothe specyfye
legenda scoi^ autorysyth this trewely

?She was inhabith in lure by the moute of syoii
after the assencioii of hir sone • conseyved in spoused
alle the holy placys in erthe • that criste duellyd on
devouthly sche went hem • honouryng the godhed
Ferste to the place there criste c*stenyd was clepid Flii lordon
there he fastyd and takyn was • by malicious falshed 2'

there he beryed was and roos • victoryously alon
there he assendid alle hevenys • god in his manhed
Thus was sche ocupyed I rede
and meche sche was in the temple preyand
now blissid mot sche be • we owe to be seyand
how sche was assupte • here men schul be pleyand
preyng you of audience • now ses and tak hede

-Mi(^

CPes now youre blaberyng in the develis name fol. 2*

J what lousy begchis mow ye not se

owre worthy prynsis lo are gaderid in same 3*

that are statis of this lond • hye men of degre

by there hye wisdam they schal now attayne

how alle lure beste gou'nyd may be

and of this pillid prechouris • that oure lawis defame

they schul ben slayn as they say • or fayn for to fle

wherfore in pes be ye

and herkenyth on to hem moste stille I

For what boy bragge outh • hym spilly I 40

as knave wyth this craggy d knad • hym kylle I

now herkenyth oure pryncis alle kneland on kne

Eps leg^

5 X\ probably inserted* 7 matere] yfrj/ e altered from r 11 thise] se

altered from s 18 duellyd] e interlined, 35 lure] e altered? 36 oure]
u altered from r 39 stille] e probably altered from i altered from y I ] added,

5 Now ye prysis • I prest of the lave
of this demaunde responcyon • I aske here anon
ys there ony renogat among vs • fer as ye knawe
or ony that puertyth the pepil • wyth gay eloques alon
yif there be we muste on to hem set awe
for they feyne falsly oure feyth • hem preve I houre fon
Sweche schul ben bouden vp be the beltys • til flyes he blawe 50
and gnaggyd vp by the gomys • tyl the deuyl doth he grone
we may not won
to sweche harlotis settyii reddure
that geynseyn oure lawe and oure scripture
now let sere pryncis in purpure
In savynge of owre lawys now telle on
P^n^ princeps

?Sere syn we slew hym • that clepid hym oure kyng
and seyde he was goddis sone • lord ou' alt

Syn his deth I herd of no maner rysyng 60

and lo yif he hadde levyd * he had mad vs his thrall

Therfore oure wysdam was to schortyn his endyng fol.

who so clyme ou' hie • he hath a foule fall

ip p*nceps

ya yit of on thing I warne yow at the gynnyng

his dame is levyng mary that men call

Myche pepil halt hire wythall

wherfore in peyne of reprefe

yif we Suffre hyre thus to relefe 7°

oure lawys sche schal make to myschefe

and meche schame don vs sche schall

Eps

?A sere ye ben bolde I now • art thou ferd of a wenche
what trowyste thou sche myht don vs a gayn

iij pfnce{

Sere there are other in the contre that clenche

and prechyn he is levyng that we slewe they seyn

and yif they ben sufferyd thus this wilt bredyn a stench [ ]

for thorow here fayre speche oure lawys they steyn 80

and therfore devyse we now • vp on this pleyn bench

what is beste for to do • hem for to atteyn

we are but loste yif they reyn

^/<

why let se than • sey me youre ententis
P'w(

44 prysis] /rj/ s inserted f 5 1 tyl] beginning of\ after t 68 Myche]
y altered f 75 thou] ou altered from s / Tj clenche]y?rj/ e altered. 78 is]
i over erasure ? 79 this] is over erasure, will] interlined, erasure at end.

let vs preson hem til here myht schent is

_ ^ Scd{

bettyr is to slen hem wyth dentis

nay best is to hang hem wyth peyn

Terc{ 90

CNay seris nowth so • youre bett' avyse [ ]
J haue insyth before • what after maytide

yif we slewe hem • it wolde cause the comownys to ryse(

and rathere the devyl sle hym • than we schulde that a bid(

But be that seustere ded mary that fise [ ] fol. 3*

we shal brenne here body • and the aschis hide

and don here att the dispith • we can here devise

and than sle tho disciplis • that walkyn so wyde 100

and here bodyes devyde

halde ye not this beste as is sayde

Wyth youre wysdam sere we are wel payed

-Prim^
— Eps

than ye knyhtis I charge yow beth arayed
and ye turmentouris • redy that tyde
C When mary is ded

and but she deye the sunere • the devyl smyte of here hed
Maria no

hie est maria in templo brans et dicens

O hye wysdam in youre dygne deyte

youre infynyth lovnesse mad oure saluacyoii

that it lyst you of me sympilest • to take here humanite

Wyth dew obeschyaus • I make you gratulacyoii

and gloryous lord and sone • yif it like youre benygnyte

nouth to ben displesid wyth my desideracyoii

me longith to youre presense now coimct to the vnyte

Wyth att myn herte and my sowle • be natures excitacyon

To youre domynacyon lao

For alt creaturis in you don affye

and [ ] myche more owe I • youre moder be alye

syn ye wem bom god • and man of my bodye

to desyre yowre presens • that were oure ferste formacyoii

—Sapta

?My suete moderis preyere on to me doth assende
here holy herte and here love • is only on me

93 erasure at end. 97 erasure of wt f 106 arayed] ayed over

erasure 0/ Sidye? 109 the sunere] t altered. 115 I] inserted?

1 18 presense] final e added. 122 a letter crossed out. 124 yowre]

y altered f presens] /rj/ s inserted?

1939 49 G

Wherfore aungyl to here thou schalt now dyssende

seyinge here sche schal comyn to myn etemyte 139

?myn habundaut mercy • on here I extende foL 4"

resseyuyge here to loye • from worldly pplexite
and in tokyn ther of this palme now pretende
Seyinge here sche fere no man' of diu'cyte

— — Angelus I{

By youre myth I dissende to youre moder in v*ginite

—Angts ij{

For qwyche message inioyeth the hefnely cosorcyte

-P^m^ A{

hie discendet angeliis Indent^ ciihaP & dicet marie

heyl excellent prynces • mary moste pure 140

heyl radyant sterre • the sune is not so bryth [is]

heyl moder of m'cy and mayde most mure

the blessyng that god yaf lacob vp on you now is lyth [is]

— ■ Maria{

Now wolcom bryth berde • goddis augyl I seu'
ye ben messager of al! myhty • wolcom wyth my myhtis
I beseke you now say me • vp on youre hie nortur
what is the very name • that to youre psone dith is

C what nedith you lady my name ben desyrand 150

— Maria

A yis g^cyows augyl I beseke you requyrand

Angts(,
Maria
Angfs

?My name is gret and m'veylous • treuly you telland
the hye god youre sone abidyth you in blis
the thrydde day hens • ye schul ben expirand
and assende to the presense • there my god youre sone is

Ma{

Mercy and grom'cy god now may I be seyand

thankyng you suete augyl for this message I wys i6p

~Ang{

'Mari{

In tokenyng where of lady I am here presentand
A braunce of a palme • outh of paradis com this

C be fore youre here god biddith it be bore

now thanke be to that lord • of his mercy eu'more

— Angf{

138 dtscendetl s altered from c ? 141, 143 is . . . is] Jirst interlined,

second erased. 145 seu'] might be sen 148 dith is] is apparently erased
and rewritten, 157 presense]yf«a/ e added, 163 a] inserted,

?yowre meknesse youre lovnesse and youre hie lore
is most acceptable in the trynite syth

youre sete ryatt in hefne apparaled is thore ^ 17

now dispose yow to deye • youre sone wyl thus rith

— i/<z^

I obbeye the comaudement • of my god here before fol. i

but on thyng I beseke • that lord of his myth
that my brether the appostelis • myht me be before
to se me and I hem • or I passe to that lyth
C But they ben so deseverid • me thynkyth it nyl be

— — Angelus

A yis lady inpossible to god nothyng trowe ye

?For he that sent abbacuc w* mete to babylonye from lure 180
In to the lake of lyonys to danyel the pphete
b Se the same myht god make may the appostolis here mete
a be an her of his hed lo • so myhty was he

!And therfore abasche you not lady • in yowre holy mende
Maria

no more I do glorious augyl in kynde

?also I beseke my sone • I se not the fende
What tyme outh of this word * I schal passe hens
his horible lok wold fere me so hende
ther is nothyng I dowte • but his dredfutt p'sens 190

An^

what nedith [yow lady] it to fere you emp's so hende
syn be the fruth of youre body • was convycte his vyolens
that horible f3pent • dar not nyhyn youre kende
and yowre blosme • schal make hym recistens
that he schal not pretende
Desyre ye outh ellys now rythis

Maria

nouth but blessyd be my god in his myhtys

J — Angts aoo

to yow I recomaunde me than • moste excellent in sithis
and wyth this ageyn to god I assende

hie ascendet angelus

— Maria

#"Now lord thy swete holy name ' wyth lovnesse I blysse
J of qwyche hefne and erthe • eche tyme pshalmodyeth
that it lykyth youre [ ] m'cy '■ me to you to wysse
my sympil sowle in serteyn • youre name magnefyeth

183 rtiy\i\.i\ first y over beginning of an h 192 yow lady] expunged and
crossed out. 202 ageyn] e altered from a 203 ascendet] second

e altered from i 206 pshalmodyeth] f s altered from c 207 beginning
of y expunged and crossed out,

Now holy maydenys the fBuauntis of god as I gysse
I schal passe from this world* as the augyl f3tefyeth aio
therfore to my sympil habitacyoii I telle you now this
I p"pose me to go • besekyng yow replyeth
C And assedually wachith me be dayes and nythis fol. 6»
P*ma virg{

9 we schal g^cyous lady • wyth alle oure mythis
schul ye from vs passe swete sonne of socoure
that are oure sengler solas • radyant in youre lythis
youre peynful absence • schal make me doloure

; Virgo Scda{

Moste excellent p'nces in alt vertu that is dith [is] aao

alle hefne and erthe • lady you doth honure w'(

we schal wachyn and wake as oure dewe & ryth [is]
In to the tyme ye passe • to that hye toure

Mar{

God thake you and so do I
now I wyl dispose me to this lurne redy
so wolde god my brether were here me by
To here my body • that bare ihu oure savyoure

hie subito apparet Scs lohes eu'^ngelista ante porta marie

lofui^ 230

A myrable god meche is thy myth [ ]

many wonderis thou werkyst evyn as thi wytt is

In pheso I was prechyng • afer contre ryth [ ]

and by awhyte clowde • I was rapt to these hyllys

here duellyth c^stis moder • I se wel in syth [ ]

Sum m'veylous message is comyii that mayde tytt [is]

I wyl go saluse that berde that in vertu is moste brith [is]

and of my sodeyn comyng • wete what is the skele [is]

hie puis abit stip portam intrante domu marie S' dicente
Cheyl moder mary maydyn perpetuall 340

Maria{

?A wolcome mayde lohn • wyth att myn hte in specyatt
For loye of youre p'sence myn herte gynnyth sweme
thynke ye not lohn how my child eternalt
when he hynge on cros • sayd vs this teme
lo here thy sone woma • so bad he me you call
and you me moder • eche othir to queme
he betok you the gou'nayl there of my body terestyati

220 is . . . is] Jirst interlined, second erased. 222 &] interlined,

is] erased, 231, 233, 235 erasures of now / 233 prechyng] ? pr

altered from p 236, 237, 238 is . . , \i\ first interlined^ second erased*

240 mary] y altered from \

on mayde to another as convenyens wold seme
C And now that g*cyows lord • hath sent me yow son[ ]e

?now good fayr lady • what is ther to done
tellyth the cause why I am heder sent

swete sone lohn so wytt I a none

owre lord god sent to me an augyl that glent

and sayde I schulde passe hens • where thre were in one

tho I askyd the augyl to haue you present

'lohes

fol. 5*
351

-Maria

A holy moder schul ye from vs gone

my brether of this tydyngis sore wyl repent

eu' trybulacyoii lord meche yn vs sendyst
b and now oure loye thy moder to take thou p'tedist
a thou oure mayst' and oure cofort fron vs ascedist

thanne alt oure comfort is from vs detent
C but what seyde then augyl moder on to you more

?he brouth me this palme from my sone thore
qwyche I beseke as the augyl me bad
that aforn my here • by you it be bore
saynge my dirige • devouthly and sad
C For lohn I haue herde the lewys • meche of me spelle

A good lady what likyth it you to telle

? Secretly they ordeyne in here conseytis felle
Whe my sowle is paste where god is [wyll] liste is
to brenne my body • and schamly it quelle
for Ihu was of me born • that they slew w' here fistis
And therfore I beseke you lohn • both flech and felle
helpe I be beryed • for yn yow my tryst is

'lofies

260

y^jeschuld ben
Absent

-Maria

370

•—lofies
-Maria

2S0

Fere yow not lady • for I schal wyth you duelle
wolde god my brether were here now and wyst this

-lofies

flic subito onts apti cogregent^ ante portu mirates

[Petrus]

Petrus

250 sone] something crossed out in redy f n altered from m 253 tellyth] e
altered ? 258 augyl] y altered from e 260 ye] y altered from e f from] m
altered from n 261-2 in the left margin is the addition ... ye schuld | . . .
bse . . . crossed out in red^ partly erased, and partly cut away, with a line
drawn to mark the insertion: the words being repeated in a different hand on
the right margin, 262 yn] y altered f 272 For] r added f 277 wyll]
expunged, and crossed out in red, liste] interlined* 285 expunged, and
crossed out in red,

?A holy brether wyth grace • be ye met here now
lord god what menyth • this sodeyne congregacyoii
now swete brother powle wyl ye take this vp on yow 390

preye to god for vs alt • we may haue relacyon

Paulus

Good brother [powle] Peter how schuld I here pray now fol. 6*

that am lest and most vnworthy of this cogregacyn
I am not worthy to ben clepyd apostle sothly I say yow
For as a woodma ageyn holy cherche I mad psecucyoii
C but neu'theles I am the g*ce of god • in that • Y ^ ^"^ ^^

Peirus{

A gret is youre lownesse powle brother eu'mo
Paulusi^ 300

?the keyes of hevene peter • god hath you betake [ ]
and also ye ben peler of lith • and pryce of vs all
it is most sittyng to you this [pre] preyere to make [ ]
and I vnworthy wyth yow • preyen here schall

Petri^

I take this vp on me poule for youre sake [ ]
now almythty god that sittiste • aboue cherubyn halle
In syge of thyn holy cros • oure handis we make [ ]
be sekyng thy m'cy • may vp on vs falle
C And why we ben thus met yif it lyke vs lare 310

lohes

A holy brether alle welcom ye are

?why ye be [sent] met here I schal you declare
For mary goddys moder by message is sent
that from this wrechid world • to blysse sche schal fare
and at here deying sche desyryth to haue vs p'sent

Petr{^

A brother lohn we may syhyn and care

yif it displese not god • for these tydyngis ment

Paulus 320

Forsothe so we may peter hevyin eu'mare
that oure moder and oure comfort schuld ben vs absent
C but neu'theles the wyl of god • fulfyllid mot be
lohes

?that is wel seyd poule • but her of bewar ye
that non of you for here deth schewe hevy speche
For a non to the lewys it schuld than notyd be
that we were ferd of deth and that is ageyn that we teche
For we seyn all tho belevyn in the hoi Trynyte

290 vp] p altered f 293 powle] expungedy and crossed out in red. 301,
303, 306, 308 erasures. 303 pre] expunged and crossed out : r inserted?

308 syge] f g altered from n 313 sent] expunged and crossed out,

316 here] he altered f 319 yif] y altered? 328 is] interlined

they schul eu' leve and nouth deye this truly we preche 33o

and yif we make hevynesse for here than wyl it seyd be
lo yone p'chouris to deye • they fere hem ful meche
C And therfore in god now beth glad eu'ychon fol. «*

?we schal don as ye sey vs holy brother lohn
now we beseke you let vs se • oure [ ] moder Marie

now in goddys name to here [let] tha all let vs gon
Sche wyl ben ful glad to se • this holy companye

-Petrus
-lohes

heyl moder and maydyn • so was neu' non
but only ye most blissid treulye

heyl incompabil que • goddis holy tron
of you spreng salvacyoii • and alt oure glorye
{ ]heyl mene for mankynde • and mendere of mys

-Petrus 340
Paulus

'Maria

A wyth all myn hoi herte brether • ye are wolcom I wys
I beseke you now to telle me • of youre sodeyne metyng

Petrus 350

In dyu'is contreys we prechid • of youre sone & his blis
Diu'is clowdys eche of vs was • sodeynely curyng
w in on were brouth before youre yate here I wys
the cause why no man cowde telle of oure comyng

— Maria

now I thanke god of his m'cy • an hy merakle is this
now I wyl telle yow the cause • of my sonys werkyng
C I desyrid his bodily p'sence to se

— Tohes

no wonder lady • thow so dede ye 3^
— Maria

5Tho my sone ihu • of his hye pete
sent to me an aungyl • and thus he sayd
that the thredde nyth I schuld assende to my sone in deite
thanne to haue youre p'sence brether • hertly I prayed

-Petrus
-Maria

And thus at my request • god hath you sent me

wys g^cyous lady • we are ryth wel payed

blissid brethere I beseke you than tent me 370

now wyl I rest me in this bed • that for me is rayed

3 36 a letter crossed out. 338 let] expunged and crossed out. 345 spreng] r
inserted. 346 a large red paragraph erased. 348 herte] ? h altered from s
354 why] h altered from y 359 lofies] 0 over beginning of an ^

C wachith me besily wyth youre laupys and Hthtis
we schal lady redy alt thyng for you dith is

?now sone schul ye se what god is myth is
my flech gynnyth feble be nature

hie erit decenter ornatus in lecto

Paulus
-Maria

brether eche of you a candele takyth now rithis
and lith hem in haste whil oure moder doth dure
and bisyli bet vs wachyn in this v'gyne sythtis
that when oure lord comyth in his spoused pure
he may fynde vs wakyng • and redy wyth oure lithtis
for we knowe not the ho" • of his comyng now sure
C and yn clennesse alle . loke ye be redy

-Petrus

fol. 7*
381

A swete sone Ihu now mercy I cry
ou' alle synful thy mercy let sprede

-Maria

hie dissendet dhs cu omi celesP curia & dicet

the voys of my moder me nyhith fulny

I am dyssend on to here of whom I dede sede

390

■Dns

hie cantahunt org*

?A wolcom gracyous lord • Ihu sone and god of m'cy
an aungyl wold assuffysed me hye kyng at this nede

Inspire psone moder I wyl ben here redy
wyth the hefnely quer yowre dirige to rede
tj' Veni tu electa mea & ponam in te thronu meu
quia concupiuit rex speciem tua

'Maria

'Dm

400

V Paratu cor meu deus patu cor meu
cantabo et psalmu dicam dno

Maria

-Apti

V hec est que nesciuit thoru in delictis
habebit requiem in respectu aTaij scaij
Maria

V Beatam me dicent omes generacioes ^lo
quia fecit michi magna qui potens est & scm nome eius
—Dnsi^

377 be] b altered from beginning ofn f 378 not rubricated. 382 sythtis]
second t inserted, 389 ou'] might be on 400 rede] looks like reee

V veni de libano sponsa mea veni coronaberis

Ecce venio quia in capita libri sdptu est deme

vt facerem voluntate tua deus meus

quia exultauit sps meus in deo salutari mes

Dns

hie exiet anima marie de corpore in sinu dei

•"Now com my swete soule in clennesse most pure foi.7b

J and reste in ny bosom [brist] brithtest of ble 4ao

alle ye myn apostelis • of this body takyth cure

In the valle of losephat • there fynde schul ye

A grave new mad for maryes sepulture

there beryeth the body wyth alt youre solepnite

and bydyth me there stylle thre dayes severe

and I schal pere ageyn to yow • to cofort yo" adu'cyte

Wyth this swete soule now from you I assende

; Petrus

In oure t'bulacyous lord thou vs defende

We haue no comfort in erthe • but of the alon 430

O swete soule of mary prey thy sone vs defende

haue mynde of thy pore brether • when thou comyst to J?* tron

Chorus m'^r^

V Que est ista que assendit de deserto

delicijs affluens innixa sup dilectu suu

Ordo angts

t'. Ista est speciosa int' filias lertm sicut vidistis earn

plenam caritate & dileccoe • sic 9 in celu gaudes suscipit"

et a dextris filij • in trono gtie collocatur

--; — — -— ; [P'ma v»go] 440

htc cantabtt omts celestts curia
'- — ■ — —P*ma If go

?Now suster I beseke you • let vs do oure attendauce
and wasche this gloryous body • that here in oure sith is
as is the vse among vs wyth outyn ony varyauce
now blessid be this psone that bar god of mythtis

Scda ifgo

I am redy sust' wyth all myn hoi affyauce

to wesche and worschepe • this body that so brith is

alle creaturys therto owyn dew obeschauce 450

For this body resseyved • the holy gostis flithtis

— -lohes

420 brist] expunged and crossed out. 422 there] might be thore

432 when] n altered from r 435 innixa] second \ has an exaggerated dot
which looks like a superior i over x 440 expunged^ and crossed out in red»

"»' SI H

Ei osculahunt corpus marie

?Now holy brother peter • I hertely you pray
to here this holy palme • before this gloryous body
For ye ben p*nce of apostelis • and hed of oure fay
therfore it semyth you best to do this offis [tru] treuly

• Petrus

Sere and ye slept on cristis brest • seyng all celestly ^ol- 8"

ye are goddis clene mayde • wyth outyn ony nay 460

this observauce is most like • you to do dewly
Wherfore tak it vp on you • brother we pray

C and I schal helpe for to bere the bere
Paulus

Cand I peter wyth oure brether in fere

J this blessid body schal helpe to the groud
this holy cors now take we vp here
Seyng oure observauce • wyth devouth sound

hie portahut corpus versus sepultura cu. eoy^ luminibj

V Exijt Israel de egipto • dom^ iacob de ppto barbaro Alia

—Apfi

Petru^Alo

V Facta est iudea scificaco eius Isrl potestas eius Atta

Eps

hie angti dulciP eantabUt in celo • Atta

?herke sere p'ncys • what noyse is att this
the erthe and the eyer • is ful of melodye
I herde neu' er • swyche a noyse now I wys
con ye outh say • what they signefye

-P^nt^ f'nc* 480

I not be my god that of myht meche is

What sueu' they be • hougely they crye wyth owte

I am a ferd there wytt be su thyng a mys

It is good prevely among vs we spye

■ — Scds p^nc^

Now I haue levyd this thre skore yer

but sweche [another] another noyse • herd I neu' er

myn herte gynnyth ogyl • and quake for fer

there is su newe sorwe • sprongyn I dowte

— Terci^ p'nc{ 490

457 tru] expunged and crossed out, 460 clene] I possibly altered to h

464 not rubricated, 473 scificaco] c altered. 480 p*nc*] nc' altered

from ce / 483 am a] a inserted. 484 prevely] p altered?

487 another] expunged^ and crossed out in red: o interlined.

5ya that there is sothly I say yow
the pphetis moder [is] mary is ded
the disciplis here beryn in gret aray now
and makyn alle this m'the in spyth of oure hed

■Eps

Fy on yon lousy doggys • they were bett' nay [ ]

outh harrow • the devyl is in myn hed

ye dodemvsyd prynces • faste yow aray [ ]

or I make avow • to mahound youre bodyes schul blede

Now that quene is ded fol. 8*

ye coward knytys in plate 501

and ye tormentours • thryfe schul ye late

Faste harlotys • go youre gate

and brynge me that bychyd body I red

P'M^ fnc^

dowte you not sere byschop in peyne of repref

We schal don schame to that body • & to tho prechours

Scds

Sere I schal geyne tho glabereris or gramly hem gref

tho teynt tretouris schul tene • yif my loke on hem louris 510

TercP p^nc^

To hurle wyth tho harlotys • me is ful lef

I schal [snrle] snarle tho sneveleris • wyth rith scharp schouris

Eps

hens than a devylis name • and take me that thef

and brnge me that bygyd body • evyn to fore these touris

and here disciplis ye slo

hye you hens harlotis atonys

the devyl boyes mot breke youre bonys

go stent me yone body wyth youre stonys 520

Outh harrow • alwod now I go

— ■; ; ;;; ; Scds ^m*

hie discendut p^ncipes cu suis minis tris vt feroci
percucient^ petras cu eoi^ capitib}

What devyl where is this mene

I here • here noyse • but I se ryth nouth

alias I haue clene lost my poste

I am ful wo • mad is my yowth

— Terci? p^nc^

I am so ferd I wold fayn fle 530

the devyl hym spede • hedyr me brouth
I renne I rappe • so wo is me
Wyndand wod wo hath me wrouth

492 is] expungedy and crossed out in red, 496, 498 erasures at end.
5 13 snrle] expunged^ and crossed out in red,

To deye I ne routh

—--- — — Pm^ fnc*

A coward is vp on you now fy

are ye ferd of a ded body

I schal sterte ther to manly

alle that company fere I ryth nouth

kic saltat insan^ afferetru marie & pendet pmat^ fol.9"

? Alias my body is ful of peyne 541

I am fastened sore to this bere
myn [hodys] handys are ser • bothe tweyne

0 pet'^now prey thy god for me here
In cayfas halle • when thou were seyne
And of the pet' amayde • acusid there

1 halpe the tho • now helpe me ageyne
that I were hoi • outh of this fere
sum medycyn me lere

Petrus 550

I may not tend to the sere at this ho"

For ocupacyon of this body of hono"*

but neu'theles • beleue in Ihu criste oure saveyo"

and that this was his [mder] moder that we bere on bere

I beleue In Ihu mannys saluacyofl

Petrus

In goddis name go don than and this body honure

P^m^ p^nc^

now m'cy god and grom'cy of this savacyon

In Ihu and his moder • to beleve eu' I seuere 560

Petrus

Than take yone holy palme • and go to yi nacyoii
and bid hem beleve in god yif they wyl be pure
and towche hem ther wyth both hed • hand and facyon
and of her sekenesse • they schal haue cure

and ellis in here peynys [ J indure

P*m^ pW

grom'cy holy fader peter

I schal do as ye me teche her

thankyng god eu' in my speche her 570

Wyth hye repentaunce • and herte most mure

— — Petrus

541 my] y altered. 543 hodys] expunged, and crossed out in red:

reading doubtful. 554 mder] expunged^ and crossed out in red.

566 a letter y f e, crossed out.

lohes

hie portahui feretru ad locum sepulture

Now holy brether this body let vs take

and wyth alle the worschepe we may ley it in the g*uc

kyssyng it alle atonys • for here sonys sake ^

now insence ye • and we schal put here in this cave

hicponent corpus insepulcru insensantes & cantantes

?De terra plasmasti me & came induisti me ^^^ ^*

redemptor meus dfie resuscita me in novissimo die S^i

Now god blysse this body • and we oure synge make

hie vnanimi^ bndicent corpus • In noie pat*s & filij & sps sc£

the fruth that it bar oure soules schal saue

now reste we vs brether vp on this pleyn lake

tyl from oure god and oure [d] lord • tydyngis we haue

here muste we belave

Paulus

so muste we lohn as ye say

thanne byde we here and pray 59®

besekyng hym of comfort that best may

restyng here abowtyn this g^e

-P^m^p*nc^

hie vadit princeps ad ludeos cu palma

?ye lewys that lango" in this gret Infyrmyte
belevyth in crist Ihu and ye schal haue helthe
throw vertu of this holy palme • that com fro the t'nyte
yow'* sekenesse schal aswage • and restore you to welthc

Scds ffn^

I beleve in crist Ihu • goddis sone in vnyte 600

and forsake my mavmentryes • fals in here felthe

hie tangat credentes cu palma & sanati sut

A I thanke the g^cyous lord • and thy moder of pete

now are we hoi of oure seknesse • and of oure foul belthe

Terci? p^nc^

what harlotys forsake oure lawe

Scds p^nc^

So hald I beste the do

— — Terci^ p^n<?

hens fro me in the develis name ye go 610

I deye outh outh harro

586 d] crossed out, 603 thanke] possibly thcnke 61 1 deye] looks like ceye

the wylde develys • mot me to drawe

— P^n^ demon

?herke belsabub and belyal sere sathan^in the heme
vs fettyn oure servauntis to this presoii
blow flamys of fer to make hem to brenne
mak redy ageyn we com to this demon

__ Scds demon

Faste for tho harlotis now let vs renne

to caste hem in this pet here that depe is adon 620

they schul brenne and boyle and chille in oure denne

gowe now a dewelys name as faste as we mon

harrow harrow • we com to town fol. 10»

drag we these harlotis inhye
In to the pet of helle for to lye

gowe now helle houdis ye crye
sere sathan may heryn oure soil

■P^n^ demon
— ip demon
— Dns 630

?Now aiigyl and alle this court celestyall
In to herthe now discendith wyth me
to reyse the body of my moder terestyalt
and bryng we it to the blysse of my de3rte
C assent ye here to now the vnyte

Angti

ya for yowre hye m'cy lord • al hefne makyth melode

Diis

hie discendit et venit ad aptos dicens

tfpes be to yow alle • my postelis so dere 640

J lo me here yowre lord • and youre god now rythtis

A wolcom criste oure comfort • in thy mahed clere
gret merveylous god • mekyl now thy myth is

what worschepe and g^ce • semyth you now here
that I do to this body • mary that hythtis

'Petrus
— Dns

■loHes

lord as thou rese from deth • and regnyst in thyn empere

so reyse thou this body • to thy blysse that lyth is 650

vs semyth this ryth is

Mychael

ya gloryous god • lo the sowle here prest now
to this blissid body • lik3^h it you to fest now

652 A/y^^ez^/] « altered from ^?
6a

'Dns

hefne and erthe wold thynke this the best now

In as myche as sche bare you god in youre mythtis

kic vadit aia in corpus marie

CGo thanne blyssid soule to that body ageyn

J arys now my dowe • my nehebo" • and my swete frende 660

tabernacle of loye • vessel of lyf • hefnely teple to reyn

ye schal haue the blysse wyth me moder • that hath non ende

For as ye were clene in erthe • of alle synnys greyn

so schul ye reyne in hefne clennest in mend

— — Maria

A endles worchepe be to you Ihu • relesere of peyn

I and alle erthe may blisse ye com of owre kend

lo me redy wyth you for to wend ^^^' "^^

^Dns

A bouen hefnys moder assende than we 670

In endles blysse for to be

hefne and erthe now inloye may ye

For god throw mary is mad mannys frend

Et hie assendet in celu cantantib} organis
CAssupta es maria in celu

-MieJiael

yow to worchepe moder • it likyth the hoi trinyte

Wherfore I crowne you here • in this kyndam of glory

of alle my chosyn • thus schul ye clepyd be 680

qwen of hefne • and moder of mercy

;— Miehael

Now blysid be youre namys we cry

For this holy assupcyoii • alle hefne makyth melody

Deo gracias

659 ageyn] e altered from a 664 mend] more like mene 683 blysid]
y altered from s

«3

List of Variants in Halliwell's Edition.

Some of the following variants are silent emendations ; a few arise through
doubtful readings. The latter will be found mentioned in the footnotes. In all
cases of the omission or insertion of a word the context on both sides is quoted.

6 wythowtyn

8 chyldyd

dare
19 honoryng
24 occupyed

29 {omitted,)

30 Ces

31 now ye
34 wisdom

shal
37 se or
39 stillyn

43 Episcopus,

44 prynsis
lawe

50 blowe
56 oure
75 that sche
87 Lete
myght

96 abyde

97 senstere

103 Primus Episcopu^,

105 {omitted^

107 And the

116 glorious

118 conjunct

122 modyr

124 youre

131 Resservynge

133 man of

137 consorcyt

138 ludentibus
citharis
Maries

145 welcom

aungel

sen
152 A ! this
157 presence
163 ofpalme
179 A ! this

trowe the
194 dare

201 most

202 agayn
303 ascmdit

229 MaricB
239 Maria
242 welcome
249 another at
258 aungel
262 meche thou
264 from
277 Godis sete is

286 mir antes

287 (omitted^
295 to be
308 synge
315 wrecchid
319 Xif it
321 evermore
332 youe
342 only the
348 welcom
353 And in
366 Aud

380 nowe
382 let

sythis
'i,Zl sponsed
390 celeste
396 welcom
407 Haec

quae
410 generationes
416 spes meus

mee

418 Marias

419 come
424 withe
430 on erthe

434 Quae
quae

435 injunxa

437 Jherusalem

438 dilectione
coelum
gandeus

439 glorias
444 glorious
451 resseyvid
453 Maria
460 any

474 ccelo
478 sweche
496 you

501 The coward
knytis

502 And the

507 Dedschal
body to

508 Secundus Princeps,

509 glaberis
512 the

515 develys

516 bringe
thes

524 pecucienter
528 thowth
530 would
533 Wynd and
540 adferetrum

Maria
544 thi

555 Primus Princeps, I
560 senere
562 youe
569 as the
585 rest

brother
587 must
594 Judaos
598 Yowr
604 foule
608 best
620 cast
622 fast
632 with
634 deyt
643 welcom
649 requyst
654 likyth you
658 Maria
664 schal

667 blisse the

668 with

675 calum

676 calum
679 glorye
683 blissid

NOTES

3. likeih, impersonal interrogative.

6. a book clepid Apocriphuniy not *a book named Apocryphum', but
'a book said to be apocryphal'. NED quotes: Capgrave, Chron, 7.
* The Penauns of Adam be cleped Apocriphum ', i. e. is called spurious.
1\i^ Legenda Aurea has: *ex quodam libello apocrypho qui lohanni
euangelistae ascribitur*. All the same, the dramatist may have mis-
understood his source, for if the book was written by John it was not
apocryphal. The work indicated is apparently the Greek Dormitio
Mariae printed by Tischendorf {^Apocalypses Apocryphae^ 1866, p. 95),
which is headed : ToO dyiov 'Iwdwou toO 6io\6yov \6yos us rfjv Koifirjo-iv r^f
iyias deoroKov. There is, however, a sufficiently close verbal agreement
with the Latin text, Tischendorf s Transitus Mariae B {ibid, p. 124), to
suggest that this may really have been the source. Some manuscripts
of the Transitus represent the work as written by Melito after the instruc-
tion of John, and one apparently actually prefixes to the text the account
given in the Legenda Aurea {ibid, p. XLlll). The work was in fact
declared apocryphal by Pope Gelasius.

13. assumpte, ascended. But the passage is certainly wrong as it
stands. Possibly was has been omitted, cf. 27. The verb assume can
only mean to take up into heaven, not to ascend, and moreover the pret.
is assumed. From the part, assumpt was formed a new verb, but this
had the same meaning, and formed the pret. assumpted. It is moreover
not found till xvi cent.

1 5. legenda sanctorum, i. e. the Legenda Aurea.

16. inhabith. The h has probably got appended by analogy with the
cases in which the loss of a guttural has left a long vowel, see Introd. p. 7.
Similar instances are 113 infynyth, 468 devouth. Both inhabfte and
inhabit are recognized forms of the part., while the use of the passive,
with the sense of being resident, is also well established for xv-xvi
cent. The phrase * Merchauntes Adventurers inhabite and dwelling in
divers parties of this Realme' is quoted by NED from the Statutes of
12 Hen. VII, c. 6.

17. spoused f for spoushed, wedlock.

19. wentf almost a technical term. You go a pilgrimage (cognate
object), hence you go the stations of a pilgrimage (transitive). The
transitive use appears to be a late one, but NED quotes Caxton, 1483 :
Golden Legend, 47 b/l, * With my staf I have goon this ryver of Jordan *.

28. ses. If we take this as the imper. pi. of see the form is certainly

northern ; but in that case we should rather expect the spelling sets, and
also takis or ias. It is more probably from cease,

29. Mi, partly cut away : no doubt Miles,

30. PeSi not peace (subs.) but pease (vb. imper.), appease, stilL

31. begchis, bitches: NED records begch as an exceptional form,
without, however, giving a quotation.

33. statisy estates ; the use is elliptical, persons of rank.

34. attayne^ the rime is bad and the sense strained. The former might
be mended by substituting attatne. This has the sense of undertake,
endeavour, but though used with an infinitive is not recorded with an
indirect question.

36. pHlidy literally peeled, hence bare, poor, miserable. The expression
* pillede sere we ! ' occurs in the A-text of Piers Plowman, vii. 143 (NED).
However, it also had the sense of bald, hence tonsured, which is perhaps
the appropriate meaning here.

39-41. The scribe has misunderstood the rimes: that in 41 alone is
correct, stille I should be stilly. This, in all probability, was the
original reading, for the tail of a j, partly erased, is still visible under
the e. But there is also a dot above which is not erased ; so that the y
seems to have been replaced by an /, though what the object of the
alteration may have been is not clear. Then the body of the i was
altered to e and /was added at the end to make it agree with 41. This
last alteration took place after the rime-lines had been inserted, spilly I
has not been altered, it should, of course, be spille I,

41. craggy d knad, I suppose a knotted cudgel, knad may be connected
with knagy the stump of a branch. NED omits the word, though it
quotes the present passage s.v. Cragged, Halliwell, in his glossary,
gives knad, knife, on what authority I know not.

43. Episcopus legis, bishop of the (old) law.

44. pry sis, the word has been altered ; read prynsis,

I prest of the lave, I, priest of the law=episcopus legis. Halliwell's
explanation, I-prest, pressed, is nonsense, and his conjecture and prest
is not much better.
lave, sic for lawe,

46. fer as, as far as, NED ^j B I 3.

5 1 • S^^SSy^i or knaggy d^ hung up ; I suppose, hung from a knag^ cf. 41.

52-3. *We must not won, i.e. fail or hesitate, (to) set reddure, i.e.
severity, upon such harlots ', cf. 48. The word won is not from OE wunian,
to dwell, but perhaps ME wdnien, from OE wanian, to wane, diminish.
The sense is a curious one ; nearest comes the OE trans, use, meaning
to cause to fail. Or else won may be an alteration, for the sake of the
rime, of wonde, OE wandian, to turn aside, hesitate.

68. halt hire wythall, holds with her. The form halt, with /, is good for the
3 pers. sing., contracted from holdeth ; the vowel is said to be Anglian
and northern.

70. relefey relieve, rise again. The form is northern.

71. make to myschefe^ bring to harai.

77. clenche, affirm ; the only quotation in NED.

93. Halliwell punctuates so as to give the sense : your better judge-
ment is not so. Otherwise ^'^^r^ must be an error iox you.

94. maytide^ sic for may tide, may happen.

97. be , . . ded, i.e. when she is dead, mary that Jise is parenthetical,
in apposition to seustere.

fise, a form ^ifist, fart, as a term of contempt.

107. tyde, time, occasion. In origin no doubt the word is identical
with that in 94, but the meaning is sufficiently different to make an
allowable rime.

no. Maria, This should come after the stage direction, ill ; cf.
285-7.

113. lovTtesse, for lownesse, humility, as in 168, 205 ; cf. 299.

115. obeschyauSy sic, for obeyschaus presumably, but we have the form
obeschauce in 450.

118. coimct, sic for coiUct, conjunct.

125. Sapientia, the second person of the Trinity.

130. The paragraph at the top of the page is an error of the rubricator*s.

137. consorcyte, fellowship, company. Not recorded in NED, which,
however, quotes one instance of the form consorce in 1512.

138. ludenf cithar'j ludenter cithare or ludentur citharae, H alii well's
ludentibus citharis may be better Latin, but I question whether it is what
the scribe intended, cf. 675.

141. The rime has been altered here and in 143, but the change has
not been carried through the second half of the stanza.

145. wolcom, the form is unusual but recurs, see 146, 242, 396,
seu\ The rime shows that the word intended must be seu\ i. e. seure
and not sen, Cf. 560 seuere. From suren, for assuren, to promise.

163. After this a line has been drawn in error.

173. before. So far as the preposition has any sense here it seems to
be temporal, while in 175 it is local : such at least is the only excuse for
allowing the word to rime with itself.

179. Perhaps the author intended an is somewhere in the line.

180. For Habakkuk's journey see Vulg., Daniel, xiv. 32, &c., a passage
relegated in AV to the Apocrypha {Bel and the Dragon, 33, &c.).

181. lake of lyonys, den of lions, Macus leonum', i.e. lion pit, Daniel ,
vi. 7, 16 and xiv. 30.

182-3. The order of these lines should be reversed, as indicated by the
marginal letters.

182. Se, I suppose an error for Be, by; if not, then myht should be
myhty,

184. The rubricator has by error put a large, in place of a small,
paragraph.

186. kynde. The rime requires kende, as in 194. There is some
difference of sense in the two passages, nature and race.

67 I 2

189. hendef near at hand. The word rimes in its other sense of gentle
in 192.

194. /^pentf i. e. serpent,

196. pretende^ I suppose, to make a claim ; but the absolute uses of
this verb are rare, and NED does not give any meaning quite suitable.

197. now rythis, rythis^ i. e. rights^ is the genitival adv. : * right now *.
Cf. 380, also 641.

201. sithis. The plural is probably a concession to the rime ; cf. 382.

209. f^uauntiSj i. e. seruauntis»

210. fjtefyeth^ i. e. sertefyeth^ certifies.

212. reply eth. The word offers some difficulty both of form and
meaning. The termination precludes the possibility of dependence on
what precedes ; consequently besekyng yow must be parenthetical and
replyeth imper. pi. There are several odd uses of reply in which the
etymological origin is still prominent. In this case we may possibly
have either an intr. for refi. use with the sense of turn back or retire,
or else a trans, use with the sense of lead back, the object being me
in 213.

220-2. The rime has been altered without regard to the preceding
quatrain.

221. 11^, Part of a short line intended to come after 223 and to rime
with 228: possibly with honoure, in spite of the repetition of rime
it would involve.

233. afer^ for afer^ a far.

234. awhyte^ for a whyte.

236-8. The rime has been altered without regard to the first half
of the stanza.

238. skele^ i. e. skilly cause. A most unusual form, which would appear
to be Scotch : the rime, however, requires the common skyll or skylle,

239. This stage direction is not very satisfactory. S* is the usual
contraction for sUij which is perhaps not an impossible reading, though
one would rather expect sic {S*'), There is no line drawn between the
direction and the following text.

2$$. a none, for anone.

262. yn. The sense of upon is well recognized, and * thou ' might pos-
sibly be understood. So at least the scribe may have intended the passage.
Halliwell prints thou for yn, having evidently read the word &spu. The
scribe does not as a rule use /> or y for th. His copy, however,
clearly had a ^'-shaped /, which occasionally led him to write y in error
for th ; cf. 528, 562 (the instance in 261 is in a different hand). The present
is most likely another case in point. He also has two clear instances of
/, 297, 432.

263-4. The order of these lines should be reversed, as indicated by
the marginal letters.

264. /ronf sic for from.

266. then. This must be an error either for the or then the. The

form thetiy if demonstrative, would be ace. sing, masc, and even were
it recorded as late as xv cent, there could be no reason for its use here.

277. god iSf sic for godis.

280. felle, a perfectly good rime with the adj. of 276.

286. portu mirates, sic.

293-9. These lines are thoroughly irregular in the matter of rime.
There is no excuse for any of the repeated rimes, but on the quasi-double
rimes of 293, 295 see Introd. p. 32.

294. cogregacyn, sic. Probably an 0 has simply been omitted after
the _y, but one might of course read cogregacyu.

297. This curiously involved line is presumably corrupt. The passage
is, of course, a paraphrase of i Cor. xv. 9-10 to the words : * Gratia autem
Dei sum id quod sum '. It would be easy to emend : * but neueftheles
by the grace of god I am that I am lo ', but that would not explain how
the corruption arose.

pat. The only other instance of/ is in 432.

307. cherubyn halle is perhaps the hall or abode of the cherubim : to
take halle as a// would make a bad rime with 302, though this, to be sure,
is no very serious objection:

308. syge^ i.e. sygne^ sign: the scribe has been driven to an imusual
expedient. The line is obscure. I suppose the meaning to be: we
make our hands into the image of thy holy cross, that is, we cross our
hands. But make has already occurred in 303. It is perhaps just possible
that here make may have the sense of join, which would render the rime ac-
ceptable. But it is very improbable, for though the sense of mate, pair,
match, is recorded in NED, it is rare, and that of join does not seem to occur.

309. be sekyngy for besekyng.

310. It is possible that thee has been omitted after fyke.

314-15. The construction of these lines is peculiar. Formerly the
object of sendy sc. a message, could be replaced by a clause of indirect
statement expressing the message, a construction which we commonly
use with convey. Here the clause, i. e. that . . .farej has become the
subject of a passive use of the verb, mary is dative.

319. ment. This word has the appearance of having been added for
the rime rather than the sense. It is not easy to attach much meaning
to it Presumably it has the sense of told, though it might possibly
have that of lamented.

322. vs absent. The dative is certainly an unusual construction, but
perhaps not impossible.

327. a non, for anon,

331. be^ a rime repeated from both 323 and 327 for which there is
no excuse.

346. The rubricator placed a large paragraph opposite this line in
error for 348. He erased it when he discovered his mistake, but forgot
to put the small one that should be there.

351. dyueris. The spelling here and in 352 is dearly influenced by

that of the gen. and pi. tenninations. By xv cent, these had usually
become -j in pronunciation, though they continued to be written as
though they were syllabic. This occasionally led to the insertion of e^ /,
ox y before the final -s of other words.

352. was. The subject is clowdys^ the verb being attracted into the
sing, by the intervening object, or else perhaps Diueris clowdys was
felt in a partitive sense.

curyngy from curCj a shortened form of cover.

353. lify sic for we.

IwySy another repeated rime.
365. After this the scribe has drawn a line in error.
370. For the rime here see Introd. p. 32.
376. god is f sic iotgodis.
378. omatusj sic.

382. betf sic for let.

in this virgyne sythtis^ in the sight of this virgin. Possibly sythtis
is plural because there are several persons under her view, cf. 201.

383. spoused, cf. 17, bridal, in allusion to Matt. xxv. 10.

384. lithtiSy this repeats the rime of 372.
390. celest\ celester, apparently for celesti.

392. fulny, sic ioxful ny.

393. dede sede, did seed, sprang, was bom. According to NED the
only recorded instance of the use.

394. or^y presumably organa or organis, zi. 675.

396. The paragraph has been placed here in error.

397. assuffysed, for a suffysed, have sufficed.
399. Injf>pire, sic for In propire (proper).

redy, this repeats the rime of 386.

401. z/*, i.e. versus, versicle; added by the rubricator.

414. The speaker's name, Maria, has been omitted, and consequently
the versus-mark likewise.
deme, sic for de me.

416. mes, sic for meo. 4 1 8. sinu, sic for sinum.

420. ny, sic for my.

425. severe. Severe gives neither rime nor sense. The form seuere,
sure, occurs twice for the verb, 145, 560, but the adj. seems to be written
sure, 385. The emendation secure would give sufficiently good sense.

dfid. yo^. I.e. your.

427. There should be a small paragraph to this line and a large one
to 429.

431. defende, a repeated rime for which the fact that in 429 the word
is imper. while here it is infin. is hardly an excuse.

432. pi, cf. 297.

433. mP-rf, i.e. martyrum.

436. angts, sic, read angelorum.

437. lertm, i.e. Jerusalem. 438. sic g, sic.

439- gfi^t \,^.glone.

450. obeschauce, obeisance, cf. 1 15.

452. The speaker's name should follow 453, cf. 440-2.

459. celestly. The only instance of this word quoted in NED is from
the Betrothal play of the same N-town cycle {Ludus Cov. ed. Halliwell,
p. 103), where in Mary's praise of the Psalter occurs the line: *And
makyst hym desyre thyngys celestly *. In that passage the word appears
to be an adj. and I conjecture that it may be the same here, all celestly
meaning everything heavenly. Perhaps celestly was formed from celest,
celestial, under the influence oi heavenly,

460. dene. The / looks very much as though it had been altered to h,
but I suppose that the tail which gives it this appearance must be due
to an accidental slip of the pen.

462. pray^ a repeated rime.

471. ppto^ \.t.populo, Affa, i.e. Alleluia,

482. wyth owtej a separate line, intended to come after 484 and to rime
with 489.

483. aferdj for aferd.

488. ogyl, oggle, shudder. This is the only instance quoted in NED.
491. None of the repeated rimes in this stanza appear the least
defensible, but see Introd. p. 32.

496. Apparently a now has been erased at the end of this line and
of 498, without regard to the preceding quatrain.

497. hed, a repeated rime.

498. dodemvsydy probably, dotty and bemused. This is the only
instance quoted in NED.

504. bychyd, apparently a nonce formation from bitcht not recognized
by NED. > ^ ':.■

509. geyne. This is apparently an instance of the s^xh gain^ from ON
gegna, with the sense of encounter, oppose. NED only quotes one
doubtful example from the Chester plays, viii, 1. 157 : * There is none so
great that me dare gaine.'

glabereriSf probably a variant, not recognized by NED, of glaverers,
deceitful talkers.

510. tene^ grieve, intr. for refl.

512. hurle ivy thy hurl (myself) against.
516. bmge, sic, read bringe.

bygydy apparently a variant of bychyd^ cf. 504.
518. atony s, for at onys.

520. stents presumably an error for stene^ stone.

521. alwody for al wod^ altogether mad.

522. The speaker's name should follow 524.

523. fsrociy sic

524. percucient\ apparently iox percutientes,

528. yowthi i.e. youghty pought. One of the instances of y for th,
cf. 262.

533' Wyndand wod. This must mean raving mad, though no example
of the phrase seems to be recorded. Wyndand may possibly be from
winden in the sense of writhe.

534. routhy i.e. rought, pret. of reck, care, here apparently used for
the pres.

539. nouth, a repeated rime.

540. af, sic for ad.
pman^y ior per manus.

546. amaydgy sic for a mayde.
acusid. The phrase accuse of (a person) is uncommon. Unless the
line is corrupt the word must be used in the sense of bring an accusation,
make complaint, a rare sense, but not unknown. But it is tempting
to take ^with a mayde.

554. bere^ a repeated rime.

555. The speaker's name, Primus princeps, is omitted.

559. savacyorii a desperate attempt to improve the rime by using
a slightly different form of the word.

562. yi, thy, cf. 262.

568. peter, a very poor rime, for the accent is not on the termination,
but see Introd. p. 32.

576. atony s, for at onys.

578. The speaker's name should follow 579 if not 581.

579. insepulcrum, sic for in sepulcrum.
insensantes, incensing.

580. One would have expected a versus-mark here, and the paragraph
at 582.

582. syngCy I suppose this must be sign, i.e. the sign of the cross made
in blessing the body. The spelling is said to be Scotch (NED).

584. John's speech continued.

585. pleyn, I suppose, full, filled up.

lake, grave. This is a rather uncommon use, from L. lacus, pit,
cf. 181. The word is found in the same sense in the account of the Resur-
rection in the same N-town cycle {Ludus Cov, ed. Halliwell, p. 350) :
* whan he dede ryse out of his lake '.

587. belave, this must be an anomalous form (used for the sake of the
rime) of deleave or belive, remain.

592. gaue, a repeated rime.

593. The speaker's name should follow 594.

598. yow^, this can hardly be anything but a slip, read j^'*, your.

601. felthe, probably var. oi filth, for the sake of the rime.

602. This is rubricated, but there are no lines separating it from the text.
604. belthe. No such word is known. Possibly it is a downright

invention for the sake of the rime, probably with a suggestion of belch.
608. the, most likely an error for that we.

614. heme, comer, the rime though very doubtful is perhaps passable.

615. vsfettyn. Unless the iormfeityn can be imper. pi. iiomfet^ fetch

(see Introd. p. 17), we shall be forced to read either we fettyn (indie.) or
lat vs fettyn (inf.).

622, 628. gowe^ sic, iox go we,

625. inhyey for in kye, in haste.

635. the vnytej if this is really what the author wrote I fail to gather
his meaning. Perhaps we should read in vnyte,

638. The speaker's name should follow 639,

639. apfoSf i.e. apostolos,

649. resey this is quite anomalous as the pret. of rise^ probably an error
for rcise or rose,
651. ryth iSf riming with the adv. rythtis in 641.

656. mytktisy riming with myth is in 644.

657. The speaker's name should follow 658.

658. alay i.e. anima,

660. dowe, dove, the form is Scotch.

670. A boueny for Abouen,

674. frendy a repeated rime.

676. We should expect a versus-mark here, and the paragraph at 678.

ADDENDUM.

604. belthe. Dr. Bradley writes to point out that two examples of the
word belth occur in G. Douglas' /5^««^ (Works, ed. J. Small, 1874). Thus
vol. ii, bk. Ill, p. 145, 1. 5 : * that hellis belth ' is applied to Charybdis ; and
vol. iii, bk. vii, p. 104, 1. 5 : * That bismyng belch * (read belth) to Alecto.
He adds : * The sense would agree with the derivation of the word from
bale (OE bealo)^ though the formation is rather difficult. I owe these
references to Dr. Craigie.*

GLOSSARIAL INDEX

Where no meaning is given, the word will be found discussed in the Notes.

absent, 322.

acusid, 546.

affye, 121, trust.

alye, 122, kinship.

apocriphum, 6.

assedually, 213, assiduously.

assumpte, 13.

attayne, 34.

atteyn, 82, hit, attaint.

avyse, 93, advice.

be, 97.

begchis, 31.

belave, 587.

belthe, 604 (and Addendum).

berde, 145, 237, young man or woman.

betake, 301, entrusted.

betok, 248, entrusted.

blaberyng, 30, chattering.

ble, 420, colour, visage.

brether, 432, brothers.

bychyd, 504.

bygyd, 516.

care, 318, grieve,
celestly, 459.
clenche, ^^,
consorcyte, 137.
convenyens, 249, fitness,
convycte, 193, vanquished,
craggy d, 41.
curyng, 352.

dentis, 89, blows.

detent, 265, withheld.

diuercyte, 133, mischief, evil.

dodemvsyd, 498.

doth, 51, causes.

dowe, 660.

dyssend, 393, descended.

dyswary, 6, doubt.

dyueris, 351.

empere, 649, empire.

facyon, 564, face,
feble, 377, grow feeble,
felthe, 601.

fer as, 46.

fest, 654, make fast.

fettyn, 615.

fiftene, 8, fifteenth.

fise, 97.

flum, 20, river.

fon, 49, foes.

geyne, 509.
glabereris, 509.
gnaggyd, 51.
gomys, 51, gums,
gramly, 509, grievously,
greyn, 663, dye, stain,
gynnyng, 66, beginning.

halle, 307.

halt, 68.

hende, 189.

heme, 614.

hevyin, 321, grow heavy with grief.

houre, 49, our.

hurle, 512.

hye, 625.

inhabith, 16.
inioyeth, 137, rejoices,
in same, 32, together,
in serteyn, 208, for sure.

knad, 41.

lake, 181, 585.
langour, 595, languish,
lare, 310, teach,
lave, 44.
lere, 5, learn,
like, 461, befitting,
liketh, 3.

liste, 277, pleasure,
lovnesse, 113.

mad, 528, confounded,
make, 71, 308.

mavmentryes, 601, maumetries, idol-
atries,
mene, 346, mediator,
mene, 525, meney, company.

ment, 319.

mure, 142, demure ; $71, humble,
myrable, 231, wonderful,
mys, 346, evil, wrong,
myschefe, 71,

not, 481, know not.

ogyl, 488.

payed, 104, 368, pleased.

pere, 426, appear.

pes, 30.

pheso, 233, Ephesus.

pillid, 36.

pleyn, 81, full ; 585.

prest, 653, ready ; 44.

pretende, 132, hold out, present;

196.
pretendist, 263, proposest.
prysis, 44.
purpure, 55.

queme, 247, gratify,
quer, 400, quire (choir).

rappe, 532, rush,
rapt, 234, transported,
reddure, 53.
relefe, 70.
reply eth, 212.
reyn, 83, 661, reign,
routh, 534.
rythis, 197.

saluse, 237, salute,
savacyon, 559.
schamly, 278, shamefully,
schent, Sy, destroyed,
schouris, 513, showers of blows,
sede, 393.

seme, 249, beseem.

semyth, 457, beseems; 646, seems

good,
sengler, 217, singular,
sent, 314.
ser, 543, sere,
ses, 28.
seure, 145.

seustere, 97, seamstress,
severe, 425.
sithis, 201.

sittyng, 303, befitting,
skele, 238.

snarle, 513, snare, strangle,
spelle, 272, talk,
spoused, 17, 383.
statis, 33.
stent, 520.
sweme, 243, grieve,
synge, 582.
sythtis, 382.

teme, 245, theme.

tend, 551, attend.

tene, 510.

teynt, 510, attaint, convicted.

thore, 170, 268, there.

tryst, 281, trust.

went, 19.

wod, 521.

wolcom, 145.

won, 52.

word, 188, world.

wyndand, 533.

wys, 368, iwis, certainly.

wysse, 207, direct.

yate, 353, gate,
yn, 262.
yowth, 528.

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Full text of "The Assumption of the Virgin. A miracle play from the N-town cycle"

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