The myroure of Oure Ladye, containing a devotional treatise on divine service, with a translation of the offices used by the sisters of the Brigittine monastery of Sion, at Isleworth, during the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. Edited from the original black-letter text of 1530 A.D., by John Henry Blunt.

The fyrste prologue.

[leaf A ij] ¶ Here Begynneth the Prologue of thys presente boke folowynge which is called oure Ladyes myroure.

Viderunt eam Filie syon, et beatissiman predica∣uerunt. [Cantice .vj] These wordes are writen in holy scrypture & are thus to say in englyshe, The doughtres of Syon [The daughters of Syon are to praise our Lady.] haue sene hyr (that is to say oure lady) and they haue shewed hyr mooste blessyd. In whiche wordes the holy goste sayth thre thinges that longe to the prays∣ynge of oure mooste blessed Lady. ¶ Fyrste who they be that prayse hyr, whan he sayeth, the doughters of Syon. ¶ The seconde what they doo or they begynne to prayse hyr, whan he sayeth that they haue sene hyr. ¶ The thyrde, the maner of hyr praysynge, whan he sayeth, & they haue shewed hyr mooste blessed, ther∣fore he sayeth. The doughtres of Syon haue sene hyr; and they haue shewed hyr moste blessed. ¶ Fyrste the holy goste tellyth who they be that prayse oure Lady, for he callyth them doughtres of Syon. But though all chrysten soulles that treuly lyue in chrysten fayth, may be called doughtres of Syon, that is to say of holy chyrche: yet more properly ye ar called [The nuns of Syon monastery are especially daughters of the spiritual Syon.] doughters of Syon. For not onely ye ar doughtres of holy chyrche by chrysten byleue as other chrysten people ys: But also ye are doughtres of this holy relygion, which as a mother noryssheth youre soulles in grace in this Monastery that ys named Syon. And

therfore as ye are doughtres of this bodely Syon, so ought ye to be doughtres of Syon [leaf A .ij] gostly. For Syon ys as moche to say as a commaundement or byholdinge. And ye ought to be doughtres of commaundement by meke [By obedience to God, their Rule, and their Sovereign;] & redy obedyence to the byddynges of god, and of youre reule, and of youre soueraynes, ye ought also to be doughtres of byholdynge by contemplacyon & specyally in byholdyne of youre owne wretchednes, and of youre vnkyndenes agenste god, and of the charite and goodnes that he dothe to you. ye oughte to beholde also the shortnes and vnstablenes of thys lyfe, the hastynes of dethe, the ferefulnes of dome, the bytter∣nes [by contemplation, love, and fear.] of paynes, and the swyete and ioyfull rewardes of blysse. And if ye be thus good doughtres of Syon by meke obedyence and by trew beholdynge of these thynges: then ar ye well dysposed the more worthyly to prayse oure moste gloryous lady. ¶ The seconde thynge that the holy goste tellyth in these wordes (ys) what ye ought to doo or ye begynne to prayse oure lady. And that ys that ye oughte to se her. [Seeing our Lady by inward under∣standing.] For ye wote well that no man ne may well shewe the worthynes or the propertyes of any thynge to the praysynge therof: but yf he haue fyrste som syght & knowlege of the same thynge by one meane or other. How shall ye then condewly shewe by outwarde praysyng the excellent hyghnes and worthynes of the moste blyssed heuenly quene, oure reuerente lady, as yt is full fayre expressed in al youre holy seruyce: but yf ye haue fyrste syght therof by inwarde vnderstandinge. ¶ But forasmoche as many of you, though ye can [The Mirror written to help this understand∣ing by translation of their Service into English.] synge and rede, yet ye can not se what the meanynge therof ys: therefore to the onely worshyp and praysyng of oure lorde Iesu chryste and of hys moste mercyfull mother oure lady [leaf A iij.] and to the gostly comforte and profyte of youre soules I haue drawen youre legende and all youre seruyce in to Englyshe, that ye shulde se by the

vnderstondyng therof, how worthy and holy praysynge of oure gloryous Lady is contente therin, & the more deuoutely and knowyngly synge yt & rede yt and say yt to her worshyp. ¶ And in many places where the [And, where necessary for simple souls, by exposition of its meaning.] nakyd letter is thoughe yt be set in englyshe, ys not easy for some symple soulles to vnderstonde; I ex∣pounde yt and declare yt more openly, other before the letter, or after or else fourthewyth togyther. ¶ And farthermore, that ye shulde haue the more sprytuall loue, & inwarde delyte and deuocyon, in thys holy seruyce I tell the causes & the meanynges of eche parte therof, that is to say, whan I come to the fyrste [The various parts of Divine Service are also ex∣plained.] Inuitatory; I tell what an Inuitatory ys to say, and why yt ys namyd so & set in suche a place. And so I do of Psalmes and Hympnes, and Antempnes, and re∣sponces and versicles, and all suche other. For I de∣clare why they ar callyd so, that ys to say, why an hympne ys callyd an hympne, and why an Antempne is callyd an Antempne and so fourth of other, and why they ar set & sayde in suche wyse, as ye may se more playnely in the story of the Sonday, eche thynge in hys place. ¶ Of psalmes I haue drawen but fewe, for ye [But few psalms are translated, for they may be found in Ham∣pole's version, and in English Bibles.] may haue them of Rycharde hampoules drawynge, and out of Englysshe bibles if ye haue lysence therto. ¶ Also when I drawe a thynge ones in to englysshe, I write it not agayne as often as I fynde it after in eche place, but onely in the fyrste place, as Gloria patri, is declaryd in the begynnyng of matyns on Sonday, and Maria mater, and Gloria tibi domine, in the ende [leaf A .iij.] of the fyrste Hympne the same daye. And then I speke no more therof in all your seruice after, as ofte as yt is sayde. And the same I doo of all suche other for the moste parte. ¶ ye shall also vnderstonde [The Mirror in three parts:] that thys boke ys deuyded in to thre partyes. For fyrste I haue compyled a lytell treatys of xxiiii. chapy∣tres, wherein ys shewed the condycion of diuine

seruyce, whan and where, and in what wyse yt ought [First, a treatise on Divine Service.] to be sayde & songe, & specyally of youre holy seruice how heuenly, and gracyously it was ordeyned and made. And this treatyce ys the fyrste parte of the boke. The seconde parte ys of youre seuen storyes, [Secondly, an ex∣position of the service for each day of the week. Thirdly, an ex∣position of the several masses.] accordynge to the seuen dayes of the wyeke. And the thyrde parte is of youre masses. ¶ And for as muche as ye may se in this boke as in a myrroure, the prays∣ynges and worthines of oure moste excellente lady therfore I name it. Oure ladyes myroure. Not that oure lady shulde se herselfe therin, but that ye shulde [Why called "Our Lady's Mirror."] se her therin as in a myroure, and so be styred the more deuoutly to prayse her, & to knowe where ye fayle in her praysinges, and to amende: tyll ye may come there ye may se her face to face wythouten eny myrroure. ¶ And therfore now moste dere and de∣uoute systres, ye that ar the spouses of oure lorde Iesu chryste, and the specyall chosen maydens & doughtres of his moste reuerende mother, lyfte up the eyen of [An exhortation to the sisters to promote their devotion by its study.] youre soulles towarde youre souerayne lady, and often & bysely loke and study in this her myrroure. and not lyghtely but contynually, not hastynge to rede moche atones, but labouryng to knowe what you rede that ye may se and vnderstonde her holy seruice and how ye may serue her therwyth to her most plesaunce [leaf A. 4] that lyke as it goyth dayly throughe your mouthes so let yt synke & sauoure contynually in youre hartes. ¶ And where aboutes may youre hartes be better occupyed: where may ye haue more holy and heuenly medyta∣cyons; And where may you haue deper or swetter [Meditating on Sunday on the glory of the Blessed Trinity.] contemplacion; then to beholde in the story of the Sonday, the glory of the blessyd endeles Trinite in one∣hed of substaunce and of Godhede. And to se hym, how he Ioyed euer from wythout begynnynge of the gloryous vyrgyn Mary, hauynge her endelesly as pre∣sente in the syghte of hys Godly forknowynge. ¶ And

on mondaye to beholde and se wyth youre gostly eyen [On Monday, on the Holy Angels, and their fore∣knowledge of the Incarnation by our Lady.] the felycyte and blysse of vnnumerable multitude of Aungels, and how they all anone as they were made Ioyed of oure gloryous lady that was then vnmade; and loued her more then themselfe. ¶ On twesday, [On Tuesday, on the Creation and Fall of Man; and on his foreknow∣ledge of the In∣carnation by our Lady.] ye may se how Adam after he was so worthyly made, fel so wretchydly in to synne, and what sorow he had therfore And how he and all Patriarkes and Prophetes had forknowynge of oure Lady, and thereby were com∣forted in all theyre trybulacyons. ¶ On wednesday [On Wednesday, how our Lady was born to be the pure instru∣ment of the Incarnation.] ye may se, how thys glorious Lady so moche loued, and so longe desyred; began to come fourthe in to thys worlde by so meruelous clene concepcion and holy byrthe, and what charyte God had in heuen to mannes helthe, and what charyte that same Lady had in erthe, after her byrthe. ¶ On thurseday ye may Ioyfully se, [On Thursday, on Mary's holiness in the Incarna∣tion.] how excellente she was in vertues, how holy in con∣uersacyon, how full of fayrenes in soulle and in body, and the maruaylous incarnacyon of oure lorde Iesu chryste in her. ¶ On fryday ye maye se her greate [On Friday, on Mary's sorrows in the Incar∣nation.] and vnspecable sorowes that she had before her sonnes incarnacyon and after hys byrthe, and specyally in tyme of hys moste bytter passyon. ¶ On Saterday ye [On Saturday, on Mary's life after the Passion, and on her Assump∣tion to heaven] may se the holy lyfe of oure Lady, namely from tyme of her sonnes passyon, vnto her assumpcyon, and how she was taken vp in to heuen bothe Soulle and body. and sette moste nyghe the blessed Trinyte above all creatures. And so the Ioye that the same blessed Trinyte had of the same glorious Lady, endelesly or she was made as ye rede on Sonday: was fulfylled in her effectually in dede, in her assumpcyon, as ye rede on Saterday. ¶ And thus from Sonday tyll Saterday, dayly, wekely, and yerely; ye ar occupyed with youre tongues in oure Ladyes seruyce, wherfore ye ought to take hede, that youre myndes be as besy and contynually occupyed aboute the same thinges by inwarde vnder∣stondynge

and deuocyon. And for that cause; loke often & ryght often in thys oure Ladyes myrroure; that yt maye sothefastely be veryfyed of you, that the doughtres of Syon hathe sene her. ¶ The thyrde [The manner in which the Service should be used.] thynge that the holy gooste shewyth in the sayde wordes, Is the maner how ye shall prayse oure mooste reuerende and gloryous Lady, and that ys, openly, mekely, and deuoutly. For, openly ye oughte to prayse her and dystynctely, that other folke may vnderstonde youre praysyng to theyr edyfycacyon, & therfore he sayeth [leaf A 5] they haue shewyd. For a thyng that is shewyd, is made open to other folkes knowlege, ye ought also to [Openly, meekly, and devoutly.] prayse her mekely, so that in the open shewynge of her praysynge ye seke her worshyp, & not youre owne. And therfore he saythe. They haue shewyd her. And not hymselfe. Deuoutly also ye ought to prayse her, beholdinge in youre mynde in tyme of youre praysynge, by inwarde loue and deuocyon: how glorious, how excellente, and how blyssyd she ys aboue all creatures whome ye prayse. And therefore he saythe, They haue shewyd her mooste blessyd. ¶ And in all this, ye ought euer to thanke & prayse, and to worshyp god. [And all to the praise and glory of God, our heavenly King.] For that he hathe made this most reuerende lady, so gracious, so glorious, & so good. And for he hath gyuen her so moche worshyp & excellence & power aboue all hys creatures, & for he hath called you so specyally to her seruice, & for he hath gyuen you so open knowlege of her moste hyghe & excellent worthy∣nes, For these greate benyfytes, & for all other, ye oughte euer & contyneually to ioye in your god & to prayse youre heuenly kynge, namely with hys holy dyuyne seruyce, as the Prophete in the psalter exhorteth you & saythe. Filie Syon exultent in rege suo, laudent [Psal. cxlix.] nomen eius in choro. That is to saye the doughtres of Syon muste ioye in theyre king, & they must prayse his name in the quier. ¶ And when ye ar thus occupied

in these godly praysinges & in other tymes also, namely when ye ar moste nygh to your kynge & to youre quiene, I praye you hertly & lowly, & not only you that ar [Finally, the author begs the prayers of his readers.] now, but all that shall com after you, & loke in this myrroure: that lyke as trew charyte to your soulles helth, & comfort, forsothe hathe styred me to thys laboure, and none other erthly thynge: so ye vouche∣safe of youre tender charyte hartely to praye for oure right poure & full wretched soulle, that oure mercyful lorde Iesu chryste clense yt and cure yt with the medy∣cyne of hys mercy, and graunte yt euer to Ioye and to delyte in loue of hym, and of hys mooste worthy mother, and in nothynge else. And the same Lorde by meane of the same gloryous vyrgyn hys mother: may graunte you all, the same that lyueth and rayneth wyth the father, and wyth the holy gooste endeles god. Amen.

¶ Here endyth the fyrste prologue and begynneth the seconde.

Yt is not lyght for euery man to drawe eny longe [Difficulty of translating from Latin into English.] thyng from latyn into oure Englyshe tongue. For there ys many wordes in Latyn that we haue no propre englyssh accordynge therto. And then suche wordes muste be turnyd as the sentence may beste be vnderstondyd. And therfore though I laboure to kepe bothe the wordes and the sentence in this boke as farre as oure language wyll well assente: yet some [Sometimes obliged to follow the sense rather than the exact words.] tyme I folowe the sentence and not the wordes as the mater asketh. There is also many wordes that haue dyverse vnderstondynges, & some tyme they ar taken in one wyse, some tyme in an other, and som tyme they may be taken in dyuerse wyse in one reson or clause. Dyuerse wordes also in dyuerse scryptures: [Latin words vary in sense.] ar set & vnderstonde some tyme other wyse then auctoures of gramer tell or speke of. Oure language is

also so dyuerse [leaf A 6] in yt selfe, that the commen maner of spekyng in Englysshe of some contre can skante be [The English language itself varies in different districts.] vnderstonded in some other contre of the same londe. ¶ And for these causes and suche other, yf any persones there be that holde them selfe connyng as some do, that whan they can onely a lytell gramer, or a lytel latyn [People who know a little etymology are often hyper∣critical.] and scarcely that wel; they ar more bolde to catche at a mannes saynge, or at hys wrytynge, then wolde many wyse clerkes that be. Therfore yf eny suche parsone happen to se this boke or eny other of oure drawyng and fynde eny thynge therin not drawen to hys entente, and therfore is redy to blame yt, and to say yt is wronge; I counsell you that in symplenes seke your soulles fode; and to take lytell hede at hys saynges. wyttynge well that the wyser that eny man ys; the [But the wiser a man the less will he blame other men's study; and the less well he knows the more he will find fault.] better wyll he be aduysed, or he blame an other mannes studdy. And the lesse good that he can: the more presumptuous wyll he be to fynde defaulte and to depraue, ye often tymes tho thynges that he vnder∣stondyth not. And therfore they that holde them selfe so wyse, may be contente wyth theyr owne wysdome for I began thys werke nothynge for them, but for the edyfycacyon of you that fele symplely in your owne wyttes, & loue to be enformyd. I am not wyser then was seint Hierome that in the drawying of holy scripture from other langage in to latyn, sayth [In prologo primo super Iob.] how he was compellyd at eche boke to answere to the bakbytinge of them that depraued hys laboure. ¶ But for that I knowe myne owne feoblenes, as well in connyng as in verteu; therefore I will neyther seke [The author has done his best, and submits himself and all his writings to the Church.] defaulte in other, ne maynteyne myne owne; but lowely I submyt me and all oure wrytynges, and other werkes to the correccyon of oure mother holy chyrche, & of the prelates and fathers therof, and of all that are wyser and can fele better. Besechynge you all way mooste dere and deuoute systres to praye that bothe [Asks the prayers of the sisters that his book may be overruled for good.]

thys, and all other dedes be euer rewlyd to oure lordes worshyp. Amen.

¶ Here endyth the seconde prologue.