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.

¶ What profyt ys in the songe of dyuyne seruyce more then in the songe wythoute note.

Capitulo xii.

And no meruayle, though the fende be besy to lett [The manifold advantages of singing Divine Service.] folke from the songe of this holy seruyce, for in deuoute syngynge and herynge therof, is manyfolde profyt to mannes soulle. ¶ Fyrste for yt sturryth a mannes soulle somtyme to contrycyon, & compunccyon of hys [.j. It stirs the soul to contrition for sin.] synnes. For the holy doctoure saynt Isodore sayth thus. Though the swetnesse of the voyce or songe [Libro tercio de summo bono capitulo .vij.] ought not to delyte, ne sturre a cristen mannes harte, but the wordes of god that ar songe yet I wote not in what wyse more compunccyon aryseth in the harte, then by the voyce of syngynge. For there ar many he saith that by swetenes of the songe, ar styrred to wayle and to wepe theyr synnes. And the sweter that the songe is the more they folow out in wepyng teares. ¶ The seconde, yt meltyth the harte in to more deuocyon, & therfore sayth saynt Augustyne to god himselfe in his [Libro nono capitulo .vj.] confessyons. A lorde he sayth how I was styrred to [.ij. It melts the heart to devotion, as St Augustine so well says of his own case.] Ioye, and I wepte in hymnes and songes of thy chyrche that sowned swetely. Tho voyces flowed in to myne eres, and trouth was molte in to myne harte, and therby the affeccyon of pytye and of [Folio .xiij.] loue was made hotte in

me, and teares ranne out of myne eyen, and I was full well wyth them. ¶ The thyrde yt causeth some tyme deuoute soulles to be rauyshed and to receyue spyrituall [.iij. It ravishes devout souls, and sometimes fits them to re∣ceive special gifts, as did St Maude.] gyftes of god as ye rede in saynt Mawdes boke, how she had many of her reuelacyons in tyme of goddes seruice. And therfore on a tyme, whan Helysee the prophet had not redy the spyrite of prophesy, he had gette hym a [Quarto regum tercio.] synger of psalmes in the harpe or in the sawtery. And [So Elisha sent for a minstrel to make him ready for the spirit of prophecy.] whyle he songe the spyrite of god came upon the prophet, and then he tolde by the spyryte of prophesy to them that came unto hym what they shulde do. ¶ The forthe profyt of holy chyrche songe ys, that yt dothe [.iiij. It makes the heart joyous and sweet,] away vndyscrete heuynes. And therfore sayth the apostell saynt Iames. If eny of you, he sayth be heuy; syng he and pray he wyth an euen harte, for as the glose saythe there. The swetnes of syngynge and [Jacobi .v.] of psalmody; puttyth a way noyous heuynes. And Isodore saith that deuoute syngyng in holy chyrche [Ubi supra.] conforteth heuy hartes, and makyth soulles more gracyous, yt refresshet them that ar wery and tedy∣ous, yt quyckeneth them that are dulle, and yt sturryth synners to wayle theyr synnes. For though the hartes he sayth of flesshely people be harde; yet [refreshing and softening it with love.] when the swetnes of that songe soundyth in them, theyr soulles ar sturred to the affeccyons of pyte. ¶ The fyfte is that yt chasyth and dryueth away the fende, and that was fygured in Dauid, when the fende [.v. It drives away evil spirits.] vexed kynge Saul and Dauid smote on hys harpe and [Primo. re. xvj.] the fende fledde away. And moche rather he flyeth where the psalmes of Dauyd and other diuyne seruyce is deuoutly songe. ¶ The syxte profyt is, that yt con∣foundeth and ouercometh the enmyes of holy chyrche, [.vj. It overcomes the bodily and spiritual foes of God's Church.] & of goddes seruantes as well bodely as gostly. And thys is shewed in holy scrypture by kynge Iosaphat, [Secundo parali .xx.] that was kynge of Ierusalem. For when hys enemys came agenste hym in so greate power that he wyste well

he myght not by mannes power withstonde them; he ordeyned syngers of goddes seruice to prayse god, & to go afore hys hoste syngynge. And whan they began to prayse god; god tornyd tho enemys eche of them agenste other, & eche of them slew other, so that none of them all escaped alyue. A maruelous werkyng of goddes seruyce. ¶ So we rede of kynge Roberte of [In cronica Antonini titu. .xvj. Capitulo primo. § .xviij.] fraunce that was a connyng man, & so deuout towarde goddes seruice, that he wolde be in eche feaste in some monastery for dyuine seruyce. And not only he wolde [How King Robert of France sang in the quire,] synge with the monkes; but also he wolde do on a cope, & stande and synge as a chantoure in myddes of the quier, wherof it hapned on a tyme whan he beseged a castel that was rebel agenst hym, & the feaste of saynt Anyan fell to be the same tyme at Orleaunce; he left his hoste at sege, & went thyder [and leaving his' army in front of a castle went to sing mass at Orleans,] and toke a cope and songe in the myddes of the quier as he was wonte to do. And when he came to Agnus dei, & had begonne yt thryes with an hygh voyce, knelyng doune at yche tyme on his knees; the walles [when the walls of the besieged castle fell down as the king sang Agnus Dei.] of the castell that was beseged fell downe sodenly to the grounde, & so the castel was dystroyed, & his enmys ouercomen. ¶ And thus ye may se that there is no better armure of defence agenst all enmyes: then deuout syngyng of our lordes seruice, wherfore Dauid the prophete sayd thus [Folio .xiiij.] Laudans inuocabo dominum et ab inimicis meis saluus ero. That is I shall calle upon [Psal. xvj.] oure Lorde in praysynge; and so I shall be safe from all myne enemys. For yt hathe not bene sene, that euer eny place myscheued where goddes seruyce was deuoutly kepte. ¶ The seuenthe profyt of holy chyrche songe is that yt pleasyth so moche god, that he desyreth and [.vij. It pleases God to hear Church song.] ioyeth to here yt. And therfore he sayth to hys spouse holy chyrche. Sonet vox tua in auribus meis. that ys, [Canti. se∣cundo.] Thy voyce may sounde in myne eres. Glad then ought ye to be to sing that songe that god himselfe desyreth

to here. But so yt oughte to be songe, that it sounde wel in to his eres for else yt auayleth but lytell. For he taketh more hede of the harte, then of the voyce. [He takes heed to the heart more than the voice, though for both to accord is best.] But when bothe accorde in hym, then is yt beste. And yf ether shulde fayle, yt is better to lacke the voyce then the harte from hym. ¶ Therfore they that [But if any cannot sing with the voice then the devotion of their heart is acceptable to Him.] wolde prayse god wyth voyce of syngynge, & can not or may not; our lorde wyl holde them excused, so they saye deuoutly suche seruyce as they can, & kepe theyr hartes clene in mekenes and in odebyence. For as owre Lady saythe to saynt Byrgit. A clene harte & a meke plesyth god in scylence as well as in syngyng. [Libro tercio capitulo primo.] And therfore as we se that all members of one body haue not all one workyng, for the eyne se, the eres here, the tonge spekyth, the handes warke, and so eche dothe that longeth to hym, and helpyth other. Ryght [And all of us should serve God with the gifts that are given us.] so oughte eche of vs to helpe and to bere other, and to do as we can & may in the callyng that god hath callyd vs, and to serue oure god with the gyftes that he hath gyuen vs, that in all thynges he be worshyped in vs all.