This boke is compyled by Dan Iohn Lydgate monke of Burye, at the excitacion [and] styrynge of the noble and victorious prynce, Kynge Henry the fyfthe, i[n] the honoure glorie [and] reuerence of the byrthe of our moste blessed Lady, mayde, wyfe, [and] mother of our lorde Iesu Christe, chapitred as foloweth by this table

¶ How our lady prayed to god for seuen peticions. Ca. v. (Book 6-8)

O Blisfull lorde / that knowest the entente Of euery herte / in thyne eternal sight yeue me grace / the first cōmaundement To fulfyll / as it is skylle and ryght And graunt al••o / with herte will and myght And all my soule / and all my knowynge The fyrst to loue / aboue all other thynge.

¶ And giue me myght / playnly to fulfyll The next biddinge / like to thy plesaunce And for to loue / with herte and all my wyll My neyghbour in dede and countenaunce Right as my selfe / with euery circumstaunce And here with all / for ioye and smerte What thou louest / to loue with all myne herte▪

¶ Thy precepte / graunt eke that I may Fulfyll also / bothe erly and late In suche maner / as moste is to thy paye Benygne lorde / and make me for to hate Mankyndes so / for he made fyrst debate In kynde of man / and made hym to trespace Agaynst the / and to liese his grace.

¶ And lorde graunt me / for thy mercy digne Aboue all thynge / for to haue mekenes And make me humble / sufferaunt & benygne With pacience / & inwarde myldenese Of all vertues / gyue me eke largenese To be acceptyd / the to queme and serue To fynde onely thy grace I may deserue.

¶ And also lord / with quakyng herte & drede Mekely I praye vnto thy deite Me for to graunte / of thy godlyhede The gracious houre / for to abyde and see In whiche the holy chosen mayden free In to this world / hereafter shall be bore Lyke as Prophetes hath wrytten here before.

¶ How that she shall / by thyne eleccion Be mayde and mother / to thy sone dere Nowe good lorde / here myne oryson To kepe myn eyen and my syght entyere That I may se / her holy halowyd chere Her sakerid beaute / & holy countynaunce If thou grace list / me so moche auaunce.

¶ And kepe myne eres / that they may also Here her speche / & her dally aunce And with my tong speke / that mayden vnto Paciently thorowe her sufferaunce Of wordly Ioye / this were suffysaunce And her to loue / like as I desyre Benygne lorde / so set myn herte afyre.

¶ And lord also / on me saue thou vouche Though I therto / haue no wordynesse That holy mayde / to handyll and touche Myn owne lady / and my maystresse And that I may / with humble buxumnesse Upon my fete / in al my best wyse Go vnto her / for to do seruyce.

¶ And to that floure of vyrgynyte Graunte also lorde / that I may haue space Mekely to bowe & knele vpon me knee Under supporte / onely of her grace And to honour the goodly yong face Other sone / as she dothe hym wrappe In clothes softe lyggyng in her lappe.

¶ And loue hym best playnly to my laste With all myn herte / & myn hole seruyce Withouten chaunge / while my lyfe may laste Right as thy selfe lorde caust best deuyse So that I may in faythfull humble wyse In all this worlde / nomore grace attayne Than loue hym best with all my myght & payne

¶ And to thy grace also lorde I praye To graunt me to fulfyll in dede Hooly the statutes / and mekely to obeye Within the temple / as I here hem rede For but thou helpe / I may no thynge spede As of my lyfe: & therfore vnto the All I cōmytte as thou list it be.

¶ The obseruaunces / & the preceptes all That to thy temple / o lorde ben partynent So let thy grace by mercy on me falle That I may do hem / with all myn hole entēts And euery byddyng and cōmaundement That thy mynystres assygnen vnto me Make me fulfille / with al humylite.

¶ And thy temple / & thy holy house Benygne lorde / kepe me from all damage And make thy people / to be vertuouse To thy pleasaunce of euery maner age Therfore to serue / with herte & hoole corage And where they erre / lorde on any syde Or thou do right / let mercy be her guyde.

¶ And thus this mayde / alway day by day In the temple makith her prayers To please god / what she can or may The chyef resorte / of all her desyres Tyll she attayne / to fourtene yeres With herte auowyd / bothe in thought & dede For to contynue in her maydenhede.

¶ Of whose entent god / wote ful vnware Wherin sūme of them / that in the temple abyde Of whiche a bisshope / callyd Abyathar Cast hym fully / for to sette a syde Her purpose playnly / an so for to prouyde That her auowe made of chastyte Shulde not holde / but vtterly that she.

¶ Shold be wedded sothely yf he myght Unto his sone / of hygh affection For that she / in euery wyghtes sight So passyng good of condicion And to fulfyll / his entencion Abyathar byhoteth golde and rente To the bisshoppes / to make her to assente.

¶ To this purpose / & to her they gone And what they may / they gan her excite And to afferme / to her euerichone With sugred tonges / of many wordes whyte That god aboue / doth hym more delyte In birthe of children / than in virgynite Or any suche / auowyd chastite.

¶ And more in children / is honoured in certayn And more in hem / hath he his pleasaunce Than in suche / as ben not but barayn Without fruyt / thorowe mysgouernaūce And holy wrytte / makith remembraunce That no man was sothely for to tell Without seed / blessed in Israell.

¶ To whom anone / with loke downe cast & chere Benygnely / & in full humble wyse This holy mayde / sayd as ye shull here Certes quod she / yfye will you auyse Whiche in your selfe / so prudent ben and wyse And well aduerte / in your discressioune That Abell somtyme had a dowble croune.

¶ One for his faithfull trewe sacrifise Offryng to god / of humble herte and free And another / as I shall deuyse For he his body / kept in chastite And Ely eke / as ye may rede and see For he in herte / was a mayden clene He was rauysshed / aboue the sterres seuene.

¶ Body and all / in a chare of fyre For he hym kepte / from all corrupcion Therfore in vayne / is playnly your desyre To speke with me / of this opynion For god wel knoweth / myn entencyon Howe I haue vowyd / as it to hym is couthe To be a mayde / fro my tender y outhe.

¶ And all my lyfe / so forth to perseuere For lyfe or deth / onely for his sake From whiche purpose / shall I not disseuere Thorowe his grace / whether I slepe or wake To kepe and holde / I haue vndertake My maydenhede / si••hen go full yore Agaynst whiche ne spekith to me nomore.

¶ And whan they sawe / her herte not mutable But euer stedfast / of one affeccion And euer eli••he / as one centre stable They haue made / a conuocacion Of all the kynredes / in conclusion The eyght day / for to come in fere By one assent / to ••r••••e of this matere.

¶ This is to say / that of olde vsage O•• custome kepe / for a memoriall That euery mayde / of fourtene yere of age Riche and poore / of the stocke ryall In the temple / no lenger dwell shall But be statute / shall be take and maryed By the lawe / and no lenger taryed▪

¶ And whan they were assembled al in one Isacar in opyn audyence Gan to pronounce / afore hem euerichone Ful prudently / the sūme of his sentence And said si••es / with your pacience So yt your eres offende not ne greue Declare I shal / my meynyng with your leue.

¶ If ye remembre sithen Salamon the kynge Of Israel ceptre bare and crowne In this temple / so ryal in byldyng Haue yong maydens by deuysion Of custome had / her conuersacion Bothe kynges doughters & prophytes ake As ye may fynde / yf ye lyst to seke.

¶ But to the age of fourtene yere Abyden here and no lenger of spake As ye wel knowe / withouten any were And than be remeuyd from her place And in her stede other dyd pace As custome was / & eche in her lynage Delyuerd was vnto mariage

¶ And as a lawe it hath be kept full trewe Unto this tyme / in hygh & lowe estate But now Marie / hath fonde an ordre newe To kepe her clene and inuyolate Agaynst whiche / there help••th no debate For of fre chose / and hertely volunte She hath to god / auowed chastyte.

¶ Wherfore me semeth / it were well sittyng To her purpose / by good discressyon Fyrst that we myght fully haue knowyng Of goddes wyll / in this opynion For thant were a more perfeccion Her clene entente / as semyth vnto me And eke the stronger of auctorite.

¶ Fyrst / that we myght knowe veryly To whose kepyng / she shall commytted be And they assenten / herto veraly Withouten more / of hygh or lowe degre And of accorde / & of one vnyte The prestes all begonnen to procede To cast lotte downe by eche kynrede.

¶ The whiche lotte / on Iuda fyll anone As I suppos / ethrogh goodes purueaunce And Isacar amonge hem euerichone Purposed hath a newe ordynaunce That euery wyght / of that allyaunce That wyfles were / withouten more delaye Shulde brynge a yerde / agaynst the next daye.

¶ And to the bisshop / hyest of echone Eueryche of hem dyd his yerde brynge Amonge whiche / Ioseph had brought one Though he were olde / & passed his likynge And he alone / made his offerynge To god aboue / and a sacrifyse In the olde lawe / suche as was the guyse.

¶ And god to hym / than dyd appere And with the ye••des / bad that he sholde gone And put them euerichone in fere Insancta sanctorum / liggyng one by one And in the morowe / to come agayne echone Eueriche his yerde / to receyue agayne And vpon whiche yerde / onely were seyne.

¶ A downe appere / and vp to heuen flee He shall haue / without more obstacle Marie in kepyng / so fayre vpon to see As it is right / for the hygh myracle And whan they come / to the tabernacle As ye haue herde / the besshop deuoutely Eueriche his yerde delyuerd by and by.

¶ But vtterly vpon none them of alle At thylke tyme / was theyre nothyng sayne For godes heste / was noughte ye ytall•• Other desyre / to put hem in certeyne Wherfore the bisshop / with newe fyre agayne Entred is in to the senturye And whyle that he a whyle there gantarye.

¶ Godes angell appered to hym newe Downe fro heuen / by myracle lent And tolde playnly / the heste of god was trewe But howe hymselfe / was somwhat necligent For to delyuer by cōmaundement Euery man his yerde / as he oughte And whan the bisshop aright hym bethoughte.

¶ He gan remembre / playnly in his mynde That of disdayne / and wylfull necligence The yerde of Ioseph was left behynde Wherby he knewe / that he had done offence And gan alone / to brynge hit in presence And toke h•••• Ioseph deuoutely in his honde Amonge hem all there they dyd stonde.

¶ All behynde disseueryd / from the pres With humble chere / in the lowest place And of this yerde / in maner recheles Full stylle of porte / with a dreedfull face And whan he did with his hande enbrace His yerde agayne full debonayre of lok•• For Innocence of humble drede he quoke.

¶ And sodenly through grace / about deuyne All openly in euery wyghtes sight Upon the yerde of Ioseph full benygne Was seen a dow••e / of fetheris lyly whight That towarde heuen toke the flight And with one voyce the people tho abrayde And vnto Ioseph / all attones sayde.

¶ Blessed arte hou / & blessed is thy chaunce Thy face blessed / & thyne aduenture And blessed is thyne humble attendaunce And thou are blessed so longe tendure For to possede / so feare a creature So good / so holy / nowe in thy passyng age So clene a mayde / to haue in mariage.

¶ And she alone / by preestes of the lawe A••signed was / vnto his gouernaunce But sely Ioseph / gan hym to withdrawe With humble chere / & shamefast countenaunce And said certes / there is none accordaunce Betwene her yougth / flor••sshyng in fayrnesse And me / whome age with vnluste doth oppresse.

¶ For she is fayre & fresshe / as rose in maye And well I wote / also a mayden clene And I am olde / with whyte lock••s graye Passed full fore / my tender yeres grene Wherfore I praye you / to condsydre and sene To accorde discordaunt / saith to me nomore Bitwene her beaute / & my lock••s hore.

¶ And whan the bysshop sawe the humble entent Of this Ioseph / and the Innocence And howe that he to take her nolde assent To hym he sayd / in opyn audience Ioseph he sayde / take hede to my sentence And be well ware / that thou the not excuse Agaynst the wyll of god / for to refuse.

¶ This holy mayde / assigned vnto the By open signe / whiche all the people saye Thorugh godes grace / & myghty volunte Agaynst whiche beware to dyssobeye And thynke howe he somtyme made to deye Ab••••on and Dathan / onely for the offence Done to hym / of inobedyence.

¶ Quod Ioseph / that wyll I not in nothyng To godes wyll ne biddyng contrayre But her accepte / in to my kepyng For whome god hath shewed signes fayre Whiche is so good benygne / and debonayre That I to her / wyll seruaunt be & guyde Tyll for her / god list bet to prouyde.

¶ And as the custome of the lawe hem bonde So made was the confirmacion Be heste of wedloke / betwene hem hande in hande And he her toke / to his possession With herte clene / and meke affeccion But whyle he went to Bethelem the cyte Marie abyde stylle in Galilee.