The helpe and grace of almighty god ...

¶De sancta Anna.

gOode frendes suche a daye ye shall haue saint Annes daye that was oure ladies modre that daye ye shall cōme to god and holy church and pray to this holy woman to praye for vs ¶we rede of v. holy wymen that hight Anna I wyll tel you of the se v. wymen The first Anna was mo¦dre to the prophete Samuell that go¦uerned the people of israell Anna had a husbonde that hight El••ana. and he hadde no children by Anna longe butt by grete praier to god at the last he had a sone that was called Samuell Thenne was there a nother anna that was wyfe to a man called raguell. & they hadde a doughter that hight Sare the whiche hadde seuyn husbondes. & e¦uyr the firste nyght the fende strangled theym when they wolde haue comuned with her only for luste of flesshe & nat to bringe forth frute to goddes plesaū∣ce and for no children But sone after come yonge tobye. and by techynge of the aungell Toby wedded this Sare

and thre nyghtes and thre daies he for∣bare his wyf and was in his prayers. and soo after he hadde children The iii anna was the elder tobyes wyf. This elder tobye was an old man and dyd the werkes of mercy full besily & to preue his mekenesse and suffraunce. god made him blynde For on a day as he buryed many dede bodies that were slayne he was wery and lay downe in his hous by the walles and as he loked vp the dunge of the swalous fel in his eyn and soo he was blynde But for he toke it paciently and thanked god. of his visitacion god restored him his sy¦ght agayn The iiii. anna was in the tē¦ple of Ierusalem whan ioseph and ou¦re lady bare criste to the temple on can¦delmasse daye For she prophecied of cri¦ste ••owe it sholde fall of hym This ā¦na was so holy that whan she had ben wedded vii. yere her husbonde dyed & thenne went she into the temple & was there nyght and daye tyl she was lxxx yere olde thenne hadde she grace of god to see him bodily or she deyed and had him in her armes The v. anna is oure ladies modre So whan oure lady was of age and broughte into the temple. & lefte there with other virgynes of her a¦ge to lerne moyses lawe & to serue god nyght and daye This anna had a hus¦bonde that was called Ioachim our la¦dies fader and was cōme of the kinred of dauyd For the prophetes had tolde. longe to fore howe the kynred of Da∣uyd sholde discende downe to crist and hadde wreten it in bokes that wer kept in the tresory in the temple Then kyng herode of Ierusalem thoughte to torne the lyf of god to him and to his ey•••••• and toke the bokes oute of the tresorye. and made to brene theym for the mynd of criste sholde be forgete & by this mea¦ne to haue torned the lynage of dauyd to him wherfore there be no bokes that tellit•• how Ioachim descendyd fro da¦uyd But whā herode had do this foul dede yet were ther some good wyse mē that hadde copies of thies bokes within them at home that tolde how Ioachim come of the kingdome of dauyd For dauyd hadde many children and oone of theym was called natan. of the whi¦che come Leuy. and ther was a nother called panther and of him come barbā that was Ioachymes fader y^t maried oure ladies modre.

Pater eius Ioachim mater ve¦ro anna ••ocati.

This Ioachym that was oure ladyes. fadre and her moder anna whan they. hadde this childe she was gyue after in mariage to Ioseph Then dyed Ioachī and anna toke a nother husbonde that was called Cleophas she had by him a nother doughter that was called ma¦ry cleophe and thenne he dyed and she tooke a nother husbonde that hight sa∣lome and by him she hadde a nother do¦ghter that was called mary salome And whanne she hadde these iii. dough¦ters in worshyp of the trynite. Thenne wolde she no moo husbondes but lyue in chastite and holynesse. Thenne was this mary cleophe wedded to a man y^t was called alpheus and hadde iiii. so∣nes Iames the lesse Ioseph y^t was bar¦sabas symon and Iuda. The thridde mary was wedded to a man that was called zebedeus and she hadde by him

two sones Iames the more and Iohn. euangeliste Thenne as god sayth that of a gode tre cōmyth good frute. so of this good womā come an holy ofsprīg Soo lete vs serue this holy woman: that she maye praye for vs nowe. and euyr Amen.