The festyuall

¶De assumptione beate marie virginis.

GOod frendes suche a daye ye shall haue the assū∣pcyon of our lady. And it is called so for that da¦ye her sone toke her vp in to heuen body and sou¦le / and crowned her quene of heuen / for the aun∣gelles of heuen came to fetche her vp. Aungelles syngyng came with processyon agaynst her with roses and lylyes of paradyse. In token that she is rose lylye and flou∣re of all women / and they dyde homage to her. For all aun¦gelles and sayntes in heuen made Ioye and melody in wor¦shyp and honoure of her / and so holy chirche maketh myn∣de of her assumpcyon. And yet the gospell of that daye ma∣keth no mencyon but of two systers / that was Martha & Maudelayne and sayth thus (Intrauit Ihesus in quoddā castellum et mulier quedā &c) ¶Ihesus entred in to a cas∣tell and a woman that was called Martha toke hym in to her hous. And she had a syster that was called Mary / and she satte at crystes fete and herde hym speke. Thenne was Martha besy for to serue cryste / and she sayd to hym. Syr bydde my syster aryse and helpe me. Then answered cryst Maria meltorē patrē elegit q̄ nō auferet ab ea) Mary ha∣the chosen the better parte / y^t shall not be taken awaye fro her. These ben the wordes of the gospell of y^t daye / & here be no wordes of oure lady as by semynge. But he y^t redeth what saynt Ancelme sayth / there he may se y^t the gospel per¦teyneth all to our lady & to the lyuynge of her. For she was the castell y^t Ihesus entred in to / for ryght as a castel hathe dyuers propryetes that longeth vnto a castell / that it shol¦de be myghty and very stronge▪ ryghte so was oure blissed Lady before all other women that euer was. For there as all women be frayle and feble and easy to ouercome / oure lady was stronge as a castell / and agaynstode y^e cautelles

of the fendes engynes / and put them besyde at all tymes / for ryght as a castell hathe fyrst a depe dytche / ryght so had our lady a depe mekenes in strengthe of the castell / in soo moche she passed other in vertue of mekenesse. Wherfore god chose her to be moder to his sone before al other womē and therto cryst bereth wytnesse saynge thus. (Quia res∣pexit humilitatem ancille sue) for god behelde the mekenes of his handmayden / all generacyons shall blesse me. This dytche yf it be full of water / it is the more strenger to the castel / this water is compassyon that a man sholde haue of his synnes and for other peoples dysease / This water had our lady. Vpon this dytche lyeth a drawe brydge that shal be drawen vp agaynst the enemyes. And lette downe aga¦ynst frendes / by this brydge is vnderstonden obedyence / For ryght as a man shall not lete downe the brydge too his enemye thoughe he byd hym / In lyke wyse a man sholde not lete the fende come to his soule though he tempte hym But a none as he is boden ony thynge that is helpe & sou∣coure vnto his soule than shall he lete downe the brydge of obedyence / and the soner the better. This dyde oure lady whan the aūgell gabryell tolde her of her concepcyon of her sone she lete not downe the brydge a none rylle she knewe wheder he was a frende or an enemye and sayd she sholde contryue and be a mayde / & kepe the vowe of chastyte that she had made to fore. And as she herde that she lete downe the brydge of obedyence and sayd (Ecce ancylla domini) Lo here goddes owne honde mayde be it done to me after thy worde. This castell is treble or thryes double walled. The fyrst wall betokeneth wedlocke for fyrste she was wy¦fe vnto Ioseph / or elles the Iewes wolde haue stoned her as for a lechoure and yf that she hadde contynued without wedlocke / and so the ferther wall betokeneth pacyence and the ynner vyrginyte the whiche is clene maydēhode. But

that is lytell worthe but it be strengthed with the wall of pa¦cyence / and lytell helpe is for maydenheed / it is lytel worth that can nothynge suffre of persecucyon nor dysease / but all way playnynge and grudgynge / & to be a claterer / a Iange¦ler / a curser / a waryer / and a scolde of her tonge / these defen∣de not maydenhede / but rather cast it downe / for mayden∣hode sholde be of fewe wordes / & that she speketh sholde be honoure and worshyp bothe to her persone and to all them that be in her presēce. For it is an olde englysshe. A mayden sholde be seen and not herde. This vertue had our lady. For saynt Bernarde sayth / rede al y^e gospel ouer & y^u shalt not fȳ¦de y^t our lady spake in her lyfe ony more than foure tymes. The fyrst to Gabryell. The seconde to Elyzabeth. The thyr¦de to her owne sone in the temple. The fourthe at the wed∣dynge in the cane of Galyle. Thus must the wall of pacyen∣ce defende the wall of maydenhode. This wall of mayden∣hede and yf it be well kept it is passynge all other. As Bede sayth / wedlocke is hye there as it is well kepte / but yet wy∣dowhede is hyer. But vyrgynyte passeth al and hath moost worshyp in heuen passynge all other. This walle kepte our lady / for she was clene by frewyll and by vowe / and she had a degre passynge al other maydens that euer was and euer shall be / for she was bothe mayde and moder. And in this castell is a gate that betokeneth fayth. For ryght as it is un¦possyble for a man to go through a wall of stele / ryght soo it is impossyble to a man to please god without faythe. This fayth had our lady passynge all other. For as it semeth Im¦possyble for a woman to conceyue without carnal concupys¦cence of man / for it was neuer seen before / but by techynge of an aungell she beleued. And soo came Cryste and entred by the gate of byleue in to y^e body of our lady. This gate had a toure aboue / whiche betokeneth charyte / for that is aboue all thynge / and that vertue had our lady. Well may she be

called a castell / for ryght as all maner of people fle in too a castell both olde and yonge for drede of enemyes. In so mo¦che that the leest chylde that can crye or speke that is a fer∣de of ony thynge / anone cryed / Lady / lady for socoure and helpe. For she is socoure and helpe both to yonge / and too olde / lesse and more in sykenesse and in helthe. The holy go¦ost is capytayne of this castell / and his knyghtes ben holy aungellys that goth with oure lady bothe nyght and daye / In this castell ben two maner of systers Martha and Ma∣ry Magdalene (Martha recepit illum in domum suam) Martha receyued hym into her hous / and was besy to ser∣ue hym / and the other sate styll and had grete lust too here hym speke. By these two systers I vnderstōde two maner of lyuynge of people / that one is actyue / and that other cō¦templatyue. Martha betokeneth actyue / that is besynesse in this worlde / but that sh•• ••e be for Crystes sake / that is to take poore people in to his hous / and then to gyue them mete and drynke / clothes herborugh / visyte them that be in pryson comforte the seke / blynde and lame and to burye the dede. By that other I vnderstonde the contemplatyffe that is to the people of holy chirche that sholde voyde in all that they may this worldes besynesse / and gyue theym too all spyrytuell occupacyon. And thoughe they do thus / yet there be couetyse people of the worlde that saye that it is all lost that men of holy chyrche haue / for it semeth to theym that they do noo good. Saynte Austyn sayeth that all the worlde is holy chirche / but yet god answered for them and is theyr aduocate and so he wyll at all tymes whyle they ly∣ue in rest and inpeas with in theym selfe. But nowe se how oure blyssed Lady moder of oure sauyoure Ihesu Cryst sa¦tysfyeth both these lyues / she was fyrste named Martha / For there as Martha was besy to receyue oure sauyoure Ihesu cryst in her hous / oure lady receyued hȳ into her bo¦dy

and there he was .ix. monethes / and she fedde hym and after came poore and naked into this worlde / and she ga∣ue hym mete and drynke of her pappes and soo fedde hym And whan he was naked / she clothed him and nourysshed hym / and whan he was syke by kynde of his youth / she he¦led hym and whan he was bounde honde and foot / in his cradell as in pryson / she came to hym and vnboūde hym & toke hȳ and healed his sores with the mylke of her pappes and whā he was dede she holpe to burye hym in his tombe and thus she fulfylled the offyce of Martha perfourmyng the .vii. werkes of mercy & yet she was many tymes trou∣bled in her herte / whan she must bere hym froo countre to coūtre that was ful of mawmettes and there as she knewe no man. And whan that she sawe hym taken and stryped naked / beten with scorges that all his body ranne w^t stre∣mes of blode nayled on the c••••••••e / and so done to deth that was to her grete trouble. Thus was oure lady actyue / for as the gospel telleth / she gaue soo grete delyte to her sones wordes that she bare in her herte / all the lyfe and techynge of cryst. In somoche that she taught the foure Euangelys¦tes. Marke / Mathewe / Luke / and Iohan moche of that they wrote. And namely saynt Luke. For he wrote moche of the manhode of cryst and so fulfylled the offyce of Mary For it was for the best / whan her sone styed vp into heuen she lefte all her besynesse / and gaue her to contemplacyon tyll her sone fette her out of this worlde. Thus euery man that can vnderstonde may se that this gospell is conueny∣ent to be redde for it toucheth the lyfe of our lady. Thenne for this day is thende of her lyfe in this worlde. Therfore ho¦ly chyrche redeth this gospell in example to all crysten peo∣ple to perfourme the same lyuinge in as moche as they may & as god wyll gyue theym grace to serue our lady. I shall shewe you an ensample

¶Narracio.

¶We fynde of a clerke that loued our lady wel for he redde of her beaute he had grete lust to se her / & prayed besyly that he myght ones se her or he deyed. Thenne at y^e last came the¦re an aungell & sayd to hym / for thou seruest our lady so wel thou shalt haue thy prayer. But one thynge I tell the / yf y^u se her in this worlde thou shalte lese thy syght for the grete clerenes of her. Thenne sayd he I wyll well soo y^t I may se her. Thenne sayd the aungel / come to suche a place & y^u shal se her. Thenne he was gladde & thought that he wolde hyde his one eye & loke with that other. Soo whan he came to y^t place / he layde his hande ouer y^e one eye / & sawe her with y^t other eye. And so came our lady & he sawe her / & she went a way anone / & he was blynde on that eye & sawe with that o∣ther. Thenne the syght lyked hym so well that he wolde fay¦ne se her agayne and prayed nyght and day that he myght se her agayne. Thenne sayd the aungell yf thou se her agay¦ne thou shalte lese the syght of that other eye. And he sayd I wyll well though I had a thousande eyen. Then come to suche a place and thou shalte se her. And so whan he ca∣me he sawe her. Thenne sayd our lady / my good seruaunt whan thou sawe me fyrst y^u lost one of thyn eyen / how wylt thou do now whan y^u hast loste that other eye. Thenne sayd he / dere lady I wyll well though I had a thousande eyen. Thenne sayd our lady / for thou hast so grete lykynge to me y^u shalt haue thy syght with bothe thyn eyen agayne as well as euer y^u haddest before and better / & so he had. Then̄e ser∣ued he our lady euer after to his lyues ende / and wente to euerlastyng blysse. To the whiche almyghty god brynge vs all. Amen.