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Below, as a sample of this translation and its manuscripts, I give a transcription and collation of a single chapter from The Mirror of Holy Church of Westminster 3. I use the excerpt from Huntington HM 502, ff. 73r-74r, as a base and provide full collations of the other whole texts—Westminster (W), Bodley 416 (B), Additional 10053 (A). For the corresponding passage in published versions, see Yorkshire Writers, I:237, 257; for the Latin source, see Helen P. Forshaw, Edmund of Abingdon Speculum Religiosorum and Speculum Ecclesie (1973), pp. 95, 97.

Byforen euensong þou shalt þenke on þe sene and on þe passioun: on þe passioun hou Ioseph purchaside þe bodi of oure lord of Pounce Pilate and hou þei comen | to þe crosse to breke þe þies of þe two þeues and hou on of þe kny3tes wiþ a spere persid Iesu Cristes side and anon ran out water

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and blod and hou Ioseph tok hym doun of þe crosse and buryed hym, for no body shulde dwelle vnburyed on so solempne a day as was amorowe. On þe cene þou shalt þenke þat on suche a tyme oure lord 3af his fleish and his blod to his discyplis in þe liknesse of breed and wyne, as we mowe see. Þe whuche verrey fleisch and blod we mow not see verreyly as it is as wiþ oure bodily ey3en. Þe þridde þing is gostly grace þat we han when we receyuen it in þe liknesse of breed and wyn and sen it, and neuerþeles it is no so, bote verreiliche Cristus bodi, 3ef we bileuen it stedefastly, þou3 we mowe not seen it. And for we shulde not haue drede to ete þe fleish of man and drynken his blod, þerfore he 3af vs his bodi in liknes of breed and wyn forto counforten oure bodily wittes. And þerfore when þou ney3est to þe auter forto be hoseled, þou resceyuest þer þe sacrement as þou3 þou resseyue|dist it of his owne hond.

Variants

1-2 on þe passioun] om. AW. 2 þe bodi of oure lord] our swete lordis body WAB. 3 to breke] and braken W; and to breke B. 7 þat on] hou at WB. 8 liknesse] forme B (also 11, 14). 9 as2] om. B. 10 han when we] marg. corr. H. 11 wyn-13 it and] as 'to' hys dyscyplys here shalt ye vnderstond þat in þe sacrement of þe auter been þree þynges þat is to say lyknesse of brede and of wyne þe wyche we may see and þe verrey body and verrey blood of iesu cryst þe wyche we may nat see with bodely eye and þe þredde þyng is hope of grace þat we receue whan we receyuen þylke flesch and blood we se þe lyknesse of brede and wyn and yet nat þe substance of brede and wyn is seyn A. 11 and sen it] as we seen B. 12 no so bote] om. B. ʒef] and þat WB. 13 not2] om. WB. haue drede] be vgly A. 13-14 of . . . blod] for eny etyng and drynkyng of mannes blod A. 15 wittes] wit B; adds by such etyng þat we be in vse to haue and forto edifie oure faith by as moche as we see o þyng and beleue anoþer A. neyʒest] come A. 16 hoseled] commynd as verraly A; adds þere W. 17 it] int. later H. owne] om. WB. hond] syde A.

The A material in lines 11-13 (as elsewhere) is basically correct: all mss. eyeskipped on the phrase 8 breed and wyn and attempted to restore the sense by smoothing paraphrase. But when A stopped copying at that same phrase in line 11, he apparently returned to his exemplar in the wrong place, at the use of the phrase in line 8, and repeated some material—part earlier omitted, part already presented in paraphrase. The shock of 10 Þe þridde þing is removed by A's rendition, which, unlike the other mss., provides all members of the distinction.