Hoccleve's Works. II :: :: University of Virginia Library

Hoccleve's Works. II

The minor poems in the Ashburnham Ms. Addit. 133. ... Edited by Sir Israel Gollancz

Hoccleve, Thomas (1370?-1450?)

[section]

I. Inuocacio ad patrem.

II.

II. Ad filium Honor et Gloria.

III.

III. Ad spiritum sanctum.

IV.

IV. Ad beatam virginem.

V. Item de beata virgine.

VI.

VI. Item de beata virgine.

VII.

VII. The story of the Monk who clad the Virgin by singing Ave Maria.

VIII.

VIII. “Lepistre de Cupide.”

IX.

IX. Balade to King Henry V.

X. Three Roundels.

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VII. The story of the Monk who clad the Virgin by singing Ave Maria.

Explicit prologus & incipit fabula

1

Ther was whilom / as þat seith the scripture,
In France / a ryche man and a worthy,
That god and holy chirche to honure
And plese / enforced he him bisily;
And vn-to Crystes modir specially,
Þat noble lady / þat blissid virgyne,
For to worsshipe / he dide his might and pyne.

2

It shoop so / þat this man had a yong sone,
Vn-to which he yaf informacion,
Euery day to haue in custume and wone

For to seye, at his excitacion,
The angelike salutacion
.L. sythes / in worsship and honour
Of goddes modir / of vertu the flour.

3

By his fadres wil / a monk, aftirward,
In thabbeye of seint Gyle / maad was he;
where-as he in penance / sharp & hard
Obserued wel his ordres duetee,
Lyuynge in vertuous religioustee;
And on a tyme / him to pleye and solace,
His fadir made him come hoom to his place.

4

Now was ther, at our ladyes reuerence,
A chapel in it maad and edified,
In-to which / the monk, whan conuenience
Of tyme he had awayted & espied,
His fadres lore / to fulfille him hied;
And .L. sythes / with deuout corage
Seide Aue Marie / as was his vsage.

5

And whan þat he had endid his preyeere,
Our lady, clothid in a garnement
Sleuelees, byfore him he sy appeere:
where-of the monk took good auisament,
Merueillynge him / what þat this mighte han ment;
And seide “.o. goode lady, by your leeue,
What garnament is this / and hath no sleeue?”

6

And she answerde / & seide / “this clothynge
Thow hast me youen / for thow euery day,
.L. sythe Aue Maria seyynge,
honured hast me / hens foorth / I the pray,
Vse to treble þat / by any way,
And to euery .xthe. Aue / ioyne also
A pater noster / do thow euene so.

7

“The ferste .Lti. wole I þat seid be
In the memorie of the ioie and honour

That I had / whan the Angel grette me;
which was right a wondirful confortour
To me / whan he seide, the Redemptour
Of al man-kynde I receyue sholde:
Greet was my ioie / whan he so me tolde.

8

“Thow shalt eek seyn the seconde .lty.
In honur and in mynde of the gladnesse
That I had / whan I baar of my body
God and man / withouten wo or duresse.
The .iiide. lty / in thyn herte impresse,
And seye it eek with good deuocion,
In the memorie of myn Assumpcioun,

9

“Whan þat I was coroned queene of heuene,
In which my sone regneth, and shal ay.”
Al this / was doon / þat I speke of and meene,
As the book seith / vp-on an halyday.
And than seide our lady, the glorious May,
“The nexte halyday / wole I resorte
To this place / thee to glade and conforte.”

10

And ther-with-al / fro thens departed shee,
The monk in his deuocion dwellynge;
And euery day / Aue Maria / he
Seide / aftir hir doctryne & enformynge.
And the nexte haliday aftir suynge,
Our lady, fresshly arraied and wel,
To the monk cam beynge in þat Chapel,

11

And vn-to him seide / “beholde now
How good clothyng and how fressh apparaille,
That this wyke / to me youen hast thow:
Sleeues to my clothynge now nat faille;
Thee thanke I / and ful wel for thy trauaille
Shalt thow be qwit / heere in this lyf present,
And in þat othir / whan thow hens art went.

12

“Walke now / and go hoom vn-to thabbeye.
Whan thow comst / Abbot shalt thow chosen be;
And the Couent teche thow for to seye
My psalter / as byforn taght haue I thee.
The peple also / thow shalt in generaltee
The same lessoun to myn honur teche,
And in hire hurtes / wole I been hir leche.

13

“.Vij.e yeer lyue / shalt thow / for to do
This charge / & whan tho yeeres been agoon,
Thow passe shalt hens / & me come vn-to;
And of this / doute haue thow right noon.
By my psalter shal ther be many oon
Saued / and had vp to eternel blisse,
Þat, if þat nere / sholden there-of misse.”

14

Whan shee had seid / what lykid hire to seye,
Shee vp to heuene ascendid vp and sty.
And soone aftir, Abbot of þat Abbeye
He maad was / as þat tolde him our lady.
The Couent and the peple deuoutly
This monk enformed / and taghte hir psalteer,
For to be seid after þat / vije. yeer.

15

Tho yeeres past / his soule was betaght
To god / he heuene had vn-to his meede.
Who serueth our lady / leesith right naght;
Shee souffissantly / qwytith euery deede:
And now heer-aftir / the bettre to speede,
And in hir grace / cheerly for to stonde,
Hir psalteer for to seye / let vs fonde.

Explicit.