University of Virginia Library



[Of god & man but with out penitence]

Of god & man but with out penitence
And cōfession with fylth and violence
Of dedely synnys presumyth to accede
Unto the holy mysterise in dede
He etith & drynkith his dome to hym for sothe
Eche dedely synner that cursidly so dothe
But we therfore that many day before
With confession of oure synnes soore
With penitence are chastysid & made thynne
With leane lent and fast ageyn oure synne
With almesse doyng & bitter teris wepyng
And fro synnes sluggye & fro slepyng
Are clene y wasshe with outyn foul enfection
Than in the day of holy resurrection
Of oure lorde we to his borde accede
In feyth catholique with flessh & blode vs fede
Of the vnspottyd lambe of crist iesu
Not vnto dome but to encrese of vertu
We it receyue to remission of synne
Finally the blisse of heuyn to wynne
That is callid helthfull beatitude
It for to take with the hoole multitude
Of ioy & blisse to alle oure reparation
We take this fest as to oure preparation
And thus my frendes it nedith you to do
These textis and resons for to cōsent vnto
Whan this peple in general had perceyuid
The qwenys wordes & specially cōceyuid
These textis holy & trew exposition
Her wyse wordes of trew humble cōdition
They coude answere in no maner wyse


For ripe sentence with wordis ware & wise
But when they knew the chirchis institutions
Frō thens forwarde to thexecutions
Of holy chirchis rite & gouernaunce
They toke to them this gentil obseruaunce
In parceyuing of this helthful mystery
And kept it forth with conscience good & mery

Preterea in aliquibus locis. & ces.

And in scotland also in dyuers places
Men ther were I trowe for lakke of graces
Ageyn holy chirchis cōsuetude
That vsid to sey myss that peple rude
With out the circhis powere & licence
Abhoīable was this insolence
The which mysse vse this blessid holy qwene
In that erroure in no wyse wolde sustene
In goddis cause she sette her hert on fire
With al her study it was her hole desire
For to destroye & bryng to no wght yt rite
That after ward none durst in soyl nō site
So presume or of that fecte appere
In alle the londe of scottes ferr ne nere
Also they vsid ayens the reuerence
Of holy sonday a geyn cristys cōplacence
In seruile werkes to be laborious
But the qwene deuout & vertuous
Shewyd theyr defaut by autorite
And by reson to ech in his degre
Seyeng thus that cristes holy day


Which is sonday was ordeynyd this is no nay
For cristes high blessid resurrection
That euery cristen man shuld haue affection
It to haue in laude & veneration
That we shuld do noo werk nor operation
That were seruile for fro seruilite
Of the fende his bondage & pooste
We were bought as wel we knowyn alle
Thus are we fre after that we were thralle
That day we shuld be deuout & holy
Kepyng vs fro nycete synne & foly
This affermyth the pope seynt gregory
Wher he seyth thus in his deuout story
In the sonday no man put hym in prease
Fro seruile werkes but fro that labowr cease
Insist to prayer in al maner wise
In gostly labour shuld he so deuise
That if owght of vice and insolence
By six dayes before of necligence
In the hole weke it happynyd to be done
That in sonday that cometh after sone
Of cristis risyng shuld be expiation
Clene by praieres in gostly consolation
And seynt Gregor the pope & holy clerk
A certeyn man for an erthly werk
Done on sonday espied in probation
He smote with cursyng & strait increpation
With hert blamyng & them that hym also
So conseylid & styrid hym ther to
He Iugid them for to be denouncid
By .ii. monethis cursid it was pnouncid


In opyn chirch this was his decre
Til it was correcte it wold no other be
Whan the resons of the qwene deuout
Wel autorisid were thus brought about
They were cōcludid & cowd not ageyn say
But that they must kepe holy the sonday
Fro werk seruile & so they did in deede
Fro thens forward the better for to spede
And forther more vnleful mariages
Of stepmodres had yey in vsages
And that a man shulde wedde his brotheris wife
Aftir that he was passid fro this life
These were vsed & therfor the qwene
These cursid vses she coude not sustene
And seyd that all feythful peple must
Her cursid vse for sakyn & her lust
And as dethe such mariage escheu
And to good vse conforme them in vertue
And in that lond were many thinges mo
Of wikkid rite & cursid vse also
Ageyn the chirchis goodely ordynance
Which in that counsel by her gouernance
Were adnullyd dāpnyd & cassate
And fro thoo bowndes fully extirpate
Out of the realme by her prouidence
Such was her witte prudence & sapiens
Explicit scda distinctio & incipit tertia Cum enim de salute .& ces.
Also more ouer when she of soules helth
And wisedome spake & of gostly welth