English Mystery Plays

10. The Parliament of Heaven, the Salutation and Conception

LUDUS COVENTRIAE II

Ludus Coventriae contains a series of plays about Mary. Its inclusion seems to have been the occasion of a number of changes in the order of the cycle, and to have been the work of a separate writer or writers. This is a special feature of the cycle and it appears that the sequence may have been intended as a separate St Anne’s Day play. The present play has two episodes: the Parliament of Heaven, which was not in the cycle when the Proclamation was composed, but which is anticipated by a reference in Contemplatio’s prologue to the tenth play of the cycle (The Betrothal); and the Annunciation, which differs from the version envisaged in the Proclamation. The first episode falls outside the general pattern of the cycles, but it is made relevant here by the dramatic emphasis upon divine justice and mercy. The second episode derives probably from Bonaventura’s Meditationes Vitae Christi. The two parts are undoubtedly conceived as a whole, and are striking in the distinctive and poetic celebration of the divine power. There is considerable reference to the liturgy.

[Enter Contemplatio and Virtues.]

(1)

CONTEMPLACIO: Fowre thowsand sex undryd foure yere, I telle,

Man for his offens and fowle foly

Hath loyn yerys in the peynes of helle,

3 loyn lain

And were wurthy to ly ther-in endlesly;

But thanne xulde perysche your grete mercye –

Good Lord, have on man pyte;

Have mende of the prayour seyd by Ysaie ¹;

Lete mercy meke thin hyest mageste.

(2)

Wolde God thou woldyst breke thin hefne myghtye

10 And com down here in to erth,

And levyn yerys thre and threttye,

Thyn famyt folke with thi fode to fede;

To staunche thi thryste lete thi syde blede,

For erste wole not be mad redempcion.

Cum vesyte us in this tyme of nede;

Of thi careful creaturys, Lord, have compassyon.

(3)

A, woo to us wrecchis, that wrecchis be,

For God hath addyd sorwe to sorwe.

I prey the, Lorde, thi sowlys com se,

20 How thei ly and sobbe bothe eve and morewe.

With thi blyssyd blood from balys hem borwe,

Thy careful creaturys cryenge in captyvyte ²,

And tary not, gracyous Lord, tyl it be to-morwe:

The devyl hath dysceyved hem be hys iniquite.

(4)

A, quod Jeremye ³, who xal gyf wellys to myn eynes,

That I may wepe bothe day and nyght

To se oure bretheryn in so longe peynes?

Here myschevys amende may thi mech myght;

As grett as the se, Lord, was Adamys contryssyon ryght;

30 From oure hed is falle the crowne;

5 xulde should 7 mende remembrance 8 meke (v) soften mageste majesty 9 hefne heaven 12 famyt famished fode food 13 thryste thirst 14 erste soon 17 wrecchis wretches 20 morewe morning 21 balys destruction borwe save 24 dysceyved deceived 25 quod said xal shall gyf give wellys wells 28 Here their mech great

Man is comeryd in synne, I crye to thi syght,

Gracyous Lord, gracyous Lord, gracyous Lord, come down!

(5)

VIRTUTES: Lord, plesyth it thin hygh domynacion

On man that thou made to have pyte.

Patryarchys and prophetys han made supplycacion;

Oure offyse is to presente here prayerys to the.

Aungelys, Archaungelys, we thre

That ben in the fyrst ierarchie,

For man to thin hy mageste

40 Mercy, mercy, mercy, we crye.

(6)

The aungel, Lord, thou made so gloryous,

Whos synne hath mad hym a devyl in helle,

He mevyd man to be so contraryous;

Man repentyd and he in his obstynacye doth dwelle;

Hese grete males, good Lord, repelle

And take man on to thi grace;

Lete thi mercy make hym with aungelys dwelle,

Of Locyfere to restore the place ⁴.

[God appears.]

(7)

PATER: Propter miseriam inopum et gemitum pauperum nunc exurgam⁵:

For the wretchydnes of the nedy

50 And the porys lamentacion,

Now xal I ryse that am Almyghty;

Tyme is come of reconsyliacion.

My prophetys with prayers have made supplicacion;

My contryte creaturys crye all for comforte;

All myn aungellys in hefne with-owte cessacion

They crye that grace to man myght exorte.

31 comeryd overcome 38 ierarchie hierarchy 43 mevyd moved 45 Hese his males malice 50 porys of the poor 56 exorte arise

(8)

VERITAS ⁶: Lord, I am thi dowtere Trewth;

Thou wylt se I be not lore;

Thyn unkynde creaturys to save were rewthe;

60 The offens of man hath grevyd the sore.

Whan Adam had synnyd thou seydest thore

That he xulde deye and go to helle,

And now to blysse hym to resstore,

Twey contraryes mow not to-gedyr dwelle.

(9)

Thy trewthe, Lord, xal leste withowtyn ende;

I may in no wyse from the go.

That wretche that was to the so unkende,

He may not have to meche wo;

He dyspysyd the and plesyd thi fo;

70 Thou art his creatour and he is thi creature,

Thou hast lovyd trewthe, it is seyd, evyr mo;

Therfore in peynes lete hym evyr more endure.

(10)

MISERICORDIA: O Fadyr of mercy and God of comforte,

That counsell us in eche trybulacion,

Lete yowr dowtere Mercy to yow resorte,

And on man that is myschevyd have compassyon.

Hym grevyth ful gretly his transgressyon;

All hefne and erthe crye for mercy;

Me semyth ther xuld be non excepcion,

80 Ther prayers ben offeryd so specyally.

(11)

Trewth seyth she hath evyr be than;

I graunt it wel she hath be so;

And thou seyst endlesly that mercy thou hast kept for man,

Than, mercyabyl Lorde, kepe us bothe to.

57 dowtere daughter 58 lore learned 59 rewthe pity 61 thore there 64 Twey two mow may 67 unkende unnatural 68 meche much 84 mercyabyl merciful

Thu seyst Veritas mea et misericordia mea cum ipso⁷;

Suffyr not thi sowlys than in sorwe to slepe;

That helle hownde that hatyth the, byddyth hym ho;

Thi love man no lengere lete hym kepe ⁸.

(12)

JUSTICIA: Mercy, me merveylyth what yow movyth.

90 Ye know wel I am your systere Ryghtwysnes.

God is ryghtful and ryghtffulnes lovyth;

Man offendyd hym that is endles;

Therfore his endles punchement may nevyr sees.

Also he forsoke his makere that made hym of clay,

And the devyl to his mayster he ches;

Wulde he be savyd? Nay, nay, nay!

(13)

As wyse as is God he wolde a be ⁹;

This was the abhomynabyl presumpcion.

It is seyd ye know wel this of me

100 That the ryghtwysnes of God hath no diffynicion;

Therfore late this be oure conclusyon:

He that sore synnyd ly stylle in sorwe;

He may nevyr make a seyth ¹⁰ be reson

Whoo myght thanne thens hym borwe.

(14)

MISERICORDIA: Systyr Ryghtwysnes, ye are to vengeabyl:

Endles synne God endles may restore ¹¹.

Above all hese werkys God is mercyabyl;

Thow he for-sook God by synne, be feyth he for-sook hym never the more;

And thow he presumyd nevyr so sore,

110 Ye must consyder the frelnes of mankende.

Lerne and ye lyst this is Goddys lore –

The mercy of God is with-owtyn ende.

87 the thee ho stop 93 punchement punishment 95 ches chose 97 a have 100 diffynicion limitation 105 vengeabyl revengeful 110 frelnes frailty

(15)

PAX: To spare your speches, systerys, it syt.

It is not onest in vertuys to ben dyscencion,

The pes of God ovyr-comyth all wytt.

Thow Trewth and Ryght sey grett reson,

Yett Mercy seyth best to my pleson;

For yf mannys sowle xulde abyde in helle,

Be-twen God and man evyr xulde be dyvysyon,

120 And than myght not I, Pes, dwelle.

(16)

Therefore me semyth best ye thus acorde,

Than hefne and erthe ye xul qweme.

Putt bothe your sentens in oure Lorde,

And in his hygh wysdam lete hym deme.

This is most fyttynge, me xulde seme,

And lete se how we fowre may all a-byde;

That mannys sowle it xulde perysche it wore sweme,

Or that ony of us fro othere xulde dyvyde.

(17)

VERITAS: In trowthe, here-to I consente;

130 I wole prey oure Lord it may so be.

JUSTICIA: I, Ryghtwysnes, am wele contente,

For in hym is very equyte.

MISERICORDIA: And I, Mercy, fro this counsel wole not fle

Tyl wysdam hath seyd I xal ses.

PAX: Here is God now; here is unyte.

Hefne and erth is plesyd with pes.

(18)

FILIUS: I thynke the thoughtys of Pes, and nowth of wykkydnes.

This I deme to ses your contraversy:

If Adam had not deyd, peryschyd had Ryghtwysnes,

113 syt is fitting 114 onest honest 115 pes peace 117 pleson pleasure 122 qweme unite 123 sentens belief 127 sweme pity 134 ses cease 139 deyd died

140 And also Trewth had be lost ther-by;

Trewth and Ryght wolde chastyse foly.

Gif a-nother deth come not, Mercy xulde perysch;

Than Pes were exyled fynyaly;

So tweyn dethis ¹² must be yow fowre to cherysch.

(19)

But he that xal deye, ye must knawe

That in hym may ben non iniquyte,

That helle may holde hym be no lawe,

But that he may pas at hese lyberte;

Qwere swyche on his, prevyde and se ¹³,

150 And hese deth for mannys deth xal be redempcion.

All hefne and erth seke now ye,

Plesyth it yow this conclusyon.

(20)

VERITAS: I, Trowthe, have sowte the erthe with-owt and withinne,

And in sothe ther kan non be fownde

That is of o day byrth with-owte synne,

Nor to that deth wole be bownde.

MISERICORDIA: I, Mercy, have ronne the hevynly regyon rownde,

And ther is non of that charyte

That for man wole suffre a deddly wounde.

160 I, I can nott wete how this xal be.

(21)

JUSTICIA: Sure I can fynde non sufficyent,

For servauntys un-profytable we be ech on.

Hes love nedyth to be ful ardent

That for man to helle wolde gon.

PAX: That God may do is non but on;

Ther-fore this is Pesys a-vyse:

142 Gif if 145 knawe know 149 Qwere where swyche such prevyde look 153 sowte sought 155 o one 157 ronne run 160 wete know

He that gaff this counsell, lete hym geve the comforte a-lon,

For the conclusyon in hym of all these lyse.

(22)

FILIUS: It peyneth me that man I mad,

170 That is to seyn peyne I must suffre fore.

A counsel of the Trinite must be had

Whiche of us xal man restore.

PATER: In your wysdam, Son, man was made thore

And in wysdam was his temptacion.

Therfor, Sone, sapyens ye must ordeyn here-fore

And se how of man may be salvacion.

(23)

FILIUS: Fadyr, he that xal do this must be both God and man;

Lete me se how I may were that wede;

And syth in my wysdam he be-gan,

180 I am redy to do this dede.

SPIRITUS SANCTUS: I, the Holy Gost, of yow tweyn do procede.

This charge I wole take on me;

I, love, to your lover xal yow lede,

This is the assent of oure unyte.

MISERICORDIA: Now is the loveday mad of us fowre fynialy;

Now may we leve in pes, as we were wonte:

Misericordia et Veritas obviaverunt sibi;

Justicia et Pax osculatae sunt¹⁴.

Et hic osculabunt pariter omnes¹⁵.

(24)

PATER: From us, God, aungel Gabryel thou xalt be sende.

190 In-to the countre of Galyle.

The name of the cyte Nazareth is kende,

168 lyse lies 169 peyneth pains mad made 175 sapyens wisdom 178 were wear wede garment 180 dede deed 183 lede lead 185 loveday day of reconciliation 191 kende known

To a mayd, w[e]ddyd to a man is she

Of whom the name is Joseph, se,

Of the hous of Davyd bore;

The name of the mayd fre

Is Mary, that xal al restore.

(25)

FILIUS: Say that she is with-owte wo and ful of grace,

And that I, the son of the godhead, of here xal be bore.

Hye the thou were there a pace,

200 Ellys we xal be there the be-fore.

I have so grett hast to be man thore

In that mekest and purest virgyne.

Sey here ¹⁶ she xal restore

Of yow aungellys the grett ruyne.

(26)

SPIRITUS SANCTUS: And if she aske the how it myth be,

Telle here I the Holy Gost xal werke al this;

Sche xal be savyd thorwe oure unyte.

In tokyn here bareyn cosyn Elyzabeth is

Qwyk with childe in here grett age i-wys.

210 Sey here to us is no thynge impossyble;

Here body xal be so ful-fylt with blys,

That she xal sone thynke this sownde credyble.

(27)

GABRIEL: In thyn hey inbassett, Lord, I xal go;

It xal be do with a thought.

Be-holde now, Lord, I go here to;

I take my flyth and byde nowth.

[He appears to Mary.]

Ave Maria, gratia plena. Dominus tecum¹⁷.

Heyl, ful of grace! God is with the;

195 fre noble 205 myth might 207 thorwe through 211 ful-fylt fulfilled 212 sone soon sownde message 213 hey high inbassett embassy 216 flyth flight

Amonge all women blyssyd art thu!

220 Here this name Eva is turnyd Ave,

That is to say with-owte sorwe are ye now.

(28)

Thow sorwe in yow hath no place,

Yett of joy, lady, ye nede more;

Therfore I adde and sey ful of grace,

For so ful of grace was nevyr non bore.

Yet who hath grace he nedyth kepyng sore,

Therfore I sey God is with the,

Whiche xal kepe yow endlesly thore;

So amonge all women blyssyd are ye.

(29)

230 MARIA: A, mercy, God! This is a mervelyous herynge.

In the aungelys wordys I am trobelyd her.

I thynk how may be this gretynge;

Aungelys dayly to me doth aper,

But not in the lyknes of man that is my fer;

And also thus hyghly to comendyd be,

And am most un-wurthy I can-not answere;

Grett shamfastnes and grett dred is in me.

(30)

GABRYEL: Mary, in this take ye no drede,

For at God grace fownde have ye;

240 Ye xal conceyve in your wombe in dede

A childe, the sone of the Trynyte.

His name of yow Jhesu clepyd xal be ¹⁸,

He xal be grett, the son of the hyest, clepyd of kende,

And of his fadyr David the Lord xal geve hym the se,

Reynyng in the hous of Jacob, of which regne xal be no ende.

230 herynge sound 231 trobelyd troubled 233 aper appear 234 fer companion 237 shamfastnes shyness 242 clepyd called 243 kende nature 244 se seat, throne

(31)

MARIA: Aungel, I sey to yow

In what manere of wyse xal this be?

For knowyng of man I have non now,

I have evyr more kept and xal my virginyte.

250 I dowte not the wordys ye han seyd to me,

But I aske how it xal be do.

GABRYEL: The Holy Gost xal come fro a-bove to the,

And the vertu of hym hyest xal schadu the so.

(32)

Ther-fore that Holy Gost of the xal be bore;

He xal be clepyd the Son of God sage;

And se Elyzabeth your cosyn thore,

She hath conseyvid a son in hyre age.

This is the sexte monyth of here passage,

Of here that clepyd was bareyn.

260 No thynge is impossyble to Goddys usage;

They thynkyth longe to here what ye wyl seyn.

Here the Aungel makyth a lytyl restynge and Mary beholdyth hym, and the Aungel seyeth

(33)

[GABRIEL ¹⁹:] Mary, come of and haste the,

And take hede in thyn entent

Whow the Holy Gost, blyssyd he be,

A-bydyth thin answere and thin assent.

Thorwe wyse werke of dyvinyte

The secunde persone verament

Is mad man by fraternyte,

With-inne thi-self in place present.

(34)

270 Ferther-more take hede this space

Whow all the blyssyd spyrytys of vertu

That are in hefne by-fore Goddys face,

253 schadu overshadow 261 seyn say 266 Thorwe through

And all the gode levers and trew

That are here in this erthely place,

Thyn owyn kynrede the sothe ho knew,

And the chosyn sowlys this tyme of grace

That are in helle and byde rescu;

(35)

As Adam, Abraham, and Davyd in fere,

And many othere of good reputacion,

280 That thin answere desyre to here

And thin assent to the incarnacion,

In which thou standyst as persevere ²⁰

Of all man-kende sa[l]vacion;

Gyff me myn answere now, lady dere,

To all these creaturys comfortacion.

(36)

MARIA: With all mekenes I clyne to this a-corde,

Bowynge down my face with all benyngnyte;

Se here the hand-mayden of oure Lorde,

Aftyr thi worde be it don to me.

290 GABRYEL: Gramercy, my lady fre,

Gramercy of your answere on hyght,

Gramercy of your grett humylyte,

Gramercy, ye lanterne of lyght.

Here the Holy Gost discendit with iij bemys to our lady, the Sone of the Godhed nest with iij bemys to the Holy Gost, the Fadyr godly with iij bemys to the Sone: and so entre all thre to here bosom, and Mary seyth

(37)

MARIA: A, now I fele in my body be

Parfyte God and parfyte man,

Havyng al schappe of chyldly carnalyte,

Evyn al at onys thus God be-gan.

273 levers livers, people alive 275 ho who 285 comfortacion comfort 286 clyne incline 295 Parfyte perfect 296 carnalyte incarnation

(38)

Nott takynge fyrst o membyr and sythe a-nother,

But parfyte childhod ye have a-non,

300 Of your hand-mayden now ye have mad your modyr

With-owte peyne in flesche and bon.

Thus conceyved nevyr woman non

That evyr was beynge in this lyf.

O myn hyest Fadyr in your tron,

It is worthy your Son, now my Son, have a prerogatyf.

(39)

I can not telle what joy, what blysse,

Now I fele in my body.

Aungel Gabryel, I thank yow for thys;

Most mekely recomende me to my Faderys mercy;

310 To have be the modyr of God ful lytyl wend I.

Now myn cosyn Elyzabeth fayn wold I se,

How sche hath conseyvid as ye dede specyfy;

Now blyssyd be the hygh Trynyte.

(40)

GABRYEL: Fare wely, turtyl, Goddys dowtere dere,

Fare wel, Goddys modyr, I the honowre;

Fare wel, Goddys sustyr, and his pleynge fere,

Fare wel, Goddys chawmere and his bowre.

(41)

MARIA: Fare wel, Gabryel specyalye,

Fare wel, Goddys masangere expresse;

320 I thank yow for your traveyl hye;

Gramercy of your grett goodnes,

(42)

And namely of your comfortabyl massage,

For I undyrstande by inspyracion;

305 prerogatyf sole right 310 wend thought 314 turtyl turtle dove, beloved 316 pleynge fere playfellow 317 chawmere chamber bowre bower 320 traveyl labour