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Text
Ase Y me rod this ender day
By grene wode to seche play,
Mid herte Y thohte al on
a may
Swetest of alle thinge;
Lythe, ant Ich ou telle may
Al of that suete thinge.
This maiden is suete ant fre
of blod,
Briht ant feyr, of milde mod;
Alle heo mai don vs god
Thurh hire bysechynge.
Of hire he tok fleysh ant
blod,
Iesus, heuene kynge.
With al mi lif Y loue
that may;
He is mi solas nyht ant
day,
My ioie ant eke my beste
play,
Ant eke my loue-longynge;
Al the betere me is that day
That Ich of hire synge.
Of alle thinge Y loue hire mest,
My dayes blis, my nyhtes rest;
Heo counseileth ant helpeth best
Bothe elde ant yynge.
Nou Y may, yef Y wole,
The fif ioyes mynge.
The furst ioie of
that wymman
When Gabriel from heuene cam
Ant seide God shulde bicome man,
Ant of hire be bore,
Ant bringe vp of helle pyn
Monkyn that wes forlore.
That other ioie of that may
Wes o Cristesmasse day,
When God wes bore on thoro
lay
Ant brohte vs lyhtnesse;
The ster wes seie byfore
day,
This hirdes bereth wytnesse.
The thridde ioie
of that leuedy
That men clepeth the Epyphany,
When the kynges come wery
To presente hyre sone
With myrre, gold, ant encenz,
That wes mon bicome.
The furthe ioie we
telle mawen,
On Estermorewe when hit gon
dawen,
Hire sone, that wes slawen,
Aros in fleysh ant bon---
More ioie ne mai me hauen,
Wyf ne mayden non.
The fifte ioie of
that wymman,
When hire body to heuen cam,
The soule to the body nam
Ase hit wes woned to bene.
Crist leue vs alle with that wymman
That ioie al forte sene!
Preye we alle
to oure leuedy,
Ant to the sontes that woneth
hire by,
That heo of vs hauen merci,
Ant that we ne misse
In this world to ben holy,
Ant wynne heuene blysse.
AMEN.
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Translation
As I rode recently
Near a green wood to seek pleasure,
My heart was preoccupied with a maiden,
Sweetest of all things;
Listen, and I can tell you
Everything about that sweet creature.
This maiden is sweet and of noble blood,
Bright and beautiful and gentle;
She can do us all good
Through her intercession.
From her Jesus, King of Heaven,
Took flesh and blood.
With all my life I love that maiden;
She is my comfort night and day,
My joy and also my greatest pleasure,
And also my desire;
I feel all the better on the day
When I sing about her.
I love her best of all things,
My joy by day, my rest by night;
She is the best at advising and helping
Both old and young.
Now I can, if I wish,
Recall the five joys.
The first of that woman's joys
Was when Gabriel came from heaven
And said that God would become man
And she would bear him,
And he would bring up from the torment of hell
Humanity, which had been ruined.
The second of that maiden's joys
Was on Christmas Day,
When God was born in a radiant light
And brought us brightness;
The star was seen before dawn,
The shepherds bear witness.
The third joy of that lady,
Which is called the Epiphany,
Was when the kings came wearily
To present her son,
Who had become man,
With myrrh, gold, and incense.
The fourth joy we can relate
Was on Easter morning at dawn,
When her son, who had been killed,
Arose in flesh and blood---
No-one can feel more joy,
No woman or girl.
The fifth joy of that woman
Was that when her body came to heaven,
The soul was joined with the body
As it was accustomed to be.
May Christ grant us all
To see all that joy with that woman!
Let us all pray to our Lady,
And to the saints that live with her,
That they may have mercy on us,
And that we may not fail
To be holy in this world,
And achieve the bliss of heaven.
AMEN
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