<County: Staffordshire>
<Code: L0726>
<MS reference: Oxford, Bodleian Library, Bodley 123, Hand D>
<Text: Miracles connected to Mary>
<Tranche 1>
<fol. 87r>a+cry þat many crysten~ men@ come yn@-to wete what
she eyled Then seid she how hir~ husband had brent
hir~ chyld in þe hote owen~ Then þei vndid þe owen@
mouth and segh þe chyld playng wt þe leme of þe
fyr~ And whan@ he was taken@ oute þei asket hym
how he was saued in þe owen@ And he said how
þat A fair~ lady þat stode on þe hie Auter~ and gaue
hym his housell She come to hym in þe owen@
and saued hym from~ þe fir wt hur mantill lapped
a-bou3t~ hym Now knewle we all a-downe~ and
pray to our lady þat she will helpe vs so in your~ nede
þat we may haue þe blisse þat hir~ Son@ bought~ to vs amen
<lat>miraculum de natiuitate beate marie</lat>
We reden@ in þe miracles of hur how þt þer was a
widowe þat had bot on~ Son@ þe wich she loued
as hir~ lyfe and was taken@ wt enemyes & done
in prison@ & put to gret distresse Wher~-fore his modur
cryed on~ ourr~ lady ny3t and day to helpe hir~
þat she my3t~ haue hur Son@ delyuered oute of þat
dissese þat he was yn@ But for hir~ þough þat hir~
prair~ a-valed no3t~ she yede into þe church to an
jmage of our~ lady and seid thus to hir~ Blessed
mayden@ oft haue j prayd ye þe for þe deliuerince
of my son@ & am not holpen@ Wher~-forr~ so as þe
wol not help me to haue my son@ j will take
yours in stede of myn@ til þe send myn@ home and
toke þe jmage þat was on~ our~ lady knew & bar ht
hom & lapped hit in whyt clothes clene and
<fol. 87v>loked ht vp in hur cofur then in þe ny3t~ aftur our lady
appered to hir sonn in prison@ & vndid his hondes and opend
all þe dorres and seid to hym Go hom to þi modur
& sey j+pray hir~ as j send to hur hir~ Son@ hole & sounde
So bryng she my son@ ayen@ to me wt-out harme
þen@ was þis womonn g wondur glade of þe commyng
of hir~ Son and anone she yede to þe jmage and
h bare hit ayen@ to þe church and set ht ayen@
and seyd Blessed laidy j+thonk þe wt all my hert
þe send me my son@ and now j bryng you@ your Son@
& j will be þi seruantes wt a gud will þe þerd tyme
our lady was borne to ioy passing For whe~ she
pased out of this worde hir~ Son@ jhesu~ was redy
wt gret multitude of anglus & oþer seyntes & brogh
hir wt gret worschip in-to heuen@ and þer crowed
hur quene of heuen@ and emperesse of hell and
lady of all þe worde So þat she is nowe in blesse
þat euer shall last and hath power to do in heuen@ and
in hell and in this worde what þat euer hir~ list wher~
for~ j tell þou@ þis ensampull Narraconn J rede in
þe miracles of our~ lady how yer was a jewe þat
was borne in fraunce and come to london@ for certen@
nedes þat he had to do wt oþer of his nacion@ and so
fromm þens he wente to Gloucester and so to bristou@
and as he wold haue gone fromm Bristow to wilton@
he was taken@ wt thefes and foule ferd wt and so
<fol. 88>broght in-to An-n+old howse þt was an out-sytte place
and bounden@ hym to a post [bi] þe fete and his hondes
behinde and laft him þer all ny3t~ An þen@ as he fell
in a slepe he swegh a fair~ lady cad cald all in+wytte
seche anodur of bewte he segh neuer er~ þe wich come
to hym & vnbounde hym and yer~ whe~ he woke & loked
a-bou3t~ & fond hym-selfe louce he wondred gretely
how þat myght be þen@ sagh he our lady so bryght~
þat hym thou3t~ þat she passed þe son@ in bryght~
nesse Then seid he to hir~ what gentill lady be þe
þat yus gudly hande holpen@ me þus tyme of þe
ny3t~ Then answred she j am marie þt þu and all
thy naicon@ dispicen@ and sayn@ j<smudged> ber~ neuer goddes
son@ of my body But neuer þe lese J am comen@
for to bring þe out of thyn errour þat art now in@
Wher~-for~ come now wt me and stond on@ yonder~
stone bifor~ þe & loke downeward So whe~ he loket
donward he segh þe horhebly paynes of hell þat
he was negh out of his witte for fer~ Then
seid our lord lady to hym Thes paynes byn@
ordennyd to all þilk wol not leue on~ crist faith
yet come forth and swe me and she set hym
on~ a hie hill and ther~ she sweed hym places
of so gret ioy & blisse þt he couth not tell þe ferth
parte þer-of þat he segh and of þe swet smele
that he feld Then said our~ lady to hym þus
<fol. 88v>þis place is ordened to hem þat leuen in þe
carnacounn and how goddes Son@ of heuen@ was
borne of me and j ch clene mayden@ befor~ and
aftur and aftur he shed his blod on@ þe crosse for
mankynnd but now j haue shewed both þe ioy and
þe payn@ chese whedur þe is leuer and so passet
from~ hym þen@ yede moche of þe ny3t he wist
neuer whedur But in þe morowe he come to Bathe
& þer was foloed of þe bischopp and called John@
and was aftur ann holy man@ and euer-mor~ full
deuoute aftur to our~ lady Now þe shall knew don@
<lat>Fabula de assump concepcone beate marie</lat>
J rede þer was a lord þat had a peny Reve þe
wicg had gadered his lordes rent and yede to
ber~ hit to him Then wer~ þer~ sette s the-ues
for hym in a way þat most nede go throgh but
whe~ he come to þe wode he bithought~ him þat
he hadde not saide our~ lady Sauter þat was
wont to sey ech day Then anone he knewled
downe and bygane for to sey Then a-nonn come
our~ lady lyke a fair~ mayden@ and sette a
garland on~ his hed and at eche aue
she set a rose in þe garlond þat shone as
bryght~ as a sterr~ So by þat he had said
þo garlond was made het was so brygh þat
all þe wold shone ther~-of Thus whe~ he
<fol. 89r>hadde done he kyssed þe erth and whent his
wey Then wer~ þees thevys redy and broughten~
hym to hor~ Master þt had seen@ all þus doyng~
Then seid þe theve to him j wot þu art such a
lordes seruant and hase þis mony wt the But tell
what womann þt was þat set þis garland on~ thi
hed For-soth he seid j+segh no womann ne haue
no garlond þt j know But for j had for-yeten@
for to sey our~ lady sauter j was a-drede of you@ j
knewled a-downe and seid hit prayng to hir~ to
help me at my nede Then seid the theve for hur
loue now go thy wey and pray hur for vs and
so he yede sounde & saue his wey by succour of
our~ lady But now shall þe her~ how þes fest
was furst foun an@ ther~ was in london@ an
kyng was called william conquerour~ þat sent
þe Abbot of Ramesey to þe kyng~ of dennemark
on~ mesage But whe~ he was in þe Se ther~
come~ a derkenes to hym and sich a tempest
wt þat þt he and all þat wer~ wt hym wend to
haue bynn spyld anon right~ Then ech man@
prayed besely on his syde to diuerse Seyntes
in heuen@ to haue help and n succour in þat gret
nede Then as this abbot prayed deuotely to god
<fol. 89v>Ther~ come a fair~ man@ to hym a said þus woldest
þu haloue the concepcon@ of our~ lady þat is þe
secunde day aftur Sancte Nicolas Nicholas shew
wold succur the and thy meyne now in this nede
Sir saed he wt a hertely will So þat you@ tell me
what þat seruice be þen@ seid he same word for
word þat is in hur natiuite in-to þe concepcon~
Ful gladly said he þis shall be done and
anone ceset þe tempest and cler~ wedur come
ayen@ and dyde þis message and spede well
in all his doynges J and jhe hadde told
þe king of þis vision~ the king~ made for to
preche hit ouer all þe reme and so hit was
halowed for euer mor~ in holy church and so
out of þe reme ht is now canony3ed in cortte
of Rome and hallowed thor3t~-out cristen@dome
Now pray we to our lady wt gud intente of our~
leuyng~ to haue a-mendemet~ / / &c~
<lat>Fabula de purificacone</lat>
J rede in þe life of a Sancte st donstane how
þat his modur whan@ þat she was grete <exp>wt</exp>
wt she conne on~ candilmasse day to þe church
and whe~ all þe peple~ hadde gone on~ processon@
wt candels brendyng brennyng~ & stoden@ all in
þe church ech on~ wt his light~ in his honde
<Tranche 2>
<fol. 94r>Then þis woman@ repentid and turned
ayen@ to hur deuocion~ þat she had done
by-for~ and was a true seruant to kateryn
euer aftur and had þe blisse of heuen@ to hir
mede Narraconn J rede that in
Sainte gregerii tyme was a woman@ þat high
lasma and made bred that þe pope song~
wt and houseled þe peple~ wt he come
to þes Then on~ a day whe~ þe pope house
led þe peple~ he come to þis woman@ lasma
and seid Take her~ goddes body and þen@ she
smyled But when þe pope segh hur smyle
he wt-drewe his honde and leid þe ost on~
þe auter and turned to þis woman@ & seid
lasma whi smylest þu whe~ þu shuld haue
taken@ thy goddes body Then seid she for
þu called goddes body þat at j+made wt my
owne honde Then was greger sory for hur
mysbyleue and j bade þe peple~ pray to god
for to shew so his miracle~ þat þe woman@
my3t~ be holpen@ oute of hir misbyleue
and whe~ thei had praied greger yede to þe
<fol. 94v>auter and fond þe oost turned into raw flessh
bledyng~ þe wich he toke and showed þis
woman@ Then she cried and seid lord now
j be-leue þat þu art cristes goddes Son@ of heuen@
in forme d of bred Then bade he þe plep
peple~ pray eft ones that hit my3t~ turne
ayen@ in-to bred þe likenesse of bred and so
hit did and with þe same ooste he housel<cropped>
this woman@ Narraconn j rede Jn deue<cropped>
ssehir~ biside axbirie ther~ dwelled an holy
vicar and had in his paresse a woman@ þat
lay syke at þe ponte of deth halfe a myle
from~ hym þe wich woman@ at mydne3th sen<cropped>
aftur him to do hir~ ryhtes Then þis woman@
wt all þe hast þat he mi3t~ he rose vp and
yede to þe church and toke godes body in
a box of jverry and put hit in his spair~
For þat tyme men@ vsed spairis and so
he yede touard this woman@ and went
on~ a medow þe nexte way Then as he
hyed on~ his wey er~ euer he wist þe boxe
shogget out of his bowsu@ & fell dowen@
on~ þe erth and in þe falling~ þe boxe open<cropped>
<fol. 95r>and þe oost trendelet i on þe erth Then whe~
he had shreven@ this woman@ he asket
hir yf she wold be shryven houseled and she
seid ye Then put he his honde in his
bosom@ and so3t~ þe boxe and whan@ he fond
it <ill>.</ill> not he was highly aferd and seid
to þe woman@ Dame j shall feche goddes
body and hie me ayen@ in all that j may
and so yede ayen@ weping~ full sor~<?> for hs
necligens And so he come by a wethen@
tre and made ther~-of a gud yerde and didde
hym-selfe all naket and bet hym-selfe as
fast as he my3t~ þat þe blud ran@ dowen@
by his sides and seid to hym-selfe thus
Thou folle thefe þat hast lost thi creatur~
þou shall abye and whe~ he had betten@
hym-selfe thus þen~ kest he on~ his cloþes
& ran@ forth an þan@ was he war~ of a
pillar~ of fir~ þat last from~ to heuen@ Then
was he first agast but aftur he blessed
hym and yede ner~ hit Then segh he
all þe bestes of þe medow a-bought~ þat piller~
<fol. 95v>in compase So whe~ he come to þis piller~ ht
shone as bryght~ as any son@ Then was he
war~ of goddes body liing on~ þe grene and þe
piller~ of fir from~ ht vp into heuen@ Then
fell he downe on~ knewes and asket mercy wt
all his hert weping~ sor~ for hs necligens But
whan@ he had made his praers he rose vp
and loket a-bought and segh all þe bestes
kneyng~ on~ hor both forþer knees and worschip<cropped>
goddes body saf oone blak horse þat knelet v bu<cropped>
oone kne Then seid this gode man@ to him
þus yf þu be any beste þat may speke j bede the
in þe vertute of þis body þat her~ his þat þu spek<cropped>
and tell me whi þu knelest but on~ kne while
all þees oþer bestes kneyng~ on~ both hir~ knewes
Then vnswared he and seid J am a+fende of
hert and woll not knele on~ noþer kne my wyl<cropped>
but j am made do so ayne~ my will For ht
is wreton@ that ech kne of heuen@ and erth
and hell shall kne bowe to hym Then seid
he why art þu lyke an horse For to make
men@ to stele me and and þus was a
<fol. 96r>man@ at sich a towen@ honget for me and
eft a-noþer and at sich a towen~ the thryd
Then seid this vicar j commande þe in þe
virtute of this body þat her~ is þat þu go
to þe wildernesse ther~ no man@ commeth and
be ther~ til domes-day and so anone he
vaneshed a-wey and wt all þe reuerence
þat he couth he toke þe oste and put hit
in þe boxe and so yede ayen@ to þe woman@
and hou-seled hir~ ther~-wt and so he yede
home thonyng~ god wt all his hret <sic> for
sheyng his miracle~ Narraconn
Then take ensampull of ser ambrek that
was erle of venyse and loued god as he
couth But whe~ he shuld dye he mi3t~ not
resauyue hit for vp-casting~ then made he
to clanse his side and hill ht yn wt a
clene cloþet of sandell and laid ther~-on~
goddes body and said þus to hym lorde
þu knowes well j loue the & j durst But
for j may not j lay the on~ þe place þa that
<fol. 96v>is nexte my hert and so shewe the my hert and
my loue and ther-wt in sight~ of all þe men@ þe side
opened and oost glode in-to þe body and þen@ þe
syde closed ayen@ hole as hit was bifor~ and so
sone aftur he gaue vp the gost Thus loue þe þe
sacramet~ of gode in your life and he woll succour
you~ in your deth The iiij cause whi this sacrame<cropped>
is vset for grete mede geten@ to ech man@ and
woman@ þat perfitely bileuen@ þer-in thouþth hit
haue þe likenesse of bred and tast Also þit he
most perfitely bileue þat hit is veire cristes body
þe wich he toke in þe virgen@ Marie and aftur
dyed on~ þe asse and rose from~ deth to life and
now is in heuen@ and shall come to deme
þe quek and þe dede Then he reseuyth hit in
his bileue he geth hym grete mercy for geth
hym þe kyndome of heuen@ and that bileueth
not thus and reseuyth iter he taketh hit to his
dampnacon~ in payn~ þat euer shall last Then sha<cropped>
for to sharpen@ your bileue þe bettur j tell you~ th<cropped>
ensampull Narracon~ J rede þer was a
cristen@ aman@ of englond and yede into hethe
nesse for to se weneres of þe lond and hre hired
<fol. 97r>a Sarazin for to be his gide and so þei come
in-to a fair~ wode but all was still and no
thyng~ stiryng~ of bryddes ne of oþer follis Then
seid þe cristen@ man@ J merveyle moche þat ther~
is no noyce of bryddes in+this fair~ wode þen@
answared þe Sarazin ad seid þis is þe weke
þt your gret prophet diyd yn@ wher~fore on~ palme
Sonday þat last was all þe briddes of þis
wodde wer~ dede for moreing~ and all þis weke
shall be But on~ estur Sonday þei shall
quyken@ ayen@ and þen@ þei shall all þe yer~
aftur fill þis wode wt melody of swete songes
wher~fore loke vp into þe trees & se and he
saght vche tre [ful] of bryddes lying~ vpright~
dede and her~ whenges sprade as þei hadde
byn@ stragh on~ þe crosse Then yif bredes
haue mynde of cristes passion@ miche mor~
shuld a man~ þat was bough by his
passion@ The iij cause whi þe sacrament is
vsed in the auter is for loue þat man@
shuld for sigh þer-of þenke how þe fadur off
heuen@ hadde but on~ Son@ þat he loued
<fol. 97v>passing all thyng~ and þit for to buy man out
of þe dewelle þraldom~ he send hym into
þis worde and wt his owne hert blud
wrotte him a charter of fredom@ and made him
fre for-euer but hit is so be he forfet his
charter So þat will honeth god he kepet
his charter For god asketh no mor~ of a man
but loue wher~-for~ he seithe ynogh for me
Narracon
J rede þat þe moder~ of Seinte Edmond of
Pountenay appered to hym stonding studiing an<cropped>
laide in his honde thre rignis eche one wt
in oþer and in þe forme wreton@ the fadur
and þat oþer þe Son@ and in þe thred the holy
gost and seid to hym / Mi der~ son@ to sich sign
take hede and lerne what thou my3t wher~
by we haue ensampull for to be besy to
lerne the bileue of þe holy trinite ˆ [by]-gynnyng~
wt-out endyng~ ther persons in oone godhede
But for to stuydy how this may be hit
is but a fowly For mannys wytte
may neuer comprehende hit MARI<cropped>
<lat>Quod Thomas Vrmeston~ Capellanus in Comitat~ Essexere ma<cropped>
ESSEX