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The first leaf is missing and the extent of any lost text is unclear. The following quatrain, placed at the top of the second leaf, appears to stand alone as a header to the main body of text, but may be the tail end of a longer prefatory statement. |
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¶Of this chapell se here the fundacyon |
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Bylded the yere of crystes incarnacyon |
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A thousande complete syxty and one |
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The tyme of sent
edward kyng of this region |
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BEholde and se ye goostly folkes all |
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Which to this place haue deuocyon |
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Whan ye to our lady askynge socoure call |
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Desyrynge here hir helpe in your trybulacyon |
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Of this hir chapell ye may se the fundacyon |
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If ye wyll this table ouerse and rede |
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Howe by myracle it was founded in-dede |
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A noble wydowe somtyme lady of this towne |
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Called Rychold in lyuynge full vertuous |
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Desyred of oure lady a petycyowne |
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Hir to honoure with some werke bountyous |
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This blyssed virgyn and lady most gracyous |
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Graunted hir petycyon as I shall after tell |
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Unto hir worshyp to edefye this chapell |
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In spyryte our lady to Nazareth hir led. |
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And shewed hir the place where gabryel hir grette |
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Lo doughter consyder to hir oure lady sayde |
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Of thys place take thou suerly the mette mette= 'measure'; see OED s.v. met n1
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Another lyke thys at walsyngham thou sette |
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Unto my laude and synguler honoure |
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All that me seche there shall fynde socoure |
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Where shall be hadde in a memoryall |
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The great Ioy of my salutacyon |
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Fyrste of my ioyes grounde and orygynall |
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Rote of mankyndes gracyous redempcyon |
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Whan gabryell gaue to me relacyon |
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To be a moder through humylyte |
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And goddys sonne conceyue in virgynyte |
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This visyon shewed thryse to this deuout woman |
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In mynde well she marked both length and brede |
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She was full gladde and thanked oure lady than |
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Of hir great grace neuer destytute in nede |
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This forsayd hous in haste she thought to spede |
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Called to hir artyfycers full wyse |
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This chapell to forge as our lady dyd deuyse |
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All this a medewe wete with dropes celestyall |
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And with syluer dewe sent from hye adowne |
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Excepte tho tweyne places chosen aboue all |
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Where neyther moyster ne dewe myght be fowne |
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This was the fyrste pronostycacyowne |
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Howe this our newe Nazareth here shold stande |
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Bylded lyke the fyrste in the holy-lande |
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Whan it was al fourmed than had she great doute |
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Where it shold be sette and in what maner place |
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In-as-moche as tweyne places were founde oute |
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Tokened with myracle of our ladyes grace |
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That is to say tweyne quadrates of egall space |
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As the flees of Gedeon in the wete beynge drye |
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Assygned by myracle of holy mayde
marye.
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The wydowe thought it most lykly of congruence |
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This house on the fyrste soyle to bylde and arere |
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Of this who lyste to haue experyence |
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A chapell of saynt
laurence standeth nowe there |
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Faste by tweyne wellys experyence doth thus lere |
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There she thought to haue set this chapell |
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Which was begonne by our ladyes counsell |
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The carpenters began to set the fundamente |
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This heuenly house to arere vp on hye |
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But sone their werkes shewed inconuenyente |
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For no pece with oder wolde agre with geometrye |
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Than were they all sory and full of agonye |
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That they coud nat ken neyther mesure ne marke |
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To ioyne togyder their owne proper werke. |
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They went to reste and layde all-thynge on syde |
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As they on their maystresse had a commaundement |
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She thought our lady that fyrste was hir gyde |
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Wold conuey this worke aftyr hir owne entent |
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Hir meyny to reste as for that nyght she sente |
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And prayed our lady with deuoute exclamacyon |
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As she had begonne to perfourme that habytacion |
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All nyghte the wydowe permanynge in this prayer |
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Oure blyssed lady with heuenly mynystrys |
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Hir-sylfe beynge here chyef artyfycer |
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Areryd this sayd house with aungellys ha[n]dys |
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And nat only reryd it but set it there it is |
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That is two hundred fote and more in dystaunce |
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From the fyrste place bokes make remembraunce |
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Erly whan the artyfycers cam to their trauayle |
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Of this sayd chapell to haue made an ende |
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They founde eche parte conioyned saunsfayle |
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Better than they coude conceyue it in mynde |
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Thus eche man home agayne dyd wynde |
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And this holy matrone thanked oure lady |
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Of hir great grace shewyd here specyally |
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And syth here our lady hath shewyd many myracle. |
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Innumerable nowe here for to expresse |
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To suche as visyte thys hir habytacle |
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Euer lyke newe to them that call hir in dystresse |
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Foure hundreth yere & more the cronacle to witnes |
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Hath endured this notable pylgrymage |
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Where grace is dayly shewyd to men of euery age |
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Many seke ben here cured by our ladyes myghte |
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Dede agayne reuyued of this is no dought |
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Lame made hole and blynde restored to syghte |
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Maryners vexed with tempest safe to porte brought |
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Defe / wounded & lunatyke that hyder haue sought |
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And also lepers here recouered haue be |
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By oure ladyes grace of their infyrmyte |
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Folke that of fendys haue had acombraunce |
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And of wycked spyrytes also moche vexacyon |
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Haue here be delyuered from euery such chaunce |
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And soules greatly vexed with gostely temptacion |
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Lo here the chyef solace agaynst all tribulacyon |
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To all that be seke bodely or goostly |
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Callynge to oure lady deuoutly. |
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Therfore euery pylgryme gyue your attendaunce |
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Our lady here to serue with humble affeccyon. |
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Your-sylfe ye applye to do hir plesaunce |
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Remembrynge the great ioye of hir Annunciacion |
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Therwyth conceyuynge this bryef compylacyon |
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Though it halte in meter and eloquence |
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It is here wryten to do hyr reuerence |
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All lettred that wyll haue more intellygence |
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Of the fundacyon of this chapell here |
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If ye wyll aske kokes shall you encence "kokes" is perhaps the proper name Cox or Cockes; encence =insense, "instruct"
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More clerely to vnderstande this forsayd matere |
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To you shall declare the cronyclere |
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All cyrcumstaunce by a noble processe |
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Howe olde cronyclers of thys bere wytnesse |
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O englonde great cause thou haste glad for to be |
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Compared to the londe of promyssyon |
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Thou atteynest my grace to stande in that degre |
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Through this gloryous ladyes supportacyon. |
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To be called in euery realme and regyon |
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The holy lande our ladyes dowre |
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Thus arte thou named of olde antyquyte |
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And this is the cause as it apereth by lyklynesse |
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In the is belded newe nazareth a mancyon |
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To the honoure of the heuenly empresse |
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And of hir moste gloryous salutacyon |
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Chyef pryncypyll and grounde of oure saluacyon. |
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Whan gabrye[l]l sayd at olde nazareth Aue
gabryell] gabryesl 1496
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This ioy here dayly remembred for to be |
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O gracyous lady glory of Ierusalem
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Cypresse of syon and ioye of Israel
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Rose of Ieryco and sterre of Bethleem
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O gloryous lady our askynge nat repell |
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In mercy all wymen euer thou doste excell |
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Therfore blissed lady graunt thou thy great grace |
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To all that the deuoutly visyte in this place. |
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¶Amen |