2308 entyrlyest, "entireliest," most utterly; melydiows, melodious.
2326 Seynt Jerom, The remains of Saint Jerome were held in the church of Santa Maria Maggiore.
2328 Seynt Lauerawnce, The remains of St. Lawrence lie in the church of San Lorenzo, some two miles from Santa Maria Maggiore.
2338 Estern er ellys Paske, "Paske" was another word for Easter.
2347-48 lych as we come hedyr, like (in the same condition) as we came hither.
2356-57 so departyd . . . in oon, so parted asunder those whom charity had joined as one.
2366 Medylborwgh, Middelburg (in Zeeland); jurné, journey.
2376 gret wederyng and perlyows, stormy and perilous weathers; hyed, hied, hastened.
2379 levenys, lightning; gresely and grevows, ghastly and grievous.
2392 perseverawns, perseverance.
2408 Richard Castyr, Richard Caister, vicar of St. Stephen's church, Norwich.
2418 to mekyn hyrselfe, to meeken (humble) herself.
2419-20 wher sche had don . . . whil sche was owte, where she had disposed of her child, the one who was begotten and born while she was out (of the country).
2422-23 I dede nevyr . . . childe, I did nothing since I went out wherethrough I should have a child.
2427 I make no fors, I take no heed.
2452 Trinité Sunday, perhaps May 26, 1415 (see Meech, p. 308, n.104, for dating). Trinity Sunday was the Patron's Day of Norwich Cathedral.
2458 Seynt Jamys, the shrine of St. James of Compostella in Spain.
2462 heyl, hale; hoyl, whole; drow, drew.
2488 pylche, outer garment of skin.
2489 stody thow for no good, do not strive for goods.
2498 Brystowe, Bristol; Whitson, Whitsunday, the Feast of Pentecost comes seven Sundays and fifty days after Easter and celebrates the descent of the Holy Spirit.
2507-08 for to abyden schepyng, to await shipping.
2509 the kyng, Henry V, whose second expedition to France in 1417 placed great demands on English shipping.
2516 schille schrykyngys, shrill shriekings.
2518 born hyr on . . . a seyd, accused her of saying.
2520-21"Lord, as thu . . . thei don", Luke 23:34.
2521 crucyfyerys, crucifiers, i.e., those who crucified Jesus.
2524-26 On Corpus Cristi . . . to be do, On Corpus Christi Day, as the priests carried the Sacrament about the town in a solemn procession, with many candles and great solemnity, as was proper to do.
2530 fawyn to takyn an hows, had to enter a house.
2553 hath no deynté of, has no delight in.
2555 glosyng, glossing, deception.
2557 bischop of Worcetyr, Thomas Peverel, Bishop of Worcester, 1407-1418/19.
2562-63 al to raggyd and al to daggyd in her clothys, wearing ragged and dagged clothing (clothes fashionably slashed and pointed).
2574 John of Burnamys, John Brunham's.
2575 far fayr, behave properly.
2579 meny, many, affinity group, household.
2590 for, because of; wers, worse.
2601 Blod of Hayles, blood of Christ preserved at the Abbey of Hailes in Gloucestershire.
2606 yed, went; Leycetyr, Leicester.
2608 petowsly poyntyd, piteously decorated.
2609-10 al to relentyn be, completely dissolve in.
2619 osteler, inn-keeper; scryppe, bag.
2626 loller, Lollard, heretic.
2643 dede hir etyn, allowed her to eat.
2648 spak Latyn unto hir, spoke Latin to her. In the fifteenth century, laywomen who were latinate were suspect, since they thereby intruded upon a male and clerical preserve and might well have read heretical texts or been inclined to interpret scripture without the mediation of a member of the clergy.
2656 fowyl rebawdy wordys, foul ribald words.
2657 opressyn hir, violate her; forlyn hir, lie with her.
2663-64 strobelyd wyth hir, wrestled with her (?).
2664 schewyng unclene tokenys, showing or making unclean signs; frayd, frightened.
2666 cunyng, cunning; astoyned, astonished.
2671 Wisbeche, Wisbeach (Cambridgeshire).
2675 wederyng, stormy weather; levenys, lightnings.
2692 abbot of Leycetyr, Richard Rothley, the abbot of the house of Augustinian canons in Leicester.
2693 chanownys, canons; den, dean.
2700 assessowrys, assessors; dedyn hir, made her.
2701 artyculys of the feyth, Articles of the Faith; in, about.
2702 And fyrst . . . of the awter, The subject of the Eucharist, or of belief in transubstantiation, was a key subject when addressing a suspected heretic. In this scene Margery is asked questions designed to catch suspected Lollards.
2717 For I do yow to wetyn, For I want you to know.
2739-40 than schal . . . the trewth, then shall you tell no lies nor shall he know the truth.
2743-44 my Lord of Lynkoln, Philip Repingdon, Bishop of Lincoln.
2757-58 lenyd hir to a peler, leaned herself against a pillar.
2766 sayd sone, literally, "said son," referring to Thomas Marshall, who calls her "mother."
2768 Melton Mowmbray, Melton Mowbray, Leicestershire.
2770 feryd, feared; brent, burnt.
2775 a staf of a Moyses yerde, a relic from the Holy Land (?).
2778 scapyd of hard, escaped with difficulty.
2798-99 ne lettyn hir . . . whan sche wolde, nor hinder her from going and coming as she wished.
2808 gostly, spiritual; encres, spiritual increase.
2810 owr Ladiis Evyn, possibly September 7, 1417, the Eve of the Nativity of the Virgin.
2815 evyl payd, evil pleased, i.e., not pleased.
2832 Childer of the monastery, Children of the monastery (i.e., going to school in or given to the monastery by their parents).
2842 "Crescite et multiplicamini" Be fruitful and multiply (Genesis 1:22).
2851 the spiritualté, the churchmen.
2852 sumdel mor, somewhat more.
2859 chapelhows, chapter-house.
2860 monycyon, monition, warning.
2863 drow on bakke, hesitated.
2864 chapetilhows, chapter-house; Mynstyr, minister, a church of a monastery.
2874 Seynt William, shrine in York Minster of William Fitzherbert, Archbishop of York (d. 1154).
2885-86 Erchebischop of Yorke, Henry Bowet, Archbishop of York from 1407 to 1423, known for his antipathy to Lollards.
2886 Cowoode, Cawood, Yorkshire.
2891-92 sotyn ageyn hir, opposed her.
2919 so to be demenyd, so to conduct herself.
2921 evyn cristen, fellow Christians.
2929 tremelyd and whakyd, trembled and quaked.
2949 peraventur, perhaps; pervertyn, pervert.
2950 I her seyn, I have heard it said.
2953 boistowsly, rudely, roughly.
2961 Brydlyngton, Bridlington, site of the cult of the fervently devout St. John of Bridlington (d. 1379), prior of the house of Augustinian canons there.
2962-63 the good priowrys . . . is now canonysed, i.e., William Sleightholme (to whom Kempe refers as Sleytham, chapter 53), confessor to St. John Bridlington.
2965 undirnemyn hem, reprove them.
2970 the bar, bore you; tetys, teats; sowkyn, suck.
2973-74 for sche spekyth of the gospel, the Lollards were known as Gospel-quoting "Bible men and women."
2974-75 and leyd Seynt Powyl . . . no woman schulde prechyn, 1 Corinthians 14:34-35, verses that were commonly used against women taking active and vocal parts in religious instruction, for which they might be accused of Lollardy. See Blamires and Marx; Lochrie, pp. 105-13.
2977 whil I leve, while I live.
2978 the werst talys, the worst tales.
2980 wil, wayward; wode, wood.
2982 herborwe, lodging; erber, garden.
2983 pertre, pear tree; myddys, midst; floreschyd, adorned; belschyd, embellished; blomys, blooms.
2987 hymyr party, hinder, shameful part.
2990 agydd, aged; palmyr, palmer.
2995 massanger, messenger; aresond, addressed.
2998 mateynes, matins, the service that with lauds forms the first of the canonical hours; blaberyd, blabbered.
3002 choppyng and chongyng, buying and selling.
3003 Thu sittyst at the ale, You sit at ale, i.e., at the table.
3005 bakbytyng, backbiting, malicious gossiping.
3015 far ye be me, fare you by me, i.e., so you treat me.
3030 hir not lettryd, her unlettered intelligence.
3033 whech hite Sleytham, who was called Sleytham (i.e., William Sleightholme).
3045 Hesyl, Hessle, Yorkshire.
3046 Humbyr, Humber; too, two.
3047 yemen, yeomen; Duke of Bedforthys, John, Duke of Bedford, third son of Henry IV, and at this time Lieutenant of the kingdom during Henry V's absence abroad.
3055 to Beverleward, toward Beverly.
3065 Me ovyrthynkyth, I regret.
3085 for sche was evyl for thryste, she was badly off for thirst.
3088 pynte of wyn . . . hir a pece, a pint of wine in a pot and took her a wine cup.
3099 chapetylhows, chapter-house.
3104 Cowode, Cawood, Yorkshire.
3113-14 that sche schulde a be brent . . . ne be, that she should have been burnt at Lynn had his Order, that of the Dominicans, not been there.
3116 Combomis dowtyr, probably a corruption of Cobham's daughter, thus a reference to Sir John Oldcastle, the Lollard who had escaped from the Tower and remained in hiding from 1413 to 1417.
3137 ferd wyth, fared with, treated.
3143 suffragan, suffragen, assistant.
3147 my Lady Westmorlond, Joan de Beaufort, daughter of John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster, and Catherine Swynford; wife of Ralph Neville, Earl of Westmorland.
3149-50 my Lady Greystokke, Elizabeth, daughter of Joan de Beaufort by her first husband; wife of John de Graystoke.
3158 qwite, free; ryth wel apayd, right well satisfied.
3172 attyd, charged; herrowr, error.
3186 watyr of Humbyr, i.e., Humber River.
3193 baly, bailiff; scapyd, escaped.
3206 It is don to us to wetyn, It is given us to know.
3208 wetyngly, knowingly; levyn, leave.
3217 Erchebischop of Cawntyrbery, Henry Chichele, who succeeded Thomas Arundel as Archbishop of Canterbury (1414-43).
3235 kest a bolful . . . in the strete, cast a bowlful of water on her head as she came down the street.
3241 dey, die; recuryd, recovered.
3256 levyr, rather; shrewyd, sharp.
3262 discres, decrease; agens, towards.
3282 at the tyme of remownyng, at the time of removing, day when clergy within a district moved to new locations.
3285 Thomas Hevyngham, Thomas Hevingham, prior of St. Margaret's.
3285-86 Robert Spryngolde, parish priest of St. Margaret's and Margery's principal confessor.
3304 Sepulcre, place sanctioned in church for the reserved sacrament.
3311 wowndyng, wounding; pité, pity.
3313 what hir eyled, what ailed her.
3316 bar, bore; priowrys cloistyr, prior's cloister.
3318 blew . . . leed, blue as if she were lead; swet, sweated.
3322 febyl and weyke, feeble and weak; mytys, might.
3332 I aske . . . gevyn me, I ask nothing, Lord, but that which you may give me.
3340 constreyn, constrain, compel.
3358 hewyn, hewn, chopped; flesch, meat.
3366 rewe on me, take pity on me.
3369 on fro fer, one from afar.
3390-92 the Bybyl wyth . . . Incendium Amoris, a vernacular Bible, probably the Wycliffite translation, which Archbishop Thomas Arundel had forbidden for private reading by lay people in the Constitutions of 1409. For other texts, see notes to p. 51.
3398-99 wex benefysyd . . . cur of sowle, received a benefice and had great spiritual charge of souls.
3421 schulde a be comown, should have been common.
3421-22 bar hyr on hande, accused her.
3426 mennys membrys, men's sexual organs.
3435 er what so sche dede, or whatever she did.
3454 wrothar, angrier; thei, though.
3458-59 as he was wone to don, as he was wont to do.
3460 thu deynyst not, you do not scorn.
3466-67 sche was steryd . . . nedful for hym, she was stirred in her soul to take care of him in God's service. And, when she lacked anything that was necessary for him.
3472 Seynt Stefenys Chirche wher is beriid the good vicary, i.e., Richard Caistyr (d. 1420), vicar of St. Stephens.
3488 hym, i.e., Richard Caistyr. The people misunderstood the nature of Margery's tears.
3489 dede hir drynkyn, caused her to drink.
3492 pyté, pity, depiction of Mary with the dead Jesus.
3522 hir, herself; brast, burst.
3526 I trowe, and thu, I believe if you.
3528 sattelyn, settle; her, their.
3539 her, hear; les, unless; levyn, stop.
3543 and assayn yyf he myth mekyn hys hert, and try to humble his heart.
3551 White Frer, White (Carmelite) Friar; aprevyd, approved.
3565 cardiakyl, heart disease.
3568 that, if; kendly, natural.
3598 expleytyd hys conseytys, explained his thoughts.
3602 murmowr and grutchyng, murmur and complaining; geynseyd, gainsayed, contradicted.
3604-05 I schal so smytyn . . . mayntenowrys, I shall so smite the nail on the head (i.e., speak severely) that it shall shame all her supporters.
3607-08 of the whech . . . felyngys aftyr, among whom was the same priest who afterwards wrote this book and had purposed never to have believed her feelings thereafter.
3611 Maria de Oegines, Marie d'Oignies (c. 1177-1213), whose devotion to Christ and service for others made her one of the most important examplars of female piety. Jacques de Vitry, her contemporary, friend, and confessor, wrote her life.
3617 capitulo, chapter; "Bonus es, domine, sperantibus in te," He is good, Lord, whose hope is in you.
3619 turbelyd, troubled; distrawt, distraught.
3621 beyng at messe, being at mass, i.e., when he was at Mass.
3633 drow ageyn, drew again; sadly, wisely.
3634 enchewyd, eschewed, avoided.
3635 "The Prykke of Lofe," the fourteenth-century devotional work, Stimulus Amoris, falsely attributed to St. Bonaventure.
3636-37 A, Lord . . . cryen?, A, Lord, of what shall I make the most noise or (of what shall I) cry?
3638 for to maddyn, to go mad.
3639 thei that se me irkyn and rewyn, those who see me are irked by me and pity me.
3640-41 yen wood man . . . in the stretys, yon mad man cries in the streets.
3641 how meche, how great; parceyve, perceive.
3642 Stimulo Amoris, Stimulus Amoris; Richard Hampol, Richard Rolle of Hampole, the mid fourteenth-century mystic and writer.
3643 Incendio Amoris, the Latin mystical work by Richard Rolle which was translated into English as the Fire of Love by Richard Misyn in 1435.
3644 Elizabeth of Hungry, Elizabeth of Hungary (1207-31), the thirteenth-century saint, whose tears of devotion formed a key element of her legend, a legend that was current in England in the fifteenth century.
3650-51 slawnderyd, etyn, and knawyn, slandered, eaten, and gnawed.
3666 a chapel . . . the Jesyne, a chapel of our Lady called the Gesine, the chapel in St. Margaret's Church in which stood a picture of the birth of Jesus. See Gibson, p. 64.
3728 faylyn and brestyn, fail and burst.
3734 leryn, learn, i.e., teach.
3743 clevyn as sor, cleave as closely.
3750 abyte, habit; curyd, covered.
3760 grutchyn, grudge, complain.
2320 hir. r written on top
of m.
2327-28 whech was . . . beriid. The section in parentheses is written at the end of the chapter and marked by an a that corresponds to another a in the left margin where the phrase should be inserted.
2340 goodys. MS: godys, with an o in superscript between g and o.
2460 not. not written in red above dey.
2467 cryen. MS: cryed. Meech's emendation.
2477 had. Not in MS. Meech's emendation.
2498 the brokebakkyd. the added in red in the inner margin.
2561 dalyin. MS: dalyid. Meech's emendation.
2609 gan meltyn. MS: be in superscript before gan in red; to in superscript before meltyn in red.
2633 mevyd. MS: was in superscript before mevyd in red. the. Added in red in superscript between of and man.
2643 dede. MS: lete in superscript before dede in red.
2663 strobelyd. Meech emends to strogelyd, following the rubrications of the MS editor who placed g in red above a red caret between o and b. MED cites numerous instances of strobelin as a past participle form of striven. Perhaps the sense is that the inquisitor "roughed her up," or "verbally abused her," or "fondled her," or "threw her into confusion."
2718-19 "ther is no man in this worlde that I lofe so meche as God, for I lofe hym abovyn al thynge, and . . . I lofe al men in God and for God." Margery adheres here to a coon-place Augustinian definition of love, that charity is the love of God for the sake of God and love of man and things for the sake of God. See On Christian Doctrine, Bk. I, ch. xxvi-xxvii and Bk. III, ch. x.16.
2757 not. Added in red above stondyn.
2775 sche. MS: sche sche; second sche crossed through in red.
2807 into. MS: in designated by a caret and written in superscript before to.
2812 thei. d crossed out after thei.
2854 a worschepful. MS: aworschepful.
2870 in. MS: Yok crossed through after in.
2885 a. a, designated by a caret, in superscript between as and juge.
2891 sotyn. Meech emended this word to fotyn; however, sotyn conveys the sense of the persecution of the innocent that is central to Kempe's presentation of Margery's difficulties with figures of authority. She also uses the verb in her account of the Passion (chapter 79).
2959 it. MS: is. Meech's emendation.
2974 swythe. e in superscript.
2987 hymyr party. Meech glosses as "rear." MED glosses himmere in Ancrene Wise as"?inglorious," though this does not seem to be the same word. Hymyr might conceivably be a corruption of hamer (see MED himer), used here as a euphemism for genitalia.
2988 hevynes. d crossed through after hevynes.
3022 Erchebischopys. MS: Ercheb with a horizontal line through the stem of the b. This abbreviation is used often after this first mention.
3045 he. MS: sche, with sc crossed through in red.
3066 ryth good. Caret before good and ryth is written above.
3117 nowt. nowt not in MS. Meech's emendation.
3155 it. ky expuncted after it.
3166 we. MS: wey, with y expuncted and crossed through.
3172 prevyd. MS: neithyr l crossed through after prevyd.
3189 alle. cm L.vv. is written after alle to indicate the chapter that begins on the following page.
3191 happyd. The first p of happyd is written on top of a d.
3213 West Lynne. MS: Westlynne.
3276 was. MS: s crossed through after was.
3297 the awter. l crossed through after the.
3351 man. MS: or woman in superscript above man in red.
3392 that. that is written above what, which is expuncted.
3407 savyd. al expuncted and crossed through after savyd.
3409 belevyn. it expuncted after belevyn.
3434 mendys. abedyn with hir crossed through after mendys.
3441 the. thy has been crossed through, and an e written above the y, which has been changed into a þ.
3525 and. he crossed out after and.
3736 charité. Though Meech retains the phrase "token of love," it is enclosed by parallel slash marks that indicate the scribe deleted the phrase and substituted charité, which he wrote above token of love.
3758 arn. passyd owt of the worlde crossed through after arn.