3776 her in erde, here on earth.

3780 lazerys, lepers.

3789 good to levyn wyth, "levyn" can mean either "live" or "believe"; hence, "good" might refer to either spiritual or material goods; leful, permissable, lawful.

3790 besyn hem, busy themselves.

3791 owt, out, away from.

3794 undyrnemyn, rebuke.

3805 pyment, sweetened and spiced wine.

3806 yrke, weary.

3812 hele, health.

3816-17 `Lord, . . . into thyn hert.' This couplet is repeated later, in chapter 88.

3821 bonowr, gentle, obedient.

3824 fastydyst, fasted.

3838 mythy, mighty, able.

3841 fode, food; discresyd, decreased.

3842 an, have.

3844 tho, those (weeping and crying); the mor thank, thank you more.

3846 gret fyer, the Guild Hall in Lynn was burned on January 23, 1420-21 (?).

3847 hydows, hideous.

3849 ne had grace ne myracle ne ben, had there not been grace nor miracle.

3865 wrowt, worked.

3869 qwer, choir; lantern, open structure upon a roof to give light to the interior.

3876 myrakyl, miracle.

3882 lettyd, hindered; hys kendly, its natural.

3883 sesyd, ceased.

3890 dur, endure.

3895 levyr, rather.

3898 dede hir drynkyn, caused her to drink.

3899 awter, altar.

3900 skylle, reason.

3902 wysys, manners, ways.

3904 for non, forenoon.

3911 demyng, deeming, thinking.

3912 awt, ought.

3919 chapetyl of the Frer Prechowrys, chapter (provincial assembly) of the Dominicans.

3920 it longyth on, one was obliged.

3928 conseyt, thought, (good) opinion.

3929 steryng, stirring.

3930 wistly, certainly.

3940-41 owr Ladiis Assumpsyon, the assumption of the body of the blessed Virgin into heaven.

3943 wol, well.

3946 supportacyon, support.

3950 maystyrschep, lordship, victory.

3954 compassyfly, compassionately.

3961 the priowr, Thomas Hevingham, see chapter 57.

3962 teme, theme.

3965-66 Bischop Wakeryng, John Wakering, Bishop of Norwich, 1416-25.

3978 the Provincyal of the White Frerys, Thomas Netter, elected provincial prior of the English Carmelites in 1414.

3989 sweme, sorrow.

3997 erde, earth.

4000 benefysed, have benefices, ecclesiastical livings or curacies; dar unethys, dare never.

4002 worthy, precious.

4004 oftynar, more often.

4007 Jesyn, see note to line 3666.

4014 hith, promised.

4025 levyn, live.

4026 be obediens, by obedience (to the will of figures of spiritual authority).

4029 heyl and hool, hale and whole; leve, leave, permission.

4031 dinyn, dine.

4032 mentyl and the ryng, mantle and ring of chastity, i.e., while continuing to live in the world.

4039-40 sawcyd and sawryd, sauced and savored (flavored).

4040 peyr of knyvys, pair of knives.

4045 remownyd, removed.

4047 clepyd, called.

4049 he that was sent to Lynne, John Derham, who briefly succeeded Thomas Hevingham.

4061 as loth as thu art to levyn my steryngys, as loath as you are to believe my stirrings.

4062 er this day sevenyth, within the week.

4063 rehersyd hir, repeated to her.

4070 wetyn in this mater, learn in this matter.

4073-74 for he was . . . of complexion, for he was a weak man with a feeble complexion (constitution).

4074 the kyng deyid, Henry V died on August 31, 1422.

4075 bood, abode.

4076 Bischop of Wynchestyr, Henry Beaufort, half-brother to Henry IV.

4083 lownes, lowness.

4084 frelté, frailty.

4091 deedly, mortal.

4093 wyth lyte, with candles.

4095 a brostyn, have burst.

4102 as sche, as if she.

4104 whech wolde a levyd ful fawyn, who would fain have lived.

4105 and aftyr me . . . yernyng, and after me you have no yearning.

4107 for cawse of comownyng, in order to talk with her.

4112-13 "To hem that . . . into goodnes," Romans 8:28.

4117 mené, supporters, followers, flock.

4124 telde hir in parcel of the cawse, told her part of the reason.

4126 sche myth not acordyn wyth, might not feel easy with; aray, array, clothing.

4127 say, saw.

4128 Holy Thursday, Thursday of Holy Week, the beginning of the intense period of prayer and ritual that ended in Easter; went processyon, went in procession.

4129 Mary Mawdelyn, Mary Magdalene.

4132 swemful, sorrowful.

4134 schulde a brostyn, should have burst.

4134-35 Sche myth . . . rewlyn hirselfe, She might not measure herself nor rule (control) herself.

4138 ententyd, attended.

4139 steyn up, rise up.

4139-40 for sche . . . in erde, in spite of the fact she could not relinquish him on earth.

4149 be teriid, be held back.

4155 dowt, doubt.

4158 to the, for you.

4159-60 Seynt Nicholas Day, there are no accounts in the Book of St. Nicholas' Day.

4160 plenowr remissyon, full forgiveness.

4166 Rafnys, i.e., Margery's stay at Rafnys when she went to Jerusalem and there received plenary remission for her sins.

4174 to ben sekyr, to be sure.

4179 duryn, endure.

4180 lazer, leper.

4185 that, those.

4186 lothful, loathful, hateful.

4188 halsyn, embrace.

4189-90 how gret desyre . . . lazerys, how great a desire she had to kiss lepers.

4191 algatys, anyhow.

4194 her, their.

4199 oo, one.

4202 horibyl thowtys, horrible thoughts. Kempe draws here upon the ancient and false link between leprosy and lechery.

4211 evyl afeerd, terribly afraid.

4212 manykyld, manacled.

4215 alienyd, aliened, out.

4220 gapyd, gaped.

4223 tediows, irritating.

4227 meke, meek.

4230 faryn, fare.

4231 recuryng, recovering.

4233 purifiid as other women be, The reference is to the ceremony of "churching" or purification which occurred some weeks after childbirth and signified a woman's re-entry into parish life.

4235 sey, seen.

4236 sey, saw.

4240 thre scor yer, sixty years.

4241 slederyd, slipped; fotyng, footing; gresys, steps.

4242 bresyd, bruised.

4243 teyntys, rolls of soft material for distending wounds; holyng, healing.

4245 dene, din, noise; luschyng, rushing.

4246 rowyd, streaked.

4254 enchewyn, avoid; perellys, perils; sojowryd, sojourned.

4255 incontinens, incontinence (to their vow of chastity).

4258-59 many evyl folke . . . Jhesu Crist, many evil folks whose tongues were their own, lacking the dread of and love for our Lord Jesus Christ.

4259 demtyn, thought.

4260 to usyn . . . her bodiis, to use, in the sense of sexual use, their physical desires.

4261 aspyin, spy; wetyn, know.

4263 be her . . . consentyng, by their good will and mutual consent.

4264 boord, meals.

4265 lettyd, hindered.

4270 bone, boon, request.

4275 fawyn, fain, gladly.

4282-83 don hys owyn . . . to a sege, could not relieve himself by going to a stool.

4286 costage in fyryng, expenditure in making fires.

4287 an yrked, have begrudged him; saf, except.

4297 fadom, fathoms.

4299 to synnyn on me wilfully, to sin willfully on account of me.

4306 algate, rather, prefer.

4310 buxom, obedient.

4312 planetys, planets.

4313 thundirkrakkys, thunder claps.

4314 levenys, lightning bolts.

4315 stepelys, steeples.

4318 yyt, yet.

4322 erdedenys, earthquakes.

4329 prys, price.

4340-41 he thar nevyr fallyn in dispeyr, he will never fall into despair because of it (his past).

4351 thei, though.

4352 sithys, times.

4356 hey, high.

4359 lest, least.

4363 hyrdil, hurdle.

4363-64 to wonderyn on, to wonder on, to marvel at.

4364 so it wer no perel to her sowlys, as long as it was no peril to their souls, i.e., as long as the sight did not imperil their souls; slory, slurry, thin mud.

4365 slugge, sludge, slime.

4368 Palme Sonday, Palm Sunday, the Sunday before Easter and the beginning of Holy Week. On this Sunday worshippers carrying palms would process out of the church, and then around it, from east to south to west and enter into the church again through the west door behind the priest and the sacrament (Duffy, pp. 23-27).

4384 langurith, languishes.

4387 fir, fire.

4390 a brostyn, have burst.

4391 al on a watyr, all wet.

4397 languryng, languishing.

4398 mornyng, mourning.

4409 merowr, mirror.

4410 for to, in order to.

4412 dever, duty.

4416 terys, tears.

4421-22 welyn good, will good.

4424 crossestaf, staff of the cross; smet on the chirche dor, smote on the church door, i.e., the point when the Palm Sunday procession entered the church, an entry that at once evoked Jesus' entry into Jerusalem and his entry into hell's gates on Holy Saturday.

4427 oste, host.

4428 mawgre, in spite of.

4433 drow up a cloth, All during Lent, the Crucifix was hidden from view by a painted veil suspended on the rood screen. At the climax of the Palm Sunday ceremony the people gathered in front of the rood screen and knelt as the veil was drawn up on the pulleys, the anthem "Ave Rex Noster'' was sung, and the priests venerated the Crucifix (Duffy, p. 27).

4449 rewth, pity. Much of Kempe's account of Christ's Passion is indebted to Nicholas Love's influential Mirror of the Blessed Life of Jesus Christ.

4479 wel levar, far rather.

4481 her, here.

4486-87 how may yowr . . . sone se al this wo?, how may your heart endure and see your blissful son see all this woe?

4487 dur, endure.

4488 yyt, yet.

4491 Mownt of Olyvete, Mount of Olives. On the night of the Last Supper, Jesus took the disciples to the Mount of Olives, where he prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane. There, he asked that the cup of suffering be taken from his lips but only if it was God's will. Shortly thereafter he was betrayed by Judas. See, for example, Mark 14:26-50.

4494 stavys, staves; swerdys, swords.

4495 polexis, pole-axes.

4497 "Ego sum," I am (he).

4498 sowtyn, sought.

4503 be haldyn and drawyn wyth, be held and drawn by.

4505 betyng, beating; bofetyng, buffeting; bobyng, striking.

4506-07 how smet the, who smot you.

4507 wise, way.

4508 syhyd, sighed.

4509 ferd, fared; venymowslych, venomously.

4510 luggen, pull; erys, ears; drawyn, draw, pull.

4513 peler, pillar.

4516 baleys, scourges.

4525 bowt, bought.

4527 peler, pillar.

4528 babelys, metal tip of a lash; leed, lead.

4529 prekelys, prickles; rowelys, rowels, wheels on spurs having several rotating sharp points; tho, those.

4530 comenawnt, covenant.

4531 petows, piteous.

4533 losyd, loosed.

4535 metyn, meet.

4536 boystows, rough; unethe, scarcely.

4547 rendyn of, rend from.

4548 sylke, silk; the which was . . . owr Lordys body, which had stuck and hardened completely and tightly to our Lord's body.

4549 drow, drew.

4552 flayn, flayed.

4555 a row and a boistews, rough and huge.

4557 schrynkyd, shrank; senwys, sinews.

4561 morkyn, marked.

4564 ye cruel Jewys, The anti-Judaism here is similar to but not as intensely expressed as that found in the N-Town cycle, another work of East Anglian provenance. For remarks about anti-Judaism as it pertains to the Book, see Staley (1994), pp. 68-71.

4572 morteys, hole.

4574 reverys, rivers.

4580 Alas, Lord . . . careful modyr, Alas, Lord, you leave here a careful (care-filled) mother.

4581 too, two.

4592-93 Joseph ab Armathy, Joseph of Arimethea, who claimed Jesus' body and helped to bury it.

4599 kissyn hys feet, Margery here asks to venerate the most humble aspect of the body — the physical person — of Christ that unites him with us. Traditionally Mary Magdalene is pictured at the feet of Jesus, so later (p. 196) Margery assumes the position of the Magdalene in venerating Christ's toes.

4610 beriin, bury.

4623 merveyl, marvel.

4624 thens, thence.

4627 ageyn, towards.

4631 mad for owr Lady a good cawdel, made for our Lady a good hot drink. On this detail, see Gibson, p. 51.

4640 careful reed, care-filled counsel, advice.

4643-44 I, synful Petyr . . . Crist, I, sinful Peter, who has forsaken my Lord Jesus Christ.

4648 yerne, quickly.

4664 "Salve, sancta parens," Greetings, blessed parent.

4667 tastyn, examine.

4668 sorhed, soreness.

4680 and herd and . . . of a gardener, See John 20:1-18.

4682 hast awey, have (taken) away.

4690 up reson, up risen.

4697 Purificacyon Day, Feb. 2, the Feast of the Purification, marked by an elaborate procession in which each parishoner carried a candle. See Duffy, pp. 15ff.

4718 fervowr, fervor.

4725 welyn, will.

4733 prevy, secret.

4735 bareyn, barren.

4737 er a suffyrd . . . hem wyth, or would have suffered great bodily pain in order to get tears.

4746-49 whedyr it wer . . . heryn hir er not, whether it (her weeping) was deceptive or not. Since she cried and wept in the sight of the people, they (the two priests) had a secret plan, without her knowledge, by which they would prove whether she cried in order for the people to hear her or not.

4753 in fere, together.

4770 tho, those.

4774 peraventur, perhaps.

4777 lakkyd, lacked.

4781 a don hir left of hir good purpos, have caused her to leave off her good purpose.

4797 ny everydeel, nearly everything.

4798 Abbas of Denney, Abbess of Denny (Cambridgeshire).

4804 pestylens, pestilence.

4812 bodyn, bidden.

4813-14 bodyn ben at hom, bidden stay at home.

4815 yede, went.

4819 botys, boats.

4822 ordeynd, ordained, taken care of.

4838 yyf thu haddist had good anow, if you had had goods enough.

4849 preyst, prays.

4861 hakkyd, hacked; flesche, meat.

4866 nevyr a deel, never at all.

4870 hyd, hidden.

4873 forbere, do without.

4879 wreth, wrath.

4887 bedys byddyng, prayers bidding (saying).

4897 to demyn thin hert, to judge your heart.

4905-06 to the that hast ben synful, to you who have been sinful.

4910 oryson, prayer; hir eyne wer evyr togedirward, her eyes were closed.

4913 howge, huge.

4916 wist, knew.

4920 for none, before noon.

4932 qwer, choir, i.e., in that part of the church which, during services, is appropriated to the singers.

4935 have mynde of, have memory of.

4937 wistly, certainly.

4943 on, one; baselard knyfe, dagger.

4944 kytt, cut.

4952 toos, toes.

4954 sytys, sights.

4960 instawns, urgency.

4965 sotyl, subtle.

4972 ey ledys, eye lids.

4974 kerche, kerchief.

4976 swathyd, swaddled.

4991 clepist, call.

4998 mene, mean, medium.

5004 confessowrys, confessors, those who have given heroic evidence of their faith in Christ.

5005 arayn, array.

5007 cuschyn, cushion.

5008-09 is apropyrd, is given as a property.

5010-11 I bowt the so der, I bought you so dear, i.e., paid your debts on the cross.

5011 aqwityn, acquit, pay back.

5014 rememorawns, remembrance.

5016 gevar, giver.

5022 proparteys, properties.

5027 very, true.

5033 aforn, before.

5034 wistly, certainly.

5037 wostly, certainly.

5039 mekyl, much.

5044 on lyve, alive; hele, health.

5047 as frely fro, as freely from.

5055 sattelyn as sor, settle as sorely.

5081 lownes, lowness.

5083 hily, highly; alle men that thu hast kept seke in my name, all men you have cared for [who have been] sick in my name.

5089 herberwyd, lodged, harbored.

5096 on frende, one friend.

5110 stabelyd, made stable.

5125-26 Sche supposyd sumtyme . . . of an owr, She supposed sometime that five or six hours had not been the space of an hour.

5127 irke, weary.

5128 levar, rather.

5138 hom, home.

5139 bedys, prayers.

5149 wher is . . . owyn reson, where is a better prayer by your own reason.

5157 yowr on knew yowr other, you knew one another.

5160 ronne, ran.

5162 `Lord for thi . . . into thyn hert,' This is a variation of the couplet in chapter 65.

5168 prise, value.

5171 dolful, doleful.

5193 levyst, believe.

5204-05 And I schal gevyn the ther ageyn al myn hert, And I shall give you there in return all my heart.

5207 tretys, treatise.

5229 tho that men wenyn . . . illusyons, those that men thought were revelations were deceits and illusions.

5230 sadly abydyn, wisely abide.
 
 

THE BOOK OF MARGERY KEMPE: NOTES


3788 thynkyst. al the world expuncted after thynkyst.

3789 unto. There is a caret before to; un is written above.

3883 whan. w expuncted after whan.

3895 divinité. MS: and sade in superscript after divinite in red.

3952 a gret. MS: agret.

3957 frer. as crossed out after frer.

3969 reguler and seculer. Refers to the distinction between a member of the clergy living under a monastic rule and one living within the world, such as a clerk or a canon.

3975 Holy Scriptur. MS: Scriptur Holy, with signs for inversion.

4012 God. w crossed through after God.

4024 that. l expuncted after that.

4098 desiryd. A dark stain obliterates si.

4101 owr. MS: Lord in superscript above owr in red.

4103 beheldyn. MS: ben heldeyn.

4108 a. Flourished m crossed through after a.

4109 sche. s crossed through after sche.

4116 meny. Literally "household," a term more often used to describe the households, or entourages, of the worldly. That Kempe often uses it to describe those persons surrounding or in the employ of ecclesiastical figures carries its own delicately charged irony.

4120 not. MS: to, with no in red above.

4130 Lady. Lady not in MS; designated by a red caret and added in dark ink in the right margin.

4150 sonys. MS: sonyd, with second s altering original d.

4168 and. MS: & &.

4183 seke man. MS: sekeman.

4249 hys. d crossed out after hys.

4259 owyn. hurt, indicated by a caret after owyn, is written in red above fayling.

4260 the. f expuncted after the.

4351 to me. MS: tome.

4452 teld. MS: tel.

4460 comfort. MS: comfor.

4470 ye. j has been changed to 3e, indicated by a caret, added above.

4478 ful. w crossed through after ful.

4509 venymowslych. MS: venowslych. Meech's emendation.

4512 had. Added in red above.

4513 he. Added in red above.

4531 ryth. wo crossed through after ryth.

4533 beryn. MS: to the mount expuncted after beryn.

4590 to. MS: to to.

4592 sorwe. wyth crossed through after sorwe; for is written between wyth and yow in superscript.

4631-33 mad for owr Lady . . . The creatur. These lines are crossed through in dark ink, which could be the same color as the original. The deletion is especially interesting, since it does not damage the sense of the narrative and perhaps suggests that the scribe himself exercised certain editorial liberties over the text he copied.

4634 er. er, indicated by a caret between gon and wher, is written in superscript.

4657 thynke. þ crossed through after thynke.

4663 wyth. wyth has been added in red in superscript. ther. ther is written above of, which has been expuncted.

4670 schal.3e crossed out and expuncted after schal.

4740 wythdrow. hir crossed through after wythdrow.

4825-26 and holpyn . . . his deth. These words have been crossed through in red.

4884 chosyn. specyal is expuncted here; chosyn is written above it.

4925 was. g crossed through after was.

4926 she. Added in red in the near right margin.

4943-44 And than . . . the brest. These words have been crossed through in red.

4950 to. to, indicated by a caret, is written in superscript.

4956 inundirstondabyl. in has been prefixed in red.

4980 as. meche has been expuncted after as.

5004 virginys. to wolcomyn me in thi sowle has been expuncted after virginys.

5051 that. the crossed through after that.

5137 so. MS: so so.

5148 be. be, indicated by a caret, is written in superscript between dowtyr and this.

5188 plesyd. MS: displesyd, with dis expuncted and crossed out.

5221 herd. herd has been added in red above the line.