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69
Also on a Good
Fryday at Seynt
Margaretys Chirch the priowr of the same place
and the same town, Lynne, schuld prechyn. And he toke to hys
teme, "Jhesu is ded."
Than the sayd creatur, al wowndyd wyth pité and compassyon,
cryid and wept as yyf
sche had seyn owr Lord ded wyth hir bodily eye. The worschepful
priowr and doctowr
of divinité suffyrd hir ful mekely and no thyng mevyd
ageyn hir. An other tyme Bischop
Wakeryng, Bischop of Norwich,
prechyd at Lynne in the seyd cherch of
Seynt
Margarete, and the forseyd
creatur cryid and wept ful boystowsly in the tyme of hys
sermown, and he suffyrd it ful mekely and paciently and so dede
many a worthy clerk,
bothyn reguler and seculer, for ther was nevyr clerk prechyd
opynly ageyn hir crying
but the Grey
Frer, as is wretyn beforn. So owr Lord of hys mercy, liche as he had
promysyd the seyd creatur that he schulde evyr provydyn for hir,
steryng the spiritys of
tweyn good clerkys the whech longe and many yerys had knowyn
hir conversacyon
and al hir perfeccyon, made hem mythy and bolde to spekyn for
hys party in excusyng
the seyd creatur, bothyn in the pulpit and besyden wher thei
herd any thyng mevyd
agen hir, strengthyng her skyllys be auctoriteys of Holy Scriptur
sufficiently, of whech
clerkys on was a White Frer, a doctowr of divinité. The
other clerk was a bacheler of
lawe canon, a wel labowrd man in scriptur. And than sum envyows
personys
compleynyd to the Provincyal of the White Frerys that the sayd
doctowr was to
conversawnt wyth the sayd creatur, forasmech as he supportyd
hir in hir wepyng and
in hir crying and also enformyd hir in qwestyons of Scriptur
whan sche wolde any
askyn hym. Than was he monischyd be vertu of obediens that he
schulde no mor spekyn
wyth hir ne enformyn hir in no textys of Scriptur, and that was
to hym ful peynful, for,
as he seyd to sum personys, he had levar a lost an hundryd pownd,
yyf he had an had
it, than hir communicacyon, it was so gostly and fruteful. Whan
hir confessowr
perceyvyd how the worthy doctowr was chargyd be obediens that
he schulde not spekyn
ne comownyn wyth hir, than he for to excludyn al occasyon warnyd
hir also be vertu
of obediens that sche schulde no mor gon to the frerys, ne spekyn
wyth the sayd doctowr,
ne askyn hym no qwestyons as sche had don beforn. And than thowt
sche ful gret
sweme and hevynes, for sche was put fro mech gostly comfort.
Sche had levar a lost
any erdly good than hys comunycacyon, for it was to hir gret
encres of vertu. Than
long aftyrward it happyd hir goyng in the strete to metyn wyth
the seyd doctowr and
non of hem spak o word to other. And than sche had a gret cry
wyth many teerys.
Aftyr, whan sche cam to hir meditacyon, sche seyd in hir mende
to owr Lord Jhesu
Crist, "Alas, Lord, why may I no comfort han of this worschepful
clerk, the whech
hath knowyn me so many yerys and oftyn tymes strengthyd me in
thi lofe? Now hast
thu, Lord, takyn fro me the ankyr, I trust to thi mercy, the
most special and synguler
comforte that evyr I had in erde, for he evyr lovyd me for thy
lofe and wold nevyr
forsakyn me for nowt that any man cowd do er seye whylys he levyd.
And Maistyr
Aleyn is putt fro me and I fro hym. Syr Thomas Andrew and Syr
John Amy arn
benefysed and owt of town. Maistyr Robert dar unethys spekyn
wyth me. Now have I
in a maner no comfort neithyr of man ne of childe." Owr merciful
Lord Crist Jhesu,
answeryng in hir mende, seyd, "Dowtyr, I am mor worthy to thy
sowle than evyr was
the ankyr
and alle tho whech thu hast rehersyd er alle the werld may be, and I schal
comfortyn the myself, for I wolde spekyn to the oftynar than
thu wilt latyn me. And,
dowtyr, I do the to wetyn that thu schalt spekyn to Maistyr Aleyn
ageyn as thu hast don
beforn." And than owr Lord sent be provysyon of the priowr of
Lynne a preste to ben
kepar of a chapel of owr Lady, clepyd the Jesyn,
wythinne the Cherch of Seynt
Margarete, whech preyst many tymes herd hir confessyon in the
absens of hyr princi-
pal confessowr. And to this
preyst sche schewyd al hir lyfe as ner as sche cowde fro
hir yong age, bothe hir synnes, hyr labowrys, hir vexacyons,
hir contemplacyons, and
also hir revelacyons and swech grace as God wrowt in hir thorw
hys mercy, and so
that preyste trustyd ryth wel that God wrowt ryth gret grace
in hir. |