The Pynson Ballad
Of
this chapcll se here the fundacyon,
Bylded the yere of Crystes incarnacyon,
A thousande complete syxty and one,
The tyme of sent Edward kyng of this region.
2
Beholde
and se, ye goostly folltes all,
Which to this place haue deuocyon
Whan ye to Our Lady askynge socoure call
Desyrynge here hir helpe in your trybulacyon:
Of
this hir chapell ye may se the fundacyon.
If ye wyll this table ouerse and rede
Howe by myracle it was founded in dede.
3
A
noble wydowe, somtyme lady of this towne,
Called Rychold, in lyuynge full vertuous,
Desyred of Oure Lady a petycyowne
Hir to honoure with some werke bountyous,
This biyssed Virgin and Lady most gracyous
Graunted hir petycyon, as I shall after tell,
Unto hir worshyp to edefye this chapell.
4
In
spyryte Our Lady to Nazareth hir led
And shewed hir the place where Gabryel hir grette:
'"o
doughter, consyder" to hir Oure Lady sayde,
" Of thys place take thou suerly the mette,
Another lyke thys at Walsyngham thou sette
Unto my laude and synguler honoure;
All that me seche there shall fynde socoure,
5
Where shall be hadde in a memoryall
The great ioy. of my salutacyon.
Fyrste of my ioys grounde and orygynall
Rote of mankyndes gracious redempcyon,
\\'han Gabryell gaue to me relacyon
To be a moder through humylyte.
And goddys sonne conceyue in virgynyte”
6
This
visyon shewed thryse to this deuout woman.
In mynde well she marked both length and brede;
She
was full gladde and thanked Oure Lady than
Of hir great grace neuer destytute in nede.
This forsayd hous in haste she thought to spede,
Called to hir artyfycers 611 wyse,
This chapell to forge as Our Lady dyd deuyse.
7
All
this, a medewe wete with dropes celestyall
And with syluer dewe sent from hye adowne
Excepte tho tweyne places chosen aboue all
Where neyther moyster ne dewe myght be fowne.
This was the fyrste pronostycacyowne
Howe this our newe Nazareth here shold stande,
Bylded lyke the fyrste in the Holy Lande.
8
Whan
it was al fourmed, than had she great doute
Where it shold be sette and in what maner place,
In as moche as tweyne place, were founde oute
Tokened with myracle of Our Ladyes grace;
That
is to say, tweyne quadrates of egall space
As the ffees of Gedeon in the wete beynge drye,
Assygnedby myracle of holy mayde Marye.
9
The
wydowe thought it most lykly of congruence
This house on the fyrste soyle to bylde and arere.
Of this who lyste to have experyence,
A chapell of saynt Laurence standeth nowe there
Faste by tweyne wells, experyence doth thus lere,
There she thought to have set this chapell
Which was begonne by Our Ladyes counsell.
10
The
carpenters began to set the fundamente
This heuenly house to arere up on hye,
But sone their werkes shewed inconuenyente.
For no pece with oder wolde agre with geometrye;
Than were they all sory and full of agonye
That they could nat ken neither mesure ne marke
To ioyne togyder their owne proper werke
11
They
went to reste and layde all thynge on syde,
As they on their maystresse had a commaundement;
She
thought Our Lady, that fyrste was hir gyde,
Wold conuey this worke aftyr hir owne entent;
Hir
meyny to reste as for that nyght she sente
And prayed Our Lady with deuoute exclamacyon,
As she had begonne, to perfourme that habytacion.
12
All nyghte the wydowe permayninge in this prayer,
Oure blyssed Lady, with heuenly mynystrys,
Hirsylfe beynge here chyef artyfycer,
Arerid this sayd house with aungellys haudys,
And not only reyrd it but set it there it is,
That is, two hundred fote and more in dystaunce
From the fyrste place bokes make remembraunce.
13
Eriy
whan the artyfycers cam to their trauayle
Ofthis sayd chapell to have made an ende,
They founde eche parte conioyned sauns fayle
Better than they coude conceyue it in mynde;
Thus
eche man home agayne dyd wynde,
And this holy matrone thanked Oure Lady
Of hir great grace shewyd here specyally.
14
And syth here Our Lady hath shewyd many myracle
Innumerable, nowe here for to expresse
To suche as visyte thys hir habytacle.
Euer lyke newe to them that call hir in dystrsse.
Four hundreth yere and more. the cronacle to witnes
Hath endured this notable pylgrymage,
Where grace is dayly shavyd to men of euery age.
15
Many
seke ben here cured by Our Ladyes myghte
Dede agayne reuyued, of this is no dought,
Lame made hole and blynde restored to syghte,
Maryners vexed with-tempest safe to porte brought
Defe, wounded and lunatyke that hyder haue sought
And also lepers here recouered haue be
By Oure Ladyes grace of their infyrmyte.
16
Folke
that of fendys haue had acombraunce
And of wycked spyrytes also moche vexacyon
Have here be delyuered from euery such chaunce,
And soules greatly vexed with gostely temptacion,
Lo. here the chyef solace agaynst all tribulacyon
To all that be seke, bodely or goostly,
Callynge to Oure Lady deuoutly.
17
Therfore
euecy pylgryme gyue your attendaunce
Our Lady here to serue with humble affeccyon.
Your sylfe ye applye to do hir plesaunce.
Remembrynge the great ioye of hir Annunciadon.
Therwyth conceyuyngeb this brief compylacyon.
Though it halte in meter and eloquence.
It is here wryten to do hyr reuerence.
18
All
letued that wyll have more intellygence
Of the fundacyon of this chapell here,
If you wyll aske kokes shall you encence
More clerely to undersclnde this forsayd matere;
To
you shall dedare the cronyclere
All cyrcumstaunce by a noble processe
Howe olde cronyclers of thys bere wytnesse.
19
0 Englonde, great cause thou haste glad for to be,
Compared to the londe of promyssyon,
Thou atteynest my grace to stande in that degre
Through this gloryous Ladyes supportacyon,
To be called in euery realme and regyon
The holy lande, Oure Ladyes dowre;
Thus arte thou named ofolde antyquyte.
20
And this is the cause, as it apereth by lyklynesse,
In the is belded newe Nazareth, a mancyon
To the honoure of the heuenly empresse
And of hir moste gloryous salutacyon,
Chyef pryncypyll and grounde of oure saluacyon,
Whan Gabryell sayd at olde Nazereth 'Aue',
This ioy here dayly remembred for to be.
21
0 gracyous Lady, glory of Jerusalem,
Cypresse of Syon and Ioye of Israel,
Rose of Jeryco and Sterre of Bethleem,
0 gloryous Lady, our askynge nat repell,
In mercy all wymen euer thou doste excell,
Therfore, blissed Lady, graunt thou thy great grace
To all that the deuoutly visyte in this place.