The Layfolks Mass Book Part 10
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Look paternoster thou be sayand, [saying]
the chalice he be uphevand; [holding up]
then time is near of sacring, [the consecration]
a little bell men use to ring.
Then shall thou do reverence
to Jesus Christ own presence,
that may loose all baleful bands;
kneel and hold up both thy hands,
and with inclination of thy body,
behold the elevation reverently,
for that is he that Judas sold
and then was scourged on the rod, [cross]
and for mankind there shed his blood,
and died and rose and went to heaven,
and he shall come to deem us even,
such man after he has done,
that same is he thou looks upon.
This is the truth of holy kirk, [church],
who trow this not shall sit well mark
for thee I rede [advise] with good intent
that thou behold this sacrament.
Such prayer then shall thou make
as likes best to thee thou take.
Some men maketh here prayers
in there best manners.
Such prayer should be without drede [dread]
and therewith paternoster and the creed.
If thou of any (prayers) be unpurveyed,
I set here on that may be said.
If I mark it here in letter,
thou may change it for a better.
Loved be thou, king
and blessed be thou, king;
of all thy gifts good,
and thanked be thou, king.
Jesu, all my joying,
that for me spilt thy blood
and died upon the rod, [cross]
thou give me grace to sing
the song of my loving.
Welcome, Lord in form of bread
for me thou suffered hard deed;
as thou bare the crown of thorn
thou suffer me not be forlorne.
When thou has said thy creed
this short prayer then thou rede,
that next is written in black letter,
full mikel [very much] shall thou fare the better.
Lord, as thou can, and as thou will,
have mercy on me, that has done ill,
for what-so thou wilt with me do,
I hold me paid to stand thereto;
thy mercy, Jesu, would I have,
and I for firdnes [fear] durst it crave,
but thou bids ask, and we shall have,
sweet Jesu make me save,
and give me wit and wisdom right,
to love thee, Lord with all my might.
When thou has made this oraison [prayer]
then shall thou with devotion
make thy prayers in that stead
for all thy friends that are dead,
and for all Christian souls sake,
such prayer shall thou make.
Lord, for thy holy grace,
hear our prayers in this place,
grant now, Lord, for our prayer,
that Christian souls, that passed here
from this life, that sinful es, [is]
that such one have part of this Mess;
for their souls I pray dearly,
that I shall neven [name] serly, [severally]
that this Mess may be their mede [reward]
help and heal from all kinds drede, [doubt, fear, dread]
father soul, mother soul, brother dear,
sisters souls, sib men [kinsmen] and other sere, [several]
that us good willed, on us good did,
or any kindness unto us kydde; [showed]
and to all in purgatory pyne, [punishment]
this Mess be mede [reward] and medicine;
to all Christian souls holy
grant thy grace and thy mercy;
forgive them all their trespass,
loose their bonds, and let them pass
from all kinds pain and from all care
Into the joy that lasts evermore. Amen.
Look paternoster thou be prayand, [praying]
Ay till thou hear the priest be sayand [saying]
per omnia secula all on hight [with loud voice]
then I would thou stood upright,
for he will say with high steven [voice]
paternoster to God of heaven;
hearken him with good will,
and while he says, hold thee still,
but answer at temptationem
sed libera nos a malo, amen.
It were no need thee this to ken [know]
for who can not this are lewed [ignorant] men.
When this is done, say privily
other prayer none thereby.
Pater-noster first in latin
and sithen [after] in english, as here is written.
Our father, that art in heaven
blessed be thy name to neven. [utter]
Come to us thy kingdom,
in heaven and earth thy will be done.
Our such days bread grant us today,
and our misdeeds forgive us ay
as we do them that to us trespass,
right so have mercy upon us,
and lead us into no fowndyng, [temptation]
but shield us from all wicked thing.
There is mention of the first bell which signifies the start of the key central part of the canon containing the consecration, but no mention of bells at a later stage, but we assume it was done. Evidence suggests this bell ringing was common in France during the 11th century and spread throughout Europe. By the 13th century, it had become universal in the western church.
The Norman (12th century) church at Stainburn in Yorkshire, which had a bell turret attached in the 14th century.
In England, we see lots of bell turrets popping up on older churches around the 13th and 14th centuries, like the one above, which shows the increasing use of external bells in worship, not just internal small bells. I wrote a little more about bells here.
At the Elevation, a prayer is said, and I found this rather nice 16th century one in the commentary of the Layfolks Mass Book, based on the Ave verum corpus:
Hayle very bodye incarnate of a virgin
nayled on a cross and offered for mannes synne,
whose syde being pierced, bloude ran out plenteouslye.
At the poynte of death, let us receive thee bodely.
O sweet, O holy, O Jesu sonne of Mary.
It’s notable that the writer of this text doesn’t say any particular prayers should be said, but whatever the person wishes.
At the end, we reach the Our Father, which is said by the priest, with the congregation joining in at the end “sed libera nos a malo.” In English we now have two main translations of the Our Father, with only one of them being used in the Catholic church. But there were once many more English versions of this prayer, using dialect words and local grammar.
The writer suggests that the person should say the paternoster first in Latin and then in English, which indicates (a) that they knew it in Latin but also (b) that they may not fully understand the words, so should repeat it in English.
I find the last line interesting as a translation of “sed libera nos a malo”. The word malus/malo can mean evil in general, which is often the way people perceive it today, or evil thing, as in this text. It can also be translated as evil person, or the devil.
Next extract
This is an excerpt from The Lay Folks Mass Book, a verse poem from the 14th/15th century, originally written in Middle English.
Each Sunday I post a short excerpt, transcribed into modern English for ease of reading, and harmonised from the 4 surviving versions which are in different dialects and with some variations in text.
Notes on the transcription: like German, the letter “e” on the end of words is often pronounced. In general, modern English has dropped all these so in transcribing it I have generally followed modern English which means that in most cases the rhyme and meter work. But occasionally, I have put letters in square brackets where required for the verse, or sometimes separated the endings with a hyphen to indicate that they should be pronounced as a separate syllable.
Most of the words have a modern English equivalent which is very similar, but where that doesn’t happen I have put the meaning in [ ].
One important word: the term for Mass in middle English is Messe, with the “e” pronounced, as in German. I have generally written it as Mess for the sake of the rhyming.
The text used is the one published by Thomas Frederick Simmons in 1879 and reprinted in 1968.