| sig: [A2] | |
| The first leaf is missing and the extent of any lost text is unclear. The following quatrain, placed at the top of the second leaf, appears to stand alone as a header to the main body of text, but may be the tail end of a longer prefatory statement. | |
| ¶Of this chapell 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 | |
| BEholde and se ye goostly folkes all | |
| Which to this place haue deuocyon | |
| Whan ye to our lady askynge socoure call | |
| Desyrynge here hir helpe in your trybulacyon | |
| 5 | 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 | |
| A noble wydowe somtyme lady of this towne | |
| Called Rychold in lyuynge full vertuous | |
| 10 | Desyred of oure lady a petycyowne |
| Hir to honoure with some werke bountyous | |
| This blyssed virgyn and lady most gracyous | |
| Graunted hir petycyon as I shall after tell | |
| Unto hir worshyp to edefye this chapell | |
| 15 | In spyryte our lady to Nazareth hir led. |
| And shewed hir the place where gabryel hir grette | |
| Lo doughter consyder to hir oure lady sayde | |
| Of thys place take thou suerly the mette mette= 'measure'; see OED s.v. met n1 | |
| Another lyke thys at walsyngham thou sette | |
| 20 | Unto my laude and synguler honoure |
| All that me seche there shall fynde socoure | |
| sig: [A2v] | |
| Where shall be hadde in a memoryall | |
| The great Ioy of my salutacyon | |
| Fyrste of my ioyes grounde and orygynall | |
| 25 | Rote of mankyndes gracyous redempcyon |
| Whan gabryell gaue to me relacyon | |
| To be a moder through humylyte | |
| And goddys sonne conceyue in virgynyte | |
| This visyon shewed thryse to this deuout woman | |
| 30 | 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 full wyse | |
| 35 | This chapell to forge as our lady dyd deuyse |
| 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 | |
| 40 | This was the fyrste pronostycacyowne |
| Howe this our newe Nazareth here shold stande | |
| Bylded lyke the fyrste in the holy-lande | |
| Whan it was al fourmed than had she great doute | |
| Where it shold be sette and in what maner place | |
| 45 | In-as-moche as tweyne places were founde oute |
| Tokened with myracle of our ladyes grace | |
| That is to say tweyne quadrates of egall space | |
| As the flees of Gedeon in the wete beynge drye | |
| Assygned by myracle of holy mayde marye. | |
| sig: [A3] | |
| 50 | The wydowe thought it most lykly of congruence |
| This house on the fyrste soyle to bylde and arere | |
| Of this who lyste to haue experyence | |
| A chapell of saynt laurence standeth nowe there | |
| Faste by tweyne wellys experyence doth thus lere | |
| 55 | There she thought to haue set this chapell |
| Which was begonne by our ladyes counsell | |
| The carpenters began to set the fundamente | |
| This heuenly house to arere vp on hye | |
| But sone their werkes shewed inconuenyente | |
| 60 | For no pece with oder wolde agre with geometrye |
| Than were they all sory and full of agonye | |
| That they coud nat ken neyther mesure ne marke | |
| To ioyne togyder their owne proper werke. | |
| They went to reste and layde all-thynge on syde | |
| 65 | 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 | |
| 70 | As she had begonne to perfourme that habytacion |
| All nyghte the wydowe permanynge in this prayer | |
| Oure blyssed lady with heuenly mynystrys | |
| Hir-sylfe beynge here chyef artyfycer | |
| Areryd this sayd house with aungellys ha[n]dys | |
| 75 | And nat only reryd it but set it there it is |
| That is two hundred fote and more in dystaunce | |
| From the fyrste place bokes make remembraunce | |
| sig: [A3v] | |
| Erly whan the artyfycers cam to their trauayle | |
| Of this sayd chapell to haue made an ende | |
| 80 | They founde eche parte conioyned saunsfayle |
| 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 | |
| 85 | 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 dystresse | |
| Foure hundreth yere & more the cronacle to witnes | |
| 90 | Hath endured this notable pylgrymage |
| Where grace is dayly shewyd to men of euery age | |
| 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 | |
| 95 | Maryners vexed with tempest safe to porte brought |
| Defe / wounded & lunatyke that hyder haue sought | |
| And also lepers here recouered haue be | |
| By oure ladyes grace of their infyrmyte | |
| Folke that of fendys haue had acombraunce | |
| 100 | And of wycked spyrytes also moche vexacyon |
| Haue 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 | |
| 105 | Callynge to oure lady deuoutly. |
| sig: [A4] | |
| Therfore euery 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 Annunciacion | |
| 110 | Therwyth conceyuynge this bryef compylacyon |
| Though it halte in meter and eloquence | |
| It is here wryten to do hyr reuerence | |
| All lettred that wyll haue more intellygence | |
| Of the fundacyon of this chapell here | |
| 115 | If ye wyll aske kokes shall you encence "kokes" is perhaps the proper name Cox or Cockes; encence =insense, "instruct" |
| More clerely to vnderstande this forsayd matere | |
| To you shall declare the cronyclere | |
| All cyrcumstaunce by a noble processe | |
| Howe olde cronyclers of thys bere wytnesse | |
| 120 | O 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 | |
| 125 | The holy lande our ladyes dowre |
| Thus arte thou named of olde antyquyte | |
| 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 | |
| 130 | And of hir moste gloryous salutacyon |
| Chyef pryncypyll and grounde of oure saluacyon. | |
| Whan gabrye[l]l sayd at olde nazareth Aue gabryell] gabryesl 1496 | |
| This ioy here dayly remembred for to be | |
| sig: [A4v] | |
| O gracyous lady glory of Ierusalem | |
| 135 | Cypresse of syon and ioye of Israel |
| Rose of Ieryco and sterre of Bethleem | |
| O gloryous lady our askynge nat repell | |
| In mercy all wymen euer thou doste excell | |
| Therfore blissed lady graunt thou thy great grace | |
| 140 | To all that the deuoutly visyte in this place. |
| ¶Amen | |