Man, Assay

:: A man asay, asay, asay

And axe mercy while thou maye. ::
Man have in mynde how here by-fore
For thy mysdede thou wheren for lore;
But mercy to geve now Christe ys bore.
:: A man asay, &c. ::
In synne thy lyfe yf thou have ledde,
Amende hit nowe, be not a-dradde,
Ffor he his mercy forth hath spradde.
:: A man asay, &c. ::
And they thy synne be never so ylle,
Ffor thy synne shalt thou not spylle,
Nowe mercy to aske yf thou wylle.
:: A man asay, &c. ::
God that
Ffor thi
Ffor his
:: A man

deyde uppon the rode,

mysdede he shadde hys blode,
mercy ys ful and gode.
asay, &c. ::

He that the so
Mercy he wolde
Yif thou seke,
:: A man asay,

dere hath bought,

that thou sought
he nyeth hit nought.
&c. ::

Mercy is spredde on the grounde,

Therto left for a stounde;
Therfore thou hit seke til hit be founde.
:: A man asay, &c. ::

Notes:
asay, assay; attempt.
axe, ask.
have in mynde, remember.
here by-fore, herebefore; before now.
mysdede, misdeeds; sins.
wheren, were.
for lore, forsaken.
geve, give.
bore, born.
hit, it.
a-dradde, adread, i.e. afraid.
spradde, spread.
they, though.
And.. ylle, no matter how bad your sin.
Ffor.. spylle, for your sin you shall not be damned.
deyde, died.
rode, rood; the Cross.
shadde hys blode, shed his blood.
ful and gode, good and complete.
the so dere, thee so dear.

Yif, if.
he nyeth hit nought, he negates it (your sin) to nothing.
Therto, there.
a stounde, a while.

Sing we Yule
Make we mirth
For Christes birth,
And sing we Yole till Candlemess.
The first day of Yole have we in mind
How God was man born of our kind,
For he the bondes wold unbind
Of all our sinnes and wickedness.
The second day we sing of Stephen,
That stoned was, and steyed up even1
To God that he saw stond in Heven,
And crowned was for his prowess.
The third day longeth to Sent John,
That was Christes darling, derer none,
Whom he betok, whan he shuld gon,
His moder der for his clenness.2
The fourth day of the children yong
That Herowd to death had do with wrong.3
And Christ they coud non tell with tong,
But with their blod bar him witness.
The fifth day longeth to Sent Thomas,
That as a strong piller of bras,
Held up the Chirch and slain he was,
For he stod with rightwesness.
The eighth day tok Jesu his name,
That saved mankind fro sin and shame,
And circumcised was for no blame
But for ensample4 of mekness.
The twelfth day offered to him kinges three
Gold, myrrh and cence, thes giftes free:5
For God and man and King was he,
Thus they worshipped his worthiness.
On the fortieth day cam Mary mild
Unto the temple with her child
To shew her clen that never was filed,6
And therwith endeth Christmes.
1. Ascended directly.
2. To whose care, when he had to go, he entrusted his dear mother, for his purit
y.

3.
4.
5.
6.

The Slaughter of the Innocents.

ensample, example.
cence, incense; free, generous.
filed, defiled.