A NEW MIDDLE ENGLISH CAROL.

Since the publication of Greene's revised standard edition of the Middle English carol corpus(1) a handful of new ones have come to light.(2) There is, however, among the medieval materials in the collection of Professor T. Takamiya in Tokyo, another unrecorded carol. It appears on the blank, but water-stained, verso of the final leaf (sig. [EE viii]) of an incunable Latin Bible, printed at Speier by Peter Drach in 1489 (Goff B-587),(3) in a well-formed hand of the late fifteenth century.(4) The text is printed below. In transcribing it editorial intervention has been kept to a minimum; neither punctuation nor capitalization has been added; the few contractions that appear have been expanded and italicized. Stanza numbers have been added for ease of reference.

 
   Chorus.(5) Nowell Nowell Nowell Nowell(6) by the grettyng 
   of gabriell 
   Nowell Nowell Nowell Nowell pat borne is owr emanuell 
 
   [1](7) 
 
   All this world may knowe full well 
   Comyn is owre lyffe owre hope owre heyll 
   the deuylles yoke both sharpe and sore(8) 
   ys brokyn and raynson payd ther fore 
 
   Chorus 
 
   [2] 
 
   That Isay prophett songe be forne 
   The madyns chyld sothly is borne 
   As the angell in his message sayd 
   The holygost hath fulfyllyd a mayd 
 
   Chorus 
 
   [3] 
 
   Mary hath conceuyd in wome 
   fore seyd the word of God in trone 
   that all the world may nott vp hold 
   A madyns bosome beryth where she wold(9) 
 
   [Chorus](10) 
 
   [4] 
 
   The roytt of iesse hath floryd one bowghe 
   One syon par of beryth fruytte enowghe 
   Thatt blyssyd byrth so cummys to passe 
   pe moder is a madyn 3itt as she wasse 
 
   Chorus 
 
   [5] 
 
   In crybe he lyth full lawe patt lorde 
   Which(11) lyvely lytht formyd att on worde 
   Wyth father he mayd pat hevyn so sheyn 
   Whos modyre hym lappys in clothis full clen 
 
   Chorus 
 
   [6] 
 
   He patt the woorld holdes wnder lawe 
   Wyth .x. preceptes by love and awe 
   Now lyst wytsaue a man to be 
   Vndyre band of lawe thowghe he ware fre 
 
   [7] 
 
   [leaf torn away] fowll was fyllyd by adam the old 
   [leaf torn away]yth patt iudas sold 
   [leaf torn away] and had a fayll 
   [leaf torn away]th vs all(12) 

Interpretative Notes

Nowell Nowell ...] variants of the `Nowell Nowell' burden occur in a number of Nativity carols (6, 18, 30, 41, 90). It is not, however, in any sense peculiar to those on this subject; it is particularly frequent among related Annunciation carols (cf. nos 236, 239, 242, 245, 256), but also recurs elsewhere in the corpus.

[1] The deuylles ... ys brokyn] references to Christ's triumph over Satan are relatively rare in Nativity lyrics; cf. however: `The fende oure foo he made to flee' (34 [2]); `Thou hast take us alle fro oure foo / And thou hast brought us owte of helle' (92 [2]); for a detailed statement of the devil's `bargan' with man see (95 [3]).

[2] Isay prophett] references to Isaiah's prophecy (Isaiah vii. 14) of Christ's birth occur in a number of Nativity lyrics; see (66 [3], (68 - erroneously citing `Isaac') (71-3).

[4] pe moder is a madyn 3itt as she wasse] Mary's virginity is a frequent topic in Nativity lyrics; cf. (14 [1]), (21A [3]) (30 [1]-[2]), (32 [2]), (35 [3]), etc.