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| Chaucer. England,16th century. British Library [CC0] |
‘An A.B.C.', 'la Prière de Nostre Dame', was written by Chaucer in the 1370's. One of his earliest poems, it was based on a French work written by Guillaume de Deguileville (1295 - c1358, a French Cistercian and writer).
Each of the 23 eight-line stanzas begins with a successive letter of the alphabet (but excluding the later letters J, U and W). The line numbers are indicated by (L-). The metre is iambic pentameter and the rhyming scheme is a-b-a-b-c-d-c-d.
The poem is reproduced below with explanatory notes. Numbers in brackets [ ] refer to footnotes that follow the relevant text. They are not hyperlinked so readers will need to scroll down.
Dowte is ther noon[1], thou queen of misericorde[2],[1] noon...n'art: adouble negative not used in modern English: There is no doubt... that thou art the cause of grace and mercy here.
That thou n'art[1] cause of grace and merci heere;
God vouched sauf[3] thurgh [12] thee with us to accorde.[4] (L27)
For certes[5], Crystes blisful[6] mooder deere[7],
Were now the bowe bent in swich[8] maneere[9]
As it was first of justice and of ire, (L30)
The rightful God nolde[10] of no mercy heere[11];
But thurgh[12] thee han we grace as we desire.
[2] misericorde: Compassion, pity, mercy. 1390 >Chaucer Parson's Tale 806 Thanne is misericorde..a vertu by which the corage of a man is stired by the mysese of hym that is mysesed.
[3] vouched sauf: To show a gracious readiness or willingness, to grant readily, to condescend or deign, to do something. a1350 St. Stephen 207 in C. Horstmann Altengl. Leg. (1881) 30 Gamaliell wouched safe To lay þat body in his awyn graue.
[4] accorde: To restore (estranged parties) to friendly relations; to reconcile (people in conflict or disagreement). Sir Gawain & Green Knight (1940) 2405 > With my wyf, I wene, We schal yow wel acorde, Þat watz your enmy kene.
[5] certes: Of a truth, of a certainty, certainly, assuredly. Middle English certes, < Old French certes, more fully a certes, according to Littré < Latin *a certis from certain (grounds), certainly.
[6] blisful: Blessed, beatified; sacred, holy.1340 Ayenbite (1866) 186 Þe blisuolle blode of Iesu Crist.
[7] deere: 1) Glorious, noble, honourable, worthy.1375 Cant. de Creatione 701 in Anglia I I am Michel, þe angel dere Ordeyned abouen man. 2) Regarded with personal feelings of high estimation and affection; held in deep and tender esteem; beloved, loved.1325 > Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 20133 Saint iohn hir keped & had ful dere.
[8] swich: such
[9] maneere: manner; For it is certain, O blessed and glorious Mother of Christ, were the Divine bow bent in the same way as it first was, in judgement and anger, the just God would not hear of mercy ...' Scriptural references to God's bow include:
[12] ...He hath bent his bow, and set me as a mark for his arrows.
Tetendit arcum suum, et posuit me quasi signum ad sagittam. [Lam 3]
[2] Rebuke me not, O Lord, in thy indignation; nor chastise me in thy wrath.
Domine, ne in furore tuo arguas me, neque in ira tua corripias me;
[3] For thy arrows are fastened in me: and thy hand hath been strong upon me.
quoniam sagittae tuae infixae sunt mihi, et confirmasti super me manum tuam [Ps 37]
[10] nolde: Etymology: < ne adv. + will v. As a modal auxiliary, normally complemented by the infinitive: to be unwilling, not to will. 1395 > Bible (Wycliffite, L.V.) (Royal) (1850) Isa. xlii. 24 Thei nolden go in hise weies.
[11] heere: hear.
[12] thurgh > through > through: By means of; by the intermediate agency of; with the aid of; via;
Evere hath myn hope of refut[1] been in thee, (L33)[1] refut: Shelter or protection from trouble or danger. Cf. refuge. A person who or thing which provides shelter, aid, or protection; A place of safety or security; [2] heer-biforn: here-before, hitherto: c1385 Chaucer Troilus & Criseyde .Allas þat he [sc. jealousy].Shuld haue his refuyt in so digne a place.
For heer-biforn[2] ful ofte in many a wyse[3]
Hast thou to misericorde[4] receyved me.
But merci, ladi, at the grete assyse[5] (L36)
Whan we shule come bifore the hye justyse.
So litel fruit shal thanne[6] in me be founde [7]
That, but[8] thou er[8] that day correcte[9] me, (L39)
Of verrey right my werk[10] wol me confounde.
c1390 in C. Brown Relig. Lyrics 14th Cent. (1924) 154 Þe peynted word þat fel biforen, Be-hynde, hit is anoþer hewe.
[3] wyse: wise; Old English wíse manner, fashion, like the cognate forms in other Germanic languages (see the respective sections below), was used in various kinds of adverbial expressions meaning ‘in such-and-such a manner, way, or respect’, in which it was qualified by an adjective or a noun with or without a governing preposition. Several of these expressions, with others formed on their pattern in later periods, have survived as simple words, e.g. anywise, crosswise, leastwise, likewise, nowise, otherwise, slantwise
[4] misericorde: Compassion, pity, mercy. 1390 >Chaucer Parson's Tale 806 Thanne is misericorde..a vertu by which the corage of a man is stired by the mysese of hym that is mysesed.
[5] grete assyse: the Last Judgement: 1340 R. Rolle Pricke of Conscience 5514 Þe haythen men at þat grete assys Sal þan be halden als men rightwys.
[6] thanne: then
[7] L38: [19] Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit, shall be cut down, and shall be cast into the fire.
Omnis arbor, quae non facit fructum bonum, excidetur, et in ignem mittetur. [Matt 7]
[8] ...unless thou before that day...
[9] To set right, amend (a person); to cure of an error or fault; to admonish or rebuke, or to point out the errors or faults of, in order to amendment.c1386 Chaucer Wife of Bath's Prol. 661 Ne I wolde nat of hym corrected be.
[10] werk: Acts or deeds collectively; perhaps recalling: [17] So faith also, if it have not works, is dead in itself.
Sic et fides, si non habeat opera, mortua est in semetipsa. [James 3]
[11] confounde: To defeat utterly, discomfit, bring to ruin or perdition, destroy, overthrow, rout, bring to nought.
Fleeinge, I flee for socour to thi tente [1][1] tente: This recalls [L9]: Bountee so fix hath in thin herte his tente. Tent = tabernaculum in Latin; just as the Tabernacle in the Old Testament contained the word of God (the Commandments), the bread from Heaven (the manna) and the rod of the High Priest Aaron, so too Our Lady bore within her the Word made flesh, who would be the living, true Bread from Heaven and the eternal High Priest, in whose persona, as alter Christus, priests would offer the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass adown the ages.
Me for to hide from tempeste[2] ful of dreede,[3] (L42)
Biseeching yow that ye you not absente [4]
Thouh I be wikke.[5] O, help yit[6] at this neede!
Al[7] have I ben a beste in wil and deede, (L45)
Yit, ladi, thou me clothe with thi grace.
Thin enemy and myn [8] -- ladi, tak heede--
Unto my deth in poynt [9] is me to chace! (L48)
[2] tempeste: frequent image throughout the Bible, eg: "I stick fast in the mire of the deep: and there is no sure standing. I am come into the depth of the sea: and a tempest hath overwhelmed me."[Psalms 68:3] "Let not the tempest of water drown me, nor the deep swallow me up: and let not the pit shut her mouth upon me."[Psalms 68:16]
[3] dreede: dread: "And because the children of Israel know they have offended their God, thy dread is upon them."[Judith 11:9]; "Sanctify the Lord of hosts himself: and let him be your fear, and let him be your dread."[Isaias (Isaiah) 8:13]
[4] L43: beseeching you not to withdraw your presence.
[5] wikke: 1340–70 Alex. & Dind. 537 Tricerberus þe helle-hound..Boþe wakrong [wakeful] & wikke
c1386 Chaucer Parson's Tale ⁋355 (Egerton 2726) The fende seith I woll chace and pursue man by wyk suggestion.
[6] yit: yet; O help me in need, even at this late hour in my life.
[7] Al: probably 'although' in view of the 'yet' in L46; possibly a separated modifier of 'beste' (beast') as in 'a complete beast'.
[8] Thin enemy and myn: the devil. Our Lady was identified from the Church Fathers onwards as the 'second Eve'; hence, the prophecy in Genesis made to Eve applies also. in its fullest sense, to Mary: [15] I will put enmities between thee and the woman, and thy seed and her seed: she shall crush thy head, and thou shalt lie in wait for her heel. [Gen 3] Similarly, the poet is the seed of Eve and the devil is accordingly the dread foe of both.
[9] in poynt: in point: in a position ready to, on the point of; in immediate peril or danger of. c1390 Chaucer Man of Law's Tale 331 My sone in point is for to lete The holy lawes of oure Alkaron.(My son is about to forsake the holy laws of our Koran)
[10] chace: To pursue with a view to catching. c1330 (▸?c1300) Guy of Warwick (Auch.) l. 1206 Þe hert to chacen and þe hinde. To persecute, harass. c1386 Chaucer Parson's Tale ⁋452 Preyeth for hem..that yow chacen and pursewen.Ll 47-8: My Lady, take heed: I am in immediate danger of being hunted unto my death by your enemy and mine.
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