A.B.C. A prayer to Our Lady by Geoffrey Chaucer (K > M)

Chaucer. England,16th century.
Note the beads. British Library [CC0]

This is the fourth in a series of posts publishing a remarkable English poem written in the 14th century in honour of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

‘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.

Kalenderes[1] enlumyned[2] ben thei
That in this world ben lighted with thi name,
And whoso goth to yow the righte wey, [L75]
Him thar not drede in soule to be lame.
Now, queen of comfort,[4] sith thou art that same
To whom I seeche[5] for my medicyne, [L78]
Lat not my foo[6] no more my wounde entame;[7]
Myn hele[8] into thin hand al I resygne.[9]

[1] Kalenderes: From Latin kalendae, kalendas, noun plural, first day of the month, on which the order of days was proclaimed; the calendar would have been a liturgical calendar showing the seasons, feastdays and fasts of the Church. Our Lady featured prominently with Feastdays including  the Purification (2nd February), the Annuciation (25th March), her Nativity (8th September) & her Conception (8th December).
[2] enlumyned: enlumine >[Compare medieval Latin lumina (lit. ‘lights’) the paintings in a MS.] To illuminate, adorn (manuscripts) with coloured designs or miniatures. Also figurative. Anticipating the 'lighted' in L74.
[3] lame: Disabled or impaired in any way; weak, infirm; paralysed; unable to move. c1325 > Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 8136   An heremite ... was halt and lam.
[4] queen of comfort: Cf Mary's titles from the Litany of Loreto: Salus infirmorum, Health of the sick; Consolatrix afflictorum, Comforter of the afflicted.
[5] seeche: the words seek, search and beseech share a common origin.
[6] foo: foe; the devil. 
[7] entame: To make a cut into, wound. Also figurative. 1393   J. Gower Confessio Amantis I. 66   If thou thy conscience Entamed hast in such a wise.
[8] hele: Recovery from sickness, healing, cure. 1325 > Cursor Mundi (Trin. Cambr.) l. 19754   Crist ... þe hele of þi wo.
[9] resygne: to yield (a position, right, etc.) to another person.  Also figurative.  c1400   Brut (Rawl. B. 171) 162 (MED)   Y resyngn op þe crone of þe reaume of Engeland into þe Popis Hande. > resigning of the crown of the realm of England into the Pope's Hand.
[10] penaunce: (1) A judicial sentence; judicial punishment; here, the torture and crucifixion of Christ. 1376: Langland Piers Plowman (Trin. Cambr. R.3.14) (1960) A. xi. 26 (MED)   He..can..prechen of þe penaunce þat pilatis wrouȝte To iesu.
(2) Pain, suffering, affliction, sorrow. 1390: Chaucer Parson's Tale 343   The same Seint Paul after his grete penaunce in water and in londe...
(3) The performance of some act of self-mortification or the undergoing of some penalty as an expression of sorrow for sin or wrongdoing; here voluntarily undertaken, as a means of satisfaction for sin.

Ladi, thi sorwe kan I not portreye [L81]
Under the cros, ne his greevous penaunce;[1]
But for youre bothes peynes I yow preye,
Lat not oure alder[2] foo make his bobaunce [3] [L84]
That he hath in his lystes [4] of mischaunce[5]
Convict[6] that ye bothe have bought so deere.
As I seide erst, thou ground of oure substaunce,[7] [L87]
Continue on us thi pitous [8] eyen cleere!

[1] penaunce: 'his grievous penance' is the suffering and death of Christ.  (1) A judicial sentence; judicial punishment; 1376: Langland Piers Plowman (Trin. Cambr. R.3.14) (1960) A. xi. 26 (MED)   He..can..prechen of þe penaunce þat pilatis wrouȝte To iesu.
(2) Pain, suffering, affliction, sorrow. 1390: Chaucer Parson's Tale 343   The same Seint Paul after his grete penaunce in water and in londe...
(3) The performance of some act of self-mortification or the undergoing of some penalty as an expression of sorrow for sin (here, others' sin) or wrongdoing; here voluntarily undertaken, as a means of satisfaction for sin.
[2] alder: the genitive plural of all adj. 1300 Chron. Robert of Gloucester (Calig.) 2865   Þat is alre manne [c1425 Harl. aller mon] worst þat ich euere ne sey mid eye.alder foo would then mean: the foe of all.
[3] bobaunce: Boasting, pride, pomp. c1386   Chaucer Wife of Bath's Prol. 569   Certeinly I sey for no bobance, Yet was I neuere withouten purueiance Of mariage.
[4] lystes: the equivalent of the like-sounding Old French lisse (modern French lice): The palisades or other barriers enclosing a space set apart for tilting; hence, a space so enclosed in which tilting-matches or tournaments were held. in, within (the) lists. Sometimes, by extension, the arena in which bulls fight or wrestlers contend, etc. c1386   Chaucer Squire's Tale 660   Cambalo That faught in listes with the bretheren two For Canacee.
[5] mischaunce: disaster, calamity, evil. Chaucer Knight's Tale 2009   Amyddes of the temple sat meschaunce [v.r. myschaunce] With disconfort and sory contenaunce.
[6] Convict: To prove or declare guilty of reprehensible conduct, error, etc.; OED cites c1366   Chaucer A.B.C. 86   That he hath in hise lystes of mischaunce Conuict þat ye boþe haue bouht so deere. Ll 83-86 may be explained as: But for the sake of the sufferings you and your Son endured, I pray now that you do not allow the devil, the enemy of us all, to boast that he has, in his evil combat arena, won the conviction of someone whose chance of salvation you both bought so dearly.
[7] substaunce: Substantial existence; substantiality, being. OED cites: 1370 Chaucer A.B.C. (Cambr. Gg.4.27) (1878) l. 87   As I seyde erst þou ground of substaunce Contynewe on vs þyme petous eyne clere.
[8] pitous: Full of pity; affected with or feeling pity; compassionate, tender, merciful; a1375   William of Palerne (1867) 5488 (MED)   Meliors his quene was..so pitevows to þe pore..þat eche man hade ioye to here of here speke.

Moises, that saugh the bush with flawmes rede
Brenninge,[1] of which ther never a stikke brende, [2] [L90]
Was signe of thin unwemmed maidenhede.[3]
Thou art the bush on which ther gan descende
The Holi Gost,[4] the which that Moyses wende [5] [L93]
Had ben a-fyr, and this was in figure.
Now, ladi, from the fyr thou us defende
Which that in helle eternalli shal dure.[6] [L96]

[1] flawmes rede / Brenninge: red flames burning. 
[2] stikke: A relatively small and thin branch of a tree or shrub. brende: burned
The reference here is to Exodus, Chapter 3:[2] And the Lord appeared to him [Moses] in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush: and he saw that the bush was on fire and was not burnt. [Ex 3]. Understanding the burning bush as a type of Mary, who conceived and bore Christ without losing her virginity, was common from the earliest Church Fathers onwards. For example, Saint Gregory of Nyssa, theologian and bishop of the fourth century, wrote:
“What was prefigured at that time in the flame of the bush was openly manifested in the mystery of the Virgin, once an interval of time had passed. Just as on the mountain the bush burned but was not consumed, so also the Virgin gave birth to the light and was not corrupted. Nor should you consider the comparison to the bush to be embarrassing, for it prefigures the God-bearing body of the Virgin.” St. Gregory of Nyssa, On the Birth of Christ, PG 46.1133.
[3] unwemmed maidenhede: Spotless, pure, immaculate (. Of qualities, etc); maidenhede: virginity. OED cites: c1366   Chaucer A.B.C. 91   Signe of þin vnwemmed maidenhede. 
[4] When Mary announced her fiat, the Holy Ghost descended and she conceived the Saviour of mankind.:[35] And the angel answering, said to her: The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the most High shall overshadow thee. And therefore also the Holy which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God. [Luke 1]
[5] wende: From past tense of ween: To think, surmise, suppose, conceive, believe, consider.a1325  (▸c1250)    Gen. & Exod. (1968) l. 1543   Ysaac wende it were esau.
[6] dure: To last, continue in existence.