Words: James Ryman, Order of Friars Minor (ca. 1492)

Te deum Laudamus
te dominum confitemur

Of mary a mayde with-owt lesyng
This day was borne a worthy kyng
Therfor with Ioy now lett vs syng
    Te deum Laudamus &c

Of Iessis rote ther sprang a flowr
That is moste swetist in odure
Syng we to hym with great honour
    Te deum Laudamus &c

On Christmas day that child borne was
Man to redeme for owr trespase
Therfor syng we both more & lesse
    Te deum Laudamus &c

On good fryday that childe wold dy
ffor owr trespace & owr folye
syng we to hym that sittith on hy
    Te deum Laudamus &c

On the third day he rose fulle ryght
and harrowed hell by his great myght
sing we to hym bothe day & nyght
    Te deum Laudamus &c

The gatis of heuyn they oponed abrode
By the vertue of that blyssid lord
Syng we to hym with one accord
    Te deum Laudamus &c

Pray we all to that lord of grace
That we may cume in-to that place
To syng with Ioy before his face
    Te deum Laudamus &c

Note: This is one of the four "Bradshaw" carols, discovered in the papers of Henry Bradshaw; the papers are at Cambridge University Library and are classified as MS. Add. 7350. The other Christmas-related carol has as the first line of its first verse: The ffather of heuyn from aboue. It has the same burden as this carol. The other two carols are described as of being of a ribald nature. See: Rossell Hope Robbins, "The Bradshaw Carols." PLMA, the Journal of the Modern Language Association, June 1966, Vol. 81, No. 3, pp. 308-310. See, generally, Rossell Hope Robbins, ed., Early English Christmas Carols. New York: Columbia University Press, 1961. For additional information about Mr. Robbins (1912-1990) see: Russell A. Peck and Rosemary Paprocki, Rossell Hope Robbins. University of Rochester, River Campus Libraries, Rossell Hope Robbins Library. Last updated November 30, 2005. Accessed 19 March 2006. URL: http://www.library.rochester.edu/index.cfm?PAGE=303 Page opens in a new window at an exterior location.