She May Be Callyd A Souerant Lady
A Song for The Blessed Virgin Mary
Words: Thomas Ashwell (c. 1478 – after 1513 (possibly 1527?)), an English composer of the Renaissance
Compare:
She May Be Called
A Sovereign Lady (Chambers and Sidgwick), with notes.
She May Be Called A Sovereign Lady (Rickert),
with notes.
Music: Not Stated; the Bass part is contained in Bassus.
Source: Rudolf Imelmann, "ZurKenntnis der vos-shakespearischen Lyrik," contained in Alois Brtandl and Wolfgang Keller, eds., Jahrbuch der Deutschen Shakespeare-Gesellschaft, Volume 39. (Berlin, 1903), "She may be callyd a souerant lady," pp. 127-128.
V. Marienlied.
Refrain.
She may be callyd a souerant lady,
That ys A mayd and beryth a baby!
1. A mayd pereles1
hath borne Godys son;
nature gaue place
when gostly grace
subdude reson. 8
Refr.
2. As for bewty
or hy gentrye
she is the floure.
by God electe
for this effect:
man to socour. 14
Refr.
3. Of vyrgyns quene
[and moder shene].
lodester of lyght.
whom to honor
we ought endeuer
vs day and ny[g]ht! 20
Refr.
Editor's Footnote:
1. The following line occurred immediately after this one in the text, but ought to have been a footnote:
[that is makeles]
Note:
The Middle English version also is found in Ewald Flügel, "Liedersammlungen des XVI. Jahrhunderts, Besonders Aus Der Zeit Heinrich's VIII. I. 1. Die lieder des Add. Ms. 31922," in Anglia ; Zeitschrift für englische Philologie enthaltend Beitrage zur Geschlicht der englischen Sprache und Literatur. Volume xii. (Halle a.S.), p. 591. Flügel's version is virtually identical. He notes that the lyrics occur on folios 11a, 11b, 12a, and 12b.
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