Ther Is A Flowr Sprong Of A Tre

For Christmas

Words: Attributed to John Audelay from Balliol MS 354 - The Richard Hill Commonplace Book

Music: Not Stated

Compare:  There is a floure sprung of a tree (Chambers and Sidgwick from Douce MS 302)
The Flower Of Jesse (Rickert from Douce MS 302)
There Is A Flower Sprung From A Tree (Weston)

Alia cantalena de Sancta Maria.

Source: Roman Dyboski, ed., Songs, Carols, and Other Miscellaneous Poems, From the Balliol MS. 354, Richard Hill's Commonplace Book. Issue 101, Early English Text Society, Extra Series. (London: Published for the Early English Text Society by Kegan Paul, Trench, Trübner & Co., Ltd., 1907), #10, p. 6.

Ther ys a flowr sprong of a tre,
The rote of it ys called Jesse,
A flowr of pryce,
þer ys non such in paradice.

(1)
The flowr is fresshe & fayer be hewe,
Ytt fadis never, but euer ys neve ;
The blessid stoke  þat yt on grew.
Ytt was Mary, that bare Jhesu,
    A flowr of grace ;
    Of all flowers it ys solas. 6

(2)
The sede of ytt was Godis sond,
That God hym self sew with his hond,
In Nazareth, that holy lond ;
And a maydyn yt fond, 10
    A blessid flowr ;
    Yt spryngis neuer but in Mary bowr.

(3)
On knees Gabriell that maydyn gret,
The Holy Gost with her he mett,
Betwen them two that flowr was sett
And kept yt ys, for yt was dett,
    And kyngis lede 17
    To Bedlem, fer yt began to spred.

(4)
Whan pat flowr began to spred
And hys blosomys for to woyde,
Ryche & pore of euery lede 21
Marveled how  þat rose myght spred,
    Till on a day
    Herdmen cam  þat flowr to asay. 24

(5)
Angels cam owt of ther towr
To loke on that fayer flowr,
Hole yt was in his colowr, 27
And hole yt was in his ardowr
    To be-hold,
    How such a flowr myght spryng in mold. 30

(6)
Off lylly whit & rose of ryse,
Of prymrose & of flowr delyce,
Off all flowers, in my devyce,
The flowr of Jesse beryth the pryce,
    For most of all
    To help owr sowles both gre[t] & small. 36

(7)
I prayse the flowr of gud Jesse,
Of all the flowers  þat euer shall be
Vphold the flowr of gud Jesse, 39
And worship it for ay bewte.
    For best of all
     þat euer was or euer be shall. 42

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