This Endris Night

Alternate Title: The Virgin and Child
Version 1
Compare: This Endris Night - Version 2

Burden:
 This endris¹ night I saw a sight,
A star as bright as day,
And ev'r among, a maiden sung,
"Lully, bye bye, lullay."

1. This lovely lady sat and sang,
And to her child did say,
"My son, my brother, father dear,
Why liest thou thus in hay?"

2. "My sweetest bird, 'tis thus required,
Though I be king veray,²
But nevertheless I will not cease
To sing 'Bye bye, lullay.'"

3. The child then spake in his talking,
And to his mother did say,
"Yea, I am known as heaven-king
In crib though I be laid.

4. "For angels bright down on me light;³
Thou knowest 'tis no nay.⁴
And for that sight thou may delight
To sing, 'Bye bye, lullay.'"

5. "Now, sweet son, since thou art a king,
Why art thou laid in stall?
Why dost not order thy bedding
In some great kinges hall?

6. "Methinks⁵ 'tis right that king or knight
Should lie in good array.
And then among, it were no wrong
To sing 'Bye bye, lullay.'"

7. "Mary mother, I am thy Child,
Though I be laid in stall;
For lords and dukes shall worship Me,
And so shall kingès all.

8. "Ye shall well see that kingès three
Shall come on this twelfth day.
For this behest give Me thy breast
And sing, By by, lullay."

9. "Now tell, sweet Son, I Thee do pray,
Thou art my Love and Dear—
How should I keep Thee to Thy pay⁶,
And make Thee glad of cheer?

10. "For all Thy will I would fulfill—
Thou knowest well, in fay⁷;
And for all this I will Thee kiss,
And sing, By by, lullay."

11. "My dear mother, when time it be,
Take thou Me up on loft,
And set Me then upon thy knee,
And handle me full soft.

12. "And in thy arm thou hold Me warm,
And keep Me night and day,
And if I weep, and may not sleep,
Thou sing, By by, lullay."

13. "Now sweet Son, since it is come so,
That all is at Thy will,
I pray Thee grant to me a boon⁸,
If it be right and skill⁹,—

14. "That child or man, who will or can
Be merry on my day,
To bliss Thou bring—and I shall sing,
Lullay, by by, lullay."

Notes

1. This endris night: "The other night" or "A few nights ago" Return

2. Veray: True Return

3. Light: Alight Return

4. No nay: Undeniable Return

5. Methinks: I think Return

6. Pay: Satisfaction Return

7. Fay: Faith Return

8. Boon: Favor Return

9. Skill: Reasonable Return

There are numerous, separate examples. Compare:

• This Endris Night - Version 2 (William Henry Husk, 1868)

• This Endres Nyght (My Dere Son, William Sandys, 1833)

• Thys endris nyghth - Thomas Wright (1847)

• This Winter's Night, I Saw A Sight (from "Joshua Sylvestre," 1861).

• The Virgin and Child (On yester night I saw a sight, Stainer & Bell, Second Series, Carol #25, ca. 1871)

Joshua Sylvestre's Note:

The present carol has been copied from a reprint of the ancient manuscript in the possession of Thomas Wright, Esq. [See below] Another version of it will be found in the "Reliquæ Antiquæ," printed from a MS. in the Advocates' Library, Edinburgh. It may be remarked that there is a gracefulness and tenderness in many of the touches, not often met with in poems of this early date.

Note that Hugh Keyte, an editor of The New Oxford Book of Carols (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1992) believes that "Joshua Sylvestre" is a pseudonym for a collaboration between William Sandys (1792-1874) and William Henry Husk (1814-1887). See Appendix 4.

William Henry Husk's Note:

This carol is contained in a very curious manuscript copy of Songs and Carols, which was edited by Mr. Thomas Wright in 1847 for the Percy Society. The manuscript was, in Mr. Wright's opinion, "written in the latter half of the fifteenth century, probably during the period intervening between the latter end of the reign of Henry VI [1421-1471], and the beginning of that of Henry VII [1457-1509]." There is another copy in a manuscript of the same period preserved in the Advocates' Library, Edinburgh. The easy flow of the verse, the grace of expression, and the refinement of the piece generally, are very remarkable, considering the period of production.

Thomas Wright, Songs and Carols (Now First Printed, From a Manuscript of the Fifteenth Century) (London: Printed for the Percy Society by Richards, 100, St. Martin's Lane, 1847):

Another copy of this carol is printed in the Reliquiæ Antiquæ, vol. ii, p. 76, from a MS. in the Advocates' Library, Edinburgh, of the latter part of the fifteenth century.

The Wright version is carol #19, found on page 12 (see link, above). One of the members of the Percy Society in 1847 was William Sandys, the noted antiquarian. The secretary to the Society in 1841 was E. F. Rimbault, another noted collector of carols.