Nay iuy, nay

The Contest Between the Ivy and the Holly

Words: English Traditional
Harln. MS, 5396, Temp. Hen. 6.

Compare:
A Song Of the Ivy and the Holly (Sandys, 1833)
The Contest of the Ivy and the Holly (Husk, 1868, with notes)

William Sandys, Christmas-tide, Its History, Festivities and Carols, With Their Music (London: John Russell Smith, 1852), pp. 219-20.

See Notes under The Holly And The Ivy.

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See notes in F A Q

Nuy iuy, nay, hyt shall not be I wys,
Let holy hafe þ^e maystry as þ^e maner ys.

Holy stond in þ^e hall fayre to behold,
Iuy stond w^t out þ^e dore, she ys full sore a cold.
    Nuy iuy, nay, hyt shall not be I wys,
    Let holy hafe þ^e maystry as þ^e maner ys.

Holy and hys mery men þey dawnsyn and þey sung,
Iuy and her maydenys þey wepyn and þey wryng.
    Nuy iuy, nay, hyt shall not be I wys,
    Let holy hafe þ^e maystry as þ^e maner ys.

Iuy hath a lyve she laghtyt w^t pe colde,
So mot þey all ha fae þ^t w^t jvy hold.
    Nuy iuy, nay, hyt shall not be I wys,
    Let holy hafe þ^e maystry as þ^e maner ys.

Holy hat berys as rede as any rose,
The foster þe hunters kepe hem fro þe dos.
    Nuy iuy, nay, hyt shall not be I wys,
    Let holy hafe þ^e maystry as þ^e maner ys.

Iuy hath berys as blake as any slo,
Ther com þe oule and ete hym as she goo.
    Nuy iuy, nay, hyt shall not be I wys,
    Let holy hafe þ^e maystry as þ^e maner ys.

Holy hath berdys a ful fayre flok,
The hyghtyngale þe perpyinguy, þe gayntyl lauyrok.
    Nuy iuy, nay, hyt shall not be I wys,
    Let holy hafe þ^e maystry as þ^e maner ys.

Gode iuy what byrdys ast pu?
Non but þe howlat þ^t kreye how how.
    Nuy iuy, nay, hyt shall not be I wys,
    Let holy hafe þ^e maystry as þ^e maner ys.

Editor's Note:

In Richard Greene, A Selection of Carols, #34A, p. 92, the source is given as "British Museum. MS. Harley 5396." It is described as three manuscripts bound in one from the 12th and 15th centuries (p. 172). See notes under The Contest of the Ivy and the Holly.

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