Of All Thi Frendes Sche Is The Flowr

Words and Music: Traditional English

Source: Thomas Wright, Songs and Carols Now First Printed, From a Manuscript of the Fifteenth Century (London: The Percy Society, 1847), Song #44, printed verbatim from a manuscript probably owned by a professional musician, and apparently written in the latter half of the fifteenth century, circa 1471-1485.

This carol requires the installation of the "Junicode" font for best display. You can obtain a copy of this font from Old English at the University of Virginia, or right click here, and then select "Save File As" to save a copy of the zipped file to your computer. See notes in F A Q.

Of all thi frendes sche is the flowr,
Sche wyll the bryng to thi honowr,
Mary to kall thou has colowre,
            Asay, asay.

Sche bar Jhesu owr savyowr,
Of al myschyfe sche is socowr.
Mary is strowne in every schowr,
            Asay, asay.

Sche is cundas full of grace,
That spryngyth and spredyth in every place;
Mary to callyn gret ned thou has,
            Asay, say.

Hyf thou be put in poverte,
Of of thi frendes forsakyd thou be,
Mary his lady of gret pete:
            Asay, say.

3yf thou be aferd of thi foly,
Or of thi dan wan thou xal dey,
Mary his layde of gret mercy:
            Asay, say.

So gracius and so gud sche is
Sche bryng us al into blys,
Ther Mary lady and qwen is:
            Asay, say.

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