The Digital Index of Middle English Verse
Found Records:
1.
M and A and R and I [M & A & R & I / Syngyn I wyl a newe song]
2.
Macer of herb who so he seeks [Macer of erbe who so he sekes / Seth Ypocras as on sett
lekes]Former 2026.5; two extracted versions of
4171
8.
Madame d’amours
DIMEV 3310 Witnesses: 1
Loyalty to his mistress — two stanzas in eight short lines
9.
Madame DeFrayne
DIMEV 3311 Witnesses: 1
The faithful lover — three stanzas in eight short lines
19.
Magi…
DIMEV 3321 Witnesses: 1
A poem apparently on the visit of the Magi to Bethlehem — probably in
stanzas of four or five monorhyming lines
20.
Magister Reading
DIMEV 3322 Witnesses: 1
Four kinds of honored men — one quatrain (abab) introduced by Christus
fuit in a Latin sermon De corpore Christ
21.
Maid and mother eke thou be [Mayde and moder glade thou be…]See
5163 (New Haven, Yale University, Beinecke Library Osborn a1 [
olim Laurence Witten MS 5] was purchased from Laurence Witten in 1965)
22.
Maid and mother glad thou be [Mayde and moder glade thou be]
24.
Maid whither go you
DIMEV 3324 Witnesses: 1
A sophisticated story of love — four quatrains in dialogue (with inserted
couplets) and introductory heading: ‘Hey troly loly lo’
25.
Maid without make
DIMEV 3325 Witnesses: 1
A hymn to the Virgin Mary translating: ‘Virgo singularis respice quod
quero’, etc. — in quatrains
28.
Maiden in the moor lay
DIMEV 3328 Witnesses: 3
The Maid of the Moor — four rondel-type 7-line stanzas
(aabbaac)
32.
Make merry at thy meat [Make mery at thy mete]See lines 63-64 of Cambridge UK, Trinity College R.3.19 (599) copy of
5530
33.
Make no tarying til to-morn
34.
Make not too many fests [Make nat to many feestys]See lines 61-62 of Cambridge UK, Trinity College R.3.19 (599) copy of
5530
35.
Make us merry this new year [Make us meri this new yere]
36.
Make we joy now in this fest [Make we ioye nowe in this fest / In quo Cristus natus
est / Eya]
37.
Make we merry both more and less [Make we mery bothe more & lasse]
38.
Make we merry both more and less [Make we mery bothe more & lasse / For now ys
þe tyme of Crystmas]
39.
Make we merry in hall and bower
DIMEV 3332 Witnesses: 1
A carol on the Circumcision — six quatrains (abab) with Latin
caudae and burden: ‘To encrease our joy and blysse / Christus natus
est nobis’
40.
Make we merry in the hall and bower [Make we mery in hall & bowr / Thys tyme was
born owr Savyowr]
41.
Make we merry in this fest [Make we mery in this fest / For verbum caro factum
est]
42.
Make we mirth [Make we myrth / For crystes byrth / & syng we yole tyl
candelmes]
44.
Make ye merry as ye may [Mak ye merie as ye may / & syng with me I you
pray]
45.
Make you merry and do gladly [Make ȝhow mery & do gladly]Incipit to variant version of
5582
46.
Maken their moan [Makyn here mone]
47.
Maketh wrong right [Maket wrong rith]
49.
Man and Woman God hath wroughtPrefatory verses in some printed texts of
4236 (abstracted from
675)
52.
Man assay assay assay [Man assay assay assay / and aske mercy quyls þat þu
may]
53.
Man assay say say [Man asay say say / Make thi mone to mary þat mild
m[ay]]
54.
Man be advised ere thou begin [Man be auised or þu begynne]
56.
Man be glad in hall and bower [Man be glad in halle & bour / This tyme was born
our sauyour]
57.
Man be merry as bird on berry [Man be merie as bryd on berie / & al thi care let
away]
58.
Man be merry I thee rede
DIMEV 3338 Witnesses: 1
A Nativity carol — three quatrains (abab) and 4-line burden: ‘Man
be joyfull & myrth þou make / For crist ys made man for thy sake’
(repeated)
59.
Man be wise and arise [Man be wys & arys / & thynk on lyf þat lestenit
ay]
61.
Man behold before thee how thy life wasteth [Man byholde byfore þee howe þi
lyffe wasteþ]
63.
Man behold what I for thee
DIMEV 3341 Witnesses: 1
A paraphrase of ‘O homo vide quid pro te pacior’, etc.
— sixteen short lines
64.
Man behooveth oft to have this in mindFour monorhyming lines on Abuses of Age (cf.
1506) included in an Epitaph: see
4480
65.
Man beware and be no fool [Man be war and be no fool]
66.
Man beware and wise in deed [Man be ware & wise in dede]
67.
Man beware beware beware [Man bewar bewar bewar / & kepe the þat þou
haue no car]
68.
Man beware ere thou be woe [Man be war er þu be wo /Þink on pride & let
hym goo]
69.
Man beware of thine wooing [Man bewar of thin wowyng / For weddyng is the longe
wo]
72.
Man beware the way is slither
DIMEV 3344 Witnesses: 1
Against false executors — four quatrains (aaab) with the refrain:
‘Lytyll ioye ys son done’, and burden: ‘Haue in mynd in mynd in mynd /
Secuters be oft onekynd’
78.
Man have in mind how here before
DIMEV 3350 Witnesses: 4
Of Divine Mercy — six quatrains (aaab) + burden (bb): ‘Aske
þou mercy whill þou may’, and burden (bb): ‘Man assay assay assay
/ and aske mercy quyls þat þu may’
82.
Man I have bought thy love full dear [Man I haue bocht thi luf full deir]Three stanzas of 3612 originally missing from copy and added at end by a later
hand in Edinburgh, National Library of Scotland, Advocates’ 34.7.3 (f. 77-77
v) copy of
5707
88.
Man if thou wilt me mercy getSee Cambridge UK, Gonville & Caius College 174/95 version of
4312 (printed as if separate entry in Person, Henry Axel.
Cambridge Middle English Lyrics.
Seattle: University of Washington Press, 1953; rev. ed. 1962)
93.
Man in thy mind looketh this be best [Man in þi mynd loket þis be
best]
95.
Man is but a frail thing
DIMEV 3364 Witnesses: 1
On mortality — two couplets translating ‘Est homo res
fragilis’ which precedes it in John Grimestone’s sermon
notebook
98.
Man is mould
DIMEV 3367 Witnesses: 1
Evils of the times — two couplets in a Latin sermon
100.
Man let be thy cruelness [Man lat be þi cruelnese / And be glad of
crystmese]
101.
Man look thou have this guise [Man loke þu haue þis gys]The second line of an imperfect moral song: see
5866
104.
Man might that all had I-dight [Man of might, that al hed ydyght]
105.
Man move thy mind and joy this feast [Man move thy mynd and ioy this fest]
107.
Man of thee self thou have good mind [Man of the self thu haf god mynde]
108.
Man on the mould have this in mind [Man on the molde haue this in mynde]Alternate first line in Glasgow, Glasgow University Library Hunterian 230 (U.3.3) copy of
3353
109.
Man or woman that will lere [man or woman þat wol lere / Amasse deuouly for to
here]See Cambridge UK, Newnham College 4 [
olim Yates-Thompson] version of
5537
118.
Man that in earth abides here
DIMEV 3379 Witnesses: 1
A song of the Host — three five-line stanzas with refrain
‘Mirabile’, plus burden (bb): ‘Mirabile misterium /
In forme of bred ys Godis son’
120.
Man that life upholdest / think when thou art oldest
DIMEV 3381 Witnesses: 7
Do good while you may (6 lines), a tag in the Fasciculus Morum; listed
by Wenzel, Siegfried.
Verses in Sermons: ‘Fasciculus morum’ and Its Middle
English Poems.
Cambridge, MA: Medieval Academy of America, 1978 as ‘When þou þy lyfe
vp-holdyste…’
122.
Man that will of leechcraft hear [Man that wole of lechecrafte here]
124.
Man them plaineth of mickle untruth [Man hem pleynit of mikil untrewthe]
127.
Man thou have thine thought on me
DIMEV 3386 Witnesses: 1
Appeal of Christ to Man — three 5-line stanzas (aaaaa, aabbb), with
2-line refrain: ‘þenc man of mi harde stundes &c.’
134.
Man without mercy mercy shall miss [Man withoute mercye mercy schal mysse]
135.
Mane nobiscum domine
136.
Mane nobiscum domine
138.
Mankind I call which lyeth in frail
DIMEV 3394 Witnesses: 1
Christ’s Call to Mankind — seven 4-line stanzas (abcb) and 6-line
burden: ‘Com home agayne / Com home agayne / Min owine swet hart com home agayne /
Ye are gone astray / Owt of youer way / There[fore] com h[o]me
agayne’
142.
Mans soul thou art my make [Mannis soule þu art my make]Lines 31-32 of
3326, added
below
3282 with marker to show where
they should be inserted
145.
Many a man blames his wife pardie
DIMEV 3400 Witnesses: 3
Women will have their word — fourteen quatrains (aaab) including refrain,
‘In villa’ plus burden (b): ‘In villa In villa quid
vidistis in villa’
147.
Many man singeth
DIMEV 3402 Witnesses: 2
A six-line stanza from The Proverbs of Hendyng
153.
Margaret Meek [Margaret meke / whom I now seke]Introductory heading to
5132
154.
Maria mater gracie / Mater misericordie
155.
Maria spes nostra salue
156.
Maria virgo assumpta est
159.
Mark this song for it is true [Marke this songe for it is trewe]
161.
Marvel not Joseph on Mary mild [Meruele noght Josep on Mary mylde / Forsake hyr not
tho she be with childe]
162.
Marvel nothing Joseph though Mary be with child [Mervell nothyng Joseph thaȝ mary
be with child]
164.
Mary blissful maid
DIMEV 3411 Witnesses: 1
A simple prayer to the Virgin Mary — one quatrain
165.
Mary flower of flowers all
DIMEV 3412 Witnesses: 1
A Christmas carol — seven quatrains (aaab) including refrain,
‘Puer natus est nobis’, plus burden: ‘Now syng we wyth joy
and blys / Puer natus est nobis’
171.
Mary hath born alone [Mary hath borne alone / The sonne of god in trone]
172.
Mary I pray thee as thou art free [Marie I praye þe as þu art fre]
175.
Mary Madgalene and Mary Jacobee [Marie magdaleyne & Marie Iacobee / Oure leuedi
soster etc.]Formerly 2105; a section heading to
787
176.
Mary Magdelene early was I-wend / In the darkhede [Marie Magdalene erliche was i-wend
/ In þe durchede]Formerly 2106; a section heading to
787
180.
Mary mild made great moan [Mary myelde made grete mone / For her dere sonne
alone]
183.
Mary mother I you pray [Mary moder I you pray…]
186.
Mary mother meek and mild
DIMEV 3427 Witnesses: 1
A macaronic song of the Five Joys — five quatrains (aaab) with Latin
caudae and ‘Nowel’ burden: ‘Nowel el el el el el el el
el el el / Mary was gret with gabriel’
190.
Mary mother well thee be
DIMEV 3431 Witnesses: 1
Six English lines interspersed among nine Latin lines: 5 then 4 rhyming Latin
lines, then 1 English, then 5 Latin lines
193.
Mary nold not away ere she wist more [Marie nolde noȝt awey ar heo weste
more]Formerly 2120; a section heading to
787
195.
Mary so free
DIMEV 3435 Witnesses: 1
A prayer tag to the Virgin — one couplet
196.
Mary so mild alone [Mary so myelde alone / For her chielde made grete mone]
199.
Mary so mild of heart and mind [Mary so myelde of hert & myende / Hath borne a
child to save mankyende]
200.
Mary so mild scripture sayeth thus [Mary so myld scripture seyeth þus / Hath
borne a chyld namyd Ihesus]
201.
Mary so mild so meek so free [Mary so mylde so meke so fre / Hath borne a chylde of
hyghe degre / And his name ys Ihesus]
204.
Mary with weeping great
DIMEV 3440 Witnesses: 1
Mary’s tears at the Crucifixion, in a Latin sermon Lacrimis cepit
rigare pedes eius — one couplet
212.
Masters that useth blood-letting [Maystris that uthyth blode letyng]An introduction of three couplets prefixed to some MSS of
5395
214.
Masters your manners are hard to know [Mastres your maners are hard to know]
221.
May I say no more so well me is [May y sugge na more so wel me is]
222.
May no man now undeemed be [May na man now undemit be]
225.
Me ferlies of this great confusion [ME ferlyis of this
grete confusioun]
226.
Me I-dreches
three foes
DIMEV 3455 Witnesses: 1
The three enemies of mankind, translating ‘Me vexant triplici
certamine tres inimici Serpens antique caro lubrica mundus iniquus — one
long couplet
228.
Me longed never so sore so sore / to see my lovely lady dear [Me longede neuere so
sore so sore / To seo my loueli ladi deere]Beginning of second part of
4130, possibly a separate poem
230.
Me rues on Mary my mother [Me rewis one mary my modyr]Formerly 2140; stanza 5 of
1771
occurring separately
234.
Measure is a merry mean [Mesure ys a mery mene]See lines 35-36 of Cambridge UK, Trinity College R.3.19 (599) copy of
5530
235.
MecheSee under ‘Moche’
236.
Meed in thy land is dooms man [Meede in thy lande is domys man]See Beaminster, Dorset, J. Stevens Cox [
olim Harmsworth; Sotheby Sale, Oct., 1945, lot 1956], now privately
owned copy of
1506
237.
Meed may speed and that is ruth [Mede may spede and that ys rowth]See lines 83-84 of Cambridge UK, Trinity College R.3.19 (599) copy of
5530
240.
Meekly we sing and say to thee [Mekely we syng and seye to the / Maria spes nostra
salue]
242.
Memento homo quod cinis est
248.
Men rent me on rood
DIMEV 3469 Witnesses: 1
Appeal of Christ to Man by the Pains of the Passion — six monorhyming
quatrains
250.
Men that usen bloodletting [Men yat usyn blodlatyng]
261.
Mercy God and grant mercy [Mercy god and graunt merci]
266.
Mercy me grant of all that I me complain
DIMEV 3485 Witnesses: 1
His pitiless mistress — sixteen lines based on phrases from
The Temple
of Glass (
1403), followed by
lines 736-54, 762-3 from the same poem, adapted to form a personal
petition
267.
Mercy Mercy / Contynuely
268.
Mercy passeth all thing [Mercy passeth alle thinge]
270.
Merry it is in May morning [Mery hyt ys in may mornyng / Mery wayys for to
gone]
272.
Merry Margaret [Mirry Margaret / As mydsomer flowre]
274.
Merry tale tell IHC this day / Of Saint Mary that sweet mayFormerly 2165; renumbered as
122
275.
Merry time is in April [Mery tyme is in Aperelle]See Oxford, Bodleian Library Ashmole 61 (SC 6922*) copy of
Sir Orfeo:
5744
278.
Mickle price
DIMEV 3489 Witnesses: 1
Two pages, fragments of a poem about events in the reign of Henry VIII, viz. a
banquet and tournament attended by Emperor Charles and by King Francis of France,
Henry’s wife Katherine and Francis’s wife Claudia near Calais; a great
flood, falling of a parish church steeple during evensong; and of Henry and Cardinal
taking wealth from the Dean of St Paul’s and a rich Londoner when they died,
probably a continuation of
217 — 33
+ 35 lines in rhyme-linked eight-line stanzas, ababbcbc
281.
Might in seeking
DIMEV 3491 Witnesses: 1
Attributes of might, wit and mercy — three monorhyming
lines
284.
Might mild and strong
DIMEV 3494 Witnesses: 1
Characteristics of the virtuous, in a Latin sermon de ascensione domini
— four monorhyming lines
293.
Mine auctor Bochas rejoiced in his life [Myn auctour Bochas rejoysed in his
lyve]An extract from
The Fall of Princes, I. 6511-6734: see
1904, extracts [Harley
2251]
300.
Mine heart the ship of fresh feeding [Myn hert the schepe off fresche fedyng]Formerly 2180; changed due to new reading of first line: now
1923
305.
Mine hearts lust
DIMEV 3512 Witnesses: 1
Title of a courtly love lyric mentioned in a bill of a music teacher c.
A.D. 1473-4
310.
Mine own dear mother sing lullay [Myn own dere moder syng lulley]
314.
Minion go trim go trim [Mynyon go trym go trym]
317.
Mirabile misterium / In forme of bred ys godis son
318.
Mirabile misterium / The Son of God ys man becum
319.
Mirror of ghostly shewing
DIMEV 3521 Witnesses: 1
A unique 4-line tag in a copy of the Fasciculus morum; the only English
in the whole Latin text, rendering in English the Latin moralization of
M-O-R-S
320.
Mirror to the church and of the country the strength
DIMEV 3522 Witnesses: 1
Epitaph of Chilperic placed on his tomb by a bishop of Paris, in Part V of
Fabyan’s Chronicle, Part V, cap. 117, translating Latin verse which
precedes it — three stanzas rhyme royal
324.
Miserere mei Deus absolva me
327.
Misit deus angelum
DIMEV 3526 Witnesses: 1
A macaronic song of the Annunciation — sixteen 6-line
stanzas
329.
Mistress Anne
DIMEV 3528 Witnesses: 1
John Skelton (attrib.)
335.
Moaning my heart doth sore oppress
336.
MocheSee under ‘Much’
337.
ModerSee under ‘Mother’
339.
Money money how hey good day [Money money how hay goode day]
349.
Most excellent most high and noble prince [Most excellent most high & nobil
prince]
360.
Most mighty and dreadful lord [Most myghty and most dredful lord]
366.
Most pleasant princes recorded that may be [Moste pleasaunt princes recorded þat
may be]
371.
Most sovereign Lord Christ Jesu
DIMEV 3562 Witnesses: 1
‘Miserere nobis’: a carol to Christ — five 5-line
stanzas (aaabb) with ‘Miserere nobis‘ refrain and burden:
‘Jesu christe fili dei viui mise[rere no]bis /
Alleluya’
373.
Most virginal flower of all most excellent
DIMEV 3564 Witnesses: 1
Author’s salute to the Virgin Mary in relation to the first of seven
joys, at end of Part I of Fabyan’s Chronicle, Part I, cap. 27, translating
Latin verse of which the beginning only is given preceding — one stanza rhyme
royal
375.
Most worthy prince of knighthood source and well [Most worþi prince of
knyȝthod sours and welle]Lenvoye to Lydgate ‘s
Troy Book, addressed to King Henry V: see
3995
379.
Mother of grace who so Him seeks [Moder of gresse qwo so hym sekes]
383.
Mother white is lily flower [Modyr whyt os lyly flowr / Yowr lullyng lessyth my
langovr]
384.
Mourning mourning
DIMEV 3572 Witnesses: 1
On the Inconstancy of his Mistress — seven 6-line stanzas andthree
additional lines
385.
Mourning my heart doth sore oppress
DIMEV 3573 Witnesses: 2
A lover’s complaint — seven quatrains with refrain, ‘Alas I
cannot be lovyd agayne’ or ‘Alas whan shall I be louid
agayne’
386.
MoysesSee under ‘Moses’
390.
Music in his melody requireth true sounds [Musike in his melody requirith true
soundes]
398.
My daily woe
DIMEV 3585 Witnesses: 1
Title of a courtly love lyric mentioned in a bill of a music teacher c.
1473-5
400.
My daughter my darling [My doȝter my derlyngge / Herkne my lore y-se my
thechyng]A recurring couplet in a Latin homily on the text: ‘
Audi filia et
vide’ (Ps. xliv. 11), Oxford, Bodleian Library Bodley 26 (SC 1871), f. 193
et passim;
probably the burden of an early fragmentary carol,
2085
401.
My daughter my darling
DIMEV 3587 Witnesses: 1
A recurring couplet in a Latin homily translating the text: ‘Audi
filia et vide’ (Ps. 44.11)
403.
My dear friends I you pray
DIMEV 3589 Witnesses: 5
Introductory couplet to Quinta Tabula in Speculum Christiani with
heading ‘Hec tria coinquinant hominem’
405.
My dear on dias that so fair is [My dere an dese þat so fayr ys]Burden to
2235; formerly
2232
407.
My dear son where so ye fare by frith or fell [My dere sone where so ȝe fare by
frith or by fele]
410.
My fair lady so fresh of hue
DIMEV 3594 Witnesses: 1
A Satirical Description of his Lady — twenty-one 8-line stanzas with
refrain: ‘When she hath on her hood of grene’
412.
My Father God I give a gift [My ffader god y ȝeue a ȝyffte]The story of Rosiphelee from Gower’s
Confessio Amantis: see Cambridge UK, Cambridge University Library Ff.1.6 [Findern MS] copy of
4229
413.
My fearful dream never forget can I [My feerful dreme neuyr forgete can I]
425.
My heart is set alone [My heart is sette alone / On god bothe thre and one]
426.
My heart is set to sing [My hert is set to syng]
432.
My heart of gold as true as steel [My harte of golde as true as stele]
433.
My heart was set with true intent [My harte was sett with true entente]
434.
My heart would burst […my hert wold berst]
437.
My hearts lust and all my pleasure [Mi hartys lust & all my plesure]
439.
My hope maiden I ask and crave
DIMEV 3615 Witnesses: 1
Six couplets spoken by Anima, the Virgin Mary, Filius, Pater,
translating six Latin lines with medial rime, ‘O spes in morte’
etc.
443.
My lady hath forsaken me
444.
My lady hath forsaken me
DIMEV 3618.5 Witnesses: 1
The forsaken lover — six cross-rhymed quatrains followed by two
couplets
445.
My lady hath me in that grace
DIMEV 3619 Witnesses: 1
A devoted mistress — two cross-rhymed quatrains and additional refrain,
‘Why shall not I’, and a 4-line introductory burden: ‘Why shall not I
/ Why shall not I to my lady / Why shall not I be trew / Why shall not
I.’
446.
My lady is a pretty one [My lady is a prety on]
447.
My lady is unkind iwis [My lady is unkynde I wis]
448.
My lady went to Canterbury
DIMEV 3620 Witnesses: 1
A nonsense carol — eight quatrains (abab) and 4-line burden: ‘My
harte of golde as true as stele / As I me lened to a bough / In fayth but yf ye loue me
well / Lorde so robyn lough’
449.
My lady with the mickle lips [My ladye with the mekle lippis]
450.
My leman me has bihot [Mi lemman me haues bi hot]
453.
My lief is faren in land
DIMEV 3623 Witnesses: 1
A lover’s lament — one 7-line stanza (ababcbc) introduced by
3713 and serving as sixth stanza of
same
454.
My lief lady ne be thy wimple never so yellow [My leue leuedi ne be þi wimpil
neuere so þelu]
460.
My lord thee it sent Sir Mordure [My lorde the it sente syr mordure]See
[Bevis of Hampton], [Westminster: W. de Worde, 1500] copy of
3520
467.
My love is lusty pleasant and demure [My loue is lusty plesant and demure]
468.
My love mourns for me [My luf mornes for me]
469.
My love mourns for me for me [My lufe murnis for me for me]
473.
My love so sweet
DIMEV 3638 Witnesses: 1
A true love banished — five 6-line tail-rhyme stanzas
474.
My loved to me is a sop of myrrh [My lovid to me is a sop of myrre]Concluding erotic prayer to
1696
477.
My master is cruel and can no courtesy [My mayster ys cruell and can no
curtesye]Formerly 2262.3; see
6370.
480.
My mistress dear why I this complain write [My maystris dere why I þis complayne
write]Second portion (beginning of fourth stanza) of
2152
485.
My own dear son lullay [My owyn dyre sone lullay]
487.
My painful purse so priceless me [My panefull purs so priclis me]
490.
My proper Bess [My propir Besse / My praty Besse]
491.
My right good lord most gentle knight
DIMEV 3650 Witnesses: 1
A letter to an absent lord, possibly written as if from his devoted mistress,
written by John Paston III — eight stanzas rhyme royal
498.
My thought is full heavy
DIMEV 3656 Witnesses: 1
A song of penitence — three 8-line stanzas with a 4-line refrain and a
3-line burden: ‘Now marcy Ihesu I wyll amend / And neuer more displease the / yff
grace thow wylt me send’
505.
My will shall will even as ye list [My wyll shall wyll euen as ye lyst]Burden to
1339 in
one MS (London, British Library Addit. 17492 [Devonshire]) only
509.
My woeful heart plunged in heaviness
DIMEV 3666 Witnesses: 1
A complaint against his mistress — two stanzas rhyme royal with refrain,
‘Alas vnkyndenesse þus haith my herte slayne’
511.
My woeful heart thus clad in pain
DIMEV 3668 Witnesses: 1
A Love song of a mistress for her absent lover — seven 3-line stanzas,
aab, with the same rhyme throughout