Blessid be thei that suffren persecucioun for ri3twisnesse, for the kyngdam of heuenes is herun. 3ee shulen be blessid, when men shulen curse 3ou, and shulen pursue 3ou, and shulen say al yuel a3eins 3ou lee3ing, for me. Ioye 3ee withyn forth, and glade 3ee, without forth, for 3oure meede is plenteuouse in heuenes; forsothe so thei han pursued also prophetes that weren before you.

Wyclif Bible, c.1380

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Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.

King James Bible, 161

Testing the bathwater for the Baby Jesus—cp. Margery Kempe, I.6

Sanctuaire Notre-Dame des Fontaines, La Brigueave (nave)

St. Anselm, from Oratio XVI (Prayer to Mary Magdelene)

Christ in Majestyca. 1096Location: Ambulatory of St. Sernin,

Toulouse, France

Christ as the Man of Sorrows(Durer)c. 1493Staatliche Kunsthalle, Karslruhe

[Incarnation, Passion Resurrection described for the] edificacioun of hem the ben of symple understandynge. . . to the which soules as seint Bernard saith contemplacioun of the manhede of God is mor lyking more spedeful and more siker than hige contemplacioun of the godhede. And therfore to hem is principally to be sette in minde the ymage of Cristes incarnacioun passion and resurrection. . .so that a symple soul that kan not thenke bot bodies or bodily thinges maye have somewhat according to his affecioun wherewith he may fede and stirre his devocioun.

Nicholas Love, The Myrrour of the Blessyd Lyf of Jesus Christ (1410)

Oo lord god in what state was þat tyme his modere soule, when she sawh him so peynfully faile, wepe & dye? Soþely I trowe þat for þe multitude of anguishes she was alle out of hir self & vnfelable made as half dede, & þat now mich more þan what tyme she mette with him, beringe þe crosse as it is seide.

What trowe we didene þen Maudleyn þe trewe louede disciplesse, what John his awne derlyng, & oþer tweyn sistres of oure lady? Bot what miht þei do? Þei were alle fulle of sorowe & bitternes, & þerfore þei weptene sore without remedye.

Loo now hangeþ oure lorde on þe crosse dede, & alle þat grete multitude goþe awey towarde þe cite, & his sorouful modere with þe foure forseide felawes, sette hir done by side þe crosse, & beholdeþ piteuously hir dere sone so ferd wiþ & abideþ helpe fro god, þat she miht haue him to hir & birye him.

Þou also if þou beholde wele þi lorde þou maiht haue here matire ynouh of hye compassion, seynge him so tormentede, þat fro þe sole of þe fote in to þe hiest part of þe hede þer was in him none hole place nor membre without passion.

Þis is a pitevouse siht & a joyful siht. A pitevous siht in him for þat harde passion þat he suffrede for oure sauacion, bot it is a likyng siht to vs, for þe matire & þe effecte þat we haue þerbye of oure redempcion. Soþely þis siht of oure lord Jesu hangyng so on þe crosse by deuoute ymaginacion of þe soule, is so likyng to sume creatours þat after longe exercise of sorouful compassion þei felen sumtyme, so grete likyng not onely in soule bot also in þe body þat þei kunne not telle, & þat noman may in siht in knowe, bot onely he þat by experience feleþ it. And þan may he wele sey with þe apostle, Betyde me neuer to be ioyful bot in þe crosse of my lord Jesu criste. Amen.

From Nicholas Love, The Mirror of the Blessed Life of Jesus Christ, ch. 44 (1410; ed. Michael Sargent, 2005, pp. 178-79)

Mount Grace Priory, North Yorkshire (Carthusian monastery where Nicholas Love was prior)

Hans Memling. The Mystic Marriage of St. Catherine. (Central panel of the St. John Altar). 1474-1479. Oil on wood. Memlingmuseum, Stedelijke Musea,

Bruges, Belgium.