December 18th – Of a rose, a lovely rose, of a rose is al myn song

Taken from a late-fifteenth century book of hours, this beautiful illustration shows the annunciation, the scene recounted in the gospel of Luke when Mary is visited by an angel and told she would give birth to God made flesh. This traditional carol, likewise, centres upon the Virgin Mary, marvelling at her role in the Christmas story from the annunciation through to Christmas night and beyond. As in some of the carols we have shared earlier, this poet uses imagery of the natural world, of a rose springing to life, to convey Mary’s beauty, fecundity and the idea new growth entwined with her story:

“Lestenyt, lordynges, bothe eld and zynge,

How this rose began to sprynge;

Swych a rose to myn lykynge

In al this word ne knowe I non.

The aungil cam fro hevene tour,

To grete Marye with gret honour,

And seyde sche xuld bere the flour,

That xulde breke the fyndes bond.

The ferste braunche is ful of myzt,

That sprong on Cyrstenesse nyzt;

The sterre schon over Bedlem bryzt,

That is bothe brod and long.”

(Extract, taken from “Songs and carols from a manuscript”, Thomas Wright, pp. 16 – 17)

Marian devotion was an important part of medieval Christianity, and St Mary was certainly a central figure in the churches of St Andrews. In 1537, the college now colloquially known as “St Mary’s” was founded by Archbishop James Beaton as “the College of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary”. But long pre-dating this foundation, there is evidence of an early-medieval religious community at the site of the Church of St Mary on the Rock. And, by the later medieval period, both St Leonard’s Chapel, believed to date from the mid twelfth century, and the town kirk of the Holy Trinity dating from the early thirteenth century, came to have an altar dedicated to the Virgin Mary, with each altar having its own Chaplains.

These chaplainries dedicated to the devotion of Mary, together with the liturgical volumes and objects for worship at the altar, were often supported by donations from pious townsfolk. One such person was Thomas Dixon, bachelor in decreets, married to Catherine, who granted funds from his tenement at the south side of South Street, St Andrews for “founding a chaplainry at the altar of the most glorious Virgin Mary” in the parish church.

While a charter may seem a dull second to the eye-catching technicolour of such a highly decorated book of hours, both of these objects offer a glimpse into the personal beliefs, hopes and practices of an individual living 500 years ago.