A thirteenth-century painting of St Francis, from Doddington in Kent;
I wrote about this church's wall-paintings last year here.
Because Audley's language presents no real difficulties, this is in modern spelling; here's a link to the unmodernised text.
Saint Francis, to thee I say,
Save thy brethren both night and day!
1. A holy confessor thou were one,
And livedst in contemplation,
To think on Christ's Passion,
Who suffered death on Good Friday.
Saint Francis, to thee I pray,
Save thy brethren both night and day!
2. His Passion was in thee so fervent
That he appeared in thy presence;
Upon thy body he set his print,
His five wounds — it is no nay! ['there is no contradicting it']
Saint Francis, to thee I say,
Save thy brethren both night and day!
3. Upon thy body thou didst them bear,
After that time, full three year;
In all men's sight they did appear —
No water might wash them away.
Saint Francis, to thee I say,
Save thy brethren both night and day.
4. Whenever thou didst eat or drink,
On Christ's Passion thou wouldst think;
In five parts was thy parting
Of his sustenance, sooth to say.
Saint Francis, to thee I say,
Save thy brethren both night and day!
[This seems to refer to a practice of dividing food into five parts to recall Christ's five wounds.]
5. Christ granted thee, especially,
For on his Passion thou hadst pity,
To fetch thy brethren out of Purgatory,
Who lie there in sorrowful array.
Saint Francis, to thee I say,
Save thy brethren both night and day!
6. Thou thankedst Christ for his sweet sonde, [gift]
And thoughtst to go to the Holy Land;
For dread of death thou wouldst not wond [hold back, hesitate]
To teach the people the Christian faith.
Saint Francis, to thee I say,
Save thy brethren both night and day!
7. But Christ he knew well thine intent,
And turned thee away from that talent, [plan]
And bid thee make thy Testament,
And: “Come to me, for once and ay.”
Saint Francis, to thee I say,
Save thy brethren both night and day!
8. “Ah, holy Francis, now I see,
Since for my love thou wouldst die;
Thou shalt have joy perpetually,
As thou hast desired many a day.”
Saint Francis, to thee I say,
Save thy brethren both night and day!
9. His holy rule of religion
For his brethren he wrote anon,
And prayed them, for Christ's Passion,
To keep it well both night and day.
Saint Francis, to thee I say,
Save thy brethren both night and day!
10. A true example here may ye see,
On Christ's Passion to have pity,
And to live in love and charity,
That merry in heart be ye may.
Saint Francis, to thee I say,
Save thy brethren both night and day!
11. His last prayer to Christ this was,
For all who support this holy place:
“Gracious God, grant them thy grace,
Before thy Judgement at Doomsday.”
Saint Francis, to thee I say,
Save thy brethren both night and day!
12. Pray we to Francis, we who are present,
To save his brethren and his convent,
That they be never shamed nor shent, [destroyed]
By wicked man or fiends' affray.
Saint Francis, to thee I say,
Save thy brethren both night and day!
13. I pray you, sirs, for charity,
Read this carol reverently,
For I made it with weeping eye,
Your brother John the Blind Audelay.
Saint Francis, to thee I say,
Save thy brethren both night and day!
I particularly like verse 10, which sums up one lesson of Francis' life very nicely: "Here [i.e. by his life] you may see a true example: if you think with pity on Christ's Passion and live in love and charity, you may be merry in heart." The paradox here is that to grieve over Christ's Passion leads to joy, and the word Audelay uses to describe Francis' example, which I've translated 'true', is actually sad, which does mean 'true' but also 'firm, serious, sober, grave'. The word helps to highlight the paradox of Francis' serious light-heartedness, and reminds me of how Chesterton characterised Francis' asceticism.
And one further note: the terminology for these kinds of medieval verses is always a little uncertain, and sometimes I hesitate to use the word 'carol' for a poem like this lest it give the wrong impression - but Audelay himself calls it a 'carol', in the last verse, so we can use that word with a clear conscience. (He also identifies himself by name; it's like he wanted to make our job easier!). And it's appropriate: a carol like this, even one made with devoutly 'weeping eyes', seems to me - and probably seemed to Audelay - a fitting way to celebrate St Francis, lover of troubadour songs, jongleur de Dieu.
Francis receiving the stigmata, British Library Royal 2 A XVIII, f. 9v
