Additional Lyrics for Middle English Songs

  • Myrie it is

    The manuscript of this lovely song contains only one verse. Here are some additional verses which you are welcome to use. Please include attribution in printed material and do not alter the text.

  • Foweles in the Frith

    This is another Middle English song with only one verse. Here are some additional verses which you are welcome to use. Please include attribution in printed material and do not alter the text.

Translations

  • Ordo Virtutum

    Hildegard von Bingen’s twelfth-century play about the virtues is one of the earliest extant morality plays. The text is wonderfully paradoxical, and the melodies are sublime. Here is a translation which you are welcome to use. Please include attribution in printed material and do not alter the text.

  • Tournament of Tottenham

    Peasants from the village of Tottenham stage an elaborate tournament for the hand of Tyb. They fight with flails for weapons, winnowing fans for shields, and bowls for helmets. Perkyn the Potter wins the tournament, Tyb's hand, a fine brood hen, and a cow and pig. The losers, exhausted and battered, limp to the wedding.

    Here is a translation which you are welcome to use. Please include attribution in printed material and do not alter the text.

Script for medieval production

  • Knightmares

    Dragons and giants are nothing. Knights face bizarre challenges in this collection of medieval tales. Rescuing a stray dog brings on a minor war. Losing a tournament means being pelted with garbage. A damsel in distress turns into an dangerous magician. Two evil clerics set traps in a musical palace. Here is the script for this production. Please include an attribution, and do not change the text without asking for permission.