The Lyrics of Henry VIII/QUid petis o fily, Pygott

[ff. 112^v-116^r]

QUid petis ofily
mater dulassima baba.
O pateri ofili
michi plausus oscula da da.

The moder full manerly and mekly as a mayd
lokyng on her lyttill son so laughyng in lap layde
so pretyly so pertly so passyngly well apayd
ful softly and full soberly vnto her swet son she said
qid petys.

I mene this by mary or makers moder of myght
full louely lookyng on or lord the lanterne of lyght
thus sayng to or sauior this saw I In my syght
this reson that I rede you now I rede it full ryght.
Qid petes

musyng on her maners so ny mard was my mayne
saue it plesyd me so passyngly that past was my payn.
yet softly to her swete son'n me thought I hard sayn
now gracius god and goode swete babe yet ons this game agyne.
Qid petes

pygott

Textual Commentary

The sole vernacular religious song in H, this lyric is a moralization of an episode in which the Virgin plays with the Son as a child. The alliteration in the verse suggests an earlier style than the other lyrics in H, and certainly a style prior to its setting here by Pygott. The first few lines are present in Skelton’s Phyllyp Sparowe: “Quid petis filio, mater dulcissima? Ba ba!” (l. 1091).

1–4 Gloss: “What are you seeking, O Son? Sweetest mother, kiss, kiss. O Father, O Son. Give me kisses of liking” (from Stevens M&P 421); spoken by the Virgin.

7 pertly Openly, without concealment, smartly, sharply (OED adv. 1, 3). apayd satisfied, contented, pleased (OED v 1).

13 reson Statement, narrative, or speech (OED n.1 3.a).

15 mard Marred. mayne Physical strength, force, or power (OED I.1.a).

18 ons Once.

In “QUid petis o fily” both the Latin burden, the first stanza, and the English verses are through-set for four voices; the remaining text is underlaid. This piece contains notes relating to the music on f. 114^v (bottom) and f. 115^r (top), and is ascribed to “pygott” (f. 116^r).

“QUid petis o fily” is indexed in Robbins Index & Suppl. 3438.3 and Ringler MS TM1570. It is reprinted in Chappell Account 384, Flügel Anglia 252–53, Flügel Neuengl 121, Rickert 63–64, Stevens M&P 421, and Stevens MCH8 82–85.

Textual Notes

Texts Collated

H^1,2,3,4 (ff. 112^v–116^r, ll. 1–9 and 14–19 H³, ll. 1–9 H⁴), CPet (inside front cover, ll. 1–3)

1 substitute o mater o fili pets CPet; ofily] ofili qid petes ofili H^2,4

2 mater] me CPet

3 O pater] quid petis H¹; ofili] ofili o pater ofili H^2,4

4 da da.] dada da da. H⁴

5 The ~ mayd] omit H^1,3

6 lokying ~ son] omit H^1,4; layde] layd so laughyng in lap laid H², ~ in ~ H³

7 apayd] apayd so passyngly well a payd^ H², a payd so pa passyngly well apayd. H⁴, apayed so pretyly so pertly ~ apayd. H³

8 ful ~ soberly] omit H³; said] said she H³, saide vn to her son sa H²

9 petys.] petes^ ofily. H⁴

12 thus sayng to] sayng H²

14 petes] petes / Qid petys ofili / Qid petys ofily H¹, petes ofili. H²

17 sayn] her sayn H², her sayne H³

19 petes] petis ofili. / Qid petes ofili H²