Jesus' trial takes place before Pilate, governor of Judea. Annas and Caiaphas appear regularly as characters in medieval dramas. According to the account in John 18:12-13, Jesus is first taken to Caiaphas' father-in-law, Annas. After Jesus is arrested in the Garden of Gethsemane, he is taken to the high priest Caiaphas for questioning. The line also recalls Simeon's prophecy see note to §25, line 119.ģ Annas. Through empathy, Mary (and thus the poet/meditator) is experiencing the Crucifixion in her heart.
In the MS, this rubric and the hours heading each stanza appear centered, in red.ġ persit.
The poem is an adaptation of the "Hours of the Cross" form, unusual for its focus on Mary for additional examples of the form see B14, nos. The hours include prime (usually around 6 a.m., the "first hour"), terce (the "third hour," or 9 a.m.), sext (noon), none (mid-afternoon, around 3 p.m.), evensong (around 6 p.m.), and compline (around 9 p.m.). The Breviary contains the liturgies of the Divine Office, including the canonical hours (consisting of psalms, antiphons, and hymns) to be recited daily. 23 (Edinburgh: William Blackwood and Sons, 1949), pp. Bennett, Devotional Pieces in Verse and Prose, from MS. Editions: Karl Brunner, "Mittelenglischen Marienstunden," Englische Studien 70 (1935), 106-09 B15, no. 141b (late fifteenth or early sixteenth century). MARY AT THE FOOT OF THE CROSS: FOOTNOTES 1 Where false witnesses against him soon were foundĢ Who gave him quoits and purple cloth for scorn (see note)ģ The sun darkened its light from the sixth hour to the ninth hourĤ You would do well to think about my sonĥ God made (shaped) me as a shield, to shield from shameĦ In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit