Edited by Peter Whiteford (1990). From Wynkyn De Worde’s Edition.
Peter Whiteford (ed.) (1990)
The Myracles of Oure Lady is a collection of miracle stories printed by Wynkyn de Worde around 1496, and subsequently reprinted by him at least twice. It consists of forty-eight prose tales, which, though generally brief, are representative of this genre of popular devotional material – a genre to which Chaucer, Hoccleve and Lydgate all made contributions in verse. Wynkyn de Worde’s collection is both the largest and the latest in Middle English, and many of its tales are not otherwise known in Middle English. This modern edition includes variant readings from de Worde’s later prints, together with full notes on each of the tales. The Introduction discusses some of the devotional and literary background to the collection and includes a descriptive catalogue of all the known miracles of the Virgin in Middle English.