De Laudibus Sanctissimae Matris Annae

Quatrain of Johannes Trithemius, Abbot of Sponheim, on the most holy mother Anne.

Venerable Anne, mother of the bountiful Virgin, Surpassing in merits, and powerful in loving-kindness: No one goes away sorrowful who honors and venerates you; For you bring to all the gentle aid of salvation.

Distich by the same, which he placed by the image of Saint Anne.

Whoever in adversity has called upon Saint Anne With devout prayers, he will be well protected.

Quatrain of Conrad Celtis Protucius, poet laureate, on Saint Anne.

Anne has never dismissed anyone’s prayers empty, But in her purity has always brought the desired aid. Therefore let us heap much honor upon the loving mother, Who allows no one’s prayers to be in vain.

Quatrain of Theodoric Gresemund the Younger of Mainz, to Saint Anne.

Anne, parent of the Virgin Mary, hail, propitious, Worthy to begin the work of our salvation. Human redemption, which was begun through you, I beg you To continue, covering our sins with your prayers.

Distich of Rudolf von Langen, canon of Münster, on Saint Anne.

Great Anne, parent of the fruitful Virgin, hear The pregnant women who bring vows to you with the womb.

Quatrain of Jodocus Badius of Ghent on Saint Anne.

Anne, glory of the world, mother of the mother of Jesus, May your grandson grant the stars for the merits of your daughter. Holy Anne, bearing the first-fruits of our salvation, Help us with your offspring and with your grandson.

Rodolphus Agricola, in his poem on Saint Anne, among other things, thus.

Anne, parent, venerable mother of the highest parent, You who first open the way of salvation to the peoples: All diseases flee you, pallor and pain, And all harmful things that lodge in mind and body. Whatever it is among men that wearies cares and hearts Flees you, as clouds, driven on, are wont to flee the winds.

Rutgerus [Venrai?], canon regular of [unclear], to the image of Saint Anne.

Here pour forth devout prayers with knee bent, Where Anne the parent sits with her blessed offspring. Do not doubt: you will obtain whatever you have asked of her; For Anne shines ever powerful in prayers.

Distich by the same on Saint Anne.

Anne, parent of the mother of Jesus Christ, hail; We ask: drive every sin away from us.

Rosary of Jodocus Beysselius, patrician of Aachen, on Saint Anne, to the reverend lord Johannes Trithemius, Abbot of Sponheim, of the order of the divine father Benedict.

Whoever wishes, out of devotion, to read this rosary in honor of the most blessed mother Anne should first say the Lord’s Prayer with the salutation of Saint Anne, which he should always repeat after two verses; this salutation is as follows. Hail, venerable Anne, mother of the mother of God, most pleasing to the Holy Trinity, honored above all women, blessed are you by the Lord, and blessed is the offspring of your womb, and Jesus Christ, the virgin-born son of your offspring. Our Father. Hail, mother of God. Amen.

Anne, may I, wretched as I am, be permitted to utter your praises; For, if you allow it, I shall bring you garlands and roses. Hail.

Anne, you shine as the venerable offspring of the kings of Judah, And also renowned through Joachim, your pious husband. Hail.

Anne, for a long time you wept over sterile loves in wedlock, The singular glory of marriages, and their one honor. Hail.

Anne, you seek a pious child, and not for empty uses. Hail. But that, with holy posterity, it may worship God. Hail.

Anne, the swift messenger, standing by you from the heavenly court, Says, Rejoice; behold, as mother you will have offspring, you will exult. Hail.

Anne, you will bear offspring blessed with such great virtue That, as a virgin, she may shine with a mother’s honor. Hail.

Anne, you will bear a daughter whose chaste womb God himself, whom the world does not contain, may willingly enter. Hail.

Anne, at last from your blood will arise the blood Which, poured out, may bring hope always to wretched sinners. Hail.

Anne, so great an expectation befitted your birth-giving; It is no small thing to have the mother of the mother of God. Hail.

Anne, the praises of your offspring will fly above the stars; All ages too will proclaim you blessed. Our Father. Hail, mother of God.

Anne, you are believed to have conceived Mary pure from evil, And soon to have had her holy for God.

Anne, in your womb you carry her whom figures marked out As coming, whom the holy fathers sang.

Anne, you bear an enclosed paradise, blessed with the tree Of life, and sacred with all the honor of the countryside. Hail. 2

Anna, heavy with child, you bear the garden which the flaming sword of the cherubim guards, burning night and day. Hail. Anna, you bear a flower that surpasses white lilies, humble violets, and the crimson rose. Hail. Anna, in you is found the Mosaic ark, and the golden urn of heavenly bread lies there. Hail. Anna, you bear the bride of the true Solomon, and the house adorned within and without with every gem. Hail. Anna, you bear the temple whose inner chambers sweet sounds have filled, and all music rejoicing. Hail. Anna, you bear the veil, beneath a beautiful image of the fathers, holding in itself the things done, to cover the lofty things of God. Hail. Anna, you bear offspring: the golden flame of Phoebus clothes the head, and the bright moon the snow-white feet. Our Father. Ave Dei. Anna, now made possessor of the longed-for Mary, you scarcely contain in your whole breast the joys that have arisen. Hail. Anna, at Mary newly born all the stars applauded, and an unwonted radiance flowed from the pole. Hail. Anna, it is right to believe that angelic choirs around you celebrated the birthday of your offspring. Hail. Anna, the deep shades felt your new childbirth; then a new light itself terrified the Stygian pools. Hail. Anna, mother, you hesitate to touch your daughter with your hands, more radiant than the sun and the lights of heaven. Hail. Anna, why do you fear to handle the heavenly girl? She smiles at her mother; she causes no sadness. Hail. Anna, take courage: behold, your daughter reaches for the milky breasts, and with tender hands seeks your neck; you receive her tender limbs in your tender lap. Hail. Anna, you cherish your daughter, and from your breast she draws sweet juices with rosy mouth, sounding pleasing murmurs; [unclear]. Our Father. Ave Dei. Hail.

Anna, it is your heart's desire to adorn your daughter with approved manners and to prepare her for the highest God. Hail. Anna, you prepare to bring your daughter into the lofty shrine; but the blessed girl of her own accord reached the upper step. Hail. Anna, you follow the swift one with slow step and effort; the eager little virgin comforts her weary mother. Hail. Anna, why do you marvel at strength in the tender virgin? You see not human things, but holy signs of God. Hail. Anna, you are accustomed to give gifts to the needy and to sacred temples; now you give that than which no woman has given more. Hail. Anna, where you wished your consecrated daughter to dwell, she willingly entered the cloisters and the virginal house. Hail. Anna, about to send away the pious one, you waste your cheeks and eyes with weeping; deep love holds you motionless. Hail. Anna, return home; leave your daughter to the Thunderer. Let her think of nothing but the Jesus who is to come. Hail. Anna, it is enough for you to serve two Marys; they too will honor you with no small devotion. Our Father. Ave Dei. Hail. Anna, by your weeping you have learned to succor one who weeps. Therefore you too readily favor the wretched with your prayers. Hail. Anna, you are accustomed to overturn the established laws of nature; and, if you will it, let the barren woman now be a joyful mother. Hail. Anna, you even stay the gifts of fleeting fortune, lest, slipping suddenly, they flee from our laps. Hail. Anna, you put disgrace to flight; you give the gifts of fair fame. You relieve griefs, and love yields to you. Hail. Anna, you help either one whom hostile force terrifies, or one whom the cruel bonds of a dark prison hold. Hail. Anna, you are present as faithful relief for sick mortals; with you as guide, lost life returns to the languishing. Hail. Anna, mother, the sailor calls upon you on the swelling wave, if winds and water toss his shattered boat. Hail. Anna, mother, you are always to be feared by the black tyrant; as ice flees fire, so that guilty one flees you. Anna, mortal hearts cannot ask anything of you in vain. Whatever you will, your daughter and God too will will. Hail. Anna, therefore blessed by merits and by so great an offspring, great mother Anna, look upon our prayers. Hail.

Prayer to be said after the rosary. Almighty and most merciful God, who deigned to choose blessed Anna as the mother of the mother of your Son: graciously grant that we who honor her memory with faithful devotion may obtain, by her merits and prayers, the helps of eternal life. Through the same our Lord.

Here ends the rosary of Jodocus Beissel[ius?], professor of both laws, patrician of Aachen, to the Reverend Father and Lord Johannes Trithemius, abbot of Sponheim of the Order of Saint Benedict. From Aachen, on the third day before the Ides of April, in the year 1494.

A poem of Adam Werner of Themar on most holy Anna. To the Reverend Father and Lord Johannes Trithemius, abbot.

For the praises of the illustrious grandmother we compose [songs]. Dear grandson, move the plectra of the [unclear]; nor you, her daughter, chaste parent, be absent from the singing choir.

Anna, offspring of kings, is given to a husband; barren for a long time, she laments that she is sterile. Weeping, she prays for offspring, nor do her tears flow in vain.

Heavenly messengers promise a child. Pregnant, joined to her husband, and then brought to childbed, she is proved by the offspring born, through whom our salvation came.

Thus the venerable stock of Jesse grew green; a fruitful rod comes forth with fertile shoot. Refreshed by its flower, death conquered, we live again.

By this birth Joachim becomes worthy to stand in the shrines, removing the pontiff’s reproaches. Thus, Anne, prepare us to bring pure prayers to your grandson.

Commend us to the boy whom the pious chastity of your daughter bore; we ask in prayer, O blessed matron. Christ denies you nothing.

To Christ, who reigns, companion with the Father and the Spirit, be glory through all ages. May your prayers, O Anne, give him to us reconciled. Amen.

This hymn is sung to the melody of the one which is used in many churches on the Nativity of Saint Mary, and begins, “Rejoice, mother, in your inmost womb,” etc. From the castle of Heidelberg, on the third day before the Kalends of February, 1494.

The song or hymn of Johannes Herst of Lauterburg on Saint Anne. To the Reverend Father and Lord Johannes Trithemius, abbot.

Rejoice, Anne, refuge for the wretched; we pray, we sing, we bring forth songs. On your feast, with your offspring, be gracious; now we speak praises to you.

Rejoice, earth shining with fertile grass and, drenched, moist with deific dew, from which was born, purer than the ether, the Virgin unknowing of sin.

Rejoice, you who had been of royal seed, and now, conceived by a man, had entered upon famous marriage, long without offspring, made a mother by a vow.

Rejoice, you who were confounded, reddening at the pontiff’s reproach; you call upon God with tears. He hears you; you receive your husband coming to meet you at the gate called Golden.

Rejoice, you who, glad, embraced Joachim, your husband, coming to meet you; and, instructed by the heavenly divinity, thus the mother of your Jesus is conceived in your little womb.

Rejoice, simple prudence, angelic in discernment, you who, praised by the choir and divided threefold in portion, divide your goods among the temple and the poor and a part to your servants.

Rejoice, Anne: the people of the faithful celebrates your feasts, that, as patroness for them, by your prayers you may render gracious the Father, the Spirit, and Christ begotten. Amen.

This hymn takes the melody of the one which is sung about the Ascension of the Lord, namely, “Now the solemn feast,” etc., and of that one about the martyrs, “By the glorious merits of the saints,” etc. From Heidelberg, on the third day before the Nones of February, in the year 1494.

An elegiac poem of Rutger Venrai, regular canon in Haina, in the diocese of Worms, on Saint Anne.

Hail, splendid mother of the Virgin mother, of the brightness of the Father, of the radiance of uncreated light.

You, holy one, bore for the Lord a divine girl, from whom came forth Jesus, the gracious light of the world.

Constantly call the son born of your daughter your grandson, though he himself made the heavens and the earth.

In flesh your grandson, Jesus himself, joined supreme divinity to flesh; for he is God and man.

Therefore, although Jesus has always been, nevertheless he chooses and deigns to be called your grandson.

Do not hesitate to strike such a grandson with prayers, Anne; we ask that you will bear all the things asked.

If he has not bent easy ears at first, quickly have recourse to your daughter.

Let your daughter show her breasts to Christ her son; straightway the gracious parent will bring what is desired.

If the matter has been very hard to obtain by prayer, let the daughter seek help with her mother.

My faith is firm, and I do not doubt that the Lord will straightway hear both women praying with a gracious ear.

Therefore, brothers, with continual prayers it is fitting to seek the help of Anne and Mary together.

It is certain that, if you honor the mother of the Lord’s mother, you also cultivate the titles of the Virgin Mother herself.

Again, if you venerate the mother of the Lord, it becomes clear that you are preparing praises for the Lord in his mother.

To the son of the daughter of Anne be praise, virtue, and honor, and to the highest Father and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

A Sapphic poem of Johannes Trithemius, abbot of Sponheim, on the day of Saint Anne.

Let us celebrate the feasts of holy Anne, the exalted mother, rich in merits, who brought forth for the world the parent of the Son of God the Father.

Her ever-venerable life is rightly praised by us as blessed; by the gift of signs you increase relief for wretched minds.

She heals the sick, cleanses away all evils, brightens the hearts of the sorrowful with joy, sets fitting things in order, rules and governs, and makes rough places smooth.

Most powerful, dwelling in the hall of the highest King, she wipes away stains by prayer, bestows grace, and leads faithful souls to the stars.

Here, as the brothers frequent your feasts, bringing forth vows and praying good things of you, help, preserve, restore, govern, renowned mother.

Let honor and power be to the thunderer above, who, God simple and likewise triune, continually bestows on Anne the crown of great glory. Amen.

This Sapphic hymn is sung to the melody of 'Ut queant laxis,' 'Vita sanctorum,' 'Virginis proles,' 'Quod chorus vatum,' 'Iste confessor,' and similar hymns, provided they are Sapphic. From Sponheim, on the Nones of July, in the year of the Lord 1494.

An elegiac poem of Johannes Trithemius, abbot of Sponheim, on holy mother Anne.

How great are the rewards Anne brings back to her devotees no one grasps in mind, nor can he speak of them by mouth. She drives off hardships, obtains pardon, increases the adornments of honor for her own, and causes them to be in heaven.

Conversely, many very bitter things attend the despisers of mother Anne. She casts the powerful down from honor, tramples the proud, casts [the fierce?] down from honor, and permits them often to [bear?] great scandals.

Therefore, men, I advise you: serve so great a patroness, and let the company of women be present likewise with love. What we write is clearly established also by examples; let open ears receive what helps pious hearts.

From Sponheim, on the sixteenth day before the Kalends of August, 1494.

A Sapphic poem of Rutgerus Sicamber, for a hymn in praise of Saint Anne.

We sing your praises, venerable Anne; favor those who praise you with melodies, obtaining pardon for all and granting the rewards of salvation.

You, Anne, parent of Christ's mother, shining in the highest citadel of heaven, obtain whatever you ask of the Son of the Almighty.

You heal the weak, cleanse what is stained, make faithful servants obtain their wish, and at last grant them to ascend the heavenly kingdom.

By approved conduct, Anne, and by many prayers, you moved the highest Lord to grant that you become the mother of so great an offspring in the world.

Let honor and power, brightness, strength, piety, and vigor be to the highest Father, to the heavenly Son, and to the Holy Spirit for all eternity.

Another by the same.

Let us all resound the assiduous praises of Anne, mother of the Virgin Mother, with all our powers, from the marrow of the soul, with sonorous voice.

She brought forth for wretched humankind, soiled by the stain of mother Eve, the noble offspring who brought forth to the world the radiant light.

This light drove out the darkness of the blackening world, shining on all with heavenly light, as Saint John proclaims in the sacred book.

Anne, mother of the divine girl, whose Begotten One you call your grandson according to the flesh only, do not despise the praying people.

O Virgin, [favor?] the prayers of mother Anne, who asks earnestly for us; you, grandson Jesus, easy to entreat, fulfill her request.

To the Son of the daughter of mother Anne, with God the Most High, be honor and power; equal honor is paid to the blessed Spirit for all time.

Another poem by the same, in iambic dimeter, which is sung to the melody of the hymns of Ambrose.

Bowing down, let us honor the feast of blessed Anne, singing due thanks with our voices and our innermost hearts.

She is the mother of the gracious Virgin, who brought forth the radiance of the world; she is the one who by her virtues rendered herself most pleasing to God.

She drives away [harms?] and confers grace by her prayers. She relieves the most dreadful diseases, both of body and of spirit.

In praise of her, O King of heaven, to you, to the Son, and at the same time to the Spirit, we utter pious praises with sonorous songs. Amen.

An [Alcianic?] poem by the same, which is sung to the melody of 'Crux fidelis' or 'Pange lingua.'

This company, with voice, prayers, and pious hearts, longs to set forth the feasts of Anne, mother so renowned. Be gently present, we beseech you, to those who praise you.

You, parent of Mother Mary, you, most pleasing to God, preserved the [commands?] of the Law, which Moses once delivered to the ancient fathers and to the Hebrew peoples.

Obtaining wondrous, gracious gifts for the faithful by prayer pleasing to the Son of the high Father, you heal the sick and grant that hearts be chaste.

You, Father, and the Son with the Spirit, we ask, that you give joyful things to us who sing the renowned praises of most sweet Anne, mother of the gracious Virgin. Amen.

Poem of Rutger [Venral?], a German canon regular of [Heynen?], on the book On the Praises of Saint Anne.

Whoever you will be, reader of this excellent book, put away vain fear: it contains nothing frivolous.

Abbot Trithemius, by his art, has brought forth this book, pregnant with wondrous meaning and sweet with charm.

Watching over books, the keeper of the Sponheim fold, who cultivates the sacred writings of the threefold language--you will find them; only turn them over in a pious heart.

He does not pursue vain and everywhere doubtful little tales; he teaches the clear streams of sacred eloquence.

Therefore, I pray, read with love the worthy praises of venerable Anne, which the learned man has brought forth for you in love.

Printed in the noble city of Mainz by Peter of Friedberg, in the year of the Virgin birth 1494, on the twelfth day before the Kalends of August.