ABSTRACT
The Lamentation of Mary Magdalene, written in Middle English in the late fifteenth century, has not received much critical attention or readerly acclaim. 1 At over seven hundred lines, it is a relatively lengthy dramatic monologue considering the slightness of its narrative, the high level of its emotional pitch, and the presumed familiarity of most of its content to most of its audience. This poem is the product of (at least) two long-standing traditions: the vast array of cultural material concerning Mar y Magdalene, and the vast array of cultural material concerning fin’ amor. The second tradition is the one that most needs, in my view, examination as to how it works in the Lamentation of Mary Magdalene (though all aspects of the poem need much more examination), and particularly with regard to the incidence of a motif that is detailed most explicitly near the end of the poem: And in token of loue perpetuall Whan I am buried in this place present [the holy sepulcher] Take out mine hert, the very rote and all And close it within this boxe of ointment To my dere loue make therof a present. (Stanza 95)
