ABSTRACT
The Feitis and the Passion of Our Lord Jhesu Crist is a collection of meditative prayers composed by an anonymous woman at the request of her ‘religious sister’. She writes:
O myn sustir, preie my lord God the Trinite that for his gret bounte and for his endeles mercy, have mercy and pite on me, sinful, and make me a good woman.
The author was probably herself a nun: she has a strongly clerical point of view and seems to identify with priests, monks and nuns as a distinct group in medieval society. She may have been a Bridgettine, a member of the austere and fervent double order for men and women founded by St Bridget of Sweden (see above, p. 88). The only house of the Order in England was Syon Abbey which had been founded by Henry V in 1415 and was distinguished by its respect for learning. Syon had close links with the monarchy and it is noticeable that the prayers include special supplications for the welfare of the King.