Lady Day in Harvest

A medieval sermon on the feast of the Assumption

Dear bookish friend,

Today is the Feast of the Assumption, an important Marian holy day for many people today as well as for medieval folks. As a Protestant, this is one of those feast days that I would hear and have no idea what it meant! On this holy day, Mary’s soul (and body too, usually), was gathered up to heaven by her Son. The feast was often called "Lady Day in Harvest" in medieval England, as opposed to Lady Day, the feast of the Annunciation on March 25th. I wish the term Lady Day in Harvest was still in use—what a beautifully evocative name.

I was going through some old Instagram posts and realized that last year I had done a little post on there about this feast and some art. I thought I’d fill that out a little more here for you all, because I had enjoyed it so much.

One of the most popular sermon collections in medieval England was John Mirk’s Festial. Mirk was a canon at Lilleshall Abbey in Shropshire near Shrewsbury, active in writing around 1380. Mirk’s Festial follows the liturgical year in its form at that time in England. His collection of homilies reflects his local commitments (interest in Welsh saints!). It also reveals his resistance to the ongoing threat of Lollardy and Wycliffism in medieval England to the institutional church, with his careful explication of doctrines resisted by Lollards.