Edi beo þu heuene quene is a 13th century song in praise of the Virgin Mary, written in Middle English. It expresses loving familiarity with Mary, using the language of romantic attachment; and the two part vocal harmony sounds remarkably modern. This article explores why this is so, placing this beautiful song in its three contexts – poetic, musical and historical – followed by a reflection on singing medieval religious songs in a modern secular context.
This is a revised and expanded version of an article first published in January 2018, with new material and a new video performance of Edi, both polyphonic vocal lines sung, introduced by an instrumental verse on gittern and citole.