“Angelus ad virginem” (Latin for “The angel came to the virgin”, also known by its English title, “Gabriel, from Heven King Was to the Maide Sende” or “Gabriel fram evene king”) is a medieval carol whose text is a poetic version of the Hail Mary and the Annunciation by the archangel Gabriel to the Virgin Mary.
Probably Franciscan in origin, it was brought to Britain by French friars in the 13th century. It is said to have originally consisted of 27 stanzas, with each following stanza beginning with the consecutive letter of the alphabet.
Surviving manuscripts may be found in a c. 1360[1] Dublin Troper (a music book for use at Mass) and a 13th or 14th century vellum sequentiale that may have been connected with the Church of Addle, Yorkshire. Its lyrics also appear in the works of John Audelay in a group of four Marian poems. It is also mentioned in Geoffrey Chaucer’s “The Miller’s Tale” (c. 1390), where the scholar Nicholas sings it in Latin to the accompaniment of his psaltery.
