Physical Description:
325 leaves : paper ; 215 x 140 (165 x 100) mm. Notes:
Collection of Middle English texts, comprised of Langland's Piers
Plowman in the B-text with substantial readings from A and C; a
defective version, subgroup B, of Mandeville's Travels; the Middle
English poem Susannah; "The legend of the Three Kings" an excerpt
from John of Hildesheim's Historia Trium Regum; Chaucer's Troilus
and Criseyde; and a translation of Peter Ceffons' Epistola Luciferi
ad Cleros. In Middle English. Paper; parchment outer and center
bifolia in each quire. ff. 325 + iv (parchment); due to a previous
error in foliation, ff. 20-117 are, since 1971, numbered 21-118.
1-6¹⁶ 7¹⁸ 8¹⁶(through f. 130) 9¹⁶(-7, 10 with loss of
text) 10-12¹⁶(through f. 192) 13-16¹⁶ 17¹⁶(+5, f. 261)
18¹⁶(+5 and 6, singletons, ff. 278, 279) 19¹⁶ 20¹⁶(+10 and
17, ff. 317, 324). Catchwords in red or brown ink frames; leaf
signatures, mainly cropped, in arabic numerals. On ff. 130v, 192v
and 325v, at the end of the 3 booklets which constitute the volume,
the number of quires has been reckoned, and, on f. 325v, totaled,
in a contemporary script. 26-36 long lines, frame ruled in dry
point or lead. Written in England in the middle of the fifteenth
century. Written by one scribe in an anglicana script; sections 3
and 4 apparently in a more hurried hand. Opening initials, f. 1,
5-line, and f. 193, 3-line, blue with red flourishing; in first
text, 3- and 2-line blue initials with red flourishing; remainder
of volume with alternating 3- and 2-line red or blue initials;
running headlines, rubrics, Latin quotations and paragraph marks in
red. Corrections in another 15th century hand. Tabs at the
beginning of most articles. The word "pope" erased several times on
f. 184. Leaves wormed in upper and inner margins; ff. 139, 146 and
324 defective in text areas. ff. 1-130v: Piers Ploghman, In a somer
sesoun whan softe was þe sonne/ I schope me in a schrowde as I a
schepe were & And send me hap & hele tyl y have found piers
plowman/ And sethyn y cryed after grace tyl y began to awake.
Explicit Pers Ploughman. ff. 131-184: [Mandeville, Travels] For as
myche as men coueyte to here of diuers longis & of diuers nacions
þat bene beghende þe grekyssh see & holy goost þat lyvith &
regnith lord god withouten ende. Amen. Here endith þe book of
maundevile. ff. 184v-190v: [Susannah] Ther was in babyloyn a biern
in þat burgh riche/ þat was a Jewe Ientil & Ioachym he hight &
þe pistil witnessiþ it well/ Of þe prophete. Here endith þe
storye of Susanne and Danyell. ff. 190v-192v: [The Legend of the
Three Kings: excerpt of the translation of the "Historia Trium
Regum" of John of Hildesheim] Aftir tyme þe Ioseph was warnyd of
þe aungell in Bedlem in his slepe þat he sholde take Ihesu his
sone … and cause þat our lady dwellid þere vii þeer with her
childe. Amen. ff. 193-318v: [Chaucer, Troilus and Criseyde] The
dowble sorowe of Troyllus to tellyn/ þat he was kyng Priamus sone
of Troye&So make vs Ihesu for thy mercy digne/ For love of þat
maydyn modir thyn benigne. Amen. Explicit Troylus.at he was kyng
Priamus sone of Troye & So make vs Ihesu for thy mercy digne/ For
love of þat maydyn modir thyn benigne. Amen. Explicit Troylus. ff.
319-325v: [translation of Peter Ceffons, Epistola Luciferi ad
Cleros] Lvcifer lord & prince of þe depe donioun of derkenes.
Rewlour of þe regne of þe Infernall empyre & & witnessyng of þe
will & effect of þe present lettres pryntyd & empressid. The
lettre of þe Infernall emperour lucifer prince of þe postestates
of þe gehennall regyoun Duke of Derkenes sent to his dere leef &
entirely bylovid speciall childryn & frendis þe forlost childryn
of þe modern cherche. 16th century annotations, include "Richard"
whose name appears in the initials of the back flyleaves, and
"Thomas Browne," who signed his name on f. 299v and on the back
flyleaf ii verso. Owned by Sir Henry Spelman, his name is written
at the beginning of each section. Later belonged to Dr. John Taylor
who bequeathed his books to Anthony Askew; his sale, Sotheby's, 7
March 1785, lot 319 to Richard Gough; his sale, Sotheby's, 5 April
1810, lot 4283 to Richard Heber. Heber's price annotations of the
Gough and Askew sale are on the front pastedown and flyleaf; his
sale, pt. XI by Evans, 10 February 1836, lot 1088 to Thorpe
possibly for Sir Thomas Phillipps; Phillipps MS 8252. In modern
pencil on the front flyleaf, the Phillipps shelfmark "B3b.550"
corrected to "a.25.550." Acquired by Henry E. Huntington through A.
S. W. Rosenbach in 1923. Huntington copy previously bound in the
18th century, in English tan calf, rebacked, original label laid
down; corners repaired. The back flyleaves and the pastedown are
from an antiphonal with offices De Judith and De Esther, England,
12th-13th century with lines of text and music in diastematic
notation on black 4-line staves with clef; initials in red and
green. Binding removed in June 2002 and housed separately in a box
which can be paged separately. Rebound in brown leather. Subjects:
Christian poetry, English (Middle) ; Geography, Medieval. ; Voyages
and travels -- Early works to 1800. ; Magi -- Legends -- Early
works to 1800. ; Troilus (Legendary character) -- Poetry. ;
Cressida (Fictitious character) -- Poetry. Form/Genre:
Manuscripts Great Britain 15th century. ; Manuscript waste
(Binding). CSmH Provenance:
16th century annotations, include "Richard" whose name appears in
the initials of the back flyleaves, and "Thomas Browne," who signed
his name on f. 299v and on the back flyleaf ii verso. Owned by Sir
Henry Spelman, his name is written at the beginning of each
section. Later belonged to Dr. John Taylor who bequeathed his books
to Anthony Askew; his sale, Sotheby's, 7 March 1785, lot 319 to
Richard Gough; his sale, Sotheby's, 5 April 1810, lot 4283 to
Richard Heber. Heber's price annotations of the Gough and Askew
sale are on the front pastedown and flyleaf; his sale, pt. XI by
Evans, 10 February 1836, lot 1088 to Thorpe possibly for Sir Thomas
Phillipps; Phillipps MS 8252. In modern pencil on the front
flyleaf, the Phillipps shelfmark "B3b.550" corrected to "a.25.550."
Acquired by Henry E. Huntington through A. S. W. Rosenbach in
1923. Cataloging Notes:
Uniform Title: Piers Plowman (B-text)
Rights
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