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Manuscripts

[Piers Plowman; Mandeville; Troilus; etc., middle of the 15th century]

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Description: 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.
Type: Manuscripts(Opens in new tab)
Date: [England, middle of the 15th century]
Call number: mssHM 114
Creator: Langland, William (1330?-1400?)(Opens in new tab)
Provenance: Acquired by Henry E. Huntington through A. S. W. Rosenbach in 1923. 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."

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Piers Plowman : [manuscript]
Manuscripts
ff. 1-106v; ff. 107-108v blank. [William Langland] Piers Plowman. Incipit: In a somer sesoun whan softe was þe sonne/ y shope me into shroudes as y a shep were. Explicit: And seende me hap and hele til y haue Peres plouhman/ And sethe he gradde aftur grace tyl y gan awake. English. IMEV 1459; C text, i group; ff. 60 and 61 reversed in binding. R. W. Chambers, "The Manuscripts of Piers Plowman in the Huntington Library and their Value for Fixing the Text of the Poem," HLB 8 (1935) 1-25; Piers Plowman: The Huntington Library MX (HM 143) reproduced in Photostat with Introduction by R. W. Chambers and Technical Examination by R. B. Haselden and H. C. Schulz (Huntington Library 1936); D. Pearsall, ed., Piers Plowman by William Langland: An Edition of the C-text (London 1978) from this manuscript with variant readings from others. ff. ii-iii verso. [Geoffrey Chaucer] Troilus and Criseyde. Incipit: //So whan thys Calkas knewe by kalkulynge/ And eke by onswere of this Appollo. Explicit: Of other sekenesse lest men of hym wende/ That the hoote fir of loue hym brende//. English. Two non-continuous leaves representing leaves 2 and 7 of a gathering of 8 leaves of a lost manuscript, and containing 20 stanzas: f. ii recto-verso: //So whan thys Calkas knewe by kalkulynge/ And eke by onswere of this Appollo . . . And under efte gan hem whielen bothe/ After hire cours ay whil that they were wrothe//; f. iii recto-verso: // And to the god of loue thus sayde he/ With pitous vois o lord now youres is . . . Of other sekenesse lest men of hym wende/ That the hoote fir of loue hym brende//. IMEV 3327; R. K. Root, ed., The Book of Troilus and Criseyde by Geoffrey Chaucer (Princeton 1926) 1:71-140 and 1:421-490; M. B. Parkes and R. Beadle, Geoffrey Chaucer, Poetical Works: a facsimile of Cambridge University Library MS Gg.4.27 (Cambridge 1980-81) 3:65 note 94 referring to this manuscript. Assigned Date: s. XVin.
mssHM 143
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Piers Plowman : [manuscript]
Manuscripts
ff. 1-89v. [William Langland] Piers Plowman. Incipit: In a somere seyson whan softe was þe sonne/ y shop into shrobbis as y shepherde were. Explicit: And sende me hap and hele til ich haue peers ploughman/ And suthe he gradde after grace til ich gan awake. Hic explicit passus secundus de dobest. Explicit peeres plouheman scriptum per Thomam Dankastre. Rubric: Hic incipit Visio Willelmi de petro ploughman. English. IMEV 1459; C text, p group; see R. W. Chambers, "The Manuscripts of Piers Plowman in the Huntington Library and their Value for Fixing the Text of the Poem," HLB 8 (1935) 1-25; J. A. W. Bennett, "A New Collation of a Piers Plowman Manuscript (HM 137)," Medium Aevum 17 (1948) 21-31; T. D. Whitaker, ed., Visio Willi de Petro Plouhman (London 1813) from this manuscript; W. W. Skeat, ed., The Vision of William Concerning Piers the Plowman by William Langland. EETS os 54 (London 1873) with this manuscript as the base text, described on pp. xix-xxiv; D. Pearsall, ed., Piers Plowman by William Langland: An Edition of the C-Text (London 1978) using HM 143 as the base manuscript.
mssHM 137
Prick of conscience ; Piers Plowman ; and other works : [manuscript]
Manuscripts
Part 1. ff. 1-16v, 25-32v, 17-24v, 33-94; f. 94v, blank. Pricke of Conscience. Incipit: The ferste part of þis book is soþnesse/ ys ymad of manny wrecchidnesse ffor whan god al þyng had mad of nought/ than of þe foulest matere man was wrought. Explicit: To þe which he vs brynge/ that for our loue maked all þynge. Amen. Here endet þ prikke of conscience. Rubric: Here bigynneþ þe ferste part of þis book þat telleþ of mannys wrecchidnesse. English. Text preceded by a prologue ("Here bugynneþ þe prologe on the Prikke of consciencie þat ferst telleþ of goddes power, The myght of the fadur of heuene/ the wyt of the sone wyth hys ȝyftes seuene"). IMEV 3429; Southern Recension; R. Morris, ed., The Pricke of Conscience. The Philological Society (Berlin 1863), from London, Brit. Lib., Cotton Galba E. ix; see also Stacy Waters,"The Pricke of Conscience: The Southern Recension, Book V," unpublished Ph.D. thesis, University of Edinburgh, 1976; Allen, Writings, 373, n. and 539-40; R. E. Lewis and A. McIntosh, A Descriptive Guide to the Manuscripts of the 'Prick of Conscience.' Medium Aevum monographs n.s. 12 (Oxford 1982) 146-47. Two quires bound out of order. Part 1. ff. 96r-v, 95; f. 95v blank. [William Langland] Piers Plowman. Incipit: //than drede went wyȝtly and warnede fals/ and badde hym fle for fere and his felawes alle. Explicit: Or togreden after goddes men. Whan ȝe delen doles/ In aduenture ȝe hauen ȝoure hire here. And ȝoure heuene als/ Nesciat sinistra manus quid faciat dextra. English. Fragment of Piers Plowman, B-text, ii, 208-iii, 72. IMEV 1459. Leaves rejected by scribe and order reversed; see R. B. Haselden,"The Fragment of Piers Plowman in Ashburnham No. CXXX," Modern Philology 29 (1932) 391-94, and pl. of ff. 96, 121. Part 1. ff. 97-112v. Incipit: Istam sequenciam cantat ecclesia dominica prima adventus domini quia in ea memoria agitur de adventu. Salus fidei generis est integritas corporis. Et dicitur de hoc sal. Explicit: Sed certe debet vocari ita et non eta, ut ipsi greci testantur. Et scribitur hoc nomen IHC cum tribus literis propter misterium ternarii numeri. Rubric: Dominica prima adventus domini sequencia, Salus eterna. Latin. An exposition of sequences which presents some similarities to the printed text, Expositio sequentiarum secundum usum Sarum [Cologne: H. Quentell, 1495]; Copinger 2386. Part 1. ff. 113-205. [William Langland] Piers Plowman. Incipit: In a someres seysoun whan set was the sunne/ y schoop me into shrowdes as y a sheep were. Explicit: and sende me hap and hele tyl y haue peris þe ploghman/ and siþ he gradde after grace tyl y gan awake. Explicit visio petri ploughman. English. Corrections in the hand of the scribe over erasures; text on ff. 156-161v disordered. IMEV 1459; W. W. Skeat, ed., The Vision of William Concerning Piers the Plowman, by William Langland. EETS os 38 (London 1869) particularly xxi-xxiii for description of HM 128; G. Kane and E. T. Donaldson, eds., Piers Plowman: The B Version (London 1975), from Cambridge, Trinity College B.15.17, with variants also from this manuscript; see pp. 9-10 for description of HM 128. See also R. W. Chambers,"The Manuscripts of Piers Plowman in the Huntington Library and their Value for Fixing the Text of the Poem," Huntington Library Bulletin 8 (1935) 1-25. Part 1. ff. 205-216. [Siege of Jerusalem]. Incipit: Here begynneth þe seege of ierusaleem & how it was destroyed, In tyberyes tyme the trewe emperowr/ Sere cesar hym seluen seysyd in rome. Explicit: Wente synggyng awey & lefte woo there/ And hool reedyn to rome yblessyd be god almyȝty. Amen. English. IMEV 1583; E. Kölbing and M. Day, eds., The Siege of Jerusalem. EETS os 188 (London 1932), from Oxford, Bod. Lib., Laud misc. 656, with variants also from this manuscript; see pp. viii-ix for description of HM 128. G. Guddat-Figge, Catalogue of Manuscripts containing Middle English Romances (Munich 1976) 303-04. Part 1. ff. 216v-219. How the Good Wife Taught her Daughter. Incipit: The goode wif taught hir doughter fele tyme & ofte gode woman for to be, Doughter ȝif þou wilt ben a wif & wiseliche werch/ Loke þat þou loue well god & holy cherch. Explicit: Her blessyng mote þou haue & wele mote þou thryue. Wele is þe childe þat thryue may my der childe. Explicit expliciat ludere scriptor eat. English. IMEV 671; T. F. Mustanoja, ed., The Good Wife Taught her Daughter; The Good Wyfe wold a Pylgremage; The Thewis of Gud Women (Helsinki 1948), with Cambridge, Emmanuel College, MS I.4.31 as the basis; HM 126 also edited in full. Also printed from this manuscript by F. Madden, ed., How the Goode Wif thaught hir Doughter (London 1838); by W. C. Hazlitt, Remains of the Early Popular Poetry of England (London 1864) 1:180-92; by C. Hindley, The Old Book Collector's Miscellany (London 1872; reprint of Madden) 2:1. Part 2. ff. 1-2v. [John of Salisbury]. [Letters]. Incipit: //penitencia et satisfactione substiterit in finibus istis. Explicit: Cum ergo hiis angustiis//. Latin. The incipit and explicit of the pastedown in the back of the book are: //pius ihesus quam ipsum pro pace vel gratia hominis. . .responderes id quod etsi imperitis rerum videatur//. John of Salisbury, Letters, ed. W. J. Millor and C. N. L. Brooke (Oxford 1979) v. 2, p. 104 line 18 to p. 110 line 4 and p. 200 line 9 to p. 206 line 4. Layout: 2 columns of 42+ lines, each column 81 mm. wide, ruled in lead. This part formed of the two pastedowns. Assigned Date: s. XIVex.
[Brut chronicle, middle of the 15th century]
Manuscripts
A legendary and historical chronicle of England named after its first hero, Brutus, a descendent of Aeneas and the epic founder of Britain. It begins with Brutus' conquest of Albion and continues through the death of Henry V and the assumption of the crown by Henry VI. Also includes an epitome of English history, a prophecy and medical recipes.
mssHM 136
Wycliffite New Testament : [manuscript]
Manuscripts
f. 1. [Table and readings from the Epistles and Gospels]. Incipit: //Seynte edmund king, Ecclesiastes xxxi, b, blessid is a as on seynt valentyn dai in feverer; luce xiiii, f, if ony man comeþ ende by my disciple. Explicit: Seynt lyne pope & martyr, ebreus v, a, Ech bishop taken ende of melchisedech; luce xixo, b a worþi man went ende up to iherusalem. English. Portion of a table of readings from the Epistles and Gospels arranged for the liturgical year, here only the last 6 entries for the proper of saints; Forshall and Madden 4:696. ff. 1-160v. [Here bigynneþ a prolog on mathew]. Incipit: Mathew þat was of iudee, as he is set first in ordre of þe gospellers, so he wroot first þe gospel in iudee. . .[f. lv, Text:] Capitulum 1m, The booc of þe generacioun of ihesu crist þe sone of David þe sone of abraham. Explicit: he seiþ þat beriþ witnessing of þes þingis, ȝhe amen. I come soone amen come þou lord ihesu þe grace of oure lord ihesu crist be wiþ ȝou alle amen. [added:] Finito libro sit laus et gloria christo. [added:] Amen I pray god. Rubric: Here bigynneþ a prolog on mathew. English. Forshall and Madden, vol. 4, the New Testament in the later Wycliffite version in the normal order of the Vulgate, excluding the letter to the Laodiceans and with Jerome's prologues for each book. In the outer and inner margins, letters in red indicate beginnings of the lessons, while a double red slash shows the end; in the text itself, the appropriate beginning and ending words are scored through in red, to implement the table of Epistle and Gospel readings of art. 1. Contemporary corrections to the text in the margins, possibly enclosed in red or blue frames (e.g. ff. 38v, 64, 96v, 102v). For lists of manuscripts, see Forshall and Madden 1:xxxix-lxiv and C. Lindberg, "Manuscripts and Versions of the Wycliffite Bible," Studia Neophilologica 42 (1970) 333-47, including HM 134.
mssHM 134
Translation of Higden's Polychronicon, along with other translations of works into Middle English : [manuscript]
Manuscripts
ff. 1-5v: [Pseudo William Ockham, translation of Dialogus inter militem et clericum]: Rubric: Dialogus inter militem et clericum. Incipit: Clericus y wonder sir noble knyȝt þat in fewe daies tymes beþ chaungid riȝt is yburied lawes biþ ouertorned. Explicit: Also in þe tyme of gospel hit is writen þe holy day is made for man and nouȝt man for þe holy day. Explicit dialogus inter clericum et militem. ff. 5v-20v: [Richard FitzRalph, translation of Defensio curatorum]: Rubric: Incipit sermo domini archiepiscopi Armacani. Incipit: Demeþ nought by þe face but riȝtful dome ye deme. John 8o co. Holy fadir in þe bigynnyng of my sermoun I make a protestacioun. Explicit: þerfore I conclude & pray mekelich & deuoutlich as I prayed in þe first þat I touchid: demeþ nouȝt bi þe face et cetera. Explicit. ff. 21-23v: [Pseudo Methodius, translation of Beginning of the World and the End of Worlds]: Incipit: In þe name of crist here bigynneþ þe boke of methodii þe bisshop of þe chirche of paterenis and martir of martir of [sic] crist. Explicit: And wicked men wiþout ende shul suffre peyne. Wherefore þe lord vouche he saaf to delyuer vs. qui cum patre et cetera. Explicit liber metodii episcopi. ff. 24-40v: [Alphabetical subject indexes to the Polychronicon in Latin and then in English with reference to books and chapters]. ff. 41-42: [Dialogue between a Lord and a Clerk upon Translation]: Incipit: Siþþe þat babel was ybuld men spekiþ diuerse tonges. Explicit: þan alle þat ben ywrite in þe boke of lyf shal wynde wiþ him into þe blisse of heuen and be þere in body and soule and se & knowe his godhed and manhed in Ioy wiþout eny ende. Explicit dialogus. f. 42r-v. [John Trevisa, Epistle to Sir Thomas of Barkley]: Incipit: Welþe and worshipe to my worthy and worshipful lord sir Thomas lord of Berkley. I Iohan Treuysa youre prest and youre bedman. Explicit: to se god on his blisful face in ioy wipout eny ende. Amen. Explicit epistola. ff. 43-319v: [Ranulph Higden, translation of Polychronicon]: Prologue: Incipit prefacio prima, Aftir solempne and wise writers of art and of science þat had swetnesse & likyng al her liftyme ... Prologue [f. 44v]: Prefacio secunda ad historiam, And for þis cronicle conteyneþ beringes and dedes of meny tymes ... Prologue [f. 44v]: Prefacio tercia ad historiam, To hem þat wole haue ful knowelech of stories it nedeþ eiȝte þinges to knowe ... Rubric: De orbis dimensione priscianus in Cosmagraphia [sic]. Incipit: Iulius Cesar by Counsaile of þe senatours and elder men of Rome loked and serched stories ... Explicit: þis translacion is endide in a þursday þe xviii day of Aueril þe yere of oure lorde a þousande þre hundred foure score and seuen þe tenþe yere of king Richard þe second aftir þe conqueste of englande þe yere of my lordis age sir Thomas lorde of Berkeley þat made me make þis translacion fiue and þritty. Explicit. ff. 320-325v: [115 verses on the kings of England from Alfred to Henry VI; followed by several documents concerning Richard II (his renunciation of the throne), Henry IV, Henry V, Henry VI and Edward IV (his claim to the throne of France with 2 genealogical tables]: Rubric: Hic metrice tractatur de regulis ab aluredo primo fundatore universitatis Oxoniensis circiter Annum domini D CCC lxiii usque ad henricum sextum. Incipit: Aluredus rex anglorum primusque monarcha/ Belliger invictus in scripturis bene doctus ... Explicit: Hoc tunc in fine verborum queso meorum/ Prospera quod statuat regna futura deus. Amen. [f. 325v, ruled but blank]. ff. 326-337v: [Pseudo Turpin, translation of Historia Karoli Magni; ending defectively in the 26th of 36 chapters]: Prologue: Turpine the Archebisshop of þe Bataille of Rouncivale. Here begynneth þe prologe of Turpines Story, Tvrpyne by the grace of god Archebiship of Reynes a bisye ffoluere and of grete Emperoure Charlis a ffelow with leoprande Dene of Akim gretinge and helthe euerlastinge in god ... ; [Chapter list]: B[rubricator's error for H]ere beginneth the Titulus of þe Chapitres of the Storye of the Bataille of Rouncivale of grete Charles the Emperoure, Capitulum 1m, [H]ow seynt Iame aperid to Charlis; Capitulum ii, [H]ow þe wallis of pampilione fylle down by hem selffe ... Rubric: How seint Iame apered to king Charles, Capitulum 1. Incipit: After oure lord ihesu criste had sufferid deþe and paid þe Rawnsome for synfulle man. Explicit: þen Roulonde lete him goo, and he callid to god to helpe him. And anone//. The text is preceded by a prologue and a chapter list: