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Manuscripts

Prick of conscience ; Piers Plowman ; and other works : [manuscript]

1 of 144

Description: 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 Lib., Cotton Galba E. ix; see also Stacy Waters,"The Pricke of Conscience: The Southern Recension, Book V," unpublished Ph.D. thesis, University of Edinburgh, 1976; Allen, Writings, 373, n. and 539-40; R. E. Lewis and A. McIntosh, A Descriptive Guide to the Manuscripts of the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.
Type: Manuscripts(Opens in new tab)
Date: [between 1385 and 1415]
Call number: mssHM 128
Provenance: On the front pastedown, s. XVI, "Robert or William langland made pers ploughman"; beneath this, in the hand of John Bale, "Robertus Langlande natus in comitatu Salopie in villa Mortymers Clybery in the claylande, within viii myles of Malborne hylles, scripsit, peers ploughman, li. 1. In somer season whan set was sunne"; see R. B. Haselden and H. C. Schulz, "Note on the Inscription in HM 128," Huntington Library Bulletin 8 (1935) 26-27, suggesting that the manuscript which John Bale refers to in his Index Britanniae Scriptorum (ed. R. L. Poole, Oxford 1902, p. 509) as being in the possession of William Sparke may be identified with HM 128; see O. Cargill, "The Langland Myth," PMLA 50 (1935) 45 on the possible identity of William Sparke, and G. Kane, Piers Plowman: The Evidence for Authorship (London 1965) 37-42 and pl. 3 of the front pastedown of HM 128. Names of other possible early owners are: f. i, s. XVI, "Richard Rychard"; f. 101, s. XV/XVI, "Alleksander London [or Loudon?]"; f. 144v, s. XV, "cysley"; f. 149, s. XV, "betoun brygges" and, in the same hand, f. 153, "Maude." On f. i verso, a list of the contents of the book, dated in imitative medieval arabic numerals 1751; the same hand has occasionally annotated the manuscript, e.g. regarding the order of ff. 95-96, and on f. 92, across from Prick of Conscience, line 9138, "The other MS ends here." "The other MS" is probably London, Brit. Lib., Egerton 657 which breaks defectively at line 9138. Both Egerton 657 and HM 128 belonged to Adam Clarke (1760?-1832); HM 128 in the Catalogue of the Collection of Dr. Adam Clarke, complied by J. B. B. Clarke (London 1835) pp. 69-70, n. CXXIX (this number on the spine); his sale, Sotheby's, 20 June 1836, lot 352 to Thorpe; Thorpe Catalogue (1836) Suppl. n. 509. Acquired by Clifton W. Loscombe before 1838 (when F. Madden used it for his edition of art. 6); his sale, Sotheby's, 19 June 1854, lot 1167 to Upham for the fourth Earl of Ashburnham (1797-1878); see the Catalogue of the Manuscripts at Ashburnham Place (London n.d.), Appendix, n. CXXX; Ashburnham sale, Sotheby's, 1 May 1899, lot 78 to Quaritch; Quaritch Catalogue 193 (1899) n. 54. In January 1918 Henry E. Huntington selected this and other books from the collection of Ross C. Winans, at the time in the hands of G. D. Smith.
Restrictions: RESTRICTED. Available with curatorial approval. Requires extended retrieval and delivery time.
Dimensions: 168 x 240 mm
Associated people: Langland, William, (1330?-1400?); Rolle, Richard, (1290?-1349,); John, (-1180.); Clarke, Adam, (approximately 1762-1832,)
Associated organization: Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens.
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Pricke of conscience : [manuscript]
Manuscripts
ff. 1-100; f. 100v blank. [Pricke of Conscience]. Incipit: Here bygynnepþ þe firste part of þis bok, Ferste whan god all þynge made of noȝte/ Man of þe fouleste mater was ywroȝte. Explicit: To whiche ioye he vs brynge __torn___/ þat for oure loue made alle þ__torn___. Here endeþ þe pricke of concie__torn___. Finem composui penite__torn___. English. 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 (this manuscript the base text). 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) 145-46. The text is preceded by a prologue," þe myȝt of þe fader of heuene/ þe witte of þe sone with hys ȝiftes seuene . . .". ff. i-ii verso. [Canon law]. Incipit: //subintelligitur si comode potest alii dicunt quod potest dispensari in voto peregrinationis et non in voto continencie. Explicit: quia filius approbavit, pecuniariam vero satisfactionem bene potest iniungere. Et numquam//. Latin. Questions on canon law or moral theology concerning vows. Script: Littera textualis. Layout: 2 columns of 36 lines, ruled in dry point; prickings in outer and upper margins remain. Span folios: ff. i-ii verso. Inner bifolium of a quire. Assigned Date: s. XIII/XIV.
mssHM 125
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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
Pricke of conscuence : [manuscript]
Manuscripts
ff. 1-44; f. 44v blank. Pricke of Conscience. Incipit: þe myȝte of yo fadere almyȝtty/ þe witt of yo sonne alwitty . . . Firste when god mad all thynge of noght/ Of þo foulest mater he man wroght. Explicit: to þo whilk place he all vs brynge/ þay for oure hele on rode did hynge. English. IMEV 3428; R. Morris, ed., The Pricke of Conscience. The Philological Society (Berlin 1863), from London, Brit. Lib., Cotton Galba E.ix. R. E. Lewis and A. McIntosh, A Descriptive Guide to the Manuscripts of the Prick of Conscience. Medium Aevum Monograph Series n.s. 12 (Oxford 1982) 127.
mssHM 139
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
Pricke of Conscience : [manuscript]
Manuscripts
ff. 1-120v. [Pricke of Conscience]. Incipit: Here bigynnet þe ferst part of þis boke þat speket of mannes wrecchedenes Prima pars, Ferst when god made al þing of nouȝt/ Man of þe foulest mater was wrouȝt. Explicit: Vnto þat same ioye he vs bringe/ þat for oure loue makede al þinge. Amen par charite. English. IMEV 3428 (listing HM 130), but actually IMEV 3429; Southern Recension; corrected throughout by a second hand, over erasures, from a text of a different tradition. R. Morris, ed., The Pricke of Conscience. The Philological Society (Berlin 1863), from London, Brit. Lib., Cotton Galba E.ix. See 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) 147-48. HM 130 bears printer's marks first identified by H. C. Schulz,"Manuscript printer's copy for a lost early English book," The Library, 4th ser. (1941) 22:138-44. One of the printed books set from HM 130 was identified independently by A. I. Doyle and W. A. Ringler: pts. 1-3 of the Prick of Conscience constitute NSTC 24228, A New Treatyse, attributed to Miles Hogarde, printed by R. Wyer [1542?]. Doyle had previously recognized pt. 4 of the Prick of Conscience as STC 3360, A little book of Purgatory, printed by R. Wyer, dated"1550?" by STC but revised by K. Pantzer to"before Whitsun 1534" (the unique copy of this book is Huntington Library RB 17065). See H. C. Schulz,"A Middle English Manuscript Used as Printer's Copy," Huntington Library Quarterly 29 (1966) 325-36, with a plate of f. 37v. This manuscript beginning defectively in the prologue ( v. 77:"// Euer to knowe boþ gode and ille/ And þerto ȝaf him witt and wille").
mssHM 130
Chronicle : [manuscript]
Manuscripts
ff. 1-135; ff. 135v-136v blank. [Robert of Gloucester]. [Chronicle]. Incipit: Engelond is swithe good I wene hit is lond beste/ In oon ende hit is yset: of þe world al in þe west. Explicit: þat of þe walische londe clanlich al out/ He wan þe seignorye nere hi no so prout. English. IMEV 727 . W. A. Wright, ed., The Metrical Chronicle of Robert of Gloucester. RS 86 (London 1887); HM 126 of the later recension; ff. 127v-135 correspond to Wright's Appendix XX, pp. 838-77.
mssHM 126