Manuscripts

Chester mystery cycle : [manuscript]

1 of 329

Description: ff. 6-150v. [Chester Mystery Cycle]. Incipit: Ego sum alpha et omega i, primus et novissimus. I god moste of maiestye/ in whom begininge none may bee. Explicit: therfore excuse you withowten were/ I may not well I wysse. Deo gratias. This ys the laste of all the xxiiiitie pageantes and playes, played by the xxiiites craftesmen of the Cyttie of Chester wrytten in the yeare of our lord god 1591 and in the xxxiiiith yeare of the reigne of our sovereigne Ladye queene Elizabeth, whom god preserve for ever Amen. Finis. [added in a different script:] By me Edward Gregorie scholler at Bunburye the yeare of our lord god 1591. Rubric: Drapers Playe. Incipit pagina secunda qualiter deus docuit mundum, Deus. English. IMEV 716. R. M. Lumiansky and D. Mills, eds., The Chester Mystery Cycle. EETS ss 3 (London 1974) , using this manuscript as the base text, collated against the 5 other manuscripts; HM 2 described in the introduction, pp. xii-xiv and in the notes, pp. 533-47. See also The Chester Mystery Cycle: a reduced facsimile of Huntington Library MS 2 with an introduction by R. M. Lumiansky and D. Mills (San Marino and the University of Leeds 1980). Other complete editions of the Chester cycle, including the Banns, by T. Wright for the Shakespeare Society (1843-47) and by H. Deimling and Dr. Matthews for EETS es 62, 115 (1892, 1916) ; for a list of the partial editions, see Lumiansky and Mills, EETS ss 3, pp. xli-xlii . This manuscript lacking the first 5 leaves (as shown by contemporary foliation); the missing text (the Banns and Play 1) supplied in HM 2 on the introductory ff. I-XII from London, Brit. Lib., Harley 2013 in the nineteenth century.

Towneley cycle : [manuscript]

Manuscripts

ff. 1-132; f. 132v, now covered with modern paper. Towneley Cycle. Incipit: Ego sum alpha et o/ I am the first the last also/ Oone god in mageste/ Meruelus of myght most/ Fader & Son & holy goost/ On god in trinyte. Explicit: The qweyn hir selff with child can goo/ A son sche bayr/ A fayrer child from tope to too/ Man neuer se ayre. Rubric: In dei nomine Amen Assit principio Sancta Maria meo Wakefeld. English. Twenty-eight leaves missing with loss of text: the bans (?), portions of plays 1, 4, 5, 17, 18, 29, 30, and 3 or 4 plays on the Virgin Mary (?); play 7 left unfinished; plays 7, 8, 31 and 32 copied out of sequence. IMEV 715. G. England and A. W. Pollard, eds., The Towneley Plays. EETS es 71 (London 1897) from this unique manuscript. For other editions see M. Stevens, "The Manuscript of the Towneley Plays: Its History and Editions," Papers of the Bibliographical Society of America 67 (1973) 231-44. See also The Towneley Cycle: a facsimile of Huntington MS HM 1, with an introduction by A. C. Cawley and M. Stevens (San Marino and the University of Leeds 1976). See M. Stevens, "The Missing Parts of the Towneley Cycle," Speculum 45 (1970) 254-65 suggesting that the missing first quire may have contained the bans (lost accidentally) and that the 12 leaves missing after f. 121 may have contained Mary plays, removed from the manuscript intentionally at the Reformation.

mssHM 1

Northern homily cycle : [manuscript]

Manuscripts

ff. 1-231v. [Northern homily cycle]. Incipit: //Narracio, A blak monk of an abby. Explicit: And vs and ham to blys lede. Amen./ Amen Amen I rede we syng/ For þare is Ioy without endyng/ Explicit/ þis boke wrot [end of line erased; in the 1930s tentatively read with the aid of a reagent:"William Thame"; now completely illegible]/ God kepe hym fro syn and schame/ And gyff hym þe grace so to spede/ þat he may haue heuyn to his mede/ I pray ȝow þat hyt may so be/ For hym say a pater noster and a Aue/ Celi regina sit scriptory medicina/ [2 lines erased]. English. Unexpanded version of the Northern Homily Cycle; see J. Small, English Metrical Homilies (Edinburgh 1862), M. Corbett,"An East-Midland Revision of the Northern Homily Cycle," Manuscripta 26 (1982) 100-07, and, for the expanded text, S. Nevanlinna, The Northern Homily Cycle: The Expanded Version in MSS Harley 4196 and Cotton Tiberius E. vii; I: from Advent to Septuagesima. Mémoires de la Société Néophilologique de Helsinki 38 (1972). Text here beginning defectively: ff. 1-202, Temporale from the third Sunday of Advent through the 25th Sunday after Trinity; ff. 202v-231, Sanctorale.

mssHM 129

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Employees - Vonier, Chester

Manuscripts

2 items: 5-pp. (stapled) manuscript, including poetry segments, which begins, "The purpose of this meeting is to honor Chester Vonier and to commend his spirit to that mystery from whence it came"; a typed half-sheet of paper with more poetry on it. Both items undated.

mssLAT

Crypto-Catholic Shrewsbury prayer book : manuscript

Manuscripts

1. f. 1r-v. Morning prayer. Lighten myne eyes o Lorde, least at any tyme I oversleepe in sinne, and least myne enemy doe say I have prevailed against him ... 2. ff. 1v-2r. Evening prayer. Allmighty and everlasting God, I render thee most heart thanckes, for that thou has vouchsafed of thy great mercy and goodnes, to preserve mee this day from all evill ... 3. ff. 2r-3v. A prayer to stirre up the minde to devotion in prayer. Allmighty and most mercifull Father, unto thee all the heavenly company of the Celestiall cytie, all the blessed orders of saved spirits do wth due reverence sing continuall glorie and everlasting praise ... 4. ff. 3v-10r. A confession of my sinnes & weaknesses wth petitions for the pardoning of the one, & strengthening of ye other. Have mercie vpon mee and spare mee good Lorde, and suffer mee not to perish in my sinne ... 5. ff. 10r-18r. Another confession wth such like petitions. Graunt me most mercifull God, fervently to desire such thinges, as may bee acceptable and pleasing unto thee, wth wisedome to serch after those, not to bee deceived in the knowledge of those, and unfainedly to accomplish the doing of those ... 6. f. 18r. A prayer desiering God to order & direct mee. Lorde God thou knowest what thing is to mee most profitable to doe, this or that, after thy will: ... 7. ff. 18v-19r. A thankesgiving for my beeing. O God thou mightest have kept mee from being at all, and (being) thou maist make mee, as if I never had been, but seeing of they wonderfull goodnes, also doost suffer mee still to bee: ... 8. ff. 19r-20r. Before the receiving of the holy Sacrament. O Benigne Jesu that wouldest suffer so many grevous paynes, yea death itself for love of mankinde, great and marveilous is they charity, give mee grace to receive, thy precious body in forme of bread this day, with purity of heart and cleanes of soule, with love, dread, and stedfast beleef. ... 9. ff. 20v-21r. After receiving the holy Sacrament. Thankes bee unto thee o holy Father God Almyghty, that thou didst vouchsaufe of thy great pity, to send thy only sonne from thy high throne into this vale of woe & miserye, ... 10. ff. 21r-22v. A prayer or thanckesgiving unto ye Holy Trinity. O Blessed Lorde God, Father, Sonne and Holy Ghost, three personnes and one God, my Lorde, my God, my maker, my redeemer, my norisher, my defender, my sweetnes, my mercy, my refuge, my strength, my victory, my joy, and my glory eternall; I laud thee, I glorifie thee, I honor thee. ... 11. ff. 22v-24v. Prayers in Sicknesse. O Sweete Jesu, I desire nor life, nor death, but they most holy will. Thee O Lorde I looke for, bee it unto mee according to thy pleasure. If thou wilt sweete Jesus that I dye, receive my soule ... 12. ff. 24v-25r. A prayer for a sick body ready to die. Have mercy and spare him o Lorde; deliver him from thine anger, from an evill death, from the danger of death; from the paines of hell, from all evill, from the power of the Devill. ... 13. ff. 25r-26r. Christ deliver thee from all torment, who was crucified for thee. Christ deliver thee from death, who hath vouchsafed to dye for thee; Christ the sonne of the living god, place thee in the garden of his paradise, which alwaies is pleasant and flourishing ...

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Wycliffe materials : [manuscript]

Manuscripts

ff. 19v-103v. Psalter, Wycliffe translation. Incipit: Blessid is þe man þat ȝede not in þe coun[sel] of wickide men. Explicit: herie ȝe him in cymbals of iubilacioun: ech spirit herie þe lord. English. The psalter is introduced by four prologues of which the first and the fourth attribute authorship to Richard Rolle; the prologues and psalter are preceded by a section of Deuteronomy (beginning defectively), followed directly by Baruch ending defectively, and a section from Tobias (beginning defectively). ff. 103v-113. Canticles, Wycliffe translation. Incipit: Lord I schal knowleche o þee for þou were wrooþ to me. English. Old and New Testament Canticles, followed by the Quicumque vult salvus esse, and the litany. ff. 113-117. Psalms, excerpts, Wycliffe translation. Incipit: God seiþ þi his profete, my people parseyue ȝe my lawe, bowe ȝoure eere into þe wordis of my mouþ. Explicit: Schal not he heere þat plauntide þe eere, eiþer biholdiþ not he þat made þe iȝe, ps, lxxxxiii. English. Twenty-three excerpts from the psalms in the later Wycliffite version, apparently unique. ff. 117-121v. Rubric: Here bigynneþ ieroms sautir, Lord god vouchesaaf to take up þese psalmes þat ben halowid to þee, which I synful & vnworþi desire to seie in worschip of þi name. Incipit: Lord parseyue þou my wordis with þin eeris. Explicit: þat glorie & honour and worschip be to god þe fadir and to þe sone and to þe holy goost in alle worldis of worldis. Amen. Here eendiþ Ieroms sautir. English. See A. C. Paues, A Fourteenth-Century English Biblical Version (Cambridge 1902) lxiii-lxiv for the prayer and a discussion of the English text of the psalter of St. Jerome; complete Latin text in HE, 116-22. ff. 122-145. [Clement of Llanthony] Oon of foure. Incipit: In bigynnynge or first of alle þingis was goddis sone & goddis sone was at god. Explicit: I deeme þat þe world schal not take þe bookis þat schulen be writen. Rubric: Here bigynneþ þe gospel on cristemasdai at hiȝ masse. English. Oon of foure, the English translation of Clement of Llanthony's Concordia Evangelistarum (see Brit. Lib., Harley 1862, Roy. 17.A.XXVI and Roy. 17.C.XXXIII), normally in 12 parts, but here only Parts 1-2, 11-12; breaks in the text of 2 leaves after f. 132 and of 8 leaves after f. 134. ff. 145-146. Rubric: Here bigynnen þe xii articlis of oure bileeue. Incipit: The firste article of oure bileeue is þat god is oo substaunce & þre persones in himsilf. Explicit: for þe word of god to fulfille is liif & ioie wiþouten eende. Amen. English. Twelve articles of faith and seven sacraments. ff. 146v-147. Rubric: Here bigynneþ þe gospel of ascencioun day. Incipit: And þe enleuenþe disciplis wente into galilee in to an hil. Explicit: & aftir to regne wiþ oure lord ihesu crist & sauiour & hise holy seyntis into worldis of worldis. Amen. English. Gospel pericopes from Matthew and Mark. ff. 147v-150. [Poem]. Incipit: Blessid god souereyn goodnesse/ mercy to me thy synfull creature. Explicit: with angellis & senttis synggung in kynd/ Sanctus Sanctus Sanctus lord god with out ynd. English. IMEV 532; C. Brown, Religious Lyrics of the XVth Century (Oxford 1939) 86-89, from this manuscript. Followed on ff. 150v-151 by the table of contents, added towards the middle of the fifteenth century in a secretary script; ff. 151v-152v blank.

Chester mystery cycle : [manuscript]

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Towneley cycle : [manuscript]

Northern homily cycle : [manuscript]

Employees - Vonier, Chester

Crypto-Catholic Shrewsbury prayer book : manuscript

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Wycliffe materials : [manuscript]