Add MS 45103

ROMANCES, etc., mainly in verse, in Anglo-Norman French, except art. 1 (Latin). See Brit. Mus. Quart., xii, 1938, pp. 40-43, and J. M. Manly, 'The Penrose MS. of La Resurrection', Modern Philology, xxxvii, 1939, pp. 1-6. The contents are:-

(1) 'Hystoria Troianorum & Grecorum' (so rubric), consisting mainly of an abridgement of the De Excidio Troiae Historia of Dares Phrygius, omitting the introductory epistle and chh. vi-viii, xiv-xvi, xxix, xxx and with other differences from the printed text (ed. F. Meister, Leipzig, 1873). Beg. 'Pelias rex peloponensium'. Among variant passages appear several verbal correspondences with the narrative of the Fall of Troy in the Chronicle of Freculphus of Lisieux (Migne, Patr. Lat., cvi, cols. 964-967) and to a lesser extent with the interpolation known as 'Historia Daretis Frigii de origine Francorum' in the Chronicle of Fredegarius (ed. B. Krusch, Monumenta Germaniae Historica: Scriptores rerum Merovingicorum, ii, 1888, pp. 194-200; see also G. Paris in Romania, iii, 1874, pp. 129-144), particularly in the Departure of the Argonauts (f. 1) and the Rape of Helen (ff. 1b, 2). After the conclusion of Dares with the words 'secuti sunt mille ducenti' (f. 8b, col. 1), the text continues with a narration of the dispersal of the Trojan heroes, beg. 'Helenus tenuit macedoniam', including an account of the origin of the Franks which closely follows that given in Freculphus (ibid., 967). Ends (f. 9, col. 2) 'Est in eodem (sic) insula regis. que ut ferunt adhuc francia uocatur'. Followed (f. 9, col. 2) by a version of the 'portraits' in Dares (ch. xii, xiii), beg. 'Priamus rex uultu erat pulcher': ends (f. 10) 'blanda animo simplex pia'. ff. 1-10.

(2) Roman de Brut: the chronicle by Wace, in about 7355 rhymed octosyllabic couplets. Besides minor differences from the edition by D. Arnold, 1938-1940, 2 vols. (Société des anciens textes français), lines 1233-1238 and 3761-3774 (ff. 24b-25, 49) are transposed while ll. 10543-10588 (f. 126) and 10601 - 10620 (f. 126b) are missing. Used, as MS. 'P' (ibid., i, pp. xi-xii), as the basis of the edition as far as l. 11999, variations being more apparent thereafter. Beg. 'Ki uult oir e uult saueir'; ends 'Fist maistre Wace cest romanz'. ff. 13-166.

(3) On an inserted quire in a different hand is a French version (586 Alexandrines in monorhymed tirades), of the Prophecies of Merlin contained in the Historia Regum Britanniae of Geoffrey of Monmouth, book vii, ch. 3-4 (see the edition by A. Griscom, 1929, pp. 384-397). Contemporary marginal notes (f. 85b) indicate that it is intended to be read after l. 7540 or l. 7547 of Wace as printed. Probably the same poem appears in Lincoln Cathedral MS. 104, ff. 48-57 (13th cent.), which corresponds in the

incipit and explicit of the Prophecies proper, and similarly forms part of a text of Wace but is linked to it by a more elaborate introduction and conclusion (see Arnold, op. cit., i, pp. ix-x). In a 13th-cent. fragmentary anonymous version of Geoffrey of Monmouth also (Harl. MS. 1605, art. i; see H. L. D. Ward, Catalogue of Romances, i, 1883, pp. 272-274) is a passage (ff. 17-23), imperfect at the beginning, with which the present text agrees from f. 87b to the end, with the omission and addition of a few lines besides many verbal variations. Some interpretations of prophecies have apparently been incorporated in the text, i.e. one of the seven kings in Geoffrey (ed. cit., p. 386) is defined as 'Saint Oswald' (f. 86b), the flowers carried away by the north wind in Geoffrey, p. 386 (cf. Harl. 1605, f. 17, 'flors'), are referred to as 'Saxons' (f. 87b) and instead of a line mentioning the 'lion of justice' (Geoffrey, p. 387), as in Harl. 1605, f. 17, appear simply the words 'Henricus rex secundus' (f. 88). Other interpretations in Latin (f. 87) and French (f. 87b) have been added in bottom margins by a different but contemporary hand. The scribe has left a few blank lines. A line has been repeated in a 16th-cent. hand in the margin of f. 97. Beg.:-

'En plorant comenca ses sermons. E dist sa profecie si cum nus la diroms. Vei al ruge dragon. Kar sa destrucion.' Ends:-

'Desi que as esteilles li sons en monterad.' (followed by l. 7541 of Wace as printed). ff. 86-97.

(4) First statute of Westminster, 3 Edw. I [22 Apr. 1275], showing frequent minor variations and a few omissions from the text in The Statutes of the Realm, i, 1810, pp. 26-39. Occasional gaps indicate that the scribe has at some points failed to read words in his source. Beg. 'Ces sunt les estatus le Roy Edward'; ends 'e co prje le roy as eveskes'. Title in William Lambarde's hand at the top of the first leaf. ff. 167-183.

(5) La Petite Philosophie: the version of the Imago Mundi wrongly attributed to Honorius of Autun, lib. i (Migne, Patr. Lat., clxxii, cols. 121- 146), in 2704 lines, mainly rhymed octosyllabic couplets with some repeated lines. Used, as MS. 'P', as the basis of the edition by W. H. Trethewey (Anglo-Norman Texts, 1), 1939 (see his description on pp. vi-ix). Besides minor omissions and displacements, ll. 2031-2144 of the text as printed are missing though a space is left blank for them on ff. 204b, 205, and the MS. ends imperfectly with the omission of ll. 2820-2920. A line in a misplaced passage on f. 187 (l. 266 as printed) has apparently been written by a second hand. Against appropriate passages, lines of Latin verse have been written by different hands in margins and repeated in plummet at the foot, as follows:-

'Asia ^. Sem ^. seruit portibus ipsa maior.' f. 189b. 'Europamque Iaphet donauit Seth . maledicto.' f. 194. 'Africa Cam seruit. uilior ipsa nimis.' f. 196b. Beg. 'Mvlt uolenters escriuereie'; ends 'De tutes ioies de murs & de buntey'. ff. 185-212 (col. 2).

(6) Poem concerning the Four Daughters of God, in 136 rhymed octosyllabic couplets: a version of that printed from Arundel MS. 292, ff. 25-30, as 'De Salvatione Hominis Dialogus' in F. Michel, Libri Psalmorum versio antiqua gallica. . ., Oxford, 186o, pp. 364-368 (see also A. Långfors in Notices et Extraits des manuscrits de la Bibliothèque Nationale, xlii, 1933, pp. 180-181, 194, 208-209), but omits eighteen lines after line 2, nine lines at the end, all but the first Latin rubric, and a few other lines. There are also many verbal variations. Another copy in Corpus Christi College Library, Cambridge, MS. 50, f. 102, according to quotations in M.R. James, A Descriptive Catalogue of the Manuscripts in the Library of Corpus Christi College, Cambridge, 1912, i, pp. 102-103, corresponds at the beginning (after the first two lines) where the same omission occurs, and in the speech of Truth (Michel, ibid., p. 366) with which it ends imperfectly. Other copies are Harl. MS. 1801, ff. 127b-129b (mainly agreeing with Arundel MS. 292), and Cambridge University Library MS. Kk. 4. 20, ff. 56-58. The present MS. has variant readings which frequently correspond with those in the related text contained in the Vie de Tobie attributed to Guillaume de Normandie, printed by R. Reinsch in Archiv für das Studium der neueren Sprachen und Literaturen, lxii, 1879, pp. 380-385, ll. 51-338, and ends with the same three lines. ff. 212 (col. 2)-214b (col. 2). Beg.:-

'Des quatre soru[r]s vus voil dire. Ke sunt filles deu nostre sire.' Ends:-

'Dunc fu adam deprisune. (l. 291 of Michel, op. cit., p. 368) E cels ke auoient sune. E chante les propheties. Furent dunc acuplies.' (7) Fragment of a poem relating to the Apocalypse, in 14 rhymed octosyllabic couplets, describing the beginning of the revelation on a Thursday (cf. Rev. i, 10) and the vision of the book with seven seals (Rev. v, 1), the latter being apparently introductory to some kind of explanation. ff. 214b-215 (col. 1). Beg.:-

'Mvlt nus ama dampnede Quant partie de sun segre.' Ends:-

'Escutez lur ententiun. Entendez bien lur raisun. Vidi in dextram (sic) sedentis librum scriptum intus & foris signatum sigillis septem & c. [Rev., v, 1]' (8) La Sainte Resurrectiun: a semi-liturgical play on the Resurrection, in 261 rhymed octosyllabic couplets. Printed together with the only other

version, MS. fr. 902 in the Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris, by T. A. Jenkins, J. M. Manly, M. K. Pope and J. G. Wright (Anglo-Norman Texts, iv), 1943. The present text is the fuller of the two, containing three additional scenes at the end, but lacking the Bystander scene (ed. cit., pp. 34-35) and omitting names of interlocutors throughout. Beg. 'Si vus auez deuotiun.'; ends 'Conue chose est ore de tai'. ff. 215 (col. 2)-220. Vellum; ff. i + 220. 365 mm. x 255 mm. Late xiii cent. (art. 3, A.D. 1275 or later). Written probably at Christ Church, Canterbury (cf. Chronicles, etc., of Christ Church in Cotton MS. Galba E. iii, ff. 1-81), in four (?) very similar hands, viz. (a) artt. 1 and 3; (b) art. 2, ff. 13-24b; (c) art. 2, ff. 25-85, 98-166; (d) art. 2, ff. 86-97, and artt. 4-8. Gatherings of 12 leaves (xi and xiv both want 12, apparently blank, xvi⁶; ix is inserted after f. 85, the first leaf of viii) mainly with catchwords. Signatures in art. 2, of roman numerals (quire ii) and arabic letters, etc. (quires iii-viii, x-xiv). Artt. 2 and 3 each begin a separate quire, while artt. 4-8 follow each other without a break in quires xvii-xix, which form a single unit linked by catchwords. Double columns of 25 or 26 lines except in ix (ff. 86-97). Sec. fol. '[ad vi]dendum eum'. Old foliation only of f. 13. Modern erroneous foliation (circ. 1929, see Manly, ibid., pp. 1-2) leaving f. 16 blank and omitting ff. 156-159. Penwork initials in red and blue. Corrections and marginal notes in plummet and a few corrections in ink. Some modern pencil notes. At the end of the volume (f. 220b) some words apparently from art. 1 are copied in a 16th-cent. hand, and the title 'Hist: Rom: & Graec.' appears in a (?) 18th-cent hand. Belonged to Christ Church, Canterbury, being identifiable in the list by William Ingram of books repaired there, 1508, under the title 'Historia Troianorum et Grecorum' and by a reference to the incipit of the second folio (see M.R. James, The Ancient Libraries of Canterbury and Dover, 1903, p. 158, no. 161). A Latin inscription on f. 1 by, William Lambarde, historian of Kent, records that the MS. was given to him in 1582 by 'Stephanus Teobauld' (probably Stephen Theobald, of Seal, co. Kent (d. 1619); see Miscellanea Genealogica et Heraldica, 4th ser., v, 1914, p. 312). Hodgson's sale-cat., 26 Mar. 1929, lot 142. Bought by Boies Penrose 11, Esq., of Nettlecombe, co. Som., from whom it passed to the donor. Formerly bound in boards and half-leather, with leaves in quire xix misplaced (see Manly, ibid., pp. 1, 4, note 4); subsequently (circ. 1929) bound in present wooden boards with white pigskin back and clasps. Presented by Charles Cheers Wakefield, 1st Viscount Wakefield of Hythe, G. C. V. 0.