Add MS 89074

The manuscript contains the only known complete copy of the Catholicon Anglicum, a bilingual English-Latin dictionary compiled anonymously at some point during the fifteenth century.

Only one other copy of the Catholicon Anglicum is known to survive: Add MS 15562, an imperfect copy missing many leaves, which dates to the mid-15th century.

This copy of the Catholicon contains approximately 8,000 Middle English headwords. Each headword is written in red ink: the first letter is written as a littera notabilior, and is aligned against the left-hand edge of the ruled writing space. Lists of Latin equivalents then follow, written in brown ink.

The headwords are arranged largely in alphabetical order, A-Ȝ. The compiler signified the different parts of speech to which these words belonged by writing guiding words in brown ink in the margin to the left of the headwords: for example, the indefinite or definite articles for nouns, and 'to' for verbs.

The compiler also used the margin to insert prefixes or other words when he grouped together families of words that strict alphabetisation would have otherwise kept apart: for example, 'an Organ', 'to synge or to play Organ', 'Organ pypys' and 'a player of Organ' (f. 119v). The compiler often paired adjectives with their antonyms: for example, 'Awysyd', 'vnAwysid' (f. 8r). This meant that the alignment of the headwords was not interrupted along the edge of the writing space, and thus made it easy for the reader to distinguish between where a new entry began and where a list of equivalent Latin words had run on from the previous line.

In the lists of equivalent Latin words, the compiler noted variations in the form they took: for example, 'a Stok; caudex vel caudix' (f. 167v). Guides to pronunciation were provided too: 'correpto' (where a vowel should be shortened) and 'producto' (where a vowel should be lengthened). Nouns are preceded by 'hic', 'haec' or 'hoc' (providing the gender: masculine, feminine or neuter), and followed by the genitive ending: for example, 'a Catte; hic catus -i' (f. 24v).

Entries sometimes include instructions for the use of the words listed: for example, the grammatical case that should be used with a noun or verb (introduced by the word 'construitur'), example sentences that show a word in actual use (introduced by the word 'vt'), verses that aid in memorisation or the differentiation of the usage of Latin words (introduced by the word 'versus'), and cross-references to related Middle English headwords that might provide other relevant Latin words (introduced by the word 'vbi' or 'vide', with this and the alternative word underlined in red).

The beginning of a new section of the dictionary is denoted by a large heading, written and underlined in red ink, comprising a chapter number and the relevant letter. Each 'chapter' is further divided by marginal subheadings, written in brown ink and underlined in red ink, comprising the main letter and the letter that follows it: for example, 'A ante B', 'A ante C', 'A ante D', and so on.

The manuscript's contents are as follows:

ff. 2r-8v: A (Chapter One).

ff. 8v-22v: B (Chapter Two).

ff. 22v-37v: C (Chapter Three).

ff. 37v-48r: D (Chapter Four).

ff. 48r-51v: E (Chapter Five).

ff. 51v-65r: F (Chapter Six).

- f. 56 is a small slip of paper containing writing, probably by William John Monson, 7th Baron Monson (b. 1829, d. 1898), dated 6 December 1884 and numbered 108 (referring to the old pagination): 'The Vellum of the binding in this page with the writing is of 12th Century or earlier Mr Hessels informs me. The Book was at Lincoln see last Page in 1520, and probably 350 years in my family. Monson. 6/12/84'. The 'vellum' referred to is the parchment inside cover and single endleaf at front and back of the volume (see below). Jan Hendrik Hessels (b. 1836, d. 1926) was a scholar of manuscripts and early printed books.

ff. 65r-74v: G (Chapter Seven).

ff. 74v-86r: H (Chapter Eight).

ff. 86r-90r: I (Chapter Nine).

ff. 90r-93r: K (Chapter Ten).

ff. 93r-102v: L (Chapter Eleven).

ff. 102v-113r: M (Chapter Twelve).

ff. 113r-117r: N (Chapter Thirteen).

ff. 117v-121v: O (Chapter Fourteen).

ff. 121v-136v: P (Chapter Fifteen).

ff. 136v-137v: Q (Chapter Sixteen).

ff. 137v-145r: R (Chapter Seventeen).

ff. 145r-171v: S (Chapter Eighteen).

ff. 171v-178v: T (Chapter Nineteen).

ff. 179r-184r: V/W (Chapter Twenty).

ff. 184v-185v: Ȝ (Chapter Twenty-One).

ff. 186r-191v: blank (ff. 187-88, 190-91 are uncut along the top edge).

f. 192r: extracts from the Catholicon concerning the Latin words for familial relations. Begins: 'Hic pater -is -i A fader, Haec mater -is -i, An^ce A moder...'.

ff. 192v-193r: blank.

f. 193v: inscription: 'Anno domini Millesimo CCCC^mo lxxxx^mo ix^o / Anno regni regis Henricus 7ⁱ post conquestum quinto decimo'. Ownership inscription of Thomas Flower (see Custodial History).

The manuscript also contains 33 sets of parchment stubs. They are located between and at the centre of quires and with one exception are always in pairs. They were used by the binder as sewing guards to reinforce the paper writing support. The stubs appear to be drawn from at least half a dozen sources, including a 14th-century religious commentary in Latin, a 12th-century Latin text, a 15th-century will and a 15th-century charter, a 13th/14th-century glossed book, and a 15th-century Middle English document. Many of the stubs are blank.