Harley MS 2019

Contents:

ff. 1r-4v, 159r-162v: Account notes, 1592-1597, referring to persons located in Wales, including Beaumaris, Caernarfon, (?) Llanbadrig ('Llanbeddrey'), Wrexham ('Wrexen').

f. 5r: Notes relating to guests and a dinner on 26 November 1576; Sir John Savage of Baraver in Cheshire or his family; the Great Comet of 1577; the death of William Downham, Bishop of Chester; and the building of Frodsham Bridge, Cheshire.

f. 5v: Notes about baptism, signed by Edward Shawe.

f. 5v: An astrological table; with the note: 'Under the daie of youre requeste, seke the houre that you desire then on the lefte side, right theare againste, shall you see that planet that governes that houre by daie, and at that right side, the planet that rules by night'.

ff. 5v-8v: Hugh Kinge, Defence of 'minsterlsie, daunsinge, musicke, and orgains', beginning: 'To all true preachers and professours of that name of our saviour Christ Hughe Kinge wisheth you encrease of godlie knowledge unto your lives ende'.

ff. 9r-10r: 'The Summe and Content of all the Holy Scripture both of the Old and New Testament'.

f. 10v: Latin verse, beginning: 'Non vox sed Votum, non musica chordula, sed cor'; and signed: 'Anno domini 1574 per me domini E. S. cap[ellanu]m'.

f. 10v: Latin saying: 'Quos deus coniuxit homo non separet, subaudi violenter, sine lege, absque ratione'.

f. 10v: An English poem, beginning: 'Give God the prayse for all his gyftes / shewe not thy selffe unkynde / Regarde the trueth and suffer not / Gods grace to pass thy mynde'; the first capitals form an acrostic of the name: 'Grygory'.

f. 11r: An English poem, beginning: 'What wisdome more what better lyf / then pleaseth God to sende'; ending 'Finis quod. R. R.'.

f. 11r: An English poem, beginning: 'By Adams sin, death did begin, and by his fall, we perish all'; this poem appears to have been copied from 'S. Avgvstines manuell, or, Litle booke of the contemplation of Christ, or of Gods worde, whereby the remembraunce of the heauenly desires whiche is falne asleepe may be quickned vp agayne (London: John Day, 1577), where its lines are written out in the lower borders throughout the book, accompanied by engravings of skulls.

f. 11v: Astrological predictions about men's inclinations and tempers based on the twelve signs of the Zodiac, entitled: 'The Nature and Exposition of the xii signes'.

ff. 12r-13v: The beginning of William Tyndale's Prologue Showing the Use of Scripture for his Pentateuch (1530), headed: 'Unto the reader W. T.', and beginning: 'Though a man had a precious iewell'; and ending: 'Maij 19. 1577 scripta, collectaque per me d. Edwardo Shawe'; bound upside down.

f. 14r: Short theological extracts and biblical sayings in Latin, including: 'Sex sunt quae incorruptam conservant castitatem'.

f. 14r: A reference to Richard Grafton's A Briefe Treatise Contayning Many Proper Tables and Easie Rules: Verie Necessarie and Needefull, for the Vse and Commoditie of All People, Collected Out of Certaine Learned Mens Workes. Perused, Corrected, and Augmented by W.W. The Contents Whereof, the Leafe that Followeth Doth Expresse (London: John Charlewood, 1582): 'A booke thus tituled: A brieffe treatise contayninge many proper tables and easie rules verie necessarie and nedefull for the use and commoditie of all people, collected out of certaine mens worckes'.

f. 14v: Table showing dates for the moveable feasts from 1572 to 1590.

f. 14v: Quotation attributed to Albertus Magnus, beginning: 'Simplex recordatio seu meditatio passionis Christi'.

ff. 15r-18v, 19v-20r, 21r-156r: Commentary on numerous biblical excerpts in English, beginning: 'If we say that we have no syn, we deceive ourselves'.

f. 16v: Crossed out notes about a journey: 'Townes which we went trough' and 'Whear we laie'.

f. 16v: Notes relating the owner's family: 'My god son Edward brid, twesdaie, the xvth of Aprill 1572 - Jhon Cariar , son and heyre of John Cariar, borne on fridaie, beinge the second daye of december, anno domini, 1569 - Thomas, his second son, borne on fridaye the viijth daye of June, in the yeare of our lord god, 1572 - My god son Edwarde dashe [added: 'son to Edwarde Dashe of Meonstoke in Hamshire'] fridaie, the 2. of March 1576 - Edward Savage, so to henrie savage of [? Roneorne], twesdaie 23rth of Julie 1577'.

f. 16v: Notes relating to the owner's service: 'Memorandum that [came from him the 29 of October 1576 to Sir John Savage at Baraver]: I was hired with Mr Jhon Brereton parson of Meonstokein Hamshire the 5 of October in the yeare of oure lorde 1574 in the yeare of quene Elizabethes raygne the 16. Furthermoe that we set from my fathers housee at Halton the 20. of the said October to wardes Hamshire. Thirdlie that we came to the parsonage of Meonstoke my maisters house [...] the 29 of the foresaid moneth of October with whom, the first daie of my sayinge service, was on all sainctes daie'; ending with the note: 'Also the children set from Beurevar the xvth of Julie 1577, and came to Rocksavage the 20. of the same moneth'.

f. 18r: Gaspar Brush, Prophectic verses (1553), but here attributed to 'Sckeltoo[n]', beginning: 'Post mille expletos a partu Virginis annos / et post quingentos rursus ab axe datos'; followed by an English translation, signed by 'E. S.' [Edward Shawe].

f. 18r: A prophecy attributed to a child in Italy: 'The world in the saide yeare, shall stande in so extreame state, that the people which lyve in those daies shall tremble and [...] for feare - Spoken of on borne in Italy on firday and died on sonday followinge 1577'.

f. 18r: Prophecy of William Withers, an 11-year old boy of Walsham-le-Willows, Suffolk, beginning: 'A child of xj yeares ould, borne in Wulsum in the countie of Suffolk, about the xxiiijth of december, 1580 [...] spekinge [...] against pride and the peoples infidelitie'; probably based on prboably based on John Phillip, The Wonderfull Worke of God shewed upon a Chylde, whose Name is William Withers, being in the Towne of Walsam, within the Countie of Suffolke (London, 1581).

f. 19r: A recipe entitled: 'Doctour Stephens Water', beginning: 'The water imperiall which was devised by doctour Stephen, it is speciall good to confort the spirits vitall, it is good for all could causses and diseasses, namely crude fleame and other slymie humours on the stomacke, also for the sodaine palsie and for all abstructions of the lyver, splene, and raines, and for all gross matter in the vaines, likewise for the collicke, and torment of the stomacke, and for the mooches besides many other notable properties that it hath'; the recipe begins: 'Take a gallon [...] of the strongest gascone wine'; followed by an account of the merits of the drink, including a statement that 'tharchbisshopp of Canterburie used it and founde great goodnes in it and lived untill he was not hable to drincke on a cupp, but suckt his drincke through a hollowe thing of silver. And Mr Rowe, sergeant of the wife learned it of the archbisshop, to keepe him selffe'.

f. 20v: Notes on 'Melancholicas', 'Flegmaticus', 'Sanguineus', 'Colericus'; a theological note, beginning: 'Credere in deum est fide bona se coniicere in Deum';

ff. 156v-158r: A table for the biblical commentary.

f. 158v: Sayings in English, including: '[? L. G.] My frende, shall finde my faith unfaighned, More true then trued - E.S [Edward Shawe]'.

f. 158v: Short inscriptions: 'Jhon Rile to answeare' and 'Scribat Porte'.

f. 158v: A short poem on marriage in English, followed by the names: 'William Richard George John Piter [sic] Rafe Roulande [...] Ambros Nicholas James Randull Thomas'.