Add MS 46368

ff. 1r–60v: Volume IIII of the Harington papers. Autograph manuscript of Sir John Harington’s ‘A new discourse of a stale subject called the Metamorphosis of Aiax, ‘An Anatomy of the Metamorphosed Aiax’, and ‘An Apologie’, c. 1595–1596.

These three tracts were printed by Richard Field in 1596, almost certainly from the present manuscript, which bears printers’ marks throughout and an imprimatur (f. 60v) for the ‘Apologie.’ The imprimatur (dated 29 August 1596), which may be autograph, mentions Field and was signed by Richard Bancroft, chaplain to the Archbishop of Canterbury. See Elizabeth Story Donno’s edition (1962), pp. 44–48. Comparison with the printed text shows that ‘the prologe to the reader’ (ff. 9r–11v) has been misplaced in the manuscript and lacks the 'Blacke Sauntus' attributed to John Harington of Stepney (see Norman Egbert McClure, Letters and Epigrams of Sir John Harington, 1930, p. 64). The ‘Advertisement of the author to the reader’ is also lacking.

The first section of ‘A new discource’ does not stand in the manuscript in the order in which it was finally printed. It should run: ff. 9r–11v, 5r–8v, 18r–21r, 11v, 15r–17r, 21r–22r. The second and the major part of the third section is comprised in ff. 22r–44v and 12r–14r respectively, but the conclusion (Donno, pp. 177–186) is wanting. The text of ‘An Anatomy’ (ff. 45r–54v) is complete, most of ‘An Apologie’ is lacking, except for ff. 55r–60v (Donno, pp. 251–65); f. 34r appears to include a draft of one section (Donno, pp. 213–215). Two of the original woodcuts executed by Thomas Coombe, Harington's servant, are in the manuscripts (ff. 49r, 50r). The first is a simpler version of a published one (Donno, p. 195).