Royal MS 12 B XIV

This volume is a presentation manuscript, containing selected compositions of the French Augustinian friar and poet Bernard André (b. 1450, d. 1522), also known as Andreas. André was a noted chronicler of the reign of Henry VII of England (r. 1485-1509) and a poet laureate, who served as tutor in the royal household of Prince Arthur of England (b. 1486, d. 1502) and his brother Henry VIII (r. 1509-1547). The manuscript contains three of his works, dedicated to King Henry and Catherine of Aragon (b. 1485, d. 1536): an acrostic poem in French, known as Lexposition du Pseaulme Huitesme (Exposition of Psalm 8), a Vita Beate Katerine (Life of St Catherine), and a prose treatise in Latin in the form of a fictional letter from the Greek philosopher Aristotle to Alexander the Great.

On André's known writings in Latin and French, see David R. Carlson, 'The writings of Bernard André (c. 1450-c. 1522), Renaissance Studies, 12:2 (1998), 229-50.

Contents:

f. 1r: A description of the contents of the manuscript, written in French: 'En ce petit liure sont contenu[s] troye beaulx petiz traictez: lun est a la louange dez tres illustrez et mes tressouverains le roy et la royne dangleterre; lautres est la vie de saincte Katherine, en metre; la tiers est une moult belle oraison daristote envoye au grant roy Alexandre'.

ff. 2r-6r: Bernard André, Lexposition du Pseaulme Huitesme, an acrostic poem written in French, using the language of Psalm 8, in which the first letters (or in some cases words) of each line together form the royal stylings of Henry VIII of England and Catherine of Aragon: 'Henriu huitiesme et Catherine deuxiesme despaigne tresillustres roy et royne de Angleterre et de France et seigneurs d'Hirlande, aulx quelz Die doint sante et longue vie'; the text beginning, 'Hault ja nomme par toute le monde...' (f. 2v), preceded by a short description of the poem (f. 2r).

ff. 6v-9v: Bernard André, Vita beatae Katerinae, a life of St Catherine of Alexandria substantially following the account in the Legenda Aurea, written in 124 Latin hendecasyllabic verses, beginning, 'Cum Maxencius imperator omnes / Iussisset malus incolas deorum...'

ff. 10r-28r: Bernard André, Aristotelis ad Magnum Alexandrum de Vite Institutione Oratio, a Latin prose treatise in the form of a fictional letter of Aristotle to Alexander the Great, beginning, 'Multis quidem in rebus, O Alexander, sed imprimis in mutua consuetudine…'

ff. 1v, 2v, and 28v are blank.

Decoration:

Large decorated initials in red with cadels, some with decorative penwork (ff. 1r, 2r, 2v, 10r, 14r, 25r). Line fillers in red and black ink (ff. 10r-28r). Titles and rubrics in red.