Royal MS 13 A XXI

POEMS, biblical and romantic, in French, with the Imago Mundi and theological works in Latin, viz.:

1. Bible History, in French verse, by Herman de Valenciennes. Beg. 'Cummencement de sens est la pour de deu'. Imperf, containing only the first 2850 lines, ending in Isaiah with the line 'Puis quil ert oinz a rai, puis nen uindra'. For a complete copy, dated 1280, see Harley MS. 222, where l. 1 reads 'Cumenx de sapience est la tremor de dieu'. The author gives his name, among other places, on f. 9, col. 1, last line, 'Clers sui de pouere sen, si sui mult geuenes hom, Ne sui de Valencienes, Herman ma apeiet lum'. The text belongs to the second of the classes referred to by J. Bonnard, Les Traductions de la Bible en vers Francais au Moyen Age, 1884, p. 11. This MS. is not among the twenty-one there mentioned. Some of Bonnard's statements with regard to the author (who wrote soon after the death of Henry II in 1189) are corrected by P. Meyer in Notices et Extraits, xxxiv (1891), p. 198. f. 1.

Art. 1 is in a 13th cent. hand; the outer edges of the leaves are shorn very close and half of f. 5 is torn away. Artt. 2-5 belonged originally to a different MS.

2. 'Liber Henrici qui dicitur Ymago Mundi': the cosmographical and historical work Imago Mundi, ascribed to Honorius of Autun, Henry of Huntingdon, and others (cf 8 F. XIV, art. 2s). Preceded (f. 13 b) by 'Epistola Henrici ad Henricum', beg. 'Henrico (sic) septiformi spiritu in trina fide', with the author's answer, 'Reseriptum Henrici'I beg. 'Sapiencie alumpno'. In Migne, Patr. Lat. clxxii. 119, the correspondence is between 'Christianus' and Honorius. Text beg. 'Mundus dicitur quasi vndique motus'. f. 13 b.

Lib. i has the rubric 'Liber de creacione et distinccione mundi et liber regnorum'. Lib. ii (f. 2i), headed 'Incipit secundus', deals with the calendar, &c. After the cap. on 'Dies Egiptiaci' in the printed text a lib. iii begins, consisting of a brief chronicle from the Creation, preceded by an 'Exhortatio' beg. 'Per descriptum volubile tempus'. Here (f. 26) there is no break, except by the rubric 'De serie temporum', and the 'Exhortatio' is omitted (see below), the first words being 'Non arbitror', &c. The list of Emperors ends (f. 31) with Henry V, ec. 'Henricus filius superioris nunc xvii annos regnavit [1123]. Quis post hunc regnum adepturus sit posteritas videbit'. According to R. Wilmans (Mon. Germ. Hist., Scriptores, xii, p.127), this limit marks the first edition of the work and is found only in Cotton MS. Cleop. B. lv, other copies (he does not mention this MS.) containing supplementary entries.' The list of Emperors, which generally ends the work, is bere followed (f. 31), without a break, by a series of passages 'De filiis Noe', 'De primo nacerdote', 'Quot fuerunt Sibille', 'De monstris', &c., and (f. 32 b) by a brief 'Cronicon omnimode historie', beg. 'Prima etas mundi' and ending with the life of David. At the end of this (f. 39) is the 'Exhortacio scriptoris' usually prefixed (see above) to lib. iii of the 'Imago Mundi, followed by another address to the reader, beg. 'Rogo autem te, lector', and ending 'honorem perducet. Amen. Explicit liber cronicarum '. Elsewhere

this forms the preface to Honorius of Autun's treatise 'De luminaribus ecclesiae' (see Migne, clxxii. 197).

3. Scheme of the Heptarchy, represented by descriptive particulars within seven circles, arranged round a central circle containing the dimensions of England. f. 40.

4. Roman de Brut: a metrical French chronicle by Wace of the kings of Britain from Brut to Cadwalader, in about 12,250 lines. Heading, 'Ci comence le Brut ke maistre Wice (sic) translata de latin (i.e. from the History of Geoffrey of Monmouth) en franceis', &C. For a full description see Ward, Cat. of Romances, i, p. 264. Beg. 'Ki volt oir e volt sauer'; ends 'Mil C cent cinquante cinc anz. Fist meistre Wace cest romanz'. f. 40 b.

5. 'Estorie des Engles': a metrical French chronicle to the death of William Rufus, by Geoffrey Gaimar. See Cat. of Rom. i, p. 265, and for the Anglo-Danish romance of Havelok with which the Estorie opens, ib. p. 423. Heading, '[C]i comence Iestorie des Engles solum la translacion maistre Geffrei Gaimar'. Beg- 'Ca en arere el liuere bien deuant'; ends 'De deu seium nus beneit. Amen'. Three leaves (ff. II5, ii6, 117) are mutilated. f. 113.

Artt. 6-11 belonged originally to another MS.

6. 'Liber beati Ieronimi de illustribus viris.' Prologue beg. 'Hortaris, Dexter'; text, 'Symon Petrus filius' (Migne, xxiii. 601). f. 151.

7. 'Cathalogi [scriptorum ecclesiasticorum] Gennadii Massiliensis presbiteri.' Beg. ' Iacobus cognomento sapiens' (ib. lviii. 1053). The table of chapters comprises xcvii names, ending with that of the author. It is followed by the rubric, 'Incipit katalogus Genn. Mass. de illustribus viris'. Imperf after cap. xlix, f. 170 bending with cap. l, line 1, 'Euagrius alter scripsit altercationem'. f. 165.

8. 'Cathalogus Isidori Hispalensis episcopi de illustribus uiris' (so colophon): the last twelve chapters only, here numbered xxii-xxxiii (xxxv-xlvi in Migne, lxxxiii. 1100). f. 171.

9. 'Liber primus (sic) Cassiodori Senatoris de institutionibus diuinarum litterarum'; in 32 chapters. Preface beg. 'Cum studia secularium'; text, 'Primus scripturarum' (Migne, lxx. 1105). f. 172 b.

Artt. 10, 11 are in different hands, contemporary with art. 9, art.

10 being inserted in a blank column at the end of it.

10. Letter, beg. 'Fratri M. suus Nicholaus', expressing thanks for the loan of 'illustrium uirorum scripta', with a eulogy of Cassiodorus. f. 192.

11. 'Responsa dom. pape Alexandri [III, 1159-1181] ad consulta Senonensis archiepiscopi nuper data' [1173- 1174, see Jaffé-Wattenbach, Regesta, ii, p. 270, no. 12293]: on the subject of appeals, viz. (a) 'Quesitum est a nobis ex parte tua'; (b) 'Super eo autem quod'; (c) 'Super eo quod consuluisti'; of oaths, viz. (d) 'Si aliquis quemquam'; and of marriage, viz. (e) 'Si forte uir et mulier'. f. 192 b.

On ff. 12, b, 13 is a rudely drawn compass. The fly-leaves (ff. 193, 194, mutilated at the edges) contain a fragment (circ. 1500) of a subject-index, in French, to the Statutes of England to temp. Hen. VI, extending from A (auncelle) to C.

Vellum; ff. 194. 10¹/₄ in. x 7¹/₂ in. Made up of four MSS., probably all written in England: art. 1, in treble-columns, XIII cent.; art. 2 and artt. 3-5, in double cols. (except art. 3), early XIV cent, with initials in red and blue; artt. 6-11, in double cols., XIII cent, with initials in red and green, those at the beg. of articles in interlaced and other patterns in red, green, and blue. Gatherings, art. 1, single leaves (?); art. 2 (with two preceding leaves), i, ii⁴, iii⁸, iv, v⁶; artt. 3-5, i¹³, ii, iii¹², iv⁹, v¹⁰, vi-xi⁸, xii⁷; artt. 6-11, i, ii¹⁰, iii-v⁸. On f. 14 (art. 2) is inscribed (15th cent.) 'Hangeby', i.e. Hagneby Abbey, co. Linc., together with the old Royal press-mark 'no. 1146'; cat. of 1666, f. 21; CMA. 7946, 8317, 8331, and 8498 ?