Royal MS 14 C I

HISTORICAL WORKS of William Rishanger, Martinus Polonus, and Geoffrey of Monmouth, &c., in Latin, viz.:

1. 'De iure quod habet Rex Anglie ad Scociam.' Beg. 'Sanctissimo in Christo patri domino B.' This is properly part of the Annales Angliae et Scotiae, attributed to Rishanger, contained in Cotton MS. Claudius D. VI, and follows f. 174 b of that MS., though with the loss of one or more leaves. The title with which the present leaves begin is merely a chapter heading to the letter of Edward I to Pope Boniface. See H. T. Riley, Willelmi Rishanger Chronica et Annales, Rolls Ser., 1865, pp. xvii, 408. An autobiographical note relating to Rishanger, which at one time was pasted on the margin of f. 1, has been restored to its proper place in Claud. D. VI, f. 97. f. 1.

2. 'Quedam recapitulatio breuis de gestis domini Edwardi regis cum quibusdam aliis accidentibus in tempore suo'; by William Rishanger, historiographer of St. Albans, who names himself in the first sentence. Beg. 'Quoniam sancta Scriptura dicit'. Printed by Riley, op. cit., p. 411. Breaks off imperf. at the end of the chapter headed 'Archiepiscopus Cantuariensis privatur de temporalibus et spiritualibus ad tempus' (Riley, p. 421), with the words 'sicut postea declarabitur'; the remainder of the work being in Claud. D. VI, ff. 189, 190. f. 4 b.

3. 'Incipit uita sancti Ludouici': a life of S. Louis of France, agreeing generally with that printed by Bouquet, Recueil, xxiii, p. 160. Beg. 'Beatus Ludouicus quondam rex Francorum illustris'. Followed (f. 8 b) by his miracles, beg. 'In die sepulture regis'. Reference is made (f. 9) to his canonization in 1298; and the office for his commemoration is appended (f. 10). Two pages are left blank at the end of this article. f. 7.

4. 'De obitu Alfundi (sic) filii regis': a fragment of a chronicle of the reign of Edward I, beginning with the death of the king's son, Alfonso, in 1285, and ending with an account of the proceedings against the Templars in France in 1307. Beg. 'Obiit bonae spei iuuenis'. Printed by Riley, op. cit., p. 481. f. 11 b.

5. 'Cronica Romanorum composita a fratre Martino penitenciario domini Pape et capellano': the chronicle of Roman emperors and popes by Martinus Polonus (cf. 13 B. IX, art. 2). The text is of the longer form. The chronicle of emperors ends (after a break at 1266) at 1270 (f. 76, 'Theobaldus rex Navarre moritur, et frater Martinus Cronicam suam facit'); the chronicle of popes ends first at the death of John XXI in 1277 (f. 74 b, 'Explicit Cronica fratris Martini ordinis predicatorum'), but is continued in the same hand to 1292 (the death of Nicholas IV and the subsequent interregnum 'per plures annos, videlicet per iii. annos'). f. 20.

6. Geoffrey of Monmouth, De gestis Britonum; with the usual prologues, &c. See 13 D. I, art.2, and Ward, Cat. of Romances, i, p.238. f. 80.

Vellum; ff. 137. 12³/₄ in. x 8¹/₂ in. Early XIV cent. Artt. 5 and 6 form a separate MS., artt. 1-4 being properly parts of Cotton MS. Claud. D. VI (see above). Gatherings, artt. 1, 2, i⁶; artt. 3, 4, i¹⁰ (first five leaves only inner margins), ii¹¹ (last three unnumbered) ; artt. 5, 6, i-ix¹², x^l0. Artt. 1-4 are in double columns of 39-40 lines, which in ff. 1-11 are enclosed in triple coloured perpendicular bands, as in the Cotton MS. Artt. 5-6 are in single columns of 33-35 lines, in a charter-hand, with illuminated initials on ff. 20 and 80, and initials elsewhere flourished in red, blue, and pale green. In art. 5 the margins are occupied by numerous grotesques, coats of arms, &c. Artt.1-4 certainly belonged to St. Albans Abbey, and artt. 5 and 6 may have done so. Cat. of 1666, f. 8; CMA. 8323, 8344, 8315.