Royal MS 17 C XVII

GRAMMATICAL and poetical collections, &c., in Northern (?) English and Latin, viz.:-

1. Verbale or vocabulary of Latin verbs arranged under each initial letter by their conjugations, with Engl. equivalents. Imperf. at beg. by loss of a leaf. Beg. 'aggredi. to asayle'; ends 'velle. to wyll. Explicit verbale secundum posse meum. Nomen scriptoris Iohannes Purvare'(?). f. 4.

2. 'Iste libellus est necessarius valde sacerdotibus . a collection of mnemonic verses (about 180 lines) for priests. Most of them occur in smaller groups elsewhere, e. g. 12 E. XXI, f. 152, 10 A. X, f. 93 b, 8 A. IX, f. 10 b, &c. Beg.:-

'Vos qui seruitis, Christo seruire studete. Vt memores sitis, hos versus sepe videte. Psallite deuote, distincte metra tenete.'

Ends :-

'Adventus domini sequitur solempnia Lini'.

Colophon, 'Amen. amen. scripsi all þis quod Iohannes'. f. 17 b.

3. Table of synonymous Latin adjectives, with Engl. equivalents. Beg. 'Sapiens -tis. intelligens -tis . . . wyse'; ends 'degeneratus -a -um. dede-borne'. f. 19.

4. Nominalia or lists of nouns classified by their meanings, with Engl. equivalents, viz.:-(a) Beg. 'Nomina membrorum hominis. Hoc capud a[nglice] hede'. Printed from this MS. by T. Wright, Vol. of Focabularies, 1857, p. 185, and Wright-Wülcker, A.-S. and Old Engl. Vocabularies, 1884, i. p. 635. f. 21;-(b) Unprinted. Beg. 'Hic deus a[nglice] Godde. hoc numen a. godhede'; ends 'hec hospitalitas a. herbarryng'. f. 28;-

(c) 'Hic incipit nominale', a longer list, also unprinted. Beg. 'Hic deus a. godd. hic Ihesus a. godd'; ends 'hoc politorium a. burnyssoure'. Two leaves (ff. 65, 66), which should precede f. 63, are out of place as noted by the original hand on f. 62 b. At f. 40 is a Latin note on the humours with the usual verses. f. 35. Artt. 1-4 are apparently in the same hand.

5. 'Liber qui vocatur oculus sacerdotis, in lingua materna': poem in Northern English, printed from Cotton MS. Claudius A. 11, f. 127 (a Southern text, wanting 11. 1-24), by E. Peacock, Instructions for Parish Priests by John Myrc, E. E. Text Soc., 1868. The colophon of the Cotton MS. is 'Explicit tractatus qui dicitur pars oculi de Latino in Anglicum translatus per fratrem Iohannem Myrcus canonicum regularem monasterii de Lylleshul, cuius anime propicietur deus. amen'. Latin works by the author, who seems to have been prior of Lilleshall Abbey, co. Salop (see Dict, Nat. Biogr., s. n. Mink), are in the Cotton MS. and in Harley MS. 5306. His date is unknown. The title and to some extent the scheme are doubtless taken from the Oculus Sacerdotis of William de Pagula (see 6 E. I, art. 1), but there is little resemblance in detail. f. 67. Beg.:-

'All myghty god in trinite, Fadyr, sone, þe holy gost, persons thre, And bot a god þai alle sothele, For þay may none fro oþer be.' 6. Rules in prose and verse for concord in Latin syntax. Beg. 'Regula est quod omne verbum personale debet conuenire . . . Wlt in persona numero rectus simulari'. Colophon, 'Explicit wlt in persona, &c.'. f. 80.

7. Verses on the line 'Ivi munivi vinum minimum minuivi' (sic), viz.:

'Versificator es . of fowre lettyrs mak þou a vers. Semper sic facito . of fyfe wordys and no mo. Si facio forcitan . sex fete wele for to scan.' f. 82 b.

8. The seven Penitential Psalms in English verse. Other copies are in Add. MSS. 1306, 36523, f. 71 b, and Harley MS. 3810, pt. i, f. 17, and at Oxford, Digby MSS. 38 and 102. Another Oxford MS., Rawlinson A. 389, has a prologue giving the name of the author as Richard Maidstone, a Carmelite (d. 1396, see Dict. Nat. Biogr.). Printed from a Gloucester Horae by F. S. Ellis, Psalmi Penitentiales, Kelmscott Press, 1894. Ps. I is also printed from Add. MS. 10036, f. 96 b, by F. J. Furnivall, Political, Religious, and Love Poems, E. E. Text Soc., 1866, p. 251 (repr. 1903, p. 279). Beg. 'Domine ne in furore, &c.:

Lorde, in þi anger vbbrayd me noght And in þi wreth blame þou noght me.'

Ends with eight lines of doxoiogynot in the other MSS., the last two being:-

'And graunte vs grace we be not loste Owte of þis warld wen we sal wende.' Colophon, 'Amen. amen. per charite. amen'. f. 83.

9. Meditations in Northern English prose and alliterative verse on (a) The Lord's Prayer. Beg. 'Oure fadyr þat es in heuen. A my wrechyd saule, when to þe lykeiles of heuen sall þu be made clere schynand'; ends 'Þerfore, gude lorde, wen sall it Þus be. wen sall I luf þe. wen sall luf be my leche of langyng þat lesys trew tresour þu me teche to lyst þat þe lefe es. amen, amen, for charyte, god lord, so motte it be'. f. 90;-(b) The Ave Maria. 'Ave Maria gratia plena, þat es, hayle Mary, full of grace. And gode lady, sen it is so þat þu ert full of grace'; ends 'And Mary þe tre and Ihesu þe froyte, gyues me grace []ow to se þer []e sytte in a soyte. amen, amen, so mot it be, dere lady per charyte'. f. 91 10. 'Missus est': sermon on Luke I. 26-38 in Engl. prose. The text given is not that of the Wycliffite version. Beg. 'Missus est Gabriel angelus. Holykyrke helowes þis fest in wurcheppe of oure lady'; ends 'myrth and solempnyte þis day in lowyng of gloryus Mary and hyre blyssed son Ihesu Cryste. amen'. f. 91 b.

11. The fifteen O's (see above, 17 A. XXVII, art. 11) in Engl. prose. Beg. 'Lorde Ihesu, euerlastyng swetnes'. f. 95.

12. Prayers in verse, viz.:-(a) 3 x 12 lines (rhymes abababababab) beg.:-

'Ihesu Cryste þat dyed on tre And sofurred pyne for Adam syn.' f. 96 b (b) 11 x 8 lines (abababab) beg.:-

'Lord, þi flesche was mekyl adrede Agan þat þu suld pyned be.'

Ends:-

'In þat blys þat I myght be To wylke þu as my saule dere boght.' f. 97.

13. Prose prayers, viz.:-(a) To Christ. Beg. 'Lord Ihesu, my maker, my gaynebyer, all my lyf, all my ioy'. f. 97 b;-(b) To the same, at the Mass. Beg. 'Ihesu lord, þat no[]t only wold offere þi selfe for vs'. f. 98 b.

14. Verse prayer to Christ at the Mass, 25 lines rhyming irregularly. Beg. 'Hayle, Ihesu, godys sone in þe forme of brede borne of Mary withowtyn syn'; ends 'ay lastyng blys þu putte me in. amen.' Followed by a Latin note on falsehood. f. 98 b.

15. Life of S. Mary Magdalene in Engl. verse (175 couplets). Other copies are in Harley MS. 2277, f. 88 b, Egerton MSS. 1993, f. 185 b, 2810, f. 83 b, Cotton MS. Julius D. IX, f. 105 b, and Add. MS. 10301, f. 130 b. It is not the same as either of the metrical lives printed by Horstmann, Sammlung altengl. Legenden, i (1878), p. 148 (also in The Early S. English Legendary, E. E. Text Soc., 1887, p. 462), and ii (1881), p. 81. f. 99. Beg.:-

'Saynt Mary Magdalen, þat god forgaf hyr sync, Lazeres syster and Marthas, was commen of kynges kyne.'

Ends:-

'Now saynt Mary Magdalen, þat broght hyre self þus to ende, Pray god þat we mot to þe ioy of heuen wende.'

16. Two other poems on S. Mary Magdalene, chiefly relating to the washing of Christ's feet, viz.:-(a) 87 couplets beg.:-

'Forthe come on of the phareseus, A grete lorde halden emang þe iewes.' Ends:-

'To þe þin syns I am reles.' f. 103 b;-

(b) 61 couplets beg.:-

'On maners (sic) penance to halde Man in þis warld troght god es kalde.' Ends:-

'Þe warkys of mercy to dyspyce.' f. 106.

17. Life of S. Mary of Egypt, from the same legendary as art. 15. Printed (from Laud MS. 108 at Oxford) by Horstmann, Early S. Engl. Leg., p. 260. Other copies are in Harley MS. 2277, f. 26, Egert. MSS. 1993, f. 134, 2810, f. 47, Cotton MS. Jul. D. IX, f. 55 b, Add. MS. 10301, f. 62 b. f. 108. Beg.:-

'Saynt Mary Gypcyake in Egypt was borne, Alle hyre zong lyf scho lede in hordome (sic).' The last couplet (not in the other MSS.) is:-

'Wylk blys men calle heuen, God bryng vs þedyr for hys names seuen. amen. amen. amen.'

18. Christ's Testament or Deed of Feoffment: a narrative of the Redemption in 310 couplets placed (except the prologue and final couplet) in the mouth of Christ. Printed, with a parallel text from Harley MS. 2382, f. 111 b, and the much shorter version of the Vernon MS. (cf. also Harley MS. 2346, f. 51, Add. MS. 11307, f. 89, which also have the short version), by Furnivall, Minor Poems of the Vernon MS, ii, E. E. Text Soc., 1901, p.637. f. 112 b. Prologue beg.:-

'He þat wyll rede ouer þis boke And with hys gostly high þerin loke.' Text beg.:-

'Ihesu, lord of beuen and helle, Man and woman I wyll þe telle.'

19. The Seven Pains of Purgatory and the means of relief from them: the greater part of bk. iv (ed. Morris, ll. 2692-3807) of the Prick of Conscience (see 18 A. V), based on the Latin prose tract which purports to be by Robert Grosseteste (cf. a French version in 16 E. II, art. 1). f. 117. Beg.:-

'Many speke in bokys and redes Of purgatory, bot fo it dredes.'

Ends:-

'May avayle for saules in purgatory þat as bene purchesyd here worthely.' Colophon, 'And so mot it be. amen for charite'.

20. 'Here begyns þe fyndyng of þe glorius confessour Antone and þe gret ermyt of sant Ierome fro Greu to Latyn translated and mad of S. Teophile byscop at Constantynoble in þe tyme of Constantine þe emperor be reuelacion of an aungell fro deserte of Egypt in to þe Constantine (sic) þat es to sei iii Idus of Juni': life, &c., in prose of S. Antony the abbot, viz.:-(a) English version of part of the Latin life translated by Evagrius from S. Athanasius (Bibl. Hag. Lat. no. 609, Migne, Patr. Lat. lxxiii. 127 A-134 A, capp. i-xiii). Beg. 'An. tony forsothe of nobull and religyous fader and moder'; ends 'hys membris endured. to þe lowyng of oure lord Ihesu Cryst, to wome honour and worchip euerlastyngly . amen'. f. 124 b.;- (b) 'Here begynnys þe fyndyng (&c., nearly as above) . . . into þe cyte of Constantynoble þe thyrd Idus of Julii (sic)': English version of the Latin account (Bibl. Hag. Lat. no. 612) of the first translation of S. Antony to Constantinople, which is printed in Analecta Bollandiana, ii, pp. 341-354. Beg. 'In þe tyme of Constantyn þe emperor gouerned þe empyre in to Bizance cite'; ends 'worchep and ioy in to þe warlde of warldes. amen.' f. 126 b;-(c) 'Here begynnys þe translacyon of þe gloryus confessor and hermet saynt Antony of Vienensis': English version of the Latin account of his second translation into France (Bibl. Hag. Lat. no. 613), printed in Bolland's Acta Sanctorum, 3rd ed., ii, pp. 515-516. Beg. 'For god fauoryng of saynt Anto[n]y þe lyf of blyssed mynd'; ends 'lywen and regneþ god in to warld of warldes. amen'. Colophon, 'Explicit partem (sic) vite Antonie Viennensis. pro posse meo feci opus istud'. f. 132.

21. Medical recipes in English, with two Latin charms (ff. 138, 139). In the margin are added red initial letters referring to the subject of the recipe, perhaps with a view to rearranging them alphabetically. Beg. 'For hete and rednes doyng away take thre handfull of henbane'; ends with a recipe for palsy, 'he sall be hole in schorte tyme'. Colophon, 'Miserere. sic finem feci, desidero gaudia celi. amen'. f. 133 b.

22. Legend of the Holy Blood at Hayles Abbey, co. Glouc., in 100 x 4 lines (rhymes abab). Printed from this MS. by Horstmann, Samml. altengl. Legenden, ii (1881), p. 275. f. 147. Beg.:-

'Sen tyme þat alle þis warlde was wroght Many marwylles þer af bene falle.' 23. Legend for the Resurrection of Christ, carrying the narrative on to Pentecost and concluding with a description of the last judgement, in about 250 couplets. f. 152 b. Beg.:-

'Here begynnes a new lesson Of Crystys resurrection. All þis before Ihesus þam sayde Or handys on hym þai layde.'

Ends:-

'Þat Ihesu Criste vs grace sende Wyt hym to won withoutyn ende.'

24. Poem on the Mass (281 x 5 lines, rhymes aabab). f. 155 b. Beg.:-

'Þat blysful barne in Bedlem borne Þat lete hys brayne be thyrled with thorne For mens mysdede, Lat neuer no saule throgh syn he lorne Þat wylle take hede.'

Ends:-

'Þerfor blame me no man'.

The vellum fly-leaves (their true order is ff. 163, one missing, 64-166, 2, 3), in an English hand of the 10th cent., are portions of a lectionary in Latin for the greater hours, with collects and antiphons, containing the days from Monday in Passion Week till Easter Eve. There is nothing to indicate provenance. Paper (except fly-leaves) ; ff. 166. Quarto. 81/4 in. x 51/2 in. Early XV cent. (fly-leaves X cent.). Gatherings of 16 leaves (i¹⁴, ii¹⁸,iii¹⁵), with catchwords. Sec. fol. (f.4) 'aggredi'. On f. 1 are the names (16th cent.) Samuell Compton and Ch. Kirten. From the Theyer library, sale-cat. no. 202; CMA. 6637.