Royal MS 18 A VII

TWO TRANSLATIONS into English, viz.:-

1. 'The book of the governaunce of kyngis and ot pryncis callid the Secrete of Secretes, whiche that Aristotill made to kyng Alexandre': prose version, from a shortened French translation, of the Pseudo- Aristotelian Secreta Secretorum (cf. 9 B. II, art. 11, &c.). Printed, with two other prose versions, by R. Steele, Early Engl. Text Soc., Extra Ser., 1898. After the rubric and table of chapters follows 'The prologe of a gret doctour', beg. 'God almyghty kepe oure kyng and conferme his rewme', the epistles of Alexander and Aristotle, the prologue of Philip the Latin translator, and the text, which beg. '[R]ight glorious sone and emperour rightwis'. Ends 'deme þe beste and most naturall party'. Colophon, 'This is the tretys that Aristotill made to kyng Alexandre callid Secreta secretorum of gouernaunce of kyngis in worship wysdome and gret helthe, of whiche lougher men in degre mowe lerne gret and bihoueful doctryne'. f. 1.

2. 'The epistill of seynt Bernarde techyng how a man shall governe him and his howsold, sent vnto Raymonde þe gracious and nobill kyng' (so colophon): translation of the Latin epistle of Bernardus to Raymundus, of very doubtful authorship (see 6 E. III, art. 16, &c.). Beg. '[O] Reymond, lord of the castell of Ambrose, gracious and worthi knyght . . . thou hast desirid to be taught of vs'; ends 'in gret sorowe of hert. Amen'. f. 26 b.

On the fly-leaf (f. 30) in a 15th-16th cent. hand is a 'memorandum' Stoke ii mylles owte of Newarke [East Stoke, co. Nott.] at þe lordchepe Jenet Haynynge and Edward Haynynge'.

Vellum; ff. 30. 8 3/4 in. x 5 3/4 in. Middle of XV cent. Gatherings of 8 leaves (last ⁶). Both articles in the same neat hand. Sec. fol. in text 'pepill in goodnes'. Belonged (f. 1) to [John, Lord Lumley. Lumley cat. f. 267; not in the other old catalogues.