Royal MS 19 E III

From George F. Warner and Julius P. Gilson, Catalogue of Western Manuscripts in the Old Royal and King’s Collections, 4 vols (London: British Museum, 1921), II, pp. 347-48:

‘19 E. II, III ANCIENNES CHRONIQUES de la Grande Bretagne, or romance of Perceforest, professedly a French translation made by a monk of S. Landelin at Crespin, for William, Count of Hainault, of a work which a clerk named Cressus of the household of Alexander the Great wrote in Greek and partly translated into Latin, and which Count William found in an abbey called 'Wortimer' on the Humber when he visited England in 1307: the third and second volumes (numbered in wrong order) of the work (complete in six volumes) of which vol. i is 15 E. V, see above. The format, however, differs considerably from that MS., the columns being broader, and of 37 instead of 39 lines, and the miniatures much more numerous. The hand is not that of David Aubert. Both the present volumes are very imperfect, the missing portions in vol. ii (19 E. III) being a quire after f. 4 containing the beginning of ch. 1 of vol. ii of the text (ff. 1-4 contain table of contents and 'petit prologue'); four quires after f. 20, part of ch. 6-12; a quire after f. 58, part of Ch. 25, 26; a quire after f. 120, part of ch. 41; and a quire or more at the end, part of ch. 62 and ch. 63, 64. For fuller description see Ward , Catalogue of Romances , i, p. 377, where references are given to the pages of the 1528 edition. A small portion of Vol. i was reprinted from the 1531 edition, with bibliographical note, at Macon in 1907; see also G. Paris in Romania , xxiii (1894), p. 78. Vellum; ff. 304; 19 in. x 14 in. Written in Flanders, end of XV cent. Gatherings of 8 leaves (in 19 E. III i missing, iv-vii missing, ix 6 , xiii missing, xviii 6 , xxii missing, xxiv 4 , xxix 9 , xxx 7 , xxxiv 4 , xxxvii 6 , xli 4 , xlv 6. Sec. fol. in table (19 E. III), 'comment ilz trouuerent'; and (19 E. II) 'deuant le chastel'; sec. fol. of text missing in each case. Small illuminated initials and fairly well executed miniatures in Flemish style with border (of flowers, fruit, insects, birds, &c., in perspective on gold ground) at head and foot of column connected by a narrow vertical strip of similar ornament. The directions to the illuminator are mostly cut off but part of one remains at f. 216 of 19 E. III. The subjects are 1. Estonne, Comte des Desers, meets the servant of Narsis, who points out a castle and bridge. f. 37. 2. The Queen at the castle window and four knights sent by Britus outside. f. 70. 3. Troilus de Royalville, on foot, rescues two damsels from violence. f. 109 b. 4. Lionnel du Glac and the old man of the Forest aux Merveilles. f. 133. 5. A damsel, riding on a side-saddle, accosts the twelve knights. f. 152. 6. Two knights jousting, and two others in the distance looking on. f. 216. 7. Gadiffer of Scotland and the damsel Pierrote riding on the adventure of the steep mountain. f. 275 b. On 19 E. II, f. 1, is an old numbering (of uncertain origin) 383. Possibly this, rather than 14 E. IV, is no. 45 of the cat. of MSS. at Richmond Palace in 1535 (see 15 D. I) ; cf. cat. of 1666, f. 13.’