Royal MS 20 B XV

'LE LIURE de Flauue Vegece de lart de cheualerie': the same translation as in 20 B. XI. Preceded by the same table of contents. Prologue beg. 'Les anciens ont este coustumiers de mettre en escript'; text, 'Nous ne veons pas que le peuple des Rommains'; ends 'que lancienne doctrine ne nous a monstre'. Colophon, 'Cy fine le liure de Vegece de lart de cheualerie. lequel noble prince Iehan [de Brienne, d. 1302] conte deu fist translater de latin en francoys par maistre Iehan de Meheun lan de lincarnacion nostre seigneur mil cc iiiixx et quatre. Explicit.' Several quires are transposed in the binding, the true order of folios being ff. 1-49, 90-97, 82-89, 50-81, 98-end.

On the fly-leaf (f. 109) are scribbled in a 15th cent. hand several attempts at a Latin verse epitaph on King Arthur.

Vellum; ff. 110. 103/4 in. x 71/4 in. Middle of the XV cent. Probably written in France. Gatherings (beg. f. 2) of 8 leaves (several misbound, see above), with catchwords. Sec. fol. 'doit les'. Flourished initials in blue and red or red and black. On f. 2 flourished initial and border (fleurs-de-lis) in red, blue, black, and gold, with line-and-leaf ornament in gold and colours, and miniature representing the Emperor seated on l. receiving the book from the author; behind the Emperor three courtiers. Two round-topped windows behind are filled with silver. The MS. belonged to John Shirley, the well-known transcriber of English poetry (d. 1456), who has written on f. 1 b 'Mercy Iesu Caudray. This boke calde Viegece made of knighthode translated out of Latin into Frenshe by þat excellent poete maistre Iohan de Meheune at þinstance of þat noble prince þe eorlie of Eve'. Below this is a sort of monogram (with crown) between his motto and name ': ma ioye- Shirley:-', and below this again the second stanza of John Walton's translation of Boethius, beg. 'For as þat pouert causeþe soburnesse' (see 18 A. XIII, f. 3). For another Shirley inscription see Add. MS. 16165. Cat. of 1666, f. 11 b (?); not in CMA.