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Royal MS 18 D II, ff 6r-146r
- Record Id:
- 041-002249994
- Hierarchy Root Ancestor Record Id:
- 032-002105724
- MDARK:
- ark:/81055/vdc_100000001860.0x0000a4
- LARK:
- SLARK:
- Format:
- ISAD(G)
- Reference (shelfmark):
- Royal MS 18 D II, ff 6r-146r
- Title:
- John Lydgate, Troy Book
- Scope & Content:
-
John Lydgate, Troy Book, a verse paraphrase in five books of the prose Historia Troiana of Guido delle Colonne. Incipit: 'O mighty Mars, that with thy sterne lyght In armes hast the powere and the myght'; explicit: 'This litele boke lowly I betake Yt to supporte, and þus an ende I make.' Followed by two poems 'Lenvoye' (f. 145v), and 'Verba translatoris ad librum suum' (f. 150r). Some passages of the text are omitted, e. g. book 2, 8159-8190, book 3, 2501-2520, book 4, 6331-6346, and the manuscript is imperfect by loss of several leaves: after f. 65 (book. 2, 8295-8612, but some of these missing lines were probably omitted), one after f. 92 (book 3, 5223-5396), and two after f. 115 (book 4, 4207-4578). Through a 16th-century binder's mistake four leaves of quire ix are transposed with the corresponding leaves of quire xvi; the corect order is ff. 69, 119, 120, 72, 73, 123, 124, 76- 118, 70, 71, 121, 122, 74, 75, 125. The text was first printed by Pynson in 1513.
Decoration:
12 miniatures in colours and gold with full (f. 6r), or partial borders (ff. 30v, 66v, 95r, 128r), and some without borders (ff. 74r, 75r, 82v, 87, 93, 108v). Foliate initials in colours and gold. Initials in gold on blue and rose grounds with penwork decoration in white and marginal foliate extensions. Cadels (e.g., ff. 86v-87). The miniatures on ff. 30v, 66v, 95r, 128r are contemporary to the text. The remaining miniatures were painted by two different workshops, and perhaps on different dates: those on ff. 74r, 75r, 82v were added c. 1500 (or c. 1490, according to Scott 1996), and those on ff. 87, 93, 108v were added in c. 1525-1530, and are attributed to Gerard or Lucas Horenbout (See Kren, McKendrick, 2003, and McKendrick 2003).
The subjects of miniatures are:
f. 6r, A king enthroned surrounded by courtiers with Sir William Herbert and his wife, Anne Devereux wearing clothes decorated with their coats of arms, kneeling before him (book 1).
f. 30v, The Wheel of Fortune with a king on the top (book 2).
f. 66v, Hector slaying Patroclus (book 3).
Images on ff. 82v, 87r, 93r, 95r, and 108v should follow here.
f. 74r, Calchas (wearing a mitre) mounted on the brazen horse.
f. 75. The Trojan Horse at the gate of Troy.
f. 82v, Greek tents being overthrown by a storm.
f. 87r, Troilus leaving Cressida, with Trojans at the gate behind.
f. 93r, Priam and his court mourning over Hector's body.
f. 95r, Agamemnon holding council in his tent, with Achilles in bed in a tent behind (book 4).
f. 108v, Troilus fighting with the Myrmidons, and Troilus being slain by Achilles.
f. 128r, Ajax complains to Agamemnon and the Greeks packing for departure (book 5).
- Collection Area:
- Western Manuscripts
- Project / Collection:
- Royal Collection
Royal Manuscripts Digitisation Project - Hierarchy Record Ids:
- 032-002105724
040-002107554
041-002249994 - Is part of:
- Royal MS 1 A I-20 E X : Royal Manuscripts
Royal MS 18 D II : John Lydgate, Troy Book and Siege of Thebes, with verses by William Cornish, John Skelton, William Peeris and others
Royal MS 18 D II, ff 6r-146r : John Lydgate, Troy Book - Hierarchy:
- 032-002105724[1705]/040-002107554[0002]/041-002249994
- Container:
- View / search within Archive / Collection: Royal MS 1 A I-20 E X
- Record Type (Level):
- Item
- Extent:
- 140 folios.
- Digitised Content:
- http://www.bl.uk/manuscripts/FullDisplay.aspx?ref=Royal_MS_18_D_II (digital images currently unavailable)
- Thumbnail:
-
- Languages:
- English, Middle
- Scripts:
- Latin
- Start Date:
- 1452
- End Date:
- 1460
- Date Range:
- c 1457-1460
- Era:
- CE
- Access:
- Restrictions to access apply please consult British Library staff
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- User Conditions:
- Material Type:
- Archives and Manuscripts
- Legal Status:
- Not Public Record(s)