~In the name of GOD Amen.~ On the eleventh Day of the month of April in

the Year of our Lord One Thousand CCCC and forty one in the nineteenth

Year of King Henry the Sixth after the conquest I Robert Large Citizen

and Mercer of the City of London being in perfect health and memory do

hereby make execute and ordain my Will in this manner First I bequeath

and commend my Soul to Almighty GOD my Creater and Saviour to the

Blessed Virgin Mary His Mother and to all the Saints and my body to

be buried in the parish Church of St. Olave in the Old Jewry London

to wit in the same place in which the body of Elizabeth my late wife

lies buried which my body being buried I will and bequeathe first and

principally that all and singular my debts shall be faithfully and

entirely paid in full And afterwards I bequeath to the High Altar of

the said Church of St. Olave that the Vicar of the same shall specially

pray for the good of my soul C s Also I bequeath for the use of the

structure of the same church to be applied wherever it shall be most

requisite according to the sound discretion of the parishioners twenty

marcs Also I leave twenty pounds for my executors to buy one set of

vestments to be chosen according to the judgment of the aforesaid

parishioners and such set of vestments I will to remain in the said

church of St. Olave to serve for the glory of GOD so long as they shall

last Also I bequeath two hundred marcs for the purpose of providing

a Chaplain fit and honest and well instructed in those things which

pertain to the holy offices to celebrate mass at the altar of the

blessed Mary in the said church of St. Olave daily when it shall be

appointed or otherwise according to the discretion of my wife and to

be present at divine service at each hour appointed for prayer to

officiate to pray and to minister according to the discretion of four

approved most profitable for the salvation of my soul Also I bequeath

to Alice my daughter one hundred pounds to be paid to her when she

shall arrive at the age of twenty-one years to be spent in the purchase

of furniture and utensils most necessary for her house according to

sound advice and counsel Also I bequeath to Elizabeth my daughter five

hundred marcs sterling and I will that the said Elizabeth my daughter

together with the aforesaid five hundred marcs left by me as above to

the said Elizabeth my daughter be and remain in the governance of the

aforesaid Stephen Tychemerssh until the said Elizabeth my daughter

shall arrive at the age of twenty years or be married he the said

Stephen finding sufficient security in the chamber of Guildhall in

the City of London according to the custom and usage of the said City

to deliver up to the said Elizabeth my daughter the aforesaid five

hundred marks sterling when the said Elizabeth my daughter shall arrive

at the aforesaid age of twenty years or be married without rendering

any other interest therefor only and except the reasonable support of

the said Elizabeth my daughter And if the said Elizabeth my daughter

shall happen to die unmarried or before the age of twenty years then

I will that two hundred and fifty marks of the aforesaid five hundred

marks left by me as above to the said Elizabeth my daughter revert to

the said Alice my daughter if she shall survive and if she be dead

then the said two hundred and fifty marks together with the other

said two hundred and fifty marks remaining be at the disposal of and

distributed by my executors in pious uses and works of charity for the

good of my soul and the souls above mentioned in manner as afore is

set forth Also I bequeath to the common box of the Mystery of Mercers

of the City of London for the support of the poor of the said mystery

twenty pounds Also I bequeath ten pounds to be disposed of according

to the discretion of my executors in the purchase of a vestment to

serve in the Mercers’ chapel in the church of St. Thomas of Acan

London so long as it will last Also I bequeath to each convent of the

four orders of mendicant friars in the City of London to pray for my

soul forty shillings Also I bequeath to the convent of friars of the

order of St. Cross near the Tower of London twenty shillings Also I

bequeath one hundred shillings for the purchase of bedding linen and

flannel according to the discretion of my executors to serve in the

Hospital of St. Bartholomew in West Smithfield so long as they will

last Also I bequeath one hundred shillings wherewith to purchase in

like manner bedding for the new hospital called St. Mary Spital without

the aforesaid thousand pounds left by me to him the said Thomas my

son be and remain in the safe charge and government of the aforesaid

Johanna my wife until the said Thomas my son shall arrive at the age

of twenty-four years she the said Johanna my wife finding sufficient

security in the Guildhall chamber of the city of London according

to the manner and custom of the said City to deliver up to the said

Thomas my son the aforesaid thousand pounds when he Thomas my son shall

arrive at his aforesaid age of twenty-four years without rendering

any interest therefor only and except the reasonable support of my

said son Thomas Also I bequeath to Robert my son one thousand pounds

sterling and I will that the said Robert my son together with the

aforesaid thousand pounds so left by me as above to the said Robert my

son be and remain in the safe charge and governance of the aforesaid

Thomas Staunton my brother until the said Robert my son shall arrive

at the age of twenty-four years the said Thomas Staunton finding

sufficient security in the Guildhall chamber of the City of London

according to the manner and custom of the said City to deliver up to

the said Robert my son the aforesaid thousand pounds so left by me as

aforesaid when the said Robert my son shall arrive as his aforesaid

age of twenty-four years without rendering any interest therefor only

and except the proper support of my said son Robert Also I bequeath

to Richard my son one thousand pounds sterling and will that the said

Richard my son together with the said thousand pounds so bequeathed

by me to him as above shall be and remain in the safe custody and

governance of the aforesaid Johanna my wife until Richard my said son

shall arrive at the age of twenty-four years the said Johanna my wife

finding sufficient security for the said thousand pounds in the same

way as above specified And in case one or more of my said sons Thomas

Robert or Richard shall die before reaching the said age of twenty-four

years then I will and bequeath that the portion or portions of that

my son or those my sons so dying before the age of twenty-four years

shall revert to that one or those of my said sons surviving And if all

my said sons shall die before arriving at the age of twenty-four years

then I will and bequeath that the said three thousand pounds shall be

disposed of and distributed by my executors in pious uses and works

of charity for the good of my own soul and the souls of my parents my

wives and my children also of my friends and benefactors for the souls

of all I hold in esteem and of all the faithful departed this life in

such way as my executors may consider to be better for the pleasing of

GOD and among poor unmarried men and women desirous of marriage Also I

bequeath to the parish church of Shakeston where my father lies buried

a vestment of the value of ten pounds to serve in the same church to

the glory of GOD so long as it will last Also I bequeath to the parish

church of Aldester where my ancestors are buried a vestment of the

value of ten pounds Also I leave to the parish church of Overton where

some of my relatives are buried a vestment of the value of ten pounds

Also I bequeath to Thomas Nyche my servant 1 marks Also to Richard

Bonyfaunt my apprentice 1 marks Also I bequeath to Henry Onkmonton

my apprentice 1 pounds Also I bequeath to Robert Dedes my apprentice

xx marks Also I bequeath to Christopher my apprentice xx pounds Also

I bequeath to William Caxton my apprentice xx marks Also I bequeath

to John Gode my servant x pounds Also I bequeath to William Brydde

my servant x marks Also I bequeath to William my kitchen servant xl

shillings Also I bequeath to Katherine my servant x marks and to

Isabella Lynde xl shillings Also I leave to William Sampson my servant

at my manor of Horham five marks Also I bequeath to Peter my servant

at the same place xl shillings and to Thomas my servant at the same

place xxvj shillings and viij pence Also I bequeath to John de Ramsey

servant of Isabella Boteley x marks on his marriage Also I bequeath to

Richard Turnat the son of Johanna my wife xx pounds Also I bequeath C

marks to be divided by my executors among the children of John Chirch

Citizen and Mercer of the City of London who shall be living at the

age of xxiiij years Also I bequeath to Thomas Staunton my brother if

he will undertake the charge of executing this my will and will act

with good diligence in this office C pounds Also I bequeath to Arnulph

Strete Mercer on the same condition C marks and to Stephen Tychemerrsh

on the same condition C marks Also I leave to Katherine my mother C

marks Also I bequeath to Johanna my wife by way of gift and instead of

her portion of all and singular my moveable goods and chattels by law

belonging to her four thousand marks And in case that she Johanna my

wife shall be dissatisfied with this my said legacy then I will that

this my legacy to the said Johanna do cease and become void in law and

that then the said Johanna my wife do have of my moveable goods and

chattels only that portion to which she is entitled by law without

any addition or advantage whatsoever Also I bequeath to Thomas my son

one thousand pounds sterling and I will that the said Thomas my son

together with parishioners of the aforesaid church for twenty years

next after my decease the said chaplain taking for his annual salary

ten marks to be paid and administered at the hands of my executors in

order that he the said Chaplain may specially commend to GOD my soul

and also the souls of Elizabeth and Johanna my wives Richard Herry my

late master and the souls of all those whom I esteem and the souls of

all the faithful departed Also I bequeath to the high altar of St.

Margaret in Lothbury London C s Also I bequeath xx Pounds to be paid

by my executors for the purchase of one set of vestments according

to the expressed choice of the aforesaid parishioners which set of

vestments I wish to remain in the said Church of Saint Margaret to

serve for the worship of GOD so long as they shall last Also I leave

xx pounds to be disposed of and divided by my executors among the more

indigent poor men and women of the ward of Coleman Street Also four

pounds to be divided by my executors among the Chaplains and Clerks

in the Churches of St. Olave and St. Margaret aforesaid within two

years next after my decease that is to say xl s each year in order

that the aforesaid Chaplains and Clerks may pray for my soul Also I

bequeath for the new making and construction of an aqueduct lately

begun in the City of London CCCC marks to be paid within four years

according to the discretion of my executors on condition however that

the aforesaid aqueduct be completed within four years next after my

decease and not otherwise Also I bequeath for the work of making and

repairing London Bridge C marks to be paid within four years according

to the discretion of my executors Also I bequeath for the cleansing

of the Watercourse called Walbrook near the church of St. Margaret

Lothbury and for the enlargement and upholding of the same church to be

disposed of according to the wise discretion of my executors and four

approved parishioners of that Church CC marks or more if necessary so

that it do not exceed CCC marks Also I bequeath C marks to be disposed

of according to the wise discretion of my executors for the marriage

of ten poor girls of good character namely to each of these ten girls

at her marriage ten marks whether in the country or in the City of

London Also I bequeath C pounds to be divided by my executors among

poor domestic servants in the counties of Lancashire and Warwickshire

that is to say one poor manservant ten shillings and to another twenty

shillings and to another forty shillings as occasion may require so

long as the said C pounds may suffice Also I bequeath xx pounds to be

distributed by my executors where it may be most needed Bishopsgate

London so long as it will last. Also I leave five marks wherewith in

like manner to purchase bedding for the hospital of the Blessed Saint

Mary of Bethlehem without Bishopsgate aforesaid. Also I bequeath forty

shillings wherewith in like manner to purchase bedding for the hospital

of St. Thomas of Southwark near London. Also I bequeath six pounds

wherewith in like manner to purchase bedding for the Lepershouses at

Hakeney les lokes without the barriers of St George Southwark and of

St Egidius beyond Holborn London namely to each of the said houses

forty shillings Also I bequeath one hundred shillings wherewith to

provide and purchase food and other things most necessary for the poor

prisoners in Newgate London to be distributed according to the sound

discretion of my executors Also I bequeath one hundred shillings to be

distributed in like manner among the prisoners in Ludgate London Also I

bequeath for repairs in the nave of the church of Thakstede five marks

Also I bequeath for repairs in the body of the church of Chawrey in

the county of Essex forty shillings Also I bequeath to Richard Foliet

mercer twenty marks Also I bequeath to William Halle mercer lately my

servant twenty pounds Also I bequeath to Agnes lately my servant forty

shillings Also I bequeath to each of my two said daughters Alice and

Elizabeth three cups with covers from among my cups called standing

cups of silver-gilt whichever of such cups with the covers shall weigh

twenty-four ounces and * * * *

[_one leaf of the original is here missing_]

the s^d Richard Turnat dying without male heirs lawfully begotten,

then I will that all the above lands and tenements with their

appurtenances shall revert to the male heirs of my before-mentioned son

Robert Large. Provided nevertheless that if the s^d Richard Turnat

shall take possession of all the aforesaid lands and tenements in

Newton that then he shall be excluded entirely from the manor of Horham

in the county of Essex with the lands and tenements and appurtenances

belonging thereto.

Then follows the Probate, dated May 6th, 1441, and proved before

Zanobio Mulakyn, Dean of the Church of St. Mary-le-Bow, London.

BRUGES RECORDS.--JUDGMENTS.

(_The Archives, Bruges._)

The following document is found in one of the many volumes of Records

preserved in the Archives of the City of Bruges. Like the other volumes

of this interesting series it is in manuscript coeval with the history

it elucidates. The title at the beginning of the book is as follows:--

“Registre van alle zaken ghehandelt by Scepen van Brugghe, in huerl.

camere daer zy daghelicx vergaderen. Beghint in Septembre in ’tjaer

dunst vierhondert xlvij.”; or, “A register of all matters brought

under the notice of the Councillors of Bruges, in their daily session

assembled. Begun in the month of September, in the year one thousand

four hundred xlvij.”

(TRANSLATION.)

To all who see or hear these Presents--the Burgomasters, Sheriffs,

and Council of the Town of Bruges send greeting. Be it known that

William Craes, an English Merchant, Complainant, of the one part, and

John Selle and William Caxton, English Merchants also, Defendants, of

the other part, have this day appealed for justice before Roland de

Vos and Guerard le Groote our Fellows, Sheriffs. The said Complainant

says, that John Granton, Merchant, of the Staple at Calais, was bound

and indebted to him in certain sums of money; that is to say, firstly

in £60 sterling for and because of a certain obligation, and further,

in the sum of £50 sterling on account of a certain exchange which had

taken place between them, as well as for expenses and costs incurred in

that matter, amounting on the whole to £110 sterling. For this sum he

had caused the said John Granton to be arrested in the Town of Bruges,

and that the said John being arrested, the said John Selle and William

Caxton became sureties for him, in equity and law.

And because the said John had departed the Town of Bruges without

having paid and satisfied him, or appealed for justice, he demanded

that the said Defendants should be compelled and adjudged, as Sureties

of the said John, to pay the said claim.

The said Defendants, in answer, acknowledged that in the manner

aforesaid they had become Sureties to the said William Craes for the

said John Granton, but submitted that the said John was quite solvent,

rich enough, and would certainly pay the amount; requiring therefore

that the said Complainant might seek his debt of the said John, who

was the real debtor, and that they might be discharged from their

said suretyship: disputing also the sum demanded by the Defendant on

account of the said exchange, for certain reasons thereupon alleged;

the aforesaid Plaintiff holding the validity of the said suretyship,

and demanding as aforesaid; together with many other reasons submitted

by the said parties. And after hearing the said parties on the said

questions, with their arguments, as well as certain Merchants, that

the said dispute had been determined by our Fellows, Sheriffs, who

had adjudged and decided: That the said Defendants should, as the

Sureties of the said John Granton, pay and satisfy the said William

Craes, firstly in the said sum of £60, of which the said obligation

made mention, and furthermore in the sum of £35 sterling on account of

the said exchange and costs. And that, upon the surrender of the said

obligation, good and sufficient security amounting to the two said sums

of £60 and £35 sterling should be given; that in case at some future

time the said John Granton should deny the debt of the said sums, or

allege payment, that then, on the other hand, the said Plaintiff should

be sentenced to render and repay the said two sums and more. Right of

action being reserved to the said Defendants against the said John

Granton, the original debtor, as law and equity direct.

In witness whereof, &c., 2 January (1449).

BRUGES RECORDS.--TOWN REGISTERS.

(_The Archives, Bruges._)

A Register written on paper in the fifteenth century, and containing

Civil Judgments, given in the Town of Bruges during the years 1465-9.

(TRANSLATION.)

Whereas Daniel, son of Adrien, called Sheriff Daniel, Plaintiff of the

one part, and Jeroneme Vento, for and in the name of Jaques Dorie,[13]

Merchant of Genoa, Defendant of the other part, have promised and

agreed to leave all the differences between them to the judgment and

arbitration of William Caxton, Merchant of England, and Master and

Governor of the English Nation in these parts; and of Thomas Perrot,

as Arbitrators, and amicable Umpires and common friends, the said

parties, and each of them, promising well and legally to abide by,

observe and perform all that the said Arbitrators shall decide and

adjudicate on the said differences, without opposition of any kind.

And that the said Arbitrators having heard the pleas of the said

parties, and formed thereon their sentence and judgment which they have

reported to the full chamber of the Sheriffs of Bruges, it has been

notified to the said parties, that, because the said William Caxton

was unavoidably absent from the said City of Bruges, the said parties

have been summoned before the said full chamber of the Sheriffs of

Bruges, and have appeared. To whom has been signified the arbitration

and judgment by the said Arbitrators, which was and is as follows;

that is to say--That the said Jeroneme Vento, for and in the name of

the said Jaques Dorie, shall pay to the said Scepheer Daniel promptly

and in current money the sum of £4 gross; and that the said Jeroneme

above-named shall advance to the said Sheriff Daniel another £4.

gross, the said Scepheer Daniel, however, giving good surety to the

said Jeroneme that he will repay the said sum of £4 gross which he had

advanced, within the first four voyages, in whatever country it may

be, that Sheriff Daniel may make with his vessel, that is to say, on

each voyage £1 gross. Provided always, that in case the said Daniel

shall not make a voyage with his said ship within the next six months,

and that the said Daniel, or his sureties, shall be bound to pay and

restore to the said Jeroneme Vento (without the said Jeroneme agree to

a postponement) the other payments above-named. The observance of which

judgment and arbitration by the said parties, and each of them, has

been decreed in the said full chamber of Sheriffs of Bruges.

Done the 12th of May, 1469.

ISSUE ROLL OF THE EXCHEQUER.

Under the date of “Easter. 19 Edward IV, 15th June,” is the following:--

To William Caxton. In money paid to his own hands in discharge of 20

_l._ for the Lord the King commanded to be paid to the same William

for certain causes and matters performed by him for the said Lord the

King.

By writ of privy seal amongst the mandates of this term. 20 _l._

ST. MARGARET’S RECORDS.--CHURCHWARDENS’ ACCOUNTS.

(_In the Vestry of St. Margaret’s Church, Westminster._)

A Volume of biennial Accounts of the Churchwardens, audited by the

chief Parishioners. Each Account is written on a quire of parchment,

complete in itself: they vary considerably in size, but have been

carefully bound in one Volume, and are in beautiful condition. The

period included in this Volume is 1464 to 1503. The contents consist

of--Receipts of Fees for Burials, Obits, &c.--Rents--Legacies and

Gifts--Payments for Repairs--Salaries--Pew-rents--Collections--and

other items.

1474.

“Comp’us Thome Frampton & Willī Stafford custod’ bonorꝰ & ornamentorꝰ

eccliē p’ochial’ scē margarete Westm’ videl’t a xvij° die Maij A°

regis Edwardi quarti post conq’m Angl’ quarto vsqu’ xxij diem eiusdem”

* * *

In the List of Fees for Burial is--

“It^m rec^d de Oliver Cawston die sepult’ p’ iiij tapr’ viij d”

Among the Miscellaneous Receipts for 1476--

“It^m of a rewarde for a boke & a Chales lent to Sir

Ric’ Wideuyle xx d”

1478.

“Here folowith Thaccompt of John Wycam and of Nicholas Wollescroft

Wardeins of the parisshe Churche of seynt margarete of Westm’ * * from

the vij^{th} day of the moneth of may in the yere of our lord god M^e

CCCC lxxviij * * * vnto the xviij^{th} day of may in the yere of our

lord god M^l CCCC lxxx” * * *

In the List of Fees for Burial in the first year--

“It^m the day of burying of William Caxton for ij torchis

and iiij tapirs at a lowe masse xx d”

The amount paid does not appear large; but in a very long list of

burial fees there are only four equal in amount, the common rate of

fees being ij d, iiij d, or vj d.

1480.

The same Account. In the List of Fees for Burial in the second year--

“It^m the day of bureying of Jone large for ij tapers iiij d”

1481.

The Audit at the end of the same Account is as follows:--

“The whiche some of xxiij li. x s v d ob. q^a the forsaide wardeyns

haue paid and delyued in the fulle Audite vnto william Garard and

William Hachet their Successours togeder w^t the tresoures of and in

the chirche aforeseid to them delyued in the begynnyng of this accompte

* * in the presence of John Randolf squyer Richard Vmfrey gentilman

Thomas Burgeys John Kendall notary William Caxton * * with other

paryshyns” * *

1490-92.

In this Account among the Burial Fees for the first year--

“Item atte Bureyng of Mawde Caxston for torches and

tapres iij s ij d”

In the second year--

“Item atte Bureying of William Caxton for iiij torches vj s viij d”

“Item for the belle atte same bureyng vj d”

Here we remark again that in both these cases the fees paid are

considerably larger than usual.

In the Accounts for 1496-8 among the Legacies, and their produce--

“Itm receyued by the handes of William Ryolle for oone

of thoo printed bokes that were bequothen to the

Churche behove by William Caxston vj s viij d”

“It^m receyued by the handes of the said William for a

nother of the same printed Bokes called a legend vj s iiij d”

“It^m by the hands of the parisshe prest for a nother

of the same legendes vj s viij d”

At the end of the Account--

“Memorand’ there remayneth in store to the said Chirch”

“It^m in bokes called legendes of the bequest of William

Caxton xiij”

Among the Payments at the end of the same Account--

“It^m paide for a supper gevyn vnto the Auditours

herynge and determenyng this accompt and to the newe

Chirch-wardeyns as it hath ben vsed and accustumed

here tofore xx s”

In the Accounts for 1498-1500--

“The Receites of Bookes called Legendes in the first yere of this

accompte”--

“Fyrst Receyued of John Crosse for a prainted legende v s viij d”

“Item Receiued for a nother legende sold in Westmynster

halle v s viij d”

“Item Receiued of Willm gyfe for a nother of the same

legendes v s viij d”

“It^m receiued of the said Willm Geyfe for a nother

Legende v s viij d”

“Item R of Walter Marten for a nother legende v s xj d”

In the second year of the same account--

“Item R. of William Geiffe for ij legendes printed x s iiij d”

“It^m R of Daniell aforge for a printed legende v s x d”

“Item R of William Geiffe for a printed legende v s”

“Memorand’ ther remayneth in store to the saide chirch” * * *

“It^m in bokes called Legendes of the bequest of William Caxton iij”

In the Accounts for 1500-2 there are not entered any sales of

“Legendes.”

“Ther remayneth in store to the saide chirche.” * * *

“Item a prynted legende booke of the bequeste of Will’m Caxton.”

ST. MARGARET’S RECORDS.

GUILD OF OUR LADY; WARDENS’ ACCOUNTS.

(_In the Vestry of St. Margaret’s Church, Westminster._)

A Volume of triennial Accounts of the Fraternity of our Blessed

Lady Assumption, beautifully written on vellum, and in excellent

preservation. It includes the period between 1474 and 1522, and is

of very great interest in illustrating the customs of that period.

The earlier as well as the later Volumes are not known to exist. The

following are the principal headings of the various Accounts:--Arrears

of Members--Rents received--Bequests and Gifts--Receipts for

Obits of Members--Fees of new Members--Rents paid--Payments of

Salaries--Wages--Annuities to Almsmen and Women--House-repairs--Wax

Candles, and other expenses, for the Shrine of our Lady in St.

Margaret’s Church--and Miscellaneous expenses.

(24th June, 1474, to 24th June, 1477.)

The first Account is headed--

“This is thaccompte of maister William Thirleby henry marble

gentilman and James Fytt maistres or Wardeyns chosen of the Frat’ñte

or gylde of oure blessed lady seint mary the virgyn w^tin the

p’issh chirch of seint margaret of the towne of Westm in the shire

of midd’ founded, that is to say from the fest of Natiuite of seint

John Baptist in the yere of y^e reigne of kyng Edward the iiij^{th}

after the conquest xiiij vnto the said fest of the Natiuite of seint

John the xvij^{th} yere of the reigne of the same kyng by three hole

yeres as it p’ticulerly appiereth in p’cellez here folowyng that is

to wete.”

Under Payments of Rent in the same Account--

“Also the said late maistres charge themsilf w^t a certeyn quite

rent due by John Randolff of london mercer for a licence of Fre entre

of comyng in and going out for his teñntes thurgh the gate and an

Alley called our lady Alley in the kynges Strete of the towne of

westm^r.”

In the same Account, under “thentre of diũes p’sones of new to the

said frat’nite” is “John Caxston vj s viij d.”

Also among the Payments--

“Diũers payments by the said late maisters for the said Fraternite *

* * of the which thay axe to be allowed in this accompt.”

“Of the money by them paid to the wardeins of the Craft of mercery of

london for certain quite rent going out of the teñ’t in the p’isshe

of Aldermarie Chirche of london at v s by the yere.”

The Fraternity appear also to have held tenements in King Street,

Westminster, at Kensington, and at Stroud.

* * * * *

In the same Account, after the payment of six priests’ salaries--

“Costes and p’celles allowed by the hole Brotherhode toward

thexpences of the geñall fest in iij^{de} yere of this accompt.”

These “Costs and Parcels” occupy two full folio pages, and have yielded

the following items:--

“A tonn of wyne vj li”

“Paide to John Drayton chief cok for his reward xxv s”

“Also for the hire of xxiiij doseyn of erthen pottes

for ale & wyne iiij s”

“Also for erthen potts broken & wasted at the same

fest vij s viij d”

“Also to iiij players for their labour xij s x d”

“Also to iij mynstrelles ix s x d”

“Also for the mete of diũes of strangers xvj s”

“Also for russhes ij s iiij d”

“Also for vj doseyn of white cuppes ij s”

* * * * *

“Also for portage and botehyre of the Turbut iiij d”

“Also for ix Turbutts xv s ij d”

In addition to scores of “Capons, chekyns, gese, conyes, and peiones,”

(pigeons), the chief “cok” provided them with “swannys” and “herons,”

with all sorts of fish, including oysters and “see pranys,” or prawns,

with all kinds of meats and game, with jellies in “ix dosen gely

disshes,” and with abundance of fruits. The quantity of ale, wine, and

ypocras provided by the butler is marvellous, and one cannot wonder at

the heavy entries for “pottes and cuppes broken, and wasted.” The Cook

seems to have been paid much more liberally than the Wardens, who had

but xxx s between them “for their dilligence.”

* * * * *

In the Accounts for 1490-3 are the Receipts of Rent from tenements,

known as “The Maidenhead,” “The Sonne,” “The Rose,” and “The Wolstaple.”

Also, under payment of Rent--

“For a certayn Quit rent paid out of a litell teñt in the wolstaple to

the mair of the staple at xx d by the yere.”

“Also for a certain Quit rent paid out of the Rents

in Alderm’ay p’isshe to John More Renter of the

Mercers xv s”

* * * * *

From “Rymer’s Foedera.” Folio. London. 1710. Vol. XI. 536.

(TRANSLATION.)

CONCERNING THE TREATY OF BURGUNDY.

The King to all whom it may concern, &c. Greeting.

Be it known that

Inasmuch as determinate arrangements concerning the intercourse of

merchandise between our subjects and the subjects of our well-beloved

Cousin the Duke of Burgundy have in a sure form and manner been

accorded and agreed to in times past and since that time often renewed,

We,

Wishing on our part to hold good and observe such arrangements,

and being well assured of the faithfulness and discretion of our

well-beloved subjects Richard Whetehill, Knight, and William Caxton,

Do make, ordain and constitute, by these presents, the said Richard

and William our true and accredited Ambassadors, Agents, Nuncios, and

several Deputies;

Giving and Granting to our said Ambassadors, Agents, Nuncios, and

Deputies, and to either of them, full power and authority and general

as well as special commandment to meet, to enter into treaty and to

communicate with our aforesaid Cousin or his Ambassadors, Agents,

Nuncios, and Deputies delegated with sufficient powers for this purpose

by our said Cousin, concerning and upon the continuation and renewal of

the aforesaid Intercourse, and, should occasion require, to make and

conclude new arrangements,

And to do and exercise all and singular other deeds which may be fit or

necessary.

Promising, in good faith and on our kingly word, always to hold as

ratified, acceptable, and binding, all and any the Acts and Deeds of

our said Ambassadors, Agents, Nuncios, and Deputies, or either of them,

as aforesaid, which may be done, performed, or done by procuration, in

the foregoing matters, or any portion thereof.

As witness our hand at Wycombe, this 20th day of October (1464).

A SHEET OF PAPER IN THE NATIONAL RECORD OFFICE.

The manuscript is--

“To tharchedeacon of Westm’ that nowe is and for the tyme shalbe.

We, Richard FitzJames, Almoner and Counsaillor unto oure souverain

lord the King, and Richard Hatton, chaplayne and counsaillor vnto

our said souverain lord, greting in our Lord God euerlasting. And

whereas we, the said Richard and Richard, were appoynted, lymytted

and assigned by our said souverain lord and the lordes of his most

noble counsaill to examine, determyne and pacifie a certain variaunce

depending betwene Gerard Croppe of Westminster, taillour, of the

oone partie, and Elizabeth, the doughter of William Caxton, wif to

the said Gerard, of the othre partie; We, the vij^{th} daie of May,

the xj^{th} yere of our said souverain lord, had the said parties

before us in the Kinges Chapell within his palois of Westminster

at this appoyntement and conclusion by theire both assentes and

aggrementes:--That noon of theim, ne any othre for theim, shall

fromhensforth vexe, sue or trouble othre for any maner matier or

cause theim concernying for matrimony betwix theim before had; and

every of theim to lyve sole from othre, except that the said Gerard

shall mowe fynde the meanes to have the love and favour of the seid

Elizabeth. For thaccomplisshment of which aggrement eithre of theim

of their owne voluntarie willes bound theim self unto us by their

faithes and trouthes, and never to varie from their said promyses.

And therupon the said Gerard to have of the bequest of William

Caxton, the fadre of the said Elizabeth, xx^{ti} prynted legendes at

xiij s iiij d a legend. And the said Gerard to delyver a generall

acquitaunce unto thexecutours of William Caxton, her said fadre, for

their discharge in that behalf. And besides thies premisses both the

said parties were aggreed before us to be bound, eche to othre, in

C.li. by their dedes obligatorie with the condicions above wreten

to performe alle the premisses. In wittenesse whereof I, the said

Richard FitzJames, have to thies preseutes sette the seale of myn

office. And I, the said Richard Hatton, have setto my seal, and

eithre of us subscribed our names with oure owne handes, the xx^{ti}

daie of May the xj^{th} yere of the reigne of our said souverain

Lord.”

FOOTNOTES:

[13] Perhaps one of the celebrated Doria family of Genoa.

A DESCRIPTION OF BOOKS PRINTED IN

TYPE NO. 1.

_EXPLANATION OF TERMS._

5n, or QUINTERNION, means a section of five sheets folded together in

half = 10 leaves = 20 pages.

4n, or QUATERNION = 8 leaves = 16 pages. (See p. 132).

3n, or TERNION = 6 leaves = 12 pages.

RECTO is the right-hand page of an open book.

VERSO is the reverse, or the left-hand page.

A DIRECTOR is the name given to the small letter placed where the

Illuminator was intended to paint in a large initial.

LIST OF BOOKS IN TYPE NO. 1.

1. The Recuyell of the Histories of Troye 1474?

2. Le Recueil des Histoires de Troyes 1476?

3. The Game and Play of the Chess Moralised 1475-76?

4. Les fais et prouesses du noble et vaillant Chevalier Jason 147-?

5. Meditacions sur les Sept Pseaulmes penitenciaulx 1478?

BOOKS PRINTED IN TYPE NO. 1.

NO. 1.--THE RECUYELL OF THE HISTORIES OF TROY. _Translated 1469-71.

Folio. Without Place or Date. (1474?)._

COLLATION.--_Book I_ has fourteen 5ns and one 4n = 148 leaves, of which

the first is blank. _Book II_ has nine 5ns, one 4n, and one 3n = 104

leaves. _Book III_ has ten 5ns = 100 leaves. _Total_ 351 printed leaves

and one blank.

TYPOGRAPHICAL PARTICULARS.--Type No. 1 only. Lines of very uneven

length; full lines measure 5 inches, but vary in different parts

from 4¾ to 5¼ inches. 31 lines to a full page. Without signatures,

catchwords, or numerals. Space is left, with a director, for 3 to

7-line initials. As may be seen by the collation, each book begins

a fresh gathering, probably for the convenience of binding in three

separate volumes.

Commencing the work with a blank leaf, Caxton’s preface follows,

printed in red ink, and occupying the second recto.

The Text begins thus:--

~Ere begynneth the volume intituled and named

~h~ the recuyell of the historyes of Troye/ composed

and drawen out of dyuerce bookes of latyn in

to frensshe by the ryght venerable persone and wor-

shipfull man . Raoul le ffeure . preest and chapelayn

vnto the ryght noble gloryous and myghty prynce in

his tyme Phelip duc of Bourgoyne of Braband &c

In the yere of the Incarnacion of our lord god a thousand

foure honderd sixty and foure / And translated

and drawen out of frenshe in to englisshe by Willyam

Caxton mercer of y^e cyte of London / at the comaudemet

of the right hye myghty and vertuouse Pryncesse hys

redoubtyd lady . Margarete by the grace of god . Du-

chesse of Bourgoyne of Lotryk of Braband &c/

Whiche sayd translacion and werke was begonne in

Brugis in the Countee of Flaundres the fyrst day of

marche the yere of the Incarnacion of our said lord god

a thousand foure honderd sixty and eyghte/ And ended

and fynysshid in the holy cyte of Colen the . xix . day of

septembre the yere of our sayd lord god a thousand

foure honderd sixty and eleuen &c.~

~And on that other side of this leef foloweth the prologe~

Caxton’s Prologue begins on the verso of the same leaf, with space for

a 4-line initial W.

~Han J remembre that euery man is bounden~

The first book commences on the fifth recto, with space for a 7-line

initial W. The second begins on the 149th, and the third on the 253rd

recto, the whole ending with some Latin rhymes on the 352nd recto, the

verso being blank.

REMARKS.--No one speaking the English language can look at this

patriarchal volume with indifference. Here, for the first time, our

forefathers saw their language in print; and, could our interest in

any way have been heightened, it would have been by knowing it to have

been printed in our own instead of a foreign land. The history of its

origin is shortly this. In the original French it was a favourite novel

of the English and Burgundian courtiers, for, although nominally an

account of the Trojan wars, it is really a series of love-scenes mixed

with mythology and knight-errantry. The manuscript translation made by

Caxton for the Duchess of Burgundy, whose court was at Bruges, having

excited great interest, a demand arose for copies quicker than Caxton

could supply them. The printing-press having been just established in

that city by Colard Mansion, Caxton, whose thoughts were now homewards,

determined to use it as a means of multiplying his translation, and of

learning at the same time a new trade which would support him on his

return to England. This he did at a great charge and expense, and then,

having procured a new fount of types and all the necessary material,

came over to England and erected his press at Westminster.

Fortunately this work cannot be reckoned among the rarities of Caxton’s

press, as there are copies in the British Museum, Sion College, College

of Physicians, London, at Oxford, Cambridge, Paris, and fourteen other

libraries. The Duke of Devonshire gave £1060 10_s._ for a copy in 1812,

the same copy having been purchased by the Duke of Roxburgh a few years

previously for £50.

NO. 2.--LE RECUEIL DES HISTOIRES DE TROYES. _Composé en l’an de grace

1464. Folio. Without Printer’s Name, Place, or Date. (1476?)_

COLLATION.--_Book I_, twelve 5ns = 120 leaves, of which the first and

last are blank. _Book II_, eight 5ns and one 3n = 86 leaves. _Book

III_, eight 5ns = 80 leaves. _Total_, 284 printed and two blank leaves.

TYPOGRAPHICAL PARTICULARS.--Type No. 1 only is used. The lines for the

greater part are spaced out to one length, being more even in this

particular than the two English books in this type. A full page has 31

lines, without signatures, numerals, headlines, or catchwords. A space

two to four lines in depth has been left at the commencement of each

chapter for the insertion of an illuminated initial, a director being

sometimes inserted.

The Text, 31 lines to a page, which is divided into three books, begins

thus on the second recto, after a blank leaf:--

~Cy commence le volume Intitule le recueil des histoires

de troyes Compose par venerable homme raoul le feure

prestre chappellain de mon tresdoubte seigneur Monsei-

gneur le Duc Phelippe de bourgoingne En lan de grace.

mil.cccc.lxiii.:.~

and ends on the 286th verso.

~antiphoꝰ le roy estoriꝰ le roy prothenor et le roy obtomeꝰ.

˙ ⁚ ˙ Explicit ˙ ⁚ ˙~

REMARKS.--The history of the Trojan War, a favourite subject for

several centuries with European writers, was the foundation of

numerous romances. Of these the chief were the apocryphal history by

Dares Phrygius, a Trojan priest, celebrated by Homer; the account of

the same war by Dictys Cretensis, a supposititious historian; and

the History of the Siege of Troy by Guido of Colonna, a native of

Messina in Sicily, who wrote in the thirteenth century. The rise of

these histories, their growth under the editorial care of successive

scribes, the incorporation of incidents from other romances, and their

final development in the compilation of “Le Recueil des Histoires de

Troye,” form a curious and typical example of this class of literature.

According to the unanimous testimony of all printed editions and all

manuscripts of the complete work, “Le Recueil” was the composition

of Raoul Lefevre, chaplain and secretary to Philippe le Bon, Duke

of Burgundy: but in a manuscript copy of this work in the National

Library, Paris, the first two books are attributed to Guillaume

Fillastre. And this is remarkable--that Lefevre succeeded Fillastre

(who was a voluminous author) in the office of secretary to the duke.

Probably, finding his predecessor’s history unfinished, he took it

up, and, after adding Book III, issued the whole under his own name.

In that age a similar course was by no means uncommon, nor was it

an infringement of any recognised literary right; we can hardly,

therefore, with M. Paris, call it (even if true) “une grande fraude

literaire.” On the other hand, several copies were issued with the

name of Lefevre while Fillastre was yet living, and Caxton, who was

contemporary with both writers, ascribes the whole work to Lefevre. Nor

is there any noticeable variation in style between the two portions, as

might be expected if composed by two authors; indeed the style of “Le

Recueil” is the same as that of “Les fais du Jason,” an acknowledged

work of Lefevre.

Steevens asserts that Shakspere derived the greater portion of his

materials for the play of “Troilus and Cressida” from Lydgate’s

metrical composition, “The last Destruction of Troy;” but Douce, in

his “Illustrations,” is far nearer the truth in tracing the incidents

employed by our great poet to Caxton’s translation of “Le Recueil des

Histoires de Troye.” The latter was popular, and frequently reprinted

in the 16th and 17th centuries, long after Lydgate’s laboured metre had

become antiquated.

There is a perfect copy in the British Museum, besides a large

fragment. The National Library, Paris, has a copy, and four others

are in private libraries. A fragment of eight leaves was purchased

some years ago by a bookseller, and made into four thick volumes,

each volume having two printed leaves with a hundred blank leaves on

each side. These were all disposed of as specimens to lie open in the

show-cases of museums.

NO. 3.--THE GAME AND PLAY OF THE CHESS MORALISED. _(Translated

1475.) First Edition. Folio. Without Printer’s Name, Place, or

Date. (1475-76?)_

COLLATION.--Eight 4ns and one 5n = 74 leaves, of which the 1st and 74th

are blank.

TYPOGRAPHICAL PARTICULARS.--Only one type, No. 1, is used throughout

the work. The lines are not spaced out; the longest measure 5 inches;

a full page has 31 lines. Without title-page, signatures, numerals, or

catchwords.

The volume commences with a blank leaf, and on the second recto is

Caxton’s prologue, space being left for a 2-line initial, without

director.

The Text begins thus:--

~O the right noble/ right excellent & vertuous yrince

George duc of Clarence Erl of Warwyk and of

salisburye/ grete chamberlayn of Englond & leutenant

of Irelond oldest broder of kynge Edward by the grace

of god kynge of England and of frauce / your most

humble seruant william Caxton amonge other of your

Seruantes sendes unto yow peas . helthe . Joye and victo-

rye vyon your Enemyes / Right highe puyssant and~

The Text ends on the 73rd recto,

~And sende yow thaccomylisshement of your hye noble .

Joyous and vertuous desirs Amen :/: Fynysshid the

last day of marche the yer of our lord god . a . thousand

foure honderd and lxxiiii.˙.:.:.˙.~

The 74th leaf is blank.

REMARKS.--“Fynysshid the last day of Marche the yer of oure lord god a

thousand foure honderd and lxxiiii.” The word “fynysshed” has doubtless

the same signification here as in the epilogue to the second book of

Caxton’s translation of the Histories of Troy, “begonne in Brugis,

contynued in Gaunt, and _finysshed_ in Coleyn,” which evidently refers

to the translation only. The date, 1475-76, has been affixed, because

in the Low Countries at that time the year commenced on Easter-day;

this in 1474 fell on April 10th, thus giving, as the day of the

conclusion of the translation, 31st March, 1475, the same year being

the earliest possible period of its appearance as a printed book.

The literary history of the “Game and Play of the Chess” does not

appear to have hitherto received that attention which is its due.

Before 1285, Ægidius Colonna had composed his renowned work entitled

“De regimine principum,” which treats of self-government, domestic

government, and national government. The “Liber de ludo Scachorum” of

J. de Cessolis appears to have been based upon this work, its chief

originality being the representation of the several stations and

duties of life by the pieces used in chess. About the middle of the

fifteenth century two distinct French versions were made. The earlier

was probably that by Jean Faron, in 1347, who translated it literally

from the original Latin. About the same time appeared the favourite and

standard work of Jehan de Vignay, who took great liberties with the

text, and added many stories and fables. Both these men were of the

order of Preaching Friars, and seem to have worked quite independently

of one another. Caxton’s edition was principally from the version of

Jehan de Vignay, to whom he gives the title of “an excellent Doctor of

Divinity, of the Order of the Hospital of St. John’s of Jerusalem,”

which is remarkable, as in his preface Jean de Vignay styles himself

“hospitaller de l’ordre de haut pas,” and he is so termed in all the

manuscripts. On comparing the English and the two French versions, it

is evident that Caxton must have been well acquainted with both. His

prologue addressed to the Duke of Clarence contains, nominis mutatis,

the whole of Jean de Vignay’s dedication to Prince John of France;

while Chapters I and III are taken entirely from the translation of

Jean Faron. The remainder of the book is from the version of Jehan de

Vignay, with one or two special insertions evidently from the pen of

Caxton himself.

To show the curious way in which Caxton adopted and adapted while

translating, the dedication to the Duke of Clarence, hitherto

considered as his own composition, is here given side by side with its

French original.

CAXTON’S PROLOGUE TO “THE GAME AND PLAY OF THE CHESS.”

To the right noble / right excellent & vertuous prince George duc

of Clarence Erle of warwyk and of / salisburye / grete chamberlayn

of Englond & leutenant of Irelond oldest broder of kynge Edward by

the grace of god kynge of England and of fraūce / your most humble

seruant william Caxton amonge other of your seruantes sendes vnto

yow peas, helthe. Ioye and victorye vpon your Enemyes / Right highe

puyssant and redoubted prynce / For as moche as I haue vnderstand and

knowe / that ye are enclined vnto the comyn wele of the kynge our

said saueryn lord. his nobles lordes and comyn peple of his noble

royame of Englond / and that ye sawe gladly the Inhabitans of the

same euformed in good. vertuous. prouffitable and honeste manners.

Jn whiche your noble persone wyth guydyng of your hows haboundeth /

gyuyng light and ensample vnto all other / Therfore I haue put me in

deuour to translate a lityll book late comen in to myn handes out of

frensh in to englisshe / Jn which I fynde thauctorites. dictees. and

stories of auncient Doctours philosophes poetes and of other wyse men

whiche been recounted & applied vnto the moralite of the publique

wele as well of the nobles as of the comyn peple after the game and

playe of the chesse / whiche booke right puyssant and redoubtid

lord I haue made in the name and vnder the shadewe of your noble

protection / not presumyng to correcte or empoigne ony thynge ayenst

your noblesse / For god be thankyd your excellent renome shyneth as

well in strange regions as with in the royame of england gloriously

vnto your honour and lande / whiche god multeplye and encrece But

to thentent that other of what estate or degre he or they stande in

. may see in this sayd lityll book / yf they gouerned them self as

they ought to doo / wherfor my right dere redoubted lord I requyre

& supplye your good grace not to desdaygne to resseyue this lityll

sayd book in gree and thanke / as well of me your humble and vnknowen

seruant as of a better and gretter man than I am / For the right good

wylle that I haue had to make this lityll werk in the best wyse I can

/ ought to be reputed for the fayte and dede / And for more clerely

to procede in this sayd book I haue ordeyned that the chapitres ben

sette in the begynnynge to thende that ye may see more playnly the

mater wherof the book treteth &c.

PROLOGUE OF JEAN DE VIGNAY TO HIS FRENCH TRANSLATION (A.D. 1360) OF

THE “LUDUS SACCORUM” OF J. DE CESSOLIS.

A Tres noble & excellent prince Jehan de france duc de normendie &

auisne filz de philipe par la grace de dieu Roy de france. Frere

Jehan de vignay vostre petit Religieux entre les autres de vostre

seignoire / paix sante Joie & victoire sur vos ennemis. Treschier

& redoubte seign^r / pour ce que Jay entendu et scay que vous veez

& ouez volentiers choses proffitables & honestes et qui tendent

alinformacion de bonnes meurs ay Je mis vn petit liuret de latin

en francois le quel mest venuz a la main nouuellement / ou quel

plussieurs auctoritez et dis de docteurs & de philosophes & de poetes

& des anciens sages / sont Racontez & sont appliquiez a la moralite

des nobles hommes et des gens de peuple selon le gieu des eschez le

quel liure Tres puissant et tres redoubte seigneur jay fait ou nom

& soubz vmbre de vous pour laquelle chose treschr seign^r Je vous

suppli & requier de bonne voulente de cuer que il voꝰ daigne plaire

a receuoir ce liure en gre aussi bien que de vn greign^r maistre de

moy / car la tres bonne voulente que Jay de mielx faire se je pouoie

me doit estre reputee pour le fait / Et po^r plus clerement proceder

en ceste ouure / Jay ordene que les chappitres du liure soint escrips

& mis au commencement afin de veoir plus plainement la matiere de

quoy le dit liure p’ole.

Before concluding this article we must give an interpolation of the

text which has real interest as showing Caxton’s feelings towards “men

of law.” The French author is regretting the conduct of some lawyers of

Rome and Italy, and Caxton, with a natural burst of indignation, which

suggests that personal experience had something to do with it, adds

this:--

“Alas! and in England what hurt do the advocates, men of law, and

attorneys of court to the common people of the royaume, as well in the

spiritual law as in the temporal: how turn they the law and statutes

at their pleasure; how eat they the people, how impoverish they the

community. I suppose that in all Christendom are not so many pleaders,

attorneys, and men of the law as be in England only, for if they were

numbered all that long to the courts of the Chancery, King’s Bench,

Common Pleas, Exchequer, Receipt and Hall, and the bag-bearers of the

same, it should amount to a great multitude. And how all these live and

of whom, if it should be uttered and told it should not be believed.

For they entend to their singular weal and profit and not to the

common.”

There are ten copies known of this book, of which two are in the

British Museum, one at Oxford, one at Cambridge, and six in private

libraries.

NO. 4.--LES FAIS ET PROUESSES DU NOBLE ET VAILLANT CHEVALIER JASON.

_Folio. Without Printer’s Name, Place, or Date. (147-?)_

COLLATION.--Sixteen 4ns and one 3n = 134 leaves, of which the first

and last two leaves are blank.

TYPOGRAPHICAL PARTICULARS.--There is no title-page nor colophon. The

type used is No. 1 only. The great majority of the lines are fully

spaced out, agreeing in this respect more with the French editions of

“Le Recueil” and the “Psaulmes” than the English “Recuyell” and the

“Chess Book.” Full lines measure 5 and 5-3/16 inches; 31 lines to a

page. Without signatures, numerals, head-lines, or catchwords.

A blank leaf commences the book; at the head of the succeeding recto,

with space for a 4-line initial, and with a director, the Text begins

thus:--

~l~ ~A gallee de mon engin flotant na pas long

temps en la parfondeur des mers du pluseurs

anciennes histoires ainsi comme Je vouloie me-

ner mon esperit en port de repos / soudainement

sapparu au pres de moy vne nef conduitte par vng homme~

The Text ends on the verso of the 31st printed leaf:--

~ant a mon deuant dit tresredoubte seigneur / Et atous ceulx

qui le contenu de ce present volume liront . ou orront lire .

quil leur plaise de grace excuser autant que mon petit et ru

de engin na sceu touchier ne peu comprendre &c ˙:.

Explicit~

REMARKS.--All the books printed with these types are traced to Mansion,

either alone or assisted by Caxton. In this work and the “Meditacions,”

the even length of the lines proves them to be later productions than

those in which the lines are more uneven; and this is plain evidence

that if these two works were printed by Mansion (as doubtless they

were) it must have been after 1478, the year in which he adopted the

plan of even lines; but if we attribute them to Caxton, we must suppose

him to have forsaken his own establishment at the Red-pale, in or after

the year 1480 (being the period when he first adopted the practice of

making his lines of an even length) for the purpose of printing abroad

what he had every facility for printing at home.

The existence of this edition was first made known in England by a

letter from M. Van Praet to Dr. Dibdin, who sent an account of it to

the “Gentleman’s Magazine” for July, 1812.

Only three copies of this scarce book have been as yet discovered.

A magnificent one is at Eton College; another is in the National

Library, Paris, which, when purchased in 1808, was bound up with “Le

Quadrilogue,” a work printed by Colard Mansion, in 1478; and a third is

in the Library of the Arsenal, Paris.

NO. 5.--MEDITACIONS SUR LES SEPT PSEAULMES PENITENCIAULX. _Folio.

Without Printer’s Name, Place, or Date. (1478?)_

COLLATION.--Three 4ns and one 5n = 34 leaves, of which the last

only is blank.

TYPOGRAPHICAL PARTICULARS.--There is no title-page. The only type used

is No. 1. The lines are for the most part fully spaced out, though now

and then there is a deficiency in this respect, which only occurs,

however, on the verso of the folios, the recto throughout being fully

spaced. This peculiarity is observable to a greater or less extent in

all the French books printed in this type. The full lines measure 5

inches, and 31 lines make a full page. There are no signatures, folios,

nor catchwords.

In all typographical particulars this work agrees with the French

edition of “Jason,” already described, and there is little doubt was

printed by Colard Mansion at Bruges, about 1478.

The Text begins on the first recto,--

~A braye penitance est comme aucune eschielle

~l~ par laquelle lomme pecheur qui selon la parabole

de leuuangille descendy de Jherusalem en Jherico

monta de rechief de Jherico en Jherusalem / cest abision de~

And ends on the 33rd verso, with a full page, followed by a blank

leaf,--

~exultacion de leesse espirituelle / Puis encores sil te plaist

me donne que par ce septenuaire des pseaulmes de peniten-

ce lesquelz correspondent aux sept affectz de lomme prins

pour les sept degrez de leschielle de penitence Je puisse mō-

ter et paruenir atoy en cette tant glorieuse cite de Jherusa-

lem en laquelle tu habites et te offrir auec les sains et be-

neurez le sacrifice de loenge sans fin /: AMEN~

REMARKS.--This work is a translation from the original Latin of

Cardinal Pierre d’Ailly, entitled “Meditaciones Circa Septem Psalmos

Penitentiales.” It was composed about the end of the fourteenth

century, and translated shortly after into French, but by whom is

uncertain, although from the style it is supposed by several of his

biographers to have been from the pen of the Cardinal himself. It has

been attributed to Antoine Belard, but on insufficient grounds, as

his version, printed at Lyons in 1542, was a much later production.

The Cardinal was the author of at least 42 works, many of which are

preserved in Harl. MS., No. 637; but neither in the British Museum nor

in the National Library, Paris, does there appear to be a MS. copy of

this commentary on the Penitential Psalms. About 1483 the original

Latin was printed at Paris by Ant. Caylaut, and another edition of

German, 15th cent. workmanship, but without Name, Place, or Date, is in

the British Museum. It was also reprinted at Strasbourg in 1490, and in

the “Orthodoxographa,” Basle, 1555. The Commentary on the Penitential

Psalms printed by Wynken de Worde was composed by Bishop Alcock, and

has nothing in common with this.

Pierre d’Ailly was born of poor parents at Compiègne in 1350. His

father, at the cost of many personal privations, procured for him

a sound elementary education, and at an early age he obtained the

appointment of Bursar in the celebrated College of Navarre. He made

himself master of the philosophy and science of his age, studying

especially metaphysics and astronomy. When only twenty-five he was

accounted the greatest scholar and most skilful debater of the time.

In 1380 the University of Paris conferred upon him the degree of

Doctor, and in the following year he delivered his famous oration upon

the healing of the Papal schism which at that time was disturbing all

Christendom. This procured for him the benefice of Noyon, which he

held till 1384. He was then recalled to Paris to be Grand Master of

the College of Navarre, where only twelve years before he had studied

as a pupil. At this period his fame was greatly increased by his

successful pleadings before Pope Clement VII. against the new-fangled

doctrine of the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin Mary. In 1389 he

became Chancellor of the University of Paris, as well as Confessor

and Almoner to the young king Charles VI. Already well versed in

Church politics, he now became initiated in Court mysteries, and by a

happy mixture of wisdom, wit, and polished manners, greatly increased

his fame and power. In 1394 the Canons of La Sainte Chapelle having

become very neglectful of their duties, he was appointed Treasurer,

and soon initiated some sweeping reforms. Two years later he was

consecrated Bishop of Cambray, where his firmness and prudence in the

most trying circumstances exercised the most happy influence on his

Diocese. His favours and patronage were conferred on those most worthy

by their piety, zeal, and abilities to receive them, and especially

was he anxious to avoid even the appearance of simony. In 1411 he was

chosen Cardinal, and it was about this time that he published the

“Meditationes” upon which this article is founded. He distinguished

himself at the Councils of Pisa and Constance, and was President of the

Session at which John Huss was condemned to be burnt. He died in 1420

at the height of his fame.

The only EXISTING COPY at present known was discovered in the General

Library of the British Museum, in 1841, by Mr. J. Winter Jones,

bound up with “Les Quatre Derrenieres Choses.” It is _perfect_,

in an excellent state of preservation, clean, and free from all

disfigurements. It has the final blank leaf, the verso of which is

covered with quotations in the handwriting of the fifteenth century.

These quotations are extended over the first recto (which is also a

blank) of the book mentioned above as being bound up with it, proving

that they were bound together soon after printing. For an article on

both works, from the pen of Mr. Jones, see “Archæologia,” vol. xxxi,

page 412.

A DESCRIPTION OF BOOKS PRINTED IN

TYPE NO. 2.

_BOOKS PRINTED IN TYPE NO. 2._

6. Les Quatre Derrenieres Choses 1475?

7. The History of Jason 1477?

8. The Dictes and Sayings. First Edition 1477

9. Horæ 1478?

10. The Canterbury Tales. First Edition 1478?

11. The Moral Proverbs of Christine 1478

12. Propositio Johannis Russell 1478?

13. Stans puer ad Mensam _ante_ 1479

14. Parvus Catho. First Edition _ante_ 1479

15. Ditto Second Edition _ante_ 1479

16. The Horse, the Sheep, and the Ghoos. First Edition _ante_ 1479

17. Ditto ditto Second Edition _ante_ 1479

18. Infancia Salvatoris _ante_ 1479

19. The Temple of Glass _ante_ 1479

20. The Chorle and the Bird. First Edition _ante_ 1479

21. Ditto ditto Second Edition _ante_ 1479

22. The Temple of Brass, or the Parliament of Fowls _ante_ 1479

23. The Book of Courtesy. First Edition _ante_ 1479

24. Queen Anelida _ante_ 1479

25. Boethius _ante_ 1479

26. Corydale 1479

27. Fratris Laur. Gulielmi de Saona Margarita 1479-10?

28. The Dictes and Sayings. Second Edition 1480?

29. Indulgence 1480

30. Parvus et Magnus Chato. Third Edition 1481?

31. The Mirrour of the World. First Edition 1481?

32. Reynard the Fox. First Edition 1481

33. Tully of Old Age 1481

34. The Game and Playe of the Chesse. Second Edition 1481?

BOOKS PRINTED IN TYPE NO. 2.

NO. 6.--LES QUATRE DERRENIERES CHOSES ADVENIR. _Folio. Without

Printer’s Name, Date, or Place. (1476?)_

COLLATION.--Nine 4ns = 72 leaves, of which the first only is blank.

TYPOGRAPHICAL PARTICULARS.--Type No. 2 only is used. The lines are of

very irregular length, 28 to a page. Without signatures, folios, or

catchwords. Commencing with a blank leaf, the table follows on the

second recto, the first three lines being in red ink.

The Text begins:--

~Ce present traictie est diuise en quatre parties principa

les : Desquelles chascune contient trois autres singuli ⸝

res parties en la fourme gui sensuit~:

and ends on 72nd verso:--

~quilz pourueissent aux choses derrenieres ⸝ dont la frequēte

memoire et recordacion Rapelle des pechiez a culpe aux ver

tus et conferme en bounes oeuures / par quoy on paruient a

la gloire eternelle :Amen

Explicit liber de

quatuor Nouissimis~

An important typographical peculiarity in this work is the mode

in which the printer has employed red ink for the title-lines of

chapters. The _modus operandi_ and how the red ink overlies the black,

is explained at p. 52, _ante_. This curious and primitive practice is

not seen in any books except that under notice, and those printed by

Colard Mansion of Bruges. Another typographical characteristic which

intimately connects this book with those printed in Type No. 1 is the

existence of two small holes on the outer margin of each leaf, made

by points in use by the pressman. These, it should be noticed, occur

in all the works for which type No. 1 was used, but none, except the

present, printed with type No. 2, nor indeed in any English printed

books. Again, we find among the undoubted first issues of the press

at Westminster that the books in folio, such as “The Life of Jason,”

“Dictes,” “Canterbury Tales,” “Cordyale,” &c., have all 29 lines to

the page, while “Les quatre derrenieres choses” has but 28. On taking,

however, the actual measurement, it will be seen that the depth of the

page is exactly the same as in the type No. 1 books. Evidence has been

already produced to show that the five books in type No. 1 were printed

in Bruges by Colard Mansion alone, or assisted by Caxton; and to the

same source we have no hesitation in ascribing “Les quatre derrenieres

choses.”

REMARKS.--The title, “De quatuor novissimis,” was applied to many

religious treatises of the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries; and so

many Latin manuscripts of distinct works have come down to us that it

is difficult to distinguish between them: nor were the early printed

editions less numerous, Hain, in his “Repertorium Bibliographicum,”

giving the titles of twenty-one editions printed in the fifteenth

century. They all agree, however, in one particular, viz.--that no

copy gives the name of its author. The Latin original of one work on

this subject is attributed to “Denis de Leewis, natif de Rikel,” who

died in 1471: it was printed at Antwerp about 1486. But the authorship

of this particular version is given to Gerardus à Vliedenhoven, and

Mr. Holtrop gives an account of three printed editions. There is a

fourth in the University Library, Cambridge, besides which there are

four Dutch editions. Early French anonymous versions were also very

numerous, and it is fortunate that a manuscript in the Royal Library,

Brussels, has preserved the name of the author to whom we are indebted

for the present translation. It bears the following colophon: “Cy fine

le traittie des quatre dernieres choses, translaté de latin en francois

par Jo. Mielot l’an de grace mil cccc liij.”

Philippe le Bon, as is well known, maintained many secretaries for the

purpose of adding to the treasures of his library by translations,

collations, commentaries, &c. In this way were employed Guy d’Angers,

David Aubert, de Hesdin, Droïn Ducret, de Dijon, and others. They

brought into use that peculiar style of writing termed “grosse

bâtarde,” which, at a later date, Colard Mansion took as a pattern for

his types. Among the duke’s secretaries, one of the most indefatigable

was Jean Mielot. He united in himself the qualifications of author,

translator, and scribe, as he lets us know in the manuscript, “Traité

de vieillesse et de jeunesse,” now in the Royal Library, Copenhagen.

The only EXISTING COPY known of this edition was discovered by Mr.

J. Winter Jones, while re-cataloguing a portion of the old royal

library in the British Museum. It was bound in the same volume as the

“Meditacions,” already described at page 179, to which the reader is

referred for further particulars.

NO. 7.--THE HISTORY OF JASON. _Folio. Without Printer’s Name, Place,

or Date. (1477?)_

COLLATION.--Eighteen 4ns and one 3n = 150 leaves, of which the first

and two last are blank.

TYPOGRAPHICAL PARTICULARS.--There is no title. The only type used is

No. 2. The lines are very uneven in length, the longest measuring

5 inches. A full page has 29 lines. Without signatures, folios, or

catchwords. Space is left at the commencement of chapters for the

insertion of a 2-line initial, with director.

The Text begins thus, on the second recto, the first leaf being blank:--

~f~ ~Or asmoche as late by the comaūdement of the right

hye & noble princesse my right redoubted lady ⸝ My

lady Margarete by the grace of god Duchesse of Bour-~

and ends on the 148th verso,

~among the most worthy · And after this present life eu-

lastinglife in heuen who grant him & vs that boughte vs

with his bloode blessyd Thus Amen~

REMARKS.--As already noticed when treating of the original French

version of “Jason,” its compiler was Raoul Lefevre, secretary to the

Duke of Burgundy, and while in the service of the duchess, it seems

most probable that Caxton became possessed of a copy. The date of

imprint has been generally attributed by bibliographers to the year

1475, but this is, I think, too early. The features of Caxton’s history

about that time seem to point to 1476-77 as the date of his settlement

in England; and November 18th, 1477, is, as we know, the day on which

the printing of “Dictes” was finished. Now the typographical appearance

of “Jason” proves it to have been one of the very earliest products of

the Westminster press; and Caxton’s remarks in the prologue to “Golden

Legend” show the translation to have followed “The Recuyell” and “Chess

Book.” The evidence, therefore, seems to point to a date immediately

preceding “Dictes” or the early part of 1477, when the young prince, to

whom it was dedicated, would be six years old, and much more likely to

make use of the work than if presented to him two years earlier.

Gerard Leeu, at Antwerp, reprinted this English text in 1492, a fact

noticed thus by Gerard Legh in “The Accidence of Armory,” 1576--“The

History of Jason, which was translated out of Frenche, and printed at

Andwarpe by one of my name.”

Of the six known copies there is one in the British Museum, one in the

Bodleian, and four in private libraries.

NO. 8.--THE DICTES AND SAYINGS OF THE PHILOSOPHERS. _Folio.

“Enprynted by me William Caxton at Westmestre.” 1477. First

Edition; without Colophon._

COLLATION.--Nine 4ns and one 3n = 78 leaves, of which the first and two

last are blank.

TYPOGRAPHICAL PARTICULARS.--There is no title-page. Only type No. 2

is used. The lines are of very uneven length, the longest measuring

5 inches; 29 lines to a full page. Without folios, catchwords, or

signatures. Space is left at the beginning of chapters for the

insertion of 3-line initials, with director.

Commencing with a blank leaf, Earl Rivers’s prologue follows.

The Text begins thus, on the second recto:--

~Here it is so that euery humayn Creature by the

~w~ suffraūce of our lord god is born & ordeigned to

be subgette and thral vnto the stormes of fortune

And so in diuerse & many sondry wyses man is perplex-~

The work concludes on the verso of the 73rd folio at foot, and is

followed on the 74th recto by Caxton’s epilogue and additions,

commencing with space for 3-line initial.

~Ere endeth the book named the dictes or sayengis

~h~ of the philosophres enprynted ⸝by me william

Caxton at westmestre the yere of our lord · M ·

CCCC · Lxxvij · Whiche book is late translated out of~

The Text ends on the 76th verso, with a short page of sixteen lines--

~posicion in this world ⸝ And after thys lyf to lyue euer-

lastyngly in heuen Amen~

~Et sic est finis .·.·~

REMARKS.--This book is remarkable as being the first which bears a

plain statement of the place and time of its execution. It is thought

by some to be really the first book printed in England. A few of the

quarto pieces may perhaps have preceded it, but there is none that can

be proved of earlier workmanship; and if, as there seems good reason

for supposing, Caxton did not settle at Westminster before 1476-77, he

would not have had time to produce much.

The history of the English translation of this work is interesting. It

appears that Earl Rivers, moved thereto by a remembrance of relief from

many worldly adversities, determined to pay his vows at the shrine of

St. James of Compostella. In the British Museum (C. 18. e. 2) is “An

Abbreviation of the graces and indulgences which Alexāder vj granteth

to all true believing people of every sexe or communitie of the grete

hospytall of Saynt James of Cōpostella.” This shrine had been for many

years the favourite resort of those who intended a short pilgrimage.

Many ships, and those of the largest burthen, were engaged in this

passenger traffic, the chief port of embarkation being Southampton.

Thence in the year 1473 the earl sailed, and while on the voyage Lewis

de Bretaylles, a Gascon knight celebrated for his great prowess, at

the court of Edward IV, showed the earl a copy, in French, of “Les

dits moraux des philosophes,” with which Lord Rivers was greatly

delighted, retaining it for more intimate perusal. On his return to

England, in the same year, the king appointed him one of the governors

of the Prince of Wales; and now, having more leisure, the earl began a

translation of the work into English, which, however, notwithstanding

the assistance of an earlier translation by Scrope, occupied him some

years, supposing it to be completed only a short time previously to

its being printed in 1477. Earl Rivers evidently had a good opinion

of Caxton’s literary abilities, for he requested him “to oversee”

his translation before printing it, and the result was the addition

of a chapter “towching wymmen,” introduced by a very characteristic

prologue from Caxton’s own pen. This prologue is replete with a quiet

humour, which reveals to us more of Caxton’s real disposition than all

his other writings. It proves also the intimate terms which must have

existed between Lord Rivers and himself.

We may infer from this, the first edition had a rapid sale, as about

1481 a second edition (described further on) was produced in the same

type, and page for page, the same as the original.

There is an oft-quoted but much overrated manuscript of this

translation in the Archiepiscopal Palace, Lambeth. It is on vellum, and

has one inconsiderable illumination, famous only on account of giving

the sole representation known of Edward V. Earl Rivers is presenting

a copy on bended knee (probably this very one) to the prince, who is

seated on his throne. By the earl’s side is pourtrayed an ecclesiastic

with shaven crown, probably “Haywarde,” whose name appears at the end

of the volume as the writer. We may suppose the earl to be in the act

of reciting the metrical prologue which appears at the commencement,

and the first five lines of which are--

This boke late translate here in sight

By Anthony Earl (_erasure_) that vertueux knyght

Please it to accepte to youre noble grace

And at youre conueniens leysoure and space

It to see reede and vnderstonde

The writing is the usual secretary hand of the fifteenth century, and

the date of transcription, as given in the colophon, is December 29th,

1477, or about six weeks after the publication of Caxton’s printed

edition, of which it is a verbatim copy, with the addition of the

metrical prologue already noticed, and the following paragraph which

precedes Caxton’s prologue to the chapter on women--“And suffice

you with the translation of the sayinges of thes Philosophres, And

one William Caxton atte desire of my lorde Ryuers / emprinted many

bokes after the tonour and forme of this boke / whiche Willm saide as

foloweth:” then comes Caxton’s chapter.

A different and somewhat earlier translation is in the Ms. department

of the British Museum (Harl. 2266), “late translatyd out of frensh tung

in to englysh the yer of our lord M cccc L to John Fostalf knyght for

his contemplacion and solas by Stevyn Scrope squyer sonne in law to the

seide Fostalle.” Literary taste is not often associated with the name

of Sir John Falstaff.

Thirteen copies of this edition are known--Two in the British Museum,

one at Cambridge, and the remainder in private libraries. The Rev. T.

Corser’s copy, sold in 1868, wanting three leaves, sold for £110.

NO. 9.--FRAGMENT OF A “HORÆ.” _Octavo. Without Printer’s Name,

Place, or Date._ (1478?)

Four leaves only. Type No. 2. Lines very uneven in length, the longest

measuring 2¼ inches; twelve lines to a full page. Without signatures,

catchwords, or numerals.

The evidence which a perfect volume might afford being absent, the

following suggestions by Mr. Bradshaw, of Cambridge, are offered:--From

the small portion remaining of the original, it is impossible to state

with accuracy under what particular class of service-books it should

be ranged. To all appearance it is part of a primer, or “Horæ secundum

consuetudinem Angliæ;” though its diminutive size renders it improbable

that it contained, as well as the Hours, the Litany, the Vigils of the

Dead, and all the miscellaneous prayers usually found in this class

of books. The above fragment will be found to include the following

portions of Suffragia at Lauds:--St. Thomas of Canterbury (the last

few words only), St. Nicholas, St. Mary Magdalene, St. Katharine, St.

Margaret; after which, in the four leaves that are wanting, there is

room for All Saints, the Prayer for Peace, the Versicle and Response,

Benedicamus domino, Deo gracias, and the commencement of the Suffragia

of the Three Kings, the rest thereof occupying, as above, the head

of the second portion of the fragment. Then follow the Suffragia of

St. Barbara and the concluding verse Benedicamꝰ dño Deo gs, with

which the service ends. On comparing this with the Horæ of the same

period it will be seen that these prayers always occur at the end of

Lauds, and are peculiar in their order to the English Church, with the

exception of the Three Kings and St. Barbara, which, in this sequence,

are peculiar to this fragment. Suffragia of the Three Kings, and of

St. Barbara, are found amongst the miscellaneous commemorations in

most of the English primers; but those of St. Barbara, as found in

this fragment, differ altogether from those which occur in other Horæ.

It is well known that the Esterlings were a thriving and influential

corporation in Caxton’s time, consisting of German merchants from

the City of Cologne and the other towns in the Hanseatic League, and

occupying the Steel Yard in Cannon Street as their London residence,

with All Hallows the Great as their parish church, and St. Barbara

as their patron saint. Now in their accustomed service, comprising

Matins and Lauds, the Suffrages of the Three Kings of Cologne, which,

as already remarked, do not commonly occur at those hours, would be

most appropriate, not on account of the name so much as the subject of

the prayer, which is for success in trade, and for peace and health

in travelling;--“concede propitius ... ut itinere quo ituri sumus,

celebritate, letitiâ, gratiâ et pace, ad loca destinata in pace et

salute et negotio bene peracto cum omne prosperitate, salvi et sani

redire valeamus.” This alone proves very little; but when we find that

the next suffrages are those of St. Barbara, whose name never occurs in

the English Lauds, but to whom the Esterlings prayed as their patron

saint, it becomes probable that the fragment before us was part of an

Anglican primer (or Horæ), with additional prayers, for their especial

use. And if these German merchants, in whose country the typographic

art had made great progress, wished to have this, their daily service,

printed, to whom could they go but to Caxton, the only printer then in

England.

Should this view be correct it considerably increases the

bibliographical value of the fragment, which is otherwise of great

interest as being, in all probability, the earliest English-printed

service in existence, and which, from the unevenness in the printing

and the early types, must have been one of the first products of the

Westminster press.

The fragment on which the foregoing remarks have been founded is in the

Bodleian Library (Douce Fragments). When originally extracted from an

old book-cover it formed a half-sheet, but now two quarters.

NO. 10.--CHAUCER’S CANTERBURY TALES. _Folio. Sine ullâ notâ. First

Edition. (1478?)_

COLLATION.--Forty 4ns, one 3n, one 5n, one 3n, one 5n, one 3n,

one 5n, and one 2n, making together 372 leaves, of which the first

only is blank.

TYPOGRAPHICAL PARTICULARS.--There is no title-page. The only type used

is No. 2. The lines in the prose portions are very unevenly spaced, but

the longest measure 5 inches; 29 lines to a full page. Without folios,

signatures, or catchwords. The book commences with a blank leaf, after

which the Text begins thus:--

~Han that Apprill with his shouris sote

~w~ And the droughte of marche hath peid ye rote

And badid euery veyne in suche licour

Of whiche vertu engendrid is the flour~

On the 372nd leaf recto are the following lines, being the conclusion

of the Parson’s tale:--

~tificacion of synne / To that lyf he vs brynge that bought

with his precyous blood Amen.~

~Explicit Tractatus Galfrydi Chaucer de

Penitencia vt dicitur pro fabula Rectoris.~

The reverse is occupied by what is called Chaucer’s retraction,

commencing--

~n~ ~Ow pray J to hem alle that herkene this litil treatyse~

and ending--

~deus . Per omnia secula seculor’ Amen.~

which concludes the volume.

Nine copies are known, of which two are in the British Museum, one at

the Bodleian, one at Merton College, Oxford, and the others in private

libraries.

NO. 11.--THE MORAL PROVERBS OF CRISTYNE. _Folio. “Enprinted by

Caxton At Westmestre,” 1478._

COLLATION.--Two sheets, or four leaves, all printed.

TYPOGRAPHICAL PARTICULARS.--The only type used is No. 2. 28 lines to a

page. Without signatures, catchwords, or folios.

The Text begins, with a head-line on the first recto, thus:--

~The morale prouerbes of Cristyne

~t~ He grete vertus of oure elders notable

Ofte to remembre is thing profitable

An happy hous is . where dwelleth prudence~

and ends on the fourth verso,

~At westmestre . of feuerer the . xx . daye

And of kyng Edward / the . xvij . yere vraye~

~Enprinted by Caxton

In feuerer the colde season~

REMARKS.--Cristyne de Pise was, with the single exception of Joan of

Arc, the most famous woman of her age. She was born A.D. 1363, in

Italy, and, at the early age of fifteen, married Etienne Castel. After

a few happy years her husband was taken from her by death; and now,

although, to quote her own words, “nourri en delices et mignottemens,”

she found herself almost in destitution, with aged parents and three

young children dependent upon her. Fortunately her father, who had

been physician to Charles V of France, had taken great pains in her

education, by which she had well profited. Urged on by necessity,

she devoted herself to a literary life, and soon became famous. Her

writings, which show a vast amount of reading, were ever on the side

of virtue, morality, and peace. Her unimpeachable life assisted the

tendency of her writings, and both were an honour to the age in which

she lived. For many years her labours were incessant. After a last song

of rejoicing on the victories of the French arms under “La Pucelle”

she retired to a convent for the remainder of her days. The date of

her death is unknown. The biographers of Cristyne vie with one another

in her praises. There is a charming monograph upon her, by M. Raimond

Thomassy, entitled “Essai sur les Ecrits Politiques de Christine de

Pisan.” 8vo. Paris, 1838. See also “Les Msc. Franc.,” vol. iv, p. 186;

and “Mém. de l’Acad. des Insc.,” vol. ii, p. 762.

“Les prouerbes moraulx” were originally composed as a supplement to

“Les enseignemens moraux,” written by Cristyne for the instruction of

her son, Jean Castel, who passed a part of his youthful days in the

service of the Earl of Salisbury, in England.

The translation of these proverbs into English by Earl Rivers appears

to have taken place about the same period as his longer effort the

“Dictes of the Philosophers.” And here we may notice that the earl has

been credited by Horace Walpole and Dr. Dibdin with the pedantic design

of making nearly all the lines of his translation end with the letter

“e.” A very cursory examination of the poetry of the fifteenth century

would have shown that the terminal e was common in all writings of that

period.

In the “Fayttes of Arms,” translated and printed by Caxton at a later

period, we meet with another production of the same authoress. The

only copies known of the “Moral Proverbs” are in the libraries of Earl

Spencer, Earl of Jersey, and Mr. Christie-Miller.

NO. 12.--PROPOSITIO JOHANNIS RUSSELL. _Quarto. Without Printer’s

Name, Date, or Place. (147-?)_

COLLATION.--Four printed leaves, the recto of the first and the verso

of the last being blank.

TYPOGRAPHICAL PARTICULARS.--There is no title-page. Only one type,

No. 2, is used. The lines are very irregular in length, a full line

measuring 4 inches. A full page has 22 lines, without signatures or

catchwords. The speech, which is all in one paragraph, bears evidence

of having been printed a page at a time. It commences with a 2-line

space for the insertion of an initial, with a small director, and has

been reprinted in full by Dr. Dibdin.

The Text begins on the first verso:--

~Propositio Clarissimi Oratoris . Magistri Jo

hannis Russell decretorum doctoris ac adtunc

Ambassiatoris xpianissimi Regis Edwardi~

and ends with twelve lines on the fourth recto, of which the last three

are--

~phare ad dei laudem / et exaltationem fidei xpia

ne ⸝ nostri qꝫ seremissimi regis robur . solacium re

uelationem qꝫ / et gloriam plebis sue . amen~

In the eighth volume of the “Censura Literaria,” page 351, appeared the

first public notice of this tract, which till then had been mistaken

for a manuscript. Whether printed at Bruges, which is not unlikely, or

at Westminster is difficult to decide.

John Russell, “Orator clarissimus,” Bishop of Lincoln and Lord

Chancellor, held many offices of trust under three sovereigns. He was

born in the parish of St. Peter’s, Winchester, in the beginning of

the reign of Henry VI, and commenced his education there. At an early

age he went to the University of Oxford, where he obtained the degree

of Doctor of Decrees. In 1449 he was made fellow of New College; was

afterwards appointed to a prebendal stall in Salisbury, and in 1466 to

the Archdeaconry of Berkshire. On the latter appointment he removed to

court, where he was much noticed by Edward IV. In September, 1467, he

was commissioned by the king, together with Lord Hastings, Lord Scales,

and others, to conclude a treaty of marriage between the king’s sister

Margaret and the Duke of Burgundy. A few months later he was engaged

in arranging the trade relationship between this country and Flanders.

It was probably then, if not at an earlier period, that he became

acquainted with our printer. His name appears often after this as

assisting in the negotiation of various treaties. In February, 1469-70,

“Messire Galiard, chevalier; Thomas Vaghan, Escuier et Tresorier de la

Chambre; et Jehan Russell, Docteur en Decret, Arcediacre de Berksuir,”

accompanied by Garter King at Arms, were commissioned by King Edward IV

to invest the Duke of Burgundy with the order of the Garter. On this

occasion the oration which forms the foundation of the present article

was delivered. The investiture took place at Ghent, and here, if Caxton

were present, of which however there is no positive evidence, he would

again make acquaintance with John Russell. In 1476 the Archdeacon

was raised to the bishopric of Rochester, and in 1480 translated to

Lincoln. In March, 1483, he appeared as “Orator” before Pope Sixtus

IV (see _Harleian MS._ No. 433), and was probably in Rome when his

Sovereign, Edward IV, who had appointed him one of his executors,

breathed his last. In the short reign of Edward V he was appointed Lord

Chancellor, to which office he was re-appointed by Richard III. In 1485

he retired to private life, and died in January 1494. He was interred

in Lincoln Cathedral, under an altar tomb in the Chantry Chapel,

founded by him on the south side of the Lady Chapel.

He was the first Chancellor of Oxford appointed for life, in which

university he was very popular. England also should keep his name

in memory if only for the great change he initiated in promulgating

the statutes of the realm in the vulgar tongue, instead of Latin or

French, a practice continued ever after. Sir Thomas More thus draws his

character: “A wyse man and a good, and of much experyence; and one of

the best learned menne undoubtedly that Englande had in hys time.”

An interesting autograph, as showing the Archdeacon at Bruges in 1467,

when Caxton was governor, occurs in a volume of “Cicero de Officiis,”

in the Public Library of Cambridge:--“Empt’ p Jo. Ruscel . archidiaconū

berkshyrie apud oppidū bruggense flandrie a° 1467 mens’ Ap^il’ 17° die.”

A fine uncut copy is in the magnificent library of Earl Spencer. It

appears to have been bound up by mistake in a volume of blank paper

intended for manuscript alone, being in the original binding, and the

whole volume otherwise consisting of the common manuscript hand of the

fifteenth century, which affords no indication of local execution. It

was discovered in cataloguing the library of John Brand, which was sold

in 1807, and where it appeared among the manuscripts (Part I, Lot 30),

“A work on Theology and Religion, with five leaves at the end, a very

great curiosity, very early printed on wooden blocks or type.” The

Marquis of Blandford bought it at the reasonable price of £2 5_s._ At

the sale of his library in 1819 (Lot 5752), Earl Spencer was obliged

to give £126 for it. It was for many years considered as unique, until

another copy was discovered in the library at Holkham, these two being

the only copies known.

NO. 13.--STANS PUER AD MENSAM--MORAL DISTICHS--SALVE REGINA.

_Quarto. Sine ullâ notâ. (Ante 1479.)_

COLLATION.--Four leaves, all printed.

There is no title-page. Type No. 2 only is used. There are 23 lines

to a page, or three stanzas in “Balad Royal,”[14] with a blank line

between the stanzas. Long lines measure 4 inches. Without signatures or

catchwords.

The Text begins, on the first recto, thus:--

~. Stans puer ad mensam .

~m~ I dere childe first thy self enable

With all thin herte to vertuoꝰ discipline

Afore thy souerayn stondyng at the table~

The poem concludes with two stanzas on the third recto, the latter of

which is:--

~Go litill bylle bareyn of eloquence

Pray yong children that the shal see or rede

Though thou be not compendious of sentence

Of the clawses for to take hede

Which to alle vertue shal thy yongth lede

Of the wrytyng though ther be no date

Yf ought be amys put the faute in lidgate

. Explicit .~

MORAL DISTICHS immediately follow the above, and fill up the page. The

whole is here given.

~Aryse erly And aryse temperatly

Serue god deuoutly And to thy soup soberly

The world besily And to thy bed merily

Goo thy way sadly And be there iocondly

Answere demurely And slepe sewrly

Go to thy mete appetently . Explicit .~

The SALVE REGINA begins on the verso of the preceding, at the head of

the page.

~. An holy Salue regina in englissh .~

~Alue with all obeisance to god i humblesse

Regina to regne euyr more in blysse

Mater to crist as we byleue expresse~

The “Salue” ends at the foot of the 4th recto,

~Mater of lyf and eterne creacion

Salue euer as feir as we can suffyse . Amen.~

The reverse of this leaf gives the following:--

~Wytte hath wonder and kynde ne can

How mayden is moder and god is man

Leue thyn askyng and beleue that wonder

For myght hath maistry & skyll goth vnder

. Deo laus &c .~

This is followed by six proverbial couplets, the last being--

~Knowe er thou knytte & than thou maist slake

Yf thou knyt er thou knowe than it is to late~

This finishes the Text as it stands in the only two copies known.

From the absence of the word ~Explicit~, or any other similar ending

which Caxton made a rule of placing at the end of his works, great

and small, it is not unlikely that this piece is imperfect. This

is rendered more probable by the absence of the blank leaf at the

beginning, which, supposing a printed leaf wanting at the end, would be

its counterpart. At the same time it should be noticed that the only

two known copies agree in this deficiency, and that Wynken de Worde,

who reprinted from Caxton’s edition, concludes in the same abrupt

way; though it is not impossible that he printed from an imperfect

copy, and did not know it, as in this very tract he has reproduced,

with his usual carelessness, an accidental error of Caxton’s edition.

Caxton, in printing, had transposed the two pages of the second leaf,

proving that, even in the quarto size, he had not arrived at the art of

printing more than one page a time, and Wynken de Worde blindly repeats

the mistake.

Among the many pieces which make up the catalogue of Lydgate’s works

must be included “Stans Puer ad Mensam,” as the two concluding lines

prove:--

“Of the writing, though there be no date,

If ought be amiss put the fault in lydgate.”

Dan John Lydgate, who knew Chaucer in his old age, and may have been

acquainted with Caxton in his youth, was an indefatigable rhymester.

Ritson gives a list of 251 pieces attributed to his pen. The dates of

his birth and death are equally obscure, and the only fact concerning

him, of any certainty, is that he was born at Lidgate, near Bury St.

Edmunds, whence he doubtless derived his name. (_Harl. MS._ 2251, folio

283.)

The “Stans Puer” is a translation of the “Carmen juvenile de moribus

puerorum” of Sulpitius, of which the first edition was probably printed

at Aquila in 1483. But the type used for Caxton’s tract (the last dated

use of which, in its first state was in 1479) proves it to have been

printed at least some years previous to the impression at Aquila; so

that we may fairly consider this as the “editio princeps” of the tract.

It was reprinted by Wynken de Worde three times early in the succeeding

century.

The “Salve Regina,” in its style and metre, closely resembles the

acknowledged pieces of Lydgate, and was also, in all probability, from

his pen.

The copy in the University Library of Cambridge is the only one known,

and though now in a separate binding, was formerly in a volume of poems

all printed by Caxton, of which an account is here appended.

Bishop Moore’s library, rich in old black-letter poems, contained,

among its other treasures, one priceless little volume, in quarto,

bound in plain brown calf, and lettered on the back “Old poetry printed

by Caxton.” The collection appears to have been made before it came

into the bishop’s possession; but the fact of the poems being bound

together led Middleton and all succeeding writers to describe them as

one work. Mr. Bradshaw’s careful examination, however, showed that the

volume contained eight distinct publications, which have since been

bound separately. Some of these are unique, and some are found alone

in other collections. Before re-binding, the volume contained the

following pieces in the following order:--

I. Stans Puer ad Mensam; Moral Distichs; The Salve Regina. II. Parvus

Catho and Magnus Catho. III. The Chorle and the Bird. IV. The

Horse the Goose and the Sheep; Stanzas; The proper use of certain

nouns; The proper use of certain verbs. V. The Temple of Glass.

VI. The Temple of Brass; A treatise which John Skogan sent unto

the lords and gentlemen ... exhorting them to use virtues in their

youth; The good counsel of Chaucer; Balad of the village without

painting. VII. The Book of Courtesy. VIII. Anelida and Arcyte and

The Complaint of Chaucer to his purse.

There is nothing to show in what order these tracts were printed. Being

all in verse we can draw no conclusions from irregularity of spacing,

and even where two editions were printed it is sometimes impossible to

say which had precedence. That they were _all_ printed before February

2nd, 1479, we may safely assume, as they are, without exception, in the

early state of type No. 2, which then made its last dated appearance

in “Cordyale;” and that many were among Caxton’s first essays seems

probable from their popular nature, and the small amount of labour

required in their production. For these reasons they are treated

consecutively, together with three other editions, in Nos. 14 to 25,

those pieces whose longest lines all measure 4 inches being placed

before those measuring 3¾ inches.

NO. 14.--PARVUS CATHO.--MAGNUS CATHO. _Quarto. First Edition. Sine

ullâ notâ. (Ante 1479.)_

COLLATION.--Three 4ns and one 5n = 34 leaves, of which the first

was doubtless blank, though wanting in the only known copy.

There is no title-page. The type is No. 2 only. Full lines measure

4 inches, and each page contains 23 lines, counting the blank line

between the stanzas. Without signatures or catchwords.

The Text commences with title-line on the second recto, a blank leaf

having originally preceded it--

~. Hic Jncipit paruus Catho .~

~Cu aiadutere qua plurimos hoies guiter errare

Whan J aduerte to my remembrance

And see how fele folkes erren greuously~

“Parvus Catho” terminates in the middle of the third recto,

~Whan ye it rede let not your hert be thense

But doth as this saith with al your hole entente~

~. Hic finis parui cathonis .~

making in all seven stanzas, in “Balad Royal.”

“Magnus Catho” immediately follows on the verso, with space left for

the insertion of a 2-line initial ~S~ with director.

~. Hic Jncipit magnus Catho .~

~s~ ~J deus est aimus nobis vt carmina dicut

Hic tibi precipue fit pura mente colendus

For thy that god is inwardly the wit~

The Text ends on the 34th verso,

~Here haue J fonde that shal you guyde & lede

Streight to gode fame and leue you in hir hous

. Explicit Catho .~

The work is in four books, containing 42, 39, 27, and 52 stanzas of

“Balad Royal,” each of which is headed by a couplet from the original

Latin.

The “distichs” of Cato were very popular for many centuries. Their

author, and even the origin of their title, is entirely lost, though

some of their stanzas are traced as far back as the second or third

century of the Christian era. In the middle ages they were used as a

school-book, to teach Latin, as well as to inculcate moral maxims;

so that to be unacquainted with “Cato” was synonymous with general

ignorance. Chaucer continually mentions the work. “He knew not Catoun,

for his wyt was rude,” says the miller of the rich “Gnof.” These

remarks apply to “Magnus Cato” only. About 1180 Daniel Churche, an

ecclesiastic attached to the court of Henry II, added a few Latin

precepts as introductory to the original, and from that period the

two were mostly transcribed together, being distinguished as “Parvus

Cato” and “Magnus Cato.” Of the English version of these “distichs”

we cannot have a better account than that given us by Caxton himself

in his preface to “Cathon” glossed; “which book,” he says, “hath been

translated out of Latin into English by Master Benet Burgh, ... which

full craftily hath made it in Balad Royal for the erudition of my

Lord Boucher son and heir at that time to my Lord the Earl of Essex.”

This translation of Benet Burgh is the text printed by Caxton, twice

in quarto, and once in folio with woodcuts, before he undertook the

translation of the extensive French Gloss, which will be brought to the

reader’s notice under the year 1484.

“Maister Benet Burgh” was Vicar of Malden, in Essex, when he

translated “Cato,” as we learn from the colophon in _Harl. MS._, No.

271. He afterwards filled the offices of Archdeacon of Colchester,

1464; Prebendary of St. Paul’s, 1472; and soon after High Canon of

St. Stephen’s, Westminster. He appears to have been an author as well

as a translator. The following is the title of a poem in _Harl. MS._

7333, folio 149_b_--“A cristemasse game made by Maister Benet: howe god

almyghty seyde to his apostelys and echeū off them were baptiste and

none knew of othir, &c.” He also appears to have written a considerable

portion of the poetical translation of “De regimine principum”

attributed to Lydgate, as we infer from _Harl. MS._ 2251, folio 236,

in which occurs this side-note, in the same handwriting as the body of

the poem--“Here deyde the translato^r a noble Poet Dane John Lydgate

And his folower gan his prolog in this wise p’ Benedictū Burgh.” He or

Lydgate also wrote an original fourth book to “Catho Magnus,” which,

although not printed by Caxton, may be seen in several manuscripts.

Ritson, indeed (_Bib. Poet._, page 66), ascribes the whole to Lydgate.

It does not seem improbable that the printing of “Parvus et Magnus

Catho” was undertaken by desire of “High Canon Burgh,” who, holding

a canonry in Westminster, was likely to have become acquainted with

Caxton.

The only EXISTING COPY is in the Public Library, Cambridge (AB. 8. 48.

2). It is _perfect_, but without the original blank leaf, and measures

8¼ × 5½ inches. For an account of the volume which contained it, see

page 198 _ante_.

NO. 15.--PARVUS CATHO.--MAGNUS CATHO. _Quarto. Second Edition. Sine

ullâ notâ. (Ante 1479.)_

COLLATION.--Three 4ns and one 5n = 34 leaves, of which the first

was doubtless blank, although wanting in the only known copy.

TYPOGRAPHICAL PARTICULARS.--The variation in this edition is only

typographical. The poem is reprinted page for page, and line for line,

yet the composition of the type is different throughout.

The only EXISTING COPY known is in the library of the Duke of

Devonshire, at Chatsworth, where it is bound with the quarto edition

of “Stans Puer,” already described. It came from the old library at

Hardwicke Hall. In the _Harleian Catalogue_ (III. 6202) the above two

tracts appear together--probably this very copy.

NO. 16.--THE HORSE, THE SHEEP, AND THE GOOSE.--VARIOUS STANZAS.--THE

PROPER APPLICATION OF CERTAIN NOUNS SUBSTANTIVE, AND VERBS.

_First Edition. Quarto. Sine ullâ notâ. (Ante 1479.)_

COLLATION.--One 4n and one 5n = 18 leaves, of which the first was

doubtless blank, although wanting in the only known copy.

TYPOGRAPHICAL PARTICULARS.--There is no title-page. The type is all

No. 2. Full lines measure 4 inches, and each page contains 23 lines,

inclusive of the blank line between the stanzas. Without signatures or

catchwords.

THE HORSE, THE SHEEP, AND THE GOOSE commences on the second recto, the

first leaf being blank.

The Text begins, with space for a 2-line initial, with director,

~c~ ~Ontreversies / plees and discordes

Bitwene persones were two or thre

Sought out the groundes be recordes

This was the custom of antiquite~

On the fourteenth leaf verso,

~Alle in one vessell to speke in wordes pleyn

That no man sholde of other haue disdayn~

~.Thus endeth the horse the ghoos & the sheep.~

There are in this poem 77 stanzas of seven lines each.

VARIOUS STANZAS follow, ending on the sixteenth recto, the verso being

occupied with short sentences, as “An herde of Hertes. A murther of

crowes. A byldyng of rooks,” &c. The whole ends on the eighteenth

verso--

~a Cony vnlaced Yf he take the londe he

a Heron dismembrid fleeth. Explicit.~

The only EXISTING COPY is in the Public Library, Cambridge (AB. 8. 48.

4), and was formerly bound, with other pieces, in a volume already

described at page 51.

The whole of these fugitive pieces are attributed to the prolific pen

of Dan John Lydgate.

NO. 17.--THE HORSE, THE SHEEP, AND THE GOOSE.--VARIOUS STANZAS.--THE

PROPER APPLICATION OF CERTAIN NOUNS SUBSTANTIVE, AND VERBS.

_Quarto. Second Edition. (Ante 1479.)_

COLLATION.--One 4n and one 5n = 18 leaves, of which the first is

blank.

TYPOGRAPHICAL PARTICULARS.--These are the same as in the first

edition, with the exception of the orthography and the use of a

title-line, which in the other edition is altogether wanting, a

sufficient reason for attributing this to a later period; for, had the

first edition been printed with a head-line, we may certainly assume

that the improved appearance would not have been omitted by Caxton in

the reprint. In this edition we find the sixth leaf, noticed as wanting

in the only known copy of the first edition.

The text begins on the second recto,

~The hors . the shepe & the ghoos.~

~Ontreversies . plees and discordes

Bitwene persones were two or thre

Sought out the groundes be recordes

This was the custom of antiquite~

and ends with ~Explicit~ on the eighteenth recto.

There is a fragment of six leaves in the University Library, Cambridge,

and a perfect copy, with the original leaf, in the Cathedral Library,

York, a reprint of which was presented by Sir M. M. Sykes to the

members of the Roxburgh Club.

NO. 18.--INFANCIA SALVATORIS. _Quarto. Without Printer’s Name, Date,

or Place. (147-?)_

COLLATION.--Eighteen printed leaves, unsigned, with a blank both at

beginning and end.

The type is all No. 2. There are 22 lines of uneven length to a full

page, and a long line measures 3¾ inches. Without signatures, folios,

or catchwords.

The Text begins thus on the recto of the first printed leaf:--

~Hic Jncipit Tractatus qui Jntitulatur

Jnfancia saluatoris .~

~Xijt edictu a Cesare Augusto vt de

~e~ scriberetur vniusus orbis Hec autem

descripcio prima facta est a preside .

Sirie Cirino . Et ibant oms ut pfiterentur

Singuli in ciuitatem sua Ascendit et Joseph~

and ends with a full page on the eighteenth recto.

~Ecclesiastici vij° . Si filii tibi sint . erudi

illos et curva illos a puericia illor’ . Si filie

tibi sint ⸝ serua corpus illar’ et non ostendant

hilarem faciem tuam ad illas . Gregorius .

Quauis q’s iustus sit . tu in hac vita no debet

esse securꝰ qꝫ nescit quo fine sit terminandus .~

This printed tract differs entirely from the MS. in the British Museum,

_Royal_ 13 A xiv, “De Xti infantia,” but agrees partially with the

“Evangelium Infantiæ” attributed to St. James, and printed in vol. i of

the “Codex apocryphus Novi Testamenti,” by Fabricius.

The only EXISTING COPY known is in the Royal University Library,

Göttingen. It is in good condition, and was purchased in 1746 of

Osborne, for this library, at 15s (?). Ames described this very

copy when in the library of Lord Oxford, but neither Herbert nor

Dibdin could hear of its existence, nor discover it in the Harleian

Catalogue. It is there nevertheless, among the “Libri Latini. Quarto,”

and thus described, “Infantia Salvatoris Tractatus, _corio turcico,

deaurat_. _Lond. apud Caxton, sine Loco._” (See _Catalogus Bibliothecæ

Harleianæ_, vol. v, page 252, No. 7008.)

NO. 19.--THE TEMPLE OF GLASS. _Quarto. Sine ullâ notâ. (Ante 1479.)_

COLLATION.--Three 4ns and one 5n unsigned, or 34 leaves, of which

the 1st is (?) blank.

TYPOGRAPHICAL PARTICULARS.--There is no title-page. The type is No. 2

only. Full lines measure 4 inches, and each page contains 23 lines.

Without signatures or catchwords.

After the blank the poem commences on the 2nd recto, with space for a

2-line initial, with director:--

~. The temple of glas .~

~f~ ~Or thought constreynt & greuous heuynes

For pensifhed and high distres

To bed J went now this other nyght~

The Text ends at the foot of the 34th recto,

~J mene that benygne and goodly of face

Now go thy way and put the in her grace~

~. Explicit the temple of glas .~

There seems no doubt that this was one of the less favoured

compositions of Dan John, although by some writers it has been

attributed to Hawes. It was reprinted by Wynken de Worde.

The only EXISTING COPY is in the Public Library, Cambridge (AB. 8. 48.

5). It is _perfect_, excepting the blank (?) leaf, and was formerly

bound with other pieces in a volume already described at page 201.

Measurement 8¼ × 5½ inches.

NO. 20.--THE CHORLE AND THE BIRD. _Quarto. First Edition. Sine ullâ

notâ. (Ante 1479.)_

COLLATION.--One 5n, or 10 leaves, of which the 1st is blank.

TYPOGRAPHICAL PARTICULARS.--There is no title-page. The type used is

No. 2 only. Full lines measure 4 inches, and each page contains three

verses of “Balad Royal,” or 23 lines, including a blank line between

the stanzas. Without signatures or catchwords.

After the blank the poem commences on the 2nd recto, space being left,

with a director, for the insertion of a 2-line initial.

The Text begins thus:--

~p~ ~Roblemes of olde liknes and figures

Whiche prouyd ben fructuoꝰ of sentence~

The Text ends on the 10th verso,

~Goo litell quayer and recomande me

Unto my maister with humble affection

Beseke hym lowly of mercy and pyte

Of thy rude makyng to haue compassion

And as touching thy translacion

Out of frenssh / how that hit englisshid be

Alle thing is said vnder correction

With supportacion of his benygnyte~

~. Explicit the chorle and the birde .~

This fable is always included among the compositions of Lydgate. It was

reprinted by Pynson, and a copy in the Grenville Library (11226) has

the following autograph note:--“The same story is told by Alphonsus in

his fable of the labourer and the nightingale, and in Gesta Romanorum,

cap. 169.” A perfect copy is at Cambridge, taken from the volume of

poems already described at p. 201, and a fragment is in the British

Museum.

NO. 21.--THE CHORLE AND THE BIRD. _Quarto. Second Edition. Sine ullâ

notâ. (Ante 1479.)_

The similarity of these two editions is exact so far as the number of

stanzas, number of lines to a page, and the general state of the text;

but there is an evident variation in the typographical minutiæ, such

as the omission of the director, the use of full-points and colons as

ornamentation, and above all the constant variation in orthography.

Take the 1st line as an example:--

Ed. 1. ~p~ ~Roblemes of olde liknes and figures~

Ed. 2. ~roblemes of olde liknes and figures~

and the last line,

Ed. 1. ~. Explicit the chorle and the birde .~

Ed. 2. ~Explicit the Chorle and the birde .:.~

The only known EXISTING COPY is in the Chapter Library at York. It

is _perfect_, with the original blank. A reprint from this copy was

presented to the Roxburghe Club by Sir M. M. Sykes.

NO. 22.--THE TEMPLE OF BRASS, OR THE PARLIAMENT OF FOWLS. SOME

BALADS. ENVOY OF CHAUCER TO SKOGAN. _Quarto. Sine ullâ notâ.

(Ante 1479.)_

TYPOGRAPHICAL PARTICULARS.--There is no title-page. The type used is

No. 2 only. Full lines measure 3¾ inches, instead of 4 inches, as in

the former pieces, and each page contains 23 lines. Without signatures

or catchwords.

The Text begins on the first recto, without a blank leaf,--

~he lyf so short the craft so loge to lerne

Thassaye so hard so sharp the conqueryng~

On the 17th recto,

~Explicit the temple of bras~

The Tract ends on 24th verso,

~Was neuer erst scogan blamed for his toge~

Doubtless the poem did not end here, but the copy at Cambridge is

imperfect, having only 24 leaves, besides which there are a few leaves

at the British Museum, but no perfect copy has yet been discovered.

NO. 23.--THE BOOK OF COURTESY. _Quarto. First Edition. Sine ullâ

notâ. (Ante 1479.)_

COLLATION.--One 4n and one 3n = 14 leaves, of which the last is blank.

TYPOGRAPHICAL PARTICULARS.--There is no title-page. The type is all No.

2. Full lines measure 3¾ inches. 23 lines to a page, including a blank

line between the stanzas. Without signatures or catchwords.

The Text begins thus:--

~l~ ~ytyl John syth your tendre enfancye

Stondeth as yet vnder ⸝ in difference

To vice or vertu to meuyn or applye~

The Text ends on the 13th recto,

~And how to hurte / lyeth euer in a wayte

Kepe your quayer / that it be not ther bayte~

~Explicit the book of curtesye.~

The 13th verso and the 14th leaf are blank.

The only EXISTING COPY is in the Public Library, Cambridge (AB. 8. 48.

7), and was formerly in the volume of tracts described at page 201.

NO. 24.--QUEEN ANELIDA AND FALSE ARCYTE.--THE COMPLAINT OF CHAUCER

TO HIS PURSE. _Quarto. Sine ullâ notâ. (Ante 1479.)_

COLLATION.--One 5n or 10 leaves, all printed.

TYPOGRAPHICAL PARTICULARS.--There is no title-page. The type is No.

2 only. Full lines measure 3¾ inches, 23 lines to a page. Without

signatures or catchwords. Space is left at the commencement for a

2-line initial.

The Text begins:--

~t~ ~hou fiers god of armes / mars the rede

That in the frosty contre called trace

Within thy grysly temple full of drede~

The Text ends on the 9th recto,

~How that arcite / anelida so sore

Hath thirled with the peynt of remebrace~

~Thus endeth the compleynt of anelida~

On the same page is Chaucer’s “Complaint to his Purse,” in three

stanzas of “Balad Royal,” the tract ending with

~Et sic est finis .˙.˙~

on the 10th recto.

The only EXISTING COPY known is in the Public Library, Cambridge, and

was formerly in the volume of tracts described at page 201.

NO. 25.--BOETHIUS DE CONSOLACIONE PHILOSOPHIÆ, TRANSLATED INTO

ENGLISH BY GEOFFREY CHAUCER. _Folio. “I William Caxton have done

my devoir to enprinte it.” Without Place or Date. (Ante 1479.)_

COLLATION.--Eleven 4ns and one 3n = 94 leaves, of which the first

is blank.

TYPOGRAPHICAL PARTICULARS.--Without title-page, signatures, catchwords,

or folios. Two types are used, No. 2 for the body and No. 3 for the

Latin quotations. The lines are not spaced to one length. Full lines

measure 5 inches, and there are 29 to a page. Space has been left at

the commencement of chapters for the insertion of 2-line initials.

After a blank leaf the Text commences with the title in Latin in type

No. 3, on the 2nd recto, the English translation being uniformly in

type No. 2:--

~Boecius de consolacione philosophie~

~Carmina qui quondam studio florente peregi

Flebilis heu mestos cogor inire modos~

~a~ ~Llas I wepying am constrained to begynne vers

of soroufull matere· That whylom in flourisshing

studye made delitable ditees / For lo rendyng muses of~

On the 93rd recto, third line,

~eyen of the Jugge that seeth and also that demeth alle

thynges ⸝ Deo gracias~

~Explicit boecius de

consolacione philosophie~

Caxton has added an interesting epilogue, which occupies the remainder

of the recto and the whole of the verso, being followed, on the 94th

recto, by the “Epitaphiū Galfridi Chaucer,” printed in type No. 3,

which concludes on the verso, and the last few lines of which are:--

~Post obitum Caxton voluit te viuere cura

Willelmi . Chaucer clare poeta tuj

Nam tua non solum compressit opuscula formis

Has quoqz sz laudes . iussit hic esse tuas~

This epitaph was written by a brother poet, Stephen Surigo, Lic. Decr.,

of Milan, and is most interesting as showing, in connection with the

previous epilogue from the pen of Caxton himself, that not only did

he perpetuate the memory of the great poet by printing his works, but

that he also raised a public monument to his memory before St. Benet’s

Chapel, in Westminster Abbey, in the shape of a pillar supporting a

tablet upon which the above “Epitaphye” was written.

There are few ancient authors whose works received greater attention in

the fifteenth century than those of Boethius. M. Paris gives an account

of five different translations of the “De Consolatione” into French

verse, all of that age, and contained in the Bib. Imp., Paris.

Every library of the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, of which we

have any account, appears to have contained a copy: many had several.

In the Ducal Library, Bruges, 1467, was a manuscript with this title,

“Boece de Consolacion en englois,” which is not unlikely to have been

the translation of Chaucer.

Some writers, and among them Dibdin (“Typ. Ant.” Vol. I, page 306),

have doubted whether Chaucer was the real translator of the version

under review, but none of the manuscripts attribute it to any

other writer; and, not to quote the express mention of it in the

“Retractation,” Chaucer himself includes it among his works in the

following couplet (line 425) from the “Legend of Good Women:”--

And for to speke of other holynesse

He hath in prose translated Boece.

In this translation Chaucer appears to have chosen the original Latin

for his text. He certainly did not take it from any of the French

versions noticed above, nor from those described by M. Paris; nor is

it, as Dibdin suggests, from the anonymous translation printed by

Colard Mansion in 1477. But from whatever source derived, it was, if we

may judge from the many copies extant, very favourably received. Our

printer especially took great delight in what he terms the “ornate and

fayr” language of the poet, and in the epilogue to his edition he has

left us a most interesting tribute of his admiration.

There are three copies of this book in the British Museum one at

Cambridge, two at the Bodleian, one at Exeter, and one at Magdalen

College, Oxford; one at Ripon Minster, one at Sion College, London, and

six in private hands. The copy discovered at the St. Alban’s Grammar

School was sold to the British Museum, and was remarkable for the

largest “find” of printed fragments in the boards with which the book

was bound, ever recorded.[15]

NO. 26.--CORDYALE, OR THE FOUR LAST THINGS. _Folio. With Printer’s

Name, but without Place. March 24th, 1479._

COLLATION.--Nine 4ns and one 3n = 78 leaves, of which the 1st and

last are blank.

TYPOGRAPHICAL PARTICULARS.--There is no title-page. Two types are used,

Nos. 2* and 3, the latter for proper names and Latin only. The lines

are not spaced out to one length. A full line measures 5 inches. Mostly

29 lines to a page, but sometimes 28. Without signatures, catchwords,

or folios. Space left for the insertion of 3 and 4-line initials, with

director. Commencing with a blank leaf the prologue of the translator

follows on the 2nd recto, space being left for a 4-line ~A~.

The Text begins thus:---

~Prologue of the Translator.~

~L Ingratitude vtterly settyng apart / we owe

~a~ to calle to our myndes the manyfolde gyftes

of grace ⸝ with the benefaittis . that our lorde

of his moost plentiueuse bonte hath ymen vs

wretches m this present transitoire lif . Whiche Remem~

The Text ends with twenty lines on the 77th verso, the last eight of

which are--

~lasting permanence in heuen Amen. Whiche werke pre-

sent I began the morn after the saide Purificacionof our

blissid Lady. Whiche was the the daye of Seint Blase

Bisshop and Martir. And fiinsshed on the euen of than

nunciacion of our said bilissid Lady fallyng on the wed

nesday the xxiiij daye of Marche. In the xix yeer of

Kyng Edwarde the fourthe~

The 78th leaf, which closes the volume, is blank.

The French edition of this work (see page 185, _ante_) was, if

similarity of workmanship in all points may justify the conclusion,

before the printer while at work upon this, the English, edition.

Dr. Dibdin, to whom the French edition was unknown, says that Earl

Rivers translated from the Latin; but as all the other productions of

the Earl’s pen printed by Caxton were from the French, there would

be strong grounds for supposing that this had come through the same

channel, were not the fact established by its not being a literal

translation of any Latin edition, while it is an accurate reproduction,

line for line and almost word for word, of the French edition.

About the date also there has been some confusion. Maittaire and

Panzer attribute the printing to 1478, Lewis to 1479, Dibdin to 1480;

and Lord Orford thinks Caxton, unless he was two years employed upon

it, has made a typographical error in the date. The dates in reality

are very plain. Caxton says that Lord Rivers delivered the English

translation to him to be printed, upon the day of “The Purification,”

which is further stated to have been the 2nd day of February, 1478;

but as the year did not then begin until the 25th of March, it would,

according to the present reckoning, be February, 1479. The printing was

begun the very next day, on the “morning after the said Purification,”

and completed upon the 24th day of March, in the nineteenth year of

Edward IV. This regnal year was comprised between March 4th, 1479, and

March 3rd, 1480, thus again giving the year 1479 for the completion of

the book. From this it is evident that instead of taking over two years

for the printing it occupied Caxton just seven weeks. The epilogue to

this book was written entirely by Caxton.

For the literary history of “Cordyale,” see the remarks on “Les Quatre

Derrenieres Choses,” already noticed.

Copies are in the British Museum, Cambridge, Bodleian, and Hunterian

Museum, Glasgow. Five are in private libraries.

NO. 27.--FRATRIS LAURENTII GULIELMI DE SAONA MARGARITA ELOQUENTIÆ

CASTIGATÆ AD ELOQUENDUM DIVINA ACCOM- MODATA. _Folio. Sine ullâ

notâ. (1479-80?)_

COLLATION.--One 3n, one sheet, eleven 5ns, and one 3n = 124 leaves.

TYPOGRAPHICAL PARTICULARS.--There is no title-page. Type No. 2* only

is used. The lines, of which there are 29 to a page, are in most

cases of uneven length, although in some pages they are spaced out

very regularly. Long lines measure 5 inches. Without signatures or

catchwords. Space is left, with a director, for the insertion of

initials 3 or 4 lines in depth. The hyphen is in this volume not

unfrequently used instead of the / or ⸝ , as a mark of punctuation.

Chapters generally commence with a line, or two or three words, in

capital letters; and the ends of paragraphs are often ornamented with

an array of points; for instance, .:˙:.:˙:.

The Text begins on the 1st recto, with the prohemium,--

~Fratris laurencij guilelmi de saona ordinis

mior fac^e theo^e doctois phemiu i noua rthoica~

~c~

~Ogitanti michi sepenumero-ac diligenciꝰ con-

templati q’tu comoditatis q’tuqz splendoris & glorie afferre~

On the 5th verso,

~EXPLJCJT PROHEMJUM .:.~

On the 53rd recto,

~JNCJPJT SECUNDUS LJBER rhe-

torice facultatis : Jn quo specialiter auctor agit de hijs que~

The Second Book ends and the Third begins on the 83rd recto,

~JNCJPJT LJBER tercius rhetorice faculta~

On the 135th recto is a concluding chapter, the Text ending, on the

verso of the 136th leaf, thus:--

~in trinitate perfecta uiuit et regnat per infinita secula secu-

lorum. AMEN.~

~Explicit liber tercius : et opus rhetorice facultatis p fra

tre laurentiu Guilelmi de Saona ordinis minor sacre pa

gine pfessore ex dictis testimonijsqꝫ sacratissimar scriptu-

rar / doctorqꝫ pbatissimor compilatu et ꝯfirmatu : quibus

ex causis censuit appellandu fore Margaritam eloquentie

castigate ad eloquendu diuina accomodatam~

~Compilatu ant’ fuit hoc opus in alma uniuersitate Can

tabrigie . Anno dni . 14 ^ 8 die et . 6 . Julii . quo die

festum Sancte Marthe recolit^r. Sub protectione Senissi

mi regis anglorum Eduardi quarti~

REMARKS.--There can be no doubt in the mind of any one acquainted with

the Westminster books that this issued from Caxton’s press. It agrees

with them not only in character of type, but in length of line, depth

of page, and other typographical peculiarities. Nor is there much

uncertainty about the date. It was not written till July, 1478, and

the first dated book in the types with which it is printed (Type No.

2*) made its first appearance in March, 1479, the latest dated book

in the preceding Type (No. 2) being February, 1478. In 1480 Caxton

discontinued entirely the practice of leaving his lines of an uneven

length, but the majority of pages in this volume have their lines

uneven. The book was therefore printed after July, 1478, and before or

very early in 1480.