A Mumming at Eltham:
Physical Description
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The transcription of this work is owned by the editor and
licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0
International License. The images are (c) British Library Board (British
Library Additional MS 29729) and rights are reserved.
London, British Library Additional 29729
Introduction
Manuscript Contents
- f.3r-4v
- The difficulty of choosing a profession in religion. Twenty-one eight-line stanzas.
- 4v-5r
- John Lydgate, "How the plage was sesyd in Rome." One eight-line stanza and five rhyme royal stanzas.
- 6r-6v
- Benedict Burgh's poem in praise of Lydgate. Eight rhyme royal stanzas.
- 6v-7r
- John Gower (attr.) "Balade moral of gode counseyle." Five rhyme royal stanzas. This is attributed to John Gower in Oxford Bodleian Ashmole 59.
- 7r-8r
- "Remember man thow art but wormes mete." Eight rhyme royal stanzas.
- 8r-9r
- John Skelton (attr.), The lamentation of the soul of Edward IV. Twelve-line stanzas. Robert S. Kinsman notes that Skelton replaces Lydgate in the attribution here, stating that "Stowe struck through the faulty name and and inserted the name of Skelton with his own hand," before going on to note that it is an impossibility that a poem concerning Edward IV was written by Lydgate or Shirley, who both predeceased him (97).
- 9v-10r
- John Lydgate, "Balade of the Image of Our Lady." five eight-line stanzas.
- 10r-10v
- John Lydgate, "Rammeshorne." Seven eight-line stanzas.
- 11r-16r
- John Lydgate, "Fifteen O's of Christ." Forty-two eight-line stanzas.
- 16r
- On the properties of wine. One eight-line stanzas.
- 17r-83r
- John Lydgate, . 4716 lines in couplets.
- 84r-86r
- John Lydgate, "To Henry VI on his Coronation." eighteen eight-line stanzas.
- 87r-120r
- .
- 122r-123r
- John Lydgate, . 5936 lines in rhyme royal, with the "Magnificat" in eight-line stanzas.
- 123r-124r
- John Lydgate, "A song of Iust Measure." Eight-line stanzas.
- 124v-126r
- John Lydgate, "Amor et Pecunia." Seventeen eight-line stanzas.
- 126r-126v
- The Testament of one about to die. Four rhyme royal stanzas.
- 126v-127v
- John Lydgate's paraphrase of the Eight Verses of St. Bernard.
- 127v-129v
- John Lydgate, "That now is hay þat sumtyme was grasse." Seventeen eight-line stanzas.
- 129v-130r
- John Lydgate, "On the Image of Pity." Five eight-line stanzas.
- 130r-130v
- John Lydgate or R. Stokys, Five rhyme royal stanzas.
- 130v-131r
- John Lydgate or an anchoress of Maunsfeld, A hymn of the Five Joys. Five eight-line stanzas.
- 131r-131v
- John Lydgate or Sheryngham, "Why artow froward sith I am mercyable?" Five eight-line stanzas.
- 131v-132r
- John Lydgate "Tyed with a line." Twelve rhyme royal stanzas.
- 132r
- John Lydgate, Four things that make a man a fool. One rhyme royal stanza.
- John Lydgate, Four things that make a man a fool. One rhyme royal stanza. This is different than the previous entry, but both this witness and Trinity R.3.20 attribute it to Lydgate.
- 132v
- "Balade de bone counseyle." One rhyme royal stanza.
- 132v-134r
- 134r-135v
- 135v-136v
- 136v-140r
- 140r-144r
- John Lydgate, "A Mumming at London." 342 lines in couplets.
- 144r-145v
- 145v-146v
- John Lydgate, "Balade of a New Year's Gift of an Eagle Presented to King Henry VI." Eleven rhyme royal stanzas and envoy.
- 146v-149v
- John Lydgate, "Gloriosa Dicta sunt de Te." Twenty-nine eight-line stanzas.
- 149v-151v
- John Lydgate (attr.), "A wikked tong wol alway deme amis." Nineteen rhyme royal stanzas.
- 151v-154r
- John Lydgate, "Thoroughfare of woe." Twenty-four eight-line stanzas.
- 154r-155r
- John Lydgate, "Riȝt as the crabbe goth forward." Seven eight-line stanzas.
- 155r-157r
- John Lydgate, "Valentine to Our Lady." Twenty rhyme royal stanzas including two stanza envoy.
- 157r-157v
- John Lydgate, "A Balade of her that hath all virtues." Seven rhyme royal stanzas including envoy.
- 157v-160r
- John Lydgate on the Duke of Gloucester's incoming marriage to Jacqueline of Hainault. Twenty-seven rhyme royal stanzas with an eight-line envoy.
- 160r-161r
- John Lydgate, "A Gentlewoman’s Lament." seven eight-line stanzas.
- 161r-166r
- John Lydgate, "A Sayenge of the Nyghtyngale." Fifty-four rhyme royal stanzas.
- 166r-168v
- John Lydgate, "Procession of Corpus Christi." Twenty-eight eight-line stanzas.
- 169r-169v
- John Lydgate, "Of the Sodein Fal of Princes in oure Dayes." Seven rhyme royal stanzas.
- 169v-170v
- John Lydgate, "Fall of Princes." Ten rhyme royal stanzas.
- 170v-177v
- John Lydgate, "Life of St. Margaret." Seventy-seven rhyme royal stanzas including eleven stanza prologue and three stanza envoy.
- 177v-179r
- Kalundare of John Shirley which he sett in ye biginninge of his booke. 104 lines in couplets.
- 179v-183r
- 184r-286v
- John Lydgate (attr.), 7042 lines in couplets.
- 287r-288r
- John Lydgate, "Fifteen O's of Christ." forty-two eight-line stanzas.
- 288v
- On the Evils of Prosperty. Eight lines.
- Benedict Burgh, Stanza 104 of "Cato Major." Seven lines.
The descriptions of items where a title is not stated are taken from the Digital Index of Middle English Verse entry. The British Library catalogue record has a slightly different set of names for the items.
Manuscript Referenced
The descriptions of items where a title is not stated are taken from the Digital Index of Middle English Verse entry. The British Library catalogue record has a slightly different set of names for the items.
- The difficulty of choosing a profession in religion. Twenty-one eight-line stanzas.
- John Lydgate, "How the plage was sesyd in Rome." One eight-line stanza and five rhyme royal stanzas.
- Benedict Burgh's poem in praise of Lydgate. Eight rhyme royal stanzas.
- John Gower (attr.) "Balade moral of gode counseyle." Five rhyme royal stanzas. This is attributed to John Gower in Oxford Bodleian Ashmole 59.
- "Remember man thow art but wormes mete." Eight rhyme royal stanzas.
- John Skelton (attr.), The lamentation of the soul of Edward IV. Twelve-line stanzas. Robert S. Kinsman notes that Skelton replaces Lydgate in the attribution here, stating that "Stowe struck through the faulty name and and inserted the name of Skelton with his own hand," before going on to note that it is an impossibility that a poem concerning Edward IV was written by Lydgate or Shirley, who both predeceased him (97).
- John Lydgate, "Balade of the Image of Our Lady." five eight-line stanzas.
- John Lydgate, "Rammeshorne." Seven eight-line stanzas.
- John Lydgate, "Fifteen O's of Christ." Forty-two eight-line stanzas.
- On the properties of wine. One eight-line stanzas.
- John Lydgate, . 4716 lines in couplets.
- John Lydgate, "To Henry VI on his Coronation." eighteen eight-line stanzas.
- .
- John Lydgate, . 5936 lines in rhyme royal, with the "Magnificat" in eight-line stanzas.
- John Lydgate, "A song of Iust Measure." Eight-line stanzas.
- John Lydgate, "Amor et Pecunia." Seventeen eight-line stanzas.
- The Testament of one about to die. Four rhyme royal stanzas.
- John Lydgate's paraphrase of the Eight Verses of St. Bernard.
- John Lydgate, "That now is hay þat sumtyme was grasse." Seventeen eight-line stanzas.
- John Lydgate, "On the Image of Pity." Five eight-line stanzas.
- John Lydgate or R. Stokys, Five rhyme royal stanzas.
- John Lydgate or an anchoress of Maunsfeld, A hymn of the Five Joys. Five eight-line stanzas.
- John Lydgate or Sheryngham, "Why artow froward sith I am mercyable?" Five eight-line stanzas.
- John Lydgate "Tyed with a line." Twelve rhyme royal stanzas.
- John Lydgate, Four things that make a man a fool. One rhyme royal stanza.
- John Lydgate, Four things that make a man a fool. One rhyme royal stanza. This is different than the previous entry, but both this witness and Trinity R.3.20 attribute it to Lydgate.
- "Balade de bone counseyle." One rhyme royal stanza.
- John Lydgate, "A Mumming at London." 342 lines in couplets.
- John Lydgate, "Balade of a New Year's Gift of an Eagle Presented to King Henry VI." Eleven rhyme royal stanzas and envoy.
- John Lydgate, "Gloriosa Dicta sunt de Te." Twenty-nine eight-line stanzas.
- John Lydgate (attr.), "A wikked tong wol alway deme amis." Nineteen rhyme royal stanzas.
- John Lydgate, "Thoroughfare of woe." Twenty-four eight-line stanzas.
- John Lydgate, "Riȝt as the crabbe goth forward." Seven eight-line stanzas.
- John Lydgate, "Valentine to Our Lady." Twenty rhyme royal stanzas including two stanza envoy.
- John Lydgate, "A Balade of her that hath all virtues." Seven rhyme royal stanzas including envoy.
- John Lydgate on the Duke of Gloucester's incoming marriage to Jacqueline of Hainault. Twenty-seven rhyme royal stanzas with an eight-line envoy.
- John Lydgate, "A Gentlewoman’s Lament." seven eight-line stanzas.
- John Lydgate, "A Sayenge of the Nyghtyngale." Fifty-four rhyme royal stanzas.
- John Lydgate, "Procession of Corpus Christi." Twenty-eight eight-line stanzas.
- John Lydgate, "Of the Sodein Fal of Princes in oure Dayes." Seven rhyme royal stanzas.
- John Lydgate, "Fall of Princes." Ten rhyme royal stanzas.
- John Lydgate, "Life of St. Margaret." Seventy-seven rhyme royal stanzas including eleven stanza prologue and three stanza envoy.
- Kalundare of John Shirley which he sett in ye biginninge of his booke. 104 lines in couplets.
- John Lydgate (attr.), 7042 lines in couplets.
- John Lydgate, "Fifteen O's of Christ." forty-two eight-line stanzas.
- On the Evils of Prosperty. Eight lines.
- Benedict Burgh, Stanza 104 of "Cato Major." Seven lines.
Physical Structure
Support
Layout
The claims that this manuscript is collated by Robert S. Kinsman, but there is no indication that the article it sites, "A Lamentable of Kyng Edward the IIII," has done so. Kinsman's focus is on the poem and so the work is primarily interested in the study of sigla for the poem in question. I can only assume that when CELM refers to the "collation" they are referring to Kinsman's work charting the relationship between the witnesses. The manuscript itself is also not much help, as it has been trimmed such that any reference to quire markers or catchwords are missing save for the verso of folio 132, where "callid þe well" appears on the lower right corner. Interestingly, this would be the proper place for the end of a gathering if it were gathered in six, but without any other indications that remains conjectural.
There are three blank pages in the volume at 83 verso, 86 verso, and 183 verso, but they do not fall at the end of any of the gatherings if we assume the volume is gathered in six. Interestingly, the first and last of these blank pages occur adter the volume's longest works, Lydgate's and , with the outlier being the shorter "To Henry VI on his Coronation."
The entire book is written chiefly in John Stow'ssomewhat inconsistent secretary hand, with the following features:
Stow is fairly consistent about differentiating between "u" and "v" when intended, rendering the latter with a raised initial minim that at times can almost appear like an ascender. It is tempting to assume that this is just how the scribe renders "u" in the initial position of a word, but examples like "delyver" and "servaunt" in stanza 9 of Lydgate's (the first stanza on 180v) clarify that this is a deliberate choice and that they do see the two letters as separate glyphs.
For this reason where "u" is in the initial position in a word ("us" in the , for example, in the third stanza on the same page) it has been rendered as "vs." While the scribe consistently makes the initial stroke higher when "v" rather than "u" is meant there is no similar consistent distinction between "u" and "w." An initial "w" can have a raised minim, as can be seen in some places in words like "Withynne" in the final stanza of f.180v or "With" in the first stanza of f. 181r, but it becomes more difficult to ascertain when the letter is rendered within a word, such as with "bowe." Generally, the upward stroke in the final minim of "w" hooks slightly to the left at the top, then runs into the letter following, while in "u" it tends to complete the final minim then begin the upstroke for the next letter. This can be seen clearly in "plukked" in the second stanza of f.180v and in "bowe" throughout.
In certain words, such as "our," it is not entirely clear whether the letter intended is "u" or "w" at first glance, partially because the way Stow tends to write "r" in some cases resembles the modern number 3 more than what is to modern eyes a more familar form of the letter. Comparing the formation of the final two glyphs in "our" with the formation of the final two glyphs in "merrour" (line six of the third stanza on f. 181r), "licour" (line one of the first stanza on f. 182r), and "socour" (line five of the second stanza on the same page) suggests at first that the final two glyphs in "our" throughout are actually "wr," particularly in the form it is rendered where "our" appears twice in the second line of the fourth stanza on f. 179v. When compared to "liberte" (line six of the first stanza of f. 181r) and in particular to "recoure" (line five of the same stanza), however, it is clear that the form of the "r" glyph creates the impression of a second bow. This is largely due to stow beginning the strokes for the "r" glyph from the bottom of the second minim of his "u."
Scribal Hand
Ascenders, descenders, and otiose marks
The work on this manuscript witness was generously sponsored by a ZKS-Lendrum Fellowship in the Scientific Study of Manuscripts and Inscriptions at the Institute for Medieval and Early Modern Studies at Durham University. The transcription of this work is owned by the editor and licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. The images are (c) British Library Board (British Library Additional MS 29729) and rights are reserved.