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A Mumming at London:
British Library Additional 29729 Verses

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f.140 recto
Folio 140 RectoFolio 140 VersoFolio 141 RectoFolio 141 VersoFolio 142 RectoFolio 142 VersoFolio 143 RectoFolio 143 VersoFolio 144 Recto

Folio 140 Recto
Compare Witnesses:
Lo here folowethe the deuyse of a desguysinge to fore the grete
estates of this land than beinge at london made by lidgate
daun Iohnn the munke of bury / of dame fortune dame prudence
dame rightwysnesse1 and dame ffortitudo2 behold it for it is
morall plesaunt and notabell / lo3 first cometh in dame fortune4
Loo5 here this lady that ye may see
lady of mutabilyte
whych that called is fortune
for selde in one she dothe continewe
ffor as she hathe a doubell face
right so euery oure and space
she chaungeth hur condysyones
ay full of transmutacyons
lyche as the romaynes of the rose
descryveth hur / with outen glose
and telleth pleynly / how that she
hath hur dwellynge in the see
Ioyninge6 to a baryn roche
and on that on syde doth approche
alytell mountayn lyke an yle
vponn whyche land somme yle[mewhy]le7
ther growen freshe floures nowe
wonder lusty of ther hue
dyuers tres with frute elade
and byrdes with ther notes glade
than singen / and maken melodye
In ther heuynly hermon[y]e8
Notes
  1. This underline is bracketed on the right.
  2. Bracketed on the right.
  3. The attributed title in the DIMEV entry for this manuscript witness has "to," but the glyph is clearly "lo."
  4. Bracketed on the right.
  5. The space between "l" and "oo" makes it clear that "l" is intended as a guide letter here.
  6. While elsewhere in the manuscript there is a differentiation between the "I" and "J" glyphs it is inconsistent and nonexistent in this particular item.
  7. It looks like the scribe originally wrote "somme yle" here, but realized they had copied the final word of the previous line and corrected themselves by overwriting the fourth glyph to the third glyph from the end with "why." A suspension mark is then placed over the "w."
  8. It appears that the scribe originally wrote "hermone" here, then overwrote the "n" with a "y" glyph.