Manuscript on paper of a common-place book. The main texts of the manuscript, which are primarily devotional in nature, were written in East Anglia by an unidentified scribe toward the end of the 15th century; a second individual, identified as Robert Melton of Stuston in Suffolk, added numerous accounts and notes at the end of the 15th and beginning of the 16th century
Description:
Robert Melton was the co-executor of the estate of John Cornwallis (d. 1506), Lord of the Manors of Brome, Stuston, Okley, and Thranston, whose family possessed Brome Hall from early in the 15th to the 19th century., In Middle English., Watermarks: similar to Briquet Armoiries 1038 for part of quire I and all of II; similar to Briquet Main 11399 for remainder of quire I, all of quires III and IV, part of V; similar to Briquet Navire 11971 on ff. 68, 79 only; similar to Briquet Lettre P 8586 on ff. 72, 75; similar to Briquet Main 11152 on ff. 73, 74; unidentified watermark on f. 81., Script: Written primarily by two persons: Scribe 1) ff. 1r-26v, 28r-44r, 68r-77r, 79v, 80v-81r. Written in small, well formed Anglicana script with first line of each text in formal bookhand. Scribe 2: ff. 27r-v, 45r-60r, 62v-67v, 77v-78v, 80r, 81v. Written in a large sprawling script; no ornamentation. A third person added art. 17 at a later time., Only scribe 1 included decoration. Initials in red, 4- to 2-line, with penwork flourishes in brown; initial strokes in red. Portions of text underlined in red; rhyming verses often bracketed, in red, at end of lines. On f. 14v, a fine half-page drawing in red and brown of the monogram IHS which incorporates both a heart pierced by a lance and vine patterns and tendrils. Art. 4 is illustrated with drawings of dice, in red, in outer margins., First leaves heavily stained; lower right corner waterstained ff. 1-43., and Binding: Between 1490 and 1500. Original sewing with long stitches through a thick rectangular piece of leather on the outside of a vellum wrapper. Contemporary scroll design added to upper cover with unidentified inscription, in red, mostly illegible.
Subject (Geographic):
Connecticut and New Haven.
Subject (Name):
Melton, Robert.
Subject (Topic):
Devotional literature, English (Middle)., English poetry, Illumination of books and manuscripts, Medieval, and Manuscripts, Medieval
Manuscript on parchment (thick) of 1) Notes on the baronial Clare family of Gloucester, in chart format, from a manuscript contemporary with or slightly earlier than the main text (art. 3). Name of the appropriate King of England appears on the left in a red circle [concludes with King Edward IV, 1327-77], and a short history of certain members of the Clare family are added on the right. 2) Genealogical tree, added between 1450 and 1500, establishing the claims of King Edward IV (1461-83) to the kingdoms of England, France, Castile and Leon. 3) Brut Chronicle, up to 1419, but the final leaf of text has been torn out
Description:
In Middle English., Script: Written by a single scribe in neat Anglicana formata. Running titles and marginal notes added by later hands., Illuminated initial, 6-line, on f. 1r, pink on gold ground, with blue, green, and pink acanthus leaves, and white highlights; full bar-border with swirling acanthus leaves in same colors as for initial; black hair-spray in outer margins. Heading and chapter numbers in red. Small initials, 2-line, blue with red flourishes, for most chapters. Paragraph marks alternate red and blue., Parchment is well thumbed and worn, especially f. 1r; some loss of text., and Binding: 17th-18th centuries. Covered in brown calf, blind-tooled, with a brick-colored, gold-tooled label, probably a later addition.
Subject (Geographic):
Connecticut, New Haven., and Great Britain
Subject (Name):
Clare family. and Edward IV, King of England, 1442-1483.
Subject (Topic):
English literature, Illumination of books and manuscripts, Medieval, Manuscripts, Medieval, and History
In English and Latin., Script: Slovenly written mostly by one hand in Gothica Cursiva Currens (Secretary), with calligraphic extensions on the top line. The headings of the chapters are in Northern Gothica Textualis Libraria or more often in a somewhat more solemn form of Secretary., The majuscules are heightened in red. In the middle section of the manuscript the chapter headings are marked by a pointing hand; in the final section (ff. 20r-22v) horse-headed (?) dividers are used. Some initials in the headings are decorated with human heads. Numerous coarse pen-drawings in the margins, in black and red, more or less loosely illustrating the text., Badly damaged paper with leaves pasted onto stubs., and Binding: Nineteenth century. Blind-tooled brown calf over cardboard boards. Spine with gold-tooled title: "OLD ENGLISH VOCABULARY. MS. XV. CENT." Red marbled endpapers.
Subject (Geographic):
Connecticut and New Haven.
Subject (Topic):
Dictionaries, Polyglot, Illumination of books and manuscripts, Medieval, Literature, Medieval, and Manuscripts, Medieval
In Middle English., Script: Written by a single scribe in a formal style of bastard Anglicana; delicately decorated ascenders and descenders along upper and lower edges of written space., On f. 5v a large coat of arms, Carent quartered with Toomer, in a green, orange, and gold frame, against a dark green ground, perhaps a slightly later addition; f. 6r, a small coat of arms, Carent, in the lower margin, against a gold ground, surrounded by a phylactery wrapped around the bar border. Arms supported by two seated dogs, in black pen, set in an oblong landscape, edged heavily in black., One 8-line (f. 6r), four 6-line (ff. 1r, 21r, 52r, 85v) and one 4-line (f. 106r) initials, blue and red with white highlights, filled with large four-lobed flowers and acanthus leaves, orange, green, pink, blue, and light blue, against irregular gold grounds, edged in black, with full (ff. 1r, 6r), 3/4 (ff. 52r, 85v) or single marginal (ff. 21r, 106r) borders. The full and 3/4 have gold, blue and red bands attached to initial, with curling and braided sections sprouting curling acanthus at corners; often against gold cusps, with spiraling black ink hair-spray vines with small green teardrop leaves, pink, brown, green, and blue flowers, and gold dots with small pink and blue leaves. 2-line gold initials on irregular blue and red grounds with white highlights, each with two sprigs of black hair-spray with green leaves and gold dots, as above. 1-line blue and gold initials, with red or pink penwork. Rubrics throughout., and Binding: Nineteenth century. Brown goatskin blind-tooled, with a gold-tooled title. Bound by Francis Bedford (London, 1800-84), who worked with C. Lewis and set up his own shop in 1841.
Subject (Geographic):
Connecticut and New Haven.
Subject (Name):
Lydgate, John, 1370?-1451? and Mary, Blessed Virgin, Saint.
Subject (Topic):
Devotional literature, English (Middle), Illumination of books and manuscripts, Medieval, and Manuscripts, Medieval
Manuscript on parchment of Edward, the second Duke of York, Master of Game
Description:
In English., Script: Written by a single scribe in a careful English secretary script., Gold initials, 3-line, on blue and dark pink grounds with white highlights mark text divisions. Headings and marginal chapter references, in red, throughout., and Binding: Eighteenth century. Brown skin, flesh side out, blind-tooled, over paper boards. Front cover detached.
Subject (Geographic):
Connecticut, New Haven., and York (England)
Subject (Name):
Edward, of Norwich, 1373?-1415.
Subject (Topic):
English literature, Hunting, Illumination of books and manuscripts, Medieval, and Manuscripts, Medieval
Manuscript on parchment of The Mirrour of the Blessed Lyf of Jesu Crist, translated into English by Nicholas Love. With Memorandum stating that the original copy of the translation was given to Thomas Arundell, Abp. of Canterbury, for his approval, in 1410
Description:
In Middle English., Script: Written by one hand in bastard Anglicana., Initials at beginning of each day, 4-line, on ff. 22r, 34r, 53r, 106r, gold against pink and blue grounds, with white filigree, partial borders of acanthus leaves and daisy buds in purple, pink, orange and blue, black hair-spray with green leaves and gold dots. (Similar initials or more important decoration probably occurred on the folios missing at the beginning of Prohemium, Monday, Friday and Chapter 64.) 3- and 2-lines initials gold against pink and blue, with white filigree, short border of hair-spray with green leaves and gold dots. 1-line initials and paragraph marks gold with blue penwork or blue with red used in text and in running titles and notations in outer margin. Line-fillers in blue and gold; rubrics throughout., Outer margin of f. 37 cut off., and Binding: 19th-20th centuries. Olive green goatskin, blind-tooled, with gold-tooled label. Two clasp-and-catch fastenings. Bound by Zaehnsdorf (London, ca. 1842-1930). Original flyleaf (f. iv) is a bifolium, inserted sideways, from a manuscript written in England, 14th century, in Anglicana formata. On the recto and verso at top, portions of a prose text by Richard Rolle; on the recto and verso at bottom, Rolle's Commandment of Love.
Subject (Geographic):
Connecticut and New Haven.
Subject (Name):
Love, Nicholas, fl. 1410. and Rolle, Richard, of Hampole, 1290?-1349.
Subject (Topic):
Devotional literature, English (Middle), English literature, Illumination of books and manuscripts, Medieval, and Manuscripts, Medieval
Manuscript on parchment of 1) Psalter in English, in the 8-part liturgical division, beginning defectively. Text is the later version of the Wycliffite translation of the Psalms. 2-7) Book of Hours, use of Sarum. 8) St. Jerome's Psalter, with introductory prayer and text followed by a suffrage to the Virgin. With Notes on Historia, Alegoria, Anagogia, Tropologia
Description:
In Middle English and Latin., Script: Written in small, well formed gothic bookhand., Five 6- to 5-line initials at the liturgical divisions of the Psalter (Psalms 26, 52, 68, 80, 97; initials for Psalms 1, 38, and 109 missing, offset initials on ff. 35v, 109r, and 156r), pink and blue with white highlights against cusped gold grounds, filled with brown, blue, and pink foliage with curling foliate serifs; pink, blue and gold bar border in outer margin with foliate shoots, terminals and horizontal extensions full across in upper and lower margins. Eleven 5- to 4-line initials (ff. 139v, 158v, 161r, 162r, 163r, 163v, 164r, 165v, 168r, 169v, 176v), gold, edged in black against a cusped ground, quartered in blue and pink, with white highlights and floral hair-spray. 3-line initials, blue with red penwork throughout. Capitals alternating red and blue. Rubrics throughout. Red and blue line-fillers in litany., and Binding: 19th-20th centuries. Brown leather case, blind-tooled. Red edges. Smells like a Middleton binding.
Subject (Geographic):
Connecticut and New Haven.
Subject (Name):
Catholic Church
Subject (Topic):
Books of hours, Devotional literature, English (Middle), Illumination of books and manuscripts, Medieval, Manuscripts, Medieval, and Psalters
Manuscript on paper of 1) Thomas Hoccleve, Complaint. 2) Hoccleve, Dialogue with a Friend. 3) Hoccleve, Tale of Jereslaus' Wife. 4) Prose moralization of the text in art. 3, preceded by a prologue in verse. 5) Hoccleve, How to Learn to Die. 6) Hoccleve, The Joys of Heaven, in prose, preceded by a prologue, in verse. 7) Hoccleve, Tale of Jonathas, preceded by prologue. 8) Prose moralization of the tale in art. 7. 9) John Lydgate, Dance of Macabre. 10) Hoccleve, Regiment of Princes
Description:
In Middle English., Script: Written in a current mixed hand, Anglicana with Secretary forms, by a single scribe who wrote in a more cursive and compressed style of script for the prose sections of text., Blue initials, 6- to 2-line, for major text divisions, with several distinct styles of red flourishing. Headings and marginal notes in red; paragraph or stanza marks alternate red and blue. Written by a scribe who paid careful attention to the presentation of the text: stanzas are divided by red lines that extend width of written space; metrical arrangements are marked by brackets in red; notes are added, in red, in outer margins and preceded by blue paragraph marks that are often joined together to form a vertical wavy line. In addition, the scribe has also paid attention to minor ornamental features: decorative flourishes, mostly in red, have been added to many lower margins; ornamental ascenders in top line of text extend into upper margin and are often decorated with red., and Binding: Twentieth century. Tan pigskin, blind-tooled, with title, in gold, on spine: "Hoccleve/ Manuscript/ XV Cent." Edges spattered red.
Subject (Geographic):
Connecticut and New Haven.
Subject (Name):
Hoccleve, Thomas, 1370?-1450?
Subject (Topic):
English literature, English poetry, Illumination of books and manuscripts, Medieval, and Manuscripts, Medieval
Manuscript on parchment of John Lydgate (1375?-1449?), Siege of Thebes
Description:
In Middle English., Script: Copied by one hand in Gothica Cursiva Antiquior Libraria/Formata (Anglicana). The scribe has been identified as being Stephen Doddesham, a Carthusian monk, first in Witham Priory, afterwards in the Charterhouse at Sheen, near London, d. 1481/1482., Red headings and running titles. The latter are preceded by alternately blue paragraph-marks with red penwork and golden paragraph-marks with blue penwork. 6-line foliate initials in pale blue and pink with left-margin floral borders extending into the upper and lower margins, at the beginning of Parts II and III (ff. 13v and 33v); the same type of initial with similar but four-margins border at the opening of the Prologue (f. 1r). There were only two 3-line dentelle initials with short marginal extensions, namely on f. 20v (now cut out, v. 1569, speech of Adrastus) and 25r (v. 1901, speech of Tideus)., and Binding: Nineteenth century. White parchment over pasteboard by Edward Parry. On the gold-tooled spine two bordeaux leather labels with gold-tooled inscriptions: "DESTRUCTION / OF / THEBES / BY/ LYDGATE" and "MANUSCRIPT".
Subject (Geographic):
Connecticut and New Haven.
Subject (Name):
Lydgate, John, 1370?-1451? and Carthusians.
Subject (Topic):
English poetry |y Middle English, 1100-1500, Illumination of books and manuscripts, Medieval, Manuscripts, Medieval, and Narrative poetry, English (Middle)