The Paris Manuscript is of the Sixteenth Century, the Sloane is in a
Seventeenth Century handwriting; the English of the Fourteenth Century
seems to be on the whole well preserved in both, especially perhaps in
the later Manuscript, which must have been copied from one of mixed
East Anglian and northern dialects. This manuscript has no title-page,
and nothing is known as to its history. Delisle's catalogue of the
_Biblioth. Bigot._ (1877) gives no particulars as to the acquisition of
No. 388. The two versions may be compared in these sentences:--
Chap. II., _Paris_ MS.: "This revelation was made to a Symple creature
unlettyrde leving in deadly flesh the yer of our Lord a thousande and
thre hundered and lxxiii the xiii Daie of May."
_Sloane_: "These Revelations were shewed to a simple creature that
cowde no letter the yeere of our Lord 1373 the xiij day of may."
Chap. LI., _Paris_ MS.: "The colour of his face was feyer brown whygt
with full semely countenaunce. his eyen were blakke most feyer and
semely shewyng full of lovely pytte and within hym an heyward long
and brode all full of endlesse hevynlynes. And the lovely lokyng that
he lokyd on his servant contynually. And namely in his fallyng ÷ me
thought it myght melt oure hartys for love. and brek them on twoo for
Joy."
_Sloane_: "The color of his face was faire browne, with ful semely
features, his eyen were blak most faire and semely shewand ful of
lovely pety and within him an heyward long and brode all full of endles
hevyns, and the lovely lokeing that he loked upon his servant continuly
and namely in his fallyng me thowte it myte molten our herts for love &
bresten hem on to for joy."
The Sloane MS. does not mention the writer of the book, but the copyist
of the Paris version has, after the _Deo Gratias_ with which it ends,
added or transcribed these words: _Explicit liber Revelationem Julyane
anatorite_ [sic] _Norwyche cujus anime propicietur Deus_.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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