The complete works of John Gower, volume 2 : $b The English worksGower, John
General
The complete works of John Gower, volume 2 : $b The English works
Gower, John
Poetry
BALL. COLL., OXF. 354. Paper, ff. 253, 11½ × 4¼ in. Contains
a miscellaneous collection of verse and prose, with memoranda &c.,
all, or nearly all, apparently in the hand of the owner of the book,
one Richard Hill of Langley, Herts, who has registered on f. 21 (25)
the birth of his seven children, from the year 1518 to 1526, and has
kept a short journal of public events which ends with the year 1536.
Among the extracts are several stories from the _Confessio Amantis_,
neatly written, about 54-60 lines to the page, with no Latin. These
extend over about 46 leaves of the book and are as follows (leaves
by old numbering): ff. 55-70 v^o Tale of Appolinus, viii. 271-2028,
ff. 70 v^o-81 v^o Tales of Constance and of Perseus, ii. 587-1865,
ff. 81 v^o-83 v^o Adrian and Bardus, v. 4937-5162, ff. 83 v^o-84 v^o,
vi. 485-595, ff. 84 v^o-86 v^o Dives and Lazarus &c., vi. 975-1238,
ff. 86 v^o-89 v^o Constantine, ii. 3187-3507, ff. 89 v^o-91 v^o
Nebuchadnezzar, i. 2785-3066, ff. 91 v^o-94 v^o Tales of Diogenes
and of Pyramus, iii. 1201-1502 and 1655-1672, ff. 94 v^o-96 Midas
(unfinished), v. 141-312, ff. 171 v^o-175, The Three Questions, i.
3067-3402. The text is copied not from Caxton’s edition but from a MS.
of the first recension (_b_) or (_c_). It is not very correct, and
short passages or couplets are omitted here and there, as i. 3051-3054,
viii. 1763-1766, 1945 f., &c.
RAWLINSON D. 82, Bodleian Library. Contains on ff. 25-33 _Conf.
Amantis_, viii. 2377-2970. Paper, written in single column of 33 lines,
no Latin. Copied from a MS. resembling B, but not apparently either
from B itself or from Berthelette’s MS.
PHILLIPPS 22914 is reported as a fragment (four leaves) containing
_Confessio Amantis_, v. 775-1542.
Nine good miniatures cut out of a MS. of the _Conf. Amantis_ are in
the possession of Mr. A. H. Frere, who kindly allowed me to see them.
They are as follows. (1) Tereus, (2) Codrus, (3) Socrates and his wife,
(4) Dives and Lazarus, (5) Roman Triumph, (6) Ulysses and Telegonus,
(7) The Three Questions, (8) Lycurgus taking an oath from the Athenians
(?), (9) King on a quay with bales and gold vessels, apparently landed
from a ship near, perhaps Apollonius landing at Tarsis. Several of
the pictures represent more than one scene of the story, as that of
Tereus, in which we have the king at meat presented with the head of
his son, while there are three birds in the background and the scene of
the outrage on Philomene on the left; and again in (4), where the rich
man and his wife are sitting at table and refusing food to the beggar,
while in the background on the right an angel is receiving the soul of
the dying Lazarus.
These miniatures are supposed to have belonged to Sir John Fenn, editor
of the Paston Letters. The MS. from which they were cut seems to have
been of the middle of the fifteenth cent.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account