St John's College MS 6
John Lydgate, Troy Book
Contents
Language(s): English. LALME places the language in Herefordshire (grid 345 269), LP 7510 (3:174). Leinthall (see ‘Provenance’) is six miles south-west of Ludlow.
Fol. 134rb–v originally blank. This copy lacks Prol.210–1.49 on a lost leaf following fol. 1 (the original 2o folio should have been a version of 1.50 ‘Fordymmed eke the lettris aureat’). The scribe has left blanks marked with crosses for missing lines; cf. fol. 43ra, with the informal anglicana note ‘caret versus’ (s. xv ex.). This feature is genetic, shared with three closely related books: Gloucester Cathedral MS 5; Manchester, John Rylands University Library, MS Eng. 1; and BodL, MS Digby 230.
IMEV 2742, written in rubricator’s red; ed. Bergen, 26, from the related Digby 230, where it appears in the same position and format.
Physical Description
Collation
Layout
In double columns, each column (measured to the bounds, not to the end of the verse lines) 302 × 102 mm. , with 12 mm between the bounds for columns, in 56 lines to the column. No prickings; bounded and ruled in brown ink.
Hand(s)
Written in anglicana, the anglicana long r lacking. Punctuation by punctus elevatus at the cesura. There is an erased scribal colophon at the end of item 2 (fol. 134ra), ‘Quod Ion Sch⟨row⟩sbury’; as Ian Doyle pointed out to us, a man of this name was a Wiltshire priest in 1468, but not necessarily our scribe. Griffiths identified two further books in Shrowsbury’s hand, both copies of Nicholas Love’s Mirror: Princeton University Library, MS Kane 21; and Columbia, University of Missouri fragment. For a reproduction of fol. 6 of the former, see Jean F. Preston and Laetitia Yeandle, English Handwriting 1400–1600 (Binghamton, NY, 1992), pl. 3.
Decoration
Headings, except the first and last leaves (red), in text ink.
At the head, a 12-line gold leaf capital on blue flourishing, with a blazon within the letter (see ‘Provenance’), and a full vinet, a gold leaf and blue bar border.
Similar, but smaller capitals (that for book 3, fol. 58vb, only 3 lines) with demivinets at the heads of the books.
Smaller textual divisions usually blue lombards on red flourishing.
Red running titles with book numbers.
See AT no. 595 (58).
Binding
A modern replacement. Sewn on six thongs. At the front and rear, one modern paper flyleaf. A paper tab inside the front cover notes College ownership (s. xix).
History
Provenance and Acquisition
Within the initial O (fol. 1ra), a blazon, argent (?), a barry of three, or, on the top argent bar ‘I’affie bien’ and on the second ‘leynthale’ plus a mark. Similarly, in the lower margin, fol. 50ra, ‘I’affie bien LEYNTHALE’ plus mark (s. xv ex.). Apparently to be associated with the arms of Sir Rowland Leynthall of Leynthall and Hampton Court (Herefordshire) , who fought at Agincourt, but these bear no resemblance to the modern derivatives.
Pen-trials (s. xv ex.) and (fol. 134v).
Record Sources
Availability
For enquiries relating to this manuscript please contact St John's College Library.
Digital Images
Digital Bodleian (full digital facsimile)
Bibliography
Funding of Cataloguing
Conversion of the printed catalogue to TEI funded by the Thompson Family Charitable Trust
Abbreviations
View list of abbreviations and editorial conventions.
Last Substantive Revision
2023-01: First online publication