MS. Ashmole 45
Summary Catalogue no.: 6926
Summary Catalogue no.: 7487
Summary Catalogue no.: 6927
Summary Catalogue no.: 6928
Summary Catalogue no.: 6929
Composite manuscript in four parts, containing The Earl of Toulouse, Knighthode and Bataile, notes by William Fitzwilliam, extracts of Chaucer's Canterbury Tales, and works by John Glanvill. 15th-17th centuries.
Physical Description
Binding
Late seventeenth-century calf binding over pasteboards typical of Elias Ashmole's style, with ‘ASH. 45’ embossed on the central spine panel. The spine is covered in a separate piece of leather from the boards, of the same colour, that extends under the board-covers. The head, tail, and panels of the spine display horizontal concentric tool framing. The spine shows four raised sewing supports covering thick cords which support all four composite parts - three of these cords are intact. The sewing stations do not follow any of the original sewing stations in the composite parts, which show evidence of between five and six stations from previous bindings. This is typical of Ashmole's binding style. However, the spine-cover has likely been replaced since the manuscript left Ashmole's collection. The typeset of the shelf mark is similar, but not identical, to Ashmole's typeset (varying in the height of letters and thickness of vertical strokes in characters ‘A’ and ‘4’), and Ashmole's embossed crest is missing from the second panel (see e.g. MS Ashmole 44). The board-covers also show evidence of having been lifted up at the spine-edge to allow for the spine-cover to be adhered beneath them.
Due to the varying heights of the composite units, there are no endbands. The sewing supports are laced into the boards using shortened single-hole lacing without channels. The boards are cut according to the largest codicological unit, with wide squares. Both boards display concentric frame tooling which is flush with the border on three sides and inset from the spine-border by several centimeters, as is typical of Ashmole's bindings. The absence of the usual concentric frame tooling on the spine side is likely due to cropping of the leather when the new spine-cover was added. The board edges are tooled with a repeating zig-zag pattern typical of Ashmole's bindings. The inner rear board bears an inscription typical of the Bodleian's in-house bindery, with the initial ‘W’ and the date, partially obscured, ‘24 - 1… - 51/7’. This is likely the work of A. G. Wintersgill, who was employed at the Bodleian for the finishing, furbishing, and repair of bindings from 1949, and whose initials can be seen on other Ashmole bindings (e.g. MS Ashmole 1431).
History
Provenance and Acquisition
The four composite parts were likely compiled and bound together by Elias Ashmole, who is responsible for the current binding of the manuscript. Their selection was likely made based on the size of the codicological units, rather than their content. The marking up for prior sewing stations is visible in all four parts and does not suggest that any of these parts shared a binding before the current volume.
Ashmole bequeathed the manuscript in its current condition to the Ashmolean Museum in 1692, in one volume, as part of his donation of 1,100 printed books and 600 manuscripts.
The manuscript was kept in the Ashmolean until 1860, when the collection was transferred to the Bodleian Library.
MS. Ashmole 45 - end leaves (i-viii)
Contents
Language(s): English
Table of contents containing the five items (now labelled 6926, 7487, 6927, 6928, and 6929) contained within the four composite parts, written in a seventeenth century hand - likely contemporary to Ashmole's binding of the manuscript and the joining of the composite parts.
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Physical Description
MS. Ashmole 45 || Part A || (fols. 1r-41v)
Sixteenth-century copy of The Earl of Toulouse, likely 1520's-30's, with sixteenth-century autograph notes by William Fitzwilliam
Contents
The rest of fol. 2r is filled by a miniature and monograms, see ‘Decoration’/‘Provenance’. Folio 2v is blank except for later additions (see Item 2).
MS Ashmole 45 is one of four surviving copies of The Earl of Toulouse (with Bodleian Library, MS Ashmole 61; Cambridge University Library, MS Ff 2.38; and Lincoln Cathedral, MS 91). The poem is thought to have been composed in the north east Midlands in the last half of the fourteenth century. This copy shares a textual tradition with MS Ff 2.38, which also contains a variant reading of the passage in which a ring is presented by Beulybon (lines 1017-76); see Hurley (2020), p.212.
Carol M. Meale dates this copy to the late 1520's and links the style of the presentation picture to a Flemish family of artists, the Horenbouts (see Meale, 1996, p. 226).
The letters ‘M. D.’ appear twice, once after the title on folio 2r (see ‘Decoration’) and again after the explicit on folio 31v (see ‘Provenance’).
In the late sixteenth/early seventeenth century, an individual who identifies himself as William Fitzwilliam (see ‘Provenance’) annotates nearly all blank pages in the manuscript with a variety of short texts, listed below:
- Folio 1r: three medical recipes on the virtue of parsnips, beginning ‘The wartue of parsnypes’;
- Folio 2v: a petition for the payment of a debt owed to William Fitzwilliam by John Worte of the Queen's guard, beginning ‘The houmbell peteson of Wyllyam Fytzwill(ia)m of the anchant hows of Sprodbrought in the county of Yoircke esquyer’;
- Folio 2v: a record of a marriage dated 1602 (see ‘Provenance’);
- Folio 31v: a medical recipe for a poultice, beginning ‘To macke a good povdynge’;
- Folio 32r: a critique of Papists, beginning ‘Cryste planly and puerly menestred the sackrement to his dessypelles w(i)t(h) oute any serrymones’;
- Folio 32r: two stanzas of four lines titled ‘Becon in the juell of joye’, beginning ‘Yf right be racked and over roun’. This verse is also recorded in a manuscript in the collections of the Duke of Norfolk (Arundel Castle MS Harrington, Temp. El., fols. 22r-v) and 6 print witnesses from 1559-1738 - see Folger First Line Index;
- Folios 32v-33v: autograph autobiographical notes, unfinished, titled ‘The hard and troubelsome lyfe of Willyam Fytzwillyam vj sone of John Fytzwillyam of Sprodbrought and Haddelsaye, from his chyeldhod’, containing an account of Benefits bestowed on us by Jesus (fol. 33v);
- Folio 34r: moral and religious proverbs, beginning ‘Myschape is the touchestone of fryndshype’ (f. 34r);
- Folios 34v-35r: ‘A short lyne howe to leade your lyfe’;
- Folios 35r-38v: prayers, beginning ‘O god to whome nothynge is so grete’;
- Folio 39r: a list of eight virtues titled ‘There be ix wartus apartanyng to a knight’, beginning ‘1. He shale honer his father and movther’;
- Folios 39v-40r: verses on popes, beginning ‘Urbanus pope syext of the name’;
- Folio 40r: paraphrase of James 3.13-18;
- Folio 40v: on the four properties in man's soul;
- Folio 41r: draft of the verses on folios 39v-40r.
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Physical Description
Collation
Condition
Layout
21 long lines consistently (in The Earl of Toulouse), in one column. Vertical frame ruling only. Written space: 155 × 90 mm. Inconsistent number of lines in the notes by William Fitzwilliam.
Hand(s)
Two hands. The Earl of Toulouse is in a neat anglicana of the first half of the sixteenth century. Features are two forms of two-compartment a: a variety with parallel sides and horizontal cross bar with a scooped stroke forming the head (used mid-word), and a variety that resembles an upper case graph with angular body and looped head (used for the indefinite article and word-beginning); looped d with angular lobe and long trailing tag when in final position; two compartment g with diamond-shaped head; two forms of looped h: an angular variety with triangular closed head-loop and long curving tail-stroke, and a rounded variety when following ‘t’ or ‘g’ where the head-loop follows on from the cross bar of the previous letter; both long and short zetoid r; and both long and short sigma s at word-end.
Several speculations can be made about the nature of the scribe's copying. The strapwork initials are characteristic of legal and government scribes in London in the 1520's and 30's (see Perkins, 2015, p. 1; Meale, 1996, p. 226). The quality of the script and consistency of the hand (despite the lack of ruling) also suggest an individual experienced in copying long-form codices. A significant degree of planning was required for the layout and mise-en-page to ensure that every iteration of ‘Leve we now’ coincided with the first line of the page.
Works by William Fitzwilliam are autograph, in a messy secretary script of the sixteenth century. Features are single compartment a; long diagonal f with trailing descender; both long and short s; and unlooped y with exaggerated right-curling descender. Multiple stints in varying shades of ink can be identified throughout.
Decoration
Folio 2r contains a fine miniature, uncoloured, of a male figure, possibly the author or donor, presenting a lavishly bound book to a lady. The miniature is executed in ink and brown wash, typical of Flemish illustrations of the early sixteenth century. A banderole, or text scroll, extends from the male figure reading ‘prenes : engre’ (‘take with pleasure’). Folio 2r marks the start of the text with both the title of the poem and this ink drawing, visually recalling a printed title page.
A monogram beneath the miniature reads ‘Maid Maria’ - this has previously been interpreted as the manuscript's recipient (see e.g. Meale, 1996). The image marks the opening of the The Earl of Toulouse, with the rubric ‘The Story of the Erle of Tolous’ written above the miniature.
The text opens with an elaborate seven line decorated initial ‘I’ with ornate flourishing and strapwork on folio 3r, which contains the name ‘mo - rga - nus’ - the Quarto Catalogue suggests this is the name of the scribe. The first two words of the text following this initial are copied in a larger display script. The phrase ‘Leve we now’ is demarcated throughout the manuscript. A five line initial, in the same style at folio 3r and followed by the display script, marks the first line of folio 14v (line 475) ‘But leve [we now]’ - this is not typically a point of textual division, but does mark a moment in which the narrative progresses. The display script, without indentation or flourishes, is used for ‘Leve [we now]’ (the first word of the page) on folios 7r, line 163; and 22r, line 803.
Bottom-line descenders flourished throughout.
Line numbers have been added to the margins of The Earl of Toulouse in pencil.
History
Provenance
Clues to the identity of the scribe of The Earl of Toulouse are seen in the opening and closing of the text. The name ‘Morganus’ is recorded in a banderole incorporated into the opening initial of the text (fol. 3r), and the initials ‘M. D.’ are recorded in the explicit (fol. 31v). It is unclear whether the letters ‘M. D.’ that appear after the title on folio 2r relate to the scribe or recipient of the manuscript.
The identity of the patron of The Earl of Toulouse is unknown, but the nature of the decorated title page and presentation scene suggests this component was a bespoke comission, possibly intended for a female recipient. Meale speculates from the clothing of the figures in the frontispiece that the patron belonged to the wealthy mercantile class, who may have comissioned the volume for a prospective wife (Meale, 1996, p. 230).
The presence of an additional quire after The Earl of Toulouse, which remained unused by the scribe, suggests that this was intended to be a larger production with multiple texts. It is likely that the two texts in this composite part have always belonged to the same codicological unit: they share the same paper stock with one consistent watermark, and all quires have been marked up for sewing with pinholes in the same positions, in an arrangement that pre-dates the current binding. This composite part was formerly bound as the last (or possibly only) item in a volume that used recycled parchment end leaves. The reversed impression of a cropped fragment of an earlier parchment leaf, possibly thirteenth century, can be seen on the verso of the last folio of this codicological unit. Impressions from two clasps or similar furnishings with woven ties can also be seen on this folio.
This composite part was in the possession of William Fitzwilliam by March of 1602, due to the note on folio 2v in which he records his marriage: ‘my ⟨cossen⟩ Willyam dyear was mared | the 17 daye of marche 1602’. He also annotates the blank folios 1v, 2v, and 31v-41r. Fitzwilliam's autobiographical notes describe his career in London as an apprentice to Richard Waddington, Master of the Merchant Tailors in 1548. He spent time in Antwerp in exile, in Scotland during the final English campaign in 1549, and Ireland in the service of his relative Sir William Fitzwilliam, Treasurer of Ireland (See Hunter, South Yorkshire: History and Topography, 1974.). He identifies himself as the sixth son of John Fitzwilliam of Sprotborough, Yorkshire. William Fitzwilliam is possibly identified as a member of the Fitzwilliam branch based at Gaynes Park, Chigwell, Essex (see Meale, 1996, p. 233).
The folios were later owned by the poet William Brown(e) (1590-c. 1645), who records his name on folios 2r and 3r: ‘W. Browne’. Brown(e) typically placed his ownership marks on the first folios of a manuscript, however due to the composite nature of the manuscript, only this first part can be associated with Brown(e) with any certainty. See Edwards, 1997.
This composite part was later owned by Elias Ashmole (1617–1692), who acquired other manuscripts from Brown(e), for instance MS Ashmole 59 and MS Ashmole 40. Ashmole owned another copy of The Earl of Toulouse - one of only three others surviving - now MS Ashmole 61.
MS. Ashmole 45 || Part B ||
Knighthode and Bataile with Table of Contents
Contents
188 stanzas, consistently 4 per page. Each folio contains eight stanzas labelled A-H (beginning on the recto), which allows for cross reference with the Table of Contents on folios 54r-56v. Running title ‘Of Knyghthode and Bataile’ across every double-page spread. As is typical for the corpus, the text is divided into four parts, each marked with an illuminated initial (see ‘Decoration’).
Table of Contents divided into letters A-V. Each item contains a folio number and alphabetical stanza letter to locate the passage.
The late Middle English verse translation of Vegetius, De re militari, originally completed by a supporter of Henry VI early in 1460. This copy is incomplete: it was once a complete copy containing 56 folios, but now only 29 remain. Lacking are folios 8-17 (stanzas i.57-76; ii.1-51; iii.1-7), 24-40 (stanzas iii.56-178; iv.1-11), and 44-45 (stanzas iv.36-51). Marginal Latin glosses present. The text is extant in four manuscripts, the others being Cambridge, Pembroke College, MS 24; London, British Library, Cotton Titus A.XXIII; and London, College of Arms, MS R.25 (see Davies and Edwards, 2018).
MS Ashmole 45 is item E11 in Shrader's ‘Handlist of extant manuscripts containing the De Re militari of Flavius Vegetius Renatus’ (1979). Edited in Knyghthode and Bataile, eds R. Dyboski and Z. M. Arend (1971).
Physical Description
Collation
After the loss of the second quire, the 3rd-7th folios of quire 1 and the entirety of the remaining quire 2 and 3 were reinforced with additional long stitching along the gutter that joins these two quires into one unit. Paper sewing support added between folios 53-4.
Condition
Layout
28 long lines consistently (in main poem: 4 stanzas of 7 lines), in one column. Vertical frame ruling only. Written space: 145–155 × 105–113 mm.
Hand(s)
One hand throughout, in a neat and consistent secretary script, with occasional anglicana features. Single-compartment a and short z-shaped r are used. The body of g is closed by a separate horizontal stroke. Both looped and un-looped variety of d, h, and l appear. A more ornate display script is used for headings to the poem and Table of Contents, running titles, the first few words of each stanza from folios 18r, and the first item in each alphabetical part of the Table of Contents.
Decoration
Illuminated 3 and 4-line initials with red and blue flourishes on folios 1r and 18r, to mark the beginning of sections in the poem.
An initial A-H is used to signal every stanza in the poem, in the same hand and ink as the main text but using a more elaborate display script with strapwork-esque flourishes.
The first letter of each page is often flourished.
Pen trials on folio 42v.
History
Provenance
Due to the damaged and fragmentary nature of this part, there is little evidence of provenance. The cropped name ‘Willia(m) S…’ is written vertically in the margin of folio 41r in a later hand, possibly seventeenth century. An erased inscription is present at the end of the Table of Contents on folio 68v, possibly also the hand of the pen trials on folio 42v.
This composite part has been significantly cropped on the upper and outer margins, occasionally with the loss of text. This was likely done at the point of binding into this composite collection - Knighthode is still the tallest text block in the volume by several millimetres.
MS. Ashmole 45 || Part C
Seventeenth century copy of Geoffrey Chaucer, The Cook's Tale and The Tale of Gamelyn copied by Elias Ashmole
Contents
The Prologue (lines 4325-4364) and Tale (lines 4365-4422). Copied by Elias Ashmole.
Copied by Elias Ashmole. After the text are notes in short hand that relate to the Ploughman's Tale. Ashmole made another copy of Gamelyn, which he inserted between folios xx-xxi of Godfray's 1532 edition of Chaucer's works (no. 1095).
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Physical Description
Condition
Layout
Between 28 and 30 long lines throughout, in one column.
Hand(s)
In one hand throughout, in a legible secretary script of the seventeenth century.
History
Provenance
The date of Ashmole's copying is uncertain, however his correspondence records that he acquired a copy of the first edition of the works of Geoffrey Chaucer (edited by William Thynne, printed by Thomas Godfray, London, 1532) on the 27 October 1642, which may have been the exemplar for this copy (see Elias Ashmole, vol.2, p.342). Ashmole made at least one copy of Gamelyn from this edition, which he inserted between folios xx-xxi of the book.
MS. Ashmole 45 || Part D
Eight books of Poeticall astrologie by John Glanvill
Contents
In eight books:
- ‘Preface, scope, invocation’, fol. 2v;
- ‘Phebus made Sunne-god’, fol. 8r;
- ‘Darkenes is chas'd’, fol. 14v;
- ‘The Manor Dale descryde’, fol. 22v;
- ‘A thristie speeche is made’, fol. 28r;
- ‘Sol's horse is cosen'd’, fol. 36v;
- ‘Magicus hinders Phebus’, fol. 42r;
- ‘Suite for the winged horse’, fol. 50r;
Physical Description
Condition
Hand(s)
One hand throughout, in a legible secretary script.
Decoration
No decoration. Running titles throughout in the upper margins giving the number of the book.
The coat of arms of John Glanvill has been added to the first leaf of this composite unit in pencil and annotated to show the colours using heraldic tincture. This was likely added by Elias Ashmole, who did extensive research on heraldry throughout his life and owned numerous books on the topic.
History
Provenance
The author dedicates the work to ‘his muche respected friend Mr Frauncis Kynnaston at his father Sr Edward Kynnaston his house at Otteley in Shropshire’, dated 18 February 1613 (fol. 1r-2r). The dedication also notes the text was composed eight years before this date when the author was twenty.
Additional Information
Record Sources
Digital Images
Digital Bodleian (1 image from 35mm slides)
Bibliography
Print resources:
Online resources:
Abbreviations
View list of abbreviations and editorial conventions.
Last Substantive Revision
2024-04-19: Charlotte Ross. Revised with consultation of original.