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Manuscript Description
London, Society of Antiquaries MS 687
 
Title:Piers Plowman, A version
Author:Langland
Contents:Pater Noster, Ave and Creed followed by commentary; Pricke of Conscience, a form of confession beginning 'I be knowe to god'' , a treatise on the Seven Deadly Sins, and Piers Plowman pages 471-549; Treatise on excommunication pages 552-8; then by later 16-17th c. hand, legal notes and extracts relating to Jealing, Lincs (pp 559-62).
Language:English and Latin
Scribal Hands:
Examples of the hand. Click on the link above for full details and images of individual letter forms.
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Dialect:LP : 638; County : NW Suffolk
Material:Paper
No of Folios:562 pages plus three old flyleaves at front; last two leaves (pp. 559-62) are newer flyleaves with text written post-medieval.
Pagination:Modern pencil pagination rectos and versos upper outer corners.
Quiring:12s
Signatures:Signatures: in Piers, quires numbered by ink similar to hand of scribe and similar colour, 'xxj' on page 471, 'xxij' on 495, 'xxiij' on 523, 'xxiiij' on page 551; and another set of quires signatures for same leaves, j, ij, iij and iv'so originally a separate booklet and then required when joined with other parts of the MS.
Catchwords:Almost every folio has a catchword on verso, written by scribe, with left side and underlined with waving line, not angular or straight.
Page Size:215 x 145
Frame:Plain square frame in reddish-brown crayon, minim height of top line of text is the top line of frame; no ruling.
Writing Space:In Piers, c. 172 x 110
Incipits and Explicits:Rubric explicit on page 549, 'Explicit prologus de dowel dobet & dobest'.
Marginal Headings:Passus headings in red on separate line, written by scribe.
Flourished Initials:In Piers, no coloured initials, but Latin passages and passus indications written in red; on a few leaves first letters of each line washed with red. In other parts of the manuscript, one-line red initials and red wash on first letter of each line.
Miscellaneous Info:NB pp 469-70 blank as if new booklet before Piers; drawings in crayon on recto (469), and later inscriptions about author and title as follows: 'Piers Plougmans Vision' and 'The author Robert Langland a cheife disciple of John Wickliffs' both in second half 16th to 17th century script.
Further Information:See catalogue by Willetts; also R. Lewis and A McIntosh, Descriptive Guide to the MSS of the Pricke of Conscience (Oxford, 1982), 84-5).
Centre for Medieval Studies, University of York, King's Manor, York YO1 7EP