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Manuscript Description
London, British Library MS Royal 17 D.XIX
 
Title:Regiment of Princes
Author:Hoccleve
Contents:Regiment of Princes ff2-99v
Language:English
Date Range:1400-1450
Scribal Hands:
Examples of the hand. Click on the link above for full details and images of individual letter forms.
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Material:Parchment
No of Folios:3 newer paper + 1 original parchment flyleaf + 1-99 (of which 1 is blank as if original flyleaf) + 2 original parchment flyleaves + 3 newer paper
Pagination:Foliation upper outer corners recto, modern, pencil, arabic, 1-101 including two originally blank leaves at end.
Quiring:8s
Signatures:Signatures at front of volume are roman numerals followed by lower case letter for quire, in black ink, looks like scribe, and prominently only little below text and running up to right frame line, thus f10 'j b' through f13 'iiij b' and ff18-21, 'I c' through 'iiij c
then romans 'I' through 'iiij' on ff26-29, but the letter 'd' in extreme lower corner sometimes partly cropped; and so continues with letters in extreme corner through quire h with last signature 'iiij' higher and 'h' lower on f61 for the quire that ends f65; then two quires with no signatures and picks up with red ones in latter half of volume. Later in volume, signatures red ink, far lower corner, roman numerals followed by arabic number for the quire, thus on f82 'j 4', 'ij 4', 83 'iij 4' and 84 'iiij 4' and on ff90-93, 'j 5' through 'iiij 5'. No change of hand accompanies this change.
Catchwords:By the scribe, lower margin closer to text than bottom and running up to right frame line, with black line under or both left side and under.
Page Size:290 x 184
Frame:2 verticals, 4 horizontals enclosing top and bottom lines, ruled within; no ruling for glosses; prick marks survive most leaves in outer edge as well as top and bottom.
Writing Space:189 x 94 ruled, sometimes lines extend just beyond, so average 93
Incipits and Explicits:Long explicit in red ink by scribe at bottom f99v: 'Here endeth the book of the gouernaunce of Princes that Thomas hoccleue made whiche is a book of Moraltes and of vertues and hily (sic) dispreisinge lewednesse and vices'
Marginal Headings:As rubrics in margins by scribe, eg'de vivio Auaricie' f81v.
Title by Scribe:Rubric by scribe 'Gilis de regimine principum' in top margin f1.
Borders:Full bar border on left side in blue, red and white, sprays in these colours top and bottom margins, bosses at corners; gold balls with green wash on squiggles.
Illuminated Initials:Elaborate illuminated initial on f1, 7-line in blue and red parti-coloured with white highlighting incising, on gold ground with foliage patterns inside letter in blue and red with white highlighting. Later portions begin 5-line gold initial on parti-coloured blue and red ground, sprays of opposing green leaf buds and gold balls with green washed squiggles (eg f40v).
Paragraph Marks:Alternating blue and red paraphs, or just red paraphs, before each stanza; glosses are in red, written by scribe, preceded by blue paraph.
Flourished Initials:Some plain 2-line blue initials, eg f81v.
Other Names (not owners):On f101 top in 15th c. script 'John pyperdys
also 'h' in a circle as modern @, followed by 'rate
f101v, 'Henry ywess' or simply'Henry wess; and again 'John Peperedeye
just many pentrials and false starts on f i recto and verso; 'Lumler' on f2 at bottom.
Further Information:Seymour
Centre for Medieval Studies, University of York, King's Manor, York YO1 7EP