Manuscript Description London, British Library MS Egerton 913 | |
Title: | Confessio Amantis |
Author: | Gower |
Contents: | Confessio Amantis (incomplete) |
Language: | English and Latin |
Date Range: | 1400-1425 |
Scribal Hands: | Examples of the hand. Click on the link above for full details and images of individual letter forms. Examples of the hand. Click on the link above for full details and images of individual letter forms. Examples of the hand. Click on the link above for full details and images of individual letter forms. |
Dialect: | Hand 1 Gowerian/colourless; Hand 2 Gowerian/colourless; Hand 3 Gowerian/colourless/E.Anglia |
Material: | Paper |
No of Folios: | Marbled + 4 newer paper flyleaves + 2 older paper flyleaves, not original + 1-47 (of which much of lower outer half of 47 torn away) + 4 newer flyleaves + marbled. |
Pagination: | Modern pencil foliation usual place 1-47. |
Quiring: | 116 (1-16) catchword on 16v; 216+4 (17-36, where four leaves by scribe B inserted between 10 and 11 of original quire), catchword on 36v; 312-1 (missing 5th leaf between 41 and 42). NB. changes of quire / insertions are changes in hands. |
Signatures: | Signatures of roman numerals j to viij in first half of quires 1 and 2, arabic numbers 1-4 and 6 on first 5 leaves of quire 3, all in usual place of lower outer corner of rectos only. |
Catchwords: | ff16v and 36v only, by Hand A, half way down lower margin and running up to right frame line, with sleigh either sides and under in same ink. |
Page Size: | 292 x 208 |
Frame: | Simple square extending to edges, same throughout MS, fine grey lines. |
Writing Space: | 221 x 122 (ruled for, but lines of text only c. 80 mm wide). |
Marginal Headings: | 'Amans' and 'Confessor' in right margins. Latin verse portions are set in text space, except prose in Latin is set in margins either to left or right of text; Latin prose portions written in margins are in smaller script but otherwise same as text, and written by the scribes of each section |
Flourished Initials: | 2-3 line red lombard initials, plain with no penwork, appears same red throughout. |
Other Names (not owners): | Second older flyleaf at front, 'Purchased of Tho. Thorpe / 13 July 1841' and below in same hand, 'It formerly belonged to Gough, and / is Lot 4323 of his Catalogue, in 1810'. |
Miscellaneous Info: | Note extra space left on f30v. Scribe B finishes Latin verse of 8 lines at top of page, then space left (about 3 lines) and then he writes in smaller script but in main column a Latin prose 'hic loquitur quod septem sunt peccata mortalia'' (3 ' lines) and then a much larger space, ca. 7-8 lines left blank, before at bottom 6 lines of English beginning, 'Mi Sone as I þe shall enforme'' as if section beginning f31 had already been written so using up space before scribe A comes back in. |
Further Information: | Gower edition by Macaulay. |