INTRODUCTION LIFE OF GOWER. (continued 2)

There are first those who hold temporal possessions, and some of these live in gluttony and luxury.

Cap. II. Those who leave the world should give up worldly things; but in these days the monk is known only by his garb. He indulges himself with the richest food and the choicest drink, he makes haste when the bell rings for a meal, but he rises very slowly and reluctantly for midnight prayer. The monks of old were different; they dwelt in caves and had no luxurious halls or kitchens, they were clothed in skins, fed on herbs and drank water, and abstained from fleshly lusts. These men truly renounced the world, but that blessed state has now perished.

Cap. III. The old monastic rule has given place to gluttony and drunkenness, and those who live so can hardly be chaste. Pride, anger and envy prevail among these men, in spite of the restrictions of their rule.

Cap. IV. There is no brotherly love among them, and the vow of individual poverty is also broken. They make money in various ways and spend it on their pleasures and in enriching their children, whom they call their nephews.

Cap. V. A monk wandering abroad from his cloister is like a fish out of water; nor are those much better who stay within the walls and allow their minds to dwell on worldly things.

Cap. VI. Some seek honour and dignity under the cover of the monastic profession, even though they be of poor and low birth.

Cap. VII. Patience, Chastity and the rest who were once brothers of religious orders, are now dead or departed, and their contrary vices have taken their places.

Cap. VIII. So also the regular Canons for the most part neglect their monastic rule and have only a show of sanctity.

Cap. IX. Monks who are untrue to their profession are of all men the most unhappy. They have no real enjoyment of this world and they lose also the joys of heaven.

Cap. X. Let all members of religious orders perform their vows and repent of their past sins, of their pride, luxury, avarice, ambition, gluttony, wrath, envy and strife.

Cap. XI. Above all let them avoid intercourse with women, who bring death to their souls. Let them labour and study; for idleness is the great incentive to evil.

Cap. XII. The monk who sets himself to observe his rule will live hardly and fast often, praying continually and doing penance for sin. He will submit himself humbly to his prior, and he will not grudge to perform duties that are irksome. The prior should be gentle with his younger brethren and not make the yoke too heavy for them.

Cap. XIII. As regards nuns, they too are under the rule of chastity; but as women are more frail by nature than men, they must not be so severely punished if they break it. They require meat often on Fridays for their stomachs’ sake, and this is prepared for them by Genius the priest of Venus.

Cap. XIV. Where Genius is the confessor of a convent, the laws of the flesh prevail. The priest who visits nuns too often corrupts them, and the woman very easily yields to temptation. A wife may deceive her husband, but the bride of Christ cannot conceal her unfaithfulness from him: therefore she above all others should be chaste.

Cap. XV. True virginity is above all praise, and this surpasses every other condition, as a rose surpasses the thorns from which it springs. The best kind of virginity is that which is vowed to God.

Cap. XVI. Not all whom Christ chose were faithful, and everywhere bad and good are mingled together; but the fault of the bad is not a reason for condemning the good. So when I speak of the evil deeds of Friars, I condemn the bad only and absolve the good.

The number of mendicant friars is too great and their primitive rule has been forgotten. They pretend to be poor, but in fact they possess all things, and have power over the pope himself. Both life and death bring in gains to them.

Cap. XVII. They preach hypocritically against sin in public, but in private they encourage it by flattery and indulgence. They know that their gains depend upon the sins which their penitents commit. Friars do not often visit places where gain is not to be got. They have an outward appearance of poverty and sanctity, without the reality. I do not desire that they should be altogether suppressed, but that they should be kept under due discipline.

Cap. XVIII. Some friars aim at dignity as masters in the schools, and then they are exempted from their rule and obtain entry into great houses. The influence of the friar is everywhere felt, and often he supplies the place of the absent husband and is the father of his children. Bees, when they wound, lose their stings and are afterwards helpless: would it were so with the adulterous friar!

Cap. XIX. The order of friars is not necessary to the Church. Friars appropriate spiritual rights which belong to others; and though this may be by dispensation of the pope, yet we know that the pope does not grant such dispensations of his own motion, and he may be deceived. They ask for the cure of souls, but in fact they are demanding worldly wealth: not so did Francis make petition, but he left all and endured poverty.

Cap. XX. This multitude of friars is not necessary for the good of society. David says of them that they neither take part in the labours of men nor endure the rule of the law: they toil not, neither do they spin, and yet the world feeds them. It is vain for them to plead the merits of Francis, when they do not follow his example. All honour to those who do as he did.

Cap. XXI. They draw into their order not grown men but mere boys. Francis was not a boy when he assumed his work; but in these days mere children are enrolled, caught like birds in a snare: and as they are deceived themselves, so afterwards they deceive others.

Cap. XXII. The friar who transgresses the rule of his order is an apostate and a follower of the apostate fiend. He finds entrance everywhere, and everywhere he lays snares, encourages hatred, and fosters impurity. Under a veil of virtuous simplicity he conceals a treacherous heart. These are ministers of the Synagogue rather than of the Church, children of Hagar, not of Sara.

Cap. XXIII. They are dispersed over the world like the Jews, and everywhere they find ease and abundance. Their churches and their houses are built in the most costly style and adorned with the richest ornaments. No king has chambers more magnificent than theirs, and their buildings are a mark of their worldly pride. Unless their souls are fair within, this outward pomp of religion is of no avail.

Cap. XXIV. Friars differ from one another in the garb of their order, but all equally neglect their rule. Only the order founded by brother Burnel still maintains its former state. Two rules of this order I will set forth, which are almost everywhere received. The first is that what the flesh desires, that you may have; and the second that whatever the flesh shrinks from, that you should avoid. So the new order of Burnel is thought better than those of Benedict or Bernard.

Thus, if bad times come, I shall hold that the error of the Clergy is the cause. The body is nothing without the spirit: we have darkness instead of light, death instead of life, and the flock is scattered abroad without a shepherd.

Liber Quintus.

Cap. I. I will speak in the second place of the order of Knighthood. This was established first to defend the Church, then for the good of the community, and thirdly to support the cause of the widow and orphan. If a knight performs these duties, he should have praise, but not if he makes war merely for the sake of glory.

If a knight overcomes his enemies, but is overcome by the love of a woman, he has no true glory, for he makes himself a slave instead of free.

Cap. II. If the knight would reflect on the variety and uncertainty of love, he would not allow himself so easily to be made captive.

Cap. III. But when he sees beauty in woman decked out with all its charms, he thinks it divine and marvellous, and he can offer no effectual resistance. Lovers are blind and are driven by every kind of unreasonable impulse. Women deceive men, and men also deceive and betray women.

Cap. IV. The knight has little need to fear bodily wounds, which may easily be healed; but love is not to be cured by physicians, and this deprives him both of reason and of honour.

Cap. V. Those who seek fame and worldly honours only, are hardly better than those who are conquered by women.

Cap. VI. The good woman is one whose praise is above all things. The bad is a subtle snare for the destruction of men. She paints her face and uses every art to deceive. The world is treacherous, but woman is more treacherous still.

Cap. VII. The good knight, who labours neither for gain nor for glory, and is not conquered by love, obtains the victory over the enemies of the Church and of his country, and gives us the blessing of peace.

Cap. VIII. The bad knight is the causer of many evils in the other orders of society. He deserves to have Leah, not Rachel, as his bride. Those who follow wars for the sake of the spoils are like vultures that prey upon the corpses of the dead. Alas, in these days gold is preferred to honour and the world to God.

Cap. IX. Another estate remains, that of the cultivators of the soil, who provide sustenance for the human race in accordance with the divine ordinance laid down for Adam. These at the present time are lazy and grasping, as well as few in number; one peasant now asks more wages than two did in past time, and one formerly did as much work as three do now. We know from recent experience what evil the peasant is capable of doing. God has ordained, however, that nothing is to be had without toil; therefore the peasant must labour, and if he will not, he must be compelled.

Cap. X. There are also the casual labourers, who go from one employment to another and always find fault with the food that they get from their masters. These are irrational like beasts, and they should be disciplined by fear of punishment.

Cap XI. In cities there are chiefly two classes, the merchants and the craftsmen. The former sin by not regarding festivals and holy days.

Cap. XII. Usury and Fraud are two sisters, daughters of Avarice, to whom the dwellers in cities pay honour. Usury is forbidden of old, but by a gloss on the text it is now approved.

Cap. XIII. Fraud is worse, because it is common to all places. From the young apprentice to the master all practise it in selling.

Cap. XIV. Craftsmen, who make things, follow the laws of Fraud, and so do those who sell articles of food, as meat, fish, bread, beer and so on.

Cap. XV. It is an ill bird that fouls its own nest, and it is shameful for a citizen to benefit strangers at the expense of his fellow-citizens. It is an evil thing when one of low condition is exalted to the highest place in the city. The evil man is a common scourge; but though he be mounted on high, he shall fall and perish.

Cap. XVI. The man whose tongue is unrestrained is as a pestilence among the people. The tongue causes strife and many evils; it breaks through every guard and devours like a flame. None can say how many evils the tongue of the talkative man brings about in the city: it causes discord and hatred instead of peace and love; and where peace and love are not, there God is not. The citizen who thus plagues his fellows should be put to death or banished: it is expedient that one should die, lest the whole people should perish.

Thou ruler of the city, labour to bring about harmony and peace, and above all deal prudently. Great consequences often follow from small things, and the fire which seems to be extinguished may blaze up again. Justice and peace, which formerly reigned, must be restored, so that the ruin which overtook Rome and Athens may be averted from our city.

Liber Sextus.

Cap. I. Besides the three degrees of society above described, there are those who are called ministers of the Law. Of these some labour for true law and justice, and these I praise; but most practise an art under the name of law which perverts justice. The advocate will plead the cause of any man who pays him, and compels his rich neighbours to give him gifts, for fear that evil should befall them. He has a thousand ways of making his gains; the great and powerful break through his snares, but the weak and defenceless are caught in them. Like the bat or the owl he loves darkness rather than light: yet sometimes the biter is bitten.

Cap. II. The advocate oppresses and plunders the poor, and rejoices in discord as a physician in disease. He contrives every device to enrich himself and his offspring; he joins house to house and field to field. But his heir dissipates that which he has gathered together, and a curse comes upon him at the last.

Cap. III. The land is ruined by the excessive number of lawyers. As a straight stick appears crooked when plunged in water, so does straightforward and simple law become distorted in the mind of the lawyer. As clouds conceal the sun, so do advocates obscure the clear light of the law. Conspiracy, they say, is unlawful, but they themselves conspire to protect one another, and the law has no power over these.

Cap. IV. They ascend by degrees from the rank of apprentice to that of serjeant and so to the office of judge. The administration of justice is disturbed chiefly by three things, gifts, favour, and fear. Those who make friends with the judge will hardly lose their case.

Cap. V. O ye who sell justice for gain, learn what end awaits you. The higher you rise, the greater will be your fall: the more wealth you gather, the greater will be your misery. O thou judge who seekest after wealth, why dost thou attend to all things else and neglect thyself? Thou wilt gain the world, but lose heaven. All worldly power comes to an end, and so, be sure, will thine.

Cap. VI. As regards the sheriffs, the bailiffs, and the jurymen at assizes, they are ready to accept bribes and pervert justice. As the toad cursed the harrow, so I curse these many masters, who are all unjust.

Cap. VII. Laws, nevertheless, there must be, to punish the transgressor; and if there are laws there must also be judges. The worst of evils is when justice is not to be had, and this causes a land to be divided against itself. Much depends upon the ruler: for the sins of a bad king the people are punished as well as the king himself. The higher a man’s place is, the worse is the effect of his evil-doing. A law is nothing without people, or people without a king, or a king without good counsel. 69 Complaints are everywhere heard now of the injustice of the high court, and the limbs suffer because the head is diseased. The king is an undisciplined youth, who neglects all good habits, and chooses unworthy companions, by whose influence he is made worse. At the same time older men give way to him for gain and pervert the justice of the king’s court. None can tell what the end will be: I can only mourn over these evils and offer my counsel to the youthful king.

Cap. VIII. Every subject is bound to serve his king, and the king to govern his people justly. Hence I shall endeavour to set forth a rule of conduct for the honour of my king.

First then, I say, govern thyself according to the law, and enforce on thyself the precepts that are fitting for others. A king is above all others; he should endeavour to overcome and rise above himself. If thou art above the laws, live the more justly. Be gentle in thy acts, for thy wrath is death. Endeavour to practise virtue in thy youth and to avoid evil communications.

Cap. IX. Avoid false friends and those who stir up war for the sake of their own profit. Resist those who will tempt thee to evil, O king. Take vengeance on wrong, and let justice be done without fear or favour.

Cap. X. Show mercy also, where mercy is fitting, and listen to the prayer of the poor and helpless. Let fit men of proper age and sufficient wisdom be appointed to administer justice.

Cap. XI. Be not exalted with vain glory, O king, or moved by sudden wrath to violence. Be liberal to those who need thy help, and give alms to the poor of that which God has given thee. Avoid gluttony and sloth.

Cap. XII. Above all things, O king, flee from the enticements of fleshly lusts. Take example by the sin of David, and by that of the Hebrews who were tempted by the counsel of Balaam. One consort is sufficient for thee: be faithful to her.

Cap. XIII. O king, thou art the defender in arms of thy people. Remember the deeds of thy father, whose praise is sounded everywhere and whose prowess was above that of Hector. He was just and liberal; he made prey of foreign lands, but he protected his own. France and Spain both felt his might, and he broke through the ranks of his enemies like a lion. The land was at rest under that great prince: the nation was secure from its enemies. O king, endeavour to deserve the praise which thy father won. Peace is the best of all things, but it must sometimes give way to war.

Cap. XIV. A king must not prey upon his people; their love is his chief glory. He should remember that true nobility does not come from noble descent but from virtue. Study to know thyself and to love God.

Cap. XV. O young king, remember how Solomon in his youth asked for wisdom to rule well, rather than wealth or long life, and how God granted his prayer and added also the other blessings. Wisdom is above everything for a king, and this makes him acceptable to God.

Cap. XVI. Whatever thou hast, O king, comes from God. He has given thee beauty of body, and thou must see to it that there be virtue of the soul corresponding to this. Worship and fear God, for earthly kingdoms are as nothing compared with his.

Cap. XVII. Death makes all equal; rich and poor, king and subject, all go one way. Prepare thyself, therefore, for thy journey, and adorn thyself betimes with virtue. May God direct thee in the right way.

Cap. XVIII. 70The king is honoured above all, so long as his acts are good, but if the king be avaricious and proud, the people is grieved. Not all that a king desires is expedient for him: he has a charge laid upon him and must maintain law and do justice.

O king, do away the evils of thy reign, restore the laws and banish crime: let thy people be subject to thee for love and not for fear.

Cap. XIX. All things change and die, the gems that were bright are now dimmed, the Church herself has lost her virtue, and the Synagogue becomes the spouse of Christ. The good men of old have passed away, and the bad of old live again. Noah, Japhet, Abraham, Isaac, Joseph, Moses, Aaron, Elijah, Micaiah, Elisha are gone; Nimrod, Ham, Belus, Ishmael, Abiram, Korah, Dathan, Zedekiah, and Gehazi survive. Peter is dead, but Tiberius lives; Paul is reconverted into Saul; the examples of Gregory, Martin, Tobit, and Job are neglected. Benedict is dead, but Julian lives: there is a new Arius, a new Jovinian, who spread their heresy.

Cap. XX. As the good men in the Church of God have passed away, so also the men who were famed for prowess in the world are gone, as Trajan, Justinian, Alexander, Constantine, Theodosius, Julius, Hannibal, while the bad still survive, as Nero, Dionysius, Tarquin, Leo, and Constantius. Solomon is dead and Rehoboam survives. The love of David and Jonathan is gone, but the hatred of Saul still lives; the counsel of Achitophel is followed and that of Hushai rejected; Cato is banished and Pilate is made judge in his stead; Mordecai is hanged and Haman is delivered; Christ is crucified and Barabbas is let go free.

Cap. XXI. Temperance and chastity also have disappeared. Socrates and Diogenes are dead, Epicurus and Aristippus still live; Phirinus is dead and Agladius survives; Troilus and Medea are dead, while Jason and Criseida remain; Penelope and Lucretia have passed away, Circe and Calipso still live. The laws of marriage are no longer kept in these days, chaste love is all but unknown, and adultery everywhere prevails. Women have no modesty, no chastity, and no patience: vice blooms and flourishes, while the flower of virtue is trodden under foot.

Liber Septimus.

Cap. I. Now the golden head of Nebuchadnezzar’s statue is gone, and the feet of iron and clay remain: the world is in its final stage of deterioration. There are principally two causes, lechery, which leads to sloth, and avarice, which is ever unsatisfied.

Cap. II. The avaricious are merciless to the poor, and their hard hearts are typified by the iron of the statue. He is wretched who is ever desiring more, not he who has little and is content.

Cap. III. The fragile clay signifies the frailty of our flesh, which shows itself in fornication and adultery. There is also hypocrisy everywhere, which conceals the foulness within by a fair show without. Yet it will not escape detection.

Cap. IV. Things that were good are now changed into the opposite forms, truth into falsehood, wisdom into folly, love into lust, learned into ignorant; servants are become masters and masters servants. Nothing pleases now but flattery. Courts do not keep their former honour: knights there are in plenty, but little valour. Weakness grows and strength is depressed, there is much talk but little action, the burdens of war without the advantages. Justice has departed and fraud has taken its place; even those of one family feel envy and hatred one against another. Friendship is treacherous and seeks gain like a harlot: hatred is everywhere common, but love is as the phenix. There is no faith anywhere, and the right hand cannot trust the left. All cry out against the world and say that it is growing worse and worse.

Cap. V. The world is indeed full of evil and impurity, and this life is a perpetual warfare, in which all that is good perishes and all that is evil prevails. Even the elements of the world change and pass away, and much more human things. No degree is exempted: the hearts of kings are disturbed by fear of change, and terrors prevail in spite of royal banquets and bodyguards.

Cap. VI. Man was created for the service of God, and the world was given for his use. He was made in the image of God, and he learnt gradually the purpose of his creation and to love his Creator.

Cap. VII. All things were put under his feet, and were made to minister to him. He ought therefore to remember whence he is and who gave him these things. Again, when by man’s sin the race of man was corrupted, the Creator himself restored and redeemed it, taking the form of a servant. Man ought therefore to confess him as Lord and follow his precepts with a devout mind.

Cap. VIII. Man is a microcosm or lesser world, and according as he does ill or well, the greater world is good or bad. Man ought therefore to aim at high things, and not to submit himself to the rule of sin.

Cap. IX. When death comes, when the throat is dry and the face bloodless, when the eyes are fixed and the tongue silent, when the pulse beats no more and the feet can no longer move, what then will the proud man say? The body in which he prided himself is now food for worms, his strength is less than that of a fly, and his beauty is turned into loathing. His wealth and his pomp avail him no longer, the serpent is his attendant and the charnel-house is his bed-chamber.

Cap. X. The envious man, who once gnawed upon others, is now himself devoured: he who laughed at the misfortunes of others, laughs now no more; the heart that so much murmured now suffers putrefaction; the sting of envy can pierce no more.

Cap. XI. He who was full of anger, now cannot move his head; he who uttered furious words, now cannot make a sound; he who terrified others by his threats, now does not scare away the worm which eats his heart.

Cap. XII. What can avarice do for him who has served her? He has no chest but his coffin, no land but the seven feet of earth in which he lies. He who preyed upon others, is himself the prey of death; he who closed his purse against the poor, is now himself in want.

Cap. XIII. The slothful man who was given to sleep, has now abundance of it, with the cold earth instead of his soft bed-coverings. He who seldom came to the church, now never leaves it, but his time for prayer is past.

Cap. XIV. Gluttony is no longer a pleasure; the body which delighted in choice food and drink is now full of vileness and horror, the abode of foul reptiles.

Cap. XV. The man who took pleasure in lechery, delights in it now no more. His members are preyed upon by the serpent, and he can no longer use his hands, his eyes, or his tongue in the service of lust. No longer can he commit incest or violate the honour of virginity.

Cap. XVI. Answer, thou sinful man, what will thy pride do for thee then, thy envy, thy anger, thy sloth, thy gluttony, thy lechery, or thy avarice? All the glory of this world perishes and passes away.

Cap. XVII. Everything passes away, wealth, honour, beauty, power, learning, and pleasure. Our flesh grows old as a garment and we perish. He is happy and a true king who rules himself, he is a slave (though called a king) who is subject to his own vices. Our life is so short and death comes so soon, that we ought all to prepare for our journey hence. Death comes when we least expect it, and takes away our wealth and strength, nor can any man redeem himself with gold, or move with gifts the Judge who judges all things justly.

Cap. XVIII. Death is common to all, but to the good it is a cause of joy, to the evil of sorrow. The good will pass by means of death to a place of perfect peace and perfect joy, such as cannot be described or imagined.

Cap. XIX. The evil-doer has a twofold death, the death of the body and the death of the soul. No words can tell the torment of that second death, which is eternal. How terrible will the Judgement be and how direful the sentence! Happy are they who shall escape such punishment.

Cap. XX. Let each man remember what his condition is, and let him repent in time, turning himself to the service of his Creator. Let him submit to punishment in this life, that he may escape that which is eternal: for it is the property of God to forgive and to have mercy.

Cap. XXI. Almost everyone, however, follows the lusts of his flesh and neglects the cause of his soul. The unrighteous have power everywhere, and all vices flourish.

Cap. XXII. The days are coming which Christ foretold, and the signs which he predicted are visible now. God’s sentence is still delayed, in order that the sinner may have room for repentance. Hardly even a few just men are found to save the world from destruction.

Cap. XXIII. Each one of the various degrees of society has departed from its true virtue, and the deadly vices have rule over the whole. Prelates are worldly, priests unchaste, scholars lazy, monks envious and self-indulgent, knights are evil livers, merchants defraud, peasants are disobedient and proud. The enticements of the world have overcome them all.

Cap. XXIV. I love all the realms of Christendom, but most of all I love this land in which I was born. From other lands I stand apart and am not involved in their calamities; but this country of mine, which brought me up from childhood and in which I dwell, cannot suffer evil without affecting me: by its burdens I am weighed down; if it stands, I stand, if it falls, I fall. Therefore it is that I bewail its present divisions.

One thing above all things is needful, and that is justice, with which is associated peace. If in other lands the sins of the flesh prevail, yet there they are to some extent compensated; for there justice prevails and all are equal before the law. Among us, however, not only is there carnal vice, but justice is absent; so that a terrible vengeance is being prepared for us by God.

We, who have always been favoured by fortune, are now brought low; this land, which was once reputed so wealthy, is now poor both in virtue and in possessions; my country, which was so strong, is made feeble by unjust judgements; she who was so fertile, is now sown with salt; she who had Fame for her sister, is now infamous, all her praise is taken away and her glory is departed. Her lords are sunk in sloth, her clergy is dissolute, her cities full of discord, her laws oppressive and without justice, her people discontented.

O land barren of virtue, where is thy past fortune? omens appear which presage thy fate, and all point to thee as an example. It is not by fortune or by chance that this comes about, but by our sins; and the grace of God even now may be found by repentance. I pray that God may show us his mercy and accept our tears. We know that thou, O God, art alone to be worshipped, that thou art the ruler of all things, and not fortune. Show pity therefore, O God!

Cap. XXV. Such were the verses which came to me by inspiration in my sleep. It is not I who speak them, but the common voice of all. Let him who feels himself in fault amend his ways, and he who feels himself free from fault may pass untouched. I accuse no man; let each examine his own conscience.

The world is neither evil nor good: each man may make of it what he will by his own life. 71But this I say, that sin committed and not purged by repentance receives at length its due reward.

The conclusion of the Vox Clamantis, as altered from the first version, is doubtless intended as a fitting form of introduction for the Cronica Tripertita, which comes in as an appendix added in later years. It will be noted as regards the prose which forms a transition to this, that Gower has in the end brought himself to think that the misfortunes of the earlier part of Richard’s reign were intended as a special warning to the youthful king, whom he formerly relieved from responsibility on account of his tender age, and that the tyranny of his later time sprang naturally out of his disregard of this preliminary chastisement. This change of view is also to be traced in the successive forms assumed by the paragraph relating to the Vox Clamantis in the author’s account of his books (‘Quia vnusquisque,’ &c.).

Of the contents of the Cronica Tripertita it is unnecessary that more should be said than is contained in the Notes to this edition. Of the remaining pieces the Carmen super multiplici Viciorum Pestilencia is dated by the author as belonging to the twentieth year of Richard II. The Tractatus de Lucis Scrutinio is probably somewhat later, and the poem ‘O deus immense,’ &c., is said in one of the titles prefixed to have been composed near the end of Richard’s reign. Besides these there is a group of Latin poems referring to the accession of Henry IV, ‘Rex celi, deus,’ &c. adapted from the Vox Clamantis, ‘H. aquile pullus,’ and ‘O recolende, bone,’ with several short occasional pieces belonging to the last years of the author’s life. One of these has reference to his blindness and to the end of his activity as an author which was caused by it, and in connexion with this we have also the epistle to Archbishop Arundel prefixed to the All Souls MS. of the Vox Clamantis and other Latin poems, and apparently meant to accompany the presentation of this particular copy. To Arundel also is addressed the short piece referring to the comet of March 1402, and finally we have the lines in which allusion is made to the short-comings of executors. It is probable also that the four lines which afterwards appeared upon the poet’s tomb, ‘Armigeri scutum,’ &c., and which are given by the Glasgow MS., were written by Gower himself.

Some reference ought perhaps to be made in conclusion to the list of Gower’s works given by Bale and copied by others, with a view to the question whether he was acquainted with any works of Gower which are not known to us. In his Scriptorum Illustrium Catalogus, p. 524 (ed. 1559) he says that Gower wrote

‘Speculum Meditantis, Gallice, Lib. 10.

‘Confessionem Amantis, Anglice, Lib. 8, “Eorum qui ante nos scripserunt.”

‘Vocem Clamantis, Latine, Lib. 7, “Scripture veteris capiunt exempla.”

‘De compunctione cordis, Lib. 1.

‘Chronicon Ricardi Secundi, Lib. 3, “Opus humanum est inquirere.”

‘Chronicon tripertitum, Lib. 3, “Tolle caput mundi C. ter et sex.”

‘Ad Henricum quartum, Lib. 1, “Nobilis ac digne rex Henrice.”

‘De eodem rege Henrico, Lib. 1, “Rex celi deus et dominus.”

‘De peste vitiorum, Lib. 1, “Non excusatur qui verum non fateatur.”

‘Scrutinium lucis, Lib. 1, “Heu quia per crebras humus est.”

‘De coniugii dignitate, Lib. 1, “Qualiter creator omnium rerum Deus.”

‘De regimine principum, “O deus immense, sub quo dominatur.”

‘Epigrammata quaedam, Lib. 1, “Alta petens aquila volat alitque.”

‘De amoris varietate, Lib. 1, “Est amor in glosa pax bellica.”

‘Carmina diuersa, Lib. 1, et alia plura.’

In regard to this list it may be observed first that in the two cases where the beginning of the book or piece in question is not cited, we may safely assume that Bale had not seen it. This applies to the Speculum Meditantis and the supposed piece De compunctione cordis, of which I can give no account. It will be observed that he makes the short prose preface to the Cronica Tripertita, ‘Opus humanum est inquirere’ &c., into a separate work in three books. The other items are all recognizable, except ‘Epigrammata quaedam, Lib. 1, “Alta petens aquila volat alitque.”’ Here we may observe that the quotation is from Vox Clamantis vi. 985, ‘Alta petens aquila volat alite celsius omni,’ &c. (a passage taken from the Aurora); and on referring to Bale’s unpublished papers72 we find the description of this supposed book of epigrams in the following form, ‘Ex suo libro et sanctifidensi chron. Epigrammata edidit, li. 1, “Alta petens aquila volat alite,”’ whence we should gather that the book referred to was a collection of quotations. It is probable that Bale may have seen in some Gower MS. a selection of sententious passages from the Vox Clamantis and other places, such as we actually have on one of the blank leaves of the Digby MS. (f. 160), beginning ‘Vulturis est hominum natura cadauera velle,’ again one of those allegories of bird nature which were borrowed by Gower from the Aurora.

It may be noted here that in the same passage of Bale’s unpublished papers we have the following statement:

Also the following is given as the epitaph of his wife,

These statements seem to be given by Bale on the authority of Nicholas Brigham, to whom we owe the tomb of Chaucer in Westminster Abbey.

The Text and the Manuscripts.

Gower’s principal Latin work, the Vox Clamantis, is found in ten manuscripts altogether. Of these four are evidently contemporary with the author and contain also the Cronica Tripertita and most of the other Latin poems printed in this volume. Some of these last are found also in other MSS. of the Vox Clamantis, some Latin pieces are contained in the Trentham MS. of the Praise of Peace and the Cinkante Balades (described in vol. i. p. lxxix), and the Cronica Tripertita occurs separately in the Bodleian MS. Hatton 92. Copies of the Carmen de multiplici Viciorum Pestilencia are contained in some MSS. of the Confessio Amantis, viz. TBAP₂ of the second recension, and FH₂K of the third, and with regard to these the reader is referred to the account given of the manuscripts in the Introduction to the second volume of this edition.

Of the four manuscripts of the Vox Clamantis with other Latin poems, which have been referred to as contemporary with the author, one is at Oxford, in the library of All Souls College, one at Glasgow in the Hunterian Museum, and two in London. They are proved to be original copies, not only by the handwriting of the text, which in each case is distinctly of the fourteenth century, but also by the fact that they all have author’s corrections written over erasure, and in several cases the same hand is recognizable throughout. The original text of the Vox Clamantis seems to be written in one and the same hand in the All Souls and Glasgow MSS. and this hand is also that of the lines supplied occasionally in the margin of the Harleian: the hand in which the text of the Cronica Tripertita is written in the All Souls MS. appears also in all the other three, and the same is the case with some of the correctors’ hands, as will be seen in the detailed accounts which follow. Of the other manuscripts of the Vox Clamantis two, which are not themselves original copies, give the text in its first (unrevised) form, the rest are more or less in agreement with the revised text, but give it at second or third hand, with no alterations made over erasure.

S. All Souls College, Oxf. 98. Contains, f. 1 v^o, Epistle to Archbishop Arundel, ff. 2-116, Vox Clamantis, ff. 116-126 v^o, Cronica Tripertita, ff. 126 v^o-127 v^o, ‘Rex celi deus,’ ‘H. aquile pullus,’ ‘O recolende bone,’ ff. 127 v^o-131, Carmen super multiplici Viciorum Pestilencia, f. 131, Tractatus de Lucis Scrutinio (imperfect at the end owing to the loss of a leaf), ff. 132-135, Traitié pour ensampler les Amantz marietz, (imperfect at the beginning), f. 135 v^o, ‘Quia vnusquisque,’ ff. 136, 137, ‘Eneidos Bucolis,’ ‘O deus immense,’ ‘Quicquid homo scribat’ (f. 137 v^o blank). Parchment, ff. 137 as numbered (and in addition several blank at the beginning and end) measuring 12½ x 8¼ in. Well and regularly written in single column, the Vox Clamantis 48 lines on a page and the succeeding poems 52. The original first quire begins with f. 2, but before this a quire of four leaves (probably) was inserted, of which the first two are blank, the third is cut away, and the fourth has on its verso the Epistle to the Archbishop. The quire which ends with f. 116 has seven leaves only, and that ending with f. 137 six. After this several leaves have been inserted, which remain blank. The book has on f. 1 an ornamental initial S containing a miniature of Abp. Arundel in his robes and mitre, and there are large coloured and gilt capitals at the beginning of each book of the Vox Clamantis, and coloured initials of various sizes for chapters and paragraphs. Original oak binding.

Five leaves are lost (apart from blanks at the beginning and end), as follows.

After f. 2 one leaf containing chapter-headings of Vox Clamantis Lib. ii. cap. ii-Lib. iii. cap. xxii. After f. 5 two leaves, containing chapter-headings Lib. vii. cap. xix to the end, the lines ‘Ad mundum mitto,’ probably with a picture of the author, and Vox Clamantis Lib. i. Prologus, ll. 1-18. After f. 13 one leaf (Vox Clamantis i. 766-856). After f. 131 one leaf (De Lucis Scrutinio 93-103; probably some other short piece, and the French Traitié, to iii. 3).

This MS. was certainly written and corrected under the direction of the author, and remained for some time in his hands, receiving addition from time to time. From the Epistola at the beginning, which occurs here only and seems to relate to this volume in particular, we may gather that it was eventually presented to Abp. Arundel. It is possible that it passed from him to his successor Chichele, and so to the College of All Souls, where it now is, but there seems to be no definite evidence to confirm this suggestion.

The text of S in the Vox Clamantis agrees in the main as regards revised passages with that of the other original manuscripts C, H and G, but in some respects it is peculiar. In Lib. iii. cap. i. S has a rewritten version which differs from that of the other revised copies, and the same is the case with regard to the lines ‘Quicquid homo scribat’ (p. 365). There are also some places, as iv. 1072, 1197-1232, v. 450, where S retains the original text in company with TH_2 or even with H_2 alone. A few possibly right readings are peculiar to S, as in i. 1788, 2073, ii. 300, iii. 380 (margin), 1642, v. 325, vi. 555, while some others are common to S with G alone, some few small mistakes remain uncorrected, as in i. 106, 953, 1212, 1591, 1662, iii. 176, 989, 1214, 1541, 1695, iv. 273, 336 &c., and in some cases, where the headings of chapters have been rewritten, as vi. cap. xviii, xix, the original headings are left standing in the Table of Chapters at the beginning.

At least five hands are distinguishable, as follows:

(1) the original text of the Vox Clamantis.

(2) the original text of the succeeding poems, French and Latin, and the rewritten text or corrections on ff. 15 v^o (i. 1019), 90 v^o (vi. 545), 97 (vi. 1159), 115 v^o (vii. 1454 f., 1469 f.), 116 (last lines of Vox Clamantis).

(3) the original text and (probably) the corrections of the Epistola, f. i, and the corrections or rewritten text on ff. 36 v^o (iii. 2 ff.), 39 (iii. cap. iv. heading), 97 v^o (vi. 1189), 98 (vi. 1219 ff.), 115 r^o (vii. 1409 ff.), 116 (first lines of Cron. Trip.), 126 v^o, 127 v^o, and the text of ‘Quicquid homo scribat.’

(4) marginal note on f. 40 v^o, ‘Nota de bello Cleri’ &c. (iii. 375).

(5) marginal note on f. 66, ‘Nota quod Genius’ &c. (iv. 587).

In addition there are some marginal notes which are not quite contemporary, as those on ff. 51 v^o, 52, 76 v^o, 77 (‘Contra rectores Oxon.’ &c., ‘Nota de muliere bona’ &c.), and the heading of the last piece on f. 137 seems to have been rewritten over a hand different from any of the above, of which some words remain. A few corrections are in doubtful hands, as vi. 1208.

Of the above hands the first, very regularly written in a fourteenth century character, in brown ink, probably the same as that of the Vox Clamantis in G, and the same scribe apparently wrote the lines which are supplied sometimes in the margin of H, having been dropped out of the text by the first copyist. The second (2) is also a very neat and regular hand, but of a somewhat later type. It appears in the French and Latin poems of MS. Fairfax 3, as well as in the substituted leaf at the beginning of the Confessio Amantis in that manuscript. It is also used for the Cronica Tripertita, Traitié and other pieces in the Glasgow MS. (G), for the Cron. Tripertita and other Latin pieces in H, and for some of the rewritten passages of the Vox Clamantis in G, H, and C. The third (3) is a rather rough hand, found also occasionally in corrections of G and H. The fourth (4) is that in which the same marginal note is written also in C, H and G.

G. Glasgow Hunterian Museum T. 2, 17. Contains, ff. 1-108, Vox Clamantis preceded by the Table of Chapters, ff. 109-119, Cronica Tripertita, ff. 119, 120, ‘H. aquile pullus,’ ‘O recolende,’ ‘Quia vnusquisque,’ ‘Eneidos Bucolis,’ ff. 120 v^o-122, Carmen super multiplici Viciorum Pestilencia, ff. 123, 124, Tractatus de Lucis Scrutinio, f. 124 v^o, Traitié pour ensampler les Amantz marietz followed by Carmen de variis in amore passionibus, f. 129, ‘Orantibus pro anima,’ with shield of arms and the lines ‘Armigeri scutum,’ and below this a bier with candle at head and foot, f. 129 v^o, ‘Epistola quam Iohannes Gower in laudem ... Henrici quarti statim post coronacionem ... deuote composuit,’ f. 130 v^o, ‘O deus immense,’ f. 131 v^o, ‘Henrici regis,’ ‘Vnanimes esse,’ f. 132, ‘Presul, ouile regis,’ ‘Cultor in ecclesia,’ ‘Dicunt scripture,’ f. 132 v^o blank.

Parchment, ff. 132 in quires of eight leaves (except the first, which has six) with catchwords, measuring 11¾ x 7¾ in., 53 lines to the page in the Vox Clamantis, then 52 or 51, regularly and well written with passages erased and rewritten as in CH. On f. 6 v^o is a painting like that in the Cotton MS. of a man in a brown hat, a blue coat with brown lining, and with three arrows in his belt, shooting an arrow at the globe (which has a threefold division corresponding to the three elements of air, earth, and water), with the lines ‘Ad mundum mitto mea iacula’ &c. There is a floreated page at the beginning of Lib. i. (after the Prologue) and illuminated initials with decoration at the beginning of the other books; large and small coloured capitals for chapters and paragraphs.

I have to thank Dr. Young the Librarian of the Hunterian Museum, for facilities given to me in using this MS. and for his kind help in collating and describing it.

The text of G has, as might be expected, a close affinity with that of S, but the peculiarities of S as regards revision in certain passages, e.g. iii. 1 ff., iv. 1197 ff., are not shared by this MS., which goes here with the other revised copies, C and H. In one place at least G has a further touch of revision, viz. in the heading of vi. cap. vii., where its reading is shared by D. In a good many instances, however, G stands with S (sometimes in company with D or L) in support of a probably true reading which is not given by other MSS., as i. 465, 468, 979, 1454, iv. 72, v. 789, vii. 684, 1342, or of an error, as i. 1525, 1870, iii. 1863, iv. 799. It may be noted that sometimes in G an erasure has been made without the correction being supplied.

The following are some of the hands that may be distinguished in this manuscript:

(1) Text of the Vox Clamantis. This seems to be the same as S (1), H (2).

(2) Text of the Cronica Tripertita and succeeding pieces to f. 131 r^o., passages rewritten over erasure in vi. 545 ff., 1159 ff. and in the conclusion of the Vox Clamantis. This is the same as S (2), C (3), H (3).

(3) Corrections in vi. cap. xix., vii. cap. iii. and xxiv, rewritten lines at the beginning and near the end of the Cronica Tripertita, text of the poem ‘Henrici Regis’ with its heading, f. 131. Perhaps the same as S (3).

(4) The marginal note at iii. 375: the same as S (4), C (6), H (6).

(5) The text of ‘Vnanimes esse’ and the succeeding poems on ff. 131 v^o, 132.

C.Cotton. Tib. A. iv, British Museum. Contains, ff. 2-152v^o, Vox Clamantis, ff. 153-167 r^o, ‘Explicit libellus’ &c. and Cronica Tripertita, f. 167, ‘Rex celi deus,’ ‘H. aquile pullus,’ ‘O recolende bone,’ ff. 168-172, Carmen super multiplici Viciorum Pestilencia, ff. 172 v^o-174, Tractatus de Lucis Scrutinio, ff. 174 v^o, 175, ‘Quia vnusquisque,’ ‘Eneidos Bucolis,’ ‘Orate pro anima,’ ‘O deus immense,’ ff. 176, 177, ‘Henrici regis,’ ‘Vnanimes esse,’ ‘Presul, ouile regis,’ ‘Cultor in ecclesia,’ ‘Dicunt scripture.’ Ends on 177 r^o. Parchment, ff. 178, that is, 176 leaves of original text, preceded by two blanks, on the second of which is Sir Robert Cotton’s Table of Contents, ending ‘Liber vt videtur ipsius autoris,’ the first leaf of the text being now numbered f. 2. In quires of eight with catchwords, signed a, b, c, &c. from f. 10 (where the text of the Vox Clamantis begins) the first quire, containing the chapter-headings &c., written in a hand different from that of the main part of the text. Leaves measure about 10 x 6½ in. Written in single column, 38 lines to the page in the Vox Clamantis, 40 or more in the Cronica Tripertita. The MS. has been carefully corrected, and revised passages appear written over erasure as in SGH. Capitals coloured and gilded at the beginning of the books, coloured blue and red at the beginning of chapters and paragraphs. On f. 9, the last of the first quire, a picture like that in the Glasgow MS., of the author shooting at the world, as shown in the frontispiece of this volume.

On f. 2 is written ‘Roberti Cotton liber ex dono doctissimi Patricii Youngi generosi.’ The book suffered somewhat in the fire of 1731, but it has been carefully and skilfully repaired, and though the writing at the top of each page shows traces of the heat, no part of it is illegible. The effect produced is clearly visible on the page of which a facsimile is given.

The text of C is a very good one and unquestionably independent. In regard to spelling it may be observed that the copyist of the Vox Clamantis frequently gives ‘u’ for ‘v’ at the beginning of words, he writes ‘sed’ almost always for ‘set,’ and often ‘ti’ for ‘ci’ in words like ‘etiam,’ ‘ratio,’ ‘patiens’ and even ‘fatie’ (ii. 57), but also ‘eciam,’ ‘ambicio,’ ‘precium,’ &c.

The following are the hands, so far as they can be distinguished:

(1) Text of the Vox Clamantis, a small and somewhat irregular but clear hand, of the fourteenth century.

(2) The eight leaves preceding this (containing the chapter-headings), and also ff. 96, 97 and part of 140. This hand has made corrections throughout, not revising the text, as the author might, but setting right the mistakes of the scribe.

The (3) following passages as rewritten over erasure: i. 1019 ff., vi. 545-554, and also the prose heading of the first part of the Cronica Tripertita. This is the ‘second hand’ of the Fairfax MS., the same as S (2), G (2), H (3).

(4) The passage rewritten over erasure in iii. 1 ff., also the heading of iii, cap. iv., corrections in iv. 1198 ff., and iv. 1221*-1232* rewritten over erasure. This is a neat round hand used also in the same places of the Harleian MS.

(5) The passage ‘Rex puer,’ &c., vi. 555-580, and vi. cap. xviii, with the heading of cap. xix., over erasure, a hand which resembles (3), but does not seem to be identical with it.

(6) The marginal note at iii. 375 and perhaps also iv. 587, and the marginal note at the end of the Cronica Tripertita; also f. 176 ‘Nota hic in fine—intendo,’ and the lines ‘Henrici regis,’ &c. This is the same as S (4), G (4), H (6).

(7) Corrections in vi. 1208, 1210: the same as H (7), and the correction of vi. 1210 in S.

(8) Corrections in vi. 1219 ff., and vii. 187 ff.

(9) Text of Cronica Tripertita and the succeeding pieces to f. 168: a rather rough and irregular hand in faded ink.

(10) Marginal notes of Cronica Tripertita and text of Carmen super multiplici &c. from f. 169, ‘Ad fidei dampnum’ to the end of ‘O deus immense,’ f. 176.

(11) The four smaller poems at the end (possibly with the exception of ‘Cultor in ecclesia’). The same as H (9).

(12) The lines at the beginning and near the end of the Cronica Tripertita (over erasure).

Some other corrections are doubtful, as the concluding lines of the Vox Clamantis.

H. Harleian 6291, British Museum. Contains the same as C, except where deficient from loss of leaves, with the addition of a second copy of the last three poems. Parchment ff. 164, measuring 9 x 6 in., in quires of eight with catchwords, 37 lines to the page, regularly and neatly written. No decoration except coloured initials. Has lost probably two whole quires, 16 leaves, at the beginning, and begins with Vox Clamantis, i. 502. The first existing quire is lettered ‘b,’ and this is also the lettering of the third quire of the Cotton MS., the first, which has the Table of Chapters, not being counted in the lettering. In addition to these, one leaf is lost after f. 1 (containing Vox Clamantis, i. 571-644), two after f. 58 (iii. 1716-1854), one after f. 108 (vi. 951-1021), one after f. 133 (vii. 1399-1466). This last leaf formed part of a quire of 12, which followed f. 124, at the end of the Vox Clamantis. Of these the last three have been cut away, but only one leaf of text is lost, f. 134 continuing at 1467, and the concluding lines of the Vox Clamantis being here given in the hand which copied the Cronica Tripertita, &c. The last quire of that book, ff. 158-164 (one leaf lost at the end), has several blanks (162, 163, 164 v^o).

In a good many instances passages of from two to six lines are omitted in the text and inserted in the margin, either across or at the bottom of the page, in a hand which seems not to be that of the text, though very similar, and is probably identical with S (1). This occurs on ff. 41, 74, 76, 78, &c.

The text of H is very correct, and in forms of spelling, &c. it closely resembles that of S. There is little punctuation at first, but more afterwards. In form of text it agrees nearly with C, but (1) the marginal note at iv. 587 is omitted, (2) as regards revision H parts company with C at vi. 1219, from which point H has the unrevised text in agreement with EDTH₂ except in the concluding lines of the Vox Clamantis on f. 134, which, as already remarked, are rewritten in a new hand.

The hands of H may be thus distinguished:

(1) Text of the Vox Clamantis, a good and regular fourteenth-century hand.

(2) Passages added in the margin, probably the same as S (1).

(3) Rewritten text of i. 1019 ff., vi. 545-580, vi. cap. xviii and heading of xix, last lines of Vox Clamantis, text of Cronica Tripertita and succeeding pieces to the end of ‘O deus immense’ f. 159 v^o. This is the same as S (2), G (2), C (3).

(4) Rewritten text of iii. 1 ff., corrections of iv. 1212, 1214, and rewritten text of 1221*-1232*; also f. 160, ‘Nota hic in fine’ &c. to end of f. 161 r^o. This is the same as C (4).

(5) Correction of the heading of iii. cap. iv, the same as S (3).

(6) Marginal note at iii. 375, the same as S (4), G (4), C (6).

(7) Corrections of vi. 1208, 1210, and of Cronica Tripertita i. 55 f. and some other places: the same as C (7).

(8) Rewritten passages at the beginning and near the end of the Cronica Tripertita, the same as C (12).

(9) Second copy of the last poems (on f. 164), the same hand as C (11).

E. At Ecton, near Northampton, in the possession of General Sotheby, who very kindly sent it to the Bodleian Library for my use. Contains Vox Clamantis, Carmen super multiplici Viciorum Pestilencia, Tractatus de Lucis Scrutinio, ‘O deus immense,’ ‘Cultor in ecclesia,’ ‘Vnanimes esse,’ ‘Dicunt scripture.’ Parchment, ff. 191, measuring about 9 x 6¼ in., in quires of eight with catch-words, the last quire of seven leaves only (two blank). Neatly written in a good hand of the end of the fourteenth century, in single column, 32 lines to a page. On f. 10 a brightly coloured picture of an archer drawing a bow to shoot at the world, with the lines ‘Ad mundum mitto,’ &c., as in the Cotton and Glasgow MSS., but the figure and features are different, and evidently the picture has less claim to be considered an authentic portrait than those of the two MSS. above named. The headings of pages and chapters are in red, and there are coloured initials and other decorations throughout. The whole is written in one hand, and there are no corrections or erasures such as might indicate that the book had been in the hands of the author.

The manuscript seems to have been in the possession of the Sotheby family since 1702, when it was ‘bought at Lord Burgley’s sale for £1 2s. 0d.’ No leaves are lost, but two are transposed at the end of the fourth and beginning of the fifth books.

The text is very fairly correct, and the MS. is closely related to C both in text and spelling (for which see i. Prol. 37 f., i. 21, 95, 447, 1706, 1776, 2017, ii. 174, 311 &c.), but not derived from it (see i. 41, 1626, 2094, iii. 1760 f., v. 785 f.). The passages which in C and the other original copies are rewritten over erasure, as iii. 1 ff., vi. 1161 ff., are usually given by E in the revised form, but the marginal notes at iii. 375 and iv. 587 are omitted. Occasionally too, where C has a correction, E gives the original reading in company with H, as iii. 840, v. 785 f., and especially in the passages vi. 1219 ff. and vii. 182 ff., where H no longer agrees with SCG in corrections, we find that E goes with H. In the final poems E shows some independence as regards marginal notes, e.g. in the last piece, where instead of ‘Nota contra mortuorum executores,’ we find the much more pointed, though doubtfully grammatical, remark, ‘Nota quod bonum est vnicuique esse executor sui ipsius.’ This is the only MS. except CHG which contains the short pieces at the end, and the omission from these of ‘Presul, ouile regis’ may be an indication that the MS. was written before 1402.

As regards the picture in this MS., the features of the archer are quite different from those represented in the Cotton MS. He has a prominent pointed nose and a light-coloured moustache and beard; the arrow, held between the fore-finger and the second and aimed upwards, covers the mouth. The dress consists of a grey fur cap with a hood under it of light crimson, covering also the upper part of the body: below this a blue surcoat with brown lining and wide sleeves thrown back so as to leave the arms bare: a red belt with buckle and pendant, and red hose. The globe is at a higher level and smaller in proportion than in the other pictures. Like them it is divided into three, the left hand upper division having a crescent moon and four stars: a red cross with a banner stands at the summit of the globe.

D. Digby 138, Bodleian Library, Oxford. Contains Vox Clamantis only, preceded by the Table of Chapter-headings. Parchment and paper, ff. 158 originally, with other leaves inserted at the beginning and end in the sixteenth century; about 10½ x 7¼ in., in quires of eight with catchwords; neat writing of the second quarter of the fifteenth century, about 37 lines to the page. No decoration except red and blue initials, numbering of chapters in red, &c. The rubricator has introduced some corrections here and there, but there are no passages rewritten over erasure. There is some transposition of leaves in the fourteenth quire, dating from before the rubricator’s numbering of chapters. The name of a sixteenth-century owner, Roger Waller, occurs on f. 158 v^o. and Kenelm Digby’s device, ‘Vindica te tibi, Kenelme Digby,’ on f. 1.

The text of D is of a mixed character. Sometimes, in company with TH₂ it reproduces the original form of a passage, as i. 1029 ff., vi. cap. xviii and xix, vii. 189 f., 1409 ff., 1454 ff., 1479 ff. In other places, as iii. 1 ff., vi. 545, and elsewhere, the readings of D are those of the revised MSS. It is peculiar in the addition after vi. 522, where eight lines are introduced from the original text of the altered passage which follows at the end of the chapter. The text of D generally is much less correct than that of the older copies, and it is derived from a MS. which had lines missing here and there, as indicated by the ‘deficit versus in copia,’ which occurs sometimes in the margin. In the numbering of the chapters the Prologues of Libb. ii. and iii. are reckoned as cap. i. in each case. The corrections and notes of the rubricator are not always sound, and sometimes we find in the margin attempts to improve the author’s metre, in a seventeenth-century hand, as ‘Et qui pauca tenet’ for ‘Qui tenet et pauca’ (ii. 70), ‘Causa tamen credo’ for ‘Credo tamen causa’ (ii. 84). Some of these late alterations have been admitted (strange to say) into Mr. Coxe’s text (e.g. ii. 70).

The book is made up of parchment and paper in equal proportions, the outer and inner leaves of each quire being of parchment. Sixteen leaves of paper have been inserted at the beginning and twelve at the end of the book, easily distinguished by the water-mark and chain-lines from the paper originally used in the book itself. Most of these are blank, but some have writing, mostly in sixteenth-century hands. There are medical prescriptions and cooking recipes in English, selections of gnomic and other passages from the Vox Clamantis, among which are the lines ‘Ad mundum mitto,’ &c., which do not occur in the Digby text, four Latin lines on the merits of the papal court beginning ‘Pauperibus sua dat gratis,’ which when read backwards convey an opposite sense, the stanzas by Queen Elizabeth ‘The dowte of future force (corr. foes) Exiles my presente ioye, And wytt me warnes to shonne suche snares As threten myne annoye’ (eight four-line stanzas).

With regard to the connexion between D and L see below on the Laud MS.

L. Laud 719, Bodleian Library, Oxford. Contains Vox Clamantis (without Table of Chapters and with omission of Lib. i. 165-2150), Carmen super multiplici Viciorum Pestilencia, Tractatus de Lucis Scrutinio, Carmen de variis in amore passionibus, ‘Lex docet auctorum,’ ‘Quis sit vel qualis,’ ‘H. aquile pullus,’ and seven more Latin lines of obscure meaning (‘Inter saxosum montem,’ &c.), which are not found in other Gower MSS. Parchment and paper, ff. 170 (not including four original blank leaves at the beginning and several miscellaneous leaves at the end), in quires usually of fourteen leaves, but the first of twelve and the second of six, measuring about 8½ x 5¾ in., about 27 lines to the page, moderately well written with a good many contractions, in the same hand throughout with no corrections, of the second quarter of the fifteenth century. There is a roughly drawn picture of an archer aiming at the globe on f. 21, and the chapters have red initial letters. Original oak binding.

The names ‘Thomas Eymis’ and ‘William Turner’ occur as those of sixteenth-century owners. The note on the inside of the binding, ‘Henry Beauchamp lyeing in St. John strete at the iii. Cuppes,’ can hardly be taken to indicate ownership.

The most noticeable fact about the text of this MS. is one to which no attention has hitherto been called, viz. the omission of the whole history of the Peasants’ Revolt. After Lib. i. cap. i. the whole of the remainder of the first book (nearly 2,000 lines) is omitted without any note of deficiency, and we pass on to the Prologue of Lib. ii, not so named here, but standing as the second chapter of Lib. i. (the chapters not being numbered however in this MS.). After what we commonly call the second book follows the heading of the Prologue of Lib. iii, but without any indication that a new book is begun. Lib. iv. is marked by the rubricator as ‘liber iii^us,’ Lib. v. as ‘liber iiii^us,’ and so on to the end, making six books instead of seven; but there are traces of another numbering, apparently by the scribe who wrote the text, according to which Lib. v. was reckoned as ‘liber iii^us,’ Lib. iv. as ‘liber iiii^us,’ and Lib. vii. as ‘liber v^us.’ It has been already observed that there is internal evidence to show that this arrangement in five (or six) books may have been the original form of the text of the Vox Clamantis. At the same time it must be noted that this form is given by no other MS. except the Lincoln book, which is certainly copied from L, and that the nature of the connexion between L and D seems to indicate that these two MSS. are ultimately derived from the same source. This connexion, established by a complete collation of the two MSS., extends apparently throughout the whole of the text of L. We have, for example, in both, i. Prol. 27, laudes, 58 Huius ergo, ii. 94 et ibi, 312 causat, 614 Ingenuitque, iii. 4 mundus, 296 ei, 407 amor (for maior), 536 Hec, 750 timidus, 758 curremus, 882 iuris, 1026 Nil, 1223 mundus, 1228 bona, 1491 egras, 1584 racio, 1655 Inde vola, 1777 ibi, 1868 timet, 1906 seruet, 2075, 2080 qui, iv. 52 vrbe, 99 tegit, and so on. The common source was not an immediate one, for words omitted by D with a blank or ‘deficit’ as iii. 641, vii. 487 are found in L, and the words ‘nescit,’ ‘deus,’ which are omitted with a blank left in L at iii. 1574 and vi. 349 are found in D. If we suppose a common source, we must assume either that the first book was found in it entire and deliberately omitted, with alteration of the numbering of the books, by the copyist of the MS. from which L is more immediately derived, or that it was not found, and that the copyist of the original of D supplied it from another source.

It should be noted that the MS. from which L is ultimately derived must have had alternative versions of some of the revised passages, for in vi. cap. xviii. and also vi. l. 1208 L gives both the revised and the unrevised form. As a rule in the matter of revision L agrees with D, but not in the corrections of vi. 1208-1226, where D has the uncorrected form and L the other. We may note especially the reading of L in vi. 1224.

The following are the Latin lines which occur on f. 170 after ‘[H.] Aquile pullus,’ &c.

The second of the parchment blanks at the beginning has a note in the original hand of the MS. on the marriage of the devil and the birth of his nine daughters, who were assigned to various classes of human society, Simony to the prelates, Hypocrisy to the religious orders, and so on. At the end of the book there are two leaves with theological and other notes in the same hand, and two cut for purposes of binding from leaves of an older MS. of Latin hymns, &c. with music.

L₂. Lincoln Cathedral Library, A. 72, very obligingly placed at my disposal in the Bodleian by the Librarian, with authority from the Dean and Chapter. Contains the same as L, including the enigmatical lines above quoted. Paper, ff. 184, measuring about 8 x 6 in. neatly written in an early sixteenth-century hand, about 26 lines to the page. No coloured initials, but space left for them and on f. 21 for a picture corresponding to that on f. 21 of the Laud MS. Neither books nor chapters numbered. Marked in pencil as ‘one of Dean Honywood’s, No. 53.’

Certainly copied from L, giving a precisely similar form of text and agreeing almost always in the minutest details.

T. Trinity College, Dublin, D. 4, 6, kindly sent to the Bodleian for my use by the Librarian, with the authority of the Provost and Fellows. Contains Vox Clamantis without Table of Chapters, followed by the account of the author’s books, ‘Quia vnusquisque,’ &c. Parchment, ff. 144 (two blank) in seventeen quires, usually of eight leaves, but the first and sixteenth of ten and the last of twelve; written in an early fifteenth-century hand, 36-39 lines to the page, no passages erased or rewritten. Coloured initials.

This, in agreement with the Hatfield book (H₂), gives the original form of all the passages which were revised or rewritten. It is apparently a careless copy of a good text, with many mistakes, some of which are corrected. The scribe either did not understand what he was writing or did not attend to the meaning, and a good many lines and couplets have been carelessly dropped out, as i. 873, 1360, 1749, 1800, ii. Prol. 24 f., ii. 561 f., iii. 281, 394 f., 943 f., 1154, 1767-1770, 1830, iv. 516 f., 684, v. 142-145, 528-530, vi. 829 f., vii. 688 f., 1099 f.

The blank leaf at the beginning, which is partly cut away, has in an early hand the lines

for which cp. Wright’s Political Poems, Rolls Series, 14, vol. i. p. 225.

H₂. Hatfield Hall, in the possession of the Marquess of Salisbury, by whose kind permission I was allowed to examine it. Contains the Vox Clamantis, preceded by the Table of Chapters. Parchment, ff. 144 (not counting blanks), about 9½ x 6¼ in., in eighteen quires of eight with catchwords; neatly written in a hand of the first half of the fifteenth century, 40 lines to the page. There is a richly illuminated border round three sides of the page where the Prologue of the Vox Clamantis begins, and also on the next, at the beginning of the first book, and floreated decorations at the beginning of each succeeding book, with illuminated capitals throughout. The catchwords are sometimes ornamented with neat drawings.

The book has a certain additional interest derived from the fact that it belonged to the celebrated Lord Burleigh, and was evidently read by him with some interest, as is indicated by various notes.

This MS., of which the text is fairly correct, is written in one hand throughout, and with T it represents, so far as we can judge, the original form of the text in all the revised passages. In some few cases, as iv. 1073, v. 450, H₂ seems to give the original reading, where T agrees with the revised MSS.

On the last leaf we find an interesting note about the decoration of the book and the parchment used, written small in red below the ‘Explicit,’ which I read as follows: ‘100 and li. 51 blew letteris, 4 co. smale letteris and more, gold letteris 8: 18 quayers. price velom v s. vi d.’ There are in fact about 150 of the larger blue initials with red lines round them, the smaller letters, of which I understand the account reckons 400 and more, being those at the beginning of paragraphs, blue and red alternately. The eight gold letters are those at the beginning of the first prologue and the seven books.

The following notes are in the hand of Lord Burleigh, as I am informed by Mr. R. T. Gunton: ‘Vox Clamantis’ on the first page, ‘nomine Authoris’ and ‘Anno 4 Regis Ricardi’ in the margin of the prologue to the first book, ‘Thomas arch., Simon arch.,’ opposite i. 1055 f., ‘Amoris effectus’ near the beginning of Lib. v, ‘Laus Edw. princ. patris Ricardi 2’ at Lib. vi. cap. xiii, and a few more.

C₂. Cotton, Titus, A, 13, British Museum. Contains on ff. 105-137 a part of the Vox Clamantis, beginning with the Prologue of Lib. i. and continuing to Lib. iii. l. 116, where it is left unfinished. Paper, leaves measuring 8¼ x 6 in. written in a current sixteenth-century hand with an irregular number of lines (about 38-70) to the page. Headed, ‘De populari tumultu et rebellione. Anno quarto Ricardi secundi.’

Text copied from D, as is shown by minute agreement in almost every particular.

H₃. Hatton 92, Bodleian Library, Oxford. This contains, among other things of a miscellaneous kind, Gower’s Cronica Tripertita, followed by ‘[H.] aquile pullus,’ ‘O recolende,’ and ‘Rex celi deus,’ altogether occupying 21½ leaves of parchment, measuring 7¾ x 5½ in. Neatly written in hands of the first half of the fifteenth century about 28-30 lines to the page, the text in one hand and the margin in another.

Begins, ‘Prologus. Opus humanum est—constituit.’

Then the seven lines, ‘Ista tripertita—vincit amor,’ followed by ‘Explicit prologus.’ After this,

‘Incipit cronica iohannis Gower de tempore Regis Ricardi secundi vsque ad secundum annum Henrici quarti.

Postquam in quodam libello, qui vox clamantis dicitur, quem Iohannes Gower nuper versificatum composuit super hoc quod tempore Regis Ricardi secundi anno Regni sui quarto vulgaris in anglia populus contra ipsum Regem quasi ex virga dei notabiliter insurrexit manifestius tractatum existit, iam in hoc presenti Cronica, que tripertita est, super quibusdam aliis infortuniis,’ &c.

Ends (after ‘sint tibi regna poli’), ‘Expliciunt carmina Iohannis Gower, que scripta sunt vsque nunc, quod est in anno domini Regis prenotati secundo, et quia confractus ego tam senectute quam aliis infirmitatibus vlterius scribere discrete non sufficio, Scribat qui veniet post me discrecior Alter, Amodo namque manus et mea penna silent. Hoc tamen infine verborum queso meorum, prospera quod statuat regna futura deus. Amen. Ihesus esto michi ihesus.’

This conclusion seems to be made up out of the piece beginning ‘Henrici quarti’ in the Trentham MS. (see p. 365 of this volume) combined with the prose heading of the corresponding lines as given by CHG. It may be observed here that the Trentham version of this piece is also given in MS. Cotton, Julius F. vii, f. 167, with the heading ‘Epitaphium siue dictum Iohannis Gower Armigeri et per ipsum compositum.’ It is followed by the lines ‘Electus Cristi—sponte data,’ which are the heading of the Praise of Peace.

Former Editions. The Vox Clamantis was printed for the Roxburghe Club in the year 1850, edited by H. O. Coxe, Bodley’s Librarian. In the same volume were included the Cronica Tripertita, the lines ‘Quicquid homo scribat,’ &c., the complimentary verses of the ‘philosopher,’ ‘Eneidos Bucolis,’ &c., and (in a note to the Introduction) the poem ‘O deus immense,’ &c. In T. Wright’s Political Poems, Rolls Series, 14, vol. i. the following pieces were printed: Carmen super multiplici Viciorum Pestilencia, De Lucis Scrutinio, ‘O deus immense,’ &c., Cronica Tripertita. In the Roxburghe edition of Gower’s Cinkante Balades (1818) were printed also the pieces ‘Rex celi deus,’ and ‘Ecce patet tensus,’ the lines ‘Henrici quarti,’ a variation of ‘Quicquid homo scribat,’ &c. (see p. 365 of this edition). Finally the last poems ‘Vnanimes esse,’ ‘Presul, ouile regis,’ ‘Cultor in ecclesia,’ and ‘Dicunt scripture’ were printed by Karl Meyer in his dissertation John Gower’s Beziehungen zu Chaucer &c. pp. 67, 68.

Of Coxe’s edition I wish to speak with all due respect. It has served a very useful purpose, and it was perhaps on a level with the critical requirements of the time when it was published. At the same time it cannot be regarded as satisfactory. The editor tells us that his text is that of the All Souls MS. ‘collated throughout word for word with a MS. preserved among the Digby MSS. in the Bodleian, and here and there with the Cotton MS. [Tib. A. iv.] sufficiently to show the superiority of the All Souls MS.’ The inferior and late Digby MS. was thus uncritically placed on a level with those of first authority, and even preferred to the Cotton MS. It would require a great deal of very careful collation to convince an editor that the text of the All Souls MS. is superior in correctness to that of the Cotton MS., and it is doubtful whether after all he would come to any such conclusion. As regards correctness they stand in fact very nearly on the same level: each might set the other right in a few trifling points. It is not, however, from the Cotton MS. that the Roxburghe editor takes his corrections, when he thinks that any are needed. In such cases he silently adopts readings from the Digby MS., and in a much larger number of instances he gives the text of the All Souls MS. incorrectly, from insufficient care in copying or correcting. The most serious results of the undue appreciation of the Digby MS. are seen in those passages where S is defective, as in the Prologue of the first book, and in the well-known passage i. 783 ff., where the text of D is taken as the sole authority, and accordingly errors abound, which might have been avoided by reference to C or any other good copy73. The editor seems not to have been acquainted with the Harleian MS., and he makes no mention even of the second copy of the Vox Clamantis which he had in his own library, MS. Laud 719.

The same uncritical spirit which we have noted in this editor’s choice of manuscripts for collation appears also in his manner of dealing with the revised passages. When he prints variations, it is only because he happens to find them in the Digby MS., and he makes only one definite statement about the differences of handwriting in his authority, which moreover is grossly incorrect. Not being acquainted with Dublin or the Hatfield MSS., he could not give the original text of such passages as Vox Clamantis, iii. 1-28 or vi. 545-80, but he might at least have indicated the lines which he found written over erasure, and in different hands from the original text, in the All Souls and Cotton MSS. Dr. Karl Meyer again, who afterwards paid some attention to the handwriting and called attention to Coxe’s misstatement on the subject, was preoccupied with the theory that the revision took place altogether after the accession of Henry IV, and failed to note the evidence afforded by the differences of handwriting for the conclusion that the revision was a gradual one, made in accordance with the development of political events.

I think it well to indicate the chief differences of text between the Roxburghe edition of the Vox Clamantis and the present. The readings in the following list are those of the Roxburghe edition. In cases where the Roxburghe editor has followed the All Souls or Digby MS. that fact is noted by the letters S or D; but the variations are for the most part mere mistakes. It should be noted also that the sense is very often obscured in the Roxburghe edition by bad punctuation, and that the medieval spelling is usually not preserved.

Epistola 37 orgine Heading to Prol. 3 somnum Prologus 21 Godefri, des atque D 25 ascribens D 27 nil ut laudes D 32 Sicque D 36 sentiat D 37 Sæpeque sunt lachrymis de D 38 Humida fit lachrymis sæpeque penna meis D 44 favent D 49 confracto D 50 At 58 Hujus ergo D

Heading to Lib. I. 1 om. eciam D 3 contingebant D 4 terræ illius D 7 etiam (for et) D Lib. I. 12. quisque 26 celsitonantes 40 Fertilis occultam invenit SD 61 Horta 88 sorte 92 et (for ex) Cap. ii. Heading dicet prima 199 geminatis 209 possint D 280 crabs 326 elephantinus 359 segistram 395 Culteque Curræ 396 Linquendo S 455 Thalia D 474 arces 479 nemora 551 pertenui 585 Hæc 603 Tormis bruchiis 743 Cumque 763 alitrixque D 771 dominos superos nec D 784 Recteque D 789 Cebbe D 797 Sæpe 799 Quidem 803 Frendet perspumans D 811 earum D 817 sonitum quoque verberat 821 Congestat D 822 Obstrepuere 824 in (for a) D 827 stupefactus 835 eorum non fortificet 837 furorum D 846 conchos D om. sibi D 855 roserat atra rubedo D 863 romphæa 873 gerunt 947 rapit (for stetit) D 953 igne S 1173 viris (for iuris) 1174 aut (for siue) 1241 et (for vt) S 1302 sibi tuta 1312 scit SD 1334 Cantus 1338 ipse 1361 internis D 1390 Reddidit 1425 mutantia 1431 fuit 1440 Poenis 1461 deprimere 1525 statim S 1531 subito D 1587 per longum 1654 in medio 1656 nimis 1662 patebit S 1695 rubens pingit gemmis 1792 dixi (for dedi) 1794 nichil (for nil vel) 1855 coniuncta 1870 imbuet S 1910 tempore 1927 et (for vt) 1941 Claudit 1974 parat 1985 om. numen 2009 tunc 2017 inde 2118 ulla

Lib. II. Prol. 10 ora 39 ore 40 fugam iste

Lib. II. 9 obstat D 65 Desuper D 70 Et qui pauca tenet 84 Causa tamen credo 175 continuo 191 migratrix 205 Et (for Atque) 253 cum 271 Jonah 303 jam (for tam) 352 ut 401 lecto 461 monent 545 morte (for monte) 570 prædicat 608 fæcundari 628 Dicit

Lib. III. Prol. 9 sed et increpo 77 oro 90 potuit (for ponit)

Lib. III. 4* exempla D mundus (for humus) D 18* ei D 27* poterint D 41 sensus 59 cum (for eum) 76 Dicunt 141 possit (for poscit) 176 onus (for ouis) S 191 magnates 207 nimium (for nummi) 209 luxuriatio D 225 expugnareque 333 capiunt 382 ad (for in) 383 teli (for tali) 469 om. est after amor 535 Quem (for Quam) 595 terram SD 701 Sublime 845 manu 891 Sic (for Sicque) 933 vertatur 954 nostra 969 portamus nomen 971 nobis data D 976 renovare 989 sic (for sit) S 1214 et 1234 attulerat 1265 fallit S 1357 mundus habet 1376 et (for vt) S 1454 om. est 1455 Est; (for Et) 1487 intendit 1538 ibi est 1541 Durius 1546 crebro 1695 sua (for si) S 1747 vovit SD 1759 et sutorem 1863 vulnere SD 1936 intrat 1960 de se 1962 Nam 2049 ese 2085 agunt

Lib. IV. 26 callidis 67 vivens (for niueus) 72 esse (for ipse) S 259 Sæpe (for Sepeque) 273 et (for vt) S 294 perdant 295 bona qui sibi D 336 non (for iam) S 435 quid tibi 451 Ac 453 cupiensque 531 at (for et) 565 ex (for hee) 567 Simplicitur 583 teneræ 588 præparat 593 ibi S 600 thalamus 610 claustra 662 patet SD 675 Credo 769 In terra 785 ut 799 putabat S 811 et (for ad) S 863 sed nec (for non set) 865 quem fur quasi 958 possit 1000 fratris (for patris) 1038 Livorem 1081 adoptio S 1127 fallat 1214 vanis 1222* Usurpet ipsa

Lib. V. 1 sic D 18 ei (for ita) D 101 cernis 104 atque 159 par est 178 fuit (for sitit) 217 senos (for seuos) 262 Carnis 281 si S 290 sonet 321 valet (for decet) 338 vanis 375 ille 420 Pretia (for Recia) 461 At 486 redemit (for redeunt) 501 non (for nos) S 508 geret 668 Si 672 Maxime 745 foras (for foris) 805 etenim (for eciam) S 928 est (for et) 936 semine 937 pacis (for piscis) 955 ubi (for sibi) S

Lib. VI. 54 renuere 132 ipsa 133 locuples 212 ocius (for cicius) 245 ibi (for sibi) 319 Sæpe (for Sepius) 405 in ‘æque’ (for ineque) 411 descendat 476 quem S 488 Cesset 530 populus, væ (for populus ve) 548 ipse D 646 ruat 679 legit S 746 Num 755 Nam (for Dum) 789 majus (for inanis) 816 Credo 971 Rex (for Pax) 1016 gemmes 1033 quid (for quod) 1041 Hæc (for Hic) 1132 fide (for fine) 1156 minuat D 1171* detangere (for te tangere) D 1172* hæc D 1182* foras D 1197 veteris (for verteris) 1210* Subditus 1224 om. carnem 1225* decens (for docens) D lega 1241 Hic (for Dic) 1251 defunctus D 1260 ab hoc 1281 est ille pius (for ille pius est) 1327 nunc moritur

Lib. VII. 9 magnatum S 93 magnates D 96 nummis (for minimis) 109 Antea 149 sic sunt 185 Virtutem 290 Aucta (for Acta) 339 honorifica 350 credit S 409 servus cap. vi. heading l. 4 sinit (for sunt) 555 vultum 562 ff. Quid (for Quod) 601 quam 602 adesse (for ad esse) 635 Præceptum (for Preceptumque) 665 agnoscit 707 enim (for eum) cap. ix. heading om. postea 736 decus (for pecus) 750 ille (for ipse) cap. xi. heading dicitur (for loquitur) 798 capit (for rapit) 828 etiam (for iam) 903 om. nil 918 est (for et) S 977 benefecit D 1043 frigor 1129 qui non jussa Dei servat 1178 eam 1278 opes S 1310 Vix (for Vis) 1369 digna 1454 hic (for hinc) 1474 bona 1479* ipsa

It will be seen that most of the above variants are due to mere oversight. It is surprising, however, that so many mistakes seriously affecting sense and metre should have escaped the correction of the editor.

In the matter of spelling the variation is considerable, but all that need be said is that the Roxburghe editor preferred the classical to the medieval forms. On the other hand it is to be regretted that no attempt is made by him to mark the paragraph divisions of the original. A minor inconvenience, which is felt by all readers who have to refer to the Roxburghe text, arises from the fact that the book-numbering is not set at the head of the page.

In the case of the Cronica Tripertita we have the text printed by Wright in the Rolls Series as well as that of the Roxburghe edition. The latter is from the All Souls MS., while the former professes to be based upon the Cotton MS., so that the two texts ought to be quite independent. As a matter of fact, however, several of the mistakes or misprints of the Roxburghe text are reproduced in the Rolls edition, which was printed probably from a copy of the Roxburghe text collated with the Cotton MS.

The following are the variations of the Roxburghe text from that of the present edition.

Introduction, margin 2 prosequi (for persequi).

I. 1 om. et per (for fer) 7 bene non 15 consilium sibi 71 fraudis 93 cum (for dum) 132 hos (for os) 161 marg. om. qui S 173 ausam S 182 Sic (for Hic) 199 clientem 204 cepit (for cessat) 209 Regem (for Legem) 219 Qui est (for est qui)

II. 9 sociatus (for associatus) 61 manu tentum 85 marg. quia (for qui) 114 de pondere 156 sepulchrum 180 maledictum 220 Transulit 223 omne scelus 237 ipsum 266 Pontifice 271 malefecit 315 marg. derisu 330 marg. Consulat 333 adeo.

III. 109 prius S 131 viles S 177 conjunctus 188 sceleris 235 mane 239 nunc S 242 freta (for fata) 250 ponere 263 Exilia 285 marg. præter (for personaliter) 287 Nec 288 stanno 333 conquescat 341 auget 372 eo (for et) 422 marg. fidelissime 428 prius S

Of the above errors several, as we have said, are reproduced by Wright with no authority from his MS.74, but otherwise his text is a tolerably correct representation of that given by the Cotton MS., and the same may be said with regard to the other poems Carmen super multiplici Viciorum Pestilencia, De Lucis Scrutinio75, &c.

The Present Edition. The text is in the main that of S, which is supplemented, where it is defective, by C. The Cotton MS. is also the leading authority for those pieces which are not contained in S, as the four last poems.

For the Vox Clamantis four manuscripts have been collated with S word for word throughout, viz. CHDL, and two more, viz. GE, have been collated generally and examined for every doubtful passage. TH₂ have been carefully examined and taken as authorities for the original text of some of the revised passages.

As regards the record of the results of these rather extensive collations, it may be stated generally that all material variations of C and H from the text of S have been recorded in the critical notes76. The readings of E, D and L have been printed regularly for those passages in which material variations of other MSS. are recorded, and in such cases, if they are not mentioned, it may be assumed that they agree with S; but otherwise they are mentioned only when they seem to deserve attention. The readings of G are recorded in a large number of instances, but they must not be assumed ex silentio, and those of T and H₂ are as a rule only given in passages where they have a different version of the text.

A trifling liberty has been taken with the text of the MSS. in regard to the position of the conjunction ‘que’ (and). This is frequently used by our author like ‘et,’ standing at the beginning of a clause or between the words which it combines, as

or

but it is also very often used in the correct classical manner. The MSS. make no distinction between these two uses, but sometimes join the conjunction to the preceding word and sometimes separate it, apparently in a quite arbitrary manner. For the sake of clearness the conjunction is separated in this edition regularly when the sense requires that it should be taken independently of the preceding word, and the variations of the manuscripts with regard to this are not recorded.

Again, some freedom has been used in the matter of capital letters, which have been supplied, where they were wanting, in the case of proper names and at the beginning of sentences.

The spelling is in every particular the same as that of the MS. The practice of altering the medieval orthography, which is fairly consistent and intelligible, so as to make it accord with classical or conventional usage, has little or nothing to be said for it, and conceals the evidence which the forms of spelling might give with regard to the prevalent pronunciation.

The principal differences in our text from the classical orthography are as follows:

e regularly for the diphthongs ae, oe.

i for e in periunt, rediat, nequio, &c. (but also pereunt, &c.).

y for i in ymus, ymago, &c.

i for y, e.g. mirrha, ciclus, limpha.

v for u or v regularly as initial letter of words, elsewhere u.

vowels doubled in hii, hee, hiis (monosyllables).

u for uu after q, e.g. equs, iniqus, sequntur.

initial h omitted in ara (hăra), edus (haedus), ortus, yemps, &c.

initial h added in habundat, heremus, Herebus, &c.

ch for h in michi, nichil.

ch for c in archa, archanum, inchola, choruscat, &c. (but Cristus, when fully written, for ‘Christus’).

ci for ti regularly before a vowel e.g. accio, alcius, cercius, distinccio, gracia, sentencia, vicium.

c for s or sc, in ancer, cerpo, ceptrum, rocidus, Cilla.

s for c or sc, in secus (occasionally for ‘caecus’), sintilla, &c.

single for double consonants in apropriat, suplet, agredior, resurexit, &c. (also appropriat, &c.).

ph for f in scropha, nephas, nephandus, prophanus, &c.

p inserted in dampnum, sompnus, &c.

set usually in the best MSS. for sed (conjunction), but in the Cotton MS. usually ‘sed.’

It has been thought better to print the elegiac couplet without indentation for the pentameter, partly because that is the regular usage in the MSS. and must of course have been the practice of the author, but still more in order to mark more clearly the division into paragraphs, to which the author evidently attached some importance. Spaces of varying width are used to show the larger divisions. It is impossible that there should not be some errors in the printed text, but the editor can at least claim to have taken great pains to ensure correctness, and all the proof-sheets have been carefully compared with the text of the manuscripts.

For convenience of reference the lines are numbered as in the Roxburghe edition, though perhaps it would be more satisfactory to combine the prologues, as regards numbering, with the books to which they belong.

In regard to the Notes there are no doubt many deficiencies. The chief objects aimed at have been to explain difficulties of language, to illustrate the matter or the style by reference to the works of the author in French and in English, and to trace as far as possible the origin of those parts of his work which are borrowed. In addition to this, the historical record contained in the Cronica Tripertita has been carefully compared with the evidence given by others with regard to the events described, and possibly this part of the editor’s work, being based entirely upon the original authorities, may be thought to have some small value as a contribution to the history of a singularly perplexing political situation.

FOOTNOTES: