Western Medieval Manuscripts : Devotional texts

Western Medieval Manuscripts

<p style='text-align: justify;'>Cambridge, University Library, MS Ff.5.45 is a devotional miscellany from the fifteenth century which is of great interest to scholars. It is copied in a mixture of amateur and professional semi-cursive hands. A sixteenth-century inscription on f. <a href='' onclick='store.loadPage(156);return false;'>72v</a> reads "John Whyte", probably the name of an owner or reader of the manuscript.</p><p style='text-align: justify;'>The manuscript contains a rich variety of devotional and didactic materials. It contains several devotional texts, including both common items - such as Richard Rolle's <i>Form of Living</i> (ff. <a href='' onclick='store.loadPage(13);return false;'>1r-2v</a>) and the <i>Myrour of Synners</i> (ff. <a href='' onclick='store.loadPage(27);return false;'>8r-13r</a>), a translation of the <i>Speculum Peccatoris</i>) - but also prayers (ff. <a href='' onclick='store.loadPage(18);return false;'>3v-5v</a>, <a href='' onclick='store.loadPage(22);return false;'>5v-8r</a>, <a href='' onclick='store.loadPage(130);return false;'>59v</a>) and a short tract on preparations for receiving the sacrament (f. <a href='' onclick='store.loadPage(127);return false;'>58r</a>), which are not known from other manuscripts. The volume stresses the need for the reader to contemplate death and lead a good Christian life. Texts related to dying include <i>To kunne to diʒe</i> or <i>Scire Mori</i> (ff. <a href='' onclick='store.loadPage(39);return false;'>14r-22v</a>), a translation of a chapter Henry Suso's <i>Horologium Sapientiae</i>, part of which was based on a section of the <i>Somme le Roi</i> by Frère Lorens d’Orléans, presented here in a Middle English translation (ff. <a href='' onclick='store.loadPage(57);return false;'>23r-24v</a>); and <i>The Boke of Craft of Dying</i> (ff. <a href='' onclick='store.loadPage(60);return false;'>24v-46v</a>), a translation of <i>De Arte Moriendi</i>. </p><p style='text-align: justify;'>Most of the contents of the volume are in prose, but there are also two poems: 'Death's warning to the world' by John Lydgate (ff. <a href='' onclick='store.loadPage(37);return false;'>13r-13v</a> [DIMEV 4905-2]), an extract from <i>The Fall of Princes</i>; and 'O Worldly folk averteth and take heed' by Iohn Lucas (f. <a href='' onclick='store.loadPage(38);return false;'>13v</a> [DIMEV 4097-3]).</p><p style='text-align: justify;'>Another feature that makes the manuscript stand out are its somewhat unusual decorated initials (e.g. ff. <a href='' onclick='store.loadPage(18);return false;'>3v</a>, <a href='' onclick='store.loadPage(22);return false;'>5v</a>, <a href='' onclick='store.loadPage(27);return false;'>8r</a>). They are painted in dark ink on a bistre background, using white space for decorative effect. This deviates from the standard red and blue initials that were common in medium-grade manuscripts and results in a rather sombre effect that complements the theme of approaching death and learning to die well.</p><p style='text-align: justify;'>Dr Alpo Honkapohja<br /> Visiting Scholar<br /> Cambridge Digital Humanities</p>