Читать книгу The Poetical Works of John Skelton (Vol. 1&2) - John Skelton - Страница 34

Table of Contents

Of the death of the noble prince, Kynge Edwarde the forth. In a vol. belonging to Miss Richardson Currer, which has furnished a stanza hitherto unprinted (vol. i. 1).

Vpon the doulourus dethe and muche lamentable chaunce of the most honorable Erle of Northumberlande. MS. Reg. 18 D ii. fol. 165 (vol. i. 6).

Manerly Margery Mylk and Ale. Fairfax MS.—Add. MSS. (Brit. Mus.) 5465, fol. 109 (vol. i. 28).

Poems against Garnesche. MS. Harl. 367, fol. 101. Now for the first time printed (vol. i. 116).

“Wofully araid,” &c. Fairfax MS.—Add. MSS. 5465, fol. 76 and fol. 86 (Brit. Mus.): and MS. copy in a very old hand on the fly-leaves of Boetius de Discip. Schol. cum notabili commento, Daventrie, 1496, 4to (in the collection of the late Mr. Heber), which has supplied several stanzas hitherto unprinted (vol. i. 141).

“I, liber, et propera, regem tu pronus adora,” &c. MS. C.C.C.—No. ccccxxxii. of Nasmith’s Catal. p. 400 (vol. i. 147).

“Salve plus decies quam sunt momenta dierum,” &c. Add. MSS. (Brit. Mus.) 4787, fol. 224 (vol. i. 177).

Colyn Cloute. MS. Harl. 2252, fol. 147 (vol. i. 311).—In MS. Lansdown 762, fol. 75, is a fragment of this poem, “The profecy of Skelton” (vol. i. 329).

Garlande of Laurell. MS. Cott. Vit. E X. fol. 200; very imperfect (vol. i. 361).

Speke, Parrot. MS. Harl. 2252, fol. 133, which has supplied much now for the first time printed (vol. ii. 1).

Diodorus Siculus translated into English [by Skelton poet-laureat]. MS. C.C.C.—No. ccclvii. of Nasmith’s Catal. p. 362.

For the following account of this MS. I am indebted to Mr. Thomas Wright:—

“MS. Corp. Chr. Camb. No. 357.

At the head of the first folio—‘Interpretatio Skeltoni poetæ Laureati,’ written in a different hand from the MS. (by Nasmith said to be by Archb. Parker himself) over something which has been erased, but which seems to have been ‘Prohemye of Poggius.’

At the end of this preface is written in the same hand as MS. ‘Thus endeth the prohemye of Poggius.’ fol. 2 verso.

At fol. 3 begins ‘The prohemy of Diodorus thauctour.’ This ends at fol. 7 thus—

¶ ‘Now we wyll enforce to begynne our processe historyall. quod Skelton.

¶ Here endeth the prohemy of all the hole processe.’

The words ‘quod Skelton’ are written in rather a different hand, and with different ink, but apparently contemporary. I think it not impossible that they may have been added by the original hand at another time.

It is imperfect at the end: but on a leaf bound up with it is written in a much later hand (perhaps by Parker), ‘Hec charta de industria vacua relicta est, ut occasio daretur juveni in litteris exercitato aggrediendi translationem historiæ que hic diminuta est, ut sic humeri sui vires experiatur quid ferre valeant, quidve recusent, tum cognoscet quid hic translator prestiterit, fortassis non ita facile in hoc genere a multis superandus.’ ”

Tanner (Biblioth. p. 676. ed. 1748) mentions the following two pieces as extant in his day among the MSS. of Lincoln Cathedral Library (see Memoir, pp. xxi, xxiii.)—

Methodos Skeltonidis laureati, sc. Præcepta quædam moralia Henrico principi, postea Henr. viii, missa, Dat. apud Eltham A.D. MDI. Principium deest.

Carmen ad principem, quando insignitus erat ducis Ebor. titulo. Pr. “Si quid habes, mea Musa.”