psalms, dirge, &c. But when different parts of these books were translated into English, and English treatises added, and occasional prayers, such, for example, as the "xv oos," the title was, "This prymer of Salysbury vse;" or "The prymer both in Englyshe and Latin," or "The prymer set forth by ye kinges maieste," or "The prymer in Englysshe," or again, late in Queen Mary's time, "The Prymer in Englishe and Latine, set out along, after the use of Sarum." 47 But here I must give, before we proceed further, a short description of the MS. itself. It is in size what we should now call a small quarto: upon vellum: of lxxvij folios, besides. one additional, originally blank, on which in a later hand is written a long English prayer to our Blessed Saviour. There is no calendar; there certainly may have been one: but to such a book it was not necessary, and two blank leaves of vellum are still left at the beginning, between which and the first leaf of the text nothing appears to have been torn away.

I have not been able to find any volume of the same kind, of any date, in the library of the British Museum: at Oxford, in the Bodleian, are four, three of which (Douce 246 and 275, and Bodley 85) are probably only a few years later than the one now printed; the other (Rawlinson. 699.) certainly at least thirty years later. Of these the Douce MS. 275, and Rawlinson are imperfect. I suppose the present MS. to be not later than the year 1410. In this I have been confirmed by the judgment and far greater experience of

47 As in the editions, 1527, 12mo. by Kerver: 1540, 8vo. Grafton and Whitchurch: 1545, VOL. II.

d

4to. Grafton: and 1557, 4to. Kingston and Sutton.

the librarians of the Bodleian. The two Douce MSS. just mentioned were written somewhere about 1420: the Rawlinson copy not earlier than 1460. Cambridge has the good fortune to possess two of these early English Prymers: one in the University library, of about the date 1430, or rather later. This is the least well

The vellum is rough,

written of all that I have seen. and the scription careless: and the illuminated or initial letters are ill executed. The other is in the library of Emanuel College, and is by far the most beautiful of all the copies. There are rich borders to several pages, and the initials are in the best and richest style of the art of that day. The size also is a large 4to. whereas all the others, except one presently to be mentioned, are small 4to. or modern 8vo. This MS. again appears to be of about the same date with the copy now edited: and as it is not earlier, a fact which is clear from the identity of the character and ornaments of both, I might almost be justified in dating my own MS. as far back as the latter part of the 14th century. For in the calendar of the Emanuel copy are two entries, neither of them likely to have been written except about the time of their occurrence. One upon the 21st of May, "There was ye erthe quake ye zeer of oure lord .m. ccc. lxxxij." The other on the 16th of July," King Richard was crowned ye zeer of oure lord .m. ccc. lxxvij." These are moreover in a contemporary hand.

The only other MS. English Prymer which I have been able to find is also in my possession. It was procured too late for me to make any use of it in the notes to the present edition, though it would have furnished only a very little additional information. This manuscript is, like the rest, upon vellum, of about the

year 1430, and in size is a 12mo. The writing is small, with the rubrics in red; initial letters, but none illuminated.

It is a curious circumstance that the Bodleian and the Cambridge copies all agree in having the " Hours of the Cross" (see below, p. 37. 45. &c.) translated into rhyme but on the contrary both the MSS. in my possession give a prose version, the same in each.48

There are therefore known altogether eight copies extant in manuscript of the Prymer in English: and I think that I may venture to assert, after a careful comparison and examination, that the reader has here offered to him an edition from the earliest copy of them all. We will now return to the description of it.

Upon the reverse of the last leaf of it is the following memorandum: most probably of the person for whom it was executed, the writing being of the period. "Iste liber constat Domino Willmo Ho.. Millitt. In

48 Another remarkable instance of agreement in my two MSS. is the use in both of the very uncommon word "corinnice." See below, p. 22. "Herie thei his name in a corinnice:" and the note. As I there state another translation of the Latin is given in all the Bodleian copies, and in that of the Cambridge University. To these may now be added the MS. in the library of Emanuel College, which reads, "Preise thei his name in crowde and tabour:" and again, in the succeeding psalm, "Preise ye him in tabour and crowde." But my 12mo. MS. has," Herie thei his name in a

corunnise;" and again, "Herie ye him in a tympan and corunnise." All who are at all conversant with English manuscripts of this date will understand what I mean by saying, that there would have been great difficulty in deciding whether (in the 12mo.) the word is corunnise, or corinnuse, if it had occurred but once: but this is set at rest in the second place, where the transcriber happened to make an error, and has inserted u between the r and n, writing it over the line. In the other manuscript the word is plain, corinnice.

Bocklande." Beneath this is drawn in rude outline the Lamb and Flag, under which is written "Ecce agnus dei q. t. p. m. (Qui tollit peccatum mundi.) It is to be regretted that the most important part of this entry, the latter half of the owner's sirname, has been erased. And this not wilfully, but accidentally, owing to a fold in the vellum. It was of four or five letters only; something like. Howys may still be traced. Another memorandum occurs on the first of the two blank leaves at the beginning. "This booke I founde amoungest my fatheres. and was his 1592. And this. wrytten by mee the 20th day of January 1595. 38th Eliz. Reg.-Pe. Fanwood."

An imperfection, the only one in the volume, occurs on fol. xliv. The lower part of the leaf has been torn off; so that about five lines of both pages of it are missing. As it happens, on each side, there is the whole of a short prayer: on the one, Omnipotens sempiterne Deus; on the other, Ecclesiæ tuæ,

2

In the text below (pp. 107. 109) the reader will find these two collects supplied, one from the Douce MS. 246, in the Bodleian, the other from a copy of a printed Prymer of 1538. None of the other six manuscripts which I had examined whilst preparing the Prymer for the press, contained the collect, "Omnipotens sempiterne Deus, qui facis:" but the small 12mo. manuscript just spoken of, which I have so lately obtained, fortunately has this particular prayer, though in some other respects the Litanies of my two copies differ. I am glad therefore to be enabled in this place to give so early a translation of a collect which we still use daily, in our Morning and Evening Prayer. The reader will see that it is quite different from the version of the Prymer of 1538.

"Oratio. Omnipotens sempiterne Deus. Almyghti god, euerlastynge, that aloone doost many wondres, schewe the spirit of heelful grace vpon bisschopes thi seruauntis, and vpon alle the congregacion betake to hem and geete in the dewe of thi blessynge that thei plese euermore to the in trouthe. Bi crist oure lord. So be it."

Not only therefore has the reader now before him an edition of the earliest known Prymer in English, but there is an interval of more than a hundred and thirty years between it and any other reprinted in modern times. I allude to the Goodly Prymer of 1535, which is the first of the three published in one volume by the late Dr. Burton. There is no one who would not speak in terms of gratitude and affection when referring to the labours of that excellent man: but I trust I may be pardoned if I observe, that the preface to that work 50 does not do justice to his acknowledged industry and ability. I do not believe that any one can understand what the object of it is, or obtain from it any clear information about the prymers which it precedes.

Nor is this to be wondered at, when the learned editor himself had formed this notion of a prymer, that "it was not confined to any one definite set of prayers, but contained different selections, according to the choice of the compiler; though the Creed, Pater Noster, and Ave Maria, held always a prominent place in the prymers." Now, all the prymers that I have seen,

49 Infunde. "Rorem tuæ benedictionis infunde."

manual of prayers or the prymer in English, 1539. iii. King Hen ry's prymer, 1545. Oxford, 1834. Pref. p. 1. Nor must I pass goodly prymer, 1535. ii. The by an account given of "the

50 Three Prymers put forth in the reign of Henry viij. viz. i. A

4

51