2. MS. in the Library of the Dean and Chapter of Canterbury, shelfmark D. 2; it was entrusted to me by their kind permission through the request of Sir Henry Ellis, to whom I acknowledge with pleasure my frequent obligations. It is written on paper in a small clear hand, in double columns, with initials in blue and red; the English words also are in red. It begins with the short prologue above noticed, but, part of the leaf being torn away, the first lines are mutilated; this prologue ends thus-"Et sic propter vocabulorum copiam liber iste Medulla gramatice intitulatur." This MS. is in the original stamped binding with boards, probably of oak; it is doubtless the same which occurs in the list of MSS. at Canterbury Cathedral about 1697, as "Dictionarium dictum Medulla Grammaticæ."a This venerable relic of fifteenth-century learning has been regarded with special interest on account of the addition of numerous Anglo-Saxon words, as supposed, by Somner; the MS. of whose Anglo-Saxon Dictionary is in the Canterbury Library. From the manner, however, in which the Anglo-Saxon words are given, it may be inferred that they were, at least in part, taken from some Vocabulary in Somner's possession not his own compilation. The English portion is full, and contains curious archaisms, including a considerable proportion of words noticeable as retained in North-country dialects.b

3. Harl. MS. 1000. An imperfect copy, ending with the words "Stamen est filum tele or warpe." On paper; written in a neat hand; late fifteenth century; with rubrications.

4. Harl. MS. 1738. The Medulla in a very abridged form, in a clear

on the reverse is rudely sketched with the pen Our Lord rising from the Sepulchre. On the third leaf, v. are two short Latin poems in hexameters, the first beginning thus: "Siccine tam crebris frustra commentibus anglos;" the second: "Conveniunt gallos crebris conventibus angli." At the end: "Thys ys Rychard. . . . . ys boke." It may deserve mention that after certain words of ill omen the sign of the cross is found, thus: Diabolus, the deuel. Demon, the deuel. Dis, the deuel. Comicius, the Febricito, to haue the feuerus.

fallinge euel.

Epilencia, the fallinge euel. Genetarius, that vseth hore hous.

other MSS. of the period.

Catal. MSS. Anglie, t. ii. p. 244; no. 7193, 33.

b I found in this volume the names probably of former possessors" Johne Prussey (or Prussere ?)-Thomas Wynston-This is Gilles Winston his boke.-Egideus Wynston honyst man in the paryssh of saynt Dunstone."

legible hand, on parchment and paper mixed; imperfect. At the beginning is the prologue, "Hec est regula," as above; at the end," Explicit Medulla Gramatice." Late fifteenth century.

5. Harl. MS. 2181. Another copy in abridged form, carelessly written on parchment; late fifteenth century.

6. Harl. MS. 2257. A neatly written MS. The text seems to resemble that of the Ortus Vocabulorum, but it contains much that is not found in that book, nor in the Medulla in its ordinary form; possibly an abridgement of this dictionary. This is perhaps the most valuable MS. of its kind in the British Museum, but it is unfortunately imperfect. It commences with the word "Boletus est genus fungi," and ends with "Zona."

7. Harl. MS. 2270. Attributed in Catal. Harl. MSS. vol. ii. p. 635, to Galfridus Grammaticus, and on the first leaf is written, but not by a contemporary hand,-" Medulla Grammaticæ Galfridi." On paper; beginning "Hec est regula generalis," &c. tionary is "Alma;" the last is "Zozimus Noviter."

...

The first word in the dic

Explicit Medulla Gramatice

8. Harl. MS. 6514. Imperfect; the explanations in Latin are given more fully than in some other copies.

9. Add. MS. in Brit. Mus. 24,640. This copy, in small folio, written on parchment, is unfortunately imperfect at the beginning and the end. It is otherwise in fine condition, written in a neat legible hand; probably not much later than the middle of the fifteenth century. There are plain rubricated initial letters; and some marginal additions occur which seem to be by a nearly contemporary hand. It begins with the word "Abhominarium," and the concluding word is "Hec mantica, a male." It was purchased from Mr. J. O. Halliwell in May, 1862, and, as stated in a note written by his hand, it had been presented to him by Mr. Hunt of Stratford-on-Avon."

a On the fly-leaf at the end there is the following verse :

Anno Milleno quadringentesimo trino

Bellum Salopie fuit in Mag. nocte marie.

The fatal battle of Shrewsbury was fought on July 23, 1403; the festival of St. Mary Magdalene here referred to being July 22.

The entry by Mr. Halliwell is as follows: "This MS. was given to me by Mr. W. O. Hunt of Stratford on Avon, April 23 (Shakespeare's birthday) 1862. I accepted it on the condition that I was to be at liberty to sell it, adding the proceeds to the Shakespeare fund.-J. O. H."

10. MS. in the Library of St. John's College, Cambridge, thus described in the Catalogue by the Rev. Morgan Cowie published by the Cambridge Antiquarian Society, 1842, 4to. p. 30:-"C. 22. Medulla Grammatices, 4to. MS. vellum and paper, principally the latter; with date in the same writing as the MS. 1468. It has the name 'William Jenour,' but this seems to be the name of the owner. It is a Latin Dictionary; the explanation of the words in Latin." This is one of the MSS. presented to the college by Thomas Earl of Southampton; it is stated that they were purchased from Mr. William Crashawe, brother of the poet, a fellow of St. John's admitted 1593.

11. MS. in the Pepysian Library, Cambridge, erroneously described amongst Pepys' MSS., Catal. MSS. Angliæ, tom. ii. p. 209, as "Dictionarium Anglo-Lat. written about A.D. 1450, fol." It is, however, a Latin-English Dictionary, apparently a variety of the Medulla.

12. MS. in the Library at Lincoln Cathedral, written on parchment in double columns with numerous marginal additions. It consists of 146 pages. At the end is written, "Explicit Medulla Grammatice." A Latin-English vocabulary of 79 pages and three other works are bound up in the volume, the last of these being a "Liber Hymnorum" attributed to Galfridus, the author of the Promptorium. On a fly-leaf at the beginning - is written "Gabridus (sic for Galfridus) Grammaticus author Anglus vixit circa A D. 1490." This MS. has been cited by Bishop Tanner, Bibl. Brit. Hib. p. 305, as an English-Latin Dictionary, namely the "Promptuarium," of which he mentions the MS. in Sir Symonds d'Ewes' library (now Harl. MS. 221), and the edition by Pynson 1499. By the courtesy of the Rev. G. F. Apthorp I have been enabled to ascertain the real description of this volume, which is in good preservation. The shelf-mark was formerly H 35, altered in 1858, when the library was rearranged, to A 3, 15.b

See p. xvii. ante.

b Sir Frederic Madden has pointed out Bishop Tanner's original notes regarding the Lincoln MSS., as given in his voluminous collections now in the British Museum, and occurring in Add. MS. 6261, ff. 143, 171. As before mentioned, I have little doubt that the slight error in the learned Bishop's account of the MS. above described may have arisen from the title of " Medulla" being occasionally given to the Promptorium in the printed editions.

CAMD. SOC.

13. MS. in the possession of Sir Thomas Phillipps, Bart. No. 8244, formerly in Heber's library, No. 1020; imperfect, on paper. It contains many English words; the last word is " Vespilio."

66

14. MS. in the same collection as the last. No. 8306. Bound up with a transcript of the Promptorium described p. xl. supra. The two dictionaries appear to have been written by the same hand. The Medulla begins on p. 167. It is imperfect in several parts, and ends with " Ticio, a brond of fyre," p. 342. On paper. From Heber's library, No. 1360. 15. MS. in the Library of King Edward's Grammar School at Shrewsbury. "Incipit liber intitulatus Medulla gramatice, v' Fructum gramatice qu' medullam de breuitate." The shelf mark is X. 29.

16. MS. in the library of the Earl of Leicester at Holkham, Norfolk. It is cited by Sir Frederic Madden in his glossary to Havelok, edited by him for the Roxburghe Club in 1828, as a Latin-English vocabulary of the middle of the fifteenth century, and substantially the same as the Ortus Vocabulorum. Chiefly on paper, partly on vellum. Its resemblance to the Medulla appears by extracts, for which I am indebted to the Rev. R. Collyer, Hon. Canon of Norwich.

17. In the enumeration "Librorum MSS. Henrici Worseley de Hospitio Lincolniensi apud Londinium," c. 1697, occurs "No. 6914.66; Medulla Grammaticæ sive Dictionarium Latino-Anglicum." Catal. MSS. Angliæ, tom. ii. p. 213. I have not been able to trace where this copy may now be preserved.b

II. Ortus Vocabulorum.-The first Latin-English Dictionary printed in this country; in great measure, as it would appear, based upon the Medulla

* The name of "Sire John Mendames," parson of "Bromenstrope” (Brunsthorp) occurring in this MS., has been supposed to be that of the writer, but it is more probably the name of a former owner of the book. In the list of incumbents of Brunsthorp John Mendham occurs. He was collated in 1529, and resigned the preferment in 1532. Blomefield's Hist. of Norf. vol. vii. p. 7.

b There existed formerly a MS. in the Chapter Library at Exeter Cathedral, thus noticed in the brief catalogue given in Catal. MSS. Angliæ, tom. ii. p. 55. "2057-3, Dictionarium seu Glossarium Latinum, mutilum." This MS. which, from information formerly received, I had hoped might prove to be a copy of the Medulla, is not to be found, as I am assured by Mr. Charles Tucker, after careful search in the depositories of the Chapter. It is not mentioned in the short enumeration of MSS. at Exeter in 1752. See Dr. Oliver's Lives of the Bishops of Exeter, App. p. 376.

Grammatice last described, but with considerable modifications and additions from other sources. Although comparatively of more frequent occurrence than the Promptorium, it is a book of great rarity. The earliest edition hitherto noticed is that printed in 1500 by Wynkyn de Worde in small folio, ranging with the editio princeps of the Promptorium issued from the press of Pynson in the previous year. It is indeed probable that it may have been intended to supply an accompaniment to that Dictionary. This rare editio princeps of the Ortus has not been carefully described; the imperfect mention by Dibdin would lead us to suppose that, having never examined a copy, he had relied on the brief notice by Herbert chiefly derived from the Harleian Catalogue, in which two copies are enumerated, Nos. 5213, 5304; I have been unable to ascertain where these may now be found. There is, however, a copy of this first edition among the books, chiefly MSS., bequeathed by Junius to the Bodleian; it is thus described in Tanner's Catalogue of that precious lexicographical collection." Hortus Vocabulorum, Impr. Lond. 1500, per Wynkyn de Worde, intersparsis Cl. Junii notis." Catal. MSS. Angliæ, t. i. p. 251. The following description has been taken from a fine copy of this edition in the British Museum, in the Grenville Library.

Fo. 1 recto." Ortus. Vocabulorum "-the lower portion of the page being blank.

Fo. 1 verso." ¶ Prologus in librum qui ortus vocabulorum dicitur feliciter incipit."

"Ut etenim multos (nostre precipue nationis anglicos: qui igitur quam procul a latio vbi roma est in orbis angulo sumus constituti dicimur) bonarum artium studiosos ex latinarum dicctionum difficultate illarum significationum se inscios censentes non solum magno tedio affici: verum studia ex quibus summos magistratus emolimentum vtique maximum adipiscerentur paruifacere intellexerim: multorum rogacionibus ad hoc exile opus diuersis ex auctoribus collectum vigilanterque correctum imprimendum sum coactus quem propterea quod in eo fructuum copia reperiri possit ortum vocabulorum appellari decreuimus: omnes igitur,...." Ending"p. primam conjugationem. s. secundam. t. tertiam. q'. quartam significat."

Herbert, Typ. Ant., vol. i. p. 136, Dibdin, vol. ii. p. 88. It is described by the last-named author as in quarto, like the subsequent editions by W. de Worde, instead of folio.