YALE UNIVERSITY
BEINECKE RARE BOOK AND MANUSCRIPT LIBRARY
GENERAL COLLECTION OF RARE BOOKS AND
MANUSCRIPTS
PRE-1600 MANUSCRIPTS
Beinecke MS 593
England, s. XV
Roman de Brut in Anglo-Norman; English poem on geography; etc.
1. ff. 1r-5r Ci comence coment les Geantz vindrent primes en Engleterre. Ci poet homme
savoir coment, kant et de quele gent Grantz Geantz vindrent et Engleterre primes tindrent, ke lors
fust nome Albion ... Tut est bon a remembrer, rien grevera de saner les estiles et les escritures des
aunciens aventures. Ke Ihesu Crist soit benoit q'en escripture les meiteroit.
Grantz Geantz, an Anglo-Norman poem (s. XIII or XIV) explaining the origin of the Giants that
occupied England before the arrival of Brutus and the Trojans, transcribed as prose, in most
manuscripts serving as a Prologue to the Roman de Brut (art. 3) .
2. f. 5r De potentissimi regis Grecie nullius sub dominio subditi progenie, sororibus de
XXX filiabus corporum stature maxime exeuntibus, quarum primogenita nomine vocabatur
Albina Anglie nomine insulam primo Albion nominando expedivi sub compendio. Ex quibus
demones orridos genuerunt Gigantes, sibi montibus cavernas subterreneas preparantes ... Tercio
de Engisto Saxonio nomen, qui Britannie deposuit Engistelond nominavit.
A Latin summary of art. 1, ending on a note on the contents of the beginning of the Roman the
Brut (art. 3). It is found in many manuscripts between Grantz Geantz and Brut.
3. ff. 5r-118v En la noble site de grant Troie il i avoit un fort chivaler et puissant et de
grant poer, qi avoit a noun Eneas ... devant eux et pristrent totes les bestes et biens d'une part et
d'autre q'il troverent. Amen. Dico vobis super omnia bona. Qui scripsit carmen sit benedictus.
Amen. Amen. [other hand:] Cy finoient les veulz cronikes d'Angleterre appellez le Brute jesqes au
temps du roi Edward le secunde.
Roman de Brut in Anglo-Norman prose, of which various versions exist. A chronicle of England
from Aeneas to King Edward II (1307-1327).
4. ff 119r-202r Et y apres ensuoient pluseurs autres novelles cronikes dez guerres de
France, d'Angleterre, d'Escoce, d'Espaigne et de Bretaigne, faitz en le temps du noble roi
Edward le tierce, et sount extraitez pour nobles cuers encoragier et eulx moustrer exemple et
matier dez faites d'armes et d'onneur [heading on f. 118v]. Vous avez oy cy-devant coment par
maulvois conseil et compassement de sire Hugh le Despenser le fitz et sire Wautre de Stapilton,
evesque d'Excestre, adonques tresorer, et meistre Robert Baldok, adonques chaunceller le roy et
des autres ... Dount lez Francois apres disoient : Le roi ne voeult, le prince ne poet, Chandos
mort, saint George dort. Dieu de sa debonairete de leur almes ait pite. Amen.
Sequence to the Roman de Brut, dealing with the reign of King Edward III (1327-1377).
5. ff. 202v-203r This wordle is deled on thre : Asie, Affrike and Europe. / Wole ye now
here of Asie, how fele landis there ynne be ... Cornwaile, Irelond, Colriche and Iselond / By the
syde of Irelond. Explicit.
Unidentified poem in English on the countries and peoples of Asia, Africa and Europe.
6. f. 203r-v Memorandum quod anno Domini millesimo LXXø obiit Alexander [II] papa, cui
successit Hildebrandus, qui Gregorius vocatus est, centesimus sexagesimus primus papa. Iste
Gregorius VII vel Hildebrandus prohibuit clericis uxores habere, imperatoribus et regibus
ecclesias dare ... et postmodum, anno videlicet Mø CLXXø, pax aliqualiter inter archiepiscopum
et regem est reformata.
Account of the relations between Church and State under popes Gregory VII (1073-1085) and
Alexander III (1159-1181), and especially of the conflict between King Henry II of England
(1154-1189) and Thomas Becket, Archbishop of Canterbury. The last event recorded is the short-
lived reconciliation between King and Archbishop made in 1170. Maybe the continuation was
written on the leaf missing after f. 203.
Parchment, ff. I (paper) + I (parchment) + 203 + I (parchment) + I (paper), 215 x 145 mm.
Heavily trimmed.
I-XIV 8 (ff. 1-112), XV 6 (ff. 113-118), XVI-XXV 8 (ff. 119-198), XXVI 6 (-6, ff. 199-203).
Horizontal catchwords at right.
The first section (quires I-XV, artt. 1-3) has undistinct crayon ruling for one column of 28-30
lines, 175/185 x c. 107 mm.; the second section (quires XVI-XXVI, artt. 4-6) has similar ruling
for one column of 31 lines, c. 182 x c. 108 mm.
Copied by two hands: Section I is in Gothica Cursiva Antiquior Libraria (Anglicana); Section II,
inclusive the explicit formula of art. 3 on f. 118v, is in Gothica Cursiva Libraria (Secretary).
The decoration of Section I consists of 2- or 3-line flourished initials, blue with red penwork. On
ff. 1r and 5r (artt. 1 and 3) 5-line flourished initials in the same colours. In Section II art. 4 is
decorated with 2-line flourished initials in the same colours but of a different style, with
marginal extensions; at the beginning (f. 119r) a 3-line flourished initial in gold with purple
penwork; in art. 4 also red headings and red or blue paragraph-marks. Artt. 4-5 are undecorated.
Binding s. XX by C. Lewis (note on f. Ir): dark blue velvet. On the spine the s. XIX brown
leather title-label has been pasted with the gold-tooled inscription: "LES VEULZ CRONIKES
D'ANGLETRE APPELLEZ LE BRUTE - PLUSEURS AUTRES NOUELLES CRONIKES -
MS. IN MEMBRANIS". At the bottom of the spine small paper label with printed number 3338.
Gilt edges.
Henry J. Drury (1778-1841, note on f. Ir); the greater part of his collection was sold in 1827. See
about him S. de Ricci, English Collectors, pp. 98 and 122. Collection of Norman Holmes
Pearson, Yale 1932, MS 272. Bequest of Norman Holmes Pearson, 1976.
Bibliography: Diana B. Tyson, "Handlist of Manuscripts containing the French Prose Brut
Chronicle", Scriptorium, 48 (1994), pp. 333-344 (mention on p. 339).
Albert Derolez
R 03.06.08