YALE UNIVERSITY
BEINECKE RARE BOOK AND MANUSCRIPT LIBRARY
THE JAMES MARSHALL AND MARIE-LOUISE OSBORN
COLLECTION
MEDIEVAL AND RENAISSANCE MANUSCRIPTS
Osborn a6
Peter Mowle (1554-?); Nicolas Hanslopp. Sartaine most holsome
meditations verey meete to bee dulie considered (a poem in 5 books,
dedicated to Lady Viscount Hereford). Bound with the commonplace book
of Nicolas Hanslopp. Attleborough, England. January 1, 1595; the
commonplace book is dated several times 1618-22.
f. 1r Title page
f. 2 Epistell "To ye right honorable, ye Ladie vicount Hereford P.M.
. . . Attelbrough, this first of ianuarie, Anno 1595.
ff. 3r-13v The Foure-Fould Meditations, by Philip of Arundel, with
their arguments. (no title or author cited in this MS.)
ff. 13v Five petitions to our blessed Saviour IESU uppon ye five
former meditations.
ff. 14r-16v A Conflict betweene ye flesh and ye speritt in dialogue
voise wherein is argued how wee shoulde cast of and reiect all carnall
and fleshlie love, and cleave on lie to ye love of God.
f. 16v Of ye three capitall enemies of mankind.
f. 17 Christo Crucifixo. (by Robert Southwell)
f. 18r A Prayer to our blessed Saviour IESU.
ff. 18v-20r A survey of Tyme.
ff. 20v-21v Epistell To ye worshipfull mr Edward W. Deveruxe. P.M. .
. . Attelbrough, this first of ianuarie, Anno 1595.
ff. 22r-75v commonplace book of Nicolas Hanslopp, contains recipes,
prayers, etc.
Paper. ii + 75 ff. (21 + 54 ff.). ff. 1-21: 195 x 142 mm.; ff. 22-75:
204 x 145 mm. 1 column, 36 lines.
The volume is too closely bound to be collated. Catchwords on
every page.
English cursive bookhand: the hand of Peter Mowle. Occasional
flowers and plants are drawn in the first part. The commonplace book of
Nicolas Hanslopp has several crude drawings, one of "Twoo Giants
Fiting," and others of animals including a dragon with two figures in
its mouth. Bound in nineteenth-century boards.
The name of Nicolas Hanslopp appears on the title page of the
first part. On 2v the name Robert Worral appears. It appears again on
34r together with "John Radford" in the same hand. On 71v, 72r, and 74r
appears "William Sutton, His Booke." Bequest of James M. Osborn in
1976.
Comments: The first poem in this collection is the same as that of
Osborn a5, "The Foure-Fould Meditations," by Philip Howard, Earl of
Arundel, although sometimes assigned falsely to Robert Southwell.
Before the text, an epistle is dedicated "To ye right honorable ye
Ladie vicount Hereford" from P.M. After this poem and several others,
another epistle is dedicated "To the worshipfull mr Edward W. Deveruxe"
from the same P.M, with the Edward crossed out and an "m" added above
the W (Edward Devereux was Lady Hereford's husband; William was her
son). In Oscott College MS. Case B II, the Peter Mowle Commonplace
Book, there is a memorandum dated 1606 which reads, "Anno 1595 I
dedicated to ye Right Honerable the Ladie vicount Hereford of Parham in
Sussex ... a Booke for a new yeares gifte, conteyninge five principall
meditaciouns, whereof ye first treateth of ye Agonie of Death. The
second of the particvler Iudgement of ye sovle. The third of ye Daye of
ye Generall Iudgement. The fourth of ye Tormentes of Hell. The fift and
laste of ye Ioyes of Heaven, with severrall Argumentes to eyther of
them and five Peticions to our Blessed Saviour Iesv vppon ye former
meditaciouns ...." A dedication follows this to "Mr Willyam Deverruxe,"
son of the Rt. Hon. Edward Devereux and the Rt. Hon. Lady Viscountess
Hereford. Osborn a6 is certainly the book he was describing. It seems
that Mowle had the job of copying and circulating the works of Catholic
writers (including himself) to the chief Catholic families of the day.
To request this material for use in the Beinecke reading room, please go to Orbis, the Yale University Library catalog.