John Gower, Confessio Amantis and other poems in Latin and French; England, late 14th or early 15th century

Title

John Gower, Confessio Amantis and other poems in Latin and French; England, late 14th or early 15th century

Shelfmark

MS. Fairfax 3

Date

14th century, late, or 15th century, early

14th century, late - 15th century, early

Language

Latin

Middle English (1100-1500)

Anglo-Norman

Contents

Form

codex

Support

parchment

Physical extent

ii (paper) + 1 + 193 + 1 + i (paper) leaves

Hands

One very good hand, with later interventions by two other hands, as explained in the description of the text, above. Many corrections by original hand, especially to correct the use of final -e (described in detail by Macaulay (ed.), Works, II.clix). The principal scribe writes in a late fourteenth-century anglicana formata hand showing influence of the secretary script in its use of single compartment 'a'. The second scribe writes in a similar style of anglicana formata of the beginning of the fifteenth century, using the two-compartment 'a' and writing in a less angular style than the principal. The third scribe uses the most angular form of anglicana formata, with quadrata feet at the base of minims and stalks of other letters, again datable to the early fifteenth century.

Careful punctuation, including a raised point to mark a strong caesural break after enjambement. There is detailed description by Macaulay (ed., Works, II.clix). There is also arbitrary use of various forms of punctuation at the ends of lines. The normal tyronian abbreviations appear frequently in the Latin but sparingly in the English text; the scribe prefers to write out and' rather than use the tyronian 'et'. Thorn is used except as line-initial where the scribe spelled out 'Th'; and yogh is used for the 'y' sound ('ȝet', 'ȝe', 'ȝou') but not for the 'gh' sound ('noght', 'briht', ynowh').

Decoration

There are two miniatures. The first is the statue of Nebuchadnezzar's dream ("The Dream of Precious Metals'), showing Nebuchadnezzar in bed (with a splendid pink bedcover), and the image and a hill beside, as is usual, but also showing the differentiation of metals (in blue and gold), which is not. See Pächt and Alexander, Illuminated Manuscripts in the Bodleian Library , III. pl. 71. The image appears at the beginning of the poem, fol. 2ra, and occupies eighteen lines. The other miniature occupies sixteen lines at the beginning of Book I, fol. 8rb, and shows the confession scene, Genius dressed in green with a wreath of roses on his head, not much like a priest (Scott, Later Gothic Manuscripts , II. 110), the penitent, kneeling, wearing a hood and collar of SS (Gower was presented with a collar of SS by Henry Bolingbroke in 1393) with a badge, probably a swan, hanging from it (see Figure 6). The collar and badge, perhaps added later, are part of the Lancastrian livery, as well as the livery colours of white and blue noted by Harris, "Ownership and Readership', 121. S. Drimmer, The Art of Allusion, discusses the collar of SS in relation to limhers' treatment of authorial identity with Amans on p: 95 and Figure 38 on p. 98, illustrating the detail of the collar in colour plate 11.

Fairfax 3 was used by Macaulay as his copy-text, and his division of the poem into paragraphs and chapters' corresponds exactly to the hierarchy of the decorated initials. Six-line decorated initials, combined with bar-borders, mark the beginnings of all books except the Prologue (four-line). The borders consist of a single decorated column on the left, alone (Prol.) or with lateral extensions the width of the page at top and bottom (II, III, VI, VII) or at the bottom only (V); or a single decorated column between the text-columns with lateral extensions to left and right at top and bottom (IV, VIII) or at the bottom only (D). The branches are variously decorated with little ball-ornaments, trefoils, petals, sprays and occasionally thistles.

Four-line decorated initials in gold, blue and pink, with pen-flourishing, mark major text-divisions, especially those that follow Latin verses and are marked by Macaulay as 'chapters' with small Roman numerals (e.g. 1.575, 1235, 1343).

Three-line initials, with flourishing, mark the less important major text-divisions (Macaulay's line-spaces). One-line decorated initials mark minor text-divisions (corresponding to Macaulay's paragraphs), and are also used for the Latin verses. In the French and Latin poems, the same kind of hierarchy of initials is observed, as appropriate to the different structure of the poems, but with no borders.

Binding

On five bands, stippled calf with marbled paper endleaves and pastedowns, probably s.xviii, maybe early s.xix.

Acquisition

The book was bequeathed to the University of Oxford by Sir Thomas Fairfax, the parliamentary general, grandson of the above Sir Thomas Fairfax, and was placed in the Bodleian Library in 1675. See Macaulay (ed.), Works. II.clvii.

Provenance

Fol. 2r, top margin, 'The Ladie Isabell Fairfax daughter and hare of Thwates hir bouk'. Fol. 8r, top margin, 'This boke be longythe to my lady farfax off Steton'. Lady Isabel Fairfax(fol. 2r) was the granddaughter and heiress of John Thwaites of Denton, in Yorkshire, who died in 1511. She was married to Sir William Fairfax of Steeton (fol. 8r), also in Yorkshire.

Fol. 1r, top margin, 'Sr Thomas fayrfax of Denton Knighte true owner of this booke, 1588'. Sir Thomas Fairfax(fol. 1r) was her grandson.

Title

The English works of John Gower, with Latin rubrics

Shelfmark

MS. Fairfax 3

Summary

The English works of John Gower, with Latin rubrics, in the third recension:

Prol. beg. 'Off hem ϸat writen ous tofore' (fol. 2)

Text beg. 'Naturatus amor nature legibus orbem' (fol. 8)

Followed by verses beg. 'Quam cinxere freta Gower tua carmina leta' (fol. 186), the French 'Traité' (fol. 186v), the 'Carmen de multiplici viciorum pestilencia' (fol. 190v), the list of Gower's works, beg. 'Quia unusquisque' (fol. 194)

Sixteen verses in praise of the author: beg. 'Eneidos Bucolisque Georgica' (ib.)

Fol. 195 is a leaf of a 14th cent. Latin moral treatise from the old binding

The MS. is in three hands, of which the second wrote fol. 1 (to 1. 146 of the Prologue) and fols. 186-94. The third hand wrote fol. 41v over an erasure and the inserted leaf 185.

Date

Written about 1400 in England

Language

Latin

English

Multiple languages

French

Physical facet

On parchment, in double columns, with two miniatures, etc.

Physical extent

197 Leaves

Custodial history

'Sr Thomas Fayrfax of Denton knighte true owner of this booke, 1588' (fol. 1). This Sir Thomas was the grandson of 'The Ladie Isabell Fairfax daughter and hare of Thwate' (fol. 2), who was the granddaughter and heiress of John Thwaites of Denton (d. 1511).