Described Hardwick & Luard: ii.164–6.

[1]

f. 1

Here begynneth the boke of astroni[…] made of the wysyst philosoferys þai […] þat is to sey of the lond of grece for […] full wiys and well undirstondyng of philos[…] compilid þe boke oute of grew into englysse […] ﹛F﹜irste this boke tellith how preuy he[…] non syth and declarith of the course and […] aftirward of the signys and of the […] …

f. 3

… he hath goode fortune in alle thyngys in whiche he schall haue prosperite he schall lyue long but yf the course of the mone be contre to hym.

Damage to the first two folios of the MS has caused significant loss of text: f. 1: half page missing (vertical); f. 2: only top left-hand quarter remains. The Wise Book of Philosophy and Astronomy. IPMEP 201; Wells Rev. 10:3766–7 [43]. See P. Brown, ‘The Seven Planets’, in Matheson, Popular p. 9 and n. 16. The version of the text given here essentially absorbs the treatise on nativities known as The Book of Destinary which follows it without a break, see [2] below.

Other texts: Wells Rev. 10 lists 31 MSS; IMEP 12 adds BodL Radcliffe Trust e.30 [2]. Griffin diss. adds Surrey History Service MS LM 1327/2 ff. 32–37. See Ll.4.14 [3]. For MSS already indexed see IMEP 1 indexing Huntington 64 [11]; IMEP 3 indexing BodL Digby 88 [11]; IMEP 5 indexing BL Add 12195 [6]; IMEP 9 indexing BodL Ashmole 189 [1], 1405 [3], 1443 [3], and 1477 [12]; IMEP 11 indexing Camb. Trinity Col R.14.51 [21] and O.10.21 [2]; IMEP 17 indexing Camb. Gonville and Caius 457/395 [20].

[2]

f. 3

Now it is to declare and to determine of the xij signes and of her kynden what euery man and woman is ordeynyd be weye of kende and predestynacion and first y schall determyne of this signe aryes that regneth in marche and yt is to knowe þat who so is borun in þis signe schall haue a rounde face amyabull and swete and blacke …

f. 6v

… xij signes vij planettys and þe iiij elementys hym behouyth to byholde and folowe þe perilous termys of þe kalender and þat trewely and parfitely he may proue þerof it deme.