Confessio Amantis, with Latin addenda; begins at I.3305, twenty-two leaves missing in all; later books much disordered due to misbinding.

s.xv, second half.

Contents

1

(fols 1ra–110ra) Confessio Amantis, I.3305–VIII.3114*end

Prologue lost; Book I, beginning at fol. 1ra, has only 3305–3446end; Book II (fol. 1va); Book III (fol. 16ra); Book IV (fol. 27rb); Book V (fol. 41vb); Book VI (fol. 73ra) lacks four leaves after fol. 73, in quire xii, with loss of VI.264–1306; Book VII (fol. 93rb); Book VIII (fol. 91vb) lacks one leaf after fol. 103, in quire xvii, with loss of VIII.2566–2833. There is considerable confusion from Book V (quire xi) onwards, with leaves missing and many leaves displaced, the page-numbering meanwhile proceeding consecutively without regard to missing leaves or text (see Collation, under PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION, below). This explains, amongst other things, why Book VIII appears to precede Book VII.

Macaulay was able to inspect the MS when it was sent from Castle Howard for his use (ed., Works, II.cli). He gave it a sigil (Hd) but did not make a full collation. He noted some textual similarities with Bodleian, MS Laud 609, and assigned it to his recension Ic.

For further information about the following Latin and French addenda that Gower caused to be added to MSS of the Confessio, see Appendix III.

2

(fol. 110ra) ‘Explicit iste liber’

3

(fol. 110ra) ‘Quam cinxere freta’

4

(fol. 110ra–rb) ‘Quia vnusquisque’

Illustration

No surviving illustration.

Decoration

Decorated initials for each book and for text-divisions within books are all alternating two-line red and blue initials, plain without flourishing.