This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1879 Excerpt: ...Museum, containing amongst many other pieces two Charlemagne Romances, which are now here printed for the first time, and which, strange to say, may also bo considered unique. The first poem, the Sege of Melayne, is absolutely unique, while the second, Roland and Otuel, although a translation of the same French ...
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This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1879 Excerpt: ...Museum, containing amongst many other pieces two Charlemagne Romances, which are now here printed for the first time, and which, strange to say, may also bo considered unique. The first poem, the Sege of Melayne, is absolutely unique, while the second, Roland and Otuel, although a translation of the same French original as the Sir Otuel of the Auchinleck MS., as little agrees with it as Sir Ferumbras agrees with the Sowdone of Babyloyne, and is also practically an unique poem. V1U DESCRIPTION OP MS. ADD1T. 31,042. 2. Tho Aildit. MS. 31,042 is a quarto volume, in paper, containing 179 folios, in addition to four leaves1 of parchment, part of the original binding. It is marked, "Poems aud Romances collected by R Thornton, 15th century," and was purchased July 12th, 1879, by tho Museum, from Mr. J. Pearson, to whom it had been sent over for sale from America. Of its previous history nothing is known. That it originally belonged to Robert Thornton, the compiler of the celebrated Thornton MS., is evident from his signature, which appeare at tho end of two of the poems. In the first case the signature has been partially erased, and in the second a later hand has written another narao over it. The MS. contains a large number of English poems, together with a few short Latin prayers, &c. Some of the pieces are in Thornton's own handwriting, as for example tho Seyye of Jerusalem, fol. 50--66, but the Sege of Melayne and Roland and Otuel are believed to be in a different hand. To enable the reader to judge for himself on this point, an autotype of a half page of Thornton's writing, signed by him, is given, and also an autotype of the back of the samo leaf, showing tho beginning of the Sege of Melayne. The first piece in the volume is a long relig...
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