Smith, Lucy Toulmin, ed.; Kerrison, Lady Caroline, A Common-place book of the fifteenth century, containing a religious play and poetry, legal forms and local accounts (London: Trübner) Read this source online
Text name(s): Common-place book; Rules for Conduct; Fortune told by Casting Dice; Adrian and Epotys; Play of Abraham and Isaac; Fifteen Signs before Doomsday; The Knight Sir Owen; Life of St. Margaret; Directions for a Trental; Carol of the Annunciation; Felson Book; Task Book; Forms of Charters, Bonds, etc.; Articles of Enquiry at a Court Baron and at Court Leet; Expense Acconts; Contracts
Number of pages of primary source text: 176
Author(s):
Dates: 1450 - 1500
Archival Reference: Brome MS
Original Language(s):
- English - Middle English
Translation:
- Original language included.
Translation Comments:
Geopolitical Region(s):
- England
County/Region: Suffolk; Suston
Record Types:
- Account Roll
- Contract
- Hagiography
- Law - Local Ordinances
- Literature - Verse
- Theology - Devotional
- Treatise - Instruction/Advice
Subject Headings:
- Agriculture
- Law - Crime
- Literature - Devotional
- Literature - Drama
- Material Culture: Food, Clothing, Household
- Nobility / Gentry
- Piety - Lay
- Saints
Apparatus:
- Index
- Introduction
Comments:
In the late middle ages, people often compiled common-place books: manuscripts in which they wrote a wide variety of texts, which can include anything from poetry, religious treatises, and song lyrics to farming advice, household accounts, and legal documents. These books were usually written over periods of many years, often by many different hands. The Brome Manuscript is such a manuscript, containing poetry (mostly on religious subjects), documents on manorial law, and private financial accounts. The complete book can be found on the Corpus of Middle English Prose and Verse website.
Introduction Summary:
The introduction (9 pp.) describes the manuscript and offers general comments about its contents. It probably belonged to Robert Melton, a well-to-do farmer, and reflects his religious, financial, and legal concerns. Smith gives a detailed list of the contents and the folios on which they occur in the manuscript: in the text of the book, she has grouped them by genre instead of leaving them in their original order. Smith briefly discusses some interesting aspects of the language in the manuscript, and describes her editorial method. The introduction ends with a paragraph on the handwriting in the manuscript.
Cataloger: mk
