Transcription Practice: MS Ashmole 304 f.44v

May 6, 2023 / Viktor Athelstan / Leave a comment

I am continuing to work on my transcription practice for my upcoming palaeography exam. Today I worked on folio 44v of the Bodleian Library’s MS Ashmole 304. This manuscript was transcribed and illustrated by Matthew Paris. Matthew Paris was a monk at St Albans Abbey in the early to mid 13th century.

Here is the image of the folio I transcribed:

And here is my transcription:

P[*]uira
Ortunatus eris in pueri^[*].s; pl(us) fei’a’ q’ mas.ha
Fructus arborum fertiliores erunt alus
Fortunata erit uia qua vis incedere
Quicquid lucraberis ; erit tuua
Puer nat’ vivet fatis & erit felix i’ nut’mento
Latrocinium & amillio fii’ labore ad te veni &
Amici tui te no’ diligunt
Guerra [*]to sedabitur
Sopnium bonu’ est. & ad bonu’ reuertetur;
Homo de quo queris vivit letus & hilaris
Uinces placit um
Fugit iuus reuertetur
Iturtur vi [*] i’firmat’
Hfirmus multu’ timet & miltu’
Hon habebis pueros. & si habebis ; egri erunt
Seges huuis anni parua est omnib(us) modis.
Via qua’ vis non h’t bonum euentum.
Varum lucrabevis i’ h’ secl’o. & eri\s/ i’ops bono(rum)
Iste puer [*]iuet parua[*]
Latrocinuim non referie tur
Amici tui umbratiles su’t. Ho’ te diligunt
Guerra mota ma’gna er\t/. motor(bus) n’o letabit’.
So’pniu’ qd’ vidist mulum est. & grave
Homo de quo queris; nimis infix mat’.
Tuus adu’sarius no’ habebit in placito eue’tu’

*****

Here is my transcription in paragraph form:

P[*]uira

Ortunatus eris in pueri^[*].s; pl(us) fei’a’ q’ mas. ha Fructus arborum fertiliores erunt alus Fortunata erit uia qua vis incedere Quicquid lucraberis ; erit tuua Puer nat’ vivet fatis & erit felix i’ nut’mento Latrocinium & amillio fii’ labore ad te veni & Amici tui te no’ diligunt Guerra [*]to sedabitur Sopnium bonu’ est. & ad bonu’ reuertetur; Homo de quo queris vivit letus & hilaris Uinces placit um Fugit iuus reuertetur

Iturtur vi [*] i’firmat’

Hfirmus multu’ timet & miltu’ Hon habebis pueros. & si habebis ; egri erunt Seges huuis anni parua est omnib(us) modis. Via qua’ vis non h’t bonum euentum. Varum lucrabevis i’ h’ secl’o. & eri\s/ i’ops bono(rum) Iste puer [*]iuet parua[*] Latrocinuim non referie tur Amici tui umbratiles su’t. Ho’ te diligunt Guerra mota ma’gna er\t/. motor(bus) n’o letabit’. So’pniu’ qd’ vidist mulum est. & grave Homo de quo queris; nimis infix mat’. Tuus adu’sarius no’ habebit in placito eue’tu’

******

Source:

Oxford, Bodleian Library MS. Ashmole 304: https://digital.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/objects/b6391fb2-a52e-4c69-bc13-02c04a9256a7/

Transcription Practice: Cotton MS Nero D VII f.3v

May 5, 2023 / Viktor Athelstan / 2 Comments

I am currently near the tail end of my medieval studies master program. (My God, how time flies!) Due to this, I haven’t had time to write for this blog in a long time due to school and working on my fiction projects. I want to get back to posting here more. However, May is exams month and I have a lot of studying to get done.

It’s a good thing I am a medieval studies major and this is a blog about medieval things!

I have a palaeography exam this month and to study for it, I’ve been transcribing sections of medieval manuscripts. Today I worked on transcribing folio 3v of Cotton MS Nero D VII.

Here is the image from the manuscript:

And here is my transcription (as seen in the manuscript line by line):

Gloriosus Rex Offa Mercio[*] tenens
gubernacula. corpore beati Albam pa-
troni nostri de terra lenato finidauit
istud monasteriu’ . possessionib(us) q(ibus) ac multis liber
tatib(us) ditaiut magnifice . ac non multo post Ro-
mam petiit corporalit’ . ut sicut temporalib(us) & re-
galib(us) dignitatib(us) hoc monasteru’i ditauit in an-
glia : ita illud nobilitaret priuilegiis impetratis
a sede apostolica . Et quia repperit dii’m papam
Adrianum videlicet prima sibi fauorabilem . exultaunt spi

And here is my transcription cleaned up a bit:

Gloriosus Rex Offa Mercio[*] tenens gubernacula. corpore beati Albam patroni nostri de terra lenato finidauit istud monasteriu’ . possessionib(us) q(ibus) ac multis liber tatib(us) ditaiut magnifice . ac non multo post Romam petiit corporalit’ . ut sicut temporalib(us) & regalib(us) dignitatib(us) hoc monasteru’i ditauit in anglia : ita illud nobilitaret priuilegiis impetratis a sede apostolica . Et quia repperit dii’m papam Adrianum videlicet prima sibi fauorabilem . exultaunt spi

Perhaps later I will come back and translate it! (If I have the time of course!)

Okehampton Castle October 2022 Part 1

February 27, 2023February 27, 2023 / Viktor Athelstan / Leave a comment

Now that I’m doing my masters in Medieval Studies, I’ve been a bit too busy to do much writing for this blog. However, I visited Okehampton Castle last October. Here are some photos!

Okehampton Castle in the distance. October 2022. Photo by Viktor Athelstan.

Here is the first photo I took of the castle. I was pretty far away at the time, but very excited to see it! Even as ruins, Okehampton Castle is really impressive. It makes me wonder what medieval people thought when they saw it for the first time in its glory days. (This photo doesn’t really do justice to how high up on the hill it is.)

Maybe this photo will give a better idea of the hill? (No. It doesn’t really. The hill is REALLY big.)

Okehampton Castle. October 2022. Photo by Viktor Athelstan.

There we go! This gives a better idea of Okehampton Castle’s scale. The gatehouse’s ruins are on the left.

Okehampton Castle’s gatehouse. October 2022. Photo by Viktor Athelstan.

It was a foggy morning that day. By the time I got to the castle the fog had almost (but not entirely!) lifted. This made for some really cool photographs.

Here’s a hole.

Another hole.

Surrounding landscape and a piece of Okehampton Castle. October 2022. Photo by Viktor Athelstan.

There’s some castle. The sunbeams through the fog was magical!

After going through the gatehouse, I went through a corridor (I don’t know the technical term for it). The corridor leads to the rest of the castle. On each side you can see small stone walls. In the Middle Ages they were much higher!

Trees near Okehampton Castle. October 2022. Photo by Viktor Athelstan.

Aren’t these trees lovely?

The fact that the ruins are on a hill makes for some great photographs and shows how intimidating the castle would have been in its glory days.

You can see some autumn leaves here.

I love that I could see the hills through the remaining windows.

One of my favorite photos from this trip!

If I recall correctly, this was part of the kitchen?

Because I took so many photos, I’ll post more in a part two!

Exeter Cathedral Fall 2022

October 23, 2022October 23, 2022 / Viktor Athelstan / Leave a comment

I recently visited Exeter Cathedral so I figured I would post some photos I took! These photos are in no particular order. They feature multiple different aspects of the cathedral.

Some stonework by Exeter Cathedral’s front doors—Autumn 2022

Outside Exeter Cathedral, including the Cathedral Green—Autumn 2022

A side door of Exeter Cathedral, featuring a statue of Saint George killing a dragon (and some other saints)—Autumn 2022

Part of Exeter Cathedral’s organ and the top of the choir stalls—Autumn 2022

Exeter Cathedral’s wooden medieval bishop’s chair (note how it almost touches the ceiling!)—Autumn 2022

Part of a chapel and a stained glass window in Exeter Cathedral—Autumn 2022

Exeter Cathedral’s tomb of Walter Stapeldon, a medieval bishop of Exeter—Autumn 2022

More stained glass in the Exeter Cathedral—Autumn 2022

One example of carved graffiti in Exeter Cathedral—Autumn 2022

Part of a tomb (I can’t remember whose) in Exeter Cathedral—Autumn 2022

Muckross Abbey, Spring 2018 Photos, Part 1

April 18, 2022 / Viktor Athelstan / Leave a comment

I visited the Muckross Abbey ruins in spring 2018. Muckross Abbey is located in County Kerry, Ireland. On my Instagram @the_mediaeval_monk, some of my followers expressed interest in seeing my old photos of the abbey’s ruins.

I’m splitting the photos up into several blog posts. This is so people can admire Muckross Abbey’s beauty without feeling overwhelmed by the sheer amount of photos in each blog post. (I know I get overwhelmed when I see very big photo dumps! Surely other people are the same, right?)

A Brief History of Muckross Abbey

According to the Killarney National Park website, Muckross Abbey was founded in 1448 by Daniel McCarthy Mor. It was a Franciscan friary. People have been buried in Muckross Abbey’s cemetery for centuries. The cemetery holds Irish chieftains, poets, and local residents. As you’ll see from the photos below, it’s no wonder people want to be buried in such a gorgeous place!