Alphabet of tales : an English 15th century translation of the Alphabetum narrationum of Etienne de Besançon, from Additional MS. 25,719 of the British Museum / by Etienne de Besançon

About this Item

Title
Alphabet of tales : an English 15th century translation of the Alphabetum narrationum of Etienne de Besançon, from Additional MS. 25,719 of the British Museum / by Etienne de Besançon
Author
Etienne de, Besançon, d. 1294
Editor
Banks, Mary Macleod
Publication
London: Kegan Paul, Trench, Trübner, & Co., Ltd.
1904, 1905
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Link to this Item
http://name.umdl.umich.edu/AlphTales
Cite this Item
"Alphabet of tales : an English 15th century translation of the Alphabetum narrationum of Etienne de Besançon, from Additional MS. 25,719 of the British Museum / by Etienne de Besançon." In the digital collection Corpus of Middle English Prose and Verse. https://name.umdl.umich.edu/AlphTales. University of Michigan Library Digital Collections. Accessed June 22, 2025.

Pages

X.
Abbas in vestibus et in calciamentis humilem se debet ostendere.

We rede of ane Abbott off Ceustus ordur, how he on̛ a tyme come vnto Philipp̛, þat was kyng of Romayns, for dyvers nedis of his howse, for to speke with hym̛. So þe kyng beheld̛ his hose & his shone, & þai war passand strayte & clenlie done vppon̛; and when̛ he had con[s]ydurd þis, he askid̛ þis abbott of whyne he was; and þis abbott ansswerd̛ hym̛ agayn̛ & sayd, "Sur, I am̛ abbott of a fuƚƚ pure howse." And þan̛ þe kyng said̛ agayn̛ vnto hym̛, "Sur, þat semys wele be your̛ hose & your̛ shone þat your howse is made passand pure, for þai er costios & dere." And with þis wurd̛ þis abbott was confusid̛, & neuer after ware so costios hose nor shone, nor so strayte as he did befor̛.

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