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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 May 15, 2025.

Pages

CCLIV.
Demon psallentes in choro impedit.

Cesarius tellis how on̛ a grete solempne nyght at matyns, þe Covent of Hemmerode, as þai war sayand̛ þis psalm̛; ' Domine, quid multiplicati, et c̛,' þer was so many fendis in þer quere, þat with sight of þaim goyng vp & down̛, þe ta side falid̛ in þe psalm̛. And when̛ þe toder syde laburd̛ to gar þaim say right agayn̛, þai whettid̛ þer tethe agayns þaim & flayed̛ þaim so at þai wiste neuer what þai suld̛ say; bod þe ta syde cried̛ agayn̛ þe toder, þai wiste neuer whatt. And nowder þe abbott nor þe priour cuthe bryng þaim vnto þe psalmodie agayn̛, nor none acordans. And at laste, ilfarandlie, þai made ane end̛ of þis little psalme, with grete labur and̛ confusion̛; & þan̛ þe devuƚƚ & aƚƚ his felashup̛ went away, & þe prior saw þaim fle a-way in liknes of dragons.

  • Demon nigromancia compellitur apparere. Infra de Nigromancia.
  • Demon ludit ad taxillos. Infra de ludo taxillorum.

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