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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"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 18, 2025.
Pages
CCCCXXXVII. Legatum male custoditum amittitur.
We rede how som tyme þer was a man̛ þat
when̛ he dyed̛ bewytt vnto iij sonnys þat he had ane
ass, so þat one suld̛ labur it a day, and a noder a noder
day, and̛ þe iij þe thrid̛ day, & at þai sulde
vpholde it & giff it meate emang þaim. And opon̛
þe furste day þe eldeste bruther had þis ass, &
laburd̛ it sore and gaff it nothyng to eate, ffor he vmthoght
hym̛ þat his medyƚƚ bruther suld̛ hafe it
þe secund̛ day & he wolde giff it meate enogℏ.
And on̛ þe secund̛ day
descriptionPage 300
þis secund̛ brother had þis ass, & laburd̛
it sore, & gaff it no mor̛ meat no mor̛ þan his
furste bruther did̛; ffor he vmthoght hym̛ þat his
thrid bruther, þat was richest of þaim aƚƚ, sulde
hafe it on̛ þe thrid̛ day, & he said̛ he
wold̛ giff it enogℏ. And vppon̛ þe thrid day
þe iij bruther had it, & laburd̛ it & gaf it no
meate, ffor he vmthoght hym̛ þat his ij brethir had bothe
had̛ it, & þai had giffen̛ it meat enogℏ, for
þai war richer men̛ þan̛ he. And þus for
grete labur & no sustentacion̛ þis ass dyed̛;
& þus for þer covatis none of þaim had gude
on̛ itt.
...Legatarij debent pro legatoribus
MS. legatarijs. Lat. MSS. legatoribus. orare. Supra de
elemosina, xi
MS. iij. .
...Leo virginem defendebat a corrupcione. Infra de
virginitate, iij.
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