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 6, 2025.

Pages

L.
Ambicio inducit hominem ad faciendum conuenciones cum diabolo.

We rede in þe 'Cronicles of Saynt Siluester' of a pope þat hyght Secundus [For Sylvester II.] , how furste he was a monke, and þan̛ afterwerd̛ he made homage vnto þe devuƚƚ, promysyng hym̛ to do what þing so he commanddid hym̛. And þe devuƚƚ hight hym̛ at he sulde hafe evur what þing so he desyrid; and he spak oft sithis with þe devuƚƚ. And evur he encresid̛ so in sciens & in connyng, at Ottonus, at was Emperour, and Robert, þat was kyng of Frawnce, wer his scolers. So be procuryng be þe devuƚƚ, he was made archbisshopp̛ of Bononience [For Bononia, = Bologna. MS. Arund. Factus est Archiepiscopus Remensis.] . Syne he was made a cardinaƚƚ, and at þe laste he was made pope. So on̛ a tyme as he was spekand with þe devuƚƚ, he askid̛ hym̛ how long he sulde liff, and he ansswerd̛ hym̛ agayn̛ & said̛, vnto he sang mes in Jerusalem; and with þis wurde he was passand glad̛, & þoght it sulde be long or he sang any mes þer, or yit go thedur in pylgramage. So it happend̛ afterward̛ in þe lentren̛, þat he said̛ mes in Rome in a kurk þat hight Jerusalem; and when̛ he was at mes he hard̛ a grete noyse of devuls, and he feƚƚ so seke þat he felid̛ hym̛ selfe þat hym̛ burd dye; and þan̛, þuf aƚƚ he war nevur so wykkid̛ in [After in, liffid̛, erased.] liffyng, ye[t] he had compunccion̛, & made mekuƚƚ sorow for his syn̛. And he besoght God of mercye, & wold̛ not dy in dispayr. And þer he made ane oppyn̛ confession̛ of aƚƚ his syn̛ befor̛ þe peple, and he commandid̛ þat all þase membris þat he had servid̛ þe devuƚƚ with suld be cutt off, & at þe carcas of his bodie sulde be

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put in a carte, & whethir-som̛-evur at þe cateƚƚ led it, at þer it sulde be berid̛; and so þe pepuƚƚ did̛. And þai led it in-to þe kurk of [Sai]nt John̛ Lateranencis; & þer it was berid̛. And in tokyn̛ þat almyghti God had mercie of hym̛, hys grafe spryngis als wele smale crusyƚƚ bonys as oyle yit vnto þis day [MS. Arund. Et in signum misericordie, sepulcrum ipsius, tam ex tumultu ossium quam ex sudore, presagium est Pape morituri, sicut in eodem sepulcro litteris est exaratum.] . et c̛.

  • ... Ambicio inducit hominem ad negandum deum et scripto suo firmare. Infra de Theophilo, vbi agitur de Maria, dei genitrice.

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