- Collection Overview
- Collection Description & Creator Information
- Access & Use
- Collection History
- Find Related Materials
Prayer Book, circa 1584
Collection Overview
Collection Description & Creator Information
- Scope and Contents
Includes a calendar, collection of prayers, and various notes. The volume commences with a calendar following the Use of Sarum with dates of Easter from 1584 to 1607, and each month concluding with a quatrain of medical advice. Also included are marginal notes on English monarchs. The remainder of the manuscript is comprised of prayers.
1r-12v: Calendar, Use of Sarum. Marginal notes on English rulers from William the Conqueror (r. 1066-1087) to Queen Elizabeth I (r. 1558-1603). Each month concludes with a quatrain of medical advice in red or green ink. For example, December has the following verses: "To end with December of force wee must / Whole counsell is warme meates to use. / Too flye much wyne and banish lust / And never the gifts of God to abuse." For January 23, there is a note "terme begins" in red ink, referring to the Hilary term in the English legal court calendar. On fol. 13r, at the end of the calendar, is a table listing dates for Easter, Shrove Tuesday, and Leap Year, 1584-1607.
14r-129r: Prayers in English. Some mention particular people or uphold Queen Elizabeth and the Church of England against all foe: (fol. 100v) "A praier to the Father, to the Sonne, and to the holy Ghjost, compiled & made by the Skelton," referring to the poet John Skelton (ca. 1463-1529); (fols. 113r-v) "A praier against the aduersaries of the Church"; (fol. 113v-114r) "A praier against the dissensions which do arise in the Churche"; (fol. 114r) "A prayer for the preservation of the Queen from Traiterus practises compiled by Mr Thomas Barwick," an English Catholic who in 1581 at Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge, opposed "dissimulation" by Catholic Recusants and declared himself openly to be a "Papist. There are notes on religious subjects (fols. 103v-110v), such as "The tenne Commaundementes with a brefe and shorte exposition of them." Several prayers are for Queen Elizabeth: (fol. 39r-v) "Queen Elizabeth encrease in her my all heart, true faith, godlie zeal, loue of the same, And graunt her victory ouer all her enemies; a longe, prosperous, and honorable life one earth, a blessed end, and life euerlasting. Moreover, O Lord, graunt unto her Majesties most honorable Councellors and eueri other member of this thy Churche of England, that they and wee our seuerell colleages may tryly and godlye serve thee." (fol. 98r) "That it may please thee to keepe and strengthen in the true worshipping of thee, in righteousnes and holiness of lyfe, your seruant Elizabeth our most gracious Queene and gouernour."
- Arrangement
Arranged numerically by Taylor manuscript number. Note: number 8 was vacated.
Collection History
- Acquisition:
AM 2016-50
Purchased at Pirie auction at Sotheby's, 2015
- Custodial History
The manuscript contains the following ownership inscriptions. Robert Cooke: name stamped on upper cover); fol 13v and rear pastedown: Michael Blesett ("Michael Blessett his Booke"), 17th century(?). fol 13v: Thomas Slynn ("thomas slynn his book god give him grace therein to Looke"), 17th century ; fol. 113v, Anthony Bate ("Anthony Bate," written in pale red ink)., 17th century(?). John Meade Falkner (1858-1932) purchased the manuscript at Sotheby's, 12 December 1932, lot 86. Purchased at the foregoing sale through the London antiquarian bookseller Bernard Quaritch. Later in the library of Robert S. Pirie (1934-2015). See The Collection of Robert S. Pirie, Volumes I & II: Books and Manuscripts, December 2-5, 2015 (New York: Sotheby's, 2015), lot 661.
- Appraisal
No materials were separated during 2003 processing.
- Processing Information
This collection was processed by Sylvia Yu and Teresa Basler in 2002-2003. Finding aid written by Sylvia Yu and Teresa Basler in 2002-2003.
Finding aid updated periodically with new accessions by Kelly Bolding, Faith Charlton, and Chloe Pfendler, 2013-2017.
Access & Use
- Conditions Governing Access
The collection is open for research.
- Conditions Governing Use
Single copies may be made for research purposes. To cite or publish quotations that fall within Fair Use, as defined under U. S. Copyright Law, no permission is required. For instances beyond Fair Use, it is the responsibility of the researcher to determine whether any permissions related to copyright, privacy, publicity, or any other rights are necessary for their intended use of the Library's materials, and to obtain all required permissions from any existing rights holders, if they have not already done so. Princeton University Library's Special Collections does not charge any permission or use fees for the publication of images of materials from our collections, nor does it require researchers to obtain its permission for said use. The department does request that its collections be properly cited and images credited. More detailed information can be found on the Copyright, Credit and Citations Guidelines page on our website. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us through the Ask Us! form.
- Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements
For preservation reasons, original analog and digital media may not be read or played back in the reading room. Users may visually inspect physical media but may not remove it from its enclosure. All analog audiovisual media must be digitized to preservation-quality standards prior to use. Audiovisual digitization requests are processed by an approved third-party vendor. Please note, the transfer time required can be as little as several weeks to as long as several months and there may be financial costs associated with the process. Requests should be directed through the Ask Us Form.
- Credit this material:
Prayer Book; Robert H. Taylor Collection of English and American Literature, RTC01, Manuscripts Division, Department of Special Collections, Princeton University Library
- Location:
-
Firestone LibraryOne Washington RoadPrinceton, NJ 08544, USA
Find More
- Bibliography
Medieval and Renaissance Manuscripts in the Princeton University Library, ed. Don C. Skemer. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2012. For brief overviews, see John V. Fleming, "Medieval Manuscripts in the Taylor Library," Princeton University Library Chronicle, vol. 38 (1977), pp. 107-119; Jean F. Preston, "More Taylor Medieval Manuscripts," Princeton University Library Chronicle, vol. 47, no. 2 (1986), pp. 261-264; and Adelaide Bennett, Jean F. Preston, and William P. Stoneman, Summary Guide to Western Medieval and Renaissance Manuscripts at Princeton University (Princeton: Princeton University Library, 1991), pp. 55-56.
- Names:
- Beerbohm, Max, Sir (1872-1956)
Byron, George Gordon Byron, Baron (1788-1824)
Pope, Alexander. (1688-1744)
Shaw, Bernard (1856-1950)
Sheridan, Richard Brinsley (1751-1816)
Strachey, Lytton (1880-1932)
Thackeray, William Makepeace (1811-1863)
Trollope, Anthony
Wilde, Oscar (1854-1900)
Woolf, Virginia (1882-1941)
