The Life of Our Lady (Caxton): Edition Description

Summary:

Author

Title

The Life of Our Lady

Place

Printer/Publisher

Date

Edition / Issue

Main Language

Contents:

Item 1:

Table of contents, listing 82 chapters

1r-2v; [*]1r-2v

Incipit: This book was compyled by dan Iohn lydgate monke of burye at the excitacion and styryng of the noble and victoryous prynce Kyn harry the fyfthe

Item 2:

The life of Our lady

3r-94v/21; a1r-m4v

Incipit: [o] Thoughtful herte plungyd in distresse | With slōbre of slouth this long wynters nyght

Colophon: (94v/22-25; m4v) Here endeth the book of the lyf of our lady made by dan Iohn lydgate monke of bury / | at the thynstaunce of the moste crysten kynge / | kynge harry the fyfth

Item 3:

Caxton's envoy; Four Prayers, two in Latin, two in English verse ascribed to Caxton; Colophon

94v/26-95r/22; m4v-m5r

Incipit: Goo lityl book and submytte the | Vnto al them / that the shal rede | Or here / prayeng hem for charite | To pardon me of the rudehede | Of myn enpryntyng /

Colophon: (95r/22; m5r) Enpryntyd by Wyllyam Caxton

Note: 95v, 96; m5v, m6: blank.

Physical Description:

Object Description:

Form: Codex

Format: F°

Ideal collation: [*]2 a-l8 m6. 96 leaves, 96 blank.

Signatures: Signed to the fold with lower-case letter and roman numeral.

Condition: Cancelled leaves (Duff 266a) are known only from 4 leaves, being leaves 2, 3, 6, and 7 of quire a; a2-7 and a3-6. 'All recovered as fragments of printers' waste from bindings. Proctor and Bühler believed they represented an otherwise unknown edition, but it seems more likely that they were rejected as faulty after printing, and have been replaced by reprinted sheets in the complete copies known' (BMC XI).

Layout description:

Layout: