a picture of John Lydgate with the initials of the website
The Testament of John Lydgate:
Long Melford Verses

HomeAbout the ArchiveAbout John LydgateWorksManuscriptsAbout this ManuscriptEditorial ApparatusContactVisualization

North Wall (View Model)
First PanelSecond PanelThird PanelFourth PanelFifth PanelSixth PanelSeventh Panel

Decoration
Download XML
Data Dictionary
Second Panel
Compare Witnesses: •
With wepyng eyen and contrite chiere •
[.....]te vs ihesu and oure compleyn conceyue •
[..] [....] vnworthy tofor th[.] t[....] [......]1 •
whiche in oure self[.] no vertu aperceyue2 •
but of thyn mercy [..] grace vs receyue3 •
by synfull leuynge brought [.]nto owtraunce4 •
praye we with good hope which may vs not deceyue5 •
graunte or we deye shrifte hosell and repentaunce •
Notes
  1. While the first letter of the third word is quite damaged, based on the lack of a bottom finishing stroke on the rightmost minim and the practice elsewhere of rendering initial “u” as a “v,” the word here is “vnworthy.” Additionally, most other manuscript witnesses as well as Pynson’s 1520 print edition have “tappeare” and variations thereof in this line. However, Trinity R.3.19 has “to apere tofore.” The Clopton verses omit “apere” unless it is in the missing text of the panel. ↩
  2. The initial “o” and “u” of “oure” can be determined from the panel and context. The final letter of the fourth word cannot be determined – the remnant of a minim at the bottom is too thick to be the “-es” abbreviation. The remnant of the second “e” and the descender of the “y” in “aperceyue” can be seen, indicating that this is the final word in the line. ↩
  3. While the word is damaged, enough remains of the top of the minims to indicate that the end is “-yue.” ↩
  4. Both the fourth and fifth words are significantly damaged, but enough remains of the fourth to determine all the letters but the final, which has been supplied. The terminal “o” of the fifth word is visible on the panel, as is part of the “t.” Based on the example of the manuscript witnesses the second letter is “n,” making the word “unto.” Whether it would be spelled “vnto” or “onto,” however, cannot be determined as the remains of the initial letter match both the scribe’s “v” and his “o.” ↩
  5. The eighth and ninth words on the line are badly damaged on the panel, but enough of both letters are visible on the eighth to determine it is “vs” and on the initial and terminal letters of the ninth to determine it is “not.” ↩

Creative Commons License
The transcription of this work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. All rights to the images, however, are reserved as a courtesy to the Church of the Holy Trinity, Long Melford, which partially relies on donations for its upkeep. Please contact the editor with any requests.