Elyot's The Boke Named the Governour (1557)

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ELYOT, Sir Thomas (c. 1496-1546)

The Boke Named the Governour. London: Thomas Marsh, 1557

Shakespeare's source for the main plot of The Two Gentlemen of Verona. There are also echoes of The Governour in Henry IV and Troilus & Cressida. (See Ralph M. Sargent, “Sir Thomas Elyot and the Integrity of The Two Gentlemen of Verona,” PMLA 65 [1950]: 1166-80.)

Elyot was a lawyer who served as Clerk of the Council under Cardinal Wolsey. He was sent on an unsuccessful diplomatic mission to enlist the support of the Holy Roman Emperor for Henry VIII’s divorce from Katherine of Aragon. The Governour is an extended essay on political ethics, arguably the earliest treatise on moral philosophy in English.

Bound with two 13th-century illuminated vellum manuscript leaves, one containing a portion of the Passion of Saint Cecelia and the other of the Life of Saint Aignan of Orleans, and a 15th-century manuscript leaf of Boethius's Consolation of Philosophy. (See below for a detailed paleographical analysis of these manuscript leaves.)

Octavo, A8 A-X8 y-z8 2A-2D8. Black letter, title supplied from 1553 edition (with woodcut architectural border dated 1534), woodcut initials, contemporary and near contemporary ink inscriptions of John Alyngton, Thomas Cutter, and Francis Winn dated 1686, marginalia in fine early hand, later manuscript index of corrections bound in at rear. Old calf binding, rebacked and repaired.

References: STC 7640; USTC 505414

ELYOT, Sir Thomas (c. 1496-1546)

The Boke Named the Governour. London: Thomas Marsh, 1557

Shakespeare's source for the main plot of The Two Gentlemen of Verona. There are also echoes of The Governour in Henry IV and Troilus & Cressida. (See Ralph M. Sargent, “Sir Thomas Elyot and the Integrity of The Two Gentlemen of Verona,” PMLA 65 [1950]: 1166-80.)

Elyot was a lawyer who served as Clerk of the Council under Cardinal Wolsey. He was sent on an unsuccessful diplomatic mission to enlist the support of the Holy Roman Emperor for Henry VIII’s divorce from Katherine of Aragon. The Governour is an extended essay on political ethics, arguably the earliest treatise on moral philosophy in English.

Bound with two 13th-century illuminated vellum manuscript leaves, one containing a portion of the Passion of Saint Cecelia and the other of the Life of Saint Aignan of Orleans, and a 15th-century manuscript leaf of Boethius's Consolation of Philosophy. (See below for a detailed paleographical analysis of these manuscript leaves.)

Octavo, A8 A-X8 y-z8 2A-2D8. Black letter, title supplied from 1553 edition (with woodcut architectural border dated 1534), woodcut initials, contemporary and near contemporary ink inscriptions of John Alyngton, Thomas Cutter, and Francis Winn dated 1686, marginalia in fine early hand, later manuscript index of corrections bound in at rear. Old calf binding, rebacked and repaired.

References: STC 7640; USTC 505414

Paleographic analysis of the manuscript endleaves

The first leaf is from the “Tabula super libris Boetii de consolation philosophie secumdum oridinem alphabeti”. This text of Boethius includes commentary by Thomas Aquinas.

An early-mid 15th century Humanist imitation of Caroline miniscule on paper, most likely from Northern Italy.

While the scribe follows a predominantly Caroline miniscule style, this is a Humanist scribal hand due to some Uncial and Gothic features that have slipped in:

  • The round “s” at the end of words (see line 2)

  • Hints of biting with rounded letters (see the ‘bo’ in ‘bomo’ in line 3 and the ‘de’ in ‘ibidem’ in line 7)

Other Humanist features:

  • Rounded letters that are well separated

  • Tall finial “s”

  • Two-compartment rounded ‘g’ that looks like spectacles

  • Uncial ‘a’

  • Limited abbreviations

Transcription:

[Scientia divina quails sit nominanda: libro] quinto prosa sexta.

Scire require finis.

Scire seipsum require bomo vere scit.

Scire secundum Platonem libro quinto metro. iii.

Senses quare rugosi libro primo metro primo

Senium generator triplicita libro primo metro i

Senum multa incommode ibidem.

Sensualitas contrariatur rationi libro primo metro ii

Sermones accipiendi sunt secundum materiam...

Two additional illuminated manuscript leaves on vellum in small Textualis glossing script.

Likely a French hand, but definitely in a Northern Textualis (Continental) hand dating from between 1290-1330.

Features:

  • Script is small, with squat/squared letters.

  • Numerous abbreviations.

  • Short ascenders and descenders

  • Tironian “et”

  • both long and round “s”

  • double compartment “a”

  • closed compartment “g”.

First leaf (before the title-page) is from the “Passio Sancte Cecilie” (Passion of St Cecilia).

Excerpt:

Beata Cecilia virgo clarissima valerianum quondam iuvenem habebat sponsum.

Diem con[stituit] nuptiarum. Cantantibus organis soli deo in corde suo Domino decantabat / Et ei suam pudicitiam comendabat / O Cantantibus organis illa in corde soli domino decantabat dicens “Fiat cor meum et corpus meum immaculatum ut non confundar/ Biduanis ac triduanis ieiuniis orans suam pudicitiam domino.

Second leaf (last endleaf) is the “Vita Sancti Aniani Episcopi”

Excerpt:

Ac ille per sancti spiritus infusionem paracliti que evenirus deberet / praescius metuens sue plebis excidium divinum nutum exorans suo ovili petit suffragium a deo qui sibi credentibus omnia prestat.

These two vitae are also found side by side in the MS009 Cotton Corpus Legendary.

  • Sancte Cecilie quod est X kal. Decembris

  • Sancte Aniani Espiscopi que est XV kal. Decembris