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Art. 96, Les armes des roys: Introduction

Abbreviations: AND: Anglo-Norman Dictionary; ANL: Anglo-Norman Literature: A Guide to Texts and Manuscripts (R. Dean and Boulton); BL: British Library (London); Bodl.: Bodleian Library (Oxford); CT: Chaucer, Canterbury Tales; CUL: Cambridge University Library (Cambridge); DOML: Dumbarton Oaks Medieval Library; FDT: French Devotional Texts of the Middle Ages (Sinclair 1979); FDT-1French Devotional Texts of the Middle Ages, . . . First Supplement (Sinclair 1982); IMEV: The Index of Middle English Verse (Brown and Robbins); MED: Middle English Dictionary; MWME: A Manual of the Writings in Middle English, 1050–1500 (Severs et al.); NIMEV: A New Index of Middle English Verse (Boffey and Edwards); NLS: National Library of Scotland (Edinburgh).

This Anglo-Norman prose list of heraldic signs displayed on kings’ arms demonstrates the interest by the scribe or patron in collecting information on diverse subjects. The manuscript contents evince someone’s curiosity about, or pedagogical interest in, geography and distant places, a curiosity borne perhaps of actual travel. It fits, therefore, with such items as Pilgrimages in the Holy Land and Pardons of Acre (arts. 38, 39) and the two texts that surround it: The Land of the Saracens and Letter for Pilgrims on the Relics at Oviedo (arts. 95, 97). For commentary on this text, see Corrie 2003, pp. 66–67.

[Fol. 131r. Compare ANL 390 (compare 391, 391.1). Scribe: B (Ludlow scribe). Quire: 14. Layout: No columns, written as a list in prose, items marked with paraphs. Editions: None. Other MSS: None. Translations: None.]

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