Art. 11, Vorte temprene asure

by: Susanna Greer Fein (Editor)

from: The Complete Harley 2253 Manuscript, Volume 2  2014

52va]    2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

N; T    T N N T

Yef thin asure is fin, tac gumme arabuk inoh, ant cast into a standys with cler watur,      vorte hit beo imolten. Ant seththe cast therof into thin asure, ant sture ham togedere. Ant yef ther beth bobeles theron, tac a lutel erewax, ant pute therin, ant thenne writ. ¶ Et ne grynnt thu nout thin asure nevermore. Et yef hit nis noht fin, tac itempret gleyr, ant cast therto ant let hit stonden ant resten, vorte al the asure beo ivallen adoun to grounde. Et bote thu seo hit fin, cast out the gleyr softeleche, ant cast therto more gleyr, ant wash hit eft sonus i the selve maner. Et whan hit is wel ipuret ant the gleyr ihald out clene, thenne cast therto thi gummet-water, ant writ, as Ic seyde er. |

If your azure is pure, take enough gum arabic and put it into a stand with clear water, until it melts. And then cast some of this into your azure, and stir them together. And if there are bubbles in it, take a little earwax, and put it in, and then write. ¶ And you need never again grind your azure. And if it is not pure, take tempered egg white, and cast it in and let it stand and rest, until all the azure has fallen down to the bottom. And until you see it pure, remove the glair gently, and cast into it more glair, and wash it quickly in the same manner. And when it is well purified and the glair comes out clean, then add to it your gum-water, and write, as I explained earlier. |

Go To Art. 12, Vorte make gras-grene, introduction
Go To Art. 12, Vorte make gras-grene, text

Footnotes

ART. 11, VORTE TEMPRENE ASURE: EXPLANATORY NOTES

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); CCC: Corpus Christi College (Cambridge); CUL: Cambridge University Library (Cambridge); IMEV: The Index of Middle English Verse (Brown and Robbins); IMEV Suppl.: Supplement to the Index of Middle English Verse (Robbins and Cutler); 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).

incipit asure. Blue pigment or paint; see MED, asur (n.(1) & adj.).

6 gleyr. “Egg white, glair.” See MED, glaire (n.), sense (a), “the white of an egg,” and sense (b), “a preparation made from the whites of eggs for tempering pigments.” Glair was used for its binding properties in gesso painting and book binding. See art. 15 on the gluing of silver and goldfoil.

9 gummet-water. “Gum-water,” that is, the water in which gum has been dissolved. See MED, gommen (v.).

ART. 11, VORTE TEMPRENE ASURE: TEXTUAL NOTES

ABBREVIATIONS: As: Aspin; Bö: Böddeker; Bos: Bossy; Br: Brook; BS: Bennett and Smithers; BZ: Brandl and Zippel; B13: Brown 1932; B14: Brown 1952; DB: Dunn and Byrnes; Deg: Degginger; Do: Dove 1969; Gr: Greene 1977; Ha: Halliwell; Hal: Hall; Hol: Holthausen; Hor¹: Horstmann 1878; Hor²: Horstmann 1896; Hu: Hulme; JL: Jeffrey and Levy; Ju: Jubinal; Kel: Keller; Ken: Kennedy; Le: Lerer 2008; Mc: McKnight; Mi: Millett; MR: Michelant and Raynaud; Mo: Morris and Skeat; MS: MS Harley 2253; Mu: H. M. R. Murray; Pa: Patterson; Pr: Pringle 2009; Rei: Reichl 1973; Rev¹: Revard 2004; Rev²: Revard 2005b; Ri¹: Ritson 1877; Ri²: Ritson 1885; Ro: Robbins 1959; Sa: Saupe; Si: Silverstein; St: Stemmler 1970; Tr: Treharne; Tu: Turville-Petre 1989; Ul: Ulrich; W¹: Wright 1839; W²: Wright 1841; W³: Wright 1842; W⁴: Wright 1844; WH: Wright and Halliwell.


title temprene. So MS (m and final e abbreviated), W⁴. Kel: tempren.

5 grynnt. So MS (n abbreviated). W⁴, Kel: grynt.

10 seyde. So MS, W⁴. Kel: sede.