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Art. 24a*, Momentaneum est quod delectat: 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); 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).

What Allures Is Momentary is a Latin tag that serves as the source for lines 7–8 of art. 24a. A paraphrase occurs, as well, in the last item of quire 6, The Three Foes of Man (art. 27), lines 14–15. Commonly used by preachers, this moral saying is attributed to Saint Augustine of Hippo (Homily 250) and sometimes also to Saint Gregory. The tag was not given an article number by Ker, p. x. Turville-Petre (1996, p. 199) and Revard (2007, p. 110) comment on its aptness at this point in MS Harley 2253.

[Fol. 59v. Scribe: B (Ludlow scribe). Quire: 6. Meter: One Latin couplet. Layout: No columns, written on one manuscript line, intervening between Carnal Love Is Folly and Earth upon Earth. Edition: Dove 1969, p. 295. Translation: Turville-Petre 1996, p. 199.]

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