Service at the Installation of John Morton, Bishop of Ely


ff lxxxxi verso col 1–lxxxxii col 2

Le premere course pur lestates.

⁌ Un sotelte de lyon blanke
rehersal

Thinke and thanke prelate of grete prise

That it hath pleasid the habundant grace.

Of king Edward in al his acts wise

The to promote hyder to his please.

This lytil yle whyle thou hast tyme and space.

For to repayre do ay thy besy cure

For thy rewarde of heuen thou shalt be sure

Pur potage

Frumenty and venyson

Syngnet rosted

Graunt luce in sarris

Roo roested regardaunt

Feusaunt roosted

Venison in paste

Grete custarde

Leche porpul

Un sotelte de natiuite saint Iohn rehersall

Blissyd Iohn baptist for thy name so preciouse

Gracia dei be thy true interpretacion

Pray euer to god yat in thy lyue vertuouse

Iohn nowe of this see thorough thy meditacion.

Preserued be which be this stallacion

Thus is entred in to his chirche

Ther longe to endure many goode dedis to worche

⁌ The seconde course.

Un sotelte le Ile de ely rehersall.

O mortal man cal to remembraunce

This text de terra tu plamasti me

What than auayleth al worldly pleasaunce.

Sythe to the erthe thou shalt reuerte

De lime terre. how god hath ordeyned the.

Lodesterre of ely. loo suche is godys myght

Hym therefore to serue thou art bonden of right

Gely to potage

Storke roosted

Pecoke florsihed

Carpe in soppis

Rabets roosted

Breme freshewater.

Freature semeca.

Orenge in paste

Tarte borboyne

Leche damaske

Un sotelte de dieu. schepard.

Ego sum pastor bonus rehersall

Iohn ofte reuolue in thy remembranrce

That of my grace haue made the here protector

And of this folde I geue the gouernance

From rauenors to be ther true defensor

Them to preserue euery tyme & ower

Lerne of me & do thy besy deuor

From my folke all rauen to disseuor

Responcio episcopi

Fayn I wolde blissed lorde yf it like ye

This cure of thy diuine puruiaunce

And special most grace hast giue me

To gyde & rewle after thy pleasaunce

& to expel al rebel with thy maintence |

From ye chirche good lorde geue me that grace.

And so me to rewle wyth the to haue a place

⁌ The thirde course

Un sotelte le sentis petre paule. & Andrewe rehersall

Remembre iohn this yat shineth bright

with gret abundaunce all is but vayn glorie

Lerne for to die and welcome in you we knight

Welcome my preist & bisshop verily

The holy peter blissed poule & I

Of this our chirche make ye protector

And of this yle ye vertuose gouernor

⁌ Creme of almondes to potage

Boetour roosted

Perche in gelye curlew

Plouer roosted

Un caste de gely florisshyd

Creues deudose

Larkes roosted

Fresshe storgion

quynces in paste

Tarte poleyn

ffritour bounce

Leche Reiall

Un sotelte de le Eglesure letonne rehersall.

Now hertely ye bee Welcome into this hal

ffrom ye highest vnto ye lowest degree.

Requiring & specialy praing you al

Ield to god ye louing & not to me

And ferthermore of your benignite

Domino deo nostro gracias agamus

And prayse his name with te deum laudamus

Syttynge at the hygh dees.

My lord of Ely in the myddes

On the right hande

The abbot of berye

The abbot of ramesey

The prior of Ely

The mayster of the rollis

The priour of braunwell

The priour of angelesheye

⸿On the other hande

Syr Thomas howard

Syr Iohn donne

Syr Iohan wyngelfeld

Syr harry wentworthe

Iohn sapcote

Syr Edward woodhous

Syr robert chamberleyn

Syr Iohn Cheyne

Syr william branden

Syr Robert fynes

Iohn fortescu

The abbot of thorney and my Lady brandon and other estatis in the chambre

...

  • Footnotes
  • Glossed Terms
    • sarris n pl sars, fish of the sparoid genus Sargus [OEDO]
    • roo n roe, a species of small deer
    • paste n pastry; pastes
    • leche n slice (of bread); as an element in the names of various dishes, prepared in slices
    • porpul adj purple
    • plamasti v 2 sg ind act pf var of plasmasti [DML plasmare
    • soppis n pl sops, pieces of soaked bread
    • breme n bream
    • freature n fritter; fritour
    • semeca n sambocade, a fritter flavoured with elder flowers [OEDO]
    • borboyne n and attr possibly Bourbon, name of a French aristocratic family, here as attr, in the style associated with that family or a member of it, or with the historic French province of Bourbonnais
    • ower n hour
    • boetour n bittern
    • caste n cast, here a mould
    • creves n s and pl crayfish
    • deodose adj freshwater (d'eau douce)
    • poleyn n poultry [cp AND pulein 1]
    • bounce n possibly dogfish
    • ield v yield
    • dees n dais
  • Endnote

    The second course's 'lime terre' likely refers to alkaline earth used for mortar.

    The subtlety 'le Eglesure letonne' perhaps represents the church, modelled in something that looks like brass. The incunabula versions of the now lost original manuscript contain misreadings of the copy manuscript, and this is most likely one of them. Bentham reads 'le eglesure lettone' but does not explain the meaning of the phrase (History and Antiquities, Appendix, 35* and 36*). Coulton takes it to mean 'the Eagle on the Tun,' which he takes to be a 'punning rebus on Morton's name' (Life in the Middle Ages, vol 3, p 151).

    The list of attendees includes many notable figures, both secular and ecclesiastic. The master of the Rolls was Robert Morton (c 1435–97), bishop of Worcester, 1486–97, and nephew of John Morton (Christopher Harper-Bill, 'Morton, Robert (c. 1435–1497, bishop of Worcester),' ODNB, accessed 7 March 2022). Sir Thomas Howard(1443–1524), later second duke of Norfolk, was a member of Edward IV's household (David M. Head, 'Howard, Thomas, second duke of Norfolk (1443–1524), magnate and administrator,' ODNB, accessed 7 March 2022). Sir John Donne (d. 1503) was a soldier and administrator under Edward IV who later joined Buckingham's rebellion (George Holmes, 'Donne [Dwn], Sir John (d. 1503), soldier and administrator,' ODNB), accessed 21 September 2021). Sir John Wingfield (by 1428–81), of Letheringham, Suffolk, MP for Suffolk, 1478, was a member of Edward IV's Privy Council and a pardoned Lancastrian (Josiah C. Wedgwood and Anne Holt (collab), History of Parliament: Biographies of the Members of the Commons House 1439–1509 (London, 1936), 955–6). Sir Henry Wentworth (1447–99) of Nettlestead, Suffolk, was possibly MP for Suffolk, 1484, and a pardoned Lancastrian (Wedgwood and Holt, History of Parliament, 1439–1509, pp 933–4). John Sapcote (1448–1501) of Elton, Huntingdonshire, was MP for Huntingdonshire, 1472–5 (Wedgwood and Holt, History of Parliament, 1439–1509, pp 740–1). Sir Robert Chamberlain (1435–91) of Capel and Gedding, Suffolk, was MP for Suffolk, 1472–5; he fled with Edward IV to the continent during the Lancastrian readeption and was later attainted of high treason and executed under Henry VIII (Wedgwood and Holt, History of Parliament, 1439–1509, pp 170–1). Sir John Cheyne (1445–99) of Falstone, Cheyne, Wiltshire, was MP for Wiltshire, 1478, and later joined Buckingham's rebellion (Wedgwood and Holt, History of Parliament, 1439–1509, pp 182–3). Sir William Brandon (1425–91) of Soham-Count, Cambridgeshire, was MP for Suffolk, 1472–5, a retainer to the duke of Norfolk, and a later participant in Buckingham's rebellion (Wedgwood and Holt, History of Parliament, 1439–1509, pp 102–3). Sir Robert Fiennes (1425–90) of Hurstmonceaux, Sussex, was MP for Hampshire, 1447, and a pardoned Lancastrian (Wedgwood and Holt, History of Parliament, 1439–1509, pp 323–4). John Fortescue is probably Sir John Fortescue (c 1397-1479), chief justice, 1442, Lancastrian partisan and political propagandist, but may also be his nephew, Sir John Fortescue (1440–1500) of Ponsbourne, Hertfordshire, MP for Hertfordshire (1491–2) (E.W. Ives, 'Fortescue, Sir John (c. 1397–1479, justice and political theorist,'ODNB, accessed 22 September 2021; Wedgwood and Holt, History of Parliament, 1439–1509, p 349). Elizabeth Brandon was married to William Brandon, and was daughter to Sir Richard Wingfield and sister to John Wingfield (Wedgwood and Holt, History of Parliament, 1439–1509, pp 103, 956).

  • Document Description

    Record title: Service at the Installation of John Morton, Bishop of Ely

    The earliest known version of the menu is in the untitled incunabulum (STC: 782) published in Antwerp in 1503, consisting of various writings, the first of which begins, 'In this booke is conteyned the names of ye baylifs custos mairs and sherefs of london.'

    IN this booke is | Conteyned the | names of ye bay | lifs Custos ma|irs and sherefs | of the cite of lon|don from the ty|me of king rich|ard the furst. & | also thartycles | of the Chartur | and libarties of | the same Cyte. | And of the chartur and liberties off | England wyth odur dyuers mats | good and necessary for euery Citezen | to vndirstond and knowe. Whiche | ben shewid ? chaptirs after the four | me of this kalendir folowing. STC: 782.

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