Robert of Brunne's Handlyng Synne (1303)

Published in 1901, this book provides an English and French version of the 1303 text by Robert Manning of Brunne. Handlyng Synne was adapted from an Anglo-Norman work attributed to William of Waddington, the Manuel de Pechiez. It consists of more than 12,000 lines of verse, arranged in four-stress couplets. It is a discussion of the ten commandments, the seven deadly sins, the seven sacraments, and the elements of confession, illustrated throughout by exempla, or moral anecdotes, thirteen of which do not appear in the Manuel. Handlyng Synne has been described as "a reduction of the world's experience to a comprehensive moral scheme".

Autorentext

Frederick J. Furnivall

Inhalt

The Prologue. The First Commandment. The Tale of Tempted Monk. On Witchcraft and Dreams. The Tale of the Witch and her Cow-Sucking Bag. The French Tale of the Man who Dreamt he should Live Long. The Second Commandment. Against Swearing Oaths. The Tale of the Bloody Child. The Third Commandment. Teh Tale of Vine-Storms and the Saturday half Holy-Day. The Fourth Commandment. The Tale of the Fond Father. The Tale of the Mother who Curst her Child. The Fifth Commandment. The Tale of the Knight who had a Vision of the Judgement. St Gregory's Tale of the Nun who spoke Naughty Words. The Sixth Commandment. The Tale of the Adulterous Wife, whose Skeleton Split in Two. The Tale of St Macaire and the Two Good Married Women. The Seventh Commandment. The Tale of Zenon, the would be Thief: how he reformed himself. The Tale of the Knight who robbed a Poor Man. The Tale of Saint Forsynes's Visit to Hell. The Eight Commandment. Tale of the Roch Forswearer at a Trial in London. The Bible Story of John the Baptist's Death. The Ninth Commandment. The Tenth Commandment. The Seven Deadly Sins and Tales. The Sacraments. Shrifts and Graces.