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HISTORY OF PRINTING.
In connection with Machlinia, Lettou printed two volumes of law, one of which was —
Tenores. Ntmelli Impressi per nos Johannem lettou et WUhelmum de Machlinia in Civitate Londoniarum juxta ecclesiam omnium Sancto- rum. Folio.
This was the first edition of Littleton's Te- nures, which was without a title-page, the above forming the colophon. Herbert gives the fol- lowing detail of the arrangement of this book. On the reverse of the first leaf appeals, Incipit tabula hujut libri, which is diviaed into three parts: —
" This table gives the beginning Tenure by the directing letter or signature to the binder, for folding the sheet at the bottom of the leaf, as, a i, a ii, a iii, a iiii. then four leaves blank, after b i, b ii, b iii, b iiii. Sec. to the end. No leaves numbered nor catchword ; the initial let- ters are left for the illuminator to colour. The letters are very much combined together as Cax- ton's, but many more abbreviations are used."
It is supposed that this edition wa^ superin- tended by Lord Littleton himself.
Ames supposes that William Machlinia might originally have come from the city of Mechlin, which, at the period when he printed, belonged to the emperor of Germany. The colophon to Littleton's Tenures, seems to warrant such a conclusion, as he there evidently calls himself William of Mechlin, which was afterward cor- rupted into a surname. His letter-press, paper, and types, were superior to those of Lettou ; but his books are all withoqt dates, and consisted only of law and religious publications. Before entering on a list of Machlinia's works, it should be stated, that he lived in Holbom, near the Fleet-bridge, but while in connection with Let- tou, their dwelling was by All Saints Church. The volumes supposed to nave been printed by Machlinia alone, are as follow : —
1. The Year. Book 33rd and 36th Henry VI.
2. I>itto. 34<A. Henry VI. Folio. Year-Books, says Jacob, are " Reports, in a
regular series, from the reign of King Edw. II., inclusive, to the time of Hen. VIII. which were taken by the prothonotaries, or chief scribes of the court, at the expense of the crown, and pub- lished annually ; whence, they are known under the title of Year-Books."
Incipit liber qui vacatur Speculum Xpristiani. No date. Quarto. London. William Machlinia.
Chiefly in Latin, but also containing some English verse. The former consists of an expo- rition of the divinity of the period in which it was written ; the unprofitable nature of which may be conceived, when it is stated, that the Creed is commented upon by assigning to each apostle that article of faith which he is said to have contributed; as in the following transla- tion :— " Peter the Apostle : I believe in God, the Father Almighty, creator of heaven and earth. — Andrew : And in Jesus Christ his only Son our Lord. — James the Great: Who was conceived of the Holy Ghost, born of the Virtrin Mary," he. . ^
The English verses commence with Uiese lines : —
" In henen shall dwelle alle christen mm. That knowe & kepe Goddes brddyngn ten."
There are also many more verses, and eome pages of prose in English ; of the former. Her. bert has given a specimen, in A demut prayer to the blessed Mary, which may remind tie poeti- cal reader, of Eilen's Hymn to the Virgin, in Sir Walter Scott's Lady of the Lake, as in each die is addressed as Mary, mother, and maiden mU. An extract from the present poem nil! be suffi- cient for a specimen.
" Mary Moder wel thon bee Mary Moder thenke on me Mayden and Moder waa nener none Togeder lady aaf thou allone
Swete lady Mayden clene Schilde me fro lUe schame and tene* And onte of synne lady schilde thon me And oute of dette for chaiitte
Swete lady. Mayden mylde. From alle fomen thou me scUlde That the feendc me not deoe Swete lade thon me ireere Both be daye and he night Help me lady with alle thy might"
At the close of the Speculum Christiani, fol- lows : " An exposition of the Lord's praver, and seven chapters on Sins, with their branches," in Latin; and, succeeding this, comes "The Ad- monitory words of the blessed Isidore, extracted to instruct men in the quality of vice, how to avoid it, and of the good of wnich they sbonld be informed." The whole concludes nith this colophon : — " Iste Libellus imprcssus est in opn- lentissima Ciuitate Londoniarum per me Wil- helmum de Machlinia ad instanciam necoui expensas Henrici Yrakenbergh mercatoris." The author's name is supposed to have been John Watton.
lAber Aggregationis sett liber secretorum Alhtrti Magni de virtuitibus herbarum lapidum et am- malium quorundam. No date. Quarto.
Mr. Dibdin states this to be the most elegant of Machlinia's press with which he is acquainted. The book is without catchwords or numerals, and consists of 41 leaves. Three pages are occu- pied by directions for finding the changes of the moon, and moveable feasts of the church. The work itself consists, as the title states,* of the properties and virtues of stones, herbs, and ani- mals, a knowledge of which was, at one period, denominated natural magic. A single translated extract will give a perfect conception of the whole.
" And if any be willing that a cock should not crow, anoint his head and forepart with oil. And in the book of Archigenes it is said, that when one sufiTereth the chouc, the windpipe of a hare should be hung over him: and it is said by Aristotle that whoever sitteth upon a lion's skin the haemorrhoides will depart irom hira. And tlie philosophei's have said that if the head of a goat be suspended over those who sufier the scrofula they shall be by it restored unto health."
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