I HAVE edited, and illustrated "The Voiage and Travayle of Syr John Maundeville, Knight," for two reasons. First, that a popular edition has not been published for many years—so much so, that many otherwise well educated people hardly know his name; or, if they do, have never read his book of Marvels. Secondly, a good edition has not yet been published. Putting aside the chap-books of the eighteenth century, which could only cram a small portion of his book into their little duodecimos, the only English versions of this century are the reprint by Halliwell, in 1839, of the reprint in 1725-1727, of the early fifteenth century MS. (Cotton, Tit. c. 16), which he again reprinted in 1866,¹ the edition in "Bohn's Classical Library" ("Early Travels in Palestine"), 1848; and "The English Explorers," which forms part of Nimmo's "National Library," 1875. There was also a small edition published in Cassell's "National Library" in 1886 in modern English.

Halliwell's reprint of the Cotton MS. is open to objection, because the language of the MS. is specially rude, and can only be understood by professed antiquaries, no footnotes explanatory of the text being given, only a glossary at the end of the book. Also, Mr. Halliwell has taken his illustrations from various sources, not confining himself to English woodcuts—the Cotton MS. having no illustrations. If, however, the language in Halliwell's edition is too archaic, Bohn and Nimmo err in the opposite direction. Without illustrations, and clothed in modern English, they are bald in the extreme; whilst the editors of both have not been over careful to closely copy the text.

Seeing these difficulties, and dearly loving Sir John, in spite of his romancing, I cast about for a book which should fulfil the conditions of an edition I should like for my own reading; which should have the spice of the old language, without being unreadable, like the Cotton MS., and which contained the original quaint illustrations. This I have found in a reprint of Pynson's unique edition (now in the Grenville Library, British Museum), from which it varies very slightly, except in the modernizing of the language, which is rather an advantage; and which, by means of the copious footnotes I have made, will, I hope, be easily read by anybody.

This edition, too, was particularly rich in woodcuts, which I have faithfully facsimiled; and, in the Appendix, I have reproduced a few from other editions, showing the different treatment of some subjects. In the Appendix, also, I have given a list of all the editions of Sir John Mandeville's Travels now in the British Museum. A glance at this will show how popular his book was, in all civilized countries, and in all ages, since its first publication.² I have thought that an edition should be produced which could be read by all, and therefore have given explanations of words and facts, perfectly familiar to advanced students, by means of which they will not be inconvenienced, and the general reader much benefited.

Perhaps the Illustrations in one or two of the early foreign editions are quainter, but I wanted, and have got, a thoroughly representative English Edition, which gives Sir John's adventures, with their concomitant "Travellers' Tales," without the apocryphal stories which were introduced into some of the MSS. and foreign editions.

Of East, the printer of the exemplar I have chosen, very little is known; and, curiously, he is ignored in Herbert and Dibdin's edition of Ames' Typographical Antiquities. According to Ames, he was made free of the Stationers' Company 3rd December, 1565, and he gives his first known printed book as 1569, or a year later than the book I have copied. East, according to the same authority, was granted a patent for ruled paper for music, and worked both for Bird and Tallis. The date of his death does not seem to be known, but his widow, or daughter, printed a book of Bird's music in 1610.

JNO. ASHTON.

1: This has again been reprinted in 1884.

2: Colonel Yule, in "The Book of Ser Marco Polo," &c. (1871), says:—"And from the great frequency with which one encounters in catalogues both MSS. and early printed editions of Sir John Maundeville, I should suppose that the lying wonders of our English knight had a far greater popularity and more extensive diffusion than the veracious and more sober marvels of Polo. In Quaritch's last catalogue (November, 1870) there is only one old edition of Polo; there are nine of Maundeville. In 1839 there were nineteen MSS. of the latter catalogued in the British Museum Library. There are now only five of Marco Polo. At least twenty-five editions of Maundeville, and only five of Polo were printed in the fifteenth century."