396 CRANE— MEDIyEVAL SERMON-BOOKS AND STORIES. 



died in 1272 or 1275), is based on the mistake of a scribe who 

 wrote Henry IV. for Henry HI. Mr. Welter shows conckisively 

 that the work must have been written between 1279 and 1292. 

 The author purposely conceals his identity, "nomina siquidem 

 nostra subticere me compulit malorum ipsa mater invidia," a state- 

 ment that would hardly apply to so well-known a writer as John of 

 Hoveden. From the character of his compilation the anonymous 

 author may with reason be supposed to have been a member of the 

 Mendicant Orders, probably an English Franciscan. 



The "Speculum Laicorum" is, in reality, a theological treatise 

 for the use of preachers, arranged alphabetically according to topics 

 and containing a great number of illustrative stories. In Welter's 

 edition there are ninety topics or chapters, and five hundred and 

 seventy-nine stories, besides thirty others found in various MSS. 

 of the work in the British Museum and elsewhere. The composi- 

 tion of the collection does not differ from that of the host of similar 

 works, both manuscript and printed, found in European libraries. Two 

 lumdred and fifteen stories are taken from: Gregory's "Dialogues" 

 (25) , " Vitje Patrum " ( loi ) , " Cassiodorus," " Hist. Tripart." (24) , 

 Bede (6), Petrus Alfonsus (5), William of Malmsbury (5), Petrus 

 Cluniacensis (n), Csesarius Heisterbacensis (5), " Physiologus " 

 (8), "Miracles de N. D." (24), while the various tales are found 

 seven hundred and fifty-eight times in: Jacques de Vitry (47), Odo 

 of Cheriton (75), Arundel MS. 3244 (59), fitienne de Bourbon 

 {2"/^^), "Liber de Dono Timoris " {72), "Liber Exemplorum secun- 

 dum ordinem Alphabeti " (42), MS. Royal 7 D. i (85), and " Le- 

 genda Aurea " (58). In addition to these a great number of lives 

 of the saints have been used, as well as many mediaeval works of 

 an historical character. 



If the collection contained merely stories taken from well-known 

 popular sources, it would be interesting as affording evidence of the 

 extensive diffusion of stories through the medium of preachers ; but 

 the collector has added, as he says in the Prologue, " temporumque 

 preteritorum ac modernorum quibusdam eventis." It is true, as the 

 editor remarks, that the compiler, contrary to the custom of Jacques 

 de Vitry or fitienne de Bourbon, has drawn few stories from his 

 personal experience. He introduces the exemplmn, sometimes by 



