MANUSCRIPT AND PRINTED HERBALS 59 



books, and ascribes one to Walter Gary and the other to William 

 Copland. We have only Ames's authority for the supposition 

 that Copland was the compiler as well as the printer. The 

 herbal in question is merely another edition of Banckes's Herbal, 

 but it is quite possible that the three additional chapters at the 

 end were " drawen out of an auncyent booke of Physick " 

 by Copland. 1 



Two editions of Banckes's Herbal are ascribed, on account of 

 the wording of the title, to Antony Askham, and the title is so 

 attractive that it is a disappointment to find that the astrological 

 additions " declaryng what herbes hath influence of certain 

 sterres and constellations," etc., do not appear in any known 

 copy of the herbal. This astrological lore from the famous man 

 who combined the professions of priest, physician and astrologer 

 in the reign of Edward VI. would be of remarkable interest. 

 But it has been pointed out by Mr. H. M. Barlow 2 that, if the 

 bibliographers who have attributed the work to Askham had 

 examined the title of the work with greater care, they would 

 have observed that the phrase " by Anthonye Askham " refers 

 not to the substance of the book itself (which is merely another 

 edition of Banckes's Herbal) but to the " Almanacke " from which 

 the additions were intended to be taken, though apparently 

 they were never printed. The title of " Askham's " Herbal is 



" A lytel | herball of the | properties of her- | bes newely 

 amended and corrected, | with certayne addicions at the ende | 

 of the boke, declarying what herbes | hath influence of certaine 

 Sterres | and constellations, whereby may be | chosen the beast 

 and most lucky e | tymes and dayes of their mini- | stracion, 

 accordyinge to the | Moone being in the sig- 1 nes of heauen, the | 

 which is dayly | appoynted | in the | Almanacke; made and 



1 Ames catalogues two other editions of the herbal by " W. C.," one pub- 

 lished by Anthony Kitson and the other by Richard Kele, but no known 

 copies of these exist. 



2 Proceedings of the Royal Society of Medicine, 1913. 



