THE LIFE, LETTERS, AND SERMONS OF BISHOP HERBERT DE LOSINGA (b. circ. A.D. 1050, d. 1119): The LETTERS (as translated by the Editors) being incorporated BY EDWARD MEYRICK GOULBURN, D.D. DEAN OF NORWICH, AND HENRY SYMONDS, M.A. RECTOR OF TIVETSHALL, AND LATE PRECENTOR OF NORWICH CATHEDRAL. VOL. II. THE SERMONS. Oxford and London : JAMES PARKER AND CO. PREFACE TO THE SERMONS. tion of the Sermons. § 1. THE following Sermons have been transcribed from a MS. formerly belonging to the Cathedral Church of Norwich, and now in the Library of the University of Cambridge. The MS. is one Descripof two volumes containing Sermons by various MS. of the Fathers of the Church, Ambrose, Gregory, Bede, &c., and at the end of one of the volumes are the fourteen Sermons by Herbert. On the flyleaf, and again on fol. i., is the mark "A. vii.," indicating probably the place of the volume in the Library of the Church of Norwich. For that the volume originally belonged to the Church of Norwich is clear from these words, also found on the fly-leaf, in a hand of the first half of the 16th century; "In fine hujus voluminis est sermo Herberti episcopi fundatoris hujus ecclesiæ." later hand adds, "et vid. p. 431, 435, 440, 470,” these being references to the four Sermons which have Herbert's name prefixed to them ". A a Bale [1495-1563] is, as far as we have been able to discover, the first author who gives a list of Herbert's works. According to him they are as follows; Sermones, octodecim. lib. i. Convenistis dilectissimi fratres. De fine mundi, lib. i. Constitutiones monachorum, lib. i. Epistolæ ad diversos, lib. i. Ad Anselmum contra sacerdotes, lib. i. Et alia quædam. What satisfies us that the MS. sermons, which we have transcribed and translated, are the actual sermons of Herbert, is first, the entry on the fly-leaf quoted above; and secondly, the fact that these sermons begin 204218 The volume is a large folio, written in two columns on vellum, in a hand not later than the middle of the twelfth century, as will be seen from the photograph forming the frontispiece. The ink is generally of good dark tint, and in no part much faded. The only use of colour is occasionally in the titles of the sermons, and always in the initial letters of each sermon, and sometimes in the initial letter of a new paragraph. The words "ad colacionem," occasionally found in the margin, require some explanation for readers not versed in this sort of lore. The "collatio" in monastic houses was originally an instructive conference on some Scriptural or sacred subject, in which the juniors asked questions, or proposed difficulties, and the seniors replied. It was so called, because both parties contributed (contulerunt) to the discussion. Afterwards, it came to signify a simple reading aloud of good books by an appointed reader, while the brethren listened in silence. "The brethren," says the Benedictine Rule (cap. xlii.), “ after having taken their supper, shall assemble together, and one of them shall read the Collations, or Lives of the with the words which Bale has given as their beginning (“Convenistis, dilectissimi fratres"). A slight difficulty occurs with reference to the word "octodecim," given by Bale. There are but fourteen sermons in the MS., unless indeed we count in the three anecdotes, (which begin like the sermons with capital and rubricated letters, and might well be considered as separate discourses, because there is no very discernible thread of connexion between them and the sermons which they respectively succeed). This, however, only makes the number seventeen. Possibly the anecdote about St. Paul's martyrdom contained in the sermon "In Festivitate Sancti Pauli," may have been reckoned by Bale as a separate discourse; or possibly he may have counted them hastily. Fathers (legat unus Collationes, vel Vitas Patrum), other on which scribers have pro ceeded in some- respect of sion of § 2. It is well known to students of ancient Principles MSS. that distinct words are often written to- the Trangether without any break, while, on the hand, different parts of the same words are times separated by a space. Thus in the which is here for the first time printed, we find words, "Mira res," written "Mirares," and "ebdomadas," [hebdomadas] written "eb domadas." But in our preparation of the MS. for the press we have disregarded these arrangements of the words, as perplexing to the reader, and have printed distinct words as always separate, and the parts of the same word always together. tion, The punctuation of the MS. we have retained punctua with as much fidelity as possible. The laws which govern it seem to have a certain regularity, though we do not profess to understand or explain them. Neither the comma, nor the |