Page:The forme of cury (1780).djvu/47

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[xxxi]

The common language of the formulæ, though old and obsolete, as naturally may be expected from the age of the MS, has no other difficulty in it but what may easily be overcome by a small degree of practice and application:[1] however, for the further illustration of this matter, and the satisfaction of the curious, a fac simile of one of the recipes is represented in the annexed plate. If here and there a hard and uncouth term or expression may occur, so as to stop or embarrass the less expert, pains have been taken to explain them, either in the annotations under the text, or in the Index and Glossary, for we have given it both titles, as intending it should answer the purpose of both.[2] Now in forming this alphabet, as it would have been an endless thing to have recourse to all our glossaries, now so numerous, we have confined ourselves, except perhaps in some few instances, in which the authorities are always mentioned, to certain contemporary writers, such as the Editor's MS, of which we shall speak more particularly hereafter, Chaucer, and Wiclif; with whom we have associated Junius' Etymologicon Anglicanum.

  1. ↑ Doing, hewing, hacking, grynding, kerving, &c. are easily understood.
  2. ↑ By combining the Index and Glossary together, we have had an opportunity of elucidating some terms more at large than could conveniently be done in the notes. We have also cast the Index to the Roll, and that to the Editor's MS, into one alphabet; distinguishing, however, the latter from the former.

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