The Booke of Gostlye Grace is another manuscript which was a part of Richard's library. The manuscript, currently held in the British Library (Egerton MS 2006), includes two inscriptions regarding Richard and Anne:
'Anne Warrewyk', 'R[ichard Duke of] Gloucestre', inside the upper cover, and 'R Gloucestre' is found inside the lower cover.
It is one of only two known Middle English translations1 of the original Latin work "Liber specialis gratiae", which was written by Mechtild of Hackeborn, St Mechtild, in the latter part of the 13th century. Neither of the Middle English copies are available online, the second being held in Oxford's Bodleian Library (Bodley MS 220), although the entry for the copy found in the British Library does include images of two of its pages:
In addition, no transcripts of the text in either Middle or Modern English are available online either. The original Middle English text is however included in a 1979 publication: The Booke of Gostlye Grace of Mechtild of Hackeborn, edited by Theresa A. Halligan, and published by PIMS (Pontificial Institute of Mediaeval Studies): Toronto, Canada.
In addition, a Modern English text is available from major retailers: Mechthild of Hackeborn: The Book of Special Grace (Classic of Western Spirituality Series), introduced and translated by Barbara Newman, and published by Paulist Press (2017).
Saying that, both an original manuscript of the original Latin text, as well as a 16th century printed version are available online:
It can takes years to become proficient in a language, however anyone who enjoys looking through medieval manuscripts, will eventually see the benefits of being able to read both Medieval Latin and Middle English, especially when no simple English version is easily obtainable as in the above case. Therefore, if you are so inclined, here are two resources which may at least get you on your way, although many more may be found through online searches:
And just in case you are interested in finding out more about Mechtild of Hackeborn, here are a few overviews of her life:
1Hendrix, G. (1982). Is Mechtild of Hackeborn's Booke of Gostlye Grace Translated from Middle Dutch? Recherches De Théologie Ancienne Et Médiévale, 49, 242-244. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/26188656
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