Dyngley Recipe Units Translation
And fro ix. of the kloc before mydnyght. til iij.
of the kloc after mydnyght regnith flume that is
cold and moist. & so is that partie of the nyght.
and after begynneth blood to regne ayen.
Here folewith the manere of Wrytyng of bil-
les for resceytes. A pound is wryton thus
łi I. half a pound thus. łi h. or thus łi.di. a
quartron thus. quarter. I. half a quartron.
quarter. ƥ. or thus quartron di. An ounce thus
℥. I. half an ounce thus. ℥.ƥ. or thus. ℥.di. A
dragine thus. ℥. I. half a dragine thus. ℥.ƥ.
or thus. ℥.ƥ. A scripule thus. •). I. half a scri-
pule. thus. •).ƥ. or thus. •).di. And a scripule
conteyneth. xx. greynes of barley. or of whete.
But. dragines maken an ounce. And xii.ounces
make a pound. An handful is Wryten thus
viij. dragimes maken an ounce. And xij. ounces
make a pound. An handful tis wryten thus
ɱ. I. half an handful thus ɱ.ƥ. or thus ɱ.di.
of eche yliche Another.
<head>Aries hoot and drye.</head>
Whan the mone is under the signe of Aries
that wether. that signe is movable. hoot &
The part of the manuscript that I transcribed has to do with writing recipes or receipts in a medical or apothecary sense. Instead of giving a recipe and a list of ingredients, this part of the manuscript describes how quantities are to be written in receipts, and explains the relationship between pounds, ounces, dragines, and scripules (for example, how many dragines are in an ounce, how many ounces are in a pound, etc.). The very end of this section turns into an astrological note about Aries, which is “hoot and drye,” or hot and dry. This is consistent with the way that medieval medicine was connected to astrology.
Transcribing Middle English was a fascinating and difficult experience. The spellings are not close to anything I’ve worked with before, and there were a lot of abbreviations and symbols that indicated units of measurement, etc. A few letters/marks needed to be cross referenced with the transcription guide to be deciphered. Initially, this made it seem slow and confusing, but by the second or third line, it was a bit easier to decipher spellings and phrasing.
I also am curious as to whom this manuscript was intended for. The measurements and how to write them section implies that perhaps it was intended for someone writing medical recipes or preparations. However, it could have also been a teaching text for an apprentice, or even more of a reference text for someone who was already a practitioner. I am also curious as to how universal these measurements were.
When text is encoded with XML mark-up, it can change the way the manuscript is used since it makes the structure of the text machine-readable. For example, if headings, abbreviations, or measurement terms are encoded, researchers will be able to search for, organize, and analyze the text more easily. Pamela Smith describes the translation of embodied knowledge into a written form as being dependent upon the translation of tacit knowledge into written rules. Encoding in XML represents a similar translation, since it requires that the meaning and structure of the manuscript be translated into a newly explicit form that computers and researchers can read. In both scenarios, a type of knowledge that might otherwise be left in its tacit form is translated into an organized, more easily accessible form.