
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Step into a richly illustrated medieval manuscript that gathers the voices of ancient deities in a lyrical catalogue. The poet presents each god and goddess— from the sun‑bright Phoebus to the sea‑ruling Neptune—along with brief, evocative descriptions of their realms and powers. Written in the late 15th century, the piece blends classical mythology with the devotional tone of its time.
Listeners will hear the rhythmic cadence of Middle English verse, carefully rendered for modern ears, while occasional scholarly notes illuminate the obscure spellings and printing quirks of the original 1500 edition. The work serves both as a poetic celebration of the divine pantheon and as a window into the printing craft of early Tudor England, complete with woodcut illustrations borrowed from earlier Chaucer editions. As the assembly unfolds, the poem invites reflection on how humanity has historically personified natural forces, offering a timeless meditation on wonder and reverence.
Language
en
Duration
~1 hours (95K characters)
Publisher of text edition
Project Gutenberg
Credits
Produced by Jason Isbell, Taavi Kalju and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images generously made available by The Internet Archive/Canadian Libraries)
Release date
2007-02-21
Rights
Public domain in the USA.
Subjects
Some of the world’s most enduring books come from writers whose names were never recorded or never revealed. “Anonymous” on a title page can mean many different things: a lost identity, a deliberate choice, or a work shaped by tradition over time.
View all books