But, in the mean time, the knot is cut in a simpler way:
neither Dorne, nor _Henno Rusticus_, his book, it is said, ever existed.
Permit me one word of expostulation upon this.
It is perfectly true that the writing of the MS. which has given rise to
these queries and remarks is small, full of contradictions, and
sometimes difficult to be read; but the contractions are tolerably
uniform and consistent, which, to those who have to do with such
matters, is proved to be no inconsiderable encouragement and assistance.
A more serious difficulty arises from the circumstance, that the
bookselller used more than one language, and none always correctly.
Still it may be presumed he was not so ignorant as to make a blunder in
spelling his own name. And the first words of the manuscript are these:
"+In nomine domini amen ego Johannes dorne, &c. &c." (In noie domi ame
ego Johanes dorne, &c.) From the inspection of a close copy now lying
before me, in which all the abbreviations are retained, and from my own
clear recollection, I am enabled to state that, to my full belief, the
name of "dorne" is written by the man himself in letters at length,
without any contraction whatever; and that the altered form of it,
"Domr," as applied to that particular person, exists nowhere whatever,
except in page 75. of No. 5 of the "NOTES AND QUERIES."
The words "henno rusticus" (heno rusticus) are found twice, and are
tolerably clearly written in both cases.
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