Jyl of Breyntfords Testament
by Various
Read by Grant Hurlock
Jyl of Breyntfords Testament gathers ten comic pieces dating from the sixteenth century and earlier. The collection offers a glimpse of an older tradition of English humor through short works brought together for readers in the nineteenth century.
Compiled and edited by Frederick Furnivall for private circulation in 1871, the volume is a historical anthology rather than a single continuous story. Its appeal lies in the variety of its pieces and in hearing comic writing from an earlier period in its original literary context.
Chapters
Select a chapter to play
| 0 - Forewords | 9:21 | Read by Grant Hurlock | |
| 1 - Jyl of Breyntfords Testament | 20:35 | Read by Grant Hurlock | |
| 2 - The Wyll of the Devyll, and last Testament | 21:01 | Read by Grant Hurlock | |
| 3 - A Talk of Ten Wives on their Husbands' Ware | 5:39 | Read by Grant Hurlock | |
| 4 - A Balade or two by CHAUCER | 6:09 | Read by Grant Hurlock | |
| 5 - Devotissima Suffragia pro Mulieribus impregnandis | 2:17 | Read by Grant Hurlock | |
| 6 - Proverbe | 1:34 | Read by Grant Hurlock | |
| 7 - Doctrina et Consilium Galienis | 1:37 | Read by Grant Hurlock | |
| 8 - The Meaning of Marriage (a Scotch story) | 3:39 | Read by Grant Hurlock | |
| 9 - Ane prettie Jeist of ane Eremeit in Italye | 3:31 | Read by Grant Hurlock |
Reviews
(Very) bawdy and satirical bits and pieces
kerriganm
This collection is ideal for language historians with dirty minds. English had (apparently) evolved from the baffling Middle English (Chaucer) when these were written, but not close enough to modern English for me to understand much of what's said. Kudos to the reader for slogging through it. Still, you will understand enough to blush (if you still can). These are not subtle works of art, they are essentially dirty jokes.