Page:The Journal of English and Germanic Philology Volume 18.djvu/366

 362 Schultz The work quoted above is a valuable and interesting source of information. In recent years Bale's veracity has been questioned, but through the publication of his autograph notebook in 1902 6 we are able to see his modus operandi. 1 What Bale did was to gather information from various sources and combine this material into one publication. In his lists of books he distinguishes those he had seen by reproducing the first line of each, as shown by the list presented, and in the case of works so noted there is no duplication. This is not true of the notebook, however, where there is repetition both in title and first line. In other words, he makes corrections by striking out the duplicates; otherwise they remain, as a reference to the lists will show. From the notebook we learn that there are four sources for his account of Barclay. These are the lists received from "Nicolaus Brigan et alii," "ex officina Roberti Toye," 8 "ex museo Joannis Alen," and "ex hospitis domo Dubline." In the first of these we have this statement prefixed to the list: "Alexander Barkeley, Scotus, Benedicti Monachus in Anglia primum, postea Franciscanus, scripsit," etc. Heading another list is, "Alexander Barclay, Anglus, doctor et poeta, scripsit," etc. Since these statements are given on the authority of different sources it is easy to see how contradictions may appear. Thus in the lists cited he is claimed by one to be a Scot and by another an Englishman. It is evident, then, that any infer- ence drawn from one source in the notebook may be incorrect; and that Bale's final summary itself may not be entirely reliable. 9 With these facts in mind, Bale's account may be discussed together with the work of later writers. There is no need to review the discussion concerning Barclay's nationality. The dispute goes back to Bale's time, and Jamieson has given fully the arguments of both sides. 10 His decision is that Barclay was 6 Index Britanniae Scriptorum, 19. 7 Cf. Berdan, Alexander Barclay, Poet and Preacher, Modern Language Review, 8. 296. 8 A London Printer and Bookseller, 1542-60. 9 An instance of this in the question of the authorship of The Castell of Labor is given by Berdan, op. cit., 296. 10 Op. Cit., XXV-XXXI.