Then came what was perhaps as curious an entry as anything upon this extraordinary relic of the past.  It is executed in black letter, written over the crosses or Crusaders’ swords, and dated fourteen hundred and forty-five.  As the best plan will be to allow it to speak for itself, I here give the black-letter fac-simile, together with the original Latin without the contractions, from which it will be seen that the writer was a fair mediaeval Latinist.  Also we discovered what is still more curious, an English version of the black-letter Latin.  This, also written in black letter, we found inscribed on a second parchment that was in the coffer, apparently somewhat older in date than that on which was inscribed the mediaeval Latin translation of the uncial Greek of which I shall speak presently.  This I also give in full.

Fac-simile of Black-Letter Inscription on the Sherd of Amenartas.

“I{~LATIN SMALL LETTER LONG S~}ta reliq{~COMBINING OVERLINE~}ia e{~LATIN SMALL LETTER LONG S~}t valde mi{~LATIN SMALL LETTER LONG S~}ticu{~COMBINING OVERLINE~} et myrificu{~COMBINING OVERLINE~} op{~COMBINING OVERLINE~}s q{~COMBINING OVERLINE~}d maiores mei ex Armorica {~LATIN SMALL LETTER LONG S~}{~LATIN SMALL LETTER LONG S~} Brittania mi{~COMBINING OVERLINE~}ore {~LATIN SMALL LETTER LONG S~}ecu{~COMBINING OVERLINE~} co{~COMBINING OVERLINE~}veheba{~COMBINING OVERLINE~}t et q{~COMBINING OVERLINE~}dm {~LATIN SMALL LETTER LONG S~}c{~COMBINING OVERLINE~}s cleric{~COMBINING OVERLINE~}s {~LATIN SMALL LETTER LONG S~}e{~COMBINING OVERLINE~}per p{~COMBINING OVERLINE~}ri meo in manu ferebat q{~COMBINING OVERLINE~}d pe{~COMBINING OVERLINE~}itus illvd de{~LATIN SMALL LETTER LONG S~}trueret, affirma{~COMBINING OVERLINE~}s q{~COMBINING OVERLINE~}d e{~LATIN SMALL LETTER LONG S~}{~LATIN SMALL LETTER LONG S~}et ab ip{~LATIN SMALL LETTER LONG S~}o {~LATIN SMALL LETTER LONG S~}athana co{~COMBINING OVERLINE~}flatu{~COMBINING OVERLINE~} pre{~LATIN SMALL LETTER LONG S~}tigio{~LATIN SMALL LETTER LONG S~}a et dyabolica arte q{~COMBINING OVERLINE~}re p{~COMBINING OVERLINE~}ter mevs co{~COMBINING OVERLINE~}fregit illvd i{~COMBINING OVERLINE~} dvas p{~COMBINING OVERLINE~}tes q{~COMBINING OVERLINE~}s q{~COMBINING OVERLINE~}dm ego Johs{~COMBINING OVERLINE~} de Vi{~COMBINING OVERLINE~}ceto {~LATIN SMALL LETTER LONG S~}alvas {~LATIN SMALL LETTER LONG S~}ervavi et adaptavi {~LATIN SMALL LETTER LONG S~}icut ap{~COMBINING OVERLINE~}paret die lu{~COMBINING OVERLINE~}e p{~COMBINING OVERLINE~}r{~COMBINING OVERLINE~} po{~LATIN SMALL LETTER LONG S~}t fe{~LATIN SMALL LETTER LONG S~}t beate Mrie vir{g} anni gr{~COMBINING OVERLINE~}e mccccxlv.”

Expanded Version of the above Black-Letter Inscription.

“Ista reliquia est valde misticum et myrificum opus, quod majores mei ex Armorica, scilicet Britannia Minore, secum convehebant; et et quidam sanctus clericus semper patri meo in manu ferebat quod penitus illud destrueret, affirmans quod esset ab ipso Sathana conflatum prestigiosa et dyabolica arte, quare pater meus confregit illud in duas partes, quas quidem ego Johannes de Vinceto salvas servavi et adaptavi sicut apparet die lune proximo post festum beate Marie Virginis anni gratie MCCCCXLV.”