The Devonshire Manuscript/am el mem

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The Devonshire Manuscript facsimile 67v

The Devonshire Manuscript facsimile 66v

The Devonshire Manuscript facsimile 67r

f. [66v] 
f. [67r] 
f. [67v] 

1    am el mem
2    anem e
3    as I haue dese
4    I am yowrs an¹

Notes & Glosses

     1. This phrase might refer to Anne Boleyn.

Commentary

Entered by TH2, this anagram is possibly a reply by Anne Boleyn to Wyatt’s “What word is that that changeth not though it be turned,” – the answer is ANNA. Thus, the first and fourth letters of the first two lines must be interchanged to decipher the anagram, which reads, “a lemmen, amene, ah I save dese, I ama yours, an.” This anagram might suggest allegiances between various members of the manuscript’s coterie and those on the periphery. Anne Boleyn’s mottos are mentioned in some verses: H8’s transcription of Wyatt’s poem “Ye know my herte my ladye dere” (73v) contains Boleyn’s motto “Me and Myne,” and “Grudge on who liste this ys my lott” (78v) also contains an earlier motto of Boleyn’s from her time at the Burgundian court.