Merton College MS. 161
Former shelfmark: G. 1. 5
ROBERT HOLCOT ON WISDOM; S. XIV ex.
Contents
Language(s): Latin
fol. i blank. On fols. iv-iv are lengthy notes in a rough anglicana hand which corrects and annotates the main text, unformatted but in 2 cols: ‘Nota quod omnis caritas incipit a sententia Plus etiam debeo diligere ...; Amor et uita quedam duo copulans uel copulare appetens ...; Notandum quod ymagines ecclesie possunt bene fieri ...; Et ne nos inducas in temptacionem Est autem temptacio inquisicio experiencie nature rationalis ...; Nota quod in personalibus affectionibus est error merencium’.
Pr. Cologne [not after 1476], London 1489 &c.; Stegmüller, Bibl. 7416; Kaeppeli 3497; Sharpe, Handlist, p. 553.
fol. 305v is a quatrain ‘Hanc in honore pie candelam porto Marie’
On fols. 306, 307v-8 are more notes in the same hand as those on the front flyleaves; the more substantial are: ‘Nota quod stelle comata generantur exalacionibus candidis ...; Nota de morte prophetarum et apostolorum. Serra secat Ysayam lapis necat Ieremiam Ezechiel distrahitur Zacarias lapidatur Michias precipitatur ...; Nota quod precantes in sabbato maxime solunt ipsum ...; Vtrum licitus sit aliquod habere plura beneficia ...; Considerandi quod scriptura diuina potest diuidi in 8 partes ...; Nota 5 causas quare sabbatum nostrum sit ad primam feriam transferendam ...’
Fols. 306v, 308v blank.
Physical Description
Collation
Layout
Ruled with crayon in 2 cols of 51 lines. The lemmata sometimes not distinguished from the commentary, sometimes in slightly larger script, sometimes in low-grade textura on every second line.
Hand(s)
Three scribes, all probably Continental but working in England, the first two writing cursive influenced by anglicana, the third a low-grade bookhand: fols. 1–14v; 15–62v; 64–305v.
Decoration
On fol. 15 a 7-line red and blue D, flourished in red and a little violet, and with 3-sided border in red and blue; blue initials flourished in red; red or blue paraphs; red underlining.
Binding
Standard Merton s. xvii; sewn on six bands; formerly chained from the usual position. fols. i and 308 were pastedowns in an earlier binding.
History
Provenance and Acquisition
Pencilled scribbles of s. xv include ‘Quod Willerus Coke jentylman’ and ‘Petyr of Mylferton’ at the head of fol. 199, ‘Willelmus Coke jentylman’ on fol. 247. The place is Milverton in Somerset.
At the head of fol. 306, partly erased, is ‘Liber Magistri Thome Balsall | emptus prec’ xlvi s. viii d.’
Near the foot of fol. 305v is ‘liber Holcote super sapientiam precii [erased vj marcarum]’.
On fol. 307 ‘Liber collegii de Mertone ex dono magistri Thome Balsall quondam socii ibidem.’
On fol. ivv ‘In hoc libro continetur lectura Holcot super librum Sapiencie ex dono magistri [doctoris inserted] Thome Balsall nuper socii istius Collegii de Mertone. Oretis pro eo’, in the hand of the Fitzjames inscriptions &c. Balsall (BRUO 100), fellow c. 1448–58, d. by Mar. 1492.
At the head of fol. 1 is the James no. ‘122’, s. xvii in. Inside the front board is a sheet of paper with contents, s. xvii, and ‘ O. 6. 1: art:’, canc. and replaced with ‘G. 1. 5 (CLXI)’ in red; the College bookplate.
Record Sources
Availability
For enquiries relating to this manuscript please contact Merton College Library.
Bibliography
Funding of Cataloguing
Conversion of the printed catalogue to TEI funded by the Warden and Fellows of Merton College .
Abbreviations
View list of abbreviations and editorial conventions.
Last Substantive Revision
2019-07-02: First online publication