A catalogue of Western manuscripts at the Bodleian Libraries and selected Oxford colleges

Merton College MS. 166

Former shelfmark: A. 1. 6

NICHOLAS GORRAN; S. XIV

Contents

Language(s): Latin

Fols. iii, ivrv blank.

(fols. 1–325v; 326rv blank)
?NICHOLAS GORRAN OP, Postills on the O. T. I (Gen. — Ruth, I-IV Reg., Paral., Nehem., Tobit, Judith, Esther, Iob)
Incipit: Frater Ambrosius &c. Hanc epistolam scribit beatus Ieronimus cuidam presbitero ...; In principio ...; Circa librum Genesis tria notanda sunt
Incipit: (fol. 66v Exod.) Et sunt nomina &c. 5 erat ciuitates in terra Egypti
Incipit: (fol. 86 Levit.) Sicut in principio librorum alia facultatum 5. solent doctrinaliter annotari ...; Vocauit autem Dominus Moysen. Hic primo uidendum in quo differt iste liber ab aliis
Incipit: (fol. 108v Num.) Pentateucus liber est unus ab uno auctore editus ...; Locutus est Dominus. Hic liber apud latinos dicitur liber numerorum
Incipit: (fol. 127v Deut.) Est puer unus ...; Puer iste est Moyses ...; Hec sunt uerba. s. que secuntur per totum librum locutus est docendo
Incipit: (fol. 156 Ios.) Sexto loco inter libros ueteris testamenti ponitur liber Iosue ...; Tandem finito pentatheuco. Iste prologus est beati Ieronimi in libros Iosue Iudicum Ruth et Hester ...; Et factum est. Diuiditur iste liber in 4 partes in prima agitur qualiter Iosue
Incipit: (fol. 166v Iud.) Post mortem Iosue. Hic liber apud Hebreos dicitur Sophim
Incipit: (fol. 180 Ruth) Ecclesiasticus xi breuis in uolatilibus apis ...; In diebus unius iudicis. Iste liber secundum Hebreos est quedam decisio libri iudicum
Incipit: (fol. 181) Supplecio expositionis super prologum in librum Iosue incipit hic Tandem finito pentacheuco &c. Papias littera .p. prologus dicitur a prothos
Incipit: (fol. 182v) Incipiunt supleciones expositionum librorum Iosue Iudicum et Ruth. Capitulum primum. Et factum est Moyses seruus meus mortuus est. Iosephus li. 4.g. scriptum est autem in sacris libris eum fuisse mortuum propter metum
Incipit: (fol. 189 I Reg.) Viginti et duas esse litteras &c. In hoc prologo beatus Ieronimus principaliter facit duo ...; Fuit uir unus de Ramathaymsophim et postquam habitum est de gestis in populo Israel
Incipit: (fol. 205 II Reg.) Factum est autem postquam mortuus est Saul &c. Postquam in precedenti libro habitum est de gestis sub Saule
Incipit: (fol. 217v III Reg.) Et rex Dauid senuerat &c. Terminatis duobus libris regum quos de Samuel
Incipit: (fol. 229 IV Reg.) Preuaricatus est autem Moab &c. Postquam habitum est de gestis sub regibus Iuda
Incipit: (fol. 237 I Paral.) Si septuaginta interpretum &c. Hunc prologum scribit beatus Ieronimus cuidam episcopo nomine Chromacio ...; Adam Seth Enos &c. Postquam in omnibus libris precedentibus
Incipit: (fol. 245v II Paral.) Confortatus est ergo Salomon &c. Postquam ab ii. capitulo primi libri regum
Incipit: (fol. 253v Ezra) Vtrum difficilius sit &c. Hunc prologum scribit beatus Ieronimus in librum Ezre ...; In anno primo Ciri regis Persarum &c. Hic incipit liber Ezre de cuius causis primo uidendum est
Incipit: (fol. 249v Nehem.) Verba Neemie. Hic secundum .cor. incipit liber secundus Ezre a principio tercii capituli
Incipit: (fol. 260v) Cromacio et Heliodoro. Hunc prologum premittit Ieronimus libro Thobie ...; Thobias ex tribu et ciuitate &c. Incipit liber Thobie de quo Beda dicit sic
Incipit: (fol. 265v) Apud Hebreos. Prologus beati Ieronimi in librum Iudith in qua alloquitur Paulum et Eustochium ... Arphaxat itaque. Incipit liber Iudith cuius causa efficiens
Incipit: (fol. 271v Esth.) Librum Hester uariis translatoribus &c. Incipit hic prologus beati Ieronimi in librum Hester ...; In diebus Assueri. Incipit liber Hester cuius causa efficiens principalis est ipse Deus
Incipit: (fol. 275v Iob) Cogor per singulos ...; Hunc librum Iob primo transtulit Ieronimus ...; Si aut fiscellam &c. Iste prologus quem Ieronimus premittit libro Iob secundum translationem quam fecit ...; Vir erat ...; Quamtocius libri Iob est eiusdem conuersacio
Explicit: ad uitam eternam feliciter pertingatur ad quam nos perducat Qui ... .
Final rubric: Quicumque habuerint solacium ex usu huius uoluminis rogant pro anima domini Hugonis de Notingham in cuius expensis factum est et etiam fratris Willelmi de eadem per cuius laboriosam diligenciam scriptum et collectum est.

Gen.-Deut. as Stegmüller, Bibl. 3774–78, 3639. The commentaries from Ios. on do not correspond to anything in Stegmüller.

Physical Description

Secundo Folio: est gala
Form: codex
Support: Parchment
Extent: 333 leaves (iv + 328, incl. 15A)
Dimensions (leaf): 320 × 220 mm.
Dimensions (written): 250 × 160 mm.
The edges heavily retrimmed, affecting marginalia, and spattered with red.

Collation

A4(3–4 canc.), 1–2712, 284 (4 canc.); catchwords; pencilled quire-signatures of the usual late medieval form; leaf-numbering.

Layout

Ruled with crayon in 2 cols of 53 lines.

Hand(s)

William of Nottingham (for whom see MS 168), in this case writing a neat formal anglicana. He corrects his own work in the margin. On fols. 16 and 39v are notes by Thomas Gascoigne (Ball, Gascoigne, p. 137, but correcting his folio-numbers).

Decoration

Red and blue flourished initials with 1-sided bar borders; blue initials flourished in red; red or blue paraphs, red and blue running heads and marginal chapter-numbers.

Binding

Standard Merton s. xvii; sewn on seven bands, as the previous binding; formerly chained from the usual position. Fols. i-ii, 327–8 are paper binding leaves, the outermost from the same printed book as in MS 11. Previously rebound in 1436–7 (Appendix B, no. 95). The mark of an iron chain-staple at the foot of fol. i, which was the pastedown in an earlier binding.

History

Origin: S. XIV ; England, Oxford.

Provenance and Acquisition

Made in Oxford.

Given to the College by William Reed in 1374: UO49. 90. The first of a set of ten volumes of which eight survive: the others are MSS 168–72. On fol. iiiv: a table of contents, headed ‘In hoc uolumine sunt Postille Nicholai Gorham uidelicet super ...’, the author’s name apparently over another, which may have been ‘Nicholai de Lyra’; probably in the same hand, ‘Liber M. Willelmi Reed episcopi Cicestrensis quem emit a uenerabili patre domino Thoma Tryllek’ episcopo Roffensi. Oretis pro utroque’; ‘Liber domus scolarium de Merton’ in Oxon’ in communi libraria eiusdem et ad usum communem sociorum ibidem studencium cathenandus. Ex dono uenerabilis patris domini tercii episcopi Cicestrie. Oretis igitur peo eodem et benefactoribus eiusdem ac fidelium animabus a purgatorio liberandis. Walterus Robertus’; ‘Orare eciam dignemini pro Waltero Roberti scriba et notarius dicti uenerabilis patris, qui suprascriptos titulos et titulos aliorum 99 librorum per dictum patrem eidem domui datorum ad emendacionem librarie eiusdem inscripsit et circa eosdem libros et alios quam plures per diuersa collegia uniuersitatis Oxon’ per ipsum uenerabilem patrem distributos diligenter insudauit.’ For William Reed, fellow from 1344 until at least 1357, d. 1385, see MS 8.

Inside the front board is a table of contents, s. xvii, and, on a sheet of paper, ‘F. 3, 3’ (canc.), s. xvii and ‘O. 6. 6. Art:’, canc. and replaced with ‘A. 1. 6 (CLXVI)’ in red; the College bookplate. ‘6’ (corr. from ‘8’) is inked on the foredge.

Record Sources

R. M. Thomson, A descriptive catalogue of the medieval manuscripts of Merton College, Oxford (Cambridge: D. S. Brewer), 2009.

Availability

For enquiries relating to this manuscript please contact Merton College Library.

Bibliography

    Coxe, p. 66; Powicke, no. 551.

Funding of Cataloguing

Conversion of the printed catalogue to TEI funded by the Warden and Fellows of Merton College .

Last Substantive Revision

2019-07-02: First online publication

See the Availability section of this record for information on viewing the item in a reading room.