Merton College MS. 179

Former shelfmark: A. 1. 7

HUGH OF ST CHER ON THE APOCALYPSE; 1449

Language(s): Latin

Fols. i^v-ii blank.

(fols. 1–160v)

(Ps.?-)HUGH OF ST CHER, Commentary on the Apocalypse

Incipit: Vidit Iacob scalam ...; Quatuor sunt cause huius operis ...; Apocalipsis &c. Liber iste diuiditur principaliter in duas partes. Prima continet primum capitulum tantum

Explicit: et corrigat quicquid uiderit corrigendum. Benedictus sit Deus amen amen amen. Explicit apocalipsis.

Final rubric: Scripta anno Domini millesimo quadringentesimo quadragesimo nono. W(illelm)us Breton.

Pr. as Thomas Aquinas, in his Opera (Parma, 1869), XXIII, pp. 325–511; Stegmüller, Bibl. 3771, probably genuine: see R. E. Lerner in The Bible in the Medieval World; Essays in Memory of Beryl Smalley, ed. K. Walsh and D. Wood (Oxford, 1985), pp. 157–65.

Physical Description

Secundo Folio: quod possessio

Form: codex

Support: Parchment

Extent: 162 leaves (ii + 160)

Dimensions (leaf): 280 × 200 mm.

Dimensions (written): 170–5 × 110–15 mm.

Collation

A⁸(1 the front pastedown; lacks 3–7), 1–20⁸, 21⁶(lacks 1–5; 6 pasted down); framed catchwords; quire-signatures of the usual late medieval form in red.

Layout

Ruled with fine pencil in 2 cols of 42 lines.

Hand(s)

The neat, professional bookhand, influenced by anglicana, of William Breton.

Decoration

On fol. 1 an 8-line initial, typical English work, in colours and gold with 3-sided border; blue initials flourished in red; red or blue paraphs; red highlighting.

Binding

Contemporary, tawed skin, once pink, over flush, chamfered oak boards; sewn on four bands slightly raised on the spine; blue and plain endbands sewn through the spine cover. Two straps from recesses in the front board to pins in the back, replaced s. xvii with cloth ties. Two pairs of iron nails in the back board and one in the front may be the remains of chain-staples, but not after one of the usual patterns. Formerly chained from the front board, near the foot of the foredge.

History

Origin: 1449 ; England

Provenance and Acquisition

On fol. i ‘Liber domus scholarium de Merton in Oxon. Ex dono uenerabilium magistrorum Robarti Aubrey et Robarti Feyld ad incathenandum in librario communi eiusdem domus ad perpetuum usum in eadem studentium. Oretis igitur pro animabus eorundem. [In a different hand] Ex procuracione Magistri Goodhew socii eiusdem domus.’ Both hands write humanistica. On fol. ii^v ‘Liber domini Roberti Fild.’ Robert Aubrey (BRUO 74) is otherwise unknown. Robert Field (BRUO 682) was fellow of Lincoln College 1503–11; John Goodhew (BRUO 790) was fellow of Merton College in 1493, until 1500. The donation was received on 2 Oct. 1493 (Registrum, p. 175).

‘7’ is inked on the foredge. On the front pastedown are titles, s. xvi and xvii, and ‘O. 7. 7 Art:’, s. xvii, canc. and replaced with ‘A. 1. 7 (CLXXIX)’ in red; the College bookplate.

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. 71; Powicke, no. 1105; Watson, Dated and Dateable Oxford, no. 840 and pl. 469; Alexander & Temple, no. 534 and pl. XXX.

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

2019-07-15: First online publication

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