Merton College MS. 254

Former shelfmark: H. 1. 3

ALEXANDER NEQUAM; S. XIII in.

Language(s): Latin

Fol. i^rv blank.

(fols. 1–139v; 140–1v blank.)

ALEXANDER NEQUAM, Corrogationes Promethei

Rubric: Incipit Ysagogicum magistri Alexandri Nequam.

Incipit: Ferrum situ rubiginem ducit

Explicit: per hoc iam humanam naturam excellentiorem esse angelica.

Excerpts ed. P. Meyer in Notices et extraits des manuscrits de la Bibliothèque nationale, xxxv/2 (Paris, 1896), pp. 641–82; Stegmüller, Bibl. 1161; copies, including this one, listed in Hunt, Nequam, pp. 131–3.

Physical Description

Secundo Folio: rem suam

Form: codex

Support: Parchment

Extent: 142 leaves (i + 141)

Dimensions (leaf): 240 × 180 mm.

Dimensions (written): 170 × 120 mm.

The edges retrimmed affecting marginalia and running heads, and spattered with red.

Collation

A singleton at each end, 1–2¹⁰, 3⁸, 4–10¹⁰, 11¹², 12–14¹⁰; catchwords, mostly cropped, pencilled signatures and leaf-numbers.

Layout

Ruled with crayon in 29 long lines. Written above top line.

Hand(s)

A large English protogothic bookhand.

Decoration

Plain red and blue-green initials; red paraphs and highlighting.

Binding

Standard Merton s. xvii, sewn on four bands; formerly chained from the usual position. f. 141 was formerly a pastedown. In the lower outer corner of f. i are rust-marks, probably from a chain-staple at the foredge.

History

Origin: S. XIII in. ; England

Provenance and Acquisition

Made in England. Its presence at the College is uncertain before 1600. At the foot of f. 1 is a thoroughly-erased 3-line note, apparently beginning ‘Hic est liber monachorum ...’. The name could be ‘Muchelneia’ (Muchelney, Som.). At the foot of f. 2 is ‘xiiij’.

At the head of f. 1 is the James no. ‘154’, s. xvii in. ‘5’ is inked on the foredge. Inside the front board is a sheet of paper with contents and ‘F. 9, 11’ (canc.), s. xvii, and ‘P. 4. 5’, canc. and replaced with ‘C. 2. 5 (CCLIV)’ 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. 100; Powicke, no. 1218.

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

2019-10-01: First online publication

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