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

Merton College MS. 293

Former shelfmark: K. 1. 2

OCKHAM ON THE PHYSICS; S. XIV1

Contents

Language(s): Latin

Fols. iii-iv blank.

(fols. 1–146v; 147rv blank.)
WILLIAM OCKHAM, Commentary on ARISTOTLE, Physics
Rubric: Occam super libros phisicorum.
Incipit: ⟨V⟩alde reprehensibilis uidetur qui in sua perfectione acquirenda torpescit
Incipit: Quoniam quidem intelligere. Liber iste diuiditur in duas partes ...
Explicit: (8. 2; WOP 5. 709 line 45) qui posuerunt ex nichilo aliud fieri.

Ed. WOP 4–5; Lohr, p. 206. As in Florence, Bibl. Nat. Centr., cod. Conv. soppr. B. 5. 726, the words ‘Valde reprehensibilis ... ad presens intendo’ replace ‘Philosophos plurimos ... incipiam’, prol. 1 lines 5–34 of the printed text. See V. Richter, ‘Zum Incipit des Physikkommentars von Ockham’, Philosophisches Jahrbuch 81 (1974), 197–201.

f. 93v mainly blank, 110v wholly so.

Physical Description

Secundo Folio: de illo de
Form: codex
Support: Parchment
Extent: 153 leaves (iv + 149)
Dimensions (leaf): 305 × 220 mm.
Dimensions (written): 245 × 160 mm.
The edges savagely retrimmed with loss of marginalia and spattered with red. fols. iii-iv are of thick, stiff parchment. Contemporary foliation in arabic numerals, often cropped, follows the modern until 93, after which three leaves were since lost.

Collation

A bifolium, 14, 2–712, 88, 912(lacks 10–12), 1012, 114(+ 1 after 4), 124, 1312(+ 1 after 12), 144, a bifolium, 15–174, a bifolium; catchwords, at first framed in red.

Layout

Ruled with pencil in 2 cols of 57 lines.

Hand(s)

Several gothic rotunda bookhands of university type, variously influenced by anglicana.

Decoration

None; unfilled spaces for coloured initials and rubrics. Spasmodic red highlighting and underlining.

Binding

Modern, full scarlet goatskin, resewn on five bands. The remains of the previous binding, standard Merton s. xvii, formerly chained from the usual position, are kept with the book. fols. i-ii, 148–9 are modern paper blanks. fols. iii and 147 were formerly pastedowns in a binding earlier than s. xvii.

History

Origin: S. XIV1 ; script of English appearance.

Provenance and Acquisition

An inscription, the first word perhaps ‘Per’, has been cropped from the head of f. 1, where also is the James no. ‘100’, s. xvii in.

At the head of f. ivvis ‘Hic liber reparatus est de nouo bonis M. Roberti Fermour. Oretis igitur pro anima eius.’ Robert Fermer (BRUO 680) was fellow in 1453, d. before May of that year.

On f. iv is a title, s. xvii, and ‘Q. 2. 9 Art:’, canc. and replaced with ‘K. 1. 2 (CCXCII)’ in red; the College bookplate. ’9’ 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. 116; Powicke, no. 520; WOP 4. 5*-6*.

Funding of Cataloguing

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

Last Substantive Revision

2019-11-13: First online publication

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