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

Merton College MS. 256B

Former shelfmark: C. 2. 7

NICHOLAS TREVET, THOMAS WALEYS; S. XIV1

Contents

Language(s): Latin

Fols. iv-v blank. To f. iv are pasted extracts from printed works, a French encyclopedia entry on Trevet, and the Sotheran Sale Catalogue advertising this book.

1. (fols. 1–72v)
NICHOLAS TREVET OP, Expositio Historiarum que tanguntur ab Augustino in libro de Civitate Dei
Rubric: Incipit exposicio hystoriarum extranearum dictorumque poeticorum que tanguntur ab Augustino in libris de ciuitate Dei facta per fratrem Nicholaum Treueth ordinis fratrum predicatorum.
Incipit: (prol.) Gloriosa dicta sunt de te ciuitas Dei Ps. lxxxvi. Cum Romani
Explicit: reddere clariora. Explicit prologus.
Incipit: (text) Incipit tractatus. Capitulum primum. Ad intellectum eorum
Explicit: ad eternam beatitudinem. Ad quam ... Amen.

Kaeppeli 3136; Sharpe, Handlist, p. 397; largely unpr., but the commentary on x. 29-xxii. 30 was used to continue art. 2, never completed by its author, in the printed edns. of that work.

2. (fols. 73–206v; 207 blank)
THOMAS WALEYS OP, Commentary on AUGUSTINE, De Civitate Dei I-X. 29.
Rubric: Exposicio fratris Thome Waleys doctoris sacre theologie ordinis predicatorum super libros Augustini de ciuitate Dei facta anno Domini Mº CCC.XXXIIº.
Incipit: Fluminis impetus letificat
Explicit: (ends unfinished in VIII. 1) qui ab eis uocantur

Pr. Strassburg 1468 &c.; Kaeppeli 3891; Sharpe, Handlist, p. 685.

On f. 207v is an early note in pencil; on f. 208 ‘Give it to Mr’, c. 1800; on 208v a note on art. 2, s. xv.

Physical Description

Secundo Folio: -culum continue
Form: codex
Support: Parchment
Extent: 215 leaves (v + 210)
Dimensions (leaf): 220 × 150 mm.
Dimensions (written): 155–80 × 100–10 mm.
The edges retrimmed and stained yellow.

Collation

A bifolium, 1–1612, 7–88, 9–1812; catchwords framed in red; pencilled leaf numbers.

Layout

Ruled with crayon in 2 cols of 36–43 lines. Running heads between lines ruled right across the page.

Hand(s)

Two French scribes, writing gothic rotunda bookhand: fols. 1–72v, 87v-206v; fols. 73–87.

Decoration

On f. 1 a red and blue flourished initial with partial border, in Parisian style; red or blue initials flourished in the other colour; red highlighting, underlining, chapter-numbers and running heads.

Binding

s. xviii, full calf, rebacked. Fols. i-iii, 209–10 are paper blanks.

History

Origin: S. XIV1 ; France, Paris

Provenance and Acquisition

Probably made in Paris.

On f. vv, in the hand of John Grandisson, bishop of Exeter 1327–69, is a table of contents, and ‘Iste liber quondam Iohannis episcopi Exon’ assignatur alicui pauperi scolari Oxon’ in theologia studenti in eius memoriam cuius erat, et eo promoto uel decedente aliis sic studentibus relinquatur in aula de Merton’ ad usum huius extunc perpetuo remansurus.’ Lower down, still apparently in his hand, ‘Tradatur J. Gardener socio dicte aule illuc deferendus’. John Gardener (BRUO742) was fellow c. 1382–92. Lent by the warden to John Hanham (BRUO 866), fellow in 1427–8, until 1438 (UO52. 60).

Alienated at an uncertain date after that, and repurchased by the College in 1878. Inside the front board is the College bookplate with ‘E. 1. 6’ and ‘CCLVIB’ in red, the first canc. and replaced with pencilled ‘P. 1. 9’.

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

    not in Coxe; Powicke, no. 362; B. Smalley, English Friars and Antiquity (Oxford, 1960), pp. 88, 93; Ker, MMBL3. 659.

Funding of Cataloguing

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

Last Substantive Revision

2019-10-01: First online publication

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