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

Exeter College MS. 6

Ps.-Johannes Chrysostomos, Opus imperfectum in Matthaeum; John Wyclif, Sermones xxx et xli; etc.; England, s. xivex

Contents

Language(s): Latin

1. (fol. ivv)

A table of the incipits of the 57 chapters (as here numbered) in item 2.

2. (fols. 1r-223v)
Ps.-Johannes Chrysostomos, Opus imperfectum in Matthaeum
Incipit: Sicut referunt quidam Matheum scribere euangelium ... hec est enim commutacio dextre excelsi. Liber generacionis Ihesu Christi filij Dauid filij Abraham. Liber est quasi apotheca graciarum
Explicit: Cum uideritis abhominacionem desolacionis stantem in loco sancto.
Final rubric: Expliciunt omelia Johannis Chrisostomi patriarche Constantinopolitani super Matheum operis imperfecti et cetera.

The whole work is pr. PG 56. 611–946, where our text ends at col. 908/11 in ch. 57 (as here numbered), i.e. ch. 49 of the 54 as numbered in PG. Stegmüller, Bibl., 4350; CPL 707; CPG 4569. This copy, a ‘family 4’ manuscript, is noted by J. van Banning, Opus imperfectum in Matthaeum: Praefatio, CCSL 87B (1988), pp. CCXLIV, CCCII, no. 144, and CCCII. He remarks that it is ‘an important MS. because it is the only one that shows a possible link between the Opus. Imp. and Wyclif’s followers’.

3. (fols. 223r-229r)
Johannes Chrysostomos, Homilia de muliere Cananaea (hom. xvi)
Incipit: In illo tempore. Egressus Iesus secessit in partes Tyri et Sydonis et Reliqua. Mt 15º caº. Multe tempestates et inquietudo aeris
Explicit: sane mentis et voluntate immo fide eius curatam. Pro hijs omnibus gracias agamus deo ... Amen, [and below] De ista vltima omelia non sit mencio in tabula.

pr. Iohannis Chrysostomi opera omnia, ed. S. Gelenius, 5 vols. (Basel, 1547), ii. 1180–8. CPG 4529; CPL 645. See also A. Wilmart, ‘La Collection des 38 homélies latines de saint Jean Chrysostome’, JTS 19 (1917–18), 305–27, no. 19.

4. (fols. 229r-260v)
[Tabula.]
Incipit: Abhominacio desolacionis quadrupliciter
Incipit: [fol. 245v] est scelus [zelus] animarum. Conuercacio Johannis effectum tribuit verbis eius 3.g.b
Explicit: de zizanniis et tritico. 13.h.
Final rubric: Explicit tabula Johannis Crisostomi bona et vtilis de opere imperfecto.

In two parts. Part 1, to fol. 245v, has many omissions and was later supplemented from another manuscript. On indexes to this work in general see van Banning (as item 2 above) pp. CCXLVI–CCLVI, and on this index see also J. H. A. van Banning, ‘Two uncontroversial fragments of Wyclif in an Oxford manuscript: the contents of Exeter College Oxford MS 6’, JTS, NS 36 (1985), 338–49.

5. (fols. 260v-264rb/28)
Jacobus de Voragine, Legenda aurea
Incipit: Passio Christi fuit ex dolore amara. ex illusione despecta. ex vtilitate multipliciter fructuosa
Explicit: ab diurno denario conuenite. Hec in legenda aurea.

ed. Th. Graesse (Leipzig, 18502), 223–35, ‘De passione domini’; this passage 223–31/15.

6. (fols. 264rb-264v)
John Wyclif, Sermo XLI
Incipit: [in margin] Doctor euangelicus ⟨in⟩ sermone de passione ⟨domini⟩ sic incipit con⟨summatum est⟩. Solet questio queri quare deus passus est
Explicit: Filius ecce tuus. eloy. Scicio. satis est iam. Me tibi mando pater. Deus hec ait in cruce pendens.

ed. J. Loserth, Johannis Wyclif. Sermones, iv (1890), 341/29–342/36. This sermon was preached on 27 Mar. 1377: see van Banning (as 2 above) p. CCCII n. 30. Ed. van Banning, JTS, NS 36 (1985), 346–7. On Wyclif see Sharpe, Latin Writers.

7. (fols. 265r)
John Wyclif, Sermo XXXV
Incipit: Ut dicit doctor euangelicus sermone qui sic incipit. Christus per proprium sanguinem intromit semel in sancta hebreorum .9. Dicit infirmus primo omnium necesse euacuare causam morbi
Explicit: quod offendisti dominum dominorum tibi gratiosissimum.

ed. Loserth (as 6 above), 299/24–300/13. This sermon was preached on 30 Mar. 1376: see van Banning (as 2 above), p. CCCII, n. 31. Ed. van Banning JTS, NS 36 (1985), 347. On Wyclif see Sharpe, Latin Writers.

Fol. 265v is blank.

Physical Description

Secundo Folio: Dauid.
Form: codex
Support: parchment FHHF
Extent: 265 leaves preceded by two 18th-century paper flyleaves and two medieval membrane flyleaves and followed by an 18th-century paper flyleaf.
Dimensions (leaf): 235 × 165 mm.
Dimensions (column): 170–80 × 55 mm.
The quality of the membrane, originally good, suffered from damp from fol. 167 to the end (see Binding below) and all leaves have been cropped, with some loss of the border on fol. 1 and of homily numbers in upper margins.
Foliation: Numbered in pencil, s. xx, Coxe’s(?) only numeration being a total ‘267’ at the end.

Collation

1–308 318 (8 + 1). Catchwords by the scribe, in ornamental boxes. There are no quire numbers or signatures but at the end of quire 6 (fol. 48v) is ‘corrur’ in a cursive hand.

Layout

Two columns, 40 lines. Frame-ruled rather clums ily in crayon.

Hand(s)

A good bastard anglicana by one scribe. Punctuation is by medial point, punctus elevatus, and double virgula. Homily numbers in ink appear as running heads (many trimmed off) and letters in margins act as reference points from the subject index.

Decoration

Illuminated border and initial on fol. 1r, Alexander and Temple, no. 360.

Three-line blue lombards flourished red; red and blue paraphs.

Binding

Sewn on five bands. Standard Exeter binding: simple and quite elegant, calf over millboards, the calf bearing blind decoration of a floral type, early 19th century. The sprinkled edges enable one to deduce that the water damage to fols. 169–267 happened while the book was disbound; all the leaves had been sprinkled before the damage occurred but, while the undamaged ones could be bound perfectly, the damaged ones had cockled and did not bind so well.

History

Origin: s. xivex ; England

Provenance and Acquisition

‘Magister Johannes Allwarde’ on fol. iiiv indicates that this is one of three unspecified books (MS 16 being another) bequeathed to the College by John Alward, fellow in 1408, rector 1416–17, 1418–19, etc., died by March 1458 (BRUO, Alward). The Rector’s Accounts for 1458–9 include a series of related payments to Alward’s executor for his expenses in bringing the books and for chains and chaining.

Recorded at Exeter c. 1600 as Ecloga, no. 5, then in CMA, no. 28.

Exeter library identifications are, on the front pastedown, ‘D2–10’, ‘Aa.9–14 Gall’ and ‘Q6–6 Gall’ (all deleted), ‘Ex: Coll: Oxon:’, bookplate 3, on which is ‘174–K–6’ altered to ‘170–I–6’. On fol. iiiv is book plate 1.

Record Sources

Andrew G. Watson, A descriptive catalogue of the medieval manuscripts of Exeter College, Oxford (Oxford: Oxford University Press), 2000.

Availability

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

Funding of Cataloguing

Conversion of the printed catalogue to TEI funded by the Rector and Fellows of Exeter College.

Last Substantive Revision

2020-04-29: First online publication

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