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

OR BROWSE BY

MANUSCRIPTS
WORKS
PEOPLE
PLACES

Exeter College MS. 24

Stephen Langton, Comm. in Ecclesiasticum; England, s. xiii1

Contents

Language(s): Latin

(fols. 1r–219v)
Stephen Langton, Comm. in Ecclesiasticum
Rubric: Incipit prologus Stephani archiepiscopi Cantuariensis super ecclesiasticum
Incipit: Hoc nomen ecclesiastes interpretatur concionator
Explicit: quid prodest lauatio eius.
Final rubric: Explicit prologus.
Rubric: Incipit tractatus S. archiepiscopi Cantuariensis super ecclesiasticum
Incipit: Omnis sapientia. Hoc nomen omnis quandoque no tat
Explicit: qui mundiciam subtrahit carni sue.

unprinted; Stegmüller, Bibl. 7814,; Glorieux, Théologie, no. 104f4. See in general and on this manuscript Lacombe and Smalley, at 144–5. Our text ends with the same explicit as Bodleian Lib., MS Bodl. 706 (SC 2605). A hand of s. xv adds ‘Et quasi balsamum non mixtum odor meus [Ecclesiasticus xxiv. 21] hi doctor exposuit usque ad mem 24i capituli ecclesiastici et uerba ultima.’ On Langton see Sharpe, Latin Writers.

Physical Description

Secundo Folio: multiplex.
Form: codex
Support: parchment FHHF
Extent: 219 leaves, preceded and followed by one 18th-century paper flyleaf.
Dimensions (leaf): 320 × 230 mm.
Dimensions (column): 215–30 × 65–70 mm.
Foliation: Numbered in modern pencil but also with two series of medieval numeration.

Collation

1–28 3–2210 234 (wants 4). There are neat catchwords by the scribes from quire 6 onwards and red figures on the first page of each quire by the 18th-century binder. Some quires are numbered on their final pages and most have informal crayon numbers on rectos in the first half. In quires 13, 15, and 18 stubs to which leaves have been attached were ruled at the same time as the full sheets, the attached leaves presumably being half-sheets which could not otherwise have been used in this book.

Layout

Two columns, 52–54 lines. Ruled in crayon. Written below top line.

Hand(s)

A good gothic book hand punctuated by low point, by several scribes. The hand is mostly rotunda but some of the scribes come close to writing quadrata.

Decoration

Sparse decoration, inadequate as ordinatio to guide a reader through the text. On fol. 1 are two 6-line green-and-red lombards with arabesque infilling, otherwise initials are plain green or red, 1/3-line. There are rubrics and a few red lemmata, and some marginal authorities, sparsely cited compared with MS Bodl. 706 (SC 2605), are underlined red.

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.

History

Origin: s. xiii1 ; England

Provenance and Acquisition

The decoration suggests that the book may have originated in a Cistercian house but a friars’ house is also possible.

Fols. 1–2 are eroded by a rust stain, bottom centre of lower margin, indicating chaining in a library.

Recorded at Exeter c. 1600 as Ecloga, no. 4, then in CMA, no. 39. On fol. 1 is a title in an italic and secretary hand, c. 1600.

Exeter library identifications, on the front pastedown, are: the book stamp; ‘Ex: Coll: Oxon.’, ‘Q.8–4 Gall’ (deleted); ‘172–G–4’; and ‘Coxe Cat. no. XXIV’ (pencil). ‘4’ is on a round paper label on the top of the spine.

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.

Abbreviations

View list of abbreviations and editorial conventions.

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.