Exeter College MS. 28
William of Wheatley, W. de Monte, Grosseteste; etc.; England, s. xiv1
Contents
For a description of the volume see Codices Boethiani: A Conspectus of Manuscripts of the Works of Boethius. I. Great Britain and the Republic of Ireland, ed. M. T. Gibson and L. Smith (Warburg Institute Surveys and Texts, 25; London, 1995), 227–8, no. 215.
Composite: A: fols. 1 (2)-250 (249b) || B: fols. 251 (250)-285 (284) || C: fols. 286 (283)-308 (307)
Physical Description
Collation
Binding
Sewn on six bands between millboards covered with reversed calf, with triple blind fillets round the outer edges, s. xvii. Printed binding leaves at front and back, from the same, probably incunable, copy of Gratian’s Decreta as the leaves in MSS 26, 30, and 43, which are bound in the same style, were probably added by the 17th-century binder rather than being taken over from an earlier binding.
History
Provenance and Acquisition
On fol. vv (1v) is ‘Liber iste fuit emptus scolaribus de Stapeldon Hall cum bonis magistrorum Henrici Whitefeld et Johannis Landreyn. Oretis igitur pro vtroque.’ Whitfeld was one of the bp. of Exeter’s visitors to the college, in 1371, 1374, and 1378 and was alive in 1384. Landreyn was a fellow of Exeter, d. 1409. On both men see BRUO. Entries in the Rector’s Accounts for 1389 which refer only to the Boethius texts in this volume suggest that the other items were added after it reached the College (e.g. ‘⟨reddit compotus de⟩ centum solidis de bonis M. Henrici Wytfelde pro libris philosophie emendis’, ‘reddit compotus de v marcis solitis pro boicio de disciplina scolarium et de consolacione philosophie emptis ⟨ad⟩ vsum domus’), but the above inscription is followed by a contents list, also of s. xv1, which shows that the contents were then as they are now except that a final item was ‘Lincoln de libero arbitrio aliter quam prius’, i.e. Recension 1: see Thomson, Grosseteste, 11.
On fol. Ir (308r), are ‘Finiunt opera Boecii cum Jº’ and ‘die sancti Vlstani gracia ⟨ei(?)⟩ concessa’, both perhaps of s. xv and if so dating from after the book’s arrival at Stapledon Hall.
On fol. 1r (2r) is ‘Gulihelmus Whetley commentator huius libri’ in a hand of s. xvimed.
On fol. 173 (174), as in MSS 37 fol. 109, 38 fol. 94, and 40 fol. 47, a tab has been created by cutting the membrane; on it is ‘Grosthead August.’ in a hand of s. xviiin.
Although not recorded in Ecloga, the book was surely in the College in medieval times, since Bale, Index, 377, records several Grosseteste texts from it, items C(iv–vi). CMA, 43.
Exeter library identifications are, inside the front cover: bookplate 1, ‘E1—22’ and ‘Q8—8 Gall’ (both deleted), ‘172–G–8’ and ‘Coxe Cat. no. XXVIII’.
Exeter College MS. 28 – Part A (fols. 1 (2)-248 (249))
Contents
Language(s): Latin
ed. H. F. Sebastian, ‘William of Wheteley’s Commentary on the Pseudo-Boethian tractate De disciplina scholarium and medieval grammar school education’, (Ph.D. thesis, Columbia University, 1970). P. O. Lewry, ‘Four graduation speeches from Oxford manuscripts (c. 1270–1310)’, Mediaeval Studies, 44 (1982), 138–80, at 139–40, quotes from fol. 61rb–va (62rb–va). The Ps.-Boethius text in our manuscript is no. 63 in the edn. by O. Weijers (Leiden, 1976), 78–9, and Wheatley’s commentary (one of the earliest) is no. 15 in the list of commentaries, ibid. 23–4. For Wheatley, master of Stamford School, see also Sharpe, Latin Writers, and BRUO, but note that Emden conflates two men; the entry for our man begins at 3. 2031/6.
unprinted. For two other manuscripts see Sharpe, Latin Writers.
pr. Nürnberg, 1476 (GW 4526; BMC ii. 413), etc. For this and other attributions (William of Wheatley, Thomas Waleys, Marquard l’Ecossais) see P. Courcelle, La Consolation de philosophie dans la tradition littéraire (Paris, 1967), 322–3. The name at the end is presumably that of the scribe but the reading of the fourth letter is no more than conjectural; it is perfectly clear and looks like a medieval figure 7. There is a village named Sulgrave in Northamptonshire.
Physical Description
Layout
two columns, c. 54 lines of gloss and half that number of text. Ruled in crayon.
Hand(s)
For the lemmata a large, uneven bastard anglicana;
for the text a university type of gothic rotunda; punctuated by high and medial points.
Decoration
Good quality red-and-blue lombards, 2/7-line, the larger ones with half-borders, all infilled with leaf pattern,
also plain red and blue 2/5-line initials; red and blue paraphs, red underlining.
Exeter College MS. 28 – Part B (fols. 251 (250)-(fol. 285 (284))
Contents
Language(s): Latin
Schneyer, ii. 509–13. J. Goering, William de Montibus (c.1140–1213): The Schools and the Literature of Pastoral Care (Toronto, 1992), 522–3, argues against the attribution to William. Our series includes sermons 1–23, 25–6, 32–3, 36, 38–40, 48, 56–7 in Schneyer’s list. Included at the end, apparently as part of the series but by other authors, are the following four sermons:
Schneyer, v. 484 no. 225, and also in Schneyer’s list of Langton sermons in RTAM 29 (1962), 159–205, at 184; no. 58a in list in P. B. Roberts, Stephanus de Lingua-Tonante: Studies in the Sermons of Stephen Langton (Toronto, 1968), at 180.
pr. PL 171. 828–33 (as Hildebert, no. 106), Schneyer, ii. 152, no. 24. For attribution to Babion see J.-P. Bonnes, Revue Bénédictine, 56 (1945–6), 174–215, at 201, no. 24.
pr. PL 171. 572–4 (as Hildebert), no. 46. For attribution to Babion see Bonnes, loc. cit., 201, no. 26.
Comparison with the series of ‘Filius Matris’ sermons in Bodleian MS Bodl. 303 (SC 2089) shows that despite the excision of leaves in quires 33 and 35 between fols. 265–6 (264–5) and 277–8 (276–7) there is no loss of text in our manuscript. On William see Sharpe, Latin Writers. After the explicit of this item, in the same hand, is ‘Cum te formaui non in hac te fede locaui | In mea regna redi quia te moriendo redemi’, WIC 3826, cited from this manuscript only but cf. ibid. 3832.
Physical Description
Layout
two columns, 52 lines. Ruled in crayon.
Hand(s)
Anglicana formata; punctuated by punctus elevatus and low point.
Decoration
A 6-line red-and-blue lombard on fol. 251r(250r) (and smaller ones throughout) infilled with delicate leaf and tendril patterns, also blue lombards flourished red, and red lombards flourished mauve. Rubrics, red paraphs, red underlining.
Exeter College MS. 28 – Part C (fols. 286 (283)-308 (307))
Contents
Language(s): Latin
pr. PL 45. 1665–78; PL 65. 843–54; CPL 383; Römer, ii/1. 151.
pr. PL 40. 611–26; CSEL 41. 663–91; CPL 308; Römer, ii/1. 147.
pr. PL 38. 595–602. Our text begins in line 5 of ch. 1 of the printed text and ends in line 9 of ch. 8 (col. 599).
pr. Venice, 1514, fols. 7v–9r; ed. Baur, Grosseteste, 130–43 (MS Ex); Thomson, Grosseteste, 119–20, no. 74. On Grosseteste see Sharpe, Latin Writers.
ed. by N. Lewis from our manuscript, the only extant copy of the earlier recension, ‘The first recension of Robert Grosseteste’s De libero arbitrio’, Mediaeval Studies, 53 (1991), 1–88 (MS E); previously ed. Baur, Grosseteste, 150–226 (‘Recension II’); Thomson, Grosseteste, 91, no. 35 (’Recension’ II). Thomson records two copies made from our manuscript, Bodleian MS Jones 15 (SC 8922), fols. 1–85 (s. xvii2) and Dublin, Archbishop Marsh’s Library, MS 3. 6. 20 (s. xviimed). Lewis remarks that it seems likely that our manuscript does not contain the complete text of the earlier version but rather that the scribe failed to finish his copy or was working from an incomplete exemplar.
Fol. 306v (305v) is blank.
unprinted. The text is known only from this manuscript: Thomson, 113, no. 67.
pr. Venice, 1514, fols. 4r–5v; ed. Baur, Grosseteste, 120–6. A fragment; lines 1–12 only. Thomson, 117, no. 70.
Physical Description
Layout
two columns, 52 lines. Ruled in crayon.
Hand(s)
Anglicana formata; punctuated by punctus elevatus and low point.
Decoration
No colour. Occasional headings in ornamental bastard anglicana.
Additional Information
Record Sources
Availability
For enquiries relating to this manuscript please contact Exeter College Library.
Digital Images
Digital Bodleian (full digital facsimile)
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