Exeter College MS. 42
Huguccio of Pisa, Liber derivationum; England, s. xiv1
Contents
Language(s): Latin
in item 2 below, with the heading under which they occur there.
Our text begins in letter I and comparison with the version of the text in Bod. Lib., MS e Mus. 96 (SC 3582), which opens with an explanatory statement of the purpose of the index, beg. ‘Quoniam plures dicciones’, suggests that a complete quire may be missing. Comparison with MS e Mus. 96, in which references are to ‘cº such-and-such’, further suggests that ‘capitulo’ is intended. In this copy, which is fuller than the text in MS e Mus. 96, ‘c.’ is usually omitted from references after fol. 7r. Fols. 11v–12v are blank.
unprinted, except excerpts ed. P. Toynbee, Romania, 26 (1897), 537–54; A. Marigo, Archivum Romanicum, 11 (1927), 98–107. Gaps in our text arise from the loss of leaves from quires 18, 24, and 25: fol. 143v breaks in the capitulum ‘Pando’, fol. 188v in the capitulum ‘Strena’ and fol. 191r in the capitulum ‘Tero’. On the author see Schulte, i. 156–70; A. M. Stickler, Dict. de droit canon., vii. 1355–62; Kuttner, Repertorium, 155–60; W. P. Müller, Viator, 22 (1991), 121–52, this work 137–40; G. Cremascoli, Aevum, 42 (1968), 123–68; C. Leonardi, ‘La Vita e l’opera di Uguccione da Pisa decretista’, Studia Gratiana, 4 (1953–7), 37–120, this work 99–102. For other manuscripts the most comprehensive list is in Bursill-Hall, Census (where our manuscript is no. 193.2), 308, but see also A. Marigo, I Codici manoscritti delle “Derivationes” di Uguccione Pisano (Rome, 1936).
Physical Description
Collation
Layout
*1: Three columns, c. 58 lines. Ruled in crayon.
2: Two columns, c. 55–58 lines. Ruled in crayon.
Hand(s)
A, gothic rotunda script of average quality, punctuated by medial point.
B, a rather rough gothic bookhand, semiquadrata or rotunda, punctuated by medial point and occasional double virgula.
Decoration
Eleven fine illuminated initials, mostly inhabited or historiated, with page-length marginal extenders. At least one is presumably lost with the first leaf of item 2 but all others survive. Although the style is a little unsophisticated the execution is very good and the decoration makes much effect by the use of bold colours, usually on a dark blue or occasionally crimson background delicately traced with white. Some of the subjects can be identified as having a connection with the text, others seem to have none. The subjects are
(fol. 18r) ch. B in‘Baburra’, a seated teacher seemingly counting things off on his fingers;
(fol. 24r) ch. C in ‘Cachinnor’, a jester;
(fol. 48r) ch. D in ‘Dauir siue dabir oraculum Dei’, a seated figure ?writing on a scroll;
(fol. 57v) ch. E in ‘Ebron ciuitas’, a tonsured figure seated on a ?throne, perhaps one of the three patriarchs referred to;
(fol. 64v) ch. F in ‘Facio’, Mary, seated and crowned, a sceptre in right hand and a scroll in left hand with ‘Aue Maria’ on it;
(fol. 82v) ch. G in ‘Gabriel’, an archangel;
(fol. 97r), ch. I in ‘Ia. Est’, an abstract design with a spear-bearing figure seated on the top; (fol. 114v) ch. M in ‘Mach[i]na’, an abstract design;(fol. 131r) ch. N in ‘Nablum uel Nablath’, a seated figure apparently instructing or admonishing but without the musical symbols the text might suggest;
(fol. 137v) ch. O in ‘Obelus’, a roosting bird of prey;
(fol. 161r), ch. Q in ‘Quatuor’, a grotesque with a tail and a human face.
In the margins of fols. 64v and 161r are crayon drafts of the completed initials.
Otherwise decoration consists of red and blue lombards flourished in the other colour, red and blue paraphs, and underlining of lemmata. Alexander and Temple, no. 279; pl. xviii no. 279 reproduces F and detail of border fol. 64v.
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. On the spine is a red leather label with the title in gold. Endbands were perhaps originally blue and yellow.
History
Provenance and Acquisition
Unknown. Recorded at Exeter c. 1600 as Ecloga, no. 7. Not in CMA.
Exeter library identifications are, on the front pastedown: ‘P8–11 Gall’ (deleted); ‘173–H–7’, ‘Ex: Coll: Oxon’ and ‘Coxe Cat. XLII’. On the spine is a round paper label with ‘7’ on it.
Record Sources
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